Steve drove to The War Zone with Beverly in the passenger seat, the others in the back. She wanted to try and start up a conversation with him, but didn't really know how after their last one didn't really end well.

Steve wanted to do the same.

"So...how's it handle?" Beverly finally spoke up to try and make some small talk before entering into the more serious conversation.

"Not half bad. Considering that this is a...house," Steve replied, causing Beverly to laugh slightly but not know what to say after that. Steve glanced over at her, trying to continue the conversation further. "Yeah, it's...it's silly, but I...I've actually, uh...I always had this dream that I'd have this — like this really...really big family. I'm talking, like, uh, a full brood of Harringtons. Like, five, six kids."

Beverly's eyes widened a bit, not expecting their conversation to lead into this. They had talked about future plans before, but never kids since they were so  young. "Six?" Beverly repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah. Six little nuggets. Three girls, three boys," Steve confirmed before he let out a short laugh. "And — and every summer, I figured all of us Harringtons, we would pack into something like this and...just see the country. You know, the Rockies, Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. End up in some beachside town in California. Spend a week parked in the sand. Learn how to surf or something," he imagined with a small smile on his face before he looked over at Beverly. "Unless you're having different thoughts on...us."

"Steve..." Beverly trailed off.

"I just wanna know if you trust me or not, Bev. Because if you don't then...then we can just scrap these plans and try to build from the ground up," he told her.

"Me not telling you about the symptoms wasn't because I don't trust you, Steve. It's because I do trust you," she clarified, making his brows knit together lightly. "I knew that if I told you then you would go to hell and back to try to kill Henry. And I didn't want to distract anyone from what was really important: stopping him smartly. I couldn't have let you act on an impulse, okay? It wouldn't have worked. And I wanted to keep the attention on Max. She's younger, has more of her life ahead of her. I felt like she was in more help than I was."

Steve gave her a sad look at her willingness to sacrifice herself for the redhead. The two of them had really been the ones to make sacrifices lately. "Yeah, I...I understand. I'm sorry for yelling at you and, uh, Chris," he apologized slowly, shaking his head. "I should have listened to your side of the story before doing anything."

She smiled lightly. "Which is exactly why I didn't tell you in the first place," she joked, making him let out a small laugh. "But I love how you care about me, Steve. Really, I do. And I care about you, too. A lot. Which is why after all of this is over...maybe we can...fulfill that dream of yours."

Steve blinked in shock. "Really?" he breathlessly said.

She shrugged. "It sounds nice."

Steve still didn't believe it. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she confirmed with a slight laugh. "Well, uh, except for the six-kid part. That sounds like a total nightmare."

"If only we had some practice," Steve sarcastically remarked, gesturing to the kids in the back.

"All right. Fair. That's fair."

"But if you don't want that many kids, then we don't have to," he assured her with a nod, not wanting to force her into her anything. "And not that soon either. I was thinking like in a few years."

"Oh, thank God," she breathed out, causing him to laugh. "I still kind of want a little bit of freedom, you know?"

"Yeah. Yeah, me too. Freedom with you." The both of them shared a loving smile, both imagining their futures together.

In the back of the van, the others had their own conversations. Lucas had been talking to Max, Dustin had been conversing with Erica, and the rest of the older teens had been having a conversation on their own.

"You think they worked it out yet?" Carmen asked no one in particular, however she had been aiming it at the older ones.

Alicia narrowed her eyes lightly, looking at Beverly and Steve since that's who Carmen had been referring to. "Yeah. I think so," she replied. "Not that they had a lot to work through anyway."

"Do you guys think Steve thinks I was trying to steal Bev away from him?" Chris questioned, making them all give him a look. "What?"

"What kind of question is that?" Robin said, shaking her head at him. "Why would Steve think that?"

Chris shrugged. "I don't know, things have kind of been...tense. Like, in the Creel House, he admitted to the fact that he was kind of weirded out that me, him, and Bev were working together since I'm the ex."

"Okay, well, that's kind of reasonable," Robin told him. "But I don't think Steve thinks you want Beverly back."

"Yeah. And he shouldn't even be scared if you do because there's really no competition there," Carmen insulted, making Alicia cover her laugh. Eddie gaped at her, not knowing what to do since he was Chris's friend but still found the joke funny.

Chris glared at her. "Okay, what is your problem, Carmen? Every chance you get, you just insult me."

"Because you deserve it for being a douche," she responded casually.

"I haven't been a douche," Chris defended himself, even though that was kind of a lie.

"Oh, really? Then how come you cheated on Bev? How come you tried to get in the way of Bev's relationship with Steve? How come you tried to get in between me and Eddie?" she queried, making the others look around awkwardly. She had been only these grudges for a while, not wanting to the boy to forget about them even if the others had forgiven him. She just wasn't about that way of life since she believed in karma.

Chris scoffed, not knowing what to say to that. "Because..." he trailed off, trying to look away but he kept meeting all of their gazes. He held Robin's gaze a little bit longer since she was the only one who knew why he did what he did. "Because...I don't know."

Carmen rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the boy. "Well, that's convenient."

"I'm sorry, Carmen, okay? Not everyone is perfect like you are, I guess," he said, giving her a look.

"Thanks for the compliment, Wheeler. I am pretty perfect," she replied and Chris just nodded, getting up to go and change his seat. "Running away. Just like he always does."

"Maybe you should give him a break, Car," Eddie suggested to try and help his friend out a bit, making Carmen give him a look. "We're all dealin' with this in other ways, you know? Maybe cut him a bit of slack?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah. I think Chris already knows that what he's done wasn't the best. Maybe it's better not to comment about it."

Carmen glanced in between both of them before she shared a look with Alicia. The Sinclair girl just shrugged. "Fine. Just 'cause I don't wanna focus on him anymore." Carmen turned just to converse with Eddie, leaving Robin and Alicia on their own.

"So...does Carmen just despise Chris or something?" Robin asked slowly.

Alicia shrugged. "Kind of. I mean, we were friends with him when Bev dated him in high school and when we found out he cheated, Car basically made it her mission to torture him. She doesn't fare well when her friends get messed with."

"I guess that's a good trait to have...even if she gets a little too carried away sometimes," Robin remarked and Alicia laughed quietly, nodding in agreement. "So what are you thinking about buying at the place?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'm not very good with weapons and fighting," she responded.

"But you saved us last summer," Robin recalled and Alicia furrowed her brows, not knowing what she was talking about. "When the Russians drugged us and you came in with that, uh, you know electric spear thingy? And you, like, zapped the dude."

"Oh! Right. Yea — Yes. I-I remember now," Alicia said, not knowing how Robin had remembered while she had forgotten about it. "That was honestly just luck. And I caught that guy off guard, so..."

"Give yourself some more credit, Alli," Robin told her. "I bet without you on our side we'd all be in some deep shit. Well, deeper shit since we're already pretty deep."

Alicia let out a short laugh, giving Robin a smile. "I could say the same for you. I mean, you knew all the Russian last year and figured out what the Russians were planning."

"And you figured out music was the key to saving Vecna/Henry/One's targets," Robin replied back. "I guess we're both the secret saviors of the team."

Alicia snorted. "I guess you could say we're meant for each other then," she spoke without thinking. Her eyes then widened once she realized what she had said, cursing herself out in her mind. Robin blinked at that, not knowing how to respond since her brain had been malfunctioning. "In a friendly way, of — of course. In — in an entirely platonic way. Like — like you and Chris. And Steve. Platonic."

Robin's heart dropped into her stomach at that, all the hope she had lost. "Yeah," she breathed out, trying to hide her disappointment. "Platonic with a capital 'P'."

✦ ✧ ✦

Steve pulled the RV up to The War Zone, parking it in the back so no one could see it from the front. There had been a bustle of cars and people outside, but they prayed that it would be people outside of Hawkins that wouldn't recognize them.

But, to stay safe, they instructed Eddie, Lucas, Chris, Dustin, and Carmen (since she was seen with Eddie by Jason) to stay in the van so they weren't pointed out.

The rest of them walked inside the store, only to see more people; some they recognized and some they didn't. "So much for avoiding angry hicks," Robin commented.

"Let's be...fast," Nancy said slowly, looking around.

"Yep."

"Definitely," Erica said before they split up, looking for things that would be useful for them. They each grabbed shopping carts or shopping bags to be able to place the items they bought inside.

Steve found himself a camouflage jacket, swapping it out with Eddie's jean jacket so no one recognized that it was his. "How many of these do you think we need?" Robin asked Steve, holding a fuel carton on her hand.

"Five or six," Steve answered, grabbing some more and shoving them in Robin's cart. Robin then looked up to see Alicia searching for some things to use, admiring her from afar. "What are you gonna do, Robin? Just stand here and gawk at her?" he teased.

"Shut up," Robin immediately replied before she sighed, looking down. "Something happened in the van."

Steve's eyes widened excitedly , wanting to know more. "What? What happened?"

"We were talking about how the both of us have saved all of your asses," she began and Steve gave her a look, "and then she went on to say 'I guess you could say we're meant for each other then.'"

"Holy shit, Robin. That's — that's amazing," Steve told her, genuinely happy for her.

"Okay, but then that's where it goes bad. Right after she said that, she clarifies that she meant it platonically. Now, I-I don't know if she suspects me being gay and she doesn't want me to get the wrong idea or she's just, I don't know, she just sees me as a friend but — but now I'm like totally freaking out," Robin rambled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Steve said, holding his hands up. "Calm down. Now you're just psyching yourself out. Trust me, I used to do it all the time with Bev before we got together. I'm sure she just said that because she got nervous. She didn't want to come off too strong."

Robin sighed. "Yeah, okay, maybe you would do that, but this is different. I don't even know if she's actually lesbian or not. I mean, I hope so. But...there's a huge chance that she's not."

"But there's a chance that she is," Steve argued softly. "But you won't know unless you take that leap of faith."

"I was going to in the woods. But then I chickened out. I'm just scared that if she doesn't feel the same then...she'll make it more of an issue than it already is. And she doesn't seem like the person who would, but...you never know," Robin told him.

"I'm sure she isn't like that," Steve said with a shake of his head. "And even if it doesn't work out, which I'm sure it will, any girl would be lucky to have you as their girlfriend anyway. There's plenty of other fish in the sea."

Robin gave Steve a sincere smile. "Thanks, Steve. You're the best platonic guy friend any girl could ask for."

"And you're the best platonic girl friend any guy could ask for."

Beverly had been walking around the store with Erica since she had been the youngest there, making sure that the girl wouldn't get lost in the large place. They had collected a few things and tossed it into their shopping cart before Erica abruptly stopped, her eyes going wide.

"What?" Beverly asked before she followed the young girl's gaze, seeing Jason speaking to Nancy. "Oh, shit."

"What do we do?" Erica questioned.

"I don't know," Beverly responded as she watched Jason walk closer to Nancy as the Wheeler girl held a shotgun close to her body. Beverly then flinched slightly when she saw Jason grab the barrel of the gun threateningly. "We gotta get out of here."

Erica tried to turn the cart around to warn the others and leave before she noticed the other basketball players behind them. She looked up at Beverly, who swallowed hard and turned back to see Nancy and Jason once again.

She slowly inched closer to them, trying to hear what Jason had been saying to her and if he had been suspicious or not. "Now, your brothers, they're, uh...are they here with you, by chance?" Jason asked her, making Beverly suck in a breath.

"Chris and Mike?" Nancy replied, trying to play dumb.

"Chris and Mike," the Carver boy confirmed.

Nancy shook her head. "No."

"I only ask because they're...they're in Hellfire, aren't they?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nancy continued to play dumb, wanting to leave the situation entirely.

"What about their friends? They here with you?" Jason pestered, his grip on the barrel of the shotgun becoming tighter.

"Would you let go?" she pleaded, but Jason kept his grip on the gun. "Let. Go," she forcefully told the boy before he slowly let go of the gun, his eyes narrowed.

Nancy's eyes then traveled over to Beverly, noticing the Crawford girl for the first time. Beverly quickly mouthed, "Go," and gestured over to Erica. Right after that, Jason followed Nancy's gaze to see Beverly standing there. "Jason," Beverly began, walking over to the boy just as Nancy shuffled away with Erica. "I'm so sorry about Chrissy. I...I don't even know what to say," she said to him, trying to distract him so everyone had time to buy their things and leave.

"Yeah, uh, it's — it's hard," the boy replied. "What are you here, though? You here with Wheeler?"

"Nancy? Oh, yeah. And Alicia, Robin, and Steve, too. You know, we're all just kinda scared. I mean, we don't know what's happening," Beverly explained, trying to get him to think that they were just as confused as he was.

"Carmen's not with you?" he inquired about, pursing his lips together.

"No, uh, I don't know where she is. She came to visit for Spring Break and she wanted to go out and party. I haven't really seen her since. She's probably out with some guy, though. You know Car," Beverly said, trying to play dumb.

"Yeah. Some guy. That makes sense," Jason muttered as if he were talking to himself.  "You weren't at the funeral," he then said out of the blue. "You and Chrissy were friends. She would have wanted you there."

Beverly blinked. "Jason, um, I'm gonna be honest with you. I was so upset that I couldn't leave my house until now. And even now, I'm just so scared. Chrissy...she was a good person. She didn't deserve to...go like that." She was only partially lying: she thought Chrissy was wonderful human being taken too soon from the earth. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Yeah." Jason clicked his tongue. "You know, I like you, Bev. But if I find out that you're lying to me, about Chrissy, then I'm gonna be real mad," he warned darkly.

"Lying?" Beverly said with feigned puzzlement, letting out a shocked laugh. "Why would I lying? I was your friend in high school."

"You also used to date Chris in high school," he recalled, making her stomach drop. "And look how he turned out."

"Chris cheated on me. I haven't spoken to him since," she told him, keeping her demeanor unwavering. "I'm dating Steve Harrington now. You know, one of Hawkins High's best basketball players?"

Jason shrugged. "Billy Hargrove was better," he argued, making Beverly's nose flare angrily although she was able to keep her composure. "But you and Harrington? Now that's somethin' no one thought would happen. I wish you two the best of luck in your relationship," he wished, although his tone suggested otherwise.

Beverly swallowed hard. "Thank you. I'm sorry again," she said before she turned around and left him just as the others quickly rushed out of the store.

"Where were you?" Steve immediately asked as they made their way back to the RV as fast as they could.

"I was trying to distract Jason so you all could buy the shit and go," she explained and Steve's eyes widened. "Don't worry. I handled myself just fine."

They finally made it back to the van where Steve swung the door open, causing the people inside to jump in fright as he tossed Eddie's jacket on the floor. "What happened?" Lucas immediately asked once he saw it was Steve.

"We gotta go," Steve replied as they all filed into the van.

"Your old friends are here," Erica told her brother.

Lucas shouted, "Shit!"

"Does that mean Jason and all of them?" Chris queried worriedly.

"Who else would she be talking about?!" Alicia exclaimed, her eyes going wide at him. She had been worried about the fact that they would go hunt Lucas now since he betrayed them before.

"Mind him, Alli, he's dumb," Carmen told her friend, making Chris glare at her. She then spotted Eddie's jacket on the floor, bending down and picking it up. "Don't mind if I do," she muttered, putting it on.

"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Dustin urged Steve, who found himself back in the driver's seat.

"I'm going! I'm going! Sit down!" Steve yelled sternly before he drove off, wanting to get out of there as fast as he could.

authors note
finally!!! i have a three day weekend
this weekend so i thought it would be
nice to try and update so here we are!
we are almost done with season four
though guys and then after that...we are
gonna have to wait for season five. that's
literally insane bc i don't want this book
to end. but i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

ps
who listened to midnights?! i loved it!
i think my favorites have to be karma,
the great war, and maroon!!!! what are
yours??