𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 - 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

29. the monster and the superhero

THE NEXT DAY

After Steve had calmed Aubrey down, they devised their plan for the next day. Steve stayed at Aubrey's with her again, only this time, he was the one who barely slept.

He hadn't seen her like that since they found out about her dad. He was worried sick about her. Aubrey knew it too, he practically stared at her the entire drive home. She was honestly shocked he didn't wreck his car.

This was the last thing she wanted, for him to worry about her.

The next morning they all gathered again and returned to the boathouse with groceries for Rue and Eddie. "Delivery service!" Dustin announced, Eddie and Rue startled from their arrival.

"About time." Rue sighed, digging into the bags, Eddie began snacking on a box of cereal, straight from the box.

"So we got, uh, some good news and some bad news." Dustin began to speak, "How do you prefer it?"

"Bad news first, always." Eddie replied, Rue nodded.

"Alright. Bad news. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you. Also they're uh- pretty convinced you killed Chrissy." he said.

"Like, a hundred percent kind of convinced." Max added.

"And the good news?" Rue asked.

"Well, two things." Dustin said.

"They have no idea Rue was with you, they're only looking for you, Eddie." Bea told them, Rue sighed heavily. That was good, but only for her, not Eddie.

"But your name hasn't gone public yet." Robin added, "But if we found out about you, it's only a matter of time before others do too. And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you." she rambled.

"Hunt the freak, right?" he replied, he looked up at them.

"Exactly." Nick nodded.

"Shit."

"So, before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence." Dustin told him.

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?" Eddie stared at him.

"Yeah, no, that's pretty much it." Dustin nodded.

"Listen, Eddie, I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional but we've actually been through this kind of thing before." Robin told him, "I mean, they have a... a few times..."

"Three, to be exact." Bea added.

"And... I have once." she continued, "Mine was more human-flesh-based, theirs was more smoke-related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel like we got this." she explained to him.

"Yeah, see we usually rely on this girl, Aubrey's little sister, who has super powers." Steve added, "But, uh, those went bye-bye, so..."

"So, we're technically in- in more of the-"

"Kinda..."