••••• "Don't don't you want me? / You know I can't believe it when you say that you don't need me" •••••
"This might be the stupidest thing I've ever gotten myself involved in, but I'm in."
In which Steve Harrington and Kimberly Henderson go from be...
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It was nightfall and the group stood at the edge of Lover's Lake, staring out at the dark waters that held a gate.
"Oh, man," Steve groaned. "You gotta be shitting me."
"Yeah, I thought these woods were familiar," Eddie sighed.
"Lover's Lake," Robin said.
"This is confounding," Dustin muttered.
"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Max asked.
"Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening," Nancy explained, thinking back to a few years prior. "Maybe Vecna's the same way."
"Yeah, only one way to find out," Kim sighed, turning to Eddie. "Do you remember where you hid that boat?"
Eddie nodded and led them over to the boat he had tried to use to escape from Jason and Patrick. He pulled the tarp off with a dramatic flourish before helping Steve carry it into the water.
"Easy!" Steve exclaimed as water sloshed into the boat. "I said easy, man."
"Sorry, dude," Eddie shrugged.
"Here you go. Yeah, I'm just gonna do that," Robin put a hand on either boy's head and climbed into the boat. "Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, that works too," Steve rolled his eyes.
Eddie climbed in, holding out a hand to Kim and Nancy to help each of them in as well. He gestured for Dustin to back off as the younger boy made his way towards the boat. "Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people tops, okay?"
"It's better this way, okay?" Nancy tried to explain. "You guys stay here with Max and keep an eye out for trouble."
"You keep an eye out," Dustin protested. "It's my goddamn theory."
"You heard Nance," Robin warned.
"Who put her in charge?" Dustin questioned.
"I did," Robin said matter of factly.
Kim reached out and grabbed the compass from her brother's hand. "Thank you for that."
"Hey, there you go," Steve threw Dustin's backpack at him (the younger boy had forced him to carry it while they walked). Steve pushed the boat away from shore before clamoring in.
"You said four!" Dustin called.
"Sorry," Steve mouthed back, giving him a thumbs up.
"Stay here and try not to die without us!" Kim said cheerily, waving to her friends back on the shore.
"Bed time's at nine, kiddos," Robin joked. "Miss you already!"
While Eddie and Robin paddled, Nancy kept an eye on the compass and Steve and Kim tried to find any sign of a gate through the murky water. She wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for, but it was better than doing nothing; Kim hated feeling useless.
