We Should Just Kiss

“I mean, please,” he practically begged. “There has to be something that you can do. One of our family members is really, really sick, and I- I don’t know if she’s gonna make it through the night. Is there any way that you could just…No. No. No. Like I said before, I- I’ve tried them already. Okay, well, is there any way that I could speak to a manager?”

Jonathan’s voice tuned out of El’s ears as she walked away, intrigued by a sign. Her feet halted as she looked up at it.

The top read ‘scenic route ahead’ with an image of a family in a canyon.

Then it hit El…

She could help you from California.

Jonathan slammed the phone down with a loud ring. “Damn it!”

“What’d they say?” Will asked.

“Earliest is tomorrow.”

“Shit,” Will swore, throwing his head up.

“No,” Mike snapped. “What? That’s way too late.”

Jonathan let out a sigh. “I know.”

“Hey, dudes?”

The three boys looked up to see Jonathan’s stoner friend, Argyle, walking up to them with a nonsober idea. “Ask ‘em if we can ride in the baggage compartment.”

“The baggage compartment?” Jonathan repeated.

Argyle looked at him with hooded eyes and nodded.

“We’d suffocate,” Mike said, as if it were the obvious…because it was.

“Dogs ride in there all the time, man,” Argyle argued. “They don’t suffocate.”

Jonathan’s hand flew to his face. “Jesus Christ.”

“Holy shit,” Mike scoffed.

Will threw his head down in defeat. There was clearly just no way for them to get back to Hawkins in time and help save you from Vecna.

“I have a way,” El spoke up, returning back from the sign, gravel crunching beneath her feet. “A way to protect her. From here.”

She led them over to Argyle’s work van and drew on the dirty window. Her finger outlined a stick figure. She explained that it was you. “When One attacks, he will be in her mind.” She drew a little line by your head with a circle and another stick figure inside. “But I can do that too. I went into Mama’s mind, into Billy’s. I can go into her’s.” She turned around to face the group. “I went in there before when I heard her happy screams with Steve. I can do it again.”

Jonathan shut his eyes. “Jesus…”

Will covered his face with both hands. “Oh, god,” he grumbled, unable to bear the thought of that again.

Mike scrunched his nose. “Yeah, we’ve got it. You’ve been in there before. But-”

Argyle blinked slowly. “What’s a happy scream?”

Jonathan shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”

El turned back around and drew another stick figure into what was supposed to be your mind. “She can carry me to Vecna. I can piggyback.” She turned back around. “I can protect her. From One. Fight him from here.”

“Mind fight,” Argyle repeated. “Righteous.”

“Wait, so you actually think this can work?” Mike asked El.

“A bathtub would help,” El informed him.

“Yeah,” Argyle agreed. “Gotta be clean to enter the mind.”

“What?” Mike scoffed. “No, no. It’s a sensory deprivation tank. It helps her calm down and focus on her powers.”

“Wait,” Will thought out loud. “We…we just passed a motel.”

“Yeah, but they won’t have enough salt.”

Argyle placed his hands on his hips. “Well, how much salt are we talking here, my dudes?”

“Well, depends on the size of the tub, but a lot,” Jonathan said.

Argyle stared at the floor in thought for a moment. “Does six hundred pounds suffice?”

Mike looked at Argyle in disbelief. “You know a place that has six hundred pounds of salt?”

Argyle smirked and stepped around Jonathan to stand in front of El. “Let’s see…” He held his arms out as if to measure her width, then moved his arms to measure her height. “Yep,” he nodded. “Mhm.”

Mike looked at Will and Will simply shook his head. El’s eyes widened as Argyle measured her frame.

“Yep,” Argyle nodded again. “It’ll work.”

“What will work?” El asked, shaking her head.

“I know a magical place that has all you need, my brave, little superpowered friend. That mind fight is on. Come on!” he exclaimed, climbing into the van.

Everyone hopped into the vehicle, not a clue in the world as to where he was taking them.

They were headed for his job. 

Surfer Boy Pizza.

Your feet padded around the attic, your socks making each step silent and untraceable. The blue lantern in your hand illuminated the dark space, the light not daring to flicker.

The others were also in separate places in the house, looking to find Henry.

The youngest Sinclair managed to find him in the living room, the lights buzzing as it flashed. She rounded up the rest of you and wrote onto her notepad in red ink:

Phase one?

Steve swallowed hard before nodding in approval.

Erica and Max headed outside, racing over to the play structure across the street from the house to alert the others that phase one had been set in motion.

Lucas and Billy left to head to their bases in the attic.

You and Steve, on the other hand, waited it out. 

The indigo light engulfed the living room. You sat on the edge of one couch, Steve sat across from you on the other couch.

The house was dead silent, with the exception of music playing softly from your headphones.

Steve looked down at his fingers as his knee bounced up and down. He was nervous, and possibly more nervous than you were. He let out a small sigh through his nose, the anxiety in his chest too much to keep in.

You looked at him and he continued to look down at his fingers. You shifted and reached for the notepad and marker beside you. That sudden shift in movement made him now look up at you. He watched as you opened up the marker, placing the cap on the top and scribbling something down.

You smiled and lifted up your notepad so that he could see your note.

Hi

His lips tugged upwards and he reached for his notepad and marker. He wrote something down quickly and lifted it up to show you.

It said hi with a little smiley face.

You both chuckled quietly, smiling despite the circumstances. You flipped your page, starting fresh on a new one with a new note.

I’m happy you’re here with me

Steve smiled and his heart fluttered.

For the first time you were letting him in. For the first time, you wanted him there and that was progress. He had spent so much of your relationship begging for you to let him in, and now you were.

You had constantly pushed him away, brushed off his love and affection. But now, you wanted it, and you wanted to give it to him too.

You were happy he stayed with you. Not just in the house, but in general. You were happy he never gave up, never bailed when things got tough. Because it was him. It was always him. He was the one you wanted and you never wanted to lose him.

He flipped to a new page and scribbled something down.

Me too!

You smiled, cheeks flushed as you looked away with an eye roll. Steve watched you with a small smile.

His expression of adoration quickly shifted into one full of nerves as he came up with an idea.

He bit his lower lip and flipped to a new page, a small shaky breath leaving his lips as he wrote something down.

You furrowed your brows as you watched. He swallowed, reading over what he wrote. His nervous gaze met yours as he slowly lifted it.

Enzo’s Friday? Date night.

You stared at it momentarily. 

Steve Harrington finally asked you out on a proper date.

Your blank expression made him want to throw up, especially when you started writing too long to answer a yes or no question.

He tried to peek at what you were doing, but your eyes shot up and you hid the notepad behind your knee so he couldn’t see. His brows rose and he looked away.

A few moments later, you raised your notepad with the cutest smile and cutest drawing he had ever seen.

It wasn’t anything special, your artwork. But what was special was that you had drawn it.

It was a little picture of you and him as stick figures at Enzo’s.

Steve laughed quietly, his face warm.

Once this was all over, once you made it out alive, it seemed as though your relationship would be headed into the right direction.

And then, you could properly love Steve without fearing that if you loved him too much, Henry would kill him.

You could go on date nights, getting all ready while jittery with both excitement and nerves. You could do mundane things together like shop, clean up your horrific room, cook dinner and bake dessert together.

You could make out for however long you wanted, not a care in the world. Just focus on the feeling of his lips on yours and the way his warm hands felt caressing your skin.

And maybe while you were at it all, you could both figure out what the hell you were doing in life. Together.

A flash of amber light cut through the hues of blue, snapping you out of your thoughts.

Steve’s eyes widened as he shot up to his feet and headed over to the window, glass shattered and a piece of wood lazily hammered into the wall that only covered half of the hole. He raised his flashlight, signaling to Erica and Max outside.

“Okay, the lovebirds have copied,” Erica said, radioing the others in the Upside Down.

“She’s moving into phase two,” Max added. “Distracting Vecna.”

You looked over to Steve and he immediately saw the nervousness in your eyes. He took your hand into his and gave it a little squeeze. You smiled, but it wasn’t your smile. Not the genuine smile he saw just moments ago. It was a smile meant to reassure him, but it was far from reassuring. It made him even more nervous knowing you were scared too.

Steve walked over to the couch, your hand still in his, and he bent down to grab your sneakers off of the floor. You both walked over to the stairs and you sat down on the bottom steps. Steve handed you your shoes and you put them on, tying the laces with trembling fingers.

Once your laces were tied, you rose to your feet, stepping down the stairs, grabbing your lantern, and walking back into the living room where the lantern flashed.

He was there. Just on the other side.

You swallowed nervously, glancing over your shoulder at Steve. He wore an unreadable expression.

You turned to face the lantern again, hesitating before lifting your headphones off of your head and dangling them around your neck.

Your fingers slid down to your walkman, hovering above the pause button before clicking it.

You were no longer protected.

“Hey!” you shouted at the light. Shouted at Henry. “I’m here,” you said, voice trembling. “No more music. No more protection. I’m here.”

The light continued to buzz and flash.

Nothing happening.

“What are you waiting for?” you demanded. “Come on!”

The light on the lantern faded and from where you stood, your lantern lit up, the light illuminating your petrified features on your face.

He was moving.

You followed your own light out of the living room and up the steps, Steve trailing behind you. You made your way up into the center of the attic where the light shined brighter than before.

Upon entering the attic, Billy and Lucas shot up from where they sat, eyes wide.

Suddenly, the light died out.

“What the hell are you waiting for?” you asked out loud. “I’m right here. I’m right here!” You stared at the light. Your anger subsided, replaced by something more tranquil and somber. “I know you can hear me,” you muttered. “And I know you’ve heard my thoughts. Even the darkest ones. Probably…mostly the worst ones.”

You set the lantern down and removed your headphones. You unclipped your walkman, placing it down as well as your headphones onto a little box in front of you. You sat down, sitting with your knees pulled to your chest.

Billy and Lucas carefully walked over to stand beside Steve who watched you like your life depended on it. Because it did…but there was nothing he could do even if something were to happen.

You stared at the light, sighing before speaking again. “For a long time, I believed what you said. About how I’d wish I was dead because eternal silence would be more preferable than my own thoughts.” 

Steve’s expression softened. He had no idea Henry said that to you. Lucas shifted, glancing over at Billy who crossed his arms over his chest. Billy was the only other person in that room who knew.

You swallowed. “For a long time, I did. I prayed for it to just end. Prayed to just be…gone,” you whispered, voice trembling. “I hated myself so much and everyday I’d live in constant fear that you’d end up killing someone in a way that I wouldn’t be prepared for.” You let out a shaky sigh, shaking your head. “You made me so scared to love anyone. You made me so scared to fall in love.”

Steve shifted. It all made sense now. Why you couldn't tell him you loved him. Your own fears got the better of you and you assumed that avoidance was the answer.

Maybe if you avoided it, it wouldn’t happen. It simply wouldn’t exist.

But that’s not how it works. Ignoring it doesn’t make it any less real.

“I’m not scared anymore,” you admitted, tone soft. “I can’t…I won’t let you continue to ruin my life. I won’t let you dictate how my story goes.” You continued to stare at the light, waiting for something, anything, to happen. “So, if you kill me…I’ll continue to fight back, even in death. I’ll continue to fight you because I love these people too much to ever let you do anything to them.”

“Is that true?” Steve asked from beside you.

You blinked, completely caught off guard by his words. You stood up. “Why are you talking?” You glanced around. Billy and Lucas no where to be seen. “Where’s Lucas and Billy?”

“Maybe you should die,” Steve went on, his voice becoming distorted as he walked towards you. You backed away, eyes wide. “I would be glad if it were to be you. You will be the chosen one. The fourth. The final sacrifice. It’s going to be you that breaks the world.”

You continued to back away, realizing that this was in fact not your Steve, but Henry. Vecna.

“Where are you going?” he asked. “Don’t be scared.” His hazel eyes no longer had that warm and loving glow. They were whited out, and disgustingly so. It made you sick.

You swallowed, back hitting the wall. “Stay away from me.”

“I thought you wanted this? I thought you wanted to disappear?” he egged you on. “What’s changed now? A stupid boy giving you the slightest bit of attention?”

You grabbed a glass vase from off of the table near you. “Get the hell away from me!” you shouted before swinging it at his head. He grunted and buckled over, the façade dropping and showing who he really was.

Vecna.

You ran off in the opposite direction. He rose up, watching you go with a low growl. He saw himself in you and it was both endearing and repulsive.

Disarming and abhorrent.

You were a fighter and you’d stop at nothing to get what you wanted…

Just like him.

In the attic, Steve had dropped to his knees, waving his hand in your face. “Hey! Hey! Hey!” he shouted. Your eyes were rolled to the back of your head and your shoulders shook as you drew in ragged breaths.

Billy and Lucas shared a knowing look.

It was time for the next phase.

Back in California, the crew surrounded El as she floated in the pizza dough freezer. The lights around them began to flash.

In the void, El walked over to you. You were still sitting in the attic, your breathing growing more erratic, your eyes completely white. El sat down beside you. “It’s okay,” she reassured you, though you couldn’t hear it. “I’m coming.” She held your hand. “I’m coming. Just hold on a little longer.” She shut her eyes and used her powers to dig into your memories.

She saw you giggle in Eddie’s van with him and Robin, smoke floating around the confined space.

She saw you meet Jonathan for the first time, bonding over The Clash.

She saw your friend group toast on Christmas Eve, friendship bracelets at your wrists.

She saw your smile the first time you met Max.

She saw you painting her nails for the first time.

She saw you giggle as your nose bumped, kissing Steve.

The dark void around her slowly began to drop as she sifted through your memories, trying to find you. Images of you smiling, laughing, and just being a happy person flashed across her mind. She was traveling through your best memories. You were in one of them.

Suddenly, instead of the memories moving forward in a linear manner, they began to move backwards, as if she were traveling back in time.

She saw your happiest memories from the past.

The day you were introduced to the infamous Eddie Munson.

A random Halloween you and Robin went trick-or-treating.

The first time you made Dustin ride a skateboard and him scratching his knees against the concrete.

You curled up on the couch, watching a movie with your mom.

The darkness around El fully dropped, and her eyes shot open.

“What’s happening now?” Mike asked.

“I think I am in a memory. One of her memories,” El spoke.

She looked around the memory. It was a park, the sun cast overhead and shining bright above. Kids ran around the playground as parents monitored from nearby benches and picnic tables.

“Do you see her?” Will asked.

“No,” El responded. “But she’s here. She has to be here.”

El continued to explore the memory, walking past kids and parents. That’s when her eyes landed on two young girls on a swing set.

“I’m swinging higher than you!” one girl exclaimed.

“Nuh huh!” the other argued.

El walked over and flinched as one of the girls jumped off of the swing mid air, landing on her feet. She began to walk off, passing El and that’s when it hit El. It was a younger version of you.

Her brows furrowed at the hot pink bandaid on your right knee. And the lime green bandaid on your left elbow. And the dark purple bandaid on your wrist near the palm of your hand. Your knees were bruised and so were your elbows.

You looked like you had been in a fight.

The other girl jumped off of the swings, landing on her face instead of her feet. She groaned and stood up, patting the bark off of her clothes. “Wait up!” she exclaimed, running after you.

Your tiny hands grabbed your skateboard, and you tossed it into the ground. You smiled as your friend ran over. She panted, bending over and clutching her knees. “Jeez you’re athletic.”

You giggled, noticing all the pieces of bark clinging to her hair. “Aw, Robs. You have bark in your hair.”

“Where?” she asked, eyes wide. She stood up straight and shook her head madly, trying to shake the bark out. She nearly tripped. “Oh, I’m dizzy.”

You snorted, placing your hands on her shoulders to steady her. “I got it.” You slowly picked the bark out of her hair and smiled when you were done. “All better.”

She thanked you. Her eyes widened soon after, hearing an ice cream truck in the distance. “Ice cream!” she exclaimed, running off.

“Robin!”

“Come on!” she shouted back.

El called your name, but it was a memory. You couldn’t hear her nor could you see her. You hopped on your skateboard and pushed yourself off, knees a little wobbly like you had just learned to skate earlier that week. That explained all the bandaids and bruises.

“I found her,” El told the others, watching you chase after Robin. “But she’s young. She can’t see me. Can’t hear me.”

“Do you see anything weird in this memory?” Will asked. “Any sign of Vecna or…or the Mind Flayer?”

“No, everything is normal.” She huffed and continued to look around when music began to fill her ears.

“Everytime I see you falling”

“I get down on my knees and pray”

She recognized the song from a memory of her own, but it was distorted.

She turned around towards the sound and noticed a table in the distance. It had streamers on it and a small DJ station. “There is something that doesn’t fit. I think it is another memory.”

“A memory within a memory?” Argyle asked.

El walked towards the table, the song growing louder and more distinct the closer she got.

Back at the Creel house, Lucas moved to the window in the living room and flashed his light, signaling Erica and Max.

Max flashed her light back at Lucas, letting him know she copied.

“Okay, she’s in,” Erica said, radioing the others. “Initiate phase three.”

“Copy that,” Dustin responded. “Initiating phase three.”

Erica set her walkie down, letting out a huff of air. “Let’s hope this works.”

Max looked over to Erica and nodded. “It’s gonna work. It has to.”

Erica nodded looking off into the distance. She squinted and held her hand up to block out the bright lights. “What the hell is that?”

Max followed her line of sight and narrowed her eyes. She could make out the silhouette of a car, the passenger side door and the driver’s side door opening, two people climbing out.

“Better question…” Max trailed off. “Who the hell is that?”

You ran down the stairs and yanked the front door open. Your eyes widened when you saw that the outside was barricaded by wood.

“Where are you going?”

You turned around and saw Vecna turning the corner, slowly making his way down the stairs. Your eyes widened as you bolted for the kitchen.

The lights above you flashed as you ran towards the side door, swinging it open. Again, it was covered in wooden boards. You pushed on it with all your might, slamming your shoulder into it and pulling on the wood. It wouldn’t budge.

You ran back towards the living room, but now…

A door was there.

You swung it open.

Nothing but wood again.

Footsteps began to grow louder as they approached you. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, thinking of your favorite memory.

You focused on the way you felt. How happy you were. The way your mind finally felt at bay. You focused on the scene. The colorful streamers, balloons, music. 

The sound of Vecna’s footsteps around you died out as the room around you changed.

You gasped, eyes bolting open.

“Holy shit,” you breathed out.

You were in the gym, streamers everywhere, a familiar giant sign.

Hawkins High Homecoming ‘85.

You were in your Homecoming memory.

Bizarre Love Triangle played softly around you.

You smiled to yourself, so proud that your plan had actually worked. You spotted a table and headed over, pulling the chair out and sitting down. Your work was done, now all you had to do was wait it out.

You weren’t sure how long you’d be waiting for, but you figured given the amount of time it took for you to run away from Vecna around the house, and end up into your new memory, was more than enough time to draw the bats away and kill Vecna.

You bit your lower lip, staring at a random streamer on the wall. Your fingers began to tug at the table cloth with nerves, making your fingers tingle.

It couldn’t possibly take much longer.

You waited, letting out huffs of air every now and then and checking your surroundings. While it was your mind, you figured at some point, if Vecna really wanted you, he’d find you.

A sigh escaped your lips as you leaned forward, trying to calm yourself down.

What the hell was taking so long?

You wished you could see what was going on in the Creel house, both of them that is…in the Upside Down and real world, and at Eddie’s trailer. You wished you could see how far along everyone was so that way you knew how much longer you’d be sitting there.

And you sure as hell wished you knew where Vecna was.

Your knee began to bounce up and down as what seemed like hours dragged on. The song in the room was on loop and it was starting to drive you mad. You picked at your nails, tugged at the ends of your hair, and even started accidentally digging a hole in the table cloth.

You sat up straight, extending your arms across the table, trying to relax.

You were fine.

Everyone was fine.

It would just be a minute longer.

Then another minute passed. Then another. And another.

You couldn’t take it much longer. You were growing antsy, impatient, and nervous all at once. You had a bad feeling about what was going on.

Your jaw tightened as your teeth began to grind, the sound making your cringe, but you couldn’t help it. Your mind began to wander, every single bad thing that could go wrong infiltrated it.

All the what if’s returned and suddenly you were left with more sickening questions rather than affirmative reassurances.

Bam!

You jolted, shooting up to your feet. You gasped and turned around. A balloon exploded on a table behind you, a red substance oozing where it once was.

Before you could process anything, another balloon popped in front of your eyes, the sound like a gunshot, the same red liquid dripping from the table onto the floor.

Your eyes widened as balloon after balloon exploded in front of you. You backed away, hands shaking, breath trembling.

You backed closer and closer towards the DJ table until…

“...do love you. Dream a little dream of me…”

The song came out staticky and distorted.

It was no longer Bizarre Love Triangle. It was the same song you heard in your first vision. 

You looked up at the banner, and it began to melt into itself, turning red. Streamers began to slowly fall from the ceiling as you turned around. The flowers at each table decayed and rotted in front of your eyes. The warm amber lights went cold and were replaced by something more sinister.

Outside, the sky went dark, red lightning booming.

Your breath shook as your skin went cold, the air filling with the particles from the Upside Down.

This was one of your favorite memories.

And even in your own mind, he could ruin it too.

Steve, Billy, and Lucas watched as your breathing became more erratic.

“Shit,” Steve muttered. He whipped his head towards Lucas and Billy. “What the hell is taking them so long?”

Lucas’ eyes were wide as he shrugged. “I-I don’t know.” “Well go figure it out!” Steve snapped. It wasn’t his intention to come off as rude, and Lucas knew that. He was worried and your body language told him that something else was happening. That this wasn’t exactly going to plan.

Lucas’ sneakers skid against the wood as he bolted across the room to the window, flashing his flashlight to get the attention of Erica and Max. He groaned when they didn’t signal back. Billy walked over to him and looked out the window. It was too dark to see anything, but neither Max or Erica responding was worrisome.

Billy shook his head. “Something’s wrong.”

Lucas stopped signaling and looked over at Billy. “What?”

“Something’s wrong,” he repeated, turning on his heel and walking downstairs and out of the house.

Lucas huffed and continued to flash his light. He peered over his shoulder and watched as Steve stroked your hair gently. “It’s okay, honey. Just hold on.”

Lucas flashed his light faster as he looked back out the window. “Come on. Come on,” he muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Billy squinted, looking across the deserted street. He couldn’t see, but he could hear.

“Let me go, you meat head!”

Erica.

“Get off her!”

Max.

Billy bolted across the street, and as he came closer, he could make out one of his teammates on top of Erica, pinning her to the ground. In one swift motion, Max punched him in the face, blood dripping down his nose. It didn’t take long for him to grab onto her too. He yanked her by the front of her shirt and her eyes widened.

“Oh, you’re so dead, Mayfield!”

“Get the hell off of my sister!” Billy lashed, grabbing his teammate by the collar of his shirt. He let go of Max and she immediately dropped to the floor to help Erica up.

Billy swung. Hard. And not just because he was an asshole.

No, that wasn’t who he was anymore.

He swung hard because he was protecting his little sister and his teammate’s, his friend’s, little sister.

Lucas continued to shine his light out the window as Steve murmured words of affirmation to you as if you could hear them.

He kept telling you to just hold on and that the others would be done soon so that he could wake you up from this hellish nightmare.

Lucas’ jaw tightened as he flashed the light faster. “Hurry up,” he grumbled. He clicked his light, the room engulfed with the sound of that and Steve talking.

Lucas furrowed his brows, freezing. He could’ve sworn he heard something aside from Steve and his flashlight clicking on and off.

Steve cut himself off abruptly, hearing it too.

The floorboards to the stairs were creaking.

Not fast.

Not at a normal pace.

Slow.

Measured.

As if it were this person’s first time in the house.

Steve slowly rose to his feet as Lucas turned around. Lucas’ eyes widened at the sight. “Shit…” he trailed off. “Jason,” he warned. “You can’t be here right now, man.”

Jason glanced between Steve and Lucas, confused as to why Steve was there too, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that.

He saw you sitting on the floor, shaking slightly, eyes rolled to the back of your head. “What the hell have you done?” he asked, taking careful steps towards you.

“Jason,” Lucas warned.

“You need to get the hell out of here,” Steve interjected. “Now.”

“Is this what you did to Chrissy?” Jason asked.

“Just listen, Jason,” Lucas tried to reason.

Jason knelt down in front of you. “Hey,” he said softly. His hand gently hovered over your back. “Can…Can you hear me?” he asked.

“Don’t touch her,” Steve warned.

Jason waved his hand in front of your face, trying to wake you. “Hey.”

“We’re not messing around!” Lucas exclaimed.

“Hey,” Jason said to you, ignoring Lucas and Steve. “Can you hear me?”

“Jason, please just-”

“Get away from her!” Steve shouted, moving faster than lightning towards Jason.

“Hey!” Jason shouted, standing up quickly and…

Pulling a gun out of his pocket and aiming it right at Steve. “Back up!”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Steve exclaimed, putting his hands up and taking a step back, standing next to Lucas.

Lucas gasped, his hands shooting up too. “Wait!”

“Not another step,” Jason warned.

“Wai…wai- wai- wait,” Lucas trembled. “We- we don’t have to do this. We don’t have to do this, man.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jason replied, the light hitting his face just right so that both boys could see the mad look in his eyes. He was hurting. Seeking revenge. “Is there anyone else in the house?”

Steve shook his head. “No. No, man,” he breathed out.

“Turn around,” Jason instructed. “Both of you.”

Lucas’ eyes widened. “What?”

“Turn around!”

Lucas jumped and glanced at Steve. Steve eyed Lucas, giving him a small nod. Silently telling him to comply.

Both of them slowly turned around, Lucas’ hands shaking.

“Put down your flashlight!” Jason yelled at Lucas.

“Okay! Okay!” Lucas set down his flashlight slowly, standing back up.

“And empty your pockets.”

Lucas looked back to Steve, only this time, he looked defeated. His eyes were shut, slightly praying for this nightmare to end. He prayed that Billy would come back upstairs so that he and Lucas could get out of this alive so that he could tend back to you.

“Empty your pockets!” Jason shouted when neither boy moved.

Lucas flinched. “Okay. Okay. Okay,” he breathed out, scrambling to empty his pockets, a couple of batteries falling to the floor with a clatter. He immediately put his hands back up.

Steve emptied his pockets right after, the marker he used to write from earlier falling to the floor. He lifted his hands back up.

“Now, this is what’s gonna happen,” Jason began. “I’m gonna back away to the top of the stairs there. “Then I’ll watch as you wake her up from whatever the hell this is.”

Steve’s jaw tightened. He usually knew what to do in the line of danger. But now? Now, he was at a loss. He didn’t want to get shot or risk Lucas getting shot too.

A small whimper escaped your lips. So small that no one heard it.

No one but Steve.

Steve turned around, slow enough that Jason didn’t shoot him, but fast enough that he could check on you quickly. You shook more than before, drawing in more ragged breaths than before.

“We can’t,” Steve said, eyes still on you.

Lucas turned around slowly too, meeting Jason's erratic gaze. “Jason, if we wake her too soon, we all die.”

“No,” Jason muttered. “You don’t wake her up right now, both of you die. He clicked the safety of the gun off. “Just you two.”

Eddie and Dustin stood back to back, slowly stepping in a circle. In one hand, Eddie tightly gripped his spear. In the other, he held his makeshift bin top. Dustin held the same weaponry in his hands, his eyes darting around the room.

A swarm of bats screeched and thrashed against the trailer, both boys on high alert for any signs of infiltration, when suddenly, the noises died down.

“Hey, dipshits!” Dustin shouted. “Give up that easy, huh?!”

“Shh!” Eddie shushed the boy. “Is that really necessary?” he asked through clenched teeth, looking over his shoulder to Dustin.

Something clattered on the roof, drawing their attention up.

“They’re on the roof,” Eddie said.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” Dustin muttered.

They slowly followed the rattling noises on the roof. The bats were moving to the back of the trailer, trying to find their way inside.

Dustin was in front of Eddie, and he halted, looking up at a small circular vent on the roof in the kitchen. “They can’t get in through there, can they?” he asked.

Right as he asked his question, the vent popped out and fell to the floor, a demobat’s face poking through the exposed hole with a loud shriek.

Both boys yelled, slamming their spears into the hole, stabbing at the bat as it continued to shriek and flash its teeth.

“Die! Die!” Dustin shouted.

Eddie pulled his spear away, dropping it to the floor having come up with a new solution.

“Eddie!” Dustin yelled. “I need you!”

Eddie bent over, reaching for the tin with nails and a chair. “Get out of the way!” he instructed Dustin. “Get out of the way!”

Dustin backed away and Eddie quickly pushed the chair over. He climbed on top of it and yelled before slamming the tin side with nails into the ceiling, covering the exposed vent.

Eddie and Dustin panted, catching their breaths.

“Holy shit,” Eddie breathed out, turning around to face Dustin. “Holy shit.”

“Nice,” Dustin complimented Eddie.

“Thanks.” Eddie raised his hand up and Dustin high fived him.

Dustin let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the counter. “Wait,” he began, looking back up at Eddie. “Are there any other vents?”

Eddie stared at Dustin with wide eyes. “Oh, shit.” He jumped off of the chair, grabbing his spear off of the floor and racing down the hallway to his bedroom.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Dustin panicked under his breath.

Eddie ran into the room, Dustin hot on his tail. Eddie stopped abruptly causing Dustin to ram into his back. “Woah!” Dustin exclaimed, watching as a handful of bats bursted through the vent, flying around the room.

Instinctively, Eddie slammed his hand into Dustin’s face, pushing him out of the room. Eddie staggered back, shutting the door in record time right at the bats rammed into it.

“Shit!” Eddie exclaimed, walking backwards, Dustin doing the same. They watched with wide eyes as the bats tried to break through the door, the wood splintering at an alarming rate.

Eddie reached down and grabbed Dustin’s tin with nails. Dustin backed up far enough that his shoulder brushed the fabric used as a rope between the real world and the Upside Down. “That’s not gonna hold!” he told Eddie.

“Let’s go!” Eddie shouted back. “Let’s go!”

Dustin dropped his spear, climbing up the rope, while Eddie watched the door. He glanced over his shoulder, watching Dustin move a little slower than he would’ve wanted. “Come on! Quickly!”

Dustin climbed up about halfway before letting go of the rope, falling face first onto the mattress. Eddie averted his gaze back to the door where the bats were nearly broken through by now.

Dustin sat up, shouting at Eddie. “Eddie, come on!”

Eddie dropped all of his stuff, rushing to climb the rope. His head was just above the gate when he froze, turning to look back at the door. The bats continued to shriek and bang against the wood.

“Eddie, come on!” Dustin shouted. “Let’s go!” Eddie looked back up at Dustin and saw him jumping up and down. “Eddie, you’re so close! Let’s go!”

Eddie looked back to the door, his lips parted slightly, then back up to Dustin.

“Eddie!” Dustin shouted, practically throwing a fit. “What the hell are you doing?! Let’s go!”

Your words rang through Eddie’s head.

“Don’t try to be a hero down there. You’re just-”

“A distraction, I know,” he said with a playful eye roll. “I’ll leave all the hero shit to you, don’t worry,” he teased.

You slid your hand across the crate between you two, your pink finger up. He glanced down at it, then looked up to you. “Pinky promise me.”

Eddie let out an amused chuckle. “Pinky promise you?”

“Yes,” you said with a nod. “Pinky promise that you’ll come back to me.”

Eddie’s expression softened, a small smile on his lips. He extended his pinky, connecting it to yours. “Pinky promise,” he repeated.

Eddie blinked, looking back at the door.

He had made a promise to come back to you.

Meaning, he should climb back up and rope and get to safety with Dustin. Meet you back at the Creel house and make fun of you for making him pinky promise you something so foolish. Then, maybe hangout like you used to. Before the monsters. Before the storm.

Way back when you’d spend the night at his house every other day.

Way back when you’d go for smokes late at night.

Way back when he’d play his guitar obnoxiously loud as you tried to focus on your homework.

Way back when he couldn’t figure out why whenever you smiled his heart started to beat a different rhythm.

Way back when things were normal.

However, he could never forgive himself if he screwed up the plan by not distracting the bats long enough that you could live.

He could never forgive himself if he let you die.

His fingers slowly let go of the tight grip he used to hold onto the rope, his body sliding back down, shoes hitting the mattress. He looked back up at Dustin who looked like he knew how this was about to go.

“Eddie?” he breathed out, shaking his head.

Eddie looked back down, deciding if he really wanted to go through with this.

“I promised to come back to you. So you promise to come back to me.”

“Promise,” you murmured.

You pulled apart, but he still held you, eyes scanning over your face. “Things start to get dicey, you get the hell out of there.”

“You too,” you replied sternly.

Eddie fully let go of the rope, grabbing his spear off of the floor.

Dustin watched in horror. “Eddie! What are you doing?! Eddie, no!”

In one swift motion, Eddie cut the rope, it falling and landing into Dustin’s hands. Dustin looked at it, his hands trembling. His eyes shot back up through the gate. “Eddie!” Eddie lifted the mattress, moving it out of the way. Everything that he was doing was to ensure that your little brother wouldn’t follow him. Ensure that your little brother got out alive.

“Eddie, stop!” Dustin begged. “Eddie, stop! Stop! Stop! Eddie, what are you doing?!”

Eddie grabbed his supplies, looking back up to Dustin. “I’m buying more time.”

“Eddie, please!”

Your feet stomped across the gym floors as you walked back to the front entrance. You piled another chair onto the door and turned right back around to grab another.

It felt silly, really, trying to barricade a door with a table and a couple of chairs, which Henry could probably pass with ease. But it was worth a shot.

You picked up another chair, your sneakers squeaking as you turned back around. You froze, chair still in hand.

Your stack of chairs and a table were gone. The door was replaced by the door to the Creel house, the stained glass rose looking right back at you.

The door creaked open slowly, and when you heard the clock tick, you dropped the chair with a deafening clang.

“You can’t hide from me.”

Henry.

Your brows pressed together as you stared at the door. You turned around and looked for another way out, but there wasn’t.

Then it hit you.

Escape to another good memory.

You shut your eyes, taking a deep breath.

“You think I don’t see what you’re doing?”

You ignored it, trying to focus on the memory you had chosen.

You treaded the water, thinking of a way to get back at Steve when something grabbed ahold of your ankle.

You yelped and were pulled under. You opened your eyes and saw Jonathan who was trying to suppress his laugh as he swam back up to the surface.

You followed him up and splashed him with water, and he was a giggling mess.

Nancy by now had grabbed a pool noodle and started hitting Robin on the head with it, accidentally swinging it at Steve who caught it in his hand and went to swing it at her for payback, only to swing it back and hit Eddie.

Eddie tackled Steve and splashed Nancy and Robin again, who bursted out into fits of laughter.

Jonathan splashed you back and you scrunched your nose with a giggle, some water going up your nose, the smell of chlorine strong.

Eddie and Steve came above the water right between you and Jonathan, knocking you both back into the water on accident.

You tried to relax, tried to focus on that summer night in the pool with all of your friends, but Vecna wasn’t letting it slide.

Not this time.

“You think I don’t see everything?”

You flinched as you saw an image on Jason clicking the safety of the gun off, aiming it right at Lucas and Steve.

“You thought you could trick me?”

An image of Robin gasping, and being slammed into the wall, restrained by the vines filled your mind.

“You thought your friends could stop me?”

You saw as Hopper bolted down an eerie hallway, a demodog hot on his tail. You didn’t even have the time or the energy to try and figure out how in the hell he was alive…bald, and fighting a demodog.

“I see them.”

You finched again, seeing demobats infiltrate Eddie’s trailer in the Upside Down.

“I see your friends.”

An image of Nancy being held against the wall across from Robin, a vine tightening around her throat.

“Just as clearly…”

The bats flying towards Eddie and Dustin, Eddie slamming the door shut just in time.

“...as I…”

Dustin yelling ‘Stop!’ with his hands on his head, watching through the gate as Eddie took off in the other direction in the Upside Down.

“See you.”

And Eddie…

Eddie biking away from a swarm of bats.

“I can feel them. I can feel them dying.”

You gasped, snapping your eyes open. And as soon as you did so, a clock chimed. The door before you was now fully open, Henry nowhere to be seen.

“It’s time.”

You turned around, the music playing distortedly.

“Dream a little dream of me…”

Your breath shook as you staggered around in circles, on high alert for Henry.

“Say nighty- night…”

You now faced the banner and DJ table, backing away slowly, letting out short and ragged breaths.

“It’s time.”

You jolted at the voice and turned around, pure panic in your eyes.

Vecna stood before you, not as Henry. As Vecna. Like he wanted you to be scared. Like he wanted you to fear him.

You didn’t even have time to react.

He extended his hand out to you, and you screamed, being thrown back. You kicked and trashed around in the air as if it would do anything, but it wouldn’t.

Your back slammed into the wall. You cried out in pain, your head now throbbing, your back feeling like it nearly snapped in half.

You squeezed your eyes shut, arms extended against the wall and your legs above the floor from the invisible force you were held with.

You groaned in pain, choking on a sob, heart palpitating as his footsteps slowly approached.

“We call him, Vecna,” Lucas tried to reason with Jason, hands still up. “He lives in another dimension. That’s why you can’t see him.”

Steve would’ve run both of his hands down his face, but Jason had a gun aimed right at Lucas’ head. Steve knew he meant well, but if anything, what he was saying was only making them sound more and more like members of Eddie’s supposed cult.

“And Eddie Munson and his…his Hellfire acolytes,” Jason began. “What, you all summoned this Vecna?”

“No, no!” Lucas exclaimed. “You’re not listening! Just Listen! There- there’s no cult!” he explained, motioning his arms in an X. “There never was!”

Jason narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying it. “You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth!”

“Then why was Chrissy at Eddie’s trailer?”

“Because she was buying drugs,” Steve finally spoke up, his tone coming off harsher than expected. Jason was wasting time, and he was honestly just another headache that Steve didn't have the time or the energy for.

There was already enough going on and he was just making the entire situation ten times worse than it needed to be.

Jason quickly turned to Steve, the gun now aimed at him. “Liar!” he snapped.

“Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!” Lucas shouted, trying to ease the tension. “Chrissy, okay…she was seeing things. Terrible things. Things Vecna forced her to see. She was scared.”

“No,” Jason said, looking at Lucas, gun still pointed at Steve.

“She just needed help.”

“That’s how I know you’re lying. If Chrissy was scared, if- if Chrissy wanted help, she would’ve come to me! Not Eddie! Not that freak! Never!”

“You’re wrong about Eddie,” Lucas said.

“No,” Jason said, shaking his head. “But I was wrong about you.” He moved the gun slowly and pointed it at Lucas. “I never should’ve let you in the door.”

Something behind Lucas’ eyes changed, and Steve could see it. “And I never should have knocked.” Lucas slowly lowered his hands. “I thought I wanted to be like you. Popular. Normal. But it turns out, normal’s just a raging psychopath.”

Steve eyed Lucas. He could see the way his fists tightened, the way his jaw clenched.

He was about to fight back.

“Don’t, Sinclair,” Steve warned, fearful for the worst.

“You two have five seconds to wake her up,” Jason threatened.

Neither of them moved.

“Four.”

“Three…”

Bam!

The gun went off.

Lucas ducked and tackled Jason, the bullet firing and missing him completely. Lucas rammed him into the wall, another gunshot going off.

“Sinclair!” Steve exclaimed, rushing over.

Jason had dropped the gun.

Back outside, Billy’s teammate fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

Billy went over to Max and Erica. “You guys okay?”

Max didn’t respond, eyes wide as she stared at the house. “Jason. He went into the house before this.”

Billy blinked. “What?”

“Yeah,” Erica nodded. “And if I’m not mistaken…he had a gun.”

“Wait, he had a wha-”

His voice was cut off by the sound of a gun shot. His eyes widened, looking over to the house. “Oh, fuck! Fuck!” Billy rose to his feet. “Stay here. Both of you.”

“What?! No!” Max exclaimed. “I’m coming with you!”

“Max-!”

“I’m coming with you!” she repeated.

“No!”

“Yes, Maxine!”

“No! You die, I die.”

“What are you-?!”

“I’m coming!”

Billy groaned and rolled his eyes. “You,” he pointed at Erica. “You stay put.”

The two siblings raced for the house, bursting through the front door. Immediately they could hear a struggle upstairs and the sound of muffled shouting.

Billy ran up into the attic and watched as Steve kicked a gun to the side, the barrel facing Billy.

Jason threw Lucas on top of the little box beside you where your walkman was. Lucas fell to the floor, eyes wide. Your walkman was on the floor and Jason was so irate that he was headed straight for it, not caring where he was stepping.

“No! No!” Lucas exclaimed.

Jason took another step, crushing your walkman beneath his feet.

Crushing your lifeline.

Before Jason could land another punch on Lucas, Steve raced over, yanking him off. Jason staggered back into Billy, Billy landing a punch right in his face.

Jason swung back, and from behind him, Lucas got up, pissed more than ever. He tackled Jason, slamming him into the floor.

Steve glanced over at you, hearing another soft whimper.

Then…

His eyes landed on it.

Your broken walkman.

“No! No! No! No!” he panicked, running over and picking up the broken pieces. “No!”

Max raced over, dropping to her knees, looking at the broken pieces in Steve’s hands. “Shit,” she muttered.

Yeah.

Shit indeed.

You remained against the wall, struggling against the invisible force. Vecna walked toward you, and met you at eye level, just inches away from your face. You squeezed your eyes shut turning your head away from him.

You couldn’t stand the sight of that man.

And not because of his outward appearance.

But because he was your father. You were his kid. And he wanted you dead.

“You are brave,” he spoke. “But in the end, you are weak and fragile. Like all the rest of them. And you will break.”

His hand slowly rose above your face, and you gasped, trembling underneath him. 

You had finally gotten your secret off of your chest to your friends, and you were planning on telling the others once they got back from California. Your relationship with Steve seemed to be on the incline and honestly…if things worked out from here, your life seemed to be headed in the right direction.

You didn’t want to die.

You had just begun to realize that you had so much worth living for.

Suddenly, you fell to the floor. You gasped, landing on your stomach. Your head shot up with wide eyes, immediately trying to see what happened.

Vecna was a few feet away from you, hanging in the air.

And behind him…

El walked towards him, hand in the air, blood pooling for her nose. She looked a little older in comparison to when you last saw her and her hair was buzzed again, just like it was the night you two met.

She shifted her wrist, Vecna turning around in the air to face her. “You,” he growled.

“Hi,” she said softly before throwing him across the room into the wooden bleachers with a loud crash.

You slowly lifted yourself off the ground, your entire body aching, but not as much as it should’ve been thanks to the adrenaline coursing through your veins.

Hasty footsteps padded towards you.

Eleven said your name softly. “Are you okay?” she asked, reaching for your shoulders and helping you stand up right.

Your eyes scanned her face, chest heaving up and down. “Huh?”

“Are you okay?” she repeated, worry in her eyes.

“Yeah,” you breathed out, holding her arms as she held onto yours. “Wh- what the hell,” you panted, one hand tapping El’s face. She scrunched her nose a little, clearly confused. “What the hell,” you repeated, tugging at her cheek. Her eyes widened. “Are you-” you tapped her face again and she furrowed her brows. “Are you real? Are you- Am I- Am I, like, imagining you?”

It all clicked in El’s brain now.

She reached for your hand, squeezing it gently between both of hers, looking into your eyes. “I’m real,” she reassured you.

You furrowed your brows, shaking your head. “How?”

“I piggybacked from a pizza dough freezer.”

You blinked, brows pressed together. “What?”

El opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of wood clattering and creaking stopped her. She turned around and your eyes immediately darted to the bleachers.

Vecna grunted, climbing out of the gaping hole in the wood. He practically growled in anger, staring you both down. He cracked his neck, slowly walking back over to you both.

“Stay back,” El instructed you. You swallowed and watched as she walked towards Vecna, both of them meeting in the middle. “If you touch her again, I will kill you again,” El warned.

You furrowed your brows. How did El know Henry? And…she had killed him? 

She had a lot to catch you up on just as you had a lot to catch her up on.

“Is that what you did?” he asked. “Hmm?” He tilted his head slightly. “Did you kill me? I am so glad you are here, Eleven. This…is going to be beautiful.” He lifted both of his arms beside him, shards of wood lifting into the air. “So beautiful.” The splitters flipped so that the sharp ends were angled at El. “And it’s all thanks to you.” 

He threw his arms forward, the splitters flying at El. He lifted her hand and threw it to the side, redirecting the wood to land into the bleachers.

While she was distracted with that, Vecna lifted his hand, throwing her across the room into the DJ table. She landed with a loud crash and groan.

You gasped, eyes wide.

Before you knew it, she was lifted into the air again, being thrown into another table. Then thrown again into a wooden sign.

You couldn’t sit back and watch.

As he slowly approached her, you grabbed one of the metal folding chairs. You closed the chair and walked behind him. Once close enough, you lifted the chair to your side, using as much force and your trunk rotation to slam it into him.

He groaned, folding over.

You swung it at him again, a loud clang against his cranium.

You swung again.

And it didn’t hit him.

That same invisible force was holding your arms in place, chair unwavering.

He rose up, turning to face you. With a small flick of his wrist, you were thrown backwards again, slamming your head into the wall, knocking you out cold.

El stood up, sticking her arm out at the same time Venca stuck his out. She gasped, Vecna overpowering her with ease. Her head shot up as she whimpered. He uncurled his fingers, raising her into the air and drawing her closer to him.

El choked and seethed, drawing her head away from his face.

He eyed her, humming in thought. He glanced over her shoulder, looking at where you laid on the floor.

“You think you can save her?” he asked. “You think you can save any of them?”

El groaned, struggling to move in the air. Vecna took another menacing step towards her. “You forgot that this isn’t your mind,” he went on. “So…” he trailed off, letting the thought linger in the air for a moment. “Get out.”

He threw his arm forward, throwing Eleven backwards and back into the dark void she once started in.

She hit the ground, water pooling underneath her. She gasped for air, scrambling to sit up. Her eyes landed on you again in the attic, sitting in the same spot as before. Your eyes were still rolled to the back of your head and your breathing had calmed.

Not because you were safe.

But because you were passed out.

“No, no, no, no,” she muttered to herself, nearly tripping to get back to you. She quickly reached for your hand, holding it. She closed her eyes and focused.

She tried again.

And again.

And again.

She couldn’t get back into your mind.

He wouldn’t let her.

Mike leaned over the pizza dough freezer, watching as El shook. “El, what’s going on?”

She didn’t respond.

“El!”

El shot up, gasping for air, yanking the glasses she had on off of her face. “One,” she breathed out. “He…”

Will blinked, sitting up straight. “He what, El?”

“He kicked me out.”

Jonathan pressed his brows together, shaking his head. “He what?”

“He kicked me out. Out of her mind,” El murmured. “I can’t get back in.”

Mike’s lips parted in shock. He didn’t even know what to say. The one plan they had went completely south. “Can’t you piggyback someone else?” he asked, trying to come up with any solution possible.

Will shook his head. “That wouldn’t work, would it? I mean, if she piggybacked Max, for example, she isn’t a target. So, how could that work?”

Mike huffed and realized that it wouldn’t work. “Try again.”

El let out a sigh, putting the glasses back on and floating on her back.

Jonathan placed the palms of his hands together in front of his face as she shut his eyes. Will wondered if he was praying or something, but truth be told, Jonathan was just at a loss.

It was clear that Vecna had you and was blocking Eleven from getting back into your mind.

Jonathan wished he could’ve been there. He didn’t know why because he knew that even if he was, there was nothing he could do. Maybe he just wanted to be there to see you one last time because the last time he saw you, you were a sobbing mess helping him pack up his house before the move.

Regardless, he had a feeling that when he returned to Hawkins, he’d be down a friend.

“Oh, no…” El muttered.

The boys shot up, leaning over the freezer.

“What?! What?!” Mike asked.

“I think…” El trailed off. “I think we were wrong.”

Will furrowed his brows, his knuckles turning white from gripping the edge of the freezer so tight. “Wrong? Wrong about what, El?”

El didn’t respond.

“El!” Will exclaimed. “Wrong about what?!”

You huffed, eyes fluttering open, slowly stirring back awake.

Your vision was blurry, but you instantly recognized the red glow around you.

Vecna’s mind.

Your eyes widened. You went to move, but you couldn’t. The vines had you restrained against a piece of the Creel house. The door.

Footsteps echoed in the distance, and you flinched hearing them.

Vecna slowly approached you and your eyes scanned your surroundings. Looking for Eleven.

“She’s not here anymore,” Vecna said.

“Where is she?” you seethed.

Vecna ignored you, tilting his head slightly. “Hawkins will burn and fall,” he spoke, making your jaw tighten. “And the rest of this senseless, broken world. And I will be there. I will be there to pick up the pieces when it does.”

You looked at him with so much disgust, so much hate in your heart for a girl who forgave even the worst people. “What are you planning to do?” you snapped, the question coming out as if it were laced with venom. “What is the goal here?”

Vecna smirked, ignoring you completely. “There was a time where I had hoped to have you by my side. But now I just want you to watch.”

There was a loud thud in the attic, followed by panting.

Billy stared at Jason knocked out on the floor, blood against his own knuckles. He beat the living shit out of him and honestly…rightfully so.

Lucas was hunched over, catching his breath. Billy patted his back gently. “You alright, man?”

Lucas stood up straight nodding, this breathing slowly evening out. “Yeah. You?”

Billy smirked. “Never better.”

Steve still held your walkman in his hands. Completely defeated. “Fuck,” he muttered. “What are- what…what the fuck do I do?”

“Maybe she doesn’t need it to get back to us,” Max tried to reassure him. “I mean, there has to be another way out aside from music, right? It is her mind afterall.”

Billy and Lucas walked over to where Steve was kneeling. Their lips parted slightly at the sight of your crushed walkman.

Your breathing picked up again, a whimper escaping your mouth yet again.

Steve turned his attention back to you, dropping the walkman. “Hey,” he whispered, praying you could hear him. Praying that Max’s theory was right. His hand was on your shoulder. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here. I’m right here. I just…” his voice cracked. It was like talking to the damn wall. You couldn’t hear him. “I just need you to come back to me, alright? I love you. I love you so, so much, honey. Come back. Please.” His bottom lip trembled as he drew in a shaky breath. “I love you,” you cried. “Please, just come back. Ple-”

It was like time had stopped and Steve Harrington’s world stopped spinning. It was like a knife to the heart. It was like a fucking meteorite wiped out the entire human species.

He gasped, eyes wide as he jumped back.

Lucas’ hands flew behind his head, his breath catching in his throat.

Max’s heart dropped as she shook her head in denial.

Billy’s eyes widened, filling with salty tears.

Your body slowly lifted into the air. Just like it did that day in the cemetery.

“No!” Steve shouted. “No, no, no, no,” he cried. “Wha- what the fuck do I do?” he panicked, heart racing.

Crack!

Your ankle snapped first and it was like a stab into Steve’s heart. He couldn’t think straight, form a single coherent thought.

Lucas gasped at the sound, a hand covering his mouth to stop a sob from escaping, as he watched the crimson blood leak from your eyes.

Steve screamed your name as Lucas shouted at you to come back.

Steve’s mind was a boggled mess as he tried to figure out what the hell to do. “Billy, what do I do?” he panicked. “I don’t- what the fuck do we do?”

Billy didn’t respond.

Steve turned to face Billy. “I don’t know what to do. I-”

He froze.

His brows furrowed.

He blinked once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

“Billy?”

He snapped his fingers in front of Billy’s face. “Hey, man!”

He shook his shoulders. “Billy! Wake up, man! Wake up!”

Billy stood unmoving, eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Just.

Like.

You.

“Max…?”

“Max.”

“Max!”

“Max! Max! Max! No! Max!”

Steve whipped his head towards Lucas. He was shaking Max. “Hey! Wake up! Come on, Max!”

Steve turned around, looking at you floating in the air, ankle snapped and blood dripping down your eyes.

Something was wrong.

Something was so, so, so, catatrophically wrong.

Vecna’s hand was above your face, and you shut your eyes, accepting your fate. You were going to die.

You could feel the life starting to drain out of you. It was suffocating. You could only imagine what your physical body looked like. Bones snapping and eyes-

Vecna scoffed, pulling his hand away from your face. You gasped for air, your clouded mind coming back to reality and trying to wrap your head around what the hell just happened.

“You really believed it’d be you?” Vecna mused, sounding far too entertained for his own good.

You blinked, mind still foggy, nothing making sense. “What?”

“You’re a walking red herring.”

You blinked. “What are you talking about?”

He tilted his head slightly. “This whole time, you believed I was after you. This whole time, you thought I was after you.”

He smirked and looked to your right.

You followed his line of sight.

Your heart dropped, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. “No! No! No! No!” you panicked, trying to wiggle out of the restraints, but it was no use.

Beside you, Billy was passed out, vines holding him up against a piece of the house.

“Billy!” you shouted at him. “Billy! Wake up! Billy!”

“It’s been him the whole time,” Vecna said. “It was never going to be you. You and your friends were so caught up in you, that no one paid attention to Billy.”

He was right. Hell, even Dustin was right when he thought it could’ve been someone else who was seeing Ms. Kelley.

Because it was.

It was Billy all along.

You were the distraction from the real victim.

You were so caught up in yourself you never took the time to think about Billy. He too struggled, hiding behind his dry sarcasm. He couldn’t sleep at night, haunted by the nightmare that was finding out his father died and that he had orchestrated it when under the control of the Mind Flayer. He struggled, going back and forth between thinking that his father’s death was justified or that it was cruel.

It was him.

He was the last victim and he always had been.

“Billy!” you shouted as he started to stir awake. He was still passed out, but the small movement gave you some hope.

Vecna grabbed your face and you flinched as he made you look up at him. “But it wouldn’t have been him had you not interfered with fate. It really should’ve been Max.”

Your eyes widened as you turned to your left, Max in the same state as Billy.

“Max!” you screamed. “No! Max!” You turned your head back to Vecna. “Don’t please,” you begged, voice ragged. “Just- Just take me instead, please,” you cried. “Don’t kill them.”

“I thought you wanted to live?”

“No!” you shouted. “Not at the expense of their life. Please.”

Vecna hummed. “Just remember that you did this.”

“What? No! No! Henry! Hen-!”

You gasped, waking up. Your body dropped to the floor. Steve immediately rushed over to you. Your chest heaved up and down, tears quickly filling your eyes and dripping down your face in a gross mix of salty tears and blood.

You couldn’t feel your leg, but you didn’t care. There were other things to be drastically more concerned with.

“It’s okay, baby,” he whispered, holding you tight. “I’m right here.”

Your eyes scanned the room, searching for Max and Billy.

Through the indigo glow of the room, you spotted them straight ahead right as Billy’s body started to lift.

You and Steve looked up in horror, both of your eyes widening.

It was almost as though it happened in slow motion, yet in real time…it happened in the blink of an eye.

Each sound of bones snapping made you flinch.

It was the most graphic thing you had ever seen.

His eyes were sucked backwards right before his body slammed into the ground.

“No!” you screamed, scooting across the room, towards his body. “Billy,” you cried, holding his now deceased corpse. “Billy, I’m so sorry,” you sobbed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you apologized over and over again.

Lucas watched in horror before turning back to Max whose body began to lift too.

“Max! Max!”

And again, bones snapped.

But not as much as Billy.

Not enough to kill her right away.

And her eyes had only gone white, they weren’t sucked back like the other victims.

It was almost as if another force had interfered.

Max dropped to the ground, her body disfigured, blood dripping down her face. Lucas caught her under his arms and he fell to the floor.

You still held Billy, but you watched. Watched as Henry took her too, just like he intended. You broke down again, unable to move no thanks to your broken ankle.

Erica’s hurried footsteps stomped up the stairs. “Guys?!”

Lucas whipped his head around. “We need a doctor! Call an ambulance! Hurry! Call an ambulance!” he sobbed.

Steve stood petrified.

What the fuck just happened?

You were floating one minute, bones snapping, blood dripping down your face…then the next Billy was killed and now Max was left half alive and slowly dying.

Steve raced over to Lucas and Max, trying to figure out what to do. He glanced over at you, you were sobbing, choking on your own ragged breaths, and still holding Billy. Your eyes were shut as you apologized over and over again, whether that be to Billy, Max, or both, Steve wasn’t sure.

“Lucas…” Max choked out.

“Yes, yes I’m here. I’m here.”

“I-I can’t feel or…s-see anything,” she cried.

“I know. I know. It’s okay. We’re gonna get you some help, okay? Just- just hold on.”

“Lucas, I’m scared. I’m so scared. I’m so scared.”

“I know. I know. I know.”

“I don’t wanna die,” Max sobbed. “I’m not ready.”

“You’re not gonna die. Just hang on.”

“I don’t wanna go! I’m not ready!”

“You’re not gonna die!” Lucas cried. “Just- just hang on!”

Max’s breathing began to slow and reality quickly set in for Lucas. “No, no, no,” he panicked, shaking her. “Max. Stay with me. Max, stay with me. No, no, Max. Stay with me! Don’t go, Max! Max, stay with me. Just look at me, Max. Max, look. No. Stay with me, Max. Hang on. Just hang on.”

Then…

She stopped breathing.

“Max? Max? Max? Max? Max, stay with me. Max, stay with me. No! No! No! No! Max! Max! Please, stay with me! No!”

Lucas screamed, throwing his head back. “Erica, help!”

Steve’s eyes pickled with tears as he watched the unimaginable occur right in front of him. In his mind, he was the protector. It was his job to protect and save everyone, especially the kids. But he had failed. Max was gone and so was Billy. 

He looked back over to you, and you were hyperventilating, the guilt eating you alive.

You did this.

This was all your fault.

The room was filled with your’s and Lucas’ cries. You couldn’t even look over at Max, you were too disgusted with yourself. Too ashamed to look at the consequences of your own actions.

Maybe you should’ve just joined Henry that day he asked you to. You’d like to imagine that things would go differently, but you weren’t so sure.

Steve came over to you, and you leaned back into his touch, your cries muffled in his shirt as he stroked your hair. Your arms still held Billy. Why you held him? You didn’t know.

Maybe letting go meant accepting the fact that he was gone.

Lucas sniffled, staring down at Max. His mind couldn’t wrap around what the hell had happened. It was never supposed to be Max. This whole time up until now…it was supposed to be you.

The floorboards began to crack and you lifted your head off of Steve. You furrowed your brows as you looked at the floor rattle.

Lucas shifted, Max still in his hold, as he stared at the floor.

It rattled briefly before it began to shake.

The ground suddenly split into two, a red glow cutting through the brown wood. Your eyes widened as you gasped. Steve wasted no time grabbing you under your arms and pulling you away from the giant hole in the earth that was beginning to spread, Billy falling from your hold.

It suddenly snapped, the earth splitting into a long line through the wood and out of the house, taking Jason along with it.

Lucas had grabbed Max too, moving her away from the forming gate.

Billy’s body was just a few feet away, narrowly missed.

The house continued to vibrate and shake, Steve clinging onto you.

Once the earth’s movements subsided, the three of you sat there in defeat. Steve was still holding you from behind, your head resting against his chest as you cried.

You had lost Billy. The boy who wanted to turn his life around and finally do some good. And you had lost Max. The little girl who looked up to you like an older sister.

Vecna won.

After all these years, you’d never lost. You always won…or at least that’s how it seemed. Maybe you never won. Maybe it was just swept under the rug and your ignorance was bliss, but you hated the feeling of losing.

Not just losing a fight.

But losing people you loved.

The room was silent with the exception of your’s and Lucas’ sobs.

Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs.

You glanced up and saw Erica, Robin, Nancy, and Dustin run in, eyes wide at the sight of you alive, Billy and Max dead.

Erica had already told them what happened…but seeing it was something entirely different. It made it all too real to be there in that room and see it for themselves.

You sniffled, looking back down at Billy and-

Wait…

Erica, Robin, Nancy, and Dustin…

You looked back up.

“Where’s Eddie?” you asked.

No one uttered a word.

Erica looked over to the three people that were supposed to return with him. Nancy crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at her shoes.

Robin’s bottom lip trembled, her eyes filled with tears. She looked like if she even tried to open her mouth a sob would come out instead of a coherent sentence.

“Where is he?”

Dustin walked up to you, shoulders sagging, eyes filled with tears, defeat written all over his face. He dug in his pocket and pulled it out a second later, holding his hand out to you.

You blinked in confusion, placing your hand out, palm up.

Dustin dropped what was in his hand into your own.

A bloody guitar pic necklace.

Eddie’s.

“He uh…” Dustin trailed off, voice breaking. “Told me to tell you that he loved you.”

It was like your world stopped spinning.

First Billy, then Max, and now your best friend.

You told him not to. He promised. He promised to come back to you and now your brother was giving you his necklace.

The gut wrenching scream you let out tore through your soul and made everyone else in that room feel every ounce of pain in your body. It sounded less human and more like something dying, because truth be told, you were. You were dying inside.

You’d spend a lifetime trying to bury the truth that you didn’t do enough to prevent this all from happening.

While you could bury the dead, you couldn’t bury the guilt. Bury the truth. Bury your pain and agony.

“No, no, no, no, no,” you sobbed, crying so hard that you felt like you were about to throw up.

Steve, warped his arms tighter around you, stroking your head gently. “I know, baby. I know,” he cooed, tears slipping down his own face after hearing all your pain. All your hurt. That scream would forever be engraved into his mind and it would keep him up at night. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, kissing your temple. “I’m sorry.”

And you were sorry too.

Sorry for letting Billy Hargrove, Max Mayfield, and Eddie Munson down, all in the span of one day.

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Chapter 31 - Can You Stand The Rain

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A/N: I’m so sorry guys.

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