March 25th, 1986

Lorraine landed harshly on the mattress, gasping as she did. She began to laugh, agreeing with the others that it was indeed fun to go through the gate and land in their own reality. Eddie lent out his hand and she took it, as he lifted her to her feet.

"Now," She said, laughing "I just need to see a rabbit in a waistcoat."

Eddie smirked at her remark, watching as Lorraine's mood had changed in a split second. The closer she was to the real world, it was like the cold side of her completely vanished. They all watched as Nancy was also thrown onto the mattress, Robin helping her up, and quickly seeing Steve flop into the right side up.

"Okay, so," Robin said, her hands frantic. "I'd really like to get away from this thing. At least for a while."

"I agree." Steve said, raising his brows, looking at Nancy with a grin.

"We could go to my house," Lorraine said, crossing her arms. "We can catch our breaths there."

"And eat." Steve added. Lorraine chuckled, and nodded.

"And eat." She repeated, looking over at Eddie for a moment. He had been staring at her, without realizing, with a puppy dog face. She bit the inside of her lip, not sure how to interpret what the look meant. Was he still scared? Of course he would be. Is he mad at her? She would be if he acted the way she did earlier. She sighed as she turned on her heel, opening Eddie's door and leading the others to the trailer just across the road.

Lorraine almost felt like collapsing once they were in her trailer, feeling like weight had lifted from her shoulders. Dustin and Steve immediately dashed to the kitchen cabinets, scavenging for something to eat. Nancy and Robin sat on the couch, letting out harsh sighs of exhaustion as they did, while the kids sat at the foot of the couch, leaning against each other. They were all exhausted from everything that had gone on in one night. Lorraine felt horrible that those kids had been through something similar already. She herself was struggling with only having lived one event over a few days, she couldn't imagine the toll it had on the others. It did however comfort her knowing that everyone had each other's backs, sharing a bond that is so unique, knowing that they could understand one another perfectly.

Eddie caught Lorraine's attention, motioning his hand for her to come towards her father's bedroom. She had zoned out with the flutter of soft conversations and laughter, like her trailer was actually a home, for once. She turned, crossing her arms and looking at her feet as she got closer to Eddie. In the doorway, they faced each other, both leaning their backs on the wooden frame. Lorraine couldn't dare look at Eddie, she felt embarrassed for acting the way she did.

"Lor," He whispered, taking his hands and leaning them on the doorframe behind him, tapping the wood with his nails. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that, Eddie." She scoffed lightly, glancing over to him quickly only to divert her eyes to the others in the living room. Some had fallen asleep, Steve and Dustin were in the kitchen already making a mess with whatever they had found. She bit the inside of her cheek, as her foot began to tap.

"I'm sorry," She continued, "Sorry for acting like a bitch down there, or up there. Whatever you wanna call it."

Eddie leaned over slightly, taking one hand and gently holding Lorraine's chin between his fingers. Turning her to face him, she saw the puppy dog look once more. His brows slightly risen, worried, the shadows casting on his face allowed for her to see a slight twinkle in his pupil.

"I don't need a sign," He softly said, finally kicking himself off of the doorway and getting closer to her. He tried to smile softly, but quickly pressed his lips together.

"One thing I know for certain is that this is real." Lorraine's eyes were glued to his, her arms dropping only to place them on his sides gently.

He leaned into her, tipping Lorraine's face in his hand slightly upwards, as he pressed his lips against hers softly. Eddie could feel her soft smile as he placed small kisses on it, giving in and smiling as well.

"Gross! Get a room!" Dustin shouted at them, his mouth full of whatever they concocted in the kitchen.

Eddie laughed and pulled away from the kiss, leaning a hand on the wall by Lorraine's head and hiding his face in her hair. Lorraine chuckled loudly, raising her middle finger as Dustin grinned at them.

Once everyone had eaten, chatted and laughed some of the nerves off, Lorraine quietly went around and placed blankets on them, turning off the lights and allowing them to finally relax. It was the least she could do, after they were doing so much to help Eddie.

She decided to take a shower - the only thing that could help her out right now would be washing off the actual ick of having gone through another world and several questionable liquids. In the bathroom, she turned the shower head on, waiting for the water to heat up as she undressed. For a moment she caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror.

It was like she was staring into the face of someone she didn't know. It wasn't like other times, that she had felt like she was staring at a disappointment, but rather she saw someone who had completely flowered into someone she could admire. Someone who stood tall and leapt off the ledge, not knowing what they would expect or how things would turn out. It was like she wore battle scars that were invisible to the naked eye; and just like Alice, she had changed a few times since that morning.

She smiled softly, shaking her head, only just realizing what she did in the past few days. Did she punch a guy in the face? Yes. Did she sadly see someone murdered by a supernatrual being? Also, yes. Did she travel interdimensionally? That too. She stepped into the hot water and stood there for a moment, letting the water rinse away any evidence that those things occurred, although it was impossible for Lorraine to not forget it.

Lorraine was startled when she heard Eddie's voice whisper over the sound of the water, asking if it was indeed her. She pulled the curtain away and poked her head over, seeing him sit on the toilet, giving him a smile, before returning to her shower and taking the soap in her hands and lathering her dirt filled skin.

"I can go if you want," He said, trying to speak as softly as he could.

"It's fine, Eddie." She said, as she placed shampoo in her hair, pushing away the bubbles that almost went into her eye.

"I just…" He trailed on, but never quite finished the sentence. Lorraine waited for him to continue, but was instead surprised by his hand taking a hold of the curtain, pulling it away slowly as he jumped in with her.

She lifted her brows, chuckling as Eddie was now in the shower with her, completely undressed. She turned as she went under the water once more, completely rinsing herself of the soap and shampoo. Her eyes were still closed, her hands still wrapped in her hair, as she felt Eddie wrap his arms around her. She furrowed her brows, pursing her lips as she could feel him breathe erratically, his face now buried in her neck. Letting her hands fall, and turning to him, he continued to hide his face as she could feel him quietly sob on her shoulder, gripping her back and tightly squeezing her skin between his fingers.

Eddie clung to her like he would fall if he didn't, pressing himself so close he could feel her heartbeat against his chest, the only thing that could soothe him right now. At that moment he felt like he was completely vulnerable, flashes of the past few days driving him crazy. Not only did he see two people get ripped apart, he felt a grip on his heart whenever he saw Lorraine purse her lips or jump because of something she had heard. More than anything, he was terrified that she would disappear. He bit his lip, so hard he could almost feel his teeth rip out his skin. His tears mixed with the shower water, wiping them away and carrying them down the drain.

Lorraine cooed, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a gentle hand on his head, closing her eyes. Eddie let out a groan of sadness, banging his foot against the porcelain tub in frustration. She winced at the thought of how much he had been going through, and how long he was holding it in. Seldom times did she ever find Eddie in this position, not that he wouldn't express his emotions, rather he was genuinely and brutally terrified.

"It's okay, Eddie…" She whispered in his ear, leaning and giving his drenched hair a kiss. "It's okay."

Eddie pulled away from her, biting his lip in a wreck of nerves, his eyes red from how strongly he tried to close them. "I don't like anything here, at all. I hate it. I hate this."

"Well, Mr. Frodo," she whispered, taking her hand to his face and caressing his cheek. Eddie leaned into her hand, scrunching his brow and closing his eyes once more. "We shouldn't be here at all, if we'd known more about it before we started."

Eddie's eyes opened, giving her a confused but slightly warmer look than before. She smiled, hiding the pain that she had felt for him.

"Adventures, at least the ones that matter, aren't the ones people look for. Folk seem to just have landed in them. Their path was laid for them. They, just like us, had chances of turning back. But they didn't." She continued softly, looking deep into his eyes.

"Okay, Sam…" He said quietly, a small chuckle mixed with tears escaped his lips as he said the words. Eddie's hands ran up and down her back, looking into her eyes as he could see that she was also at a breaking point. He pulled her into a hug once more, tightly wrapped his arms around her neck as Lorraine's soft hands glided down his back. For a moment, they stood there in silence, embracing one another as they swayed back and forth, swapping kisses on their damp skin, fingertips exploring their bodies. They wanted to exist in that moment. Forever.