(y/n) - your name

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max, Billy and (y/n) silently crept across the living room to the front door, carefully trying not to make any noise while holding plastic bags so they didn't wake up Max's mum who finally decided to show up last night. She was passed out asleep on the couch, stinking up the place with the smell of alcohol as she snored and the three quickly rush outside after locking the door.

"This should be enough to last someone a week I think?" (y/n) says as she carefully puts the bags in the back with Max before getting in the front passenger seat, Billy driving off once everyone was seated. She made sure to keep her disguise up, not wanting to risk anyone else figuring out who she was.

"Unless Eddie stress eats then maybe." Max shrugs and it falls into an awkward silence again. Billy hadn't said a single word after last night and it worried (y/n), glancing at him every now and then but his expression was hidden behind his sunnies and his cigarette between his lips.

She moves to pluck the cigarette from his lips before throwing it out the window and onto the road, him looking at her in shock. "Not around me." (y/n) was surprised by the smile that grew on Billy's face when she said that.

"You really are predictable." he chuckles, remembering this exact same moment when he gave his love a ride to school after her car broke down.

"Did I say the same thing from the past?" he nods and watches her look around the car. "Did my car break down or something? Did you give me a ride somewhere?" Billy breaks down hard and the car stops in the middle of the road.

"What gives Billy-"

"-you remembered!" he takes his sunglasses off as he cut his sister off, quickly holding his girlfriend's hands in his. "Yes! That's what happened! What do you remember?"

"It's foggy but I... I remember my car not working and I think I ended up walking until you showed up. You offered me a ride to school and I took it I guess."

"And that was when you took my cigarette and threw it out the window just like now." (y/n) gasps, faintly seeing images of this moment playing in her head. There wasn't a full picture, like she couldn't remember exactly what she wore or the minute details but she could remember the main things that happened.

"You let me sleep in your car! You made me skip half the day!"

"Yes! Exactly!" Billy quickly leans down and kisses (y/n) happily, holding her cheeks as he kissed her over and over in excitement that she remembered something. He was over the moon that she got a memory back, even if it was only one memory. He had hope now that she would be able to remember them both before her death, remember him and their moments together. "I fucking can't believe it..." Billy leans back as (y/n) giggles, feeling warm to see him smile so happily.

"I know this is something we should be celebrating but Dustin is going to complain if we don't get to the shed." Max breaks up the moment and her brother scowls at her before moving to drive again. "But I'm so glad that you're remembering something (y/n)!" the young girl wraps her hands around the older one from behind the car seat to hug her.

(y/n) smiles as she holds Max's hands in hers, squeezing them lightly. "I am too." she looks up at Billy who couldn't stop smiling now, the three of them successfully breaking the tension in the car with a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Billy drove his family to Lovers Lake, somewhere in the journey moving to hold (y/n)'s hand in his and kissing the back of it until they finally arrived. Steve, Dustin and Robin were standing outside, impatient as the three got out of Billy's car with the bags of food they got.

"Took you long enough!" Dustin complains. "Let's go!" the group walk towards the shed, opening the door to earn a loud shrill scream from poor Eddie who was on edge and thought it was some other people who were after him.

"Sorry Eddie!" (y/n) quickly apologises, seeing him holding his chest from fright as she took her disguise off. The group place the bags down and Eddie dives to grab some food, scarfing it down since he was starving.

"What took you guys so long by the way?" Steve asks as he looks over at the suspiciously very happy couple.

"(y/n) remembered a memory!" Max exclaims and everyone looks at the said girl.

"Oh my god!" they were all ecstatic except for Eddie who was confused.

"What do you mean remember?" He asks.

"My memory is wiped. When I woke up in the lab, I couldn't remember who I was or where I was except knowing I needed to escape." (y/n) explains.

"She came searching for me and I have been trying to help her remember her past." Billy says.

"Then how do you know everyone here!?"

"Memorising names to pictures. I don't actually have memories of my friends from the past except knowing their names and now I guess."

"That sucks... how did you die?" everyone goes rigid at Eddie's question and he knew he hit a soft spot.

"That's uh... that's another story for another time." (y/n) says.

"Wait, one thing I want to know, how do you know Eddie? You never met before?" Robin asks and the said girl freezes, hiding behind Billy who was smirking at his love when she tried to hide her red cheeks. Eddie was grinning as well, cooing at how cute the girl was when she peeks her head out from behind her boyfriend.

"That's another story for another time." the metalhead mimics her, winking and she blushes harder.

"Ok, enough of that. I don't think I want to know..." Dustin breaks up the old conversation. "So we got, uh, some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?"

"Bad news first, always." Eddie says as he munches on the cereal he was eating the beer, Dustin explaining how he tapped into the police dispatch and found out that they were looking for the metalhead. They were convinced he was the one to kill Chrissy even if it wasn't true. "And the good news?"

"Your name hasn't gone public yet. But if we found out about you,it's a matter of time before others do. And once that gets out,everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you." Hope immediately drains from Eddie's eyes as he purses his lips.

"Hunt the freak, right?"

"Exactly."

"Shit..."

"So, before that happens, we find Vecna, kill him,and prove your innocence."

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?" Eddie and (y/n) ask, the both of them very doubtful.

"If we manage to kill Vecna-and we better-how the fuck are we going to explain to the police Munson isn't the culprit?" Billy asks the group.

"We can't go up to them and say it was some undead creature from the Upside Down that killed Chrissy!" (y/n) explains and everyone else goes quiet. "they're not going to believe us!"

"See! Exactly!" Eddie waves to the couple since they were the only ones who understood.

"After we take down Vecna, we'll fake some evidence or something to get Eddie off being their number one suspect." Dustin says like it was the simplest thing ever.

"How!?" Eddie and (y/n) ask.

"We..." Dustin starts but comes up blank. "Get back to me on that later."

"I know everything Dustin is sayingsounds totally delusional, but we've actuallybeen through this before." Robin says, explaining to Eddie that at this point, the group were professionals. Unfortunately. The group tries to convince Eddie that they have this, that they know what they are doing but he ignores them and looks at (y/n) since she was the more logical one in the group.

"(y/n)?"

"We're fucked." she says truthfully, leaning into Billy who nods in agreement.

"Fuck..." Eddie sighs in defeat, the group sitting down to try and come up with a plan. It was quiet for a bit until the metalhead asks (y/n) a question. "What's with the headphones?" she leans up to hold them, the music flowing around her.

"(y/n) you don't have to answer." Billy says, holding the headphones against her ears affectionately as she looks up at him.

"I... maybe it might help? I don't know. They need to know Billy..." she says before turning to the group who were equally as curious but didn't want to push (y/n) about it. "It helps keep me here in the present I guess, listening to music. It started back in California, these deafening clock chimes ringing in my head and before I know it, I wasn't like in California?"

"What? What do you mean?" Steve asks.

"I thought it was a nightmare the first time... I was trapped in this-this red place. Like, I was still in California but it was all red and dark with vines." Billy pulls (y/n) into his arms as she shuddered at the memory.

"The Upside Down!?" Dustin gasps. "You went to the Upside Down!?"

"I-I did?"

"Will was trapped there as well and he explained to us what it looked like from where he was hiding..." Dustin frowns, remembering the moment his friend disappeared. "But how did you get out or even get there?"

"I don't know. All I know is that every time I hear the chimes, I get sent there and I see this nightmare playing in front of me over and over again and I hate it!"

"What do you see?" Dustin says and (y/n) shakes her head, not wanting to say. "(y/n) please, it might help us figure out a way to stop Vecna-"

"-I can't Dustin! I can't-"

"-please-"

"-I see you all die in front of me again and again ok!" (y/n) snaps, her eyes tearing up as she remembers those moments even though she didn't want to. "You, Steve, Robin, Max and the others... my brother..." everyone except Eddie winces. "He said it was my fault... I let you die... I let him die... I couldn't save you either Billy." she sniffles as he hugs her tight.

"Is this what you saw that night I found you on the road outside the house?" he asks and she nods.

"I saw you being possessed by the Mindflayer instead of my brother, you sacrificing yourself to save us. I see you die in front of me over and over again and I can't save you from the Mindflayer..." Billy frowns, hating out he was the one causing (y/n) pain like this and he wanted to take it away from her.

"I'm here... I'm not going anywhere..." He mumbles into her hair, pissed off at the kid for pushing his love to talk about what happened that night.