Eddie spluttered as he pulled himself ashore, spitting out water in the hopes that he might just be able to get rid of the taste of lake water. He knew it was more than that, though. His insides were squirming, the meagre meal he'd scraped together from Rick's things suddenly seemed like it hadn't been such a good idea after all.

Once he was finally away from the water's edge, Eddie rolled onto his back. The sky was dotted with stars, but he couldn't focus on any of them. All he could think about was what had just happened to Patrick. It was exactly the same as Chrissy, except this time he hadn't been the only one to see it. Somehow, that didn't exactly reassure him that things were going to be OK.

'Shit,' he hissed, forcing himself to sit up. Belle was still in the boathouse. What if she'd seen what had happened? Would that finally be the thing to make her think he was really a part of all this? Would she decide that the whole idea of the Upside Down was bogus and turn tail?

No, that much he was certain of. Belle's conviction that he wasn't a killer hadn't faltered. She might not have had as much experience with the strange goings on in Hawkins as the others appeared to, but she didn't seem to be baulking at the idea either. Still, she was at Rick's with the jocks. With no explanation as to why she was there and a tendency to go barrelling into danger.

But Eddie couldn't go back. Not only was he spent, but going back would only put her in more danger. At least she could claim ignorance of him being there. Perhaps she could do something that would make the jocks think she was on their side; after all, it was common knowledge that there were no girls in Hellfire. She was just a casual acquaintance of his, and one that had no reason to know he was hiding there.

Eddie scoffed at the thought though. Claribel Barrow was more than a casual acquaintance to him. It had only taken her disappearing for him to realise that she was his friend. It had taken her return for him to realise that perhaps there was something more than that blossoming there.

And he'd gone and left her. Bitterness seemed to coat his thoughts as Eddie slowly forced himself to his feet. Belle's – and everybody else's – attempts to protect him would have been for nought if he got himself caught by letting his exhaustion win. So he forced himself to walk away from the water's edge, forced himself to think about how he was going to let the others know that they needed to stay away from the boathouse.

Because if there was one thing he knew it was that Belle would be OK, no matter what the world decided to throw at her. He just hoped he'd get the chance to tell her that personally one day.

Belle's breathing was ragged, but she tried to force herself to think. To take stock of everything. Patrick was dead. Jason had called for Luis and Andy. Yelled at them to call the police. She had to get out of there before the police found her. The jocks were preoccupied, all she had to do was get to her bike and then –

I've got it. Axel's voice was soft, and Belle found herself letting out a breath of relief even though he'd startled her. Moved it just after they arrived.

Are you following me? she asked, but she didn't have it in her to be annoyed with him. That rage could come later, right now she just needed to get away from the crime scene. Needed to find Eddie and make sure he was OK.

They're all by the water, Axel said, and Belle's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how he could possibly know that. Why he hadn't warned her they were coming. It's difficult to explain.

Can you maybe not read my thoughts? she complained, pushing back at the pressure of his presence a little. Whatever immunity she'd built up to him seeing everything appeared to be waning. She blamed the situation in letting that barrier slip. What do I do?

Axel was silent, and for once Belle worried that he might just have actually abandoned her. She'd often wished that he would go away, and yet the thought of him properly being gone was something she hadn't actually contemplated.

Slowly, she moved to stand and headed towards the open mouth of the boathouse. She could hear the vague splashing of somebody still in the water. Jason, she guessed, probably grabbing Patrick and bringing him to shore.

'What happened?' yelled Luis, followed by more splashing.

'He's the devil,' replied Jason, such conviction behind his voice it lost any comical impact it might have had. 'Eddie Munson did this.'

Luis's silence was more than enough for Belle. He was dubious, and yet he wouldn't back away from his teammates now. Even if he didn't buy that Eddie had special powers, he would still help them find him. He was in too deep, especially as she doubted Jason was going to step away from any of this now.

Go out the main door, Axel said.

Belle didn't need telling twice, and yet she still refused to blindly accept what he was saying. She carefully tiptoed back to the window. The lights were on in Rick's house, and through the window she could see Andy with the phone pressed against his ear. It would probably be quite the novelty for the police, coming to Rick's for something that wasn't a drugs bust.

She took a breath before easing the door open and sprinting towards the forest. There was no sign of her bike, so at the very least Axel was telling the truth about that. She passed along a quick thanks to him, grateful that he knew how important that bike was to her.

She'd barely made it through the treeline when the door of Rick's opened and Andy hurried out. He was yelling about police being on their way. Belle took a moment to catch her breath before walking further into the woodland.

Somebody stepped out from behind a tree, and it took a moment for Belle's brain to catch up with what she was seeing. Axel stood there, relief obvious on his face.

A little of the tension knotted in her stomach loosened. And yet...

'Why are you here, Axel?'

His shoulders slumped ever so slightly, and she noticed that he was holding her motorbike helmet in his hands, unable to keep them still it seemed.

'Axel!'

The harshness of her voice seemed to echo through the trees, and she hastily glanced over her shoulder. While she may not have spoken loudly, she didn't really want to risk the others finding her there. Instead, she took a cautious step closer to him. Behind the tree, she spotted her bike.

'I just wanted to make sure you were safe.'

'From Eddie, or Vecna?'

Axel cringed slightly as she spat the second name at him.

'Vecna?'

Belle tilted her head a little to the side. 'What would you call him?'

Axel opened his mouth, before hastily shutting it again. But the damage was done. Whatever pretence he'd been able to hide behind previously about not knowing who was behind all of this, had suddenly shattered in that moment.

'One,' he admitted reluctantly.

Belle hadn't been expecting an answer, so her anger rose to complain at him before cresting and vanishing. 'One?'

Axel nodded, carefully placed her helmet on her bike. 'You should go. Before –'

'Let me see your wrist,' she whispered, the smudged ink on her own wrist suddenly felt like it was more important than she'd allowed herself to contemplate.

For a moment, she wondered if Axel wasn't about to bolt, but he carefully pulled his sleeve up. Exactly where the smudge was on her arm, Axel had small digits that matched them tattooed.

'You were nineteen?'

'It doesn't matter,' Axel said, hastily pulling the sleeve back into place. Belle looked up at him, noticed that he'd closed the distance between them and there was something like fear behind his eyes. Fear of what the jocks might do, or fear of the admittance he'd just offered her, she wasn't certain. 'You need to go.'

Questions bubbled up inside her, but the scream of a police siren cut them all off in an instant. 'What about you?'

Axel offered her a wry smirk. 'I'll be fine.'

Belle wanted to press the comment, but getting away seemed like the best option. She needed to find Eddie, find the others. There was no way she was sneaking back home after this. She'd think of something. Maybe head to the Wheelers' and hope that somebody was awake.

'Go,' Axel said, grabbing her helmet and throwing it to her. Belle awkwardly caught it before moving the other side of the tree to get on her bike. She just hoped she wasn't making a mistake in trusting him now she knew that he really did have some sort of link to Vecna.

Mia was spent, but they had to keep going, had to continue trying to find out what exactly Vecna was up to. She couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had seemed to coat her like a second skin since they'd been inside Creel house. The way the lights had lit whenever Vecna was near. None of it made sense.

'Hey,' Max said softly, and Mia looked up from her hands. Only now did she realise just how red they were from how tightly she'd been clinging to her fingers. 'You're here.'

Mia released a long breath; she caught Steve's eye in the rear view mirror and hastily broke eye contact before he could question her. They hadn't been able to find a tape for her yet, Steve's one had been moved to her car when she started driving herself, but at least they knew merely singing the song worked as well. It was something of a blessing, if only a small one.

'There was no clock,' she admitted in a small voice, drawing her attention back to Max. 'And I've not been getting nosebleeds.'

Max nodded, the soft noise of Running Up That Hill bled through her headphones. 'Maybe you're a failsafe.'

'In case people escape?' Mia could hear the soft note of pride behind her voice. Max had been strong enough to fight through Vecna's hold on her. She'd run back to them all and somehow was managing to keep going with it all. Mia wondered if Max's hands were as clammy as her own; if the memories that Vecna had brought forth still tormented her when she was trying to focus on what they could do to stop all of this from happening to anybody else.

'Sucks for him,' Max said, a soft lilt of humour behind her voice that caused Mia to tilt her head. 'You got away too.'

'Yeah,' Mia agreed, though she heard the lack of conviction in her own voice.

'You did,' Max assured her, reaching to give her hand a squeeze. 'Whatever he said to you, it was a lie.'

'Like with you?' She hadn't meant to throw the reassurance back at the younger girl so flippantly, but part of her knew that Max needed it just as much as she did. 'He's using our guilt against us. But the past's the past. We can't change it.'

'But we can change the future.'

'Exactly,' Mia said, trying to force her thoughts away from Back to the Future. The movie only reminded her of the Russians now; of her, Steve and Robin being high on truth drugs while Dustin and Erica tried to be the sensible ones. Had that really only been last summer?

Silence settled easily between the two of them, and Mia shifted so she was facing the front of the car again. Whatever happened, she was determined to make sure Max didn't have to go through that again. That nobody had to. If she was a failsafe, she would face Santos and Vecna again a hundred times if it meant somebody else didn't have to face their trauma.

'Stop!' Robin's voice filled the car and Nancy slammed on the breaks, sending everybody into the seats in front of them. Mia groaned, her arms having gone not to break her fall but instead to cushion the two kids on either side of her. Luckily, they'd both appeared to have had the same thought, but held themselves by the seatbelts as well.

Mia let out a long breath as she heard Robin's window squeaking open.

'You lost?' Robin asked. Mia's attention shifted out to the side of the rode. Belle was waiting there, helmet resting on the front of her bike and a look of fear behind her eyes that Mia was unfortunately becoming increasingly familiar with.

'Eddie's –'

'Not at the house,' Robin finished for her best friend. 'Patrick's dead. We know.'

'Shit,' cursed Belle, dragging a hand through her hair. 'I don't know –'

'Clary, it's all right. He's at Skull Rock,' Steve said, voice far softer than usual. There were times when Mia realised he was still trying to make up for being a douche to Belle. Times when he treated her as if she was made of glass instead of just talking to her normally.

Belle let out a shuddering breath. 'OK,' she said. 'OK. I'll follow.'

'Can I come?' Dustin asked, already moving to open the door behind him.

Belle quirked an eyebrow at him. 'Afraid I'm going to get lost with Nancy's driving?'

'Nobody should be alone right now, Belle,' Robin said softly.

Mia thought she could see the argument behind Belle's eyes growing, knew that she was probably going to remind them that Eddie was currently out there alone, but somehow she managed to swallow the words.

'I'll go with you,' Mia said, quickly unbuckling her seatbelt. Max was already moving out of her way, something she was grateful for. 'By the way,' she said once she was finally out and offered her the helmet, 'what's your favourite song?'

'Something by Deep Purple, right?' Robin asked, and only then did Mia realise that she hadn't yet rolled the window up.

Belle chuckled softly. 'Yeah, something by them.' She shrugged. 'Don't actually know though. Can I get back to you?'

'What about Vecna?'

'Anything Deep Purple and I think he'll run away himself,' Belle joked, her attention on Robin for a moment before she glanced back to Mia, a small smile on her face that almost made it possible to ignore just how worried she was about Eddie. That almost eclipsed the concern shining in her eyes.

Once they were finally in the woods, the group seemed to pair off as they walked, and somehow Mia found herself walking beside Robin as Nancy caught Belle up on everything that they'd learnt so far.

'Should we be, like, humming at all times or something?' Robin asked as they picked their way through the woods, occasionally ducking beneath low hanging branches.

'I don't think we need to,' Mia said softly. She was glad Max had her music, but it was a precaution she didn't deem necessary. As long as she was always with someone, they'd already proved that singing was a way of getting her out of Vecna's clutches. 'Though, if you want a full playlist of songs that might help, I'm sure I could oblige.'

'You would?' Robin's voice was filled with concern, enough that Mia looked at her sharply. The idea of Robin sifting through tapes to make one that might just save her made Mia's cheeks heat. But surely she was just doing what she'd do for any of them.

Her friends.

Mia hastily looked away, instead focused her attention on the ground in the hopes that she might not trip up. 'Anyway, I never said it, but thanks for pulling me out of that.'

'It was Steve,' said Robin. 'I was trying to remember a song from Little Shop of Horrors, even though you'd said it wasn't a musical song.'

Mia chuckled softly. 'If you'd've remembered one I might've –' Mia's brain stalled. The word "kiss" lingered in her throat, the truth behind the single word enough that she felt her insides squirming. 'Hugged you,' she finished lamely, certain though that Robin had understood where it otherwise would have finished.

But, perhaps with Vecna stalking her footsteps, saying a single word that might change everything was exactly the kind of thing she could do. This year would either end with her falling foul of Vecna's curse, or she'd be moving away from Hawkins for college and possibly never seeing Robin again. Weren't those exactly the kinds of choices that should make a person brave?

'Well, hopefully I won't have remember one,' Robin said, before hastily looking to Mia. 'I don't mean – It's not like... Shit, sorry, I just –'

'You don't have to remember one if Vecna leaves me alone.'

Robin let out a relieved breath. 'Yeah.'

'Well, here's hoping you don't have to remember one then,' Mia said.

'But... But didn't you say there's a movie version coming out soon? Of Little Shop of Horrors, I mean.'

'End of this year. Supposedly,' Mia said without thinking. She'd heard about it from a musical theatre friend she'd made during camp one year. Apparently they knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone that was working on it. Until the posters came out though, Mia wasn't convinced.

'Well, then I can get them in my head,' Robin said, before hastily hurrying to catch up with Nancy now Belle had caught up with Steve and Dustin.

Mia stumbled slightly, her footsteps faltering. She was pretty sure Robin had just vaguely implied she wanted to see the movie of her favourite musical. And Mia really hoped that she'd be able to see it with her.

'Oh, boom!' Steve said, pushing through the bushes. 'Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock.'

'Oh my God, he was right… He's going to be insufferable,' Belle complained, part of her wishing that she was still walking with Nancy, being brought up to speed with everything that had happened.

'In your face, man,' Steve continued to cheer himself. 'In your stupid, cocky little face.'

'That doesn't make sense,' Dustin said as Belle hurried after Steve.

'Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring you in the face, you can't admit it.'

'Eddie?' Belle asked softly, moving passed Steve and towards the chairs beneath the rock face.

'Can't admit you're wrong, you butthead,' Steve continued.

The sound of something hitting the ground made Belle turn.

'I concur,' Eddie agreed, moving closer to the three of them. 'You, Dustin Henderson, are a…' He inhaled deeply, and Belle felt a little of the tension in her chest loosen. He was alive. 'Total butthead.'

'Jesus, we thought you were a goner,' Dustin said, moving to give Eddie a hug.

It took a moment before Eddie hugged him back, patting him on the back as his attention skimmed between Steve and Belle. 'Yeah, me too, man.' Dustin stepped away as the others arrived. 'Me too.'

Belle hadn't realised just how worried she truly was about Eddie. After everything that happened, after him disappearing into the water and her not even seeing if he was nearby, guilt clawed its way up her throat. Apology bubbled up inside her, but she was closing the distance between them before she could give the words voice.

'You're alive,' Belle breathed, practically crashing against Eddie in a hug.

He stood still for a moment, and she started to pull away, worried that she'd done the wrong thing. But then, his arms snaked carefully around her back, pulling her closer to him.

'I'm alive,' he said softly against the top of her head.

'I kinda wish I'd brought aftershave though,' Belle said, pulling away from him and feeling the heat rising to her cheeks.

A small smile ghosted his lips, and for a moment it was almost possible to forget everything else that was going on. Everything that they still had to fight.