{The Hellfire Club, Part I}

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March 21st, 1986

As soon as Robin entered Steve's BMW, she could tell he had something to share.

"Morning Rob!" Steve said as she tucked her marching band uniform in the middle seat. He smiled wide like a maniac, looking way too chipper for 6:32 in the morning. "It's a beautiful Friday, isn't it?"

Robin gave him a once-over.

"Are you on drugs?" she said.

"The only drug I'm on is love," Steve said, peeling away from the curb.

"Is that a street name for cocaine?"

Robin waited for a snarky reply. Instead, Steve just chuckled and turned up the radio.

He hummed along to "Object of My Desire," tapping his hands on the steering wheel to the beat.

"Okay," Robin said. "I know you have news, so just spill it. And drive carefully! I have to finish my makeup."

As she got to work applying mascara, Steve sighed contentedly.

"The best thing happened with Alice at Skull Rock."

"Ew," Robin said, gagging. "I'm glad you two are together, but I do not need to know the juicy details."

"No, no, it's not like that," Steve said. He beamed, eyes twinkling. "She said that she loved me."

Robin gasped, and then squealed, then reached across the car and wrapped Steve in a tight side hug, causing him to swerve slightly on the rural road.

"That is amazing, Steve!" Robin said. "I'm so happy for you two! Wait, you said it back, right?"

"Of course!" Steve said, shaking her off. "I've wanted to say it for months, but it never felt like the right time. The way it went down was nearly perfect."

"Why only nearly?" Robin asked, now working on her lipstick.

Steve ran a hand through his hair, wondering how much he should tell.

"She thought she saw something in the forest," Steve said, after a beat.

"What kind of something?" Robin said. "A monster-type something, or a run-of-the-mill pervert?"

"She said she saw blue eyes," Steve said. "It wasn't you, was it?"

Robin snorted before working on her hair.

"Do you think there really was something there?" Robin asked. "Or was it...you know."

Robin used the forefinger and middle finger to mime bunny ears behind her head, wiggling them back and forth.

"I didn't see or hear anything weird," Steve said, "so I guess it's like that. But...I don't know."

Steve stopped himself. He didn't want to entertain the thought.

Robin, curiosity getting the better of her, prompted him with a "But what?"

"I'm sure I'm just being paranoid," Steve said. "But Alice saw—or, subconsciously created—illusions of rabbits from December to July, leading up to all that shit with the Russians and Mind Flayer at Starcourt. Almost like they were, I don't know..."

"Signaling danger?" Robin offered.

"Yeah. They were giving her a warning: 'Something's coming.' And she hasn't seen them much since that night. But now she's having really vivid illusions of way more than rabbits. It just...it worries me. That something might happen again. I don't know if we can take it."

"Holy shit," Robin said with a gasp. "Do you think Alice is like Cassandra?"

"Who's Cassandra?" Steve said. "Is she in your grade?"

"No, you dingus," Robin said with a groan. "Cassandra from Greek mythology."

After parking on the curb in front of the Henderson house, Steve turned and gave Robin a hard look.

"Do I seem like the kind of guy who studies Greek mythology?"

"Cassandra was a seer," Robin explained. "She had visions of the future. But she was cursed by Apollo, so when she tried to warn people of impending doom or danger, they'd just laugh it off. It sounds a bit like what Alice can do."

"Her birth mom did take insane amounts of LSD during those weirdo lab experiments," Steve admitted. "I mean, anything's possible, right?"

While the two of them pondered Alice's immensely powerful potential, the seer herself raced around her room, trying to get dressed, pack her backpack, and eat a granola bar all at once.

"Shit, shit, shit," she mumbled, before tripping over her own untied shoelaces. "Son of a bitch!"

"Alley Cat! Dusty!" Mrs. Henderson called from the front room. "Steve is here!"

Alice, quasi-prepared for the day, skidded into the hallway and pounded on Dustin's door.

"Yo!" she said. "Hurry your ass up, please!"

Mrs. Henderson stuck her head out from her office.

"Don't talk to your brother like that!"

"What?" Alice said. "I said please."

"Just a minute!" Dustin shouted.

"You don't have a minute!" Alice said. "Robin needs time to prepare for the pep rally, so if you could just—"

She started to open his door.

"DON'T COME IN!" Dustin shrieked. "I'M NAKED!"

Alice slammed the door shut, resisting the urge to gag.

"I'll ride my bike!" Dustin said. "You go on without me."

"Fine, fine," Alice said. "But if you're late, it's not my fault!"

She shouted goodbyes to her brother and mother, before speeding out the door and toward Steve's waiting car.

"Hey babe," Steve said as Alice buckled in. "Where's Dustin?"

"Don't ask," Alice said. "He's taking his bike, so we can head out."

She eyed Robin in the passenger seat.

"Hey," Alice said, as Steve started the car. "Weren't we going to take turns sitting in the front?"

"Were we?" Robin asked innocently, continuing to fuss with her hair.

"Yeah, we were!" Alice said. "Yet somehow, every single day, I get in the car and you're still sitting shotgun. Completely and totally unfair."

"The mirror is up here," Robin pointed out. "And I need it for my makeup. Especially today, because we have a pep rally at 7 in the morning and I woke up looking like a corpse!"

She stretched her face back as far as it could go and let out a strangled cry.

"You're worried about a basketball pep rally?" Steve said. "You expect us to believe that?"

"Yeah, so?"

"We both know what this is about," Steve said. "It's about Vickie!"

"Wait, Vickie?" Alice said, leaning as far forward in her seat as her seatbelt would allow, so she could stick her head between Robin and Steve's. "Who's Vickie?"

"You haven't told Alice about Vickie?"

"Who's Vickie?"

"There's nothing to tell about Vickie!"

"Still don't know who Vickie is."

"She's the band nerd Robin is in love with," Steve said.

"I am not!" Robin said. "She's just nice. And she's pretty. And she smells like vanilla. And sometimes when we're standing next to each other I get the urge to hold her hand..."

"Robin," Alice said. "I hate to break it to you, but that's love. Or, at the very least, a crush."

"Well, I can't do anything about it!" Robin said, slamming the visor shut. "If I ask her out, and she doesn't feel the same way, bam! I'm a town pariah."

"What if you invite her to a group activity?" Alice said. Her eyes lit up. "Ooh, we could all go to the movies and set it up so the two of you are sitting next to each other. Halfway through the movie, you'd both reach for popcorn and your hands would touch, and then you two would share a meaningful look, and then you'd just know."

"That's a nice thought," Steve said, "but you don't need to go to all that trouble to figure out if Vickie likes girls. She returned Fast Times paused at 53 minutes, 5 seconds." He gave Robin a knowing look. "Do you know who pauses Fast Times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds?"

After a beat, Steve said, "People who like boobies, Robin! Boobies!"

"Ew, gross!" Robin said, narrowing her eyes at Steve. "Don't say boobies!"

"Are you actually 12 years old?" Alice asked Steve with a laugh.

"It's not a big deal, okay?" Steve said. "I like boobies. Robin likes boobies. Vickie likes boobies. Definitely!"

"You're delusional," Robin said. "And never say boobies again."

"Why didn't you tell me about Vickie earlier?" Alice said. "We could've spent the year trying to set something up between you two."

Robin fidgeted with her rings.

"You just don't get it," she said. "I can't be upfront with the people I like. We live in fucking Indiana, which is like the most close-minded state of them all."

Alice hated how unfair that was.

"People are idiots," she said. "If anyone gives you shit, about anything, ever, Steve and I will beat them up for you."

"We will," Steve said, "although based on my track record with fights, I'll let Alice do most of the heavy lifting."

"I appreciate that," Robin said with a chuckle. "Thank you."

They rode another minute or so in silence, just listening to the radio.

After a beat, Alice grinned devilishly.

"Hey Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's 'boobies' are better: mine or Phoebe Cates's?"

Steve choked on air, looking a bit panicked. Robin snickered.

"Uhm, well," Steve said. He cleared his throat and started to babble. "You see, it's—that's, that's a good question—it brings up a multitude of follow-up questions—like, I've never seen Phoebe's in real life, so is the comparison really fair?"

Alice made a sound like a game show buzzer.

"Ooh, incorrect!" Alice said, channeling her inner Alex Trebek. "The correct answer was, 'What are Alice's boobies?' Better luck next time, and thanks for playing Jeopardy."

"You didn't give me enough time to answer!" Steve said, cheeks tinged pink. "That was boyfriend entrapment. You entrapped me."

"I'm just kidding around," Alice said. "I know Phoebe's your hall pass."

"Hall pass?" Robin asked. "I may regret asking this, but what does that mean, exactly?"

"If Steve ever meets Phoebe in real life," Alice explained, "and she wants to hook up with him, he has my permission to do so."

"Who's your hall pass?" Robin said.

Alice got a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Emilio Estevez."

"Hey," Steve said, glancing at Alice through the rearview mirror with an annoyed expression, "we agreed on Harrison Ford!"

"Emilio's more age-appropriate."

"You two have talked about this?" Robin said, trying not to laugh. "Like, you've planned for this, quite frankly, impossible actuality?

"It could happen!" Alice protested.

"In another life, maybe," Robin said, unable to suppress her fit of giggles. "You two are ridiculous."

Alice didn't mind being made fun of, since Robin seemed to be in much higher spirits than before.

"Break a leg at the pep rally, Rob," Steve said as he pulled up to the school. "You're gonna slay 'em dead."

Robin thanked Steve before exiting the BMW, shouting, "Hey! Wait up!" to Willie Cooper and a couple other band kids.

Alice leaned forward and kissed Steve on the cheek.

"See you tonight?"

"I'll pick you up at 6," Steve said.

Alice started to slide out of the backseat, but Steve stopped her.

"Hey, uh," he said. "Just so you know—"

He dropped his voice to a stage whisper and continued: "I didn't want to embarrass you in front of Robin, but your boobies are better than Phoebe Cates's."

"You don't have to lie," Alice whispered back. "But thank you."

"What's that thing El says?" Steve said as Alice stepped out of the car. "Amigos tell the truth?"

"Friends don't lie," Alice corrected.

"Yeah, that. Well, neither do boyfriends! They're better, 100%!"

As he drove off, he called through the open window: "One! Hundred! Percent!"

Alice snorted and shook her head, but couldn't help but smile.

As Alice walked toward the gym, her drama club best friends Maria and Samuel joined her.

"What's 100%?" Maria asked.

"Just an inside joke," Alice said. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

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High school pep rallies: a cacophony of color, noise, and exuberance. It was a lot of fuss for what didn't seem like that big a deal.

However, Steve was quite the athlete, and basketball was his favorite—and Lucas was on the team now—so Alice had gone to a few games and tried to enjoy them.

That didn't stop her from watching the cheerleaders' dance routine with disdain.

"Look at those new uniforms!" Alice said. "Yet, the drama club has to recycle costumes for every show we've done the past 3 years. If I have to wear that godawful pinstriped blue vest one more time..."

"It sucks," Samuel said. "But Traci looks pretty hot though, right?"

Samuel wiggled his fingers at his newest girlfriend. He'd gone through about 7 this school year alone.

"I agree, Alice," Maria said, getting the conversation back on track. "My next order as Student Body President is equity for all school organizations. Not just the sports."

"That's a tall order," Samuel scoffed. "Sure you can get that done in 2 months?"

Maria snagged the presidency in a landslide victory. It didn't come with as much influence as she would've liked—but she had been put in charge of planning the prom, which she was thrilled about. Still, her goal was to make one big change before graduation.

The cheerleaders finished their routine, and the marching band's jaunty song came to a close. The crowd went wild as Principal Higgens shouted: "And let's hear it for your Tigers!"

The basketball team tore through a "Go Tigers!" banner and raced onto the court.

Golden-boy and team captain Jason lead the charge, smiling so wide he looked a bit shark-like. Alice scanned the basketball boys, unimpressed, until she saw a familiar face.

"WOO-HOO!" she shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. "NUMBER 8, YOU ARE GREAT! GO LUCAS!"

Lucas beamed and waved at Alice and her friends.

Jason grabbed the microphone from Principal Higgens and began to speak, as if he was some kind of rockstar (or cult leader) addressing an adoring public.

"First off," Jason said, "I'd like to thank each and every one of you. Without your support, we wouldn't be here. Give yourselves a big hand!"

The crowd applauded themselves. Alice noticed Lucas wave at Max, who stood a few rows down with Mike and Dustin. Lucas dropped his hand when she ignored him.

Alice hated how the two of them broke up. She also hated how, every time she looked at Max, she felt waves of guilt for what happened at Starcourt.

She tried to push these thoughts away, to focus on Jason's speech, but unfortunately, doing so only reminded her of that fateful night.

"You know," Jason continued, voice tinged with emotion, "I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss."

Ice shot through Alice's veins.

"Sometimes I wonder," Jason said, "'How much loss can one community take?' In dark days like this, we need something to believe in. So last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team and I said, 'Think of Jack. Think of Melissa. Think of Heather. Think of Billy. Think about our heroic Police Chief Jim Hopper. Think about each and every one of our friends who perished in that fire.' What did they die for? For us to lose to some crap school? No! For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat? No!"

"No!" most of the crowd echoed back.

Alice fumed, glaring down at Jason from her spot in the bleachers. Was this guy serious? Using the tragedy at Starcourt as motivation for his team to win some stupid basketball game? It was horrendously insensitive, yet the student body ate it up.

"This is such bullshit," Alice hissed.

Samuel—the only person in Alice's immediate friend group who didn't know the truth of what happened at Starcourt—said, "Huh? It's inspirational!"

"People fucking died and he's making it all about goddamn basketball!" Alice said, slightly louder.

A few of her fellow students shot her annoyed looks or shushed her. Alice huffed and crossed her arms.

"We embarrassed those candy asses in their own house," Jason said, eyes shimmering, "and tonight...we're gonna bring home the championship trophy!"

The basketball team ran around the court and hyped each other up, slapping each other on the back or bumping their chests together.

The students in the bleachers hollered like wild monkeys, and Alice decided she'd had enough.

"See you later," she told Maria and Samuel, throwing on her backpack and breezing down the bleacher steps.

At the door to the gym, Ms. Kelley stopped her.

"Hold your horses, Alice!" she said, smiling warmly. "You've got to stay in the gym until the pep rally is over."

"What else has to happen?" Alice said, pulling at her backpack strap. "More cheerleading stunts? More inconsiderate speeches from meatheads?"

"Everyone grieves differently," Ms. Kelley said patiently, speaking to Alice as if she was about 7 years old. "Jason expresses himself in a way you don't, but that doesn't make his feelings any less valid."

Before Alice could argue, Principal Higgens dismissed the students to first period.

"Well," Ms. Kelley said, "I suppose you can leave now. Be sure to swing by my office if you ever need to talk, okay?"

Alice nodded and forced a small smile, before swinging open the gym door and stomping away. 

{Posted June 11th, 2022; Republished March 21, 2025}

A/N [from 2022] Ms. Kelley is evil. I swear she is. Did y'all see that clock necklace she wore???

Okay I actually could be way off but it's possible. 

QOTD: Which inconspicuous character is actually a spy for Vecna? (If you don't have a theory, drop your funniest/most ridiculous answer. Let's have some fun.)