"There she comes," Robin pointed out with a wink.

Sighing, Steve busied himself behind the counter at Family Video.

The door opened and a regular customer walked in with her tapes in hand and a big smile on her face. She made a beeline to the counter.

"Hi, Steve. Hi Robin," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, Y/N. What are you looking for today?" Steve answered business-like.

"Is there something new available?"

"You're lucky you came early on a Friday. Maybe Robin could find something for you—"

"Sorry!! I'm busy!!" Robin disappeared, leaving Steve alone.

Y/N smiled at him again with awkwardness. She had a crush on him. Hard. She'd had it since her first year in high school; he waited for Nancy Wheeler outside all the classes Y/N shared with her. Y/N liked to daydream about being Steve Harrington's girlfriend and being the one he was waiting for. She was nothing like Nancy, though, and all the time Steve was a high schooler, Y/N never talked to him too, afraid of blushing like an idiot humiliating herself.

She wasn't the kind of girl Steve looked at twice. She was a nerd, big-sized and quiet with shyness. Once she was comfortable with someone, she seemed like another person, witted and sardonic. Her self-esteem wasn't great, it never was, but the moment she entered the Hellfire Club of Eddie Munson she found a way to be her true self even in awkward situations.

Eddie had been her best friend. Her only true friend. She liked to think that she had a strong friendship with the Hellfire members, but the truth is that that friendship was pretty superficial. Eddie was different. He encouraged her. He challenged her. He pushed her to be better, and she did the same for him. To Eddie, Y/N was the kind of friend to go to if he needed to hide a body or if someday he got abducted by the aliens; she would believe him and support him no matter what. To Y/N, he was the same.

When in the summer of 1985 Steve Harrington worked in Scoops Ahoy, Eddie was the one who drove Y/N to the mall to take a glance at the boy in that ridiculous uniform. He encouraged her to go there and talk to him, but she was too shy to do it, even as a client. She never got to talk to him that summer, but she bought ice cream when Robin was working alone and they clicked.

For a second, Y/N thought that Robin and Steve were in a relationship, but the girl assured her that was never going to happen and once they started working in Family Video Y/N found it easy to talk to Steve now that she knew Robin, too.

"Umm… what about this one?" Steve asked, waving a tape in front of her. She scrunched her nose in distaste.

"Nope. I saw it in the theater, it was boring."

"Sure. How about this one?"

"You don't know much about movies to be working here, do you?"

"Again with your criticism, Y/N. I don't have as much free time as you do if you rent a movie every day."

"Are you worried about my grades, Steve?"

"As if! Aren't you some kind of genius?"

"You could say that."

"Henderson wants to dissect your brain or something."

"I hope he doesn't. I like my brain where it is."

Steve gave her a polite smile, pursued his lips, and grabbed another tape without looking.

"Next Friday is the big Hellfire finale. The big campaign will be over." She took the tape and followed him to the counter.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Idiot," she smiled, blushing slightly. "I was telling you because of Dustin's ride arrangements."

"Those kids are going to be the death of me. I'm not their babysitter!"

"You sure?" She asked with a naughty sparkle in her eyes.

"Whatever. You drive him."

"You two seem like a couple of divorce parents making schedule arrangements," Robin laughed.

Y/N bit her bottom lip looking away while Steve rolled his eyes at his friend's input. Once the renting transaction was done there was an awkward pause in silence until Y/N smiled again, her eyes not leaving Steve's, and waved her goodbyes with the new tape in her hands.

Steve sighed again, watching her get into her car. Robin smiled openly at him.

"Not a word." He warned.

"I think you should give her a shot."

They walked into the back room, too busy with their teasing to notice how she had reentered the store. She'd decided to bite the bullet and ask Steve out once and for all. She'd been going daily since September and she'd seen him flirting with hot and cute girls. Nothing more than a few flings, so maybe she had a chance; perhaps he believed she was dating Eddie as most people assumed. Of course, she actually believed he wasn't interested in her, but that day she had decided to just ask and stop this nonsense.

She followed them, ready to talk when she heard her name being said. It wasn't polite to overhear conversations, but she was curious. Of course, we all know what people say about curiosity…

"Y/N has a big fat crush on you. She comes here every day, smiles at you, looks at you with such a puppy face… Come on! Don't tell me you haven't thought about it, Steve."

"She's not my type. She's in a club with Dustin and Eddie 'the freak' Munson, you can't tell me that's a catch."

"You cannot seriously be talking like you're still a high school boy. You just said that your dating life sucked. You want someone to have a serious relationship with and it's not working. Well, it might not be working because you aren't giving the chance to the right girl."

"If you like her so much, why don't you date her?"

"Please, don't be ridiculous. Now, seriously, why don't you like her?"

"I don't know! Look, do you think I enjoy seeing her making a fool of herself coming here every day with her smiles and her sparkling eyes? It makes me uncomfortable speaking to her like that. I know that she likes me, even Dustin is trying to set us up, but I just can't. I think it would be rude of me to go on a date with her, give her hope, just to–"

"Not calling for a second date."

"Yeah. She's great, and I'm sure we could be friends, but nothing else."

"Okay, but maybe you give her that chance and a pity date turns out to be the first date with your future wife."

"Robin, leave it! I do not like Y/N and I never will. If you think a random pity date could show us our future wife, why don't you try and ask her out?"

"It's not the same, Steve."

"Well, you don't know if she likes… you know… boobies."

"Ew! Don't say boobies!"

"You know what I mean! There are people who like both. Maybe she does! She's friends with the freak, she has to be a little freak to do so."

"Are you calling me a freak too?"

"You know what I mean, Robin. So, would you?"

"Would I what?"

"Have a pity date with her."

"No. But that's different. She doesn't have a crush on me."

"And if she did? Hypothetically."

After a long pause, Robin finally said "I don't think so. She's not my type."

"There you go. Now you get what I mean with…"

Y/N decided that was her cue to leave the store before being found. When she returned the tape the next day, her smile was fake and gloomy. Her eyes were sad, and she talked at the bare minimum. She thought about waiting for the last day of rent to give it back, but she knew that that kind of behavior would provoke questions that she didn't want to answer. She rented The Goonies, again, and left.

"What's wrong with her?" Robin asked, shocked.

"She looked bad."

"Maybe she was sick."

"Maybe…"

Robin only worked at Family Video Fridays and Saturdays during the school year. Therefore, Steve was alone at the store when Y/N went back on Wednesday. He found it odd when she didn't show up on Monday to return the movie, and on Thursday he asked Dustin if he knew something, but he vaguely answered that she seemed sick.

"Hey!" Steve greeted her with overflowing joy. It sounded fake.

"Hi. I'll take Rocky Horror and Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

"Sure. Yeah! Um… I have a copy of Rocky Horror to restock right here," he smiled at her, waving the tape. That would usually earn him a smile, but this time the smile was thin, barely there. She wasn't looking at his eyes like normally. "Right. The other one is in the sci-fi corridor. Keith says you're the only one renting it, he's thinking of putting it in the for sale section."

She nodded, but didn't say a word.

Steve ran a hand through his hair anxiously. He had no idea what to do or how to treat her if she wasn't responsive to his words. Y/N seemed completely different; she seemed down. Steve covered the space between the counter and the sci-fi corridor in long strides, snatched the movie from its place, and went back with his most charming smile painted on his face. He felt ridiculous.

"Here it is. You have five days to give them back."

"I'll return them on Saturday."

Before he could ask why, she had left, leaving the rental money on the counter. He felt a bittersweet rash wash over him.

Y/N watched those movies with Eddie at her house. She was the Harringtons' neighbor. Her family had money and her dad was on business trips more often than not. When she was little, her mother stayed with her, but the day she started high school everything changed. Y/N parents trusted her and thought that she was mature enough to be left alone. Therefore, on every business trip her dad had, he convinced his wife to go with him. If Mrs. Harrington went with her husband because she didn't trust him, Y/N parents didn't have that issue. They loved each other with such passion it was uncomfortable to be around them. It was lonely, sometimes, having a big house for herself, but Eddie used to make her company crashing in their guests' room if needed.

"Do I have to break Harrington's legs?" Eddie was worried about her depressed state.

"Dustin would be sad."

"I told you Henderson was high when talking about King Steve. There's no way he's a cool dude."

"He could've called me on my bullshit the first time. I don't think Steve wants me to feel bad about having an unrequited crush on him."

"Does he has any flaws? All you do is defend him."

"I give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think Dustin Henderson is bad at reading people, he likes you, doesn't he?"

"Oh, Y/N, you're going soft on me."

"I'm just tired. I want to get over this stupid crush as soon as possible. The last thing I want is to make him uncomfortable. It's been too long, I'm too old to behave like this."

"And in a few months, you would be far away from here in a geniuses university, won't you?"

"I'll take you with me."

"That's presumptuous. Maybe I don't want to go."

"I don't care. I'll kidnap you."

"Then my future is sealed."

She hugged him and he kissed her head. Y/N was ready to just move on from Steve Harrington.

On Friday, Dustin and Mike had the audacity of asking Eddie for a postponement of the Cult of Vecna because Sinclair had his big basketball game. Eddie went all drama queen on them, making Y/N chuckle.

"Y/N!" Robin shouted, running towards her in her band attire.

"Looking good, Robin."

"Green is not really my color. I'm on my way to the gym."

"I thought so. I have the Hellfire campaign." She pointed the other way.

"Do you have a free place in your car? Steve has a date tonight and he can't drive me back home."

"No problem. Have fun with your trumpet."

"You too with your witch." Robin started walking backward.

"I'm a paladin," Y/N responded laughing, wincing when she saw Robin tripping, again.

The campaign was amazing. Erica Sinclair was a ferocious little woman and with so much sass that Y/N was sure Eddie was ready to make her an official member of the club, even if she was still a middle schooler. They got to destroy Vecna thanks to Lady Applejack.

"Hey, Y/N. I have some business to attend to," he winked at her, "drive safe home."

"You too, Eddie."

Getting out of the auditorium, the party was high on their triumph.

"Could you drive me home too?" Mike asked Y/N without looking her in the eyes. "I have to be home early."

"No problemo, my friend." Y/N intertwined her arm with his walking towards her car. "I heard that you have a plane to catch. Are you excited to go to California?"

Mike Wheeler was always shy; when Y/N talked directly to him, he sometimes blushed and laughed nervously.

"He's dying to visit his girlfriend," Dustin answered with a big smile.

"You boys and your girlfriends. Aren't you too young to date?"

"No, mom. Shut up," Dustin kept playing, intertwining his arm with Y/N's free one. "Plus, my Suzy is much better."

"So I heard. An A in Latin, huh?"

"You told her?" He accused Mike.

"It wasn't intentional!"

Truth is, he found her in the corridors after lunch in his search for a sub for Lucas, and she asked him about his grades. Mike panicked, as he usually did in front of her or Eddie, and he told her about how Dustin had made his girlfriend change his grades.

"Anyway. How long have you and Eddie been dating?" Erica asked her bluntly when they were next to the car.

Y/N laughed, "We're not dating. It's a common mistake."

"You could have fooled me," the kid deadpanned.

"We've been trying to make them date, but Y/N has a crush on Steve," Mike blurted out.

"Wheeler!"

"Why Steve?" Erica asked.

"Oh my God! Could we maybe not?" Y/N looked around, hoping the people surrounding them were too busy to pay attention to what they were talking about.

"I think Eddie is better than Steve for you," Mike claimed.

"Steve isn't a bad option," Dusting defended.

The boys started a discussion trying to figure out who was a better catch to Y/N. Erica, not wanting to participate in the nonsense, got into the backseat of the car.

"Robin! Hey guys, it's Robin! Robin Buckley! Hi! Hello!" Y/N shouted, begging all the ancient gods that Robin hadn't listened to the kids' discussion. She seemed oblivious.

"We could go now. Hi Erica. Your brother made us win the game. It was a good game and…" She kept talking about the game as they entered the car and Y/N started to drive it away. Then she saw them. Steve and a very beautiful girl walking toward his car. Robin was quiet for a moment uncertain of what to say. "Steve had told me that you seemed off the other day. Are you feeling better?"

"Peachy."

"Told you. Eddie's better," Mike whispered to Dustin in the backseat.

Before Robin could ask what he meant, Y/N turned on the radio.

The Harringtons' house was dark when Y/N parked in her own dark home. Those houses seemed bigger with emptiness. She started the kettle to make herself a good tea with honey and maybe rewatch Invasion of the Body Snatchers before going to sleep. Everything was set, she was in her pajamas and ready to enjoy her movie when something hit her backdoor repeatedly. The door was made of glass giving a perfect view of the pool and the wood, and, at that moment, a very distressed Eddie Munson. She opened the door in a rush asking him what had happened. After a few crazy mumbles, Eddie finally said something unbelievable, something that only her could believe.

"We'll figure it out."

"What do you mean we'll figure it out? Chrissy is dead in my trailer! I'm going to be hunted!!"

"I won't allow it. Eddie– Eddie, I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?" He nodded. "Good. You're going to be hidden here. I'm having some ideas… Do you mind staying in the basement?"

"You kidding? Your basement is better than my place. I didn't do it."

"I know, Eddie. I believe you."

"How can you believe me?"

"Because it's you. You would never hurt anybody. Hey… Hey, look at me, Eddie," Y/N held his face between her hands. "I'm going to protect you. You're safe here. I'll keep you safe."

The Hawkins High School basketball team had been banned from all school activities not just until the summer, but for the whole of next year. Unfortunately, even when Eddie was expelled, Principal Higgins closed the Hellfire Club forever. Eddie was avoided, as usual, and the gossipers were more interested in Jim Hopper being alive after eight months and Jason Carver being a mastermind than in Eddie; they just assumed he was a poor victim.

It was nice going back to routine, although it was also terrifying. Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Robin, and Max helped them resume their school life sharing space with anxiety, nightmares, hyper-vigilance… the whole PTSD package.

The last months of the school year were uncomfortable, but not bad. The Byers and Eleven moved into Hawkins again, with Hopper, who got his job as chief of police back. Y/N tutored Eddie on his worst subject so he could finally graduate. Max told them that she followed Y/N's advice of singing to herself when Vecna really got her, and it worked to the point she still had a functional arm and no other breaks on her body; she was in a wheelchair until her casted bones healed and Lucas was attentive enough to drive her everywhere. Nancy got accepted into her dream university and Robin started to hang out more with Vickie, from band. The Hellfire Club was relocated to Y/N's house, for Upside Down-aware people only; Eddie was their Dungeon Master and both Eleven and Max decided to play some campaigns with them. Steve went back to work at Family Video and Y/N was a regular customer once again.

Everything seemed calm.

On a hot summery Thursday afternoon, Y/N parked her car in front of Family Video.

"There she comes," Robin pointed out with a wink.

Instead of hiding behind the counter, Steve Harrington opened the door for his favorite regular customer. "Welcome to Family Video, what could we do for you today?"

"Ew, Steve, that's creepy," Y/N laughed, handing him the tape she wanted to return. "Did you finally talk to Keith about the fans?"

"We're so unlucky, Y/N. Save us," Robin complained.

"Go do something over there," Steve ordered his best friend with a pointed look.

Before Vecna, Steve had avoided Y/N and Robin had found any excuse to let them alone. After Vecna, Steve's best moment of the day was when Y/N visited the store, and Robin decided it was much fun to just remain there and watch. The girl flipped him the bird and disappeared. Y/N looked at Steve with lovingly fun eyes; he was blushing shyly while running a hand through his hair. The last time they talked about his love life was in March. It was last June now, and he hadn't dated anyone for that time.

"So, um… are you renting something for tonight?"

"Not really. My parents leave tomorrow morning on a business trip and they want to do some big family dinner tonight. I might be back tomorrow and rent something."

"Well, um… If you're free tomorrow we could, um…" He chuckled anxiously. "We could go to the theater. There's a new movie I think you might like."

She pressed her lips together to avoid a smile, "Sure. Who's coming?"

"Us. Just. Just us. If you want. I mean… as a date."

"I genuinely cannot believe you dated so much with this performance."

"It's different when I mean it, okay? What if you say no? What if it's too late? What if you don't like me anymore? I'm under too much pressure here, Y/N."

"Fine. Fine. I still think you could do it better."

"She's right, dingus!"

"Don't overhear, Buckley! Fine. Yeah. Y/N, I like you. A lot. I really do like you and I think we could spend more time together and date and see what happens. If you want. If you don't, it’s fine. Cool."

"Are you honest, Steve?"

"Never been more honest in my life. Swear to God and hope to die. What do you say?"

For the last few months, Steve and Y/N had spent more time together. He had cooked for her, as he promised, and they had spent more time with Robin and Eddie, too. The four of them enjoying their stupid life. Steve had panicked about Y/N leaving for college only to find out that no matter what university wanted her, she wasn't planning on leaving Indiana; she got into community college with Robin, that way they were both next to him and Eddie.

He wanted a better job. Eddie had gotten a good job as a mechanic and he still had his band, and Steve thought that was much more appealing than a video store. In the end, the long months in which they got to know each other better, helped Y/N's heart to completely threw itself into Steve's arms, and for Steve, he seemed to like her too. It seemed real, not some attraction based on shared trauma.

"Tomorrow then. What time?"

"I work until six. I could pick you up at–"

"Don't be ridiculous, Steve. Our houses are on the other side, it would be a waste of time to drive up and down. I'll wait for you there, you can drive me back home."

"Sounds good to me." He blushed.

"See you tomorrow, then."

"See you tomorrow."

"Good."

"Good."

"Good! Now get back to work."

"Robin!!"

*

She woke up too early that Friday. The anxiety was eating her alive. She had a date with Steve fucking Harrington! It was not a pity date; it was a true date. He hadn't dated anyone waiting for his mind to understand what his heart was pleading for, and he found his resolution. Her heart was beating faster in her chest. She was in such a good mood she was dancing and singing to her favorite songs while choosing what to wear for the evening. It was still too early, but there was nothing else she could do.

She was a nervous wreck for the day, that was her occupation. By the time she had to get ready, she was questioning her wardrobe choices for the twentieth time. She was a pants and Converse girl. Even in the summer, she felt more comfortable with shorts that weren't too short; it was all the thighs' fault. If their rubbing didn't bother her and didn't provoke rashes on the skin, she would love to wear fewer clothes in the hot weather. Eddie was kind enough to mention to her the observation he had made in the first weeks after Vecna, and that was the fact that Steve Harrington seemed charmed by her thighs. By her whole body, really. The moment he thought he was free of scrutiny, he ogled her from head to toe.

This was a date and she wanted to look pretty for her date, different than usual. Thanks to having dresses and skirts for special occasions, she had a variety to choose from. However, she was still undecided. The black one with polls? The white one without sleeves? How about the flowery one that had buttons?

Y/N finally opted for a sundress, white with a patron of tiny cherries, puffy short sleeves, and long to the knees. As for the shoes, let's be honest, she liked comfort better than fashion, and the red Converse Aunt Catherine sent her from New York fitted perfectly with the dress.

Two minutes outside her house and she was hating it. She couldn't go back and change, though.

She arrived at the theater fifteen minutes before the agreed time, and she was thankful for that because then she had time to calm down, and refresh herself for the walk. Her body was sticky with sweat and Hawkins' humid hot weather.

She waited.

Her skin dried and she felt fresher. It was time, but Steve wasn't there yet.

She waited.

The movie had started and she asked to use the phone. Nobody answered at the video store. Nobody answered at his place. What if something bad happened to him?

She waited anxiously.

The movie had finished and she was still waiting, alone. She felt her heart breaking. She didn't think that Steve had dumped her. At least not intentionally. She was terrified something bad had happened to him, and she didn't know what to do or where to go.

A guttural sound vibrated from the alley. Her skin broke into goosebumps. Opening her purse, she touched the knife she kept inside, ready to use it if needed. She followed the noise just to find a demogorgon pulling Max from the other side of the alley as Lucas screamed. Y/N ran towards them, knife in hand. The demogorgon disappeared into a small gate on the theater's back door that was getting smaller and smaller. She got it right in time to stop Lucas from diving in.

"Max!! Max!! It got her!! It got her!!"

"I'll go for her. Go find El. Go find everyone."

"No. No, I'll go with you."

"Then we're all dead. Lucas, go. Go!"

She went through the gate and it closed right behind her. Lucas' voice was muffled for a second before disappearing completely.

There she was, back again to the Upside Down. The demogorgon turned to her, leaving Max, wounded, on the floor. Y/N didn't hesitate in making the first move.

*

The end of his shift was near, and he'd been looking at the clock for the past hour. He was nervous. Steve couldn't remember the last time he was nervous about a date. When he dated Nancy he was confident because he was popular and he knew she liked him. Now he couldn't trust in social constructs established in high school, Y/N wasn't naïve, and most certainly wasn't blindly impressed by him. She might like him, love him even, but she was also weary of him due to the conversation she overheard before Vecna.

He had taken special care in choosing his clothes. He knew he was going to sweat like an animal at the store; therefore, he kept the date clothes in his car with the idea of changing just before going.

Steve was ready to go. He was ready to leave when the phone rang.

"Family Video, how can we help you?"

"Steve," Nancy sounded anguished.

"Hey, Nance, what happened?"

"It's Jonathan. I can't find him. I– Steve, I think I found a gate. Me and Jonathan were at his old house, in the woods, and– He's gone, Steve, I cannot find him."

"Okay, calm down. Are you sure it's a gate?"

"Yeah! Yes, I think so. It looks like the one I found when we were looking for Barb."

"I thought we'd ended those monsters by killing Vecna."

"I don't know. Steve, I don't know. I need help looking for him. Please, go to my house."

"I… Yeah. Fine. I have to make a call. You must call Hopper, right now."

Steve hung up before Nancy could answer and called Y/N's house without a response. The end of his shift must've given him time enough to change calmly of clothes and wait for Y/N at the theater at least thirty minutes before the agreed time; that's the only reason why he went straight to the Wheeler's house instead of waiting to meet with his date so he could take her with him. He still had time.

At the Wheelers' basement, Dustin was using his walkie to call Lucas with his classic "Code red. Do you copy? Code red."

"So, where's Hopper?"

"Steve!" Nancy threw herself into his arms. She was terrified and too tired to keep strong; she needed just a few seconds of weakness. "He said he was going to inspect the area. I couldn't find Jonathan. If something happens to him I– I don't–"

"Hey… Hey, we don't know that yet. Breath."

"Steve, he'd never been in the Upside Down. He–"

"If I survived I think my brother could too. He knows more stuff about the monsters that lived there than I did when I was there."

"Will's right. If Jonathan knows how to lure the demogorgon he must know how to avoid it."

"Where's Eleven?"

"She'd gone shopping with Joyce. We won't be able to reach her yet."

Steve glanced at his watch. He still had time. "I need to go somewhere. I'll–" Before he could finish, Nancy grabbed him by the arm.

"We need to go find Jonathan. I have my guns. I need backup."

"Nance… Hopper's on it. Come on!"

"But it's Jonathan!!"

"I don't think is safe to go anywhere until El gets here. We don't know what's happening. We knew the Upside Down monsters had a hive mind, we thought the Mind Flayer was controlling everything there and we didn't suspect someone was controlling the Mind Flayer. Vecna was the one who controlled everything and he's dead." Mike stated.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's true, but what if the life he created went rogue once he died instead of just dying." Dustin proposed. "I mean, we know how unreliable controlled life could be. He was super powerful, cool, he created life and controlled it but what if that life liked living too much?"

"I think Dustin's right. I still can feel it. It was weak before, but now–"

"Now, what Will? Now what!"

"I don't think they have hive minds anymore."

"Wow. Okay. That explains why they still exist and all, but why the fuck can they come and go now? Who opened a new gate? How?" Steve burst in. "I mean, they're not super powerful with mind shit, are they? They're just hunters, predators. How can they break the bridge every time they want to eat? It makes no sense."

"I hate to admit it, but Steve's right," Mike sighed. "We know that El opened the Mothergate, and we know that its range of powerful magnetism was big enough that it got Will's and Steve's houses in its radius. It didn't get as far as my house. And for Dart, as far as we know, the Mothergate was in its biggest state. After Vecna all the gates closed. At least, the ones at Hawkins did."

"The power," Nancy whispered. "Maybe it's the power. We know Vecna was the most powerful of all and only the combination of Eleven hurting his mind and us hurting his body took him out. If the monsters went rogue, then they might've followed the power residues to open small gates, and we know Vecna's power reached the whole town."

"It could be. In theory," Dustin noted.

"Then, in theory, there could be monsters everywhere in town," Mike pointed out, alarmed.

"We're fucked"

Steve took a look at his watch. Y/N was probably at the theater by now, waiting for him. He excused himself and went to use Wheeler's phone. He found the theater's phone number on the yellow pages but it took him three tries to get somebody to answer; he gave specific instructions to the guy and made him write what he had to say once he found her. He didn't like the idea, he still wanted to pick her up himself and make sure she was alright, but the kids and Nancy kept interrupting him, stopping him, talking to him. He felt imprisoned.

An hour went by without news from Y/N. Eleven and Joyce arrived at the Wheelers' house and Nancy explained what happened. With his new freedom, Steve got out of the house and right into his car.

"Steve! Where are you going!"

"I need to pick up Y/N. Call Eddie, Dustin, ask him if she's with him."

"Steve!" Nancy yelled as he drove away.

Eleven had confirmed their theory and Will's feeling; the demomonsters had gone rogue and had followed the remains of Vecna's power to hunt into their world. Steve had to find Y/N. He wouldn't be at ease until she was in sight. The idea of something bad happening to her… He knew her. He truly knew her now, and if there was any inch of danger, she would fucking jump into it to protect anyone. Robin wasn't like that, for example, she would grab the closest phone and call him or any of the others. Dustin would, too, unless someone he knew was in danger. Why didn't his car go faster? Fuck!

He stopped his car carelessly on Y/N's driveway. The house was silent, dark, and empty. What if she went to Eddie after the employee told her Steve wasn't going? Steve headed to the Munsons' new place so fast that his whole body was in tension; his hands grabbed the steering wheel as if his life depended on it, and he was stepping on the acceleration pedal with his whole will.

"Please. Please. Please."

Eddie and Wayne had received a good amount of money as compensation from the government, and they used it to move into a nice old house that was close to where Max used to live when Mrs. Mayfield was still with Mr. Hardgrove. In fact, their compensation helped them recuperate the house and Mrs. Mayfield was able to find just one job that fulfilled their economic needs. Max's medical bills were covered by the government. No questions asked.

Just as Steve was ready to make a turn and stop his car dangerously on Eddie's driveway, the metalhead's new car was getting out. They almost crashed. Both went out of their cars.

"It's Y/N with you?"

"No, dude. Dustin just called me and told me what happened. I'm going to look for her."

They both yelled. They still had one leg inside the car, their bodies resting on the open door. Both of them are ready to keep driving.

"She's not at home. I might have an idea where she's. Shit. You drive to Robin's, I'll call you there when I find her to go to the Wheelers."

"Okay! If Rob's not there I'll go to the Wheelers."

"Take care, man."

"You too, dude."

Steve did a very dangerous u-turn and drove like a fugitive heading to the theater. He should've gone there first. He should– Shit! Why did he expect that employee to do what he was told? His friends were making him trust strangers, and he shouldn't. He shouldn't believe people were warmhearted.

The boy was beating himself, nonstop, depreciating himself as his car came to a halt. Getting out of the car there was no sign of Y/N on the main street. That's when he heard it. "Y/N!!!" Lucas' voice screamed from the alley. Steve knew that alley well enough, he got beaten up by Jonathan Byers right there. Ironic.

Lucas Sinclair was shouting at a wall while hitting it with his bare hands. Steve ran towards him, stopping him.

"What the fuck happened, Sinclair?"

*

The room was quiet. Too quiet.

"Here we stand. Worlds apart. Hearts broken in two, two, two–" a well-known voice half-singing through the walkie Eleven held.

"How long are you going to keep singing?" Another voice complained.

"It worked for Will, it should work for us. Why, Max, do you only know Kate Bush songs? No Journey? They're good."

Steve let out a shaky breath of relief. At least they were fine. Nancy was still anxious, and he couldn't blame her; if he was feeling like this about a woman he had only known since March, she must've been going insane.

They were about to taste their second theory of the day when the Wheelers' basement door got opened. Hopper entered dragging a covered in Upside Down mucus Jonathan Byers.

A bubbling growl vibrated in the walkie.

Silence.

To be continued…

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