Chapter Eight
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Nothing Is Ever As It Seems

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            After the horrific events of yesterday, Olivia suggested that everyone stayed together at the Wheeler's home so that Max had a safe place to stay with lots of people around her. Everyone took turns throughout the night to keep an eye on her and make sure that she was okay. Olivia was still shaken up, she couldn't get the image of Max levitating out of her head. She was about to die, right in front of her eyes. But thanks to Nancy and Robin, they managed to save her just in time.

            She tossed and turned throughout the night. She couldn't help but think, what if they hadn't saved her in time? What if that had been Dustin under the curse? She tried to shake off the feeling but it continued to haunt her. After almost loosing Max, Olivia learned the hard way how precious time spent with your loved ones really is. You never know how much time you have left.

            She finally fell asleep on Steve's shoulder, who had already been fast asleep, but it wasn't long until the voice of the one and only Eddie Munson woke her up. Rubbing her eyes from exhaustion, she unwillingly got up from the couch to get Dustin's walkie and answer Eddie. "Eddie? Hi, it's me, Liv," She greeted, her voice groggily from just waking up.

            "Oh, Lady Henderson! Hey!" Eddie perked up. Even though Olivia couldn't see him, she could hear the playfulness that was always held in his tone.

            "Don't call me Lady Henderson," Olivia cringed. She hated the nickname Eddie gave her. He had given it to her back when Dustin first joined Hellfire Club. In the few times she went to Hellfire with Dustin, Eddie started calling her Lady Henderson and the nickname stuck with him.

            "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm gonna need a food delivery, like, really soon. Unless you want me going out into the world-"

            "No, no, just stay where you are and will be there as soon as we can," Olivia promised.

            "Listen, um, can you pick me up a six pack? I know, I know. It's stupid as shit drinking right now, but a cold beer would really calm my jangled nerves," Eddie pleaded.

            Nancy was the next one to wake up and joined Olivia's side. "Liv, where's Max?" She whispered. Alarmed by Nancy's question, she drifted her attention away from Eddie and her eyes grew big when she noticed that Max was gone.

            "Hey, I'm gonna have to call you back," Olivia said hurriedly to Eddie, hanging up the walkie.

            Dustin was sleeping peacefully to her right, and Olivia would've almost felt bad for waking him up if she hadn't been so worried about Max. "Dustin! Wake up! Aren't you supposed to be on Max watch?" She panicked, shoving Dustin's shoulders lightly.

            Dustin jolted awake, rubbing his eyes. "Yep, yep, yep," He said sleepily.

            Olivia gestured to the spot where Max had been sleeping. "Okay then, where is she?"

            "She's right there," He pointed to the couch, but becomes more awake when he sees she's not there. "I swear I just dozed off for..." He paused, glancing down at his watch. "...an hour."

            "Dustin!" Nancy and Olivia chorused.

            "Dusty!" Olivia heaved again, shaking her head disapprovingly. "I just, I can't believe you sometimes," She huffed, marching up the stairs of the basement to the kitchen with Dustin and Nancy not too far behind her. She came to a halt in the kitchen, placing her hand over heart and let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Max coloring with Holly at the kitchen table.

            "Morning guys!" Mrs. Wheeler chirped while flipping pancakes. "Everything okay?" She asked with concern, noticing that something was off.

            "Yeah, yeah, everything's okay," Nancy trailed off.

            Olivia wasn't aware of just how hungry she was until she heard the sizzling sound of a pan and could smell of buttery pancakes that was lingering in the air.

            "I think it's so sweet that you guys are sticking together like this," Mrs. Wheeler said kindly.

            "You can try sticking together at a different house for a change," Mr. Wheeler grumbled monotonously while reading the morning newspaper.

            Olivia pursed her lips, avoiding saying a snarky comment to Mr. Wheeler. She was used to him, but he put her on edge sometimes. Mrs. Wheeler sent a glare to her husband, rolling her eyes at him. "You know you guys are welcome here anytime," She smiled.

            "Totally. You're like family," Dustin grinned, though Olivia couldn't tell if he was being genuine or not. "May I?" Dustin asked, pointing to the pancakes.

            "Absolutely!" Mrs. Wheeler sang.

            "Yeah, why not? Take us for all we're worth," Mr. Wheeler sneered.

            "Okay," Dustin grinned. As he began to stack his plate with pancakes, Mr. Wheeler gawked at him, his eyes following Dustin's every move.

            Holly got up from her seat and bounced over to Olivia with a skip in her step. "Livy!" The young girl beamed. "I've missed you!"

            "I've missed you too, sweetie," Olivia picked up the youngest Wheeler and held her in her arms. "You've grown so much!"

            Mrs. Wheeler put a hand over her heart, touched by the close bond the two girls shared. Holly adored Olivia, and Olivia adored Holly. Olivia used to be Holly's babysitter for years, but between school, cheerleading practices, and working, she hasn't been able to in a long time.

            Olivia pulled out a chair, taking a seat next to Max with Holly on her lap. "Hey. You okay?" Olivia asked softly.

            "Just couldn't sleep," Max shrugged. "People kept blasting music in my ears for some reason," She said with a faint smile spreading across her features. "But, Holly let me borrow some of her crayons. We've been having a fun morning, right Holly?"

            "Mmhmm," The small blonde nodded.

            "Olivia scanned over Max's drawings curiously. "Is that what you saw last night?" She asked, pointing to the unusual drawings that were colored with different shades of red.

            "I mean, it's supposed to be. I thought it would be easier to draw it out then to explain it. Not so much," Max sighed.

            While examining the drawings closely, Olivia's stomach suddenly began to feel queasy when she saw two lifeless bodies who were tied up in the midst of what looked like a red world.

            Fred and Chrissy.

            Now knowing how to break the curse, Olivia wished desperately that she could go back in time and save them. She wished that Chrissy told her what was going on with her. Then maybe Chrissy could have survived the curse. And Fred. "Is this-"

            "It was like they were on display or something," Max shivered. "And then there was this red fog everywhere," She gestured. "It was like a dream. A nightmare."

            "Do you think Vecna's just trying to scare you?" Nancy questioned, joining them at the table.

            "With Billy, yeah," Max answered. "But when I made it here, I don't know, something was different. He seemed surprised, almost like he didn't want me there."

            "Maybe you infiltrated his mind," Dustin suggested, taking a seat next to them with a plate full of pancakes. "He invaded your mind, right? Is it that big of a leap to somehow wound up in his? Like Freddy Kruger's boiling room," He explained with animation.

            "Freddy Kruger?" Holly echoed curiously.

            "He's a super burned up dude with razors for fingers," Dustin described hauntingly, motioning with his hands. "And he kills you in his dreams," He added, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was talking to a 6-year-old.

            "Dustin, seriously?" Nancy interrupted, nodding her head in Holly's direction. Holly's doe-like eyes spiraled with fear.

            Olivia glared at her brother before turning back to Holly. "I'm sorry for my brother, sweetie. It's just a movie, it's not real," She apologized softly, earning a giggle from Holly.

            Dustin looked slightly offended, but shrugged it off. "What if you somehow unlocked a back door to Vecna's world? Like, maybe the answer we're looking for is somewhere..." He picked up one of the drawings, and squinted his eyes at it. "...in this incredibly vague drawing. God, we need Will," He remarked.

            "Yeah, no shit," Max agreed. "But I tried them again this morning and it's the same busy signal."

            "Is that a window?" Nancy asked.

            "Yeah," Max nodded.

            "Stained glass with roses?" Nancy clarified.

            "Yeah. See, I'm not so terrible after all," Max retorted to Dustin.

            "Yeah, well, it helps that I've seen it before," Nancy started to crease each drawing and carefully placed them together like puzzle pieces. With a black sharpie marker, she drew crisscrosses in each window and outlined the different shapes, slowly revealing it to be a house.

            "It's pieces of a house," Olivia observed.

            "Not just any house," Nancy noted, placing the stained glass door last, completing the house. "Victor Creel's house," She confirmed.

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            Once the rest of the group was awake, they drove to Victor Creel's house. The mansion-like home was unsettling to say the least. The interior was battered and rusty, and the windows were boarded up with pieces of wood. It was surrounded by tall trees and the roof was covered with a blanket of leaves. To be fair, it looked like it was once a lovely home, but it was obvious no one has lived in it since the Creel's, and it looked more like a haunted house than anything.

            "Yeah, that's not creepy," Steve muttered sarcastically.

            Walking up the steps, Steve and Nancy grabbed the hammers they packed out of Dustin's backpack, taking out the screws over the wooden barrier that was blocking them from the door. "What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shit hole?" Steve wondered.

            "We're not sure," Nancy claimed. "We just know this house is important to Vecna."

            Steve looked like he had a million questions racing through his mind. "Because Max saw it in Vecna's red soup mind world?"

            "Basically," Nancy shrugged.

            "Great."

            "Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is," Dustin spoke up. "Why he's back. Why he killed the Creel's."

            "—And how to stop him before he comes back for Max," Olivia concluded.

            "We don't think he's in here, do we?" Lucas asked cautiously.

            "Guess we'll find out," Max shrugged.

            When the barrier successfully fell down, Olivia coughed from the dust that swirled around her. Max froze at the sight of the stained glass door, and Olivia looked at her with concern. "Max, are you sure want to go in?"

            Max nodded in response. Olivia frowned; she didn't think it was safe to have Max come in the house. For all they knew, this was the demon's home, which would most likely lead Max only into more danger.

            Steve began to open the door, only for it to be locked. "Should I knock? See if anybody's home?"

            "No, need," Robin declared, holding up a brick. "I found a key."

            Steve took the brick from Robin, and aimed it at the window. When the brick was thrown against the window, little shards of glass landed everywhere. "What a waste of a pretty window," Olivia mumbled.

            Everyone stepped inside of the home one by one. The interior wasn't much better then the exterior. It was dark with no source of any light except for the window that was just shattered. It was airy and spacious but everything was dressed in old antiques and creepy cobwebs. Dusty picture frames were tilted on the wall, and the wooden floor of the home creaked with each step they took.

            "Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill," Lucas commented.

            "Yeah, and this house needs some serious renovating," Olivia added.

            She pulled out her flashlight and waved her hand to get the dust that was floating in the air. "Where'd everyone get those?" Steve asked, noticing everyone was holding flashlights except him.

            "Do you need to be told everything?" Dustin retorted. "You're not a child!" The younger boy groaned while handing Steve a flashlight that was in the back pocket of his backpack. Steve stared at Dustin blankly, unamused by his snidely comment.

            "They just left everything," Nancy examined.

            "I guess a triple homicide isn't good for resale value," Robin shrugged sheepishly.

            "Hey guys," Max called out. "You all see that, right?" She shone her flashlight over a giant, worn out grandfather clock.

            Olivia walked closer to it. "Is this what you saw in your visions?"

            "I mean, it's just a clock... right?" Robin faltered, peeking her head over Olivia's shoulder. Robin walked up closer to study it and wiped the dust off with her hand. "Like a normal old clock."

            "I don't know," Olivia spoke up with a shrug. "I mean, after everything we've been through, I think we can assume that nothing is ever as it seems."

            "Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?" Steve quizzed, standing next to Olivia. "Maybe he's like a clock maker, or... something?"

            "I think you cracked the case, babe," Olivia giggled, standing on her tippy toes to kiss him on the cheek. Steve was a little embarrassed that he made a fool of himself once again, but nonetheless he gazed at Olivia lovingly.

            "All I know is the answers are here. Somewhere," Nancy said slowly, looking around the home. "Okay, everyone stay in groups of two. Robin, upstairs."

            Robin nodded, following behind Nancy and Max partnered up with Lucas, leaving Steve, Olivia, and Dustin to partner up. Steve let out a heavy sigh, which resulted in Dustin narrowing his eyes at him. "Was that a sigh?" Dustin asked.

            "No, that was not a sigh," Steve denied.

            "Why'd you sigh?" Dustin asked innocently, looking back and forth between the couple.

            "I didn't sigh, just come on, dude."

            "I heard you."

            "We're just always partners," Steve said with a hint of annoyance. "It'd be nice if me and Liv got to partner up alone, is all."

            Steve and Dustin continued to bicker back and forth as they hiked up the dingy stairwell. Olivia shook her head at the two, but her heart was filled with an enormous amount of warmth. Steve and Dustin were her two favorite people in the world, and while they bickered constantly, Olivia knew that the boys shared a brotherly bond.

            "Hey Hendersons?" Steve shone his flashlight at the siblings as they entered what was once a bedroom. "Could you guys maybe clarify what clues we're supposed to be looking for here?"

            Dustin stopped in his tracks, thinking for a moment. "The world is full of obvious things," He quoted, intimating his best attempt of a British accent.

            "—which nobody by any chance ever observes," Olivia finished, joining Dustin at attempting a British accent.

            "Sherlock Holmes," The siblings said simultaneously, noticing Steve's blank expression towards them.

            "Thanks, that's great. Really helpful," Steve huffed.

            Steve headed in the next room, while the siblings went in the opposite direction. But it was only a few short moments until Steve crashed into her, brushing something off of his shoulder.

            "Steve, what's wrong?" Olivia questioned worriedly.

            "There's a spider. It's a black widow," He panted out of breath, shutting the door behind him. "Don't go in there."

            Olivia winced when she noticed Steve's hair was full of cobwebs and motioned for Steve to come closer. "Oh, just stop moving, I got it," She soothed, calming him down and started to attentively pick the cobwebs out of Steve's hair.

            "If there's a spider nesting in there, you're never gonna find it until it lays eggs and all the babies spill out," Robin laughed as she brushed passed the couple.

            "What's wrong with you? Seriously, Robin?" Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "She's got problems."

             "Yeah, but we love her anyway," Olivia giggled.

            As Olivia carefully picked out each cobweb in Steve's hair, the two stood there in comfortable silence until Steve was the first one to speak up. "You know, I was hoping that this spring break, it would just be about us. I didn't think we'd be winding ourselves in yet another sticky situation."

            "Hey, at least we're still together," Olivia reminded him. "I mean, it's certainly not an ideal spring break, but we're together and that's what matters."

            "Do you remember the night we officially first met?" Steve reminisced. He remembered it perfectly, because he remembered thinking Olivia was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. "It was at the Halloween party. You went as an angel, and I went as-"

            "Tom Cruise," Olivia smiled fondly. "Of course, I remember. You gave me your jacket because I was cold. That night changed my life."

            "I never told you this, but before that night, there were many times I wanted to talk to you, but I just never had the guts. You were so quiet, but so beautiful. I was recovering from a heart break but when you came up to me that night, I knew that everything was going to be okay. I finally had an opportunity to talk to you, and little did I know that I would be meeting the love of my life," Steve confessed wholeheartedly.

            "Steve," Olivia melted, a tear rolling down her cheek. She would have never had guessed that before they met, Steve Harrington had paid any attention to her. "I never knew that. I-I don't know what to say," She breathed, picking out the last of the cobwebs in his hair. "Okay, all better."

            Steve turned around, facing her again. Olivia blushed deeply when she realized how close the two were, there faces just inches apart. Steve wrapped her arms around her small waist and just as they were slowly beginning to lean in, Dustin appeared behind them. "Please don't kiss," He said in disgust, scrunching his nose.

            "Yep, thanks for ruining the moment, dude," Steve remarked irritably, then turned his attention back towards Olivia. "Well... I guess we should get back to the investigation," He smiled down at her.

            "Right," Olivia blushed, almost forgetting why they were in the Creel's house in the first place. "The investigation." But the two continued to look at each other with fondness in their eyes, not seeming to pull their attention away from each other.

            "The obvious things are not what people observe, or don't observe..." Steve stuttered.

            "The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes," Olivia corrected gently, finding it adorable that Steve was trying to remember it just for her. "Hey, your cute, Steve, you know that?"

            "Mmhm, yeah, thanks for that," He said, rolling his eyes at her playfully. He took her hand in his, and the couple stayed like that as they continued to investigate the creepy house.

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            Everyone was gathered around a chandelier that loomed over them when they noticed the lights began to flicker on its own.

            "It's like the Christmas lights," Olivia recounted. A memory flashed through her mind, remembering Joyce frantically stringing Christmas lights all around her living room.

            "Christmas lights?" Robin whispered.

            "Yeah, when Will was in the Upside Down. The lights... came to life," She explained.

            "Vecna's here... in this house," Lucas spoke with fear. "Just on the other side."

            "I think he just left the room," Robin shuddered when the lights turned off.

            "Did he hear us?" Max quivered.

            "Can he hear us?" Steve added uneasily.

            "Headphones," Olivia and Lucas ordered Max.

            "Wait, wait, everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out," Nancy instructed,

            "We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flashlights," Steve commented, but everyone ignored them as they spreader out. "Liv, your staying behind me."

            Olivia nodded, trembling with fear. An eerily silence over took the house, and she could feel her stomach drop. Staying close behind Steve, they continued to walk around the house as they waited for another sign of Vecna. "Steve?" She whispered, her voice shaking.

            "Hey, I'm not letting anything happen to you," Steve promised. "As long as you stay by me, you'll be safe, okay?"

            "Okay," Olivia responded, clutching onto Steve's side.

            "I got him!" Robin hollered. Steve held Olivia's hand tightly, and they rushed over to him. "I had him," Robin said in defeat.

            Olivia's breath hitched as Steve's flashlight turned on next. Oh, I think he's moving. He's moving!"

            Everyone quietly followed behind Steve, wanting to see where Vecna was going.

            "Shit, I lost him,"  Steve frowned when his flashlight turned off.

            "No, you didn't," Max pointed out, opening another door, continuing to follow the lights.

            "It's an attic. Of course it's an attic," Robin sighed as they went up more more stairs.

            "Hold up, guys. What if he's leading us behind a trap?" Dustin questioned. "Guys, guys?"

            As Dustin stayed a few feet behind them, Olivia walked back down a few steps, extending her hand out for him to take. "Just come on, Dusty," She whispered.

            Entering the attic, everyone's flashlights were now flickering.

            "W-what's happening?" Olivia asked rhetorically, even though she knew the answer.

            Vecna was here. He was just on the other side.