Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“And then at lunch, this guy came up to us and told me he liked my Weird Al shirt, and -”

“Wow, slow down, you actually wore the Weird Al shirt? Come on, man, I told you that was a bad idea!”

“Shut up, Steve, I’m not done with the story! So this guy came and said my shirt was cool and then he started talking to us and told us about this D&D club at school so we’re going to join! Isn’t that awesome!?” Dustin finished, bouncing in place, his curls springing with each movement. 

“Yeah that’s great, dude. Can you stop blocking the counter?”

“No one is even here, why does it matter? Also why didn’t you tell me the high school had a D&D club? I thought we were best friends!”

“I didn’t even know that the club existed, so how was I supposed to tell you? Who’s even in it?”

“I don’t know. I only know the guy who invited us. He said his name was Eddie.”

Steve frowned slightly, his brows furrowing as he tried to think of a face to the name. There were a number of Eddie’s at the high school, none of which Steve had been particularly close with. And it was impossible to know if any of them played D&D, since apparently nerds didn’t have to actually look like nerds, if the Sinclair kids were anything to go by. 

“Alright, well, if the sessions run late or something or if I’m not working, let me know. I can pick you guys up. Robin has marching band practice after school sometimes and I told her I’d try to pick her up too, so I’d already be at the school.”

“Really? Yes! You’re the best, Steve! He told us to meet him after school Friday to talk about the campaign and work on our character sheets, so you could pick us up after that and we could all go to the arcade! Now, since I’m in high school officially, can I rent Nightmare on Elm Street? Please?”

Steve snorted. “When you’re 17, sure. Now get out of here and go do your homework. I know some teacher had to give you something on the first day.”

Huffing, Dustin stomped out of the Family Video, flipping Steve off just as the door closed behind him. Steve just laughed and waved. 

Alone again, Steve started to wrack his brain for who this Eddie could be that was in the D&D club. Was it someone who would be nice to the kids? Were they safe? Was this just a prank that an upperclassman was playing? 

Silently, Steve resolved to be there early Friday, waiting in the parking lot, so that if the kids needed to leave earlier than they expected, there would be someone there and waiting, ready to help. 

---

Friday rolled around, and Steve was already ready for the day to be over. 

The entire week, the kids had been coming into the store to gush about their new friend. 

Eddie is so cool, he knows everything about D&D!

Eddie said he could give me tips on DM-ing, that way I can run my own campaign later this year. Well… if I’m not shit at it, he says. 

Eddie said he could drive Max and I to the record shop next week so we can pick up some new tapes. He even said he’d show us some of the stuff that he likes to listen to!

Steve was sick of hearing about Eddie. He didn’t know who this guy was, what he looked like, what grade he was in, but Steve didn’t like him. Was it jealousy? Maybe. Would he ever admit to that? Not in a million years. 

And so, when Friday arrived, Steve drove over to the high school to wait for the kids. He parked the car so it faced the building, giving him a view of most of the doors. Climbing out, he sat on the hood, enjoying the warm sun. 

It wouldn’t be much longer before the weather started to cool. Summer was ending and fall was quickly approaching. The marching band, which was running drills in an empty field to Steve’s right, would have to start bundling up in layers for practice. Steve had already put an extra jacket, scarf, and hat in the back of his car for when Robin inevitably forgot and got cold. 

The parking lot was mostly empty, with only a few cars scattered around from the various after school activities. Steve recognized a couple, but couldn’t remember the drivers. A T-Bird caught Steve’s eyes, making him hum appreciatively. A few spaces down was a Charger, which Steve would have thought was cool if it wasn’t for the busted headlight, dented door, and badly scratched paint, like someone had keyed it. 

Looking to the other end of the parking lot, Steve saw a van , sitting by itself. It was large, and boxy, and could really use a wash. It was a ‘71 Chevy, with a white stripe down its sides. The doors on the back of the van were white too, though Steve could spot small patches of rust in a few places. The van wasn’t in bad shape, though. There wasn’t any serious damage, and it looked like the tires were in decent condition. Overall, it looked like the average high schooler’s car, even if it was larger than most cars parked at the school. It looked familiar, too, like Steve had seen it before. He couldn’t remember the driver, but he felt like the car had been at more places than just the school. Parties, maybe. Could have been some jock’s car that he’d gotten so he could squeeze a mattress in the back so he could comfortably hook up with girls out at Lover’s Lake. 

Marching band ended, the band heading back inside to pack up their instruments and gather their stuff, and Steve had yet to see the kids. If he was being optimistic, that meant that they were having fun with the new D&D group. If he was being pessimistic, and in his mind, realistic, they were moping somewhere in the school over getting pranked. 

He was on the verge of breaking into the school and finding them himself when a pair of side doors opened and a group of boys came tumbling out. Steve saw the kids straight away, bouncing around and causing a ruckus, like a group of ill behaved puppies. A couple upperclassmen, ones that Steve vaguely recognized but didn’t know the names of, had joined in, shouting excitedly. Two of them had leather jackets, which made Steve start to sweat just looking at them. The third had on a cut off flannel, his hair curly and reminding Steve a bit of Dustin. The curly haired one didn’t seem as hyper as the others, but he was grinning ear to ear all the same. 

And then finally, in the center of all the chaos, strutting like he owned the place and smiling smugly at the other boys, was Eddie Munson. 

His long hair was as shaggy as ever and his hands were adorned in the many rings he was never seen without. Like the other upperclassmen, he had on a leather jacket, that he had thrown a cut off denim vest over top of, as though it weren’t August and they weren’t coming out of a heatwave. He had a bandana in his back left pocket and a chain strung from a belt loop into his front pocket, likely attached to his wallet. Munson had his backpack slung over one shoulder, which he held on to, keeping it from falling as Dustin excitedly slapped at his arm. In Munson’s free hand was his infamous lunchbox, something Steve recognized straight away. 

Mentally, Steve was kicking himself. He should have known . He should have known that the Eddie the kids had been talking about was Eddie “The Freak” Munson. Eddie, who painted his nails black and made devil horns at people. Eddie, who had unapologetically been in drama club his freshman and sophomore year, even when he got made fun of for it. Eddie, who had been held back to repeat his junior year and had apparently been held back again to repeat his senior. 

Eddie, who was a drug dealer. Who sold to most of Steve’s friends and teammates when he was in school. Who Steve would see slipping in and out of parties, selling to drunk teenagers. 

Who was now hanging out with the teens Steve felt responsible for.

Before he could do anything, Lucas spotted Steve from across the lot. 

“Steve!” he shouted, breaking away from the group and running towards him. “Steve, guess what! Basketball tryouts are next month! You’re still going to help me practice even though school started, right?”

“Yeah, kid, I’ll still help. You made a lot of progress over the summer, there’s no way you aren’t making the team.”

Dustin and Mike had broken away from the seniors as well, leaving the upperclassmen to stare after them in confusion. Dustin was in a full out sprint trying to catch up to Lucas while shouting about half orcs and something called a Kenku. Mike was jogging at a slower pace, trying not to look too eager to see Steve, while also excitedly talking about his character, which he called a paladin. Steve didn't understand anything that Dustin or Mike were talking about, but he smiled and nodded along, telling them that it sounded cool and that he was glad they had fun. Just as the kids got to Steve’s car, they stopped to shout a goodbye at the upperclassmen, promising to see them on Monday, before they turned on each other, descending into a fight over who got to ride in the passenger seat. 

“Hey, hey! None of you get shotgun!” Robin yelled, seeing the boys trying to pull open the passenger door. She started to run across the parking lot, her instrument case bouncing against her thigh and the keychains on her backpack jingling. “I’m older, I get to sit in the front! Move it, pipsqueaks!”

As the boys groaned, Steve went around to the back, opening the trunk so they could all pile their school stuff in. “Stop pouting, we’re still going to the arcade, like I promised. Is Mayfield meeting us there? No? Weird, okay. Come on, hustle! Stuff in the back!”

When Steve looked back up, the upperclassmen from the D&D club had mostly dispersed. They were each walking to their cars, leaving Munson behind, who was still staring at Steve and the others, a bewildered look on his face. 

Steve raised his hand and gave a half hearted wave, which earned him a series of confused blinks. Then, Munson quickly turned on his heels and walked to the Chevy van at the side of the lot and climbed into the driver’s seat. 

Well , Steve thought, Now I know where I’ve seen that car before. It was definitely at the parties I went to.

Inside the car, the boys were arguing and shoving each other around in the backseat while Steve and Robin buckled up in the front. 

“Is there a reason you didn’t tell me that Eddie Munson was the one running the club the kids are joining?” Steve asked quietly, shooting Robin an irritated look.

“Oh come on, you don’t buy into the “freak” stuff, do you? Just because he likes to wear black and plays nerd games doesn’t mean he’s a Satanist.”

“No, I don’t give a shit about that stuff. I’m talking about what he keeps in his lunch box.”

Robin raised a brow, “What, his lunch? Does he eat something weird?”

“No, he… Come on, you have to know about this, right?”

“Know about what?” she asked, looking even more confused.

Steve glanced in the rearview mirror, making sure the kids weren’t paying attention. Thankfully, they weren’t. Instead they had their character sheets out and were yelling at each other over what stats or spells or whatever other nerd stuff they picked. 

“Munson… Well,” Steve started, still keeping his voice down. “He sells.”

“Sells?”

“Drugs.”

“ Oh . Shit. How do you… the parties.”

Steve nodded. “The parties. And I had friends who bought from him. Hell, I’ve probably smoked weed that Tommy bought off him. He’s got harder stuff too, but he doesn’t keep that in the lunchbox.”

“And you’re worried about him being around the kids? I get it, I guess, but Munson is a decent guy. He’s nice to the band kids and I had an art class with him last year. This dude kept bugging me, trying to get me to go out with him to the lake or to Skull Rock, and Munson chased him off for me. I asked him why and he just shrugged and said I looked uncomfortable.”

“Great, so he’s a decent human being,” Steve said, sounding borderline irritated. “Doesn’t change what he does in his free time.”

“Your kids are smart, mama bear. They won’t touch that stuff, don’t worry,” Robin said, punching Steve’s shoulder lightly. Before he could respond, Dustin was popping his head up between the two of them

“Steve, I forgot to bring quarters, do you have any money?”

Sighing heavily, Steve nodded. “I brought quarters for each of you. But when they're gone, they're gone, got it? I’m not giving you more!”

The boys nodded, pretending like they believed the statement, even though they knew that when they were getting close to being half way out of quarters, Steve would do what he always did and go get them more without any of them asking. 

Chapter Text

Steve met up with Lucas on Sunday, just as they did every weekend since the incident at Starcourt, and played basketball. 

After everything that had happened, Lucas had wanted an outlet. He wanted to be able to move faster and be stronger. Once, when the sun was just starting to set and Steve was trying to coax Lucas away from the court, Lucas had quietly sat down on a curb and admitted that he was scared of the Upside Down coming back. That he wanted to be ready. That this time, he wanted to be strong enough to protect his friends, like Steve had been doing for years. Lucas had thought if he trained like Steve had, playing basketball, that he’d be strong enough next time. 

Steve had patted Lucas’s back gently and told him he understood. After he got home that night, he dug up the workout plans that his coach had made for him through high school. With a pen, Steve added a few things, like long distance running and some basic punching drills, to help better fit the plans to what Lucas needed. In the morning, he drove over to the Sinclair’s and gave it to Lucas, earning himself a hug from the boy and scowl from Erica, who was angry she didn’t also get a gift. Steve made it up to her by taking her out for ice cream. 

Even though school had only been in session for a week, Lucas had plenty of stories to tell Steve as they played. 

“And then this guy, Jason, told me about tryouts and how he thinks we have a good chance of going to state this year, and he was going to tell me about the other guys on the team, but his girlfriend, Chrissy, showed up and he started talking to her about her cheerleading practices.”

Steve paused. “Jason Carver?”

“That’s him! He said the coach already told him he’d be captain this year. Did you know him?”

“Yeah, I knew him. He’s kind of an ass but he wasn’t as bad as Tommy. Like, Jason will call people names sometimes but he never really got physically violent unless someone else started it. Or he thought they started it. Don’t go to any parties he invites you to, got it?”

Lucas frowned. “Why?”

“Because you’re too young for parties.”

“Weren’t you going to parties as a freshman?”

“Yeah, and look at me now. Besides, your parents would actually notice if you snuck out for a party.”

“You have a point,” Lucas said as he wiped some sweat from his brow. “My parents got so mad at me all the times I snuck out for Upside Down stuff. It’d probably be worse if I went to a party where people are drinking.”

“Or worse,” Steve grumbled.

“Worse? Oh! Drugs. Right. Okay, so no parties, at least not for now.”

“Good. Now, I say we pack it in for today. We can do our run later this week. How about Thursday after school? I get off work at 2 that day.”

“Can’t, sorry. That’s the day Eddie is going to take Max and I to this record store he knows. He says it's like a town or two over, but that they have a better selection. Apparently most places in Hawkins don’t have any metal music, or if they do it's only a few albums. I told him that Max just wants to find out when the new Kate Bush album is coming out but he insisted, saying he was going to give us a music education.”

Steve froze. Every muscle in his body went tense and taut, as though he’d been struck by lightning. He’d forgotten that Lucas had mentioned Eddie driving him and Max to a music store. 

Lucas and Max. In Eddie Munson’s van. Where there were sure to be drugs stashed. 

Those kids were getting in that van over Steve’s dead body. 

“Right,” Steve managed to squeak out, causing Lucas to shoot him a concerned look. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Right, so Thursday is off the table. What about Wednesday? I don’t clock out until 5, so it’d be later, but it would give you time to finish your homework first.”

“Sounds good. Are you alright? You just got, like, really pale.”

“I’m fine. Just remembered I have to run an errand. Let’s go, I’ll drop you off at home first.”

Once Lucas was inside, the door safely closed behind him, Steve was peeling away from the curb at a break-neck pace, his tires squealing slightly. He caught himself wincing, knowing that Mrs. Sinclair was going to give him a stern glare for that next time he saw her. 

But Steve didn’t have time to waste. He needed to find Munson and he needed to find him fast. If he waited, he’d have to try to catch him after school, which meant there would be a chance that one of the kids could be around and overhear. 

Steve may not like the idea of Munson hanging around the kids, but he wasn’t about to shatter their perception of him. They liked the guy and he wasn’t going to try to drive a wedge between them. It’d just end up hurting the kids if he did that.

So Steve started to drive. First, he went past the arcade, hoping that maybe Munson would be there, but doubting it. Next he drove past the two record stores in town, but didn’t spot Munson’s van. The Hideout was next, but still, nothing. The sun was starting to go down as Steve pulled into the trailer park, having remembered someone mentioning once that Munson lived there. He drove aimlessly, driving past Max’s place twice, silently hoping that she didn’t look out the window and spot him, knowing full well that if she did that she’d question what he was doing. Running out of places to look, Steve went past Reefer Rick’s, thinking that maybe the two drug dealers would hang out together. Still not seeing the van, Steve drove towards the quarry. One time, when he asked Tommy about where their weed had come from, Tommy had mentioned that Munson sold it to him and that he heard Munson sometimes went to the quarry to deal. 

There. The van was parked off to the side, practically hidden, near one of the foot paths towards the cliff edge: the one people thought Will Byers fell off nearly two years ago. Steve paused at the memory, hardly believing it had only been that long, feeling like it had been a lifetime. 

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Steve parked and jumped out of the car. His bangs fell into his eyes, his hair products long since worn off from the sweat of his pick up game with Lucas. Huffing, Steve started up the trail, hoping that this was the one that Munson took. As he walked, Steve swatted at the bugs, cursing under his breath as he ran into a low hanging tree branch. When he went to swipe at a spider web that hung down into his face, he tripped over a rock and fell, getting mud all over his shoes, knees, and hands. When he went to stand, he hissed as he felt a stinging in his palms, which were scraped and welling with drops of blood. He was sure his knees looked the same, but couldn’t tell in the low light. With another string of curses, he wiped his hands on his shirt, smearing mud and blood across the gray cotton. 

“Can’t do a damn thing for these kids without getting hurt,” Steve grumbled under his breath, stomping up the path again. “They’re going to kill me. One of these days, I’m going to try to protect these dumbasses and I’m going to die. We’ll see if they find me getting my ass kicked funny then.”

He cut himself off as he finally made it into a clearing at the cliff overlooking the quarry. There was a walking path around the entire top of the quarry, that during the day people used as a hiking path and at night, people used for drinking and smoking and who knew what else. 

And there, leaning against a tree, was Eddie Munson. There was another guy there, someone that Steve didn’t recognize but thought was probably just a couple years older than him. The other guy was also leaning on the tree and the two were standing close, their heads leaned in towards each other, talking quietly. 

For the third time that night, Steve cursed to himself. Of course, he would catch Munson in the middle of a drug deal. 

Steve must have made a noise, or stepped on a branch, or something as he stepped out into the clearing, because both Munson and the other guy looked up, startled, and took a step away from each other. Munson was squinting into the dark towards Steve, trying to find the source of the noise, while the other guy was fidgeting nervously, his head on a swivel. 

It was now or never. Taking a deep breath, Steve started towards Munson, his anger growing slightly as he thought about all the ways that Munson’s bullshit could hurt the kids, Steve’s kids.

“Munson!” he shouted.

Munson’s eyes widened slightly in recognition. 

“Harrington?” he asked, taking another step backwards like he was going to bolt into the woods. 

“Hey! No! Don’t you dare run, you little shit!” Steve yelled picking up the pace, storming across the clearing at the other man. 

The man that Munson had been with turned and took off, leaving Munson behind. Munson didn’t even seem phased by that. His eyes were locked on Steve as he brought his hands up in front of him in a placating gesture. 

“Wow, wow, slow down, man, come on! It’s not what it looks like, we can talk this out!”

Steve grabbed the front of Munson’s jacket and yanked him forward before slamming him backwards against the tree trunk, pinning him there. Steve could feel his face twist into an ugly snarl, one he typically only reserved for demogorgons and Russian secret agents. 

“Really?” Steve growled, actively ignoring the look of utter terror in Munson’s eyes. “Because it looks to me like you're doing a drug deal on a school night, setting a great fucking example for the kids. Or are you going to tell me I’m wrong?”

“Drug… Drug deal?”

“Do you think I’m fucking stupid, Munson? I know what you do. I know what you keep in your lunch box. And I know that you have harder stuff too, which I bet you keep in that van of yours. And I know you come up here to deal.”

Munson blinked a few times, the fear in his eyes lessening, though there was still a desperate look to him that made guilt twist in Steve’s gut. He pushed it down, knowing that if he had to backslide, if he had to act like the bully he used to be, and probably still was inside, then doing it for the kids’ sake was worth all the self hatred he would feel after this.

“Right… right, yeah, you caught me. I was dealing. That… yeah that’s what I was doing.”

“And that’s the problem,” Steve said, pressing his fists even harder into Munson’s chest, making the other man wince slightly. “I am going to say this once and only once. Don’t you dare bring drugs near my kids, got it? You keep this shit as far from them as possible. Don’t bring it to your D&D meetings, don’t let them into your van if there are drugs in it, don’t tell them that you sell, don’t sell to them, don’t give them any, and don’t do any drugs around them. Have I made myself clear?”

“Your kids?”

“Henderson, Wheeler, Mayfield, both of the Sinclair's. Fuck, don’t bring this stuff around Robin either. She’s not one of the kids, but she’s my best friend and she doesn’t need any of this shit messing up her chances of getting into a good college.”

Munson slowly brought his hands to Steve’s wrists, gently pulling Steve’s hands off his jacket. He didn’t move beyond that, and held eye contact the whole time, nodding as he went. 

“Got it. I hear you. I’ll admit, I’m really fucking confused on what’s going on here, but I understand.”

Steve shook his head, finally taking a step back and running a hand through his bangs, smearing some residual mud and blood across his forehead and into his hair. He took another stumbling step back, his adrenaline crashing and leaving him shaking. 

“No, no! You don’t understand! You don’t fucking understand because you don’t know these fucking kids yet! You’ve only just met them! You don’t know how goddamn smart they are! How they built a working Ghostbusters catching thing all by themselves! And they basically ran the AV club! And they’re stupidly brave and selfless and just really, really good kids! They can make it out of this town. Fuck, Dustin could probably get a full ride somewhere just on his grades and brain. And Lucas is working so hard to get on the basketball team and I know that he could probably make varsity his first year and get a scholarship to play for IU or Purdue. And little Wheeler, Mike, wants to go to UCLA! He wants to go all the way to California! Then there’s Max, who has been through so much and wants to help kids when she grows up, but hasn’t decided how to yet. And I have no idea what Erica wants to do, she’s like, barely 11 but she is terrifying and will probably be a CEO or have her own law firm by the time she’s 30. You don’t fucking understand that these kids are going places, Munson, and if they are riding in your van and you get pulled over and have drugs in there, it’ll be on their record. And then no college will take them and they’ll be stuck in this god awful town and they’ll end up like me and I will not let that happen, Munson. These kids look up to you and trust you already, so you have to look out for them. You can’t… fuck, please, Munson, you just can’t let them get tangled up in this, they have enough to deal with.”

“Okay, wow, slow down. Take a breath, man. You’re fully hyperventilating right now,” Munson said, his voice even and calm, like he was trying to soothe a wild animal. His hands were out, like he was ready to catch Steve if he collapsed or tried to attack him again. “Let me make sure I’ve got this straight. You came here to tell me not to bring drugs near the kids or Buckley because you want them all to go to college? You’re not here to kick my ass or something?”

Steve startled at that. “What? No! I wasn’t going to hurt you! I’m sorry I grabbed you, that wasn’t cool, fuck, I was just freaking out and got angry and I think I’m still freaking out. I promise, though, I won’t ever actually hurt you unless you do something to the kids.”

“That’s… actually comforting to hear. Cool, glad you aren’t here to beat the shit out of me. You want to tell me what happened to make you look like… this? And to be spiraling like this?”

“What do you mean look like -” Steve cut himself off as he looked down and took himself in. 

What he thought had been only a small smear of blood on his shirt had turned out to be streaks of red, mixed with splatters of mud. His shins and knees were caked with dirt, only broken up by the streams of blood running down his legs, cleaning away the mud. His shoes were filthy and would need to be deep cleaned, if they were ever to be white again. When Steve looked at the mixture of blood and mud on his hands, he glanced up at Munson and saw dirty, bloody hand prints on his jacket. 

“Well shit,” Steve said, trying to wipe his hands on his pants again.

“Dude, stop! You’re just going to make it worse!”

“I have to wash the clothes anyways, doesn’t matter.”

“I meant your hands, you’re just going to tear them open more.”

“I’ve had worse. Fuck, how much blood do I have in my hair?”

“That’s what you’re worrying about right now? Really?”

“I’ve been driving around all afternoon in a full panic trying to find you just so I could beg you to not bring drugs around the kids. I’m coming down from the adrenaline rush, sue me.”

Munson let out a short bark of laughter, shaking his head and grinning. “All afternoon? Jesus, Harrington, what happened? One day, you’re King Steve of Hawkins High, and then the next day you’re basically only hanging out with Nancy Wheeler and barely speak to anyone, not even to insult them. And now, you’re acting like some Suburban single mom who thinks the scary metalhead is going to corrupt her children with fantasy tabletop games and rock n’ roll.”

“I guess I grew up. So you’ll do it? You’ll keep the drugs out of the van when the kids are in it? Won’t bring anything around them? I’m not above begging at this point, man.”

“While I would love to see that, no, you don’t need to get on your knees and beg, Harrington”

“I didn’t say I would get on my knees.”

“Semantics. Besides, sales are down anyway. I didn’t go to any of the back to school parties since I was, for once, studying so I can finally graduate, and everyone decided I was unreliable. Not like they particularly liked buying from me anyway. No one wants to buy from the trailer trash freak, you know?”

Steve paused, looking up from his hands to look at Munson. 

Munson had his head turned away, looking out of the quarry. The moon had finally come out from behind some clouds and cast a silvery light across them, catching in Munson’s wavy hair. His rings glinted and gleamed as he reached up to fiddle with his necklace, which looked to be a guitar pick on a chain. He worried at his bottom lip with his teeth, clearly deep in thought.

“So you need a job?”

“Obviously. That’s why I’m dealing in the first place. No one starts dealing just cuz it's fun, Harrington. They do it cuz they need money. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out. You’re… you’re right. Those kids are going places. I don’t want to be the one to fuck that up for them.”

“What if I could get you a job?”

Munson’s eyes cut across to Steve, and in the low light, Steve thought that they looked nearly black, like pools of ink.

“What?”

“We can make a deal. I get you a job at Family Video, with me and Robin. And I can’t make any promises, but I can try to help you study. I’ll be useless with English but I wasn’t completely horrible at math. I do that, and you just have to stop dealing and look out for the kids when they’re at school.”

Munson’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You want to help me get a job and help me graduate?”

“If it helps the kids, yes.”

“You know I don’t only deal, right?”

“What? Wait… oh. Oh. Well… is it… fuck is it heavy stuff or is it -”

“Just pot. I mean, I’ve tried the heavier shit but stopped last year when I realized I needed to give a damn about school if I wanted to graduate.”

Steve nodded. “Pots fine. I’ve smoked weed before, back in high school. Just, you know, don’t let the kids be near it.”

“Really?” Munson grinned sharply. “Where’d you get the weed, huh, Harrington?”

“From Tommy Hagan. Who got it from you. That’s how I knew to come here. He said that he heard you would deal up here sometimes.”

Munson burst out laughing, shaking his head in disbelief. “I remember Hagan. Piece of work. I always charged him higher and thought of it as the ‘Asshole Tax.’ He was your best friend, right?”

“Ugh, yes. Don’t remind me. So, do we have a deal?” Steve asked, putting out his hand for Munson to shake. 

“Yeah, we’ve got a deal. I’ll work on moving the last of my product. You just have to let me know what I have to do to get the job.” He paused, looking down at Steve’s outstretched hand. “I’m not shaking your hand, though. That thing is disgusting. Get it clean and bandaged or something and then we can shake.”

Steve snorted, shaking his head as he ducked to hide the smile curling on his lips.

Chapter Text

“Keith, come on, man! You were just complaining saying we needed another person here!” Steve said, trailing after his manager through the comedy section of Family Video as the pair stocked shelves. 

“Why would I hire anyone that you recommend, Harrington? I don’t even like you.”

“He’s nothing like me, so you don’t have to worry about there being two of me running around.”

Keith narrowed his eyes as he glanced over at Steve. “Who is it?”

“Eddie Munson.”

“Munson? The dude who ran the Dungeons and Dragons club at school?

Steve nearly groaned, wondering how the hell he hadn’t known about this stupid club when he was in school, especially after the Upside Down shit started and he began hanging out with Dustin.

“Yeah, he still runs it.”

“He's still in school?”

“He’s going to graduate this year,” Steve said, finding himself defending Munson without even thinking. “He needs a job though. He could probably do most weekends and after school most days, when he doesn’t have his club. Hell, he probably has more availability right now than Robin does with band.”

Keith grunted slightly. “I thought Munson had a job, if you know what I mean.”

“He’s done with that. I told you, he wants to graduate this year, get a job. Clean up his act, you know? So come on, man! We need the help and he’s ready to work. And I bet he knows a bunch about movies.”

Quietly, Keith shelved a few more movies, acting as though he was ignoring Steve completely. Finally, with a sigh, he nodded. 

“Bring him in. Have him fill out an application. I’ll talk to him and we’ll see what happens. I’m not promising anything, especially not to you, Harrington.”

“No, yeah, totally! Got it! Thanks, dude!”

“Whatever. Go rewind some tapes.”

Steve hurried away to do as he was told and, for once, he did it without complaint. 

---

Eddie found himself on the receiving end of matching, curious, stares from Mike and Dustin at lunch. Both of the younger boys were splitting their time between staring down at their food and staring at Eddie, with only the occasional glance at each other. Neither had uttered a word, not even to say hello. 

So, when it became unbearable, Eddie threw a chip at them.

“Is there a problem, gentlemen?”

“No!” Mike hurried to say.

At the same time, Dustin said, “Why did Steve tell me to tell you to meet him after school?”

Gareth, Jeff, and Caleb  all froze, their conversation petering out. Gareth was looking at Dustin with his mouth slightly agape while both Jeff and Caleb had turned on Eddie.

“Steve who?” Gareth asked. 

“How many Steve’s do you know? Harrington, obviously,” Dustin snarked. “But Eddie, since when are you two friends?”

“We aren’t.”

“Does Harrington want to see you for -” Jeff started, only to be cut off by the sharp look Eddie sent him. Eddie made a mental note to tell the older guys in the group not to bring up the drugs around the kids. 

“He and I talked the other day. He’s trying to get me a job at Family Video. He probably wants to talk about it.”

Caleb frowned. “Since when do you hang out with him?”

“I don’t. He came to talk to me about something else.”

“About us,” Mike said as he scowled down at his lunch. “I told him to lay off! He doesn’t need to mother us!”

“He’s being nice, Mike, stop being a dick. He even said he’d drive you home after the arcade today so you should be nicer to him.”

“I still don’t get why you call him every morning between English and history.”

“Because I don’t want him to get lonely at work. You know his boss hates him.”

Caleb snorted, not bothering to hide his smile. “Aw, poor Harrington. Finally getting a taste of his own medicine. Sweet, sweet karma, you are a lovely bitch, even if you are late.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Dustin shrilled.

Mike was nearly growling as he spoke at the same time. “Leave Steve alone.”

Before it could spiral into a fight, Eddie put a hand up between Mike and Caleb, silencing them both. 

“Everyone, just take a chill pill, Jesus Christ. Who knew Harrington would get everyone so heated. I need a job, Harrington offered to help, that’s the end of it. I’ll try not to let it mess with Hellfire but if it does, we reschedule. It’ll be fine. Henderson, did he tell you where I’m supposed to meet him?”

“He’s picking us up after school to take us to the arcade so you can catch him when he’s here. Or you can meet us at the arcade and talk to him there. I don’t really know what he does while we play, but he picks us up again at 9 to take us home again.”

“Don’t you guys have bikes?” Gareth asked. “I mean, it's cool he’s driving you guys but why does he do it? Most kids your age walk everywhere or bike.”

Mike and Dustin froze up. Dustin was giving him a look like he was an idiot, which was becoming normal for Dustin, while Mike’s face went carefully blank.

“Remember Will Byers?” Mike said.

“He was the kid that disappeared and then reappeared even though they said they found his body.”

“Yeah. He’s our friend.”

“Okay…”

“And he went missing riding his bike at night, dumbass,” Dustin snapped. “Steve doesn’t want that happening to us too. So he and Nancy said they’d drive us until one of us could legally drive.”

“I like how they specified it had to be legal,” Eddie said with a laugh.

Both boys looked slightly uncomfortable, nearly ashamed. 

“It was a needed clarification after an… incident last fall,” Dustin mumbled.

“Technically, that was Max’s fault. And no one got hurt.”

“The mailbox did.”

“A mailbox isn’t a person, stupid.”

The upperclassman at the table went quiet for a moment, only to break out in a ruckus, yelling over each other, trying to get their questions answered first.

---

When school ended, Eddie found himself being dragged outside by Dustin, who was flanked by Mike and Lucas, their little red headed friend, Max, bringing up the rear. 

“I could have found my way outside. You guys know that, right?”

“We want to see you and Steve talk,” Max said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Okay. Why?”

“Because it'll be weird. Like a dog walking on its hind legs. And we want to see that.”

Outside, Eddie had to resist the urge to squint at the brightness of the sun. Blinking blearily, he found that Dustin was dragging him towards Harrington’s parked car, where Harrington had perched himself on the hood, waiting. A little girl sat beside him, scowling at all of them.

“You took forever!” she shouted.

“We had to get Eddie!” Lucas said. “How’d you even get here?”

“Steve picked me up!”

“The middle school lets out after the high school!”

“I had a dentist appointment and mom couldn’t take me! So Steve took me!”

Eddie’s eyes shot over to Harrington, who was blushing a deep crimson and trying to avoid Eddie’s gaze.

Behind him, Max snickered. “Aw, Mama Steve is so sweet!”

“Shut it, Mayfield. Is this everyone?”

The kids all nodded before scurrying over to the trunk, which was already popped open, and began loading their backpacks in. That left Eddie, Harrington, and the little girl alone at the front of the car. 

“This is Erica, by the way,” Harrington said, jerking his head towards the girl. “Lucas’ little sister.”

“I’m the better Sinclair,” Erica said proudly. 

“Right. Hi. I’m Eddie.”

“I know who you are.”

Harrington rolled his eyes at her antics, all while smiling fondly. He then turned his attention back on Eddie. “Are you busy? My boss told me to bring you in to fill out an application and talk with him. Thought we could do that while the kids were at the arcade.”

“Shit, you already talked to him? It's been less than 24 hours.”

Harrington shrugged. “I work fast. At least when it matters. Also, language. There’s a kid right here.”

“I’ve heard you say worse, idiot.”

“Go get in the car, Sinclair.”

Erica huffed but jumped off the hood of the car and went to the back of the car to fight with the other kids over the seating arrangement. 

“So,” Harrington said, looking at Eddie again. “You coming with me?”

“I mean, yeah. Let's go. Damn, thought I’d have more time to get rid of… stuff.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage. Now you better hurry and take the front seat before Henderson or Mayfield try to steal it.”

The drive was cramped. Eddie had to scoot his seat forward, his knees pressed into the dashboard to make room for Lucas and Mike. Lucas had claimed he was the tallest, even though Mike had about two inches on him, and had jumped into the car without listening to anyone’s bickering. Harrington and Max had to bully Mike to get in the car and sit on Lucas’ lap. Both boys were pretending that it wasn’t happening, looking away from one another. Dustin was beside Lucas in the middle of the bench seat, his shoulders squished, but his arms draped over Mike’s gangly legs, which had been tossed across Dustin’s knees. And then finally, behind Steve, was Max, with Erica in her lap. Max had her arms wrapped around Erica’s middle, acting as a seat belt. The younger girl looked rather smug and comfortable, clearly enjoying the discomfort of the other, taller kids who were cramped in the backseat.

Eddie was beyond grateful that Harrington had told him to grab shotgun when the kids weren’t looking. Being shoved back there and having to have his eardrums blown out by the kids yelling and fighting did not appeal to Eddie in the slightest.

When they pulled up to the arcade, the kids piled out bickering and not bothering to thank Harrington for the ride. As soon as Mike and Lucas were out of the car, Eddie was sliding his chair back so that he could stretch his legs, rubbing at his thighs in hope of getting the blood flowing again. 

“Sorry about them,” Harrington said as he pulled out of the parking lot, turning to take them to Family Video. “They get excited easily.”

“I can tell. They barely let me stop off at my locker before they were trying to drag me outside.” 

“How’d Dustin act when he told you to meet me after school?”

“Weird. Both him and Wheeler. Henderson seemed mostly confused, Wheeler seemed irritated but as soon as one of my friends said some shit about you, both of them were trying to jump down his throat.”

Harrington looked over, blinking in surprise. “Little Wheeler defended me?”

“Yeah. You seem surprised.”

“I am. Usually he acts like he hates me.”

“Yet you still drive him places.”

“Well, yeah. He’s a good kid and I like him. I’m driving the others anyway, so it's not difficult to give him a ride too.”

“You literally had 5 children crammed into 3 seats. That sounds like the definition of difficult.”

Snorting, Harrington smiled and shook his head. “Yeah, you’ve got a point. But it's safer this way.”

They lapsed into silence as Eddie took in the meaning behind Harrington’s words, thinking back to what Wheeler and Henderson had said about Harrington and Wheeler’s sister driving them everywhere out of fear for their safety. It made the conversation from last night, at the quarry, make more sense. The drugs in the van was probably only part of the issue: Harrington was probably scared of the kids getting into anyone’s car. Something warm burned in Eddie’s chest when he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could earn Harrington and Nancy Wheeler’s trust to drive the kids around. 

“So, what do I need to know about your boss before I meet him?” Eddie asked. 

“His name is Keith. He went to school with us. He hates me, likes Robin, and is a huge movie nerd. Be ready for him to quiz you on films. You like movies, right?”

“Yeah, I like movies,” Eddie said with a laugh. “Who doesn’t?”

Harrington snorted. “I was just checking, man.”

When they pulled into the parking lot, Eddie could see Robin Buckley inside, half glaring at Harrington’s car. When the two men stepped through the doors, a bell ringing overhead, Buckley threw a balled up piece of paper at Harrington, bouncing it off his head. 

“Really, Robin?”

“I had to beg for a ride with Harvey Miller from band. Harvey Miller . You know how awkward that was?”

“I told you over the phone. I needed to drop the kids off and there were more of them than usual today. And I was giving Munson a ride here to talk to Keith.”

“Yeah, but now Harvey is going to think I like him and he was asking me about my plans for Homecoming and now I’m going to have to make up some excuse because I do not want to go with him and I’m going to get all stressed and I’ll break out and I’m going to blame it on you.”

“Go ahead, I’ve been blamed for worse. Is Keith in the back office?”

Buckley nodded, then turned to look over her shoulder. “Keith! Steve’s here! He brought Munson!” she yelled, making Eddie flinch at the sudden volume. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Harrington jump as well. 

A quiet curse could be heard from the back and then another man appeared, looking tired and irritated. When he caught sight of Harrington, his face became pinched, as though he had just eaten something sour. 

“Right. You’re back.”

“I brought that guy I was telling you about. You said to bring him in to talk to you, fill out the application, stuff like that.”

Keith jerked his head towards the office. “Come on, Munson. We’ll talk in here.”

---

Once Keith and Munson were in the office, the door closed, Robin turned on Steve with a curious glint in her eye.

“When you talked to me at lunch and said you were bringing Munson in for a job interview, I thought maybe you had finally cracked and gone insane. That it was all some delusion.”

“Wow, thanks, Robin.”

“Why else would you be hanging out with him!?”

“I’m not hanging out with him!” Steve said, leaning on the counter and brushing his hair out of his eyes. “I told you. I made a deal with him. Keeps the kids safe and it gets him a job. Everyone wins.”

“Mm-hm. Sure, Dingus. Where did you have this conversation with him? Just happen to run into him at the grocery store or something?”

“I went looking for him. Found him at the quarry dealing to some guy.”

Robin froze. Her eyes darted away, fixed on the stack of tapes in front of her. When she spoke again, her voice was pitched up an octave.

“The quarry? Did you see who he was with?”

“Just some guy. Didn’t recognize him, so maybe he went to a different school or something. They were just talking when I walked up, hadn’t gotten to the exchange part of the deal, I guess. Basically as soon as I yelled Munson’s name, the other guy just took off. It was pretty dark, so maybe he thought I was a cop or something.”

“Right… yeah… a cop.”

Steve kept talking, not noticing how tense Robin had gotten. 

“I feel like there has to be better places to do a drug deal than at the quarry, you know? But Tommy told me, back when we were friends, that Munson had been seen meeting up to do deals there before so I guess it's not that weird. That’s how I knew to go find him there.”

“You… Um… Don’t go back to the quarry at night, okay? At least, not alone.”

Steve frowned, finally looking over at her. “Why? Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah, totally fine. Just don’t go alone. Probably isn’t really safe to go alone at night. Here, can you take these to the romance section?” she said, shoving the stake of tapes at him as the office door opened again, Munson walking out holding a green vest and grinning proudly. 

“I’m not working right now though.”

“Just do it, Dingus!” Robin snapped, pushing him along. Steve huffed, grumbling under his breath, but took them for her. 

Munson approached the counter, watching Steve walk away with a confused slant to his brow. 

“Uh, where’s he going?”

“I sent him away. Had to talk to you really fast,” Robin said, her voice barely above a whisper as she leaned over the counter. “I have two questions and I need you to answer me honestly. Do you know what the handkerchief in your pocket can mean and do you know what goes on at the quarry at night?”

And just like that, Munson’s smile was gone. He went deathly pale and his brown eyes went wide with panic. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out besides a half choked sound.

Robin nodded. “That’s a yes then. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that wasn’t a drug deal that Steve stumbled on, right?”

Slowly, Munson nodded. 

“You… Please don’t tell anyone. Fuck, people hate me enough as it is and -”

She raised a hand, cutting him off. “I’m not going to out you, don’t worry. I just wanted to make sure that you knew about the quarry before I told you not to worry about Steve. I told him to not go around there at night, at least not alone. You won’t have to worry about running into him anymore. He didn’t know the quarry was basically the cruising ground for nearly all the surrounding counties in a 50 mile radius, and he still doesn’t know. I just told him it probably wasn’t safe for him to be doing that. He’s… he’s cool, about this kind of stuff though. Girls that like girls, boys that like boys, that kind of thing. He doesn’t know a lot and is still learning, but he’s cool. If you ever need help, he… he would help.”

Munson snorted disbelievingly, looking at Robin with a combination of shock and confusion. “Right… King Steve, star basketball player and Hawkins Golden Boy, wouldn’t kick my ass if he found out I was a fag. I totally believe that.”

She shot him a glare. “He wouldn’t do that. And don’t say that word. Especially not around Steve. He really hates it.”

“Wait, so you’re serious? He is actually okay about that stuff?”

“Yes, I’m serious. And I’m trying to tell you that you’re safe to go looking for hookups at the quarry still without fear of Steve finding you and thinking you're dealing drugs again or something. Jeez, this is what I get for being nice.”

“Okay. Cool. Wow. That is… unexpected. Wait, how did you know about the quarry and about the… uh… the handkerchief.”

Robin leaned back from the counter and lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing the silver carabiner, laden with her keys, hooked to one of her belt loops on her right side. 

“I know what flagging looks like, Munson,” she said evenly, before dropping her shirt again. 

He grinned, leaning forward over the counter. “Call me Eddie. We’re going to be friends, aren’t we?”

Robin laughed, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I think we will.”

“And Harrington… he knows about you?”

“Yep. He barely batted an eye and then promptly went into making fun of my crush and saying I had poor taste.”

“Who was your crush?”

“Tammy Thompson.”

Eddie wrinkled his nose. “Her? But she sings like a Sesame Street character brought to life!”

Robin had to stifle a laugh, her hand pressed to her mouth and her eyes crinkling at the edges. 

“Steve said she sounded like a muppet.”

“Holy shit, he’s right. She totally does. I’m going to have to agree with Harrington on this one; you have bad taste.”

Chapter Text

They fell into a rhythm. 

Steve would work during the day, while Munson and Robin were at school. When class let out, Munson would drive Robin over when she had a shift, regardless if he was on shift too. Sometimes, she had band after school and Munson would show up alone. When things were slow at the store, Munson would pull out his homework and try to work on it, only to get distracted by something and abandon it for an hour or two. Both Steve and Robin had made it a habit to help him keep on task, reminding him to keep reading or to keep doing his math. It seemed to help, and within a month, Munson wasn’t getting in trouble anymore for late or incomplete school work. 

Of course, that was when disaster had to strike.

“Steve!” Dustin yelled, storming into Family Video like he owned the place. Hot on his heels were Mike and Lucas. Dustin and Mike looked mad, while Lucas mouthed a sorry over their shoulders to Steve. 

“Steve! You are ruining my life! I hope you’re proud of yourself!”

Steve looked up from the magazine he had been reading at the counter, blinking at Dustin in confusion. Munson, who was sitting on top of the counter reading out of his history textbook, a pencil twisted into his hair, forming a messy bun at the base of his skull, also looked up at the approaching teens. Robin came scurrying out of a row of shelves, always excited to see Steve get chewed out by 14 year olds. 

“What have I done now?”

“You stole my Dungeon Master!”

“Dungeon… Hold on, how do you know what a Dungeon Master is? You’re a kid!”

Munson made a choking, wheezing noise and nearly fell off the counter, barely catching himself on Steve’s shoulder. Robin let out a loud bark of laughter before clamping a hand over her mouth. 

Dustin and Mike no longer looked angry. Now, they just looked perplexed, and maybe slightly irritated. Lucas was very clearly confused, though he seemed to be apprehensive, like he knew that the conversation had just taken an inappropriate turn.

Munson jumped in before either Steve or Dustin could say anything. 

“Calm down, Harrington. He’s talking about D&D. That’s what you call the person running the session.”

“Oh,” Steve said. Then, a deep red blush creeped up his neck, all the way to the tips of his ears as he hunched in on himself slightly. “ Oh .”

“What other type of Dungeon Master is there?” Dustin asked.

“We’ll tell you when you’re older. Now, why have you come to yell at poor King Steve.”

Steve flinched at the nickname but said nothing. The kids and Munson didn’t notice, but Robin did, just as she always did when Munson jokingly called Steve that old moniker. She came around to lean on the counter next to Steve, brushing her shoulder against his and leaving it there, letting him feel her presence and be comforted knowing he wasn’t alone. 

“We haven’t had a Hellfire session in weeks, Eddie! All because Steve got you a job here! Which I still don’t get, since you two aren’t friends, but whatever.”

“Why can’t you guys just do the sessions on nights that Munson doesn’t work?” Steve asked. “Or on weekends when he isn’t scheduled?”

“The school doesn’t let us come in on weekends,” Mike said. “And they only give us one night at the school, since other clubs are using the same room as us on other nights. Eddie keeps canceling because he has work and it sucks!”

“Sorry, little Wheeler, I’m a working man now. I’ve got to get that resume in order for when I graduate. I told you guys at lunch though, I’ll find a way to make it work. I’ll make sure we have a session soon.”

“You said that last week though!”

“Do you have to do it at the school? Why don’t you do it at someone’s house?” Robin suggested. 

Lucas grimaced. “There’s a lot of us and none of our parents really want that many teenagers in their house all at once.”

“Yeah, and it would get crowded. That’s what’s nice at school: the classroom is big. We’d need to go somewhere with a lot of space and none of our houses are big enough,” Mike said.

Suddenly, Dustin whipped his head to look at Steve, his eyes big and round, pleading. 

“Steve!”

“No.”

“Please, Steve!”

“No, man, come on!”

“I’ll help you clean up afterwards! Promise! Please!”

Munson was looking between the two, frowning slightly. “Am I missing something?”

“Steve has a big house! And his parents are never there!” Dustin said excitedly.

“Which means, like always, he wants to invite everyone to my house,” Steve groaned. “Dude, last time I let you guys have a sleepover at my house, you spilled fruit punch on my mom’s throw pillows. My parents were so pissed when they found out, especially my dad.”

“We won’t spill anything this time! We’ll all stay in the dining room, at the table, and we’ll clean up after! We’ll bring our own snacks too! Please, Steve!”

With a heavy sigh, Steve hung his head. “When would you be doing this?”

“Do you and Eddie work this weekend?”

“Harrington has a shift Saturday morning and I work all day Sunday with Buckley, but besides that, I think we’re free,” Munson said, though he had his eyes on Steve, one brow slightly cocked.

“Perfect! We’ll do it Saturday when Steve gets off work!”

“How long do these sessions last?” Steve asked. 

Mike bounced excitedly in place, his usual scowl gone. “A couple hours, but we haven’t played in a while, so it’ll probably be an extra long session. Dustin, Lucas, and I can come over at noon to get stuff ready! Everyone else can come at 1.”

“Fine. Just no messes.”

Dustin and Mike both shouted a goodbye as they scurried out, excitedly talking about candles and plastic skulls and other decorations they needed to make Steve’s dining room ‘suitable’ for a session. Lucas gave Steve a smile and said a quiet thanks before following after his friends.

When the door closed behind the boys, Robin leaned into Steve good naturedly. 

“You’re a pushover.”

“Yeah, I know. But it is sort of my fault.”

Munson shook his head before reaching out to lightly punch Steve’s shoulder. “It's not your fault, dude, don’t say that.”

“I bullied you into working here.”

“I wanted a job. You did me a favor . The kids are just being brats. You didn’t have to say yes to hosting; they’d have been fine.”

“It's okay, really. I just have to make sure my parents don’t find out. They buy into the whole ‘Dungeons and Dragons is a satanic game’ thing. But as long as they don’t find out about the D&D and no one breaks or ruins anything, I shouldn’t get into any trouble.”

“I’ll come over and help keep you sane,” Robin said, smiling. “We can watch movies in the living room or something while they play. We can binge watch Star Wars, if you want?”

Steve smiled. “Yeah, that’d be fun.”

“Now,” Robin said, standing back up straight and fixing Munson with a look. “Eddie, don’t you have homework to do?”

Munson huffed, rolling his eyes. “It's just history and math. I can totally get it done before my shift ends.”

“If you finish it now, then you can goof off until you get to leave.”

“I would but my focus is shit. Always has been. I’ve tried to tell my teachers that, that I’m not actually dumb, but they don’t listen, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked.

Munson froze up, glancing over at Steve and Robin both. His cheeks reddened a tiny bit as he dropped his gaze again. “I just can’t focus. I get distracted way too easy and if something doesn’t interest me, I just don’t do it. My uncle was too busy with work to make me do my homework and I just wouldn’t do it and next thing I know, I’m failing classes and getting held back.” Munson paused, taking a deep breath, his sigh thick and heavy. “Uncle Wayne took me to a doctor last year and apparently I’ve got something called ADD with hyperactivity.”

Robin cocked her head. “I’ve heard of that. My cousin got diagnosed with it. They said his was without hyperactivity though.”

“That name is a mouthful,” Steve said. “They should give it a better name.”

“There’s talks of a new name, I just don’t know the details. But yeah, basically it's hard for me to sit still, I get distracted fast, and I get hyper focused on random things. Of course, I never get hyper focused on school, because that would make life too easy,” Munson said with a dark laugh. “They explained it with a bunch of fancy terms and stuff but basically my brain is just always looking to find something to keep it entertained. And school work just isn’t it for me. Then, when I’m at school, in class, and I try to pay attention but it just becomes too much or too loud, and my brain just says ‘nope’ and shuts it all out and I think about music or my campaign instead.”

Steve grimaced, but nodded. “So is reminding you to do your work when you get distracted helpful? Or is it annoying?”

“It’s helpful. I might act annoyed but that’s just cuz I don’t want to do it.”

Robin nodded. “Cool, then we’ll keep reminding you. We don’t mind, do we, Steve?”

“Nope, I don’t mind. Told you from the start, Munson, I’ll help how I can so you can graduate.”

“So,” Munson paused, swallowing thickly before speaking again. “You guys don’t think it's weird or something? Or that I’m making excuses?” 

“Why would we think that?” Steve asked, frowning. “Someone say that to you?”

“A teacher did, last year. I tried to tell her that I had this and asked if I could have an extension on a project and she told me to stop making excuses.”

Robin looked furious, straightening and folding her arms across her chest. “Who the hell said that? Do you have her this year? Do I have her?”

“It was Mrs. Reiner, wasn’t it? I tried to ask her for an extension on a book report once and she told me no because ‘I should have asked for help sooner.’ Not like I didn’t try and she turned me away,” Steve said bitterly.

“Yeah, it was her. Thank god I don’t have her this year, or I’d never graduate. But, Robin, you’re right. I should be doing my homework. Harrington, you still up to helping me with math?”

“Sure, I can give it a shot.”

---

Saturday rolled around, and when Steve pulled up to his house after work, having picked up Robin on the way, he found 3 teenage boys on his front porch. Glancing at the clock in his car, he saw that it was just a few minutes before noon

Mike and Lucas were sitting on the steps, a pile of grocery bags and backpacks sat between them. Dustin was up and pacing the length of the porch, clearly inpatient. As soon as Steve stepped out of his car, Dustin was shouting across the yard at him.
“Where have you been?” Dustin yelled. “We’ve been waiting for 15 minutes!”

“I was at work! And I had to get Robin! Munson told you I worked in the morning!”

“And we said we’d be here at noon!”

“Well, it's noon now! Here, scoot, move out of the way so I can open the door.”

The boys grabbed their things and stepped back, giving Steve space to open the door. As soon as the door was cracked, Dustin and Mike were pushing into the house, Lucas hot on their heels. Robin snorted at their antics, following at a slower pace and shooting Steve a look that clearly said ‘ this is what you get when you invite a bunch of freshmen into your house .’

Just as Steve was about to step inside, his hand on the doorknob to pull the door shut behind him, the sound of a revving engine and loud, angry music blared as a car turned the corner onto the street. 

And for just the slightest, briefest moment, Steve’s brain tricked him into thinking it was Billy Hargrove, with his flashy Camaro and penchant for aggressive rock music. 

Every hair on the back of Steve’s neck stood on end. Sweat started to bead on his forehead. His eyes flicked around, searching for a weapon. 

Billy’s here. He’s going to hurt the kids. Billy will hurt Lucas. If he sees Robin, he might hurt her. There’s a rock, it might be big enough to throw at Billy. Where was his bat? It's in the trunk of the car. If he made a run for it, could he grab it before Billy gets to him? The kids are all inside. Good, Billy can’t hit them with his car, like he tried to with Nancy. But that wasn’t really Billy. It was the Mind Flayer. Or was it both of them? No, it was the Flayer. If he closed and locked the door, would that keep the kids inside? Keep Billy away from them? He could hold Billy off, for at least a few minutes. That’d give Robin time to take the kids out of the back door. They could head into the woods and take the long way to Nancy’s, they’d be safe there. 

“Harrington?”

Why didn’t he keep a knife on him? He was always saying he should, but he never did. Or maybe he should invest in a gun, like Nancy. He was 19 now, he was old enough to buy one. Did he need a special license for that? Did it matter?

“Harrington, are you there?”

He could run. He could do it. Like he did from Jonathan, like he did from Tommy, like he did from the demogorgon, that first time around. He went back in the end, he knows that. But deep down, he’s a coward. His first thought is to run, to hide. He could do that now, but that would leave the kids open for Billy to attack. Billy, who made Steve’s senior year a living hell. Billy, who was flawed and shitty and an asshole. Billy who saved El’s life. Billy who hadn’t deserved to die that way. Why hadn’t Steve done more to help? Steve is the one who is supposed to get hurt when the Upside Down rears its ugly head. Not the kids, or Steve’s friends, and certainly not bystanders, like Billy. 

“Steve, seriously, are you okay?”

A hand touched Steve’s shoulder. Not hard or rough, but firm enough to pull Steve out of his spiraling thoughts.

Without hesitation, completely on instinct, Steve threw himself fully off the porch and grabbed the rock he’d spotted in the flower bed. It wasn’t a small rock, being larger than a grapefruit but not to the size of a cantaloupe. And it was heavy. 

That didn’t stop Steve from palming it with one hand, lifting it, and getting ready to launch it at Billy Hargrove.

But when he turned, it wasn’t Billy standing there. 

It was Eddie Munson.

Munson with his big, round, chocolate colored eyes, not the cold and steely blue of Hargrove’s. His expression was open and clearly scared. His hands were up in what was once a placating gesture but had since morphed to shield himself. He’d left his hair down, his bangs messy, and he wore a t-shirt from a band that Steve had never heard of, along with a pair of torn jeans, his typical jacket and vest combo nowhere to be seen. He’d stumbled back at Steve’s sudden move.

“Jesus Christ! Wow, man!” Munson yelled.

Robin suddenly appeared in the doorway, all three teenagers behind her. Immediately, Dustin was pushing past her and placing himself between Munson and Steve.

“Steve! Stop! It’s just Eddie! You know him! Put the rock down!”

Steve’s eyes flicked from Dustin, to Munson, over to Robin, who was looking panicked. 

“Fuck,” Steve whispered, the rock falling from his hand. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. Shit.”

Slowly, telegraphing every one of her moves, Robin stepped off the porch and put her hands gently on one of Steve’s arms.

“Let’s take a walk, okay? Dustin, take everyone inside.”

“I want to come too.”

“No. Just me and Steve. We’ll be back in a couple minutes. Set up your nerd game.”

With that, Robin pulled Steve with her around the house, towards the woods, where they could take a short walk without any prying eyes. Steve could feel the four other’s gazes burning into the back of his neck as they watched him leave. He felt his shoulder curl up and in, nearly cowering as he was led away. His heart was still racing, his fingertips buzzing with pent up energy from the flood of adrenaline that hit his system. Steve blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus as he and Robin stepped into the woods. 

“Keep breathing, Steve, it's okay,” Robin said quietly, giving his hand a squeeze. “We can talk about it when you’re ready, but only if you want to.”

And something about the way she said that made all the fear and anxiety just wash away, replaced with exhaustion and embarrassment.

“Fuck, Robin. I messed up,” he hissed, stopping and pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to force himself not to cry. “I scared them.”

“It's okay. The kids understand and we’ll make up an excuse to Eddie. Can you… can you tell me what set you off? Did he sneak up on you?”

“No, he didn’t. He did the opposite actually. His van was loud and I could hear his music and my brain thought it was Hargrove. I felt like I was back at the mall, or back at the Byers house, and like Hargrove was going to sweep in and hurt the kids. Or… or hurt me. My body just completely locked up and my mind was racing and all I could do was try to think of what to do to keep everyone safe. I think… no, I know that Munson tried to get my attention. Said my name a few times. But it was like hearing him from underwater. I could hear him but not really. And then he touched my shoulder and I freaked out. I grabbed the rock and was about to throw it at Hargrove’s face but when I turned, it was Munson. I just… I forgot that Hargrove is dead. I don’t have to be on the lookout for him anymore.” Steve sniffled, lowering his hands. “I probably looked insane. And saying all that, I sound insane.”

“You’re not insane, Steve. Did I tell you what happened a few weeks ago when I was talking with my dad about college? I don’t think I did. Well, I was telling him I wanted to go to school for languages. I want to be a translator, you know that. He suggested I try Russian next, since he learned a little of it when he was in school. And then… he said a sentence in Russian. He wanted to show off that he could still remember something he learned years ago. But I just shut down. I thought I was back in that underground lab. For a split second, I swear I could hear you getting tortured in the next room. I just jumped up and ran to the living room, looking for you. When I got there and saw you weren’t there, I snapped out of it. Realized it was my mind playing tricks on me. I had to make up a dumb excuse to my dad, but he bought it and we moved on. I think it's like the guys that come back from war. The ones that will hear fireworks and think its bombs. Or they hear a car backfire and they nearly throw themselves into a bush to take cover. We’ve been through a lot and our brains just kinda get confused sometimes. It's just our minds playing tricks on us. And that’s okay. It doesn’t make you crazy.”

Steve slowly nodded, finally looking up to meet her eyes. He gave her a small smile, which she quickly matched. 

“You thought I was in trouble and came to help me? Going soft on me?”

“That’s what you got out of that? Really?”

“Sorry, thought I could, uh, break the tension. Thank you, Rob. It makes me feel better that I’m not alone with all of this.”

“Of course, Dingus. With what we’ve been through, it's probably pretty normal for our brains to do this sometimes. Don’t worry. Now, let’s go back and make up some sort of excuse to Eddie and show the boys that you’re okay.”

---

“None of you seem the least bit surprised that Harrington was about to randomly beat me to death with a rock,” Eddie said, following the boys through the house to the spacious dining room, which held a long table, surrounded with enough chairs to seat probably double the number of Hellfire Club members. 

“Steve can be really jumpy sometimes,” Lucas said, not making eye contact with Eddie. Instead, the boy was opening up his backpack and pulling out candles that he had clearly stolen from the classroom that they normally hosted Hellfire in. “He went through a lot last year.”

Both Dustin and Mike nodded along solemnly. 

“Like what? What could make him so jumpy that he completely ignores me when I say his name three times, but then makes him try to beam me with a rock when I touch him?”

“Do you remember the Starcourt Mall?” Dustin asked, sending the two other teens a sharp look. Something unspoken passed between the three before all of them turned to look at Eddie.

“Uh,” Eddie started, frowning as he thought back. “From over the summer? The one that burned down?”

“Yeah, that one,” Mike said.

“Steve worked there. He was there when the fire happened. So was Robin. They worked together there,” Dustin said. His words were coming out in a rush, his tongue nearly tripping over itself as he tried to get all the words out at once. “It was a really, really bad fire, dude. Really scary. Steve doesn’t really like talking about it, so don’t ask him questions.”

“You say all that like you were there too.”

“Because we were.”

Eddie felt ice flood his veins. He turned to look at Lucas, who had been the one to speak, and found that the boy's face was neutral, more so than he’d ever seen it. 

“What do you mean you were there?”

“We were all there. Like Dustin said, it was really bad. We all just have reacted differently to it. Steve’s jumpy. My sister turned into a nerd and doesn’t like to go out shopping with friends now. I work out more. Dustin is bossier. Mike is grumpier.”

“Hey!”

“Shut it, Mike, you know it's true! I don’t really know about Nancy and Robin but Robin and Steve basically go everywhere together and I think that helps them both.”

“What about your other friend? The red head?”

“Max? She… well, she lost her step brother in the fire. He was there too and didn’t make it out in time. She needed some space, so we’re giving it to her. She still comes and hangs out with us sometimes, but not as much. She likes to listen to music a lot more now, though.”

Eddie brought a hand up to cover his mouth, his eyes looking down at the table, staring unseeingly. After a beat, he let out the shaky breath he’d been holding. 

“Shit, okay. But that doesn’t explain why Harrington didn’t hear me when I said his name or why his reaction was to try and brain me.”

“Did you see him at all over the summer? Like around town? Specifically after the fire?” Dustin asked.

“I don’t know, I don’t remember every time I saw King Steve.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Did you see him with his face all messed up?”

“Oh, yeah. I did. Looked like he went a few rounds with a heavy weight champ.”

“That happened during the fire. People panicked. Stuff happened. Steve got hurt, got another concussion, like always.”

“How many concussions has he had?”

“Not important right now,” Dustin said, waving his hand. “He’s going to feel super bad though so try not to be too mean to him, please, Eddie. He really didn’t mean it, he just got startled.”

“He looked more than startled, he looked downright terrified,” Eddie said. 

Mike gave a half laugh, which he cut off when Lucas planted his elbow into his side. 

Dustin flinched at Eddie’s words. “Yeah, can you not say that to him? He’ll just feel worse.”

“Okay, let me make sure I understand. All you kids were in the massive mall fire, along with Harrington and Robin. Harrington got his face beat in during it, somehow, and now he gets all quiet sometimes and then startles and tries to attack. You guys all have weird coping mechanisms from said fire. And I shouldn’t bring up the fire to Harrington, or make fun of him, or say he looked scared, or ask any questions. Did I get that all right?”

“Yep,” Dustin said. “Exactly.”

“That’s really fucking weird, I hope you know that.”

“We do.”

Before Eddie could say anything else, the back door opened and Robin and Harrington stepped into the living room. Eddie could see them through the doorway between the living room and dining room as the pair shut the door and kicked off their shoes. Harrington looked less scared, more just awkward now, while Robin was grasping onto his sleeve, keeping him close and giving him gentle and encouraging smiles. But, as soon as the pair walked into the dining room, the sweet expression on her face hardened as she turned to look at everyone else, clearly going on the defensive and ready to protect Harrington. 

Dustin hurried across the room to meet them, Lucas with him. Mike moved slower, but the concern was clear in his eyes as the three boys surrounded Harrington. 

“Are you okay?” Dustin asked quickly, hugging Harrington. 

“I’m fine. Sorry for scaring you.”

“You don’t have to apologize, man. Don’t worry, we’ve already explained to Eddie.”

Harrington’s expression immediately shifted to one of worry as Dustin pulled back, giving him space. 

“Yeah,” Mike said. “We told him how we were all in the Starcourt mall fire and how you got hurt when people panicked, so you can be jumpy sometimes.”

Robin hissed and swatted at the boys. “You shouldn’t be talking about Steve behind his back!”

“We were just trying to help!” Lucas complained. 

Harrington pulled himself away from the kids and gave them a tired smile. “No, it's okay. Just, uh, let’s leave it just at Munson, okay? Let’s not tell the rest of you nerd friends.” He then turned to look at Eddie. “I’m really sorry, Munson. I was daydreaming or something and you startled me. I meant what I said before: I promise not to hurt you. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Eddie waved a hand dismissively, plastering on an easy going smile that everyone knew was fake. “It's water under the bridge, man. Don’t stress over it. You can repay me by letting me steal a beer or two later, deal?”

“Sounds good,” Harrington said with a shaky laugh, nodding before dropping his head to look down at his feet.

“What are you doing here so early, Eddie?” Robin asked bluntly, still looking a little defensive. 

“Thought I would come help the kids set up for the session. And I wanted to make sure I was here before the others arrived, since they seemed a little nervous about going over to King Steve’s place.”

This time, Eddie noticed the flinch at the nickname. He had been looking directly at Harrington when he’d said it and saw the way his shoulder tightened and his head jerked just the smallest amount, as though having been struck. 

Robin’s eyes narrowed even further before she gave a sharp nod, tightening her grip on Harrington’s sleeve.

“Steve, why don’t you go get changed out of your work stuff? Put on your movie watching clothes. Eddie and I can help the kids lay out their snacks and then you and I can start the marathon.”

Harrington gave her a small smile before walking past her, making his way through the kitchen to the staircase, and then up to his room. The teenagers were back to working on the decorations, Mike pausing only long enough to say he and the others had put their grocery bags full of snacks, purchased by their parents, in the kitchen.

Robin took tight hold of Eddie’s wrist and dragged him towards the kitchen.

“Come on, Eddie, you can help me.”

As soon as they were out of ear shot, she had Eddie cornered between the countertop and fridge, looking rather intimidating for a girl a few inches shorter than him. 

“I swear to god, Eddie, if you make fun of Steve for the fire thing, I will personally castrate you. Which you know I don’t want to do because penises: gross. But I will do it if it means avenging Steve, got it?”

Without thinking, Eddie blurted the first thing that came into his mind.

“You are much better at threats than Harrington.”

“Yes, I know. Want to know who is even better at them than me? Nancy Wheeler. She’s terrifying. And she will destroy you if you hurt Steve. So do not bring up the fire. Do not bring up what happened on the porch. Do not tell a soul. Don’t even write it in your diary or whisper it to your guitar. I will find out and then I will tell Nancy, and you will regret it.”

“Got it, yeah. The kids already warned me not to say anything to him. I promise I won’t mess with him, okay? But, is he alright? He looked like a wild fucking animal out there and then he acted weird when I called him King Steve.”

“You spooked him. We’ve established that. Stop bringing it up. And I’ve been meaning to say something. Stop calling him King Steve. It's not nice. You don’t hear him calling you The Freak, do you?”

Eddie felt himself tense. “Being called The Freak is different from being called a King.”

“Not to him. I can’t go into detail. It's not my place. But just stop calling him that. I know you aren’t really friends with him, just sorta coworkers, but I thought we decided we were friends and Steve is my best friend and I want you to be nice to him.”

“Shit, I’m learning all the rules today.”

“Eddie.”

“Sorry. Don’t worry, I got it. I don’t want to make the guy feel bad.”

“Good. Obviously, he isn’t calling you The Freak, but is there anything else he shouldn’t call you or bring up or ask about?”

Eddie paused, humming thoughtfully. “I don’t think so. Freak is the big one. Besides, you know…”

“He wouldn’t call you any slurs, even if he found out.”

“Then we should be good. If anything else comes up, I’ll say something.”

A knock at the front door caught their attention, causing Robin to take a quick step back, giving Eddie space.

“I’ll get it!” Dustin yelled, barreling through the house to the front door. A moment later, Eddie could hear the voice of the three other Hellfire members. When he looked over at the clock hanging over the stove, Eddie saw it was nearly 1 o’clock. The session was supposed to start soon. 

Squaring his shoulders, Eddie picked up two of the grocery bags, leaving the drinks on the counter and letting Robin take the third, smaller bag of snacks, and led the way to the dining room, grinning at his friends. 

“You guys ready for an epic adventure?” he asked, making the others grin right back at him. 

---

During one of the breaks, Eddie found himself wandering into the living room. The rest of the guys were getting more pop to drink, excitedly guessing what was going to come next and Eddie needed a break from the yelling. 

As he turned into the living room, he found that the TV was on, but only showing static and snow, crackling and hissing. On the couch, sprawled on opposite ends with their legs tangled together, were Harrington and Robin, both fast asleep. Robin looked snug, cocooned in a blanket and her head on a pillow. Her mouth was hanging open slightly, her breaths deep and even. Harrington, on the other hand, looked far from comfortable. He’d changed into a pair of cotton shorts and an old basketball t-shirt, which had ridden up slightly from the way he had twisted his body to fit on the couch. One of his arms was hanging off the edge, the other thrown backwards over his head to dangle over the arm of the couch. He’d propped his head on the arm of the couch as well, his neck turned to the side, leaving his head at an awkward angle. His legs were bent up and barely on the couch, giving Robin more room, even though she was shorter. 

“Jeez, Steve, really?” a voice said from behind Eddie. When he turned, he found Dustin standing there, shaking his head at the scene on the couch. Dustin grabbed another blanket off a nearby chair and draped it over Harrington. He took a step back, coming beside Eddie, and shook his head again. 

“Guy has lost all his game, I swear,” Dustin said with a laugh. “High school Steve would have had a pretty girl like Robin cuddled up to him. You know, ‘oh lets share the blanket! Oh you’re cold, here, I’ll hold you!’ That type of thing! I still don’t get why they aren’t dating.”

Eddie snorted, barely stifling a full laugh and earning himself a weird look from Dustin. 

Shrugging, Eddie spoke, “I work with them, man. I’m telling you now, they’re just friends. You’re just friends with a girl, so you should get it.”

“It's different with Max. She and Lucas have this on again, off again thing.”

“So she’s a friend just because you can’t date her?”

“What? No. No! That’s not what I mean! It's different for other reasons too. Max and I don’t hang out all the time. And when we do, it's usually with the whole group. Robin and Steve are always together. Did you know that Steve drives Robin to school every day? He doesn’t even live near her and doesn’t go to school anymore, but he picks her up and drives her.”

“Doesn’t he drive you too?”

“Not everyday.”

Eddie shook his head, still trying not to laugh at Dustin’s indignant tone. Stepping across the room, he turned the TV off and herded Dustin back to the dining room. 

“Steve and Robin fell asleep watching movies. Again,” Dustin said as he sat back down beside Mike and Lucas. Both boys snickered. 

“They can never make it through a movie marathon without falling asleep. You’d think they’d give up on even trying at this point,” Lucas said. 

“Speaking of our gracious host,” Jeff cut in. “How the hell did you guys get Harrington to agree to host D&D?”

“I said please,” Dustin smugly said.

Eddie shot him a glare, though he could feel his smile curling as well. “You harassed him, is what you did.”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes, you did. And you didn’t even thank him. You should do that when he wakes up.”

Caleb fidgeted with his dice, scowling down at the table. “Are we going to have all our sessions here now? Because I’ve got to say, I don’t really like that idea.”

All three freshmen turned to glare at Caleb. Lucas sat back in his seat, his arms folded across his chest, while Mike slouched in his seat, his bangs hanging into his eyes. Dustin, on the other hand, straightened and leaned in, clearly ready for a fight.

“Yeah? And why not?” Dustin asked, his voice a little too loud.

“Because it’s Harrington’s place! The dude was an ass in school. And I like the classroom we do our sessions in. It's cool.”

“We made this place cool,” Lucas said, pointing at all the decorations the boys had taken the time to set up, trying to emulate the cave-like classroom they usually played in. 

“You guys don’t get it, you didn’t go to school with him. Harrington and his little posse were assholes. Sure, Harrington didn’t beat anyone up, not like Hagan did, but he didn’t hold Hagan back. He’d egg the dude on. He’d yell insults, call people names. He broke Byers’ camera that one time. And Wheeler! Harrington and his friends put on the theater marquee that your sister was a slut! And you still stick up for the guy? What the hell?”

“He also climbed up a ladder and scrubbed the paint off,” Mike snapped. “He apologized. To both Jonathan and Nancy! And they both forgave him so I’m not about to hold a grudge for something I wasn’t even a part of! Why do you even care? It's not like your friends with my sister or anything.”

“Guys, come on, stop fighting,” Gareth said, his voice much calmer and quieter. “Harrington’s been really nice about all this. He’s let all of us come over to play a game he doesn’t even like and he’s given us all space. And he hasn’t been a jerk to any of us since, what, my sophomore year? His junior year? The guy grew up. So how about as long as he’s nice to us, we’re nice to him?”

Eddie smiled reaching across the table to ruffle Gareth’s hair. “Couldn’t have said it better myself, Ser Gareth. I expect thank you’s to Harrington from all of you by the end of the night, for being so kind and generous in allowing us to use his house. If you don’t, you’re rolling with disadvantage next session. Be rude to him, and I kill your character. Sound good? Good. Alright, back to the game.”

---

Harrington and Robin woke up about an hour later, both wandering into the kitchen loudly, getting themselves glasses of water. Harrington’s hair stuck out in every direction, his eyes half lidded with sleep. Robin had wrapped the blanket around herself like a cape, dragging it on the floor as she padded into the dining room to look over Dustin’s shoulder. Absent-mindedly, she picked up one of his dice, rolled it, and smiled at the sound it made. Without saying anything, she trotted off again to the living room. 

Jeff leaned over and whispered to Eddie, “Are she and Harrington dating?”

“No. They’re just good friends.”

“Huh. Alright then.”

The club could hear Robin and Harrington speaking in the other room, the TV turned back on and a movie playing. Then, about an hour later, a knock at the door startled everyone into silence. 

“Steve, are you expecting someone?” Dustin yelled. 

“Yeah, I’ve got it, don’t worry!”

A new voice could be heard, a short conversation was had, and then the door shut again. Harrington came into the dining room, a stack of four pizzas in his hands with some paper plates on the top box. He set them down in an open spot at the end of the table, near Caleb. Without saying anything, he took the top pizza off the stack, grabbed two of the paper plates, gave everyone a sheepish smile, and then walked out of the room. In the next room, Robin gave an excited squeal, shrieking about how she was starving. 

Dustin, Lucas, and Mike descended onto the pizza like a pack of wild animals, bickering and elbowing each other, trying to get closer to grab a few slices. The others stared in confusion. 

“What’s that?” Gareth asked.

Mike shot him a dirty look. “It's pizza. Obviously.”

“But why did Harrington put it in here?” Caleb leaned over to look into the open box. “Is that pepperoni?”

“He said he wasn’t buying any snacks,” Eddie said, frowning slightly. 

“Oh, he always says that. And then he feels bad and gets us something. Come on, grab some!” Dustin encouraged.

Gareth picked up a plate. “Do we owe him for it?”

“We tried to pay him once and he told us no,” Lucas laughed. “Our parents give us money for him sometimes, since they know he takes us out to eat a lot and buys us snacks. We take turns distracting him so we can hide it in his wallet.”

Mike nodded. “Don’t think he’s caught on yet.”

“We’re really good at distracting him,” Dustin said, grinning. “One time, I convinced him my hand was stuck in a vase. He was panicking so bad that he was ready to break the vase with his bare hands.”

Jeff half laughed. “What, was he going to squeeze it until it shattered?”

“Yeah, basically.”

“Wouldn't that have hurt you too? Or him?”

“I tried telling him that. He didn’t care that it’d hurt his hands. He stopped when I said it could hurt me though.”

With that, the boys went back to squabbling over the food, trying to steal pizza and snacks off each other’s plates. The upperclassmen shared a look with one another. Gareth gave a short shrug, pulling a pizza box closer to himself to grab some food. Jeff and Caleb looked unsure. Eddie, on the other hand, just smiled slightly. 

He knew that Harrington wasn’t so bad. He’d learned that over their time working together, getting to know one another. Eddie thought that maybe his friends were starting to learn the same. 

Chapter Text

Steve made the mistake of letting Munson and Robin choose a movie to watch during their shift. 

The two had argued for fifteen minutes before finally, Munson snapped his fingers, bouncing excitedly in place. His hair, wavy and fluffy, bounced as well in a way that caught Steve’s attention. His eyes tracked the movement, not following anything that was said between Robin and Munson. There was something entrancing about the way Munson’s hair moved. It was a bit wild, and moved freely in a way that Steve’s didn’t, not when Steve had so much product in it. For a moment, Steve wondered if Munson’s hair was soft.

“Steve won’t like it, Eddie! We need to choose something everyone will like!”

Steve brought his attention back to the conversation going on beside him. Munson was pouting and the bouncing stopped. 

“But -”

“Eddie, come on. It's not the type of movie he’d like.”

“I don’t mind,” Steve found himself saying, not knowing what he was agreeing to. “Keith is always saying I need to broaden my horizons when it comes to movies, right? Might as well start now.”

Robin narrowed her eyes slightly while Munson perked up again, starting to grin. 

“Are you sure, Steve? I really don’t think you’ll like it. It is… a little weird.”

“Don’t listen to her, Harrington. It's fantastic!”

Steve shrugged. “If I don’t like it, I don’t like it. I won’t know unless I see it.”

Without hesitation, Munson took off to find the movie. Robin was still giving Steve a weird look. 

“Do you know what it's about?” she asked.

“No. It’ll be fine, don’t worry. If you and Munson like it, it can’t be all bad.”

“Well, if you hate it, we’ll turn it off. You hear that, Munson?”

“Heard you! If Harrington can’t handle it, we’ll pick out a different movie,” Munson said as he came back, a tape in hand. He popped it into the VHS player, tucking the case away beneath the counter before Steve got a chance to see. Once the movie started up, Munson was jumping on top of the counter to sit and watch. Robin leaned back against the counter beside him. Steve was leaning against the counter on Eddie’s other side, his arm brushing against Eddie’s leg. The opening credits quickly ended, leaving the screen black. Then, a song started, with only a pair of blood red lips on the screen. Steve watched in confusion as the film unfolded, a young couple declaring the love and then going for a drive. The car breaking down, leaving them stranded. The pair walking to a nearby castle, only to be greeted by an odd collection of people. 

Then, a person appeared on screen in a tight corset, pearl necklace, high heels, and fishnet stockings. 

Steve spluttered, choking on his own spit. 

“You good, Harrington?” Munson asked, giving Steve a shit eating grin. 

Still coughing, Steve nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Is that… Tim Curry?”

“Yep! He plays Frank-N-Furter.”

“And Frank-N-Furter is… a man? A woman?”

Robin cocked her head slightly. “They call him ‘he’ so I’m assuming a man that likes to cross dress.”

“Well, at the end of the movie you find out that he -”

Robin elbowed Munson sharply. “Don’t spoil it for him!”

“I figured we were going to turn it off! You said if Harrington didn’t like it, we had to pick something else and the dude looks two seconds away from having a conniption.” 

“No,” Steve said, shaking his head. “It's fine. We can keep watching. I was just shocked.”

Munson grinned and turned back to watch the movie, clearly excited to still get to watch the film. Robin had narrowed her eyes again and glanced questioningly at Steve. He ignored her, turning his attention back to the movie. 

The music wasn’t bad, Steve thought. A little weird, but not bad. He gave a snort when a character named Eddie appeared, played by Meatloaf. He bumped his shoulder against Munson and gestured at the screen.

“Look, it's you,” Steve said, laughing lightly.

Munson snorted. “I’m way better looking, thank you very much.”

Then, Frank-N-Furter murdered the on-screen Eddie and dragged Rocky away, singing how he was going to make Rocky “into a man.”

Maybe that’s why Robin thought Steve wouldn’t like the movie. Frank-N-Furter was flamboyant and over the top, comfortable and fully out about being gay. Maybe she thought Steve would be uncomfortable with gay men. Some straight guys were like that: okay with lesbians but against gay men. And on the surface, Steve looked like he would be one of those guys, with his polo shirts and carefully styled hair. Munson had the whole edgy thing going for him, in the fringe cultures of society, and had probably met actual gay men before, unlike Steve. Munson probably was used to this type of stuff.

It was good to know that Munson wasn’t homophobic, though. It meant that if Robin did accidently slip up and say something in front of him about being a lesbian, he probably wouldn’t try to hurt her. 

Before Steve could think more on that, Frank-N-Furter was back on the screen, seducing both Janice and Brad. 

Steve felt his face twist up, confusion flooding his mind. 

“Wait, what?” he said.

Robin and Munson both turned to look at him. 

“What?” Robin asked.

“He’s sleeping with Janice now. And he just hooked up with Rocky. And he’s going for Brad too?”

Munson nodded. “Yeah, and?” 

“But, I thought Frank-N-Furter was gay? And isn’t Brad straight?”

“Well, I just always figured Fran-N-Furter would sleep with anyone and he was just so sexy that Brad was seduced,” Robin explained. 

“Or Brad isn’t straight,” Munson added.

Steve frowned even more. “If he isn’t straight, why did he say he loved Janice? He lied to her or something?”

“No, man, I just mean he could be bisexual. If we have to give Frank-N-Furter a label, he’s probably bisexual too.”

“He’s what?” Steve asked, looking up to make eye contact with Munson. 

“Bisexual. You know, like David Bowie.”

Robin straightened, pulling herself away from the counter to fully turn and face Steve.

“Wait, Steve, do you not know what bisexuality is?”

He shook his head. “I’ve never heard of it. I don’t listen to Bowie. I think Nancy does and she played some of his songs in the car sometimes, but we didn’t talk about him or anything. I didn’t read interviews or pay much attention to him.”

“Forget about Bowie, that’s not important right now,” Robin said, waving a hand dismissively. “Bisexual is when you like men and women. We’re saying that Frank-N-Furter and maybe Brad are bisexual, in that they want to and enjoy sleeping with men and women.”

“But… Wait, I thought there was just gay and straight.”

Munson shook his head. “Nah, the whole sexuality thing is a spectrum. One end is straight, one end is gay, and people can fall anywhere in the middle. So, let's say Brad is bisexual. It could be that he likes women more and mainly dates women, but he still likes men too and still enjoys sleeping with them, as we can see from his little tryst with Frank-N-Furter. Then, Frank-N-Furter could be bisexual and prefer men, which is why he created a man for himself. Or he could fall in the middle, and like both equally.”

“Is… is it only a thing guys can do?”

“No!” Robin said with half a laugh. “Women can be bisexual too. Why would you ask that?”

“All the examples you gave me were men! I wanted to make sure I understood!”

“Cut him some slack, Robin, he’s trying,” Munson said, nudging her shoulder gently. “He’s still learning.”

The trio turned back to watch the movie, watching as Janet slept with Rocky, watched as the group was served on-screen Eddie, watched as Frank-N-Furter dressed everyone up for a cabaret number, watched as it was revealed that Frank-N-Furter and his friends were aliens the whole time (which explained Munson’s early comment - could an alien really be called a man?), watched as Frank-N-Furter and Rocky died and the castle (which was secretly a spaceship) blasted off into space. 

The whole time, Steve was lost in thought. 

Munson was right. Steve was still learning. There was a lot he didn’t know. He’d never even heard the word ‘bisexual’ before. What else didn’t he know? Was there a way for him to learn faster? Better? It wasn’t fair to expect Robin to tell him everything. She was busy, and it wasn’t her job to educate Steve. But it also wasn’t like Steve could go to the library and pick up books. 

Steve then remembered: zines. Robin had mentioned zines. Sometimes, the pair of them would go down to Indianapolis, to dingy bookstores and music shops, where Robin would manage to find people selling underground zines. She couldn’t keep them at her house, not when her mom was known for snooping around Robin’s room. So, Steve kept them for her. He had a shoebox beneath his bed, nearly full of them. When she came over to hang out, just the two of them, she would pull one out to read. Steve had glanced over her shoulder once or twice. It had looked like some of the zines were about bands, ones that Steve didn’t really listen to. But sometimes, they were about gay things. Things that Robin told him not to worry about. That they would just confuse him. Said if he had questions, to just ask her. 

There was no reason Steve couldn’t read them. She hadn’t said he couldn’t, just that he wouldn’t like them. And he probably wouldn’t enjoy reading them. He didn’t like reading anything. Ever since he was little, reading was a struggle, and he couldn’t understand how anyone found joy in it. But if it meant not having to make Robin do all the work, and if it meant understanding his best friend and the culture she was part of, then it would be worth the frustration and headaches that came with reading. 

The credits for the movie began to roll and both Munson and Robin turned to Steve expectantly. 

He gave them a nod and a smile. 

“It was good,” he said. 

“Really?” Robin asked, arching a brow. “You liked it?”

“I mean, it's not my favorite movie, but yeah. I liked it. The music was fun and I liked how bright it was. And everyone in it had a lot of energy, which was fun.”

“See, I told you he’d like it! He gets it!” Eddie said excitedly.

“Whatever, Eddie, he’s just saying it to make you feel better.”

“Nah, he likes it. I’m going to find out when there is a midnight showing of it soon. We’ll all go. Watch Stevie-boy’s head really explode!”

---

Digging under his bed, Steve found the box. He sifted through the zines until he saw one that looked promising. 

It was a guide on queer terms, with first hand testimonies from people that identified with the terms. Steve sat down, folding his legs in front of him and leaning back against the side of his bed. He started with ‘lesbian,’ figuring that he should learn what he could for Robin first. It took him a some time before he finally got through the definition and the story from a lesbian, who anonymously described what it felt like to be gay woman, how she discovered she was one, and how she came to accept it. 

It all sounded familiar. 

It was just like Robin described to him. The confusion, the fear, the self-loathing. Steve was just thankful that Robin had learned to love and accept that part of herself, going as far as to be open with Steve about it. 

Flipping through the pages, a word jumped out at Steve. 

Bisexual. 

He started to read. The definition was like what Munson and Robin had said. Being bisexual meant being attracted to both men and women. The zine explained the spectrum concept, even having a drawing to explain it. 

And then, below it, was an account from a man who was bisexual. Steve started to read, pushing through the tension headache that was forming. 

‘ I didn’t realize there was anything different at first. I thought it was normal to think other men were attractive. I thought it was just the standard “oh hey, I can recognize that guy is good looking.” Until I realized that I really, really wanted to be friends with some of these attractive guys. Which, okay, I thought it was a little weird. But I chalked it up to just wanting to be best friends with them. I figured everyone felt like that. I figured everyone stared at the back of cute boy’s heads in class. Figured it was normal to want to show off in gym class in hopes that the same cute boy would look at me and be impressed. 

‘And I told myself there wasn’t any way I was a queer. I liked girls. They made my heart stutter and my mouth feel dry. I liked kissing them, holding them, having sex with them. But at the same time, my eyes lingered in the locker room. My palms would get sweaty when a good looking guy would smile at me.

‘It didn’t click for me that I was different until I was playing truth or dare at a party. I got dared to kiss another guy. Everyone laughed, thinking it was hilarious for two straight guys to kiss. In a way, it was. The guy I was dared to kiss had dared two straight girls to kiss earlier. Turnabout's fair play. The dude laughed, said he wasn’t a fag, but still wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. His other hand went to the back of my head to hold me steady, and he planted a big ol’ kiss on me. 

‘I expected to be grossed out. Or at the very least feel nothing in particular. Instead, my stomach flipped and my heart started to race. It felt just like my first kiss with a girl. He pulled back pretty quickly, started laughing, and the game kept going. 

‘I thought I was broken. What else explained it? Was I just confused, my mind playing tricks on me? Was I secretly gay and tricking myself into liking women the whole time? Or was I just a slut, wanting to get some regardless of what was in their pants?

The zine fell out of Steve’s hands. 

It all sounded familiar. 

Steve remembered in middle school, staring at Matthew Wright across the cafeteria, desperate for him to notice Steve and his cool hair and how well he could play basketball in gym. How he would steal Matthew’s pens or draw weird little doodles in the corners of Matthew’s homework when he wasn’t looking. Sometimes, in gym class, when they played team games, he would always make sure he went up against Matthew, making him pay attention to how athletic and cool Steve was. 

Matthew had told a teacher that Steve was bullying him. The teacher had scolded Steve and told him to leave Matthew alone. 

The next week, Steve had done all the same things to Lori Martin. She’d giggled and the same teacher had scolded Steve for flirting in class. 

As he got older, there were other boys he would find himself staring at, craving their attention. But why would Steve put in the effort for their attention when there were pretty girls around, ones like Nancy Wheeler?

Did that make Steve bisexual? Or was it just that he was trying to relate to Robin? Maybe he really did just want to be good friends with those boys. It didn’t matter that he found himself staring at their eyes and their hands and the way their throats bobbed when they swallowed. 

It didn’t count though. Steve loved women. And even if he liked men too, it didn’t matter. Steve knew what his father thought about queers. He knew what foul things his father said in public and the even fouler things said in private. If he ever found out that Steve’s best friend was a lesbian, he’d lose his mind. Thank god he was rarely home. There was practically no way that Steve’s dad would find the zines under Steve’s bed. If he did, and if he thought that they belonged to Steve, Steve would very quickly find himself living on the streets, probably sporting more bruises than he could count. 

Steve needed to shut down this train of thought. He wasn’t bisexual, couldn’t be bisexual. He was just tired and confused. 

He put the zine away and shoved the box back under his bed. 

---

Around noon, the phone at Family Video started to ring. 

Steve scrambled to the counter, abandoning his cart full of movies to snatch up the phone.

“Family Video, Steve speaking. How can I help you?”

“ Steve! It's Robin! ” 

Steve straightened, noticing that her voice had a tinge of panic to it. 

“Hey! What's up? Did you forget something in my car before school?”

“ No, it's Eddie. He got detention for cheating even though he didn’t! You know how you and I have been helping him study, right? ”

“More like you’ve been helping him study and I provide encouragement.”

“ You’ve helped him with math a few times. And he had a math test yesterday, as you know, and he aced it! Mr. O’ Brian held him back after class to ask who he cheated off of. Eddie tried to say he didn’t cheat but O’Brian didn’t believe him. Apparently all of the teachers have been talking and are convinced Eddie is cheating. So he told O’ Brian that you and I were helping him study and O’ Brian literally laughed at him! Told him there was no way that Steve Harrington would be helping him study. And then he gave Eddie detention! ”

“Shit,” Steve hissed under his breath. “Did you go and try to explain the situation?”

“ Yeah, and O’ Brian said that if I didn’t stop lying, I’d have detention too. Said that I needed to stop hanging around Eddie since he was clearly a bad influence on me. What are we going to do? It’s like they want Eddie to fail! ”

Steve ran a hand through his hair, trying to push down the anger that was boiling inside him. 

Did these teachers want Munson to have to repeat a grade? What did they want from him? First, they get on him over having bad grades, and then they punish him for getting good ones. It made absolutely no sense.

Then, an idea struck him. 

“I’m going to handle this. Tell Munson I’ll take care of it.”

“ What does that mean? Steve, wait, don’t hang up! ”

Steve hung up. 

There was only an hour left before his shift ended, and 3 hours before school let out. He had time to go home, get cleaned up, and dress in his old, overly preppy, King Steve clothes. For a moment, he thought about bringing out his old letterman jacket before he nixed that idea. His members only jacket would be enough. 

---

The final bell rang for the day and Eddie had to suppress a groan. 

Instead of having a Hellfire session after school, back in their cave-like classroom, like old times, he was going to have to go to detention. Robin had said Steve was going to “handle it,” whatever that meant, but Eddie had yet to hear anything. 

At his locker, Jeff, Caleb, and Gareth had gathered around him, all lamenting the loss of their DM for the night.

“It's not fair! We’ve been planning this for weeks so that we could do it here at school! Why do they even care if you're cheating, you’re getting good grades now!” Caleb said, leaning back against the bay of lockers and letting his head clunk against the metal.

“First off, I’m not cheating, I actually am studying. And secondly, they all hate me. I’m the freak kid who disrupts lunch and zones out in class. It's not like they have a reason to believe me when I say Harrington and Robin are helping me.”

Then, as if speaking his name summoned him, Steve Harrington came strutting through the hall, whispers following in his wake. He wore a crisp polo, free of wrinkles, and his signature jacket that he wore all through high school. His hair was perfect and his shoes clean and for the briefest moment, Eddie found himself staring. 

Harrington hadn’t dressed like this once since Eddie began working with him at Family Video. Sure, Harrington wore some polos, but they were always soft cotton and slightly wrinkled, never tucked into his pants. He’d long since abandoned the fancy and expensive jacket and had taken to wearing sweatshirts and jeans jackets. His sneakers were usually scuffed, some dirt on them from playing pick up games with Lucas at the park. 

Here, in the halls of Hawkins High, was not Family Video Employee Steve Harrington. This was King Steve, with a cold and furious expression on his face and an air of superiority surrounding him. 

And he was walking directly up to Eddie.

“Harrington, what are you doing here?” Eddie asked, glancing around the hall at the people gawking. 

“Is it true O’ Brian gave you detention?”

“Uh, yeah. Robin said she called you and -”

Harrington grabbed Eddie by his bicep and began towing him through the halls.

“Wow! Hey! Slow down there, Big Boy! What’s the rush?” Eddie said, laughing nervously. And though he couldn’t see Harrington’s face, his head being turned away, he swore he could see the tips of Harrington’s ears flush red. Cringing, Eddie waited for Harrington to snap at him for the nickname, which Eddie assumed Harrington didn’t appreciate, seeing as he was already in a bad mood.

But Harrington didn’t say anything. He just kept plowing forward through the halls, beelining for the teachers’ lounge. Harrington opened the door and barrelled in, not bothering to knock. Eddie tried to plant his feet, tried to pull away, but Harrington’s grip was tight. 

“Excuse me, young man, what do you think you are… Harrington?” a teacher said, looking confused. 

Harrington’s eyes were locked on O’ Brian, who was sitting at a table chatting with two other math teachers.

“Hey! Did you give Munson a detention for cheating?” Harrington demanded, his voice loud in a way that was clearly disrespectful. 

O’ Brian paused as he went to take a drink of his pop. 

“Well, yes. I did. And for lying. What does that have to do with you, Mr. Harrington?”

“It has to do with me because I’ve been helping him study. Robin Buckley and I have both been helping him. He and I spent hours prepping him for the test yesterday, so that he could get an A, which he did! And then he gets punished for it! How does that make any sense?”

“Mr. Harrington, do you expect me to believe that you have spent your free time with Eddie Munson helping him study for his math test?”

Harrington nodded sharply. “Yeah, because it's the truth.”

“I’m not sure what secret he is holding over you, but you don’t need to lie, Mr. Harrington.”

“I’m not lying! He worked hard for his grade. You can’t give him detention,” Harrington insisted.

“Harrington, why should I believe you helped Munson to study? Why would you help him?”

“Because he’s my friend!” Harrington yelled, startling a few of the nearby teachers. Eddie froze at his words, his eyes round and staring at Harrington. “Eddie is my friend! I want him to graduate this year. When we’re at work together, I try to help him study. Same as Robin. So if you keep accusing him of cheating and lying and insist on giving him a detention, I swear to God I will raise holy hell. My parents have connections to the press. I grew up knowing reporters and newscasters. And I will go to every single one of them and tell them about how this school punishes students for getting good grades. I bet that will really interest them. They’ll go digging to find out why a school would do that and I am betting they’ll find things that none of you want them to. If you want to talk about secrets, Mr. O’ Brian, then we can start with yours. How does that sound?”

O’ Brian’s face went red with anger, though his eyes were wide, slightly fearful. Glancing around the room, Eddie saw that a few of the teachers looked anxious. The rest of the teachers were eyeing the nervous teachers with suspicion and curiosity. 

“Fine, Harrington. If you want me to believe you and Munson are friends, then fine. Munson, you don’t have detention. But if you act up in my class at all for the rest of the year, I’ll have you suspended, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir. Crystal clear,” Eddie said hurriedly, grabbing the wrist of Harrington’s hand that still had a hold on Eddie. He started to tug Harrington from the room, the other man glaring at all the teachers, daring them to do something. “Thank you, sir!”

As soon as they passed the threshold of the room, Eddie grabbed the door handle and shut it behind them. 

Eddie’s friends were gawking, staring at the way Harrington was huffing and glaring at the shut door. 

“Dude, are you insane?” Jeff asked. “You can’t yell at a teacher like that.”

“Why not? I don’t go to school here anymore. They can’t do shit to me.”

Caleb looked like a fish out of water, his eyes flicking between Eddie and Harrington. 

“You called Eddie your friend. Where everyone could hear you.”

“Well… yeah. Yeah, I did,” Harrington was slowly losing steam, slumping in on himself. Eddie was reminded of the night at the quarry. It seemed that Harrington had a habit of winding himself up, raging and snarling in defense of those he cared for, only to be burnt out once the supposed danger had passed. Eddie could feel something flutter in his chest at the thought that perhaps he was someone Harrington cared for.

“Sorry, Munson,” Harrington continued. “If you don’t want me saying you’re my friend, I can stop doing it. Or you can tell everyone here that we’re just coworkers and stuff. I… I don’t mind, I mean, I get it.”

Eddie clapped a hand down on Harrington’s shoulder, silencing him. 

“Nah, come on, man! No take backs! We’re friends! And now that I don’t have detention, our Hellfire session is back on. Want to come watch?”

“I… Won’t I be in the way? I don’t even understand the rules.”

“You don’t need to play, man. Just hang out. The kids will get a kick out of you being there. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

And so, Eddie herded Harrington to the little classroom that they held the club meetings in, his friends trailing after and giving Harrington confused looks. The underclassmen were already there, and all shouted in excitement when they saw Harrington. He gave them a little wave, looking shy, and sat down on a couch in the corner, shoving the various props and other things left over from the drama club out of the way.

With Harrington settled, Eddie jumped into the session, spinning his tale and getting everyone excited. He didn’t look over at Harrington again until the end of the night, when everyone was packing up. Glancing over his shoulder, he found Harrington fast asleep, curled on the couch with his jacket balled up beneath his head to act as a pillow.

Eddie found himself smiling slightly at the sight. Somehow, big scary King Steve looked soft and cute , bathed in the low, warm light. His hair was slightly messed up, but not as bad as when they had the session at Harrington’s house. His brow was furrowed in his sleep, pouting and jutting out his bottom lip. Harrington’s hands were balled tightly, one gripping the jacket he was laying on. 

Eddie got up and went to stand next to the couch, hovering over Harrington. Reaching out, he barely touched Harrington’s shoulder when Harrington gasped awake, his eyes wide and wild, one leg kicking out defensively. When he looked up, meeting Eddie’s eyes, Eddie could tell straight away that Harrington wasn’t seeing him. He was seeing something else, a hold over from the dream. Harrington was pressing himself back into the couch, his chest heaving with deep breaths. 

Without thinking, Eddie crouched down, angling himself so he was blocking Harrington’s face from the rest of the room, in case one of the other guy’s looked over. Harrington tracked each of Eddie’s movements. 

“Hey, hey buddy. Bad dream?” Eddie asked quietly and calmly. “That’s rough. I have those sometimes too. I have to remind myself when I wake up that it's not real, or it's in the past, or whatever. And I remind myself to breathe, like this, in,” Eddie pauses, taking a deep breath, holding it for a moment. “And then out.” he breathes out. “In, and then out. Do it with me, Steve, In, and then out. There you go, you’ve got the hang of it.”

Harrington was matching Eddie’s breaths, and with each one, the fogginess behind his eyes lessened, more awareness came to his face. His hands relaxed out of the fists and his shoulders sagged. 

“Munson, hey. Sorry.”

“Don’t need to apologize. We’re friends, right? That’s what friends do. Want to talk about it?”

Harrington shook his head. “No, no, I’m okay.”

“Alright, Harrington. Well, the session is over, that's why I was waking you up. If you want to head straight home, you can. I can drop the kids off.”

“No, I promised. I can do it. Also, uh…” Harrington paused, glancing away. “You call Robin by her name, so if you wanted to, you could… call me Steve. Only if you want to though.”

“I can do that, Steve,” Eddie said, smiling. “But only if you call me Eddie.”

Steve smiled back. “Sounds like a deal.”

Chapter Text

Being friends with Eddie was different. 

It wasn’t like being friends with Robin, where everything flowed naturally and they seemed to share the same thoughts at the same time. 

It wasn’t like being friends with Dustin, where Steve was acting as both friend and caretaker, though the second was becoming a smaller part of the relationship as the younger boy grew. 

It wasn’t like being friends with Jonathan, where if they saw each other, they were polite, though didn’t actively seek each other out, nor did they write to each other now that Jonathan had moved away. If they needed each other though, they would be there and they both knew it, the pair forever bonded through trauma. 

And it certainly wasn’t like being friends with Nancy, with the underlying fear of disappointing her constantly hanging over Steve’s head; not smart enough, not kind enough, not brave enough to be what she needed, but still granted a place in her orbit. 

There were some similarities in Steve’s friendship with Eddie, though. They poked fun at each other in the same way Steve did with Robin and Dustin, and there was the history of bullying, like Steve shared with Jonathan. And there was the warmth that Steve had felt, a long time ago, when he spent time with Nancy. Just being around Eddie made Steve feel light and warm, almost safe. When Steve would spend his shift with Eddie, he would leave at the end of the night feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, the vice taken off his ribs, and his lungs clear of the spores and pollen that Steve swore were still floating inside him from the tunnels. 

Then he would walk in the door of his empty, dark, cold house and everything would come crashing back. He’d sleep in his bed, startling awake at every sound and staring into the dark when the nightmares became too much. At one point, he even considered asking Eddie if he had any weed he was willing to sell to him, if it meant that he could get out of his head and sleep through the night for once. But then he would think about the feeling of being high, and immediately he’d be back in the Russian lab, being hit and screamed at as a needle slid into his neck and his body went lax.

And then Steve would be in the bathroom, puking his guts up into the toilet and wishing someone, anyone, was there to hold his hair and rub his back, like his mother did when he was little, before his parents started to travel. 

So Steve made do with soaking up the warmth and kindness Eddie radiated when they shared a shift, hoping it would last him for a little while. Especially with winter settling in. The days were colder and snow would be falling soon, now that December had arrived. Eddie and Robin were preparing for the midterm exams, something they were both nervous about. 

More often than not, Robin could be found during her shifts with a book in one hand and a pencil in the other as she studied. Steve had stepped up to help Eddie more, since Robin was so busy, and it didn’t seem like he was doing a very good job. The math and science were going well, especially since Eddie was taking Chemistry and that was just math with extra steps, but English was never something Steve was good at and the history project Eddie was doing was over something Steve didn’t know or remember and it left him useless. 

Eddie had finally finished his essay for English, and had been hoping Robin would have the time to read and edit it, but she was busy writing her own, leaving Steve to be the only other option. As he read, making marks and adding notes, Eddie was flitting about the store, occasionally huffing or sighing. When he fully leaned against Steve, whining loudly, Steve threw the pencil down and shot Eddie a glare.

“Can I help you?”

“You’re taking forever!”

“I told you I’m a slow reader! And I’m not even a good writer so I don’t know how this is going to help.”

Eddie picked up the essay and started to look through the notes that Steve made. As he read, his playfully irritated expression, which they all knew was an act, slowly slipped away, only to be replaced by one of confusion. Then, as soon as the confusion arrived, it was wiped away by understanding and concern. 

“Steve, can you do me a favor? Read the essay out loud for me. From the beginning.”

“Why?”

“Just do it for me.”

Steve rolled his eyes but turned his attention to the paper. “The Cot’s Cradle by Kurt Von… Vonnegut? Vonnegut, yeah. Saw… No, was published in 1963. It is a postmodern sat… satanical? Novel incorporating dark humor while exploring science, -”

“Stop,” Eddie cut him off. When Steve looked up, both Eddie and Robin were watching him. Eddie picked up one of his notebooks and ripped out a piece of paper, holding it out to Steve. “Can you write something for me?”

Slowly, Steve took the paper. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Just testing something. Write down what I say. ‘My name is Steve. I used to play basketball. I was the team captain. I should let Eddie style my hair. Scientists have proven that metal music is good for the mind and soul. Robin is small but mighty.’ Done? Okay let me see.”

Picking up the paper, Eddie started to read, his eyes scanning quickly across the page. Steve watched, wondering not for the first time how Eddie was able to read so fast. Robin leaned over to take the paper when Eddie was done with it. Then, she picked up one of her pens, the purple one that had glitter mixed into the ink, and began to write. 

“Want to explain what’s going on?” Steve asked, something heavy settling in his gut as he watched his two friends. 

Robin handed the paper back. She had written the sentences that Eddie had given just below what Steve written, and Steve could see what he did wrong. 

My nam is Steve. I usd to play basketball. I was the team captian. I shuld let Eddie style my hair. Sientintists have prooven that metal music is good for the mind and soul. Robin is smal but mighty.

Groaning, Steve tossed the paper back on the counter. “I told you guys I suck at writing! I’ve always been bad at spelling and my handwriting sucks, I get it. At least it's not as bad as it was before Nancy started to help me. The only way I passed English was because she helped me organize my essays and fixed my spelling mistakes.”

“Steve,” Eddie said gently. “I don’t think it's you being a bad writer or a bad reader. What does it look like when you read?”

“I don’t know, like, the words are a little blurry. Sometimes the letters are wrong, like they move or get flipped and jumbled. I have to read slower and re-read everything just so I can make it make sense. A lot of times, I just guess what I’m reading and then I get words wrong.”

A sniffle drew the boys’ attention away from each other and to Robin, whose eyes were welling with tears and her bottom lip was trembling. 

“Wow, Rob, are you -” Eddie started, reaching out to touch her shoulder. 

Robin threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around Steve’s middle, crushing him in a bear hug as she started to cry. 

“It was all the concussions! It had to be! I’m so sorry, Steve, I should have made you go to the hospital after the fire, maybe they could have done something! This is all my fault! I’m so so sorry!”

“Wow, Robin, slow down! It wasn’t the head injuries!” Steve said, gently patting at her back. “It was always like this, since I was little. None of it is your fault.”

“Okay, we are going to circle back to the concussions, plural, thing,” Eddie said, looking a little shell shocked. “But Steve is right, Robin, it isn’t head injuries. Steve, I think you’re dyslexic.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“That’s okay. Basically, your brain doesn’t see letters the same way as other people. They tested me for it when I got diagnosed with my ADD. Apparently the two can be linked. It doesn’t mean you’re bad at reading or writing, it just means it's harder for you.”

Steve felt his mouth go dry. He squeezed Robin a little tighter. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. I think my uncle still has all the pamphlets and stuff they gave me at my appointment and one of them was on dyslexia. I can ask him for it and we can look at it together. Maybe there are ways to help you so you don’t have as much trouble.”

“So… that means…”

“It means you’re not stupid, Steve. None of us have ever thought that, but maybe we should have said it more. I’m sorry I was being so impatient about you reading my essay. You told me it took you longer to read and I didn’t listen. That’s on me.”

Steve nodded, that warm fuzzy feeling in his chest that he always got when he was around Eddie swelling as they locked eyes and he saw how open, sweet, and caring Eddie’s expression was. 

“It's… It's okay, man. Neither of us knew. Just means neither of you can give me shit now when I mess up the inventory logs.”

Robin gave a wet laugh from where she was buried into Steve’s chest. 

“Now that we have that out of the way, want to tell me about these multiple concussions?”

“Oh, right. So, my first one was freshman year, the first basketball game of the season. Got shoulder checked so hard that I fell and bounced my head off the ground.”

Robin looked up at that. “I didn’t know about that one.”

Eddie’s calm expression went tight and worried. “Hold on, so you knew about others beyond that? The number is only going up from the concerning threshold? ”

“Everyone gets at least one concussion in sports, it's fine,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “The next wasn’t until a while later. Jonathan and I had a fight my junior year and he got in a few pretty good shots to my head. Then the next was senior year with… with, uh, Hargrove. I blacked out after that one. Then the last was at the Starcourt Mall fire.”

“And how many of those did you actually go see a doctor?”

“Technically, all of them. In my medical files? Only the first. I got checked over by someone for the last three but it wasn’t in a doctor's office or anything.”

“Steve, you do realize that you probably should have gone to a hospital, right?”

Steve shrugged again. “It wasn’t exactly an option. And I turned out fine! Now explain this Cot’s Cradle thing to me, I’m lost.”

Robin snorted. “Well, first, it's Cat’s Cradle.”

“Shit.”

---

They started a system in the store. Robin and Steve would leave notes for Eddie around, reminding him of things he needed to do. It helped him to keep on task, and it gave Steve some extra practice with his spelling. If he made a mistake, Eddie would just gently correct it, and let Steve read it. Eddie started bringing books for Steve to read, ones that were much more interesting than anything any English teacher had ever given him to read. It made it worth the time it took to work through the pages. 

They continued to all work on Robin and Eddie’s homework and when they got their grades back for their midterms, Eddie had barreled both Robin and Steve into a bear hug, cheering and crowing about how he passed all of them. To celebrate, Steve let the Hellfire Club have another session at his house over the winter break.

Steve didn’t say it, but having all the people in his house made it feel a little brighter and more lived in, which he appreciated, especially considering his parents had already called to say they wouldn’t make it for the holidays. 

Dustin and his mom insisted on Steve coming over for Christmas Eve dinner, and Robin talked her parents into letting Steve spend Christmas Day at their house. Her parents had been shooting them curious, and sometimes smug, looks throughout the day. Robin later admitted to Steve that she’d had to hint at having a crush on him to convince her parents into letting him come over. She’d grimaced at the idea of having a relationship with Steve, and he’d just laughed, feeling warmed that she would lie to her family so he wouldn’t have to be alone on Christmas. 

On New Year's Eve, Steve had agreed to pick up some of the kids and drop them off at the Wheeler’s house for a party. The kids had offered for him to come in and hang out with them, but he’d declined, not feeling up to sitting in a basement with a bunch of freshmen. 

As he pulled up, Dustin, Lucas, and Erica in the car, a familiar van pulled up as well, loud metal music blaring from inside.

Lucas perked up. “She came!”

“I’m guessing you’re talking about Max?” Steve asked. 

“Yeah, she lives next door to Eddie so he offered to drive her. We weren’t sure if she was actually going to come though, since she doesn’t really see us a lot at school anymore.”

“Well, don’t scare her off tonight, then. She had a hard summer. I mean, we all did, but she did especially. If she needs space, give it to her, but let her know she’s not alone, okay? Now get out of my car.. Nancy said she’d drive you all home so be nice to her. Have fun and happy new year, guys.”

Lucas gave Steve a grin and a nod before climbing out of the backseat and sprinting over to Eddie’s car, where Max was climbing out and Eddie was leaning out the window, looking over at Steve’s car. Dustin popped open the door, but didn’t move to climb out. 

“You’re sure you don’t want to come in and hang out?” Dustin asked, his voice quiet for once. 

“No, it's cool, dude. Go have fun. And seriously, happy new year, Dustin.”

Dustin smiled widely and climbed out of the car, giving Eddie a wave as he hurried inside, trying to get out of the cold. 

Glancing in his rearview mirror, Steve could see that Eddie was climbing out of his van, waving back at the kids as he made his way to Steve’s side of the car. Steve rolled down his window and waited for Eddie to approach. Eddie leaned in the window, grinning at Steve, his cheeks and the tips of his ears red from the cold. 

“Hey man, heading to Robin’s for the New Year?”

Steve shook his head. “No, I’m just going back home. Robin’s whole family gets together for a New Year’s party every year at her aunt’s place. What about you, heading to a party or something?”

“Nah, my uncle and I are staying in. We’re going to share a few beers, watch the New Year’s Eve special, make fun of the music they play, and just hang out. Are your parents back from their trip then? Since you’re heading home?”

“No, I think they’re still in Chicago. Chicago or somewhere in Michigan, not sure.”

Eddie’s smile fell slightly. “So you’ll be alone?”

“It's not a big deal. I’m usually alone on New Year’s. And it's not like I didn’t get invited by the kids to hang out with them, but it felt too much like crashing their party.”

“You’re coming home with me.”

Steve blinked at Eddie in confusion. “What?”

“You’re not sitting alone on a holiday, that's not happening. You can come and drink shitty beer with Uncle Wayne and I. Just follow me home, okay? I have to stop off at the liquor store to pick up some more beer, since my uncle forgot yesterday on his way home from work.”

“You’re not old enough to buy alcohol.”

“It's called a fake ID, Harrington, don’t act like you don’t have one. So, you’re coming, right?”

Shifting in his seat, Steve glanced away nervously. “Your uncle won’t mind?”

“Nah, he’s cool. And I’m taking that as a yes. See you soon!”

With that, Eddie went back to his van, a new bounce in his step. Steve quickly rolled his window up and cranked the heat to high, the car cold from being open so long. He followed Eddie to the liquor store, and when they parked, Steve went in with him, insisting on paying for the beer since he was intruding on Eddie’s family time. Then, the pair were off to the trailer park. 

Steve knew generally where Eddie lived, since the kids had mentioned once that Eddie lived next door to Max, but he wasn’t sure exactly which one was his. When he pulled up, he saw that it was a smaller trailer, with worn, faded white siding, and warm light showing through the curtains. 

Steve followed Eddie up the steps and nearly laughed when Eddie held the door open for him. Eddie had half bowed, grinning up at Steve as he ushered him in first. He stepped into the living room and immediately felt more comfortable here than he had ever felt at his own house. 

It was a small space, a little cluttered but clean. The furniture was older, but looked soft and comfortable, well loved. The lamps didn’t cast harsh, cold shadows, like in Steve’s house. Something was cooking and it smelled delicious, making Steve’s mouth water. On high shelves, lining the walls near the ceiling, was a collection of novelty mugs, just below lines of ball caps. A folding bed was tucked in the corner, out of the way, and sitting in a recliner, looking at Steve and Eddie with a gruff expression, was Wayne Munson, a beer can in hand. 

“Hey!” Eddie said excitedly, trotting into the kitchen and letting the door slam shut behind him. He opened the fridge and shoved the packs of beer in. “Steve’s going to hang out with us tonight.”

Wayne turned his full attention on Steve and he felt his stomach drop. There was something cold, calculating, in Wayne’s eyes, like he was inspecting something he found in the yard, and was finding he didn’t particularly like it. 

Swallowing thickly, Steve stepped forward and put a hand out for Wayne to shake. “Hi, Mr. Munson. I’m Steve Harrington. I hope it's okay that I'm here. If it's not, I can leave.”

“Didn’t have a place to go, boy?” Wayne asked, not taking Steve’s hand. 

Steve let his hand fall. “I… I can go back home, sir.”

“Steve, you’re not sitting all alone on New Year’s. That’s just sad, dude,” Eddie called from the kitchen, digging around in one of the cabinets and pulling out a bag of chips. 

Wayne hummed, still looking Steve over. “Your family isn’t home? Girlfriend out with friends?”

“No, my parents aren’t in town. And I don’t have a girlfriend, sir.”

“From what I heard, you were dating that short haired girl you and Eddie work with.”

“Robin? No, sir, she and I are just friends. Always have been.” 

Eddie shouldered past Steve to the couch, shoving a beer into his hand as he passed. Dropping onto the couch, Eddie tossed the bag of chips on a side table. 

“Pretty sure if Stevie here made a move on Robin, she’d chop his balls off,” Eddie said, laughing. “Stop standing there, come sit down. Commercial is almost over and I want to see what shitty pop band they’re going to put on next.”

Steve edged closer to the couch, glancing over at Wayne, waiting for the man to tell him to leave. When he didn’t, Steve lowered himself into the seat and set his beer down to pull his jacket off. He draped it over the arm rest as Eddie pulled off his jacket to do the same.

Wayne had turned back to watch the TV, not paying Steve anymore attention. 

Steve didn’t blame the guy. People in town had been talking about Steve for years. Talking about his reputation with girls, the way he treated people like Eddie, the way he threw parties every other weekend. Wayne probably didn’t trust that Steve had actually cleaned up his act and that he actually was friends with Eddie. 

Eddie had talked about his uncle a number of times, and what Steve had gathered was that Wayne Munson was a good man, kind to Eddie, but fiercely protective. Steve didn’t know the story behind why Eddie had to leave his parents home, but he did know that Wayne had driven hours to come pick Eddie up and bring him back to live with him. Wayne had given up his bedroom, choosing to sleep in the living, all so Eddie could have privacy growing up. He’d gone to bat for Eddie every time a teacher tried to say Eddie should just drop out and he’d argued with the principal every time Eddie had come home with bruises from fights he hadn’t started. 

Steve was willing to bet that at some point in time during high school, Eddie had complained about Steve. It would make sense. Steve had been an asshole. Still was, sometimes. Wayne had no reason to trust that Steve wasn’t just pretending to be Eddie’s friend just to mess with him. 

He’d have to be on his best behavior. He didn’t want to give Wayne any more cause to hate him. 

---

Steve was unusually quiet. Eddie didn’t think he’d ever heard Steve this quiet outside of when he’d caught Steve napping. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Eddie watched Steve silently stare at the TV, nursing his beer. When Eddie poked fun at bands that he knew Steve liked, trying to get a rise out of him, Steve would just smile and nod. 

When Wayne got up to go to the kitchen to pull the casserole out, Steve sank back in his seat, as though he were trying to make himself smaller, less noticeable. 

“Feeling okay, man?” Eddie asked, leaning to bump his shoulder against Steve’s.

Steve nodded. “I’m fine. Can I use your bathroom?”

“Yeah, just down the hall.”

As Steve stepped out of the room, Wayne came back in, precariously carrying three plates of the casserole. He passed one off to Eddie, set one down for Steve, and then settled in his own seat, ready to dig in. 

Eddie gently kicked Wayne’s foot, making the older man look up.

“What’s your problem?” Eddie hissed.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re making Steve uncomfortable!”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“Exactly! You’re blowing him off, giving him the cold shoulder.”

“He was mean to you.”

“In high school, sure. But since then, he’s helped me. He got me my job, he helped me study, he let me and the guys play D&D at his place, and he yelled at a teacher for accusing me of cheating. He’s a good guy, cut him some slack.”

Before Wayne could say anything, the bathroom door opened and Steve stepped into the hall again, returning to the living room. He picked up the plate Wayne had set out for him and gave the older man a nervous smile. 

“Thank you, it smells really good, sir.”

Wayne huffed gruffly. “Old recipe my mom taught me as a kid. Told me she didn’t want me to starve when I moved out. Tried to teach Eddie here how to make it but he always messed it up.”

“In my defense,” Eddie said around a mouthful. “I’ve gotten better at cooking over the past year.”

Steve nodded along, looking down at his plate absentmindedly. “It took me a while to get the hang of cooking. Part of it was probably me reading the directions wrong but I also got tired and bored too fast and would give up halfway through.”

“What do you mean you got tired?” Eddie asked with a laugh. “Too hard to stir? Had to build some upper body strength first?”

“No,” Steve said, also laughing. “I couldn’t reach anything so it was a lot of climbing on counter tops and dragging a chair around the kitchen to climb. I was a short kid, didn’t hit my growth spurt until I was 13.”

“I think that’s when most boys start getting growth spurts,” Wayne said, lowering his fork as he studied Steve, this time with a more curious look instead of cold. “How old were you when you were being taught to cook?”

“I think I started learning when I was 10? That’s when my parents started to travel more. They were only gone for a couple days at a time, but I got sick of pb&j sandwiches and pizza pretty fast. I found my mom’s recipe book and decided to try to make stuff from it. I got pretty good at making chicken alfredo, though. It was my favorite as a kid.”

As Steve spoke, Wayne’s eyes went round at the implication that a 10 year old boy was left home alone long enough and often enough for him to teach himself a somewhat complicated dish. 

Eddie could see the moment that his uncle’s perception of Steve changed. The moment that Steve went from spoiled rich boy with a silver spoon in his mouth to a normal guy with shitty parents that thought throwing money at their son would make up for the neglect. That protective, paternal part of Wayne that always flared up around kids in need was starting to shine in his eyes and through the set of his jaw. 

Steve was well on his way to being taken under Wayne’s wing, Eddie could tell. Steve just had to say one more thing, tell one more story, that gave a glimpse into his lonely childhood, and it would seal the deal. Eddie just had to steer the conversation, get Steve talking more. If he asked point blank, Steve would clam up; Eddie learned that early on in their budding friendship. The only reason Eddie knew that Steve had a weird, sad childhood was from comments he dropped here and there without thinking, mentioning stuff he thought was normal that very much wasn’t. 

“I nearly set the stove on fire the first time I made pasta,” Eddie said, grinning Wayne. “Forgot about it and all the water boiled away. The pasta started to smoke and that’s when Uncle Wayne realized what was going on.”

“I nearly set a fire too! I decided to make some cookies as a surprise for my parents when they got home. I set a timer but didn’t hear it go off. They basically turned into charcoal. I left the windows open overnight to air out of the house but everything still smelt like burnt cookies when I woke up. Thank God my parents were late getting back or they would have been so mad at me,” Steve said, chuckling at his own story like it was a funny anecdote. 

Eddie glanced over at Wayne. Any sign of dislike or suspicion was gone, replaced fully by concern and protective anger. 

Hook, line, and sinker. Eddie’d gotten him. 

“How late were they?” Eddie asked casually. “Enough that you got rid of the smell?”

“Yeah, they were a couple days late. They were supposed to come back on a Friday, I think, but decided to spend their weekend in New York. See some of the sights. My mom brought me back one of those “I Heart New York” shirts.”

As Steve went on to talk about his second attempt at baking cookies, which was only slightly more successful, Eddie looked over at Wayne again and saw the way his uncle was gripping his fork tightly, working his jaw back and forth as he mulled over the implications of what Steve had said. That Steve’s parents, instead of coming home straight away to their young son, had decided to extend their trip by multiple days to enjoy themselves. 

As they continued to eat and talk, Steve slowly relaxed. Wayne spoke evenly, though not unkindly. He was still gruff, but that was normal for him. When midnight approached, Eddie ran to the kitchen and poured a shot of moonshine for each of them. They all chanted along with the countdown, and as Eddie shouted out a loud “Happy New Year!”, Wayne and Steve downed their shots, Eddie joining a second later. 

Steve screwed up his face at the taste, but didn’t gag, in the way Eddie half expected him to. It was only then that he remembered in Steve’s “King Steve” days, he was known for his ability to drink. 

Eddie coughed a little at the burn. “Shit, Uncle Wayne, where’d you get this stuff? Tastes like rubbing alcohol.”

“One of the guys at work made it. And it tastes fine, you’re just being a pansy.”

“Not true! Steve, back me up!”

“I want to be on your Uncle’s good side, so I will not be backing you up.”

“Traitor.”

Steve snorted as he set his shot glass aside. “I should think about heading out. Want me to help with the dishes before I go?”

“I can handle it. Are you safe to drive?”

“Two beers and a shot isn’t going to even get me buzzed, but thanks,” Steve said as he stood, picking up his jacket. “Mr. Munson, thank you for letting me come over. I appreciate it.” 

Wayne stood, putting his hand out for Steve to shake. “You’re welcome here anytime, boy.”

Blinking rapidly, clearly shocked, Steve took his hand. “Thank you, sir.”

“Just call me Wayne, none of that ‘sir’ shit.”

Once Steve had driven away, his taillights disappearing in the dark, Wayne turned to glare at Eddie. 

“Next time, just tell me your friend has a shitty family. That way I don’t make an ass out of myself.”

Eddie just grinned as he gathered up empty beer cans.

Chapter Text

January passed without incident. Things weren’t really great , but they weren’t bad either. Max had further isolated herself from the group, and Steve felt like he barely ever saw her. Dustin and Mike were always rambling about the Hellfire Club campaign, while Lucas was more focused on basketball. He’d made the varsity team, even though he was only a freshman. The other kids weren’t as excited about that as Steve was, but they did promise to come to at least one of his games, which was better than Steve had expected of them. They didn’t really understand basketball, but they agreed to support their friend, and that was what mattered. 

Steve’s parents unexpectedly came for a visit. At least, that was how Steve viewed it. His parents called it ‘coming home,’ but that hardly sounded right when they never spent time at the house. 

All things considered, their visit didn’t go horribly. Steve’s mom kept to herself mostly, tutting over anything she thought was wrong in the house. Steve’s dad caught up on local news and only scolded Steve twice about his life choices. About not getting into college, about losing Nancy, about not having a new girlfriend, about not having a decent job. None of it bothered Steve, or at least he told himself that. He could handle it, especially when he was able to leave for Family Video to see Robin and Eddie. That made everything better. 

The only time that Steve’s father got to him in their four day visit was when they were watching the news together one morning, while Steve’s mother was fixing breakfast. The newscaster started on a story about the AIDS crisis, discussing the populations affected and how it was transmitted. 

Steve knew everything the newscaster was saying. He and Robin kept up on the news about the crisis. Sometimes, when they would finish with the news articles they’d managed to dig up, Robin would pass them off to Eddie, who would read them quietly on his lunch break, twiddling with and chewing on the ends of his hair. The three of them knew about the disease, how it could be passed through sex, gay or straight, or that it could be passed through blood. That some people had caught it through blood transfusions or dirty needles. They knew the mortality rate. They knew the prognosis.

They knew it wasn’t the gay community being punished. It was just a tragedy. 

Steve’s dad didn’t see it that way. He huffed and scoffed, his face turning red as he glared at the screen. 

“Why should we care, huh?” he snapped, switching the channels to another news station. “It's just God’s way of clearing out the fags.”

And Steve, not thinking, spoke. “It’s not just gay people getting it.”

“What did you just say?”

“It…” Steve swallowed thickly, not looking away from the screen, desperately avoiding eye contact with his father. “Its not just gay people. Even kids have gotten it, while in the hospital from blood transfusions.”

“Then God knew they were going to grow up to be fags or sinners. Why are you defending them? Something you want to tell me?”

“No, sir.”

“Because it sounds like you’re defending them.”

“I’m not, sir. I just… I read about it in the paper. That’s all.”

“The local Hawkins paper?”

“No, sir. New York Times.”

Steve’s father leaned back in his seat. “Huh. Will you look at that. Actually making an effort to read for once. Where was this attitude when you were failing English?”

Steve didn’t answer. Eventually, his father turned his attention back to the TV.

The conversation left Steve in a bad mood, his stomach in knots and his brain desperately trying to think of anything but what his dad had said.

So, when he pulled up to Family Video for his shift, he was really hoping that the rest of the day would go smoothly. 

Instead, as he got out of his car and glanced through the glass doors, he wasn’t thrilled at the sight before him. The store was empty, except for Eddie and some other guy. The man was tall, broad, and was gripping painfully tight to one of Eddie’s wrists. He was saying something to Eddie, face too close for Steve’s liking. Eddie was trying to lean away, pulling on his arm. The look on his face was familiar, Steve realized, his heart stuttering.

It was the same look Eddie had given Steve at the quarry; complete and utter fear. 

Then, to make matters worse, Robin stepped out of the back. She caught sight of Eddie and the other man, her face screwing up with anger. She said something, which made the man turn and shout at her. Robin took a step back, her hands coming up, like she was ready for a fight. Her expression twisted with shock and fear, just like when they were beneath the mall, with the Russians.

Something snapped. Maybe it was Steve’s patience, maybe it was his resolve, but something inside Steve snapped. 

He was sick and tired of bullies. It was ironic, really, considering who Steve was, but it was the truth. He was sick of his father spewing hate, he was sick of people hurting his friends, and he was sick of how both of those things acted as mirrors, reflecting back all the stuff Steve had done in the past and reminding him of his mistakes. 

He wasn’t going to make a mistake today. 

Steve popped the trunk of his car and pulled out his baseball bat. It wasn’t the one he used for monster hunting, of course. That would be a one way ticket to prison if he got pulled over. He kept that bat beneath his bed, perfectly in reach for emergencies. This bat, the one in his car, was new and had been purchased specifically to protect against humans. 

After the fights with Billy, the Russians, and, though Steve didn’t like to admit it, Jonathan, Steve felt safer having something in his car that he could safely use to protect the kids. 

Slamming the trunk shut, Steve stormed to the front of Family Video and threw the door open, startling the three occupants. He pointed the bat at the guy holding on to Eddie.

“You. Let go. Now. Then leave.”

“What the fuck?” the guys said, straightening so he wasn’t crowding Eddie, but not letting go. 

“I said, let go.”

“Do you know who this guy is? What he is?”

“He’s my friend. And if you don’t let go of him, I’m going to make sure you never walk again.”

The man studies Steve’s face for a moment. He must have seen something that made him believe Steve was telling the truth, because he let go of Eddie with a shove. He began to walk away, towards Steve and the door, but angled himself to show he wasn’t trying to fight.

“Whatever. Faggot isn’t worth it anyway.”

Steve saw red. He grabbed the guy and slammed him into the wall beside the door, dropping the bat with a clatter. 

Robin shrieked something, maybe Steve’s name, but he barely heard it as he wound back, about to throw a punch at the other man. Arms caught hold of Steve, one around his chest and the other hooked around his arm, keeping him from swinging. He was wrenched backwards, spitting and kicking like a feral cat. 

Something in the back of his mind whispered he was acting like Billy, that he was no better than Hargrove, craving blood and violence. He squashed that voice, instead choosing to start shouting. 

“Fuck you, asshole! Say that shit again and see what fucking happens!”

The man stared with wide eyes. “Jesus Christ, Munson, your boyfriend is fucking insane!”

“Dude, just get out of here before he gets away from me and breaks your nose,” Eddie said from behind Steve. That was when Steve realized who was holding him back. 

“Let me go, Eddie! Let me go!” he yelled, now twisting in his friend’s grip. 

“You two deserve each other, crazy bastards!” the guy said, throwing one last verbal spur before slipping out of the store. 

Eddie didn’t let go of Steve until the man was in his car and pulling out of the parking lot. Robin immediately was across the room and gently taking Eddie’s arm, inspecting the red marks that were sure to bruise. 

“Are you okay?” she asked. “We can get you some ice or something. We should call Keith too, tell him about this, that way if the guy calls and complains, we don’t get -”

“No,” Eddie said, cutting her off. “We can’t tell Keith. He’ll ask too many questions.”

“Steve just threatened the guy with a baseball bat, we’ve passed the point of not having to tell Keith.”

“Should have let me do more than just threaten him,” Steve grumbled, picking the bat off the floor and twisting it in his hands, his knuckles white with how tightly he gripped it. 

“So you could get arrested for assault? No, thank you!”

“It was defense! He was hurting Eddie! And he insulted him! And yelled at you!”

“Doesn’t matter, Steve! I don’t want to have to visit my best friend in jail!” Robin snapped before turning her attention to Eddie. “We have to tell Keith. He has to know that something happened or we could lose our jobs. We don’t have to tell the whole truth, just enough to get Keith on our side. Steve, lock the door and flip the sign to on break. Let’s go to the back and talk about this.”

With that, she ushered Eddie to the break room while Steve locked up, his blood still singing from the adrenaline. 

Still feels good to scare people. To be the boss. That’s why you wanted to be King in the first place, remember? That’s why it hurt when Billy stole it away from you. You’re no better than him. Maybe you’re worse. 

Steve shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts that intruded on his mind. With one last shuddering breath, he went back to meet his friends. 

---

Eddie’s hands were still shaking as Robin pressed a cold Coke can to his bruising arm. He hissed at the contact, but didn’t flinch away. 

As Steve stepped in, Eddie looked away nervously. 

“Eddie,” Robin said carefully. “You have to tell us from the beginning what happened. Who was that guy?”

He shook his head, still not making eye contact with Robin or Steve. 

“Please, we just want to help. Is he from school? I didn’t recognize him. If he’s bullying you, we can try to -”

“I hooked up with him,” Eddie blurted, the words spilling out before he could stop them, his cheeks burning with shame and embarrassment and fear. “He was buying some drugs from me last year and he wanted a discount. Told him discounts were for friends only, and he wasn’t a friend. He told me he could be friendly and we… hooked up. We had some fun, fooled around a few times, got high together too. Then he showed up at my house already high one day, took something he shouldn’t have, and was super paranoid. Was convinced I was going to out him, so he beat the shit out of me and told me to keep quiet. Haven’t seen him since. Then he came in today and saw me and asked if I was still selling. Told him no and he didn’t believe me. Grabbed my arm, starting saying some fucked up shit, but then was also trying to convince me to come to his place to hook up again and I told him no. He just wasn’t listening. Then Robin, you walked in and then Steve came in with a bat and oh fuck he outed me to Steve. Or did I just out myself? Fuck, I think I’m having a panic attack? Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Steve crouched beside Eddie’s chair and took the hand that Robin wasn’t holding, Eddie’s dark eyes met Steve’s, and instead of finding disgust or anger, he only found concern. 

“Just breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. That’s it, you’ve got it. While you catch your breath, I’m going to talk. First off, fuck that guy. He’s a dick. If he comes around here again, I’ll break his jaw. With my luck, he’ll just get back up and give me a concussion, but that’s besides the point. Second, I don’t care if you like guys. People love who they love. You’re still my friend. That’s not going to change, especially not over something like this.”

Robin smiled, reaching over to squeeze Steve’s shoulder. “Well said. Way better than what you said when I came out to you.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m not high this time. Means I can string together a somewhat coherent thought.”

“Coherent. Big word for you.”

“This is not the time, Robin. Wait, shit, does he already know about -”

Eddie cleared his throat. “Yeah, uh… Robin and I have known about each other from day one.”

“And now that you know about Eddie, I can make all the jokes I want about you being the only straight one,” Robin said, laughing quietly. 

“You can do that after we fix this. Eddie, the guy was trying to buy drugs from you and trying to hit on you, right? And got physical when you said no? There is no reason we have to tell Keith that he hit on you. Its not like that guy is going to fess up to stranger that he does drugs and is gay. He’ll tell some other bullshit story. We call Keith, we tell him the guy thought you still were dealing, you turned him down, he got aggressive with you, yelled at Robin, and then I showed up and threw him out. I’ve mentioned to Keith before that I’ve been helping Lucas work out, so I can say that the bat in my car was from taking Lucas to the batting cages a few towns over. He’ll probably still give me shit for threatening customers but it’ll be fine.”

“Won’t Keith get mad about the dealing thing?” Robin asked.

Eddie shook his head. “Keith used to buy weed from me, he’s always known what my side gig was before I worked here. But… you guys honestly don’t mind lying to Keith?”

“I lie to Keith all the time.”

“Steve!

“What! You do too, Rob!”

She huffed and gestured for Eddie to take the cold pop can from her hands so she could get up. Eddie took it and continued to ice his wrist. 

“I’ll call Keith. You two chill out here and when I get back, we’ll reopen.”

With that, Robin left the room, leaving the two boys in silence. 

“So…” Eddie said slowly. “You know I’m gay now.”

“Yeah, guess so.”

“You really aren’t bothered?”

“Nope. Doesn’t bother me.”

“But -”

“I know. I know the things I used to say in high school. I called people things I shouldn't have. And I hate that I did that. There is no excuse. I know it was wrong, I knew it then too. I was just…”

“You were repeating what you heard, weren’t you?”

Steve nodded. “Tommy had a lot of opinions on this stuff. So does my dad. It's why I don’t let Robin or the kids come over when my parents are home. They don’t need to hear that stuff.”

“You don’t need to hear it either. You can come over to my place. I know you probably wouldn’t want to stay the night but -”

“Why do you say that?” Steve asked, giving Eddie a perplexed look.

“I mean, come on, man. My trailer isn’t that nice, nothing like you’re used to, and you know I’m gay now. Straight guys don’t do sleepovers with gay guys.”

“Don’t call it a sleepover, it makes it sound like we're a pair of preteen girls,” Steve said with a chuckle. “And I like your place. Feels relaxed and calm. Also, I thought we’d already established that I don’t care that you’re gay. You’re still you, it doesn’t change anything.”

“Steve, if you crashed at my place we’d probably have to share my room.”

“And? Friends can share a room.”

“But -”

“Eddie, I’m not suddenly scared of you because you’re gay. I promise,” Steve said, turning so he could give Eddie a smile. 

All the fears Eddie was on the verge of voicing died on his tongue as he saw the warmth and trust in Steve’s eyes. With a smile of his own, Eddie nodded. 

The door opened, making the two men look away from each other and to Robin, who’d just returned.

“Okay, talked to Keith. Everything is fine. He said if the guy comes back to call the cops. Steve, he said to never bring the bat back into the store.”

“That’s fair.”

“Why do you have that, anyway? Because I know for a fact that you didn’t take Lucas to any batting cages,” Eddie asked. 

“For situations like this, obviously. Always better to be prepared.”

“He’s like our little violent boy scout,” Robin teased, winking. “Ready for everything. He’s got bats hidden everywhere.”

“I’m too jumpy to have anything more dangerous than a bat. You remember what happened when Eddie scared me; I can barely be trusted with a rock. Imagine if I carried a knife. Or worse, a gun.”

Eddie winced. “You know what, I’m with Steve. Let him have his bats if it means I don’t get stabbed just for walking up behind my friend when he isn’t paying attention.”

Chapter Text

Steve got candy for all his friends when Valentine’s day rolled around. Dustin and Lucas had been thoroughly excited, even if Lucas did grumble about having to run extra laps to burn off the extra sugar. Mike had mumbled a thank you, but Steve caught him smiling at the chocolate later, fiddling with the wrapper. Erica had taken the candy and then informed Steve he still owed her more ice cream from the summer. Max seemed to like the candy, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, even though Steve knew he had gotten her favorite for her. 

Eddie and Robin had waxed poetic about their ‘Secret Admirer,’ describing in increasingly more elaborate and wild details what their admirer must be like. Somehow, Robin’s ‘admirer’ had basically morphed into Ripley from Alien, while Eddie’s sounded like some sort of elven warrior king. They had a good shift together, and when Steve got out to his car, Eddie and Robin having already left hours before, he had found two tiny packages sitting on the hood of his car. 

One was a carefully wrapped box of chocolates. The lid was covered in the word Love , repeated in different fonts. Above each one, Robin had used a marker to write the word ‘platonically.’ 

The other was a cassette, wrapped with too much tape. Written in Eddie’s scratchy handwriting were the words ‘ Steve “The Freak” Harrington. ’

Steve played it his whole drive home. 

He didn’t have any nightmares that night. 

The following week, each time Steve woke up from a nightmare, a scream trapped in his throat, he would dig around his room and find the tape again. Most of the music wasn’t what Steve normally listened to, but it helped. It was loud and drowned out the thoughts. Made him feel less alone. 

The last song on the tape was more his style, and it was what really calmed him. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by the Eurythmics. He’d played it in the car once while driving with Eddie, Robin, and Dustin. They’d had all the windows down, the wind whipping their hair around. Robin and Dustin were in the backseat, singing along at the top of their lungs, laughing. Eddie had been drumming on the dashboard and headbanging, even though he had initially claimed he didn’t like the song. The headbanging was off beat, and didn’t match the tone of the song at all, but it had made Steve laugh. Steve had soaked in the moment, a grin on his face as he watched them all. He felt warm, and happy, and loved . 

It was a good memory. 

Eventually, Steve started listening to the song as he fell asleep. It kept the nightmares away for at least a few hours. But then they’d be back. 

One night, he dreamt he was back in the Byers’ home. The lights were flickering, Christmas lights strung around the walls. The heavy, deep growls of the demogorgon could be heard, but he couldn’t see it anywhere. Every time he turned towards the sound, it would move, sounding from behind him. 

He spun again, and standing before him was Billy Hargrove. He was drenched in blood, tacky and dark in the low light. His white tank top was tattered, the blood making it cling to the planes of his body. There was a gaping hole in his chest, the edges of which fluttered and pulsed with each breath and heartbeat. His icy blue eyes were locked on Steve, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

“You killed me, Harrington .”

“No, no I didn’t. It was the Mind Flayer.”

“ You could have done more. Why didn’t you do more? Did you hate me that much? ”

“I was hurt and drugged, I did everything I could!”

“ Really? You sure it wasn’t because you hated me? Or were you just trying to get rid of your only competition in this town? Back to your old King Steve bullshit .” On the word bullshit, his voice became layered. It was Billy speaking, Nancy speaking, Steve’s father speaking, all at once. “ Bullshit , Harrington. Maybe that’s not it though. Maybe you hate Max. Is that it? Wanted to take her brother from her? Did you want to replace me? Or did you just want to hurt her? ”

Steve took a step back. “I love Max! I didn’t -”

“ You didn’t think! ” Billy yelled, moving forward. “ You never think! ”

And then Billy was on him, driving him to the ground. Steve’s arms and legs wouldn’t cooperate. He couldn’t fight back. He tried to raise his arms to block the blows raining down on his face, but he couldn’t move. Steve could feel the blood and tears running down his face, wetting his skin. The whole time, Billy was yelling at him, shouting abuse. Somewhere, nearby but out of sight, the demogorgon continued to growl.

“ How are you going to protect the kids, Harrington? You can’t even fight me off! ”

“ You’re bullshit! ”

“ A fucking faggot too, aren’t you? Were you sneaking peeks at the guys in the locker room? Did Tommy know? Know what you are? ”

“ Bullshit. That’s what you are. Can’t even admit to yourself what you are. Wonder what would happen if everyone found out? Think they would abandon you? Think they would hate you like Max does? Like Nancy does? Like your parents do? ”

“ Bullshit! ”

Steve snapped awake, bolting up in bed and gasping for air like a dying man. His hands came up to his face, the pain from his nightmare lingering. Steve’s fingers came back wet, slick with blood and tears. Scrambling to the side of his bed, he turned on the lamp. He stumbled to his dresser, which had a mirror, and stared at himself wild eyed. 

A nose bleed. That was it. Twin streams of blood ran from his nostrils, over his mouth, and down his chin. Drops had dripped down the front of his shirt, staining it. In the mirror, he could see his bed behind him and saw he’d stained his pillow case as well.

Taking a shaky breath he pulled his shirt off and used it to wipe the blood off his face.

“Just a dream,” he whispered into the dark. “You felt yourself having a nose bleed and it got included in your dream. It's more of the brain shit that Robin told you about.”

Climbing back into bed, he threw the one pillow off the bed and flopped down onto the other, without the blood. He left the light on as he fell asleep, hoping it would chase away the shadows that seemed to be creeping in, choking him out.

---

Eddie couldn’t take his eyes off of Steve. 

Not because he thought Steve was attractive. Not that Steve wasn’t, Eddie knew he was, and did find himself looking sometimes, but this was different.

Something was wrong with Steve. And Eddie was noticing. Through February and into March, Steve had been waning. He had been looking more and more tired, shadows forming under his eyes. He was falling asleep in the back on every one of his breaks, and he was zoning out more and more often, staring into space. When Eddie or Robin would touch his shoulder, trying to gently bring him back to himself, Steve would jump violently, looking at them in fear. Steve had stopped eating anything at work, when usually he would eat at least a snack. More than once, Robin or Eddie had forced Steve to come home with them so they could force him to eat at least one meal. The few times he had come back to Eddie’s trailer, Wayne had watched Steve with a careful eye and loaded his plate with seconds. When Steve would leave, Wayne would sigh and watch his car pull away.

“Something is bothering that boy,” Wayne said after the last visit. “Something bad. I’ve only ever seen that look on my army buddies’ faces. You’re sure his parents ain’t hitting him?”

Eddie shook his head. “I haven’t seen him with bruises or anything from them. And they’d need to actually be home to hit him, you know? The stories he’s told about him getting hurt have always just been sports or fights with dudes at school. There was… something that happened last summer, though. The Starcourt Mall fire. But he and the others don’t really like talking about it and they asked me not to tell anyone.”

Wayne nodded. “A man is entitled to his privacy. Just keep an eye on him. I worry.”

The breaking point came when one day, Steve was staring into space, his eyes fixed on one of the walls in the back of the store. Eddie got up from where he was leaning on the counter to slowly pad towards Steve. He moved to stand in front of Steve and waved slowly, trying to get his attention.

“Steve? Hey, you there, buddy?”

No response. Steve’s brown eyes were still unseeing, almost like they were looking straight through him. Eddie felt something twist in his gut and panic started to rise. 

“Steve? Come on, snap out of it, dude,” Eddie said, finally reaching out to grab at Steve’s shoulders. 

Steve gasped, pushing himself away from Eddie and looking around with a wild look. He sucked in greedy breaths, like he had just been pulled from water, nearly drowned. 

“Wow, hey, are you alright?”

With a final shuddering breath, Steve finally seemed to be back to reality. “Eddie?”

“Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?”

“What? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. I spaced out or something.”

“Was it… Like the time at your house?”

“It… Yeah. It was. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, you didn’t try to knock my brains out this time, so nothing to apologize for,” Eddie said, smiling to show it was a joke. His expression softened as he put his hand back on Steve’s shoulder. “Seriously though, don’t need to apologize. Want to go in the back for a bit? I can man the counter.”

Steve shook his head. “No. I can keep stocking the shelves. You just keep working on your homework. You want to get it done before spring break, don’t you?”

Before Eddie could try to insist that Steve go and take a nap in the break room, Steve was off, back to organizing shelves, a tired and drained look on his face. With a sigh, Eddie went back to the counter and kept working on his homework. 

---

As soon as the principal announced Tammy Thompson’s name, Robin spun around in her spot on the bleachers and made eye contact with Steve, her mouth agape in shock. Eddie let out a choked noise beside him, drawing Mike and Dustin’s attention. Dustin tried to ask why Eddie and Steve were making weird faces, but Eddie waved them off while Steve mouthed ‘ Muppet ’ at Robin. She rolled her eyes and turned around again to face the court. 

“The worst taste,” Eddie whispered, leaning over so only Steve could hear. 

He snorted and nodded. “Something you two have in common.”

“Lies and slander. Not like you have any room to talk.”

Dustin glared at the pair of them. “What are you guys whispering about?”

“Steve’s shit luck with women.”

“Oh,” Dustin perked up. “Did you have a date recently? Is that what you guys are talking about? Why don't you tell me about these things anymore, Steve? I thought I was your best friend!”

“First, there was no date, so knock it off. Second, you are one of my best friends, I have multiple. And before you argue that that’s not possible, yes it is.”

“You haven’t been on a date in forever! It's getting sad! It's so obvious that you’re pining and it's gross.”

Steve shot Dustin a sharp look. “Pining?”

“Yes! Over Robin!”

Mike perked up in his seat, clearly smelling blood in the water. “Steve has a crush on Robin?”

“Obviously!”

Eddie had a hand over his mouth, trying to hold in his laughter. Steve elbowed him. 

“I do not have a crush on Robin.”

“Then why are you always following her around?”

“I am not following her around. We are friends. Best friends. Platonic with a capital P.”

Mike and Dustin both screwed up their faces in disbelief. Before either could say something, the Hawkins basketball team made a basket and the crowd started to cheer. Steve jumped up and let out a shout, clapping loudly. When the crowd quieted again, he sat back down, grinning at the court. 

“Did we make a touchdown?”

“You know that’s not what it's called.”

“A homerun, right. Got it.”

“Still wrong.”

“Hole in one?”

“Why did you agree to come again?”

Eddie shrugged. “Hellfire wouldn’t have been the same without Lucas, so we figured we would just rearrange the schedule a little, especially since spring break is about to start. We can just do it during the day soon, when I’m not working.”

“Doesn’t answer why you decided to come to the game.”

“It's important to Lucas. He’s a good kid, he deserves having people here to cheer him on. And even if I don’t understand the game, I’ve got you here to explain it to me,” Eddie said, bumping his shoulder against Steve’s and earning himself a smile. “You were the basketball star. Who better to teach me about the game than you?”

 As the game went on, Steve tried to explain it to Eddie. Eddie, in turn, tried to twist Steve’s words around to make the game sound much more or much less complicated than it actually was, all for his own entertainment. Mike and Dustin weren’t interested at all in the explanations, instead having more fun shouting at Lucas anytime he was on the court. They would all clap along with the music the band played, cheering loudly for Robin to make her blush and glare at them. 

Overall, as they left the game, Steve thought it was a good night. His throat was sore from screaming when Lucas made the winning shot, but he didn’t care. Lucas had let Steve hug him after the game to congratulate him and the grin that Steve had gotten from the kid had made everything worth it. 

Of course, because nothing good in Steve’s life could ever last, he got nearly no sleep that night. The nightmares, both when he was asleep and the ones when he was awake, plagued him worse than usual. The waking nightmares were getting especially bad. It had used to just be feelings or thoughts, like when Steve had gotten scared by Eddie. But they’d gotten steadily worse, to the point that Steve was actually seeing and hearing them now. Demogorgons and demodogs seemed to creep around out of the corner of his eye, but when he would turn to look, they would disappear.  He would hear the revving of Billy’s Camaro, even when Steve was nowhere near a road. Sometimes his mind would trick him into thinking he was back in the Russian lab, or in the elevator, waiting to be found and tortured. The worst though, was when he would hear his parents in the house, even though he knew they weren’t supposed to be home yet. It left him on edge, constantly feeling like at any moment, his father was going to walk into the room and begin yelling. That, or he’d feel the disapproving, cold glare of his mother boring into the back of his neck. It left Steve looking over his shoulder at all times of the day, just waiting for something to go wrong.

The nosebleeds were becoming more common too. He’d tried calling his doctor, but the nurse on the phone had told him that it was probably just from the change of seasons and to call again if they lasted into April. With less than a week until April, Steve was already assuming he was going to be making a trip into his doctor’s office sometime soon. 

Every time he got snapped out of one of his waking nightmares, Steve would remind himself that this was normal. Like Robin had told him, they were all going through the same thing. They’d all been hurt, and seen the worst of the world. It made sense that his mind had gone a little wonky. Nothing was wrong. This was normal.

---

Eddie and Robin were the only two on shift after class on the day school let out for spring break. Steve had originally been scheduled to work with Robin, but when he had driven her to school in the morning, she saw how exhausted he was and insisted he go home and rest. She’d tracked down Eddie before first period and asked him to take over Steve’s shift that night. He’d agreed straight away. 

It’d been a quiet night. Most of the teenagers in town were out celebrating the start of spring break. That, or their parents had already packed them up and left town for a vacation. The only people coming in were parents of small children, who needed a movie to possibly bring the kid down from their excitement about the break. 

Mike had already flown out for his visit in California. He’d been talking about it all lunch, excited to see his girlfriend and his best friend. Dustin seemed a little jealous, but he also was bragging that Max had finally agreed to hang out, something she hadn’t done in a while. Eddie had told Dustin to come into Family Video and he’d hook the two kids up with a good movie to watch. 

Dustin’s mom had dropped the kids off at the arcade earlier in the night, and the two had made the short walk to Family Video to browse the films. They were the first people Robin and Eddie had seen in an hour, since it was getting late. They were just about ready to close, and Eddie was going to drive everyone home, when the bell chimed over the door. 

And in walked Head Cheerleader and Princess of Hawkins High: Chrissy Cunningham. She was wearing a pair of pale blue, soft jeans, and a baby pink sweater. Her signature blue eyeshadow was looking faded, like she’d been rubbing at her eyes, wiping it away. She’d pulled her hair into a high ponytail, a white scrunchy synching it. In the fluorescent lights of the shop, she looked paler than normal, shadows under her eyes making her look gaunt. She blinked a few times, as though she wasn’t sure if she was seeing things correctly, before she moved further into the store. 

“Hi, can we help you?” Eddie asked, leaning against the counter.

“I… um… I wanted to talk to you,” Chrissy said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “I tried to find you at school but wasn’t able to.” 

Robin stepped out from behind the counter. “I’ll go check on the kids. Let you two talk,” she said, giving Chrissy an odd look before walking away. 

Once she was out of ear shot, Chrissy started to speak again. “I heard that you sell stuff. Like, like marijuana.”

Eddie straightened. “Uh, who said that?”

“Jason. And his friends. They… well, they talk about you sometimes.”

“They make fun of me. I know, it's okay. You don’t need to sugarcoat it. But they said I’m a drug dealer?”

Chrissy nodded, blushing slightly and still looking nervous, as though she truly believed that Eddie was as dangerous as her jock boyfriend claimed he was. “Some of the girls on the cheer squad also mentioned it. Said they’re siblings and boyfriends bought from you before.”

“Right, well, I’m sorry, but I don’t sell. Not anymore, at least. Why are you looking to buy? Because you definitely don’t seem the type to want to light up.”

“I… um… it's just…” she sighed, her head hanging. “I’m too tired. I can’t think straight. I need something to help me sleep. I thought maybe marijuana could help. That, or if you had something stronger…”

“What do you mean, you can’t sleep?” Eddie asked. 

“I keep having… Do you ever feel like you’re losing your mind?”

“I mean, yeah. On a daily basis. Gotten better since I started working here though. I know I’m not someone you really know or trust, but if you want to talk about something, I can listen. Hell, it might even make it easier, since you don’t have to worry about me judging you. It's not like I can throw stones, I’m the super senior freak,” Eddie said, forcing a smile on his face.

Chrissy gave half a laugh. “I don’t know if talking about it would help. I’m barely sleeping and it has just been making it worse.”

“What’s ‘it?’”

“The nightmares. Even when I’m awake. And the nosebleeds. Headaches.”

“Have you thought about talking to a doctor? That sounds kind of serious.”

“They’ll just think I’m crazy and lock me up! I mean, what else are they going to do when I tell them I’m seeing things!” Chrissy said, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. “Some of the stupid visions don’t even make sense! Like right now, I’m seeing the stupid clock again, right behind you!”

Eddie turned, only to see a blank wall and rows of movies. “A clock? What kind of clock?”

No response came.

Turning back around, Eddie found Chrissy still standing there, staring off into space, her eyes unseeing. It eerily reminded him of Steve. 

“Chrissy? Hey, wake up. Chrissy!”

Eddie heard hurried footsteps, Robin coming running when she heard the worry in his voice. Max and Dustin were quick to catch up. 

“What’s going on?” Dustin asked, looking worried.

“I think she’s having a moment, sort of like Steve does,” Eddie said in a rush. “She’s not snapping out of it.”

“Shit. Okay, what do we do for Steve? We shake him, we touch his shoulders, play music to try and draw him back, remind him he’s safe. We can do that for Chrissy, right?” Robin asked. Eddie could tell she was spiraling. 

 That’s when Chrissy’s eyes rolled back in her head. 

“Oh shit!” Dustin yelled. 

Max dropped the stack of movies she had in her hands and started yanking at the headphones around her neck. 

“Don’t just stand there, talk to her!” Max snapped. “Try to snap her out of it!”

“Is this a seizure?” Robin was starting to hyperventilate. “I don’t think you can talk someone out of a seizure!”

And then, Chrissy started to float. 

Chapter Text

Chrissy’s feet left the ground, her body slowly starting to hover, her arms splayed out at her sides. 

Eddie threw himself backwards, landing in a heap on the ground. “What the fuck!?” he shrieked. 

Robin and Dustin both dashed forward at the same time, grabbing hold of Chrissy. Dustin took one of her arms while Robin fully wrapped her arms around Chrissy’s middle, the pair both trying to drag her back to the ground. 

“I don’t think people start levitating when they have a seizure!” Dustin shouted. 

“Is she like Eleven?” 

“I think El would have told us if one of her sisters was going to Hawkins High!”

“Maybe she didn’t know!”

“Doesn’t matter! El doesn’t look like this when she uses her powers!”

“Is it the Flayer then?!”

Max had finally got her headphones untangled from around her neck and shoved them over Chrissy’s ears. She pressed play on the Walkman, clipped it to Chrissy’s pocket, and then grabbed hold of her too. 

“Chrissy! If you can hear me, you’ve got to think about happy stuff!” Max shouted. The lights were starting to flicker, making Eddie shrink in on himself even more. “It’ll help you get your mind back! It worked for my brother, when the Flayer had him! Remember good things!”

Robin nodded. “Good idea, Max. Chrissy! Hey! Remember the middle school talent show? You did an awesome cheer routine and everyone clapped! The high school cheer coach saw and found you backstage to ask you if you were going to try out when you got to high school! The whole school was talking about how cool it was that the high school was already wanting you on the team!”

“You’re really cool, Chrissy!” Dustin chimed in. “And nice! Most popular girls are mean, but you aren’t! You say hi to Mike and I when we are hanging out with Lucas in the halls, and you tell Jason not to shoulder check us when he walks past!”

Chrissy floated up another inch, pulling on their arms as they gripped tight to her. Max turned her head to look at Eddie over the counter, who was still on the floor, looking at them all in terror.

“Get over here and help us hold her down, asshole!” Max shouted.

Eddie felt like every muscle in his body was frozen. His blood ran ice cold, his heart beating out of his chest. His mouth had gone dry and his throat constricted, not a sound coming out. 

She floated up another inch, her mouth opening and a small trickle of blood started to run from the inner corner of one eye, as though she were crying blood. Dustin let out a shriek, squeezing his eyes shut and ducking his head, but tightening his hold on Chrissy’s arm.

It struck Eddie: Dustin, one of the kids he had sworn to Steve he would protect, was scared. He was terrified for this girl. But he was putting his fear aside to help; Dustin wasn’t about to give up on her. 

And that’s when Eddie moved. He vaulted the countertop, boosting himself up and over high enough that he could get his hands on top of Chrissy’s shoulders. Using his body weight, he pulled her down enough that her sneakers were brushing the ground again, but not quite touching. 

“I was in that talent show too, remember, Chrissy?” Eddie said, his mouth moving before he could think. “You might not remember. My hair was buzzed, and I didn’t have any of my tattoos yet. But I played with my band, can’t even remember the song now. The teacher’s got mad because we were too loud and because the song had curse words. But I stepped backstage afterwards and you were standing there, about to go do your routine, and you looked so nervous. Your face was practically turning green, like you were going to throw up. So put my hands on your shoulders, just like right now, and told you not to sweat it. Told you that you were going to kick ass and to go out there and show everyone what you could do. And you looked at me for a second, and I was sure you were going to tell me to fuck off, and then you gave me this big ass smile. You thanked me, and then told me you thought my guitar was cool, and then you went out there and owned that stage. Can you remember that, Chrissy?”

She gasped, her big brown eyes showing again, no longer white and sightless. Chrissy collapsed back to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut, only staying upright because of the four people clinging to her. She winced, one of her eyes, the one that had been bleeding, was bloodshot and looked painful, like it had been hurt. Taking in another shaky breath, she let her head lull forward, as though she were too tired to hold it up.

“I remember,” she whispered, her voice horse. “You helped me to not be scared.”

And then Chrissy fell sideways into Robin, losing the last of her strength. With Robin’s arms already wrapped around Chrissy’s middle, she was able to keep the other girl from hitting the floor. Eddie quickly helped Robin to lower her to the ground, Dustin and Max letting go to take a few steps backwards, watching. Robin pulled her vest off and balled it up, tucking it under Chrissy’s head, who gave Robin a weak smile and a quiet thank you. 

Eddie pulled the store keys off his belt and threw them at Dustin. 

“Go lock the door, flip the sign to closed, and draw the shades,” Eddie said, leaving no room for arguments.

Max was staring down at Chrissy, her blue eyes holding more emotions than Eddie had ever seen her express. 

“Does… Does this mean he’s back? The Mind Flayer?” she asked in a whisper.

Robin looked up at her. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out, okay?”

“Hold up, Mind Flayer? Back?” Eddie said, his voice rising in pitch as his panic began to return. “This has happened before? What the fuck?”

“Well, not exactly this. Last time, Max’s step brother got possessed by the Mind Flayer, a lot of people died, and the mall burned down,” Dustin said as he came back from doing what Eddie said. “People didn’t float like this last time. Or the time before that, when the Mind Flayer possessed Will and the demodogs tried to eat us. Mike did float the first time though, but not like this. He jumped off a cliff to try to save me from a bully but El caught him so he didn’t die and floated him to safety. It looked a lot different from this.”

“Are you talking about that game you guys play?” Chrissy asked, her thin brows furrowing and her lips jutting into a pout. “I think I’m too tired to understand the rules.”

Robin gently petted at Chrissy’s bangs. “Just close your eyes for a bit, okay? Listen to the music and rest. We’ll explain soon, I promise.”

Eddie had climbed to his feet and was starting to pace, wringing his hands. “Could we explain now, actually? Because I’m freaking the fuck out.”

“We should get everyone together first, it’ll be easier that way, I promise,” Dustin said, digging in his backpack and pulling out a walkie talkie. Pressing the button, he started to speak. “We’ve got a Code Red. I repeat, a Code Red. Situation is temporarily handled but we need to meet up. Meet at Steve’s ASAP. Does everyone copy? Over.”

Barely three seconds later, the walkie talkie was crackling to life. 

“ This is Lucas. I copy. Is it safe to take bikes? Over ”

“ This is Nancy. I copy. Mike left his walkie talkie with me just in case. Lucas, I will pick you and your sister up. Over. ”

“ This is Steve. Is anyone hurt? Do you need me to come get you? Over. ”

Dustin pressed the button again. “One injury. I don’t think it's bad, but you and Nancy may want to take a look at Chrissy’s eye just to be sure. Eddie will drive us. Over.”

Silence. Silence long enough that Eddie started to twitch, wanting to bombard his friends with questions but not wanting to possibly talk over any incoming message.

Another crackle from the speaker. 

“ Eddie and Chrissy Cunningham saw? Are they okay? Over, ” Steve asked. 

“For the most part. They’re wanting answers. Besides that, I think they are okay. Might want to dig up some of the good stuff from your parents’ liquor cabinet, though. Eddie might need it. He looks especially shaken up. We’ll see you guys soon, over and out.”

Dustin shoved the walkie talkie back in his bag before making his way over to Eddie, who was back to pacing. Dustin gently put a hand on Eddie’s elbow, getting him to stop. 

“Alright, buddy, we’ve got to go. Are you going to be okay to drive?”

“She floated,” Eddie said, sounding shell shocked. “Like actually floated. Not a trick.”

“Where are his car keys?” Max asked, looking at Robin. 

“Probably in his pocket. Hey, Eddie, let me see your keys for a second.”

Eddie pulled them out and tossed them over, not even looking. Robin caught them and handed them off to Max.

“Are you going to drive?” Robin asked.

Max nodded. “Don’t think it's safe for him to be driving. Chrissy isn’t in any shape to and I’m pretty sure you can’t drive.”

“You would be correct. Can you help me get her to the van? Dustin is going to have his hands full herding Eddie.”

Max pocketed the keys and crouched on one side of Chrissy. Robin took the other and the two girls helped her sit up. Chrissy cracked her eyes open, groaning in pain as she looked at the two of them. 

“Hey, Chrissy, we need to get you to the car. Think you can help us get you to your feet?” Robin gently coaxed. 

Chrissy nodded. Her legs didn’t seem to be fully cooperating, moving more like a newborn deer’s, but with the three girls working together, they were able to all get to their feet. Max and Robin each draped one of Chrissy’s arms over their shoulders, holding her up between them. Dustin ushered Eddie towards the door, unlocking it and letting them out before locking it behind them. He got Eddie to sit in the passenger seat, while he climbed in the back with Robin to help take care of Chrissy. Max got in the driver's seat. While it was a stretch, she was able to reach the pedals if she sat at the edge of the seat. 

Eddie stared out the windshield the entire drive, mumbling to himself about floating girls and middle school talent shows. Chrissy had dozed for a short while, only to wake back up with a soft cry. When Robin asked if she was in pain, Chrissy had shaken her head and whispered something about a nightmare. 

Dustin restarted the Kate Bush tape, silently hoping Chrissy liked the music.

---

Nancy and the Sinclair's arrived first. As soon as Steve saw the car pull into his driveway, he had the front door open and he was running to them. 

“Are you guys okay?’ he asked, inspecting each one of them. 

Lucas and Nancy nodded while Erica rolled her eyes.

“We weren’t with them, obviously,” she said before marching inside. Lucas followed her, trying to scold her about her manners. 

Nancy and Steve stepped back inside and Steve retook his post at the front window, watching and waiting. Nancy joined him, the pair silently staring out into the night. 

“Must have happened at the store,” Steve said after a moment. “That’s why Eddie was there. He wasn’t supposed to work tonight. He took over my shift because I was too tired. Fuck, its my fault he’s tangled up in this now.”

Nancy reached out, brushing her fingers across his arm in a show of comfort. “You couldn’t have known.”

“But if I wasn’t -”

“If you weren’t falling apart at the seams, then you would have been there instead of Eddie. You could have protected everyone. But you weren’t, so you just have to deal with the consequences while I work to clean up your mess. Bullshit, like always.”

Steve turned to look at Nancy, trying to ignore the familiar twist of guilt in his stomach, this time paired with confusion and hurt. He’d expected to find anger, or disappointment, or even disgust on Nancy’s face. 

Instead, he just found worry. Something soft and gentle, not at all matching what she’d just said to him.

“What?” she asked, starting to frown. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Before he could respond, a pair of headlights swept across the house as a van pulled into the driveway. The blaring of metal music that typically accompanied the van’s arrival was nowhere to be heard. 

Steve and Nancy shot out the door to meet them. Max was already climbing out of the driver’s seat, something Steve forced himself to ignore for his own sanity. One of the back doors of the van flew open and Dustin jumped out. 

“Steve!” he hissed, thankfully not yelling. “Come help us!”

Steve rushed past Nancy, leaving her to help Max get Eddie inside, who seemed nearly catatonic with shock, but unharmed.

When Steve got around to the back of the van, he found Chrissy Cunningham lying inside, her head in Robin’s lap. Her eyes were closed and there was a smear of blood down her face, but he didn’t see any other injuries on her. She had on Max’s headphones and Walkman, a tape playing.

“She’s exhausted,” Robin explained, running her fingers through Chrissy’s bangs. Chrissy leaned into the touch, humming quietly. “Can you carry her inside?”

Steve leaned away from the door to look up and down the street. He didn’t see anyone, or any approaching cars. The neighbors’ windows were dark, most of them either asleep or out of town for spring break. 

The coast was clear. No one would see and question why Steve Harrington was carrying an injured cheerleader into his house.

As quickly and as gently as he could, Steve scooped Chrissy into his arms in a bridal carry, letting her lean her upper body against his torso, her head cradled on his shoulder. Dustin hurried ahead to make sure there was a safe place for Steve to lay Chrissy down while Robin closed up the van. 

Nancy and Max had gotten Eddie settled in one of the armchairs, a glass of water in his hand. A pillow had been placed at one end of the couch and a blanket unfolded and left out, ready for Chrissy. Steve laid her down, helping her to put her head comfortably on the pillow. Robin grabbed the blanket and draped it over her before kneeling beside the couch. She pulled one of the headphones away from Chrissy’s ear, making Chrissy open her eyes to see what was going on. 

“What kind of music do you like, huh?” Robin asked gently. “Do you like this album, or do you like something else? We can see if Steve has it and he can play it on the stereo for you.”

Chrissy swallowed, her throat clicking. “Cyndi Lauper,” she said, her voice rough. “My favorite song is Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

“I have that in my car,” Nancy said, already walking towards the door. “Can someone get her some water? Steve, can you check her eye?”

Dustin ran off to get the water, coming back with multiple glasses nestled in his arms. He passed them out to everyone, saving one for himself and one for Nancy. Robin guzzled her’s down quickly before helping Chrissy to lean up and take small, slow sips of her own. Steve went to the bathroom and grabbed his first aid kit. He set it up on the coffee table and used a wet wipe to clean away the blood on Chrissy’s face. He used the penlight from his kit to check her pupils, making sure they were both reacting. When he confirmed the were, he inspected the skin around her eye to make sure there were no cuts. Chrissy whined quietly as he prodded at the skin. 

“Nothing looks hurt. I’m not sure what caused the bleeding. Can you see okay?”

“It's a little blurry out of that eye.”

“We’ll need to take you to a doctor,” Robin said. “If what we think is happening is happening, it may be a couple days though before it's safe to.”

Chrissy closed her eyes with a groan and settled her head back down on the pillow. 

When Nancy got back, she turned on the Cyndi Lauper album and skipped straight to the song. She then paused it, dug around in a bin beside the stereo, and pulled out a blank tape loop cassette. Fiddling with the stereo for a moment, she got it set up so Girls Just Want To Have Fun would be copied to the blank cassette. 

Steve nodded when he saw what she was doing. “Good idea.”

“I don’t… I don’t understand,” Eddie said, speaking for the first time since he got to Steve’s house. 

Steve kneeled down in front of Eddie, putting a hand on one of Eddie’s knees, trying to ground him. 

“Hey, keep drinking that water, there you go. What Nancy’s doing is making it so we can play the one song on a loop. Will’s favorite song helped him a lot, when he was hiding from the Mind Flayer and from the demogorgons, when he was in the Upside Down, and when he was possessed. So we’re going to keep playing Chrissy’s favorite song for her.”

“Mind Flayer? Like D&D?”

“Sort of. The kids named these creatures after stuff from the game. It… Honestly it helps when we have a name for these things. Just calling them monsters makes them scarier. Nancy is probably better at explaining everything, so I’ll let her do it,” Steve said. He went to stand, only to stop when Eddie reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. Steve settled back down, fully sitting on the floor. He got Eddie to loosen his grip just long enough so he could turn his hand and properly hold Eddie’s. 

“I’m not going anywhere, I promise. Trust me, I’ve been in your position before, this shit is terrifying. But you aren’t alone.”

They waited until the song had played through once and Nancy had set up the single song so it could be easily played over and over. Robin then took the Walkman off of Chrissy and handed it back to Max. Nancy picked up her water, downed half the glass, and then sat down to explain. 

Eddie stared at her with blank eyes, his face giving away no emotion as he took in what she said. Chrissy frowned a lot, still exhausted and drained from her attack, but listening all the same. She interrupted a few times to ask questions, specifically about the deaths of people she had known, like Barb, Billy, and Heather. When Nancy reached the end of the morbid tale, Eddie fell back in his seat, slumping down. 

“This is insane. I’m going insane.”

“You’re not going insane,” Dustin assured. “If you were, then the rest of us are already batshit and should be locked up.”

Chrissy struggled to turn her head to look at Max. “How old were you when you got pulled into this? You had to be so young.”

“I was 13. Dustin and the others were 12.”

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie hissed, running a hand over his face. “I need alcohol. Or weed. Or something stronger. Or all three.”

“I can get you alcohol. Can’t help with the others. Never had the good stuff and Robin made me stop smoking.”

“It's bad for you,” Robin said, shooting Steve a glare. “And none of us should drink. We don’t want to be drunk when dealing with the Mind Flayer. We already tried fighting him while high and we saw how well that went.”

“So that story about how Steve got beat up in the panic at the mall fire?” Eddie said, looking between each of his friends in turn. “It's not true? He actually was hurt and got his last concussion from being actually fucking tortured by Soviets?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t a lie that Jonathan and Billy gave me concussions though. They just unfortunately also happened at the same time as Upside Down shit.”

“We’re getting off topic,” Nancy interrupted. “We don’t even know for sure we are dealing with the Mind Flayer. Robin, Dustin, Max: can you two tell me what you saw? What happened at the store?”

“Chrissy zoned out,” Dustin said, glancing over at the girl. “Wouldn’t react to anything Eddie said. Then her eyes rolled back and we thought she might have been having a seizure. But then she started to float. Robin and I grabbed her, trying to keep her from floating away. Max thought it could be the Mind Flayer and put her headphones on Chrissy and tried to remind her of happy things. It helped Billy to break out of the Mind Flayer’s hold, when El brought his memories forward, so we all thought it might help her. It wasn’t working and she started to float higher and her eye started to bleed. That’s when Eddie grabbed her and pulled her back down nearly to the ground and reminded her of the middle school talent show and how they talked at it. She snapped out of it then and stopped floating.”

Nancy turned her full attention to Chrissy. 

“Chrissy, I know you’re tired and hurting and as soon as we know what happened, we can get you laying down in a guest room to rest, but can you tell me what happened from your point of view, please?”

“Yeah, yeah I can,” Chrissy said with a nod. “I was talking to Eddie. I was… well I was asking him for drugs. I’ve never done them before but I really really needed to sleep and I thought drugs could help! But he didn’t have any, since he doesn’t sell anymore, and I got upset and almost started to cry. He asked what was wrong and, I don’t know why I did it, but I told him about all the weird and crazy stuff that’s been happening to me. The headaches and how they kept getting worse and worse. Then nightmares, and nosebleeds. And how I started to hallucinate. I’d see horrible things and they’d whisper my secrets to me. Those were the scariest. But other times, it would just be a clock. A really old, tall one, and a spider on it. It’d chime at me and then disappear. I saw it, while I was talking to Eddie. And then everything went dark. The lights cut out, sort of flickering, and everyone was gone. I tried to find them, but I couldn’t. 

“Then there… there was a man. He was all twisted and messed up looking, and wore no clothes. He didn’t have a nose and his skin was creepy looking. Like he looked like the diagrams in anatomy class that show a human without skin. He was like that, but not wet and bloody. Just… smooth and gross. And he had a big hand and he was grabbing me. Everything started to hurt and I got a blinding headache. It was like pressure, but from inside my head. Then, when the pain started to get really bad, I heard music. And voices. They were so far away. Until I heard Eddie’s voice. He started talking about the time he helped me at the talent show. It meant a lot to me then. A stranger, helping me, making me feel special. It made me feel brave then. So I fought back. I got the man off of me. There was a rip in the air, just behind him, and I could see the Family Video again. I could see myself and everyone holding on to me. So I ran. I ran as fast as I could and when I jumped through the rip, I was back in my body.”

Dustin was frowning. “You didn’t see a massive multi-legged thing? Or a shadow monster?”

Chrissy shook her head slowly. “No. Just a wasteland. Looked like the pictures they showed us in history when they talked about the nuclear bombs and what it did to the cities in Japan.”

“Might not be the Mind Flayer,” Nancy said, biting at her bottom lip. “That makes this harder. We’re dealing with something unknown. We could try -”

“Back up a second,” Max interrupted. “Chrissy, what did you say was happening to you? Before today?”

“Oh, well, for a few weeks, or maybe about a month, I’m not sure which, I started having headaches, and nightmares. Really, really bad ones. Then I got nosebleeds, which I haven’t had before. After the nosebleeds started, I started to see things. Like, I would hear someone say something really mean, or talk about one of my secrets, but when I responded, they’d look at me like I was weird. After a few times, I realized they weren’t actually saying those things. My mind was playing tricks on me. I started seeing the creepy clock, and then I started seeing horrible things, like the stuff from my nightmares. I stopped being able to sleep, it was so bad.”

Steve’s stomach dropped. His heart stuttered and his grip on Eddie’s hand tightened. He thought he was going to throw up. 

Max stood up and ran to the kitchen, where she threw up into the trash can. Dustin ran after her, holding her hair back. When she’d finished, he got her another glass of water and brought her back to the living room. 

“You okay?” Robin asked, reaching out to rub up and down Max’s back soothingly. 

Max shook her head. 

“I… I’ve been having the same thing. Whatever is coming for Chrissy is coming for me too, I think.”

Lucas let out a choked noise. “What?! Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I thought it would go away on its own! That it was just stress and guilt! And I didn’t want to bother you guys! Everyone else had moved on and was fine and I wasn’t. I didn’t want to bring everyone else down with me.”

“We’re not all moved on,” Steve said, drawing everyone’s eyes to him. He saw the moment that Nancy and Robin realized something was wrong. He wondered for a moment if it was something in his eyes or if he had gone as pale as Max had. 

“Steve,” Robin started, looking at him nervously. “Are you okay?”

“I can tell you in a second. It depends on what the answer is to this question. Nancy, earlier, when we were talking by the window. What did you say just before I turned and looked at you?”

“I said something like, ‘Don’t argue, there is absolutely no way you could have known and you shouldn’t feel bad. Eddie won’t be mad at you for being sick and needing to switch shifts. We’ll all work together and fix this, like we always do.’ What did you think I said?”

Steve let his head hang. “Right. Great. Whatever is going after Max and Chrissy is going after me too. I’ve had the nosebleeds, waking nightmares, headaches, all of that.”

Eddie let out a wounded sound, tightening his hold on Steve so much that Steve was sure he could feel his bones grinding in his hands. Robin was across the floor in seconds, nearly climbing into Steve’s lap with the way she was clinging to him so tightly. 

“For how long?” Nancy asked. “Maybe we can figure out a timeline.”

Steve shrugged. “A lot of the symptoms are normal stuff for me. I’m always having nightmares, and headaches sort of come with the whole ‘having multiple concussions close together’ thing. The nosebleeds were new. And the visions were new too, but I thought it was normal. When I almost hurt Eddie, it felt like I was hearing things, and Robin told me it was normal, after everything we’ve gone through. That it was like the soldiers coming back from war. So when it went from hearing things to seeing things, I thought it was just more of that.”

“Can you guess, maybe? Just an idea of when the nightmares got worse?”

Steve thought for a minute. Then a realization struck him. 

“Before Valentine's day. It started before that. Maybe in January. Because then, on Valentine's day, we all exchanged gifts, and Eddie gave me a mixtape. I started replaying one song on it a lot, because it reminded me of a good memory. It helped me fall asleep and it helped me when I woke up from nightmares. Do you think that maybe -”

“Maybe you were self-treating without realizing it and held off the worst of the symptoms,” Nancy said, nodding along. “Chrissy said her’s started maybe a month ago, so that would be the end of February. Max, what about you?”

“I always have nightmares, but the headaches and nosebleeds started this month, a couple weeks ago.”

“So that means whatever is after you guys was targeting Steve first,” Dustin said. “But why you three? What do you have in common? Steve and Max sort of make sense, since they both have been involved with the Upside Down before. It could be a revenge plot. But why Chrissy?”

“Things they have in common,” Nancy started. “Let’s think. They all have gone or are going to Hawkins High. Chrissy mentioned that she had secrets. We know Max and Steve were keeping the Upside Down a secret so maybe that is a connection.”

Chrissy turned her head on the pillow and screwed her eyes shut. “At least you were able to talk with each other about it. I only had the counselor for mine.”

Max straightened. “The counselor at school?”

“Yeah.”

“I was seeing her too. To talk about my nightmares and about Billy.”

“Steve, have you been going to therapy or anything?” Dustin asked. “I mean, you couldn’t go to the high school counselor, obviously, but it could be a connection if -”

“I don’t go to therapy.”

Robin sat back so she could look at him, her cheeks tear stained. 

“Steve, we are going to need you to be 100% honest right now. And it's going to be hard and I’m so sorry. But, are you depressed? Should… should you have been seeing someone for all this?”

“What? No, no I’m fine. I’m fine! Really.”

“You’ve been so quiet lately,” Robin continued. “Even before February, you were always tired. Maybe -”

Steve stood up, shaking both Eddie and Robin’s hands off.

“I’m not depressed!” he snapped. “I’m fine! I just… fuck it, I need a minute.”

With that, Steve stormed to the back door, closing it hard behind him as he let himself into the backyard. Breathing fast and heavy, he started to pace by the pool, running his hands through his hair. 

Depressed? No. There was no way. Anxious? Maybe. Who didn’t get anxious? But he wasn’t depressed. 

Steve’s father’s words ran through his head, another instance of them watching the news, this time on a story about mental health. ‘Weak. They’re all weak. Just suck it up and move on.’

Weak. That’s how the world saw it. How his father would view him if he were depressed and asked to see a therapist. His father already saw him as a lazy, stupid, failure of a man. Adding weak to the mix would make everything so much worse. 

Not as bad as if he knew what you thought about, late at night when you are alone. When you forget yourself for a minute and start picturing someone besides beautiful women .

Steve shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts, half wondering if they were his own or if they were whatever bullshit monster that was fucking with Hawkins now.

He heard the door open behind him. Steve felt his shoulders tense, waiting to hear Nancy, scolding him for running off, or Robin, fussing over him and his broken brain. 

“Damn, that’s a big pool.”

Steve blinked into the darkness for a moment before turning around, finding Eddie standing there, fishing a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. 

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

“And this is where… you know…”

“Barb died. Yeah. It's why I don’t let the kids swim here. Creeps me out too much.”

Eddie nodded, lighting his cigarette. They stood in silence for a few moments. Eddie kept his eyes fixed on the woods beyond the yard, allowing Steve to collect himself and reorganize his thoughts. 

“Dustin has an idea about what’s attacking us. Or, at least a theory,” Eddie said.

“So they sent you to come get me so he could explain?”

Eddie shook his head. “I said I would come out and explain it. Didn’t think you would need Dustin’s hysterics right now.”

Steve flinched. “Hysterics?”

“He’s worried about you. And about Max. But especially you. He looks up to you. Before we got to know each other, and became friends, I was… I was jealous of you.”

“Of me?” Steve asked with a snort. “Really?”

“Well, now that I know how much shit you’ve gone through, I am decidedly not jealous anymore,” Eddie said, cracking the slightest smile, the first since he’d arrived at Steve’s. “But you had all these kids following you around, looking up to you. They have such bad hero worship for you. And at first, I'll admit that I didn’t get it. But I got to know you. Saw that you were a good guy. You love those kids, and you have protected them from literal hellspawn. At this point, I may have some hero worship going for you too, and I haven’t even seen you in action yet.”

“You know, I think a part of me was jealous of you at first too.”

Eddie snorted. “Didn’t seem that way at the quarry.”

“I’d gotten over the jealousy and moved on to worry. By the time I had finally found you, I was basically terrified. Looking back, it was honestly so stupid of me to try and corner you at night way out in the woods.”

“What, cuz I’m mean and scary?”

“I wasn’t sure if you were or not. But really, it was stupid because its the woods at night in Hawkins.”

Eddie blanched, his grip tightening and nearly crushing his cigarette as he looked back into the trees, his eyes wide. “Oh. Yeah, I see your point. You knew what was out there.”

“I’m sorry, by the way. About scaring you like that at the quarry. I know that was a real dick move on my part.”

“You already apologized and I already forgave you. And after hearing what you guys have been through, I get why you’re overprotective of the kids. How do you ever let them out of your sight?”

“I don’t know. Any time I’m not with you guys, I’m just thinking and worrying.”

“‘You guys?’ You’re including me in that?”

“Well, yeah. You’re my friend.”

Eddie gave a small smile, his cheeks tinging red as he ducked his head, his hair falling to shield his face. He took one last drag from his cigarette before he dropped it, snuffing it beneath his sneaker. 

“I should tell you what Dustin came up with so we can head back in.”

“Probably. Before they come out looking for us.”

“Basically, he thinks you guys have been cursed by an evil wizard.. The analogy he gave was that the demogorgons are the soldiers for the Mind Flayer, and Vecna, the wizard, is a general. We aren’t sure why he is cursing you guys and trying to kill you, though. We don’t know what that would do for him.”

“Going after Max and I could make sense if it was a revenge thing. Or if he was trying to take out members of The Party. But then there’s Chrissy. She hasn’t been involved in this stuff before.”

“Exactly. So we think it's something else. Honestly… the only thing connecting you three seems to be your… mental states.”

Steve grimaced. “I’m fine.”

“You say that, but I’m not sure it's true. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you avoided answering Nancy’s question about what you thought she said. What did Vecna have you hear?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Was it that you’re worthless? That you can’t save us? That all you do is get in the way?”

Steve froze. “Are you real or fake right now?”

“I’m real, Stevie. Obviously. So what was it? That this is all your fault? Or did Nancy remind you what a horrible boyfriend you were? How you are just a step away from being your father? Or did she finally say something about the way you look at me? What is it, Steve?”

Steve had his eyes closed, his hands over his ears as he backed away. “Not real. This isn’t real. He doesn’t know. They don’t know. No one does. I’m safe. It's okay. Happy memories, that's what they said. Fuck, fuck, think!”

“Steve!” Eddie shouted, his tone different, panicked.

Before Steve could open his eyes to search for the danger, to find what had made Eddie so scared, Steve felt his foot meet open air and his entire world tilted. He fell backwards, his balance lost as he tumbled backwards into the pool, having backed up too far. The cold water sent a shock through his system, and only years of being on the swim team kept him from instinctually gasping and inhaling water. He pinwheeled his arms in the water, trying to right himself. His eyes flew open, burning from the chlorine and struggling in the low light to see. 

Just when he thought he had turned himself towards the surface, a pair of pale hands were grabbing at his clothes, trying to drag him towards the bottom of the pool. When he looked down, he let out a scream, a rush of bubbles flying from his mouth as he came face to face with Barb Holland. 

Her clothes were tattered and stained, slashes in the cloth revealing her marred skin beneath. Her eyes were cloudy and unseeing, her skin sallow and on the verge of decomposition. She was bloated, from being in the water, and her nails and teeth yellowed. He tried to push her off, but she clawed tighter at him, pulling him down enough so they were face to face, her jaw open in a perpetual scream. 

Then Steve heard her voice, clear as day, even though her mouth didn’t move. 

“ You killed me, Steve Harrington. You killed me. It should have been you. I had a future. I had parents who loved me. I made Nancy happy. I had friends. What do you have? What do you do? You won’t amount to anything! I could have been something! But you killed me! You killed me! ”

Something wrapped around Steve’s chest, just beneath his arms, and started to pull. Barb clung even tighter, screaming the same words over and over again in Steve’s mind. 

“ You killed me! You killed me! You killed me! ”

Steve kicked and twisted his body, trying to break free from whatever held him. It tightened around him, enough to bruise his ribs. Steve tried to shout again, but he had no air left to do so. Black spots formed in the corners of his vision and his mind started to swim.

There was something poetic about Steve dying in his pool. There was a justice in it. Maybe, if he died here, it would bring Barb back. The world was weird enough, he’d learned that. Maybe he could actually trade places with her. Even if he couldn’t, even if he just died here, then maybe she wouldn’t be alone. He could stay with her, so she wasn’t lonely. Steve felt himself start to go slack, letting whatever had hold of him do what it came to do. 

Just as Steve accepted his death, almost ready to welcome it, his head broke the surface of the water and he was gasping for air. He was being held still, and it was only then that it clicked he was behind held against someone. That someone was pulling him from the pool. Distantly, he could hear people yelling. The chest he was pressed against rumbled as the person spoke. Two sets of hands grabbed his arms and lifted, pulling him onto the concrete around the pool, leaving his lower legs dangling in the water. 

“Steve! Steve, can you hear me!” Robin was screaming in his face, slapping at his cheek.

“Does anyone know CPR!” Dustin shouted. 

Steve managed to blink his eyes open, letting out a low groan. 

“Oh, thank god!” came another voice. Took a second for Steve to recognize it as Chrissy’s. “I thought he drowned!”

“Max, Erica, go find towels. Dustin, Lucas, you go get changes of clothes for both of them.” Nancy said. Her tone left no room for arguments. 

There was the sound of sloshing, splashing water as Steve’s rescuer got out of the pool, leveraging themself up onto the concrete beside Steve. Twisting his head, Steve found himself looking at Eddie. 

Eddie was drenched, his clothes clinging to his narrow form, his hair weighed down and dripping, rivets of water running down his skin as he stared at Steve with wide, searching eyes. His lips were parted as he panted, his chest heaving. 

“Are you okay?” Eddie asked, his voice rough.

Steve nodded. “I think so.”

“What happened?” Nancy asked, looking between Steve and the pool nervously, clearly thinking about Barb and how she’d ended up in the pool.

“I… uh… started hearing things again. Fell in the pool.”

“You were thrashing around though,” Robin said. “Like you didn’t realize Eddie was there helping you. And why did you need help? You were captain of the swim team. You’re an amazing swimmer! But you were completely freaking out and fighting Eddie and am I talking too fast?”

“You saw something.”

Steve looked up at Chrissy, who was biting at her bottom lip nervously. 

“You saw something in the water, didn’t you?” she continued. “You didn’t see Eddie.”

Steve swallowed thickly. “Yeah. I did.”

“What did you see?” Robin asked.

Steve felt his eyes flick to Nancy without his permission. They held eye contact for a moment before Nancy’s own eyes widened in realization. She put a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the half choked sob that slipped out. 

“You saw Barb,” Eddie said, coming to the same realization. “And when you were hearing things, it was me saying them to you.”

“What did I look like, when it happened?” Steve asked. “Is there a way for you guys to tell if I’m hallucinating or hearing stuff?”

“You sort of spaced out for a split second, but then you started talking. You still weren’t focused, but you asked me if I was real or fake. I tried to tell you that I was real, but now that I think about it, a hallucination would have said the same thing. Then you freaked out, put your hands over your ears, and started talking to yourself. Couldn’t really understand what you were saying though, you were pretty quiet. You backed away and fell in the pool. I tried to yell your name to get you to snap out of it but it was too late. When you didn’t immediately come back up out of the water, I jumped in after you.”

Steve felt his heart skip a beat. Wetting his lips, he gave Eddie a little nod. “Thank you. For coming in after me.”

Before Eddie could respond, a towel was dropped on Steve’s chest, a second one thrown to Eddie. Max was hovering over Steve, her expression mostly neutral but worry evident in her eyes. Dustin and Lucas came running back out a moment later with  a set of clothes in each of their hands. Erica was biting at her nail, staring at the pool as though it would hold some answers.

“You two should dry off and change clothes. Or shower and change,” Nancy said. “I think everyone should stay here tonight. We should stick together. We’ll need to call everyone’s parents, so no one gets in trouble. In the morning, we’ll call the Byers.”

“Shouldn’t we call them tonight?” Robin asked, helping Steve to sit up. 

“They’ll probably be asleep by now, its pretty late, even in California. The only reason I think any of our parents will be awake is because we aren’t home and they’ll be worrying.”

“My mom won’t notice,” Max said, looking away. “We can skip calling her.”

“And my uncle won’t be home until pretty early in the morning. He’s used to finding me gone though, so I can call him tomorrow and let him know I’ve been with friends. I can drive Max and I back to the trailer park in the morning to get some clothes,” Eddie said.

Nancy nodded before turning to Chrissy. “I know you don’t really know us that well, but I really think you should stay with us until we can get rid of this curse. Will your parents be okay with it? You can say you’re staying with me or Robin, if that makes it easier. We can pretend we’re doing a break-long study session to get ready for finals.”

“That could work. My grades… well, they started to slip when this stuff started. They’ll believe me if I say I’m staying with a friend to study.”

“My mom won’t care as long as I say I’m at Steve’s,” Dustin chimed in. “Lucas, will your parents care?”

“I’ll tell them that Steve is working with me on basketball stuff all break and that you and Erica are planning a D&D campaign together. I’ll make it sound like a summer camp type thing and they’ll think it's cool.”

“Robin, what about your parents?” Nancy asked.
“I’ve stayed over at Steve’s before. They won’t mind.”

Steve snorted. “Hell, they encourage you half the time.”

“That’s because they think you’re a good influence on me and are not so secretly hoping you’ll propose when I graduate high school,” Robin said, flicking at Steve’s forehead. She then looked up at Nancy. “Won’t your parents care that you're staying over here?”

“I’ll tell them I’m at a friend’s house. I’ll make it work.” 

Eddie climbed to his feet and put a hand out to help Steve, who ignored the butterflies in his stomach that erupted when he took Eddie’s hand. When they were both up, they wrapped themselves in their towels and followed everyone inside. Robin went and found the clothes she kept at Steve’s and pulled out pajamas for herself, Nancy, and Chrissy. Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Erica had their own stash of clothes at Steve’s. After they were all dressed, the kids set up the sleeping bags and blankets in the living room. Lucas worked the tape deck, making a looped tape for Max of her favorite song, Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. Once he finished, he asked Steve what song he wanted. Blushing slightly, Steve went and got the mixtape Eddie had made for him and told Lucas to make a loop of the last song.

Once the tapes were made, Lucas put in Max’s in the living room, so that it would play all night. Robin helped Chrissy to get set up in Steve’s parents room, turning on her tape for her. It was then decided that Robin and Nancy would sleep in the room with Chrissy, so that if something happened, she wasn’t alone. The king sized bed was large enough for the three girls to share, with Chrissy in the middle so there was a better chance someone would notice if she was getting attacked. Steve knew Robin would end up kicking Chrissy in the night at some point, her long legs always restless in sleep. She’d hit Steve more than once in her sleep when they shared a bed to keep nightmares away. 

That left Steve and Eddie. No one wanted Steve to be left alone, and Dustin had offered to come sleep in his room with him, but they decided that it was probably safer if Eddie stayed with Steve. If something happened, Eddie was a little larger than Dustin and could probably hold Steve down better if he started to float. 

Steve put in his looped tape and tried to avoid Eddie’s eye when Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) began to play, embarrassed and hoping Eddie didn’t realize why the song would be so special to Steve.

The two settled under the covers, Eddie pushing himself nearly to the edge of the bed, leaving space between the two of them. Steve rolled over, keeping his back to Eddie and staring into the dark, dreading whatever nightmares were going to plague him tonight. 

Slowly, Steve was lulled to sleep by the music, the sound of even and calm breathing behind him, and the warmth that came from sharing a bed.

Chapter Text

Eddie watched as Steve sunk below the surface of the water. His body was twisting and turning, trying to escape from an unseen attacker. He kicked and screamed, silent from where Eddie was standing. 

Eddie should move. He knew he should. He should jump in and help. He should pull Steve from the water. 

But he couldn’t. It felt like his feet were glued to the ground. Every muscle in his body was locked, like when Chrissy started to float. This time, though, there was no one to yell at him to help; no one who could jumpstart him. 

He was alone and Steve was drowning. 

And Eddie. Did. Nothing. 

As Steve’s body slowed in movement, slowly floating back to the surface of the water, Eddie was shaken awake. His eyes flew up, the image of Steve’s dead body clearing as he looked up into Steve’s very much alive eyes. Steve’s hair was messy, sticking up in every direction as he leaned over Eddie, gripping at his shoulders, still shaking him. 

Eddie made a choking noise, reaching up with both hands to grip at Steve’s shirt. 

“You’re alive. Oh fuck, you’re alive,” Eddie whispered, eyes roving over Steve’s face.

“Yeah, I’m alive. Are you okay? Was it a bad nightmare?”

Eddie nodded, swallowing back a sob, his eyes watering. He shut them, trying to will the tears away. “You were in the pool and I didn’t move. I just… stood there and watched you drown.”

“You didn’t, though. You jumped in after me and saved me.”

“But I almost didn’t jump though,” Eddie said, his voice thick with emotion. He felt Steve tense beside him. “I froze for a second. Just like with Chrissy. I would have just… let her die. If Max hadn’t yelled at me and if I hadn’t seen Dustin looking so scared, I would have just stood back and done nothing. I’m a fucking coward.”

Steve didn’t speak for a moment. His body was still tense, but he hadn’t let go of Eddie yet. 

“You’re not a coward. You’re just a normal guy, Eddie. And honestly, you not jumping in could have been the right thing to do, if the circumstances were right.”

Eddie’s eyes flew open. “What are you talking about? If I hadn’t jumped you would have drowned.”

“I know. But what if there was actually a monster down there? What if it wasn’t my mind or this curse or whatever playing tricks on me and seeing things. If there was actually something in the water with me, holding me down there, I wouldn’t want you to come after me. I wouldn’t want any of you to. I would want you to run while I distracted it.”

“If we run, you die, Steve, don’t you get that?”

“It's… it's better if it's me, right? I can give you guys time to run. So, if I do get attacked by a demogorgon or a demodog or whatever, you’ve got to take the kids and run, okay? Because those idiots will try to run head first into danger and I don’t want them to die. They have a future and I want them to see it. You have a future too. You’re going to graduate and get out of this god awful town. So if the choice is me dying or any of you dying, I want it to be me.” Steve forced a tight smile on his face. “Don’t feel bad you hesitated. May have been safer if you hadn’t come in after me at all.”

Eddie couldn’t hold back the sob that time. He let out a wet, choked sound as he pulled Steve down and into a hug, knocking the air out of him. Steve awkwardly patted at Eddie’s shoulder as he openly sobbed into Steve’s shirt.

“Hey, wow, it's okay man. I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“That’s not why I’m crying,” Eddie managed to bite out between hiccupping sobs. “I’m crying about you!”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because I think you’re depressed, Steve. Really depressed. And I’m so scared because you don’t see that. I’m scared that you will sacrifice yourself for us when you don’t need to. Do you know what that would do to the kids? To Robin? To me?” Eddie cut himself off, realizing how close to a confession this was sounding. He swallowed, his throat clicking, before speaking again. “You have to promise to stay alive for us. Please.”

“I… Okay. I’ll try.”

“Promise, Steve.”

“Okay. I promise.”

---

When Eddie next woke, the bed was empty except for him. The tape was no longer playing and the other side of the bed was cold. Padding out into the hall, he heard people speaking downstairs, along with music playing. It was Max’s Kate Bush song. By the time he had gotten downstairs, the song had ended and Girls Just Want To Have Fun had started. Eddie guessed someone made a tape with all three songs to loop while everyone was together.

Downstairs, he found that all the kids were up and milling between the kitchen and the dining room. Steve was at the stove, cooking some eggs and bacon, while Chrissy was at one of the counters with a waffle iron, making stakes of thick, fluffy waffles. Nancy was sitting at the dining room table with the morning paper, reading over the news. Meanwhile Robin was leaning against one of the kitchen counters, away from Steve and Chrissy, bleary eyed and tired with a mug of coffee in her hands. 

Steve looked up when he heard Eddie walk in. He gave him a smile before jerking his head towards a coffee pot tucked to the side of one of the counters. 

“Mugs are in the cabinet above. Get yourself some. First batch of food is on the table. Second will be done soon. If you want to call your uncle, the phone should be open.”

Eddie nodded, going in search of the mugs first. “Did everyone call their parents to check in this morning?”

“Lucas did, since his parents told him to last night when he called. Dustin probably won’t need to call his mom again until tonight. Chrissy, Nancy, and Robin already called too. Max is waiting until you make a run home to just check in with her mom. And Nancy tried calling the Byers but couldn’t get through. The line was busy so we’ll have to try again later.”

“Still blows my mind that Jonathan Byers has fought monsters before. Dude is so damn quiet. Never worked out a day in his life.”

Steve snorted. “He’s a hell of a lot stronger than he looks. Trust me. I had a concussion to prove it.”

Chrissy looked up from where she was making the waffles. “You didn’t end up with any scars though, so that's good!” she said happily. 

Steve pushed his bangs back, showing a silvery scar near his hairline. “It's not from Jonathan, but it's from the third time I got a concussion. Billy Hargrove. Broke a plate over my head. I have other scars, too, on my arms and legs. Those are from the monsters and the Russians. I do have a scar on my lip too, from the Russians, but you can’t really see it. I only know it's there because I can feel it.”

Eddie’s mind went blank, his body locking up, as he tried to force himself not to think about what the scar on Steve’s lip would feel like and whether it was noticeable during a kiss, and whether it could be felt when Steve’s lips kissed over his partner’s neck, and -

Eddie shook himself, breaking out of his thoughts and downing a swallow of scorching hot black coffee. 

“I have a scar on my knee from cheerleading,” Chrissy said, oblivious to Eddie’s inner turmoil. “I was a flyer for a lift but one of my spotters lost her balance and dropped me. Hit the ground and tore my knee open. It bled so badly that they had to fully replace my uniform. They just couldn’t get the stains out. It wasn’t really her fault though. I had put on a couple pounds and it threw off the weight balance. Coach was so mad, saying I was getting too heavy to be a flyer.”

Both Eddie and Steve glanced over at her, before looking at each other, both clearly thinking the same thing: Chrissy was tiny, how could anyone think she was too heavy? Robin seemed to wake up more upon hearing Chrissy’s words and was frowning. 

“That’s ridiculous,” Robin said. “You’re tiny!”

Chrissy smiled and ducked her head a little. “That’s nice of you to say.”

Before any of them could insist that Robin was telling the truth, the phone rang. 

“Can someone get that?” Steve shouted. 

Lucas yelled back that he had it and ran to the phone. When he came back, everyone stopped, looking at him with concern. He looked devastated, and absolutely terrified. Steve put his skillet to the side, on an unlit burner, and turned the stove off before rushing to Lucas.

“What happened? Who was it?”

“It was my mom. Patrick, from the basketball team. He died. Mom said he was murdered. She doesn’t know the details, but she said it was apparently really, really bad. I guess Jason was going to pick him up to hang out this morning and when he got there, no one answered the door. He broke in, worried something had happened. Patrick’s parents leave really early for work so they don’t say bye to Patrick in the morning. Jason went up to Patrick’s room and found him dead. He called the police. Mom says the cops want to talk to everyone on the basketball team and all of his friends.”

“Shit,” Steve hissed. “Alright. Get dressed. Chrissy, they’ll want to talk to you too. We can stop by your place for a change of clothes or you can wear something of Robin’s, if you want. I can drive you and Lucas to the police station to talk to him and then we should try to find Jason. See if he can tell us what he saw. I seriously doubt it was a coincidence that someone was murdered the same night that Chrissy and I were attacked.”

Nancy had entered the kitchen at that point and was nodding along. “I can keep trying to get a hold of Jonathan or Joyce. Erica, Robin, and Dustin can stay with me. Eddie, after breakfast, can you take Max home and get stuff for her and you for a few days? Max should have her walkie talkie, so if something comes up, we can let you know. Max, make sure you have your Walkman on at all times. We can get you some extra batteries to be safe. But we need to figure something out for Chrissy and Steve for their music.”

“I have a Walkman around here somewhere,” Steve said. “Chrissy can use it.”

“What about you?” Dustin asked.

“I actually have a Walkman,” Chrissy cut in. “If we stop by my car at Family Video, I can grab it. Should I move my car? If I take it home, my parents will ask questions, but I also probably shouldn’t be driving alone.”

“You shouldn’t be driving at all!” Erica snapped, scowling at all of them. “You and Steve could both go into one of your cursed trances at any second and then you’ll crash the car and kill everyone with you! Eddie, Nancy, and Robin should be the only ones driving.”

Robin raised one hand. “I can’t drive, so I’m out.”

“Okay, how about this? Eddie, you’ll drive. Me, Nancy, Lucas, Max, and Chrissy will go with you. You’ll drop Nancy off at Chrissy’s car, and she’ll drive it back here after we grab the Walkman from it. Then you’ll take us over to the police station. Lucas and Chrissy will make their statements, and I’ll go in to make sure they don’t want to ask me anything, since I used to play on the team with Patrick. While the three of us are in there, we’ll try to get details to see if it could have anything to do with the Upside Down. Afterwards, we’ll all go to pick up stuff for you and Max for a few days. Lucas, we can stop for you to get stuff for yourself and Erica, if you need it. Nancy, Robin, Dustin, if you guys want us to get stuff for you too, we can. Chrissy, if you think you can sneak in and out of your parents house without them noticing, we can pick up clothes for you too.”

Dustin and Robin both shook their heads.

“I have enough clothes here,” Dustin said.

Robin quickly agreed. “Me too.”

Erica was still pouting, but she and Lucas both agreed they had enough at Steve’s house to last them a few days. Nancy grabbed a piece of paper and a pen to list out some of the clothes she needed and also wrote down where to find the guns she had hidden in her room. 

“Just in case we need them. Can you pick up some more ammo too?” she asked, all while Eddie and Chrissy stared at her in horror. Steve simply nodded, knowing exactly what calibers she needed, since the two of them had used to go out shooting with Jonathan, before the Byers moved away. It had helped them to feel more prepared, just in case the Upside Down reared its ugly head again. Steve wasn’t ashamed to admit that Nancy was the better shot and that he was much happier with his bat, but it still made him feel better that he knew how to handle a gun, just in case.

Chrissy was biting at her bottom lip, still looking worried. “I would like to get some of my clothes, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get in and out of my house without my parents noticing.”

“You can wear some of my clothes, if you’d like,” Nancy said. “We’re about the same height.”

Robin nodded along, though was blushing slightly. “You can wear some of mine too. I know I’m taller than you but it's better than nothing.”

“I’ll pick up extra clothes at your place, Nancy. Robin, nearly half your wardrobe is here so you should have plenty for sharing. Anyone else need anything?” Steve asked, pocketing the list Nancy gave him.

“We should take the tape that’s playing right now,” Lucas said. “It's a loop of your guys’ songs. You can play it in the car until you get Chrissy’s Walkman. When we go into the police station, you can have your headphones around your neck and the song playing. It’ll be quiet, but you’ll still be able to hear it while talking to the police.”

“That's a good idea,” Nancy agreed. “Keep the three song loop playing until we have to leave, but go find the single song loops. We can get Steve’s and Max’s Walkmans set up. Oh, we might want to get some extra batteries, just to be safe.”

“I have some here. Everyone, go eat and get dressed. We need to leave soon.”

---

Eddie is nearly positive that no Cyndi Lauper or Kate Bush songs had ever been played in his van before. The Eurythmics, sure, maybe a few times, but never Lauper or Bush. But here he was, playing the songs on a loop. Part of him wanted to tell the three to turn on their Walkmans, since they had finally gotten Chrissy’s. But he wanted to save the battery life, so he continued to let the loop play. 

It was funny, though, to see the difference in the three Walkmans. 

Max’s was a little banged up, with her name written in marker on the side and a skateboard sticker stuck to the back. Classic and well loved.

Steve’s looked like it had rarely been used. He’d mentioned it was a present from his parents years ago, and that he hadn’t ever really needed to use it since he could just play music in the house whenever he wanted without his parents being there to complain. 

Chrissy’s was, admittedly, adorable. She’s used nail polish to paint the hard plastic pink, blue, and purple, along with a glittery top coat sealing it. She’d written her first name on it in yellow, with a big heart curling above the y. She’d blushed when she had shown the others, clearly worried they would make fun of it for being so girly. Nancy had just complimented her handwriting while Steve told her he should have her decorate his for him. 

When they pulled up to the police station, Steve and Chrissy put their tapes into their Walkmans, turning the volume on high and hooking the headphones around their necks. Eddie traded out the tape in his radio for Max’s, so her song would play on a loop while they waited in the car. Lucas led the way into the station, Steve and Chrissy following behind him. She kept close to Steve’s side, looking around nervously at the bustling crowd outside the station, groups of parents and children milling about as they came in and out of the station for their interviews.

Once the three were inside, Max hauled herself into the front seat to sit with Eddie, letting her eyes close and leaning her head against the window. After a beat of silence, she finally spoke. 

“Chrissy said she’s been seeing the school counselor nearly all year, same as me. If Steve is having issues, like Chrissy and I, but hasn’t been talking to anyone about it, then he’s probably worse off than us.”

“I think you’re right. He said some stuff last night, after I had a nightmare. If we can get him through this whole thing, we need to try to get him into therapy.”

“It's not like therapy really helps though,” Max said, peeling her eyes open. “You can’t tell the truth. Not when you’ve been through what we have. I can’t tell the counselor that every time I dream of Billy dying, I’m not dreaming of him in a fire. I’m dreaming of him possessed by a monster, sobbing and trying to kill me. That I see him trying to fight a massive creature with his bare hands, all to protect me and my friends, and being stabbed through the chest for it. And that he apologized, there at the end. That if he lived, maybe… maybe he could have gotten better. He could have learned, and grew, and been someone besides the racist asshole he was raised to be.”

Eddie reached over and patted her knee, at a loss for words. She gave a small, tight smile that didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes. 

“I’m not saying all this to make you feel bad,” she said. “I’m just warning you. Steve might need therapy, but getting it for him will be hard. And you’ll probably need therapy after this. All of us probably do. But it's hard to get when you can't even tell your family why you need it. And if you do get help, you can’t even tell the therapist because of all the NDA’s you have to sign and because if you tell the truth, they’ll lock you away and pump you full of drugs.”

His mouth went a little dry at the thought. Max was right, he probably was going to be messed up after all this. But maybe, when it was all over, he could convince the others to sit down and talk through things, sort of like group therapy or something. It didn’t sound like they had done anything like that before, leaving each other to handle their problems alone. And it would be hard, for all of them, to open up about their feelings. But Eddie would be willing to relive the horrors to come if it meant he never had to see the haunted look in the kids’ eyes, never had to see Robin’s panic, never see the anxiety that was perpetually etched into Chrissy’s expression, never see Nancy have to calm a pack of panicking children while pushing down her own worry. And it would especially be worth it if Eddie never had to cling to Steve, sobbing and begging him to fight to survive the nightmare they were in. 

---

The police station was a hub of activity. It hadn’t been this bad since the "mall fire," when people flocked to the police station to wait for updates on who was pulled from the wreckage, who was at the hospital, and who was being sent to the morgue. Before that, it hadn’t been this busy since Will Byers had disappeared and search parties were organized. But this time, it was different. It was different because it wasn’t a little, weird kid missing that no one particularly cared about, and it wasn’t an assumed accidental disaster. This time, it was the death of a popular, well liked high school student. 

Everyone wanted to help. There were hoards of students, waiting to say their piece, hoping to be the one to give the right information to catch his killer. Shifting eyes glared, blame being placed based solely on someone’s reaction to the news of the death. Steve even found himself getting a few glares, people clearly trying to work out why he was there, since he had graduated the year before and hadn’t seen Patrick in a while. 

Lucas led them to the front desk and did all the talking, letting Chrissy and Steve focus in on the music playing from their headphones, helping them to ignore the stress and worry bubbling up inside. When Lucas turned around to face them gestured towards a space of wall that wasn’t occupied that they could lean against to wait their turn for interviews. 

They didn’t have to wait long. Chrissy was taken back first, since she was the girlfriend of one of Patrick’s close friends. When she returned Lucas was taken back. Steve was questioned last, for the shortest amount of time. They simply asked him how he knew Patrick, how he heard about the death, and did he know anyone that could want to hurt Patrick. When he came back, Lucas leaned into his side, looking drained already. Chrissy was fidgeting, looking around the room nervously and pulling at the sleeves of her borrowed sweater. Steve popped his elbow away from his side, giving Chrissy a smile and silently encouraging her to link arms with him. She immediately latched on, drying her falling tears with her free hand. Steve put his arm around Lucas and led them from the station, out into the cool spring air. 

Just as they were getting to the van, a familiar voice stopped them. 

“Chrissy?”

The three turned and found Jason standing there, a cigarette in his shaking hand. His eyes were wide as he stared at them, flicking between Chrissy’s crying eyes and the way she held onto Steve’s arm. Then, it flicked to the car she was about to get into, and he spotted Eddie and Max. Jason’s face went from shock, to confusion, to anger within seconds. 

“What the hell is going on here?” he snapped, throwing the cigarette down and stomping on it.

“Jason, oh my god, are you okay?” Chrissy asked, stepping up to meet him as he approached. She reached out to gently touch his face, but he pulled his head back out of her reach. 

“I’ve been trying to call you all morning. Your parents told me you were staying with a friend all break? Which made no sense, since you would have told me about that. And then I find you hanging off of Harrington and getting into Munson’s van? What the hell? And whose clothes are you even wearing? Because those definitely aren’t yours.”

“I am staying with a friend. We’re studying, Jason. That’s it.”

“Who is the friend?” 

“Robin Buckley,” Steve said, cutting in. “Robin’s helping Chrissy to study. I stopped by this morning with Eddie to help too, since Robin and I have been tutoring Eddie all year. As soon as we heard about Patrick, we drove over.”

Jason glared, turning his attention on Steve. “How do the kids factor in, huh? Was Sinclair with you too? What about the red head?”

“Lucas was the one to tell us about Patrick. We offered to drive him here. Max is his friend and came to support him.”

Chrissy reached out to Jason again, putting her small hands on his arm, petting him in a soothing manner. “Are you okay, Jason? This has to be so hard for you, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah its really fucking hard, Chrissy. I go to see my friend and find him all twisted and broken like a doll, his eyes just completely gone, and have to call the cops for help. Then, after they take my statement, they act like maybe I did it somehow, all because I’m the one who found him. I try to call my girlfriend, looking for some support, but she doesn’t answer. Her parents say she’s with a friend. I call all her friends and none of them have seen her, so I’m assuming the worst. What if she was dead too? Then she shows up here, throwing herself at Harrington, riding around with The Freak, and claiming to be friends with a chick I’ve never even heard of while wearing someone else’s clothes!”

“Jason…”

He shook her hands off. “I know you, Chrissy. I know when you’re lying. And you’re fucking lying right now. Who did you actually stay with? Munson or Harrington? I’m guessing Harrington. Not like you’d stoop low enough to fuck Munson. Not like Harrington is much better at this point.”

Fresh tears were welling in Chrissy’s eyes as she took a step back, looking heartbroken. “Jason, I didn’t cheat on you.”

“Yeah, and that’s what you always say! And then I’ll find you hanging out with some guy!”

“I’ve never cheated on you! Those guys were my friends, and you made them stay away from me!”

“Stop lying!” Jason yelled, crowding into Chrissy’s space. Steve put a hand out, splaying it across Jason’s chest stopping him from getting closer. The doors of the van opened, Eddie and Max both climbing out. Max took Chrissy’s hand and started to guide her towards the van, whispering to her that it was going to be alright. Lucas followed, keeping an eye on Jason as he acted as a shield for the girls. 

Eddie came around the van and stood beside Steve, glaring at Jason. “Leave it, man. You’ve had a rough morning and you’re taking it out on Chrissy. Don’t say things you’ll regret.”

“Fuck off, Munson. This doesn’t involve you. Unless, of course, you want to tell me you did fuck my girlfriend. Then, we’re going to have a problem.” Jason brought his full attention to Steve and Eddie, glowering at the pair. “So which of you was it? Who’s ass am I kicking?”

An enraged shriek came from the van. Steve let his eyes dart away from Jason just long enough to see Chrissy break away from the kids and storm towards Jason. With both hands, she shoved at his chest, knocking him back a step. 

“Stop it! Stop threatening my friends! You did that with Mark and Austin and Derek and now they won’t even look at me anymore! They were my friends! And you took them away!” she shouted, tears running down her cheeks. 

Jason’s anger had melted into shock, his mouth agape as Chrissy yelled at him. “I’m just protecting you, babe.”

“No! You’re taking away my friends! You’re making sure I’m lonely! And I hate it! Eddie and Steve have been really nice to me and helping me out and you couldn’t even notice that I was depressed! You didn’t even care that I was losing weight!”

“I did care! I told you how good you were looking! If you needed more encouragement, I could have -”

“No! No you didn’t care! If you did, you would have seen I was barely eating and that when I did, I threw it up after! That I am sick! If you loved me, you would have noticed and cared and would have asked if I was okay! Eddie noticed straight away that I was upset and asked if I needed to talk! Steve has asked me multiple times just this morning how I’m feeling and if I need anything. Because they are good and kind and I am tired of you being mean to people who don’t deserve it! So leave them alone! Leave me alone! I’m done!”

“Chrissy, you can’t be serious!”

“I am serious! I would rather have friends that care about me than a popular boyfriend!” Chrissy shoved him back another step for good measure before stomping back to the van. She climbed in the front seat, pulled her headphones up over her ears, and crossed her arms over her chest, scowling out the front window in a way that looked odd on her sweet face.

Jason tried to take a step towards the van, only to be blocked by Steve, Eddie, and Lucas. Max stood by Chrissy’s door glaring at Jason past the boys. 

“You heard her, Carver,” Steve said, eyes and tone dark. “She said it's done. Stay away from her.”

Jason gritted his teeth, his jaw grinding. “What did you guys do to her?”

“We didn’t do anything.”

“I doubt that,” Jason said, eyes moving to Eddie. “Was it you, Freak? I know you play that satanic game. Did you do something to her? Did you do something to Patrick? I know you hate us, it wouldn’t surprise me if you did something.”

“I didn’t do shit, man. You need to chill out.”

Jason glared, but started to back away. “I’m watching you, Freak. Same with you Harrington.” Then he looked at Lucas. “You’re sticking with these guys? Or are you coming with me?”

“Why the hell would I go with you? You’re acting crazy,” Lucas snapped.

The door to the police station opened and a cop poked his head out. “Carver, we need to talk to you some more. Can you come back in here?”

With one last lingering look towards Chrissy and a sneer at the boys, Jason went back inside. For the first time since seeing Jason, Steve felt like he could breathe again. 

Chapter Text

The first stop they made was at War Zone, where Steve went inside quickly to pick up the ammo that Nancy had asked for. They then swung past the Wheeler’s home to get Nancy’s things. Max and Chrissy convinced Mrs. Wheeler that Nancy had sent them and went up to her room, where they let Steve in after he climbed up the side of the house. He found her guns while Chrissy and Max packed a bag for Nancy. Steve climbed back out the window with the guns while Max and Chrissy said their goodbyes to Mrs. Wheeler. 

Once everyone was back in the van, then they started across town for their final stop: the trailer park. When they pulled up between Max and Eddie’s trailers, they spotted Wayne sitting outside on the front steps, clearly waiting for Eddie to come by, as he promised he would. 

Without thinking, Steve climbed out of the van and followed Eddie to his trailer while Max and Lucas went to her’s. Chrissy followed Eddie and Steve, looking nervous. 

Wayne bundled Eddie into a hug straight away, gripping tightly to the young man. Once he’d had his fill with Eddie, he turned and grabbed Steve, pulling him into a hug next. Steve stumbled into his grasp, not having expected the affection. He’d spent some time with Wayne, since New Year’s, when he would come over to hang out with Eddie. But the pair had never hugged before, regardless of the way Wayne and Eddie doled out affection to one another as if it was second nature. The most that Wayne and Steve had ever touched were brief handshakes or a pat on the shoulder. When Wayne pulled back, he looked Steve over, gripping his shoulders. 

“You three look like you’ve been through the ringer.”

“You could say that again, Uncle Wayne,” Eddie said, half laughing. “It's been rough.”

“Want to tell me what happened?”

“I… I can’t,” Eddie said, looking away.

Wayne frowned, letting go of Steve to look at Eddie again. “Does it have to do with your old job?”

“No, no, I swear it doesn’t. I’m not doing that anymore.”

“Then why can’t you -”

“I got sick last night,” Steve said, cutting Wayne off and offering a half truth. Wayne was one of the few adults he trusted, the rest either dead or in California. And it seemed like Wayne trusted and liked Steve. He didn’t want to lose that by forcing Eddie to lie. “I got sick and fell into my pool. Almost drowned. Eddie pulled me out.”

“And I got hurt!” Chrissy said, her shoulders pulled up near her ears as she curled in on herself, clearly not used to lying, but joining Steve in defending Eddie. “At Eddie’s work. He drove me over to Steve’s so he and Nancy Wheeler could help me.”

One of Wayne’s brows arched curiously as he glanced over at Steve. “You and the Wheeler girl are back together?”

“No, sir. We just called her to help Chrissy. Then after Chrissy was taken care of, I got sick.”

“What kind of sick? And how did you get hurt? Do we need to take you two to a hospital?”

“I think I was just tired and got dizzy. Made me trip into the pool.”

“I tripped and hit my head. Steve has had concussions before and Nancy is really smart, so Eddie and Robin thought they could help me. We all stayed the night at Steve’s so we weren’t alone if it got worse. But then… This morning…”

“A kid from school got murdered,” Eddie said. “It was bad. Chrissy’s boyfriend found him. I guess his body was all broken and his eyes were missing.”

Wayne looked at Eddie sharply. “Eyes missing?

“Yeah. Why?”

Huffing gruffly, Wayne gestured for the three to follow him into the trailer. Inside, he pulled open the fridge and grabbed himself a beer, popping the tab and taking a deep drink. 

“Victor Creel,” he said, after a beat of silence. 

Chrissy cocked her head curiously, her ponytail swaying. “Who?”

“Victor Creel. He was before your time. But everyone in Hawkins knew of him when I was a kid. Went insane and killed his whole family. Wife and daughter were dead before the cops arrived and the boy was in a coma. Died a week later. His wife and daughter had their arms and legs broken, their jaws shattered, and their eyes were just… gone. Completely gone. Creel claimed it was a demon, said they were lifted into the air and their bones all snapped before their eyes were destroyed. He ended up taking a deal, claiming he was insane. He’s in an asylum, not too far from here. And what you just described, that the boy was broken and missing his eyes, sounds like Creel. If he’s escaped, he may be going on a spree. That, or someone is copying him.”

Steve’s stomach was twisted into knots by the time Wayne finished talking. When he glanced over at Eddie and Chrissy, he knew they had to be feeling the same. Eddie was openly staring at Chrissy, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open in horror. Chrissy, on the other hand, had gone green in the face. Her fingers were brushing over her eye, the one that had been bleeding the night before. 

What had happened to Creel’s family, what happened to Patrick, had nearly happened to Chrissy last night. Had it almost happened to Steve? When he was hallucinating and hearing things? If he hadn’t fallen into the pool and been manhandled by Eddie back to the surface, snapping him out of the hallucination, would Steve have floated? Would his arms and legs have snapped, his eyes bleeding until they burst clean out of his skull?

The creature that had cursed them, Vecna: had he just been searching for someone to kill last night? How many people were cursed, that he had this many options? How many did he plan to kill? And how long did they have until he tried again?

“You kids should stay here,” Wayne said. “Or let me take you kids home to your parents. I’ve got a shotgun and can keep a creep like Creel away.”

Eddie was already shaking his head. “We can’t. We… we have stuff we have to do. We’ll be safe though, and we’ll stay together.”

Wayne frowned. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit, Ed.”

“Jason Carver is mad at Eddie right now,” Steve jumped in. “Was saying stuff when we ran into him earlier. Like he thought Eddie was doing satanic stuff to Chrissy and to Patrick, the guy who died. Jason was acting really weird and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to cause trouble. Nancy, Robin, Chrissy, and some of the kids are staying at my place right now. Eddie can stay with us, so we’re all in a group, and if Jason or Creel tries to mess with us, we’ll have each other’s backs. But, Wayne, you should leave town. Pack a bag, and leave for a few days. Don’t make it a big deal or anything, say some family somewhere needs you. That way no one thinks you had anything to do with Patrick, and you’ll be safe from Creel, and from Jason if he comes looking for Eddie.”

“You kids should be leaving town with me.”

“We can’t,” Eddie said, sounding defeated. “We just… can’t. I’ll try to explain what I can when you get back, but -”

“If you aren’t leaving town, then neither am I. I’m staying right here, where you can find me if you need me,” Wayne said, his tone sounding final. “I don’t know what you kids are mixed up in, but I’m going to help how I can, got that?”

After a beat, both Eddie and Steve nodded. Chrissy sniffled and took a tentative step forward, only to then throw herself at Wayne and hug him tightly. Wayne took a surprised step back at the force of her lunge, but didn’t hesitate to hug the crying girl back. He awkwardly patted at her back while sending panicked and confused looks at Steve and Eddie. Both just gave him shrugs, Eddie grinning at Wayne’s discomfort. 

When Chrissy pulled away, she blinked up at Wayne with her big, tear filled eyes. “You’re a really, really good person.”

“Well, uh, thank you. Don’t really know what I did, but thanks.”

“I’m going to grab some stuff to last me a few days,” Eddie said. “Steve, did you want to talk to Max’s mom?”

“Yeah, I’ll go over there. Chrissy, do you want to stay here or come with me?”

“Oh, uh…”

“How about I get you something to eat. Sounds like you’ve had a long morning and it's about lunch time. You can help me pack a few sandwiches for the rest of you kids,” Wayne said, clapping a hand on Chrissy’s shoulder and guiding her to the kitchen. Chrissy perked up, seeming to like having something to do besides just standing around. 

Steve left, giving Wayne one final wave before heading down the front stairs and jogging to Max’s trailer. The front door was open, but the screen door was shut, keeping bugs out. Steve didn’t bother knocking. He just pulled the door open and stepped in. 

It wasn’t necessarily dirty, but it wasn’t clean. Things were cluttered, and ash trays were filled. The lights were low and the air felt heavy, without any air conditioner or fans running to move it around. 

It didn’t feel like a home. It just felt like a place someone came to to sleep. 

In the recliner, with the TV still on, was Max’s mom, Susan. She was asleep, half a bottle of cheap whiskey tucked in the seat with her. Her head was lulled back against the back of the chair and her mouth hung open in her sleep. The only sign she was alive was the steady rising and falling of her chest with each breath. 

Lucas and Max came back into the room. Max had her headphones fully on, an embarrassed look on her face as she avoided looking at her mom or at the boys. Lucas was carrying her bag for her and had his free arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. 

“The van should still be unlocked,” Steve said, speaking loud enough that Max would be able to hear him over her music. “You guys head on out. I’m going to leave a note for your mom, Max.”

“Not like she’s going to care,” Max grumbled under her breath before stomping out of the trailer. Lucas quickly followed, shooting Steve a concerned look. 

Steve let them leave before he went looking for a pad of paper and a pen. Once he found it, he wrote out a note, letting Susan know that Max was staying with friends for spring break and would be back at the end of the week. He hoped that it was legible, between his chicken scratch handwriting and his dyslexia, which he knew acted up more when he was stressed. Once the note was done, his name signed at the end, he took the bottle from the chair she sat at and set it on the table, pinning the note beneath it. When she went looking for her whiskey, she would find the note with it. 

Back outside, he found Wayne giving Eddie one last hug on their front porch. He gave Chrissy one as well, just a brief thing, but it made Chrissy smile, warm and bubbly. It was a look Steve hadn’t seen from her since he was in high school. 

Once they were all back in the car, Chrissy passed sandwiches out to everyone, happily nibbling on her own. Steve watched carefully from the back seat, pleased when he saw Chrissy eat her whole meal without any sign of discomfort or guilt. 

Maybe, just maybe, they could get through this. 

---

When they got back to Steve’s, Erica and Dustin were sitting by the phone, still trying to reach the Byers. Nancy and Robin were sitting in the living room inspecting every makeshift weapon they could find in the house. Propped against one of the couches was Steve’s nail bat, ready and waiting for him. 

Without hesitation, Steve went straight for it, grabbing the handle and twirling the bat, feeling the weight of it and stretching his wrist. He did a practice swing, careful to keep away from anyone. When he looked up again, he found Eddie staring at him, slack jawed. 

“What?” Steve asked, feeling suddenly self conscious. 

“A bat with nails through it. Jesus Christ, Harrington, that’s metal as fuck.”

“We got your other bat from your car, Steve,” Robin said, picking it up off the coffee table. “Should we put nails through it too?”

He nodded. “Max is good with a bat. We can give it to her. Can keep her safe. Nancy, we have your guns and got some extra ammo for you. Robin, we can find something for you, I know you preferred throwing stuff, so maybe we can make some molotovs. I think I have some full bottles of alcohol somewhere in the house. Lucas, Dustin, Erica, we can find weapons for each of you too. Chrissy, Eddie, any idea of what you want to carry?”

Both Chrissy and Eddie stared at Steve in shock. Eddie had begun fidgeting with his hair, looking beyond anxious, while Chrissy looked shell shocked. 

“Weapons?” Chrissy asked in a high voice. “For what?”

“We’re assuming we’re going to have to fight monsters again,” Robin explained. “Steve has always used the bat. Except last time, actually, but I'm pretty sure he wished he had it. We didn’t have a chance to go home and pick it up, since we were being held by the Soviets. But he told me the first two times, he used it to fight the demogorgon and the demodogs.”

Steve nodded. “Would have probably stood a chance against the Russians if I had it. Technically, it's not exactly mine though. It was Jonathan’s, but I picked it up to fight the demogorgon at his house and just sort of never gave it back. I should probably apologize.”

Nancy waved a hand dismissively. “He never minded. He even told me after the demodogs and Will getting possessed that he was glad you had it, so don’t worry.”

Robin began shifting through the pile of weapons they had gathered from around Steve’s house. “We have an ax that we found in the garage, a poker from the fireplace, rocks and bricks, a metal pipe, a shovel, some kitchen knives, and a large wrench. Pick what you’d like. We may need to get more, but this is what we have for now.”

Chrissy crept forward first, looking over the pile of weapons. After a moment of inspection, she picked up the poker and felt the weight in her hands. Eddie came forward next and chose the pipe. He also reminded them that he had his multitool with him, which he had started carrying everywhere after Wayne gave it to him for Christmas. 

Once the pair had selected their weapons, Robin grabbed the ax. Max stayed back, already knowing she was going to get a bat that matched Steve’s. Lucas took the wrench, leaving the shovel, knives, bricks, and rocks for Erica and Dustin to choose from. Steve already guessed that Dustin would pick the shovel and Erica would go for the knives, leaving the bricks and rocks to split amongst them evenly. 

“How did the station go?” Robin asked, looking up at Steve, who had started to lean against her chair. 

“Eh…”

Chrissy scoffed. “Bad. The interviews were fine but it didn’t go well with Jason.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Ex, now,” Chrissy said with a sigh before dropping onto the couch next to Nancy. “He just… As long as we’ve been dating, he just has gotten jealous so easy. He’d chase away any of my guy friends and be so mean to them. But he was usually really nice to me, so I tried to let it go, especially since my parents and friends told me how romantic it was that he was ‘protective’ of me. But he hasn’t noticed this whole time that I’ve been sick or cursed or whatever. And today, when we ran into him, he got mad at me for being with Eddie and Steve. Called me a liar and asked which one of them I… slept with. Then he threatened them! Even though they have been nothing but nice to me! So I told him we were done. He was angry about it, especially at Eddie, which I don’t understand.”

“He’s never liked me,” Eddie said with a shrug. “I’m not surprised.”

“He did help us a little though. He told us about what happened to Patrick. Said that he had a bunch of broken bones and was missing his eyes,” Lucas chimed in.

Steve nodded along. “And Wayne mentioned a name. Victor Creel. Said that he was arrested and locked up on an asylum for murdering his family. I guess the wife and daughter had all their limbs broken and their eyes were missing. He thinks Creel escaped or that someone is copying him.”

“Maybe. Or maybe Victor never killed his family,” Nancy said thoughtfully. “We should try going to the library, see if we can find any news articles and find out where he is. Maybe we can get in to see him. Get some answers.”

“We still haven’t gotten through to the Byers. Shouldn’t we wait until we have back up?” Steve asked. 

Nancy frowned. “We are just going to have to divide and conquer. Robin, Chrissy, do you two want to come with me to help me do research? Steve, you and Eddie can stay with the kids and find more weapons. Maybe you can do that with Lucas, Erica, and Max while Eddie takes Dustin up to the radio tower to try and get a signal out to Will’s walkie talkie.”

“I’m not leaving Steve alone,” Eddie said. His tone was firm, reminding Steve a bit of Wayne. “If something happens, I’m going to be there.”

“Yeah, and you shouldn’t be trusting Lucas and I to be able to take care of Max or Steve if Vecna does something,” Erica snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at everyone. 

“Then you guys stick together. Just keep working on getting a hold of the Byers.”

---

Chrissy sat in the back seat of Nancy Wheeler’s car, feeling completely out of her depth. 

People floating? Alternate dimensions? Monsters beneath Hawkins? It sounded so far-fetched, yet here she was, in the middle of it. She brushed her fingers just below her eyes again, wondering just how close she came to losing it. 

She knew it was damaged. The vision from it was a little blurry, not as sharp and crisp as it once was. She would probably need glasses, just like her younger brother. Her stomach twisted itself into knots, already imagining what her mother would have to say.

Who will want a little fat girl with glasses? A girl who cries all the time? Do you think anyone will ever love you like Jason did? He was good for you, kept you in line. And now, you have no one. Completely adrift. 

Chrissy shook her head and pulled her headphones over her ears, allowing the music to wash over her and drown at the voice in her head. 

She wasn’t sure if the voice was her own thoughts or if it was Vecna. Maybe a bit of both. 

Robin turned around in the front passenger seat and gave Chrissy a concerned look. Chrissy forced a smile on her face, but could tell Robin saw it for what it was: fake. 

“We can take you back to the others, if you want,” Robin said loud enough to be heard over Chrissy’s music. “You don’t have to come to the asylum if you don’t want to.”

Chrissy quickly shook her head. “No, we already changed clothes and are halfway there. I want to help! I can take notes, and we can say my Walkman is a tape recorder or something and I can help!”

Robin gave her a smile, reaching back and placing a soft hand on Chrissy’s knee. “Hey, it's okay. You can totally help! I just didn’t want you to feel pressured to come or for you to stress yourself out, okay? If you have to leave at some point or if Vecna acts up, you can make up an excuse and you and I can step out.”

Something about the kind way Robin looked at her, the way she didn’t disregard what Chrissy could do for the group, the way her eyes were soft and her smile gentle, made Chrissy’s heart stutter. And in that moment, the voice in Chrissy’s mind quieted. Not because of the music or happy middle school memories from when life was simple, but because of Robin Buckley giving her the kindest look Chrissy thought she had ever received.

Robin’s eyes glanced down to where her hand rested on Chrissy’s knee. Something flitted across her face, something close to panic or fear, and she pulled her hand away quickly. She didn’t turn away though, just gave Chrissy a shy look and another smile before asking again if she was okay. 

Chrissy gave a nod and pulled the headphones down, letting them rest around her neck again. A new confidence swelled in her and didn’t waver once, not even when they were nearly turned away at the asylum. If anything the confidence grew as she watched Robin leap from her seat and give one of the most passionate, if a little weird, speeches Chrissy had ever seen, speaking on feminism and the realities of what women in male dominated work forces faced. 

She raved and spoke clearly, though fast, on how their requests had been denied twice (a lie) and how they came here as a last ditch effort (half truth) to save their thesis (a complete lie). That Robin, or ‘Rose’ as they were calling her, had heard the story of Victor Creel and instead of being terrified, she had wondered what could make someone do something like this. She wanted to know what drove a human to commit such acts of evil. That Robin had never wanted the stereotypical, glamourized jobs that other kids had wanted to be, she had wanted to be like this doctor, studying the human mind. And that if a man had walked in without paperwork, just like them, he would have gotten the interview within moments. The message was clear: they were being turned away for being women and no matter how hard they worked, they would get nothing while a man could do the bare minimum and get everything. 

And somehow, it worked. They got the interview. They were escorted to meet Victor Creel, the man who had supposedly murdered his wife and children. 

Chrissy gasped when she saw him. He was an older man, with gray hair and sagging skin. But his eyes. That’s what scared her. The way they were mutilated, leaving him blind. His face was never fully turned towards them, always slightly off, like he was trying to look at them but couldn’t quite find them. 

Nancy took the reins. She went into what Chrissy recognized as ‘reporter mode’ from seeing Nancy at all the sports games. 

“We just want to know what happened, Mr. Creel,” Nancy insisted. 

Creel sighed. After a pause, collecting his thoughts, he started to explain. How his family had moved here, having inherited a home. They had a month of peace, before animals began turning up dead in the yard. The other locals insisted it was a wildcat, but Creel said he knew what actually was: “the spawn of Satan. A demon.”

His wife, Virginia, and his daughter, Alice, began to see things. Living nightmares, he described. Chrissy was immediately reminded of how Steve described his visions. “Waking nightmares.” It was an adept description. Creel went on to say that he began to see things too, of his times from the war. The descriptions were horrible, enough to make Chrissy’s stomach turn. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed on to Robin’s wrist. Robin froze, her body tense, but she didn’t pull away. 

Then, Creel described the night of the murders. How the radio began to act up and the lights flickered, and suddenly, Virginia was pulled into the air, her bones snapping and her eyes exploding, leaving empty sockets where they once were. Her body then fell to the table. Creel tried to get his daughter and his son out of the house, but when he opened the door, he was back in the war, watching a crib burn in a building he had ordered a strike on after thinking the Germans were hiding there. When he came back to reality, Alice was dead, mutilated in the same way as her mother, and his son, Henry, was catatonic. The doctors told Creel that the boy had fallen into a coma and died after a week in the hospital. Meanwhile, Creel was locked away, having to plead insanity when no one believed his story. In a last ditch effort to be with his family again, Creel had stabbed himself in the eyes with razor blades, hoping to kill himself. Instead, all he succeeded in doing was blinding himself.

It was, of course, then that security showed up to kick them out, having realized they actually weren’t supposed to be there. Chrissy held tighter to Robin when the security guards got close, looking up at the men nervously. Robin immediately stepped so that she was between Chrissy and the guards, shielding her. They stayed close as they were led out, and didn’t break apart until they got to the car.

---

They still couldn’t get through to the Byers. The phone was still busy and no one was picking up the walkie talkie that Dustin had boosted the signal of. Steve even broke down and dug up Murray’s number, which he only had after Joyce insisted he take it before she packed up and moved to California. Steve’s heart clenched, wishing that Joyce were with him. She had taken to fussing over him after the tunnels, and had kept in contact as best she could after moving away. She wasn’t exactly like a mother figure to him, but she still felt like family. Sort of like an aunt, maybe. 

Steve also found himself missing Hopper, who had also stepped into Steve’s life after the tunnels. It wasn’t much, but having the man stop by regularly, making sure he was taking care of himself, had been helpful. 

Steve had learned that he could go to Joyce and Hopper, and by extension, Murray, if he needed help. 

But now Hopper was gone. He was dead. And neither Joyce nor Murray were answering their phones. 

They were on their own. A group of teens and young adults, against the Upside Down and some unseen wizard. 

They were doomed. 

With that thought, Steve had to put his headphones on and listened through his song 4 times before he felt steady enough to talk to anyone. Once he took them off, Max approached him with a letter she had written, apparently writing out her final words to everyone just in case something happened and she didn’t make it through. 

He put his headphones on for an hour after that. Steve kept his eyes closed, knowing he was likely to see some sort of hallucination from Vecna with how upset he was. The only time he opened them was when Eddie tapped on his shoulder and forced a cool glass of water into his hand. Steve tried to push it away, but Eddie wouldn’t leave until Steve had downed the entire glass. After he’d drank the last of it, Eddie smiled at Steve warmly. As he walked past, he let his hand drag across the back of Steve’s neck, giving it a quick, reassuring squeeze before he continued on, promptly sending Steve’s heart into a stuttering rhythm. 

The next time Steve took off his headphones was when the girls returned with confirmation that Vecna seemed to have struck before, years and years ago. 

“What made it stop last time?” Steve asked.

Nancy shrugged. “Apparently, only the Creel family were victims. I think we need to get more information. I think that maybe… maybe we should go to Patrick’s house.”

Lucas grimaced, shaking his head immediately. “Are you guys insane? His parents will be there! And they… they aren’t nice.”

“What do you mean?”

Chrissy was nodding along with Lucas’ words. “Yeah, you’re right. They aren’t. Patrick would have bruises sometimes, but wouldn’t say why. He’d make up an excuse, like he fell down the stairs or that it came from basketball practice. But then if I asked Jason what happened at basketball for Patrick to get a black eye, he would look at me like I was stupid and tell me Patrick got the black eye from running into a door or something.”

“I should have done something,” Lucas said, ducking his head. “I could tell something was off, but I didn’t… I didn’t think it was any of my business, you know?”

Chrissy reached over and rubbed at Lucas’ back comfortingly. “I understand. I thought the same thing.”

“Was Patrick seeing the school counselor?” Robin asked.

“No,” Chrissy said, shaking her head. “Not that he mentioned and not that I saw. If it was his parents hurting him and he didn’t want anyone to know, then he probably didn’t want to talk to a teacher.”

“So that means both boys that were cursed were not getting help and both girls were getting help.” Nancy folded her arms and looked to the ceiling, deep in thought. “That could be a part of whatever plan he has. Or just coincidence. And that’s assuming only four people were cursed. Last time, he killed three, but targeted four. So maybe he likes that number? The demographics are the same; with two male victims, and two female. But only two were killed at the crime scene. The third was just hurt and died in the hospital later. I still think we should try to see where Patrick died. There could be something there that could help us, some sort of clue.”

Erica made a disgruntled noise, glaring at Nancy. “There is no way in hell I’m going anywhere near where some dude died. Not only is that super creepy, but super dangerous. What if the spirit of Vecna is still there or something and attacks us?”

“And I don’t want the kids going anywhere near someone who abused their kids,” Steve added. 

“His parents probably aren’t even home and are at the morgue or police station or whatever,” Dustin said. “The house is a crime scene now, so they can’t stay there. And the police will have finished by now. A couple of us can be look outs and a couple of us can go inside.”

“That could work,” Nancy quickly agreed.

“I think Little Sinclair has a point though. Is it safe to take Max, Chrissy, or Steve anywhere near the site of a Vecna attack?” Eddie asked, coming to stand by Steve’s seat, dropping a protective hand on his shoulder and sending Steve’s heart into another round of erratic beats. 

“You need all hands on deck here,” Steve argued. “Chrissy and I can go in with you, Robin, and Nancy. The kids can stay outside and watch out for the cops or Patrick’s parents. If it looks like Vecna could attack us, then Chrissy and I will go out to them.”

Dustin frowned, glaring at Steve petulantly. “I want to go in too.”

“No.”

“But -”

“You need to be there in case Max needs help. You and Lucas need to be ready to pull Max down if she floats and Erica needs to be ready to run and get us.”

“Why do I have to be the runner and go into the creepy house?”

“Because you are the smallest and wouldn’t be able to hold Max down, so hush.”

Erica pouted, but didn’t argue. Eddie and Robin didn’t look particularly excited about the plan either, while Chrissy just seemed nervous in general. Nancy was already in motion, trying to usher Chrissy and Robin upstairs to change into more comfortable clothes for the break in at Patrick’s. They still had a little time before the sun went down and it would be safe to commit some light B&E, so Steve went to busy himself in the kitchen, cooking something for everyone to eat for dinner. The shelves were starting to look bare in the pantry, since he hadn’t stocked up to host so many people. Eddie had followed him to the kitchen after setting up the three song loop and blaring it so it could be heard in every corner of the house. He didn’t offer to help Steve cook, since they both knew Eddie was horrible at it, but he did start cleaning the dishes that had piled up in the sink. Dustin came in a few moments later and took up drying. Lucas and Erica were keeping Max company in the living room, telling her stories and trying to keep her mind off things. It seemed to be working, if the occasional giggle was anything to go by. 

When the girls had finished changing clothes, Robin came in and started helping Steve with the cooking, the two falling into an easy rhythm that had both Chrissy and Nancy eyeing the pair curiously. Neither noticed, too caught up in their banter as they easily moved around one another, passing ingredients and utensils that the other needed without being asked. When the food was close to being done, Chrissy went about getting plates and forks while Eddie and Nancy ferried glasses of water to the table. 

Steve and Robin had made a simple, hearty dish of sausage cooked with some peppers and other vegetables and ladled over rice. Chrissy looked at it nervously, picking out little bites of vegetables instead of truly eating. None of them commented on it, but Steve did make a point to announce to the table that if anyone didn’t like the food, he could make something else and would pack snacks for later, since they had a big mission and needed to keep their strength up. At the reminder that they could possibly be facing danger in the near future, Chrissy put a determined look on her face and started to eat. She managed to get through half of her serving before having to stop. 

Once everyone was done and the dishes were in the sink, they began packing up Eddie’s van. It was the only one large enough to fit everyone, though it wasn’t ideal for laying low. They planned to park it a block or two away from Patrick’s house and they would walk the rest of the way, cutting through people’s backyards to avoid being seen from the street. Dustin and Eddie went to the garage to find some nails to drive through the bat for Max, and then presented her the new weapon with all the flair and drama that Steve had come to associate with Eddie. 

Nancy had tucked her revolver into her waistband and thrown the shotgun over her shoulder from its strap. Around her waist, she wore a hip bag full of ammunition. Robin loosened her own belt and slipped the handle of her ax between her belt and the waist of her jeans. The head of the ax rested on the leather of the belt, keeping it from falling through. Steve and Max found backpacks in the house for them to use to carry their bats. Max filled her bag with rocks and her walkie talkie as well, while Steve put snacks and medical supplies in his. Chrissy asked him to carry her poker for her as well, which he quickly agreed to. Steve made sure to put extra batteries in both of their bags. Dustin and Lucas insisted on just carrying their weapons. Erica took a backpack and, like Max, filled it with rocks, bricks, and kitchen knives. She also took some extra batteries, saying she didn’t trust them not to lose theirs. Steve was pretty sure he saw her shove a molotov into her bag as well, but chose not to say anything. Eddie decided to carry his pipe, though he looked a little less confident about it compared to the rest. 

The drive to Patrick’s neighborhood was a quiet one. The only sound was the looped tape, rotating between Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, and The Eurythmics. Chrissy sat in the front seat with Eddie to give him directions, while the rest crammed in the back. Dustin had decided to park himself directly behind Eddie and Chrissy, shoving his head up between them to watch the streets. Lucas, Erica, and Max were closer to the back of the van, the Sinclair siblings bracketing Max. Lucas was holding her hand, giving it the occasional squeeze, while Erica leaned into Max’s other side. Nancy took one wall of the van, leaning back and inspecting her guns, ensuring they were in working order. Steve and Robin took the other wall. Robin had pressed herself against Steve’s side and was rambling about happy memories from working at Scoops and Family Video, bringing up various times they had teased one another and all of their movie-nights-turned-sleepovers. The pair got a sharp look from Nancy on that one, but she didn’t say anything. 

The neighborhood that Patrick lived in was a nice one. It was newer, having only been built a little over a year ago. The houses were nearly identical, with the same shapes and color palettes. Robin had looked at them and mumbled “cookie cutter” under her breath. Eddie had snorted and nodded in agreement. 

They parked on one of the cul de sacs, out of the way of the main roads in the neighborhood. The group then slipped into the dark, crossing yards and cutting between houses. Chrissy led the way, with Nancy beside her. Next were the kids, followed by Robin, Steve and Eddie. The house ended up being easy to pinpoint, with the crime scene tape criss-crossing the front door. There were no cars in the driveway, and no lights on inside the house, so they quickly made their way to the back door. Chrissy dug in a flower pot and found a spare key. When Eddie raised an eyebrow at that, she told them that Patrick would get in trouble if he forgot his keys and locked himself out so he made a few copies and hid them. She just so happened to know that one of those places was the flower pot. 

Steve and Eddie went and got the kids settled in a bush at the front of the house, where they would be able to watch the street and also see in the front windows if they needed to signal to them. Dustin had tried one more time to convince them that he should come too, but was quickly shut down. 

Once the kids were in place, the two older boys ran back to the house and joined the girls, following Chrissy up the stairs to Patrick’s bedroom. 

The energy in the house felt wrong . It was quiet, in an unnatural way, and everything in Steve’s body was telling him to run. It was telling him to grab his friends and go, get far, far away from this place. Steve could only guess Chrissy felt the same with the way her eyes were shifting back and forth, searching every dark corner. Robin and Eddie both looked nervous too, but not to the degree that Steve and Chrissy were. Nancy hardly looked bothered, fully focused on the task at hand. If Steve had to guess, the Vecna curse was what was making it worse. This tether to the Upside Down was making the fear feel stronger, deadlier. 

It got worse when they stepped into Patrick’s bedroom and came face to face with a gate. 

It was a deep red, pulsing thing on the ceiling. There was some sort of membrane spanning the opening, so it was impossible to see through. A glow came from it, washing the room in a low light. Without thinking, Steve put himself between the gate and his friends, hating the fact that he had to get closer to the thing to do so.

“What the fuck is that?” Eddie asked, gripping his pipe tighter and eyeing the gate nervously. 

“That,” Nancy said, “Is a gate to the Upside Down.

“It looks evil.”

“It is,” Steve said, before grabbing Patrick’s desk chair and pulling it beneath the gate. He stepped onto the chair, which promptly wobbled beneath him. Chrissy lunged forward and steadied the chair. She put a hand out, gesturing for Steve to hand off his backpack, which he quickly did, since the weight was throwing off his balance. 

“Steve, get down!” Robin hissed. “Don’t touch it!”

“I’m not going to touch it! I’m just trying to get a better look at it. See if there are any clues about what’s going on.” 

“Well, if I had to guess, Patrick’s death caused a portal to open. Maybe that’s Vecna’s plan. He wants to open multiple portals so monsters can come through,” Nancy said, looking up at the gate. 

Steve reached up, not touching, but letting his hand hover over the membrane. “It's cold. Like, icy cold. Is that normal?”

“The one time I got dragged through one, it was cold, so I think so.”

Steve turned to ask more questions. He was going to ask if the gate had been this large, if it had been this gross. But before he could open his mouth, a screeching, blood curdling sound came from the other side of the gate. 

And the membrane burst. Something thick and a little slimy wrapped around Steve’s outstretched arm, gripping it hard enough to bruise. Shouting, he grabbed at it, trying to pry it off. Before he could get free, it pulled, dragging him up closer to the gate. He could hear everyone in the room screaming and he felt someone grab onto his legs, trying to pull him back down. With a sharp jerk, one that nearly yanked Steve’s shoulder from its socket, he was lifted through the gate. Whoever was holding onto him held tight, not letting go as they were lifted into the hellscape that was the Upside Down. The chair Steve had been standing on was kicked aside and clattered loudly, only to be drowned out by the sound of screeching and snarls. 

Passing through the gate, Steve found himself being slammed to the ground beneath some overhanging rocks in the woods, where a pile of boulders were piled high, having fallen from the nearby hill. His back hit the rough ground hard and he only had a split second chance to look up and see through the gate, finding Eddie and Nancy staring up at him in horror, all while Robin shrieked and tried to climb up Eddie to get to the gate. Glancing down the length of his body, he found Chrissy hugging onto his legs, her hands balled in the fabric of his jeans. She looked back at him, pure terror on her face. Before he could say anything, the tentacle-like thing holding his arm started to drag him from the gate, his back getting bruised and his shirt tearing as he was dragged across rocks and branches. 

Chrissy screamed, letting go to scramble to her feet. She ran after Steve, trying to catch up as he was dragged over tree roots. Then, suddenly, they broke through into a clearing, where there was a clear line of sight up to towards the sky. Chrissy had managed to catch up and was stomping on the tentacle, forcing it to let go of Steve’s arm. The whole time, she was screaming bloody murder, sounding like a pissed off banshee. Once Steve was free, she was yanking him up to his feet. Without hesitation, Steve pulled the backpack off her back and yanked out their weapons, handing Chrissy her poker and taking his bat for himself. Zipping the bag up, he threw it over his shoulders again and turned so he and Chrissy were back to back.

“We should run,” Chrissy said, sounding panicked. “Back to the gate.”

“Right, yeah. Try not to step on the vines tentacle things. It's all connected and -”

A shrieking cry cut Steve off. He went to look up and suddenly found something wrapped around his neck, yanking him away from Chrissy and to the ground. Steve dropped his bat, his hands flying up to grab at what held him as he was dragged across the ground a second time. 

Chrissy was back to screaming, but instead of running to Steve’s rescue, she was taking swings at some bat-like creatures that were surrounding her, nipping at her arms and legs as they tried to get a grip on her. Steve tried to thrash, tried to break away so he could help Chrissy, but two of the bat creatures descended on him, one on his left and one on the right. 

Then they started to feed on him.

Steve felt as their teeth sunk through his shirt and into the soft flesh of his belly. They ripped at his sides, eating him . If he had been able to make any noise, if he wasn’t being strangled, Steve would have been screaming right along with Chrissy. 

“Steve!” Chrissy shouted, having caught sight of what was happening. With a well placed, and strong, kick, she managed to get one of the creatures away from her, giving herself the opening to run to Steve’s aid. Stabbing, she skewered the bat on his left through the wing, making it shriek and turn to snarl at her. Pulling back, she stabbed at it with the poker again, catching it through the middle. The bat with its tail around Steve’s neck growled and tried to pull him further away from her.

Chrissy went after the second bat feasting on Steve, kicking at it as it tried to bite her calf. The bat at Steve’s neck seemed to get distracted, turning to make ungodly sounds at Chrissy, clearly not pleased with what she was doing. In its distraction, Steve managed to worm his fingers between the tail and his throat, creating enough space to duck his chin and bite into the bat. 

It shrieked and unraveled from Steve’s neck. Steve didn’t let go though. He bit down harder, ripping off a chunk from its fleshy tail and tightened his hands around it. Twisted his body, he managed to get back to his feet, still holding the bat as it tried to fly away, the pain making it panic. He wrestled it back down, slamming it to the ground once, twice, before stomping down on one of its fluttering wings. With a harsh pull, he managed to rip the creature in half, tossing the body behind him. Spitting, he felt the creature's blood running down his chin and coating the inside of his mouth. He gagged, the taste foul and putrid. 

Looking around, he found Chrissy finishing off another bat, but above them, circling and screaming, was an entire swarm of the creatures. A few were breaking away, coming towards them, and another group of them were breaking away and flying towards the gate, effectively cutting them off from their only exit.

“Chrissy! We have to run!” Steve shouted. She looked over at him and then turned to see what he was pointing at. Scrambling away from the freshly killed creature, she ran towards Steve, grabbing his dropped nail-bat as she went.

As soon as she was close enough, she tossed the bat to him. He deftly caught it and put his hand out for her. She immediately took it and the two broke into a dead sprint, Steve leading the way. 

Steve could feel the twinges in his sides as blood ran down to stain what remained of his shirt and the top of his jeans. He pushed the thoughts of his injuries away, hoping that the adrenaline rush would keep the pain away long enough for them to find shelter. Then, they could use the medical supplies in his bag to patch him up while they made a plan. 

Chapter Text

It's been decided. The absolutely most terrifying thing Eddie has ever seen in his life is Steve being grabbed and dragged through a yawning portal into Hell. It doesn’t help that poor, sweet Chrissy Cunningham got yanked through too when she grabbed hold of Steve and refused to let go. 

As the two were being pulled through, the chair Steve had been standing on was kicked aside in the struggle. Nancy, Eddie and Robin all leapt into action, trying to find a way to get them back. Robin decided the best course of action was to use Eddie like a ladder and try to throw herself into Hell with Steve, completely disregarding her own safety. 

They got one split second where they could see Steve laying on a creepy forest floor, staring back at them in fear, before he was yanked out of sight, like something in a horror movie. Chrissy was on her feet and charging after Steve, letting out what Eddie could only describe as a battle cry. 

“The desk!” Nancy shouted. “Move the desk underneath!” 

She and Robin both were pushing and pulled the desk, dragging it beneath the gate. Eddie ran to the window and threw it open. 

“Code Red!” he hissed into the night, just loud enough for the kids to hear. “Back door is open!”

Dustin came barreling out of the bushes, Erica fast behind him. Lucas and Max were quick to follow, weapons in hand. By the time the kids were up the stairs, Nancy and Robin had moved the desk and were stacking the chair on top of it to create a ladder to get through. 

“Where’s Steve?” Dustin asked, looking around wildly. “And Chrissy?”

“They got pulled through! We have to go after them!” Robin shouted, climbing onto the desk. Nancy held the chair steady while Robin started to climb onto it next, giving her the height she needed to jump through the gate and let the switching gravity pull her in. 

Just before she fully got on the chair, something comes lunging out, shrieking at her and baring its fangs. Robin screamed shrilly and fell backwards off the desk. Eddie barely was able to move fast enough to catch her and keep her from cracking her head on the edge of the wooden bed frame. 

“What the hell is that!” Lucas yelled before lifting his heavy, rusted wrench and brandishing it out in front of him. 

Erica held up a knife, baring her teeth. “Kill it!” 

The creature fell through and hit the desk, hissing at them lashing its tail back and forth menacingly. With a howl, Erica lunged forward and stabbed the knife clean through the creature’s neck, killing it. Black blood bubbled up around the knife just before Erica yanked it free, allowing the blood to flow out across the surface of the desk, looking like spilled ink.

Two more creatures fell through, their leathery wings rustling as they crawled across the desk, one towards the kids and one towards the older teens. 

Without thinking, Eddie swung his pipe, striking the bat and snapping its spine with a sickening sound. Robin was swinging her ax at the second one while Nancy swatted at it with the butt of her shotgun. A few more bats slipped through, which Max and Dustin jumped on, beating them into the ground, all while Dustin shouted profanity. Another wrapped its tail around Lucas’ leg, knocking him to the ground. Erica was on the bat in an instant, trying to rip it off before it bit her brother. Just as Nancy and Robin killed the creature they were facing, another leapt on Nancy’s back, partially tanging itself in her hair. 

“Hold still!” Robin yelled, trying to grab the bat and yank it off of her. She managed to throw it to the ground, where she promptly began stomping on it. 

Something flew up in Eddie’s face, shrieking and knocking him to the ground. He brought his pipe up just as the bat bit at him, chomping at the pipe instead of his face. Erica and Lucas lunged forward to help, with Lucas swinging his wrench and connecting with the bat, knocking it off of Eddie, and Erica grabbing at Eddie’s jacket, doing a poor job of helping him up. 

Scrabbling to his feet, Eddie turned just in time to see Nancy standing beneath the gate, aiming her shotgun up at the incoming bats. The sound of the gunshot was jarring in the small space, making Eddie’s ears ring more than any metal concert ever had. The first thing he heard when they stopped ringing was the howling of injured bats. 

“Go!” Dustin shouted, shoving at Eddie. “Go! Get Steve and Chrissy!”

Robin scrabbled back up the desk, nearly toppling off again. She’d pulled the sheet off of Patrick’s queen sized bed, twisting it into a rope and tying it across herself like a sash. Eddie climbed up beside her and laced his fingers together, giving her a place to put her foot. She put her hands on his shoulder, the handle of her ax digging into his muscles. With a heave and a shout, he boosted Robin up and through the gate. The bats were still clear of the entrance, weary of Nancy’s shotgun. The switch in gravity caught Robin and pulled her the rest of the way through. As soon as she landed, she started pulling the sheet off and tying it to a nearby fallen branch so there would be weight to throw one end back through.

Nancy threw her gun over her shoulder and jumped up on the desk, immediately putting her hands on Eddie’s shoulder and lifted her foot, preparing for Eddie to boost her through. He laced his fingers again, his rings clicking against each other, and tossed her through. When she landed, she pulled her revolver and shot an approaching bat that was about to pounce on Robin. 

Robin held on to one end of the sheet and threw the branch-tied-end up, just high enough that it passed through the gate and down to dangle just above Eddie. Lucas steadied the chair on top of the desk so Eddie could climb it and grab the end of the sheet to pull himself through. 

He looked back just before hefting himself up. 

“What are you going to do about the bat fuckers?” he asked, worried about leaving the kids behind. 

“I’m going to do this!” Turning, Eddie saw Erica holding up a Molotov cocktail in one hand and his lighter in the other. It was then that he realized she had not been trying to help him up before, but instead pickpocketing him. “These freaks never like fire! You find the losers and bring them back!”

And then she lit the end of the rag. 

“Jesus Christ!” Dustin shrieked, taking a step back as Erica lifted the bottle higher. 

“Go!” she screamed before slamming the bottle into the ground, lighting the floor on fire. 

Eddie didn’t need to be told twice. He climbed as fast as he could, swearing under his breath about crazy children. Lucas bolted from the desk, grabbing Erica with one hand and Max with the other. Dustin was quick to follow, sending Eddie one last worried look before he disappeared into the hall. 

Eddie landed hard on the rocky ground in the Upside Down, knocking the air out of himself and bruising his back.

Erica was right. The bats didn’t like fire. They scrambled away from the gate hissing and growling before lunging at the girls and Eddie, clearly blaming them for the attack. The gate made a groaning, almost pained noise before a new membrane sealed it over, slicing through the sheet rope, blocking out the fire and keeping the bats in. 

“We need to run!” Robin shouted, taking a swing at a circling bat. 

“Which way! We don’t know what direction they went in!” Eddie yelled back. 

Nancy fired off another shot and then pointed into the trees. “Steve was dragged that way! Let’s go!”

They broke into a run, Nancy leading the charge, firing at approaching creatures. Robin was hot on her heels, cutting down bats that tried to attack them. Eddie took up the rear, batting away bats that followed. As they got further from the gate, the bats thinned out until they reached a clearing, where there were multiple dead bats and shreds of what clearly used to be Steve’s shirt. One of the dead bats had been ripped clean in half, a very human looking bite taken out of its tail. Yet there was no sign of Steve or Chrissy. 

Nancy didn’t stop. She ran past the dead bats and the bats sniffing at their fallen brothers in hungry curiosity. As they passed, running deeper into the woods, the bats stopped following. The three slowed, glancing back to where the creatures swarmed. 

Just as Eddie was about to take a stumbling step backwards, eyes in the sky, Nancy caught his arm, stopping him. 

“Don’t step on the vines,” she hissed, keeping her voice low. “It's a hive mind.”

“Hive mind?” Robin asked, looking at the vines nervously.

“It's all connected. The creatures, the vines, the Mind Flayer, and probably Vecna. If we step on the vines, they’ll know where we are. Hopefully, Steve can remember that from the tunnels.”

Eddie looked around, frowning at the forest. “What even is this place? I thought the Upside Down was supposed to be a copy of our world?”

“It is. Or, it should be. That doesn’t matter right now. We need to get to a main road. If we are at least near where Patrick’s house was, then we aren’t far from my house. Steve will go there. We can meet up with Steve and Chrissy and make a new plan.”

“Why would he go to your house?” Eddie asked, frowning. It didn’t make sense. If the Wheeler’s house was close by, then so was the Sinclair’s. So was the Henderson’s. What made her think he would go to her place?

Nancy shot him a dirty look, as though he was stupid to be asking. “He’ll know it's a safe place.”

“There’s lots of safe places he could go to,” Robin said, coming to stand beside Eddie and crossing her arms. 

“Oh, like your house?” Nancy snapped, more aggressive than was necessary.

Eddie put a hand up. “Wow! Hey! Wheeler, what’s your problem?”

“We’re wasting time! Steve and Chrissy could be hurt and we’re just standing here talking! Steve will go somewhere he feels safe and that will be my house, so let's go.”

With that, Nancy took off into the woods, leaving Robin and Eddie behind. The pair looked at each other. Eddie gave Robin a confused, incredulous look, while Robin looked furious. 

“What the hell?” Eddie asked. 

“I don’t know. She doesn’t like me or something.”

“Do you think he’ll be there?”

“Maybe. There’s a few places he could go. I guess it's worth it to check. We better go catch up before she abandons us,” Robin said, then took off at a quick walk, eyes down to avoid stepping on the vines. 

Eddie followed, silently saying a prayer to any God or deity out there that Steve and Chrissy were okay and that they would find them at the Wheeler’s, no matter how unlikely that would be. 

---

Chrissy threw a brick through the window of the back door of Family Video. The glass shattered, making both her and Steve flinch. Steve glanced over his shoulder, checking to make sure nothing else heard. Chrissy used her poker to clear out the rest of the glass in the frame of the window before putting her arm through to unlock and open the door. As soon as she had it open, she was ushering Steve inside. 

When they both got in, the pair worked together to drag a shelf from the front of the store to the back door, barricading it. They also shoved some shelves against the front door, just to be safe. 

Once they were locked in, Steve dropped his backpack and collapsed to the floor, leaning against the side of the counter. He let his head fall back, eyes closed as he came down from the adrenaline high. The sting in his side had turned into a burn, the bite throbbing with each beat of his heart. He let out a groan, leaning forward to pull at his shirt, the fabric sticking to his skin and tugging at the bites.

Chrissy went behind the counter and pulled a pair of scissors from the pencil cup. She came back around and sat down beside Steve and gestured for him to move his hands. Once he let his arms fall to his sides, she began cutting his shirt, straight up the center and then down his sleeves, letting it fall away from his injured torso.

“Damn, I liked this shirt,” Steve grumbled, slightly delirious from pain. 

“It did look nice on you,” Chrissy agreed. “I bet we could find you a new one after all of this. Where did you get it from?”

“Not sure. Robin got it for me for Christmas. Have to ask her.

“Oh, Robin got it for you? That was nice of her,” Chrissy said as she started digging in the backpack, pulling out a bottle of rubbing alcohol. 

Steve saw it and groaned again. He reached down and pulled his belt off, tucking it into his mouth to bite down. Once he had it tight between his teeth, he gave Chrissy a nod. 

She nodded back, opened the bottle, and dumped it over the gaping bites. 

Steve’s body arched in pain, a strangled scream slipping out from behind the belt. He bit down on the leather, his jaw clenching tight enough that it hurt. The burn was all encompassing, zinging through his nerves and veins. 

Chrissy cooed quietly. “I know, I’m sorry. Here, let's get your headphones on all the way.” She reached up and moved the headphones from his neck up to his ears. Everything got a little hazy after that. The burning lessened to something dull and aching, though still wildly painful. There was some repetitive pressure, which Steve guessed was her wiping away excess blood, and then a constant pressure, all the way around his middle, as she wrapped him in gauze and bandages. It was a bit tight, but it would have to be to keep him from bleeding out. 

By the time she had finished, Steve had listened through Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) about five times, maybe more. He slowly peeled his eyes open and unclenched his teeth, an ache settling in his jaw. When he pulled the belt out of his mouth, he found perfect indents of his teeth in the leather, which he was sure wouldn't be able to be fixed.

Chrissy had settled next to him, her own headphones on, as she poured alcohol over her minor bits and cuts, and then placed bandaids, both large and small, over them. When she finished, she pulled her headphones down and turned to give Steve a tired smile. 

He pulled his headphones down. “You okay?” he asked in a strained, rasping voice.

“Yeah, I’ll be alright. How are you feeling?”

“Pretty rough.”

“Do you have any medicine in the bag?”

“Some Tylenol, maybe. Won’t do much.”

“Could help with swelling. We should both take some,” Chrissy said, reaching to the bottom of the bag to pull out the bottle. She passed it off to him while she searched for the water bottle Steve had tucked in the backpack as well. 

Steve dumped two pills into his hand, and once Chrissy had found the water, he dumped two into her’s. They shared the water bottle, each only sipping just enough to swallow the pills, saving the rest for later. 

“How are we going to get back?” Chrissy asked after a moment, the pair staring straight ahead, shock starting to set in. 

“We can rest for a little bit. See if the others come for us. And then, if they don’t, we can try to go back to the gate. I don’t think there is any other way back. We’ll find some sort of way to draw the bats off, and then go through the gate.”

“But how? We can’t reach it. It's really high up.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I could boost you through and then you find something to throw to me to climb out.”

Chrissy frowned. “You’re hurt though. I don’t think you could lift me or climb.”

“I don’t think you’d be able to lift me either. I’m a lot bigger than you.”

They lapsed into silence again, contemplating the situation. 

Chrissy was the first to speak. “Do you really think they’ll come?”

“I… I don’t know. I’d like to think they would, but I also sort of hope they don’t. It's dangerous here.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I feel the same way. But they all really care about you. I bet they’ll come.”

“Last thing I saw of them, Robin was trying to climb up Eddie to get to the gate to come after us, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they followed. Hopefully Robin thinks of coming here to look for us.”

“You and Robin are… close then?” Chrissy asked carefully, her eyes darting to look at Steve before looking away.

“Yeah, she’s my best friend. We’ve been through a lot together.”

“Oh. Oh! Best friend! So you aren’t…”

“Dating? No. It's not like that with her. Platonic with a capital P,” Steve lolled his head to the side to look at Chrissy, catching a fleeting smile and light blush. He recognized that look: the image of a girl with a crush. 

“That’s good to know,” Chrissy said in a high, tight voice, still trying to hide her smile.

“It is?” Steve asked carefully, really hoping this wasn’t going where he thought it was. Chrissy was a nice girl, pretty too, but she wasn’t his type. No girl had caught his eye in some time, something he was trying not to think about. He really didn’t want to have to turn her down, not in the middle of this nightmare. 

“Yeah. I guess that means that… Robin is… single?”

Steve’s mind froze. “Wha… Robin?”

Chrissy’s eyes darted to Steve again. “Did I read this wrong? Oh God, you aren’t going to freak out, are you? Please don’t tell anyone, I swear that -”

“Wow, slow down. Read what wrong?”

“I… I thought that maybe… Robin liked girls. And that maybe you knew. And that you and Eddie were cool with it.”

“I, uh, can’t really say who Robin does and doesn’t like,” Steve said carefully, not wanting to out Robin, even if Chrissy liked girls too, like he thought she was implying. “But I thought you liked guys? You and Jason were just dating.”

“Mine and Jason’s relationship hadn’t been good in… a while. At least not for me. It felt over to me for a long time. Does that make me sound bad? That I haven’t liked him for so long? I guess it probably does. It's just, every time I tried to talk to him, to tell him that we needed to work on our relationship or that I wanted to break up, he wouldn’t listen. He’d insist everything was fine and to just let it go. He wouldn’t let me break up with him. And… with the liking girls or boys thing… I like both. I don’t know if you’ve heard the term before but its called -”

“Bisexual!” Steve said proudly, perking up a little. “I’ve heard of it before. Like Bowie!”

“Yes! Like Bowie!” Chrissy said excitedly. “Do you like his music too?”

Steve shrugged. “He’s okay I guess, but I don’t really know much about him. I learned about it because I watched Rocky Horror Picture Show and got confused about why Frankfurter slept with both men and women. Got a whole ‘sexuality is a spectrum’ speech after I asked questions.”

“So… you’re cool about it? About me liking both? You aren’t going to freak out?”

“Nah, I won’t freak out. You like who you like, and that’s what matters.”

Chrissy relaxed back into the side of the counter, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I was worried at first that maybe you and Robin were dating. And, like, I’ve always thought Robin was pretty. I saw her at the games, when I was cheering and she was in band. I never got to know her, though. But then, when I started to float, she immediately tried to save me. She didn’t know me, but helped anyway. And this whole time, every time I’m stressing or freaking out, she tries to help. She even held my hand at the asylum! But you two are super close, so it was hard to tell what was going on. But then there was the way you and Eddie look at each other, and -”

“Hold on,” Steve cut her off. “How do Eddie and I look at each other?”

“Well, honestly, you two look at each other like you’re in love.”

Steve started to splutter, his heart raising and beating against the back of his ribs. “What? No. No! It's not like that!”

She cocked her head curiously. “You don’t have a crush on Eddie?”

“No! I’m straight!”

“You’re straight?”

“Yes! I like girls! Women! I… I watch Fast Times and I pause at 53 minutes and 5 seconds!”

Chrissy snorted. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Boobies! There’s boobies! I like boobies! You like boobies, don’t you pause at Fast Times at 53 minutes and 5 seconds?”

“Steve, why would I pause at 53 minutes and 5 seconds to look at boobies when I can just steal my brother’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue?”

“Swimsuit issue?” Steve spluttered, looking scandalized. “You look at -”

“At pictures of girls in bikinis? Yes, and I won’t be ashamed of it, thank you very much! Women can do that sort of stuff too, you know. It's not just men.  I know plenty of girls who buy GQ magazine just to look at shirtless guys. That’s besides the point though. I really thought that you had a thing for Eddie. Actually, throughout high school, I always sort of wondered about you.”

“About me being gay?”

Chrissy nodded. “I thought you might be like me. Liking both. I mean, you obviously like girls. You didn’t fake that. But I would see you look at guys sometimes and you had the same face that you had when looking at girls. For a while, I thought you were secretly dating Tommy H.”

Steve wrinkled his nose and scoffed without thinking. “I could do better than him.”

“Exactly!” Chrissy laughed. “I couldn’t get it! He was such a jerk! I just wanted to shake you and tell you there were better guys out there!”

“He was a jerk. No way would I have dated him. I like dating nice people, not assholes.”

“Nice people like Eddie?”

Steve froze again, his mouth dry. He let his gaze fall to his lap. Reaching up, he pulled his headphones over his ears, trying to drown out the sudden wave of voices tangling in his mind, triggered by Chrissy’s words.

Bullshit. You’re bullshit.

You killed me. I’m alone, Nancy is alone, because you killed me. Why didn’t you join me, Steve? I’m so lonely, just like you.

Did you want my sister to be alone? Depressed? I could have been there for her. I could be there now, protecting her. Instead, you let me die. You always hated me, didn’t you Harrington? Is that why you let it kill me?

A faggot. My son can’t be a faggot! As if you couldn’t get any worse, you had to turn out to be a queer too, didn’t you, Steven?

Did you think I could ever love you? You let your friends make my life hell all through high school. Being nice to me for a few months isn’t going to get me to like you. 

Bullshit. Bullshit. BULLSHIT.

Something touched Steve’s cheek, making him flinch away, his eyes flying open though he wasn’t sure when they closed. 

Chrissy wiped at the tears running down his cheek. 

“Hey, it's okay,” she said, barely legible over the music. “It's okay. Was it Vecna?”

Steve made a wet choking noise, nodding. “Saying the stuff I already know.”

“Like what? We can talk about it, if you want. If you think it will help. I won’t tell the others, I swear.”

With another shuddering breath, Steve nodded. “I guess if I want to talk about it, you’re just about the only person to understand. Besides maybe Max, but she’s a kid. She doesn’t need my bullshit too.”

“She loves you, you know. All your friends do.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. They shouldn’t. I killed Barb. And I didn’t do enough to save Billy. I feel like I constantly need to be doing stuff if I want people to like me. And I’m an idiot, I know that. I offered to help Eddie study, but I barely graduated, so Robin had to step up and do most of the work. I was a shit boyfriend too, Nancy deserved so much better. And I was such an asshole for so long, and I bullied people. I know my friends bullied Eddie. Nothing I do will ever be enough to make up for that. Nothing I do will ever make him… like me. If that’s what I even want. Any time I even try to think about me maybe being queer, all this guilt and fear bubbles up and my heart feels like its going to burst and I just bury it down again so I don’t have to think about it.”

“I know some of the guys on the basketball team say mean stuff about gay people but, this sounds like more than that. Like the guilt and fear and stuff come from somewhere else.”

Steve nodded. “My dad. He really, really doesn't like gay people. If he ever found out that I had even thought about the possibility of me not being straight, he would throw me out. My mom… I don’t know what she thinks. All I know is she thinks I’m a disappointment and avoids me most of the time. If my dad kicked me out, she’d probably just hold the door open for me.”

Chrissy took Steve’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I get it. My parents wouldn’t like it either. They don’t like a lot about me. My mom is always saying I need to be prettier, need to be smarter, and need to get myself a good, wealthy husband. She tells me I need to be thinner, and ignores when I go to the bathroom after dinner to… to throw up. I know it's not good for me, but it helps sometimes. Makes me feel like I’m in control of myself. And when I lose weight, my mom tells me I’m doing a good job, which feels nice. 

“That’s what Vecna uses against me. He uses how lonely I am and my mom yelling at me. He doesn’t use my sexuality against me though. I think it's because I got lucky and have my brother. He totally knows I’m stealing his Sports Illustrated from his hiding spot under his bed, but he’s never moved them. He could have found a different hiding spot, but he doesn’t, so that I can still borrow them. He’ll even mention to me when the new issue is coming out in February and when he’ll be over at a friend’s place so I know he will be out of the house for a bit. That way I can sneak into his room. So, yeah. My brother knows. And he’s cool about it. It made me feel a lot better about what I was. Took a while for me to learn the name for what I was. I have my brother to thank for that too. He left a magazine on my nightstand, right out for me to find, and had it flipped to a page that had an article about David Bowie saying he was bisexual. The rest of the week, my brother played Bowie every day after school.”

“You’re brother sounds like a cool kid,” Steve said.

Chrissy smiled. “Yeah, he is.”

“I think… I think most, if not all, of my friends would be okay with it. If I were bisexual.”

“Does that make you feel better?”

“A little. My dad still scares me. And what if I’m wrong? I’m probably wrong, I’m wrong a lot.”

She shrugged. “It's okay to be wrong about things. Even this. You can change your mind at any time and it's okay.”

Steve nodded, though he wasn’t sure if he really believed her. They fell into another silence, only broken up by the quiet music coming from their headphones. Steve let his head fall back against the counter again and closed his eyes. After a beat, he fell into an uneasy doze, the blood loss catching up to him. 

Chapter Text

Steve and Chrissy weren’t at the Wheeler house, just like Eddie and Robin tried to tell Nancy. 

Nancy was storming around the house, checking every room and peeking in every closet, like she thought the pair were going to miraculously appear. 

“Nancy,” Robin started to say, but quieted when Nancy glared.

“Why didn’t they come here? It's safe here!” Nancy hissed. 

“You might think this is a safe place, but does Steve?” 

“What?”

“Steve has told me everything about your guys’ relationship, including when you nearly broke up during the first round of the Upside Down,” Robin said, folding her arms across her chest. “How he came over to check on you, because he was worried, and found you with Jonathan Byers in your room. Sure, you didn’t have sex with Jonathan that night, but it still hurt Steve. And yeah, Steve did some stupid stuff to get back at you, and you guys made up, whatever. You worked it out. But I don’t think he ever really felt comfortable here after that. So why would he have come here, if he never saw this as a safe and comfortable place?”

“He liked it here!” Nancy insisted. “He came over for every holiday, and we spent time with my family all the time.”

“He came here because his family wasn’t home, Nancy. He didn’t want to be alone! You want to know where he spent Christmas this year? My house. And for New Year’s, he went to Eddie’s. If we’re using the logic of where he has been spending holidays, we should go to our places to look for him then.”

Nancy stepped into Robin’s space, leaning up so her face was inches from Robin’s. “He’s known me longer. He’s trusted me longer. If he needed a place to go, he knew he could always come to me.”

“Trusted. Past tense. You broke that trust when you called him and his love bullshit and abandoned him for Jonathan without ever even having a proper conversation to end the relationship! And notice, when he needed somewhere to go, he came to us! You don’t know him as well as you think you do, Nancy, not anymore. He’s changed.”

“Just because you’re sleeping with him now doesn’t mean -”

“Wow!” Robin cut Nancy off, blinking at her in confusion. “I’m not sleeping with Steve.”

Nancy opened her mouth to snap back, but paused, furrowing her brows. “What? But you guys are always cuddling and when he said he was cursed, you started to cry and hug him.”

“Yeah, because he’s my best friend.”

“Holy shit,” Eddie said as he brought a hand up to hide his smile. “Nancy Wheeler, have you been jealous of our Robin this whole time? Is that why you’ve been acting like this?”

Nancy’s cheeks flushed red. Taking a step away from Robin, she quickly started to shake her head, her permed hair swinging back and forth as she did so.

“No! No, I’m not jealous.”

“Oh my God, you are!” Robin said. “Nancy, you and Steve broke up. You broke his heart. You have Jonathan now. Why the hell would you be jealous over someone being with Steve?”

“I’m not jealous!”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Yes, you are. Stop denying it and just fess up.”

“I… I just… Things are just confusing right now!”

“It's the stress. It's making you feel things you probably wouldn’t feel otherwise, right?” Robin asked. 

Nancy ducked her head and gave a short nod. “Things have been weird with Jonathan recently, and I just… I think I miss having someone close by. The distance is hard.”

“Just because you miss having a boyfriend around all the time doesn’t mean you can project old feelings on Steve,” Eddie said. “You can’t play with him like that. It’s not fair and he deserves better than that.”

“But, I thought he still…”

“Still had feelings for you?” Robin finished the sentence. “He probably will always have a soft spot for you, Nancy. But not in the same way as when he was in love with you. It's not romantic anymore.”

With a heavy sigh, Nancy gave a nod, still not making eye contact. “It’s just the stress. I swear. I’m not usually like this.”

“I know. But you have to let it go. Let him go.”

Nancy nodded again and sniffled once before straightening. “I’m going to go check my room and see if there are copies of my guns here. Might be helpful to have extras.”

Robin and Eddie watched as Nancy hurried to the stairs, taking them two at a time up to her room. Once she was out of ear shot, Robin turned and gave Eddie a smile, lightly punching his shoulder.

“Thanks for helping with that. I was getting sick of the dirty looks.”

“I get it. She was glaring at you and Steve like you guys had pissed in her cheerios or something. It was getting really fucking annoying.”

“She’s barking up the wrong tree, anyways,” Robin said with a laugh. 

“Yeah, she is, isn’t she? You’d be more likely to be crushing on her.”

Robin wrinkled her nose. “Not my type.”

“That’s right, it's all about Vickie right now, isn’t it?”

“Well, not all about her. She’s great and all, and super pretty, but there are… other pretty girls out there.”

Eddie arched a brow. “Really? Other girls? Like who?”

“I don’t know,” Robin said unconvincingly.

“Like Chrissy?”

“I mean, you have to admit that she’s pretty. And she’s so sweet! I can’t help it. Pretty, sweet girls with blinding smiles are my weakness.”

“Well, Chrissy is single now. And she’s been wandering around in your clothes. Bet you’re just melting, huh?” Eddie said with a grin, earning himself an elbow to the ribs. 

“Asshole. How about you? Were you just swooning all night over being in Steve’s bed and wearing his pajamas?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, Eddie. Me being a lesbian isn’t the only reason Nancy was barking up the wrong tree.”

“Robin…”

“Come off it, Eddie, you have a crush on Steve! It's so obvious! You literally were acting more upset over him being cursed by Vecna than you were watching Chrissy start to float. You hardly even hesitated when Steve fell in the pool. I saw you, through the back window. You just sorta looked for half a second then ripped your jacket off and dove in. You’re protective of him and -”

“You tried to jump into the gate as soon as he went through! And you were actually crying over Steve! By your logic, then you’re in love with him too!”

“I never said anything about being in love.”

Eddie gaped at her while she grinned. 

“Are you in love with Steve, Eddie?”

“I’m not talking about this.”

“Wait no, I’m not making fun of you! I’m trying to be supportive! It's sweet, actually.”

“Yeah, super sweet that I have a massive gay crush on the straightest boy in town. How’d you even figure it out?”

Robin shrugged. “The way you look at him mostly. Like he’s something special, and something to protect. He looks at you like that too, by the way.”

“He looks at everyone like that. He thinks he has to protect the damn world.”

“You could at least talk to him? Even if he doesn’t like you back, he won’t freak out on you.”

Eddie shook his head. “He doesn’t need this right now. He’s going through enough, I don’t need to make it worse.”

“Eddie, we may not all… Something feels different this time. We may not all make it out okay, Eddie. Last time the Upside Down attacked, Chief Hopper died, along with a bunch of other people, including Max’s step brother. The time before that, Joyce’s boyfriend died, along with all these scientists and government people. And then the first time was Barb. We’re alone this time. If someone is going to die… it's going to be one of us. So, if you have feelings for Steve, you should say something now. Don’t bottle it up, don’t hide it, just in case we don’t all make it. If this is your only chance, you should take it.”

Before Eddie could respond to what he thought was the most depressing speech he’d ever heard, Nancy came running back down the stairs, looking more freaked out than he liked. 

“What’s going on?” Robin asked, hefting her ax.

“My guns aren’t there.”

“Okay? Maybe since you have them, they didn’t show up here.”

Nancy shook her head. “I keep my journal in the same hiding spot as my guns. When I saw it, I saw that the bookmark was in the wrong place. I opened it and the last entry, where the bookmark was, was from 1983. I need to check the calendar down here.”

Rushing to the kitchen, she pulled the calendar off the wall and held it up for Robin and Eddie to see.

“Holy shit,” Eddie hissed under his breath.

Robin nodded. “Holy shit. 1983.”

“The Upside Down is trapped nearly 3 years in the past,” Nancy confirmed. “It stopped moving through time the week that Will Byers disappeared.”

“But why?” Robin asked.

“I… I don’t know. But that explains why the gate opened into the forest. Patrick’s neighborhood hadn’t been built yet.”

Eddie shook his head. “So freaky. Okay, so that means the mall also won’t be built yet. What else?”

“I think a few other businesses. The military surplus store should still be here, if we need weapons. Some places won’t have been renovated yet.”

“That doesn’t help us find Steve and Chrissy,” Robin said.

“We could try Dustin’s house next,” Nancy said, setting the calendar down. “He’s close with him. He might see that as a safe place.”

“What other places near the gate would he have good memories of? Or that he would first think of when trying to decide where to hide?” Eddie asked.

Then, Robin gasped, loud enough that Eddie started looking around to spot what monster Robin had seen. When he didn't see anything, he turned to her, watching as she slapped her hand to her forehead.

“We’re idiots,” she said. “So, so stupid. Family Video. He would have gone to Family Video. It's near here and he spent a lot of time with Eddie and I there. He would know we would think of it.”

Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “Damn it, you’re right. He would have gone there.”

“Then let's check there next. I think the bikes should still be in the garage. Robin, you can use my mom’s, and Eddie, you can use my dad’s. Neither of them have ever been used, so the gears may be a little stiff.”

Robin was already half out the door. “We’ll make it work. I just want to get over there.”

---

Steve woke up to Chrissy shaking his shoulder. 

“Steve! Steve! I can hear something outside!”

He bolted up straight, and then immediately regretted it. Burning pain lanced through his torso and he had to grit his teeth to hold back a scream of pain. Once the sound of rushing blood cleared from his ears, he was able to hear what Chrissy was talking about. There was the sound of clattering and shuffling outside the front doors. 

“Grab your poker,” he whispered. 

Chrissy nodded and grabbed it before jumping up and helping Steve to his feet. A low, pained groan slipped from somewhere deep in Steve’s throat before he could stop it, leaning a little more heavily on Chrissy than he’d planned to. Once he was steady on his feet, he stepped away from her and grabbed his bat. 

The pair lifted their weapons, waiting to see if the creature outside would try to break through the barricade they built. There were more sounds of movement, and then three faces appeared in the dirty, dusty windows. 

Nancy, Robin, and Eddie. 

Chrissy let out a choked sob, a relieved smile spreading across her face and her arms sagging. Steve dropped the bat and leaned back against the counter, breathing heavily and grinning as well. They set aside their weapons and worked together to clear the barricade to let their friends in. It took longer than Steve would have liked, hating every second that he left his friends out in the open. His side was hurting badly, and he was moving slowly as he shoved the shelves. Chrissy couldn’t move the shelves on her own, though, so he put his weight into it and helped with shoving them out of the way. 

As soon as one of the doors was clear, Eddie was ripping it open and rushing inside, grabbing Steve’s arm and draping it over his shoulder, letting Steve lean into Eddie. He felt himself sag in Eddie’s grip, breathing a sigh of relief as Eddie led him to sit back down beside the counter. Robin was trailing after, fussing over Steve while also chattering nervously at Chrissy, asking about the bandages the other girl was wearing. Once Steve was settled, Eddie, Robin, and Nancy worked together to barricade the door again, waving Chrissy off when she offered to help. 

“What happened?” Nancy asked once the barricade was back in place, sitting down beside Steve and staring at the bandages wrapped around his middle. Blood was starting to seep through from all the movement and the sight was making his stomach turn. 

“The bats. They got hold of me. Chrissy wrapped me up though. Did a good job.”

“We need to change those bandages. They’re going to be completely soaked through soon and we can’t travel if you’re bleeding. The smell will attract demogorgons. You’re lucky none found you yet.”

“Way to lower the stress, Nance,” Steve huffed, gritting his teeth as she started to unwind the bandage. Eddie stood behind her, looking over her shoulder. He played with his hair, nervously twisting it between his fingers and pulling it across his mouth. Robin sat down beside Steve and started pulling out fresh bandages while Chrissy came to stand over her, pointing out where she had tucked stuff back into the backpack. 

“So these bat things, they bit you. Do you think that means you have rabies? Can they carry rabies? Or do they have like freaky Upside Down rabies? I have a serious fear of rabies and it's super deadly so, Steve, if you have rabies, you have to tell us. Violent feelings and urges can be a sign of rabies, are you feeling violent right now?”

“I’ll be feeling violent towards you if you don’t stop talking about rabies.”

“Understandable. I’ll stop now.”

Eddie let out an involuntary hiss as Nancy finally pulled the bandages away from Steve’s sides, revealing the holes where bats had taken chunks from his flesh. Steve glanced down and grimaced. 

“There goes my swimsuit body, huh?” Steve said, trying to make the others laugh. 

It didn’t work. Robin looked like she was about to throw up, Nancy had gone horribly pale, and Eddie’s hands were shaking. 

“Did you disinfect them?” Nancy asked, her voice strained. 

“Yeah, I did,” Chrissy said. “We used some rubbing alcohol.”

“I think we should do it again, just to be safe, and then we’ll wrap it again.”

Steve groaned but nodded. Patting around on the ground beside him, he found his belt again and tucked it in his mouth, biting down. Robin handed the bottle to Nancy and then took Steve’s hand.

“Squeeze as hard as you need,” she told him. 

He closed his eyes and waited for the fresh wave of burning pain that was to come. 

---

Goddamn Robin being Goddamn right and having to shove it in Eddie’s face. 

Obviously he has feelings for Steve Harrington. He’d have to be stupid not to. 

But Eddie also knew he’d have to be stupid if he admitted to anyone that he had these feelings. So he buried them. Pushed them down and pretended they didn’t exist. And then Robin had to go and drudge it all up. Had to dig inside him and pull all these feelings to the surface so that they were at the forefront of every single one of his thoughts.

And how fucked up was Eddie, catching himself staring at Steve’s bare chest more often than he looked at the wounds Nancy was trying to clean. Steve had his belt between his teeth, gritting his teeth and wrinkling his nose into a snarl. He looked like he’d walked out of one of Eddie’s campaigns. A bloody warrior, skilled in the battlefield and wildly strong, able to bear any injury he sustained. As Steve’s lips pulled back, flashing his teeth as he bit down harder on the belt, Eddie saw what he thought might be blood in the seams between his teeth. There was dried blood on his chin, flaky and black. For a split second, Eddie felt a fresh wave of panic, wondering if Steve had internal injuries that made him cough up blood. 

Then he remembered that human blood was red, and dried brown. It was never black. The image of a dead bat flickered in Eddie’s mind, with a wing ripped from its body and a chunk taken out of its tail. 

Eddie glanced at Chrissy and saw she had no blood on her face. And that’s when it clicked. 

Steve had bitten the bat. He’d bitten clean through its flesh. 

And if that wasn’t the hottest, most metal thing he’d ever heard of. Eddie silently cursed the universe for not letting him see it happen. 

Another pained groan slipped from deep in Steve’s chest as he arched away from Nancy’s touch, his head bowing backwards, leaving his long neck on full display. 

“Oh fuck,” Eddie breathed, every thought of Steve and the bat leaving his mind. 

There was a bruise around Steve’s throat. A bad one. It wrapped fully around his neck, a bit V-shaped, with the way it curved from the front of his windpipe, and then up at an angle to just beneath his jaw bone and the base of his skull. 

Something had tried to strangle Steve. It had grabbed him and it had pulled, dragging or lifting him. 

Robin spotted the bruise too. She reached out with gentle fingers and brushed across it. Steve whined, high and pained as he pulled away from her touch. Nancy finally finished washing his sides, setting aside the rubbing alcohol and wet gauze. She helped to work the belt out of Steve’s mouth before she started to wrap his middle. 

“Steve, how’s your breathing?” Nancy asked, eyeing the bruise as well. “Any pain when you talk?”

“A little pain. It's not horrible. Breathing is fine though.”

“Okay, good. Then you shouldn’t have any bad internal damage in your throat. Probably just some swelling and bruising. How’d it happen?”

“Bat tried to strangle me. Wrapped its tail around my throat and started pulling me across the ground. Held me down so some other bats could eat me. Chrissy got the ones off my sides.”

Chrissy nodded. “And he took care of the one that had his neck. He actually bit it! It was kind of scary but looking back, it's sort of cool. Then he hit it on the ground and stomped on it to rip it in half.”

Steve turned and gave Robin a lazy, somewhat dazed smile. “If I didn’t get rabies from them biting me, do you think that I could get it from biting them?”

“You’re delirious, aren’t you?”

“Tiny bit. The pain is a lot.”

“I don’t think we can move him yet,” Nancy said, finishing with the bandage around Steve’s middle but speaking to the rest of the group. “I don’t think he would be able to handle it.”

“What should we do then?” Eddie asked. 

“We could stay here for a little longer. Maybe let him get some sleep. He’ll still be in pain in the morning, but he’ll have had a chance to recover a little bit from the blood loss and he won’t be as tired.”

“When we do move him, he’ll need to ride with one of us,” Robin said. “We don’t have enough bikes and pedaling will just hurt his sides more.”

Nancy nodded. “He’ll need to ride with Eddie. Chrissy can ride with you or me.”

“She can ride with me,” Robin said quickly, maybe a little too quickly. Eddie had to cough lightly to hide his near laugh. Robin shot him a glare. “You have your guns to worry about, Nancy. It’ll be easier for me.”

“Sleepover at Family Video?” Steve asked in a tired voice.

Robin pushed his hair off his forehead, smoothing it back. He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. 

“Yeah, sleepover. Eddie, can you help me get him to the backroom? The couch should be there. It's old and gross in our time, so I bet it was there in 1983. We can put him on it to sleep.”

“1983? What are you talking about?” Chrissy said.

“The Upside Down apparently is stuck in time in 1983, right when Will Byers disappeared,” Nancy explained. “Chrissy, why don’t you go in the back and sleep for a bit too? I’ll keep watch.”

“I’ll take a watch too, Nancy. Just come get me when you’re ready to rest,” Robin said as she made her way to the back carrying Steve’s stuff. Eddie was half dragging, half carrying Steve to the back, the other groaning and leaning heavily against him. 

Nancy nodded before climbing onto the countertop, facing the front door, her shotgun in hand. She sat, and watched, and waited.

Chapter Text

“ Will said that the Upside Down looked like Hawkins and that he could hear people from the other side. So, logically, if we go to enough places that they may be and talk to them, eventually we’ll find them. ”

“ That’s dumb as hell, Henderson. ”

“ Shut up, Erica. ”

Steve was scrambling off the couch within seconds of hearing the voices. Nancy, who was dozing against the wall beside the couch, startled awake, pulling her gun and looking around for any sign of danger. Chrissy also jumped awake, clutching her Walkman tightly in a panic.

“Henderson!” Steve shouted, head on a swivel, looking towards the ceiling. “Dustin! Can you hear me!?”

A clatter came from the front of the store as Eddie and Robin ran to the back, eyes wide with fear.

“Oh my God, he does have rabies,” Robin hissed.

“Dustin!”

“Steve, buddy, it's probably just… just Vecna. Come on, lay down before you hurt yourself.”

Steve grabbed at Eddie’s vest and jacket pulling him further into the room. 

“Shh! Listen! Can you hear him? Just listen!”

“Steve -”

“Shh!” Steve hushed again, finally getting everyone to quiet. After a beat of silence, quiet voices could be heard.

“ We already tried my house, your house, and Mike’s house. If they aren’t here, then we’ll try Robin’s.”

“ Do you even know where Robin lives? ”

“ Yes! I went there once with Steve to pick her up. And if they still aren’t there, then we try asking the guys from Hellfire where Eddie lives. ”

“ Eddie lives next door to me .”

“ Perfect, we can check both places. ”

“Holy shit,” Robin said, a smile starting to creep onto her face. “Steve, your kids are pretty smart, huh?”

“They sure as hell didn’t get it from me,” Steve said, laughing. “Hey! Dustin! Lucas! Erica! Max! Anyone! Can you hear us?”

“When Will was stuck in the Upside Down, they weren’t able to hear him. He had to use the lights,” Nancy said, looking around the room. She pointed towards a lamp, where there were floating, slightly glowing particles surrounding it. When she reached out to touch the lamp, the particles started to glow and flicker around her hand. 

“ Losers! The lamp! ” Erica shouted, her voice even clearer than before.

“ Oh shit! It's flickering! Steve? Is that you? ”

“Does anyone know morse code?” Nancy asked excitedly. 

Robin shook her head. “Do the kids even know morse code?”

“Dustin knows it,” Steve said. “Shit I should have paid more attention when he tried to teach me.”

“Does SOS count?” Eddie asked, his voice coming out a little nervous. 

Nancy rolled her eyes and grabbed Eddie, dragging him towards the lamp. He reached out and slowly touched the particles. Three fast taps, three slow taps, and then three fast taps again.

“ It's totally them! Okay, yes or no questions. One flash for yes, two flashes for no. Is everyone there? ”

Eddie tapped once. 

“ That’s good! ” they heard Lucas say excitedly. “ Is anyone hurt? ”

Grimacing, Eddie tapped once again.

“ Is it Steve? ” Dustin asked, his voice wavering slightly.

Another single tap. 

“ Shit. The demobats must have gotten him. ”

“Demobats?” Chrissy repeated, wrinkling her nose in confusion. 

“They name everything,” Steve said with a laugh. 

“ Okay, so, I don’t think you can come back through the bedroom gate. After we set the fire, the police and firemen showed up to put it out but then a bunch of feds in suits came too and locked the house down. I’m guessing they know about the gate and are watching it. But, we think there might be another gate. ”

“How could there be another gate?” Nancy mumbled to herself. She reached out and brushed her hand through the particles, making them flicker and flash repeatedly. 

“ I’m guessing that’s you asking how or something. More bad news, Vecna struck again last night. Or maybe early this morning, not sure. Fred Benson, from the school newspaper. He was found on the highway. We haven’t gone out to check yet, but if I’m right, which I usually am, there will be a gate there, just like at Patrick’s house. We can meet you there. Sound good? ”

Eddie tapped once for yes 

“Poor Fred,” Chrissy said quietly, still clutching her Walkman to her chest. “He was a nice guy.”

“He was,” Nancy agreed, letting her head hang so her hair shielded her face. A quiet sniffle could be heard coming from her. “He was having a hard time though, after the car accident.”

“Oh shit, he was the guy who was in the accident that killed that one kid, right?” Eddie said. “I felt bad for him, that had to be horrible.”

Robin nodded. “He probably felt a lot of guilt and that was how Vecna got him.”

“How far is the highway from here?” Steve asked, already moving to pick up his backpack. Robin snatched it from him before he could, shooting him a glare.

“Couple miles. Not that far. Here, take this,” Eddie said. He started to pull off his battle vest, yanking it down over the sleeves of his leather jacket. He tossed the vest to Steve, who caught it with a fumble. “For your modesty. I’d give you the jacket, but I think it’ll be small on you. The vest is big on me, so it should fit.”

“Are you sure? I might get blood on it.”

“Just makes it more metal.”

Steve stared for a moment, his throat bobbing as he swallowed thickly, before he nodded and slipped the vest on. He tried to ignore the way his heart raced as the soft, worn denim rubbed against his bare skin. Chrissy caught his eye and gave him a little smile.

He looked away quickly. 

“Chrissy, you’ll have to ride on the handlebars of my bike, okay?” Robin said, leading the way back to the front of the store. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that's fine!” Chrissy said in a high, nervous voice. She ignored when Steve gave her a pointed look. 

Robin, Nancy, and Eddie unbarricaded the doors, still refusing to let Steve or Chrissy help. Nancy stepped outside first, gun up and ready, checking to make sure the coast was clear. When she was sure it was safe, she gestured for the others to follow. Eddie caught hold of Steve’s wrist and guided him over to what Steve recognized as Ted Wheeler’s bike, which had probably never been used, not even for family outings. Eddie got on first and then handed Steve the pipe he’d been using as a weapon. 

“Can you hold onto this for me?”

Steve opened his mouth without thinking, still a little hazy from the pain and blood loss. 

“Damn, could have taken me on a date first before asking me to handle your pipe, Eds.”

Robin dropped her bike in a clatter, making a choking, wheezing noise. Chrissy patted at her back while also trying to hide the fact that she was laughing. Nancy gaped at Steve for a moment before rolling her eyes, climbing onto her own bike. 

Eddie was completely and utterly catatonic. He stared at Steve with his big, brown, doe eyes, his mouth hanging open. A blush was creeping up his neck and coloring his cheeks bright red. Steve wondered if his own face was the same. He guessed it was, with the way his skin burned.

“Shit, that was stupid. I’m sor-” Steve started, only to be cut off by Eddie suddenly grinning, a wicked gleam in his eye that Steve had only ever seen when Eddie was doing something particularly devious during his D&D campaigns. 

Eddie leaned in when he spoke. “Oh, I’m sure you could handle it just fine, couldn’t you, Big Boy?”

Robin made another spluttering noise. “Guys, can this wait til we’re through the gate?” she asked in a choked voice. 

Eddie patted the handlebars. “You’re chariot, good sir.”

“Uh… yeah. Thanks,” Steve eloquently said before climbing up to sit on the bar. Eddie grabbed the handles on either side of Steve’s thighs and leaned just enough to see around him. 

“Hold on tight, this will probably be rough.”

Nancy led the way, able to move the easiest on her bike. Robin wasn’t far behind her, seeming to do just fine peddling with Chrissy on her handlebars. Eddie was slower, having to struggle a little more to pedal with Steve on the bars. Eddie had never been particularly athletic, and the added weight on the bike was very nearly too much for him, especially over the long distance. 

Finally, when they reached the highway, they were able to find the gate pretty quickly. It glowed red, and there were a few bats, high in the sky. They didn’t seem particularly interested in the humans, but that didn’t stop Nancy from pointing her gun up at them as soon as she stepped off her bike. 

“Eddie, you go through first,” Nancy said. “Help Steve and Chrissy get through from the other side. Robin and I will come in after.”

Eddie nodded and crouched down next to the gate. It was smaller than the one at Patrick's, situated in a now gaping crack in the highway. It would be a squeeze but doable. He pressed his hand against the membrane, snapping it and revealing the staring faces of Dustin, Lucas, Max and Erica. 

“Oh thank God,” Eddie breathed. “You guys okay?”

“Are we okay? We should be asking you that,” Lucas said. “Come on, the coast is clear.”

Eddie went through head first, grabbing Lucas and Dustin’s hands so they could help pull him through. Once he was on the pavement, safely through to the other side, Eddie put his hand through to take some of the group's things. Chrissy passed him some of the weapons and Robin shrugged off Steve’s backpack to hand to Eddie. Nancy was the only one that held onto her weapon, still covering their backs and watching the circling bats. 

Chrissy took Eddie’s hand first, letting him help her through the gate. Next was Steve, who needed help from both Eddie and Lucas, while Dustin starred in obvious shock and concern at the red tinged bandages around Steve’s middle. 

“Okay, I’m heading through. You still doing okay, Nancy?” Robin asked, turning to check on the other girl. 

Nancy was frozen, her gun hanging loosely in her grip as her arms dangled at her sides. Her face was upturned, but her expression vacant. 

“Nancy? Oh shit, Nancy!” Robin was on her feet, grabbing Nancy’s shoulders and shaking her. “Snap out of it, come on!”

“What’s happening?” Steve shouted through the gate.

“I think Vecna has Nancy! We need music!”

“We only have the Walkmans!” Eddie shouted through. “And we don’t have her favorite song!”

Dustin turned wild eyes on the group. “Put your headphones on! Max, Steve, Chrissy, do it! Now!”

“What? No, I need to help Nancy!”

“Steve, you can’t help her if Vecna tries to attack you! He could be using Nancy as a distraction to get at one of you three, so headphones now!”

Max and Chrissy did as he said without hesitation, pulling the headphones over their ears and turning up the volume. Steve was about to keep arguing when Eddie reached over and manhandled the headphones onto his head. When Steve tried to pull them off, Erica jumped behind him and held her hands on the headphones, making sure he couldn’t remove them. He tried to swat her away, but stopped when she smacked his hand hard enough to sting.

“Get her to the gate, Robin!” Eddie yelled. “I’ll help to pull her through and we can try to figure it out on this side!”

Robin took Nancy’s shotgun and slung it over her own shoulder before yanking Nancy’s body to the ground, the pair landing in a heap. She dragged Nancy to the edge of the gate so that Eddie could reach through, hooking his hands beneath Nancy’s arms. Robin took her legs, and together the two were able to guide her through the gate so she was lying flat on the asphalt of the highway. Robin followed next, Lucas helping her through while Dustin and Eddie tried to think of a song Nancy would like. 

“You hang out at her house all the time, what music does she listen to?” Eddie asked, patting at Nancy’s face, trying to get her to wake up.

Dustin shook his head. “I don’t know! She hangs out in her room and we hang out in the basement!” 

“Think! You have to know something!”

“Love is a Battlefield!” Lucas said suddenly, snapping his fingers. “She’s been playing that a lot lately. I can hear it from her room when I’m in the kitchen getting snacks.”

“It’ll have to do. Sorry if you hate my voice, Wheeler, this is the best we’ve got,” Eddie said, before starting in on the song. “ We are young. Heartache to heartache, we stand. No promises, no demands .”

Robin joined in, pushing Dustin aside and leaning over Nancy with Eddie, the pair singing as loud as they could. Eddie’s voice wasn’t bad. It had a rocker quality to it, something gravely that didn’t really fit the song, but he was on pitch. Robin, on the other hand, did not have the best singing voice. If she had a trumpet or a frenchhorn, she could play just about anything, but ask her to sing and it was going to come out shaky and nasally. That didn’t stop her though. She sung loudly, shaking at Nancy’s shoulder. 

“ No one can tell us we’re wrong! Searching our hearts for so long! ” Robin sang.

And then, with a gasp, Nancy’s eyes cleared and she bolted up into a sitting position, nearly cracking her forehead against Eddie’s. Her shoulders heaved as she breathed, gaze roving like she still couldn’t really see what was around her.

“Wheeler! You’re safe! Just take a deep breath!” Eddie said, rubbing at her shoulder soothingly. 

“I… I saw him. Vecna. I saw his plans. We’re wrong, we’re so wrong. He’s not the general for the Mind Flayer. He controls the Mind Flayer. And these gates, they are part of his plan. Once he has four of them, he’ll be able to bring the Upside Down into our world. He’ll destroy everything,” she said, nearly hyperventilating. “I don’t know how many people he cursed. More than four, obviously. Some must be backups. And we were wrong, about what happened at the Creel house. Vecna was the son, the one that was in a coma. He didn’t die, he was raised in the lab, with El. He showed me, saying he wanted me to tell Eleven that he was coming.”

“Shit,” Eddie hissed. “Okay, let's get as far away from the gate as we can and then make a plan.

“How are we going to get anywhere?” Erica asked, finally taking her hands away from Steve’s headphones. He pulled them down and shot her a glare. Erica stuck her tongue out at him in response. 

“Good point,” Lucas said. “We only have our bikes. There aren’t enough for everyone. And Steve looks like he’s in really rough shape.”

Eddie looked around, taking in exactly where they were at on the highway. “We aren’t too far from the junkyard, are we?”

“Are you seriously planning on patching Steve up in the junkyard?” Robin asked, glaring. “It's so dirty and -”

Eddie waved a dismissive hand. “No, we aren’t doing that! We’re going to get a ride. Wheeler, Chrissy, Steve, think you guys can manage a little walk?”

“I’ll need a little help, I think, but I can manage,” Steve said as he started to push himself to his feet. Dustin scrambled up in a hurry to help, letting Steve lean against him. 

Chrissy and Nancy both got up, Nancy a little shakier than the other girl, but they both nodded.

---

The walk through the woods was painful. Every step Steve took sent a jolt of hot, burning pain through his sides. It took everything in him to not tear up, not wanting to worry the kids. Dustin was clinging to him, helping Steve to keep his balance. But every time Steve breathed too heavy, or made a pained noise, Dustin would turn and look at him with those wide, scared eyes. Eddie stayed at Steve’s other side, ready to help if they needed it. Lucas and Erica were leading the way, Nancy a step behind them with Max. Chrissy and Robin were just a step in front of Steve, the pair both looking over their shoulders to check on him every couple of steps. 

“Was it the demobats?” Dustin asked. “Did they do this?”

Steve nodded. “They got me pretty good. But Chrissy and I got away. I bit one, actually. Chrissy said it was kinda cool.”

“It sounds like it was a pretty Ozzy move. Bummed I didn’t get to see it,” Eddie said, giving Steve one of his lopsided smiles. 

“Ozzy?”

“You know, Ozzy Osborne. Black Sabbath? Bit a bat's head off on stage? Come on, man, do you even listen when I talk?”

“Course I listen, Eds,” Steve said, huffing out a half laugh. “But you talk about a lot of bands. Gets confusing after a while.”

“Alright well, I’ll give you a pass for now, since you were bat chow, but what I’m trying to say is that it was a pretty metal move.”

Steve grinned at Dustin. “You hear that, Henderson? I’m metal.”

“You are not metal.”

“Yes I am. Eddie said so.”

“I said it was a metal move, not that you were metal.”

“Aw, come on. I bit a bat, I’ve got the cool vest, what more do I need to be metal?”

“I don’t know, how about actually listening to metal music?”

“Lame.”

“Sure it is, Stevie,” Eddie said laughing. “Now, Henderson, I got to know. How’d you guys get into the backroom of Family Video? Shouldn’t Keith have stopped you guys?”

“Oh, we told him that you, Steve, and Robin were crazy sick and wouldn’t be able to make your shifts and that you and Robin forgot something in the back when you were working the other night. When he said he would come back with us, Erica and I started coughing and sneezing saying we thought we might have caught what you guys had. He thought it was gross and told us to go back and just hurry up.”

“Smart,” Steve said, nodding along. 

“We’re just lucky Mike wasn’t with us or Keith would have tried to convince him to set him up with Nancy.”

“He’s done that before?” 

“Yeah, a while back when we would run into him at the arcade. It was creepy, honestly.”

“Probably should tell Nancy to steer clear of him, then.”

Eddie snorted but nodded in agreement. 

The three fell into silence again, only broken up by the occasional check in on Steve to make sure he wasn’t in too much pain. When they reached the junkyard, Eddie jogged ahead and started looking at some of the abandoned cars, until he spotted one he seemed to like. Pulling on the door handle, he found it was unlocked. Eddie let out an excited cheer before he slipped into the driver’s seat, half in and half out of the car. From his pocket, he pulled his multitool out and started yanking wires out from beneath the steering column. 

The rest of the group crowded around the open car door, watching what Eddie was doing. 

“Are you hot wiring a minivan?” Steve asked, nearly laughing. 

“It was the biggest car that still looked like it was functioning. We’ve got a lot of people, and we need space for everyone.”

“That makes sense, but where did you learn to do this?”

“Well, Stevie, when other dads were teaching their kids to fish and to play ball, my old man was teaching me to hotwire. Now, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t wind up like he did. But now, monsters are real and you’re going to bleed out if we don’t get you looked at, so here we are.”

“Are you going to drive, or is Nancy?” Robin asked, looking nervous. “Because, no offense, you’re not the best driver.”

“Considering Nancy got attacked by Vecna, and we don’t know if he can do it again, I’m the only driver we have left.” With that, the car spluttered to life, making Eddie grin. “Alright kiddos, pile in.”

Nancy got in the passenger seat, while Robin and Dustin sat with Steve sandwiched between them in the middle row of the minivan. In the back row, Lucas, Erica, Max, and Chrissy crammed together. It was a tight fit, but with how small the girls were, they were able to make it work. 

“Where are we going?” Dustin asked, leaning over Steve to put his face up between the two front seats.

“Sit back, you’re going to hurt Steve,” Eddie scolded, putting a hand on Dustin’s face and pushing him lightly. “And we’re going to my place.”

Nancy whipped her head to look at him, frowning, her brow furrowed in frustration. “Why? We should go back to Steve’s. He has a first aid kit there.”

“Yeah, he does. So do I. And my uncle was a medic in Vietnam. None of us have medical experience and Steve needs actual, professional, medical help. Not just us slapping band aids on him.”

“And how are we going to explain this to your uncle? He’s going to have questions.”

“We’ll say it was a dog attack or something. Wheeler, you saw Steve’s sides. He has chunks of flesh missing . We can’t take him to a hospital and we don’t know anyone else with medical training. Uncle Wayne is our only option.”

“Nance,” Steve said, exhaustion catching up to him. He leaned his head onto Robin’s shoulder. “I trust Wayne. I want to go to Eddie’s.”

“That settles it. Steve wants to go to my place, we go to my place.”

---

When they pulled up to the trailer, Eddie breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Uncle Wayne’s truck. He wasn’t sure if his uncle was going to be at work, and was dreading having to call him there and ask him to come home to patch Steve up. 

As they piled out of the stolen van, Eddie saw how Steve was leaning heavily on Robin and Dustin, his eyelids drooping. Eddie went around the van to replace Dustin, hoisting Steve’s arm over his shoulder and taking on the majority of his weight. 

Wayne must have heard a noise, because before any of them had even gotten to the front steps, he was opening the door and scowling out at them. Once his eyes landed on Steve though, his gaze softened ever so slightly. 

“What in the hell have you kids gotten yourselves into? Get inside, come on.”

With Robin’s help, Eddie was able to hoist Steve up the steps and into the trailer. Wayne gave each of them a cursory glance as they passed, his eyes catching on their weapons as they stepped into the trailer. It was a tight squeeze, having so many people there, but they managed to arrange themselves well enough. Eddie told Robin where to find some towels, which she laid down over the couch before they placed Steve down on it. Steve groaned as he was jostled, sinking into the cushions. 

“Steve got hurt,” Eddie said. He looked up at his uncle pleadingly. “We didn’t know where else to go.”

“Get the vest off him. I’ll get my kit and take a look at the damage.”

Together, Robin and Eddie leaned Steve forward and worked his arms out of the vest. Once it was free, they pulled it out from behind him and tossed it to Dustin, who was hovering nearby. Wayne then returned, a large, military style medical kit slung over his shoulder. Kneeling beside the couch, Wayne dug through the bag until he found some shears, which he used to cut through the bandages. He peeled one side up and took a quick look at Steve’s side.

Wayne made a hissing noise before placing the bandage back down. 

“There are parts of him missing, Eddie. He needs a hospital.”

“No hospital,” Steve groaned.

“You need skin grafts, boy.”

“Can’t go to a hospital yet.”

“When can you go to a hospital? Once it's infected and in your bloodstream?”

Steve didn’t respond, half lidded eyes staring into space.

“Shit, Steve?” Eddie said, shaking his shoulder. 

Robin grabbed at Steve’s headphones and put them over his ears. “We can’t catch a break, can we?”

“Not real,” Steve mumbled to himself. “Not true.”

“What’s going on here?” Wayne asked, gaze shifting between each of them, searching for an answer. 

Then Steve’s body started to lift from the couch.

Eddie and Robin threw themselves across him, trying to pin him back down. Dustin dropped the vest and added his own weight, leaning his full weight down onto Steve’s shoulders. 

“It's not real, Steve! You have to fight him!” Dustin shouted, right at Steve’s covered ear. 

The lights started to flicker and Steve’s eyes rolled back, showing only white. 

“Happy memories!” Nancy yelled. “Remind him!”

“Remember the first time I made a free throw during our pick up games? You were so excited that you picked me up and spun me around! And then after we finished playing, you took me out for ice cream,” Lucas rushed out in a jumble.

“Think about all the times we’ve hung out together!” Dustin started in. “We went to all those movies, and played all those video games! And then dinners at my house, with my mom! I swear, she would adopt you if she could.”

“You’re my best friend, dingus, and you cannot die on me! Do you hear what I’m saying, Steve Harrington? You have to fight this, please!”

And then, to everyone’s surprise, Wayne Munson leaned forward and started to speak. 

“Now, Steve, I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but I can tell you, these kids sure as hell love you. And I’ll admit, I wasn’t the nicest to you at first. I tend to hold a grudge. But within one night, you won me over. I like you, kid. We still have fun times ahead of us. You promised to watch the Super Bowl with me again next year, since Eddie won’t, and I promised to teach you how to fish. So come back to us, you hear? Come back.”

With a sudden gasp, Steve was back. His pupils were blown wide as his body collapsed back into the couch. The sudden drop caused both Robin and Eddie to lose their balance, putting more pressure on his injuries than they had meant to. Steve bit off a curse, his eyes screwing shut in pain. 

The room was silent except for the sound of heavy breathing. All eyes in the room were either fixed on Steve, or on Wayne, waiting for a reaction. 

Finally, Wayne spoke. “I’m going to clean and pack his wounds. Then I’ll wrap them again. While I do that, you kids are going to start talking. Don’t leave a damn thing out.”

Chapter Text

Wayne stared down at his hands, soaking in what had been explained to him. While he had taken care of Steve’s injuries, the entirety of the Upside Down and the events of the past few days were explained to him. It was, of course, explained in the disjointed way only a group of kids taking turns to speak could explain something, but he got the majority of it.

He also was understanding that there was no actual adult helping these kids. Eddie and Steve, while both over 18, hardly could count as true adults. The three older girls couldn’t either, even if they were 18, or about to be 18. Then there were the freshmen, the ones that Eddie was always bragging about. And the middle schooler, who had more snark and bite than just about anyone Wayne had ever met before. 

This gaggle of children was trying to save the world on their own. 

“You didn’t think to tell me before?”  Wayne asked gruffly. “I could have helped.”

“It's not safe, Uncle Wayne.”

“No, it's not. Which is why you shouldn’t be handling it alone. Not to mention that Carver boy stirring up trouble.”

Chrissy’s eyes went round and nervous. “Jason? What… what’s he doing?”

“He’s been harassing the kids in that Hellfire Club Eddie leads,” Wayne said before turning his attention back to Eddie. “That friend of yours, Gareth, called. I guess you missed band practice. Carver showed up while they were waiting on you and was spewing some bullshit about Satanism and brainwashing. Was looking for you and for Steve. Apparently he thinks you’re getting revenge on him and his friends. Thinks you’ve either brainwashed Steve into stealing your girlfriend, or that the two of you brainwashed her. He drove past here but left real fast after spotting me and my shotgun.”

“Shit,” Eddie said, rubbing at his face. “Satanic Panic hits Hawkins, Indiana. Knew it would happen eventually. Wish it wasn’t in the middle of the apocalypse though.”

Steve snorted, only to wince at the pain it caused his sides. Robin gave him a concerned look. 

“Is there any medicine we can give Steve?” she asked. “All he’s taken is some Tylenol.”

Wayne shook his head. “I don’t have anything stronger. Unless…” he glanced at Eddie.

“Oh, uh, I don’t have any medicine left from… when I had my wisdom teeth removed.”

“What about from dealing?” Max asked dryly. She laughed at Eddie’s deer-in-headlights look. “We figured it out forever ago, Munson. And Chrissy literally mentioned coming to you for drugs back when we were at Steve’s.”

“I… uh…”

“Caleb said something to me and Mike once too, about how you weren’t carrying anymore. We thought he meant a gun at first until we saw Gareth and Jeff ask to buy weed off you,” Dustin said. 

Lucas nodded along. “The guys on the basketball team were complaining that you didn’t deal anymore and how they had to get their stuff for parties from Reefer Rick. That or they had to drive out of town.”

“So you all just knew, and just never said anything?”

Dustin shrugged. “Didn’t seem like you wanted to talk about it. And we didn’t want it to get back to Robin and Steve. Because if Robin found out, she’d tell Steve, and if Steve found out, he’d go all mama bear and I didn’t want to sit through another ‘Just Say No’ lecture from him.”

Robin burst into full laughter, leaning far enough back that she nearly tumbled off the couch. Eddie was quick to join her, while Steve was staring at the kids, wide eyed and slack jawed. 

“We wouldn’t want Stevie to find out I used to deal, now would we?” Eddie snorted. “Think of how he would react!”

“Yeah, he might do something crazy like drive around town all afternoon looking for you, only to go hiking through the woods at night, falling on his face.”

“And ripping up his hands and knees.”

“Right, yes, bleeding everywhere. And he might manhandle you while having a full meltdown at the idea of drugs being anywhere near his precious little babies.”

“And then I might have to calm him down, all while being scared shitless.”

“And then he might offer to help you get a job and help you study if you promise to stop dealing and putting his kids’ futures in jeopardy.”

“He’s such a mom, isn’t he? Driving the kids everywhere, being overprotective, buying them snacks, giving them advice.”

“By those standards, you’d be their mom too.”

“I’m too irresponsible to be a mother.”

“Their dad then.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Are you two done?”

“Wait, Steve, did you bully Eddie into working with you at Family Video?” Dustin asked incredulously.

Erica was grinning, looking almost proud. “This is awesome.”

“It's not awesome! What if Eddie didn’t want to work there?”

“Really? I’m getting yelled at for helping Eddie get a legitimate job?”

“I think he’s just mad that you knew something before he did,” Max said, always one to stir up more trouble.

“Not true!” Dustin shrilled.

“He gets that from you,” Eddie said, grinning at Steve.

“The dramatics come from you.”

“You know what, that’s actually fair.”

Nancy cleared her throat pointedly, silencing the bickering. “While this is all very entertaining, we need to come up with a plan. Vecna wants to open 4 gates and we don’t know how many people he’s cursed. We need to stop him before he tries again.”

“You said that his body is inside the Upside Down, right?” Robin asked. “That means we need to go in and kill him there. If he is Henry Creel, like he says, then I bet he’s hiding in the old Creel house.”

“He’ll see you kids coming from a mile away,” Wayne said. 

Lucas grimaced. “We’ll need to distract him. And those demobats that you guys said were at the gates. I bet he has some guarding too. That, or demogorgons and demodogs.

“I could distract Vecna,” Max suggested. “I can take my headphones off and try to convince him to attack me. That’d give you guys the chance to kill him.”

“No, that’s not happening,” Steve immediately said.

“It's the only thing that will hold his attention!”

“It's too dangerous!”

Chrissy spoke up, interrupting them. “I could do it. I’m a little older, so it makes sense if I do it.”

“No. No, if it's going to happen, it’ll be me.”

“Steve,” Eddie started, only to be cut off when Steve shot him a glare.

“I’m hurt. I can’t fight, so there is no way I can protect the kids or go to kill Vecna. I would just slow everyone down. And Vecna seems to really, really want me. He sent hallucinations the same night that he tried to get Chrissy and that he killed Patrick. I’m betting if I hadn’t fallen into the pool and you hadn’t pulled me out, he would have killed me. And then he just tried again. He wants me, for whatever reason. I am the best bait we have for him.”

“Steve’s right,” Nancy said. She bit at her lip like she was trying to keep herself from saying it. “He’s our best bet at distracting Vecna. Someone will need to stay with him, to help if it goes too far.”

“I’ll do it,” Eddie immediately said. 

“We’re going to need your help with Vecna, Eddie.”

“No. I’m staying with Steve. You, Robin, Chrissy, and Wayne, if he’s still wanting to help, can go after Vecna. One of the kids can stay with me as a look out and the rest can do something to draw off the bats. Bats follow sound, right? We can rig up a speaker and blast music through a gate.”

Nancy opened her mouth to argue again, but was cut off by Robin. “Eddie should stay with Steve. He’s strong enough that he might have a shot at pulling Steve down if he floats. It’ll be hard alone, but he might be able to do it.”

“You’re okay with leaving Steve? Really?”

Robin shrugged. “I don’t love the idea. I’d rather be with him if I could. But, I trust Eddie. And I know that I’m not strong enough to hold Steve down alone if it came to that.”

“I don’t think anyone will be strong enough to hold him down alone,” Lucas said. “I think Mr. Munson should stay with Eddie too.”

Wayne arched a brow. “What happened to me helping with this Vecna guy?”

“Between everyone who is left, you and I are probably the two strongest.”

“Hey!”

“Shut up, Dustin. But, Mr. Munson, if the options are you or me, it should be you. You know how to use a gun and if anything happens, like…” Lucas trailed off glancing at Steve.

“If I die and a gate opens, Wayne would be the best to protect Eddie from anything that comes through,” Steve finished. 

Lucas nodded, looking both sheepish and remorseful. “I didn’t want to say it, but…”

“It's okay. It needed to be said. And it's best if you’re with Max anyway.”

“But also, if your bites start bleeding really badly again or if you get hurt, Mr. Munson is the only one with actual medical training. He should be near you in case you need help,” Lucas insisted.

Steve gave him a smile. “Thanks for looking out for me, buddy. Erica, do you want to stick with me and be lookout or do you want to go with your brother to distract the bats?”

“She should stay with the other kids,” Chrissy said. “The more people they have, the safer they’ll be.”

“How do you kids plan to get music through this gate without letting the bats through?” Wayne asked, leaning back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“We only have two options of gates,” Max said. “Patrick’s bedroom and the highway. There may still be people at Patrick’s house, but it’ll be the only gate near a power source. We can plug in a speaker and put it through the gate and then block the gate off.”

“What will keep the bats from attacking the speaker?” Lucas asked.

“What if we got some fencing material and put it up on the ceiling? Then you could play the music from our side and the bats would be able to hear it, but not be able to get to the speaker,” Nancy suggested. 

“We’d want to use chain link and layer it with chicken wire,” Wayne said. “They won’t be able to squeeze through and shouldn’t be able to bite through.”

“Can we find that at the junkyard?”

Eddie nodded. “Oh, for sure.”

“And what about the feds at Patrick’s house?” Robin asked. 

“We could make a false claim about another gate,” Erica suggested. “Get them all to head to the other side of town.”

“That could work,” Nancy said, nodding along. 

They then fell into silence, each processing the plan. Robin reached over to squeeze Steve’s hand while sending Chrissy a reassuring smile from across the room. The other girl smiled back, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

“So, we’re actually doing this?” Eddie asked.

Wayne nodded. “Sounds like it.”

---

Using a staple gun, Eddie and Wayne blocked off the gate in Patrick’s bedroom. The girls had already gone out to the highway, to slip through the gate there, leaving the boys to handle the kids. They had stopped off a few blocks from Patrick’s house at a convenience store so that Eddie could use a payphone, putting on one of his many D&D voices to convince the police that something weird was happening out in the woods, past the train tracks. Of course, the feds were listening in to any and all calls made to the police station, and were evacuating Patrick’s house within seconds to get to this supposed new gate. 

It would take some time before they realized they were tricked. The woods were dense, and there was a lot of ground to cover in their search. That gave them enough time to prep the gate, hook up Eddie’s amp, and connect a tape deck to it. Eddie had tried to give the kids some of his tapes, telling them to ‘educate those flying fucks on what good music was.’ Max had shaken her head and said she had something that would work. She’d gone to her trailer to get it before they left the trailer park.

Once the kids were settled, each with a weapon and a promise from Max to keep her headphones on, they got back into Wayne’s truck and started the drive out to the Creel house.

The girls would be arriving soon, since they were able to grab the discarded bikes they had left at the highway gate earlier. Once they were at the Creel house, they would signal through the lights that they were in position. 

The entire drive over, Wayne kept sneaking glances at Steve and Eddie. Eddie had tried to catch his eye, wanting to silently ask what was wrong, but when he caught the way Wayne was eyeing the bruises and wounds on each of them, Eddie turned away. 

Wayne was worried about them. Eddie hated himself a little for putting his Uncle through this.

When they pulled up to the Creel house, Wayne went around to the back, where it was harder for anyone to see, and kicked in the door. It took little effort, the door having been repaired multiple times already from people breaking in. Once he was inside, he made his way up to the front door to let the boys in. Steve was still a little weak and in pain from the bites, so Eddie helped him inside, staying close as they made their way upstairs to set up. They kicked clear a spot for Steve to sit, sweeping away broken glass and cigarette butts with their boots. Steve let out a low groan as Eddie lowered him to the ground. Wayne watched on, his grip tightening on his shotgun. 

“Now, you boys get ready. Holler if you need me. I’m going to be keeping an eye out. If you hear me moving around downstairs, it's just cuz I’m moving between windows,” Wayne said as he threw his shotgun over his shoulder. He paused, looking at both young men. Opening his arms, he pulled Eddie into a tight hug, his hand coming up to grip the back of his neck. When he let go, he crouched down to give Steve the same embrace. Both Eddie and Steve found themselves clutching to him just as tightly. Before Wayne left the room, he gave them a soft look.  “I’m proud of you two. Don’t do anything stupid. I want us all walking out of here alive, you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yeah, Uncle Wayne. You be careful too.”

With a final nod, Wayne made his way back downstairs. 

Steve and Eddie were left alone, with only the faint sounds of The Eurythmics filling the air from Steve’s headphones. 

“Eddie?”

“Yeah?”

“If I don’t make it  -”

“Stop,” Eddie snapped, cutting Steve off. “Don’t say that.”

“There’s a chance I won’t -”

“You promised. You promised me.”

“I know I did.”

“Then stop talking like you’re dying.”

“Eddie, I promised to try. And I am. I’m been trying so hard. But I need you to make some promises just in case I don’t make it.”

Eddie shook his head, eyes closed, like if he didn’t look at Steve, he wouldn’t hear it. 

“Dustin looks up to you. So does Mike. I need you to keep looking out for them, okay? And please try to help Max. Get her to open up, or convince her mom to take her to therapy, or fuck, call CPS if you have to. Susan is neglecting her and I don’t want Max to have to suffer like that.”

“Steve-”

“I’m not done. Go to Lucas’ basketball games. I know you don’t really like them, but it would mean the world to him if you cheered him on. And I need you to play DnD with Erica. She likes it a lot, and is good at it from what the boys tell me. You two would get along if you got to know each other. Also, if you could check in on Nancy, I would appreciate it. I know you two aren’t friends, but she needs people. Same with Chrissy, but I think Robin will have that covered. And Robin. You have to look after Robin. She’ll… she’ll be a mess if I don’t make it. Get her out of this town. Make her go away for college. Please.”

“Steve, you have to stop.”

“I will soon. My car is in my name. Don’t let my parents sell it. Give it to Dustin. Or if he doesn’t want it, you can sell it and use the money to get Dustin a car he likes. And if any of you want anything from my room, go there as fast as you can after this is over. Robin knows where the spare key is. My parents will just throw it all away if you guys don’t go and get things. And you have to promise me that you’ll take care of yourself too. No matter what, take care of yourself. Okay?”

“Why are you doing this?” Eddie asked. His voice was thick, like he was trying to swallow back tears. “Why are you saying all of this to me?”

Steve gave Eddie a watery smile. “Because I trust you, Eddie.”

---

The jackets Wayne forced the girls to take were heavy on their narrow shoulders. But they were thick, and reinforced, perfect for giving some semblance of protection against possible attacks from creatures of the Upside Down.

Once they had slipped through the crevice into the Upside Down, the girls were in motion. Chrissy had Steve’s nail bat in a backpack, slung across her back. The bag was also filled with molotov cocktails, which were to be distributed once they found Vecna. They each grabbed the bikes that they had abandoned before, each of them silently thankful that they were still there. 

Robin had picked up the bike Eddie had been using, and tried to ignore the dried blood that clung to the handlebars. 

Nancy led the way, taking winding paths to avoid the vines. Chrissy was next, her headphones on. They had decided she should wear them the entire time they were in the Upside Down, just in case. Robin took up the rear, keeping a close eye on Chrissy. Only to make sure the other girl didn’t get attacked by Vecna, of course, not for any other reason. 

Occasionally, Robin would get a creeping feeling up her spine and would have to turn to look over her shoulder, making sure nothing was following them. She nearly lost her balance on her bike every time she did that, but it was worth it to know that they weren’t being stalked by demogorgons or demobats, or demodogs, or whatever other demo-creatures that were out there.

The Creel house looked especially creepy and decrepit in the low light of the Upside Down. Vines crawled their way up the sides, twisted and tangling until they were nearly a solid fleshy wall. Overhead, creatures circled, but hadn’t seemed to notice them yet. The three set their bikes down on the cracked pavement, avoiding laying them on anything that could trigger an attack. 

Nancy made a gesture, signaling for Robin and Chrissy to follow her, all while pulling her shotgun around to her hands. Chrissy and Robin took up their own weapons. Chrissy seemed unsure with the bat in her hand, but Steve had insisted she take it, saying he wouldn’t be able to use it anyway, and that it would work better than her fire poker. Robin still had her ax, and was becoming a little worried about how natural it was starting to feel in her hands. 

At the front of the house, Nancy paused, waving her hand in the particles next to the front door. They lit up around her hand, glittering and shimmering. She tapped a quick pattern.

---

The flashlight that Eddie had left by the front door lit up, flashing three times in quick succession. Wayne pulled from his belt the walkie talkie that Max Mayfield had given him. Pressing the button on the side, Wayne spoke into it in a low and quiet voice. Up the stairs, on the top floor, Dustin Henderson’s walkie talkie crackled to life beside Steve and Eddie.

“The ladies are in position. Time to start. Over.”

---

Lucas’ walkie talkie gave a short burst of static, and then they heard Wayne Munson speak. “ The ladies are in position. Time to start. Over. ”

The four children, all sitting on the floor of the burnt out shell of what once used to be Patrick’s bedroom, jumped into action. Dustin flipped the switch on the amp, feedback screeching. Erica was grabbing for the fire poker that Chrissy had passed onto her while Lucas snatched up his wrench. Max, who had her own nail bat beside her, the one made by Steve just for her, picked up the tape player and glared up into the Upside Down. 

“This is for Billy and Steve, you bastard,” she whispered, nearly hoping that Vecna could hear her. “This is for my brothers.”

Then she pressed play.  

And the Mötley Crüe tape, the one she had snagged from Billy’s collection before Neil packed all of his things, began to blare into the Upside Down at an ungodly volume.

---

“ The ladies are in position. Time to start. Over. ”

Steve swallowed thickly and turned his Walkman off, setting it and his headphones aside. 

He waited a few moments, waiting for Vecna to attack, but nothing happened. 

“Fucker,” Steve growled. “Come on. Do it. I want you to do it.”

Still nothing.

Panic started to set in. Eddie was looking at Steve nervously, biting at his thumbnail. They needed Vecna to attack. They needed him distracted. And they needed it now.

“What do you want from me?” Steve asked loudly. “Want me to admit it? Is that what this is going to take? Fine, you win. You win, asshole. I’m done fighting. I’m done trying. It’s only a matter of time, right? Before you kill all of us. So why not get it out of the way. Fucking kill me. Then kill whoever is next on your stupid fucking list and destory this fucking town. See if I care!”

“Why should he destroy Hawkins, Harrington?” 

Steve looked up and standing right in front of him, the moon casting his shadow over Steve, was Billy Hargrove. 

He wasn’t bloody. Not like the last time Steve saw him in a dream. He was in that maroon button up from the night at the Byers, half the buttons undone and his gold necklace glinting. His hair was perfectly styled and pushed back just enough to show off his earring. Billy wasn’t glaring, no hidden fury in his eyes. He wasn’t giving Steve his manic smile either, the one that meant pain was coming. For once, Billy’s expression was neutral and even. There was almost an understanding there; it looked borderline kind.

“Hargrove?”

“Why should he destroy Hawkins?” Billy repeated. 

---

Steve’s eyes had glazed over as he spoke, rolling and turning white. He wasn’t floating, and he was still speaking, though it was quiet. Something about it only being a matter of time. 

Eddie picked up the walkie talkie.

“Vecna is distracted. Over.”

---

Robin, Chrissy, and Nancy heard the wailing of guitars and the banging of drums from a distance. It wasn’t loud enough that they could make out the singer’s words, but it was enough to turn the heads of the demobats. The creatures screeched, becoming agitated and circling into a frenzy. Then, swooping over the trees, they started to fly towards the sound.

They gave it another minute, hoping it was enough time for Steve to catch Vecna’s attention. There was no way for Wayne or Eddie to tell them, not without shouting loud enough to be heard in the Upside Down, and that was too risky. There was too great of a chance that Vecna would hear. 

The three slowly pushed the door of the Creel house open and slipped inside. The door swung shut behind them, letting out an ominous thud when it closed. 

---

“Hargrove?”

“Why should he destroy Hawkins?” Billy repeated. 

 “Because I hate this town,” Steve said, his voice hushed.

“Why?”

“It's evil.”

“Is it? Or is it the people that are evil?”

“The people?”

“Come on, Harrington, I can’t help if you don’t tell me the truth. The people are why you want to die, right?”

“No!”

“The truth, Harrington,” Billy said, his voice staying even and cool. He sounded almost civil, if that was a word one could use to describe Billy. “You want to die. Don’t lie to me, not now. We’re past that.”

Steve paused, glancing around the room. Eddie was nowhere to be seen, the Walkman was gone, and the floor was clean.

“Am… Am I already dead?”

“Maybe. Does it matter?”

“I… guess not. I thought it would hurt more.”

Billy crouched down, his elbows on his knees, so he was eye to eye with Steve. “See? Dying isn’t so bad. You can be free now. You just have to tell me the truth.”

“Right. The truth.”

---

Steve thought he was talking to Billy Hargrove. 

It was a terrifying thought. Eddie knew how scared of Hargrove Steve was. It was an easy fear to play on, especially with any guilt that came with Hargrove being dead. Yet, Steve didn’t seem scared, at least not yet. 

He wasn’t fully under, not like when he and Chrissy floated. It was an almost in-between stage, like he was both under the curse and still with Eddie.

Eddie wondered if Vecna was having trouble holding on to Steve, or if Vecna was just playing with them, dragging it out. 

“Am… Am I already dead?” Steve whispered.

Eddie’s heart clenched. Already. Like Steve had always thought he was going to die tonight, it was just a matter of when. 

Maybe Robin had been right. Maybe Eddie should have told Steve how he felt, just in case. 

It was too late now. Eddie just had to hope that Steve would make it out of this.

Steve had paused, like someone was speaking to him, and then he spoke again. “I… guess not. I thought it would hurt more.”

Eddie bit his nail again, having to keep himself from running to Steve and trying to shake him awake, insisting that Steve wasn’t dead, to just snap out of it.

“Right. The truth,” Steve said, nodding slightly. “I didn’t want to die. I just… didn’t want to keep fighting. I was so tired. And with everything that kept happening, it was only a matter of time before I got between the kids and some monster and got myself killed. I was sick of the waiting, I think. You get it, right, Hargrove? You did it for El and Max. Fuck, why’d you do it? You were such an asshole, but you saved them. You hurt Max so bad and left her so confused. Should have been me, instead of you or Barb or Hopper. Would have fixed things, I think. If Barb lived, Nancy would have been happy. And if Hopper lived, El wouldn’t have lost her father. And if you lived, you might have had a chance to shape up and actually be the brother Max needed. Me? I’m just the asshole who bullied people because I thought being popular would make my parents proud of me. They’ll never be proud of me, though, no matter what I do. I’m too stupid, too screwed up, too useless, and too queer. I’ll… never be good enough for anyone. My life hasn’t done anyone any good, so I should at least make my death count for something, right?”

Before Eddie could even begin to process any of the words that were just said, Steve’s body went completely rigid, his back straightening and every line of his body tense. He’d fallen silent, his last word barely passing his lips before his jaw clamped shut. 

The curse was in full effect. 

---

Nancy led the way up the stairs, carefully avoiding any of the vines. Chrissy was following exactly in her footsteps, the two sure-footed. Robin was, again, taking up the rear. She tried to match the other two’s steps, holding her breath when she had to step into an especially small space, hoping that would help her to not hit one of the vines. 

It was, of course, when she went to step on a nice, large spot that should have been easy to put her foot on, that she slipped, triggering the vines. 

They sprung to life. One wrapped around her leg, another around her middle, slamming her into a wall. Before she even had the chance to scream, a vine was winding around her throat and squeezing, cutting off any sound. 

Nancy had managed to dodge the first grab of a vine, but wasn’t so lucky with the second. It had both her arms pinned to her sides and her pressed to a wall, squeezing the breath from her as more vines lashed across her body and throat. Chrissy made a yelping noise as she was thrown into a wall, the vines going straight for her neck. She reached up, trying to pry the vine away, only for more vines to attack her. Her headphones were knocked askew in the attack, nearly falling off and only barely covering one of her ears. The music was faint, nearly completely covered by the sounds of their struggles.

As the vines tightened, Robin had a fleeting thought, wondering if this was how Steve felt when the demobat had strangled him. 

That thought was quickly wiped away by the feeling of more vines creeping over her body.

---

Wayne was walking from the front of the house to the back, doing a parameter check, when the back door of the Creel house creaked open. 

Two teenage boys crept inside. The pair froze when they saw Wayne, standing there with his shotgun.

“I don’t know what you boys are doing here, but you should be heading home,” Wayne growled.

The two glanced at each other for a brief moment, and then the second, the larger of the two, barreled forward, slamming into Wayne and knocking his gun from his hand. Wayne tried to shout, tried to warn Eddie, but was punched before he could say anything. 

The other teen, a blond wearing a letterman jacket, made a beeline for the stairs.

---

“My life hasn’t done anyone any good, so I should at least make my death count for something, right?” Steve finished, hoping this was enough of the truth for whatever Billy was going to do to help him. Maybe Billy was sent to test him, to see whether or not Steve would get sent to Heaven or Hell. 

The fact that it was Billy there to test him though didn’t seem like a good sign. Maybe Billy’s last act was enough to tip the scales. Maybe what Steve had done for years for the kids would be enough to erase the bad. 

Billy reached out and placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder, as though he were trying to comfort him. Steve suddenly felt cold, like he’d been dunked in a freezing ice bath.

Billy’s face twisted into a familiar crazed, dangerous smile as his veins seeped to black and blood flowed from freshly forming chest wounds. 

“Poor Steve Harrington,” Billy said, teeth flashing bright white as he grinned. “Poor rich boy couldn’t handle the pressure, huh?”

The world tilted, shifted, and Steve was sitting beside his pool on one of the deck chairs. Clutching to his shoulders was Barb, her image flickering back and forth between being healthy and alive to being dead and rotting. 

“ You killed me! You killed me! You killed me! ” she shrieked, digging her nails in as he tried to push her off.

“You’re not real!” Steve yelled back. “I’m not dead! This isn’t real!”

Barb flickered again, this time into a man. A man with fleshy, discolored gray skin and grotesque hands. He had no hair, his head smooth, and no nose. 

Steve recognized him from Chrissy’s description: this was Vecna. 

“It’s very real, Steven. It's real to you,” Vecna growled, before the world shifted again, leaving Steve alone and stranded in the tunnels. They stretched out before and behind him, dark and cavernous. The sounds of demodogs snarling in the distance sent him sprinting into the dark.

---

The sound of a scuffle startled Eddie into looking away from Steve. There was a thump, like something heavy hitting the ground, and footsteps on the stairs.

“Uncle Wayne?” Eddie said, knowing it probably wasn’t him. 

He was right. It wasn’t him. It was Jason Carver. 

Jason looked rough. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, with his hair a little wild and shadows beneath his eyes. His letterman jacket looked dirty, like he hadn’t taken it off since Eddie last saw him at the police station. 

“Carver, hey, you should be at home, man. It's pretty late,” Eddie started, hands coming up as though to guide Jason back to the stairs.

Jason’s eyes were fixed on Steve.

“Harrington? Harrington? Hello?” Jason said, creeping closer and waving his hand in front of Steve’s face. He went to touch Steve’s shoulder, only to stop when Eddie spoke up, louder and sharper than before.

“Don’t touch him!”

Jason glanced over his shoulder but didn’t move away from Steve. “Why not?”

“He got hurt yesterday. If you shake him, you’ll hurt him.”

“Hurt?”

“His sides. You can’t see it, it's under his shirt.”

“His shirt? That looks like your shirt. That’s one of those satanic bands you like, right?”

“It's just Judas Priest, man, nothing satanic.”

“Really?” Jason asked, straightening so he didn't lean over Steve anymore. “Because this looks pretty satanic. Do you have him in some sort of trance or something?”

“What are you even doing here, Carver?”

“We saw you. At Patrick’s. We went because we wanted to try and talk to his parents, but instead, we saw you walking out with your Uncle and Harrington. More like you were dragging Harrington while he stumbled along. Did you drug him or something? Took him to see your handiwork at Patrick’s and then brought him here to finish him off? Or was he in on it? Did you corrupt him with your satanic worship? Is that why he stopped hanging out with anyone in high school?”

Eddie shook his head. “You’re crazy. Nothing like that is happening here, you should just leave.”

With a hand as quick as a snake, Jason lashed out and grabbed the back of Steve’s head, tangling his hand in Steve’s already knotted hair, and yanked his head back, leaving the bruised V shaped mark from the demobats on full display. Eddie felt his blood run cold. Glancing to his left, he could see his pipe leaning against the wall. It was too far to reach. There was no way he would be fast enough to get it and still catch Jason by surprise.

“Holy shit, did you try to hang him, Munson?”

“Let him go, Carver.”

“Not until you tell me what is going on. And where’s Chrissy? Is she near here?”

“Last chance.”

“Answer me or -”

Jason didn’t get to finish the sentence. Eddie dropped, grabbing a broken beer bottle off the floor and lunging forward before Jason could react. He balled his fist into Jason’s jacket and used his momentum to drive Jason backwards, making him let go of Steve. Eddie slammed Jason into the wall and held the beer bottle to his throat, his face inches from Jason’s.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Carver. When I let go, you are going to walk back down the stairs and you’re going to take whatever friend you have here with you, and you are going to leave. You’re going to forget what you saw here and you are going to leave us the fuck alone. Have I made myself clear?”

Jason’s response was a swift punch to Eddie’s stomach.

Chapter Text

Steve was running through the tunnels, the sounds of growling, snarling demodogs coming from behind him. He could hear their panting breaths and the sounds of their clawed feet striking the ground as they gave chase. Steve’s feet slipped on a vine, nearly sending him sprawling. 

Scrambling away, he turned a corner, chanting to himself, “It's not real. It's not real. It's not real.”

Turning another corner, the world shifted again and he was sent spiraling into a new memory. His feet seemed to leave the ground and he was falling. He could feel his stomach do a flip, and then he was slamming into something solid, but soft.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in Dustin’s living room. He was on the couch and sitting on the floor in front of him was Dustin, who was chattering away about how excited he was for the school dance. Steve had a comb in one hand and a can of hairspray in the other, various products and hair tools scattered on the couch beside him. 

Steve remembered this. This was the night of the middle school dance, when he had helped Dustin to get ready and drove him over.

Mrs. Henderson walked past the back of the couch and gently patted Steve’s shoulder, sending him a smile when he looked up. 

“Thanks for helping my Dustin get ready. You’re a good boy, Steve,” she said before she continued on, in search of her camera. 

“Steve.”

He turned and standing in front of Dustin, staring at Steve, was Eleven. She looked older than the last time he had seen her, having grown a few inches and lost some of the baby fat in her cheeks. Her hair was shorn short, buzzed again. Dustin didn’t seem to notice her, still talking as though nothing happened.

“El? What’s going on? How are you… this is another trick. Another hallucination.”

“No, Steve, it’s not. I’m here to help. I’m hiding you from One. If you can stay in a happy memory, he can’t get you. I’ll protect you.”

“But… wait, how are you here? I thought you lost our powers.”

“I got them back. And I was able to see what was happening here, with our friends. We couldn’t get to Hawkins in time to help fight One. So we made a tub in a pizza place, so I could help inside your mind.”

“Is that safe for you?” Steve asked.

El smiled. “You always think about others first. You are a good person, Steve.”

Before Steve could respond, the lights started to flicker and dim. Dustin disappeared, crumbling away in front of Steve, and the sounds of Mrs. Henderson puttering about ceased. Steve stood from the couch and looked around. 

“What’s happening?”

“I… I think he found us,” El said, shifting her feet and grounding herself, ready to fight. 

A side table launched into the air, flying straight at Eleven. Steve shouted and yanked her out of the way at the same time that she threw a hand up, using her powers to throw an armchair across the room, where Vecna was materializing. El shoved Steve back, yelling for him to hide, just as she and Vecna started to fight. 

Steve tried to grab something, anything, that he could use to fight, to help protect El, when the scenery suddenly changed. El was thrown through the air, screaming as she went, as they landed in a hellscape, surrounded by pillars. It wasn’t anything like Steve had seen before, not even when he was in the Upside Down. Vines writhed all around them, twisting and undulating together, more alive than they had any right to be.

An unseen force gripped Steve, slamming him against one of the pillars. Across from him, El was pressed against another, the vines slithering to snare her. He felt vines starting to creep up over his limbs as well, lifting him higher onto the pillar, dragging his already sore and injured back across the uneven surface. 

“Did you think you could hide, Steven?” Vecna asked, his voice thick and rough. The sound of it alone made Steve grit his teeth. “You would hide behind a little girl?”

“Don’t listen to him, Steve! Happy memories!” El shouted. 

“Quiet, Eleven, the adults are speaking,” Vecna snapped, though he didn’t look at her. Instead, he leaned in closer to Steve, their eyes locked. Vecna hummed thoughtfully, his expression one of someone who was inspecting something they found mildly interesting. “Nearly there. Just one… final… push.”

Vecna reached out, his hand grasping at Steve’s face, nearly completely obscuring his view. Steve felt his stomach twist, flipping again, and the world went black.

---

Jason and Eddie were grappling, throwing elbows and punches at each other as they rolled across the hardwood floor. Eddie could feel bits of glass cutting his skin, and could see streaks of red on Jason where he was cut. The bottle that Eddie had been using as a makeshift weapon had been knocked out of his hand, shattering somewhere he couldn’t see. 

“You and your freak friends are dead, Munson! You hear me?” Jason snarled into Eddie’s face.

“Fuck you!”

A sound across the room caught Eddie’s attention, a shuffling, shifting noise. He turned his head in time to see Steve start to float, his arms loose at his side, his face turned up towards the ceiling. 

Eddie got an elbow to the face for looking away, sending him sprawling across the ground. Jason didn’t follow up the attack, and from the sound of his swearing, Eddie guessed he had seen Steve.

“You really are a Satanist!” Jason yelled, climbing to his feet and stumbling further away from Steve, planting himself near the door.

Eddie pulled himself up, groaning as he felt blood run down his face from his broken nose. He started to stumble across the room, to reach Steve’s Walkman, when he heard a click from behind him. 

Eddie knew that noise. 

That was the sound of a gun being cocked. 

“Stop the spell,” Jason said. 

Slowly, Eddie turned around, hands raised at shoulder height, keeping his open palms visible at all times, just like his dad had taught him when he was little when he’d been teaching Eddie how to handle cops.

Jason was holding a revolver, a shiny silver one. It was the type rich dads would keep in a glass case, hanging somewhere in their office. It usually had some fancy story attached to it, like it was a gift to some old relative a long time ago from some even richer person. Sometimes they were collectors items, the kind that were replicas from old western movies or were actually from the set of one of the films.

Eddie guessed that Jason had stolen it from his dad before going out to hunt the freak. It was probably fully loaded, all the chambers filled. Even if Jason didn’t have good aim, he still had six chances to hit Eddie. 

Or six chances to miss and hit Steve.

“Carver, come on, let’s talk about this.”

“No! Enough! Stop whatever ritual this is and let Harrington and Chrissy go!”

“I’m not doing this, man. You don’t understand.”

“Yes, I do,” Jason said, sneering. “You were jealous. Jealous of me and of Harrington and of everyone else who was ever more popular than you. So you put some spell on Harrington to control him. Then you killed Patrick and broke his body. And then you stole Chrissy from me. What about Fred, huh? Why’d you have to kill him? He never did anything to you! Or was that just practice for this? You can’t just let people be happier than you, is that it? You couldn’t handle that you wouldn’t amount to anything beyond dealing and winding up in prison. Couldn’t handle being the freaky, trailer trash faggot, so you had to ruin the lives of good people Well, I won’t let you. I’ll stop you. And then they’ll stop asking if I did something to Patrick. I’ll get Chrissy back and I’ll be a hero!”

There was another click, a gun cocking, from behind Jason. Jason’s vindictive, smug expression froze, a new, panicked light shining in his eyes as his entire body went stiff.

“You’re going to uncock that gun and you’re going to set it down on the ground. You hear me, boy?” Wayne growled, holding his shotgun to the back of Jason’s head. Blood ran from a cut on Wayne’s forehead and he had the beginnings of a black eye, but he didn’t look bad for just coming out of a fist fight with an 18 year old jock. When Jason didn’t move, Wayne pressed the barrel harder into the base of Jason’s skull. “Boy, do not make me kill you. Gun down. Now.”

Slowly, Jason uncocked the revolver and began to crouch, setting the gun down by his sneaker. The whole way down and back up, Wayne kept his gun pressed to Jason’s head. Once Jason was standing straight again, Wayne nudged him with the barrel. 

“Kick it across the room to Eddie.”

Jason did as he was told. Eddie grabbed the gun and shoved it into the waistband of his jeans. 

“What now?” Jason asked. “You in on this whole Satanic ritual, like your freak nephew, Mr. Munson?”

“You don’t know when to shut up, do you?” Wayne asked before rearing back, slamming the stock of his shotgun into the back of Jason’s head. Jason’s eyes immediately rolled back and he crumpled in a heap, unconscious. 

Wayne threw his gun back over his shoulder and grabbed the teen’s arms to drag him out of the doorway. Eddie was in motion grabbing the Walkman and trying to figure out how to get the headphones on Steve’s head while he was floating. 

That’s when blood started to stream down Steve’s cheeks, running like tears from his eyes. Suddenly, and with no warning, Steve’s left forearm snapped, leaving it at a sickening right angle.

---

Eddie was kissing him. 

Steve wasn’t sure exactly where he was, his eyes closed, but he could feel his back pressed against a door, Eddie’s ringed fingers tracing patterns across the back of his neck where Eddie clung to him as their lips moved together. The occasional gasp and breathy sound would slip from one of them, making Steve press in closer as Eddie pinned him back. 

“God, I love you,” Steve whispered against Eddie’s lips. 

Eddie pulled back, leaving Steve to chase after him for a second, before opening his eyes. Eddie moved his hands to Steve’s shoulders, holding him at arm's length, face contorted in confusion.

“You love me?”

“I… Yeah. Do you…”

Eddie laughed, cold and cruel, in a way Steve had never heard before. “Hold on, are you about to ask if I love you?”

“I thought maybe -”

“How could I ever love someone like you, Harrington. You’re bullshit .”

The room came into focus around them, and Steve found himself in Tina’s bathroom, Halloween night, 1984. A party raged just beyond the door, music thumping loudly. 

“Bullshit. You and your love,” Eddie said.

“Eddie, wait -”

“You’re bullshit ,” Eddie repeated. Something flickered, the lights or Eddie himself, and suddenly there was Nancy, leaning up into Steve’s face, alcohol on her breath as she stared up at him with her big doll eyes. 

“It’s all bullshit . You killed Barb and still think I could love you? That he could?”

“Nancy? How did you get here?”

“ Bullshit .”

The door opened against his back and Steve was thrown backwards. He landed on the ground, hard, the air knocked from his lungs. Gasping for breath, he found himself staring up at his own ceiling, back home in his living room. His father was leaning over him, snarling down at him.

“A fucking faggot? My son? I thought you couldn’t get any worse, but you managed to actually surprise me this time. And with that freak of a criminal, no less.”

“Dad? No, you don’t know. I’ve never told you. I haven’t told anyone.”

His dad placed his foot, clad in a pristine, polished Italian leather dress shoe, over Steve’s left arm, pressing down hard enough to hurt. 

“Do you think I’m stupid, Steven?”

“No.”

“No, what?”

“No… sir.”

“That’s better. And if I’m not stupid, then it stands to reason I can figure out my son is a queer, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Just another reason we should never have had you,” his father spat, pressing down harder on his arm. “Could only stand being around you a few days at a time. Every time I had to stay longer, I was itching to leave again.”

“Dad…”

“Apologize, Steven.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what, Steven?”

“For… being a disappointment.”

A twisted smile curled on the older man’s face. “That’s better.”

Then he stomped down on Steve’s arm so hard that it broke. 

Steve is pretty sure the only other time he’s screamed this loud was when the Russians were torturing him.

---

The demobats were shrieking and shrilling on the other side of the layered fencing, gnashing their teeth and trying to worm their way through to attack the amp and the kids. 

Dustin was repeatedly cursing while Lucas yelled at him to shut up. The pair were acting as human shields for Erica and Max. Max was still crouched on the floor, holding the tape deck and getting ready to flip the tape as fast as she could when side A ran out. Erica was standing at Max’s back, ready to defend her if anything broke through the fences and the boys. 

“Are those fences going to hold?” Erica shouted, staring at where the bats had nearly ripped through a piece of chicken wire.

“They better!” Dustin screeched back, his voice cracking on the words. 

Suddenly, a hellish scream sounded from the Upside Down, the bats howling and writhing in pain. A few collapsed, dead. The others, the ones still alive, were whipped into a frenzy. They still attacked the fence, but they were also hurting themselves and each other in their panic, some going as far as to kill each other. 

“What happened?” Lucas yelled. 

Erica and Dustin both shook their heads while Max scowled up at the bats. 

“Something good, I hope!” Dustin said. He shifted his feet and regrounded himself, ready to defend his friends if the demobats got through. 

---

The vines loosened, dropping Nancy, Robin, and Chrissy to the ground. The three all gasped for air, grabbing at their bruising throats, where they had just been being strangled. 

“Are… Are you guys okay?” Chrissy asked, coughing.

Nancy and Robin both nodded. 

“Sorry. My fault,” Robin said.

Nancy reached for her gun. “It's fine. Let’s finish this.”

Nodding, Robin climbed to her feet. Eddie’s parting words to her replayed in her head as she followed the other girls the rest of the way up the stairs. 

He’d pulled her aside, before they had all left, and spoken to her alone, where none of the others could hear. Eddie’d given her a serious look, looking far older than 20, the bags under his eyes and the worry lines across his forehead a far cry from his usual playful and youthful expression.

“Make him pay, Robin,” he’d said, gripping both of her shoulders in his hands. When she’d nodded, knowing exactly what he was asking, Eddie had pulled her into a tight hug. 

That was the last thing he said to her before they all went their separate ways. 

And she would be damned if she didn’t keep her promise to him to kill Vecna for what he had done to their friends.

They found Vecna on the top floor, hanging in the air, almost as though he were in a trance. Vines spanned from his back, going in all directions, as though they were helping to keep him aloft. 

The three girls took a few steps into the room, still keeping their distance. Carefully, Chrissy took her backpack off and pulled out three of the molotov cocktails, handing one to Nancy and one to Robin, keeping the last for herself. Then, from her pocket, she pulled out Eddie’s lighter, flicking the flint wheel and sparking it to life. 

“Let’s light him up,” Chrissy said, grinning up at Robin. 

Robin grinned back and held her bottle out for Chrissy to light. Once all three bottles were ready, the three girls gave each other one last look. It was a quiet moment, the calm before the storm. 

Nancy nodded, and all three girls reared back and launched the bottles at Vecna.

All three connected and a fire whooshed to life.

---

Just as Steve’s father was about to stomp, aiming for his other arm, Steve’s surroundings melted away again, and he found himself in Vecna’s hellscape, pinned to the pillar still. Vecna had been thrown aside, away from him, and El was off her pillar, hand out and screaming as she fought the man. 

The vines weren’t holding as tightly to Steve, and there seemed to be less of them, a pile of withered and dead vines at the base of the pillar below them. Steve wasn’t sure what happened, what caused the Upside Down to weaken and what helped El to break free of Vecna’s hold, but Steve was grateful.

He would have been more grateful if it had happened maybe a minute sooner, before his arm had snapped, the vines wrapping around it and constricting like a python until it broke, but he was grateful all the same. 

Something wet was running down his cheeks. Steve hoped it was tears, and not blood. 

---

Vecna howled in pain, his head whipping back and his arm curling in front of his chest as the flames engulfed his body. The vines released him, dropping him to the ground, where he landed on his feet. His eyes opened, no longer milky white, and fixed on the three girls, snarling at them. 

Nancy hefted her shotgun up and opened fire. Sending blast after blast at him, she drove him back. Chrissy and Robin lobbed more molotovs, hitting their mark each time, new flames billowing off of Vecna’s body. When Nancy ran out of shotgun shells, she switched to her hand gun, her aim true, striking Vecna in the chest and making him stumble back further until he hit the window, falling out and striking the ground below with a thump. 

Chrissy didn’t hesitate. She threw the now empty backpack over her shoulder, grabbed Steve’s bat, and sprinted towards the stairs. Nancy and Robin followed, catching up just as Chrissy reached Vecna, who was trying to hobble away. 

With a screech, Chrissy swung the bat and struck the back of Vecna’s head, knocking him back down. Robin brought her ax down in an arching swing, digging the blade into Vecna’s shoulder. Yanking it back out, she swung again, this time severing through the joint. Nancy stood over Vecna’s body, and as soon as Chrissy had pulled the nail bait out of Vecna’s head, Nancy put a bullet in his skull. 

His body went completely limp and still. 

That didn’t stop Chrissy from swinging again and again until she was sprayed with blood and brains. 

The three breathed heavily, standing over the body. Chrissy wiped at her face, clearing the blood away as best she could. When she looked up, she found Robin staring at her in awe. Reaching slowly, Chrissy pulled her headphones off, letting them sit around her neck again. 

“You were amazing,” Robin breathed. 

Chrissy didn’t respond with words. She dropped the bat and lunged forward, a hand on either side of Robin’s face, and kissed her. Robin went tense for a moment, before melting forward into the kiss, dropping her ax so she could grab the front of Chrissy’s jacket to pull her closer. 

“Guys…”

The pair broke apart, cheeks burning red while staring at Nancy with fear and shock, waiting for her reaction.

“I’m happy for you two, seriously,” Nancy assured, not looking at them, instead staring down at Vecna. “But we need to go. Right now.”

Chrissy and Robin looked down and saw why Nancy was acting so scared. 

Vecna’s body was decaying right before their eyes. And as he fell away to dust, the ground beneath him started to crumble, leaving only a blank, black void behind.

None of them wanted to stick around to find out what would happen if the decay touched them. Robin and Chrissy grabbed their weapons with one hand, and held each other’s hands in the other, and took off running, letting Nancy lead them back to the bikes. 

They were on a time limit to get out of the Upside Down before they were devoured by its destruction.

---

El ripped into Vecna. He was thrashing, yelling in pain, as he was destroyed inside his own mind. Steve felt the vines loosening more and more, until he was sliding down the pillar, collapsing at the base of it.

“El!” Steve yelled, trying to struggle back to his feet to reach her, wanting to do anything to help her. 

She glanced over her shoulder, twin rivers of blood streaming from her nose as she held a hand out, pining Vecna still. 

“Steve, the others are hurting his body too. He will die soon. You will go back to your body. It will hurt. Be ready.”

“I don’t want to leave you.”

El smiled at him. “I’ll be fine.”

Suddenly, Vecna crumbled in on himself, his screams cutting off abruptly, all at once.

“Goodbye, Steve,” El said. “We will see each other soon.”

Steve felt the ground beneath him lurch, and he was spiraling through darkness. 

He took a gasping breath and found himself staring at the walls of the Creel House, his feet hanging in the air beneath him as he floated for a second longer. Then, he fell. 

“Steve!” a voice yelled. As Steve hit the ground, his fall broken by someone else’s body, he realized it was Eddie yelling. He was cradled to Eddie’s chest as they both sat on the ground. Eddie’s legs were spread before him, Steve half in his lap. Eddie had cuts and bruises across his face and hands that weren’t there before, but that didn’t stop him from clutching at Steve, half sobbing as his hand came up to cup Steve’s cheek.

“Steve, can you hear me? Can you see me?”

“Eddie?”

“Yeah! Yeah it’s Eddie!”

“Eddie, it hurts.”

“I know, buddy, I know. Try not to move.”

“Everything is blurry.”

“It's okay, it's going to be okay. We’re going to have to take you to the hospital.”

Wayne Munson came into view, though it was hard to make out his facial expression. He knelt beside them both and lifted the edge of Steve’s shirt. 

“Shit. He’s bleeding again. Bad. We need to move him. Now.”

“I’ll carry him,” Eddie said. “I’ll carry him, I can do it.”

Wayne nodded, picking up his gun again. “We’ll call the police at the hospital and tell them to come pick up those two boys who jumped us. My kit is in the truck. We’ll put Steve in the bed of the truck and I’ll ride with him there. I’ll try to slow the bleeding. You’ll drive.”

“But -”

“Don’t you argue with me, boy. Now, pick him up, we have to move.”

---

The demobats let out a shrieking howl and then collapsed against the fencing. Through the gaps in their bodies, the kids could see bats falling out of the sky, all dead before they even struck the ground. 

“Did… I think they did it,” Max whispered. “Holy shit I think they did it.”

Dustin scrambled for the walkie talkie. 

“Eddie? Wayne? Steve? Someone come in! Over!”

Silence.

“Please, someone come in! Over!”

Still nothing.

“Are you guys okay? Please, just say something! Over!”

A crackle. And then Eddie’s panicked voice and the rumbling of an engine. “ Dustin! It's Eddie! We’re going to the hospital. Find some wire cutters at Patrick’s house and get to my van. It should still be where we parked it yesterday. I’m going to walk you guys through how to hotwire it and then Mayfield is going to drive to the highway gate, pick up the girls, and meet us at the hospital. Over.”

Erica snatched the walkie talkie from Dustin. “Is it safe for Max to drive? I don’t want her to hallucinate and kill us all. Over.”

“ I think it's all over. I think Vecna’s gone. Now move your asses! ”

---

Chrissy climbed through the gate first, followed by Robin, They both reached back through to take the weapons that Nancy was holding for them, and took her gun as well before helping her through. 

They were just in time too. As soon as Nancy squeezed through the gate, the ground on the other side crumbled away. For a brief moment, they were left staring at an empty void beyond the gate. 

And then the gate sealed, like it had never been there to begin with. 

“I think it's over for good this time,” Nancy said, her voice distant and hollow. “I think it's finally gone.”

The screeching of tires caught their attention from up the road. Coming right for them was Eddie’s van, which swerved a bit, not staying perfectly within the lines of the lane. The three girls scrambled to their feet and watched as the van did an arching U turn and braked hard, the brakes screaming in protest. 

The driver side window was rolled down, showing Max behind the wheel. Lucas was in the passenger seat, Erica and Dustin in the back, leaning forward to see the older girls. 

“They’re taking Steve to the hospital!” Dustin yelled. “Get in!”

They didn’t have to be told twice. Robin was moving before Dustin had even finished speaking, throwing open the backdoors and climbing in with Chrissy. Nancy ripped open the driver side door and forced Max to slide into the back. Chrissy slammed the back door shut while Nancy peeled away, flooring it towards the hospital.

---

Eddie nearly jumped the curb as he turned into the parking lot of the hospital. He laid on the horn, trying to get someone’s attention while he pulled around into the circle at the front door. He’d barely thrown the car into park before he was opening the door and leaping out rushing around to the back of the truck. Wayne was leaping over the edge of the bed of the truck, stumbling on the landing but not slowing down as he ran into the lobby, leaving Eddie to climb in with Steve and take over putting pressure on his wounds, like Wayne had been doing the entire ride.

Eddie could hear Wayne yelling inside about needing a gurney. Three nurses and a doctor came running out pulling a gurney with them. Wayne followed, already explaining that Steve had a broken arm, injuries to his eyes, possible leg injuries from a fall, and extreme injuries to his sides. 

They moved Steve onto the gurney and began to rush him inside, already shouting orders. Eddie and Wayne followed into the lobby, but were stopped from going back with Steve.

“Eddie? No, wait, Eddie!” Steve weakly protested, raising his hand and reaching out for Eddie. 

“They’re going to help you, Steve! I’ll see you soon, I promise!” Eddie yelled after them, barely getting in all the words before the doors to the ER slammed shut. 

Chapter Text

Dustin and Robin were opening the back doors of the van while it was still in motion, jumping out and running towards the hospital doors while Nancy yelled at them to wait. 

The pair barreled into the lobby, and as soon as Dustin saw Eddie, sitting in one of the hard plastic chairs in the waiting room, he let out a sob and ran to hug his friend. Eddie bundled him into a tight embrace, clutching the boy to his chest and burying a hand in Dustin’s hair as he pressed his head down against Dustin’s.

“He’s alive. He’ll be okay. I promise,” Eddie whispered, rocking Dustin back and forth. 

“He lost a lot of blood,” Wayne explained to Robin. “His arm is broken, he may have sprained something in his leg, and he has some damage to his eyes, but he should be okay, they think. They won’t know the extent of the damage until they do some testing.”

The rest of the group rushed in, Lucas running over to hug both Dustin and Eddie while Chrissy wrapped Wayne into a hug.

“Where is he now?” Robin asked. “Are they running tests now?”

Wayne shook his head as best he could with Chrissy’s arms wrapped around his neck. “Surgery. They’re doing skin grafts for his sides. None of his organs were damaged, thank God, but he’s going to have some rough scars after this is said and done.”

It was then that a nurse came over, interrupting the reunion.

“Excuse me, are you all here for Mr. Harrington?”

Nancy nodded. “Yes, do you have an update?”

“He’s in surgery still, but we are wanting to prepare for when he comes out. He’s going to need a blood transfusion. Now, we have some blood here on site that can be used, but we always like to ask the family if they would like to donate.”

“I’ll do it,” Robin said immediately. “He and I are the same blood type.”

The nurse looked Robin over, making pointed looks at the blood splatter on her clothes. “Huh. And you’re relation to him?”

“I’m his best friend and his medical power of attorney.”

“You are? How old are you?”

“I’m 18. Please, just let me help him.”

She hummed thoughtfully, like she still wasn’t sure she believed Robin. “And were you there at the assault as well?”

Wayne cut in. “Yes, they were. We all showed up, just at the end. My nephew and I went ahead with Steve to get him help while they followed.”

The nurse nodded, still looking suspicious, but not disagreeing with any of them. “I’ll speak to the doctor and we’ll take you back to a room, Miss?”

“Buckley. Robin Buckley.”

“We’ll bring you back soon.” With that, the nurse walked away.

Chrissy glanced at Robin. “You’re Steve’s medical power of attorney? When did you guys have that done?”

“We didn’t. I lied,” Robin whispered. “But he needs blood and I know I’m a match. After the Starcourt Fire, the… uh… ‘doctors’ on scene drew some blood because of what we got dosed with and made a joke later when they called with results about us being the same blood type and how we could donate blood for each other. We agreed if either of us ever needed it, we would help each other.”

“Oh, well that was sweet of you both.”

“What was the nurse talking about when she mentioned an assault?” Nancy asked Wayne quietly.

“Two boys from your high school showed up and caused some trouble. I managed to knock them both out, but not before they rough up me and Eddie. We asked the hospital to call the cops to pick them up. Considering one pulled a gun on Eddie and was going to shoot him, I don’t feel too bad pinning all of Steve’s injuries on them.”

Nancy nodded. “Alright, then we need to get our stories straight before the police arrive. Now that the nurse has seen us with blood on our clothes and bruises on our necks, we have a lot of injuries to explain away.”

---

Steve woke to the sound of steady, quiet beeping. He could hear someone else in the room, breathing calm and even. The bed he lay on wasn’t the most comfortable, the sheets scratchy and rough, but the pillows were soft and there was gentle pressure encasing his left arm. 

Slowly, he peeled his eyes open, wincing at the brightness of the room. Everything was sterile white, with light streaming in from a large window. The room seemed out of focus, like he was looking through textured glass. He could see the shapes and colors of everything, but the smaller details and any words were too blurry to make out. 

He turned his head to look down at his arm and found that it was bandaged in a plaster cast. Already, it had been drawn and written on. It was a little fuzzy, but he could make out the signatures off all his friends. Someone had drawn his nail bat down the length of one side, and Steve could make out the scribbled doodles that he recognized as Eddie’s handiwork. He also saw a little ice cream cone, clearly drawn by Robin, and a basketball, which he thought might have been done by Lucas. 

“Steve?”

He looked up, and sitting in a chair, just by the foot of his bed, was Eddie. 

Eddie’s hair was pulled into a messy bun at the back of his head, a few strands falling forward around his face. He had a pair of black eyes, and bruising across the bridge of his nose. Besides a few cuts, he didn’t look too hurt. He was wearing a band t-shirt, Dio, like the large patch that was on the back of his vest. Instead of his normal ripped jeans, Eddie was wearing some soft and worn sweatpants and his sneakers, which still looked like they had dirt caked onto them from the Upside Down. In his hands, which were devoid of his rings, was a book. The Hobbit, to be exact. 

“Eddie?” Steve whispered.

Eddie’s big brown eyes lit up as he jumped out of his chair, dropping the book and standing over Steve. He moved like he was about to hug him, but stopped suddenly. Instead, he reached out and gently took Steve’s right hand in both of his, giving it a squeeze.

“Let me go tell the nurses you’re awake, okay? Then we can talk.”

“Is everyone okay?”

“We’ll talk as soon as I’m back, I promise. It’ll only take me a minute.”

Eddie didn’t lie. It took him barely a minute to run out of the room, tell some nearby nurses that Steve had woken up, and then run back into the room. He grabbed his chair and dragged it up closer to the head of the bed, so he and Steve were closer. 

“Before you ask again, everyone is okay. I promise. Some cuts and bruises and that’s it. You’ve been out for a week. They had to give you skin grafts as soon as we got you here but you still got a bit of an infection. You’ve been sleeping it off while they pumped you full of medicine. Your arm is set, and should heal just fine, but it may hurt for a while still. You might have sprained your knee when you fell, because it swelled a little, but you aren’t up walking around, so you don’t need to worry about it yet. Your eyes took a bit of a hit, but you won’t be going blind anytime soon. They told me a bunch of medical lingo that just confused me but the gist of it is there was some hemorrhaging and you’ll need glasses now. You have some bruises inside your throat, so it might hurt to speak a little, but they said you’re healing up just fine. Oh, also, before the nurses and doctors get in here, we told them all these injuries came from you getting jumped by Jason Carver and his buddy.”

“Wait, Carver?”

Before Eddie could explain, the door opened and the room was quickly filled by different medical professionals, all fussing over Steve. They went about checking his vitals, running tests, drawing blood, looking at his skin grafts, and filling him in on the extent of his injuries. Occasionally, they’d try to ask him a question about how they happened, especially in regards to his sides, clearly not fully believing the assault story. 

But Steve was used to lying about how he got hurt. He kept insisting it was when Jason Carver attacked him and wouldn’t elaborate, not wanting to accidentally contradict what the others had already told them. 

After about an hour of being poked and prodded, the doctors and nurses left, leaving Eddie and Steve alone finally. 

“They’re annoying,” Steve said.

Eddie barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I know. But they kept you alive, so that’s what matters.”

“So, what happened? What’s this about Carver?”

“Right, you didn’t see him. Carver and his buddy, Andy something, I don’t remember, showed up. Carver’s friend jumped Uncle Wayne and Carver came upstairs looking for me. He was convinced I’d put a spell on you. We fought and then I got distracted when you started to float. He broke my nose and then panicked about what was happening to you. He pulled a gun and then Uncle Wayne showed up. Had his own gun to Carver’s head, made him drop his gun, and then knocked him out. Your arm broke and your eyes bled but then you dropped not too long after. Vecna is dead though. The girls killed him. Lit him on fire, shot him full of lead, took his arm off, and smashed his head. The Upside Down started to collapse on itself so they had to book it out of there. I was on the walkie talkies with the kids, talking them through hotwiring my van, which I now have to rewire, and they picked the girls up at the highway gate and met us here at the hospital.

“Robin donated blood for you. She lied and said she was your medical power of attorney. By the time the hospital started to question that, the government showed up and vouched for us and started in on the coverup. Nancy was like a hellcat with them, let me tell you. Made them revise the NDAs a couple times. And then Chrissy jumped in and it got even crazier. She started asking about compensation, and what you guys had been paid in the past, and reward for actually ending the Upside Down, and all this stuff. Swung a deal so that we all get hush money and the rest of you that have had to deal with the Upside Down before are getting back pay. Any of us that want to go will be able to pay for college out of pocket and still have money leftover. Chrissy also managed to wrangle some extra money out of them for you to make up for all the times you got injured and they agreed to pay for all the medical bills you’ll have this time.”

“Really? That’s… wow. Wow.”

“I know, it's insane.”

“Everyone from California, have we heard from them yet?”

Eddie grinned. “Oh, yeah, they’re all here. Got in a few days ago. All the kids arrived together and then Mrs. Byers came in a day later with this weird anti-government dude, who’s now my idol. And get this, they came in with Chief Hopper . He’s been alive this whole time! He got kidnapped by the Russians and was being held by them. Apparently the Russians had a bunch of the monsters locked away and had a piece of the Mind Flayer you guys fought over the summer. Mrs. Byers, the weird guy, some Russian dude, and Chief Hopper killed them. And, if what Supergirl is saying is true, you and her were facing off against Vecna inside his head at the same time the girls were fighting his body. We think with you guys in his head and a bunch of his monsters being killed in Russia weakened him enough for the girls to kill him. We checked the timelines and around the time that they were killing monsters in Russia, the vines and demobats in the Upside Down started to weaken and die.”

“Hopper is… alive?” Steve asked breathlessly. “Holy shit. And El. Is she okay?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s good. Was pretty wiped out for a while after but she’s okay. Been worried about you. Everyone has been. We take turns sitting with you. Usually it's two at a time, but Max wasn’t able to come with me today. She, Wayne, and Chrissy are looking at houses together.”

“Houses? Why?”

“Well, basically, after we were sure you were stable, Wayne started taking kids home. He saved Max for last so he could talk to her mom to give some sort of excuse for her kid being missing for days, since no one talked to her directly about it. Mrs. Mayfield had apparently been too drunk and too out of it to notice Max was gone and never even read the note you left. Wayne gave her an ultimatum: sign some papers and give him custody of Max, or he was calling CPS and getting her arrested for neglect. Mrs. Mayfield agreed to sign as long as she was allowed to still see Max sometimes. Max seems pretty conflicted about it all, but is glad to be staying somewhere safe and with someone who pays attention. Wayne has already set her up appointments with a real therapist and they’ll be going to court soon to make everything official with the guardianship. And Wayne told Chrissy that same day that she could stay with us whenever she wanted, since her parents are dicks. Then, she had a huge fight with them earlier this week, so she asked if she can stay with us after she turns 18. Just until she graduates and can go to college. Her birthday is in a week or something, so she’ll be moving in soon. Wayne is using his cut of the hush money to buy a house and get out of the trailer park. I think he’s really excited to have his own bedroom again, actually.”

“Wayne just really adopts everyone, huh?” Steve asked with a laugh. “He and Hopper will get along well.”

“Says the guy who adopted 6 kids at 18.”

“You adopted most of those same kids at 20, so I don’t want to hear it.”

“Speaking of our kids,” Eddie started. Steve had to ignore the flip in his stomach at the word our . “Dustin and Lucas will be here in an hour to hang out with you. After them are Mike and El, then Will and Jonathan are coming by. Robin is going to stay the night with you. I’ll bring Max tomorrow and Chrissy will bring Erica for a little bit. I think Mrs. Byers is planning to stop by too, but Hopper has a bunch of doctor’s appointments so she won’t be able to stay long. Nancy said she would come by and will bring Dustin or El with her to see you, whichever kid is feeling up to it.”

Steve smiled. “It’ll be nice to see them all.”

“They’re going to pester you, I hope you know that. They apparently want to ask you questions about the visions you had with Vecna. They think if you talk about it with them first, it’ll be easier when the government assholes come in to grill you.”

Grimacing, Steve nodded. “Probably for the best I talk to everyone else about it first. Get my thoughts in order or something.”

“We can… do it now. If you want. Give it a shot?”

“Yeah. We could. Alright, ask a question.”

“When,” Eddie paused, swallowing thickly before continuing. “When the vision started, you were kind of half in, half out. I could hear what you were saying.”

Steve paled, realizing exactly what Eddie heard. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. You were… talking to Hargrove?”

“Yeah. He didn’t look dead, for once, like in most of my visions of him, and he kept saying he couldn’t help me unless I told the truth. I think Vecna just wanted me to really stew in everything I’d been feeling and thinking. Really depress me, make me give up. How much did you hear?”

“You cut off right after saying you should make your death count for something.”

“So you heard me say I was stupid and useless and… queer.”

“I did, yeah.”

Taking a shaky breath, Steve clenched his one good fist and made a decision. He’d survived. He’d survived this whole nightmare and he finally had the chance to tell Eddie the truth. If there was even the slightest chance that Eddie could ever have any sort of feelings for him, then Steve had to admit his own first, both to himself and to Eddie.

“I… Shit this is hard to say.”

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

“No! No, I do. I want to. I just haven’t… told anyone before. Well, Chrissy figured it out, but I didn’t really tell her.”

“Chrissy figured it out? Not Robin?”

“It's a long story. But…” Steve took a deep breath. “I’m like Frankenfurter.”

Eddie’s face went blank, clearly trying to process what Steve had just said. “Frankenfurter? From Rocky Horror?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh… Okay. Cool, cool. Well, I don’t know a lot about that kind of stuff, but there are some gay bars in Indy. I can take you there and we can talk to some drag queens and crossdressers. See if we can find out where to get stuff like that for you. I bet Robin and Nancy and Chrissy could teach you about makeup and -”

Steve cut him off. “No! What? What are you talking about?”

“I… You just said you wanted to dress like a woman. Or are you saying you feel like you are a woman? Either way, that’s totally cool, man, I’ll support you no matter what.”

“That’s not what I was saying.”

Eddie blinked rapidly. “Oh. Okay. Then you were trying to say…” he trailed off expectantly. 

“I’m bisexual. Like you said you think Frankenfurter is. I should have compared to Brad, shouldn’t I? Would have been less confusing. Shit. Sorry. But bisexual. Yeah. I like both.”

“Oh. Oh! Oh, bisexual! I got it now! Okay, cool. How… how long have you known?”

“I started to figure it out after we watched Rocky Horror Picture Show. I didn’t even know liking more than just one or the other was an option, until you and Robin mentioned it. When I got home, I started reading the zines that Robin leaves at my place and read about this guy who figured out he was bisexual. It sounded a lot like what I felt. I tried to shove it down and ignore it. I kind of hated myself for it a little, I think. Which is stupid, since I know about you and Robin and don’t hate you guys. But every time I would think something not straight, I would just hear my dad calling me these horrible things and saying terrible stuff about gay people and it would make me shove it all back down again.”

Eddie nodded along. “That’s actually kind of normal for people who have grown up in homophobic homes.”

“I don’t hate it now, I don’t think. I’m still learning, still figuring it all out. But I know what my feelings are. I know who I care about. Who I love. And that's… that’s you Eddie. I’ve had feelings for you for a while and I was trying to ignore them, no matter how painful it was. You don’t have to say it back and you don’t have to tell me you like me. I just had to get it off my chest and -”

Steve was cut off by Eddie crashing his lips against Steve’s. Without hesitation, Steve was kissing back, fisting his hand in Eddie’s shirt and wishing he could be out of the bed so they could be closer together. Eddie pulled away all too soon, pressing his forehead to Steve’s, eyes glittering as he grinned. 

“I love you too, Stevie. Fuck, I never thought you’d say it, let alone say it first. But I love you. I love you and I want to take you on dates, and write songs for you, and listen to your shitty cassettes while we drive around in your fancy car, and I just want to love you every way that you will allow me to.”

Tears threatened to spill over Steve’s cheeks as they welled in his eyes. “Wait, you love me?”

“Yeah, Big Boy, I love you.

“Say it again.”

Eddie chuckled before leaning up to press a kiss to the tip of Steve’s nose. “I love you.” A kiss to his right cheek. “I love you.” A kiss to the left. “I love you.” A kiss to his forehead. “I love you.” A long kiss on his lips and a final, whispered, “I love you.”

EPILOGUE

The kids would be graduating at the end of the month, meaning a road trip back to Hawkins. 

It hadn’t been that long since their last visit, and even less time since the kids drove to Chicago to visit them. They’d had to blow up an air mattress for the three girls to pile onto, while the boys fought over who got to sleep on the couches and who got to sleep on the floor. Dustin and Will ended up winning the fight for the couches while Lucas and Mike grumbled about having to take the floor. 

It was not a large apartment by any means, which Steve sometimes felt bad for, wishing he had a guest room for the kids to stay in, but the apartment wasn’t forever. They’d gotten it after Eddie, Chrissy, and Robin had graduated. They used a little of their hush money as a deposit, and paid the first month’s rent, while lying about who was dating who. If you asked their landlord and the other tenants in the building, Eddie and Chrissy were a cute, opposites attract couple, while Robin and Steve were obvious soulmates. But in the privacy of their apartment, Chrissy and Robin shared one bedroom, happily cuddled up in bed together, while Eddie and Steve were in the other. 

Robin and Chrissy were going to school in Chicago, Chrissy for business, with a minor in accounting, and Robin for language studies, with plans to become a translator. The majority of their hush money had gone towards paying for school, but they still had some left over that they were saving for after graduation. Eddie had found a job at a music shop, repairing instruments and teaching kids how to play guitar. Once Chrissy graduated next year, she was going to help him with a business plan so he could start his own music shop, something he’d been dreaming of since graduation. 

Steve had gotten a job at a local YMCA as soon as they had moved to town. He didn’t technically need to work right away, since he had enough money to last him a while, but he knew he would get bored if he didn’t keep busy. He knew his parents hated the fact that he had run off to Chicago and never gone to college, going as far as to ask which girl he had knocked up and was trying to elope with.

Steve stopped talking to his parents after that. The fight was long, and loud, and Steve’s father said things that a parent should never say to their child. Steve had packed his things that night and Eddie had come by with his van to load everything. 

Last thing Steve had heard about his parents was from the kids, who had told him that they had sold the house two years back and moved away from Hawkins. No one knew what city they went to.

But Steve liked it at the YMCA. He worked well with the kids who came by after school, looking for a safe and quiet place to study. And the older people and stay at home moms who came in during the day adored him, always complimenting him on his manners. Within a year, he had been promoted into management and had been allowed to start the after school enrichment programs he’d been pushing for. They had one room set up in a side hall where kids could go to get homework help from some of the other employees, and in the gymnasium, Steve would play games and teach sports to any kid who was interested. During the summers and over school breaks, he practically ran a day camp for the kids. There was a wide range of ages too. Some as young as early elementary, all the way up through high school. He had a number of high school and middle school boys who regularly came to him for extra coaching on basketball. Steve had nearly convinced the upper management to let him start a community basketball league so kids of all skill sets could come learn. After the success of his swim lesson program, they seemed pretty interested in letting him start the basketball program. 

Max had shown interest in helping at the YMCA while she went to school in Chicago, and Steve was already thinking of the different ways she could work with the kids. She’d be a little busy her first year, since she’d be getting into the swing of living in the dorms and taking college classes, but Steve knew she could handle it. And after her first year, she wouldn’t have to live on campus anymore, which he knew would help with her stress levels. She was used to living with Wayne, who understood when she woke up crying from nightmares, calling out for a step brother who had been dead now longer than she had even known him. 

But, she would be finishing her first year at the same time that Robin and Chrissy were finishing their last. The plan had always been that once the girls graduated, the four adults would all chip in to buy a house together. Steve and Eddie had plenty of their hush money still, and Chrissy and Robin had enough left that they could contribute. It wouldn’t be huge, only a three bedroom, but they planned to get a place with a basement that they could renovate into a large, unofficial fourth bedroom with multiple beds for when people came to visit. The girls had insisted that Eddie and Steve would get the largest bedroom, since they were pitching in the most money. Chrissy and Robin were fine with having a smaller room, as long as they were together. 

The third bedroom had been promised to Max as soon as she had told them she was going to school in Chicago to study to become a child psychiatrist. 

Mike, El, and Will were planning to go to school in California, where they would be close to Nancy and Jonathan, who were also going to school out there. Nancy was nearly done with her degree in journalism and Jonathan was finishing his art degree, focusing on photography. Will was planning to double major in art and literature, hoping to one day be an artist and author. Mike and El weren’t sure what degree they wanted yet and were taking a gap year to figure things out. Mike was talking about maybe looking into video game design, while El was thinking about maybe studying a trade. Dustin and his long time girlfriend, Susie, were going to go to school together in New York. Susie was studying computer sciences while Dustin was studying movie visual effects, both practical and digital. Erica wasn’t graduating high school just yet, but already had colleges reaching out to her, asking if she’d like to come for a tour. Lucas had gotten a basketball scholarship to IU, where he wanted to study to become a science teacher. He had asked Steve if he would come to a couple of the games, even though it would be a long drive. 

Steve readily agreed. 

Joyce and Hopper still lived in Hawkins, enjoying the peace that came with the Upside Down being closed for good. They had dinner with Wayne once a week, where they reminisced about high school and about the gaggle of children they all raised. 

Wayne liked to say he was complaining about all of them when he talked to Joyce and Hopper, but Joyce secretly told them that Wayne spent the time gushing over them. Eddie and Wayne kept in regular contact, their conversations mainly involving the pair scolding each other to take better care of themselves. Wayne also had weekly phone calls with Chrissy, since the two became close during her few months that she lived with them. She and Eddie both called Wayne “the father they always wanted.” Max made fun of them for it but always gave Wayne a card on father’s day. Steve started to do the same after the falling out with his parents, sending cards to Wayne and Hopper, and another to Joyce on mother’s day.

Life was good. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good. Steve still had pains in his arm when the weather changed, the old break aching from the shift in pressure. He had to wear thick glasses, that he used to hate, thinking they made him look stupid, but had come to accept and sometimes even love. Chrissy also had to wear glasses, but she’d found ways to make it fun for herself, getting a variety of styles and colors to match different outfits. 

The four all still had nightmares, and more than once a month, they would all squeeze into one bed together, clinging to one another both to keep from falling out and for the comfort it brought. Eddie’s breath would catch anytime he saw Chrissy or Steve staring off into space, his brain tricking him into thinking they were cursed again. Robin would flinch at the sound of Russian, and when it was recommended she study it for her degree, she flat out refused. She took up Mandarin instead. Chrissy had continued to struggle when it came to food for a few months after the events with the Upside Down, and had only begun to truly heal after Wayne and Max convinced her to give therapy a try. 

They all bore their scars, some more visible than others. Steve’s skin grafts had healed well, but the planes of his sides were no longer smooth. They were bumpy and pitted, with scarring around where the grafts were attached. Robin had a few smaller scars from the Russians and Chrissy had a couple from the demobats. Eddie’s nose was ever so slightly crooked from where Jason broke it. 

Eddie said he didn’t mind his crooked nose. He said it was metal. In secret, though, when it was just him and Steve lying awake at night, hands tangled together on the bed between them, Eddie would admit in whispered tones about how he still had nightmares of Jason attacking him. Even though Jason went to prison for a little while for assault, and later had a restraining order placed against him to keep away from all of them, Eddie would still sometimes worry that he’d pop up again and attack. 

They all held each other through their nightmares, and there was always supplies for hot chocolate in the kitchen for the nights when they needed a little extra comfort. Beneath both of their beds were weapons, specifically Steve’s bat and Robin’s ax. They kept Eddie’s pipe by the front door and Chrissy’s poker by the balcony. 

Life would never be perfect, but they had each other. And that made everything alright. They would have to hide their relationships for the time being, playing pretend with one another to throw off their neighbors, but they were still happy. One day, they would be able to get married for real, proclaiming their love for everyone to see. 

Steve and Eddie already had the rings. By the end of their first year of dating, they knew they were it for each other. By the end of the second year, Eddie was giving Steve a ring and asking him to be his forever. Steve had cried and pulled out the ring he had bought for Eddie. 

They wore them on chains around their necks, hidden beneath their shirts. The only times they wore them on their hands was when they went to gay bars together, free to be themselves for a night. 

Chrissy and Robin had a scrapbook of their dream wedding. Robin had demanded that Steve be her maid of honor. Steve had told her he couldn’t be called a “maid.” Robin disagreed. They’d argued over the term for days before settling on “dude of honor.” Chrissy asked Max if she’d be her maid of honor. Max had blushed and teared up a little before nodding. Chrissy’s brother would walk her down the aisle, seeing as the two were still close, even if Chrissy didn’t speak to her parents anymore. Robin hoped that her parents would come, and that her dad would walk her, but things were still tense since she came out to them.

The two women had agreed though that Wayne would officiate and Eddie would be the flower girl. He had no complaints about the term and told them he would be the best damn flower girl they had ever seen. 

One day, when it was legal, they would do it. Chrissy and Robin would have the wedding of their dreams. They would just love each other fully and completely until that day came. 

Eddie and Chrissy had insisted that they should bring the scrapbook to Hawkins with them when they went for the kids' graduation. Wayne and Joyce hadn’t gotten to see it yet, and while Joyce would gush over how pretty all the magazine clippings were, they really just wanted to see Wayne pretend like he wasn’t about to cry over being included as a part of the wedding plans. 

Hopper wouldn’t really care about the scrapbook, but that was okay. He cared about them and that was what mattered. 

Of course, Hopper was going to freak out when he saw that Eddie also brought his tattooing kit with him to help Eleven cover up her wrist tattoo from the lab, but they would cross that bridge when they got to it. 

Overall, life in Chicago was good. They were happy, they were loved, and they had a bright future laid out ahead of them; all things they never thought they would have, but had learned that they deserved.