#(cac)

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The sounds of Joan Jett’s melodious voice played softly in your ear as your eyes scanned out the road, trying to relax. The backseat of Nancy’s car had become pretty tight after you were put to sit in the middle rather than the back of the trunk. After this morning’s fiasco, Dustin forced you to squeeze in with Max and Lucas rather than join him and Steve in the back.

 Something the two of you decided was fair considering what he walked into wasn’t the best thing to witness. Though, if anyone in the group were brave enough to ask, you’d tell them that at least the two of you had gotten some of your clothes back on before you fell back into bed. 

 Robin mentioned it was better than almost seeing Steve’s ass. That was pretty embarrassing. 

 Max said it was better than waking up for water and hearing you two in the middle of the night. That was really embarrassing.

 “Not to be a wimp, but can I sit in the car? ‘Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck.” you heard Robin blurt out from the front seat. There was a hint of anxiety in her voice that had you pushing down your head phones, ready to reel her in. 

 “It’ll be fine.” Nancy said calmly, but also very tired.

 Robin glanced at you in the back, a hesitant look on her face. “I just can’t stand to see those doe eyes of Eddie’s break again. I really, really can’t.”

 From behind you, Steve spoke up quickly, forgetting to finish chewing a chip from the bag he and Dustin were sharing. “At least he can drink himself into feeling better.” he munched, clinking the case of beer he bought that morning.

 “That’s what my Mom does.” Max added in.

 “We’re clearly the right type of people to give this man bad news.” you sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of your nose.

 “Why don’t we just give it a trial run?” Robin suggested, oddly trying to stay optimistic. “‘Hey, Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack you requested..Oh yeah! And we found Vecna. Only the bad news is that he’s in the other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about. And the gates closed so we have no way of getting to him. Like, he’s entirely shut off to us, so basically you’re screwed. And, no, no, I know that you were already screwed, but now you’re like doubly, triply screwed.”

 Lucas couldn’t help himself as he interjected the madness that Robin was falling into. Holding a hand out towards her. “Wait, wait, wait. Maybe we don’t put it like that.”

 “Maybe we don’t let her talk to him.” you said, eyeing your friend worriedly.

 “‘We’re one step closer to finding Vecna.’” Nancy said, calming the group down. “That’s what we say. That’s what’s important.”

 The sound of crunching again pulled you out from Nancy’s reassurance to cast Steve a dirty look. “See, Robin? Positive spin can make all the difference.” he added, still choosing to talk while eating. 

 “Closing your mouth while chewing would make all the difference.” you said, chastising. He gave you a feigned look of shock before pushing another chip into his mouth. Smirking at you a little bit after another big crunch. It was childish and stupid, but had you smiling back.

 “Oh shit..”

 All of you in the back turned your attention to where Nancy’s reaction came from. Down the road, as the car approached the Lipton Boat House, the sight of police cars, media vans, and a growing crowd were what you were met with. A chill ran down your spine and you leaned forward to peek out as best as you could. 

 As soon as the car was parked, all of you quickly piled out, curious to hear and see what was happening now. “C’mon, this way.” Nancy urged, already having found the right spot to investigate. 

 Moving in behind the news van, the group leaned close, just in time to hear Sheriff Powell as he gave an update to the press. “..the Roane County line received a call, uh, a little after midnight, reporting a homicide here on the lake.”

 Homicide? You thought, frowning.

 “Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lover’s Lake, about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an eighteen year old Senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney.”

 Glancing to your side and you watched as Lucas’s face turned crestfallen. The two of them were on the same team. All of you just saw him the other night at the game. How could he be dead? Wasn’t it just you and Max left? What more did he need?

 A hand quickly engulfed yours and you turned your gaze away to see that it was Steve. His eyes looked down at yours as he took the news in. Most likely more worried than ever. Turning your hand over, you laced your fingers together and allowed him to pull you closer. Giving your hand a squeeze in appreciation.

 “..We have also identified a person of interest..Eddie Munson.” You felt the blood leave your face as Powell called out the one name none of you wanted to hear. Next he held up a photo taken from the year book, giving the whole world a face to match their next hunt. “We encourage anyone with information to please come forward.”

 “No.” you whispered, your grip on Steve’s hand vice-like now. Beside you, he couldn’t help but realize the gravity of the situation now too. 

 “Oh man,” he muttered. “This is not good. This is really not good.”

 Your eyes met his with more worry. There was no chance in stopping the panic that slowly seeped into your body. How the hell were you guys going to save Eddie if now the whole town would be looking for him? The radio cut the silence between the group as Eddie’s voice broke through.

 “Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler?”

 Your cousin scrambled for the radio in his backpack, all of you following closely to listen to the conversation away from the crowd. 

 “Eddie. Holy shit.” Dustin exclaimed softly into the walkie. “Are you okay?”

 “Nah, man. Pretty..Pretty goddamn far from okay.” 

 There was an unfamiliar pain and stress in Eddie’s voice that you never heard before, it tugged at your heart fiercely. You gripped at Steve’s hand again, letting your panic seep through there.

 “Where is he?” Robin asked.

 “Where are you?”

 “Skull Rock. Do you know it?’

 “Uh, yeah that’s near Cornwallis and–’

 “Garrett, yeah, I know where that is.” Steve interrupted, cutting through everyone to lead the group back to the car. “Come on,” he called over his shoulder. “I know the way.”

 It was a pain in the ass to make it through the uneven flooring of the woods near Skull Rock. While you were smart enough to have taken shoes comfortable enough for walking, you still ended up nearly tripping sometimes. Making Steve glance over ready to help, you waved him off, letting him return to bickering with Dustin.

 “Dude, I’m telling you, you’re taking us the wrong way.” he said, already disgruntled.

 “It’s north. I’m positive. I checked the map.” Dustin said, holding up the map and his compass.

 “You do realize Skull Rock, it’s a super popular make-out spot?”

 “Yeah. So?”

 “Yeah, well, it wasn’t popular until I made it popular.” Steve said, as matter of fact. “All right? I practically invented it.”

 “Oh?” you asked, coming near to them now. The last words of his sounding awfully like boasting. “Because I’ve only been here twice with you.” 

 Steve stopped walking and looked at you with wide eyes. “Uh, right! Well, uh..I came here only twice with you..” he trailed off, looking away from you. There was a pink hue over his cheeks now and you couldn’t help but narrow your eyes at him.

 “Why don’t you explain how you made it so popular?” you asked, raising a brow. 

 “Oops! We need to go this way. We’re heading in the wrong direction.” he said deflecting your question to lead the group down another path. Dustin looked around in confusion, shaking his head at Steve’s path line.

 “Steve!” he called out. “Where are you going? Steve!”

 “Stop whining. Let’s go. Trust me.” he waved, frustration returning to his annoyed voice again. You could only shake your head at them as you carefully followed the new path. Robin and Nancy eventually joined at your side, quietly talking about mundane things before the sounds of Max and Lucas talking perked up in your ears. You couldn’t help but find their small moment wholesome.

 These two didn’t need to have so much trouble at their young age, but you were so happy to know they still had each other after everything.

 “Oh my God, they’re so adorable. I just wanna squeeze ‘em you know?” Robin cooed, looking over at you at Nancy. “If I’m permitted to see a silver lining in this end-of-the-world doom and gloom, it would be the rekindling of some old flames that frankly, never should’ve been snuffed out.”

 You and Nancy both gave each other a confused look before you turned to Robin.

 “I didn’t mean that as a hint or anything.” 

 “Is that so?” you chuckled softly, giving her a look.

 “But if I did mean it as a hint, would that be so terrible? I mean, to wish for happiness for my friends?”

 “Oh quit the vague act, Buckley.” you said crossing your arms. “Just ask.”

 To your surprise it’s Nancy who breaks first. “So what’s the deal?” she spat out.

 “Yeah, you two together or not. I’m so confused.” Robin sighed.

 You let out a long sigh as well and looked ahead of you three. The receding figure of Steve was clear in your sight as you tried to think of an answer that fit right. Beside you, Nancy let out a small chuckle.

 “Let me guess, it’s complicated?” she asked sarcastically. Earning an eye roll from you.

 “Well, you take the cake on complicated relationships.” you countered, needing to have her step off a bit. But from the flicker of hurt in her blue eyes, you immediately regret the burst. “Look, sorry..it’s just you have been a bit off since the whole Jonathan not coming back here for spring break.”

 “I concur.” Robin said slowly, earning a look from Nancy now. “It’s just, the other day at the library, I mentioned Jonathan and you sort of flinched or winced or something like–”

 “I didn’t flinch or wince.” Nancy cut in quickly. Her face scrunched up a bit at the sudden accusations from you two. 

 “Okay.” Robin shook her head quickly.

 “Jonathan and I are fine.” 

 “Got it.”

 “We’re good!”

 “Right.”

 You couldn’t help but tilt your head at her, seeing quickly through her facade. Her eyes narrowed at you and you simply offered her a small smile. “Nancy, we know you care about Jonathan. Robin is just laying the floor open for honesty if you want..” you reassured her.

 She winced again, possibly embarrassed by her reaction before she subtly nodded her head.

 “It’s just..” she sighed, turning to lead the three of you back to walking as she slowly spilled her guts. “He was supposed to be there for the break, and then he backed out at the last minute for some vague, mumbly Jonathan reason. And, to be honest, I’m not that surprised because I’ve been feeling him pulling away. And I don’t know if it’s because we’re two thousand miles away or if he met someone new or what. And now, I can’t find out why because apparently he’s blown up his family’s house phone or something. So yeah, if..if the mention of his name caused a slight muscle spasm on my face, that’s..probably why.”

 For a second, you couldn’t help but sympathize with Nancy. All her worries and insecurities were very much the reasons why you broke things off with Steve in the first place. And this was just the view of a high school relationship! What would happen in college? These two were your friends and it hurt to know that they might be going through what you had feared.

 Glancing at Robin, you looked to her to help ease the tension.

 “Seems like a perfectly reasonable reason to flinch, wince, or something.” she said soothingly. Causing Nancy to smile just a little bit. You let out a tiny relieved breath as the tension between you three lifted.

 “You said, ‘the happiness of your friends.’ So..does that make us friends?” Nancy said, looking over at Robin shyly. “As in, officially?”

 For some reason, that had Robin slightly taken back. Probably not expecting Nancy to initiate that kind of part of the conversation with her. 

 “Uh, yeah. I..I mean, right?”

 “Right.” Nancy said, her lips upturned in her pleased smirk.

 It gave you such a big reassurance to know that even if you were gone, there’d still be people behind who had each other. You reached out to wrap an arm around both their shoulders, bringing them close as you hugged them. “I’m so glad you girls are finally friends! I was so worried I’d be torn in half one of these days.” you said dramatically, earning groans of annoyance from both sides.

 “Here we go..” Nancy muttered. 

 “It’s like she needs to ruin the moment.” Robin chuckled. 

 But amidst their complaints you could still see the smile they were trying very hard to hide.

 “Trouble!” Steve called out to you, earning your attention. You gave the girls pats to their backs before you jogged forward to find where Steve was waiting for you. He gave you a warm look before he pressed through the thick bushes before him.

 “Oh boom! Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock!” he said, holding the branches so that you could get through. But even through his chivalry, he still had room to gloat to Dustin about being right. “In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face.”

 “We get it, Steve. It’s that dumb rock.” you laughed as you followed closely behind him, taking another look up at the familiar rock structure. A glance over your shoulder and you could see Dustin frown down at his compass.

 “Doesn’t make sense.”

 “Don’t engage.” you muttered in a plea to Steve. 

 But he held up his hand instead, mimicking Dustin for mocking effect. “Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring you right in the face, you can’t admit it. You just can’t admit that you’re wrong, you little butthead.”

 There was a sudden loud drop on the ground that had you flinch back instantly. You reached out to grab Dustin in fear. Eddie, who jumped down from the higher ground, gave you three a tired look. 

 “I concur,” he said coolly. “You, Dustin Henderson are a..total butthead.”

 Dustin was instantly relieved at the sight of Eddie. “Jesus, we thought you were a goner.” he said as he pulled him into a hug. 

 “Yeah, me too, man.” he sighed, wrapping his arms around him to hug him back before he let go. “Me too.”

 He gave a brief nod to Steve before his eyes found yours. You know there’s enough tension between the three of you already but you couldn’t help as you reached over to hug him tightly. “Don’t scare me like that again.” you warned him, pressing your face to his shoulder.

 He chuckled a bit, hugging you tightly before gently pushing you back. “Might have to if I’m getting hugs like this.” 

 The others finally caught up and you stepped back enough with a small as you moved to stand closer to Steve. He had a slight glare in his gaze towards Eddie. Not quite as hateful as before, but not entirely pleased. That is until he noticed you catching him and decided to offer a small smile.

 “Alright,” Robin clapped as the group circled around Eddie. “Tell us about last night..”

 “..When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh..” Eddie paused to take a swig of water from the water canister. “..my walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently..I ran.” he ended with a sad chuckle. 

 You cast a worried glance at him, practically feeling the nerves and anxiety in his tone. 

 “Do you know what time this was? The attack?” Nancy spoke up.

 “Yeah, no, I..I know exactly what time it was.” he stuttered a bit as he began to slowly undo the latch on his watch. “My walkie wasn’t the only thing that got soaked.’

 He chucked the watch in her direction and she turned the side over to reveal the time on top. “Nine twenty-seven.” she read out.

“Same time our flashlights went kablooey.” Robin noted.

 Beside you, you could see Steve’s face frown as he tried to piece it together. “Which means what, exactly?” he asked.

 “That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick.” Nancy answered.

 “It was all happening at the same time.” you murmured, crossing your arms over your chest.

 Robin placed her hands on her hips. “Well, we’re one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks.”

 “And where he attacks from.” Lucas added. 

 “So, now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.” Max concluded.

 Robin looked skeptic as she shook her head. “If he even has a heart.”

 “A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?” Steve asked with genuine concern and confusion.

 Max was quick to correct him. “It was a metaphor.”

 “A bullet should work on him, right?” Eddie chimed in.

 “I say we chop his head off.” Lucas nodded.

 “I’d say all of the above, but we can’t do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down.” Nancy said as she looked between the group. 

 “Not to mention we’d need, like, a magical dream bullet.” you frowned, trying to think of an alternative fight. 

 “We need El to get her powers back.” Max said both desperately as well as annoyed.

 Steve gave a slow nod as he glanced at Eddie to explain. “Everything was way easier. We had this girl. She had superpowers–”

 “Superpowers.” He cut in. “Yeah, you mentioned her.”

 You gave Steve a sympathetic pat for trying to help keep things up to date. From the corner of your eyes, you could see Eddie as he watched Dustin worriedly. He’s been pacing and looking around for a few minutes now, but you were so used to his oddities, you didn’t think much about it.

 “Hey, uh, Henderson’s not, uh, cursed, is he?’

 “Cursed? No, no, no, no. He’s fine.” Steve quickly reassured him. “Mental? Absolutely.” he said with a tired look. 

 “It’s the other Henderson you’d have to worry about.” Lucas said offhandedly, not aware of how close you and Eddie were as he nodded towards you. 

 For a moment, Eddie’s brows furrowed together. His lips parted to question what Lucas went when Dustin suddenly yelled out.

 “BOOM!”

 The seven of you stared at him with wide curious looks. He raised a pointed finger up in Steve’s direction as he got closer.

 “Bada..bada..boom.” he whispered.

 Steve looked over at Dustin with a frown as his arms crossed over his chest.

 “I was right.” That earned him a big eye roll next. “Skull Rock was North!”

 “Seriously? You’re serious?”

 “Mm-hmm.”

 You inhaled deeply, not quite prepared for the two of them to begin bickering again. “I liked it better when he was pacing.” you said softly, leaning your head on Robin’s shoulder. She gave your arm a light pat as they continued on.

 “This is Skull Rock! Okay?” Steve yelled as he gestured to the rock pile.

 “Mm-hmm.”

 “You’re totally, absolutely, one hundred percent wrong. RIGHT NOW.”

 “Yes.” he agreed as he leaned forward. “And no.”

 “Oh my God.” Steve said as he covered his eyes, you attempted to reach out and calm him down. But with Dustin still talking, you knew it was only going to get worse.

 “This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers’.” he said, holding the small tool up. “It was correct when we got in the car on Kerley. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now it’s way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn’t wrong. The compass was.”

 “So you’re using faulty equipment. Dude, you’re still wrong!” Steve interjected, standing ground.

 Dustin, however, had a very familiar, a very annoying glint in his eye.

 “Except it isn’t faulty.” he said, holding a finger up. “Lucas, do you remember what can affect a compass?”

 Lucas scratched behind his head before the memory seemed to spring on him. “An electromagnetic field!” 

 “Yep.” Dustin smirked.

 Robin’s face scrunched up slightly at their words. “I’m sorry, I must’ve skipped that class.” she said sarcastically, wanting a more in depth explanation. 

 “In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there’s some super big magnet around here, or..”

 “There’s a gate.” Lucas finished. 

 “Wait, wait.” you said holding your hands up, your stomach feeling anxious from the memory chiming in. “This happened before, back when I first came to Hawkins. It was because of the lab, wasn’t it?”

 Dustin nodded at you. “Exactly like that.”

 “But we’re nowhere near the lab.” Nancy pointed out.

 “And that gate is fully closed. Hopper saw to that.” you followed.

 Dustin’s response only left you feeling more dread than just the reminder. “But what if, somehow, there’s another gate?” he asked the group. “A gate that we don’t know about. It’d have to be smaller. Way less powerful.” 

 “Snack-size gate.” Robin offered.

 “How? Why?” Steve spoke up.

 “No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we’ve seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is, because then we’d have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing these two from this curse.” he said, looking over at you for a moment until he turned to lead down the pathway of the hill.

 “Where are you going?” Steve asked instantly, a motherly annoyance in his voice. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Eddie’s still a wanted man. We can’t just go for a hike in the woods.”

 “This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both of those girls and Eddie.” Dustin said , holding up the compass again before looking past Steve to address Eddie in the back. “What say you, Eddie the Banished?”

 All of you turned to the man, still crouched on the floor. He had been quiet during this whole back and forth and you noticed the slight hesitancy in his gaze as he took in Dustin’s words. 

 “I’d say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor,” he started slowly. “..which, if I’m totally straight with you, I think it’s a really bad idea.”

 Beside you, Steve nodded his head in agreement. Glad to see Eddie think logically. But the next words out of Eddie’s mouth shut that idea down quickly. 

 “But, uh, the Shire..The Shire is burning.”

 “Oh God.” you muttered, closing your eyes. This was from that stupid cartoon they were nerding out over. The annoyance between you and Steve grew even more when you noticed Dustin begin to hop excitedly, sensing Eddie’s swayed decision.

 Slowly, he rose up from the ground with a look of determination on his face. He nodded his head slightly toward Dustin. “So Mordor it is.”

 Everyone took that as the signal to get going, following down the path towards Dustin. It was only you and Steve that stayed behind. From your side you heard as he grumbled out his confusion.

 “What is Mordor?” he asked, shaking his head as he reached out for your hand.

 “Need a moment to unpause?” you asked softly as you stood before him. He smiled slightly and nodded his head. Without a word, you leaned up and pressed your lips up against his, letting him savor the small moment until you pulled back again to push back the hair from his face. Giving him a sympathetic look. “You need to relax.”

 “The kid stresses me out, Trouble.” He sighed heavily. 

 “I know, but we gotta let him help. He has too much to lose.” you said, glancing behind Steve to see Eddie coming back for his stuff. Looking a little sheepish for interrupting the conversation. 

 “Get your stuff, dude. Let’s go.” he said, leading the three of you to move forward to join the others. Things would simply have to pause again.

 For now.

 As you all trailed behind Dustin, the sun slowly began to set into the evening. Bringing a warm blanket of light to cover until the eventual darkness would set in. At some point, you found yourself stuck between following close behind the group or staggering behind alone.

 The tape player clicked as the song ended, giving you the chance to hear as Eddie stalked up beside you. His hands tucked deep inside his jacket as he peeked a glance at you. You pushed down on the rewind before looking up to him with your brow raised.

 “Dustin told me a little bit of what’s going on with you..”

 “Right,” you nodded. “Well, I hate to say you’ve unfortunately missed out on a lot of updates in the group.”

 There was a moment of silence, he breathed heavily through his nose before he looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly, closing his eyes as he shook his head. “I can’t believe this is happening to you too.”

 “Why are you sorry?” You chuckled a little awkwardly. “It’s not like Vecna picked me personally because of you.”

 “Yeah, but you’re out there, trying to help me with these guys and dealing with this curse shit.” he said, sounding breathless as he rubbed a hand over his face. “I just feel like–”

 “Don’t,” you cut in, holding your hand up. “We’re all working together about it..”

 He raised a brow at you, leaning back a little curious as he took in your words. “Well, speaking of working together, you and Harrington seem to be working out quite fine.” 

 That had you chuckling awkwardly again. Looking away and down at the ground momentarily until you glanced behind you to see Steve as he walked not too far back. A curious look pulled on his eyes as he watched you two closely observing him.

 “We’re on pause from being complicated.”

 “That’s such a girl answer.” he scoffed a bit.

 “Well,” you went on, ignoring the jab. “We have a lot that we need to fix on top of this Vecna mess. It’s kind of just overwhelming.” You explained, trying to make it sound as logical as you could. “So, we’re pausing ourselves and focusing on saving Max.”

 “And you.” he added.

 “And me.. and you too.”

 “So pausing but also stealing a couple of kisses from each other?” he smirked a bit. “Or did I walk in on an unpausing moment?”

 “Don’t be a dick.” you grumbled, giving him a slight shove.

 He took a glance ahead again, an amusing smirk tugged on his lips. “Fine, if you guys are on pause, then I guess that means you’re single, right?” he teased, reaching up to pinch at your chin gently. Almost trying to lure you in for a kiss.

 The urge to hit him came quickly but you chose to laugh instead. It was just like Eddie to actually say things that were silly enough to distract you from the real world stuff that felt like too much. 

You gave him a good shove to the side. “You’re an idiot.” A goofy smirk tugged at his lips as he laughed with you. 

 “An idiot who got you laughing.” he leaned over, checking behind him before he winked. It left you both amused and annoyed while you watched him walk off to join Dustin. A small smile stayed on your lips when you suddenly felt a warm hand brush up against your lower back. 

 “You’re telling me I’m supposed to be friends with this guy?” Steve sniffed, looking annoyed.

 For a second, you didn’t say anything. Leaning close to his touch until you reached behind you to lace your hand with his. “What’s wrong?” you asked finally.

 Steve let out a small but heavy sigh. “I’m feeling..”

 “Jealous?..”

 “No.” he grumbled. “..Yes. I don’t know, I hate seeing the guy impress you and make you laugh. I deal enough with Dustin being wooed by him I can’t stand to see it with you too.”

 An amused huff of air pushed past your lips. “I’m not being wooed by him.” you reassured him, letting your reach up to his face. “..But I get it.”

 Steve raised a brow and took your hand in his as he brought it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss inside to your palm. “Do you?” he mumbled, struggling to maintain his wariness but also looking for confirmation.

 You leaned closer to him, your eyes locked with his.

 “Eddie is my friend. Right now, he’s thankfully using humor to make light of our very shitty situation.” A sad smile replaced your previous one at the unfortunate reminder. “So, try and smash down that little green monster on your shoulder, okay?”

 His expression shifted from jealousy to guilt, realizing his reaction was poorly timed. “Yeah..you’re right. I’ll try..I just–” He sighed deeply. “God, I'm such an idiot sometimes.”

 “Just a little one, your highness.” you nudged him teasingly. “It’s a good thing I like putting up with you.”

 A small, sheepish smile finally broke through his tense expression and he tugged at your hand. “All right, get off that high horse of yours, Trouble.”

 You let out a small laugh, pleased to have some normalcy between you two again. “Come on, it’s getting dark, let’s catch up to the others.” you nodded down the path.

 Steve reluctantly nodded, letting go of your hand to keep a protective arm around your shoulders as you both started walking again. The tension from before gradually leaving. For now.

 It was an hour or so later, you couldn’t keep track anymore, when Dustin suddenly sprinted ahead of the group. Leaving all of you scrambling after him. From down the line you heard Eddie as he called after him.

 “Dustin? Can you slow down? Dustin?!” 

 The two of you in the back had just about caught up in time to see Eddie pull back Dustin from falling into the water. 

 “Oh man,” Steve groaned. “You gotta be shitting me.”

 “No way.” you frowned, looking over the large expanse of the lake.

 “Yeah,” Eddie agreed. “I thought these woods looked familiar.”

 “Lover’s Lake.” Robin noted.

 Beside you, Dustin looked out to the water in amazement. “This is confounding.” he exhaled. 

 “There’s a gate in Lover’s Lake?” Max asked, a confused frown on her face.

 “Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening.” Nancy thought aloud. “Maybe Vecna’s the same way.”

 Steve gave your hand a small squeeze. “Yeah, only one way to find out.”

 Conveniently nearby, there was a small little boat with an engine. Probably left by one of the many fishermen that lived in Hawkins. Their mistake became your group’s saving grace. The two older boys reached over and lugged it to the shoreline.

 “Easy–” Steve instructed as Eddie dropped it into the water, earning a look from the other boy. “I said easy, man.”

 “Sorry, dude.” 

 He shook his head at Eddie and checked on the engine while Robin used both their heads to steady herself onto the boat. Eddie quickly climbed in after her and extended a hand out to Nancy as she stepped in next. You were about to join them when Dustin cut in front of you.

 “Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us?” Eddie said to Dustin, pushing him back by the top of his head. “This thing holds three people tops, okay?”

 “It’s better this way,” Nancy added, shuffling around the small boat to look back. “You guys stay here with Max, keep an eye out for trouble.”

 “You keep an eye out!” Dustin responded curtly, irritated instantly by the rejection. The girl gave him an incredulous look that had him just as shocked as he shook his head. “It’s my goddamn theory!” 

 Robin tilted her head at him, giving him a very tired look. “You heard Nance.” she said short.

 Dustin liked that response even less. “Who put her in charge?” he asked, pointing a finger to Nancy.

 “I did.”

 Nancy ignored their fighting to extend her hand out. “Compass.” she demanded gently.

 Reluctantly, he passed it to her, his pout the biggest you’ve seen yet. Patting his back, you watched as he stepped back with the others. From down at the engine, Steve shared a look with you, nodding for you to join in. A little weary about it capsizing, you gave a quick jump into the boat, nearly falling out of it if it weren’t for Eddie who helped steady you.

 “Whoa, whoa! Why the hell is she going?” Dustin quickly spat.

 “I’m here to be the pretty one of the group.” you said casually, fixing up your hair as if it made any sense.

 “What?!” he gaped.

 But everyone just ignored his outburst. Steve got up from the engine giving you a knowing look at where this was going to go. “Hey, here you go.” he called out to Dustin, tossing him his back just before pushing the boat further into the water and quickly joining in. 

 “You said three!”

 Steve looked only a little bit bad as he whispered an apology. He held his hand up in a small wave, glancing over at you with a small smirk.

 Robin and Eddie rowed the boat a little out on the lake before she called out to the three kids left behind. “Bedtime at nine, kiddos!” she yelled playfully. “Miss you already!”

  It was about twenty minutes of aimlessly rowing into the lake when the compass finally came to life. Nancy called out for the other two to slow down as she stared down at the object. 

 Steve held the flash light just above it to show the needle inside spinning erratically, switching from clockwise to counter. “Whoa,” he said, looking down. You frowned at the sight, feeling something in the pit of your stomach at the spot you guys hovered over.

 “Guys, what’s going on?” Sprang the radio, Dustin’s voice slightly annoyed still but with a hint of worry. “Come on, talk to me. What’s going on?”

 Robin picked up the radio to reply back to him. “Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone wonky to wonky with a capital ‘ahh!’” she explained, nervously looking down at it.

 Suddenly, Steve kicked off his shoe and pulled at his socks. The rest of you shared curious looks before Robin spoke up first.

 “Steve, what are you doing?”

 “Somebody’s gotta go down and check this out.” he said simply, “Unless one of you can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years then...it’s gotta be me. No complaints, all right?” he said looking between you guys. 

 “Hey, I’m not complaining.” Eddie said, looking out to the water. “I do not want to go in there.”

 You felt a sudden pang of worry, kicking off your shoes and socks without a second thought. Steve’s eyes widened and he held out his hands. “Trouble, what do you think–”

 “Four years lifeguard at the beach.” you said, passing your shoes to Nancy to hold as you got up. “Think that trumps a co-captain.”

 “No,” he said, waving his hands in an x formation. “No. It isn’t–”

 “Safe? Like you’d be any safer?” you countered, watching as he took off his shirt next. Your eyes lingered over his body before back up to his face.

 “It’s just a swim down to check out what’s going on.” he raised a brow to you. “You don’t need to come.”

 “I’m not gonna let you do this alone.” 

 Steve looked like he wanted to argue but you cut off the next response on his tongue as you shed off your shirt. Needing less fabric to weigh you down. Steve’s eyes widened again. “Whoa!” he called out, lifting your shirt to cover your chest. “Y-You can’t just take off your shirt!”

 “Why?’ you frowned, looking around.

 “Because then..people might see you?” he said sheepishly. 

 Rolling your eyes, you pushed his hands away and tossed your shirt to Robin. “Look, I appreciate the gesture but everyone on this boat has either seen my bra or my breasts. So I don’t really care about anyone here seeing.”

 From across the lake you heard the echo of Dustin’s gagged scream.

 “Maybe just one person..” you muttered to yourself, leaning down to roll up the ends of your jeans, ignoring the slight burn on your skin from having a few pairs of eyes on your body. 

 All Steve did was stare a moment longer until he rubbed a hand over his face. “Fine.” he said gruff, defeated by your response. “But you follow my lead.”

 “Whatever you say, Captain.” you smirked. It was his turn as he rolled his eyes and fixed up the bottom of his pants. 

 Eddie placed the flashlight into the plastic bag, tying it up so that water couldn’t get in but the tool was still useful to use. “Good luck.” he said as he offered it to Steve. “You too, Princess.”

 Winking at him appreciatively, you watched as he held onto your tape and headphones, tucking it safely into his jacket. You turned to face Steve, ready for the jump in.

 “Guys?” Nancy called out. The two of you glanced over your shoulders to look at her. She had a pensive look on her face as she softly warned you two. “Be careful.”

 You smiled a bit at that, giving her a slight nod. Steve looked back at you with the same worry you’ve been seeing for days now. “Just follow me, okay?” he reminded you, bringing your hand up to his lips. Nodding, you gave him a quiet confirmation as the two of you placed your footing on the edge of the boat, sucked in a deep breath, and jumped into the icy lake.

 It wasn’t until after you dived deep within the water that you began to feel the cold temperature prick your skin. Your eyes squeezed shut momentarily until you felt a hand tug at you. Steve, flashed the light, pointing downward to something he noticed. 

 Quickly, the two of you moved down, the depth of the lake not too far, but still eerie as you swam further. The flash light showed nothing but the bones of certain fish and large log pieces that had sunk into the bottom. Something that only felt more creepy given the reasoning why you were in so deep.

 You glanced around you, feeling something pulling deep into your core, it felt too familiar. That’s when Steve tapped your shoulder and pointed to what looked like a small glowing crack in the lake’s ground. Red, ominous, and somewhat calling to you.

 Together you both swam closer, faces frowning and confused at this otherworldly sight. It reminded you exactly of the gate that you guys had encountered beneath the Starcourt Mall. Making you recoil a bit at the memory. Grabbing Steve’s arm, you pointed up towards the surface, you needed to get away from this thing. Even if just for a moment.

 He reached towards the red skin like barrier first, almost hesitantly, to test what it was. But just as he was about to touch it, something from the other side poked back. That was enough to send the two of you to swim towards the surface. 

 But as you tried to catch up with Steve, something instantly shot out and wrapped at your leg. Making you let out a scream in the water. Bubbles surrounded your face and you tried to claw upward, to the surface, to Steve, to anything that could pull you up. But the light above went away and you found you were being dragged down.

 Your hands and legs flailed as you tried to get out of the clutches of whatever held your leg. Water filled your lungs and you felt the world getting hazy before it was suddenly upside down and you were screaming in the air until you landed hard on your back on some strange surface. The ground apparently, which was covered in large vein-like tentacles and dirt. 

 There was no chance to react to anything as suddenly you were dragged away from the gate. The grime and coarse earthy floor cutting against the exposed parts of your body. Your screams are cracked and painful to your throat but the pain from the cuts were worse. The tentacle dragged you through large chunks of wood and other debris until you were into the treeline. 

 Grabbing a loose branch, you stabbed into the dirt of the woods and held on tight until the tentacle gave up and you finally stopped.

 A whimper fell past your lips as you sat up, feeling the cuts on the blades of your shoulders and the back of your arms. It wasn’t until the sky cracked and red lightning hit the air that you suddenly took in your surroundings. You weren’t in Hawkins, no. You were in the upside down.

 There was a sudden shrieking coming from the sky, a batlike figure coming towards your direction. You held onto the tree branch, feeling a sudden sense of dread. 

 That’s when you heard the echo of Steve screaming.

Hey guys! I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to put in another update! I hope you guys are still interested in this story, I missed it so much! Let me know what you guys think. 🩷