Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Vickie walked into the familiar store, already getting her tapes out of her bag. She looked around, eyes searching for her favorite employee, but instead Steve was the one to greet her.

"Vickie! Hey, you returning those?" He greeted cheerfully. Vickie already knew Steve from highschool a few years ago, but he only really learned her name recently from her frequent visits to Family video.

"Hi, yes. Yes I am" She spoke before putting the tapes on the counter. Fast times being the one on top with a few of her mother's favorites below.

She watched as Steve scanned them in one by one. She couldn't belive how Robin, Robin Buckley from band, was friends with him now. Sure, even Vickie had noticed how Steve had a shift in personalities after his breakup with Nancy, but can a guy really do that much of a 180 that even the judgiest of band kids would befriend him, let alone be his bestfriend. She always thought there had to be more to it. At first Vickie assumed, like everyone else, that the two were dating. People kept spreading rumors about how Robin was the one to 'fix' Steve. And from Vickies short interactions with the guy, she could say it seemed plausable. Except the fact that Robin denies a relationship between them, even at the slightest mention of it. And the fact that Steve is going on dates with a million different girls each week..

He handed her the receipt before they said their quick "It was nice to see you"s and "have a good day"s

She had meant to loan some more movies for Dan's visit next week, but it could wait until Robin was on shift. Only because she had the best reccomendations and Vickie didn't trust Steve's opinion yet.

**

It was the day before spring break and Vickie should be happy. Or better yet, she is, but Dan's visit felt like a depressing cloud loomin over only her. A super weird anology because that's exacly how it felt, weird.

Dan was like a best friend to her, they grew up with eachother, but since a boy and a girl can't just be friends, of course rumors started.

It wasn't a shock when Dan asked her out, so even though she wasn't sure about her feeling for him, she still agreed to it. She didn't mind being in a relationship, it was easier than to have her friends trying to pair her up with randoms in school, atleast she knew Dan. She learnt that being in a relationship was mostly the same as being best friends, but with added kissing and cuddling. It wasn't the worst but she definitely didn't get the hype. Even after years of being in the reletionship, she didn't feel the same emotions that her friends did with their boyfriends. Vickie assumed she was broken, but she kept that for herself.

What was worse though.. Dan had changed after he went off to college. Their friendship.. had changed. Her mother said it's because he'd become more mature, but Vickie only dreaded what that could've meant.

She sighed, getting out of her car, grabbing her instrument before walking into school.

She spotted Steve's car pulling out of the driveway, and a energetic Robin already running into school. Vickie silently smiled for herself, the cloud dissapearing momentarily. Robin had also changed alot these past years, and it made Vickie kind of look up to her in a way. She wanted to be free the same way Robin was. But idolizing Robin led to just being nervous around Robin, meaning a friendship seemed impossible.

*
The crowd cheered as the cheerleaders and band finished their part. Vickie always assumed most of the cheers were for the cheerleaders, but she also knew that most people forget to realize their routine wouldn't be as fun without music, so she took the praise anyways.

Vickie worried if she'd accidentally messed up specific parts though or if she had something on her face because she'd caught Robin looking at her a few times during their performance, but the taller girl looked away as soon as their eyes met.

She put the thought into the back of her mind because soon after, they were all back in their designated spots in the bleachers. Vickie being on the outer edge, with Robin next to her.

She racked her mind for anything to start a conversation. But the real problem wasn't that he couldn't come up with anything or that she was shy. Her brain could come up with thousands of different topics at once and she had no problem being loud and speaking.

The issue was that all the stuff she's thinking about saying would require her and Robin to already have an established friendship. She couldn't randomly start rambling about spring break and Dan or even about fast times to the unsuspecting victim without sounding like a total weirdo.

Vickie gave up as she forced herself to snap back in to reality, still only half lisening to Jason's speach though.

**

"Soooo.. How excited are you about Dan coming over for break?" Vickies friend, Sarah, giggled, asking expectantly. Atleast someone was excited for Dan's arrival.

They sat down next to the rest of their group.

"I think I'm just.. nervous" Vickie lied, "I wanna be excited and I feel like I am? But like I said, I think it's just my nerves because I kind of don't even want him to come anymore.. is that horrible of me" Vickie winced, truly feeling bad about it.

"Noo not at all!" Sarah quickly said, but Vickie didn't trust that she even believed it. "I mean, it's totally normal to be nervous, it's been awhile since you saw him. Just focus on what you guys are gonna do while he's here maybe?" She offered, and Vickie smiled sotly because it only kind of helped.

"Are you guys finally gonna do it?" The girl sitting infront of her, Katie, asked, sharing a look with her friend at the idea. Technically they both were Vickies friends, but she didn't like them enough to wanna call them that. "I'm surprised he's still even coming back here after you've rejected it so much" The other girl, Natalie, commented. Their comments always made Vickie uncomfortable, but she hung out with them because Sarah liked them, and if she didn't have Sarah then Vickie would be friendless.

Thankfully she didn't have to defend herself yet again on this topic because just a few seconds later, Eddie was on a table, again. "-But as long as you're into band! , or science.. or *partiess*" He spoke loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear.

"Oh god-" Kat and Nat (yes they both go by that) giggled again, making fun of him. But Vickie didn't laugh. She thought he was weird definitely, but she admired people who allowed themselves to be weird freely. She found herself wondering what Robin thought of Eddie. She knew Dan would tell her to stay away from him..

**

The rest of the day went as she'd expected. More questions about Dan which she'd either give shorts answers to or swiftly change the topic to something unrelated.

And soon enough it was the end of the school day, only the football game left and a few hours later Dan would arrive.. yay.

**

Vickie stood on her designated spot again, Robin next to her as usual. She focused even harder than she usually does on getting all the notes right, not wanting to annoy the girl next to her in any way.

They all stood for the national anthem and cheers erupted as Tammy T, who'd graduated last year, was announced as a special guest. Vickie knew her briefly from theater club a few years back, she had helped them set up the music for a play.. 'Our Town', if she remembered correctly.

Vickie rememberd the audition day for the play the clearest. She'd come only to support Sarah, but unexpectedly fell in love with Robin's acting instead. The way she delivered her lines were shaky but.. it felt like she was speaking from the heart. Even to this day Vickie truly believes the brunette would have gotten the role if only she hadn't fainted.

That was also the day Dan asked her on their first romantic Date..

"Okay she does sound like a total Muppet" She heard a voice say, snapping her back, and Vickie couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my God, totally" Her mouth spoke before she could register it was Robin who'd said that.

This was her chance.. her heart sped up as she quickly added "She sounds like Kermit", softly laughing

"I was thinking it was more like miss Piggy" Robin whispered, earning a soft snort from Vickie.

It was the first time they'd talked like normal, like friends, this was a good start, Vickie thought to herself, still keeping her gaze forward. It was only then she realized Robin had continued talking. Vickie only managed to catch "-massive cru- Ehm"

"I'm sorry?" She asked, feeling dumb now but wanting the other to continue. She turned to look at Robin this time to not get stuck in her thoughts, but that only made her more nervous.

"Um, we.. we took a.. a massively hard class together" Robin repeated. "We were.. We were in Mrs. Click's class together" Vickie nodded, looking back at Tammy. She remembered Mrs. Clicks class, or Mrs. Clickety clackety as the band kids called her, but she didn't think it was a perticularly hard class. Maybe the curriculum changed when Robin and Tammy had the class?

"yeah uh..- sorry were you asking me a question?" Robin continued as Vickie turned back to meet her eyes.

"-No" She chuckled at their weird conversation. Vickie wanted to keep it going but her heart was beating too fast, if she didn't know how biology worked she would've be afraid Robin could hear it.

It was weird, Vickie never felt this shy or nervous around anyone. She just really wanted to befriend Robin..

The game started and they were finally able to sit. Vickie tried to take slow deep breaths to calm down as she focused her attention on the match instead.

It started out slow, the other team gaining a bigger and bigger lead. Jason called time out and whatever they planned seemed to work because they were now getting scores left and right.

It was only a mere basketball game but Vickie felt herself actually get a bit excited, especially because Robin next to her radiated off energy. She couldn't help but smile after each of Robin's small "Wohoo"s after the goals. She had a quick thought about it sounding cute, but ignored it.

There was barely a minute left on the clock and Hawking still needed one last point to win.

Vickie looked in suspense as Jason threw the ball, and winced as it missed.

But hope wasn't over because the younger boy, who she only slightly regonized, threw the ball one last time before the buzzer rang. And -as if it was moving in slowmotion- the ball bounced on the sides of the ring before slowly falling inside of it.

Cheers erupted from everyone in Hawkings, Vickie being one of them. She tried to clap, but ended up clapping against the side of her clarinet instead since her other hand had to hold it.

The crown continued cheering as the team carried the boy who threw the winning shot in the air, all loudly shouting "Lucas! Lucas! Lucas!". Vickie thinks she'd seen him hanging around Family video before along with the other kids who were always talking to Harrington.

*

Now that the game was over, the excitement over it immediately disappeared. She sighed as she waved bye to Sarah and the others.. Dan would be here in under an hour.

**

Vickie cleaned her room lightly, while her mother cleaned the rest of the house and insisted on making Dan's favorite meal to surprise him. Yet another person who was more excited about his arrival than herself.

She was waiting on their driveway with her mom as Dan's car pulled in. She put on a forced smile and an excited front as they greeted him. She could swear her mom adored Dan more than she did her own daughter.

"Hey, I missed you" the redhead lied straight thrugh her teeth but Dan didn't notice, not that he'd even try to. He gave a quick peck on her lips, she cringed. "Missed you too, I'm glad to be back" the taller one spoke gently, and for a moment Vickie hated herself for even thinking bad about him. But for some reason she couldn't stop.

She walked behind the two as her mother rushed him into the house, asking Dan about the drive and collage. The stuff Vickie should care about because he's her boyfriend. But she really could not bother.

After dinner her mother finally left the two of them be alone, except Vickie just felt awkward and wanted her mom to stay longer. Preferably the rest of the week until Dan was gone again.

"So.. do you wanna watch a movie or something? You mentioned getting some good recommendations on the phone if I remember correctly" Dan spoke, clearing the tension.

Only then did Vickie remember that she forgot about getting the movies for Dan. She closed her eyes in embarrassment "Shit I totally forgot to actually rent them out" She admitted, and Dan chuckled.

"Uhh, but I think I have fast times laying around somewhere" She spoke frantically, standing up to look for it in her room, but Dan's grabbed her arm before she could fully stand.

"C'mon Vick, you know I hate fast times. The, to be frank, bad comedy, isn't enough to support the fact that it has no plot" He spoke with raised eyebrow, as if he'd be making some kind of point that Vickie would just admit to being true.

"Oh.. I just remembered I already returned it anyways, you're safe" She faked a chuckle, ignoring his stupid comment because it wasn't time to pick a fight. "Maybe we should just get to bed... you must be tired after the drive and my mom already talked your ear off, I must assume she's already given you a headache at this point"

"Your mom is lovely.. but you do have a point" Dan smiled as he pulled them both off the couch, leading them to her room.

**

The next morning came faster than the redhead wanted, she felt like she'd barley gotten any sleep when her mom was knocking on their door. She wasn't one to knocks usually, but when Dan's here she's extra careful not to.. interrupt anything. Not that any of that was happening, Vickie didn't have any interest in sex and even though Dan asked about it a few times, he never forced her to. Vickie had told him to break up with him if he couldn't have a relationship without it because it wasn't something that was going to change.

"Breakfast is ready, the pancakes will get cold soon" She heard her mom through the door.

Vickie sat up in bed, looking down at Dan who rubbed his eyes as he yawned. "G'morning". She ran her hand thrugh his hair, fluffig it up, before getting up and dressed.

Dan got up at his own pace but Vickie didn't bother waiting for him, walking to the kitchen immediately.

She grabbed a pancake to her plate and sat down, pouring some syrup on it.

"I heard you forgot to rent the movies- It's a short bike ride if you wanna go before Dan's up" Her mom suggested, still facing the stove.

"Oh my god, mom. Were you lisening to us" Vickie groaned. She shouldn't even have been this shocked, of course her mom would do some shit like that.

"Oh honey I wasn't, you guys were just speaking loudly" She shrugged. "I just thought you wouldn't wanna bother Dan with going to pick out a movie when he just wants a nice break" Her mom spoke. Vickie got a suspicious feeling that her mom was just trying to her her out of the house, but she couldn't think of any reason why.

She thought about waiting until Dan was ready and going to Family video together. But then she thought about Robin, and Robin seeing her with Dan. It felt wrong somehow.

She sighed, "You're right, I'll go. Can you give me some pain meds though, my head is killing me."

Chapter Text

Vickie parked her bike sloppily outside the store. She wasn't the only one there, another kid's bike and a single skateboard had already been been parked a bit away from hers.

She was surprised, It was still pretty early in the day afterall, even for the kids that would sometimes hang out with Steve and Robin here. The sun was still coming up, but it was late enough that the pretty sunset colors weren't there.

She took some steps towards the door, but before she even reach it, the previously mentioned kids ran out the door. Harrington and Robin following after.

"Robin-?" Vickie spoke before her brain even fully registered the situation. The brunette was switching the 'open/close' sign to a 'close' before she turned around at the sound of her name being called.

Vickie immidietly noticed her shock. "Vickie, uhm, Hi. Were you getting something here, uh something came up so we have to close but if it's quick I can probably help you-" She taller girl spoke hurriedly.

"Robin!" One of the kids, the curly haired one, yelled. Vickie winced at the sudden loud sound, her headache still evident.

"Shit, I'm sorry.. hey, are you okay?" Robin went to turn but stopped, probably after seeing Vickies face. Now the redhead just felt embarrassed, she shouldn't have come here.

"It's fine, just a headache.. You guys seem busy, my thing wasn't too important it's fine"

"Oh, okay, yeah I'm sorry agai-"

"Robin!!" The kid yelled out again, sounding more annoyed this time.

"I'm coming!" The brunette shouted back, equally annoyed. "I've gotta go, uh deal with that" She pointed with her eyes to the side, her tone joking. Vickie smiled, "Yeah..yeah of course"

**

Her mom didn't seem to care when Vickie came back empty handed. Yeah, she definitely just wanted me out of the house for something.

Dan looked at her, his face seemed.. embarrassed? Vickie couldn't quite tell. "Family video is closed for the day" She repeated to Dan in the kitchen even though he probably already overheard when she told her mom.

"Yeah I heard, it's too bad. I guess we've always got the news to watch" Dan joked, gaining confidence suddenly. Or was he faking it. Again, Vickie could never tell with him, and she didn't care enough to try right now.

"That's right, keep a positive attitude" Her mother spoke loudly already going to the livingroom, turning the TV on. Vickie rolled her eyes.

"-but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet released the victims name but.." The reporter spoke as the two teens hurried from the kitchen into the living room to hear better.

A shocked expression was clear on all three of the faces. Her mother turned the TV off shortly after, leaving the room fully silent.

"What the hell-" Dan was the first to speak, "who- what" He stuttered, clearly shocked and confused. They all were.

Vickie felt her headache growing worse with the way her heart sped up at the shock. "Someone got murdered.." She whispered, the reality setting in.

Suddenly she was happy about seeing Robin just now, just to not have to worry about it being her.

Her mother stood up from her spot on the couch. "Hawkings really isn't the same as it used to be.. First kids go missing, then the toxic lab report followed by the mall fire.. and now this" Vickie found herself agreeing with her mom for once. It was just too much, it couldn't all just be coincidences, could it?

Her mother walked over to Dan, who had now leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "Oh I'm sorry your spring break started off like this" She put her arms on the taller boys shoulders. "I hope it doesn't ruin the whole break for you, sweetheart"

Her mother didn't seem to care this also 'ruined' Vickies break. Except saying it 'ruined' it felt wrong. Someone had just died. Their whole life ended. I'm sure their break was ruined most of all.

"We don't need to focus on all that, you're kids, just focus on having fun. Positive attitude" He mother continued, giving a smile to Dan before turning back. "It was probably just one of those druggie kids anyways, Noone important" she waved her hands in the air and Vickie couldn't belive those words even got said. 'Noone important'. How is a life not important.

The redhead knew it was no point even voicing her opinion because it'd just lead to a pointless argument that she didn't have the energy to win. Instead she quickly explained something about needing to lay down because of the headache and took quick steps to her room, holding back her anger enough to not slam the door.

**

The walls were so thin the sound of Dan and her mom's voices were still heard, but she couldn't understand any clear words. Just small mumbles.

She clearly heard the footsteps through that neared her door a few minutes later. It was Dan. He always had a stronger step than her mom. Vickie could always tell the difference just by noise.

"..Vick" He knocked softly, opening it without waiting for a response.

"Mm" The girl grumbled, letting him know he'd been heard. She sat up, forcing herself to look at him, but the sudden movement caused her head to start pulsating again. She scrunched her face, waiting it out.

".. your mom wants to talk to you"

The redhead rolled her eyes as she stood up, knowing it was no point arguing against it,. Dan turned to the kitchen again. "Wait Dan.. " She pulled him inside her room, closing the door before she started speaking.

"I'm.. I just wanted to say.. I'm really sorry. Not about the thing, not like my mom said, but there was some truth in that your break has been ruined. Not by the news though, I feel like I'm the one ruining it. Just- I don't know what's wrong with me, I just can't seem to be happy over the fact that you're here and I'm very aware how rude that sounds but it's the truth. You've changed, and I've changed, and it's none of our faults really but.." Vickie rambled, cringing at herself. It was only supposed to be an apology but it's turned into a full breakup speach instead.

She locked eyes with Dan, who was.. smiling..? "Vickie.. your mom told me about this, and it's fine. It's okay to be nervous, it's your first time, but I'll take care of you alright?" Dan spoke gently.. seductively? But Vickie wasn't feeling seducted.

"Dan wha-" She tried before he cut her off, pulling her into a kiss. She followed along, even as he turned her against the wall and pushed their bodies closer, but she could figure out where this was headed when Dan tried rocking his hips into her. Gross.

"Dan- What are you doing" She tried, pushing him back. But this wasn't like the other times, he seemed... determined?

"It's okay, Vick, your mother told me it was fine" The blond spoke, going in for another kiss.

God, she couldn't even begin to fathom why he was speaking to her mom about their sex life. The sex life she made clear she wanted to be non existent.

Vickie turned her head away from the kiss. "Dan. Let me go"

The taller one took a second before registering what she'd said. He looked dissapointed at the rejection, but Vickie only cared about the fact that he still hadn't moved.

"Let. Go" She spoke, making sure her voice was serious.

When Dan still react, the smaller girl did the only thing she could think of. She kicked him between his thighs, and as the guy pulled back to groan in pain, Vickie took the opening to run out.

"Vickie? What was that noise, is everything alright with Dan?" Her mother's voice came immediately. She'd asked about Dan. It was all Vickie needed to hear to continue moving forward, quickly putting on her shoes and leaving.

**

Maybe it was stupid being out here on a bike while a murderer was still on the loose, but being murdered sounded better than spending another second in her home.

She went to the only other place she could think of.

"Vickie?" Sarah asked, shocked to see the redhead outside her door.

"..I had a fight with Dan.. do you think I could stay here for today..?"

"What, what did he do? And yes, of course. You know my parents love you, they'll be happy to have you here" The blond girl spoke, opening the door farther to let the girl in.

"It's a long story, I guess. Or not very long, just complicated.. Do you have some pain killers before we start, I got a crazy headache"

*

Vickie had tried explaining it to Sarah who only half understood, but either way she was on Vickies side because that's friendship. She was glad to have her in the midst of all this.

Sarah even knew her well enough to realize Vickie wanted to move topics, so they put on a movie. Staying off the news for now. Vickie really appreciated the distraction.

Sarah's parents came home from work later at night, they both worked at the same office which Vickie thought was cute.

"Of course you can stay, stay as long as you like it's no problem" Mrs. Leck was quick to say. Like Sarah had said, her parents loved Vickie.

"That wasn't your bike out there thought, was it?" Mr. Leck asked even though the answer was obvious, "You did see the news right. You shouldn't be out alone, it could be dangerous."
Vickie smiled sadly, Sarah's parents were more worried about her than her own mother.

"Of course, Mr. Leck, it won't happen again until they find who did it" She assured, earning a approving look from the older man.

"Now, now, you girls should get to bed. Oh and Sarah, don't forget about the library tomorrow alright?" Her mother reminded before shooing them up to the room.

"What's happening in the library?" Vickie asked curiously, taking a seat on the bed.

"My parents are writing a report about climate change so they wanted me to go loan a few old articles, to like compare how it's looking now versus then" She explained. "I was planning on forcing Matt to come with me but since you're here.. maybe we could go instead? Bringing my brother to the library against his will.. well you know how he is" Sarah rolled his eyes and Vickie laughed, yeah she knew.

Matthew was Sarah's brother, only a year younger than them but by his childish personality you would assume the gap was larger. Taking him to a library would mean more time babysitting than actually getting things done.

"Yeah no, a library trip with Matt sounds like hell" They laughed

**

It took Vickie almost 2 hours to actually fall asleep, or that's what it felt like. Her mind was stuck on Dan and her feelings.. how she'd just left abruptly and what she was going to say when she came back. She thought about not coming back at all until Dan left, but that meant dealing with her mom who'd just be even angrier about it.

When she finally fell asleep, her dreams focused on her dad instead. It started out sweet. Vickie was a kid, around 5 or 6 years old. Her dad had just won a big teddy bear at the fair for her which he handed over to her. It was bigger than Vickie herself so after a quick cuddle with it she'd handed it back for him to carry.

Suddenly the sky went dark and birds filled the sky, or was it bats? "Daddy look" Vickie pointed up, her chubby fingers coming into her view.

Suddenly they were in a car, Vickie was crying and her dad looked back for a second to calm her. He didn't see the red light in front, and a split second later something slammed into them as the car started spinning.

Vickie woke up in a cold sweat, her hear racing as she tried to catch her panicked breath.

**

The next morning went smoothly, or well, that might be an overstatement, but it was way better than a morning at her own house right now.

She got in a friendly bet with Matt for who could eat the most pancakes, which the younger boy automatically won because Vickie felt sick after just one.

Apparently there'd been another murder of a high school student last night, and rumors had already spread about who the killer is. Vickie heard Mrs. and Mr. Leck mention Eddie munson and Satanism, but she didn't belive that even for a second.

She felt pity for Eddie though, the downside to being yourself was this. When something bad happens, people are quick to judge and throw accusations.

Sarah's parents almost didn't let them go to the library, worried for their safety. But they both assured the older folks that they'd be fine if they just stuck together. Plus Vickie would probably die anyways from overthinking if she didn't have any distractions today.

It had been years since she had nightmares about her Dad's death..

*

"Found something!" Sarah's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, she was holding an old report, the title "Climate change is coming for your families", with some circle stats surrounding the small printed text.

"Looks promising" Vickie replied studying it. Suddenly a familiar voice was heard thrugh the halls as the loud library doors shut closed.

"Soo.. he's a grandpa murderer who-"

"Vick?" Sarah asked when the redhead didn't respond to something she'd said. The blond followed her gaze to Robin and Nancy "Wheeler aaand.. she's from band right?"

"Uh, yeah" Vickie replied turning away. She didn't want Sarah to draw any attention to her staring.

"What's she doing with Nancy Wheeler" Sarah continued, not caring that Vickie had pretended to lose interest.

The redhead shrugged, though she was asking herself the same question. "Maybe they're friends?"

"You think so? Cause Nancy looks pissed" Sarah joked, but when Vickie looked back up at the two, she agreed.

"Right.. Sorry. It's just that you seem annoyed" She heard Robin say. They were full on eavesdropping now, Vickie felt ashamed. This wasn't the way to befriend Robin.

She sighed, looking back at Sarah who seemed just as interested in Robin and Nancy's conversation now, but for other gossip related reasons. "Let's search in the back" the shorter one spoke before pulling her friend away from earshot of the others.

"You think they met through Steve Harrington? Maybe that's why Nancy seems so annoyed"

Vickie gave her friend a questioning look

"Because she'd be jealous of her, duh" Sarah continued

"Robin isn't dating Steve though. And Nancy's with Jonathan" Vickie replied simply

"Do you really belive that" The blond looked at her with raised eyebrows, doubting her. But Vickie really did believe it, that's why she said it.

Sarah rolled her eyes as if Vickie was missing something. "Jonathan didn't come over for spring break. Why, if not because they broke up. Why would they break up? Because Nancy wants Steve. And why can't she just get Steve back..? because, he's dating Robin!"

Vickie scrunched her eyebrows, feeling genuinely annoyed over her friend assumption. She didn't know why. Sarah gossiped like this about everyone and Vickie never really cared, sometimes she even thought it was fun to play along, but this time..

" Steve is going on dates with like half of Hawkings though? Just a few days ago he watched the game with Debra H" She reminded.

"Could just be a cover up..? Maybe Robin's parents are super strict about no dating so they'd have to hide it." Sarah laughs, understanding that her point had maybe escalated by now. Vickie won whatever small bicker they just had.

**

They found a few more articles before getting some snacks and returning to Sarah's house.

"Vick, your boyfriend called for you while you were out" Matt spoke, not bothering greeting them as they stepped into the house.

She felt her anxiety grow from his name, the headache from yesterday coming back. "Ugh"

"Don't worry. I'll call back and explain you need time away or something, to think. They're probably just worried about your safety with the murders you know". Sarah explained and the redhead thought it sounded plausible, except her mother couldn't care less about her safety. She didn't say that though.

"Yeah, probably"

Chapter Text

Sarah made a call back and explained things to her mom, and even though Vickie wasn't in the room to hear it, she could guess her mom was mad.

It was understandable in a way, her daughter did just run away without a word and didn't inform her about whereabouts for a whole day when there's kids being murdered. But that wasn't what her mom would care or be mad about. She'd be mad that Vickie made poor Dan sad.

"Your mom wants you back home by tomorrow latest" Sarah spoke as she entered the bedroom, her expression showing pity.

Vickie groaned, falling back on the bed. "I don't even know what to say to Dan yet"

"If you're this unsure about it.. maybe it's a sign just to breakup with him" Sarah suggested, taking a seat next to Vickie

The redhead stayed silent for a few seconds. She felt relief at the thought of it. Dan would have to drive back to collage earlier than excepted but atleast he could enjoy his break this way. Maybe he'd be sad, but Dan would get over it. He'll probably be quick to find a replacement girl in college, someone better at all of the girlfriend stuff.

She thought about her mom. The woman saw Dan as her own son, Vickie couldn't even bear to think about what reaction she'd have to the news.

"You're right" The redhead finally replied. Whatever the consequences are would be worth it. An either way she'd be going away for collage herself soon enough so she'd only have to survive at home a few more months..

"I'll go back tomorrow and break the news" She sat up, leaning back on her hands, confident about her decision.

**

The next day came slowly. She'd barely gotten any sleep. When she was awake she'd just be stuck thinking about tomorrow, and when she fell asleep she was plagued by nightmares about her dad, all ending in the same way.

Mr and Mrs Leck had already left for work by the time Vickie and Sarah woke up. Her friend wanted to give Vickie a ride to her house, but she was stubborn about going alone, reassuring Sarah that it was only a short ride.

Sarah still gave her a pepper spray to keep in her pocket in case of emergencies.

*

Vickie made a left turn even though the way to her house was straight. She 'parked' her bike on a patch of grass and ran up the chipped stone steps.

The real reason Vickie wanted to go alone was this. She was convinced the nightmares had to mean something, that maybe her dad was telling her something. She definitely needed the guidance and strength right now from him.

His gravestone looked a bit darker, dirtier, than it did the last time she visited. It'd been a few years. Her anxiety grew slightly as she sat down infront of it.

"Uh.. Hi, Dad" She started awkwardly. It felt weird talking aloud to herself. "I'm sorry it's been awhile.. Mom like basically banned me from coming here after last time but- no I shouldn't blame her- I.. It's hard. I think she still blames me for.. But I don't blame her because I might also blame myself for it." She took a shaky breath

"I've been getting nightmares about the day.. the day you died. I really miss you dad. I feel like I need you now more than eve-" She spoke with a clump in her throat, but flinched when she heard a voice from behind her. Voices, multiple, they were screaming.

Vickie turned around and immediately noticed a group of people a few rows back. Why the hell are they screaming like that in the cemetery . They were too far away to regognize, but Vickie assumed it was just some kids messing around. She tried ignoring it, going back to her conversation with her dead dad, but the screams just continued.

Vickie puffed out a frustrated sigh as she stood up, if they didn't know basic respect then someone had to teach them.

With a few fast steps she was soon close enough to make out the faces, a redheaded girl was sitting down, she regonized her from Family video. The one with the skateboard.

Lucas. The guy who threw the winning shot during the game sat down next to her, shouting panicked screams at her.

Vickies frustration suddenly turned into worry.

There was an older guy infront of them, Steve Harrington. His hair was regonizable even from the back. And the curly haired kid, the one who had been shouting at Robin to hurry up.

Vickies thoughts immidietly wondered if the girl from band was there, she looked around but they seemed to be the only ones at the cemetery.

"Hey, are you guys-" Vickie started, but none of them even looked back at her. They were all shouting, speaking over eachother, sorting through some music tapes on the grass. All of them were, except the girl. Vickie lifted her eyes away from the tapes and up to the girl instead. It took her a second to process what she was seeing. The girl.. her eyes were fully white and shaking, but her body sat still even with the screaming from her friends.

"What's happening-" She tried again, louder and more panicked this time. The girl looked possessed, she thought, her mind immediately going back to the satanismt rumours.

The kids seemed to find the right song they were looking for, shoving it into the walkman and putting headphones on the girl. Vickie was seriously confused, and she had enough of being ignored.

She went to put a hand on Steve's shoulder. but just a she took a step forward, the girl with the headphones, who she figured was named Max from everyone screaming it, stood up.. or

Vickies eyes followed the girl who was.. floating up.. in the air. She took a few steps back, her heart racing even faster. "What the hell" She whispered with a shaky voice.

The three boys seemed equally panicked by this, but not as confused about it. Almost like they knew what was going to happen but didn't want it to.

Vickie barley had time to process any of it before the girl suddenly fell back down. Her eyes back to normal now.

The group seemed relived, immediately hugging and comforting her.

Vickie felt out of place, like she was disturbing a private moment, and she probably was. She thought about just leaving, but how could she just walk away with this many questions..

Thankfully she didn't have to decide because just a few seconds later the group looked up and saw her. Or well, it was just Steve.

"Vickie..?" He spoke, his voice clearly still recovering from.. whatever that was that just happened..

"I-" She tried but no sound came out. The rest of the group followed Steves eyes to her aswell now.

"Did you-" Steve started, but she didn't even have to wait because it was clear what he was asking.

"Yes.." She saw everything.

The curly haired boy locked eyes with Steve as they both muttered a low "shit"

"What- Is she-?, did you guys- I'm.." She stuttered out, having so many questions but not knowing where to even start. Was the girl okay? She seemed alive atleast. Did they posses her, was the satanism thing real? The murders.. were they involved? But it seemed like they just saved her, not the opposite?

Steve and curly boy mumbled a few words to eachother before they seemed decided on something

"Look uh" Steve stood up, nearing her.

"What just happened to her.. and don't lie"

Steve looked at her, then back at curly boy before he turned back to her again. "It's a long story, you probably have somewhere to be.."

Vickie rolled her eyes at the stalling before looking directly at him, eyebrows lifted a bit, "I've got time". Anything was a good excuse to not go home and this especially was worth hearing.

Steve turned around, eyes darting from curly boy to the girl with the headphones, who still seemed shaken up, understandably, and Lucas who did his best to comfort her.

He looked back at her, definitely deep in thought about what the next move should be. He nervously ran his hand through his hair "Okay.. Okay fine. Everyone in the car."

*

Steve's red BMW was parked not far from where they stood. Vickie sat passager while the kids cramped up in the back.

Curly boy was the first to speak when they got in. "Okay so, we could tell you everything, but you're gonna have to accept that the risk of knowing might put you in real actual danger?" He spoke with a slight lisp.

"C'mon Dustin, don't scare her" Steve spoke, maybe noticing Vickies expression.

"No it's fine, I wanna know" Her voice was clear and determined. But she had no idea what to even expect. They didn't seem like Satanist. A few kids and Steve Harrington going around possessing random highschool kids? No way.

Vickie looked back at the girl sitting behind her, she still has the headphones on but seemed to have calmed down by now. Her hand connected with Lucas who had his eyes stuck on her, looking just as worried now as he did at the cemetery.

"So you've probably seen the murders on the news?" Dustin started, and she nodded. "We figured out that the murderer is a creature from the upsi- from another dimension, we call him Vecna. He gets into people's minds and somehow kills them from inside.. the details are still fuzzy.. but that's what was happening to Max. And we- or well, Robin and Nancy, figured out that music can reach into a parts of the subconscious that words can't, which is how we were able to save her."

The boy finished but the answers just opened up to more questions. She nodded a few times, slowly processing.

"How did you even figure all this out" She asked the important question first, assuming that would answer most of the questions by defualt. How this seemingly random group of people teamed up for this, where they even begun finding out about this Vecna guy. And how Robin was involved. Would that explain why they were at the library yesterday?

"This other dimension - the upside down- it's not the first time we've dealt with creatures from there" Steve was the one to answer this time. "There's usually a gate open to the dimension when something like this happens.." He left the sentence open, and Dustin finished it "but all the gates should be closed.."

Vickies eyes darted between the two before she sighed and looked at the road infront of her. Slightly shaking her head in disbelief. Another dimension? Monsters? She couldn't say she 100% believed them, but she'd just seen a girl floating mid air so who was she to say what was and wasn't true.

"This Vecna guys then? What does he want" She asked, still not fully convinced.

"We haven't gotten to that part yet.." Steve answered. Vickie drew her eyes from the road to Steve, who looked too serious about the whole situation to be faking it.

"Okay.. But you knew how he attacks? How do you figure out the victims to save more people then" The redhead asked, hoping her questions didn't seem like she was mocking the idea of it. If music was all it took to save them against the murderers then the task shouldn't be too dangerous.

"That's also.. well, we don't know" Steve answered again, giving Vickie the look of a quiet apology.

This whole thing was making her heachache even worse and she suddenly wished she'd braught her pain meds with her.

"You feeling alright?" Steve asked after a moment of silence. Dustin was now trying to cheer up the girl in the backseat together with Lucas, but it seemed unsuccessful so far.

"Well I don't know, no? This whole thing seems-.. Nevermind just- part of me wishes I'd just minded my business because all past me had to worry about seems funny now compared to this, I mean finding out monsters and alternate dimensions exist definitely was definitely not on my plan for the day, but if I'm honest actually I might prefer fighting monsters with music rather than experiencing my moms wrath when she sees me again- but that's no, I can't say that it's insensitive I'm sorry, this headache is making me into a much more blunt person than I usually am, I promise i'm not usually this rude it's just-.. these past days have been just..weird" Vickie rambled, waving her hand around to exhadurate her words.

"Wow you're worse than Robin" Steve laughed, but before she could ask what he meant, he continued, "Wait, headache?"

"Yeah, it's just because I've been so anxious and stressed lately, it's nothing" Vickie assured when she saw the exaggerated look of worry look back on Steve's face. It seems silly, they had bigger problems than her headache.

"These headaches? Have they been consistent for a few days, and maybe accompanied by.. trouble sleeping and nightmares..?" He asked, and suddenly the kids behind them all got silent, all focused on Vickie now.

"Uh yeah? But as I said, it's nothing, I'll survive" She gave a forced laugh, trying to ease the sudden tension. "Like seriously, there's more important things to prioritize, no?" She tried again, but the shared looks between the group gave her an uneasy feeling that it her heachache maybe wasn't 'nothing'.

"Henderson, radio the others" Steve spoke firmly.

**

"-for the last time, yes to the other things but no hallucinations and I've definitely not seen a grandfather clock anywhere?" Vickie spoke as they pulled into the driveway of a house she didn't regonize.

She'd heard Dustin speak to Nancy thrugh the supercom though so she made the fair assumption that they were at the wheeler house.

Her suspicion was quickly confirmed when Nancy wheeler answered the door, "about time" The girl spoke before moving aside to let them all in.

Vickie definitely felt out of place. Both as a stranger to the group but also like she definitely didn't belong in this house. Her own house could fit in their living and dining room combined.

She followed the group as they descended down a pair of stairs. "Vickie.. I'm sorry you got dragged into all this" Nancy said with a sympathetic look, walking beside her. "It's fine.." Was all she could muster up.

Noone had said anything to her directly yet, but judging by everyone's reactions and the questions she got bombarded with in the car - and taking account what she learnt about Vecna attacking from the mind - And the way Dustin not so subtly said "We might know Vecnas next victim" into the intercom to Robin, she was definetly one of the next victims.

--
Robin Pov

The stress on both of the girls faces was clear during the drive. They'd done their parts in helping max and now all they could do was hope they'd found the correct answer.

The difference between the way they handled their stress was clear in a situation like this. Nancy staying silent behind the wheel, slightly fidgeting with her hair, versus Robin's nervous rambling.

"-and I can't belive any of that even worked, I mean I know I'm good at arguing and convincing people to change their minds but god that was a shot in the dark, like fully pitchblack, I was so sure he was about to throw us out. And then when I messed up the name, argh, this was so stressful, too stressful, and now Max is- Shit, I really hope she's okay. Music could really be the answer right? Ohmygod I can't even imagne if it doesn't-

"-Robin" Nancy cut her off, seeming to finally had enough. "It's gonna work" The shorter girl gave her a reassuring smile, even though she was just as unsure and nervous about it.

"Robin, Nancy? Are you there? Over" They both turned their head back as the familiar voice was heard thrugh Dustins supercom.

Robin immediately reached for it, "Yeah.. how are things going.. over"

"Right- Max is safe, it worked, the music. But we might have another issue, over"

Robin shared a look with Nancy. "And the stress continues.." Atleast max is safe. She held down the button, "What kind of issue? over"

"We might know Vecnas next victim... Vickie, I think Steve called her-?.. Just meet us at the designated spot and we'll explain. Over and out"

Robin felt her breath get caught in her throat, her hands going cold as she put the supercom down on her lap. Vickie? How did- Wha-

"I don't regonize the name.. Do you know her?" Nancy spoke, snapping her out of it.

"Uhm, yeah we're.. we're in band together" Robin forced out, barley getting her breathing under control.

"Oh.. why would she be the next victim though. How did they even find her" Nancy asked what Robin's was already questioning herself.

"The headache.. She mentioned she had a headache a few days ago" The still processing girl said as she remembered their conversation outside of Family Video, the same day they found Eddie.

"Hey? She's gonna be okay, we know the cure now" The other tried to reassure, clearly noticing how Robin went from rambly nervous to just... quiet.

She could only manage a small "Yeah" In response.

*

They were the first to arrive at the 'designated meetup spot' aka, the wheeler house. Robin was quick to change back into her normal clothes, swearing Nancy's clothes could be an alternative to torture devices.

It didn't take long until they heard the doorbell ring and soon after Steve along with his kids were coming down the stairs to the basement. He gave her a knowing look and she gave one back, as if they were speaking telepathically.

Steve took a seat behind her on the couch she was leaning against. She subconsciously fixed her posture as the last two girls ascended from the stairs, Nancy and next to her- Vickie.

They immediately made eye contact and Robin had to force herself to not look away, softly smiling at her and mouthing "Hi" with a small wave.

She almost died when Vickie did the same. God she's so cute . She wanted to kill Vecna purely for getting her involved now.

She could feel Steve's eyes on her, he was probably smirking with that stupid look on his face that he had whenever Robin would gush about Vickie. "Shut it, dingus" She spoke, still not looking up at him but managing to give a friendly slap to his feet danging next to her. "-I didn't say anything?!" the guy above whisper shouted through the laugh he was clearly holding back.

She looked over at Max and Lucas awkwardly sitting next to eachother, it was clear both of them wanted to sit closer to the other, but their uncertainty stopped them. Robin felt envious of the two.

She watched as Vickie took slid down on the floor leaning against the cabinet. Not directly next to Robin but close enough to make her nervous about it.

"Uh, okay where do we begin" Nancy started, sitting down on the armchair opposite of the sofa, clapping her hands together like they were all in school paired up for a group project.

"Probably with Vickie?" Steve said, making the redhead turn to look up at him. She seemed nervous.. understandably so.

"Right, should I Introduce myself or something..?"

"Yeah, preferably start with you favorite song" Robin was quick to say, worded like a joke but she really wanted to be on the safer side for this.

Chapter Text

Vickie wasn't sure if her nerves were more from the whole -monsters are real and I might die- thing, or just the fact she was sitting so close to Robin. But either way, she definitely didn't feel at peace.

The latter felt more true, only because the first thing hadn't quite settled in her mind yet.

Nancy was the first to suggest breaking into groups after Robin's comment, and even though nobody was fully sure that Vickie was 100% the next victim, they all agreed.

"Maybe Robin can show you where Nancy keeps her tapes, while the rest of us discuss a plan?" Steve quickly spoke with a smug face, and Vickie didn't miss the way Robin shot him a ..panicked? or annoyed?.. look.

She didn't have much time to reflect of it before another voice piped up."I can join.. if he attacks, you should know what to expect" Max spoke her first words since the.. attack. Hearing that made the reality of the situation set in a bit deeper, her anxiety growing at the thought. Nobody objected to that either. Vickie assumed they were all curious about what she had experienced aswell, but it seemed to be a mutual agreement to let her calm down first.

Robin whispered something back to Steve before being the one to lead the way up the stairs. Max followed behind first, ignoring the worrying look Lucas was giving her, and Vickie quickly joined the two.

Vickies anxieties only grew as they left the basement, realising she was actually going to be technically hanging out with Robin now, if you could call this a hang out. She was suddenly thankful for Max's presence, feeling as if accepting death was easier than being left alone with Robin.

"I think it's not only about your favorite song.. but a song that really means something to you" The younger redhead spoke slowly as they entered Nancy's room, clearly still fazed by the events, her headphones slightly tilted to leave her right ear open. Vickie nodded, hearing the soft tune of Kate bush thrugh the others headphones.

Her eyes trailed to observe Nancy's room while Robin clumsily looked thrugh some drawers. Nancy was the kind of girl Vickie wished she could be, or better yet, the kind of girl Vickies mother wanted her to be. The Tom Cruise poster next to her bed, the ballerina on the cabinet, the overall pink and feminine feel of it. Her eyes found Robin again who walked around like she already knew the place by heart. Had she been in here alot? Was she friends with Nancy suddenly? Did she like that Nancy was more of the girly type? She quickly diverted her eyes as the brunette turned around, hoping she hadn't been caught staring.

Robin scattered the tapes on Nancy's bed and Vickie had to take a deep breath before walking up closer to take a look. This time she knew for a fact the nerves weren't about the taller girl, but the fact she now had to make a decision that quite litterally could be life or death. Which of these songs is gonna save my life..

The room stayed silent as Vickie scanned through the tapes. Nancy didn't completely have the same taste in music as her, but there were still alot of songs the regonized. Vickie leaned down slightly to get a closer look. She saw alot of Madonna and blondie , a bit of Beatles and some songs by Bowie, but nothing that she'd consider a life saving song.

"If you don't like these we can probably see if Mike has more-?" Robin spoke quickly when Vickie didn't move for any of the tapes yet, noticing the uncertainty on her face. "Does Mike even lisen to music? " Max scoffed sarcastically, but Vickie didn't know Mike enough to find it funny. Even if she did, she doubts anything could make her laugh when she felt this nervous.

"I don't know how I would feel about having the same music taste as a tennage boy.. but it's worth a look, I guess" She joked, sighing as she stood back up.

"Hey, we all need to embrace our inner teenage boy sometimes" Robin threw back quickly, and Vickie surprisingly gave a soft chuckle to that, even with her nerves. "But I'll save you guys the trauma of going thrugh that little shits room, just wait here" the brunette spoke quickly before leaving hurrying out. Vickie found herself immediately missing her presence.

The two redhead stayed silent. She watched as Max pushed away some of the tapes on the bed to give herself room to sit, and the older one copied.

The room was filled with silence, not an uncomfortable one, but there was still some weird tension. Vickie wanted to ask about the attack, about what she should expect, how the other escaped alive. And it was obvious Max wanted to say something aswell, probably give all the answers Vickie was questioning. But something seemed to stop her.

"How are you feeling now?" Vickie finally asked, not just for small talk or to segue into answers about the attack. But in genuine care for the girl. It was weird, she had only seen Max's face around a few times at school, she didn't even know her name until a few hours ago, but she still couldn't help but care for the other like a little sister.

The question seemed to bring back whatever thoughts the other had tried to suppress. Max's face slightly dropped before she looked up, making eye contact with Vickie. Her mouth opened a few times without any words coming out until she hesitantly spoke. "If he comes for you.. if he attacks, just.. try to remember that whatever he's trying to make you belive isn't true, okay? Run- you need to run for as long as you can.. It's your mind and you need to stay in control-" Max spoke, keeping both her face and tone serious, making sure Vickie truly took in what she was saying. And Vickie did, but she didn't miss how the younger girl had avoided the question either.

Robin was the one to cut her off, "God, why are boys so gross-? you do not want to know what Mike Wheeler keeps in this desk drawer. I have blackmail for life on the little guy" Robin spoke, her face matching her exaggerated words. She threw a few more tapes on the bed, right between where Max and Vickie were sitting, "-I did find these though" Her tone changed into the cute voice Vickie liked, higher pitch than Robin's usual voice.

She looked down, scanning the title names before her eyes immediately stopped on 'Never surrender'. Her fingers traced the letters on the title before picking it up "Your trauma wasn't for nothing atleast" The redhead joked, her eyes still not leaving the tape as she held it on her lap. "This was my favorite song awhile back.. the singer sounds alot like my dad." Vickie spoke, leaving out the part about how her mom had thrown the tape out purely because of that. .

-

"It's too dangerous-" Steve's voice was the first they heard as the three girls descended down the stairs to regroup. "But there has to be a gate!" Lucas cut him off, seeming to be very set on whatever idea of a plan he had. Vickie wondered what they'd come up with now, genuinely curious of what a bunch of kids could possibly do to defeat a monster.

"Did you guys find anything?" Steve suddenly said, noticing their return. Vickie gave a slight nod as she held out the tape between her fingers, before quickly connecting it back to her headphones.

"And you guys?" Max questioned, leaning against the armchair Dustin was sitting on.

"Not much, but we're pretty clear on the fact there's an open gate somewhere-" Harrington started, "-It has to be in the lab again, where else would it be?" Lucas finished, more agitated this time.

"But we can't go back to the lab-" Steve argued back before getting cut off yet again, both Dustin and Lucas this time were arguing against him back and forth. Vickie stopped paying attention at one point, knowing whatever opinions she could have didn't play a big role in the decision making. Instead her eyes trailed off to Robin- next to Nancy.

Nancy whispered something to Robin, looking at the taller brunette with eyebrows raised. Robin laughed, saying something back before shrugging, this time making Nancy laugh. Vickie felt a weird sensation again before quickly recognizing it as jealousy.

How did Nancy Wheeler befriend Robin quicker than Vickie. The two were nothing alike. Sarah even said so. Nancy hated Robin.

"Let's just all get some rest, we'll talk more in the morning alright" Steve's voice snapped her out of her staring. He seemed more worried than all of them, not even for his own safety but for the others. He wasn't at all like what Vickie had thought.

Steve suddenly made eye contact with her before switching his gaze to Max. "We're gonna take turns keeping watch of the redheads. I'll start, then Lucas, Nancy, Robin and so on". The younger boys, particularly Lucas, had mixed reactions about taking a break, but the decision was final.

-

"So when you're lost and on your own.." , The tape played as Vickie sang along in her head, her fingers tapping along to the rhythm quietly. It'd been little over an hour since they all went to sleep, but for clear reasons Vickie was still awake. The fear or knowing another nightmare would haunt her if she feel asleep, and knowing a monster from another dimension could enter her mind at any moment didn't exactly keep her calm.

Lucas was on 'redhead watch' now instead. He kept his eyes focused on Max for the most part, momentarily flicking his gaze to Vickie every now and then to make sure she was okay.

The song ended, and Vickie grumbled when it didn't restart immediately after, knowing the loop was at it's end. Only now did she notice how quiet the room was as she held down the rewind button. Everyone was fast asleep after the long day they'd had. Steve was curled up on the sofa with Dustin on the opposite end, Nancy on the armchair and Robin leaning against the table. Vickie tried to take this as an excuse to study the brunettes features, but the room was too dark to really get a good look, and she didn't want to get caught staring at her face by Lucas either.

Max had her head buried in her arms, leaning against her knees, but it was obvious she wasn't asleep. The slight tune of Kate Bush could be heard if you focused hard enough.

Vickie took a moment to really analyze the last 24 hours while the tape kept rewinding. Her mom was the last of her worries now, but she couldn't help wonder if her and Dan had remembered that she wasn't home yet. If they had called Sarah back, and if she was considered a missing person yet.

She wondered if this song was really going to protect her from Vecna, and Max's words came back into her head as she wondered what Vecna had targeted the other for.

The button suddenly clicked back up, indecating the tape was ready again. She pressed play, closing her eyes to hopefully relax.

Instead of the familiar tune though, she heard her mother's voice thrugh the headphones. "It's your fault!" The scream that had haunted her nightmares blasted with an echo. "You killed him"

Vickie quickly removed her headphones, throwing them on the floor before standing up and taking quick steps to back away from it. The voices didn't stop though, it was the opposite, they only got louder.

She looked back to Lucas, but instead of the teen boy who was there a second ago, she was met with a large grandfather clock. It ticked loudly as Vickie realized what was happening. This wasn't reality or just a nightmare. Vecna was in her mind

Her mother's voice continued getting louder until it suddenly morfed into a weird gurgling noise before something else spoke, quieter this time, "You can't escape me, Vickie.."

The creepy voice faded slowly as everything went black. She heard a low whisper of her name, snapping her back to reality with a gasp. "Vickie?", Lucas called out.

The teen was giving her a strange look of confusion and concern, and the whispering now also had Max looking up at her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm fine" She quickly whispered back, trying to convince herself of that aswell. The two didn't seem convinced though and shared a look with each other as Vickie took the time to really look around and feel her surroundings, trying to ground herself. She was safe.

Corey Hart's voice filled her ears again as she pressed play on the Walkman, watching as Lucas woke up Nancy to switch turns. Vickie tried to get her breathing into a steady tempo again before closing her eyes to avoid any more interactions for the day.

Chapter Text

Vickie woke up to a regonizable voice. It wasn't anyone who she'd spent the day with yesterday, but the familiarity was still there.

She peeked her eyes open, pulling her headphones off to locate the voice easier, but Nancy was one step ahead. "Hey, it's Nancy" she spoke to the supercom.

"Wheeler! Hey" The person replied, and now that Vickie was fully awake, she didn't doubt that voice came from Eddie.

But that realization only led to more questions, as if she didn't have enough of those. Was Eddie also a part of the monster hunting group? She would guess so by the sounds of it, there was a familiarity to the way he spoke with Nancy. She didn't understand any parts of what they said though, Why is he asking for a food delivery?

She didn't get to ponder that thought much longer though as her eyes caught Nancy looking at Max's spot, except Max wasn't there. They made eye contact a second later, Nancy throwing a silent 'where is she?' which Vickie could only respond to with an worrying shrug.

The girl was quick to hang up on Eddie before rushing over to Dustin. Vickie stood up too but stayed behind. "Dustin!? Aren't you supposed to be on Max watch?" She snapped loudly at the boy who'd only just been woken up.

"Yep. Yep, yep, yep- Sorry" He spoke, still rubbing his eyes.

"Then where is she?"

"She's right there.." He spoke, pointing at her empty spot, "A second ago-" The curly haired boy stuttered, his realization at the situation now waking him up fully, "-I swear, I just dozed of for... an hour" He spoke frantically, looking between the two girls now.

Nancy only replied with a shocked face, but her eyes somehow still looking stern. "Maybe she's just in the bathroom or something-?" Vickie hesitantly spoke, knowing it sounded dumb but trying not to jump to conclusions as the boy already seemed guilty enough for falling asleep.

Dustin quickly nodded to that, but the brunette didn't seem so convinced. She stood up, huffing a stressful sigh as she turned to the stairs, hurrying up to check. The boy scrambled up directly after, and Vickie was too worried for Max to not follow along aswell.

Their eyes scanned all the rooms until they reached the kitchen, where Nancy stopped in her tracks, almost making the two behind bump into her.

Vickie quickly found the reason behind it, relief washing over her as she placed eyes on the younger redhead at the table.

"Morning, guys" Mrs. Wheeler snapped her out of her daze as she realized the rest of the Wheeler family were also present in the room, minus Mike. "Everything okay?" Karen asked a second later when none of them had responded.

"Yeah, everything's okay" Nancy was the first to speak thrugh her unsteady breaths, her eyes still on Max.

"I think it's so sweet you guys are sticking together like this" Nancy's mother replied at that, somehow not noticing the weirdness of it all. Both the way they were acting just now, and the fact that this mixed group of people would ever just hang out casually.

"Could try sticking together at a different house for a change" Mr. Wheeler voiced, looking up from his newspaper. Even though the words seemed rude, Vickie didn't feel any real frustration behind the phrase.

Karen gave him a look, similar to the one Nancy used a few minutes ago, and Vickie realized where she'd got it from.

"You know you guys are welcome anytime" she spoke, now turned to Dustin and Vickie, as their daughter had already walked off to Max.

Vickie could only smile in response, feeling out of place again. It wasn't like Mrs. Wheeler was a new face, she'd seen her around at stores and parks, even had a few friendly conversations with her, but it felt weird to be in her house and for her to be so accepting and casual about it.

"Totally. You're like family" Dustin responded instead, a grin on his face. "May I?" He spoke, already reaching for the pancakes on the counter, his previous worries seemingly gone.

"Yeah, why not? Take us for all we're worth" Ted grumbled out, but again, he didn't seem to have any real ill intent behind it.

Vickie hadn't spoken to Mr. Wheeler as much in the past, but she did have blurry memory of him at her father's funeral. Her mother refused to answer any questions about her dad after his death, but she later figured out they worked for the same company before the accident.

"You should take some too, Vickie" Mrs. Wheeler smiled, handing her a plate, and even though she didn't really have an appetite, it felt rude to decline.

"Thank you" The redhead smiled, accepting the plate that the older woman was holding out. She took two pancakes before heading to the table, not missing how the shorter boy next to her continued stacking up more and more, obviously not caring about Mr. Wheelers snarky remarks earlier.

Vickie took a seat to the right side of Max, Nancy being on the left. She didn't sit down immediately though, first taking a second to process the weird amount of drawings infront of her, before moving aside some of them to make room for her plate. The drawings consisted off different figues and shapes, but what they all had in common was this weird red background. "I thought it'd be easier to draw it out than to explain it, but.. not so much" Max spoke, and somehow even without the context Vickie understood these were drawings of what she'd seen during the attack.

It looked nothing like what she'd seen last night, maybe because hers was just a warning attack and not the real thing..

"Is that..?" Nancy pulled one of the drawings closer to them

"It's like they were on display" The younger girl explained, but Vickie couldn't quite tell what the drawing was supposed to show. It looked like two bodies sticking out of big stones. Vickie couldn't deny how creepy it looked though, and she immediately felt an understanding as to why Max hadn't wanted to talk about the attack until now. If it's creepy as a drawing, Vickie couldn't imagne how scary it would've been for the young girl to face alone.

. "They as in the previous murders?" The older redhead asked to clarify, feeling as if this was another thing she hadn't been filled in on yet.

Max gave a slight nod at that, "Chrissy and Fred, yeah"

Vickies seemed to be the only one shocked at those names, her guess about the group somehow knowing much more than they'd let on being evident. She'd really underestimated them. There was no time to dwell on it though before the younger girl continued.

"Then there was this red fog everywhere. It was like a dream.. a nightmare" Max explained, and Vickie understood exactly what she meant with the last part now, because it was exactly how she'd describe her own encounter with Vecna. A nightmare, except it felt too real .

"You think Vecna's just trying to scare you?" Nancy asked while Vickie was still taking in all the new information.

"With Billy? Yeah. But when I made it here.. I don't know, something was different. He seemed surprised, almost. Like he didn't want me there." Max explained as Dustin now joined them at the table with his stack of pancakes.

"Maybe you infiltrated his mind. He invaded your mind, right?" He was quick to speak, and Vickie wondered how he even came to that conclusion so quickly. "Is it that big of a leap to suggest you somehow wound up in his?" he continued while Vickie shared an uncertain gaze with Nancy.

"Like Freddie Kruegers boiler room" The curly haired boy stated even more confident now, maybe noticing the hesitant looks.

"Freddie Kreuger?" The younger Wheeler now piped in, and just then Vickie realized the young girl might have just heard their whole conversation before.

"He's a super burned up dude with razors for fingers, and he kills you in your dreams-"

"-Dustin, seriously?" Nancy was the one to cut the boy off when he himself didn't realize that maybe it wasn't smart to be explaining the events of a horror movie to a 6 year old.

That seemed to bring him back to reality after a moment of nerding out. "Sorry. It's a movie.. it's not real" He was quick to apologize to Holly before turning back to the group. "But think about it. What if you somehow unlocked a backdoor to Vecnas world? Like maybe the answer were looking for is somewhere in this.. incredibly vague drawing- God, we need Will." Dustin explained, holding up one of the papers. And in a way, his explanation made sense for Vickie.

She didn't understand why they needed Will though. It was easy to guess he meant Will byers, the kid who'd gone missing a few years back before being found, everyone knew he hung out with this group before moving away. And in an instant her mind connected the dots, Did the upside down stuff he mentioned go that far back? .

"-No shit" Max grumbled, annoyed, before continuing "But I tried them again this morning and it's the same busy signal". Vickie still didn't understand why they needed Will Byers here though, even if he'd been involved earlier in this. Was he good at deciphering drawings or something?

"Will Byers? Why do you need him?" Vickie asked again, knowing her question might just be slowing down their little brain storm session, but she was tired of being out of the loop.

"Yeah, he's crazy good at drawing-" Dustin started before being cut off by Max, "-And more importantly, if we could get ahold of the Byers, then maybe Eleven could come back again to help" the girl spoke, but again somehow that gave her more questions. Vickies face might have been too obvious though because Dustin continued "El is a friend of ours, she helped us defeat the upside down creatures earlier because she has- or had, superpowers." but her face stayed confused at that. "Wow, we really have alot to fill you in on-" The curly haired spoke again, sounding as if he was going to proceed doing so before being cut off.

"Is this a window?" Nancy asked suddenly, her voice suggesting she might have discovered something. Everyone turned their eyes to her expectantly, Max giving her a quick "yeah?" before the brunette continued, "Stained glass with roses" she spoke slowly, her eyes scanning the page.

"Yeah. See? I'm not so terrible after all" The younger redhead snarked jokingly at Dustin who responded with a friendly eye roll.

"Yeah, well, it helps that I've seen it before" the voice kept that mystery behind it as her hands were quick to fold the drawings and piece them together like a puzzle. The three watched in suspense while Nancy finished with outlining the new figure with a marker.

"It's pieces of a house" Max was the first to voice the new shape infront of them.

"Not just any house.." She replied, carefully adding the last piece of the puzzle, the door with the stained glass window, to the front. "It's Victor Creel's house"

For what felt like the hundredth time, everyone else but her seemed to understand something she didn't. Their faces showing shock, while Vickies only resembled confusion and slight frustation now.

The brunette immediately stood up, gatherings the drawings.

"Wher' you going" Dustin asked, his words muffled by the pancake in his mouth.

"Waking the others"

Dustin was the first to follow behind, grabbing more pancakes on the way, "Sorry, fuel for the road. Thanks Mr. Wheeler!" He shouted back at the man.

Vickie stood up, walking behind Max who didn't seem to have the energy to chase after Nancy like Dustin did. She thought about whether or not to tell the other about her Vecna experience last night, since she'd be the only one who really understood. But her thoughts also told her not to give the girl any more unnecessary worries. They were both safe with their headphones.

"Did he come to you last night?" The younger girl suddenly asked, as if she'd read her mind. "I looked over when you were rewinding the tape and you looked.." The girl continued when Vickie hadn't answered at first, but she left her sentence unfinished.

"Yeah.. I'm sorry, I didn't want to worry anyone-" She apologized, immediately feeling bad for worrying the girl either way and making herself seem untrustable. "It was only a quick hallucination though, like a dream, except it wasn't. He just tried to scare me with some stuff and said I couldn't escape him, before just letting me go" Vickie tried to speak about it casually even though her heart was racing at the reminder. They'd stopped right outside the basement door now, wanting to finish their conversation before being pulled into the chaos downstairs.

Max just stared back at her like she could see thrugh any kind of facade she'd put up, the girl was way too smart for her age.

"I'm fine though, I promise. And I'll let you guys know if anything happens again" Vickie spoke reassuringly, giving Max a soft smile before walking downstairs, wanting to end the conversation before the younger redhead could say anything about the way she'd just lied straight thrugh her teeth.

The rest of the group had already been woken up by the time the two redheads joined them downstairs. Lucas and Steve still seemed to be in the half awake state of being woken up, while Robin already had enough energy to make up for both of them. Her hair was slightly messier than usual, sticking up at the side from the weird position she'd slept in, but Vickie felt a kind of amusement at seeing this new side of her.

"That's the house! Victor Creel's house." Robin's shocked voice let out, pointing down at the drawings that Nancy had layed out again. The two boys behind her also seemed intruged by this, leaning in closer on the couch to see for themselves while the two redheads walked up closer to join in the conversation.

Max and Dustin explained what they'd just been discussing in the kitchen, about her infiltrating Vecna mind, before the group continued speaking of a plan again. It was all stuff that Vickie didn't understand from the lack of context though so she stayed mostly out of it, instead pulling her headphones on, keeping one ear open to 'half' pay attention atleast.

Her feet silently tapped along to the beat, mind wandering as her eyes stared into space, when she suddenly felt the weird sensation of being watched. It wasn't weird since the 'red head watch' still kind of applied, someone looking to see if she'd been possessed wasn't strange. When Vickie turned her head however, she was met with Robin's eyes looking at her for a split second before they returned to the drawings.

Vickies eyes stayed on Robin a bit longer though, watching as the brunette ran her hand thrugh her hair, nervously combing the stray pieces back into place. "Is that even allowed?" She stopped her hair combing to ask when Nancy suggested going over to the Creels house themselves, not in a "we shouldn't do that" way, more the opposite.

'And if your path won't lead you home ', played in her ears as Robin leaned back on the couch now, fingers now fiddling with the rings on her other hand.

It wasn't until the brunette turned her blue eyes back to Vickie that the redhead realized how long she'd been staring, immediately focusing her eyes on her own hands now.

"Alright, everyone pack your things. Quickly" Steve spoke, letting the group dispurse, except Vickie didn't really have anything to pack at all.

The group went their own ways at that, eveyone going off to pack their own bags.

"-Hey, uh, Vickie" a voice, Robin's voice, came from behind. The redhead turned around to be met with the taller brunettes hesitant smile.

"Hey" Vickie spoke quickly, her usual nerves around Robin coming back, feeling even stronger now.

"How are you feeling with the whole.. everything?" The other spoke, gesturing with her hands around at the last word, leaning back slightly on the armchair next to them.

"Well, you know, it's not the best way to start off the break but could be worse?" Vickie forced a laugh, making a slight joke of it instead, not even sure how to answer that question. 'I'm fine' would be a lie, and even though she'd just said that to Max, it felt wrong to lie to Robin. The opposite of fine wasn't exactly true either though, she felt weirdly calm about the situation she was in. The fear of Vecna was there yes, but being here with Robin definitely beat being at home with her Mom and Dan, even with the possibility of getting added to the list of Vecna's victims. Technically she would've maybe already been a victim if the group didn't teach her the music thing, which is a scary thought, but if she'd been stuck at home then death wouln't have been too off putting.

"Yeah" The brunette smiled understandingly, "I only joined the 'monster hunting' last summer, so I've been in your place- except I wasn't specifically targeted- it was more of a huge fleshy monster when I was there, and some evil russians. But apparently the time before there was a bunch of monster dogs, and before that there was like a gross alien looking thing that-" Robin rambled on, and even though the redhead was thrilled about having an actual conversation with the other, the new information left her shocked and even more confused. "-Shit, maybe I said too much. I didn't mean to scare you- but just think like, they've beat these kind of monsters before so there's no need to be nervous really-" Robin continued, somehow speaking even faster now. She kept fighting with her rings, eyes darting back and forth from Vickie to around the room.

"No, it's- ...I'ts fine." Vickie interrupted quickly to stop the others spiraling, but she hadn't really thought of how to continue the scenetence. "It's just.. alot?" She slowly spoke, feeling her face heat up at the fact Robins attention seemed to be fully on her now "I feel like I'm trying to understand what's going on but everytime I get any answers, it just leaves me with more questions? If that makes sense" the redhead explained, hoping the other wouldn't think that was a weird thing to say.

"That's- No, yeah. I understand." Robin responded, seeming to have calmed down a bit now.

"-Hey! Hurry up, we're leaving!" Lucas yelled from the top of the stairs, startling them both. Vickie looked around, realizing they were the only ones left in the room now. "..I guess we should.. uh" She hesitantly spoke, vaguely pointing to the stairs, her mind feeling too frazzled now to finish her sentence.

"Yeah" Robin replied shortly, giving a nervous smile. Neither made a move yet though, just taking an extra moment of silence, enjoying eachothers company. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, the redhead felt oddly peaceful, even with her heart beating fast enough to probably induce a heart attack. "Uhm- yeah. Those kids have no patience, we should hurry before they come screaming again", Robin continued a bit akwardly, giving a short laugh, before being the first to move for the stairs.

Vickie took a deep breath before following after. She didn't want the conversation to be over, but there was also a feeling of relief and.. something else she couldn't quite place, about their longest interaction yet going well enough, hopefully scoring her some friendship points.

"-Oh and you should ask Dustin for the whole explanation, by the way, if you want. Kid loves explaining it" Robin suddenly turned as they reached the top, almost making Vickie bump into her. Their sudden closeness didn't last long though as the taller one immediately stepped back, stumbling a bit in the process. "Oh- my bad, uh, anyway we should hurry to the car!", the brunette let out before Vickie could even get a word in, leaving quickly to join Steve by the door without even giving a glance back.

"I-..okay?" Vickie spoke mostly to herself now, wondering what that was about. She took a moment to get her breathing under control, watching from afar as Robin said something to Steve before covering her face with her hands, wincing like she'd been embarrassed. Steve just seemed to find it funny, laughing as he lighlty pushed her out the house.

"Vickie, c'mon we don't have all day" Dustin suddenly spoke, emerging from the kitchen with his backpack fully stuffed. He fiddled with the zipper as he moved to the door, the redhead following after this time.

"Hey, Dustin? I still have so many questions about, well, everything you guys have said, and I heard you're the best at explaining it..?" She took the opportunity to ask, phrasing it more as statment, but hoping it was obvious enough what she was asking.

The younger kid beamed at the compliment, "I am indeed! D'you want the long or short story?"

"I guess however long or short enough to cover it in a carride?"