(November 2nd, 1984)

"Jesus Christ, tell me she isn't coming down from a high right now."

"Back off, Steve."

"Yeah, not gonna happen. You let her go up against that thing stoned out of her mind?"

"No one is stoned."

"Then why the hell is she still throwing up, Munson? Can you tell me that?"

"Maybe because of that lump of slimy flesh you shoved in my face."

The words come out as more of a croak than anything else, but still it has enough of an impact to stop Eddie and Steve in their tracks, both of them watching almost warily as Cami forces herself to stand upright even with the slight sensation of vertigo that comes about as a result. Wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand, she swallows past the lingering bile, desperately trying to avoid giving in to the desire to hurl yet again.

She spends a moment glancing from Steve, to Eddie, to Dustin, and back to Steve again, all three of them watching her as though catching on to the fact that she may get ill again. But before any of them can say or do anything else, she lowers her hand to her side, her brow quirked in a gesture that is almost defiant before she speaks.

"We need to find Dart."

"You're joking, right?" Steve scoffs, dragging a hand through his hair as he glances between Cami, and Dustin and Eddie, as though hoping one of the other two will intervene, "And what are you gonna do when you find him, Cam? Puke on him?"

"Actually I think I'm done with that."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Go to hell. I'm not high."

"Do you want to be?"

"Guys!" Dustin shouts, exasperation and tension causing his voice to crack, though it has the desired effect of pulling everyone's attention to him, regardless, "Seriously? Now is not the time to argue about drugs!"

"It is if Cami's high."

"Steve, I swear to God, I will hit you with this crowbar."

"Or I could just—you know—get him with the van," Eddie offers, the slight twitch at the corner of Cami's mouth perhaps giving him even more satisfaction than the way in which Steve's affronted glare swivels his way in next to no time at all, "What?"

"Nothing, man."

"I'm not. High," Cami insists, aware of Eddie shifting to stand just a bit closer to her side, the act causing her brow to furrow a bit because she can't quite explain why it seems to calm not only her guilt over Dart's escape, but her growing frustration with Steve, as well, "And even if I was, it doesn't change the fact that we need to track Dart down before he—hurts anyone."

"I don't think going after him in the dark is the best idea."

"That's fine, Dust, because you weren't going to be coming with me."

"Wait, what? Why the hell not?"

"Because it isn't safe."

"Sure. Yeah, and it's totally safe for you," Dustin argues, shaking his head as though that alone will be enough to have Cami backtracking in seconds, "Why are you so set on doing this alone?"

"I never said I was doing it alone!"

"It was implied."

"Oh, right. I forgot you were a mind-reader," Cami quips, rolling her eyes because even though she hadn't exactly been prepared to admit that Dustin is right—that she is too reluctant to involve Eddie in any more of this, and too on edge to spend any amount of time alone with Steve to ask either of them to help—she doesn't exactly want to come right out and say it, herself, "Your mom would freak if she came home and you weren't here and you know it."

"And your dad would freak if he somehow ended up at my house and found out I let you go after Dart alone."

"You're thirteen, kid. Since when do you think that you can let me do anything?"

"I didn't—that's not—that's not the point!"

"Then what is the point?"

"I think Henderson's right."

Cami's gaze snaps to Eddie almost immediately after he says the words, and for a moment, he cannot tell if he has somehow found his way onto the list of her current frustrations, just like Dustin and Steve. But just as soon as he is preparing to backtrack, Cami sags, her shoulders seeming to deflate as she bites down on her lower lip, and Steve takes her continued silence as a means to reply.

"Right, well, if you're bored you can just go."

"He didn't say that, Steve."

"You know, it's cute, how you defend your little—drug dealer," Steve retorts, straightening as soon as he recognizes how quickly Cami seems to freeze, her eyes narrowing while her fingers curl into fists at her sides, "But he doesn't need to be here."

"I think that's his decision. Not yours."

"Fine. His funeral, I guess."

Trying and failing to ignore exactly how easy it is for Steve's remark to hit home, Cami squares her shoulders, and clenches her fists even tighter until she can feel the pinpricks of pain brought about by her nails making crescent shaped markings against her palms. And even with Eddie's presence at her side—with the slight brush of his arm against her own—she cannot quite ignore the guilt that bubbles up as soon as she notices Steve's expression. As she takes in how clearly he seems to realize he has potentially overstepped, and moves to cut him off before he can try to take anything back.

"Yeah, Steve. Because that's just what I do. Get people killed."

"What—Cam, what are—what the hell are you talking about?"

"Barb, Steve. Barb. And with Dart gone, I guess it's just a matter of time before someone else is next."

The self-censure in Cami's expression is obvious, and Steve is momentarily speechless, because he is already starting to realize there is absolutely nothing he can say to make it go away. And he's an idiot for not being able to see this coming. For momentarily forgetting that Cami already seems to hold herself responsible for what happened to Barb, just like Nancy does. That both of them are far too inclined to act as though the weight of the entire world rests on their shoulders alone.

Before he can even begin to make amends for inadvertently dragging the conversation to something that would do nothing but make Cami feel more guilt than she already does, however, a pair of headlights cut a path across Dustin's yard, effectively distracting them all, whether they are truly ready for such a thing or not.

And as much as he hates himself for it, Steve seizes on that sudden appearance as a means of diverting the conversation toward another path altogether…

"Okay, Henderson. What the hell are we gonna tell your mom?"

"What are—what are we gonna tell my mom about what?"

"Why three high-schoolers are hanging out at your house, for one."

"School project."

"What?"

"School project," Cami repeats, shaking herself back to the present as best she can, and looking directly at Dustin in hopes that he will catch on before it is too late, "Mentor program. For—for Mr. Clark's class."

"Do Eddie and Steve seriously look like science geeks to you?"

"They do now."

"Jesus Christ," Dustin grumbles, already moving to stand beside Cami, and shooting Steve and Eddie a look that he hopes will persuade them to just stay quiet, before turning back to the redhead beside him once again, "If this doesn't work, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough."

"Hey Mom! Did you—did you find Mews?"

Dustin is aware of the look Cami sends him, in response to his question, and he knows even without looking her way that it is a mixture of incredulity and exasperation all in one. And he understands it. He really does, because he probably should have told his mom the truth about what happened from the start.

He should tell her now, but the way she starts wringing her hands as she replies quite literally stops him in his tracks, and he knows she could not possibly handle the truth.

"No, Dusty. I just have no idea where the poor baby could possibly be. Did you—are your friends helping you look for Mewsie too?"

"They—uh—yes. Yes, they're helping me look," Dustin nods, once again sensing Cami's gaze drilling into the side of his head as a result of his clear avoidance of her proposed explanation for the presence of three extra teens in his yard, and forcing a grin while simultaneously elbowing her in the side, "Right, Cami? I uh—I called you, and you got Eddie and Steve to help, too."

"Oh, that was so sweet of the three of you!" Claudia Henderson enthuses, clearly not quite noticing the narrowed eyes Cami is directing towards her son because she is more focused on the two boys standing behind him, instead, "Steve, it's so good to see you again."

"You too, Mrs. Henderson."

"And you must be Eddie."

"Guilty as charged," Eddie says, managing a grin as he squeezes between Cami and Dustin to take the older woman's proffered hand while she returns the introduction with a smile.

"Claudia Henderson. I don't even know where to begin thanking all of you for this."

"No trouble at all."

It is remarkably difficult to refrain from sending Steve a wink, considering the look Eddie can see from the corner of his eye. A look that makes it all too plain that Steve isn't exactly entertained by how easily Eddie seems to have charmed Claudia Henderson in next to no time at all. But by some miracle, he does resist, perhaps because he can still feel the tension vibrating through Cami where she stands at his side…

And all things considered, deliberately baiting Steve probably isn't going to make that any better.

"So Mom, can they—can they stay over?" Dustin inquires, almost immediately sending his elbow into Cami's side again, because she is clearly preparing to open her mouth to protest, "We can all head back out in the morning to start searching again."

"Oh of course! And I'm sure you haven't eaten yet, so I can see about making something—"

"Can we get a few pizzas?"

Eddie doesn't hear what Dustin's mom says in response to that, because while Steve is already following after the kid to help Claudia take a few bags from the car to the front door, Cami is remaining motionless beside him, clearly too preoccupied with taking slow, steady breaths to notice much of anything else.

"Hey—you gonna stay out here all night, Hopper?"

"Are we actually doing this? A sleepover?" Cami questions, the words coming out in an almost strangled hiss, "Dart is still out there, Eddie—"

"We aren't gonna find him in the dark, sweetheart."

"If he hurts someone—"

"It is not your fault," Eddie interjects, already anticipating Cami's attempt to protest, and placing a hand over her mouth to stall her in her tracks, "It's not. This isn't on you."

Cami's eyes remain almost comically widened in response to Eddie's efforts to keep her from arguing, even after he removes his hand. But before she can come up with any sort of a response at all, Dustin is poking his head back out the door, the sound of his shout causing her to flinch before she can stop it at all.

"Are you two coming inside or what? Mom says the pizza's on its way and I'm not saving any if you stay out here."

"I guess that's our cue to get in there," Cami surmises, trying to ignore the sudden flare of nerves brought about by the idea of spending any sort of time around Steve, particularly with Eddie and Dustin's mother having a front row seat. She should never have dragged Eddie into this. Never in a million years.

But she had. It is far too late to think of going back now.

All Cami can do is hope that Eddie doesn't end up as yet another casualty of her own terrible decisions.

Just like Barb.

…

(November 3rd, 1984)

Will Byers cannot sleep.

Or perhaps he can, and it is only that other part of him that sprang into existence only recently that is still lying awake. He honestly cannot tell. A cool breeze flutters at the curtains beside his bed, and he can dimly sense Mike stirring in the sleeping bag and bulky jacket on the floor nearby in response.

Mike knows. Will told him his suspicions before attempting to sleep. How he knows something isn't right. That ever since the day after Halloween, in the field at school, he's felt—different. Not like himself. Odd.

It is as though he is losing pieces of himself. There are spans of time where he has little to no recollection of anything at all. Nothing but darkness and things he wishes he could not see.

Tunnels. Endless tunnels, winding beneath Hawkins. Leading back to the lab. Because somehow, everything always traces back to the lab. And always the sickening sensation that something else is inside him, too. Something that's been inside him since that day on the field, when he tried to run from the shadowy monster that had been stalking him so relentlessly. When he tried, and failed. And it is feeding from him, somehow. He can feel it. Taking and taking, until Will fears there will be nothing left.

The thought of that something eventually using him to hurt anyone around him is honestly terrifying. But when he told Mike about that earlier, there had been another thought that he honestly hadn't considered.

For all of Will's fears about this—thing—that is inside him using him against his friends, Mike had thought that maybe Will could use that connection in their favor, instead.

If he could find out what this thing is planning, they could get ahead of it. Find a way to get rid of whatever it is once and for all.

And then maybe his failure to keep it away will stop being so overwhelming.

Or maybe all of this—every last bit of it—is a trap, and he is playing right into the shadow monster's hands.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Will tries to force himself to focus on something else. Anything else, because if he doesn't he is absolutely certain he will lose his mind. And he misses Jonathan. Cami. Memory takes him back to their talk before movie night the day before Halloween. In spite of everything, they'd somehow managed to make him feel better. To make him forget about all of the anxiety and uncertainty that never seem to leave him alone. It would be a lie to pretend Will doesn't crave some of that reassurance, now. That he doesn't need it far more than he cares to admit.

But if they were here, then they'd be in just as much danger as his mom. As Bob. As Mike.

Will's gut twists at the thought, and he burrows just a bit further beneath the sheets on his bed, because the thought is almost too much for him to bear…

And when he opens his eyes again, he is no longer in his bed at all.

He is standing in one of the tunnels that he now knows rest beneath Hawkins. Dust motes shimmer in the air around him.

Dread settles in his gut, but Will forces himself to remain where he is without running, his mind drinking in the familiar scenery of the dream because if he can find anything useful to tell Mike and his mom when he returns to the waking world, he certainly isn't going to waste this chance. Not when it may be the only thing he can do to help before there is nothing of the real him left at all.

Instinct has him walking before he is even aware of it, his feet seeming to carefully step over the vines littering the dirt floor of the tunnel without his full awareness. Because he knows this place. Even if he's never physically been here before, it is a part of him, and Will knows that has absolutely everything to do with the monster he now believes is taking root inside him.

The monster knows these tunnels. The monster made these tunnels.

And because the monster knows them, Will knows them, too.

The realization actually manages to take some of his uncertainty away, and Will continues moving through the tunnels. He moves past the vines spreading up the walls. He ignores the soft squelching sounds they make as they seem to pulse in time with the beat of an invisible heart.

Will's footsteps continue to carry him through with little to no conscious decision of his own. And he is so absorbed in drinking in absolutely everything about his surroundings that he nearly trips when his toes collide with something solid on the tunnel floor.

And just as he manages to steady himself enough to look down at his feet without falling, the sight of what is sprawling out beneath him sends him catapulting back to the present in seconds, flat, the image of Hopper's unconscious frame practically burned against his retinas. Vines were twining around the man's body, keeping him in place. Strangling him. Killing him.

It is a struggle for Will to open his eyes. Nearly impossible for him to realize he is back in his room, because all he can see is Hopper, stranded in the tunnels. Not moving. Barely even breathing. And for a moment, Will starts to feel as though those vines are strangling the life out of him, as well.

"Will! Will, what is it?" Mike's voice inquires, the sound distant through the ringing in Will's ears as he struggles to catch his breath. His chest is heaving, and his body is coated in a fine sheen of sweat.

Mike's hand on his shoulder anchors him, though, and when he finally manages to suck in enough air to relieve some of the burning within his chest, he forces himself to look his best friend in the eye.

"I—I saw Hopper. In the—in the tunnels," He begins, dimly aware of his mom moving to stand in the doorway to his room, blinking the sleep out of her eyes as she watches him with no small amount of concern.

"I think—I think he's dying."

…

"So—that's the gun."

"Yep. It's the gun," Cami confirms, the weight of the hand-held weapon as she slips it between the waistband of her jeans and the small of her back reassuring enough to allow her to risk a glance at Eddie while she pulls the shotgun her dad usually kept at the cabin out from the back of his van, "Or guns plural, technically."

"You didn't have a shotgun last year. I would've noticed that."

"Yeah, well, I like to think of it as evolving."

"Evolving," Eddie laughs, his eyes widening a bit at how easy it seems for Cami to handle the shotgun in her hands like it isn't actually a weapon equipped to kill, "From the crowbar."

"Yep."

"I should probably be really scared right now."

"You're not?" Cami teases, the sound of approaching tires slowing to pull to the side of the road momentarily diverting her attention to the task of ensuring it is only Steve and Dustin, and not anyone else who will have more than enough reason to question why she is standing on the side of the road with a shotgun in her hands. And once she recognizes Steve's BMW, her gaze shifts back to Eddie in seconds, her teeth chewing against the inside of her cheek while she waits for his reply.

"I uh—no. Scared isn't exactly the word I'd use."

"Okay. Well just remember, you never—"

"I never saw the cabin. I don't know where it is," Eddie supplies, miming an attempt at drawing a halo above his head, and grinning even in spite of how, but for Cami's apparent obliviousness to it, he'd nearly been forced to elaborate on a statement that he hadn't exactly been prepared to explain, "And I will never under any circumstances go back there again."

"Good."

"I aim to please, milady."

"Hey! We gonna stand around flirting all day, or are we gonna get out there and do this thing?'

Steve's words effectively pull Cami's attention back to the present in seconds, and for a moment, Eddie entertains the thought of her accidentally using her little arsenal against Steve as a result. But even with the small flicker of a muscle against her jawline, she doesn't do anything of the sort, her brow lifting in a gesture that is so openly defiant that Eddie has to stifle a laugh.

"Jealous, Steve?"

"I—what? No. No, I'm not—I didn't—"

"Relax, Harrington. I think she was talking about the guns. They kinda make your little bat look a bit—small."

"Eddie," Cami warns, unable to fully hold back her amusement, and rather carefully avoiding a look at Steve in favor of focusing on Dustin, instead, "We all set?"

"Meat? Check. Buckets? Check. Meat in buckets? Check the trunk," Dustin rattles off, ticking the items off on his fingers while he walks behind Cami, and Steve opens the trunk, everyone's nose wrinkling as the smell of the meat in the buckets hits them like a ton of bricks.

"Jesus, Dust, that's—rank."

"Hey. I never promised sunshine and daisies."

"And we're sure this is gonna work?"

"Yes, Steve. It's gonna work. Get the buckets outta the trunk already."

"Geez, bossy much?" Steve gripes, hefting the buckets out of the trunk, aware of Eddie's growing smirk, and the way in which Cami is pointedly avoiding his gaze to conceal her own humor all the while, "How far are we lugging this shit anyway?"

"I already told you. To the junkyard. Cami knows the way."

Aware of Steve's sudden shift in attention, Cami forces herself to straighten a bit, her nose still wrinkled from the smell of the meat as she manages what is likely a stiff nod.

"It's a bit of a hike. But it's the best place for what we're trying to do."

"Okay. So who's leading the way?"

"We are," Dustin declares, snagging one of the buckets from Steve's hands before going on, "Give the other bucket to Eddie."

"Seriously?"

"You and Cami need your hands free for the bat and the guns, right? This is our way of doing that."

"Gee. Thanks Henderson," Eddie sighs, accepting the proffered bucket with a grimace, and risking a glance at Cami in time to note her hands tightening around the shotgun held securely in both hands, "You good?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let's do this."

Cami falls into step behind Steve and Dustin almost immediately, and Eddie follows suit, mimicking Dustin's act of tossing bits of meat along their path to lay a trail for Dart to follow as soon as they set foot on the railroad tracks the kid claims will lead them to the junkyard. Not for the first time, he catches himself wondering what the hell he is doing here. What on earth had made it possible for Cami to trust him with this, when it is clear she isn't exactly the sort to let just anyone in.

It only takes a few moments before their unlikely little group is following the railroad tracks into the woods, and Eddie can practically feel Cami's posture go taut, her grip on the gun so tight that her knuckles are whitening in response.

He knows any attempt to talk to her—to calm her—will do little to no good at all, and so Eddie resolves to remain silent, trusting Cami to be the one to speak if and when she is ready.

But of course in spite of Eddie's own good intentions, it is soon made abundantly clear that Steve doesn't have any such insight at all.

"Alright, so—let me get this straight. You kept something that you knew was probably dangerous, in order to impress—a girl you just met?"

"Okay, that is—grossly oversimplifying things," Dustin protests, trying to ignore the almost immediate flush that burns against the skin of his cheeks at the thought of everything he had done to try and get Max Mayfield's attention up to and including taking care of Dart, and pointedly avoiding a look at Steve directly as the older teen bulldozes ahead in next to no time at all.

"I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?"

"An interdimensional slug? Because it's awesome!"

"Well even if she did think it was cool, I don't know, I just—I just feel like you're trying too hard."

"Ever think that's better than not trying at all?"

"Yeah. Yeah, what Cami said! I mean, not everyone can have your stupid, perfect hair, Steve."

"Look, it—it's not about the hair, man," Steve disagrees, frowning a bit as he turns to look back at Cami, and finds that, in spite of her sudden decision to speak up, she is now carefully avoiding any chance of looking him in the eye. He might be wrong, but it feels like her comment might have been aimed at him. As though she is trying to make a point about his own relationship, though whether that relationship pertains to Nancy, or Cami, herself, Steve honestly cannot tell.

And even if a part of him knows it may be a little foolish—maybe even a bit of a dick move—Steve momentarily allows his frustration over how things are with Nancy and Cami to take over in his next words directed at the kid walking slowly at his side.

"Listen, the key with girls is just—pretending like you don't care."

"Even if you do?"

"Yeah. Yeah, totally, man. It drives 'em nuts."

"Well that's one way of putting it," Cami grumbles, the words slipping out before she can stop them, though this time she forces herself to have enough courage to lift her chin when Steve turns back to look her way, "What?"

"Nothing, I just—if you have some pearl of wisdom to add, Cam, I'm all ears."

"What happens after you act like you don't care?" Dustin cuts in, the question one of both natural curiosity, and a desire to keep Cami and Steve from what is clearly about to be a descent into bickering and stupidity. He would be lying if he tries to pretend there isn't something going on between them. Something he thinks may have everything to do with Nancy, and her absence as well. But before Dustin can decide whether he wants to know more about winning over a girl, or if he wants to switch tactics to discovering the cause of the obvious tension right in front of him, Steve is taking the choice completely out of his hands.

"You just wait until you uh—until you feel it."

"Feel what?"

"It's like before it's gonna storm, you know?" Steve explains, turning to face forward once again, though as he does he becomes aware of Eddie's skeptical gaze following him along the way, "You can't see it, but you can feel it. Like this uh—like electricity."

"Oh, like in the electromagnetic field, when the clouds in the atmosphere—"

"No, no, no. Like a—like a sexual electricity. You feel that, and then you make your move."

"So that's when you kiss her?" Dustin muses, his attention fixed upon Steve, at least until Cami responds before he has the chance.

"Sure. If you want her to punch you in the face."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Cam, am I teaching the kid how to make a move, or are you?"

"Actually, Harrington, I think Hopper has a point," Eddie states, suppressing a grin at the exasperated glare Steve sends his way, before turning his attention back to the kid instead, "You don't want to rush it like that, man."

"I—I don't?"

"No. You've gotta be—subtle."

"Subtle."

"Right, and you're saying this with all of your notable experience with women," Steve snorts, shaking his head as he starts walking backwards, his gaze absolutely glued to Eddie as the other guy tosses a chunk of meat onto the tracks with a muted plop, "I'll believe that when I see it."

"Says the guy that goes through girls like water."

"Better than being the guy who never gets a girl at all."

"Steve," Cami hisses, the scathing look she gives him prompting him to lift a brow, as though he is almost considering pressing the matter, before he turns back to Dustin to go on as though the momentary interruption to his attempt to give the kid advice had never even happened at all.

"Okay. Sure, yeah. Some girls want you to be subtle. But others, they uh—they want you to be more aggressive."

"Aggressive."

"Yeah. Sorta like—hot and heavy. Like a—like a lion."

"What type is Nancy?" Dustin asks, aware of a low hiss coming from behind him, and frowning at the thought that in his efforts to keep Cami and Steve off each other's backs, he may, in fact, be making it worse, "Subtle, or—or like a lion?"

"Nancy's—she's different. She's different from other girls."

"And Cami?"

"What about her?" Steve mutters, this time keeping his attention fixed forward, his jaw tightening while muted sounds of meat hitting the tracks momentarily distract him, and nearly cause him to miss Dustin's reply.

"Well she's pretty—pretty special too. Kinda like this girl I wanted to take to see Dart, so—"

"Woah, woah, woah. You're not—you aren't falling for this mystery girl, are you?"

"I—uh, no. No."

"Good. Don't. Because she's only gonna break your heart, and you're way too young for that shit."

The words come out a bit more harshly than Steve truly anticipated, but there is little he can do about that now, frustration now at odds with a spear of guilt twisting in his gut as soon as he catches another glimpse of Cami's face. And he doesn't know why he keeps doing this. Why he can't seem to stop hurting her. Hurting Nance.

He's been trying to change from the guy he was last year. Really, he has. But something in the way Cami will not look at him—in the way her teeth are now digging into her lower lip—tells him all too clearly that he has failed.

Something he is more than a little determined to rectify in any way he can, even if it means he makes an ass out of himself in the process.

"Faberge."

"What?"

"It's Faberge Organics. For the hair," Steve instructs, the words mostly intended for Dustin's apparent dilemma with girls, though he never once removes his attention from Cami, because he is suddenly desperate for her to look him in the eye, "Use the shampoo, and the conditioner, and when your hair is damp—when it's damp, okay, not wet—you do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray."

There. That got her attention. And even though he can clearly hear Eddie practically wheezing with sudden laughter in the background as their progress along the tracks momentarily grinds to a halt, Steve doesn't really care, the shock in Cami's features far more rewarding than he really deserves.

"Farrah Fawcett spray?"

"Yeah. Farrah Fawcett. You tell anyone that, Henderson, and your ass is grass, you got that? You're dead. Do you understand?"

"Yep," Dustin agrees, nodding vehemently in response to the words, looking back to Cami and Eddie for a moment before going on, "Farrah Fawcett? Really?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I mean—she's hot, right?"

"Wow. And for once you and I have something to agree on, Steve," Eddie remarks, unable to hide his own amusement as Steve narrows his eyes, "I'm going to fucking treasure this conversation, man. Thanks for that."

"Yeah, laugh it up. You're hilarious, Munson. Just—hilarious."

"Why the hell else did you think Hopper invited me along?"

Steve is all too eager to roll his eyes and turn back to the path ahead, but Eddie doesn't miss the almost grateful smile Cami sends his way. He certainly doesn't miss the casual bump of her shoulder against his side as they resume the trek through the woods. And that is enough to relieve him of at least some of the concern that had been his near to constant companion ever since Steve started speaking, another look Cami's way alerting him to the appearance of the slightest of curves to the formerly grim set of her lips.

It takes only seconds for Eddie to realize that he would be a fool if he counted that as anything other than a win.

Subtle…

Harrington's technique clearly isn't the only way to intrigue a girl, after all.

…

You guys! Oh my goodness I am BLOWN AWAY by the pro-Eddie response in reviews since the last chapter! And I would be lying if I tried to pretend I'm anything less than thrilled! Wow! I'm so, so glad that you all don't hate me for the sudden potential gear-shift, and that you all seem to be on the same wavelength as far as not quite seeing how to get Cami and Steve together at this point without making our girl seem like she's just settling for something, or that Steve is toying with her emotions, or trying to use her to get back at Nancy. The more I think about it, the more I really struggle trying to see any genuine start to a relationship like that between Cami and Steve, at least right after season two, and I have to say I'm relieved that as many of you are on Eddie's side as I am!

As another little aside, I hope it isn't too jarring to see little snippets of what the rest of the gang aside from Cami, Dustin, Eddie and Steve are up to throughout their arc. I'm trying to make the sequence of events (that I have admittedly altered just a bit) flow as best I can while also not dwelling too long on things that are strictly canon (but as I know I have at least one reader who has never seen the show, I also don't want to leave chunks out and make it hard to follow). That said, if my inclusion of Will, Jonathan and Nancy, Hopper, etc is too jarring, I am happy to cut back to just Cami and her gang. Just say the word, and I will adapt either way! 😀

As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of you that has taken the time to read, follow, favorite and review this story so far! And special thanks to Guest (1), Hiya, Donny Donowitz, Boris Yeltsin and Guest (2) for leaving such lovely feedback the last time around. I truly do appreciate the support, and I hope you continue to enjoy where the story goes from here!

Until next time, my loves…

MOMM