Fly Me To The Moon (steve harrington x reader) (Under Hiatus, to be updated soon

Chapter Eight - Papa

trigger warning! intense gore, physical abuse, and the mention of suicide. i'll put this symbol 🪐 when it's safe again :)

You were frozen in place, due to the pure shock of being face to face with your deceased mother or fear of being in your old home that held so many bad memories... You couldn't decide.

She looked so... Real. But she couldn't be... Right?

"Y/n." She said sweetly, using a voice you hadn't heard in years... A voice that you sometimes couldn't remember and would cry yourself to sleep trying recall what it sounded like. She offers you a hand to help you off your knees. You cover your mouth with your hand, biting your lip, tears blurring your vision. This isn't real. But this is your old house. Same old yellow tiled floors, exact same kitchen where... It happened.

You take her hand hesitantly, to which she pulls you up onto your feet. You look into her beautiful eyes that could make anyone get lost in them due to their beautiful and intricate structure. Her long hair that draped over her shoulders, perfectly framing her beautiful face. She had the same crinkles at the edges of her eyes that showed how many times she had smiled in her lifetime of being on this planet.

"This isn't real..." You state, shaking your head and squinting your eyes shut. "Sweetie, what do you mean? Do you feel okay?" She asks, using your old pet name and bringing the back of her hand up to your forehead to feel your temperature. The soft texture of her hand was something you could never forget... "Feels normal..." She murmurs. You let out a choked sob. This had to be real. You could feel her hand. It felt the same as always.

You completely break down, pulling her into a deep hug, silent tears running down your cheeks and soaking into her shirt. "Mom... Oh, mom, it's you. It's really you..."

"Of course it's me, who else would it be??" She asks sarcastically, making you sniffle out a laugh. You could smell the sweet scent of her signature lavender perfume coming from her clothing, embracing you in emotions of nostalgia.

She puts her hand into your hair, stroking it gently before getting steadily rougher. You wince as she takes a handful of your hair, and try to get away from her grasp. "Mom." You state, trying to push yourself off of her. She doesn't respond, keeping a firm grasp on you. "Mom, let go."

She doesn't let up, taking no notice to your struggling. You finally had enough and punch the side of her face in the nose, making her double back, holding her face.

You take the opportunity to get away from her, but your body then starts moving on its own. It walks over to the counter where a singular butcher knife was located. "NO! NO! PLEASE!" You scream, knowing exactly what your body was trying to do. You try to stop your limbs from grabbing the sharp object, but it was no use. It grabs the weapon before walking back over to your mom.

She backs away from you. "NO! IM SORRY! WHAT DID I DO! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!" She screams, making tears fall down your face. "I can't stop! Mom! HELP!" You say as you get closer. She cowers against the wall, putting her hands out to stop you from getting any closer.

You lift the butcher knife over your head before bringing it down swiftly onto her head, effectively cracking her skull open. She screams in pain and terror as the blade comes down onto her head once again. You thrash around, trying to get back control of your body, but to no outcome.

Her body goes lifeless under your hands, but you don't stop there. You put her flat on the floor, spreading her limbs out before starting to dissect her. You scream all while doing this, watching as her blood seeps onto your clothes, turning the once grey sweatshirt a sickening dark red. You tried to close your eyes, to do something, anything but you were stuck watching. Watching as your fingers peeled back her skin and took out every muscle in existence. Watching as you plucked the eyes out of her skull and crushed them with your fingers. Watching as you cracked her skull open even more, pulling her brain out before chopping that up as well.

Watching as she died. Just like that night. Just like all those times your dad beat your mom half to death. You were a coward. And this nightmare was showing you that.

Once whatever was controlling your body was satisfied with its demonic work, it gave you back control of your body. You throw the knife away as far as you could, backing away from your moms figure. You cower against the wall, gripping at your hair and hyperventilating. Her limbs were scattered all throughout the house, the walls coated in her blood. She was unrecognizable. "What have you done." A threatening voice sounds from behind you.

You freeze in your place. You would know that voice anywhere. You shakily stand back onto your feet, swaying slightly. "N-no... No please... It wasn't me- I didn't do-"

"YES YOU DID!" His voice bellows out from behind you, making you turn swiftly around to see the tall figure of your intoxicated dad.

"YOU ALWAYS FUCK SHIT UP! YOU DUMB WHORE! MURDERER! YOU KILLED HER! YOU WATCHED! MURDERER!" He screams, slapping one of his heavy hands across your face. You collapse back to the floor, holding onto your cheek. You suddenly felt small and tiny compared to his giant body.

Your surroundings blend together and you were suddenly in the living room, watching your dad beat the living hell out of your mom. "DONT JUST STAND THERE! HELP! HELP ME!" She screams, body crippling onto itself after each punch.

You try to stand up, but your body was glued down to the ground, snakes suddenly appearing from no where and tangling themselves around your legs and arms. "NO!" You scream, voice suddenly higher pitched.

You watch as your dad beats your moms face in, eyes bloodshot and protruding from his head. His figure changed into a bloodied one, intestines showing and spilling from his stomach. You scream at the sight, eyes filling up with tears.

He doesn't let up, your moms skull showing in one patch of her head and her brain in another. Her skin was completely removed, her body turned inside out. You try to close your eyes, to stop watching, but two spiders suddenly crawl onto your head, climbing down to your eyes and holding your eyes open.

The scenery blurs together again, this time you were in a pool. A pool you would know anywhere. Steve's pool.

"All you do is hurt people. You hurt me. You killed me. You left me to die even when you knew something bad was going to happen. You killed us. You deserve to die." A voice rings out behind you. It was strangely familiar. You turn around sharply and scream at the sight of Barbs bloody and decomposing body standing behind you. Her skin was holding on by a thread, the tone of it a sickly green. There were strange slugs in the place of where her eyes should be, bugs and maggots crawling everywhere over her malnourished body.

"If only you did something. If only you didn't stand there watching." Another voice says from the side of you. You turn to see your moms figure reappear, looking the same she did that night you found her dead body laying at the hands of your dads. A knife protruding from her gut, white clothes stained red, hair matted and glass stuck in some places of her skin.

You feel a soft body rub against your legs, and you couldn't bear to look down. You already knew who it was.

"You can't even look at us because you know what you did." Barb says again, noticing your hesitance to look at any of them in the eyes.

You hear a soft chitter of response from the figure below you, and you look down to see your bloody orange cat. His normal orange fur was now red, and only a shell of what he should have looked like remained. His organs were all on display. That's all it takes to break your brain. You collapse onto the ground, closing your eyes and grabbing onto your hair, screaming. Screaming until your lungs gave out. Your vocal chords strain together... But then... You hear a faint sound.

"Fly... Me to the moon...."

"Steve?" You ask hopefully. You would know that voice anywhere. You smile as the song continues, the melancholy chords of your favorite song lulling your brain into a tranquil state of mind. "In other words... Baby kiss me."

"No." A menacing voice calls, bringing you back to this reality. You open your eyes, finding yourself back into the pool, looking at all their dead bodies surrounding you.

Barb, Mom, Mews, all of them. All in separate corners of the pool and covered in familiar vines. You take a deep breath, having to remind yourself that this wasn't real. Steve's voice reminded you of that.

"You need to remember what you did, Y/n. Remember what you tried so hard to forget. When I kill someone... I never forget." The deep voice says. Just then, the pool started filling up. Not with water, with blood.

You immediately look around the pool, before your eyes finally land on a ladder. You race over to it, shoes getting covered in the sticky red substance. You start to climb, hoisting your body over the side and grabbing onto the metal bars to steady your weight.

🪐
(basically what happened is Vecna showed us a more twisted version of what happened in Y/n's childhood)
🪐

You look up to see the red sky, occasional flashes of lightning striking through the terrifying atmosphere. Various pieces of wood and debris were floating throughout the sky, having no sense of gravity.

You feel your surroundings change once again and find yourself no longer holding onto the metal poles of the pools ladder but instead a wooden staircase, a clock ticking rhythmically in the distance.

You start your decline down the stairs, heart still beating out your chest as you look around at your surroundings. A clock behind you chimes, making you jump slightly before looking back to see it flying in midair.

"I see you've been looking for me, Y/n. Trying to protect your friends? Pathetic. You were so close. But just like always, you messed up. And now, your friends will pay for it. How was old, blind, dumb Victor? I've been meaning to pay him a visit, but I've been busy." The voice says, making you look over your shoulder to see Chrissy's mangled body being hoisted up on a tree like figure by slimy tentacles.

You feel your heart rate increase, breathing getting uneven. "So very busy." He finished upon seeing your horrified expression.

Suddenly, your surroundings change again. You were now in the Creel house, but it looked... Newer? The prime of its life before the family died. You were looking straight at the stained glass window in the door that Robin had broken, the rose on it looking new and beautiful.

You watch as the door opened, revealing a middle aged man with bright blonde hair walking into the house, wearing a brown hat and bright blue shirt. "What'd I tell ya?" He asks the woman behind him, who you assumed to be his wife. "Wow." She replies, her big doe eyes bright with hope. Her blonde curly hair kept in a pink bonnet, and her shirt matching her husbands.

There were two children following behind the happy couple, one a peppy girl in a baby blue checkered dress and the other a reserved boy wearing browns. You recognized the two immediately as the kids who you had seen in the photo book. "This is amazing! It looks like a fairy tale!" The daughter exclaims in excitement, walking in front of the others before turning around to see their happy expressions. You watch with curiosity, a slight smile playing onto your lips as you see the girls wonder in her eyes as she races up the stairs.

"Alice! No running!" Her mom calls. "It's so big!" 'Alice' yells back, immediately going to explore the upstairs rooms. "This is nice." The father says, putting his arm around his wife's waist. Though, your attention wasn't on them, but instead on the small boy standing at the corner of the room. Something seemed... Off... About him. You'd always gotten that feeling from the boy, but being here face to face and next to him... The feeling was much more present.

You assumed the people couldn't see you, that is if time travel sci-fi movies and shows had taught you anything. You watch as the small boy sneaks past his parents, walking up to the upstairs to explore as well, and you follow cautiously behind him.

You walked up the steps, passing a room just after him but pausing a bit when you see a slight flicker in the lights as he passed... Strange. You knew this boy had something to do with everything... You just didn't know how or with what yet.

You had pieced together that the horrible creature that showed you those horrific images of your trauma was none other than Vecna himself, and you honestly didn't know why you were still alive, much less seeing the point as to why he was showing you all this... Maybe he was just playing with his prey before he killed you off too.

You shake your head out of your negative but realistic thoughts, instead following the boy into the bathroom after seeing him bend down onto the floor and lifting out the vent cover, before sticking his hand into it.

What he pulled out was none other than a black widow... The same black widow that he was holding in the picture you saw, which struck you as sort of weird... Though, all of this experience was indeed just that. This world was the definition of weird and horrifying.

The boy disappears into nothing and you see a figure run out of another room out the corner of your eye, making you turn around sharply to see the small Creel boy go into the door that led to the attic.

You race after him, climbing the steps hurriedly one by one. You barge through the open door, gasping when you see the sight of him putting the spider into an mason jar before putting it back into its rightful place next to the about of dozen other identical ones. His figure was lit up by a bunch of other candles surrounding it all, making it look like he was doing some kind of séance or ritual. He then pulls something out from the table drawer located right next to the spider display. You look over his shoulder to see him sketching a black widow.

This kid is seriously way too attached to spiders... You think. Your surroundings change again, and you were back at the foot of the stairs, seeing the kid standing right in front of the same clock Vecna was so obsessed with...

Then something clicked in your brain.

Is this kid Vecna? It was a long stretch but... It was the only working theory you had at the moment. But then if he was, how did he have powers? Was he like El and experimented on? And how did he end up to be Vecna? You kinda just assumed that Vecna was just his own species, much like the Demogorgon and Mind Flayer, it never occurred to you that maybe... Just maybe... He too was once a human, just like yourself.

You are brought back from your thoughts by the distinct chiming of the bell in front of the small boy. You watch as his eyeballs flash back and forth through his closed eyelids, and watch in surprise that the clocks handles were going backwards, and fast.

All of a sudden, there was the sound of an animal shrieking from behind you, making you turn around hurriedly and the scenery changed again. You were now outside in the garden, watching as a small rabbit was trying to get away from an invisible hand, screaming in pain just at the feet of the little boy.

You go up to the rabbit to try and help it, but your body stopped moving. You bite your lip, instead looking away from the scene as you knew it was no use trying to fight the invisible force that was holding you back.

You hear bones cracking, more screams, before it all went silent. You look back to see the boy stroking its fur as if he hadn't just killed the animal, and you shake your head, turning to go back into the house. You wanted to go back to your reality. You missed your family.

The scenery shifted again and this time you were in the living room, the sound of a baby screaming present. You turn your head to the direction the sound was coming from, but wish you didn't. You see the dad sitting in the rocking chair, staring in horror at the fireplace, where the baby was lit ablaze, skin getting charred to nothing as the baby was screaming in agony.

Then... You hear a different sound... 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me' was playing softly on the radio behind you, and you turn around to see the family sitting at the dining table, eating food.

But then, the song stops, static taking its place. The dad gets up in a confused manner, going to check out what was wrong with the radio, but when he goes to try and tune it, the lights start flickering madly. You look to the boy who had his eyes closed and immediately knew he was the culprit for this.

There was then a shriek that pierced through the silence, and you look over to see the wife's body lifted into the air. Her bones then snap in odd angles, jaw cracking open wide, arms and legs snapping back before her eyes explode, before she collapsed back into the table, her mangled corpse being the only thing your eyes could focus on.

The boy wiped his bloody nose just as the dad grabbed him by under the arms and carried him to the door. You watch as the dad set the Creel boy next to the doorway as he fumbled with the door keys. The daughter lay a few steps from the door, dead you assumed.

Then all of a sudden, the boy collapses. All that killing must've finally gotten to him, much like El if she used too much of her power. The dad takes the boy into his arms, crying into him, unbeknownst to him that he was carrying the very cause of his whole family's death.

The cops then entered the room, pinning the father against the wall before cuffing him.

Your surroundings changed once again and you found yourself looking at the kid and a doctor tattooing into his wrist the numbers 001. So your theory was correct. Though, this still didn't answer your question as to how this kid became Vecna.

"All done. Not so bad, was it?" The doctor asks the kid. "See? Nothing to be afraid of. Is there, Y/n?" You feel your heart drop as he talks to you specifically. You thought that people couldn't see you while you were here... Where ever it was that 'here' was.

The doctor turns to you, and your heart pounds when you see that his eyes had no pupils. Only blue empty space. "Why don't you take a seat?" He asks in the deep voice you heard earlier.

"Uh... I think I'm good, thanks for asking though-" You snark back, trying to cope using humor and taking a few cautious steps back before full on bursting through the door and into the hallway, trying to find a way out.

Come to find that the hallway lights were flickering, screams echoing throughout the long corridor. You could see the various dead bodies of children scattered throughout the facility, and take in a sharp breath. This guy really liked freaking you out with dead bodies it seemed...

You turn around again, cutting the corner to try and find another escape route. There had to be an exit somewhere.

You finally run into a blocked off exit way, boarded up with old wood. You were confident you could tear it down. You start pulling on the weary wood, the piece letting up before finally releasing. You drop it onto the ground before hurriedly going to the next one.

"Y/n." You heard a voice sound from behind you, making your heart sink. You see a dark figure stalking towards you. His face was covered in tentacles, flesh rotted from the inside out. "What are you doing?" He asks.

"What's it look like Im doing?" You sass back, this the least scary think you had seen today. He laughs menacingly at your comeback. "Only I get to say when you leave. And if you leave. So if I were you, I would chose my words carefully from here on out." He states.

You ignore his words, instead getting back to work on forcing the planks out from the exit. You only had three more to go, and were working fast. "Now that you've seen where I've been... I would like very much to show you where I am going. Just before you die." He says, his voice getting closer and closer.

You finally break the last plank, and burst through the door quickly, only to find yourself exactly where you started. Your eyes scan the room wildly before landing back onto the doctor.

"Take a seat, Y/n." He says just as the lights flicker out into blackness. All you could hear was the short rapid breathing coming from your chest.

The lights finally came back on, and you find yourself strapped to a chair, arms and legs bolted down with slimy vines, making you struggle. You scream and attempt to wriggle your way out, but the more you moved the tighter the vines got. It felt like they were cutting off your circulation, your panicked mind making it hard to breath. You stop moving all together, finding it useless to struggle. You watch as the mangled figure of Vecna walked slowly over to you.

Okay. Time to struggle. You tell yourself, now resorting to trying to back into the wall in attempt to break the chair, but it was planted firmly to the ground.

He was getting closer, the vines cutting deeper into your skin until the figure was inches away from your face.

You stare into his soulless eyes. His face was even more horrifying up close. "No... Please. I don't want to die. I can't die. I don't want to go." You beg as he puts a hand up to your forehead, eyes starting to roll back into his skull. "But didn't you want this?" He inquiries, going into your mind and making you remember all the times you laid in bed, wishing you didn't exist anymore. All the times you thought the world would be better without you in it. Every bad thought you'd ever thought of yourself, every person you'd hurt or even killed.

"Well?" He asks again. You try to think of an answer, you didn't know... You didn't. "I... Love.... You." You hear the song ring out again. Steve. You needed Steve.

"No." You say, staring back into his eyes with a newfound sense of courage. You battle his horrible memories of you with every beautiful, happy moment of your friends.

The first time you met your Aunt, she gave you the biggest hug ever. The family movie nights your original family had before you father went berserk. Your mothers singing voice that always lulled you to sleep. Your dad teaching you how to shoot a gun. The feeling you had when your Aunt got you Mews. How happy you were when you first got Dustin his hat all those years ago. Playing D&D with Dustin for the first time, your mothers hugs, listening to AC/DC and Journey with your dad, Jonathan and Will introducing you to 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?', Sleepovers with Nancy and Barb, the best moments babysitting the kids, listening to Queen for the first time, meeting Robin for the first time, your first kiss with Steve after your date at Enzo's, your heart to heart conversation with Eddie, your friendship with El, getting ice cream together every Saturday and sometimes Friday, going to the mall with Max and El, your photo shoot with the two, singing Madonna very off pitch at the first sleepover you had with Max and El, geeking about Stephen King with Dustin, celebrating every win the basketball team had with Lucas, every sassy comeback competition you had with Mike, all the fun campaigns you had with Will when no one else wanted to play, all the funny moments you had with Jonathan, gushing about boys to your Aunt, motherly hugs from Joyce, the group hugs with the kids, road-trips with Dustin and your Aunt, they all outweighed any bad thought or intention you'd ever had.

Vecna gets closer to your face, but you don't let up. "Very well then. I may have a new purpose for you... You can be useful. It's a shame you aren't numbered, you have great potential and a good mind-" he hums to himself, seemingly lost in thought. You attempt to struggle again, the ropes now cutting into your flesh. He laughs at your sad attempt to escape.

"Yes. That'll be perfect." He finally says, making up his mind, and before you can even react he swiftly cuts one of the vines holding you down and pulls your wrist harshly into his clawed, slimy hand. You attempt to escape from his grip, but deem it to be useless.

"Now, I want you to tell Eleven. I want you to tell her everything you see." He says, stabbing his sharp claws deep into your wrist, bringing his free hand up to your forehead, claws nearly touching your forehead. "NO!" You scream, prepared for the sweet release of death.

Instead, what you saw and felt was much worse. You could feel yourself linking to Vecna, every feeling he had ever felt about anything was now with you as well. You hated it. You saw his whole life play out right in front of you again in his perspective. You felt him in you. It all came back to him looking at you right in this moment, right now, his mind now in your own. You could see yourself screaming and begging him to stop. Blood from your wrist was pouring down onto the concrete hospital floor. You could feel his satisfaction at the link he had created. You could see what he wanted to do with you. He put a little bit of himself in your mind.

But that wasn't the worst part. He then showed you his plan. His plan to end the world. A gate started running all throughout Hawkins, four of them. "NO!" Monsters of all types coming into reality. "NO!" Max's mangled figure on the ground after being the fourth and final kill, Steve laying dead on the ground with Demo-Dogs surrounding him, Eddie getting his guts eaten by the bats, Dustin impaled by a sword, El's mangled body, Lucas with a knife through his skull, Mike with his brains blown out, Will being eaten alive by a Demogorgon, Nancy, Robin, and Jonathan all dead with a hole through their chest. "NO!" You scream.

"TELL HER." Vecna states, his words ringing throughout your mind. "NO! PLEASE!" You scream, watching as the clock chimes chimes four times, each chime someone dying. First Chrissy's mangled body appearing in your line of vision, then a boy with glasses, the one from the basketball team, then finally Max. "HELL NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!! LET ME OUT!!! BASTARD!" You scream, but to no avail. The link had been created, and now there was no going back. You didn't need to be in his head to know that.

But then you hear the sweet melancholy sound of Steve's voice singing Fly Me To The Moon. Your song. And you are finally pushed back into reality.

"Hey! Woah woah woah woah! It's okay! It's okay, come here. You're okay." Steve says, taking you slowly onto the ground before wrapping you in his arms. You were hyperventilating, mind going through everything you saw. Your wrist was throbbing, mind thumping even worse. You could feel everything ten times what you used to. You could feel Steve's distress, his regret, his anger with himself. Your eyes filled to the brim with tears, overstimulated by everything that was going on. You couldn't breathe. "It's okay. I'm right here, I got you, sweetheart. I'm right here. You're safe." He says, caressing your cheek, and wiping your tears. You were suddenly bombarded with more emotions, from yourself or him you couldn't tell. You sob harder, gripping into his shirt with a harsh grip. You couldn't lose him.

"It's ok, it's ok. I'm here." He says, stroking the side of your head softly. "I'm right here." He says again, to which you open your eyes slowly. Your mind kept repeating what you had just witnessed, tears falling out the corner of your eyes.

"He did... That bastard did something to me-"

"Shh.. Shh.. It'll be ok." He interrupts you, focusing instead on trying to console you, bringing your frail body up from the dusty ground and pulling you up close to his. You wrap your arms around him, letting his pine wood scent envelope you into a serene state. You were sure these feelings of worry and panic weren't yours. They felt foreign, yet so familiar. You were so confused.

You listen to his heart beat, willing yours to match his pace. Your breathing gets more steady, but you refuse to close your eyes. Every time you do you see every horrifying thing Vecna had showed you.

"Come on, love. We have to get out." He says softly, making you remember that you were still in the Upside Down. You glance warily at the rope that you had attempted to climb right before falling through into Vecnas nightmare fuel lair.

"I'll be right behind you, love." He consoles, rubbing your back encouragingly.

"WE FOUND SEMI-NORMAL MUSIC-" Robin yells, coming into view at the gaping hole of the gate to your normal reality. You wince at her yelling, even more emotions coming into your mind. They felt like Robin. She was so anxious, she didn't wanna lose another friend. You grasp your head, shaking it slowly but the emotions of both Steve and Robin didn't go away. You feel your eyes start to water up once again, but ignore it and instead look to the gaping hole in the ceiling. She was holding up a cassette tape of Aerosmiths album, 'Toys in the Attic.' She drops to her knees upon seeing you standing up.

"Thank God!" Steve shushes Robin upon seeing your still very much not okay face. "Can you climb, love?" He asks, leading you closer to the rope. Your mind was still in shock of what you had just witnessed, and your heart was still processing all these new different emotions that were not yours by any means.

"Yeah." You say, willing your voice not to crack. You would not appear weak. You put one hand after another onto the rope, eyes avoiding your wrist for the time being and instead focus on climbing up to freedom, praying to God that you wouldn't fall through to a different reality again.

You didn't.

Feeling the blood rush to your head, seeing the light of day on the other side of the gate, hope crashing through your chest as your hair falls through the gaping hole in the roof. You finally let go, crashing onto the suspicious mattress Eddie had found.

You bounced on the plush mattress, a smile spreading across your cracked lips as you smell the fresh air. You feel a weight crash next to you, looking over to see Steve looking over to you. You hold his gaze before putting shaky hands onto either side of your body, propelling yourself up.

"I need some time alone."

——————

You could feel everyone's worried presence on the other side of Eddie's closed door, probably all seated in the living room. You knew they were curious and antsy to know why you were still alive, but didn't want to ask. You knew they were all talking amongst themselves theories and talking about you.

You were currently wrapped up in Eddie's blankets, keeping residence in his small bedroom. You had just finished taking your frankly very relaxing and much needed shower. Getting off all of that dirt, blood, and grime off your body felt heven sent. The room was very messy and unkept, multiple porn magazines shrewd across the floor. You tried to avoid making eye contact with any of the provocative ladies residing on the front covers. In fact, you avoided looking at anything but the floor, wet hair dripping onto the once dry covers. You were in deep thought.

You didn't know why Vecna didn't just kill you. Nonetheless give you this ability that you didn't even want or ask for. You could still feel his presence in your mind. It was weak, and less present than it was, but it was still there. You shiver, drawing Eddie's covers closer to your body.

You pieced together that Vecna had put a part of himself in you, a piece of his ability. Being able to sense others presence and feel their emotions as if they were your own. You look down to your wrist where he had stabbed you, taking in the sight of your already scarred puncture marks.

You didn't know why.

Why you?

You draw in a shaky breath, mind going back to Max's dead body. She was the fourth kill, she had to be. You didn't know how you could stop this, but you were determined to.

You jump as you feel Steve's presence enter the door. That was another thing. You hadn't even thought how you were going to confront him and the fight you had earlier that day, but right now that was the least of your problems. You would talk to him about it later.

"Hey, Y/n... You ready?" Steve asks from the doorframe, feelings hesitant, voice steady and picking his words carefully. He saw you as a fragile glass cup about to break any second, and that made you upset.

"Don't talk to me like that." You state, voice a bit too harsh. He backs off. You let out a sigh. "Sorry, it's just- sorry..." You say, shaking your head before slipping off the bed and making your way over to Steve's side.

"Hey, hey- don't apologize." He says, catching your arm just before you could leave the room. Your breath hitches upon seeing those big brown doe eyes looking into your own. "It's okay, Y/n." He reassures you, giving you a small smile. You let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding in before giving him one back in return. That seemed to calm him down, shoulders getting seemingly less tense.

"I heard you." You say suddenly. "What?" He questions. "Singing Fly Me To The Moon... It helped me a lot... Thank you." You mutter out, making him smile down at you.

He responds by taking you gently under his arm, leading you into the living room. You tense up slightly, mind unwillingly going to Nancy and their time spent in the Upside Down together. Their flirtatious looks and moments together. You bite your lip, but don't take yourself out of his comforting touch.

"While you were gone we tried ringing the Byers, but they didn't answer. You don't have to do this, by the way. I mean- telling us what happened."

"I have to, Steve. I can't leave everyone in the dark." You state. You can feel the awkward tension you had created again and let out a sigh. You missed how you were before this happened. What if it got worse when you told him about your new ability?? What if he left you? Even worse, what if everyone else did too???

"Y/n!" You feel a slightly shorter figure crash into your own just as you entered the living room, him wrapping his arms around you tightly. The force knocks you out of Steve's arm around your shoulder. You immediately return the gesture and are bombarded with so many new feelings of the room.

There was no doubt that the person hugging you was Dustin. Poor guy was so stressed about you.

Your eyes go wide as you feel a stinging sensation on your cheek. Had Dustin just slapped you?! "Dustin, what the HELL?!-" Soft sounds of sobbing comes from your shirt as he immediately pulls you back into a tight hug. "I thought I lost you, goddammit! You could have died!!! I- I thought you died!" He sobs out, tears running down his cheeks shamelessly.

His anguish becomes your own as you feel every single emotion he felt as you were stuck in the Upside Down and Vecnas lair, and you aren't surprised when you start crying as well. You hated this new ability. It was then that you feel an extra pair of arms join the hug. "We all thought you were gone." Lucas says, choking on his words. You let out a strangled laugh. "I did too." You say, bringing him into your arms as well.

The emotions were overwhelming, it felt like your heart was about to rip in half, especially when you feel Max join the hug from behind. "Hey, hon." You say, tears blurring your vision.

You were then reminded of what you saw. What Vecna showed you. The reason you were out here. "We have a problem." You say finally, loosening your grip on the kids and letting them go. "Yeah, uh, we seem to have a lot of those now if you haven't noticed." Steve says, sticking a hand out to help you up.

"No shit, Sherlock." Max says from behind you, rolling her eyes. You snort, ignoring his hand and instead getting up on your own. Lucas and Dustin get up as well, making their way over to where the others were.

They seemed to be discussing something else before seeing you all enter back into the room. You were caught off guard by the multiple feelings in the room, and have to take a minute to compose yourself. You catch Nancy's eye from across the room where she was seated in the wooden chair across from the couch, eyebrow raised. You break the contact as you sit yourself onto the couch. Dustin immediately takes residence to the left of you, Steve sitting on your right, making Eddie move to the very end of the couch with now only a sliver of space left.

Robin was looking at anything but you from the floor at the end of the room, her pitying feelings towards you making you sick. Lucas and Erica went to their original spots at the end of the couch, leaving Max to stand in the doorframe.

"You're sure you wanna do this?" Eddie asks, leaning his head over Steve's frame to meet your eyes. You nod and jump when you feel Steve's arm snake around your waist, but you don't have the energy or patience to ask him to remove it. You really needed to talk to him.

"So..." You start, finding your shoelaces very interesting. "So....?" Nancy asks, urging you to continue. "Do you guys want me to start from the beginning? Or just tell you what's wrong with me now?"

"Woah woah woah, what's wrong with you?? You're not... Not cursed... Are you?" Steve asks, anxious for your answer. "No, no, nothing like that! Well..." You hesitate. "I'll just start from the beginning. I don't have Vecnas curse." You say, eyes flashing over to Max. You could feel Steve's rush of relief.

You take a deep breath, mentally preparing yourself for this talk.

"He showed me... Terrible things. Things from my past. He showed me... everyone whose ever died in my life." You shudder, slightly jumping when you feel Dustin's hand go to your own and rub comforting circles in it like you had done for him multiple times before.

"He then took me to his lair. Showed me all the victims. Their... Dead bodies..." You bite your lip, mind going to Chrissy's decaying body hung up. "He then showed me who he was before he was Vecna." You turn to Robin and Nancy. "He was that little Creel boy." You state. "He was like Eleven but more... Murdery. Killed his whole family, made them see things and made them think they were insane. Like a predator playing with its prey."

"He was then taken to a hospital, where he got numbered. That's when he..." You take a deep breath, feeling Steve's arm get slightly tighter against your waist in a comforting manner. You allow yourself to get lost in his pine scent. It calmed you.

"Before I tell you what happened... I need you guys to promise me you won't... Won't leave me. You guys are literally the only people I have left in my life now besides my Aunt." You say shakily, looking to everyone in the room.

"Y/n, nothing you could say would make us stop being friends with you. From the amount of times we've had sleepovers, we are practically family. Unless you pulled a major plot twist and revealed you're Vecna or something... Then we would have a bit of an issue, but even then!" Robin says, finally tearing her gaze from the floor and meeting your eyes. She was being so sincere it made you feel so grateful for the friends you had.

"She's right. We're all family now. Nothing can change that." Nancy agrees. Everyone nods and says their approval.

"Okay... Okay. I believe you guys. He... He strapped me down to a chair, vines constricting me... Then he... He took my wrist into his hand. And he stabbed me with his claws... And... I can still feel him. I can feel everything. All of your emotions. As if they were my own. I don't know why or how he did it but... He did."

Everyone fell silent.

Oh God. You messed up. You shouldn't have said anything. You could already feel Steve's absolute rage coming from the side of you. "I'm sorry-"

"You're sorry???! He hurt you!" Steve exclaimed. "He's hurt so many people, Steve! I'm lucky to be alive!" You say, turning to face him. "Let me see." He states. "What??" You ask. He rolls his eyes, taking your wrist gently into his hand. He grimaces at the puncture marks.

"Son of a bitch." He says, fury lacing his normally soft brown eyes. "Steve!" Nancy exclaims from the chair. He looks over to her. "Calm down. Take a few if you need to." She says gently, making your heart tense up. He purses his lips, and you could tell he was trying to calm himself down. He kept his hand on your wrist, gently stroking where Vecna hurt you.

"That's... That's okay. We can't blame you for something that you can't control. Besides, it can be useful! And plus, we can have Eleven help you... But... Did... Anything else happen?" Dustin asks hesitantly, picking the conversation back up from where it was left off before. "Yeah... Yeah, one more thing." You say, looking over to Max. She takes in a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst.

"He showed me... Things that haven't happened yet. The most awful things... There was a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins. Downtown was on fire. Dead soldiers. And this... Giant creature with... a gaping mouth. And, this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters. An army..." You turned to Dustin. "His army." He looked down at his hands. "They came into Hawkins. Into our neighborhoods. Our homes. And then- he showed me all of you... He showed me how all of you would die. How we would lose.... I saw all of you- Die." You say, your voice cracking, tears blurring your vision, breathing getting shakier and harder to breathe.

Your brain repeated each scene as you let it out.

"Okay but... He's just trying to scare you, Y/N, right? I mean... I mean it's not real." Steve says from the side of you, dropping your wrist and instead rubbing your back gently. He seemed to have calmed himself down. "But... But it will be. He was showing me his plan... And... There was- there was something else... He showed me gates. Four gates. Spreading across Hawkins. And these gates, they looked like the one outside Eddie's trailer... But they didn't stop growing. And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins, this was our Hawkins." You say, letting out a choked sob. Steve puts his hands up to his mouth,  going down to his knees in deep thought.

"Four chimes." Max says finally, making you draw your eyes up to meet her own. "Vecnas clock. It always chimes four times. Four exactly."

"I heard them too... He showed me everyone- everyone who died... Where they died." You say, willing the fourth one to not be true.

"He's been telling us his plan this whole time."

"Four kills." Lucas says. "Four gates." He continues, looking over to Max. "End of the world..."

"If that's true... He's only one kill away." Dustin comments, looking from you to Max. "Oh, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ..." Eddie whimpers, putting his face into his hands. You wished you could comfort him, but you were too caught up in your own thoughts to get to his.

"Try 'em again. Try 'em again." Steve says, urging Max to go pick up the phone to ring the Byers home again. She obliges, picking up the phone before dialing in the number, and letting the line ring.

She puts it back. "Anything?" Dustin asks hopefully even though he already knew the answer. "No, rang a few times then went to busy signal. Again." Max says, annoyed with the outcome.

"Maybe you punched it in wrong. Try it again." Steve suggests. "I didn't punch it in wrong." She says, rolling her eyes. "Well, I don't know!"

"Dude, I think she knows how to use a phone." Dustin comments from the side of you, making you let out a weak snort. It was better than nothing.

"I'm just saying she could've typed it in wrong."

Max puts the phone back onto the receiver in an annoyed manner, letting out a sigh. "Same shit." She says.

"How is that possible?" Lucas asks. "I told you, Joyce had this telemarketer job, always on the phone, Mike wouldn't stop whining about it before he went off the grid." Dustin explains, trying to hide the fact that he was internally panicking for his other friends who resided across the country. "Okay yeah but this phones been busy for, what, three days now? That's not Joyce." Max argues.

"She's right. Something's definitely wrong. I don't know how, but they're connected to this just like we are, I'm sure of it... But Vecna can't hurt them." You say finally, bringing your head up to meet Max's gaze.

"He can't hurt any of us." You continue cooly, looking around the room to see everyone's questioning gazes. "Not if he's dead." You say.

"I agree. We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down." Nancy finally says, getting up from her seat. She was determined to kill him. You meet her eyes and nod.

"Woah, no, no, no, what???" Steve questions, grabbing your wrist as if that would deter your planning. "Nope!" Eddie agrees, shaking his head vigorously.

"Let's think this through!" Steve exclaims, standing up and looking to both you and Nancy. "What is there to think through???" You question.

"We barely made it out of there the first time! You could have died! I could have died!"

"Yeah, but we didn't, Steve. We didn't. And this time, we'll be prepared." You state, standing up yourself and grabbing your arm back from his hand. He hated this idea, you knew it, but what other option was there? Let Vecna have his way and kill Max, potentially the whole world too?? Not under your watch.

"This time, we'll have weapons, protection, and a plan. We know what we're getting into this time, Steve." Nancy says, looking at Steve determined. "We'll go through the gate, find his lair, and we'll kill him." You say, already planning how you were gonna pull this off.

"Or he'll kill us! The only reason you survived is because he wanted you to! He's not scared of us." Steve snaps back.

"And for good reason." Robin says, coming into the conversation and getting up from her spot on the floor to meet the three of you in the center of the small room.

"We were wrong about Vecna... Henry... One- sorry, what are we calling him now??" Robin questions, turning to Dustin for an answer. "One." Dustin states, making Erica roll her eyes. "Vecna." She says. "One!" Lucas argues. "Henry." Nancy says. "It doesn't matter!" You exclaim, rolling your eyes at their child like behavior.

"Right. We've learned something new about Vecna/slash/Henry/slash/One! He's a number just like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering, power giving, version of her with really bad skin. But- my-my-my point is, he's super powerful! Way more powerful than any of us, no offense Y/n." You shrug, she wasn't wrong.

"He could turn us inside out with the snap of his fingers! It's not a fair fight."

"So then why fight fair?" Dustin jumps in from his spot on the couch, making you all turn to him with questioning gazes. "You're right, he's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Elevens strengths and weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?" Erica scoffs, sitting down next to Eddie. "He's right. When El remote travels she goes into a sort of trance like state. I've seen her do it multiple times before." You state, glancing at Max, making her eyes go wide as she remembers the sleepover from just last year. "I'll bet you 100 bucks that the same is true for Vecna." You finish.

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic." Lucas says. "Exactly! When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that same attic, physical body defenseless!"

"Defenseless? What about the army of bats?" Steve finally asks, joining into the conversation again. "True we will have to think up a distraction or something, but that's the easiest part. Between me and my brother, we can think of something." You say confidently, looking to Dustin with a smirk on your face, catching his shit eating one.

"But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance! It'll be like slaying a sleeping Dracula in his own coffin!" Dustin agrees.

"That all sounds good in theory, but there is no pattern to Vecnas killing or at least not one that I can decipher. We don't know when he's going to attack next, we don't even know who he's going to attack next-"

"Yes we do." Max finally speaks up. "I can still feel him. I'm still... Marked. Cursed. And I'll bet you anything Y/n saw me as the last kill in the vision, didn't you?" You bite your lip, looking anywhere but at Max.

"Exactly. So. I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me."

"Max. You can't. He'll kill you." Lucas states. "He's right. I won't let you." You say, shaking your head. There had to be another way. "I've survived before. I can survive again."

"No. It's too risky." You say again.

"Y/n, if I don't do this, so many others will suffer. I'll be okay. Just- trust me. 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, blow him up with some explosive Dustin and Y/n cook up- I honestly really don't care how you put this asshole into his grave just... Whatever it is... Whatever you do... Try not to miss." She says, giving you all a wary smirk.

"Okay, this is all good in theory, but there's one problem... Where the hell are we gonna get the supplies to do all this?" Robin finally asks, and Eddie finally speaks up, giving you all a smile.

"I know a place."

——————-

You were all surrounding Eddie's small dining room table, a large newspaper covering the whole top. You were sandwiched once again between your brother and Steve. Eddies finger was pointing to the one small box that had a man in a boat with the American flag as the background.

"Check this out. The War Zone. I've been there once, it's huge. They got everything you need for, uh, well, killing things basically."

"You think fake Rambo has enough guns in there?" Robin asks, cutting Eddie off. "Is that a grenade? And I mean, how is any of this legal?" She finishes.

"Well, uh, lucky for us it is, so... This- this place is just far enough outside of Hawkins, as long as we steer clear of main roads, we oughta be able to avoid cops and, uh, angry hicks..."

"If we're trying to avoid angry hicks, maybe we shouldn't go to some store called War Zone." Erica states, voice laced with sarcasm.

"Normally I'd agree but- we need the weapons so I think it's worth the risk." Nancy says. "I agree." You state. "Yeah but is it worth the time? It'll take all day to bike there and back..." Dustin asks.

"Who said anything about bikes, Dusty?"

"You've got some hidden car we don't know about?" Steve asks, looking down to you.

"No, but haven't you seen any adventure movie? We can just hijack a car!"

"We are so not doing that."

"Why not???"

"Because it's illogical!"

"Your face is illogical."

"Your-"

"Children, children! Enough. I've gotta plan. Though, it's not exactly a car, per say... And it's not exactly mine, but uh, it'll do."

"HOLY SHIT ARE WE ACTUALLY HIJACKING A VEHICLE?!" You ask, excitedly shifting your weight from side to side. Steve puts his hands up to his temples.

"Actually- yeah. Yeah, we're totally hijacking a vehicle. Hey, Red, uh, you gotta ski mask or a bandanna, something like that?" Eddie asks, looking to Max expectantly.

She shrugs. "I think I got something."

—————

Smuggling a Michael Myers Eddie across the whole neighborhood was not how you expected to spend this frankly beautiful afternoon, but you can't say you're surprised.

Eddie signals that the coast was clear with his hand, all of you trailing after him. As you passed by a few trailer houses, an RV finally comes into your line of vision and you can't help but smile. This was the best idea Eddie ever had.

He leads you to the back of the large portable home, going to the back window and opening it for everyone to climb through. He hoists himself up, you not far behind.

You land on multiple pillows, grateful that's what greeted your body instead of a hard tiled floor. "That was suffocating." Eddie complains, immediately taking the mask off before hurriedly racing to the front of the vehicle.

"Come on! That's right, I gotcha." You say, Lucas through next, Max and Dustin following. Once the kids were through, you immediately go to the front to check what Eddie was doing, knowing the other three could get through the window just fine.

You walk over to the shotgun seat, watching as Eddie pulls out many wires. You can feel Steve's curious energy from right behind you, leaning over Eddie's seat to watch as well.

"Where'd you learn how to do this?" He asks. "Well, when the other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or play ball, my old man was teaching me how to hot-wire. Now, I swore myself I wouldn't wind up like he did, but now I'm wanted for murder, and soon grand theft auto so uh, I'm really living up to that Munson name." He says, flicking two wires together to try to spark it back to life.

"It's okay. My dad was teaching me how to shoot a gun. And we are going to get you out of this." You state confidently. Steve looks over to you with a questioning gaze. "You can shoot a gun?" He asks, cocking his head ever so slightly.

"Would prefer not to." You state. "Um, Eddie, Im not sure I love the idea of you driving." Robin says, coming up behind Steve and putting her hand on his shoulder to balance herself before she face planted into the radio.

"Oh, I'm just starting this sucker. Harringtons got her. Don't ya big boy?" He asks, pulling his face ever so much closer to his. Steve processes what just happened, giving Eddie a very confused look.

He flicks the wires together, grinning proudly to himself as the engine starts, 'Up Around the Bend' starting to blast through the speakers.

You jump as you hear banging and shouting start from on your door, making you back away ever so slightly. "Think that's your cue, Harrington!" You shout, feeling their rage through the metal door, motioning him to get into the seat. "Shit, go!" He exclaims, jumping over the seat, allowing Eddie to escape just before landing.

"It's just a car." He reassures himself. "EVERYBODY, HANG ON TO SOMETHING!" He yells to the back, looking to make sure he was clear. "Oh my God! Let's go let's go!"

"DRIVE STEVE DRIVE!!!" Dustin yells. "GO!" You join in, watching as he slams on the accelerator, making you jolt, nearly falling off your seat if it hadn't been for Steve's sturdy shoulder holding you steady.

It was then that you remember that he was still indeed shirtless, minus Eddie's sleeveless jean jacket. "We need to clean your wounds." You say out of pocket. "I THINK THATS THE LEAST OF OUR PROBLEMS AT THE MOMENT, HENDERSON!" He exclaims, keeping a firm grip on the wheel despite your death grip on his shoulder.

"Shit, they look pissed!"

"I mean it's not every day you lose your house and car in one fell swoop!" You laugh at her statement, enjoying the adrenaline rush you got from the speeding vehicle going down the steep hill. You let go of Steve's shoulder, grinning and laughing the whole way down.

"HOLD ON HOLD ON!" He yells as he cuts the wheel, making a sharp turn and knocking over a few trash cans in the process.

"WOOO!!!" You scream, laughing the most you had in days. "I THINK THAT WAS 30 POINTS, HARRINGTON!" You exclaim, bursting into laughter once again. His lips curl into a smirk at your words.

"Oookay!" He says, biting his lip as he makes another turn, finally getting the hang of the large RV. You finally get to the main road, allowing everyone to calm down.

"That was so fun!!! LETS DO IT AGAIN!"

"NO." Everyone shouts from the back, making you burst into giggles again. "You're insane." Steve says, playfully nudging you with his shoulder.

"How are your bites by the way?" He asks suddenly, interrupting the silence. "'I think that's the least of our problems at the moment'." You say, quoting him from just moments before, giving him a cocky smirk, making him scoff and roll his eyes.

"But not bad. I think Vecna must've fiddled with my pain tolerance too." You say. "No, you've always been insanely strong." He says, shaking his head slowly. You can feel your cheeks get warm at his remark.

"You too! I mean, look at you! You got your stomach torn apart and you're taking it like a champ." You state, motioning to his wounds. "And you got your back torn apart. I would take the stomach over the back any day, because if it's your back... If it's your back it hurts to lean back on anything." He says, trying to explain his logic to you using his one free hand, the other one on the steering wheel.

"At least you get a free excuse to be shirtless for the ladies, am I right?" You ask, taking in a sharp breath and looking down. You jump as he takes one of your hands into his own. "No. You're the only one who can see this." He says, making you cringe.

"Jesus, Harrington. That was a sad attempt of flirting. You really are losing your touch." You joke, making him mock being hurt. "Me?? Nah, that's all you sweetheart." He says, the nickname making your heart skip a beat. Two can play at that game.

"Aw hell no, I'm the biggest heart throb here, love."

"Must've taken a few pointers from me, darling."

"No, you doofus." You say, laughing at his hurt expression. The two of you sit in a comfortable silence, before his emotions turn uncharacteristically serious.

"Are we ever gonna talk about it, Y/n?" He asks finally. "That's up to you. You started it." You say childishly.

"I know. I'm sorry, Y/n. I really am. You're not stupid. I am. I know you would never do that to me. I just... I got reminded of Jonathan. You're allowed to talk to anyone you want. I'm so lucky to have you in my life, you really are the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I love you so damn much, Y/n." You could feel your eyes start to water up, his feelings sincere and genuine. The love he had for you. You really didn't deserve it.

"I'm sorry too, Steve. I should have talked to you about this sooner. I missed you. And I'm sorry for assuming things about you and Nancy, even if I didn't really say anything about it."

"Nancy?? Oh hell no, never doing that again. She's just a friend. Honestly, I was hanging around with her more because I wanted to get you jealous... I wanted you to feel about how I felt about you and Eddie. Sorry." He states, making you laugh at his pettiness.

"So damn petty."

"You know you like it."

"No, I don't. Not that time." You say, shooting his attempt to flirt down. "But you do the other times, huh?" He asks in a low voice. "Maybe... What's it to you?" You ask, leaning over to him and staring into his brown eyes, which flashed to the road every so often. He looks down to your lips before going back to the wheel fully.

"I don't really care."

"Bullshit." You call his bluff immediately.

"Yeah... Yeah, you're so right." He admits, making you snort. "I can't wait for all of this to be over..." You state, making Steve nod from the side of you.

"I'm assuming she handles alright?" You ask, motioning to Steve's now relaxed body. "Not half bad, actually. Considering that this is a... House." He says, looking over to you. "Yeah it's... It's silly but I... I've actually, um..." You laugh at his sudden shyness. "Go on." You encourage.

"I've always had this dream that I'd have this really... Really big family. A full brood of Harringtons, like, five, six kids."

"Jesus Christ, six??"

"Yeah. Six little nuggets. Three girls, three boys. And, and every summer, I figured all of us Harringtons, we would pack into something like this and... Just see the country. You know, the Rockies, Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. End up on some beachside town in California. Spend a week parked in the sand. Learn how to surf or something." He finishes. You immediately reach over and put a hand on his thigh.

"That sounds... Almost exactly like mine. We would live in this big old house in the middle of no where, big land for everyone to run and play on. We would have, I don't know, maybe horses?? Definitely some cats and dogs." You say, laughing softly at the thought of this life.

"Cept there's one issue."

"Which is?"

"There is no way in hell that I am pushing six kids out of my vagina." You state, making Steve sputter at your suddenness. Once he recovers, he looks over back to you, laughing at the out of pocket statement you just said.

"I can be very convincing."

"There is zero way, Harrington."

"Please?"

"Six kids? That sounds like a total nightmare!"

"Yeah, if only we had some practice." He says, motioning to the back, making you laugh. "I guess you got me there." You were then entranced with the thought of a big family, no troubles except for the minor mishaps and mischief your children would create. You smile.

"I see you there." He says suddenly. "Well I sure hope you would!" You say, laughing at his dumbfounded face. "I would love to have that life with you, Steve. I see you in my future. I always have, ever since I realized I had a major crush on you last year. I can't imagine anyone else or better to be my husband." You say, looking over to him softly.

"And I can't imagine anyone else or better to be my wife." He says, looking back gently, eyes flashing to the road every so often. "But not right now."

"Of course not right now!" You exclaim. "Even if we weren't on a mission to save the entire ass planet, I wouldn't want to get married right now. I want to at least finish school, and I want us two to go to college. Then once we graduate, settle down, both find good paying jobs, then I will marry you." You state not imply.

"God, I love you so much."

"Likewise." You say back, leaning into his touch as he reaches his hand over and puts it on your upper thigh. You retract your own which still resided on his, putting it on top of his hand, drawing small shapes onto it.

It's then that you notice Max and Lucas talking discreetly in the back. You immediately nudge Steve's shoulder. "Look." You say, motioning to the two in the back. "Seems like we aren't the only ones rekindling a flame." He says. "Oh, so poetic, Harrington."

"I try." You scoff, a smile set on your face as you watch the two interact. You could feel the love the two still had for each other even when you were sitting from the opposite side of them in the van.

You could also feel Steve's happiness and giddiness of having you back. He genuinely missed you. He was so scared he messed up everything between the two of you.

It's then that you take his hand into your own, squeezing it gently before bringing it up to your lips, giving it a soft kiss. "Nothing you can say will make me leave you." You reassure him. He gives you wide eyes before chuckling softly.

"It's like you can read my mind now... It's gonna take some time getting used to." He says, making you look down. "I wish I could just turn it off." You grumble.

"Hey, hey, we'll fix this. If we kill Vecna, maybe it'll go away. Even if it doesn't, Eleven can help you, I'm sure of it." He reassures you.

You finally see a large sign enter your line of vision.

"WAR ZONE
-------------------
*ARMY *NAVY *SURPLUS *
ʟᴀʀɢᴇsᴛ sᴛᴏᴄᴋ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴀʀᴍs ɪɴ ʜᴀᴡᴋɪɴs

              ᴀʀᴍ                               ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟꜰ
        ʙᴏᴏᴛs                            sʜᴏʀᴛs
              ᴅᴜꜰꜰʟᴇ          ʙᴀɢ
                      ᴏᴘᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪᴄ"

Huge rockets were on the side of the insanely large sign, the building an army green color with cars packed everywhere a spot was located.

Everyone mutually agreed that the side of the building would be the best place for the large RV, and you stood up just as Steve put the vehicle into park.

"All right everyone listen up! Dustin, Eddie, you two stay in here."

"What?! Why me?"

"Because I said so." You retort, throwing your brother that said 'if you don't listen I will kick your ass later' and he backed off. "Everyone else under the age of 17, stay with one of us. Or at least in our line of vision. Everybody look out for one another, don't get kidnapped, and don't die. That's all I gotta say." You say, and with that you hop out of the RV and start towards the entrance of the War Zone.

You can feel Robins anxious emotions trailing after you, hand catching you by the shoulder. "Lucas isn't coming."

"Probably for the best." You agree before putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, Robin. I'll be with you the whole time." You say, alluding to her panicked state of mind. She looks stunned for a second before remembering your newfound ability.

"Thanks, Y/n." She says, and with that you reach the glass doors with shopping carts scattered around it. You can sense the others filling in around you, grabbing a cart of their own. "Everyone ready-"

Before you can even finish your sentence, Erica bursts through the door. You shrug before following her. As you walk through the door, you sway a bit as everyone's feelings in the store hits you like a bulldozer. "Woah, you okay?" Steve asks, catching you right before you could fall. "Yeah- yeah... Just... Give me a second." You say, taking in deep breaths, allowing everything to settle. You finally open your eyes. This place wasn't kidding when it called itself the War Zone. It had everything you could think of in it, every weapon you could even imagine.

"So much for avoiding angry hicks..." Robin says from the side of you. "Let's be... Fast." Nancy responds. "Yep."

"Definitely." You all say in agreement. "Where do you wanna go to first?" You ask to the group you found yourself in. "Clothes." Steve states, motioning to his still shirtless form.

"Do they even have those?" Robin asks. "Let's go find out." You say, leading them to the back of the store. If they had anything, it was bound to be back there.

"Bingo." You say, smiling as you see the 'CLOTHES' sign. Luckily, the alcohol and fuel was right next to it. You nudge Steve, drawing his attention to you before he could go find something decent to wear. "We'll be here, try to find something for us as well." You say, motioning to your ragged clothes. "Will do, Henderson." He says before heading off to the clothing section.

"Does he even know our sizes?"

"Eh, he'll figure it out." You say, pushing the cart to the alcoholic section, groaning when you see their poor selection. "What??" Robin asks, peeking over your shoulder. "Shitty taste." You grumble, throwing some cans into the cart. She scrunches her nose at the sight of the selection they had.

You see Steve round the corner again, holding a stack of clothes. "How many of these do you think we need?" Robin asks as he throws on the brown leather jacket on hastily and tosses the clothes into the cart. "Five or six." He says, your face warming up at the sight of his disheveled look that he pulled off so well.

"Jacket looks good on you." You state, making him throw you a smile. You take more cans off the top shelf as Steve goes for the bottom. You feel Robins heart skip a beat.

"You good?" You ask, looking around before seeing Vickie just two aisles over. "Oh." You state, a smirk growing on your face. Steve puts his arm onto the shelf, leaning over you to face Robin.

"What you gonna do Robin? Just stand here and gawk at her?"

"Shut up." She says, shifting her weight before taking a step forward and-

"BAH!" A man sounds from behind Vickie, taking her arms into his hands. "Ah!" She yelps, making Robin back off.

"Jesus, you scared me!" She exclaims, making the man in the blue letterman chuckle. "Woah. You gonna mace me with that?" He asks, looking down at the weapon she had. "If it keeps you in line, yeah." You could feel Robins heart break with every word they said to each other.

And then, they kissed.

You could feel Robins whole world spinning, a pit in your stomach grew and it felt like you had to throw up. Then, Vickie looks over to Robin as the unknown man leaves a trail of kisses down her neck.

You close your eyes, focusing in on the couple in front of you. The feelings were faked, you were sure of it. The kiss wasn't genuine. There was a strain on their relationship for some reason, but as you open your eyes and turn to tell Robin, she turns around and runs off.

"Robin. Robin!" Steve says, trying to stop her but failing as she runs towards the restrooms. Steve turns to follow her, but you catch his arm, stopping him. "Give her a moment." You say gently. He lets out a sigh. "Okay... Yeah, let's see what else we can find." He says, taking your hand into his own and leading you around the store.

"Holy shit!!!" You exclaim, stopping dead in your tracks. "What??" Steve asks. "ITS AXEL 3.0!!!!" You say, jumping excitedly up and down at the sight of your now third axe. Steve let's out a long sigh, putting a hand up to the bridge of his nose, the other one going immediately to his hip.

"I know you're joking."

"But Steeeeeevvvveeeeee!"

"Why do you need a third axe???"

"I don't, but you might." You say, turning to him. "Pleaaseeeee, I can teach you!"

"Teach me what??"

"The art of axemanship."

"That's not even a real thing."

"It is now." You retort, taking the axe from its spot on the wall, bowing your head with the axe placed in the palms of both your hands. Steve scoffs, rolling his eyes before taking it from your grasp.

"Now what are you gonna use??" He asks. You shrug. "Dunno. There's gotta be something here though." You say, taking Steve's free hand into your own and dragging him. "Bow and arrow?" You ask, coming across a pretty one hung up just like the axe.

"Have you ever shot a bow and arrow?"

"....no."

"Then no. I don't think you can learn how to use it in the span of less than a day effectively." He states, dragging you away from the weapon, making you let out a groan.

You stop suddenly once again. "How about some daggers?" You ask, motioning to the sharp objects on the table. They were even on sale!

"Actually... I think that's your best bet." He says, making you smile up to him. You take the set gently into your hands. It was a set of 6 nicely kept daggers kept in a beautiful ivory box, engravings carved by hand.

The daggers themselves were very intricate in design, each of the handles having a different gemstone. The actual sharp part of the weapon had carvings in them, vines going up and down. They were very beautiful. What made it better was that there was a weapon belt right next to which the daggers would fit nicely into.

Just before you can try it on, Steve suddenly grabs your shoulder, starting to head towards the exit door. You can feel his unease eating away at him as he sees something that startled him. "What is it??"

"Hush." He says in response. "Get to the car. Now. I'll meet you there, I gotta go get Robin." You send him a questioning gaze before spotting one of Jason's little minions in the corner of your eye.

"Go!" He whisper yelled to you. You nod, catching Erica's eye from across the room before pointing to the door. She nods, getting what you were saying. You see that Max was with Nancy, already at the door.

You regroup with Erica halfway through the shop, both pushing your very full shopping carts. You meet Nancy at the front. "You're paying right?" You ask her, to which she nods. Luckily there was no line.

"I'm gonna take the kids back. Check everything out, Steve and Robin are already on their way back." You say, seeing the two round the corner back from the restrooms. "Sounds good." She says.

You salute to her before rushing the two kids out of the store. "Hurry, hurry. Keep up." You whisper yell to the two, dragging them along much to their continued grumbling.

You see the RV come into your line of vision and immediately start walking faster. "I can walk by myself!" Erica exclaims, ripping your arm off her shoulder.

You finally come next to the door and slam it open. "What happened??" Lucas immediately asks. "We gotta go." You say, helping Erica and Max up, seeing the other three close behind with a load of bags in their arms.

"Your old friends are here!" Erica exclaims, going to the back where her seat was. "Shit!" Lucas shouts, moving out the way as Max enters.

It didn't take long for the other three to finally get into the van, with you helping take the groceries. "Okay, let's go!" You yell to Steve who was already in the front seat, letting him know everyone was here. You did a head count just in case to confirm that.

"Let's go let's go!!!" Dustin yells just as you fall into the shotgun seat. "IM GOING IM GOING! SIT DOWN!" He yells back, putting the vehicle into drive before tearing out of the parking space and down to the main road.

"Where to now??" You ask, looking to the back to see if anyone had any ideas. "Junkyard?" Dustin suggests. "No... It's too close to home." You say. "What about the hill where Cerebro is?" Lucas asks.

"That could work..."

"What about... Enzo's hill?" Steve asks finally, using code as no one besides Robin knew the two of you were dating. It took you a second to get that he was talking about the hill he took you to right after your date night.

"Enzo's hill?" Nancy questions from the back. "It's about thirty minutes out. There's a nice little meadow too, surrounded by woods, a perfect spot to hide in for the time being." Steve explains. "I think that's our best bet then." You agree.

"I think so too." Nancy jumps in from the back. You nod. "That's our place then." You state confidently. "Your wish is my command." Steve says, smirking at your now bright red face.

Everyone finally starts to settle down, relaxing now knowing that you weren't being followed. "What clothes did you get me, by the way?" You ask out of the blue.

"Although you would look better with none, I got you a tshirt and jeans with one of these jackets." He says, pointing to his own jacket as reference. "Oh, okay." You say, before rethinking about what he said, making you do a double take.

"Wait, what??" Steve bursts into laughter, finding it amusing how you only just now got his insinuation. "You heard me, didn't you?" He asks in a low voice, sending shivers down your spine.

"Suddenly, I'm deaf." You say sarcastically. You both sit in a tranquil silence after that, and it's only then that you realize how tired you were. You let out a long yawn. "Sleep, love. You've had a long day. I'll wake you up when we get there." He says gently, and you nod, not needing to be told twice.

You finally drift into a nice, dreamless sleep.

——————-

You overlook everyone getting prepared for the battle you were about to go into. You still hadn't decided if you wanted to go with Eddie and Dustin, Robin, Nancy, and Steve, or Lucas, Max, and Erica. You went over your options in the car ride as everyone went over the plan and solidified it to make sure there wouldn't be any mistakes made.

You had finally gotten changed into new clothes, not letting Steve watch as you did so (he was so sad about it), and they were surprisingly pretty comfortable. The shirt was a plain white tee with comfortable camo jeans to complement it, your brown combat boots matching the outfit perfectly. You had the brown leather jacket wrapped around your waist, concealing the weapon belt that was wrapped firmly around your hips with four of the six daggers you had gotten. One was in your shoe (in case something happened to the others), and the other resided in your hand.

Fiddling with the ruby dagger in your hand, you walk over to Nancy and Max, who were working on the shotgun. "Is this legal?" You could hear Max ask.

"Actually, I think it's a felony."

"And it isn't the worst thing we've done so far, not by a long shot." You state, putting a hand on one of Max's shoulders, making her relax instantly despite your previous words.

"Right."

"But, it guarantees one thing. I won't miss." Nancy says, determination filling her eyes right as she bangs off the part of the shotgun she had sawed off with her elbow.

"You figure out who you're going with?" Max asks suddenly, making you shrug your shoulders. "Nope. I'm a last minute typa person anyways." You state, and with that you walk away and over to Dustin and Eddie, who were more downhill.

"How she feeling, Eddie?" You ask, flipping the ruby dagger in your hand before putting it back in your belt, bending down to Dustin's level. "Light, but durable." Eddie replies, lifting the nail infested shield up to the sky. "Deadly! But reliable." He says, making many poses with it before finally letting it fall to his hip, making Dustin chuckle.

He suddenly points his finger out towards you, dramatically stepping on his stool. "Hear me now! There will be no more retreating!! From Eddie the Banished." He finishes, returning to his normal voice as he steps off the stool.

"Hey, you're really ready for bat-tle." Dustin says, standing up slowly. You slowly turn your head to him, gawking at his words. "Holy shit..." You whisper. He lets out a short chuckle at Eddie's dumbfounded face.

"You get it?? BAT-tle..."

"My God..." You say again. "Dustin!" He turns his head to you. "YOU MADE A PUN!!!" You say proudly, taking his head into your arms and giving him a good, satisfactory noogie in the head.

"AYE! LET GO!!!" He exclaims, trying but failing to get free from your grasp. You let out a big snort as you feel him start to tickle your sides, falling into senseless laughter as your brother gets the better of you. "MERCY!!! MERCY!!!!" You scream, running out of breath as he runs his fingers under your neck as well.

"URRAH!!" You hear Eddie yell suddenly, feeling Dustin's weight get pushed off you by another force. You laugh hysterically as you watch Eddie tackle Dustin to the ground, it turning into an all out wrestling match.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE SAME TEAM HERE!!!" He exclaims, finally pushing Eddie of him. "Son of a bitch!" Dustin exclaims before running back at him, catching Eddie off balance and gaining the upper hand.

You smile brightly as you watch the two play fight. "NO WEDGIES NO WEDGIES!!!!"

"Hey, Y/n!" You hear Robin call from the top of the hill. You look up to see both her and Steve holding up alcohol bottles, inviting you to go join them. "Coming!" You yell back, standing up from your place on the ground before wiping off the grass that was most certainly stuck to you.

"Oof, that spear looks pretty sad." You say as you pass Lucas's lawn chair. "See! I keep telling him it's too loose!" Erica exclaims from the side of him. You make a 'tsk' sound. "Listen to your sister, dingus." You state, patting his head before continuing your trail up to the other two.

"It doesn't make sense, does it??" Steve immediately bombards you as you come into his line of vision. "What doesn't make sense?" You ask, a bit confused. You urge him to move further down the ice chest, to which he obliges, allowing you to sit down next to him as he pours the alcohol into a glass.

"Vickie and Dan Shelter. He graduated, like, two years ago."

"So?" Robin interrupts. "So he's in college, which means he was visiting on spring break, Fast Times was returned, like, I don't know, a week ago? Right? Unless she's got some horndog brother we don't know about... Which, is possible. Or she's just like... Really into Judge Reinhold?"

"Steve!" Robin exclaims, cutting him off of his ramble. "What?"

"I don't care!" She says, lying straight through her teeth. "Bull."

"Shut up!" She exclaims, running a stressed hand through her hair. "Listen, Robin, that kiss wasn't genuine! I felt it. There was a strain on their relationship."

"Usually when there's a strain on the relationship, you don't kiss it out."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Y/n! Just- stop. I don't understand why you two care so much with everything that's going on. Honestly, this feels like a perfect time for that little pull of the rug because... In the face of the world ending, the stakes of my love life fall spectacularly low." She says, her heart breaking with every word.

"I mean... I get it, but... You still have to have hope." Steve says, looking into her eyes sadly.

"Not everything has a happy ending." She says, letting out a sigh. She felt jealous of what you and Steve had. "I know, Robin... I know." You say, trying to reassure her as Steve pulls up the funnel for her to pour the fuel into.

"I'm not talking about failed romance." Robin says, catching your drift. "I just... I have this terrible, gnawing feeling that... It might not work out for us this time." She says, looking between Steve and you.

"You think we shouldn't be doing this?" Steve asks exactly what you were thinking. "I... Think we're mad fools, the lot of us, but..." Her eyes travel down to watch as Nancy fires the gun, Max right by her side, letting out a sigh. "But if we don't stop him, who will?" She asks. Your eyes travel down to watch Dustin and Eddie have a battle with their shields, then to Lucas and Erica testing out their spears.

"We have to try. Right?" You ask, leaning over Steve to reach Robins eyes. "Yeah." She replies. Steve then pulls out a bottle. "To killing Vecna." He says, tilting the glass towards the two of you. Robin reaches down to grab her own. "Slash Henry." She says, tilting the bottle to him.

"Slash One." You say, getting another bottle and tilting it towards the other two. You all clink glasses gently before setting them back down.

"All done?" You ask, motioning to the empty fuel bottles. "Think so." Steve says, getting up from his spot on the ice chest, wiping his knees clean.

You follow his lead, starting to put the glasses into the ice chest, the others doing the same. "So... Your dad taught you how to shoot a gun?" Steve asks suddenly. You take in a sharp breath. "Sorry... I just don't know anything about your real parents."

"Me neither, besides your dad being an asshole and both being practically nonexistent." You say. "We all got parental issues, huh?" Robin sounds from the other side of you.

"Guess so." You say, uncomfortable with the subject. "Can we talk about this later?" You ask finally. "Course, Y/n. I was just curious." Steve says innocently.

"I know... And I'll tell you guys everything, I promise. Once everything is over." You say, making the other two nod. "Hey guys! It's about time we hit the road!" Steve yells to the others downhill, who all nod in agreement. "Just finished down here!" Lucas says, pointing to his good as new spear. It looked much better.

"Looks good, Sinclair!" You yell back. "Thanks!" He shouts back as Erica rolls her eyes at both your antics. You help both Steve and Robin haul the chest back into the van as the others walk back up to where you were located. Steve gets into the drivers seat, you still helping load weapons into the car.

Once you were done, you took residence back at the front seat. Steve puts the RV into drive, backing out of the meadow you currently resided in, and set course to the highway just up ahead.

"Figure out who you're going with yet?" He asks. "No. I wish there were multiple me's so I could protect you all." You say, letting out a sigh. He laughs at your statement. "Well, to narrow down your choices, you're sure as hell not going with my team. It's just too dangerous, plus since all of the older kids minus Eddie is going, I think we'll be good." You let out a hum.

"I want to protect Dustin. I don't know if I would be able to forgive myself if something were to happen but... I trust Eddie. He wouldn't let something happen to Dustin." You say.

"I think your best bet is going with Max. It's the safest for you, and they need an older kid with them to supervise. Make sure no one dies. Especially Max. Plus, it makes things easier on me. Once everything's over and done with, you can drive back over to Eddie's and we can regroup." He finishes, making you nod. "I was leaning towards Max anyways, since she's the one in imminent danger, so I'm glad you said that." You agree.

You then allow the sound of 'Separate Ways' engulf you, the song very ironic as to what your group was about to go do. This was honestly the best song that had come onto the old couples cassette tape so far.

The normally playful air of the van was gone, now filled with a tense silence as it sunk in what you were all about to do and potentially lose. Everyone was scared, and you could feel it.

The RV comes to a jolt as it comes to a stop at Eddie's house. Steve puts it in park before getting out and going around to the back to get the supplies needed. You get out as well, helping anywhere you can, hauling everything you could into the trailer house.

After some time, you finally got the last piece of equipment into the home, and it was time to say your goodbyes. You immediately go up to your brother and wrap him into a hug. He flings his arms around you in return, not ashamed to let a few tears stream from his eyes. You shush him softly, taking his stupid cap off and stroking his curls softly and gently.

"Stay safe, Dusty bun." You say softly, making him snuggle in closer to your warm body. "You too." He forces out, voice breaking. You finally let go, putting his cap back on. "Don't die, stupid."

"Don't die, idiot." He mocks back. You then go over to Eddie, patting him on the back. "Don't let anything happen to him or I swear to God I will give you hell." You say threateningly. He immediately takes you into an awkward side hug. "Course not. Even if you didn't give me hell..." He says back in return. "I trust you." You say, making him nod his head respectfully. "Don't die."

"I won't." He replies, giving you a soft smile.

You make your way over to Nancy, looking into her eyes. You stick your hand out, to which she ignores completely and instead engulfs you in a meaningful hug. You can't remember the last time you had a hug with your once best friend. You immediately hug her back.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, Nance." You say, letting more tears fall from your eyes. "Can we maybe get ice cream after all this is over??" She asks, to which you let out a laugh and nod your head rapidly. "Don't let those two die, you know they would without you." You say, making her let out a snort and nod before letting you go.

You go to Robin, hugging her from behind and making her jump. "Sorry!" You exclaim. She immediately turns around and wraps you into another hug. You could feel her pounding heart, so scared for what was going to come. "It's going to be okay, Robin. We're going to end this, I promise. Then our only worries will be how to set you and Vickie up on a date." You say, smirking at your own insinuation. She smacks your shoulder gently.

"It's not gonna happen." She says back, though her heart can't help but to hope that maybe you were right. "Suuure." You say, letting her go. You put a hand on her shoulder. "Do not die." You say.

"Wasn't planning on it." She says back, giving you a soft smile.

You were finally down to Steve. God, you didn't know what you would do if you lost him. You run to him, his arms already wide open. You let the familiar scent of pine trees engulf you fully as he brushes through your hair with his fingers softly, whispering soft nothings into your ear before finally placing a sweet kiss on the top of your head.

You allow his confident emotions fill you as you look up to him. He looks back, those beautiful brown eyes having a hazy look to them, full with love and admiration for you. That was all it took for you to make the bold move.

You grab the collar of his jacket, bringing his face down to meet your own, smiling when you feel the familiar feelings of fireworks shooting off in your stomach. This was so much better though, because now you can feel his reciprocated feelings towards you.

He pulls away, resting his forehead on your own and cupping your cheek, rubbing a small tear that had escaped away. "Stay safe, my love." He says softly, making you nod your head. "You too, doofus." You say playfully.

He places one last kiss on your forehead before taking his jacket off, going to unwrapping the jacket around your waist. "Steve, what are you doing-" he draws a finger to your lips, shutting you up immediately.

He puts his jacket around your shoulders, throwing yours over his own. It's then that you realize he was switching jackets with you in order for your scent to console him while you were away, the same for you. You smile at his cuteness. "See you on the other side, doofus." He smiles at his nickname.

"Later, princess." He retorts, snorting when you give him your signature salute. You then go back to the RV where the other three were no doubt waiting for you.

"Finally!" Erica shouts in annoyance as you make your appearance in the drivers seat. "Shut up..." You grumble, putting the RV back into drive. It's just a big car, it's just a big car, it's just a big car-

You keep repeating to yourself as you back out into the gravely road once again, now heading to the Creels house.

"You guys ready to end this?" You ask the others, hoping this would be the last time you would ask this question.

———————

hey besties!! god. i'm exhausted. haven't written in a hot second, and i missed it so much! i hope everyone's well, and like the new stuff i added to this :) (some parts were cheesy and i apologize for that but they were necessary 😭)
next chapter won't be out for a while, hopefully not as long as it took for this one to come out but you never know with me and my insane schedule 😭 (not to mention the fact that i'm expecting the next chapter to be at least 20k words long, so buckle up 💀)
also- do you guys want smut? lmk yes or no
if you have any questions about Y/n's new power please ask in the questions, i would be more than happy to explain it more in depth :D
anyways, haven't done one of these in a WHILE butttt
question of the day : what has been your favorite chapter in this book up to this point ?
have a good day/evening/afternoon

word count : 16271