Chapter Text
Chrissy is half-starved by the time her mother allows her to eat Sunday morning.
Thankfully her brother Timmy snuck her some leftover carrots from dinner, but she still needed to eat.
Her father just looks at her with his sad eyes and Chrissy wonders now more than ever if he and her mother are truly happy as soulmates.
The book never specified that soulmates need to love each other in someway, just that they were made too.
She eats and ignores her mother’s tuts about, Chew more gracefully, no one wants to hear you, what would Jason think if you were at a dinner?
She just barely stops herself from shouting that Jason is not her soulmate when the doorbell rings.
Timmy answers it and yells back, “Chrissy it’s Jason!”
Speak of the Devil.
She is not in the mood to see him, but knows that she can’t ignore him after Friday night.
She looks to her mother for approval to go out and receives a curt nod.
“If it’s your soulmate, I guess it can’t be helped.”
She feels the bile rise at the wrongness but fakes a smile.
She kisses her father’s cheek, hearing a quiet, “I’m sorry,” before she ruffles Timmy’s hair and walks out the door to Jason.
She’s making things awkward, but how can she not? She knows the truth and doesn’t want to play pretend anymore.
“Chrissy what happened to you Friday night? I was missing my best girl!”
Jason whines as they drive in his convertible.
She just looks ahead and fights the urge to push off his hand from her knee.
Was he always his possessive?
"Oh, you know me Jason. I just get so tired after a game. I just went home.”
She hopes he can’t sense her nerves. He hmms and pulls into the Family Video parking lot but doesn’t unlock the car.
“Jason, aren’t we going in?” She asks, looking at him now concern in her voice.
“We are don’t worry, I just wanted to be with you for a sec.” He turns to look at her and just stares.
“Um Jason?” Worry clear in her voice now.
“Chrissy, why did Patrick see you get into that Freak’s van Friday night?”
He spits the words and Chrissy rakes her mind for something to say.
“I-we, nothing happened.”
Lies of course, but this Jason was beginning to scare her.
“No of course not. Because you’re my soulmate, Chrissy. You’re MINE.”
He’s grabbing her shoulders now, teeth bared.
“Jason, you’re hurting me.”
Her voice is so small, and she tries to find anyway to escape.
He must realize that his nails are digging in and releases his grip, laughing.
“Oh Chrissy, It’s not you that I’m worried about. It’s him.”
Jason’s eyes are filled with such emotion that she doesn’t want to place it.
“Jason, nothing happened.”
I just rode his thigh, came on his jeans, oh! And his initials are right over my pubic bone, but nothing happened!
He looks like he knows she’s lying, so she takes a chance.
“Jason, do you feel anything when you’re with me?”
The question startles him and he blinks wildly.
“What? Chrissy, I feel my overwhelming love for you.”
She guffaws, such an ugly sound Chrissy, dear, “No, I mean.”
She takes a breath, “Do you feel anything with your soulmarks when you’re with me.”
Jason continues to look confused, but she catches a brief note of guilt in his eyes.
So, he is lying.
“Chrissy, you’re my soulmate. We’ve been dating since 8th grade! We have each others initials on our skin!”
He flexes his bicep and she can see the C.C. dance across it.
“Jason, is that real?”
She’s never questioned him before, about anything.
He looks at her shocked, “What?”
His face paling. She continues to look back from his arm to his face, waiting.
Jason’s eyes narrow, “What has that burnout told you?”
It’s her turn to be confused now.
“Huh? Why would Eddie know anything about that?”
She can see the red in his neck, “Oh, on a first name basis now?”
Chrissy can tell that he’s about to snap, but she doesn’t know how to diffuse the situation. She steadies herself and with steel in her eyes.
“Yes, we’re on a first name basis.”
The smile Jason gives her is something that would haunt her, feral and cruel. Before he says anything there’s a loud knock on the window.
“Hey yo. We need you to come in or drive off.” A girl that Chrissy recognizes from school but can’t recall her name.
Some bird I think?
The girl gives a look that surprisingly works with Jason and he unlocks the doors.
“I guess we’ll go.”
Chrissy is still working with the adrenalin. “Jason, I’m not leaving with you.”
He looks at her gobsmacked and she continues.
“I know I’m not your soulmate, but even if I am.”
She takes a deep inhale, shoulders back. “I’m not yours.”
She readies herself but he just laughs.
“Oh Chrissy.” He plays with her gold ’86 necklace he gave her at the beginning of the year. “You will always belong to me.”
She pulls aways and jumps out of the car. Grabbing the taller girl’s arm and runs into Family Video, leaving Jason to drive off alone.
“Whoa, speed demon! What’s that about?”
Chrissy works to catch her breath when someone says, “Robin, why is Chrissy Cunningham shaking behind the counter?”
She turns and sees Steve Harrington.
Her eyes wide. “Oh!”
Steve looked just as good, if not better than he did in school. There was a reason why he was THE crush for girls, and some guys too.
“Stop staring at her dingus, I think she and Mr. Basketball just broke up.”
The tall girl, Robin, stage whispers.
Chrissy looks between them and their strange looks almost like they can read each others’ minds.
She laughs hysterically and both Robin and Steve stare at her with more concern.
Not knowing what to do, Steve grabs her a Coke from the back and Robin just pats her back awkwardly.
“Steve, I think she’s lost it.”
Steve shushes her and just asks “Are you okay?”
She’s surprised to find that she answers honestly. “Yes, never better.”
Chrissy smiles at both of them, bright and warm. They both share identical looks of shock and she laughs again.
“You guys are so in sync, it’s too funny!”
They do that mind reading thing and then show her their ankles.
Steve’s has R.B. on his left and Robin has S.H. on her right.
She puts her hands to her mouth.
They’re soul mates? But doesn’t Steve still date around? And Robin...
She doesn’t continue her thoughts but has heard some rumors. Robin’s the one who speaks first.
“Uh yeah, me and Captain Hair are soulmates, but not like that you know?”
Steve look offended at the nickname but adds on, “That’s why we just get each other.”
He does a little hand motion between himself and Robin.
“I couldn’t imagine dating her, but I can’t imagine my life without her.”
Robin shoves Steve playfully and looks at Chrissy.
“I’m guessing that Prom King isn’t your soulmate then?”
Chrissy shakes her head, “Um no, he’s not.”
She’s not really ready to provide that information no matter how welcoming both of them are.
“Well probably for the best. He seems like a complete wacko.”
Robin says and Steve smacks his head. “Do you ever have a filter?”
She just smiles sweetly and replies, “You know I don’t.”
They continue to bicker as Chrissy actually takes the Coke Steve had offered previously. Her first sip tastes like freedom.