O V E R P O W E R
⇾lights up by harry styles
all the lights couldn't put out the dark
⸺NOT shockingly, the next part of Dustin, Max, Tiffany and Steve's plan was to break into a school. They weren't even phased by these events anymore, they've done worse. They were only a few minutes away and the darkness had settled around them. It was already sunset when they visited Ms. Kelley, so their timeline was working out fairly well.
"Hey, you okay?" Steve asked his girlfriend. He had noticed that Tiffany was holding her forehead and wincing every few seconds. Tiffany only shrugged her shoulders. "I think so, my headaches are just getting worse. I think it's because of my nightmares, I used to get them all the time."
Steve, not wanting to distract himself while driving, placed a kiss onto his fingers and then put his fingers to Tiffany's forehead, signifying sending her a little kiss. Tiffany smiled and just shook her head at the small gesture. "Do you feel better now?"
"Yeah, I feel better." Tiffany replied with a smile. Her headache was just as bad, but Steve made her feel more hopeful. He's been having that effect on her for a long time.
Tiffany has been fairly difficult for Steve to deal with since the Starcourt Mall incident. She was rarely happy and she wouldn't talk to Steve about her problems. She'd only talk to Will. Steve had been having this feeling of insecurity over the past few months since him and Tiffany just seemed out of sync. Steve understood that Tiffany was going to be a little emotionally unavailable considering in a matter of minutes, Tiffany lost control of herself, lost two people who she loved with her whole heart, lost her only father figure and the next day, lost her best friend. Not to mention losing her childhood best friend before that.
Steve just wanted Tiffany to feel safe around him. Steve was afraid that she would one day realize that she was too good for him. Despite everything Tiffany has been through, she's still here and trying to put everyone ahead of her. She's been making sure that all the kids adjusted to high school and was constantly helping them with school work or just giving advice, she had gotten a serious full time job that took a lot of her worries and efforts, not to mention that she could get called in whenever and she's been calling Will as much as she could since she knew that he felt unwanted.
In Steve's eyes and so many others, Tiffany was the perfect person. Steve was just afraid that she'd leave him. Whether she'd realize she deserved someone better or she died on him again. Steve couldn't go through losing Tiffany again.
"We're here." Steve announced as they pulled into the school parking lot. The four teenagers all got out of the car and went up to the front door which, not shockingly, was locked.
"So...Does anyone know how to pick a lock?" Dustin asked, hoping that their plan wasn't going to be stopped because they couldn't unlock a door. Tiffany raised her hand since she did in fact know how to pick a lock, Billy had taught her a while ago.
Dustin dramatically motioned to the door, granting her access, but before Tiffany could unlock the door, she needed something. She turned to her boyfriend and held out her hand as she asked, "Do you have a bobby pin?"
Steve scoffed and shook his head. "No, I do not have a bobby pin."
"Steve...We share a bathroom. I've seen all your hair products." Tiffany remarked. The couple shared a knowing glare. Knowing he couldn't win this, Steve took a bobby pin out from underneath his hair and handed it to her. "Thank you."
As Tiffany went to the door to pick the lock, Dustin only smirked and looked over at Steve. Not liking Dustin having this information, Steve defended himself. "You don't get this good of hair naturally. Okay, Dustin?"
"I didn't say anything." Dustin replied with a shrug of the shoulders and still a knowing smirk. Just on queue, Tiffany had unlocked the door. The four of them walked into the school with Dustin and Max holding flashlights so they could actually see where they were going when all of a sudden, Dustin's radio went off. "Dustin, do you copy?"
It was Robin, which told them that whatever she and Nancy were looking for, hopefully, had found it. "Yeah, I copy."
"So, Nancy's a genius. Vecna's first victims date back all the way to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bullseye." Robin complimented.
"Okay, that's totally bonkers, but I can't really talk right now." Dustin beat around the bush. They knew that there were night janitors and security somewhere around here, but they didn't know where. The last thing they needed right now was to get caught and just set them back. Them breaking into a school is very low on the spectrum of problems.
"What are you doing?"
"Breaking and entering school to retrieve confidential and extremely personal files." Dustin explained, but it had only been static on Robin's end. "Can you repeat that?"
"Just get your ass over here, stat. We'll explain everything." Dustin ordered before lowering the antenna on his walkie-talkie. The group of four continued on to the guidance office where they would find both Fred and Chrissy's files. They wanted to see if there was some kind of noticeable pattern that Ms. Kelley could pick up on, they were really hoping for anything.
Tiffany was walking just behind the other three and was keeping up a good pace until something caught the corner of her eye. Tiffany took a step back to check on what it was and there, right at the locker that Billy used to use, had the number zero written in what looked like blood. Out of fear and shock, Tiffany called out for her friends. "Steve-"
As she turned her head to catch the group's attention, they were nowhere to be found. Tiffany looked down the other end of the hallway, but she was all alone. She called out once more, but this time she just wanted to feel safe, so she called for the person who made her feel safest. "Steve? Steve, where are you?"
All of a sudden, the locker door swung open with force. Tiffany stumbled back out of fear when she saw a hurt Billy trying to crawl out of what looked like an endless pit inside the locker. He reached out for her and was screaming her name. "Tiffany! Help me, Tiffany!"
Something seemed to be pulling him back, but she couldn't see what. Out of nowhere, Tiffany hear another scream from right behind her. She stumbled back once more and almost hit Billy, but she was more distracted by the view of Cory doing the exact same thing Billy was doing. Screaming her name, asking her to help and reaching out.
Wanting to escape whatever kind of hellish nightmare this was, Tiffany went to run down the hall, but somehow, there was a wall of lockers in front of her preventing her from going anywhere. Just as she almost ran right into the locker, another door on that set slammed open and the same thing with Billy and Cory was happening, but with Hopper.
Only having one more option, Tiffany went to run the other way, but another set of lockers was in front of her, and immediately a door swung open and there she saw Barbara trying to escape the locker. Tiffany was completely surrounded. The four people closest to her that she assumed she had lost forever were all trying to get to her. The screams were causing her heart to rush and her head was starting to ache. A high pitch could be heard and there was yelling in her mind. It was the same words she had been hearing, but one. Twelve.
All Tiffany could hear was her loved ones screaming, a high pitch that could break glass and the sound of Henry and her own voice saying, "Trick him." and "Zero."
The only think Tiffany could think to do in this moment of panic was put her hands over her ears and try to end this suffering. Tiffany screamed, letting all her pain out as she shut her eyes closed. She was trying to drown out the sound of her loved one's screams, but they just got louder and louder and louder until..."
"Tiffany!" It was Cory. She could hear his voice. But this was somehow different. The screams in this vision she was having were clear, almost as if it were real and the high pitch and voices in her head were clear. This all seemed so real, but Cory's voice echoed. Tiffany remembered that whenever he used his powers, there was an echo. An echo that you could almost feel in your veins. Like a small chill on your arms. This wasn't apart of the nightmare. This was really Cory.
"Tiffany, this is real! This is me talking, it's Cory!" Tiffany could still hear all of the agony around her, but her shock and focus on Cory's voice was enough to keep her steady. "I'm in the Upside Down, you have to come get me! He's alive, we're both alive! Please, get here as fast as you can! I don't have a lot of time to talk to you, but you need....You need to know something!"
Cory's voice was beginning to fade. Almost as if he was getting further and further away. "You can still do it! I didn't take your powers! That wasn't me at the mall! Tiffany, you can still do it! You're still..."
Cory's voice had faded completely. She couldn't hear him anymore. Tiffany knew that there was something odd going on inside her brain. Tiffany could hear a grandfather clock at the sight of where Chrissy was murdered, but there was none around, she kept having small visions at random times and she had this piercing headache. Not to mention the small possession incident and she and Steve's home.
Tiffany has been used as a puppet before and that's exactly what was happening again. Vecna was trying to use her. He was trying to control her. Vecna, Henry, was the one who gave her her powers, he knew how powerful she was. He clearly wanted to use Tiffany as some kind of weapon, just like the Mind Flayer. But Vecna hadn't thought of one thing. Tiffany is a stubborn asshole with really good friends.
Tiffany took what Cory had said and she channeled it. She knew that he was alive, so she knew this couldn't have been a trick. She still had no idea who 'he' was, but that was a problem for another time. Tiffany had her powers. She could get out of this if she tried hard enough.
Tiffany took her hands off her ears and the pain only got louder. She whispered to herself, "It's not real. It's not real."
Tiffany let her arms hand loosely by her side as she tried to focus on her powers. It had been a long time since she had used her powers, but she remembered one helpful thing about them. When Tiffany was first learning how to use her powers, she had to speak to them. Tiffany opened her eyes and looked her old friend, Barbara, right in the eye as she spoke, "Leave."
Little blue lightning bolts fluttered around her hand as all four horrifying scenes disappeared. A small drip of blood fell from the corner of Tiffany's eye and in some sick way, she couldn't be happier to know that her eyes were bleeding.
Feeling a sense of power and rush, Tiffany tried to channel her powers once more. She took a deep breath and focused as much as she could on her breathing. A small blue light began to form in the palms of both of her hands. Tiffany felt that same tingling feeling she used to feel with her powers and looked down at her hands. Her powers were back, but with a slight change. She muttered, "This is new."
All of a sudden, it's like Tiffany was thrown back. Like whiplash. Tiffany's vision had completely disappeared. She defeated it. It was a small victory, but she was able to escape Vecna's curse.
Now in the real world, Tiffany stumbled back and her back hit the lockers behind her, only this time, there was no blood and no screaming dead friends.
"Tiffany!" She heard Steve call out with worry laced in his tone. Steve was kneeling down next to her and on hand was on her jaw. He forced Tiffany to look at him and he kissed her forehead as soon as he realized that she was okay. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
Still being slightly scared by the vision, Tiffany realized she was by lockers and immediately sprung to her feet. She took in her surroundings and realized that there was nothing dangerous around her. Tiffany let out a breath of relief just before realizing that she wasn't using her powers anymore.
"What happened?" Tiffany asked, wanting to know what was happening in reality while she was busy getting tortured. "When we were walking, you just stopped and looked at this random locker. Then your eyes started bleeding black and your eyes turned completely white just like like last time and then Max wandered out here which is how we found you."
Tiffany looked behind Steve where she now saw Max, Dustin, Nancy and Robin. Steve put his hands on her jaw and Tiffany put her hands on his. "Are you okay?"
Tiffany nodded her head and sent him a small smile, trying to be reassuring. Steve only wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close as he could. Tiffany hugged him back. Understanding that they may want to be alone for a second, Nancy ushered everyone out. "Guys, lets give them some privacy. Steve has to tell her about...well, you know."
Steve knew something that Tiffany hadn't quite learned yet. What Vecna's curse really was like. Max had had a vision just like Tiffany's at the exact same time she did and explained to them what was happening to her and what she had discovered about Chrissy and Fred. They all had the same symptoms and so did Tiffany.
Once everyone else was gone and the couple was alone, Steve pulled away from her and ushered her over to the lockers, which Tiffany now knew were not haunted. They sat down with their backs against the lockers and Steve put his arm around Tiffany's shoulders while his other hand was fiddling with a small box in his pocket.
"I need to talk to you about what just happened." Steve began, but Tiffany had to add on. "I do too. Urgently."
"Can I say what I have to say first?" Steve asked and got a nod in response from Tiffany.
"Alright, so Max figured out something. Vecna is cursing people, Chrissy, Fred and even her. She was stuck in this trance and that's what Eddie said happened to Chrissy and we think it probably happened to Fred. And it's what just happened to you. You looked the same as you did when you were possessed a few nights ago. That's only the mild stuff. 'Cause we found out that Fred, Chrissy and Max have been having severe headaches, which you've been getting for months, not to mention the weird high pitched noise you told me about. And they all had nightmares, which you've been having since forever, but they've been really bad lately. Trouble sleeping and waking up in a cold sweat. You're always tired Tiff, you don't sleep very well and when you do, it's not a good one. And seeing things...Tiffany...You said you saw Billy and Cory. I don't want to tell you this, but Tiffany...they're both gone. You have to accept that they're gone."
"It's not that easy." Tiffany mumbled as she looked down at her hands. She knew for a fact that Cory was alive since he had just communicated with her, but Billy...He was gone.
"I know, but look, I lost Cory too. He was my best friend and he's gone. I had to accept it and move on. You should too. It'll be a lot easier on you."
"Steve, you don't understand-" Tiffany went to argue since she knew that Cory was alive. Tiffany knew how hard Cory's death was on Steve as well, but he had been trying his best to hide his emotions so Tiffany wouldn't see him cry. Tiffany knew. She could sense his sadness and she tried to be there for him as best as she could.
"No, I do understand!" Steve snapped. Tiffany flinched slightly, but he expression immediately softened when she saw Steve's eyes beginning to water. "Tiff, Chrissy and Fred both died less than twenty four hours after their first vision and you just had one. I-I can't lose you, not again. I can't go through that, okay? I need you, Tiffany Henderson. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I can't do that because of this fucking-"
"Steve, breath. Just calm down." Tiffany comforted as she put a hand on his jaw. The two moved so that their foreheads were pressed against each other's and Tiffany was helping Steve slow down his breathing. "Steve, there's something you need to know."
This was a very urgent piece of information that Steve needed to know. Tiffany explained the whole Cory situation in her vision. How she had heard his voice, how she knew it wasn't a trick, how she could feel the chills on her arm, how he helped her get her powers back, how she felt more powerful than she did before. Steve was taking a minute to process this. They leaned away from each other, but Tiffany's hand was resting on the side of his neck with her thumb caressing his jaw, still trying to give him a sense of calm.
"So...You just have your powers now?" Steve asked, trying to process everything. "I don't think I can use them here. It only worked in my vision for some reason. I don't know, Steve. But listen, I didn't just wake up from the vision, I escaped. That's got to give you some hope, right?"
Steve shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing what to say. He's had a lot of experience with the Upside Down and Steve knows that it's extremely dangerous, even for someone like Tiffany. "I just...I can't lose you, Tiff. I can't. That feeling I got last year and the year before when I saw you...just...laying there...I-I can't do that again."
"Steve, I want to spend the rest of my life with you too and I would never hurt you. I swear this time I'll be really careful, no more running into battle unprepared. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I love you too much to leave you."
"Is that true?" Steve was mainly focused on the first part of the sentence since that had peaked his interest quite a bit. Tiffany nodded her head, assuming he meant the whole statement, but Steve elaborated. "The first part. You want to spend the rest of your life with me?"
"Of course. Why would I not? I always dream of us getting married one day. We can get a dog! Move to a nicer house maybe in the woods. I always imagined us having a bunch of kids like four or five, but I think I would want to adopt a few. I don't know, it's just that ever since we got together, I knew I loved you and that I wanted to be with you forever. I mean, who doesn't fall in love with that hair?" Tiffany slightly joked at the end.
Steve's face was filled with hope and a little fear. This was it. This was the moment he kept waiting for. Steve has had this little box in his pocket for months, but he hadn't gotten the courage to actually do anything with it until now.
"Will you marry me?"
A/N
enjoy the cliffhanger <3