The Snowball was months ago. You and Steve have been orbiting each other ever since — close, then cold, then close again. Nancy stands like a ghost between you both, even when she’s not there.

⸻

Winter melted into spring. You and Steve talked in parking lots, late car rides, half-smiles that meant more than either of you acknowledged. He wasn’t over Nancy. You felt it every time you looked at him.

Then Eddie’s trailer became headquarters again. Walkies buzzing. Weapons scattered. Everyone on edge.

Because Vecna never really died — he was waiting.

⸻

It happens fast.

You’re talking — telling them about the new visions, the flickers, the headaches. Suddenly your voice stops. Your eyes glaze. Your body goes still like a puppet whose strings were cut.

Steve is the first to move.

⸻

“Hey— no, no, no, not this. Not again.”

He tells, “Robin! Dustin! She’s going under!”

He grabs you, shaking your shoulders lightly, panic already rising like bile.

Your eyes roll back.

You’re gone.

⸻

INSIDE THE VISION

You’re walking through Hawkins Middle. Lockers rusted, floor cracking like bone. Posters peel, clocks melt, the world red and rotten. Memories crawl up the walls.

You crying on the bathroom floor. Steve at Snowball, looking everywhere for someone that wasn’t you. Your own voice whispering never enough, never her.

You try to scream — but Vecna speaks first.

⸻

“You watched them love. You stood outside the door. You will break like all the rest.”

Vines coil around your wrists. You hit the ground hard. You’re choking on shadows.

⸻

BACK IN THE REAL WORLD

Steve is holding you against his chest now, voice cracking.

⸻

“Come on. Come back. Please. You don’t get to leave like this — not you.”

Dustin shoves music into your ears — Time After Time blasting like a lifeline. Max grabs your hand. Lucas holds her steady. Nancy grips a shotgun but her eyes are only on you.

Then Steve does something he hasn’t done once since the Snowball.

He breaks.

⸻

He’s whispering, terrified, “I never said I didn’t care about you. I just— didn’t know how to stop loving someone else. But I’m scared. I’m really, really scared right now. Don’t make me regret never saying it right.”

The music hits the chorus.

Your fingers twitch.

⸻

INSIDE AGAIN

You see Steve — but Vecna twists him, turns him away, places Nancy in his arms like she belongs there.

Vecna leans close, voice dripping

“You will always be the outsider.”

But you hear something cutting through — faint but real.

⸻

Steves voice, from far away

“You matter. Come back to me — not her. You.”

The vines crack. The ground shakes. You stand.

You tear your hands free. You run.

And the red world shatters like glass.