"Everybody shut up, it's starting." Nick said, hurriedly shushing everyone as she reached for the radio perched on the table next to Eddie's bed, cranking the knob to turn up the volume.

"I, Chief Calvin Powell, am calling this press conference to order." The gruff voice sounded through the radio, and Lily instinctively reached for Eddie's hand, the boy gripping her fingers back tightly as they all waited with bated breath.

A thick silence resounded around the room as they waited for Powell's next words, Steve and Nick seated on the other side of Eddie's bed across from Lily, with Dustin, Robin, Sarah, and Debbie all piled onto a couch against the back wall. In the doorway, Wayne stood next to Hopper and Joyce, the former holding onto the door frame for dear life as he waited to hear the words of his nephew being set free.

"As of the past few days, the Roane County Sheriff's Department has become aware of new evidence in the case of a series of murders taking place throughout Hawkins." Powell's voice came through the device again, and Lily's breath caught in her throat as she continued to wait. Eddie himself looked pale, his eyebrows furrowed together as he anxiously stared at the radio, willing it to keep talking. "Due to this new evidence, I am hereby pronouncing our original suspect, Edward Munson, cleared of any and all charges."

The cheers were nearly deafening as Eddie was proclaimed a free man, and Lily watched as the boy's eyes instantly glassed up with tears, leaning forward as he wrapped his free arm around her, burying his face in her neck as they began to spill. After all of his fears the past weeks of ending up in jail just like his father, carrying on the Munson name the way he'd always been expected to, rather than the way Wayne had raised him to, he had finally made it out.

Lily pressed a kiss to the top of Eddie's head, rubbing his back softly as he continued to cry, and the cheers continued as they began to celebrate, the radio long forgotten as Powell's press conference continued. Wayne nearly crumpled with relief as he took a step forward, shakily reaching a hand out in Hopper's direction to shake as he patted the man on the back with his other hand.

"Thank you, Jim." Wayne said. "Thank you for everything."

"He's an innocent man." Hopper said, returning the handshake with a nod in Wayne's direction. "It's the least I could do."

Eddie sat up finally, reaching up to wipe his eyes, and a chuckle escaped as he looked around at his family and friends. "Shit, sorry," he said, trying to lighten the mood, unable to help the wide smile that finally crossed his face. "I, uh... I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for all of you, so I just want to say thanks."

Nick stood up then, reaching forward to pull her brother into a tight hug. Dustin instantly followed suit, nearly leaping off the couch to join them, and one by one, the others joined in a group hug with Eddie at the center. He was unable to keep the smile off his face as he looked around at all of them, even long after the hug ended when Powell showed up with Officers Daniels and Callahan, the handcuff keys nestled in the chief's hand.

"Good morning, everyone." Chief Powell said, looking around the room.

"Good morning," they chorused as he stepped closer to Eddie, holding up the keys.

"Mr. Munson, on behalf of the Hawkins Police Department, and the Roane County Sheriff's Office, I'd like to apologize for the circumstances." Powell said, reaching forward to unlock the handcuff around Eddie's wrist before unlocking the one around the edge of the bed. "You stay out of trouble now son, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir, Chief Powell." Eddie said dramatically, reaching up to send him a salute. "And you keep up the good work," he said as the officers left the room, the salute turning into only his middle finger once their backs were turned, causing Lily to chuckle slightly.

As soon as the police officers were gone, with Joyce and Hopper not far behind them, Eddie cradled his now-free hand with the other, wincing slightly as he ran a hand over the angry red skin where the metal handcuff had rested. "God, that sucked." he said, shaking his head before holding both hands up in front of him. "But I'm free." he said, moreso to affirm himself than to the others, the smile returning on his face.

"You're free," Lily assured him, kissing him on the cheek. "Hey, what would you say about us going for a walk? I can get your wheelchair, I'll push you. I think you could use some fresh air, you've been cooped up in here for days now." she offered.

Eddie nodded, looking out the window to where the sun streamed in. He hadn't been outside since they brought him in the night of the "earthquake," though he hadn't been conscious to see the damage Vecna's gates had left behind. Though the hospital was far enough away that it hadn't been affected, and the walking paths outside the building still remained intact.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, okay."

"I should go check on Lucas and Erica, see how they're doing." Sarah said, standing up from the couch.

"I'll join you," Dustin said, with Robin and Debbie not far behind.

"We'll go grab Eddie's chair, and then we'll come with you guys." Nick offered, standing up from her chair, and Steve rose next to her.

"And I need to be heading off to work." Wayne said, stepping forward to first give Nick a hug goodbye before leaning down to hug Eddie. "Powell's right though, you stay out of trouble, boy."

"Yes, sir," Eddie agreed as Wayne left the room, followed by Nick and Steve on their way to the nurses' stand.

"Alright, baby, you think you can move your legs for me?" Lily asked as she helped Eddie back up into his sitting position, and he nodded, shifting so his feet were now resting against the floor as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, I got it," he said, wincing slightly and reaching down to hold onto where part of the bandages were hidden under his gown, and Lily grabbed his robe from where it hung on a hook outside the bathroom, handing it to him so he could pull it over his arms.

Although some of the more superficial cuts left behind by the Demobats had already begun to heal, with their stitches already having been removed, moving around was still tough for Eddie, with the more intense areas still stitched up and heavily bandaged. She helped him up to his feet as Nick pushed the chair in, Steve holding up his other arm as they got him seated.

"You okay?" Lily asked once he was seated, leaning back to inspect him carefully.

"I'm okay," he said, shooting her a cheesy smile. "Ready to roll."

"Alright, don't have too much fun." Steve teased them. "We'll see you guys when you get back."

As Steve and Nick filed out of the room, Lily held onto the handlebars of the wheelchair, pushing him out of the room and towards the nearest elevator, on the path to the main entrance that had grown familiar to her over the past week, even if she'd only left the hospital to go home a few times. When they finally stepped out the main entrance into the bright sunlight, Eddie squinted, bringing a hand up to cover his eyes.

"God, it's bright out." he said, letting his eyes adjust to the light. "I haven't seen sunlight in a week, it's like I'm a vampire or something."

"Alright there, Dracula." Lily chuckled, pushing him onto the sidewalk path that wound around the building.

Eddie scoffed. "Dracula? Of all the vampires you could've picked, you went with Dracula? I always thought Kas was cooler."

Lily smirked. "Nerd," she said, reaching forward to ruffle his hair.

Eddie looked forward as they reached the edge of the hill, the town of Hawkins visible in the near distance, as well as the damage done by one of Vecna's gates shredding through the ground, where the four eventually met in the rubble of what used to be the Hawkins Public Library, but was now little more than a pile of bricks. Officially gone were the old days of Lily tagging along with Eddie to the library so he could do research for his latest campaign while she caught up on reading, even if it had been months since they'd last been there together.

"Holy shit," Eddie breathed softly, his eyes widening as he took in all the damage, softening at seeing the place the two of them had once spent so much time now lying broken on the shattered pavement. "They think an earthquake did all this?"

Lily shrugged. "Would you believe the alternative, if you had a choice?"

He shook his head. "No. I mean yeah, Hawkins was horrible to us, but wow. I didn't think it'd be this bad. That son of a bitch really did it, huh?"

Lily nodded, a lump forming in her throat. "Yeah," she said, her voice faltering before shaking her head. "Yeah he did,"

Eddie looked back up at her, reaching out to take her hand and squeeze it. "Hey," he said, pulling her attention back down to him, rather than the four lines dividing the earth, representing Max, Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick. "Let's forget about all this for now, what do you say? We're getting some fresh air, I'm free, we're celebrating, remember?"

"I remember," Lily assured him, forcing the smile to return to her features as she studied the decline of the hill in front of them. It wasn't overly steep, but it was enough. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Eddie's eyes followed her gaze as a mischievous grin crossed his face, looking back down at the chair he was sitting at, and he nodded, holding tight to the armrests as she grabbed the handles, taking off into a run. A laugh bubbled up from Eddie's chest as she continued to run down the hill, pushing him in front of her, the breeze hitting his face and causing his long hair to fly behind him.

"Watch out, watch out!" he yelled as they neared the end of the hill, coming upon an elderly couple on a walk of their own outside, and Lily maneuvered the chair quickly around them, narrowly avoiding missing them as she was unable to slow their pace down.

"Sorry!" she called back to the couple behind them as Eddie continued to laugh maniacally, her own giggles joining in with his as the ground finally leveled out, now moving in circles to spin him around a couple times before bringing them to a stop so she could catch her breath, plopping down next to him on a bench.

Eddie watched her with a smile as she took her seat, leaning over so her head was resting against his shoulder, her chest rising and falling quickly as she attempted to steady her breathing. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before laying his head on top of hers, a comfortable silence settling between the two.

"So, if the school's being used as a shelter, what happens to classes?" he finally asked after a while, and Lily looked up to see his gaze leveled at where the school sat at the bottom of the hill.

"According to Mrs. Wheeler, classes are canceled indefinitely." Lily said.

"So... do we graduate, or not?" Eddie asked, his eyebrows furrowing together. "Because I have to say, after all this, I'm not overly thrilled to be in Hawkins for a fourth senior year."

"She said she heard from Principal Higgins that, while classes are canceled, they'll still have us come in for finals in a few weeks, give us some time to study until then." she explained, reaching up to push back a stray strand of hair that had fallen in his face. "So, it looks like once we get home, we're reviewing all of O'Donnell's material until we're sure you pass."

Eddie groaned. "I can't get points with the old bat for being a hero and trying to save the town? I was wanted for murder, you know. I haven't really had time to study."

"Oh, I'm painfully aware," she reminded him, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "You're going to pass, and we're going to graduate, I promise. You've come too far for us to give up now, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed, nodding. "And after that? Where all did you apply to?"

"Anywhere I could get my hands on that wasn't in Indiana." Lily said. "Boston, New York, Miami, Chicago, Denver. Admissions letters were supposed to come in over break, but I haven't been home long enough to look at them."

If you had asked Lily Mayfield three weeks ago what the number one thing she'd looked forward to most over her senior year spring break, it wouldn't have been going out partying with her friends, hanging out with Jason, Patrick, and Chrissy out at Lover's Lake, or even just taking some much needed time off school, but rather finding out her options that would take her the furthest away from Hawkins that she could be. Now, in a flash, the idea of college admissions had become such a silly one to her that it'd hardly been a flicker in her mind, with more important matters taking precedence.

"We could do it, you know." he said, the smile falling from his face as he took on a more serious tone. "Leave, as soon as they let me out of here. Get out of Hawkins, like we planned."

Lily was silent for a moment as she looked back up at him. "I don't know if we can leave just yet, Eds." she said. "With Max, and my mom, and Wayne and Nick..." she sighed. "We need to get out of here. But let's make sure we graduate first, yeah? Give us some time to make sure we're all okay."

He nodded. "You're right." he said. "And when you're ready to go, just say the word and I'll follow you, no questions asked. We're going to graduate, then we're getting the hell out of here."

Lily smiled, leaning forward to kiss him softly before rising to her feet. "Ready to head back inside and get some lunch?"

He nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "But do you think we could maybe make a pit stop first?"

"Okay," she said apprehensively, eyebrows furrowing together slightly in confusion. "Pit stop where?"

"Well, it's just..." he trailed off nervously. "I'd really like to pay Max a visit, if that's okay? I feel bad that I haven't gotten the chance to see her yet."

"Oh," Lily said, nodding slowly. "Yeah, we can absolutely go see her. But I'm gonna warn you, Eds, she's not..." Lily took a deep breath, blinking the tears back from her eyes. "Max isn't there right now. Not the Max we know, anyways."

"I know," he said, reaching out and grabbing her hand, rubbing calming circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. "But I want to be there for her, for both of you."

Lily smiled softly, nodding as she began to maneuver Eddie's chair back onto the walkway, holding onto the handlebars as she pushed him back up the hill. On their way up to the building, they encountered the usual stare from passersby seeing the boy from the news, though by now, nearly all of Hawkins had heard of him being proclaimed innocent, and that instead, there was another suspect for them to worry about.

Max's room was quiet when they entered, except for the steady beeping of the heart monitor next to her bed. Erica lay asleep on the loveseat against the wall, and Lucas sat next to the bed, doodling in his notebook. He looked up at the sound of the two entering the room, though Eddie's eyes were trained on Max's sleeping form, which had still remained unchanged during the past week.

"Good to see you out and about." Lucas said to Eddie, and the older boy gave him a sad smile in return as Lily stopped the chair at Max's bedside before sitting down on the stool next to him.

"Hey, Sinclair." he said, before his eyes moved back to the sleeping girl in front of him. "Hey there, Little Red."

Eddie paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on Max before he continued. "I'm sorry it took me so long." he said. "But we miss you. And I promise, the second that you're able, I'm taking you to the arcade, my treat. I'll even let you win at air hockey this time. You can cheer, trash talk me all you want, I swear, and afterwards you can show me some of your sick moves at the skatepark.

"But don't you worry about us, okay?" he continued, reaching out and taking Lily's hand with a gentle squeeze, causing her to smile through the tears that had started to fall. "We're okay. Your sister's in good hands, I swear. I'm not going to let anything happen to her while you're away. Just come back soon, please."

Lily's heart sank as Max continued to lie still, her condition still remaining unchanged. She wasn't sure if she could hear Eddie's words, or if he'd just been speaking aloud to nobody, but she hoped that, wherever Max was, she knew they were there for her.

"Hey," a voice said as a gentle knock sounded at the door, and they looked back to see Dustin peeking his head in. "I've been looking for you guys. Eddie, there's some people here to see you."

"To see me?" he asked, eyebrows pinching together.

"Yeah," Dustin said, "C'mon,"

Lily rose from her chair, turning back to her sister as she leaned down to press a soft kiss on Max's forehead. "I'll be back soon, okay?" she whispered to Max's unconscious form. "I love you."

Lily helped Eddie out of the room as they followed Dustin through the corridors, trying her best to keep up with the boy's brisk pace. She dodged their way through various nurses and patients bustling around, Eddie pleading with Dustin to know who had arrived to see him but the boy had remained quiet, simply telling them to keep up.

"We figured you guys hadn't had lunch yet." Dustin said, pushing open the door to reveal the scene in front of them.

Where a lone table and chairs had originally sat on one end of the room, two more tables and a new set of chairs had been brought in to make room for all of the guests. At the table, Mike sat with Nick across from Gareth, Jeff, and Todd, who all looked at Eddie with excited expressions while sitting in their usual spots in the makeshift version of the Hellfire Club's lunch table, the three chairs still open revealing the spots usually occupied by Eddie and Dustin, as well as a third for Lily.

"It's about time," Nick mused with a smile. "I'm starving."

"Wh..." Eddie trailed off, at a loss for words as he looked around the room at his friends, seeing his three bandmates for the first time since the end of the campaign two weeks ago, though to him it had been an entire lifetime, and he couldn't help the shocked smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "What are you guys all doing here?"

"Eddie!" The older Hellfire boys chorused, rising from their seats and rushing to greet their dungeon master, taking turns giving the boy a hug hello.

"We never believed it, Eddie, honestly." Gareth said. "What they were saying on the news about you."

"We knew you were innocent." Jeff added.

"Not to mention you're a total badass." Todd said, causing Eddie's smile to widen as he looked up at his friends. "What even happened?"

"It's kind of a long story." Eddie said simply, his gaze moving briefly back up to Lily before looking back at his friends, his smile shifting into a mischievous grin. "Shit, sorry, did I introduce you guys to my girlfriend?" he asked, the three boys now moving their attention to where Lily still stood in the doorway.

"Lily?" Jeff asked, a surprised expression crossing his face.

"H-hi," Lily stammered nervously, studying them for any hint of a reaction, as the last time she'd spoken to any of them at the beginning of the school year, she'd been less than nice in her attempts to get them to leave her alone.

"Girlfriend?" Todd asked, studying the redhead. "So does this mean she's..?"

Eddie nodded. "She's back." he assured them. "Saved my life too, believe it or not. She really is a real life Cleric."

"I'm really sorry." she said. "I didn't want to hurt anybody, it's just... it's complicated."

"Hey," Gareth said, stepping forward and pulling her into a hug, which she gratefully returned, and Jeff and Todd followed suit, joining the small group hug. "You're back now, okay? You're our friend, that's what matters."

"Yeah," she agreed, her eyes now wandering around the room at the different members of the club, the first home she'd ever had within Hawkins. "I mean, I can come back later if you all want to catch up, just say the word and I'm gon-"

"Are you kidding me?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction. "It's a Hellfire Club hangout, babe. You're a member again, remember? You're one of us."

"Yeah," Gareth added. "And besides, I need to hear about how Eddie finally made his move and got you to go out with him."

"Like I said," Eddie said smugly. "It's a long story."