⇢ ˗ˏˋ ✰🎨 🎸 ࿐ྂ

"𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝?"
➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ˗ˏˋ ✰꒰ 📎 🍒 ꒱✰ ˎˊ- ➶ °*ೃ
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"EDDIE, WHERE THE HELL DID YOU get these sedatives from?" Dustin warily questioned. Steve was currently holding an unconscious Cerise bridal style, walking through the woods to Hopper's abandoned and wrecked cabin.

Eddie nervously scratched the back of his head, diverting his attention away from the curly-haired freshman, the sky appearing to be the most interesting thing in the world. Multiple pairs of eyes were on the Munson boy, curious as well to where he got them from.

"Uh...I have my sources."

That seemed to shut everyone up, but Dustin continued to glare at him suspiciously. The walk to the cabin consisted of Steve and Dustin's hushed bickering, not wanting to wake the unconscious Harrington.

When they reached the battered cabin, Nancy, Max, and Lucas grimaced from the traumatizing memories of the last time they stepped foot into the house. Leaves and dirt were still littered on the floor and the ridiculously enormous hole on the roof still held its place from when the Mind Flayer attacked them.

Eddie stared in intrigue and concern at the distorted home, internally questioning how the cabin could become this disheveled. Steve gently placed Cerise on the springy bed, the tarnished metal bedframe squeaking at the fragility of its frail state.

"Looks like a metal concert shit in here," Eddie murmured with humor, staring around the broken planks of the cabin. A stifled laugh escaped Dustin and Robin's mouths, while everyone else stayed silent, shaking their head at the Munson boy.

"Now I know why Cerise loves you so much," Robin quipped, Eddie's smile reaching ear-to-ear, a faint blush embellishing his cheeks. His flustered expression captured the attention of Dustin, who has never seen his older friend this happy in the time he has known him.

The teens scattered throughout the home, rummaging through cabinets and drawers for items that can be used to release the Mind Flayer from Cerise's body.

As the teens were scattered around the house, Steve found frayed ropes, internally scoffing at the sudden memory of when he would tie them for boy scouts. Max went by Steve's side and begrudgingly tied Cerise's wrists and ankles around the bedframe, knowing the scene and how Cerise would act would not be pretty.

Max's hands threaded through the thick fibered rope, tying secured knots around Cerise's wrists, but when she brushed her hair out of her face, Max's eyes widened. Her eyes were staring intently at Cerise's neck for too long, Steve took notice and dilated his vision to where Max's lingering gaze was at.

And that's when he saw it.

There laid on Cerise's neck, multiple freshly painted bruises of purple and blue hues near her collarbone and ear. Steve's eyes fumed with anger and his head instantly snapped to Eddie, who was obliviously holding up a piece of bark in his hand, holding it up in the air, but flinching and scurrying backward when he noticed there was a black widow on it.

The sight of Eddie was humorous and evidently comical. Soft chuckles echoed within the cabin, except for Steve whose stoic face contorted into rage.

"What the hell is this?" Steve bellowed, his barbaric eyes searing into Eddie.

The Munson boy was unaware of what Steve was referring to, but when Eddie noticed his eyes gazing back to Cerise's neck, he smirked.

"Oh...that."

"Want to explain what this is?" Steve asked sarcastically, obviously knowing what it was. Eddie raised an eyebrow, scoffing at Steve's tone, treading closer to Cerise's unconscious body. He stood on the other side of the bed, across from Steve, and looked into his eyes before glancing back to his girlfriend.

"When two people love each other very much, they—"

"You know what, fuck you, Munson," Steve spat.

"No, I'd rather fuck your sister," Eddie retaliated without hesitance, his tone of voice not once faltering. He knew this would piss off Steve and it worked. Steve's hostile fingernails tore into the flesh of his palm, blood nearly drawing out. He was about to lunge toward Eddie until he felt the strong grip of his best friend hold him back.

"Cerise already has one dingus in her life, she doesn't need another," Robin scolded, looking back and forth between Steve and Eddie, the two boys glaring at each other like children fighting over the last toy on a store shelf.

Eddie and Steve sent another glare to each other before going back to their designated tasks. It didn't take long for the teens to gather the needed materials for the task. Everyone was nervous, sweat already trickling down their foreheads not only from the what that was currently radiating in the cabin but also from the nervousness running in their veins.

Steve steadily pressed the white cotton pad onto the lid of the ammonia bottle, thoroughly saturating it with the mephitic liquid. He folded it in half and wavered the pad above Cerise's nose, waiting for her to spike into consciousness.

Within seconds, Cerise's body shot up, gasping for air dramatically while attempting to sit up, but her limbs were securely strapped onto the metal bars of the bed.

"What the hell is this?" Cerise struggled to free her grasp against the rope, her weak state giving up easier than anticipated.

Eddie slowly stepped closer to Cerise, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes did not once leave Cerise's and she gulped in nervous anticipation. Crouching down to her eyesight level, Eddie folded his hands with one another, leaning in at a slow deadly pace towards her face.

"Hold tight, sweetheart," Eddie rasped.

Cerise's brows furrowed in confusion, at Eddie's seemingly threatful, yet sympathetic words. Her mind felt like it wasn't in control and deep inside in the back of her polluted mind, Cerise knew something was inside of her.

However, right now, the Mind Flayer was taking over.

"W-Why is it so hot in here?" Cerise's confined hands struggled against the ropes, attempting to free herself from the broiling temperatures that crept upon her sweltering skin. "Untie me!"

As much as Eddie attempted to contain his composure, deep inside, he was uncontrollably sobbing. The sight of his girlfriend in this type of pain made him wish he were able to take Cerise's spot instead.

Within the seconds of the pushing warmth coursing through the heater, the humid air nearly became insufferable for the teens. Cerise's pained screams and the metallic whirring sounds of the heaters pushing through their limits were the only noises in the cabin.

"It hurts so bad!" Cerise screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks, mixing with the sweat trailing down her damp forehead. As Robin turned up the heaters to their max, Cerise released a tormented yell of pain.

Eddie couldn't handle it anymore. He unclasped the hooks of his belt and whipped it out from the loops of his waist, folding the leather strip in half, and stepped closer to Cerise.

"This is not how I imagined using a belt on you." Before anyone could even render what Eddie meant by that phrase, he gagged Cerise with the folded leather, pressing it in her mouth to suppress the pained screams and to prevent herself from biting on her tongue.

Steve picked up one of the boiling heaters and pressed it nearly directly onto Cerise's skin. This action caused her to wail in unspeakable pain, her fingernails digging incredibly deep into her palm, and blood was starting to stain the sheets.

The sight of Cerise was atrociously unbearable for Robin, she grabbed the first person nearest to her and tackled them in a hug. It was more for her comfort, yes, but deep inside, Nancy needed that hug as well.

With the strength of the Mind Flayer in her body, Cerise's wrists swiftly snapped out of the ropes, alerting everyone around her. Eddie was the first to react, instantly hovering on top of his girlfriend, straddling her waist and hands pressed onto her wrists to pin her down and prevent her from escaping.

Despite the compromising position Eddie and Cerise were in, none of that mattered when obsidian-colored veins rose up in Cerise's neck. Her throat gurgled as Steve pressed one last scalding wave of heat to her skin, a tornado twist of silver and black mist erupting out of her mouth.

The mist whithered into the open cool air, wanting to disperse from the blistering heat. Several seconds of silence crowded the air, nobody saying a word until they heard the pained groans coming out of Cerise.

"Why do I feel like a PEZ dispenser threw up in me?" Cerise groggily rubbed her hallowed eyes, black circles rimming deeply at her ghastly state. She then diverted her attention to her boyfriend who was still on top of her. "And why are you on top of me? To top that off, in front of everyone?"

Cerise's cheeks flushed deeply with embarrassment while Eddie chuckled deeply, pecking her lips softly before hopping off of her. Once Eddie was off of her body, the freshman teens wasted no seconds and pounced on Cerise, hugging her tightly as if she were to disappear.

"Woah, if I knew I was going to get this much attention, I wouldn't mind being possessed," Cerise darkly joked. The freshman backed away from the young Harrington, their faces holding the expression, screaming 'not funny.' She peered behind them to only see that Nancy, Robin, Eddie, and Steve held the exact expressions.

"Sorry, sorry, totally not the time. I was kidding," she nervously chuckled, scratching the back of her head hesitantly. Easing the awkwardness, Cerise changed the subject. "I'm hungry, does anyone have food?"

Eddie being the good boyfriend he is, knew Cerise would be hungry and he told Steve to buy her favorite snacks right before they arrived at the cabin.

"Dr. Pepper and two packs of your favorite Snoballs." Eddie had a cheeky smile plastered on his face when he stood in front of Cerise, basking in the sight of happiness decorating her face.

"You are a godsend, Edward Munson." Cerise pecked Eddie's cheek, a rosy blush rising on his face.

"Wait, your first name is actually 'Edward?'" Dustin suddenly spoke up, his mouth agape. Cerise looked at Eddie knowingly who was desperately holding in her laughter.

"Did you think my name on my birth certificate was actually 'Eddie?'" Eddie asked, amusement clearly laced in his voice.

"I-I mean...yeah?"

Eddie chuckled deeply, striding closer to Dustin, making the young boy back up suspiciously. When Eddie hugged Dustin in a tight embrace, stroking the back of his head as if he were an animal, he grew even more confused.

"Oh, what a wonder child you are, Henderson." Dustin held a look of faux disgust on his face, trying to writhe out of Eddie's tight grip. While Eddie and Dustin were having their own secluded moment, Robin took this time to hug her best friend.

Cerise being distracted, squealed slightly when she felt the familiar pair of arms wrap around her warm figure. When she noticed it was Robin, Cerise immediately embraced her best friend, drawing small circles on her back in reassuring comfort.

"You scared me back there, Cherry. I thought we lost you there," Robin mumbled, her face pressed on Cerise's shoulder. However, what Cerise didn't know was that Robin was petrified, thinking she would forget about her even though she was herself once again.

That thought scared Robin. This type of fear was exceedingly more daunting than the moment she found out monsters were real last year.

"I'm not going anywhere, Rob. You have me forever." Cerise untangled herself from Robin's embrace and excused herself to walk toward her brother. He already had his 'mom' look already adorning the crevices of his face.

"I'm gonna slap that 'mom' look off your face if you don't shut up," Cerise threatened playfully, causing Steve to roll his eyes.

"I didn't even say anything?"

"Yeah, you did. With your face."

Steve ignored his sister and embraced her in a hug, placing a gentle kiss on top of her frizzed hair, holding her a little longer in his arms, knowing that Cerise had been put in danger many more times than he anticipated. She wiggled out of his grip and sat on the edge of the springy bed, waving her hands near her face to hopefully cool down her heating body.

Eddie noticed her struggling ways of cooling her body down. He stood behind her seated figure and soon took off a hair elastic from his wrist, putting it in Cerise's hands for her to hold temporarily.

Eddie's slender fingers weaved through Cerise's hair, braiding her thick wavy locks. When he finished braiding her hair, Eddie took the elastic from her fingers and tied the bottom securely, placing a loving kiss on top of her head to indicate he was done.

Little and simple things like this were the reason why Cerise fell in love with Eddie. People see him as a monster, a murderer, a freak, but to Cerise, he was her Eddie. Her man.

When Eddie was done with her hair and everyone seemed to have calmed down from the fiasco, Steve explained to his sister the plan of how they were planning to find the gates into The Upside Down at nightfall. She was wary at first, not liking the idea of her loved ones going anywhere near The Upside Down, especially when they didn't know what they were getting themselves into. But after a long and tedious argument, Cerise gave in.

"You sure you're ready for this, Ressie? Maybe you should be resting—"

Immediately, Cerise cut off her brother.

"Please, I was born ready. I don't mind a late night swim," Cerise reassured with pride on her face. They all left the cabin, Cerise looking back once more at the delighting memories she had with Hopper and El in there. Eddie held her hand the entire way, sticking by her side like glue, not wanting her to be more than five feet away from him.

Off to The Upside Down, they went, not knowing what they were about to get themselves into.

I need it to be October already. I'm done with this heat.

When do you all start school? I start in two weeks and I am definitely not ready.