๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย (starsinshadowsโ)
@greenscrunchyโ gets a starter cause I said soโฆ
ย ย ย The early December weather in Indiana should have made the idea of an outdoor party unacceptable, but with a bonfire going and enough alcohol, most of the teenagers present had only bothered with sweatshirts and body heat to supplement despite the snow on the ground outside of the fireโs heat. Steve had given up his coat to the โflavor of the weekโ โ a pretty girl named Becky that he would actually probably date for a month or so, possibly through Christmas if she continued to not ask questions and stayed content to just be casual and have fun. She was currently laughing with some of her friends on the other side of the fire, beers in hand, and probably gossiping about their boyfriends or some poor kid that wasnโt popular and didnโt deserve the bullshit. ย ย ย He leaned back on the lawn chair someone had brought out, looking sprawled and comfortable as he sipped at his beer like the King he was supposed to be, and he put on the smiles, shot back insults and sharp jokes as was required of him whenever the attention landed on him. Becky had come over fifteen minutes before to sit across his lap and make out, probably to show off to someone, but sheโd gone back to her friends for the time being. He was her ride, so sheโd make her way back to him before the end of the night, and sheโd make sure she had a story to tell them all in the morning, he was sure. ย ย ย He didnโt care. At least, that was what he told himself, and it was mostly true even if not in the way that he wanted it to be. He didnโt care about any of this, and it showed in brief, quiet moments when he stared at the fire and the exhaustion that he tried to keep hidden eased out at the edges of his being and the strange little streaks of gray that were appearing in his hair caught the firelight. Few people dared mention it, not willing to have Tommy H, Carol or half a dozen other people turn on them, but the kids had also noticed and Nancy had asked if he was sleeping at all. Only Robin knew and sheโd passed on this particular gathering โ not that he could blame her. He was โholding courtโ, so to speak, but he wasnโt interested in any of it and hadnโt been for awhile. Part of him wished he could just wander off into the woods and leave the circus behind, but that was the whole point of the charade to begin with; he had to hide the fact that he didnโt belong here anymore.
was chrissy cunningham a party person or not?ย
staring hard into the dancing flames of the titular bonfire, chrissy clutched the neck of a wine cooler in both hands and asked the question for quite possibly the twentieth time since her upper school career had begun. and for the twentieth-or-other time, she still wasnโt sure.ย
maybe it was a hawkins problem. were their parties lackluster thanks to the somewhat backwoods, down-home, small town (et cetera, et cetera) feel to hawkins? it wasnโt actually that small, all things considered, it just wasnโt a city. maybe that was the source of the issue and only cities had good parties. or was it just that she was inexperienced? chrissy scoffed at nothing and watched as the feathery plume of her frozen breath flew off to join the embers in the air. no, sheโd been to enoughย โmy parents are gone this weekend!โ get-togethers and basketball game afterparties to use that excuse.
even more depressing was the thought that maybe parties were just like this everywhere and hawkins wasnโt an exception but the rule.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ like what?ย โย a female voice seemed to slice through chrissyโs inner monologue. she glanced up sharply, but sighed once she put it all together: the interruption was just becky, having absconded from her dramatic perch on her throne - aka steve - exclaiming something to tammy and sue at chrissyโs elbow. a little spooky, but overall harmless.ย
out of curiousity chrissy tipped her body backward so as to look past the girls. sure enough, there lounged king steve with his beer and his hair reigning over all of his subjects with a fuzzy smirk and the occasional cheers and nod for good measure. it could have been the inconstant light of the fire casting shadows where none usually sunk, but she could have sworn steve looked aloof in a way that didnโt quite match with his usually too cool for this school attitude.ย
an absentminded tap of a nail against glass reminded the strawberry blonde of the drink she was still gripping. chrissy snorted lightly at nothing again, hoping neither becky or sue heard her. always the possibility of the wine cooler making everything just a little more maudlin to factor in, too. chrissy definitely considered herself a part-time lightweight, but a cooler and half should hardly be enough to make her buzzed unless her tolerance changed in the past month.ย
except that she leaned back one more time, a little less steadily, and now steve looked hollow. haggard firelight washed across him courtesy of the still healthy blaze, but not even that seemed to break apart his dull mien. okay, something was up. without question.
one foot at a time chrissy did her best to scoot past the nearby knot of girls and amble in steveโs direction without being pulled back toward the fire. which is where she would like to be but for the fact that heaviness spread over steveโs brow was more interesting than discussing the macyโs christmas sale. becky did whine her name but only once, and chrissy assured her of a return at some point. by then she was halfway to steveโs lawn chair. only a few more steps and sheโd come up beside the saggy excuse for a seat. mercifully some heat still reached into the fringes where steve was hiding.
without so much as a pause, chrissy plopped to her haunches and curled herself over her knees facing the fire but with squinted eyes pointed toward steve. this way she wouldnโt be planting her rump in a pile of snow and making the evening even less pleasant for herself.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ whatโs up? โย asked through her jacket sleeve, the popped p emerged a little less sharp but nothing could hide the sound of a grin that verged on loopy.ย โ not enough beer or too much?ย you look kinda like the kingdomโs seen better days. โ ย
๐ i say as i'm knee deep in your starter (finally)
ย ย THERE SHE ISย ย . . .ย THERE'S CHRISSYย !
๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย (ย alwaysrevvedupโ )
Fairytale? Abrupt, airy laughter escaped him, and hands burrowed themselves further into his pockets. Wellโat least she hadnโt laughed. Normally, Eddie didnโt whip out such eloquent descriptors for anything besides Hellfireโs DnD campaigns. After all, what was a good campaign without a good story? But there was a certain ease that came with being around Chrissy, strangely enough, and here came a sentimental ode to autumn tripping of his tongue.ย
For a guy like himโa guy of his lower social standing in the high school food chainโhe should be on egg shells around her, anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop. But he wasnโt. If anything, he felt lighter than he had in weeks.ย
โYeah, it is pretty. As pretty as Hawkins gets really.โ Silence fell briefly as he searched for what he wanted to say. โYou got big plans for Halloween?โ he asked conversationally, a brow quirking as he glanced sidelong at her.ย โOr are you boring and just pass out candy?โ The teasing was obvious: from his tone and how his elbow gently knocked against hers.ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ so.... โย it was almost idiotic how hard she was trying to come up with a good retort, but at first all she could scavenge was an embarrassed, if wholehearted and helpless, giggle. chrissy kept pushing her steps onward through the leaves as though that cycle produced the electricity powering her train of thought. if she could keep moving, she could come up with an answer that sounded distinctly not boring but also reasonably cool.
funnyย โย sheโd had her expectations, then so did eddie. clearly they were catching up to him, judging by the bony echo of his elbowโs collide against her arm. and he didnโt even seem all that mad about it.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ my little brother is going trick or treating and iโll walk with him for a while. heโs twelve and my parents donโt really want him to go by himself yet. heโs stuck with me, but he still gets to go. i just stand on the curb and look at all the costumes. itโs really cute to see what everyone comes up with. โย chrissy shrugged like it was all simply business as usual, pausing to unsnag the toe of her sneaker from a clump of dirt. sheโd have to clean off her shoes at school before heading home. coach tweedy wasnโt such a perfectionist that sheโd call chrissy out on a smudge or two, but her mother would certainly notice. white reeboks were nothing to be trifled with. she had an image to uphold. an image that only spotless reeboks would support.ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ i did used to go to my friend tinaโs house after matty was done and sheโd split her candy with me while we watched a movie, but she left for college last year. โย another shrug. nothing to bother dwelling on since nothing about tinaโs absence could be altered. butย enough about me. a small smile bloomed as chrissy made a pin-sharp pivot on her left heel to tread backward. now eddie was locked in her sights.ย โ do you have big plans?ย โ
๐ญ + what kind of jewelry Chrissy likes to wear most.
๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ฌ๐ช๐ท๐ธ๐ท๐ผ โ send ๐ญ + a topic to receive a headcanon about said topic.
small and tasteful. classic and classy. arm her with a pair of diamond studs, pearl studs, a little gold hoop set, and the most subtle dangly earrings with...maybe...a bunch of flowers as the charm and sheโll be set for life earrings wise. if sheโs feeling particularly snazzy, either white pearl or yellow or pink pearl studs. studs are her preferred simply because hair gets stuck in them less when sheโs flying around during cheer, and donโt often get caught on her clothing.ย
necklaces, she goes for gold more than silver. chrissy can pull off both metals equally well but finds herself drawn to gold more for its warmth - and how well it works with her hair. her favorites are long statement necklaces with skinny chains and a statement charm or little ones (like herย โ86 necklace) that twinkle neatly at the base of her neck. a little sparkle is preferred but nothing too eyecatching. or too big. her mother loves chunky statement jewelry and not only are they not chrissyโs style, she just canโt stand the look of the damn things. so ostentatious.
if she ever wears rings itโs one at a time so she can mess with it and nothing that can snag or else her mother will have a mini-fit. but she does enjoy wearing them when she isnโt cheering since they help with nervous energy. weirdly, she gravitates toward silver rings over gold, but has collected a few of both. the silver are another reason she only wears one at a time: so they donโt clash with whatever else sheโs wearing.ย
bracelets are hit or miss. she tends to go without, sticking to hairbands or scrunchies instead. youโll sooner find her wearing an anklet during the summer or a friendship/woven/beaded bracelet than anything resembling a bangle.
her little jewelry box at home is chiefly her favorite thin and short chain necklaces with tiny charms, some simple rings, lots of studs, a couple small hoop sets, and one charm bracelet.ย
There are shards of my childhood on the floor. I try to piece them together, but everywhere I step, I bleed.
what if i said that because my computer is being fixed by IT i will make a 3-5 song playlist for our characters. because if you like this post i will do it
hours into the unclear future, chrissy might catch herself realizing that infinite reasons could exist for pink cheeks and dreamy silences in a packed kitchen hot from crowded bodies guzzling light beerย and gossip like air, but in the moment she was only capable of joyously giggling,ย ย โ steve, youโre so pink!ย โย a small poke to his cheek came after, followed in quick succession by an exultant gasp and a poke to a nearby eddieโs cheek.ย ย โ you both are! โ
such a sight was inexplicably tickling with a plastic cup of punch or two in her system (never more than that, howeverย โย playing it safe has become more comforting than boring) that lent a glowing edge to even the harshest of lighting and noises. like all of them were sucked into the kind of classic 80โs film chrissy used to romanticize within an inch of its life. with her shoulder sunk into eddieโs side and halfway beaming at steve, an argument could be made. brat pack, eat your heart out. they didnโt have safe places like she did, to be drawn back to every night like twin homing beacons. they werenโt laughing like she could these days.ย
a slow, loose dawning still managed to roll over the former cheerleader, cooling a little of her own halfway inebriation.ย โ itโs been a while, right? since we had fun like this? โcuz it feels good. โ ย
a freak, a jock, & an ex-jock walk into a party....ย ย ย ///ย ย ย ย @firelightfablesโ + @starsinshadowsโ
the brevity of chrissyโs story matters because whatโs the prevailing mood after she dies? that she had so much potential. that she had so much to live for.
what, then, is the takeaway?
so do you.
๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.
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