veda henderson

"What the hell do we do now?" I huff, fear taking over my body as my hands engulf my face. I wanted so badly to go back home, to forget any of this was ever happening. But, how could I forget? How dare I forget what happened to those two kids. 

I had never spoken to Chrissy, but she seemed like a lovely girl, always smiling and helping out. She didn't deserve to be forgotten. 

"You two need to lay low," Max spoke, pointing between Eddie and myself. 

"I think that's the smartest option, given the circumstances," Robin agreed with Max. I sighed, knowing they were right but wishing they weren't. 

"What about my Mum? She's gonna freak if she thinks I'm missing," I question, holding my arms out in front of me from my position on the floor. 

"I'll handle Mum," Dustin reassured me. "We'll try and sort things out on the other end. You two, stay put,"

"Yes, Dad," Eddie and I chime in sync, mocking my brother as the group floods out the door. I turn to Eddie only for him to avoid eye contact with me the whole time. I knew our earlier fight wasn't forgotten. 

This is gonna be a long night

----------

"Veda!"

"Mmm, Eddie! Let me sleep!" I groan into the tarp I used as a makeshift blanket. We had both set up camp in the boat stashed in the middle of the room, our back to each other as we used to tarp to shield us from the elements. 

I couldn't sleep until the sun had started the turn the sky from a midnight black to a navy blue which couldn't have been too long ago. 

I feel the bot move as he jumps up, yanking the tarp off the boat and climbing out of it hastily. I groan at the loss of fake warmth, peaking my eyes open enough to see Eddie trip on something scattered on the floor and straighten up to look outside the window. 

From my position, I couldn't tell what he was looking at, but I could hear him panting and mumbling something like 'Oh shit' under his breath. I grumble once again and against my better instincts, yank myself out of the boat. 

My legs wobble slightly beneath me, my arms reaching out like aeroplane wings to steady me. God, I need some fucking drugs. 

Just as I steady, a sudden loud knows causes Eddie to jump in my direction, grabbing my arm and pulling me  before we both spot a familiar cap enter through the now open doorway 

Dustin, Robin, Steve and Max step through the door, each with smiles on their face when they see Eddie practically glued to my hip as if he were a damsel needing saving. 

"Delivery service," Dustin announces with a cheerful beat in his voice. Eddie huffs, letting out a long stored breath from his pipes. 

Almost as quickly as he grabbed me, Eddie moves for the bags Dustin is holding and yanks them from my little brother's grasp before making his way over to a spot for him to sit while he demolishes the food. 

Eddie and I still haven't spoken. I could see in his eyes last night when it was just us two and i was shivering from both the weather and my withdrawal symptoms that he wanted to comfort me, to talk to me. But, he didn't. Almost like, he couldn't reach out to me even if he wanted to. Like he was scared he would only make things worse. I sure as hell was not going to be the one making the first move. 

I guess from some perspectives, my reaction to Eddie's doubt could be considered overdramatic. But I trusted him, more than most people in this town. Even after this whole mess he still seems like he doubts me or would rather write me off. It hurt to think he was more than happy to dope me up until it negatively affected him and my wellbeing was the sacrifice made to patch up his moral compass. 

Eddie shovels the chips into his mouth as if he had been starving for weeks. A cringe catches on my face as I watch the display. Max makes a tiny sound of disgust, noticeable enough for me to snicker under my breath. 

"So we got us, some good news and some bad news," Dustin begins as everyone gets comfortable around the boat house we now call home. "How do you prefer it?"

"Bad news first, always," Eddie replies as if it were a no-brainer, now moving on to a pack of dry honeycomb-flavoured cereal. 

"All right. bad news. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they are looking for you." Dustin nodded to himself. I knew there was more to it than just that. Sure enough, he continues, "Also, they're uh, pretty convinced you killed Chrissy and kidnapped Veda so there's that,"

"Like, 100% kind of convinced," Max adds, looking towards Eddie with a look of pain as if she was scared of his reaction. 

"And the good news?" I ask sarcastically, taking one of the drinks from the bag at Eddie's feet and ignoring his stare as I move to sit next to Max. I wish I could eat something, but even the thought of digesting food makes me want to hurl my guts up in front of everyone. 

"Your names haven't gone public yet, more specifically Eddies. But, if we found out about you, it's a matter of time before others do and once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you," Robin explains, her fingers twiddling in front of her, something I've noticed she does a lot. 

"Hunt the freak, right?" Eddie replies angrily, looking down as if he had drifted off to his own place. The word freak made a lump of guilt block my chest. I had called him that, a word I know hurts him deep down. 

"Well, what if I just go to the police station, prove I'm safe and say Eddie was with me?" I suggest, holding my now open drink away from my dry lips.

"Other people heard you scream Veda. They know you were there, that's going to be hard to explain," Max replied sympathetically. I nodded to myself, taking a bitter swig of my drink. No will will believe the town methhead. 

"So, before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him and prove your innocence," Dustin tried to lift the mood by announcing his impossible step-by-step tutorial on how to unfuck the situation. 

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?" Eddie voices my thoughts out loud. 

"Yeah, no, that's pretty much it," Dustin's voice raises an octave. 

"If they think I've been kidnapped though, what the hell am I supposed to do? I can't just waltz on into town square without being grilled on Eddie's whereabouts." I think out loud. 

"Which means you're going to have to sit this one out as well. Sorry, Veda," Dustin cringes, looking as if he is preparing himself for me to explode. 

"Like hell I am!" I snap, standing up from my seat. "That freak has some sort of weird connection to me, okay? Even if I wanted to, Vecna would not let me. You didn't have to see the things he does, that was us," I gesture between Eddie and myself, ignoring the way his eyes melted at my acknowledgement of him. He was weirdly back and forth. It's like he doesn't know if he wants to shut me out or beg for my forgiveness. "Do not ask me to sit this one out, Dustin," 

"She has a point," Steve speaks from his position leaning against one of the posts of the boat house. "She's the only person that has not only seen this thing but spoken to it as well," 

"Vecna, his name is Vecna," Dustin protests as if the name of the thing killing people was of utmost importance. 

"I am not calling him that," Steve objects. 

"Guys, can we stop the bitch fight and get back on topic?" I clap, gaining the attention of every member of the room. 

"Usually, we rely on this girl who has superpowers but those went bye-bye so," Steve chimes in nonchalantly. He spoke like the words he was saying were casual and would make total sense to anyone outside of this small group of people. 

"So we're technically in more of the-," Robin begins.

"Brainstorming phase," Max finishes, receiving a nod and click of approval from Steve. I wanted to facepalm at the sight of them all failing miserably to reassure Eddie of his security. 

"Maybe I can be of use? If I can see him, he can't hide in the shadows. We can get to him," I suggest. 

"Absolutely not!" Dustin and Eddie protest at the same time. Dustin gives Eddie a weird look, almost as if he didn't expect him to protest against putting myself at risk. 

"Eleven is out of order? We'd be stupid to waste whatever the hell-"

"Vey," Eddie begins, dropping his precious cereal to the ground and standing up quickly. He shakes his head erratically, his long hair swooshing as he does so. "We don't know what this is, okay? For all we know, you could end up just like Chrissy!"

"Then I end up like Chrissy," I shrug, dropping my drink onto the shelf next to me before turning back to Eddie and my brother, "But I'd rather know I at least tried," 

The sound of sirens cause everyone heads to snap around in different directions in a panic. They sounded close, too close for comfort. 

"Tarp!" Robin exclaims, pointing at our blanket thrown on the floor next to the boat. She repeats herself until her words register. 

Within seconds, I was climbing into the boat secured to the roof with a mental rope and Eddie was pulling the tarp over our heads in a frenzy. I hold in my yelp as my leg hits something rough in the boat, laying down on my left side with my right hand rubbing the sore spot on my right thigh. 

I look up, discovering Eddie was on his right side, his face inches from mine. 

My breath catches in my throat, from the looks of things his did the same. It's been a while since we've been able to just sit with each other calmly, the frenzy of it all cleared my brain enough to actually take him all in. 

"Vey," The noise is barely audible as it leaves his lips. I open my mouth, ready to reply when the tarp is ripped off from over us and four faces stare down at us. 

"False alarm, lovebirds," Steve declares, ignoring the glare Dustin sent his way. 

I ignore Eddie as I climb out of the boat.