Disclaimer: I do now own Stranger Things or IT. I only own my OC.

A/N: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 Volume 2!

I stayed up late watching volume 2 and didn't go to sleep until 7AM. Ugh. Needless to say I am heartbroken after watching volume 2. Like I knew someone was going to die but did it really have to be Eddie? :(

"I think it's my year Henderson. I think it's finally my year."

GOD DAMN IT.

And Max? They did her so dirty this season. She did technically die but was brought back because of El and is now in a coma? El couldn't find her when she tried reaching out for her...So that means Vecna did take her memories. She's just not there anymore :( This was not the ending I wanted for either Eddie or Max. That just means Gwen ends up losing two of her friends. That's going to hurt to write when the story gets to that point. Honestly not looking forward to it :/

Can we Stranger Things fans agree that When It's Cold I'd Like To Die by Moby is now one of the saddest songs we've heard?

This story is going to be even more intense now that I know it was Vecna/Henry/001 who's been controlling the Mind Flayer since the beginning. Due to the fear ability Gwen inherited from IT, Vecna will be intrigued by her. Vecna doesn't show up until the season 4 story-line but there will be hints thrown in of his presence. You even get one in this chapter.

Anyways while I am still trying to recover from the season 4 finale, here's a new chapter of Dimensions Of The Heart. We at least get a happy Eddie in this chapter because it's what we need right now.

"Sorrow spares no one, and scars respect no person." ― Sherrilyn Kenyon, Infamous

Chapter 10: Not just a bad feeling

The feeling something terrible was going to happen stayed with Gwen all throughout the night and the following morning. The teen didn't get much sleep, but that wasn't weird given the regular nightmares she had.

What was weird, and what made her have great concern, was that the nightmare she had. Unlike her usual nightmares about IT, this nightmare was completely different.

There was actually no IT this time in her nightmare. Neither in ITs Pennywise clown form or even deceivingly handsome human form. The only thing that was the same about this nightmare was how terrified she felt.

Absolute dread pumped in her veins.

In the nightmare Gwen was in a dark place that looked like the woods. The only thing she could see was what she thought was snow at first only to realize it wasn't.

Then Gwen heard a voice she recognized. It sounded distant but the voice belonged to someone she never wanted to hear so scared in her life.

Will.

He was calling for help and Gwen, in her nightmare, thinking it was real, called out to him. She kept doing so as she navigated through the darkness until she was closer to his voice. Gwen stopped calling his name when she heard a low ticking. It could barely be heard, and she didn't think much about it because of the loud growl that caught her attention instead.

And then Gwen's surroundings disappeared as if they were simply made out of fog.

Instead of waking up screaming, Gwen woke up sweaty yet somehow cold. Not even a minute passed after waking up that a headache started to form. A horrible headache that was still there when she got up for breakfast.

Gwen had no idea why she would have a nightmare about Will calling out for help. He'd never been in danger before, so why have a nightmare about it? Thinking reasons why made her want to curl up in a ball and weep.

So she stubbornly told herself that Will was fine. He left the Wheeler house with Lucas and Dustin. That gave her some comfort.

However there was no saving the day for Gwen. The day barely started but it was already ruined for her.

Not even wearing her Metallica t-shirt lifted her spirits.

When Gwen joined the others for breakfast her weary appearance was immediately noticed by Nancy and Mike. However it was Mike who pointed it out with a frown.

"Gwen, you look terrible."

Mike actually wasn't trying to be rude to his cousin, he was just being honest. Gwen did look terrible and he wondered why that was. Did this have to do with her night terrors? She didn't wake up screaming, so he thought she had actually gotten a good night's rest. Apparently he'd been wrong.

If it wasn't for the uneasiness that was building up inside, Gwen would've noticed the puzzlement and concern in Mike's voice.

"I feel terrible." Gwen huffed, rubbing her eyes. The aspirin she took did help with her headache but not enough for it to fully go away. She hoped eating something would get rid of it for good.

Nancy thought Mike was being rude with what he said. So she kicked her younger brother from under the table. Mike glared at her and was about to kick her back when their mother made her way over to Gwen. She set down a plate of food for Gwen.

Holly tilted her head, staring at Gwen with blinking eyes. "Gwen not happy today?"

Gwen tried smiling at her three year old cousin. Despite her crappy mood, Gwen's smile wasn't bleak as the past smiles she'd given her. "Just tired Holly."

"You do look a little peaked." Karen noted softly. Between the two adults she was the most concerned. Ted's focus was on the newspaper he was reading.

Gwen kept still as her aunt felt her forehead. The older woman was at least relieved that Gwen didn't have a fever. She sighed, lowering her hand.

"You girls should take it easy on the studying." Karen lightly reprimanded, looking at her daughter and niece. "I get that it's an important test but so much stress isn't good for you."

Karen didn't check on Gwen in the middle of the night because she hadn't woken up screaming. She figured the reason why Gwen looked so drained was because of the nonstop studying she'd been doing.

The older woman recalled how she got during school whenever there was an important test. Her daughter Nancy was just as determined to get a good grade, and it appeared Gwen was trying to be the same way.

Karen had been informed by her sister Maggie about Gwen's ADHD. Maggie told her how it made Gwen rowdy during school and out. Now Gwen had only been in Hawkins for a short time, but Karen had yet to see her niece as the unruly person her mother described her to be.

All Karen Wheeler saw was a teenage girl with a lot of stress on her shoulders.

"After we take the test we won't have to worry anymore." Nancy told her mom with a small smile.

"Until the next one." Gwen muttered. Her aunt and older cousin looked at her. She quickly stuffed her mouth with eggs so even if they asked a question she wouldn't be able to answer.

Breakfast went on peacefully after that with the only disruption being from Mike bothering Nancy, and only Nancy since Gwen was already in a bad mood. When his mother got up to answer the ringing phone with Holly in her arms, Mike poured syrup on Nancy's eggs.

"What the hell, Mike?!" Nancy shouted.

Mike laughed. For a second there he thought he saw Gwen's lips twitch but it happened so fast he must have imagined it. His father gave him a halfhearted warning, not at all fazing him. His mother's warning that she gave over her shoulder, even while on the phone, made him stop laughing. Although he did keep a smile on his face.

Karen had yet to return to the table when Gwen finished eating. She got up ready to leave but was somewhat surprised that Nancy got up as well.

Nancy and her didn't always walk to school together. Not since her first day at Hawkins High. Sometimes Gwen walked alone, taking her time. Except Gwen had a feeling even if she told Nancy she wanted to be alone she wouldn't leave her side.

At least not until they arrived at school. So Gwen left with Nancy. The Tozier girl wasn't there when Mike asked his mother about who called.

Gwen really wanted to enjoy whatever peace she could get by listening to music on her Walkman on the way to school. The Blue Oyster Cult cassette she owned was in her Walkman from the last time she used it. She had been listening to Fire Of Unknown Origin before she set aside her Walkman to study.

Now as much as she loved listening to Blue Oyster Cult, it was still bittersweet because the band now reminded her of Victor Criss.

The Tozier girl recalled the conversation she had with Victor after her performance at the fourth of July festival back in Derry. It had surprisingly been a decent conversation, and afterwards Gwen began looking at Victor in a different way, a better way.

But whatever possibility of a friendship between the two teens was now gone thanks to Henry Bowers. Victor Criss' death was yet another tragedy in Gwen Tozier's life. One she had seen with her very own eyes.

Although listening to Blue Oyster Cult overwhelmed Gwen, on this particular day she didn't have to fret about it since Nancy kept trying to talk to her as they walked to school.

The Tozier girl responded but only because not saying anything would have been mean. Despite her cousin dating Steve Harrington, Gwen didn't want to be mean to her. Nancy's boyfriend was an ass but she wasn't.

Gwen, however, was in a shitty mood because of her nightmare and because of the disquietude that wouldn't leave her. So although it wasn't a one-sided conversation, her replies to Nancy were short, and perhaps a tad bit too sharp.

Her cousin frowning was noticed by Gwen after a particular response as they entered the school. It made Gwen cringe and she felt even worse. She was about to apologize to Nancy when Barb came up to them. Nancy's expression brightened with a smile as she looked at her redheaded friend.

Barb immediately started asking about Steve and the phone call Nancy and him had last night. Gwen inwardly groaned, and her annoyance for the Harrington boy was made perfectly clear on her face.

The annoyance she felt simmered down. This was once again a normal conversation between Nancy and Barb. They were best friends, and best friends talked about all sorts of stuff, like boys.

Gwen thought of her friend Francine from Derry before happy memories with Beverly took over. If Beverly had been at Hawkins with Gwen she would have laughed hearing her complain about Steve Harrington. While other girls talked about how cute guys were, Beverly and Gwen would talk more about how annoying they were. That was their version of a best friend talk.

Thankfully there was an opening for Gwen to stop hearing Nancy talk about Steve when a familiar person came across her line of vision.

"Hey Robin!"

Gwen was ecstatic to see the freckled dirty blonde teen. As much as she could be at the moment anyway. She excused herself from Nancy and Barb, not missing the questioning looks her cousin and friend gave her. The sixteen year old simply said another goodbye to them before practically running toward Robin.

Gwen looped her arm with Robin's, not sensing how tense she got for a moment there. "Sorry about the ambush." She began telling her as they walked together. "It's just that Nancy was gushing about Steve to Barb and I didn't want to hear it."

Robin took a deep breath, trying to steady her heartbeat. "I gotcha." She managed to let out a chuckle or two. "Who wants to hear about Steve "The Hair" Harrington so early in the morning."

"Exactly!" Gwen exclaimed, her arm still looped around Robin's. "So how about I walk you to your class? You can tell me about your weekend." The bad feeling in her stomach remained but there was definitely less tension in her shoulders.

Robin glanced at their looped arms, willing to stop her cheeks from turning pink. "Sure." She answered a little too loud, making her cringe on the inside. Gwen's smile appeared worn out but it was almost enough to break Robin's resolve.

Gwen hadn't been able to locate Jonathan. She hadn't thought much of it when she arrived at school in the morning because usually she'd see him during the passing period. Now it was their ten minute break and she hadn't found him yet. She checked their usual places where they hung out but Jonathan wasn't outside the school or inside the library.

The Tozier girl checked several other places before she headed to the cafeteria. She doubted he'd be there given how much he disliked it and she knew he wouldn't be there without her. Gwen decided to check anyway.

During the break the cafeteria was filled with students eating their snacks and chatting.

Gwen's eyes wandered around, hoping to see Jonathan. To her disappointment he wasn't there. She was suddenly startled from having someone step on her foot. Her reaction was subtle aside from the low gasp she made. Gwen thought maybe it was an accident but that went out the window once she saw who it was.

"Watch it." Carol threw her a nasty look as she walked past.

"It's like she's blind." The other girl who was with Carol said. She was a redhead, and it made Gwen feel anger that she shared the same hair color as Beverly and Barb.

"No Nicole, I think she's just stupid." Carol remarked. The two girls laughed as they walked further away, Carol aggravating Gwen the most given the history they already had.

Usually Gwen wouldn't have let an insult like that get to her but the teen was already in a terrible mood. Her dark brown eyes caught sight of Eddie Munson having a lively conversation with guys who she assumed were his friends.

The metal lunch box he brought to their drug deal was there, and next to it was a half eaten sandwich. It looked lumpy so Gwen figured it must have been a peanut butter sandwich. If she was lucky it also had jelly.

Gwen's annoyed face was then replaced with a mischievous smile. Carol and her friend Nicole had left their stuff at a table, and were currently talking to a group of girls. They were far off that Gwen wouldn't be noticed by them with what she planned to do. She held her head up high as she walked over to Eddie.

"Hey Eddie." Gwen greeted him.

Eddie stopped what he was saying to his friends to look at Gwen. "Gwen, a pleasure to see you again." His grin widened when he saw the Metallica t-shirt she was wearing. "Nice t-shirt."

The metalhead didn't fail to notice his friends gawking at Gwen. It wasn't often that pretty girls, or any girls really, approached them. Even though Gwen looked exhausted there was no denying she was pretty. Like really pretty.

Gwen was too focused on her mission to notice the gawking teenage boys. "Thanks. So are you going to finish that?" She pointed to his sandwich.

"I was going to save the rest for lunch." Eddie furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

Gwen quickly opened her backpack. "I'll trade you." She pulled out her wrapped lunch. "It's a turkey sub."

Eddie could imagine question marks over his head. "You want to trade your delicious turkey sub for this half-ass eaten PB&J? You know this bread is stale."

Gwen was beyond glad to hear it was indeed a PB&J sandwich. "Don't worry. I won't be eating it."

Eddie imagined even more question marks surrounding him. She wasn't going to eat the sandwich? Then why make the trade in the first place? Eddie leaned forward a bit toward her. His voice lowered as if they were exchanging secrets. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Yeah." Gwen nodded her head. "Offer going once, going twice…" She sang, somewhat playful and it was enough for Eddie to finally agree.

The metalhead was still so confused but he decided to do the trade. He was getting a better lunch out of it. "Alright if that's what you want." Eddie passed the PB&J sandwich to her as she gave him the wrapped turkey sub.

Gwen then walked in the direction of where Carol and her friend had placed their items at a lunch table. The two girls were still away in midcoversation.

"What the hell is she doing?" Gareth, a Freshman who started this year, questioned. Not only was he a friend but also a bandmate of Eddie's. He and the others watched as Gwen pulled apart the PB&J sandwich. Their eyes widening as Gwen smeared the peanut butter and jelly on the seats.

When Gwen finished smearing the PB&J on the seats she threw the pieces of bread away, throwing a discreet wink at Eddie and his friends. Eddie was already giddy because he knew what to expect now. And so did the rest of his friends.

It didn't take long for Carol and her red haired friend to walk back to their table. What happened next was hilarious and Eddie Munson was so happy he'd been there to witness it.

The two teenage girls screeched, with Carol's being the loudest. At first there was confusion with the rest of the students in the cafeteria, minus Eddie and his friends. But then when Carol and her stood up to show what they had sat on, laughs were soon heard.

Eddie's laugh was the loudest. He laughed so hard that he fell to the floor clutching his stomach. The metalhead tried making eye contact with Gwen after he got back up but by then she had already made her exit from the cafeteria.

He had to wipe his eyes from how watery they got from the laughing fit he just had. He certainly was going to bring this up the next time he had the luck of talking to Gwen again.

"Eddie, how do you know her?" His other friend and bandmate Jeff asked. He was a Sophomore like Gwen. Jeff actually shared World History with Gwen but he'd never spoken to her. Unlike Eddie who apparently did.

"Gwen?" Eddie responded as if he didn't know who Jeff was talking about. His eyes, although not watery, were bright. "Me and her are buddies."

Okay, so maybe that was an exaggeration since he'd only talked to Gwen a total of two times now, including today. However it didn't feel wrong for Eddie to say they were buddies. After what he saw her do to Carol and her friend, Eddie gladly thought of Gwen as more than just a stranger.

The shocked reactions from his friends and bandmates after telling them how he knew this badass girl made Eddie grin.

Gwen left the cafeteria with a smile on her face. She was filled with a lot of exhilaration and was left feeling satisfied. This was exactly how she felt when she sprayed soda on Greta Keene after learning that she'd been a total bitch to her friend Eddie Kaspbrak back in Derry.

Gwen's momentary triumph over Carol and her friend Nicole almost made her forget about the bad feeling that lingered within her. She didn't stick around much after hearing Carol's screech from sitting on peanut butter and jelly.

As much as she wanted to stay and flip off Carol, Gwen didn't want the risk of being caught. She was lucky that no one, aside from Eddie and his friends, had seen her smear the peanut butter and Jelly. She doubted they would rat her out if questioned about it. So Gwen would have other opportunities to flip Carol off.

Due to her momentary jubilation, Gwen wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. So she was taken by surprise when she headed straight into somebody.

"Woah!"

Gwen knew who it was even before looking at them.

Gwen had bumped into Steve Harrington, who was miraculously on his own. They both would have lost balance had Steve not put his hands on her shoulders to steady them. She instantly felt panic.

Even with her t-shirt and jacket, Gwen still felt Steve's hand directly on top of where IT had bitten her. Whatever joy was there had vanished. She immediately backed away from Steve. Yellow eyes and sharp teeth flashed in Gwen's mind. In Gwen's panic she looked at Steve as if he'd done something awful to her.

Steve frowned, not understanding this kind of hostility coming from her. "Relax, you look at me as if I have cooties or something."

Gwen took a deep breath. The scar on her right shoulder felt as if it were burning her because all she could think about was the horrors IT put her through.

"Don't touch me." Gwen seethed.

Steve's eyes widened slightly at her harsh tone. He was able to compose himself and hid his shock with a light scoff. "You're the one who bumped into me."

Gwen went silent, taking another step away from him. There was a look of uneasiness in her dark brown eyes much to Steve's confusion and concern. Gwen gave him a grim look and walked away before Steve was able to say anything else.

Steve watched her go, shaking his head. He had every right to be upset with Gwen because of her attitude, and he was but why did he also feel upset with himself? Steve huffed, wondering how he yet again had an unpleasant encounter with Gwen Tozier. They haven't had a single good encounter since they met and he was beginning to believe they never would.

Gwen rushed to the nearest bathroom after her bump in with Steve. She was a nervous wreck by the time she entered the bathroom stall. At the very least the girls bathroom was empty so no one heard her trying to contain her tears.

This whole freak out wasn't even about Steve. Sure, him unknowingly touching the bite mark on her shoulder over her clothes made her react somewhat hysterically. But really it had more to do with Gwen remembering what IT did to her in the sewers that made her panic.

Steve wasn't her favorite person, but as she huddled in the bathroom stall, arms wrapped around herself, Gwen realized she must have looked odd to him. If he didn't already think she was weird, he sure did now.

Not that it really mattered to Gwen. She didn't care what Steve Harrington thought about her. She was more worried that he might say something about this to Nancy. Gwen supposed she would find out later if Steve said anything to her cousin about their encounter.

Gwen stayed in the girls bathroom for the remainder of the ten minute break. She didn't want to go to her next class because she didn't feel ready to face the outside world. Gwen was so close to ditching class to go smoke under the bleachers. But her next class was P.E. and Robin was in that class.

Knowing she would see Robin again is what made Gwen come out of the girls bathroom. The Tozier girl tried putting on a strong face once in the hallway. It was crowded with students going to their next class. As she was making her way to the gym she came across Jonathan. Even after losing composure with Steve, and almost crying in the girls bathroom, Gwen was able to feel content from Jonathan's presence. She'd been trying to find him after all.

Gwen kept her strong persona because she didn't want Jonathan asking what was wrong. So as she walked up to him she made herself smile, and spoke in a voice that made her sound eager to tell him about what happened in the cafeteria…before her bump in with Steve.

"Jonathan you won't believe what I did to Carol― " Gwen stopped talking when she got a better glimpse of Jonathan's face. Now that she was closer to him she could see his distress and worry started to eat away at her.

Not that far away from them was the Chief of Police, Jim Hopper and another fellow officer. They were talking to the school principal while glancing at her and Jonathan's way. Gwen gulped, the upset feeling in her stomach worsening.

"Jonathan, what's wrong?" Gwen asked in a low voice. She was super anxious about what Jonathan was going to say, and she wasn't at all prepared.

Jonathan's eyes began to fill with tears. "Will didn't come home last night." His voice shook. What came out of his mouth next made Gwen think about the horrors she went through in Derry. She wanted to go back into the bathroom stall and cry her eyes out.

"Gwen, I think he's missing."