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Steve backed away to give Nancy some space to recover. She laid on the mattress for awhile, staring up at the ceiling, almost panting.
They asked her what she had seen only to get no answer.
Nancy didn't seem to be the only one in pain. When he looked across the room, he noticed that Dylan stood on the other side, her brows furrowed, seemingly deep in thought or in pain.
She looked at Steve, her expression softening. "I remember," she said, her voice soft and hesitant, as if she didn't fully trust what she was saying.
Mike and Will perked up.
"You remember?"
She shook her head. "Well, not everything—but when I looked at Steve, I saw—"
Dylan scrunched up her face again. "I didn't forget to pay my electricity bill back in California. I didn't forget to pay it because I never did..."
Steve wasn't really sure what she was talking about but he heard himself finish Dylan's sentence anyway. "I always did it."
It was one puzzle piece of many but still, all the memories didn't exactly fit together. That's all he could put together in his brain, an image of their San Francisco address plastered at the top of an electricity bill addressed to Steve Harrington and Dylilah Holland. It was his signature on the check.
"I can't remember much," Dylan said with a small shake of her head. "It's more I can remember a feeling. I feel at ease now that he's here."
Steve looked into her eyes; they were watery like she might cry. Dylan blinked rapidly and any hint of tears was gone.
Steve had to admit he felt similar. Once he fell through the portal, back into the real world, and spotted Dylan across the room, a calmness had washed over him. He hadn't even realized how anxious he had been until the anxiety was gone.
"Steve..." Dylan cocked her head to the side, staring at him intently, like she was trying to conjure something in front of them. His heart fluttered at the sound of his own name falling from her lips. "He was going home, for break. I stayed behind. We were... together?"
Dylan said the last part more hesitantly, still as if she was unsure of herself.
"Yes!" Dustin squealed from behind her. "You were together! And Nancy was with Jonathan. Now you have this weird thing with Jonathan and Steve's been following Nancy around like a lost puppy. It's all messed up! Plus creepy."
Steve noticed Jonathan, only a foot behind Dylan, his hand laid on her shoulder in comfort. Even though Steve couldn't remember much, he was only piecing together the flashes in his memory and the things Dylan was saying, but still an irrational amount of jealously bubbled in his stomach at the thought of Jonathan and Dylan together, in any type of way.
Dustin, Mike, and Will murmured amongst themselves.
Nancy groaned; Steve took half a step forward but ultimately stayed where he stood, staring at Dylan. She stared back. Jonathan pushed forward instead, kneeling by Nancy's side.
"Come here." Dylan said.
Steve followed instruction and moved closer to her. When they were close enough, Steve reached out to touch her face, letting his fingertips stroke her cheek. Her eyes closed and her head fit into the palm of his hand.
Memories—flashes—
Dylan fell back, taking her warmth with her. She screamed out in pain, a striking bloodcurdling scream.
Steve caught her and pulled her to her feet in time to see her eyes roll back into her head.
He paused a moment, confused again, his memory was suddenly even fuzzier than before. What had they been talking about?
Then he panicked. "Shit, shit," Steve cursed. "Guys—!"
Heads snapped toward them to watch Dylan seize in his arms. Even Nancy managed to pull herself up on her feet, finally alert.
"Ok! Again! Again!" Robin stammered nervously. "We need music!"
Eddie groaned. "Oh, god—what's it gonna be this time? Bananarama? Eurythmics?"
Nancy watched Dylan, her eyes were rolled back in her head and small grunts of pain left her mouth. Nancy frowned. "It doesn't make any sense. The screaming, groans, she sounds like she's in immense pain. Max, Fred, myself—it was scary, terrifying, but it didn't hurt, not in the real world."
"She's been complaining of a headache ever since we got back to Indiana." Jonathan informed them. "It got so bad she could hardly walk or open her eyes."
Nancy shook her head. "But why?"
"The why we can figure out later," said a panicked Dustin. "Right now, does anyone know her favourite song?"
The room went quiet.
Steve watched as Dylan twitched in his arms. A melody formed in his mind. "I do," he said, half unsure.
"Okay!" Nancy said hurriedly. "Then what is it? How do we find it?"
Steve looked around him. He didn't see any tapes. He couldn't even remember the name. "It was by New Order. More lighthearted, less dance-y..." he tried to think of the name but came up with lyrics. "I'm not the kind that needs to tell you...," he sung to the best of his ability.
Jonathan's face lit up. "Age of Consent, New Order!"
Eddie laughed. "Shit, that's basic."
Steve glared at him. "Nah, she said it made her feel hopeful. It was the only song that made her feel that way."
He didn't know how he remembered that. It was a vague, blurry vision but a memory nonetheless. He could faintly hear her voice in his head, telling him to rewind the tape and play it again.
"I've got that around here somewhere..." said Eddie.
Eddie hurriedly put a white cassette into his Walkman. It started to play Blue Monday. Eddie popped it out. "Pencil? Pencil anyone?"
They all began to pat themselves down. Nancy eventually pulled one out of her purse and Eddie reminded the tape. Age of Consent began to play loudly through the headphones.
He placed the headphones on Dylan's head. Within moments, her eyes rolled forward and her screaming stopped.
She looked around the room confused.
"I didn't see anything." She said. "It wasn't like the others... it was just dark. And painful."
Nancy was the first to follow up. "You didn't see a thing? Did you hear anything?"
Dylan nodded slowly. "I heard Age of Consent. Before that I just heard... it wasn't Barb, it was Billy."
Steve's heart pounded, a familiar feeling of jealousy bubbling in his stomach.
"He was yelling at me." She continued. "Just Secret Slut over and over..."
Dylan finally broke and began to cry. Steve stood up, stiff, unsure if he was meant to comfort her or not given the insane circumstances they were under.
