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Heroes | Stranger Things x Fem!Henderson!Reader (Interactive!) | Chapter 32- Two Steps Back

SUMMARY: An unexpected group of outcasts and nerds must come together to solve their small town's mysteries, learning what it means to become found family and heroes.

INTERACTIVE: This story is completely interactive! Place votes at the end of each chapter to determine which paths you go down! Every decision matters!!

A/N: There will come a time where it seems all hope had been lost, like we've taken two steps back...but will we have?

WARNINGS: Mentions of past death, reader low key wants Henry dead, Steve and reader high key want each other back

WC: 7.5K

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“Good morning, Hawkins! This is the WSQK The Squawk!”

A rubber chicken noise followed soon after, making you smile.

The small radio was turned on in your kitchen as you got ready to head out to study.

Life had been awfully strange the past year from looking for Henry nearly every other day to you graduating and becoming an adult.

Your grades were too bad your senior year to go straight to a four year and you missed the deadline to apply to junior college. You were currently working at the local diner to make some money and planned to apply to junior college next semester.

But as for now, you kept your mind sharp and distracted by studying whatever new material you could get your hands on.

“It’s lookin’ like a pretty regular day in Hawkins. Fifty five degrees, low chance of rain, medium chance of arrest, high chase of helicopters. But general banality aside, it’s an exciting day for me, your friend, entertainer, and DJ, Robin Buckley…Nice to meet you! …AKA Rockin’ Robin!”

The song Rockin’ Robin began to play and you smiled, reaching up into your cabinet for a glass. You walked over to your fridge, filling it with ice and water.

“And why is it a big day for me, you ask? Well, it’s my five hundredth broadcast. Yeah, you heard that right, folks. Five-double-O!” An applause ensued. “Which means it’s been even longer since you’ve heard the sultry voice of Jimmy ‘Fast Hands’ Lee. But while Jimmy was fleeing Hawkins even faster than he moves those hands…”

A scream followed Robin’s words and your eyes widened as you untwisted the bag of bread. You blinked, caught off guard and placed a piece into the toaster.

“…Yours truly was watching slack-jawed as the earth split open beneath her feet and coughed up that tsunami of mysterious dandruff. And now, I’m stuck here with you, my fellow quarantine compatriots. And if I can be brutally honest, I couldn’t be happier. Because when you really think about it, why would you want to live anywhere else?”

You smirked, tying the bag of bread off and putting it away. Robin spreading propaganda was not on your 1987 bingo card, yet here she was.

After Hawkins cracked open, the government had been trying their best to cover it up and keep public hysteria at a minimum. No one truly knew what was going on except for you and your friends, which sometimes felt more like a curse than a blessing.

You’d give anything to be a normal person who was oblivious to what was going on.

“I mean what town on earth can match our very impressive military to civilian ratio?” The sound of a whistle filled your kitchen. “And those free mandatory medical checkups? I mean, very cool. ‘Cause after we inhaled those springtime snowflakes, I mean, who knows what’s wrong with us? Maybe we’re fine, maybe not.” You giggled when someone cued the coughing sound effect. “No one really knows for sure. After all, this was a ‘natural phenomenon never seen by man’,” Robin quoted in a robotic voice.

Your toast popped and you reached into the cabinet for a plate and set the toast on it before grabbing a knife and adding your butter.

“A phenomenon now covered up by a giant metal band aid. Quite the eyesore, but hey, great for sledding. Though seriously, kids, stop sledding on the giant steel band aid. You are going to kill yourselves, and also, the men with guns, they don’t like it, not one bit.”

You grabbed your plate and water, setting it at the table and taking a seat before biting into your breakfast.

“While we’re on the subject of things not to do, please steer clear of the Military Access Control Zone, aka the MAC-Z, or as I like to call it, the Big Mac. I have no idea what’s going on in there, but I have a gut feeling there’s a pretty good reason they’d like you to stay away. But hey, the rest of Hawkins is still there for you to enjoy. Someday soon they’re gonna let us all out of here.” A bell rang twice right as you got up to grab a napkin from the counter.

“In the meantime, be thankful this is your home, study for that test, enjoy that T.V. dinner, and go on that date.”

You sat back down at the table, your expression dropping slightly at the mention of a date.

“Which, by the way, is exactly what yours truly is doing tonight. That’s right, Rockin’ Robin had a date, ladies and gentlemen!” Robin giggled right as the rubber chicken squeaked again.

You couldn’t help but to smile. Robin and Vickie had gotten together and you couldn’t have been happier for her. You thought they were cute together and complemented one another well.

“And now, who is this lucky someone? Well, don’t be so nosy, kids. They know who they are. That is, if you’re listening, which I hope you are. Because this next one, it’s for you, babe.”

The song switched and you took another bite of your toast. Your morning was off to a great start, as it had seemingly been for the past year.That was until the radio started glitching.

You furrowed your brows, standing up and walking up to the kitchen counter. You grabbed the radio and hit it a few times, re-tuned it, and even turned it off and back on.

“What the hell,” you muttered to yourself.

Something else was going on and it wasn’t your radio.

“Woah. What’s going on? What the hell? What the hell?!” Robin exclaimed, taking her headphones off and jolting up from her seat.

Back at The Squawk, they were experiencing some technical issues of their own.

Steve took his headphones off too, following Robin out of the booth. “I told you to stop thumbing your nose at the military,” he lectured Robin.

“I was reiterating their goddamn rules, encouraging compliance,” she argued.

“Right, there was no sarcasm there.”

“Yeah, said the dingus with the rubber chicken.”

“These are very serious people, Robin!”

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

Steve sighed, walking over to a small coffee table and snatching the walkie up, radioing the only person he knew could help. Well…maybe not the only person who could help. He radioed the only person who would answer him. “Henderson, do you copy? Henderson?”

“Yeah, I copy,” Dustin’s voice came though, slightly annoyed. “God, you sound swell. Let me take a wild guess. You’re not calling to wish me a good morning.”

“Well, no, it’s not exactly a good morning,” Steve replied. “We’ve got kind of a situation down here at the Squawk. The signal, its- its gone all wonky. I think Robin may have finally pissed them off.”

“Doubtful. She was encouraging compliance.”

“Told you!” Robin shouted at Steve.

“The remote radio head’s the more likely culprit.”

Steve blinked, the jargon unfamiliar to him. “The remote what?” he asked with furrowed brows.

“Just read the manual, Steve,” Dustin sighed.

“Come on, man,” Steve groaned. “That thing might as well be in Greek.”

“Then learn Greek!” Dustin fired back. “I can’t always be there to solve your problems for you, Steve.”

And with that, the line went dead.

“Henderson?” Steve radioed. No one replied. “God!” Steve scoffed in annoyance. “Learn Greek,” he repeated, turning around to Robin. “You heard that tone. You heard that right?” Steve tossed the walkie behind him, it landing on the couch.

“I swear to God, this stupid thing doesn’t exist,” Robin groaned, shooting up from the drawer she was looking in.

“Did someone try Dustin again?” Jonathan asked, glancing up from a pile of books.

“He turned off his walkie,” Robin replied, walking right past him.

“What’s up with him lately?” Nancy asked, crouched down and looking through a bottom shelf.

Electing not to ask you for help, for obvious reasons, Steve and Robin called up Jonathan and Nancy to help them find the manual. They had hoped that one of them would figure out what remote radio thing, or whatever the hell Dustin had said, was.

Steve was sitting at a table, sifting through some documents trying to find anything that could help. “Don’t even get me started,” he huffed.

“Yeah, please don’t,” Robin practically begged.

Jonathan groaned, turning around to face the others. “We’ve been searching for nearly an hour now, are we sure this manual is real?”

“I don’t know!” Robin exclaimed, about five seconds away from ripping out her hair. “I’ve never even seen the damn thing!” she exclaimed, throwing her hand into the air.

Nancy sighed, standing up and putting her hands on her hips, feeling completely defeated by now. “Crazy idea, but uh…” she trailed off, Steve’s eyes slowly moving to look up at her, somehow knowing exactly where this was going. “But why don’t we call the other genius?”

Robin looked over to Steve who appeared to be frozen in place. “It is her day off…” she muttered. “She’s free.”

Steve’s jaw tensed. It wasn’t like you guys hadn’t seen each other in a year and a half, because you had due to the numerous crawls.

You just…never talked.

Not once did you speak to one another since that day you broke up.

“Can’t we just, like, keep looking?” Steve asked. “Or try Dustin again or something.”

“We’ve been looking for so long,” Nancy reasoned. “And Dustin’s walkie is off. I say we just call her up and get this sorted out instead of sitting here getting nothing done.”

Steve groaned and threw his head down onto the table, his arms wrapped around his head. “I’m gonna die.”

“Well then at least you won’t have to see her if you’re dead,” Jonathan joked. Steve lifted his head up, his narrowed eyes peaking over his arms.

“I’m just gonna call her,” Robin said, leaving the room to call you.

You were tying your shoes on the edge of your bed when your phone rang. You reached over and picked it up. “Hello?”

“Hey!”

You immediately recognized the voice.

“What’s up, Robs?”

“So uh…I don’t know if you were listening but there’s some bonkers stuff going on down here at the Squawk.”

“Oh yeah,” you replied. “I heard it.”

“Right…”

“Yup.”

“Exactly,” she laughed awkwardly.

Your brows pressed together as you blinked. “Why are you being so weird?”

“Okay, listen,” she began, and you could tell by her tone that she was about to spew out words a mile a minute. “We need help, like serious help. We don’t know how to fix anything and we called your brother but he’s no help and it got so bad we called Jonathan and Nancy. Yes, Jonathan and Nancy! We just need your little genius brain for, like, two seconds to fix the station and I swear, you don’t even have to speak to Harrington! Just please, please, please, get your ass down here!”

Your body stiffened as you listened to her words. It was so painfully awkward to be around Steve, even for crawls. You had yet to be around him aside from a crawl so this would be the first.

Your fingers tugged at the telephone cord as you stared at the wall.

“Hello?”

“I’m still here,” you said softly, letting out a sigh after. “I’ll be there in a few.”

“Thank you! You’re a lifesaver!”

Your car pulled up to the Squawk, and as soon as you took the keys out of the ignition, you shut your eyes.

That nasty argument you had with Steve haunted you.

When he called you out for ignoring your emotions, it felt like a giant spotlight was shining down on you, telling everyone that it was true.

Because it was.

Even after your breakup.

You loved Steve, more than anything, so it was hard moving on. You never really did move on because you started to ignore how you felt. You never processed anything.

You started to study more and pick up more hours at work. Whenever you had free time, you filled it with more work, more books, more chores. You were never not busy. You thought that if you kept your mind occupied, you’d never have to think about that day, or that terrifying night.

You groaned, throwing your head back before you gathered up enough strength to get out of the car and walk inside. Your feet carried you through the doors and into the room outside of the station booth.

Steve and Robin were beside one another on the couch, Jonathan leaning back against the booth, and Nancy in a chair.

As soon as you walked into the room, Steve looked away, but his eyes couldn’t help but to drift back to you for half a second.

God, why’d your hair have to look so good and why’d your skin have to glow? And jeez, who let you out of the house in those jeans?

The room was filled with tension, everyone knowing what happened between you and Steve.

Robin was the first to know and it was only a matter of time before word got to Nancy and Jonathan.

And of course, because of Dustin, the rest of the kids knew about it too.

And then because of El, Hopper knew and because Hopper knew, that meant Joyce knew.

Which meant everyone who was involved in saving the world knew meaning every single time you all met up for a crawl, it was painfully awkward.

Including now.

You looked everywhere but at Steve, trying so hard to ignore the way his shirt fit his frame and the way his stupid hair framed his face.

“So uh, what happened?” you asked, trying as quick as possible to get to the bottom of the situation.

“Right!” Robin exclaimed. “Our whole station went kablooey and it’s all wonky now. We don’t know how to fix it.”

You hummed in thought. “My best guess is it’s the remote radio head.”

“Funny,” Jonathan chuckled. “Your brother said the same thing.”

“Right,” Nancy nodded. “Remote radio head. What is it and where is it?”

“It’s the transceiver module on a cell tower. It basically converts and amplifies radio frequency signals,” you explained and it made Steve’s face heat up.

He loved hearing you talk about nerdy stuff he knew nothing about. He loved hearing the sound of your voice, even if you wanted nothing to do with him now.

“It should be on the top of the radio tower outside,” you said.

“And uh…what’s wrong with it, exactly?” Robin asked.

You shrugged. “Loose wire?” It was hard to tell from the ground, someone would need to go up and assess the issue.

The five of you walked outside, you and Steve standing as far away as possible from each other, as you all looked up at the tower.

“I don’t see it,” Robin said.

“Well, it’s up there somewhere,” you stated. “Kinda has to be or else none of this frequency stuff would be working.”

“So, I guess somebody’s gotta climb to the tippy top of this bad boy and…” Robin trailed off, making a noise as if to mimic fixing something, moving her hands in a similar mannerism.

“Without a harness or anything, it seems kind of dangerous,” Nancy commented.

You nodded in agreement. “Yeah, definitely. Pretty risky job.”

“Aka, job for good old Steve Harrington,” Steve spoke, looking up at the tower.

“No third person, please,” Robin cringed.

You furrowed your brows, glancing over at Steve who was already looking at you. He averted his gaze quickly and walked away.

Jonathan caught on before anyone else. Steve was silently looking for your approval.

Which only meant one thing.

Jonathan was about to mess with him.

“Alright,” Jonathan said, walking beside Steve and looking up at the tower with him. “I, uh…I actually think this might be a better job for Jonathan Byers,” he said, taking his coat off. “I’m, like, one quarter monkey, dude.”

Steve took his coat off, placing a firm hand on Jonathan’s chest. “I’ve got this, Byers. Don’t sweat it.” He tossed his coat aside, Robin catching it against her chest, and headed straight for the tower.

You rolled your eyes. “Idiot,” you muttered.

“What?” Robin asked, turning to you.

“Voltage.”

While a part of you hated Steve, the other part of you that still loved him somewhere didn’t want to find him dead.

“Right,” she realized. “Uh, voltage!” she called after Steve, making him stop in his tracks. “Unless you wanna fry,” she said, holding her hands up.

“Yeah, I know,” he said, turning to walk towards the door. “I’m not an idiot,” he added, looking over his shoulder and glancing at you for some sort of approval. You instead had your arms crossed and rolled your eyes, which he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly embarrassed.

He opened the door and walked inside to turn the voltage off. He turned the dial all the way down to zero and by the time he walked out, Jonathan was already climbing the ladder.

“Woah, dude, what are you doing?”

Jonathan stopped on the ladder and turned around. “I got this, dude,” he said, mocking Steve’s word choice. “Don’t sweat it.” Jonathan flashed him a teasing smile, climbing up the ladder.

Steve looked over to you and you had your brows furrowed as you watched Jonathan climb up.

Steve looked back up at Jonathan. “Son of a…” he muttered to himself before immediately taking off and bolting to the tower. He climbed up the ladder moving as fast as he could trying to pass Jonathan who was a few steps ahead.

You blinked, turning around with a sigh as soon as you saw Steve. “What the hell is he doing, Jonathan literally said he had it.”

“Trying to win you back?” Robin suggested with a shrug, resulting in you cringing.

The sound of a vehicle pulling up made you turn your head, and when you did, you saw a very familiar cemitruck.

“I thought grocery delivery wasn’t until tomorrow?” Robin asked.

“Me too,” Nancy sighed, staring at the truck.

Meanwhile, back at the radio tower, Steve and Jonathan climbed as fast as they could to the top. Once there, they both looked down, realizing how far up they truly were.

Jonathan quickly turned around, spotting the issue. He crouched down, screwing two loose cords back together. He stood up straight again, looking at the box. It still wasn’t on.

Steve hit it with the back of his hand once, the box wiring back to life. He shrugged when Jonathan glanced over at him. Never fails.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at him. “Uh huh.”

They both bolted over to the edge, shouting “I fixed it!” when they realized that none of you girls were standing where you once were.

Meaning you weren’t there and gave no shits.

“Damn it,” Steve muttered under his breath.

You, Nancy, and Robin stood outside the truck as Murray opened the back. “Alright,” he sighed, climbing inside. “Santa’s brought a full sack today.” He grabbed a few bags, moving them to the front before climbing out. “A fresh telemetry tag,” he said, handing you the box. “Scarcer than hen’s teeth, these things.”

You looked down at the box, subconsciously looking away to see if someone was back yet.

Murray turned around, grabbing two metal boxes by their handles and handing them to Nancy. “Enough bullets and shells for Hop to start a small war, if he should so choose.” He reached into a box, grabbing a lettuce head and flashing it at you. “Anyone order a salad?” He turned around again and grabbed a grenade, a cheeky smile on his face. “Grenade salad?”

Your face scrunched at his joke and it didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“I hid the grenades under the, uh, lettuce,” he explained, his bubbly tone dropping.

You nodded, brows raised. “That’s nice, Murray.”

“Okay,” he muttered before turning back into the truck to show you more goods. “Gatorade for El’s battery,” he said, picking up a bottle and holding it up to you.

Footsteps began to fill your ears and you turned your head to find Jonathan and Steve jogging back. “Someone say Gatorade?” Jonathan asked.

“Let me get one of those,” Steve panted, clearly out of breath from climbing to the top of the radio tower and back down again.

“Sure,” Murray said, tossing him the bottle. “But I don’t think it’s gonna go too well with…” he trailed off, reaching into his bag. “Peatnut butter-”

“Boppers!” Steve exclaimed like a kid in a candy store. “God, I missed these things,” he said, right as Murray tossed him the box.

The corner of your lips tugged upward slightly as you watched Steve.

God, why’d he have to be so cute even after you broke up?

Robin glanced over at you and her expression softened. She loved you and Steve both, so it was weird for her being around the two of you after you broke up. She was silently praying for the day you two would just get back together, but she was beginning to lose hope as it had already been over a year by now.

“Thanks,” Steve thanked him, tucking the box under his arm and screwing the cap back onto his drink.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Byers,” Murray went on, making Jonathan look up to him. “I got you a present too.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cassette tape. “I know you’re allergic to jazz, but just give it a whirl,” he said, drawing a small circle in the air with the tape. “I think you’ll find it quite engaging.” Not only was there too much emphasis on the last word, Murray winked at Jonathan.

You were onto him…

Jonathan snatched the tape, looking over to you. You raised a brow and he cleared his throat, looking back down at the tape in his hand.

Nancy slowly turned to Jonathan, but before she could give him a look that could even slightly inform him as to what she was thinking, Murray bopped her on the head with an envelope. “And for the station manager, the reason for my premature delivery,” he said, handing it to her.

Nancy took the envelope, sighing before opening it and pulling the papers out. You peaked over her shoulder, eyes scanning over the documents.

But you weren’t the only one who wanted a peak.

Steve stood behind you, looking over your shoulder too.

You stiffened, consumed by his body heat and frame that was nearly touching your back.

“A burn?” Nancy asked. “Tonight? But that’s-”

“Too soo, I know,” Murray interrupted. “Whatever they’re doing in the Upside Down evidently needs a serious injection of resources.

Nancy flipped to the next page and Robin’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of cargo.”

“I figure a supply drop this big takes two hours, minimum.”

“Which gives Hopper plenty of time for a crawl,” Nancy concluded.

“Maybe tonight’s the night we finally find that bastard and end this.”

Something behind your eyes changed.

Hope.

After all of the crawls you had been through, you had a good feeling about this one. You were hopeful that tonight would be the night.

“Hey, let me see that,” Steve said from behind you. His arm brushed yours, his chest pressing into your back as he reached for the documents in Nancy’s hand.

Jonathan watched with raised brows as you stiffened, your eyes going wide at the contact.

Nancy blinked, caught off guard, while Robin smirked, knowing damn well Steve did that on purpose.

Nancy handed him the documents, and he thanked her, his knuckles brushing your arm, creating a line of goosebumps along your skin.

He glanced down at you and smirked, watching as your face went a shade of pink and your eyes blinked rapidly.

He didn’t even look at the documents. He was looking at you.

“Hey there, friends, this is Rockin’ Robin! Sorry about the abrupt departure. I hope you survived without me. We had some annoying technical difficulties.”

You watched as Steve queued up a glass shattering sound effect followed by crying.

You all regrouped in the booth, Robin hopping back onto the radio to alert the others using code words about another crawl.

“But to make it up to you, we have a very special treat that’s sure to turn your day upside down…”

The song Upside Down began to play, and your heart couldn’t help but to race in anticipation as it did leading up to every crawl. The adrenaline of knowing that you were sending Hopper down there and that he could potentially find Henry was not only exhilarating, it was nerve wrecking.

“Now, before you start bumping, here’s a few fun facts about the Boss. She was born Diane in the North End of Detroit. Berry Gordy, that’s Gordy with a G, signed her to Motown in 1961. And one is the key number, because between 1964 and ‘67, the Supremes had ten songs hit the top of the charts. That’s right, ten. Then in ‘78, she tried to make it big in the movies with The Wiz, which was a colossal flop-a-roonie. But, in my personal opinion, I still dig it. I mean. Michael Jackson as a scarecrow? Give it a chance. But make sure you bring your super-sized popcorn, because this movie has a run time of over two hours. Alright, class dismissed. I hope you were taking notes. There will be a test later. Take it away Diane.”

Robin turned the music up, taking her headphones off and shutting off her mic. The five of you left the room, walking down the hallway to a shelf. Nancy moved a box out of the way and undid the lock before sliding the shelf away, all of you following her down the stairs. Steve was the last one in, moving the shelf back over and putting the box over the hole.

You all followed Nancy to the projector. You pulled a chair out, kicking your legs up onto the table. Robin grabbed a chair and pulled it up, sitting right beside you.

And of course, Steve pulled a chair up beside you, putting his legs on top of the table too.

His knee brushed yours and he gazed over at you. You could feel his eyes on yours. He wasn’t pulling his leg away.

You moved your leg away from his, crossing it over your other one.

Jonathan stood near the projector with his arms crossed.

“Alright,” Nancy began, walking up to where the visual was projected. “So, assuming Murray’s intel is correct, the supply convoy is set to reach Hawkins at 10:00 sharp. Meaning, I want Hopper in the tunnels en route to the MAC-Z no later than 9:00,” she explained, using a stick to point to a location on the map.

“Barring unusual traffic, I expect the convoy to reach the MAC-Z at 10:15. And now the crawl begins. Hop is now in the Upside Down, traveling at what I hope to be a gentle thirty miles an hour, which will allow Dustin and Steve to follow along in the Rightside Up.” Her stick moved slowly down the street on the map.

“I expect the convoy to take the same route as last month. Main to Cornwallis, one turn. But if you guys hit any red lights-”

“I’ll blow right through,” Steve interrupted.

Nancy whipped her head around. “Only if there’s no MPs around,” she said, pointing her stick at Steve and earning a scoff from him. “Remember, if you guys get pulled over, we lose Hop, we’re toast.”

Steve put his hands up. “I got it.”

Nancy turned back around, pointing with her stick and moving it up. “You two are going to move up Cornwallis for roughly six miles. And as the convoy reaches this Shell station here, we radio Hop to disembark.” She pulled her stick away, walking away from the screen. “Which will drop him at the border of G1, where he’ll have two whole hours to search for Vecna, which is ample time,” she said confidently. “He’s cleared zones much faster. So, all in all, signs point to another successful crawl,” she said with a smile, turning around to face all of you.

Steve shifted, moving to sit on the edge of the table with his arms, feet resting in the chair he was in.

Jonathan stood still and cleared his throat while Robin glanced at Steve then back to Nancy.

“Is there a problem?” Nancy asked.

“Umm…” Jonathan trailed off, looking down at his shoes. “No. No, I mean, I think it’s good,” he nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “Yeah, it’s good. It’s really good. It’s just uhm…”

“Zone G1 is not that exciting or Vecna-y,” Robin interjected. “I mean, what does it have? A Circuit City, a couple of houses, and a Big Buy?” she asked. “What are the chances Vecna’s hiding there?”

You shook your head. “Doesn’t matter,” you finally spoke up, everyone now turning their attention to you. “We keep searching each zone until we find him.”

“I agree,” Nancy said. “We stick to the plan. We get into the Upside Down the only way we can, through the MAC-Z gate under the cover of a burn.”

“Unless…” Steve trailed off. “He’s already dead.”

You scoffed, now finally looking at him. He looked over at you and faltered for a moment. “I mean, your plan is great,” he said, turning to Nancy. “It’s just…this is crawl what? Are we in the thirties now? And not a single baddie in sight.”

You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest.

Nancy was growing annoyed too, pulling her lips into a tight line.

“El can’t find him in her bath, Will hasn’t had his goosies since the shake ‘n’ quake, and…” he trailed off, clearing his throat. “Henderson hasn’t had a vision for who knows how long.”

You glanced down at your shoes.

The man you loved now only called you by your last name.

You had done it too, referring to him as Harrington instead of Steve. It still hurt though, experiencing your relationship change into whatever awkward hell it had become.

“Goosies?” Jonathan asked, oblivious to anything else that came out of Steve’s mouth.

“And last you two saw Vecna,” Steve went on, motioning a hand between Nancy and Robin. “He was roasting like a turkey and pumped full of lead. And that was before he fell three full stories. So, you ever think that, I don’t know, we’re scouring a battlefield that we already, like, won?”

“Have you forgotten what he showed Nancy?” Jonathan asked. “Hawkins on fire. Karen, Holly, everyone dead. Not to mention, what she’s seen?” he went on, nodding to you. “Apparently we’re all supposed to die, and so far only three have.”

“Yeah, man,” Steve replied. “He also showed her her mother walking around like she didn’t die years ago. That’s what he does, he gets in your head and tries to scare you.”

“Yeah, well he did a good job because I am scared,” Nancy said. “And you should be scared too. Because if he’s still out there, he’s planning to end our world, so-”

“We don’t stop looking,” you said. “It doesn’t matter how many crawls it takes, we don’t stop until we find him and know for sure that he’s dead and never coming back.”

Nancy nodded affirmatively. “Exactly.”

Steve glanced over at you for a moment. He wondered if you had listened to him and confronted your emotions, which was a dumb thing to wonder. You hadn’t. You were just too stubborn.

He knew how much you’d been keeping yourself busy, thanks to Robin’s intel, which wasn’t a good sign.

He wanted nothing more but to save you.

But as he had said that day you broke up, he couldn’t save someone who didn’t want to be saved.

“It was this weird feeling. Like something I really haven’t felt before. Mike thinks it could mean that maybe Vecna’s close, that he’s finally re-emerged. And if he has, maybe we’ll find him tonight.”

Will’s words went in one ear and out the other. You stared down at the hospital bed, not looking at the person in it, but the bed frame.

It had become routine to finally start seeing Max with Lucas. Sometimes the other kids would join, and today that person was Will. Regardless, every time you went to see Max, you completely dissociated. You zoned out, never really talking. Never really feeling.

Will turned to you, watching as your eyes remained locked onto the bedframe. He said your name. “What do you think?”

You blinked, sitting up straight. “Sorry. What?”

“About us finding Vecna tonight,” he said.

“Oh…” you trailed off. “Yeah. We’ll find him.”

Lucas let out a sigh nodding his head. “I think so too. I think we’ll find him this time for sure.”

The room fell quiet again with only the soft beeps of the machine. You tugged nervously at the necklace around your neck, eyes drifting back down again.

“You wanna play the tape?” Will asked Lucas. “I’m just- I’m just gonna go grab a Coke or something caffeinated because it’s gonna be a long night,” he said, standing up. Will tapped your shoulder with the back of his hand. “You wanna come?”

You jumped slightly, looking up at him. He had a soft smile, something reassuring behind his eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

He nodded over to Lucas. “You want one?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m good. Thanks.”

You pushed your chair back, standing up. Will walked out of the room first, holding the door open for you to which you thanked him. As soon as you were out of the room, it was like you could breathe again.

“You alright?” Will asked, walking shoulder to shoulder down the hallway to the vending machine.

“Yeah,” you breathed out. “Just…kinda feels suffocating being in there.”

Will’s expression softened. “Yeah, I get it. But I’m proud of you.”

You furrowed your brows, looking over to him. “You are?”

He nodded with a smile. “Yeah. I mean, you’re here and that’s progress. It means you’re healing.”

While you continued to ignore how you felt, you were making slow progress. It was stagnant though. You just showed up because it felt obligatory and you stayed silent the entire time, completely zoned out pretending you were anywhere but there.

Was that progress? Or was it taking two steps back?

You started to do the same thing whenever you went to see Billy and Eddie. You stopped talking to them and dissociated.

You swallowed hard, stopping at the vending machine. “Doesn’t really feel like it,” you admitted. Will reached into his pocket for some cash and looked over to you.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

You shrugged, letting out a sigh. “I just zone out and pretend I’m not even there. Every time I’m here I’m not present. I’m somewhere lost in my own mind.”

Will pulled out a crumbled dollar bill and flattened it. “You used to never be able to walk near this building. I think you being here is great progress.”

You smiled softly. Will struggled for a long time with Eddie’s death. He was the first person in his life to get through to him and make him realize that he was perfectly fine just the way he was. Will faced his emotions, coming to terms with what was and eventually reaching a place where he could talk about what happened without breaking down.

Same with Robin.

They had both fully healed whereas your wound was seemingly still fresh.

Will put his dollar into the machine and two Cokes fell out. He handed you one with a smile.

“Will, I was gonna buy my own,” you said.

He laughed, rolling his eyes. “Please, it’s like one cent, it’s fine.”

“Thanks,” you smiled, accepting the soda.

He nodded, cracking open his and taking a sip. He hummed. “Isn’t this new Coke so much better than old Coke?”

“I honestly can’t taste a difference,” you giggled, the debate one in which you didn’t necessarily understand.

“What?!” Will exclaimed. “This tastes a million times better!”

You laughed. “If you say so.” You handed him your drink. “Can you hold this a sec? I’m gonna run to the restroom really fast.”

“Sure,” he said, taking your drink into his hand.

“Thanks, William,” you teased before turning on your heel and walking down the hallway.

“Hey! I said stop calling me that!” he called after you. He sighed and shook his head. “William,” he repeated, under his breath. He looked up, something, or rather someone catching his attention. “Robin!” Will called, trying to grab the girl’s attention by waving his hand. “Rockin’ Robin!”

She didn’t hear him, turning the corner.

He followed her.

“Dustin, you’re an hour late, man. You’re making us nervous. We need you here at the Squawk.” Lucas paced back and forth, trying to get ahold of Dustin through the walkie. No one had seen him since after school and everyone was growing increasingly worried.

“Dustin, if you can hear us, please respond. Over,” Lucas tried again.

Just then, you walked out of the Sqwawk, coming outside to meet with the others. “I just got off the phone with my mom. She hasn’t seen him either.”

“Christ, Henderson,” Steve muttered under his breath.

“He’ll show. He always shows,” Will reassured everyone.

Steve checked his watch and Robin shoved her hands into her pockets. You let out a half annoyed, half worried sigh as you bit the inside of your cheek.

“Try him again,” Steve told Lucas.

“Come in Dustin. Are you there? Earth to Dustin. This is serious, man. Quit playing. We can’t wait around. Get your ass to the Squawk. We can’t wait around. We need you here now. This is not funny. Are you there? Dustin, is everything okay? Dustin!”

You began to pace back and forth, nerves coursing through your veins so much so that you could feel it in your fingers.

Surely, he was fine…right?

You had grown more protective over him the past year, worried that something else would happen. He understood why you had become the why you were, but he hated how much you hovered over him.

And now the one time you let him do his own thing without telling you what he was doing, he was nowhere to be seen.

You halted abruptly, seeing none other than El, Joyce, and Hopper in the distance.

El made eye contact with Mike and came running up and hugging him.

You walked towards Hopper and Joyce, one thing on the forefront of your mind.

“Hopper,” you said.

“No.”

You blinked, throwing your hands up and joining him by his side. “You didn’t even let me finish!”

“Because I know that look and the answer is no,” he fired back immediately, keeping his pace as he walked up to the Squawk.

“Hopper!”

“No.”

“Just-”

“No.”

You walked faster, standing in front of him and stopping, causing him to stop too. Your arms were crossed over your chest as he let out a sigh, throwing his head back.

Joyce raised her brows, deciding to go meet Will knowing this was likely to escalate.

“Let me go with you,” you practically demanded.

You’d asked almost every other crawl to go with him and he said no every single time. Sometimes he wished he would’ve died back in that Russian base because you were probably one of the most annoying kids he had met.

Second to Mike, of course.

You were relieved to find out that he was alive, but as soon as the crawls started and everyone had their own parts to play, you started pestering him.

No one thought you were in the right frame of mind to do just about anything. You had built the telemetry tracker with Dustin and after that, you were virtually useless.

You just waited at the Squawk and listened in to what was going on. You begged for something, anything to do, but they never would let you. They knew how angry you were and were terrified that you’d do something reckless.

Which, if presented the chance, you probably would.

Hopper ran a hand down his face. “I told you once before that the answer was no. The answer today is still the same.”

He took a step to the side to walk around you and you moved with him, blocking his path. “Hopper, I’m the one who caused all of this. I should be the one to put an end to it.”

Hopper’s expression softened. While you seemed fine on the outside, you were clearly still hurting somewhere on the inside.

Hopper placed a hand on your shoulder. “Look, you’re a great kid,” he said earnestly. “You’re so smart and you treat everyone who walks into your life like family. But you can’t come with me. Okay?” You huffed, jaw clenching as you looked away from him. “If something were to happen to you while we were down there, I’d never be able to live with myself.”

“I can’t either,” you whispered, shaking your head. “You think I can live with myself knowing what happened? Billy…Max…Eddie…” you trailed off, voice cracking with each name. “I have to find him, Hopper. I have to be the one to kill him.”

Something in Hopper’s face shifted. He was so shocked to hear you say the word ‘kill’. Not ‘put an end to’ or ‘stop’. But kill.

You wanted to kill Henry.

Hopper’s hand was still on your shoulder as he crouched down slightly to meet your height. “Can I ask you something?” You furrowed your brows but nodded anyway. “If and when the time comes and you’re the one who’s supposed to kill your father, will you do it?”

Your heart pulsed as the word ‘father’. Not Henry. Not One. Not Vecna.

Because somewhere underneath the monstrous mask was a man.

Your father.

You shifted uncomfortably, looking away from Hopper.

“Just think about it, kid,” he said, standing up straight and walking back to the Squawk.

You stood there for a moment, Hopper’s words replaying in your head.

If and when the time comes and you’re the one who’s supposed to kill your father, will you do it?

Was it truly in your nature to kill someone, let alone your own estranged father?

Inside the Squawk, you all helped Hopper load up and prepare for the crawl.

You ensured that the telemetry tracker was good to go before handing it to him. He thanked you and you nodded, still avoiding eye contact.

You were clearly still upset from earlier and truth be told, despite how annoying you were, he cared about you and felt bad.

He ruffled your hair and scrunched your nose with a small smile.

And that small reaction was enough for him.

He smiled and held up the tag as he walked away. “Tag’s active,” he told Robin.

“Copy,” she replied, sitting at the desk and radioing Steve. “Harrington, you getting any signal? Tag is active.”

“Yeah, just give me a second,” he radioed back.

You moved over to the table with the rest of the kids, leaning back on it as you waited. A few seconds later, Steve’s voice cut through the silence.

“Hey, anybody know how Henderson’s wheelie thing works?”

“There’s a small switch under the wheel,” you explained. “It’s the safety lock.”

Robin nodded. “There should be a safety lock under the wheel.”

“Okay, getting a signal. It’s pretty quiet though…” he trailed off and it was quiet for a moment. “Okay signal’s holding a steady 90 dB. But how exactly am I supposed to monitor this and drive without Henderson?”

“Uh, hear anything from Inspector Gadget?” Hopper asked.

“Nothing,” Mike replied, tugging his backpack over his shoulder, ready to go.

Will’s eyes lit up. “I can do it,” he spoke up. “I…I can monitor.”

“No. You’re staying here,” Joyce said almost immediately.

“No, Mom,” Will reasoned. “I helped her and Dustin set up the antenna,” he explained, motioning a hand to you. “I know how to work it.”

“Out of the question,” Joyce replied. She turned to you. “You built it. You know how to work it, right?”

You didn’t even have a chance to respond before Will spoke up again.

“You know she doesn’t wanna be in there with Steve,” he reasoned, growing more annoyed by the second.

You shifted awkwardly. He wasn’t wrong. You didn’t want to be in there with Steve.

Joyce said your name, making you look up at her. “Can you just…” she trailed off, an apologetic look on her face. “Please?”

You glanced over at Will and he was silently pleading for you to tell her no. To tell her to let him do it.

But it wasn’t your place.

You let out a shaky sigh, mentally preparing to spend the night with Steve in the confined space that was the stupid Squawk van. “I can do it.”

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Remember, all decisions will impact the story!

It will strengthen certain friendship dynamics, relationship dynamics, and even shape you, the reader!

All actions will have consequences, whether that be positive, negative, or both. In some chapters, there will be hints at what might occur if you chose to go down a certain route, so pay close attention!

Choose wisely!

Also, for all polls, the choices that don't win will be featured in a non-cannon, 'What If...? chapter, where I'II briefly explain what impact that decision would've made on the story.

When the time comes, will you be willing to kill Henry?

Uh, yes tf??

No!

I don’t know yet…

Remaining time: 4 days 8 hours

No what if chapter for this for obvious reasons :)

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★

Chapter 33- You’re Running Out Of Time, Reader

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★

Jonathan after ragebaiting Steve

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