A weird feeling came over Eve as they arrived at the old Creel mansion - the place was looming and large, with steps walking up to it - the place was looking worse for wear, no one moving in after the family had died inside of it.
The whole thing looked like the perfect place to stay if you were a creepy monster preying on teens, it all made a lot of sense.
"This place gives me the creeps," Eve mumbled as she walked next to her brother, Steve agreed quickly, walking up the steps to stand next to the rest of the group.
"This is nightmare material," Eve whispered to herself.
"Literally," Max whispered back, making Eve shake her head before walking to the front door - it was completely boarded up to stop anyone from getting inside, making her turn to Steve.
"Hammer please, hombre," Eve said, holding her hand out to Steve, who just gave her a look. Moving forward and pushing her out of the way. He bought his hame up and started getting the nails out of the wood, "you never let me do anything cool."
"Yesterday you stood on my shoulders to save your lil' girlfriend," Steve said to her, "My neck keeps cramping, by the way."
The mention of the word girlfriend made eve go quiet, moving back a little to let Steve do his thing. She was thankful no one else had heard his comment, not wanting the awkwardness to be in the air.
"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?" Steve asked Nancy as the girl worked on the other side of the door.
"We're not sure," Nancy answers, dropping the nails to the floor, "We just know this house is important to Vecna."
"Hope you guys have got your tetanus shots," Eve said, looking at the rusty nails on the floor, "wouldn't wanna come all this way just to be taken out by a piece of rusty metal."
Steve ignored her.
"Because Max saw it in Vecna's red soup mind world?" Steve asked Nancy, reaching up to get rid of the top nails.
"Basically," Nancy nodded.
"Great," HE mumbled.
"Maybe it also holds a clue to where Vecna is. Why he's back. Why he killed the Creels," Dustin continues for Nancy, "And how to stop him before he comes back for Max."
"We don't think he's in here... do we?" Lucas then asked, and the hairs on the back of eve's neck rose. She didn't really think that far ahead.
"Max said yesterday that Eve's powers got Vecna off of her and helped her escape, if worst comes to worst, Eve can do it again," Dustin says then, gesturing to Eve with his hand.
"Eve has the cool smoke powers again?" Robin then asks, "Sick."
"Not sick, whatsoever," Steve cuts in, looking at Eve, "It puts you in danger, it's a no."
"Okay mother Steve," Eve rolls her eyes, making him sigh, before turning back to Nancy.
"Ready?" He asks holding the board, to which she nods, and the two carefully lower it to the ground. And by carefully, I mean just let it fall, scaring everyone.
Steve then reaches for the handle, but it doesn't open. The move makes eve roll her eyes, picking up a brick near a pillar.
"It's locked," Steve says to them, "Should I knock, see if anybody's home?"
"No need, I found a key," Eve says, holding up the brick and gesturing for Steve to move out the way. He does so hesitantly, letting her throw the brick at the door. Steve then moved towards it, reaching his hand through and opening the door for everyone.
The door was loud as it creaked, adding to the whole off-putting vibe, and the group entered slowly, looking around the deserted place, flashlights out. Max passed Eve hers, the girl sending her a thankful nod.
"Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill," Lucas joked, trying to turn on a lamp. This made Dustin turn on his flashlight, Steve then noticed everyone had one but him.
"Where'd everyone get those?" He asked them all.
"Do you need to be told everything?" Dustin asked incredulously - he thought Steve might have gotten used to the flashlights by now, considering how much they used them, "You're not a child."
"Thank you," Steve said sarcastically as Dustin handed him his backpack.
"Back pocket."
"This place is huge," Eve commented as she followed after Max, Max didn't respond, making Eve nervous, "Max." Her hand moved up to grab Max's shoulder.
"You see that, right?" Max asked quietly, alerting Eve that she wasn't in a trance, just quiet. Eve looked over to where her flashlight was pointing, Dustin and Steve looking too. It was a grandfather clock.
"Yeah," They all said at the same time. Nancy and Robin now joining them in the hallway.
"Is this the clock?" Eve then asked, "From the school?"
Max nodded her head, unable to get her eyes off of it.
"I mean, it's... just a clock," Robin said, "Right?" She walked up to it, wiping her hand across its face to remove the dust, "A clock."
"Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?" Steve asked then, staring at it intently as he tried to connect the dots, "Maybe he's like, a clockmaker or something?"
"I think you cracked the case, Steve," Dustin said sarcastically, making Eve let out a small laugh.
"He's done it again!" She said sarcastically, adding to Dustin's comment.
"All I know is the answers are here, somewhere," Nancy says to them, "Everyone stay in groups of two. Robin? Upstairs."
Robin nodded, the rest of the gang looking at each other, trying to figure out where to go.
"Come on," Max taps Eve's arm as she walks past, leading Eve down into the old living room. Lucas goes to follow, but Dustin stops him.
"Let them have a moment," Dustin whispered to him, "Come with me and Steve."
Back in the living room, Eve was shining her light at a new piano. She could hear Kate Bush through Max's headphones when it suddenly stopped. She turned to Max quickly, seeing her messing with the walkman, rewinding the tape.
"I wish we had a longer loop," Eve says to her, shining her torch on the walkman so max could see what she was doing.
"Forty-six minutes isn't bad," Max shrugged, hearing the tape start to rewind, "I think there are bigger concerns. Like... What if, by listening to this over and over, I get sick of it, suddenly it's not my favourite song anymore? Will it still work? Or will Kate Bush, like, lose her power or something?"
"Kate Bush? Never," Eve shakes her head, "Besides, as much as I love Kate Bush, I don't think it's her that worked the magic."
"What do you mean?" Max asked.
"I mean... I've been hearing that song on repeat for a while, this girl keeps playing it," Eve says, making max roll her eyes, "And I think it's less about the songs and more about what you associate the songs to."
"Running up the hill?" Max suggests, "I don't really like running."
"Now, you're playing dumb," Eve shakes her head at Max, "If I only could, I'd make a deal with God, and get him to swap our places." She quotes, "you don't think... that's got anything to do with it?"
"I just like the song," Max shook off the suggestion quickly.
"Max..." Eve said quietly, "I told you, you could tell me."
Max stared at her for a second, before sighing, "It's about Billy."
Eve stayed silent, nodding her head to show she was listening.
"I think about that night all of the time - what I would've done differently," Max continues, "If I could've saved him."
Eve sighed at that, "You know, wherever he is, he's not mad."
Max looked up from the floor at that.
"I think if anything, he's relieved it was him and not you."
Max stayed silent, Eve moving closer to Max, bringing her in for a hug, "You know he's probably proud of you."
"For what?" Max asked.
"Being the coolest little sister ever," Eve said as if it was obvious, "Strolling around, listening to Kate Bush, getting away from an evil wizard? That's not something you hear every day."
Max nodded her head, trying to fight the smile off of her face.
"He would be proud," Eve repeated.
"Thank you," Max smiled then, and Eve just nodded her head.
"If Kate bush doesn't work, what's your second favourite song?" Eve asked, going over to the piano.
Max thinks for a second, trying to think about what she listened to before Kate bush, before all of this started happening, when her mind thought of a song she had been playing all day every day since Eve had left.
"Put your head on my shoulder."
It was the night of the snow ball, and Eve and Max had left early to go back to Eve's home, happy to be in each others company for the first time since Eve was at the hospital.
"Paul Anka, huh?" Max asks as Eve stands up straight.
"He's my favourite," Eve says shyly, "I can change it if you don't like it-"
"I love it," Max says, walking closer and putting out her hand for Eve to take. Eve does with a shy smile. She never acted like this. Eve put her hands on Max's shoulders as Max put hers lightly on Eve's waist.
Their own special dance in a room free of judgement.
"Put your lips next to my ear..."
"Put your head on my shoulder," Max says quietly, staring at Eve as she stared right back, a small smile falling onto both of their faces as Eve turned towards the piano, playing the melody in her right hand. The noise on the out of tune piano made Max gasp.
"They had a 'playground' room at the clinic in Florida," Eve explained, "There was a toy piano with like ten keys. I learned it there."
"You're such a dork," Max whispered, moving her hand to cover Eve's on the piano. Eve stared at their hands, a small smile on her face.
"I really missed you," Eve whispered.
"I missed you too," Max said back quietly.
The two were simply smiling at each other, in a good place. There was nothing either of them wanted to desperately say, there was a weird peace.
There was the noise of silence as the tape finished rewinding, Max breaking eye contact to look down at it.
"All done," Max said, going to put the headphones back on her head as Eve watched her.
They both turned to look behind Max when a light randomly turned on, both of them a little confused considering the electricity in the building had been off for decades. Max dropped the headphones back around her neck and started walking towards it slowly, hesitation in her step.
"I promise I'm gonna stop asking this, but..." Max started, before Eve moved forward, moving Max back a little just in case, and standing in front of her.
"I see it too," Eve told her quietly as it turned off. Another one then turned on behind Max, making the both of them turn again.
Eve left the room first, Max following close behind as they followed the lamps, wondering where they were leading.
"Do you... think," Eve paused for a second, "Is it Vecna?"
"Possibly," Max said back. Both of them follow the lights through the house, getting the gang to join them as it led to a chandelier in the dining room, it was going brighter and then darker over and over again.
"It's like Christmas lights," Robin said to them, before looking at Nancy, the Christmas lights."
"Yeah," Nancy nodded, "When Will was in the upside down, the lights... came to life."
"Vecna's here," Lucas mumbled - none of them wanting to be too loud, in case sound somehow travelled, "In this house, just on the other side."
The lights then turned off.
"I think he just left the room," Robin said to them after a moment of silence.
"Did he hear us?" Max asked, growing worried as she moved close to Eve.
"Can he see us?" Steve then asked, also nervous.
"Headphones," Eve whispered to Max, making the girl grab them from around her neck and put them on, blasting Kate bush quickly to try and fight off anything that could come her way.
"Wait, wait. Everybody turn off your flashlights, and spread out," Nancy ordered. Everyone did as told, knowing the girl was most likely on to something - all apart from Steve.
"We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flashlights," Steve mumbled, watching everyone move around the house.
Although spread out, Eve made sure that she could always see Max, following her through the house with her turned off flashlight facing the ceiling, that was until Robin yelled.
"I got him!" They turned to where her voice was, "Got him," Robin repeated, making the two girls share a look and run to where Robin was, flashlight beaming with light, before it turned off, "I had him."
That was when Steve's turned on, "oh, whoa," He whispered, holding his up to the ceiling too, "Oh, I think he's moving," Steve said, beginning to move with the flashlight, "he's moving."
Everyone followed Steve as he walked into the main hallway, heading up the stairs quickly, all staring at the flashlight when it suddenly turned off.
"Shit, I lost him," Steve panted, hitting the side of his flashlight on his hand.
"no, you didn't," Max shook her head, walking past the group into a small staircase with a light on at the top. They all followed her into the attic, the light growing larger as they approached.
"It's an attic," Robin mumbled, her voice wavering as nerves got the best of her.
"At least it's not a creepy basement," Eve mumbled back, hoping to raise Robin's spirits.
"Both are awful," Robin said back simply.
"Hold up guys," Dustin suddenly cut in, "What if he's leading us into a trap?"
No one listened, still heading up the staircase. When they got to the top, a singular lightbulb was pulsing with light in the middle of the room. They all walked closer to it, their flashlights slowly lighting up one by one.
"Flashlights," Dustin said to all of them, making them all look down to see them on. They all pointed them upwards, creating a circle around the main bulb - it looked a little too much like a ritual for Eve's liking.
"Okay, what's happening?" Steve asked suspiciously, looking over the group.
They all stayed silent as their torches shone brightly, brighter than they normally would be able to.
Eve suddenly let her flashlight drop as she stared at her hands, the dark mist from the day before returning as the group gasped.
"Stop doing that!" Steve whispered to her.
"I can't control it!" She whispered back, looking at her hands in panic as she felt the power grow stronger, when one by one, the glass bulbs in the flashlights exploded, making each person gasp as it happened.
"Shit!" Eve cried as she pointed her hands towards the ceiling, the black mist jumping up and exploding the bull above them before disappearing, leaving her hands shaking as everyone stared at her in shock.
"Well, that was terrifying," Eve mumbled.
a/n
unedited
5 UPDATES IN ONE DAY YOU BITCHES ARE WELCOME