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"OKAY, BE HONEST. UH... YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS?" STEVE ASKED AS HE SAT IN MIKE WHEELER'S BASEMENT, LUCAS AND DUSTIN SAT WITH HIM. Lucas had joined them since he ran away from his basketball team, realising the were bat shit insane. Max sat away from them, writing something down. "No." Lucas let out, the three examining the articles about Victor Creel they had been given by Nancy and Robin. "Pretty straightforward." Dustin let out quickly, worrying about Seb. They hadn't been able to tell Lucas yet, the discovery of Max being one of Vecna's victim being more important. "Oh, straightforward, really?" Steve mocked, pacing the room as Dustin sat down.

"What's confusing to you?" He asked, Steve ignoring him. "So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died, except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He's the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it's him." Dustin explained, Steve stopping in his spot. "That's assuming he was cursed, Henderson, which we don't even know." He spoke, Dustin sighing. "How can Vecna have existed in the '50s? It doesn't make sense." Steve rubbed his forehead, genuinely complexed at how this all ties together. "Far as we know, Eleven didn't create the Upside Down. She opened a gate to it." Dustin began, not noticing Steve and Lucas staring at him.

"The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions. I wouldn't be surprised if it predated the dinosaurs." Dustin shrugged, Lucas sighing. "Dinosaurs? What are we-" "Okay." Lucas interrupted Steve. "But if a gate didn't exist in the '50s, how did Vecna get through?" Lucas asked, Steve pointing to him. "How's he getting through?" He repeated to Dustin, Lucas humming. "And why now?" He asked, urging Steve's conversation. "And why then? Just pops out in the '50s, kills one family, and he's like, 'I'm good.' And poof, he just disappears. Just... gone?" Steve motioned, Dustin leaning back in his seat. "Only to return 30 years later and start killing random teens? No, I don't buy it." Dustin watched Steve sigh, pacing once more.

"Straightforward, my ass." He huffed, turning back to Dustin slightly. "Honestly, Henderson, a little humility now and then, it wouldn't hurt you." Steve stated, Dustin nodding. "Sorry." He uttered out as if he was being scolded by his mother, Steve sitting in his own seat as he crossed one leg over the other, nodding smartly. The three fell in silence, Dustin leaning over to see Max writing very quickly in her own world. "Any idea what she's writing?" His voice fell to a whisper, Lucas looking up. He only shrugged, the three looking at Max's back. "Did she sleep?" Dustin asked again, Lucas lost. "I mean, would you?" He asked, the three flinching once a door opened.

Robin and Nancy sped down, smiles on their faces.

"Okay, so... we have a plan."

☆

"THANKS TO NANCY'S MINIONS, WE ARE NOW ROCK-STAR PYSCHOLOGY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME." ROBIN SPOKE, NANCY HUMMING AS EVERYONE LOOKED THROUGH THE FILES THEY FORGED. "I'm now Ruth." Nancy stated, Robin nodding. "And I'm Rose." Robin nodded, Steve looking to Nancy. "Ruth?" He asked, Nancy shrugging. "Nice GPA." Dustin complimented, Nancy smiling to him. "Thanks. So we called Pennhurst Asylum, told them we'd like to speak with Victor Creel, for a thesis we're co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics-" "To which they said no." Robin added, Steve letting go of the file.

"But we landed a three o'clock with the director." Nancy continued, Robin nodding herself. "Now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor." They finished each other's explanations, Nancy speaking up. "Then maybe we can rid Max of this curse." She spoke, looking back to Max as the girl was still writing at her desk mindlessly. "About that. We've been doing our Victor Creel homework, and, uh... we got some questions." Steve sighed, Lucas picking up a file Nancy handed him. "Lots of questions." He added on, Nancy humming. "So do we. Hopefully, Victor has the answers." She shrugged, Steve looking up. "Wait a second. Where's mine?" He laughed, holding up a file.

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SEB STARED AT HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR, HIS FACE MOSTLY CLEAN. Max had helped in cleaning his face, Dustin obviously sticking with him at all times before he had to leave with the group. Staying here with Eddie was awkward. The teen, or near adult, would ask Seb the questions that no one else would ask. But the dumb sort of questions, not the smart ones. You had to hand it to him, he was smart for thinking of such absurd things to ask. The Munson boy sat silently on the boat, drinking a beer as he stared at the bathroom door, Seb had been in there for about an hour now. What was he doing?

Rubbing his nose, Eddie let out a sigh as he threw his head back, tired of being in this awkward silence. Seb stared closer into the mirror...

something wasn't right.

Taking the sleeve of Steve's jumper, the boy scrubbed the mirror, hard enough for the only noise to be the squeaking of the steel. Face scrunching up, the boy applied more pressure, seeing the mirror like paint spilled on his sleeve. What's going on? Looking up to the mirror he scrubbed, he saw an eye staring right at him. Jumping back, he fell on his behind, hitting himself on the door. Eddie just sighed, twirling one of his curls in his finger as he was none the wiser. Seb covered his eyes as a hand started to punch it's way through the mirror, the cracking being excruciatingly loud. He flinched with every break, his chest ragged already.

"Help me!" A voice yelled, Seb looking up quickly. The eye was there no more, except a veiny hand grasping at the now bigger hole in the mirror. Standing up slowly, his head tilted. "Jacob! Please!" Terry Ives yelled, her son quick to rush to the mirror and hold the fingers. "Mom?" He asked, hearing rough breaths. "Please, they're coming." She yelled, Seb panicking as he gulped. "Who?" He gasped out, the mirror snapping off as it cut his hand, the boy not caring. "Him." Terry Ives face perfectly fit into the hole of the mirror, her eyes sewn shut. This wasn't his mother. Her voice wasn't hers. Letting out a yell, Seb flinched back again, his back to the door once more as his mother's lips curled into a sick smile.

Her mouth stretched into a smile inhumane, the grin sickening her son. "You're next." Terry gasped, Seb shaking his head. "No." He cried out, Terry nodding as she didn't care about the mirror pieces digging into her lower jaw. "No." Seb could only defy, shaking his head faster as Terry's nod seemed to do the same. "You're next!" She seemed excited, Eddie groaning aloud. "Oh, come on!" He yelled, jumping off the boat and chucking a beer bottle behind him. "Oi!" He let out, slapping the bathroom door. It had been an hour and a half now. Seb had to have some sort of medical condition or he was just mocking the Munson. "Stop it!" Seb screamed, Terry laughing loudly.

"He's coming! He's coming! He's coming!" She repeated with a child-like laugh, Seb yelling as he cried. "No!" He dragged out, everything suddenly going silent. Seb gripped the door handle as hard as he could, Eddie rattling the exact same one. "Hey! Superman kid! Open the door! I swear, I won't judge!" Eddie 'assured' as Seb's chest heaved intensely, watching his mother's grin fall quickly. "Mom?" He asked, the stitches on her eyes snapping quickly as her eyes gasped open, Seb flinching. She stayed silent, blood starting to pour from them. Seb just cried more, tear running down his face as the blood seemed to mimic his tears down his mother's cheeks.

"He's here." Was the only words she was able to speak before her eyes seemed to get pulled out from the inside of her head, Seb flinching. "You can have a wafer? Those Nilla ones?" Eddie let out, Dustin telling him that's what Seb liked. Well, it was the only thing gone from his pile of snacks once he came back as he first met the boy. Seb could only stare at his mother, blood pouring out from her mouth before she started to choke. "Okay, this is pathetic. I need to go." Eddie started to whine, Seb flinching back once some blood his mother choked on landed on his jumper, looking down at it. Looking up again, his mother fell out of sight,

Leaving a full sight of him-

Eddie yanked the door open, Seb falling onto the floor before him. "Woah." Eddie let out, having to jump back himself to not let Seb fall onto his legs. "Hey, hey." Eddie begun, seeing Seb's state. His face was choked red, the veins in his eyes insanely prominent as if they had been rolled back for a while. Eddie's face fell, realising that Seb had been like this for the past hour, crouching down to him. The boy just stared up at him, flinching back once he lowered himself. "No, no. It's me." Eddie tried to reassure the boy he wasn't in Vecna's trance any longer, Seb gulping down his dry throat as he leant his back against the shut bathroom door, Eddie crouched ahead of him.

"You're okay now." Eddie held his hands in front of him, Seb staring into his eyes. "Are you alright?" Eddie continued to ask, Seb's breathing starting to slow down. "He's trying to scare me." Seb rasped, Eddie's head tilting. "Huh?" He asked, Seb shivering. "All these times, he's just scaring me." Seb wiped his eyes with Steve's sleeves, Eddie nodding slowly. "I was a bit confused as to why he hasn't, you know-" "Snapped me?" Seb asked, Eddie nodding hesitantly. "Snapped you, yeah." He confirmed, Seb sighing aloud. "He's trying to make me weaker." Seb listed, Eddie nodding and grabbing an object behind him. "Do these make you stronger?" He asked, Seb looking to the Nilla Wafers in his hand.

Seb looked back up to Eddie, a gentle smile on the man's face. Smiling slowly, Eddie's smile grew. "Have them all. I don't even like them." Eddie surrendered, Seb tilting his head as he opened the box. "How?" He asked, Eddie shrugging. "I don't know, actually. I don't think I've ever had one." Eddie spoke, Seb confused as he bit into the wafer. It reminded him of home, or Mike Wheeler's basement. "Then how do you know you don't like it?" Seb asked, trying anything to get his mind off of what's happening to him, Eddie making sure to be funny for the boy. "Hm, I don't know." He spoke, laughing slightly as Seb did the same.

"Here." Seb held out the other waffle in the packet, Eddie taking it with a hand to his chest. "Thank you!" He exaggerated, Seb scoffing as he wiped his eyes more. Taking a bite, Seb watched Eddie's face light up out of drama and genuine likeness. "These are actually good." He nodded, Seb holding his chewed up wafer in his mouth as he laughed, Eddie smiling...

Maybe he wasn't so bad.

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Hello! I've been gone for a good while because I decided I needed a break for a bit aha

But I'm back now with these two kinda short chapters and also to say that I will be uploading chapters every tuesday!

I decided to make a schedule because it's more organised but then I'll also have time to myself as writing usually takes up most of it and I need to rest ahaha

Anyway, have fun with these two chapters until next tuesday!!

[1980 words!]

Hope you enjoyed!!

Byeee!