Steve had driven the group to a large, unoccupied field so they could get ready for the looming battle without any cops or angry hicks finding them.
They had separated into their own little groups:, Beverly, Steve, and Robin in one; Carmen, Chris, Eddie, and Dustin in another; Alicia with her siblings in another one; and then Nancy and Max.
"How's she feeling?" Dustin asked Eddie, referring to their shields made out of trash can tops and nails that they had just put together.
Eddie stuck his arm out as he held the shield, testing it out. "Light. But durable." He then pushed his hand up once more. "Deadly. But reliable." Both Dustin and Chris chuckled at that.
"Hmm, I don't know. I think we may have to test it out first. Chris...care to be the tester?" Carmen asked the boy, making him scoff at her. "I'm not joking."
"Oh, trust me. I know," he responded, rolling his eyes.
Eddie ignored the both of them, not willing to become a mediator in their squabbling just yet. He pointed his hand forwards and said dramatically, "Hear me now. There will be no more retreating..." he lowered his shield, "from Eddie the Banished," he finished in his normal voice.
"Ooh, Eddie the Banished. I like that," Carmen complimented. "What could my name be? Carmen the...Sexy?"
"More like Carmen the Crazy," Chris corrected her, giving her a look.
"Oh, I thought you had already taken that one, my bad," she bit back, crossing her arms over Eddie's jacket she had still been wearing.
"It's actually Chris the Cryptic, thank you very much," he rectified, seeing the way Eddie's jacket crinkled under Carmen's arms as if it were bragging that she had been wearing it and not him.
"Hm, I'm surprised you even know what that word means," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" he questioned.
"What?"
"You said something."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you d—"
"Okay, let's just stop right there before this goes one for hours, 'kay?" Eddie quickly butted in, not wanting them to keep bickering since they both just had to get the last word in.
"Hey, you're really ready for bat-tle," Dustin joked out of the blue, causing the three older teens to give him a look as he laughed at his own joke. "You get it? 'Bat-tle.' B-A-T," he spelled out as they just continued to stare at him. "No?" he groaned. "I thought I had a good one."
"Better luck next time," Carmen commented before Eddie charged at Dustin from out of nowhere, causing her and Chris to jump a bit in fright. "Eddie!"
"What are you doing?!" Dustin questioned before Eddie tossed him away, a mischievous smirk on his face. "You son of a bitch!" he said before he tried to tackle Eddie, unable to since Eddie was much taller than him. "No wedgies! No wedgies!"
Eddie then grabbed Dustin by the back of the neck, forcing him to look up at him. "Never change, Dustin Henderson. Promise me?" he said, making Carmen tilt her head slightly at the cute interaction; Chris had done the same.
"I wasn't planning on it," Dustin replied, a little taken aback by what his friend had said.
"Good," Eddie said before he said more forcefully, "Good."
"Good," Dustin repeated with a laugh.
Eddie then let go of him, walking away. "Hey, Sinclairs! How are those, uh...those spears coming along?" Eddie called out to the three Sinclair siblings.
Lucas replied by giving Eddie a thumbs up, causing Erica to scoff at him. "Flip that damn thumb around."
"What?" he said in confusion as Alicia chuckled to herself. "What?!"
Erica dropped her spear on the ground, taking Lucas's. "It's too loose, Lucas. This isn't a basketball game where they blow the whistle when your shoes fall off."
"Okay, okay, for the record, my shoes never fell off," Lucas argued.
"Okay, for the record, it's kinda hard for your shoes to fall off when you're riding the bench," Erica responded.
"Erica," Alicia warned lightly, although it was kind of funny.
"No, it's fine, Alli. She still shows up to every game," Lucas pointed out.
"Mmm, except the one that mattered," she spoke. "Plus, Mom and Dad forced me."
"Bull. Mom and Dad can't force you to do shit."
"Well, even though you're a bench-riding loser, you're still my brother. Just the facts..." Erica trailed off, making Lucas grin lightly.
Alicia dropped her spear on the ground, reaching her arms out to pull both her siblings closer to her. "Alli!" Lucas and Erica both complained, making her giggle. "Stop!"
"No," she said, giving the both of them a look. "Erica's right. You're still my brother." She then looked at Erica. "And you're still my sister. So...we have to stick together, okay? This mission, or whatever the hell it's called, is gonna be dangerous, and I don't think I can bare to lose either of you."
"It's gonna be fine," Lucas assured her and Erica nodded. "We're prepared this time."
"I know, but...this is a whole different situation than prior years. This isn't Demodogs or Russians. This is a guy who has the same powers as Eleven, who, mind you, has saved our asses every year because of how powerful she is. But instead of having someone like her on our side, this guy is against us and I can't help but feel...scared," she described truthfully. She was so used to being the older sister, the one trying to make sure her siblings weren't afraid. But here she was, telling them how she truly felt. "I just want to tell you guys that I love you."
Erica gave her a look. "There's no need for that," she responded with a shake of her head. "You can tell us later, after we get this shit done."
"Language," Lucas and Alicia said simultaneously, making them chuckle softly. "But, yeah, Erica's right. We are gonna finish this and then you can smother us with hugs and kisses later, okay?" Lucas continued without his older sister.
Alicia smiled at her siblings, trying her best not to cry. "Yeah," she was able to say breathlessly with a small nod. "Yeah."
"Now let's test these things out," Lucas spoke excitedly, grabbing the spear that Erica was able to fix before he stood up. "Come on!"
Erica rolled her eyes and stood up with her spear, as did Alicia before they all started to test and use them to make sure they worked.
"Oh, yeah! The Sinclairs are in action!" Carmen whooped, trying to hype them up. "Wanna test those on Chris, too?!" she called out, making Dustin snort and Chris seethe angrily.
"Sure!" Erica replied enthusiastically, making Chris's mouth drop before he started to run away from the young girl who began to chase him around the open field.
"Erica, stop!" Alicia yelled out as Carmen, Lucas, Dustin, and Eddie broke down laughing. "Seriously, guys?! We can't play around with these!"
Beverly watched them play with a small smile on her face before Steve's voice made her look at him. "I mean, it just doesn't make sense," Steve stated as she helped him pour some fuel into the bottle they would use to create a Molotov cocktail.
"What doesn't make sense?" Beverly asked in puzzlement.
"The fact that Alicia said to Robin that they were strictly platonic," Steve said, making Robin look at him with wide eyes.
Beverly furrowed her brows. "Huh? When did this happen?"
"Before. Alicia told Robin that they were just platonic right after she said they were meant to be," he explained and Beverly raised her eyebrows. "But that doesn't make sense as to why she watched Fast Times in the winter and paused at that specific time then. Unless Lucas was the one watching it, but he's too in love with Max so that doesn't make sense either. But it's possible. Or maybe she's just, like, really into Judge Reinhold?" he theorized. "Nah."
"Steve," Robin cut in, tired of him talking about it.
"What?"
"I don't care. And I don't understand why you do either with everything that's going on," she told him. "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 feel spectacularly low." Beverly frowned, feeling bad since she knew Alicia liked Robin back, but she just didn't want to out her if she wasn't ready to come out herself.
"Yeah. I mean, I get you there, but...I still have hope," Steve told her as he handed Beverly the fuel-filled bottle.
"Me, too," Beverly agreed, trying to think of some way to hint to either Robin or Alicia that they liked each other without outing either of them.
"Not everything has a happy ending," Robin shrugged.
"Well, maybe in some cases," Steve said as he grinned at Beverly, which made her roll her eyes at him playfully.
"Okay, no need to shove it in my face," Robin said jokingly before she shook her head. "But I'm not talking about romance, or failed romance in this case. I just...I have this terrible, gnawing feeling that...it might not work out for us this time."
Beverly and Steve shared an apprehensive look. "You think we shouldn't be doing this?" he queried.
"I think we're mad fools, the lot of us, but...but if we don't stop him, who will?" she said as she looked around at the others, who practiced using their weapons. "We have to try, right?"
Steve nodded. "Yeah." He then looked at the two girls and raised his bottle of fuel. "To killing Vecna."
Robin grabbed a bottle of her own. "Slash Henry."
Beverly then grabbed one as well and said, "Slash One." They then all clanked their glasses together, although not drinking them since drinking fuel probably probably wouldn't be a good idea.
Or maybe it was if they didn't want to deal with the Upside Down anymore.
✦ ✧ ✦
Once everyone had finished making their weapons, they started to load up the van with everything before the sun had set and they wouldn't be able to see as well.
Carmen began to pick up the sharp shields they had made, being careful not to stab herself. "I really like that jacket on you. Where'd you get it?" Eddie asked her teasingly as he came up behind her, a sly smirk on his face.
She looked over her shoulder, a smile growing on her face. "I don't know. I just found it lying around," she said, playing along. "You think it looks good, though?"
"Beautiful," he complimented, making her blush lightly. "I think you should keep it."
She shook her head. "No, I can't do that. It's yours," she said, stopping the joke. "I'm just keeping it warm."
"It could be ours," he suggested with a shrug, a hopeful expression on his face.
She tilted her head. "Is this you formally asking me to be your girlfriend?" she questioned, causing his face to heat up. "Because if it is, then...the answer's yes."
Eddie blinked in shock. "R-Really?"
"No, I'm just kidding," she deadpanned, making his face fall. "Oh, Eddie, come on, I've been waiting for you to finally seal the deal. I would have done it myself but I wanted to make sure you really wanted this and you weren't just in...a honeymoon-type phase."
His face lit up once again. "I do. I really want this, Carmen. I've honestly wanted this ever since you spoke to me after the basketball game and my campaign," he admitted.
Her eyes widened. "Seriously?" she asked breathlessly, shocked.
He quickly nodded, his hair bouncing. "You were one of the first people to ever be interested in what I did. And you didn't care if I was some weirdo, you just seemed to...like me for me."
"Well, I do remember saying I would get with you once you grew your hair out," she recalled, making him furrow his brows. "Don't worry about that," she quickly brushed off, causing the both of them to laugh. "I'm just happy that...we're official. And I guess you're my first real boyfriend."
"And you're my first real girlfriend," he responded with a smile before she stood on her tippy toes, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "Hey, that's it?"
"We'll have to save the rest for later," she told him with a wink, causing his face to burn scarlet. "Now, help me carry these."
Chris watched them from afar, like he always did, a downcast expression on his face since he knew what had just happened. Robin walked over, following his gaze to see the Munson boy and Flores girl giggling giddily as they helped each other carry the shields.
She sighed, making him realize that she had been standing there. "I guess any chances I had are gone now," he commented, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"I don't really think you had any chances to begin with," Robin spoke, making him give her a look. "I'm sorry, it's just...it's Carmen. She's hard to resist."
"I thought you liked Alicia," he pointed out, making Robin quickly shush him. "What? No one heard me."
"I know, but..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I do like her, but that doesn't mean I don't see how wildly hot Carmen is." Chris clicked his tongue, looking down in defeat since she had been right. "That doesn't mean you aren't wildly hot either. I mean, I'm sure a lot of girls and guys have liked you."
"Yeah, but not the ones I actually want, so..." he said. "It's fine. I'm used to it by now," he brushed off.
"Do you wanna tal—?"
"No, it's fine. Really. I'll just get over it and start liking someone else like that," he snapped, showing how fast he was able to develop feelings for someone. "I think it's me who should be worrying about you, though."
"Why?" Robin asked in confusion.
"Because you need to tell Alicia how you feel before we fight Vecna," he revealed and she gave him a look. "Come on. I mean, you only live once and...how would you feel if you never know how she felt?"
"Whoa, Chris, you're acting like we're all gonna die," Robin said, her eyes wide. "Maybe I should still be worrying about you."
"No, no. I'm just saying, now's your chance," he quickly said.
"But she said—"
"I don't care what she said, Robin. I don't even wanna know what she said. We all say shit, but it doesn't matter," he cut her off, making her swallow hard. "I see the way you both look at each other. It'll come to a shock to me if she doesn't like you back."
"You've been watching us?" Robin questioned.
"Yes, watching people has become a special skill of mine," he confirmed, being self-aware, making her scoff at him. "But that's not important right now. What's important is that she's alone right now and you're gonna talk to her." Chris quickly grabbed Robin and shoved her towards where he had seen Alicia grabbing the spears since, well, he was a master of watching people and knew exactly where she had been the whole time.
"Chris!" Robin whisper-shouted before she turned around, seeing Alicia heading in her direction. "A-Alicia, hey!"
"Oh, hey, Rob," Alicia greeted, making Robin's heart melt. "What's up?"
"Do you, uh, need any help?" Robin said, gesturing towards the spears.
"Oh, no, it's fine. I got it," Alicia replied and Robin nodded, still standing there since she didn't know what else to say. "Was there anything else you wanted to say?"
Robin blinked. "Uh, no. No, there wasn't," she responded, starting to panic.
Alicia nodded slowly. "Well, we should get back to the van before the sun starts to set," she suggested, starting to walk past the Buckley girl.
Once Alicia had passed her, Robin shut her eyes and began to curse at herself under her breath. She then spun around, remembering what she had told Steve before, and what Chris had just told her. "Actually, there was something else," Robin quickly said, making Alicia immediately turn around and look at her expectantly.
"Yeah?" Alicia was able to say, clearing her throat anxiously.
Robin sucked in a breath, trying to hype herself up before going through with it. "Okay. You know what? I'm just gonna say it. I don't care what happens, I'm just gonna say it," Robin voiced even though she hadn't been saying it yet. Alicia looked at her, her face scrunching up a bit since she didn't know what was happening. "Um...so...okay..."
"Robin, are you o—?"
"I like you, Alicia," Robin blurted out, surprised at herself for being able to say it. "Fuck it. I've liked you ever since last summer. And I've been so scared to say it because — because I knew there was no way you'd actually like me back since — since I'm a girl and you're a girl, and you said that we — we were just platonic, and this is definitely just a shot in the dark, but — but Chris said that you only live once so I thought, 'Why the hell not?' So that's why I'm saying this now and you can just walk away, it's probably better than saying anything to me about it and..yeah, that's it, I'm done now."
Alicia swallowed hard, her throat becoming dry. She didn't know what to say. Her dream had just come true. Is this real? Or am I dreaming? Is Vecna trying to trick me right now? she thought to herself before she started to pinch her arm.
"What are you doing?" Robin quickly queried once she saw Alicia pinching herself.
"Trying to see if I'm dreaming or not," Alicia answered before she realized she wasn't. "Holy shit, I'm not." Robin furrowed her brows slightly, not knowing what Alicia had meant by 'dreaming.' For all she knew, Alicia could have thought this was some sort of nightmare. "Robin, I don't even know what to say except...I like you, too."
Robin's heart and stomach did a backflip. "W-What?"
"I like you. Ever since last summer, too," she admitted with a short laugh out of shock. "And the only reason I said we were platonic before was because I didn't think you liked me back and I didn't wanna scare you off," she explained, making Robin let out a surprised chuckle as well. "But I like you as more than a friend. Every time I've come back to visit here, I've always wanted to see you."
"I've always wanted to see you whenever you visited," Robin replied, making Alicia smile. "Oh, God. I can't wait to tell Steve, Chris, and Bev about this."
"Wait, they knew?" Alicia asked and Robin nodded. "Hold on, Bev knew about me liking you..." she trailed off.
"She did?" Robin said and Alicia nodded slowly. "Holy shit. She could have set us up and she didn't. That bitch."
"Knowing Bev, she probably didn't want to out us to each other even though it wouldn't have mattered. She probably didn't want to overstep," Alicia vouched for the Crawford girl, knowing how she was.
"I hope so, or I'm gonna be mad," Robin said even though she was laughing a bit. "But what does this mean about us? Are we...together?"
"Yeah. I-I guess," Alicia confirmed. "But...I kinda want to keep this secret from the people who don't know. So everyone besides Steve, Chris, Bev, and Carmen. I'm not really ready to come out to family yet."
Robin nodded quickly. "Of course. I'm not really that ready either. We can take it one step at a time." Robin grabbed Alicia's hand, making her grin as her cheeks flushed. "Now let's hurry back before anyone gets suspicious," she joked, causing Alicia to laugh out loud before they quickly made their way back to the van with the spears.
After they finally finished preparing for battle, getting each phase of their plan in order, they all hopped back into the van where Steve drove them to their first destination: the Creel House.
On the way there, everyone had been silent, not daring to speak out of nerves. Nancy's plan had seemed to be flawless, but most of them knew that there was no way there would be no bumps in the road.
Once they reached the haunted place, Erica, Lucas, Alicia, and Max got ready to leave the van before Carmen spoke up and said, "Hold on. You didn't think you guys were gonna leave without saying goodbye, did you?" They turned around, small smiles coming up to their faces. "My favorite Sinclairs," she said, pulling them into a group hug.
"We're the only Sinclairs," Erica pointed out.
"That's why you guys are my favorite, duh," she said, causing them to laugh. She then looked at Alicia. "Be careful, okay?"
Alicia nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we'll be careful."
"Good." Carmen then looked at Max, who seemed to be trying to avoid her gaze. "Mayfield," she then drawled, forcing the redhead to look at her. "You'll be fine. I'm sure of it."
"I don't—"
"You'll be fine," Carmen cut her off, repeating the words so that she would listen. "Okay? All of you will be fine. Just stick to Nancy's brilliant and flawless plan, and this'll work out."
Lucas nodded, liking her positive attitude. "Yeah, don't worry, we'll stick to it."
Carmen nodded before she forced Max into a hug, whispering in her ear, "This'll be over before you know it, okay?"
Max nodded slowly, trying not to cry. She had been so scared and yet, she didn't want to show it. Especially to Carmen, who was like a sister she never had; a sister that helped her through her brother's death before she had to leave.
And now Max was leaving her.
"Okay, it's time to go," Nancy spoke up, not wanting to waste any time even though she knew that it was important to say goodbyes just in case things didn't work out.
The others quickly said their goodbyes, hugging the Sinclairs and Max before they stepped out of the van, holding blue light lanterns so they wouldn't be able to see once it got dark. Steve then drove off after a moment, leaving them at the Creel House.
Steve looked over at Beverly in the front seat, noticing how distraught she had been to say goodbye to her best friend and the others. "They'll be fine, Bev, okay? Just like Carmen said. What Vecna made you see wasn't real. We're gonna finish this."
Beverly nodded slowly, looking straight ahead as she tried not to cry. "Yeah. This is gonna work out."
authors note
ALICA AND ROBIN!!!!
WOOOOO FINALLY
ship name? ralicia?
robicia? alobin? suckley (BYE)
bucklair? IDKKK HELP
but...oh boy...here we go...
next chapter is going to have
a lot of pov changes since that's
what happening in the show so
i just wanna warn u guys now. and
if ur ever confused while reading it,
you can make a comment and i can try
to explain to you what's going on (hopefully
it's not too confusing though since ill try
to put a lot of transitions with characters
names). anyway, i hoped you enjoyed this
chapter and i hope u enjoy the next ones!!
(you probably won't)