✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　nine　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

- everybody wants to rule the world, tears for fears

" most of freedom and of pleasure
nothing ever lasts forever
everybody wants to rule the world "

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　demon bats　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"Who's Billy?"

The group didn't know what to say. "Gracie... are you serious?" Max couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. How could she forget him? It wasn't like her to just forget him.

Eddie harshly kissed his teeth staring over at her. "Yeah, I forgot to mention she's been, like, forgetting a lot of things. Totally freaking me out!" He yelled out a overly sarcastic chuckle following, hands grabbing at his hair in either side of his head.

He remembered how she'd forget the little things on the trail. Even some big things when he tried to start conversation, it was scaring but he thought nothing serious until now.

Gracie's lips turned down to a frown as she stared at her lap twiddling with her fingers. "I'm sorry, I don't mean too... Is he close to me?"

The Harrington teen sighed, looking down to his feet as he leaned against the tree. "Yeah, he was..." He reached in his back pocket tossing her the locket he pulled out.

She caught it was ease, fingers tracing the chain before she clicked the locket open. Her eyes watered as she stared down at a picture of them together.

"Oh...oh." A loud sniffle came from her nose, her hands shaking as she held the locket. "I thought I lost this."

"It could be Vecna... affecting her memory. With everything that happened last year, what he did to her..." Max sniffled, on the verge of breaking a year seeing someone she thought as of her sister going through something so painful.

"We went to Miss Kelly's office and searched through the files, you, Chrissy, Fred, and I all had the same symptoms. You're seeing things just like me. He came after me but music helps, your favorite song mostly. I know this is scary, Gracie... But, can you tell me what your favorite song is?"

Gracie couldn't think, more of she couldn't remember. There were three songs she listened to on a daily. But, she couldn't remember the names. "I can't remember... but I think I can hum the tune." She winced as she tried to remember how it went.

Her glossy eyes glanced over everyone staring at her in anticipation. Slowly she started humming unsure of if the notes matched up.

Eddie's eyes widened in surprise remembering the song she hummed. "Edge of Seventeen, Stevie Nicks."

The rest of the group looking at him in confusion at his sudden outburst. "That's the song she's humming!" He thrusted his hand out in her direction trying to make their mind work.

The two had played the song continuously throughout their hangout sessions and at that point he'd memorized all the lyrics. "Well, does anyone have it at their house?" Steve questioned the small group trying to take his mind off of the small guilt.

He'd known the girl for nearly a decade being close friends for most. Hell she'd been living in his house for almost a year and he didn't know her favorite song.

Steve had to admit he was a bit jealous of Eddie's relationship with Dustin but he didn't think he had anything to worry about with Gracie. Gracie and Eddie didn't even know each other she was only with him for Chrissy.

But, seeing her on his lap told him she knew him a lot more than they let on and it was starting to resurface old feelings. Ones he thought he let go of years ago.

Eddie slowly raised his hand into the air forehead crinkled with small creases. "I do, but um, my house is probably loaded with cops." He brought his finger to his mouth slightly pulling on a large ring on own of hair fingers with his lips. Silence taking over the group as they tried to think of what could help the Gracie like Max.

"Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks." Robin broke the silence that was thicker than ever. Dustin strayed in the back pacing around not bothering with conversation.

"And where he attacks from." Lucas nodded along glancing at the girls in worry. He had grown close to the elder girl over the years she spent watching Will and the party. He was scared that Vecna would take her the way he took Chrissy all because Eddie was being framed for murder.

"So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart." Max shrugged her shoulders trying not to show any emotion as a sign of weakness.

"If he even has a heart." The Hopper girl huffed out, glaring at the dirt beneath her feat. Watching it crumble as she dug her heels into the ground encasing her feet in the dryness of the dirt.

"A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?" Steve asked seriously, thinking for a second it was actually quite cool. "It was a metaphor." The orange haired girl resisted rolling her eyes at the mom-like figure. "A bullet should work on him, right?" Eddie joined in, finally settling his racing heart. Eyes not being able to stray away from Gracie for more than a few seconds at most.

"I saw we chop his head off." Gracie nodded along agreeing with Lucas. "I say all of the above, but we can't do any of that until we find a way into the upside down." Nancy sighed deeply, staring at the two girls in slight sadness.

"We need to El to get her powers back." Max huffed, moving to sit next to Gracie who looked nearly lost at the mention of the girl. "El?" She whispered to the girl in utter confusion. "Gracie.. I-"

She couldn't think of anything to say. This wasn't her Gracie. Usually Gracie wound throw around jokes even in serious moments, bring up wrong doing from years ago, make silly faces at you, but this wasn't her. At least she wasn't acting like it was her.

"Everything was way easier. We had the girl. She had superpowers." Steve leaned back in exaggeration. "Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her." Eddie waved him off at the mention of the girl once more.

He could care less about a girl who once had superpowers more worried about the girl sat next to him who could face death and the fact he was on the run.

Eddie's eyes traveled behind the group seeing Dustin still pacing back and forth with his compass. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?" Everyone turned to look at him, brows furrowed at his antics.

"Cursed? No, no, he's fine. Mental? Absolutely." Steve tried to blow the topic away before Gracie could start to worry and stress but it was too late.

"Dusty? Are you okay? Here, come drink." She stood from the dirt, wiping her bottom free of the brown and leaves, walking over to the boy with the bottle of water in hand.

Just as she was about to tap his back with the bottle he suddenly yelled and spun around on her. "Boom!" She flinched out the way, Eddie shifting in his seat nearly jumping up at her movements, eyes wide as she backed away towards Max who came to stand back beside her.

"Bada.. bada... boom." He pointed his finger at Steve, slowly walking over to him. "What the fuck...?" Gracie whispered to herself slowly causing Max to hold in a snicker. "I was right. Skull Rock was north."

Steve rolled his eyes when he figured out what the boy was on about. Dustin smirked seeing Steve get worked up. "Seriously? You're serious?" Steve couldn't believe his ears right then.

Dustin humming along with a smirk agitating the teen. "This is Skull Rock! Okay? You're totally, absolutely, one hundred percent wrong. Right now. Gracie, tell him." Gracie gnawed on her lip as she glanced between the two boys.

"Skull Rock is north..." If Steve's eyes could get any wider he'd be the living embodiment of Mickey Mouse. "You two are absolutely crazy, right now! I can't believe it."

"You're wrong and right." Dustin slowly explained waving a flag of confusion on everyone's face. "Oh my god." The teen turned away running his hands down his face in disbelief. "This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'."

He held the compass up in the air for everyone to see. "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 up here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was."

He explained but Steve was getting on like two other people in the group. "So you're using faulty equipment. Dude, you're still wrong."

"Except it isn't faulty. Gray, Lucas, do you remember what can affect a compass?" The two of mention glanced to each other, one trying to remember harder than the other. "An electromagnet field." The two answered at once causing Dustin to smile at them, sending a not so subtle wink to Gracie. "Yep." He turned to the rest if the group looking extremely cheeky.

"I'm sorry. I must've skipped that class." Robins raspy voice uttered hoping for him to explain further. "In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there's some super big magnet around here, or..."

"There's a gate." Lucas and Gracie filled in at the same time. The two friends turning to each with a smile, quickly high-fiving one and other. "But we're nowhere near the lab." Nancy had drawn out to be confused.

The gate was shut, the lab was far away. "But what if, somehow, there's another gate? A gate that we don't know about. It's have to be smaller. Way less powerful."

"Snack-size gate." Robin suggested sharing a laugh with Gracie who shot a thumbs up for the comment.

"How? Why?" Steve asked Dustin, hands on his hips with a singular leg bent. "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."

Gracie turned to glance at Eddie as he hadn't said anything in a while and it worried her but he only looked incredibly bored.

"And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Gray and Max from this curse." Dustin turned around skipping down the small hill in glee. "Dusty! Where are you going?" She didn't get an answer so Steve sighed out using his 'mom voice'.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Dustin rolled his eyes turning around like his mom just told him to do dishes as soon as he walked in the house. "Eddie's still a wanted man and with Gracie's name now in the news we can't just go for a hike in the woods."

He slung his arm across the sky in demonstration, hand sassily sat on his hip. "This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Gray, Max, and Eddie. What say you, Eddie the Banished?"

Everyone's heads whipped around almost in sync waiting for his answer. "I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think it's a really bad idea." Steve pursed his lips nodding in agreement.

"But, uh, the Shire... the Shire is burning." Suddenly Dustin started jumping in place with a large grin on his plump cheeks.

Gracie only wished she had a camera to capture hush excitement at the moment, it was something she had done ever since he incident of July forth. Even making Joyce send pictures of the family down in California for her to have.

Eddie stood straight up catching Gracie's eye, she bit her lip as he had looked attractive at that moment for some odd reason, even though he was only standing. Gracie couldn't explain it, she had always found him cute and attractive at all the times.

"So Mordor is it." He strutted forward interlocking his fingers with Gracie's as he passed her leading her to Dustin who's face nearly shriveled into disgust at his actions. "Just nasty." He numbed under his breath.

"What is Mordor?" Steve went to follow along like the way of the forum but felt a pang in his chest when he saw Eddie's ring cladded fingers locked with Gracie's slender ones.

Suddenly Eddie ran back to the rock passing him as he had to grab his stolen walkie-talkie and canteen. "Get your stuff, dude. Let's go." Steve sighed running his fingers through his styled hair.

Eddie shot him a cheeky smile before he ran to catch back up with Gracie. Sharing the canteen with her as he didn't want her to waste all of her water.

-

Gracie breathed heavily as she tried to keep up with Dustin, leaving Eddie in the dust yards back. "Dusty, please slow down." She tried to run after him. Eddie only catching a glimpse of her form as he and the rest go the gang broke through the bushes.

Dustin moved to the side to glance at his compass as he stopped at the water. "I think we're getting close." He smiled as he heard Gracie coming through the trees but she couldn't hear him, only the sound buzzing fuller her ears.

So when she ran through the trees with no motive to stop and lost her footing when she hit a rock, Eddie quickly jolted from behind her pulling her into his chest.

"Watch where you're going, okay? Jesus." He sighed, feeling her breathing heavily against him. Gracie stared up at him with a certain glimpse in her eyes that he couldn't quite decipher. "Sorry, thanks." She patted his chest before stepping away from him.

Steve furrowed his brows at the sight, nudging Max with his elbow sharply. She hissed out at him, rubbing the side of her arm. "Are they, like, a thing?" He asked ignoring the burning glare on the side of his face as they stared at the 'couple'.

"I don't know, why do you care anyway?" She turned walking away to stand beside Gracie like she usually did as it made her feel safe. "I don't..." He whispered to himself as if he were almost in a trance.

"You gotta be shittin' me." Steve sighed as he glanced at the water's edge in front of their feet. The noise of the wilding compass and police sirens flooding in their ears. "I thought these woods were familiar." Eddie added, rubbing the back of Gracie feeling this coolness of his leather jacket.

"Lover's Lake." Robin clarified which brought shivers down Gracie's spine. The events of the last night coming rushing in like a flood in her mind. Breath picking up unable to catch itself but no one noticed.

No one noticing the way her hands began to tremble and how she couldn't stand still. Eddie glanced down at her but he was far too caught up in the moment of the lake to realize her sudden change in demeanor.

"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Max questioned. Gracie wanted to make a joke about the small rhyme she craters but she couldn't get a word out. "Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening." Nancy pointed out hru none of them had drawn their eyes from the lake since they arrived.

"Maybe Vecna's the same way." Being the first to turn away. "Yeah, only one way to find out." Steve sighed finally noticing Gracie's mannerisms. "Gray? You okay there?" His sudden mention of the girl sent Eddie's eyes on her in a heartbeat.

"Gracie? Princ- Gray?" He held her shoulders, waving hand in front of her face snapping her out of her state. "I-I'm okay, Eds."

Her voice was soft and gentle but broken and fragile. That's when he remembered this was where the events took place with her. "Is it too much? For you to be here I mean."

His fingers ran through the ends of her hair meeting at the bottom of her scalp just before her neck. "I'm okay." It sounded more as if she was trying to reassure herself more than she was trying with Eddie.

The group watched on, all wondering if the two had secretly been a couple but it wasn't the most important matter at the moment. Though, the thought traces through their minds.

Nodding carefully, Eddie gripped her hand leading them over to the boat that the tow had covered up when they reached shore. He whipped the tarp off the boat shoving it into Steve's hands.

Letting go of Gracie's he picked up the boat dropping just the stern of it in the water. "Easy." Steve tried to tell him but Eddie let got of the boat allowing the bow on the shore harshly.

"I... I said easy, man." Eddie dryly sucked at his teeth glancing over his shoulder at the teen. "Sorry, dude." The two helped Robin into the boat who Jesé's their heads as leverage.

Nancy coming in second before Eddie stood himself in the boat. Dustin looked around as he tries to step foot into the boat. Eddie pushed his head back, knee on the bow seat.

"Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds three people tops, okay?" He moved to the side where Gracie stood by the boat staring off into the water.

"It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here with Max and Gracie." Eddie's brows furrowed as he ignored Nancy's words to the boy. "Are you coming with us, Gracelyn Hopper?" He held his hand out with a small smile.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." She placed her hand in his with a grin of her own. "I thought you said 'three people tops'?"

He dropped his arm under her legs holding onto her knee as his other arm fell behind her back lifting her up. "Well, you're Gracie Hopper, sweetheart." He winked at her as he set her down on the boat just as Steve began pushing it and jumped in.

"You said three! That's literally five!" He glared at the boat in bewilderment as Steve whispered a 'sorry' and Gracie along with Eddie snickered at him.

Eddie and Robing began to row the boat, trying to follow Nancy's instructions from the compass. "Be on your best behavior!" Gracie yelled not a single hint of a joke lacing her words directing it to the freshmen.

Miles into the lake Nancy suddenly noticed the compass acting on crack again. "Woah, woah, slow down guys." The two followed her lead, discontinuing their rowing as everyone turned to her.

Eddie subconsciously throwing his arm around 'his' girl's shoulders. Shining the flashlight on the compass Steve allowed them all to see it going haywire. "Whoa..."

"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin voice broke through the walkie-talkie. "Come on, guys, talk to me. What's going on?" Robin picked up the walkie-talkie pressing the button to speak. "Uh, Dustin, your compass has goes from wonky to wonky with a capital 'ahh!'."

Suddenly Steve started to strip himself of his socks making the other four completely confused. "Steve, what... are... you... doing?" Gracie asked the boy who only continued to throw his shoes and socks somewhere in the boat.

"Somebody's gotta go down and check this thing out. Unless one of you three can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then... it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right? Gracie, put your hand down."

She slowly placed her hand back at her side, keeping her comments to herself. "Hey, I'm not complaining." Eddie shrugged running his fingers down the girl's spine.

"I do not wanna go down there." He began to dig though the pockets on his denim cutoff. Steve suddenly pulled his shirt off as she stood at the bow of the boat.

Nancy staring and Gracie accidentally peeking. Eddie took the bag out that he pulled from his pocket that he now emptied and waved to loudly in front of her face. Crinkling it with his hands as he wrapped it around the flashlight.

"Hey. Good luck." Gracie brows nearly touched her hairline as she raised them at her actions just seconds ago. "What? I was fixing him the flashlight." Eddie brushed her off putting a cigarette in his mouth.

He went to light it but Robin plucked it from his lips throwing it in the lake. "Gross." Gracie's mouth hung wide open.

"Hey! I bought him those." She crossed her arms turning to the edge of the boat not even watching as Steve dove into the water.

Minutes later Steve suddenly jolted up from the water causing the four to nearly shit their pants. "Jesus fuck, Steve!" Gracie yelled as she moved to the edge of the boat.

Placing her hands over his as he leaned on the boat like she had twenty four hours ago. "I found it." He smiled at her. "You found it?" He moved his hand on top of her to pat it lightly. "I found it. Yeah. I found it."

Robing clicked onto the walkie-talkie, "Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate." Eddie moved so his body was directly behind Gracie's. Hand's hovering lightly over her hips.

"It was pretty wild. It's more like a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big." Gracie smiled holding onto his wrists as she tried to pull him into the boat.

"Okay, come on." Her breath was suddenly taken away and she felt a tingling on the back of her neck as Steve's body was pulled further into the water and she couldn't let go in time. Eddie's hands only ghosting over her waist as he was seconds too late.

The two being dragged down to the bottom of the lake, Gracie not daring to let him go anymore once she saw a vine was attached to his leg. Steve clamored trying to get her to let go and float back up to the too but she wouldn't.

"Gracie!" Eddie yelled out while the girls yelled for Steve. His heart felt like it could go flying out of his chest at any second.

"Ed, I can't sw-!"

His breath was caught in his throat from the recollection. "Gracie! Gracie! What the hell was that?! Gracie!"

Steve yelled, bubbles flying from his mouth as he and Gracie were pulled into the gate and thrown into the floor.

Gracie being drug as she held onto Steve with the vine still attached to his leg. "Steve!" she yelled trying to catch her breath.

A vine suddenly struck her upside the face grabbing onto her hair, pulling her away from Steve as her hands slipped from his skin. "Gray, Gracie!"

Nancy suddenly jumped into the water the two yelling for her as she did so. Robin turned mischievously towards Eddie, her butt on the edge of the boat before she fell back into the water following after Nancy.

"Shit!" He pulled at his hair glancing down at the water, his eyes wandered to the spot where missing bracelet one sat. "Only for you, Gracelyn Hopper. Only for you." He stood up jumping ungracefully into the water.

The vine threw Steve into loose debris, his eyes searching for Gracie. "Gracie!" He squinted seeing her form being tugged a few feet away from him, thrown onto a old log.

He rose to his feet, slipping over to her in worry. "Gracie?" He slid on his knees seeing her eyes closed and her chest barely rising. "Gracie? Please." He patted her cheeks lightly holding her head against his.

"Come one, Gracie!" He moved trying to perform CPR, pressing harshly against her chest. The sound of an alien like creature halting his actions. He looked into the distance seeing a bat like creature flying at him, turning to see them come from all directions.

He ran grabbing an oar from a random speedboat, standing over Gracie's still body. Steve jumped smacking the bat to the ground. "Goddamn demon bats." He turned dodging another going to hit one only for a fail to wrap around his neck.

He was pulled to the ground in pain, the bat choking against the floor while the others bit at him. "Ah!" He tried to grab at them but he was out of luck. His eyes flickering to Gracie who's body still laid idle but a lone bat crept up to her.

"Gr-" His words were cut off as the bat tightened its tail around his neck. Multiple bats coming to nibble at his side as the lone one but Gracie sunk its teeth into her thigh.

Her eyes shot open screaming out in pain but more bats appeared holding her limbs down. "Eddie!" She called out, tearing flowing down her cheeks but he never came.

-from honey

this is like over four thousand words😭
my fingers hurt so I'm not reading over this until tomorrow and I know you guys really wanted a new chapter so I'm just going it post it. 🤍🤍