Trapped in the Upside Down - A Chrissy and Eddie story

Unwanted Visitor

An hour passes. Or so it feels like. I still don't have much of a sense of time in this place. We wait patiently for the echo of Dustin's voice to return. The candle sitting on the table has melted mostly into a liquid in the little jar. I remain seated on the side of the bed as Eddie makes himself comfortable lying down with an arm behind his head. He doesn't seem as hopeless or angered as he did moments before our kiss. I don't blame him for the rollercoaster of emotions. Hearing from Dustin has given us both just enough hope to get us through the past hour. I can't stop thinking about that kiss. I know that's really not what I should be focusing on, but I can still feel his lips on mine. 

"You know, if someone had said to me a few weeks back that I would be hanging out with Chrissy Cunningham alone in a bedroom, I would have said they're crazy," he laughs. 

"Which one's crazier? This? Or doing the drug deal with me?" I grin over my shoulder at him. 

"Both!" he responds. "The Queen of Hawkins High and the Freak. Who would have thought?" 

"Don't call yourself a freak," I scold. 

"No, it's okay. You're a freak too," he smiles. I love it when he smiles. 

I lay down joining him on the bed relaxing my body next to his. I keep a few inches between us just so that it doesn't get too awkward. I rest my head on the pillow next to his and keep my eyes on the ceiling.

"I wish I had known you better back home," I admit. 

"It's okay. I probably wouldn't have wanted to get to know me either," he says. 

"It's not that. I just... I feel like I've always done what everyone expected of me and I was too afraid to do anything different. I was trapped. I've always been trapped. No wonder I made such an easy target for Vecna. I was messed up and weak." I try to hold back a slight tremble in my voice. I'm not used to being this vulnerable with someone.

"Hey, c'mere," he says sliding an arm under my neck and pulling me closer to him. "We're going to get out of here and you will be free to be whoever you want. Got it?" 

I turn on my side facing him as he pulls me in. I settle my head on his shoulder and rest my palm on his chest. He places his opposite hand over mine and holds me close and secure. It's so strange that in a place where we are physically trapped, I can feel more free and alive being in his arms than I ever did back home. My mind wanders to a place where we escape this world and we both get a second chance at life. We get to be together. Truly together. I get to be myself. I've always admired Eddie. No pressures of fitting in to a box of standards that others set. For me, no more people like Jason or fake friends that never would accept me for being who I truly want to be. I want this new life that I dream about. I want it more than anything.

He squeezes me gently in a hug. We lay together in silence taking in each other's presence. His thumb gently rubs the back of my hand. The rhythm of his heartbeat is calming and I feel an overwhelming sense of warmth and comfort. He breathes in my hair and I want so badly to look up and kiss him again, but this moment is so perfect and intimate that I can't bring myself to move. 

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A sound startles us awake. I'm disoriented and completely unaware of how much time has passed since we'd fallen asleep. 

"Quiet," he says lifting his head from the pillow. 

We lie still listening for the sound again. My first thought is that Dustin has returned and is calling out to us, but my instinct is telling me that it's something different. The sound returns. There's movement inside the house from down the hall. Eddie flinches and I squeeze his shirt not wanting him to get up.