Nothing can ever be normal in Hawkins anymore. Demogorgons, Mind Flayers and now Vecna is murdering teenagers. It seems that we've all lost people we care about to these creatures over the last few years. Now, Eddie is being framed as the killer of Vecna's victims. My Eddie. I knew right away that he didn't kill Chrissy. He would never kill anyone. It took a little while, but we found where he was hiding.
Since then, we've made sure to keep him safe and stocked up with supplies. The rest of us have been trying to figure out what exactly is going on and how we can stop it. This stuff never gets easier. Robin and Nancy discovered that listening to a song with meaning to you - a favourite song - could temporarily prevent Vecna from killing you. We almost lost Max. It was terrifyingly close.
We all spent the night in Mike's basement - all taking turns keeping an eye on Max throughout the night. When things finally settled down this morning, I made my case for why I thought that, at least for today, I should stay with Eddie. He told us that he needs supplies via his walkie, so that was the first point. Secondly, being alone in a situation like this is sure to drive you insane. Plus, what happened with Max really scared me. I feel like I'm on the verge of experiencing the exact same symptoms that Vecna's victims had.
"Eddie! It's Y/N! I brought beer, food and extra batteries for your walkie!" I call out as I knock on the door.
"Finally!" He exclaims as he rushes to the door. "Hello, sweetheart." He smiles and gives me quick kiss before taking the bags from me.
"Hi."
"What's with Henderson? I tried to get through to him for ages. He forget about me or something?" Eddie rants as he digs through the bags to see what I brought.
"No, he fell asleep when it was his turn to watch Max." I briefly explain as I walk over to him and lean against the counter.
"Of course he did." He scoffs before he stops rustling the bags and turns to me. "How is she?"
"As good as you can be when you're facing imminent death, I guess." I sigh. "She hasn't been doing great for a while - but she doesn't want to open up or let anyone in. I just don't want to lose her. Seeing her in the air was one of the scariest moments of my life." I begin to tear up a little bit.
Noticing my glossy eyes, Eddie walks towards me and pulls me into a comforting hug. I wrap my arms around him and take a deep breath to try and relax. He holds me here for a minute before placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head and pulling away.
"Thanks for the supplies. I'll try not to burn through them this time." He chuckles. "You should probably go before Harrington gets jealous or thinks you're dead."
"Actually, I'm staying here with you today."
"Really?" He gives me a confused smile.
"Really." I nod.
"Yes!" Eddie suddenly becomes giddy like a child - in a way that is mostly seen when he plays D&D.
We spend the next few hours goofing around and snacking - the supplies are gonna need replacing by the end of the day at this rate. Eventually, we tire ourselves out and decide to sit and talk. As I sit against the wall, Eddie lays with his head in my lap and his feet on the adjacent wall. As we talk about anything and everything, I play with his hair - something only I am allowed to do.
"I'm scared, Eddie."
"Me too. At least you didn't run away."
"I wish I could." I mumble. "What if he comes for me? What if I'm next?" I ramble as he slowly gets up and sits beside me as I look down at my fidgeting hands.
"He won't hurt you, sweetheart. I'll protect you, I promise." I don't look up but I can feel him stare at me.
"You couldn't protect Chrissy."
"Not fair. I didn't know what the hell was going on. We know what to do now."
"Well, I'm screwed anyway." I laugh in disbelief as a few tears roll down my cheeks. "I have no idea what my favourite song is." There's a brief silence before Eddie speaks up.
"Hey, remember when we first met?" He questions as he takes my hand in his.
"I was working at the record store." I recall as I look at him.
"I came to buy the new AC/DC and Twisted Sister albums. You were playing Theatre of Pain on the speakers."
"Naturally."
"When I went to pay, I saw this beautiful babe - a real life goddess really." I blush a little, making him smirk as he continues the story. "Just as that angel was about to speak, Home Sweet Home started playing."
"You said it was destined to become one of Mötley Crüe's biggest hits."
"A statement which I still stand by." He says in a matter-of-factly voice as he pulls a silly face to make me laugh. "You started singing and dancing around the store - which was adorable."
"It's a good thing you were the only customer or that never would've happened." I emphasise never as I giggle at the memory.
"I asked you if you wanted to hang out after your shift. To my surprise, you agreed. You said yes to the school freak."
"How could I say no?"
"The rest is history. I was like 'this girl is home'. That's why that's my favourite song. If Vecna was after me - you play it, I come home." He smiles as he stares into my soul.
God, he can be sappy sometimes - but he'd never let anyone know that. Hearing him recount how we met puts things into perspective. I now realise that Home Sweet Home is my favourite song. If Vecna does come for me, that's what they should play. Still looking each other in the eyes, I bring my hand to his face and kiss him softly.
"I guess we'll save each other then."