Mia glanced over her shoulder, and was grateful to see nothing looming in the shadows behind her. Walking in the dark wasn't the smartest of moves, but heading towards Nancy's had been the plan once they were all done. Heading home for the car wasn't an option, unless she wanted to be asked a hundred and one questions about everything. She'd called her mom from Gareth's, told her that she was going to be staying with friends. It was a testament to how worried her mother was about Luis that she hadn't even asked which friends.

But night had crept in quicker than Mia had been expecting, and finding herself alone in the dark was one thing that worried her now more than ever. Everybody else was off doing their own thing, and she regretted not having encouraged Belle to come with her. Not just for backup with Hellfire, not even just so she wasn't alone now, but because Belle going off on her own probably wasn't the best of ideas either. She knew that there was no way they could have persuaded her to leave the van where it was, yet still she probably should have pushed harder for none of them to be left alone for longer than a few minutes.

She hadn't been able to figure out a way for Eddie not to be left alone, though.

Car lights illuminated the street. Mia hastily balled her hands into fists; her heart pounded as the car slowed. She thought she recognised it, but couldn't be sure as she squinted against the light.

'What's a nice young lady like you doing out all alone?' Robin's voice shifted to a slightly more Southern twang that brought a smirk to Mia's face.

'Come on,' Nancy said, 'the others found something.'

Mia didn't need telling twice. She hastily got into the car and buckled herself in as Nancy pulled away.

'So, what did you find?' Mia asked, grateful to no longer be alone. Despite knowing there was nobody there, despite seeing that there was nothing hiding in the shadows, it had still occasionally felt as though somebody was dogging her steps.

'Victor Creel,' Robin said, shifting in the seat to look back at her. 'Whole family dead because of a demon.'

'Wait, this has happened before?'

'Maybe,' Nancy said, glancing briefly in the rear view mirror. 'But if it has, they didn't fix it then, either.'

Silence settled uneasily in the car, the truth hanging heavily between them. Mia just hoped that perhaps this time things would be different. That this time they'd be able to stop it all before it was too late.

When they finally arrived at the school, they ran. Down the corridor and towards the councillor's office. Steve was waiting there, and Mia noticed the relief on his face when he saw the three of them. She cast a quick look to Robin, who's own smile was smothered in an instant.

'They're this way,' he said, catching them up as they ran. Apparently, Fred had been seeing Ms. Kelley too; but it was Max's wandering that had concerned him. She'd seen a clock buried in the wall. A clock neither Steve nor Dustin had seen when she took them there.

'It was here,' Max explained, flashlight shining on the wall. Her voice broke slightly. 'Right here.'

'A grandfather clock?' asked Nancy.

'It was so real,' Max said vehemently. 'And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just... I woke up.'

'It was like she was in a trance or something,' Dustin admitted. 'Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy.'

Robin glanced to Dustin, and Mia felt her insides turn cold.

Max turned, her attention skimming over the rest of the group. 'That's not even the bad part.' She nodded towards the office, headed in that direction, and the others followed.

Mia could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

Robin immediately took the seat behind the desk when they entered the room, and Max moved to the other side. Mia stood a little distance away, her own thoughts reeling back to the day in the drama room. The spiteful intent behind Belle's eyes; the worry that replaced it as soon as she was back.

'Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help,' Max explained, their files spread across the desk. 'Uh, they were both having headaches, bad headaches that just wouldn't go away. And then... then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping.' Max inhaled deeply. 'They'd wake up in a cold sweat. And then they started seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts. And these visions, they just... they kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually... everything ended.'

'Vecna's curse,' said Robin.

'Chrissy's headaches started a week ago. Fred's, six days ago. I've been having them for five days.'

Max's words made Mia look to her sharply. She seemed calm, but Mia could see the fear in her eyes. The vague acceptance that she was in danger. Her chest tightened. Her headaches had been for over a week.

'I don't know how long I have,' Max admitted. 'All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than twenty-four hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so....' She released a shaky breath.

'I'm still here.'

All attention snapped to Mia. She didn't know why she'd spoken up, but she focused her attention on Max. Steve was at her side in an instant though, a hand placed carefully on her back.

'The day Chrissy died, I... I had a vision. Headaches, I thought they were to do with my prescription. Nightmares?' She shuddered. 'Last year was only going to bring stuff back really, wasn't it?'

'Mia –' Steve started, but she brushed the comment away.

'Maybe it's nothing, maybe I've been spending too long on the play, but...'

'You never came to Ms Kelley?' asked Dustin.

'Do you think the school councillor is working with Vecna?'

'I don't know, Steve,' Dustin muttered irritably, but his attention was on Mia.

'Did you see a clock?' asked Max.

Mia shook her head.

'There's nothing in these about clocks,' Robin said, her voice slightly higher than normal.

'What if Vecna got to them first?' Mia whispered, knowing exactly what was going through Max's head.

'Looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow,' Max said.

Something screeched, startling the whole group.

'Stay here,' said Steve, heading towards the door. He stopped only to grab the lamp on his way out.

Mia glanced at the others; part of her wanted to go with him, part of her wanted to try and find a way of reassuring Max that things were going to be all right. Neither option felt like the right thing to do though.

The decision, however, was made for her as the others all started to follow. She hung back a little, waiting for Max.

'We'll figure this out,' she whispered, giving the girl's wrist a quick squeeze.

Clattering, as if someone were trying to break through a door or had fallen through a window, and then footsteps, stopped her from offering anything else though.

Steve readied the lamp. A figure rushed from the mouth of the corridor.

Steve yelled; as did the person and the rest of the group screamed at the arrival.

'It's me!'

'Lucas?' asked Nancy.

'It's me,' breathed Lucas.

'Jesus, what's wrong with you, Sinclair?' snapped Steve.

'I'm sorry.'

'I could've taken you out with this lamp!'

'Sorry, guys. Sorry,' panted Lucas. 'I was... I was biking for eight miles.' He grunted, started pacing as he tried to catch his breath. 'Hang on a second. Shit. We've got a code red.'

'Basketball team?' Mia asked, earning Lucas's attention in an instant.

Lucas nodded, moving towards Dustin. 'Yeah, but they think you know where Eddie is. You're in terrible danger.'

Dustin took a breath, but somehow didn't seem too bothered by the news. 'All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason right now.' His attention strayed to Max and Mia.

For once, Robin had been silent. The past few hours had been a whirlwind of information, of realisations that she'd rather not have to contemplate. Max was next. Mia had been having the symptoms of Vecna's curse but was still alive. She was grateful for that fact, but it also concerned her. Why was Mia OK when Chrissy and Fred weren't? And what about Belle? Belle had been in and out of the councillor's office since her grandmother's death, when she was at school at the very least. When she'd been staying with family, Robin had no idea what things had been like there. Eventually she'd get the truth out of her best friend, but she'd seen the haunted look behind her eyes and wanted to let her open up about it rather than pressing.

'I'm not coming,' Mia said, pulling Robin's attention towards her in an instant. She practically heard the sound of Nancy's hands tightening on the steering wheel.

'We – we've got to stick together,' Robin argued.

'Exactly,' Mia told her, absently rubbing the side of her head.

'Do you have a headache?'

'I'm fine,' Mia said, her hand dropping to her lap in an instant. 'But somebody needs to warn Eddie. And Belle.'

'Dustin can tell Eddie on the –'

'You really want to share this on the Walkie Talkie, Nancy?' Mia asked, her brow furrowing ever so slightly. 'Don't you think he deserves a little more than that?'

'Well then, I'll come with you,' Robin said, but Mia was already shaking her head.

'You said it yourself, Victor was the only survivor, right? Any ideas where he is?'

'Pennhurst Asylum,' Nancy answered quickly. 'If we can get in there...'

'Exactly. The only people who even stand a chance of getting in there are us or Steve.' Mia's attention drifted out the window, as if she were trying to avoid their eyes. 'And we need someone with the kids who might not be hallucinating.'

'You're hallucinating?' Robin asked, leaning closer to Mia.

'Mia's right,' Nancy said, though she didn't sound like she was enjoying those words. 'You should at least stay with us tonight though.'

'Yeah,' Robin agreed, latching onto the notion if only so she didn't have to worry. 'Steve'll... Steve's gonna be worried about you.' She mentally cursed herself. Why couldn't she just tell Mia that she was worried? That the thought of losing her to Vecna made her heart thunder, made her want to do whatever it took to make sure Vecna stayed the hell away.

'Steve worries a lot,' Mia said softly as Robin finally settled back into her seat a little. She knew it was only a matter of time before either of the others told her that practically sitting on the middle console was a bad idea. 'And, personally, I think Vecna got bored of me.'

'Let's hope,' said Nancy, though Robin could hear that she didn't sound too convinced. Nonetheless, she clung to those words, desperate not to lose anybody else to the hell that were Hawkins' dark secrets.

'Why didn't you tell me?' Steve's voice was soft, so as not to wake any of the others. The group had finally settled to some sort of sleep; the youngsters huddled somewhat protectively together. Nancy slept curled on a beanbag, near the bottom of the stairs, and Robin was sprawled across a blanket.

Mia had only caught Steve dozing for a few minutes, before his eyes had snapped open and he'd shifted so he could see everybody from the uncomfortable looking chair he'd taken sentry in. Despite her own weariness, Mia didn't want to sleep. She wanted to avoid reminders of Santos for as long as she could; especially if remembering everything that had happened might just make her a target for Vecna. Then again, if he picked on her instead of Max...

Mia heaved a deep breath and settled into the seat opposite Steve. She was glad she knew about the world that had taken over his life, knew about the dangers that now stalked the streets of Hawkins, that seemed to have helped him on his way to being the man she knew he could be. But she hated that she could see the weariness in his eyes; the way he was constantly looking over his shoulder as if he expected the next threat to be upon them in an instant.

'Mia...'

'I didn't think anything of it,' she admitted, gently putting her glasses on top of her head. It was easier to have this conversation if she wasn't looking at him directly. If she couldn't read those nuances in his expression that assured her he was worried. She knew he was, Steve usually worried about the people he cared about because he wasn't used to having that concern shown towards him. 'Thought I needed to change my prescription or something.'

'But the nightmares?'

'Everybody gets nightmares, Steve. And after everything?' She scoffed, heard the bitterness behind the noise and cringed slightly. 'Are you telling me you don't get nightmares?'

Silence settled uneasily between the two of them, and Mia knew that he was trying to find the way of telling her the truth without admitting to the fact he still had nightmares too. Except when she woke there were other people in the house that she could go to for comfort; he had nobody.

'You could have told me,' she whispered, slowly lowering her glasses and looking back to him. She couldn't run away from his reactions forever. 'If not about the Upside Down and all that –'

'I wanted to,' he admitted, his own attention shifting away from the others and towards her. There was something like sadness behind his eyes, apology almost. 'I just...' He swallowed, idly ran a hand through his hair, but didn't break eye contact. 'If I could keep you out of all of it, I thought you might be safe or something.'

'But what about you?' She reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze. 'Since everything happened, have any of us actually spoken about it?'

Steve shifted his hand so that he could give hers a squeeze. 'No. We just... It was easier to forget. To be normal before the next load of shit hit the fan.'

'Maybe we shouldn't have. Maybe we shouldn't pull away from all the crap that happens.'

'And deal with it head on? Is that why you're going out alone?'

Mia chuckled softly, gently retracted her hand from his. She knew it was only a matter of time before he tried throwing that in her face.

'How is it fair we've left the others in the dark about all this? Surely Eddie deserves to know just in case he gets targeted? And Belle? If the link is Ms Kelley rather than anything else. They deserve to be prepared.'

'Then we'll do a group trip.'

'Steve, has anyone ever told you, you don't have to look out for everyone?'

'You're my best friend, Mia. I gotta look out for you.'

'And if Vecna comes while we still don't know how to stop him?'

Dustin grunted. Their attention shifted instantly towards him, but the boy merely rolled over while he was still asleep. Beside him, Max and Lucas's hands seemed to brush each other, but Mia was doubtful that the redhead was actually asleep. How could she be with the threat to her life hanging over her?

'We'd figure something out.'

'I know,' Mia said, looking back towards Steve. 'But Max is the priority right now. I've not seen a clock, and I'll be with Belle and Eddie.'

'Do you think we should be worried about them?' Steve glanced towards her, a slight furrow between his brows. 'I mean, Clary's been through some crap too, right? And Eddie...'

'I think they're gonna be OK,' Mia said, and despite the worry that gnawed at her insides, she wasn't sure why she thought that with such certainty. Only that, Belle had been through hell and back as far as they knew, and she'd come through the other side. And Eddie, well Eddie was doing as well as anybody could after seeing what horrors lurked in Hawkins and having nobody around him to help come to terms with it all.

Then again, perhaps Belle had helped him with that when she stayed the night in the boathouse.

Steve stifled a yawn behind his hand, and Mia straightened in her seat.

'Get some sleep, Harrington.'

'What about you?' He rubbed at his eye, but she could see he was fighting off sleep as best he could.

'I'll keep an eye on things, all right?'

He looked like he was about to argue, but something in her expression seemed to stifle the urge. He reluctantly nodded, folding his arms across the table.

'Just a quick nap,' he said, lowering his head to his arms.

'Whatever you say,' she teased, really hoping that he might just be able to get at least a few hours of untroubled sleep before they were back at things again in the morning.