—

Nancy stepped on it as we made it to the school. We ran inside and met with Steve and the kids. Even though Dustin didn't say anything wrong, something in my gut was telling me it was. Thoughts came to my head, what if Vecna got Steve?

"We leave you with the kids for 2 hours!" I said to Steve as I ran pass the girls. "You are supposed to keep an eye on them, not take them and break into a school! What are you teaching them?"

"Me?! Max was the one who stole the shrinks keys!"

"So we're tattletaling now huh? Mature."

"Am not! Anyways, im here with them, they're not alone, not dead."

"It was here." Max said as she pointed at the blank wall. "Right here."

"Max, what is going on?" Robin freaks out.

"I heard and saw a-"

"A grandfather clock?" I huffed out. Steve and them turned to me. Max walks up to me.

"How did you know?"

"Wendy?" Steve whispers.

"A guess-" I shrugged off, hoping it was just a coincidence. Deep down I wanted to see if she heard what I did days ago.

"Wendy was like in a trance when we were at the library.
She was just staring at the wall." Nancy said and I was just standing there, nothing more to say.

"So was Max. She was in a trace or something. Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy. Exactly like-"

"No!" I shouted. "It was a wild guess! Come on guys! You got to believe me!"

"Its not even the bad part." Max takes my hand and we head to the office. We gathered around the desk to hear out Max. "Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help. Uh the both were having headaches, bad headaches that wouldn't go away and then..." i gulped. This cant be. No! "Then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. Then they start seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts." Lonnie. "These visions, they just kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually... everything ended."

"Vecnas curse."

"Chrissys headache started a week ago. Freds six days ago, ive been having them for five days." Max looks at me. "Wendy's been getting them for 3 days now." I shook my head no. "For Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision. And i just saw that goddamn clock so... looks like im gonna die tomorrow."

"Nobody is dying okay?" I grabbed Max's hand. "Do you understand that?"

"You saw the clock didn't you? It wont be far enough for you to get your first vision."

"Vecna has you." Robin stands up to me, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"He does not." I walked away from her, turning my back against the others. Steve walks up, grabbing my left hand, playing with my finger. He makes me turn to him. "Steve, im okay." I assured him.

"The bloody nose." He whispers.

"Dry weather. California is a very dry place, Hawkins messed it up." I made up.

"The headaches."

"It's literally been a stressful few months!" I plopped my arms to my side. "Vecna doesn't have me." Tears started to form. Even though I said he doesn't, the signs are all there. He does and that means, I got 3 days left.

"Wendy, baby." Steve places his hands on my cheeks, making me look up at him. My lip quivered, nose red and tears full of tears. "You have to let me know if you are seeing these things. I cant protect you if you dont tell me." I cant do that to him. Hes the love of my life. "Wendy..."

"Im scared Steve." I let out with a sob. "I don't want to die." He pulls me in for a hug.

"I got you okay." He kisses my head. "Im here. Im not leaving you, never." We all snap our heads as we heard a clank. Steve gets out of my hands. "Stay here." Robin stands next to me as he grabs a lamp post and heads out. Dustin follows behind him, making us follow to. As we got to the corner, someone was running towards us, Steve was ready to swing until Lucas pops up, scaring everyone and his hands up to protect himself.

"Its me!" He screams.

"Lucas!?" I yelled at him.

"Jesus Sinclair, whats wrong with you?" Steve yells at him as well.

"Im sorry!"

"I could've taken you out with this lamp!"

"Sorry guys. Sorry, sorry." Lucas kept apologizing. I was... i was biking for 8 miles." He walks around a bit, catching his breath. "Give me a second. Shit. We've got a code red."

"What?" Lucas scuffs at Steve, heading to Dustin.

"Dustin, ive been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy and they've gone totally off the rails. They're trying to capture Eddie and they think you know where he is." This isn't good. "You're in terrible danger."

"Alright yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason now." He turns to Max. Lucas looks at her and was now worried, thinking, what about Max?

—

Steve and I headed home for the night, still updates from Dustin and keeping an eye on her. I managed to get myself into the shower and sat there. Im next. God why did it happen when I came back? I need to know that there has to be a way to get out of this curse. Victors gotta have a way.

What am I going to say to Jonathan! Aunt Joyce! El! Oh no... Will, what am I going to tell Will? The thoughts of them loosing me made me cry.

"Guys answer the phone! I need to talk to you! Call me back, its Wendy." I hung up the phone and dialed the number again. Straight to voicemail again. Shit! Shit! Shit! "Jonathan! Will! El! Aunt Joyce! Im not playing around! Im going to be on Vecnas kill list and I need to tell you! Answer me!" I slam the phone back and let out a frustrated groan. 

"Lucas said that he has watch on Max. She's going to be okay." Steve said as he walked into his room. He noticed how i was and holds me. "Wendy... hey hey dont cry."

"What did I do to deserve this? What did Max do? I mean, i was a shitty person before but why cant it all stop?"

"I wish I knew. But I promise you, we, I, will find a way to stop this. You are not going anywhere." He pushes his hair back. "You're staying here, with me."

"Steve..." he shushes me but I talked over him. "If anything happens, please tell aunt joyce, El, Jonathan and Will, i love them. Thank you for letting me in. I would never repay you all and making me happy again."

"Dont start this please. You're not dying."

"Please." I whispered to him. "Promise me that."

"Im not going to promise anything, just wait okay? Not yet." The floors creaked as we paced around the tiny room. "I will sacrifice my life for you to live, I will do it in a heartbeat. But right now, lets not talk about you dying okay? I don't want to think about that." He kept playing with my ring finger, his thumb going around in circles. He didn't make eye contact. Was he too scared?

"What is up with you today?"

"What? Nothing is wrong." He quickly responded.

"You cant do that!" I pointed at him. "Dont do that. Cut the bullshit Steve." I stood up and stood in front of him. "I know you talked to Joyce a few months ago. I know you said something to Robin. I know that ever since I came back you've been acting all weird. The whole thing with Nancy and Eddie." I forced a laugh and put my hands on my head. "Thats not fine. Steve, you have to tell me what is going on. Just lay it out. Say it. Its just you and me." Steve was lost for words, but he still stood by his answer,

"Just trust me okay." He reaches out for my hand and kisses my knuckles. "Please." All he got was a sigh. I head to my side of the bed and turned my back, looking out the window. "Just don't get mad please. I don't want you to be mad at me." The walkie goes off and Steve was hesitant to go down, but Dustin couldn't stop radioing back so he heads back downstairs to get it.

"Hows Wendy? Any signs?" I heard Dustin say.

"She's okay, besides the fact that she's panicking about dying and how nobody back in California is taking her calls, otherwise shes okay."

"So no signs?"

"Jesus Henderson, no, not yet. Im going back upstairs to be with her. Ill call back if i got anything." Steve slams the walkie down and runs upstairs.

Steve walks in to see Wendy out of bed and looking at a photo of them. His favorite photo that he had at his bedside table. It taken when he went to California for her birthday. It was his favorite memory, she was so happy to see him again, she took him roller skating, watched the new Top Gun movie, and he surprised her to go see Billy Idol.

"Do you still love me?" She whispers as a tear fell on the Polaroid. He kneels down, taking her hands.

"I never stopped. Wendy Ringo Byers you are the love of my life, dont think for a second I stopped loving you. Sorry that I've been a dick, I don't mean to its just that, i can't tell you, like I said, it'll be all worth it later. You are so beautiful and so lucky to have you, and I would be a fool if I let you go." He wipes my tears, making me smile. "Theres that smile that I know and love." For a second, I just looked at him. He was so damn beautiful.

"Im sorry." I whispered to his lips. We shared a kiss, a long, passionate one. Steve gently lays me down on the bed, without breaking the kiss. My hands ran up his arms as he had one hand on the cheek of my face.

He gazed at Wendy with hunger in his eyes as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Steve started taking off Wendy's clothes one by one, flannel, jeans, top, all she was wearing was her bra and underwear. Wendy throws his shirt across the room, revealing his chest, which she loved. Her hands ran through the toned body and Steve gets up and admires her from beneath.

He leans to kiss her scar on her hip and with his teeth, slowly takes her underwear off. His gentle kisses threw her head back, gripping his hair, making him moan. Steve pulls away and guides his hips to meet her entrance. When he pushes into Wendy, it's slow and dragged out, filling her to the brim. Steve moans as he pulls back. Wendy clench around him as he pumps into her again, and Steve's head tilts downward to watch himself sink into her. But Wendy lifted his chin with her finger to make him look at her. While he was inside of her.

Wendy grab his face and pulls him into another kiss. His lips trail to her cheeks to her neck, as he starts to go at faster pace. Wendy pulls him closer, leaving scratches all over his back, him moaning even more into her skin. They both feel a high coming just as Steve's thrusts become sloppier. Wendy's back arches under him as her second climax washes over her, her moans getting more and more desperate. Steve starts to tense as he emptied himself into Wendy. He still hovers over Wendy, still admiring the woman he soon wants to marry. Wendy breathes heavily, but still not breaking eye contact.

"I cant live without you." He breaks the silence. Steve brings Wendy into a hug, holding her. He face laid on his chest, hearing his heartbeat. "You are a part of me."

"I love you more than anything Steve."