HAWKINS, INDIANA — 1986.

STEVE WENT COMPLETELY SILENT.

He sat there, staring at her for what felt like an eternity. Tess was growing anxious, waiting for him to say something.

"S-Steve?"

He looked away from her, shaking his head for a second. Theresa frowned, wiping tears from her face as she tried to lean toward him to see his face.

"Steve, please say something," her voice shook, reaching out a hand to place on his shoulder.

"You're not planning on keeping it, right?"

Tess's mouth fell open slightly, taken aback. "Uh– I– yeah?"

He laughed, dryly. "No you're not. You can't be a mother."

Steve's face was covered by shadows, Theresa shaking her head. Something was wrong here.

"What– what do you mean?"

"You really think you're ready to be a mother?" Steve laughed again. "You can't handle that kind of responsibility."

Tess's chin trembled, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. This had to have been some sort of sick joke.

"Stop it," she muttered, almost pleading, holding back a sob. "Please, stop."

Steve raised his head just then, and Theresa let out a scream. His eyes were completely white, glazed over as she backed up into the car door.

When he spoke, it was not his voice. "You're a terrible person, Theresa," this monster pretending to be Steve sneered, Tess pulling on the door handle to try and get out but it seemed like it was glued shut.

"You're a liar. You think you deserve to be loved by anyone? After all you've done?"

"Stop," she begged, turning and banging on the door helplessly. "Stop!"

Theresa squeezed her eyes shut, burying her head in her arms to try and drown out the words echoing through her brain, unable to escape it.

Tess!

She heard her name once, then again, prying her eyes open with a gasp for air.

Turning to her left she saw Steve sitting there with a hand on her shoulder, his eyes no longer all white. He had a deep frown on his face, Tess trying to regain her composure.

"You okay?" Steve questioned, tilting his head to see her face.

It had not been real. Theresa had been seeing things. She had had a vision.

"S-Sorry," she stammered in response to Steve. "What were we talking about?"

Steve eyed her warily. "...Uh, the fact that you've been cursed by Vecna?"

"Oh, yeah," Tess replied, looking down at her shaking hands. "I-I just think that we should worry about Max before me. I think she's in more danger than I am at the moment."

He withdrew his hand from her shoulder, inhaling slowly. "I know," Steve said at once. "I just wish you would've told me what was wrong. You know I would've believed you, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Of course. I-I'm sorry if I've seemed a little... bitchy, these past few days. I didn't realize there was an evil wizard dude trying to curse me."

Steve laughed quietly. "It's alright. Just– promise me that you'll tell me when something's bothering you, alright? That's what I'm here for."

Theresa met his eyes, nodding under his gaze at once. He still did not know she was pregnant; it had all been her imagination. Or some kind of vision, whatever it was.

"I promise."

Steve started to smile, leaning in to kiss her. Tess returned the kiss, pulling back with a smile as well.

He looked into her eyes, beaming from ear to ear. "I love you so much."

Theresa grinned softly, tussling his hair.

"I love you too."

She got out of the car and went into her house, still shaken up after what had just happened. It had seemed so real; Tess could not even figure out when reality had switched to a vivid hallucination.

After she showered and got ready for bed, Theresa did not want to go to sleep for the fear of entering whatever trance she had been under again.

Laying in her old childhood bedroom, staring up at the ceiling that had one tiny speck that Tess always fixated on, she realized that maybe... Vecna had been right about her. She was not going to be a good mother, not if she couldn't even tell Steve that he was going to be a father.

Maybe she didn't deserve to be loved by anyone.

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THE NEXT DAY, THERESA AND THE others were all gathered in the Wheelers' basement to discuss what their plan was.

"Okay, be honest... uh, do you guys understand any of this?" Steve asked, pacing back and forth while reading a newspaper clipping Nancy and Robin brought from the library.

"No," Lucas said, while beside him on the couch Theresa and Dustin simultaneously replied, "Yeah."

Steve gave Tess and Dustin a deadpan look, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died, except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found," Dustin continued. "He's the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it's him."

"Yeah, that's assuming that he was cursed, which we don't even know," Steve retorted, placing a hand on his hip. "And how can Vecna have existed in the fifties? It doesn't make sense."

Tess raised a hand. "Okay, think about it like this. As far as we know, El didn't create the Upside Down. She just opened a gate to it. And, hypothetically, that could mean that the Upside Down has been around since forever. Like, thousands of years, who knows."

"It probably predated the dinosaurs," Dustin added in matter-of-factly, Steve narrowing his eyes at him.

"Dinosaurs– what–"

"But if a gate didn't exist in the fifties, how did Vecna get through?" Lucas inquired, looking at Theresa.

She returned his look. "I'm not saying he came through a 'gate', all I'm suggesting is that he did exist back then, in the Upside Down."

The Sinclairs held eye contact for a moment, until Lucas caved and broke away. He did feel bad for their argument a couple days ago, and he had not forgotten about it. Lucas had been meaning to apologize.

Theresa leaned to the side to where she could see Max sitting at a desk beside the staircase, her back turned to the others. She had been over there ever since they got to the Wheeler residence, writing something that she was keeping under wraps.

"Any idea what she's writing?" Dustin asked the others, but specifically looking to Lucas.

Theresa had noticed Max's deep eye bags when she saw her that morning, Max noticing Tess's as well. They had a silent communication that neither of them had gotten any sleep last night.

Steve could also see the fatigue in Theresa's eyes, taking a seat in one of the chairs while he kept his eyes on her thoughtfully. He had almost suggested staying with her last night, not wanting her to be alone.

The door at the top of the stairs opened just then, Nancy and Robin running down with a bit of shared excitement.

"Okay, so. We have a plan," Nancy announced, Tess sitting up a bit straighter.

She and Robin gathered around while the others sat and listened to them explain.

"Thanks to Nancy's newspaper minions, we are now rockstar psychology students at the University of Notre Dame. And Tess, you're going to help us."

She blinked, raising her eyebrows at Robin. "I am?"

Robin nodded. "You're an actual student at Notre Dame. You're getting us in."

Theresa furrowed her eyebrows. "...Into where?"

"Pennhurst Asylum," Nancy replied. "We called and told them we'd like to speak with Victor Creel for a thesis we're co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics–"

"To which they said no," Robin added.

"But we landed a three o'clock with the director," Nancy continued.

Robin gave a nod. "Now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor."

"Which is where you come in," Nancy looked to Theresa, who blinked.

"Um, what am I supposed to do, exactly? I'm a law student, not a psych student. Why would they let me in?"

Robin smiled, handing over a piece of paper. "Because you're a psychology student too. Just for today."

Tess looked down at the piece of paper, seeing a fake transcript that changed her major but kept her name.

She scoffed, pointing. "My GPA is higher than that!"

Nancy gave a small shrug. "So... will you do it?"

Theresa raised her head, then turned and looked back at Max. She bit her inner lip, looking back to the girls.

"Yeah, I'll do it. Anything to stop this curse before it can get to Max."

Steve flipped through the file folder, a frown forming on his face.

"Wait, wait, wait a second," he waved a hand, puzzled as he held up the folder. "Where's mine?"

Nancy and Robin exchanged a look, giving him apologetic smiles.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

     "YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND IF YOU think I'm babysitting again."

Steve followed Theresa, Nancy and Robin up to the Wheeler girl's bedroom, frantically trying to get them to stop and hear him out.

Tess stopped, turning to face him. "Steve, they need someone here with them. Yes, they're teenagers, but Max is in a lot of danger."

He stood there, huffing. "I know, but why does it have to be me?"

Theresa shrugged. "Maybe we just think you're good with kids."

Nancy opened her closet door while Robin walked in after having been distracted elsewhere, gasping as she entered.

"Oh my God, you have a Tom Cruise poster!" she exclaimed, beelining for it when she paused and turned to Nancy with a coy smirk.

"You have a Tom Cruise poster," she teased.

Nancy stammered while trying to think of a response. "That– that's old."

Steve looked back to Tess, almost desperate. "Come on, Tess. You've gotta let me go."

She tilted her head, leaning against Nancy's vanity as she folded her arms.

"Mm... no."

Steve sighed deeply, Theresa reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Honey, it's not that we don't want you there. It's just that– we need you here instead. Okay?"

Her words were enticing without Tess even having to try, Steve not realizing that he was slightly nodding in agreement.

"Wait, no–" Steve brought his hands to his head, exhaling loudly. "Can we talk outside for a second?"

Theresa's brow creased, contorting with confusion. Nonetheless, she followed Steve out of Nancy's bedroom, the other two girls giving each other a look.

Standing out in the hallway, Steve said, "Tess, I'd rather stay with you. Or– you stay with me, either way. I just– I don't want to be separated from you with... you know. It's too much of a risk."

Theresa slowly folded her arms, angling her head slightly to the right as Steve clasped his hands together in hopes that she would agree to stay.

"Alright," she finally responded. "I'll stay."

Steve arched his eyebrows, surprised by the seemingly uncomplicated outcome.

"You will?"

Tess nodded. "Yeah. I kind of agree with you. I don't want to be separated from you, either."

A hint of a smile appeared on Steve's face, reaching out to brush her cheek lightly with his hand.

"I'll kick Vecna's ass if he tries to lay a finger on you."

Theresa rolled her eyes, but nonetheless smiled at Steve's dumb joke. They never failed to bring a smile to her face.

"Oh, I'm sure you will," she sarcastically remarked, turning and walking back into Nancy's room.

"Okay, change of plans," Tess announced, drawing both Robin and Nancy's attention. "I'm staying here with Steve."

They both quickly frowned, lost.

"What?" Robin shook her head slightly. "Why?"

"We need someone here that will know what to do if things go south," Theresa said, Steve looking down at her with a bit of an offended expression. "I'll stay on the walkie with you guys the whole time, okay?"

Nancy sighed, but reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I just– wish we could have you with us."

"We all know you have undeniable charm," Robin cut in, offering a small grin.

Tess smiled back. "Thanks. But I have faith in you guys, alright? And besides, you two know more about this Victor Creel guy than I do. Just let us know what you find."

The two girls nodded, then Tess and Steve left so they could get changed into their 'disguises'. Theresa could tell Robin was a bit wary about wearing one of Nancy's frilly dresses, finding it a bit amusing. She also found it amusing that Robin appeared to have something of a crush on Nancy. Tess would definitely mention it at some point.

She and Steve went back down to the basement, Dustin, Lucas and Max still in there. Max had not moved from the stationary, still penning something that none of the others could see.

Steve sat on the couch, Theresa settling beside him and putting her legs in his lap. They, along with Lucas and Dustin, were all watching Max precariously.

Max paused, halfway turning her head. "I know you guys are staring at me."

"What, sorry?" They all glanced away, clearing throats and picking up random things.

Steve had picked up a baseball from God knows where, tossing it up into the air distractedly.

"Steve, stop it," Tess said, though he continued to toss it as if he had not heard.

She reached over while the ball was in midair, snatching and confiscating it from Steve. Max approached them all, but they tried to pretend like she was not there so they would not be staring at her again.

"You can look at me now," she spoke at once.

"Sorry," the boys all apologized, Theresa swinging her legs around and bringing them to the ground to see what Max had.

There appeared to be letters in her hand, multiple envelopes. Max hesitated, then stepped forward and held one out to Dustin.

"For you."

He took it, staring at the envelope as if it were on fire. Max took another, handing it to Steve.

She wavered again when she looked at Lucas and Tess, the two she had been most dreading writing letters for. But Max handed them each an envelope, clearing her throat.

"Oh, and give these to El, Mike and Will," Max handed three other letters over to Lucas. "If you can ever get ahold of them."

Theresa shook her head, looking up at Max. "What are these for?"

"It's, um..." Max glanced down. "It's a fail-safe. For after. If– if things don't work out."

"Wait, Max," Lucas knit his eyebrows. "Things are gonna work out–"

"No," Max's voice raised a tad bit louder. "No, I don't need you to reassure me right now and tell me that it's all gonna work out, because people have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true. It's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. I should've seen that one coming."

Theresa folded her hands together, sitting forward.

"Max, look at me. You know I'm going to tell you the truth," Tess said, the Mayfield girl slowly looking over and meeting her eyes.

"Nothing is happening to you. Not today, at least. Not as long as I'm here. You're not going anywhere, do you hear me?"

Max held Theresa's gaze until she couldn't any longer, eyes darting to the side. She mustered up a small nod.

Tess had already decided what she was going to do, if it came down to it.

She would sacrifice herself for Max if she had to.

notes.
i don't expect y'all to trust me ever again LMFAOOO

guys i will stop screwing with y'all i'm gonna stop now no more nasty plot twists ok??? ok <3

i know it's hella late for me to be updating, i tried to get it out a bit earlier but that did not work unfortunately

so tess had her first hallucination <3 so slay queen pussy pop girlboss of her

it's also been hella quiet from rudy these past few chapters... nothin good is cookin up over there

if you could choose a song that fits stranger things to save theresa from vecna, what would it be?