17 | Skull rock

"Not to be a wimp, but can I sit in the car for this visit? 'Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck." Robin huffed, looking at Nancy who shook her head at her behaviour. Max sat in the middle with Lucas while Y/n, Steve and Dustin were piled in the back. "That's if Jason didn't get him..." Y/n mumbled, Dustin and Steve looking at each other, unsure of how to comfort them. "It'll be fine." Nancy assured, glancing at Y/n in the mirror briefly. "I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again. I really, really can't." Robin commented, Y/n agreeing. Steve lifted up the pack of beers they had gotten. "At least he can drink himself into feeling better as a celebration of not being killed." Steve commented, earning glares from both Y/n and Dustin.

"That's what my mom does." Max admitted, Lucas looking at her in sympathy to which she ignored. "Why don't we give it a trial run? 'Hey Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six pack your requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna, only the bad news is that he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about, and the gate's closed so we have no way of getting to him. Like, he's entirely shut off to us so basically, you're screwed. Oh, and you're almost entirely fucked as your name is most likely out there now! Now you're like doubly, triply screwed!'" Y/n ranted, all of them gasping and insisting on them to calm down. "Wait, wait, wait...maybe we don't out it like that." Lucas suggested. "'We're one step closer to finding Vecna.'. That's what we say, that's what's important..." Nancy said, Y/n scoffing and shaking their head.

"See, Y/n/n? Positive spin can make all the difference." Steve said, eating another crisp. "Uh huh and don't call me that." they groaned, staring out the window. "Oh shit." Nancy commented as she pulled up, parking the car. "Come on, this way." Nancy called, leading them around the corner to where they wouldn't be too noticeable.

'As many of you know by now, the Roane County line received a call, uh, a little after midnight...reporting a homicide, out here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our wat to the shore of Lover's Lake, about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an eighteen year old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney. His limbs...his body, it was disfigured. There was an eyewitness on the scene...we have also identified a person of interest, Eddie Munson. We encourage anyone with information to please come forward.'

"Oh man. This is not good, really not good." Steve commented, Robin sending him a look to say 'shush' as she hugged Y/n, knowing they felt some guilt from hearing him on the walkie talkie yesterday. "Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler? Y/n/n?" Eddie's voice called from the walkie talkie, Y/n snatching it from Dustin's bag and responding. "Eddie, holy shit! Are you okay?" Dustin asked, Eddie shaking his head and rubbing his eye. "Nah, man. Pretty...pretty goddamn far from okay." he chuckled, the group listening intently. Y/n paced back and forth. "Where is he?" they asked Dustin. "Where are you?" Dustin questioned, thinking of all the possible places he could be. "Skull Rock. Do you know it?" Eddie asked, Dustin humming in agreement. He thought for a second before responding. "Uh, yeah, that's near Cornwallis and-" he started and got cut off by Steve. "Garrett, yeah. I know where that is." he finished, jogging over to the car. "Hold tight, we're coming, we're coming." Y/n comforted, sniffing and wiping their tears. Eddie nodded, clenching his fist as he sat still, waiting for them.

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"Dude, I'm telling you, you're taking us the wrong way." Steve insisted, huffing at Dustin who was following a compass and map instead of his word. "It's north, I'm positive. I checked the map." Dustin argued, causing Steve to turn to Y/n to get them to back him up. "Y/n, tell him he's wrong! Even you know it!" Steve whined, Y/n shrugging and following them, shaking their head. They paused before responding. "Honestly, could not tell you, I've never been." Y/n said, Steve looking at them in surprise. "What? You, Y/n Henderson, one of the most loved people at school, have never been?" he gasped, Dustin watching him in confusion and trying to add it all up, not finding the correlation. "Why does that surprise you so much, Harrington?" They questioned, folding their arms. "It's just a cool rock, what does them being popular-" Dustin started as he was cut off by Y/n. "It's a super popular make-out spot, Dustin." they revealed, Dustin looking back at Steve in horror. "Why'd you ask my sibling that!" he demanded, Steve avoiding the subject now, deciding not to tell Dustin.

"It wasn't popular until I made it popular. All right? I practically invented it." Steve defended, Y/n rolling their eyes at his words. "We're heading in the wrong direction." Steve ended, turning off the pavement. He ignored Dustin's called, silently grateful for Y/n following so Dustin did. "Stop whining, let's go! Trust me." Steve said, jogging straight as Y/n followed behind, Dustin catching up as the others took a stroll behind them. Steve's overconfident laugh could be heard in the distance as they carefully moved through the forest, walking down the trail with caution. "Oh, boom! Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Hendersons. Skull rock. In your face, Dustin, in your stupid, cocky little face." Steve said, Y/n chuckled, looking around in confusion as they couldn't see Eddie anywhere. "Doesn't make sense." Dustin said, looking at his compass and then the map and then the rock. "Yeah, yeah. even with it staring you right in the face, you can't admit it. You just can't admit you're wrong, you butthead." Steve teased, Y/n bursting out laughing.

"I concur. You, Dustin Henderson, are a... total butthead." Eddie breathed out, stretching his back. "Jesus, we thought you were a goner." Dustin sighed relieved, pulling Eddie into a hug. He hesitated before hugging him back, patting his hand on his back. "Yeah, me too, man." he said as he met eyes with Y/n, who was grinning at him. "Me too..." Eddie agreed, pulling away and patting Dustin's shoulder, walking over to Y/n while the rest of the group caught up. "You absolute.... dickhead, Eddie Munson. I thought we lost you." They murmured as Eddie pulled them into a hug, grinning and pressing a kiss to the top of their head. "Not getting rid of me that easy, sweetheart." he winked, Dustin clearing his throat to remind Eddie he was still there and giving him a look.

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"When I saw them, I tried calling you guys and again when I got to shore, but, uh...my walkie was fucked, man. Drenched, busted. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran..." he chuckled, taking a sip from his flask before wiping his mouth and placing it down. Nancy looked over at him. "Do you know what time this was? the attack?" she asked, getting an idea from what they had seen. "Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was. My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." he said, taking his watch off, lifting it up and throwing it to Nancy. "Nine twenty seven." she read, announcing it to the group. "The same time out flashlights went all kablooey." Robin responded quickly, making Steve tilt his head and look between the two girls. "Which means what, exactly?" he wondered, unsure of what they were getting to.

"That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick." Nancy admitted, the group going silent. "Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks, and where he attacks from." Y/n reminded, everyone agreeing. "So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the upside down and drive a stake through his heart." Max retorted, Steve frowning at her statement. "If he even has a heart." Robin added, shrugging. "A stake? is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?" he asked, confused. "It was a metaphor." Max retaliated, rolling her eyes and face palming at his stupidity. "A bullet should work on him, right?" Eddie wondered, Nancy looking at him and thinking. "I say we chop his head off." Lucas suggested, shrugging his shoulders as Max turned back to look at him. "I say all of the above, but we can't do any of that until we find a way into the upside down." Nancy remembered, Y/n sighing and resting their head on Eddie's shoulder who wrapped an arm around their shoulder, and his cheeks dusted with red, ignoring the looks Steve and Robin were giving him. "Hey, uh, little Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?" Eddie asked watching him pace back and forth. "Cursed? no, no, he's fine. Mental? absolutely." Y/n answered, earning a snort and a laugh from Eddie while Steve second it.

"Boom!"