EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE

☀︎

ALEX HENDERSON WAS LOST TO THOSE THAT LOVED HER. She was nothing more than a lifeless figure, left to kneel before them as she faced the darkness of Vecna. Never once did she feel Nancy frantically call for help as her hand was left lifeless in hers, Steve's hold onto her, cupping her face in his hands as he called desperately for her to return to him. Right then and there, she was fallen under a curse— one that could rip away every dream she had in mind for the future.

And Alex hadn't even known it yet. Still holding onto Nancy's hand in her mind, she cried and this time, they were nothing but pure happiness. Squeezing on tight, she laid her other hand on top, feeling the weight on her chest move, allowing her to breathe again. In the world Vecna created for her, the moment she felt that bit of happiness hold onto her, he took that opportunity to rip it all away.

A new darkness shadowed over the Upside Down as Nancy ripped her hand out from Alex's. With panicked breathing, Nancy frantically kicked herself away from Alex, taking hold of Steve's hand as she pulled him with her. "Go away!"

Flinching at her words, Alex's chin quivered to see such a fear in Nancy's eyes. "Nance?" Once more, Nancy jerked back from Alex's motions to get her back. "No," she whispered in a shaky breath. "No, Nance, it's me. You're back. Please." Alex felt her face grow hot as tears sat on the edge of her waterline. "I-I was so scared, Nance."

"I don't care! Look what you did to me! To us! Go away!"

"I-I didn't... I didn't do anything," Alex spoke gently, a sadness consuming her. Unsure how she wound up in such a situation to face all the blame, she turned to look back up at the gate. Crowded around, those on the other side watched from above, standing motionless. Blood began to drip down from their eyes, expressionless to the horrors they faced.

Letting out a sob, Alex forced herself to look away from what they claimed she had done. Breathing heavily through panicked breaths, she brought herself to look at Steve and Nancy as they rose to their feet. There was a change to them— their eyes sucked out from their skulls and blood pooled underneath their eyes, however, they lost no expression. They continued to taunt with rage written all over their faces. "Look at what you did," Nancy spoke breathlessly, raising a finger to her chest.

"You're a monster," Steve said in disgust. "And you thought I could love you?"

"Steve, please," she cried. Pressing her palms together, she pleaded for all of this to come to an end. All of it felt too real and every part of her broke apart inside. These past few days being surrounded by friends and love, it was ripped away in a matter of seconds. Every happy memory was tarnished by Vecna's hold. Tears clouded her eyes the more they ran down her face and she trembled in her spot. "Please, I didn't... I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I-I promise."

Stepping forward, Nancy's brows furrowed together in a newfound rage. "All you do is lie! You lied to Max. You lied to all of us." With a huff of frustration, she crossed her arms accusingly, "Then you thought you could run off and hide? We hate you for what you did to us. We just pretended to put up with you and your pouting and crying. All we wanted was any information you had."

"And you couldn't even give us that," Steve scoffed, crossing his arms at her next. "Do you ever do anything right, Alex? Or are you a total screw-up just like your dad said?"

A smile grew on Nancy's face to see such betrayal spread across Alex's face. Every bit of light left her eyes to hear those words come from him. "Total screw up," Nancy sang out teasingly. "That's why everyone left you, you know. Why the Byers left, why Jonathan disappeared. They were smart too, leaving like they did. And you thought a change of clothes and a new hair cut would make a difference to hide yourself away again after what you did. Pathetic."

Reaching over, Steve gave a playful nudge to Nancy's arm to gain her attention. "Smartest had to have been Hopper, right, Nance?" Looking at Alex, a teasing smile came to his face. "Crazy you blame yourself for him dying when I'm pretty sure he wanted to die just to get away from you."

"You really should blame yourself for everyone else too," Nancy added in happily. "Chrissy? Fred? Patrick?" Pausing, she leaned down toward Alex, "Even Max," she whispered with a hostile glare. "It's all your fault. And you didn't even know it. Just proves how much of a screw-up you are."

Crouching down, Nancy made herself eye level with Alex, a smile growing on her lips to hear her whimpers of fear. "Can I tell you a secret? Best friend to best friend? That night... Steve's party sophomore year, I hated you. The way you threw yourself at my boyfriend. You were so full of yourself mocking all of us for having fun when in reality, you were jealous. You wanted what you couldn't have because Steve was mine. I mean, you're the reason I take everything from you. Steve,  Barb, Jonathan, and now Robin. All because you couldn't let me have what was mine. Then you sat outside and cried as if anyone would ever care, that you felt you actually deserved him. And Barb died while you cried. You killed Barb." Leaning in closer, Nancy's breath hit Alex's face when she spoke in a soft whisper. "I wish you died that night instead."

Crouching down beside Nancy, Steve smirked as they turned to one another. "We would've been better off if I'm being honest. Keep dreaming up whatever future you want, Alex, but I can tell you I'm not part of it." Taking a hand, he grabbed her face roughly, the tips of his fingers digging into her cheeks, forcing her to keep her eyes on him as he spoke. "You probably noticed that I didn't actually care when you told me. I didn't even bother agreeing with you." Letting out a long sigh, Steve felt his smile return as he dropped his hand down. "I just had to tell you I love you and kiss you to shut you up. Sort of embarrassing really, you know, how easy you are."

His words were torturous to her. The pain was consuming. Unable to fight back against it all, Alex's shoulders slumped down, her chin pointed down with his fingerprints still faded against her skin. Every fiber of her ached, trembling in such burning agony to feel she lost a part of him. There was a fear that all she loved was fake, giving him a part of herself that he could use against her.

Sneering down at her from above, Nancy jumped on this opportunity to take a dig at her next. "Threw yourself at Billy and you didn't even like him," Nancy laughed menacingly as she picked up Alex's chin with a single finger. To see how humiliated and frightened she became amused her greatly, soaking in the tears that shed down her cheeks. "Sweet, stupid Billy Hargrove," she whispered carefully. "And you knew he liked you but you didn't care. You just wanted to feel something, right? Not feel so pathetic. But you are, aren't you? Forgiving a monster like him after what he did to you?" Pinching Alex's chin when she felt her turn away, Nancy grew hot with anger. "I guess you got him back when you let him die, huh? I think there was a part of you that wanted him to die that day."

"That's not true," Alex whimpered.

"It's okay to admit it now," Steve said gently, easily faking the sincerity in his voice. "You don't have to keep lying. That's what you promised Max, right, no more lies? You knew you killed people and that's why you decided to hide, right? Hide away until you finally got what you wanted." Scooting closer, Steve kept his eyes off of her, leaning forward as his lips hovered beside her ear. "You wanna die, don't you, Alex?"

Closing her eyes, Alex repeatedly shook her head in quick disagreement. "No, no, no. That's not true. It's not true. I don't wanna die. I'm not ready." Her voice began to crack as she spoke, terrified that with every word, she'd begin to believe they knew her better than she knew herself. Throat closing up from the panicked sobs that left her lips, she clasped her hands together in her lap, giving up entirely to fight to stay strong. It was no use and the pain— it became unbearable. "I-I don't want to die, please. Please, believe me."

Unwilling to listen to lies, Steve bunched his lips into a dissatisfied frown. "That's not what you thought when you wrote those letters. Be honest, you've been ready to end all your suffering. He was there when you wrote it and he felt everything you felt. You can't hide from the truth."

Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, she resisted the temptation to look at those that taunted her. It was easy for them to pick apart her words and her feelings, finding a reason to hurt her. It was nothing what Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler ever were. Shaking her head, Alex squeezed her hands together tighter, wishing that maybe soon, Steve Harrington— the real one— would squeeze it back. Left alone, she breathed out through broken whimpers, holding her hands to her ears as she shook her head in denial. "This isn't real. You're not real."

Holding back his amusement, Steve tried to frown only to fail as a smirk appeared. "No, uh, I'm pretty sure this is as real as it gets," Steve chuckled. "You're sort of, uh, what's the word..." thinking to himself, it was that moment of silence that allowed Alex to open her eyes as she raised her head up. To see her watching once more, Steve cracked a grin. "Oh, right, bullshit. Yeah, Alex, you're bullshit. And not that love crap you keep making up to make me feel better." Clearing his throat, a single finger rested to his lips in thought before he flipped it over to her in a single jerking motion. "No, um, you're actually what's bullshit."

Stunned and hurt by his words, Alex's hands were ripped away from her ears. Those once tear-filled eyes were red in pain and anger. Jaw clenched, she shoved him back before he realized the break in her heart. "No, you're bullshit! You're bullshit! You are! You aren't real!" As she screamed those words, her fist pounded against his chest, keeping him from returning so close to her.

A rage had returned within Vecna to see how easily she was to resist the truth. The way she fought for a means of escape from him. When that exhaustion began to take over Alex from the sobbing and the pushing, she dropped her hands down Steve's chest until they slowly slinked back into her lap. "You're not real," she whispered through a shaky breath.

"We're real, Alex," Nancy spoke slowly as she placed a hand on Steve's shoulder, narrowly watching the girl before her. "It doesn't matter if it's all in your head or not, this is what we think, this is what we feel. You just never cared to think about anyone but yourself. The most selfish person I've ever met. It's always me, me, me."

"We're very much real," Steve added in. Turning her eyes over to him, Alex narrowed her eyes. It wasn't only his voice that spoke to her. Just faded behind, the sinister tone of Vecna's lingered through the air as well. Scooting herself back, Alex felt a coldness flood through her. Inching closer, Steve continued to hover over her. "Where are you going, Alex? We need you." Letting a hand lay against her cheek, the words he spoke lost his own tone as Vecna's took over. "Don't you want to see how real it is? I can show you. Let me show you."

Picking her hands up off the floor, Alex moved to make a quick and sudden shove toward Steve to escape his cold grasp. Only this wasn't her world where she controlled who she was and where she went. These clouded tears were left to slip from the corners of her eyes because with a final shove, Steve Harrington took his chance to make the first move and pushed her back. Making a grab for his arm to keep her steady, she lost all sense of reality as he slipped out from under her hand.

It left her weightless falling into an endless void. Reaching for anything, Alex searched for a safety to cling to, to pull her back to any reality. Anywhere that Vecna couldn't find her. Yet her fears of what was to come overshadowed the light that was hidden somewhere deeper in her mind. It was an endless pit that searched for its newest horror to throw her into.

Outside of Alex's mind, her friends erupted into a chaotic mess of pure panic. It was a scramble to save her, unsure if they could face the same win when Nancy had been returned to them. Standing before the gate, Dustin Henderson watched above at the three in the Upside Down. "Please, Alex. Wake up." His voice was squeaky, terrified that this was it for him and his sister. By the end of the night, he would be alone, falling into a darkness that would forever pain him.

Kneeled down in front of Alex, Steve Harrington swore to never leave her side. "Come on, Alex, wake up now. Wake up, wake up! You know I need you, okay?" Unable to understand the feeling inside of him, he was left to only plead, and with every word, he spoke faster, terrified that if he stopped, he'd lose her. "I can't do this alone. All right, I need you. I-I need you to wake up now."

Standing behind Steve, Nancy's chest rose and fell rapidly, her hands rested on top of her head as she paced anxiously in front of them. "We need to wake her. We have to. Right now. You... you don't know what he said. What he showed me."

Closing his eyes, Steve rested his forehead against hers while his hands cupped her cheeks in his own. "Don't listen to him, Alex. Don't listen to that asshole and get the hell out of there." Voice trembling with every word, he sucked in a deep breath of air as he fought back the burning in his eyes that the tears spiked through. "Music," he choked out. "We need music."

Swiping away his tears, Dustin held himself up tall. Now was not his time to cry. No matter what he felt or how scared he truly was, he had to be the one to stay strong. While the others raced around, screaming to one another inside Eddie's trailer, he looked up through the gate at Steve. To see someone he looked up to so highly break apart before his eyes, he felt there was no choice but to be the strong one. "Where's her backpack?" he called up to him in question. "Her Walkman is in it! I threw all her music in there!

Shaking his head, Steve closed his eyes. "I-I don't know, man."

Dropping her hands to her sides, Nancy whipped her head around, putting her pacing to a halt. "It's on the boat! We left it on the boat! Did you go back and get it?"

"No, no," Dustin said anxiously.

"Just find anything," Steve instructed in defeat. "Anything she likes."

Racing toward the gate, Robin held all of Eddie Munson's tapes in her arms before dropping them down onto the mattress. "It's all shit! This isn't music!"

"This is music!" Eddie yelled in correction. Bending down, he snatched the first tape he could and held it up with some hope. "Metallica! She has to like that! She's gotta have some taste!"

"No, no, no!" Steve screamed. Looking up to them he kept his hands on Alex to make sure she never left the group. "We need her music! Blondie, Madonna, Beatles! That kind of music, man! Not... not Metallica!" Feeling his throat start to burn, Steve soon realized the tears that began to cloud his eyes. Having no other options left, he extended a hand out to Dustin. "J-just tell me her favorite song!"

"It won't matter if we don't have it," Dustin called in defeat.

"Just tell me, dammit!"

Racking his brain, Dustin held onto his head with wide eyes. Before, he could tell anyone anything about his sister, it's how well he knew her. Now, he wasn't so sure. Giving it a shot in the dark, he held his hands out in the air. "Hammer to Fall!"

"No, it's not! It's not!" Steve snapped.

Eyes darting around the group, Robin began to breathe heavily as an idea came to mind. It was useless to her, but she knew with the help of others, they could all figure it out. Holding out a hand, she waved it around in a panicked state. "She... she played this song! We had a sleepover and... and I heard it turn on in the middle of the night! She was still listening to it when I woke up again!" Finding herself smiling, Robin felt hopeful. "It's her favorite song, I know it. I just... I don't remember what she was listening to."

Feeling a shock erupt through her, Max pushed aside how terrified she truly was. Stepping onto the mattress, she spoke directly to Dustin, the only one she was certain would know how to figure it all out. "Alex plays music when she's scared! It's how she's been staying away from him this entire time." Facing Dustin, Max was wide-eyed as she grabbed ahold of him roughly by his shirt. "She has nightmares every night, right? She'd play this song every night. Every single night."

"Oh, oh, oh," Dustin thought out loud. "I-I don't know for sure..."

"Just think!" Steve screamed. "This is Alex! Shut up and think!"

"I am thinking!" Dustin's voice boomed over the others. With a nervousness flooding his system, his brain felt clouded, recalling those endless nights he heard the music that poured out from her door. Dustin tried desperately to find the right tune that floated through his mind, while Alex Henderson finally escaped the meaningless void she fell through as her body hit soft against a mattress, her head landing on a pillow with a final grunt.

With deep panted breaths, Alex propped herself up onto her elbows to find herself in what she deemed to be the safety of her room. All a bad dream was what it had been, the comfort of soft music playing on the headphones draped around her neck told her everything was how it should be. Taking her fingers, she brushed underneath her nose— no blood. Chalked up to nothing more than another meaningless nightmare, Alex allowed that small moment of relief to be her reason to breathe once more. Hanging her head back, she found herself smiling for only a second. It wasn't until her brows furrowed that she realized the posters tacked above the bed were not hers.

Lifting her head up, she looked around the room— familiar, but no place she had been before. Laying beside her, Alex placed her hand on the small boxy tv that sat on the bed beside her— not hers. Playing quietly, the static picture showed a helpless priest, willing to come face to face with the devil himself trapped inside of a hopeless girl— The Exorcist.

That same deep booming voice before emerged from a darkness meant only for hell itself. "Don't you recognize this, Alex? Does it make you feel as good as it made you once before?"

Feeling that ache in her bones, Alex sunk into the bed, a single, dry sob bubbled out as she found herself coming to a realization of where she lay. So answer me, would Nancy leave Glen alone if nothing stood in her way? Dustin's motive that was meant to tear her from her home was a question that haunted the back of her mind. Her favorite movie was left to be compared to her life and to be the character that died made her sick to her stomach. Glen dies— she reminded Dustin. Now as she lay there, the oddly familiar room was the very same one she watched as she sat with anticipating late at night as Glen Lantz fell asleep in his bed. Trapped in her mind, she was forced to live with the monster in her mind.

"Don't you like it, Alex?" Vecna questioned her tauntingly. "Is it not your favorite movie? Tell me, Alex, how does dumb, stupid, sleepy, Glen Lantz die? Didn't your brother want you to be just like him?"

Refusing to answer, Alex yanked the headphones off from around her in a fit, tossing them across the room. Unwilling to participate in these mind-numbing games of torture, Alex threw her legs off the side of the bed, ready to make her escape. With her feet dangling off the end of the bed, vines had emerged from behind the bed's headboard, taking hold of her wrists and with a tough yank back, pulled her onto her back. The burn of the tight grip had Alex cry, being pulled back onto the bed as she wriggled against them, fighting to get away. With such a strong fight, Vecna felt amused to see as he worked within her mind, letting more vines take hold of her ankles and keep her flat spread across the bed.

Fists tight, she yanked hard, hoping to break the vines. With no budge, Alex let out a frustrated scream. "Let me go, asshole! You're not real!"

"Oh, but I am," he taunted. "I am very much real and I am very much with you. Did you think you could come to my home and not pay a visit?"

While Alex continued to fight against her bounds, Vecna dug further into her mind, finding the perfect way for her to speak to him. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wished to search for any means of light to escape, however, the fear that sat inside was darker than any light could overtake. "Let me go!"

Finding himself deep in her mind, he found amusement in the guilt she often sat in. Giving in to her demands, Vecna created a haunted world that would only bring her to another inescapable nightmare— one that was very much real. The eerie silence of an absent Vecna caused Alex to crack open her eyes, fearful of what nightmare could flood her mind. Breathing heavily through the silence, she turned her head every which way, uncertain what he had planned next.

Feeding into the terrors that Freddy Krueger unleashed upon Elm Street, Vecna took a note from his book. He haunted nightmares, he prevented her from sleeping, but now that he finally had her, he felt lost. However, there was one final trick to taunt her— to give her what Dustin Henderson wished for her only a few days ago— the full life of Glen Lantz. Just as Nancy couldn't save him, Vecna showed her how Dustin could only fail her as well.

A movement was felt underneath the covers causing Alex to squirm. Her blood ran cold just from the thought of what he had next in mind, but what he had in store for her was enough to cause it to freeze solid. Another wriggle beneath the comforter and then Alex froze solid. Emerging from the middle of the mattress, the hand of Vecna, an unearthly monstrosity that the Upside Down created in him had teasingly waved its fingers at her.

Before she could jerk back to get away, Vecna placed his cold hand on her stomach. Despite the eerie chill that erupted through the rest of her body, she was left to the burn of his touch against her torso. A terrified scream erupted from her as she fought against him to get away. Only this was the Glen Lantz future that Dustin had asked of her. Pulled down into the bed, Alex was yanked into the hole beneath her in the mattress. As the vines let her go to Vecna's grasp, Alex was left to grab for anything— pillows, blankets, the tv, but nothing could save her. Yanked into an endless darkness, Alex saw nothing but red as another one of her favorite movies became her reality.

Plunging into the icy cold lake, Alex gasped for a breath of air the moment she broke through the surface. Pushing her hair out of her face, she frantically looked around for a way to land. That's some Jason Voorhees shit! — words of Lucas Sinclair with no ill intention, wishing to keep her safe from the unknowns that sat inside Lover's Lake.

Just as Jason Voorhees silently went for his victims, Vecna's eyes broke the surface behind Alex. Silent as can be, he rose from the water, not a splash, not a wave, just the sounds of her staggering breaths and droplets of water that hit the lake as they fell from her hair. A silent killer was what Vecna found himself being, no need for a taunt when the haunt of the night was eerie within itself.

Yet as Alex found herself growing uncomfortable with the lack of attack, she began to turn herself around, but before she could meet his eyes, a sudden lunge from Vecna had one arm wrap around her, holding him close against her as he placed his other hand around her mouth. The splash of the water helped muffled the screams as she fought for her life to flee from him.

There was never an escape for Alex Henderson. Dragged into the dark waters, the last thing she saw before submerged into the water was the glowing full moon from above. Then it was darkness. Unable to breathe, her chest tightened, her throat burned, and every bit of her was on fire in the chilly waters. There was no way out as she was pulled into straight darkness, pulled into a brand new nightmare.

Breathless and heart pounding, Alex fell from the darkness into the bright white glow of fluorescent lights of the hallways of Hawkins High. Hitting the ground hard, she felt the small breath of air she had captured mid-fall be ripped from her lungs. Turning to her side, she coughed and choked on the water in her lungs, unable to find the smallest bit of strength to allow herself to cry.

Panting, Alex refilled her lungs as she pushed her wet hair back out of her face and sat forward. Trembling, she allowed her eyes to travel against the halls as students emerged from their classrooms, not a single student paying her any attention as if she wasn't there.

"Do you even know what you did?" Vecna's voice called from above. Not answering him back, Alex rose to her feet, keeping a cautious stance as she slowly stepped further down the halls, searching for a reason to remember such an average and forgetful day.

It wasn't until emerging from a classroom, that she found her past self venturing out. This version of herself was enough to break Alex. Seeing herself from a different perspective, she wondered how she survived being alone for so long. Her exhausted eyes stayed down to the ground, books clutched tightly to her chest and she dragged her feet with no motivation to keep pushing forward. Watching herself closely, Alex followed after wanting to understand what Vecna was showing her.

A familiar face caught Alex's attention. Exiting another classroom, Chrissy Cunningham's high ponytail swung from side to side as she whipped her head back, laughing with one of her friends, carefree and happy. Then one collide changed everything. With her eyes down, Alex never saw her coming. Together the two crashed into one another and all Chrissy could do was laugh as she apologized to Alex. Her bright wide eyes shinned when she looked at Alex. Apologetic, she reached forward, grabbing hold of Alex's arm.

"When I kill someone, I always remember," Vecna said from within. Stepping back from the scene in front of her, Alex tried to escape the thought of ever hurting Chrissy. Chin quivering, she saw as her past had walked passed Chrissy with a genuine smile just to see that the person she left behind felt a break inside of her. Now standing alone, Chrissy held a hand to her chest, anxiously reaching for her necklace as her smile faded away and every bit of joy in her eyes vanished into emptiness. It was the first time Chrissy Cunningham felt Vecna take hold of her. Just from a single touch.

Unable to watch, Alex let the tears cloud her eyes as she turned her back to Chrissy. Rather than the once crowded halls, Alex gasped at the sight of her and Fred Benson standing outside Ms. Kelley's office. "No, no, stop," she whispered, turning her back to the two. Only Vecna was not willing to let her break away from the truth so easily. Face to face with herself with Fred, she watched as he passed over his ideas on the newest headline for the Hawkins High paper. All he wanted was another student's opinion and was instead left with something far worse.

Handing over his paper, he offered it to Alex. She only ever read the Hawkins High paper for Nancy, and now she felt she owed it to her to help out her newest friend. Accepting it from Fred, for a small moment, her fingers gently brushed against his. Smile fading, Fred pushed up his glasses as he pulled his hand back hesitantly.

Closing her eyes, warm tears slipped from the corners of her eyes as Alex walked backward a few steps. There was one place in Hawkins High she went to whenever she felt her lowest. It was a means of safety to her. It was one place she could open up just a little.

Pushing her way into Ms. Kelley's office, Alex wished to face that warmth of light she eagerly searched for only to find herself still in Vecna's grasp. Stumbling in, she faced a full classroom of students. Coming to a stop, she searched across the room until spotting herself standing at a lab table alone, already quick at work on a dissection.

Making his way over to the lab table, Patrick McKinney shoved off his friend that clung to his back as he joked around. Finally free from his friend, Patrick snatched his gloves off the lab table as he greeted Alex, "Hey, already at work?"

Flashing him a tight-lipped smile, she gave a small nod of confirmation. However, Patrick's eyes began to wander as he searched for his teacher. Making her way around the room, he saw he had little time to work as he cleared his throat. "Hey, uh, you know if she catches you with your hair down again... she's gonna lose it."

Sighing, Alex closed her eyes in frustration. Ready to take off her already soiled gloves, Patrick held out a hand to stop her. Showing that his hands were clean and glove-free, he managed a smile. "You got something to tie it back? I'll just do it for you. No use making you stop when you just got started."

Slowly, her eyes lingered over to his and a smile started to break out, this time genuine. "Yeah, thanks," she whispered. "Um, I have a scrunchie in the front pocket of my bag."

"Front pocket," he repeated to himself as he grabbed her backpack off the ground. Unzipping the pocket, he found it and pulled it out, holding her red scrunchie in his hands. Nervously, he brushed her hair back over her shoulders. "You know, red is sorta my favorite color..."

"Mine too," she said with a nervous smile. Feeling him loosely tie her hair back, she looked over her shoulder as he gave her a halfhearted smile. "There," he whispered, picking his gloves up off the table. At that moment, his heart soared. It was a small crush, one he found himself developing the longer the two worked together as lab partners. It was a secret he swore to never share, not even with his closest friends.

Taking a stand beside her, he took her paper for himself to look over and as he did so, his arm bumped against hers and for a moment Patrick froze as if his dreams had been sucked from his world. It was an opening neither had seen. While they stood close to one another, discussing the lab at hand, neither could see how over them a darkness loomed over the two just as it loomed over Alex Henderson every day. Soon enough, it would lunge at Patrick McKinney when he took his final breath in Lover's Lake.

Alex's chest rose and fell as she placed her shaky hands back onto the door. Forcing herself away from the situation, she took another chance at escaping. Tears spilling over, she stumbled into an empty hallway. Thankful to not face the truth any longer, she began to run.

Picking up the pace, she searched for anywhere to hide. This time, every classroom, every exit was boarded up. Panting heavily, she turned a corner, keeping a hand trailing down the lockers as she forced herself to keep pushing and stay standing. Calling out for help, she screamed for her friends just outside her mind. Though they couldn't hear her, she hoped in some way they could figure it out and pull her out before it was too late.

Then she was face to face with the monster himself. Coming to a halt, Alex looked at the vine-covered beast that menacingly stood at the end of the hall. Taking a step toward her, Vecna wished to have a word with no nightmares and no games. He wanted to explain the truth but with a single step forward, Alex refused to allow that as she began to back away.

Slowly advancing, Vecna kept his eyes trained on hers. "Why are you running, Alex? It's not time for you to leave."

Moving herself around the corner, Alex finally felt herself free enough to keep her back to him but as she turned back around the corner there he stood once more, growing closer with each step. "Where do you think you are going? I am only just getting started."

Ignoring him, Alex decided on a new direction— the boarded-up door just behind her that would lead her outside. Yanking at the wood, Alex used every bit of strength and pure fear to pull it apart. With every grunt and tug, she gave it her best shot. Staying in the school, he would continue to turn her world around and lead her right back to him. This felt to be her only way.

Only a few steps behind her, Vecna felt the excitement fill him from being so close. Hearing her suffering was refreshing even if it pained him just a bit. "You can't leave here, Alex," his voice boomed as he stood behind her.

Giving up entirely, Alex turned to face him, pressing her back to the boarded-up door. "I didn't hurt them. I-I wouldn't."

Taking his long, monstrous finger, he swiped away a tear that trickled down before he pulled back. "You did."

Feeling his breath hit against her face, Alex turned her head off to the side, unable to take in another breath of the putrid smell that the monster reeked of. Closing her eyes, she wished to slip into the light and finally free herself from him just as she did all this time.

Feeling her begin to resist him, Vecna hesitated. Something he hadn't done in a very long time. For her to fear him, to see him as merely just a monster when all he wanted was to show her the way— his way. He wanted her free and yet he backed her into this corner, keeping her from seeing what he wanted her to see.

In her mind, he knew he had the chance to show her whatever he wanted and whatever she needed to see. Unlike the others, he didn't want to just scare her, he needed her to understand. Created into a monster was what someone else had done to him, not who he was. To him, he was still very much the man he used to once be— Henry Creel.

Taking away the terrifying monster he found himself to be, he showed her the real him. The one that she wouldn't run from and instead take comfort in. To feel himself in his own body once again, Henry looked down at his white uniform, no marks, no smudges— a perfect white. His blonde hair curled and swept neatly out of his face. Holding out his hand, he smiled at how perfect it was once again— no claw-like monstrosity overtaking any longer. He was himself, not the monster he was made to be.

Extending it out towards her chin, he lifted it and turned it back to face him. As she kept her eyes shut, he smiled gently, "I'm not going to hurt you, Alex," he spoke. Only now, it wasn't deep and booming and heard within nightmares. The voice that spoke was gentle and angelic. To hear something so sweet, Alex thought that maybe she found her lightness to hide from Vecna. Opening her eyes, she was quiet, watching the man that stood before her yet she stayed guarded, keeping her back tight against the wall. "Who are you?"

"I'm still very much me," he smiled warmly. "Why do you run from them? Run from the truth?"

Mouth opening up, Alex tried to understand. This was the monster she was made to fear— nothing more than a man. "The truth?" she questioned in a trembling voice. "Chrissy, Fred, Patrick... I didn't do anything. I wouldn't. That was all you."

"Me?" Henry questioned back in shock. "No," he said sternly. "No, I didn't do that alone, Alex. That was you. Everyone you touch, you led them to me. I merely chose from those you opened up to me. They suffered and they would only make you suffer all the same." His eyes danced across hers as he fought back the rage to be accused when he was never alone, he always felt her. "Chrissy, you were jealous... that was hurting you. And Fred, he only ever spoke ill of you. I saw everything. The way he mocked you and hurt you whenever Nancy spoke of you. It sickened me."

"And Patrick?" She asked accusingly.

Hurt by her demanding tone, Henry pulled his head back in surprise. "Patrick was a distraction. The way he looked at you... it disgusted me. He would only hurt you."

A single laugh fell from her lips as she looked at Henry. "Patrick had a crush on me so you... you what? Killed him? And what about Max? Nancy?"

"Max continued to hurt you when you looked at her. If I only got rid of her..."

"You thought it'd make it better?" she finished for him. "That it'd make me happy to see someone I love die?"

"Don't," Henry warned sternly. "And Nancy, I needed her. I needed to show her my plans, I showed you and you showed them a sad, pathetic drawing and they only mocked you. She needs to tell them, tell them how real all of this is."

Alex pressed her back to the wall, watching the man that stood before her with a glare and a deep frown. All he had done was smile, the corners of his lips turned up slightly and everything about him was kind. Pulling her eyes off of him, Alex felt tears come to her eyes, disgusted with the sight of him. "Go away," she demanded, but her words didn't seem sincere. They were hesitant as if she wasn't sure he wanted him to leave.

"Don't be afraid," he said calmly. "I know what it's like to be scared too." Eyes floating across her face, his face softened despite her need to get away. The resistance he once felt seemed to fade. "I hoped that you seeing me for who I really am would help. See, I wasn't always this monster you and your friends see me as." Taking a step closer, he felt his smile dip as another tear slid down Alex's face. Seeing her hurting caused a break within him. "I didn't mean to scare you before. I will be honest, Alex, you frightened me. I feared you wouldn't see what I've been doing for you but I've only made things worse."

"Doing it for me? You've put me through hell."

"I've done no such thing," he stated confidently with a shake of his head. "I believe in you and it is time you've been freed from your hell." Approaching closer, he felt the relief as her eyes traveled back over to him. Though she was hesitant, he could see she was willing to listen. Taking a spot standing beside her, he turned his head over to her, flashing her a smile that showed he meant no harm. "We are a lot more alike than you think."

"We are nothing alike," she whispered.

"We've hurt people and people have hurt us. We've only wished to help others and in return, they hurt us, allowed us to suffer silently. I was sad to see that you've found comfort in your friends again. I see the way they fear you all because they couldn't understand people like us."

"People like us?" Her question was filled with curiosity as she finally turned her eyes over to him.

"Broken people," he whispered. Scooting closer, he felt their connection only grow stronger as their arms brushed against one another. "Alex, I am sorry for the things I've shown you, but you must know I meant no ill intent. The truth is, I feared that you were being blinded, manipulated by your desire to be loved that you couldn't see that those you loved refused to let you suffer the way you needed. You needed them and they couldn't be there because they simply couldn't understand." Raising a finger to his chest, he leaned closer as his smile grew. "But I do."

Alex's eyes stayed on his, hanging on his every word. Behind the monster truly was a man, one that acted as if he meant no harm. How he could be the same one that lurked in the darkest corners of her mind and consumed the happiness from her soul couldn't make sense. "They all love me even if they don't understand what I've been through. No matter what, they tried to be there for me."

"Try? When I had shown you your worst fears, where did they go?"

"I left them," she corrected, pulling herself up, she began to grow comfortable around him as they spoke. "You're the one that hurt me. Not them."

"And I apologize," he said softly as he watched her stand before him now. "I never meant any harm. People have hurt me, blamed me for who I was and I couldn't sit back and watch as they did the very same to you. Alex, I have watched you for several years, wishing you could see that I've only ever cared. I only ever wished to help you and show you your true potential. All you've done is close off your mind to greatness, pretending you don't feel it as I do."

Alex paused, her back to him as she listened carefully to his words. There was a part of his words she clung to, feeling an uneasiness with him once again. "Years?" Turning back to him, she wasn't just met with his bright blue eyes within the halls of her high school. Rather, she found herself somewhere new, somewhere familiar to the two. In the forest where Alex had hiked through a few years back, the two found themselves in a memory.

"Care to watch?" he questioned from ahead of her. harm. Just as he hoped, she was drawn to him, yet careful as she stepped forward, willing to come to his side. Once she found herself beside him, he began to walk towards what interested him the most, ushering her to follow along. "Do you hear that?"

Alex listened carefully beyond the sounds of their footsteps, the crack of the twigs beneath their feet, and the light wind blowing past. Her heart rate picked up as she realized that this wasn't any old memory, it was her very own, one that kept her up late at night. For years it had haunted her. The place where it truly all began for her— her descent into madness.

Tears spiking her eyes, she listened as her own voice called to Nancy Wheeler, wondering where she had ran off to while they hunted down a faceless man— a monster. Approaching slowly, they soon came to a stop beside a tree, watching as Nancy Wheeler's feet had disappeared inside the small opening to the other world. Tears clouded Alex's eyes as she watched herself soon approaching. Nothing more she wished to scream out and warn herself never to follow after.

"There's no need to cry, my dear," he said softly as he looked over at her. "I've always seen you, felt you. Somehow we were always drawn to each other. I just didn't know how to reach you and I thought if I could show you my home maybe you would feel me too. If i could crack open a door." Looking out at the scene before them, the two watched as the memory of Alex Henderson stuck her arm through the very gate that lead to her horrors in Hawkins. "Nancy was a mistake," he admitted softly.

Through her tears, she looked over at him, growing curious to his words, his truth. His smile no longer sat upon his lips, as if the monster inside him was fighting to return. "No, she wasn't supposed to find my doorway to you. My monsters were careful to lead you here but they grew hungry, stupid. I shouldn't blame them but it kept me from you and it was selfish. But then you followed after her and I thought maybe you knew— knew that just beyond that gate was me."

A sudden wave of guilt hit Alex and she couldn't understand why. Hurting the monster that hurt her, she should have never felt the way she did. He was the cause of all her pain. Yet she couldn't stop herself as she shook her head at him. "I... I didn't know. I never knew." Swallowing hard, that guilt had risen inside her no matter how much she fought it. "I'm sorry."

Turning to her, he gave a sad smile, already forgiving her past actions. "There is no need to apologize, Alex. Though I wished you saw me then, I was... afraid. Afraid you wouldn't accept me for who I was and see how alike we truly were because of how I looked. To the world, I am nothing but a monster, but I am nothing like they say. Someone had done something awful to me, seeing me as just that— a monster. They had sent me to this hell and I was afraid you would despise me for how I looked and who I became. But then my monster grew greedy that night... this night... and we weren't so different after all. It violated you and yet it brought us so much closer together. You then saw yourself as a monster because of the thing that grew inside of you. But you cared for it, didn't you?"

The mention of Dart had Alex turn her eyes away from him. Only he couldn't stand there and watch as she felt the pain of such a memory. Taking ahold of her hand, he caused her to look into his eyes. "You do not have to be afraid to admit the truth to me. I could never judge you." Her bottom lip began to quiver and as she closed her eyes to hide away from that shame, she nodded her head. The truth was clear and there was no point in lying. Dart meant something to her, he was once a part of her and she was the reason he no longer had that chance to live. Softening his eyes, he assured her that it was okay with him. "Most people fear monsters. They detest them. And yet, we find them endlessly fascinating. That is where we are alike once more."

Seeing that she continued to cry, ashamed of the person she became, he squeezed her hand in reassurance. "It's okay, Alex," he whispered, leaning closer to her. "I could never look at you any different than I have before. Truthfully, you amaze me. I hope when you think of this night, it no longer haunts you. It is where we began. It was the moment you truly felt me."

"Why me?" she whispered in a pitiful sadness. All she wanted was to understand. Why had it been her that he chose, why had she become this person when more than anything she wanted to be normal, just like those around her? A normal that Henry would see as disgusting, powerless, nothing he wanted to see in her.

"Your mother brought you to Hawkins for a fresh start, a new change of scenery, as if the world would be any different here. My mother thought the same, taking me somewhere new in hopes of changing me. Wishing us to not be so broken. Like me, you suffered since you were young. Our mothers couldn't see who we truly were, pretending they could cure us of our pain. Like everything else in this world, it was all a lie. A terrible lie. We did not deserve that. Hawkins never fixed us, it only ever pained us further."

Turning her around, he led her to a different memory. Gathered at the fence, Hawkins Lab sat not too far away from view and Alex stood there with her head hung low, kicking her foot back and forth anxiously as Tommy, Brenda and Mark stood before her. "Come on, Henderson, did you bring it or not?" Mark questioned with his arms crossed, unable to even meet her eyes. He was one of Hawkins High's most popular boys at the time and he too was as awful as the two that stood on either side of him.

Leaning into him, Brenda chuckled, pretending that she was hiding how cruel she truly was. Bringing her foot to a stop, Alex passed over a plastic bag full of goodies. Eyes lighting up, Tommy's smirk grew. "You got everything we asked for?"

"You have eyes, look yourself," she said quietly.

Scoffing at her words, Tommy tore the bag from her hands, peering inside at the packs of cigarettes and a few beers. "You didn't snitch, right? Harrington said you'd do this for us."

"You think I stole this and brought it here, but snitched? I'd get in trouble."

Ignoring her words, Tommy passed off the bag to Brenda who immediately pouted as she turned her eyes to Mark. "She didn't even grab a lighter," she whispered in an agonizing, whiny voice.

"Seriously?" Mark questioned Alex. "What the hell are we gonna do if we can't light these?"

Reaching into her pocket, Alex handed over her own lighter to them. "Thought you'd have your own considering you didn't ask for it."

Stepping forward, Tommy tapped hard against her temple. Amused at the way she flinched at every hit to her head. "Use your brain, Henderson. Cigarettes mean lighter. How clueless are you?" Scoffing, he stepped back as he looked at Mark, hoping that Alex's mistake didn't cost him a shot at popularity. "Sorry, man, Harrington said..."

"I don't care what Harrington said," Mark interrupted. Turning to Alex, he raised a finger up to her. "Don't screw this up again otherwise you're not gonna like what happens." Stepping forward, he bent down to her height and directed a finger at the lab that sat inside. "You see those guys in there, see what they're holding? Those are called guns, Henderson. One step inside these gates, they shoot." Directing his eyes back toward her, he stood nose to nose with her tauntingly. "Is your life more important than getting me what I asked for?"

Growing uneasy, Tommy let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Come on, man, let the freak go." Knowing how angry Steve would become to ever hear what Tommy had done to Alex, to put her in such a situation, he'd lose yet again another grab at popularity.

Smiling, Mark looked over at Tommy. "Freak, huh? I like that."

"She hangs out with Byers, man, of course she's a freak," he chuckled nervously. "He's, like, her only friend. Doesn't talk to anyone else."

"No one?" Brenda laughed. When Alex set a glare on her, she acted as if she was innocent in the matter, swaying side to side as she scrunched up her devious grin into what she thought was a guilt-free smile.

"No one," Tommy gloated. "That's why I told you she'd do it. She's got no one to snitch to besides Byers and that freak doesn't talk to anyone but her. It's pathetic, man."

"What about Steve?" Brenda questioned curiously.

"Oh, he just has her steal his shit too. He doesn't actually give a shit about her."

"I saw Carol talking to her the other day," she spoke loudly, daring Tommy to come up with another excuse.

Growing angry that people like Steve and Carol could screw up his chances at having an in to Mark and his friends, he puffed out his chest as he stepped up to Alex. "Stay the hell away from Carol, got it? I don't need freak rubbing off on her. She isn't your friend, Henderson. Don't bring her down with you."

Alex stood there with no expression, unfazed by Tommy's antics to tear her down. However, that was only on the outside. On the inside, she was hurting deeply to be called a freak and be mocked for having a friend in Jonathan Byers. For Carol and Steve to also be taken from her, she felt alone. Now with Mark's eye on her, she felt terrified that one wrong step, he would be more awful than this.

"Don't let freak rub off on me either," Mark spoke up as he pushed Tommy back. Finding Alex's eyes again, he grinned. "Heard your little brothers a bit of a freak too, huh? Dustin was it?" Looking back at Brenda, he couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe freak rubbed off on him. Poor kid."

"Don't talk about him," Alex spoke up. Spinning back around toward her, Mark's smile immediately dropped. "What'd you say?"

"Don't talk about my brother," she said clearly. "Do you need me to talk slower? I knew you were a total meathead, but come on."

"Hey, you better watch it, Henderson," Tommy spoke up, jumping at Mark's defense only to be pushed aside once more. Pointing a finger to Alex's chest, Mark gently tapped it several times. "You're pushing it, freak. I don't care what it takes or how much trouble you get in, I'm gonna need a lot more than this now. I'm talking cases of beer. I'm throwing a party next weekend."

"Which you're not invited to," Brenda spoke up.

"You get me that beer and I'll drop your brother's name," he spoke slowly. "If you don't," grabbing ahold of her by the collar of her shirt, he brought her over to the fence leading to Hawkins Lab. "You can start climbing. And, uh, clear up the rumor if they shoot on sight or not. I'd kill to find out."

Feeling her chin start to quiver, she nodded her head, unable to meet their eyes. Roughly letting go of her, Mark passed over the grocery bag to Tommy who stood watching Alex. He felt no guilt or regret. All he felt was pure happiness that Mark had started to accept him into his fold at the expense of Alex Henderson. As Brenda snaked her arm around Mark, the two wandered off in laughter. Tommy stood next to Alex, watching as she let a tear slip out. "You don't tell Harrington about this, got it? Otherwise, you can say goodbye to him and Carol. Remember, the only reason Mark didn't throw you in there now was because of me. I'm your hero, understand that?"

"Mhm," she hummed, gently nodding her head as she wished for him to leave her by herself.

Unable to let go, Tommy felt tough again. "Say it. Say I'm your hero."

Alex couldn't find it in herself to fight against him. Torn down, she closed her eyes and she hung her head in shame. "You're... you're my hero."

Grabbing onto Alex's arm, Henry forced her to look away from a memory that pained her so deeply. "They hurt you, didn't they? Called you names and ridiculed you for being who you were. Yet you were always so kind even though you despised them." Looking out to the Lab, Henry felt this sting of rage. "I was just inside those walls. We were so close and hadn't realized it. I would have protected you. I would have saved you. They caused you pain and for what? I knew then I had to make you stronger but our worlds... they were so far away. Far away enough that I left you to suffer alone."

He looked at her and saw the obvious pain that sat across her face. "I am sorry, Alex. I have always been there for you even when you couldn't see. But I am so happy you did find me."

Tears sat on the edge of Alex's eyes as she and Henry met one another's eyes. Suddenly the light she was looking to hide in sat there in his eyes. The monster he once was became a man, one there to protect her and care for her just as she wanted for months. "How do I know this isn't a lie? That you're gonna hurt me just like them."

"I could never lie to you," he whispered. "I have given you parts of me, Alex, parts I cherish the most. After being banished to that place, the one you refer to as the Upside Down, I found something. Something great. After your attack, a part of it lived inside of you, a part that allows us to hold our connection. With it, I gave you the opportunity to unlock something new inside of you, something that was worth your potential. What I couldn't expect was you to use it so carelessly against me."

Swallowing hard, Alex's mind wandered to the night at Starcourt. Fourth of July night, she found a new sense of purpose inside of her, one she forced herself to believe made her the monster. However, it was the night she attacked him. "The Mind Flayer," she whispered.

His smile cracked but he was greatly unamused. "Yes, but I forgive you." Hesitantly, he extended a hand out, his eyes traveling across her face before he finally found the courage to place his hand on her cheek. "Then you refused to believe it. That you could hold onto such a power. As if I could take away such an extraordinary gift from someone like you."

Alex shut her eyes from his touch, turning her head off to the side and allowing his hand to fall away. Sighing, Henry felt the disappointment inside of him, yet he refused to be angry with her when he was so desperate for her to see him so clearly now. However, out beyond this dreamlike state, the others had fought to save Alex, desperate for her to return to them as she sat before them, lost in a trance.

Holding onto his rope-like construction, Dustin didn't listen to the others as he pulled himself up. He needed to get to his sister. Had it been the end after all, he needed to be with her. Leaving her alone would forever haunt him. Feeling the pull of the Upside Down yank him down to its world, Dustin felt immediately breathless— that he had seen it all so clearly. Even as Nancy helped him onto his feet before he could crash to the hard ground, he was too frantic to even give thanks.

Fixing his hat on his head, he fell to his knees beside Steve and grabbed onto his shoulder tightly. "I know it," he whispered urgently. "Call Me... by Blondie! Ha!"

"I don't have that!" Eddie reminded the two from the other end of the gate. "You sure she doesn't like Metallica?" Holding up the music tape in his hand, he waved it to them in hopes they'd change their mind after bringing it up once again.

"There's nothing we can do with that information anyways," Nancy said gently as she crouched beside Steve. "She can fight him, I know it. I don't... I don't think we can help her."

"No, no, no," he said with a shake of his head. Finally taking a hand off Alex, he swiped the tears that fell down his face. Recollecting himself, he convinced himself that he could because he knew he had to. Giving up was never an option. "No, I can... I can sing it to her."

"Can you even sing?" Dustin questioned nervously. "Might give her more nightmares..."

Ignoring the jab at him, Steve cleared his throat anxiously. Though he'd prefer there to be no audience for him, he had to give it a shot. His voice began to shake as he sang, unsure if he could match Blondie enough to give Alex a chance at freeing herself.

Licking her lips, Robin could see how desperate he became as he sang to her when all he wanted to do was break down. Unwilling to let him fix this on his own, Robin gave it her best attempt at singing along with him. Smacking Eddie's hand, she gave him a look as she signaled for him to do the same. Though he didn't want to admit that he knew the song, Eddie rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he mumbled the words along with them.

It wasn't what they had planned or what they expected, but it united them to save a friend from her own mind. Holding onto her face, Steve looked to Alex as he sang every word of Call Me directly to her. No one else.

It was an attempt great enough for Alex to finally pull her eyes off of Henry Creel standing toe to toe with her. The crack between worlds began to form faintly as the group did their very best to free her. Lip quivering, Alex let all of Henry's manipulating words sit in the back of her mind when she saw those she truly loved. All those moments she had felt alone, fearful she didn't deserve such love, they never gave up. It was enough to spring a tear to her eye.

Growing panicked that he could lose her so easily, Henry picked up her chin and directed her attention back to him. "Why do you cry for them, Alex? After everything they did to you? They hurt you, left you to sit in your misery, your suffering, moving on with their lives as you lay alone. Both of us know it never mattered that you chose to hide yourself away because if they cared they would have searched for you. You think you need them but you don't." Taking a hold of her hand, he watched as the pain so clearly sat in her eyes, how they could go about their lives unnoticed to it, they didn't deserve her. "You don't," he whispered. "I know what it's like to be alone in this world, to be different. They do not deserve you, Alex."

"I need them," she said under her breath, her eyes focused on him as she remained strong to his pull. "We both know I don't need music or them to leave this place. I can do it on my own, right? It's how I woke myself up from the nightmares. You said you saw it in me."

Broken, Henry's eyes fell to the floor in despair, feeling her resistance. "You always did resist me. You wished for it to be over and you fought. Even when you refused to accept the gift I gave you, you still used it." Eyes falling back on her, he decided he couldn't hurt her for fighting against him. It only ever made her stronger just as he wanted. And he never lied to her about this resistance, the need to escape him. "I will not hurt you, I can promise you that much. But those out there, they do not see the potential you possess. They are greedy, wishing to use you for our bond, pushing you to your limits when they knew you were already so broken. I have been inside your head, Alex, and I see how you wish for them to feel even the smallest bit of suffering that you had gone through just so they could feel what you felt."

Alex began to turn over to see her friends, only for Henry to turn her head back to him once more, keeping her eyes focused on him. "You are better than they are. And I can let them feel that fear you always did." Running his thumb down her cheek, he gave a sigh, feeling once more after such a long time the blood trickle from his nose. Moving his hand, he closed his eyes as he held it out in front of her face.

Gasping for a breath of air, Alex was wide-eyed, feeling an endless drain run through her system. Holding her head to the sky, she felt as her dry tears were soon replaced with fresh ones. He was risking everything to cause suffering to those on the outside, to see her float, nearing death as she rose, he could find a reason to reach into them even further than before.

No matter how much Steve held onto her, there was nothing that could stop him from the sudden fear as he fell back when she began to lift into the air. There were no words as the other voices began to trail off, unsure if singing was even an option anymore.

Biting down hard on his jaw, Dustin watched his sister raise into the air, lost to Vecna's final hold. Getting to his feet, he bit back those tears and screamed through his already burning throat. "Don't stop! Don't stop singing! Go!"

Their voices were filled with fear, trembling as they attempted to keep going. Only there were doubts in every single one of them that it was useless. They all began to prepare themselves that this was it for her. It all came down to this and this time, no one could save her. And she meant everything to them as she was their rock. They were sure without her, the group never would have come to be. They were all living different lives, and somehow all their lives led back to Alex Henderson.

Including Vecnas.

"You're fighting me, I can feel it," Henry said softly.  Closing his eyes, he grew hungry for more from her. To feel her life drain into his, he enjoyed the amount of power that shot through him to almost have his final sacrifice. Only Alex was not the one he wanted. He could never bring himself to give in to the temptation. "I promised I would never hurt you," he forced out as he fought the need to take her life away for his own needs.

"Let me go," Alex choked out, her body aching with every word. "Don't kill me."

Hearing her so simply ask for her life, Henry could feel the monster in him subdue. Letting his hand fall down to his side, he sighed heavily to lose out on such suffering. The trauma she held onto was delicious to him and he so desperately wanted another taste. But as he looked at her, it all changed. Breathing heavily, he pushed his hair back after it fell in front of his eyes. "Before you leave me once again know that I am always with you. I find comfort in you, Alex. Like me, you are misunderstood, superior to all those around you. They only disrupt our harmony, the bond we've created. Together we can restore balance to a broken world. Together we can make our own rules."

"Make me a promise then," she stated as she began to inch toward the opening, unwilling to let go until she could have one thing. "Promise me you won't hurt any of them. Let Max go and leave all of us alone."

His smile faltered that she could ever ask such a thing. "I cannot and you know that." Feeling her resistance grow, he settled on a promise he knew he could keep. "I will protect one for your sake, but only one."

There was no hesitation in her voice, knowing there was only one that mattered most to her. One she knew she had to make it up to for all the pain she caused. "Dustin. Don't touch him— you, your monsters, nothing touches him. Not a single hair on his head."

He was never more willing than now to ever spare one's life. In the long run, he could see how this would benefit him more than hurt him. Dustin Henderson would go untouched by Vecna and all those that roamed his world. "Remember this conversation, Alex. Know who was always there while you were hurting."

For that moment, Alex could feel herself breaking. His draw and manipulation easily cracked her shell she created for herself, one that was always unwilling to let others in. He made it seem so easy, so peaceful. And he never lied, he was always there. With every step, breath, or word she spoke, he watched and he listened. For him to be there when she needed someone the most, Alex felt she owed him and a part of her wished to stay— to join him.

Hearing the sounds of Steve Harrington's voice so loud over all the others, she was reminded of who she was supposed to be fighting for. She wasn't there to be turned away from their battle and fall into the arms of Henry Creel. He was allowing to let her go back to where she belonged, she left him with enough to feel that he would always have a part of her. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Go," he instructed, tilting his head off to gesture for her to race to her escape. For a moment, her eyes locked on his and he could see that guilt of leaving, yet still, she ran, racing to the sound of her friends attempt at her favorite song.

Nevermore had Alex felt stronger as she pushed herself to keep going. In this moment right now, Blondie's voice couldn't compare to theirs. Some off-key, and all terrified, to hear them work to save her, that was the greatest feeling. More than Henry Creel could ever promise her.

But as she raced, every part of her aching as she was reminded one final time by Vecna what her nightmares truly were. Whether she was lost in horror movies that once brought her comfort or the taunting words of the Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler he had created, it lived inside of her and she'd still have to face that reality. To think about it, her feet began to lose their quick pace as she thought of facing them all again.

Tears poured out of her eyes, she heard the words of this nightmare Vecna trapped her in, and once again Alex Henderson was broken. Even as she collided into the opening between words, and felt the acidic air of the Upside Down, she felt the worst she ever felt. Falling to the ground, Alex's body was caught just in time by Steve Harrington to soften the blow.

Immediately panicked to be back with them, to see Steve and Nancy hovering beside her, she feared that she was back to where she started in this endless nightmare. An uncontrollable sob escaped her lips as she tried to back away from them, holding her hands to her ears as she pleaded with them to leave her be.

"Alex, Alex, it's us," Steve said gently as he moved back toward her, attempting to pull her into his arms. To have his warm touch against hers, Alex felt a lightness she was sure she's never felt before. This time what ran down his cheeks wasn't blood, but tears. Choking out a sob, Alex grabbed onto him, burying her head into his chest as he placed his arms around her. Falling to his knees, Dustin let out a single breath of air as he looked at his sister. She was okay and nothing could take that away. Throwing himself forward, he placed his arms around Steve and Alex, holding them in his arms as he finally let himself hold onto his pain after bottling it in.

The others all felt themselves finally breathing freely as they saw she would be okay for now. Holding his hands to his head, Lucas breathed heavily, letting his final tears of relief slip down his cheeks. Max turned away from the group, wishing they wouldn't notice as she wiped away the tears that continued to pour from her eyes. Erica didn't realize how much Alex Henderson truly meant to her until now. How she was prepared to head into the gate as Dustin had with nothing to defend herself and find Vecna to put an end to this once and for all.

Letting out a laugh through her own sobs, Robin threw her arms around Eddie, squeezing on tight to him to let him soak in this moment all the same. And he did as he placed his arms around her, holding her head against his chest as he looked up through the gate in complete disbelief. Nancy Wheeler had smiled through her cries, taking a seat alongside Steve and placed her hand into Alex's giving it a squeeze of reassurance. Something Alex searched for since the very start of it all.

Through all of that relief and that feeling of freedom from Vecna just a little longer, he never forgot. Neither would Alex. Though she felt the love, she could never forget the things she saw while away. It was a pain she'd forever hold, causing her to question if she deserved the love she was given or perhaps she was too different. That maybe Alex Henderson could be just as Henry Creel was— a monster.