After Henry’s attack, you somehow survived, but you had lost almost all ability to speak. It didn’t matter if you were only one of two left, Papa hated you. You were always the weakest and he despised you for it. He only kept you around after the massacre as incentive for Eleven; his pride and joy. When she didn’t, or couldn’t do as he said he would hurt you. Papa decided that if you couldn’t use your powers then he would make you stronger in other ways and appointed you a tutor to strengthen your mind. When an opportunity to escape came you took it. You grabbed Eleven and the two of you ran as far as you could. You thought you were safe, but when Papa’s men came you and Eleven you were forced to run again. You lost her in the woods, but you stumbled upon someone else. A boy who appeared to be your age. He said his name was Steve.
Another Henderson
You had gone missing a month ago. An entire week where your mother and your brother and the entire town searched endlessly for you. But you didn’t remember any of it. One moment you were riding your bike home from a party and the next you were lying in a hospital bed. You thought that you had crashed, that you had gotten into an accident, but when the Chief of Police explained that an entire week had passed you didn’t know what to think. Apparently, someone had found you in the woods and had called the police. But you didn’t remember a single moment of it. There was nothing, not even the flicker of a memory. Not even a dream. You moved on with your life, blocking out the weird stares and snide comments. The only thing you cared about was your little brother. He was your entire world and you would do anything to protect him, you had done everything to protect him. But Dustin didn’t know that. Dustin didn’t know anything. Not about your disappearance and not about your late father (curse his soul). And you were not about to let him know any of it. You were not gonna taint the perfect family image he had in his head. You were going to move forward, a happy smile on your face. Even if it was fake. But there was something preventing you from pretending. Something that kept cracking your perfectly crafted mask. Something that had made you forget, and something that you wanted to forget.
Damn Mayfield
You hated having to move halfway across the country. A fresh start? Yeah, right. It was just another way for Neil to have control. He wanted you to act like the picture perfect family; happy and content. Neil was an asshole, Billy was a jerk. Your mom put up with it for God knows what reason and poor Max just wanted some peace. Not a day had gone by since your mom had married Neil that you felt like you could breathe. And as much as you hated leaving California, maybe Hawkins wasn’t as bad as you thought. It had its downsides and secrets, but maybe not all of the people were so bad. Maybe this Harrington guy that Billy was so intent on hating actually had a heart.
Fourth Wheeler
You had just recovered from a year long battle with cancer. A brain tumor that you had luckily found just in time. But it had been a long and hard recovery. Now you were back to normal, back to school, and you somehow found yourself dating Steve Harrington of all people. You weren’t even quite sure how the relationship started. One day he sat next to you in class and then a week later he was kissing you in his car. He was already a lot sweeter than you had imagined, and you were finally starting to feel normal again. But when Will goes missing it seems like your newfound normalcy was about to be turned on its head.
I’m not gonna be able to get the next chapter out until tomorrow cause I had a late start today and it’s such a long chapter lol. I always forget just how long The Massacre at Hawkins Lab is. I think it might be the longest chapter of the entire story lol. Anyway, it’ll be out tomorrow!
Steve was basically half dragging you down the driveway that night, his arm wrapped securely around your waist and your own laying limp over his shoulders. You felt completely out of it, eyes heavy and movements scattered like you had been up for over forty-eight hours.
“Almost there.” Steve reassured as he carefully maneuvered you up the front steps.
Steve pulled out his key and began unlocking the door and you let your head fall against his shoulder, too tired to even try and keep it held upright anymore. Your entire body was aching, your head throbbing. You just wanted to lay down and forget about all of the pain, to go back to a week ago when you were all happy and healthy and there was no interdimensional serial killer on the loose. You just wanted this to be over.
Steve closed the front door with his free hand and then fixed you with a soft, understanding look before reaching down and scooping you up into his arms. He didn’t say anything, just held you close to him as he walked you up the stairs and into your bedroom. But you could tell he was freaking out, that he was completely and utterly worried sick right now.
Steve gingerly laid you down on the bed, still not saying anything as he started untying your shoes and slipping them off. He was completely focused on the action, trying to keep his attention on you, but not on your delirious face. You could tell he was starting to crumble.
“Steve?” You called out quietly, voice a bit hoarse.
Steve instantly froze in his spot, one hand still on your foot and the other holding your shoe midair. You slowly reached a hand out towards him, too tired to say anything else, but needing him to know that you were okay. Steve got the message, and he placed your shoe on the floor, kicked off his own, and climbed into bed beside you.
“I’m sorry.” Steve whispered as he helped you turn over to lay on top of him.
“No.” You whispered back. “M’ fine.”
“No.” Steve insisted quietly. “No, you’re not fine. None of this is fine.” The tears started falling before you could stop it. The pain and confusion of the past few years barreling down on top of you in one night. “Hey. Hey.” Steve called out gently, his hand rubbing up and down your back soothingly. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what to do.” You confessed, the words coming out more like a broken sob.
Steve pressed a kiss to your head. “What do you mean?”
“The pain.” You cried, squeezing Steve as tightly as you could with your weakened muscles. “I just… I just want it to stop. It hurts so much. It’s always hurting. I just want it to go away.” You turned your head and buried your face in his chest. “I’m scared.”
“I know. I know. I’m scared, too.” Steve whispered soothingly, squeezing you just a bit tighter so that all you could feel was him. And then his hand found yours and he began to fiddle with your fingers, the restless movement grounding you more than anything else could. “But I swear to you that we are going to figure this out. We’re gonna kill Vecna, all right? We’re gonna kill him and fix you. I’m not gonna let anything take you away from me, okay? I promise.”
Steve continued to hold you as you cried yourself to sleep, his grip on you never faltering for even a second. You didn’t know if he was gonna be able to keep his promise, but you did know that he was going to do whatever possible to make it happen.
~~~~~
Nancy picked you all up the next day and you were stuck in the trunk of the car with Steve and Dustin. You had a backpack with your and Steve’s nail bats inside, nail side down as to avoid obvious suspicion. You guys weren’t gonna take any chances anymore. Who knew when some Demogorgon or Demo-dog might come ripping its way through a wall.
Steve and you were pressed up against each other, everyone still freaked out over what happened last night. You were still worse for wear, but you pushed yourself through it, chugging down two cups of coffee that morning that didn’t do much besides bring your reaction time back to normal levels.
You had some bags of food for Eddie that Steve and Dustin were munching away on, Steve more so out of anxiety and Dustin more so out of actual hunger. They were going through the bag so fast that you were pretty sure there wasn’t gonna be any food left for Eddie by the time you got to him.
“Not to be a wimp.” Robin suddenly announced. “But can I maybe sit in the car for this visit? Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck.”
“It’ll be fine.” Nancy stumbled over her words.
“I just can’t stand to see those doe eyes of Eddie’s break again.” Robin said. “I really, really can’t.”
“At least he can drink himself into feeling better.” Steve said halfheartedly through a mouthful of chips as he held up the six pack.
“That’s what my mom does.” Max muttered.
“Why don't we just give it a trial run?” Robin announced nervously. “Hey, Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six pack that you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna.” She started rambling on. “Only, the bad news is that he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about and the gate's closed, so we have no way of getting to him. Like, he's entirely shut off to us so basically you're screwed. And, no, no, I know that you're already screwed, but now you're doubly triply screwed.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait.” Lucas cut off. “Maybe we don't put it like that.”
“We're one step closer to finding Vecna.” Nancy said. “That's what we say. That's what's important.”
“See, Robin?” Steve announced as he tapped Dustin's arm with a chip. “A positive spin can make all the difference.”
“Uh-huh.” Robin sassed.
“Oh shit.” Nancy breathed out.
You turned your attention towards the front of the car as you pulled up to Reefer Rick’s house and could see cops and reporters all swarming the area. You slipped the backpack with the nail bats on and hopped out of the car where there was a crowd already forming at the police line.
“Come on.” Nancy said. “This way.”
You all followed after Nancy as she led you to the other side of a news van where you all huddled up and watched as the police worked.
“As many of you may know by now.” Powell addressed the reporters. “The Roane County line received a call a little after midnight reporting a homicide out here on the lake. Officer Callaghan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lovers Lake, about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18-year-old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney.”
Lucas’s face fell in an instant. You weren’t sure exactly how close Lucas was to Patrick, but they were both on the basketball team. You knew he must be hurting.
“We have also identified a person of interest.” Powell continued. “Eddie Munson. We encourage anyone with information to please come forward.”
“Oh man.” Steve whispered. “This is not good. This is really not good.”
“You've got a lot of questions, and I'm going to answer as many as I can.” Powell tried to placate the buzzing crowd and eager reporters. “Two o'clock at town hall, where anyone from the Hawkins community is welcome. But right now, l've got some work to do, and I appreciate your understanding.”
Dustin, can you hear me? Eddie's voice suddenly crackled through the radio. Wheelers?
Dustin hastily picked up the radio and backed away from the crowd. “Eddie. Holy shit. Are you okay?” He whispered.
Nah, man. Pretty... pretty goddamn far from okay.
“Where is he?” Robin asked.
“Where are you?” Dustin repeated into the radio.
Skull Rock. Do you know it?
“Uh, yeah. That's near Cornwallis and—“
“Garrett, yeah.” Steve cut him off. “I know where that is.”
You had been trudging through the woods for what felt like forever, Dustin in the lead with his map and compass. You and Steve kept brushing up against each other, both of you just trying to feel the other as the stupid hike through the woods began to take its toll on you.
“Dude, I'm telling you.” Steve complained. “You're taking us the wrong way.”
“It's north.” Dustin argued. “I'm positive. I checked the map.”
“You do realize that Skull Rock, it's, like, a super popular makeout spot?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Yeah, well, it wasn't popular until I made it popular. All right?” Steve spat back. “I practically invented it. We're heading in the wrong direction.”
Steve reached out and wrapped his hand around yours, fingers lacing together instantly and he pulled you along with him as he began to take off ahead of Dustin.
“Steve.” Dustin called out. “Where are you going?”
“Stop whining.” Steve waved him forward with his free hand.
“Steve!” Dustin whined.
“Let's go. Come on. Trust me.”
“Let's go, Dustin.” You tiredly waved him forward as Steve continued dragging you away.
Steve had taken you to Skull Rock a few times. It was actually where you had your first official date after all of the Upside Down craziness that first time. Steve knew its location by heart, and you were able to recognize some bigger landmarks, but you were overall lost.
A few minutes later, Steve was pushing aside the overgrown bushes as he crawled his way out into the clearing, his hand still securely grasping yours as he helped you through. And there, right in front of you, was Skull Rock.
“Bada bing, bada boom.” Steve announced, never removing his hand from yours. “There she is, Henderson, Skull Rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face.”
Dustin glanced down at his map and then back up at Steve. “Doesn't make sense.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Steve mocked. “Even with it staring you right in the face, you can't admit it. You just can't admit that you're wrong, you little butthead.”
You heard leaves rustling and whipped around to see where the noise was coming from, your adrenaline kicking in and making your lethargic state just a bit more bearable. And then you saw Eddie jump down from a rock, and you instantly relaxed, your drowsiness returning.
“I concur.” Eddie said. “You, Dustin Henderson, are a... total butthead.”
“Jesus, we thought you were a goner.” Dustin sighed happily and gave Eddie a hug.
Eddie was taken aback for a moment before hugging Dustin back. “Yeah, me too, man. Me too.”
The rest of the party finally showed up when they broke away from each other. Nancy gave Eddie the bag of food and he quickly retreated under the boulder and took a sip from the canteen as Steve started rubbing his thumb across your knuckles.
“When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh... my walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently, I ran.” Eddie chuckled nervously.
“Do you know what time this was?” Nancy asked. “The attack?”
“Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was.” Eddie unclipped his watch and tossed it over to Nancy. “My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked.”
“9:27.” Nancy nodded as she read the time.
“Same time our flashlights went kablooey.” Robin said.
“Which means what, exactly?” Steve asked.
“That that surge of energy and my pain was Vecna attacking Patrick.” You explained
“Well, we're one step closer.” Robin breathed. “We know how Vecna attacks.”
“And where he attacks from.” Lucas added.
“And that he draws on Y/N’s life force to make himself stronger.” Dustin chimed in.
“So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.” Max said.
“If he even has a heart.” Robin glanced around.
“A stake?” Steve echoed. “Is he like a vamp... is he a vampire?”
“It was a metaphor.” Max rolled her eyes.
“A bullet should work on him, right?” Eddie suggested.
“I say we chop off his head.” Lucas said.
“Can we just burn him?” You sighed.
“Yeah, I'd say all of the above.” Nancy cut off. “But we can't do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down.”
“We need El to get her powers back.” Max complained.
“Yeah, everything was, like, way easier.” Steve said as you nodded along. “We had this girl.” Steve explained as he looked down at Eddie. “She had superpowers.”
“Superpowers.” Eddie cut him off. “Yeah, you mentioned her. Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?”
You looked over and saw Dustin, compass in hand, pacing back and forth across the area and mumbling away to himself.
“Cursed?” You echoed. “No, no. He's fine.”
“Mental?” Steve added. “Absolutely.”
“Boom!” Dustin shouted and all heads whipped to him in surprise. “Bada... bada... boom.” Dustin whispered as he pointed a finger at Steve. “I was right. Skull Rock was north.”
“Seriously?” Steve asked, frustrated. “You’re serious? This is Skull Rock! Okay? You’re totally, absolutely, one hundred percent wrong. Right now.”
“Yes.” Dustin said. “And no.”
“Oh, my God.” Steve huffed and ran his free hand over his face. You gripped his hand tighter and began to rub your thumb over his knuckles to help calm him down.
“This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers.” Dustin explained as he held up his compass. “It was correct when we got in the car on Kerley. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was.”
“So you're using faulty equipment, dude.” Steve argued. “You're still wrong.”
“Except it isn't faulty.” Dustin said. “Lucas, do you remember what can affect a compass?”
Lucas's face lit up in understanding. “An electromagnetic field.”
“Yep.”
“I'm sorry.” Robin shook her head in confusion. “l must've skipped that class.”
“In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards the power.” Dustin explained. “So either there’s some super big magnet around here, or…”
“There’s a gate.” Lucas finished.
“But we’re nowhere near the lab.” You pointed out.
“But what if, somehow, there's another gate?” Dustin said. “A gate that we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful.”
“Snack-size gate.” Robin suggested.
“How?” Steve asked. "Why?”
“No idea.” Dustin said honestly. “All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max from this curse and taking away his battery.” Dustin turned around and started walking away.
“Where are you going?” Steve called out. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.” Dustin stopped and turned back around. “Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go for a hike through the woods.”
“This little steel capsule might be the key to saving Max, Y/N, and Eddie.” Dustin gestured towards all of you. “What's say you, Eddie the Banished?”
Eddie was staring off to the side, still squatting underneath the boulder. “I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire... the Shire is burning.” Eddie pushed himself to his feet. “So Mordor it is.”
You turned to see Dustin with a giddy smile plastered on his face as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet from Eddie's confirmation. You bit back your smile at the sight.
Everyone started heading out and Steve looked over at you. “What is Mordor?” He whispered.
“It's from Lord of the Rings.” You explained, tugging his hand to get him to move.
Eddie suddenly came running back and snatched up his radio and canteen.
“Get your stuff, dude.” Steve complained. “Let's go.”
The eight of you trudged off into the woods, Dustin retaking the lead with his compass, the thing now actually leading in you in the right direction. You squeezed Steve’s hand tighter, the thought of another gate terrifying you, but the need to end this once and for all overtaking you and forcing you to keep moving.
~~~~~
The sun had set a while ago, leaving you all to try and navigate your way through the woods in complete darkness. Dustin suddenly took off from the group, running off ahead to who knows where.
“Something's happening.” Dustin mumbled to himself.
“Dustin?” Eddie called out. “Can you slow down? Dustin?”
“I think we're getting close.” Dustin announced as you all broke through the clearing.
Eddie ran forward and pulled Dustin back before he nearly stepped into the lake. “Watch your step, big guy.”
“Oh, man.” Steve groaned. “You gotta be shitting me.”
“Yeah.” Eddie agreed. “I thought these woods looked familiar.”
“Lovers Lake.” Robin announced as you all stared out at the vast expanse of water.
“This is confounding.” Dustin said.
“There's a gate in Lovers Lake?” Max asked.
“Whenever the Demogorgon attacked.” Nancy explained. “It always left an opening. Maybe Vena's the same way.”
“Yeah, only one way to find out.” You said.
Eddie walked over to the boat he had arrived in and removed the tarp and him and Steve dragged it over to the shore and pushed it into the water.
“Easy.” Steve complained. “I said easy, man.”
“Sorry, dude.” Eddie mumbled.
“Yeah, I'm just gonna do that." Robin muttered as she put her hands on Steve and Eddie’s heads to help lift herself into the boat.
Eddie hopped in after Robin, Nancy following after him. “Wheeler Junior.” Eddie said as he held out his hand to her and she took it.
“Thanks.” Nancy said.
“Wheeler Senior.” Eddie extended his hand towards you next and you gratefully accepted the help while following Robin’s earlier action and using Steve’s head as a bit of extra support as your sore body protested the large step.
Once you were successfully on the boat you turned back around to see Dustin starting to walk over, but Eddie reached out and pushed him back.
“You trying to sink us?” Eddie said. “This thing holds four people tops, okay?”
“It's better this way, okay?” Nancy placated. “You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble.”
“You keep an eye out.” Dustin complained. “It's my goddamn theory.”
“You heard Nance.” Robin said.
“Who put her in charge?”
“I did.”
“Compass.” Nancy held out her hand and Dustin reluctantly handed over the compass.
“Hey.” Steve called out and tossed Dustin his backpack, nearly knocking him over. “Here you go.” Steve pushed the boat into the water and then quickly hopped in.
“You said four.” Dustin called out angrily.
“Sorry.” You whispered back.
“Bedtime at nine, kiddos.” Robin joked and you could see Dustin flipping her off from the distance. “Miss you already!” She stood up and waved over at the kids before sitting back down.
You were only rowing for a few minutes, having gotten about halfway across the lake, when Nancy suddenly brought you to a halt.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Slow down, guys.” Nancy called out and Robin and Eddie stopped rowing.
“Whoa.” Steve exclaimed as you all looked at the rapidly spinning needle of the compass.
Guys, what's going on? Dustin's voice came through the radio. Come on, guys, talk to me. What's going on?
“Uh, Dustin.” Robin said into the radio. “Your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'aah.'”
Next to you, Steve suddenly started taking off his shoes and socks. “Steve, what are you doing?” You asked, concerned.
“Somebody's gotta go down there and check this thing out.” Steve explained. “Unless you or anyone else here can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then... it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?" Steve reached over and gave your arm a comforting squeeze before standing up.
“Hey, I'm not complaining.” Eddie said. “I do not wanna go down there.” He took a plastic bag out of his pocket and emptied its contents onto the floor as Steve ripped off his shirt. “Here.” Eddie said as he placed a flashlight into the bag and lit it up as he handed it to Steve. “Good luck.”
Steve tossed his shirt over to you as Eddie slipped a cigarette between his lips. You caught the shirt, your movements a big sluggish, and you blamed your eyes for being sluggish too as they stayed trained on Steve’s chest for just a few too many moments. Eh, who cared? Eddie? Yeah, right. You then heard the flick of a lighter and turned just in time to see Robin pluck the cigarette from Eddie’s lips and toss it into the lake.
“Gross.” Robin complained.
You placed a hand on Steve's leg and he looked back at you. “Be careful.” You said.
“Always.” Steve smiled and then turned back to the water and dived in.
You all just sat there in silence as you waited for Steve to return. You had your eyes trained on the dark water, like you could somehow see if something went wrong way below the surface. You should’ve made him take one of the bats with him. Something he could use to defend himself with in case things went south.
“Where are we at, Wheeler?” Robin asked shakily and you whipped your head around, but she was talking to Nancy.
“Closing in on a minute.” Nancy said as she looked at her watch.
You turned your attention back to the water as you continued waiting and waiting and waiting. Steve could hold his breath for a minute and a half, you knew that. But you didn’t know how long it had been. How long had it been? Was it over the ninety second—suddenly, in a loud burst, Steve shot up from the surface.
“Oh, Christ!” Eddie shrieked.
“I found it.” Steve panted as he grabbed on to the side of the boat.
“You found it?” You echoed, planting your hands on top of his arms, afraid that if you didn’t then he might just disappear.
“I found it. Yeah, I found it.”
“Dustin, you're a goddamn Einstein.” Robin said into the radio. “Steve found the gate—“ The connection cut off.
“It's pretty wild.” Steve said quietly as he still fought to catch his breath. “It's more of a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big.”
Steve suddenly sank back down below the surface, his arms slipping from your grasp as you felt your heart stop. And then he reemerged a moment later, glancing down behind himself, confused, and then looking back at you. You were just about to reach out, to grab onto him and pull him into the boat where it was at least safer than the water, when he was pulled back under again.
You jumped up from your seat, adrenaline coursing through your veins and pushing away any lingering fatigue you were still feeling. You all started calling out to Steve, but he was nowhere to be seen. No, no. Not him. Please, not him. Not anyone. But not him. You weren’t gonna leave each other’s sights, you both promised that.
You tightened the straps on the backpack and took in a deep breath, one foot already planted on the side of the boat when everyone started reaching out to you, trying to get you to stop, but you shoved them all off.
“Wait here.” You said sternly. “Contact the others.”
You turned back towards the water, took a deep breath, and dove in after Steve. You were a strong swimmer, always had been, and you were grateful that you were because if not your fatigue probably would’ve screwed you up and caused you all kinds of hell as you hastily made your way towards the bottom of the lake. But your need to get to Steve was stronger, and you pushed yourself forward.
You could see a red glow from up ahead or, really, down below, and you pushed yourself over to it. You reached out, looking for something to grab onto, when your hands broke the surface of the water. You quickly pushed that out of your mind as you grabbed onto the hard surface and hauled yourself up and over and around as gravity twisted all around you.
You jumped to your feet and saw that you were standing in the bottom of the empty lake. You saw the sky flash red as thunder roared in the distance. And then you heard Steve crying out and whipped around to see him off in the distance as he struggled on the ground. A bat-like creature had its long tail wrapped around Steve’s neck, choking him, while two others were chomping away at his stomach.
You took off running towards Steve, your fatigue, your pain, your fears, your worries, all of it pushed to the side as you reached behind you and pulled out the nail bat.
Im so excited for hopper reader, can you give us a small teaser of what this reader will be like?
The reader is gonna be a lot like the chief; gruff, protective, goes it alone. Someone suggested a while ago for a reader to have a mind that Henry would be afraid of, so I’m gonna do that with Hopper reader lol. I’m just having a lot of fun with this reader and he’s gonna basically go from more mysterious to start with and turn more eerie as the story progresses. He’s also gonna be one year older than Steve, but still in the same grade in school cause he got held back after moving to Hawkins.
Is season 4 the last season for wheeler reader or will you rewrite season 5 again?
Season four will be the last season for Wheeler. And I think season four will be the last season for all of my stories from now on. They will be getting an extra chapter or two to wrap it up, but, yeah, that’ll be the end.
i’m just hella curious, but will you ever make a story where it’s a bad ending? like reader dying or something. this sounds dark but i’m just wondering yk 😁😁😁😁
I have thought about it, but probably not. I mean, it would so fun to explore, but I’d feel bad for everyone reading after all that build up lol.
So, I know a lot of people sent in requests for POVs, and I promised to write almost all of them, but I just can’t find the motivation for all of them. I still love to hear everyone’s ideas, and I know I’m not obligated to write all of them lol, but I’m sorry if I responded to yours and don’t end up getting to it. They were all great, but, unfortunately, I can’t get the motivation for them all. So, there will still be a couple more POVs that will be posted before the end of Fourth Wheeler. I’m thinking one more Steve pov and one pov of the party as kids, where it alternates POVs as the reader teaches them D&D and they create their characters.
Now, I know you guys really want a Will pov of him finding out about the reader, or coming out to the reader, but, unfortunately, it won’t be for the Wheeler story. I really do want to write it, but I think I will save it for my Byers story. Possibly, maybe not, but possibly, also have that pov happen during the Hopper story. But definitely for Byers reader. Sorry it’s taking so long to make and I keep agreeing to it, but I just can’t find a way to write it right now unfortunately. But it will definitely happen in the Byers story.
Thank you all for continuing to read these fics! I appreciate you all so much!
Robin couldn’t get over how cute they were. It made her sick to her stomach to see her two best friends be all sappy and lovey dovey with each other, but it was also absolutely adorable.
They were sitting over behind the counter, no one else except for the three of them in the store as they took their lunch breaks together. Steve was smiling like an absolute idiot, the dimples that he had and that Robin had only seen a handful of times out on full display as his face started to get redder and redder. Steve was a sap, a complete and utter lovesick fool when it came to Y/N. He was so in love that Robin was pretty sure he might actually die if they ever broke up. Like that would ever happen.
The two of them looked like an old married couple, only eating half of their food and leaving the rest for the other. They brought their lunch in two separate bags, but they always ate together. Sometimes they’d bring treats for Robin—like she was some dog or something. There would be a cookie or a brownie or some other dessert that Steve had wanted to try out that week. It was delicious, every time. Steve was an amazing baker.
Steve looked over at Y/N, still smiling widely, and lightly bumped his shoulder with his, sending Y/N leaning to the side before he came back up and did the same to Steve. And then they just sat there, arms pressed against each other as they continued to eat their shared lunch.
Robin couldn’t quite believe that the two of them had found each other in this town of all places. That, not only did they find someone like them, but they found someone to be with as well. And, God, were they perfect for each other. Who knew high school sweethearts could last that long? But it gave Robin hope that she could find someone for herself in this town. That she could find someone who loved her the way that those two loved each other.
But Robin sucked. She absolutely sucked. She had already met the girl of her dreams and, yet, she couldn’t even talk to her. She would manage to say something that got Vickie to smile, and then she would just keep rambling on and on and on until Vickie had completely lost interest. She needed help. She needed to know how Steve had done it, how he managed to work up the courage to ask a guy out. But, really, whatever it was that Steve had done, there was no way Robin would have the courage to do the same. Maybe Vickie would just make the first move. If she even liked girls, that is. Oh, God, Robin hoped so. Vickie was so amazing, Robin couldn’t lose her to some guy.
“Hey, Robin!” Steve called out.
Robin jerked her head up towards Steve just in time to see him throw something at her. She reached out, trying to grab whatever it was, but she was terrible at catching, just like she was terrible at throwing, and the object slipped through her fingers and landed on the floor. Robin just stared at the item for a moment, defeated, and then she slowly bent over and picked it up to find that it was a chocolate chip cookie.
“It’s fresh.” Steve announced. “Made them last night.”
“Thanks.” Robin tore open the plastic bag and immediately took a huge bite out of the cookie. As always, it was delicious.
“Is it good?” Steve asked.
“Of course it’s good, dingus.” Robin sassed through her mouthful of cookie. “You’re, like, some kind of genius or something when it comes to the kitchen.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m a genius.” Steve stammered, cheeks tinging red again, but this time from embarrassment.
“Yeah, you are.” Y/N chimed in, a hand reaching up to ruffle Steve’s hair. “And I think these cookies are even better than last time.” He took a huge bite of his own cookie, just for emphasis.
That dopey smile returned to Steve’s face as he turned his attention back to Y/N. God, he was so disgustingly in love that it was almost ridiculous. Just a year ago Robin would’ve said she was crazy for saying that Steve Harrington of all people was actually a really sweet and caring guy. But, now, she couldn’t imagine him any other way. And she definitely couldn’t imagine him without Y/N.
You had woken up lethargic that morning, contorted awkwardly on the chair in the basement as Steve took the floor by your legs. You should’ve just gone upstairs and slept in your bed, but you were too afraid to leave Max alone, even with the others around and her forty minute loop of Kate Bush playing on repeat.
“So, headaches, eyes, dizziness, blurred vision, a cold feeling.” Dustin listed out as Nancy drove you all to the Creel house, intending to check it out and see if there was any evidence. “And now the nosebleeds, too.”
“Don’t forget the loss of hearing.” Steve chimed in from beside you in your seat in the trunk, Dustin sitting across from you.
“Right. Loss of hearing.” Dustin repeated as he mulled the symptoms over in his head.
“Wait.” Lucas suddenly announced, turning himself around in the back seat to face you. “What if Vecna is, like, draining you?” He suggested. “I mean, you are tired now after each attack. That didn’t happen before.”
“But why would he be draining me?” You asked.
“To make himself stronger.” Dustin said, eyes going wide in the way they always did when he was coming up with an answer.
Lucas snapped and pointed at him. “Like Rogue.”
“Who’s Rogue?” Steve asked.
“She’s a superhero.” Dustin explained. “Part of the X-Men. When she touches people she’s able to steal their memories, life force, skills. And if she touches someone else with powers she’s able to use those powers herself.”
“Okay.” You waved your arms around in order to stop his rambling. “So, what exactly does that have to do with me?”
“Well, Vecna’s not stealing your powers.” Lucas said. “And I don’t think he’s interested in your memories. I mean, if he was, I’m pretty sure he would’ve cursed you.”
“Right, but he’s been in my head since we first took on the Demogorgon.” You pointed out.
“Exactly.” Dustin nodded. “I think he’s using you in order to amplify his own abilities.”
“Why would he need to amplify his abilities?” Steve asked.
“I don’t know.” Dustin shrugged. “Maybe he’s not powerful enough to do all this killing and stuff on his own. Maybe he needs to, like, draw on someone else’s life force.”
Lucas snapped and pointed at Dustin again. “Like a battery.”
“Exactly like a battery.” Dustin pointed back at Lucas before looking at you. “Just like when El drains her own battery by using her powers, Vecna is draining his when he attacks. So, maybe the power needed for these attacks is too strong to handle on his own. Maybe he needs you, your life force, to make it happen.”
“But a battery runs out of energy eventually.” You pointed out worriedly and everyone’s faces fell, their excitement for figuring it all out now being weighed down by the reality.
“All batteries die.” Dustin stated emphatically.
“Is he…” Steve’s voice wavered as he turned to you, a glassy look in his eyes. “Is he gonna die?”
“I don’t know.” Dustin breathed out. “He’s not recovering anymore. Each attack is weakening him. If we don’t kill Vecna, then…” Dustin trailed off, no one wanting to voice the obvious out loud.
“I’m not gonna die.” You stated determinedly. “I am not going to die.”
The car skidded to a halt as Nancy slammed on the brakes, the Creel house looming above just outside the window. You turned towards the front of the car to see her looking at you worriedly through the rearview mirror. But she didn’t say anything, she didn’t chime in to the dreadful conversation. She took a deep breath, hardened her face, and focused on the task at hand. And you were grateful for it; to see that tough Nancy there. Seeing her break down right now would just cause you to do the same, and you didn’t have time for that.
Steve threw open the trunk door and climbed out first, lending a hand to Dustin. He then lent his hand to you and he almost refused to let go once you had your feet under you, the worry etched into every feature. You hated having to do it, but you pulled your hand from his, pushing your arm against his instead.
Honestly, it probably wouldn’t even matter if you just decided to hold hands for the rest of the day. The only people here who didn’t know about you and Steve were Lucas and Max. And there was no way you could see either of them hating you for it. Maybe a disgusted look cause it was the two of you, but not for other reasons. Maybe you should just keep holding Steve’s hand, especially if this Vecna might actually be trying to kill you.
You turned your attention onto the house and a deeply unsettling feeling washed over you. The place was a murder site, an innocent family targeted for God knows what reason and left abandoned, boarded up and rotting away.
“Yeah, that’s not creepy.” Steve said sarcastically as you all walked up the front steps. Dustin pulled out a hammer and handed it to Steve who started ripping out the nails on the boarded up door. “I mean, what exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?” Steve asked as he passed you the hammer, and you began ripping out the nails on your side of the door.
“We’re not sure.” Nancy answered honestly. “We just know this house is important to Vecna.”
“Because Max saw it in Vecna’s red soup mind world?”
“Basically.”
“Great.”
“Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is.” You suggested.
“Or a clue to why he’s back.” Dustin added. “Why he killed the Creels. Why he chose you to be his battery. And how to stop him before he comes back for Max.”
“We don’t think he’s in here, do we?” Lucas asked slowly.
“Guess we’ll find out.” Max shrugged.
You and Steve let go of the board and let it drop down onto the front porch, sending dust, dirt, and leaves flying up into the air and around your faces.
Steve yanked the handle, but it didn’t budge. “It’s locked.” You all sighed. “Should we knock, see if anybody’s home?”
“No need.” Robin announced with a smiled as she held up a brick. “I found a key.” She shrugged.
You held out your hand for the brick and Robin huffed exaggeratedly as she handed it over, clearly wanting to be the one to throw it. But she had terrible aim. Everyone took a step back from the door and you threw the brick right through the window, glass shattering and leaving a large hole in the stained glass rose.
Steve stepped forward and reached through the hole, unlocking the door and slowly swinging it open. He stepped inside cautiously, the rest of you following his lead. The house was dark and damp and covered in decades worth of dust and cobwebs. The smell of dirt and mildew hung heavily in the air. It was disgusting.
Lucas reached for a lamp and clicked the switch, but nothing happened. “Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill.”
Dustin held up his flashlight and turned it on, signaling for the rest of you to do the same as you all started to take a look around the house.
“Where’d everyone get those?” Steve asked.
You and Dustin turned to Steve at the same time, both of you doing a double take to the flashlights in your hands. “Do you need to be told everything?” Dustin sassed. “You’re not a child.”
“Thank you.” Steve said sarcastically.
Dustin slipped off his backpack and handed it to Steve. “Back pocket.”
Steve ripped the flashlight out of the bag and rolled his eyes at you as Dustin walked away. You just smiled and patted him on the back before pushing him along. Steve smiled back at you, his worry gone for a moment as he fixed you with that adorable dopey grin.
“They just left everything.” Nancy said as her and Robin checked out the living room.
“I guess a triple homicide isn’t good for resale value.” Robin joked dryly.
“Hey, guys?” Max called out and you all made your way over to where she was staring at a grandfather clock in the corner. “You all see that, right?”
“Yeah.” You, Steve, and Dustin all said.
“Is this what you saw?” Nancy asked. “In your visions?”
Max nodded.
“I mean it’s… it’s just a clock.” Robin said uneasily. “Right?” She stepped forward and wiped away the dust on the glass face. “Like a normal old clock.”
“Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?” Steve whispered. “Maybe he’s, like, a clockmaker or something?”
“A clockmaker?” You echoed incredulously. “You think the evil wizard is a clockmaker? Really?”
“I think you cracked the case, Steve.” Dustin sassed.
“All I know is the answers are here. Somewhere.” Nancy said. “Okay, everyone stay in groups. Robin, upstairs.”
Robin gave Nancy a two fingered salute and followed after her up the stairs. Next to you, Max quickly turned to Lucas, grabbed his arm, and started dragging him away.
“Come on.” Max said. “Let’s go.”
Dustin turned to Steve and smiled up cutely at him. Steve just sighed and walked around him, heading up the stairs.
“Was that a sigh?” Dustin asked incredulously, and you couldn’t quite believe it either.
“No, I did not sigh.” Steve lied.
“Why’d you sigh?”
“I didn’t sigh. Just come on, dude.”
“I heard you.”
“Well, we’re just always partners, okay?”
“What, you have a problem with that?”
“It’d be nice to, I don’t know, mix it up a bit.”
“So, what? I’m boring you? Is that it?”
“No, the opposite.”
“Am I boring you?” You joked.
“What?” Steve whipped around so fast that it nearly gave you whiplash. “Why would you say that? Don’t ever say that. You never bore me.”
“Wow.” You drawled out playfully. “So adamant about it. Kinda sounds like you’re lying.”
“No.” Steve pointed a finger at you, his tone desperate. “I’m not lying. I don’t lie to you.”
“I don’t know.” You continued to joke, drawing out your words as you looked over at Dustin, who was enjoying watching Steve’s freak out. “What do you think, Henderson? Think he’s telling the truth?”
“Doubt it.” Dustin played along. “His voice is getting all high. That’s how you know he’s lying.”
“Hey.” Steve exclaimed. “Both of you better stop it. I’m not lying.” He looked on the verge of freaking out now, and you decided that, for his sake, you’d end the joke.
“All right. All right.” You threw your hands up in mock surrender. “I guess you’re telling the truth.”
Steve seemed to relax after that, his tense shoulders loosening. It was adorable how freaked out he got. How, despite him knowing that you were joking, he was still so adamant about you knowing that you didn’t bore it. It made your heart soar. He really was a lovesick fool.
The three of you continued on down the old, decrepit hallway. The house was almost entirely empty, just some old furniture still sitting around. And you weren’t seeing any signs of an evil wizard.
“Hey, uh, Henderson?” Steve asked as the three of you entered one of the rooms.
“Yeah?” Dustin replied.
“Could you maybe, uh, clarify what sort of clues we’re supposed to be looking for here?”
“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” Dustin drawled out in a British accent. You smiled and rolled your eyes at the stupid quote as Dustin smirked up at a confused Steve. “Sherlock Holmes.” Dustin explained, but Steve just continued to stare at him. Dustin’s smile dropped and he let out a light scoff before walking away.
“That’s great.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Thanks. That’s great. Really helpful.”
You decided that the two of them had the room covered and headed back out into the hallway. There was a single table sitting against the wall, but, other than that, it was empty. Suddenly, the other door opened and Steve came rushing out backwards into the hallway, swatting away at himself.
“What’s wrong?” You asked as you rushed over.
“There was a spider.” Steve breathed out shakily. “It’s a black widow.” He grabbed the door and slammed it shut. “Don’t go back in there.”
Steve started to walk away when you spotted a cobweb stuck in the back of his hair. You reached out to try and get it off of him, but he just kept on walking, oblivious.
“Wait.” You called out. “Steve, hold on.”
“What?” Steve asked as he finally stopped. “Shit. What is it?”
“You have some…” You reached forward and plucked off a piece of cobweb, showing it to him.
“Thank you.” Steve smiled as you began working on the rest of it.
“If there’s a spider nesting in there, you’re never gonna find it till it lays eggs and all the babies spill out.” Robin joked as her and Nancy emerged from the other room.
“What’s wrong with you?” Steve asked uneasily. “Robin, seriously?” Robin just laughed as she walked away. “She’s got problems.” Steve whispered back to you.
“Yeah.” You laughed lightly as you continued pulling off the cobwebs. “Don’t worry.” You reassured. “If there is a spider in here, I’ll find it.”
Steve was terrified of spiders. He was actually scared of a lot of things. Spiders, obviously. And then there were bees and snakes and sharks. He also wasn’t a big fan of horror movies. Plus the occasional fear of the dark, but who wouldn’t be after all you’d been through? It took him a while to admit any of those fears to you, afraid of seeming like less of a man because of it. But he wasn’t, and you liked to tease him from time to time because of his fears, sometimes sneaking up behind him and lightly crawling your fingers up his back. He’d jump, eyes wide, and then you’d laugh and give him a kiss to calm him down.
“You know.” Steve said. “Maybe after we find Vecna, kill him, save the world and stuff, maybe we could all go out or something.” You smiled as you continued working. “You know? Me, you, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, when he gets back. Be able to go on a proper date for once.”
“That sounds nice.” You said softly as you pulled off the last piece of cobweb. “All done.”
“Great.” Steve turned around, staring at you with that adorable dopey smile. “Thanks.” He just continued to stare at you, like it was physically impossible not to.
“We should get back to the investigation.” You said, taking his hand in yours as you started to pull him along, a blush crawling up his neck.
You led Steve into the room where Robin and Nancy had emerged from and only just started checking the place out when Max and Lucas came running up the stairs, rounding everybody up and telling you all to meet them downstairs where the lights were apparently turning on.
When you all arrived in the kitchen you saw the chandelier above the table glowing faintly, its soft light slowly fading in and out as you all stared up at it. It reminded you of Joyce’s Christmas lights.
“It’s like the Christmas lights.” You whispered.
“The Christmas lights?” Robin whispered back.
“Yeah.” Nancy said. “When Will was in the Upside Down, the lights… came to life.”
“Vecna’s here.” Lucas said. “In this house. Just on the other side.”
The lights faded and then shut off.
“I think he just left the room.” Robin said.
“Did he hear us?” Max whispered.
“Can he see us?” Steve asked.
“Headphones.” Lucas said hastily and Max threw them on.
“Wait, wait.” Nancy announced. “Everyone, turn off your flashlights and spread out.”
You all clicked off your flashlights and everyone filtered out of the room, but you stuck behind with Steve. You promised not to leave each other’s sides right now, and that is exactly what you planned on doing.
“We’re not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flashlights.” Steve argued, but everyone was already gone.
Steve sighed and turned his flashlight off and you led him off to another part of the house. Not even a minute later, Robin was shouting.
“I got him!” Robin’s voice echoed through the house. “Got him!” You all ran to where Robin was, but, as soon as you got there, her flashlight turned off. “I had him.”
Steve’s flashlight suddenly turned on. “Oh, whoa. Oh, I think he’s moving.” Steve took off, trying to keep the flashlight lit as he followed the trail. “He’s moving. He’s moving.”
You all followed Steve out into the foyer before he headed up the stairs, the flashlight buzzing softly as its light started fading in and out. And when you reached the first landing it shut off.
“Shit.” Steve hissed. “I lost him.”
“No, you didn’t.” Max said and crossed over to the door on the landing. When she opened it, there was a light shining from inside.
You all followed after Max as she took the lead, heading up the stairs and towards the source of the light.
“It’s an attic.” Robin breathed shakily. “Of course it’s an attic.”
“Hold up, guys.” Dustin called out from behind you. “What if he’s leading us into a trap?” You all ignored him and kept walking. “Guys, guys.” He hissed, and then his footsteps chased after you.
When you finally reached the top you saw a single lightbulb dangling from the ceiling, buzzing softly as its yellow light pulsed in and out, illuminating the room and then taking away its light. As you got closer your flashlight flickered to life.
“Flashlights.” Dustin announced and you glanced around to see everyone else’s flashlights also coming to life.
You all circled around below the dangling lightbulb and held up your flashlights as their lights all grew stronger with the proximity.
“Okay, what’s happening?” Steve asked nervously.
You reached out to grab Steve’s hand for comfort when you felt your legs give out from under you, sending you straight down to the floor. There was only a single second of clarity where you could see the party rushing to action, could feel Steve’s hands grabbing onto you, and you screamed out, the sound silent to your ears, but no doubt deafening to theirs.
That nail, that goddamn nail drove straight through every muscle, bone, and tissue in your entire head, lighting it on fire from the inside out. All feeling was gone. All sight was gone. You knew Steve was still holding you, probably trying to call out, a few tears escaping him just as surely as there had to be tears escaping you. And you desperately wished you could feel it. That you could feel him. It was pure and total torture, agony. Your skull crushed and on fire, nothing to see except a dark haze, and nothing, absolutely nothing, that you could hear.
And then there it was, that strip of grey that appeared beneath you, even softer and more distinct than before. It stayed longer, too. Holding there for a good ten seconds before it disappeared along with everything else, and you were left only with pain.
“Max, wake up!” You shouted, desperately shaking her shoulders and trying to jolt her back to reality.
Max gasped, eyes going wide as she finally snapped back to the present. She looked around wildly for a moment; scared, terrified. You took in a shaky breath as you wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort her.
Nancy and Robin showed up a few minutes later and Max led you all over to a hallway where she had apparently seen a clock in the wall. You all had your flashlights pointed at the spot, but there was nothing there.
“It was right here.” Max said worriedly. “It was right here.”
“A grandfather clock?” Nancy asked.
“It was so real.” Max said. “And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just… I woke up.”
“It was like she was in a trance or something.” Dustin explained. “Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy.”
“But then why didn’t I feel anything?” You asked. “There wasn’t even an aching.”
“Fascinating.” Dustin breathed, his eyes raking over you, studying you.
“That’s not even the bad part.” Max said shakily.
Max turned around and pushed through the group, heading back towards Ms. Kelley’s office, the rest of you hot on her trail. She grabbed the files and displayed them on the table.
“Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Ms. Kelley for help.” Max explained. “They were both having headaches, bad headaches that just wouldn’t go away. And then… then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They’d wake up in a cold sweat. And then they started seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts. And these visions, they just… they kept on getting worse and worse, until everything… everything ended.”
“Vecna’s curse.” Robin stated.
“Chrissy’s headaches started a week ago.” Max continued. “Fred’s, six days ago. I’ve been having them for five days. I don’t know how long I have. All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than twenty-four hours after their first vision.” Max was on the verge of tears now, fighting hard to keep them at bay. “And I just saw that goddamn clock, so… looks like I’m gonna die tomorrow.”
Clang!
Your heads all whipped around towards the door at the sudden noise.
“Stay here.” Steve said quietly and walked over to the door.
You followed after him, your flashlight held tightly in your grip. You weren’t about to let Steve face whatever was out there alone. And you promised to stay by each other’s sides, to stay in each other’s sights, until this was all over.
Steve suddenly stopped short in the doorway and you nearly ran into his back. He glanced over at the lamp on the floor and picked it up, yanking the cord out of the socket as headed out the door.
You followed Steve out slowly, him with the lamp held at the ready while you tightened your grip on your flashlight. The rest of the group followed the two of you out, because of course they did.
Clang!
You could hear the sound of footsteps approaching and you all stopped. Steve lifted the lamp up while you drew back the flashlight. A body suddenly came flying around the corner and you all screamed out. But it was fine. It was okay. Everything was all right. It wasn’t a monster. It was just Lucas.
“It’s me!” Lucas screamed.
“Lucas?” You asked, shining your flashlight at his face.
“It’s me.”
“Jesus, what’s wrong with you, Sinclair?!” Steve shouted angrily.
“I’m sorry.” Lucas apologized as he leaned forward, taking in heavy breaths.
“I could’ve taken you out with this lamp!” Steve shook the lamp around for emphasis.
“Sorry, guys.” Lucas panted. “Sorry. I was… I was biking for eight miles.” Lucas took a deep breath and held up a finger. “Give me one second. Shit. We’ve got a code red.”
“What?” You asked.
“Dustin.” Lucas said hastily as he approached him. “I’ve been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy, and they’ve gone, like, totally off the rails. They’re trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is.” Lucas took a deep breath. “You’re in terrible danger.”
“All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks.” Dustin said nonchalantly. “But we’ve got bigger problems than Jason right now.”
Dustin glanced back at Max, Lucas and everyone else’s eyes following as Max nervously glanced around, trying to avoid your guys’s gaze.
~~~~~
It was around midnight and you still couldn’t sleep, still too worried about Max to be able to close your eyes for more than a few minutes. The girl in question was over at the desk, her head resting on her arms as she finally managed to pass out for a little bit.
You pushed yourself away from the chair Steve was sleeping in and made your way over to the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible as you went upstairs. You closed the door behind you and nearly jumped out of your skin when you saw Holly standing there, her hair all messed up, but her eyes awake and alert.
“What are you doing up?” You asked quietly.
“I had a nightmare.” Holly replied, eyes dropping to your shoes as your heart dropped to your stomach.
Holly had a nightmare. She had a nightmare while all of this Upside Down stuff was happening. She hadn’t had a nightmare since the summer, since the flesh monster was running around. This couldn’t be good at all. Was she cursed? No, why would she be cursed? There weren’t any bad memories for Vecna to draw on, and it’s not like the nightmares had only started now. They had been going on since you closed the gate. But, to your dismay, you realized that these nightmares have probably been happening since the beginning.
“Come on.” You waved her along and she followed you over to the couch. “What was the nightmare about? Was it the monster again?”
“Yeah.” Holly nodded, worrying at the cuffs of her sleeves.
“Did you fight it off again?” You asked, needing to hear her say yes. God, just please say yes.
“Yeah.” Holly said again, and you felt relief wash over you. At least she was still fighting it. At least she was still running. “But he kept showing up.”
“Who kept showing up?” You asked, tone a bit demanding as your short lived relief was overtaken by a gut wrenching worry. “Holly, who kept showing up?”
“I don’t know.” Holly shrugged. “He won’t say.”
“Holly.” You said, and you finally got her to look at you. “Is this the same man you were drawing? The one with the blond hair and old suit?”
“Yeah.” Holly said, more like a question than an answer. “But he’s only there for a second.”
“Did he talk to you?” You asked. “Did he say anything at all?”
“No.” Holly shook her head, eyes turning back to the floor. “He’s just there, and then he’s gone.”
God, you needed her to say more, to actually describe this dream to you. You needed something concrete to go on if you were going to figure out a way to stop the nightmares.
“Holly.” You said gently. “In the nightmare, did you see a grandfather clock?”
Holly looked up at you, brows scrunched together. “What?”
“A grandfather clock.” You repeated. “Did you see a grandfather clock in your nightmare?”
“No.” Holly shook her head, and you let out a sigh of relief. Okay, so it really wasn’t the curse. But then what was it? “Why did you move out?” Holly suddenly asked, and your brain short circuited a bit at the sudden.
“I… cause I’m an adult.” You stammered out, unsure of how to answer her without outing yourself. But your response didn’t seem to convince Holly of anything. Rather, she looked even more sullen than before. “You know you can call me whenever you want, right?” You nudged her gently. “Or just come over.”
“I guess.” Holly shrugged.
You didn’t know what else to say to her. She was a kid, one who was missing her big brother. There was no way she was gonna give you more than just sparsely worded answers. You didn’t even realize that she missed you that much, that she missed you enough to admit it. And that information just broke your heart.
~~~~~
In the morning, Nancy passed out copies of the Victor Creel newspaper article that her and Robin had found last night. You were all reading it over, trying to figure out some kind of connection and fill in all of the blanks, but you yourself were drawing a blank. None of it made any sense. The only real lead you had was Victor Creel himself, and he was locked away in Pennhurst.
“Okay, be honest.” Steve grumbled. “Do you guys understand any of this?”
“No.” You and Lucas said.
“Pretty straightforward.” Dustin stated.
“Oh, straightforward, really?” Steve asked incredulously.
“Well, what’s confusing to you?” Dustin asked. “So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died, except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He’s the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it’s him.”
“Yeah, and that’s assuming that he was cursed, Henderson, which we don’t even know.” Steve ran a hand across his face as he muttered to himself. “How can Vecna have existed back in the 50s? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Well, as far as we know.” You said. “El didn’t create the Upside Down. She opened a gate to it.”
“The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions.” Dustin added. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it predated the dinosaurs.”
“Dinosaurs?” Steve echoed. “What are we—“
“Okay. Okay.” Lucas cut in. “But if a gate didn’t exist in the 50s, how did Vecna get through?”
“Oh.” Steve pointed at Dustin. “And how is he getting through now?”
“And why now?” You added.
“And why then?” Steve continued. “Just pops out in the 50s, kills one family, and he’s like, I’m good. And poof, he just disappears. Just… gone? Only to return thirty years later and start killing some random teens? No, I don’t buy it.” Steve sighed as he looked back down at the article in his hands. “Straightforward, my ass. And, you know what?” Steve turned to Dustin. “Honestly, Henderson, a little humility every now and then, it wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Sorry.” Dustin whispered as Steve plopped himself into the recliner and fixed him with a look as he crossed his legs.
As Steve went back to the article you saw Dustin look over at Max. She had been sitting at the desk all night, scribbling away. But she wouldn’t tell any of you what she was doing. She had managed to get a couple of hours of rest, but not nearly enough to sustain herself on.
“Any idea what she’s writing?” Dustin whispered to Lucas as you all turned your attention onto Max. “Did she sleep?”
“I mean.” Lucas said. “Would you?”
“She slept for a little bit.” You added quietly. “Not nearly enough, though.”
Bang!
Nancy and Robin came bounding down the stairs, each holding a file.
“Okay, so…” Nancy announced. “We have a plan.”
Nancy and Robin sat down and handed you and Dustin each one of the files they were holding. Steve peered over your shoulder to read the fake file Robin gave you.
“Thanks to Nancy’s newspaper minions, we are now rock-star psychology students at the University of Notre-Dame.” Robin explained.
“I’m now Ruth.” Nancy said.
“And I’m Rose.”
“Ruth?” You echoed and Nancy gave you a proud smirk.
“Thanks.” Nancy smiled. “So we called Pennhurst Asylum, told them we’d like to speak with Victor Creel for a thesis we’re co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics—“
“To which they said no.” Robin cut off.
“But.” Nancy announced. “We landed a three o’clock with the director.”
“Now.” Robin continued. “All we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor.”
“Then maybe we can rid Max of this curse.”
“Yeah, uh, about that.” Steve said. “We’ve been doing our Victor Creel homework, and, uh… we got some questions.”
“Lots of questions.” Lucas added.
“So do we.” Nancy said. “Hopefully, Victor has the answers.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait a second, uh…” Steve said as he snatched the fake student file from your hands and flipped through it. “Where’s mine?”
Nancy gave him an apprehensive look. “You’re not coming.”
It suddenly dawned on you that there wasn’t a file for you either. “And me?” You asked.
“No chance.” Nancy shook her head apologetically and then her and Robin bolted towards the stairs, trying to get away before you or Steve could argue further. But you wouldn’t let them get away that easily, and the two of you took after them.
“Nance!” You called out as you and Steve shot up from your seats and took off up the stairs. The girls had made it to the second set of stairs and you rushed after them. “Nance!”
The two of them ignored you and you and Steve practically sprinted up the stairs, just managing to make it to the landing the moment Nancy closed her bedroom door. You simply swung it open and you and Steve crowded inside.
“Nancy, you’re outta your mind if you think we’re babysitting again.” Steve complained.
“Okay, first of all, they’re not babies anymore.” Nancy argued. “And Max is in real danger. She needs people around her.”
“I know.” Steve huffed. “But why does it always have to be us?”
“Oh my god.” Robin exclaimed. “You have a Tom Cruise poster.” She ran right for the poster and then stopped and smirked at Nancy. “You have a Tom Cruise poster.”
“That’s old.” Nancy stammered as she rifled through her closet. “It’s just…” Robin laughed and then started looking through the stuff on Nancy’s nightstand. “Can you please not touch anything?”
“I just, we can’t do anything here, Nance.” Steve returned to the argument. “Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude. I don’t know. I could, like, turn on my… my charm.”
“Not the kind of charm we need.” Nancy shook her head.
“Ouch.”
“Why the hell am I not going?” You exclaimed. “I can be useful.”
Nancy gave you a stern look. “You’re not going anywhere with that pain. You need people around you just like Max does.”
“I’ll be with you.” You argued.
“No.” Nancy bit at you. “Look, I did a little digging last night, and it turns out this Dr. Hatch is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Harvard visiting scholar, okay? This is a lifelong student of the world. And, if we’re gonna win him over, we’re gonna have to convince him that we are too.”
You suddenly heard lullaby music playing and turned to see Robin playing around with Nancy’s music box.
“That, like him…” Nancy continued. “We are true academic scholars.”
“Holy shit.” Robin whispered as she turned around, holding the music box out on display. “There’s a little ballerina in here.”
“Academic scholar?” You echoed incredulously as you turned back to Nancy. “She’s giving you an academic scholar vibe? I’m the one who was top of my class!”
“I said no.” Nancy said harshly and then held up a ridiculous puffy pink blouse.
Robin turned around and her face dropped. “Oh, please tell me that you’re joking.”
~~~~~
Nancy and Robin had left a little while ago, leaving the rest of you with nothing to do except wait for their return, or for their voices to come crackling through the radio. You didn’t like just waiting around, it was starting to put you on edge not knowing what was going on.
At some point during the waiting all of your eyes had drifted over to Max. She was still sitting at the desk in the corner, hunched over as she continued her never ending writing.
“I know you guys are staring at me.” Max called out over her shoulder.
You all mumbled incoherently as you scrambled to find something to look busy with, to hide your obvious staring. You and the boys picked up some random magazines as Steve picked up a baseball, throwing it up in the air and catching it.
You were extremely worried about Max. She was like a little sister to you, just like all of the boys were like little brothers to you. Why did she have to be the one who got cursed? She didn’t deserve that. Why wasn’t you? Why couldn’t you have been cursed the same way you were the only one inflicted with pain? Why couldn’t you just figure out what the hell was wrong with you?
“You said you needed something?” Lucas tried to sound casual.
“Just hanging out.” Steve added.
Max sighed. “How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don’t know.” Max stood up and walked over to the four of you, a stack of envelopes in her hand. “You can look at me now.”
“Thanks. Sorry.” Dustin said as you all apologized and put the random items you were holding back down on the table.
Max took a deep breath and then held out one of the letters to you. “For you.” You just stared at her for a moment before cautiously taking the letter from her. “For you.” She handed the next letter to Dustin. “For you.” She handed one to Steve. “And, um, you.” She handed the last one to Lucas. “Oh, and, um, give these to Mike, El, and Will.” She handed three more letters over to Lucas. “If you can ever get a hold of them again.”
The four of you started opening the letters.
“Whoa, hey, what are you doing?” Max called out, throwing out her arms and halting your movements. “No, don’t. That’s not for now. Don’t open it now.”
“Don’t… okay.” Dustin slipped his letter back into the envelope as you slipped your own into the pocket of your jacket. “I’m sorry. What is this?” Dustin asked.
“It’s, um…” Max hung her head for a second, nervous, and then looked back up. “It’s a fail-safe. For after. You know, if things… if things don’t work out.”
“Wait. Whoa.” Lucas called out softly. “Max, things are gonna work out.”
“No!” Max interrupted. “No, I don’t need you to reassure me right now and tell me that it’s all gonna work out. Because people have been telling me that my entire life and it’s almost never true. It’s never true.” Max sighed. “I mean, of course this asshole curses me. I should’ve seen that one coming.” Max took a deep breath, steadying herself as you saw her trying to hold back her tears. She suddenly crossed over to the table and picked up Dustin’s radio. “If we go to East Hawkins, will this still reach Pennhurst?”
“Of course.” Dustin said. “Yeah.”
“Wait.” Steve cut in. “Why are we talking about East Hawkins?” Max just turned and gave Steve a determined look. “No. No. No!”
Max took the radio and exited the basement, completely ignoring Steve’s protesting. Not that you expected her to listen to him. She never did. None of the kids did. You all quickly grabbed your stuff and ran out after her.
“Max, Max. Seriously.” Steve called out, but Max just ignored him and kept walking. “Seriously, I’m not joking, okay? I’m not driving you anywhere.”
“Steve, if you think I’m going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit that is Mike Wheeler’s basement, then you’re out of your mind. So, either take me where I need to go or you’re gonna have to tie me down, which is technically kidnapping of a minor. And if I live to see another day, Steve, I swear to God, I will prosecute.” Max and Steve made it to the car and Max tried to open the back door, but it was locked. “Open the door.”
“Uh, no.” Steve shook his head.
“I know a good lawyer.” Max said, deadly serious.
Steve stared at her, mouth agape and at a loss for words before he scoffed and ripped the keys out of his pocket. “Henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach Pennhurst.”
Steve finally unlocked the doors and you all piled inside. You suddenly felt something, like someone was watching you, like there was a pair of eyes boring into the back of your skull. You whipped around quickly and saw that Max was still standing by the door, looking out into the distance before slipping inside and slamming the door shut. There was nothing out there, but the eyes were still present, still watching you.
~~~~~
“All right, this better be fast, Mayfield.” Steve said as he parked the car.
“Twenty seconds.” Max said as she hopped out of the car and jogged over to her house.
Steve suddenly looked back at Dustin. “That thing’s got batteries in it, right?”
“I’m not even answering that question.” Dustin sighed. “Yes, it has batteries.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
You could feel eyes on you again, but it wasn’t the invisible ones, they were Steve’s. You turned and gave him a worried look, tilting your head to the side a bit to say that you would explain later. You didn’t want to voice your concerns in front of the boys right now, not with them worrying about Max. The eyes were probably most definitely related, but what could you even do when there was no physical body to fight? You’d tell the boys later, after you made sure Max lived to see the sunrise tomorrow.
You realized that it was taking a while for Max to come back. She said she would only be twenty seconds, and now it’s been five minutes. But right as you were about to voice your concerns Max came rushing back from the backyard and headed straight for the car.
“Hey, that was longer than twenty seconds.” Steve called out. “Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Max said sternly. “Just drive.”
“Did something happen?” Lucas asked.
“Can we please just go?” Max brushed him off.
~~~~~
You had been driving in silence for a while, none of you quite sure where Max wanted to go. She refused to say, to give you any indication as she just kept blurting out random directions every once in a while.
“Turn here.” Max said.
“Here?” Dustin echoed.
Steve listened and pulled into Roane Hill Cemetery, the place where Billy was buried. She wanted to go see his grave one more time before she might die. Might. Not will. Because you were going to find out a way to break this curse. Nancy and Robin were going to come screaming over the radio any minute as they rushed to tell you the answer.
Max silently got out of the car and Lucas jumped out to follow her. Max stopped when Lucas ran over and he started talking to her, but they were too far away to hear. After a few minutes, Lucas came back over to the car.
You got out of the car, not wanting to just sit there anymore as you waited. Steve and Dustin followed you, apparently both feeling the same restlessness as you. But you couldn’t get yourself to do any more than just stand there and watch as Max sat in front of Billy’s grave.
It wasn’t fair what happened to Billy, not the flaying or the death. You guys had tried to save him, the kids trying to burn the Mind Flayer out of him using the sauna at the pool, and you guys just trying to get the gate closed in time. But you were too late, you were always too late. You just prayed that you weren’t too late for Max.
Steve kept glancing at his watch every few minutes, his anxiousness growing with every passing tick of the clock hand. His fingers started tapping his leg restlessly, and you could tell that he was about to lose his patience.
“All right, it’s been long enough.” Steve suddenly announced.
“Steve, just give her some time.” Lucas argued.
“I have, all right, Sinclair?” Steve shot back as he made his way towards Max. “I’m calling it. If she wants to get a lawyer, she can.”
Steve jogged his way over to Max and you could see him talking to her, but she didn’t respond. He then knelt down and shook her shoulder and you felt your heart drop as she still didn’t respond. Steve started calling out to her, clapping his hands in her face, but she couldn’t hear him. She was in a trance.
“Something’s wrong.” Lucas voiced your thoughts.
“Guys!” Steve called out and you all booked it over to the two of them. “Come on, wake up!” Steve yelled desperately.
“Max, wake up, come on!” You screamed.
“Max, you gotta get out of there!” Lucas shouted.
You all kept screaming and yelling at her, trying to get your voices to break through. But nothing was working. She wasn’t responding. Her eyes were rolled so far into the back of her head that all you could see was white. She was trapped in her own mind.
Steve gripped Dustin by the shirt. “Call Nancy and Robin!” He shouted and shoved Dustin in the direction of the car. “Go get them! Call Nancy and Robin! Go!”
Dustin stumbled off the raised area and took off running back towards the car. The rest of you kept yelling at Max and shaking her shoulders, trying to do whatever you could to keep her tethered to you, to the real world. But you couldn’t get even a hint of a response from her. But maybe she wasn’t dying. Not yet, at least. You weren’t hurting, you weren’t in pain. There wasn’t a single ache or pain in sight. Maybe she had gotten away, maybe she was hiding. Maybe she found a way out.
Dustin finally came running back over and dropped to the ground, dumping Max’s Walkman and a whole bunch of tapes in front of you.
“What is this?” Lucas asked.
“Her song.” Dustin said hurriedly. “What’s her favorite song?”
“Why?” Lucas asked angrily. “Why?”
“Robin said if she listens… it’s too much to explain right now. What’s her favorite song?!” Dustin shouted.
“Which one is it?”
“Which one?”
“What’s her favorite song?”
You all asked a flurry of questions as Lucas quickly sifted through the pile of tapes. God, you didn’t have time for this. You needed the song right now.
“It’s right here!” Lucas shouted. “It’s right here! Got it!”
Lucas slipped out the tape, passed it to you, and you slipped it into the Walkman as Steve closed it and Dustin threw the headphones onto Max.
“Now!” Dustin shouted and Steve pressed play.
Max started lifting into the air and you let out a loud, ear piercing cry of pain as the nail tore through your skull and brain and eyes in one swift motion, ripping away every other feeling except for that of a red hot spike of anguish.
You gripped tightly to your head, knowing the effort was futile, but not knowing anything else to do to get the pain to go away. And then the world started to blur, partly from the pain and partly from your free falling tears, the anguished sobs escaping you steadily growing quieter and more distant until they were nothing at all.
No, no, no. You pressed play, you got the music on, Max should be awake. But she wasn’t. The last thing you saw was her floating up into the air, eyes rolled back and white as her limbs were pulled taut in the air beside her. Vecna had her, and, for some godforsaken reason, he had you too. But who cared if he had you? Who cared if he was mentally torturing you? You would let him take you, you would let him hurt you, just so long as it meant that Max lived. Oh, God, please let Max live. Please don’t let Max die. Please.
You could see an undefinable blur of green and brown below you when the world started to flicker a bit, a strip of grey appearing, just like it had the other night in the boathouse. And then there was that feeling, like something soft beneath your knees. It stayed for a moment, the world flickering between the green and brown mass and the strip of grey as your pain intensified, your skull feeling like it was being crushed by a vice.
A shiver ran down your spine, the world around you dropping down way past the point of freezing. And then everything came back into focus, bodies still a bit hazy and voices still a bit distorted, the crushing now an aching, and the feeling of tears and what you now knew to be blood coating your face. But you were back, and, right in front of you, wrapped up in Lucas’s arms with Dustin and Steve hovering close between the both of you, was Max. Alive, and not very well. But alive.
“I thought we lost you.” Lucas whispered.
“I’m still here.” Max rasped, practically hyperventilating. “I’m still here.”
Steve fixed Max with one more worried look, eyes raking over her as if assessing for injuries, and then he spun around and threw his arms around you, pulling you so far into his chest that you practically disappeared from view. You just let it happen, you let his warmth seep through, you let his arms squeeze you tight, you let him whisper incoherent reassurances into your ear. You could barely even return the hug, your arms loosely wrapped around Steve’s middle, too weak to do much more than just sit there. You were tired, completely and utterly exhausted. Vecna had nearly gotten Max. He did have Max, for a moment. And you couldn’t do anything about it, you couldn’t even see or hear it. You couldn’t do anything except cry at your own pain.
Just a little personal rant, but guys I am so excited to get to my Hopper reader story after I finish Wheeler! Like, I cannot wait for all the plot deviations I have planned, and the personality of the reader is just so much fun! I’ve actually already written the first chapter because I’m just that excited for it! Aah! I’m just so happy that my motivation hasn’t gone anywhere!
PS: the next chapter of Fourth Wheeler will be posted tonight eastern standard time!
You were still weak when you woke up that morning, feeling exhausted. It’s like your lethargic state had doubled since the previous night, the pain’s after effects just mounting on top of itself rather than leaving you alone like all those times before.
You basically had to be half dragged out of the boathouse, your legs unsteady beneath you as Steve held on tight. He had been so worried, eyes going red rimmed and glassy as he tried so hard not to cry. Not in front of the rest of the party, at least. He did let a few tears escape once you were back home and alone. You explained everything to the rest of the party after that, not keeping any more secrets now that you knew that your fears really were the truth.
Steve had you tucked into his side, hugging you closely in his sleep, afraid that you might just disappear if he let go even an inch. You didn’t put up any protest when it happened, fully embracing his soft comfort, his steady presence safe and secure, just like it always was, always had been.
You glanced over at the alarm clock, it was still early, but you guys would have to get going soon in order to get to the store while it was still empty. You hated having to wake Steve up, to disturb him when he just looked so peaceful and adorable. His lips were always slightly parted when he slept, soft breaths escaping him in a steady rhythm. His face was usually smooshed against something, usually your chest or a pillow. Right now, though, his cheek was pressed against the top of your head, his soft breathing hitting your forehead.
“Steve.” You whispered, giving him a gentle nudge on the chest. “Steve, wake up.” His brows scrunched a bit, his breath hitching, but his eyes remained shut. “Honey, wake up.” You nudged him a little more forcefully. “Come on, we gotta get up.”
Steve’s eyes fluttered open, his arms squeezing down around you protectively, entire body tense as he surveyed the room. Once he determined that there was no danger he let himself relax, his grip loosening slightly as he let out a sigh of relief, adjusting to look down at you.
“How are you feeling?” Steve asked with a frown.
“Still tired.” You answered honestly. “Not a sleepy tired, though. Just tired. It’s like my energy’s been drained or something.”
“No pain?” Steve asked sadly.
“No.” You shook your head against him. “Nothing since last night.”
“All right.” Steve sighed. “What time is it?”
“Almost six.” You answered, and Steve groaned in complaint. “Yeah, I know, but we still have to pick everyone up.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Steve said dismissively. “Always the goddamn chauffeur, huh?”
“Well.” You smiled. “We don’t have to be. I mean, Max can just take over.”
Steve’s eyes went wide. “Hell no. No, no, no, no, no. Not after that whole tunnel display. I am never getting in a car with her ever again.”
“She wasn’t that bad.” You placated. “Considering she was only thirteen.”
“Don’t care.” Steve shook his head. “She’s not driving me anywhere, ever. Especially not in the Beamer. No way.”
You just laughed, squeezing him a bit tighter before pushing yourself up. Steve pouted a bit at the loss of contact, just like he always did. You leaned back down and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, making it up to him just like you always did. That earned a smile, and a small blush. He was such a sap, but you loved it.
~~~~~
You and Steve picked up Robin, Dustin, and Max just as the sun came peaking above the horizon. You had to get to the grocery store right when it opened in order to avoid any onlookers. No one needed to see you buying groceries so early and be able to make any connections later.
You picked Eddie up some none perishable items and other goods, trying to get food that would last a while to avoid a second trip so soon. Dustin had insisted on getting a pack of Yoo-Hoo. Apparently, Eddie loved Yoo-Hoos. Whatever. The guy was a wanted murderer right now, if some stupid chocolate drink was gonna bring him some comfort, then who were you to judge?
By the time the five of you had finally arrived back at the boathouse the sun had finally risen, casting a soft grey haze among the early morning dew that hung in the air. You all grabbed the grocery bags and made your way over to Eddie’s hideout. Dustin wasted no time in swinging the door open, and you all crowded inside.
“Jesus!” Eddie shrieked, startled by the sudden intrusion, but calming down when he realized that it was just you guys.
“Delivery service.” Dustin smiled as he held up the grocery bags.
You gave Eddie a kind smile, trying to help ease his nerves a bit more. Steve simply wiggled his fingers at him, conveying that you really weren’t a threat.
You brought the grocery bags over to the boat that Eddie was using as his makeshift bed and Eddie immediately snatched up a box of Honeycombs and started digging in while simultaneously downing a Yoo-Hoo.
Dustin sat himself on a box next to Eddie as he prepared himself for what he was about to say. “So we got, uh, some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?”
“Bad news first, always.” Eddie said through a mouthful of cereal and took a sip of the Yoo-Hoo.
“All right. Bad news.” Dustin said. “We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they’re definitely looking for you. Also, they’re, uh, pretty convinced you killed Chrissy.”
“Like, a hundred percent kind of convinced.” Max added.
Eddie’s head snapped towards Max before going back to Dustin. “And the good news?”
“Your name hasn’t gone public yet.” Robin supplied. “But if we found out about you, it’s only a matter of time before others do, too. And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you.”
“Hunt the freak, right?” Eddie spat uneasily.
“Exactly.”
“Shit.”
“So, before that happens.” Dustin cut in. “We need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence.”
“That’s all, Dustin?” Eddie asked sarcastically. “That’s all?”
“Yeah, no, that’s pretty much it.” Dustin nodded his head.
“Listen, Eddie.” Robin sighed. “I know everything Dustin’s saying sounds totally delusional, but we’ve actually been through this kind of thing before. I mean, they have a few times and… and I have once.” You and Steve nodded as Eddie glanced over at you. “Mine was more human-flesh-based and theirs was more smoke-related, but the bottom line is, collectively, I really feel like we got this.”
“Yeah, see.” Steve piped up. “We usually rely on this girl who has superpowers. But, uh, those went bye-bye.”
“So technically we’re more in the—“ Robin stumbled over her own words.
“Brainstorming phase.” You supplied.
“Brainstorming.” Steve confirmed with a snap of his fingers.
“There’s… there’s nothing to worry about.” Dustin squeaked nervously.
Steve scoffed with his own nervousness as Eddie just stared at them incredulously. You gave Eddie a sympathetic look. This wasn’t like when you had fought the Upside Down before. You couldn’t burn this, or beat it, or throw fireworks at it. There wasn’t even a gate that you could close, at least not one you were aware of. Not to mention the pain that was intent on lingering, on slowing you down, on weakening you.
“So, like, was that normal last night, or…” Eddie’s voice trailed off, and it took you a moment to realize that he was talking to you.
“Oh, well, not exactly.” You stammered. “I mean, it’s related to this, somehow. We’re just not sure on why.”
“You looked like you were dying.” Eddie stated plainly, but his eyes were freaked.
“He’s not gonna die.” Max chimed in quickly. “At least, we don’t think he will.”
“Yeah.” Robin agreed. “He’s kinda more like an indicator for bad stuff right now. Though, these lingering effects are a new development.”
“He’s fine, though.” Dustin said, unsure.
“He’s not dying.” Steve said determinedly.
You suddenly heard sirens off in the distance and everyone’s eyes went wide.
“Shit.” Steve hissed.
“Tarp.” Robin announced and pointed at Eddie hurriedly. “Tarp. Tarp.”
Eddie dropped down into the boat and threw the tarp over himself as the rest of you ran over to the window to see what was going on.
You all watched as a few police cars and an ambulance went speeding down the road and right past the house, lights and sirens blaring through the still morning. But they weren’t coming for Eddie, not yet at least. But the lights and sirens meant that something was wrong. And if it wasn’t Eddie, then that meant that something else had happened.
The five of you ran out of the boathouse and over to Steve’s car, immediately jumping inside and following after the first responders.
You were eventually forced to stop when you came up to a blocked off section of the road, a crime scene in front of you buzzing with police officers and reporters.
You could just make out the form of a dead body in the road that some paramedics were covering with a white sheet. Nancy was also there, standing behind the police fence as she answered questions from one of the officers. She saw the five of you exit the car and held up her hand in a small wave. You gave her a small wave back.
~~~~~
Once Nancy was able to pry herself away from the police the six of you headed back to the trailer park, taking a seat at the picnic table to discuss whatever the hell had just happened. A sense of unease washed over you as you sat down, a small, buzzing feeling, like something was off.
“So, you’re saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy.” Nancy said. “It’s from the Upside Down?”
“If the shoe fits.” Steve shrugged.
“Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or a curse.” Dustin explained. “Now, whether or not he’s doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don’t know. But every time he’s attacked, Y/N got hurt, and the effects have been lingering this time. It’s not just disappearing like before.”
Steve pressed his shoulder into yours, his hand placing itself on top of yours on the table and giving it a comforting squeeze.
“All we know is that this is something different.” Max said. “Something new.”
Nancy shook her head. “Doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s only a theory.” Dustin said.
“No, Fred and Chrissy don’t make sense.” Nancy corrected. “I mean, why them? And I still don’t understand why Y/N, either.” Nancy gave you a sympathetic look before turning back to Dustin. “None of them make any sense.”
“Maybe Fred and Chrissy were just in the wrong place.” Dustin suggested. “They were both at the game.”
“And near the trailer park.” Max added.
“We’re at the trailer park.” Steve said uneasily. “Uh, should we maybe not be here?”
Everyone looked around uneasily for a moment, and your eyes landed on Eddie’s trailer. Your sense of unease seemed to grow, like a shadow was barreling down on top of you, consuming you. Steve apparently noticed your discomfort and pressed his leg against yours, his hand holding on even tighter, like he was trying to keep you tethered to reality.
“There is something about this place.” Nancy agreed. “Fred started acting weird the second we got here.”
“Acting weird as in…” Robin pushed.
“Scared, on edge, upset.” Nancy listed.
“Max said Chrissy was upset too.” Dustin said.
“Yeah, but not here.” Max corrected. “She was crying in the bathroom at school.”
“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?” Robin suggested. “So, maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman—“
“Vecna.” Dustin corrected.
“I don’t know about you guys.” Steve piped up. “But if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone.”
“Maybe not.” You shrugged. “I mean, when I felt those eyes on me I didn’t mention anything right away. I mean, I did think it was related to the tumor. They can cause hallucinations.”
“Wait.” Dustin announced. “You had a tumor?”
Your face well when you took in Dustin’s heartbroken eyes, Robin and Max looking at you the same way, and you remembered that they didn’t know about the cancer, that that information was still only confined to your family and to Steve.
“I’m fine.” You reassured. “It was a brain tumor, but it’s gone. Completely gone. Our only worries are this Vecna guy. Okay?”
The three of them nodded uneasily, knowing that you weren’t free from any problems, but at least reassured that the problems weren’t attacking you from two different fronts.
“What if they did mention it to someone, though?” Max piped up. “I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelley’s office. If you saw a monster, you… you wouldn’t go to the police. They’d never believe you. But you might go to your—“
“Your Shrink.” You cut her off.
You all jumped up from the table and started heading for Steve’s car. Your mind was reeling, the past two and half years playing through your mind like some scary movie. All of those headaches, all of the blurry vision, all of the pain; it was all this Vecna’s doing. That was probably why you weren’t affected by closing the gates, why you weren’t connected to the hive mind like Will was.
“Whoa, whoa. Nance.” Steve called out and you turned to see that Nancy was trying to sneak away from the group. “Nance! Nance, where are you going?”
“Oh, there’s just something I wanna check on first.” Nancy stuttered, unconvincingly.
“Something you wanna share with the rest of us?” Dustin asked.
“I don’t wanna waste your time.” Nancy said nervously. “It’s a real shot in the dark.”
“Yeah, okay.” Steve said slowly. “Are you out of your mind? Flying solo with this Vecna creep on the loose?” Steve shook his head. “No, it’s too dangerous. You need… you need someone to…” Nancy just stared at him incredulously. If any one of you should be riding off alone, it was Nancy. “Here you go.” Steve turned around and tossed his keys to Robin. “We’ll stick with Nance, all right?” He gestured to you. “You guys take the car, check out the shrink.”
“I don’t think you want me driving your car.” Robin argued.
“Why?” Steve asked, annoyed.
“I don’t have a license.”
“Why don’t you have a license?”
“I’m poor.” Robin shrugged.
“I can drive.” Max suggested.
“No. No.” Steve exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Max. “Never again. Please. Anybody but you. No.”
Dustin gave Steve a look and shrugged his shoulders, the only option left. Steve just shook his head at him.
“No chance.” Steve said.
“Come on.” Dustin whined.
“No.”
“All right.” You announced. “This is stupid. Why doesn’t Robin just go with Nancy and we check out the shrink?”
“Perfect.” Robin pointed at you and then ripped the radio from Dustin’s backpack and started making her way over to Nancy. “Us ladies will stick together. Unless you think we need you to protect us.” Robin and Nancy started walking away, small smirks playing at their lips, and you had to hide your own amused smile.
“Be careful.” Steve called after them.
“You just gonna stand there and gawk?” Dustin laughed and you couldn’t help the small one that slipped from you as well.
“Shut up.” Steve complained.
“Why don’t we go?” Dustin said, still laughing. “Okay?”
“Shut up and get in the car.”
You slipped into the passenger seat as Max slipped into the back.
“Wipe your feet.” Steve pointed at Dustin as he opened the door.
Dustin reached a foot inside and started wiping it on the floor of the car.
“On the outside, not the inside.” Steve complained as he sat down and pulled the door shut. “Always the babysitter.” He mumbled as he turned the key. “Always the goddamn babysitter!”
~~~~~
A little while later you were pulling up to Ms. Kelley’s house and Max hopped out. The plan was for her to talk to Ms. Kelley and hopefully get her to reveal something about Chrissy. Something that could give you an answer to who this killer really was. To who Vecna really was.
“Okay.” Steve announced as Max walked inside the house. “She’s in.”
“I can see that.” You said sarcastically.
“Yeah.” Dustin agreed. “I’m missing collarbones, not eyes.” He sassed. “So, are we gonna talk about… it?”
“Huh?” Steve asked as he turned his head around. “Sorry, what? Talk about what?”
“Your temporary insanity earlier today when you basically freaked out over Nance going off alone?”
“Okay, first of all.” Steve said. “That’s not what happened.”
“Pretty sure that’s what happened. It was pretty public. There were, like, a lot of witnesses.”
“What the hell are you getting at, Henderson?” Steve asked angrily.
“I’m not getting at anything.” Dustin shook his head. “I’m stating. I mean, I’ve never seen you freak out so badly before. Except for when Y/N gets hurt.”
“Well, why wouldn’t I freak out?” Steve argued. “I mean, now that we know what’s behind Y/N’s pain? I just…” He trailed off with a sigh. “And, just for the record, I was trying to protect a friend.”
“Okay.” Dustin shrugged.
“I don’t wanna find her in the morning with her eyes sucked out of the front of her skull by this Vecna creep. And who knows what sick plan he has for Y/N.”
Dustin chuckled. “You’re, like, bright red in the face right now.”
You noticed the blush too, the sight and words just warming your heart. Steve was always so worried, so protective. And you were worried about Nancy, too. But you knew she would be fine with Robin with her. Honestly, she could probably survive on her own. She had to be the most resilient and toughest person you knew. And, as much as you would never admit it, even if the two of you had always been close, you were so damn proud of her, of everything she’s done.
“No, I’m not.” Steve complained. “I don’t wanna talk about it. I’ll punch you so hard in your face that your teeth will fall back out.”
All of the humor and lightheartedness left you as you just stared at Steve, mouth agape. You could not believe that he had just said that.
“Whoa.” Dustin said, face falling. “Too far.”
Steve stared him, shocked by his own outburst. “Not cool. Sorry.” He apologized.
“Not cool.” Dustin mumbled to himself. “It’s okay.”
Steve held up his fist and Dustin bumped his own against it. It was their own way of making up.
The three of you sat around in silence for a few minutes as you waited for Max to return. Steve kept glancing over at you every few seconds, his worry so palpable. You gave him a small smile every time, trying to tell him that you were okay, for now, at least. You still didn’t know what all of this meant, but you’d figure it out. You’d come up with a plan, just like you always did.
“Here she comes. Here she comes. Here she comes.” Steve muttered.
Max quickly crossed over to the car and jumped into the back seat, slamming the door shut with an uneasy look on her face.
“What’d she say?” You asked.
“Nothing.” Max said. “Just drive.”
“Nothing?” Steve echoed.
“Steve, drive.” Max said hurriedly.
“Okay.” Steve turned the key and floored it out of there, tires screeching violently.
Dustin. Lucas’s voice crackled through the radio. It’s Lucas. Do you copy? Dustin.
“Lucas?” Dustin said incredulously as he picked up the radio. “Where the hell have you been?”
Just listen. Lucas said worriedly. Are you guys looking for Eddie?
“Yeah, and we found him, no thanks to you.”
You found him?
“He’s at a boathouse on Coal Mill Road. Don’t worry. He’s safe.”
You guys know he killed Chrissy, right?
“That’s bullshit. Eddie tried to save Chrissy.”
Then why do all the cops say he did it?
Max yanked the radio from Dustin. “Lucas, you are so behind it’s ridiculous, okay? Just meet us at the school. We’ll explain later.”
I… I can’t. I think some real bad shit’s about to go down.
“What are you talking about?” Max asked. “What bad shit?”
The radio went silent.
“Lucas?” Max called out. “Lucas?”
~~~~~
The four of you hurriedly walked down the hallways of the school. Apparently, Max had stolen Ms. Kelley’s keys and now you were all breaking and entering.
Dustin, do you copy? Robin’s voice came over the radio.
“Yeah, I copy.” Dustin responded.
So, Nancy’s a genius. Vecna’s first victims date back all the way to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bullseye.
“Okay, that’s totally bonkers.” Dustin said worriedly. “But I can’t really talk right now.”
Wait, what are you doing?
“Breaking and entering in a school to retrieve some confidential and extremely personal files.”
Can you repeat that?
“Just get your ass over here, stat. We’ll explain everything.”
You came up to Ms. Kelley’s door and Max took a glance around to make sure the coast was clear before quickly unlocking it.
“It’s like a mini-Watergate or something.” Dustin said.
“Hawkinsgate.” You chuckled, earning a small laugh from Dustin.
“Wait a second.” Steve whispered. “Didn’t those guys get caught?”
“Holy shit.” Max breathed out from where she was rifling through the filing cabinet.
“You found it?” Dustin asked.
“Yeah, and not just Chrissy’s file. Fred was seeing Ms. Kelley too.”
Max sat down at the desk and started looking over Chrissy’s file as you and Steve looked over Fred’s file. You noticed a few things that stood out to you; headaches and nosebleeds.
“Can I see Fred’s file?” Max asked.
“Yeah.” Steve said as he handed it to her.
“Max, what is it?” Dustin asked, but there was no answer. “Max!” She looked like she was frozen in place, like she was in a trance. “Max!”
You felt your heart drop and you started desperately shaking her shoulders. “Max!” You screamed. “Max, wake up! Max!”
Max still wouldn’t move, and you felt like you couldn’t breathe. The three of you kept calling out her name and shaking her shoulders, but she didn’t respond. She was stuck there. She couldn’t hear you. She was cursed.
Would you ever do a Munson reader x Steve? Like the reader is Eddie’s younger brother?
Also I really love your writing!! Steve is one of my favorite characters and I love all the stories you make! Seven was the first one I read and I’m almost finished with the Henderson reader story <3
Thank you and have a good night/ or day!
Thank you so much! I love writing these stories and exploring the different possibilities for the reader’s relationship with Steve and the different ways that Henry would go after them. And getting to rewrite the ending again and again is just too much fun! Honestly, everything I’ve seen other people writing is better than the canon ending lmao!
Unfortunately, no, I won’t be doing a Munson reader. I just have a hard time with writing Eddie, and a Munson reader would require a lot of him. Sorry about that. But he’s always popping up in earlier seasons just for the fun of it! I love giving him a small cameo!
I love your work and im excited to see what you have in mind for hopper reader, if by any chance, could you have a reader who is a theatre kid and didn’t really have friends till steve (or maybe he was friends with robin before meeting her in scoops ahoy?)
Thank you! And that sounds like a fun idea for one of the readers. Especially having already being friends with Robin would be so cool. Maybe they fizzled out a bit after the gate closed because the reader just started spending more time with Steve and she’s almost appalled at the change lol.
