Steve ( POV )
Steve Harrington didn't plan to follow Nancy.
He told himself that at least three times as he watched her cross the street with Jonathan Byers, her shoulders tight, her steps too fast for someone just going for a walk.
I'm just making sure she gets home, he thought.
That excuse lasted exactly half a block.
Nancy didn't look back. She never did anymore. She walked like someone who had already decided something and didn't want to give herself time to doubt it.
Jonathan said something low. Nancy nodded.
Steve slowed, keeping his distance.
This isn't jealousy, he told himself. This is awareness.
When Nancy and Jonathan turned toward the trees at the edge of town, Steve stopped short.
"…Seriously?" he muttered.
He waited a full minute before following.
The woods swallowed sound fast and the air felt colder almost immediately, like the temperature dropped the moment the house disappeared behind him.
Steve tightened his grip on the bat.
Whatever Nancy was chasing, it wasn't normal curiosity and deep down, he already knew that.
Nancy ( POV )
Nancy felt it before she saw him.
That prickle at the back of her neck. That sense of being watched not in a threatening way, but in a familiar one.She slowed.
Jonathan noticed instantly. "What's wrong?"
"We're not alone," Nancy said quietly.She stopped and turned.
"Steve," she said.
He froze, caught half behind a tree like a kid who hadn't committed fully to the lie yet.
Jonathan stiffened. "You've got to be kidding me."
Steve raised a hand. "Okay. Before you say anything..."
"You followed us," Nancy said.
Steve exhaled. "Yeah."
Nancy stared at him. He wasn't smirking. Wasn't defensive. Just… tense.
"We're not going back," she said.
"I know," Steve replied. "I didn't come to stop you. I came to understand what you're doing."
Jonathan lifted his camera slightly. "This isn't your business."
Steve looked at Nancy instead. "Then tell me why it feels like it is."
Silence.
Then Nancy said, "They're lying about Will."
Steve frowned. "The kid who drowned?"
"He didn't drown," Nancy said. "Jonathan has proof."
Jonathan hesitated, then showed him one photo.
Steve's jaw tightened.
"…Okay," he said slowly. "So you're not crazy."
"No," Nancy said. "We're scared."
Steve looked toward the woods.
"Then I'm coming," he said.
Jonathan opened his mouth to argue.
Nancy shook her head. "Fine. But once we're there, you listen."
Steve nodded once. "Deal."
Hopper ( POV )
Hopper stared at the body report again.
Wrong weight. Wrong texture. Wrong everything.
He'd seen enough corpses to know when something was pretending.
He drove to Hawkins Lab without turning on the radio.
Inside, the air buzzed not loud, but constant. Like the building was holding its breath.
He wandered where he wasn't supposed to.
Found a locked door.
Placed his hand against it.
Cold.
Something moved on the other side.
Hopper stepped back.
They didn't just fake the body, he thought. They're hiding something alive.
He left before anyone could stop him.
Called Joyce from the car.
"Joyce," he said. "I think Will is alive."
She inhaled sharply. "I know."
Hopper closed his eyes.
"Then we're not crazy," he said. "We're just late."
Nancy ( POV )
The woods were darker than Nancy expected.Her flashlight beam cut narrow paths through trees that seemed too close together.
Jonathan paused. "Did you hear that?"
Nancy did.
A wet sound. Distant. Breathing, maybe.
Steve's grip tightened around the bat.
"This is real," Nancy whispered.
The light flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
And something moved.