𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨

→ 𝙞𝙞.

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"UH, I DON'T MEAN TO FREAK ANYONE OUT, BUT I SWEAR WE'VE SEEN THIS TREE BEFORE." ROBIN LET OUT, SEB STOPPING IN HIS TRACKS. He pointed his flashlight to the tree, Nancy and Steve doing the same. "That's impossible." The former spoke, Seb observing the whole woods they were in. Steve had given him a jacket just like his own and jeans from the same shop. He looked like a hill billy along with his had and their homemade armour, which consisted of a vest and a hat. "That would suck, right?" Robin asked shakily, Steve looking to Seb. The boy had hardly spoken since War Zone and Steve cared greatly for whether he was genuinely okay or not. "Imagine if Vecna destroyed the world because... we got lost in the woods?" Robin spoke, the girl way too nervous at the moment as Seb glanced to the back of her head. "We're not lost." He voiced, leading the way as Robin chuckled nervously. "Robin, hey. Watch out for the vines! Hive mind! Remember!"

"Thank you!" Robin called back to Nancy, rushing after Seb. "Uh, don't worry about her. She's just stressed." Steve spoke, walking with Nancy. "You know, scared." He added, the girl nodding. "Yeah. Yeah... I know." She spoke, gulping. "It's just..." "She's a super klutz?" Steve joked, Nancy chuckling. "She did tell me that it took longer for her to walk than most babies, so..." She added, Steve chuckling before stopping himself as he watched Robin speak to Seb. "I really shouldn't laugh. When I was a baby, I actually crawled backwards." He admitted, Nancy looking to him. "Crawled backwards?" She wanted to hear him right, Steve nodding. "You know, I'd push with my hands like this. Beep. Beep." Steve demonstrated, Nancy watching him do so. "Always in reverse, you know?" He asked as if anyone could relate, Nancy smiling. "Come on, it makes sense. You push to move, right?" He reasoned, Nancy scoffing. "No, no, it doesn't make sense." She spoke, Steve shrugging. "Well, it did to my tiny little Harrington brain." He spoke, tilting his head to himself.

"That is, until I reversed my baby butt down a flight of stairs and thumped my head really good." He spoke, Nancy looking to him quickly. "Yeah." He spoke to her look, Nancy humming. "Wow. That explains so much." She let out, Steve agreeing nervously. "Yeah. I think it kinda does." He chuckled, Nancy looking to him. "I think, like, right out of the gate, like, I'm super confident. But I'm also, like, an idiot." He summed, the two keeping their eyes on the floor for vines. "Which is just... I mean, it's a brutal combination. But, I mean, the good news is, I get a big enough thump on my head, I can change, you know?" He inquired, Nancy glancing to him. "I can learn. I can... crawl forward." Steve sighed at the silence, huffing. "Listen, I guess what I'm trying to say in a really stupid, roundabout way is, um..." He stopped the two, the two ahead not noticing. "is thank you." He admitted, Nancy laughing a little. "Thank me?" She asked, confused. "Yeah." Steve shrugged, Nancy's head tilting. "For...?" She inquired herself, Steve sniffling a little.

"For giving my head the biggest thump of it's life two years ago." Nancy's smile fell a little, Steve shrugging. "I needed it." He walked away, Nancy following. "It's changed my life. And now I'm crawling forward. Slowly." She stayed silent, Steve intending on filling the quietness. "I just wonder sometimes... you know if some other girl had given me a proper thump before we met, would things have been different?" He asked, Nancy side eyeing the boy. "Like, if we were meeting together for the first time right now, part of me... I dunno, part of me thinks we would've made it." Steve let himself admit, stopping them again. "Steve..." She let out, Steve sighing. "Remember the dream I told you about?" He asked, Nancy looking up to him. "About the Winnebago? Seeing the country with my six lil' nuggets?" He asked, Nancy smiling. "It's all true. Every last word. But I left one part out." Steve spoke, his voice lowering. "It's the most important part. You're there."