𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌 - 𝘌𝘋𝘋𝘐𝘌 𝘔𝘜𝘕𝘚𝘖𝘕

𝐓𝐄𝐍: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐊

As the group brainstormed, Amanda noticed how quiet Eddie had been. She assumed it was because he was new to this, or maybe because he just couldn't come up with anything, but the behavior was still odd. Amanda looked towards him, noticing that he'd already been looking at her. She furrowed her brows, tilting her head slightly. Eddie motioned towards the front door, to which Amanda nodded quickly. 

Amanda was the first to leave the house, telling the others she needed a bit of air. After a minute of protests from the others, she was finally able to slip away. As she stood outside, she could feel her body become cold against the wind, shivers travelling down her spine. 

After a minute alone, Eddie harshly opened the door, causing her to flinch slightly. 

"What's up?" Amanda asked, turning to him as she held her hands against her arms. 

"You're going to be okay, right? I mean, it's not going to be like Chrissy, right?" Eddie spoke with hope in his voice. Amanda could see the gleam of hope in his eyes slowly dying, something that broke her heart. 

"Eddie, this might be it." Amanda spoke softly, her eyes drifting to the ground. She couldn't bear to see the light in his eyes go dim. 

"Hey, look at me." Eddie said softly, his voice breaking at the sight of her. Her eyes met his, a jolt of electricity flowing through her veins as she stared into his eyes. 

"You're going to be fine, I'll make sure of it." Eddie spoke confidently, but Amanda knew how clueless he was. She'd already been sentenced to death. 

"Eddie, I'm going to die. And I want you to believe that too. Not because I want you to hurt, but because holding onto hope hurts more than accepting it first. And when I die, I want you strong enough to fight this Vecna creep with the rest of them, okay? The same goes for everyone, not just you." Amanda spoke with certainty, watching as Eddie pulled himself away from her. 

"Are you serious right now, Johnson? You're going to stand there and pretend there's nothing to be done?" Eddie spat, his eyes narrowing. 

"I'm not pretending, Eddie." Amanda crossed her arms, though she tried her best to keep calm. 

"Bullshit! You're standing here deciding you're going to die and not even trying to save yourself. Have you ever considered that it's not all about you? What about me?" Eddie shouted, waving his hands up defensively. 

"What about you, Eddie? My life is none of your concern, and I'm doing everything I can to stay alive." Amanda shouted back, looking at the door which was now wide open. Steve and Nancy stood there, watching the scene unravel. 

"What about your damn powers, huh? You won't even try to use them, will you? What are you, afraid? If I were you I'd be testing them, strengthening them! All you're doing is sitting around waiting to die!" Eddie retorted. 

"Oh, really? You think I'm afraid? What if I don't have them? What if I'm wrong, and there's another explanation? And you know what, from what I've heard they use Eleven like some damn pet. They use her to fight their battles! What if I'm not good enough? I mean, obviously not, right, because all of this is black and white to you isn't it? I didn't get years and years of practice, and I can't even remember my time in the damn lab. Back off, Munson." Amanda shouted before storming off, walking into the woods in an attempt to clear her head. However, as soon as she was alone, she'd burst into tears. 

She knew that she wasn't afraid of what she might find out, she was afraid of what she could do. Had she committed monstrosities, it would most likely lead back to her powers. She didn't know how to use them, meaning she didn't know how to control them.