Chapter Text
Eddie’s death hit Steve and Dustin the hardest. Considering Steve barely knew Eddie, it was rather concerning (at least to Robin, Nacy, and Dustin) how much it was affecting him. He would constantly be looking over his shoulder, jumping at every noise, he couldn’t go anywhere without a weapon of some sort within easy reach. Wayne should’ve never let him keep Eddie’s old switchblade when the party helped look through the salvage of the trailer. If Robin, Nancy and Dustin weren’t there, Steve would lock himself in his house or stay vigilant by Max’s bedside in the hospital until the nurses needed him to leave. The shadows became his friend. Nothing could hurt him in the shadows because he knew what kind of creatures lurked in the shadows. He’d spent the last four years dealing with them.
Without Eddie, Steve’s life suddenly didn’t seem to mean anything. He missed the Dungeon Master’s crazy antics, the references Steve never got, but did now because he’d looked into them for the sake of Eddie’s memory. Steve felt sorry for Dustin. He’d been closer to Eddie to anyone, and Steve wasn’t doing anything to help him.
The Upside Down was still evident in Hawkins. Nothing had happened since the first defeat of Vecna, as almost everyone involved was positive he wasn’t dead. Nothing had happened and it had been four years.
Steve couldn’t take it anymore.