CHAPTER FOUR

THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE

Steve couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. He unlocked his front door, gesturing for them to go ahead. He closed and locked it again once they were inside. He scraped his hand through his hair, staring at the two of them.

"This way." He led them up the stairs to the second floor. "I have two spare rooms. You can decide who gets what. Bathroom is there, the linen closet is there. We don't have a laundry chute. You'll have to bring your laundry downstairs yourselves. Baskets are in the rooms. Um. Yeah. Soap and stuff is already in the shower if you want to use it."

"Okay. Uh, thanks?" Eddie didn't know how else to respond. He glanced at Billy. Who knew how long they were going to be staying here.

"That's my room. Please don't go in unless it's absolutely necessary. I'm going back to bed. You can fend for yourselves in the kitchen. Should be stocked…" He waved as he walked into his room and shut the door. Robin had left early that morning. She wanted to get back home before her parents had realized she wasn't there. Steve stripped down to his underwear and crawled back under the covers. He pulled them up over his head and just lay there in the half-dark. This couldn't be real. He had to have lost his mind. All of those concussions he'd gotten in the last three years were finally catching up to him.

He woke once, briefly, to the sound of his shower running. Steve fell back to sleep quickly after that.

Around five-thirty or so, he woke back up again. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. He'd had the most unusual dream. He'd dreamed he'd gone back out to Skull Rock and found Eddie Munson and Billy Hargrove. Just out in the woods. Looking like they'd never died at all. He scrubbed his hand over his face. That was just a dream. Like all the others. Finding Eddie alive and well was a common dream for him these days. Sometimes he dreamed he woke up and Eddie was just in his house. Other times he was back in the Upside Down and would find him half rotten like Barb. This one was one of the more vivid ones. Steve would have sworn it had all happened.

He pulled on his jeans from the day before, not bothering with a shirt. Who was he trying to impress? Steve wandered down to the kitchen. Maybe something to drink would help him get over this latest dream. He poured a glass of water and turned.

The table was set.

Steve couldn't remember setting it at all before going to bed. It was set for three people. He didn't understand. He was here alone. He was always here alone. Steve set his glass on the table and looked around. The oven light was on. Why…why would that be on? Had he gone to sleep without turning it off?

"Oh! You're awake. Good. I was about to send Hargrove up to get you."

"SHIT?!" He spun so fast he toppled the chair next to him. Standing in the den was Eddie fucking Munson. "You. It wasn't a dream? You're here."

Eddie tilted his head, "No?"

Steve sat down in the chair. He stared at the place setting in front of him. This was just too much.

"You okay?"

"Not really. I've been going, uh, to visit your graves. For a few months." He didn't know how he was supposed to rationalize this. "After you, in the Upside Down. Max can't go visit Billy any more, so I've been going for her. Until Jane can figure out where she is and bring her back."

"What do you mean Max can't go herself?" Billy came out from the laundry room. "Is something wrong with her?"

"She's not…there?" Steve didn't know how to explain it. "I don't know what Eddie knows. I'm sure he told you about Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick. Three of Vecna's four victims used to open the gates. And how he killed them and the shit started where they died? The fourth victim. It opened the gate inside the Creel house."

"What does that have to do with my sister?"

"Billy…" Steve looked up at him. "Max was the fourth. Vecna found her weakness and used it against her. It's how he did it. He'd get in their heads and send them visions to make them afraid and when they couldn't take any more, he'd kill them."

He frowned, "What did that asshole make her see?"

"You."

"What? Why would he do that?"

Steve looked at Eddie for help, "Vecna used her guilt over your death. Max blamed herself for it. She wrote you this letter. She apologized for the thoughts she'd had when you were alive. How she used to constantly wish that something bad would happen to you. Then you got attacked by the Mind Flayer, and it killed you. She was so sad. They enrolled her in therapy through the school, but we could all see it wasn't working."

Billy sat heavily in the chair. He knew he wasn't the best stepbrother, but he hadn't known it was that bad. He thought back to the way he had treated Max and Susan. It was too much like how he'd seen his father around his mother. Just how much had he learned from that bastard? Billy was shaking with rage. He didn't even know where to direct it.

"What else?"

"He got into her head. Max told us about at least one vision she'd had. While she was up in Roane Hill, that's where they buried you, he showed her a vision of you from the day you died. You were calling her names and blaming her. Saying that if she hadn't said or done something specific, then you wouldn't have died. It was horrible."

"But I didn't die."

"I can see that." He took a deep breath. "She was with us, trying to stop Vecna. We were not ready. She stayed on this side with Lucas and Erica. The rest of us went into the Upside Down. While we were there, he found her and killed her. Or at least he tried to. Jane was there and got to him before he could complete it. Max is alive, mostly. We don't know where her soul is."

"Jane? Who's that?"

Eddie sat down by Steve, "He's been trapped in the Upside Down since June 28, 1985. He has no memory of anything that happened at the Mall."

Steve just looked at Billy. If he was not there when they had fought the Mindflayer, then who was the man who had looked like him? Who had he hit in the Camaro? Who had Nancy fired her pistol at? He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stave off the headache he could feel coming.

"Munson kept telling me about that. I have no idea what a Mindflayer is. I've never said more than two words to Heather Holloway. All of this is fucking surreal to me."

Steve explained everything from summer of '85 on. The things that had happened to the party before Eddie was part of it. Operation Child Endangerment, the Russian code, the bunker under Starcourt Mall. There was a lot. Things he didn't want to remember.

He started when the oven dinged, "What…."

"Oh! Right. I took the liberty of making something. Testing my rusty cooking skills. This is a far cry from canned Spaghetti-O's, but it was something to do with my hands." Eddie got up and went into the kitchen. He pulled something out of the oven and brought it to the table. "I present lasagna."

Steve sat at the desk in the study. It was the only other room in the house that he expressly forbade them entry. He pulled his journal out from the drawer and opened it.

Thursday October 30, 1986

I don't even know where to begin. They're back. Yes, they. Eddie and Billy just appeared yesterday morning. I found them in the woods and didn't know what else to do. I brought them home with me. What else could I have done? They couldn't stay out there and Hopper already has his hands full with Joyce and the kids. I didn't want to put this on him and no one else would understand.

He closed the notebook. He had to get up and move. Maybe going out would help. Doing any normal task to get his mind back on track. Steve would go grocery shopping. Yes. That would be perfect. He'd need more anyway. Now there were three people in the house. He left the study just as the front door was closing.

"Steve?"

"Henderson? Aren't you supposed to be in school?" He caught Dustin in the entry, making sure to be loud enough the boys would know to make themselves scarce.

"Why are you yelling?"

Steve shook his head, "I'm not yelling. Why are you here? You really should be in class right now."

"I was on my way when I heard Miller talking. He said something strange."

"Oh? I mean, you can't take most of what he says seriously anyway. He's drunk more than he's sober."

Dustin shook his head, "He said he saw Eddie. Walking through the woods yesterday morning. He was out setting up his tree stand for deer season and he would swear he saw someone who looked just like Eddie walk by, leading someone else. He didn't get a good look at the other dude. But he recognized Eddie from the wanted posters."

"Dustin."

"I know. But Steve, we've seen some pretty fucked up things."

"Language." Steve admonished him absently. "I know you want to believe it. I do, too, but we were both there. He's gone. You and I both know that. You don't just magically come back from the dead. It's impossible. Go to school."

Dustin looked down, he'd been wanting it to be true so badly. He missed Eddie. He nodded, rubbing his nose and adjusting his denim vest. The one he'd taken to wearing every day.

"You have Hellfire after school today, right? Run your game and then come over. We can talk then. I'll make you dinner. Tell Mike and the others to come."

"Okay." He sighed, waving as he walked to the door. Dustin had been ready to believe the story. It was too unbelievable.

Steve closed the door, making sure the bolt was in place. He went upstairs slowly. There was no telling if Dustin was still on the other side. He didn't want to make it seem like he was rushing. He found Eddie waiting at the landing. Standing nearly directly above Dustin the entire time. Billy was behind him in the doorway.

"We'll have to tell them. I can't keep this secret forever and you both know it. We need to come up with some kind of plan to let them know you're not dead. You heard just how…" Steve didn't have the words for it. He couldn't accurately describe the pain Dustin was in. The pain he'd been in. It was like trying to describe a toothache to someone who'd never had teeth before. How do you adequately let someone know it felt like your heart was being put through a potato ricer?

Eddie sighed, "I know. Give me until the end of next week."

"Good idea." Steve crossed his arms. "The three-year anniversary of Will going missing. What a good time to tell them."

"Who?"

"Will Byers. The boy who leads your club now. He was the first one in the Upside Down. We think he sort of created it. He went missing on November 6th, 1983. The end of next week is November 6th."

"Oh. I didn't….okay." Eddie thought harder about it. He'd have to come up with a plan quickly. They couldn't keep it from them forever, but he also wanted to give Billy time to adjust to being back before they did. Then there was Max. "Okay. I can do this…"

"Good. I'm going down to the station tomorrow. Try to behave yourselves while I'm gone." Steve settled into the chair. This was going to be interesting.

Steve got out of the car in front of the Hawkins Police Department. He took a deep breath and went inside. He had a lot on his mind and knew Hopper would be there. He was always there.

"Good morning Ms. Glasse. Is the chief in?" Steve was on his best behavior.

"Hello there young man. He is. I'll let him know you're here." She got up and went to the Chief's office. "Jim? The Harrington boy is here looking for you. Should I send him in?"

Hopper looked up from the desk, confused, "Yeah. Yeah, send him in."

Steve followed her down to the office. He entered and sat down in the chair opposite Jim Hopper. The man had been like a father figure to him since his own had skipped town, never to be heard from again. Steve curled his fingers in his lap.

"What's going on, Steve? Why did you want to talk to me?"

"I, um, I was thinking about applying to become an officer. I was wondering if you could tell me the process for it?" He looked up at the Chief of police.

Jim sighed, "Well, for starters you don't just apply. If you're serious about this, and I mean really serious, you have to go out to Plainfield. The Indiana Law Enforcement Academy is out there. They have courses where you learn the ins and outs of being a cop. It's a ten-week program though. Then you have to pass the psych and physical evaluations. You think you can handle that?"

"I've spent the last few years fighting demogorgons and the Russians and stuff. I think I can handle ten weeks of training."

He nodded, "I'm warning you now, they taze you. A few times."

"That's fine. Nothing I can't handle after the interrogation by the Russians. If I can get through that, then I don't think being shocked will do anything."

"Speaking of being drugged up, you holding up okay?" Jim leaned forward on the desk. His focus was fully on Steve Harrington. The boy who had had almost no support at all through the entire ordeal. The closest he thought the teen had come was Robin Buckley. Even she had her parents to go home to at the end of the night. This poor bastard went back to an empty house. "Hey, why don't you come over for dinner tonight. Joyce is making her famous meatloaf."

"You already have so many. I couldn't impose. Besides, I already told Dustin and the rest of the party to come over."

"You're not. I'm inviting. You need to get out of that house. I'm proud of you for coming to me about joining the police before just doing it. Still, you spend too much time alone. I'm worried for you."

Steve shook his head, "Maybe tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. I don't mind. I have to get used to being on my own sooner or later anyway. Why not sooner?" He plastered the same fake smile on his face that he used in front of his own father. The one that was convincing, but never quite reached his eyes.

Jim took a moment. He knew Steve was lying to him. He could see it as clearly as he could see the papers on his desk. He also knew better than to push the situation.

"Alright. The door's always open. Okay? You can come on over any time you want. You're always welcome at the house."

"Thanks. Um. I think I'm gonna go. I have to go to the store...I'll see you later…" Steve nodded to himself, got up and left. He took several long seconds in his car before he could even think about driving. He pulled out and headed toward Big Buy, intent on getting as much as his dwindling savings would let him.

Robin threw the door open. Steve had always told her that she was welcome to stop by. She'd had a rough day at school and needed to vent to her best friend. Robin slung her backpack onto the table by the door.

"Dingus! What's cooking? Smells better than those frozen TV dinners you normally go for." She rounded the corner to the kitchen and found herself staring into a pair of deep chocolate eyes that most certainly did not belong to Steve Harrington. She stood frozen in shock. Those eyes belonged to a dead man. Robin blinked, then screamed.

"Eddie?!" Billy had been just leaving the bathroom in the hall and heard the high pitched shriek. He bounded down the stairs to figure out what the fuck was going on and nearly bowled over some brunette in the hall. "The fuck?"

"HARGROVE?!" Robin took a step backward, hand up, pointing accusingly at them both. "No. What? No!"

Eddie sighed, looking to Billy, "Cat's out the fucking bag. Now what do we do? Steve's not back from whatever he was doing yet."

"Where did he go?"

"Station."

"Why?"

"No fuckin' clue."

Together they got Robin to sit on the couch. Eddie went and got her a drink. Billy sat down on the love-seat opposite her. He didn't even know who she was. He had a vague sense of recognition. He was pretty sure she was in the band. He recalled seeing her in the funny hat.

"So." Eddie sat the glass down on the coffee table. "We, uh, we're not dead. Surprise?"

"Yeah. Fucking surprise! Why didn't you come right to find me?!" Robin glared at her former band mate. Someone she had once trusted. How could he betray her like that? She didn't understand. Robin had thought they'd bonded over the whole spring break thing.

Eddie held his hands up, "I wanted to, but this is the reaction I was afraid of."

She reached out to grab him. She wanted to throttle him. A hand on her arm pulled her up short. Robin whipped around ready to yell at whoever stopped her.

"Robs." Steve put down his bag. "I'm sorry. I found them yesterday. I wanted to tell you. I just needed time to sort out how."

"You telling the rest of the Troop?"

"Yes. Of course. I just need a few days. I want to break the news to them the right way. Plus we have to take Billy to see Max." Steve just held her close. He understood how upset she was, and he wished he could just take it away. "I just need time."

Robin leaned into it, "Tell me what to do. Hargrove? Really? You hate him! We all do."

"I'm right here."

"So?"

"I know, Robs. He's gotten a lot…nicer since we knew him. I think spending so much time by himself was good for him. He had time to reflect and like better himself. He's been kind of decent the last few hours." Steve glanced up at Billy then back at Robin. This was going to be much harder than he thought. He didn't know how he was going to make this work, but he had to for the sake of the kids.

a/n: Thanks again to Aina Aizen for looking this over and making sure that it was good to go for posting. I'm hoping to start the crawl toward romance in the next chapter. Nothing too exciting. That's not for a while yet, but it will be coming for those of you who are waiting for it. I'm in love with the story and I'm so grateful to everyone who's read it and liked it.