STARCROSSED ▷ steve harrington

15. papa - part one

"Four chimes," Max said suddenly. "Vecna's clock. It always chimes four times. Four exactly."

"I heard them too," Nancy realized.

They glanced to Jackie, who pursed her lips. "I only heard one. I mean, maybe there were others that I didn't notice, but... I only heard one."

"One chime?" Max crossed her arms, shaking her head. "That doesn't make any sense."

"None of this makes any sense," Jackie muttered.

"We'll figure it out," Max told her firmly. "But what I know is, he's been telling us his plan this whole time."

"Four kills," Lucas straightened. "Four gates. End of the world."

"If that's true..." Dustin started. "He's only one kill away."

Steve threw his hands up, and pointed at the phone next to Max. "Try 'em again." Her sister complied, and Steve glanced to Jackie. "Put your headphones back on. You're the only one who his patterns don't match up. I'm not risking anything."

"Harrington, I'm going to wear the tape down."

"I'll buy you a new one. Just put it on. Max! Anything?"

"No. It rang a few times, and then went to the busy signal."

"Maybe you punched it in wrong. Try again."

"I didn't punch it in wrong."

"Maybe you did."

"I think she knows how to use a phone."

"I'm just saying, she could've typed it in wrong. Jackie, headphones!"

She raised her eyes to glare at him. Max tried the phone again, then slammed it back into place. "Same shit."

"How is that possible?"

"I told you," Dustin answered. "Joyce has this telemarketer job. She's always on the phone. Mike won't stop whining about it."

"Yeah, but this phone's been busy for, what, three days now? That's not Joyce. No way. Something's wrong."

"She's right," Nancy agreed. "It can't be a coincidence. It can't be." She rose to her feet, staring out the nearest window. "Whatever's happening in Lenora, is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it. But Vecna can't hurt them. Not if he's dead." She abruptly turned. "We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down."

Jackie refrained from shuddering. "Jacqueline," the memory of Vecna's voice rang into her head. "I've been waiting a very long time to meet you." She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to stop imagining it. "You were so incredibly hard to get to. You're much stronger than the others. You fought off my other attempts so easily. All but one. You're exactly what I need."

"Whoa, no, no, no, what?" Steve's voice snapped her back into reality. When Jackie looked up, Lucas was watching her cautiously. She averted her gaze. "Let's think this through."

"What is there to think through?" Nancy demanded as Steve rose to his feet. He offered a hand to Jackie, who took it, confused, and allowed him to pull her upright.

His hold on her wrist was tight, and she watched while Nancy neared closer. There was a strange kind of buzz pulsating through her veins, one she'd never felt before. It almost felt like... literally electricity.

Steve's tone was dangerously low. "Do you see what he's doing to her? He's not even here. Jackie or Max won't be able to follow us there. And I'll be damned if I let her- either of them out of my sight again."

"Harrington—" Jackie started, but he didn't hear her.

"We barely made it out of there."

"Yeah, because we weren't prepared. I know that you're worried about them, okay? I am too. But these visions, and the constant fear that Vecna will get them won't stop until we kill him. This time, we'll be ready. We'll get weapons and protection. We'll go through the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him."

"Steve," Jackie pulled the arm he was holding, and he turned to face her fully. "She's right. I'm tired of being on edge. I want this bastard out of mine and Max's heads. And if I have to venture back to that hell-hole to do it, I will."

Steve shook his head. "There's gotta be another way. Look, Nancy. The only reason you survived was because he wanted you to. He's not scared of us."

"And for good reason," Robin spoke. "We were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. Sorry, what are we calling him now?"

"Vecna."

"One."

"Vecna."

"Henry."

"Right," Robin sighed. "We've learned something new about Vecna/Henry/One. He's a number like Eleven. Except, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin."

"Really bad," Jackie said under her breath.

"My point is, he's super powerful. Could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight."

"He said something about me being powerful, too," Jackie interjected. "Well, he said I was stronger than the others. But before I pissed him off, it didn't seem like he was trying to attack me... it was almost like he was trying to recruit me into something. He said I was exactly what he needed."

They fell quiet. Steve's hand loosened. "Recruit you? What do you mean?"

"I don't... I don't know how to explain it. But then I opened my big stupid mouth, so I guess we'll never really know."

"You've got a point, Robin," Dustin said. "He's like Eleven. But that gives us the upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths. And weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?"

"When El remote-travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state. I bet the same is true of Vecna."

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic."

"Exactly. When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenseless."

"Defenseless?" Steve repeated. "What about the army of bats?"

"True. We'll have to find a way past them. Distract them somehow."

"And, uh, how do we do that exactly?" Eddie asked.

"No idea," Dustin admitted. "But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying sleeping Dracula in his coffin."

"That all sounds good in theory, but there's no pattern to Vecna's killings. At least one that I can decipher. We don't know when he's going to attack next. Don't even know who he's going to attack."

"Yeah, we do," Max argued. Jackie's head snapped over to look at her. "I was victim number four. He got me before he got Jackie, and whatever his goal with her is, he still wanted me dead. I can feel him. I'm still marked. Cursed. I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me."

"Max," Lucas protested. "You can't he'll kill you."

"You've got to be out of your mind if you think I'm letting you do that," Jackie stated.

"I survived before," Max replied. "And so did you. I can survive again. I just need to keep him busy long enough so that you guys can get into that attic. Then you can chop his head off. Stab him in the heart. Or blow him up with whatever explosive Dustin cooks up. I honestly don't care how you put this asshole in his grave. Just... whatever you do..."

She trailed off, meeting Jackie's gaze. "Don't miss."

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authors note

did not proofread this at all because i have work in 10 mins awk ignore any typos

but ANYWAY THE ENDING?!?\¥<+|€<]+(&29(&[+~£] so glad steve didnt die i wouldve ended my life WITH HIM. steve harrington get behind me in s5.