𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟐𝟔𝐓𝐇, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟔:

Y/n had slept over at her parents' house so that Lucas could make sure she wasn't being murdered by Vecna. She lay in her old bedroom, awake and too scared to go back to sleep. Everything around her was quiet, except for the faint sound of crickets outside. She stared at the ceiling as her thoughts raced. 'What if he kills me tomorrow?'. 'What if he comes after my family next?'. 'What if they don't play the right song?'. 'What if I die before I confess my feelings?'. Y/n was nine when she realized she had bigger feelings for Steve. Every time she was around him, she felt sparks.

That's why she hated him in high school. She was angry that she wasn't in Nancy's position. She was angry that Nancy and Steve, not Y/n and Steve.  She hated the fact that Steve completely ignored her because he got popular. She wished she had more time to talk to him because she loved him. She knew she had limited time. When that thought crossed her mind, she fell asleep.

The next morning, Y/n woke up and grabbed her favorite red sweater and jeans. She went to the bathroom, took a shower, and got ready like nothing happened. She wore a pair of shoes that she could easily run in. She was aware that this day was anything but normal. She made her way downstairs where everyone was eating breakfast. Her mother had made pancakes. She sat down between her father and Erica. "Good Morning" She said to everyone in the room. Everyone responded with the same fraise. Erica passed the syrup to her and Y/n drizzled it on her pancakes. Her mom had also made crispy bacon and scrambled eggs to go with it. There was a cup of orange juice sitting by her plate.

"So, did everyone sleep okay?," Her father asked.

Everyone nodded and he went back to reading the newspaper. Y/n ate her food quietly.

"So, what time are we leaving for the park?" Lucas asked. 'The park' was the code word for the event that would transpire.

"At 11:00" Y/n responded.

"Now why can't I go?" Erica asked, a little upset by this.

"It's a 5 mile walk. You still wanna go?" Y/n asked.

"Nevermind," Erica said.

After everybody was done with their breakfast, Y/n stood beside her mom, helping her wash the dishes. They were in the last dish so, they would be parting ways.

"Mom?" Y/n asked.

"Yes!" She answered.

"I just wanted to let you know, I love you" She said. She didn't want to worry her parents about this Vecna thing. Not like they would even believe her. She gave her mom a long tight hug before looking for her dad.

"Dad," She called out. He was sitting in the living room reading the same newspaper. He turned his attention at the sound of her voice.

"Hey!" He said, looking back at the newspaper. She walked in front of her dad and hugged him the same way she hugged her mom.

"I haven't had a hug like that in years" He said. She nodded and walked upstairs to Erica's room. Erica was sitting at her desk, painting a figurine.

"Hey!" Y/n said while leaning against the doorway.

"Hey" Erica said in a confused tone.

"I just wanted to say that I love you" Y/n said, pushing back the sadness in her voice.

She went up to Erica and gave her the tightest hug out of all of her family. If she didn't make it, Erica would be hurt the most. She adored Y/n and was proud to tell everyone that she was valedictorian of the 'class of 85'. Erica looked up to her sister, wanting to be like her. She knew that Y/n wouldn't be in Hawkins much longer if Purdue accepted her. But Purdue was the least of Y/n's worries.

"Woah, did Purdue accept you or something?" Erica said, surprised by the hug.

"You could say that," Y/n said.

Y/n looked down at her wrist watch. "Shit, it's 10:58" She said.

"Bye Erica," Y/n said, running out of her room.

"Uh, bye," Erica said as she turned back to her desk.

Y/n ran to her room, grabbed her bag (containing the walkman and audio tapes), grabbed her jacket, and grabbed her keys.

"Lucas, we gotta go!" She shouted upstairs. Lucas stepped out of the downstairs bathroom.

"I'm already ready," He said.

"Okay, good," Y/n said as she opened the front door. Lucas followed and sat in the passenger seat.

Y/n started the car and they drove to the Wheelers' house. They ran to the door and Y/n knocked. The door opened and everyone was behind Nancy, ready to leave. They all hopped in Nancy's station wagon and went to the house where Eddie was hiding out. When they got there, they hid behind the bushes, watching police cars and news vans crowding the scene. Vecna had another victim. Patrick McKinney was his name. He was only eighteen years old. They found his body in Lovers Lake.

"Where's Eddie?" Y/n asked. Suddenly, a muffled voice from Dustin's walkie-talkie began to speak. When Dustin turned it on, Eddie told them that he was at 'Skull Rock'. Once again, they got into Nancy's car and drove to where skull rock was located. When they walked up to skull rock, Eddie was crouching on the ground, beating invisible drums. "Wassup Munson" Y/n said. He looked towards Y/n, excited. "Sinclair!" He said excited as he ran up to her and hugged tightly.

"Are you sure you're not in a relationship?" Lucas asked with sass in his voice.

"She's like my little sister," Eddie said.

"Yeah" Y/n said.

A little later, they decided to confirm a theory they thought of.

"What if every time Vecna kills someone, a gate to the upside down opens?" Max said.

"It's totally possible. Maybe he's killing his victims to open gates" Y/n said.

"The nearest death was at," Max continued.

"Lovers lake" Y/n and Steve said in unison.

"Well we obviously can't drive there," Nancy said.

"Damn," Lucas, Y/n, and Max said in unison.

They were gonna have to walk about five miles to lovers lake. Y/n took the opportunity to listen to her favorite song at the moment. She grabbed her walkman and put the audio tape inside. The familiar riff to the song. They walked until it reached nightfall. They finally reached lovers lake. There was a boat in the water close to them. Y/n handed Lucas her walkman with the audio still inside. Y/n, Robin, Nancy, and Eddie climbed inside.

"Hey, why can't we go?" Dustin asked.

"Sorry, only four people can fit in the boat," Nancy said.

Steve quickly climbed on and Dustin looked shocked.

"Are you kidding me?" Dustin said.

"Sorry" Steve said rather quietly.

The boat went forward and forward before they found the spot that Patrick died in.

"Okay. I'm gonna dive in" Steve said.

He pulled his yellow sweater off of him and threw it to Eddie.

"Hey, Steve" Y/n said. He turned to her.

"Be careful," Y/n said with worried eyes.

"I mean I'm a certified lifeguard,"he bragged, causing Y/n to chuckle.

Y/n tried to hide the sheepish grin on her face. Steve looked really attractive. He then dived in the water and Robin looked towards Y/n and gave a smirk.

"You did the face," Robin said.

"What face?" Y/n asked.

"The face you make when your crush is right in front of you" Robin said back.

"I didn't make a face," Y/n said.

"Hey, aren't you with Harrington?" Eddie asked Robin.

"No" Y/n and Robin said in unison.

"We're strictly friends only," Robin said.

"Yeah" Y/n backed her up.

Suddenly, Steve came to the surface and held onto the side of the boat. He breathed out. "I found it," He said. Everyone in the boat began to get really excited.

"C'mon. Get in the boat" Y/n said.

As Steve tried to push onto the boat to get on, he stopped.

"I can't get up-" His sentence was cut off by something pulling him back into the water. Everyone began to freak out.

"Fuck, I'm going in," Y/n said quickly.

Robin, Eddie, and Nancy pleaded with her to stay in the boat, but she jumped in as quickly as he was pulled under.

Word Count- 1447