(y/n) - your name

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"No I'm not from here, I'm from Australia ok. Where America has their SAT exams and your GPA, we have our equivalent which is the HSC exams and ATAR." (y/n) explains. "Physics was one of the classes that help you raise your ATAR ranking, or in your case, get you a higher GPA." Everyone lets out an 'oh' in understanding. "Wait, why am I explaining myself to you? Dustin continue."

"Uh, thanks (y/n)... As I was saying, in the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there's some super big magnet around here, or..."

"There's a gate." Lucas finishes for Dustin.

"A gate we don't know about." (y/n) and Billy say and the kids nod at the couple.

"It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful." Dustin says.

"Snack-size gate." Robin comments and (y/n) chuckles at the wording.

"That's cute."

"Thanks sweetie."

"How? Why?" Steve asks and Dustin doesn't know the answer to that exactly, knowing that there is something causing a disturbance and he hopes it was a gate.

"And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna."

"And a shot at freeing Max and (y/n) from this curse." Billy says, looking at his girls warily with hope. Dustin suddenly starts walking off but Steve stops him like an unhappy mother scolding her kid, explaining how Eddie is still a wanted man and that the group can't just walk through the woods easily.

"This little steel capsule might be the key to saving Max, (y/n) and Eddie. What say you, Eddie the Banished?" Dustin waves his hands to Eddie and everyone turns to look at him as he thinks deeply.

"I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea." Steve nods at Eddie's words "But, uh, the Shire... the Shire is burning." everyone turns back to Dustin to see him bouncing excitedly at Eddie's words and Steve frowns knowing exactly what that meant. "So Mordor it is." Eddie says, standing up like an adventurer going on a quest before walking past everyone to follow Dustin.

"What is Mordor?" Steve asks.

"I think it's from a book? It sounds like it is." (y/n) shrugs, giggling as Eddie suddenly runs back to grab his stuff clumsily, sending her a smile. Billy raises a brow at the interaction, standing next to his girlfriend as Eddie stands on her other side. "Was that from a book?" she asks him and the metalhead nods eagerly.

"It is actually! From a series that I have been reading."

"Wow, didn't think you knew how to read Munson." Billy says and (y/n) shoots him a look.

"What's the genre?" his girlfriend asks the metalhead. "Fiction?"

"Yes! From a series actually."

"I haven't had the chance to get back into reading lately, maybe I'll give it a go. What's it called?"

"You read!?" Eddie gasps in excitement that he gets to share his passion with someone, (y/n) nodding. "It's called-"

"-remember, she's my girlfriend." Billy hisses at Eddie as he pulls his love close against his side, her raising a brow at the clearly jealous boyfriend.

"Man, I know she's your girlfriend. Damn." Eddie raises his hands in defence, taking a step back. "We're just talking about books."

"No need to be jealous love, I'm all yours." (y/n) whispers, smirking at her boyfriend who nods, squeezing her hip. Steve rubs his chest watching the two guys fawn over the girl he loves behind him, not noticing Robin giving the dejected guy a sad look.

"You need to let her go Steve..." Robin whispers to him as she walks next to him and he bows his head in defeat.

"I know... but I don't know if I can..."

~~~~~~~~

"Dustin!? Can you slow down? Dustin?" Eddie calls out, avoiding the branch that almost wacks his face as he tries to follow the kid along with everyone else, struggling to not get lost in the dark woods now that nighttime had fallen.

"I think we're getting close!" Dustin exclaims until Eddie quickly grabs the back of his hoodie to stop him from falling into the water.

"Watch your step, big guy." Eddie sighs, making sure the kid doesn't fall into the lake in front of him.

"There's a gate in this lake?" (y/n) asks, shivering lightly against the cold of the night and Billy takes his jacket off to wrap it around her.

"Lovers Lake." Robin corrects.

"Ok... Lovers Lake... but why here? How the fuck is there a gate here?" (y/n) mumbles out, thanking her boyfriend quietly as he wraps his arms around her to keep her warm.

"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way." Nancy explains.

"Wait, wait, wait. Eddie, this is where Patrick... this lake?" (y/n) asks the boy, seeing the frightened look wash over his face before he slowly nods. His eyes hollowed with blank terror from watching someone die in front of him again and she holds his shoulder, patting him to carefully bring him back. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have asked..." he shakes his head, giving her a weak smile.

"No, it's... it's fine...?" Eddie whispers but (y/n) shakes her head, pulling him away from the group for a bit as everyone sets up the boat.

"I know you're not fine... no one can be fine seeing someone die brutally in front of them..." she whispers, holding his hands in his as she remembers the nightmare of her love dying in front of her over and over again. Billy narrows his eyes as he helped Steve set up the boat, letting the girls get on first while he watched his girlfriend comfort the metalhead.

"I just... it keeps replaying in my head over and over... the way their body just..." Eddie sighs, running his hands over his face but it makes the nightmares more vivid and he shoots his eyes open. He was so tired, not being able to have a wink of sleep in fear of being trapped back with losing Chrissy and the townspeople coming to get him with pitchforks.

"It's going to take a while... for all this to roll over and even then, I know it's not going to be easy. You can't forget it... it will always be there in the back of your mind but somehow, some way, you manage to live with it." (y/n) reaches up to wipe Eddie's tears away, brushing her thumbs against his cheeks and tucking his hair behind his ears before looking over at her family. "You just need to spend time with people that care about you to know that you're ok..." 

"Thank you (y/n)... being the freak of the town... there's not a lot of people that would be there for me... not especially with all this demon shit... no one would believe me." Eddie says, leaning down to hug her. She freezes from the sudden hug but hugs him back, not noticing the heated glare of a jealous boyfriend.

"Well, we're here so you're not alone in this." (y/n) leans back, smiling at Eddie and he nods, the two walking to the boat. Steve, Nancy and Robin were already on, Eddie moving to help Billy keep the boat steady for (y/n) to get on. "Thank you boys." Everyone watches with wide eyes as the boys help (y/n), Billy and Eddie holding a hand of hers each as Steve reached out to help her sit on the boat.

"(y/n) really has the boys whipped for her. Holy shit..." Max whispers to Dustin who slowly nods before he tried to get on the boat but Eddie stops him, shoving him away with his hand on his head.

"Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds 5 people tops, okay?" Eddie says, settling down next to (y/n) as she settles next to Billy, being wedged between the boys. Nancy and Robin try to convince Dustin to stay on shore and look after Max with Lucas, knowing it wasn't safe for the kids to go into the Upside Down.

"The famous trio is back at it again huh." Eddie whispers to (y/n) and Billy, the girl in the middle blushing at his words knowing what he meant.

"Eddie, shut the fuck up." he raises his hands at the girl snapping at him quietly, hoping no one else was overhearing them.

"I mean, a weird scenario now that you think about it. We had a threesome and now we're working together like some old mates on a mystery." Eddie snickers as (y/n) slap a hand over his mouth.

"If I knew you were going to be a cocky fuck, I wouldn't have invited you." Billy hisses lowly but Eddie smirks at him as he leans back to see the jealous boyfriend.

"Don't lie to yourself big boy." Eddie grins as he runs a ringer down Billy's arm but he quickly shoves him off. "I know we all enjoyed it a lot." he whispers into (y/n)'s ear and the boys see her shudder.

"You two behave!" she begs, thanking the night that concealed her red cheeks. Steve pushes the boat against the water before he quickly jumps in, Dustin gasping at the betrayal.

"You said 5!" Steve shrugs, sitting down in front of (y/n) with Eddie and Billy sitting on either side of them, him wedged between the girls who rowed the boat.

"Bedtime at nine, kiddos!" Robin yells out to the kids on shore as Dustin flips off the grownups. "Miss you already!" Nancy and Robin continued to row the boat, following the compass that went haywire as Steve watched with a deep frown seeing the girl he likes interact with two other guys and not him. Billy draped an arm around (y/n)'s shoulders as she laid her head on his, pulling her close as she shivered against the cold while Eddie held her hands in his to keep them warm.

Why couldn't she be with him like she was with them?