A/N: Yes, it's me once again. Let me give you a quick explanation on why these following chapters suddenly exist: I was writing some of the stories of Hawkins' Happenings and thinking of ideas for new stories, so then I came across an idea of a darker, more depressing version of the story you've read above. This Chapter is basically Season 4 rewritten but if the Byers stayed in Hawkins, so this story is a LARGE story, which is why this is split in 3 parts. This also has no influence on the main story, I just thought I'd give this scenario a try.

FINAL WARNING FOR A DARKER AND MORE DEPRESSING STORY THAT YOU DO NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO READ BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE IF YOU DID :)

--- Part 1: The Hellfire Club ---

"What if the Byers stayed in Hawkins? I too sometimes think about that. And I've been through a whole lot of combinations and ideas on how that would've ended. But what if, even these crazy ideas, fit into the multiple worlds interpretation, what if the stories I've been creating, and giving them the non-canon stamp. What if they're out there. What if it's more connected than I thought?"

"That might've been the biggest bullshit story I have ever heard, and what the hell were you talking about with that what if, they did stay in Hawkins." I looked over to Erica who clearly was not enjoying me telling all these stories. "Were there any stories you actually didn't hate?" I asked her. She changed the position she was sitting in, taking another sip from her cup of tea. "Well I liked the ones with Max her whole rebellion squad, oh and the Scoops Troop one," Erica said. "Because you were one of the main characters?" I asked her. "Yeah, did you seriously expect something else?" she said after which she stood up. "Wait where are you going?" I asked her. "I'm not your friend, I still want to get paid," she said as she clearly had enough. "But I have more stories!" I said, hoping she would stay so I could go over more stories. "Listen, I offered to listen because I knew I would get paid, as if I would volunteer to listen to like ten made up stories on two different storylines because you can't handle your break-up," Erica said viciously after which she walked off. I sighed, closing my journal. Yeah, I worked hard on all of it, but well, someone heard it. I reached into my pocket to try and find some cash, only to realize I didn't bring any.

My heart started pounding. What if she found out I didn't have any money, she would kill me on the spot. I figured I had to make a run for it. "So, you got my money?" Erica asked me as soon as I left her room. "Uh, yeah I do," I said while reaching for my pocket. I saw that the front door was behind me, one straight line and I'd be safe. "Right... nowhere!" I said as I ran towards the door. "Hey, what the hell?!" Erica yelled as she started the chase. But she was too slow. I had already made it outside. I was free as I kept running. "PUNK!" she yelled as I managed to then get to my bike and bike away.

It was thursday, after school. Tomorrow friday, one final day before spring break. I don't know whether I was happy with spring break or not. To be honest, I kinda wished it would've started tomorrow. You might've already figured this one out, but yes, me and Will broke up. I don't want to get into the details of it though, but he got justifiably angry at everyone joining Hellfire after neglecting him last summer. He was mostly mad at me, and well, we broke up. We haven't spoken since. God, I wish the stories I created were real, I wish there was a place where Will indeed would have moved to California, then atleast we could've maybe even still been together. But that wasn't my reality, mine was one where we broke up, not speaking. He wasn't speaking to anyone really, he kind of left us for his new friends from arts and crafts. Will is even a theater kid right now. Well atleast he's happy. Even though I'm not, it's okay, maybe I deserve this pain, of being alone, without him.

At home I didn't do much, my mom was around. But she isn't the best parental figure to have. That is why I sometimes go over to Robin's place. I knew about her and she knew about me, even though that makes us like total opposites, we could talk about the same struggles. Today was not that day though. It would be more of a workout for me. Besides, I had to bike to school together with Mike, otherwise he probably wouldn't even go. He's been different ever since last summer. I guess last summer was just very difficult for all of us. I of course, single and depressed. Mike doesn't even want to go out anymore, I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't seen the sun ever since last October for Halloween, keep in mind, it's March now. Lucas, he sorta abandoned us for his new friends, I believe him and Erica aren't even on speaking terms anymore, which is also the reason why Lucas now sorta lives at Dustin's. Max is still not over Billy's death and has turned into a ghost really, but we've bonded after Will and I broke up as I also turned into a ghost. As for Dustin, he's the only one that can still genuinely smile, yeah he was also hurt by everything that happened in the mall, but it wasn't as bad for him as it was for us. He still had Steve, and his other parental figure Eddie.

The next day was the final day of school, a big day, Lucas had his pep rally and the school made it a mandatory thing that everyone attended, so yep, we were forced to watch. I didn't want to but figured it would be a distraction from the suffering, just like tonight would be a distraction by playing Eddie's D&D campaign, the ending of his campaign by the way. Together with Mike I of course biked to school, to mention Mike looked like a corpse, like not even in a bullying or mean sense, but in a way that even the people that he cared about the most and cared the most about him would say it, El would've said it. But she doesn't go to school, I believe Mike does still visit her sometimes, but it has probably been a while.

At school we of course went to the gym for the pep rally. I stood right next to Dustin, who had Mike next to him, who had Max next to him. Now Lucas wasn't with us, because of course, he was in the basketball team. Robin was at the pep rally too, she was playing in band. Then when band was playing their thing, Jason came running through whatever he ran through and took front and center stage while the rest of the team took place behind him, including Lucas who probably waved at Max. But she didn't wave back. Everyone was too busy clapping because that was polite. In my opinion we just had to stroke Jason's ego a little more by giving him his fame.

"Good morning, Hawkins High!" Jason yelled with an upbeat attitude. One that in my case didn't catch on. But for the rest it did as everyone started cheering for him, wherever they got the energy from to do that. "First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you, without your support, we wouldn't be here, give yourselves a big hand!" Jason said as everyone started cheering again. I joined in for once as this was the opportunity to take some of the ego stroking back. "And of course, I have to give a special shout-out to the best and prettiest fans of all time, the Tiger Cheer Squad!" he continued as even more cheering happened. Then he even had to specially shout-out Chrissy Cunningham, his girlfriend and probably the prettiest of the cheerleaders. They shared a romantic moment as some people in the crowd "aww'ed" for them, which really annoyed me, and hurt, knowing I didn't have those moments with Will, wherever he was anyways.

"But I think I can speak for all of us, it's been a tough year for Hawkins," Jason then said as I started thinking back. "So much loss." 

Mike, Max, and I were running through the halls, trying to catch up with El and save her from Billy when we arrived at the spot. There they were, El was slowly crawling backwards. Then the Mind Flayer shot one of his tentacles towards El. Billy jumped in front and got stabbed by the tentacle. He fell to the floor. Dead. I heard Dustin scream "Close it!" through the walkie-talkie. I wanted to stall more time as every second mattered right now. But something held me back, fear, of dying. More than one tentacle went for El. The Mind Flayer killed her before the second one had even hit her. We lost her that day.

"Sometimes I wonder, 'how much loss can one community take?"

"Will, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have," I said as Will looked at me angrily, tears in his eyes. "I thought you guys grew up, but I guess not, so I guess we've outgrown each other," Will said furiously. "Will no I..." I said but Will interrupted me. "You hopefully do realize we're done, and don't expect an apology to work... you really let me down, and I hope you know that!" Will said. "But..." I said as my voice broke, but Will cut right through. "I hate you," Will said, which were his final words.

"In dark days like this, we need something to believe in." I looked through the crowd. I found him. Will. With his new friends, watching, thinking about the past. He didn't seem to care though. "Think of Jack, Melissa, Heather, Billy, even chief Jim Hopper."

The burning of the mall was kind of nice, symbolic almost. El went down with the Mind Flayer, and now the fire would burn it away, to then let the rain appear and everyone would cool off, calm down, to create an era of peace. Hopper didn't make it out, which maybe, thinking about El, is for the better as she didn't survive. I don't think Hopper could live without her. Will had his moment with his mother. Meanwhile Max and Robin were sitting in the back of an ambulance, doors opened so they could watch the mall burn down. I decided to join them, as I knew the loss was great, for Max especially. I really couldn't decide who the lucky one here was. Maybe Max, because she could still live, or El, because atleast she wouldn't be living with the grief for the rest of her life.

"Think about every one of our friends who perished in that fire. What did they die for? For us to lose to some... some crap school? NO! So lets win this game, for them!" The whole crowd started cheering again. "And then tonight, we're gonna bring home this championship throphy!" Jason yelled and the crowd went insane. "Tonight?!" Mike asked Dustin. "How's that possible?" Dustin asked back. I facepalmed. "They call it a tournament," Max said. "You win one game, you go on to play the next until there's only one team left," she explained. The crowd started to slowly make their way outside. Inside this crowd Dustin and Mike went and left for Lucas. I stayed with Max.

"Did you bring it?" I asked her once we were walking outside. She looked at me confused, then remembered, and then looked like she was about to break bad news to me. "I didn't," she said. "Max, I thought you would..." I started but she already went right through my sentence. "Yeah I know, I was just really focused on the pep rally and I forgot," she explained. "But I really thought you had learnt your lesson after last time," I said. "It wasn't my fault he just had to come around the corner right that second," Max explained. "But please..." Max then said as she started begging me. "No, no, I'm not going to ask Eddie," I said as we walked inside. "Please, I can pay you back," Max said. I frowned. "Right, and you are going to take in account all the other times my money went to Eddie?" I asked. Max's facial expression switched as she realized she wasn't going to be able to pay such a large amount back. We stopped at my locker as I started switching some books in between my locker and my bag. "But eh, it's the final day before spring break, so why not," I said as I smiled and slammed my locker shut. "So, I, will, see you after your therapy session!" I said as I almost happily just danced off like a ballerina that was late for class. "Thank you!" Max yelled as I disappeared around the corner to follow class.

After class I met up with Mike and Dustin, who were headed to the cafeteria for lunch. I of course only joined them because I still had to go to Eddie. Meanwhile the other two were going to tell Eddie that Lucas wasn't going to make it to Hellfire tonight and that we had to postpone the game which I didn't agree on because I was deadset on going to Hellfire and NOT the basketball game. In the cafeteria, Eddie was reading some stupid magazine I didn't care about. "Shit, he seems really revved up today," Dustin said as we just stood there in the middle of the cafeteria with our lunch in our hands. "He's always revved up," I said. Mike was silent. "Just act casual," Dustin said. We walked to the table and sat down. "Exactly, we're the freaks because we play a fantasy game," Eddie said without even looking at us. As if he didn't even notice us sitting down in the first place. "But, as long as you're into band! Or science..." he said as he climbed onto the table. I pulled my food towards me as he almost stepped right in. "Or parties..." Eddie said with a sneeringly voice. "Or a game, where you toss balls into laundry baskets!" he yelled towards Jason's table. Jason of course stood up again. "You want something freak?" he asked. Eddie proceeded to do some weird gesture which I can't even begin to describe. "It's forced conforming," Eddie the continued as he walked back to his place over the table. "That's what's killing the kids!" he shouted as he jumped off of the table almost right onto a random girl. And like the gentleman he is, he then let some cheerleaders safely pass by. "That's the real monster," Eddie said after which Dustin decided to cut in. "So, uh, speaking of monsters," he started. "Lucas has to do his, uh, balls in laundry baskets game, so..." Dustin continued as he started awkwardly laughing. "He's not gonna be able to make it to Hellfire tonight," Dustin laughed. "So, me and Mike were talking, shooting the shit, and thinking we uh, could maybe..." he continued but Mike cut him off. "Postpone?" The entire table got angry, to avoid being targeted even I got angry. So then Eddie, who stayed eerily calm, forced the two to find a sub. I stayed at the table. "What are you still doing here?" he asked, confused as to why I didn't join them in finding a sub. "I, uh, hehe, need some more," I said. "How much?" he asked after a sigh. "Just anything really," I said. He grabbed his lunchbox and opened it. Then he looked around to see if there was anyone watching. He then proceeded to give me a bag. "You really just took the last of my stash," he said as I handed him the cash I had on me. "Thank you, so much," I said after which I got up and left the cafeteria.

Since I was kind of in a hurry as lunch break was almost over and I couldn't be late to class, I was almost like running through the halls. Past my locker, to the right and then there at the end of the hallway another left. I literally was cutting corners as that was way faster. That resulted in taking a left and bumping right into Will. The bag with the stuff I got from Eddie fell on the ground, right inbetween some flyers. I sighed softly as we made eye contact. I still didn't know for sure whether it was cool between us again. "Maybe watch where you're going next time?" he asked, politely, in a way it didn't come off as rude or mean. "Yeah, maybe," I said as I looked down to see if I could find the bag. It was hidden between the flyers but I did find it. After I got the bag I started grabbing some flyers. Will was picking them up too. "Here you go," I said after grabbing a few and giving them to him as we both stood up again. "What're you flyering for anyway?" I asked. "Oh, just a new play," Will said. He decided to hand me over a flyer. I looked at it and immediately didn't recognize the title. Then at bottom I saw 'written by Will Byers'. "You wrote this?" I asked. "Yeah, but I got a lot of help from others, I just kind of formatted it," he explained, talking himself down even though I knew for sure he did it all on his own. "Wow, look at you mister famous," I said jokingly. He smiled. "Yeah, sort of, it's tomorrow by the way," Will said. "Because tonight is the game so no one will actually show up, and tomorrow the school will be empty anyways," he explained. "Right, uh, well, good luck, but I really have to be going now," I said flatly, god I feel like I really turned into a ghost. Will nodded. I walked right past him towards the bathroom.

"Well that took forever, we only have like 5 minutes left, so you better tell me Eddie gave you some..." Max started as soon as she saw me. I threw the bag onto the sink. "Easy stuff," she said as I climbed onto the sink and sat down. Max put her headphones around her neck and stopped her cassette tape as she grabbed the bag and started to search for the opening. "Ooh, what'cha listening to?" I asked as I grabbed her headphones and put them on. "Oh, nothing, just the best song you have ever heard!" she said excited as she pressed play. A beat started playing as Max grabbed the bottle and opened it. The song finally started playing as I realized she was listening to Kate Bush. "Oh Kate Bush, yeah I know this one, of course I do," I said as Max dropped some pills from the bottle into her hands. Then she gave me a few. "Are we ready?" Max asked. "Why even bother counting, we have like what, four minutes left?" I said as I proceeded to throw all the pills right in, one flew right by my mouth however. I wanted to pick it up but heard someone gagging. At first I thought it was me, but no, I wasn't, then I thought it was Max, but she hadn't even taken the pills yet. Maybe Max had some corrupted version of Kate Bush where she suddenly just starts gagging. But no, it wasn't Kate Bush either because when I took off the headphones I could still hear it. Max was looking at one of the stalls so I followed and saw a girl, hanging over the toilet. Presumably as I only saw her legs. "Hey, are you okay?" Max asked. "Yeah, I'm fine, just go away," the girl said. "But..." Max started but I tapped her on her shoulder and sorta demanded we would leave. Max looked from me back at the girl and then followed me out of the bathroom.

The rest of the day was kind of a blur. A lot happened. And not a lot really stuck out. That was probably the pills doing its thing, viby nevertheless. Dustin and Mike came running by once, asking me if I was going to come to the D&D game tonight. I believe I said yes, but I was gonna watch. Their reaction was something along the lines of a lot of cursing. Now they were gonna have to find another sub, or just one sub and pray they would make it. I couldn't really follow class, which was fine, as if I was going to make it through the year anyway. I might've walked past Will who might've been a bit offended by me ignoring him, but I'm not sure if I made that up. I met up with Max after my final class who was going through the same stuff as we started our high chat. "Hee, u wanna stay at m place," she said drowsy but almost like she was living out her best dream. "Yeh, bu I have a gaym tonight," I said. "That'sss great mehn, what's it about?" she asked. "D&D, but we can watsj," I said. "Do u know wha was in those pillz?" I then asked her. "Something, not so goodd," Max said after which I lost track of her. Maybe I made the chat up, I really don't know.

That night, was the night of the game. Now I have no clue how drugs work, or whatever those pills were, but I believe they didn't last long. Luckily Max still had a few, but we were going to take some more after the D&D session. Now me and Max were just going to watch, so the guys had two find two subs for some reason. The first sub was a obvious choice as they brought Erica in. I hid behind Max hoping to avoid my payment because I was seriously broke now. The second sub was Will. Yeah apparently he was still interested in playing. "Is this a joke?" Eddie asked when he looked at Erica and Will. "You asked for a sub, we delivered," Dustin said. "This is Hellfire Club, not Babysitting Club," Eddie replied. "I'm eleven, you long-haired freak!" Erica said. Will was silent. "My, my, the child speaks, what's your name?" Eddie asked her. "Erica Sinclair," she answered. "Oh, Sinclair's little sister, and that other guy was that Byers kid right, the one you guys didn't want in Hellfire because he would..." Eddie started as he then grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and looked at the text on it. "Never shut up about Hellfire if he was and you'd get so annoyed you'd rather die," Eddie read out loud. "Signed by Mike, Dustin, Lucas and (y/n)," he continued. "Real mature guys," Will said offended. Of course he was offended, but we broke up because of this piece of paper, but I only signed it afterwards, so the 'real mature' comment was definitely directed at me. "What's your class and level, level 1 dwarf?" Eddie then asked Erica. "My name is Lady Applejack..." "And Will The Wise," Will said right in between Erica's words. "... and I'm a chaotic good half-elf rogue, level 14. I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri and I'll smile as I watch them die a slow, agonizing death. So are we gonna do this or we gonna keep chitchatting like this is your mommy's book club?" Erica said. Everyone was silent. Then Eddie welcomed Erica to Hellfire. Will looked hopeful to Eddie. Eddie looked at Will and then at us. I sighed because of course no one dared to say anything and I wasn't afraid of another fight. "Fine, welcome him to Hellfire if that's what he wants," I said. Eddie welcomed Will to Hellfire and their game started.

Max didn't understand anything of what was going on so half of the time she was asking me what was going on. Then I would laugh at her and proceed to not explain anything. So that was a fun bonding moment. To be honest, I think Max and I were bestfriends by now, like we did most things together. The game itself was going okay I think. Eventually it was just Will and Erica who were alive and decided to just go for it and kill Vecna I guess. I wasn't paying attention. But since the game was close to ending I watched both of them go up against Vecna. Will rolled his dice first and was ultimately defeated when he threw a 14, even though he had to hit a 15, so he almost survived. Erica then came in and won the game for everyone. So everyone started cheering. Max was already on her way leaving the room. I saw Will looking at me. "Bye," I said without even thinking straight. Afterwards I began to realize maybe I should've congratulated him or something. But I soon forgot about that when Max pushed another few of those pills right in my hands.

--- Part 2: The Play --- 

"I remember going with Max to Max's place, going inside and then it's just gone, no memory of what happened afterwards." I might've jumped ahead a bit too far, but I guess my words kind of explained what happened. The next morning I woke up, obviously confused where I was as I did not remember anything from last night. But then I realized I was at Max's place. I only realized that because Max woke me up. She was in a bit of a panic because apparently she saw some stuff while I was asleep. Max rambled something about Eddie and lights flickering and that we HAD to go to Dustin to tell him about this stuff since Dustin obviously was the only option right now. Mike was never interested and Lucas had other friends. So I was placed on the back of Max's bike and she drove us to Dustin where of course they had to ask me what I remembered first, and that's where I jumped to.

"Okay, well, you're not going to be useful," Dustin said. Then he turned to Max. "So what did you see?" Dustin asked. Max sat down on his bed where I was already sitting. "Well, I saw him arriving at his place, with Chrissy," Max explained. "Chrissy? Cunningham, that cheerleader girl from Jason?" I asked. "Yeah," Max said as she looked at me. "But why would she go to Eddie?" Dustin asked. "My question exactly," Max said. "Wait, it might be a reach," I started. Max and Dustin looked at me. "And you're sure you're not high?" Dustin asked. "No, but I just had an idea," I explained. "So, I bought the pills from Eddie, he mentioned it was the last in his stash, but I assume he keeps spare at home so he can restock?" I asked. "Yeah, but how would Chrissy know Eddie trades drugs, like she isn't a customer of his, they don't even know each other?" Dustin asked. "The bathroom," Max said as she realized where I was going. "She was the one gagging at the toilet," Max said as she then looked at me. I started nodding. "And if I remember correctly..." I started.

"Well that took forever, we only have like 5 minutes left, so you better tell me Eddie gave you some..." Max started as soon as she saw me. I threw the bag onto the sink. "Easy stuff," she said as I climbed onto the sink and sat down.

"We specifically mentioned Eddie, now she might've herself followed some more clues to Eddie's drugs," I continued. "One of the pills," Max said. "You took them but threw one right on the ground," Max explained. "You never picked it up." Dustin was shocked by our whole analysis as he looked back and forth between me and Max. "So we know Chrissy went to Eddie for drugs, what else do we know?" Dustin asked. "Well, after I put (y/n) safely to bed, I went for a snack," Max said. "Lucas perhaps?" I asked teasingly. "No, but when I walked back the lights started to flicker, so I walked to the window and saw Eddie, go to his car," Max explained. "Nothing that weird or anything, Eddie always drives like a maniac and the power goes off at my place all the time. It's a piece of shit. But, this morning, I started to think back..." Max then started as Dustin sat down besides her. "The look on his face, he was scared, really scared, maybe because he killed her," Max continued. "No, he wouldn't kill Chrissy, he'd kill us first, for basically emptying his entire stash," I said. "That's not the point, what if something else killed her?" Max brought up. "Something from the other side?" I asked. "But that's impossible right, we closed the gate," Dustin said. "I hope it's not from the other side, otherwise El's death might've been for nothing," I said as I of course created some sadness in the room. I bet I wasn't the only one who saw it play back in my head again. The tentacle, stabbing her, Mike running towards her, hoping to save her, me wanting to do everything I could with my powers. I never gave those up, I still have them, but using them is just another reminder of everything and everyone we've lost, so I don't use them anymore. 

"There's one person that actually knows what happened," Dustin then said. I looked up, hopeful probably, trying to think who this person could be. "Eddie," Max then said as I realized what a dumbass I was being. Now I was a bit behind on the whole plan as we walked towards the front door. "Have you guys talked to anyone about this?" Dustin asked. "Did you even listen to my story, I was out due to those pi..." I started but stopped when we reached the living room where Dustin's mother was sitting. "Pizza slices, I really shouldn't eat that much," I quickly said to cover up the drug usage.

Their plan was going to the Family Video where Robin and Steve were working, but we weren't going there for them, we were going there for phones? Yeah, I didn't get it either, which I of course also had shared with them.

"So we are going to Family Video not for back-up but for... phones?" I asked them while sitting on the back of Max's bike. "Yes," Dustin answered. "And remind me again, how is this going to help in our quest of finding Eddie?" I asked. "Well we thought maybe we could call some of Eddie's friends to ask them if they know where he might be," Max said as she stood up just to bike faster. Mainly to keep up with Dustin because my weight slowed us down a bunch. "You guys do realize that if Eddie is at one of these friends, they might keep his location unknown and thus we will never know if they're telling the truth?" I said after which they both went silent. "You got any plan B's for that?" I asked as a follow-up question. "Then we'll just, ask them if they know where he'd, or could, or you..." Max started but obviously couldn't really find any way of finishing that sentence, since I was obviously right like always. "Let's just call, maybe they think he killed her, then they'd probably not want a killer in their house," Dustin assisted her.

After some more biking we arrived at the Family Video and together as three besties we went right in. "Hey, Steve," Dustin said as we walked up to the counter in a bit of a rush. "Did you see this?" Steve asked back as he pointed at their small television. The tv was displaying a news article on the Hawkins High Student that was murdered. Eddie's trailer was visible in the background, so already there was a possibility that people were suspecting him of the murder. However his name didn't go public yet so there wasn't a manhunt anywhere close. "How many phones do you have?" Dustin asked Steve as Robin rose from behind the counter with some of the movies they apparently had to restock or something, I don't know, I've never worked here. "Someone was murdered?" Steve said being confused by why we showed up looking for phones. And Dustin's question still hadn't been answered yet. "How many phones, do, you, have?" he asked once again. "Uh, two, why?" Steve said as he turned to Robin who was also thinking very hard. "Well, technically three, if you count Keith's," she brought up. Max then turned to Dustin. "Three works, right?" she asked. "Well it's better than nothing," Dustin said as he grabbed his backpack and slid it across the counter. "Wow, what are you doing?!" Steve yelled as Robin got angry for Dustin messing up her pile. Dustin then continued to climb onto the counter and slide right to the other side, following his backpack. Max meanwhile started walking around, so I just followed her, knowing that I didn't want to make a bigger mess.

"Setting up base of operation here," Dustin meanwhile said, answering Steve's question. "Base of operations?" Robin asked as Max and I finally reached the other side of the counter. "Okay, get off," Steve said, starting to pull Dustin away from the computer. Dustin didn't budge as he needed it. "For Eddie's friends' phone numbers," he said. "Your new best friend you think is cooler because he plays your nerdy game?" Steve asked with like, a lot of jealousy, I can't even begin to explain. "Seriously, you guys, maybe on a Monday you can play around, but it's Saturday, it's our busiest day," Robin said who was cleaning up the mess Dustin created. "Robin, I empathize, but this cannot wait," Dustin told her. "Do you want me to strangle him or-?" Steve said as he walked over to Robin. "We could take turns," she then said cold blooded, finishing tidying up the place placing some paperwork nicely on one pile. "Can you guys fill them in while I do this?" Dustin asked me and Max. "Fill us in on what exactly?" Robin asked as she turned around.

"So last night, a Hawkins High Student was murdered," Max started. "Oh wow, what a total surprise," Steve said sarcastically pointing at the tv. "No but here's the thing, the cops think Eddie killed her, but he's innocent," I said trying to get to the point quickly but of course, everyone had to say everything they were thinking of. "Wait, so it's a she, that got murdered?" Steve asked. "Didn't the news already mention this?" Robin asked him back. "Also, how do you know Eddie is innocent?" she then asked. "Well, I said we can't rule it out..." Max started. "Yes, we can!" Dustin said angrily as he kept typing away at the computer. "Anyway, the dead girl is Chrissy Cunningham, she went to Eddie to buy drugs and then uh," Max continued. "Then, according to our only source, Maxine Mayfield, the lights started to flicker and Eddie ran away scared," I said, finishing the explanation. "So, what are you guys trying to tell us here?" Steve asked. "Lights flickering? Upside Down?" I said. "Wait, you guys really think we have to go through this shit all over again?!" Robin asked scared. "I really hope it's not, it already cost more than we could afford," I said. 

"El!" Mike yelled at the top of his lungs. He ran towards her, not a care in the world, even if The Mind Flayer would take his life next, he'd be with her again. He dove right towards her, hugged her tightly as he started crying. I just stood there as I saw the monster then fall down, dead. The adults closed the gate. Max slowly walked over to Billy as she too lost someone that day. I didn't know it back then, but even I, would lose someone close to me. 

"I hate you!" Those words come back to me every now and then and play on repeat in my head a few times. Enough times to make me remember the days before high school, where we were still kids, without a care in the world.

"Have you seen or heard from Eddie recently?" So after the whole explanation and going over the details again on Chrissy in the bathroom and like, proving over and over again that it was her, Steve and Robin joined in to help us make some calls, or well, some of us made calls since we only had three phones. Steve decided to keep working and I decided to sit down next to the door and think about what could be going on. "Eddie Munson." Max, Dustin and Robin were busy calling everyone they could find. "When was the last time you talked to him?" or "Have you seen him?" were like the two most used questions definitely. "I'm preeeetty, sure he isn't at the arcade, yep pretty sure." I was sitting there, listening to them keep asking the same questions again and again. Thinking about Max her descriptions. Descriptions you're asking? Yeah well Max decided to describe the state of Chrissy's body when she saw it this morning. So I'm wondering, if it were Eddie, how the hell did he even manage to snap and twist her bones like that, like sure, someone can be so messed up to actually do that, but, just, how? "Reefer Rick? No. Does this Reefer Rick have a last name? I mean, it's kind of..." "All right, Doctor Zhivago," Steve said as he walked up to a customer. He was once again failing at getting a woman. Maybe he should just call quits and start dating a guy, like I am... was doing. Steve gave the movie to the lady as she then walked out the door. "See ya," she said. "Yeah, see ya later, alligator," Steve said as he closed the door again, which was the exact moment Max suddenly caught everyone's attention.

"Hey guys, I might have a lead," she said as I came back to the counter just like everyone else. "Apparently, Eddie gets his drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick," Max said. "How didn't we know this?" I asked both her and myself. "Sometimes, Eddie crashes there," Max continued. "That sounds promising, where does Reefer Rick live?" Robin asked her. "See, that's the thing, no one knows. He's more of a... a legend than someone that people actually know," Max explained. "That's why we didn't know it," I then said. "Last name?" Dustin asked. "Nope, don't know that either," Max said. "I bet the cops know his last name," Steve suggested. "He's a drugdealer right? He must've been busted at some point," he continued. "That's your suggestion? The cops?" Dustin asked him as if Steve was stupid. "The cops should be filled in on what we know," Steve said. "You think he's guilty, don't you?" Dustin asked him. "Whoa, I believe in innocent until proven guilty, all that constitutional shit," Steve explained. "I just don't think we can rule it out," he continued. "That's precisely what we're trying to do here, Steve," Max argued back. "Maybe, you should spend less time trying to find a girlfriend and more time trying to find Eddie?" I suggested. "Someone has to attend to the customers," Steve argued. "Especially if they're babes right?" Robin said as she winked. "No, I attend to all customers equally, babes and non-babes alike, we've got a very big selection in here, it can be super overwhelming for people," Steve argued back. Robin then suddenly seemed to realize something as she said: "Yeah, it can be." She then turned around and moved over to the computer. "What, are you doing?" I asked. "Maybe we don't need a last name," Robin said as she started typing like Dustin was doing a few minutes ago. "Twelve Ricks already have accounts here," she said after pressing enter. The computer showed a whole list of random Ricks. Rick Conroy, Rick Naranjo, Rick Sanchez. "That's a lot of Ricks," Max said. "Yes, so, let's narrow it down," Robin said as she once again typed something and pressed enter. Then she proceeded to go through every Rick on the list. Now I know I should've been paying attention, but since I have already told a lot, I'll just skip right to the right Rick. Rick Lipton. "Spelled like the tea. 2121 Holland Road," Robin said. "That's out by Lovers Lake," Dustin mentioned. "Middle of nowhere, perfect place to hide," Max said as a slight celebration started to happen because we finally figured out where Eddie was hiding. 

"Okay, Holland Road, that's that way, past high school," Steve said as he slammed the car door shut. We were about to drive off when I remembered something. "Wait!" I said as everyone's attention turned to me. I then reached into my pocket and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper. After I opened it I revealed the flyer. "What is that, why are you showing us this?" Dustin asked. "It's Will's play, it's tonight, at school because, yesterday they held the game and so no one would show up," I explained. "Yeah, and uh, why do we need to care?" Steve asked. "Well, I uh, wanted to go, cause it says, 'written by Will Byers' and he started down talking himself again and I just wanted to go to support him," I continued. "But you guys broke up and haven't spoken a word to each other ever since," Max issued. "Yeah, but, I... can you guys just please drop me off at school?" I asked them. Robin looked at Steve. "Sure, fine, just, don't get your bones snapped in directions you don't want them, we still don't know who did this," Steve said like the caring babysitter he is. "Yes, I'll be careful, you guys can come pick me up later," I said hoping they would understand. With one final look at all four of them they agreed to let me go to school. So we drove off. On the way to the school it was silent, apart from Steve telling Robin to take a left or a right, even though Robin of course already knew how to get to the school. Eventually we made it and I hopped out. "Well, have fun," Max said. "Thanks, good luck with finding Eddie," I said as the four of them all thanked me. Max then closed her door and the four drove off. Meanwhile I turned around and saw that they put down a red carpet as if the theater kids were celebrities. I was running late however so I quickly ran inside.

Inside I made my way over to the cafeteria since that's where it would take place. The cafeteria has a stage and everything so of course it's held there. Once I reached the cafeteria I looked around. The tables had been put to the side and the seats were all lined up, creating multiple rows for people to sit. Most of the seats were filled, didn't know people would voluntarily go to school on a Saturday, but then again I was now also voluntarily at school on a Saturday so, guess what, I'm one of those people. This is what I thought while looking around, and then my eye fell on Joyce who was sitting front row to support her son. Jonathan would've been on the front row too, as his biggest supporter. But he wasn't here, not anymore. 

"Jonathan?!" Nancy ran through the hallways of the hospital after El had blasted the Mind Flayer blob out of the window. From what I could recall, they were attacked by Tom and Bruce. Apparently Jonathan got hurt pretty badly. Me and Will followed while El took the other three outside to see if they could find the blob. "I'm okay," Jonathan said as he coughed up some blood. "No you're bleeding, we need to take you... to another floor of this hospital," Nancy said, realizing we were already in the hospital. "No, I think I'm just gonna sit here for a bit," Jonathan said after which Will forcefully moved Jonathan's arm which was covering up something. He got stabbed in the stomach. "Jonathan no," Will said looking at his stomach. "Yeah, I'm fine," Jonathan said as he smiled which should've calmed us all down a bit but his teeth were all bloody too from the blood coughs so nope, didn't work. "Jonathan, please stay with us," Nancy said. Will was looking afraid, but hopeful that his brother would survive. "No, you guys, stop him," Jonathan said weakly. "But we don't want to lose you!" Nancy said. Jonathan turned to Will and leaned towards him. "Will, I love you, but I cannot go on much longer, you gotta stay strong, I don't care how you do it, just, kill that fucker for me would ya," Jonathan told Will after which Jonathan leaned back again. "No, you need to help us," Will said. "Please, I still need you," Will continued, but Jonathan didn't respond anymore. He too, died. Just like El and Billy the next night. 

To be honest, maybe our whole explosive fight and us breaking up was also influenced by all the people we lost. Would things have been different if we hadn't lost almost everyone. I walked over towards Joyce, even though she despised me after the fight Will and I had. I didn't sit down close to her, but there was one seat left in the front row. After like five minutes of sitting the lights went out and then they shined some lights on the stage. Will then came up on stage. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, looking through the crowd. Joyce cheered him on. I don't think he knew I actually showed up, he couldn't see me because of the lights. "Welcome to this play, my uh, very first play, written by me, Will Byers," he said as he started walking across the stage, still looking at the crowd. "This play tells a story, of a group of friends, and how they grow up, and have to find a way to not grow apart," he explained, which I recognized. It kinda made me pissed, he used our situation and turned it into a show. What in the? But then I got a bit scared, he was definitely gonna use this experience and try to show off what kind of bad friends we were, and making himself the victim, even though we all know he wasn't the victim, we all were. Maybe he'd stay true to himself. My feelings weren't exactly delightful, no euphoria noticable within me. "I hope you enjoy this play," Will said, ending his whole explanation on the play as the lights dimmed again as they got some props on stage. 

I will briefly go over the not interesting stuff, being a boy and a girl getting together; being a reflection on me and Will getting together, he went over Jonathan's death, El's death, Billy's death and just the traumatic summer events. Then he got to the fight, the fight between Will and I, which was extremely similar to the real fight. 

"Why the hell are you guys down..." Will said as he suddenly came down the stairs of Mike's basement. Mike, Lucas, Dustin and I were playing D&D, trying to create strategies we could use against Vecna. Will wasn't in Hellfire so he wasn't invited, but he found out somehow. "here... are you playing D&D?" he asked. "Will, it's uh, exactly what it looks like," Lucas then said realizing he wasn't going to hide this. "Sorry," I said as we all went silent. "How could you?!" he yelled at me. "How could you all?!" he yelled at all four of us. He quickly ran back up the stairs. "Wait!" I yelled as I quickly ran right after him. "Will just wait, we were gonna invite you, it's just you're not in Hellfire and the guys didn't want you around I guess," I explained. "Don't lie, you don't want to have me in Hellfire either, and what's even the point, apparently you guys didn't want to play with me last summer," Will said. "You especially, you gave me hope that we... we would still be kids together," he said angrily. "It hurt," he continued. "Will, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have," I said as Will looked at me angrily, tears in his eyes. "I thought you guys grew up, but I guess not, so I guess we've outgrown each other," Will said furiously. "Will no I..." I said but Will interrupted me. "You hopefully do realize we're done, and don't expect an apology to work... you really let me down, and I hope you know that!" Will said. "But..." I said as my voice broke, but Will cut right through. "I hate you," Will said, which were his final words.

That's where it was supposed to end in the play too, but that's where Will changed reality up a bit. In the play, Will was followed by the guy who portrayed Mike, so the conversation already differed from reality. I watched as Will told 'Mike' that he hated him. But then 'Mike' got really pissed. He made a fist and punched Will right across the face. The crowd gasped, but it was of course a part of the play, so Will was fine as 'Mike' didn't actually hit him. But that was apparently a lie. "Ouch." I heard someone whimper. The sound came from Will. He was on the stage, flat on the ground whimpering from pain. "What the-" I said as the lights from the cafeteria went on again. Some of the theater kids went up on stage. "What the hell man?" one of them asked 'Mike'. "I didn't hit him!" he said. Then I saw it myself, Will's nose was bleeding and his hand reached for the back of his head because he hit the ground way too hard. One of the theater kids then told the crowd awkwardly: "Hehe, let's take a break you all, we'll return to you once we have news!" Two other kids then pulled Will backstage. I decided I had to go and take a look there.

I found Will backstage, on a chair, having three different people attend the back of his head and his nose. "Will!" I said, announcing my arrival to help him. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Well, I wanted to see the play of course, are you okay?" I asked. Will slowly shook his head, which was a wrong thing to do. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," he said holding his head still again. "Did you need anything?" I asked hoping to be able to help him. "No, just, maybe you should just go home," Will told me. I was kind of shocked. He just told me to go home. "But..." I said. "No, please go home," he said. I only wanted to help, and he just turned me away. "Well, I'm sorry I asked," I said. I was about to walk away when Joyce also showed up. "What, the hell are you doing here," she said, obviously angry at me. "Mom, it's okay, leave him alone..." Will said but Joyce didn't hear him. "Leave my son alone!" she yelled as she could've literally murdered me right on the spot, but of course didn't because she didn't want to get caught even though she could definitely get away with it. "I was already leaving!" I yelled at her. I then walked past Will towards the back exit. I opened the door, going outside. "(y/n), wait!" I heard Will yell when I was already outside. I turned back to look at the door where he was standing, leaning against the fence, because he would fall from the pain otherwise. "Thank you, for showing up," he said hoping to lighten the mood a bit. "Yeah, whatever," I said flatly as I didn't really want to stay here anymore. I wanted to go home, and just like peacefully be on my own again. Maybe that was the best idea right now. So that's what I did, I went home and at home went straight to my bedroom, jumping, landing safely in my bed. 

--- Part 3: The Princess And The Dealer ---

The following morning I woke up again, as usual. To be honest, after everything I've been through I wish I didn't wake up anymore. Why would I even stick around anymore, no one needed me, Will made it clear, the deaths of literally everyone I cared for. All to probably prove the point life was better off without me. Not everyone I cared for was dead though. Will might be my biggest enemy at this point, I'm still glad he's alive, he doesn't deserve to die, after surviving The Mind Flayer and a week, lost in the Upside-Down. Then there's the one person that really helped me through all this shit ever since Will and I broke up. Max became my best friend as we literally did drugs together weekly, maybe even daily. Then we'd space out and enjoy the rest of the day. Her house, or well, trailer, became a second home to me. She basically knew everything about me now. So yeah, it was basically those two that kept me going. The rest was nice to me and all, but I don't think I would be here if they were the only ones around.

After having started the day with those depressing thoughts I got out of bed. I scanned my room as I had actually forgotten most of the stuff that happened yesterday. But then it came back to me. "Thank you, for showing up." "Yeah, whatever." Then I realized what I said. Will was being nice to me and I was rude back. I felt bad immediately. Maybe I should apologize? But then again, he told me apologizing wouldn't work. I then decided I was going to have to try anyway. Okay, it wouldn't work, but atleast he'd see me feel bad for my actions. That's my goal, showing him that atleast I learn from the mistakes I make. So with no food whatsoever, I left my house. Well I didn't leave immediately as I first got my bike from the garage. Then I biked off to Will's place.

Once I arrived I parked my bike and hopped off. I walked to their front door and knocked. There wasn't any response though. Of course there wasn't, Joyce hated me and I was rude to Will so he didn't want me here either. But I had to tell him I was sorry, so I knocked once more only to find out the door wasn't locked, it was open. And well, since I had to say how I felt about everything, I kinda barged right in. Now their house was very depressing, everything was old, torn apart and just in a very bad state. Joyce apparently gave up cleaning after Hopper and Jonathan died. I hadn't been at their place since the fight Will and I had in October, which is the fight I have been talking about now since I started this story. "Will?!" I yelled. Why was I yelling, well Will was blasting The Clash. So I had to yell and still I wouldn't be audible over the music. I walked towards his room and threw open the door to hopefully find him there.

And yes there he was, on his bed, reading a comic. His boom box or whatever you would call that, was at max volume blasting the music across the room. I also noticed all his drawings, from which I remember he made a few of us together, but it seemed like he had torn the drawings apart. I get it, it surpresses the memory of us together, maybe even El and Jonathan's death. Will didn't look up from his comic though, and I had to get his attention. So I walked over to the box and turned the volume down. "What the-" Will started as he looked up and turned towards me. "What the hell are you doing here, how did you get in?!" he asked in an angry tone. "I uh, the door, I knocked but no one answered, and it was still opened," I explained. "Well there's a reason no one answered!" Will yelled. I was shocked he was still angry. "What the fuck is your problem man?!" I asked as if he attacked me. "YOU, YOU ARE MY PROBLEM!" Will yelled angrily. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" he continued. "I wanted to apologize for my behaviour from yesterday," I started. "Oh of course, now he wants to apologize," Will said. "What's that supposed to mean?!" I then asked "Every single day you let me down, are mean to me, and then you try to say you're sorry, you don't learn from your mistakes!" Will explained. "Neither do you!" I yelled. "How?" he asked. "Yesterday, you could've let me check on you, but you didn't," I explained. "(y/n), get out!" Will said as he stood up and pointed at the door. "No, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for being such a dick, but apparently you are!" I yelled. "GET... OUT!" Will yelled. I sighed from frustration. "I don't want to alarm you, but if my mom gets home, she'll kill you," Will then whispered to me. I realized I completely forgot about that. And knowing Joyce, she would be able to kill me, but not just that, she'd also be able to get away with it. "Fine, I'll be leaving, and I really don't care if you wind up dead," I said. "Wait, what, dead, what happened?" Will then asked. But before I could answer I heard the front door get shut with a slam, so I turned around to see. 

Joyce arrived at home. "(y/n)!" Will whispered to me. I turned back around to see Will pointing at his window. I decided I had to escape the house. So I rushed my way over to the window as Will opened it and cleared his desk which was against the window. Multiple drawings fell on the ground. As I threw my bag through the window I saw a sketch of Will reaching for Jonathan, who was flying away to heaven I assume. There were more depressing sketches among them and I felt bad again, but he wasn't accepting apologies, so I had to just get rid of that feeling bad for him. That's however when I heard Joyce. "YOU!" she yelled as I climbed onto the desk and tried to slide out of the window. But Joyce ran towards me and pulled me back inside. She grabbed my back, pulled me up and then dragged me out of the room. Once she got me out in the hallway she then got in front of me as she pushed me against the wall. "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE MY SON ALONE!" she yelled right in my face. "Well I'm sorry I still care for your son!" I said. "If you're sorry, then STOP DOING IT!" she yelled. "YOU'RE CRAZY!" I said as I really had to leave now. However Joyce had pinned me against the wall, so I couldn't leave. "They've called me crazy before, but you want to see real crazy?" she then asked with a kind of psycho voice. Joyce reached for her pocket and pulled a knife out. Will saw this and his eyes opened wide. "Mom no, you don't have to, he was already leaving," Will said trying to calm her down and save me. "Will, stay out of this!" Joyce yelled as she then started to stroke my face with the knife. That was enough for me to fight back. I raised my hand a bit and then proceeded to blast her off of me against the wall. After hitting the wall she immediately slid down to the ground. "Don't threaten me, we both know who would win that fight," I said as I then turned my back to her and started making my way towards the front door. But that was a mistake as Joyce then jumped towards me. Luckily I heard the floorboard creak and thus turned around and blasted her back again. Then I decided to leave with a blast and pulled down a random cabinet and then walked out the door, closing it with my powers. I got on my bike and biked off as I started to realize what just happened. A tear rolled down my face, but I had to stay strong, there was one other person I could visit, to who I could say anything and just, have a conversation about life, because I really needed that right now.

That person was Mike Wheeler. I arrived at his place and rang the doorbell. His mother, Karen, opened. "Oh hey, (y/n), what a nice surprise," she said happily as if she didn't know her son was going through immense trauma and suffering. "Is Mike home?" I asked. Karen sighed. "Why would you even ask anymore, he never leaves the house," Karen explained. I nodded. Karen stepped aside allowing me to enter the Wheeler's residence. Once inside I made my way to the basement since that's where Mike spends his time nowadays. "Hey," I said as I saw him laying on the couch down in the basement. He looked at me confused but then as he realized someone came down the stairs he quickly sat right up. "Hey!" he said as if I totally didn't see him laying there on the couch. "What are you doing here?" he asked as I sat down next to him. "I... went to Will's," I confessed as my voice immediately broke. Tears formed in my eyes. Jeez why was this happening. "And then he sent me away," I said. I then fell down against Mike's shoulder as he threw his arm around me. Completely platonic of course, he was too depressed to give life another shot. Another tear rolled down my face. "So, uh, anyway, what have you been up to?" I asked him as I moved back up. "Well just thinking, about the past," Mike explained. Thinking about the past was something he did constantly. 

"You were thinking about El right?" I asked him. "Yeah," he said, after which he got quiet. "I get it," I said. "Do you?" Mike asked. "Yeah, we all do actually," I said as he turned towards me. "She wasn't just your girlfriend, she was a friend to us too, heck, maybe even a sibling," I explained. "El saved us that day, she gave her life to save us," I continued. "And now, well, maybe we should remember her," I said after which Mike also had a tear rolling down from his eye. "Every night, before I fall asleep, I see her," Mike then said. "See us together, but then, then that... monster... gets her," Mike continued as his voice broke, knowing that El was gone now. "And I have to watch, never able to change it because it's a memory I can't seem to forget." Mike started to cry. "Do you remember the day we buried her?" he asked. I of course did, as I couldn't forget either. 

It was a dark, stormy day, but luckily we were in the woods, the rain barely made it down to the ground, and even if it did, we were still dry underneath the tent we put down. The soft tapping of the rain on the tent, combined with the smell of wet leaves, that's a combination I will never forget. Especially not after making a connection with El's funeral. We were going to bury her right next to Hop's Cabin, so she'd always be close to home. We'd leave one light on inside Hop's Cabin so it would shine on her grave every single night. Like she was still at home. I stood there, still together with Will, him crying in my arms as Joyce and Murray lowered her coffin into the ground after which most of us starting throwing the dirt onto it again. Mike was also throwing the dirt onto the coffin with a shovel, which kind of surprised me to be honest, he was that strong to be able to bury her, even though she was the love of his life? Mike cried however once we were done with the funeral. Luckily the party was there for him to help him out.

"Yeah, but maybe it's best we just think, not discuss, not right now," I said as I moved a bit so I could sit comfortable again. "Wait, but why did you go to Will's place in the first place?" Mike asked after which I realized he hadn't even heard the whole story after we departed from each other after Hellfire. "Okay, well, do you want to know the full version, or a summarized short version?" I asked him. "Summarized short version," he said.

"Oh, just a new play." "You wrote this?" "Yeah, but I got a lot of help from others, I just kind of formatted it." "Wow, look at you mister famous." "Yeah, sort of, it's tomorrow by the way." "Ouch." "No, just, maybe you should just go home." "Thank you, for showing up." "Yeah, whatever."

"And then I went to his house to apologize after which he told me to leave once more and then Joyce attacked me with a knife, and that's how I wound up here," I explained. "That's some big adventure though," Mike said as he sighed, he was suprised. "So uh, you and Will still in that big fight of yours?" Mike asked. I nodded. "But it's not like I'm the only one in that fight, you guys are in it too," I said. "I just wish... it could still be like how it was you know, without all the death, and with more happiness and joy, but I guess we can't have that," I said. Mike was silent. I thought back to the moment Will and I actually got together.

The snowball. Will was saved from The Mind Flayer for one month now. This was my moment to shine, maybe even ask Will to dance with me. I was standing at the table, with Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Will and Max. Basically the entire party except for El. Lucas then turned to Max as he 'smoothly' asked her to dance. So Max and Lucas walked off. Dustin then, with newfound confidence also wondered off. Then our group of three fell silent. This was my chance, to ask him. "Hey zombieboy," someone then said. A girl walked up to Will and asked him to dance. "I don't... I... uh," he started looking at me and Mike. Mike almost pushed him into the girl as he couldn't just leave her there, standing. "Yeah, sure," Will said excitingly. And there went my date. "Mike, what the hell, I was going to ask him," I said. "Oh wow, you're really going to make this about you again?" Mike asked. I was shocked by the fact he almost immediately attacked me for just saying it. "But, Mike," I said but he didn't respond, he stood up from his chair, just looking at the door. So I turned to look and saw El coming right in. She was looking around trying to find us. Eventually she found us. Mike walked over to her, leaving me all alone. "Mike?" I asked but I didn't get a response. There I was, all alone, all of my friends having someone to dance with, not caring about me. I started to already slowly form tears in my eyes, knowing that my friends wouldn't be even close to thinking about me. So I went through the backdoor. Once outside I sat down on the small stairs. I started to cry. All alone. "Hey, (y/n), I saw you leaving through the backdoor is everything..." Will said as he threw the backdoor open. I looked up, with some fresh tears still in my eyes. "Okay?" he asked. "No, you all just wandered off, leaving me there," I explained. It got silent. Will threw his arm around me. Then new music started playing inside. Will stood up again. I looked at him, confused. Was he already leaving me again? Then he reached his hand out to me. "Do you, want to dance with me?" Will asked. I grabbed his hand. "Yes," I said happier than ever before. We started dancing to the music. I might've kissed him somewhere, which he returned, and that's how we got together.

"But then of course Will got angry and well, I lost myself in drugs, together with Max," I explained as Mike was just silent. "So that's what that was at Hellfire," Mike then said, possibly finally realizing what was happening last Friday. "Wait, so you did drugs last Friday?" he then asked. I looked confused at him, changing my position once again to sit comfortably again. "Yeah, I bought some in the cafeteria after you two left to find a sub," I confessed. "And you didn't think about any cameras capturing this deal?" Mike said. Then I realized. Of course we had already been filmed, however we haven't been sent away from school, so no one had seen the footage yet. "You two could've literally been expelled!" Mike said frustrated. "Well, no one has seen the footage yet," I said while shrugging. "Then we can still erase it," Mike said as he stood up. I realized that might be the only reasonable thing to do now.

It was already dark outside when we arrived at school. The doors were locked, but Mike smashed the lock open so we could still go in. Once inside we started looking for the principals office. "We gonna split up?" I asked him as we were walking through the halls. "No, that means we have to delete even more footage," he said. "As if the cameras are kept on during spring break," I said after which we walked around the corner. The next stuff all happened very quickly. First I felt something against my head follow by pain and me falling over. "Steve what the hell?!" Mike yelled as he started waving his hand across my face. I saw Steve standing there with a lamp. Mike helped me up as I started to regain most of my consciousness. Mike was arguing with Steve but I interrupted them. "What are you doing here Steve?" I asked him. He didn't say anything as he just walked towards Ms. Kelley's office. There we found Dustin, Nancy and Robin comforting a shaken Max. But why? "Max?" I asked her. She looked at me, her facial expression was different from any I had ever seen before. She seemed scared. Of death. Then I knew it, whatever the group learnt from Eddie, it was something that made Max sure she was dying. And now I was sure too.

Max was the next victim.