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❛ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴅᴀɴᴄɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ
ᴅᴀʀᴋ ꒱


❝ YOU CAN'T START A FIRE /
WORRYIN' ABOUT YOUR
LITTLE LIFE FALLIN' APART ❞

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Their visit to Eddie's boathouse didn't go exactly as planned; more had gone down last night than just them finding Vecna's lair. Apparently one of the jocks that Lucas knew on the basketball team had been in the wrong place at the wrong time just like the rest of Vecna's victims. Now, they were on their way to Eddie's newest hideout at skull rock— which wasn't going very well since they had to travel through a forest.

Steve and Dustin were leading them (or attempting, at least) to the designated area. Nancy and Robin walked together as they bonded over. . . girly things while Max and Lucas were paired behind them. Since their group was an odd number, that made Jessie partnerless— as usual. As much as she liked the woods, they were only a refuge when she wasn't surrounded by other people. So, in short, everything sucked.

They changed direction abruptly but after a several more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at skull rock. "In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face," Steve boasted proudly.

"It doesn't make sense," Dustin said as he looked back down at the map.

"Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring you in the face you can't admit it. Can't admit you're wrong, you butthead."

A new voice spoke from behind them: "I concur." Eddie Munson jumped down from the rock he'd been on and walked over to them. "You, Dustin Henderson, are a. . . total butthead."

"Jesus, we thought you were a goner," the curly-haired boy said as he gave the older teen a hug.

"Yeah. Me too, man. Me too."

After they'd given Eddie what supplies they'd brought, he sat on the chair he'd placed underneath the rock. They gathered around him as he recovered from his rough night. "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."

"Do you know what time this was? The attack?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, no, I. . . I know exactly what time it was. My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." He undid the strap of his watch and waved it in the air before he tossed it over.

She caught it despite her surprise and looked down at its face. "Nine twenty-seven."

"Same time our flashlights went kablooey," Robin observed.

"Which means what, exactly?" Steve wondered.

"That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick."

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

"And where he attacks from," Lucas added.

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

"If he even has a heart."

"A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?"

"It was a metaphor," the redhead explained.

"I could shoot him," Jessie spoke up for the first time. After seeing Lucas' mushy looks at Max all morning, she could certainly use the target practice.

Not to be outdone, Lucas countered immediately: "I say we chop his head off."

"All of the above but we can't do any of that 'til we find a way into the Upside Down."

"We need El to get her powers back."

"Everything was way easier," Steve agreed. "We had this girl. She had superpowers."

"Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her," Eddie remembered. He watched Dustin's pacing with concern. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?"

"Cursed? No, no. He's fine," Steve replied. "Mental? Absolutely."

The curly-haired boy turned around abruptly and shouted: "Boom!" so loudly that it echoed off the rocks. Everyone stared at him with confusion as he boasted: "bada. . . bada. . . boom! I was right. Skull Rock was north."

Jessie rolled her eyes at his insistence and crossed her arms. She tuned out the boys' argument and excited explanation that followed in favor of studying the leaves on the forest floor. Who cared what direction they'd travelled in? They were already there, weren't they?

A gentle touch on her shoulder made her jump. She looked up to find that most of their group had disappeared into the forest. Only Max remained and she gave the girl a curious look. She tried to brush the redhead off by nodding in thanks and made to follow their friends. Unfortunately, the other girl wasn't so easily deterred.

Max caught her wrist lightly and turned her in the correct direction before she quickly let go. As they walked together, she spoke: "you've been quiet this morning."

The brunette shrugged. "So? Is that a crime?"

Max frowned slightly at her rather hostile tone. "no, of course it isn't. I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"Of course I'm alright," Jessie scoffed. "I'm always alright."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, Max. I get it, okay? You don't have to hang back here with me out of. . . out of pity or anything. Just go find Lucas so he can keep giving you those mushy heart eyes."

"Mushy heart eyes?" the redhead repeated curiously. She was a bit irritated by the teen's attitude but right now, she chose to ignore it.

"Yeah. If he was a cartoon character his pupils would literally be hearts whenever he looks at you."

"He doesn't look at me like that!"

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed," Jessie commented dryly. "He doesn't make any effort to hide it. I mean, I thought you had since you were having heart-to-hearts on our way here."

"We weren't having heart-to-hearts!" Max protested again. She amended her words: "well, not romantic heart-to-hearts like you're thinking."

"Right," the brunette agreed, unconvinced. "You don't have to lie to me, you know. I can take the truth. We're history. You broke up with me. If you did it because you started to have feelings for someone else— Lucas— I totally understand. I mean, I don't like it, but I get it."

"Jesus Christ, Jessie." Now her tone had taken on an annoyed edge. "I didn't break up with you because I liked Lucas! And besides, didn't I just tell you yesterday that you're winning in that department?"

"At first I thought you meant it but since this morning I realized you probably just said that to get him to up his game."

The redhead's pace slowed to a stop and her expression hardened. "Is that really what you think of me? That I'd stoop so low as to use your feelings against each other?"

She wouldn't meet the girl's gaze and kept her eyes on the dead leaves that lay around their feet. "Well, I. . . I don't know. It's just that Lucas is my competition—"

"Competition?" the other girl repeated. "For what?"

The brunette pulled her attention away from the forest floor and looked up at her. "Your heart," she answered simply.

Max's eyes widened slightly but before she could react further, Steve ran up to them. He jerked his head towards the direction he'd come from. "Guys, come on. Let's stay together, yeah?"

.・。.・゜✫・.・✫・゜・。.

It was now hours later and neither girl had said anything to the other. Darkness had fallen as they arrived at the edge of Lover's Lake. After some debate, it had been decided that the older teens— much to Dustin's chagrin— would take the boat out while the younger members of the group stayed on the shore. Eddie and Steve paddled out towards the center while Nancy was in charge of reading the compass.

The remaining teens were quiet as they waited for something— anything— to happen. Thankfully, neither boy noticed the awkward air between the two girls. Lucas was preoccupied with his binoculars while Dustin was too focused on the task at hand.

"They're stopping. What are they stopping for?" He spoke into his Walkie: "guys, what's going on? Come on, talk to me. What's going on?"

"'Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'aah!'" Robin replied from out on the lake.

"Ugh," Lucas complained as he looked through his binoculars. "When'd Steve get so hairy?"

Jessie grimaced. "I don't even want to think about Steve's hair— except for what's on his head. That's okay."

"Steve's got way better than just okay hair," Dustin said defensively.

"That's not what I meant," she retorted. "I meant it was okay to think about the hair on Steve's head, just not anywhere else."

"Oh," he answered, mollified. "Okay."

Max stepped up next to Lucas. "Let me see," she stated, referring to his binoculars. She took them from him without waiting for an answer.

After a few moments of tense silence, Dustin spoke up: "you guys realize that if there's a gate down there, it's technically a water gate." He paused as he waited for their reaction. When he only received half-hearted eye rolls, he repeated his punchline: "Watergate!" Unfortunately, no one seemed to appreciate his joke.

They fell quiet again until another sound was heard through the woods: radio static and faint shouts.

"Shit. Down!"

They quickly raced over to the protective shadows of a nearby bush and crouched behind it as the searching flashlights came closer. Dustin's Walkie burst to life: "'Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate—'"

Sirens wailed over Robin's report and Max looked over the bush with alarm. "Cops."

"Shit, shit, shit," the curly-haired boy cursed. "We can't let 'em find Eddie."

"Stay with me," Max told them before she jumped up and called to the officers: "over here! I found the killer! This way!"