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THE FOLLOWING morning, they climbed into Nancy's car to make a supply run, per Eddie's request. There was an upbeat song playing on the radio that totally did not fit the mood, but nobody bothered to change it. Jackie sat in the far back, crammed with Dustin and Steve, but did not speak.
There was no point in trying to talk, anyway, not with the two boys munching on their food loudly in her ear. She sat with her arms crossed, and stared out the window for majority of the drive.
"Not to be a wimp," Robin started. "But can I maybe sit this one out?"
"It'll be fine," Nancy assured.
"I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again. I really, really can't."
"At least he can drink himself into feeling better again," Steve chimed in, waving the six pack of beer he'd just purchased.
"That's what our mom does," Max commented lazily. The mention of their mother put a damper on Jackie's mood, and she shrank further into her seat, not breaking her gaze from the blurring trees that passed by.
"Why don't we just give it a trial run? 'Hey, Eddie. Good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food, and the six pack you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna. Bad news is, he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about. And the gate's closed, so we have no way of getting to him. Like, he's entirely shut off to us, so basically, you're screwed. And I know you were already screwed, but now you're doubley, tripley screwed!'"
"Okay, woah," Lucas interjected before Robin could ramble further. "Maybe let's not put it like that."
Jackie winced at a sudden stomach cramp, and pushed herself upright so that she was no longer slouching. Dustin was staring at her like she had grown three heads, but she ignored him.
"We'll tell him we're one step closer to finding Vecna," Nancy said. "That's what we say. That's what's important."
"See, Robin?" Steve wiggled a Pringles chip around. "A positive spin can make all the difference."
"Uh-huh," Robin answered, unamused.
Jackie clutched her stomach, finally looking away from the window to where the others were sat. She just barely managed to miss Dustin nudging Steve's leg, who turned to her, and furrowed his brows at the position she was cradling herself in.
"The hell is wrong with you?" He asked, a mouthful of food. She was used to this type of thing with him, and understood what he was saying perfectly, despite the confused looks Lucas and Max shot him. Obviously they had not been to enough events with him that involved eating, because she'd became an expert at learning a new dialect, the Steve-Has-Food-In-His-Mouth language.
