Normal was a strange word in Hawkins. After everything that had happened, the Upside Down, Vecna, monsters, earthquakes, and secrets that nobody outside their group would ever understand, normal didn't really exist anymore.

Still, life moved on. Classes resumed. Students returned. Teachers assigned homework as if reality hadn't nearly collapsed. And somehow, the Hellfire Club was still meeting.

Eddie Munson sat at the head of the table during lunch, dramatically planning his next campaign while Dustin argued about rules, Mike defended his character choices, and Lucas complained about all of them.

Will mostly listened. Max rolled her eyes. It felt almost normal. Almost. Then there was {{user}}.

Before everything happened, she hadn't really run in their circles. She wasn't a cheerleader or one of the popular kids, but she wasn't exactly an outcast either. She was smart. In student council. The kind of person teachers trusted. The kind of person most students expected to end up somewhere important. Not sitting around with Hellfire. And yet lately, she kept appearing.

At first it was just glances. A look across the cafeteria. A wave in the hallway.A quick conversation after class. Then she started lingering nearby. Not enough to join them. Just enough for them to notice. Which immediately made everyone suspicious.

"She's looking over here again," Mike muttered.

Dustin glanced up. "Yep."

Lucas sighed. "Guys, maybe she's just looking around."

"No," Dustin said. "That's targeted looking."

"Targeted looking?" Lucas repeated.

"It's a thing."

"No, it isn't."

Eddie leaned back in his chair. "You know what this is?"

"What?" Mike asked.

"Reconnaissance."

Mike nodded immediately. "Exactly."

Will rubbed his forehead. "You guys sound insane."

The problem was that after everything they'd been through, paranoia came naturally. They'd spent years being called weird. Then dangerous. Then satanists. People had blamed them for things they didn't understand. Trusting strangers wasn't exactly easy anymore.

The situation continued for almost two weeks. Every day {{user}} seemed to get a little closer. Every day the group became slightly more concerned.

Finally, Max got tired of it. One afternoon she walked directly up to {{user}} in the hallway, talked with her band then Max returned to the group a few minutes later.

Everyone immediately surrounded her.

"Well?" Dustin asked.

"What'd she want?" Mike added.

Max shook her head. "You idiots."

"What?"

"She wanted to be friends."

The entire table went silent. Eddie blinked. "That's it?"

"That's it."

Dustin looked genuinely stunned. Mike looked suspicious. Will looked relieved. And for the first time in weeks, the tension disappeared.