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merelywren · 2 years

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Where this could go.

David Cook/David Archuleta

By: merelywren (mrflannery)

Summary:

David had heard off and on over the past few years about how Cook liked to mention him at his show, little comments and quips every so often, but David had never really paid much mind to it. He knew that was how Cook was. He liked to talk and engage with his audience, and his friends and family were always important to him so it never took David by surprise that he came up once in a while.

But it seemed to be happening a lot lately. Like, a lot.

——-

Notes:

This was written years ago. I'm pretty positive this type of storyline has been done before, but this is my take. The more the merrier, right?

———

David had heard off and on over the past few years about how Cook liked to mention him at his show; little comments and quips every so often, but David had never really paid much mind to it. He knew that was how Cook was. He liked to talk and engage with his audience, and his friends and family were always important to him so it never took David by surprise that he came up once in a while.

But it seemed to be happening a lot lately. Like, a lot.

Every so often David would take some time to go through his Twitter and Facebook and check up on his fans and the things they would tag him in, and more and more posts were sprinkled in about Cook and his shows and David started to take notice.

"The show was amazing!! And only one mention of Archie this time, haha."

"Cook tried to do a rocked out verse of Crush tonight, but he started laughing half way through! Still nailed it though."

"Look's like Cook is still missing that Archie kid..."

It was starting to make David wonder and he didn't really think it would hurt to see for himself. So on a quiet evening at home he settled down on his couch and powered up his laptop. He wasn't sure what to search for though, so he just entered in both of their names to see what came up.

Realistically he knew that both Cook and him had a level of popularity, but wow, he wasn't expecting there to be so much.

David had never been one to look himself up on the internet, it was awkward and uncomfortable seeing himself from so many different points of views and he could hardly even listen to himself sing when it was outside of the studio. But seeing all that came up with that one search of both their names...David found pretty quick that he couldn't stop looking. There were so many pictures of the two of them over the years; from Idol and the tour afterwards, to their time in Manila and the various events they'd been to together since.

But then there were the ones of just Cook, doing his own shows, singing his heart out on stage. He had always had a presence up there that David admired and it was fun flipping through fan pictures of his friend doing what he loved so much and seeing his joy and passion shine through as he sang.

It was as he was sifting through all those pictures that he saw it for the first time; Cook on stage wearing a t-shirt of David's. One with his face right there in the center. It made him blush hotly the second he spotted it and he couldn't help but laugh at how silly Cook looked with a shirt two sizes too small. There was a video to go along with it and David didn't think twice before clicking on it, his curiosity instantly getting the better of him.

It was a funny moment for sure but what caught him by surprise was that Cook had actually wanted to keep the shirt in the end. David just...didn't expect that. He tried to push away the pleased feeling it gave him.

And from that video came another, in a different town and a diifferent concert, and another shirt of his that Cook made a point to talk about and keep on stage with him.

It was like flood gates had opened up of one crazy moment after another of Cook talking about him with his fans, and in the middle of his concerts and randomly during interviews. There was just...so much and David could hardly take it all in.

How could he go so long without knowing that this was happening?

Eventually, he stumbled across a set of gifs from various videos and shows, all of them depicting Cook singing Crush, with little captions showing the words Cook was singing in each clip, and David-- oh he had to find each one of them, had to see the real evidence of it for himself.

So many times, David thought as he watched the little clips loop themselves over and over again.

Cook and him were closer now, without a doubt, and living in the same town had gone a long way in solidifying the unlikely friendship that had taken shape during their time on Idol. But David still didn't understand...Why was Cook always talking about him? And singing that song. In Sandy, for goodness sake, David thought suddenly, Cook had sung it then too! Had David play it there, in the middle of his own concert. It was just...David didn't want to let himself think about what it could mean, what he hoped it could mean.

It wouldn't do him any good to daydream, he knew that. It would just make his heart ache even more than it already did when thinking about his friend and how much he loved him and all the ways he shouldn't love him. But it was so hard now, with all of this laid out in front of him. Evidence of something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

David might not want to overthink it, but for everyone else it didn't seem they had a problem looking deeper and thinking it meant something more. There were dozens of posts David was finding, of people theorizing what it all meant. The majority seeming to view it as Cook....well, as him pining. Alone in his own house, David still blushed just thinking it. It was silly, he tried to convince himself, that Cook could be reacting that way towards him.

It had been well over an hour now since David began his search and subsequent video hunting of each concert that he was mentioned in and he almost felt exhausted from it, like he was on overload from the information he had gathered.

Wanting to narrow things down, David went back to his original search and changed the setting to show the most recent event and there was a video at the top of Cook from his concert a few days prior. It was the last show of his tour before he had headed to see his family, planning on staying there a week to relax before making the trek back home in Tennessee. Cook and him had spoken about his plans a handful of times, and of how they were going to celebrate the end of another great tour with a family size pizza and a case of beer (for Cook) when he finally came back.

David pushed play on the video and watched Cook sing through a couple of his songs, so full of energy that David could practically feel it from there, and it hit him suddenly how much he missed his friend. Their lives were busy but living in the same town afforded them the luxury of getting to spend a great chunk of time off together. David was brought back to the present as he listened to his friend talk to the crowd as he took a short break to catch his breath and get some water.

David sat with rapt attention as he listened to Cook talk about the end of the tour and how amazing it had all been and how nice it was going to be to go back home...to him.

"And then home! Man, it feels like it's been a year, I swear. But it's been great; you guys have been great! Couldn't have asked for a better tour, or better fans. Every concert, I'm blown away by the support. But it's gonna be really nice to be home again," he said with a grin to the crowd as they cheered for him, "Already got plans with Archie; gonna make him take me out for our favorite pizza and then sleep for a month, I swear." He was looking down at his guitar now, smiling, and fiddling with his pick before playing a few chords and David knew, instantly, that it was a couple notes to Crush. "It's gonna be great," he finished before launching into his next song.

David rubbed the palm of his hand against his breastbone and tried to will the ache he felt there to ease down. Okay so, granted, David's never been on a proper date that was actually worth counting as one, never had a relationship that was beyond friendship and family-- but he's been on the outside looking in long enough to know what he was seeing.

David sat there for a long time that night, letting those thoughts and feelings in that he had been hoarding for his friend for years, and trying to sort through all that he had seen and heard and comparing it to how he himself felt and wondered if he would act the same way Cook was if he allowed himself to be as open and free with his emotions personally.

In the end, all that he was left with was the thought that, yeah, pining really did seam like the right word.

———-

It was a long four days for David after that.

He hadn't been this nervous at the thought of seeing Cook in a long time. Years in fact. He had gotten so use to the thought that his attraction to his friend was harmless and buried deep enough that it wouldn't matter that he felt the way he did because it was never going to be returned. So, it wasn't an issue. Yeah, his heart ached some nights when he let his feelings rise up and get the best of him but he never let it affect their friendship in a negative way. Ever. He wouldn't let it. But now, the protective barrier around those tender feelings was starting to crack with the possibility that maybe--

David sighed and folded his arms on top of the closed piano keys in front of him and tucked his face into the bend of his elbow. Thinking about it so much wasn't doing him any good and neither was the intermittent texts he had been getting from Cook all morning.

Ridiculous pictures of him and Andrew going through their hometown mall making stupid faces, pictures of Disney bobbleheads that they found in the f.y.e. store there that Cook was threatening to buy and place around David's house and then Cook bragging about how he was going to whoop David in the new Guitar Hero that he was buying at GameStop.

It was just that...Cook was his best friend. And the thought that that could change wasn't sitting well in David's stomach, even if it meant that his heart wouldn't have to ache anymore. Because if they let things change between them, they might never get their friendship back if things fell apart. David had seen that happen in relationships before and he didn't like it. He was too important, too ingrained in David's life to ever let something tear it apart.

But then...when David let himself daydream of how the little things between them could change; sitting next to him wherever they went and feeling the warmth of him along his side, Cook hugging him whenever the man got the urge (David could only imagined how much more often it would happen), being able to hold Cook's hand, getting the right to call Cook his, and sharing his bed...

When David let himself think of those things he realized that if he got the chance to have him, he would do anything in his power to hold on to him. And that maybe the fear of losing him wasn't as great a threat as he thought it would be.

Tomorrow he would see his friend again and he didn't know if he would forget about all that he had learned, if he would go on living with the possibility that there might be a chance for them.

He didn't know if his heart would let him live in peace if he didn't at least try.

David took a deep breath and followed Cook into the kitchen and stood in the doorway, watching his friend as he dug in the freezer and pulled out the ice cream, humming to himself along the way.

The day had been a whirlwind. David had met Cook at his house, watching the tour bus pull in. It was nothing but chaos; after Cook had leaped out of the front doors and raced his way to David, standing in the driveway. The hug that followed was one that David would tuck away in his heart forever. Cook held on to him so tightly it was like he was afraid he’d fade away. It made David’s cheeks burn to think about it.

And here, now, David's heart felt heavy in his chest and he finally knew without a doubt, that making this move tonight was the right thing to do, because he wanted that man in front of him; not just for that night, but every night after. To hear him puttering around the house, to see his mess of clothes and sheet music around the house, to share everything with him. To hear him sing at night before bed and wake to his voice in the morning.

And David wouldn't get any of that if he didn't try.

"Hey, Cook?" he asked softly, almost afraid to raise his voice even a touch above a whisper. This moment felt too fragile, the outcome too unknown, as if it could shatter if handled wrong.

Ice cream scoop still in hand, Cook turned to look at him over his shoulder, his big grin still present and not seeming to have wavered the whole night, "Yeah?"

Seeing him stand there in his kitchen, so at home and happy, solidified the decision David made in his mind.

"Do you ever think, when you're all alone," David took a step into the kitchen towards Cook, his voice slow and soft as he sang out those familiar words, his heart beating heavy in his chest. "All that we could be? Where this thing could go?"

Cook's grin melted slowly off his face and turned to something like wonder at hearing his friend sing, catching on to how heavy just those few lines were, how the room was suddenly charged with energy...how this meant something. David poured all the feelings he had stored up in his chest out through his words.

David took another small step towards his friend and watched as the scoop fell from Cook's hand to clank against the counter top as he turned to face David. He hadn't ever planned out what he was going to say, never able to find the right words and just hoping it would come to him when the moment was right.

And it did. In this song that belonged to Cook now as much as it belonged to David.

David sang, intimate and quiet just for Cook, "Do you catch a breath when I look at you? Are you holding back--" but halted his words as the older man seemed to finally snap out of his trance of watching David sing to him and took a step forward, apprehension written plainly on his face and in his jerky movements. David had never seen his friend so unsure of himself.

"You sing that song all the time, I know you do," David whispered in a rush. "Tell me why."

"David?" Cook breathed, questioning what David was doing, not wanting to read this all wrong and make a fool of himself.

"Please," David begged.

Cook could hear some of David's own uncertainty and found courage in the knowledge that they were equals in the midst of all these unanswered questions between them. He bridged the gap between them in an easy step and cupped David's face between both palms, so tenderly that David could feel the familiar burn behind his eyes from just that one touch. Cook's hands were cold from the ice cream but it didn't tamp out the fire that was burning beneath David's skin from his touch and it spread from that point of contact and down through his chest to settle in his stomach.

He felt the air ghosting over his lips from how close Cook was and David raised his own hands and placed them on Cook's flanks, feeling the solidness and warmth of him. His hands were shaking and he tightened his grip in the mans shirt, balling it between his fingers.

As close as they were, he could see as Cook closed his eyes tight before opening them again to look David head on. "Because everything about it reminds me of you," he finally answered. "It doesn't matter what I'm doing or where I'm at, I have a really hard time, Dave...not thinking about you."

He leaned forward that last little space left and rested their brows together and David let out a breath, heart pounding. He felt like his chest couldn't hold his heart in much longer it was beating so wildly. In one last bold move David nodded his head Okay and kissed Cook.

It was amazing and crazy and so perfect in that moment that when Cook took control, pressing forward completely into David's space and wraping him up in his arms entirely, David just sighed with content and let his mind and body drift on the pleasant buzz from it all. Cook's lips were warm and chapped pressed against his and so tender as he took David's bottom lip between his own like he was claiming that little spot for himself and the flame in his stomach burst at the thought that maybe someday Cook will claim more pieces of him-- every last inch of him.

Slow and reluctant they parted, lips red and tender, and Cook leaned forward to rest his head against David's once more, the both of them smiling like fools. Cook laughed before cupping David's face and peppered his skin with small fleeting kisses and David giggled at how happy each one of them made him feel. There wasn't an inch of skin left on his face that Cook hadn't touched and he was tingling all over and he finally put a stop to it by rising to his toes and claiming Cook's lips again with his own.

"What am I going to do with you?" David asked quietly as he pulled back and gazed up at his friend, his rock; the man who had been by his side for almost eight years. David felt a pleasant tingle roll down his spine as Cook took his right hand in his left and curled his other up around David's back and began to slowly rock them side to side right there in the kitchen.

"You can dance with me. It feels like a good time to dance," he said before humming quietly for just the two of them in the little space left between their bodies and David nodded his head yes, and felt the familiar song vibrating along his skin each time Cook leaned forward to kiss him.

They spent the better part of that night just dancing in the kitchen together, swaying from side to side as they shared a song and David felt as light as air and Cook was the only thing keeping him grounded.

Weeks, months, years from that moment in the kitchen Cook will lay in bed next to David with his lips pressed to his bare shoulder in the early morning light and sing softly.

We can make this into something that'll last forever, forever...

#David cook #david archuleta #david cook/david archuleta #cookleta #my fanfiction #american idol

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merelywren · 2 years

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This is what I imagined with the story I just posted! 😢💚🖤

“She can still feel the almost desperate and raw relief she had at seeing Eddie’s face, can still feel the burning tears on her face as she called out to him as he pulled her away from the creeping vines that had held her tight for what felt like years. How he held her so close and cried with her. Her heart had felt tied to him in that moment and it hadn’t changed since.”

"i didn't run away this time"

#eddissy #eddie x chrissy #chrissy x eddie #hellcheer #chrissy cunningham/eddie munson #my writing

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merelywren · 2 years

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“Chrissy, this is for you”

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merelywren · 2 years

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Maybe Someday.

by : merelywren (mrflannery)

Chrissy Cunningham/Eddie Munson

Summary:

Chrissy gets an unexpected visitor at the Munson trailer.

Work Count: 3426

————

It was a Saturday afternoon, and they were dancing on the front lawn.

Music was playing from the radio up on the porch, a compromise of soft classic rock. Wayne sitting in his chair catching up on yesterdays news paper while Eddie and Chrissy were hanging up the laundry to dry, shufflling their feet from side to side, twisting hips and laughing at how uncoordinated they both were. Yet, they didn’t mind. It was easy for them to be silly, to laugh, to poke fun at the other. Eddie grabbing Chrissy’s hand as she reached for another shirt in the laundry hamper, twirling her around once and letting her go in a spin as he caught the shirt that dropped, throwing it carelessly up and onto the line.

Her smile was wide as she shook her head and fixed the shirt to lay it smooth, throwing a kick to his backside and laughing at this failed attempt to dodge her. He was shirtless and wild, his tattoos standing out proud on is untanned skin.

Their feet were bare and staining green from the grass, but it was okay. Here, Chrissy could be careless. She could be shoeless, she could be dirty and unkempt. She could wear her hair in a messy bun on top her head, she could wear the jean shorts that her mother hated, and one of Eddies old band tees and it wouldn’t matter. The Munson trailer was a place she found her freedom in, and the place she called home now.

“Hey kiddo,” Wayne called out to Chrissy. She looked up and he nodded his head behind her, a little frown on his face.

Chrissy looked back at the car that was slowing pulling up to the opposite end of the trailer to them.

“Dad?”

————

It was overcast, the chances of rain looking pretty high, the day Chrissy knocked on the Munson trailer door. She quickly wiped the wetness from her cheeks and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind one ear. She tightened her hand around the handle of her suitcase and resettled the strap of her duffle bag higher up on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her heart down.

But it was no use, for the moment that the door opened and she saw Eddie's face, her own began to crumble. She felt another hot tear make it’s way down her cheek and she dropped her chin, willing herself not to break completely.

But he said her name.

That same deep concern that she’s heard from him too many times, always knowing when something wasn’t right, when he could see that she wasn’t okay.

She closed her eyes and her chest heaved with a cry she just couldn’t keep in.

Eddie was there between one second and the next, his arms around her shoulders, hiding her away in his arms and he so quietly soothed her, his fingers from one hand digging into the hair at the back of her neck. Her own fingers went slack and she distantly heard her bags hit the ground at their feet. Her arms went weakly up to his back, her whole body shaking with her sobs. She was shattering, from all the tiny cracks that she had withstood for so many years. One final crack and it was too much.

"Hey, hey, Chrissy, shh, sweatheart. It’s okay, it’s okay,” Eddie was whispering to her, and it felt like a balm to every broken piece of her. The pain was still there, and she knew it would be there for a long time, but just the presence of him, the feel of him…it took the fear away. She was able to grieve without the sick gnawing grip of fear.

She had felt that grip the entire walk to his home. The unknown of his reaction to her showing up unannounced at 9 at night on a Tuesday. As that fear slipped from her like a sheet to the ground, she knew that it was unfounded. He would always welcome her, she was silly to forget that. Pain is a greedy thing; it hides away all the good so that all that is left is the pain. It casts up shadows where there should be none and creates doubt in the things that should never be doubted.

Like Eddie's care for her.

It has no shadows, it has no hard edges. It’s pure and smooth and wonderful, and it has been fresh air to her suffocated and damaged lungs.

He let her cry herself dry, till there was just small hiccups breaking up the quiet air. Eddie was swaying them slightly from side to side, his arms never loosing their grip. Chrissy pressed her forehead to the center of his chest as she took a deep, cleansing breath.

Eddie finally pulled back just far enough so that he could put his hands on her face, checking her over for any visible sign of hurt.

“You need to tell me what happened, whose legs do I need to break?” Eddie asked and it made Chrissy laugh. It was a joke she knew, but the look on his face said that the feeling behind it wasn’t entirely a lie.

She sobered quickly though when she thought about the answer.

“She finally kicked me out, Eddie,” she said. That was really all she needed to say. Eddie knew the rest of the story. He’d been there for all of it.

After Eddie found her in the Upside Down, after almost dying to Vecna, Chrissy’s life took a whole new shape in front of her. Going through hell and coming out on the other side and knowing that the only reason she had been drug there to begin with was because of her mother, and everything she had been putting her through her whole high-school life; she wanted it to end. The iron clad control she had over Chrissy, it was going to end.

Vecna had saw it all, fed off of it, and it had almost killed her. And for the first time Chrissy was ready to say no. She was ready to look her mother, her very own living breathing demon, in the eye and say no.

She’s done diminishing herself to please her un-pleasable mother. She’s done starving, she’s done being walked on, she’s done taking less in every facet of her life just so others can have more.

Jason was the first thing she purged.

Once back on solid ground, the others had told her what had been going on. Lucas had explain in full detail how Jason had lost his mind, and the whole town with him. Believing in his witch hunt for Eddie and ready to kill at first sight. It had turned her stomach in a rotten way, and more so when she realized she wasn’t as shocked as she probably should have been.

Chrissy hadn’t let go of Eddie since he found her tied up in the twisted version of the Creel house. His hands were gentle and his voice almost reverent since he first saw her there.

After Vecna had gotten into Nancy’s mind, she had told the group that he had shown her his plan, that the three taken were still alive. Eddie didn’t really believe her until he had seen Chrissy with his own eyes.

She can still feel the almost desperate and raw relief she had felt at seeing Eddie’s face, can still feel the burning tears on her face as she called out to him as he pulled her away from the creeping vines that had held her tight for what felt like years. How he held her so close and cried with her. Her heart had felt tied to him in that moment and it hadn’t changed since.

There was no going back to the life she had before that.

After every pain staking moment and decision and life saving testimony from the three that were taken to clear Eddie’s name, the whole town felt different. She could see people’s true colors now. See how bias so many people were, how quick they were to point fingers at the less fortunate, the weird.

Jason was the first straw that broke her tie to her mother.

And then stepping down as head cheerleader.

Every action she took sent her mother into an abusive spin. Demanding she be obeyed, that Chrissy take back Jason, that she tell the coach she wasn’t thinking straight when she stepped down. To apologize and grovel before her for her outrageous behaviour.

But Chrissy wouldn’t do it. Not any of it.

So she was punished, stowed away in her room, and left without meals. Met with nothing but iciness from her mother and a guilty look from her father. He never came to her rescue, he never spoke up, never dared go against his wife and it did nothing but leave a bitter taste in Chissy's mouth.

She was always left to fend for herself in the face of her mothers vileness. She was done with that too. She confronted her father once, shortly before her final exit of the house.

Chrissy wanted to know how he could stand by and watch as she nearly withered away.

He couldn’t really answer her, and Chrissy felt like that hurt her the most.

He didn’t come to find her when she was kicked out. Didn’t stop her as the door closed at her back.

She lost both of her parents that night.

————

Chrissy was frozen to the spot, feeling helpless as she watched her dad get out of the car, his eyes sweeping quickly over the scene and never quite landing on her. This was the first time she saw him in weeks. The last time from across the street as her and Eddie were driving to school. He’d seen her then, his face shocked and then sad before Chrissy turned away, not wanting to see it.

And now here he was. Standing on the lawn of the place she called home.

Chrissy lost all thought, couldn’t think of a single word. Everything just went blank. She was distantly aware of the music fading away, and she felt a brush at her back left shoulder and knew that it was Eddie.

Tom closed the drivers door quietly and made his way to Chrissy. She had a moment of terror at the thought of her mother climbing out of the passengers side, but she never appeared.

Her father put his hands in his pockets as he came to a stop a distance from her. Wayne stood from his chair and spoke up.

“This okay?” he asked and Chrissy didn’t know how to answer. It really wasn’t okay. She wasn’t prepared for this, she never pictured him here, never hoped for him to reach out.

Chrissy felt her mouth open on instinct but no sound came.

Eddie stepped around her and stood just a hair in front of her to the side. She noticed he was now wearing a shirt, still damp from the wash.

“Was there something you needed?” he directed towards Tom. Not unkind but not inviting either.

Chrissy held her breath waiting for the answer.

He finally met her eyes. He had been carefully avoiding her gaze, sweeping over the trailer, the laundry, the men at her back. But now his eyes settled on her and Chrissy`s own stung from the horrible tears that threatened.

He took a deep breath and finally said, “I thought…that we could talk.”

We never talk, Chrissy’s mind spoke up.

She looked over at Eddie and then Wayne. Their visible support was so clear to her, the tone just their posture gave off. She had no reason to fear her father and his presence. The Munson's were there for her.

“You go on inside. We need to finish up the laundry out here anyways,” Wayne said softly and with a side-eye to Tom. “You just holler if you need anything.” A clear warning to Tom that his visit could be cut short in a second.

Chrissy nodded, feeling almost numb as she took a step towards the trailer door. Eddie grabbed her hand before she got too far, facing her head on and looking at her with a tilted down head. He was asking if she was okay, she could see it painted on his face.

“It’ll be okay,” she whispered to him, not feeling the words at all, but wanting to reassure him anyways.

“Okay,” he whispered back, concern in his eyes, clearly not believing her but letting her make the decision. He always lets her make the decision. He never chooses for her, he never assumes. That’s what she loves about him, how truly free he makes her feel. She's never been free before.

Chrissy squeezed his hand once and turned back around with a tiny speck of confidence that wasn’t there before. This is my choice, she thought.

She went up the steps and into the trailer, hearing her father behind, and the soft click shut of the door. She went to stand by the table, crossing her arms in comfort and turning to look at him.

Tom was looking around in clear wonder. The living-room with fishing magazines on the coffee table mixed in with homework. The kitchen table with three placemats, and the clean counter tops that she insists remain that way. She needles Eddie when she catches him leaving dishes there.

The room smelled of the fresh laundry from that morning.

She wonders if her father can see the difference between this place and her family home. If he can feel how different it is here; happy and safe and so much better. She would choose this tiny trailer over and over again given the choice.

Chrissy waited.

Looking at her father here in her space, in the place that was so freely given to her in safety, added to that small confidence that was now growing the longer she looked at him. This was hers and no one could take it away except the two men that gave it to her in the first place and she knew without any doubt that they never would.

Not like her mother did. Not like her father, who stood and watched it happen.

Chrissy stood taller as her father looked back at her.

“So, this is…this is where you live?” he asked, sweeping his gaze around the room before coming back to her.

Chrissy took a calming breath and found her voice again. “Yes,” she said. She wasn’t giving him more than what he asks for. Why would she?

Tom nodded his head and put his hands back in his pockets, looking to the floor and back up again. “And, you’re okay here? With, with them?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Chrissy frowned. Could he really ask that? Could he really care after all this time?

“Are you asking if I’m safe?” Chrissy retorted. “After what, almost two months of me being gone? You ask that now?”

The sick feeling was back in her stomach. She hadn’t missed it one bit, but it was there again. Just like when she was back in the home he shared with her mother. Where nothing felt right, and it was always a struggle just to get through a day. She didn’t want this, this feeling wasn’t welcome here. This was her safety and sickness had no place here.

“Why are you here?” she asked. She didn’t think holding her tongue would work anymore. She wanted this to be over.

Tom looked almost confused at her questioning, at her brash reply to him. “I wanted to see you, Chrissy. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I wasn’t even sure where you were, I had to ask around about that boy out there.”

That boy.

Chrissy’s heart was pounding now and she desperately pushed down the sick in her throat. “That boy saved my life. That boy took me in when my own parents kicked me out,” she raised her voice.

“Your mother,” her father tried to say.

“No. Don’t finish that sentence. Mother may have said the words, but you stood there and watched it happen, you let her say it and you watched me walk out that door. You’re my dad,” she cried. “You’re suppose to keep me safe, you’re suppose to be there!” Chrissy said, her breath coming quicker with every second. These are the things she has been tucking away inside of her for years. These hidden things that could never be said. But she’s not that girl anymore. She not under anyone’s thumb anymore.

"You were never there for me. And you come here? After months and dare to question Wayne? And Eddie?” She wiped her cheek, not even realizing she had started crying till she felt it at her chin. “I came here after I was kicked out and they took me in. They made sure I was okay. They gave up part of their space and life so that I could be here! And they’ve never complained, they’ve never made me feel unwelcome and wrong.”

The memory of her first night there shot across her mind; how Eddie had brought her inside, tucking her under his arm, how Wayne immediately asked what was wrong. How he went and tried to make her tea before realizing that they didn’t have any and apologizing for it. She had smiled through her tears and said that it was alright. He got her a glass of water instead and it was the nicest thing he could have done for her in that moment. She cradled that glass in her hands like it was something to treasure.

She couldn’t remember the last time her own father did something like that for her.

Tom rubbed at his mouth, one hand going to his hip as he turned away from her. “Chrissy,” he tried after a minute. “I wanted to try to bring you home,” he said quietly, looking at her again, his eyes glossy.

Chrissy shook her head. She felt sorry for him in that moment, with how lost he looked.

“I am home,” she stated firmly. “I never want to go back to that house again, dad. I never want to feel the way I did every single day of my life, like I did in that house.”

Tom was shaking his head in a sad way, his eyes shut. “Chrissy,” he said, “honey, I’m…” But he couldn’t even finish. There were tears on his face now, and Chrissy wished that she could hug him. But that wasn’t the world they lived in. The relationship she had with her father was just as broken as the one with her mother, just in a different way. Maybe someday, she thought. A lot of things would have to be different…but maybe.

Maybe someday he’ll be able to say it. Maybe someday she’ll be able to believe it. It just wasn’t today.

Chrissy sighed, and lowered her arms to her sides. She really looked at he father then. Took in the defeated stance, the deep lines of sorrow on his face, and the ruffled lay of his hair.

Hopefully someday, she thought.

“I don’t want to talk anymore,” she said softly, not unkind.

He nodded, still looking down. She let him take a moment to gather himself again, straighten and clear his face.

“Can I come see you again? If that’s alright,” he asked in earnest.

Chrissy thought about it, and nodded. “Maybe. It’d be best if you called first,” she replied, setting a boundary.

“I can do that,” he said, nodding and trying to smile. He didn’t quite make it.

Chrissy walked around him and opened up the door. Still barefoot, she walked down the steps to the grass and waited for her father to follow. He made his way back to his car and opened the door. Looking back at her he asked, “The number?”

Chrissy looked over her shoulder to where Eddie and Wayne were trying to look like they weren’t paying attention, and smiled.

The sick feeling was gone, and the warmth in her chest was back. Family, her mind whispered.

“It’s in the phonebook,” she said back to her father, still looking at the two fiddling with laundry. If her father wanted to be in her life, he would have to work for it.

“It's under Munson.”

My family.

#chrissy cunningham #eddie munson #eddie x chrissy #chrissy cunningham/eddie munson #hellcheer #eddissy #stranger things fanfiction #my writing #FOUND FAMILY

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merelywren · 2 years

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😔💚🖤

Eddie + Chrissy, Hellcheer, Eddissy, what-have-you:

The thing that draws us into this pairing is more than just two people who are attractive and well-matched. It goes deeper than we realize. These are people who have suffered in silence. Been pigeonholed. Labeled. A bad boy and good girl trope, at first glance. But it’s so much more. The bad boy, who isn’t bad, but has endured poor circumstances. And a good girl, who yes is good, but not in the way that you think. She has to endure this goodness for the sake of others. Both hiding parts of themselves, both unsure if they will ever be truly accepted.

They find solace in each other in a quiet moment, both seeing who they truly are in a few exchanged words. And in these brief moment we see two people who could end up sharing a world on their own. Being completely at ease with being the themselves. They are now sharing a space with someone who accepts them. The real them. Someone who wants the best for them, someone who wants to see them happy.

True love isn’t selfish, it gives more than it takes. If you have two people willing to give what the other needs, it’s balanced. True love is wanting the other person to feel safe, to feel trusted and secure.

What we saw with Eddie and Chrissy wasn’t just a good ship, we witnessed true love blossoming between two people. And the fact that it was there and taken away so quickly is what hurts the most.

Joseph and Grace gave us something we don’t see too often in fiction, and that’s why we have clung to these characters. And that’s also why I’m sad.

Thank god for fanfiction. And thank you every single AO3 writer who writes these characters so beautifully, I’m less sad because of you all. 🥹

#so true #we were watching love grow #in just a few minutes #eddie munson #chrissy cunningham #eddie x chrissy #eddissy #hellcheer #chrissy x eddie

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merelywren · 2 years

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i just think they should have gotten to hold each other <3

#eddie munson #chrissy cunningham #eddissy #hellcheer #chrissy x eddie #eddie x chrissy

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merelywren · 2 years

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😔💚🖤

(insp.)

#my loves #eddie munson #jason carver #hellcheer #eddissy #chrissy x eddie #eddie x chrissy

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merelywren · 2 years

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😂

Another day in the Office

#LOL

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merelywren · 2 years

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Bless you Grace Van Dien and E! News.

🤘🤘

#grace van dien #OUR QUEEN #e news #e! news #hellcheer #eddissy #eddie/chrissy #chrissy x eddie #eddie x chrissy

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merelywren · 2 years

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Oh my gosh! 😭

Daisy May

Pop-pop Wayne

This makes my heart hurt in such a good way. 💚🖤

(And you can tag me all day long in your fics @boomhauer :))

Just Like A Dream

Summary: Chrissy takes her baby to see Corroded Coffin

Based on a request from @ausllyforeverfan

Word count: 2.1k

Feedback much appreciated.

————————————————————

June, 1989

The Hideout had improved significantly over the last few years. Once Hawkins had started to be rebuilt, the owner filed an insurance claim that panned out massively in his favor.

Chrissy sat towards the back of the patio surrounded by eager Corroded Coffin fans. The biggest fan sat on Chrissy’s lap, drooling and trying to chew on her own thumb.

“What are you doin’, booger butt?” Wayne cooed, pinching little Daisy’s cheeks. He kissed Chrissy on the head before taking a seat at their table. “Nice to see you, darlin’.”

“Hey, Pop-pop,” Chrissy replied. She handed little Daisy over to Wayne and watched as she tried to tug at his scruffy beard.

Suddenly, the crowd started screaming and clapping as Eddie Munson came skipping onto the stage. His long hair already damp from the heat of the summer. “WHAT’S UP HAWKINS?!” he yelled. The crowd roared in response and started to holler along as Eddie slammed the opening riff of his song Impediment.

Chrissy watched as her husband sang, or yelled rather, into the microphone. If someone had told her 3 years ago that she would be Mrs. Eddie Munson and mother to Daisy May Munson, she would have suggested that person be checked for a brain tumor. Yet here she was, watching Eddie swing his beautiful dark hair around as he entertained the crowd of cheering fans.

It had been difficult at first. Most of the town still believed Eddie had tried to kill Chrissy and was responsible for the other murders that occurred, so when Chrissy woke from her coma and started dating Eddie people assumed that she was under some satanic spell. Even her own parents tried to intervene and put her in a mental hospital for evaluation. Eddie waited for her outside the facility after her 72 hour hold and jokingly bought her a pair of white shoelaces since hers had been confiscated.

Wayne almost killed himself trying to prove Eddie’s innocence. He hired a top tier lawyer from Chicago to fight his case and had been drilling himself into the ground trying to pay him off ever since. Though the lawyer cleared Eddie’s name legally, the town was still skeptical.

Chrissy wanted to run. She wanted to run away from this godforsaken town and never look back. Eddie and Wayne on the other hand, insisted that if they took off, that it would prove the town right about all their assumptions.

So they stayed. They stayed and built a life together. Her parents ultimately cut her off when she made it clear that she wouldn’t give him up. And that was okay. Wayne and the freshies (who had now graduated themselves) became her family. When she found out she was pregnant with Daisy, she was afraid Eddie would be scared or upset, but he wasn’t. He and Wayne both were over the moon, instantly building a crib and constructing a high chair for the baby.

Eddie worked nights with Wayne at the plant until they could save enough to move into their own trailer. Eddie wasn’t pleased with it and wanted to work until he could get a house on Cherry street at least, but Chrissy would have been fine anywhere with him.

Corroded Coffin was still his dream, and Chrissy did what she could to support him. With thrash metal’s growing popularity over the years, so did Corroded Coffin’s. This was the first show of a 2 week tour to 6 cities. Eddie was ecstatic to be going on tour, but he didn’t want to leave his family.

Eddie continued to thrash about on stage, captivating the audience with his spectacular showmanship. It was amazing to see that the same friends he had in high school stuck with him through all the bullshit and still kept the band together.

“He always had a knack for the theatrics,” Chrissy giggled.

“You hear that, Munchkin? Your dad is a real twerp,” Wayne hollered over the music.

Daisy drooled happily as her brown eyes, identical to Eddie’s, gleamed.

“Alright, alright. Time to change it up a little,” Eddie announced into the microphone. “Dedicated to my love, Chrissy, and our beautiful baby girl Daisy!”

Even though he ended every show that way, whether they were in the crowd or not, Chrissy couldn’t help but from a mile wide whenever the opening riff of The Cure’s Just Like Heaven rang through the crowd. The song used to drive Eddie nuts, not fitting into his heavy metal repertoire, but after Chrissy listened to it two hundred times, he got used to it. Even liked it a little. It took a while before he started humming, until he went full blown Risky Business whenever it was playing.

"Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick

The one that makes me scream" she said

"The one that makes me laugh" she said

And threw her arms around my neck

Show me how you do it

And I promise you I promise that

I'll run away with you

Spinning on that dizzy edge

I kissed her face and kissed her head

And dreamed of all the different ways I had

To make her glow

Why are you so far away, she said

Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you

That I'm in love with you

You

Soft and only

You

Lost and lonely

You

Strange as angels

Dancing in the deepest oceans

Twisting in the water

You're just like a dream

Daylight licked me into shape

I must have been asleep for days

And moving lips to breathe her name

I opened up my eyes

And found myself alone, alone

Alone above a raging sea

That stole the only girl I loved

And drowned her deep inside of me

You

Soft and lonely

You

Lost and lonely

You

Just like heaven”

“Goodnight, Hawkins!” Eddie yelled as the outdoor stage went black.

“That song was for you, baby!” Chrissy cooed, wrapping her finger in the baby’s soft brown curls.

Eddie jogged over to them, drenched in sweat. Chrissy grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a deep kiss.

“Aw come on babe, I’m sweaty,” he whined, trying to back away from her.

Chrissy wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his ear. “I like it,” she whispered seductively.

“Careful now, or Daisy is gonna get herself a sibling,” Eddie chuckled. Chrissy let him go and continued to grin as Eddie picked up his mini-me and spun her around. “There’s my little angel!”

She could never tire of seeing her husband and her baby ogling at each other with their matching brown eyes. There was so much love between them that it sometimes hurt her chest. She didn’t think she could love anyone as much as she loved them.

“What do you think, Daisy May? Do you want a little sissy? Or a buba?” Eddie asked the giggling one year old. “What about a Guinea pig? Or you know, I always wanted a sna—“

“She’s getting a little sister in January,” Chrissy announced happily. “Or brother. It’s too soon to tell.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped in shock. “No way!” he exclaimed with tears glossing his eyes.

He pulled Chrissy into a tight hug, peppering kisses all over her face. Chrissy couldn’t be happier, sandwiched between her husband, baby daughter, and the plus one soon to be.

————————————————————

The hellcheer homies:

@klauscarolove @merelywren @dreamleveille @youngandidle @ausllyforeverfan

((If you don’t want a tag on future work Just lmk))

#LOVE #SO MUCH LOVE #hellcheer #eddie/chrissy #eddie x chrissy #chrissy x eddie #this is a future they deserved #eddissy

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