#my love for nancy and mike is too strong for me to stay away forever so i'll be back! i gotta say that taking a break from the rp side of

[rebelcliche-archive2]

reminder that as of right now in a little over a week i will be back with a revamped blog. for anyone who could care less, i understand if you have no interest in following me or writing together on my new blog when i return, you're free to unfollow, no hard feelings!

just popping back in here real quick to say that i'll be back in like a week and a half and that i'm already working on new graphics for the much needed revamp of this blog! i'm still gonna make my new blog extremely private / borderline friends only, but most of who i'm following are likely to be refollowed over on the new blog so no worries lol. i've missed y'all and i've missed nancy and look forward to writing in this terrifying fandom in a (hopefully) less stressful atmosphere!

[strangestdrabbles]

You Have My Heart

A/N: is it surprising i love steve??? no. i hope that i did this request justice and that you enjoy reading 

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader ((gender neutral))

The drive-in movie ‘dates’, the lazy making out on a Sunday afternoon, the copious amounts of studying, driving around at 2am, the sharing of secrets and through those both Y/N and Steve still continued the game of ‘are we together or just best friends?’. The back and forth of the pair caused the feelings they both held for each other secretly to grow immensely, every touch and gaze causing a tingling electricity under their skin in a way that was addicting. The pair knew that they needed to have a conversation about where they stood but the fun of being spontaneous, falling into each other’s arms and the comfort that came with familiarity stopped both Y/N and Steve. 

--

“Hey can we talk?” 

Steve’s voice was like honey as Y/N looked at him from the opposite end of the couch, Star Wars playing on the television as background noise. 

“Yeah sure. What’s up?” 

There was a lull as Steve swallowed and tried to formulate his thoughts into words, his palms beginning to sweat slightly before his heart calmed. 

“I’m dating Nancy.” 

Y/N turned towards the television again but her eyes were glazed over as Luke, C3PO and R2D2 appeared on screen, not taking anything in but a buzzing before she came back down to earth. 

“Did you tell her about out slight history?” 

The air felt a little heavier as Y/N turned her head to look at Steve again, scratching her cheek and looking a little too comfortable in the situation; Steve nodding as an answer to the question. 

“Good because I don’t want her to get hurt by not knowing and it coming up later.” 

Steve understood why Y/N wanted that as she was close with her sister Nancy and her brother Mike, wanting to be transparent with them as they were with her. 

“Yeah of course.”  

He didn’t understand how Y/N was so casual and taking the news so well, as if they were just discussing plans for the following day; the feeling of his chest tightening painfully for a moment before a rogue tear escaped his left eye. Y/N nodded before looking back at the television and immersing herself in the story once more, not noticing that Steve was watching her before turning his attention also to the movie; the knowledge that neither of them would be able to continue to ambiguous relationship had a lead feeling filling their stomachs but neither Y/N nor Steve made the feeling known. 

--

It had been eight months since Nancy and Steve had started seeing each other and Steve knew it wasn’t fair that he still had such strong feelings for Y/N but he did; his heart completely filled with his love for Y/N and hated the dull ache that settled in his chest from being away from them. Steve did like hanging out with Nancy and her company was a constant that provided a homely warmth that overcame him whenever they were together, 

The day was on the cooler side as Steve walked up to the Wheeler’s front door, running a hand through his curls before knocking a few times and waiting; shocked when Mike answered the door after a little. 

“Steve? Are you here for Nancy cause she’s not here.” 

The three other boys stood behind Mike and looked at Steve in a way that showed genuine curiosity as to why he was there, a soft breeze of wind passing by Steve and entering the Wheeler’s front door at that moment and making the five shiver slightly. 

“Um I’m not h-here for Nancy.” 

“Oh right right, you’re here for Y/N.” 

Mike smirked while Dustin and Lucas laughed, a small smile resting on Will’s lips as he took in what was going on around him. 

“Okay ha ha very funny. Yes I’m here for Y/N. Are they here?” 

There was a lull for a moment before Mike nodded his head and moved to the side, Steve stepping over the threshold into the warmth of the house; noticing Nancy in the kitchen and then hearing the crooning of Queen from upstairs. He was quick to walk up the stairs after greeting Nancy with a soft hug and her replying with a patient smile; giggling behind her hand at the skip in his step while he made his way to the second floor. 

It was at the moment that Steve was on the landing of the second floor that Y/N came out of their room, their hair cutely messy around their face and the sweater on their body which happened to be Steve’s hung from their body in a way that was beyond cute and caused his stomach to flip. 

“O-Oh Steve hey.” 

Steve was tongue tied as a soft smell of coconut filled his nose and caused him to be lightheaded in the most addicting way. 

“H-Hey.” 

It was Y/N that stepped forward and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers with his before pulling him into their room and closing the door; sitting on their bed cross legged and facing the tall boy in front of them. 

“Sit Steve, you look stressed.” 

It was as if the tension that was slightly built in his body broke and he relaxed as he got comfortable on Y/N’s bed, intertwining his fingers together and twiddling his thumbs; trying to find a way to approach the conversation he wanted to stay with Y/N. 

“Steve? Is everything okay?” 

Steve looked up and saw that Y/N was staring at him with concern, causing him to nod before clearing his throat and beginning. 

“I want to be honest with you Y/N. I have feelings for you, genuine feelings and I hope that you know that I want to be with you in the near future.” 

Y/N’s bottom lip was between their teeth before exhaling the knot that was forming in the chest. 

“I like you too Steve, romantically also and I want to be with you too but I want you to know that over the holidays I will be going to New York with a friend and her mother. I think we should wait about getting together until I get back because I want to make sure we’re both serious about this.” 

Steve reached forward and took one of Y/N’s hand in his own, intertwining his fingers through theirs. 

“I would wait for you forever love. You’re someone I want to be with for the long term.” 

Y/N’s cheeks reddened at the small proclamation, feeling their heart swell with fondness as they took in the boy in front of them. 

“You would really wait for me?” 

It was Steve’s turn for his cheeks to redden and look down due to being flustered, bringing up the tangle of his and Y/N’s hands to his mouth and leaving a few soft kisses before the sound of their door opened; Mike and Nancy’s voices filling the room along with Queen. 

“Wow that’s so beautiful.” 

Mike’s voice was airy and he battered his eyelashes in a way that was over the top, falling back in Nancy’s arms which caused her to laugh. 

“You two finally told each other how you felt?” 

“YOU KNEW?” 

Mike rolled his eyes while he got out of Nancy’s arms and stepped further into the room. 

“How could we not know? It’s obvious.” 

The blushes on both Steve and Y/N’s faces deepened, a soft squeeze from Steve’s hand calmed down Y/N in a way they couldn’t explain. 

“Look look they’re tomatoes.” 

Nancy was quick to laugh after Mike’s comment while Y/N got up to try and get their siblings to leave. 

“Hey hey come on, just let us stay we won’t be annoying.” 

Nancy shook her head softly before resting her hand on his shoulder. 

“Come on Mike. Let’s leave the love birds alone.” 

Y/N’s bottom lip was quick to be caught between their teeth as they closed the door once the pair left, turning towards Steve and feeling their heart pick up while looking at him; the smile on his face was heavenly. 

“Lovebirds huh? I prefer partners.”

[insideoutstory]

Inside Out → Chapter Five

summary: School turns out to be a special torture all its own after a tough weekend. word count: 5.1k warnings: n/a [ masterlist ]   [ FF.net ]

“You look better today.” 

Dustin was waiting in the driveway when Christine came out the next morning. She stuck her tongue out at him as she collected her own bike, which made him grin. 

“Mom made you lunch,” he added, offering her a brown paper bag. “Just in case your power went out last night.” 

“Power? You guys too?” 

“Yup. Killed everything in the fridge. Which sucks but means we get to have fluffernutters.” 

“Sick.” Christine took the bag, stowing it away in her backpack. “My fridge is still going, but I don’t say no to a fluffernutter.” 

“Man, brown outs are so lame,” Dustin complained. “Blackouts are fun. That shit’s exciting. Not being able to do some things is just dumb.” 

“Language, Dustin.” 

They set off together down the street. Dustin always pedaled faster than Christine, and had to loop around at every stop sign waiting for her to catch up. He’d tease her about being a slowpoke from time to time, but it was something they were both used to. They didn’t bike to school together every day, but the ride was nicer with company. 

“Did you talk to Nancy?” asked Dustin, pulling up beside Christine. 

“Nope. Did you talk to Nancy?” 

“Nope. I told you I wasn’t gonna say anything. You might think bards are all show and charisma, but my word means something. Besides, she was being a real jerk yesterday. I offered her the last slice of pizza and she just slammed the door in my face.” 

“Don’t take it too hard,” said Christine. “It’s me she’s mad at, not you.” 

“Why is she mad at you? She’s the one who kissed the guy. You should be mad at her.” 

“No, I shouldn’t. She’s my friend, and I love her, so I should be happy for her.” 

“But you liked him first, didn’t you?” 

“That’s not how it works, Dust,” she sighed. “You can’t call dibs on people. They make their own choices.” 

“Yeah, but I thought your friends are always supposed to come first.” 

It took her a minute to come up with a response to that one. Christine pushed down the remnants of her rage, and steeled her resolve. 

“They are. Which is why I’m not mad at her.” 

“You’re not?” Dustin asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. 

“Nope.” 

“Not even a little bit?” 

“Absolutely.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“One hundred percent.” 

“So if you biked up to the high school right now, and Nancy and Steve were sucking face in the parking lot…” 

“Oh my God, shut up, Dustin.” 

She flipped him off, and Dustin raised a warning finger. “Hey, watch your language! Your—Your hand…language. Shit.” 

Christine smirked at his fumble, and took the opportunity to change the subject. 

“Hey, Mike said the new ham shack should be in soon. He wouldn’t say if I was allowed to see it. You gonna put in a good word for me?” 

“Oh shit! That’s like today! Yes! Oh, hell yes!” 

Dustin spent the rest of the ride gushing about the new radio, all the features it was supposed to have, how much it cost. Christine listened intently, trying to focus on his rambling instead of the trouble waiting for her on the horizon. 

They split ways on the main road—Dustin going to meet up with his friends while Christine turned toward the high school. It was annoying having to weave through all the speeding cars of the upperclassmen, and she got honked at more than once for cutting someone off. Almost no one rode their bikes to school anymore. On the bright side, that meant she never had to fight someone for a spot. There was always space at the bike rack.

Christine kept her head down as she walked to her locker. No one looked her way, and there were no waves of whispers floating around her. She allowed herself to relax just slightly. Part of her had worried that after the scene she’d caused with Tommy, the halls would be echoing with the words “psycho bitch.” But to everyone else, it just seemed like another teenage party. People drank, people hooked up, people cried—and the world kept spinning on. 

She dropped her bag in her locker, and out of habit headed down the hall toward Nancy’s. She stopped short when she realized what she was doing. She hadn’t thought at all about what she wanted to say. What if Nancy flipped on her for bailing on the party? What if she really was with Steve, sucking face in the hallway like Dustin had said? 

Christine gripped her books tighter, and forced herself forward. She couldn’t avoid Nancy forever. It was better to get it over with and just move on with her day. 

Nancy was already at her locker, but thankfully, Steve was nowhere in sight. Instead she was talking to Barb, who was smirking at something Nancy had said. Nancy laughed, but stopped abruptly when she spotted Christine. She had to rush to cover her shock with a smile. 

“Morning,” Christine said, casually as she could muster. “What are we laughing at?” 

“Oh, nothing!” Nancy’s words were rushed, and Christine didn’t miss the side glance she shot to Barb. “Uh, hey! How are you feeling?” 

“Better. I was…pretty wrecked yesterday. Hungover, I mean. That punch was stupid strong.” 

“Right. No, yeah, I figured that was what happened.” 

“I’m sorry I bailed. I was just like…puking and nauseous and…” 

“No, it’s totally fine! I—I caught a ride home so…it’s cool.” 

They nodded at each other in silence. Nancy averted her eyes to the books in her arms, and Christine inspected a ripped sticker on a locker two doors down. But Barb caught her eye, giving her a painfully pointed look, and Christine struggled to bite down her sigh. 

“So. You and Steve. Congrats.” 

Nancy’s head shot up like a bottle rocket, her eyes wide. “No, no! It wasn’t like that. I don’t know how much you heard or—or what you saw, but it wasn’t like that. Really.” 

“Nancy, it’s fine.” 

“I mean, he kissed me, yes. And it was great. But it’s like you said, right? It’s not exactly a marriage proposal.” 

“Nancy,” Christine said firmly. “It’s fine. I’m really happy for you.” 

She wasn’t sure if the words sounded convincing. They certainly didn’t seem so to her. But Nancy’s shoulders sagged in relief, and Barb nodded approvingly. 

“I was just telling Nancy that she better not be too cool to hang out with us anymore. If she becomes friends with Tommy H or Carol, I swear…” 

“Oh, that’s gross,” Nancy scoffed, turning back to her locker. “Okay, I’m telling you it was a one-time…two-time thing.” 

Barb raised her eyebrows, and Christine laughed politely. It wasn’t as hard as she’d expected. Nancy might be lying through her teeth about the whole ordeal, but as long as she did, the venomous shred of hope in Christine’s chest still had a tiny spark. There was plausible deniability. Until, of course, Nancy opened her locker. 

A small rip of paper fell onto Nancy’s books, which she unfolded without a second thought. The big blue words would have been impossible to hide even if she’d tried to. 

Meet me. Bathroom. –Steve 

Christine’s tiny spark spluttered out. 

“You were saying?” Barb asked slyly, and Nancy flushed scarlet. 

“I—I should probably go. I might have left something in his car, or maybe he wants to…” 

“To ravage you before class,” Barb finished, waving a hand. “Go, Nance. We’ll see you in homeroom.” 

Nancy gave a nervous look to Christine, who luckily still had the polite smile stuck on her face. 

“Yeah, go. We’ll catch you later.” 

Nancy nodded, quickly collecting her books from her locker. Then she darted down the hallway toward the nearest bathroom, her excitement already beginning to burst through her face. 

“Well, that was painful,” said Barb, once she’d disappeared. “But nice job.” 

“Hey, I’m trying, okay?” Christine huffed as they headed in the opposite direction. “I know I should be supportive. I’m just still…” 

“Heartbroken?” 

“Bummed,” she corrected flatly. 

“Well, it definitely could have been worse,” said Barb. She bumped Christine with her shoulder, gently knocking the shorter girl off track. “I just wish you two had done it over the phone so I didn’t have to witness it.” 

“I tried calling her, seriously. But after I called you, the connection just went completely out of whack. All I could get was static.” 

“Yeah, me too. My parents had the news on this morning? Apparently it was county-wide. Some people still don’t have power.” 

“Seriously?” Christine furrowed her brow, thinking back to her bedside lamp, Dustin’s fridge. “Power lines down or something?” 

“Well that’s the thing,” said Barb. “They’ve got no idea what caused it. Scientific anomaly.” 

“Great. That’s real comforting.” 

“For sure. Especially when my dad starting going on about the Russians.” 

They were two of the first to arrive for homeroom, and took seats in the back so they could gossip in low voices. Barb forced Christine to recount everything that had happened on Saturday, from Steve’s clever convincing at the movie theater to the disastrous party itself. It didn’t seem so bad now that she was twenty-four hours removed. It actually felt nice to get it all out. And as much as Barb had teased and egged on Nancy in the morning, she still offered a sympathetic ear to Christine’s complaining. 

For this, Christine was eternally grateful. She didn’t want to stick Barb in the middle of some stupid, petty fight. It wouldn’t be fair to her, not after all the times she’d put up with their daydreaming and giggling. At the same time, she knew it wouldn’t be easy. Especially when the final bell rang fifteen minutes later, and Nancy still had not joined them in class. 

“Alright, everyone settle down,” their instructor, Ms. Snider, called. “Faster we get through this, the faster you can get back to your lives. Gina Atwood?” 

“Here!” 

“Ana Bently?” 

“Here.” 

“Jonathan Byers? Jonathan? No? Alright. Warren Chadwick?” 

“Here!” 

They combed farther and farther down the list, and Christine’s eyes stayed glued to the door. She was one minute late, two minutes, three… 

“Christine Walcott? Christine?” 

Barb had to kick her under the desk, and Christine jolted upright. “Uh, here! Sorry.” 

“Thank you, Miss Walcott. And Nancy Wheeler? Nancy?” 

Christine looked at the door, but it remained firmly closed. 

“Alright, then,” said Ms. Snider, clapping the front of the podium. “Announcements. Hawkins Elementary is still looking for volunteers to help in their annual field day. If you’re interested in that, make sure you stop by the front office to look at the sign-up sheet. If you’re not interested in that, may I remind you that it does count as extra credit toward physical education. So those few of you who are so keen on skipping gym might want to think twice. The honor society is also hosting…” 

A loud creak interrupted as the classroom door inched open. Nancy squeezed inside, then froze when she noticed that every single person in the room was looking at her. A few students giggled, but Snider didn’t bother quieting them. 

“Miss Wheeler. Thank you for joining us. If you’ll find a seat, so we can continue.” 

Nancy’s flustered blush was visible from the other side of the classroom. Her tousled hair was a bit subtler, as were her swollen lips. But to Christine they stuck out like stains on a white carpet. She gripped her pencil a bit tighter, grinding the graphite into a fine powder against her desk. 

After homeroom, Christine decided to change her strategy. She couldn’t avoid Nancy forever, but she could damn well avoid her for now. She hurried out of every class they had together, and used her queasy stomach as an excuse to duck into bathrooms wherever possible. She knew Nancy was suspicious, but there was little that could be done about that. Avoiding her was better than completely losing it in the middle of the hallway, wasn’t it? In the end, it would all be for the best. 

Christine could avoid Nancy to the best of her ability. But there were some things she just couldn’t run from. 

Steve slid into his seat just as the bell rang, his physics textbook in hand. Christine watched him out of the corner of her eye, but did not raise her head. The plan was to deny him the satisfaction of her attention. He had Nancy for that now, and Christine was putting her foot down. 

“Okay, people,” called Mr. Austin, propping his feet up on his desk. “First thing’s first, place your lab reports in the hand-in bin, and then back to your seats to read the intro to chapter eight. Lecture starts in ten.” 

“Reports?” Steve echoed. “We have…? Shit. Christine, did you…?” 

She wordlessly slid the paper over him, focusing intently on her textbook. 

“Oh, thank Christ. You’re a freaking angel.” 

She only listened as he scribbled his name next to hers on the paper, and hurried up to the front of the class to hand it in. She would not look up from her work. She would not, she would not, she would not… 

Steve collapsed back into his chair, peeking over at her book to check the page number. It even seemed like he was able to read a couple sentences before he got distracted. He ran a hand through his hair, and traced a few lines of the first paragraph. She watched his hand drift to the edge of the book, where his thumb stroked down the corner a few times. Then he reached over and tapped Christine’s page. 

“Hey,” he said softly, ducking his head to avoid the teacher’s gaze. “How are you feeling?” 

“Fine.” 

“Oh, good. Tommy said you ran out of the party on Saturday. I thought you might’ve been sick.” 

“Nope.” 

Steve’s hand flinched in the corner of her vision, but Christine ignored it. She wasn’t even reading the chapter at this point, just glaring down at the fine print. She was not going to look at him. She wasn’t going to do it. 

“Hey, did your power go out last night?” he tried. “My dad was yelling about the TV for like an hour. It was nuts.” 

“Yeah, wild.” 

She winced. She knew she was being short. But he deserved it, right? After everything he’d done, she shouldn’t care if his feelings were hurt. She should probably celebrate. Serve him right for… 

Steve reached over before she was prepared, brushing the back of her hand. It was just one finger, barely ghosting over her skin, but her body reacted like it was a thousand-volt shock. She looked up instantly, meeting his gaze. 

“Chrissy, you sure you’re okay?” 

He looked concerned, truly and honestly. And God, did she want to believe that he was. But he’d given her looks like that before. It hadn’t meant a damn thing. 

“I’m fine, Steve.” Her voice was feebler than she’d intended, which was infuriating. She snatched her hand away from him. “Seriously. Now look at your book and read the chapter before Austin gives you detention again and I have to write your notes on this too.” 

Steve gaped at her, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Wow. Bossy.” 

Christine rolled her eyes and went back to her book, prompting Steve to let out a low whistle. That, unfortunately, caught the attention of Mr. Austin. 

“Harrington, do I need to come back there and hold your hand through the reading?” 

“No, sir,” Steve replied, giving him a thumbs up. “Just read something super interesting. Sorry, sir.” 

Laughter rippled across the classroom, but Austin let him off the hook. 

Steve left her alone after that, for the most part anyway. Occasionally, Christine could feel his eyes lingering on her. On any other day, it would have been thrilling. Today all she wanted to do was burrow into the floor and disappear forever. 

As soon as the bell rang, she was out of her seat. She swiped her books into her arms all at once, grabbed her backpack, and rushed out of the door as fast as she could. It was easier to breathe in the hallway, away from the lingering smell of expensive cologne and hairspray, but only until she heard the footsteps rushing up behind her. 

“Hey, Christine, wait up!” 

She did not want to wait up. If it wouldn’t have caused a scene, she would have sprinted down the hallway like a track star. But she didn’t need that kind of attention. So she slowed down her pace to a normal walk and waited for Steve to catch up to her. 

“Damn, you’re in a hurry,” he laughed. It faltered a bit when she didn’t join in, but it didn’t stop him from continuing. “You heading to lunch?” 

“Yes.” 

“Alright, cool. I just wanted to know if you guys wanted to join us.” 

“…What?” 

“You know, me, Tommy, Carol, a couple other people. I figured you could eat with us. You, Nancy, and uh…that other chick you’re always hanging around with.” 

“I can’t,” Christine said instantly. 

Steve stared at her. “You…can’t?” 

“Yeah, um…my fridge died last night cause of the blackout. Brown out. Whatever.” 

“O-kay? So what, you’re buying?” 

“No, uh…my neighbor packed lunch for me. She’s super sweet, and wanted to make sure I had something, but I have to go pick it up from her son at the middle school, so…yeah. I gotta go. Thanks, though.” 

He was still squinting at her, and she had run out of things to say. Without any real choice, Christine turned on her heel and fled down the hallway, cursing under her breath as she walked right out the door and into the parking lot. She didn’t dare stop. She walked all the way around the building and back into the school through a different entrance. Then she headed for her locker, where the lunch from Mrs. Henderson was safely tucked away. 

She twisted the paper bag in her hands, deliberating. Then she slammed her locker shut and walked in the opposite direction of the cafeteria. 

She didn’t really have a plan laid out. The only objective was staying as far away from her problems as she physically could. 

She wound up by the gymnasium. Satisfied that no one would come looking for her here, she sank to the ground, leaning her back against the giant tiger mural splayed across the wall. She fished her Walkman out of her backpack and slipped on her headphones. The smooth vocals of “Careless Talk” by Billy Joel filled her ears, and she cranked up the volume. On the highest setting, she could almost drown out the sounds of the basketball game going on inside. 

Christine opened her lunch bag, smiling morosely at the squished fluffernutter. She’d have to thank Claudia for thinking of her. There was no telling what kind of emotional trauma she’d prevented by giving Christine an out. 

The rest of the day stretched on, a war on Christine’s nerves. She’d had to bullshit her way through a conversation with a very concerned Nancy after lunch, explaining that Steve must’ve misunderstood what she’d told him. Her fridge hadn’t died. Dustin’s had, and she had to bring him his lunch because he left early for school. It was a much better lie than her previous one, but Nancy still didn’t believe her. That wasn’t a surprise, but things were still too awkward to push the issue. 

In fact, almost all the conversations she had with Nancy were turning out to be painful. They were either over complimentary to each other, or so short they were barely talking at all. It hurt, and Barb was clearly growing exasperated with both of them. At the same time, Christine found it comforting that Nancy didn’t know how to handle the situation either. 

It was a relief when the final bell rang at the end of the day. Christine collected her things and escaped out a side door, taking the long way to the bike rack so she could avoid any unwanted interactions. She even went the extra mile to bike to the middle school instead of heading home, just so she wouldn’t pass Barb and Nancy on the road. 

Hawkins High School let out about twenty minutes before Hawkins Middle, so she had to wait a while before the students rushed out. She finally spotted Dustin’s hat among the masses, where he was walking with Mike and his friend Lucas. She waved, but the boys were deeply involved in their own conversations. They didn’t notice her until they were right on the curb, and she cleared her throat behind them. 

“Hello? Earth to the Dungeon Squad.” 

All three boys jumped, wheeling around clumsily with their bikes. 

“Christine!” Dustin complained, laying a hand on his chest. “Don’t do that! And don’t call us that!” 

“Sorry. Dungeon People?” 

“Oh, ha, ha. You’re hilarious.” 

“Uh…hi, Christine,” said Lucas, smiling brightly. 

Dustin and Mike both rolled their eyes, and Christine contained her chuckle. 

“Hey, Lucas. How ya doing?” 

“Great. I mean—I’m cool.” 

“We’re not cool,” said Mike, glaring pointedly at Lucas. “And we were kind of in the middle of something.” 

“Yeah, you know,” Dustin added. “Places to go, people to see. Later Chrissy!” 

“Woah, woah, woah,” said Christine, watching as they climbed onto their bikes. “Where are you rushing off to? And aren’t you missing one? Where’s Byers?” 

The boys froze, and all exchanged downcast looks. Christine stood up a little straighter, inspecting them closely. 

“Guys? What’s going on?” 

It was Mike that answered her first. 

“He’s gone.” 

“Gone? Like, he skipped?” 

“No, he didn’t skip,” he snapped. “I said he’s gone.” 

“Chief Hopper came down to talk to us,” Dustin supplied. “Will’s mom can’t find him anywhere. He’s just…gone.” 

“Gone?” she echoed, again. “What do you…? When was the last time you saw him?” 

“Last night,” said Lucas, “after the campaign. We left Mike’s at eight.” 

“I biked home with him,” Dustin continued. “We raced to my house and then he kept going. No one knows what happened.” 

Christine bit her lip. She didn’t know Will very well, but he was a quiet kid. Not the type to skip town for kicks, especially without his best friends. And if the cops had come down to question them, it sounded serious. Her mind flashed back to homeroom, and the empty desk where Jonathan Byers usually sat. 

She did her best not to let the worry show on her face. 

“I’m sure he’s fine,” she said supportively. “And if he’s not, the police will find him. Hawkins isn’t that big.” 

“If he’s still in Hawkins,” said Mike. 

“Well…one thing at a time. Come on. I wanna make sure you all get home okay.” 

“NO!” 

All three boys began clamoring at once, supplying various excuses and trying to inch away before she noticed. But Christine simply held up her hands, unfazed. 

“Listen, if Will’s really in trouble, I’m not letting you guys go off alone. You can talk on the walkies when you get home, but I don’t think you should be wandering.” 

“We’ll be fine,” Mike insisted. “It’s like you said. Will’s probably uh—completely okay. Nothing to worry about.” 

“And we won’t wander off,” added Dustin. “Cross our hearts.” 

Christine stared down the boys. Mike and Dustin maintained their poker faces, smiling innocently until she looked away. She zeroed in on Lucas, who was repeatedly adjusting his grip on his handlebars. After a few seconds under scrutiny, he cracked. 

“I don’t know, guys,” he sighed. “Maybe Christine is right. You heard what the chief said.” 

Mike smacked him, and Christine raised her eyebrows. 

“Oh? What exactly did the chief say, Lucas?” 

Both Mike and Dustin were glaring at him now. Lucas squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable impact. 

“He made us promise not to go looking for Will.” 

“What the hell, Lucas?!” 

“Asshole. You are so whipped.” 

“HEY!” 

The arguing stopped abruptly, and the boys turned to stare at Christine. She stepped forward, and jabbed a finger at each of them in turn. 

“Listen up. I have had a really shitty day, so the last thing I need is to listen to the three of you arguing all the way home. I’m biking each of you to your houses, and if I find out you didn’t stay there, I tell your parents. End of discussion. Got it?” 

They nodded reluctantly, though Dustin was still giving her a pissy look as she hopped back onto her bike. 

“You’re crabby. If you had such a bad day, why didn’t you just go home?” 

“I made the mistake of thinking hanging out with you might make me feel better. My bad.” 

“Lay off, Dustin,” said Lucas, and he stepped up to her side. “Sorry you had a bad day, Chrissy.” 

“Thanks, Lucas.” 

“You’re way too good for Steve Harrington anyway.” 

Christine turned deadly slow toward Dustin, who already had his hands up in the air. 

“Lucas made me tell him!” 

“What? I did not!” 

“Yes, he did! I told you! He’s crazy about you!” 

“You’re dead, Henderson!” 

Dustin was off like a gunshot, Lucas right on his tail as they raced for the main road. Christine screamed for them to slow down, but it was no use. She huffed, sitting back on her bike, and Mike snorted next to her. 

“You still want to bike home with us?” 

“Nice try, Wheeler. Get pedaling.” 

They stopped at the Wheeler’s first—“stopped” being a rather loose term, as Christine barely stayed long enough to see Mike make it to the door. Then they dropped off Lucas, before circling back around to their own street to head home. Dustin whined obnoxiously as Christine parked her bike in his driveway, insisting on walking him all the way into the house in case he tried to make a run for it. Judging by all his complaining, it was exactly what he’d been planning to do. 

“Dusty? Is that you?” Mrs. Henderson came shuffling into the living room, one arm around her overweight cat and the other on her hip. “You’re late! I was getting worried!” 

“Blame Chrissy,” he scoffed, walking straight down the hallway to his room. “She wouldn’t let us bike home alone.” 

“Well, that is because Christine is the best babysitter in Hawkins.” 

“She’s not my babysitter, Mom! She’s my friend, and she’s annoying!” 

The door to Dustin’s room slammed shut, and Mrs. Henderson huffed. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him! He’s been so rude lately.” 

“It’s fine, Mrs. Henderson,” Christine said with a shrug. “He’s just worried about Will. All of them are.” 

“God, that poor thing.” She pressed a hand to her cheek, shaking her head. “You know, Joyce Byers called me this morning at wit’s frayed end. I can’t imagine what’s she’s been through. If it had been Dusty, I don’t know what I’d do.” 

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. So long as he doesn’t climb out a window to go look for Will, I think he’ll be okay.” 

“What are we going to do with him?” she asked, shaking her head. Christine almost answered, but Mrs. Henderson lifted her cat’s face up to her nose instead. “Huh, Mews? What are we going to do with him?” 

Christine laughed awkwardly, taking a step back toward the door. “Alright, well I’m gonna head home…” 

“Are you sure, sweetheart? Do you want to stay for dinner? I’m making lasagna!” 

“No, no. No worries. I don’t want to be a bother.” 

“Oh hush! You’re never a bother, Christine. I can’t thank you enough for taking care of Dusty. You could even stay here for the night, if you’d like. I don’t like the idea of you alone over there, especially with everything going on.” 

“I’ll be fine, really. I’m not planning on heading out anywhere. Besides, if anyone tries to get in the house, I’ve always got my dad’s shotgun.” 

Mrs. Henderson did not seem to find that as funny as Christine did. She pursed her lips, and hugged her cat a little bit closer. 

“Alright. If you’re sure. But I want you to call me before you go to bed tonight. I don’t want to have to worry about you vanishing too.” 

“You got it, Mrs. Henderson.” 

“Christine, you’re nearly sixteen years old. ‘Claudia’ is fine.” 

“Right. Sorry.” Christine waved goodbye, but hesitated for a moment at the front door. “Claudia? Thanks for the fluffernutter. It…kinda saved my day.” 

Mrs. Henderson smiled. “Anytime, sweetie. I figured you could use it. Dusty mentioned you had a rough weekend.” 

“Ugh. Did he tell everyone?” 

“Probably,” she laughed lightly. “But it’s only because he worries about you.” 

“Yeah, well. I guess I worry about him too.” Christine bit her lip, tapping on the edge of the doorframe. “If you want, I’ll take him all the way to school tomorrow. Just to be safe.” 

“Ah! You’re the sweetest.” Mrs. Henderson placed her cat on the floor, hurrying over to Christine to give her a kiss on the cheek. “You’re like my own little angel.” 

“Yeah,” Christine muttered to herself as she stepped out onto the porch. “So I’ve been told.”

[cornycornflakes]

83, Jopper ;)

I honestly loved writing that one and I hope you’ll like it too! You can also read it on my ao3 (Corny_Cornflakes, “Kiss my ass”)

83. Kiss my ass

It was probably the hottest 4th of July in the history. In fact every single fan in every shop in Hawkins was sold out. The usually filled streets were now emptier than ever, because the mall had an air conditioner. No one could imagine spending time outside now.

Unfortunaly the Byers didn’t have enough luck to get anything to cool their house down. The kids would have to leave their house soon anyway, because they were going to the Wheeler’s party, but it was hard to survive in there anyway. Joyce didn’t manage to take anything from Melvald’s, not even some ice cream for her boys.

At least they will have fun in the small pool in the Wheeler’s garden. Joyce didn’t want to go to the party, because she knew she had to spend the whole evening with a drunk Karen complaining about her husband and the lack of red wine. She really wasn’t in the mood for that. It would be better if she stayed alone, at her house with her own bottle of… whatever alcohol she could find in the back of the small drawer.

God, this is going to be so pathetic. This holiday is supposed to be spend with the ones you care about. But no, Joyce chose to be all alone by herself. Maybe she needs some time out to relax and thing about the events of the last 2 years? Or better not, she actually wants to FORGET the events of the past 2 years.“Will, honey, are you packed for the sleepover?”, she asked her youngest son from the kitchen.

“Yeah mom, almost ready!”, the “not so small anymore” boy shouted as he ran out of his room with a big bag in his right hand. He quickly stuffed some packs of chips and tried to somehow close his bag, which wasn’t very easy.

“Jonathan is going to drive you in half an hour, make sure you’ll call me later in the evening!”, Joyce looked softly at Will.“Sure mom, Jonathan is going to stay with us too?”, he asked a little bit disappointed.

“Yeah, but don’t worry sweetie, he’s probably going to spend more time with Nancy”, she quickly added and placed a kiss on her sons forehead. Joyce is still worried about him. And she probably always will, thinking of how she almost lost him forever. Actually she couldn’t even imagine a world without her boys. After her complicated and even painful relationship with Lonnie, she wouldn’t be as strong as she is now without them.

After roughly 35 minutes Will and Jonathan have left. She closed the front door and turned on the TV. Nothing interesting actually. Every channel available just showed some boring parades or whatever. Dissapointed, Joyce turned the TV off again and now started to look for “something to drink”. Once again: pathetic how she was spending her time alone. But there was literally nothing else she could do now. Or could she?

The phone rang. Joyce, obviously a little bit surprised, jumped up from the couch and picked it up. She expected to hear Will’s voice, but this once was way too deep and way too mature.

“Hey, are ya busy right now?”, the voice asked. It was Hopper. Didn’t he want to go to the 4th of July party? Considering the fact that El -or actually Jane- was there too?“I’m home alone. Why are you asking?”, she responded.

“I don’t know… I just don’t want to be alone on the 4th of July. How about I come over? I can take some beer with me if you want too.”

“That would be nice”, Joyce said with a little bit of a flirty tone, “Yeah, you can come over. I actually don’t want to be alone now too.”

Great. Her plans for the evening suddenly changed. Maybe it’s better that way? Her and Hopper got very close in the past couple of months. Nothing “romantic” happened between them, but they definitely enjoyed each other’s company. Almost every weekend they spent outside on her porch, while smoking cigarettes after cigarettes. The kids watch movies or listened to music in the meantime- or did whatever teenagers do nowadays.

Okay, she probably should get ready. Her current clothes were wet from all that sweat, so she decided to exchange them for a pair of shorts and a red tank top. God, when did Joyce last wear anything that showed her legs? Or something that showed anything of her body. This was the perfect moment to change that habit.

After a while she also decided to clean up her house a little bit. Her boys have left a hell of a mess in their room. Although, who was she trying to impress? Hopper saw their house in a much worse state, on multiple occasions. Whatever. Clean is clean. At least she wants to seem as she has her life put together.

It was almost ten minutes later, when Joyce heard someone entering the house. She quickly ran out of the kitchen towards the front door.

“Knock knock”, Hopper said while putting his favorite Indiana Jones like hat down. He didn’t see her yet.

Joyce leaned against the wall, trying to seem relaxed. But she wasn’t, in fact she was more nervous than ever. But why?

She finally decided to greet him with a short “hi”. With the sound of her soft voice Hopper turned toward her. Holy crap she looked good in those shorts. The last time he saw her wearing anything that revealing was in high school. And that was a hell of a long time ago.

“You look… you look nice Joyce”, he smiled and noticed her cheeks getting red. Now she looked even more beautiful.

“Wanna drink something? The heat is unbelievable”, she added and now walked into the kitchen. Joyce really tried to cover her nervousness.

“Sure, I brought some beer. Wanna sit on the porch?”, Hopper asked and picked up the six pack of Buckhorn’s. With the arrival of the evening, the temperature dropped enough for them to spend some time outside in the fresh air. Joyce only took a new pack of cigarettes from the table and headed onto the porch, right next to Jim.

They sat down on their beloved bench, while Hopper handed a can of beer to the lady besides him.

“So… you didn’t go to the Wheeler’s party too?”, she asked after a moment.

“Nah, the kids should have a nice evening, without being controlled all the time. I trust Mike, he won’t hurt Jane no matter what,” Hopper mumbled.

“He was always a good kid.”

“And how come you aren’t at the party?”

Joyce sighted. “I didn’t want to.” A short answer, but it was enough for him to notice that something was wrong.

“Are you sure you’re ok?”, he asked, deeply concerned. He was used to seeing her sad, angry, devastated. But this just felt different. Joyce was feeling or thinking about something Hopper couldn’t describe. And he really wanted to know what it is.

“How long are we gonna play this game, Hop?”

What game? What does she mean? Is Joyce talking about the fact that they can’t talk to anyone about the traumatizing events of the past years?He wanted to say something, anything, but he didn’t know what, so instead he waited for her next move.

“How long are we gonna act like there’s nothing going on between us?”, she stared in the now pitch black night. It seemed like she wasn’t even waiting for a response, it was a statement.

“What the hell are you talking about?”, Hopper asked and centered his look on her eyes. They were so alluring, but so cold at the same time. Like a black hole.But there was no answer. Now Joyce didn’t know what to say and waited for his next move.

He rested his face in his big hands. “Geez Joyce… you know it’s complicated.”

Still no words from her side. Just silence.

“You can’t even imagine how many times I imagined us being together. And in every single scenario, something went wrong. I care too much about you to see you being in pain once again.”

She finally turned her head and looked into his ocean blue eyes. She was in pain. Just as he didn’t want her to be.

“Kiss my ass, Jim Hopper”

Well, maybe it would’ve been better if she didn’t say anything after all. And her using his full name? Joyce was pissed. Luckily he knew how to deal with her complicated character.

“Maybe I will”, he smiled and took a sip of his now warm beer. To his surprise, it worked. As soon as he placed the can back on the handrail, Joyce grabbed his face and kissed him. It felt so wrong and so right at the same time.

Her soft lips met his and he decided to passionately kiss her back. Now it felt really right. Both waited so long for this special occasion. How many times did one of them have to hold back, because it wasn’t the right moment? Or because they were too scared of being hurt again?But Joyce suddenly stopped and pushed him away. What happened now?

“I’m sorry, I- I shouldn’t have”, she mumbled under her breath.

There it was again: the awkward silence. It was almost as if nothing happened between them in the past five minutes. Just like that, months of building up a strong and solid friendship crashed down.

The two of them were sitting next to each other on the bench, distancing themselves more every once in a while. The light summer breeze made Joyce’s hair fly with the movements of the wind and gave her chills all over her uncovered body. As much as Hopper tried to NOT look at her, he couldn’t stop himself. He couldn’t NOT notice that she was getting cold and he couldn’t NOT do anything about that.

“Screw it”, he thought and grabbed his blazer, which was hanging down the handrail. Joyce watched him from the corner of her eye, trying to not seem interested in what he was doing.

“Put on the jacket. I don’t want you to get sick.”

“I’m not cold”, she sighted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

But Hopper didn’t believe her a single word. While rolling his eyes to her response, he wrapped the blazer around her small figure. God, it looked so big on her. In fact gigantic.Joyce decided to stay quiet. She actually did appreciate his nice gesture, but she simply couldn’t think of any words she could say right now. Every single sentence she put together in her head didn’t leave her mouth. Nothing felt right anymore.

How long are they going to sit next to each other and act like stupid teenagers who just had a fight with their parent? No talking, no staring, no nothing. They have already been once trough this situation. They are making the same mistakes all over again.

“I guess I’ll just go now”, Hopper finally said after what felt like hours and grabbed his car keys from inside.  But she didn’t want him to go. She didn’t want to be alone again. Shit, she screwed up big this time.

But she also didn’t say anything. What could Joyce say anyway? “I’m sorry I kissed you and pushed you away, how about you stay with me for the rest of the night in complete silence?” No, this would be pathetic.

Here was the word again. “Pathetic”. She heard it repeatedly in her head and analyzed every single letter. Why was she like this? Why was she so pathetic?And it didn’t stop until he actually stepped into his car. Now he was leaving for good.

Hopper closed his door and drove away. She was completely alone again. Still Joyce just couldn’t pick herself up from that god damn bench. Right now she wanted to progress everything that just had happened. Shit, why did she even bring up that topic?

She grabbed the box lying next to her and pulled out a cigarette. She searched for her lighter in the pocket of her jacket- wait, it wasn’t hers. Hopper left his blazer. Whatever, she’ll give it back to him on their next encounter. Joyce eventually found Hopper’s lighter and finally took a deep drag of that Camel cigarette. She felt her muscles relaxing a little bit more with every smoke. But that didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t able to organize her thoughts. Did she just destroy her friendship with Hopper? Or whatever the hell it was going on between them…

Hopper arrived in his cabin in roughly fifteen minutes. Since Jane wasn’t home, he could grand himself another beer. Or two. Or even something stronger than that. And a cigarette of course.

Exhausted, he stepped out of his car and took his flashlight with him to guide him. It was a pitch black night, except for some fireworks in the far distance. The moment he wanted to open the door (because there was no one on the other side), he realized he forgot something.

“Shit!”, he hissed as he noticed he didn’t take his blazer with him. He left it at Joyce’s place, and he really wasn’t in the mood for driving back there. Not after what happened.But what else could he do? How the hell was he supposed to enter his house? He just had to drive back. The lighter in his right pocket was also very important.  Fuck it. He’ll just get his stuff and leave her house again.

Now it only took him ten minutes to get to Joyce. He didn’t expect her to still be outside, considering the fact that he has left a long time ago. Whatever, it was her problem.His problem was to get his stupid jacket back. That’s all. As he was walking towards her, she stood up and took of his blazer that she still had wrapped around her shoulders.“Searching for this?”, she asked loudly so Hopper could her and she hold up the thing he came back for.

Not knowing what else to say (again), he just took the blazer and turned around to head back into his car so he could finally enter his damn cabin. Unless…

“Wait!”, Joyce suddenly shouted. Hopper was just about to close the door, when he heard her voice from the porch. What did she want now?

She didn’t know either. Once again, her throat was closed and she couldn’t say anything. No. Just no. She won’t give up. She will say what’s on her mind.

“Joyce, what’s wrong?”

She finally walked away from that old, dirty bench and headed towards him. She wasn’t thinking, only her legs guided her automaticly. By that time her whole body was shivering. She will do it.

Hopper just watched the small woman approaching him and almost couldn’t resist to take her into his arms and just hug her. She looked so cute and dangerous at the same time, it was almost unbelievable.

“Please don’t make me regret this later”, she whispered as she stood up on her tiptoes and grabbed his face. She kissed him, for the second time tonight. But this time it didn’t feel rushed. It wasn’t an impulse. She knew that she wanted it.

Hopper was surprised by that sudden move. It took him a second to realize and progress what just has happened. But the moment he felt her cold lips against his, he grabbed her waist to pull her closer and kissed her back. He also knew what he wanted, and it was them to be together. No more games, no more acting like they’re just close friends. He wanted there to be more between them for the longest time now. Ever since Bob came around.

Joyce didn’t knew she wanted him until their hug at the snowball in 1984. It was only a month after Bob died right in front of her, but she needed someone she could share this trauma with – someone who would also understand her. But even afterwards she couldn’t admit it, even to herself.

Now they found themselves making out next to his car, almost like 7 months ago – only without the kissing.

After a while they stopped and rested their foreheads against each other. There was a smile on both of their faces.

“How about we move it inside?”, Joyce asked as another shiver ran through her body. He seemed to agree with her idea.

Without leaving each other side, they returned hand in hand into the house. It was a lot warmer and nicer there. Maybe now they could finish what they started – and what they wanted to do so badly. Joyce took one more look at his soft blue eyes and kissed him, but this time more passionately and quicker.

Hopper moved his hands up her back and tried to open her bra. He wasn’t so good in this game anymore – he hasn’t slept with a single woman ever since Jane showed up. And ever since Joyce found a way back into his life. No woman out there could ever compare to her. There was nobody else who could understand him that well.  Not a single person he could ever trust that much.

And Joyce felt the exact same way about him. Lonnie was an asshole and Bob looked at the world trough pink glasses, which wasn’t her way of seeing things. She couldn’t find anybody who would share her point of view.

While trying to undress his partner, Joyce tried to guide them into the bedroom, which wasn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do when she was busy doing something else. The longing was finally over.

At last they did somehow reach her room. She jumped onto her bed and got rid of her red tank top. Hopper could see her for the first time in what, 20 years? Joyce didn’t look as young as she did back then. After having 2 boys and having to handle a lot of work and stress, her body was full with stretch marks and scars.

She notices him glaring over her exposed body, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Something’s wrong?”, she asked with a worried tone. What did he think of?

“You look beautiful, Joycie”, Hopper whispered as he moved closer to her for their bodies to meet again.

Lonnie never meant it. Maybe back when they had no children, but it changed.

Bob said that so many times that it lost its meaning.

But now she felt that someone meant it. Each and every letter was said with a meaning. It almost brought tears into her eyes.

Joycie. She doesn’t even remember the last time she was called that. But she remembered that Hopper always used that nickname back in the days.

Trying to not start crying over this emotional moment, Joyce searched for the buttons of his flannel and wanted to undress him as quickly as possible. In the meantime he proceeded with kissing her neck.

It was a long night ahead of them, full of love, memories and longing each others closure. Maybe they did finally find someone who would understand them?

[coyoteweird]

The Loser’s Experiment - Chapter One

Hey guys! This is a new fic that i’m working on that I’m really loving so far! It’s a crossover of IT and Stranger Things! Enjoy!

Summary:

Two years after Will Byers first dissapeared, Hawkins belives that everything is back to normal.

But not everyone has forgotten about what happened.

When something new comes to haunt Hawkins, the lives of both the Loser's Club and the kids of Hawkins will change forever.

Warnings: past child abuse, violence, horror, death

Word Count: 3,419

Chapter One - geminae nexum

Mike has never been a fan of dreams. They just were a weird experience for Mike, ever since he was little. He didn’t dread it but he didn’t look forward to it either. They were mainly uneventful if he was being honest. He usually roamed around in the dark. That was it. Just complete and utter darkness.

You would think that he would be unaffected by these dreams, but that was not the case. Sometimes he would wake up so sad he couldn’t stop the tears. Sometimes he woke up so angry that it took all of his willpower not to throw his things around his room until they smashed. Sometimes, he woke up so full of terror that he would hide under the blankets, shaking like a leaf.

He didn’t understand them. Once, when he was eight, he tried to ask Nancy. She was older, well into middle school. Back then, he was sure that she knew everything. But she brushed him off and told him to stop annoying her. She had better things to focus on, like studying for her pre-algebra test and how she should wear her makeup for the first day of 8th grade. He stopped questioning them after that.

After everything that happened with the demogorgon in the fall of 1983 and everything that happened with the mind flayer in the fall of 1984, Mike started having a new type of dream. Nightmares.

These nightmares were terrible. Most times he couldn’t tell it was a dream until he was fully awake. Sometimes, he swears he’s back in that classroom watching El get disintegrated while destroying the demogorgon. Sometimes, he swears he’s back in Hawkins Lab, hearing the screams of people as they get torn apart by demo-dogs. Like he can still smell all the blood. Like he can still see the people getting torn apart; like he can still feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he runs for his life.

When he wakes up from those, he is screaming and thrashing in his bed. Nancy will run into his room and try to calm him down and make him realize he isn’t back in that lab or he isn’t back in that classroom. Unless she is with Jonathan. Then it’s his mother who tries to calm him down, but she isn’t as great at comforting Mike as she used to. Most time she came in blurry eyed and the stench of chardonnay wafting out of her mouth. His dad slept through it peacefully on the La-Z-Boy with the help of a few glasses of whiskey.

His dreams the night of August 30th were no different than normal. Fortunately, he wasn’t dreaming of a flashback. He was in the darkness once again. Like normal, he just roamed and allowed the emotions roll through him. Whenever the emotions seemed too strong, he would try to focus on the soft pitter patter of his feet through the thin layer of water on the floor of the darkness.

It was hard telling time when he dreamt in the darkness. Sometimes he would sleep for hours but he felt like he was in the darkness for minutes. Sometimes he would sleep for minutes and felt like he was in the darkness for hours. Tonight it felt like he was walking in the darkness for hours.

During his dreams in the darkness, he is always alone. He has never once seen another living thing, or anything for that matter. He just walked and felt things. But that night, he wasn’t alone. It crept on him. The feeling that he was being watched. He’s never felt that while dreaming. But he brushed it off and kept walking. But as he kept walking, the feeling of being watched got worse and worse. He felt the strongest emotion he’s ever felt while in the darkness; terror. A terrible mix of terrible of pain washed over him. He kept walking in the darkness, trying to focus on the sound of his bare feet slapping against the wet ground. But then he heard it.

Sick laughter resounded all around him. It made his stomach twist, bile was burning at the back of his throat.

“Hello?” Mike said, his voice trembling with fear.

The laughter only gets louder and louder, sounding almost like a mix between a scream and a twisted version of humor. Mike’s terror only increases; he would run but he has no idea where he is and no idea where the laughter is, just darkness.

“Hello? I know someone’s there!” Mike yells, his voice cracking and trembling, in the back of his head he’s glad no one is around to hear it.

Suddenly, someone barrels into him from behind and knocks him into the ground. Mike lets out a scream and scrambles up and away from whatever hit him. The sight only increases his terror. In front of him is a little boy, maybe nine years old in a yellow raincoat. The whole right side of the raincoat is slick with blood. The right sleeve is completely torn off, exposing a profusely bleeding, torn up stump where the boy's right arm should have been.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?” Mike screams, the bile continuing to burn his throat.

“Billy! Billy, help! It’s got me!” The little boy screams, as if he can’t see or hear Mike.

But Mike can see and hear him. Mike can feel the terror and pain radiating off the boy. He’s never felt emotions this strong like before.

“Whose, Billy? Where is it?” Mike’s screams become just as frantic as the boy’s.

In the back of his mind, he wishes El was here. Even though he knows this is just a dream, he wishes she as hear. She would know what to do. She would know how to help.

Before Mike could ask anymore questions, a sickeningly white hand wraps around the boys foot and drags him back into the darkness. The laughter that Mike heard before was suddenly not all around him, but right in front of him. Just beyond, hidden by the darkness. Mike scrambles back, kicking his feet to try and get away from the fear and hurting and whatever was laughing. He prayed that he woke up, using the prayer he learned for his bar mitzvah to try to help.

Before G-d could hear his prayer, the laughter stops and something jumps out from the shadows and on top of him. It looked like a clown, but not like any clown he’s seen before. It’s face was whiter than anything he’s ever seen, with lips painted blood red and trailing past his eyes. It had tufts of orange hair, not unlike Max’s. It was wearing some dirty costume that was probably white once but now looked like it was caked with dirt and speckled with blood. He looked like a clown you’d see eighty years ago, not today.

“You’ll float too, Mike. You’ll float too! Just like little Georgie.” The clown spat out, it’s voice so sweet it was terrifying. It’s whole body moved on top of Mike’s as it spoke.

Mike was frozen. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breath. Before he could even think about what to do, the clown changed. It started morphing into a demogorgon. Then it was Will; the possessed version at least. Then it was those demo-dogs. Then it was El. The bad men. Brenner.

As the creature continued to morph into all of Mike’s fears; all Mike could do was scream. He just screamed a loud and piercing scream. Through his screams, he could hear someone calling his name. But he couldn’t register it through his fear. He continued to scream, not even realizing he was no longer in the darkness and was instead awake.

“Mike! Mike! It’s okay! You’re awake. It was just a dream. Mike!” Nancy yelled as she clutched onto the thrashing and screaming boy from behind.

Mike just screamed and screamed, clawing at Nancy’s arms as she tried to calm him down. But he couldn’t shake the pure terror he felt. It was unlike anything he’s ever felt, not even in the lab when he was 65% sure they were all going to get torn apart by a hoard of demo-dogs.

“Mike, stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!” Nancy screamed, trying not to let her own fear show.

Nancy has spent more nights calming down a terrified and screaming Mike than not. But this is the worst she has ever seen him. Usually it take a few minutes to get him to realize he is awake and safe. But he was been screaming and thrashing in her arms while awake for over fifteen minutes already.

“Mike!” Nancy screams, using all her might.

Fortunately, it seemed to work and Mike slowly stopped screaming and instead leaning into Nancy like his life depended on it. After a moment of silence, Mike began to sob and tremble. Nancy held onto him tighter, whispering comforting words and running his fingers through his hair, now damp with sweat.

“There was a clown.” Mike whispers, afraid to say it outloud as if it would pop out if he did.

“What?” Nancy asks, confused.

“In the dream. There was this… clown? But it wasn’t a clown. It kept changing.” Mike says sounding panicked.

“Mike, it was just a dream…” Nancy says, but that only makes it worse.

“And a little boy! He was- He was covered in blood and he was so scared and he was bleeding everywhere! His arm was gone! He kept asking for Billy!” Mike was frantic.

“Mike, it was a dream! You’re getting too worked up.” Nancy says.

“It was saying, ‘You’ll float too, Mike. You’ll float too,’. What does that mean!”

“Mike stop it! Calm down. It was all in your head. A dream.” Nancy says and Mike stops talking, just leaning into Nancy.

“It didn’t feel like a dream. It felt so real…” Mike says, sniffing.

Nancy feels something warm on her arm and looks to see a small blood splatter. She turns Mike’s face to hers and notices a small stream of blood running down his nose.

“Jesus, Mike. You have to try to stay calm. You worked yourself up so much, you gave yourself a nosebleed.” Nancy scolds, wiping the blood away with her pajama shirt.  

They sat for over an hour in silence, just Nancy holding a trembling Mike. She usually would be back in her own bed by now but this is by far the worst nightmare Mike’s had. Even worse than when he has nightmares about when he was trapped in Hawkins Lab. Just when she thinks he might be asleep, so goes to get out of the small twin bed, but Mike’s grip on her tightens.

“Please, don’t… I don’t want to be alone.” Mike says, clearly embarrassed that he’s asking his sister to sleep with him because he’s too scared at fourteen.

“Of course Mike. Just try to sleep.” Nancy says, laying down next to Mike.

Meanwhile, eighteen hours away, Richie Tozier is having a nightmare. Except, he knew it wasn’t simply a nightmare. It was so much more. Sometimes when he sleeps, when any of them sleep really, they enter the Void. At least that’s what they’ve come to call it. They can’t really think of a better way to describe it.

It was there, in the Void, that Richie saw him. Little Georgie, called Number Twelve for most of his life, had been missing for weeks. He had been out playing while a sick Bill had been bed ridden when he seemed to vanish out of air. All seven of them had searched all of Derry, searched the Void, but no one could find him. Until now.

There in front of him, was Georgie in the same obnoxious yellow raincoat he was last seen in. But he wasn’t alone. Sitting in the water in front of Georgie was a slightly altered version of himself. But this version of himself wasn’t wearing the same thick glasses or have the same crooked teeth. This version didn’t have the number seven tattooed onto his exposed forearm.

Mike.

Richie ran towards the pair, trying to catch up. But the second he catches sight of the blood coating the right side of Georgie, he freezes.

“Billy! Billy, help! It’s got me!” Georgie screams, scrambling towards Mike.

“Whose, Billy? Where is it?” His twin screams, but Georgie can’t hear him or see him. He isn’t connected to Mike like he is connected to the others. He hasn’t been here with Mike before.

Before Richie can think of what to do, a white gloved hand wraps around Georgie’s small ankle and drags him screaming into the darkness. Crazed laughter erupted in front of his twin; Richie could feel a phantom twist in his gut that he knows isn’t his but Mike’s.

Suddenly, out of the dark, something lunged onto his twin. There, right in front of him, was a clown. But it didn’t look like the clown he’d seen at the carnival that August with the others. This clown was terrifying; it’s skin was sickeningly white, with lips the color of blood that trails up it’s face in two fine lines. It’s costume was something out of a period movie that Mike loved to watch so much, except it was covered in dirt and blood. Just the sight alone was terrifying.

“You’ll float too, Mike. You’ll float too! Just like Little Georgie!” It’s voice was cartoonish and made Richie want to run it fear.

“Mike! Fuck!” Richie yelled, trying to get to his twin in time.

Suddenly, the clown started morphing. Richie couldn’t really tell what it was morphing into; first a huge monster, then a sickly boy, then a smaller version of the first monster, then it turned into… Eleven?

Richie hasn’t seen Eleven since he was ten. She looked older now, she had her hair slicked back and was dressed up in clothes Richie could only describe as punk. She had blood pouring out of her nose and an angry look on her face.

Before he could really react, Eleven was gone and had morphed into another nightmare of his. People that he hadn’t seen in years, the bad men. Those fuckers who worked in the lab. The next was even more chilling. The man who he and the other seven had called their father for years until they learned the truth and escaped. Dr. Martin Brenner.

Why was his twin seeing that? How did he even know who that was. Richie made sure that no one would know about Mike, that no one would remember him. Had he failed? Everytime he visits Mike, he looks normal. He doesn’t look like an experiment. So how?

Mike was screaming, loud and it felt like it pierced Richie’s ears. He doubled over, clutching his ears. The terror that coursed through his veins was a mix of his own and his twins. It was too much. It was way too much for him to handle. Hidden under Mike’s screams and, unknown to Richie, his own, was the sound of someone calling out to Mike. Richie’s own fear minimized just barely. Nancy.

He had never met her, and he had a harder time seeing her in the void due to her not being like him and Mike. But when he heard her voice, he felt himself calm just a bit. The connection between the siblings was something not even Brenner could destroy.

Richie sat up in his sleeping bag, gasping for breath. He hadn’t even realized that he had woken up until he heard his name being called frantically by the other seven. He looked around to see his sleeping bag was charred where is hands clutched it so tightly his knuckles were white. He quickly let go of the sleeping bag and a tissue was put in his hand before he could think to ask. He wiped the blood from his nose and ears and looked up to his friends.

“Richie, what happened?” Bev asks softly, knowing not to spook him after a nightmare.

“I was there. The Void.” Richie says shakily, still torn up about what he saw.

“D-Did you s-s-s-see him? D-Did you s-s-s-see G-G-G-Georgie?” Bill asks frantically, dread pooling in his chest.

“I.. uh… yes. He was there.” Richie says, fighting off the tears in his eyes.

“He wasn’t alone, Mike was with him but Georgie couldn’t see him.” Richie says, not knowing how to tell Bill that Georgie is most likely dead.

“Mike was there? Could he see you?” Mike asked, placing a warm hand on his shoulder.

“No, but he could see Georgie. He was trying to help him but there was… there was something else there.” Richie whispers, remembering the terrifying thing that pulled Georgie away.

“What was it? A person? Another one of us?” Eddie asked, his breath starting to wheeze.

“I don’t know. It pulled Georgie away. There was so much blood. He pulled him away, into the darkness. I couldn’t see where he went. All I saw was a hand. But then he jumped on Mike! He just kept laughing and talking about floating! A goddamn clown! In the fucking void! But it wasn’t a fucking clown, it kept changing. It was a monster and a boy and a different monster and I saw Eleven! I saw her for just a second. But she looked so different. She was older and had hair and was taller and all punk. But then it changed into… into them. Into him.” Richie rambled, getting more and more panicked as he went on.

“How could he have been there? He can’t get into the Void.” Ben points out.

“It wasn’t really him. It was like whatever that thing was turned into some shitty version of him. Like a fucking memory or some shit.” Richie says, fiddling with is glasses like he does whenever he is scared or uncomfortable.

“Why does your brother know who Eleven is? Who he is?” Stan asks.

“Well, I wouldn’t know Stanley. It’s not like we write fucking letters to each other!” Richie hisses out, a gust of wind ruffled Stan’s hair.

Richie takes a deep breath to keep from getting angry. He had less control of his powers when he was emotional. They all knew that the fact that Richie was forced to stay away from his own brother in order to protect all of them was a big sore spot.

Slowly, they all turn towards Ben. If anyone could help them to know what to do, it was Ben. His visions weren’t always in his control. Sometimes they just came to him, whether he was eating breakfast or jumping into the Quarry with the others. Sometimes, if he concentrated enough in the void, he could force a vision to come to him. But sometimes, it was just vague feelings he felt compelled to act on. This was one of those times.

“Something is wrong. Something is really wrong.” Ben says, looking at his hands.

He knew it wasn’t what any of them wanted to hear. But he refused to lie, not to his friends, his only family. Especially not at the terrible, sinking feeling that is buzzing through him.

“No. No way! We are not going back.” Eddie yells out, his wheezing getting worse.

“W-W-We have t-t-to! I-I-If i-i-it means finding Georgie then w-w-we have to!” Bill says, he flicks in and out as he says that, revealing the small blood stain on the couch behind him.

“Do you not remember the last time we were there? We wouldn’t even consider leaving Derry a week ago?” Stan yells.

“We’re fucking going! Something is wrong, you heard Haystack! I’m not leaving him on his own!” Richie yells, wind blowing through the room, stronger than before.

“If they know we’re there….” Eddie say, attempting to take in deep breaths.

“We’re not the same scared kids we were four years ago. Ben, Bill, and Richie are right. We can’t just leave them to fight on their own. We can’t give up before we’ve even started.” Mike says, the hand that rested on Richie’s shoulder so hot that Richie hisses in pain and Mike pulls the hand away quickly, muttering an apology.

“It’s risky…” Bev starts, Bill and Richie praying she would agree with them.

“We need a plan before we go. And we need to make sure that they don’t follow.”

There we go, chapter one! I’ve already started chapter two, so it shouldn’t take to long!

This is also on ao!3