LIES AT LOVER'S LAKE

☀︎

MARCH 1986

THE SUN HAD FALLEN BEHIND THE HORIZON AS NIGHTTIME GREETED THE GROUP. Reefer Rick's house had been tucked away in the woods, right up against Lover's Lake for the perfect hideaway. It was beautiful against the nightly glow of the moon. Everything about it caused Alex Henderson and Steve Harrington's hearts to ache. Memories overwhelmed them as they looked beyond the house and out towards the lake.

Everything about it reminded them of each other. They were reminded of those nights they would disappear from all their friends in need of an escape just for those two. Sitting on the shore of the lake huddled against each other to protect them from the chilly breeze of the nights they would steal kisses from one another, not resisting the urge to fall ever so far in love.

It was hard to believe that those nights could be so long ago. Now it was as if they were strangers to each other, feeling that spark of love but unable to act on it. It didn't help that as they walked up to Rick's house, their hands had brushed up against each other's and they were forced to resist the unintentional desire to hold on to one another.

Dustin had broken that urge as he grew eager in his search for his friend Eddie. He hadn't realized that sigh of disappointment that broke between Steve's lips as Dustin stepped between the two. As he passed, Alex's arm jerked forward, bringing her back to the reality that her purpose for being here was not simply to fall in love again, but to find out what happened between Chrissy Cunningham and Eddie Munson.

Rushing ahead of the group, Dustin took control in search of answers. Pressing his finger to the doorbell, Dustin turned back, waving the group along to come to join him and his eagerness. The only two willing to meet his demands were Alex and Steve, moving fast to get to his side and peek in the windows for their own view.

Alex squinted her eyes through the darkness inside as she reached out towards the front door and beat her fist against it. Pulling his eyes off the door, Steve shifted his eyes between the Henderson's and saw the urgency they held onto when it came to Eddie Munson. Before he never would have batted an eye at Eddie and now he was afraid he was growing jealous that the people he cared for the most in this world were so focused on him.

Shinning his flashlight at the two, Steve attempted to break up their urgency in getting to Eddie. "Okay, well, that's settled. I guess he's not here."

Ignoring him, Dustin began to pound louder as he called out to him. "Eddie! It's Dustin! Look, we just wanna talk okay? No cops, I swear. We just wanna help." His way of brushing off Steve had felt like a jab to his heart. Dustin tended to jokingly have an attitude toward Steve Harrington, but this time it felt different. Steve's eyes turned back to the window, willing to help, but his mind stayed on the thought that the reason Dustin cared for Eddie so much was because of Alex. Just as he gave Steve attention when he knew Alex had liked him.

Neither Henderson could see the jealousy that sat with Steve as they kept their focus on their own mission. Moving around her brother, Alex came to Steve's side. Leaning against his arm, she peered into the window just the same as him. Her touch against him caused him to stop breathing as she shifted for a spot closer to him. Getting closer to her, he leaned forward just the same as she did, searching for any reason to move closer to her.

As he looked in, Alex snuck a glance at him and the corners of her mouth turned up for just a moment. Being close to him never felt more natural. There was never anyone more perfect for her than him. All she could hope for was that tomorrow night as they watched their movie, he could be just as close, if not closer.

With a final pound to the door, Dustin stood back with a frown. Turning over to the pair, he shined a light at them, "He could just be real high."

"Or really scared," Alex corrected, pushing away his light from her eyes. Had it been her on the run from the cops, the last thing she would have done was get high. The fear alone of being accused of murder would have her curled in a corner, wishing to be erased from existence. Often her dreams made her feel that way.

Wishing for a better answer to give the two, Steve looked back into the window in hopes of anything standing out to him. As his light poured inside, his stomach dropped that he could have made things better. "Is that a foot?" Before the excitement could set in, he stood back with a shake of his head. "No, that's just a shoe." Turning to look at Alex, he saw the confusion of his mix-up spread across her face. "It looked like a foot."

"Because it's a shoe," she whispered. "They have to look like feet." Moving around him, she headed off down the porch where Robin and Max had wandered off for a look in other windows. Gravitating towards one another, Alex and Robin had linked arms, sticking close to one another for a feeling of safety. Keeping her close, Robin rested her head against hers, "Kinda romantic, huh? Lovers Lake."

"It's cold," Alex commented. It was obvious what path Robin was leading her down and she was just as determined to stay clear of her intentions. "It's also sort of creepy here now that I think about it."

"If you'll allow yourself to not be so dark and gloomy, I think you would see how precious it would be to see the rekindling of an old flame that frankly never should have been snuffed out at the exact spot these two hid away often. In fact, the spark between you and Steve is so bright, we don't even need these flashlights." Clicking hers off, Robin left them to walk in the darkness and Alex smiled, keeping the silence between the two in order to see how long Robin would keep this up. Holding on tighter to Alex, Robin nervously laughed before clicking on her light. "Maybe a flashlight wouldn't be so bad, but still, is it a crime to wish happiness for my best friends?"

"We're very happy," Alex said with a laugh. "We have you, what's not to be happy about?"

Robin came to a stop when she felt a flutter in her chest. "Seems like a perfectly good reason to be happy."

Alex gave a nod as she met Robin's eyes. "And if it makes you feel better, all of your plotting and planning, it's working. If it weren't for you, this so-called spark... it wouldn't be as bright as you say. We are..." Alex turned away, pulling Robin along to continue their walk around the house. "We are going to watch a couple of movies tomorrow. I-I don't know if it's a date or anything... but it's something, right? And you can totally come if you wanted."

"And ruin the rekindling of my favorite couple?"

"Well," Alex drawled on, sneaking a teasing glance at Robin. "Maybe we could invite Vickie and she can bring Fast Times. You know, since it's her favorite movie... the plot is just so interesting and not the fact that she likes boobies or anything, right?"

Robin tried to send her a glare, but a smile crept to her face and the warmth she felt only caused her to feel more flustered and embarrassed. "Of course," she whispered.

Alone from the two pairs that formed, Max had been the only one to find something new for them to investigate. A boathouse closer to the lake had a single light above a door that was left cracked open. It was a perfect place to hide away for Eddie Munson.

Everyone began to follow her direction in search of the wanted man. From behind, Steve watched as Robin and Alex laughed with one another, never straying far as they clung to each other. He was happy to see that the two could fall so easily back into their old relationship even if he wished it could have been him walking alongside them.

Stepping up behind Steve, Dustin looked out to the girls with his flashlight pointed right at them. "You jealous?"

Looking down at him, Steve played it off well that he was not offended by such a question. To Dustin, he couldn't be jealous, he was supposed to be cool. Especially now that all he ever heard about was Eddie Munson. It felt that both Henderson's left him and he wasn't prepared for it. "No, man, what?"

"It's just Robin gets all of her attention now. Just think, a couple of months ago and that would've been you two."

"Because we were dating," Steve scoffed. Reaching over, he snatched his hat off of Dustin and smacked him in the chest with it. "Now, shut it."

Placing his hat back firmly on his head, Dustin fell behind the group as he raced to keep back up with them. If anyone was going to find Eddie, he needed to be the one to do so. Steve already had his doubts and Max would begin by questioning him before Dustin could even hug him and let him know they never blamed him for Chrissy's death. Yet the rest of the group continued on even when he raced ahead of them and crashed through the door to the boathouse.

Stumbling his way in, Dustin quickly regained his composure while his eyes darted around the room in search of his friend. When he was nowhere to be seen, the rest of the group had headed in much more quietly and with their guards up.

It was almost too quiet. Suddenly it was as if all their fears had forced their way to the front of their minds as a playful reminder to them of what could lurk in the darkness. They were anxious as is, and now it felt they were walking into their own demise. Had Eddie been the killer and he was there, it wouldn't be long before he could lunge out and attack one of them. After that, they were sure they'd be too scared to react properly before they were all left lifeless about the boathouse.

Breaking the chilling silence, Steve picked up a boat oar and took a look around the place. "What a dump." Surveying the room, there was one place that stood out to him that he felt someone could be hiding. With a quick lunge, he beat the oar down onto the tarp that covered the boat. It was loud enough to strike fear into the person beside him— Dustin Henderson.

A cold chill washed over his body before being replaced by an uncomfortable warmth. "What are you doing?"

Smacking at the tarps, Steve thought it was obvious. "He might be in here."

"So you take the tarp off!"

Pulling back, Steve gestured Dustin over to the boat. "If you're so brave, you take the tarp off." With no reaction from Dustin, Steve returned back to work at beating around the boat.

Turning her back from Steve, Robin couldn't help but roll her eyes at his behavior as she focused back on what Alex and Max were looking at. Littered across the desk had been garbage that they could all agree was left recently meaning some was there— whether they were still there or not, they weren't too sure. Dustin, however, was sure of one thing. "Don't worry, Steve will get him with his oar," he remarked sarcastically.

"I know you think you're being funny, Henderson, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died about a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slightest." A final jab had Steve turned to Dustin in annoyance. All he wanted was to be certain they would all be okay. Despite their confidence in Eddie Munson's innocence, he couldn't be too sure. Everything always went wrong for the group and it was very likely they would lead themselves into more danger by involving themselves in such a situation. 

He was right to have those fears because the moment his back was turned to the boat, Eddie Munson and taken his chance to attack and bargain for his escape. His knuckles turned white from fear as he gripped a broken bottle by the handle. Pushing Steve back into the wall, he shoved the broken part up to his neck, not enough to break the skin, but enough to be a warning that no one does anything.

Fearful, Dustin had screamed for Eddie and begged for him to stop before he could hurt Steve. The sight of the two had him grow numb, knowing that the two men he looked up to were at one another's throats.

Hurrying over, the girls stayed huddled together as they watched Eddie hold Steve hostage with heavy breaths. Any sudden movement and they feared that their confidence in Eddie Munson being innocent would have been a mistake.

The only one to never have his doubts was Dustin as he approached with his hands out. "It's me. It's Dustin," he said calmly. "This is Steve. He's not going to hurt you, right, Steve?"

"Right, yeah," Steve whispered quickly. With each word, he could feel the bottle against his skin, and a new set of fear race across his body.

"Steve, why don't you drop the oar," Dustin instructed.

Rather than fight, Steve accepted he truly had no other option. Immediately he opened the palm of his hand and let the oar clatter to the floor. The only weapon he could possibly use was forced to fall from his hands and accept that Dustin Henderson had to be his savior. However, the noise broke Eddie's bit of comfort and he readjusted his grip on the bottle for a closer touch to Steve's throat.

"He's cool, he's cool," Dustin called out loudly. Steve's panic in the situation was clear and true, Dustin felt he was the only one that could potentially protect him for once. He knew Eddie wouldn't hurt a fly, but as scared as he was, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"I'm cool, man. I'm cool," Steve whispered.

Never breaking his eyes off Steve, Eddie finally spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"We're looking for you," Dustin hushed. "Eddie, these are my friends. You know Robin, from band."

Breathing heavily, Eddie looked over to the group, hesitant to take his eyes off of Steve and look to those that joined Dustin. Attempting a smile from behind him, Robin eased the situation as she imitated herself playing an instrument. Gesturing to his other side, Dustin continued introductions, "This is my friend Max. The one who never wants to play D&D. And you know Alex, my sister. Not as cool as me, but you said she's okay." With a small breath of air escaping his lips, he raised a hand out towards Eddie in comfort. "Eddie, we're on your side." However, when Eddie made no movement to accept his help, Dustin stood up straight and spoke loudly for his final attempt. "I swear on my mother."

"Yeah, we swear," Max agreed with a nervous nod.

"Yeah, on Dustin's mother," Robin added in. Sighing, Alex agreed, "Yeah, on my mother, I guess."

"Yeah, on their... on their mother," Steve whispered in a shaky breath. Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes as Eddie turned back to him, slightly leaning in. He was almost certain they actually found the killer for the police, only they would be his next victims.

But Eddie Munson was no killer. The one thing the Henderson's were certain of was that he was just a softie. A hard exterior with a heart of gold. Pulling the bottle off of Steve's neck, he turned away with a heavy breath.

Shrinking down, Steve held onto his neck in disbelief that Dustin Henderson had saved his life. Hunched over, he hadn't even noticed that the first to break from the group had been Alex. Moving past her brother, she hurried over to him and held onto his back in comfort. "Are you okay?"

Feeling her touch, he looked up with his hand to his throat. Still, he had felt the sharp point of the bottle pressed to his neck as if it never left. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." Assuring her he was okay, he attempted a smile, but it didn't go overhead so easily.

With her hand still to his back, she lead him over to a stool and had him take a seat. He pulled his neck from his hand, allowing himself to find it in himself to adjust back to a normal state of mind, one where he didn't fear for his life ending in the next few seconds. It helped to have her so close, even if that meant him playing it up a bit for her to stay by his side longer.

Moving closer, she rubbed his back gently, allowing him to rest his head against her. It was easy then to forget that he once stood toe to toe with death with her touch taking away all the pain. Alex hadn't taken notice of the instinct of her actions to hold onto him in comfort. So she mindlessly ran her hand up and down his back, taking a step closer as he leaned into her just to feel him against her, all while her eyes stayed on Eddie, eager for answers.

Coming to Eddie's side alongside Dustin, Robin got down on her knees to meet his eyes. "We want to know what happened."

Eddie's head was hung low, hiding away how his chin quivered in fear. He was a man on the run. All he had done in high school was boast about how fearless he was and that he could look danger in the eye and still hold his ground. Now he felt that he was no hero. He was a broken man, desperate for anyone to believe him and understand he could never bring himself to hurt anyone— especially Chrissy Cunningham.

Lifting his head, he sniffled, fighting away the broken tears that threatened to spill out. "You won't believe me."

"Try us," Max spoke up. Eddie looked over to her before his eyes trailed along all those looking back at him. There was no fear to them, but concern. He didn't even need to say a word and they already believed him. How he didn't know, but he felt there was no one else to trust than those before him. As his eyes traveled along the group, he kept them on Alex as their final destination. He felt he owed her an explanation because she was the one that lead Chrissy to him. "She met me like you said, behind the track. Turns out she-she wanted something stronger and I... I told her she could come over after the game. I just went to my room and her body..."

Eddie's eyes had turned back to his lap as his voice trailed off, growing shaky as fear rested heavily on him. The trauma he currently felt would continue to live with him. He would have lasting nightmares of what he was forced to see before him. "Her body just, like, lifted up into the air and, uh... And she just, like, hung there. In the air. And her bones..." Closing his eyes, he felt that he was only reliving this over and over again in his mind as a means of torture for being unable to save her. That there was never going to be an escape from the horrors and the guilt. Whimpers escaped his lips as he fought to hold on to what little he had left inside of him to stay strong. "Her bones started to snap. Her eyes, man. It-it was like there was something, like, inside her head, pulling. I-I didn't know what to do, so I... I ran away. I left her there."

Guilt and regret were only the beginning of what he felt. He and Chrissy were not alike in the slightest, but talking with her, it all came so naturally. It made his heart stop to hear her laugh at his antics. All he did was care for her and wanted to help her and all he did was leave her. He scoffed at his own actions. "You all think I'm crazy, right?"

Dustin shook his head. "No. We don't think you're crazy at all..."

Eddie's eyes flickered over to the group, but something within him snapped. Holding his head, he gripped his hair tight. "No! Don't bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds."

"We're not bullshitting you," Max said quietly. Instead of accepting that they could ever believe him, he raised a finger to the only person that had a visible reaction. "No, man, your-your sister. She thinks I'm crazy. Don't you?"

Stepping back, Alex had let her hands back down to her side, losing Steve in the process. She swallowed hard, looking around the group desperately. "N-no, I-I believe you, Eddie. I do."

"No, no, no, don't lie to me. You... you can't. You wouldn't."

"I'm not lying," she said quietly, a quiver in her voice. Believing Eddie was easy, but accepting that a nightmare infiltrated Hawkins once again was not so easy to accept. Turning over to his sister, Dustin had seen the clear break in her face. She was not terrified of Eddie and he knew that better than anyone. She fell into too many traps that the darkness beneath them lead her to that that's all she could think about. Turning back, he extended a hand out to Eddie once more. "Eddie, she believes you. She probably believes you more than you can even begin to imagine, okay? What I'm about to tell you might be a little difficult to take."

Eddie's eyes flickered between the Henderson siblings. He genuinely trusted them even though fear and panic were clouding his judgment. But he had to accept that maybe there was someone out there that could believe his story then maybe they could help him. "Okay," he agreed softly.

"You know how people say Hawkins is... cursed? They're not way off. There's another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours."

Trying to understand, Eddie leaned forward. "Like ghosts and shit?"

Max looked over to Alex. Not once could she bring herself to look her way. Someone she once could call her greatest friend had created a distance so great, it was as if they never knew each other. There was no one else she could blame but that very hell that lurked beneath them. "There are some things worse than ghosts," she whispered.

Alex crossed her arms to hold herself tight, but her eyes had watched the wall beside her as she felt those parts of her that broke so many years ago shattered around the good she had left inside her. The parts of her she was working to rebuild began to crumble away so easily when she worked so hard to fix it all.

"These monsters from this other word... we thought they were gone. But they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you," Dustin explained.

"If they're back again, we need to know," Max added in, finding herself looking back to Eddie. Alex could never look at her and now she couldn't meet anyone's eyes. Max was desperate for her eyes to meet hers, to show her it'd be okay and provide some comfort. Neither of them could ever have that chance the more Alex pushed her away and treated her as a ghost.

"That night, did you see anything?" Robin asked.

"Dark particles, maybe?" Max questioned next.

"It would almost look like dust, swirling dust," Dustin explained. He once saw it all before in an experience so painful to him, he promised once to never talk of it. To know that what he was willing to do for his sister back then, something that scarred him so deeply, was all for nothing, it only added to the pain. Because he never left that night, it stayed with him in the front of his mind, and he felt he should have done more. Now he felt he was still paying that price.

"No, man, there was nothing you could see or, uh... or touch," Eddie spoke. Thinking back on that night, he would have remembered something like that. That way he could blame it on something. But it was just him and Chrissy. "You know, I tried to wake her, man. She couldn't move. It was like she was in a trance or something."

"Or under a spell," Dustin spoke softly. Sitting up straighter, he narrowed his eyes at Eddie. "A curse. Vecna's curse."

"Who's Vecna?" Steve questioned as he rose to his feet.

Eyes falling to the floor, Dustin felt his heart lurch at the thought of something so vile coming to reality. "An undead creature of great power."

"A spell caster," Eddie whispered in a single, unwavering breath.

"A dark wizard."

There was a silence that hung about the group as the image of Vecna flooded their minds. Alex couldn't hold herself together as every memory of trauma that hurt her caused herself to dig her nails into the palm of her hand. Bad memories had her squeeze her eyes shut, knowing more were only to follow. Every dream she had could have the possibility of coming true.

Breaking that painful silence, the door to the boathouse burst open— from a gust of wind or an unknown source, none could ever tell. The group had jumped at the sudden noise, all but Alex. When she had felt herself beginning to cry, she knew she couldn't stand for those to see her and attempt to comfort her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, turning her back to the group and excusing herself out that very door that burst open. Taking the sleeve of her jacket, she had wiped the blood that barely fell down her nose. It was so quick and sudden, she hadn't even realized it had begun to bleed in the first place.

The group felt their heart rates start to decrease as they felt things calm for a moment. Going to take a stand to follow after, Robin soon felt a hand on her shoulder. "I got this," Steve whispered. In a time he needed her, she was there and he knew he had to do the same in return.

Following after, he shut the boathouse door quietly behind him so none would follow. Creeping out into the cold, dark night, he spotted her sitting against the wall, holding her head in her hands. He was quiet, almost hesitant as he approached her. Taking a seat down beside her, he didn't say anything, not yet at least. There was no one that could force her to say how she felt because even she couldn't bring herself to understand it all.

Looking up, she let the tears stay on her cheeks as she looked out to the trees ahead of them. "I' m fine," she whispered, her voice quivering.

It left Steve in a tough spot. He wanted so desperately to talk to her and hear her out, but talking about this had pushed them away from each other before. So he settled on something he felt would comfort her even if it was risky. Gently, he reached out for her, placing a hand on top of hers. It was a simple gesture of comfort, but it created an awkward tension in the air as Alex pulled hers out from under his.

Pulling his hand back to himself, he bit his bottom lip in embarrassment. None of this was how it was supposed to go. They were never like this, ever. Even when he had other girlfriends or she was annoyed with him— they always had each other. They were supposed to always love each other.

This didn't feel like that and it broke him. "Alex, you can talk to me about whatever it is you're feeling, you do know that, right? I'm not some shmuck who doesn't understand you."

"I never said you were a shmuck," she said softly.

He let out a frustrated breath of air. She focused on the wrong part of what he was trying to say. "I just mean, I'm not some random guy who's chasing you down and forcing myself on you. I'm saying... it's me. That should count for something, right?"

Alex turned her head down to her knees when she closed her eyes. She didn't have anything to say to him, even if it hurt him. There wasn't anything he could do, she felt. It was out of his hands to ever be able to get her out of any of this mess. He could throw himself in front of monsters, but it meant that neither of the two could be together. She couldn't have him die just for her.

Steve felt the opposite. Everything in him told him he could do all of those things because she would do that for him— and he was right. He leaned his head back against the wall, looking up to the night sky, and let out a small sigh. She may have not been eager to talk to him, but he was eager to hear her voice. "Last night, did you hear Tammy Thompson?"

Alex furrowed her brows as she lifted her head. She couldn't help but look over at him as he smiled. As if any of this was humorous or had anything to do with Tammy Thompson. A darkness fell upon Hawkins and he wanted to discuss last night's basketball game and somehow, she loved it and loved him more. "She was pretty awesome," she whispered. Last night he told Robin how he didn't like Brenda because she so simply admitted to liking Tammy Thompson's voice and she was itching to tease him on that.

Steve cocked an eyebrow at her when he snuck a glance her way. There was a small, teasing smile on her lips. "Yeah, sure, if you love the Muppets, maybe. Came all the way from Tennessee just for that shit."

"Some people like Miss Piggy," Alex said, sitting up straighter. Leaning her head back just the same as Steve's she looked up at the sky above them too. Now it felt like old times. The others were busy handling other things and they were hidden away. It was everything they missed.

"Oh, yeah, some people do, actually," Steve chuckled. "May even say they'd pork her."

Alex closed her eyes in disbelief at his crude humor. Unable to hold back, she let out a small, guilty laugh. Together, the two looked over at one another with smiles spread across their faces. In those few seconds, it was an escape from everything around them. They were what they needed to keep moving forward. Even Steve knew that Robin was right because this was the kind of moment he was searching for with other girls. Only Alex could take a bad joke, laugh, and make him feel on top of the world. No one could make him feel like she did.

Yet somewhere out there, a dark being had felt the very same for Alex Henderson, searching for that moment to talk to her, show her the path he was desperate for her to follow along— to join him. All while Steve Harrington and Alex Henderson ignited the spark just a bit brighter, Vecna had greeted his next victim, one he hoped would get her attention. Fred Benson would take his last breath of air and Vecna would grow stronger, opening his opportunity to head into Hawkins and share his true curse upon those within.