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Auggie's flashlight led their way into a room upstairs covered in cobwebs. Auggie hated spiders, so he did, in fact, hate this room. Also, Steve was right behind him, and Auggie could feel Steve's breath on his neck, and Auggie thought he might pass out.

He braved his fears and took a step into the room, because it was better than what would've happened if he took a step backwards.

"I know this one's pretty obvious," Auggie whispered as he examined the chilling room, "but I swear if Freddy Kreuger jumps out like its A Nightmare on Elm Street, I'm done."

Steve snorted, and surprisingly didn't judge Auggie for making another movie reference this time. Instead, catching him off guard, he said, "Well, I'll let you. I feel like it'd be warranted."

Auggie sent him a small smile, unlike any of the teasing smirks he'd showed the older boy.

Then he turned around, continuing to search through the room. Auggie was totally unaware that, instead of staring at the room, Steve was staring at him.

"You know," Steve spoke up softly, gaining Auggie's attention again, "for a movie fanatic... I've never seen you at familyVideo."

Well, shit.

Steve wasn't supposed to ask about that.

Auggie swallowed the rising lump in his throat. Trying to seem nonchalant under the dim shine of Steve's flashlight. "Well," he shrugged, "for a former asshole, you didn't notice me coming to Scoops Ahoy nearly every day last summer."

And, fine. If you really wanted the truth, Auggie will finally give it to you.

Auggie Santos had been hopelessly enamored by Steve Harrington since Auggie was a sophomore in high school.

It was a devastating, true fact that had been haunting him since the age of sixteen. Two years later, and he was doing something he'd never thought imaginable — having a one-on-one conversation with aforementioned Steve Harrington.

To Auggie, Steve had always just been a dream. A fantasy. He liked staring at Steve, because he was beautiful and everyone was naturally drawn to him, but knew that dreams had to be dreams and reality had to be reality. Dream: Steve. Reality: not having Steve. Auggie had accepted that long ago, but that didn't mean he could prevent himself from getting mentally attached.

That didn't mean he could prevent himself from regularly visiting Scoops Ahoy when he stopped by once and found out Steve now worked there.

See? He told you it was mortifyingly embarrassing. Auggie was self-aware he was an obsessive, stalker, queer freak. He was self-aware there wasn't a chance in the world that straight-boy Steve Harrington, ex-boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler, could ever like him back.

It just... still stung a little.

Especially that day in the AV room when he realized Steve truly didn't know who he was. Not even after hearing his voice on the announcements every day for three years straight. Not even after seeing him so frequently at his summer job.

Dream: Steve. Reality: Auggie could never have Steve.

"Wait," Steve realized, "do you stay away... because of me?"

Bingo.

Auggie laughed, forcing himself to lie. Light-heartedly, he teased, "Nice ego there, Harrington. Apparently the reformed Steve still thinks everything revolves around him."

"Auggie," Steve breathed sadly.

"I'm just joking," Auggie nudged his shoulder, playfulness so forced that Steve was a little put off by it. "God, you're so easy to fuck with."

Steve's brows pulled, and he still didn't seem deterred. "Auggie, I'm sorry I didn't notice you. Seriously."

He gave up a little, and while his body didn't let on how much the apology meant to him, his eyes did. Auggie knew it wasn't Steve's fault, because it wasn't like Auggie had ever actually talked to him; he was a hopeless mess, though, so it all still hurt no matter what.

"It's — fine, really," Auggie eventually said. "I mean, I'm here now."

Auggie watched Steve's Adam's apple bob before he nodded a little nervously. "Yeah, I mean, I was going to say... I mean, what I want to say — I guess — You know, I'm glad you are. Here, I mean. It's nice. I... I notice you now, Smiths. I do."

Auggie was about to pass out from either lack of breathing, or... or something else he couldn't quite name entirely. Stronger than fear and better than any movie he'd ever watched.

"I — um," Auggie swallowed, feeling a little faint. "Thanks."

Then, he literally just turned around. Literally. Back to Steve, pretending to search around the room because the amount of flustered he was feeling felt as strong as an oncoming heart attack.

'Thanks'? Turning the fuck around? Was he fucking joking? Could Vecna kill him already? Like, seriously. Auggie was done.

Steve smiled, and the bastard sounded amused. "Any time," he said, because it was his turn to tease Auggie a little now. "And, you know — maybe after we find Vecna, kill him, save the world and stuff, you can finally... go to familyVideo, or something..."

"Maybe," Auggie squeaked out, before clearing his throat in embarrassment. "That sounds, you know, nice. It sounds nice."

With his back still turned to Steve, Auggie yelped entirely, flinching away so his back ran right into Steve.

Jesus, this couldn't get more embarrassing.

"Woah, woah, woah," Steve worried, stopping Auggie with hands on his forearms. "You good, Smiths?"

"Oh, my god, I'm gonna kill myself," Auggie squeezed his chest, breathing in and out.

"What? Why? Please don't."

Still in Steve's grasp, Auggie glanced his head behind him towards a floor vent. "I think I saw something in that," he explained in terror. "It's covered in fucking cobwebs."

"Oh," Steve breathed out in relief, grateful that Auggie wasn't actually going to kill himself. He stared at the vent for a moment. Then— "Wait..."

Steve let go of Auggie, and his amazed voice had Auggie facing him completely. The older boy looked like he'd just seen the Messiah.

"Are you afraid of spiders?" asked Steve, thoroughly amused and definitely teasing Auggie now.

Auggie wanted to throttle him. "Yes, I'm fucking afraid of spiders! Why the fuck would I not be? Those stupid little shits are evil and they're tiny and you never know when they could be injecting you with deadly poison that makes your fucking brain bleed! And don't come to me with that, 'Oh, but Spiderman is so cool and awesome!' because Sam's already argued with me about this! I fucking hate Spiderman, too, because he's creepy as shit!" Under his breath, he muttered, "Cabrón."

"Hey, don't call me a... whatever you just called me," Steve defended half-heartedly. "I think your unreasonable fears of spiders and Spiderman are very adorable."

"I will bash your head in with this flashlight," Auggie threatened, shining the light into his eyes for an example. In English, he translated, "Asshole."

But Steve just grinned back, looking helplessly fond.

Auggie actually would've bashed him if it didn't look so attractive.

"Okay, little Auggie," Steve cooed mockingly. "Don't worry, I'll save you from the evil spiders."

Then Steve was pushing Auggie behind him before Auggie could curse him out anymore. Slowly, Steve creeped forward. He shone his flashlight on the floor vent, seeing for himself the cobwebs and reflections of glass that was underneath it.

Steve crouched down, and Auggie made sure to stay a safe enough distance away so he could sacrifice Steve if necessary. He outstretched a hand to remove the floor vent with a small grunt, and Auggie's heart beat faster out of fear.

"Oh, I'm so sacrificing you to Spiderman when the time comes," he whispered.

Like an insane man, Steve's hand reached past the cobwebs and into the vent. He fumbled with something for a little, before eventually pulling out a glass jar.

From the distance Auggie kept, he couldn't see what was inside, but Steve's breath caught the longer he stared at it. He inspected it closer with the light of his flashlight, and Steve's unease grew.

"Smiths, you have to come see this," Steve turned to see Auggie, amidst his crouch, holding the glass jar in his direction. "I'm pretty sure this is a black widow."

"Fuck no, Steve!" Auggie hissed. "I don't fuck with spiders!"

Auggie was pretty sure it was the first time he called Steve his first name, but he didn't even care right now.

Steve was too distracted by smiling at Auggie that he didn't immediately feel the small weight on his left arm. His head slowly turned, and when he saw a black widow climbing up the arm of his jacket—

Steve was thrashing and flinching madly. He dropped the glass jar and began swiping and hitting his body to try and get the spider off. Auggie watched him in confusion and fear as Steve began running backwards, looking around for an unknown entity.

"Steve? Steve, what—?"

Steve ran out of the room backwards, forgetting they had to duck to enter the room considering there was a large cobweb across the doorframe. His head ran into it, but Steve continued to swat at his clothes.

"Woah, Steve, stop, man!"

"There's a spider!"

Auggie screamed like a little girl, running out of the room right after Steve. He slammed the door shut quicker than the speed of light.

"Well, why didn't you tell me?!" he scolded.

Steve hissed, "I was too busy trying to get the black widow off my shoulder!"

"Black widow?" the two boys heard the voice of Nancy question from somewhere in the house.

"Yeah, don't go in there," Steve replied right back, shuddering to himself. When he turned to respond, Auggie noticed the graying of Steve's hair due to the cobwebs.

"Ooh," he winced, reaching up a hand to touch the back of Steve's hair before he could stop himself. "Wait, just—"

Steve looked panicked that a person could be staring at his hair with that kind of expression. He was sprinting forward for the nearest mirror before Auggie could try to help him, noting the large cobweb imbedded in the back of his hair.

"Shit—"

"Stop moving," Auggie ordered, and Steve instantly responded with a small okay, listening to the younger boy. "I just... I got it. I got it."

"Thank you," breathed Steve, barely audible.

And although Auggie was terrified of spiders and everything that was associated with them, Auggie reached up and began attempted to pluck out every bit of cobweb from Steve's hair.

"If there's a spider nesting in there, you're never gonna find it 'till it lays eggs and the babies spill out," came the voice of Robin, who was right behind them with Nancy now.

Steve snapped, "What's wrong with you?" Robin chuckled, passing the two boys and wandering into another room, but Steve seemed genuinely annoyed. "Robin, seriously."

Nancy passed the boys, too, whispering, "I'm sorry."

They began looking through another abandoned room while Auggie continued pulling cobwebs from Steve's hair.

"She's got problems," Steve muttered, only for Auggie to hear.

Auggie huffed, but said, "She's cool, though. I like her."

Steve sighed, remembering their first conversation when he said something similar. "Well, you know, yeah. Obviously I agree. Well, not like that. It's not like we're dating — Robin!" he hastily specified. "M-Me and Robin! It's not like we're dating. Right? Do you know that?"

"Yes," Auggie exhaled amusedly. "I think it's clear, she... wouldn't date you. No offense."

"Platonic with a capital P," Robin added, interjecting herself from the other room she was in.

"Yep," Steve deadpanned. "Thank you."

Auggie grinned to himself, taking a little longer than he probably needed to for getting cobwebs out of Steve's hair. Don't blame him — if you were presented with the opportunity, you would take your time, too.

Unfortunately, though, he did have to finish in a time that wasn't totally unreasonable. He breathed out once he was done.

"Okay," Auggie retracted his hand. "All better, Harrington."

Lower than a whisper, Steve responded, "Great," as he turned to face Auggie. "Thank you. Well..." he chuckled in what almost seemed to be nervousness when Auggie grinned earnestly at him. "Great. Um..." Steve gulped, and Auggie's eyes softened in worry at his off reaction. "Guess we should, uh... get back to the, uh... investigation."

Auggie nodded, forcing his adoring smile not to grow any larger.

"'What is real always is not what is seen—' Or... 'What is... is seen is not what is always real—' Or..." Steve seemed confused, and Auggie was definitely confused, and the latter wasn't sure either of them knew what he was talking about. Steve grimaced, giving up in his quoting with a resolute nod. He explained, "I was trying to quote A Nightmare On Elm Street. So."

Auggie paused completely, taken aback in his fondness. Steve walked away to continue searching, leaving Auggie behind to just grin open-mouthed, still not really sure what just happened.

"What?" he whispered to himself, although the grin didn't falter.

And while Auggie thought he was reacting only for himself to view, Nancy and Robin were watching him from the abandoned room they were supposed to be investigating.

Then, they shared scheming looks and mischievous smiles. 

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Sam and Lucas were searching their half of the first floor in, surprisingly, relative silence. Sam wasn't as much of an incessant talker anymore, so she could handle the quiet. For some reason, this silence with Lucas was... comfortable, to say the least. She felt at ease with him here.

Or, as eased as she could be in the Creel house. Sam was still concerningly cold, and that odd, rushing feeling hadn't gone away. She was sort of getting used to the latter fact; although, she'd been shivering and clutching her chest with the hand not holding her flashlight.

Lucas led them into a particular room that Sam would probably describe as a playroom? activity room? She didn't know. The first thing she saw was an old chess set covered in cobwebs, while Lucas inspected the peeling, red wallpaper.

"Oh, Sam, you've got to see this."

Sam flinched around quickly, worrying that Lucas had found some sort of Vecna clue.

But no. He was just standing before a grand piano with an eager grin.

Sam's eyes widened in awe, and she didn't even have the heart to scold him for momentarily freaking her out. "Holy shit, this is still so nice," Sam examined in admiration, because the piano hadn't been taken care of since the 50s.

Lucas watched her with a fond grin at her love for music. "You should play something, Miss Musically Inclined Goddess."

Sam snorted at the nickname, finally looking away from the piano and to him. "You've never even heard me play an instrument before."

"Maybe," Lucas shrugged, "but I know you can play, like — how many is it? — a hundred and three."

Sam nudged him playfully for being dramatic.

"No, but seriously," he continued. "You should play something."

She turned her head and looked at the perfectly-in-tact keys before her. Quietly, Sam said, "I haven't played the piano in so long..."

Images of long, happy nights spent playing "Heart and Soul" with her dad flashed through her brain like bittersweet nostalgia. Sam shivered again.

"Oh, come on, it's like muscle memory, isn't it? Like riding a bike. You never forget."

"Easy for you to say," Sam huffed, but she ultimately gave in and put her hands atop the acrylic keys. "Maybe..." she muttered, more-so to herself, before testing a few keys to start herself out.

Lucas sniffed, dramatically wiping a tear from his face. "Beautiful, darling. Chills. Literal chills."

"Shut up," Sam rolled her eyes playfully, restraining a grin. Finally, she decided, "If I do it, and we get complaints for horrible music coming from this room, I'm telling everyone it was you playing, okay?"

Lucas saluted with two, loose fingers. 

"Yes, ma'am."

Sam restrained her grin further, turning her head away from Lucas so she could properly smile. She looked down at the keys before her, mentally reminding herself which notes she needed to play for the song she thought of.

She took a deep breath in, then a deep breath out.

Sam played the first chord, and Lucas couldn't have been more right. It was like muscle memory. Immediately, Lucas recognized notes from the song "Songbird" by Fleetwood Mac, and he honestly shouldn't have expected her to play anything else.

For you there'll be no more crying
For you the Sun will be shining
And I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
To you, I'll give the world
To you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right

Lucas was in awe by Sam's playing within the first second. Everything about it couldn't be described as anything but beautiful — the song, the way she played it, how her hands moved across the piano, the smile she didn't even know was on her face while she played. Samantha Hughes was beautiful, and there wasn't a single thing that could change his mind on that. He was struck by the realization so hard that he couldn't move. It was like a rushing wave that calmed him and destroyed him all the same.

And the songbirds are singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before

He'd never felt more compelled to Sam than he did more in that moment. Her piano playing was a trance, reeling him in and keeping him there. Lucas knew now what it meant to be trapped in the web of love, because Sam was here, and she was playing the piano, and Lucas didn't want to be anywhere else. He just wanted to be with her, doing anything, as long as it was with her. She was beautiful, her music was beautiful, and it was way too overwhelming, but in the best way possible.

And I wish you all the love in the world
But most of all, I wish it from myself
And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
Like never before

Sam finished it off, almost hesitantly. Her hands retracted from the keys like she didn't want to part with them. When the music stopped, it was like she was pulled out from her own, little world. Lucas's heart squeezed. She cleared her throat, nervously tucking pieces of hair that had fallen from her bun behind her ear.

"Well, I was definitely a little rusty, so—"

"Are you perfect at everything?" Lucas blurted, before he could stop himself.

Sam blinked rapidly, taken aback and heart stuttering a little. "I, um—"

"I'm not joking, Sam, that was — Jesus, you need to do that professionally," Lucas breathed out in a large puff of air. "Everyone should hear your music. It should be, like, a requirement."

Sam snorted in that way she did when she was complimented and trying to brush it off as a joke. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll get very far in life," she said sarcastically.

"You're so talented, though—"

"Talent isn't genius," Sam pointed out to him with a shrug. "No matter how hard I try, I can't make it so. Girls like me, we've... I have to be great or nothing."

Lucas eyes softened on Sam, a little sadly. "I think you're more than great, Sam."

Sam tried smiling at him, but it was half-hearted and didn't quite meet the eyes. She forced herself to look back at the piano, but it all reminded her of what she couldn't have. She was shivering again.

"You know," Lucas spoke up, quiet and soft, trying to cheer Sam up. "I bet if we hit Vecna with the right combo, we might just open a door to his secret lair."

With a light-hearted smile, Lucas leaned down so his hands could reach the keys of the piano. Then, in an entire nightmare of its own, he tried playing the piano, but all that sounded was discordant noises that had Sam cringing. Although, he looked to the side and spotted the brightening grin on her face that she was trying to hide by ducking her head.

"Voilà!" he chuckled.

"You're such a dork," Sam commented fondly. Lucas looked down to hide being flustered at the same time Sam looked up at him radiantly. She teased, "I thought you were, like, one of the cool kids now."

Lucas's brows pulled together, feigning offense. "I'm not cool?" he asked, confused.

Sam couldn't help it. The laugh broke from her lips before she could stop it. It was genuine and real and her raw smile was out on display without Sam attempting to hide it or tilt her head down. Her eyes were so tender on him, and the melody of her laugh was better than any noise that could come from the grand piano.

"I've really missed that," Lucas said, joking smile morphing into a delicate look as his eyes glued themselves onto Sam.

Sam's smile shifted a little, too. "Missed what?"

Lucas looked down at the piano, contemplating. Then he looked back on Sam, dark pools staring down at her. The attention made her feel so seen in a way she'd never felt before; never been able to describe before.

"Your laugh," he finally admitted, voice more sincere than she'd ever heard of it. "Your smile. You started hiding it a little while back, and... and, it could've been the worst moments of my life."

Sam's felt her heart drop before, but never like this. For a moment, she feared she was having a heart attack, because the feeling was so unfamiliar. But staring at Lucas, it really wasn't that unfamiliar at all. Her heart pounded in a way that felt good when she gazed at him. It was a greater version of those moments like when she was in the tub, or when he made her his favorite sandwich, or that time up scouting in the tree. Possibly, Sam thought, all of those interactions were building her up for this one right now. She didn't know how to explain it, but she looked at Lucas and realized she didn't need to. For once, Sam didn't feel the pressure of needing answers or the anxiety of things left unanswered.

It was Lucas, and that said more than anything by itself. She felt safe and comforted. She felt home.

Oh.

Oh.

And Sam was in love with him.

She was completely and utterly gone for Lucas, her best friend since the third grade. 

It didn't shock her as much as she thought it would.

The sky was blue. The grass was green. There were twenty-four hours in a day. Samantha Renee Hughes was in love with Lucas Charles Sinclar. The (not-unfortunate) facts of life.

All she could wonder was how she hadn't realized it before. Now, that she'd put two and two together, Sam noticed that these feelings were a lingering thing that had always been at the back of her mind. Lucas, when he was nine, the new boy a few houses down. Lucas, when he was ten, rambling to Sam about his new wrist rocket he'd received for turning double digits. Lucas, when he was eleven, patiently teaching Sam to ride her own bike that she hadn't mounted for an entire year, feeling too guilty about it being the reason for her parent's death. Lucas, when he was twelve, sitting up in a tree with her and telling Sam he valued her as part of their Party. Lucas, when he was thirteen, keeping an injured Sam company and making her food out of concern. Lucas, when he was fourteen, cleaning her bloody hands because he knew how much she didn't want to do it herself.

Lucas, who was always there. Lucas, her best friend. Just Lucas.

Sam discovered then that she'd never noticed it because she'd never felt this way about Justin. She'd never felt this way about anyone. It was all-consuming and the thought of him was tangled in her soul.

Sam had always needed Lucas, and now she knew why she did.

"Songbird" by Fleetwood Mac had never been so real.

The entire realization had Sam shaking, chilled and terrified, but somehow comforted all the same.

"Oh, are you cold?" Lucas asked, oblivious to the fact that the trajectory of Sam's entire life had just been altered because of him.

Unconsciously, Sam had wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing herself in an attempt to stay warm. She looked back up at him, startled.

"Uh — Oh — no, I — I-I'm fine, it's just—"

"No, dude, I can tell when you're freezing," he argued with her, and he could tell when she was freezing, and Sam felt a little light-headed.

Sam shook her head. "Really, Luke, I'm fine—"

"Sam, seriously," Lucas laughed. "I'm wearing two jackets, just take mine."

Sam immediately spluttered, and she hadn't been this much of a chaotic mess in so long. It was like Lucas had dismantled all the poorly built walls she'd put up over the duration of the school year in just one, measly interaction.

"Luke, really. Please don't," she protested weakly.

But Lucas was shrugging off his red jacket to reveal his gray jacket with the black, red, and yellow stripes along the collar.

"You're not winning this argument," Lucas told her, handing out the windbreaker for her to take. "Here."

Sam couldn't understand how he was being so casual and so normal when Sam was literally having an internal, life-altering epiphany. She loved Lucas, and not in the way she loved any of her other friends, but it was just as easy. True, genuine love that shook Sam to her very core and made time stop and was the most special feeling she wanted to hold forever. She wasn't even in the right headspace to process what was going on in the present. She just blurted a feeble, "Alright."

Hesitantly, Sam grabbed the red jacket from Lucas's outstretched arm. He watched as she put it on, fumbling unconfidently. Sam stuffed her arms through the sleeves, and his jacket was definitely too big on her, but in a way that made him want to call Sam bis forever.

His heart was melting like he was twelve all over again.

Sam wanted to complain about how stupid she probably looked in the larger jacket, but she couldn't deny that she did feel a tad warmer. She couldn't deny that she liked the fact Lucas gave her his jacket.

"Thanks," she muttered, a tiny, shy grin appearing on her face.

Lucas's smile was bigger, but equally as genuine. "You can keep it," he said.

Sam opened her mouth to protest, but—

The sound of a light whining to the right of them caught both teens' attention. Sam and Lucas looked to the side, finding that there was an elegant desk lamp flickering alive and buzzing.

Sam slowly walked up to it, wondering if these sudden feelings were the cause of the illumination. She stared down at her hands (or what could be seen of her hands that were engulfed by Lucas's jacket), but the only electric rush she could feel was being so near to Lucas.

"I don't think I'm doing that, Luke."

Lucas was walking up, standing right behind her in close proximity. "Yeah, no Firestarter shit," he analyzed. His voice was low and so close to Sam's ear that she shivered for completely new reasons.

Sam reached out her hand, slowly trying to test the lamp by touching it. The closer her hand approached, the brighter the light beamed; until, Sam's fingertips were a mere inch away, and the light burned out completely.

Sam eyed the lamp that was no longer lit, incredulous at how bizarre it was. She was too distracted to hear the whining sound coming from the hallway they'd just walked in through.

"Look," Lucas muttered quietly.

Sam turned around with him to try and see what he was talking about. There, in the distant hallway, Sam noted that a different, antiquated lamp was lighting up the same way the one right next to them did.

The pair began walking towards the new light, and now Sam was confident this wasn't her doing. While the constriction of her chest grew tighter, this was a type of connection that wasn't according to Sam's own will. It was like the house was alive, trying to draw Sam in.

Right when Sam and Lucas walked up to the standing lamp, it turned off again.

"Okay, am I unconsciously doing this?" Sam said quietly. "Because I'm not meaning to."

"I don't think so," Lucas shook his head, then he nodded up, gesturing for Sam to follow his line of eyesight.

Then, the chandelier lit up.

Then, when that light turned off, the hall light flickered on.

It flickered off, then another lamp further blinked on.

That light dissipated, and another light hanging from the ceiling illuminated, like the lights were walking in a line. 

This time, the light in that particular fixture stayed on for a little longer. It casually whined and blinked before it disappeared.

Sam and Lucas shared glances.

What the fuck just happened?

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The entire group stood in the living room of the Creel house, nighttime out now. The eight of them were underneath a fancy chandelier, the reason being that it was currently glowing for them.

"It's like the Christmas lights," Nancy whispered.

Auggie and Robin both sent her clueless looks. "'The Christmas lights?'"

"Yea," Nancy murmured lowly, "when Will was in the Upside Down, the lights... came to life."

Lucas looked at the lights, and then the way that Sam was clutching at her chest a little in pain. "Vecna's here. In this house. Just on the other side," he worked together.

But then the light of the chandelier went out, their flashlights being their only source of vision now that the sun had gone down.

"I think he just left the room," Robin said.

Max's eyes darted up at the chandelier and around to everyone anxiously. She asked, "Did he hear us?"

"Can he see us?" questioned Steve, who looked panicked, too.

Sam's gaze was quick to turn onto Max. Quickly, she advised, "Headphones," in an attempt to keep Max safe.

"Wait, wait," Nancy muttered. "Everyone, turn off your flashlights and spread out."

All at once, everyone listened to Nancy's plan. They began splitting up again, save for Steve, who was still standing where everyone departed from.

"We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flash... lights," Steve tried protesting, but fell quiet when he realized no one was listening to him.

Auggie sent him an apologetic shrug. He grabbed Steve's wrist with his fingers before pulling him to disperse somewhere else in the house.

"Jesus Christ," Steve groaned lowly, finally clicking his flashlight off.

Along with total darkness, no one dared speaking in the house while they searched for Vecna on the other side. They didn't know the answer to Max's question, asking if Vecna could hear them, but the answer was probably yes — Joyce had spoken to Will somehow, and so had Sam, through the radio.

Sam didn't like the feeling she had in this house at all. Despite Lucas's jacket, she was still cold (although it did make her feel warm inside, but she had a feeling that was for different reasons). When the lights whirred when Vecna was near, Sam had this overwhelming tug to do something, and that something scared her more than she'd ever been worried.

Faintly, in the back of her head, she heard Billy's voice. He said, "You don't even have a clue how important you are to all of this, do you?" and a little quieter he whispered, "Don't be afraid, my Samantha," and it felt all sorts of wrong.

She was upstairs trying to find light in an old bedroom with Lucas. Both of their unlit flashlights were pointed up, so a beam of light could radiate if Vecna was on the other side by them. The bedroom felt... familiar; familiar in the same sense some of Victor's story had felt familiar to her. She couldn't remember why, or work together why she recognized something that she'd never been put through. This bedroom had pink wallpaper (or, it was pink, before the dirt and mold and peeling), which led Sam to believe that it could've been Alice's old room.

A fifteen-year-old blonde screaming awake from constant nightmares. A fifteen-year-old blonde stared back at Victor in the present, frowning.

"I got him!" Robin's voice echoed elsewhere in the house.

Sam's and Lucas's heads whipped towards the sound of her voice. Without even discussing it, they were leaving Alice's room to go look for Robin.

"Got him!" she exclaimed again when Sam and Lucas rushed in the room, everyone else already in there with her. "I got him," Robin repeated, but right as she said that, the light in her flashlight went out. "Uh, I — I had him..."

Steve, who was right to the left of Robin, startled when the illuminating glow transferred to his flashlight instead. "Oh, woah," he cupped his free hand around the head of the light, like he was trying to stop the wind from putting out a flame.

But then his light went out, too. Instead, Sam's flashlight whined and shone.

"Uh, oh no, too much pressure," she worried, when everyone stared at the light coming from her flashlights. Sam felt a compelling feel, said, "Oh, I think he's moving."

Sam began walking with her glowing flashlight pointed up. It remained lit as she walked, proving her theory that Vecna was moving.

"He's moving, he's moving," Sam announced, leading the group out of where Vecna was going to.

She walked out of the dining room on the first floor, following the light throughout the hallway and to the rising, impending stairs. Sam could feel everyone's anxiety behind her, hear their pounding steps. Right when Sam made it to the top of the second floor—

Her flashlight went out.

"You lost him," Auggie sighed sadly from over her left shoulder.

Sam followed the tug in her chest, hanging her flashlight down. "No," she deferred, "I didn't."

Everyone looked to where Sam's head was turned. They remained stationary while she took a few steps forward and opened a slightly ajar door. There were stairs leading up to another room, and a faint orange glow emitting from whatever was up there.

"I suppose all evil must have a home."

A husband discovering an attic in his house.

"And though I had not a rational explanation for it, I... I could sense this demon, always close."

A husband inspecting the attic with a constant cold constricting his chest.

Sam, about to inspect the attic, with a constant cold constricting her chest. She began heading towards the light first, everyone beginning to follow suit behind her. Sam had both urges to run away and run closer, but she listened to the "fight" part of her "fight or flight" instinct and kept going.

"It's an attic," Robin squeaked anxiously. "Of course it's an attic."

Dustin came up from the very back, worried, "Hold up, guys. What if he's leading us into a trap?"

No one answered.

"Guys."

They continued walking up to the attic.

"Guys."

Dustin began cursing under his breath when no one stopped. He unwillingly followed after his friends, bringing himself to the impending doom of the attic.

When everyone was out of the very narrow staircase and up in the attic, they could spot a singular, hanging light from the ceiling. It was whining and glowing like the other lights had, but this time, the light remaining steady. Vecna was stationary, here, up in the attic.

I suppose all evil must have a home.

The electricity buzzed from the lightbulb, and Sam felt a buzzing of electricity in her fingers, as well. She looked down to find that, underneath her skin, there was a faint, glowing of blue. Lightning strikes that could be mistaken for veins were illuminating in the same way the light overhead was.

Sam couldn't pull her eyes away from the lightbulb, walking closer. Everyone was filing behind her. Vaguely, from the back, she heard Dustin mutter, "Flashlights."

She looked down to see that, now, her flashlight was illuminating, too. In fact, everyone's flashlights were. They all stood in a circle around the ceiling light, using it as the focal point while all flashlights shone straight up.

"Sam," Lucas whispered in awe. "Your eyes."

Sam couldn't see it, of course. There wasn't a way to see exactly what Lucas was talking about, but Sam knew anyways. Her eyes were a striking, electric blue; the same color of the lightning rushing through her veins. As the lightbulb above lit up, as the flashlights lit up, Sam lit up, too. All of the electricity, including her, was coming alive.

"Okay, what's happening?" Steve muttered in a strained whisper.

No one quite knew the answer. Their lights almost traveled in a circle, one flashlight glowing the absolute brightest before it transferred to the next person. When the blinding light passed to Sam, her eyes shone impossibly brighter and there was a field of electricity that zapped around her for a moment.

Just there, for a moment, Sam felt a compelling urge to stay in the house forever.

Then it passed to the next person, and the moment was gone.

All of the flashlights began flickering and glowing then, no rhyme or reason, just chaotic illumination that made Sam's chest constrict. Vecna was right there, just on the other side, and whatever he was doing — well, it was more than just his presence.

It was his power, too.

Sam could feel it like the electricity in her veins.

Steve's flashlight began to explode first, and he startled away from the shattering glass. Then Auggie's did the same from right next to him, then they all began going out in the same direction they stood in the circle. Then, finally, in unison with the lightbulb hanging over head, Sam's flashlight shattered with the ceiling light. She yelped, everyone trying to evade the falling glass.

The power rushed in Sam rose, and then it fell all at once.

Sam stumbled weakly before she accidentally ran her back into Lucas's chest.

"What," Auggie breathed, "the fuck?"

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

so

this chapter might be one of the competitors for my favorite chapters

because

SAM REALIZATION YALL!!

i prayed for times like these

it only took her 41 chapters and 281,596 words!

ok let me not get too ahead of myself. 

anywho. stauggie for real being idiots to lovers.

we finally find out auggie's had a crush on steve the whole time! poor dude, who's been pining. i can just imagine him sitting alone at scoops ahoy just thinking that was the only way he could ever have steve 

fun fact: he's in the first chapter of season 3 at scoops ahoy if you squint

auggie being so terrified of spiders and hating spiderman LMAO. he's so unserious when you get to know him. ik steve is wondering why auggie suddenly switched personalities BUT IT'S CUS AUGGIE FEELS COMFORTABLE AROUND HIM NOW TO BE HIMSELF!!

robin and nancy plotting on stauggie's uprising. they are so real for that.

HUGHCLAIR SCENEOISGJISLJDLKGHJLRI

dude. the first song coming to sam's mind being songbird. just LOOK at the lyrics and TELL me that's not hughclair's anthem.

LUCAS DESCRIBING SAM WHILE SHE PLAYED DUDE I'M ACTUALLY ILL HE'S SO SOGFJDJGD

can someone get me a man like lucas sinclair????

again, sam realizing. and the way she describes her love for him ALSO makes me ill. 

'She'd never felt this way about anyone. It was all-consuming and the thought of him was tangled in her soul.'

'The entire realization had Sam shaking, chilled and terrified, but somehow comforted all the same.' 

'It was like Lucas had dismantled all the poorly built walls she'd put up over the duration of the school year in just one, measly interaction.' 

'She loved Lucas, and not in the way she loved any of her other friends, but it was just as easy. True, genuine love that shook Sam to her very core and made time stop and was the most special feeling she wanted to hold forever.'

'She stared down at her hands, but the only electric rush she could feel was being so near to Lucas.' 

like their love for each other is SO pure and real and THAT'S why sam never realized BECAUSE it was so different and genuine. she's never felt like that for anyone, even justin, so she had nothing to compare it with to know.

now she knows and she loves him SO MUCH

just everything about that scene bro. lucas telling her how much he missed her laugh and smile. lucas giving sam his jacket. lucas unable to stay an inch away from her.

told y'all hughclair nation would finally get a win this season!!!

also sam tweaking TF out with the lights and electricity shit. someone help her bc this shit is NOT going her way. i want to protect her so bad.

what'd you think?