❝1983❞

Nancy pushed open the door to her house slowly. The wooden door creaked loudly. "Looks safe." She breathed out, stepping over the threshold. You all followed behind her. "Where is the first aid kit?" You asked her. "Upstairs bathroom." She pointed. You nodded, quickly running up the stairs before you heard another pair of shoes behind you. Looking over your shoulder, you saw Eddie running up the stairs with you. "What are you doing?" You asked, smiling at him. "Helping." He pushed his way past you as he walked towards the bathroom. You sighed, following after him.

"Eddie, I can do it on my own. I'm pretty sure it's not that bad." You watched as he kneeled down, pulling open the sink cabinet, his eyes searching for first aid. "Got it." He quickly snatched it, throwing the small plastic box on the sink counter. He popped open the lid. Eddie gently grabbed both of your arms, seeing your sleeves soaked with blood. He swallowed, nervously lifting your sleeves. You winced slightly. Eddie glanced at you from time to time as he inspected the bites.

Holding your arms out, Eddie grabbed an alcohol wipe from the first aid. "This is gonna hurt...really bad." He held the alcohol wipe up. "Just do it." You clenched your eyes shut, bracing for impact. You pulled away from Eddie as soon he placed the wipe onto your skin. "Shit!" You shouted, looking down at your arm. "Told you it would hurt," He grabbed your hand. "If it ever gets too much, you can squeeze my hand as hard as you'd like." He offered with a goofy grin. You nodded, holding onto his hand tightly as the alcohol wipe swiped over your cut skin. Letting out a groan through clenched teeth, your hand clutched onto Eddie's as hard as it could. "Almost done." Eddie stuck his tongue out as he concentrated on cleaning the bite.

A sigh of relief escaped your lips as he tossed the bloody wipe somewhere onto the bathroom floor. "You gotta pretty strong grip, you know that?" He chuckled, his free hand grabbing the roll of gauze out of the first aid kit. "Is that a good thing?" You raised a brow at him as his hand slipped from yours. "Yeah, especially for playing guitar." Eddie looked at you with a smile. "You trying to say something, Munson?" You smiled back at him as he carefully wrapped the gauze around your wounds. "Uh," he slowly looked up at you, "maybe."

"Oh really? Like what?" You slowly released your arm from Eddie's gentle grip. "I could teach you how to play guitar. Maybe even teach you how to play your favorite song while we're at it." He looked away from you, a nervous feeling in his chest as he grabbed another alcohol wipe for your other arm. A smile formed at the corner of your lips as you stared at him, watching as he delicately took care of you. "I think we should add that to a list of things to do on our date." You suggested, grabbing Eddie's hand as you prepared to feel the sting of the alcohol on your skin.

"I think that sounds perfect." Eddie added, wiping the alcohol over your skin. You hissed at the feeling, squeezing his hand tightly. "Shit! Shit!" You winced, watching the dried blood soak into the wipe. Eddie wiped over your arm one last time, tossing the alcohol wipe over his shoulder. "Doing okay there?" He glanced at you, releasing his hand from yours as he grabbed the roll of gauze again. "Yeah, it just hurts like hell. How do you even know to do all of this?" You questioned, watching Eddie wrap the wounds. "As a kid, I was very wild. Jumping off of playgrounds, riding my bike full speed down hills, searching abandoned places, and every time I would come home bruised and cut up, my uncle would patch me up just like this. Not the best work, but it did the job."

You let out a small laugh, "I could just imagine you crying because the alcohol hurt too much." Eddie looked up at you, an offended expression on his face, "I did not cry." He insisted. "Yeah, okay, Munson." You spoke sarcastically, pulling your bandaged arm from Eddie's hand. "Okay," Eddie pursed his lips, "I probably, uh, teared up a few times." He placed his hands on his hips. "I knew it!" You snickered, laughing in his face. "Yeah, laugh all you want." Eddie slammed the first aid kit shut. You looked down at your arms, your hands gingerly gliding over the bandages. "Thank you." You spoke softly, looking at him. Eddie looked back at you, taking in a deep breath.

There was that tension again. The same type of tension you felt in the boathouse. Walking closer to Eddie, there was nothing but silence between you both. He watched as you stepped closer to him, blinking multiple times as he looked at you. That's when you remembered what Robin said earlier in the woods, a small smile forming on your face. Your eyes searched Eddie's as your hand grabbed his. Eddie swallowed, grabbing your hand back, giving it a light squeeze. His brown eyes were slightly wide as they flickered down to your lips. You didn't know how or why, but your body leaned into his, and Eddie's did the same. With your heart beating rapidly, you squeezed his hand, the two of you inches away from each other's lips.

"Guys!" Robin came barging in. You and Eddie both pulled away quickly, letting go of each other's hand. You adjusted your position, turning to look at Robin like you had just been caught doing something you weren't supposed to. "What happened?" You walked up to her. "Just follow me." She quickly walked to Nancy's room. You and Eddie both looked at each before following after her. Stepping into Nancy's room, you noticed she was looking through a journal of some sort. "So, what the hell is going on?" Eddie asked in a confused tone.

"My guns aren't here." Nancy looked at you and Eddie. "I'm sorry?" You cocked your head to the side. "My guns aren't here because they don't exist yet." She held the journal up. "They don't...exist?" Eddie said through clenched teeth. "The last time I wrote in this journal, says November 6th, 1983. The day Will went missing." Nancy threw you the journal. You caught it in your hands, flipping through the pages. Eddie looked over your shoulder as you reached the last page. November 6th, 1983.

"That doesn't make any sense. You would have filled this journal up by now." You furrowed your brows as you looked up at her. "Exactly. Everything here, in this room, is from November 6th, 1983. The same day that Will went missing. The same day the first gate opened. We're in the past." Nancy shook her head in confusion. You and Eddie and Robin all looked at each other in slight shock.

"Dustin! Dustin!" Steve yelled from downstairs. Looking towards the doorway, you threw the journal back on Nancy's bed. The four of you quickly ran downstairs as Steve called out Dustin's name again. "Steve?" You yelled as you hurriedly ran down the stairs. "Dustin!" Steve yelled again. You stopped in your tracks, watching as Steve looked around the kitchen like a madman. "Can you hear me, Dustin?" Steve shouted. "What the hell are you doing?!" You gestured with your hands. "Hello?! Hel...Hello?" Steve shouted, circling around the room as his eyes darted all over. "Steve!" Nancy yelled.

Steve looked towards the four of you, shining his flashlight directly in your eyes. "I can hear him. Henderson. He's here, like, in the walls or something. Just listen." Steve panted, pointing at the room. You listened closely, hearing a faint voice. "Dustin!" Steve smiled. "Dustin, can you hear me?!" Steve shouted, waltzing around the room. You listened closer, hearing Dustin's voice fade in and out. "Holy shit!" You smiled, looking at Eddie. "I can hear him! Dustin!" You shouted, following Steve. "Dustin!" Robin screamed.

"Dustin?" Eddie walked around the kitchen, looking behind the curtain. You could still hear his voice. "Okay, either this kid can't hear us, or he's being a little shit." Steve spoke. "Will found a way." Nancy abruptly spoke. "What?" You looked at her. "Will, he found a way to talk to Joyce through the lights." Nancy rushed over to the lamp, switching it on and off. "Why isn't it working?" She flipped the switch again. You looked up at the chandelier, shining your flashlight at it. A glimmer of some sort could be seen. "Uh, guys? The chandelier." You walked towards it. The others looked up, nothing the glimmer as well, walking up to you slowly.

Reaching your hand up, the glimmer shined brighter, a weird sensation at the tips of your fingers. "Woah!" Eddie said in amusement. You glided your fingers through the air, a light emitting from the glimmer. Everyone else reached their hands up to the light, watching as it glowed brighter. "Oh my god!" Nancy said in shock, a smile on her face. Steve exhaled and Robin let out a small chuckle, "it feels kinda good." She moved her hand in a wave-like motion. "It does." You smiled at her. All of you were so entertained, moving your hands about in the air. "Does anyone know morse code?" Nancy looked at the group.

"No." You, Robin, and Steve said in unison. Eddie slowly turned his head to look at Nancy, "does SOS count? Is that...Is that good?" He questioned. "It's more than good." She nodded. Eddie reached his hand up to the chandelier, flicking his fingers in and out of the glimmer multiple times. "You think he'll notice?" You exhaled. "He has to." Steve watched as the light shined. Eddie kept moving his fingers, focusing on getting Dustin's attention. "It's working." Robin smiled. "Guys?!" Dustin's voice echoed. "Dustin!" You smiled enthusiastically. "It worked!" Steve shouted. "Guys! Hold on!" Dustin spoke again.

All of you smiled at each other, silently cheering that it worked, that you got Dustin's attention. "Head to Nancy's bedroom. I have an idea." Dustin ordered. "Let's go." Steve began running up the stairs, the rest of you following after him. "Whatever plan this kid has in mind better work." Eddie sighed. Running into the room, you all kneeled by the bed, waiting impatiently for Dustin. Steve shined the flashlight on the bed, all of you watching in anticipation for the glimmer to appear. "Come on, come on." You muttered. Eddie rocked back and forth, his shoulder rubbing against yours as he watched.

Suddenly, the glimmer appeared. "...seeing this?" Dustin's voice could be heard faintly. Both you and Nancy reached out and swiped your hand through it, a smile appearing on your face. You could hear the echo of Dustin's laugh as all of you just watched the glimmer get brighter, moving around like some sort of glowing dust. "Okay, we're not gonna move it, but we're gonna unplug it!" Dustin's voice echoed. You and Nancy moved your hands away, watching as the light disappeared. "Try it now!" Dustin demanded. "Uh, okay." You reached your hand out, using your pointer finger to write within the glowing dust. You wrote out the letter h, watching as it lingered in the air, dazzling. Then, you wrote out the letter i.

Hi.

"That worked!" Dustin spoke with joy. "Yes! Yes!" Eddie cheered. You let out a laugh of joy, turning to look at Eddie. "Holy shit!" Robin smiled. "Wow!" Nancy said in disbelief. You wrapped your arm around Eddie, hugging him tightly, "it worked!" You cheered. Robin chuckled. "Um..." Nancy held out her pointer finger, writing out a series of letters.

S-T-U-C-K

Stuck.

"Stuck." Dustin repeated. "Mhm, mhm." Eddie nodded. "Yes, we are." Nancy answered like Dustin could hear her. "...can't back through Watergate?" Dustin asked, his voice fading in and out. "The hell is Watergate?" Steve looked at you guys. "Cause it's in water and it's a gate." Robin explained, looking at Steve. "Oh." Steve furrowed his brows. "That's cute." Eddie chimed in. You held out your pointer finger to the glimmer.

N-O

No.

G-U-A-R-D-E-D

Guarded.

"Watergate's guarded." Dustin repeated. "Yes! Perfect!" You smiled. Eddie clapped his hands. "We think we have a theory that can help with that." Dustin paused. "I swear he's like mini Einstein." You mumbled. "We think watergate's not the only gate," Dustin's voice faded. "...murder site." His voice came through. "What?" You asked in confusion. "Does anyone know what he's talking about?" Nancy asked. "Nope." Robin answered. "No idea." Eddie shook his head. Nancy wrote out a question mark within the glimmer. "Seriously? How many times do I have to be right before you guys just trust me?!" Dustin said in an annoyed tone. "This kid's gotta get his ego in check." Steve spoke, rolling his eyes. "Tell me about it. It's his tone right?" Eddie poked his head out to look at Steve. "Shush! Both of you!" You looked at them.

"Okay, so," Nancy turned to look at Eddie, "how far is your trailer from here?' She asked. "Um, about seven miles." Eddie answered quickly. "I am not walking seven miles to Eddie's trailer." You looked at Nancy. "Yeah, I know everything here is like frozen in time, but don't you have bikes?" Robin asked. Nancy slowly nodded. "Good. Tell them to meet us at Eddie's trailer then." You stood to your feet, running out of the room. "Wait, y/n, where are you going?" Robin looked at you. Stopping in your tracks, you looked back at her, "to get a bike."

Running down the stairs as fast as you could, Robin and Eddie followed behind you while Nancy and Steve chose to tell the others the plan. "Does anyone know where her garage is?" Your eyes searched around the rooms of the house before landing on a door that was adjacent to the entrance. "Bingo." You muttered, walking to the door, and opening it. Bikes lined up against the wall were the first things you saw. Steve and Nancy came rushing in, "they know." She looked at you. "Good. Now let's get our asses going." You grabbed the bike.

━━━━━

The five you rode quickly, pedaling the bikes as fast as you could. The wind blew across your face as you gripped the bike handles. "I hope those bat bastards aren't guarding the trailer!" You shouted at the others, pedaling the bike. "Me too! The last thing I need to do is to fight those things again!" Robin shouted back. "Hey, guys?" You called out. "Yeah?" Nancy glanced at you. "I need to make a quick stop!" You looked in Nancy's direction. "What?!" Nancy shouted. With your walkman gone, and no other way to fend off Vecna, you came to the realization you had a walkman three years ago.

Your favorite song wasn't out yet, but you still had songs you liked on tape. It was the only idea you had. The only plan you had if it ever came to saving yourself. "I'll be quick!" You shouted, veering off the road. "Y/n!" Steve shouted. "Y/n! No!" Robin yelled. You pedaled as quick as you could, your house just down the road. "Goddamnit, y/n!" Eddie shouted in frustration, turning the bike in your direction, following you. "Eddie, what are you doing?!" Nancy shouted, looking back at him. "Going after her!" Eddie tried his best to catch up with you, gripping the handlebars of the bike. You panted as your eyes scanned the familiar houses in your neighborhood. "I'll make it quick." You muttered to yourself, slowing down as your house came into view.

"Y/n!" Eddie shouted. You jumped off the bike, looking back as you saw Eddie approaching an annoyed look on his face. "What the hell are you doing? Are you insane?!" He shouted at you. "I said I'd be quick! Why didn't you stick with the others?!" You shouted, running up to your front door. "Because!" He ran after you. Busting through your front door, you ran up your stairs to your bedroom, your feet stomping on the stairs, your breathing heavy as you ran to your bedroom. "Slow down!" Eddie pleaded. Ignoring his request, you opened your bedroom door, your eyes scanning around the dark room.

A smile formed on your face as you saw your walkman sitting on your desk. "Got you." You smiled, walking over to it, snatching it off the desk. Grabbing your bag from the hook on your door, you unzipped it, tossing your walkman in. "Tapes...I need the tapes." You ran around the room, digging through your drawers. "The hell are you looking for?" Eddie watched as you ran around in a panic. Rummaging through the mounds of dirty clothes and papers that filled up your desk, you finally found them in a shoebox under your bed. "I got them!" You opened the box, tossing the cover to the other side of the room. All of the songs that you liked were still here. Smiling to yourself, you dumped them into the bag.

"You're insane!" Eddie looked at you with wide eyes. "Only when necessary." You smiled back at him, panting. You zipped your bag, running down the stairs and back out of the house. Slinging your bag over your shoulders, you grabbed the bike off ground, jumping onto the seat. "Let's go!" You looked at Eddie with a smile. "You really are insane!" Eddie looked back at you with a grin, both of you riding side by side with each other, hurrying to catch up with the others.

━━━━━

Approaching the trailer park, you and Eddie turned into it, seeing Nancy, Steve and Robin just arriving, throwing the bikes down to the floor. "Guys!" You shouted. They turned to look at you, smiles spreading across their faces. You slowed down, pressing on the brakes as you reached Eddie's trailer. "Y/n!" Robin smiled at you. "What'd you stop for?!" Steve asked. You smirked, grabbing your bad, unzipping it. Reaching into your bag, you pulled out your walkman, "this." You smiled. "Your walkman!" Nancy said with relief. "Well, shit." Steve exhaled.

You looked at the trailer, throwing your walkman back in before zipping your bag. Without saying a word, you began walking towards the trailer, slowly approaching it. "When's the last time you've been here?" Eddie smiled at you, trying to catch his breath. "I'd say about three months or so." You smirked at him, opening the trailer door. All of you stepped inside, your eyes landing on the ceiling. A gate. A small one. Smaller than the one at Lover's Lake. "This is where Chrissy died. Like, exactly where it happened." Eddie spoke softly. The gate gave off a red glow, just like the other one. "Shit." You murmured, staring at it.

"I think there's something in there." Robin said in a nervous tone. You squinted your eyes, looking closer. You noticed something prodding at the membrane. "What the hell is that?" Eddie questioned. You all leaned in closer. Whatever was on the other side was poking through the gate before it suddenly burst open. "Ah!" You yelped, shuffling back. You all looked at each other, confused. Walking closer to the gate, you slowly looked up, "holy shit." You said in disbelief. It was like everything was flipped upside down. The others looked up. There stood Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Erica. Dustin let out a laugh, "hi guys!" He waved.

"Erica?!" You questioned, furrowing your brows. "Hi, y/n!" She waved, giving you a big smile. "Henderson!" Eddie shouted, a smile on his face. All you let out small chuckles, smiles adorning your faces. You felt so relieved. So happy. "This is so trippy." Robin said in a breathy tone. Dustin shook his head in excitement, "hell yeah!" Dustin shouted, looking up at you guys. You let out a laugh, looking over at Eddie. He looked at you, his eyes softening at your wide grin. He couldn't help but smile himself. You reached for his hand, squeezing it lightly. "Hey, Dustin, got a way to get us out of here?" Steve looked up. "Uh," Dustin looked at Max, Lucas, and Erica, "yeah...Yeah!" Dustin ran off, the others following him.

"How are your arms?" Eddie asked, looking down to see that you were still holding his hand. "Still kind of hurts, but I'm just glad they're wrapped up." You responded. "Thanks to me." Eddie smirked. "Hey, you were the one that willingly volunteered." A chuckle left your lips. Nancy, Robin, and Steve all looked at each other, giving each other the look, noticing your flirty bickering. "Hey, um," your eyes flickered up to Eddie's, "in all honesty, thank you. Really." You bit the inside of your cheek. "Yeah, yeah...Of course." Eddie nodded. You looked away from him, this time loosening your grip on his hand to intertwine your fingers with his. Eddie gulped, quickly looking down to see his fingers interlocked with yours.

"Okay, guys!" Dustin shouted from a distance. Max and Lucas came into view, holding Eddie's mattress, and placing it on the floor. Your brows furrowed, noticing the stains on his bed. Multiple of them. "Eddie...what are those?" You pointed, slowly turning to him. The others looked in disgust. "Those stains are, uh..." Eddie quickly looked at you before turning away, "I don't know what those stains are." He answered quickly. "Mmm." Robin hummed in response, glancing at him. Dustin walked up to the gate, holding a rope of tied sheets together. "Not sure how this is going to work. But, uh, let's hope it does what I think it's gonna do." He bunched the rope up in his hand, letting out a small grunt as he tossed it up to the gate.

To everyone's surprise, it went through, the end up of it hitting the ground while the other half was handing out of the gate. "There we go." Dustin tugged on it. Robin grabbed the rope, pulling on it with all her strength. "It actually holds!" She shouted. You all let out a small laugh of amusement. "You're a genius, Dustin!" You smiled at him. "This is the craziest shit I've ever seen." Erica looked up, a wide grin on her face. "Guess I'll go first." Robin jumped onto the rope, grunting as she pulled her weight, climbing up. You watched carefully, as she made it halfway through the gate. "Oh my god!" She yelped, falling straight onto the mattress. "That was fun!" She smiled, grabbing Dustin's hand as he reached out to help her.

"Guess I'm next." You smiled at the others. "Be careful." Eddie's hand slipped from yours as you jumped onto the rope. Holding tightly as you pulled your weight up, climbing it. Small grunts left your lips as you made it halfway through the gate. "Woah!" You shouted, flipping onto your back, and landing on the mattress. Sitting up, you looked at the others. "Welcome back." Dustin greeted you, giving out his hand. "Thanks." You grabbed it, standing to your feet. Eddie was next in line, already climbing the rope, his hair poking out of the gate. As he focused on climbing, he poked his tongue out, carefully gripping the rope. He flipped in the air and landed on the mattress.

Sitting up quickly, he looked at Robin with wide eyes, "that was fun! Holy shit!" He laughed. Dustin giggled, helping him to his feet. "Come on guys! You got this!" You shouted, looking up. "Nancy." Steve grabbed ahold of her. "Nancy!" Steve shouted. "What the hell is going on?!" Robin screamed. "Hey, Nancy! Hey! Wake up!" Steve shook her. "Stay with me. Nancy! Hey!" Steve shouted. Everyone gathered around the gate, looking up. Your breath hitched, "Vecna."

𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬:
Am I updating this at 3:30 am? I sure am. Did I spend all night writing this? Yes I did. Anyway, I don't have much to say except I'm glad you guys are enjoying the book, it truly means a lot to me. If I have the energy, I'll try and write chapter 12 tomorrow. As of now, enjoy!