8 | Suspect

Y/n woke up, taking in their surroundings and what happened yesterday. Panic started to settle in as they couldn't find Eddie anywhere. They took deep breaths, heading to the bathroom to freshen up before throwing on a clean t-shirt Eddie had given them before they went to sleep. They searched around the kitchen, finding enough coffee to make one for Eddie and one for themself. They walked to the boat house, feeling relieved to hear Eddie singing to himself. They leaned against the door frame, both mugs in their hand as they watched him, waiting for him to realise. It took him a good minute and a half before he noticed y/n, jumping out of his skin.

 "Jesus, Henderson. Trying to give me a heart attack?" he teased, y/n grinning and giving him a mug. "Damn it, you worked it out." they joked, Eddie laughing. They sat in a comfortable silence, drinking their coffee, a car pulling up just as they finished. "Get down..." Eddie said, running over to the window, looking for the car. "Shit. Oh, shit." he mumbled, unable to see it. Suddenly the door banged open, Y/n leaning into Eddie as they jumped and yelped from the noise. "Jesus..." they muttered, seeing the group walk in. "Delivery service!" Dustin greeted. Dustin's smile faded as he tilted his head in confusion. "Since when did you have a hellfire shirt?" he questioned, looking at them. Their eyes widened slightly, looking at Eddie who was smirking. "Oh, uh, Eddie had a spare one with him." they lied, Steve and Robin smirking at the pair.

Eddie sat there snacking on the cereals as y/n drank their juice cartoon. "So, we got, uh, some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?" Dustin questioned, looking at him. "The bad news first, always." he responded, taking a swig from his bottle. "All right. Bad news, we tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch without cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you. Also, they're, uh, pretty convinced you killed Chrissy." Dustin admitted, y/n looking at them in concern. "Like, hundred percent kind of convinced." Max added. Eddie looked at them nervous, not knowing what to do. "And the good news?" he questioned, a lump in his throat. 

"Your name hasn't gone public yet. But if we found out about you, it's only a matter of time before others do too, and once that gets out everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you." Robin explained, the colour draining from his face and the light from his eyes dimming. "Hunt the freak, right?" Eddie said, Robin agreeing. Y/n rubbed their hand on his back, trying to comfort him. "So, before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence." Dustin told him, Eddie looking at him as if he was crazy. "That's all, Dustin? That's all?" Eddie retorted sarcastically, y/n wincing as they knew he wouldn't pick up on it. "Yeah, no, that's pretty much it." he smiled, everyone silently groaning at Dustin.

"Listen, Eddie. I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this kind of thing before." Robin comforted, y/n mumbling something under their breath. "I mean, they have a... a few times, and...and I have once. Mine was more human-flesh-based, theirs was more smoke-related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel like we got this." Robin rambled. "We usually rely on this girl who has super powers, but, uh, those went bye-bye, so..." Steve told him, Dustin nodding. "So, we're technically in the more of the..." Robin paused, trying to find the words. "Brainstorming phase." Y/n finished, Robin agreeing. "There's...there's nothing to worry about." Dustin spluttered, Steve chuckling. 

Eddie looking at them with widened eyes, not buying it. They heard sirens in the distance getting louder, all of them scurrying. "Y/n, go with them, I'll be fine." Eddie ordered, y/n looking at him. They gave him a sad smile and nodded, Eddie pulling their hand up to his mouth and pressing a kiss to it before getting in the boat, Robin putting the tarp over him. The rest of them crouched down, looking out the door window, watching the cop cars drive past. Eddie climbed out as he heard the sirens get distant again, the others rushing out and getting in the car. "Hey Eddie? Please be careful." Y/n said, Eddie walking over and hugging them quickly, pressing a kiss to the top of their head. "I will be, you too sweetheart, okay?" he insisted, y/n agreeing and waving goodbye as they got in the car and drove away.

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"You're saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, it's from the Upside down?" Nancy asked, looking at them. "If the shoe fits..." Steve said, the rest nodding and agreeing. "Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or a curse. Now, whether or not he's doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don't know." Dustin informed her. "All we know is this is something different. something new." Y/n said, looking at Nancy. "Doesn't make sense. No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense. I mean, why them?" Nancy wondered. "Maybe they were just in the wrong place, they were both at the game and near the trailer park." Dustin said.

"We're at the trailer park...uh, should we maybe not be here?" Steve commented. "There is something about this place. Fred started acting weird the second we got here, scared, on edge, upset." Nancy described, trying to recall it all. "Max said Chrissy was upset too." Dustin brought up. "Yeah, but not here, she was crying in the bathroom at school. " Max reminded. "Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right? So maybe Fred and Chrissy saw Vecna." Y/n suggested. "I don't know about you guys, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone." Steve said, some of the group agreeing. "Maybe they did. I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelley's office. If you saw a monster, you'd...you wouldn't go to the police. They'd never believe you. But you might go to your..." Max paused. "Your shrink." Robin said, Max nodding.

Nancy walked to her car, the other's heading towards Y/n's. "Woah, woah, Nance. Nance! Nance, where you going?" Steve questioned, jogging after her. "Oh, there's just something I wanna check on first." she said, pointing to her car. "Something you wanna share with the rest of us?" Dustin shouted, earning a tap from y/n. "Dustin! Don't be rude!" they scolded. "I don't wanna waste your time. It's a real shot in the dark." she finished, looking at the ground. "Yeah, okay. Are you out of your mind? Flying solo with this Vecna creep on the loose? No, it's too dangerous. You need, you need someone to stick with. I'll-" Steve started but got cut off. Robin took a walkie talkie out from Dustin's bag and walked over to her. "Us ladies, will stick together, unless you think we need you to protect us." Robin retaliated, Steve glaring and rolling his eyes. Robin laughed, turning and walking to the car, Nancy following. "Be careful!" he called after them, y/n snorting. "You just gonna stand there and gawk?" Y/n teased, Steve scoffing. "Shut up!" he groaned turning around and walking to the passenger side. "Why don't we go? Okay?" Dustin teased. "Shut up and get in the car." Steve huffed.

"Always the babysitter, always the goddamn babysitter!"