"No. No, no, no," Steve whispered, slamming his eyes shut and shaking his head. This wasn't real. They'd won. They'd defeated Vecna. They were finished with the upside down stuff for good. The only things they had to worry about now were school and work and life and Steve's stupid crush on Eddie. Normal things. Not this anymore.

"Running away from the consequences of your actions again?" Steve was going to throw up. He turned back around to face the newest nightmare, biting back a sob at the sight of Barb standing on the other side of his kitchen. She looked just like she had the night of his party. The night she disappeared.

"This isn't real," Steve denied shakily. He hadn't seen any clocks. He hadn't heard any chimes. He hadn't experienced anything that Max described. Then again, Nancy hadn't either prior to her brush with the monster, so maybe the rules didn't apply anymore. All bets were off when you were supposed to be dead.

"What happened to me was real. Every slash. Every bite," Barb taunted, stepping around from behind the counter that separated them. Steve gagged as the lower half of her body came into view. It was decayed, looking straight out of the world that still made Steve wake up in a cold sweat most nights. He could practically smell the rot and blood. "I was screaming and begging for help. You could've saved me."

"I didn't hear. I didn't know."

"You didn't care. You only cared about yourself. Getting what you wanted."

"That's not true!" Steve argued. If he'd known she was in danger, he would've done anything to try and save her. He'd proved that so many times over these past few years. Even when he was his worst self, he still would've fought.

"That's not true? Pretty rich, coming from a liar," Barb smirked, taking another step toward him. Steve reflexively stepped back as well.

"I'm not," Steve whispered.

"What about when you sat across from my parents at their dinner table, pretending you didn't know what happened to me. Pretending you didn't know I looked like this!" Barb hissed, her whole body becoming decayed in the blink of an eye. Steve shouted, falling backward and banging against the wall of his kitchen.

"We couldn't! The government would've come after us. And no one would've believed the truth," Steve protested, feeling along the wall to see if there was any sort of opening. There was nothing and he was trapped.

"The truth. You wanna hear the truth?" Barb asked, before shifting again. "I would love to tell you the truth."

"Dammit."

"I know you still like to tell yourself that what I said in that bathroom was a result of the alcohol, but it wasn't. It was all me."

"You're not Nancy. You're not."

"How could you have ever thought I loved you? Ignoring the fact that I'm way too smart for an idiot like you," Nancy laughed mockingly. Not Nancy, Vecna. Why was it so hard to remember that? "I only spent time with you because I was bored. Because I wanted to feel what it was like to be popular. You were only an experiment, Steve. A time I could look back on and laugh about when I'm older. When I'm living an amazing life and you're still making minimum wage."

"Nancy wouldn't do that. She's not cruel, like you," Steve denied. They were friends now, even if their romantic relationship didn't work out. Nancy wouldn't find amusement in his failures.

"The truth can be cruel sometimes. That doesn't make it less of a fact," Nancy taunted, creeping closer. "And here's another one. The only reason we keep you around is to take the hits for us. So you can put yourself in the line of fire. You're a glorified human shield."

"No. That's- that's not-"

"We don't care if you get hurt. Tell me, where did you go every time after the fight was over? When the dust settled and the day was saved, while you were bruised and bloody? Did anyone open their home to you? Did anyone make sure you got checked out? Did anyone even offer you a ride?" Nancy challenged, her voice getting more gleeful as each word cut more and more into Steve's soul. "When you care about someone, you make sure they are okay. No one cares about you."

"They do! They do care about me!"

"Do I?"

"Shit."

"You had to know this one was coming, Stevie Boy," Eddie smirked, cocking his head to the side. "I know you're not the sharpest pick in the pack, but come on."

"It doesn't matter who you turn into, because it's not real."

"You really think I could feel anything for you? You and me together makes you and Nancy look like soulmates."

"Stop it."

"You are impossible to love. Even your own parents can't stand you. So how could you ever think I would choose you?"

"I said stop it!" Steve shouted, darting to the side and pounding on the walls. There had to be a way out. Max found a way, so he could too. "Guys! Wake me up! Come on!" A vine suddenly whipped out and wrapped around his wrist, trapping him where he stood. It spun him around, putting him face to face with Vecna in his true form. Now even decayed Barb didn't seem so bad.

"You really think someone will help you?" Vecna sneered, staring at him with soulless eyes.

"My friends," Steve growled, clinging onto the defiance that he was desperate to hang onto. He wasn't going to give Vecna the satisfaction of his fear.

"Oh, Steve," Vecna replied, raising one of his hands to hover above Steve's face. "They don't even know you're gone."

Eddie set down his guitar after his song was finished, tuning out the sounds of the kids arguing about what he should play next. Typically he relished these moments, feeling part of a group in a way he'd always dreamed of. He had similar moments with his band and with his D&D group, but this was different. They all shared a bond that no one else could relate to. And while it was great, right now there was something missing. Someone.

Trying to kiss Steve hadn't been on his agenda. Something he fantasized about, sure, but he never thought he'd actually try to do it. Steve was straight and Eddie wasn't out, so there would be nothing to gain from it. Being Steve's friend was enough, which was a crazy development in and of itself. The Harrington from years past in school was nothing like how the man actually was. And on a base level, Eddie could relate. So many people thought they knew who he was, just by looking at his clothes and his hair, but he was more than public perception. And maybe that's why they had bonded so quickly.

At first, hanging out with Steve was just another way to pass the time. His bandmates were steering clear of him in public, mostly due to family pressure. Eddie couldn't blame them, since his reputation had been severely tarnished. They still spoke in secret at school, but it wasn't the same. And Eddie was finding he didn't mourn the loss as much as he thought, since he had his new friends now.

Robin was spunky and amazing. Nancy had more layers to her than her goody goody persona at school would've made you assume. And the kids were as great as ever. More mature than they should've had to be, but still with a youthful excitement that made you want to make the world a better place for them. And then there was Steve.

Eddie knew his opinion of Steve had been wrong during the whole Vecna crisis. He was always ready at the drop of a hat to fight for the people he cared about. Jumping into that lake so the others didn't have to, even if that soon became a moot point. Always ready to give the kids a pep talk, even when he was scared out of his mind.

Part of him did think that Steve would be different after everything was over. He was, in regards to not having to fight something every second, but other than that, he was the same good guy. He didn't act like he was too cool for them now that the danger was gone. Steve was driving the kids places, inviting them all over to his house, watching them play games he had no interest in. Steve was officially a good guy in Eddie's book. But then it started to change into something more.

Eddie had always known that Steve was a good looking guy. He had eyes. Even when Steve's hair had been styled to within an inch of its life and he dressed like a prep personified, he still looked good. But now that he wasn't putting on a show for people, Steve looked even better. The Steve who let his guard down was gorgeous. But it wasn't just looks.

Steve was funny. Not when he was trying to be, but when he wasn't. And while he may not have been book smart, he had depth to him. When you got to see the real Steve, it was a gift. Eddie had been lucky enough to receive that gift, but then he had to go and ruin it.

He wasn't mad at Steve for pulling away. Kissing someone before you even went on a first date was only something that happened in movies. But Eddie had just been so caught up in the moment that he lost his brains for a second. And that one second changed everything.

Since he was a coward, Eddie was trying to forget what happened at all costs. He tried to act normal around Steve, but it was hard. So avoidance was his best defense. Eddie could tell that Steve noticed, but he was too polite to call him out on it. He figured that Steve wanted to pretend as well and go back to some sort of coexisting scenario, since going back to hanging out all the time probably wasn't going to be in the cards.

That was until their little interaction in the kitchen earlier. Hearing Steve put himself down had opened Eddie's eyes a bit. Steve wasn't avoiding him because he was trying to spare Eddie's feelings. He was doing it because he thought he deserved it. Because he thought Eddie regretted what happened because of him, not because it was a miscalculation. Because Steve thought he'd ruined things with Eddie.

He couldn't let that stand. Even if they never were anything more than friends, Eddie needed to make sure Steve knew how much he cared about him and wanted him in his life, no matter how that looked. And maybe now wasn't the best time for this conversation, since everyone else was around, but Eddie couldn't wait. The next second was never guaranteed, especially in their lives.

"I'm going to get a drink. Finalize the set list by the time I come back," Eddie directed, getting up and walking in the direction he'd last seen Steve without waiting for a response. He needed to do this before he talked himself out of it or got roped into doing something else.

Steve was standing at the kitchen counter when Eddie found him, facing away. Eddie hovered in the doorway a few seconds, waiting to see if he would turn around. He even made a little noise, but to no avail. Steve was either lost in his own head or ignoring him. Eddie was going to have to make the first move.

"Hey, can we talk?" Eddie asked, shifting his weight from one foot to another. It shouldn't have been this awkward. If they could fight upside down bats together, talking should be easy. "I know I've kind of been avoiding you and I'm sorry about that. I was hoping we could hash this thing out and go back to normal."

Eddie still got no reaction from Steve. His knee jerk reaction was to be annoyed and leave. If Steve was just gonna ignore him, why should he bother? But Steve wasn't nasty like that. Even if he didn't want to talk, he wouldn't outright ignore him. They'd been through too much and Steve was too good of a guy. Something was up.

Eddie walked up to Steve, ready to figure out what was going on either way. When he finally got a look at him, he wished Steve was just giving him the silent treatment. Anything would've been better than this.

"Oh no," Eddie gasped, staring into Steve's milky, blank eyes. This couldn't be happening. They'd won. This was over. But the truth was right there, no matter how much he didn't want it to be. Vecna was back. "Steve!"