A/N: Aaaand, we're back. I might not update too frequently (life, work, family, etc.) But, I have some time today, and writing shall be done!


Disclaimer: I own only Jocelyn Harford, nothing of Stranger Things. All rights go to the Duffer Brothers, and Netflix.

With Or Without You

Chapter 2

Don't You (Forget About Me)


[Eddie]

I awake with a start. It's still pitch black out. Sometime in the night, Joce must've gotten up and moved into the house. It seems like I did, too. I'm lying on Hopper's couch, and she's a few feet away, on the floor, her chest rising and falling slowly. I can hear the soft snores of everyone else around me.

But, that isn't all I hear.

Something is tickling me in the back of my mind. Like an itch I can't scratch. My brain feels fuzzy, and I look around the room, blinking blearily. I start to sit up, but freeze as I do. There's… something… in the darkest corner of the room. It's watching me.

My breath hitches in my throat, and my chest constricts. I start to slowly get up, reaching for Nancy's nearby gun that's propped up against the table, but before I can grab it, a voice fills my mind.

"Eddie…" It whispers, and I feel my blood run cold. Holy shit. Holy. Shit.

I swallow, struggling to remember how to breathe. "Who's there?" I hiss into the darkness.

"Eddie," the voice whispers again. I can't make out what is in the corner, but I can feel my heart pounding in my ears. "Eddie… you need to feed, Eddie…" The voice slithers into my brain like cold snakes, and I start to stumble backwards, nearly tripping over a chair. What the fuck.

"Feed?" I stammer, my voice catching. "What do you…?" But then, I feel a burning sensation starting in my throat, tearing its way up towards my mouth, and my lips and tongue go suddenly dry. I make a croaking noise, clutching at my throat, as panic starts to fill me. I look wildly around. What is happening? Why do I feel like this? I try to breathe, but I can't. The room is starting to spin.

"Eddie…" The voice fills my head, and my mind goes suddenly blank. All I can do is stare and listen as the voice continues. I feel a darkness wash over me, like a cold, slimy, inky substance. My vision slowly grows darker, and my head feels heavy. My thoughts become muddled and slow, and my body moves without my permission. I can feel my legs propelling me forward. I can't resist. The voice sends a chill down my spine, and makes me a little lightheaded. I struggle to regain control, but I can't.

What the fuck is happening to me? My subconscious is screaming, but the rest of me ignores it. My eyes dart frantically around the room, and come to rest on… Joce.

She's moving in her sleep, rolling over, and as she does, her long, red, hair falls to the side, exposing her pale throat.

All at once, I move forwards against my will. My eyes widen. I can't stop myself. I feel my heart sink. Joce.. she's… she's in danger. I have to stop. My mind's in a haze, but I can hear the voice clearly now, egging me on. Telling me to keep moving.

Joce… I'm sorry…

My hands ball into fists, and I start to move towards her. I feel sick. I can feel a cold sweat break out on my forehead. But, it feels like I'm having an out-of-body experience. Like I'm watching myself from above, moving slowly, silently, across the room in the darkness, towards the sleeping form of my best friend…

I move closer, gritting my teeth in pain and sorrow at the thought of what I am about to do. I don't want to do it, but I have to. My mind won't let me do anything else. The voice won't let me do anything else. I have no choice but to obey.

Joce, oh God. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

I approach her, slowly but deliberately. I raise my hand, letting it hover over the hilt of my knife…

She stirs in her sleep again, completely unaware of my presence bearing down upon her. I can see the blue veins in her neck, a stark contrast against her white skin…

My grip on the handle tightens as I hover over her, my breathing growing heavy as my hand slowly wraps around the blade of my knife.

I must obey… I must obey…

My heart breaks to see her so innocent, so small, as I lean down over her neck, holding the blade a few inches above her skin… The cold voice is still there, in the background, waiting patiently in the darkness. I stare in horror as my hand starts to shake, knowing what has to be done…

Suddenly, Joce opens her eyes, and stares up at me in confusion. "Eddie…? What are you..?" Her voice is soft in the darkness, and I feel my grip on the knife go slack.

I freeze, and my mind clears. I stare down at her, eyes wide and mouth open in horror. My stomach turns as I come to the realization of what I've almost done.

My God…

I drop the knife to the floor and bring my hands to my face, feeling sick. "Joce… I'm so sorry…" I managed to choke out.

She sits up, gently taking my face in her hands. "Eddie, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" The voice has faded, and the darkness is gone. She doesn't seem to realize what almost happened.

I let out a shaky breath, and look up at her. My face is pale, and my eyes are wide in their sockets. I try to speak, but the words just won't come, all I manage to do is stare at her. The shock of it all seems to start to wear away, but there's still a deep panic in my chest. I open my mouth and try to speak, but only a stammer comes out. It takes a second before I can steady myself and start to speak once more.

"Yeah… Just a nightmare."

She smiles gently. "Oh, hun. It's ok. Come here." She draws me into a gentle hug.

I return the hug immediately, squeezing tight and burying my face into her shoulder. The feeling of her warmth and the sound of her heartbeat calms me, and I hug tighter, trying to calm my shaking.

I raise my head after a couple of seconds and look at her. She's smiling down at me, and I take a breath. "It… just scared me, is all. It was so real." That's all it was, right? Just a nightmare… The voice wasn't real. It couldn't be real…

She pulls away. "Wanna get some air?"

I nod, "Yeah… air'll make me feel better."

We go outside, standing near the edge of the trail as I take a deep breath in. The air is fresh, and the moonlight help calm me down, as the memories of what just happened start to fade away.

Joce rubs her neck, and I glance sideways at her. What I see makes my stomach churn. There, on her neck, visible in the moonlight, is the tiniest cut. I must've nicked her with my blade by accident.

Once again, my heart drops to the floor, and I let out a low, fearful groan as I realize what I've done. What I almost did…

Joce glances at me, "What's wrong?" She turns to me, her face filled with concern.

"I… I almost… almost…" I can't get the words out. I feel like I'm choking on them. I force myself to look at her; I take a deep breath and try to steady myself before forcing myself to speak.

"Joce… Your neck… I almost killed you." I take in a shaky breath. "I'm so… so… sorry… I'm a freak… Please forgive me…"

She stares at me blankly. "Eddie… What are you talking about?" Her hand moves to her neck, and she notices the small cut. She stares down at the blood on her fingers, her face full of confusion.

I take a deep breath. "There was this voice… It ordered me to feed… it ordered me to…" I stare off into the woods, my mind stuck on the terrible thought. "Joce, I… I almost…" I try to slow my heart rate. "I almost… did it… I almost killed you…"

Her mouth falls open, and I feel her go stiff beside me. My heart aches. "Are you… Are you serious?" She whispers.

I look up at her with a broken expression, my eyes wide with fear. "I'm serious, Joce. I'm so…" My voice cracks. "I'm a fucking monster…" I can't look at her, but I can feel her looking at me. When I finally get the courage to meet her dark brown eyes, I can see she's thinking hard. After a moment, she speaks.

"Eddie…" She starts slowly, "I have… a theory."

I blink at her. "You have a theory…?" When she nods, I face her. "Tell me. Anything to distract me from this nightmare. Please."

She's quiet for a moment, before whispering. ""You were attacked by the demobats… and everything in the Upside Down, is connected." She fixes me with a nervous look "So… what if, when you were bitten, part of Vecna became part of you…? Nancy said it herself. When we trip on a root, or tentacle, or whatever, he can feel it… right?"

My mouth falls open as her words slowly sink in. As I sit there, the pieces start to fall into place, and I suddenly feel myself get colder, and a new fear starts to spread throughout my body, like a miasma of toxins and death. I stare at her.

"Am I… am I turning into one of those… things?"

She sits quietly for a moment. "Think about what happened to Will: The Mind Flayer could use him as a puppet, because of what he went through in the Upside Down.." She looks at me, and in the dark I can see her brown eyes are wide and fearful. "What if the same thing is happening to you…?"

The fear only grows stronger as I realize the implications of her words. I look down at my hands, as if seeing them for the first time. I slowly raise my head back up as a look of new fear consumes my face and voice.

"I… oh my God… I…." I let out a shaky laugh. "Well… shit."

Jocelyn puts her hand on my shoulder. "Eddie, listen, a week ago, I never believed any of this shit was real. Now, we're hiding in a cabin from a monster from a different dimension. So, could my theory really be that far off?" She's trying to give me some solace, but it isn't helping.

I sigh, shaking my head, trying to accept what she's said. "No… no, you're right. It's the only theory that makes any sense, right? My breath slows, and I let out a shaky laugh. "What else could it possibly be?" My tone is bitter, and Joce gently rubs my shoulder.

"Look, let's just take this one day at a time. We'll figure this out. And," she adds, her smile looking a little forced, "don't worry about almost killing me. I've been nearly killed about 49 times this last week; my friend coming at me with a knife doesn't worry me."

I can't help but smile a bit. "Yeah… One day at a time, that's how we've done it all this time, right?" I close my eyes for a moment, taking a breath, before muttering, "You're a good friend, Joce. You know that?" I glance at her, and she turns a little pink, before shoving me playfully.

"Shut up." But she's smiling.

I let out a low chuckle, my tongue tracing along my teeth, as I look away. "Make me." I look back at her, smirking and nudge her back. "No but seriously, I mean it. I really… I really do appreciate you, ya know that?"

She nods, giving me a small smile, before turning to look out over the dark forest. "I know."

"No, I don't think you get it." I turn to face her. "I appreciate you. I really do." She eyes me, her gaze almost suspicious. "If we… If we make it through this, I really want to show you my appreciation. I mean, we've been through hell, literally, together, so I think you're at least owed a nice dinner or something, right?"

She laughs, but when she sees the seriousness in my look, sobers up. "Fine, okay. That'd be nice. Thank you." Her cheeks are a bit pink, but she grins at me in the darkness.

I smile slightly. "Well great. It's a date, then."

She glances sideways at me. "You're an idiot." She snorts.

I grin, not the least bit offended. "You love my little shenanigans though, admit it." I tease, nudging her playfully with my shoulder.

She rolls her eyes, and nudges me back, before resting her head on my shoulder. "You really are an idiot, Munson.." She murmurs.

I pat her head with my free hand, chuckling low in my throat. "I don't even know how to answer that without agreeing with you, so… I guess I'm an idiot." She laughs, and I can feel the vibrations against my shoulder. "But hey, I'm your idiot. Right?" I add, grinning toothily down at her.

She looks up, raising her eyebrows, before laughing softly. "Damn right."

I lean my head on hers for a second. "And I'm okay with that. After all, no one else makes you laugh like me, right?"

"Oh yeah, sure." Her tone drips with sarcasm, and I feign offense.

"Come on, admit it. Name one other person who makes you laugh as much as I do."

"Your mom," she can barely get the words out before she starts giggling like an idiot.

I roll my eyes – not in anger, but humour. "Oh, oh, that was a good one. I got nothing. You win."

She smiles, before asking quietly. "You feeling better? From before?"

I take a deep breath and nod, "Yeah, I feel a bit better." I rub my neck. "Just gotta move forward, right?"

"Just don't try to stab me again, please." She jokes.

Her joke catches me off-guard, and I can't help but let out a light chuckle. "No promises." I wink at her, but in the back of my mind, I feel a slight twitch of guilt.

She shoves me, "Dude I'm serious. It seems like a poetic Greek tragedy to get killed by your best friend."

I flinch slightly at her words. "Fair enough.. Let me correct myself, then… Look at me, Joce." I cup her chin in my hand, and she jumps slightly, but doesn't pull away. I look her straight in the eyes, and my expression softens a bit. I take a deep breath as my voice grows quieter. "I promise I will never try to hurt you. Never."

She seems startled by my sudden sincerity, but nods quickly. "Ok Eddie. Thank you."

I let go of her chin, a grin plastered on my face, as I look out over the woods. It's starting to get light now. "So what now? How much more trouble can we get into while we're still alive?" I shoot her a sly look, and her eyebrows shoot up. Then, she reaches into the pocket of her sweatshirt.

"Wanna get high?" she asks, pulling out a bag of weed. She grins impishly at me.

I grin at the offer. "Abso-fucking-lutely. I never turn down a good time. But I thought you liked taking things seriously?" I wink at her when she gives me a withering look. "I suppose I could forgive a little… debauchery."

"Eat me," Joce shoots back, as she rolls us a joint.

I laugh, "My, my! Aren't we on a roll today?" I gesture to her act of "rolling" a joint, and she seems to deflate in front of me. I start laughing, and she glares at me, before going back to it. I lean against her and take the joint when she hands it to me, lighting it up. I take a drag, and exhale, the smoke rolling from my nose. I hum contently. "There we go. Nothing like a little devil's lettuce under the stars, huh?"

She nods as I hand it back to her, taking a long drag herself. "Nothing like it." She echoes, before handing the joint back to me.

I inhale again as my mind starts to get a little wobbly from the weed. "Well, now that we're properly medicated, what do you want to do next, Joce?" My lips curve in a smirk. "How about a little make-out sesh?"

She chokes on the joint as she inhales. "W-what?" She stares at me, before bursting out laughing.

I shake my head, chuckling. "Just kidding. A little bit of flirting goes a long way, ya know? But…" I trail off, glancing over at her. "Don't say I didn't offer."

She snorts, "Dude, how high are you?"

"Pretty goddamn high, as it turns out. Like I said, devil's lettuce or whatever." I shrug.

She sighs in exasperation, before standing up. "You're high, and you're an idiot. But you're my idiot, so I forgive you." She turns back to me, "I'm gonna go back to bed, since someone woke me up by, y'know, trying to kill me." She winks.

I start to get up too. "Good idea." I yawn, "Try not to get killed by anything that goes bump in the night, yeah?"

"So…you?" She teases.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you've got me there." She smiles, nudging me again, before turning away to go back into the house. "Sleep well, Harford."

She looks back, "You, too, Munson."

As she turns away, I am suddenly almost overcome with a burning urge to grab her and sink my teeth into her throat. It's fleeting, but it momentarily freezes me in my tracks, and my heart skips a beat.

It fades as quickly as it comes, and the idea of actually doing it is revolting to me now that I am in my right mind. I quickly dismiss it before it can take over and, taking a deep breath, follow Joce inside.