#stranger things prologue

[strangerficsxx]

Prologue ii

story: Midnight Rain wc: 2.8k after the events of 1983, jennifer has the urge to search for her mom and meet her. but her adoptive mom says no, jennifer asks help from steve as they uncover the truth about her mother, and where she's located... coming back, she suffers many emotions as she gets ready to start her senior year of high school.

[a/n: all characters, plot, etc. are not mine. The only thing I own is my original character. credit to gif owner below. there is a part closer towards the end of the chapter that may or may not piss people off. Let me know if i should change the one part.]

{ October 25, 1984 }

Jennifer sits in the basement of Hawkins Library by herself, searching for anything she can about her mother. She has even called people in Detroit to see if there was any information on why she abandoned her daughter. She searched through news paper of the city of Hawkins, feeling somewhat defeated but aware that she will likely have to travel to Detroit, Michigan to dig deeper.

However, Jennifer didn't have her license yet. She is supposed to receive it sometime this month. She didn't have the money for a bus ticket, plus her mom would ask her where she's going. Suddenly an item came to mind, nevertheless, she can ask someone to take her there. They can stay in a quaint hotel in Detroit long enough and can drive home the next day.

Jennifer didn't have the time to call Steve since she needed to be home, so she decided to tell him tomorrow at school.

{ October 26, 1984 }

The following day, Jennifer arrived at school earlier than usual, so she can find Steve amidst the chaos. She walked through the early crowd of teenagers when someone catches her eye. A tall male with long light brown hair, he wore an outfit with tight jeans, outlining his figure. She felt herself halt, heart pounding in her chest as she held his gaze.

He had blue eyes and had a smirk planted on his lips. Jennifer then accidentally bumps into someone, apologizing in the process before blending in with the crowd. She keeps her eyes peeled when she spotted him, she approached Steve in the hallway of Hawkins High School, tapping him on the shoulder. He turns around and makes eye contact with her.

"Yeah?"

"I need help with something,"

"With what?" He asks, folding his arms across his chest.

"I, uh, come here." She begins, grabbing his arm gently and brings him to an empty classroom before continuing. "Did I ever tell you that I was adopted, and not from Hawkins originally?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well, I am, Harrington. My birth mother lost custody of me, and my father was nowhere to be found, so I was put in foster care between the ages of ten and thirteen."

"Okay,"

"Anyway, I found her. She's in detroit, Michigan. But I don't have a way to get there, and was--"

"--You came to ask me to drive you out there, correct?"

"Yes, since I don't want to go alone. You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'll get you out there. But we'll have to come up with an excuse as to why were not here."

"Easy, I'll tell my mom that I'm spending a night or two at Wilhelmina's for the weekend. She won't notice. Plus, I'll let Billie know ahead of time. You?"

"That's the thing, Jennifer. My parents don't care, but Nancy does. If she knows I'm gone, then she'll ask questions."

"Tell her you're a friend a favor by taking them somewhere and will be back by sometime Saturday. Steve, it's okay. Why are you so worried?"

"If Nancy finds out I'm with you, she think I'm cheating since she knew about your crush on me last school year."

"How the hell did she find out?"

"She, uh, got the truth from Jonathan."

"That jerk. I blame Billie for telling him."

Jennifer crosses her arms and shakes her head in disappointment, breaking her eye contact from Steve.

"But we'll go. I'll find something to say, alright?"

"Yes, thank you Steve."

"Of course, I'll pick you up around 8?"

"Yeah, that'll work for me. That perfect! Billie usually gets off work around eight."

That night, Jennifer quickly packs a duffle bag with an outfit or two along with her toiletries as she sets out the front door with her bag, walking toward the road and watches a crimson BMW pulls up. He stops and unlocks his vehicle while Jennifer opens the passenger seat door, sliding in. She shuts the door and sets her bag in the backseat beside Steve's before turning to face the front. Jennifer quickly slides her seatbelt on.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, let's get going."

Steve pulls away and drives down the road, starting their trip to detroit. On the way, he enters a gas station parking lot, stopping the engine. He leaves Jennifer with the key as he exits his vehicle. Jennifer watches Steve walk toward the entrance of the gas station, holding the door open for two women then disappears. A couple minutes later, he comes back with a road map and some snacks as well as drinks. Jennifer takes the map, searching for a pen in Steve's car. She opens the glove compartment and searches, finding a lose pen. She takes it and marks where her and Steve are, locating the nearest exit to Detroit. She marks counterpoints for rest stops and highways, explaining to the clueless brunette where to go.

Jennifer passed her geography class the year prior, making her able to to search certain points on maps. Tonight, it was harder since it was dark and the map wasn't very detailed, so she marked spots the best she could. Steve nods as he listens to her, going the direction she tells him. Soon coming up on a road, the two people inside were silent. Jennifer didn't know what to say as things were already awkward between them since Steve knew about her crush on him, but she was beginning to crush on someone new at Hawkins High this morning. She hopes that she'll find him again, getting to know him and maybe start dating. However, Jennifer couldn't think about that since she was so focused on finding her mother to know the exact truth she was left. Jennifer loved her adoptive parents and brother, but she loved her mother... more like the idea of her since she was taken at a young age.

The two teens were finally out of Indiana, and inching closer to where Jennifer's from. Steve pointed out a motel, but insisted they should keep driving unless he or she are getting very tired. Steve kept driving and by the time Jennifer knew it, the two teenagers were in Detroit, Michigan as Steve parks on the side of the road as he glances over at Jennifer.

"So, where are we at now?" He asks.

Jennifer pulls out the folded piece of paper from her bag. "Here's the address.."

Steve followed the address, even asking people in town which roads to take as the two finally make it to her mother's house. He parks his car and steps out the vehicle. Jennifer does the same, reaching into the bag and pulling out two flashlights. Handing one to Steve, they walk toward the small home. She stepped onto the front porch and looked through the window; the lights were dim and a television sat on a little box in the corner. To the side, a single lounge chair sits. However, the woman was nowhere to be found. Steve was hesitant as Jennifer was determined to get past the door and meet her mother. She asked Steve to accompany her at the front door, watching as he stepped up the few steps that lead towards the female.

"Jen, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I am. Even though it's late, she may be here. Tonight, I may finally get my questions answered."

"Okay,"

Steve stood behind Jennifer, almost acting like her protector while she raised her arm and became hesitant knocking. She told herself to breathe, knocking lightly on the dirty white door. They waited for a few seconds before someone opened the door. But it wasn't a woman that was in front of them, but rather a large shotgun. It was aimed towards Steve and Jennifer as she jumped back, raising her arms. She elbows Steve to do the same. A large lump formed in her throat as the figure came into view. It was an older woman. Her eyes were slightly sunken in and she was almost the same height as Jennifer. Her hair was brown and had big blue eyes, making eye contact with the female teen.

"What the hell do you teenagers want?"

"I -- uh, Jen... It's me. Jennifer. Jennifer Marie Bennett."

The lady lowered the weapon, moving her gaze from Jennifer to Steve as she eyed him up and down. Steve stayed silent, still holding his arms up and is probably scared shitless from what Jennifer can see. The woman focused on Jennifer and what she said, her angered expression softened and stared for a moment before her eyes widened.

"What year were you born?" She questioned.

Jennifer glanced at Steve then at the woman. "Uh, May 1, 1966 in Detroit, Michigan."

"Jennifer?"

"M-Mom?" She interrogated.

"Come in, come in. Get inside, it's chilly out there."

Jennifer and Steve lowered their arms as she gave him a quick glance before turning off her flashlight. Steve turned his off and followed Jennifer into the house, closing the door behind them. She welcomed them to her home as they stood there, almost awkwardly.

"Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"Uh, n-no. I'm not. I'm here because I need to ask some questions about my--"

"No, no. No questions. I cannot be the person to answer them."

"You're my mom, so you know the answers. Why didn't you provide for me when I needed it the most?"

"I did, Jennifer. I worked my ass off to provide for you. But your grandmother hounded me to give you up. I didn't allow that to happen. I worked so hard to give you a better life than mine. Obviously that didn't work."

"Okay. W-What is your name?"

"Eileen Bennett,"

Steve stood behind Jennifer as she took a seat in the chair in the poorly decorated dining room. His hands rested on the top of her chair, making her take a breath, and knew that she was okay with Steve.

"So, all that and I was still given up later in life."

"I didn't put you up for adoption, your grandmother did!" Eileen shouted, rising from the table and slammed her hands on the table. "That bitch wanted me to give you up since the day you were born, I did not let that happen. But the day you were taken by CPS, I was away at work."

Jennifer sat there with her brows furrowed, something in her chest made her feel breathless while tears formed in her eyes. One slid down her delicate cheek, her frown prominent. Eileen folded her arms against her chest and began pacing back and forth as if she were trying to search the right words to say to Jennifer. However, nothing came out beside an angry expression and her slightly wrinkled brows knitted together.

"Eileen?" Jennifer calls. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I am."

Jennifer nodded and looked up at Steve, tears forming in her eyes. He rested his hand on her shoulder, smiling sadly.

"Is this your boyfriend?"

"Him? No, he's not. He's my friend's boyfriend. I wanted him with me so I'm not traveling by myself."

"I see,"

Jennifer added. "Did... grandma ever ...want me?"

"No," Eileen spoke in a bitter tone. "She didn't want anything to do with you. She thought both of us were screw ups!"

Jennifer rose from her seat, stepping back slowly with Steve. The one thing Jennifer didn't know was her mom had Bipolar Disorder, so seeing her get angry made the teenage female start to feel very anxious. Without hesitation, she grabbed Steve's hand as it made him look down. Jennifer thought he would move, but instead, stayed there and continued to let her hold his hand. Their fingers laced together, inching closer towards the front door. Steve grabbed the knob and turned it, opening the door as him and Jennifer leave and return to his vehicle.

Steve quickly starts the car and takes off and head back to Hawkins. However, Jennifer was staring out the window with her head resting on her fist, her reflection shows with each passing street light. Jennifer was also quiet, unaware of her crying in the process. Steve kept his eyes on the road in front of him but would glance over at her every few seconds.

"Jen, are you okay?" He asks.

"I'm fine, Steve. I just want to get some sleep that--that's all."

"Okay."

They eventually get to a small hotel, grabbing their bags and head toward the entrance. Jennifer held her duffle bag and tosses it on her shoulder, arms folded as she entered with Steve. He asked for a room and the lady told them that the only available room was a one bed. Since it was their only option as Jennifer looked at the time -- 3:45 AM -- it was best for them to sleep.. The woman handed him the key card, and they headed up to their room. The room consisted of a single double bed, a single chair with a table and a small tv sitting on a box. The room was quaint, but Jennifer knew this had to work. She wasn't thrilled that was going to share a bed with her friend's boyfriend, but apart of her was kinda happy as she felt safe around Steve.

Jennifer told Steve to step out of the room as she started getting undressed, quickly placing her clothes on her body before telling him to come back out, and in which he's in his sleep clothes as well. Jennifer slid into the bed, Steve did the same. They lay down and face each other, faces not so far apart. The air around them was quiet but their hearts beating were even louder. In the moment, it seems as if they forgot about Nancy and her feelings when suddenly their faces inched closer. His lips pressed against hers as she softened, enjoying the moment. The warmth began to bloom between them, but it only lasted a few seconds as Steve pulled away slowly. Jennifer was appalled by the sudden gesture, only knowing that it'll cause problems later if her and Steve stayed quiet about it. And sure enough, they did. They kept the promise to one another before eventually drifting off to sleep.

The following morning, Jennifer was up early and already dressed as she sat in the chair by the window, taking in the early morning light. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss she shared with Steve as it brought a smile upon her lips. She felt terrible, wanting to tell Steve not to reveal it to anyone, even Nancy Wheeler. Behind her, Steve rose as he sat in the bed. She glances back, seeing him with messy hair and tired eyes. He yawned in Jennifer's direction, ruffling his messy hair.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

"Good morning,"

"Come on, get dressed." Jennifer says, grabbing Steve's clothes and tosses them at him.

"We didn't... do anything, right?"

"Well, we kissed. If that's what you wanted to hear." Jennifer rose and stepped toward Steve, sitting on the bed in front of him. "Oh, God. What are we gonna do, Steve? We kissed and you are dating Nancy, and we can't lie--"

"Jennifer, listen." Steve begins. "We won't tell her, unless it comes up. But in the meantime, try to stay out of the kiss part. If she asks if anything happened, just tell her we were at a hotel and had separate rooms."

"So, we're lying?" She questions. "Steve, you're a dick if you're implying that."

"Holy shit, I am. Do I confess that I basically cheated on her?"

"I don't know. She will be pissed at both of us, Steve. She's already not happy that I liked you and had a sex dream about you last year, in the midst of everything,"

"Wait, you had a sec dream about me?"

"Yes, keep up. I say we don't tell, I a am agreeing with you."

"Okay, but was the dream hot?"

"Steve," Jennifer stated, harshly.

"Sorry, sorry."

"You better be. Now we gotta get a move on. We gotta go."

"Fine,"

Steve got out of bed, and quickly got dressed in the bathroom before returning. The two teens quickly packed their bags and quickly left the hotel, heading back to Steve's vehicle and pile in. Jennifer tosses her bag in the backseat, settling in her passenger seat and slid her seatbelt on.

By the time, they got back to Hawkins was merely after lunch time as Steve quickly got Jennifer back to her house. However, she asked him to park further away from her house, so her mom doesn't question who's care Jennifer was exiting. In fact, her mom knew Billie's vehicle which made Jennifer slightly paranoid. However, she doesn't think much and says goodbye to Steve, entering her house.

Home sweet home, Jennifer thought to herself as she now has a secret she has to keep away from Nancy and everyone else she comes in contact with. She decided to forgive and forget.

[supernovafics]

•*⁀➷ ❝ 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖. ❞✧∘

supernovafics!

✭•*⁀➷ a modern enemies-ish to lovers actor!steve harrington series·。.·゜

in which before you even meet him, you’ve already heard enough about him. steve harrington— a phenomenal award-winning actor who is known almost exclusively as an asshole. he’s also set to be the lead in the movie that you’re currently working on as a production coordinator. over the years, you’ve somehow found routine in the never-ending hecticness of your job; the abrupt issues you’d have to handle, or the problems that you were tasked to prevent from arising in the first place. all you cared about was doing your absolute best at your job and you always did. but barely a week before filming is scheduled to begin, things change for the worse when, due to extenuating circumstances, you have to also be steve’s assistant for the entire three months of filming. it’s an unexpected addition to your already full plate that completely changes the routine you’d become so accustomed to. and from your first interaction with him, it’s abundantly clear that everything that’s been said about him is true, so your mind is only stuck on one thought, how the hell would you survive three months of being his assistant? 

warnings: modern au, actor!steve, asshole!steve, potential inaccurate descriptions of filming/film industry (i’m trying my hardest though lol), eventual smut (minors dni!), no use of y/n, specific warnings will be tagged per chapter

total wc: 41k words

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

prologue ━ the show must go on

chapter one ━ some rumors hold truth

chapter two ━ it can always get worse

chapter three ━ another round

chapter four ━ wave the white flag *

chapter five ━ a secret we're dying to keep *

chapter six ━ that bittersweet cup of coffee

chapter seven ━ the art of a cinematic goodbye

epilogue — forever home *

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

Platonic Stobin Mind-Reading AU Part 2

Part 1

The house is quiet when Steve slips in. It always is, now.

He toes his shoes off, unable to bend over enough to untie the laces. His ribs protest the slight hunch of his shoulders, stomach roiling in queasy warning to not curl in further.

The house is quiet, but Steve can almost feel the warmth of an arm around his shoulders. And he doesn’t feel alone. He looks around the foyer, almost waiting for his parents, or hell, the ghost of Hopper to appear. Nothing does.

He’s leaving smatterings of blood and mud with every step, speckling the white carpet in signs of life as he flicks on every lightswitch on his way toward the stairs. He pauses at the bottom, staring up at the insurmountable obstacle to his bed. With a sigh, he turns his back on the climb and stumbles his way toward the couch in the living room, collapsing down into it. Blood is already smearing into the velvety green of its cushions. He ignores the little voice in his head that sounds alarmingly like his Mother, berating him for leaving so many signs of life in her pristine house for lifeless dolls.

Steve falls asleep, alone in his empty house. The comforting weight is still around his shoulders.

It’s still dark when he wakes up, gasping around a nightmare he doesn’t remember having. His stomach roils with fear, like he’s still down in the Russian bunker, begging to keep his fingernails attached to his body. There’s no more comforting weight across his shoulders. He still doesn’t feel alone.

Steve leans across the couch and vomits. There’s very little left in him, popcorn dissolved into green stomach acid. The carpet’s beginning to look like Christmas come early. If she comes back, his Mother will not be pleased.

He doesn’t get up to clean it, exhaustion hitting hard even as the fear persists. He falls back asleep, wakes up mid-nightmare to a pounding at the door.

He stares at the ceiling, stuck still half in nightmare with the pounding of demodog feet echoing through the bunker where Robin and Steve are still tied back to back, her head pressed to the back of his own, Dustin’s screams filling the air as Steve writhes desperately to free himself and protect the kid.

Someone is still pounding at his door. He stumbles off the couch, ribs screaming, head spinning, ears buzzing, eyes half closed against the light as he opens the door, unable to even see who’s in front of him.

“Dingus, where have you been?” they say. Steve forces his eyes open wider past the light and pulsing of his head, willing his swollen eyes to make out Robin’s face. “I’ve been knocking for like five minutes! I was starting to think you were dead! And I was getting so scared that you’d gone off in the woods to die. Cats do that, you know.”

Steve blinks at her, struggling to keep up with her tirade. “Huh?”

Robin rolls her eyes. She steps into the house, making to shove past him where he’s blocking her entry. “Oh just let me in, it’s so hot out–”

She stops talking when her elbow hits his forearm. Stops moving too. Steve stares past her into the empty driveway, wisps of her hair tickling his cheek.

There’s relief coursing through him, thoughts running through his mind that can’t be his own–Thank god he’s alright, I thought he died, what would I have done? Thank god–can’t believe I care about Steve the hair Harrington enough to show up at his house uninvited, what kind of bizarro world are we living in, this is weirder than that flesh monster I swear to god–

Steve stumbles back, spine connecting painfully with the doorknob as the door swings back loudly into the wall with the force of his weight. Robin’s looking at him, eyes wide. There’s a bruise blooming on her cheekbone. Even past the confusion, he’s overwhelmed with the relief that she’s here, standing in front of him, whole and alive.

She reaches her hand out slowly, like he’s a stray cat that could be spooked at any moment. Her fingers latch onto his forearm, curling around it tight enough that her fingers dig into his flesh.

–that supposed to be what a demodog looks like? Dustin was really underselling it, I think I’d take Russian’s any day, aww Dingus was worried about me, wait wait wait, how do I know that he, did he sleep in that stupid outfit? where are his parents? why can I see–

Steve wrenches his arm free, ignoring the stinging of Robin’s fingernails scraping across his flesh. They stare at each other. Steve can feel himself breathing too fast. Wisps of Robin’s hair are sticking to her forehead with sweat. The door is still open.

“Dingus?”

“Good thing you’ve gotta breathe or I don’t think I’d ever get a word in,” Steve says without thought.

Robin brings her hand up to her mouth, eyes widening impossibly further. “Were you thinking about the demodogs?”

“Were you thinking that us being friends is weirder than the mind flayer?”

Robin drops her hand and smiles. “We’re friends?” she asks, voice chipper. “Wait, no! What is going on!”

They stare at each other some more. Robin looks manic, like she’s trying to pop her eyes out of her skull with the force of her stare. Steve, without looking away, reaches behind himself for the knob still pressed into his spin and slowly closes the door.

“Did you have a nightmare last night and throw up?” Robin nods. “Did your Dad have his arm around your shoulders?” Nod. “Well, shit.”

He finally turns away, stumbling back to the couch and gently settling down, leaving enough room for Robin beside him.

They settle like two, hunched quotations, knees settled together, hair brushing with how closely they’re eying each other.

“Anything?” Robin asks.

Steve hums, squinting his eyes with the focus of his concentration. Her eyes are blue, unlined but all but the barest remnants of smudges from her usual make-up. She looks a wreck. He’s pretty sure he loves her.

Are you excited right now?” he asks because he feels it bubbling up his throat, like someone’s just barely holding back a deluge of words, and it’s not him.

She scoffs, rolling her eyes up toward her head. “How are you not?” she demands, pulling her hands away from her knees to gesticulate in the scant air separating their bodies. “This is like superpower territory, Steve! We can read minds!”

Steve swallows around the excitement, feels his own warmth curl up in his chest at her joy. “So far only each others.”

Robin jolts, hands coming to clutch at the fabric across her chest, fist tight. “Oh,” she breathes. “Is that what you’re feeling?”

There’s something else clogging up his throat now. Not words. Tears, maybe. Steve looks down at his own bloody hands, trying to make words where only feelings exist, then remembers he doesn’t have to. He reaches out, snatches her hand, and lets himself feel.

“Why are you picturing us making Thanksgiving dinner together?” she asks, laughing even as tears bubble out of her eyes. Always a sympathetic crier, his own begin to well.

“We’re like, stuck together now, right?” He lets go of her hand, gets rid of the distracting feedback loop of two minds thinking around each other. “That like makes us–family?”

Robin sobs and launches herself into his arms. Unfortunately, the pressure on his ribs is violent enough to almost make him vomit again. Maybe he makes a noise of pain, or maybe she gets some sense of the way his vision is whiting out from pain through his thoughts, but she scrabbles backwards instantly, hands shuffling her further and further away until her back hits the armrest at the other side of the couch.

“Sorry! I’m sorry! I just got caught up in the moment, and forgot you’re totally fucked, and dingus! Shouldn’t you be in the hospital? Because all I saw there was a white light, and that doesn’t mean you’re dying, does it? Did I kill you?”

Steve laughs but it comes out more as a cough as agony falls back into the bearable threshold of pain. “I’m fine, Robin,” he says, eyes squeezed closed as he eases himself back into a fully seated position. “I got checked out in the ambulance, same as you.”

Robin, uncharacteristically, doesn’t respond. When Steve opens his eyes, all signs of tears are gone from her face, replaced with a look that clearly shows how done with his bullshit he feels. “And they told you that you were fine?” she demands.

“This all just needs to heal on its own,” he says, gesturing from his face down his torso.

Robin scoots back over to poke his cheek with her finger. He can hear her thinking about the likelihood of him being full of shit, the pros and cons of kidnapping him via her Dad’s SUV. Steve slaps her finger away, but whatever she must’ve gleaned from his own mind satisfied her enough that she doesn’t make a move toward the door or the phone.

She eyes him up and down, gaze traveling down his bloody form, to the splotches he’s left on the couch, and the slowly-developing stains on the carpet, grimacing in disgust.

“Okay, Dingus,” she says, clapping her hands sharply enough to make his ears ring. “Game plan time. You need a shower and a change of clothes pronto. Then–have you eaten?”

“I’ll be in trouble if I don’t clean this up.” He’s too worn out to even bother gesturing at the carnage surrounding them, much less bending around his ribs to scrub.

A furrow forms between Robin’s eyebrows as she contemplates him, mouth pursed like she’s trying to solve complex algebra. Or no, she’smart enough for that to be a breeze. So more like she’s trying to figure out how to scoop his brain out and blow on it until it works better.

“Where are your cleaning supplies?” she asks.

“Robin–”

“No. You’re hurt, and I’m fine. Go take a shower.” Like she can sense him looking, her hand jumps up to cover the singular bruise on her cheekbone. “It’s not the same. Where are the cleaning supplies?”

Her words are so harsh, that he speaks before thinking: “down the hallway in the closet.”

She jumps up, walking with her usual frenetic energy as Steve tries and fails to will himself to get up and stop her. It’s only a few moments after he hears the closet door click open that she shouts, “go shower!”

He goes.

Steve has to peel his uniform off. Mud and puke and blood have dried and merged to his skin. Scabs open where he pulls until he can leave the whole thing crumpled into the smallest ball he can manage in the trash can, salvaging only his nametag as a keepsake, wondering idly if Robin will switch him.

The shower hurts, but he feels divinely clean as he bends over just enough to shuffle into clean sweatpants and an old Hawkins swim team shirt from sophomore year, washed and worn enough to be soft against his skin. He doesn’t put products in his hair, doesn’t even brush it, all remaining energy used in stumbling down the stairs to stop Robin from overworking herself needlessly.

The air smells like a janitor’s closet, enough concoctions mixed together on his Mother’s carpet to wage chemical warfare. Robin’s on her hands and knees, scrubbing ferociously with a scrub brush at the grout between tiles at the entryway. Steve steps around the couch, peering down at the carpet, off-color with cleaner instead of his various bodily fluids. The couch is similarly immaculate, velvety cushions rubbed roughly against the grain from Robin’s ruthless cleaning.

“I threw away your shoes,” Robin calls as she gathers up the cleaning supplies surrounding her and stumbles her way back toward the closet. “There was a concerning amount of blood pooled in the soles, Dingus. Ain’t no way that was all coming out.”

Steve looks around at his clean living room again. All this work, and all he can feel from Robin is pleased satisfaction. Steve feels like he’s going to cry.

“I threw away my uniform.”

Robin laughs. “It’s not like we’re gonna need them anymore.”

Steve pulls the nametag out of his pocket. The stupid anchor is flecked with blood but otherwise it’s pristine. He holds it out to Robin when she troops back into the room.

“You can be me,” he says.

Her eyes light up as she takes it and immediately affixes it onto the front of her shirt. She shuffles back to the side of the couch where she’d tucked her backpack and riffles through it, murmuring quietly enough that he can’t quite make it out. She gives a cute little Ah-ha! When she finds whatever she’s looking for before skipping back over to him, grin crooked it’s so big.

“We can trade.” And there, tucked in her palm is her own, slightly charred name tag. She pins it to his shirt, pricking him with the pointy end before finally settling it in place. “You can be Robin, and I can be Steve!”

It settles easy around his shoulders, like he really can take a step back. Be someone else. Breathe. “I’m Robin,” he murmurs.

She smacks his chest over the nametag, gentle enough to barely hurt.

“Well Robin, what’s for lunch?”

They eat sandwiches in front of the TV. Robin complains about his movie collection, even as she jumps up and down excitedly and puts in Grease. It’s comfortable, easy to forget who’s dead, and who’s injured, and how fucked up their brains are now. It’s between The Breakfast Club and Fast Times that Robin gasps, sitting bolt upright and slapping his thigh.

“Truth serum, Steve! It was truth serum!”

“What was?”

“They wanted to open our minds!”

Steve, up until this point, had thought that was obvious, didn’t realize that for once she was trailing just a bit behind him in the obvious revelations category. “Yeah, and they did.” Robin’s nodding like she can’t stop. He puts his palm flat on her head and holds it still. “Opened them so wide we swallowed each others.”

Steve can’t tell who’s thinking it, but suddenly he's picturing two brains in horrible sailor outfits and terrible mouths that hit a little too close to the demogorgon. One’s mouth is open wide enough to eat the other whole. Then they’re laughing, uproariously, like they’re watching the same funny little show, like the television hasn’t turned to static in front of them.

“Now we can’t keep any of the truths from each other,” Robin says at the same time she’s thinking about that embarrassing crush she’d had on her seventh grade teacher.

In a bid to even the playing field, Steve thinks about little Sally Perkins who he’d liked so much in fourth grade that he’d smashed a grasshopper into her hair and had to miss out on the rest of recess. She’d never talked to him again.

Robin laughs but still shuffles away so his fingers aren’t touching her scalp anymore. Her thoughts flit away, but her hazy contentment lingers.

Steve gets up to switch out the movies, brain buzzing away. “Okay so I feel what you feel, right?” he asks, not waiting for a response. “And I can hear what you’re thinking when we touch.”

“You can hear it?”

Steve starts up the movie and sits back in his place on the couch. Robin looks horrified by this. “You can’t?”

“No!” she shouts, forgetting herself enough to smack her hand into his shoulder, jostling his numerous injuries. Robin grimaces, “Sorry, it’s just, you can just hear what I’m thinking? You can’t like, see anything?”

“You can see things?” Steven demands.

“Holy shit!” Robin bounces up on her knees and just keeps doing it, like a kid excited to open presents on Christmas. “Do you know what this means?”

Steve looks over at her, eyebrow furrowed. “That you’re a–girl?”

“No!” Robin stops bouncing. “I mean, yeah. But no, Steve. What the fuck?”

“I just mean that’s like the only difference between us, right? What else could it be?”

He can feel amusement bubbling up in her stomach, but Robin just stares at him, like she’s too stunned to laugh. “I just meant that some smarty pants scientist should like study us. Because like, we’re proof that some people think differently right? Me all in words and you all in these fancy schmancy pictures! That has nothing to do with our genders, Harrington. That shit’s made up!”

Steve doesn’t know how he feels about being studied by scientists. He’d heard about mini Byers time with those Upside Down quacks and wasn’t sure he was interested in his own stay. It would be nice to have someone who knew what they were doing to help them navigate whatever minefield they’d found themselves in but not at the cost of Robin’s safety. But if they just need a smarty pants who think they know everything then–”Henderson’s smart.”

“You want to call your children?” Robin asks, laughing.

“Think about it!” he replies, slapping the couch. “The lab people are all sketchy, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to be locked up without sunlight for the next hundred years.”

“Okay, yeah but–”

“Your parents aren’t in the know, and I’m practically an orphan. Hopper died.” Steve cuts out, choked up over the thought just like he had been in the mall parking lot when he’d first been told. Robin squeezes his calf. “That takes Joyce out of the running since she's grieving and shit. That just leaves the kids!”

“What about Nan–”

“Things are still kind of weird with Nancy and Jonathan, Rob!” he says, running his fingers through his hair and pulling sharp enough to burn. “If we have to, sure, call her, but I don’t know if this counts as the kind of life or death scenario I would do that in.”

Robin sighs, folding over until her head’s on his thigh, stomach pressed into his calves. “Can we call him tomorrow?” she asks, voice muffled by the cotton of his sweatpants. “My head’s killing me and that kid is so shrill.”

Steve runs his fingers through her hair, coming it back from her face. His fingers come in contact with her forehead long enough to get a quick burst of–feels nice, I wonder if this is why all the girls liked him, or if it was all those rumors I heard about his mouth, eww eww gross don’t think about–before her thoughts cut out. “Tomorrow,” he agrees.

They settle in to keep vegetating, Steve slumping further into the arm rest, Robin turning her head and wrapping her arms around his calf. The quiet lasts for ten more minutes before Steve just has to ask, “What do you mean gender is made up?”

Robin cackles.

[sundaynightlive]

Introducing: The Prologue of the Most Unhinged Steddie Fanfic I've Ever Written

(The full fic is currently unfinished and 30k words with highlights such as the Harrington 'Skank Week' and religious trauma)

“I… guess I get it. Objectively he’s…”

“You can say hot, Rob.”

“It’s weird to say it about a dude.”

“Even if it’s true?”

“Touche… but I thought he was with that guy he always talks about—Jake, or something.”

“So?”

“...So he’s taken.”

“Rob.”

“Oh—Steven. We talked about this—”

“But it’s Eddie.”

“How does that make it any better? You promised.”

“I promised I would stop competing for girls—this is Eddie.”

“You’re insane.”

“C’mon, Rob. I miss the thrill of the competition! I used to be so—”

“Shitty? Misogynistic? Arrogant?”

“Rob—”

“I’m not finished—lame? Horrible? Cruel? Stinky?”

“Now you’re just making things up.”

“You can’t fuck around with Eddie’s feelings just because you like winning games.”

“That’s not why.”

“Then why?”

Quiet.

“...Oh. Oh, so like—”

“Yeah.”

“Oh… since when?”

“A while. He’s just…”

“I get it, I think.”

“Yeah.”

More quiet.

“So? Do I have your blessing?”

“I can’t believe it but you actually do.”

“Let the games begin, baby. Slutty Steve is back.”

“Go shelf the returns, idiot.”

[mrssoapmactavish]

fight or flight

"you know what they say about stress responses, right? fight or flight reaction, and all that?" "knowing you, it's fight, flight, or fuck." "you're not too far off."

this will be a multi-part fic, all based in the stranger things universe! my writing style may make some of the characters be a bit... off, but i promise you, i'm trying my best for this!

as always, the only thing i claim to own in this planned series of works is the writing itself. i do not own any of the characers!

consider this basically a prologue, an intro for the whole shebang.

hawkins sounded like a bad idea from the get-go. obviously, she never wanted to leave her home in the first place, but she'd reckoned that leaving with her family would make things feel a bit more palatable. if her family didn't consist of her dad, her step-mom, her brother, and maxine, maybe that would've been true.

her and billy only had a year apart between the two of them, meaning that she's always been close to william hargrove, but they couldn't be any different. billy's been masking his anger with their dad with parties, popularity, and endless drinking and smokes. herself? she drowned out the sounds of shouting and anger with heavy drums, intense guitar solos, and gravelly-voiced singers who screech out prose.

in california, they were called 'bonnie and clyde' as siblings. now, though? she wanted nothing to do with him. the only things they have in common, in her opinion, are their last name, and their drive to drown their daddy issues in tail. on the drive to hawkins high this morning, all she wants to do is open the car door and jump out.

max and billy are bickering– at least max got the family temper, it keeps her on the same level as her and billy– and she's just trying to touch-up her mascara in the side mirror, making sure she looks somewhat presentable.

"keepin' your eyes glued to yourself that long, might as well figure out how you can marry yourself," billy snarks over, looking at his sister who merely glares at him. the boy gives a cheeky grin, knowing his sister like the back of his hand, as if he hadn't just parroted what she'd said to him much earlier before leaving the house, when he had been styling his hair properly.

"oh, please, billy boy," she sighs, scrunching her curled hair to maintain the boisterous volume that she had given it. "you would marry yourself, if you could. you'd need a good divorce lawyer, though, with how much you sleep around." she can feel her brother's glare burning holes in the side of her head, but she knows he won't do anything. it's one of the benefits of looking so much like their mom; pour on the honey-sweet tone, dial up the niceities and he'll be unable to do anything but grumble to himself.

billy, in fact, opens his mouth, ready to retort and snap back at his sister, but they pull up to hawkins high before he can even say a single word. it's already a lot, really; she can close her eyes and picture being back in california, walking into school, hearing the airheaded blondes and the sophomore year-peaking boys who think they're nothing less than gods.

as strange as it is, she misses home. misses the bright warmth and the sun, misses the malls and busy streets. anything to get away from the smell of cow shit, empty plains, and the fall chill that she's definitely needing to adjust to.

before she gets out of her brothers car– max has already slammed the car door, huffing and barking back at billy for telling her to come straight to the car afterschool– she puts on a new layer of her bright red lipgloss, the kind that used to have boys melt and bend at the knee, and would occasionally end up smeared on their cheeks and necks, if they were the lucky ones.

slinging her bag over her shoulder, she finally gets out of the car. she can feel all the envious eyes of girls standing against their boyfriends vehicles already looking at her brother like a piece of meat. it irritates her, even if she knows the men are doing the same, and billy no doubt has the same anger bubbling up inside him.

"keep that skirt on and no hands sneaking under it," her brother grumbles, right before giving the ladies his signature grin, the one that she had always referred to as his 'lure' grin. the one he'll give a girl to drag her home, rock her world, then never talk to her again. the one that leaves a trail of broken hearts and dropped panties in its wake.

"keep your pants on and your fly up, then," she snaps back, already making her way forwards and into the school. she can hear all the wolf-whistles and all the endless chatter from the boys about how short that skirt of hers is, how she'll freeze to death if she doesn't 'huddle up' with them, not to mention how many are already talking about how easy it'd be to creep their way closer to her.

sure, sex is great and all, but something about being trivialized as some trophy is... sickening. so, obviously the girl is keeping her wits about her, ignoring all the comments for now, even if each pair of eyes should be ripped form their heads for looking at her so lowly. she knows her own value; she's been called a goddess in bed before, and that was by some half-drunk loser in california, but it rung true. she is that worthy of praise, worship, devotion.

one set of eyes, however, doesn't go down to her skirt and stay on her legs. it doesn't even stray past the leather jacket on her shoulders– her brothers, she admits, but she'd never been one to even acknowledge her brother being able to have things for himself– and she finds it.. oddly satisfying. rewarding, almost, like there's at least one person in hawkins high not ogling her.

it's an entirely new kind of attention, to be quite honest, and she has no idea how to really react to it. whether she's meant to lash out, cry against the world for being oh, so cruel to her angry, warped soul to have someone eye her with something other than envy or pure want– or if she's meant to fawn, to gravitate towards the only person treating her like a human being, and to get herself involved in some hallmark whirlwind highschool romance.

either way, she sees who the gaze is connected to, and she'd be lying if she said she expected the person to be. he's one of the pretty boy types, she deduces; popular, on some kind of school sports team most definitely the captain, the air-headed kind to ignore between classes and pray she'd never be paired with for an assignment.

though, the soft, big, doe-eyes that seem fixated on her are quite the sight, and the strong jaw, defined nose, the smattering of birth and beauty marks across his face seem to give him this uncharacteristically human trait, compared to the very stereotype she's predicted.

she narrows her brows, giving a cold, hardened gaze; she aims to show she's not socialized, so to speak, that the black and red composition of her outfit reeks of femme fatale, a black widow type, engage at your own risk. but there's no such luck, as the fluffy haired tom cruise type makes his way towards her, confident and quick in his gait, even if there's a lack of spcial awareness reeking of a clumsy demure.

"hey there, little lady," the boy hums, gaze staying on her face, almost as if calculating how she's reacting to him, but he quite obviously doesn't know that she's well-versed from the years of torment and anguish at home to keep her emotions to herself, off of her face. "you're new here, so welcome to hawkins high. you need a tour guide, you just look around for steve harrington, i'll show you all around."

so he can't take a hint.

"mm," is all she responds with, very openly and shamelessly eyeing the man up and down, as if sizing him up to intimidate him. the man shifts from one foot to the other, hip cocked and head quirked; he's not picking up on the fact that she's trying to dismiss him.

"saw you with that guy in the camaro and the red-head, you guys look like quite the family," he continues to talk, prying, to see if she'll do more than just vocalize around her. alas, she just rolls her eyes at him, and he still doesn't seem offended, taken aback, or even remotely disinterested. so, she relents.

"i'll find you if i need you, harrington. name fits that crown of yours," she tells him. the way his brows raise is subtle. he's surprised, but not off-put. another comment about the hair, water off a duck's back, it seems. "i'll be fine figuring it out myself for now."

trained to follow subtle hints in body language from years of cowering, blocking out the sounds of her older brother being treated like no better than a dog, she notes the slight drop in his shoulders. not entirely, a momentary defeat for him, but he still holds out hope.

"yeah, alright," he responds, hands removing themselves from his hips, posture straightening, eyes going over her shoulder to look around, looking for his friends no doubt. "i'll be around–" the pause, an expectant gaze.

ah, right. names, such a fickle things, things she would prefer to not share, like pleasantries, pillowtalk, and whatever cheap shit booze she can sneak from her dad.

"you can stick with hargrove for now." she tells him, and god forbid the smile that graces his face. so that's what he is– a classic soft, popular guy. layers of issues, no doubt, but far too many to point out in particular, at least for now.

with a quirk at his lips into a somewhat playful smirk and a flick of the single coif of hair dropping into his face, he decides to push once more for now. "cherry it is, then. cherry hargrove."

a twinge of anger, at least that's what she can place it as. this man has no idea what he's getting into.

[punchyhorse]

The night is dark and deep.

It was something his mother used to say, tucked comfortably into a stuffed chair, warm and safe before the hearth, a cloud of smoke drifting lazily around her head. At the time, as a child, Steve had found it profound. There were terrors lurking in the night, but so too were there wonders. That single phrase used to awaken his curiosity, more than his fear, keep him up until sunrise, staring out the window at the dark forest surrounding the estate. Dreaming of a world just out of reach.

Now, with the weight of age and experience behind him, he knows she was drunk, and high, and bored. Desperate to seem mysterious. Interesting. She spent so long around empty headed nobles, it was only a matter of time before she became hollowed out herself.

Shame.

The night is dark, and deep.

He finds himself thinking it as he’s roused unexpectedly from sleep. The fire hasn’t yet burned down to embers and the kids are sprawled around the clearing on their bedrolls. Dustin is snoring. It sounds like stone grinding. He lies still, eyes barely open, staring into the black woods, waiting, repeating those words again, again, a mantra, unsure of what prompted them.

The night is Dark. And Deep.

He understands better now, he thinks.

It’s the eyes he sees first. Glittering gold and reflecting the dying fire light, they peer at him. Steve’s sword is barely a foot away, easily within reach. He doesn’t yet move.

Then it’s the breathing, no more than a breeze and barely stirring the leaves of the bush, kissing the underbrush as its head lowers. Those eyes shine white for a brief moment. Steve matches breath for breath.

The night is dark.

The smell comes next. Wet dog and hot, rancid air. Rotting blood.

And deep.

It lunges and Steve reacts. Rolls out of bed, blankets falling away as he grabs the hilt, slaps the sheathed blade hard on the snarling muzzle, sending the scabbard flying. It hits Mike, who flails into consciousness cursing. Blade bare, Steve plants his feet and readies himself.

Before him, the Beast unfolds, and unfolds, and unfolds, taller than it should be, bigger than he thought possible, looming and heaving, slavering jaws open. Its claws look like they could rend chainmail with nary a thought. Its canines are as long as his middle finger.

Around him the kids are rousing, yelling and cursing. Scared.

The night is Dark and Deep. Untold terrors and wonders hide beneath its cover. One of those terrors stands before him.

Steve moves.

He doesn’t remember the fight.

He knows there was one, by the damage to the clearing, by the blood coating the bedrolls. They trod through the fire at one point, scattering embers everywhere, alighting a dead bush. The smell of burnt hair lingers.

The armour saved his life.

Dustin, prior, would spend anywhere between five minutes and a short eternity each night heckling Steve’s decision to wear his chainmail to sleep in the wilderness. Five minutes to forever per night of inescapable mockery, as he gathered firewood, started a fire, cooked the paltry offerings of the night, with a brief interlude for hunting. Five minutes to the beginning of purgatory listening to a brat years his junior criticizing the lessons of preparedness drilled into him as a squire himself, that hurt no one but him, that they, until now, had no need of.

Dustin no longer makes fun of Steve’s caution.

So it was, by the grace of paranoia and a solid shot to the eye courtesy of one Lucas Sinclair, Stephen Harrington survived a tussle with a Lykind.

He did not, however, emerge unscathed.

The cut, while short lived, is deep, rent across his chest and belly, exposing bone and blood. Dustin takes any opportunity to remind Steve that he’s one of three people to have ever touched Steve’s internals. Robin takes every opportunity to smack them both on their ear and chant, “Never Again,” as she walks away.

Steve, for his part, feels that’s unfair of her, since he’s never desired to know the precise texture and temperature of his guts, but that argument never manages to sway them.

To hear her tell it, Steve’s soul divorced his body many times that night, held together with thread and a prayer while wet flesh refused to stay closed under their hands. The healing was slow, so slow, yet inhumanly fast. By morning his destroyed torso was whole once more with only an angry red scar to mark the wound and Steve was on his feet, swaying and stumbling worse than a drunken sailor in a whorehouse, but alive and intact. Miraculous. He was fine.

Everything was fine.

Until the full moon.

[wickedlittlewordsmith]

Gonna Swallow You Whole 

Chapter 1: He Left it all Behind Rating: Mature Word Count: 1169 Status: WIP

Summary:

One week.

It’s been one week since anyone’s seen or heard from Steve Harrington. One week since The Incident as he’s taken to calling it in his mind. One week since “Don’t let anyone see you like this.”

And in that one week, no one’s come to check in on him. Not even Nancy.

Read on ao3

[theladybarnes]

“ Do you like scary movies?”

▸ summary: every story has a beginning, this one happened just one year before ▸ pairings: steve x reader ▸ word count: 4,968 ▸ warnings: stabbing, cursing, mentions of gore (MINORS DNI) ▸ series masterlist

It had been just another regular night down on the quiet street of Fier Road. Where each neighbor in the Northern California town had the distance of a living ten minutes away from each other. 

 For Chrissy Cunningham, she hated growing up in this home. Having spent most of her time with disdain towards the view of the tree farm that resided just outside her window. The feeling of always being watched through the large piece of glass never went away and since it was one of the few houses outside the city, she always felt the most disconnected from the world. 

 Thankfully, once she got into high school, things changed. Instead of having to worry about going into town to see people, eventually, people came to see her. With having such a large house with no noise pollution to her far off neighbors, her house instantly became a party spot. Especially towards Junior year when her parent’s jobs in the town began to have longer hours. 

 Like tonight. 

 “I’m telling you, Nancy! Once you get a little drink in you and that new kid Argyle plays some of his new CDs. The natural flow of the party will bring you and Jonathan back together!”

 “I don’t know, Chrissy. It was a pretty big fight this time..”

 The blonde had just finished setting up the kitchen counter of snacks when her friend Nancy had called. Trying to back out of the party tonight due a recent break up with her long term boyfriend. 

 “With you two it’s only big fights. Which means you guys don’t fight often enough to let this one fight tear you apart.” 

 “I wish I could see things as positively as you do.”

 Chrissy giggled into the phone, leaning against the counter as she played with the set of knives dismissively before she remembered she was cutting up limes for the tequila shots. “It’s called optimism and with it I’m very hopeful to finish the rest of my Junior year with all my friends happy and together.” 

 “..Well almost all your friends.” 

 The girl stood up straight at that. Knowing exactly who she’s talking about but afraid to approach that topic. Shaking her head she decides to move past it. “When you see the place, it’s gonna bring back all the little memories you and Jonathan had together and I’m sure you’ll be sneaking away to my parent’s room before the night is over.” 

 “Is Jason coming tonight?

 “Uh yeah,” the girl replied lamely. “The entire team is coming actually.” 

 “So you and your new beau will be out officially as a new couple.” 

 Chuckling a bit at that, Chrissy walked over towards the patio doors. Looking out into the pool as she mulled over Nancy’s words. “I guess..we’ve barely been official with each other for three weeks.”

 “But you and Eddie were together two weeks ago.” 

 A frown etched across Chrissy’s face. “Look, it’s complicated. We were off and on and finally off. I don’t wanna talk about that right now.” 

 “I know, I’m sorry! We’ve all known him since eighth grade and he’s loved you since day one. It’s just weird now to think that era is over.” 

 A flicker of light from the pool house caught Chrissy’s attention. Walking towards the patio doors, she reached for the light switch, flicking on the flood lights to help illuminate the backyard. Nothing seemed to be outside but she found herself shuddering anyway. “Things just ended..I can’t turn back time to it now.”

 “I know, I know, sorry. Suppose your good ol’ optimism rubbed off on me and I thought to ask in Eddie’s defense.”

 The relationship between the cheerleader and rocker had been bittersweet. No matter how much Chrissy had tried to keep things happy between them, the differences in their lifestyles pulled them apart. “I don’t have anything against Eddie..and if I knew that he could handle seeing me at a party with another guy then I’d invite him. But..”

 “..But it might just destroy him. I get it. Maybe when summer starts and we all go out, he’ll be open to the idea of you guys being just friends.” 

 “That’s what I’ve been thinking.” Sighed Chrissy as she finished setting up. “Anyway, are you guys going to be coming up soon? It’s already dark out.”

 “Yeah, us girls are hitching a ride with our little chauffeur.”

 The thought of their friend Steve going all across town to pick each girl up was enough to bring up Chrissy’s mood, causing a small giggle to bubble out. “You guys should tip this time.” 

 “I think one of us already gives him enough.” Nancy replied, referring to the friend they called Baby (poor girl revealed her interest in Dirty Dancing once and the group would not let it go). The two of them had been the group’s biggest will they won’t they for years and it was kind of sweet to have seen them together this whole year. 

 “Gosh those two are sweeter than caramel.” Chrissy laughed, moving away towards the phone stand. “I love it!” 

 “You should! They’d have never admitted to liking each other if it wasn’t for your birthday party.” The sound of a muffled honk perked into Chrissy’s ears through the phone. “Speaking of those two, I think they’re here now. We’ll see you soon!” 

 “See you soon!”

 After Nancy got off the line, the silence of the big empty house returned. It was always too quiet for her taste and unfortunately, Chrissy unplugged the tv and music area for the apparent DJ speakers that Argyle had promised to bring. 

 Right as she had plopped down on the couch to wait, the phone began to scream. 

 RRIIIING

 The blonde lazily laid across the cushion to reach over for the hand held before bringing the device up to her ear. “Hello?”

 “Hello?” the voice of a smooth deep voice echoed. “Who is this?”

 Chrissy chuckled a bit. “Yeah, who are you trying to reach?” There was an awkward pause. The man on the other line taking his time. 

 “What number is this?”

 “…What number are you trying to reach?”

 Again it’s another beat of awkward silence. “..I don’t know.” 

 Trying to remain kind, Chrissy calmly ended the call. “You must have the wrong number. But it happens, take it easy.” With that, she hung up and tried to ignore the feeling in her gut. She was getting tense for no reason. 

RRIIING RRIIING

 The phone went off again and she stared at the piece in her hand, debating just letting the call drop when she remembered her parents might check in. Pressing accept she pressed the phone again to her. “Hello?”

 “I’m sorry, I guess I did dial the wrong number.” 

 Scoffing at the caller simply confirming what she told him, Chrissy shook her head, laughing for a second. “So why did you dial it again?”

 “To apologize, of course.” 

 “You’re forgiven, okay? Now have a good-“

 “Wait, wait! I want to talk to you for a second..”

 Not believing the nerve of this mystery caller, Chrissy became mildly amused at the fact that he wanted to stay on the line. “Look, this is fun and all but I’m a bit too busy for casual chat at the moment.”

 “Too busy? What plans do you have tonight?”

 The girl huffed out some air before checking the watch on her wrist. “I have a party tonight. Guests I’ll have to tend to soon so-“

 “A party and you didn’t invite me?”

 The question threw her off for a second. Normally she’d hang up on someone pestering her like this but there was something casual and interesting about this person. 

 “Well..not everyone can come. You know what it’s like.” 

 “Do I? How would one know if they’re acceptable to join parties or not?”

 Chrissy frowned at that, not too sure how to answer kindly. “Well, there’s no way to define who can come and go..if you’re from school then you’d know who comes to these kinds of things.” 

 The caller let out an amused laugh. “I see, you mean, the cool kids get to go.” 

 “That’s not exactly true! But they are the ones who usually show up.” The girl moved to sit back at the couch again, tugging at the end of her sweater. 

 “So you’re saying you wouldn’t turn anyone else that might want to come?”

 “No, never! That’s so cruel!” The sound of the man’s laugh was a sort of relief to Chrissy as she wiped a hand over her brows.

 “With that knowledge, would you be interested in having me come over tonight?”

 “Yeah.” Chrissy drawed out, “You’re more than welcome to come!”  There was a pleasing hum on the other end making the young girl finally feel a little bit better about her poor word choices. Sometimes her nerves got the best of her and gave her a bad sense of word vomit.

 “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be able to meet the girl I’m looking at.”

 As if suddenly hit with ice, Chrissy felt the smile drop from her face. Maybe she heard what he said wrong. “..what did you say?”

 “I said I’ll be able to meet the girl I’m talking to.”

 Taking a glance behind her, Chrissy glanced around the kitchen until her eyes landed back in the living room. The large patio doors that led to the pool gave a clear view of the inside of the house. “That’s not what you said..”

 Again the caller gave off a calm chuckle. “What did you think I said?”

 Moving to the patio doors, she flicked on the light switches again, trying to see if she could catch someone in the backyard if she turned the light on fast enough. Again she was met with nothing but the scenic sight of her pool and outdoor patio. Checking over the locks, she sighed to herself before she remembered she was still on the phone.

 “Did I lose you there?”

 “Look, I’m sorry. I have to go.” Chrissy mumbled into the receiver,  pulling her body away from the window. “People are coming and I should probably be ready.”

 “Come on, don’t go just yet. Don’t hang-”

 Not bothering to hear the rest, she hung up the phone and quickly checked the locks on both the back and front before the phone rang again. This time, she couldn’t find it in herself to pick it up. Her friends would come soon enough and she’d be able to deal with a creep on the phone.

 Five minutes passed and still no sign of her friends left Chrissy alone with the incessant ringing that built up of her anxiety. She thought about calling Jason but he already told her practice would run late and he’d show up later. 

 The small sting of tears pinched at her eyes and she felt like the beginning of a scary movie with how nervous she was getting. Getting fed up, she reached for the phone again, pressing the accept button before speaking finally. “Yes?” she asked timidly. 

 “You hung up on me…”

 The voice sounded colder, shocked with her actions. “I had to! P-please stop calling. I’m busy and I need to go!” Hanging up quickly, she looked down at the phone and prayed that the caller would give up on harassing her. But just like before, the phone rang again, sounding oddly angry in its blaring pitch. 

 “I’m going to call the pol-”

 “You hang up the phone on me again and I’ll cut your fucking head off, bitch!”

 The blood in her veins ran cold. Making the only sound out of her was a soft whimper. But that seemed to make the man on the other line happier. His chuckle itching inside the canal of her ear. “..please tell me this is a joke.”

 “Oh sweetheart, it’s more of a game now really. Do you think you can handle that, blondie?”

 For some reason, the question caused Chrissy to shrivel down to the ground. Crawling towards the island in the kitchen, she used the large space in the middle to conceal her body as she tried to calm herself down.

 “Oh Chrissy, I need you to answer me in order to start the game.”

 “Please..I don’t want to play anything.”

 “Well, hate to break it to you miss Queen of Hawkins High. But it’s either you play or Jason does.”

 The mention of her boyfriend caused the hair in the back of her neck to stand up. She gripped the phone tighter as she spoke again. “W-what do you mean?”

 “I’m surprised you didn’t notice, I just placed him out by the pool for you.”

 She’s surprised she’s able to get up from the floor, but she does. And when she reached the patio doors, she slowly inched her hand up to the lights. Praying to every God in existence that when she flicked the lights on, her friends would be on the other side and laugh at the vicious prank they just put her through. “Go ahead, sweetness..turn it on.” urged the voice.

 With a flick, she met with the horror of what was laid outside for her. Instead of the sight of an empty poolside, Chrissy’s green eyes met with the body of Jason. Knocked out and tied up to a chair. His usual green jersey stained with dark red spots as his head was leaning forward, casting his face downward to his lap.

 A bubbled up surge of fear poured out from within Chrissy as she suddenly began to yell at the sight, nearly dropping the phone on the floor. “What is this!?” she cried, reaching to unlock the doors, but at the turn of lock, Jason’s head snapped up. Giving Chrissy a view at the beat up appearance of his face. Whoever had taken him hostage had roughed up his face, enough so that blood trickled from the top of his head and nose. A tight strip of duct tape had been placed over his mouth to silence him. It took only a quick second for his eyes to land on hers, worry flickered over his blue eyes.

 “I wouldn’t step out if I were you.” 

 Tears pooled over her eyes, making his vision begin to turn blurry. Sounds of his panicked screaming were muffled by the tape as he tried to call out to her. “Why are you doing this?” she asked softly, hand still ready to push down on the handle. 

 “Well like I said, either you play or Jason does. And I'd decide quickly, I'm getting impatient here.” 

 Locking the door again, she took a step back, shaking her head to Jason as his muffled cries grew more intense. “Good girl. Now turn off the lights again and we can play.” Through her tears she slowly shut off the light, stepping fully away from the door as she returned to the kitchen island. Using it as coverage once more.

 “Let’s begin, shall we?”

 “How do I play?” Chrissy gritted, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe off the tears that were beginning to block her vision. The sound of Jason calling out to her was nearly driving her crazy before the caller finally replied back.

 “I’ll keep it simple for you, pretty thing. It’s a good ol’ fashion game of truth or lie. Three rounds and then that’s it! You and the lover boy get to leave. Sound easy?”

“It’s not like I have any other choice..” she scoffed, sniffling a bit as she checked over towards the patio doors again. The light from outside still showed a shadow of Jason on the chair. “What’s the question?” 

 “Exactly, let’s start! Truth or lie, the three people closest to you are; Nancy, Robin, and that sweet, Baby.”

 It was clear to anyone who went to school with Chrissy that those three girls were the ones who were by her side from the start. No one could mess with her when she had them behind her. “Yes, Truth! They’re my best friends.” 

 “Correct! See? You’re doing so good, sweetness.”

 “Okay, so please let me go help Ja-”

 “Nuh uh! We’re still not done yet. Just two more.”

 Her stomach dropped. She knew it was too hopeful that the caller would release Jason but she couldn’t just leave him out there. It was killing her inside. 

 “Truth or lie,” the caller continued. “You’ve recently been appointed head cheerleader.”

 Again this was a true fact, something that Chrissy had been working hard on this whole year. When she was given the title after the recent game, she was beyond happy. But again, this was a fact that everyone knew. It was announced to the whole crowd. “Truth!”

 The caller chuckled at her reply, making her worried about where this was going if he was asking such type of questions. “Last one and if you get this right, you’re free to get Jason.”

 Chrissy gripped the phone tighter, determined now to get Jason inside. Maybe in some sick way this was still a prank and her boyfriend’s friends had set this up in some sort of hazing thing. It’s the only thing that would make sense now.

 “Truth or lie, you were cheating on Eddie Munson for two weeks before you broke up with him to date Jason.”

 “That’s a lie!” Chrissy cried quickly. Her shame and fear built up on her all at once. That piece of information was not public knowledge. Not even Eddie knew about that and here this stranger was using it to toy with her. “People spread that rumor to make me look like the bad guy.”

 The caller made a small sigh of disappointment. Tutting into the receiver tauntingly. “Oh Chrissy,” he cooed. “I thought you understood the rules. You have to get the answer right in order to win.”

 “That is the right answer! I didn’t cheat..I didn’t.”

 A familiar sound of a tape rewinding could be heard through the other end before it played back its audio. “I guess..we’ve barely been official with each other for three weeks…..But you and Eddie were together two weeks ago… Seems you’ve been up to an awful lot of no good fun.”

 “NO! Please don’t do this! Just give me one more chance. One more question.”

 “Sorry, sweets. I’ll give you a bonus round. But I'm afraid our dear Jason is out of the game.”

 At that, all the lights in the house turned off. Capturing Chrissy into the darkness. The only thing that echoed within the walls was the sound of the girl’s screaming as she watched a dark shadow cover over Jason’s body. The glint of metal flew in the air as it crisscrossed in front of Jason. 

 The noises had Chrissy frozen in fear as she could hear the sounds of cloth and something else being sliced. A muffled cry of agony following every slash. Without realizing, she had begun to crawl over, needing to see for sure that this was a reality and not some nightmare.

 In some sick twist of fate, the lights flickered back on to reveal the outside to her again. Still in the chair was Jason. Head back as he stared up in the sky, eyes gone and cold. The front of his shirt was torn open to reveal the gushing pieces of his intestines falling out slowly from his stomach. It was too real, the blood would not stop flowing out and Chrissy could barely let out a whimper as she stared at the horror before her.

 Jason was dead. And it was all her fault. 

 The chilling sound of laughter could be heard through the phone. The tears seemed to be endless as she crouched back down, staring blankly as the pool lights were being shut off again. Most likely now being controlled by the man on the phone. “I don’t want to play this anymore..” Chrissy whispered into the phone.

 Again the caller merely chuckled again. “Final question..are you ready?”

 “Please..”

 “TRUTH OR LIE,” he yelled, “You forgot to check one more door in your house.”

 The whole house grew deadly quiet until the only sounds were Chrissy’s panting. Her eyes wide as she went over everything she did before the calls got weird. She locked both doors. The windows weren’t open since no one had been home all day; it was all locked! She was safe!

 “LIE!” She yelled, getting up from her spot. He couldn’t get in, she was sure of it. Standing up, she walked over to the patio door again and confirmed that it was locked. That is until the sound of a door creaking open rolled down the hall.

 “Are you sure about that?”

 Gripping onto the phone tightly, Chrissy made the decision to arm herself with a knife from the island before she ventured out towards the rooms of the house. Any bit of comfort she had was gone out the window as she stepped forward.

 It wasn’t till she looked at the two rooms by the front entrance that she felt herself begin to panic. Her Father’s office door was always locked. She never in her whole time living there ever needed to go in. But that also made her forget the fact that it led out into the patio.

 The killer was in her house and finally making himself known

. 

Not risking the check, she immediately ran up the stairs to the second floor, catching just a glimpse of something reflective coming from the doorway. Once at the top, the mystery caller himself decided to shoot out of the room, causing the door to hit against the way as he raced to the end of the staircase.

 Chrissy gulped as her wide eyes stared down at the man. He was decked out in a black cloak that concealed his whole body, hands covered in matching gloves and covering his face, a haunting ghost mask. He looked up at Chrissy, tilting his head to the side as he took her in. 

 With the phone still clutched in her hand she took a step back and glanced towards the directions of rooms. “I thought you said I could come in for the party.” chuckled the voice from below. The sound of it was almost robotic in person now, making Chrissy realize it was a disguised voice. 

 “Y-you stay the hell away from me asshole! My friends are coming and the fucking cops are gonna give you the god damn chair!” she yelled, returning her gaze to the man. “You better just leave now!”

 He reached down into his cloak and pulled out a hunting knife. The blade glinting in the overhead lighting showed its long body before it was being pointed towards her. “If your friends are coming, I say we give them a good welcome present.” A step up and he waved the knife playfully. “From you and dear ol’ Jason.”

 Turning around, Chrissy dashed over towards her parents bedroom. The only thought being that if she locked herself in, she could find a way to get over the balcony that faced the front of her house and flag down her friends sooner. 

 But the killer was quick, it was barely when she pushed down the lock on the door of the bedroom that she heard the hard piercing sound of the knife being hit against the wood. “Open up, bitch!” the man yelled, causing Chrissy to let out a scream as she scrambled to push her Mother’s dresser against the door. 

 The man on the other side let out an enraged yell, banging possibly his body against the wood to try and get the door open. “STOP IT!” Chrissy yelled, picking back up her fallen weapon as she scrambled over to the balcony. 

 Looking down the road, she let out a happy cry when she noticed a pair of headlights coming down the long drive down. Her friends were here and their presence would scare off the man. Waving her hand out, she began to yell out towards them! “GUYS! PLEASE HURRY! PLEASE!”

 At the sound of her cry, the killer had burst through the door with all his might. Angrily pushing away the dresser that had held him back as he stormed over towards the balcony. Screaming, she reached for the handle of the sliding door, only to gasp at the killer stopping her. The grip of his hand tight as he pulled her inside the room.

Her other hand tried to hit him with the knife, attempting to stab at him when he pulled back enough to throw a punch against her cheek. 

 The hit was hard enough to have her vision go blurry. “W-wait!” she whimpered, attempting to push herself away. That’s when she felt the hard pressure of the knife going into her chest. A hot liquid trickled out of front of her chest, wetting the thin material of her sweater instantly. 

 No pain had ever felt like this. A mixture of throbbing pain and panic coarsed through Chrissy. But before her hand could even reach up to the wound, another stab was being pushed through her stomach. Again and again the killer dragged his knife through her. Making the pain worse with every push against her body.

 The light in the room was so dim, the sound of her heartbeat was up in her ears. Despite the feeling of her body growing weaker, Chrissy reached up the man’s mask. Letting her fingers glaze over the mask before she pulled it off, revealing the face looking down at her. She wanted to ask him why, get an answer, but all she mustered up was a small puff of air. 

 He reached for the mask back, slipping it back on before he dragged her body to the balcony again, the world was fading and Chrissy wished she could stay longer. See the people she cared about one more time. This wasn’t fair, this wasn’t right. 

 The sound of her friend’s car rolling down the driveway was the last she heard before the man tore the knife along the expanse of her stomach. Soon enough the world faded to black and Chrissy felt herself finally pull away into eternal sleep.

 Not wasting a second longer, the man began to pull out parts of her intestines, matching it up to look like Jason’s out back. The sounds of wet squelching noises were happy to the man’s ears. Reaching deep into the cloak’s pocket, he pulled out a long rope and quickly began to tie it around Chrissy’s body. Making sure every knot was tight before he pulled her up from the floor. 

 The stiffness of her body added a bit of a struggle, but he managed to push the blonde over and watch as her body hung against the balcony railing with a harsh drag. Just in time for the audience to arrive.

 “This morning I woke up with this feeling! I didn't know how to deal with it and so I just decided to myself. I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it. And did not go and shout it when you walked into the room! I think I love you-” Three familiar voices sang out. 

 “Will you three shut up!” Huffed the voice of a man below. 

 Peering over the balcony, the man noticed a group of four teens coming down the long driveway. Steve Harrington being the man in front who had his hands on his hips. “I’m really gonna have the song stuck in my head now.” 

 His eyes cast over to you, rushing to push past the girls so that you could catch up to the boy. “Sorry, Steve.” you smiled sweetly, lacing your hand into his. “Robin’s been singing it all day and we can’t help but get into it.”

 Steve’s glare turned slowly into a smile the longer he stared down at you, reaching up to place a loving hand against your cheek. “I like it when you sing, but Statler and Waldorf here are going to annoy me to death.” he chuckled. 

 The man watched as you coyly batted your lashes up at Steve, leaning up in your tippy toes to press a kiss against his lips. The knife in the man’s hands felt heavier than ever and he found himself gripping it tightly. His eyes watched the way Steve’s hands moved to wrap around the expanse of your lower back, pulling your body closer to his. 

 “Oooh!” Cooed the other two girls in the back. Making you turn suddenly shy as you part from Steve. The boy didn't seem upset that the kiss had ended, in fact, he looked over at the other two girls with a bigger grin now before he threw his head back. “I think I love you so what am I so afraid of?! I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for!”

 The girls all laughed and began to join in the song again, finally going back to making their way towards the front entrance of the home. Taking that as his cue, the man rushed off the balcony towards the room now. Tonight wasn’t the plan he had hoped for, but soon enough he’d be able to see things through.

 “Omnes una manet nox (One night awaits everyone).” he chanted, running through the house till he was out the patio doors. The sight of Jason brought hope to him as he noticed the beginning of a black sludge slowly creep into the blood that coated Jason’s organs. 

 The last thing the man heard as he climbed over the back fence of the land was the echoing screams from the group of teens.

A/N: And we’ve officially begun this storyline! If its too graphic or uncomfortable I do apologize since it’s not my usual type of posting but this is specifically for Halloween so please understand that. I hope you guys enjoy the mini series!

[pyrriax]

gotta love concepting fics and debating whether i put it all as a single "chapter" / weirdly formatted oneshot or put it in four separate chapters. i have time to think about it but also this line is . fun

Lesson Zero: You are going to destroy the world, and you will do so with a smile on your face.

^ this is the piece that closes the fic. for context.

[imcutebutimdepressed]

Nancy’s Twin (Stranger things fanfic)

Description: Mickey Wheeler. The youngest twin of Nancy for 20 minutes. Just because they're twins, doesn't mean anything to Mickey. Nancy is pretty and popular. Mickey is decent and the "Do not **** with me" gal plus a total geek like her baby brother Mike who cannot beat her in arcades. Of course she loves her little brother Mike, which is why she's involve in this situation.

Warning: Rated 18+ fanfiction and spoilers for season 1-4 when I start on that part of the story. Enjoy!!!!

Author: To all readers, enjoy this I hope.

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

Prologue

Mickey Wheeler. Born 1967. 20 minutes after Nancy Wheeler. 4 years it wasn't so bad. Mickey was named that because her Mom refused to name her anything like Bethany, Tracy, Tiffany, or Sandy cause she knows other moms would want to name their little girl a beautiful name.

With some thinking, they both agreed with Mickey, which took a lot of convincing from the Mom.

Mickey after Mickey Rooney starring Breakfast at Tiffany's, a classic film in 1961.

Nancy was spoiled with dresses, dolls, Princess toys, all that sh*t.

Mickey would want those things, but not for long.

Later on, Mike was born, and Mickey didn't hesitate to ask to hold him at the hospital. She was happy to have a little brother, of course Nancy too.

But she was hoping for another girl.

4 years with Mike was wonderful for Mickey, in addition the mental problems. Yeah, an 8 year old girl who now doesn't like to match with her twin.

"Mom!! I don't want to wear the same dress as Nancy!! I wanna wear the dinosaur shirt!!"

"Mickey if you wear the pink dress like your sister, you'll both be matching twins!!"

"Come one Mickey, at least for your mom. We're gonna be late for the movies if we don't hurry."

With some convincing, Mickey was force into the dress.

"Look at you!! You look so cute, just like Nancy!!" Karen said with glee.

"You look so cute, just like Nancy!!"

"Hurry honey, we're gonna be late!!"

"Right, ok girls let's go while Mike stays here at home with Beth. We'll be back!!"

Mike was only 4, but Mickey wish she stayed with her brother instead.

Mickey gave Mike a kiss on the forehead.

"Love you Mike, be nice to Beth." She gave him a smile.

He smile back.

"Okay"

Nancy grabbed Mickey's hand.

"Let's go we're gonna be late!!"

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

"Ted, we have a problem." Karen came back with only two tickets. Ted waiting by the entrance with the girls who Nancy was trying to get Mickey to wear a ponytail just like her because Mickey decided to take hers off.

"They only have two tickets for The Great Race. That would mean one of us takes a kid and the other can just watch something else."

"Then I'll take Nancy and you can take Mickey."

Before grabbing Nancy, she runs to hug her mom. She starts to cry.

"But I wanna see that movie!! Please mommy!!"

"Oh alright. Ted you can take Mickey and see another movie. No horror movies. Come one Nancy." After kissing Ted, she said she'll see them after the movie.

When they're out of sight, Ted goes to see what else is there to watch. There he finds Jaws is available. He goes up to the ticket booth.

"Two tickets for Jaws?"

The man looks down at Mickey, then looks back up at Ted. He shrugs and just gives him the tickets

"Enjoy."

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

"Now sweetie, let's keep this a secret from your mom about watching this movie ok? She'll kill me."

Mickey nodded, eating her large popcorn and drinking her large soda, because they made a deal that she gets large snacks for this.

The seats were almost close to the front, maybe Mickey should've said to also buy a music player.

When they got seated and prepared. The movie started.

Everything was fine, until the shark made its appearance. You can hear other people frightened or screaming.

Mickey wasn't. She was watching the movie with astonishment. She loved this movie. The gore was so cool to her cause it felt real. This is the kind of movies she'll love.

She is so gonna make sure she watches other movies like Jaws.

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

Hope y'all like this story!!!

[strangerficsxx]

Prologue I

story: Midnight Rain wc: 1.2k the start of jennifer's life, and how she ended up in hawkins before the events of season one take place.

[a/n: all characters, plot, etc. are not mine. The only thing I own is my original character. credit to gif owner.]

In Detroit, Michigan at 2:45 AM on May 1, 1966 --

-- in a hospital room, a woman — aged 16 lays atop a medical bed in immense amount of pain. Her hands hold the bars beside her as she heaves a large exhale. A doctor rushes in with a few nurses as they all surround her, telling her to push as she does. The female was scared, a little too scared, knowing that she'll be a mom to a little bundle of joy.

With all her might and a few extra pushes later, a baby girl arrives in the hands of a doctor as well as the world. Above, her mother can breathe fine again whilst beginning to cry tears of joy as the baby gets placed in her arms. 

“What’s her name?” The doctor asks. 

“Her name is Jennifer Marie Bennett.”

“Beautiful name,” the doctor complimented as jennifer began to open her big blue eyes.

Her mother was in awe at the sight of her daughter, admiring every little detail on Jennifer's face. The corners of her mouth twitch, forming into a big grin. She was tired, but it was worth it.

Jennifer Marie Bennett, born in Detroit, Michigan on May 1, 1966 was written on her birth certificate.

But that certificate will soon get lost somewhere in the world.

The details in her footprint was painted on the paper, given to her mother as well.

Throughout the beginning three years of Jennifer's life was easy to her. But to her mom, things were difficult. She was working two jobs plus taking on extra shifts, to pay for needed baby supplies as her mother watched over and cared for the young Jennifer. However, things go downhill in the next coming years...

Jennifer's mother struggled with providing for her daughter, leaving her in the care of her deadbeat dad or her grandparents. She got tossed around by various family members, because her mother worked days and nights, barely being able to see jennifer most of the time, or getting to spend her evenings with her baby daughter. She was a good mom for wanting something good for her daughter, however when Jennifer was developed a heart murmur, things took a turn. The money eventually went from buying diapers and baby powder to doctor visits. Luckily though, her heart murmur closed up by the time she turned three years, being able to get some money for food and other necessary items.

A couple years later, when Jennifer was just eight years old, her and her mother were evicted from their apartment for not paying the bills on time, so they resorted to a friend's house for another three years until they were forced to live in their 1970 Land Rover. Growing up, Jennifer learned things that most mother’s shouldn’t teach their young daughters. Other moms were teaching their daughters beauty and elegance, whilst her mom taught her how to use a gun, to hot wire a car, and other extreme things most girls her age don't learn unless it's an emergency.

Jennifer, who was nearing thirteen, was taken by CPS to a foster home and there. until she was around fifthteen -- eagerly waiting to get out, so she can enjoy and experience the life her mother wanted her to have. When she was in foster care, she was rarely abused... on some occasions she would be mentally mistreated which lead to her anxiety and depression -- she was diagnosed at fourteen years old.

Jennifer didn’t think anyone would adot her since she was a troublemaker, but that all changed when a married couple came in one evening and saw the young girl.

She later was adopted by Claudia and Mr. Henderson (at 14-years-old) was taken back to their home where a little boy awaits. Dustin Henderson was the name of the little boy, who became her younger brother. Of course Jennifer didn’t like the idea of having a sibling since she grew up as a single child, but she loved her younger brother with all her heart. As the years past by, he would get annoyed with her at times and would become easily embarrassed if she teases him at times...

In 1981, Jennifer started attending Hawkins High School, where she met various types of people... even some like her, who were almost outcasts. During her lunchtime, she noticed a girl ditching and smoking in the bathroom not far from the cafeteria. When she met the female, she was standoffish, but was polite. Wilhelmina Byers (commonly known as Billie), the daughter of Melvald's General Store employee, Joyce Byers and the sister of Jonathan Byers. Even though Phoebe was a bad girl, she was well-liked and very known by the popular kids despite her brother.

They later became friends, beginning to ditch class and smoke to leaving for the whole school day. However, Jonathan was not too fond of the friendship, but later came around and befriended the new girl as well.

Starting in 1982, Wilhelmina would take Jennifer to a nearby tree house -- well, one in someone else's backyard to hide when they ditched. But that later caught up to them before their sophomore year of high school. Later, Wilhelmina began experimenting as Jennifer was hesitant, unsure if she should do it too, considering the cons of sexuality. But Jennifer had her first kiss with Jonathan, almost embarrassed about it for a while, however, liking the idea of being with boys as they had a fling with each other.

When Billie found out, Jennifer was quick to get her feelings in check as she then called the whole fling off. It didn't hurt either one of them, and she knew that she did the right thing.

1983, her junior year in high school looked up. That was until met stuck-up priss, Nancy Wheeler. They weren't fond of each other, but dealt with each other for a while. Eventually though, Jennifer came around dressed different, looking hell of a lot better than she did before. She Switched her style from edgy to innocent. It earned the attention from Steve and his friends, and were later accepted into the group including Nancy and her nerdy friend Barbara.

There, she developed a crush on Steve Harrington. A huge mistake, unaware that Nancy was having a fling with him.  She was crushed and devastated, but held her head high even when she wanted to fight Nancy, not wanting to think ridiculous shenanigans. She made herself a promise not to reveal her past, and where she came from since she already told her little brother who later told his friends as that upset her in many ways. Though she did accept it.

She then revealed her past to Wilhelmina, unknowing that she'll be accepted no matter what and she was loved by so many people. Everyone liked her too, some didn't, but that wasn't the point in Jennifer's life. All she wants to do is live her life the way she wants to. She struggled with her romantic feelings toward steve, vowing to determinate them before ruining friendships and eventual relationships.

This time, though, Jennifer's life was just at its peak when her best friend's younger brother vanished, leaving with mysterious, unanswered questions... November 6, 1983.

[behindthesefangirleyes]

Nothing’s ever easy (to be honest, I’m not easy on myself)

By SilverShadow1

Will meant what he promised his mother. He wouldn’t wander off on his own again. But that doesn’t mean it’s not pressing in the back of his mind. The desire to return to the first place aside from Castle Byers where he felt truly at ease.

OR

The Party takes a summer road trip to Chicago.

Part 1 of The Chicago Series

[strangerficsx]

Prologue Four

story: Midnight Rain wc: 2.8k

[a/n: all characters, plot, etc. are not mine. The only thing I own is my original character. credit to gif owner.]

{ November 4, 1984 }

Author's point of view.

With a lifeless Phoebe laying on the ground, the air was filled with silence. A stranger appears, kneeling and examines the body. Without hesitation the male check for a pulse with his two fingers resting against the skin of Phoebe's neck. Her pulse is weak as be begins performing CPR. After a few attempts, her eyes flutter open. She begins a coughing fit, looking around panicked prior to seeing the male above her. Phoebe's chest rises and falls heavily, cursing. Pain seeped into her frail body whilst he helps her up and away towards Hawkins Memorial hospital.

The doctor's wheel her into a surgical room where she will stay for the next few hours before getting transferred to a recovery room. An unconscious phoebe's body settles in the bed beneath her. A heart monitor beats rhythmically beside her, her arms bandaged, her face bruised and scratched. Eventually, Phoebe gains consciousness as she begins panicking, unaware that she is safe and is getting the help she needs. Phoebe tries to speak, but all she can do is gurgle and whimper. She pushes the nurse's button, afraid she might die.

Soon a nurse responds, removing the tube from her mouth as she heaves. "Wh-Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. You were attacked,"

"By what?"

"A wolf, maybe? The were unusual bites, but you're safe now. "Is there anything you'd like?

"Yeah, c-can you call The Byers residence, please?"

The nurse nods, stepping out the room as Phoebe lays her head against the pillow behind her. The nurse returns with a soft smile. "I couldn't get a hold of anyone."

Those word hurt Phoebe deep down, knowing that they were probably busy fighting those creatures that attacked her. But what if they were in trouble? So many thoughts ran through her tired mind as she eventually dozed off without realizing it.

~~

After a month in the hospital, Phoebe was discharged, not knowing where to go. She stumbled through the town of Hawkins as people around her stared at her unpleasantly, but she continued and made it to the Henderson residence where she steps up to a bedroom window, peaking through. She watches Jennifer rummage through belonging that were shared with Phoebe, tears streaming down her best friends cheeks, knowing that her "death" hit the brunette hard. Phoebe had hot tears prick at her eyes as she continues on.

Is she gonna be okay knowing that her own best friend is heartbroken?

Phoebe holds her hand against her stomach, feeling the patch that lies against her healing wound. She needed a place to stay as she continued on, walking towards Maple Street. She sees the two story house in the distance as she continues toward the front door. Stepping on the front porch, she rings the doorbell as a brunette answers. Nancy Wheeler.

"Phoebe? I thought... I thought you died. That's what Jennifer told me at the Hawkins Laboratory."

"I did, yes, but was helped and went to the hospital for two months. I hate, uh, to ask this but do you have any extra clothing I could borrow till I have my own?"

"Yes, come on. My mom and I have a bunch of clothes in storage."

"Nancy?" Mrs. Wheeler called. "Who's at the door?"

"Oh, uh, it's just Jennifer. She came by to check up on me cause of what's happening on the news."

"Oh, okay."

Nancy quickly leads Phoebe up the stairs and into her bedroom. She takes off her dirty shoes, and clothing as the blonde gets handed some new clothes. She quickly throws them on before looking Nancy in the eyes.

"Don't tell Jennifer I was here, okay? I don't want her to know--"

"That you're alive?! You should tell her."

"No, no, no, I can't. Not yet...at least. Give me the next year to process my plan, OK? Please, don't say anything about me, not even where I was."

"Okay, I swear not to tell her, jeez."

Phoebe leaves quickly, swiftly stepping down the steps before leaving the Wheeler house entering the bright neighborhood. She heads for her grandfather's hunting cabin, a place she hasn't been for many years as she hopes and prays someone will be there. And sure enough, her father was there stepping out of the wooden refuge, locking up.

"Dad,"

The tall male stiffened up, arms dropping to his sides before turning his head slowly. They made eye contact with each other as he hurriedly runs down the few steps and toward his daughter, scooping her in his arms. Phoebe wraps her arms around his waist, sobbing into his shirt.

"Oh, my girl, My beautiful girl."

"D-Dad, I'm here."

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Lost,"

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. You could've called me for help. The police station would've helped too."

"I-I know, Dad. I didn't want to scare anyone."

"I was scared, thinking you were dead." He sobs.

Phoebe held onto him tightly. Her face buried in his chest, weeping. They stand there for a long while before she pulls away from her father, looking him in his teary eyes. She could tell he was in pain as was in pain too. How does she explain that Hopper's little girl died and came back to life?

He brings her into the cabin, sitting at the small table in the kicthen. They sit opposite of each other. Phoebe clears her throat, siffling.

"What happened?" He asks.

"Well, when I was in the junk yard with Steve Harrington and Jennifer and the kids and I got scared, and ran away. Without thinking, I kept running unaware of the creatures. And, t-they attacked me." She stops, sniffling. Her voice became shaky. "I died, technically. Somehow, someone found me. They brought me back, and took me to Hawkins Memorial. But here I am, Dad. I'm here. And I promise to be here, if you promise to be here with me."

"I promise,"

He brings his daughter into his arms after she stepped onto the wooden planks. It creaked beneath her foot. And they kept those promises until the unthinkable happened later in 1985.

~~

{ the journal of phoebe hopper - 1985}

Phoebe sits, hunched over a table at the food court, writing in her notebook.

'Today is June 30, 1985 and here I sit in Starcourt Mall by myself drowning in the dark thoughts that cloud my mind. Across sat various shops as one keeps me distracted: Scoops Ahoy. The place where Jennifer Henderson works at. She still doesn't know where I am or what I am doing since the last time she saw me was when I died last year.

My father has kept me a secret from everyone we knew. As I hope no one reveals that I had survived being attacked by monstrous creatures in the junkyard. I sit here, trying to process the right things to do or say, not wanting to be a stalker when it came to spying on my best friend. But to others it looks like it, as I try to keep low. Most people knew about my death, but many didn't know I came back from the dead and am haunting Hawkins.

To Jennifer, I hope you understand why I am doing this. This is for your own good, so I can process what happened and to try and figure out how to make things right after you find me.

And someday you will just not at the moment. Jennifer Henderson, wait for me in '86. I'll make sure to explain everything.'

She closes her notebook as she rises walking away from the table, leaving the mall and never looking back. Throughout the summer of '85, she felt as if the world was about to end. Phoebe had nothing to go off of, if her friends were okay, if her dad was alright. Unfortunately, her father kept the promise all the way to July 4. The day her father perished under Starcourt Mall.

———

Days turned into weeks.

Weeks turned into months.

Months turned into a year.

The current year is 1986, and the blonde had no intention searching for her best friend, and gave up. Things to her were different, she hid from everyone still in her father's cabin in the woods, as Phoebe knew her dad was never coming back, so she is left to attend a damaged cabin herself from the events of last year. She didn't know what broke the ceiling, but thought it was a fallen tree that had been ran into and has been removed since, but she was way off.

The few things she wasn't aware of was that a creature from the another dimension is terrorizing students, a freak being blamed for the murder of a cheerleader, a girl trying to fight off the terror of a horrific event, the byers family moving to another state, her father being captured by russians, and so much more.

Today was March 20 as she read on the news paper she had came across on her trip into downtown Hawkins to retrieve more groceries. Phoebe fell into a dark state of depression, but continued as she was coming to terms with confronting Jennifer.

And that was what she planned on doing, she will do it in the next few days...

Her story begins again.

Somewhere else in hawkins...

{ October 4, 1985 }

Jennifer walks away, forcing her tears back as she steps toward the door, grabbing her coat that laid against the peg of the coat rack. She slides on her jacket before picking her keys from her pocket before walking out the door, shutting it behind her. Hot tears pour from her eyes.

Jennifer puts the keys in the ignition as she starts the engine. Driving, she wipes away droplets of salty water, but the tears keep coming, staining the delicate skin of her cheeks. Jennifer stops beside Hawkins High School. In the back, a forest sits as she puts the car in park. She grabs her small backpack and walks away from the school and through dry, large trees. Jennifer stops in her tracks when an empty picnic table sitting all by its lonesome, catches her eye.

Jennifer strides toward the bench and takes a seat, resting her chin on her palm. When Jennifer unzips her bag to retrieve the leftover box of cigarettes she got from Steve, a twig snaps as it catches her off guard, startling her. She zips her bag up, rising from her seat. Not knowing where the noise came from, a male with long curly hair approaches. He holds his hand up.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Yeah, well, you did."

The two make eye contact as Jennifer watches the male closely. Knowing that he likely goes to Hawkins High, Jennifer calms down slightly but is still on top of her surroundings and approaches the following small talk carefully. The two sit at the table together as the male stares in Jennifer's direction. She catches his gaze, looking into his big brown eyes. Something inside Jennifer flutters, eyes still red from crying.

"So, what's your name, mystery girl?"

"It's Jennifer Henderson."

"Eddie Munson." He looks away, coming back. "Henderson? Why does that surname ring a bell."

"Hmm, don't know. I have a younger brother who goes to Hawkins High School. His name's Dustin."

"Holy shit, you're his sister."

"Yup, he is. My annoying little brother." Jennifer smiles.

"He happens to be in my D&D club." Eddie adds.

"D&D?" She questions, brows furrowed.

"Dungeons and Dragons. It's a club for--"

"For nerds? Yeah, he's mentioned it a few times, but with the crazy stuff I've endured the last two and a half years -- nah, no, I don't like it."

"Well... You seem to like this spot."

"Yeah, it's peaceful and no one's around. I went here for four years, and did not know about this spot. I just found it like a few minutes ago when I left-- I left 'cause I just broke up with someone, and needed some peace and quiet. But now, company sounds nice knowing that I was alone."

"I can't argue with that one. I too, would leave and go somewhere to cool down from anything."

"Hey, you seem... cool. I'd like to get to know you better. Is that--"

"Okay? Sure, we can. How about, this spot is our spot. The the two of us, to get to know one another."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

They smile at each other as a distant bell rings, notifying the two that class has either started or ended. They make eye contact once again, this time holding each other's gaze.

"It was nice meeting you, Henderson."

"You too, Eddie. I feel slightly better,"

"Good,"

Jennifer rises and takes her time to carefully gets back to her car.

{ January - February 1986 }

The only thing Jennifer Henderson did was push people away, so she decided to make a plan to see someone. She found a support group that was hosting every day in the afternoons, so she decided to go. Most of her time was spent her time in the program for people who lost someone important to them. Group therapy is what most people called it. She also attended because she's been having problems drinking and smoking, afraid her friends and boyfriend may judge. With worry, she didn't say anything and kept quiet. The only thing she told her mom was that she was visiting a family member in Detroit, Michigan and to tell people that she's okay.

Once she was gone, everyone around wondered where she was including Steve... but she will be back to try and explain things. That's what her plan was.

{ Friday, March 20, 1986 }

It's been almost two years since Phoebe passed away in 1984, and she has never been better. After seeing a shrink for the last few months (after the violence and terror at Starcourt Mall), Jennifer has been able to cope with her emotions toward the PTSD. Now happy as well, she's hoping this year won't bring anymore surprises from the Upside Down. Not after the last three years; from Will going missing to battling demodogs, to a spider-like creature at The Starcourt Mall. She is able to put her stress aside.

Today, though, Jennifer returned to her life. She enters Family Video with her nametag in hand. At the counter, Steve and Robin eye her. He stands with his arms crossed and Robin gives the brunette a serious look.

"Uh... What's wrong with you guys this morning?"

"Well, you haven't been at work in, like, two months--"

"What's going on with you? Are you OK? Are you sick?" Steve cuts in, shifting his stance but his arms continue to stay folded against his chest.

"Steve, I'm... I'm fine. I've been out because..." She trails off.

Jennifer continues standing her her place before approaching the counter. She swallows as the corners of her mouth mouth dips into a frown. Her eyes lower to the floor, trying to find the right words to say.

"Jesus. Just confess, please?" Robin asks, begging as she holds a tape in her hand.

"I've been getting help for my problems. I fell into dark depression, and went to an emotional support group, or group therapy.

"What?" Robin and Steve ask in unison. Steve was mostly worried, but Robin she wasn't sure how to respond.

"Yeah,"

"Jesus Christ, Jen. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry anyone and thought no one cared since everyone had their own problems."

"I think we all sure our own problems. Especially last year when we fought the spider creature at Starcourt."

"Yeah, and you and me, especially. We've been through fighting a demogorgon, demodogs, the mind flayer, and your friend dying plus the spider creature.

"Okay, well, wan we work and just forget I told you guys this?"

The two nodded as Robin got to work, but Steve stood there and stared at her. "I am happy you're back, Jennifer. However, please tell me what's going on. No more secrets, ok?"

"Yes," She plants her lips on his, stepping back as he turns and walks away.

Hooking the nametag on her vest, Jennifer enters the back and pulls out a stack of VHS tapes, exiting. She carefully walks toward the nearby shelf, loading the tapes on the shelf. She turns her head, glancing at Steve, who talks to a girl as he shows her various VHS tapes. Ever since the breakup, things have been awkward between the two. But they have been keeping their distance.

That night, things began to feel different. Uneasy for Jennifer as she stepped into her house. shutting the door behind her, the brunette makes her way towards her bedroom where she dresses from her work clothes to pajamas. Jennifer removes her makeup and unpins her hair. She quickly freshens her breath before settling into her bed.

"A new day. I hope."

Unfortunately, the next week will be anything but normal for Jennifer Henderson as something mysterious and more sinister comes back to Hawkins for another scare.

[plscallmeeren]

P R O L O G U E

My eyes turned to the cool grey shades of winter just beyond the window pane. I couldn't settle on a single glimpse to inspect, so my gaze flitted from one ghost of a plant to the miserably alone woman in the office across from the one I was sitting in. Nothing deserved to be scrutinised. It had to be contemplated, conceptually, as one.

"Miss Crown? Miss Crown? Can you hear me?"

"Yes, doc, I can hear. Now please, indulge me. What do I have to tell me so that you can write on a slip of paper what's wrong with me, tell me to fuck off and then we all live happily ever after?" I didn't look away from the weeping lady or the snow-covered flowers or barren branches.

"I'm not quite that far yet. First, tell me of your life. Include your family and perhaps your closest friends and where they were at the time, but no one else. Chronological, if at all possible." His deeply troubling, trembling hands and glasses so thick he looked like a cartoon character were comically familiar. A doctor through and through. And yet, what did I know of a random psychologist with shaking limbs and incredibly enlarged eyes?

"M'kay", I murmured, still focusing my sight on nothing in particular, just as I intended to for the entire session.

"So, I give you this little summary of Raven and her family's backstory, because neither of us have the time to tell it? That's great. Okay. Here I go, then.

A PHOENIX TIGER STUDIOS PRODUCTION

The Crown family is made up of seven people; Khalil and Marie, and their five children, who are, from oldest to youngest, called Raven - as you very well know -, Miriam, Evangeline, and the twins Brynn and Favian.

WITH NETFLIX

I was born in the same year as my friend Eddie - 1966 - to a happy, newly wedded couple in California." I chuckled wryly and could almost see the doctor look up from the paper he was scribbling on fervently until then. California, baby, you heard it.

DIRECTED BY

"In 1967 Billy Hargrove was born to a loving mother and problematic father, if you know what we mean, although he kept his distance from his son, also in California, at the beach... nowhere near me though. Man, if he had been nearby, things might've went differently.

THE DUFFER BROTHERS

Miriam was born in 1969, both our parents and me delighted to have her as she was welcomed into the world. Sometime after this, however, Marie - our mother - started having an affair. I used to think it ridiculous, but I didn't get life yet, I don't think. Hadn't gotten the hang of it.

EXCECUTIVE PRODUCERS SHAWN LEVVY, DAN COHEN, BRIAN WRIGHT AND MORE

This... came to light when Evangeline, or Evan, or Angel, as we like to call her, was born in 1972, neither of Algerian nor European ethnicity. Upon this revelation, Khalil... dad... began drinking, soon falling into the common addiction.

CINEMATOGRAPHY BY TIM IVES, TOD CAMPBELL, LACHLAN MILNE, DAVID FRANCO, RICARDO DIAZ

In 1978, the twins - Favian and Brynn - were born, also not as his children. His alcohol problem only worsened, his person tending to long periods of depression due to this, making him practically unavailable to anyone. Marie's anger at the world and her... her life... had long come to light, especially me suffering from her issues as I was often... hit? Yelled at? Blamed? It doesn't feel like I'm doing it justice. Around this time - I hope you don't mind my controversial religion, doc -, I turned to Wicca, beginning our study of witchcraft. Sounds scary, doesn't it? Anyway.

EDITORS DEAN ZIMMERMANN, KEVIN D. ROSS, NAT FULLER, KATHERYN NARANJO

Marie waited until the twins no longer required breastfeeding - funny, isn't it? -, abandoning the family few months after they were born. Khalil- dad... continued drinking, only just managing to earn money, albeit little, otherwise unable to look after the kids. Due to this, at... twelve, maybe? Barely. We was already the main paternal figure in the kids' lives. Yay, am I right?

21 LAPS ENTERTAINMENT

That same year - 1979 - we moved to Hawkins, where we only just got by, the eldest - that'd be us - working whenever I could aside from my school life... that included babysitting Johnathon for a while, who is... Right. Chronological. This was also the year Billy moved to Hawkins, as well as Eddie lost his parents, moving in with his uncle Wayne. Crazy, how that happens, ain't it, hon'?

MONKEY MASSACRE PRODUCTIONS

1980 - great times - Eddie and us first shared classes together in eighth grade, the former continuously flirting with me, making up the most of our relationship. However, I was too preoccupied with my chores to consider romance, to be completely honest. This was also the time I actually befriended Johnathon, the two of us soon coming to call ourselves best friends. Then again, we were also each other's only friends, for that matter, apart from maybe Eddie, on my behalf. At this age I was also convinced by my fuck-wit of a sister to go see a free psychologist in order to get diagnosed with Anxiety. Or, well, so it seems."

I fell silent, the scribbling continuing. My head filled with useless visions of past, present and future.

UPSIDE DOWN PICTURES

In 1981 Billy and I meet and start dating. This only comes to be because Billy quickly grows to be emotionally dependant on me, my idiocy immediately realising this and feeling I owed my compassion to him, although I soon balanced the relationship out as it became less and less one-sided. At this time, I was 14, Billy being 13 - one year younger than me. Stupid, how that bothered me so damn much. Eddie continued to flirt with me relentlessly, causing much drama, the dynamic lasting all the way into the year of '83.

WRITTEN BY EREN

At the end of this year, however, Khalil passes away, leaving the children in my hands and with not enough money to survive. The twins had barely gotten prepared for first grade.

WITH INSPIRATION AND PHOTOS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

For this reason, before the next school year could start in 1984, I drop out, Billy consequently breaking up with me over apparent 'prioritising my siblings over him'. Motherfucker, I even believe it. At this time, Eddie and I had both just finished eleventh grade, though Eddie had to repeat. Searching desperately for a well-paid job, Jim Hopper discovered my troubles and offered me a spot at the station as a nurse, the eighteen-year-old me slowly passing more and more tests from afar so that I could be paid as a real nurse. Upon my father's death I fought to adopt my siblings now that I was an adult, social services agreeing reluctantly because it was easiest and there was no way they could all stay together if they were brought into the system, especially in the times of the Cold Wars.

WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT

In 1985 this life continued, Eddie now in twelfth grade, Billy dropping out of school for a year due to Max and Susan's presence. In this year, Eddie and I both turned 20, Billy aged 18 to 19, Miriam was 16, Evangeline 13 and the twins seven. For two years already Evan had been a part of the group including Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin, although she was unaware of... something. She befriended Max better than anyone, the two labelling themselves best friends within months.

STARRING JOSEPH QUINN AND SOFIA BOUTELLA

I finally tore my gaze away from the small birds chirping in the freezing haze outside upon hearing my name called out to me. The doctor sat with one leg perched on another, his eyes now seeming abnormally small as he had removed his glasses and was looking at me, rather bewildered.

"Yes?"

"I just have a question", he stuttered, almost shy all of a sudden, "Why... You keep saying 'we' or 'us' instead of 'I'... Why is that? You sound like you believe not to be alone?"

A smirk crept upon my lips at understanding searching for me, getting lost on the way and diving down a rabbit-hole to madness.

"Oh, doc, didn't you know?

We are never alone."

STRANGER THINGS: SOUL TRADE

[aestherin]

— KEEP MY HEART ♡

scaramouche x f!reader social media au

SUMMARY — you find plenty of guys around you attractive, but there is only one you’re willing to make the first move on: the guy you first saw during your older brother’s soccer game. spoiler: he's a player from your rival university.

status: on-going | taglist: closed

genres: social media au, college au, strangers to lovers, crack, fluff, a sprinkle of angst (?), modern au, i wanted to do smth chill haha

extras: playlist — [click here] 🤍

author's notes:

omg 2nd smau is here!!

updates may be inconsistent, i don't have a posting schedule

again, idk what i'm doing haha

english is not my first language so expect grammatical and typographical errors (bear with me please :"D)

will contain swearing

PLAYERS.

— SL4YERS — the reds — the blued

SCOREBOARD.

game start ! (prologue)

— FIRST HALF

goal 01. i feel something ¬ goal 02. live a good life goal 03. let's play chess ¬ goal 04. do you like cats goal 05. a proof to your claim ¬ goal 06. am i being rejected goal 07. my baby ¬ goal 08. happy birthday goal 09. do you like sweets ¬ goal 10. i'm loyal, sir goal 11. my name ¬ goal 12. ghosted goal 13. unbothered ¬ goal 14. stupid is the new sexy goal 15. call me baby ¬ goal 16. i'm taking you out goal 17. kuni

— HALF TIME

goal 18. i can teach you ¬ goal 19. one thing goal 20. home ¬ goal 21. available for sale goal 22. my money, my choice ¬ goal 23. are you cold? goal 24. note to self ¬ goal 25. wear mine goal 26. they'll never like you ¬ goal 27. it was boring goal 28. we aren't a couple ¬ goal 29. what happened goal 30. something wrong ¬ goal 31. they're definitely dating goal 32. you but in meow ¬ goal 33. you're my best friend

— SECOND HALF

goal 34. flowers for you ¬ goal 35. how do i kick my brother out

goal 36. can i call? ¬ goal 37. are you gatekeeping me?

goal 38. pardon my french ¬ goal 39. tied

goal 40. good luck kiss

game over ! (epilogue): where's the trophy

TAGLIST I @lady-elodie @aiikalvr @lovely-althxa @unsterblich-prinz @xiaosonlybeloved @xiaomainlmao @cindywasneverhere @coquettemaiden @sunsethw4 @lunavixia @calickoh @arealistonao3 @lowkeyivorie @zyilas @mondaymelon @yukiipc @heartswonder @st0pthatsgay @ozzierenato @astreaa-express @shewolfmiko @lovelyycherries @myaaones @countessqin @aloveablechaos @letthewindlead @lunaavity @local-blueberry-boy @luminestars @layla240 @useless-potatho @atlaszi @alatusorrow @lahsram2201 @sakiimeo @user11918163805279 @vqazx @neigesprincess @kunicrush @yoursockstinks @hotgirlshit5 @mikctp @crucnhice @apotatouwu @yuaenri @sammybeefangirls @miko1ly @deffenferofjustice @etherisy @sagegreenthinks

i cant mention more than 50 people in one post so the other taglists will be in the reblogs instead!! 🤍

[rebelscums]

Ardent (Qimir x Ex Jedi reader)

Prologue of Ardent

Ratings: Angst | Fluff | Strangers to Lovers | Friends to Lovers | Abuse | Violence | Questioning the Jedi order | Slowburn

Summary: You have been by his side since the beginning… This is your story.

If you could use one word to describe Qimir… It would be ardent. He was ardent in everything that he did. Passionate to the fault of the universe caving in on his achievements. He was ardent in the force… Ardent in his training… And ardently in love with you.

He put the word love to shame, going beyond the definition and excelling just as he excelled in everything else he did… Well of course walking. You couldn’t understand how someone so poised could trip over air without a moments notice, but you loved him anyways.

You always will.

You would die for the man that you stood side by side with since the very beginning. Since the day he decided to leave the Jedi order.

You ardently followed him then to.

“And where would you go?” You asked Qimir.

The two of you sat under your favorite plum tree. The fruit was out of season and so no flowers bloomed, but that didn’t deter you. It was still your favorite spot and with time it became Qimir’s favorite spot as well.

You were both young and naive then. You believe that the Jedi taking you from your home had been a good thing… A noble thing. You wouldn’t have been able to meet Qimir if the Jedi order hadn’t taken you and so you forgave them. You believed that you were here to serve a greater purpose. Qimir believed that as well, but time had a way of shedding light on things that wished to be kept in the shadows.

The order began to leave you stumbling with questions and doubts that you couldn’t control. Even your master couldn’t sway the growing thoughts and you grew from a youngling to a padawan… Everything had been going well. Your training improved and you spent your free time following Qimir around.

It was then that you slowly began to find the bruises that Qimir so desperately tried to hide. He always began questioning the way of the force and the path of the Jedi, but unlike your master who valued knowledge, Qimir’s master valued violence.

You remember that day clearly. You remember the blood dripping down his brow and the burnt slack across his back. You remember the way he bit his lip to stop from crying out.

You remember using the force to throw his master against that faithful plum tree.

“I’m leaving.” Qimir slowly stood to his feet.

No one told either of you how cruel the Jedi were.

“I’m coming with you.” It wasn’t even a thought to you.

“You can’t. You have your master. You have your path.” He tried to convince you to stay. Even as two teenagers, you both wanted what was best for one another.

You looked at him wondering what you could do to convince him that you would not stay here without him. It was then that you decided and in one swift moment, you took your padawan braid and cut it off with your lightsaber. You handed your old life to him, the braid in his bloody hand.

“You are my path.” Your tone left no room for question.

He took your hand in his bloodied one and neither of you looked back as the two of you ran from the life you could have taken.

Qimir knew then that he would never let you go and anyone who would take you away from him would face a death even far more menacing than the dark side of the force.

Now let’s start at the beginning…