WILDFIRE ↝ E. MUNSON

[28]

"So what's your plan?" Lily asked Eddie, looking up at where he sat in the grass next to her, watching where the others still lingered about in the field, taking a few minutes of rest before it was time to get back on the Winnebago.

"Hmm?" he murmured, looking back down at her.

"For the bats." she explained. "You mentioned earlier that you knew how to lure the bats away."

"Well, I figured if it's loud noise they want, why not give them a show?" he asked, a small smirk turning up the corners of his mouth. "If Nick and I can set up the amps I have back at the trailer, along with the versions of them that are in the Upside Down, that should be plenty of sound for them to hear it all the way from the Creel house. Dustin can turn them on when it's time and keep track of them, and you and Nick could be on standby, kinda like my own personal bodyguards. It won't be quite a Corroded Coffin show, but it'll still be pretty metal."

She leaned her head on his shoulder while he told her the plan, musing it over. On the one hand, it'd be almost guaranteed to lure the bats away, especially with double the equipment he usually had back at home. At Forest Hills, she could often hear his guitar through the thin walls of the mobile homes, so twice the noise should reach the Demobats with no problem. On the other hand, however, she still knew all too well that one misstep in the plan could have catastrophic consequences for all of them.

"Well, then it better be the best damn show the Upside Down's ever seen." she said adamantly, forcing her last thoughts out of her brain. "What are you playing? A Corroded Coffin classic? Black Sabbath?"

He shook his head, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I was thinking about that conversation we had the other day back at Rick's, before Jason and the others showed up, about the cassette tapes. About how I'd love to get the chance to play 'Master of Puppets' one day. I'm pretty sure I have it down, and this might be my only shot to play it for a crowd, right? Sure, it's not the five drunks at the Hideout, but at least you three will get to hear it."

"You'll get to play it for a crowd." she assured him. "As soon as this is all over, once this plan works and Vecna's six feet under. Even if I have to play Jeff, Gareth, and Todd's parts all on my own."

He chuckled softly, pulling her closer. "Well, that would be a sight to see." he mused. "So what happens after this?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Neither of us have the privilege of naivety, Lils." Eddie said, his smile slowly fading. "We both know it doesn't look good for me back in Hawkins right now, even if we do defeat Vecna. How do you clear a name like mine when the monster they're looking for is a sorcerer from another dimension? If I try that, that'll get me a one way ticket to Pennhurst, rather than just throwing me in jail."

"We'll figure out a way." Lily promised him. "Once Vecna's dead and Hawkins is safe again, I will do whatever it takes to prove your innocence, Eddie. I don't care who I have to testify to that you didn't touch Patrick the night he was killed, but you're innocent, and everybody is going to know that. Okay?"

Eddie shut his eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath as he finally nodded in agreement. Lily reached a hand up to rest against his cheek, and he opened his eyes again, now watching her intently.

"So if by some miracle this all works," he said, still watching her. "This plan tonight, and clearing my name, what happens next for us?"

"What happens next is you finally take me for pizza and the arcade and we celebrate." she said with a sly grin. "But just remember, no forgetting the milkshake."

Eddie smiled, leaning down and kissing her softly. She kissed him back as his arms tightened around her, and he finally pulled back, the smile still plastered on the boy's face as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.