In a perfect world, Season 4 of Stranger Things would have seen Hellfire Club President Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) graduate before gracing Madison Square Garden with his band Corroded Coffin. He'd do all of this, according to some fans, with Chrissy Cunningham (Grace Van Dien) at his side, cheering him on from the front row. Regrettably, fans know that this is far from the star-crossed fates of these two beloved characters, but sometimes we have to ask ourselves: what if?

In Season 4 of Stranger Things, fans were first introduced to the doomed Chrissy Cunningham, "queen of Hawkins High," at a pep rally. Upon first glance, Chrissy embodies the very essence of every John Hughes Popular Girl archetype. Swathed in a golden high school gym halo, the captain of the basketball team all but proposes to her in front of the student body, and Chrissy doubles down on that effortless 100-watt smile. However, soon after the festivities end, Chrissy's all-American high school stereotype takes a swift plunge, and audiences watched as Stranger Things made the jump from sci-fi to '80s teen horror. Chrissy is being plagued by personal trauma, and something vile is feeding off of that pain.

On the opposite end of the high school hierarchy, Eddie Munson is traipsing across lunchroom tables decrying said hierarchy in a wordy monologue fit for the D&D dungeon master. The social chasm between the two is evident early on in the first episode of Season 4, but, puzzlingly, only scenes later the two are seen entering the woods together.

Grace Van Dien as Chrissy Cunningham in Stranger Things

Looking for something to ease her anxieties, Chrissy calls on Munson, the local small-time drug dealer. The two come to an understanding, despite their differences. During the scene Quinn lets some of Eddie's hardened chip-on-the-shoulder act slip as he offers his sympathy to Chrissy the only way Eddie knows how. He makes jokes, he is self-deprecating and he lights up when Chrissy reacts with laughter. In an interview with Netflix, Quinn said of the exchange, "I just wanted to show someone that felt real... I think, as human beings, we’re all very multifaceted... inherently, we’re very fragile things, human beings. We all have different means of coping with being alive, and it’s all survival, really.”

In a separate interview with Netflix, Quinn spoke on the Metallica tribute to Chrissy in the Upside Down:

“I think he just feels that sense of guilt over everything that happened to Chrissy. In that moment, if he’s able to avenge her, this is his way. So, I imagine there’s a catharsis there. And it’s just f—ing badass, isn’t it?”

In some ways, Chrissy was the catalyst for Eddie's journey to self-acceptance, and the anchor that kept his courage steady in the face of peril. When he took up his guitar to ultimately save a town that was hunting him down for Chrissy's death, it was her that he sought to avenge. Petrified knowing that he and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) were putting themselves in an incredibly vulnerable situation, Eddie bolstered his bravery by dedicating his performance to her, refusing to let Chrissy's memory fade.

The exchange between the two characters got fans feeling some kind of way, and eventually "Edssy" — a fan-favorite ship — manifested on the internet. Whether their unlikely friendship could have grown into something more given the chance is uncertain, but Quinn believes, “It would be lovely if there was a world in which [they could] be a pretty uncouth couple at Hawkins High that I think might shake things up a little bit."

All four seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix. Check out the scene between Eddie and Chrissy that got fans' imaginations running wild:

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'Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn Thinks Eddie and Chrissy Would Have Been "Lovely" Together