HAVEN - stranger things.

iv. VECNA.

iv. the boat oar!

wendy watched as max mayfield, robin buckley, and dustin henderson called people that knew eddie munson. dustin looked up at her and shook his head, wendy took the expo marker and scratched out a name on the list.

wendy looked up, seeing steve help a girl find a movie. she watched as he smiled at the girl, causing her to roll her eyes. wendy knew that steve was more than in love with her, especially after the time that they had spent together the night before, yet she still managed to get jealous sometimes.

"hey guys, i might have a lead." max said after she hung up the phone.

wendy, robin, and dustin turned to max, curious of what she had found.
"seriously?" dustin asked.
"yeah. apparently, eddie gets drugs from some guy named reefer rick, and sometimes eddie crashes there." max informed.

wendy carmichael thought back to her sophomore year of high school when she smoked for the first time—she had been hanging out with her crush at the time and she remembered him saying that he got it from eddie the freak. wendy had always hated when eddie was called a freak, she didn't think of him as such. she would never forget what he had done for her at the snowball dance when—

"bet the cops know the last name." steve harrington's voice snapped wendy out of her daze.

"what?" max asked.
"cops," steve started. "i mean, listen, if this reefer rick is actually a drug dealer, i guarantee you he's been busted at some point. means he's in the system." he explained.

wendy rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.
"the cops? really, steve? that's your suggestion?" dustin looked at the nineteen year old.

"i mean i just think they should probably be filled in on what we know, what's going on." steve offered.
"steve, i love you, but that is the dumbest thing you've said." wendy shook her head.

"you think eddie's guilty, don't you?" dustin accused.
"whoa whoa, i believe in innocent until proven guilty, all that constitutional shit...i just, you know, don't think we can rule it out." steve rubbed his hands together nervously.

the truth was he didn't want to involve wendy in anything else that he didn't have to. after their argument last night, steve had decided that he was done dragging wendy into his mess.

"that's precisely what we're trying to do here, steve." max pointed out, and wendy carmichael nodded along.
"and maybe we'd have a little bit more luck if you spent a little less time worrying about your girlfriend—" dustin ranted.
"hey!" wendy exclaimed.
"—and more time trying to find eddie!" dustin finished, ignoring wendy.

"hey, not fair! how many times do i have to tell you guys that we," steve waved his hand between him and his girlfriend. "haven't seen each other in two months."

"long distance relationships are hard, you guys." wendy sighed, nodding along with steve.
"i know. i'm in one myself." dustin acknowledged.
"that is not the same, dustin. adult long distance relationships are harder." steve responded.

"hey guys." robin called out from the computer.

"you? an adult?" dustin looked from wendy to steve.
steve scoffed and nodded.
"i'm nineteen so yes! an adult! wendy's in college!" steve exclaimed.