#nightmareglitter

[hippielittlemetalhead]

TEST

I am testing the tagging function cause some of y'all aren't showing as actively/successfully tagged till after I post and some others have asked multiple times to be tagged but for some reason Tumblr won't let me see you when I'm tagging? So if you were successfully tagged just leave like a 👍or🤙 or something to let me know it worked for you?

Ones that should be successful:

@thelittleclare @jackiemonroe5512 @0body0disphoria0 @strangersteddierthings @lingeringmirth @dead-cherry-bitch @irethsune @ink777 @the-daydreamer-in-the-corner @ledleaf @pansexuality-activated @paintsplatteredandimperfect @kinryuuki @katdeerly @yikes-a-bee @altocumulustranslucidus @samsoble @sensationalsunburst @xxbottlecapx @y4r3luv @swimmingbirdrunningrock @flustratedcas @rootbeerandmusic @vinteraltus @wonderland-girl143-blog @failedstarsandgoldenclouds @steddie-as-they-go @youdrewstarsxaroundmyscars @lawrencebshoggoth @i-amthepizzaman @croatoan-like-its-hot @anaibis @maya-custodios-dionach @ineffable-monster-romancer @asquareinverona @iheartjennaaa @ellietheasexylibrarian @pukner @bookworm0690 @nightmareglitter

Ones that I definitely cannot get to work:

@steveshairspray @rocochen20 @ohimamarigold @child-of-cthulhu

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

@nightmareglitter

Warning: Very Anti Billy Hargrove. Lucas talks about his feelings on the subject like he deserves, too. Angst all around as the kids talk about their feelings.

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Nancy paced in front of her boyfriends and Robin nervously. The piles of notebooks on the table seemed to be staring at her. They all stood in Steve's mostly clean apartment. There was still a lot of work that needed to be done, like getting a new AC unit and appliances for the kitchen as well as new furniture. In order to do all that, Steve needed a new job. He was managing to cover most of it with the compensation money, but most of it was going towards the furniture. Steve was going to have pay for the AC unit and things for the salon downstairs, which meant getting a job, something he was looking for with Robin.

"Whatcha thinking about, Nancy?" Eddie asked.

"Steve," Nancy replied.

"Aww. Me too. He is looking particularly handsome today," Eddie cooed at him. "Look at those pretty pink lips. I think somebody put on their lip gloss today. Our boyfriend is insanely hot. Stop it, Steven. Distracting Nancy like that. Can't you see she's trying to think?"

"I'm sorry. Next time, I'll put a bag over my head," Steve said sarcastically.

"Well, that's a bit dramatic, but now you're thinking ahead, baby," Eddie said.

"No," Nancy laughed. "I was trying to stop myself from overthinking this whole thing with the kids, so I started thinking about the things that need to get done around here."

"Did it help?" Robin asked.

"I don't think so. Do you think we're doing the right thing here? What if they hate us?" Nancy asked.

"I think what they're going to see is us trying our best to help them get through this," Steve said. "They're probably going to be little assholes about it at first, but they'll come to their senses."

"I hope you're right," Nancy said.

"You're doing the right thing, Nancy," Eddie said. "These kids need people to talk to."

Before they could say anything else, they heard the sounds of footsteps, and then there was a knock on the door. Nancy opened it, and one by one, the kids came in. The only one who was missing was Max.

"No Max?" Nancy asked Lucas.

"Uh, Billy's dad skipped down, so she's helping her mother pack up," Lucas said. "They're moving to Forest Hills."

"That is where we live," El said and smiled before frowning.

"Yeah, kiddo," Eddie said. "Don't feel bad about being excited about seeing your friend more. You're allowed to be happy."

"Okay," El said softly.

"It's going to be right across from you guys. Your uncle is helping them," Lucas said and paused. "Even if that wasn't the case, I'm not sure Max wants to see any of us right now."

"That's understandable," Nancy said.

"Why have thoust summoned a council meeting, milady?" Dustin asked.

"I can see why he's your favorite," Nancy heard Eddie whisper to Steve.

"I thought we should touch base and see how everyone is holding up. We went through a lot of shit recently, and I know it hasn't been easy for me. I just wanted to let everyone know that we're here for you if you need to talk about anything. This is a safe space," Nancy said.

"I'm fine," Mike shrugged.

"You're fine?!" Eddie asked, his eyebrows raised. "Nancy, I think your brother might be a psychopath. I am so sorry you had to find out like this."

"Okay, you don't have to talk about it, but there's no way you came out of it fine," Nancy said, rolling her eyes and ignoring her boyfriend.

"Okay, I don't want to talk about it," Mike said.

"That's okay. Like I said, no one has to talk. We're going to talk, and if someone wants to speak up afterward, then that's okay too," Nancy said.

"I'll go first," Steve said.

"Are you sure?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah," Steve said. "You know, most of the time, I can't sleep now. It was bad before, but never this bad. I lay awake, wondering if the Russians are going to break into my house and come for me or if they're going to come for Dustin and Robin. . . Just everyone I care about. And when I can't go back to sleep from the most God awful nightmare, I go out in my car and drive down everyone's street, just to make sure you guys are safe. And the nightmares. . . I dream that they come for me, and they take me away to a dark place where they take me apart piece by piece. Sometimes, it's the Russians. Sometimes, it's a demogorgon, and sometimes, it's my parents. When I wake up, I have to go out and make sure we're all still here."

"Holy shit, Steve," Eddie muttered and placed a comforting hand on his back, leaning heavily against him.

"I don't know how to make it all better except when I see all of you guys again, and I know you're safe," Steve said. "I know I complain a lot about doing things for you guys, but the truth is I love doing them. You're my family, and my biggest fear is that something will happen to you. I can't let that happen," Steve said.

Dustin suddenly threw himself into Steve’s arms, hugging him tightly.

"It's my fault you got hurt, Steve," Dustin said, sniffling. "I should have left the Russian transmission alone, and you wouldn't have gone down there."

"That's dumb, I made my own choice to go down there, and if we hadn't gone down there, then the others wouldn't have known where to go to shut off the machines," Steve said.

"Hopper died," Dustin sobbed.

"He made his own choice, too," Steve said softly. "He chose to save Hawkins. We wouldn't have made it out of a lot of situations without you."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have gotten into certain situations if it hadn't been for me like when I tried to keep Dart. What if he had killed my mom and not my cat?" Dustin asked.

"But he didn't," Steve said.

"Sometimes, I have nightmares about him eating mom, my friends, and you. Now, I also dream about the Russians hurting my older brother," Dustin said. "I don't know what I would do if you died because me."

"You are not responsible for what happened. The Russians are and the mad scientist who started all of this," Steve said softly and clutched him tightly to his chest.

"I know it doesn't look like it, but I question myself all the time, and I wonder if I'm making the right decisions," Dustin said.

"We all do that, Dustin," Nancy said softly. "You're not alone in that."

"Even you?" Dustin sniffled.

"Especially me," Nancy said. "I've made decisions that could have the cost the lives of this entire town. I know what it's like to feel responsible for the decisions you've made. The minute you realized that you messed up with Dart, you tried to fix it. I mean, you did it by yourself, and he ended up escaping, but you did try. You ended up reaching out for help, and in doing so, you got a big brother out of it. Sometimes, the only thing you can do is take responsibility and do better rather than stewing in the regret of the decisions you've made. It took me a while to even realize that I messed up. Even longer than you. I still feel like I have so much to make up for. You're not alone in feeling like that, and you're not alone in feeling like everything is your fault either. Just because you were responsible for one thing doesn't mean that you're responsible for another."

Dustin moved from Steve’s arms to Nancy's and hugged her tightly. Nancy sighed and removed his hat to kiss the top of his curls. She put his hat back on his head and pinched his cheeks. Dustin scowled and sat back down. He cracked a smile as he adjusted his hat.

"I feel small," Robin blurted out. "Like, I saw everything, and I just felt so much smaller now that I know what's out there. I just feel like everything in my life doesn't matter, or at least that's what I think, but then it's like maybe it matters even more now, to live your life the way you want to without anyone's expectations bringing you down. Just when I think that I'm going to do that, the feeling of being small comes back, and I think about all those people stuffed inside that fucking monster. It honestly scares me that your life can just be snuffed out like that. If that makes sense."

"It does. On one hand, you want to be true to yourself, but on the other hand, you're afraid that your truth might scare the people you care about most away," Will said. "Even if you know that they wouldn't care, there's still this irrational fear that they might be carrying that secret like the secret you carry."

"Exactly," Robin agreed.

"And at the end of the day, you have to risk trusting them because you want the people in your life to know you," Mike said. "Because you never know, they might understand more than you think."

"And you just have to decide if they're worth the risk," Robin said, smiling at Steve. "It's all about perspective."

For several moments, no one said anything until Lucas started sniffling and shaking his leg.

"What's up, Lucas?" Steve asked.

"I just - no, it's too awful," Lucas sniffed.

"Hey, safe space here," Nancy said. "We're not going to judge you."

"It's just that I'm glad that Max isn't here, that she broke up with me because I'm not sure if I'd be able to look at her if she knew what I was thinking," Lucas said. "There's a part of me that's glad. . . That's glad that Billy is dead because at least he can't hurt anyone anymore. The monsters, they're scary as shit but Billy scared me more than anything else because he wasn't a monster from another dimension. He was just a person who targeted me because of the color of my skin. He held me against the wall, and he threatened to break me. I still have nightmares about him holding me there, and what if Steve hadn't intervened in time? What if he held me to the ground and beat me until I couldn't wake up? Then I dreamed about him going after my dad, my mom, and my sister. He makes me watch and tells me he's going to break us, that we don't belong. . . then I'm back at the Byers again, and he's holding me in the air, threatening to break me as Steve lies dead on the floor. Billy scared me more than anyone or anything because before he got possessed, he was a real monster, and there's more people like him out there who wanted to see people like me dead. It scares the shit out of me. I feel like I should feel bad, though, that he's dead, but I don't. I only feel bad for Max."

"Lucas. . . You're not a bad person for feeling the way that you do. Billy Hargrove was a terror, and you're right. He was a monster. You had every right to be scared of him, and you have a right to be relieved that he's not around to hurt you anymore," Nancy said softly.

"He scared the crap out of me, too. Remember when he tried to run us over and he almost killed Steve? I am super glad he's not around to hurt my friends anymore. Do I feel bad for Max? Yes. Do I feel bad that Billy's gone? No. In my book, that's another bad guy who's not around to hurt our family anymore," Dustin said.

"I felt sad that his father was so mean, and that his mother left him alone, but that does not mean he should act like Papa. I am sad for Max, but I will be glad that he will not be around to hurt Max or any of my friends," El said. "He will not be missed, which is sad, but he made his own choices, and he chose to be bad."

"I'm glad he's gone even more now that I've heard what he's done to you kids. He was a psychopath. You could see it in the eyes. He definitely had it in for my friend, Jeff, which is further proof that he's a racist shithead," Eddie said. "Fucking sexist too."

"See? You're not alone in feeling that way, Lucas. It doesn't mean you're a bad person," Nancy said.

"Then why do I feel bad about not feeling bad?" Lucas asked.

"Because you're a better person than he was," Steve said.

"He saved us, saved El," Lucas said.

"A bad person can do one nice thing his entire life, but it will never make up for all the shitty vile things he's done. . .that takes constant work," Nancy said. "It took El digging in his head to pull out the one shred of decency that he had buried deep inside."

"You can either end the cycle of abuse your parents' beat into you, or you can pass it on. Billy chose to pass it on, man," Steve said. "He had every opportunity to give Max the older brother she deserved, but he waited at the very last minute to do the bare minimum. You're not a bad person, Lucas. Billy was, though."

Steve got up to hug the crying Sinclair, but Erica had beat him to it. She threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"You're my brother, and you can be such a dumbass but I love you. I'm glad he's not around to hurt you anymore either," Erica said softly.

Lucas sniffled and hugged his sister back just as tightly. Everyone fell quiet as they watched the siblings hug. They sat back down, and the silence continued as they let Lucas mull over what's been said. Nancy pulled out a box of tissues and laid them on the table. Lucas gladly helped himself to some.

"I don't want to move to California," Will blurted out.

"Have you told your mom about that?" Nancy asked.

"No. I know how much she wants to leave, and I get it. She was put through hell here. We all were, but this is our home, too. All of you are here, and what if something happens again? I also don't want to be the one to make my mother miserable here," Will said. "I just wish I had a choice like El did. I want to stay here too."

"I think maybe you should tell your mom that. I think she'd understand about you wanting to stay," Nancy said. "I think she'd be happy with whatever choice you wanted to make."

"I mean, it's not like we'd never see each other again if we did move to California," Will said.

"I don't want you to move either," Mike blurted out. "You're my best friend. You're our best friend. Why does it have to be all the way in California? I mean, can't it be somewhere closer? First, we lost Hopper. Now we're going to have to lose you? You have to lose us? It's not fucking fair?! It's not right! And what about us? What if something happens again? We're just on our own again?! It's not fair!"

Will stood up and pulled Mike into his arms, squeezing him. Mike sobbed and hugged him.

"I'll talk to my mom, okay. I'll talk to her," Will said softly.

Lucas stood up and joined the hug. Dustin soon followed, and then it was El who joined the hug after them. Dustin cleared his throat and looked over at the others. Nancy moved with everyone else, and soon, they were all holding onto each other. They all stayed like that for a while until Dustin let out a gaseous cloud that dispersed them immediately.

"Oh my God! Steven! What are you feeding that child?!" Eddie exclaimed.

"I'm sorry! So many things were released today! What's one more toxic thing?!" Dustin exclaimed as everyone gagged.

El started giggling, which set off a chain reaction that caused everyone to laugh. They laughed harder when Robin dramatically threw open the windows. They didn't stop laughing until they all collapsed on the ground.

"I have to ask though, what's with all the journals?" Lucas asked as they all stood up.

"I got those for all of us to write our thoughts, feelings, and dreams down in," Nancy said.

"I do feel a little better now that I got some stuff off my chest," Lucas said.

"And I got stickers for you to decorate your journals with," Eddie said.

"Why are there so many My Little Pony stickers?" Mike asked.

"The question is: why isn't there more?" Erica asked.

"That's all they had in the store," Eddie said. "I LOVE My Little Pony."

Nancy and Steve shared an amused look as Eddie got into a heated debate over My Little Pony with Erica and Dustin. It had been a good idea to do this because it was another step forward to moving on and receiving the proper healing that they all needed. Nancy only hoped that they could keep this up. She knew that there were still hardships ahead, but as she gazed at them all, she could feel hope on the rise.

Chapter Fifteen

[thefreakandthehair]

Dialogue Prompts

(Find Inspiration Prompts Here!)

(Lex's Spicy Six Spring Fanworks Challenge Rules)

“Hey! Wait up!” - @slavicviking (fic, steddie)

“I don’t let people touch my hair, so you better feel honored.” - @stargyles (fic, stargyle) / @manda-panda-monium (fic, steddie)

“No, but you invited me this time, so it would be rude of me to not show.” - @seidenbros (fic, steddie)

“Should I…? You know what, I can just… go.”: @stevesbipanic (fic, steddie)

“Have I told you already how cute you are?” - @itsfreakingbats (fic, buckingham)

“Grass stains. Typical.” - @starryeyedjanai (fic, steddie)

“I had no idea you were so allergic to these.” - @unclewaynemunson (fic, ronance)

“How many plants do we have to kill before we acknowledge that we’re plant serial killers?” - @anything-thats-rock-and-roll (fic, platonic stobin)

“I was really hoping that your hands were only that cold in the winter. Apparently not.” - @gothbat99 (fic, steddie)

“Do you know that you have like, a trillion freckles on your shoulders?” - @stevethehairington (steddie, fic)

“This is the third time this week you’ve asked for flour. What the hell are you baking and why are you baking it in such high quantities?” - @maxineholtzmann (fic, steddie) / - @nightmareglitter (fic, spicy six + chrissy)

“I think I know what that smile means. And I’m terrified.” - @sorbsahoy (ronance, fic)

“Isn’t that what spring’s all about? Beginnings?” - @henrystars (fic, steddie)

“What’s that old rhyme? April Showers bring May Flowers?” - @hammity-hammer (fic, jargyle)

“Oh my God, I can feel the winter sadness melting off of me.” - @figthefruitfaeth (platonic stobin, fic)

“It’s been cold for so long, I actually forgot that my car windows go down. Fresh air!” -@horsegirleddiemunson (fic, steddie)

“Wait, wait, wait. Butterflies? Butterflies are your biggest fear?” - @is-emily-real (spicy six, fic) / @hitlikehammers (steddie, fic)

“Listen, I’m a fern, okay? I need sunlight.” - @hotluncheddie (steddie, fic)

“I like that color, it really suits you.” - @daysarestranger (fic, steddie)

“Huh. I don’t think I knew this part of town existed. It’s beautiful.” - @mrharringtonifyanasty (fic, steddie)

“You really didn’t notice that I’ve been flirting with you for the last year?” - @fruityfourgalore (fic, steddie)

“Come lie down with me, I’ll read it to you.”- @punkharringtxn (steddie, fic)

“C’mon, it’s raining!” - @hexiewrites (fic, steddie)

“Do you, uh… do you want to come with me?” - @stevecarrington, (fic, steddie)

“Here, I brought you an umbrella.” - @strawberryspence (fic, steddie)

“What? I can’t just bring you something because it reminded me of you?” - @bmodiwrites (fic, steddie)

“Sure, sure, it’s just allergies.” - @princessstevemunson (fic, steddie)

“Am I reading this all wrong?” - @fastcardotmp3 (fic)

“I feel like a kid again.” - @sharpbutsoft (fic, steddie)

“Of course I can smell when it’s gonna rain, you can’t?” - @itsfreakingbats (fic, stargyle)

31. "Do you trust me?" 32. "You know, I've never met someone so optimistic." - @spinmewriteround (fic, steddie) 33. "Is this how you are with all of your friends, or am I just special?" - @hellfireloserclub (fic, steddie) 34. "Wanna know what I think?" - @allerask (fic, steddie) 35. "I’ve never really done this before. I'll probably be bad at it." - @withacapitalp (fic, steddie) 36. . "Wait, what? What does that mean-- you kinda like me?" - @fruityfour (fic, steddie) 37. "I have a feeling you’re trying not to kiss me, but I'd really like it if you did." - @aringofsalt (fic, steddie) / @starrystevie (fic, ronance/steddie) 38. "You wanna dance? Here? Now?" -@stevethefreakharrington (fanart, platonic stobin) / @hbdttg (fic, steddie)

39. "Pretty good. I would've slept better if these damn birds didn't insist on singing the song of their people at sunrise." 40. "See? My hands are bigger than yours!" - @toburnup (fic, steddie) 41. "It's weird, isn't it? It's so... quiet." - @nancywheelersgirlfriend (fic, ronance)

[totallycorrectjediorderquotes]

Obi-Wan, on a holo-call with Satine: My apologies, my dear, but I can't talk right now. Anakin is missing.

A few hours later

Satine: I have good news and bad news.

Obi-Wan: Oh?

Satine: The good news is I found Anakin.

Obi-Wan: Oh thank the Force! And the bad news?

Satine: Your padawan is an idiot.

Obi-Wan: Um...

Satine: He tried to ship himself from Dex's Diner to the Temple.

Satine: Mislabelled the package.

Obi-Wan: And ended up on Mandalore?

Satine: And ended up on Mandalore.

Obi-Wan: *sigh*

Submitted by: @nightmareglitter

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

Hi! I was wondering if I could please be added to the tag list for your Secret Admirer fic? Leaving red roses with handwritten notes is just such a Steve thing to do, and Eddie's reactions to finding them are so sweet! I love this fic! @nightmareglitter

Sure!! I always try to tag as many people as i can but you can only mention up to 50 blogs 😭

And yeah, Steve’s a regular sap 🥰

[lookninjas]

Shakespears Sister serves a Special a la Mode with Salt n Pepa (2.9%) -- "Was It Worth It?" Shakespears Sister feat. Terry Hall

Not saying Lin-Manuel owes Eugene a couple bucks, but also not saying he doesn't (4%) -- "Immigraniada (We Comin' Rougher)," Gogol Bordello

Jamiroquai in the age of non-stop productivity (4.6%) -- "Workin' Hard," Fujii Kaze

Controversial opinion: The best Bond theme is Garbage (5.4%) -- "The World is Not Enough," Garbage

Love Theme from House of Leaves (5.8%) -- "Haunted," Poe

Third wave ska meets new wave classic. Nothing not to love (7.9%) -- "Take On Me," Reel Big Fish

A heavy-ass song to lighten your burdens (8.2%) -- "Burden," Helga

We had time to pull out the harpsichord, but still no time to fuck. (8.8%) -- "Paper Bag," Goldfrapp

Tiny metal band. Big metal sound. HUGE METAL ATTITUDE. (9.3%) -- "[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY," Voice of Baceprot (warning for flashing lights/images)

It's raining men! They're… not exactly surviving the fall. (11.1%) -- "Deadman Deadman Deadman," Skinny Pelembe (warning for flashing lights/images)

Powering up my "This Song is GAY" playlist (14.4%) -- "Real Power," Gossip (strobe warning)

Like a blues metal version of that whole sea shanty thing, but with Cthulhu (17.5%) -- "Row Row," Zeal & Ardor

And there it is! Tagging: @genrenommer, @ddxcrow, @nonebinary-leftbeef, @barbariandiplomacy, @dawngel, @dovahbeat, @scarletpineapple, @fennyfen10, @syntax-horror, @nightmareglitter, @genreawareness, @determinedapathy, @hussarbynight, @ohmysatan42, @bonemaggots, @emo-bunny-1317, @inplodinggofer616, @swagphilosopherdragon, @ranthaven, @lorienlady, @massivetreewinner, @edenaziraphale, @beannachd, @artemisofmars, @rnanqo. I think that's everyone. (There were a couple of "I'm so curious" or "I can't wait to listen"s in the batch, so I did tag by default; apologize if you weren't actually that interested.)

Also, for those that were particularly interested in the House of Leaves mention, I actually went ahead and wrote a separate post about that one. Because I have been so obsessed with Haunted for like twenty years, and while the general purpose of these polls is "New music can be a fun and whimsical experience! Let's share in the joy of discovery!" thing, that is a record I specifically will rant about endlessly for hours if given the chance. With citations. And footnotes.

And that's it for now! Working on a themed playlist for the next one, but song selection might take a while. I hope you like this playlist, I hope you maybe discover something new to you, and thanks for playing. I had fun. I hope you did too.

Anyway, pick a song based on one of my bad descriptions. You do not need to recognize any of these songs (although there are, as always, band names and random lyrics and breadcrumbs mixed in). Just pick whichever description sounds most appealing, or funniest, or anagrams out to something clever, or however you make your random decisions. At the end of the poll, I will put the songs into a playlist, from the song with the lowest number of votes to the song with the highest number of votes, and share the playlist (plus links to each individual song).

If you would like me to tag you when the playlist is done, leave a comment or put it in your reblog somewhere, and I’ll make sure to tag you. If you desperately want to know what one particular song is and don’t want to wait a week, shoot me an ask and I will answer.

And please reblog! More reblogs = more votes = a more interesting playlist.

[hippielittlemetalhead]

Hope this helps!! @nightmareglitter

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

@nightmareglitter

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Two months after Starcourt. . .

Eddie's POV

He was standing in the Upside Down, Steve looking at him with wide expressive eyes, giving him an imploring look.

"Don't be cute," he had said as though he were begging him not to do something, and suddenly, Eddie heard the sound of Nancy screaming his name.

The scene changed. He was on the ground, and he was being eaten alive by the bats. The next thing he knew, he was being held in Dustin's arms.

"I didn't run away this time," Eddie said. "I love you, man."

You can't outrun your fate, Eddie. You will be mine. All roads will lead you to the same end. YOU WILL BE MINE.

Suddenly, Steve was lying on his back, squirming underneath him as Eddie wrapped a clawed hand around his throat.

"Eddie, please, it's me. It's Steve," he whimpered.

A figure came at him and tried to pull him off of Steve. Eddie growled and slashed out. His claws inserted himself into Nancy's stomach, sliding into her like butter. Nancy cried out in pain, and Steve started struggling harder.

"You deserve this," Eddie hissed. "You left me."

Eddie woke up with a start, drenched in sweat. He rolled out of the top bunk and stared at El, fast asleep in the bottom bunk, for a moment before running to the bathroom. He took a quick shower, got dressed, and headed out the door. He paused when he saw that it was still dark outside, and he looked at his watch. It was three in the morning. He hurried back inside, left a note for Wayne as well as El, and left the trailer park. He parked his van down the street from Nancy's house and jogged the rest of the way. Eddie quickly scaled up the side of the house, hoping he didn't get arrested. He tapped on the window as quietly as he could, wincing as he thought about how mad she was going to be. Yep, she was mad. She flung open the window, her eyes full of sleepy annoyance.

"Eddie, it's 3 a.m.," Nancy said.

Oh, she was so cute when she was angry. Eddie shook his head. Focus.

"I, uh, needed to see you," Eddie said.

"As sweet as that is - what's wrong?" Nancy asked.

He must have made a face or something because suddenly Nancy was pulling him inside and closing the window.

"I had another nightmare. I was in the Upside Down again being eaten by the bat creatures again, but this time, I died in Dustin's arms. The next thing I knew, I was trying to kill Steve. I was a monster, Nance. You tried to stop me, but I - I stabbed you with my claws. I killed you. I killed you," Eddie shook, his bottom lip trembling.

"Eddie, I'm here, I'm alive," Nancy said.

She cupped his cheek with one hand while she grabbed his other hand and pressed it to her chest, letting him know that her heart was still beating.

"You're alive," Eddie said. "You're alive."

He cupped her face and pulled her into a desperate kiss, his face dripping with tears. She pulled him in closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, and stumbled back against the bed. She pulled him on top of her and deepened the kiss, licking into his mouth. Eddie broke the kiss with a sigh and buried his face into her neck. He shuffled down and placed his ear against her chest, listening to her racing heart. He smirked for a moment before sighing against her.

"Alive," he whispered.

"Take off your shoes," Nancy mumbled.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," Eddie said.

He took off his shoes, and Nancy pulled him back down to his spot before throwing the covers over them.

"What if we get caught?" He asked.

"I'll push you out the window before that can happen," she replied.

"That's sweet," Eddie chuckled before sighing again. "Hmm, this is nice. If only Steve was here. Do you think he'll be jealous that we had our own little sleepover without him?"

"No, he would think it's sweet that you needed to see me. Now, if you can be good and not tease him about it, then we'll all have a proper sleepover," Nancy said. "Now, go to sleep. We have to help Mrs. Byers pack."

"I'll be good," Eddie mumbled sleepily and fell asleep to the sound of her still beating heart.

The next morning, Eddie woke up to find little Holly Wheeler blinking curiously at him. It wasn't long before Nancy had awoken, too.

"Holly, how did you get in here?" Nancy asked.

"I saw Mommy pick the lock on Mike's door once," Holly said, and Eddie snorted. "Nancy, if you needed a teddy to sleep with, you could have borrowed one of mine."

She said it so sweet and innocently that Eddie couldn't help but bury his face into Nancy's neck to laugh.

"Holly, please get out, and please don't tell mom or dad about this," Nancy said.

"What's in it for me?" Holly asked.

"I'll buy you all the ice cream you want," Nancy said.

"Okay," Holly said brightly and skipped out of the room.

"She heard about Steve’s deal with Erica, and she was waiting for the right time to strike," Eddie cackled. "Your parents are going to have their hands full when she's a teenager."

"Definitely," Nancy snorted.

Eddie managed to escape out the window successfully, kissing Nancy deeply before he left, and drove back to the trailer park. Wayne was still asleep, but El was wide awake and sitting on the counter, stuffing her face with a frozen waffle. El froze for a moment before she started chewing again before handing Eddie a waffle. He cackled, grabbed it, and hopped up beside her on the counter.

"Where did you go?" El asked.

"I needed to see Nancy," Eddie said.

"Bad dream?" El said, her cheeks full of waffle.

Eddie stared in amusement. His little sister was too damn adorable. She looked like a little squirrel.

"Yeah," Eddie said honestly.

"Why did you not wake me?" El asked.

"Ah, this was the kind of bad dream I needed to see my girlfriend for, you know?" Eddie said.

"I understand," El replied. "Was it a vision?"

"I don't know. I hope it wasn't," Eddie said. "It kind of feels like it was."

"You do not think it is over," El said.

"Honestly?" Eddie asked, and she nodded. "No, it doesn't feel over. I want it to be, though."

"I wish I still had my powers," she said.

"I wish my powers were more physical," Eddie sighed and paused. "I'm glad you made the decision to stick around. It was very brave of you."

"You are my family, my brother. I love you, and Uncle Wayne," El said.

Eddie grinned, his heart warming like the sun. It was the first time she had said that.

"I love you too," Eddie said and hugged her tightly. "I'm going to squeeze you until you pop!"

"Do not make me pop," El said seriously.

"Alright, how about we go read some more Lord of the Rings until we have to go to the Byers?" Eddie asked.

"Can I bring the waffles?" El asked.

"You better," Eddie said.

A little while later, as they were about to leave, Max stumbled out of her trailer and walked towards theirs. She stood timidly in front of them for a moment, her arms crossed.

"Can I catch a ride?" Max asked. "I want to help."

"Of course," Wayne said. "It's no problem."

Eddie grinned and held the doors open for the girls to climb into the back of his back.

"You better not kill us, Munson," Max warned. "I've seen you drive."

"Nah, you're in safe hands," Eddie said. "Uncle Wayne is driving."

Eddie grinned as he leaned back against his seat as he watched from the rear view mirror as Max tied her green scrunchie into El's hair. Adorable little shits. When they pulled up to the house, the kids and Nancy were already there to begin helping.

"Thank you guys for coming," Joyce said.

"It's no problem," Eddie said. "Glad to be of help."

He hugged her quickly and skipped over to Nancy.

"Long time no see," she said in amusement.

"Very funny. Where's our Stevie bear?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, he called a little bit ago. Robin might have found them a job, so they're going to see about that. Maybe even get an interview," Nancy said.

"Oh, well, here's hoping," Eddie grinned.

"You ever thought about getting a job?" Nancy asked.

"If you wanted me to spoil you, all you had to do was ask. How many kisses do you want? I'll give them all to you," Eddie said.

"No! If anyone is going to be spoiling anyone, it's me spoiling you," Nancy said.

"Do whatever you need to do to me, baby, I'm yours," Eddie grinned, and Nancy giggled.

"Idiot. Have you seriously thought about getting a job besides drug dealing?" She asked.

"Yeah, but who would hire me?" Eddie scoffed.

"Well, I know Thatcher's Tire is hiring, and I know you like to work with your hands. Also, the music store is hiring," Nancy said.

"They are? I've been waiting for them to open up a position! I would love to work with music," Eddie said. "Going to have to check that out."

"And if they don't hire you, I'll threaten to write a strongly worded news article and have Lily add it to the Post," Nancy said.

"My girl, threatening to destroy someone's business for me," Eddie said with a dreamy swoon. "So romantic."

"Get to work, Romeo," Wayne said, passing him by.

"He's just jealous. He's lonely. Bless him," Eddie said. "I found romance novels squirelled away in the trailer."

"Boy!"

"Damn him and his bat like hearing!" Eddie exclaimed, and Nancy giggled.

Eddie and Nancy worked together for a while to help Will pack his stuff up. At some point, they got separated due to Eddie getting distracted, and he found himself in the living room with Dustin. Max and Lucas started to sing the song from the Neverending Story, a movie that always scared him. They seemed to be mocking Dustin.

"I guess I was knocked out for that part," Eddie said when they explained it to him.

"Hey, you fought well, big guy," Dustin said.

"Thanks, man," Eddie said and ruffled his hair.

"So, Mike said that you run a D&D club at school," Dustin said.

"I do," Eddie said. "And you guys are welcome to join. . . You know, as long as you don't abandon us for better things like for girls, for instance."

"Yeah, I kind of feel bad now for ignoring Will all summer," Lucas winced.

"Okay, but what if Nancy and Steve asked you to drop everything, including D&D, to be with them?" Max asked.

"Well, that's not fair to use them both," Eddie frowned.

"I would never expect him to do that unless it's an emergency where one of us is in the hospital," Nancy said, walking into the room. "I know how important it is to him."

"You are so fucking gorgeous," Eddie beamed.

"Okay, but what if Lucas wants to explore other interests outside of D&D, but he still wants to play?" Max asked.

"Well, that's okay too as long he stays true to himself, and he doesn't make himself smaller to fit in," Eddie shrugged.

"What if it's basketball?" Max asked.

"Max," Lucas hissed.

"What? We're just going to pretend that you haven't been practicing with Steve?" Max asked.

"You have?" Dustin asked.

Eddie was surprised to find this out from Max and not from Steve.

"What? Why didn't he tell me?" Eddie asked.

"Maybe because you like to rant about the jocks on the basketball team, and you demean the game he's interested in," Max said.

Eddie's eyes widened in realization. He had been nervous about going back to school, but he hadn't realized that he had been making Steve feel bad about the things he likes. He collapsed on the ground, his face in his hands.

"I am a shitty boyfriend!" Eddie moaned.

"You've just had shitty experiences with basketball players who gave it a bad name, and it left a bad taste in your mouth," Max said. "At least you recognized your shitty behavior. Are you planning on doing something about it?"

"Getting him flowers isn't enough. I mean, I will get them, but I'll also let him teach me how to play," Eddie said.

"That's not a bad idea," Nancy said. "I would pay to see that."

"I just I have never been a boyfriend before. I've been used by people and used people before when it was mutual, but I have never been in a serious relationship before," Eddie said. "I feel like I'm going to fuck this all up."

"As long as you keep thinking you're going to mess it all up, you're probably going to wind up doing so," Nancy said. "We're all still figuring it out together. Now, stop moping and get back to work."

"Yes, darling," Eddie said softly and smiled when she gave him a peck on the lips. "Hey, Mayfield, how did you know all of that stuff about Steve?"

"I overheard him talking to Robin about it and some of it came from Lucas," Max shrugged.

A little while later, Eddie found himself outside with Joyce, helping her load up the truck.

"Are you sure about this?" Eddie asked. "I don't think it's too late to back out."

"Absolutely, too much has happened here," Joyce said.

"And you're afraid things might happen again?" Eddie asked. "Yeah, the kids are afraid of that too."

"I'm sure things will be fine," Joyce said.

"If you believe that, then why are you leaving?" Eddie asked. "I had another dream last night. There was a voice this time. . . "

"I'm sure that it was just a nightmare," Joyce said, trying to reassure him.

"You're probably right," Eddie said with a tight smile.

"Don't bother wasting your breath, Eddie," Will said and wedged himself between them to put a box in the truck. "I already tried talking to her."

He sighed, rolled his eyes, and stormed off.

"I'm sure he's just upset about leaving the only friends he's ever known behind to move to a place where he has no one," Eddie replied cheerfully, and for a moment a flash of guilt appeared on her face.

"Oh, Wayne, I was hoping to talk to you and Eddie for a second," Joyce said, relieved at the sight of his uncle.

"Something wrong?" Wayne asked.

"No, in fact, it's a good thing," Joyce said and pulled out an envelope. "The deed to the house and the keys are all inside. I'm giving you guys the house."

"Why?!" Eddie exclaimed.

"You have El now. You guys are going to need more room," Joyce said.

"Thank you, Joyce, this is awfully kind of you," Wayne said, taking the envelope.

"She would have loved California," Joyce said.

"Yes, well, she didn't want to leave everyone she loved behind," Eddie said.

"Eddie," Wayne said with a warning tone.

"Right, sorry, thank you for the house, Joyce," Eddie said and jaunted into the house.

He went looking for El and found her laying on the ground, crying over a letter.

"You okay?" Eddie asked softly.

"It's a letter from my dad," El said and wiped her face. "I am fine."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"I miss my dad," El said softly, and Eddie laid his head on top of hers with a sigh. "I will miss them too."

"And you're sure that staying here is something that you absolutely want?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," El said. "This is my home, and you guys are my family. I do not want to leave."

"Okay, just had to make sure," Eddie muttered softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Once the packing up was done, everyone gathered outside to say goodbye to the Byers. Eddie stood off to the side as he watched everyone say goodbye to them. There wasn't a dry eye amongst them. Even Nancy was shedding tears for Jonathan and hugging him tightly. Eddie was glad that Nancy was slowly moving forward, but there was a small, childish part of him that would be glad that Jonathan wouldn't be around. He knew it was irrational, but he was working on it. The worst part of all of this was seeing how sad these kids were. He wondered if Joyce knew she breaking their hearts along with her son's? His eyes watched Nancy as she hugged Will, her own tears spilling over. The Byers loaded up in their vehicles and started pulling out of the driveway. Nancy wandered over to Eddie and slipped into his arms as they watched them leave Hawkins.

"Joyce gave us the house," Eddie said.

"She did?" Nancy sniffled.

"Yeah."

He didn't say anything else after that. The sound of the kids sniffling amongst themselves was breaking his own heart a little bit. He was a coward on more than one occasion to understand the need for running away to protect himself, but he also watched his dad back out of his life enough times to feel bitter about this move especially seeing the heartbreak on the kids face. Oh, Steve would not be able to handle seeing them cry. Nancy turned around in his arms, burrowing her face into his chest. Yeah, she couldn't handle it either. Jesus, hasn't these kids been through enough? He should buy more tissues because it looked like they were going to have to have another session.

He couldn't help but wonder when the time came and something did happen, would they be able to handle it? The image of him choking Steve and killing Nancy entered his mind again. His stomach churned, and he had the sudden urge to run away. Maybe he could avoid all of that by leaving, too. Maybe he couldn't hurt anyone if he wasn't around to do it. As he glanced around at the hurt look on the kids' faces, he knew that wasn't an option either. He needed to stick around and fight for these lost sheep. . . Fight for his hometown.

Chapter Sixteen

[chaoticpanmage]

Also accountants???? Don't have genders???? Idk what nightmareglitter is on about, we all know accountanys are fae beings who need no gender

people keep trying to make “ladies and gentlemen” more inclusive.

I think we should go the other way around.

make more and more weird false dichotomies in greetings. “gamers and pianists”. “oil painters and swordsmen”. “vexillologists and entomologists”. “chess masters and diamond artificers”. “accountants and gendered individuals”.

we need to be dropping shit into formal meetings to make people say “wait what? which one am I?”

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie getting weed for his headaches?

@disrespectedgoatman @estrellami-1 @darkrose517 @panicatthediaz @mandriice @nightmareglitter @limpingpenguin @wonderland-girl143-blog

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen - Chapter Fifteen - Chapter Sixteen - Chapter Seventeen - Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Tw: Laura makes one final appearance. I had to make Eddie do this. 😆

Two days later. . .

Things had settled down a little now, although everyone was still pretty jumpy, and they would probably never stop looking over their shoulder. There was a sense of relief, though, knowing that Vecna was dead and that Chrissy had felt him die, so there was no doubt about it. According to Chrissy, El, Will, Mike, Jonathan, and a guy named Argyle were on their way back to Hawkins. Currently, they were helping Chrissy move out of her house and into her uncle's. They were packing up her things and her brother's. Steve had thought it was hilarious when Chrissy pulled up the floorboard of her brother's room in front of Laura and found all the things Matty had hidden from his mother. The look on Laura's face was priceless, especially when Chrissy flipped her off. Laura was standing off to the side, watching through pursed lips as they moved the last of their stuff out.

"Oh, I've got one thing to say," Eddie said, setting a box down.

Steve and Chrissy watched as he started licking all the things in her tidy kitchen. Laura shrieked when he pulled his pants down and started wiggling his naked butt on her counter.

"Get out!" Laura yelled.

Eddie grinned and quickly pulled up his pants before grabbing the box. He hightailed it out of the house, giggling with Steve and Chrissy.

"Eddie!" Chrissy shrieked with laughter. "I can't believe you did that!"

"I'm sorry, was it wrong of me?" Eddie asked, batting his eyelashes at her.

"Okay, what did we miss?" Dustin asked as he stopped loading boxes into Eddie's van.

Chrissy and Steve laughed harder when Eddie wiggled his butt.

"Oh, you know, just me being a pain in the ass," Eddie laughed.

Max rolled her eyes as she took the last box from him and loaded up in the van. She immediately headed for Steve’s car and slid into the passenger's seat.

"Shotgun!" Max called out.

"That's not fair! I was distracted," Dustin said. "Steve!"

"What? I'm not actually your mother. Get your ass in the car before she calls the cops on us," Steve said.

Chrissy's belongings were packed away into Eddie's van, and she crawled into the passenger's seat of his van, laughing. Eddie climbed into the driver's seat and peeled out of the driveway, allowing Steve out in front of him. Steve watched from the rear view mirror as Chrissy stuck half her body out of the window, raising it above the van. She raised her middle fingers at the house.

"Fuck you very much!" They heard Chrissy scream.

Steve laughed as Max, Dustin, and Lucas cheered for her. When they pulled up to the Fisher household. Vickie, Robin, and Matthew were unloading some more of Chrissy's things that they had rescued from the church donations. Steve scowled for a moment, remembering the look on Chrissy's face when she found out that her mother had donated some of her stuff. Luckily, the pastor thought it was odd and set the stuff aside. As they were unpacking Chrissy's things, Max and Lucas started bursting into song. Steve laughed, and Dustin groaned when they realized it was the Neverending Story song. Steve couldn't help but join in with everyone else looking on in confusion except for Robin. She rolled her eyes and started singing as well with Dustin burying his face in his hands.

"I hate you," Dustin said, without heat.

"Someone let me in so I can also tease the butthead," Eddie said with a grin when they finished.

"No!" Dustin shrieked.

"I'll tell you guys later," Steve whispered to Chrissy and Eddie.

Once they unpacked all of Chrissy and Matty's things, Matthew clapped his hands together with a grin.

"As a way of welcoming Chrissy home, I figured that I would make us a celebratory lunch, and you're all - ," Matthew started to say and then the phone rang. "Goddamnit."

Matthew disappeared and came back a few moments later with a frown on his face.

"Bad news, my dears, I have to go into work," Matthew sighed. "A difficult patient has come in, and he's a bit paranoid, so he only trusts me to work on him. As difficult as he is, I do like him, and I want him alive so . . . "

"It's okay, Daddy, we get it," Vickie said.

"Yeah, nothing to apologize for when you're saving a life," Chrissy said with a smile.

"It's okay, Mr. Fisher, we'll go over to Steve’s and I'll make us something. I'm more familiar with his kitchen," Dustin said.

"Stop offering up my place like it's yours!" Steve exclaimed, half joking.

"Well, it's not my fault that you made it so homey when my mother and I lived there when our house was being fumigated!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Yeah. My place is fine. He does make the best pizza," Steve said, affectionately ruffling his hair.

"And I have just the movie to watch when we get there," Robin said and looked at Vickie with a smile. "I rented it special for a certain someone."

Vickie looked confused at first, and then she made a squealing sound when she realized.

"You didn't?! The Wizard of Oz?!" Vickie asked.

"I did!" Robin exclaimed.

Vickie squealed again, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.

"Well, I'm glad you guys have a backup plan," Matthew said, pulling Vickie and Chrissy into a hug. "Even if I can't be there."

"Oh, Uncle Matthew, we can celebrate with you anytime. We should have dinner just the three of us," Chrissy said.

"That sounds like a plan, too," Matthew grinned.

He said goodbye to Vickie and Chrissy, then to everyone else before leaving. Shortly after, everyone left for Steve’s place. As soon as they got there, Steve called Nancy and the rest of Hellfire to invite them over. Steve then groaned, clutching his stomach. He collapsed onto the couch.

"You okay, baby?" Chrissy asked.

"Yeah. I think I overdid it," Steve said.

"Well, you just relax, sweetheart," Eddie said. "We'll supervise the butthead in the kitchen."

"You mean annoy him," Chrissy giggled and Eddie shrugged.

Eddie pushed his hair back, kissed his forehead, and then his lips. Chrissy leaned down to kiss him too and then started to walk towards the kitchen.

"Wait," Steve said, and they stopped. "You guys free a couple of Saturdays from now?"

"Yeah," Chrissy grinned.

"Yes, quite busy, I have this thing - oof, Chrissy! I'm kidding, kidding. Absolutely free for you, big boy," Eddie grinned.

"Well, I was thinking since I'd be in much better shape by then, I'd figure that's when we have our first official date," Steve said. "What do you say?"

"Definitely," they said and kissed both his cheeks.

As they were leaving, Vickie, Robin, Max, and Lucas were entering the living room.

"Good luck. He wouldn't let us help," Robin scowled.

Eddie just cackled and dragged Chrissy into the kitchen.

Robin plopped down next to Steve while Vickie sat against her legs. Max sat down next to her and pulled Lucas into her lap, pressing her cheek against his chest as he wrapped an arm around her.

"How are you doing?" Robin asked Steve.

"Good, I mean, my bites are feeling itchy, but Matthew says that's good. It means it's healing. Still hurts like a bitch though as well as the road rash and my throat," Steve said.

"Man, life just keeps kicking the shit out of you, doesn't it?" Robin asked.

"Out of all of us, but I feel like some good luck is being sent my way," Steve said, smiling.

"Eddie and Chrissy?" Robin grinned.

"Yeah, our first official date is in a couple of weeks," Steve said.

"Ooh, what are you going to wear?" Robin asked.

"Well, I was thinking Eddie's vest, Chrissy's cheerleading skirt, and nothing else," Steve said.

"Good choice," she said wisely while Vickie giggled at her feet.

"I do not want to be hearing this," Lucas groaned.

"So, if I asked you to put on a skirt, you wouldn't?" Max asked.

"Well, uh, I - " Lucas stuttered.

"Relax, stalker, I'm fucking with you," Max laughed and Lucas breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, there was screaming coming from the kitchen and the sound of metal kitchenware crashing. Eddie's laughter soon followed.

"I'm not even going to worry about it," Steve said, leaning against Robin.

A moment later, Eddie entered the living room and plopped down on the floor at Steve's feet, next to Vickie.

"I have been banned from the kitchen for life," Eddie said with a scoff. "Can you believe that?"

"Yes," Robin, Steve, and Max said.

"Whatever. Chrissy can stay forever, apparently. She reminds Dustin of his mother, and he's a huge mama's boy," Eddie said, rolling his eyes but smiling fondly.

Eddie had just taken off Steve’s shoe and began rubbing his feet when they heard the front door open. Nancy came in with Jeff, Frank, and Gareth. She was holding a notebook in her hand and beaming with pride.

"I finished it. The article," Nancy said.

"The article?" Eddie asked.

"On you and Hellfire," Nancy said.

"Oh, is that what all those questions were about yesterday?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Nancy laughed, and she gave him the notebook.

"It's really fucking good, man," Jeff said as he plopped down on the floor and pulled Gareth against him.

Eddie's eyes scanned the page and he beamed with pride, kissing the paper.

"Oh, Wheeler! Marvelous! We should have this framed!" Eddie exclaimed.

"I still need to turn it in," Nancy said, laughing.

"Right," Eddie said, handing her back the notebook, and then his head snapped to look at Jeff. "When did this happen?"

"Oh, you know, it just happened," Gareth said, blushing.

"Cute," Eddie grinned, and Gareth scowled, flipping him off.

A few moments later, Chrissy came bounding into the living room with a smile on her face.

"The first batch of pizzas are in the oven," Chrissy announced.

Just as she said that, a knock on the door sounded. Steve watched as Eddie jumped up and began to count.

"We're all here, right?" Eddie asked. "I mean, besides Uncle Wayne and Matthew, they're both working."

Nancy was the one who went to answer the door, and everyone listened carefully as they heard the door open. Nancy let out a happy shriek. Suddenly, Nancy was pulling El, Will, and Jonathan into the living room. Behind them was a man with long hair. Steve assumed it was Argyle. As soon as El spotted Chrissy, she smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"Sister," El said.

"Sister," Chrissy grinned. "I'm glad we're finally meeting face to face."

"Me too. How are you?" El asked.

"Adjusting," Chrissy said. "Still not used to the fact that I have powers."

"I will help," El said.

"Thank you," Chrissy said softly.

Lucas had pulled himself off of Max long enough to hug Will and Mike tightly while Max moved to hug El. Dustin skidded into the living room, covered in flour.

"Will! Mike!" Dustin screeched and joined the group hug.

"Ugh, you're covered in flour. What have you been doing?" Will asked.

"Making pizzas," Dustin replied. "I have enough to make another one."

"Do you have pineapples?" Argyle asked.

"I think so," he said. "Pineapples on pizza?"

"Try it before you deny it," Argyle said. "It's okay, I'm a professional pizza maker. I'll show you how it's done, my little Hobbit friend," Argyle said.

"I like you already," Dustin said as they walked into the kitchen.

"Unbelievable, replacing me with another long-haired guy?" Eddie muttered. "Does he also smoke weed?"

"Actually -," Jonathan started to say, but Steve gave him a warning look, smirking.

"I would never put pineapples on pizza," Eddie muttered.

Steve knew he wasn't really jealous of Argyle, just still a little bitter about being kicked out of the kitchen. He smiled when Eddie slumped against his legs. Steve smiled and ran his hands through Eddie's hair. Will looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, Eddie's my boyfriend," Steve exclaimed.

"And mine," Chrissy giggled. "We're all dating."

"You can do that?" El asked.

"You can do whatever you want, sweetheart. . .well, within reason," Eddie grinned.

"Dustin's making pizzas, we're going to watch them while watching the Wizard of Oz," Chrissy said. "You should join us."

"I have not seen it," El admitted.

"Oh, you're going to love it," Vickie beamed.

"Alright, settle down there, Glinda," Robin said fondly as she ran her fingers through Vickie's hair.

Everyone got resettled in the living room as everyone made introductions that needed it. Just as the first batch of pizzas got done, someone knocked on the door.

"My turn! I'll get it," Eddie grinned.

He hopped up and bounced into the hallway. A moment later they heard him squawk loudly.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be dead?!"

A moment later, a figure appeared in the doorway. Steve didn't recognize him at first because he had lost a lot of weight and hair. He was also wearing a baseball cap. It was Hopper.

"Dad!" El sobbed.

She jumped up off the floor and threw herself into his arms. Joyce was watching fondly from the doorway. El cried heavily into his arms. Everyone let them have their moment, watching them in awe as father and daughter were reunited. El pulled away from to hug Joyce.

"I am glad you went to your conference," El said.

"How?" Will asked.

Hopper looked around the room with caution.

"Yes, everyone in the room has been through the recent shitstorm and has, in fact, been caught up," Eddie said, sitting back into his spot.

"I was held captive by the Russians for months," Hopper said.

Steve winced and rubbed his neck, remembering what they did to him and Robin. He couldn't imagine being with that for months. Jesus. There was a new respect for this man, a thousand times greater than the one before. How the fuck did he survive? As he watched El introduce Chrissy to Hopper and Joyce, he realized how he did it. He must really love them a lot to have helped get him through all that. There's nothing like the bond of family, and as he sat here surrounded by all these people, he realized they were his family. Home was anywhere, as long as you had the people you love by your side or in your heart. The same thought ran through his mind even two weeks later, as he sat at the picnic table with Eddie and Chrissy, having a picnic in the woods. There was no place like home.

And they lived happily ever after. . .

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie getting weed for his headaches?

@disrespectedgoatman @estrellami-1 @darkrose517 @panicatthediaz @mandriice @nightmareglitter

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen - Chapter Fifteen

18+ MINORS DNI because Steve, Chrissy, and Eddie take a shower together, but nothing really sexual happens.

Chapter Sixteen

Steve was openly crying as he and Eddie held an unconscious Chrissy in their arms. He didn't understand what the fuck just happened, only that they almost lost Chrissy for a second time. She had powers? What the fuck? Steve wasn't sure his heart could take it anymore. It was too much. They deserved to have a quiet life now.

"Son, I think the cops are coming," Wayne said. "Let's get out of here. Chrissy has your keys."

Steve could hear the sirens coming closer, fully aware of them now. He fished his keys out of Chrissy's pocket and moved to pick her up into his arms. He groaned, and Eddie made a disapproving sound before pulling Chrissy in his arms.

"We have to get you to my dad," Vickie said. "You're bleeding!"

"No hospitals," Steve said as Nancy took his keys from him.

"Okay, well, we'll get you to my house, and if he's not there, then we'll call him," Vickie said.

It was a tight fit with only two cars. Max sat on Lucas's lap in Wayne's truck while Dustin squeezed in beside them. Nancy climbed into the driver's seat while Eddie took the passenger's seat with Chrissy. Gareth was pulled into Jeff's lap while Frank politely offered his lap to Vickie. Robin crawled into next to them and pulled Steve into her lap.

"This isn't the first time that Steve’s sat in your lap?" Vickie asked in amusement as they drove off.

"Nope!" Robin and Steve exclaimed.

When they got to Vickie's house, her dad's car was in the driveway. Matthew came walking out of the house, having heard them pull up. He looked frantic.

"Vickie! Thank God! I was just about to call the police. Where the hell have you been? You know, I don't have a lot of rules, but I do ask that you call to make sure that you're not - what's going on?" Matthew rambled.

Vickie and the boys had climbed out first. Nancy helped Eddie out of the car with Chrissy while Vickie helped Steve out. Wayne walked up behind them.

"Let's get everyone inside, and then we'll talk," Wayne said.

Steve clutched Robin and Vickie, suddenly very tired as they moved him inside of the house. He just wanted this all to be over with. Matthew guided them toward the kitchen and pointed him to the kitchen table with the light hanging directly overhead. Was it really just the other day that they were here having breakfast together?

"You really should go to the hospital," Matthew frowned.

"No, no hospitals," Steve said.

"Why?" He asked.

"Jason and his friends are hunting us," Vickie replied casually.

"What?!" Matthew asked.

"They think Eddie is the one who broke Chrissy's arms with the power of his mind and that he also killed Patrick and Fred," Vickie said.

"Well, that's ridiculous. It was principal Higgins who killed those two. I always thought there was something off about him. Me and a couple of other parents tried to get him fired," Matthew said with a sigh and a pause. "It was Higgins, wasn't it?"

Steve watched Vickie look at her dad and then looked at Nancy. Nancy shook her head at Vickie.

"I can't lie to him," Vickie said softly.

"Tell me all about it while I patch up Steve," Matthew said with a sigh as he went to his med kit.

Vickie started telling him everything from the night Chrissy broke her arm, to them being hunted, to Fred dying, them being cursed, and to now, when Chrissy's powers had been unleashed. . .closing the gate. It was perfect timing, really, when Vickie finished and Chrissy woke up with a gasp. Steve was lucky that Matthew had been done stitching him up.

"What's going on?" Chrissy asked. "Uncle Matthew?"

Suddenly, Matthew was by her side and checking her eyes.

"You okay, sweetie?" Matthew asked.

"I have a little bit of headache, but I'm fine. I'm a little tired," Chrissy said as she sat up in Eddie's lap.

Matthew was about to open his mouth to speak when there came a pounding at the door. Steve watched as Wayne went to the door. The gun Nancy had given him was held carefully in his hand. Steve hopped off the table, wincing at his sore feet. He moved over to Chrissy and Eddie, wrapping an arm around them both. Wayne hid the gun behind the door.

"Can I help you?" Wayne asked.

"My name is Agent Ellen Stinson, I'm here to help," a woman with short dark hair said.

"How can you do that?" Wayne asked with a snort. "What is it that you think we need help with?"

Steve didn't blame him for not trusting the woman, especially given all the stories he had been told.

"Well, we know that the gates are opened again, and from what I just saw, you have someone else with powers on your side. You have every reason not to trust us, but your friend El, she's chosen to work with us to give you guys a fighting chance, and you need backup. She said that we should tell you one thing: friends don't lie," Agent Stinson said.

It was Dustin who pushed himself to the front of the group.

"Alright, where are we going?" Dustin asked.

"You're not going to like it," Ellen said.

"Hawkins' Lab," Nancy muttered sourly. "Well, it's not like we have anywhere else to go."

"Chrissy, Vickie, go grab some clothes. I'll go grab some clothes and medicine for you guys," Matthew said.

"You're coming with?" Chrissy asked.

"Of course," Matthew said.

When Chrissy and Vickie came back, they had a couple of back packs over their shoulders. Matthew came back in with a bag in one hand and a shotgun on his shoulder.

"Daddy!" Vickie exclaimed. "I didn't know we had a gun."

"I took an oath to do no harm when it comes to my job, but when it comes to protecting my daughter and my niece, I took no such oath," Matthew said.

"Your uncle is awesome," Steve said to Chrissy.

They didn't have to sit on people's laps this time. . .well, except for Eddie being pulled into Chrissy's lap when she crawled into Steve’s passenger seat. Steve didn't argue with Nancy when she wanted to drive and slid into the back with Robin and Vickie. Jeff, Frank, and Gareth rode with Ellen and her partner. Pulling up to Hawkins Lab, and suddenly, Steve was more scared than ever before. He wished he had gone to the hospital. For some reason, he felt like he was back in Starcourt in the underground Russian bunker. When he glanced at Robin, she was thinking the same thing.

"I'm grateful that Erica isn't here. I wish the other kids weren't here either. I wish . . . ," Robin whispered to Steve as she helped him out of the car.

"I know," Steve said softly.

"This place creeps me out," Chrissy said as she looped her arm through Steve’s.

"We should burn it to the ground," Eddie said.

"Definitely," Nancy said.

"I have a friend who works in construction," Wayne said.

"Is this the friend who likes to call you - "

"Edward," Wayne said sternly.

"No, that's my name, Uncle Wayne," Eddie grinned.

Steve and Chrissy giggled. Eddie was such a little shit but then again, so was Dustin and the other kids. Steve watched Wayne ruffle Eddie's hair affectionately much the same way that Eddie does with Dustin sometimes. He grinned at the pair of them, but the grin quickly slipped off his face when they walked into the lab. Dustin, Max, Lucas, and Nancy were rooted to the spot in the lobby as Ellen flicked the lights on.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"This is where Bob died," Dustin frowned.

"Bob Newby," Lucas said.

"Superhero," Max said.

"He gave Joyce and Hopper enough time to get out with Will," Nancy said.

"Then the demodogs got him," Steve frowned.

This place was haunted, Steve could feel it in his bones. He squeezed Chrissy to his side, his fingertips brushing against Eddie's shoulder.

"There are rooms back here, along with some bathrooms and showers," Ellen guided them after their moment of silence. "There are some more medical supplies left behind that should be good to use."

"I do need to check all of you out," Matthew frowned. "Steve, you need to get cleaned up, especially your feet and your road rash. All of you need to get cleaned up."

"Do we really smell that bad?" Dustin asked as he smelled his own armpit. "Oh! Yep! That's ripe!"

Eddie and Chrissy insisted on helping Steve shower, receiving no complaints from Steve. Matthew handed them some clothes, bandages, and ointments for Steve to use.

"I also got you some socks and shoes," Matthew said. "Hopefully, they'll fit."

"Thanks," Steve said.

"I should be thanking you for looking after my girls," Matthew said, clapping his hand on Steve’s shoulder.

Eddie and Chrissy led Steve to one of the showers. There was a small bench nearby, and Chrissy dragged it over to the shower stall, directly under the shower head. She turned it on, letting it warm up. It was quiet as they helped Steve carefully undress and set him on the bench. He sighed as he sat under the warm water, letting it wash over him. He closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them. Eddie and Chrissy were undressing each other quickly until there was nothing left between them except for Chrissy's wrapped cast. They were both so perfectly pale and beautiful. Steve couldn't stop staring at them, particularly at the tattoos on Eddie's body. He wanted to reach out and touch them, the way Eddie was touching Chrissy's arms so gently. His gaze wandered over to Chrissy, his eyes roaming over her body, the swell of her breasts, and her soft stomach that led to her dark tufts of hair that was tucked safely between her legs. That's when he spotted the tattoo on her hip.

"You have a tattoo?!" Steve exclaimed.

"Of course, I have a tattoo. Where have you been, Steven?" Eddie asked.

"No, Chrissy," Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"What?!" Eddie asked and glanced down at her hip. "A dandelion?"

"It represents freedom, survival, and rebellion. It's a plant that refuses to follow the rules. It also represents hope and healing," Chrissy said. "At least to me."

"Sexy," Eddie grinned and then he leaned down to bite her tattoo.

"Eddie!" She giggled.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Eddie grinned. "You can bite one of mine. Go ahead."

Chrissy giggled again before she bit down on the tattoo above Eddie's nipple. Steve laughed at both of them. Chrissy grabbed the soap and shampoo they had given them and walked over to Steve. She slid behind him, letting the water wash over both of them. Eddie grinned and put his hands on his hips. He shook his waist, wiggling his dick in their direction. Steve and Chrissy laughed at the sight.

"Get over here, you idiot," Steve said.

Eddie joined them under the spray and let Steve place his hands on his waist. Steve stared at him, and he could feel his eyes growing dark.

"I don't think we have time to play, big boy," Eddie said. "Hmm. . .an apt nickname."

Chrissy's fingers curled into his hair, and she pulled his head back gently until his head was resting against her naked breast.

"Let us take care of you, okay?" Chrissy said in a soft but seductive voice.

"Okay," Steve replied, and she kissed him.

It was so intimate, the way that Eddie and Chrissy washed him carefully. They were very gentle and caring, making sure that they were careful with his stitches. Once they were done with them, he watched as they washed each other, and they were just as gentle as they were with him. They dried and dressed each other first, then did the same with him. Before dressing him, they rubbed ointments into his wounds, including the ones on his feet, and wrapped them. Once they were done, Steve stared at them fondly.

"What?" Eddie and Chrissy asked in unison.

Steve pulled Chrissy into a deep kiss before doing the same with Eddie. Once everyone was done cleaning up, they found their way to a mess hall.

"What's the plan now?" Eddie asked.

"We go into the Upside Down, and we kill Vecna," Nancy said.

"I don't think there's anything that I'm going to say or do that will stop you, is there?" Ellen asked.

"No," everyone in the room said.

"It's just as well. With Miss Hopper still trying to get her powers, she's not going to be back in time to put an end to this monster. I hate the idea of it, but I'm afraid that it's going to have to be Miss Cunningham, who has to step up," Ellen said.

"No!" Steve and Eddie exclaimed.

"Nope! Nope! No!" Eddie yelled.

"Yeah, that's a fucking hell no," Steve said furiously.

"Steve, Eddie. . . You know that she's right. No one else in this room has the power to stop him, do they? This fucker has to be stopped and it has to be me. I have to fight, not just for everyone I care about but for myself too. This is my choice. My choice," Chrissy said softly.

Steve sighed, his eyes prickling with tears. She was right. It was her choice, and there was nothing that he could do to stop her.

"I'm going with you," Steve said.

"Me too," Eddie said.

"No," Chrissy said softly.

"Our choice, remember?" Eddie asked, and Chrissy cursed.

"We're going have to do it while he's remote traveling like El," Dustin said.

"And you're going to need bait," Max said. "Which means using me to call him out."

"No!" Lucas yelled.

"My choice, Lucas," Max said softly.

Lucas deflated instantly, his shoulders sinking. Steve gave him a look of sympathy.

"You're going to need a distraction while you're in the Upside Down, and we're going to need weapons," Nancy said.

"That won't be a problem," Ellen sighed. "We'll figure the rest out tomorrow. Until then, get some rest. There's a room down the hall with beds."

Eddie and Steve watched as Chrissy pulled Max into a tight hug. It lasted a while before Chrissy was pulled into a hug by her cousin and uncle.

"We're not going to let anything happen to her, right?" Eddie asked, slipping his hand into Steve’s.

"Right," Steve promised.

His stomach churned as he watched Chrissy laugh at something that Vickie had said. Why did it feel like it was a promise that he couldn't keep? They could save the world tomorrow, but Steve and Eddie could lose Chrissy. No, he wasn't going to let that happen.

Chapter Seventeen

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie getting weed for his headaches?

@disrespectedgoatman @estrellami-1 @darkrose517 @panicatthediaz @mandriice @nightmareglitter

Tw Laura is only in memory, but she does hit little Chrissy.

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chrissy's POV

Chrissy slid to the floor of the kitchen, having just said goodbye to her boyfriends. She hated parting with them, but she knew that they needed confirmation and that someone needed to be here for Max.

"You didn't have to stay here for me, you know?" Max said as she slid to the floor next to her.

"I wanted to," Chrissy said and squeezed her hand. "I'm just worried about them. I'm worried about all of us."

"Me too," Max said softly.

"It's just utter bullshit that we had to be benched!" Dustin complained.

"Oh, man, come on. You know that Steve was right," Lucas said.

"I know, I just want to be helpful," Dustin said. "I hate the waiting around."

"You have been helpful, son," Wayne said. "And there's nothing to be done about the waiting around part."

Vickie joined Chrissy and Max on the floor.

"We have yet to talk about you and your new boyfriends," Vickie said and paused. "I like them much better than Jason. You seem happy."

"I am. They're both very kind, not to mention dashing. . .," Chrissy said.

"Eddie? Dashing?" Lucas snorted. "That's not the word that I would use."

"Hush, you," Chrissy said playfully. "Anyway, they're both handsome and funny. Although, Eddie can really go on about the things that he likes, which I find very endearing."

"You think he talks a lot now, just you wait," Wayne said, scoffing. "Boy even talks in his sleep."

"He does? That's so cute," Chrissy grinned.

"I'm glad you like him so much," Wayne said in amusement. "I'm glad he's found someone like you two."

"We wouldn't change a thing about him," Chrissy said, and then she paused. "Well, he can be a little set in his ways sometimes, but it's nothing we can't handle. . . Vickie, tell us about you and Robin."

"She's so great! She rambles on just like me when I get nervous, you know? It's so cute when she does it. Did Steve tell you that they've talked about opening their own buisness together?" Vickie asked.

"Yeah," Chrissy said in amusement. "Kind of like us wanting to collaborate on a book together."

"You guys want to write a book together?" Max asked.

"Well, it would be Vickie doing the writing and me doing the illustrations," Chrissy said. "I love to draw."

"That's actually really cool," Max said.

They all talked about their hopes and dreams for a while until they all nodded off, the moonlight streaming in through a crack in the curtains and casting a line on the wall. She watched it for a while, watching the tiny dust particles float through the air. Eventually, sleep caught up with her, and she closed her eyes, her cheek pressing against the top of Max's head. She wasn't sure how long it had been, but Chrissy and the others had awoken to the sound of their secret knock coming from the front door in very loud bangs. Wayne opened the door for Jeff, Frank, and Gareth. Their faces were bleeding and bruised.

"Jason and his friends are coming. We stole Nancy's car," Frank said. "The others got pulled into the lake when they showed up. Jason and his goons must have been patrolling the area. We got away and tried to turn them away, but Nancy's car is low on fuel, and we needed to get to you guys. They're coming! We need to leave now."

"Okay, we'll take Steve’s car, too. Grab what you need. Turn on the lights and pull down the curtains. Rearrange the blankets," Wayne said. "And let's go."

"Steve gave me his keys before they left," Chrissy said.

"Good. Do you know how to drive?" Wayne asked, and Chrissy nodded. "Let's go!"

"Where are we going?" Max asked.

"The other gate. At the high school," Dustin said. "I'm hoping that's where they'll be."

It wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be driving with her cast. Max and Lucas had squeezed into Wayne's truck with Wayne. Vickie was sitting up front with Chrissy while Jeff, Frank, and Gareth squeezed in the back of Steve’s car. Chrissy's tape was blasting in Steve’s stereo, drowning out any possible conversation, not that Chrissy had anything to say. All she could think about was Steve and Eddie. Were they okay? Were they still alive? Chrissy suddenly imagined Steve’s body being broken in the sky, and she bit her lip to hold back the sob. No, Vecna wasn't going to kill Steve. She wasn't going to let that happen. Their tires screeched as they pulled into the parking lot. They all ran towards the spot where Fred died and stopped when they saw the gate stretched out on the ground.

"Fuck," Jeff muttered.

Dustin scurried off and came back with a big stick. He moved toward the gate, but Chrissy stopped him, pushing him back. She gestured for the kids to move back while Wayne grabbed the stick. He started pushing through the skin like texture spread over the gate. Soon, it was open, and she was in the arms of her boyfriends. Then suddenly she wasn't.

"Chrissy. . .Chrissy Cunningham. You and Max escaped me once before. . .You won't do it again. . . Chrissy. . .let me end your suffering. . . "

Chrissy was standing in what looked like a hospital hallway or a lab, possibly. There was a set of double doors at the end of the hallway. She ran as fast as she could and burst through the doors into a blue Victorian style house. It was beautiful and new. A family was moving in, and on the outside, they looked beautiful, happy. . .almost too happy. Chrissy could tell when people were trying too hard. She had seen enough of it from her mother. The girl was dancing through the hallway. The young boy looked bored, and there was something off-putting about him. The wife called her husband Victor. Chrissy's eyes widened. This was Victor's family. She could only watch as the family was haunted and then brutally killed. The only one who was calm amongst them all was the boy, Henry. The scene ended with Victor cradling his little girl in his arms.

It changed, and she was back in the lab again, watching as a creepy looking doctor tattooed Henry, looking at him like he was a weapon to be used. 001. The look on the doctor's face was absolutely gleeful. The creepy feeling she got from the kid was similar to the one she got from the doctor. Dr. Brenner, she later learned, was his name. The scene changed again. A girl, her head shaved, was sitting on the floor in a rainbow painted room. A blond haired man was sitting next to her. He looked familiar to her, and as Chrissy moved closer, she realized that the man in front of her was Henry Creel. He was clearly manipulating the girl.

"Chrissy," a familiar voice called out.

She looked up to find Matty standing in the doorway.

"Matty?"

"You have to fight him. You have to fight it," Matty said.

He turned and ran down the hallway. Chrissy ran after him, and she was reminded of all the times that they played tag together. She followed him through one door and found herself in her house. She was looking at a younger version of herself. She was four, maybe five. Laura was trying to make her wear an ugly, frilly orange dress. Young Chrissy hated it.

"I don't wanna!" Young Chrissy screamed.

"Christine Cunningham! You will listen to me!" Laura exclaimed.

"No!" She shrieked.

To Chrissy's surprise, the lights flickered, and the dress was torn out of Laura's hand. It was flung against the opposite wall by an invisible force. Young Chrissy's nose started dripping blood. Chrissy's eyes widened. She did not remember this at all. Laura's hand shot out and slapped young Chrissy's face.

"What did I say about using the devil's magic?!" Laura yelled. "Get on your knees."

"Mama!" Young Chrissy cried.

"On your knees," Laura said softly.

Young Chrissy got on her knees while Laura did the same. Laura took her hands in hers, gripping it tightly, and started to pray. Young Chrissy continued to cry. Suddenly, Chrissy was standing in her living room watching the TV. It was showing Hawkins being split wide open. It was like hell on Earth. Matty was standing beside her again.

"You have to fight it, Chrissy. Stop him. You have the power. You've always had the power. You don't have to run from it anymore," Matty said softly.

"Are you really Matty?" Chrissy asked.

"Yes and no. I'm the part of him that you keep alive inside of yourself, and I'm the part of you who wants to keep fighting. Chrissy, you fought for me every single day of my life. It's time you fought for yourself too," Matty said. "Do you remember how I died?"

"It was an asthma attack," Chrissy said.

"That's what mom told you," Matty said.

The screen flickered, and it was early November 1983. It was right around the time Will Byers had gone missing. Chrissy was doing her homework when Matty screamed. She watched herself run out the door and out into the backyard. A shadow loomed over Matty, his body still. The creatures head snapped up, its lower part of the face dripping with blood. The face opened up like a deformed flower, and it screamed at Chrissy. She hadn't used her powers in a long time, but she tried to use them then, and she did everything she could do to blast it away from Matty. She pushed it away from him with her powers and watched as it ran off. She collapsed to the ground, Matty's lifeless eyes staring at her.

"It came for you that night. Henry came for you. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mom told you it was an asthma attack because you couldn't remember what happened after. She thought you killed me. You thought so too, I think. You tried to save me, and you've always tried to save me. You don't need to be afraid of your powers anymore, Chrissy," Matty said and took her hand. "Save us."

Suddenly, she was standing in pitch blackness and in water. A girl stood before her, the same girl from earlier, but she was older now. Her head was still shaved or maybe it was shaved again.

"I'm Eleven, but my friends call me El," she said.

"Chrissy," she said softly. "You're friends with Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Mike is your boyfriend?"

"Yes," El grinned. "You are friends with them too?"

"Yes."

"You're like me and Henry?" El asked.

"I'm like you, yes," Chrissy said. "And we do have powers like Henry, but we're not monsters like Henry or like Dr. Brenner. We don't have to be their puppets, not for either one of them."

"No, we're not puppets," El said determinedly.

Chrissy smiled and took her hand.

"Let's cut the strings then," Chrissy said. "Together."

"Sisters," El said nodding.

"Sisters," Chrissy agreed.

Suddenly, the connection with El was cut off, and Chrissy was standing in the rainbow room again. Henry was standing in front of her, a crooked smile on his face. It was twisted just like he was.

"Join me, Chrissy. Your suffering will end, and you will be stronger than ever," Henry said.

"You only want one thing from me: my power," Chrissy said.

"A power that you didn't even know you had," Henry said. "I showed you that."

"You're getting nothing from me, from El, or from this town," Chrissy said.

She dug down deep, letting the anger take control. The door that she kept locked burst open, and she felt the power building up inside of her.

"Chrissy. . ."

Matty stood next to her, slipping his hand into hers and holding on tightly. The power inside of her grew bigger, and Henry scowled at her.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Chrissy screamed.

Suddenly, she was floating in the school parking lot. Her boyfriends and friends were screaming her name down below. She raised her hand and pointed it at the gate, blood gushing from her nose. It started stitching itself closed until there was nothing left but the smooth pavement. She could feel the other gate still wide open, but she was too tired to close it from here. Suddenly, she was aware of just how tired she was, and it was like the strings were cut. Then she was falling and fell right into the arms of her lovers. She clutched Eddie and Steve, exhausted but still holding on.

"I'm not a fucking puppet," Chrissy said and then she fell asleep.

Chapter Sixteen

[theotherbuckley]

Tags: @your-catfish-friend @minalblood @riverwithoutbanks @bucksxkinard @icyfox17 @nilletellsstories @miscfanwren @emilybahu @tvbrokemyheart23 @diazsdimples @loveyouanyway @hippolotamus @bidisasterevankinard @perfectlysunny02 @dayanknight @elliegrey2803 @supercalime @fakeelena @f0lkwh0r3 @antisocialpyromaniac @sumyiiiiii @pinguphd @charlotte-lancer @tedious-waffle @actuallyitsellie @pirrusstuff @sunset-bobby @lavenderleahy @tehlerwhalesin @nightmareglitter lmk if you want to be added or removed 💜

incorrect tweets pt 38/?

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie getting weed for his headaches?

@disrespectedgoatman @estrellami-1 @darkrose517 @panicatthediaz @mandriice @nightmareglitter

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Eddie's POV

Eddie watched, his heart seemingly stopping for a moment, as Steve was yanked underneath the water by some unseen force. He didn't even hesitate. He pushed past the girls and dove straight into the water. His frantic thoughts were of Steve, the other half of his heart, and Chrissy, the second half waiting for them back at the house. How would he be able to explain it to her? How could he tell her that he lost Steve? He couldn't do it. They couldn't lose Steve, not now. It's only been a handful of days, but he feels it deep in his gut that they had a future together. Chrissy was it for him, and so was Steve. He knew the minute they both stepped foot into the woods. He had felt the change in the air. He wished he could go back, and they could stay at that picnic table, frozen in time forever.

Eddie broke through the gate and saw the emptiness that was the Upside Down's Lover's Lake. Red lightning flashed overhead. He didn't have time to be overwhelmed by the fact that he was in another dimension. He picked up an oar and ran over to where bat like creatures had dragged Steve. He started screaming and swinging at the creatures chowing down on his boyfriend. Robin and Nancy soon joined him in the fight. They beat at the bats that were attacking Steve, but others soon started attacking them as well. Finally, Steve freed himself. He beat the bat on the ground, swinging it by its tail, and stepped on it with his bare feet. He ripped it in half, blood dripping from his mouth.

"JESUS H CHRIST!" Eddie shrieked.

"We need to get back to the gate!" Nancy yelled.

Just as she said that, more bats flew in front of the gate and surrounded it. Of all the rotten luck.

"There's more coming!" Robin yelled.

Sure enough, when Eddie glanced up at the sky, there was more coming towards them above the trees. Suddenly, Steve stumbled, and Eddie caught him around the waist, quick to press a hand to his bleeding stomach.

"Oh, baby!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Skull Rock isn't far," Nancy said as she helped Eddie with Steve.

They hurried off toward Skull Rock, setting Steve on a rock underneath the odd looking stone formation. Eddie helped Nancy bandage Steve while Robin hovered over them frantically, muttering about rabies. Once the makeshift bandage was secure, Eddie helped Steve up and wrapped an arm around him. He kissed him deeply, caressing his cheek.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Steve whispered as Eddie leaned his forehead against his.

Eddie both wished Chrissy was here and was relieved that she wasn't. He needed to wrap his arms around both of them. Eddie sighed and pulled back. He shook off his vest and helped Steve slip it on.

"So your tits don't get cold," Eddie said, and Steve laughed.

"Thanks," he said.

"You know a metalhead's battle vest is important. You put a lot of time and effort into it . . . Sometimes blood if the stitching goes wrong. It means a lot that I'm letting you wear this. You're important to me, you and Chrissy both. I just want you to know that I plan on putting a lot of time and effort into being with both of you. I just wanted you to know that," Eddie said blushing.

"You're important to me too," Steve said softly. "The both of you."

"You better not die," Eddie said.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Steve said.

Eddie crushed his lips to Steve’s, pouring every single emotion he had into the kiss. When they broke the kiss, the ground shook. Eddie fell to the ground, clutching Steve tightly in his arms.

"If Dustin's theory is right, then there should be a gate where Fred died," Nancy said. "But we need weapons. If this place is exactly like Hawkins, then my guns should be at my house. We need to stop there and get them."

"Just one minute," Eddie said softly as he held Steve close to him. "Okay."

He helped Steve up, lacing their fingers together.

"Let's go," Steve said.

"So, this is the Upside Down Hawkins, huh?" Eddie asked as they started walking.

"Yeah, careful of the vines. It's like a hive mind. You touch the vines, you wake up Vecna," Steve explained.

"Shit," Eddie cursed as he carefully avoided the vines.

Robin was walking on the other side of Steve, clinging to him as Nancy led the way to her house.

"So, we never really got the chance to talk about your new beaus," Robin said teasingly.

"Kind of been busy," Steve said.

"Just a bit," Robin said. "So?"

"It's okay, you can talk about me in front of me," Eddie said.

"Okay, so, Eddie is totally hot, but God, can he talk," Steve rolled his eyes.

"Hey! Good things, Stevie. All good things," Eddie replied and Robin laughed.

"No, but seriously. They're great. They make me laugh, and when I'm with them, they make me feel. . .happy. They're like pieces of a puzzle I didn't know I was missing," Steve said.

Eddie blushed and slipped an arm around his waist, kissing his cheek. He felt very much the same.

"Aww," Robin said. "I'm glad."

"What about you? Tell me all about Vickie," Steve said.

"Oh my God, she's so amazing. She's funny and sweet. She cares so much about people, and she wants to be a writer. Did I tell you that? She loves telling stories, not so much outlook because sometimes she can be quite shy, which I find adorable," Robin said.

"Yeah, Chrissy likes to draw. She said she always talked about writing a book with Vickie," Steve replied with a smile.

"That's right! We're dating cousins!" Robin laughed.

Eddie was listening to them talk, grinning as he did so. The grin slipped off his face when he realized something. He gripped Steve’s waist.

"Shit! Steve, we left your Walkman on the boat," Eddie said.

"Fuck!" Robin exclaimed. "What are we going to do?!"

Eddie was about to go into full panic mode when he made another realization. He was a singer and guitarist in a band. Eddie grinned madly and started to sing, 'Keep Yourself Alive' by Queen. Robin and Steve stared at him for a moment before Eddie nudged them to keep on walking. Steve was smiling fondly at him. Eddie wasn't surprised when Robin soon joined in, but he was surprised at how well she could sing. It was almost like they were Steve’s headphones. They eventually made it to Nancy's in one piece. Eddie noted that it would have been a nice-looking house had it not been covered in creepy ass vines.

"Jeeze, Nance, it looks like you need to do a bit of tidying up," Robin said when they stepped through the door.

"Ever heard of spring cleaning, Wheeler?" Eddie snickered.

"Just a little bit of dusting here and there," Robin laughed with him.

"You guys are very funny," Nancy said. "Focus."

When Nancy turned her head a little, there was a small smile on her face. Eddie grinned. Score, Nancy Wheeler thinks they're funny. They made their way up to Nancy's bedroom, only to discover that her guns were gone, and the reason for that was because the Upside Down was stuck on the day that Will Byers went missing.

"Zombie boy?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, he doesn't really like that name," Nancy said.

"No, I know. I met him once," Eddie said. "Seems like a great kid. His mom cut his hair?"

"Oh, yeah," Steve replied with a snort. "He doesn't have the heart to tell her that he doesn't like it."

"I guess the same goes for his brother too," Eddie said, grinning at Nancy.

"It's not. . .it's not that bad," she said, struggling not to laugh.

"Lies," Robin grinned.

"We're just going to have to walk to the high school without weapons," Nancy frowned.

"You still have bikes in 1983, right?" Robin asked.

"Oh, yeah," Nancy said.

So, here they were riding bikes to the high school. Eddie, of course, got stuck with the smallest bike. Go figure. It wasn't all bad, though. He got to stare at Steve's perky ass while they rode off into the. . .darkness? Eddie was breathing heavily by the time they arrived at the vine covered parking lot. He really should give up smoking. They approached the spot where Fred died, and Dustin had been right. There was a red oozing gate stretched out on the parking lot like an open wound.

"This is where Fred died," Nancy sobbed.

Steve wrapped his arms around and pulled her in tight. Eddie wasn't jealous at all. He was glad that Steve was there for her.

"My friends. . .they just keep dying, and I . . . ," Nancy sobbed. "I can't lose anymore."

Eddie stepped up on her other side and put his arm around her.

"Hey, you're not going to lose any of us. We're your friends, too, I hope. It's definitely not going to take a lot more than what this asshole's got to keep me out of Nancy Wheeler's life," Eddie grinned. "And I'm not just saying this so you can do a spread on the Hellfire Club."

"I'm definitely doing one after this," Nancy said, laughing, and then her face hardened. "All of you. . .you're my friends, and I'm not going to lose any more. Fuck this guy."

All of a sudden, a large stick came bursting through the gate, and they all screamed. Once it was done, they slowly crept over to the gate and looked down into it. Chrissy's relieved face was looking up at them as well as Vickie's and Wayne's. Jeff, Frank, and Gareth's face popped over their shoulders, looking relieved themselves. Whatever reason, the boys' faces looked beaten to hell and Eddie frowned.

"Steve, baby, what the hell happened to you?" Chrissy frowned.

"I can answer that later. Can we get out of here?" Steve asked.

All they had to do was lay on the ground and climb through the gate. It was disgusting, but they did it. Robin went through first and was immediately pulled into Vickie's arms. As soon as Eddie and Steve came through, they had a small strawberry blond cheerleader sobbing in their own arms. Eddie sighed and held onto them both tightly.

"I'm never letting either of you guys go ever again," Eddie said.

"Okay," Steve and Chrissy said.

Suddenly, Chrissy's arms dropped to her sides.

"Chrissy?"

Chrissy was still, her eyes a weird shade of blue as she stared off into the distant.

"Chrissy?!"

Chapter Fifteen

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie getting weed for his headaches?

@disrespectedgoatman @estrellami-1 @darkrose517 @panicatthediaz @mandriice @nightmareglitter @ilikeititspretty

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

There had been a lot of arguing, but everyone agreed that the younger teens needed to stay at the Byers' house while the older teens searched the area around the lake.

"It's my goddamn theory!" Dustin had complained.

'We can't be worrying about you guys while also searching the lake for a gate," Steve said, shutting it down. "Please."

Pleading with him had done the trick, and Dustin had shut up. Chrissy had agreed to stay there with Max and Vickie.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked softly.

"Yeah, she needs someone to be here for her who's also going through it," Chrissy replied, and then she raised her cast. "Plus, I have this."

Steve had cupped her face and kissed her deeply before releasing her into Eddie's open arms. He had watched in amusement as Eddie dipped her and kissed her soundly. Suddenly, Max pulled him aside.

"You remember that you're cursed too, right?" Max asked.

"Yeah, of course. Kind of hard to forget," he said, pointing to his head phones.

"It's sometimes you spend so much time taking care of everyone else that you forget to take care of yourself," Max said.

"Max. . . ," Steve trailed off.

"Please, take care of yourself," she paused. "I need my big brother to come back to me."

"Yeah, okay," Steve said, struggling not to cry. "Of course."

Max threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Meanwhile, behind them Frank started to sniffle.

"She called him her brother!" Frank said.

"Oh, come on, don't this to me. If you start crying, I'm going to start crying, and then Gareth starts crying. We all know what he's like when he cries!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Eddie, there's something wrong with your - nevermind," Max sighed.

To Steve’s amusement, Eddie was crying softly into Chrissy's shoulder. How can anyone think that they're mean and scary? They were all a bunch of softies. Steve laughed and hugged Max tightly, pressing a kiss into his sister's hair. She huffed and rolled her eyes before pulling away.

"Okay, so it's me, Eddie, Robin, and Nancy then?" Steve asked.

"And you're taking us as backup just in case you guys run into Jason," Jeff said, nodding at Frank and Gareth.

"My noble brethren!" Eddie grinned. "Knights of the Round Table! My sturdy protectors - !"

"Enough, boy," Wayne rolled his eyes. "I suppose I should stay here since I have the other gun."

"We'll be back before we know it," Eddie said cheerfully and hugged his uncle tightly. "I mean, before you know it."

"Stay safe," Wayne said softly.

"You too," Eddie said.

Eddie whistled for everyone to gather around, yanking people into a group hug. Chrissy was giggling under Eddie's other armpit.

"Feels very much like when we huddle during a basketball game," Steve said sharing a grin with Lucas.

"This is not a sports game, Steve," Dustin grinned.

"I beg to differ," Eddie said with a wide smile. "What are we going to do?!"

Blank stares blinked at him, and Eddie rolled his eyes. He whispered into Chrissy's ear, and she smiled before whispering to the next person, then the next. Everyone smiled.

"Okay, so, what are we going to do?" Eddie asked again.

"Kick Vecna's ass!" Everyone exclaimed.

"And break!" Eddie yelled, clapping his hands.

As Steve was moving away from the group, he felt a pair of hands slap his ass. He turned around to find Chrissy and Eddie grinning at him.

"Good game," she said and giggled.

"Stop objectifying our babysitter in front of us!" Dustin said.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," Chrissy said.

"Neither could I," Eddie grinned.

They decided it would be easier to just use Nancy's car, which meant everyone climbing in the front of her car while Eddie and Steve climbed into the very back. Just as Steve was about to climb into the back seat, Lucas and Dustin came out.

"We just wanted to tell you to be careful," Lucas said.

"All of you," Dustin said.

"Both of you have kind of been like brothers to us," Lucas said. "Especially, you Steve."

"And we don't want anything to happen to you," Dustin said.

Steve pulled Dustin and Lucas into a tight hug before releasing them to let Eddie to do the same.

"Keep an eye out for each other," Steve said.

"We always do," Dustin said.

Robin popped her head out the window with a cheeky grin on her face.

"And remember, bedtime at 9, kiddos!" Robin said, laughing when Dustin flipped her off.

"And no parties! Grandpa Wayne will tell us all about it once we get back," Eddie said.

Lucas rolled his eyes as Steve laughed, grabbing Dustin and pushing him inside. Eddie climbed into the back and pulled Steve with him, pulling him in between his legs. Eddie closed the door.

"Alright, let's go!" Eddie hollered and pulled Steve back against his chest.

Steve smiled as Eddie scratched his stomach as he wrapped his arms around him.

"It's weird without Chrissy," Steve said.

"Yeah," Eddie said softly. "Do you miss your parents?"

"Uh, yeah," Steve said as he played with the rings on Eddie's fingers. "Why are you asking?"

"I was just thinking about Wayne, my dad, and my mom," Eddie shrugged. "Is it still crazy that I miss my dad after everything he put me through?"

"No, I think we never stop missing our parents even after they're long gone or after they left," Steve said. "Plus, I think you have a big heart, and you love deeply. It's probably why it hurts so much when you get, well, hurt."

"Talking from experience, big boy?" Eddie asked softly.

"Yeah," Steve replied.

"Does it bother you that they left you for Florida?" Eddie asked. "Your parents, I mean."

"No. It's what they've always wanted to do after they retire. Why would I be mad for them doing something that they wanted to do for a long time?" Steve asked. "We both made our choices."

"That's either really healthy behavior, or you've buried your feelings so deep that it's become unhealthy," Eddie said.

"Jesus. I mean, what do you want me to do? You want me to get mad right now? It's not going to do anything," Steve said. "It's not going to be very helpful."

"I want you to be honest with yourself and admit that you wished that they had stayed for you," Eddie said. "That you wished you had asked them to stay."

"Okay! Okay! Fine! I wished they had stayed! I wished they had chosen me over their careers for once or what they had wanted! I wished they were here and I wish that they knew that I might fucking - that I might. . . that I might die," Steve said weakly.

He turned and sobbed into Eddie's chest. Eddie held him tightly, running his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, baby," Eddie said softly.

"I'm scared. I don't want to die. I don't want to leave Robin, I don't want to leave the kids, I don't want to leave you or Chrissy," Steve sobbed. "I don't want to leave."

As Steve cried, he heard the sound of the others cursing and the sound of people moving around. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his back. He looked up to find that Robin had climbed in the back with them.

"Steve?" Robin asked.

"I think it's finally hitting him," Eddie said softly.

"Oh. . .," Robin paused. "I think I might have accidentally kicked Nancy in the face when I was climbing over the seats."

Steve snorted with laughter and pulled Robin into his arms, hugging her tightly. Now, they were both lying awkwardly on top of Eddie.

"I'm scared, Robbie," Steve said in a small voice.

"Me too, Stebie," Robin said. "We won't let anything happen to you, dingus."

Steve, Eddie, and Robin groaned as they rolled out of the back when Nancy pulled up to Lover's Lake. It had been very uncomfortable with all three of them in the back. Nancy stood at the edge of the lake with Dustin's compass in her hand.

"Your face okay, Nance?" Robin asked.

"I've had worse," Nancy said in amusement. "You were checking on your best friend. Are you okay, Steve?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. So, the compass?" Steve asked.

"Dustin's definitely onto something," Nancy said as she frowned at the compass. "There's definitely a gate here. I think it's inside the lake."

"They did say they found Patrick's body in the lake," Steve frowned.

"We need to find a boat," Jeff said.

"Well, we're by a lake, so there's a possibility there might be one lying around here somewhere," Frank said.

"You think, Frank?" Gareth asked sarcastically.

The group began to move around the edge of the lake, using the moonlight streaming through the trees to light their way. They did bring flashlights, but they didn't want to use them in case it gave away their position. Jason was still on the loose. They found one lying close to the shore, making it easy to push into the water. Steve and Eddie held it down, so it was easier to get into the boat. Steve held out his hand to help Robin into the boat, but she just grinned. Steve groaned as Robin used his head and Eddie's to get into the boat. Eddie just laughed.

"Seriously?" Steve asked.

Nancy giggled at Steve as Eddie helped her onto the boat. Eddie held out his hand to Steve with a grin, and Steve blushed as he took it, getting into the boat. Eddie jumped in and turned to the others.

"What about you, boys?" Eddie asked.

"We'll stay and guard the shore, m'lord," Frank said.

"For not all of us will fit on the boat," Jeff said.

"Safe passage, return to us and our Lady of Hellfire," Gareth said.

The three of them bowed, and Steve laughed when Eddie could only nod, waving his hand at them.

"Nerd," Steve said affectionately.

"Dork," Eddie giggled as he brushed his nose against Steve’s.

They pushed the boat to the middle of the lake, and the compass started going haywire. Steve stood up.

"What are you doing?" Nancy asked.

"Someone has to go down there to make sure," he said.

"And it has to be you?" Eddie asked.

"Anyone else on the swim team or work as a lifeguard for three summers?" Steve asked and paused. "No? It has to be me."

"Is there anything that I can say or do to talk you out of this?" Eddie asked, and Steve shook his head. "Ooh, what if I offer to give you - "

"No!" Robin and Nancy yelled at him.

"I was going to say give him a really good kiss," Eddie said, rolling his eyes. "Jesus, get your head out of the gutter, ladies."

Steve laughed, bending down to kiss him deeply. He stood up as Eddie blushed and began wrapping a flashlight in a bag. Steve took off his socks, shoes, Walkman, and then, finally, his sweater. He could feel Eddie's eyes on him, and he smirked. He tossed the sweater at him. Eddie scoffed and handed him a flashlight.

"Be careful," Eddie said, taking his hand and kissing it. "Come back to us."

Steve knew he was talking about him and Chrissy.

"Always," Steve said, and then he dove into the water.

He started swimming down with the light guiding his way. He didn't need it for long because a moment later, a red light started coming into focus. Steve swam all the way down and came face to face with the gate itself. A weird feeling came over him, a feeling he couldn't quite describe. He held out his hand toward it, a move that he knew was stupid. Suddenly, he saw some move underneath the slimy red skin of the gate, and he swam backward. Steve was quick, and he started moving back towards the boat. He resurfaced, gasping as he breathed in the fresh hair and held onto the boat. Eddie looked relieved.

"Yeah, there's a gate down there, but it's not a full sized gate. It's more like a snack sized gate - woah!" Steve exclaimed when he felt something brush against him.

"What?" Eddie asked. "What is it?"

"I thought I felt - "

Suddenly, something wrapped around his ankle and pulled him down beneath the water. Whatever it was, it was yanking down and quickly, too. Steve was moving his arms, trying to get away, but it was useless. He couldn't fight against whatever was trying to pull him away from everything and everyone he ever loved. As the darkness took him, he wondered if his parents would miss him or be relieved that he was gone. Would they even care?

Chapter Fourteen

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie getting weed for his headaches?

@disrespectedgoatman @estrellami-1 @darkrose517 @panicatthediaz @mandriice @nightmareglitter

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Eddie's POV

Jesus H Christ! He buried his face into Chrissy's neck as they drove back to the Byers. It was completely quiet. The only sound was Steve fingers tapping against the steering wheel. Even Dustin was quiet in the back seat. Lucas chose to ride with Wayne and Max. Chrissy had her feet in Steve's lap again so that she was touching him. Eddie was pretty sure they were all shaking. He never wanted to see Red like that again. He remembered the first time he really talked to her and how she was sitting on the steps of her trailer, trying to act like she hadn't been crying. He approached cautiously, but she still looked skittish.

"Just because we listen to the same music doesn't mean that we are the same," Eddie had said and paused. "Not to speak ill of the dead or anything."

"Wouldn't have anything nice to say about him anyway. . .except for the fact that he saved my friend's life in the fire," Max said. "How do you know?"

"He brought you once to pick up his drugs. You were asleep. I thought it was shitty of him to leave you sleeping in the car without rolling down any of the windows. Didn't say anything, though. One look from that dude scared me shitless," Eddie told her and paused again. "You can still hate him for what he did, you know? One good thing doesn't necessarily erase all the bad. It would take a lot more good things to do that. Holding onto that hate, though? Means he wins, he got under your skin. If you ever decide to forgive him, it should be on your terms. . .not on his."

"Aren't you a thousand year old senior? How the hell are you so smart?" Max said, and Eddie had laughed. "My mom is snoring. I think she's asleep. She drinks a lot, I hate it when she drinks."

Eddie let her know then that they kept the door unlocked, so if she had ever wanted a place to hide out at their place, it was available, as was Granny Ecker's. After that, Wayne would walk out of the trailer for a "smoke break" whenever she did come over and would clean up her mom so she wouldn't have to. Both Max and Eddie knew immediately what he was up to. Like his uncle, apparently, Eddie was a sucker for lost sheep, and Max Mayfield was a lost sheep. He wasn't going to lose her.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Chrissy's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Max," Eddie said, his voice thick with emotion.

"Me too," Chrissy said.

"We're going to stop this bastard," Steve said, his voice thick as well.

Eddie glanced at him, and he could tell Steve was seconds away from crying. He placed his hand on the back of Steve’s neck and watched as he leaned back into his touch. Steve sighed as Eddie caressed the back of his neck. When they pulled into the driveway, Wayne was pulling in behind them, which was crazy because he had left with Max first. The explanation came when Max climbed out with Lucas, licking an ice cream cone. Eddie raised an eyebrow at his uncle.

"What? She was upset. When you're upset, you get an ice cream cone," Wayne said. "I don't make the rules, son."

"If you wanted an ice cream cone, you should have gotten possessed by an evil wizard," Max shrugged and stuck her tongue out at Eddie.

She was still shakey and pale, but Eddie could tell the ice cream was helping. He laughed and ruffled her hair before walking back into the house. Of course, Gareth opened his mouth to complain about the ice cream, but when he saw the serious look on Eddie's face, he stopped.

"Shit. What happened?" Gareth asked.

Eddie gave them the rundown on what happened, and Gareth cursed.

"You okay, Red?" Jeff asked, and Max shrugged. "Yeah, I get that."

"So, now what?" Frank asked.

"Now, we wait until the others get back," Wayne said. "Decide what we're going to do next."

They waited for them in a tense but comfortable silence. Max was finishing her ice cream while leaning against Wayne's arms. Eddie smiled softly. It was nice that Max had an adult to lean on, and Wayne was a good parental figure to have around. The secret knock came a few moments later, and the others came into the house.

"I'm just thankful I'm back in my own clothes again," Robin said.

"You definitely look a lot better," Vickie said with a grin. "Very se - oh!"

Chrissy had gotten up and thrown herself into Vickie's arms, hugging her tightly.

"What happened?" Nancy asked.

"Vecna tried to come after Max," Steve scowled. "Luckily, she had her Walkman with her."

"Yes, you were right about the music connection, Wayne," Nancy said.

"Pretty smart for a Munson," Wayne said proudly.

"Probably the smartest in the room, I'd say," Max said, and Nancy laughed.

"Hey!" Eddie exclaimed. "You're lucky you get a pass, Red."

"Vecna is definitely the one who killed Victor Creel's family. He went after Victor's trauma from World War 2, and from the way Victor described it, his family was killed exactly the way Fred was," Nancy shivered, and Vickie squeezed her shoulder.

"Why the hell is he doing this?" Frank asked.

"Do you think maybe he's trying to get into our world from the Upside Down?" Dustin asked with a frown.

"You think he's possibly using people to form gateways?" Nancy asked.

"Maybe," Dustin shrugged.

"When Barb disappeared, it was quick. I didn't even hear her scream. She was sitting by the pool, and then she was gone. He could have used her to open a gate," Nancy said. "And then a demogorgon dragged her in the Upside Down. I never wanted to look at Steve's pool after that so I didn't."

"You think he's been trying to get out since then," Dustin said.

"Wait, what about in 84? Why didn't he try to get out then too? When the sickness was spreading and the demodogs created those tunnel things?" Steve asked.

"Maybe it wasn't big enough," Dustin said.

"Shit," Nancy cursed.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"No, it's a stupid theory," Nancy said.

"There's nothing stupid here, darling," Wayne encouraged. "Go on."

"I think it's possible that he might be trying to bring the Upside Down into Hawkins," Nancy said. "Make this place his own or maybe build it for El. That's what the Mind Flayer said before. That he wanted to build it for her."

"Shit," everyone cursed, and they went silent as it sunk in.

"When exactly did he get trapped in the Upside Down?" Frank asked.

"Does it matter?" Lucas asked.

"It does!" Nancy and Dustin said together.

"El never told us how she escaped Hawkins Lab," Dustin said.

"Because she doesn't remember," Max replied.

"Exactly. She was weak and disoriented, which meant that she had already used her powers. It had to be something big," Dustin said.

"Like trapping someone in the Upside Down?" Nancy asked.

"I think. . .I think he might have been trying to use Barb and Will to open the gates, or maybe they were his first expiriments," Dustin said.

"No, because Will was being kept alive, remember?" Nancy said. "And then Barb was killed. He didn't need her."

"Okay, so he needed Will alive. Why?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know," Nancy said.

"Maybe he's trying to build an army," Eddie said.

"Could be. For El, maybe?" Dustin asked. "Like a weird twisted way of courting her?"

"No, I think it's her power he admires," Nancy said.

"She doesn't have any powers," Max said. "Not anymore."

"Maybe not now. Has anyone tried calling the Byers?" Nancy asked.

"Tried calling them when we were at Steve's, but I didn't get a hold of them. Joyce has that telemarketing job, so she keeps the line pretty busy," Dustin said.

"Well, we'll wait until night fall, and then we'll check out Lover's Lake," Nancy said. "Check and see if there's a gate. There are trees so it would be more secluded than the parking lot."

"How would we check for a gate in Lover's Lake?" Jeff asked.

Dustin grinned and pulled out a compass. Eddie drowned out Dustin's explanation as he went over everything in his head. If this fucker was as powerful as they said he was, how the fuck were they supposed to defeat them without superpowers? Holy shit. Has it really been only like two days since he met Steve and Chrissy in the woods. It felt like a lifetime ago. Fuck. They both took his hands in his, as if reading his mind. All of this was just happening way to his fast.

Chapter Thirteen