◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

It was a long ride, but not a miserable one. Honestly, the domesticity of riding in a stolen trailer with your friends as you prepare to go fight an interdimensional wizard was remarkable. Sam was content to sit on the cushioned couch with Max for the rest of the journey; although, people like Lucas, Dustin, and Erica would come in and out to sit with them. Sam enjoyed it. Just for a moment, she could trick her mind that the Party was fine and intact.

Steve suddenly parked the trailer, causing the few sleeping members to jolt awake. Auggie was one of the few, and Steve only apologized when Auggie grumbled in upset. They decided that all the Hellfire Club members had to stay behind, especially Eddie, considering that the town of Hawkins wasn't very happy with them at the moment. They may be out of Hawkins, but they couldn't take any foolish risks.

Sam got up to go into the store with the rest of the group and was immediately stopped by everyone's protests.

"Woah, woah, woah, you're not going with us, Goldie!"

Sam gaped in offense. "What? Why not?!"

"Um—" Steve gestured to her, like the answer should be obvious. "You're the one who literally just said Hellfire members shouldn't go 'cause they're wanted."

"Yeah, to keep them safe!" she protested.

"You're wanted, too!" Auggie pointed out.

The reminder was like cold water being dumped over Sam's heart. If anyone squinted, they would've noted her grimacing flinch. Sam breathed, heavily, staring back at those arguing Sam's presence in War Zone.

"Sam," Nancy's broke in softly. Her eyes were sympathetic on Sam in a way that told her Nancy knew exactly what was going on in her mind. "Just stay here for a sec. It'll be fine, okay?"

But Sam did not echo Nancy. She stared, still uncertain, fists clenching.

"I'll even buy you a gun and bullets," Nancy offered in sing-songy tone.

Sam opened her mouth to protest, inhaling a large breath of air with her, but the complaint fell silent from Sam's lips. All factors considered, it wasn't that bad of a deal.

"Fine," Sam gave in. "But I want a handgun, okay?"

Everyone let out little smiles that Sam gave in to this, specific battle. Nancy worried it would've been much more of a fight from Sam's end. Luckily, just this once, it wasn't.

Nancy saluted at Sam. "Yes, ma'am."

And then Max, Erica, Auggie, Robin, Steve, and Nancy were exiting the trailer. Sam, Lucas, Dustin, and Eddie were being unfortunately left behind. The three boys didn't seem to care much about this alignment, but Sam was getting restless. She didn't like doing nothing, feeling useless, especially since she'd been caught in Vecna's trance. Nothing could combat that horrifying feeling of being stuck in her own mind. It was awful and unimaginable.

Nothing was worse than that, so Sam guessed she could handle waiting in a small mobile trailer for a little while.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

The business in War Zone was certainly booming. There wasn't a single doubt about it.

Honestly, Stephanie wasn't totally sure she'd ended up here. When she suggested the thought to Aunt Kat, Stephanie hadn't expected her aunt to say yes. Apparently, Aunt Kat really was cool now; apparently, her breaking point was people threatening to hurt her youngest niece.

Stephanie thought that was very fair. Her last straw, as well, was the thought of anyone hurting Sam. Her baby sister, Sam.

So Stephanie was putting her gun knowledge to use — Thank you, Mom, rest in peace — and searching through War Zone's plentiful collection.

Honestly, she felt insanely freaked out. It wasn't even just about the fact that Sam was wanted and had run from the police. War Zone was filled with a multitude of angry hicks, and Stephanie was their biggest nightmare. Just one look at her — her dyed pink hair, her nose ring — and she was officially Angry Hick Enemy #1. Stephanie knew she'd never really fit into Indiana, but she'd never felt more alone in that than she did right now.

Sam, where are you? she desperately thought.

"And when I, uh — When I thought you couldn't look any cooler."

Stephanie flinched around in fear, combat shotgun in hand. Robin Buckley and Steve Harrington startled backwards in unison, avoiding the brutal force of the end of her gun.

"Oh, shit, I'm so sorry!" Stephanie hissed, letting the gun fall a little down in her grip. "I didn't — Fuck — Didn't see you — I mean, obviously I didn't, I wouldn't purposely try and hit you with a gun—"

She was cut off by Robin laughing at her. Not maliciously just... fond.

Stephanie's heart swelled a little happily.

Now that she calmed down from the jump scare, Stephanie could properly breathe and soak in the sight before her. Together, Robin and Steve were filling a shopping cart with canisters and canisters of gasoline. It was a little concerning, but their demeanors rose more suspicion. They were — in lack of a kinder word — really dirty, and Steve looked like he'd been beaten up by a hoard of angry bats.

Which was impossible, obviously.

"Hi," Stephanie tried again, face tinting in embarrassment. "Robin, Steve."

Steve waved with an amused smile, nodding up at her. Robin echoed, "S-Steph."

Steve proceeded to make the exact face Warren Aquino made when Stephanie failed to speak properly to Robin.

"I just — You know I wasn't trying to take you guys out, right? I probably look like a menace holding a shotgun, but it's not meant for hurting you guys."

"I'm pretty sure that's exactly what you said when you accidentally stabbed me in the hand with a violin bow," Robin muttered, holding up the back of her hand that still harbored a scar from Stephanie.

Stephanie grimaced, because that wasn't her proudest moment. "I'm sorry. I still stand by the fact that was an accident. I promise."

"You actually stabbed her?" Steve questioned. "I thought she was just being, like, dramatic."

Stephanie's first thought was Robin talks about me? but then it was an embarrassed Steve knows I stabbed his best friend.

"I was just" — so blinded by Robin's beauty that my hand dropped down and her hand coincidentally happened to be there — "a really uncoordinated seventh grader."

"Yeah, sure," Steve responded, though there was an amused note to his voice.

Robin was standing there, just staring at Stephanie, mouth parted slightly. Stephanie internally wondered if she was going to speak up, but it seemed like Robin was in some sort of trance with her eyes on Stephanie. She couldn't do anything but look back at Robin.

From very distantly away, she heard Steve sigh tiredly.

"Robin, I'm gonna get more of this shit, okay?" he said, but Robin only waved her hand back at Steve to show she'd heard him. "All right, awesome, bye."

"Can I, um" — Stephanie swallowed nervously — "ask what all the gasoline is for?"

Robin blinked rapidly, snapping out of it. Her head glanced back to the shopping cart Steve had, then back towards Stephanie.

"Can I ask what the gun is for?" she asked in rebuttal.

Stephanie's head tilted, because that was a reasonable question. She answered, "Well, I am literally going to kill someone if they try and touch my sister, so..."

"Oh," Robin startled. Then, "Yeah, that's fair."

Stephanie nodded, because, yes. It was.

Then, to answer Stephanie's question, Robin blurted, "Would you believe me if I said we were monster hunting?"

She gestured around the store, and Stephanie's head followed where Robin was directing. Upon further inspection, she could spot the disgruntled figures of Nancy Wheeler, Erica Sinclair, Max Mayfield, and August Santos.

Stephanie let out an incredulous puff of air, gun lowering in exasperation. "It's not the craziest thing I've heard recently, so, sure."

"Well, then, we're monster hunting," Robin answered, and she actually sounded truthful. She wondered, "Are you here alone? I don't see Warren and them."

"I'm with my aunt," Stephanie said, exhaling tiredly. "She found out I knew how to shoot guns and was all for coming here."

"That meeting at the hall," Robin suddenly said sadly. "Was it... bad?"

Stephanie's expression immediately turned sour. Her hands subconsciously clenched the shotgun tighter.

"The town is fucked. I need Sam, but she is..." Stephanie sighed frustratedly, "being Sam, somewhere."

Robin's expression pinched, a little guiltily.

"Don't get me wrong," Stephanie continued, reading Robin's features as something different than it actually meant, "I love her. But sometimes I don't like her very much."

Right now was certainly one of those times. She just wanted Sam to understand Stephanie would protect her from all the evil going on. Sam didn't have to fight it on her own. It was terribly frustrating Sam never thought about that possibility.

"I never realized how different you two are," Robin caught Stephanie by surprise.

It was a head-turning response. Usually people told Stephanie the opposite, that they never realized how alike she and Sam were. They always assumed, because of appearances, that the Hughes sisters were entirely different entities.

But Robin looked through. She discovered their differences through personality rather than rumors.

Stephanie hummed contemplatively. "She's afraid."

"Of what?"

Stephanie started to shake her head before stopping herself, "That she doesn't deserve much, I guess. That she isn't...enough. So she overcompensates. I'm worried that it makes her easier for everyone control. She's so desperate for their approval."

"You don't think she's desperate for your approval?"

Stephanie grimaced. "I know she is. I hate it."

"Why?"

"It makes me feel like I've failed. Failed at...being her sister. She should know that I love her. If I'd done it properly, she would know."

And Robin looked terribly conflicted. She wished she could reassure Stephanie that it wasn't Stephanie's fault; that Sam's avoidance was because Sam was protecting Stephanie. Sam sacrificed her freedom of innocence and joy so that Stephanie could be innocent and joyful in Sam's place. Sam loved Stephanie more than words couldn't amount, and she knew the same went for Stephanie.

It hurt to the core Stephanie didn't know either thing.

The consequences of being the youngest born in the Creel lineage.

"Hey, Rob, me and Harrington got the rest of the gaso—" a new voice appeared. Auggie cut himself off when he saw who Robin was talking to. "Oh. Hi. You're Sam's sister."

Stephanie nodded back, a little judgingly. "Hi," she echoed. "You're the guy that turned my little sister all vintage, right?"

"I — Oh, well I can change her back if you want."

She shrugged in an easy-going manner. "No, it's fine. She's actually cool now. Just, you know, keep her safe," Stephanie said to both Auggie and Robin now.

Stephanie knew Sam was with them.

"Um," Robin panicked, nodding rapidly, "we will. I swear. I promise we will."

"Then that's all I ask," Stephanie tried sending them a grateful smile, but the only thing lacing it was pure, utter sadness.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

Sam was still waiting for the group of six to return from War Zone.

It's not that they were taking that long of a time, it was just that each passing second made Sam even more nervous. She was sitting in the seat of the little dining area, leg bouncing up and down at a rapid pace. Sam was constantly looking around, over her shoulder — Dustin was sitting on the couch in the back, Eddie was sitting up in the front passenger seat, Lucas was right in front of her on the other seat of the dining area.

"How're you doing?" Lucas asked quietly, breaking the silence they'd been sitting in. "Like — with everything, you know."

"Um, really good," Sam whispered sarcastically. Lucas let out a little huff as she nodded, continuing the bit, "Yeah, I'm really enjoying this, honestly. Uncle Vecna's been lighting up my heart since he forced me through traumatizing, waking nightmares."

Lucas laughed louder now, though his face was exasperated. "Okay, I get it. Stupid question."

"No, I'm sorry," Sam tried sobering her smile, shrugging at Lucas. "I'm just trying to — cope."

Because, no, she wasn't doing good. Not really. Not anymore. Even with her friends by her side, Sam was constantly on edge. The only time she felt a little calm was right now staring at Lucas. It felt like sun rays beaming down on her.

"Sam," Lucas muttered, frowning sadly.

She shook her head. "I don't mean to — Sorry, I just — It was a lot, you know? And every time I close my eyes, I can still see it and I can't calm down and it's — it's eating me alive. The way they've all been looking at me since I told them about Henry... It's like I'm an entirely new person, it just — I feel like shit," she deflated at the last word, eyes closing shut with self-hatred in her features.

Lucas frowned. He couldn't stand to see Sam so upset. It was almost as bad as seeing her caught in a trance with her eyes rolled to the back of her head, although nothing would ever be worse than that.

"Maybe it's different for them," he said. "Maybe they just see you as his niece."

Sam hesitated, then said, "And you don't?"

Lucas looked down at her. "No," he said quietly. "I see you exactly as you are."

Sam felt the breath being taken from her. Suddenly her knee wasn't bouncing, and her hands were unclenched. Lucas made her feel a certain type of calm that wasn't really calm at all — a rushing wave roaring in her chest, but it was better than anything she'd ever felt.

"Vecna, he's... he's horrible. He feeds on people's fears and weaponizes their trauma," Lucas continued, brows furrowing passionately. "He kills teenagers to support his own, desirable outcome, Sam. You aren't that way. You're better than that."

She is better than that, Diane Hughes had once told Dr. Brenner. She has better things in her than that.

"My mom said something similar," Sam rasped. There was a ghost of a smile on her features, but she sighed at the mention of her mom. "Growing up she taught me what — what evil people were truly like. How to spot them, how to use a gun in case of emergencies... But — but maybe she should've been preparing me better."

"Maybe she was preparing you," Lucas offered, sending Sam a contemplative shrug, "so that when you finally got to all of this, you'd be different than him."

Sam went quiet. She didn't really know what to say to that. She had this sudden realization that she'd stopped viewing situations with a positive look; it'd been a while since she ever had. It made Sam wonder if she even was different than him.

She wondered if she was changing for the worse, now.

"I think you might be right," she admitted, though not with a light heart. "She wouldn't have wanted this to change me, but... I think it already has."

Lucas's shoulders fell, and it felt that more than just Sam was changing.

"It's changed all of us. It still is. But that doesn't mean you're bad, or that you're letting anyone down," he said, and Sam considered throttling him for knowing her so well.

Sam's foot was bouncing again. From underneath the booth, Lucas stretched his leg out and placed his foot atop Sam's. She immediately stopped the jittery movement.

Sam didn't want to address it — her feelings — so she forcibly joked, "Imagine our lives after all this. Fighting in alternate dimensions then living out our dreams by going to work a 9-5."

Lucas chuckled quietly, letting Sam change the subject.

"That's your dream? Working a 9-5?" Lucas questioned, raising an eyebrow. He teased, "Radio Shack pays that good?"

Sam scoffed, humored. "Well, I definitely lost my job at Radio Shack for mysteriously skipping, like, four shifts for you guys. So, no."

"What is the dream, then?" Lucas asked, genuinely curious.

"Honestly?"

"Yeah, Sam," he huffed. "Honestly."

Sam sighed, instinctively tucking her leg back under the seat she sat in. Lucas's foot fell just back onto the floor without the presence of Sam's. A million thoughts ran through her mind, but she pushed the deeper answers to the back of her mind.

Unsurely, Sam shrugged, "Okay, well, I don't know. It might... be graduating high school early?"

"What?" Lucas choked, incredulously.

Sam looked down, curling up sheepishly. She played with her clasped hands on top of the table. "Yeah, uh... I got an offer from Principal Higgins to move up," she admitted.

"Again?" Lucas questioned, mouth agape.

"Hah. That's what — you know, that's what I said," she commented, bemused. Sam swallowed anxiously, moving her hands so that she was sitting on them instead. "I'd go into junior year next year instead of sophomore year and test up to the senior level in science and math."

Sam heard Lucas curse silently, eyes darting up and down as he processed the information. Then, for extra measure, he cursed aloud.

"Shit, Sam. Holy... that's—"

"I know," Sam was too nervous to hear his thoughts, so she just cut him off. Lucas's opinions mattered more to Sam than anything. "My chem teacher has been asking me for, like, a month, and... and I haven't told anyone. I haven't even been able to give her an answer."

"Why not?"

Sam was exhaling again; the more Lucas asked questions the more Sam had to dig deeper about herself. It made her shift uncomfortably.

Finally, she confessed, "Because I don't want to graduate without you guys."

There it was, the real reason Sam had been avoiding Mrs. Rowley. It wasn't anything deeper than the fact Sam was too afraid to part with her best friends. It wasn't that Sam was stressed about her classes or worried about the workload — She just didn't want to stop protecting them; she didn't want to stop being there for them; she didn't want to cut their time together short.

Lucas deflated with a terribly sad look.

"Sam," he breathed, "you can't let us stop you from things like this. Not anymore."

Sam's face wrenched up. It was a good argument, the reason Sam tried convincing herself to do it. Her brain knew it was the smarter idea but her heart just wasn't able to catch up. Sam's favorite thing in the entire world was her friends.

"But it's us... you know?" she argued weakly, because it was a feeble point.

"But you could do so much with your life!" Lucas argued more firmly, more passionately. "Graduate early, go to college early, graduate that early..."

Sam's face crumpled weakly. She shook her head, "I don't want to leave you guys behind. I can't."

"Then take a gap year!" he tried convincing her. "You could work for a year with Steve, save up some money, and then we'd all be leaving for college at the same time. I mean, any school is gonna accept the high school prodigy who graduated early."

Sam exhaled heavily, partially a groan. She knew that path was a valid one, because she had contemplated it multiple times before.

"I know. I know. I've thought it all out, already. A week ago I would've said yes because..." because I was convinced you all hated me. "But now I just don't know."

Lucas pinned her with a look. "You did just say it was the dream, Sam."

"Might," Sam corrected. "I said it might be the dream. A lot has happened in the past few days" — Lucas laughed incredulously because yeah, it really fucking has — "and things are... different. I might... I don't know. I might be wanting a new dream of my own, now."

Sam met Lucas's eyes, and his gaze was immediately too intense for her liking. She flustered and cleared her throat, breaking the eye contact.

"Um—" Sam broke one hand away from under her thigh to gesture conversationally at Lucas. "Is yours basketball?"

Lucas scoffed, amused and bemused all at the same time. "It was," he said, "until I found out all my teammates are psychos. I think I need a new dream, too."

"Callback to us being the Dream Team, then, huh?" Sam laughed airily. Images of a twelve-year-old Sam and Lucas up in a tree flashed in her mind.

Some things never change.

"Yeah," Lucas nodded in a somewhat heavy voice. "The Dream Team."

Sam and Lucas met each other's eyes for a little longer than necessary.

Then—

"All right," Dustin was shooting up from the couch and pacing across the narrow walkway in the trailer. "All right, that's it. They're taking too long."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, turning away from Lucas finally.

Dustin whipped around, features anxious. "It's been over an hour."

"What?" questioned Lucas. "It didn't feel that long..."

He trailed off and eyed Sam for a little longer. Sam knew what he was thinking, and it was exactly why she kept her eyes glued on Dustin.

"Yeah, well, it has been," Eddie worried. "What if the angry hicks labelled them guilty-by-association and we find an angry mob following them?! Oh, Jesus Christ, I hope Auggie is safe. I was starting to like that dude."

"Auggie's fine," Sam broke in, trying to dispel Dustin and Eddie's worries. "Honestly, he probably got distracted. They all should be fine."

Her knee was bouncing again.

The "should" echoed around the trailer.

Dustin shook his head, continuing to pace as he rapidly checked his watch. He nervously asked, "What the hell is taking them so long—?"

The trailer door was suddenly wrenched open, causing Sam's heart to drop for a minute. She leaned around Lucas so she could see the perpetrator, and calmed only slightly when Steve was the one walking into the vehicle. Still, her friends' rambles had her worried once again. Whatever calm she felt with Lucas was officially broken.

"What happened?!" Lucas wondered with wide eyes and a fearful voice.

"We gotta go," Steve rushed out, causing Eddie to jump out of the passenger seat and sit back to his previous spot back when the trailer was full of ten.

Erica was running in right after him. She panicked, "Your old friends are here!"

"And the two, evil freshman," Robin worried.

"Shit!" Sam and Lucas cursed, in unison.

Everyone else was speeding into the trailer after them. Each of the six carried bags and bags of weaponry, protective clothing, other gear, and substances to help them execute out their plan. The air thickened instantly, and before they knew it, Steve was throwing himself into the driver's seat to start the trailer.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Dustin distressed, trying to herd them all inside.

"I'm going! I'm going! Sit down!"

Sam let her head peak out of the side window once.

She felt the world ending all over again when she made direct eye contact with Justin Zimmerman.

Sam swallowed thickly and forced herself to look away. She couldn't bear to think about it, so she just got up to distract herself instead. The trailer was speeding away again, and Sam didn't really know where they were going, but she was fine as long as it was far from here.

"Hey," she said to Steve, who was nervously driving away from War Zone.

"Goldie," Steve glanced at her in surprise, like he'd just been reminded of something. "Hey, we saw your sister in there, by the way."

Sam's eyes widened and her stomach clenched. "What?"

"Yeah, but—" he noted the terrified look on her face and cursed, "shit, not like that. She's not with the hunting party. Actually, I think she wants to hunt the hunting party."

Sam calmed down a little. She snorted. That sounded a lot more like Steph.

Steve continued, "Yeah, we stopped to talk to her — Don't worry, we didn't give anything away about you. Or — I don't think we did. She kinda just talked to Robin."

There was a particular look on Steve's features as he not-so-discreetly diverted his eyes back towards the road. Sam's interest was immediately piqued.

"Steph and Robin were talking?" she asked.

"Uh — yeah," Steve nodded, though it wasn't nonchalant at all.

"Alone?"

"...Yes."

Sam stared at Steve for a few seconds longer before she was lurching forward and sitting closer to Steve. She talked in a hushed, intense whisper so that Steve couldn't avoid her interrogation.

"Do you know something?"

"Do you know something?" Steve shot back, sparing Sam a suspicious glance.

Sam hummed, crossing her arms with forced indifference. "I might know something."

"I might know something, too."

Sam questioned, "What's the thing you know?"

"Oh, no, I can't tell you until you tell me what you know," Steve didn't let up his guard, and it was suddenly a battle of loyalties. Between Sam and Steve, it was a war that could not be won.

"I can't tell you what I know."

"Well, then I can't tell you what I know," he shook his head.

"Okay, fine."

But Sam's stare continued to burn holes into Steve just for long enough that he grew restless. She watched his hands clench the steering wheel, saw him shift his position in the seat.

Steve side-eyed Sam, huffing as a form of defense. "You don't know," he claimed, confidently.

"All right," Sam shrugged, "then how about I go over to Robin and I will ask her if the thing that I know is actually the thing that I know?"

Steve gasped greatly, so caught off guard that the trailer swerved slightly. Max chided at Steve, but he wasn't paying attention.

"You know!" he realized.

"And you know!" Sam grinned in excitement.

"Yeah, I know!" exclaimed Steve.

"My sister and Robin!" Sam freaked out, both incredulous and eager. "This is unbelievable! How long have you known?!"

Steve hissed, "Too long! How long have you known?!"

"Since I was seven years old!"

"Oh, my god, Goldie, I've been dying to talk to someone about this for so long!" Steve claimed in exasperation.

Sam was just about to commune in his exhaustion, but apparently they had gotten so excited that Steve's last sentence was so loud everyone finally heard them.

"Talk about what?" Robin asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Sam and Steve looked at Robin, then they looked to each other, then back at Robin.

"Nothing," the two claimed in unison.

But then Steve whispered, "We will discuss this later."

"Oh, definitely," Sam muttered back before she returned to her seat.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

Steve ended up parking the van on a large spacious hill. It was both secluded from society and gave them enough space to do the proper preparations they needed for the plan they had in mind. They needed the bases loaded to get stuff done more efficiently — or, Steve had made another sports reference and he had said so.

The group of ten split up into groups of two. Max and Nancy were preparing Sam and Nancy's guns (or, Nancy was, and Max watched); Dustin and Eddie were hammering nails into the tops of trash can lids to use as defensive shields against the bats (they were the two who offered to lure them away); Lucas and Erica were creating spears that Dustin and Eddie were also to use.

Sam and Auggie were tasked with the roles of creating armory and prepping the right attire for the battle about to take place. In reality, it was Sam who offered and Auggie who decided to pair up with her just so he could sit there and not do any of the work.

Which was seen plain as day right now.

The two of them were sitting furthest from the trailer, out in the tall grass of the field. They sat on crates so they were (so Sam was) able to work above the grass. Sam placed a small fold-out table before her to work on the clothes with. Honestly, she didn't know why those that went to War Zone wasted so much time buying apparel, but Sam wasn't going to question. She was admittedly happy with the fact all she had to do was style clothes. While she worked, there was a small smile on her face as she thought about a past conversation three years ago.

When we said scrounge around your house, we did not mean dress up the freak like she's some Barbie!

Excuse me. These clothes are cute, and if you think I'm gonna let her wear Mike's stinky clothes for however long we ally with her for, then you're dumb.

Hey!

You completely missed the point! Anything would have better than "grunge clothes."

What did you want me to bring, Lucas? A gun?

That question was rather ironic now. Sam snorted to herself and pulled out another shirt from the paper bag the group presented to her. It was just a plain, brown t-shirt that honestly could've been bought anywhere else for much cheaper.

Again, Sam wasn't going to question.

She eyed Auggie as she held up the shirt, although the distracted boy was oblivious to her stare. Sam had no clue what he was doing, just sitting on a crate and fiddling with the earth below, but she interrupted him from doing so.

"Here, take that pitiful thing off," Sam broke the silence, tossing the brown shirt his way. She muttered, "I can't believe you tore the shirt I gifted you."

Auggie rolled his eyes playfully as he fumbled to catch the shirt. "It was for a greater good," he tells her.

Sam snorted. Teasingly, she said, "I know."

He paused.

"What does that mean?" Auggie asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," Sam shrugged innocently. She went back to prepping the clothes before he could interrogate her any further. Sam busied herself by attaching padding to the inside of an army green jacket that would also go to Auggie.

As Sam worked, Auggie pulled of his ruined t-shirt so that he could switch to the new one. The second his skeptical gaze was off of Sam, Sam stopped pretending to alter the jacket. She had a theory, and it was instantly confirmed when she glanced backwards to the trailer.

There, she found that Steve was shamelessly staring at Auggie with a wide mouth, soaking in Auggie's shirtless form.

Sam smirked smugly, turning back around and sending Auggie a knowing look.

"You have an admirer," Sam cooed like a pestering, little sister.

Without even mentioning a name, Auggie's head turned to Steve. When Auggie and Steve caught each other's gazes, both boys flustered and looked away. Now Sam's mind was thoroughly in the scheming phase.

Hastily, Auggie shoved on his brown shirt and the moment was over.

"Shut up," he muttered, face heating up.

"I'm just saying," Sam shrugged casually, resuming her alterations on Auggie's jacket as she spoke. "I've noticed things between you two in the past week."

"There aren't 'things between us'," Auggie protested, both offended and in denial.

Sam raised an eyebrow and sent Auggie an unamused look.

"There aren't!"

Sam continued sending him her disbelieving stare.

"Okay, well, what about you and Sinclair? Huh? Sounds like you're a little hypocrite, doesn't it?"

She only huffed in amusement, continuing to fix Auggie's jacket like the conversation was simple. "I have left the stage of denial. You, however, haven't."

"I'm not in denial!"

"So you admit you like Steve?"

"I don't—!" Auggie began to cry, but then he groaned frustratedly. "Shut up."

Sam grinned knowingly as she dropped her gaze down onto the jacket. Auggie got even more agitated at the fact Sam was behaving like a smug asshole. It bothered him because she was right, and he couldn't stand it because she was always right.

"Okay, so you don't like Steve," Sam let him lie. "Want to tell me why you've been humming 'Please, Please, Pease, Let Me Get What I Want' by The Smiths this whole time?"

Auggie's face screwed up in genuine confusion. "What? No, I haven't," he argued.

"Yes, you have," said Sam, finally setting the jacket back down incredulously. "It's literally the only thing you're doing, actually."

Good times for a change
See, the luck I've had
Can make a good man
Turn bad
So please, please, please
Let me, let me, let me
Let me get what I want
This time

And Auggie wanted to tell Sam that he wasn't constantly thinking about Steve?

Yeah, right.

"It's okay for you to tell me you like him, you know that, right?" Sam assured, letting Auggie know that it wasn't all fun teasing. "I'm, like, the gay counselor. I've helped four people have epiphanies by now."

"Shut up," Auggie rolled his eyes, annoyed.

Sam gaped, "What? It's true! I have!"

Auggie let out a puff of air, but Sam squinted and saw he was restraining a smile the entire time. She smiled again, then, too. The tension settled as Auggie realized this really was a safe space for him. Maybe the safest, really. It was just Sam, after all.

"I might like him," Auggie admitted quietly. He rushed, "But I don't—"

"I KNEW IT!" Sam cheered in excitement.

"—want you to make—"

"I fucking knew it!" Sam pointed at him, beaming.

"—it a big deal because it's not—"

"I knew it when I first saw you two interact!"

"—like anything is gonna — Okay, please, can you stop—"

"You're so bad at hiding it!"

"—Can you just be a little quieter—"

"It's, like, so obvious!"

"—All right, this is starting to feel a little excessive—"

"I can't believe you thought I wouldn't notice!"

"—Are you done, yet—"

"I'm shocked that he doesn't notice—"

"Sam!" Auggie exclaimed in exasperation, and she finally shut up, but the grin on her face was undeniable. Pleadingly, he said, "Stop."

Sam smiled at him, both smug and eager. "I knew it," she repeated finally.

"Okay, fine, you knew it," Auggie sighed, rolling his eyes again to cover up the fact that he was helplessly fond. "Just — I don't want it to be a thing, you know? Steve is just a fantasy. You don't go out with a fantasy. You just think about him all the time."

Sam exhaled exasperatedly. "With the way that boy looks and acts around you? You think he's just a fantasy?" Then, she muttered something incomprehensible under her breath. "Jesus, you're just like Corey."

"What does your cousin have to do with this?"

"Nothing," Sam shook her head. "Auggie, just... Just let yourself entertain the idea of him reciprocating your feelings, okay? You could be causing yourself a million more years of pain by being stubborn and deciding his feelings about you before he even tells you his feelings about you."

Auggie had to catch his breath at that. Sam was finding similarities between him and Corey left and right.

"Holy shit," he wheezed out, sounding winded. "You're a wise little twelve-year-old, you know that?"

"I'm fifteen!" Sam exclaimed, annoyed. Auggie grinned, like he'd purposely done that just to agitate her. She huffed out a breath to get a fallen strand of hair out the way as she realized Auggie's distraction tactic. "And anyways, wisdom comes through traumatic situations," she joked, but it fell short on Auggie.

Sam had paused to fix Auggie's jacket some more. She looked back up when a tense silence appeared, finding that Auggie's expression was suddenly sad. For a moment, she could've sworn his eyes darted towards her torso.

Steve told him about the hospital, she realized.

Suddenly, Sam needed to catch a breath, too.

"You've been through a lot, kid," Auggie pointed out, brows subconsciously pulled together.

And "kid" really... put things into perspective. "Kid" reminded Sam that she first wielded a gun at age nine. "Kid" reminded Sam that she first got involved with this shit at age twelve. "Kid" reminded Sam that her worst, traumatic memory occurred at age thirteen. "Kid" reminded Sam that she found out she had powers at age fourteen. "Kid" reminded Sam that the world was ending right now, at fifteen, and she had to save it.

"Yeah," she said, but it came out choked; it came out wet. Although she tried to nonchalantly dismiss, "I guess I have."

Sam pointedly turned her gaze back down to the jacket on the table before her. She didn't really want to talk further on the topic Auggie presented.

Unfortunately, Sam found that she finished adding padding to Auggie's army green jacket. It felt embarrassing to know that Auggie was staring at Sam, who was caught pretending to alter a jacket already altered. She set it to the "finished" pile and picked up another jacket.

Sam hated silences, she really did, but right now she felt a little too seen to speak up and put more attention onto herself. The only person who had ever made Sam comfortable talking about herself was Lucas, but he was multiple feet away creating spears with his sister. Sam glanced her head behind herself just to look at him, just to stare and feel a little at ease. She sighed, shoulders slowly deflating.

Sam turned her head back around to find that Auggie was standing up from his crate.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, judgmentally suspicious. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she leaned back when Auggie limped forward.

Auggie grinned, and it made Sam even more disgruntled. "Humming The Smiths wasn't all I was doing."

Sam had expected him to follow up with a confession that he was secretly making a weapon to stab Sam brutally with — don't ask, her mind just got dark — but that was the opposite of what happened. From behind Auggie's back, he pulled a floral piece of jewelry. Sam stared at a flower crown made of the light purple, blue, yellow, and pink flowers found within the field. Auggie had been making it the entire time Sam was making clothes.

"A crown for the lady," Auggie presented it to her with a regal voice.

Sam laughed in a startled manner. She eyed the crown warily, and then Auggie with the same face.

"W... What?" she asked, totally startled and chuckling slightly.

Auggie ignored her bizarre look and confused questioning. He just held the flower crown out further, displaying it atop his two, cupped hands.

"A crown for the lady," he repeated.

"Oh, my god," Sam properly giggled then, laughter still a side-effect of being unsure of what was going on. Finally, Sam acquiesced. She tilted her head down, granting Auggie access to the top of her skull.

Auggie gently planted the lilac, sky blue, pastel yellow, and baby pink intertwined flowers on Sam's head. It was somehow the perfect size to fit comfortably around Sam's scalp, the front of the crown across her forehead and above her eyebrows.

Sam craned her head back up when he was done, asked, "Happy now?"

Auggie smiled at Sam, but there was a hint of mischief laced in it.

"No," he said blankly. Auggie held out his two hands implying Sam should take them. "Come on, up you get."

"Why?" Sam questioned, tired and exasperation.

Auggie shrugged, not keen on directly answering her. "A surprise for the lady," he said, regal voice on again.

Sam sent him a frustrated look. "You can't just say 'Meh-meh-meh for the lady' and then I have to listen to you."

Auggie just stared at Sam, hands still outstretched.

"Okay, fine!" Sam huffed. Although reluctantly, Sam grabbed Auggie's hands with hers, allowing him to help pull Sam up. Underneath her breath, she muttered, "You're such a lose—AH!"

Auggie was suddenly yanking Sam into the air now. Before Sam could do anything about it, she was being tossed over Auggie's shoulder like a ragdoll. Her vision was flipped upside down and her head was near the floor.

"AUGGIE!" Sam squealed, surprised and a little terrified. "PUT ME DOWN!"

Auggie was suddenly setting them off-course and Sam exclaimed out again. She bounced with every limping step Auggie took, and from up above, she heard the asshole laughing in amusement.

"August Angelo Santos Don't Even Ask How I Know Your Middle Name, put me down!" cried Sam.

"What was that?" Auggie shouted.

"Put me d—!"

Auggie suddenly began spinning around with a loud, gleeful chuckle. Sam was yelling again; not only was her vision flipped upside down it was now rapidly spinning around. The flower crown that was just tugged on Sam's head flung off to somewhere in the distance.

"Shit — AUGUST!" Sam shrieked. She was tugging Auggie as tight as she could, in fear that she would fly away just like her crown had.

Auggie was still laughing in amusement, and it only doubled when he heard Sam let out the same gleeful sound, although she'd been trying to restrain it as hard as possible. The spinning finally came to a stop, and Sam's vision was moving again. She felt her feet touch the earthy dirt, but Sam instantly stumbled because if the dizziness Auggie caused. She was quick to use him to stabilize herself, it was the least Auggie could do, considering he'd just tortured her.

(She was being dramatic, and it was honestly pretty fun.)

"Dude!" Sam hissed, promptly one second before she electrocuted Auggie in his bicep.

"Dude!" Auggie yelped, rubbing his zapped skin painfully.

"That was your fault!" Sam cried incredulously.

"Well, well, well!" a new voice approached. Once Sam's eyes were steady again, she looked to her right to see that Auggie had stumbled them closer to where Eddie and Dustin were. Holding Sam's fallen flower crown up, Eddie pondered, "What do we have here?"

Auggie shrugged like the answer was obvious, again. "A crown for the lady."

"Ah, I see," Eddie mused in a dramatic voice. He tilted his head at a deadpan Sam with an eager grin. "Well, you know what must be done, Zeus."

"It's Sam," she grumbled so quietly that absolutely no one heard her that time.

She ultimately did know what Eddie was saying "must be done." With an exasperated exhale, Sam executed a dramatic curtesy whilst bowing her head. Sam heard Dustin giggling amusedly from next to Eddie, and the sound was so contagious that Sam was now grinning as well.

"The almighty Druid needs to prepare for battle, too!" Eddie announced finally. Then, the intertwined flowers were crowned back upon Sam's head amidst a large, flamboyant gesture.

Still curtseying, Sam tilted her head back up. She was smiling now, and she wore the lovely crown as if it were a genuine honor. Sam stood back up, straightening herself, although all of Dustin, Auggie, and Eddie were still taller than her.

"May your elemental powers guide us through these trying times," Eddie bowed back at her like a royal gentleman. Dustin followed suit, and Auggie copied their actions. Sam couldn't help herself from laughing out again.

The whole scenario was so silly, so unserious, that she couldn't help but let everyone hear her entertained giggles. Just for a moment, it was like there wasn't an impending doom crawling behind their backs. They could almost forget that Vecna/Henry/One/Fuck-face/Sam's uncle was looming on the next horizon. Sam could laugh, and she could forget about the evils for long enough that she didn't feel bad about it in the slightest. She wore her flower crown with pride and played into the bit for a little while longer.

A few feet away, Lucas Sinclair watched Sam with admiring eyes. All was well.

For now.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

"Here we stand
Worlds apart, heart broken in two, two, two"

The drive in the trailer was tense. There was no longer anything light-hearted or joyful about the atmosphere around them. The group of ten sat in a suffocating silence, and the only thing that could be heard was "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Journey coming from the radio.

"Sleepless nights
Losing ground, I'm reaching for you, you, you"

The sun was setting now, orange glow shining through the windows and painting them all in golden hues. Sam sat on the floor with Eddie, Robin, and Nancy, and she stared up at Lucas in the dining booth. She thought about how beautiful it made him look.

"No!
No!"

The group that would be venturing to the Upside Down — Dustin, Eddie, Auggie, Robin, Steve, and Nancy — were all adorned in the protective gear Sam had altered for them. Now that Sam could see the group all in the apparel from War Zone, Sam was convinced they only bought the clothes to make themselves look cooler for battle. Sam, on a similar yet different note, was still wearing the flower crown Auggie made for her — despite the severity of everything about to happen, she didn't plan on taking off the floral jewelry any time soon.

"Someday love will find you
True love won't desert you"

The further they ventured back into Hawkins, the more Sam's chest tightened. This was it. There was not another pit-stop to make before they found their way towards the beginning of the end. Steve was to drop Lucas, Max, and Erica back at the Creel household for the phase of the plan where Max offered herself as bait up to Vecna. They would be back, there, in that household; one of biting cold and decadent horror.

"You know I still love you
Though we touched and went our separate ways"

Steve was pulling up outside the old, blue and grand house, and Sam's heart plummeted. The harsh realization was really settling in. Sam would be split up from Lucas, Max, and Erica — she would be split up from everyone, at that. She wasn't coping well with the idea of just dropping her dearest friends off and hoping they found themselves well.

"No!
No!"

Everyone watched the trio exit the parked trailer, each of the three holding unlit lanterns bought from War Zone. Sam's stomach was squirming wildly, and she looked around anxiously, but no one else seemed as peeved as her. She felt like her chest was about to explode, and Max made it three steps out the vehicle before Sam cracked.

Impulsively, she called out for Steve to wait and got up from her spot on the floor. Sam half-walked, half-jogged to exit the trailer as well and close the distance between herself and the trio of friends.

"Um — wait—"

The three of them turned around at the sound of Sam's voice. The sudden eyes on her made Sam recoil in embarrassment, but she tried to hold her ground.

"Hi," Sam breathed.

Erica's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Hi...?"

Sam nodded to herself, because the bewilderment was fair. She glanced at both those in the trailer behind her and Lucas, Max, and Erica before her.

"Just — give me a second," Sam said, speaking to everyone, really. "I just..." I just can't let you do this without saying goodbye. There's a cold and sharp feeling in my chest, and I need to say goodbye. Sam shook her head, ignoring the thoughts at the back of her head, to Erica, she said, "Be safe, okay?"

"I mean... I wasn't planning on not being safe," Erica responded, unable to hold back a smart-ass response; and, again, the reaction was far.

Sam sent her a half-hearted smile. "Good," she muttered. "I wanted to tell you — Well — What I'm going to tell you — Okay — You know, when I was your age—"

"That makes you sound like a grandma," Erica interjected, eyeing Sam with a look both amused and also light-heartedly teasing.

Sam laughed softly. She shrugged, "I know. But, seriously. When I was around your age, your brother was pulling my tooth out of my mouth with a string and door. And you... well, you're helping save the world by fighting inter-dimensional creatures. I just want you to think about how much of a badass you are, Erica."

"You're calling me a badass?" Erica pointed out, utterly incredulously. "You? The gun-wielding Druid who's the only one of Lucas's friends I think is cool?"

She thinks I'm cool?

"I do," Sam nodded, not pushing the internal question she wanted to pester further on. Then, "So — like I said — be safe. Please."

Erica's features were less judging now. She tried to hold back a soft smile of her own. "I will," Erica said finally, voice light.

"Thank you," Sam said in appreciation, genuinely grateful.

Then her head turned to Max. Sam's chest squeezed again.

"Don't," Max shook her head, face screwing up like the thought of Sam saying goodbye pained her. "I'm gonna see you again soon, okay, Sam? I will. And we'll both be fine."

Sam tried smiling back at Max encouragingly, but it was a weak thing that didn't quite reach her eyes. Her chest was squeezing, and it only grew stronger the more Sam tried ignoring the feeling.

"Good," Sam forced a playful infliction to her tone. "Because, you know, like I said — both of us or neither of us."

Max grinned back, more genuine than Sam. "Both of us or neither of us," she repeated.

Sam huffed out at an attempt of laughter, but the chuckle was nervous. She was suddenly shifting with her hands, and the other three watched her thinking she was just fidgeting anxiously — which was very on par for Sam — but they were quick to find it was more than just that. Sam's hands reached towards the back of her jeans; they rummaged through one of the pockets before a crinkling ruffle was heard.

Sam's green eyes met Lucas's brown ones. Under the golden, setting sun, they appeared to be honey.

She inhaled deeply, heavily, before she mustered up enough courage to walk up to him. Sam had to tilt her head up to him and peer past her flower crown — her feet only a few inches from his.

"Here," Sam whispered, handing the note towards him.

Lucas blinked out of his dazed stare on Sam. His eyes darted off of hers and onto the note in her hand, then back to her again. Hesitantly, he took the piece of folded paper in his grasp.

"What is it?" he asked, equally as quiet.

Sam sucked in another, large breath. "It's if," her voice wavered, "you know... if I don't make it out. Open that up. Please."

Lucas's expression crumbled fast. His voice cracked, "Sam—"

"Please, Lucas," Sam cut him off with a beg, desperate and quiet. "I'll tell you in person if I do, but if I don't..." she shook her head, not being able to bear the thought, "you have to know."

Lucas looked heartbroken, tearing up at just the thought of what Sam was implying. He screwed his eyes shut, subconsciously clenching the note in his hand painfully, before his honeyed eyes were back down on Sam.

"But you will make it out," Lucas rasped, urging for it to be true.

"Right," Sam agreed, compelling a light tone to calm him down. "So you dont have to worry about it."

"Right," he echoed weakly, face still screwed up.

Sam couldn't bear the sight of Lucas looking so broken, it shattered her heart a million times over. She frowned slightly at him and allowed herself only one second of hesitancy. Then, her hand was coming back up and closing over Lucas's that was holding Sam's note. Although his hands were much bigger, Sam still found a way to grab his entire fist. Sam didn't break eye contact with Lucas the entire time — even when his breath stuttered, and his eyes flickered between Sam and where her hand was holding his. She pushed the note toward Lucas in an encouraging manner; the sudden motion had Lucas's gaze snapping back to Sam's eyes.

Lucas started back into motion, realizing he'd just been standing a little stupidly. He tucked Sam's note in the side pocket of his pants before he made a courageous decision on his own.

Lucas grabbed the back of Sam's head and bent down slightly to accommodate for their heights. Lucas was pressing their foreheads together before Sam could even register what was happening. The only thing between them was seven years of memories and Sam's flower crown, being pressed slightly due to Lucas's forehead resting against hers. Her breath hitched at the notion, and she watched as Lucas's eyes fluttered shut. He sagged like all of his taut strings had been cut.

For a moment, all Sam could think was I wish he'd kissed me instead.

But for now, this would do. Sam let her eyes fall shut, too. The only noises were their synced-up breaths — in and out, in and out, in and out.

The world was ending, and Sam and Lucas were parting, but the touch of their foreheads would be a lifeline for Sam throughout it all.

"Promise me you're gonna make it out," he whispered desperately.

She inhaled naturally through her nose.

"I promise," Sam murmured.

For now, this would do.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

I WENT FROM 1K READS TO 2.06K IN LESS THATN 2 WEEKS???

u guys are insane i absolutely love you all. i know i say this every time but i seriously never believed anyone would take the time to read this story. thank you for doing so because this story and these characters mean so much to me!! i'm glad i get to share them with all of you!!!

if you enjoy this book (or even if you don't) feel free to leave comments and lmk your thoughts! don't be a ghost reader!

AND AHH WE JUST FINISHED EPISODE 8 ONLY ONE MORE EPISODE TO GO IM SO TERRIFIED GUYS I'M SCARED HOLD MY HAND?????????????

(i'm letting u guys know rn idk when next chapter will be out bc 1 - i'm scared to write it and 2 - i'm gonna be busy bc it's currently mardi gras in my city and if u don't know it goes absolutely wild LMAO)

((might be posting introductions to my teen wolf book soon tho))

(((ik i also say that every time and i never do and y'all are probably sick of me. sorry, i just get really anxious that no one really wants to see my other works)))

onto the chapter!!

this chapter's dedicated song is "flowers in your hair" by lumineers bc 1 - the title and 2 - TELL ME IT'S NOT THE HUGHCLAIR ANTHEM!!!

"When we were younger, we thought / Everyone was on our side, then we grew a little / And romanticized the time I saw / Flowers in your hair / See it takes a boy to live / It takes a man to pretend he was there"

"So then we grew a little and knew a lot / And now we demonstrated it to the cops / And all the things we said / We were self-assured"

"'Cause it's a long road to wisdom / But it's a short one to being ignored"

"So now I think that I could love you back / And I hope it's not too late, 'cause you're so attractive / And the way you move / I won't close my eyes"

"It takes a man to live / It takes a woman to make him compromise / So be in my eyes / And be in my heart"

yeah. hughclair vibes 100%

MORE STEPH POV!!! MORE ROBANIE!!! LOVE TO SEE MY GAY GIRLS INTERRACT!!!!

but the talk about sam. oh my god i'm violently ill the relationship between the hughes sisters is my actual downfall. they make me so sad, they make me want to vomit. it's so complex and it's so deep and the line "I love her. But sometimes I don't like her very much" just says it all. IM SO SICK IM SO SICK WHY ARE THEY LIKE THIS THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS SO TRAGICALLY BEAUTIFUL?!??!?!

another hughclair convo. yk i couldn't resist.

LUCAS SEES SAM EXACTLY AS SHE IS!! LUCAS SAID "You aren't that way. You're better than that." WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT ANNABETH SAID TO HEPHAESTUS WHEN REFERRING TO PERCY IN THE PJO SERIES. YUP YUP IT WAS INTENTIONAL. LUCAS ALSO SAID "Maybe she was preparing you, so that when you finally got to all of this, you'd be different than him" WHICH IS ALSO WHAT ANNABETH TELLS PERCY IN THE TUNNEL OF LOVE!! YUP YUP!!

them talking about their dreams for the future if they even have one:((( that was so pure and cute i love it. lucas was the first and only person sam told about mrs. rowley and principal higgins telling sam she could move up a grade. she trusts him more than anybody and cares about his opinions sm. and also, lucas wanting sam to go so far because he has so much faith she can do anything she wants to. he trusts her more than anybody, too.

SAM AND STEVE CONVO ABOUT ROBANIE PARALLELING RACHEL AND JOEY CONVERSATION ABOUT CHANDLER+MONICA FROM FRIENDS LMAO. sam and steve are born to gossip, forced to stay calm about their friends/family's love life.... so sad.

everyone: making weapons and molotovs and shooting guns in the field

sam, styling clothes, and auggie, making flower crowns: lalalalalala🥰🥰❤️😘🕊️😍🥰

i actually love them so much. perhaps my two fav ocs of this book. and their sibling-like relationship omg. it always makes me think about those months of high school where sam and auggie only had each other. i think other people (and me) forget that was even a point in their lives. i love that sam feels so comfortable around auggie that she's unafraid to be sassy, yk? like she's usually so worried she has to be nice to people at all times but she's so comfortable around auggie that she doesn't have to put up any fronts

sam, the gay counselor, strikes again!!! auggie is desperate and a lost puppy for steve confirmed!!

AUGGIE MADE A FLOWER CROWN FOR SAM!!! AUGGIE THREW SAM OVER HIS SHOULDER!!! EDDIE CROWNED SAM AGAIN!!! THE BOYS BOWED DOWN TO HER!!! THAT ENTIRE SCENE WAS SO CUTE AWEEEEWJGHDFKLGHD!!!!

i had sm fun writing it they're all so adorable my heart is squeezing. i needed to write one, last happy scene before everything went to shit (essentially:)

AND SAM IS WEARING THAT FLOWER CROWN FOR THE REST OF THE VECNA BATTLE I DON'T EVEN FUCKING CARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sam saying goodbye to erica. goodnight, im sick.

sam trying to say goodbye to max and max not letting her. goodnight, im sick.

SAM SAYING GOODBYE TO LUCAS. GOONDIGHT, I'M SICK?!?!?!

the note. the proximity. the hand holding. THE FOREHEAD TOUCH DLFGJHKLHTREOTU!!!! THE PROMISE SDLFJSLGJJ!!!!!!

hughclair brainrot making me go insane. and the way the lyrics for "separate ways (worlds apart)" were lining up with the scene. "you know i still love you / though we touched and went our separate ways." bc they're being split up for the plan to stop vecna. get it? i get it. i am totally very normal about it.

onto episode 9 we go...

are you scared?

i'm scared.

you should be scared.

um - here's some tweets before we reach the point of being scared!

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

✿

what'd you think?