meadow, eddie, and steve had trailed behind, and steve turned to the other boy. "hey, i just.. wanted to say thanks, for saving my ass back there."

eddie chuckled. "shit, you saved your own ass, man. i mean, that was a real ozzy move you pulled back there."

meadow laughed at his joke, but steve didn't get it. "ozzy?"

"when you took a bite out of that bat." eddie explained, realizing that steve still didn't get it. "ozzy osbourne? black sabbath? he.. he bit a bat's head off onstage."

"i don't-"

eddie shook his head. "doesn't matter. it's very metal, what you did. that's all i'm saying."

steve nodded. "thanks."

"henderson told me you were a badass." eddie continued. "insisted on the matter, in fact."

"wait, henderson said that?"

eddie nodded. "oh, yeah. shit, kid worships you, dude. like, you have no idea. it's kinda annoying, to be honest. i don't even know why i care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, i guess i got a little jealous, steve. i guess i couldn't accept the fact that steve harrington was actually a good dude." he explained. "rich parents, popular, chicks love him, not a douche? no way, man, no way. that, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe, and my own personal munson doctrine." he looked at him. "still super jealous as hell, by the way."

steve nodded, not admitting that he'd been jealous of the other boy as well. "okay, great."

"which is why would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass." eddie added. "not under any, uh.. normal circumstances." he nearly jumped as a twig cracked under his feet. "outside of d&d, i am no hero. i see danger and i just turn heel and run. or at least that's what i've learned about myself this week."

"give yourself a break, man." steve sighed.

"see, the only reason i came in here was 'cause all of these ladies," he gestured to meadow, who was still walking near them, and robin and nancy ahead of her, "came in straight after you. now, i was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. but.." he looked over at meadow. "you didn't waste a second. a single fucking second. he went under and you just.. you went too. that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen."

meadow nodded. "yeah?"

eddie smiled. "i don't know. i guess it's nice. seeing you two. and knowing that you're.. you're real people. and you're not douches."

he chuckled. "yeah, thanks, appreciate it, man."

"i don't know.. how long you guys have been together, whatever, it isn't my business." eddie continued. "but if i were you," he put a hand on steve's shoulder, "i would keep her."

steve looked down at him, and his face seemed unreadable for a moment before he looked between eddie and meadow, who had trailed back to refocus on their conversation.

"i don't really know what to say to follow up.. all of that." steve admitted. "but thanks, thanks for being there for dustin. and.. yeah. keeping her is the plan." he smiled, ending the conversation by grabbing meadow's hand.

eddie then gestured to her shirt. "metallica?"

"yeah." she opened steve's jacket to reveal her black metallica shirt, which was one of her favorites. "i figure you're a fan?"

he laughed. "am i ever! what's your favorite song by them? personally, i'm a 'whiplash' kind of guy myself."

meadow smiled. "yeah, yeah i can see that. um, i'm more of a 'fade to black' kind of person."

eddie chuckled. "a rock ballad kind of person."

she nodded. "what can i say, i'm a sucker for a good and smooth guitar solo."

"you know, i kind of thought.. for a minute.. that you were faking, you know. that you just hadn't listened to any of their songs." he admitted.

meadow's head snapped over to him, and a look of offense covered her face. "you what?" she demanded. "you thought i was just.. wearing a shirt for a band i don't listen to?"

he shrugged. "i mean.. i've only ever seen people with band shirts that they got at the concerts, right, i didn't think you'd-"

"i've been to a metallica concert." she deadpanned.

"oh yeah? where'd you see them?" he seemed completely invested in the conversation now.

"chicago, it was a big trip for me, it was for my sixteenth birthday." she explained. "i cant believe you thought i didn't listen to them, that's absolutely criminal." she insisted. "like.. wow. i can't believe this."

eddie laughed, looking between her and steve. "now i see where henderson gets it."

steve nodded. "yeah, i mean.. he's much worse about it than her. she's like.. she's just sarcastic, right. henderson.. he's.. he's a little butthead."

"he is a butthead, isn't he?" eddie agreed.

meadow laughed. "he is a butthead, really." she smiled as she thought about him. "you know, he really looks up to you both." she looked to steve, who pretended to be unphased, and then to eddie, who seemed shocked by this. "seriously."

"he.. he looks up to us?" eddie asked.

"yeah. yeah, he.. he really respects you both. i think he wants to grow up to be just like you, you know?" she smiled again. "i know you both get jealous of each other when it comes to him, and it's because he just.. you just love him so much, you know? you always want him to be okay, and you know he can take care of himself, but damnit do you love him."

steve nodded. "yeah, i know what you mean."

"and he trusts you both, too." she continued. "so if one of you dies down here, i'm not gonna be the one to tell him, okay?"

eddie laughed. "thanks, meadow, that's really.. really uplifting."

"yeah, anytime-" she was cut off when another earthquake hit, and this time she clutched to both steve and a nearby tree. "here we go again." she said through her teeth.

nancy kept walking, though, and soon they were at her house. at least, her house but in the upside down. meadow followed steve into the house, which looked just like everything else in the other dimension.

"might be time to get a maid, wheeler." robin joked.

"come on." nancy replied. "i don't want to stay here longer than we have to."

meadow and steve both moved to follow her upstairs, but they stopped as they heard dustin's voice, albeit indistinct and faint. "you hear that, too?" she asked her boyfriend, who nodded.

"dustin?" he called out. "dustin!" his shouts made the rest of the group go back downstairs, watching steve as he paced. "hello? hello!"

"maybe he really does have rabies." robin whispered.

"steve, what are you doing?" nancy asked.

he finally stopped screaming. "he's here. henderson. that little shit, he's here. he's like.. he's in the walls or something. just listen. dustin! dustin, can you hear me!"

meadow listened to her brother as he spoke again. "maybe he's.. not here."

"what, what do you mean?" steve asked.

"what if he's here, but.. in the right side up. maybe vecna could hear us, just like will heard joyce." she suggested.

steve nodded. "okay, but he can't hear us, though. either that or he's being a little shit."

"will found a way." nancy said. "he found a way to speak to joyce.. through the lights."

meadow smiled. "right. the abcs." she then moved over to the light switch, turning it on and off to no avail. she looked over as steve shined his flashlight , making the fixture almost sparkle and glow. she put her hand up to it, watching as it began to glow brighter. "woah." she mouthed.

the others all reached up as well, making the light brighter.

"it kind of.. tickles." steve commented, making meadow laugh.

"it kinda feels good." robin agreed with a laugh.

nancy removed her hand. "does anyone know morse code?"

"no."

"no."

"yeah, duh." meadow said, looking around at the others. "what do you want me to say?" she asked, reaching her hand up to the light.

nancy shrugged. "just.. keep it simple. sos."

she nodded. "k, coming right up." meadow tapped at the light, marking out s, o, and s.

"i think it's working." robin smiled.

they moved upstairs as dustin, lucas, and erica put all of the pieces onto holly's lite brite. "okay, you guys seeing this?" dustin asked, his voice sounding faint around them. sure enough, the same glowing light was in front of them, and nancy reached out to it, making dustin's laughter echo throughout the room. "we're not removing it, but we're unplugging it. try it now."

meadow used her finger to write out 'hi', a smile coming to her face as she heard her brother's laugh again.

"that worked!" he yelled, making the group of teens all cheer.

"hi!" eddie said.

"okay, um, what should we say, uh.." meadow wrote out an s, t, u, c, and a k.

"yeah, we are." robin agreed.

"you can't get back through watergate?" dustin's voice echoed again.

steve's brows furrowed. "what the hell's watergate?"

"cause it's in water and it's a gate." meadow replied as if it was obvious, which it kind of was.

eddie's head tilted to the side. "that's cute." he nodded as everyone else realized dustin's term.

meadow then shook her head. "no, no, we can't cause it's..." she wrote out the word 'guarded', trying not to laugh as dustin and erica, echoing around the room, attempted to pronounce variations of 'guar'.

"okay, watergate's guarded." dustin realized. "okay, we think we have a theory that can help with that. we think watergate isn't the only gate. that there's a gate at every murder site."

nancy shook her head. "does anybody understand what he's talking about?"

meadow nodded. "yeah, obviously. he's saying every time vecna kills someone, it opens a gate in that exact spot. that's why there's one at lover's lake, and i bet you," she pointed to eddie, "there's one in your trailer."

when no one said anything, though, dustin groaned. "how many times do i have to be right on the money before you guys just trust me?"

steve's eyes widened. "okay, this kid has seriously got to get his ego in check."

"it's his tone." eddie agreed.

"did you teach him this? because you need to un-teach him." steve added to meadow.

the girl shook her head. "that's an issue for later. eddie, how far away is your trailer?"

he shrugged. "seven miles?"

"any of you want to walk?" she joked.