The night air was abuzz full of sparklers and fireworks as the music blaring from the speakers in Jason Carver's house drifted out into the late night July air, their surroundings a wash of red, white, and blue as what seemed to be the entire Hawkins High student body celebrated the summer holiday. As Anna looked around, following behind Steve with Becca and Michelle hot on her heels, the crowd seemed to part to let King Steve in, fellow members of the basketball team either patting the Harrington boy on the back or raising a drink in his direction. Although, to Anna's surprise, Steve no longer seemed to enjoy the limelight, but instead just nodded in their direction as he passed and continued on his way.

"Do you think Landon's here, yet?" Becca asked, craning her neck in search of the blonde boy. "He promised he'd come tonight, but I bet him five bucks that he'd end up ditching."

"I don't think so," Anna said, trying to look back at the line of cars down the block. "He said he was getting a ride from that dealer guy who lives a few places down from his. The one who's always yelling in the cafeteria."

As if on cue, loud metal music could be heard blasting from the speakers of an old worn-down van as it came roaring down the street towards Jason's house, screeching to a halt in an open parking space nearby. As the van came to a stop, the engine turning off and cutting the music, Landon appeared in the now-open passenger side door, followed closely by another boy with long, dark curly hair, adorned in a leather jacket and denim vest despite it being the middle of summer. As they grew closer to Anna, Steve, and Becca, the other boy bid Landon goodbye, disappearing into the crowd as Landon turned to face his friends.

"I believe you owe me five bucks," Landon said to Becca, extending a hand in the blonde's direction.

Becca sighed, reaching into the pocket of her jean shorts and passing over the five dollar bill. "As much as I hate to lose, I'm glad you made it, Roberts."

"Thank you," he said, taking the bill with a shit-eating grin and stuffing it into the back pocket of his jeans. His smile changed to that of confusion as his eyes drifted over to Steve. "No Wheeler tonight?"

"Not tonight," Steve confirmed. "She's on a family trip in Tennessee for the week."

"And Jonathan?" he asked, looking back over at Michelle.

"Does this look like my brother's kind of scene?" she retorted, looking back at him incredulously.

"Okay yeah, you've got a point there." Landon agreed after a moment.

"Meaning I got stuck playing DD tonight, so the three of you better drink enough to make it worth it." Becca sighed, eyeing Anna, Steve, and Michelle before gesturing back in the direction of the house. "Shall we?"

Steve nodded, leading the girls and Landon back into the Carver house. Inside, the music was even louder as they moved closer to the source, and Anna found herself hardly being able to hear her friends over the noise. She followed Steve into the kitchen, where several bottles waited next to a bowl full of punch that looked suspiciously like the one that had given her quite the hangover after Andy McConnell's New Year's Eve party. Opting instead for the cans of beer at the edge of the counter, Anna grabbed one, popping open the can and pouring it into one of the plastic cups that waited by the punch bowl while Steve and Michelle helped themselves to a cup full of punch and Landon and Becca each went for a can of Coke.

"Cheers," Michelle said, raising her cup, and the rest of them followed suit. "To finally being normal teenagers again."

The group clinked their cups together, and Anna's eyes briefly found Steve's as she feigned a smile, her sleepless nights a secret to everyone else since the night three weeks ago when he'd found her wandering on the side of the road. She'd been cautious since then, keeping a belt wrapped around her doorknob in order to prevent herself from leaving if she'd tried, but she'd still only managed an hour or two at a time before waking up in a cold sweat wondering if she was still in her bedroom or not, if she ever managed to fall asleep at all.

As the night continued on and one beer turned into another, and then another, Anna found herself wandering around the Carvers' backyard, the party in full swing outside, where a few of the boys had begun to light off fireworks, catching the attention of the rest of the crowd. She last remembered seeing Steve, Becca, and Michelle still inside when she'd wandered out, but she'd long lost sight of Landon, who vanished shortly after they'd started drinking.

Gazing up at the bright colors exploding in the sky in flashes of light, she took a seat on the grass, watching the light show with an awestruck smile as she continued to sip her beer. As people milled about, dodging the tipsy girl sitting in the grass as she paid them no mind, she caught sight of a familiar head of blonde hair as the host of the party stood a little ways away, closing the distance between them as he walked towards Anna.

"Hey, Henderson," Jason Carver greeted, a smile on his face as he took a seat next to her in the grass. "Glad you could make it. Good night so far?"

"Yeah," Anna said, nodding as she took another sip of her beer. "Yeah, it's great. Cool party."

"Thanks," Jason replied, taking a sip of his own drink. "You know, I was hoping you'd show up tonight. I looked for you at Andy's pool party last week, but couldn't find you."

"You were?" Anna asked, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion as the boy nodded.

"Yeah, I was," Jason admitted. "Audrey said you were there, but you disappeared on me."

"I left early that night," Anna began to ramble, the buzz from the beer still making her brain fuzzy. "I had to go pick up my little brother from his friend's house before his curfew, and then my mom wanted me home for dinner."

"And tonight?" he asked, leaning a little closer in her direction.

Anna shook her head. "Nope,"

Jason smiled, clinking his red plastic cup against hers. "In that case, can I grab you another drink?"

Anna opened her mouth to respond, but was soon cut off by Becca's voice as she moved through the throngs of teenagers gathered in the backyard. "There you are!" Becca exclaimed, reaching a hand out to pull Anna up onto her feet. "We were just getting ready to go, I've already got Steve and Michelle in the car." Becca's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the blonde boy who had been sitting next to Anna in the grass. "Jason, thanks so much for keeping Anna company, and for being a great host. See you later."

"Right," Jason said, his bright smile flickering a bit, but he seemed to shrug it off. "Get home safe. Later, Anna."

"Bye, Jason," Anna said as Becca grabbed her hand, pulling her after her back through the party as they made a beeline for Becca's car down the road.

"I leave you alone for twenty minutes and the wolves descend." Becca muttered, shaking her head and fighting off the grin that threatened to spread across her face. "I can't believe Jason Carver tried to hit on you."

Anna stopped short a few feet from Becca's car, a confused expression crossing her face. "He was hitting on me?"

Becca began to laugh, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "Alright, Anns, let's get you back to my house, yeah?"

Anna nodded as Becca opened the back door of her car, and the brunette slid into the open seat next to Michelle, who was already dozing with her cheek pressed against the glass of the window. In the passenger seat, Steve fiddled with the radio as Becca fastened her own seatbelt, moving the car into drive as she peeled away from Jason's house, and back on the road towards her own.

Anna gazed out the window as the car moved back towards the familiar house on Cornwallis, the night sky illuminated by fireworks being set off all across Hawkins, the big finales to set off the Fourth of July evening. They were still going strong when Becca finally steered the car into the Harrington family's driveway, the trees now blocking her view of the rest of the fireworks.

"Home sweet home," Becca announced, killing the car's engine and opening up her door. "Is everybody okay to walk upstairs?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded, Steve and Michelle's voices chorusing similar agreements a moment later.

Anna pulled herself up out of the car, her mind beginning to clear a bit as she followed after Becca inside the empty house, Mr. and Mrs. Harrington long gone on a business trip for the holiday weekend in Illinois. Becca flipped the lightswitch as they entered the entryway, the room flushed with golden light from the lamp by the front door.

The four teenagers trudged up the stairs, splitting up with Steve as he shut his bedroom door behind him, and Anna and Michelle followed Becca into her bedroom, where two sleeping bags had already been set up on the floor for them to stay the night. Anna reached for her backpack on the floor next to her sleeping bag, pulling out a pair of pajamas along with her toothbrush as she excused herself to use the bathroom to get ready for bed.

As soon as she was shut inside the bathroom, Anna changed out of her red, white, and blue party wear in exchange for a tank top and pair of pajama shorts. She removed her makeup and brushed her teeth, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she finished getting ready for bed.

By the time she'd returned to Becca's room, the light was already off, with Becca lying in her own bed and Michelle in her sleeping bag, both of them fast asleep. Anna climbed into her sleeping bag, zipping it shut and lying down as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness.

Despite the attempts to close her eyes and manage at least a few hours of sleep, Anna's eyes remained open, trained on the doorknob at the other end of the room. She knew she couldn't do anything to try and lock herself inside without raising suspicion from Becca and Michelle, but she also knew that, if she wound up missing in the middle of the night, the knowledge of her sleepwalking would also get back to them eventually. Finally forcing herself to roll over and face the other side of the room, Anna sighed quietly as her attempts to find a comfortable sleeping position turned out to be futile.

Anna's gaze instead now found the digital clock sitting on Becca's desk, emitting a faint red glow around it as it read out the time. She begrudgingly began to watch the minutes pass, the last of the alcohol finally fading from her brain as she returned to a much more sober state. However, as her brain became clearer, so did the monsters lurking in the back of her subconscious, as if daring her to try and fall back asleep so they could once again come out to play.

When the clock finally struck two, Anna unzipped her sleeping bag, quiet not to wake the girls as she climbed out. She pulled on a sweatshirt and a pair of Becca's slippers, quietly turning the doorknob and slinking out into the dark. However, as she padded down the stairs towards the kitchen in search of a glass of water, she could hear the faint sounds of the television in the living room, the faint glow of the screen casting a light against the walls. As she followed the sound, she came across a familiar figure sitting in the recliner, a bowl of popcorn sitting in his lap as his gaze fixed on the movie playing on the television in front of him.

"Can't sleep?" Anna spoke quietly, causing Steve to jump slightly in his chair as he turned back to look at her. "Sorry," she said with a slight chuckle, taking a seat on the couch.

"Nah," Steve admitted, shaking his head. "Like I said, I haven't slept much lately. You?"

Anna shook her head. "Same," she agreed.

"How have you been doing?" Steve asked, aiming the remote control at the television as the volume began to lower. "With the sleepwalking, and everything."

Anna shrugged. "After that night, I've been too freaked out to sleep. Sure, I get a few hours here and there, but I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time."

"Yeah," Steve agreed. "Me neither,"

"I'm just afraid I'll end up on the side of the road again." Anna admitted. "Like when you found me that night. I don't think I've gone out that way again, I haven't dreamed about Barb and the Demogorgon since that night, but I'm scared that the one time I do, I'll wake up somewhere else I shouldn't be."

A silence settled between the two of them as Anna began to ponder the dream that led to her sleepwalking, the images of the party flashing in her brain as Steve fought to find a response that would make the girl feel better, at least a little bit, but he remained silent, coming up short of a response. As she began to think of the monster, Anna finally looked back over at the boy.

"Steve?" she asked, her voice hardly more than a squeak.

"Hmm?"

"What would we do if the monster ever came back?" she asked, finally finding her voice.

"It won't," he said, shaking his head.

"But what if it does?" she asked.

"It can't," Steve insisted. "Eleven killed it, remember? It's dead. We're safe."

Anna nodded after a moment. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, you're right."

Anna leaned back on the couch, her gaze moving up to Raiders of the Lost Ark on the television. She knew Steve was right, that there most likely wasn't any further danger awaiting them in Hawkins. On the other hand, Anna couldn't shake the feeling that whatever dangers may await, they were far from over.