As Talia Wheeler's eyes rolled back and her body fell terribly still, Eddie Munson felt his world ignite in flames. Fear flooded his senses as he hastily grabbed hold of Talia's biceps, shaking the girl desperately in a futile attempt to wake her from Vecna's curse. Briefly, his eyes flickered above him—through the opened gate to the Upside Down—to see a mirrored image of Steve and Nancy.

"Fuck," he muttered, the frantic calls of Talia and Nancy's name from the other teens becoming white noise as his gaze remained focused on Talia, "Talia? Talia, you have to wake up...wake up, Talia! Talia!"

"Eddie!" Robin exclaimed, ripping his attention from Talia to her, "music—we need music, right now!" Max, Lucas and Dustin had already rushed to Eddie's room, beginning to ransack it for any spare tapes that either girl might listen to.

Noticing the reluctant look on Eddie's face, Erica Sinclair steadied her nerves and moved closer to the older male. She made sure their eyes were locked before carefully saying, "Go help them, I'll watch her."

Eddie's gaze flickered back to Talia, his fear clear to both Robin and Erica. They didn't have time for him to be afraid, though.

"Eddie," Robin spoke again, practically begging, "you know her the best, okay? Just standing here isn't going to help her—you want to help her, don't you?"

The older male's jaw clenched, a sigh escaping his lips as he nodded his head. He took one last fleeting glance at Talia before following Robin to his room, joining the younger teens in searching through his music. Dread pooled in Eddie's stomach—he knew that neither Talia nor Nancy's favorite song would be present in his collection.

Erica tried to hide her worry as her eyes flickered up to Nancy and then back to Talia, flinching as the girl in front of her jerked briefly before falling still once more. Above her, Steve cried out for the group to hurry.

"This is not good," Erica said quietly, spinning on her heel before darting down the hallway that led to Eddie's room, "Steve says you need to hurry! And Talia isn't getting any better!"

"Yeah? No shit!" Dustin yelled, frantically searching through Eddie's drawers next to Lucas.

"We're trying—we can't find anything!"

"Seriously, what is all this shit!"

"I mean what are you even looking for?"

"Madonna, Blondie, Bowie, Beatles? Music!" Robin yelled frantically, "We need music!"

"This is music!" Eddie yelled back, snatching the tape from Robin's hand. His eyes widened as he read the tape, unsure how it had made its way back to his room since last he knew it was miles away, locked in his car, "Holy shit! This is music—Red, give me your Walkman!"

Startled, Max thrusted it into his hands, racing after him when he darted out of the room. Eddie rushed towards Talia, hands shakily shoving the Metallica tape into the Walkman. Before he could cover Talia's ears with the headphones, the cursed girl gasped loudly as she regained consciousness. Eddie just barely managed to catch her when her knees buckled.

Tears immediately began pouring down the Wheeler girl's cheeks, frantic sobs escaping her lips as she began thrashing in Eddie's grip. Her hands flew to her face, frantically rubbing at the soft flesh—desperately trying to rid herself of the blood that she believed had just rained down on her.

"No, no, no!" She cried out, unable to breath as panic overtook her, "Get it off! Get it off me! Please! Get it off!"

The other teens—who had ran out of the bedroom when Max called out that the two Wheeler girls had woken from their trance—watched worriedly as both Eddie and Steve attempted to calm the distraught girls. Eddie quickly grabbed hold of Talia's wrists, pulling her hands from her face, which she had began to rub and scratch raw. Thankfully, she had not done much damage before he could pry her hands away, but that did nothing to calm the panic Eddie felt.

Talia continued to fight against Eddie's grip—her mind still trapped in the horrors she had been shown, every tiny detail replaying in her head. She feared opening her eyes, terrified that she'd just be trapped in another nightmare.

"Talia, it's me—it's Eddie," he said softly, using his strength to try and hold her still. The Munson boy pulled her close to his chest, his mouth hovering near her ear for a moment before he began whispering soothing words to her, "You're okay, Lia...you're safe, I got you...We're right here...I'm right here, baby..."

Slowly, Talia regained her grip on reality, focusing on the sound of Eddie's voice as he began rocking her slightly. Her sobs died down to weak whimpers and her breathing began to even out as his presence calmed her. Still weary, Talia carefully opened her eyes.

Fear was evident in Talia's gaze as she shakily took in her surroundings, trying to determine whether she had escaped Vecna's hold on her mind or if this was just another one of his hallucinations. Eddie's warm eyes staring back into hers brought her a sense of relief—something deep in her soul recognizing him.

"Eddie," she cried out softly, pulling her wrists from his grip as it relaxed and throwing them around his neck. She buried her face in his neck, still shaking as she melted into his embrace. One of his hands instinctively moved to the back of her head, holding her reassuringly to him as he continued swaying them slightly.

Max, who had been stood a few feet away carefully watching the pair, slowly approached and crouched down next to them. She placed a shaky hand lightly on Talia's shoulder, feeling guilty when the girl flinched, "T? Do you want to go to mine...you could shower...change?" The red headed teen wasn't the best at comforting others, but she knew better than anyone else what Talia was feeling in the moment.

Without removing her face from where it hid in Eddie's neck, Talia nodded her head—just barely enough for the Mayfield girl to notice.

"Okay," Max said softly, sparing a glance at Eddie to see that he was already looking at her. Relief peaked out through the worry that was etched onto his face. Max removed her hand from Talia's shoulder and stood up, backing away to give the male room. Eddie adjusted his grip on the girl in his arms, then carefully stood up. He struggled slightly to balance himself, stumbling over his feet before steadying.

After ensuring the others had Nancy, who had recovered much quicker than her cousin and shakily climbed out of the Upside Down, Max lead the group to her trailer. She locked the door behind them before directing Eddie to her room, where he reluctantly set Talia down on the bed.

The Wheeler girl was just barely managing her fear, knowing she needed to get it under control so that they could focus on what was really important at the moment—Vecna. Her bottom lip quivered and her jaw clenched as she held in her tears, breathing slowly and deeply.

Eddie knelt before her as Max collected clothing for her to change into after her shower, one hand lacing with hers and the other resting on her knee. His gaze felt heavy on the short brunette. Talia briefly allowed her eyes to flicker to his, holding back a whimper as flashes of his dead eyes staring back at her ran through her mind.

"It's okay," Eddie whispered, trying not to let his face fall as her eyes darted away from him quickly, "Whatever you saw, whatever Vecna showed you, it's not real. None of it is real, Talia. You're safe here, I swear."

"It felt real..." she whispered brokenly, nostrils flaring as she tried holding back the tears that flooded her vision. Eddie looked at her helplessly, wishing with everything in him that he could take away her pain—even if that meant he had to face it, or worse, himself.

"It's ready," Max unknowingly interrupted before the Munson boy could speak, coming back into the room after setting the small pile of clothes she collected on the bathroom counter. She had left a washcloth and two folded towels, as well. The younger girl had a feeling that Talia would be too shaken to shower by herself.

Talia hid a flinch at the girls entrance, startled. After taking a deep breath, she shakily stood and followed Max the short distance down the hall to the bathroom. Eddie walked closely behind her. Once Max was sure the two were set, she left them in the bathroom and joined the others in her living room.

Eddie softly shut the door behind Max as she left, twisting the lock before turning back to Talia. She stood nervously, with her arms wrapped around her torso.

"Do you want help?" Eddie asked quietly, gesturing to her clothing slightly. Talia paused as she took in a breath, mentally contemplating it. She shook her head and exhaled. He nodded once, unsurely turning his back to give her privacy.

Eddie did not know what she had seen while under Vecna's curse, and he feared the worst. He didn't want to unknowingly make her uncomfortable or bring up bad memories. Talia gulped, silently grateful to have a moment without lurking eyes stuck to her. She knew that she'd rather have him with her than out with the others, though.

Her hands shook as she slipped the oversized leather jacket from her shoulders before taking the time to gently fold it and lay it on the counter. The Wheeler girl was quick to slide off her black shorts and underwear next, heart pumping as she reached back and unclasped her bra. It made a quiet noise as it joined the small pile of fabric on the floor. Talia's arms unsurely wrapped back around her torso, shoulders hunching.

"Okay," she mumbled. Eddie slowly turned back to face her, eyes soft as he gazed at her face. Still, Talia avoided his eyes. Moving to the shower, he flicked it on and adjusted the temperature to what he felt the girl would like. Once he was satisfied, he pulled the shower door mostly closed before stepping back.

"I'll go wait with them, but it's all set," Eddie told her, frowning as she shook her head rapidly. Her frantic eyes flew to his, the male unable to decipher the hidden message in them.

"Can you...stay?"

Eddie didn't want to push her boundaries. He slowly said, "...if you want me to."

"I do."

"Okay, I'll just be right here," he said, motioning to where he stood. Talia's eyes flickered to the shower then back to him.

"Would you..." her question went unfinished, embarrassment overtaking the girl at the fact that she was too scared to shower alone. She felt ashamed to have to ask, even though she would tell him yes in a heartbeat if he did.

Understanding her unspoken question, Eddie began to undress. He was silently glad that she had asked—he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. Talia's gaze settled on a small crack in the tile at her feet as she waited for him to finish removing his clothes. Once he was done, Eddie pushed the shower door open more and gestured for Talia to step in.

The Wheeler girl did so wordlessly, moving further into the small space to make room for him to join her. Eddie slid the door closed completely after following her in. Talia felt warmth naw away at the coldness that had encompassed her body, eyes fluttering closed as she stood under the stream of hot water and let it soak her hair.

Eddie would normally never shower with such hot water, finding it too uncomfortable and slightly painful. Talia, on the other hand, used the shower as a place to feel something when everything became too much. The girl had a nasty habit of bottling everything up and numbing herself to her own pain. Sometimes the sting of the water was the only thing that keep her sane.

"He...he showed me Billy...and you," Talia spoke, her voice so quiet that Eddie almost didn't hear it. His eyes silently took note of every inch of her flesh, sadness building as he took in every bruise, scratch, and wound. She pressed her lips together to hide the way they quivered, "It was the night he died...both nights he died."

"What...what do you mean?" He unsurely questioned, scared to speak too loudly.

"Billy died twice—once at the mall...and once when he was taken. He showed me them...what happened," a quiet sob escaped her, eyes flickering open to meet with his, "He was so scared, and no one could help him. I couldn't help him."

"You had no idea what was happening, Lia," Eddie said slowly, "You couldn't have done anything for him, you know that. It wasn't your fault."

"But what if it was? He told me it was...he told me it was gonna be all my fault..."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You were dead," she cried, arms winding around herself, "You were up on the ceiling...like you said Chrissy was, and you were dead."

"I'm right here, T," Eddie strongly spoke, carefully wrapping his arms around her shaking form and holding her close to him, "I will always be right here, okay? I'm okay, nothing happened to me...nothing is going to happen, either. I swear."

"I'm just so scared...what if one of us doesn't make it? Or, what if we can't save Max? I can't do that again, Eddie. I can't lose you. I can't lose her."

"You won't," Eddie promised. He feared being unable to keep it.