TW: There's a moment in this chapter where Jason says something gross that I would consider sexual harassment. If you want to skip over that, scroll away when Jason starts talking to Steve and pick back up with Robin's line: "I can't walk that fast! My trumpet is heavier than it looks."

{The Hellfire Club, Part II}

🏀 🏀 🏀

Alice spent the rest of the day fuming about Jason's shitty speech and trying not to fall asleep in class. Her nightmares from the previous night were pretty gnarly—and more vivid than usual, which was frightening.

When lunchtime rolled around, she sat at the Lunch Club's usual table. Unfortunately, she would be eating alone today: Robin and Willie had a last-minute band rehearsal, Maria was running a prom committee meeting, and Samuel was probably making out with Traci under the bleachers.

Alice absentmindedly stirred her baked beans, wondering if they were even edible, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She dropped the spoon and looked up quickly.

"Whoa!" Jason said. "Relax. It's just me."

He gave her a winning smile. Alice tried to contort her own face into a smile, but she was too confused. She and Jason were classmates, but not friends or even acquaintances. They'd maybe spoken once, back when Steve was still a student and on the team.

"Hey," she said cautiously. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to check in," Jason said, sliding into the seat across from hers. "Some people said you weren't a fan of my speech at the pep rally."

Alice inwardly groaned. Who the hell snitched?

"Oh, that," Alice said. She cleared her throat. "Yeah it was...something."

"Something?" he pressed.

"What does it matter what I think?" Alice said, forcing out a laugh. "It's just my opinion."

"It matters because I didn't mean to offend anybody," Jason said. His tone was earnest, but there was a glint in his eyes that betrayed his true motives. He didn't actually care if he offended people. He just needed to play the part so people wouldn't think he was a total douchebag.

Alice thought about telling him exactly this, but she wasn't in the mood to start an argument, not when she was so exhausted and just a few hours from spring break.

"Well, that's good," Alice said. She couldn't resist, and added: "Maybe next time, don't incentivize your team to play harder using our dead classmates and friends."

His smile dropped, replaced with a scathing glare.

"Thanks for the note," he said. He leaned in closer, causing Alice to tense up. "I also wanted to check in on how you were after your recent trip to the hospital."

Alice's heart dropped.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"Are you doing better?" Jason said. He spoke louder, catching the attention of some people nearby. "I heard you had some kind of mental breakdown at the Creel House, and that drugs were involved."

"That's not true!" Alice snapped. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"My church has a really good Narcotics Anonymous program," Jason continued, although he was shouting, so there was nothing "anonymous" about it.  He stood from his seat, towering over her. "You should come by sometime, since you need the help."

"I am not on drugs!" Alice said, standing up so they were eye to eye, anger pulsing through her body.

"You expect anyone to believe that?" Jason said with a mirthless laugh. "How many times over the years have you been out of school for hospital visits? Do you really have an infection, or do you just keep ODing—"

"WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM HERE?!" a deep voice to the left of Alice boomed.

She hadn't noticed Eddie Munson, leader of the Hellfire Club and Dustin's new personal hero, slink up next to her. He stood with his arms crossed and a faux stern look on his face, doing his best Principal Higgens impression.

"Get out of here, freak," Jason said, waving Eddie away. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Oh, it has everything to do with me," Eddie said, in his normal voice. "You're shit-talking my products. Which, for the record, Elder Henderson has never bought—from me, at least."

"I'm just looking out for a classmate," Jason said. He shot Alice a predatory smile. "Feel better, okay kiddo?"

"Kiddo?!" Alice yelled as he sauntered away. "We're the same age!"

"Ignore him, Elder Henderson," Eddie said. "He's a brainless jock. He's also a hypocrite, because he and his beloved Tigers get wasted all the time."

"Thanks," Alice said flatly. Now that Dustin was a part of Eddie's D&D posse, she'd gotten to know Eddie a bit this year. "You didn't have to do that."

He shrugged.

"I know."

With that, Eddie saluted Alice, turned on his heel, and headed back to the Hellfire Club's table. Alice noticed Dustin and Mike walk up at the same time, gripping their lunch trays and looking concerned.

She thought about going over there to sit with them—she knew they wouldn't mind, considering she was Dustin's sister. But then she caught a glimpse at Jason, glancing at her and snickering with Andy, another senior on the basketball team. She felt like she was about 2 inches tall.

Face burning, Alice tossed her lunch in a nearby trashcan and stormed out of the cafeteria.

She dug around in her backpack for quarters and, when she had enough, dialed a familiar number on the school's payphone.

"Hawkins Family Video, this is Steve. How can I help you?"

"Hey, it's Al."

At the Family Video front counter, Steve frowned at how down she sounded.

"Everything okay?" he said.

"Jason Carver knows about me being in the hospital earlier this month," she said quietly. To keep herself from getting too upset, she focused on some explicit graffiti etched in the side of the payphone. "He's telling people it's because I'm a drug addict."

"What?!" Steve said, face clouding. "Why would he do that? And how does he even know?"

"He used the people who died at Starcourt in some speech about the championship," Alice explained. "I guess someone sitting nearby heard me complaining about it...and thanks to the fact that we live in this shitty small town, he probably found out because someone heard it from someone, who heard it from a doctor or Chief Powell, or something. Now I'm not the Fever Freak or Coma Girl. I'm Alice the Basket Case."

"Who cares what those idiots think?" Steve said. "You're not any of those things. And in 2 months, you'll graduate, and you'll never have to step foot in those hallways again."

"Maybe we should move," Alice said, tracing some of the graffiti with her forefinger. "Far, far away. Or, even just like, one town over. Literally anywhere Jason Carver isn't."

"Or you could get a restraining order," Steve said, "so he has to stay 100 feet away at all times."

Alice chuckled.

"Ooh, I like the sound of that. I could keep him from playing basketball ever again, by always hanging around the courts..."

At the mention of basketball, Steve cleared his throat.

"We can skip the game, you know," he said. "Go see a movie instead."

"No!" Alice said. "We should go. We skipped the last few, and this is the championship. I know it's important to you."

"Yeah," Steve said. "But it's not as important as you."

Alice's heart swelled.

"That's insanely sweet," she said. "And if I could, I'd kiss you through the phone. But we should go for Lucas. I'll boo anytime Jason moves, though."

"He was always a pill," Steve said. "Spent too much time with Tommy H., I imagine."

The school doors swung open, and Dustin ran out to the payphone.

"There you are!" Dustin said, huffing and puffing as if he'd just run a 5k. "Alice, want to join Hellfire tonight?"

"Hold on, Steve," Alice said into the phone. "Dustin just—"

"Steve?" Dustin said. "Ask him if he wants to play instead."

"I thought you wanted me to play!"

"Steve's my first choice. You'll just complain the whole time and ask too many pointless questions."

Alice rolled her eyes, holding the phone in a way so she and Dustin could talk and listen at the same time.

"Steve," she said, "Dustin wants to know if you'll join Hellfire Club tonight."

"Really?" Steve said. "Ditch my girlfriend for her little brother and Eddie 'The Freak' Munson? Yeah, I'll pass."

"She's your girlfriend, but I'm your best friend!" Dustin protested. "Doesn't that mean anything anymore?"

"I love you man," Steve said, "but it's a no."

Dustin turned to Alice, giving her puppy eyes.

"I'll be at the game too," she said. "Duh."

"Do you think Willie or Robin want to play?" Dustin asked, desperation in his voice.

"They're in band," Alice said. "They'll be at the game."

"Maria's cool!" Dustin said. "She could come—"

"—if she wasn't going to the game," Alice said. "Noticing a pattern here, Dusty?"

Dustin groaned.

"This is bullshit!" he said. "Mike and I need to find a replacement for Lucas, but everyone is going to the championship or refuses to play!"

"Oh, I've got customers!" Steve said over the phone. "I've gotta go. Don't let Jason get you down, all right Al? Love you."

"Okay," Alice said. "See you tonight. Love you."

She returned the payphone to its cradle. When she looked back at Dustin, he was giving her a weird look.

"What?" she said.

"You just said 'love you' to Steve," Dustin said, lips curled in disgust.

"Uh...yeah, I did."

Alice headed back into the school building. Dustin followed, shocked by this new development.

"Do you really?" Dustin said. "Love him, I mean."

"I just said so," Alice said, "didn't I?"

She stopped at her locker and spun the combination lock. Dustin hovered behind. Alice could practically hear the gears in his mind turning.

She opened the locker door and raised an eyebrow.

"Dustin," she said. "What's your damage?"

"No damage," Dustin said, voice rising in pitch.

"Don't lie! Spill it."

Dustin opened his mouth and closed it, and did it again, and again—and then finally said, "What did he mean, about Jason?"

Alice blanched, not expecting that.

"It's dumb," she muttered. "Jason's trying to start a rumor that I'm on drugs."

"What?" Dustin said, scowling.

"I don't care," Alice lied. "It could be worse. Now, back to your problem. Can't Eddie just change the campaign so it only needs 5 players?"

"That's like asking a Level 1 Sorcerer if they can just cast a Level 10 spell!" Dustin said. "It's impossible!'

"Wow," Alice said, shaking her head. "That was the nerdiest sentence I've ever heard."

She closed her locker and added, "Good luck searching for a new player."

"Thanks, Al," Dustin said. "See you."

And the two siblings went their separate ways.

🏀 🏀 🏀 

Later that night, it was game time.

Although Alice's school spirit dwindled each passing semester, she didn't want to seem like a total grump, so she decided to wear a green sweatshirt to the game.

She also painted a sign for Lucas. One side said "NUMBER 8 IS GREAT!" in orange puffy paint. The other side had a drawing of Lucas dunking a basketball while riding a tiger's back.

She showed it off to Steve, Samuel, and Maria as they waited to file into the gym, ignoring Samuel's comment of, "Hasn't he been on the bench all season?"

The energy was palpable when they finally entered the gym and found their seats.

Principal Higgens stepped up to the microphone in the middle of the court.

"Everyone now please rise for our national anthem!" he said. "Singing for us tonight, we have a very special guest. All the way from Nashville—"

"Oh no," Samuel muttered.

"What's wrong?" Alice whispered.

"—our very own Tammyyyy Thompsonnn!"

Alice gasped as Samuel's ex-girlfriend Tammy strutted into the gym. Her eyes were lidded with electric blue eyeshadow. She wore opulent pearl earrings, and her curly blonde hair was in a wild up-do.

"What is she doing here?!" Samuel groaned.

"I think she's about to sing," Maria said, repressing a laugh.

Steve and Robin shared a look of utter bewilderment as the curly-haired blond grabbed the microphone.

"Hey y'all!" Tammy said. Feedback from the ancient sound system squealed through the gym. "It's so good to be back in Hawkins with y'all. I have wonderful memories of this beautiful town. Y'all are my cherished friends, so I'm thrilled to be here tonight to sing to y'all before y'all's big game!"

"How many more times do you think she'll say 'y'all' tonight?" Alice whispered to Steve.

"17," Steve said, without missing a beat.

At that, Tammy started to sing: "O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light..."

It was...bad. Very bad. Off-key and thoroughly unenjoyable listening. Steve mouthed to Robin: "Told you. Muppet."

From the band section, Robin whispered back: "Okay, she does sound like a muppet."

"Oh, totally," Vickie mumbled, taking Robin by surprise. "She sounds like Kermit."

"I was thinking more like Miss Piggy," Robin said, causing Vickie to snort.

Robin's heart raced. They were having a moment! It wasn't the hands-brushing-in-a-popcorn-bucket-at-the-movies moment Alice suggested, but it was something.

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by Robin's friend Willie, who stood on Vickie's other side.

"At least she's not like Fozzie Bear," Willie said. "'Waka Waka,' and all that."

Vickie giggled at Willie's Fozzie impression, and Robin frowned. Maybe Vickie was just being polite...or maybe she really liked talking about the Muppets.

Finally, the anthem ended, and the game could begin.

As much as Alice hated to admit it, Jason was insanely good. The Tigers did pretty well—but the Stallions were playing to win.

"That's a foul!" Steve shouted from the bleachers, when one of the Tigers got knocked over. "Are you blind, ref?"

"Does anybody want popcorn?" Samuel said, voice monotone.

"How are you bored right now?" Maria said.

"I'm only here for Traci," Samuel admitted. "And the cheerleaders aren't doing anything right now, so..."

With that, he got up from his seat and trudged to the concession stand.

Alice noticed movement by the benches.

"Look!" she said, nudging Steve. "Lucas is in the game!"

She held up her sign and whooped.

"Go Lucas!" she shouted.

"You got this Sinclair!" Steve and Maria yelled.

The Tigers' chances of victory skyrocketed as Lucas and Jason made basket after basket after basket.

Swish! Swish! Swish! into the net.

The Tigers were untouchable, but near the end of the second half, they were still neck-and-neck with the Stallions.

Jason called a time out, and the Tigers huddled up.

"It's so close!" Alice said. "Do you think they'll actually win?"

"God, I hope so," Steve said. "We haven't won a championship since, like, the 60s!"

"Doesn't it suck," Samuel said, mouth full of popcorn, "that the team might win the championship one year after you graduated?"

"Thank you, Samuel," Steve said, narrowing his eyes, "for bringing that up."

"You'll always be a champ to me," Alice teased, tickling his ribs.

Steve giggled—properly giggled, like the Pillsbury Doughboy—and put an arm around Alice.

The time out ended, and the final seconds of the game commenced. Jason, loving the limelight, tried for a three-point shot.

The ball rolled around the rim of the basket, before bouncing right out—into Lucas's hands.

"You got this Lucas!" Alice yelled.

"Shoot it, Sinclair!" Steve added.

Even the ever-bored Samuel watched, transfixed, as Lucas lined up his shot...

...the timer counted down: 3...2...1...

...the basketball soared through the air. The crowd stood on their feet as it rolled around the rim.

This time, it didn't bounce out—it hit the backboard and swished through the net!

"AHHHHHHH!" Alice cheered. "HE DID IT!"

She and Steve double high-fived, and she began waving her sign around.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU?! NUMBER 8 IS GRRRRREAT!"

The Tigers and the cheerleaders swarmed around Lucas, lifting him up on their shoulders. They chanted his name, and as MVP of the game, he deserved nothing less.

🏀 🏀 🏀 

Outside the school, the attendees of the game exuberantly celebrated the Tiger victory.

"I can't believe Lucas made that shot!" Maria said, as she, Alice, Steve, and Samuel waited for their friends in marching band to be dismissed. "That was legendary."

"He'll go down in Tiger history for sure," Steve said. "Maybe they'll rename the gym after him: the Lucas Sinclair Gymnasium. It's got a nice ring to it."

Alice craned her neck, searching the crowds for the star in question.

"Where is he?" she said. "I want to say congrats, and get him to autograph my sign."

Robin and Willie, still in their band uniforms, rushed over and joined their huddle.

"Abort, abort!" Willie hissed. "Hurricane Tammy incoming!"

"What?!" Samuel said, shrinking his shoulders as if he could disappear into his corduroy jacket. "No way, I cannot see her right—"

"IS THAT SAMMY BINGSLEY?!"

Tammy Thompson sashayed over to them, beaming.

Samuel gave her a weak smile.

"Hey, Tammy," he said, giving her an awkward hug. "Great job with the anthem. How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been just fantastic!" she cooed. "Nashville is just such a wonderful city. I've met so many new people and experienced some amazing things. My uncle—he's in the music biz—that's shorthand for business—helped me record my Christmas album, Tinsel with Tammy, last fall. You may have heard my cover of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' on the radio."

"Wow," Robin said politely. "That's so great."

"Really great," Steve said. He coughed, but it suspiciously sounded like a laugh...

Tammy noticed Steve's arm around Alice, and she gasped.

"Oh my god!" she said. "Are y'all together? I never would've guessed! You have to tell me your story."

"Uh..." Alice said.

"Your story!" Tammy repeated. "How you became a couple?"

In her mind, Alice imagined telling the truth: "We liked each other but were too chicken to do anything about it until Russian spies tortured us underneath Starcourt Mall and gave us weird drugs. Then, Steve told me he liked me, we saved the world, et cetera et cetera et cetera."

In reality, Alice said, "Oh, well, it's kind of a long story—"

"I get that," Tammy cut off. "The story of me and Leopold has so many wild twists and turns."

Samuel's left eye twitched.

"Who's Leopold?" he said.

Tammy feigned surprise.

"Oh, didn't I mention?" she said. "He's my fiancé."

"Your what?" Samuel said, jaw dropped. The others, shocked and thoroughly entertained, gasped when Tammy lifted her left hand, revealing a diamond roughly the size of a kidney on her ring finger.

"I love calling him that," Tammy said with a sigh. "My fiancé. He's a swimsuit model."

"How did you meet a swimsuit model in Nashville?" Willie said. "It's land-locked!"

"We met when we recorded the music video for 'Tammy Talk,'" Tammy continued. "It's my first-ever original single. Currently unreleased, but not for long. The video is me sitting on a throne, with a bunch of hunky guys dancing around me."

"How artistic," Steve deadpanned.

"How long have you two been together?" Maria asked.

"A blissful, wonderful, perfect five months."

"You said it was a long story with lots of twists," Alice said. "What's the twist?"

Tammy gazed off into the middle distance for a moment before shrugging.

"Huh. I guess there is no twist. We worked together, we fell in love, we're getting married! Want to see a photo? I always carry one with me."

Samuel, peeved for no good reason, said, "Actually, we probably should head out—"

"Yes!" Alice said. "Please."

Tammy unzipped her purse and held up the photograph.

"Here he is!"

In the picture, a tall, chiseled, shirtless man beamed and held Tammy close.

Alice and Maria took one look at Leopold and forgot how to function.

"Hot damn!" Alice blurted out, before she could stop herself.

She sheepishly glanced at Steve, who looked a little betrayed.

"Uh," Alice said, "I mean, he's okay."

"How many abs is that?" Maria asked, trying to count them.

"12," Tammy said. "The doctors don't understand it. It should be physically impossible."

Robin panicked, trying to think of something positive to say about Leopold.

"His tattoo's pretty cool," she said, after a minute. "Is it a bear?"

"A wolf," Tammy corrected. "His favorite animal."

"Lovely," Samuel said dryly. "We should go, but it was nice to see you Tammy."

"Bye Sammy," Tammy cooed. She blew kisses to the group and flounced off.

As soon as she got in her car and drove away, Maria and Alice squealed.

"Did you see his jawline?" Maria said. "It could cut glass!"

"Stop that!" Samuel said. "I don't want to hear any more about fucking Leopold. What kind of name is that anyway?"

"Probably European," Willie said. When Samuel glowered at him, the younger boy cleared his throat. "Not helping. Sorry."

"I thought you were over Tammy?" Alice said. "You're with Traci now, remember!"

"I am over Tammy!" Samuel snapped. "I just don't love seeing her engaged to another guy so soon after she dumped me!"

"But aren't you glad you dodged that bullet?" Steve said. "I mean, would you really want to be Mr. Tammy Thompson?"

Samuel grumbled something the others couldn't hear.

The group walked to the end of the parking lot, where Willie got picked up by Mrs. Cooper and Samuel ran off with Traci.

As Alice and Maria continued fawning over the sexy Leopold—and Steve and Robin looked two seconds from puking—the Tigers walked past.

"Lucas!" Alice said, noticing her friend at the back of the pack and waving him over. "You're a star!"

"Hey, guys," he said with a small smile. "I didn't know you were coming."

"You killed it," Steve said. "Seriously, it was awesome."

"Sign my sign?" Alice asked, handing Lucas a Sharpie.

Lucas squinted at the artwork and said, "Is that supposed to be me riding a tiger?"

"Making a game-winning shot!" Alice said. "And you did just that. Maybe I'm prophetic."

No one noticed how Robin and Steve shared a look.

Although Lucas shook his head at the ridiculous cartoon, he scribbled his autograph for Alice.

"Thanks for being here," he said quietly. "I really, really appreciate it. You're a good friend, Alice."

"Of course!" Alice said. "We're so proud of you, Lucas."

He beamed.

Fellow Tigers Jason, Andy, and Patrick doubled back when they noticed Lucas wasn't right behind them.

"Come on, Sinclair," Patrick said. "Party at Benny's!"

Lucas and Patrick started toward Jason's car, but stopped when Jason held up a hand.

Jason turned one of his dazzling smiles on Steve and said, "Thanks for coming tonight, Harrington. It's good to see a familiar face."

"Great game, man," Steve said. "Congrats."

Jason dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

"You know, there is something I've always wanted to ask...is the stereotype true?"

"What stereotype?" Steve asked, brow furrowed.

"Are crazy girls better in bed?" Jason said, a sly grin on his face. "I mean, you out of anyone should know."

He nodded in the direction of Alice. Andy snickered obnoxiously like he'd heard the funniest joke of all time. Lucas suddenly seemed very interested in inspecting his shoelaces.

Alice wished she could teleport away, or melt into a puddle, or both.

"What did you just say?" Steve said, face contorting with rage.

"Relax, man," Jason said. "It was just a joke."

"Yeah?" Steve said. He crossed his arms. "I'm not laughing."

"Come on," Andy said. "It's all in good fun. Right, Henderson?"

Alice didn't often get tongue-tied, but Jason's comments made her feel gross. She couldn't think of anything to say back.

Maria glared at Andy and said, "If this is your idea of 'fun,' I'd hate to see what a boring day for you is like."

"My sincerest apologies, Madame President," Andy teased, clasping his hands over his heart. "What school-saving activity is on your to-do list for tomorrow? Sharpen pencils for Mrs. Click?"

He and Jason cackled once more.

"Guys," Patrick said. "Enough."

"Let's just go," Robin said.

She herded Alice, Steve, and Maria away from the Tigers. Alice glanced back and waved at Lucas, who shot her an apologetic look and waved back.

"You heard it here first!" Jason yelled after them. "Alice Henderson's a total nutcase, and sex with her is—"

"Don't finish that sentence if you want to live to see tomorrow!" Steve yelled.

Angry and mortified, Alice pushed ahead, speed walking past her friends so they wouldn't see her tearing up.

"Hey, wait up!" Robin said. "I can't walk that fast! My trumpet is heavier than it looks."

"Fucking Jason," Alice grumbled. She kicked a pebble to the side and rubbed her eyes. "Stupid, fucking, petty Jason and his big mouth..."

"I wanted to punch that smug look right off his face," Steve said, trying to keep up with Alice's quick pace. "If he talks about you like that again—"

"He and Andy are just trying to get under your skin," Maria said. "It's because Jason knows you're right, that his speech was insensitive. So he's deflecting, lashing out."

"Don't take this the wrong way," Alice said, voice cracking as she held back a sob, "but I don't need him to be psychoanalyzed. I need him to leave me the fuck alone!"

"And he will!" Steve said, eyes clouded with rage. "Once he gets what's coming to him."

"No, no, no!" Maria said. "No fights. That's so irrational. It won't solve anything. It'll just make the problem worse."

"Yeah," Robin said. "Calm down, caveman. I know you have that protective boyfriend instinct, but Maria's right."

As much as it irked him, Steve knew Maria and Robin's sensible approach was the way to go.

At this point, the group had made it to Steve's car. The plan (before the night's mood soured) was to get milkshakes after the game.

Steve eyed the fuming Alice. Her arms were crossed, her face was red. She looked about to scream, or sob, or both.

"Hey," Steve said softly. He pulled her into a hug, which she gladly accepted. "Don't give them a second thought."

"What if he's right," Alice said, voice muffled as she spoke into Steve's shoulder. She thought back to the Creel House incident, and the blue eyes from Skull Rock the night prior. "What if I am crazy?"

"You're not," Steve said firmly, pulling away so he could look her in the eyes. "You hear me? You're not." 

Alice appreciated his kindness, but she felt milliseconds from completely unraveling. She wanted—no, needed—to talk to someone. Not someone like Ms. Kelley. Someone who had powers like Alice's. Someone who would really understand, who could help her understand.

Alice remembered the strange conversation she had with Murray Bauman when she was discharged from Hawkins Mercy Hospital after the Creel House incident:

"You want me to find who exactly?"

"Her name is Kali Prasad," Alice said. "She's like me. She's like El."

"And if what you're saying is true," Murray said, "she's a dangerous individual with no hesitation to kill. And you want me to track her down? So you can, what? Go on a shopping spree, have a slumber party, listen to Madonna, or whatever saccharine teenage bullshit is popular these days?"

"Something like that," Alice said, ignoring the Madonna dig. "Are you going to help or not?"

Murray said a lot of "hmms" and "wells" and "oh, I don't knows."

"This is risky..."

"You didn't become an investigative journalist by playing it safe," Alice pointed out.

Murray sighed.

"Oh, fine," he said. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you so much Mur—"

"STOP! This isn't a secure line. NO REAL NAMES!!!"

Back in the present, Alice prayed that Murray would get her a response soon.

"Do you want to skip the diner?" Steve said. "I can take you home, if you want."

Alice considered it, but shook her head.

"No, let's go," she said, forcing Jason and Andy's icky comments out of her mind. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Steve's forehead. "You're buying."

"You got it."

"For us too, please!" Maria said, batting her eyelashes at Steve.

"What?!" Steve said, as he unlocked the car for the girls. "No. You two have your own money."

Robin and Maria whined about how unfair that was as the group piled into the BMW. Alice laughed, and started to make a joke about how Steve's wallet could take the hit, when she felt an icy chill across her left palm.

Across her scar from the Mind Flayer.

"Join me, Alice..."

The same guttural voice from the Creel House itched at the back of Alice's skull. She shivered.

"Are you cold?" Steve asked. "We can turn the heat up."

He started messing with the dials.

"No!" Alice said. "I'm fine. Hold my hand, though?"

She held out her stinging hand and wiggled her fingers, ignoring the voice. It was just an illusion, something fucked from her subconscious...right?

Steve interlocked his hand with Alice's. Robin booed from the backseat.

"First the hall passes," Robin said, "and now this. I can't take anymore mushy-gushy couple stuff from you two today."

"Hall passes?" Maria said. "What does that mean?"

"I'm so glad you asked, Maria," Alice said. "If Steve ever meets Phoebe Cates in real life..."

{Posted June 17th, 2022; Republished March 21, 2025}

A/N [from 2022] QOTD: You can rename one character from the show. Who do you rename and why?

A: I think I'd change Eleven's birth name from Jane to Eleanor or Eloise, just for the nickname El to make double sense!