𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭
𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙇𝙖𝙠𝙚 . . .

The rattle of shaky wheels screeched along the tiled floors of the supermarket. Willow skipped along as she pushed the cart, from time to time Dustin would pop around a corner and throw something into the cart, mumbling about what his Dungeon Master would like. They were currently shopping for Eddie, it had been a few days since they stopped by, and though she hadn't spoken up about it, Willow was starting to worry.

After the events of last night in the Creel house, Willow piped up about how they still needed to get a six-pack for the metalhead, he had requested a food delivery and the Scooby Doo gang had been so enraptured in searching the old abandoned house that they had completely forgotten about the boy on the run.

Willow hadn't though.

As soon as they left to house, she brought up going to the supermarket, but it was already dark out, and the group decided to put it off to tomorrow.

So there they were, in their local mart, six-pack and other snacks in the metal cart.

Willow rolled it down the cereal isle, Steve in tow, New Order playing from the Walkman around her neck, and her eyes landed on a box of Honey Comb, the cereal they had bought for him the last time they did a food delivery, he seemed to appreciate the cereal, having munched on it throughout their whole conversation in the boat shack.

"Beer and cereal?"

Steve spoke up, his nose scrunched up in the disgust. Willow rolled her eyes at him, throwing the box into the cart.

"Don't whine Harrington, cringing doesn't suit your face."

She grabbed his cheeks and stretched them out, forcing his face into a smile. She giggled at the odd expression, his eyes hooded in annoyance and his lips stretched into a caricatural smile. After a minute he swiped her hands away, and Dustin walked down the isle, throwing one last thing into the cart before clapping his hands.

"Right, that should do it!"

After the items were scanned and paid for, they wheeled the cart back to the car where the others waited. They hefted the items into the boot, and after Willow returned the cart to its place beside the store, she hopped into the boot between Dustin and Steve.

The drive was silent enough, besides the upbeat music playing from the radio and idle chatter every now and then, and of course the annoying rustling and crunching of Dustin and Steve chowing down on Pringles.

"Not to be a wimp but can I maybe sit in the car for this visit? Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck."

Robin broke the silence as she leaned her chin on her hand resting on the window, huffing as she looked over at Nancy. Willow glanced up and started to fiddle with her hands nervously. She wasn't wrong. Eddie was already in a tough situation, but now he was potentially even more screwed.

Nancy shook her head and tried to reassure her, "It'll be fine."

"I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again, I really really can't."

Steve rummaged around and lifted up the pack of beer, "At least he can drink himself into feeling better."

"That's what my mom does..", Max muttered, and Lucas sent her a protective gaze, Robin beating him at saying something.

"Why don't we just give it a trial.. "Hey Eddie, uh good news first this time, we got you some Dustin-and-Willow-approved junk food and that six-pack you requested, oh yeah and we found Vecna! Only the bad news is that he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about and the gate's closed so we have no way of getting to him, like he's entirely shut off to us so basically you're screwed and no no, I know that you were already screwed but now you're like doubly, triply screwed!"--"

"Woah woah woah wait, maybe we don't put it like that.", Lucas interrupted Robin's rambling, and Nancy took over with the practice speech.

""We're one step closer to finding Vecna." That's what we say, that's whats important."

"See Robin?", Steve chimed in, "Positive spin can make all the difference."

Willow sent her best friend a look of disbelief as Robin grumbled, clearly not agreeing with the others, but the squabble was cut short when Nancy drove up on Reefer Rick's house, mumbling out an "Oh shit..."

The other's leaned forward and Willow's eyes widened at the sight of a crowd. Cars, news vans, police cars and an ambulance were parked in front of the house, and as Nancy parked the car, Willow quickly got out of the boot, fearing the worst. She glanced over the crowd and couldn't find any sign of Eddie, she didn't know if she was relieved or terrified for the boy. Police were telling the bystanders to back up, and Nancy rounded the news van, telling the others to follow after her. Willow reluctantly followed.

The peeked over the hood of the van to watch the chief deliver a speech to the reporters.

"... reporting a homicide out here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene, we made our way to the shore of Lover's Lake about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18 year old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney.", Willow looked to Lucas, she recognised the names of one of his fellow teammates on the basketball team, she frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, the chief continued and described the state Patrick was found in, making Willow look down and scrunch up her nose, not only in disgust but in sadness for the poor boy that suffered such a horrible death.

"We have also identified a person of interest," Willow's head snapped back up as she muttered "No..." under her breath, she knew what was coming. The chief held up a picture of the Hellfire Club leader, "Eddie Munson. We encouraged anyone with information to please come forward."

"Aw man...", Steve muttered, and Willow's hands started to shake as she tried to remain collected, but failed. "This is not good, this is really not good.."

Steve reached out and lightly held Willow's hand, trying to keep them from shaking. He could tell she wasn't doing so well. For the past few days he had been worrying about her, not just her wellbeing but mentally too, she had been through so much before, year after year her past always came up to bite her back, and to see her friend get blamed for the Upside Down... Willow let out a shaky breath and gripped Steve's hand tightly, but didn't dare look at him. She knew if she did, she would burst into tears.

As the chief finished up his speech, Dustin's walkie crackled to life and Willow let out a shaky laugh as she heard Eddie's voice. He was okay.

"Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler? Willow?"

Willow wanted to call out to him, tell him she was here, but her throat dried up and her heart seemed to do a somersault as he called out her name. Hearing him say her name so smoothly always caught her off guard, it was as if he was made to say it.

Dustin quickly rummaged through his bag and backed away from the van as he answered, yelling in lowercase. "Eddie holy shit, are you okay..?!"

"Nah man, pretty.. pretty goddamn far from okay."

"Where is he?", Robin questioned, and Dustin pressed on the walkie to ask him.

"Where are you..?!"

"Skull Rock. D'you know it?", came back Eddie's static voice. Willow was leaning over Dustin shoulder, watching the walkie and anxiously playing with Steve's fingers.

"Uh yeah, that's near Cornwallis and--"

"Garrett.", Steve interrupted him and let go of Willow's hand, starting to walk towards the forest. "I know where that is."

The group followed hastily after Steve, but Willow hung back with Dustin as he reassured Eddie they were on the way. She wanted to stick by her brother, he was the one that always hung onto the walkie and she wanted to stay by in case Eddie spoke up again.

After a while of walking through the woods, Dustin had naturally gravitated back to Steve, Willow following close behind. They were always the usual trio, Willow had hung out with Steve all summer at Scoops Ahoy and when Dustin came back from Camp Knowhere, the trio had naturally formed. Then Erica and Robin joined, and they all investigated a secret Russian base under Star Court mall together, only solidifying their group dynamic. Willow found drugged Steve and Robin absolutely hilarious, they kept calling her Mommy Willow, which was... odd at first, but she quickly got used to it. And at one point they had completely forgot she was watching over them, as Steve admitted his feelings and Robin told him she was a lesbian. Willow was of course immediately supportive, as she wasn't sure about her own sexuality. She didn't want to label it.

"Dude I'm telling you, you're taking us the wrong way.", Steve groaned, and Dustin stubbornly protested, holding his compass and map.

"It's north. I'm positive, I checked the map."

"You do realise that Skull Rock, it's like a super popular makeout spot?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Yeah well it wasn't popular until I made it popular."

Willow snorted at Steve's remark. It never failed to surprise her just how popular he was with the ladies, especially after spending a summer watching him struggle to even talk to girls. Then again, the sailor outfit probably threw them off. But she found it rather charming.

Steve huffed and rolled his eyes at Willow's snort, "I invented it okay? You're heading in the wrong direction."

He took a sharp left into the trees, Dustin whining at him but Willow shrugging and closely following behind, letting him take the lead. For once she had a feeling Steve actually knew what he was doing.

And low and behold, after walking for a few more moments, Skull Rock came into view.

"Oh boom! Badabing badaboom, there she is Henderson!", Steve let out obnoxiously, "In you face man, in your stupid, cocky little face."

Willow pushed through the leaves as Dustin mumbles about how it made no sense, Steve rattling on about how he was right, but they were interrupted when Eddie jumped down from the rock, a rather annoyed expression on his face.

"I concur. You, Dustin Henderson, are a.. total butthead."

He breathed out, and Dustin immediately stepped up to hug him tightly, Willow's hands started to shake again. As soon as they left the hug, Willow stepped forward and crashed into Eddie, hugging him tightly. The boy was taken aback at first, failing to notice the tears rising up in the eyes of the girl buried in his shoulder. "Jesus Ed.. Don't scare us like that.." Her voice broke slightly as she spoke, and his arms wrapped back around her just as tight, burying his own face in her neck as he whispered.

"I'm sorry Wallflower... Never again.. I promise.."

Steve cleared his throat as the others appeared from the bushes, and the pair reluctantly backed out of the hug, Willow blinking her tears away despite her anxiety still washing over her.

"What happened back there..?", Nancy spoke up.

Eddie huffed and made his way back to his makeshift camp, bending down and picking up the flask he had been storing water in. He began recounting what had happened with Patrick, and how he escaped.

"When I got to the shore I tried calling you guys, but uh.. my walkie was busted man. Drenched. So uh, I did the thing that I do now apparently. I ran.", his chuckle was sarcastic and bittersweet as he stared at them with a strained grin.

The others gazed at him in sympathy, but Dustin seemed enraptured with his compass.

"Do you know what time this was? The attack?", Nancy spoke up.

"Yeah, no, I know exactly what time it was, my walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked."

He took off his watch and tossed it to Nancy, Willow furrowing her brows as she read the time.

"9:27, that's when our lights went out..", the blonde mumbled, and Nancy nodded with her.

"Which means what exactly?", Steve was confused, as per usual.

"That surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick..", Nancy clarified.

Nancy tossed the watch back to Eddie and they all stood around him, conversing about the new information. Robin was the first to speak.

"Well, we're one step closer, we know how Vecna attacks."

"And where he attacks from.", Lucas followed.

"So.. now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart."

Steve looked incredibly confused at Max's words, "A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?"

"It was a metaphor."

"A bullet should work on him, right?", Eddie piped up.

"He's from the Upside Down, I doubt conventional means would kill him..", Willow mumbled, but Lucas continued down the list of ways to kill him.

"I say we chop his head off."

"I'd say all of the above but we can't do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down.", Nancy rationalised.

Max huffed and looked at Willow, "We need you and El to get your powers back."

Willow smiled sadly and Steve looked at Eddie, "Everything was like waaaay easier, we had willow and this girl, they had superpowers--"

"Yeah you mentioned that," Eddie interrupted him but sent Willow a puzzled gaze, "But you already have your powers, I saw them."

"They got weaker, but.. I feel like, every since..", Willow hesitated and tried to find the right wording. Ever since she met Vecna in his mind, she felt this sudden surge of power come back to him. Like the monster himself and the visions of her past was reigniting something innside her. But the others weren't aware of the whispers she had been hearing, and she didn't want them to start worrying more. "Every since I was in his mind, I've felt stronger. But I don't know how to open gates. That's... something else entirely."

The group went silent, and tuned in on the crunching leaves behind them. They turned to see Dustin pacing around, and Eddie quizzically raised an eyebrow.

"Henderson's not uh, cursed, is he?"

"Cursed? No no no, he's fine. Mental? Absolutely."

Steve teased, but they were all startled as Dustin raised his arms and let out a loud "BOOM!", it echoed through the woods, and he turned to point at an annoyed Steve, taking slow steps towards him.

"Bada.. bada.. boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north!"

"Seriously? You're serious?"

"Mhm."

"This is Skull Rock, okay?!", Steve protested.

"Mhm.", Dustin's smile was only growing.

"You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now!"

"Yes. And no."

"Oh my god..", Steve let out an exasperated sigh as Dustin explained.

"This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly, but it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leadin us here, wasn't wrong. The compass was."

"So you're using faulty equipment dude, you're still wrong."

"Except, it isn't faulty.", Dustin turned to his friend, "Lucas do you remember what can affect a compass?"

Lucas' eyes seemed to light up in realisation as he stood there, dumbfounded but answering the question nonetheless, "An electromagnetic field."

"Yup.", Dustin confirmed with a proud smile.

Robin looked at them, searching for an explanation, "I'm sorry, I must have skipped that class."

Dustin was about to speak up but Willow butted in, remembering how Dustin explained the compass interference with the first gate.

"When there's a stronger magnetic field or pull, the compass will naturally gravitate towards it. So that means there's either a massive magnet out there somewhere, or.."

"A gate.", Dustin finished, sending his sister a proud smile for remembering what he had taught her.

"But we're nowhere near the lab.", Nancy questioned.

"But what if, somehow, there's another gate? A gate that we don't know about. It has to be smaller, way less powerful."

"Snack-sized gate.", Robin snorted.

"How, why?", Steve interjected with his usual furrowed brows and puzzled gaze.

"No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is, because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max from this curse."

"And Eddie from this mess.", Willow added, Eddie sending her a grateful smile which she returned.

Dustin quickly turned on his heel and started walking away from Skull Rock, Steve speaking up and worriedly asking where he was going. Willow was quick to follow after her brother, and Harrington let out a string of "Hey"s in hopes of stopping them.

"Eddie's still a wanted man, we can't just go for a hike in the woods!"

"This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie. What say you, Eddie the Banished?"

Willow turned to see Eddie hesitating, "I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which... if I'm totally straight with you, I think it's a really bad idea. But uh, the Shire... The Shire is burning." Dustin began hopping up and down excitedly, and Willow grinned-- she understood the reference, Dustin had introduced her to the world of Tolkien not too long ago. Eddie stood and stretched. "So Mordor it is."
_________________________

It quickly got dark out, and the group struggled to keep up with Dustin as he ran through the woods. Willow had no problem though, her legs might be short but she was swift and light on her her feet, easily keeping up with her wild brother.

"Hendersons! Slow down!"

Eddie called from behind, but they were too wrapped up in their own worlds, Dustin focused on the compassed and Willow feeling free.

She suddenly felt a rough tug on the back of her shirt and h=she found her toes almost dipping into the lake, turning to be face to face with Munson. She smiled cheekily, thanking him for saving her before she took a dip in the freezing water.

"Oh man, you gotta be shitting me.", Steve whined at the sight of Lover's Lake, and the group let out a collective of groans in agreement. They were right back where they started, and Max spoke up what everyone seemed to be thinking.

"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?"

"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening.", Nancy reasoned, trying to figure it out. "Maybe Vecna's the same way."

"Yeah, only one way to find out.."

Steve mumbled before nearing a boat on the shore, pulling off the tarp and setting it into the water with Eddie's help. Robin stepped over the two as they argued, Eddie going in second. He helped Nancy in, and Willow stepped up next. He smiled sheepishly as he took her hand, and she gently stepped in, sending him a sneaky smirk. She felt more confident.

"Dungeon Master."

He chuckled lightly and bowed as she stepped in beside him.

"Wallflower."

Dustin tried to follow in after his sister but Eddie let go of her hand to push his head away.

"Hey hey hey, are you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people tops, okay?"

Nancy stepped up as Eddie took a seat down next to Willow, backing him up, "It's better this way okay? You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble."

"You keep an eye out for trouble!", Dustin mocked her.

"Don't make me come out of this boat Dustin.", Willow warned him, clearly not appreciating his tone with Nancy.

"It's my goddamn theory!"

"You heard Nance.", Robin challenged him.

"Who put her in charge?!"

"I did.", both Robin and Willow spoke together, and they smirked at one another.

Nancy held out her hand, asking for the compass and Dustin reluctantly handed it over with a huff. Steve threw his bag to Dustin and pushed the boat out, hopping in when it was out in the water.

"You said four people!", Dustin whined, and Steve mouthed a "Sorry" to him as the boat slowly made it's way out onto the water. Robin stood up and began teasing them, calling them kids, and Willow accompanied her, shouting out "Don't stay up past your bed time Dusty Bun, Suzie Poo will be very disappointed!", and she chuckled as she watched him flip the bird.

They paddled the boat for a while, and as it got out to the centre of the lake, Nancy told them to stop. The compass' needle spun around furiously, meaning they were right on top of where a potential gate could lie. Steve started by removing his socks, and Nancy immediately protested.

"Steve what are you doing?"

"Somebody's gotta go down there and check this thing out. Unless one of you three can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then.. it's gotta be me, no complaints, alright?"

He stood up shakily in the boat, and Eddie mumbled about how he did not want to go down there at all, taking out a plastic bag from his pocket and wrapping a flashlight in it as Steve took off his shirt. Being best friends, Willow had seen him shirtless before but she never missed an opportunity to tease him.

"There's a reason they call you Steve 'The Hair' Harrington."

The others chuckled and Steve let out a sarcastic laugh, but she could tell her joke was calming his nerves. Eddie handed him the flashlight and wished him good luck, Steve nodding back in appreciation. As Munson tried to light a cigarette to calm his nerves, Robin took the stick and threw it into to water, Willow flicking his forehead.

As Steve readied to jump in, Nancy stopped him and told him to be careful. Willow could see the sparks between the two more than ever.

He nodded, before jumping it.

The four of them sat in the boat as it rocked, waiting for any sign of Steve to come back up. They watched over the navy waters, and Willow admired how the stars and moon reflected off it, like a beautiful painting. Unbeknownst to her, the boy sitting next to her shared the same look of admiration, only towards her.

Suddenly Steve crashed up out of the water, successfully scaring the living daylights out of the others. Willow let out a shaky breath as she held her hand over her heart, flashes of her past coming back as she gulped for air. Eddie quickly took notice and took her other hand, "Hey it's ok, it's Steve, it's just Steve...", he whispered.

Willow had no time to panic further, because as soon as Steve appeared, he was quickly dragged back under the water, and Willow and Nancy called his name as they tried grabbing at the water. Nancy didn't even bother to take off her clothes as she just jumped in right after him, Robin and Eddie yelling in protest.

Robin sat at the edge of the boat, and Eddie tried to hold her back.

"She said wait!"

"Yeah I heard her."

"She's in charge!"

"Are you kidding me? I made that shit up."

Robin leaned back and fell in the water. Willow stood up in the rocky boat and started taking her vest off, Eddie clamouring to grab her hands.

"You gotta be shitting me Willow, you are not going after them!"

Willow turned back to Eddie, noticing the pure, unbridled fear in his voice. She sat down in front of him again and took his hands. They didn't exchange a word, words didn't need to be exchange, only glances full of emotion. She leaned forward with rosy cheeks and planted a light kiss on his cheek before standing up slowly, pulling him up with her.

"Willow..."

"We go on three."

Eddie gripped her hands tighter and gulped, nodding.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

They jumped in.

-•-
author's note 。

Eeee, a sweet little kiss on the cheek! I kinda wanted to take things slow with them, I love a good slowburn, but the season takes place in the space of a few days so it's kinda hard to do

This chapter is dedicated to my lovely eddiexyx !!! You got your kiss eheh, Eddiexyx has a Discord server called the Hellfire Club, and it would be awesome for you guys to join if you feel like it!

https://discord.gg/4DHUyjz8ZP
(I have no idea if the link is gonna work in the story, if it doesn't and you're interested, don't hesitate to dm me or Eddiexyx, and the link will also be in my bio)

I also got a Hellfire Club t-shirt and I love it so much omfg!!

Anyhow I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time for the potentially last chapter of Part One ;)

Yours truly,
𝔎𝔥𝔞𝔬𝔰 。