#but the last shot of what’s her face turning the mind flayer up just seems like it was initially written for her

[max--phillips]

I was sitting here like “todays episode was weird, why was it weird” and I have an odd feeling that while it was definitely supposed to be about those two characters and what they’re up to, I’m gonna guess it was also initially supposed to have Cara in it and then they had to rewrite it so she wasn’t. Just a hunch though

[icanhearcolors]

Close Encounter

Summary: A conversation between my Tav and Astarion inspired me to write a short one-shot (I lied it's a series) reader insert about what I think would happen if they met before they were taken by the mind flayers

pt 2 | pt 3

This is pretty much my first attempt at reader insert so be nice to me pls ;-;

Lemme know if I made any grammar or spelling errors

Word count: 2.9k

---------------

“I’ll take the most you can give me of whatever has the most alcohol in it” 

You announce, slapping some gold coins down on the scuffed wooden bar. The barkeep who probably hasn’t had any business for the past hour startles out of his daydream and glances at you in surprise. He’s a dwarf, with a braided beard and kind eyes, and if it weren’t for the creaky wooden step stool he climbs up on to take orders he would barely be able to see over the bar top.

“Bit early in the night for that wouldn’t you say?” He asks as he climbs a ladder to retrieve a glass from the shelf above his head. You glance out the window as the last few rays of the setting sun color the night a deep reddish purple before it fades into a comforting black. 

You slide another gold coin across the bar. The barkeep smiles,

“Perfect time for some chultun fireswill if I say so myself miss.” He winks, slides the hefty glass full of orange liquid your way, and swipes up the coins before turning to another customer making their way into the tavern. You hold the glass up to your nose and sniff its contents. The fumes coming off the heavily spiced spirit has your nose burning and your eyes watering- perfect. 

You tap the glass on the counter and knock it back. You manage to get a few swallows in before your brain catches up to you and the fireswill burns a searing path from your throat into your stomach, settling there and warming you from the inside out. You slam the glass down and cover your mouth with your hand, trying and failing to hold in a fit of coughs. 

“Easy now.”

A cold hand lands on your shoulder, cooling your heated skin, and you turn, bleary eyed, unprepared for what you find.

He’s an elf, a very very pale elf- but not sickly pale. He just looks like he hasn’t seen the sun in a century or two. His hair catches your eye, a shocking shade of pure white that makes his skin seem tan in comparison. It’s shorter than most elves keep their hair, and it curls in every direction, framing his face beautifully. Once you recover from your initial dazed attraction to him you attempt to level him with your meanest glare that you hope says piss off. He raises his hands in playful surrender and smiles disarmingly at you.

“Rough day?” He asks in a drawling voice. You take him in. He’s wearing a clean white shirt under a set of padded leather armor, and spotless black leather boots. He looks every bit a spoiled noble that has never seen a day of work in his life, but his hands are calloused, and his eyes look haunted. Speaking of his eyes, they’re quite an alluring shade of red. What an odd color for an elf-

His eyes narrow perceptively, as if he’s reading your thoughts as they flit across your face. He turns away, gesturing at your drink and turning your gaze away from his unique appearance.

“Most Baldurians don’t even touch that stuff until well past midnight, are we celebrating or forgetting?”

You turn your body away from the charming elf and stare into the last few sips of your drink. 

“We aren’t doing anything. I’m here to drink, not to talk.”

“Forgetting it is then. Excellent.”

From the corner of his eye you see him grin roguishly, the flash of his white teeth sending a curious spark of adrenaline through your system. Before you can discern why you suddenly went from warm and buzzed to fight or flight, he turns away, tossing a blue coin purse onto the bar and calling for the barkeep, allowing the alcohol to calm your frazzled nerves once more.

“Excuse me Lydon, I’d like to buy our grumpy friend here a drink that won’t burn a hole through her stomach,” He leans over the bar and drops his voice to a low murmur as if he were sharing a secret, ��got anything good for me?” he practically purrs.

The dwarf, Lydon, flushes a deep red and grins coyly at the mysterious patron, “Maybe. But I don’t have enough for everyone Astarion, what if someone comes asking me how she got the good stuff and all I’m willing to sell them is stale ale and swill?”

Astarion’s answering grin is downright lethal. 

“It’ll be our little secret,” He winks. “I’ll take it to my grave.”

Lydon blushes even darker if that were possible and mumbles something about having a type before trodding off toward the old wooden door behind the bar. You’d never related to anything more. Astarion turns toward you and raises an expectant eyebrow.

“Waiting for a thank you?” You ask, wrestling with the instinct ingrained in you to be polite. Your tendency to people please is what landed you in this run down tavern in the first place. You don’t know this elf, and you don’t owe him anything.

“Well I wouldn’t say no to a little gratitude darling- especially not from you” his eyes trace a path from the top of your head to your scuffed leather boots and back up again, stopping at the blush on your cheeks, he smirks, and meets your eyes again. He steps closer to bump your shoulder with his teasingly, and stays there, close enough that your arm brushes his.

“But no my dear, I’m not waiting for a thank you. I’m waiting for a story.” 

“Oh yeah? Keep waiting.” You growl, and he tosses his head back, a genuine laugh bursting out of him. The sound of it is contagious, and you fight the urge to grin yourself. You nearly manage it, save for a slight twitch of your lips that he of course notices.

He tsks, shaking his head at you “I saw that. No use hiding that smile from me, love. The damage is already done.” 

You glare, this time with much less hostility. 

“Who are you? I’m morose and drunk on purpose, elf, and I will not let you wrestle me from it.”

“My name is Astarion” he says with a wink and a mock bow before he leans in, so close you can feel his breath on your skin, “and I’ll wager you’ll let me do a lot worse than that before the end of the night.”

Your breath catches, your pulse picks up, and you’re about to lose yourself in those strange eyes of his when a loud creeeeeaaak and a crash causes both of you to leap away from one another. The dwarven barkeep’s old step stool seems to have finally given in. He lay sprawled on the floor behind the bar, his foot caught in between the split wood.

“GODS DAMMIT” He howls, kicking off the stool. He sighs and hobbles up to you and your new… companion. You can see nothing but his angry eyes and the flushed red tips of his ears as he pours your drink and reaches up to hand it to you. When you grab for it he pulls it out of your grasp and stares at you with a threat in his eyes.

“You didn’t see that.” He snarls at both of you.

“See what?” Astarion feigns ignorance, looking around the room dramatically for whatever the dwarf could possibly be talking about. The barkeep rolls his eyes and hands the drink to you before limping off to find a chair to stand on.

You breathe slowly through your nose.

In.

Out.

In.

You will not laugh.

You have self control.

You take one glance at the pinched “I’m trying not to laugh” look on Astarions face, one that probably mirrors your own, and you explode in a fit of giggles so intense they make your stomach ache.

Astarion can’t hold it in either and slaps the table in his silent gasping laughter, the two of you making quite a scene, but somehow you really don’t care. 

You wipe tears from your eyes and sigh once your laughing fit subsides, your sour mood a distant memory despite your best efforts to cling to it.

“How dare you,” You whine half-heartedly. “I was so committed to my bad mood and you had to go and ruin it.”

Astarion’s eyebrows lower in confused amusement.

“Awww you poor sad little thing. I’d apologize, really I would, but unfortunately for you I’m not sorry.”

You take a swig of the drink he bought for you. It tastes of cherry and currant, and you have never had something so delicious from such a tiny little tavern.

“You should be” you murmur, hanging your head, the humor fading as you’re reminded of why you’re here in the first place.

Astarion notices your shift in demeanor and reaches down, lifting your chin with a cool finger and bringing your gaze to his.

“About that story,” He smiles encouragingly, and you give in.

The alcohol must really be getting to you now, there was no other explanation for the warm, safe feeling that hummed under your skin. Astarion was sweet, and attractive. His attention felt good, and before you could even make the decision to trust him you were already talking. You told him how you were a magistrate in the lower city, complained how the court system was broken and corrupt, and how the judge only appoints magistrates that unthinkingly obey his preferences, never allowing them to make their own judgements. You had tried for months to get on his good side but you think all you did was obliterate any meager scrap of respect he did have for you, and now every interaction you have with him he barks orders at you like you’re his dog and then dismisses you. You were thinking of finding a new profession altogether, but the lower city was plagued with crime, good people died every day because of it, and you had the power to help at least a little if only your boss wasn’t such an asshole. To your embarrassment you began to tear up as you finished your story.

Astarion for his part never interrupts you. He listens with rapt attention to your woeful tale, an indiscernible look on his handsome face. You try to turn your head away as a tear escapes your eye but his grip on your chin tightens, forcing you to stay right where you are. He wipes it away with his other hand and stares at you for a moment, seemingly deciding something.

He reaches up and drags a hand through his hair, releases a held breath, and plucks the glass from your hand, drinking what was left of its contents in two gulps. He brings the glass back down to the counter, a drop of the crimson wine dripping down his chin. The image gives you an odd feeling, like you’re missing a revelation that is only just out of your grasp. He glances behind you, and you turn and follow his gaze to another rather pale looking elf, this one with darker hair but similarly colored eyes watching the two of you with rapt attention. Goosebumps rise on your skin and that fight or flight instinct is back in full force. Your heart begins to pound against your chest, understanding the danger that you’re in even if you do not. 

“Smart girl” Astarion murmurs, and you whip back around to face him.

He wipes his face with his sleeve and grabs you by the hand, pulling you off the bar stool.

“W-what are you-” He places a hand on your lower back and begins deftly guiding you through the raucous crowd of drunk Baldurians. One stumbling wizard in the crowd pats his pockets down and cries,

“Has anyone seen my coin purse? It’s blue!”

“Walk faster” Astarion says into your ear, his warm breath whispering across your neck. You do as he says.

After what feels like a lifetime of dodging drunk elbows and slipping through temporary openings in the crowd you reach the exit, and Astarion rushes you soberingly into the cold night air. 

“You stole that guy's money didn’t you?” You accuse.

He doesn’t even have the decency to deny it,

“What are you going to do darling? Arrest me?” is his reply.

He doesn’t slow down for a single second, ushering you into a dark alley near the tavern.

“Astarion what are we doing? You can’t just wander into abandoned alleyways at night! This is how people get kidnapped.”

His startled gaze clashes with yours in the dim light for a moment before he laughs. Not an amused genuine laugh, but a pained, choked sound that claws its way out of his throat involuntarily. He runs a hand through his hair once again and then turns away from you, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“It is indeed, darling,” He whispers so quietly you have to lean towards him to hear it. 

“You have no idea.”

You don’t have time to react, the alcohol slowing your reflexes, before his hand is around your throat and your back is against the brick wall of whatever building is behind you. You reach up and grab his wrist, eyes widening in panic. For a flash you see in your mind your body lying asphyxiated in the revealing light of morning, another victim to the merciless city of Baldur’s gate, and you prepare to fight like hell, when Astarion lunges for you and…

Kisses you?

Your brain short circuits, all thoughts drifting away with the sensation of Astarion’s mouth on yours. His hand around your throat gentles, his long fingers drifting over your skin until they press into your pulse point, feeling your racing heartbeat. 

You fist his shirt sleeve in your hand. Maybe it's because you’re smashed, maybe it’s because you can’t remember the last time someone kissed you, maybe it’s because you know no one that’s ever kissed you has been as good at it as this man- whatever the reason may be, you kiss him back. 

He tilts his head and deepens the kiss, stepping closer until his body is pressed against yours. You reach up to do what you’ve been dying to do since you first saw him and feel the soft strands of his hair.

He leans into your touch and it emboldens you to kiss him deeper, your tongue scraping against something… sharp?

He gasps and pulls back, just a few inches, staring into your eyes. He seems to be searching for something, almost desperately.

You stare back, equal parts terrified of and enraptured by this beautiful stranger.

Finally, he drops his hand from your neck and steps back, the cold air assaulting you once more as you crash back down to reality. You gaze at Astarion, confusion written all over your features.

“I can’t do this” He laughs. It sounds just as pained as the last one.

“Can’t do what?”

“I can’t bring you to him”

His head snaps up to the sky, studying the stars.

“I still have time to find another. Petras saw me with you, he’ll tell Cazador if I come back with someone else. But I can lie. I can say you knew what I was, escaped before I could lure you back. Maybe he won't question it. I’d spend a few weeks in the kennels but it could be worse. I can’t tell him I changed my mind, I can’t spend another year in that tomb.” He’s rambling now, not to you but to himself. 

He rubs his face in his hands and takes another stumbling step back.

“Go” Is all he says.

“Go? Go where?” You mumble, feeling cold and strangely a little hurt by his retreat into the shadows.

You don’t have dark vision, in the dim torch light much of his face is now hidden from you, but his eerily red eyes seem to glow like a cat’s now in the dark. The sight fills you with dread. Pieces begin to connect, the hundreds of unsolved missing person cases, the handful of eyewitness accounts claiming they saw the missing leave with someone. The descriptions varied, but a few details remained constant. The unknown person was always charming, flirtatious even, they tried to get their victims intoxicated in some way, and they always had a pallid complexion, red eyes, and sharp canines. Sifting sluggishly through your muddled memories you can even recall a couple of accounts of victims leaving taverns on the arm of a white haired pale elven man.

Astarion was a vampire.

“Go back to the courts,” He begins, “and never apologize to Judge Eruien. Stand up to him when he’s being an ass, he’ll never respect you otherwise. Go back home and lock your doors safely behind you. Never invite anyone in unless you trust them implicitly. Go back to your life in the sun, make Baldur’s gate a little better just by being in it, and if you ever-” He leans toward you, his face inches from yours once more. Now that you know what to look for, you catch glimpses of his uncomfortably long canines with every word that he speaks. 

“See anyone with eyes like mine again… run.”

With that he steps back into the shadows. They seem to swallow him whole, and you do run, a small voice in the back of your mind reminding you that you never told Astarion the name of that judge you were lamenting about.

In the years that follow you take his advice, and your work life drastically improves. Enough so that you feel comfortable asking the old elven judge about his former magistrates, a tear dripping down your cheek as he tells you what he can recall about a white haired elf with golden eyes and a promising future that was ripped away when he was murdered almost two centuries ago by a gang of Gur that didn’t appreciate his final ruling.

A month later you wake up in a nautiloid.

[theladybarnes]

CHERRY BOMB: CHAPTER TWELVE

"As a wise man once said; we’ve got shared trauma. So what’s a little more, right?”

▸ summary: things come to a wild end ▸ characters: the party ft. the teens ▸ word count: 8.5k         ▸ warnings: angst, fluff,  ▸ series masterlist

The drive back to the mall was probably the fastest you’ve gone tonight. 

 But there was no time to waste to spend thoughts on the speed you guys had driven since the group had to immediately prepare for the attack. Just as Jonathan had pressed down on the brake, the group was able to peer out the window in time to see as the flayer had managed to enter back inside the mall.

 While the three of you staggered out of the back of the truck, Will and Lucas pulled out a cardboard box from the backseat. You had only just adjusted back to standing up straight when Will pushed the box into your arms. 

 You stared down at the items inside with wide eyes as the boy quickly divided up everything to fit into different cases. “We’re gonna have to split up.” you said handing over the remaining boxes to the others. “Byers and Sinclair, the two lovebirds, and Gilligan and Ginger with me.”

 “I can’t wait for the day you run out of sailor jokes.” Steve sighed as you passed him the box. 

 “I see myself as The Skipper more than Ginger..” Robin hummed as she fiddled with the lighter. 

 “Uh guys do remember seeing the Mind Flayer go in the mall, right?” Lucas chimed in, giving the three of you a look. 

 “He’s right. We don’t have much time or fireworks so we’re gonna have to make every spark count.” Jonathan said sternly before he glanced over at you. “Everyone try and stay safe.” With that he quickly turned around and led the others towards the mall.

 The three groups split off once the balcony came into view. The sight of the looming creature was enough to nearly cause you to stumble as you set up your attack point with Steve and Robin. All around the lights of the stores in the mall began to blink. The flayer was making the entire place go on the fritz as it peered down at something below it. 

 Bending down, you try to look underneath its legs. Far towards the front entrance of Scoops was El, looking up in fear at the creature. “It’s El!” you gasped, turning towards the other two. “Light em up!”

 The others seemed to come to that conclusion on their own as they readied their aim. The spark to start the attack was the moment Lucas threw the first hit.

 “Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!” you heard him yell. 

 All together on cue, the rest of you began to take your shots. Each group went after the other in a blitz attack that had the monster roaring in every direction. The three of you were perfectly working in tandem, with the other readying their shot right after the other.

 “Hey, asshole! Over here!” Steve grunted, throwing his firework perfectly into the mouth of the flayer. After the other groups went Robin went next, hitting the monster right at the side of its face. And at your turn, you managed to get it square in the face.

 Steve threw his next one, leaning over the balcony to watch it hit over his head. Another direct hit.

 “That’s for my girlfriend’s car, you bastard!”

 The two of you stopped instantaneously. Looking over each other in shock at the sudden choice of words. While Steve looked absolutely nervous, worried that he might have said the wrong thing, you couldn’t help but feel yourself become excited inside. Shock turning slowly into a wide grin.

 “Guys?!” Robin called out, passing you another firework and bringing you back to reality. “Big monster, remember?”

 “Right!” you laughed, taking the firework from her. “You heard my boyfriend, asshole!”

 Steve remembered to step back in, throwing his perfect shots with a mirroring grin on his face.

  The bombarding attack only worked for so long. The amount of throws given to the beast began to dwindle and to your dismay, you watched as Robin took the last firework. “Steve, we’re all out!” you cried.

 He rushed over towards the walkie, pressing on the talk as he watched over to Robin’s throw. “Dustin!” he yelled into the receiver. “We’re out of time!”

 There isn’t any response. The three could only stand there and watch as the others slowly started to cease their fire. Leaving the main floor of the mall in a fog. From the balcony, you could see past the fires towards the front of Scoops. El was pinned beneath Billy, but she didn’t look up to him in fear anymore. It actually looked like she had been touching the side of his face. 

 “What the hell is going on?” you muttered as your fingers gripped tightly onto the ledge. Steve came up from behind, hand brushing up your back as he followed your gaze. 

 “I don’t understand. Why haven’t they shut the damn gate down?!” he gritted, watching as the flayer began to straighten up. 

 Down below stood the large beast. Peering down menacingly at Billy and El. Fire surrounded its large mass, making it look like a monster straight out of hell. Your eyes followed down to its gaze, noting its interest in El. 

 Just then, the monster opened its mouth, ready to shoot out a limb towards the girl when Billy stepped up and held his hands out. Stopping the attack. 

 “No!” Cried out Billy.

 It all happened so fast. 

 Before any of you could even try and think of a plan to stop the creature, it suddenly shot out the rest of its limbs. Latching and biting all over Billy’s body. Patches of dark ooze formed over the white in Billy’s shirt. It was attacking its own pawn. 

 The creature roared down at Billy. Dragging his body up towards his mouth as if he were about to gobble him up whole.

 For a moment it seemed that whatever rage was filled within the boy could power against whatever the flayer had. Like at any moment he would break off from the grasp and fight back. The yells could be heard even up at the balcony with how strong they were.

 But any thought of his survival from the attacks were cut short the moment the flayer’s opened up his mouth again to shoot out its final blow. Direct to the middle of Billy’s chest. 

 That’s when you heard Max’s scream. 

 Just as sudden as its attack on Billy, the flayer began to cry out in pain. Flailing its large arms around as it thrashed against the main floor of the mall. You staggered back, feeling silent shock run through your body as you watched the chaos below. It was only a moment later that it finally stopped its movements, falling down to the ground as the connection to the gate had finally been closed off.

 Max slowly approached Billy on the floor, reaching down to shake the boy awake. But no matter how hard she cried out to him, or how hard she shook him up, there was no getting him awake.

 You turned your body away from the sight, burying your face into Steve’s chest to cover up the world around you. This was the man of your nightmares and you fell out of whatever sort of feelings you had with him long ago. Wishing him all sorts of terrible things for the pain and hurt he inflicted onto others. But something deep down still knew him from home. From a time when you weren’t a part of the horrors of the upside down and living in a blissfully unaware world of partying and school. 

 But just like that former life, Billy Hargrove was cold and dead.

  JULY 5TH (2:00AM) 

 It was hours later and you found yourself unable to sleep. After dealing with the mess of clearance from the Hawkins Lab security, and checked up by one of their doctors. The members of the party were pretty much sent home without further discussion.

 There were apparently casualties from both sides of the battle of StarCourt. Some you were aware of like the Russians and your former boyfriend. But one you were shocked to hear was Jim Hopper. Meaning that El was once again left without a family. 

 How could one win feel like such a heavy failure?

 It filled your chest with an aching pain that caused you to toss and turn for so long now. There was only one person that you wanted to see to fix that. And despite the fact that you saw him enter inside the safety of his home, you still needed to check him out on your own. 

 To know once and for all the exact amount of damage he had suffered since you were forced to listen to his interrogations. 

 Which is why you were finding yourself sneaking out through your front door. Dressed only in pajamas that covered up your bruised and tired body. The ride to Steve’s without a car was a lot longer than you’d have preferred, but thanks to the flayer, you’d be back to biking around a lot now. 

 Honestly, being out this late should have freaked you out, especially being alone. But your mind couldn’t focus on that. All you knew was that you needed to make sure Steve was okay. That no one would be sneaking into his room and taking him back underneath the town to torture him for answers. That no mind flayer would take over his mind. That nothing would be piercing his chest and kill–

 “Baby?” 

 You blinked hard. Noticing that you were no longer riding your bike through Loch Nora but actually at your destination. Your hand was raised up to Steve’s double doors and you were shaking. Either from the cold or from the running thoughts that kept plaguing your mind. 

 Steve, who was still standing in the doorway, looked over at you with concern evident on his face. Your eyes scanned over his body, noting that he wasn’t dressed for bed like you were. He was actually in jeans. Like he was getting ready to leave. “Baby?” he said again softly, reaching out to place his hands on your shoulders. The heat from his palms seeped through your shirt, snapping you back into focus.

 “I-I needed to see you. I needed to know you were safe.” you stuttered, letting him pull you into the house. “Why are you wearing jeans? Why aren’t you resting?”

 “I couldn’t sleep. Was going to see you, actually..” he said with a small smile. “Should’ve known my girl would be on the same page as me.” 

 You turned and made sure he locked up the doors to his house before pushing yourself into his arms. The warmth of his chest seeped through your shirt and you inhaled the scent of the cotton that always stuck onto his clothes. It was so weird how just this time last year you were so mad at Steve. Wanting nothing to do with him. But now? Now you were at a place in mind where you needed to have the comfort of just his touch in order to feel right again.

 Steve chuckled lightly at your affection, unaware of the severity of your need for it. Quietly, he ushered you towards the stairs. Leading the way over to the privacy, and safety, of his room. “Where are they?” you asked softly once he had closed up the door.

 “Well, note says Indianapolis. They’ll be back Monday.” 

 A small bit of anger filled within you. Of course they’d be gone for so long in a time like this. When you needed to know he was with people who were supposed to watch over him, and make sure he was okay when you couldn’t. What good were parents if they didn’t even stick around for their-

 “Baby, you’re gripping me pretty tight.” 

 “I’m sorry.” you said pulling back, watching as he gave you a small reassuring smile again. “My mind is just..all over the place right now.”

 He didn’t say anything, only moving you over to sit at the end of his bed before he joined you. “After everything, I wouldn’t expect you to be in any place normal.” His hand reached up to cup at the side of your cheek before he leaned in to place a kiss on your forehead. 

 “I’m just worried about you.” Looking back at him, you pushed him back a bit to place a hand on chest lightly. Feeling the subtle thump of his heartbeat.  

 “I’m fine, Trouble..”

 “Let me see your chest.” you said calmly. Hands reaching out to tug at the end of his shirt. But he quickly stopped you, tugging down the shirt before you could do anything. “Steve, I’m serious. I need to see.”

 “Honey, it’s fine. I’m fine. I just need to get some sleep.” he licked over his lips, eyes shifting quickly towards the pillows on the bed. “So do you.”

 “It’s not fine, Steve!” you said urgently, trying to reach for the hemline of his shirt again. “None of this is fine! I need to see you are okay. I need to know–”

 “Know what? I’ve been checked out!” he countered, hands gripping onto yours. “They cleared me to go home.”

 “Steve, let me just see for myself!” 

 “NO!”

 The two of you instantly pulled back from each other in shock. Neither knowing how to react to each other’s sudden outbursts. It’s not until the tears you were unaware of, slipped down your cheeks and onto your hands that you realized you were crying. 

 “I’m sorry.” you whispered, embarrassed for the neediness that came with your worry. You wrapped your hands around yourself, needing to hold onto something.  “I-I didn’t–”

 “No, no, no. I’m sorry. “ Steve said quickly, pulling you back into a hug. The back of his hand rubbed gently at your back and you couldn’t help but reveal in the hold before he pulled back to look at you again. “I get it. I’d be the same if the roles were reversed.” He reached down to the end of his shirt, looking slightly ashamed. “I just didn’t want you to have to see me like this.”

 Without waiting for a response from you, he sighed heavily before carefully tugging the shirt off of  his body. Grunting a bit in pain. It’s not until he leaned back and allowed the light from his bedside lamp to cast over him that you were able to take in the damage he had. 

 All around his chest and sides were various shades of red to purple bruises. The Russian guards having left no spot clear of their damage from their interrogations. There was a particular dark mark over his clavicle that looked painful. Making you raise a hand gently to try and brush the bruise away with your touch. 

 There was no holding back the sniffling that followed after that. And when the more tears came out, you let yourself finally react. These monsters had hurt him. They hurt him so much and you couldn’t stop them. “I’m so sorry, baby.” You sputtered, unable to hold back the intense sob that had built up in your throat. “If I hadn’t tripped..if I didn’t get caught. We could have gotten out faster.”

 Steve reached over to hold the sides of your face. Shushing you instantly as he pressed gentle kisses all over your face.

 “This was not you, baby.” He kept repeating. “This is on those evil bastards. No one else. We would have been taken regardless. Okay? How do you think Robin and I got caught? They were too strong for us.” 

 “But maybe I could have helped you two! And if I helped then you wouldn’t hav—“

 “Trust me. It would have ended the same.”

 There’s another rebuttal on your tongue but Steve stopped that by kissing you quickly. The emotions that were held within the two lips were strong enough to almost make you want to cry again. But it stopped your panicking long enough that you were back to being calm by the time Steve pulled away. 

 He kept his gaze down at your lips, reaching a hand up to lightly gaze at the line of your bottom lip. Like usual, you can’t help but place a gentle kiss against the finger tip. Making him smile again before he dropped his hands to his lap. You use that chance to go over his bruising again, trying to remind yourself that while he was in pain. He was still before you. 

 He was still here.

 It’s not until you're done checking over everything that he finally looked up at you. A little flicker of amusement in his eyes. “Be honest,” he said softly, lips curled up in a small smirk.. “Is it bad? Will I have to wear sweaters for the rest of my life?” 

 You want to chastise him for making light of the situation, but the words are too familiar. And while it took you too long of a minute to think about it, the small memory of him fixing you up the previous year in the Byers’ bathroom came into mind.  “It’s disgusting.” you replied finally, a small smile fighting its way onto your face. 

 The two of you laughed light heartedly, relaxing a bit from the bit of seriousness with the help of the memory. But once that died down, Steve leaned in, allowing the tips of his fingers to brush against the sides of your neck. 

 “Take off your shirt.” He said suddenly. 

 “Why do you always ask me that when I'm here?” You hummed softly, feeling a bit like yourself again. He gave you an amused look, cheeks hinted with a bit of pink before he nodded to your neck. 

 “Let me see it without the shirt in the way.”

 Complying with his request, you pull off the pajama shirt, folding your arms over your chest to cover up at your breasts before turning your head to the side. Letting him get a proper look of everything. He huffed out air through his nose. Frustrated with the sight of your bruised neck. It was dramatically still a dark purple. 

 “It’s worse than it looks.” you said quietly. “They said after two days it’ll lighten up. Just gotta ice it now and then, take pain relief if I feel anything.”

 “And do you feel anything?” he asked, face close to your neck now during his inspection. 

 “No.” you sighed. “Just you.”

 Your response brought out a hum from him and shifted his head a bit to press a kiss to your neck. Making you shiver from the feeling of his lips on your skin. He seemed to like that reaction and proceeded to press even more kisses, moving one of his hands to wrap around the side of your hip.

 “Steve..” you sighed, trying not to fall into the stirring sensation.

 “I’m making you feel better.” he said against your neck. Teeth grazed against the vein lightly while his other hand rubbed from your other side to the arm currently covering your chest. “Can’t a guy just make his girl feel good?”

 Smiling at the thought, you gently pushed his hands off from you so that you could cup the sides of his face. Bringing his gaze back to yours. Though that was a little bit difficult with your top off and arms no longer able to cover yourself.

 “A guy can make his girl feel good when he doesn’t have an entirely bruised chest.” He scoffed a bit before you nodded to him. “Tell me, just what exactly did they say when you were checked out?”

 “I told you, I’m fine. I’m clear to do any–”

 “Steve Harrington, you be honest with me right now.”

 The use of his full name made his eyes go wide before he smirked a bit. “Say my name that way again.”

 Shaking your head, you gently push him away and slide off from the bed. Reaching for your top on the floor. But before you could slip it on, he wrapped an arm around you and pulled you back towards the bed. “It’s a bruised rib, sprained clavicle, and bruised eye. Six weeks for them to heal up properly.” He pointed over to cut on his lip and pouted. “This thing will be around a lot longer if I don’t get some scar cream. Now can we go back to letting me do my work?” 

 Looking down at his lip, you gently cupped at his cheek and leaned in to press a kiss to his forehead. “You are not going back to work for six weeks.” Steve’s eyes widened again and you fought the smile that wanted to come out from his shock. “Listen, you’re not gonna feel good in any kind of way until you’re healed up. I’m not gonna risk you being in pain just so we can have sex.”

 “I’ll risk it! Allright? We’re finally together!” he tried, reaching out towards you. “We love each other. We gotta celebrate!”

 His desperation is only a little bit funny, but you’re trying to hold that laugh down to try and eb serious about this. “You think every time we defeat monsters from the upside down and throw in confessions we gotta celebrate with sex?” 

 “YES.”

 Shaking your head, you allowed yourself to laugh a bit before patting at his hand tenderly. “Okay, we’ll celebrate. Just when you’re not banged up and the color of a grape.” you reassured him. He parted his lips to fight back on it, but you’re quick to place your fingers against his lips to stop him. “I want to, trust me. I just don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

 Steve sighed disappointedly, bringing his hand up to grab yours. He pressed his lips to your fingers before nodding his head. “Okay,” he said, giving in. “Okay, you’re right.” Reaching for his shirt, he was about to slip it back on himself before he looked over at you. 

 “What?” you asked, confused. “Do you need he–”

 He slipped the shirt over your head, tugging it down your body. You pushed your arms through the sleeves and looked down at him questioningly. He adjusted the ends, making sure your bare chest was now perfectly covered before back at you. 

 “I want my girl warm.”

 “And my shirt wouldn’t have sufficed?”

 “That thin thing?” he huffed, pushing himself off the bed. “Barely covered your skin, let alone keep you warm.” 

 Rolling your eyes, you watched as he slowly took off his jeans, leaving him only in boxers. There’s thankfully no other major bruising to his body, but your casual check out doesn’t go unnoticed. 

 “Change your mind?” he teased.

 You ignore his words and pull at the blanket to his bed, climbing inside to get under the covers. Steve chuckled at that, moving to climb in after you. The two of you face each other instantly, getting in as close as you could. 

 Steve sobered up a bit from his previous emotions and reached out to push a stray hair away from your face. Leaning to press a soft kiss to your forehead. “Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked softly. There’s no doubt you know what he’s referring to, but you decide to play dumb anyway.

 “I thought we were already talking?” 

 He pursed his lips a bit. “I’m being serious.”

 Sighing, you snuggled closer towards him. Letting your senses be engulfed in Steve before peering back up at him. The hum of his room’s air conditioning was enough background noise to lull you to sleep, but you knew he’d want some sort of answer about it.

 “I’m not sure” you said honestly. “There’s a part of me that’s sad for the loss of a life, for Max, for..the Billy I used to know. But that guy was long gone before the Flayer ever took control of him.” 

 “Doesn’t mean that you wanted him to die.”

 “I don’t want anyone to die.” 

 Steve nodded his head, moving to rub gently at the small of your back before he tugged you closer. “I learned a while ago that the upside down doesn’t care who dies and who doesn’t. It’s out of our hands..”

 You think about why Steve would feel that way until the memory of Barb Holland came into mind. Then Bob Newby, and lastly, Jim Hopper. People who were good as much as Billy was bad were killed because of everything with the upside down too. 

 “So this is just our new normal? Dealing with the death of someone we know every year?” 

 “No.” Steve said quickly. “The gate is shut down for good.”

 “That’s what we thought last time. How can you be so sure?” You asked, looking up to his face again. “What if there’s something new again? What if the next person I lose is you? What if you di—”

 Steve shushed your panic by pressing his lips against yours. Like before it instantly washed you in a comforting hold. “Nothing will happen to me or you.” He breathed against your lips. “The gate is closed and if anything or anyone tries to hurt you again, I’ll stop them.”

 “You’ll stop them?” you repeated, looking at him a little bit in disbelief. 

 “Yes,” he said firmly. “Because you’re my girl and no one is gonna look out for you better than me, okay?”

 The words hit differently this time and you can’t help but feel his emotions sweep you off your feet, metaphorically speaking. While there’s no certainty that Steve would always be there to protect you and even know if things with the upside down were done for good. The determination behind his voice is enough to settle you down for now.

 “I love you.” you said softly, pressing your lips quickly to his. He was quick to drag you back in when you began to pull away. Deepening the kiss as he too felt the emotions take over him. One of his hands moved to press you closer to his body, making you feel the front of his chest swell against yours. 

 “I love you, too.” he said hotly to your lips, mouth parting slightly to gain back some air. “So much.” 

 He tried to go for another deep kiss, but you cut it short. Choosing to press gentle pecks to his lips and face before you finally were able to pull back. “We should sleep. Tomorrow everyone’s gonna wanna talk about everything.” 

 Ignoring the pout on his face, you turned your body around, giving Steve the chance to drag you back to his front and hold you close in his arms. “What if I wanna spend the day in bed with you?”

 “You’ll have to plan that in the next six weeks.” you reminded him. 

 He muttered something under his breath before he leaned in to place gentle kisses against the nape of your neck. “I’ll be counting the days until then.” The pout was still very evident in his voice, making you smile a bit as you dragged his hand to drape over your waist. 

 “Okay, Sailor.” you chuckled, allowing your eyes to close as you relaxed in his hold.

 “Nuh uh.” he yawned, reaching over you a bit to turn off the lamp by his bed. “Can’t be a sailor anymore if there’s no Scoops.”

 “Shit, you’re right. I guess I better change it back to your highness.”

 “Nope, that’s too old.”

 “There’s literally nothing else I can call you.” You lied, feeling him tighten his arm teasingly. “If not that then..baby?”

 “I’m calling you that.” 

 “Oh come on, there’s only so many pet names I can call you. Honey?” 

 “Sorry, dibs on that too.” 

 “Steve!”

 “Goodnight, Baby.”

 TWO MONTHS LATER

 It would only take till the end of the summer for another big change to happen. After thinking it over, Joyce decided that she could no longer live in Hawkins. The pain and loss of both Bob and Jim took a heavy toll on her heart. The Byers family, and their newest member El, would be moving to California. 

 Something that you and Jonathan found very amusing.

 But just like that, the party, the teens, everyone, would be split apart. Making the summer feel like it was truly the end of things. 

 All of you tried to make due with the limited time you had left. Spending the last hot day at Steve’s house for swimming. Movie nights in the Wheeler basement to watch cheesy scary movies. And for the teens, one last cheap slice of pie from the local diner. 

 It was the day before the Byers house was to pack up and leave and you managed to reserve the day alone with your friend. There wasn’t anything special done, in fact, you took it upon yourself to help Jonathan organize his room enough for easy packing. But now, like usual, the two of you were outside his house. Sitting on the hood of his crappy car, talking. 

 “So you think this old thing can make it to California?”

 “It can hear your insults, you know.” Jonathan laughed as he gently rubbed down on the metal below him. “Besides, this old thing is a lot better than the balled up red mess of yours sitting in the junkyard.” 

 You feigned a shocked look. Still slightly bitter about your car’s demise from the Flayer’s rampant rage. 

 “That is literally too soon to joke about my baby like that.”

 “Sorry,” he snorted, trying not to fall for the pout that you’re throwing at him. “It’s a sad truth you have to face.”

 “Trust me, I do.” you sniffled. “If it weren’t for Steve’s lifts, I’d be a hot mess on my dumb bike.”

 Jonathan shook his head before he nodded towards the road. “Speaking of, where is he? Usually I only get you for an hour or two before he’s whisking you off.” There’s no real hate in his tone. Something you were worried about when you started to date Steve. It was genuine curiosity. 

 “He knew what today meant for us. Said he wanted to give me as much time with you and that he’d pick me up and take me out to dinner.”

 “How generous of him.” Jonathan said to his lap, picking at the end of his sweater. “Gave us the whole day.. to say goodbye.”

 “Hey, this isn’t goodbye.” you reminded him with a nudge to his shoulder. “This is us getting ready for your trip that will have you back by Christmas. At least that’s what I think I heard Joyce tell Mike the other day.”

 “It won’t be the same. You of all people would know.”

 “I know.” you muttered.

 There’s a beat of silence before you scoot over closer to Jonathan. Moving to rest your head onto his shoulder. He rests his head on top of yours, letting out a long sigh before he spoke up again. “Remember when we first met?”

 “You mean when you stared at me while Carol was yacking my ear off?”

 “Yes,” he laughed. “You caught me so fast and immediately called me out for it. Nearly gave me a heart attack when you chased me down the hall.”

 “What was I supposed to do? Cower away from the guy who was looking at me?”

 “You wouldn’t have been the first.”

 Pulling your head back, you glared over at your friend before giving him another nudge. “Well, I’m glad I didn’t. Got myself a good weirdo out of it.” You put your head down again and looked out towards the street. Watching as the street lights began to come to life down the block the closer the day began to end. 

 “I wish I could stay.” he sighed, looking down the same direction as you. “Finish out Senior year with you and Nance.”

 “Me too. It won’t be the same..it won’t be as fun.”

 “You’ll have fun. You got Nancy, Steve, and Robin.”

 There’s some sort of push to keep the tone positive. But oddly enough, it’s only making you sad. “But there won’t be you.” you said softly. “There won’t be anyone to make fun of the town with or listen to cheesy rock music with.”

 “My music is not cheesy.”

 “Or watch you live in denial with.” you went on, making Jonathan laugh.

 “I’ll be back. Soon enough.” he said after the laughter had died down. You picked your head up to look at him and found he was looking down at you. “We can go to the park and laugh at the cheesy couples trying to ice skate together.”

 “Oh God, that is so cheesy. I’m in. We can even take photos of the ones that fall.” you chirped, moving to slide off the car. Jonathan followed next, dusting off some of the dirt from his pants before he stood before you. There’s a bit of a watery look to his eyes and you found it making your own sting with tears.

 “You’re my best friend,” he said suddenly. “And as weird as it is to say to anyone other than my Mom or Nancy, I love you.”

 “I love you too, creep.” you smiled, feeling the waterworks trying to fight to come out now. “And you’re definitely not gonna be one of those friends who cry when they have to move away.”

 “Oh, definitely not.” he said, choking up a bit. “And you’re too cool to be crying for some guy you’ve been friends with for almost two years.”

 “Definitely not!” you said, already reaching up to wipe away the tears that rolled down your cheeks. It's another somber moment of you two keeping emotions under control before Jonathan gave up and pulled you in for a very needed hug. 

 “Wanna hear something funny?” you mumbled into his jacket. 

 “What?”

 “Steve said he wanted to take me ice skating this winter..”

 At that, the two of you turned your sniffling into laughter. Holding onto each other to steady yourself for a good few minutes. It’s not until the sound of a car approaching that the two of you shut up. 

 Pulling back, you watched as the familiar red hue of Steve’s BMW came into one of the street lights. A friendly face, with a sad reminder of what tomorrow would bring. Turning to face the driveway, you watched Steve’s face as he pulled up to park his car. 

 You couldn’t help but grin at Steve as you watched him climb out of the car. The look on his face is a little nervous, but once his eyes found yours, he sent you a grin back. “Hope I’m not too early.” he waved, stepping over towards you.

“You’re right on time. Let me go get my stuff inside.” The two boys looked slightly worried to be left alone, but you ditched them momentarily to quickly gather your things and say your goodbyes to the three inside. 

 Joyce was, of course, as emotional as you expected. She’s been through so much, but it was nice to know that she had a soft spot for you. You remembered to give her the contact information for your Father’s law firm. Reminding her that if there was ever a legal situation with El or Will that he would be able to help upon her request. She told you not to worry and reminded you to call often.

 Next stop was the kids. A weird sight to see all of them gathered under one roof. It wasn’t until late afternoon that they all showed up. The boys gathered in Will’s room to hang out once more, and the girls in El’s bedroom. With their friends around they put on brave faces, but once you pulled them out in the hallways, they let their composure crumble a bit. 

 Saying goodbye to them hurt you a lot more than you thought. They were just kids. Dustin’s little friends. But thinking about how you weren’t going to see them around the following week made you terribly sad. You were never good with goodbyes, and this time wasn’t any different. 

 Finally tearing yourself from the kids, you found your way back outside. Purse in hand as you made your way over towards the boys. The last bit of their conversation tickling into your ears.

 “..I get it. You take care of yourself, man.”

 “Thanks, uh, you take care too.” 

 Their gazes turned over at you as you stepped forward. A small hopeful smile on your face at the sound of their ending pleasantries. You’re about to make a joke about them hopefully turning into penpals when you notice something in Jonathan’s hands. “What is that?”

 “Oh,” he said, turning it over to show you. It was a thin dark green photo album. No bigger than a school binder. “I sort of..put this together for you.”

 “You’re leaving and decide to give me a going away present?” you scoffed, reaching over for it. “And here you were last week telling me if I spent a dime on you, you’d kick my ass.” 

 Jonathan rolled his eyes a bit before flipped the cover for you. “It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but I figured you’d like it now, smart ass.”

 Ignoring his playful jab, you watched as he turned to show you the following pages. The pictures are done in Jonathan’s familiar candid style, and you’re happy to see how many he’s taken since the last Christmas he got the camera. 

 There’s photos of you and Dustin in his house, the two of you at school, some with Nancy while the two of you talk on the hood of his car, and even to your surprise, a few with Steve. “I promise, these weren’t taken in a weird creepy way..I just thought you’d appreciate having some memories.”

 “I so want to kick your ass right now.” you sniffled, feeling more tears come out. Steve stepped closer, peering down at the photos with a small smile on his face.

 “That’s cool, but you should probably save it for Christmas.” he smiled. “I think I’ve kept you from Harrington long enough today.”

 Nodding your head, you hand over the album to Steve before wrapping Jonathan in one more hug. “I’m gonna miss you, Creep.” you said softly before pulling back. “Don’t go over there and become best friends with another bitchy Californian, okay? That’s my job.”

 “Cross my heart.” he chuckled, before patting your back. The two of you step back from each other and you feel the warmth of Steve’s hand engulf yours. Keeping you warm and steady as you moved towards his car.

 After he helped you inside, you watched as Jonathan moved back to the hood of his car. Sitting quietly as Steve made his way back to the driver’s seat. Bringing your hand up from your lap, you give your friend one last wave. Watching as he did the same. 

 You kept your gaze on your friend as Steve pulled out from the Byers’ driveway. Going at a slow pace to give you the most amount of time. But eventually the car is turning and your friend’s face is losing focus. And soon enough the two of you are driving off towards the familiar road back to town. 

 “You gonna be okay, baby?” Steve asked a couple of minutes later. Reaching to place his large palm on your thigh. It warmed up your skin through your tights and you can’t help but smile at the affection. While you were sad about so many changes that were about to happen, you almost forgot one of the best ones.

 “I will be.”

  THE NEXT DAY

 It had been ten minutes inside of Family Video that you found yourself silently raking through the aisles of movies available to rent. Most of them you’ve either seen or heard from tv. But there were a few that you found yourself having to turn the box over just to find out what it was about. 

 Keith, an upcoming Junior you knew from school, had been watching you since you stepped in. He greeted you with a sleazy smile, offering his recommendation services if you found yourself stuck on what to pick. After reassuring him that you’d be fine on your own, he returned his gaze back down to the comic on the counter. But now and then you’d catch him eyeballing you from across the room. 

 Robin and Steve were supposed to be here five minutes ago to try and get an interview. But they both seemed to be running late. Thankfully they weren’t on a scheduled time or else you’d have been panicking. It was only about two minutes later that you heard the pinging noise of the front door opening.

 The two, both out of breath, rushed inside with a skip in their step. On the way to Keith, Steve’s eyes found yours and you gave him a very subtle thumbs up from the aisle you were in. He gave you a quick wink before turning to join next to Robin. 

 From where you were, you couldn’t help but watch in anticipation for what the outcome of the interview might be. Keith had been looking down at both their resumes for a solid minute before Robin’s nerve began to come through.

 “Uh, just to be clear, we weren’t fired, you know. The mall burned down, and like, killed a bunch of people.”

 You were thankful Keith’s back was to you, as you stepped closer. Pretending to be interested in the candy as you listened on.

 “Thanks for sharing. Didn’t know.” he replied sarcastically. He lazily threw down the papers onto the counter before turning suddenly serious. “Three favorite movies. Go.” he snapped to Robin. The girl didn’t hesitate to list out her answers. Giving what you assumed to be a pretty good favorites list.

 Steve on the other hand looked visibly upset. Almost the same whenever Dustin would try and convince him to an impromptu trivia night. 

 “You, go.” he snapped to Steve next. His brown eyes widened and he suddenly looked like he was called up to answer questions on the chalkboard. 

 “Favorite movies?”

 “Did I stutter?”

 “Uh..Animal House, for sure.” 

 Robin audibly scoffed, trying not to look at her friend while Steve’s gaze wandered over the store. He looked over at you with a pleading look before Keith called out to him again. 

 “Eyes on me, Harrington.”

 “Yeah, uh..Star Wars.”

 You nearly dropped the candy jar in your hands. The entire winter break last year was spent watching those ridiculous Star Wars films with Dustin in your living room. Not once did he ever think to remember the names of at least one of them?

 “A New Hope?”

 “A new what-now?”

 “Which Star Wars?”

 “The one with the teddy bears. Duh.” he said, finishing with a little squealing noise. At that point you have to physically turn away, forcing your gaze onto another row of movies and not at your boyfriend currently tanking his interview.

 “No? Uh..Oh, the one that just came out! The movie that just came out. THe one with the DeLorean and Alex P. Keaton, and he’s trying to bang his mom.” Peeking over your shoulder, you catch him chuckling before he remembered who he was talking to. “Yeah, those are my top three. Classics.” 

 Keith was silent as he stared in horrid shock at Steve for a moment. Steve cast his gaze down and away from the people beside him. Most likely going through the whole thing in his mind.“You start Monday.” he finally said to Robin before he pointed over at Steve. “You start never.”

 The words seemed to hit Steve a little hard. Even from where you stood you could see the slight tint of red brush over his cheeks. This wasn’t how the interview was supposed to go at all. Robin leaned over and spoke softly to Steve. He looked annoyed as he talked back to her but she urged him gently again and soon he was dramatically taking his resume off the counter. 

 Moving past a couple of customers, you made your way over to him. Reaching out to grip onto his hand. “Anything good here?” you asked, looking over the movies he was currently fiddling with.

 “Don’t ask me, apparently my movie taste isn’t good enough for this place.” he sighed. You knew he was a little upset by the fact that he still hadn’t reached out for you. Choosing instead to keep his glare over at Keith from afar. “It’s not like I need to be God damn Roger Ebert. It’s just Family Video!” 

 You chuckled a bit, poking at his arm so that he’d finally look down at you. “Sometimes things don’t work out, Steve. It’s not the end of the world.”

 “I know that.” he pouted, finally calming a bit to reach out for your hand. “I just wanted this to be a win. Now I won’t get to work with Robin.”

 You glanced over towards Robin, watching as she pointed over to where you and Steve were while she leaned in closer to Keith. Her eyes caught yours, winking at you before she waved for you to come over.

 “You know, something tells me we’re cutting our losses a bit too soon.” you said softly letting go of Steve’s hand. He muttered out a confused noise as you walked over towards the counter. The two people straightened up a bit once you were close enough. Keith glanced over at Robin, getting a slow nod from the girl before he snapped his fingers to you.

 “Three favorite movies. Go!”

 A part of you was curious as to why you were suddenly being interviewed. But from the look on Robin’s face, you knew that whatever happened next was going to be based on your answers. Still, a part of you was annoyed with Keith and his efforts to humiliate your boyfriend. So you could only give what you saw fit.

 “Staying Alive, Xanadu, and..Star Wars.”

 Your words looked like it nearly stabbed Keith in the chest. His hands reached out to grip onto the counter. He looked as red as the neon sign behind him. “Which Star Wars?” he gritted out, beady eyes on you.

 “The one where the annoying talking green guy dies.”

 “This isn’t gonna work, Buckley!” he cried out, looking over to your friend shocked.  She let out a big fake laugh as she wrapped an arm around your shoulder. Pulling you close to her side. Though her face was friendly, she was secretly pinching at your arm, making you let out a nervous chuckle.

 “She’s so totally kidding! Aren’t you, Henderson?” she asked, looking at you with a small glare.

 “Totally.” you smirked, keeping your composure. “Just thought I’d make you laugh.” Keith narrowed his eyes at you for a moment before the sound of crashing happened to your right. The three of you watched as Steve fought to keep up a cardboard cut out of Phoebe Cates from falling onto the floor. He’s thankfully quick at setting back up in time and has a second to look over it up close. 

 “Oh!” he called out, a smile back on his face. “Fast Times! Fast Times. Ever heard of it? Top three for me, Keith.” You and Robin giggled at the comment. Very much amused by the boy before Keith brought back the focus with a groan.

 “All right, Buckley. You better be right.” Kneeling down, he seemed to reach for something behind the counter before coming back up. “Monday. The three of you come in for the Month’s schedule.” Keith he sighed before chucking green fabric into your hands. 

 The girl called out a thank you to the boy before leading you out the store. Steve is quick to follow behind you, coming up to your side to grab at one of the green clothes. “It’s a vest.” he frowned, looking at the fabric closely.

 “It’s an ugly green vest.” you scoffed, passing the other piece to Robin.

 “It’s ugly, but it is our new uniform guys!”

 “Wait, you’re serious? We go the job?”

 “We got the job.” she confirmed. The two broke out into happy little claps before turning to you. At first you could only raise a brow before you noticed the one in your hand. 

 “Oh shit, me too. We got the job!” you laughed, waving your vest like a little flag. Getting another job definitely wasn’t on the list of things you wanted to start the new year. But from the way the other two seemed to be excited, you couldn’t help but feel like it might be a good idea.

 Steve leaned down and pressed a kiss to your lips, giving you a small smile. “We’ll get to spend more time together this way.”

 “And make a quick buck along the way.” Robin snorted, heading towards the backseat door. Steve made it a point to open up the passenger door for you, holding a hand out so that you could slide in easily.

 “Well work starts on Monday. But what should we do for the weekend?” you asked once buckled in. Steve adjusted the rearview mirror before an idea came into mind. 

 “Well the Hawk is still showing that Time movie.”

 “It’s Back to the Future, Steve.” you corrected. “And we technically saw it already.”

 “I can promise you I really don’t remember the majority of it.” he said honestly. “Plus, I remember you telling me you wanted to see it. I know you got a thing for that guy.”

 A part of you felt a little shy hearing him remember a detail so far back. But you supposed that was a perk of having him as your boyfriend. “You’d really want to try and see it again. You won’t get bored?”

 “If I’m seeing it with you then I promise I won’t be bored.” he smirked, leaning in close enough that he could brush a bit of hair off your face. 

 “And me!” Robin said, poking her head from the back seat. “You’d be seeing it with me too!”

 You laughed a bit at her eagerness, watching as Steve rolled his eyes. But from the smile that was curling up on his lips, you knew there was no real annoyance to the gesture. So without wasting anymore time, you leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. Nodding for him to start the car. 

 “Looks like we’re going to the movies.”

 Steve smiled at that and started up the car. The engine hummed back to life, filling up the car with a soft noise as the three of you set off from the parking lot. You kept your gaze out the window, watching out towards the people while Steve and Robin began to discuss a sudden craving for popcorn. 

 Reaching for the radio, you quietly went through the different stations before settling on one that was in the middle of a song. One you hadn’t heard in quite some time, but it was enough to bring a smile onto your face. 

 Yeah (ba-da, da-da, da-da)

My, my, such a sweet thing (ba-da, da-da, da-da)

I wanna do everything (ba-da, da-da, da-da)

What a beautiful feelin' (ba-da, da-da, da-da)

Crimson and clover (ba-da, da-da, da-da)

Over and over

A/N: Okay! That took me quite a bit to finish! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I made it a little long because a lot happens and I needed for her to say her goodbye to Jonathan in a way I hope fits their friendship. The next season is gonna be such a bitch to write but I’m excited! I also hope ppl get why I picked the song in the end. And also a hint for the next season. I’m probably gonna take a couple of days for a break and then get started on more things. Hope you guys like this. I know it’s a bit messy. :)

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Love On-Set (Pt. 01 of 10)

Pairing: Dacre Montgomery X Reader

Word count: 3K

Next part (02) ->

Summary: You knew acting on Stranger Things season 3 would be a challenge, and you also knew, from the start, you'd have to work closely with Dacre Montgomery. But is wasn't a big deal for you, since this is your job and you're determined to act professionally. You had it all figured out, or so you thought, until the moment you were out face to face with Dacre. Then, this job became a lot harder than it was supposed to be, since you can't seem to focus whenever you're around Dacre. And you'll have to be around him a lot until the end of production.

{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

First Sight

The minivan stops right before entering the set as the driver speaks with one of the security guards. A huge structure was built around the area, and if it wasn't for the strong lights, you'd be in complete darkness. It's late at night, but yet, there are some journalists and a lot of cameras. They immediately surround the car, trying to see who's inside.

“Vicki, do you think I should go out and talk to them?” You decide to ask her first, because you're not as known as the other actors, and you're not sure if they'd want to talk to you.

“Sure. But don't take long.” She nods, touching the drive's shoulder and telling him to wait.

Taking a deep breath, you push the door open, a smile on your face as the cameras quickly find you. Running a hand through your hair, to make sure it's not messed up, you take in all the microphones and smartphones pointed at your face.

“(Y/N), could you answer some questions?” A short, dark-haired guy asks, a camera flashing.

“It depends on the question, but I'll try my best.” This seems to please them, and you wonder if the others couldn't afford a few minutes.

“Your posted on your Instagram account that you were a Stranger Things fan from season one.” A woman asks. “How was the transition from being a fan to acting on the show?”

“It was fantastic.” The first season of the show was still driving people crazy when you got the call for an audition for the role of Amy Whitehall, for seasons two and three. Vicky, you have no idea how, got in touch with some friends when she heard they were searching of someone with physical traits similar to yours. Thankfully, the audition went well and you got the job. “It's an honor to be part of this masterpiece. The only bad part is that now I have some spoilers.”

“Your character's scene by the end of season two had any interaction with Billy Hargrove, Hawking's bad boy. Does that mean she'll be in any kind of relationship with him?”

For that, you have to think, careful not to say anything that will expose the plot.

People are very interested in Billy, not sure exactly where the character will go from now on, after his introduction on season two. He stole many hearts, for love or hate, dividing opinions. And your character had a short appearance by very end of the last episode, shown in an interaction with him. On her way to the ball, to help Nancy, Billy almost runs her over with his car, after dropping his sister. They had a small dialogue, him asking her to get out of the way and her telling him to look where he was going. Then a pause, a little bit of tension, and that was it.

“I'm not allowed to answer that, but Amy's scene was just an introduction. Her character will be around throughout season three.” Offering another smile, you turn around, giving attention to someone else.

“What will be a new threat? The season finale raised a lot of questions about–”

“Excuse me, excuse me.” Vicky pokes her head out, a hand raised. “I'm sorry, but we have to get going.”

“Aright.” You mumble. “Thank you, guys. Bye.” Politely, you wave at the reporters before going back into the van.

You're soon moving again, leaving the entrance behind and driving in darkness for some minutes before more lights come into your sight until they're all around you. The set was built around a piece of the road, where you already shot earlier this week.

“C'mon, (Y/N). Hair and make-up." Vicky urgers, stepping out of the van with you.

You easily find your way around the set, chatting with people as they do your hair and put the makeup on. There will be a tiny cut above your left eyebrow, and Ron, the guy who always take care of the fake wounds around here, takes only fifteen minutes to get it done. Once you're ready, Vicky guides you to the filming area, and you sit on your chair a few feet away, under one of the many huge tents scattered around the place.

“Hi.” Someone says, and you abruptly look up from your phone, finding your co-star. The only co-star of the day, Dacre. He's already full Billy, with the mullet wig and the leather jacket. “I didn't mean to startle you. Just thought I'd come to say hello before the scene.”

You haven't properly spoken to Dacre. The single scene you made was quick, one of the last, and the set was a mess. So you didn't have the chance to talk, and ever since, you haven't crossed paths with him. But today's scene is all about your characters. Amy's first appearance on season three will have her running from something in the woods, the Mind Flayer, and she crashes her car on Billy's, while he's on the way to meet Mrs. Wheeler. That's it for today, their first meeting.

“Hi.” Smiling back, you shake his hand. “I'm (Y/N).” You decide to remind him.

“I know.” He simply says. “Do you want to go over the lines before the real thing?”

He has such a nice voice, it's impressive. You've watched some of his movies, and he's really good. It's not like you haven't acted before, but nothing so important or famous as Stranger Things. You can't help but be a little nervous. “Sure.” Blocking your phone, you stand up, leaving it on your seat.

“Alright. Let's–”

“(Y/N)! Dacre! It's time, c'mon!” The director calls, cutting you off.

“Guess we'll go straight to the real thing,” Dacre says as you start making your way to where the cars are positioned.

Billy's Camaro and Amy's light green Toyota are placed a few inches apart, the front part already wrecked and a light smoke coming off from under the hood.

“The mechanism will push the cars on each other and the rest you already know.” Your stylist comes to check on you one last time, making sure everything is perfect. When she steps away, you get inside the car.

A few days ago you shot Amy's way over here, driving insanely fast, running from the shadows creeping. Most of the scenes where Amy will be alone were already made since there weren't many. She will be around the others a lot, as the events are unrevealed.

Once you're in the car, you take your time to get into character, ignoring the orders being yelled outside. The lights are turned off, and the road before you is almost completely dark.

“Let's get it started, everyone!” The director shouts. “Action!”

At his command, the car jerks forward.

Letting your head fall on the wheel, you breathe fast, wide eyes acknowledging what just happened, the crash, the smoke, the other car that collided with yours. Looking over your shoulder, you imagine, you picture it coming, moving through the threes, growing closer.

“What the hell!” The voice yells as you try to make your car start again, uselessly. “You could've killed me!”

“Damn it.” Cursing under your breath, overcome by terror, you step out of the car, running around it and into the other one, which is still working, opening the passenger door and rushing inside.

“What do you think you're doing? Get the hell out of my car!” Dacre shouts at your face, in Billy's voice, a little deeper.

“There's something in the woods!” You yell, looking through the rear windshield. “It's coming!”

“Are you crazy or something?! You almost wrecked my car!” As he speaks, you imagine it once again, the tentacles coming from the sky, taking over the road behind you.

Then you grab his arm, squeezing the muscle underneath the jacket. He's in the middle of a sentence when he looks back too, immediately going silent as he's eyes meet the same inexistent thing you're seeing.

“What the–”

“Drive!” You burst out, and the car starts moving.

“Cut!” The director's voice reaches both of you and Dacre hits the brakes.

Relaxing, you let go of his arm.

“That was great, but I want another take. Ryan, turn those lights down.”

The scene is repeated three more times, with different lighting until they finally decide it's perfect. Then the whole set starts moving to the next scene, which is the sequence to what just played out. It'll be shot in a street Northeast from the road, and since it'll play out from the Camaro, you're told to stay in the car as Dacre drives there, following the other cars.

“You did well back there,” Dacre says as you move, taking a different turn from the other cars to reach your mark. The street has a few small houses on one side, which will have their lights on and some people moving inside and on their balconies, and tall threes on the other.

“You too. Hope I didn't hurt your arm, but Amy was terrified.” Shrugging your shoulders, you smile to hear his giggle.

“I noticed.” He says. “But my arm will survive.”

Looking his way, you're able to have a good look at him now. It's a little dark, but you can take in his features. Dacre makes the mullet look good, which is impressive since you absolutely hate the hairstyle. But not on him. Clearing your throat, you look away. “Make sure it will. You'll need it.”

Dacre stops by the mark, everyone apparently already on their positions. “Things are about to get tense for Billy and Amy now.”

“First fight.” You say, taking a look at your outfit to make sure nothing is out of place. “Enemies to lovers is quite a good arch.”

“I like it too.”

“(Y/N). Dacre. Are you ready?” The director asks and both of you give him a thumbs up, hands off the window. The crew with the microphones and cameras are already positioned, ready for the scene. “Alright then. Ready... Action!”

Dacre moves the car forward, just enough to fake it as he hits the breaks. “What was that?” Billy asks, annoyed for some reason Amy wouldn't know.

“I don't know.” With a hand on your hair, shaking a little, you breathe fast, terrified. “Just take me home.”

“Now I gotta drive you home too?”

“Screw you.” The sudden outburst and the disgust in his voice makes you bolt out of the car, keeping in mind not to look at the cameras following you.

“Are you going to walk?” Billy yells, but you don't look back, walking fast, crossing your arms. “Wait.”

“Screw. You.”

“Don't be an idiot.” You roll your eyes when you notice he's coming closer. Dacre grabs your arm, forcing you to turn around. “Are you really going to walk home with that... Thing out there?”

You're confused at his change of moods, pushing your arm away. “Does it look like I have a choice? You just saw that–” You gesture at the threes on the other side of the road. “–and you still couldn't bring yourself to drive a lady home. You're such a gentleman.” Raising your voice, you put the same tone of disgust in your voice that you heard in his. The cameras move a little closer, and you know why. That's when the tension starts, when Amy stands up to Billy. Stepping forward, lifting your head to try and look him in the eye, you put a single finger in his chest. “You're far worse than what people say you are.” You don't get why his eyes make you nervous. Maybe this whole thing is more than you're used to, too big of a production for you after a few years away from the cameras. As much as Dacre's face being so close makes you feel funny, you gotta keep it cool, don't let it show. You're scared, terrified of a monster in the woods.

“Cut the bullshit and let's go.” He takes your arm again, but you refuse to follow him, standing your ground.

“Let go!” You struggle a bit on his grip, noticing how you actually need to act as if it's tighter than it really is. When he turns to face you again, as you struggle, his face comes close again, his eyes filled with Billy's annoyance.

“Get your butt–” Exactly in time, a crack reaches your ears, and both you and Dacre look at the woods with wide eyes, your breaths caught in your throats, unsure of what made that noise, but not excited to find out. “Let's get out of here.”

“Yeah.” You mumble, heading back into the car.

“And cut!” The director yells as soon as you close the door shut. “That was good, but I want another take. I want the same tension you both built on season 2, only now it's stronger, you're face to face. And Dacre, work this out because people need to be convinced Billy likes someone for something else than just fool around.”

You both nod, repeating the same thumbs-up gesture. Taking a deep breath you wait for the sign and starts moving, doing pretty much the same until you're both out of the car, but this time, when Dacre pulls your arm, you act as if the pull was stronger then it actually was, letting yourself collide against his chest before stepping away. “Are you really going to walk home with that... Thing out there?”

“Does it look like I have a choice? You just saw that and you still couldn't bring yourself to drive a lady home. You're such a gentleman.” Instead of just putting a finger on his chest, you push him away with both hands, not keeping the normal distance as doing so, and letting your eyes fall on his unbuttoned shirt for a couple of seconds before raising your them again. You feel the heat on your cheeks, and you know you're blushing. Checking him out was not the intention.

Dacre's eyes meet yours, and for a second they soften before the usual annoyance comes back. You wonder if he's trying to say something, give you a hint about something he wants to do, but you have no idea what it might be. “Cut the bullshit and let's go, princess.” The weight on the last word is different, lower, meant as in insult, an irony.

“Let go!” You whisper-yell, trying to pull away, but you stop when Dacre holds the other arm, trying to drag you to the car. His stare is intense, and the cameras move a little, coming closer, and you know they're focusing on your faces. “Let go.” You repeat, much lower this time, trying to put some distance between you and him, since your bodies are way too close already.

“Get your butt–” The crack again, the stare at the woods, and the sudden change of moods. Run now, fight later. “Let's get the hell out of here.”

Nodding in agreement, you give your arms one last push, and Drace's eyes come back to you as if remembering he was still holding you, finally releasing his grip. You both run to the car and the scene is over.

Despite saying it was perfect, the director wanted two more takes. He wants proximity, touching, anger mixed with a sudden, recently discovered passion from an unexpected connection at first sight. You're happy to hear that you did achieve that, not sure if it came from your skills or the funny feeling you had in your stomach through the scene. It's weird to have someone you basically just met so close, only inches away.

When it's all done, you take off the outfit and put your clothes back on after washing the make-up away. Then you wait for Vicky, leaning against the minivan, scrolling through your Instagram feed.

“Hi again.” You see Dacre approaching through the corner of your eyes, raising your head to look at him. “Have you checked in at the hotel yet?”

“Yes, just before coming here.” All the actors are staying at the same hotel, just so it's easier to gather everyone around when needed, and be sure of the time it gets for them to get on set.

“I came in my car. I can give you a ride there if you like.” As he speaks, you see Vicky coming, talking with the director. Which you still don't know the name yet.

“I came with Vicky, my agent.” Gesturing at her, you feel embarrassed to decline, and you hope Vicky will say something to help you out as she usually does. “Right, Vi?”

“Oh, no.” Waving her hand in a fast motion, she puts a lock of her blond hair behind her ear. “Remember what I told you? Make connections, friends. Don't stick with me during the whole production.” She reaches out her hand and Dacre politely shakes it. “I'm Victoria Klein. (Y/N)'s agent and her mother's oldest friend.”

“Dacre Montgomery.” He simply says.

“You may take her to the hotel. I have some things to do and she needs to rest. Long day tomorrow.”

You just watch as Vicky sets you up as if you're not even there to make your own call. But you're too shy to say anything else, to still refuse Dacre's kindness. “Ok then. See you, Vicky.”

“Have a good night.” She says after giving you a quick hug.

Silently, you follow Dacre through the set to the parking lot. His car is among several different trucks, some of them already leaving. “Nice car.” You tell him as you get into the passenger seat.

“It's rented.” Dacre turns the ignition and the car comes to life. “I can't be without a car. What if I need to go somewhere?”

“Fair enough.”

He drives through the huge set and you fall into a comfortable silence, not sure of that to say. It would help if you could see some kind of landscape or anything at all through the window. Then you wouldn't look like an idiot with eyes glued at nothing but darkness.

“Did you stop to speak to the journalists?” Dacre asks when you reach the exit, waving at one of the guards.

“Yes. You?”

“Yeah. What did they ask?”

“Spoilers.” Shrugging your shoulders, you give him a glance, and he does the same. “About Amy's and Billy's relationship. What can be expected after their meeting in the season finale.”

A low giggle escapes his lips. “Wait until they know.”

“But they will have to wait until next year.”

“You did well back there. You actually blushed. How did you do that?” He stops at the red light, and you feel when he looks at you. Running a hand through your hair, you meet his eyes.

You weren't trying to blush. You just did. “I'm a very good actress.” Giving him a sassy smirk, you see when his lips break into a smile. It's different from Billy's smile, he doesn't act like he's trying to hide some unknown meaning behind it.

“You sure are.” The red light turns green and you start moving again. “Uhm... There will be a kissing scene, you know.” Oh. The kissing scene. You read through it, of course, you just didn't give much thought about it. “Have you ever done a kissing scene?”

“No.” The answer is quick, you don't have to think much. “In my long list of three movies, in two of them my character didn't have any romantic interests and in the other one it was platonic.” Dacre had done it, you remember from some movie, not sure which one. Your mother insisted on watching some of his movies, just so you'd ‘get to know your co-star skills’ before actually having to work with him. But it's different. It's completely different watching a character on screen and then meeting the person behind it.

“Oh, ok. I hope I won't make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Don't worry about that.” You're a professional, and that's your job. It's just a kiss anyways, and the scene won't be shot any time soon. You'll have time to get used to the idea.

“I just think that since our characters arch is connected from now on, it would be good to get to know each other. It helps a lot when the co-stars are somehow friends.”

“Of course.” He has way more experience in this than you, so whatever he says, you agree.

When you get to the hotel, Dacre leaves his car on the underground parking lot, and, despite having his room key, he insists on accompanying you to the reception to get your card. Once you're in the elevator, you rest your back against the mirror, watching the numbers as they light up.

“We should exchange numbers,” Dacre says, turning to look at you. “In case some of us need to go through the lines or work on something.” He shrugs his shoulders, the light fabric of his white shirt moving. “It's a thing among us. You'll be invited to a lot of parties like that.”

“Sure.” Taking your phone off your pocket you unlock it and hand it over to him as he does the same. Quickly, you type your number and save if on his contacts list.

“That's my stop.” He says when you reach the 14th floor. “See you tomorrow.”

“Good night.” You mumble, waving at him as the elevator door closes again.

The first thing you do when you get to your room is kick off your shoes, already undressing to hit the shower before throwing yourself on bed. It's very late and you won't have many hours of sleep. You're halfway to the bathroom when you take your phone to put on some music. But you don't recognize the object in your hand. After a moment of confusion, you realize it's Dacre's phone.

“What now?” Stopping on your tracks, you start making the way back and gathering the clothes you left on the floor, putting them on again. Since you don't know the number of his room and knocking from door to door is ridiculous, you decide to call reception and just ask. But on your way to the landline they have near the couch, Dacre's phone starts ringing. You were wondering who would it be when you read your own name on the screen.

“Oh, hi.” You're quick to pick up. “I guess you have my phone.”

“Yeah, I got lucky it didn't lock, or else I'd have to call reception asking for your room.” His voice gets a lot darker through the phone. “Would you tell me which one is it? I'm already heading to your floor.”

“1703.” Already making your way to the door, you hear the soft beep of the elevator's doors opening.

“I'm almost there.” He's still speaking when he turns the corner, getting into your sight. You hang up, a shy smile on your face. “Sorry about that.” He hands you over your phone and you give him back his.

“It's alright. We're both tired.” You expect him to just say good night and leave, but he doesn't, shifting his weight from one leg to another.

“Have you met the others yet? Natalia, Joe, Millie...?”

“No, not yet.” You've heard they are very close, and you're the new girl in set. Saying you're nervous doesn't get anywhere close.

“I'm your only friend so far then.” Dacre states. “I'll break the ice with the others, don't worry.” He smiles again, and now, under the bright lights of the hotel hall, you can see his face perfectly. His blue eyes, a lot kinder then they were earlier today when he was Billy.

“Thanks. Guess I'll see you tomorrow then... Pool scenes.”

“Pool scenes.” He repeats. “I'll leave you to sleep now. Good night, (Y/N). Again.”

“Good night, Dacre.” Standing by the door, you watch as the walks away, towards the elevators.

You're about to head inside when, just before he turns around the corner, Dacre gives you one last look, a smile coming to his lips when his eyes meet yours.

×

@baker151910 @shinydixon @dreamin-of-dacre @hanoi15 @lickmymelanin @skykittysstuff

[chloelucia13]

Chapter 17: The Flayed

Pairing: Jonathan Byers x Henderson!reader

Prompt:  You always thought Hawkins was the most boring town of all, stuck in a vacuum void of excitement and entertainment. Well, it seems that way until the world decided to flip upside down, literally.

Chapter Summary: After what had occurred the night before, everyone was on edge. However, when everyone is grouped back together to combat this monster that was once thought to be gone, things take a dark turn.

Warnings: more angst bc what else do you expect from me, the tiniest bit of fluff if you squint, language, violence, gore, descriptions of possession

Word Count: 2441

A/N: We're getting close to the end of season 3!!! I've got a lot of ideas planned for the finale, and I've also been thinking about maybe posting some filler drabbles for the story while we wait for season 4! Let me hear your opinions and head canons, and as always, my taglists and requests are open!

Tags: @just-my-fandom​ @nightbu-g​

The cold concrete of the warehouse made your skin sting, nipping at the exposed flesh despite the nearly-impermeable humidity that blanketed the air. 

You couldn’t force yourself to move, staring idly at the mind flayer that laid just feet from you as you thought of what occurred between you and Jonathan earlier in the night.

You knew it was wrong, it was stupid and impulsive and damaging. And it wasn’t you. If you were in your right mind, you never would’ve even gotten close to kissing him. You would’ve never betrayed Nancy.

Maybe it was a good thing that the creature took over when it did. If it didn’t, you truly couldn’t imagine what else would have taken place. 

The creature lifted its head slightly as you thought of it, reminiscent of a dog that heard the crinkling of a wrapper. A mutant, rotting dog that made you nauseous whenever you looked at it. But now, staring at it was the only thing that kept you grounded, keeping you in the horrifying reality that you were unfortunately living in.

It was moments like these, your mind caught in a loop of morbid curiosity, that you wished you had El’s powers. The ability to look into people’s lives without anyone else being aware of it. You just wanted, for a moment, to check on Jonathan and make sure he was okay. Though, you couldn’t decide if you wanted to stay away to keep him safe or if you wanted to keep yourself safe.

As the creature settled back onto the ground, you let out a huff and silently cursed yourself for getting into this situation (well, whatever this situation was).

***

“Are you positive?” Nancy questioned, everyone eyeing Jonathan worriedly. 

After coming to the conclusion that Billy’s surge of power was linked with what Nancy saw happen to Mrs. Driscoll that same night, Jonathan had realized that what happened with you also fell into that same time period and also sounded extremely similar. He debated bringing it up at all, but knowing that this put so many people at risk, he spoke about it. 

He explained to everyone what happened with you last night (minus the kiss, for obvious reasons), claiming that you seemed normal until you just... weren’t. He also noted the black veins that were present on Billy and Mrs. Driscoll as well, another thing that held many similarities to Will’s case last year.

“Yes, I’m positive,” Jonathan responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Did she feel cold?” Mike asked, his brows furrowing.

Jonathan froze for a moment, panicking at the question’s possible insinuation. He thought back to the night before, feeling your lips against his and the gentle touch of your fingers on the back of his neck. He didn’t remember you feeling cold, but at the same time, he wasn’t really focused on the temperature of your skin when it was pressed on his.

He shook his head and shrugged. “I-I don’t know. Like I said, she seemed normal. And she was wearing a sweater and jeans, too.”

This made Max look at his confusedly. “Why would she be wearing a sweater and jeans in the middle of summer?��� she pondered. “Especially if she’s one of the flayed, she’d want to stay as cool as possible.”

Nancy gnawed on her bottom lip as she thought. “She knows how we got the mind flayer out of Will,” Nancy began. “Do you think... She’s trying to sweat it out?”

Again, Jonathan shrugged. “Whatever it is, we need to find her and get this thing out of her. Out of all of them.”

***

The search for you, Billy, and Heather had led the group to the Holloway house. After walking through the hallway and into the kitchen, they stumbled upon a slew of cleaning products and other chemicals scattered along the surfaces, the containers crushed as if they were emptied hastily.

As everyone discussed the possibility of the flayed consuming these chemicals to make a new substance within themselves, Jonathan’s mind once again wandered back to the previous night. There was no way that the same Y/N who ate ice cream with him less than 24 hours ago had also ingested copious amounts of cleaning products. It just didn’t make sense to him.

He didn’t have much time to think about it, though, as Nancy led the group through the dining room and into the living room. She glanced at the wine bottle that was discarded on the floor before kneeling down in front of a puddle of a red substance. “Blood,” she whispered, glancing over at Jonathan when he knelt beside her. “Yesterday, Tom had a bandage on his forehead.”

As Jonathan watched Nancy slowly pick up the blood-stained wine bottle, he was struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that you hurt someone, or at least assisted someone in doing so. 

“He was attacked,” Nancy continued. Nancy began to walk, following the trail of drag marks and disturbed rugs that led to the garage where a pile of rope laid. “They must have tied them. They must have taken them somewhere.” Nancy stood silently, thinking for a moment. Mrs. Driscoll, she kept saying ‘I have to go back.’ What if the flaying, it’s taking place somewhere else. There must be a place where this all started, right? A source.”

“Somewhere he didn’t want me to see,” El added.

“If we can find the source, then maybe we can stop them. Or at least stop it from spreading, or whatever the hell they’re doing with those chemicals.”

“How do we find it?”

“Mrs. Driscoll,” Will spoke. “If she wants to go back so badly, why don’t we let her?”

“Okay, but this doesn’t make sense,” Jonathan argued, unable to pull his eyes from the rope that laid at his feet. “Y/N wouldn’t be able to hurt someone, let alone tie them up and drag them god-knows-where.”

“Jonathan, this isn’t Y/N,” Nancy argued.

He huffed. “Last night, when she changed, I tried to stop her from leaving because I was worried. I-I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I needed to help her, so I grabbed her arm.” He gulped. “She begged me to let her go. She said that she didn’t want to hurt me.”

A silence fell over the whole group as his words sunk in.

“Maybe she can control herself around you. But around other people, she can’t keep the flayer from taking over,” Nancy spoke finally, reaching out and touching his shoulder. “But you’re her weakness. And that’s gonna help us a lot.”

***

Silently watching Mrs. Driscoll’s body melt and condense into a meaty mush made you want to retch, but your body stood stock still as the lump inched from the room and down into the pipes. Once the mass disappeared from sight, you wandered out of the room, down the hall, and out into the stairwell, aimlessly walking down the stairs to pass time as you waited for whatever task the mind flayer would assign you next.

For once, you wish you were working at the pool, boiling under the scorching July sun. At least you’d have something to do.

Those thoughts left as soon as they came, however, when that strong fog began to flood your mind, your body switching onto autopilot as your feet led you onto the second floor.

A sharp pain stabbed through the right side of your head as you were about to turn the corner, doubling over in pain and clutching your head as you heard quick footsteps coming down the stairs. Immediately, you straightened up and jogged down the hallway, grabbing a pair of scissors from a nurse’s station before rushing into the wing of the hospital that was under construction and slipping into a room.

You heard the heavy footfalls sprint past your door, followed by another flayed that stalked slowly behind them. You stepped out of the room and walked beside him, tightly clutching the pair of scissors in your hand as the lights flickered around you.

The man beside you led you both over to a locked door, two voices echoing through the door. You nodded your head at the door and he slammed his fist through the glass, screams sounding from the two within the room as he peeked his head in before undoing the lock. As he pulled the door open, you stepped inside, a sinister grin on your face.

But that grin immediately fell when you saw who exactly was behind the door.

The man pushed past you, disregarding your clear shock as he threatened Nancy in a sing-song voice. Jonathan, who clearly was also reeling with shock but shoved it down, stepped forward and pulled his fist back, ready to attack the man. the man’s hand shot out and grabbed onto Jonathan’s neck, choking Jonathan and shoving Nancy away with his free hand.

The flayer’s control faded from your mind and you took advantage of it, hurrying over to Nancy and trying to help her up. “Y/N?” she coughed out, her eyes wide with fear. 

“You have to go,” you forced out, using as much strength as you could muster to pull her to her feet while also fighting to keep your consciousness. 

Behind you, you heard a groan of pain coming from Jonathan, and you and Nancy turned to look just in time to see the man slam a metal stool down on Jonathan’s back.

Nancy finally got onto her feet and you threw your scissors to the ground when you felt the flayer’s control slowly start to seep back into you. Through blurry vision, you watched Nancy take the scissors you discarded and embed them into the back of the man. 

You and the man hunched over, and you let out a groan of pain as he pulled the scissors from his back. The man cursed at her, quickly regaining his composure and stalking over to her. 

“Run!” you and Jonathan screamed at her, and you waited until she had led the man out of the room to go run over to Jonathan and help him.

"Jonathan,” you whispered, crouching down next to him and gently resting your hand on his back. “Are you okay?”

He gasped in pain, turning his head to look up at you. “What’s going on? How are you-” he began before you shook your head.

“I don’t know. Come on, let’s get you up.” You pulled the stool over to him and he gripped onto it, lifting his upper half up with all his might.

Moments later, the stool fell from his grip, Tom menacingly grinning down at the two of you. “Where are you going?” he hummed, nudging you to the side so he could pick Jonathan up by his shirt.

“Let him go!” you screeched, stumbling to your feet.

Tom held Jonathan by the collar of his shirt, locking eyes with him before glancing back at you. “Let him go? Sure.” He picked Jonathan up and threw him into the lockers, Jonathan’s body falling to the linoleum floor a moment later. Tom picked him up once more and threw his body into a cart, letting his body crumple to the ground.

You watched in horror as Jonathan crawled along the floor towards the pair of scissors, your whole body exhausted from all the strength it was taking to keep the monster at bay. Tom knelt beside Jonathan and grabbing him by the hair, lifting his face from the ground before slamming it down.

Once Jonathan finally fell unconscious, if only for a few moments, Tom grabbed the scissors and lifted them over his head.

“I’m in control of you! Stop!” you screamed, allowing the creature to take hold, black veins snaking up your face and arms. “Leave him alone.”

Tom turned to you, the scissors still held above his head. Tears streaked down your face as you glanced down at Jonathan, your vision slowly going dark. 

However, before the creature fully took hold, a harsh pain cracked across your face, making you cry out in pain. You clutched your nose and watched Tom stumble away, only for the two of you to be tossed around by another strong force.

Jonathan and Tom both scrambled to their feet, the scissors held tightly in Jonathan’s hand. Jonathan hesitated though, looking down at you on the floor. He had realized that whatever happened to one of the flayed was felt by all of them, and that meant that whatever he did to Tom, you would feel as well. 

“Do it,” you gasped out, rising to your feet with the gracefulness of a newborn fawn. 

“I don’t want to hurt-” Jonathan stuttered.

“Do it!” you screamed.

Tom lunged at him, and Jonathan plunged the scissors into Tom’s throat. Both you and Tom let out a ghastly gasp/moan of pain as you collapsed onto the floor.

As the lights continued to flicker overhead, Jonathan rushed over to you and turned you onto your back, clutching you in his arms.

Your eyes searched his, both of your chests heaving with ragged pants while you both silently communicated to each other.

“You need to go, I can’t control it anymore,” you choked out before rolling out of his arms and crawled over to Tom’s body. The two of you silently watched as Tom’s body began to convulse and turn to that all-too-familiar mush (well, familiar to you, at least). Jonathan let out a gasp of horror, though his eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion when your body didn’t do the same.

He realized then that his theory was right. You were different than all of the other flayers. On one hand, he was relieved because he knew it was truly you. On the other hand, though, it horrified him that it was you who committed all of these horrible acts. That, and the fact that you somehow had control over these creatures truly made his skin crawl.

He realized he didn’t have much time to dwell on it because the strange mush of blood and meat and bones slowly began to inch out of the room the same time that your eyes fluttered closed. He contemplated staying to check on you, but decided against it after a moment, instead following behind the disgusting mass.

A strange sense of calm washed over him when he saw Nancy standing at the other end of the hallway, following her own strange substance. Silently, the two masses led the two teens down the hallway, joining together in the middle and morphing into something even more sinister.

[carnationcreation]

Can you do a Jonathan Byers one-shot where the female reader is a Hawkins Lab experiment who has super speed and was known as Seven and escaped the lab with Eleven and they were adopted by Hopper and she started dating Jonathan and during the fight with the mind flayer she tires herself out and faints and he goes into cute concerned boyfriend mode?

TITLE: New Life (Jonathan Byers x Hopper!reader)

✌🏻Masterlist 

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Request: yes!

Prompt/summary: Reader is an escaped experiment from Hawkins lab, after being adopted by Hopper with her sister El they struggle to adjust to the outside world. 

Word Count: 1,155

Warnings:  none

Authors note: I was listening to Dumb by KOPPS and Branded by NateWantsToBattle, really sets the vibe of most of the scenes

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(Y/h/c) = Your hair color

(Y/f/b)= your favorite band

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 She knew the blood dripping off her feet would attract the hounds.

At this point it didn’t matter if she wanted to give up, she’d be dead either way. The hounds would tear her apart. If they were going to catch her they’ll have to keep up.

Her powers only worked if she had enough energy. After a full night of running, both super sonically and regularly, she was exhausted. The clothes she had escaped with were torn and she had bruises on her body from the times she fell over branches and rocks sticking out of the ground. She knew she would have to find food soon, but she didn’t have any idea of how to get it.

The growl in her stomach went away for just a little bit, then it came back with a painful vengeance. Her days at the lab consisted of being locked in her room or being put into the tank. What little she could remember about her life before was stripped away in a matter of months and the more she thought about it the more her head hurt and she came up empty. 

Her vision was going in and out. Her feet felt like lead and she knew she wouldn’t be able to run much longer.

Maybe, she thought, if I just lay down here. I’ll be dead before they find me.

It was an optimistic thought. What she didn’t expect was to feel someone gently picking her up. Her body sunk into him. She couldn’t have been more than 13 years old but she had a number lower than 11...

Hopper turned her wrist over and saw the tattoo on the girls small wrist. A tiny 07 was drawn there, surely she had to have been there before El.

By the time he had gotten back to the cabin El knew he had her and was bringing her home. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few months were terrifying for the girl. She couldn’t speak much, just like El when she was first found. After days of trying to feed her and get her to talk it wasn’t until El presented her own tattoo that the girl seemed to relax. The only time she would eat was when El was in the room, the only time she would sleep was when they were both in bed.

Her powers were a struggle. She had to learn she couldn’t use them around other people. And people. The girl had spent her entire life locked away, only seeing other humans if she was useful enough. So being introduced to knew people was terrifying. They soon found out she was probably around 16-17 when they took her in for a check up with a private doctor. Hopper pulled some strings so it was no questions asked, and an adoption paper was formed a few days later.

She found some comfort in Nancy, who took the girl under her wing buying her clothes and teaching her how to keep her hair in order. The (y/c/h) was finally starting to grow out from the horrible buzz cut she had when she was found. 

Then she met Jonathan.

At first he thought she hated him, because whenever he was around she would cling to the people she deemed safe. Nancy assured him she would warm up to him eventually, but there was still a voice in his head that said she wouldn’t. 

She grew close to Will after he gave her a drawing he had made for her. He carefully explained that it was her in the game that they play. He drew her as an Elf, one with the power of speed, he drew her with long wavy hair that was styled half up half down and a glorious crown on top of her head. She kept the drawing in her bedroom and looked at it before going to bed. Jonathan wouldn’t lie, he was jealous his brother bonded with her before he did. And besides, Will was a few years younger. But still he waited patiently to see how you would react to him.

Slowly you started warming up to him. After a while you started to look curiously at the camera he always carried with him.

”It’s a camera,” he said handing it to her, “Look, place your finger right there, and press it.”

the girl jumped as the flash went off. Jonathan grabbed the picture that popped out of the top of it and shook it a few times. The girl watched in wonder as the picture of Jonathan slowly appeared on the film. She pointed excitedly to it.

”Yes you did a good job!” he smiled. She couldn’t help but smile back.

As time went on Joyce invited the two girls over to their house more often. (Y/n), as Hopper had named her on the fake birth certificate, would wander in to Jonathan’s room to look at the pictures that were scattered on the walls. 

”Have you ever listened to music?” Jonathan asked her one day.

She shook her head and looked at the small cassette he had in his hands. He popped it into the radio and she stared with furrowed eyebrows at the machine. 

“Not much into rock huh? I guess we can find something you’ll like.”

Slowly, the two grew a friendship. Jonathan made it his personal mission to find out what kind of music (Y/n) would like best and also adjusting to her new life. They eventually landed on (y/f/b), and whenever he knew (Y/n) was coming over he’d have a tape ready for her to listen to. Will would join in occasionally on their music sessions.

They both soon learned how starved (Y/n) was of physical touch. Growing up as an experiment didn’t leave much room for hugs or gentle touches. She’d let Will lay in her lap whenever he wanted and hugs were always exchanged when they saw each other. The first time Jonathan tried to brush her hair out of her face with his hand he saw he flinch, his heart fell and thoughts of what might’ve happened to her to cause that raced through his mind. Soon enough he could reach for her hand without her pulling away. Soon enough she started reaching for his too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jonathan did his best to keep the girl away from Star Court. (Y/n) had stayed home most of that summer. With all the fireworks going off and all the people milling around she didn’t feel safe enough to go out. It wasn’t until the rest of the kids came to the cabin to give El the chance to find the Mind Flayer that she learned about what all the experiments at the lab where truly for.

Billy had found them.

They were trapped inside the mall after everyone split up to complete the mission. Mike frantically spoke into the walkie-talkie trying to get in contact with the Scoops Troop. Eleven moved the car as the mind flayer made its way into the mall, everyone ran to hide. They could hear Dustin finally talking over the walkie-talkie.

The mind flayer stalked around the food court. From her place behind the car (Y/n) could hear it making its way over. El and (Y/n) made eye contact, they both nodded and El’s group ran for cover in the Gap store. The mind flayer heard movement and went to turn and (Y/n) ran and threw a knife, hitting it in the leg to distract it, but by the time it turned around she was gone. (Y/n) ran over to the group and picked El up, they ran to a back hallway trying to get the injured El to safety.

 Billy stalked his way down the hall to the four.

“Billy please, your name is Billy Hargrove you live at-” Max cried before hitting her and knocking her against the wall. Mike stood between him and the girls but it was no use. Before they could even properly react he knocked both Mike and (Y/n) out and took El with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jonathan found them back there, he woke them up finally and they raced back out to the food court to execute Plan B. 

(Y/n) ran back and forth at the first floor, sing rope to tie up the Mind Flayers legs as the others threw fireworks in it’s face to distract it. Soon enough they fan out. With Dustin yelling frantically to close the gate. We all ran for cover and watched in shock as Billy stood up. He faced the Mind Flayer, and when it shot it’s nasty tongue out Billy blocked it from hitting El. Arm after arm reached out and impaled the boy. Max screamed. (Y/n) saw her chance and used the last of her strength to run down and grab El, Mike, and Max to bring them to safety. Finally a big explosion went off from below and everything went dark. 

When (Y/n) woke everything was dark. All the lights had went out and the fire department was loading her up onto a stretcher. Jonathan ran up beside her and got onto the ambulance with her.

“Jonathan?” she said meekly.

“I’m right here (Y/n), I’m right here.”

“Where’s El?”

Jonathan paused, “She’s with my mom. She’s safe just injured.”

“Hopper?”

Jonathan didn’t respond. Tears formed in (Y/n)’s eyes as she began to sob. 

“(Y/n) I promise you we’ll keep you safe. You’re going to be fine.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was 3 months after the battle of Star Court. Joyce had adopted both El and (Y/n), who still hadn’t fully recovered from the loss of the person who has showed them so much love. (Y/n) had grown closer and closer to Jonathan. Clinging to him after she got out of the hospital. The Byers had finally decided to move. (Y/n) laughed at Max and Lucas’ terrible rendition of The Never Ending Story. She watched as El tried to use her powers once again on the stuffed Koala in the closet. 

“Don’t hurt yourself El,” (Y/n) yelled from the living room. 

Jonathan walked in from outside with Nancy and sat down beside the girl on the couch.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” he said. He kissed her temple as he wrapped his arm around her.

“Scared,” (Y/n) said.

“Scred? Of moving?”

(Y/n) stared at the floor, “Yeah...”

“We’re going to be okay, we’ll have a fresh start. No one will know where you came from other than Hawkins. They’ll just know you as (Y/n), the girl that’s really fast and has the prettiest smile.”

Their powers were gone. It was hard to adjust to at first. Both (Y/n) and El felt so empty inside, but they knew it was for the best. Maybe they could lead a normal life. (Y/n) slowly became more comfortable with the affection between her and Jonathan. And he began to introduce her to people as his girlfriend. What little (Y/n) knew about relationships all pointed to the fact that she cared about Jonathan. Not in the way that she cares for Will or El, but a different kind of care. She didn’t mind being called his girlfriend. 

She heard El’s sobs from the bedroom and left Jonathan’s embrace to make sure she was okay. After reading Hopper’s letter they both sat on the floor sobbing until Joyce told them it was time to go.

Boxes were loaded in to the U Haul and hugs were exchanged among the kids. (Y/n) looked back on the house from the front seat of the car, watching as her friends waved from their spot on their bikes. She smiled through her tears and waved until she couldn’t see them anymore. 

“Babe?” Jonathan said.

She turned to look at him.

“This is going to be our new life, away from any monsters in Hawkins. We’ll be back for Thanksgiving, I promise.”

She smiled and buckled in to her seat. She reached for Jonathan’s hand and he pulled it up to his lips to place a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Her heart swelled at the small gesture, before turning to stare at the road ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[dragonswithjetpacks]

Theurgist

Chapter Four: The Shadow of Anger

-dragonswithjetpacks

Summary: That surge was quickly squashed as a dark shadow swarmed her mind again. It clouded her thoughts. It struck down any empathy she might have felt. And replaced it with hate. The shadow rippled, revealing another grasp of icy fingers, bending her will to bring her to her knees with guilt. Ferelith fought it. She refused to give in to the mind meld, refused to be its thrall.

Notes: So quick note about Ferelith. She is a very prideful person. Even what some might call a know-it-all. Very eloquent and charismatic, even when she shouldn't be. Of course, it does sometimes lean in her favor. There is also a very temperamental side to Ferelith. A stubborn and dangerous one. She is selfish. Very selfish. And greedy. She will be angry until she has her way. Also, I am notorious for writing long fight scenes. So I shortened this one up so it didn’t up with another 10k words. This is mostly game retell with Ferelith’s personal feelings. And a few little fun quips in dialogue. Not my favorite chapter or my best writing.

Read here on Ao3.

One day. It had only been one sodding day. Ferelith lay on her back blinking into the purple sky as the sun rose over the horizon. She lay listening to the river, the birds, the trees swaying in the wind, the sound of shifting bodies as the others began to wake. Astarion- who had been awake with her for several hours now- remained incredibly quiet the rest of the night, much to her surprise. But he had learned quickly that Ferelith, although approachable, was not so easy to converse with. Especially after ending their last conversation as awkward as they had. She wasn’t sure how long he had been gone when he did leave the camp. She didn’t care, but she wondered if he had taken his rest at some point. After all, they would need their strength to make it through the day. She rose to her feet, stretching her arms high above her head before heading toward the water to freshen her face. It was cold, but at least it was clean. She dipped her hands into it, splashing it up onto her cheeks when the sound of footsteps over rocks were heard behind her.

“What were you two talking about?” Shadowheart asked, kneeling down to feel the water for herself.

“Who?” Ferelith asked, running her hands around her neck.

“You and our rogue companion,” she barely looked up. “I heard you two chatting last night.”

“Nothing,” she shook her head. “Just about the camp.”

“I see,” she stated, but it felt as if she were looking for something specific. “I would be careful with who you confide in.”

Ferelith flung the remaining water from her hands. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about when it comes to who I confide in.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s a very short list,” she grinned.

“Good,” she said while rising onto her feet. “Let’s just hope we rapidly find a healer.”

“Once we’ve reached the temple, we could get on higher ground. Take a look at what we should expect from the wilderness and if there’s a village nearby.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” she crossed her arms.

“It also would be wise,” another voice approached from the fire, now smoking as it had been doused, “to check the wreckage for any more supplies. We’ve about gone through any rations we’ve found. Unless anyone has a knack for hunting.”

The two woman looked to Gale first, then to each other, frowning with disappointment. All three of them looked in unison at the rogue waiting by the fire, kicking dirt as he was already impatient. He had a set of knives on his persons, but no bow. Ferelith recalled the fishermen she found at the docks. There were poles there they could use to fish, if need be. She was certain their supplies had already been ransacked. Not only by herself, but possibly by the bandits Gale had mentioned before.

“Say, Astarion,” Gale piped up as he made his way back to fire pit. “You wouldn’t happen to have any experience with hunting would you?”

Astarion’s face dropped, his eyes scanning over his comrades. “Why?”

“We’re a bit short on food. Not a lot of options to choose from here, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Oh,” he straightened himself. “Well yes, of course. I have been known to hunt. For sport.”

“Were you any good at it?” Shadowheart muttered under her breath.

“I don’t think it matters if I’m the only shot we have at killing something for food,” he sneered at her. “But if you must know, yes. I am quite good at it.”

“Then we just need to find a bow,” Ferelith concluded, crossing her arms. “And we could always grab the fishing poles from the docks when we go to search for more supplies. Let’s gather our things, then. The earlier we get started, the better.”

The party of four stood at the top of the hill looking down into the wreckage of the nautiloid. Most of the fires were out, but the coals were still hot and spitting smoke into the air. Ferelith scanned the area below, seeing broken chairs, burned steps, and a few carcasses, but nothing useful. There was a large doubt that there would be nothing worth using beneath the ash, but they would have to cross the debris, regardless. They descended into the mass of it, listening to the framework creak above them when the wind blew. It seemed just as empty and eerie as before.

“I don’t even know what to look for,” Ferelith said, kicking over burnt rubble on the ground.

“What’s that?” Gale said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder to alert her.

Ferelith looked up, and the other two had his attention as well. They stood quietly looking further back into the destruction of the ship. Ahead, there were three villagers digging at what seemed like a large heap that had fallen from the ship. They were covered in soot and ash like they had been sorting through it for awhile. One of them was yelling, commanding the others, frantically flailing his arms as he did. The elves squinted to focus, using their better sight to get a closer look.

“Is that-?” Astarion lowered his brow.

“Shit,” Ferelith pushed past Gale, marching toward the group of villagers.

“Somethings wrong,” Shadowheart said, realizing now what they saw by the flash of it’s gray skin. “They should be trying to get away if they had any sense.”

“Ferelith,” the wizard called after her. “Ferelith, we should be careful.”

She didn’t care. The rage inside her had already swarmed. Astarion was at her heels, Shadowheart close behind. Gale trailed them, treading carefully and observing more from a distance. As Ferelith got closer, the human man was sent into a full panic. There was a large cut on his hand from where he had carelessly moved the debris. He looked up to address them as the approached, but the others continued to dig. They scratched and clawed at the heap in front of them, as if their own lives were at stake. Beneath a very large piece of the ship was a mind flayer. Too weak to move. But not too weak to control them.

“Stop it,” Ferelith reached out to touch the back of a dwarf.

“My daughter!” the human man shouted at her, causing her to step back. “She’s under there. Please!”

“That’s not your daughter,” she snapped, wrinkles forming at her nose as she growled at him. “Step aside.”

“You… monster…” the look of pure horror on his face only made her fury worse.

She looked down, the creature- the mind flayer- its hold on them was too strong. It’s yellow eyes watched Ferelith, observing what she would do as if it were a test to her own nature. Something triggered a memory from the dark streets back in Baldur’s Gate. A hand outstretched, waving as this one did now. It created a cold feeling like ice covered fingers piercing her skull. And those yellow eyes were just the same as before, menacing and fierce. It reminded her of the screams from her patron inside. That he somehow had been affected. She tightened her fists. It was the very same being that had taken her.

“You’ll die for this,” she said lowly and she knew it understood.

“She’s already dying!” the man yelled and as he did, the other two fishermen began to rise to their feet. “You… you did this. You want to kill her!”

The three of them drew their weapons. But the commoners stood no chance. A blast of energy fired from the palm of Ferelith’s already charged hands into the man’s chin, sending him backwards across the wreckage. Shadowheart swung her mace, striking down a halfling who was ready to attack, but unable to defend. And Astarion had cut his blades across the dwarf, who gurgled helplessly to the floor. Gale crossed his arms with a disappointing sigh.

“I feel like this could have gone better,” he said solemnly shaking his head.

Ferelith stepped over the mound with the mind flayer beneath, her hand out and filled with more energy for another blast. However, a convulsion inside her caused her stop. Her hand came to her chest, and she slowly turned. The mind flayer was now curling it’s fingers towards her. She could feel her mind bending, twisting, melding with those who attacked her. She felt a moment of fear, just as they did. It wanted to use that fear to force her to attack her comrades. Except, this time was nothing like the attack in the alleyway. She was better prepared. Stronger. Determined. Her mind was a fortress and she pushed back the fear with all the anger inside her.

“There is no place for you here, you wretch.”

The tone she used caused Shadowheart to look at the others. Her voice held all the ferocity of something fowl. It came from a place they did understand. And how could they? Ferelith’s mind was home to something dark. And it was now empty, leaving a vacant space that this thing was trying to fill. This space was something she made specifically for someone else. Someone sacred. To try and take it left her violated.

Whatever it was Ferelith had done, it caused the mind flayer to shrink in it’s already shriveled state. Forgetting about the human behind her, she stepped onto the piece of the platform crushing the creature. The bond was severed and she could feel the others awakening. The dwarf was gone, but the other two were still with beating hearts. There was rustling behind her, causing her to turn with a readied spell.

“Wait!” the human sat up, his hand held out with a plea of mercy. “… where are we?”

She lowered her spell, but her guard was still firm. “You’re in the middle of a crashed ship.”

“Ship? I don’t… There was fire in the sky… and then…” he looked around, seeing the blood on the ground. “Oh Gods… Sonna… what happened to my friends?”

“This,” she pointed down below her feet. “You were protecting this.”

“Gods… I think you’re right,” he looked down at his own hands. “It called out from the wreckage. Sounded just like my daughter. But… she’s been dead for years. That thing got into our heads… drove us mad. We wrecked our boat just trying to get close to it. What do we do now?”

Gale watched as her shoulders hunched forward, her chin leaning out in a way the reminded him of a curious predator. There was a hint of something else when he watched her, like a brief flicker of a shadow, something like wavering smoke through a reflection of glass. Her anger had not subsided. And she was feeding off of it with every second.

“You?” she asked, her tone dropping and her voice quiet. “We don’t even know where we are. If it wasn’t for this abomination, we wouldn’t even be here.”

“You were in this thing?” his eyes widened. “To survive that only to land in this bloody wilderness. We’re in the middle of nowhere. The gods must have it out.”

Something shifted in Ferelith’s mind. The bond between them was not entirely broken. The man had felt it too. She spotted the realization the moment his face twisted. The fear had returned, but only by his own control.

“Wait… you… I can feel you,” he started to step backward. “Just like one of those things. You’re one of them!”

“What?” the growl in her voice returned. “I tried to save you. You attacked me.”

“There’s something in your head,” he shook his slowly. “Please… we’ll take our chances out here. Just… leave us be.”

The man went to leave, but she stopped him, stepping forward as her yellow eyes pierced his gaze. He flinched, catching his footing off balance. Ferelith took advantage and stepped over him as he crouched, cowering beneath her.

“The bow,” she said, holding our her hand.

“What?” he stammered, terrified to look up at her.

“Give me the bow. Take your friend. And run.”

The human looked at the weapon clutched tightly in his hand then back to Ferelith. He cast it down, scrambling to the halfling’s side as he struggled to throw her over his shoulder. The group of them watched him half carry, half drag her out, stopping only once he was a good hundred feet away to completely lift her into his arms. Ferelith bent over, snatching the bow from the ground, and tossed it to Astarion.

“Simpletons,” he said catching it effortlessly in one hand. “The beast is half dead and they still bowed to its whims.”

Ferelith said not a word as she looked over to the dwarf’s body. A crossbow lay at his un-moving fingertips. She reached down, taking it from his dead hands and began to storm back toward the squirming mind flayer. She rounded the rubble, standing directly in front of it. She wanted to see the fear in it’s eyes. And for a moment… she did. Then, she felt the swirling wield of pity. This helpless thing was reaching out for her, pleading with the entirety of it’s thoughts. She felt compelled to come to its aid with a sudden surge of compassion.

That surge was quickly squashed as a dark shadow swarmed her mind again. It clouded her thoughts. It struck down any empathy she might have felt. And replaced it with hate. The shadow rippled, revealing another grasp of icy fingers, bending her will to bring her to her knees with guilt. Ferelith fought it. She refused to give in to the mind meld, refused to be its thrall. The harder she fought, the weaker it became. Until eventually it’s clutch loosened and she felt it slip away. It’s eyes flashed once more, an indication that if this creature could display any emotions, it would be that of bitter resentment. Her hand grasped the base of the crossbow.

“Have you used one of those before?” Shadowheart asked.

Ferelith ignored her.

“Are you sure you-” Astarion began.

The bolt released with a pull of the trigger. It violently split the mind flayer’s face in two, digging into the ground and splattering blood up Ferelith’s body. The sound of impact made the others jump, not expecting such a loud and hasty action from her petite hands. She pressed her foot down on the remainder of its skull, pulling her arrow up from the dirt and reloading the chamber. She turned to her companions, filled with awe and struck cold during her display of rage.

“You’ve… got…” Gale pointed to his face.

Ferelith lifted the back of her hand, wiping the blood on her face. Some of it came off on her glove, but most just smeared across her cheek. She looked down at the back of her hand, examining the dark blood. It brought her thoughts to the tadpole. About how it had twisted in her head the more the mind flayer pulled. It was able to connect to the creature while her mind remained free. Perhaps that was the reason why she- why they were alive. The worm may not have had the ability to connect to their minds because there was already something there, something already bound to that space. The only reasoning Ferelith would have was her patron. As for the others, she didn’t know enough to create a strong theory. It all seemed too far fetched and coincidental.

“Let’s go,” she said, walking back over to the dwarf to rip off the holster.

His body made a loud thud, causing Gale to grimace and Astarion to chuckle as they followed behind her. The three trailing behind her remained silent. And a good distance away. None of them were brave enough to address the temper they had witnessed. Or that it was completely uncalled for. Astarion, specifically, seemed restless. Although he was the furthest behind, his eyes kept wandering to the back of her head. If he could just have one more peek into her memories of the night she was taken, he could have a bit more insight on what to expect. It wouldn’t put him at any sort of ease, but it would at least prepare him for… whatever it was that he just saw.

“Ferelith,” Gale said, trotting behind her when he had held his silence for too long. “I feel like we should talk about-”

“No.”

“You don’t think we should discuss what just happened?”

“Not at all.”

“Really? Because I think you just-”

“Gale,” she turned to face him, her face finally softened. “I don’t believe now is the time. If there’s something that needs to be discussed, can we wait until we camp?”

“Of course,” he nodded, but his eyes were still filled with concern. “I just need to know if you’re alright.”

Ferelith lowered her brow in confusion, her eyes shooting down with the understanding that this was the first time her comrades had witnessed her true nature. They had seen the shadow. Which only meant that if they could see it, must have meant her patron had returned. The voice still had not made itself known, however. And his presence was just a faint blip in the corner of her head. But something had drawn him out. The same thing that had drawn him to her. The rage. How typical.

“I’m fine,” she smiled at the thought. “Honestly, I’m sorry. I must have gotten carried away.”

Her eyes looked back over the others looking for the reactions but found they were all generally uninterested. It was quite the relief and surprise, as most who caught the first glimpse of her in that state would question her stability. It seemed her silence of the matter was welcomed.

“It’s quite alright,” Shadowheart shrugged. “If you weren’t going to do it, I was. I’m just glad you were capable.”

“And you’ve managed to secure not one, but two long ranged weapons,” Astarion pointed out from the back. “With an impressive display of intimidation.”

“Yes,” Gale tilted his shoulder upward. “That was quite the show. A lot of pent up anger, I’d say.”

“Well, it didn’t take much,” her eyes shifted. “It could be from a lack of food this morning. I’d like to get to that temple and see what sort of luxurious these bandits have been living in.”

“Do you think they’ll have wine?” the wizard jested beside her.

“Gods, I hope so.”

Ferelith, Shadowheart, and Gale sat against a large boulder, their backs pressed firmly against it. They glanced at one another, unable to speak lest they alarm their targets. Words were shared between facial expressions, however, and if there was anything they currently agreed upon, it was that they were tired of waiting. They had wasted enough time back at the wreckage and they wanted to at least scout the temple before nightfall. Astarion was not hastening their progress, however. And the moment he reappeared to bring them news, they all looked at him in frustration.

“Well?” Shadowheart lowered her brow.

“Two tieflings have someone captured,” he said, glancing over the rock in their direction.

“Do they look like bandits?” Ferelith questioned.

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” her brow lowered as well.

Astarion turned his head to the two scowling women. “They looked like tieflings.”

Ferelith rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. “For complete wilderness we seem to be running into a lot of people.”

“The crash must have brought them all out,” Gale suggested.

“We can either go on, see what they’re about, or go back and around. Maybe there’s another way?” she looked to the cleric.

“Not a chance. We’ll push through here.”

“I agree,” Gale nodded. “Let’s go.”

The four of them lifted onto their feet, pacing around the rock and onto the trail in front of the clearing. It was a small ravine covered in rocks, a natural bridge hanging above them. Wrapped around it was a solid rope with a cage dangling from it, a clever and sturdy trap if they had ever seen one. Contained within it was a woman with yellowish green skin, adorned in gleaming silver armor and brandishing a frown of disgust. Her arms were crossed as she awaited her fate. And as Ferelith looked upon her, she recognized the woman as the very same from the ship.

“The thing’s dangerous,” one of the tieflings pleaded. “Leave it for the goblins to kill.”

“And if it escapes?” the other argued. “How will you- oh! We gave guests, it seems.”

“We’re just passing-” Gale began to speak to them as they grew near, but Ferelith became distracted by the pounding cold wave in her head.

She looked up, meeting the gaze of the gith in the cage. Her stare was focused as if she were sending shards of thoughts straight into her brain.

“You again... Get rid of them.”

Ferelith gave a slight wink to her the gith woman without realizing she had no inclination of what the gesture meant. She turned back to the tieflings, indulging in the conversation they were having with Gale. He began to describe their journey from the ship and how they had been stranded in the wild. They began to mention an encampment, somewhere there would be more supplies. But the woman was growing impatient. And Ferelith could feel her poking to get back into her head.

“Is this one of the gith that was attacking the ship?” Ferelith inquired, glancing back up to her former companion.

“We’re… we’re not sure,” they glanced at one another. “We were sent out to investigate that blast. And we found her here.”

“There might be more of them. And I’ve seen what they can do,” her fingers began to twitch as she began to consider a spell, but dropped them when it was not needed. “They’re fierce fighters. What do you intend to do with her?”

“We can’t seem to agree on that,” the male said, his eyes glancing up to his current problem.

“You could leave it to us,” Ferelith motioned to their party. “I believe we could handle her. We’ve fought through the ship to survive, after all.”

The woman rolled her eyes from above. Ferelith could still feel her intense stare, growing with intensity the longer the conversation went on.

“Are you sure?”the male tiefling lowered his brow.

“No,” Ferelith shook her head with a slight chuckle. “But I’m afraid we stand a better chance than two of you.”

The tieflings had a moment of hesitation, looking at one another. There was a sigh as there clearly was no correct course of action. Either the gith had to die or they had to leave it. Something about leaving the matter in strange hands was far more appealing than making the decision themselves.

“She’s right,” he finally said with a nod to his companion. “Let’s go.”

“Be careful out here. There’s goblin traps everywhere,” the tiefling woman said. “Perhaps we’ll see you back at camp.”

As they walked away, they both gave one final glance over their shoulder. Like two very suspicious individuals, Gale and Ferelith waved until they disappeared beyond the other side of the ravine.

“Is there a reason we’re dismissing the tieflings to deal with a githyanki?” Gale asked, leaning toward her as soon as they were out of ear shot.

“She helped me on the ship,” Ferelith replied quietly. “We wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“What do you mean?” he looked at her curiously.

“We fought on the bridge together.”

“You were the one that sent us through the portal?”

“Yes. I. Am,” she nodded proudly.

“Impressive.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s get her down then,” he stated nonchalantly.

They made their way over to the cage, looking up. Though the engineering put into the contraption was impressive, the make of it was still rather crude. It would be easy to take it down.

“Enough gawking,” she narrowed her eyes. “Get me down.”

“Say please,” Ferelith grinned.

The gith stepped away from the bars that surrounded her, crossing her arms with a spiteful gaze. “Never.”

Ferelith turned to the other members of her party, two of them humored by her sarcasm while Gale stared like a chiding parent. The warlock shrugged, taking the crossbow from her holster and carelessly aiming it upward. With barely a glance, she fired the bolt and down came the bottom of the trap. The gith woman tumbled out, catching herself on one knee as she slammed onto the earth.

“The tadpole hasn’t yet scrambled your senses,” she grumbled, rising to her feet. “Auspicious. But the longer we wait, the more it consumes. My people posses the cure for this infection. I must find a creche. You will join me.”

“Lies,” Shadowheart spat, coming forward without waiting for a response from anyone else. “Just get rid of her.”

“Hold on,” Ferelith held out her hand. “I didn’t kill Astarion when he tried to stab me, so I’m certainly not killing anyone for simply just existing.”

“He what?” Gale turned to glare at the rogue.

“Let’s not dwell on the past,” he said quietly while quickly shaking his head with a robust frown.

“I think we should consider this as an option,” she continued over their squabble. “What little options we have. Lae’zel, what is a creche?”

“It is many things: a hatchery, a training ground, a shelter. Githyanki protocol is clear: when infected with ghaik tadpole, we must report to a caretaker for purification.”

“I don’t trust her,” Shadowheart stated. “We’ve already got information on the camp the tieflings mentioned.”

“This camp,” the gith straightened herself. “That is where this Zorru is. He has seen my kin. We will go.”

“Then we can all go together.” Ferelith interrupted.

“A questioning compromise, but I accept,” she pressed her shoulders back with an observing eye. “You have made an ally from Creche K’lir. Few know such fortune. Call me Lae’zel.”

“Fool,” Shadowheart interrupted before Ferelith could speak. “No point in showing a mad dog kindness – it’ll still bite you in the end.”

“You’ve a sharp tongue, elf. Would that your mind prove its equal.”

“Half elf. I suppose the finer details are lost on a creature like you.”

“Right,” Ferelith sighed, her eyes gliding across the ground wondering what exactly she had done to deserve the cruel fate she was handed. “Now that we’re all acquainted… I believe now would be a great time to re-establish a better plan of action.”

“We’ll be here all night,” Gale mumbled to her, leaning forward in an attempt to intervene.

“Then perhaps… we should just head back to camp. And we can find supplies… and that wine… in the morning.”

[solarwriting]

Remember Me *b.h*

Pairing: Romantic!Billy Hargrove x Fem!Reader

Word Count: +1.8k

Warnings: Death and major spoilers for stranger things 3

Requests: I combined two because they kind of fit.

“Hii can you do a Billy Hargrove imagine where the reader (hoppers niece) is trying to protect El from billy so she tries to talk to him like telling him memories they had together to wake bill up basically?” from @versaceismehoe

and

“write an imagine where y/n watches billy die in season 3 and they are both dating. instead of max crying into Eleven, have her cry into the reader and maybe they just hold each other and cry..??”

A/N: I wrote half of this on my phone and I’ve been writing this off and on since 7 pm and it is now almost 5 am 

also the gif doesn’t really fit with the story but he looks good in it so i’m using it

MAJOR STRANGER THINGS SEASON THREE SPOILERS

He had El and she looked so helpless. He laid her limp body on the floor of Starcourt. “Leave her alone!” Y/N screamed at Billy, moving quickly to stand between him and El, “El get back!” 

Everyone had started throwing firecrackers at the Mind Flayer, it weakened Him and Billy and Y/N knew this was her chance. 

“Billy, I know you’re in there. Please wake up, I need you to wake up. I need you.“  She begged.

"Remember when you asked me out? And our first date?”

School had just ended and Starcourt Mall was brand new, Y/N got a job at Burger King. Billy had been going in to the restaurant everyday for a few weeks. He’d flirt with Y/N, testing the waters before asking her out on a proper date.

“Hey, when do you get off?” He asked her out of the blue one day. 

“Oh, in about an hour. Why?” She asked, confused. 

“I’ll be right out front ready to pick you up for our date, okay?" 

She blinked, "Okay. See you in an hour.” She agreed as he grinned and walked out of the fast food joint, a smirk plastered on his face. 

After an hour passed, Y/N’s shift ended and she collected her purse and exited the eatery. As he promised, Billy was in front near the doors. He leaned against the walls the smirk returning to the spot on his face when he saw her walking towards him. 

“What exactly does this date entail?” She asked when she was closer to Billy. 

His smirk only grew in size, “Whatever you want." 

She quirked her brow and stepped closer, "Whatever I want?”

He nodded.

“Let’s go to the movies then. We can go to Back to the Future, there’s a showing in five minutes.”

Billy furrowed his brow, “But that movie seems so boring.”

It was her turn to smirk again, “Exactly.”

It was safe to say the two didn’t spend a lot of time watching the movie. 

“Hey,” Y/N pulled herself away from Billy’s lips and spoke with ragged breaths, “after this,” Billy moved down to her neck pressing his lips to one spot, “we should get ice cream." 

Billy detached himself from the girl’s neck and chuckled, "Whatever you want." 

She smiled before pressing her lips to his again, "I swear to god if I have a hickey I’m gonna kill you.”

“Is that right?” He whispered, smirking yet again. Y/N grinned and nodded, “That’s right." 

He sighed, “Wanna get that ice cream now?” She nodded before getting up grabbing her purse and Billy’s hand leading him to the theater’s exit. 

Y/N giggled as she drug him to the Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop, him having to deal with Steve would be pretty funny. Over the last couple months Billy started to change, it wasn’t very drastic but after awhile, if you paid close attention, you could notice the small changes. Like him being more respectful towards Max and her friends. He also got a job of his own, he was growing up in a way.

People who noticed wondered why, all the girls who usually got all of his attention were cast aside. They questioned his sanity. Why was he ignoring every girl and being less of an asshole than before? What happened?

Y/N L/N is what happened. He saw her and knew he wanted her, and he always got what he wanted. He began flirting with her at school that spring but she was proving to be more of a challenge than his usual conquests. She flat out told him she didn’t date assholes and that he was, in fact, an asshole. 

He was shocked by her bluntness but he also appreciated it so he began changing his ways. Now if he was aware he was changing or not, no one knows. 

Now at the ice cream joint Y/N placed her order with Robin, a nice girl she didn’t really know, and Billy paid. 

-

“This was nice.” Y/N said as she sat on the passenger seat of Billy’s car, “We should do it again sometime.” 

She leaned into him and pressed her lips to his sweetly, none of the hunger from their previous kisses evident. Her hands made her way to the back of his neck, pulling him as close as she could with their position in the car. His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb drawing a small circle. She pulled away and smiled. She got out of his car, leaving him breathless. 

“Pick me up tomorrow at three, whatever you want this time.”  She called as she walked to her front door a sway in her hips. Billy was awestruck and definitely needed a plan for tomorrow.

“Don’t you remember, that. The movies and the ice cream?” She asked her vision blurring and her eyes stinging. 

Y/N saw something flash in his eyes but it whatever it was quickly replaced itself with anger. Billy’s face contorted into pure rage and he stepped forward and grabbed her lower shoulders harsly.

“Billy, please! I love you! Do you remember when we said that for the first time?” She whimpered. 

They had been hot and heavy for weeks, if they weren’t loitering at the others work they were at the mall or Y/N’s house because her parents were almost never home. 

“Baby, can I ask you something?” Y/N finally asked one night as they were curled up on her couch watching TV in the family room, her parents gone on another business trip. Bill was lying half on his side, half on his back with Y/N lying partially on top of him, his hands on her lower shoulder, lightly drawing patterns with the tip of his finger. Their legs were knotted together and Billy had his head resting in the crook of Y/N’s neck where he’s press an occasional kiss that’d make her giggle. 

Billy hummed into her skin, “You just did.” 

She laughed, “I mean another question, besides that one.” 

“Of course you can, babe.” He answered as he kissed her cheek, “What do you want to ask?” He wondered as continued to kiss her cheek, sometimes moving to her neck or shoulder. 

“Well I was wondering if you would like to come with me to Washington this winter, my cousin is getting married and I get a plus one.” As soon as she mentioned Washington and wedding he froze.

“A,” He pauses and licks his lips, “wedding. You want me to go to a wedding,” another pause, “in Washington,” he pauses yet again, “with you?”  

She slowly nod, unsure of how to gauge his reaction. “Billy?” She untangles herself from BIlly and jump up off the couch. “Do you want to go?”  He’s silent.

“Please say something.” She whispers. He stays silent.

The silence lingers for a few more moments before her nerves get the best of her, “Say something! Please!” Tears started to prick her eyes. 

“Why won’t you say anything?” She asks, quieter.

“Because this is insane! Why would you ask me to go with you to Washington? To a wedding!” He was standing at this point, pacing the living room in front of the now nervous girl, “Why would you want me to go all the way to Washington? Why do you want me near your family? Why me?” 

Maybe it was because of the shouting, maybe it was because of how quickly the conversation escalated into a mini screaming match, maybe it was something in the air, maybe it was because this had been a long time coming, whatever it was the things that came out of Y/N’s mouth were the last thing he was expecting to hear.

“Because I love you, you idiot!” She yelled. Billy stopped pacing, waiting for a moment trying to figure out if he heard her correctly.

“You love me?” he asked quietly. Y/N nodded nervously but before she could say anything, Billy stepped closer to her grabbing her face and pulling her closer to him, slamming his lips into hers. After a moment of shock she reacted quickly, her hands shot up and grabbed whatever they could. Eventually they ended up in his hair, holding it in fistfuls. 

Billy pulled away only for a moment to breath, foreheads touching before reattaching his lips to hers. Lips still connected he pushed her into a wall, his hands now on her hips, trailing upwards under her shirt his fingertips leaving a trail of fire as they moved along her skin.

He began pulling away, Y/N following a bit before disconnecting again. Chests heaving, faces flushed and lips swollen, Billy leaned his forehead onto hers. Breathing heavily, he smiled, “I love you too.” 

She sobbed, “Don’t you remember? We’re in love. We have a wedding to go to this winter. You were happy. We were happy.” He remembered, he remembered everything. From the first time he saw her, to the first time they got in trouble for making out in the theater. He remembered it all. 

Y/N took a cautious step towards Billy reaching out her hand. His eyes began to sting and his vision blurred, he was crying. He slowly stepped forward and nodded, “I remember.” He croaked out, his voice hoarse. 

Y/N sniffled as she ran to hug him, throwing her arms around him and holding him as tightly as possible, “I love you, I love you so much.” She sobbed. 

“I’m sorry,” He cried, “I’m sorry.” 

Y/N shushed him comfortingly, “No, it’s okay. You’re okay now. We’re okay.”

The Mind Flayer stomped closer and closer before letting out a glass shattering screech before shooting a tentacle at El. Before it could even near El, Billy jumped in and grabbed the tentacle pushing it back, “NO!”

“Billy!” Max and Y/N shouted as more and more tentacles came at Billy, lodging themselves into his body. He was hanging limply when the final tentacle came making itself as sharp as possible before plunging into Billy’s chest before all of the tentacles retracted from his body and slithering away. 

You moved quickly, ending up at Billy’s side in an instant, “I got you, I got you.” 

“Billy?” Max walked up to him and knelt down next to you, Billy let out choked breaths, “Billy. Billy, Billy get up, please. Billy get up, please, please.” She sobbed. 

“I’m sorry.” He choked out before letting out a final ragged breath before he just stopped. He stopped moving, breathing, thinking, remembering, loving. He was gone.

“Billy. Billy wake up. Billy, get up. Please, Billy..” Max sobbed as she shook his shoulders in vain. Y/n and El gently pulled her away from him, “It’s okay.” Y/N sobbed as she held the young teen, rubbing her back as she sobbed into her shoulder.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

S.T. REWRITE - S2:E8; Chapter Eight, The Mind Flayer - [Pt. 1]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

An unlikely hero steps forward when a deadly development puts the Hawkins Lab on lockdown, trapping Will and several others inside.

A/n: This series has blown up so much, I don’t know how to thank you guys! I love you all!!

Warnings: Domestic violence, and a homophobic slur. Ugh, just Billy's dad in general. jc, this guy sucks. If you feel you need to skip this scene altogether, I completely understand. I will place the usual marker [●●●] at the beginning and end so you can scroll quickly. Safe reading, loves!

||3rd Person POV||

As Hopper gazes into the inky darkness, a great unending bellow erupts from within the pit. The elevator cables are struck by something below, indicated by their sudden whip that fell into a dull vibrating blur and soft twang. Immediately, a slender grey claw erupts from the shadows digging into the concrete edge. Emerging after it, was the figure attached, the beasts they could barely make out on the live feed. The same monster from the previous year, that thing this damn lab unleashed unto El and her poor friends. Hopper couldn't believe his eyes or his piss poor luck. Seemingly, neither could Dr. Owens who had numbly stepped closer to the window, next to Hop.

"Mother of God."

With stilled silence, everyone watches, eyes trained on the creature not knowing what to expect. And upon first glance, neither does the mutant. It stalks forward. It's eyeless bud-shaped head inspecting the glass before it rises to its hind legs, placing it's front claws on the glass. On the opposite side, Hopper leans closer to the pane, brows furrowed and ears perked as he takes advantage of seeing this unknown species up close.

The advantage doesn't last long, however, when the mutant takes one glance at Hopper and Owens individually - as if sizing them up, frighteningly enough - and it lets out a foggy huff before ramming its now open head into the glass. The two men jump back alarmed as it continues this, each strike against the glass is with more and more force and aggression.

"It's... It's polycarbonate. It can't get through." Dr. Owens utters, shuffling back despite his words.

On cue, the four-legged Demogorgan split it's head, and a bone-chilling shriek pierced the air. The shrill cry carried through the air, bouncing off the walls and deep within the caverns, continuously feeding into itself. The echo was enough to worry everyone, that was until they saw the elevator cables begin to move once more. It was then they realized, it had not been an echo, but the voices of dozens of its siblings. And they were all scrambling up the walls, out of the pit, and to its aid.

"Mother Mary and Joseph," murmured the man at the coms.

Another screech and they all fell in line taking orders. Not a single creature hesitated, and it was only a matter of moments before the pristine, spotless glass was near shattering. Hundreds of webbing cracks painted the glass to a point the creatures became harder to see.

"You sure about that glass?" Hopper piped.

His face flushed, Owens steps back to the panel, knowing what has to be done.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The shrill alarm has reached the rest of the lab, bouncing off the cold white walls and alerting Bob and Mike.

"What the hell?" Bob asks, his protective grip on Mike feigning.

"We're too late," Mike realizes, voice grave.

"What?"

"We're too late!"

Mike escapes Bob's grip with ease, sprinting for Will's room where Joyce rises from her seat beside Will.

"What's going on?"

"We're under attack." Mike pants, face flushed.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"What's going on down there? Does anybody copy?"

The officer's voice echoes out of the speakers in the control room, though stifled by their panicked cries and the scuffle of their shoes on the floor as they run. Hopper is the last to exit, assuring everyone has made it out safely. The steel door slams shut just in the nick of time, no sooner does the splintered glass windows shatter into a thousand pieces, and the swarm floods in.

In the hall, Hopper and Owens flee with the other workers. That is until Owens finds a shortcut.

"Stairs, stairs!" He pants, shoving Hopper for the door. "Come on,"

The two men are able to safely retreat to the next floor, returning to the main floor. The same could not be said for the remainder of the team, who found themselves cornered in the elevator as the army broke free.

In Will's room, Mike spots the bottle of anesthesia and quickly snatches it up in his hands, turning to Joyce.

"We need to make Will sleep," He orders.

"What?"

"He's a spy! If he knows where we are, so does the Mind Flayer!"

Will sits up, his actions are suddenly frightened and hasty. He's furious. His once hazel eyes are almost completely black now. He quickly turns to Joyce and cries out.

"He's lying!"

"He killed those soldiers and he'll kill us, too!" Mike warned.

This only angered Will more, he shot up in his bed now fighting against Joyce's efforts to hold him down. He is screeching now, utterly infuriated and desperate as he fights against Joyce.

"He's lying! He's lying! HE'S LYING! HE'S LYING! HE'S LYING!"

The elevator has arrived on their floor, and when the designated guards arrive, the doors open revealing the several torn up bodies of the extraction team. The army of Demogorgan mutants don't hesitate on their newest targets, they stalk forward, their speed quickly climbing. In a flurry they scramble for their guns, shooting the evermoving targets as they pounce.

The gunfire echoes throughout the entire floor, including Will's room. Bob is at Will's bedside, aiding Joyce in restraining him, and he is the first to hear them.

"Those are gunshots!"

Everyone looks to the door, but their attention is quickly pulled back to Will who is still fighting.

"He's lying! HE'S LYING!"

Frightened, and short-fused, Joyce grips Will's arms.

"Okay, Will, Will, listen, listen. Do you know who I am?"

Will only looks dumbstruck, he looks at the woman before him, his body still half attempting to escape. At that moment, she knows Will is in there, but he has to fight for control.

"Do you know who I am?" She yells.

"You're..."

He falters, sending another crack through her heart as he searches his mind for her identity. And every moment seems to last an eternity, but when he finally spoke, she knew Will was losing his battle.

"You're... You're Mom."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looks to Bob with a determination in her eyes. Her pain is turning to anger.

"Hold him down."

Bob complies as she retrieves the needle and vial from Mike. Will comes alive, his anger - the mind flayer's anger - erupts from his frame and he is kicking and screaming with every ounce of energy he can muster.

"No! NO! LET GO! NO! NO! LET ME GO! LET GO!"

She steps forward, needle in hand, and quickly pins his arm down. She knows it is the mind flayer's doing, but she can't help but see the look of terror in Will's eyes and feels a wave of guilt. But she does not stop.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO-!"

"I'm sorry," she cooed, fighting to keep his arm down. "I'm so sorry."

"LET ME GO!"

Mike tries to cover his ears, Will's frightful and all-too frightening shrieks pierce his skull and heart. And he can't help but think, he knew now more than ever it was the Mind Flayer, not his best friend. The only other time he had seen him this angry - this threatened - was with Y/n.

The needle breaks his skin and not a moment sooner does his cries begin to die down, and from there, it is only seconds before he is completely subdued by unconsciousness. At that same moment, Hopper and Owens burst through to the door, to find an unconscious Will, and Joyce, needle in hand. They manage to put the pieces together when without warning, a thunderous crash and inhuman howl grab everyone's attention. Everyone turns to see the pair of oak doors at the end of the hall begin to crack and splinter, piece by piece falls to the floor with each forceful strike. The creatures have reached the main floor.

Hopper pales. "We gotta go. We gotta go,"

He spins on his heel, racing for Will's bed and he swiftly sweeps the boy's small frame up with ease. Joyce, Bob, and Mike follow, not without making off with more morphine before their haste escape. The new group makes it to the outer rim before they witness a pack of these creatures take down several lab employees just up ahead. Before they can flee from where they came, the sound of rapid gunfire comes first. They are forced to pilot away and out of the hall through a narrow doorway where they find themselves in one of the labs' surveillance rooms.

Owens is the last to enter, closing the door behind him and Bob is the first to take note of the chaos unfolding on the many screens.

"Oh, my god," he gasps, drawing everyone's attention to the screens.

Everyone stops to gape at the many images of scattered bodies sprinkled throughout the labs' otherwise empty halls. Every monitor displays the contorted figures of the otherworldly creatures stalking the halls, prowling. Hunting. The lab is overrun.

The fluorescence lights above their heads begin to flicker, and just as quickly, all power has been lost, the monitors first to go. Amidst the pitch back, the group huddles close as the strident battle cry of the swarm echoes through the darkness making one simple fact abundantly clear;

Hawkins Lab has officially become the hunting ground for the army of the Upside Down.

[●●●]

On the other side of town, Neil and Susan Hargrove pull into their driveway in a rusty '71 pickup. Stepping inside, placing her shopping bags onto the dining room, Susan calls out to her daughter and step-son.

"Hey, guys, we're home." Receiving no reply, she wanders down the hall in search of any sign of life. "Guys? Hello? Max?"

She reaches Max's room first, opening the door to find the room empty, save for the abandoned taped up skateboard, and the open window. The drapes dance in the wind, reflecting the soft yellow light from the girl's bedside lamp, and it was clear to her that the room had not been touched all evening. Attempting to stifle her growing concern, she steps forward and closes the sliding window shut disregarding the chill the autumn night brought.

Inside his room, heavy rock music blaring from his stereo, Billy takes a long and deep breath, letting the smoke of his third cigarette of the day fills his lungs. He bounces on the balls of his heels to the rhythm of the beat before his mirror as he preps himself for his night out. The moment is almost perfect had it not been for the persistent knocking on his door and the sound of his stepmother.

"Billy?"

"Yeah, I'm a little busy in here, Susan," He calls.

"Open the door," Bellows his father. "Right now."

Now his night was completely ruined.

Stuffing down his fear and anger, Billy marches across his room and throws open his door. As it always seemed to go, he found his father looking down on him, seething, and a troubled and anxious Susan at his side.

"What's wrong?"

"Why don't you tell us?" His father spits.

Billy shrugs, perturbed. "Because I don't know."

"We can't find Maxine," Susan says.

"And her window's open."

Billy looks away, hiding his inward sigh. Getting on his father's bad side was never a good thing. It was rare to come out on the other side without a welt or bruise or two. And Billy was always his favorite target. That is after his mother left the picture. Whatever hell Max had just cooked up, was more shit he'd have to pay.

"Where is she?"

Biting the bullet, Billy shrugs.

"I don't know,"

"You don't know?" Neil scoffs, rage quickly rising to the surface.

All Billy can do now is throw water on the fire, but he knows he's only buying moments.

"Look, I'm sure she just, I don't know, went to the arcade or something." He says, retreating into his room. "I'm sure she's fine."

Neil follows, swiping at his mouth, a habit of anger as he follows his son to his closet.

"You were supposed to watch her," He growls.

"I know, Dad. I was," Billy sighs, throwing on his coat. "It's just you guys were three hours late, and, well, I have a date."

Pulling his mullet out from under his coat, straightening out he shrugs. "I'm sorry, okay?"

His father crosses his arms, glaring at him as he gestures to his mirror. "So that's why you've been staring at yourself in the mirror-like some faggot instead of watching your sister?"

"I have been looking after her all week, Dad." Billy snaps. "Okay? She wants to run off, then that's her problem all right? She's thirteen years old. She shouldn't need a full-time babysitter. And she's not my sister!"

Billy steps forward, slamming the off button on his stereo. The music stops just as he feels the force of his father shoving him into the wall. Neil steps closer, his grip on Billy's jacket tightening.

"What did we talk about?" He growls.

His son does not answer, and his fist swings up to meet Billy's cheek. Susan looks away fearfully, unable to witness his beatings yet neglects to step in. Neil brings his hand near Billy's throat in an act to threaten him, his sign of warning.

"What did we... talk about?"

Billy swallows the urge to fight back, no matter how demanding and he has to spit out the words his father wants to hear.

"Respect and responsibility," He repeats, hating himself for the waver in his voice that his father always seemed to bring out in him.

His father nods. "That is right,"

He shoves Billy further into the bookshelf, the boy fights a wince as his spine digs further against the wood.

"Now, apologize to Susan,"

Billy takes a deep, shaky breath. The only thing keeping him from any act - any sign - of defiance is the fiery, hostile glare he is held under.

"I'm sorry, Susan," He says.

The woman shifts uncomfortably in the doorway. Fearful of anything she says, less it inflict more pain on Billy, or herself.

"It's okay, Neil," she eases. "really, I-"

"No," he roars, jostling his son once more. "it's not okay. Nothing about his behavior is okay."

He waves a stubby finger in Billy's face, reluctantly letting him go and stepping back once he felt assured the lesson had been instilled.

"But he's going to make up for it," He turns around to look in her frightened eyes. "He's gonna call whatever whore he's seeing tonight and cancel their date. And then he's gonna go find his sister. Like the good, kind, respecting brother that he is."

He returns his attention to his son, who stands frozen, tears misting his eyes.

"Isn't that right, Billy?" He steps forward at the boy once more, voice rising when he receives no reply. "ISN'T THAT RIGHT?!"

To the best of his ability, Billy swallows the lump in his throat, his voice hoarse. "Yes, sir."

The man sighs heavily, inching closer, head turned. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you."

"Yes, sir."

Somewhat satisfied with Billy's response, his dark eyes return to Billy's, drilling holes with his threatening glare.

"Find Max." He orders.

Finally, he falls back, marching past his wife - who quickly steps out of his way - leaving a vulnerable and broken Billy behind. The door closes and only then does he let his tears fall in heavy streaks down his cheek. Expressing his emotions the only way he knows how, he chucks the nearest object - in this case, a cologne bottle - and it shatters at his feet. Another broken mess.

[●●●]

Max kicks yet another chunk of gravel in her path as she walks, trying as best as she can to keep up with Y/n's tale. How Max found herself in the middle of this confusing shitstorm, she would never know.

Steve, on the other hand, having known only half the story from the previous year, was gaining new information himself. About Eleven, Y/n, the experiments, everything. Just when he thought he knew everything about his hometown.

"You mean, he actually, like, yelled at you?" Lucas gaped. "Will?"

Y/n nods, eyes trained on the tracks below her feet. After a confusing roundup, the group found themselves walking the path the swarm had disappeared on. Having no choice but to answer their many questions, Y/n was recounting to them - without mentioning El or her trip to Chicago to the best of her ability - the events in the past 48 hours. It was proving a very difficult feat.

"'Get the hell out of my house', does not sound like Will. Like, at all."

"Exactly," Y/n insists. "I'm telling you, he's not himself."

"Clearly," scoffed Dustin.

"So I left. He didn't want me there, he made that clear enough."

"That still doesn't explain why you're dressed like that, or the fact that you came in, hands blazing, and fought off an army of Demogorgons,"

"It's complicated, alright?" She snapped defensively, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "I..."

The words died on her tongue, not even knowing what they were. She had no idea how or where to even begin. All she could do was choose her words carefully.

"I had to clear my head," she paused briefly when she saw the worried look in her brother's eyes, and sighed. "I had to get away, so...I did. Long story short-"

"Too late," Steve quipped.

"-I ran into some trouble. My clothes got trashed, so I got my hands on some spares, and I made my way home."

Satisfied with her careful recount of the events, she continued.

"And on my way, I-" she sighed once more. "Well, I figured out how to use my... powers."

The word still felt foreign on her tongue, still felt silly to say.

"Turns out, facing your shit helps."

"Wait, what does that mean exactly?" Max asked.

Y/n shrugged. "I was hurt, and angry, and confused. Apparently, that helps me control it."

An uneasy quiet falls over the group and she looks around to see her friends staring at her with intrigue. Even Steve stole a few glances at her hands, but she merely stuffed them in her oversized pockets.

"No," she scoffs, hiding a small smile. "You were all there at the junkyard, you already got a glimpse. Besides, I need to save my energy for those things."

Confusion flashes across her face and she looks between the four. "What about you guys? Why the hell are we fighting these things?"

Lucas looked past Y/n, gesturing to Dustin who had grown awfully quiet. "It's all thanks to Dustin, and his little 'pet'."

Y/n frowned. "You're sure that thing was Dart?"

"Yes," Dustin nods. "He had the exact same yellow pattern on his butt."

"He was tiny two days ago," Max pointed out.

"Well, he's molted three times already."

"Wait, m-malted?" Steve asks.

"Molted," Dustin corrects. "Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms."

"Well, when's he gonna molt again?" Max asks.

"It's gotta be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. So will his friends."

Y/n grows more and more concerned by the moment. "Like, actual Demogorgan size?"

"Possibly."

"Yeah," Steve cuts in, scoffing. "and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats."

Everyone halted immediately, Y/n's eyes grew wide and Lucas throws a hand out at Dustin.

"Wait, a cat?"

Dustin freezes, his eyes as wide as saucers they flick nervously in Y/n's direction and Lucas gives him a firm push.

"Dart ate a cat?"

Y/n steps forward, advancing slowly. "Dustin, what is he talking about?"

He scoffs nervously, shaking his head.

"No, what? No,"

"Dustin-"

"What are you talking about?" Steve asks, clearly confused. "He ate Mews."

"WHAT?"

Max looks feverishly between everyone, once more completely lost. "Mews? Who's Mews?"

"You let that thing eat our cat?!" Y/n shrieked, now stomping closer to her brother.

Max gapes, having gotten her answer.

"I knew it!" Exclaims Lucas, joining Y/n's side. "I knew it! You kept him!"

He jabs an angry finger in Dustin's chest

"No!" Dustin shot back, albeit a bit weakly. "No. No, I... No, I... He missed me. He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit!" Lucas spits.

Dustin sees at the pointed looks of his friends, more importantly, the hurt in his sister's eyes and it is hit with a wave of guilt.

"I- I didn't know he was a Demogorgan, okay?" He looks to Y/n, reaching out for her. "Y/n-,"

He only manages to graze her shoulder, and he notes she is hot to the touch, proof that her powers were bubbling to the surface. She flinches, shoving his hand away and he winces at her scalding hands.

"Don't touch me," she huffs, avoiding his gaze. "You knew! You knew this whole time, and you kept him! We talked about this, Dustin! As a group. We agreed he was from the upside down-"

"He was my responsibility-"

"and you kept him and it murdered out cat! And, to top it all off you sent mom on a wild goose chase-"

Steve groans, knowing the fight will only intensify.

But the siblings did not hear, the fight-turned-screaming match.

"Like you're one to talk, you went off on some idiot side quest playing dress-up while the rest of us-"

"Excuse me?!" She turned on him, her fist bunch up at her sides and several waves of heat radiated off them. "That's some sexist hunk of bullshit! While the rest of you what, Dustin-?"

She gestures wildly around her.

"Yeah, 'the rest of you' are cleaning up your mess-!"

"Guys," Max tried. "It doesn't matter. Who cares, let's just-"

"It does matter!" Lucas retorts. "It does! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!"

"So did you!" Dustin shot back, pointing his flashlight at Max, gesturing to her. "You told a stranger the truth!"

Max guffawed, now just as invested and just as furious. "Stranger?!"

By now, Steve contemplates whether or not to leave the herd of bickering children and continuing on the path, seeing if they'd follow or even notice. But something in the distance catches his ear.

"Real nice, Dustin. Don't try and blame anyone else-"

He creeps forward, flashlight in hand, and aimed into the darkness of the trees. All the while, the screaming match continuing uninterrupted behind him.

"You wanted to tell her too!"

"But I didn't, Lucas, okay?" Dustin shrieks. "I didn't tell her!"

Steve hears the sound once more, the sound of distant cries - the same cries he heard at the junkyard. The swarm was close.

"We both broke the rule of law, okay? So we're even we're even!"

"-No, no! We're not even. Don't even try that!"

"You're so not even Dustin!" Y/n fires back. "At least when he broke the rules, it didn't end with a dead cat!"

"Oh, you're never gonna let that go, are you?"

"Let it go? Let it go? I just found out!"

"Jesus, is that what really matters right now?" Max shouts.

The broken party was now at war with one another, no one individual member speaking at once. They all continue to shout at one another, besides Steve, who is now completely on edge, wary of their surroundings.

"Hey, guys?" Steve calls.

"You're dumb pet could have eaten us for dinner!"

"He wasn't gonna eat us!"

"Oh, so he was just coming to say hello?"

"GUYS!"

The children stop finally, looking up at Steve and his angered - and frightened expression. They have only seconds to question his worry until another screech echoes through the trees. Everyone pales, and Steve's spiked bat comes to rest over his shoulder as he marches off into the woods, the founding members of the party following. Leaving an exasperated new member behind; Max.

She is suddenly filled with dread, and she shakes her head along after them.

"No, no, no. Hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" She asks, getting no answer. "Hello?"

She watches dumbstruck as they disappear over the small dirt hill, and into the trees.

"Hello?!"

She huffs, her head practically rolling off her shoulders and cursing herself for what she is about to do.

"Shit,"

She breaks out into a light jog, begrudgingly joining the rest of the group.

They follow the unending calls to the top of a hill, overlooking a small portion of Hawkins. Fog covers the lands, and the only other noise filling their ears are the croaks and ribbits of the marshy lands nearby.

"I don't see him," Dustin says, defeated.

A small click brings everyone's attention to Lucas as he takes out his binoculars, unfolding them. The lenses scan the town below until they stop on a darkened building Lucas recognizes all too well.

"It's the lab,"

His voice is grave, and it infects the others who all quickly dawn a similar, horrified expression.

"They were going back home."

+++

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[daddystevee]

Crashing Down

(eventual steve harrington x hopper!reader)

hola mi amigos, im back. i fell off the face of the earth and im sorry!! Life’s been crazy af. thanks for all the support and i hope you guys enjoy this chapter. i kinda feel like it sucks but ya know idk. feel free to let me know in the comments also lmk if you ever wanna be tagged love you guysXx

catch up here

Warnings: none really?? Cursing?

Part 8/9

Word count: 2k

Summary: Sometimes things just don’t go as planned and your world just come crashing down, but it’s a good thing that you have people in your life to be there to catch you when you fall.

><

You watched your sister walked into your room so she could try and track down your ex boyfriend, Ms. Drisccol, the Holloway’s and Bruce. The seven of you sat quietly and patiently, waiting for any sort of news.

Nancy was on the phone calling around asking for updates and trying to get a lead, Jonathan was drinking coffee and marking off phone numbers. You carried on a conversation with Will about his new campaign for D&D.

After a while Mike began to get angsty because she ‘shouldn't be in there for that long and that it’s not good for her’. Mike and Max’s conversation slowly turned into an unnecessary argument.

“Can you guys settle an argument for us?” Max asks walking up to you, “Who do you think should decide El’s limits? Mike, or Eleven?” As the two kept arguing you decided to put your two words in and are easily ignored.

While listening to the arguing teens, you hop up from your seat and walk over to the fridge to pull out something easy to snack on like a string cheese stick and some strawberries. But as you go to shut the door Mike says something crazy,

“...so can we please just come up with a new plan because I love her and I can’t lose her again.”

You shut the door and  turn your head towards him with wide eyes, “Say what now?”

And almost as if on cue El comes walking out the door saying that she found Billy. With Nancy finally off of the phone you take the opportunity to try to call Steve. You called his house and then called ‘Scoops!’, and got no answer.

In the back of your mind you couldn’t help but hope that he was ignoring you and not somehow mixed up in all of this mess, but little did you know that he was being beat senseless in a secret Russian base underground.

><

After letting Eleven cool down from her last session it was time to get back into it. You turned on the television to an empty channel then took your place on the couch next in between Max and Will and watched her put her blindfold on as she went into the void.

This was honestly the last thing you wanted to be doing on the 4th of July, you thought you’d be at the police station begging your dad for some money to go get some cheap fireworks to shoot off into the night for the kids. Maybe even snooping around in your dad's liquor cabinet, to get some goods for you older kids. Yet here you were sitting in silence.

That silence was soon interrupted by Eleven breathing heavily and is obviously in some sort of distress.

“El, are you okay? Are you okay?” Mike finally asks

You don't realize that you're holding your breath until you hear her respond.

“I’m okay” you hear her say weakly

“What’s going on?” you ask

“On a beach.” you all listen as Eleven continues describing a memory of Billy and his mom on a beach in California. 

You watch closely as her calm breaths begin to pick up slightly,

“I think I found it, the source.”

“Where El, where are you?” Max pipes up and asks

“Brimborn Steelworks.” 

Jonathan runs over to the phone book and looks up the address, it's close by. You told El that she needed to come out of the void so you guys can go. But that’s not what was about to go down.

El put her hands up to her face as if she was going to take the blindfold off of her face, but as soon as she put them up she put them back down. Something was wrong.

“Mike? Y/N?”

Her breath started to pick up once again and that made you start to freak out. You walked back over behind her on the couch and grabbed her shoulders to let her know that you were there but it didn't seem to make a difference.

“No!” she shouted, “Get away!”

She then ripped her blindfold off of her face and screamed making everyone jump. You moved your hands away from her shoulders as she cried and turned to Mike as he reassured her that everything was okay and that she was okay, at least in that moment.

><

As you guys regrouped, you got El some water and pulled a granola bar out of the cabinet, to make sure she ate something to regain some energy, then sat down on the couch next to her. You listened to Mike and Lucas talk about the Mind Flayer and listen to what El has to say about what happened to her, but it’s hard for you to focus. There are so many things in your head that need to be processed, but the main thing you think about is Steve and his safety. The two of you had been through so much and you don’t know what you would do if something happened to him.  One thing El says finally catches your attention,

“He also said, he was gonna kill all of you.” 

“What? Who?” you ask with your thoughts still stuck on Steve.

“Billy?” Max says but in a ‘are you seriously not paying attention right now’ tone

“Oh. Yeah, well, that’s nice.”

You hear a screeching sound off in the distance, and you see that Nancy hears it too because she gets up and walks towards the window. You hear it again before Nancy asks if anyone else hears it. 

“It’s just the fireworks” Jonathan says after a few moments of silence

“Billy,” Nancy says, turning around “When he told you this, it was here, in this room?”

Everyone turns to look at El for an answer hoping that she would say no, but that wasn’t the case.

“He knows we’re here.” Will says.

Jonathan leads you all out of the house and you get a glimpse of something far scarier than a Demogorgan. The next thing you know you’re suddenly preparing for a war that you weren’t expecting to fight in this very moment. You lead Nancy out to your dad’s gun shed behind the cabin to get the essentials. The two of you walk back in the house to see almost all of the windows boarded up or blocked off and all except one door blocked. 

Nancy picks up one of the guns you got from the shed and points it at the front door as you all gather in the center of the living room, looking around at every sort of entrance. The next minutes went by in a flash. The Mind Flayer attacked, Nancy shot at it a bunch, until she ran out of ammo and El fought it almost single-handedly. Suddenly the thing grabbed hold of Eleven’s ankle and almost took her away, as it intended to. Luckily Lucas grabbed the ax and took its tentacle, arm thing off and it dropped El.

You saw that the part of the Mind Flayer was still attached to her leg so you took it upon yourself to rip it off causing El to scream out in pain. She took it like a champ and stood up to finish off the creature by splitting it in half. Upon doing so she fell back into Max’s arms, but while you had the chance you wrapped your arm around your sister and helped her run out to the car.

><

While you guys were in the convenience store you got in touch with Dustin on the walkie-talkie and there was a code red situation, most likely meaning that him and Steve had somehow gotten into this mess. Once you guys had gotten Eleven all cleaned up you piled back into the car and headed to the mall where Dustin said that they were from what you could understand. 

><

You entered in through the upper level entrance with the help of Lucas’ slingshot, sending a rock to break through one of the doors. You quietly moved around the upper level with no sight of anyone, you then heard someone speaking Russian from the lower level. Walking away from the main group you walk towards the rail that would overlook onto the bottom floor to see where the talking was coming from. You see a bunch of guys walking around and it seemed like they were looking really hard for something. Will notices that you aren’t with the group anymore and they suddenly join you next to the railing. 

All of the guards are now focused on one specific area and you can’t help but get this really bad gut feeling. El notices the worry on your face and grabs hold of your hand. You look at her and a look of relief washes over your face. 

“I think they might be over there” you whisper to El while pointing at one of The Great Cookie

Eleven nods in acknowledgement, then takes a step forward. She sticks out her arm and focuses on the car next to the guards. The car alarm goes off and that causes all of the guards to turn their attention away from whoever was behind the counter and to the car. They look up to see what’s causing the car to move, but before anyone could do anything El sends the car flying towards them killing them all instantly. 

You see not one, but four heads pop up from behind the counter. You’re relieved when you see that one of those four people is Steve. 

“Thank fucking God.” you say to yourself but it doesn't go unnoticed. Max nudges you with her elbow cocking an eyebrow at you with her signature smirk. You just roll your eyes and look back down over the ledge. 

You see everyone start to head for the non-moving escalators so you follow in pursuit. Once you make it to the bottom of the ‘stairs’ you run directly to Steve and cling onto him like it’s the last time you’d ever see him. He hugs you back with just as much force before you pull away,

“Steve, what happened to your eye?” you ask holding onto his face checking out his face for other injuries.

“You know, evil Russians and what not.” 

“The Russians?! Like secret code Russians? Shit”

“Secret code?” you hear Max ask

The next couple of minutes consist of everyone catching up on what's been going on. Learning that Steve, Robin, Erica and Dustin had been stuck down in a Russian underground base for the last 2 days all while you dealt with Billy and the flayed. No wonder he hadn’t been answering the phone. 

You all converse back and forth until El collapses to the ground, when asked what was wrong she says that it’s her leg that hurts. Jonathan pulls off the bandages from earlier and reveals her bloody shin, along with something moving inside it. You almost vomit at the sight and have to turn away, Steve reaches out and puts a hand on your shoulder and rubs slightly.

As they were trying to get whatever was in her leg out, El was screaming out in excruciating pain, you couldn’t bear to see her in so much pain.Tears started forming in your eyes, when Steve noticed he held out his arm to you and you bury your face into his chest so you don't have to watch. 

Jonathan did as much as he could until it was unbearable for her and she said that she could do it herself. As she was screaming, you turned around to face Eleven after the glass wall from the store behind you shattered all over the floor. You watch as she removes the piece of the Mind Flayer from her leg and sends it flying across the floor. As it tries crawling away a foot comes down and squishes it. You all look up to see who the foot belongs too, and an exhausted smile creeps onto your face, it's none other than your dad, Jim Hopper.

Taglist:

@ughhhitsfan​ @eleventhdoctorsangel​ @chloe-skywalker​

[bxcketbarnes]

11 with billy if you're still doing them 🥰🥰

“I almost lost you” kiss. I'm sorry in advance!

Shit was going down… again. For the third fucking time. You didn't know how much more you could take. Not only did it affect your little brother, Dustin, and his friends but it also affected your boyfriend, Billy.

The Mind Flayer had decided to use him as a host, relatively taking over his body. You first noticed he wasn't the same when he tried to knock you out. Ever since then you haven't really went near him, too afraid he'd take you to become part of the Flayer's army.

El and Max ran into you on their way to the pool, looking for Billy and you were immediately part of the group, wanting to figure out what was going on with him. Turns out he's creating an army so that the Mind Flayer can basically be born to kill El.

You were currently trying to get El out of the mall, the Scoops Troop went to the giant hill Dustin's mentioned before to use his fancy radio to contact Suzie while Jonathan, Nancy, Robin, Lucas, Will, and Steve tried to lure away the Mind Flayer as you all make it seem like she was with them.

You were running in front of Max and Mike, who had their arms wrapped around El's waist as you led them out of the side entrance. You pushed the button to open the gate squeezing through as it opened slowly while ushering the others to hurry as best they could.

"Shit," Max mentioned and you furrowed your eyebrows, turning around to see Billy looking over at us.

Your heart dropped, noticing the black veins embedded in his skin and you slightly tear up at the sight of him.

"Y/N, come on!" Mike yelled back and you moved your feet, running after the three kids as you pushed the button so the gate closes.

You guys were running down the hallway, trying to get away from Billy who was attempting to take El. The lights were flickering like crazy as we ran, the three in front of you grunting.

"Here. Let me take her," you mumbled as they stopped. You picked her up bridal style before starting to run again. You made it to the elevator at the end of the hall, Mike pushing the button a bunch of time to try and make it arrive faster.

Loud footsteps are heard and Max steps into the hallway, Billy walking towards her and she tried everything she could to get through to him but nothing worked. He backhanded her, knocking her out before Mike went to attack him. Billy threw him against the wall really hard, knocking him out cold before his blue eyes moved to you and El.

You set the girl down on her feet before pushing her behind you. "Billy," you whispered as his eyes bored into yours, "it's me. Y/N. Your girlfriend. Please, just… come back to me." You plead with him as your eyes filled with tears again, taking the chance to step towards him.

Billy didn't move an inch as you rest your hand onto his cheek, lip trembling as your heart pounded against your chest. He glanced down at you, noticing his eyes getting glossy.

"B-Billy?"

He nodded his head and you let out a sob, wrapping your arms around his neck as his wrapped around your waist. "I'm so sorry, baby girl," Billy mumbles into your ear and before you could say anything be bashed your head against the wall. Hard enough to knock you out, but not too hard to kill you instantly.

You were being shaken as you came to, squinting your eyes as Max and Mike came into view. They helped you off the ground and you stumbled a bit, pressing your hand to the back of your head.

"Come on, we need to help El!" He mentioned and you nodded your head before the three of you ran towards all the noise.

You guys ran out towards the courtyard of the mall to see the Mind Flayer standing in the middle of it with Billy and El five feet away. You watched as the monster opened its mouth, a tentacle coming out of it.

It shot out towards El, but Billy stopped it, holding it back as a gaps leaves your lips. More tentacles grew from either side of it before embedding themselves into Billy's skin.

"No!" You screamed as he slowly went limp, falling onto his knees.

He screams loudly at the monster before it embedded one last tentacle into his chest and you could feel all the air leaving your body. Billy fell to the ground, not really moving as the Mind Flayer ends up dying a few seconds later.

You ran towards Billy as Max slowly followed. You land on your knees roughly beside your boyfriend, your hand lifting his head up a bit as your other hand covers the wound on his chest.

"Billy, please stay with me, please," you begged as your vision became blurry from the tears.

"I'm sorry, baby," he muttered while choking a bit on his blood. "I'm so sorry." You could see the tears leave his eyes as you shake your head.

"It's okay, it's okay. Just focus on staying with me, okay? I can't lose you."

-

Your body was numb as you sat in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for Billy to wake up from his surgery. He was so lucky the Mind Flayer missed a critical part of his organs. You wiped the tears from your face, getting sympathy looks from everyone who walked past you.

"Ms. L/N?" Someone called out and you picked your head up, stumbling to stand up as the doctor walked up to you.

"Yes. I-Is he awake?"

He nodded his head with a small smile and you let out a breath of relief. "You can go see him if you'd like."

You practically sprinted towards his room, quickly opening the door to see Billy sitting up on his hospital bed. "Billy," you whispered and his blue eyes met yours.

"Baby girl," he muttered and you walked over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry about bashing your head. I-It wasn't me. Are you okay?!"

You chuckled and nodded your head, sniffling a bit as you pulled away from him. You rest your hands on his face before you leaned in to press a desperate kiss to his lips. You moved your lips against his, taking it all in as you don't know what you'd do if he died.

He pulled away from you and you rest your forehead against his. "You've never kissed me like that before," Billy chuckled and you shake your head.

"I didn't think I'd ever lose you before," you whispered while running your fingers through his curls. "I'm so thankful you're okay. I'm- I'm so in love with you."

Billy squeezed your waist, pulling you into the bed with him as you laid down and rest your head on his chest. "I'm in love with you too, Y/N. You have no idea."

[ghostspideys-moved]

We’ll Have Tomorrow

Chapter Eight

A/N: It’s finally Christmas time this chapter! Since I have this all typed out already, I can say that we’re a few chapters away from finishing this series.

Pairings: Steve Harrington x OC, Nancy Wheeler x Jonathan Byers x OC (eventually)

Word Count: 3k

Summary: Christmas is finally here, and everyone is really just trying to have a good time after the chaos they endured together.

Hawthorne had been deep asleep until he felt someone shaking him awake, followed by the eager squealing of, “It’s Christmas!” It was El, and she had the brightest smile on her face, which he could just make out through bleary vision as he started to wake up. 

Once El ran out of his room, he groaned and dragged himself out of bed. Naturally, El and River were both sitting next to the Christmas tree already. From the looks of it, he hadn’t been the only one dragged out of bed seeing as Hopper was slowly making his way out of his room as well. 

Hawthorne sat near the tree, still partially half asleep. Of course, El was the most excited of the three of them. Not that he was too surprised considering this was her first proper Christmas. River and Hawthorne, at this point, hadn’t celebrated a whole lot of holidays in general seeing as their father hadn’t cared too much about them anymore. More than anything, both of them were just excited to do some sort of celebrating for once in a really long time. 

Hopper bought each of them a few presents, figuring none of them would really care too much so long as they got anything at all. Of course, he’d been right. Hawthorne now had some more books to add to his collection, and he’d definitely need them to help his reading. He wasn’t bad at it, but he certainly had some trouble here and there, so he needed the practice. 

There was a knock at the door, and River set down the Walkman she’d been looking at curiously before racing to open it. Steve came in with bags of more presents, which Hawthorne definitely hadn’t expected. But he wasn’t going to complain at this point.

El was more than excited to see Steve, but she was also drawn to the bags of presents, hoping a decent amount of them were for her. Steve ruffled her hair and brought everything in before he started handing out more presents. 

Hawthorne was more than surprised he’d even bought as much as he had, because he really didn’t have to. Of course, he kind of remembered River saying she’d invited him, but this was more than he would have expected from Steve. 

It occurred to Hawthorne that Steve had a decent amount of money, so that was probably why he’d even bought so many presents. 

Of course, most of El’s presents were a bunch of toys and other things she might have found interesting. Not that it was hard considering how new everything was to her, and therefore, everything was interesting to her. She’d given Steve a tight hug in response, a good enough indication for him that she more than appreciated the gesture. 

Hawthorne wasn’t really sure he’d known, but Steve gave him a book full of information on lots of different plants. Of course, he suspected he’d just asked River. Not very many people knew that he really loved plants. Gardening in general was a favorite of his, even if he hardly got to do it outside of the botany club he’d joined. Nonetheless, he appreciated it, and he even gave Steve a slight smile, which might as well have been Hawthorne’s version of a hug by his own standards.

River, of course, received more comics, which she was more than excited to read later. If she didn’t already have a lot of them before, she definitely did now. She seemed especially over the moon to have more Superman comics. 

At some point, there was another knock, but a shared look of confusion told Hawthorne that River didn’t know who it was either. He got up to answer it and was surprised to find Jonathan at the door. In fact, it wasn’t just him, but also Will and Joyce. He let them in, and it seemed they also brought a few presents. Not nearly as many as Steve, of course, seeing as they didn’t really have much money to go around, but it was still appreciated. 

Joyce immediately joined Hopper, who must have been the one to invite them. He could already see Joyce trying to help out with dinner, which was probably for the best. Hopper wasn’t a bad cook, or anything, but he didn’t do a whole lot of it, other than breakfast. 

Hawthorne took his spot back on the couch as El was flipping through channels nonchalantly with her powers, hoping to find a good Christmas movie. 

Jonathan took a seat next to him, neither of them really saying anything right away. Neither of them really seemed to know if they were supposed to talk or not, or what they’d even talk about. It was quite an awkward moment of silence, and Hawthorne decided to be the one to say something first. 

“How, um...how’s Will doing?” he asked quietly. The kid seemed okay so far. He was sitting next to El, debating over what to watch. Of course, he knew better than to think Will was totally okay after being possessed by the Mind Flayer. The kid didn’t seem to like people worrying over him too much, so he wouldn’t be too surprised if Will was doing his best to seem like he was okay. He didn’t particularly blame him either.

“Fine,” Jonathan replied. “Mostly. I mean, he hasn’t complained about feeling strange. He might still be a little...rattled, I guess.”

Hawthorne nodded, figuring that might be the case. “You know him better than anyone, but if there’s anything I can tell about him already, it’s that he bounces back quickly. At least to some degree.”

He’d never really talked to Will before, but he could already tell he was a tough kid considering half the shit he’d been through. Even if he didn’t know he kid well, it was easy to see he could hold his own well enough.

“Yeah, he’s a lot tougher than he looks.” Jonathan even offered a smile, which Hawthorne had to admit looked nice on him. Why didn’t he smile more?

Hawthorne smiled back and turned when El and Will had finally agreed on Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. 

What might have made this moment even better was finding out Steve knew all the words to the song, which almost made Hawthorne laugh. He wasn’t bad at singing at all, but it was hilarious watching him sing along dramatically, and River looked more than embarrassed by his theatrics. She was laughing, sure, but she also had an exasperated look on her face. Probably because of how loudly he was singing.

Steve certainly didn’t seem very ashamed, but then again, he might have been doing it to embarrass River even further. Hawthorne couldn’t say he wasn’t guilty of doing the same, and he was finding it very entertaining. 

The look of relief on River’s face when they were all called for dinner might have actually been funnier. 

At the table, food was being passed around, and there was some light conversation here and there. It was kind of nice, actually. Especially when compared to how horrible things had been only a month ago. They weren’t exactly trying to forget so much as they were trying to keep some sense of normalcy in their lives. For that, Hawthorne couldn’t blame anyone, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t been doing the same. 

As Hawthorne was eating, he listened more than he actually talked. 

“I thought you said you guys don’t celebrate Christmas?” Steve asked River, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Technically, we don’t,” she answered. “But El was super excited about it, and we haven’t really celebrated Hanukkah properly in a really long time, so this is just as fun, honestly. It’s just less days of celebrating.”

“Wait, don’t you get presents all eight days during Hanukkah?” Will asked. “I think I remember someone in my class mentioning that.”

Steve gasped and turned to River and Hawthorne. “You mean this whole time, I could have been getting you guys presents?”

“You brought a whole bag of them. I think that more than makes up for it,” Hawthorne pointed out. “Besides, no one said you had to.”

“I say I had to. If I would have known that, I would have given you guys presents on all eight days.” He almost seemed a little sad that he hadn’t had the chance, which was amusing on its own. 

River shrugged. “We kind of didn’t really pay attention to the days while we were settling in, so I didn’t even realize, in all honesty,” she said. “So don’t worry about it all that much.”

Steve didn’t seem any less sad about it, but he let it go for now. At this rate, Hawthorne wouldn’t be that surprised if he tried to give it a shot next year.

“First I miss your birthdays, and now I missed a whole eight days of a holiday?” He shook his head and stuffed his mouth with ham. “Such a wasted opportunity,” he mumbled between bites.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better,” Hawthorne said as he finished his plate, “this year the last day of Hanukkah is tomorrow.”

“When did it even start?”

“Last Tuesday.”

“That means it was going during the Christmas Party!” Steve exclaimed, turning to River.

She sighed and gave an apologetic look. “I told you. I forgot.”

Steve shook his head. Hawthorne could practically see the gears in his head turning, which almost scared him. Whatever  Steve might be planning, he wasn't sure he wanted to be around for it. He might not know him too well, but Hawthorne was sure any plan of his was bound to be...interesting to say the least.

Dinner went by quickly, and while everyone was socializing, Hawthorne slipped outside. Even in the warm flannel he wore ninety percent of the time, it was freezing. He could feel the cold air biting at his nose. It had to be red even if he hadn't been out terribly long. Despite the cold, he stood on the porch, leaning against the rail as he let his mind wander.

Hawthorne hadn't even heard the door open. Admittedly, he nearly jumped when Jonathan suddenly joined him. 

"Shit, don't give me a heart attack like that," he mumbled.

Jonathan snorted and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing out here?" he asked. "It's cold as shit out here."

"I could ask you the same."

"I asked first."

Hawthorne chuckled and shrugged. "Fair enough. I'm just not much of a social person," he said.

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah. I can't really say it's really my scene either."

Hawthorne offered a small smile. He found his eyes wandering over Jonathan's figure. There wasn't any particular reason why, and he wasn't entirely sure why he was having the thoughts he was having. He had to admit, Jonathan was surprisingly easy to talk to, or maybe that was just him, and he wasn't unattractive by any stretch of the imagination. Of course, Hawthorne's face grew red the moment he'd been caught.

"Do I have something on my face?" Jonathan asked, a slightly teasing tone in his voice. 

Hawthorne's mouth went dry for a moment. "What? Oh, no. Sorry I just...I was thinking," he said.

"About?"

Sighing, he crossed his arms, his gaze turning forward again.

"Do you think...do you think everything will go back to normal now that everything's over?" he blurted out. "You know, after the Demodogs, the lab." He hesitated for a moment, turning to face him again. "Everything with your brother."

Jonathan smiled weakly and huffed, his breath escaping in a visible cloud that quickly dissipated. 

"The first time this happened, it took awhile for everything to go back to normal," he answered. "And even then, it was never truly the same. By now, I think I've accepted that it never really will be."

Hawthorne rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you'd be the expert in this situation."

"I don't know if I'd say that," Jonathan said. "But I think I'm definitely qualified to give some advice at least." He grinned, and it was quite possibly the most genuine look Hawthorne had ever seen him give. It was almost strange how weak that look almost made him feel.

Hawthorne turned away from him again, not wanting Jonathan to see just how red his face was. He might be able to easily blame it in the cold, but it wasn't worth the risk at this rate. He wasn't even sure why he was suddenly thinking the way he was. At any rate, it became clear to him that he was going to have a hard time focusing near Jonathan.

~

Christmas quickly came and went in a rush. Even after several days, at least half of the decorations were still up. The tree, of course, was still standing, though a number of the decorations had either been removed or came off before someone put them away.

Hawthorne was busying himself with making breakfast. At least this way he could keep El from eating more Eggos, at least until lunch rolled around anyways.

He placed a plate in front of El when there was a knock at the door. Unsure who it might be, they both shared a look before Hawthorne went to check. Of course, he logically assumed it had to be any of El's friends, or Jonathan, or anyone else who would actually know where they were.

When he opened the door, Steve was standing on the other side. He should have been surprised perhaps, but it wasn't much of a shocker at this point.

He stared at Steve for a moment before turning inside the house. "River, Steve's here." Hawthorne felt it was safe to assume he was here for her.

"Actually, I have a bit of a surprise for everyone," Steve cut in. Well, there was first for everything, including Hawthorne being proven wrong.

El perked up at the mention of a surprise, and River was just coming out of her room when she'd heard him.

"A surprise? What kind of surprise?" she asked.

Steve grinned and motioned for all of them to follow him. The three of them shared a confused look before following.

He led them out to his car and stopped them. "Okay, so I was thinking about how you guys didn't get to celebrate Hanukkah," he started, excitedly fidgeting. "And I thought, 'what makes up for eight days worth of presents?' So, I think I finally figured it out."

Of all the things Hawthorne was expecting when Steve opened the car door, a dog was certainly the last thing.

A German Shepherd hopped out and jumped up at Steve, scratching at his legs. He was small enough that he picked it up, the grin on his face never leaving.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

Hawthorne's mouth fell open. "You...got us a dog?"

"Yeah! Pretty cool, huh? I figured I'd have to go big to make up for missing eight days," he said, as if that truly explained everything. "And don't worry, I bought food, a bed, all that other good stuff."

El seemed a little hesitant at first, but when Steve handed the dog over and it licked her face, she laughed and pet it.

"Steve, this seems like a lot to throw at us this early in the morning," River sighed.

"I know, I know. And I'm sorry about that. I just...I wanted it to be a surprise."

Hawthorne turned to the dog, still content to be in El's arms, its tail wagging wildly.

"He also doesn't have a name yet. I thought you guys might want the honor," Steve added.

The three of them shared a look, trying desperately to think of a name they could agree on. After some debate, El tossed in an idea they all seemed to like.

“Why don’t we call him Rexasaurus Rex?” she suggested.

Of course, they weren’t going to tell her that was a weird name, especially because she didn’t have any concept yet of how naming worked. That, and she was a kid. It was cute, at least.

"How about we call him Rex for short?" River chimed in.

El seemed more than happy with that, so they decided that was a good enough name. Hawthorne felt like that fit him well enough.

"Shit, we should probably see how Hopper feels about this?" Hawthorne realized.

Steve shrugged. "Don't worry. If he hesitates, I've been known to be persuasive."

They all went back inside where, luckily, Hopper was watching TV as he usual did on his days off. He looked up when he heard all of them, though he paused when he spotted Rex. 

“That’s a dog,” he said rather observantly.

“Yeah, about that. Steve bought us a dog,” River said. “We can keep him, right?”

Hopper seemed rather hesitant, but before he could refuse, El cut in. 

“We’ll take care of him ourselves.” She gave him a pleading look. Her big, brown eyes mixed with a pout were enough to crack anyone, even Hopper it seemed. 

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine. But you guys will have to take care of him,” he said. “And we’ll have to set some rules, because he’s not allowed on the couch, for starters.”

They cheered and went to help Steve take in everything else. Hawthorne helped set up once it was decided Rex’s bed would go between their rooms. Once they were good to go, they let Rex sniff around a little as Steve was on his way out. He let them discuss how they were going to divide up their responsibilities, which, of course, took some debate.

It took a while, but eventually the three of them came to an agreement. The general agreement seemed to be that none of that they’d take turns with the different chores involved in taking care of a dog. They were also in agreement that the only thing they really cared about was that they actually had a dog now.

Hawthorne realized this was probably the most normal he’d felt in a long time, and he could definitely get used to it.

Taglist: @bravest-at-heart​ @musicalytrashpanda​ @queenofthehairharrington​

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Love On-Set (Pt. 04 of 10)

Pairing: Dacre Montgomery X Reader

Summary: You knew acting on Stranger Things season 3 would be a challenge, and you also knew, from the start, you'd have to work closely with Dacre Montgomery. But is wasn't a big deal for you, since this is your job and you're determined to act professionally. You had it all figured out, or so you thought, until the moment you were out face to face with Dacre. Then, this job became a lot harder than it was supposed to be, since you can't seem to focus whenever you're around Dacre. And you'll have to be around him a lot until the end of production.

Word count: 3K

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{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

Breaking Character

You meet Dacre at the entrance of the hotel's gym, which is a little crowded already. He guides you in and you decide to start with the bike. Dacre goes straight for the weights, obviously. But you manage to get a bike that gives you a perfect sight of where he is, and as you work out, you watch him. He gives you a few glances, but you manage to look away just in time. At least you hope you do. After a while, you decide to move to the treadmill to run for a few minutes. Thanks to the weekly visits to the local gym near your house, you're able to keep up the pace for a good amount of time before getting tired and deciding to stop. Dacre is still doing his stuff, so after refilling your bottle with cold water, you walk over where he is, sitting on a bench right before him. He's currently lifting a barbell that looks unbelievably heavy.

“Are you done already?” He asks in a sassy tone.

“I'll get a few more followers at your expanse just because I didn't like your tone, Mr. Montgomery.” Taking your phone, you open your Instagram and start making a video of Dacre. He looks incredible, so handsome right now, and the fact that he's shirtless only makes it better. You have to control yourself not to check him out more than you should. “Straight to my Instagram story.” You tell him as you put some emojis on the video and tags Dacre before sharing it with the whole world.

“Come here for a second.” He says, laying the barbell down.

“What for? If you think I can lift any of those things you must be going completely insane.” Despite being suspicious you stand up, leaving your phone on the bench.

As you walk over him, Dacre hands over his phone to a dark-haired man who was switching weights. “Can you record this for me?” You hear him asking. “Just a few seconds.” He kindly smiles and thanks to the man when he nods.

“Are you going to prank me or something?” You stop before him, arms crossed. Without saying anything, Dacre pulls you with him, placing you between him and the barbell. “Dacre, what–” You're cut short when he suddenly bends down and picks the bar up again, quickly standing up straight, trapping you in between his body and the bar. “What the hell, Dacre?”

“Hold it, c'mon.”

“I won't hold this thing. I can't lift it.” Keeping your voice low, you give the man with Dacre's phone a glance. He's actually doing what Dacre asked, filming you two doing whatever this is.

“Trust me.” It's his lower voice, right in your ear that makes you surrender and do it, holding the bar a few inches away from where his hand is holding it. Slowly, he starts moving. Everything you can do is mimic his movement, your eyes wandering from the bar to his right arm, noticing how his muscles are tense. “It's not that hard is it?”

“Not when I'm lifting exactly zero pounds.” You snap back, being forced to give a step back when Dacre brings the bell bar way too close to your body, and your back collides against his chest.

“That's enough, thanks, buddy.” It takes a while for you to understand he's talking to the guy with his phone. The man nods and puts the phone down before moving away, back into doing anything he was doing before. And probably wondering what the hell is going on with you two.

“Are you going to post that video?”

“Yup.”

“Really?” Doesn't he know that it will get people talking?

“Why not?” Dacre drops the bar suddenly, and it makes a loud thud when it hits the floor, making you give a little jump.

“Damn it, Dacre!” You exclaim, a hand on your heart. “What about not killing your co-star before she finishes shooting the show?” Still a little startled, heart racing, and not only for the bar falling, you go back to the bench to get your phone.

“Now I'm exhausted already. How am I supposed to go to work?” Checking your feed, you see there are already a lot of people answering to your video, mostly your friends asking about Dacre... And some of your co-stars, but no reason to answer since you'll have to face them eventually.

“Done.” He says, and at the same time, you see the notification. Clicking on it, you're redirected to Dacre's story, where you see the short video of him standing behind you, ‘helping’ you lift the bar. In bright red letters, he wrote ‘the best personal trainer (Y/N) could ever get’.

He really did it. And he doesn't seem to care. “So you just made me look like an idiot. I'll get back at you for that.”

“Idiot? You look so hot in this video, I almost reconsidered posting it.”

“Me?” It comes out abruptly because you just can't believe it. Any of it. You can't believe he posted the video, you can't believe he just said you looked hot. You're confused and you need time to clear your mind. “I really think we should go now. Shower, have lunch, and get ready to work.” It will sound like you're running away, but you need some time away from Dacre. Your heart needs a break from beating so fast.

“Yeah, we probably should.” He puts his phone in his pocket before making his way out of the gym with you. “Why don't you come over to my room? I can get some room service and then we head off to set. It's just us so we can go in my car.”

“Sure.” You're quick to answer, immediately changing your mind. “I can be there in thirty minutes.”

“Room 1404.”

“Alright.”

Thankfully, there are no incidents during lunch. You two just chat and joke around, and almost get on set late. The first scene is much more simple. It's just Amy and Billy bumping into each other, a small chat before they part ways, both annoyed at each other. Once that's done, you change into the second outfit, and the make-up and hairstyle it slightly changed. Night has already fallen when you get into position, waiting for the signal.

In this scene, Billy finds Amy walking home alone, at night. He's pissed that she's so reckless after they just learned about the Mind Flayer, in a scene that will still be shot. So when she refused to go with him, they have an argument. It's a turning point, with the tension between then being explored further, leading into a partial confession and an almost kiss. That's how James calls this scene.

And, as if the scene itself wasn't enough, you're mind is still at what happened at the gym. This will be hard. Maybe as hard as the actual kissing scene.

“Alright. Ready, everyone... And action!”

You start walking fast, the camera before you easily following your pace.

“Amy, get inside that damn car right now,” Billy says, seconds before reaching you and grabbing your arm, forcing you to stop. “You're not walking home this late with that damn Mind Flayer out there.”

“Stop–” Giving your arm a push, he lets go. “–trying to act as if you care. I know you don't.”

“If I didn't care do you really think I'd be here?” He steps closer, towering over you, and you have no choice but to step back. “Running after you like an idiot?” Your back hits a car parked on the sidewalk, just at the right place. “Do you really think I'd put any effort into trying to drag your ass out of the street?” Dacre slams both his hand on the car, and you make sure to make Amy give a little jump, followed by an annoyed expression.

“I know about the little games you play, Hargrove. I won't fall for them.” Raising your voice on the last sentence, you try to push him away, uselessly.

“It's funny how everyone in this town thinks they know me.”

“Oh, I don't. I don't think about you, Hargrove. At all.” With a sassy smile, you wait for his reply.

But it doesn't come. He just stands there, as his eyes change. From irritation to... Kindness. And you recognize Dacre as he breaks through Billy. “But I think about you. I think about you all the time.” Your heart starts racing again, more than before because this is not Billy. And you know the difference very well.

Frozen, not sure if you should take this as improvisation and follow his lead, you rest your back against the car, as Dacre follows your movement, his face now only two inches away.

“Cut!” The shout brings you back to reality, and Dacre immediately steps away. “I like what you're doing, but I don't think the line fits well on the scene.”

“My bad.” Dacre apologizes.

“Again. From the moment you slam your hands on the car.” James commands and you go back into position. “Action!”

“I know about the little games you play, Hargrove. I won't fall for them.”

“It's funny how everyone in this town thinks they know me.”

“I don't. I don't think about you, Hargrove. At all.” It's hard to keep Amy's mean smile on, not to break character and... You don't even know. But this is getting a little too hard to handle.

“Why do I have the feeling you're lying to me, princess?” He leans closer, so close Amy has no choice but to turn her head away, and when you move, you feel his breath in your neck.

“If you don't get the hell away from me right now, I swear–”

“I can't wait to see what you'll do.”

Then Amy snaps, pushing Billy away, hands on his chest, using all the strength she can manage. She's beyond pissed now, she's upset. Frustrated with her dangerous feelings towards the bad boy. “You're such a jerk!” You exclaim as Dacre gives a few steps back. “You know exactly what you're doing and you keep doing it!” The pushing turns into slaps, as Amy tries to get rid of Billy's arms, holding her. “I don't wanna be one of your flings so stay the hell away from me.”

“What do you wanna be then?” He asks, arms keeping you still, dangerously close to his body.

“I–” You're cut short when Dacre's hand comes to your cheek. For a moment you think he'll kiss you, your skin burning under his touch. The lines are forgotten, and it doesn't matter how hard you try, you can't remember it.

Then a loud noise startles you, bringing Amy back and Dacre falls back into character, looking at something over your shoulder. “We gotta get out of here.” He follows the script and you do the same, setting free from his grip.

“I'm not going with you!” Then it happens, Billy bends over and grabs Amy's legs, throwing her over his shoulder. The sudden change makes you gasp for air, quickly following to the next line. “What the hell? Put me down right now!” You yell, noticing how some of the extras start acting, moving from inside the houses to the porch to see what's the commotion about. “I'm not kidding, Billy. Put me the hell down!”

He only laughs as you push his back, swinging your legs. Dacre tightens the grip on your thighs, forcing you to stop moving. “You're very stubborn.” He mutters under his breath, finally putting you down and opening the passenger door. “Get. In. I won't let you walk–”

“Cut! Cut!” James says, quite impatient. “I want you to do something else there. From the moment you put her down, I want another confrontation. Do you guys think you can improvise it?”

“Yeah.” You mutter as Dacre nods.

“Good. Get in position then.” He orders and Dacre picks you up again, slower this time since there's no need for Billy's rush. “Alright. Action.”

“You're very stubborn.” He repeats as you're put back down, and you wonder what to do next. But when Dacre pushes you against the car, in a similar position from some minutes earlier, your mind threatens to go blank again. “Let's settle this, princess.” The different weight on the last word almost makes you break character, but to laugh this time. “If you don't get inside this damn car immediately and stop complaining, I will kiss you. Right here, right now. And I know you won't resist me.”

You're sure both Amy and you are paralyzed now, unable to move, or think, and you have to struggle to get your brain to work again. Dacre's eyes are so soft, you can't find Billy in them. You wonder if the cameras can get it... You wish there weren't so many cameras and lights on both of you now. “You wouldn't do that.” The words find a way out, thankfully.

“Really?” Dacre's arm encircles your waist suddenly, pulling you close, pressing you against his chest. “Try me.”

If you don't move, Amy or not, you'll kiss him. You won't even wait for Billy to fulfill his threat. So your hands nervously search for the door handle, breathing out in relief when you find it. As you turn around to open the door, his grip still holds you, and you're only free when you step inside the car, closing the door shut a little too violently. With your eyes focused on the car parked a few feets ahead, you only listen when Dacre gets in the driver's seat.

“Alright, cut!” Relieved this is over, you hope not to do it again. It'll be the death of you. “It was amazing. Whatever the two of you have going on, it's great. If you keep this level, the kissing scene will be one of this season's best moments.”

Glad that the day is over, you wave at Dacre before getting out of the car and heading to your dressing room. Your head won't stop spinning, thinking, replaying what just happened. It was only Billy... Right? All those times you thought it was Dacre, it wasn't. You can't allow yourself to believe that. Part of you wish you didn't come here with Dacre, but you did, so you have to meet him again when you're ready to go. The ride back to the hotel is filled with light conversations, nothing about the scenes you just did. But there's an elephant in the room, you can feel it, and you think Dacre feels it too, by the glances he gives you every now and then. Sometimes it looks like he'll say something, then he just gives up. You wonder if you should say it, end the tension. Ask him if you did something wrong. But every time you feel the words are just about to flow out, you blush and look away.

How are you supposed to get the kissing done when you're so... Lost.

But when you reach the elevators, you decide to ask him. You decide to be brave for once and follow Dacre's advice of not holding everything back. He did say he'd listen, that he wouldn't be scared. “You broke character, didn't you?” It comes out suddenly, and he immediately looks at you as you lean against the elevator mirror.

“Half a dozen times.” He answers after taking a deep breath. “And so did you... Right?”

“Quite a few times, yes.” Looking down, you swallow hard. “It was a disaster. Well, almost.”

“Why?”

“Because I–” You're damn phone ringing cuts you off, and, rolling your eyes, you pick it up. “It's Natalia.”

“Answer her. It's my floor anyway.” Dacre gestures at door, and right above it, you see the number. “We'll talk later, alright?”

“Yes.” You mutter, a little sad that the doors just opened.

“Bye.” Dacre leans closer for a quick hug and to place a kiss on your cheek, as he's been usually doing.

As you watch him leave, the doors closing again and separating the two of you, you finally answer Natalia. “Hey. What's up?”

“(Y/N). Are you in your room?” As she speaks, you hear Millie saying something in the background.

“I'll be getting there in a minute.”

“Alright.” Then she hangs up.

You have sixty seconds to recover from the day before meeting Natalia and Millie at your door. Smiling in a very weird way. As you approach, taking the card from your pocket, you raise an eyebrow. “Something wrong?” You ask as you open the door, gesturing for them to get inside.

“No... Of course not.” Millie mutters, searching for something on her phone. “Just this.” When she shows you the screen, you sigh. It's the video Dacre posted on his Instagram story.

“That was just... We were at the gym. Working out.” It's stupid to do this. They won't let it go. Throwing yourself on the couch, you cover your head with a pillow.

“What you call ‘working out’ I call flirting.” Natalia states, and when Millie pulls the pillow away, you see Natalia bending over the back of the couch as Millie sits down next to your legs.

“But nobody was flirting. We were just making fun of each other.” You wait for them to say something. Anything. But they don't. The two girls just keep staring at you, smirking. If they only knew what happened today... “What?”

“You like Dacre, don't you?” Millie inquires, folding a leg under her.

The first instinct is to say no, and the word is at the tip of your tongue. But it doesn't come out because you suddenly realize it would be a lie. It gets stuck, as it washes over you. Nobody has asked this before, and you've been avoiding to think about it. But now that the right words were said, you know it. “Damn it.” Muttering under your breath, you cover both your eyes.

“We got our answer.” Natalia sing-songs.

“He likes you too. You know that, right?”

“Of course he doesn't, Millie. Just because he's nice to me it doesn't mean–”

“There's a huge difference between being nice and doing what he's doing, believe me.” Millie stands up, pacing around with both hands on her hips. “Now, tell us everything.”

×

@baker151910 @shinydixon @dreamin-of-dacre @hanoi15 @lickmymelanin @skykittystuff @foccus @multific @uncookspaget @kellysimagines

[fallen-imagine-angel]

Noticed - Steve Harrington x Reader

Notes: Hey guys! This is the first Steve fic that was requested. The others are in the works right now! I hope you enjoy and keep sending in Steve requests because I love him so much. Thanks!

Summary: Since Nancy just broke up with Steve, he doesn’t notice you that much. But what happens when you’re stuck fighting monsters together and he’s forced to notice you? 

Noticed

Steve Harrington x Reader

Requested?: Yes, by @wishing-wanting - “Omg a steve x reader where they got grouped together and fought together in S2 but he was too stuck on Nancy to notice her even though since he saved her she’s had a crush on him and he just doesn’t want to admit his feelings because he doesn’t want to get hurt again and it takes the reader getting hurt or almost really hurt by the Russians or Mind Flayer for him to realize how much he loves/ likes her and yea lmao idk I finished S3 and I forgot how much I love Steve”

Word Count: 3,340

Warnings: ST3 SPOILERS!, descriptions of fighting, some sexual harassment comments from Billy (sorry), descriptions of syringe & getting a shot.

You don’t know how you got roped into this. You’re Nancy’s best friend and that’s how it all started.

You were with her while she dated Steve, you were with her when she broke up with Steve, you were with her when she got with Jonathan. Even though you didn’t agree that she should have broken up with Steve because he was nothing but caring for her, you said nothing.

And even though they broke up, he still only cares about Nancy.

Above all, though, you’ve been there through the Demogorgon and beyond.

“You should go with him,” Steve tells Nancy as you all pick up heaters to burn a monster out of Will’s body. Crazily enough, it’s not the weirdest thing that has happened to you recently.

“What?” She asks, looking to you for answers. You shrug, knowing that this conversation is no business of yours, yet Steve chooses to speak about it in front of you. Probably because he barely notices you’re here.

“With Jonathan.” He elaborates.

“No, I’m- I’m not just going to leave Mike. And (Y/n).” Nancy shakes her head, grabbing a heater. You go to interject that you’ll be fine, but Steve beats you to the punch.

“No one’s leaving anyone. I may be a terrible boyfriend but it turns out I’m a dang good babysitter.” Steve helps her with a large heater, giving her a small smile. She takes the heater he hands to her.

“Yeah, and I’m no one.” You mumble, rolling your eyes as you grab another heater for yourself. They either don’t hear you or ignore you.

“Steve…” Nancy trails off. You don’t even have to look at her to know she’s giving him those puppy dog eyes that always work too well on him.

“It’s okay, Nance. It’s okay.” He assures her, giving her one last meaningful look before turning around and walking inside.

“I’m sorry you had to be here for that.” Nancy apologizes, frowning at you.

“I’m not sure he even knew I was here.” You grumble, realizing that there are no more heaters.

“He’ll notice you, (Y/n), I’m sure of it. There’s no way he won’t be able to notice you after this. I’m going with Jonathan like he said, so...you’ll be here alone with him. And the kids, of course.” She gives you a small smile.

“What? Nancy, you say that like I have a crush on him. I don’t have a crush on him.” You give her a hard glare. 

“Whatever you say, (Y/n).” She laughs despite the situation and goes inside with her heaters. You follow suit. Nancy drives off with Jonathan.

“Is this really necessary?” 

“Yes, it is!”

You hear Steve and Dustin bickering in the house so you decide to go in and keep the peace.

By the time you get to the kitchen, all you see is them slamming the fridge door shut.

“What did you just do?” You ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Shoved a Demodog in the freezer.” Steve points at Dustin.

“What? It’s a scientific discovery!” He defends himself. You shrug. An argument breaks out in the next room over. What is it with these kids and arguing all the time?

“That place is swarming with dogs!” Mike argues, his face pinched in anger.

“Demodogs.” Dustin reminds them of his nickname for the beasts. Mike looks over with a ‘seriously?’ look. You don’t blame him, now is not really the time for nicknames to be catching on.

“Listen, dude, if a coach calls a play in a game, the bottom line is that you execute it. Alright?” Steve interrupts, trying to be the bigger person.

“Okay, but first of all, this isn’t some stupid sports game. And second, we’re not even in the game, we’re on the bench.” Mike points out. You hum in agreement.

“He has a fair point.” You nod, siding with Mike. 

“Right- so- my point is,” Steve gives you an incredulous look for siding with a child over him, “Right, yeah, we’re on the bench so, uh….there’s nothing we can do.”

You get an idea.

“Wait, that’s not necessarily true. We figured out that the Demodogs have a hive mind, right?” You ask, furrowing your brows. Steve looks over at you, a puzzled look on his face. He doesn’t like where this is going.

“Yeah, we did.” The kids all nod.

“Well, when we were on that bus, they all ran away. They didn’t just run away, though, they got called away.” You remind them, your gears turning for a plan.

“So if we get their attention--” Lucas starts.

“Maybe we can draw them away from the lab.” Max finishes his thought for him. They smile at each other.

Ah, young love.

“Exactly.” You nod.

“Yeah, and then we all die!” Steve yells, looking to you for reassurance. You give him none.

“That’s one point of view.” Dustin shrugs.

“It’s not a point of view it’s a fact.” Steve looks at the boy with a ‘you’re an idiot’ face. You giggle.

“I got it!” Mike runs away. He comes back a moment later.

“What’s up?” You ask.

“All of the tunnels feed into here. Hopper dug a hole into the tunnels so if we go to the hub and set it on fire--”

“No- Yeah, that’s a no.” Steve shakes his head. This time, you agree.

“Oh, heck no. We’re not going to risk our lives by starting an uncontrolled fire to call a bunch of demon dogs--”

“Demodogs.” Dustin reminds you.

“Demodogs to the exact spot that we’re at.” You finish. Steve nods in agreement and fist bumps you. Look at that, Nancy was right. He is noticing you now that she’s gone.

But you don’t have a crush on him. She was wrong about that part.

The kids continue making a plan completely against you and Steve’s wishes.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Steve claps to get their attention.

“This is not happening.” You tell them.

“But-”

“No! No buts! We promised to keep you safe and that is exactly what we are doing.” Steve looks over at you. You nod. 

“We’re staying here on the bench and we’re waiting for the, uh, starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?” You recall Steve’s earlier basketball reference. He raises his eyebrows and smiles, surprised that you paid attention to him saying that.

“This isn’t some stupid sports game!” Mike groans. You glare at him.

“Does it look like I care, Wheeler? Your sister entrusted me with your specific care. I am her best friend. She will murder me if I let anything happen to you, got it? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let you get hurt. We are not going anywhere.” Your voice is laced with venom.

A car revs its engine outside. Everyone runs to the window.

“It’s my brother. He-- he can’t know I’m here, he’ll kill me. He’ll kill us.” Max gasps.

You and Steve share a knowing look. Before you know it, you’re stepping outside and telling the kids to hide.

Billy pulls up and steps out of his car, an unpleasant look on his face.

“Am I dreaming, or is that Harrington and (Y/l/n)?” Billy smirks, winking at you. You roll your eyes.

“Yeah, it’s us, Billy. What do you want?” You growl.

“I’m looking for my step-sister. A little birdie told me she was here.” He puts a cigarette to his lips.

“Huh, that’s weird. I don’t know her.” Steve crosses his arms. You put a hand on your hip.

“Small, redhead...nothing?” Billy looks over at you.

“Doesn’t ring a bell. Why don’t you leave?” You give him a tight-lipped smile.

“This whole situation is weird. Why are you two lying to me?” He takes out the cigarette and blows a face full of smoke at you. You suffer through the smoke and after it’s gone, let out a cough right back in his face. He smirks.

“She’s not here.” Steve narrows his eyes at Billy.

“Then who is that?” Billy whispers, pointing his cigarette at the window. You and Steve turn to see the kids looking out the window, ducking when they see you turn around.

“Crap.” You whisper. Billy shoves Steve to the ground and walks to the house, slamming open the door. You hurriedly help Steve up and the two of you run in behind him.

“You’re so dead, Sinclair!” You hear Billy yell from the kitchen. Steve runs over and pulls Billy off of Lucas, turning him around.

“No, you are.” Steve punches Billy in the jaw. You gasp, seeing him rub his knuckles after the impact.

Billy laughs and says something about King Steve, but you’re too worried to care.

“Steve, just get him out of here!” You yell, going to back him up. He stops you.

“No, stop, don’t get involved in this.” He pleads, giving you his puppy dog eyes. You guess Steve’s not the only one who’s a sucker for the puppy eyes.

“Okay.” You whisper, staying back in front of the kids to protect them. Billy swings at Steve but Steve ducks, hitting him again.

“Yes!” Dustin calls from behind you. The kids start to cheer Steve on but you’re left petrified as Billy smashes a plate over Steve’s head.

“Steve!” You yell, stepping forward to help. He shakes his head. You watch as the fight ensues with Billy beating Steve to a pulp. After a moment, you know Steve isn’t going to get back up, so you decide to intervene. You grab Billy by the shirt and rip him off of Steve, shoving him to the ground. The lower half of his shirt comes unbuttoned during this.

“You just really wanted me to get my shirt off, huh?” Billy smirks, looking up at you.

“In your dreams.” You kick him in the ribs over and over again with all of your might. It seems to be hurting him because he doesn’t get back up. Eventually, he rolls over.

“Who knew (Y/n) had such a fight in her. I wonder what you’d be like in be--”

Before Billy can finish his sentence, you grab a fistful of his hair and start slamming his face onto the floorboards. After a moment, he grabs your ankle and pulls it out from under you, making you fall to the floor. He climbs on top of you and pins your wrists down above you, knees on either side of your torso.

“Get off of me!” You spit in his face. He chuckles darkly.

“Make me.” He whispers, leaning into your face. You writhe underneath him, struggling to break free.

“Leave (Y/n) alone!” You hear Steve yell before Billy is tackled off of you and on the ground again. You bolt upright and scramble away from them, watching them fight for dominance again. 

You won’t lie to yourself, it was kind of hot seeing Steve stand up for you like that.

You run to the kitchen and grab a pan, running back to the room where Billy is beating Steve again. You wind back your arm and swing the pan at the back of Billy’s head. He falls off of Steve, out cold. You see an unconscious Steve below him.

Max grabs the keys from Billy’s pocket.

“Let’s get out of here.” She gives them to you.

You start to drive, completely abandoning your hope of rationalizing and getting the kids to stay home.

You get to the tunnels and park the car, getting out as Steve starts to wake up. He stumbles out.

“This isn’t okay. I thought we agreed not to do this?” Steve asks you. You sigh.

“I gave up. The kids are persuasive.” You shrug, putting on your goggles and neck bandana.

“It’s our duty to provide assistance. I know you promised Nancy that you would keep us safe, Steve, so keep us safe.” Dustin shoves the bat at Steve. He rolls his eyes and takes it.

“I told you they’re persuasive.” You smile, walking to the hole and jumping down first.

Everyone else jumps down once you’ve given them the all-clear.

“From here on out, I’m leading the way,” Steve calls to the group.

“We’re leading the way.” You correct him.

“We’re leading the way,” Steve repeats, including you this time. You smile to yourself. Luckily, he can’t see it behind your mask.

You all go through the tunnels and find the main hub. You start putting down gasoline all over the walls and floors.

Steve drops the lighter and the place goes up in flames. You immediately pull Steve back to his feet and start running.

You all make it to the opening again. You and Steve start boosting the kids up to the hole one by one until it’s only you two and Dustin left.

“Dustin.” You and Steve get down to give Dustin a boost. Then you hear the Demodogs 

“Crap! Go, go, go!” You boost Dustin up then grab your gasoline and lighter to fight. Steve readies his bat.

“Get behind me.” Steve moves slightly in front of you. You would blush but now is not the time.

The dogs race down the tunnel, coming at you with full speed. You’re about to light them up when they all start running past you.

“Wha--” Before you can say anything, Steve pulls you to his chest to keep from getting separated by the Demodogs. You hold him close until the Demodogs are all gone.

Okay, maybe you do have a small crush on Steve Harrington.

Steve helps you up first then you help him out. You breathe a sigh of relief. Things are working out.

And work out, they did indeed. Eleven closed the gate and that was the end of it.

Or so you thought.

Here you are, a year later, working at Scoops Ahoy with Steve when the third round of things start happening. First, you team up with Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Erica. Next, you find an elevator that leads to a secret Russian base that is trying to open the gate to the upside down again. Third, you get caught in that secret Russian base. Well, you and Steve did. The rest went to go find help.

“Who do you work for?” The Russian leader asks you, his eyes dark with anger.

“I work at Scoops Ahoy in the mall, dude. I’ve told you this already!” You whine, licking your swollen lip. There is a sharp pain in your jaw and realize that the man has punched you in the face. Again.

“How did you get in?” He asks.

“It was an accident! Your security kinda sucks, not gonna lie.” You groan, getting punched in the face again. That one is gonna leave a black eye.

“Take her to the other room.” The man growls. You get picked up and dragged against your will to a room where Steve is already sitting in the center strapped to a chair.

“Steve!” You gasp. His head shoots up at your voice, relief clear on his face. Although you can’t see much of his face with how bruised and bloody it is.

“(Y/n).” He breathes out as you’re strapped to the chair behind him. He grabs your hands through the restraints and you squeeze it to let him know you’re okay.

“Let’s see if these get you talking.” The Russian man comes toward you with a large syringe. 

“Don’t you dare hurt her!” Steve yells, struggling against his bonds. You squeeze his hand tighter as you’re both injected with whatever is in the syringes.

You feel no different as the Russian pulls the needle out and steps out of the room. 

“Hey, (Y/n)?” Steve asks after a moment.

“Hm?” You hum, the room starting to spin. 

“Do you feel any different?” He asks. You can hear the smile on his face.

“No.” You giggle, squeezing his hand.

“Your hand is soft.” He thinks out loud, rubbing his thumb over your palm. You blush at his words.

“So are yours.” You compliment him back, a goofy smile growing on your face. 

“I can imagine the smile on your face right now,” He tries to look back at you but is unsuccessful.

“Oh yeah? What does it look like?” You muse.

“I dunno, it’s like a lopsided grin that’s too genuine to stop from happening. It’s adorable, much like the rest of you. I love your smile.” He admits, resting the back of his head on your shoulder. You giggle and blush again. He called you adorable.

“Stevie, you’re going soft.” You rest your head on top of his. He nudges you.

“Am not. Don’t laugh at me.” He chuckles.

“You totally are--” Before you can finish, the Russian men barge back into the room.

“Time’s up.” They grunt and your head snaps away from Steve’s.

“Who do you work for?” He asks you.

“...Scoops Ahoy.” You giggle. The man sighs.

“Still lying. Ask the boy?” Your Russian guy tells the other Russian guy. You try your best to look at Steve as he stutters.

“I’m telling you, man, we got here on accident.” He laughs, doubling over at the hilarity of the situation.

“Fine. If you won’t confess, then we have no other choice. Kill the girl.” The man in charge commands. The guy questioning Steve grabs a gun.

“They’re gonna kill me.” You giggle.

“I know! It’s-- wait, what?” This seems to sober up Steve for now.

The Russian cocks the gun and aims it at your head. You laugh.

“Bye-bye!” You shut your eyes and wait.

“Wait, no! Stop! I’ll-- I came here with a buddy,” Steve hiccups, still a bit delirious. You crack open your eyes.

“Name?” The man lowers the gun.

“Umm- uh, Dustin. Henderson.” Steve tells the man. Just then, the alarm goes off. The Russian men look at each other before running out to check on the situation. A moment later, Dustin, Erica, and Robin walk in.

“There you guys are!” Robin gasps and the three start to untie you and Steve.

“Oh, hey buddy! I was just talking about you!” Steve grins at Dustin. Dustin gives him a weird look.

“Time to go, nerds.” Erica snaps once the restraints are loose. You get up and turn to Steve, hugging him tightly. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you close to him.

“I thought I was going to lose you.” He seems to be sober for a second.

“You can’t lose me, silly.” You grin and peck his cheek. He blushes.

“Hey, can I tell you something?” He smiles goofily.

“Hm?” You ask, arms still looped around his neck.

“I’ve been in love with you for a while now.” He confesses, resting his forehead against yours. Your noses brush.

“Wait, seriously?” The shock rushes any clouded judgment from your mind.

“Yeah, seriously.” Steve seems to render what he said, sobriety pulling him to reality.

“I-I...I thought you liked Robin.” You gasp, staring deep into his eyes.

“I’m a lesbian.” Robin clears her throat, keeping her eyes trained on the door in case people figure out what’s happening.

“We should go. I’m sorry for--” Before Steve can finish, you’re pressing your lips against his. He kisses back after a moment, pulling you back to his chest.

“I’ve loved you ever since we almost died in that tunnel together. Maybe a bit before, when I saved you from Billy.” He admits, pressing another soft kiss to your lips.

“Funny, I was about to say the same thing.” You grin at him, pecking his lips one last time.

“Can you two please get on with it? I don’t want to die in here!” Erica complains. You and Steve break apart, holding hands still.

“Let’s get out of here. We have a lot of lost time to make up for.” Steve grins at you.

“I’ll say.” You giggle.

“Come on!” Erica tugs you guys out of the room.

Maybe, if you live through this, you’ll have a normal college career with the love of your life.

[malecftw]

The flayed try to get to you but Billy saves you.

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3 AHEAD! DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE FINALE

A/N: So I’m putting a spin on the scene in the last ep. Just imagine that the flayed didn’t all turn into jelly monsters and are still humans tyvm

this is the first fic I actually choked up on whilst writing oh my Billy Hargrove really did me dirty

Word count: 1803

Warnings: angst, cursing, mentions of injury and blood, major character death, spoilers for season 3

Masterlist.

Requests are open!

Taglist: @editsbyjenny

His whole stance was different. Your boyfriend always was rather arrogant and unafraid to show it, but this was different. He looked... Evil. The glass cracked beneath your shoes as you stood on the first floor of the mall, looking down at Billy and the flayed as he took in his surroundings looking for El. He walked confidently between the people he’d been able to turn into the mind flayer’s minions. It was clear he was their leader, they all stood inhumanely still and waited for his signal.

Your lungs started to burn as you subconsciously held your breath, careful not to make a sound since you were in plain sight if anyone decided to look up. You knew it was a bad idea, coming out of your previous hiding place behind one of the benches yet you felt compelled to stand up. You’d heard how Billy was acting and what was happening but you hadn’t seen it yet for yourself. A part of you hoped it was all a stupid lie made up by some bored teenagers, but that hope was quickly shattered when your eyes found him.

All of a sudden a piercing scream filled the mall and a big dark shadow was visible on the glass ceiling. As you looked up, however, you forgot that you were out for the entire mall to see. In response to the echoing scream of their creator, the flayed and Billy looked up as well and in turn noticed you.

‘Y/n get down!’ Steve whispered urgently, noticing what had happened before you did, your mind consumed by the thing above you. You looked at him questioningly and he shot you a terrified look but it was too late. You followed his gaze down and looked straight into the eyes of Billy. His face showed no sign of happiness or any other emotion. It’s like he wasn’t even there, disconnected from it all. He nodded and the flayed sprung into motion. There were at least 50 of them and they were all coming for you. You turned your body towards Steve, Dustin, and Robin who were the ones who previously shared your hiding spot. They all noticed your shift in behavior which could only mean one thing. You’d been found out. ‘Run.’ You say, oddly calm. Calm enough for everyone to freak out and make a beeline to the exit. As they took off, you started running in the other direction. If you knew Billy as well as you thought you did, you knew even his possessed side would prefer to get to you rather than anyone else. 

You knew that Billy was a fighter. If you were gone, he had no reason to put up a fight anymore against the mind flayer. He’d just give in and let it wash over his entire being. Erasing any trace of his former human self. If you were going to die, you sure as hell would do anything in your power to help your friends in any way, shape or form which is why you opted to distract the flayed from them and focus solely on you. However, you drew the short straw with the direction you were going in as you were soon stranded between two escalators. Both of which had people running on, trying to deliver you to the mind flayer. 

Everything seemed to slow down as you locked eyes with Billy again. He watched as the crow was nearing you, no intention of stopping them whatsoever and you felt broken. You swore to yourself you would die for him but you’d never thought he’d deliver you to death himself.

‘Billy please.’ You shouted, your soul in agony as you were being grabbed by several people. Their nails pressed down on your skin so hard they broke the surface, drawing blood to which they smiled evilly. Billy blinked and ignored your please before turning his back to you, acknowledging the monster behind him that had fallen down from the broken ceiling. 

Your knees were being scratched as you were dragged down on the escalator, the flayed not budging as you put up a fight, struggling to break free. It probably took them all of 2 minutes to get you down but to you, it seemed to go by in a matter of seconds. Billy put up his hand, signaling for them to halt so he could take you from them but they continued marching towards the monster, completely ignoring his command. This startled him, he created them, how were they not following his orders? What he didn’t realize, was that they only took his orders when the ugly, slimy mess that took over their bodies wasn’t around. The creature was superior to his commands and it was their one true master, this, Billy found out soon enough as he watched them take the love of his life to get flayed as well.

‘Billy!’ You shouted once again, this time louder and more pained than before as the mind flayer hooked its claws into your sides, breaking through the barrier of your skin.

Your cries for help soften when you hear the heavy steps of his boots crunching the glass beneath his feet as he walks over to you. He grimaces when he hears you yell out in pain as the mind flayer draws back its claws from your body, leaving you bleeding on the floor with several gaping wounds. An eerie silence takes over the mall and for a second you’re back in your bedroom with Billy. 

You’re trying to study for a calculus test but he can’t stop messing with you. Jokingly pulling your ponytail, leaving kisses all over your exposed shoulders, completely achieving his goal of getting your attention. You roll your eyes and briskly turn around, pushing him onto his back and his eyes widen in surprise not having seen your action coming. ‘For the love of god, Billy Hargrove let me study.’ He laughs and cups your cheek, pulling you closer towards him until your foreheads touch. ‘You’re so smart already if you get any smarter I’m going to be marrying Einstein 2.0 one day.’ At that you gasp and pull back, slapping his chest. ‘Are you proposing Hargrove?’ You say jokingly, knowing he would not propose to you on your bed on a random Tuesday evening with no preparation whatsoever. He smirks as he eyes you up and down before sitting up, wrapping his arms around your waist, allowing you to fall into him. He supports your body and pinches your waist as he kisses you deeply, passion seeping into every fiber of his soul. ‘All in good time firecracker. All in good time.’

In a split second, you’re back on the cold floor of the Starcourt Mall. Billy has crouched down in front of you, observing you carefully as the monster behind him is stood still like a statue. ‘You’re okay little firecracker. You’ll always be okay.’ He says oddly comforting, not using the same cold tone as he had been the last couple of days. His hand reaches out and touches the corner of your bottom lip tenderly, wiping away some blood. You lean into his touch but the connection abruptly gets broken when Billy pulls away and turns around, now facing the monster again. He walks up to the mind flayer, no hesitation or fear evident in his steps before you hear him say loud and clearly: ‘Not her.’  After that, it felt like you were watching a dream.

The mind flayer acted immediately, not giving Billy a chance. Two tentacles pierced his sides, just like they did with you previously only with Billy they seemed to go deeper. The mind flayer wasn’t planning on turning Billy like he did with you. It only had one goal. To kill. You screamed, trying to get up but your severely injured body prevented you from doing so. You saw all life drain from Billy as another tentacle pierced his chest, completely ending all chances of survival.

You don’t know if you screamed, you don’t know if your voice gave out, your eyes and mind were on Billy and Billy only. You didn’t care that you were left defenseless as Billy’s body hit the glass-covered ground, back towards you as he fell on his side. You didn’t care that the mind flare could take you then and there if it wanted to. But it didn’t. The only reason it was even interested in you in the first place was to be able to take over Billy completely. But that was no longer an issue. The mind flayer had grown powerful enough to go after El without another addition to his army so it did.

The flayed ignored you as they walked passed you, following the mind flayer out of the mall in search of El. You knew you had to warn them, you knew it was the right thing to do, but your eyes were glued to his body. You cried loudly as you dragged your body over to him, glass cutting your arms yet you didn’t feel a single thing. All pain was overshadowed by the gaping hole in your chest, resembling the one that Billy had, only yours was internally.

You turned him over, and he groaned, his breathing pained as he tried to focus on you. ‘Billy look at me you’re gonna be fine okay.’ You took in the sight before you. He was drenched in his own blood and a puddle was starting to form. It was clear he wasn’t going to be fine and you were lying to his face. You let out a cry of despair when you saw his smile. Not a happy smile, just a it’s-gonna-be-okay-smile. He wasn’t okay physically, but he was finally free from that monster. He’d done horrible things. He knew he didn’t deserve the ending he was given. He deserved far worse. But here he was, he was going to die in the arms of the only person that mattered. And that was far more than he could have ever asked for. He struggled but managed to bring a hand up to the back of your neck, gingerly pulling you closer. He pressed a long kiss to your forehead, the feeling of your tears falling onto his neck paining him. His eyes filled with tears, knowing it was time for the goodbye he was never going to be ready for. As he broke the kiss, you lifted your head, looking at his face as you hovered over him. ‘Thank you for loving me firecracker.’ He whispered. The light in his eyes started to dull only seconds after he finished his last sentence.

Billy Hargrove didn’t die a villain. He also didn’t die a hero.

Billy Hargrove died loved.

[dragonswithjetpacks]

Theurgist

Chapter Five: A Quick Laugh at Death

-dragonswithjetpacks

Notes: I am so sorry it took so long. I had a busy week last week and was gone all weekend. I got really tired of trying to right this chapter so I am sorry if it seems rushed and choppy. I mainly just wanted the quirky bits. And I have so many things already pre-written I'd like to get to. Including the temple. And then tying in the bite scene later on.

Read here on Ao3

Ferelith looked down into the reflection of the water, examining the dried blood on the side of her face. A small shard of anger slithered into her thoughts when she thought about the creature from the crash. The worm was trying to fight it, but the twirling shadow had clouded it’s thoughts. Her patron was still there, protecting her the best he could. But he would not speak. Ferelith looked up to the moon and saw it was still a few days away before she could perform the ritual to speak with him. Though there was always the option to try. She sighed, setting her gloves to the side to wipe them off later and she dipped her hands into the water. As she began to wipe off her face, Gale had approached her.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like a word once we’ve settled in for the night,” he said.

“If this is about what happened earlier,” she rose to her feet, “then I assure you I’m quite alright.”

“Actually, no,” he paused as he turned. “But I’m glad to see you’re feeling a bit more like yourself.”

A swift breeze pulled her hair into her face, but she was quick to tuck it behind her ear. Gale watched her eyes closely, but saw nothing peculiar within them. They were just as they always had been. Pale yellow with nothing of importance gleaming inside. No hint of anger or excitement. Just simply mindful and content. And the lingering dark essence he had sensed before disappeared. There was just Ferelith with her pale skin and dark hair holding her arms against her chest to brace herself against the cold wind of the river.

“You know,” she said, squeezing her arms. “I’ve met many wizards in my travels. Have you… met many warlocks?”

“A few,” he nodded.

“What were they like?”

Gale paused for a moment. A warlock was unlike a wizard in the sense of how they obtained their power. A wizard was impatient, in most cases. They desired power, but that wasn’t any different than any one else. What separated a warlock was the means in which they obtained that power and what sort of desire drove them. It varied upon the person. And when he looked at Ferelith, the quiet woman who cradled the apron with her books and her singed quill, he did not see a desire for power. He saw a woman with secrets. A woman blanketed by a protective shadow. He took a deep breath.

“Nothing like yourself,” he smiled at her in adoration.

Her eyes, once cold and gazing lost across the river came round to acknowledge the compliment of her companion. He caught the reflection of gratitude within them and knew her smile to be true.

“That’s very kind of you to say,” she looked back out to the water. “It even makes me sound a bit dangerous. But I’ll take the ambiguity as a compliment.”

“I simply don’t know enough about you to say otherwise,” he attempted to correct his statement.

“I appreciate your honesty,” she let a little sigh slip through, leading Gale to believe she was finished with his company. “For the record… you’re one of the kindest wizards I’ve ever met.”

“I do try… my lady.”

“Alright enough flattery,” she waved her hand slightly as he left her line of sight, her gaze still focused on the rolling stream in front of her. “I’ll see you later.”

His footsteps faded out, only to be replaced by another. Ferelith glanced up at the sky, realizing they had a few hours of daylight left before she could retire. There was still much to be done, but she had a sudden urge to be alone. Whoever it was behind her, they were in no rush. And she wondered how long she could stay silent before they urged her to speak.

“The breeze will just get colder as the sun goes down,” she said eyeing the colors shifting as the sun set. “It will draw me closer to the fire. Soon enough.”

“Take your time,” a male’s voice startled her.

Ferelith turned, seeing Astarion with his newly gifted bow strapped to his back, a few crude arrows in his hand.

“Oh, I though you were- well, it doesn’t matter…”

“I was just leaving,” he stated, glancing back to the rest of their party gathering around the pit as Gale prepared a fire.

“And you’re, what? Taking requests?” she smirked over her shoulder.

“I’m afraid the prime rib will be unavailable tonight,” he shifted his weight to his other foot. “But, in order to make up for it, I’ve offered a few bolts to your collection.”

Ferelith lowered her arms, granting him her full attention. “To my what?”

“The village coward dropped his quiver. There were a few arrows in there a bit too short to be considered an arrow. I tossed them onto you bedroll.”

“Oh… thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. At the quality they appear to be in, they could have just been poorly made arrows that couldn’t be used by a proper bow,” he cringed. “They might just snap straight in half.”

“Right,” she nodded, admitting that her thoughts were lost on him.

Astarion could see her drifting back out into the open evening, eyes faded into a distant plane. After what he had witnessed of her earlier that day, he had expected a change to her behavior at camp. The outburst to him meant a reveal of character. Not this reclusive woman who was lost in thought. While Ferelith had been a mostly quiet person from the beginning, there were still those snarky comments between he had rather enjoyed. This was simply just disappointing. She did not even bother to send him away as he turned to leave.

***********************************************************

After an evening delegating a very passive aggressive discussion between Shadowheart and Lae’zel over what she would consider dinner, Ferelith was forced to resist the urge to turn in for the night. Her head had been pounding, likely a side affect of the illithid’s mental damage from before. Still, she had agreed to have a moment with Gale. And least with him, she knew half of what to expect. That included walking up to see him observing his own double.

“Be with you in a moment,” his voice echoed.

His attention never left the mirror image, his eyes focused upon his own face. Ferelith snorted a bit, rolling her eyes with a sigh as she glanced around for something else to keep her occupied. She allowed him a few more seconds before she grew impatient.

“Is there a reason you’re studying your own image?”

Gale turned, a smirk shot at her to acknowledge the teasing tone.

“Indulging in a spot of vanity. Handsome devil, aren’t I?” he spun around with a wave of his, causing the image to vanish. “Be that as it may.”

It slowly fizzled down to a few sparks. He folded his hands behind his back, very much in the estute sort of way she would have imagine. His brow lowered and she could feel the tone shifting to a more serious manner. Though, she felt she had enough of it that day.

“Ceremorphosis. What does it make you think of?”

“The tadpole,” she answered, knowing it was what he expected.

Still, he responded with utmost enthusiasm.

“Spot on,” he winked. “Day one: fever and memory loss. Day two: hallucinations and graying skin. Day three: hair loss and blood leaking from all orifices. Need I go on?”

“By all means,” she nodded.

“Day four: excruciating pain as the skeleton and organs reform and reposition. Day five: the host's personality has disappeared. Fingers, toes, and limbs elongate,” he became a bit aggravated as a small chuckle fell from her lips. “I take it you get the picture.”

“I’ve already committed to the lesson, Gale,” she grinned. “Might as well get my money’s worth.”

“Day six,” he lowered his brow, clearly not humored by her sarcasm, “The flesh around the mouth splits to make way for tentacles. Day seven: a mind flayer is born. This is the most annotated version, of course.”

“What you’re saying,” she shifted with crossed arms, “is that I can at least keep my sense of humor until the fifth day? I’d say we only have another night’s worth of laughs, Gale.”

“I’m glad your coping mechanism consists of deflecting the seriousness of this problem with jokes,” he replied.

“You’re no fun tonight,” she tilted her head to the side. “But no worries. We’re two days in. We should have clearly turned gray by now.”

“Spot on again,” he flicked a finger at her. “Orifices remain blissfully unbloodied. Our heads remain clear, and our blood temperature is normal. Any expert will agree: this is… abnormal.”

“Don’t question it so much,” she shrugged. “In all my existence, the only reason I owe my life to anything is because of the abnormal. I’m just lucky to be alive.”

“I’ll toast to that,” he smiled uneasily with a hint of intrigue. “The pragmatic in me, however, sees only the silence before the storm. Something to sleep on. We should get some rest.”

“Thank you for leaving me with that imagery,” she gave a slight nod. “I’m sure it will soothe me as I mediate tonight. Good night, Gale.”

“I’m only here to help,” he gave a half solute.

Ferelith grinned, waving her hand slightly to bid farewell as she retreated to her bedroll. They had acquired a few extra blankets. And she was lucky enough to procure an additional pillow. Leaning against her new luxurious cot was her pack, waiting patiently for her hands to dive into it. And standing directly across it from the fire, just as he was the night before, was Astarion. He seemed to be waiting as patiently as her pack.

“I saw you getting a lecture from our magical friend,” he said the moment she glanced in his direction.

“It was quite informative,” she took a break from straightening her blanket to address him. “Descriptive, at the very least.”

“I have to say,” he said leaning forward with narrowed eyes. “I thought you’d look worse. But no. Not a tentacle in sight.”

“Thank you?” she pulled back, turning a shoulder to him. “I’m hoping it will stay that way.”

“Naturally,” he rose a brow. “But I was thinking… what if it doesn’t?”

Ferelith had thought about what would happen if she did change. But the ever growing stubbornness inside her made her truly believe it would never happen. She was not willing to believe it. Nor was she willing to admit to anyone else that it was a possibility. He let the sentiment settle with her for a moment. Though he could see it had little impact. The blank stare with a slow blink signaled him to proceed.

“Of course,” he went on, tilting his chin to the side with a gleam in his eye, “first sign of change and I’ll have to stop that pretty little heart of yours.”

He almost seemed too excited at the thought of putting her down. Like a wild animal. She crossed her arms, as if to guard her chest from his stare. It did not matter, he could hear the sound of her pounding heart. And it had only grown louder from his statement.

“I am open to suggestions. Knives, poison, strangulation – whatever you’d prefer.”

“I’d prefer not to die,” she said dully.

“Well now you’re just being closed-minded,” he teased. “There are some lovely ways to go.”

“First I listen to Gale talk about the details of turning into a terrifying monster and now you’re telling me all the options I have in which you could kill me? Whoever said chivalry was dead must have no taste for macabre.”

“To be fair, you were the one that pushed the wizard to give those wonderful details. I am giving you these options as a gift.”

“I am ever so grateful. Do go on about the beautiful ways in which I can ensue death,” she opened her arms, flicking her wrists in a manner as if she were receiving the said gift he spoke of.

“You know, I watched urchins freeze to death on the street. It looks peaceful – just like falling asleep.”

“Very poetic… I wonder if drowning feels the same.”

“Ha!” his shoulders fell back as he lifted his head with laughter. “Oh, come on. Humor me. If you had to choose…”

“Fine,” she took a deep breath with a few seconds of thought. “I suppose a knife. Straight to the chest. That seems quick.”

“A classic,” he nodded with approval. “One good thrust to the heart and you’re gone. We need a good blade, of course. Don’t want to waste time hacking and prodding with a dinner half.”

It was the first time in a long time it had happened. The welling feeling in her chest. The tightening of her cheeks. The widening of the eyes. The burst of air from her mouths as her voice let out a loud series of rhythmic laughter. It caught her off guard. So much that she covered her mouth, leaning forward, and looking to Astarion with surprise. She rose her brows in disbelief that he had truly made her laugh.

“Well,” he said, leaning forward toward her like they were a couple of children cackling in school, “I’m getting ahead of myself. This is all a worst case scenario, obviously.”

“You’re terrible,” she giggled, lurching forward with one last tit of laughter. “What about you? Is there any way you’d like for me to end your life?”

“Oh, my dear,” he said with a condescending tone. “I’d like to see you try.”

Ferelith reared back, a bit offended that he held himself so much higher than herself. But she knew he was only testing her. Pushing her to see what sort of outcome he could obtain by doubting her strength.

“Dealer’s choice then,” she said firmly. “I’ll make sure it’s a lovely surprise.”

“Somehow, I don’t think you’ll disappoint me,” it was meant to be a positive reinforcement, but the way he said it still made it sound more like a threat. “Now, enough of this talk. Let’s get some rest. The sooner we start tomorrow, the better our chances of keeping this hypothetical.”

“I take it you’re joining us to the tiefling camp, then?”

“Of course, darling,” he replied. “I’ll go wherever you lead.”

“I’d be careful with those words,” she said darkly. “You’ll never know what path I’ll lead you toward.”

“Even better.”

She shook her head at his advancements with a foolish smirk she could not hide. “Good night, Astarion.”

“Good night, Ferelith.”

************************************************************

The next day brought a heavy fog over the camp, dampening both their supplies and their spirits. Ferelith could smell the moisture in the air and knew it would lift as the sun rose. And sure enough, the moment they began to snack on their morning rations they could see a bit of orange illuminating the sky. Their pace quickened and they got to their feet, ready to begin to their journey into a new part of the forsaken land they had been thrown into. The human, the gith, and the two elves made their way out of camp, leaving Shadowheart to sulk to herself as they had agreed to take Lae’zel to question the tieflings and seek further assistance for themselves against her wishes. Though Ferelith had promised the temple would come soon, as she had an interest in what laid within it herself.

The path was quite clear to the camp. And Ferelith wondered how they had missed it so easily before. Or perhaps, they had been far too occupied with their troubles and each other to pay attention to path carved among the rocks. She kicked at the dirt, still a bit dry despite the wet morning, and looked up to the back of her companion who was the only one who managed to sustain any of the information the tieflings had given before. He stopped for a moment, glancing behind him to smile at her, then looking to the others.

“I think we should take a moment to really prepare ourselves for this camp,” he said with an overthought of wishful thinking. “Our main goal is information. We don’t want to overwhelm them.”

“It’ll be fine, Gale,” Ferelith stated, slinging her pack over her shoulder. “We’re only asking a few questions. Getting supplies. There won’t be enough time to do any real damage.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Gale whispered slightly to himself with a shrug. “I can think of a few things that could go wrong.”

She ignored him, rummaging through the items in her pack until she felt the cold texture of leather beneath her fingertips. Pulling them out, she gave them one good look before she turned Astarion.

“Here,” she handed him brown leather folded neatly to show the string tied at the top around the collar.

He took them, a bit disgruntled but willingly. Though he wasn’t sure what she expected him to do as she kept searching through the pack.

“Am I supposed to hold onto these?”

“Put them on,” she directed, otherwise paying no mind.

“Right now?” he dipped his head low as he questioned her, staring her in the eyes while waiting for her acknowledgment.

“Yes, right now,” she finally turned to look at him but only for a moment. “You’ve been wearing the same city clothes for days. You should put on some actual leather. One, because it’s more useful. And two, so you don’t look like a complete lost cause.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that last part because this is a very expensive doublet. And this blouse is of the finest threads in Baldur’s Gate.”

“I’m sure,” she grinned lovingly, looking back down into her pack.

Astarion tossed his new leather armor to the side to free his hands. He began to work on his doublet right away. It was already sliding down his arms when Ferelith looked up, catching the back of him in just his white shirt. He looked… nice. It almost made him feel more humble than he really was. Or at least, more approachable. His hands came up, his fingers loosening the collar. Still facing the rock, he pulled the shirt up and her eyes widened as he lifted it. His back flexed and his hands grasped the bottom of his shirt as he pulled it over. She swallowed… hard… as he turned around. What she had assumed was the doublet in all its puffed out glory… had been the actual thickness of the man’s chest. He was lean, but he far from frail. Seeing it off was a revelation and normally she would have felt annoyed at being so wrong about someone’s character. She inhaled a heavy dose of air, holding it for a few moments as she let her eyes wander. He shook the leather tunic out and she admired the muscle in his forearm tensing as he did. Slowly, she exhaled, observing him turn around with his arms raised trying to pull down the armor. She counted each curve of his abdomen with a small smile. Then, nodding with a bit of appreciation, she looked back down into her bag.

“Well, you certainly have no shame,” Gale nudged her.

“What?” she shrugged with a coy smile. “I’m in the wilderness. My eyes get hungry, too.”

“Careful. Some of the tastiest looking berries are the most poisonous.”

“Better than death by ceremorphosis.”

******************************************************

The back of Zevlor whisked away, his tail thrashed back and forth with irritation as he left. There was something about a tiefling that left an excitement behind for Ferelith. Like a small trail of flame. She breathed a heavy sigh, knowing that the flames would grow larger the longer she stared at them. After all, she had just witnessed them in battle. Turning to her comrades, she noticed a slight irritation within their faces.

“What are we messengers, now?” Astarion seemed particularly the worst.

Ferelith stepped close to him, too close for comfort. It made him shift backward, which is exactly what she wanted. He took several steps back just so she could hiss at him out of hearing range of anyone else. She kept her head down as she spoke.

“Listen, we keep all options open. There’s no agreeing. No disagreeing. If we’re stuck here, we best leave all doors open in case we need a way out. That means seeing what we can do about the druids.”

“Ah, I understand, now,” he said, his chest still out further than than his chin to keep her at bay. “This is the sort of thing we should have discussed before our arrival rather than my appearance.”

Ferelith blinked, her eyes gliding up toward him. “I didn’t expect you to complain in front of the whole sodding camp after watching one of them take an arrow to the chest.”

“Like it makes a difference? They’re all going to die anyway.”

Ferelith crossed her arms, her fingers tapping against her forearm. “If we’re not careful, we’ll die too.”

“Fine, fine,” he waved his hand.

“If you’re done,” Gale interrupted. “I believe there’s a merchant just down the hill.”

She gave him one last warning glance before she turned to the direction Gale was pointing. There was a small set up just on the edge of the camp beneath a stretch of a rock archway. It was a grand entrance, nothing at all comparable to a refugee camp. They followed the trail down, glancing further into it and noticing the make shift buildings and rails along the sides. They seemed misplaced to her. Even the shop they approached looked more like a scatter array of things more than any kind of marketplace.

“Refugees… adventurers. No one in years. And suddenly, we’re overwhelmed. Well me,” he greeted them begrudgingly. “Thank you for beating back those goblins. Most brave of you.”

“I do what I can,” she shrugged, not feeling quite worthy of his gratitude just yet.

“Is there anything you need? Act fast if you do. The ritual will be complete before too long.”

“I do,” she paused, observing Astarion round the display. “We’re a bit short on supplies. But we do have a bit of coin. Are they really locking down the grove? I was hoping to rely on the business here for a short time.”

“I know it’s drastic, but more monsters seem to terrorize this region every day.”

“And the tieflings?”

“We druids will be safe-”

The sound of the merchant drowned as she became distracted by Astarion looking through the array of weaponry. She watched as he ran his fingers over the blades along the table, glancing at her with a mischievous smirk. Her eyes shifted back to the vendor, trying to pay attention as best she could. But she kept wandering back to the rogue. He held up a knife, displaying it for her with a raised brow. She shook her head slightly. But he ignored her, giving the air a few jabs and shrugging, setting it back down with a frown. The next one he picked up, waving a hand down in it like it were a grand prize. She swallowed the lump forming to stop herself from bursting with laughter. It did not work and she was forced to clear her throat rather loudly.

“It sounds like these are dire times,” she blinked to regain her focus.

“You sound just like Khaga.”

“Are these the only weapons for sale?” Astarion interrupted, setting down the knife he was holding with a loud thud.

“These are the only ones I am selling,” he lowered his brow. “There’s a blacksmith further into the camp. Though I’m not sure he has much to offer.”

“Thank you,” Ferelith said loud enough to draw his attention back. “Here’s what I have for… oh, I think a few potions will do.”

“Of course.”

She passed Gale the bottles as they were handed to her who began to slip them into the back of her pack. Astarion had lost interest in the wares and moved back to Lae’zel who was impatiently waiting behind them. Her stare was into the gorge, examining the tieflings as if she were able to spot the one with the information she needed. Ferelith was certain she would have already caused chaos if they were not with her. As she turned around, she could hear Astarion grumbling into her ear.

“Things are about to get a lot more dire with those sad excuses for weapons.”

“You’re going to get us kicked out,” she said as she brushed by the two of them. “Let’s find the blacksmith. Find the lead. And get out.”

“Is the blacksmith necessary?” the gith rolled her eyes.

“Yes,” Ferelith said firmly. “I’ve only got two bolts for my crossbow. The ones Astarion found are useless.”

“I warned you,” he shrugged.

“A snapped bolt could have meant my death.”

“It wouldn’t have been my first attempt to kill you.”

“Nor the last,” she said over her shoulder as she trailed further down into the camp.