The Stancy Files

Chapter 3: The Speech

Steve Harrington didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. Nancy Wheeler deserved anything but to be cheated on. It made his mind wander around in circles.

Was Jonathan Byers cheating on Nancy Wheeler?

He wanted to give Jonathan the benefit of the doubt, but on the other hand, he also didn't want to. Jonathan had consoled and comforted Nancy after Steve and Nancy broke up. He had also creepily stalked Nancy while Will was missing. Steve had tried to bury the memory, because he hadn't taken it so well, and had broken Jonathan's camera, but in the back of his mind, the memory still lingered. It had been an intimate moment that was supposed to be between two people. But then Jonathan had captured it in his camera and ended up unintentionally making a moment between five people because Tommy H. and his girlfriend, Carol, had also seen it.

Nancy nor Steve slept well that night. Nancy tossed and turned, her mind was focused on too many things at once: Vecna, her family, Steve, the police interrogation, and Jonathan.

Steve broke the silence when he realized Nancy was awake too. "Do you think Jonathan's cheating on you, Nance?" Nancy made a concerned face. "I don't know. I mean... I don't blame him if he is. I deserve it. But... it hurts. That would make him a jerk. And I don't want to view him like that." Steve let out a long held-in breath. "Look, Nance, I don't know what makes you think you deserve that, but you don't. If Jonathan is cheating on you, he's an idiot. A real big one. You deserve better than that. You know it." A tear fell down one of Nancy's cheeks. "But I- I killed Barb. She's dead because of me. I was the one who told her to go home. It's all my fault." Steve sat up, trying to console his hurting friend. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Barbara's death is not your fault. It was the workers at the lab's fault. You know that. Don't let him get to you, Nance. None of these things that have happened in the past three years have been your fault. You're innocent."

"But I'm not!" Nancy's voice cracked. "I told her to go home and I let her leave all alone in the dark. I should've done better! Will was already missing! I shouldn't have told her to leave!" Steve grabbed both of her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "Nancy, stop! Nance, Nance. Look at me! Nance!!" Nancy took slow breaths in and out, taking the time to look him directly in the eyes. "I shouldn't have told her to go home and-" Steve cut her off. "What happened in the past stays in the past. You're strong, Nance. So much stronger than Vecna wants you to know." The heartbreak painted on her face was evident. Steve wanted to reassure his friend. "We're going to find him, Nance. We're going to kill him. We're going to make him pay." Steve's hands had moved from Nancy's shoulders to her forearms. "Just breath. It's going to be okay. We'll stop him. Together." Her eyes met his, wanting to believe him. "I really hope you're right, Steve. All I know is that we're in this together. That's all I need right now. Anymore. Thank you."

Nancy rested her head on Steve's shoulder. As time passed on, she fell asleep, with her head still resting on his shoulder. They woke up the same way the next morning, to a death-sentencing beating on Nancy's door. "Nancy! Come downstairs for breakfast! Chief Powell and Officer Callahan will be here again soon with more questions." Karen's daughter sat up and had her eyes peeled to the door of her bedroom, praying it was locked. The last thing she needed was her mom to see Steve on her bed, only half awake, and start to ask questions. "Yeah, I'll be down soon, mom." Nancy didn't bother to change clothes, but quietly tip-toed down to breakfast, trying to let Steve get more rest. She snuck him some pancakes upstairs after a long, pestering breakfast of questions from her parents. Steve blinked, slowly starting to wake up, to see Nancy sitting on the edge of her bed, worrying frantically. He smelled warm, sweet bread. Nancy motioned to the pancakes sitting on the bedside table next to Steve. "I brought food up for you, but we need to hurry. We don't have long before the police come back for more questions. We'll have to sneak out." Steve gave a hazy, warm smile. "Just my specialty. Ninja." Nancy smiled back, reminiscing on old memories. "Yeah, I remember."

After Steve finished his food, the two carefully watched the road in front of the Wheeler's house, to make sure no one was coming, and that no one could see them. Steve climbed down the side of the house first, to make sure Nancy was okay with it and help her if she needed it. They ran as close to the sides of the woods as they could to get to Steve's car and got in quickly. The two sped off on their way to Forrest Hills Trailer Park. After a long drive of not speaking to each other because of how early it was, and genuine concern, they arrived at Max's house and met up with the others. Robin looked very tired. Max looked a little sad, and tired as well. Lucas looked concerned. Dustin and Eddie were fooling around, and Erica was trying to knock some sense into them.

After almost an hour, Nancy decided to tell them what she had seen the night before, what Vecna had shown her. Things became very somber very quickly.

She began at the beginning. Explaining that Victor Creel's son, Henry, hadn't died. He had been the one to kill his mother, Virginia, and his sister, Alice. Not Victor, but his son. He fell into a coma and was sent to Doctor Brenner, the head of Hawkins Lab. Once Brenner had understood many things about Henry, he tried to recreate him. He made a new program. And he was a number, the number. He was 001. Where it all began. But he was evil. He was trapped inside the lab, and El had helped him. She thought he was her friend. But then he killed all of the other numbers. She tried to kill him but sent him to Upside Down instead. That's how he became Vecna. He had sent the Demogorgon, Demodogs, the Mind Flayer. It was all his fault. Eventually, Nancy came to explain all of the things Vecna had shown her.

"He showed me... the most awful things. I saw a dark cloud, spreading over Hawkins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. This giant creature with a huge, wide, gaping mouth. And this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters," Nancy whispered in fear. "An army. And they were coming into Hawkins. Into our neighborhoods. Our homes. And then... he showed me my mom." Her voice broke as tears flooded her eyes. "And Holly. And Mike. And they- they were all" Nancy couldn't finish her sentence. It hurt too much. She took a hard breath in, only beginning to imagine how much hurt, pain there would be. "Okay, but, he's just tryna scare you, Nance. Right? I mean... it's not real." Steve said, taking this news as a huge hit. He wanted to be there for her like he said he would be. "Not yet. But there... there was something else. He showed me gates, four gates, spreading across Hawkins. And these gates... They looked like the one outside Eddie's trailer, but they didn't stop growing. This wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins. This was our Hawkins. Our home." The group went silent, except for Max.

"Four chimes," she said, directly to Nancy. "Vecna's clock. It always chimes four times. Four exactly." Nancy looked to the floor, not crying any longer. "I heard them too." Max rolled her eyes in shock of how ignorant she felt. "He's been telling us his plan this whole time." Lucas was in anguish as he realized what Max meant. "Four kills. Four gates. End of the world." Dustin was now more worried than ever. "If that's true, he's only one kill away." Eddie started freaking out, chanting "Jesus Christ," over and over again. Steve didn't know what to do, except call the people in California. "Try 'em again. Try 'em again."

If saving the world meant bringing Nancy's suggested to be cheating boyfriend back to Hawkins, so be it. Steve would do anything, anything to save the world. To save Nancy. To save his friends. It wasn't going to end here. He wouldn't let it.

Steve Harrington was not going to let Hawkins fall.