HAWKINS, INDIANA — 1986.

THE BIG BLUE HOUSE LOOKED EVEN more ominous in person, looming over the group as they got out of the Wheeler's station wagon.

"That's not creepy at all," Steve muttered as he looked up at it, helping Theresa out of the back of the car. She had somehow managed to get stuck between him and Dustin for the entire ride.

Tess observed the big house analytically, folding her arms. It was actually a quite charming house, the kind of place Theresa could have imagined herself living in one day.

"I think it has potential," she said with a shrug, starting up the stone walkway that led to the front door.

They had brought tools just in case they might have needed them, and were proven right when they were met with a boarded-up door and windows.

Steve began removing the nails with a hammer while Theresa did the same on the other side, though he still had many questions about what they were doing there.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?" he questioned, letting another nail clatter to the ground.

"My guess is... dried blood on the walls and old bones," Tess replied with sarcastic bale, smirking a little. Steve contorted his face, shaking his head slightly.

She was on the last nail, forcing it out of the wood and taking a step back. "All we know is that it's important to Vecna."

Steve glanced over, then asking, "Because Max saw it in Vecna's red soup mind world?"

Theresa shrugged, then nodded.

"Great," he mumbled.

Just then, Dustin cut in, "Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is. Why he's back, why he killed the Creels... and how to stop him before he comes back for Max and Tess."

Lucas, standing beside Max, frowned. "...We don't think he's in here, do we?"

Max shrugged. "Guess we'll find out."

Steve and Tess removed the board, letting it fall to the ground of the porch with a thud. Theresa almost instantly frowned when she looked at the door, hearing a deep voice utter her name.

She looked around, seeing that clearly no one else had heard it. Except Max, who appeared equally just as distressed. They locked eyes, the both of them knowing what the other had just heard.

Steve rattled the doorknob, finding that it was of course locked.

"Should I knock, see if anybody's home?" he joked, Tess giving him an eye roll.

"Just move," she commanded, reaching in her pinned back hair for a bobby pin. Her half up hairstyle fell loose, Theresa leaning down and jamming the pin in the keyhole.

Lucas's eyes widened a bit. "You can pick locks now?"

Tess poked her tongue in her cheek with concentration. "I learned it one year at summer camp."

After jiggling the pin around a few more times, she heard a click and turned the doorknob with a satisfactory smile.

"It still concerns me that you can do that so quickly," Steve remarked under his breath, following Theresa inside.

Her shoes caused the ancient floorboards to creak as she stepped in, squinting through the dark and dusty interior.

"God, this place needs some serious remodeling," she mumbled.

Lucas pulled on a lamp string to no avail, finding that the place was unsurprisingly without electricity.

Dustin, however, was prepared, clicking on a flashlight while Max, Nancy, Lucas, Robin and Tess did the same. Steve frowned, puzzled.

"Where'd everyone get those?"

Slowly turning to him, Dustin blinked and replied, "Do you need to be told everything? You're not a child."

Steve slightly glared. "Thank you," he responded with bitter sarcasm.

Dustin removed his backpack and handed it to Steve. "Back pocket."

He grabbed a flashlight, Theresa walking further into the house to do some more investigating. She walked up behind Max, halting as she looked up with wide eyes at what was before her.

"It's the clock," Tess remarked, barely above a whisper, Max nodding.

"Yeah. It's the clock."

Theresa turned, flashing her light at the others. "Hey, guys? You can all see this clock, right?"

They all walked over, observing the grandfather clock in the foyer of the house.

"Yeah," they all replied in unison.

Nancy knit her brows. "Is this what you guys have been seeing? In your dreams and– visions?"

Tess and Max both nodded, exchanging a quick glance.

Robin curiously took a few steps toward the clock, reaching out a hand to wipe away the dust covering the glass.

"I-It's like a normal old clock," she shrugged, almost sounding like she was trying to convince herself of that.

"Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?" Steve questioned, shaking his head. "Maybe he's like– a clockmaker... or something?"

Theresa closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh. She truly loved Steve, but his stupidity astounded her sometimes.

"I think you cracked the case, Steve," Dustin cynically responded.

Tess inhaled sharply. "Whatever it means, we know that we can find an answer here," she said confidently. "Me and Max have both seen this clock. There's something here, somewhere."

The others all nodded in agreement, Theresa looking around at all of them.

"Alright, we can split up. No one goes alone, got it?"

With that she walked over to Steve and Dustin, placing a hand on either of their shoulders.

"And you two are coming with me."

Dustin looked as if he wanted to groan, but Steve had no objections. They all broke off into their separate groups, the two following Theresa upstairs at once.

"What kind of clues are we even supposed to be looking for, anyway?" Steve asked, walking directly behind Tess and Dustin who were shining their flashlights into every nook and cranny.

"Creepy shit," Theresa replied nonchalantly, walking into the next room over. There were cobwebs everywhere, and just looking at them made her skin crawl.

Steve and Dustin stayed in the other room while she looked around, opening dresser drawers and closet doors.

Just as she reached out to open a cabinet, there was the sound of glass shattering from the next room over. Alarmed, Theresa ran to the door and nearly collided with Steve as he stumbled backwards into her.

"What is it?" she questioned to Steve's panicking, who was swatting at his shoulders as if something had been on him.

He reached for the door, slamming it shut with a deep exhale.

"Black widow," Steve replied, trying to regain his composure. "Don't go in there."

Tess simply sighed with a shake of her head, fighting the urge not to laugh. As Steve turned, she saw shrouds of cobwebs in his hair from his frenzy.

"Hold on, be still," she said, grabbing Steve by the shoulders and steadying him before picking at his hair.

"What is it, is it a spider?"

She laughed a little. "No. Just cobwebs. I didn't know you were so scared of spiders."

Steve rolled his eyes lightly. "What, like you aren't?"

"Oh no, I'm terrified of them," Theresa replied, pulling the last strings of webs out of Steve's hair. "What are we gonna do if we live together one day? Who's gonna kill all the spiders?"

Steve paused, turning to face her with a quizzical look. "You– you've thought about us living together?"

Tess shrugged, a smile forming on her face. "I mean, yeah. You haven't?"

"Y-Yeah, of course I have," he stammered, running a hand through his hair. "I just... didn't know that you thought about it too."

"Why wouldn't I?" Theresa returned, nudging his arm softly with her hand. "I think we should live in a big city one day."

Steve raised his eyebrows. "Big city? Why do I not find that surprising?"

She laughed quietly. "Because... you know how much I would love to go shopping?"

He returned her laugh, looking down and nodding.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Theresa looked around, inhaling sharply. "Well, it looks like Dustin's ditched us. I guess we'll just have to continue this investigation ourselves, hm?"

Steve nodded, clearly not upset that Dustin had gone elsewhere. He liked to be alone with Tess whenever he could.

"You know," Steve said as he and Theresa walked out into the hallway, "the obvious things are not what people observe. Or– don't observe. Or..."

Tess looked over with narrowed eyes, confusion on her face.

"Sherlock Holmes," he said with a nod.

"Huh?"

Steve threw a hand up in defeat.

"Never mind."

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     THOUGH THE INVESTIGATION SEEMED like it was a bust, nightfall came and the group began noticing something weird.

The lights.

There had been no electricity before, which had obviously been expected in a house like that, until the chandelier on the main floor began flickering.

Max thought she was imagining it at first, until she called the others and they all saw the same thing, hearing the hum of electricity running through the lights.

"It's like the Christmas lights," Theresa remarked barely above a whisper, never taking her eyes off of the chandelier. "When Will was in the Upside Down."

"Vecna's here," Lucas muttered, looking over at the others with wide-eyed realization. "In this house. On the other side."

At once, the lights dimmed out to complete black, leaving them standing with only their flashlights.

"I think he just left the room," Robin remarked.

Max frowned. "...Can he hear us?"

"Can he see us?" Steve then inquired.

Theresa looked over at Max with a spark of panic. "Put on your headphones."

She got an idea just then, clicking off her flashlight. "Okay, everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out."

Steve knit his brows. "We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our..."

Everyone was already on the move, fanning out through the house.

Steve sighed deeply, reluctantly following Tess. There was no way he was letting her out of his sight.

"I got him!" they heard Robin yell at once, darting into the next room to find her.

Her flashlight was extremely bright, buzzing with the amount of electricity running through it. Then, it blinked out.

"I... I had him."

But then, Steve's flashlight lit up beside her. "Woah. Oh– I think he's moving."

He took a few steps toward the center of the house, picking up his pace while everyone else followed. The light continued to pulse as they ascended the staircase, and just when they got halfway, the flashlight went out.

"Shit," Steve huffed. "I lost him."

Theresa shook her head, looking up above them. "No. He knows what he's doing."

She took a few more steps up, stopping at a door on the staircase landing. Tess opened it, able to see a light coming from inside.

"He wants us to go in there."

They all exchanged looks, but everyone did just that. Theresa went first, climbing more stairs that she knew led to an attic.

"It's an attic," Robin mumbled nervously. "Of course it's an attic."

Dustin, who was bringing up the rear, stopped. "Hold up, guys. What if he's leading us into a trap?"

Tess stopped, turning back and looking at him. "Of course he is. But how else are we gonna find anything out about him?"

She turned and kept going. Once they reached the vast, empty attic, she observed a singular lightbulb in the very middle, glowing brightly with the familiar electric hum.

The group all gathered around, noticing that all of their flashlights were now pulsing with strong currents. They were all growing nervous, unsure of what was going on.

"Okay, what's happening?" Steve anxiously quipped.

Theresa stared up at the lightbulb, feeling almost entranced by it. The longer she stared, the harder it felt to look away. She briefly wondered if Vecna was about to try and come for her, the thought snapping her out of it.

But Theresa had a really horrible feeling, not that something bad was about to happen, but that it had already happened.

"Guys," she whispered, rubbing her head as she felt a brief dull pain come over it.

She raised her head again, fear in her eyes.

"I think Vecna just made another kill."

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     THE RIDE BACK WAS QUITE A LONG one, so Theresa took the opportunity to try and get some more sleep.

The upside of being in the back with Steve and Dustin was that she had room to stretch out, so she did exactly that whilst leaning back into Steve.

Dustin had dozed off after awhile, as well as Lucas and Robin. Max stayed awake with her headphones on, while Nancy drove.

"You asleep?" Tess questioned to Steve, who she felt move a little behind her.

"No," he replied. "I'm too worried to sleep."

Theresa knit her brows, shifting a little so she could move her head and look up at him. "Worried about what?"

Steve gave her a deadpan look. "Is that even a question? I mean, I'm mostly worried about you, but..."

She drew in a breath, briefly closing her eyes. "I wish you wouldn't worry about me so much. I get it, I do, but– I don't like seeing you worry over me."

He stared down at her, taking slow, deep breaths. Steve reached down at once, grabbing her hand and interlacing their fingers.

"The reason I worry about you so much... is because I just love you that much. I guess– I'd rather have someone to worry about than no one at all, you know?"

Theresa glanced away, chewing her inner lip thoughtfully at his words. It was amazing to her how Steve could communicate his emotions so well. She was not as good at it.

"Well I'm not worried," she finally replied, looking back up at him with a cheeky smile. "And you wanna know why?"

"Why's that?"

Tess pushed herself up into a sitting position, squeezing Steve's hand tightly and meeting his eyes.

"Because I know I've got you."

She leaned in, pressing a kiss to Steve's lips as he absentmindedly brought a hand to her face. Theresa pulled away and smiled warmly, then rested her head against his shoulder while Steve drew circles into her hand with his thumb.

Steve smiled to himself, his heart feeling like it might explode. He was so hopelessly in love, and he did not care who knew it.

In that moment, Steve knew without a doubt that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Theresa Sinclair.

notes.
they're so cute shut up i'm crying

it was nice to have a break from all the drama and vecna in this chapter, unfortunately next chapter will be nothing short of chaos

about to start writing for episode 6! idk how many more chapters are gonna be left in this season, probably a lot though tbh

the wait for the pregnancy reveal won't be much longer, i really do promise 🫣 it's gonna be my favorite scene to write

hoping i get to update again tomorrow! senior year ain't no joke y'all istg

favorite season 4 moment so far?