#I feel like there HAS to be a tag for all this Mike-and-the-Upside-Down stuff?

[wheeler-things]

Mike Wheeler, the Hand and Eye of Vecna, and D&D as Foreshadowing

I'm about to say something unhinged.

It's going to take a fair amount of words to unpack (sorry about that) because I need to give context before I just come out and say it. And I'm fully aware that it's just one of hundreds of possible options for s5, so I'm really not trying to convince anybody of anything just... I was thinking about foreshadowing and analogies again, and something occurred to me and then it snowballed and.... hm.

Okay, so, I talked about it a lot more in this post, but the key point for what I'm talking about here is my belief that the Party's first D&D game in s1 actually foreshadows all of the main Upside Down antagonists from seasons 1-4, with the D&D Demogorgon actually representing Henry. Essentially, my breakdown came down to this:

"Something is coming. Something hungry for blood." -> s1 -> the Demogorgon. "A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness." -> s2 -> the shadow monster. "An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber!" -> s3 -> the Mind Flayer and the Flayed. "The Demogorgon!" -> s4 -> Henry Creel.

So, the remaining unaccounted for villains (assuming that the way the characters use D&D enemies as analogies is not necessarily representative of/accurate to what they actually foreshadow within the narrative) are:

Mike's Thessalhydra

Will's Juju hoard

Eddie's Vecna

I have some speculation on the first two, but it's the third that I'm going to do a deep dive into my thoughts on.

Since this is pretty long and it takes a bit of time to get through the contextualizing, let me clarify up front that this ties into the "Mike has a connection to the Upside Down" theories which I love, but which I know are not to everyone's tastes.

Who IS Vecna (in Stranger Things)?

From the campaign in s4e1, we learn:

Vecna is hiding in plain sight among his own cultists

"His skin is shrivelled. Desiccated. And [...] he is not only missing his left arm, but his left eye"

Vecna was believed to be dead/killed by Kas

An 11 isn't enough to defeat him, but a 20 is (notably, we don't actually hear what Dustin and Erica were trying to roll to do-- based on the context of the scene, we assume that it was combat-based, but it is not explicitly laid out)

Later, in s4e2, Vecna is described (in terms that the characters start to tie to the entity we later learn is Henry, in an effort to theorize about what's going on) as:

An undead creature of great power

A spellcaster

A dark wizard

Note: In the context of Eddie's description of what happened to Chrissy, the term "Vecna's curse" is brought up. This leads into the description of Vecna's characteristics listed above, but no further details (as far as I can find or remember) are given about what Vecna's curse is like in Eddie's game. Which leads me to...

Who IS Vecna (in D&D)?

Alright, I have to admit-- I've played D&D before, but my friends have a tendency to prefer MotW/PbtA-based games, and even when we HAVE done D&D, the storylines and characters have been entirely from the DM's mind/not from anything official. As a result, everything I'm about to say here is based on what Google can tell me (I'm aware others have talked about this before, but I think it gives some useful context for where I'm going to go in this analysis, if I make sure we’re all on the same page about the background D&D lore).

The main websites that I used to get information for this part can be found here, here, and here.

So! The long and short of it seems to be that in life, Vecna was a wizard who built a "terrible empire". In order to avoid death, he turned himself into a lich, and in undeath, he continued to grow his empire. He had a lieutenant named Kas, who Vecna gifted a sword to. For unknown (though the speculation does not paint him in a positive light) reasons, Kas murdered Vecna, leaving behind only Vecna's eye and left hand along with a pile of ash. However, his spirit survived the attack and he spent "eons" regaining his former power. In the meantime, his artifacts, cults, and "dark secrets" continued corrupting others/pushing them towards evil.

It may also be notable that Vecna was known to have a "formidable and hideous" temper.

And... that's the short version of everything that I could find about Vecna in D&D.

Henry Creel as Vecna

So, this is the obvious conclusion, because the characters call Henry "Vecna", which seems to have largely lead to the audience assumption that the Vecna in Eddie's campaign definitely foreshadows Henry. And I want to start out by acknowledging that I do think this is absolutely a possibility! I could 100% be wrong about the Demogorgon in Mike's campaign representing Henry, and even if I'm not, there's nothing that says there can't be two moments of foreshadowing for the same antagonist.

If Henry is Vecna, I know there are a lot of theories about who Kas is, and I'm not interested in getting too deep into the weeds on that particular debate. With that being said, I will say that when I first watched s4 I personally thought it was obvious that, if Henry was actually the person foreshadowed by Eddie's Vecna, then El was clearly Kas and had already fulfilled her part in that role?

I mean, Henry didn't have any real power in the lab so obviously El wasn't his lieutenant. But she was clearly his favourite (or, depending on how you read his character, he at least did a good job of pretending that she was his favourite). He gave her a weapon (in that he taught her to use her anger to weaponize her powers). At first she helped him with things (ie. getting Soteria out of his neck), but later she turned against him and used the "weapon" he "gave" her in order to, as far as she understood at the time, kill him (literally turned him to ash, and he appears when we see him next in the Upside Down). But, of course, he wasn't actually dead, and in line with Eddie's campaign, he came back. El tried to face him alone, but it failed/missed just like the eleven roll.

You may or may not agree with me on that, but I personally think it's the most likely scenario. I just... can't see them recreating everyone thinking Henry has been killed for a THIRD time only to bring him back AGAIN. And in my opinion, El-as-Kas (but she's already fulfilled the role) does fit very well with what we know about Vecna from Eddie's campaign/with a number of the details from D&D.

I will also concede that you could make the case that Henry was hiding in plain sight among his cultists during the time when he was interacting with baby!El (as in, he was disguised as a lab assistant, and obviously the whole Lab is dedicated to, essentially, recreating Henry's powers so that's sort of like a cult to him, I suppose), and that he is certainly, as of the present timeline in s4, something like an undead creature as well was being very powerful and functionally a dark wizard. His flesh is even shrivelled and desiccated after his time in the Upside Down.

All of which is to say, without speculating heavily about the potential events of s5, Henry does look incredibly appealing as the thing foreshadowed by Eddie's campaign.

But…

The Case for Someone Else as Vecna

There are a few main reasons why I think that Henry is a red herring as the thing Vecna was foreshadowing.

Firstly, and least compellingly (I have to mention it, but it's not evidence that stands on its own), if Mike's Demogorgon foreshadows Henry, but the Party mis-used its name for the UD's Demogorgon because it was the monster they happened to be fighting at the time, then it stands to reason that it's possible that they may have mis-used Vecna's name to apply it to Henry for the same reason-- it was the most recent/most superficially relevant enemy the Party had fought in D&D and, as such, made for a decent enough analogy to the current situation.

Secondly, just on a narrative scale, if El has already played the Kas role in the s4 flashbacks and then has also already made her failed roll in present day s4... then literally all that's left is to roll a 20 and win? It's too smooth/too easy to take up a whole season. Obviously, the writers can throw in extra drama and struggle and tension, but if we're already past the failed 11 roll, then... it can't be too intense or else the foreshadowing loses its tight 1:1 dynamic with what's happening in the plot. And “not too intense” is very rarely what people are going for when they write a finale season.

Thirdly... despite how well Henry aligns with almost all of the descriptions of Eddie's Vecna, he does not align with what I would argue are the two most emphasized descriptors (the two that Eddie puts the most passion and physicality into describing, and the two which seem to actually make it clear to the Club that the unknown cultist is Vecna). Namely: Henry very much is not missing an eye or an arm. His left arm is odd looking, but that's not because he ever lost it and had to replace it. It appears to just be part of whatever the Upside down is doing to him/turning him into (God, I hope he's turning into a Demogorgon-- I saw someone suggest that at one point and I wish I could find the post to link it here, because I think it would be the funniest and most fitting option). And Henry's eyes both look kind of odd/cloudy now, but not only does he have both of them, but the flashback to him wandering the Upside Down after El threw him in there make it explicitly clear that his injured/initially damaged eye was his right eye. It would have been just as easy, and changed nothing about the overall narrative, if they had made Henry’s left eye blind instead/to subtly align with the Vecna analogy, so the fact that they so pointedly didn’t suggests to me that, in terms of foreshadowing, Henry may not actually be Vecna at all. In fact, there is nothing at all that I can remember connecting Henry to the idea of left eyes, except that the characters call him Vecna, and Eddie's Vecna is described as being devoid of one.

Also (and this is just a small point), I do think that it's interesting that in D&D, Vecna's backstory includes him creating a dark empire, and there are a lot of theories abounding about the idea that someone in the main cast created or significantly altered the Upside Down (I've mostly seen them about Will and Mike, but I imagine there are other similar theories for other characters). Because what we know for sure is that Henry absolutely did not create it, and likely did not significantly alter it either (at least not until he met the shadow monster), I do think that it's worth noting that this is another way in which Henry's character diverges from at least the D&D version of Vecna.

Detour: How do Superpowers Work in Stranger Things?

I may or may not have driven myself mad trying to figure this out. And I also may or may not have spent a long time resigned to the idea that Kali had been retconned by s4 showing that all the other numbers seem to have basically the same powers as Henry and El (with the possible exception of El's ability to open portals into the UD-- unless Henry had this ability as well before the Mind Flayer took a chunk out of El in s3... we simply don't know yet).

I feel like I maybe heard something, at one point, that suggested that all of the kids in the lab had telekinesis and then also at least one other power. However, I can't find a source on that? Also, I don't believe there's any direct evidence of this shown in s4 (and Kali's powers outright contradict it), given that the only non-telekinetic power that we were shown by anybody but Henry and El was 010 who was able to see what others were doing in his mind (which seemed to be very similar to El's mind void abilities, if maybe a little stronger or more well-practised).

Either way, I think the evidence given in the show suggests that there are three possible ways to develop or obtain supernatural abilities in the Stranger Things universe.

Via experimentation. This was the case for El, and very likely also most of the other kids in the Lab. It also seems to have been the case for El's mother, who we see being able to flicker the lights and change the channels on her television with her mind.

Through infiltration by and/or extended exposure to the Upside Down. I'm a little more tentative on this one, because my main example of this is Will, and we all know that there are a LOT of theories about Will's abilities. And I want to stress that I cannot definitively say they're wrong. All I can say is that, as the show exists right now, one of many possible readings is that Will's abilities, such as sensing the Mind Flayer, seem to be a result of his experiences with the Upside Down. If this is accurate, then it represents a method of obtaining powers that is distinct from how El got hers. I’m not at all trying to discount the possibility that Will could have other powers that he was born with or developed due to experimentation (I love a good Will-born-with-powers theory!), I just want to consider the possibility that Will’s powers could be a result of his experiences with the Upside Down.

Being born with them/developing them spontaneously. Henry is the obvious example of this, but I also believe that Kali is another example. Her powers are completely different than those of the other numbers. Moreover, Kali was abducted when she was five, unlike El who was abducted as an infant. To me, this suggests that Kali was likely not the result of Brenner's experimentation, but rather, more similar to Henry in that she spontaneously developed powers, and Brenner took advantage of that fact. If this is the case, it would explain why Kali's powers are so different from those of everybody else that we've seen-- because it is likely that Brenner used Henry Creel as the basis upon which his experiments were developed, explaining why they largely seem to have powers very similar to Henry.

If this assessment is correct (and I cannot stress enough how speculative I am being here because this is still a huge mystery in the show itself), then I do think it's interesting that Henry (who is almost certainly going to be the main/active antagonist for the vast majority of s4, even if he doesn't turn out to be "Vecna" from Eddie's campaign in the end) represents 3/3 of these points (he was experimented on by Brenner, he has been changed by the Upside Down, and he developed his powers spontaneously), and yet, out of our protagonists, only 2/3 of those points are currently represented (El who developed her powers via experimentation, and Will who likely/possibly-- I know everyone has their own strong opinions on this developed them via exposure to the Upside Down)?

In reality, I think that if my interpretation of how getting superpowers works in this universe is accurate, then it seems to me that we will very likely have a character with powers that developed naturally to complement El and Will.

However, both for narrative reasons (it would feel too shoehorned in/too Deus ex Machina) and for fitting in with the other established characters who seem to have spontaneously developed powers reasons, it would not make sense for any of our protagonists to all of a sudden start moving things with their minds. Narratively, it would just seem like it was being added in at the last minute and, anyway, it seems like Kali developed her powers/showed clear signs of them before the age of five, and Henry developed his around the age of twelve, so it’s likely that if any of our characters were going to develop powers, it would start before their teenage years.

So, assuming we're not getting Erica (God, I wish) or Holly (...I mean, I wouldn't complain) suddenly developing powers of their own, it seems likely that if any of our characters are going to have spontaneous powers, they likely already have them/are already using them. However, I don't think any of our beloved ensemble cast would know they have powers and not share that with the class. They all want to beat the Upside Down, and El and Will have already more than shown how useful superpowers are in that effort.

And... on a narrative level, let's be real. If this is the direction things are going, the reveal of these powers/abilities cannot be a joyous occasion. It has to hurt. Because if it doesn't hurt, we're back to the Deus ex Machina issue. But if it hurts-- if the reveal causes severe conflict for the character in question and with the people around them, if it breaks them down and reveals new things about them, if the reveal feels like a loss, in the moment when it comes about, rather than a win for the cast... then it might work.

For that to happen, the repressed/extant but unknown powers have to connect to the Upside Down. They have to have had a significant hand in all the pain that our characters have gone through. Possibly via either creating the Upside Down or the shadow monster, or else through some other connection. But the connection has to be there, because the reveal needs to cause fear, pain, and conflict for the characters.

Detour Cont'd: So... Who Is It?

So... if my wild speculation above is in any way accurate, I think it's worth taking a look at our established characters to see who could have done it.

So, Henry was wandering the Upside Down from 1979 onwards, El opened her first gate in that same year, so I suspect that if any of our characters did accidentally create/influence the Upside Down it likely happened starting around this time. In '79 (dangerously assuming my math is correct), Nancy (also Jonathan and Robin) would have been 11-12, and the Party would have been 7-8, making them the primary possibilities. - I think it's fair to assume that if they're doing this, it would be a major character that we've known since s1, so that discounts Robin and Max. - Additionally, given the composition of the final shot of s4, I think it's reasonable to assume that this character would be in that final shot, because they would have a significant role to play in s5. That cuts out Lucas and Dustin as well. - I'll also say that we can cut out El and Will, since their powers are (under this specific interpretation) already accounted for. - That leaves the remaining options as: Nancy, Jonathan, and Mike. - And, I mean... Mike's the one who's in the middle of that final shot, just as much as Will is. Mike's the one who always knows weird random stuff about the Upside Down and about El's powers. Mike's the one whose plans always work out. Mike's the only one who has never managed to land a punch/at least not managed to land a punch in the A plot of a season climax. Mike's the one whose emotions are a total mystery to the audience (outside of those who engage in intense rewatching and analysis to pick it apart lol). And… Mike’s the one who’s always depicted in a trio with El and Will (I know this is love triangle imagery, but it could potentially have a double meaning). - My point being-- if all of my previous reasoning/interpreting is accurate, then Mike is the only character who makes any sense in this role.

Also, just talking about logistics here-- in order to be comprehensible to audience members who are not about to sit down and rewatch the show a million times in order to pick up on subtle clues and hints, there are a few issues that are going to require a decent amount of screen time in order to explain/develop in s5. To my mind, (outside of ship dynamics) those are:

Where is Max? Why can't El find her?

What is Will's connection to the Upside Down? Did the Demogorgon really take Will in s1? Why is Henry/the Mind Flayer so focused on him?

Why is the Upside Down stuck in time/why and how did it start looking like Hawkins?

What the hell is going on in Mike Wheeler's head?

How will everybody react to the Upside Down and its monsters now that they're bound to start becoming common knowledge around Hawkins?

How are they going to deal with the military? What is going to happen to El if her location is compromised? How will this impact the fight against Henry/the Upside Down?

What is the relationship between Henry and the shadow monster/Mind Flayer? Is it possible for the gang to kill/destroy/incapacitate both? How will they do that?

My point is, there's one question on this list that doesn't seem to be connected into the Upside Down plot in any way-- and that's point 4. The question about Mike. Because realistically speaking, Stranger Things has a Mike Wheeler-shaped problem. He's a protagonist every season, and he's literally equally sharing the centre of the screen with Will in the final shot of s4, so if we're getting a Will Byers protagonist moment in s5, I think it's safe to suggest that we're also getting a Mike Wheeler protagonist moment.

But generally speaking, people don't want a Mike Wheeler protagonist moment, because people don't like him. And obviously that's because the underlying issues that he's going through have been hidden from plain view, but, like... you don't do that for no reason. Narratively speaking, you only do that if you're amping up for a big reveal.

And, yes. Mike and Will getting together would absolutely be a massive reveal and I can fully understand why they wouldn't want to spoil it... but. To get people to care about Mike again, and to believe that he "deserves" Will, they need to devote time and narrative space to explaining Mike's emotional state, both regarding his sexuality, and regarding whatever mental health issues he's struggling with. And they could have put more of this in s4! Mike and Will had FOUR heart to hearts, discounting the van scene. They very much could have had Mike express some of his (likely) experiences with depression and/or PTSD, without having to show their hand about his sexuality/feelings for Will. Doing so would have helped the audience have more sympathy for/understanding of Mike, AND would have significantly cut down on the ground they have to cover with his character in s5.

Because... they're going to need to take up a fair amount of time in s5 to show all of the stuff they need to cover with Mike if they actually are intending to follow through with him being queer and also, like, not beloathed by a large swath of the audience, they're going to need to connect his emotional issues to the Upside Down/A plot somehow. Which they can absolutely do! Henry's whole thing is perfect for that. And it worked with Max-- but there's a difference.

Because, with Max, her experiences with Henry/Vecna's curse were used to give the audience new information to help solve the mystery of the season. But we don't need that again. And... sure, Mike could get cursed/attacked and learn something useful in the fight against Henry, in addition to showcasing all the stuff that's going on inside his head, but given that Will's back in town and is already psychically linked with Henry/the Mind Flayer... I mean, it seems more natural to have that dynamic fall to Will?

This is a lot of talking, but my POINT is... they did not have to hold Mike's emotional state so close to their chests. Let's be real-- they could have at least started to outline the idea that Mike might be struggling with mental health issues, and nobody who isn't already reading the writing on the wall for Mike/Will would be jumping to assume it meant he was struggling with any gay feelings. Like, let's be absolutely real here: they could have had Mike outright say "I don't know, it's like you left and all of a sudden I didn't have the energy to do anything all I could do was sit around and miss you" to Will and people would have understood it as "ohhhh he was depressed because he missed El/has trauma about El disappearing on him/leaving him".

So, if we're reading Mike correctly-- if he's struggling with mental health issues and they're putting in all the little clues and hints to it that we're picking up on/that will be obvious on a rewatch after some huge reveal... then whatever he's going through has to tie into the supernatural plot in a big way. And, more than that, it needs to be linked to it in a way that is surprising enough/enough of a twist to warrant all this secrecy about it.

AND (and this is a hill I am prepared to die on)... Will and El are both main characters, but so is Mike. The plot would not have started without Will. The plot would not have started without El. But also... the plot would not have started without Mike. Without Mike things are totally different, because whoever found El instead would not have been the exact combination of nurturing and feral that made s1 Mike hide her in his basement/believe her the instant she implied she even maybe knew how to find Will. And that's just the first thing that he did which unquestionably pushed the plot in the direction it's going. There's a reason he shares centre screen with Will at the end of s4 (after El had her extended closeup because I'm sure she's going to continue having her protagonist moment in s5, AS SHE SHOULD). Mike isn't just a love interest. He's a protagonist in his own right-- this is his coming of age story, just as much as it is Will's and El's. And, while it's entirely possible that they might have a plan that includes him being the only one of the trio without any particular personal connection to the supernatural plot, I do think it's worth considering that, just as is the case for Will and El, it's at least possible that Mike might have a plotline outside of his romantic relationships, and that, as the third protagonist/third leg of the protagonist trio... it's at least possible that said plotline might have direct ties to the supernatural A plot.

(Also, yes, the ending shot does also suggest that Hop, Joyce, Nancy, and Jonathan are also protagonists for s5-- I feel like this tracks with their roles in s1, and I fully expect them to play major roles in s5, but if this is actually a coming of age story, then it's the Party who are, really, the ones spending this whole time coming of age. That's why I'm making the distinction.)

I bring all of this up, because I believe that it lends context to why I think it is possible that Eddie's Vecna actually references/foreshadows Mike, in particular's, s5 role.

Mike as Vecna

So, here's the thing. If Mike did create the Upside Down, or at least the shadow monster, then he (or at least his repressed emotions and/or dark thoughts) is an antagonistic force in the show. That doesn't mean he's bad or evil (Will was an antagonistic force in s2, and he's sort of the exact opposite of bad or evil). Meaning that it would make sense to foreshadow him as an antagonist, even if ultimately he is a protagonist/on the side of the rest of the gang.

Returning to what we know about Vecna from the show, I'd like to combine it with some of the common theories/ideas that I've seen floating around regarding Mike's potential plot/future in s5.

First of all, Eddie's Vecna is shown hiding among the cultists. Mike obviously doesn't have a cult, although, if he is (unintentionally) the cause of all the Upside Down business, he is hiding in plain sight, both to the other characters and to the audience.

^ Bringing back this screenshot for absolutely no reason at all

I would also point out that Mike is the only character, of the viable list (even expanded back out to include Will and El) of those who could even maybe have played the role in creating/influencing the Upside Down, who is also a member of the Hellfire Club. By which I mean, Mike might not actually be in a cult, but Hawkins at large sure thinks he is.

Now, obviously, Mike isn't dead/hasn't been killed by anybody. But everybody is always talking about all of he death flags around Mike coming into s5, and I, at least, am of the opinion that he can't die permanently (for the same reason that Will and El can't perma-die-- all of them are way too self-sacrificial and willing to throw their lives away for everyone else, so killing them would literally just be them... doing what they always do, which is not ideal for a death scene, especially in a show where the death of major characters is used as infrequently as it is in Stranger Things). If he dies and then comes back to life, or at least seems to have died, this might fulfill the "undead" requirement.

Obviously, how the issue of Kas would come up in this storyline, would be much more questionable than in Henry's. If I'm on the right track here, though, I wouldn't really expect us to know at this point, because it would likely come up in s5 anyway. What I will say is that, if I were to speculate about s5... since Mike is the leader of the Party, and Kas was Vecna's lieutenant, if this is the direction they're going, then I would expect one of the Party members (probably not Will or El because I have some... thoughts about them in the context of the Vecna analogy) to play the role. However, I really can't see any of them intentionally killing/betraying Mike, so my best guess is that if this is happening, it's going to be more a thing of Mike self-sacrificing/endangering himself in order to protect one of the Party members, rather than them intentionally/personally striking the blow. That's SUPER speculative, though, and not founded in very much except... Mike's character as a whole. Also, in D&D's lore, all that was left of Vecna after Kas had killed him, besides the Hand and the Eye, was a pile of ashes-- which fits really seamlessly into Mike's narration of his D&D character dying a fiery, self-sacrificial death at the end of Will's campaign.

Eddie's Vecna is a spellcaster/dark wizard, which are terms that would fit anyone, Mike included, in the scenario where they created/significantly influenced the Upside Down/shadow monster.

In terms of Mike's appearance, obviously he does not appear shrivelled and desiccated (though we'll have to see what s5 brings on that front), but I will note that there are a LOT of theories about Mike losing an arm and possibly an eye as well. Additionally, Mike's left eye, in particular, is often shrouded in shadow. I've already written a different post about that, so I won't go too into detail, but you can look at it here.

^ A sample of some of the left eye shadows

If the theories about Mike creating the Upside Down or at least the shadow monster are accurate, then that fulfills the D&D Vecna's backstory of having built a dark empire before his undeath.

In the context of Mike, I also think it's interesting that one of the things D&D's Vecna is known for is his "dark secrets". Like... I mean, we all know Mike is full of secrets. And it's very likely that they're "dark"-- not necessarily in the way that D&D Vecna's secrets are dark, but more so in the way of, like, mental health issues can be very dark when you're living through them. I mean... Max had "dark secrets" this season, too (though, obviously, totally different in nature and context than Mike's), but the narrative difference (outside of all the cool character stuff they were doing with Max-- this is not a Max post so I won't get too into it, but I just want to make it super clear that Max has a LOT of interesting stuff going on in s4 in her own right) is that those came to light, while Mike's stayed hidden.

Also... okay let me just put this here:

(Link to the site I got that from is in the Vecna in D&D section)

"The godlike supremacy they crave". Does that... not sound like Henry? I mentioned Henry turning into a Demogorgon back in the Henry as Vecna section of this post, but... I think I'm just saying that it could legitimately be happening? I don't know. Maybe I'm just being overly enticed by the idea of Henry's hubris making him believe that he's the one in control of the Upside Down/the shadow monster/Mind Flayer when, in reality, the truth is that he's simply blinded to what's happening to him by his own arrogance and ambition.

Anyway... finally, I'll point out that D&D's Vecna is also known for his "formidable temper". And, like... I just... okay, so a lot of characters in Stranger Things have tempers and anger issues. But the thing with Mike's is that it's portrayed... kind of differently? Like, if you push Jonathan or Steve hard enough on the right pressure points, they'll snap and physically fight you (we've seen it), and El's basically the same except that she generally has the psychic force to skip the fight and simply toss you aside like a ragdoll. If you push Will or Nancy or Hopper hard enough on the right pressure points, they'll get sarcastic and frustrated and snippy (and depending on who you are, Hopper and maybe also Nancy might also punch you lbr-- here's hoping for Nancy punching someone out in s5). But Mike?

a) Mike's kind of constantly on the verge of getting mad (except, typically, when he's alone with Will and usually also El pre-s4). He's annoyed by everything, prickly towards basically everyone unless he knows them very well, and easily upset if he doesn't get his way/doesn't feel consulted about what's happening. None of which erases his positive qualities, and all of which are explainable, but it's undeniable that there's an angry element to his character.

b) When Mike does actually get properly mad, he shoots to kill. "What is WRONG with you?" "It's not MY fault you don't like girls!" "She didn't LOOK fine...", like. Every season, he says something so harsh it leaves the other person/people speechless. And that's NOT to say that Mike's a bad kid. He's a child who has suffered a lot of trauma, and who was already prone to fits of annoyance before all the bad stuff started happening. Of course he lashes out. AND it does seem like he's making an attempt to improve especially as of s4 (probably because the rain fight really scared him tbh). I'm not saying he's bad, I'm just saying that one of his flaws, which he does seem to be working on, is that he has a tendency to get angry and say things that he might mean in the moment, but which are more hurtful than he wants them to be.

c) I find the scene where Mike breaks down in Hopper's arms in s2 incredibly telling. Obviously, this was Mike under extreme circumstances. I'm not suggesting that level of rage and pain is Mike's typical baseline level. But what I am saying is... that breakdown did not develop overnight. That was something Mike was building towards since s1e1. And then he lets it out with fists and screams and sobs. And then he boxes it away and gets back to plotting how to stop the Mind Flayer and save Will like nothing happened. And nobody brings it up ever again (I mean... let's be honest... the only person who WOULD 100% have brought it up later was passed out in a drug-induced nap at the time, so it's very likely that Will doesn't know about that breakdown... just like he probably doesn't know about the quarry). And just like every other character, Mike keeps getting traumatized on top of all the pain that caused that original breakdown. And...

I don't know. I guess I'm just saying that it's undeniable that Mike has a temper, though he's not the only character who does. And that Mike's inevitable s5 breakdown will probably involve rage as well as tears. Does Mike have a "formidable and hideous temper"? I don't know. I think that sort of depends on who is judging. I am pretty sure that Mike thinks he does, though.

And... lastly... this is just a parallel that I thought was interesting, which probably doesn't mean anything, probably it's just a coincidence, but I'm already deep enough into this analysis that I've lost my mind so...

^ s1 Mike covers his left eye while indicating/faking a headache

^ s4 Eddie covers his left eye with an upside down hand to mimic being Vecna

The Eye and Hand of Vecna in This Context

Something that has been bothering me is this:

Mike, Will, and El are obviously paralleled to two trios from other franchises, with Will and El, respectively, as the "head"/primary character in the trio.

They're paralleled to Harry/Ron/Hermione (no, I don't like talking about HP parallels very much because //gestures at everything about JKR with my very trans hands, but I don't think that discomfort on my end negates the obvious parallels), with Will generally functioning as Harry (although I'm aware that Will and Mike get the Ron/Hermione treatment in the airport), with everything to do with his connection with Henry.

They're also paralleled to Luke/Leia/Han, with El generally functioning as Luke.

So, the thing that has been bothering me is: if Mike is just as much a protagonist as Will and El are, and not just a romantic interest for the two of them, why isn't there also a trio in which Mike gets to play the leading role? And, uh... so... I have a thought about that, but it requires me to dig a bit deeper into the lore behind the artifacts left after Kas (nominally) killed Vecna in D&D lore: the Hand and the Eye.

The Hand of Vecna:

The Eye of Vecna:

(link to the site where I took these screenshots from is included in the section about Vecna in D&D)

So... if (and I'm very aware that it's a big if) Mike is going to turn out to have been foreshadowed by Eddie's Vecna, then I believe that this is the trio he's at the head of. Vecna/Eye of Vecna/Hand of Vecna, with El as the Hand and Will as the Eye.

I mean, the Hand's thing is strength (El's telekinesis lends strength to her/anybody she is helping use it for-- ie. flipping the car in s3, where flipping it back over requires multiple people and Mike's lever system). It improves attacks during combat (again... El's telekinesis sort of makes her the gang's heavy hitter). It can apparently also freeze creatures (we see El do this at least twice in s1-- she freezes Troy in place after he tries to attack Mike, and freezes the Demogorgon in place when it's trying to attack the Party). And it can be used to cast a number of different spells including Teleport (El can't exactly teleport, but she can use the mind void to travel anywhere a given person is in her mind) and some necromantic spells.

Interestingly, although they're not spells the Hand can provide according to screenshot above, bringing back the dead, like El does to Max at the end of s4, can be done using a necromantic spell in D&D.

And the Eye... I mean. Truesight is right there. But in general, it's a lot about being able to see through just about everything (including time, which is pretty interesting), with fits pretty well with Will as the spy/Will as the sensor of all things Upside Down. The spells it can cast are pretty interesting as well, and do make me wonder if the fact that Will was (or possibly still ever so slightly is?) part of the hivemind might give him some ability to control what the hivemind does? I don't know, but it's a thought.

Also, the effect of using the Eye is really interesting, given the fact that Will was infected by the shadow monster/Mind Flayer right at the moment when he tried to order it to "go away" (failed Dominate Monster?), and then the whole possession got worse/his soul was almost consumed leaving him essentially a puppet under the control of the shadow monster/Mind Flayer after he attempted to spy back (possibly failed Clairvoyance?). Also, fun fact: Disintegrate causes a "thin green ray" to "spring from your finger" in order to turn a target to dust. I can't help but think about Will the Wise's green fireballs.

I don't know… I just think the parallels are worth thinking about.

To be 100% clear, I'm not saying that Will and El's powers/abilities come from Mike (just like in the HP parallel, Will paralleling Harry/the Chosen One doesn't take away from El or Mike's positions as co-protagonists with him, or in the SW parallel, El paralleling Luke doesn't mean that she's the only protagonist/Chosen One in ST). Nor am I suggesting that Mike in any way owns Will or El. I'm only pointing out that there are some striking similarities between their powers/experiences and the effects of Hand and Eye in D&D, so if the theories about Mike creating the Upside Down/shadow monster are correct, then... those similarities are interesting.

(But, hey, I mean, fun fact-- if this is actually the intended read, then all three are paralleling powerful wizards in popular culture, which is fun.)

Also also... something I've always found super weird is that Will's eyes go brown when he's possessed, never black. Which... is odd, because black is traditional for possessions, and it would look more unnatural, it would align more with the shadow monster's colours, and it would be a really clear signal to the audience that there's something wrong with the colour of his eyes because as it stands, unless you already know that Will has hazel eyes, nothing seems off (especially because the characters never mention the change either). I mean, the shadow monster is black/dark grey. Henry's eyes are blue and never go darker than that. But Mike's eyes are just about that same shade of brown that Will's were when they were at their darkest...

I mean, if nothing else, Mike as Vecna and Will and El as the Eye and Hand would explain why Mike keeps losing (being cut off from) both of them.

And, I mean... we all know Will tends to hang out on Mike's left, but so does El (it's just less obvious with El, because she also has a motif of facing Mike head on). Largely (though not always-- if there's a true pattern, I can't tell what it is), when they're not in this alignment is when they're disagreeing/not on the same page/not pretending to be on the same page with Mike. I mean... you know. Something something, Vecna's left hand and left eye?

No, Seriously, Will and El are So Often on Mike's Left

^ Just a sample of the relevant shots

The Good News

Now that I've gotten through all of this, I do want to say that, even if Eddie's Vecna is foreshadowing something about Mike's role in the supernatural plot of s5, I don't believe they're setting him up to be a true villain. Like... if Mike did actually create the Upside Down/the shadow monster/in some way impact them, I very much do not believe that he is aware of it as of s4, nor do I believe that he would ever intentionally hurt any of the people that the Upside Down has tormented all these years. Well, except himself [gunshot]

Obviously he would be absolutely ripped open if he learned any of what happened was in any way his fault. He'd be absolutely gutted. If you're a "Mike needs to have a sobbing, screaming breakdown in s5" kind of person, man would you get your wish and then some.

My point is, even if they're setting up a twist where Mike('s repressed emotions) have been an antagonistic force all along, I very much do not believe that Mike is being set up as an antagonist, in his own right.

This is where I'm going to bring it back to the fact that we don't actually know what Dustin or Erica were rolling to do. Most likely, in the game itself, they were rolling for various attacks. But we don't hear that. And we don't actually hear Eddie ever say that Vecna was killed, it's just implied from the context of the scene. Which to me means that the ending is not set in even analogous stone. If Vecna does foreshadow Mike's role in the supernatural plot, then all we know is that an Eleven alone can't defeat/solve whatever's going wrong with him, but a twenty (whatever is defined as a twenty) can.

By which I mean, I don't think Mike has to die in the end in order to fit with the analogy.

Also! I think it's really important that Eddie's D&D session is the only one that we see Mike participating in, where he doesn't do any active narrating. Obviously he narrates for the Demogorgon and Thessalhydra campaigns. However, he also takes over narrating for Will's campaign, when he decides to light a fire and sacrifice himself to destroy the Juju hoard.

In Eddie's campaign, though, he follows along. His PC 0's out (which could reference a future physical injury, or an inability on his part to keep fighting for some other reason), and they call a time out to discuss. During that conversation, Dustin specifically asks Mike for his opinion on what they should do (which I have some Thoughts about in the broader context of Dustin's characterization in s4, but those are so wildly outside the bounds of this post-- I'll make a different post later), and Mike really does act like a good leader. He asks Dustin and Erica for context on their HP, and assesses that if they keep fighting it will be difficult, but in the end he tells them that the call is up to them, because their characters are the only ones left on the battle field. That's all he says about the game. And I think the fact that all he says is that the fight will be "difficult" is really good news, because it means that the ending is more open.

Finally, it's possible that if Mike is actually the person being foreshadowed by the use of Vecna in Eddie's campaign, and if Will and El are intentionally paralleled to the Eye and the Hand respectively, then Mike's lost hand/eye signals may not necessarily literally mean that he's going to lose his body parts, but rather that he's going to lose or feel like he's lost both Will and El one more time before everything is over.

The Bad News

IF any of this is correct-- specifically, IF Mike did create the shadow monster or the Upside Down or even just influenced it in some way... even if Henry was somehow exercising power over it to make it more dangerous than necessary... I'm just not convinced that everybody would be able to forgive him.

I mean... Will, obviously would. That's kind of a foregone conclusion, especially since at least in the scenario I'm speculating about, none of what happened would be anything Mike knew he was in any way complicit in until after the fact.

I also think El would probably be able to understand pretty quickly given that she knows what it's like to do something without knowing you can do it, and to have to come to terms with the fact that others have suffered as a result. That being said, if we DO get Mike in the scenario I've been outlining, and then we DON'T get a parallel to the s1 "I'm the monster" "no you're not the monster-- you saved me" scene, except with Mike saying that he's the monster, and El assuring him that he's not because there's no such thing as being a monster or a superhero, but he was her first ever friend so she could never consider him a monster? I'll sue.

A lot of the others I'm way more up in the air about, because I really think it would come down to a lot of context in how it was portrayed, whether the others could manage to get into a somewhat normal groove with him ever again (though I highly doubt they'd have the Party end the show broken up, so I suspect they, at least, would find a way to come to terms with what happened).

But really... it's Nancy that concerns me? In literally any scenario where Mike might have had ANYTHING to do with the Upside Down in any capacity outside of what we've explicitly seen in the show. Whether he knew what he was doing or not. Whether Henry was the one orchestrating things in s1-s4/presumably at least early s5 or not. I just...

I can see a path where she could forgive him, right? Though I'm really worried that's a path where she would forgive him and take all that blame and put it onto herself because he was he little brother and she didn't notice.

But I just... I don't know.

I just know how horribly she's raked herself over the coals over Barb's death ever since s1, and I just worry about whether she would be able to accept that, in the scenario I've been outlining, Mike didn't actually mean to do anything/couldn't actually have stopped it because he didn't know it was happening. Because I suspect that in order for Nancy to get to that place, she'd have to confront the fact that SHE isn't at fault for what happened to Barb, either. That she did not do anything wrong (at least, not wrong enough that she deserves to be still agonizing over it four years later) by telling Barb to go home that night. That there was no way Nancy could have known that something bad was happening to Barb, and that the fact that she didn't stop what was happening BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS ANYTHING FOR HER TO STOP, doesn't mean she's in any way at fault.

And... I REALLY hope we're going to get to see Nancy confronting that head on in s5. But it just.... concerns me in the context of these theories about Mike's potential supernatural role.

[solarmorrigan]

Balm to a Burn

For the @steddie-spooktober day 8 prompt: Bonfire Rated: T | Words: 716 | CW: mentions of PTSD | Tags: established relationship, Steve Harrington has PTSD, Eddie Munson loves Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington loves Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington needs a hug, and he gets one! Divider credit: @steddiecameraroll-graphics

“Hey.” Eddie reaches out and catches Steve’s hand as he moves by on his way to check what the marshmallow situation is like. “You wanna sit down for a minute? You’re making me antsy.”

Steve would love to, really, but the thing is, he isn’t sure he can. He’d tried taking up a chair in front of the fire at first, but that had made him antsy. He just isn’t sure how to explain it to Eddie.

He isn’t sure how to explain that the heat of the bonfire on his face, the flickering flash of the flames in his eyes, had taken him back to a different place entirely. How it had reminded him of ash and burning vines and the yips of demodogs echoing off of rotting tunnel walls. He isn’t sure how to explain that he’d tried going to a bonfire in the spring after the second coming of Upside Down Bullshit, a big to-do at the lake that had been attended by at least half the school, and he’d damn near had a panic attack the first (and only) time he’d gotten close to the fire.

He especially isn’t sure how to explain it when Dustin, Mike, Max, and Lucas all seem to be perfectly fine with the bonfire. They had, in fact, been among the voices begging Steve to help set it up.

He isn’t sure why he’s the only one with the problem, but he’s decided he doesn’t really want to examine it and had figured he’d just limit his time near the blaze, so he’s been up and about the whole night.

Stuff for s’mores, hot dogs, extra skewers, more drinks, more firewood, Dustin nearly flinging a burning marshmallow at Mike in his haste to make a point – there’s always something for Steve to do, something for him to attend to, so he doesn’t have to sit and face the flames.

Except now Eddie wants Steve to sit down, and Steve always wants to give Eddie what he wants; it’s a weakness he has no inclination to fix, even when what Eddie wants might be to Steve’s detriment. Eddie wants Steve to sit, so – Steve sits.

“Just for a minute,” Steve says. “I want to check if we have more marshmallows.”

“Baby, if you stuff anymore marshmallows into these kids, they’re gonna pop,” Eddie tells him. “Seriously, take a load off. Everyone is capable of getting their own drinks, I promise.”

Then he tugs on Steve’s hand until Steve is close enough to grab around the waist, and he pulls Steve right down into his lap. The camp chair squeaks alarmingly beneath them, but it holds up, and Steve tries to settle.

The thing about Eddie is that he’s fucking perceptive when he wants to be; he might not know why Steve has been anxiously pinballing between tasks all night, but the way he’s holding him says that he has noticed. He’s got his arms wrapped firmly around Steve’s waist, just heavy enough to be grounding, comforting, rather than binding. He slides his hands under Steve’s jacket and rubs a thumb gently against his ribs through his t-shirt. He presses a kiss to the side of Steve’s neck, soft and reassuring – letting Steve know that he’s here, and that he wants Steve to be, too.

Steve always wants to give Eddie what he wants.

So, Steve tries. He lets himself sink into the feeling of Eddie wrapped around him. He listens to the sounds of the kids bickering over the crackle of the fire, comfortable and having fun. He can feel the heat of the flames on his face, but he can also feel the kiss of cool, fresh air, rather than the fetid, ash-filled humidity of the tunnels below the town. He can smell clean woodsmoke, not the muted miasma of burning vines that had permeated the meagre barrier of the bandana across his face.

He lets himself sink into this moment, instead of being consumed by another, takes a deep breath, and sags back against Eddie.

“Doing okay?” Eddie asks softly, lips brushing Steve’s ear.

“Yeah.” Steve is surprised to realize that he’s telling the truth. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

Eddie presses another kiss in behind Steve’s ear and hugs him closer, sighing out his pleased contentment. “Good.”

[languajix]

Emoji Dress-up! (TMNT Fandom Family Reunion Fashion Show event!)

Let's dress up this turtle emoji for the Fandom Family Reunion fashion show, shall we?

This is a turtle emoji! We're gonna call him Carl. Because he looks like a Carl, doesn't he? (I got him from HERE)

Carl feels like playing dress-up in honor of fashion week. What will Carl decide to wear as he struts his stuff down the runway?

And to start us all off, Carl's coming in hot dressed as a charred but totally adorable Smokey from the Sparky AU by @belleyellsaboutturtles! With a bonus Sparky, who seems to really dislike clothes. (Cabin 15)

Time for Carl to turn that smile upside down as he changes into the look of the incredibly cool Foot Captain from @v-albion's True Colors AU! And Carl strikes an unamused pose! (cabin 14)

Speaking of cool, Carl straps on some Citadel fashion as Mikhail from @chessman-protocol's Covert AU! (Cabin 14)

Carl's a big fan of sunglasses, so he makes sure to flash them as he walks down the runway as @karonkar and @owliedoesnothing's Fear's Embrace OC Marco in his usual apocalyptic style! (Cabin 13/Cabin 14 Counselor)

Carl really enjoys dressing up as @twignotstick's character Mikey/Scout! That smile charms us all. (Cabin 14)

And now our turtle emoji friend is making another drastic color choice, as he changes into It's A Complicated Equation Donnie by @leilanising! Look at that tail! (cabin 14)

After a quick jump into the shower to wash off that blue, Carl is back to take the fashion world by storm as the cheery Mikey from @justalittleobsessed's Move Along AU! Check out his stylish mask tails. What a fashion statement! :D (Cabin 15)

@banana-pancake5's Donnie has been through a lot in the Letter From My Future Self AU, but he keeps moving forward! Carl strikes a pose. (Cabin 11)

Fashion goes metaphysical as Carl takes a spin as the adorably tragic Leo (a.k.a. Spirit) from @wandering-ghost's Ghost of the Past AU! (Cabin 14)

Carl puts on some pink for @icequeenabby (and @bluefeather-tmnt)'s super cool OC Billie Hamato from Too Many Turtles! (cabin 9)

Time for Carl to take a walk on the wild side as Donju from the Good Genes, Thick Hides AU, the brainchild of cadoodledoodleydoo and languajix on the blog @clawsandpaws-creativearchive! (cabin 15)

Carl is rocking it as the awesome and very stylish Donnie from Starry TMNT by @just-another-tired-gay-artist! (Cabin 14)

@itzzaira's 2018 Mikey has been through a lot, so Carl bandages up his arms for this one, wishing Mikey good luck with healing up! (Cabin 10)

And last but not least, Carl makes another apocalyptic fashion choice as he takes on Mike from my Hold Every Memory AU! (An AU of Ghost in the Shell by Amevello Blue, which, as I always say, please check out if you haven't read it! Our buddy Carl is almost as big a fan as I am.) (Cabin 14, myself)

And with that, Carl changes back into his normal outfit to take a bow!

(And for anyone with an AU/OC character in here, enjoy your emojis! Use them wherever you'd like - discord, texting, etc! Have fun! If you would like anything tweaked let me know; I've kept all the original files and it's no problem at all to correct anything.)

@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion all cabins mentioned under the emojis, as well as in the tags below.

[lavendermunson]

can't help it if i wanna kiss you in the rain - steve harrington

summary based on this lovely anon! thank you for your request, I hope you like it.

tags best friends to lovers. mutual pinning. mentions of weed. Eddie been Eddie and Erica being Erica. season 4. mention of starcourt but nothing else related to the upside down happens. slight use of y/n, sorry. a little bit of angst and then pure fluff. if i missed anything please tell me.

w.c 2.4k

You are so upset.

You couldn’t fall asleep on the plane. They only had snacks with nuts on them. The juice boxes were gone.

You just want to avoid everyone, specifically Steve. 

He didn’t answer your letters for over two weeks, he stopped calling you every night to tell you all about his day and you… you were so upset you couldn’t enjoy the warm welcome your friends had prepared for you.

Life after the Starcourt incident wasn’t easy. Moving away from all the things, from all the people you love, it was destroying you. Jonathan found friends, Will and El do stuff without you all the time. You missed home, you missed your friends, your best friend.

The ride to Steve’s house is short, unfortunately. As Nancy gets out of the car to grab his boyfriend’s hand, Will, El, and Mike make sure to greet Dustin and Lucas at the door. Robin runs to you and hugs you, a warm big smile forms on your lips, she knows something is wrong from the moment your body stays still for a couple of seconds before hugging her back.

“You okay?” she asks, you can’t lie to her but you can’t rant about Steve and how upset you are because it would ruin everyone’s day. Half of the group came back all the way from California.

“I’m okay, Robs. Don’t worry” You take a step back, not dropping your hands from the sides of her arms and squeezing them. “You, young lady, you need to tell me all about Vickie”

She laughs, her cheeks light pink as the color of your skirt. You can’t stop a giggle from coming out of your lips, but as soon as you see him… your body goes stiff again and Robin rushes inside the house to get a drink before spilling everything about her crush.

But there he is. His gray almost blue polo shirt hugs his chest flawlessly. The last two buttons remain unbuttoned and the best friend chain you share with him shows up, resting on his hairy chest that moves up and down as he breathes. His hair, amazing as it is, has a life of itself and it’s beaming as well as his face. You are sure he is wearing the tightest jeans ever but you fight everything in yourself not to look down, as you fight with the same strength and keep your arms to yourself.

He whispers, "Hi" and locks his gaze on you, asking for a hug.

“Hey,” you say, not moving an inch and he finds it odd. Before you moved away you loved his hugs, his arms around you embracing you while your face rested on his chest, so close to his neck that your nose used to catch the scent of his cologne and a hint of cigarettes. Your hips will bump with his and- NO, STOP STOP.

“Are you okay? You look-”

He tries to speak with the same calm as always but it’s impossible. He feels something is different and he can’t wrap his head around it. You interrupt him, bumping your shoulder into his arm and running upstairs mumbling the dumbest excuse ever. 

“I- I need to, uhm, go to the bathroom” 

Steve doesn’t say anything. He figures you need some space or you are tired from the flight. He reunites with the others in the kitchen and gets introduced to Argyle who is talking to Eddie about something. 

He watches you come back, you are holding your best friend's necklace with your fingers, you usually do that when you are nervous. Steve's eyes focus on you and you turn around, going straight to the living room where the others are. Panic settles over his chest and no one seems to notice. 

Eddie is quick to hit his shoulder slightly with his palm and nods to the living room, telling Steve to join the others.

–

The living room is filled with voices and chuckles. You talk to everyone about your new school, your new house. Everyone pays attention to all the California Shenanigans.

Steve is focused on you, with a frown on his face and yes, you’ve noticed. It took you possibly five minutes to feel his confused gaze over you, but you decided to ignore it. You ignore him as he ignored you when you were away. You keep talking to Erica about her winning the campaign and Eddie joins the conversation making Steve… jealous.

“Guys! Guys. You all talk like you haven’t seen each other in ten years, I get it, but I still need to meet the rest of you!” A high Argyle speaks up, earning everyone’s attention “Can we just have a quick chat?”

“There is something we have to do outside, but you guys chat!” Dustin says as every single one of the kids follows him except Erica.

“Erica, let the grown-ups talk”

A choir of “boos” and “we are not that old” makes Lucas jump, he rolls his eyes and goes out joining his friends in the backyard.

“What? They are going to do a nerdy thing I'm not interested in” Erica replies, looking at everyone in the room.

“Erica, you play dragons and… what is it? castles?” Argyle says.

“Dungeons and dragons, man!” Eddie corrects him and hits him with his elbow. They quickly became friends and it’s hilarious to see them interact.

“You guys are soooo high,” you say. Eddie, who remains by your side, quickly bumps his knuckle softly against your chin, earning a giggle from you.

“What? Do you want a joint, sweetheart? He teases, and you roll your eyes.

“She’s not into that” Steve scoffs, peeking at the interaction that has his head hurting for quite a while now.

“What? She totally is. Bro, remember that time when you got so high you poured your milkshake on Jonathan and Ms. Byers thought he threw up on himself?” Argyle’s confession takes you by surprise, Jonathan laughs remembering and describing the incident to everyone. 

The room fills with chuckles one more time. Steve feels a knot in his throat and you try to keep your face away from him.

“I had to tell my mom she tripped, it was a fun day actually,” the older Byers says.

“That reminds me, one time Steve had a date and I accidentally spilled my jar of fresh cherry jam on him. He spent the rest of the shift with his legs wrapped in a towel while his jeans were drying up!” Robin tells the funny story and that’s when you look at Steve. 

Your mind starts wandering. He had a date, maybe he had a girlfriend already and that’s why he was so busy.

“Was that the same girl I saw you with at the movie theater?” Nancy asks.

“Nope, that was Heather and the other one was Heidi” Robin answers, Steve looks away from you, embarrassed. 

Jealousy starts to get its way through your head. Your breath quickens and you start to get more furious.

“And what happened with Linda?” Nancy asks again.

“Can you guys just drop it?” Steve starts to get annoyed. “We just kissed, that is all”

“Fuck this” you mumble, the only one hearing you is Eddie.

“Woah, are you okay? Eddie notices your face, red with anger and your eyes glassy.

“Can everyone just stop asking if I’m fucking okay?”

Your voice shakes and you storm out of the room. The rest watches you go and Steve panics, but doesn’t move.

“Are you stupid?” Erica speaks, making Steve wake up as she is talking to him.

“What?”

“Oh please, you love that girl and you idiots had to mention all of his dates. She is clearly jealous, even I can see it”

“Erica!” Steve raises his voice but she doesn’t get upset.

“Just the facts! Don’t be a moron Steve”

And that’s what it took. An 11-year-old shit-talking to Steve for him to realize he had to fix this.

He gets up and before he opens the door, Robin grabs his hand stopping him.

“Don’t- don’t lie to her and do not try to push her away” She squeezes his hand before dropping it. “You’ve been miserable without her, don’t make another mistake"

Steve nods, opening the door, and walks to the street to find you, you are walking as quickly as possible but the cold rain slows you down as you hug yourself and walk.

Alone. Annoyed. Jealous. Furious.

“Y/n! Please come back”

An agitated voice makes your ears ring. It’s him, his voice was so recognizable that it was impossible to ignore it. You turn around, making an effort to not run toward him and cry for him, begging him to love you.

You’ve never cried over a boy because you’ve always been in love with your best friend, Steve.

“Please just listen” he begs, the rain starts to calm down as if the sky knows something is about to happen.

“What do you want?”

“I want to talk to you! You have been avoiding me all day and it’s making me crazy. I’m sorry you had to hear all of that” he slurs his words as he tries to ease his breath.

"Are you only apologizing for having dates?"

“No, no. I know ignoring you was wrong, I know trying to push you away was so shitty of me”

You keep your arms crossed against your chest. You keep shivering from the cold of the rain. Your clothes are all soaked and sticky.

“And?”

“And? I’m sorry, I'm sorry. But you didn’t have to act like such a jerk to me, not when I haven't seen you for so long. You know you can talk to me!”

“It’s all good, I wish you would talk to me too but it's too late. Bye now"

“Wait, wait”

“What do you want, Steve?” you shake your head. “Please, enlighten me. What is it? I want to go home. I want to get out of these clothes and curl up in my bed. Just leave me alone alright”

“You are unbelievable”

“What?”

“You know the phone works both ways right?”

“I didn’t need the phone. I sent you a bunch of letters you didn’t read. Sorry to bother you with all of that you couldn’t even open one”

“I read all of them. I'm sorry i didn't reply to them... but now I know you are hiding a lot of things. Tell me, was one of your letters going to mention you smoke weed and hang around god-knows-where while you are high?”

“Oh my god, Steve. That was one time” you sigh. You couldn’t believe he was telling you all of this as if you did something wrong “You were the one ignoring me, remember? Being too busy with girls you couldn’t pick up the phone, what were you doing, Steve? 

“They were just dates, nothing happened! I would’ve told you if… I don’t know”

“Well, I had a date too,” you say. It’s not a lie, you did have a date with some guy named Dave, it didn’t go well because let’s be honest he wasn’t Steve. “And I would’ve told you too but it looked like you didn't care”

“You had a date? So you have a boyfriend now or what?” he asks, his fists clenching. His knuckles are white, and his face glows red.

“Why are you getting so upset about it?” you notice a shift in his voice, he looks too angry for some weird reason.

“You have a boyfriend”

“I don’t have a boyfriend. And if I had one, why do you care? You are the one going on hundreds of dates” A laugh comes out of your lips, but your heart is aching.

“Because the dates were a distraction! A distraction that didn't work because no one is... no one is as perfect and beautiful as you, and it kills me, you know?” 

You get confused, he starts to get closer. Your tears start to mix with the drops of rain, your sight becomes blurry.

“I like you! Fuck, I love you!” he speaks, defeated and with a hand over his chest, right over his heart. “I have loved you since I met you, I’m sorry I was such a jerk for hiding it but I thought you deserved someone so much better than me and I didn’t-” 

He gets cut off by your lips on his. It was everything he needed, he is everything you wanted. The kiss is short but it’s filled with all the pent-up emotions, all the years of waiting, all the lingering hugs and him “casually” always keeping a hand over you.

His lips are soft, he gets a taste of your strawberry chapstick and smiles over your bottom lip. You wrap your arms around his neck, pushing your bodies together.

“I like… I love you too, Steve” you say, his eyes focused on your lips as his hands rest on your waist. “I was hiding it too, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry we had to fight and, I-”

“It’s fine” he whispers, the drops of rain make his hair fall to his forehead, you are quick to brush it away from his face with your fingers, and he doesn’t mind.

“It’s not, we could’ve sorted this out sooner but I was scared– scared that if I told you, you were going to reject me”

“I thought you were going to reject me. Dreaming about you with me every night was better than thinking about losing you, so I was hiding it” he brushes his nose against yours. “But I don't have to hide it anymore. I love you. You love me. God, please tell me you are not joking”

“I’m not joking, Stevie. I love you”

His favorite nickname makes an appearance, he smiles as it’s been a long time since he hasn't heard it.

 “I love you too, baby”

The new pet name makes your heart flutter and he wants to kiss you again, but the rain doesn’t seem to stop and you are both shivering.

“Let’s get in before you catch a cold,” he says, taking your hand and intertwining his fingers with yours. You walk with him back to his house, your body immediately feels calmer as you get closer to him and hug him. 

“I missed you”

“I missed you too, don’t you dare think i’m letting you leave my house today”

“Wasn’t planning on it”

He grins, you giggle. The girl of his dreams is finally with him, nothing could ruin his mood since that day.

feedback is appreciated don't forget to REBLOG TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR! you can request something like this and I'd be happy to write it. ♡

[mistletouchunderthetree]

like you've known me | rated T | word count ~25k

a @steddiebang fic coming february 29

featuring art by sharkscouts and @vesperalhemlock

Summary:

When the only way to beat the Upside Down is to erase it (and the last three years) from time, Steve Harrington is transported right back to the Fall of his junior year. His biggest problem? Everyone who had died in the last three years fighting inter-dimensional evils has no memory of the events. Suddenly, Steve finds himself with Tommy and Carol at his side and sitting mere feet away from Robin in class, and she has no idea who he is except the douchebag with the good hair that Tammy Thompson has a crush on.

With a little help from Nancy, Jonathan, Dustin, Lucas, and El, Steve will learn to navigate his life, The Right Way, this time. Which friends he wants to keep, who he wants to spend his time with, and if he wants to take notes in class this time around. If that means sometimes he needs a little weed to take the edge of stress off? Well, it's a good thing he knows a good dealer.

As things finally fall into place and Steve begins to re-form the most important relationship in his life, he thinks anything strange is over. Then, Robin starts mentioning weird dreams about ice cream and torture, and Max Mayfield shows up from California with an angry step-brother and a lot of questions. Maybe those memories aren't erased, after all.

Pairings: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Lucas Sinclair Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Eleven, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Tommy Hagan, Carol Perkins, Max Mayfield, Billy Hargrove Tags: Romance, Angst, Friends to Lovers, AU: Time Travel to Pre-Season 1, Post-Season 4, Impermanent Major Character Death, Fix-it, Falling In Love, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Gay Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington-Centric, First Kiss, Drug Use (Marijuana), Steve Harrington VS Junior Year (Again)

Excerpt (cont. under the cut):

It had been a few weeks in the new timeline when Steve jumped at the sound of the phone ringing through the empty house. He frowned, setting down his fork and walking to the phone. It was Wednesday, Steve was sure of it, and Dustin’s calls always came on Thursdays, so who the hell would be calling?

“Hello?”

“Hi, Steve.” Nancy’s voice was soft and sweet and surprising.

“Oh. Uh, hey, Nance, what’s up?” He asked, heart suddenly starting to race – not because he had feelings for Nancy but because if Nancy was calling then something was wrong. Had something happened? Had their plan not –

“Listen, I don’t have too much time, Mom’s making dinner and I just finished up my homework, but I really wanted to call you,” Nancy said. She wouldn’t start out so calm if something was happening, right? So this was just a social call?

“Um. Why?” He asked, then winced. Since when did he forget how to have a conversation?

He could hear Nancy’s sigh through the phone. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you at school lately, and –“

“Okay, creep,” he joked, lips curling at the corners when Nancy laughed.

“Shut up, I just mean I’ve – Look, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. And like I said, I’ve been watching you in the halls and stuff, and I know you’re eating lunch in the library because Tommy told everyone in the cafeteria one day –“

He what?

“- and I know the whole thing with Robin is hard for you but…”

“But what?” He prompted when she trailed off.

“But you’re moping, Steve. You’re moping all over school, and probably all over your house.”

“I – wha- I mean, that’s not true,” Steve said, frowning.

“Steve, we beat the bad guys and everybody is fine. Everybody’s alive! And you’re moping.”

“Okay, now this just feels like you’re being mean.”

“I’m not trying to be mean, I’m trying to – “ She cut herself off with a frustrated groan. “Do you even know how El is doing?”

“I – what? Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s okay, Steve, but also, no, she’s not okay, because Hopper is still trying to find Owens since he’s the one that will probably know best if it’s safe for Jane Hopper to suddenly show up in Hawkins and enroll in school. So, she spends her days alone, but everyone always goes to visit her, every Saturday, at the cabin. Everyone except you.”

Steve felt tears prick behind his eyes. “I didn’t know.”

“Yes, you did,” Nancy said, sounding tired. “Dustin said he asked you to come that first weekend, and you said no, so he didn’t ask you again.”

“I don’t – I don’t remember that,” he admitted, feeling dreadful disappointment spread through his veins. “Nancy, I hardly – that first week was –“

“But it wasn’t just the first week, Steve. We’re all trying to get back to our lives but you’re just going through the motions. Even Dustin knows something’s wrong.”

“What? I talk to Dustin every week!”

“Lucas wanted to invite you to the park to play basketball and Dustin told him you probably still weren’t ready.”

Steve’s jaw dropped.

“Dustin knows you, in this timeline probably better than anyone, and he knows something’s wrong but he’s still just a kid, Steve, he doesn’t know how to deal with this.”

“Did Dustin ask you to call me?”

“No, this was my idea,” Nancy said. “I’m just a kid, too, Steve. I don’t know what to do to fix it but I want to help you, and so does Jonathan.”

“Jonathan wants to help me?” He asked, incredulous.

Nancy chuckled. “Honestly, I was as surprised as you are. But he does because despite everything, he cares about you. We all care about you, and it’s way too easy for you to hole up in your house and ignore everyone at school and… mope.”

“I don’t think I like that word anymore,” Steve said, even though it was true. His stomach twisted in knots at the sudden guilt he felt.

“Well I didn’t think you’d like it very much if I accused you of being depressed,” Nancy stated boldly, and Steve winced. “Just meet me and Jonathan at that picnic table outside of school tomorrow morning, okay? Like, twenty minutes before first bell. Can you do that?”

Steve swallowed thickly and fought every instinct in him that wanted to say no.

“Yeah, Nance. I can do that.”

Steve woke with a sense of dread hanging over him. He really didn’t want to show up just for Nancy and Jonathan to chew him out for how selfish he’d been (he could beat himself up for that without their help). But he got in his car twenty-five minutes earlier than he usually would, just to make sure he wouldn’t be late, and laughed to himself when he got to the school. He pulled into the empty spot next to Jonathan’s car. Apparently, they had the same idea.

Steve got out of his car and shouldered his backpack. He looked around; there were a few people milling about, and more cars pulling into the lot than he expected this early.

“Do people always get to school this early?” He asked by way of introduction.

Jonathan laughed and walked over to him. Nancy stepped up behind him and gave him a pointed look. “I think you’ll find that you’re just always late.”

“Yeah, okay,” he conceded. “So, uh… Picnic table?” He suggested, already feeling the stares of their classmates from around them.

Nancy and Jonathan agreed and they made the walk together, quietly taking in each other’s presence. Nancy was in between the two boys but it wasn’t as awkward as Steve expected it to be.

Maybe he really was over Nancy Wheeler, after all.

He choked on a laugh when the picnic table came into view, and they were sighted almost immediately.

“Oh,” Eddie Munson said, grabbing his metal lunchbox and dropping it near his feet. Steve snorted. Eddie huffed. “What?”

“As if we don’t know what’s in your damn lunchbox, Munson,” he said, finding himself immediately falling back into the banter he’d developed with Eddie before –

“I don’t really know what’s going on here,” Eddie admitted with an awkward, nervous laugh. “You three might be the weirdest combination of buyers I’ve ever gotten.”

“Oh, we’re not –“ Nancy started, but Steve interrupted.

“I am,” he said, ignoring the looks from Nancy and Jonathan. He pulled out his wallet and made eye contact with Eddie. “I’ll –“ He paused, unsure of what to say. He’d never done this himself before. “I’ll take some weed. Uh – a joint? Uh. How much?”

Eddie looked at him with a furrowed brow and a frown on his lips. “Are you wearing a wire?”

Steve snorted a laugh. “Dude. What kind of operation do you think is being run in Nowhere fucking Indiana where a 17-year-old is wearing a wire for a drug bust on your tiny fucking lunchkit –“

“Okay! Okay,” Eddie conceded with a barely concealed laugh. Jonathan was openly laughing behind him, and Steve recognized the amused look on Nancy’s face.

Steve sighed when Eddie just kept looking at him like he didn’t believe him. “I’m being serious. If I’m not gonna have a social life anymore at least let me be high for it.”

“Amen,” Jonathan said quietly, and Steve choked down his laugh.

Finally, after a few more moments of silence where Eddie stared at his face, seemingly deciding whether or not to trust him, Eddie sighed and picked up his lunchbox. Steve let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

“I’ll sell you a gram for twenty-five bucks. Do you want pre-rolled, or…” Eddie trailed off.

“Uh,” Steve said, unsure. “Yeah, that’ll probably be easier.”

Eddie opened his lunchbox and got to work rolling the joint. “Usually, it’s your friends I sell to,” he said conversationally.

“Not my friends,” Steve corrected, then awkwardly added, “I don’t have any of those.”

“We’re your friends, Steve,” Nancy said, and Steve could hear the pity that coated her voice.

“Didn’t you, like, dump him for him?” Eddie asked her, pointing first and Steve, then at Jonathan. Nancy huffed, took a breath to begin talking but Steve cut her off before she could begin.

"That's not what happened. Tommy and Carol told everyone that because they're pissed off that I don't wanna hang out with them anymore. Me and Nance are fine. Me and Jonathan are fine. Look. I know you're overcharging me so badly right now but I don't care enough to fight you on it. Can you please just sell me the weed?"

Eddie frowned. “Fifteen.”

Steve looked at him incredulously.

"What can I say? You guilt tripped me and I'm a sucker.” Eddie held out the joint. “Just. Take it."

"Thanks, Munson." Steve said, taking it and stuffing it in a zipper inside his backpack.

Eddie closed and shut his lunchbox, then stepped away from the table and gave a little bow. "King Steve."

"Just Steve."

Eddie looked at him through calculating eyes. "Just Steve, then."

The three of them waited until Eddie was far enough away before taking seats at the table.

Nancy started after a short awkward beat. "Look, start hanging out with us at school. I have mutual friends with Robin, somehow we'll get it through her head that you aren't a bad guy and then it's just a matter of winning her over again -"

"It really isn't like that; I’ve told you a million times, she's my best friend.” Steve said. “And I already just started fucking crying in front of her, I think the ship has sailed."

"Don’t say that, man," Jonathan said. "Just… give it time. Let the school get used to the new you. Maybe you can figure out if she's got a job and apply wherever she works and do whatever you did at Starcourt to make her like you."

Steve sighed. He already knew where Robin worked; she'd told him about the job she had before Scoops. "She's working at a hair salon as a receptionist right now."

"Sorry, they let Robin be in charge of answering phones and setting up appointments?" Nancy asked with an incredulous giggle.

"She doesn't last long," Steve admitted with a little laugh.

The bell rang, interrupting them and signaling the start of another day. Steve sighed to himself and stood, following Nancy and Jonathan into the school. At least he had somewhere to sit at lunch now.

And the chance to get high tonight.

[spicybylerpolls]

Hi! So this isn't exactly spicy, but I think it would be controversial, so I'm asking it here.

So I was thinking about writing a fic. In it, Vecna abducts Will and takes him into his mindscape, but instead of treating him poorly or torturing him, he treats Will well, and he doesn’t understand why until he learns the food he had been given was drugged. When he wakes up after passing out, he feels weird and sick, but Will manages to escape back into his body. However, after he becomes dangerously ill, he's taken to the ER, where they find several human embryos implanted in his intestines (placed there by Henry, who has the fantasy of Will ruling at his side and thinks that they can make a new race of superpowered beings, and as Will has powers and is already connected to the Upside Down, Vecna chose Will as his incubator and used his DNA to create them as well). However, because he is the first biological male to experience a 'pregnancy' (used loosely. Not only should the embryos be scientifically impossible, but he’s unable to actually give birth to them), they can’t provide an abortion because of the lack of knowledge on how, and he’s basically placed on bedrest and monitored until the embryos are far enough along that the hospital can surgically remove them without them dying. As they can’t give the children up due to the fact that they have powers and are supernatural, the Byers start to raise them, and though Joyce falls in love with the babies, Will despises them. Meanwhile, the Byers have been presenting the children as Joyce's, but the Party (and especially Mike) have questions. Specifically, why does Will hate his baby 'siblings' with every bone in his body, and why do they have Will’s eyes?

And then there's a ton of Byler and hurt/comfort and everybody trying and failing to get Will out of his depression and rage and have him bond with the babies instead.

So like. I've talked about this to a few people on here, and they all think it's batshit, but I think it would be really interesting. Do you think anyone would be interested in this?

-🏴‍☠️

Please note that the purpose of this blog is not to be creepy or to make anyone uncomfortable. That's why I created the #spicy byler tag (I will tag all polls with this). If you don't want to see this blog or anything related to it on your feed, please block that tag. Not everyone is comfortable with this sorta stuff, and that's okay.

[will80sbyers]

ppl here are stressed or worried about mike's sexuality meanwhile I am more worried about other things. at the end of the day, mike's sexuality could just stay as 'unlabelled', he'd just be portrayed as 'queer' overall and it'd be fine in itself.

but there's other topics that i am worried about;

1- max's coma situation, she's now portrayed as brain dead. and i worry abt how its gonna handled. maybe an unpopular opinion, but i wouldn't like it if max is brought back and then is completely healed without having permanent damage on her body. it's a hard topic to be addressed and I'm worried how it's gonna appear.

2- lucas and erica's storylines, some scenes in S4 were too much triggering, but i have little to no hope that they will be addressed. and i am not sure if the writers learned or realized the writing in that and how it came off as... so idk.

3- dustin's whole eddie grief situation. i get that the duffers intended to give dustin a more personal loss and depression/grief, but i wouldn't want it to be dustin's whole story arc or a major story focus for him.

4- will's whole character, he has too much under addressed issues from s1 due to his upside down experiences, or his possession (which was f-ed up), his internalized homophobia, overall i am not sure how they're gonna deal with all of that esp his supernatural plot.

5- i wouldnt want jncy to be underwhelming, but i am not sure if the duffers are gonna continue teasing stncy or not. i think it is very reductive to jon and nancy's characters and relationship, as well as unnecessary to steve's own character.

I don't care too tbh I am just saying what I think is happening when I talk about Mike being bi, I'm not saying it because I like it more, it's just how I interpreted stuff in the show but he could be gay too and I would be happy if he ends up with Will and is happy at the end of the show and I'm repeating this same thing since day one... the only annoying thing to me is constantly having people tell me that I'm making drama just because I'm sharing an opinion or a theory about bi Mike... the tag is for ALL of us not only gay mike believers 😅

For the rest of the stuff

1) I think maybe Max is not going to be able to walk anymore or she could be blind to one eye, I don't think she will be completely healed but I think she will come back to Lucas!

2) sadly I agree with you on this, I'm not sure they will handle Lucas and Erica as well as they should... I can only hope they have listened to the feedback online, they are usually open to criticism and they are open to listen to the input of others so I hope they will do the same for this matter

3) I think Dustin is going to want revenge for Eddie, maybe? I'm not sure but I think they have to focus on that because what Dustin lived through marked him forever sadly :(

4) I have faith they will deal with that in a good way because they are building Will's character arc since before season 1 even started!

5) I personally right now think Jonathan is probably dying in s5 so Idk what to think about Nancy's finale... I think jancy is going to end in tragedy but I really hope not and I hope that even if jancy doesn't happen she just focuses on her career after and not Steve...

@cluelessbees told me a nice idea about Steve's arc for s5, basically the ides is that he's going to focus on his platonic relationships next season and be a support for Dustin's arc and Robin's and maybe he's going to feel guilty because if he went with Max instead of going with Nancy (because he likes her) maybe things would be different now, if he had accepted being the babysitter maybe Max wouldn't be in a coma?

[shieldofiron]

Wait there are less than 100 Munver fics??? This is just inspiring me more but I can't think of like an actual plot. Are there any like prompts or head cannons of yours that you could share?

Ok HELLOOOOOO YES. It’s creeping towards 100 but it’s less than, and a lot of them are not actually munver, but it’s a side pairing or past relationship that’s tagged. Anyway, on to the fun prompts and HC, stuff I’ve messed around talking about on discord or whatever but haven’t fleshed out.

1. They connect over music. Jason’s spent years singing in the church choir and playing in the church band and he finds Eddie’s music baroque and cool once they actually start talking about it. Maybe they’re both music majors in college who could say.

2. Obviously there’s so much you can do with Rockstar Eddie. Maybe Jason gets hired as his sobriety coach. Maybe bodyguard Jason, which feels very apt. Or maybe Jason is recording a Christian album and Eddie gets brought on as a studio musician (cue recording booth sex.)

3. Once Jason is out of the closet he is OUT. You think this loudmouth is hiding once he admits it? No way. I fully think he gives speeches at pride and volunteers with youth fleeing religious homes, probably partially out of guilt. Imagine Eddie wanting to take on some volunteer work and he walks in to find Jason fucking Carver is the head of the org.

4. Whether you like catholic Jason or Protestant Jason, nothing could be better than a boarding school au. Maybe Eddie gets sent there for misbehavior or he’s in on a music scholarship? Maybe Jason is head boy, because of course he is.

5. Classic Bully to lover sneaking around secret relationship. It’s just so them. Bully in the streets, shaking religious trauma in the sheets.

6. They’re such an odd couple but they have all these similarities. They’re both leaders in their own way. They both crave attention, though Jason seems to crave it for a very different reason than Eddie. I could see a debate club au, maybe Eddie’s there for extra credit and Jason is annoyed at how good he is. If I knew more about debate clubs I would so write this.

7. I touched on this in my other fic Serrated, but Lucas is sort of the odd man out in the party, in that he doesn’t have a teen or parent who’s really “his” and protective of him. Dustin has Steve, Mike has Nancy, El has Hopper or Joyce, Max had Billy. But I could see a better universe where Jason is brought into the party shenanigans and is actually Lucas’s guy. And maybe confronts his own racial prejudice and racism, helps Eddie, and protects Max and Lucas at the end.

8. I also think it’s just funny to put them in wacky scenarios like the upside down turns them both into frogs and they have to work together to de-frog. Neither of them are princes but it would be funny.

[shroomvie]

Stranger things fic idea:

Honestly I just wanna read something like this -

In season 2, down in the tunnels, Mike got sprayed in the face by one of those weird looking plant things, a few months later he runs into the bully guy, Troy, in town. Troy takes him into some kind of alley and beats him up a bit and Mike doesn't do anything, you wanna know why? He doesn't feel it, he registers the force of the hit and can tell that there's alot of force put into the punches but he doesn't feel it.

Once he gets home he checks himself over, his body doesn't ache at all, there's no bruising or bleeding or anything, he seems completely fine. So he goes downstairs into the kitchen and tests it, he slices his own hand. Blood wells up almost immediately but he watches in awe as the wound closes right in front of him immediately, he's practically indestructible. Mike's first instinct is to keep it to himself, he never let's himself get injured badly directly in front of others and since he doesn't feel the pain of getting beat up he tends to stick up for the smaller kids at school by confronting bullies after class and bad mouthing them while no one's around.

Slowly but surely he gains himself a reputation, but of course since he's keeping his indestructibility to himself he tells his friends none of this and they're all confused as to how everyone suddenly knows him and where all the rumors came from. Eventually time flies and we're at season 3, like Will he has some kind of sixth sense for the upside down, that's why whenever Will feels something Mike immediately knows. (I'm ignoring all the relationship shit rn cause idc about ships)

Things progress and at some point Mike sees Billy, the moment he sees him he knows something was wrong but brushed it off as him being paranoid cause of all the shit that happened in Season 2. When it comes to that scene at the pool where they confront Billy, they both stop and stare at eachother, the others watching on confused as Billy begins to yell about Mike being a traitor and how they were one in the same, ofc everyone doesn't really trust Mike after that since he doesn't talk after that and focuses on getting Billy into the sauna.

This is as far as I've gotten, basically indestructible!Mike, kinda an au of Mike getting powers from the upside down. That's the basic summary but if you wanna write this stuff then just tell me amd tag me then it's all yours.

[demadogs]

can you share your first kiss vision

GLADLY!!! also this is more just a fun concept to think about than a genuine prediction. this got kinda fanficy ngl.

so i envision it mid s5 pretty well into whatever danger will is in and mike and el are completely broken up. in this scenario its more of a thing like max where hes still himself just in danger of being tranced or something like that rather than s2 when he was possessed. (tho i dont think his danger will be the same as max���s. i think he has a deeper connection to vecna that will lead to a completely different kinda danger than what max was in.) anyways, the gang is all together and will is always being monitored whenever hes not in immediate danger just in case, similar to max. like 24/7 even when they sleep.

usually jonathan has this role but something else requires his attention so mike volunteers to keep an eye on will one night. they share a bed bc this is my vision and i make the rules and of course im only giving them one bed. as theyre getting ready to sleep mike seems visibly anxious and will asks whats wrong and mike just tells him that hes scared for him. i imagine this is the night before some big plan to defeat everything and mikes scared it wont work.

ive had this vision in my head for a while of them both in a quiet bedroom at night sitting on a bed and mikes talking about how ever since he went missing hes had such a fear of losing will for good and mikes silently crying. mike tells him “i saw your body. did anybody ever tell you that? when they lifted the fake body out of the water at the query, i was there. we were all there.” will didnt know this. mike tells him that the party rarely talks about all the upside down stuff when theres no danger present but they all have ptsd and nightmares. he tells him that their nightmares are about demogorgans and demodogs or the mindflayer or being shot at but mikes… mikes nightmares are just reliving the moment they lifted wills body out of the water.

mike tells him how the day he thought he was dead was the worst day of his life and how when he got him back he never wanted to let him go but then when the mindflayer got him he was so terrified of losing him again and he just has this terribly feeling that this time hes gonna be taken from him for good.

theyre both crying and will hugs mike super tight. a REAL HUG WITH EMOTION AND TEARS!!!! mike tells him “i cant lose you” and will says “im not going anywhere”.

eventually mike pulls away from the hug a bit but is still holding him. he rests his forehead on wills and stays there. will brings his hands up to his face and wipes his tears with his thumbs and leaves his hands there. mikes looking at his lips and its obvious that hes thinking about kissing him but hes not doing it because hes scared of risking their friendship and losing will in a different way.

then i love the idea of will knowing that mike wants to kiss him and he just nods and whispers “do it” and then mike kisses him.

mike pulls away but still leaves his face really close to his and hes kinda mentally freaking out and we can tell but will just smiles so big cuz hes so fricken happy and that instantly calms mike down and he kisses him again.

isnt my imagination great. someone send this to the duffers.

if someone wants to write this into an actual fic go nuts but plz tag me in it and credit me in the notes on ao3.

[honkhonkrichard]

Theory: Stanley Uris was Murdered.

Tagging @vvanini I hope you can follow this okay it’s very word vomity lol

Okay So TW because this post will touch on Stan's death ad the methods behind it

I propose that Stan Uris was murdered. by IT. In his home on that fateful night. I think that Stan posed the biggest threat to IT and therefore IT felt the need to take him out before the battle even started.

Allow me to explain.

Okay, so, I need to lay out some basic "rules" or "facts" before I make my case. They are as follows.

- IT planted it's roots in Derry, and finds it difficult to leave, but still can at it’s own wil.  If you read the book (I honestly don't blame you if you haven't) You'd know that once the Losers kill IT for the final time, Derry (the Physical town) is obliterated. Buildings explode, sinkholes appear, things are flooded. The town is in ruins by the time that the Losers leave the sewers. The movies don't adapt this so If this is news to you thats fine. the bottom line is that destroying IT destroys Derry, like ripping a tree out of the ground with all it's roots. Because of this, we can make the claim that while it can Leave Derry (as it does every 27 years) it probably takes tremandous amount of power to do so, which is why IT only goes when the cycle is over. Why does this matter? Well, what if IT left Derry to get to Stan? The murders had stopped for about a week when they're all in the Jade of the Orient. Plenty of time for IT to cross from Maine to Georgia. Side Note: We KNOW IT leaevs Maine to elsewhere in the world because of King's extended universe all interconnecting. it's not far off at all to make the claim that IT is the same evil that haunts, say The Shining's Overlook Hotel, which is in Colarado.

- IT is omnipresent This is also a given, IT lives everywhere, and can fuck with time and space in godlike (or maybe eldritch like) ways. in IT: Chapter Two, when Mike claims "IT Doesn't know I know what I know" he's unfortunately wrong, because we know that IT can be in A) Multiple places at once, B) can manipulate anything on the drop of a hat (See: Stan being teleported away from everyone else in Chapter One, Everything about Neibolt, etc) and C) Knows everyone's deep fears. This is further proven by IT Saying things like "Beep Beep Richie" (although this is Horribly Horribly executed in the films, ugh.) and so on and so forth. On top of all of this, We can make the claim that IT can exist outside of Time as well, given that IT is immortal. SO, what's stopping IT from Knowing Mike was going to call them all back (Espically considering that IT TOLD Mike to do this?). Even if we keep IT's omnipresence to the location that IT inhabits (in this case Derry) IT would still have knowledge of where the losers are through Mike. And if you take the Lucky Seven/Chosen Seven route (oh my god I got theories on that too) you could argue IT knows where they are inherently due to their cosmic status.

- Stan is the "most Powerful" loser So, obviously all the Loser's are powerful, espically considering they're the ones who Defeat IT (Again going on to the Lucky/Chosen Seven theory). This next claim is going to be less focused on what the 2019/2017 Movies do because they are Bad Movies and that's a whole other rant. However, in the book, Stan is (to my knowledge feel free to correct me on any of this) the only loser to Actively ward off and 'defeat' IT on his own without running away. He uses his belief in this what is Real (birds) to ward off what is "not real" (IT). The other losers do manage to take down IT in their own Right, but Stan is ultimately the one to Really get IT. This is because Stan's character revolves around Belief and Willpower. These are, in some form or another, the ways to Defeat IT. the ritual of Chud is a battle of Wills. in the book, Bill takes IT down and Eddie does the final blow. In the Remake (ugh) the losers can defeat it Technically using the belief that IT isn't as powerful as it claims because IT's "just a clown" (Ihatethatfuckingendingsomuchugh). Stan being much more skeptical than the rest of the group in his ability to understand Reality vs IT's illusions is a powermove, and IT knows that ability doesn't go away as Stan grows up, but rather he gets more powerful. Stan is the Only loser out of the 6 who left that has any sort of knowledge about IT, where the other losers have nothing. Bev has nightmares, yes, but she still forgets them. We're told in his chapter (Chapter 3, Six Phone Calls (1985), Part One: Stanley Uris Takes a Bath) that he has some hazy knowledge of his place in the Lucky Seven, and even goes so far as to MENTION it sometimes, even if he doesn't quite remember or understand any of it, his knowledge of IT and Derry is worlds more prominent than that of the rest of the losers.

(page 52 of IT:  "Stanley, nothing's wrong with your life!"  "I don't mean from inside." he said. "From inside is fine. I'm talking about outside. Something that should be over and isn't. I wake up frmo these dreams and think, 'My whole pleasent life has been nothing but the eye of some storm I don't understand.' I'm afraid. But then it just... fades. The way dreams do." OR  page 45: He had been smiling a little. Now the smile faltered, and for a moment he seemed puzzled. His eyes had darkened, as if he looked inward, consulting some interior device which ticked and whirred correctly but which, ultimately he understood no more than the average man understands the workings of the watch on his wrist. "The turtle couldn't help us," he said suddenly. he said that quite clearly.)

So, Stan has some cosmic knowledge of IT and Maturin and his role in the battle against It. What does any of this have to do with his death? Well, let me point out some other things about Stan's death that always stuck out to me. - His death chapter is narrated by his wife, Patty, rather than himself. The other chapters - almost all the other chapters - are narrated by their respective Loser (the caviot for this is Ben, but Ben is also wasted out of his damn mind so its understandable.) - Stan's personality is few and far between in the book, but we know he has a weird little sense of humour and that he's incredibly logical. I think that this logical part of him would be able to understand that Suicide is Never Ever the answer, and that it would cause FAR more problems than it would solve. (the 2019 movie tries to reexplain his death and it's crap and i hate the letters i hate the letters so much im gonna explode) The other losers try to rationalize his death by saying "He would rather Die Clean than Live Dirty (Page 506, Chapter 10, The Reunion, part 3, 'Ben Hanscom Gets Skinny') but he had already BEEN Dirty when he defeated IT the first time, and I think he would've recognized that. - upon finding him, Patty (in her narration) notes that Stan's head is bent back over the edge of the bathtub, so from his sight she would have been upside down. If Stan DID kill himself, why would he be positioned like that? It's unnatural, like someone Posed him. - the cuts on his arms are two length wise cuts. I'm no expert but.. that's suspicious. That's weird. - IT is written in blood on the wall. Why? Why would Stan right THAT of all things? You know who DOES like to paint with blood? IT.

Alright, returning to my thesis statement, Stanley Uris was murdered. Do I think Stan genuinely was going to take a bath at 7pm (which we're told is weird for him)? Yes. I think that's absolutely a thing he could have done or planned to do. Do I think he slit his wrists and commited suicide so he wouldn't go back to Derry? No. Not even remotely.

Let me paint a New Picture.

It's May 28th, 2016, or 1985. Stanley Uris gets a call from Mike Hanlon. Stan is incredibly hesitant to go to, and says he needs time to think about it. Or tht he'll try. He can feel the starts of a Panic attack, and as he's remembering the circles of Hell he went through as a child, he tries to hold himself together. He doesn't want his darling wife to see his break, so he says "I think I'll take a bath" and nothing else before going upstairs. he hides in the bathroom. He closes and locks the door, because, well, he's panicking. Locking doors is one of The Small things he does. Is it usually the bathroom door? no, but still (OCD is a bitch, and even with medication, but this is a special case). He looks in the mirror and tries to breathe. This is fine. He can do this. They killed IT once before and they can do it again. He thinks about his younger self, the promises made, and how he could explain all of this Patty in time to catch a flight to Maine. It's terrifying, but if his friends are going to bite the dust, he wants to be there with them, wedding vows be Damned. Then he looks at his reflection again. A younger, rotted version of himself stares back at him. IT crawls through the mirror. Stan freaks out, obviously. This isn't real. This Can't be real. But IT utilizes this notion against him. It digs it's claws into his arms, and forces him to bleed out in the bathtub. IT then sets the scene nicely. Razorblades on the counter, a bloody signature on the wall, a horrible posture of Stan's neck. So on and So forth. and then IT returns to Derry. IT's a little weak, yeah, but Stan is dead. That's what matters. the Lucky Seven has now Officially broken, and the balance shifts in favour of the clown.

So that's the theory. feel free to correct me on anything or engage I have plenty of theories on this story and I like discussing this stuff :).

[lady-ashfade]

Thank you for being here! And for participating in this event. @fangirling-4-ever

Now who do I ship you with?..

..

…

..

Eddie! I just think you just would fit together because you both different. Also just thinking of your story it makes me fall in love with that ship.

You have been in the group since the beginning. You being the wheelers neighbor and they kids babysitter and you caught them sneaking out to go find will. And they made a good point so you wanted to help them and also keep them save so you went with them.

You helped el when Mike found her and become the “mom” of the group. Then Steve came along later and become your best friend and no you both didn’t have feelings for each other. Then Robin was added into the group and you guys where the three musketeers.

When the whole Vecna stuff happened you tagged along like you always do. When you meet Eddie you didn’t speak much to him or around him because it made you nervous. And boy we know Eddie likes to talk and once he saw you his little heart went up in flames. 

Eddie would follow you around when he could so he could talk to you, even if you barely talked back to him. He was trying so hard to get close to you and when he said something that made you laugh for the first time he got cocky. After you guys went into the upside down you become open and started to talk with him. And you showed him your sarcastic said and fun.

He asked you on a date in the middle of running away. “We should go on a date if we live” And you both did.

HC’s

Loves your style so much. Not just the black clothes but when you mix.

You constantly stealing from his closet, and his black leather jackets.

He literally stares with heart eyes when you rant about the your interested. Sometimes what you say goes over his head but he loves to hear you talk.

He buys you very small gifts all the time sometimes it’s just a rock or books.

He also has a shoe box with all the things you’ve given him.

Reading: He loves when you read out to him because he gets to hear your voice. Or if you have a good fantasy action book he will read it too.

Singing: You guys are always singing random songs at random times or driving in his van blasting some songs and screaming together. And if you are comfortable with it he likes when you sing to him before bed.

Journaling: He sometimes calls you his little  journalist, also buys you a really cool journal to keep track of things. But keep it well hidden when you’re away so he wouldn’t read it.

his hand always around your waist or shoulders at all times since I also see him as a touchy person.

[kingbabysitter]

steve rambles about s4 p1

here are my live thoughts through my first watch through; there will likely be more. spoilers (obviously), read at your own risk (also forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes, as i am writing this i am currently bouncing off of the walls because of this damn show)

GOD THIS SEASON!!! i know people are pretty divided on it, but i LOVED it so far. i’m a bit worried where it’s going to go during part 2 - namely with will and mike, jonathan and nancy, and i’m becoming so protective over dustin, max, lucas, (and erica!!) so far. i have to admit - as someone who never cries at movies/tv shows, this season got me choked up more than i’d like to admit, namely during max’s scene w/ vecna in the upside down, the battle against the demogorgon in russia, jopper reunion, and the possibility of nance getting hurt (i’m normal and i have normal thoughts). 

in terms of storyline, i was a bit confused why we didn’t see the cali gang at all after like. the middle of episode 6 or something. i hope we get to see them soon in part 2. i really liked the russia plot, i found that the beginning of the joyce/murray plot was a little boring but GOD as a dynamic they work really well together and i’m so glad that murray is a “main” character this season. i am loving robin as always - she was definitely written for gay band/theatre kids and it shows (good thing.) “i have a hard time with social cues,” oh robin the platonic (capital P!) love of my life and worst best friend ever. 

speaking of loves of my life, i LOVED the characterization and relationships this season. it was great to be back with nancy (although, i do NOT think it should be romantic), lucas and max made me sob, suzie’s siblings, especially eden, are hilarious and i loved that feeling of a chaotic house full of kids, argyle and jonathan are my two new favorite stoners, joyce and murray are unlikely best  friends!, and, of course, hopper and enzo being “friends” (as much as you can be in a prison where you cannot trust eachother) was really awesome to see too. 

wasn’t a big fan of jason’s gang/the basketball squad.. i think they were good to move the plot along and i think jason seeing patrick Die was an important aspect, but they were kind of just.. dropped after that? i’m not sure if they’re going to make an appearance in part 2 or if they’re mostly going to stay in the background.  i’m going to be 100% honest with you guys (sorry steddie fans) i did NOT like eddie in the beginning. i was worried he was just going to be some edgy stereotype that was kind of a shitbag to everyone but the fandom loved him anyway. now i can see he is just Mentally Ill and has been treated like SHIT by society. he reminds me a LOT of myself when i was younger, i resented anyone who was popular/rich/etc because i had been treated so poorly by them so i completely empathize with him on that front. i’m going to be honest i’m still not sure why he couldn’t move his game to another day; i’ve DMed before (and have been in a decent handful of campaigns) and as long as you have the prep time and plot [at least semi-]planned out (it seems like he does!) you usually don’t need a set date. i’m not saying his reaction wasn’t justified (and i love getting more erica screentime!!) but it just felt like the stakes weren’t as high as the basketball game. tl;dr - pre-chrissy death eddie i was ehh on, after-chrissy death eddie? i think he’s Neat. :-)

favorite duo this season (so far) HAS to be nancy and robin. i am so happy for nancy to have a good friend again after barb. they both deserve the WORLD

the twist with 001. OUGH. i got the fact that 001 was vecna spoiled to me, and during the beginning of the finale i started putting two and two together (who 001 was), so i knew what was going to happen to him (which sucks, by the way - i really wish i could’ve been caught off guard, there were a lot of twists at the end that i had spoiled for me unfortunately! please remember to tag your stuff correctly!

very glad that everyone is sort of having a more equal amount of screen-time. i was pretty pissed last season especially since i felt like they really pushed jonathan and nancy aside... the fandom sure has!! regardless, i think that they incorporated the new characters pretty well too, it was definitely a LOT at the beginning but given that the kids were going to two different NEW schools it made sense. (i’m also kind of glad that el didn’t really do anything with the other kids at the lab and 002 was the real only person who we had to keep track of... so many faces in that lab!!) finally, i want to shed light on dr. owens... i love morally grey characters like him, i think he is supposed to be one of those “good people who have done terrible things,” and dr. brenner’s message really applies to him (not dr. brenner though. fuck that guy). you can tell his heart is in the TRYING to be in right place but he’s definitely still corrupt and is working with the man who is testing on literal children and giving them severe trauma. so, once again, morally grey.

my biggest questions for part 2 are: - why are we stuck in 1983 in the upside down? (my first idea was that’s when the gate was opened, but that doesn’t make any sense given the timeline of season 1.) barb died on november 8th, not the 6th, so i don’t think it was vecna trying to mess with nancy’s head. 

- what the FUCK did will paint.

- how is everyone’s relationship with eachother going to develop?? i’m loving the characterization this season!

- not a question but i need to see what happens to jonathan and nancy please please please please. i have SO many theories about the love triangle i don’t know how much longer i can wait 

 - where is vickie? duffer brothers Answer Me. c’mon.

[just-my-fandom]

Over and Over (Steve Harrington x Byers! Reader)

Title; Over and Over

Pairing(s); Steve Harrington x Byers! Reader, Jonathan Byers x Sister! Reader, Will Byers x Sister! Reader, Joyce Byers x Daughter! Reader, Robin x Platonic! Reader, Billy Hargrove x Enemy! Reader

Season place; Season 3

Request; Maybe one with Steve (Harrington) where Reader is the oldest Byers sibling and is dating Steve (it’s after Nancy and Jonathan got together) and reader is kidnapped with Steve instead of Robin, and reader breaks down explains that she keeps dragging Steve into danger with the upside down and stuff (maybe she got taken into the upside down around season two?) and Steve reassures her that he’s staying to keep her safe. They escape the Russian base and end up fighting the find flayer and reader protects El from Billy which ends up getting the reader hurt, and Billy ends up protecting the reader and getting killed by the mind flayer and Joyce lets reader choose between staying in Hawkins with Steve (because shes 19) or move out with her mom and brothers (you choose)(I’m sorry it’s so long but I wanted to include as much detail asp!)

Warnings; Reader and Steve are beaten up, reader suffers from trama of the Upside Down, mention of blood, way too much fluff, angst

Tags; (okay, so I went back to the post I made for all my stranger things posts, and saw all of you wanted to be tagged in either all the Steve shots, or all of the stranger things shots, if you would like to be removed from the tags or added, please let me know!) @irreplaceable-ecstasy @rexorangecouny @fraeppuccino @spider-boyparker @itsfangirlmendes @tellmyselflies @xkotkuu @scarletmeii @krazykatkay456 @idumpyourgrass @strangerpotternatural

Upcoming One Shot; Leonard Snart x Reader

Note; At the moment I am only taking requests for Stranger Things and Marvel! This has a very long introduction so I apologize in advance! But I’m honestly super proud of this (very long) story so please enjoy!

Amount needed for 2k followers; 322

Gif(s);

The Byers family has been through a lot. It was obvious if you looked at any of the four members. In the last three years, one of the Byers siblings went missing, came back only for the other sibling to disappear, and when they were both safe at home, they had begun to see hallucinations.

Joyce Byers knew what she was doing, but people thought she was crazy. When Will first went missing, her Christmas lights flickered, she heard a voice in her phone that then burned itself out, and some thing came out of the wall.

Jonathan and Y/N thought their mother was going nuts. But it wasn’t until both of them, plus Steve and Nancy, saw the Demogorgan in their home and then put it to flames.

Will was safe, officially, after near months. But the family was still shaken. Seven months after Will had been found by Joyce and Jim, Y/N never met up with Jonathan at his car after school, and she was reported missing when she never returned home that night.

Then Joyce started getting the signs again. The Christmas lights that hadn’t been touched in seven months flicked occasionally, their new bought phone was burnt to the touch, but, thankfully, there was no thing in the wall.

Y/N was found in a short time span of three weeks. With the experience and knowledge everyone had from Wills disappearance, they knew how to handle the Demogorgans, and get you out of the Upside Down as quickly as they could.

Eleven succeeded in closing the Gate, bringing us to 1985. Your day in Hawkins was normal, or as normal as it could get. Jonathan had dropped you off at the Hendersons house on his way to work, Claudia calling you in to announce that Dustin was home from camp,

Then it progressively got weirder. Dustin claimed to have a girlfriend out of Hawkins and dragged you and the party to the hills, with a stereo in an attempt to contact this Susie. The party was quick to not believe his antics, which left you to feeling bad and stating you believed him (but did you?)

Then a Russian code was found on the stereo, which led you to Scoops Ahoy to break the code and figure out what secrets it beheld,

Now, in the time span of twenty four hours, you had snuck into a Russian base (with Lucas’ younger sister that took you a lot of convincing to join), been spotted by said Russians, and now you and Steve were probably going to die by Russians,

“Let me go!” Your hand had freed itself from the Russian guards grip, and you had ended up shoved into a wall, threatened, then dropped and tied to a chair, back to back with your boyfriend of ten months, Steve,

“I knew we shouldn’t have come here,” Steve hears you mumble this three times, before his hand, that too, were tied back, grabbed yours, holding it tightly,

“Hey,” His spoken words cause you to fall silent, “We’re gonna get out of here, yeah? Dustin, Robin and Erica are probably thinking of a plan right now,”

Your head falls back so it knocked against his, lightly, eyes shutting in an attempt to calm your racing heart and steady your breathing, “I can’t believe I let Dustin sneak into a Russian base, God, Ms. Henderson’s gonna kill me,” You drop your head forward, eyes pinching shut before you place your head in the before position, “This is my fault,”

“How is this your fault?” Steve turns his head, your own turning so your cheeks almost touched,

“I dragged you guys into this mess, since the beginning,” You tilt your head down, as your eyes began to burn from hidden tears, “The demogorgans, the hospital, now the Russians trying to open the gate, my family was envolved with it all. I don’t know why you stuck with me all this time,”

“It is not your fault, do you hear me?” Steven demands, bumping your shoulder so you lifted your head, “And I’m always going to stick with you, Y/N. I’m not going to let something like this tear me from you, I’m always going to keep you safe,”

“That was so cheesy,” You murmur, Steve grinning as he facer forward and leans his head back against yours,

“You do things to me, Byers,” He mutters, and you inhale a deep breath, ignoring the taste of blood on your tongue from where the Russian leader punched you in the mouth,

“What if we don’t get out of here?” You ask, quietly, almost hoping that Steve couldn’t hear you. You would only bring his confidence down,

“Then we’ll be together,” Steve answers, not seeing the smile your lips pulled into as your eyes shut in exhaustion,

You almost find yourself dozing off with Steve’s fingers linking through yours, for any search of physical contact, but the way the hidden rooms door throws open startles you to sit up straight, eyes snapping to the three people huddled at the door,

“Thank God!” Dustin hisses out a whisper yell, running forward to untie Steve’s hands as Robin does yours, pulling you to stand straight,

“Are you okay?” She asks, worriedly, eyes flicking to the blood at your lip, “You’re bleeding,”

“I’m fine,” You raise the sleeve of your plaid shirt to rub away the mix of dry and fresh blood, turning to Steve and holding a hand up to hover your fingers over the black around his eye,

“It looks bad,” You whisper, Steve taking your hand, and quickly kissing the back of it, he smiles,

“I’m fine,” He mocks, and you squint your eyes before following Dustin out into the halls, “Now how the hell do we get out of here?”

“Good news,” Dustin starts, “We found a way out. But it’s a bit of a walk,”

“Anywhere as long as it’s not here,” You grumble, and look down the hall that Dustin had pulled you into. The end was narrow, and it looked to be, without exaggeration, over a mile away, “Holy shit,”

“Told you,” Dustin waves a hand, and you share a glance with Steve, shrugging and walking after the young teenager,

. . .

“I can’t believe we made it out of there,” Robin throws her hands up and exhales an exaggerated breath, Erica scoffing beside her,

“I don’t know how you fools survived,” She crosses her arms, looking at Dustin then Steve, “He barely did with that black eye,”

“Hey,” Steve warns, eyes shifting to you when your walking seems to pick up, and he looks forward towards the group of nine in the food court,

“Y/N!” Joyce shouts, her figure moving away from Jim to run up to you, her hands coming up to your face protectively, “Baby what happened?”

“There’s a secret Russian base underneath the mall!” Dustin speaks up, as Joyce looks to him, and you step away from your mother to embrace Jonathan,

“It’s a long story,” Steve waves off, and you let Will tuck himself into your side,

“You okay?” You ask your younger brother, who nods meekly and smiles up at you, but frowns at your busted lip,

“Okay, we all have a plan,” Mike steps up to the new group, eyes flicking between everyone, “We’ll be going in groups, each group needs to take one of these,” In his arms are four talkies,

“Whoa whoa, where will everyone be going?” Steve asks, as you release Will to take a talkie,

“Someone still needs to go and stop the gate from reopening,” Lucas informs, and you furrow your eyebrows,

“Thats back at the base, we have to go back there?” You point to your lip, then to Steve’s eye, “We were kidnapped by Russians, we’re not going back,”

“That’s why your mother and I will,” Jim snatches one of the talkies, looking at you, “You and your brothers will be somewhere where it’s safe,”

“No one is safe right now!” You remind,

“Y/N’s right,” Mike swallows, “The Mindflayer is on it’s way here now. Billy too, so we gotta get in positions, quick,”

“Okay, fine,” You sigh, rubbing your temple, “Where’s everyone going?” You ask a repeat of Steve’s question,

“We have fireworks that will be able to slow down the Mindflayer,” Mike points to the box at Nancys feet, “All of us will stay up here and distract it long enough for the gate to remain closed. Once Billy gets here he’s going to go after El, so we need to keep them separated,”

“Think we can do that?” You frown, looking at Steve,

“I fought him once I could do it again,” Steve shrugs, and you squint your eyes,

“You lost that fight, Steve,”

“We don’t talk about it!” Steve protests, and takes your talkie, “We should spread out through the food court in case one of us is cornered,”

“We’re going down below,” Jim informs, and when he turns to El, Joyce is pulling on your wrist and pulling both Jonathan and Will against you,

“Please be safe you three,” She pleas, almost sniffling, “Take care of each other, do not let one or the other out of sight,”

“Yes mom,” You smile, sliding an arm around her shoulder, “Dont worry about us, help Hopper with the gate,”

“I will,” Joyce nods, hesitantly releasing her only daughter, looking up at Jonathan, “Please keep an eye on them,”

“Mom,” You groan, “Who’s the older sibling here?” Joyce steps back, waving as she follows Jim and Murray in the direction you came in,

“Okay,” Nancy claps her hands, heaving a deep breath, “Lets do this,”

“Steve, Robin, and Y/N, you guys can go behind the counter,” Mike lifts one of the boxes, handing it to Steve and giving you a lighter, “It’ll give you the front view. Max and I will find a way to get El out of here, Dustin, Lucas, Erica, Will, you guys take upstairs. Nancy and Jonathan, work on the car and see if you can get it working, then we all get the hell out of here,”

“Got it,” You nod, looking around when no one moves, “Go! Go, come on!”

Everyone darts to their designated spots, Steve leaping over the counter and squatting beside Robin, as you pick up a firework, inhaling quick, deep breaths,

“If you need us to take over, tell us,” Steve orders, watching you nod and raise to look over the counter, jolting when the glass roof above shatters, and a large -thing- jumps down into the middle of StarCourt Mall

You hear Robin whisper shout a rushed “Holy shit!” before Steve is shoving a firework into her hands, and he stands up beside you,

You fumble with the lighter in your hand and set the firework off in Steve’s grip, ducking in time for him to draw his arm back and chuck the firework at the MindFlayers front,

It explodes on one of the tentacles (thing) the MindFlayer shrieking out loud as the four kids on the second floor rush to the edge, all dropping their own fireworks onto the top of the monster.

“We’re already running out, quick,” You heave a deep breath, leaning up on the counter after a full five minutes of tossing firework after firework,

“What’d we do when we do run out?” Robin panics, moving to Steve’s other side, “Just stand here?”

“El can’t hold that thing or Billy off,” You wipe a layer of sweat from your forehead, watching in alert when Billy jerks Eleven to the floor and pins her. Billy was basically radiating anger. “Steve, give me your bat,”

“What?” Steve narrows his eyes, eyes flicking between you and the two feet away, “No. No way,”

“Steve, dammit, give me your bat!” You demand, hand out, “I’ve fought way worse things than Billy, I can take him,”

Steve clenches his jaw, lifting his nailed bat from its place leant against the counter, and he shifts it to hold out the handle, “Be careful. Beat his ass,”

You inhale a deep breath, stepping out from behind the counter and holding up the bat, eyes shifting between the MindFlayer growling and Billy snarling at El,

“Hey! Hargrove!” Your shout drags Billy’s eyes away from the young girl beneath him, his fury blown eyes instantly landing on your figure, “Get the hell away from her!”

“No, (Y/N/N),” Eleven begins to sit up, Billy putting a large hand against her face, slamming her head down onto the tiles so she shut her eyes in surprise, and remained on the floor when Billy stood up, his fists causing his knuckles to burn white,

“Come at me,” You mutter, swinging the bat the same way you’ve seen Steve do, “Come at me!”

Billy grins, booted feet stomping towards you, guiding you to walk backwards twice, startled,

“This is gonna hurt like a bitch,” You warn, Billy beginning to hurl at you, causing you to pinch your eyes shut and swing, the loud thud of his body forcing your eyes back open, shocked to see Billy holding his side, with multiple holes leaking blood from the nails of the bat,

“Holy shit,” You step back, looking up at the MindFlayer as it shrieked, “Holy shit. I did it,”

“Y/N!” Steve and Robin both call in a startled panic, and you lower the bat to turn to them, “Get out of the way!”

You look forward to find why they were freaking out, gasping when Billy grabs the bat, unharmed, jerking it from your hands and tossing it behind him, eyes narrowed,

You bite your tongue and slowly step back, Billy reaching out and grabbing the front of your shirt, shoving you onto the ground so your head, too, knocked against the concrete, forcing you to release a pained groan,

“Get me a firework!” Steve rushes, eyes wide as he waves a frantic hand to a fumbling Robin, “Come on!”

“Wait, wait!” Lucas and Dustin run up to Steve, Dustin holding up one hand, the other pointing, “Look,”

Billy had physically loosened his strength on your shirt, and his eyes now bored into yours in a mixture of confusion, surprise, and fear. You gasp in a deep breath as you stared back, eyes burning from the tears that threatened to spill

The roar of the MindFlayer jerks Billy’s head up, seeing that the MindFlayer was now leaning over Billy, who hovered over you, and Billy pushes away from the ground to sit back on his knees, standing up to face the MindFlayer,

You sit up onto your elbows, Steve running up behind you and grabbing your arms, pulling you back to hide behind one of the concrete posts and cover your head with a hand,

You’re not quite sure what happened after that. Billy was dead, for sure, being murdered by the MindFlayer straight to the chest. Jim Hopper was dead, too. The portal had exploded, your mother claimed that Jim was no where to be found. Two lives were lost that night.

“You okay?” You and Steve sat in the middle of your bedroom, piles of folded clothes, boxes, and little accessories litering the carpet floor,

You look up from where you folded a pair of jeans, Steve lowering the shirt he was folding to stare at you,

Your lip had begun to heal, the paramedic claiming that a scar could be possible where the cut split into your chin,

“Yeah,” You nod, setting the jeans into the box and picking up the picture frames beside you, dragging a box labeled ‘Fragile’ up to you, “I’m just thinking,”

“About what?” Steve move the box of jeans to scoot up closer to you, waiting for you to close the fragile box before taking your hands,

“Everything,” You release a breathy laugh, swallowing down the lodge in your throat, “Everything with the Upside Down, losing Bob last year, us. We’ve made so many memories here in Hawkins, so many fights, so many sleepovers with the party. I’m not ready to leave it behind,”

“I know,” Steve sighs, your head looking down before raising when he curls a hand beneath your jaw, “Hey, we’re gonna be okay,” Steve smiles, “We got this. Just you and me, Y/N and Steve,”

“That rhymed,” You snort, Steve rolling his eyes,

“Move in with me,” Steve murmurs, and you almost don’t hear it even though his nose is touching yours,

“What?” You lean back, slightly, meeting his eyes for any signs of a joke,

“Move in with me. We’re both over eighteen, you’re an adult now, and my parents love you, they’d love for you to live with us,” Steve suggests, standing at you,

“But what about my mom?” You breathe, shakily, “My brothers?”

“Y/N, you can’t always depend on your brothers to be there,” Steve admits, honestly, “Jonathan’s gonna want to move out soon, too. Your mom needs to remember you’re not a baby anymore,”

“Do you really think your parents will let me stay?” You ask, Steve smiling and shrugging a shoulder,

“I already talked to them. It’s all up to you and you mom, babe,”

You inhale a deep breath, looking around at the boxes surrounding you. You nod, standing up, “I’ll be right back,”

You step into the hallway of your now empty house, making your way to the kitchen where you knew your mother was packing silverware, “Mom?”

Joyce looks up from lowering glass plates into a cushioned box, smiling softly at your figure, “Hey, sweetie. You and Steve almost done packing?”

“We have a couple more boxes left,” You answer, quietly, stepping further into the kitchen, “Mom, can I talk to you?”

Joyce closes the box with tape, scribbling ‘fragile’ on the cardboard before looking back up at you, “Sure, sweetheart, what is it?”

She notices your jaw shift from biting down on your tongue, a habit of worry you’ve gained when you were younger. You fiddle with your hands, before meeting her eyes, “I think I want to move in with Steve,”

Joyce blinks, slowly at your words, and you can see the gears in her head moving, “Are you sure?”

You suck in another breath, nodding, quickly, “I’m sure. I really love him, mom. I don’t think I could handle leaving, and I love Hawkins so much. I’m nineteen, I think it’s time for me to leave the nest,”

“I know,” Joyce blinks again, wiping away the tear that escaped her eye, “I know you’re not my little girl anymore, and I guess I need to accept it,” She smiles, nodding, “You can move with Steve,”

“Seriously?” You gasp, Joyce laughing when you round the table to embrace her, “Thank you, so much,”

“I love you sweetheart,” Joyce wraps her arms right around your back, sniffling, “I better get phone calls weekly,”

“Yes mom,” You lean back, Joyce cupping the side of your face delicately,

“I need to tell your brothers,” Joyce sighs, looking towards the open door where Will and Jonathan were loading boxes into the Uhaul with the party,

“I’m going to let Steve know,” You pull away from her, almost skipping back to your bedroom at the end of the hall,

Steve notices your wide and teary smile, standing up so he was eye to eye with you, “So...?”

“I’m moving in with you,” You walk up to him, Steve smiling and pulling you against his chest, lips pressing to your temple, longingly,

“I love you,” He whispers, hearing the footsteps of your brothers, “I know it’s going to be hard leaving them,”

You smile, leaning back in time for Will to stand at your bedroom door, eyes watering, “You’re not coming with us?”

“Hey buddy,” You tug on Wills arm to sit him beside you on your bare mattress, your arms sliding around his shoulders and pulling him against you, “It’s time for me to go out on my own,”

“But what about,” Will looks at Steve and Jonathan, then back to you, “What about when I have nightmares from the Upside Down?”

“Then you can call me, always,” You squeeze him tighter, sniffling, “I’ll give you the number to Steve’s house phone, if you ever need me, no matter what for, call me,”

“It’s gonna be weird with only one girl around the house now,” Jonathan presses his lips together in a tight smile, looking at Steve, “Hurt her and I’ll drive back how many hours to beat your ass,”

“Don’t doubt it,” Steve grins, and looks over when Joyce steps into the bedroom,

“We’re set to leave,” She informs, quietly, noticing Wills tears, “Oh honey, I know it’s hard not having Y/N come with us,” She moves forward, arms wrapping around you and her youngest, “But it’s gonna be okay, we’ll always come down for holidays and vise versa,”

“Love you mom,” You sigh weakly, leaning into her shoulder. Her arm around you tightens, before she leans back and wipes her cheek,

“I set the keys on the kitchen counter,” She looks at Steve, “You two can finish packing your things, lock the door when you leave,”

“No problem Ms. Byers,” Steve plays a salute, and Joyce smiles, standing up to her feet,

“We should get going,” After fifteen minutes of constant hugs between the party, you wave to the car and Uhaul driving off, your waves becoming more frantic before they turn a corner, out of sight,

“Ready?” Steve extends his hand, to lead you back into the house to finish packing. Your eyes look down at his hand then up to your childhood home, before you take his hand in yours, to the beginning of a new life in Hawkins.

[cocastyle]

The In-Between Chapter 6

Stranger Things x It Crossover

with some Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 7,455

Warning - cursing (if people don’t like that kind of stuff)

A/N- so I kind of got carried away with this chapter and wrote over 7000 words lol, but I couldn’t really split this chapter up considering what’s about to come in the next chapter so I just left it as is (the next chapter is going to have so many interactions with the two groups you won’t be ready!) I really hope you all like this chapter because I worked hard on it and am actually really proud of the way it turned out! leave a comment with your thoughts on the chapter and with any predictions that you have for the future🤩

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

T H E I N - B E T W E E N

Intro The Losers’ Club The Party Prolouge 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue

"Wh-Wh-What is she doing?" Bill whispered as he gently nudged Y/N's side.

The girl stared ahead at Eleven who was busy putting a radio on a station that only had static playing before she glanced at Bill. She sent him a small smile that had him blushing and smiling back. "You'll see," she whispered.

Y/N let out a small gasp as she remembered something and quickly disappeared up the stairs and into her house before returning a few seconds later with a cloth in her hand. She walked over and handed it to Eleven who gave her a small smile before beginning to fold it and wrap it around her eyes like a blindfold.

"A blindfold?" Richie asked. He then smirked before winking in Eleven's direction. "Kinky. Now all we need is some handcuffs and-"

"Beep beep Richie!" the Losers Club cried out while the Party all looked at Richie in disgust.

Y/N shook her head at the boy before looking to the Party with an apologetic smile, "Sorry about him. He hadn't quite matured yet if you can't tell."

"Hey!" Richie complained.

"Oh hush," Y/N told him making the boy pout. She chuckled and ruffled his hair much to his annoyance before she turned her attention back to Eleven who was finished setting up.

"Remember, you have to be quiet," Y/N reminded the Losers, making a point to stare at Richie longer than the others. They all nodded before looking to Eleven who was now sitting on the ground, the radio static playing behind her.

The room was so quiet that one could have heard a pin drop. The prospect of Eleven doing something that could help them with their mission to find Mine being enough to make even Richie keep his mouth shut.

It took a minute, but Eleven suddenly let out a small gasp before whispering, "Mike."

Y/N noticed Wheeler frown a little at that seeing as she was talking about a different Mike instead of him. It was unusual that was for sure and Y/N had thought it was weird knowing two Mikes as well when she first moved to Derry. But since she had called him Wheeler since they were kids, calling Mike Hanlon by his first name hadn't been too weird for her.

"I. . .I see him," Eleven whispered out making the Losers all furrow their eyebrows and look to Y/N confused. She just gave them a look and gestured towards Eleven in response and they all looked back to the girl who had some blood starting to peak out from her nose.

"He. . .He's hiding by some water," Eleven said.

"The quarry," Y/N muttered as she looked to the others. Their eyes widened slightly and they watched as Y/N walked over and bent down in front of her friend.

Y/N reached out and gently took ahold of Eleven's hand, the girl instantly latching onto hers in return. "Tell Mike that we're coming for him," Y/N whispered, tears springing in her eyes. "Tell him he's going to be okay."

"Your friends. . .they're coming for you. Hang in there, Mike. You're going to be okay," Eleven muttered, although Y/N knew she was talking to Mike Hanlon.

"Hurry," a voice suddenly came from the radio causing the Losers and Y/N to jump in surprise at the sound of their friend's voice. "Please hurry."

Eleven's face then scrunched up in pain and she let out a loud gasp before ripping the blindfold from her face. Her eyes frantically looked around before locking with Y/N's. "He's okay," she assured him. Y/N wiped away her tears and gave Eleven a small smile before hugging her friend in thanks.

"What the fuck was that?”

The two girls pulled away from each other to see the Losers looking more confused then ever. "What the fuck just happened?" Richie questioned, his eyes wide. "What did she do and how the hell does she know that Mike is okay?"

Y/N took in a deep breath before standing up and slowly approaching her friends. "Guys, so Eleven kind of has these powers. She was able to mentally connect with Mike and get a picture of where he was and give him a message," Y/N explained.

"I'm sorry. What?" Stan asked confused.

"Powers like superpowers?" Ben questioned.

"I guess," Y/N replied. "I know it's hard to understand but-"

"Hard to understand? It's crazy! You know what, I'm calling bullshit," Richie announced.

"But Mike's voice-" Y/N began.

"We don't even know if that was his voice because all I could hear was a bunch of fucking static! How am I supposed to believe you when the only thing that I saw happen was that girl get a fucking nosebleed and bleed all over your basement?" Richie asked.

Wheeler narrowed his eyes at the boy and went over to his girlfriend who he helped off the ground while Eleven wiped the blood from her nose. He was about to say something when he saw Y/N raise an eyebrow at the boy and cross her arms.

"You want proof? Evidence?" Y/N questioned, not a look of hesitation on her face. Richie was silent before nodding his head. "Okay, asshole. Here's your fucking proof."

She then walked over to one of the closet doors of the basement before opening it and walking back over to the group. Richie was about to question her when the door slammed shut making him and the other Losers all jump in surprise.

The door then began to open and slam shut repeatedly and Richie was hesitant before he turned to look at Eleven who had one hand up in the air. The door slammed shut for a final time and Eleven lowered her hand before wiping the small bit of blood below her nose away.

"Holy shit! She's an X-Men!" Eddie exclaimed in disbelief making Dustin chuckle since he had thought the same thing when he first met Eleven.

Y/N smirked and looked to Richie while the other Losers and the Party watched the girl in amusement. "That enough proof for you?" she asked.

Richie made a face in response and Y/N chuckled before looking between the groups and clapping her hands together. "Now. . .we may know that Mike is okay right now, but that doesn't mean he will be forever. We need to start making plans and preparing because first thing after school tomorrow, we are going to the Well House to save Mike and kill those other motherfuckers before it's too late. Everyone okay with that?" Y/N announced.

The Parry and the Losers' Club all nodded in agreement and Y/N smirked.

"Great. Let's get to work."

- - -

Bill bit his lip in concentration as he used a ruler to draw lines through the map of Derry. His job, and the job of all the Losers, was to split a map of Derry up into four different sectors. When they left to go find Mike tomorrow, half of the whole group would be staying behind while the other half broke off into pairs and searched the specific sections of the Upside Down's version of Derry.

Since the Upside Down was pretty much a replica of the real world, Y/N had thought it would be a good idea to use a map of Derry to break up the sections. Because the Losers knew Derry the best, they had offered to split the map up while the Party got weapons ready seeing as they knew what would work best against a demogorgon if it were to attack.

Y/N had started out with the Losers at first, but it hadn't taken long for her to migrate over to the Party whom she had been spending the last hour with. The Losers hadn't thought much of it at first, but they couldn't help but notice the way she seemed to totally forget about them as she laughed and joked around with the Party, a smile on her face that looked nothing like the usual smile they got to see.

Bill had to force himself not to look up, reminding himself that Y/N was just excited to see her friends again. That's why Bill had put all his effort into the maps he was making, Beverly being the only other person to help him while Stan, Ben, Eddie, and Richie all watched Y/N and the Party with frowns on their faces and jealously coursing through their blood.

Glares were on the four boys faces and they only narrowed their eyes more at the sight of Y/N with her arms linked with Will as she talked to Steve and Lucas. "She forgot about us," Stan whispered softly, sadness laced in his voice despite his angered appearance.

"I can't believe it," Ben muttered, feeling awful at the idea that the Party made Y/N happier than they did. Him and the others could tell by the look of pure joy on her face just how much happier she was around the Party and that only fueled their jealousy more.

"Well believe it, Benny. We're yesterday's news," Richie frowned, glaring slightly as a bitter taste filled his mouth.

"Look how happy they make her. I don't think I've ever made her laugh that hard," Eddie muttered sadly as he too came to the realization that Y/N was happier around the Party than she was around them.

"It's cause you're not funny, Eds," Richie shot back. "No wonder Y/N left us. We're a bunch of losers literally."

"Sh-Sh-Shut up," Bill called out, tired of their behavior and tones.

Richie whirled around so fast that he whacked Eddie who let out a cry of protest. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he said as he looked at Bill in disbelief. When Bill didn't look up, Richie stomped over to his friend. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Are you really so blind that you don't see your girl over there with her arms fucking linked with another boy? He's stealing her right in front of your eyes, dumbass. How are you not the slightest bit mad or jealous?" Richie asked. "Cause me being Y/N's friend and seeing her talking to them and not us is making me mad and I'm not the one that had a crush on her."

Bill frowned at that and looked up, but he froze at the sight of Y/N  laughing at something Dustin had told her as she leaned into Will and wiped at her tears. Her arm was linked with Will's like Richie had said and she was resting her head on his shoulder as she looked up at Dustin with a huge grin on her face.

Bill's heart broke at the sight.

Bill cleared his throat and quickly looked away, blinking fast to keep the tears from coming. "Sh-Sh-She's not my g-g-girl. She can d-d-do whatever the h-h-hell she w-w-wants," he muttered.

Richie felt a wave of guilt wash over him once he realized how upset he had just made his friend, but Y/N's laughter had him turning back to look at her, a new wave of anger washing over him at the fact that she was now hurting Bill without even knowing it.

"How can someone be that funny? I mean, there's no way!" Richie exclaimed.

"Aren't they supposed to be gathering weapons anyways? Not joking around?" Stan asked.

"They did gather weapons," Ben pointed out as he gestured towards the few crowbars, bats, and other weapons they had gathered. "They even got flashlights and rope."

"Still, how are they so funny? Especially that Wheeler kid. She must be laughing at how funny looking he is," Richie concluded making the others raise their eyebrows at him.

Beverly rolled her eyes at Richie before glancing at Bill who was busy glaring at Will and Dustin. Beverly scoffed and stood up causing the Losers to all snap their attention over to her.

"Are you all being serious right now?" Beverly asked while the boys all gave her confused looks, not understanding what she was getting at. "You know that Y/N cares about each of you more than life itself, but you also need to understand that she can care about other people just as much. They were her first friends, guys. That group went through so much shit together just like we have and they haven't seen each other in two whole years!"

The boys didn't respond and Beverly just gave them an angry look as she narrowed her eyes. "I swear to God if Y/N hears one word from your jealous asses I will kill you. Now stop being self conscious pussies and be happy for your friend," she spat before she stormed away from the group and over to the Party.

They watched as Y/N's eyes lit up at the sight of Beverly before she grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her over to Max and Eleven, the four girls instantly falling into conversation. The boys all felt a wave of guilt wash over them, but none of them felt like going over and trying to talk to Y/N or the rest of the members of the Party.

It took only a minute before Richie, Eddie, Stan and Ben returned to their complaining as they watched their friend, but Bill took the longest to return back to what he had been doing before. His eyes were still on Y/N and his heart ached as he watched her.

He knew there was some truth to Beverly's words, but it was hard to believe everything she said after he had seen how happy Y/N was. How come he couldn't make her laugh like that? Or smile like that?

He would do anything to be in the receiving end of that smile. Hell, he would probably swoon at the sight.

Did she not like him the way he thought she had? For a moment he had thought she maybe returned his feelings, but now he wasn't so sure. If she had then he would be able to make her that happy, right?

Bill let out a small sigh and took in a deep breath before going back to the maps, trying everything in his power not to let his feelings get to him so much. But even he couldn't stop the one traitor tear from falling down his face as he realized he would never be able to make Y/N as happy as he had hoped.

If only he knew how he looked in Y/N's eyes. Then maybe he wouldn't have doubted himself and maybe he wouldn't have ended up hurting her later that night.

- - -

"Y/N!" Eleven cried out as she jumped onto the girl from behind, a laugh escaping her lips as she wrapped her arms around her giggling friend who had been busy sorting through the weapons with Steve and Wheeler.

"El!" Y/N mockingly yelled back as she looked over her shoulder at her friend.

Eleven chuckled and got off of her before glancing over at Steve and Wheeler. "I'm going to steal her for a few minutes," she said. She didn't bother waiting for a response from the boys before she was dragging Y/N away and over to where Beverly and Max were sitting.

"No, yeah I love your hair! I always wanted to try and cut mine short, but I'm afraid it will turn out bad," Max said as she looked at Beverly's haircut. "Who cut your hair because it looks so good!"

"I did actually," Beverly told her.

"No way!" Max gasped. "It looks so good, Beverly!"

"Thanks," Beverly said before she happened to notice Eleven and Y/N walking up to them. "Oh, hey Y/N!"

"Hey," Y/N greeted as Max also turned to look at her friends. Max's eyes lit up at the sight of the girl and she was quick to stand up before her and Eleven practically shoved Y/N into the place Max had just been sitting.

"Woah, okay," Y/N muttered as she adjusted herself so that she was more comfortable. When she looked back up, Eleven and Max were looking at her expectantly while Beverly gave her an apologetic smile.

"What?" Y/N asked, her eyes narrowing in curiosity as she wondered what her friends were up to.

"So we've been talking to Beverly," Max began. "She was telling us some funny stories about you when we heard some interesting stuff and-"

"Tell us about you and Bill!" Eleven interrupted, her eyes shining with excitement as she clasped her hands together and tucked them under her chin.

Y/N's eyes widened. "Me and Bill? Wh-What about me and Bill?" she asked. "We're just friends."

Max and Eleven both gave each other a look before raising their eyebrows at their friend. "Come on. We can tell by the way you look at him that you like him. Just admit it," Max prompted.

"What?" Y/N asked, her voice high and her face a dark shade of red. "Me like Bill?"

"Friends don't lie. You like him, Y/N. Admit it," Eleven insisted.

Y/N blushed even more before burying her face into her hands. "Okay, I like him," she whispered, not looking up to watch as her friends let out squeals and began to whack each other.

"We knew it!" Max exclaimed. "Beverly already told us, but like, we knew it!"

Y/N lifted her head to glance over at Beverly who smiled sheepishly. "They did already know it," Beverly said.

"So it's that obvious?" Y/N asked with wide eyes filled with horror at the thought of Bill knowing that she liked him.

"To everyone but you two," Eleven said.

"Yeah, Bill's kind of oblivious," Beverly agreed. "I don't think he knows."

Y/N let out a small sigh of relief causing Max to raise an eyebrow. "Would it be so bad if he did?" the red head asked.

"I mean, I guess not," Y/N whispered as she looked down. She would love to be able to tell Bill how she felt, to let him know just how much he meant to her even if he didn't feel the same way.

"But," Beverly said, already knowing that wasn't all the girl had to say.

"What if it ruins our friendship? What if he doesn't feel the same way?" Y/N asked.

The three girls' mouths dropped open at the same time before they all laughed. "First of all, he does feel the same way. It's obvious just by the way he looks at you like you're an angel walking on this earth," Max said.

"Secondly, it won't ruin your friendship," Eleven told her.

"What they said. I'm pretty sure that even if you and Bill went south that you two would still be friends. You two have been close ever since you moved here, Y/N. He wouldn't be the type of person to push you away like that. Besides, I wouldn't let him and I'm sure El and Max wouldn't either," Beverly said.

"Yeah, we'd beat his ass," Max agreed while Eleven nodded her head in agreement.

Y/N chuckled and smiled softly at her friends. "Thanks. I love you all so much," she said causing Eleven, Max, and Beverly to smile before they pulled the girl in for a group hug.

When they pulled away, they thankfully let the topic of Bill drop. Max and Eleven began talking to Beverly about her hair again and about her relationship with Ben while Y/N slowly zoned out.

She let her eyes flicker over to Bill who was across the room still working on the maps and trying to fold them. As if sensing her gaze, his eyes flickered up and locked with hers. Y/N sent a small smile in his direction, but to her surprise he didn't even smile before he just looked down at the maps again.

Y/N blinked in surprise before quickly looking away with a sad look on her face, not noticing the way that Bill looked back up at her sadly after.

- - -

It was around eleven o'clock that night before Y/N heard Ben call out, "We'll see you in the morning, Y/N!"

The girl quieted down her laughter and looked away from Lucas and Wheeler and over to where Beverly and Ben were standing by the stairs. Y/N was quick to get up and she smiled as she made her way across the room to hug both Ben and Beverly.

At the sight of her smile and the fact that she had left her other friends just to hug him goodbye, Ben suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he realized how wrong he had been earlier for judging the girl and for complaining about her hanging out with her other friends.

"Night, guys. I'll see you in the morning," Y/N said before pulling away to look for the others. Her smile slowly disappeared once she realized that Richie, Eddie, Stan, and Bill were all gone.

"Where. . .where did the others go?" Y/N questioned as she looked to Ben and Beverly confused.

Ben looked down at his shoes before saying, "They all left a little bit ago. Bill went first and then Richie, Eddie, and Stan followed not too long after."

"Why?" Y/N asked, trying not to sound upset. "They didn't even start goodbye."

Ben didn't respond and Y/N frowned before saying, "Uh. . .I guess I'll see you guys in the morning, yeah?"

Beverly and Ben nodded with small smiles before turning to go up the stairs. "Bye, Y/N," the two called out before disappearing into the night.

Y/N kind of stood there for a moment after the door closed behind them, her thoughts racing as she tried to think of a reason for her friends' sudden departure. Had she done something wrong? Were they okay?

Hands on her shoulders made her jump slightly, but she instantly relaxed when she looked over her shoulder to see Steve standing right behind her. He titled his head slightly and gave her one of his warm smiles before asking with a hint of worry on his voice, "You okay, squirt?"

Y/N turned completely to face him before smiling softly and hugging the boy. She dug her face into his side and he wrapped his arms around her with no questions asked. Y/N was silent as she breathed in his scent, a small feeling of familiarity and her childhood washing over her.

"I'm doing good," she whispered, her heart warm due to the fact that her two friend groups had finally met and she had them both by her side. "I'll be better when Mike's home though. He's so sweet and kind. We like to go out to his farm sometimes and I'll help him with the animals. You're going to love him."

"As long as he's not like Trashmouth, I'm sure I will," Steve laughed making Y/N chuckle softly as she pulled away to look at the boy.

"Oh, Richie's not that bad. He can take things far and curse most of the time, but he's got a kind heart and he is probably one of the best people you'll meet once you really get to know him," Y/N said, a smile on her face as she talked about her friend.

"They all are in fact. I mean, you've got Stan who is easy to relate with. When he knows I'm having a bad day, he always takes me bird watching and doesn't pester me with what's wrong, only stays by my side so I'm not alone. Then there's Ben who is the sweetest little human being you'll ever meet. He's the boy that will go to the library all the time with me just to research random things."

"We've got Eddie who is practically the mother of the group sometimes. He cares about my health more than I do and is always making sure that I'm okay. There's a little hammock in one of the group's hang out spots and he'll always sit with me and we'll read comics together. Then you've got Beverly who's a total badass. I tell her practically everything and I swear she knows more about me than I do. Every Saturday morning, we take a break from the boys and will go out to breakfast and catch up."

"Finally, you've got Bill. He's the one that I'm closest to out of all of them. He was my first real friend and helped me a lot on my first day of school," Y/N said. She looked down and smiled fondly as she whispered, "I'll never be able to pay him back for what he's done for me." She was quiet for a second before looking up at Steve and saying, "He means a lot to me. They all do really."

Steve smiled softly at the girl as she rambled in about her friends, a warm feeling of relief washing over him as he realized that Y/N has been fine and loved over the past two years.

"You really care about those friends of yours, huh?" Steve asked, a knowing look on his face.

Y/N smiled fondly and nodded her head as she softly said, "They're my best friends. I would do anything for them just like I would for you guys."

Steve's smile grew slightly at that, thankful that Y/N had some pretty great friends by her side. Y/N smiled back before turning to check and make sure that the weapons and maps were ready. Once she knew that they were, she clapped her hands together once before saying to the Party, "Okay, now that we have a plan to head out after school tomorrow and everything is all set up. . .who wants to watch a movie?"

The Party all perked up at that. "Yes! Star Wars please!" Will exclaimed.

"What? No, let's watch Back to the Future," Dustin complained.

"I vote Star Wars," Max agreed.

"Me too," Lucas said.

"No, guys. Back to the Future all the way," Wheeler argued while Eleven nodded her head in agreement.

"Back to the Future's the one where the mom is trying to hook up with her son, right?" Steve asked.

"I mean that's not the point of the movie, but yes," Y/N said with a small laugh.

"Okay, I vote that one," Steve said.

"Sorry, Will. I've got to go with Back to the Future which means that Back to the Future wins," Y/N said making the boy pout. Y/N just gave him a small smile which he returned before she gestured towards the stairs that led up to her house. "I'll be back."

In just a matter of minutes, Y/N had sprinted upstairs and found the movie. She had received a call from her parents a few hours before about how they had a last minute business conference an hour away that they had to go to and would be gone for the next couple of days, so it was no surprise that no one was around when she was running around trying to find the movie.

Upon finding the movie, Y/N began to make her way towards the basement when she paused next to the phone. She stared at it in silence for a moment before setting the movie down, picking up the phone, and dialing the number that she knew by heart due to the many late night conversations she had with the person on the other end of the line.

"H-H-Hello?"

"Bill?" Y/N said. "It's Y/N."

"Oh. H-H-Hi, Y/N," Bill muttered.

Y/N frowned slightly, but shrugged it off. "I just wanted to call and see if you were okay. You left early, so I wasn't sure if something was wrong," she said.

"I'm f-f-fine," Bill replied, leaving his reply at that and his tone coming out colder and sharper than usual.

Y/N blinked in surprise before nervously chuckling, "Oh, okay. That's good. Why. . .why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

"I w-w-was just tired which I s-s-still am. I'll s-s-see you in the m-m-morning, okay?" Bill told her.

"Oh, okay. Um. . .goodni-" but before Y/N could finish what she asked saying, the boy had hung up. Y/N stood there in silence, her grip on the phone loosening slightly as tears began to fill her eyes. Swallowing thickly, the girl blinked rapidly to stop her tears before taking in a deep breath.

Bill is just tired, she reminded herself. He's not trying to be mean.

Once she had calmed herself down, Y/N put a smile on her face and bounded down the stairs of her basement to have a movie night with her friends. They had all passed out within an hour, Y/N with her head against Steve's side, her feet in Dustin's lap and Will's head on her stomach. Just below them on the floor were Wheeler and Eleven cuddled up together and Max and Lucas doing the same thing.

Y/N found herself looking around the group for a quick second as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered the nights like these that they used to have before she left Hawkins. Nancy and Jonathan had been with them too and Joyce and Hopper had been the ones to cover them all with blankets while they slept.

So with her friends surrounding her, Y/N fell asleep with memories of Hawkins and her old life filling her head.

- - -

Y/N didn't know what to think when she woke up the next day to find that everyone in the Losers' Club except for Beverly weren't talking to her. Bill hadn't even been waiting for her that morning like he usually did before they rode to school together.

Everyone was either avoiding her like Bill was or being weird and looking uncomfortable around her like Eddie was. Y/N didn't know what she had done wrong, so she went through the day having no one but Beverly by her side.

Y/N almost felt bad for having chosen to wear Bill's jacket to school that day, a sinking feeling in her gut as she thought that maybe that was only making Bill more mad at her. Beverly wouldn't tell her why he or the others were and at her in the first place, so Y/N didn't even know how to fix anything.

This meant that when lunch rolled around, it was even quieter than usual. It was actually completely silent and not even Richie had some snarky thing to say. The group all just ate their food in silence with Y/N sparing sad glances in her friends' directions while Beverly glared at the boys, pissed at the way they were acting.

Y/N tried to strike up a conversation a few times, but it always received a one word answer in response before silence followed. After a while, Y/N gave up and most of the lunch period was spent with the boys staring at their meals while Y/N stared at them with a saddened and hurt expression.

It wasn't until everyone was getting ready to leave that Y/N let out a sigh and said, "Hey, I don't know what I did, but I just wanted to tell you guys thank you for being so nice to my friends last night."

This surprised the group and they all slowly looked up at her, finally allowing their eyes to lock on her face.

"Those guys mean about as much to me as you guys do and I've been wanting to introduce you all for so long. I really hoped you guys liked them. Anyway, I'm rambling, but I really appreciate it," she told them as she gave them all a small smile despite the tears that had begun to fill her eyes.

The group all stared at her in silence as the bell rang behind them, signaling that the lunch period was over. Y/N let out another sigh and stood up as she grabbed her things. "Uh. . .I'll see you guys later," she whispered before hurrying away from the table and out of the cafeteria, leaving the boys feeling guilty.

Beverly shook her head at the boys as she stood up. "You guys are ridiculous. Not only did you not give her friends a chance last night, but now you're punishing Y/N for talking to her other friends instead of you by ignoring her? I'm disappointed in all of you," she said.

Her eyes flickered over to Bill and they narrowed. "Especially you, Bill. We all know you care about her, so why the hell would you treat her the way that you have been? She told me about the phone call last night. She called to check and see if your dumbass was okay and you were rude and snippy with her before you had the audacity to hang up on her? What the fuck were you thinking?" she asked in disbelief.

"You all need to apologize to Y/N for the way you have been acting. She has talked so highly of you to the others and you all have done nothing but prove her wrong. There's no way we are going to be able to help Mike and defeat the Upside Down and It with you all sad and not thinking straight. So man up and go apologize before you lose her for real," Beverly spat before she angrily got up from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria, no doubt going to try and find Y/N.

"Did you see how upset Y/N looked when she left?" Eddie whispered, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he broke the moment of silence that had fallen over them after Beverly left.

"She looked like she was about to cry," Ben said just above a whisper.

"We did that," Stan muttered, his head bowed as he stared at his hands sadly.

"Fuck," Richie muttered as a feeling of intense guilt hit both him and the other Losers. "We messed up big time, boys."

Bill was silent as he stared at the doors Y/N had walked through only moments before. He hadn't been blind and had noticed her wearing his jacket today, the sight making his heart flutter. But as he looked from the door to the jacket that Y/N had secretly left behind on her seat for Bill was enough to make his heart break.

Richie was right. They had messed up.

They had messed up bad.

- - -

The final bell of the day made Y/N feel both relieved and scared. Relieved because she was finally going to be able to save Mike, but scared because she would have to go back into the Upside Down and she had a sinking feeling in her gut about what was going to happen.

She hadn't seen the guys for the rest of the day, but Beverly had made sure to always stick by her side. That's how the two ended up leaving the school together with their arms locked and small laughs escaping their lips as Y/N told Beverly about the time Dustin sang the song 'Never-Ending Story' with his girlfriend Susie over a walkie talkie system for everyone to see.

"I'm not even kidding," Y/N laughed. "Just picture it. Everyone is either being chased by the fucking Mindflayer or trying to save the world and I'm sitting there watching Dustin sing his heart out with Lucas' little sister by my side. It was hilarious!"

Beverly laughed so hard that she snorted. "I bet it was. I can't believe-" she began, but she trailed off once she saw Y/N smile disappear as she froze beside her. Beverly turned her head to see what Y/N was looking at and instantly frowned at the sight of the boys all standing by their bikes waiting for the two girls.

Beverly released Y/N's arm and Y/an glanced at her friends before looking away and walking over to her bike. "I'm surprised you all waited for me," Y/N said in a monotone voice as she approached her bike.

Eddie was the first to break and he sighed before saying, "We're sorry for the way we've been acting."

Y/N froze at that and rested her hands on her bike handles before looking up at the group. "What?" she asked, both her and Beverly staring at the boys in surprise. Although Beverly was smiling slightly due to the fact that the boys were finally apologizing after a long day of no one talking to each other.

"Yeah, the way we acted was unacceptable," Ben agreed. "And we're sorry for that."

"We. . .we were jealous," Stan admitted making Y/N blink in surprise.

"Jealous?" she asked confused.

"We were jealous of your other friends. We. . .we thought you were forgetting about us, that you didn't care about us like you did them. So we turned into a bunch of fucking jealous assholes and hurt you in the process," Richie sighed and the fact that he was speaking his feelings was enough to make Y/N realize how serious they were being.

"Guys. . ."she whispered sadly, hating that she made them feel like that. "I don't want you to ever feel like that, okay? I love you all so fucking much that it scares me sometimes to be completely honest. I've known you for what, two years now? I've known the others my whole life, so of course things are going to be a little different around them. But that does not mean I don't love and care about you guys any less. The Losers' Club is my family, you guys are my family. You're my life honestly and I wouldn't trade moving here for the world."

The Losers' all teared up a little at those words and Ben was the first to drop his bike to go over and hug Y/N. The girl chuckled and hugged the boy back while the others quickly came over to hug her as well. She hugged Eddie and Stan before hugging Beverly and Richie who held her the tightest.

The one thing about Richie was that he tried to act like he didn't care when he actually cared the most, so Y/N made a point to hug him back just as hard which made the boy dig his face into her shoulder as he held her.

Once she had hugged each of them, she pulled away to see Bill kind of standing there by himself. The two hadn't hugged or even spoken to each other yet and Y/N knew that their talk was going to be a little longer and more personal than the other. Bill must've known too because he glanced at his friends and gave them a pleading look as he said, "C-C-Can you all give us a m-m-minute?"

"Yeah," Beverly said. "We'll ride on ahead and you two can catch up, okay?"

Then, before the others could complain, Beverly pushed the boys to their bikes and they all began to bike away. That left Y/N and Bill standing there at the front of the school with their bikes by their side.

Y/N looked down at her feet before whispering, "You done ignoring me now?"

There was a beat of silence and she slowly looked up through her eyelashes only to have Bill rush forward and hug her, the action making both of their bikes fall over and hit the ground. Y/N's arms were out in surprise, but she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around the boy, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Bill whispered into her ear as he practically cradled her head against his body. "I'm so sorry. I let R-R-Richie get to me and the w-w-way I acted around you was un-un-unacceptable. I mean, even that ph-ph-phone call was rude. You w-w-were just checking up on m-m-me and I hung up on you w-w-without even giving a r-r-reason. I didn't mean to h-h-hurt you and I'm so s-s-sorry for that."

"Why'd you do it? What did Richie say?" Y/N asked softly as she pulled away to look at the boy.

"What Richie said wasn't important," Bill told her, his head bowed. "It was what I told myself that got in the way."

"And what did you tell yourself?" she questioned.

"I-I-I thought I c-c-couldn't make you as h-h-happy as they could," Bill admitted. "Th-Th-That I would n-n-never make you as h-h-happy as they could."

Y/N's face softened at that and she furrowed her eyebrows as she lifted a hand up and placed it against Bill's cheek. "Bill, why would you think such a thing?" she asked, the disbelief evident in her voice.

"The w-w-way you laughed. . .the way you s-s-smiled. . .I'd never seen you l-l-look that happy," Bill muttered.

"Bill, that's not true in any way, shape, or form," she assured him. Y/N lovingly rubbed her thumb against his cheek before smiling softly at him.

"I'm my happiest when I'm with you."

Bill blushed at that, his eyes flickering over her face before he leaned forward and rested his forehead against her own. The two both let their eyes close as they enjoyed this moment, their arms holding onto each other while their foreheads touched.

"I r-r-really am sorry," Bill whispered, not opening his eyes.

Y/N smiled softly and opened her eyes long enough so that she could push herself up on her tip toes and press a kiss to Bill's cheek. He instantly leaned into her touch, his arm that was around her pulling her even closer to his body if that was possible.

"I forgive you," Y/N assured him once she had pulled away, Bill turning his face so that their noses brushed against each other and their eyes locked. Both of their faces were red and they were silent for a moment before Y/N smiled and said, "You should know better than to listen to Richie."

Bill chuckled softly and pulled away to press a small kiss to her forehead before he pulled away from her and went over to his backpack. "Yeah, p-p-probably not my s-s-smartest move," he said as he opened his backpack and pulled out his jacket. The same jacket that Y/N had in her possession only a few hours before.

Y/N's smile dropped slightly at the sight. "Oh, I should've told you that I was leaving it for you. I hadn’t meant to keep it so long," she told him, but the boy only smiled and walked over to her with it in his hand.

"I-I-I want you to w-w-wear it," Bill admitted, both of the teens' faces growing redder by the second.

"Really?" Y/N asked, her face lighting up slightly and a hopeful tone in her voice.

Bill nodded and Y/N smiled before turning around. Bill held the jacket up and she slid her arms into the sleeves before Bill put the jacket on her the rest of the way. She turned around and gave the boy a teasing smile.

"So how do I look?" Y/N asked as she struck a few poses for him, a giggle escaping her lips as she did.

Bill chuckled and smiled fondly at the girl. "Beautiful," he told her. "Just like always."

Y/N blushed slightly before going to grab her bike. She picked it up before sending a small smile in Bill's direction. "Come on, Bill. It's time to go save our friend," she said.

And with that, the two got onto their bikes and began to bike after their friends, Bill's eyes locked on Y/N and his jacket that was blowing in the wind behind her.

* * *

Tag List

@witch-of-all-things-soft @nightbu-g @vickeystar @daniellajocelyn @alexthe80swhore @ren-ni @floralpiper @starshininginthedark @aimee-lucass @marvelismylifffe @dwcljh @sycard @connor---murphy @tinycolorwhispers @sarai-ibn-la-ahad @izzyisavengersupernaturaltrash @theamandarenee @amberkay284 @gryffingirl @dejewskoo @artlovingbre @jacinta-lexianne @gabiatthedisco @littlemaeve @newhopenessie @pheonix-nin @captn-sprkl-fngrs @flaredflowersuits @madelinelikesfics @mysteryartisticwriter @that-one-book-girl @spnsquirrel @galaxsea-707 @felicia-can-fly @whoops-im-gay-now @hollandcomics @lauren-theicecreamslinger @peterhollandd @princessserena23 @hollandstanleythomas @you-s-suckbowers @hitoshi-s-stupid-bitch @deviantly-gayy @pastel-rose-water @gothackedalready @fandoms-all-around-catiel @danas-wonderland @c00ln3rdz @lastjeon @fraeppuccino @80sthottie @hawkxyes @milk-n-cheese @mileven-reddie @kimseungminsgf @roboturtle16 @maxinemayficld

[mitchmarnier]

You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to bc I know (and agree with) your ST3 feelings lol but I was going through your ST tag and got emo so,,,, 8. “Well…this is where I live.” for byeler? 🥺 ily btw

Byeler + #8: “Well… this is where I live.”

Author’s note: Logan! This got so long, I apologize lmao. Happy Stranger Things Day to Logan and Logan specifically. This plot has nothing to do with the prompt at all, but I hope you like it anyway! I needed to get my Mike feelings and dwellings OUT of my brain!

Warning: Vague notions of potentially suicidal thoughts (aka references to 1x06- the monster.)

Will didn’t need any sort of supernatural telepathy to know that something was off. He didn’t feel it like goosebumps on the back of his neck or a sudden shaking of his hands. It something deeper, an unsettled feeling in his stomach. A jumping, something just beyond what he was able to describe. Almost like being nervous but… nervous without a cause.

“What’s wrong?” El asked, sitting across from in cafeteria. Dustin, never far behind El these days, sat beside her with his face buried in a large bag of salt and vinegar chips. Despite the worry in his gut, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips at the thought of the disgusted face and fake gagging Lucas would dramatize at the sight. “You are being quiet today.”

“I’m always quiet.” Will said, slowing pulling the crusts off his tuna sandwich. Dustin pulled a disgusted look at the sandwich of choice, as though he wasn’t currently ripping the bag of chips open and licking at the salt directly from the inside.

El didn’t seem to so much as blink as she sat across the table from him. She was staring him down with unwavering intensity and Will knew what she was going to say before the words had a chance to leave her mouth. “Yeah, yeah. I know. Friends don’t lie.”

He chose to ignore that he and El were a little more than friends at this point. Since the… horrific events at the Starcourt Mall four months ago- the loss of Hopper- El had moved into the Byers House. After three weeks of sharing a bed, and sharing a bedroom since then, Will knew they had a connection that was much deeper than simply being friends. In the deepest, and most innocent of ways, El was his other half. Maybe friends didn’t lie, but Will couldn’t lie. Not to El.

“I just feel weird today.” Will said with half a shrug. “It’s not a big deal. It happens.”

El frowned, eye still narrowed. Will reached across the table and gripped her hand. Her expression softened, and she squeezed Will’s hand back even though he knew it wasn’t comfortable. Even over a year later, Will Byers still struggled to stay warm.

Lucas and Max loudly made their way over then, chattering (arguing? Sometimes it was hard to tell) and Will felt his heart sink when he realized that Mike wasn’t with them. El squeezed his hand once more before pulling away. Will thought maybe he saw her drop under the table towards Dustin, but well- Will wasn’t going to dwell on that. Everybody was entitled to their secrets, he knew all about that.

“Where’s Mike?” Will asked Max as she sat down beside him. Lucas, as predicted, had launched right into an argument with Dustin over the empty bag of chips. Max rolled her eyes at them, and immediately turned to grab fries of Dustin’s tray while he wasn’t paying attention.

“Dunno.” Max said through a mouthful. Will frowned and her could feel El watching them. “Asked to go the bathroom halfway through last period and never came back. Guess he took off.”

“Mike wouldn’t do that.” Will said loyally. Lucas and Dustin’s debate slowed to silence and El stared down at her hands. Max was looking at Will almost sadly. Because Mike had been doing stuff like that lately. 

“Well, where could he go?” Will asked heavily, leaning forward on his elbows. He rested his chin on his tightened fists. “It’s not like he’s going to go home in the middle of the day. If he’s not here, where would he go?”

Nobody had any answer for him, and the table was quiet for a moment before Dustin caught Max attempting to steal more fries from his tray and they quickly fell back into chaos. Will continued to shred the bread into tiny pieces and they tossed the baggie into the garbage as the bell rang for class.

“Hey, Will.” Dustin called after him. Will turned around and frowned. He’d thought he’d been trailing behind the rest of his friends but it seemed while he had been lost in his own thoughts, he’d walked a little faster than he’d thought. Dustin was walking towards him, El by his side. Her arm was definitely linked with Dustin’s, cheek against his shoulder in an all too familiar stance. Will raised his brow at her and El smiled shyly.

Not ready to talk about it. Will could understand that.

“What’s up?” Will asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Dustin cleared his throat, scratching at the back of his head with the hand that wasn’t currently in El’s grip. “I think I might know where Mike is.” Dustin said, voice low. Will took a step closer to hear him better. “I mostly pretend I.. don’t know he goes there. But before I tell you, there’s something else you need to know first.”

Will looked between Dustin and El, Dustin looking in dead in the face and El staring off slightly in the distance with an angry frown on her face. . “What is it?”

“It’s uhm.” Dustin swallowed roughly. “When you were… missing… something happened. With Mike.” Will felt his breath begin to pick up, and El’s gaze jerked up from the floor to look at him. “Lucas doesn’t know, either. Things were just really crazy, and by the time everything had calmed down, and you were back and El…” A pained expression came over Dustin face and he cleared his throat again, eyes dropping away from Will’s for the first time since he’d started speaking. “Mike didn’t want to bother you guys with it, and I didn’t think anything of it but. I don’t know if he ever got over it.”

Will glanced between Dustin and El again, willing himself to breathe normally. “What is it? Dustin, seriously, just tell me, just-”

“Mike and I ran into Troy at the top of the Quarry cliff.” Dustin spit out. “The same one the police were saying you fell off and drowned. El had made Troy piss himself in front of everybody at your service for upsetting Mike-” El gave a half smirk, and Dustin matched it-”and he was so pissed. He grabbed and he pulled a knife. He threatened to cut my baby teeth out if Mike didn’t jump.”

“Jump off the Quarry?” Will asked, voice feeling stuck in his chest. “That’s…”

“Psychotic?” Dustin said darkly. “Yeah. It is. I tried to beg him not to jump, but-”

“Wait, he jumped?” Will squawked, then looked around wildly. The cafeteria had completely emptied and Will shook his head. “He jumped off the Quarry? How is he even alive? This doesn’t make any sense-”

“I saved him.” El interrupted Will’s panicked rambling. “With my powers. I held above the water and brought him back up to the top. I saved him.”

Will held eye contact with El for a long time, matching pained expressions on their faces. The difference being, El was from memories and Will’s were from horrified images drawn up from his imagination.

“He didn’t so much jump as just…” Dustin pursed his lips. “He just walked up to the ledge and stepped off. One second he was there, and the next he was disappearing into thin air. And Troy was holding me back, I couldn’t get to him if I tried. I thought he was gone, man.”

Will’s stomach was fully in his throat now, hands shaking at his side. El reached out and took Will’s shaking hand with her free one, uniting the three of them in some sort of half circle.

“I saved him.” El repeated firmly. “I saved him. He’s okay.”

Will nodded and closed his eyes. Images flashed in his mind, getting back from the Upside Down to find out Mike had died while he was gone. He wasn’t sure he could imagine anything worse, having to go through everything that came after without him. Or maybe he never would have gotten back at all, without Mike.

“But he still goes there. I think.” Dustin said quietly. “He said something once, after the mall that made me think but I never knew how to bring it up. But if you’re looking for him, that’s where he might be.”

Will nodded and forced himself to return the smile El gave him as they walked out of the cafeteria. Will sighed. Looks like he wasn’t going to be making it to his afternoon classes, either.

He skidded to a stop near the top of the cliff, and he spotted Mike immediately. He was sitting up at the top, legs dangling over the edge. Will walked towards him, slowly to not startled Mike over the edge. There was no El here to catch him, and after Starcourt… she couldn’t even if she needed to.

“Go away Dustin.” Mike said. His voice was deeper than usual, thick with what Will knew must have been tears. Will’s heart clenched in his chest.

“It’s not Dustin, Mike.” Will said softly.

Mike flinched slightly and turned away from the edge, looking up at Will with big, wide eyes. “What are you doing here? Your mom is going to be so freaked when you find out you bailed out in the middle of the day.”

“And yours isn’t?” Will inquired, taking a seat next to Mike with his feet dangling off the edge of the world. “You know what I was thinking the whole way over here?” Will asked and Mike hummed in response, stubbornly not looking at him. “I was thinking that the worst thing I could imagine was if I came back from the Outside Down and you weren’t here.”

Mike squeezed his eyes shut. “Who told you? Dustin or El?”

“Both?” Will said with a forced laughed. “They’re sort of a package deal now, if you hadn’t noticed.”

Mike crinkled his brow, opened his mouth then shut it quickly.  “Why did you come here?” He asked. “You shouldn’t have come. I’m just. My sister calls it agonizing.” He said the last word in higher pitched, but almost cripplingly angry voice.

Will wanted to reach out to hold his hand, but couldn’t. Best friends since kindergarten or not, but Mike wasn’t El and Will couldn’t just hold his hand. “You guys are fighting again?”

“No.” Mike said shortly. “It’s not- this isn’t about anything, I just.” Mike shook his head. “Well.. this is where I live.”

Will frowned. “What?”

Mike squeezed his eyes shut and his bottom lip shook. Will’s hands twitched in his lap, desperate to give comfort he didn’t know how. “It’s like. I didn’t hit the water but I never really came up either. It’s so stupid that after everything we’ve been through, all the monsters and bullshit we’ve seen and been through- it’s the water coming up to greet me I dream about.”

Will through his judgment away as he tossed an arm around Mike’s shoulder. He squeezed Mike tightly and tried to ignore how his best friend shook beside him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Mike said. “I can’t believe I’m crying to you about this like a bitch. You’ve been through so much, all of you have, and I can’t even-”

“It’s not a race, Mike.” Will said softly. “We all went through stuff and we help each other. Okay? We can’t help you if keep it from us.”

“No, I just-“ Mike hands were shaking between his knees and Will rubbed at Mike’s back. “It’s like I went into the Upside Down at all, or like my dad died or my brother or I got kidnapped by Russian spies or-”

“Stop.” Will said sharply. Mike whipped to look at him, guilty. “You’re not any less of a victim then any of us.”

“I am though.” Mike said so quietly that Will almost didn’t hear it.

He grabbed Mike by the shoulders and tugged him to look at him. They sat nose to nose. “Don’t say that. You lead everybody to find me when I disappeared. You watched the girl you love disappear into thin air and spend an entire year being the only person who still thought she was alive.”

“I saw them pull your body from the water.” Mike said, eyes dancing over Will’s face. Will’s heart nearly exploded in his chest. “We all did. Lucas, Dustin, El.. We were all there and they found you. You were dead and I… I didn’t even know how I supposed to keep existing. What I was going to do next.”

Mike swallowed roughly and turned away, looking over the across the almost black water. “That mouthbreather Troy told me to jump and I looked down and I thought. Maybe you were dead. Or you weren’t and we’d never find you and that would be my fault. For chasing El away, for getting rid of the chance to find you.”

Will stared at Mike’s face, mouth half open.

“I don’t even remember jumping, Will.” Mike said in a broken voice. “I just remember thinking you were gonna die, and then the water was coming up to my face.”

Will let out a short, rough breath and grabbed Mike’s face. He kissed him quickly, so quickly that he pulled back before Mike even seemed to have reacted to what had happened.

“I’m right here.” Will said, tears in his eyes. “I’m here because you never gave up on finding me or helping me after you got me back. Okay? So this thoughts, wherever they come from, and whatever they are… we can past them but you have to talk to me. Or El. Or Nancy… somebody… Okay?”

Mike was staring at Will with a dazed expression.

“Okay?” Will pressed him again, squeezing Mike’s shoulders.

“Okay.” Mike breathed out, nodding once. He and Will held eye contact for a long moment before Mike’s nose crinkled up. “Wait. What were saying about Dustin and El?”

Will laughed.