To The End || EDDIE MUNSON x READER||

WAKE UP

Spring break had officially started, and for once, the house was quiet — except for the sound of Dustin mashing buttons and yelling at the TV.

He'd been staying over since Mike left for California earlier that morning to see El and Will, and the two of us had spent the whole day battling pixelated monsters and stuffing ourselves with pizza.

By the time the sky turned purple and dinner was over, I grabbed my jacket and bike helmet.
"I'm heading to Eddie's," I said, tossing my plate into the sink.

Dustin didn't even look away from the screen. "Tell him he still owes me for that natural twenty."

"Sure thing, Henderson."

Eddie's trailer sat on the far side of Forest Hills — too far, really, but the air was cool and smelled like rain, and pedaling out there always helped clear my head. The wind whipped through my hair as I biked down the cracked road, the stars barely visible through the clouds.

By the time I reached his place, my legs were burning, and I was smiling — until I saw the flicker of lights through his window.

I slowed, frowning. The lights were pulsing.
And then I heard it — Eddie's voice.
Panicked. Desperate.

"Eddie?" I called, dropping my bike against the railing. "Is everything okay?"

No answer. I knocked again, harder this time.

The door flew open. Eddie stood there — wild-eyed, pale, shaking.
"Y/N," he breathed out, "I—I don't know what's happening—"

"What—" I started, stepping inside, but froze.

Chrissy Cunningham — Hawkins High's perfect cheerleader — was standing in the middle of the living room. Her eyes... were white. Completely white.

"Eddie—what the hell—"

"I don't know what to do!" His voice broke as he grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. "Chrissy, wake up!"

I rushed forward instinctively, gripping her arm. "Chrissy, hey, can you hear us?"

"I don't like this!" Eddie shouted, panic lacing his voice. "Chrissy, wake up!"

And then — she lifted off the ground.

I stumbled back, heart hammering. "What—what kind of witchcraft horror movie shit is this?!"

She was floating higher and higher, her body rigid, limbs trembling. The light flickered so violently it felt like the walls were breathing.

Eddie's hand grabbed mine — hard — and we both stumbled backward, eyes locked on her as she rose until her back hit the ceiling.

And then it happened.

Snap.
Her arm bent at an impossible angle.

Crack.
Her legs twisted.

Her jaw unhinged, and a wet, horrible sound filled the air. Blood began to pour from her eyes.

"CHRISSY!" Eddie screamed. I screamed too. We both did — raw, terrified.

Then — silence.
Her body dropped like a rag doll.

We didn't think. We just ran.

We didn't stop running until the trees swallowed the road, and Eddie finally pulled me toward an old, half-collapsed boathouse by the lake. He shoved the door open, dragged me inside, and we collapsed against the wall.

Neither of us said a word.

The silence was so thick it hurt. The only sound was the soft lap of water outside and our shaky breathing.

Every time I blinked, I saw her. Floating. Breaking. Falling.

And the worst part?
I knew this wasn't over.
Something... else was happening in Hawkins.

I must've fallen asleep sitting up, because when I opened my eyes, there were flashlights moving across the room. Shadows shifted against the walls, and the sound of footsteps echoed across the wooden floor.

I froze. Didn't breathe.

The moonlight slipped through the cracks in the boards, silver and cold. A guy was poking at the covered boat in the middle of the shed with an oar.

"If you're so brave, Henderson, why don't you pull it off then?"

That voice.
Steve.

Henderson?
My heart dropped.

It couldn't be—

Suddenly the tarp exploded upward. Eddie lunged out of the boat, tackling Steve to the ground. The oar clattered away, and before I could move, Eddie had a broken bottle pressed to Steve's neck.

"WOAH—WOAH—EDDIE!"

That voice — definitely Dustin.

Eddie froze, his chest heaving.

"It's me! It's Dustin!" he said quickly, hands raised. "That's Steve — he's not gonna hurt you, okay?"

Eddie's eyes darted between them, wild and desperate.

"Right, Steve?" Dustin pressed.

"Right. Yup. Totally cool," Steve said quickly, nodding, eyes wide as he slowly dropped the oar.

Eddie didn't move.

"See?" Dustin said, voice softening. "He's cool. You're okay."

Finally, Eddie's shoulders slumped. The bottle clinked to the floor.

"What are you doing here?" Eddie rasped.

"We were looking for you," Dustin said.

My head throbbed suddenly — a sharp, piercing pain that made my vision blur. I pressed my fingers to my temple, and when I pulled them back—
Blood.

My nose was bleeding.

What the hell—

"Eddie, have you seen Y/N?"

My name. Someone said my name.

Light flashed in my eyes. I blinked hard, squinting as Dustin ran over.

"Y/N!" he gasped, dropping to his knees. "You're bleeding—what happened?"

I wiped my nose with my sleeve, but my hands were shaking.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Steve asked, his voice quiet now, cautious.

For a moment, no one spoke. Robin stepped closer, flashlight beam trembling slightly as it swept over the room — the tarp, the tools, the broken bottle glinting on the floor.

Eddie looked at me. His eyes were hollow. Haunted.

"You won't believe us," he said finally.

I swallowed hard, my voice barely a whisper. "You guys... something's going on again."