Chapter Text
Your heart was leaping up into your throat, thumping the blood through your head but somehow you still couldn’t seem to breathe. Rigid heaps for air ached your chest raw, but no oxygen made it far enough to banish the numbness out of your limbs. The world went into a blur of dark shades smothering, fully shattering into unreachable pieces.
You lost your grip for a second, blinking so hard against the tears until you thought you’d explode. The scene kept repeating in your head like an ongoing inescapable nightmare, a sick joke. You just kept telling yourself you were fine, everything was going to be okay.
Chrissy was okay.
Your feet were restless and drummed against the front of the car, hands clamming with a sticky layer. Chrissy, her disfigured body, that expression. You counted your breaths, the immediate sense of dread causing you to clench your eyes and shake your head. Mumbling soft reassuring words.
She was fine.
The engine was excruciatingly loud, rattling through your body with an unwelcome rhythm. A metallic taste brushed your tongue, too occupied with trying to get yourself back under control to care. The pain pulsing in your leg was nauseating. A hand travelled up and tangled in your hair, the other rubbing over the damp fabric of your shirt where your heart throbbed with enough force to knock you out. What was going on?
You sat there for minutes maybe before shifting up and daring a glimpse to your side where the stranger sat. His eyes were averted, almost paralyzed forward but their deep brown juggled with the same amount of terror as yours. His nose twitched as he sucked in laborious breaths as though he had to remind himself to keep doing that in order to stay conscious. For a second, you couldn’t even remember his name, “Eddie.”
The word came out so bristly but nevertheless hung between the both of you with an aching weight. You wanted to scream for him to turn around, get Chrissy help. Ask him what had happened, how it got this far. Blame him for doing this to her, pound your fists into his rib cage, but deep down you knew he didn’t. No one could do this to another person.
Only then you noticed that you were crying, with glistening tears washing down your heated cheeks. Eddie’s eyelids fluttered, unclenching his strained whitened knuckles from the steering wheel only to grab it even harder.
You stilled, unable to say anything. It felt like you forgot how to think properly, speak and even act. Chrissy, she- another tortured whine came off your lips as you pushed your head into the seat with both your hands over your eyes. The panic was endless and somehow you could just feel, you just knew that this was inescapable.
One of your hands was peeled away, blinking towards the boy to your side who had reached for it without moving another muscle. As if he didn’t even know he was doing it. And you let him.
Both your fingers and his were stiff and shaking but tangled with each other desperately, calming a little in quiet because he was still warm, there, alive.
The concept of time left you right there, trapped in the horrific scene of your dead friend. And in your agony, the fact that he was there was the only thing keeping you the least bit sane.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ
AN HOUR BEFORE
“Thank you,” Chrissy had lost all of her previous enthusiasm and that known smile which she carried almost everywhere. God, it pained you to see her like this. Slumped shoulders, dark circles and a crack to her shine which made you want to hug her so dearly.
Something had been going on with her for weeks, starting with minor incidents which she brushed off as exhaustion or stress but eventually when she called you crying in the middle of the night, you could finally persuade her enough to tell you about her increasing night terrors and anxiety. You made her speak to the counselor but that was where she drew the line. Chrissy didn’t want to speak to her friends, not tell her boyfriend and just continued on like nothing was wrong.
She promised you it’d only last until spring break, everything would be fine after. She would look after herself, that was what you made her promise to you.
But when she came up to you and asked you to come along while she took some drugs from Eddie Munson, who you disliked with a passion, you almost lost your shit.
Chrissy had told you she was getting better, but obviously she had been lying to you. And you couldn’t even blame her for it, even if you wanted to. The moment she had asked you, you knew how ashamed she was with her feet curled in and eyes to the ground. It made you sick to see her like that. What could you have said, ‘no’?
After all, she was still your friend and you wouldn’t let her go alone with a stranger as she took drugs. The least you could do was look after her.
In retrospect, you should have never done it. You should have convinced her otherwise, told her to talk about it without digging herself into an addiction. But in that moment, Chrissy had been so determined, you were practically helpless.
You slid your arm around her shoulders with a thin smile, “You’re welcome.”
She was slightly shivering in her short cheerleader uniform, skin wet with cooled sweat. God, you even came to the game for her to be reassured that you were there.
The two of you strode between the parting crowds of people, navigating towards the parking lot of the school. In the distance you caught a glimpse at him, leaning on his car with a manic grin pulling his cheeks. You frowned, wondering why he was even at school. To your knowledge, he was the furthest from interested in sports, not even to speak of the school team. You brushed your curiosity aside as you reached him, Eddie peaking up to look at you.
A denim jacket framed his narrow torso, exposing a peak at the underlying Hellfire shirt of which the lack would have confused you. He wore it nearly every time you paid half a mind to him, the black ripped jeans concluding his usual charisma. His long hair was voluminous, finding yourself with a little jealousy as it looked so wonderful. You shook it off and raised your chin a bit.
His mouth slid shut to hide his teeth, but from the showing dimples you could still see that his smile stayed, “You guys ready?”
Chrissy hitched at your side and suddenly she felt really small. Something made you want to put a hand in front of Eddie to keep him at distance and walk away with her, then she spoke up, “We’re ready.”
Eddie glanced down at her, then up at you, “Alright. Follow me.”
You kept a careful hand around her arm, giving her a nod before entering the back of the van (there were only two spots in the front), giving it a narrow examination.
“Uh, usually I don’t take people,” Eddie explained, watching you through the rear view, “please don’t mind the mess.”
The clattering stuff could barely be considered a mess and more like total chaos, but you couldn’t blame him for it. You picked up a smell of faded weed, the breeze picking up through the opened windows.
What you were still cautious of wasn’t the stuff around, but the boy in the front who tried engaging a stuck up Chrissy in a conversation, seeming like he wasn’t that good at either. The attempt to make her comfortable nudged a little smile on your lips. Before you knew it, you reached the home and the car stopped.
As you got out and looked around the trailer park, it felt vaguely familiar for some reason. Chrissy called after you, rubbing a hand over your cold arm before following them.
“This is, uh, my castle.” Eddie held the door open and you stopped at the threshold for a moment, giving him a long look before following after Chrissy.
He blinked, then came after too and let the door fall shut.
You took a look around, warmed by the stuffy air which was weirdly soothing. It was perhaps a little small, but cozy. Things laid around everywhere but it was far less worse from what you would have expected from him.
Chrissy and Eddie were talking distantly as you walked further until you heard her say, “How long does it take to kick in?”
You couldn’t look at her sorrowful expression when Eddie excused himself and she added, “The special K, how long does it take to kick in?”
He went back to rummaging through a cupboard, “Well, depends if you snort it or not. If you do, well, it’ll kick in pretty quick.”
“Don’t snort it,” you interrupted, both their eyes flinging to you, “Hurts like a bitch. Also gives you nosebleeds if you do it for the first time.”
Chrissy nodded hesitantly after a few seconds with a puzzled look while Eddie laughed a short note, impressed, “She’s right, yeah. We can do it other ways.”
She nodded again and you watched her turn back around to admire the wall decor in the living room. Meanwhile Eddie went off into another room to search.
You took the chance to walk over to your friend, tapping her shoulder lightly, “Hey,” you muttered and she nearly flinched, “there’s still a chance to back out.”
“N-No, I want to do this.” she shook her head and after realizing how unconvincing she sounded, she took a breath and tried again, “I do, y/n.”
You looked between her eyes before rubbing her shoulder and smiling, “Okay.”
Chrissy went back to look around as you dared to walk after Eddie who had disappeared in a room to the left. Slowly, you advanced forward through the creaking hall before spotting his mullet in the corner of your eye, “Need help with anything?”
Eddie was crouching on the ground and digging through a drawer when peaking a glance at you over his shoulder, sighing, “It should be around here somewhere. I just don’t know where I left it.”
You nodded even if he couldn’t see it and took a flash through the room which must have been his, by the looks of it. It was plastered with posters of metal bands, and different lights forming a dim atmosphere, “It’s fine if you don’t have it.” you hummed a little as you stepped forward towards the electric guitar hanging in front of the mirror.
“I do have it,” he got back up and carefully slid past you, his hands grazing your hips slightly. Eddie started searching the other side of the room, “I just wasn’t prepared for people to come over.”
You were still all eyes for the guitar and didn’t even notice when he slowed before completely turning and watched you.
You held yourself back from running the tip of a finger over the colorful deep red body, refraining from doing so to respect his privacy. If someone touched any of your cherished albums, you’d probably go rigid. Still, it was very tempting to perform a few notes for the fun of it.
Eddie cocked his head to the side, his tongue running over his teeth before smiling, “Do you play?”
He startled you badly enough to retreat a small distance as he was standing up next to you, “Sadly not, but she’s very beautiful.”
Eddie’s eyes lit as if you had just said something indescribable, somehow smiling even wider, “She is. If you want to, I can show you how to play sometime, it could be fun.”
The confusion which sat in your expression was too blatant to disguise, surprised with his awkward kindness.
Now you were the one smiling, feeling the ice melt a little, “That’d be nice.”
Both of you remained in that position for a bit and it didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable. He truly wasn’t what you expected, even if your mind had brimmed with the worst case scenarios ever since Chrissy had asked you to come along. But this, him, you found yourself actually starting to like him.
You slipped a glance down, unsure if you wanted to bring it up now that you had the chance to. Eddie stood there and waited for you to talk, “Hey, um, the stuff you’re giving her.” you had no idea how to articulate your thoughts properly, “I just want her to be alright.”
It was not your place to tell him of Chrissy’s struggles and there could have been no way you could do that to her. But you needed him to understand, somehow, that she couldn’t go down that path or get worse.
He nodded, first vaguely and then more clear, “Yeah, yeah of course. I wouldn’t give anyone anything if I knew they couldn’t take it. Not to people I care about at least.” he smiled very lightly, “She can be very grateful to have a friend like you.”
You looked up, uncertain if he was being sarcastic or not but after a second of examining his expression, it felt more genuine than anything, “Thank you.”
“Guys!” Chrissy called and caused you to jerk around towards the voice.
“We’re still looking!” you said, cleared your throat and faced Eddie again but only for so long as you could stand before taking another pretentious look around, “Do you have it?”
For a second he looked like he didn’t understand, then walked right out of the room into the next, “It should be in the bathroom, but feel free to take another look around in there.“ he shouted from a distance.
You exhaled weirdly, unsure where your nervousness came from all of a sudden. Paying no thought to it, or at least attempting to, you returned to admiring how much this room reflected Eddie himself. Hints of a wooden smell tingled around your nose, the walls leaving barely any space to show the yellow wallpaper beneath. Some of the posters were ones which you knew to be extremely rare and expensive, wondering how much he spent on them. You’d do a lot for that one particular Black Sabbath one which hung right above his bed.
It was the kind of room which you could spend forever in without getting bored, but not without going insane. If that even made sense.
You had started reaching towards a picture on the bedside table when a light started to flicker barely, then another one did.
One after one, as your eyes followed the disrupting illumination, the lamps started going livid. With a frown you took a couple steps back to watch the dance which the light bulbs created, almost looking rather beautiful. It continued to get more intense, your pupils flicking back and forth as they started to ache from the flash.
You reached forward to a particular lamp which exceeded the most light, crouching down to watch it more carefully. When you followed the cord back to the socket, somehow the pluck was just lazily hanging beneath it.
It wasn’t connected to electricity.
An inner alarm called for you to be cautious but you still extended a finger to touch the frantic lightbulb, holding your breath as it sparked.
A sudden shiver crawled down your body and sunk your feet into the ground, the lights going out like fallen soldiers. They died all at once and the heat they had been creating around you vanished as a sour aftertaste on your skin.
The door banged shut, causing you to flinch back. You stood there benumbed on the spot in the stifling darkness for no more than two heartbeats, rushing forward uncoordinated enough to bang your stretched hand into the wooden door. It was an old house and a trailer, of course not everything is going to work perfectly, you distracted your already worrying mind while fumbling for the doorknob.
When you found it and wrapped your fingers around it, you twisted and it made a pleasing klick. Your pulse calmed for a second, anticipating the light of the outside with the next pull.
But the pull didn’t move the door by a singular inch, it didn’t even budge. With the next forceful tug, it seemed to move even less as if something was pushing against it on the other side.
A panicked laughter quivered your lips, “Eddie?” you tried a bunch more times, starting to bang against the door, “Eddie, what’s going on?”
The trailer was so quiet until a violent wave of sounds crashed on top of you, filling your eardrums with voices and screams. By then, you weren’t just pulling at the knob but hit your fist so hard against it you could have just as well punched a hole through it. A million thoughts scrambled and whirled up in your head, fading between your terrified calls for Eddie and Chrissy, “Guys come on this is not fun. Open this door right now. Eddie I swear to fucking God I’ll destroy all of your shit if you don’t let me out!” With the last word, your palm slammed against the closed exit with such force that it reverberated in your skull that thickened with nausea.
“Eddie if you do anything to her I’m killing you, you hear me? Open this fucking door!” The sounds were ineligible, but they certainly picked up the adrenaline coursing in your veins, “Open the fucking door!”
Suddenly light sprung into your vision, holding up your hand to shield your eyes from it. The lamps lit more and more bright, then with another panicked tug the door finally swung open towards you, roughly pulling your arm with it. You couldn’t think clear, hell, didn’t think at all when pushing yourself through the hall and down back towards the living room.
Eddie stood there, opposite Chrissy.
He was yelling at her and that was the only thing which reached through to you, concluding irrationally that you had to pull him away from her, get him as far away from her as possible. Make sure she was safe. Your hand wrapped around his shoulder, nails digging into the denim and pushed him aside harshly to glimpse at your friend.
You almost breathed out in relief that she was okay until you saw that her eyes were fluttering, disarrayed movements exposing the pale of her eyes.
“Chrissy,” you whispered, then a little louder while touching your hand to her cheek. She felt so cold, “Chrissy, hey, can you hear me? Chrissy-“ you snapped around, red furry burning into the world when looking at Eddie. His doe eyes were ripped open wide but the stilled innocence wasn’t fooling you. His kindness shifted, his image which had formed fell apart. He did this to her, “What the fuck did you do.”
He was heaving for air, staying cowered behind you as you went back to trying to get Chrissy to respond to you, “I didn’t do- she just-“
“Don’t fuck with me and fix this! Chrissy please,” you felt tears raise into your eyes as you shook her but even in the state she was in, she was unmovable like stone, “baby, answer me. Snap out of it, I’m getting you home, can you hear me?”
The lights did it again, they went insane all of a sudden. And your voice got louder and faster, growing even more panicked than before. You switched between trying to get Chrissy to answer to you or, God, only give you some sign of life and screaming at Eddie who couldn’t say anything. Hectically you searched for her pulse against her neck, only finding a garbled throb under her clammy skin.
You tried getting her to sit down, working against a weight of tons. This couldn’t be happening. Not when you promised to keep her safe. Suddenly she seemed to grow taller, increase in height and lifting your hands against her up with it. You looked down to the ground, then winced away and lost your hold on her as she lifted off the ground, “Chrissy?”
Her body raced up against the ceiling, erupting the world around you. You crashed against something hard, then to the ground. The pain which coursed up your leg passed by your notice, trying to find something to hold onto at your side. You heard heavy breathing intertwine with your own, paying no attention to Eddie right beside you. Your eyes were motionless, glued to Chrissy at the ceiling, calling out for her desperately.
For a moment nothing happened, then a crack. Her seizing bones snapped one after the other like fragile twigs. You had no idea when you started screaming but your mind felt so hollow that it didn’t even matter. The lights yelled, the sounds of her body dismembering making you want to pass out. Her arms, her jaw, her eyes.
It went quiet, without warning, Chrissy fell victim to gravity again and laid there face down to the ground.
The room curtained entirely in darkness like it had when you were trapped in Eddie’s room. It felt like nothing had happened and the stiff silence was so overwhelming that you wished some kind of terror would seize your body again.
Some of the lights slowly started turning on, presenting the scene of your friend in the middle. The screams died, and you crawled forward with a shaking slow pace towards Chrissy.
You stared down at her body but you weren’t repulsed enough to stop yourself from grazing her hair, “Chrissy.”
She laid still, unresponsive.
“Chrissy, come on.” you muttered, blinking hard.
Something tugged your shoulder and you tried to brush the touch away but it froze like steel. You were pulled away, still softly calling for your friend as you were taken from within her reach.
On weak legs, you were pulled up. Then out of the house. Then into a car.
Faintly you heard the engine start.
You were paralyzed, unable to think or even move. Then it came it all at once.