Hargrove's Secret (Steve x Y/N)

Chapter 9

Nancy went straight to her house. They were going to meet us there. Once we arrived, I opened the car door and slammed it with my mind. Unintentionally. I could feel Robin and Nancy staring at me as I walked to the door. I accidentally busted it in.
"I'll pay for that if it's broken." I said, walking in and heading straight for the basement. That's when it hit me for the first time. I almost lost Max.
I ran into the bathroom down there and sat on the floor. I locked the door.
After about 20 minutes, I heard a soft knock. "Go away." I said.
"Y/N.. I'm sorry that I lied. That we all lied. We just didn't know for sure, and didn't want to cause you unneeded worry." Steve said. "Can I please come in?" He asked.
"I just.. need a minute." I said. I stood up and rinsed my face off. My eyes were puffy and bloodshot and my nose and cheeks red. I stared at myself, waiting for the effects to go away.
Once they did, I opened the door. But I wasn't there when I opened it. I was at Starcourt. More specifically, the door that led through the back of Scoops Ahoy. I walked through the parlor, and when I did, I saw it all over again. But this time, after my horrors were relived, someone else appeared. Or something.
"Y/N.. Sweet, sweet Y/N." The thing said. "I'm so so sorry that I have to take everything away from you." It was walking towards me.
"Get the hell away from me." I said.
"I'm sorry for killing Chrissy, Fred, and trying to kill your sister. No hard feelings?"
"Stay away from us. Leave her alone! Leave them all alone!" I yelled.
"You will soon understand my reasoning. When the time is right. Now go home." It told me. Then, I was back. Staring at myself in the mirror.
I opened the door. Steve stood there with his arms open. I denied his hug. "Maxine! What the hell? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked. I sounded like a mother.
"I'm fine." She said. "Beside's the almost dying, of course." I hugged her.
"God damn it! You guys should have told me! I could have found a way to stop it." I said. Steve walked over to me.
"Can I explain to you? Please?" He said. I nodded. Nancy nodded at him, and he knew what she meant. He took my hand and took me upstairs.
We ended up in Nancy's room. I sat down on the bed.
"So, what's your excuse?" I asked. "My sister was in danger and no one told me shit!" I yelled quietly.
"I know, you have every right to be pissed. I'm so sorry." He told me. "But now we know how to stop it. Max should be okay now."
"And if you didn't find the way?" I asked him.
"Y/N, I knew you couldn't take much more. I didn't want to worry you if it was nothing. I'm sorry. I should have told you."
"Yes, you should have." I mumbled.
"Can you forgive me?" He asked. I nodded.
"Yeah.. maybe." I told him.
He put his hand on the back of my head and pulled me to his stomach, giving me a pathetic hug.
"Steve.." I started. "If you do anything that gets your ass killed, I will find a way to bring you back just to kill you again." I told him.
He laughed slightly. "I'll try not to get my ass killed then." He said.
He helped me up, then we walked down the stairs and back to the basement.
"Are we forgiven?" Dustin asked.
"Kinda, yeah. I guess." I said.
"Good, can we get some sleep then?" He asked. Once he said that I noticed how tired I was.
Steve sat on a chair and I sat on the floor next to him. He offered to switch but I declined. Within minutes we were out cold.
I had another nightmare that night. That was the night Vecna entered my dreams. The night he started fully tormenting me. Driving me insane. He showed me so many things. All of my friends dying. I woke up in a panic in the morning. Dustin, Max, and Nancy were gone.
I ran up the stairs in a panic. They were there. She was okay.
"It's Victor Creel's house." I heard Nancy said.
I ran back down the stairs. I looked at the date. Today was Chrissy's funeral.
Nancy came down a few seconds later. She woke everyone up.
"We're going to Victor's house. Let's go. Max saw it when she was running from Vecna." Nancy said.
Everyone grumbled. I managed to get Steve up, who was giving us the most trouble. We all ran up the stairs and got into Nancy's mom's car. Nancy grabbed a toolbox. Just in case.
Once we got there, we walked up the stairs and to the door. Victor was right. It was magnificent. Creepy, but beautiful.
"Yeah, that's not creepy." Steve mumbled. Steve and I ripped the nails out of the board that was covering the door. They spoke as we worked.
The board fell. Steve wiggled the door knob.
"It's locked." He said. "Should I knock?"
"Stand back." I said. I held my hand up and focused. I unlocked the door, and it flung open. "Oops."
"Let's hope no one is home." Nancy said. We all walked in, flashlights on. Steve shut the door. He looked at our flashlights.
"Where'd everyone get those?" He asked.
"Do you need to be told everything?" Dustin asked. "You're not a child."
"Thank you." Steve said.
"Back pocket." Dustin said, handing him his backpack.
"Hey guys? You all see that, right?" Max asked. She was looking at a clock.
"Yeah." Dustin and Steve said.
"Is this what you saw?" Nancy asked her.
"Yeah." Max said.
"I mean, it's just a clock. Right?" Robin asked. She cleared the dust off it's face. "Like a normal clock."
"Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?" Steve asked. "Maybe he's, like, a clockmaker or something?"
We all looked at him. "I think you cracked the case, Steve." Dustin said, sarcastically.
"All I know is, the answers are here. Somewhere." Nancy said. "Okay, everyone stay in groups of two."
"I'll go alone." I said. I walked up the stairs. I headed to the attic.
Once I got up there, I got this massive headache. I backed into a beam. Images started to flash through my head. "Shit!" I yelled.
That was when they appeared. All of them. My mother, Billy, Chrissy, Fred, Vecna, and Max. "Oh sweet Y/N." Vecna said. "You shouldn't be here." He told me. He raised his hand to me and I felt my body floating slightly.
"Shit!" I yelled. I threw my hand up at him. He flung back. Then, I was charged. I ran down the stIrs for the attic door, but it was sealed shut. I banged on it, trying to open it. "Help!" I yelled. "Help me!"
Chrissy was standing over me. She dragged me up the stairs.
Billy walked over and grabbed me by my neck, then threw me onto the wall, choking me.
Then, everything stopped. I was on the floor, but not by the door. In the middle. I groaned. I crawled for the door. It was open.
I climbed down the stairs and met the others in the middle.
"Shit- what happened?" Steve asked. He took his thumb and cleaned the blood from under my nose.
"I.. don't know." I told him.
"Vecna is here." Max told me.
"Just on the other side." Lucas said. The light stopped going crazy. He had left the room.
      "Everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out." Nancy said.
      "We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flashlights." Steve said. But we already had turned them off.
      I wondered around for awhile.
      "I got him! I got him!" Robin yelled. We all ran towards her. Her flashlight turned off. "I had him."
      Then, Steve's lit up. "Woah, woah." He said. "Oh, I think he's moving. He's moving." We followed the light. It led up the stairs. Then, it stopped. "I lost him."
      "No, you didn't." I said, walking towards the attic door and opening it. We went up the stairs. My head started to pound.
      When we reached the top, the attic light was flickering. We pointed our flashlights at the lightbulb and they turned on.
      "Okay, what's happening?" Steve asked. My headache got worse.
      I staggered back. My headache worsened. All of our flashlights exploded. I threw it and fell to the floor.
      "Shit." I said.
      "What? What's wrong?" Steve asked.
      "Headache." I said. "Really bad headache." Steve grabbed my head and stroked it softly.
      "You don't think..?" He asked. I shook my head softly.
      "No." I told him. "No it's not that. I haven't seen any clocks."
      "That's good. That's good." He said. He helped me to my feet and we walked out of the attic. "Y/N?" He whispered.
      "Hm?" I replied.
      "Are you okay? Do you feel okay?" He asked me.
      I nodded. "I feel fine." I told him.
      We left the Creel house. We went to the store to get Eddie food, then stopped and got beer. Don't ask how. I am not proud of my actions.
      We  piled back into the car and Steve pulled out a bag of chips. Dustin, Steve and I were shoved in the back, so we snacked on them.
      "Can I stay in the car for this trip? I don't want to see Eddie's dull eyes break again." Robin said.
      "At least he can drink himself into feeling better." Steve said with his mouth full.
      "That's what my mom does." Max said. I scoffed slightly.
      "Why don't we give it a trial? 'Hey Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna. Only the bad news is that he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension, that we told you about, and the gate's closed, so we have no way of getting to him. Like he's entirely shut off to us, so basically you're screwed." Robin said.
      "Not necessarily.." I said. "Eleven opened the gate once, and I helped close it, so, maybe I can open it too. It's possible, and you know, better than letting Eddie go to jail. And letting more innocent people die."
       "That seem's dangerous." Steve said.
      "Plus, we don't know how Eleven opened the gate." Dustin said.
      "Yeah, but I'm sure I could figure it out." I said.
      "Y/N, no." Steve said. "Too dangerous, marking that off the table."
      "So yeah. Eddie is triply screwed." Robin said.
      "Maybe we don't put it like that." Lucas said.
      "'We're one step closer to finding Vecna.'" Nancy said. "That's what we say. That's what's important."
      "See, Robin? Positive spin can make all the difference." Steve said, putting his arm around me.
      "Holy shit.." Nancy said. I looked forwards. Cops were at Reefer Rick's house.
      "Eddie.." I said.
      We all got out of the car. People were looking around. We stayed back, listening to the officer explain what had happened. Patrick McKinney. I looked at Lucas.
       Yet another person who is dead. I was warned, but I couldn't do anything. It was my fault.
      I walked back to the car and climbed back in.
      Everyone climbed in. "We're going to Skull Rock." Steve said.
      "Okay." I said. Nancy drove off for it.
      When we got to the spot, we parked and got out. Steve held my hand and led me into the woods. I smiled at him.
      That all ended when we ended up going the wrong way. There was a lot of arguing.
      We ended up finding it. We found Eddie. Dustin and Eddie hugged, and then, everyone vanished.
      I turned around. My headache came back.
      I did a full 350. Slowly, taking in my surroundings. It was dreary, dark, and there were black vines everywhere.. When I turned back to where Steve and everyone was, Vecna was standing there.
      "Shit!" I yelled. "Go away!"
      "You seem to be of use to my plan." He told me. "I won't kill you, yet. Unless you get too much in my way."
      "Go to hell." I told him. I lifted my hand and threw him against a tree.
      "Now that wasn't very polite, Y/N. Maybe I should let my minions torment you for awhile. Maybe that will do you some good." He told me. Just then, Chrissy, Fred, Billy, my mother, and now Patrick were coming for me.
      I bolted. I hid behind a tree. I was going to have to fight them off. But when I turned to look, they were right in front of me. It threw me off. I tried to throw them, but I was only successful with Chrissy.
      "Shit! Work God damnit!" I yelled. Patrick grabbed me by the back of my neck and banged my head against a rock.
       My vision went blurry. "Go away!" I yelled again. I felt the blood trickle down my face. Billy stood over me. He bent down, and lifted my face.
      "You're to blame for all of our deaths, all of us. You screwed us over. You couldn't save us. You failed." He told me.
      "You haven't been what I thought you'd be, Y/N. You're turning out to be quite the monster. Harnessing your power.. trying to use it against your family." My mother said.
      "You're not real!" I yelled. "You're just a figment of my imagination!"
      "Then why does that bump on the head hurt?" Billy asked. Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick stood off to the side, smiling.
      "You aren't real.. you can't be." I said. I shut my eyes tight. Then, I was being raised. Vecna was standing over me. I raised my hand, focusing on throwing him off of me so I could escape.
      It worked. I bolted yet again. This time, through the woods and towards the lake.
      I didn't make it before I was thrown. "Shit!" I yelled. Vecna. He grabbed my face.
      "Do not get in my way." He told me. I threw him again. And again, and again. Then, I woke up. But I didn't realize until it was too late. I had thrown Dustin. Not far or hard, but still enough to give him a cut or two.
      "Shit- are you okay?" Eddie asked.
      I threw my hands over my mouth. "Dustin.. I'm so sorry!" I yelled.
      "Y/N, what has gotten into you?" Nancy asked.
      I wiped my nose. My head still hurt. In two different ways. I stumbled back and sat on a rock.
      "Shit.." I said. I felt the blood trickling down my head again. I touched it with my hand. It was there. "Oh my God..."
      Steve got closer, he touched my head. "Holy shit.. how did that happen? You were fine a few minutes ago."
      "It happened again, didn't it?" Max asked. I looked at her.
      "What?" I asked.
      "You've been seeing them. All of them. Ever since Billy died. You told Ms. Kelley about it. Just once." Max told me.
      "How do you know that?" I asked.
      "I went through your file."
     "She marked it as Survivor's Guilt. It's nothing. It's not real.." I mumbled. "It can't be."
      "Y/N, you're hurt. What happened?" Steve asked.
      "Nothing." I said. "I'll tell you later."
      They went on, investigating. Real Nancy Drew shit.
      Steve sat next to me. I was in some sort of daze. My headache was still there, but this one was just from the bump. After a bit he talked with them.
      The only thing that drew me from my daze was Dustin. "Boom!" He yelled. I looked up. "I was right! Skull Rock was North."
      "Are you serious?" Steve yelled. "This is Skull Rock! You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now."
      "Yes. And no." Dustin said. Steve threw is hands up. "This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now! It's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was."
      "So you're using faulty equipment. You're still wrong." Steve said.
      "Except, it isn't faulty. Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?" Dustin asked.
      "An electromagnetic field." Lucas answered.
     "Yep." Dustin said.
     "I'm sorry, I must've skipped that class." Robin said.
     "In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power." Dustin explained. "So either there's some super big magnet around here, or.."
      "There's a gate." I said.
      "But we're nowhere near the lab." Nancy said.
      "But what if, somehow, there's another gate?" Dustin asked. "A gate that we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller, way less powerful."
      "Snack size gate." Robin said.
      "How? Why?" Steve asked.
      "No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate." Dustin said. "And I hope it is. Because then, we'd have a way to get to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max from this curse."
      Dustin took off. There was some more arguing, but we ended up going.
      "Care to explain?" Steve asked me, as we hiked towards the gate.
      "Nothing to explain." I told him. "It was nothing.."
      "Your eyes say differently. So does your head, and you throwing Dustin."
      I stopped. "I saw something. Okay? Something awful. And I can't stop seeing it. It started with Billy last year, then it was Chrissy after she died, then Fred, and then my mother? And now it's Patrick and Vecna. They torment me. Constantly. I can't stop it." I told him.
      "They tried to be helpful at first. But now they're angry. I failed them. I am failing them. My mother think's I'm a monster." I rambled.
      Steve hugged me. "God.. Y/N. I wish you'd have told me." He said.
      "I know.. I just didn't want to worry you too much." I said.
      "Mission failed." He said with a smile.
      "I'm sorry." I told him.
      "We'll figure it out. I promise, okay?" He asked. I nodded.
      We continued walking. He held my hand the entire time.
      The gate was at Lover's Lake.
      We uncovered a boat. We were going to see if it was in the middle of the lake or not.
      I helped them carry it into the water. "Easy, Eddie!" Steve said as the boat his the bottom.
      "Sorry dude." Eddie replied.
      We all got in as Steve held the boat to the edge.
      Dustin tried to join us. "Hey, hey, are you trying to sink us?" Eddie asked. "This thing holds three people. Tops, okay? We're pushing it now."
       "It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here with Max." Nancy said. "Keep an eye out for trouble."
       "You keep an eye out!" Dustin said. "It's my goddamn theory."
       "You heard Nance." Robin said.
      "Who put her in charge?" He asked.
      "I did." Robin said.
      "Compass." Nancy said, reaching out. Dustin unwillingly gave it to her. Steve pushed the boat and jumped in.
      "You said you were pushing it before!" Dustin yelled.
      "Sorry." Nancy yelled.
      "Bedtime's at 9, kiddo's!" Robin yelled. "Miss you already!"
       Robin and Eddie rowed. "Woah woah woah, slow down." Nancy said.
       The compass was spinning.
       Steve started to take his shoes off. "Steve, what are you doing?" I asked him.
      "Someone has to go down and check this out." He told me. "Unless one of you three fan top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then... it's gotta be me, no complaints, alright?"
      "Not alright." I mumbled slightly. He looked at me.
      "Hey, I'm not complaining. I do not wanna go down there." Eddie said.
      Steve took his shirt off. Eddie wrapped a bag around a flashlight and gave it to him.
      "Good luck." Eddie told him.
      "Steve, be careful." I told him.
      He looked at me. Then dove in.
     It had been a minute. I had another headache. After another minute or so, Steve popped up.
     "I found it." He said.
     "You found it?" Nancy asked.
      "Yeah, I found it." Steve said. "It's pretty wild. It's sort of a snack size gate compared to it's mama but still it's pretty damn big." Something grabbed him.
       "Shit!" I yelled. I popped my shoes off. He popped up again. He looked down confused, then was dragged down again. I jumped in. I watched as he was dragged down into the gate. Naturally, I went in after.
       When I made it through, Steve was being dragged. "Steve!" I yelled. It let him go. Something screamed in the distance.  I couldn't see it well, but Steve backed up and grabbed a piece of wood. Suddenly, it was on him. They were on him.