#stranger things x hopper!oc

[stvolanis]

Don’t Wanna Grow Up.

( one shot )

PAIRINGS: Rockstar! OC X Mean! Jim Hopper

WARNINGS: guys Hopper is really mean in this, small plot, OC is in a band (corroded coffin), she’s Eddie’s best friend/step-sister, age gap (OC is 19 and hops in his 40s), dubcon, drinking, usual rockstar things, OC is also kinda an asshole,nice jim at the end, hop being a cop (that rhymed lol)

NSFW INCLUDES: anal play, degradation (slut, brat, bitch), spitting, (hard) slapping, hair pulling, breeding kink, breath play, power play, size kink, manhandling, choking, oral (m receiving), praising (if you squint), heavy sir kink, humiliation, public sex (parking lot), p in v sex, overstimulation, cum eating, SORRY IF I MISSED ANYTHING<3

Istg I got horny while writing this so I hope y’all enjoy !!<3

please lmk if you guys are interested in a part 2!!

˚ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ˚

the night was lively and booming in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. It was a big contrast to the usual boring nights that the locals were used to, and it was surely a huge difference for on-duty chief of police, Jim Hopper.

Rowdy teens were one thing, but full grown adults plus teenagers being loud and obnoxious was not how hopper wanted to spend his night. Of course the big commotion would only mean one thing, lots of paperwork and phone calls.

It was a Tuesday night. A school night. A work night, even. What could have possibly caused all this up roar in the town? This much disruption and constant noise complaint phone calls from a small, quiet and local bar were unusual. But, nonetheless, the chief loaded up in his cruiser and made quick work of heading to the busy bar.

Jim could hear the faint blaring music from down the road, much to his dismay. As he pulled in and got out of his car, slamming the door shut, he quickly took notice of the locals stumbling out of the bar drunkenly, hollering only god knows what as he watched one fall into a bush. It was gonna be a long night.

Hopper walked into the noisy bar and was instantly met with the smell of strong alcohol and must coming from the sweaty bodies dancing around in the crowd. Unfortunately, he could also smell the lingering remanence of throw up, cause his face to crinkle up in disgust. Suddenly, the bright stage that was flashing every color under the sun caught his attention.

Of course she would be what was causing all of this nonsense.

Blood red hair sticking up in all kinds of directions bounced up and down while singing wildly. One of her dainty, fishnet covered hands in the air as her other held a microphone. The deep red lipstick she was wearing was slightly smeared, as was her eyeliner and mascara. Her honey brown eyes peering over the crowd with a wicked smile dancing on her lips at the mess she’s stirred. The lead singer of Corroded Coffin, Cherrie.

A Highschool drop-out who was on the upcoming charts with her band, soon to be leaving the small town to start touring across America for a hefty price. A delinquent since she became friends with the Munson boy, who she’d met in the 5th grade after she stabbed him in the thigh with her pink pencil.

Cherrie was a force to be reckoned with, and Hop can’t even count on his fingers anymore how many times she’d spent the night in the county jail either high out of her mind or drunk on gin. She’d spent her whole life in and out of the system, till Eddie Munsons uncle, Wayne, decided he’d take her in. Her love for music started when she’d stumbled across Eddie’s massive music collection. Once Eddie got his guitar and she had a microphone in her hand, the rest was history.

The band started off as something they did for fun with their friends, but then it turned into something they couldn’t even imagine. Once their producer released their first album, it went flying off the shelves after about a lingering week of nothing. Before they knew it, they were ushered to go on tour in 2 weeks times. Cherrie always felt she was destined for more than the small town had to offer, but she could never quite place it till now. She had wanted an escape for as long as she can remember, and now that she finally had one, she wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon.

The small town she lived in seen the worst in her, even the ones who were much worse than her. The difference between them was that she wasn’t afraid to show it. She didn’t need to put up a facade for people, because they’d always just see her as the burnt out Highschool drop out. But when she was on stage, it was like she was on top of the world. For once, the people who’d whisper terrible things about her and spread ugly rumors were looking up at her and cheering their hearts out. It was a nice change. It was a euphoric feeling.

Cherrie was no stranger when it came to the male gaze, as she’d dealt with it since she was only about 14. It’s always made her uncomfortable, for sure, but after a while she’d learned how to use it to her advantage. So it was no surprise when she’d tried attempt to seduce Jim Hopper a few months prior when he’d threaten to lock her up for good. She’d ended up spending the night in a jail cell. Ever since then, Jim’s felt uneasy around the ball of fire. Almost afraid she’d pounce at any moment on him.

But right now, it was almost as if he was in a trance as he watched her body move enchantingly. The lighting made her deep olive skin appear more vibrant, and hopper could see the sweat dripping down her chest and into her open cleavage. She wore a tight strapless corset that was laced and a small mini skirt that was so short, he was sure if she turned around he’d be able to see her ass. The fishnets that adorned her arms and legs had skulls embroidered onto them, but hopper could still see her colorful Paul Stanley star-man tattoo on the side of her thigh.

The choker she wore had protruding spikes on it and the chains she wore along with it complimented her slim neck. Hopper instinctively locked his dry lips as he stared at her for a moment longer before their eyes connected, and he felt the hairs on his arm stand up and his back straighten.

Cherrie watched Hopper walked to the side of the stage with furrowed eyebrows as he unplugged Eddie’s amp and the strobe lights, effectively making everyone let out noises of confusion and annoyance. Cherrie rolled her eyes and groaned as she dropped the mic onto the ground angrily before hopping off of the stage, pushing her way through the crowd to get to Jim. Eddie was hot on her tail, trying to calm down the fire he could’ve swore he saw in her eyes begin to spark, but he was soon lost in the crowd as he called out to her.

“What the fuck are you doing, shithead?!” Cherrie yelled out as she stood in front of Jim. “Doin’ my job, Cherrie. But you always gotta make it harder f’me, huh?” He huffed out with annoyance as he pushed past her towards the crowd of rowdy people.

“Everyone out! Right now, unless you’d like to spend the night with me at the station.” He yelled to the crowd, who quickly dispersed. Many sending Hopper ugly glances, but he was too over everything to care. “No, this is my scene, why’d you have to come fuck it up?!” She said with a groan as she stood chest to chest with him, though she was much smaller than him.

“Noise complaints, from multiple people.” He replied dryly. “Why can’t you just stay out of trouble for 2 fuckin’ minutes, is it that hard?” He added with a scoff. Cherrie didn’t process what happened as she felt her fist connect with his cheek, wincing as she rubbed her knuckles before slowly looking back up at an angry chief.

“Shit—Wait—” she muttered as she tried backing away from him, but Hop wasn’t having it. He harshly gripped her upper arm before slamming her front into the wall. “Cmon, yknow I didn’t mean to.” She said as she tried to wiggle free from his tight hold. “Shut up, brat.” He replied through clenched teeth as he snapped his cuffs onto her wrists.

“Ow!” She shouted as the cuffs tightened around her wrists painfully. Hop ignored her please as he dragged her out of the now almost empty bar. Eddie was by his van as he watched Cherrie get taken out in handcuffs with a shake of his head and a frown. “M’ sorry, Eds!” She shouted to him across the parking lot with a shrug of her shoulders. Eddie sighed as their band loaded up their belongings into his car.

Hopper pushed her forward towards the car. “We ain’t stoppin’ for chit-chat.” He grumbled under his breath. Cherrie merely rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Asshole.” She muttered under her breath. Hopper gripped her wrists in the cuffs tighter and he watched as she winced in pain. “What was that? Hm?” He muttered lowly in her ear.

She could feel his warm breath against the shell of her ear, and that’s all it took for her body to feel like it’s on fire. His grip on her wrists and the way she could feel his crotch area brush against her ass as they walked to the car from how close they are had her body on edge. She bit her lip as he opened the backseat door for her before roughly shoving her in and slamming the door shut.

Hopper got in his seat and fumbled with his keys with a huff before starting his cruiser. “Yknow you’re kinda hot when you’re mad to me, chief.” Cherrie giggled as she batted her lashes. Hopper eyed her through the rearview mirror, his eyes briefly trailing down to her open cleavage that was now free of sweat before rolling his eyes and adjusting the mirror to see better behind him, but really it’s just so his boner wouldn’t further harden from the sight of her in cuffs in his back seat.

Cherrie giggled lightly as she made herself comfortable in the backseat as Jim began driving to the police station. And then an idea hit her. “Yknow, I always thought you were a pretty shitty cop.” She said aloud as she looked out the window with a smirk. “Excuse me?” Hopper said, taken slightly aback.

“You heard me. I don’t even know you you became chief—I mean, aren’t you always drinking on the job? Yet you wanna make me seem like I’m the worst person ever.” She scoffed out with an eye roll. Hopper slammed on the breaks, making Cherrie hurl forward, hitting the head rest with a loud ‘thud’.

“Shit—what the fuck, Hop?!” She yelled out with furrowed brows. Jim’s breathing was erratic and hit fists were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. “Yeah? You think I’m a shitty cop? Alright, y’little bitch.” He muttered with a dark chuckle as he drove into an empty parking lot that was some what hidden behind trees.

“What’re you doin? you aren’t gonna kill me are you?” Cherrie giggled, feigning fear. Hopper didn’t respond as he parked the car and swung his door open, quickly opening Cherries too. “Hey—” she started, but was cut off when hopper gripped her upper arm tightly, yanking her out of her seat and onto the ground. Cherrie sat on her knees in front of the cop, looking up at him through her thick lashes.

“Y’gonna hurt me, Hop?” She challenged with raised brows and a taunting smirk. Hoppers hand harshly made contact with the side of her cheek, roughly slapping her, making her head spin to the side as a stinging pain overtook her cheek. Cherrie whimpered lightly, making Hopper chuckle. “Thought this was what you wanted, brat.” He said tauntingly as he gripped her hair, making her look up at him.

“Now here’s what’s gonna happen—” he started . “Y’gonna suck my cock like a good girl n then I’m gonna fuck that tight little cunt until I’m through with you, n maybe your ass if I feel like it. You’ve been a little bitch all night so don’t expect to fucking cum, y’hear me?” He stated as he peered down at her. Cherrie felt her pussy begin to ache with need, but this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She wasn’t supposed to actually want him the way she does now.

Cherrie nodded and Hopper slapped her once again, but on her other cheek. “Words, slut.” He spit out. Cherrie moaned at the slap, making hopper chuckle. “Yes, sir.” She muttered as she bit down on her lip. Jim groaned at the name. “Good girl.” He praised as he began to unzip his pants, letting them fall to his knees.

Cherrie could see his large bulge and a small wet patch where his tip is that’s seeping through. “M’gonna teach you how to suck cock properly, little girl.” He said as he let his hard cock spring free, long and so thick. A vein ran along the underside of it and Cherries mouth watered at the sight, but she wasn’t gonna let up so easily. “S’ not gonna fit in my mouth. Don’t want it to.” She said.

“I don’t give a fuck, you act like a brat n’ you get treated like one.” He said as he slapped his cock against the side of her cheek with a smirk. He soon forced Cherries mouth open with his thumb and shoved his throbbing member down her throat without warning, making her gag aloud. Cherrie could feel her eyes watering as his cock hit the back of her throat with no mercy. It was getting hard to breathe, and it didn’t help when the mean man above her pinched her nose shut as he held his cock in the back of her throat with a loud groan.

After a few seconds he let her nose go and she released his throbbing dick, gasping for air, hee chest heaving. “Please—” she begged through breaths of air. Jim quickly shoved his cock back down her throat that was now becoming unbearably sore, along with her jaw. She moaned around his cock as she began to grind her sopping cunt against the chiefs freshly polished boots.

Hopper felt his end coming near at the sight it. “Look at you— h-humping my boot l-l-like a bitch in heat.” He moaned at through clenched teeth as he watched her mascara and eyeliner run down her cheeks from her tears that he caused. The way she feverishly humped against his boot harder after his comment made him cum down her throat with a groan and a string of ‘fuckkk, just like that’ and ‘so fuckin good’.

Cherries senses were overwhelmed as she tasted him down her throat and on her tongue. Salty, but not bitter. Hopper slightly pulled out and released the rest of his cum on her tongue that was hanging outside of her mouth with a satisfied moan. Cherrie made quick work of swallowing his generous load. “Whaddya say, baby?” He mocked.

“Thank you for your cum, sir.” Cherrie said as she gripped at his leg, her panty covered pussy still dripping on his boot. “Needy little girl, aren’t you, Cherrie?” He asked as he clicked his tongue. She nodded and muttered a small ‘yes, sir’ as he surprisingly, gently pulled her up from the ground. Hopper gripped Cherries throat and pulled her face close to his, just enough to where their lips were brushing against each other.

“‘M gonna fuck you so good.” He muttered, and Cherrie groaned as he lips finally crashed with his. The kiss was messy and heated, and their teeth clashed together as did their tongues. They fought for dominance, but Jim over powered her as his tongue danced with hers. “Fuckkk, y’taste so good.” He groaned against her as his grip on her slim throat tighten just above her spiked choker that he adored so much on her.

He opened her mouth before spitting into it, his boner growing larger as he watched her swallow it obediently. It was just something about making her go from a bratty, loud, rude and arrogant little girl to a submissive, hot mess with not much to say now that made Jim Hopper go absolutely fucking feral. The need to be inside of her hurled into his senses as he dragged her to the front of his cruiser, bending her over the hood.

Jim got down onto his knees, now eye level with her wet, fishnet covered baby pink panties with lace on the trim of it. “So cute, baby.” He muttered as he kissed the flesh of her ass before gripping both cheeks in his large hands. He pressed his nose into her panties and inhaled her scent deeply, his dick throbbing at the smell of her arousal. Cherrie whimpered as his nose brushed against her aching clit as she tried to wiggle her pussy even closer to his face.

Hopper chuckled at his needy girl and licked a long stripe over her panties. Cherrie let out a pornographic moan as he sucked her panty covered clit into his mouth. “Please, sir, ‘m sorry for bein’ a bad girl, need you so bad. promise I’ll be good.” She whined out as her eyes began to water again.

“Since you asked so nicely f’me, whore.” He said as though he were pondering it. He stood up and easily towered over the small girl bent over the hood of his car as he ripped her fishnets big enough to wear he could push her panties to the side. He groaned as he watched her slick drip out of her pussy and down her thighs. “Hop, my fishnets..” she muttered breathlessly.

“I’ll buy you new fishnets, baby, whatever you want.” He muttered as leaned over and kissed her shoulder. He slapped her ass, once, twice, just to watch it jiggle against the impact before spreading her ass once again to get a better view of her pussy. “So wet..” he murmured to himself as he slapped her gently slapped her cunt, making her let out a soft groan.

Hopper aligned his massive cock to her entrance and pushed in forcefully before pausing for a moment to get the smaller girl used to his size. Her cunt squeezed around him in a vice grip, almost painfully as he hissed. Cherrie moaned as she felt him fill her small cunt to the brim, kissing her cervix. She could feel him throbbing inside of her, begging to move.

“Please, sir—” she started, and Jim wasted no time in pulling out just to slam back into her again, causing Cherrie to let out a gasp. Hopper began pounding into the red haired girl, one of his hands gripping her wrists that were still in handcuffs while the other harshly smacked her ass hard enough to leave a deep red hand print, making Cherries eyes water.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she moaned out loud ‘uhs’ each time he slammed back into her. As his pace began to gradually increase, the sweaty sound of skin slapping together could be heard throughout the parking lot and Jim felt like he was on cloud 9. Her cunt was so warm and tight. Almost as if she were a virgin.

Hop imagined her stomach swollen and her breasts enlarged and swollen with milk. How she’d become domesticated and obedient, much to his pleasure. He imagined her whimpers and moans as he’d fondle her nipples and squeezed the bundle of nerves just to watch the milk come out of them.

His hips slammed into hers harder and faster, taking Cherries breath away as her moans were uncontrollable and throat sore. Her mind was blank and all she could think about was the way he was filling her up. “Like the way I fuck you, hm? Stuffin’ this little pussy just the way you like.” The older man said as he threw his head back with a loud moan.

God, she loved how vocal he was. It made her pussy clench around him as she felt her orgasm approaching. “Sir—‘m gonna cum, gonna cum, oh my god—” she moaned out, her voice a higher pitch as she whined at the stimulation. Hopper sounded almost animalistic as he let out a what sounded close to a growl. “I told you you’re not gonna fuckin’ cum, you hear me?” He said through pants. Cherrie could tell he was being serious, but she just couldn’t hold it.

“please, ‘m sorry, sorry, I c—ca—can’t hold it.” She gasped out as her mouth formed into an ‘O’ shape as her orgasm slammed into her. Cherrie squirted all over Jim’s lower body, making him let out a groan. “Fuckkk..” he groaned out again. Cherrie thought Hopper would let up since she’d already came, but it seemed like the man had other plans.

Her pussy was so sensitive as he continued his brutal thrusts in and out with no remorse to her aching cunt. “please—stop, I can’t—“ she begged loudly as she tried to push her cuffed hands against his lower stomach, weakly trying to push him away from her but failing miserably. “No, you wanted to cum so you’re gonna fuckin cum for me as many times as I tell you to.” He said as he watched her ass jiggle each time his hips hit hers.

Hopper moved his hand that was around her wrist to her ass cheek, spreading it before spitting down into her puckered hole. He used his thumb to smear around his saliva before he slowly pushed it in, making Cherrie hiss out in pain. “This is what little girls who don’t listen get. They get their assholes used and violated.” He said with a chuckle as he began to fuck her tight ass with his thumb.

Broken moans left her throat as she felt herself go cross eyed, body shaking at the stimulation of her clit dragging against the hood of the car with each violent thrust delivered to her over-used cunt, paired with his thumb fucking into her ass made her orgasm quickly approach again.

“Sir, ‘m gonna cum, please let me cum, please, please, please!” She yelled out like it was a chant. Hopper bit down harshly on his lip, drawing blood before speaking. “Hold on, ‘m almost there, slut.” He huffed out as his thrusts became erratic and sloppy. “Y’want me to cum in this pussy? Make you nice n’ full? Make you all nice n swollen with my fuckin’ babies?” He moaned out.

“Yes, yes, yes, oh my god, need your cum, please cum in me. Need it so bad.” She moaned out, drunk on his cock that was drilling into her now more sloppy. “Yeah? Fuck , yes. Cum f’me right now, Cherrie. Cum f’me.” He repeated over and over till she squirted all over his cock for a second time, her body shaking and spasming with each dragging thrust he blew.

His hips stilled as his cock stuffed her full, and she could feel him getting soft inside of her before lazily pulling out. Hopper dropped down to his knees again and began licking up both of their release from her hole, savoring the taste of her juices that were now dripping down the starved man’s chin, making his beard sticky. “Oh my god.” Cherrie moaned as her legs shook violently at the harsh overstimulation of him fucking his cum back into her pussy with three of his large fingers.

Jim let up and slapped her cunt a few times for safe measures before he grabbed the keys to her handcuffs and took them off. Hopper put her panties back in place to make sure none of his valued cum can get out of her used cunt. He let her body fall limp against him as he picked her up bridal style as he opened the passenger door, gently putting her in.

“‘M takin’ you to my house, baby. Gon’ take good care of you, Cherrie.” He murmured gently as he kissed her temple. Cherrie nodded and blushed madly at his gentle, loving tone. A tone no one besides Wayne or Eddie used for her.

Maybe Jim Hopper wasn’t so bad after all.

˚ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ˚

[starlordsatellite]

I have the slowest possible burn steve harrington x oc fic written in almost complete sentences in my docs that spans all four seasons and beyond, and have been obsessing over it for months but never had the courage to actually write it up and publish it... is now the time to suck it up and get going?

[roanofarcc]

PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER SIXTY THREE → THE FREAKSHOW

summary: steve harrington x oc || Ao3

when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.

word count. 2.7k || masterlist || ocs moodboard

warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.

previous chapter ← → next chapter

Tagged. @sattlersquarry, @leptitlu, @two-sides-samecoin

The subdivision was quiet that afternoon. A strange calm had settled over Hawkins that spring, but Steve had learned not to let his guard down anymore. Nothing was ever calm in Hawkins, and his nerves were already pricked with Sunshine a couple of hours away in Indy with her sister. He knew she could handle herself if she ran into any trouble, and he tried to convince himself that she wouldn’t run into any trouble, but there had been a knot of worry tied inside his gut since he was little. He worried about everything, all of the time. The revelation of other dimensions, monsters, and bad men only made that knot worse. But he did his best to distract himself. 

“Turn your elbow like this,” Steve said, moving his arm to mimic the motion of the kid beside him. “It’ll help your aim.” 

Lucas fixed his arm and shot the basketball, putting it right through the old hoop Steve had dug out of his garage. Since Lucas told Steve he was thinking of trying out for the basketball team last fall, Steve had been helping him practice. Between all of his high school highs and lows, basketball had been the only consistent thing for Steve, and something he still enjoyed. It served as a normal distraction for both of them, but especially Lucas. The kid was really good too and made varsity his freshman year. And while he most rode the bench, Lucas had too much potential to stay there forever.

The ball bounced against the cement and Lucas raced to grab it, dribbling it back down the driveway to where Steve stood. He was quieter than normal; Steve was the only person, besides Lucas’s dad, who the kid could have an actual conversation about basketball with. His friends weren’t interested in it, and Steve wasn’t sure of the last time Lucas had a full conversation with Max, to everyone’s dismay. 

“You all right, Sinclair?” Steve asked. 

He shrugged, eyes glued to the ball. “This game’s a big deal, right?” 

“A really big deal,” Steve replied. There were only a handful of times Hawkins High made it to the championship of anything. “But, you know, all you can do is play your best.” 

Lucas snorted a sarcastic laugh. “You sound like Sunshine.” 

Steve smiled. “Occupational hazard.” She had rubbed off on him, even more so since they were dating. Her sunny disposition and pep talks, along with her adoration of the simple things in life. He saw the world differently with her, and not just the bad stuff that crawled out of portals or gates. The world was a scary place, but it also held a lot of good stuff, you just had to look through the weeds and interdimensional vines to see it. 

“I know the pressure can be tough, but you’ll be fine.” 

Lucas held the ball in his hands, slumping his shoulders slightly. “It’s not just that. This game is important to me, but Mike and Dustin want me to skip it for the D&D campaign. I guess Eddie refuses to reschedule.” 

Steve rolled his eyes. He didn’t really know the guy, their paths rarely crossed in high school. Either Steve was running with Tommy and Carol, too busy to notice nerds like Eddie Munson, or he was sulking in his fall from grace and reeling from monsters and bullies. He’d heard of Eddie, in a small town it was impossible to not know everyone, whether you liked to or not. Rumor had it he was some super-senior drug dealer, and that sounded like the last person Steve wanted hanging around the party. But Dustin refuted the rumors and made Eddie out to be some kind of king of the nerds. 

It was embarrassing, and Steve hadn’t even admitted it aloud to Sunshine yet, but he was a little jealous of the Hellfire Club caption. Sure, on paper, he was probably the cooler person to hang out with in the eyes of Dustin because he loved the same game they did, but Steve had thought that he and Dustin were the ultimate duo. He was like Steve’s little brother, annoying and sometimes a pain in the ass, but someone Steve couldn’t see not in his life. But it seemed like Dustin was no longer interested in hanging out with him. 

It made Steve feel even more useless to the gaggle of teens, like he really didn’t have a place in the grand scheme of their monster-hunting team anymore.

“Your friends can’t miss one campaign to come watch you play?” Steve asked, shoving aside his own weird issues with some dude he’d never even talked to before. 

“Guess not.” 

“Well, what about Max?” 

Lucas sighed again, hugging the ball to his chest like he was trying to get some kind of comfort from it. “She still won’t talk to me. She hardly talks to Mike or Dustin. Every time I try, she shrugs me off with some excuse. I don’t know what else to do.” 

Max didn’t like change, which Steve figured out very quickly after getting to know Max. Moving across the country was one thing, but what she’d experienced since being in Hawkins was another beast. No one could blame her, they all just wished she’d let them help her. Sunshine seemed to be the only one who could get through to her somewhat. She shut the party out, caved in on herself. Lucas was the most distraught over it. 

“There’s not much you can do,” Steve said. “You can try to be there for her, but you can’t magically make everything better.” 

“It just sucks. We know people with superpowers and know there’s another dimension, but we can’t, like, fix any of the shit we’ve been through. We just have to take it and pretend like…like it’s fine.” 

It was beyond frustrating, but that had become their lives. Steve’s mind glazed over it, trying hard not to think too much about it until the world threatened to end again. 

“Look on the bright side, you’ve only got four more years here. Then you can play basketball at some D1 school, pretend like Hawkins was some fucked up nightmare or something.” 

Lucas laughed but it was mixed with a little scoff. “Yeah, if I live that long,” he muttered, and Steve’s gut turned uncomfortably. He didn’t like that, jokes like that were too real. “And if they ever let me off the bench.” He tossed the ball at Steve, who caught it despite being slightly thrown off guard. 

Dribbling the ball, back up the driveway, Steve shoved away the pit in his stomach and focused on the task at hand. “Hey, with my help, you might even get to play in the championship.”

“Yeah,” he replied, sarcastically. “I might even win the whole thing.” 

→←

“This feels…unethical,” Will Byers said, chewing nervously on his nails as he stood lookout for Leia. 

She stopped, turning her head to look at him. “Really? I could name ten unethical things that have been done to the two of us alone. This, my dearest brother, is good ole’ fashioned revenge.” She balanced a cup of red paint on the locker shelf with a fishing wire around it. Carefully, she threaded the wire through the slit in the door and fashioned it so that as soon as the locker was opened, the cup would be pulled forward and spill on the unlucky but well-deserving bully. 

“I doubt she’s even read Carrie. Angela and her friends aren’t going to get the prank.” 

Leia sighed, cautiously looking up and down the empty hall. “They don't need to ‘get it.’ All that matters is that Angela is covered in red paint. She deserves a lot worse for laughing at El’s project, but Joyce said we’re grounded if we commit a crime.” 

“Technically, I think she said we’re grounded if we’re caught committing a crime.” 

Leia paused before she shrugged. “If this doesn’t work, then I’ll think of something illegal. Until then…” She dusted her hands off on her paint-stained overalls from an art project gone slightly rouge and clapped Will on the shoulder. He had grown even taller since their move, Joyce said it was probably the sun that was making all of them grow like weeds, but Will still curled into himself and tried to make himself smaller among their new Cali-folk. 

While Leia probably should have been more wary about a new school, but she had a different view of it. She had never attended any kind of school, so she had no expectations. Bullies didn’t bother her because she was good at brushing them off. All of the teasing from Kali’s friends made her skin thick and she had a little voice in her head reminding her she had superpowers and they didn’t; it made her feel better. 

Will flew under the radar too. He was quiet and good at blending in, making himself a small target. Luke followed in his footsteps, spending most of his time tucked away in the library which most kids avoided besides the nerdy and quiet ones. It was El that caught all of the flack. 

By some unlucky chance, she had caught the eye of a blonde-headed all-American mean girl the second she stepped through the school doors. El was kind, she wanted to be friends with everyone but had a hard time picking up on social cues. And the second Angela got a whiff of El’s slight unusualness, she latched on like a hungry shark. How some freshman had a cult following of brightly dressed, rich friends who would do anything she said, Leia had no idea. It was like they stumbled into the set of a movie riddled with cliches that Leia thought weren’t actually supposed to happen in real life. Yet, there Angela was, laughing at El while she tried to present a project she had worked really hard on. Apparently cruelty earned you cheap laughs; Leia wanted to fry Angle to a crisp. 

She had to settle for ruining the bully’s outfit. 

The bell rang, singling the end of class. Leia and Will stood innocently at the water fountain and subtly watched as Angela and her clique waded down the hall, her blonde ponytail swinging with each step. She arrived at her locker, entered her combo, and yanked it open. Out poured the red paint, splashing down the front of Angela’s shirt. She let out a shrill scream that echoed through the hall, causing people to stop. 

Angela wiped her hands against the paint, smearing it into the fabric and getting a layer coating her palms and fingers. It looked like blood, but the smell of paint quickly filled the air, making the hall smell just like the art room. 

Leia hid her laughter under her hand while Will pressed his lips in a thin line, suppressing a smile. They watched as Angela’s friends surrounded her like a flock of birds. She swatted them away and turned out from her locker with her face nearly as red as the paint. Leia couldn’t hear what she said, but without even cleaning herself up, she took off toward the doors that led to the courtyard of the school. 

“Okay,” Will said with a laugh. “You were right; that was great!” 

Leia beamed. “I’ve got more where that came from.” 

He shook his head, a lightness in his tone that only came out from time to time now. “Come on, let’s go find Luke and El. They’ll want to hear about this.” 

Unfortunately, their two siblings did hear about the red paint stunt because El was the first person Angela assumed had pranked her. By the time Leia and Will entered the courtyard, El was sprawled out against the ground with her project in pieces along the sidewalk. Angela was standing the closest to El, her arms crossed and laughing along with the rest of her friends who stood on the sidelines. 

El’s face was grief-stricken, and that alone was enough to send Leia running towards her sister. She jammed her shoulder into Angela’s sending the blonde stumbling. El stood and outstretched her hand in a similar way she once did when she used to abilities; it was a reflex, one that would probably take El a long time to shake since she had lost her abilities last summer. Before El did anything to give Angela further ammunition, Leia grabbed El’s arm gently and pushed it back down at her side. 

Angela seemed satisfied with sending El and her project to the ground and turned to leave, her front half still coated in paint. A tear fell from El’s eye as she glanced at her broken project. With a gentle sigh, Leia tried to channel her anger into something more helpful for El; it was what Sunshine told her to do when she felt her anger gain control of her, fueling her abilities and asking for something bad to happen. Leia grabbed a hold of El’s shoulder, making her sister look at her. 

“Are you okay?” 

El frowned, wiping away her tears. She nodded sadly, slumping her shoulders. 

“It’s my fault,” Leia said. “I pranked Angela, but I should have known she’d think it was you. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” El tried to smile, but it was weak and turned back into a frown when her eyes landed on the pieces of her project. 

Will and Luke started picking them up, placing them back in the slightly crushed shoe box. “We can fix it,” Will said with confidence in his voice. He pinched a squirrel figurine in between his fingers before holding it out to El. She grabbed the squirrel and closed her fist around it. “We’ll all help, and it’ll be good as new, all right?” 

“All right,” El said quietly. She joined the boys on the ground while Leia scooped out the surrounding area in case any pieces went flying off of the sidewalk and onto the grass. She spotted a couple of popsicle sticks and gathered them before she turned around. Directly behind her was one of her classmates, who sat beside Leia in art class. 

Startled, Leia gasped, and the girl’s eyes widened before a sheepish smile fell across her lips. “Sorry!” Abby said. “Didn’t mean to scare you, I just found this.” She held out a small hat that El had made to resemble Hopper’s police hat. 

“Thanks,” Leia said, taking the hat with a small ache in her chest. Not a day went by where she didn’t think about Hopper; she missed him, but Joyce was doing everything she could to make the three of them feel a part of their family. It wasn’t the same though. They weren’t in that little cabin in the woods, eating Eggos and watching black-and-white detective movies. 

Abby shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth in her busted sneakers. She didn’t dress like most of the kids at school; her shoes were dirty and her clothes were mended with patches of different colors. Her hair was pin straight and black, with thick bangs cut barely above her eyes. She was odd but in a good way. Abby was always bouncing on her heels or tapping her hands against the tabletop. She spoke quickly but with so much enthusiasm it made Leia feel happy too. 

“Angela’s a jerk,” Abby said. “I’m glad someone finally did something, even if it didn’t end super well.” 

Leia pocketed the hat with a sigh. “I should have used real pig’s blood.” 

“You stole the pain from the art room?” 

“Guilty.”

Abby laughed. “That’s amazing! Oh, I would have killed to see her face!” Leia laughed too; it was impossible for her not to. Abby’s laugh was infectious, which often got them into trouble in art when they couldn’t spot giggling in the middle of class.

“Leia, are you ready?” Will called from several feet away. They had cleaned up El’s project and Luke was carrying it in his arms, probably in case Angela had any other ideas. Luke was a little taller and broader, harder to knock down. 

Abby gave Leia a smile before she said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, she turned on her feet and headed across the yard, leaving Leia with a friendly giddiness bubbling inside her chest. 

Leia rushed over to her siblings, handing the hat off to El. Together, they all walked back into school, El sandwiched between them. The Hopper-Byers weren’t a typical group of siblings, but it was as if they were destined to be family all along. Maybe they radiated the idea that they didn’t belong, slotted pieces of different puzzles that somehow fit, but there was no denying that they belonged together as a family. 

[perfectprofessorloverapricot]

•| A not so stolen youth |•

Stranger things / chapter 3

Summary: Everything in life seemed limited to walls of whites and rainbows. Caged within the confines of the lab. But an accident that involved a group of teenagers and the upside down world finally let him free. In a funny turn of events he found himself hiding in a step sibling's shed. A redhead that loves video games and a blond that spends his time making sure to keep his good looks.

Character: Male child OC

Warnings: Possible to descriptive scenes, child abuse, use of drugs and bad language.

A/N: I ask you to take into account that I lack experience writing in English and there'll be some grammatical mistakes because my native language is Spanish.

Prev part - Masterlist - Next part

It was early in the morning, every kid was either at school or at home because they’re sick. All except for one.

Thirteen walked with tranquility through the groups of trees scattered all over the town. He found that the only onces that walked there were a few really young kids, other than that, the coast is completely clear.

But what is not completely clear is his mind. The day before he saw something that brought back awful memories. He found out, his father is not the only man like that in the world and he isn’t the only one like him out there. He would like to say that he doesn’t understand Billy completely, but he does.

The teenage has moments of calmness when he usually keeps to himself or even glances at him as if inspecting his soul, and moments of complete chaos when he is hostile against anything and anyone near him.

Billy was angry at his father, that much was evident, but he couldn’t do a thing because he knew it was useless. That was a feeling he could relate a little bit to well.

It happened too often to him in the lab. Loosing his papa’s respect brought a lot of punishment with it and answering it only left him in pain. His only solution was to hold back and resist. But that led to future explosions where he sent his guards flying or breaking an entire room with a scream.

He was labeled as dangerous and forced to stay isolated.

He was thinking of ways to help make him feel better but nothing came to mind other than a present.

But what?

Or maybe, some company? That’s what he wanted when he was in the lab. Maybe that’s what Billy needs at home.

Before he could think about other options, his senses detected something. He heard a pair of soft footsteps quite some distance further in front of him but instead of dreading to find the person a familiar feeling made itself present in the back of his mind. He waited.

As silent as ever, he walked cautiously towards the sound.

Both kids that found themselves in front of one another gasped in surprise. They know each other.

The curly haired girl smiled at the boy receiving a smile in return.

“Eleven.” Whispered the boy, walking closer to her.

“Thirteen.” Once close enough they engulfed each other in a big hug, giggling, happy to realize they both basically survived.

The kids pulled away, still connected by their arms, smiling like no other day.

They had so much to talk about.

“-and then, she taught how to skateboard.” Commented the boy with glee.

They have been talking for about an hour about what’s happened the last year after escaping the lab and getting in contact with the upside down. So far, everything’s been peaceful.

He was happy to know that she was also taken care off by a good guy, even though she puts a kind of weird expression when she mentions him, she stills seems to trust him a lot too.

“But…” he made a pause and sunk in the log they were both seating at the reminder of what happened a few hours ago. “Her papa…” he turned his eyes from his joined hands to the attentive look of eleven. “He is like our papa.”

Eleven gasped softly at the revelation.

“She and Billy hide me.” His lips curved a little at the sides. He always gets a warm and fluffy feeling in his chest at the reminder of people that care about his safety. “She gave me clothes.” He gripped the fabric of the blue hoodie in his chest. The same that keeps his body heat from escaping. “And a name. Magnus.”

Eleven gave him a close-lipped smile. They don’t know each other as well as she would like too because they were separated in the lab. They met only after the rest of the kids disappeared and their father needed more power to connect with the unknown world. But couldn’t interact that much in a friendly way under the scrutinizing eyes of their handlers. He always wore a frown accompanied with tired eyes. So she is happy to see him finally smile, even in the slightest.

“And you?” He asked, giving her the opportunity to express something that might be bothering her.

“Hopper is good.” She nodded. “But he lies.” The kid raised his eyebrows in surprise. “He says, one day I’ll leave to see my friends but that never happens. He promised soon, but soon never comes.”

Thirteen lowered his head in sadness. He knows that feeling, or he knew, before living with his only friend.

“He says it’s dangerous, that it’s for my protection.” The kid wrapped an arm around her in a side hug to comfort her.

In moments like that he wished he was more like magneto and fight for their freedom.

But he couldn’t, he was just a kid after all. All he could do was make her aware that she’s not alone.

A certain blonde haired teenage boy was currently tightening a screw on the engine of his blue baby Camaro.

He was finishing changing the air filter. After what happened the day before with his father he has been looking for ways to release some pent-up pressure. He already said goodbye to his last hook up an hour ago, he doesn’t know where Max is because she was late and he left her to skate home alone and he already worked out in the living room but nothing seemed to make his anger decrease.

Billy huffed once he was finished, cleaning the sweat in his forehead with the back of his dirtied hand. It wasn’t enough but that’ll have to do.

“Jesus.” Exclaimed the blond once he turned around and found the boy behind him, startling him. Weirdly attentive to what he was doing. “What the hell are you doing there? Are you a creep?” He asked with annoyance. He had almost sent the tool in his hand flying.

The kid just kept looking at him and the car with his big blue eyes and shrugged. He didn’t know what ‘creep’ means.

Billy raised a brow at the look of wonder in the kids face. He has seen it a few times before, directed to him, like trying to figure him out, which makes him edgy, but this time it was directed more to his car. “Never seen a car before?” He asked mockingly.

Unknown to him, the first time the boy saw a car was when he escaped from the lab. Ever since that day, the younger one has been greatly interested in the weird machines that roll faster than any adult he has ever seen runs.

Billy furrowed his brows when the only answer he got was the kid leaning his head to the side, still looking at the car.

Was he really that stupid? No, he couldn’t be. They would have already found him if that was the case, but he would have to live under a rock to not know what a car is.

“What, cat got your tongue, brat?” Thirteen shook his head and stick his tongue out to demostrarte it was still there making Billy huffed and turned to his car.

What a weird kid.

He grabbed the car’s hood and slam it shut to make sure it was closed.

“Cool.” Alluded the boy walking closer to the drivers side.

“What?” Thirteen glanced at Billy for a moment before returning to the inside of the vehicle repeating his word.

“Cool.” He is not completely sure if his using correctly the word Max taught him. ‘A word to describe something that’s better than amazing.’ Is what she said, and that is exactly what he thinks about the car.

“Huh, at least you have taste.” Said Billy as he wiped his hands in a towel he had hanging from his short’s waistband. Until he got an idea. Something that would help him destress and he used to do it a lot in California. “Hey brat.”

Thirteen turned towards Billy, not knowing what ‘brat’ means but understanding he wanted his attention. He blinked a few times, watching the weird look in the teenager’s eyes. He had an idea.

Billy would never in his life know what led him to do what he did, but the next thing he knows, he is driving top speed in one of the many lonely roads in the outer sides of Hawkins with the kid in the copilot seat. He loves to use the backroads.

He thought the kid would be scared shitless, however, the kid was grasping the seatbelt like his life depends on it (because it does) with the biggest smile Billy has ever seen.

But he doesn’t care that the kid didn’t get scared he was too concentrated in the adrenaline coursing through his veins at the speed to actually pay attention. He didn’t even light the cigarette between his lips because it wasn’t needed.

Billy whooped in ecstasy and bobbed along the surprisingly not so loud music. It was more important the roar of the engine than the beat coming from the stereo.

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Cheered Billy with his always sharp smile.

But that wasn’t the best part, he was waiting for the right moment to put his car modifications to the test. In a way he couldn’t in the crowded city of California.

His smile widened when he saw what he was looking for. A wide straight doble lane road.

It’s show time.

He stepped on the break and pulled the hand brake simultaneously, then turned the wheel completely to one side in a second. The car instantly followed the action, turning with so much force skidding the tires in the street. Making a U turn by drifting.

Billy laughed loudly while the kid beside him screamed for his life. The wheels scraped the floor until the vehicle came to a stop in the other side of the road. Facing the opposite direction.

Not waiting for anything, he pushed the hand break back down and step on the gas. The wheels screeched against the ground, leaving marks, before moving at full speed back to the house.

At the speed he was driving it only took him 10 minutes to arrive.

He got out of the car after killing the engine and lit the cigarette between his lips, taking a drag as if it was pure oxygen he was inhaling. Finally he felt a little bit better.

So lost in his relief he didn’t pay attention to the passenger in his car. He only turned his head back when he heard a thud. He found the passenger seat empty and the door opened. He huffed thinking the kid just left without closing the door but he stop when he went around the car and found the kid basically face planted in the dirt while giggling.

Billy scoffed a laugh almost sending the cigarette in mouth flying. He was positive the kid was high with adrenaline. He saw the kid try to stand up in his jelly legs only to fall on his side.

“What the hell?” Billy didn’t need to turn around to know who that was. He merely rolled his eyes when the redhead rushed by him to get to the kid. “What did you do to him?” She asked when the kid tried to stand up again with her help but stumbled to the side like he was drunk. She got even more confused when she heard him giggle.

“I fixed your damn brat.” He grumbled taking a drag of his cigarette before throwing it to the ground and returning to the house. He wanted to take a shower.

Max looked between the retreating back of her step brother and the kid seating in the dirt with a big smile in his face.

Could it be possible that Billy changed his mind?

No, that is not something Billy could ever do.

But either way, she was relieved that he was at least tolerating the kid’s presence.

If Max thought they had made a progress with Billy after the ride he had with Magnus. She was wrong.

The very next day his anger returned when he saw her talking to Lucas. There was no problem with that, she didn’t plan to be part of their club of hypocrites anyway.

Well, that was her plan, until the very next day she wanted to go to the arcade to play dig dug and forget everything only to be tricked in to the breakroom by Lucas himself. They argued about the veracity of the fanciful story Lucas told her ensuring that it was the truth.

Leaving the arcade Billy saw him at the door. At first he acted eerily calm while accusing her of disobeying and lying. But a silent threat was made evident later in the afternoon when Billy broke her skateboard when reversing in his car.

It was his way of telling her he could ‘accidentally’ break something without a problem.

He became a ticking time bomb and she didn’t want to be there to see it explode because she would be the collateral damage, and possibly with her, Magnus too. Even though he has mostly ignored the kid in the last days, it was obvious the anger he was holding in.

Taking every posible outcome Max took a decision. She’ll go back to Cali to her father and she’ll take Magnus with her.

The kid already had a new name, and no one will be looking for a kid in another city, miles away from were he was.

That’s how she found herself in this position. Fidgeting with her fingers inside her hoodie pockets, feeling the money between her fingers and watching attentively at Magnus sitting in her bed and messing with her Walkman.

She got the money by telling her mother that she wanted to buy a new shirt but she wanted the money to buy it herself and avoid any kind of harsh comments from Neil if she went with them to the mall in the neighboring town. Her mother, illusioned with the possibility of her daughter buying something more feminine, gladly gave her double the money she needed to buy the shirt. She thanked the heavens her mother did because she forgot the amount of money it’ll cost to buy two bus tickets.

She forgot a slight detail. The distance between her and her father was much more now that she is in Hawkins than when she was in Cali, and the tickets would be more expensive.

She already prepared two bags with things for her and Magnus. In that precise moment she has the perfect opportunity to leave with him. Her parents aren’t home and they’ll come back until night and Billy was too busy working on his muscles for his next hook up of the night to notice.

Gaining some courage Max sat next to the kid in her bed. She took a breath and spoke. “Mag-“

She was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, someone calling at the door.

The kid raised his head, looking between Max and the bedroom’s closed door. He was to concentrated on the Walkman that he didn’t pay attention to the footsteps at the front door. It’s not like Billy’s blasting music trough the house helped at all.

He was already used to the volume of the music, but hearing it with the door open still hurt his head. At least the wood helps to drown out the sound. But he was still relieved that it’s not as loud as the alarms in the lab. That was a real headache.

He jumped from the bed when doorbell sounded again. He needed to hide. He turned to the window but stopped, if the person in the door somehow comes to the backside of the house he’ll be screwed. He turned to the bed. He doesn’t fit under it. As his last and only option, the kid threw himself inside the closet and closed the door, always leaving a crack to let the light come inside.

Max pressed her lips together trying to suppress a laugh. For a moment he looked like a headless chicken.

Her poorly covered smile disappeared when she heard her stepbrother yell at the next ring. “Max, are you getting that or what?”

Exasperated with him she yelled her answered “Okay.” She opened stood up stomping her way out of the room, closing the door behind her

“I swear to God Max.” Fumed the blond getting an eye roll and a glare from his sister when she walked by him. He just proceeded to lift the weights again.

From the closet, Magnus could slightly hear the door opening and closing over the music, along with Max’s voice from the other side of the door, indicating that now she was outside with whoever was at the door. He couldn’t tell what they were talking about because the music muffled their voices.

He waited for a moment, relieved that Max at least sounded like she knew the person outside. He was also aware that it wasn’t Neil, he could have heard his truck parking or his gruff voice booming in the house.

He waited a little while until she finally came back, closing the door behind her. She turned to Magnus watching the window in wariness. She knew why. Lucas was outside of the window. “Magnus.” She called for his attention.

He turned to her, blinking a few times.

“I… ammm.” She fidget in her place looking for the words to say. She didn’t know why she was so nervous, she just made up her mind and decided she’ll find out what’s really happening with Lucas and his group because deep down she still wishes to have friends. “I’ll live with the stalker for a few hours. He says he has proof or something.”

“Where?” Came the silent question from the kid. Max almost didn’t hear it with Billy’s blasting music coming through the door.

“To the old junkyard.” Magnus lifted a brown and tilted his head slightly to the side. There was nothing in there other than trash and forgotten stuff. Nevertheless, he nodded, understanding that she is going there like really few other teenagers do. “Okay, then. I’ll be back.” She said, making the reference of the terminator movie even though Magnus didn’t catch it.

She turned to one of the two opened windows. The one closest to the bed. She stepped on the woodshed outside before stopping and turning to Magnus who was seating in her closet.

“Don’t talk with Billy if he doesn’t talk to you, by the way. He’s not in the mood and can get cranky.” Magnus smiled at the thought but nodded again.

Don’t talk to Billy. Copy.

Max said a soft goodbye before exiting when she heard the boy outside telling her to speed up. He even heard her commenting that whatever they were doing better be worth it.

Minutes later after she left, Magnus stayed in her closet. He was to engrossed in the Walkman she borrowed him.

The interest came when he returned from the store he likes to visit (steal from) with a cassette tape he found behind the garbage dump.

He put on the headphones and changed the tapes the way Max instructed him to. He pressed play instantly jumping in his place and accidentally trowing the headphones. The volume was too high. Even with the headphones in the floor he could hear it clearly.

He decreased the volume to the minimum before putting the headphones back on. The rhythm of the music was somewhat similar to the songs Billy hears when exercising but not as scandalous. He turned the Walkman over to see the tape through the see through cover. The letters in the side said ‘Call Me by blondie’ and something else he couldn’t read due to the blurred sharpie. He likes it though.

He bobbed his head to the rhythm of the music, not caring that he could hear Billy’s music through the headphones. He liked it. He found his taste in music.

Still moving his head to the beat, he stood up and walked to the window farthest from the bed. He sat on the window sill dangling his feet for a couple of second before jumping out. He looked at the full woodshed beside him before returning to the shed. Walkman in hand.

He’ll wait for Max in there.

It’s been a few hours and Max still hasn’t retuned. Magnus got bored since he doesn’t know where Max’s tapes are and he can’t read so well, so he decided to steal an apple from the Hargroves’ fridge.

Meanwhile, the blond teenager was done exercising, taking a shower and currently sharpening his look before his date (hook up). He sprayed hair product in the hair locks that fell on his forehead. Turning over the bottle of colon, he spread a few drops of the liquid in his wrist, even going as far as to spread a little bit in the southern area.

He turned and posed in front of the mirror, smiling with satisfaction at the result. Taking a drag from his previously lit cigarette he leaned forward and blew the smoke against his reflexión, winking. Yep, he was ready.

His smile was erased once he heard someone calling at the door. He noticed the rush in the knock even over his blasting music. “Billy?” He knew that voice. The reason for witch his father decided it was a good idea to move.

Kind of.

“Yeah, I’m a little bit busy in here, Susan.” He answered uninterestedly.

“Open the door. Right now.” He mentally cursed when he heard his father’s commanding voice in the other side. There was no way around this.

Genuinely curious he finally opened the door finding his father frowning face and the always present worried face of Susan shielding herself behind the man.

“What’s wrong?” He cut to the chase.

Neil wasn’t at all impressed by his son’s bluntness. “Why don’t you tell us?”

“Because I don’t know.” He answered with obviousness in his tone. They just appeared in his door insinuating something that he isn’t aware of and yet, he is not surprised. Everything that goes wrong for Neil is always somehow his fault. No matter what.

“We can’t find Maxine-” Said Susan.

“And her window’s open.” Interrupted the man like the boss that he believes himself. Billy faltered for a second, looking in another direction before regaining himself. Even he was surprised. She was in her room with the brat a few hours ago. “Where is she?” Commanded Neil.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Scoffed the Man like his son was the worst dumbass in the world, annoying the younger.

“Look, I’m sure she just, I don’t know, went to the arcade or something.” Explained Billy, still not finding the force in his voice, kicking himself for it, and panicking internally. To avoid looking at the rising anger in his father eyes he went to the closet to retrieve his previously selected leather jacket. “I’m sure she is fine.”

Nike wasn’t having any of it. “You were supposed to watch her.” He commented, like he was just making an obvious observation.

Billy could clearly hear the covered anger under those words. But he couldn’t stop himself from arguing. He was getting annoyed.

He sighed. “I know dad. I was. It’s just you guys were three hours late, and, well, I have a date.” He slipped on the jacket and turned towards the man ready to face it and just leave. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“So that’s why you’ve been staring at yourself in the mirror like some faggot instead of watching your sister?”

That did it.

“I have been looking after her all week, dad. Okay?” He snapped. “She wants to run off, then that’s her problem, all right?” Neil licked the interior of his cheek, concealing his anger with an eerie façade. “She’s 13 years old. She shouldn’t need a full-time babysitter. And she is not my sister.” He turned to the radio. Stopping the music abruptly only to feel his heart drop to his stomach when Neil grabbed him by the colar of his shirt and slammed him against the shelves beside the closet.

“What did we talk about?” Asked Neil in a condescending tone. Practically whispering it in Billy’s face.

The teenager panted in anger and fear. He couldn’t answer fast enough when Neil slapped him in his left cheek, making him groan.

Susan, who once again couldn’t leave the scenario only looked the other way, feeling guilty for putting him in that situation but not doing anything fearing she could be in his position.

Neil grabbed Billy’s chin to force him to look at him before pointing with the same hand. “What. Did. We… talked about?” He made emphasis in each word.

“Respect and responsibility.”

“That is right.” Answered the man, pleased to have him under control once again. “Now, apologies to Susan.”

There was silence for a few seconds. Neil waiting for Billy while the blonde swallowed his pride and fear. “I’m sorry, Susan.” He said, never tacking his eyes from his father’s.

“It’s okay, Neil, really-“ she was interrupted when the man once again rises his voice.

“No, it’s not okay. Nothing about his behavior is okay. But he’s gonna make up for it.” He grumbled the last part. He finally stepped back to turn to look at Susan. “He’s gonna call whatever whore he’s seeing tonight and cancel their date.” He said as if it was the most normal thing to say. “And then he’s gonna go find his sister. Like the good, kind, respecting brother that he is.” He turned once again to his son, already finished with the humiliation. “Isn’t that right, Billy?”

Billy looked at his father with watery eyes hiding all that hate and anger he harbors towards the man. If only he could make him pay or just leave.

“It’s that right?” Yelled Neil when his first answer was only silence.

“Yes, sir.” He said softly.

Neil sighted in annoyance, leaning closer to his son. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”

“Yes. Sir.” He repeated. This time with more courage.

“Find max.” Demanded Neil with finality turning around and leaving the room, intimidating Susan enough for her to step away from his way.

Billy finally let the tears spill once the door was slammed close and hit the wall beside him. He hated him with all his being. He wanted to fight back, punch him or something, but the last time he tried to do it didn’t end well for him.

Sucking his feelings up and drying his tears, he left his room to the back of the house. He thanked the heavens he parked the car in the back really close to were he needs to go. The shed.

Faster than he thought, Billy reached the wooden door and gentler than he wanted to, he opened the door (still slamming it open). “Hey, brat.” He grumbled once inside.

Magnus raised his head looking at him with wide eyes. He knew it was Billy the one walking (stomping) towards the shed. But it still surprised him when the teenage barged in the shed and called for his attention, loudly.

Billy opened his mouth about to yell but stopped. He didn’t want to scare the kid that looked like a frightened rabbit ready to bolt and end up running around like a headless chicken looking for Max for scaring him, or for his father to find him hiding a kid in the shed and get his butt kicked.

Instead he took a breath before talking. “Where’s Max?”

The answer he got was the kid blinking in bewilderment hugging a comic to his chest.

“Ugh, for fucks…” he mumbled under his breath. “Do you know where is Max?” He repeated in a gentler voice, clearly containing his annoyance.

Magnus nodded his head slowly. Max told him to not talk to Billy if he didn’t speak to him first, she didn’t say anything about not telling him where she is.

Billy raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Okay, and?”

“The old junkyard.” He answered softly.

Damn. Now he is in trouble. He doesn’t know where that is. He slightly fidgeted in his place. “Do you know how to get there?”

Magnus nodded a slowly, still with the comic in his hands.

“Okay, then get in the car.”

Magnus instantly light up. He didn’t care that Billy used a commanding voice, he was just happy to get a raid again.

The kid quickly rushed out of the shed as silent as a mouse with an annoyed teenager following him.

Billy was already donde for the night, but unfortunately and unknown for him, it would be the longest and most eventful life of his entire life.

Hope you like the new rout I’m taking with this story.

[werdlewrites]

masterlist - ao3

summary: “You know him?” The girl named El nods slowly, and Autumn is instantly closing the distance between them. The cold plate is now forgotten on the counter. “How? Who is he?” The silverware is laid down with a gentle thud, hands folding up into her lap. The connection between them is strong and unbreaking despite the obvious worry in her innocent eyes. As if speaking of him will manifest a sudden appearance. “Bad man. Makes me…hurt people.” warnings: child trauma and neglect :( wc: 1,795

You wonder what it’s like.

To feel haunted by something you don’t quite understand.

To know something has its eyes on you, but you can’t quite make it out in the fog of terror. It’s waiting for you. Dying to get a taste of your fear as it digs its claws into you. Maybe it feels like a fire has been lit inside your stomach. Bubbling and boiling until your skin runs raw from fidgeting back and forth, on edge as the monster lingers in the shadows. Maybe it feels a lot like nothing. Your body is left frozen from shock. Mind stuck in a twisted web of fight or flight and unable to choose in the panic. A lack of action leaves you for bait as teeth and claws creep in closer at your back. But the creature of her story is a mere child—harboring knowledge of the true beast she runs from.

Autumn’s pants are soaked from time spent out in the snow—watching as his truck vanishes into the distance, then refusing to move. Stuck and one with the ice that melts from the heat of her body. She can no longer feel the sting, but her lungs begin to burn. The only reminder of nature's wrath as it slowly chokes the life from her.

Returning to the cabin brings no comfort—not the way it once did. Not the way she had hoped. She’s cautious as she moves around the small space, walking on her tiptoes and avoiding the boards that squeak with the slightest of weight. A trap set to spring should she make one wrong move.

Wild eyes are scanning the small space—from the closed-off room to the ladder up toward her private sanctuary. She could hide like a coward and wait for the girl to wake—pretending not to notice or to care as she wanders right out the door and out of her life. Out of sight, out of mind. Except now that she’s seen what was once a ghost, now walking among her, it’s hard to ignore.

Still, she never asked for it.

Anxiety gets the best of her and has her feet flying without grace across the wooden boards���the thunderous steps drowning out the sound of a rusted handle twisting. Autumn’s fingers are wrapped around the railing, prepared to make her ascension by the time she notices a shadow. For a moment, she hopes it’s all just another nightmare. That she still lie in bed, and Hopper had never left for work.

But just over her shoulder, the girl stands in total stillness. Nearly a statue with dark eyes watching the older girl in wonder. Their gazes meet with great reluctance—worried their connection will send her spiraling down a path she hadn’t braced for. A memory that had been purposefully forgotten.

“H-hello.” Her voice is tiny—timid and full of fear and uncertainty. She’s practically cowering from the teenager. Just barely stepped beyond the threshold of the opened door, ready to retreat should she need to. It’s her hesitation that makes Autumn realize that she’s just as afraid of her.

“W-where is—?”

“Gone.” The girl's voice cracks with the reply. Not entirely prepared to speak as a rapid heartbeat climbs up into her throat. A forceful swallow to give room for shaken breaths. She clears her throat. “G-gone. He, uh… He said he would be back. He had t’do some things.”

The child nods. Her fingers twisted and pulled at the fabric of a tarnished dress that certainly didn’t belong to her, as it seemed just a tad too big. She was terrified—anxious and uneasy in this new space. The look of her alone left a nauseating feeling in the pit of Autumn’s stomach, finding familiarity within her. She was just as the teenager had been when she first woke from the trance of shock. Lost and alone.

Autumn pries herself from the wall. Back aching from the pressure of the ladder forced against her skin. There’s a forced bravery on her face. A trembling, gentle smile—hardly seen in the dim light of early morning. But she wears it for the girl who purposefully shrinks away. “What’s, uh… What’s your name?”

The girl’s fidgeting fingers are still, though tangled tight in loose threads, cutting off the circulation as her fingers begin to turn red. “El.” She replies in a quiet voice.

Autumn repeats her name. Hushed and on a loop as her gaze falls to the floorboards. She’s trying to place the name to a time forgotten. To someone even mentioning her name in passing, and nothing comes up. No spark of a memory. No cozy, familiar feeling. Just an anomaly disguised as a girl.

But it was just a girl. Her innocence is long gone and replaced with heartache and trauma. Sorrow and frailty fill dark eyes as she searches for a place of safety and protection. Untrusting of all despite the sacrifice made to rescue her from evil things. For her sake, Autumn swallows the nerves to put on a brave face but keeps her distance. The electricity between the two sent fire crawling up her skin, burning deep into every nerve and bone.

“A-are you, uh… Are you hungry?”

El nods with great hesitation, though there’s a spark of hope on her face.

“Right, okay, uh, just—just have a seat.” A shaky hand gestures to one of two chairs��old and teetering with the added weight and a missing foot for balance. The girl waits patiently at the small table, hands folded up into her lap—nerves wound so tight she could bolt at any second from the slightest noise or wrong motion. A small animal of prey waiting for the fatal strike.

Autumn has to pry herself away from the wall, vision fading in and out with the rushing adrenaline until her hands meet the handle of the fridge. She works almost on autopilot—mind unthinking as she pulls out the food she worked so hard to prepare, yet never getting a taste of it as her body slips into panic. At least Hopper had enough sense in all of the chaos to store it away.

The plate is filled and warmed in complete silence. Thunderous hearts filling up the small space and lurching up into her throat when she lays the plate in front of the girl. Like she catered to the beast. Anticipating another invasion of the mind or something yet to be seen. Autumn puts distance between the two, colliding with the rattling fridge.

El doesn’t seem to notice the awkwardness or the anxiety ignited between them. Dark eyes are locked on the food, and like an animal, she begins to eat. The fork moving quickly across the dish to stab and scoop until her cheeks were puffed, heavy sighs of relief escaping her nose. How long had it been, exactly? If she’s been missing for that long, she would be a mere ghost of herself. Hollowed out with no strength to even lift a utensil.

Maybe the blood on her dress was an indication of just how she survived. The brutal reality of being left behind.

The teenager is so lost in thought that she doesn’t notice the child's pace has slowed. Her mouth is still full—chewing with care as she studies the far-off look in the other girl's eyes. El speaks. Words muffled by food and barely audible despite the quiet around them. “What?”

“Y-you were…scared. I’m—I’m sorry.”

Autumn isn’t aware that she’s staring—eyes gone dry and pained now that she’s locked on the girl, drinking in her sadness—her frailty. She’s only a child with a history unknown. Though it’s painfully obvious something darker follows her. Is it the same thing that haunts Autumn? The bizarre mysteries the universe had cursed them with and the fear of what they could do. She’s like her—that’s what they had said. But how far did it go?

“How were you in my head?” the teen asks.

The question puts El in a place of discomfort. Gaze faltering to land on a half-eaten dish. The admission was soft and almost shameful. “It was…an accident. Thought—thought you were in mine.”

It’s not the answer she was looking for. More vague responses to something otherworldly, leaving her without progression or closure—still lost and desperate for something bigger. Her stomach rumbles. The only sound between the two, and she surrenders to its call, turning her back on the child to rummage through the leftovers.

“D’you think he’ll find us?”

“Who?” Autumn asks without thought, practically on autopilot as she samples a cold spoonful of stuffing.

“Papa.”

The hunger is silenced by the nickname. It drifts through the air, seeking her out. The poisonous name crawls along her skin and slips between parted lips to coat her tongue. It spills down her throat—a rushing wave acting before she has the chance to choke it out. It’s unsettled, burning, and eating up her insides. Claws of death climb up her spine until they worm their way inside of her mind. Her senses are numbed—turning to glance over her shoulder at the girl.

He said they would take things slow. They would work at a snail's pace to prepare her distorted mind and her broken heart. It’s infuriating, even if the path ahead is frightening. But the need to know drowns out the itching anxiety. The bubbling heat of terror.

“You know him?”

The girl named El nods slowly, and Autumn is instantly closing the distance between them. The cold plate is now forgotten on the counter. “How? Who is he?”

The silverware is laid down with a gentle thud, hands folding up into her lap. The connection between them is strong and unbreaking despite the obvious worry in her innocent eyes. As if speaking of him will manifest a sudden appearance. “Bad man. Makes me…hurt people.”

Her heart is racing—pumping that poison to move faster until all she can feel is the buzz of excitement. The door to all she needed opening with the helping hands of a child. Too young to understand secrecy, and longing to be a part of something bigger than themselves. “Well all hurt–”

“Who, El? Who is ‘we?’”

There’s a glisten in her eyes. Old sorrows rose to the surface, a telling sign that her emotional wounds were still fresh and bloodied. No scars as a sign of healing and processing the trauma of life.

Autumn is sitting just across from her now, arms folded across the small table as she leans in. A reassurance that despite her lack of affection and hardened exterior, she was present. She was there for the child. Maybe it’s just cruel manipulation. Maybe it’s real. But she’s there, guiding in the focus of another broken soul. “What did he do, El?”

[sweetblinginrose]

𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭,

symbols and meanings:

★ series ♥︎ smut ꥟ oneshot ༄ fluff  angst

✿ x reader ☾ x fem!reader 𒊹︎ x OC 𖣯 x masc!reader

═══════ ≫ ♡ ≪ ════════

billy hargrove

★ ♥︎  𒊹︎ sweet chestnut ︎

(“Sweet Chestnut” is an ongoing series about Samantha, Billy’s stepsister, who she really doesn’t get along with. It’s basically an enemies-to-lovers story)

eddie munson

♥︎ ꥟  ☾ the sith order

♥︎ ꥟  ☾ the sith order pt2

(A OS consisting of two parts where you, with your own D&D group, face off against Eddie, whom you secretly love but also hate)

♥︎ ꥟  ✿ hospital

(Eddie is in the hospital because he messed up his hands, one of which is in a cast, so you have to help him with almost everything)

jonathan byers

♥︎ ꥟ ☾ photoshoot

(Jonathan’s first job in California turns out to be a photographer for a porn actress)

steve harrington

♥︎ ꥟  ☾ spoiled daddy’s girl!

(It’s about your life when you were dating Steve and your return to the town as a very lesbian girl, hooking up with Robin)

robin buckley

♥︎ ꥟  ☾ spoiled daddy’s girl!

(It’s about your life when you were dating Steve and your return to the town as a very lesbian girl, hooking up with Robin)

jim hopper

♥︎ ꥟  ☾ back to hawkins

(You return to Hawkins after your divorce, where you encounter your old ‘boyfriend’ Hopper and end up sleeping with him)

[aprilludgate357]

take on me

steve harrington x original character

"Say after me It's no better to be safe than sorry..."

Gracie Williams used to think she had the best and easiest job in the world. Getting paid to play Dungeons and Dragons and hang out with a couple of middle schoolers was something she could do in her sleep. But when Will Byers went missing, babysitting took on a whole new level of difficulty. Gracie would still say it was the best gig she could have though. And while she may have resisted it at first, steve harrington joining her on the job wasn't the worst thing in the world either.

season one!

episode one: the vanishing of will byers

episode two: the weirdo on maple street

episode three: holly jolly

episode four: the body

episode five: the flea and the acrobat

episode six: the monster

episode seven: the bathtub

episode eight: the upside down

[eddiemunson-reader-shame]

Eddie Munson x MKUltra!Reader: Something About Us

I wanted to write something for MKUltra!Experiment! Reader in an attempt to make a more non binary option for readers.

The storyline was inspired by Interstella 5555, which is a visual companion to Daft Punk’s Discovery album. The scene is from “Something About Us”, which I highly recommend watching for the visual effects and story. I believe Interstella itself is available to watch free on YouTube these days.

I’d like to explore more of this character in the future, so let me know if you’d like to see more of the storyline I have in mind.

Trigger Warnings: Main character death, blood, spoilers for Season 4

***

This time… he didn’t run away…

And you tried to help…

What a fool…

You approached slowly, exhausted. Limping from the pain of battle and just as chewed up as the love of your life was. It didn’t look good for him: flattened on the ground, bleeding from the mouth and monster-made orifices.

Dustin looked at you, tears in his eyes as Eddie, his friend, the one he saw as a brother, told him weakly that he loved him.

“Thirteen…” Dustin whispered, “He… He isn’t going to make it… Do something.”

I know… you thought bitterly. Neither am I.

At the end of the day, you knew you weren’t your “sister”. You wanted to help, but what good was your power when all it could do was show rather than do.

You gently but firmly pushed Dustin Henderson aside, reaching out to stroke his chubby cheek. A wet streak of sanguine ran down the pale baby fat, marked by your shaking fingers.

You had a mission. One last declaration to make that you were saving for Eddie.

Eddie Munson coughed. Dribbles of wine colored life running down the corners of his mouth as your beloved looked at you through wet, dark eyes.

“Baby…” he whispered, calling the name he’d given you.

To everyone else, you were Thirteen. A connection to their Eleven. In their eyes, a replacement.

But to Eddie… you were more than that.

I know, Eddie… don’t talk…

You took his hands in yours, resting your forehead against his. This was what you’d come here for. Dragged yourself with the last of your strength, sheer force of mind propelling you forward and to his side. Even though the demobats had taken chunks, you kept going. Pressing on with one mission:

You wanted to make the Pictures for him. Just one last time.

And he knew.

“Pi… pic…”

A bloody finger pressed to his lips.

Shhh… don’t talk. Just let me show you…

You leaned in closer, sharing the last of his breath, closing your eyes. Focusing the last spark of energy. Manipulating the pictures that vividly danced across your imagination. It had taken time. Had taken expertise and five long years to hone.

But Eddie had fine tuned it. His words and beautiful way with linguistics had inspired your imagination, and with his weaving of words you learned to make your own Pictures. No longer were you a surveillance camera forced to document everything and see horrors beyond recognition. You were no longer Papa’s camcorder. You could make your own worlds, your own Pictures of beauty and magic to chase away the dark.

And you wanted to show this beauty to Eddie. Your beloved. Your savior. Just as he’d shown it to you, one on one, playing dice games on the worn out coffee table of the Munson trailer.

Your castle…

You pressed his cold hands to your forehead, eyes opening, irises milky white.

Instead of the Upside Down, your Pictures washed over the landscape, with his touch you showed him how your surroundings in your mind were an elven paradise. No longer twisted, dark blue, or deadly poison. Instead you showed him Pictures of Greyhawk, the worlds he’d described to you from the depths of his vivid dream-like imagination. You used your Pictures to show him grassland dales, the City of Splendors, rivulets of starlight that marked the Astral Plane, dragons soaring through the clouds with red leathery wings cutting through the soft fluff of white against a blue sky…

One last visual burst of color, one last moment of respite to show him that you loved him. You would always love him.

Just one last moment of happiness before the end came to take the both of you.

You hoped he saw it… before he hissed out one final breath, and before your eyes closed forever…

[billys-pretty-babe]

But Daddy I Love Him

Chapter 2

Pairing : Billy Hargrove x Daniella Hopper (Billy Hargrove x Fem!OC)

Warnings : Swearing, child abuse, mention of alcohol

Word count : 2739

           Jim looked at Daniella after he got off of the phone. “Can you go pick up El from Max’s house?” She nodded, getting out of her dad’s recliner. It had been weeks since she arrived in Hawkins and she was well aware of where the Hargrove house was. She got into her car, checking her hair before beginning the drive to the residential neighborhood.

            She arrived at the familiar house and saw a truck in the driveway as well as the familiar blue car. She got out of her car, having parked on the curb in front of the house. She walked up the driveway and knocked on the front door. She heard some yelling coming from inside of the house, it sounded like two guys arguing over something. From where she was standing, she saw a glimpse of blonde hair, knowing it was Billy’s from the few times she saw him when she’d pick up El.

            The front door opened, a frazzled Billy behind El. His cheek was red and there was a bruise near his eye. El quickly walked out of the house and before she could say anything, the door was shut and locked. El looked up at Daniella, “His dad’s mean to him.” Daniella nodded and walked back to her car with El and sat in the car for a moment, trying to see what the shadows behind the curtains were doing as she saw a hand strike one silhouette, not sure if it was Billy, but she had a good guess that it was him.

            “What are they arguing about?” El shrugged and Daniella began driving back to the house. She walked into the house and located her dad, “Dad.” Jim hummed as he filled out paperwork at the small coffee table. “What’s considered child abuse?” He raised a brow, “What?” Daniella sighed, “When I went to pick up El, Max’s brother has a bruise near his eye and it looked like his dad hit him or something when I got back into the car.” Jim waved her off, “I doubt that’s what happened. Billy’s troubled, I pull him over weekly due to speeding and other stuff. His dad probably found out about the unpaid tickets and got mad over them. I doubt it’s child abuse.”

            Daniella had a feeling it was something deeper, but she nodded. She walked into El’s room, listening to her talk on the phone. “Who are you talking to?” El looked at her and covered the receiver, “Max.” Daniella nodded and stayed for the conversation. El would hum and nod, trying to comfort Max about what was happening at her house. “Dani can come pick you up.” Daniella raised a brow and El looked at her and giggled, “Please.” Daniella sighed and nodded and waited for Max to confirm that she wanted her to go get her.

            Daniella grabbed her keys once more before leaving back into residential Hawkins. She parked in front of the house, noticing the truck was gone and the blue car was still there. She walked to the front door and knocked and waited. The door opened, Max’s brother answering the front door as he held a bag of frozen carrots to his eye. “I thought you already got your sister.”

            Daniella nodded, “I’m picking up, Max.” He shook his head, “She’s fine here.” Daniella raised a brow, “She called my sister and said she wanted to spend the night.” The guy shook his head, “She’s not allowed to leave, she’s grounded.” Something didn’t feel right to Daniella. “What’s your name?” The guy looked at her, “Billy.” She nodded, “I’m Daniella.” Billy nodded, “I know, shit bird talks about how cool you are and shit.”

            Max walked around in the back and she saw Daniella and waved. “Wanna come in?” Billy went to protest before Max pulled the door open completely and pulled Daniella inside of the house. It was wrecked, plates on the floor and the dining table looked like it was placed in the middle of a warzone. “We can hang out here, my mom and stepdad are staying in a hotel for the weekend.” Daniella nodded and followed Max to her room. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”

            Max nodded and Daniella walked to where Billy was as he picked up the large plate chunks and she began helping him. He looked at her, “You don’t have to do that.” She waved him off, “You obviously can’t see too well, just let me help.” He sighed and nodded. She helped him pick up the broken plates and she fixed the dining table. “Does he do that a lot?” Billy perked up, “I don’t know what you thought you saw, but it’s not what it looked like.”

            She was confused, she knows what she saw. She assumed it was something he didn’t want to talk about so she dropped it. It didn’t take long for the dining room to look pristine once again and Billy sighed, taking the bag off of his eye. It was heavily bruised and the side of his nose was swollen. She took a good look at him, he was breathtaking, even like this. She felt her heart stop a beat as she looked at him. He was broken but he was beautiful. “I’ve never seen you before.” She looked at him in his eyes, instead of her eyes wandering his features, “I’m only here for the summer.” Billy nodded.

            “How old are you?” “Eighteen.” Billy nodded and put the frozen carrots in the freezer to refreeze. “Do you know anyone here?” She shook her head and he hummed, “Well now you do, welcome to Hawkins, or welcome back. I don’t know your life story.” He walked away and walked into a bedroom and locked the door behind him. She walked into Max’s room, Max had her makeup on the floor. “You can leave the door open, that douche will open it anyway.”

            Daniella nodded, “He doesn’t seem too bad.” Max raised a brow, “You talked to him?” Daniella nodded as she sat on the floor with Max. She had been teaching her basic makeup and how to do her hair. “How’re things with Lucas?” Max sighed and began venting about her middle school relationship that was failing. “And then El broke up with Mike, it’s just a lot,” Max said as she practiced curling her lashes. “What’s your boyfriend like?” Daniella sighed, she hadn’t really heard from him since she got to Hawkins.

            “He’s a football player, I met him my Freshman year.” Max hummed before she looked at Daniella, “What grade was he in?” Daniella glanced at her, “He was a junior, a little old for me, but I was going through stuff.” Max nodded and fixed her lashes before putting on the clear mascara. “Is he nice?” Daniella nodded, “He is, he’s not big with emotions or anything like that, but you can tell he cares.” Max nodded again.

            “Has your dad met him?” Daniella shook her head, “No, I don’t think he will either. I’m only here for a few months before I go back to Indianapolis for college.” Max nodded; eye wide as she attempted to the clear clumps out of her lashes. “You should take Billy back with you, maybe we’ll have less tension with him gone.” Daniella glanced at the younger girl, “You don’t mean that, do you?” Max shrugged, “Ever since my mom started dating his dad, he’s been such a dick to everyone. Like he was always a dick when I met him but now, he’s mean. He never hurts me or anything like that, he’s just an asshole. I wish he was gone.”

            Daniella felt like she was lost for words, she didn’t know much about the blended family, but she felt like she understood where Billy was coming from. Her own stepfather had brought three kids into his marriage with Daniella’s mom and she had a hard time adjusting to having a ton of siblings. “Maybe he just needs someone to understand him.” Max snorted, “There’s no understanding him. I would say he needs to get laid but he does that a lot, he just needs a girlfriend probably.” Max looked at Daniella and Daniella raised a brow, “Why’d you look at me when you said that?” Max shrugged, “I could see you two being together.” Daniella scoffed, “I have a boyfriend, I already told you that.”

            Max hummed, “Do you love him?” Daniella stopped, she had been dating Alex on and off for four years. “Exactly.” Daniella raised a brow, “I didn’t even say anything.” Max shrugged, “Didn’t have to, I can tell.” “You’re fourteen, Miss Love Expert.” She laughed, shaking her head. “You hesitated, if you genuinely loved him you wouldn’t hesitate.”

            There was a knock on her bedroom door and she looked over and groaned, “What?” Daniella looked back, seeing Billy in a pair of shorts, his skin wet from what she assumed was a quick shower. “Do you want takeout?” He scratched the back of his neck and she took him in, her eyes scanning him as Max responded and Billy looked at Daniella. “Do you want anything?” She shook her head, “It’s okay, I should probably leave soon.” Max frowned, “Oh come on, you can stay. I doubt your dad would care.” Daniella shrugged, “I don’t know, I’d have to call him.” Max nodded and shoved her landline in Daniella’s hands. “Call him.”

            Daniella sighed, “I don’t have clothes even if he says yes.” Max waved her off, I can find you something, just call him.” Daniella nodded at the pushy teenager before she called her dad, getting permission to stay the night. Max had been like another sister to her. She put her blue phone back on the table beside her bed and sat back on the floor beside Daniella. “Now, tell Billy what you want to eat.” Daniella looked at Billy, “I’m fine, really. I had dinner before I came here.” He nodded and Max huffed and Daniella watched Billy walk away.

           He was attractive, she would never deny that. “You should call your boyfriend.” Daniella looks at Max and shrugged, “Okay.” Max handed her landline back to Daniella and she dialed his number and listened to it ring twice before he picked up, his words slurred a little like he had been drinking. “Hello?” She smiled, “Hi Alex.” “Hi baby,” he said loudly through the receiver. Max leaned in close to listen to the conversation. “How’s home,” he asked, hiccupping softly. “It’s good, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my dad and my sister.” “No guys I hope.” Daniella laughed, “No guys, I promise.” Alex hummed, “Alright baby, well I’m drunk and I need to sleep. I love you.” Daniella nodded, “Love you too Alex.” The line went dead and she put the phone back.

           “No ‘I love you’, just love you like you say to friends?” Daniella looked at Max, brow raised, “Once again, you’re fourteen.” Max shrugged, “Just saying, I’m gonna find you clothes for the night.” Daniella nodded and Max left the room, leaving Daniella in her thoughts. She and Alex had a lot of ups and downs and there were trust issues caused by him which caused break ups a lot. Max walked back into the bedroom with shorts and shirt. “Here,” she tossed them to Daniella and she saw the Sharpie on the grey shirt.

B. Hargrove

Hawkins P.E. ‘84

           Daniella raised a brow and Max shrugged, “My clothes won’t fit you and I doubt you want to wear my mom’s, so I took Billy’s old clothes.” Daniella nodded and changed in the bathroom. The shorts were big on her in the waist but hugged her thighs. The shirt was also big on her and had a masculine smell mixed with smoke. She walked back into the room where Max had changed into her own pajamas. It wasn’t long before Billy stopped by Max’s room, leaning against the doorframe, “Food’s here.” Max nodded and stood up, groaning as she popped. Billy walked away, his eyes lingering on Daniella in his clothes. Daniella followed Max to the living room where a beer was cracked open and a few food containers were on the table as a sports game was playing.

           “Your food is in the bag, shit bird.” Max flipped him off at the name and he did the same back to her as he sat on the couch and Max grabbed her food and took off back to her bedroom with Daniella in tow. It felt like hours, but in reality, it was barely under an hour until Max had fallen asleep on the floor, her food containers around her. Daniella collected the trash and stood up before leaving the room as she went to the living room, Billy still on the couch as a movie played. “Hey Billy.” He jumped, not expecting her voice. “You scared the fuck out of me.” Daniella softly laughed, apologizing. “Where do I throw the trash away at?” He pointed to the brown bag on the floor. She nodded and threw away the white containers.

           “She fell asleep on the floor, by the way.” Billy groaned, “She does this shit all the time.” He got up, stretching before scratching his stomach. He walked to her bedroom and lifted her with ease before he placed her in the bed. He turned off her lamp before shutting her door. “You can stay the night, it’s late and I doubt you want to drive backroads right now. You can take my bed; I usually sleep out here anyway.” Daniella shook her head, “It’s your bed, I don’t want to take it.” He waved her off, “It’s fine, really,” he said as he sat back down on the couch.

           “There’s no tv in there, but you can stay out here. I don’t bite, contrary to popular belief.” She laughed and sat down on the couch, curling up with her legs under her. “What’re you watching?” He shrugged, “Channel surfing.” She nodded. “Where are you from?” She looked at him, “Hawkins, I moved to Indianapolis eight years ago.” Billy nodded, “Why?” She hummed, not wanting to get into Sara’s death. “My parents got divorced and my mom got full custody.” Billy nodded. “Where are you from?” Billy smiled, “California.” Daniella’s eyes lit up, “I’ve never been there before. What’s it like?” Billy smiled more; his voice filled with love as he described his home in California.

           It wasn’t long before Billy felt a weight on his shoulder as the movie played on the tv. He looked down, Daniella asleep on his shoulder. He grabbed the throw blanket and covered her with it. He had a half mind to pick her up and take her to his room so she’d be comfortable. He didn’t want to leave her on the couch by herself just in case his dad got back early.

           He didn’t understand why he cared about someone he barely knew, maybe because she was worried about him and not only interested in his bedroom activities. He got comfortable on the couch, putting his legs up on the longest side as he turned the tv down. He grabbed a different blanket and covered up his lower half as he laid down. He looked at Daniella, feeling bad that he had all of the pillows. He moved her a little, not knowing how light of a sleeper she was. He placed her head on his shoulder so she’d at least be able to use his arm to keep her head propped up.

           He watched the tv program until his eyes felt heavy and began to hurt from the lack of sleep. Daniella’s lips smacked softly as she moved a little, her head on his chest as she curled up beside him, cuddling him. He stilled, his heart stopping as he stopped breathing. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do in this situation. He never cuddled anyone, his mom used to cuddle him but she left nearly ten years ago. He moved his arm so it was draped over her back before he moved his left leg so it was propped on the back of the couch, his knee up so he could get air under the blanket and he fell asleep, comfortable for the first time in the last ten years.

taglist : @joeyfilth @buckysgrace @unamused-boss

If you'd like to be tagged let me know <3

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-Three: E Pluribus Unum

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 1,757 (short chapter this week) Warnings: angsty Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! We get a lot of Dustin and Erica in this chapter <3 Also, no Steve gif this chapter! We're getting a Dustin one 'cause of this iconic line!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

prev | current chapter | next

season masterlist

series masterlist

series playlist 

Dustin looked up at me - well, past me to look at Steve, both of them saying, “The gate.”

I backed up from between them making my way back down the steps. “Ya’know, Dustin, I really hate being doubted.”

“I don’t understand,” Robin said. “You’ve seen this before?”

“Not exactly,” Steve said.

“Then what, exactly?”

“Trust me when I say it’s really bad,” I said.

“It’s really bad,” Steve added.

“Just said that, babe.”

“Like end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad,” Dustin said. 

“And you know about this how?” Robin asked.

“It’s a long story,” I said.

“Uhm, Steve,” Erica said. “Where’s your Russian friend?”

I turned around to look at the ground behind me, seeing that the guy was indeed gone. “Sweet shit.”

Next noise to hit our ears was the alarm blaring, Steve rushing to the door to open it and look out into the hub space we sneaked through moments earlier. I heard “Halt! Halt!” before Steve closed the door, saying, “Shit!”

We ran through a couple of doors that led us straight to the control room, all of our feet stopping when the men turned to face us. Looking to my left, I saw another flight of stairs, running towards them.

“Come on!” I yelled, hearing Steve’s voice repeating the word go. I ran down a walkway, screaming as I pushed one of the hazmat suit guys out of the way, stopping once I reached the end, almost falling to my untimely demise.

I felt Dustin’s arms around me, pulling me back, both of us repeating, “Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!”

I breathed in deep before I screamed out, “Holy shit!”

“Guards! Go!” Erica said.

I turned around to face the rest of the group, my arm being tugged by Dustin as Steve yelled, “This way!” and led us down another set of stairs, pushing a guy out of the way before pushing a set of barrels towards some more guards.

I rushed towards him, running past him and to another door, leaving it open for the rest of our group to run through. Hearing it close, I turned back around, seeing Steve and Robin leaning against it to keep some weight on it.

Dustin and Erica went to a vent cover, opening it, Erica yelling out for us to come on. I looked between my brother and boyfriend, wanting to protect both of them, but knowing I’d have to leave one.

“Liv, go with Dustin!” Steve yelled.

“I– I–” I stammered.

“I’ll find you,” he said. “Go!”

“Steve–”

“Go, get out of here! Go get some help!”

I wanted to rush to him, to plant my lips upon his, but knowing I couldn’t against his struggle on the door. Feeling myself being pulled up the stairs, I kept my eyes locked on Steve before I had to look away, almost falling into the vent shaft. Looking back at Steve, I yelled, “I love you!”

“I love you!” Steve replied before I ducked into the shaft, closing the cover as I heard Robin yelling out, guns being cocked.

“He better not die,” I muttered, following after Dustin and Erica down this vent shaft.

~~~

Sitting in front of a giant fan, Dustin explained to Erica what happened that first year when Will went missing and then explained what happened a few months ago with Dart and the demodogs.

“And now, for some insane reason, these Russian assholes want to reopen it, for God knows what reason,” I said, using my hand to fan myself… even though we were by that giant ass fan. “Destroys everything we’ve risked our lives for.”

“By we, you’re including Lucas?” Erica said.

“Yes. Even Lucas was there. Matter of fact, everyone was there, aside from our mom, your parents and Mike’s parents.”

“So, all that shit he told me, Lucas was there?” Erica asked.

“Yes, Erica, he was there.”

“My brother, Lucas Charles Sinclair?”

“Yes!” Dustin and I exclaimed.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Wait, wait, hold up,” I said, sitting up a little and facing the young girl. “You mean to tell me that you believe everything about El and the gate and Dart, but you don’t believe the fact that Lucas was there helping us protect Hawkins?”

“That’s correct.” She looked from me to Dustin before she asked, “You need help with that?”

“No,” Dustin replied.

“Well, I mean, it’s taking a while, so–”

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.”

“Dustin Wade!” I exclaimed.

“Alright,” Erica said. “So, if we don’t find a more efficient method to stop these fans, we’re never gonna find help, and your ice cream buddies, slash boyfriend and best friend, are screwed.”

“Yeah, with that attitude, they are,” Dustin and I said.

“Jee-zus,” Dustin added.

“I’m just being realistic,” Erica said. Looking at her watch, she said, “I mean, we’ve made it about point-three miles in nine hours. Then we had to walk three hours down that tunnel, so I’d estimate ten miles back to the elevator, which should take us approximately twelve-and-a-half days.”

I looked at her with a stunned expression as she did all that math that quickly. “Holy shit. You just did all that… in your head?”

“I’m good with numbers,” she deadpanned.

“Holy shit,” Dustin said.

“You’re a nerd!” we exclaimed.

“Come again?” Erica scoffed.

“You,” Dustin said.

“Are.” Me.

“A.” Dustin.

“Nerd,” we both ended.

Pointing her finger between the both of us, Erica said, “Okay, you better take that back, nerds.”

“Can’t put that truth back in the box,” I smiled.

“But it’s not the truth.”

“Okay, let’s examine the facts,” I said, scooting a little closer, holding my fingers out while I counted the facts. “Fact One: You’re apparently a math whiz.”

“Pretty straightforward equation.”

“Fact Two: you’re a 10 year old political junkie.”

“Just because I don’t agree with Communism as an ideology–” 

“Fact Three: you love My Little Pony,” I said, grabbing her backpack and turning it to face her.

“And what does My Little Pony have to do with this?” she asked.

“Ah, let’s recall the ponies’ latest adventure, shall we?” Dustin said, which caused a confused look to come from me. “The evil centaur team and Tirek turns Applejack into a dragon at Midnight Castle, and then Megan and the other ponies have to use Moochick’s magic to defeat his rainbow of darkness, saving them from a lifetime of enslavement. All the pink in the world can’t disguise the irrefutable fact that centaurs and castles and dragons and magic are all standard nerd tropes. Ergo, My Little Pony is nerdy. Ergo, you, Erica, are a nerd.”

“Bro, what the fuck?” I murmured.

“And how do you know so much about My Little Pony?” Erica asked.

“Because I’m… a nerd,” Dustin said, taking the panel off the wall that he unscrewed during his little rant. He pulled the wires from their slots, the fan next to us powering down. “Let’s go… nerds.”

~~~

After we crawled through the blades of the fan, we made our way down the vent shaft. Whenever I spotted holes above us, I started feeling around for a loose square. Once I found it, I pushed it up and out of the way, climbing out of the shaft and onto the floor that we were crawling beneath, seeing a whole bunch of that green stuff they were putting into, what I’m calling, a gate drill.

“Jackpot,” I said, helping Erica and Dustin out of the shaft.

Spotting what seemed like a golf cart, I smiled and made my way towards it. “Hell yes!” “Do you even know how to drive?” Erica asked.

“Of course,” I said. “I’ve been driving on my own for a year. Damn it. There’s no keys.”

“You seriously thought they’d just leave keys in there?”

“There’s always a spare,” I said, more to myself. I started looking around, hearing Dustin’s rustles as he helped me look.

“Hey, Hendersons,” Erica said.

“Yeah,” Dustin and I said, getting out of the golf cart to look around more.

“How big did you say that Demogorgon was?”

“Huge,” I said.

“Nine feet or so,” Dustin said.

“Why?” we both asked.

Dustin moved to another panel box, using his screwdriver to open it, grabbing a key to the vehicle inside. “Found ‘em.”

“Dustin,” I said. “Look.”

What I was looking at was a crate, big enough for a Demogorgon. 

“Ah, shit,” I said.

“Erica?” Dustin and I said, jumping at the sound of a loud zapping noise.

“What the fuck?” I breathed, holding my hand to my chest.

“What the hell is that?!” Dustin yelled.

“A deadly weapon,” Erica said, almost like she was in love with it. “Could be useful.” She zapped it again, Dustin and I jumping once more.

“For what?”

“What do you think? Taking down Commies, saving your friends.”

“Thought you were more realistic than that, nerd?”

I took the keys from him, not wanting to hear anymore of their banter for the moment. As I got behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition, I said, “We don’t even know where they are, and even if we did, there’s a million guards up there with way deadlier weapons. The best thing we can do is get out of here and find help.”

“Easy with that,” Dustin said. “Our chance of surviving, and theirs, rises substantially. Just trust us on this. Please?”

~~~

Stopping at a certain point, I got out of the cart and looked in the back, seeing boxes of that green goop sitting in it. Grabbing a couple of them, I walked a few feet in front of the cart, taking a deep breath. “Steve… this is for you.” Slamming the glass containers on the ground, I watched as they shattered, the green stuff once again eating away at the floor.

I quickly made my way back behind the wheel, trying my best to speed off. Stopping a few feet from a door, I told Dustin to charge in with that laser thing, to which he immediately did.

I charged in after Erica, standing in between her and Dustin and watching as an evil looking doctor fell to the ground. I turned to face Steve, seeing his eye bruised and swollen.

“Hey! Henderson!” Steve said, excitedly. “That’s… crazy, I was just talking about you.”

Sighing, I undid the bonds that were around his arms, hands and legs before putting my hand on his cheek. “What happened to you?”

“Oh, my god,” Robin said.

“Get ready to run!”

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

prev | current chapter | next

season masterlist

series masterlist

series playlist 

~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note: i absolutely love it when gaten screams shit. it's the best thing ever, lol

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on April 2, 2024

[endless-oc-creations]

💕Oc Pride Challenge 2024 💕 Day Two: Gay

Make something for an oc that identifies as gay!

"Friends don't look at each other the way we do."

Benjamin Hopper x Steve Harrington

💕 Everything Taglist: @bravelittleflower @sunlitscribe​​​ @eddysocs @raith-way​​

@waterloou @decennia​​ @hiddenqveendom @aaronhotchstuff

@foxesandmagic @nejires-hado  @asirensrage  @lucys-chen

@arrthurpendragon @daughter-of-melpomene @thatmagickjuju @ginevrastilinski 

@oneirataxia-girl @ginger-grimm💕

[stvolanis]

me trying to find more Billy Hargrove, Jim Hopper, and Elvis Presley smut with plot fics but I’ve already read half of them👎👎

PLEASE GIVE ME RECOMMENDATIONS IM SO TREMENDOUSLY DOWN BAD HOLY SHIT.

(also I’ve been having writers block for over a month now I’m sorry guys I miss y’all)

[roanofarcc]

PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER FIFTY SIX → GRINNING LIKE A DEVIL

summary: steve harrington x oc | on Ao3

when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.

word count. 3.2k || masterlist || ocs moodboard

warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.

previous chapter ← → next chapter

Sunshine’s heart beat so loud inside her chest, that she thought the creature lurking just on the other side of the counter could hear it. The Mind Flayer growled, stalking over the broken glass-covered floor as it tried to sniff them out. Sunshine hadn’t dared to look at the creature, yet, too scared of putting an image to a terrifying idea. She focused on the three kids lined up beside her, all paled and shaking slightly in fear. 

Mike slowly peaked around the edge of the counter for no longer than a second before he whispered, “It’s turned away. If we go now, we’ll make it.” 

“No now,” Max argued. “Not with El’s leg.” 

“We have to try.” Both he and Max turned to Sunshine, looking for a tie-breaking vote, but it was El who answered, wanting to speak for herself. 

“There’s another way to get out, through the GAP.” The store was the closest to them, a straight shot if they could get there without making much sound and alerting the Mind Flayer. 

Sunshine wiped her sweaty hands off on the skirt of her dress as she said, “Get ready.” She poked her head up from the counter to see their path. The monster was still turned away. Sunshine trusted Nancy and Jonathan to get the other kids out safely and she’d get her three out. They’d reconvene at Nancy’s car with the broken piece Jonathan had stolen from the car inside the mall, and they’d get out of town before the Mind Flayer caught them. 

On her signal, Mike and Max looped their arms through El’s to support her and her bad leg, and they all took off toward the GAP with Sunshine trailing a step behind them. They ran fast and quietly almost having it into the store without being spotted, but El’s foot slipped on a shard of glass and slipped. The trio stumbled loudly into the store, alerting the Mindflayer. It hissed just as the four of them ducked behind a clothing display. 

The Mind Flayer crashed through the entrance, knocking down mannequins and clothing racks in its wake. The group sat squished together, trembling, waiting to be caught. A tentacle-like limb snaked around the store, on the hunt. Sunshine waited for what felt like the inevitable, waiting to become the victim of a towering beast composed of melted flesh and bones of poor Hawkins's residents. She dug her fingernails into the skin on her knees and swallowed down a scream that was lodged in her throat. 

The monster's arm grabbed a hold of a mannequin and roared once more before it sent it flying in front of them. The mannequin wore the same outfit that El had on. Her eyes were wide in terror; the Mind Flayer was smart, smart enough to recognize the outfit El wore and attack anything that resembled it. 

Its movements sounded closer and closer. Sunshine sat up a little straighter thinking maybe if she was a little taller than the kids, the monster would only grab her, giving them enough time to make a break for it. She watched out of the corner of her eye as the slimy tentacle inched forward right beside where they were, but not spotted them yet. Then, something from back in the main part of the mall popped loudly, drawing the Mind Flayer’s attention away quickly. 

They knew they had a small window of time to escape before it came back for them. They quickly sprang to their feet and sprinted towards the exit. 

Sunshine’s entire world moved in a blur before her eyes as she ran behind the trio of kids down the service halls that led to the back exit of the mall. She was filled with a sickly sense of Deja vu from a couple of hours before when she ran the same path with Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Erica. 

The white lights over their heads flickered frantically in rhythm with their heartbeat. Sunshine hoped the three adults underneath Starcourt were making progress because she had no idea how much longer they all could keep narrowing escaping a fate that wanted all of them dead so badly. 

☀☀☀

As Steve swung Calum’s minivan into the mall parking lot, he noticed only two other cars there. Nancy’s was parked in front of the main entrance. He could vaguely make out her figure standing in front of the side of the car with something in her hand. Then, he heard the shots ring out; Nancy was holding a gun, which was never a good sign. She seemed to be aiming at the car facing her across the lot, which Steve also recognized as Billy Hargrove’s. His engine revved and before Steve fully realized what was happening, Billy stepped on the gas and began hurtling towards Nancy’s car, where Steve assumed everyone was packed inside. They were in Billy’s direct path. 

Little Byers had said that Billy was possessed by the freaky monster who had ahold of the kid last year, but Billy had gotten it even worse. If Hargrove had been a monster before, Steve couldn’t imagine what he was like actually possessed by one. 

Holding his breath, Steve slammed his foot down on the gas and prayed that the rusty minivan had enough power to close the distance between him and Billy before the latter crashed into Nancy’s car. His hands white-knuckled the steering wheel and in the passenger seat, Robin let out a small yelp as she squeezed her eyes closed. She didn’t object to his plan, not that he gave her much time too. 

An awful screeching sound of metal scrapping against metal hit Steve’s ears before he felt it. Tires burned against asphalt and glass shattered as the minivan collided with Billy’s car, sending the latter spinning out. Steve felt his whole body jerk sharply, painfully, to the side. His head screamed out in pain from the minor whiplash on top of his other injuries, but he swallowed it down and turned to Robin. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, breathless. 

She returned his gaze with unfocused eyes. “Ask me tomorrow.” She blinked and turned her head as something caught her attention out of the busted windshield. Steve turned his attention toward it too, noticing an odd shadow shift along the roof of the mall. They leaned forward in sync, peering upwards in the wild blinking lights of Starcourt. Towering above them, in grand horror unlike anything he had ever witnessed, was the Mind Flayer. 

Its body was grotesque with giant spider-like limbs that crawled close to the edge of the roof. Its mouth opened up in the center of its otherwise featureless face, and flashed spiraling rows of sharp, jagged teeth as it roared, coating the air in horror. The Demogorgon at Jonathan’s was scary and revolting. The army of Demo-Dogs in the junkyard and the tunnels were overwhelming and the subject of his nightmares still, but the Mind Flayer was something else entirely. 

When he was little, he thought a monster lived under his bed. He didn’t think he’d grow up to be faced with real ones, and yet, there he was. The Mind Flayer was scarier than anything a child could come up with. It was made even worse by the lumps and oozing red flesh constructed of real people Steve probably saw walking down the street on who greeted him at the grocery store. Mothers, fathers, children. Who knew all of the people the monster had consumed to create itself? 

A car horn blared to Steve’s left as Nancy pulled up beside the busted minivan. Steve didn’t fully realize he was moving until Robin was shoving him into the very back of Nancy’s car. Robin didn’t even have the door closed before the car sped off and hurried out of the parking lot. The Mind Flayer crawled down the front of the mall and scurred after them. 

Steve’s body was consumed by nausea; he’d been knocked around one too many times that night, and speeding down the road was not soothing his stomach. But he tried to shake it off, turning around to see the heads of everyone poking up from the back of their seats. He counted them, a habit he acquired after the tunnel incident last year. He counted them once, twice, three times. 

“Wait,” he said. “Where’s Sunshine? Where’s the rest of the kids?” Four, they were missing four. Steve was positive they were missing that many, even in his slightly disoriented state. They were missing three kids and Sunshine. 

No one answered him, but he saw the kids in the back seat exchange looks with each other. The silence and lack of answers surrounded him uncomfortably. “Nancy?” He raised his voice just slightly. “Where are they?” 

Nancy didn’t turn her head to look at him as she said, “I don’t know.” 

“What do you mean you don’t know?” He wanted to scream, but he didn’t. He also kind of wanted to cry, but he couldn’t do that. Instead, he refused to look at the back windshield where the Mind Flayer followed them and kept his focus on the missing four. “They were with you.” 

The air inside the car with thick; the summer humidity outweighed the bodies packed inside the car and their labored breaths. After a beat, Lucas broke the silence in a quiet voice. “We got split up.” 

Split up? That meant that Sunshine, El, Max, and Mike were left behind. Steve wanted to hurl. 

“They’re with Sunshine,” Jonathan said, his words were more pointed at Nancy, who looked to have tears streaking down her cheeks from what Steve caught in the rearview mirror. “They’ll be okay.” Would they? The mall was the center of all of their problems; the place was swarming with Russians who knew exactly what Sunshine looked like and about her abilities. It was where the Gate was open and where Billy remained in the parking lot. Steve doubted hitting Billy’s car was enough to kill him, especially with his monster possession. 

“It’s following us,” Will said, his neck twisted around to see the creature from the window. Steve finally turned to look at it too. The Mind Flayer crawled down the streets of Hawkins with its spider-like legs kicking up asphalt. He was sure that if it caught up to them, they’d be squished by one stomp. “So,” Will continued. “It doesn’t know that they’re still at the mall; it thinks they’re with us.” 

That didn’t make Steve feel a whole lot better. The group of kids and Sunshine were still stuck at that stupid fucking mall with no way out. He just hoped they could hold out a little bit longer. As long as they kept the Mind Flayer occupied, it wouldn’t be a threat to the group, but everything else inside the mall still was a threat. Steve hated that that responsibility was put on Sunshine’s shoulders. He hated that there was nothing he could do about it. 

☀☀☀

The fresh air didn’t taste as sweet as Sunshine exited the mall that time around. She felt stuck in a loop in which, no matter what she did, she ended up right back inside the mall. It refused to end. The four of them limped out the side exit, where Sunshine had been earlier trying to flee from the Russians, only to be chased back inside. And as if someone from above, whoever was controlling their lives, actually laughed at them because once they were just far enough out to believe they could make it to the front of the mall, a figure stalked right towards them. 

Under the glow of the lamp lights, Billy Hargrove locked his gaze on them, and Sunshine felt her blood rush to her head. She grabbed a hold of Max’s shoulder and pulled her to a stop, halting El and Mike since they all were connected by looped arms. Billy walked towards them at a normal pace, not too quickly or slowly, as if he knew he already had them right where he wanted. Thick, black veins covered his exposed arms and trailed up his neck, making him look for from human. Black blood was smeared across his white wife-beater top, and he glistened with sweat.

“Go! Back inside!” Sunshine shoved the kids toward the door they had just walked out of. They took off running as quickly as El’s bad leg allowed. Sunshine turned toward Billy and sprinted toward the gate that he had yet to pass through that separated the loading dock from the back parking lot. She slammed her fist down on the button that controlled the gate. As if started to close, she ran back to the trio using what little time they had spared themselves from whatever Billy and the Mind Flayer had in store for them. 

Once again, she raced through the back halls of Starcourt with sore legs and a depleting thread of adrenaline pumping through her veins. She kept her gaze split between the kids ahead of her and the empty hall behind her. 

She kept reminding herself of the promise she had silently made what felt like a lifetime ago after Will returned from the Upside Down and after Sunshine saw the many lost children of Hawkins Lab inside the party. She’d keep them safe; that was a promise she’d never break. She didn’t let the crashing wave of panic pull her under. 

The trio stumbled into one of the open rooms, letting El rest her leg for a second and allowing them all to catch their breath. Sunshine closed her eyes for just a moment, focusing on her breathing and slowing her aching heart. Time refused to slow down for her and before she could even peel her eyes back open and register what was happening, Max’s voice cut through the air, thick and heavy. 

“Billy, please. It’s Max. I’m your-” The only part of Max Sunshine saw was her leg, stepped halfway out of the doorframe for only a moment before she fell backward and crashed onto the floor. The fall was hard, purposeful, and caused Max’s bright eyes to shut and her limbs to go limp. 

Sunshine yelled out for the girl, rushing forward, but Billy stepped into the room and cut off her path to Max. Broad and towering, Billy looked monstrous with his sickly-colored skin under the flickering lights. Sunshine held her ground, separating him from El and Max. Through gritted teeth, she ignited her hands, letting the white light burn in her palms with a glittering fury. She threw her arm forward, striking Billy in the chest with a burst of light, but it was only strong enough for him to stumble slightly. He shook it off too quickly and launched himself at her with a low grunt and flare of his nostrils. 

She had to be careful, using her abilities inside the confines of the small room. El and Mike curled against the wall, holding onto each other in an attempt to become as small as possible. With a twist of her wrist, Sunshine struck him again with a small beam that sliced across the skin of his arm, but it hardly seemed to inflict any pain at all. He was too far gone; his jet-black irises told her that much. 

They danced around the room, Sunshine’s steps light and quick while he was loud and stiff. She tried to hit him in the places where it hurt, the eyes or any exposed flesh, but it wasn’t enough. If she wanted to take him down, she needed to be more aggressive, but then she ran the risk of hurting one of the kids in the process. 

Billy, however, had no remorse for any of them and as soon as Sunshine stepped too close, he grabbed a hold of her hair and pulled hard. Her scalp burned, but only for a moment before that pain was replaced by Billy using the momentum to slam her up against the wall. Pain exploded right where her head collided with the wall and a short scream tore past her lips. She lost her footing and landed on the ground with spotted vision. The figures of El and Mike blurred, and their voices became muddled and frantic. She watched as their figures moved. A mess of lanky limbs collided with the floor a couple of feet in front of her. Mike. 

Mike was knocked out, just like Max. Rage flared inside Sunshine’s chest. She blinked away the dizziness she could and struggled to her feet, against her body's wishes. Those were her kids who Billy was hurting. She couldn’t let him get away with it, no matter what or who possessed him.

She screamed something between a battle cry and utter frustration as she attacked him from behind. She slapped her burning hands against his bare shoulders, digging her fingernails into his skin for good measure. Billy hissed, his body seizing up just slightly under her touch, but it only lasted a moment. He was strong and desperate to heed whatever orders the Mind Flayer instilled in his sick and twisted brain. He spun around to face her, and Sunshine went right for his face. She stung him in the eyes at the same time he went in for a punch. 

Her light hit him, searing his eyes as his fist struck her gut with an inhuman amount of strength. Crying out, Sunshine doubled over, and he recovered. Billy blinked wildly but there was no hesitation in his movements. His hand gripped her throat, fingers squeezing hard and cutting off the air to her lungs. She thrashed and tried to claw her way out, but dots grew darker in the corners of her vision. She felt herself on the verge of passing out. Before she could, though, Billy let go and let her body drop to the floor in a sputtering fit of coughs. 

Air slowly reentered her lugs, but she had no strength to pick herself up. Something wet pooled on the back of her head where she had hit the wall, and the urge to close her eyes was almost overwhelming. She forced her gaze open, staring unfocused as Billy stalked towards El, who tried to use her abilities to fight him off, but nothing happened. 

Billy knocked El out. Sunshine cried, her throat raw. She tried to stand but the room spun, and her limbs felt like jelly. All she could do was watch as Billy threw El’s body over his shoulder. He came for Sunshine next, grabbing ahold of her ankle. She tried to kick herself free, but his strength overpowered her. She felt useless, being dragged down the hall half-conscious. Her last resort after fighting proved to be pointless, was to yell. 

Sunshine yelled out every name she knew. Steve. Nancy. Hopper. Joyce. Dustin. Anyone. She needed anyone; she needed someone. They needed help. 

Tears poured from her eyes, but no one was there. 

Billy carried and dragged them down the corridors and into the main part of the mall, under the sky of shattered glass. The lights that dully blinked started to flash with more intensity.

He let go of her ankle first before he took El a little further away, out of Sunshine’s reach. Everything was quiet for a moment after that. Sunshine's blood drummed in her ears as she attempted to lift her head, even though it felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Something rumbled in the distance; no, something roared in the distance, drawing closer. Closer. Closer…

Tagged. @sattlersquarry , @leptitlu , @two-sides-samecoin

[perfectprofessorloverapricot]

•| A not so stolen youth |•

Stranger things / Chapter 1

Summary: Everything in life seemed limited to walls of whites and rainbows. Caged within the confines of the lab. But an accident that involved a group of teenagers and the upside down world finally let him free. In a funny turn of events he found himself hiding in a step sibling's shed. A redhead that loves video games and a blond that spends his time making sure to keep his good looks.

Character: Male child OC

Warnings: Possible to descriptive scenes, child abuse, use of drugs and bad language.

A/N: I ask you to take into account that I lack experience writing in English and there'll be some grammatical mistakes because my native language is Spanish.

Prev part - Masterlist - Next part

“What does it say here?” Sounded the voice of the teenage redhead in the shed. She pointed to one of the dialog bubbles in the comic.

Thirteen tilted his head in a vain attempt to read better. The comic was in his own hands and moving it wasn’t as helpful as he thought. “Mmm… final… v… victory?” He stutter. He felt he chest warm when he saw the look of pride in Max face while she nodded.

“Yeah. You’re getting better.” She said excitedly. A big smile was formed in the kids face.

It’s been two weeks since they met. And everything’s going good so far.

The day after Max let him stay, with the condition of being careful no to be seen, she went to check on him only to have heart attack when she didn’t find him.

The blankets she gave him were folded and there was no trace of him.

She spent the whole morning of school wondering where he could have gone. It’s not like she paid attention to the classes before.

And after an uncomfortable ride home with her stepbrother she went straight to the shed getting an insult of how weird she was behaving from the blond and disappointment from finding nothing.

She stayed on her room thinking the few things she knew about him while her brother worked out in the living room. She thought about the limited vocabulary of the kid and that she had to read the comics she showed him because he couldn’t.

There were no visible signs of physical abuse but she got a glimpse of a tattoo in his left wrist when he rubbed his eyes after yawning.

The kid is only ten, what kind of tattoo would a kid his age want?

He is dirty and his clothe doesn’t fit him, obviously not his. But still, none of it gives her a hint from where he comes from or how to find him.

She didn’t even know why she wanted to finde him so bad. Or more like, she pretended not to know.

She’s always thought of herself as independent, which was accurate for the most part, but didn’t mean she liked being alone.

Before moving to Hawkins, in California, she made her life outside of the awkward environment of her house. She spent most of her time with her two best friends and going to her biological fathers house. Even when her mother met Neil and his son, she did it.

But now, she is stuck in a place she doesn’t know with her awkwardly nervous mother, an asshole who controls the house and everyone in it and calls himself her father just to have an excuse to “educate” her and a stepbrother that gives cero shit about her.

The kid was like her hope for something better. His innocent soul hasn’t been taught how to be an though (asshole) to confront the live out there. He was a little piece of the remaining good things of the world.

Fortunately, before she could exit and give her stepbrother an excuse to leave the house she was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on her window.

There he was peeking over the edge of the window and lifting a hand with three bags of chips to share with her.

Since then it became a routine that they manage to hold for a week. While Max goes to school and avoids as much interaction with her current family as she could, thirteen sneaks out to explore more. He already knows most of the place like the back of his hands but he still finds interesting the things that people do, even tho he is to scared to get close.

Those are the moments too bitersweet to him. He loves watching others have fun and imagine himself enjoying with them, having a life where he didn’t have to keep hiding, but before he can get a step closer to the kids in the park the fear of returning to the lab and being punished for leaving in the first place stops him.

That’s why he always goes back to the shed. To a place where he knows he is not alone anymore. At least the fear of being found didn’t bother him for the first week, but at the beginning of the second something that neither he or Max could have thought happened.

It was a normal day for them until the girl came back from school and went to her room like usual. But her heart fell once she saw Billy walking out of the house with a grey tank top and a pair of shorts he only uses when he knows his going to get dirty. Which means he is going thinker with his car, which means, he needs his tolls that are in the shed.

She took a shortcut jumping through her window. She run to catch her stepbrother and walked as normal as posible beside him.

“What are you doing?” She asked, trying to act normal.

He threw her a a momentary look, easily realizing her act. “To mind my business.” He answers bluntly.

She put herself in front of him walking backwards, only making the situation even weirder to Billy. “Don’t you have a date? With the… that blonde girl. What was her name?” She tried to remember almost stumbling with a rock.

Billy rolled his eyes in exasperation. “I don’t know and I don’t care. That was yesterday. Now move.” He pushed her effortlessly to the side once they reached the shed.

Max almost face planted in the floor but that wasn’t her priority. She turned to Billy only to witness him stop in his place with the door open.

“What the fuck?” He mumbled.

Max rammed her body against the door and closed it staying between it and her stepbrother. “It’s not what it looks like.” She defended.

Billy rose a brown in incredulity. “Really? Because it looks like you’re keeping a stray in Neil’s shed.”

“He’s not a dog, he’s a kid.” She defended, actually offended. “A really scared kid.”

“And I don’t give a shit. You’ve been keeping him there in a shed that doesn’t belong to you.” Max knew that what he said was true, but she couldn’t let him to his own with the possibility of returning to an abusive home. “What could a kid of his age be scared of? A monster under his bed?” He shook his head. It was ridiculous. “He needs to go.” He said with finality.

Max pressed her back even harder against the door and shook her head.

Billy got closer to her, using his height to tower over her in an intimidating way. “Get him out before Neil finds out or I’ll do it.” He threatened in a gruff voice.

Max genuinely felt scared. She knew what he was capable of, but she bets that the kid is even more scared than she is right now. And she was right, the boy was shaking inside the shed, hugging to his chest one of the comics Max left for him. His favorite comics. One of x-men’s.

“No.” She said with all the confidence she could in front of her intimidating brother.

The blond grabbed her arm in a painfully strong grip and dragged her a few steps away from the shed before throwing her, ignoring her yelp when she fell on her side. “Then I’m gonna get rid of the scaredy cat myself.” He conclude walking with heavy steps towards the shed.

Max panicked. She let out something that she knew could affect him. “He’s scared of his father, okay?” She screamed.

She felt a small relief when Billy stopped in his actions with his hand in the door’s handle.

His hesitation brought some confidence to the girl. “He hurts him.” She explained in hopes of changing his mindset. “I’m not asking you to take care of him. Just don’t tell anyone. You won’t even notice he is here.” She pleaded a little calmer now but still seating in the floor. “You won’t even notice he is here.” She repeated in a soft voice.

Billy bit the inside of his cheek in thought. He doesn't know how long the kid’s been there but if it weren't for the fact that he personally went to the shed he wouldn't know of his existence.

Almost reluctantly, Billy opened the shed again. He stayed in his place but he took his time to actually take a look at the kid. Scared and dirty, the boy stayed in the very back of the wooden place, shaking. Those blue innocent eyes were looking at him, waiting for the worst.

For a second, a small flash, he saw himself in the boy. When he was recently abandoned by his mother and left with his abusive father. He moved slowly to one of the shelves close to the door to grab the box of tools, keeping an eye on the kid.

Once he was out he looked at the surprised redhead in the floor as he closed the door behind him.

He stepped in front of his sister with his always present frown in his face. “If Neil finds out I let you hide a kid in the shed I’m gonna drag you under the bus with me. Do you understand?” He concluded.

Max was stunned for a few seconds but nodded slowly.

Billy scoffed, proceeding with his plans on tinkering in his car but made a las comment. “And wash that filthy kid. His gonna become a charcoal by the weekend.”

Max blinked a few times. She sat there for a moment, processing what just happened until she heard the door creaked open and a pair of eyes accompanied by a dirty fur (at least that’s what it looks like) peeked out of the place. She gave him a toothed smile that soon became a laugh that turned into a cackle that had her almost rolling on the floor.

The boy came out of the shed smiling, visibly confused but smiling. If Max was happy that means good news.

And it did.

Now that she didn’t have to actually hide the boy it became easier to change places between her room and the shed, they go through her bedroom’s window though.

She did what Billy said. She gave him a bath. She took his clothes and left him in his underwear covering it with a towel and sat him in the bathtub. She was horrified when the water changed color almost instantly and she had to change it for more clean water.

She knew he got dirty through the week but not that much.

She was surprised once again when she gave him the bottle of her brother’s shampoo and he only looked at it in wonder.

The kid didn’t know how to use a shampoo, much less the conditioner. He now has hair long enough to go a little below his ears when wet but that’s new to him, he’s always had a buzz cut since he was a kid. He never needed anything more than soap for his whole body, like the rest of the kids in the lab.

Knowing the kid was never taught how to use a shampoo put another knot in Max’s heart. Through how much has the kid gone?

She end up teaching him how to use the shampoo and conditioner. He needed a little help to get some knots out of his hair but it was easy.

Surprise surprise. Under those old rags and all the dirt was a beautiful kid with light brown hair. It was formerly a way darker color.

Even Billy who was just on his way to his room did a doble take to the boy standing patiently in the hall. He scoffed and continued on his way. Who could have thought?

Meanwhile Max was practically buried in the main closet of the house, it was more like a storage room with all the unpacked boxes, looking for clothe that would fit him. More specifically, clothes her stepbrother used, but there was nothing. She already looked for in the unpacked boxes around the house and the closet was her last option.

She debated if she should ask Billy personally. It wasn’t the best of her ideas but it was the only one. The probability of Billy slamming the door in her face where high.

She sigh. It was her only option for now.

Reluctantly, she made her way to her stepbrothers bedroom where he was gathering clean clothes to take to the bathroom. His towel was already in his shoulder.

She knocked on the doorframe a little shy.

“What?” He grumbled without looking at her.

“Can you lend me some of your old clothes. The kid doesn’t have any.” She said in a small voice.

He huffed as he grabbed a blue tank top from his closet. “Why is that my problem? He should have thought about it before running away.” He said in a low voice with a hint of annoyance.

“Come on Billy. You can’t let him freeze to death in the autumn weather. Winter is already close.” She answered with a little bit of annoyance in her own voice.

Billy slammed the door of his closet shut and turned to Max. He already had what he needed. He pointed at her with his free hand. “You said he isn’t my problem and I wouldn’t even notice him. This doesn’t seem like it.” He had a point. “Give him some of your old clothes.” He recommended walking to the door. “You dress like a boy anyway.” He insult on his way out, bumping with Max’s shoulder on purpose.

Thirteen, still in the hallway, looked at Billy in curiosity when he walked by him, even when the teenage was obviously ignoring his presence.

Max huffed at him. Well she didn’t have that much expectations in him anyway.

She guided Thirteen back to her room and sat him down on her bed.

She looked for her own old clothes through the many unpacked boxes in her room, grumbling every time something fell out of the boxes for the lack of space needed.

It took a long time but finally, she found her clothes. she organized it into tree divisions. The too small for the 10 year old kid, the clothes that fits and the clothes that will fit. All of that, after selecting the ones that looked boyish.

By the end of it thirteen already had his hair sticking out in every direction, full of static. He put on and took off everything to measure.

While they were both doing their own things, Billy was back in his room. He discarded the dirty clothes in the laundry basket and dried his hair with harsh movements of the towel. Once satisfied he threw the towel to wherever the hell it flew, he just wanted to fall on his bed and blast some music, but he was stopped when he heard a commotion at the feet of his bed.

He huffed. The towel fell on top a stack of books placed on an unpacked box and caused everything to fall.

He grabbed the towel with annoyance only to freeze when he saw the box slightly opened. The item wasn’t hidden but wasn’t visible either from the door, that’s why Max didn’t see it when she came to ask. The light left a cloth visible inside the box. The box was filled with the clothes Max was looking for and some other things of his childhood.

Memories of the few good times. When his mother was still with him and he was happy.

He hasn’t been able to get rid of the things. To sentimental. But he doesn’t want to be reminded of the past and keeps everything hidden. Just like his feelings.

Agitated, Billy grabbed the box of things, slammed his closet’s door open, threw the box inside and slammed it back shut. He walked to his nightstand and grabbed the box of cigarettes. He lighted one up with hands trembling in bottled fury and disgust towards himself and the world.

The relief of breathing nicotine and filling his lungs with the smoke was almost instant. He held his breath for a few seconds, calming himself first then letting it out just like the bad feelings.

The past is in the past, he cannot be weak anymore. He doesn’t have that chance.

To drown every remaining of that bad taste in his mouth he blasted his noisy music so loud that he couldn’t hear his own thoughts anymore.

Thirteen, still in Max’s room frowned when the music reached his ears. Billy’s door was close and so was Max’s, yet, he could still hear the music very clear. He didn’t like how it sounds.

A little thing he hasn’t told Max yet is one of his rare capabilities. Everyone in the lab new it was a possibility to gain enhanced senses once some of the kids started showing signs of it. More specifically, hearing and smell.

Whatever they did to expand the limits of their minds also better enabled the senses limited by mental capacity.

9 of the 15 kids they had developed the enhanced senses along with telepathy and psychokinetic powers. Thirteen was one of them. He only got the hearing though.

But he never got to interact enough with them because he was separated from the rest of the kids when his father found out he was a late bloomer. He was left in isolation for many hours with the excuse that it was to help him concentrate. He was raised in the east side of the lab while the rest were held in the west.

But still, he ended up better than his father ever anticipated and now he has some resemblance of freedom.

Uncomfortable with the music rumbling in his head he rubbed his ears for a moment. The security alarms in the lab were still worse so it wasn’t that much of a problem.

“Here” cheered Max grabbing jeans, a pair of socks, a navy-blue t-shirt with long sleeves and a red hoodie that has less color than when it was new for the many times it’s been washed.

Happy to cover his chilling skinny body he quickly put on the clothes. Max helped him when he managed to get his head stuck in one of the long sleeves.

At last, when he was done, he had a big innocent smile in his face that was reflected in Max’s own. The clothes fitted perfectly.

“Looking good, uh?” she said rising and lowering her eyebrows consecutively. The smile in the boy’s face widened with joy. “Now you can blend in with the others if you need.” Thirteen nodded in agreement. “Wanna read a comic now?” She asked, getting another nod as an answer.

“Magneto?” asked the boy in hope.

Max laughed a little, already grabbing an x-men comic. She knows that the boy’s favorite character is Magneto. She doesn’t know why but she likes how he thinks outside of the box. Most of the kids like a hero, but Thirteen likes a villain, just like she likes monsters. In some way, they are similar.

That’s how the first two weeks of knowing the stepsiblings went. Enjoying a little bit of liberty and not lonely anymore.

But Halloween is close, and so are other things in the dark he thought he would never see again.

Fortunately, this time he won’t be alone.

What do you think?

Any comment or constructive criticism are appreciated.

[werdlewrites]

masterlist - ao3 - twitter @ djomamma

summary: “Not real. It’s not real-” “I’ve got you; you’re okay.” Locked in a tight hold, they sway together, back and forth. Ignoring the burn of ice against their legs or the ache in their lungs. “It’s okay.” He whispers into the girl's hair. His words of assurance fought against her repeated mumbles, questioning the world around her and working to pull her back from the ledge and into a place of security. Eventually, the tremble in her body lessens, and her mantra fades out, carried away by the wind and leaving her exhausted in his hold. She’s slumped against him, cheeks wet, and eyes nearly closed from the drop of adrenaline. warnings: smoking, therapy, christmas/holidays, autumn has mENTAL ILLNESS OKAY she's spiraling wc: 3,402

Time is a lost concept as a young girl stares out over the cliff of Lover’s Lake. Hours had passed since she had first forced her way through that building hidden away in the woods. The only telling sign is the shift in light. The brilliance of morning had faded, now sometime in the afternoon as she smoked a stolen cigarette. How long had she been sitting before him? Spilling her guts unwillingly. A knife hesitantly carving out her nightmares and leaving them on the floor for him to carry. The tears shed had been long dried up. Stuck to her skin and leaving her feeling dirty and empty.

How long had she been out to face the wrath of winter? Arms bundled up inside of layers of fabric, eyes red, and lips cracked from frantically licking at the salt that cascades from her eyes. Autumn wondered if, by chance, there was anyone else out there in the world having a Christmas just like this one. Dread and silence as they ponder over another session completed—or rather, had it only just begun?

“His name is Martin Brenner,” Owens begins. “Director of—or, he was the Director of Operations, here.”

Her face contorts to something more confused. He had worked here—in this place his victim now was. It’s an uncomfortable feeling. And for a moment, she questions her judgment and if she should turn her back on the doctor. “So, he’s gone, now? He’s not here?”

“No,” he states rather quickly. “No. He’s long gone. He hasn’t been seen since that night in your home.”

The girl’s eyes narrow in his direction. Arms crossed in defense with a slouched posture. “And, what? You took over his job?”

Shaking his head, he waves away the accusation. A disgruntled look on his face at the idea of being compared to a man like him. “No. I’m simply cleaning up the mess he left behind. Making things better than they were. He had some…unorthodox practices.”

With aching eyes narrowed in his direction, the wall she built crashes down with arms now hung loose in her lap. The girl is hunched forward, attempting to lure out the secrets he keeps hidden away. “You mean the monsters?”

The question is startling, and it’s visible in the way his eyes widen. His body nearly jolts back as an uneasy chuckle vibrates within his chest. He had heard of her experience in the Byers home. How she was found unconscious not long after and cared for by the officer. But it’s not a question he’s prepared for. “Monsters?”

Without another word spared, Autumn’s position shifts. Her fingers tangle at the sleeve of her sweater, pulling it back far enough to reveal old scars from the attack in the woods. The creature that broke through the universe to leave a permanent mark on her skin. Forever a reminder of the demons that walked beneath them.

His face has visibly paled. Fingers fidgeting and flipping the pen back and forth as the nerves wound tighter. “Yes. The monsters. He was…in a way, involved in that particular situation.”

“And Will?”

His heart breaks at the thought of the young boy. Dragged through time and space. Abandoned in the darkness without hope of seeing the light. He tries not to think of his suffering—his fear. But the task is difficult when he thinks of the effect it had on the people who loved the boy. Including the girl sitting just across from him. “And Will, yes.”

She sits back, then. Chewing at her lips with an unfocused gaze locked on the dark wood of his desk. Her mind is a muddled mess of questions. All fumbling to escape at once while she delicately plucks out one by one. “So, what was a man like that doing hanging around my dad?”

Autumn takes another drag. The toxin burned down into nearly nothing. She’d be scolded for sure if he happened to be home on time. But the punishment was far from her mind, as something far more disturbing had been pushed to the forefront. Dr. Owens explains that he was a constant figure in her life from a very young age. A bad man who only viewed her gifts as a means to achieve what he wanted. What he needed.

He had always been there. Waiting in the shadows for a moment to strike. But how they knew each other, or why, isn’t discussed. Owens closes up his notebook with a saddened smile on his face, saying that those stories are for another time—another session. She nearly fights him on the topic, but he’s unshaken.

“You have to trust me,” he states in a bold tone, now standing from the desk. “There are some things meant to be taken in slowly. You’ve gone through a lot. I don’t want to add to the pile until we’re both ready.”

She’s reached the filter. The little death whittled down into nothing. It’s almost shameful to see what she’s done to herself. The poison she willingly soaks in when the pressure of life becomes too much to handle. It eases the bouncing knee and trembles in her hands. And with that relief, she can’t find herself to care about the harm. Not until it’s over. Not until she flicked it into the snow and stomped out any remaining embers.

But it’s only temporary, right?

She’ll feel the calm after an exhausting day. Emotional threads pulled without mercy until she was spent. The ghost of Autumn working her way through Hawkins until the fire starts up again. The beasts inside are not yet finished with her as every fiber is stitched back together. Just to tear it away.

Autumn moves on autopilot once she’s back inside the warmed Jeep. Temple pressed into her palm as she sluggishly moved through traffic, then vanishing into the woods. A carved path was already laid out for her in the snow. And as expected, the cabin remains dark and empty. Not another soul in sight. She can’t tell if she’s grateful. Pieces of her wanting to sit with Hopper and tell him everything—though he seems to already know. Then in other moments, she finds herself tired of speaking and is unwilling to relive her morning.

The girl pries away her heavy layers coated in a fine dusting of snow, already melting away once they are kissed by the cabin’s warmth. She’s tying the strands of a secondhand apron, fitting it snug against her form before throwing herself into work. The music plays, successfully drowning out the venomous thoughts plaguing her mind. Her hands move with purpose, not sparing a second to fiddle or pull at the loose threads of her sweater in anxiety. Autumn gives herself purpose. A beneficial distraction in the form of cooking a small dinner for the two of them, with leftovers to spare.

The turkey is defrosted, just as she had asked. Ingredients are purchased and set out for her before he departs for another long day. She spares a moment to call him over the walkie, saying she’s home safe and he’s overly grateful. Filled to the brim with guilt for not being with her and relief in knowing she was back in a protected space. Traps were set out along the perimeter to keep her secure.

Beads of sweat collect along her forehead, with hair sticking easily to her skin. Time is passing. The light of a sleepy afternoon faded until the sun was no longer high above, but easing down for rest. Luring children in from playing in the snow to instead join their family for dinner or to begin holiday traditions. Autumn boils, cuts, and roasts in preparation for his return. Eyeing the clock now and then gain a better understanding of just how late he would be. The only promise he made was that he would be home. When, exactly, was entirely different.

She doesn’t call to ask. Not wanting to interrupt anything more important or cause suspicion. Autumn waits for a call that never comes. Yet still, she cooks, just like she always had.

The turkey is still in the oven when she sees his headlights beam through the closed curtains. It’s almost alarming after being left in her own world for so long. Dirtied hands dust along the fabric of her apron, setting out plates in preparation for eager hands to start grabbing at hot food. Hopper had most likely eaten poorly. Too distracted to eat what was readily prepared for him, and opted to eat something less healthy at the last minute out of desperation.

His car door slams a little harder, showing aggravation. Frustration. Heavy feet bound up the steps, thunderous and uncaring if he slips or crashes into her as he nearly barges through the door. Hopper’s chest is heaving, eyes blown wide, and he zeroed in on the teenager with two empty glasses in hand.

“Merry Christmas,” she announces with a weak smile. The man seems out of place and in panic. The tension around him never settled despite being in a familiar and safe place. It was almost as if he was running from something. Or to something. Autumn contemplates for a moment that the worst has happened and that her second life, although small, is about to be packed up once more. With confidence wavering, she carries on to not mirror his state and send the pair into a spiral. “Not bad timing. I’m a little impressed.”

Her soothing words remain unmatched. The fear in his eyes continues to burn straight through her as he closes the distance between them. “Autumn, I need to-”

“I hope you saved some room for an actual meal,” she teases. “Not just coffee and donuts.”

Hopper reaches for her. Hands gripping at her shoulders to force her to meet his cold stare. The rush of his gesture sends the girl into momentary shock; she limps, freezing up on the spot with a dancing heart buried beneath her ribs. “Autumn, you need t’listen t’me.”

And then it all plummets. Any hope of a normal holiday, though far from it, is gone. His tone is low, and his teeth nearly grind together as he forces out the words. She can already hear what’s yet to be said. A dangerous threat loomed with only a few minutes spared to grab what was needed. Maybe he had seen her father. A once-missing man was now strolling through Hawkins. “There’s something I have t’tell you. Please. Just-”

There’s a creak in the floorboards far in the distance, paired with the small scuffle of shoes as they dragged along the wood. She doesn’t notice the way his grip tightens on her or the way the world around them seems to come to a crashing halt. Hopper acts as a shield to the intruder, only granting Autumn sight when he turns to meet…her.

The girl with sickly skin was dusted with dirt. Innocent eyes were full of wonder as they took in new surroundings, paying the other pair no mind as fingers glide along abandoned jackets. Warmth has soaked into every fiber, while her fingers run cold and dig a little deeper into the material. Her nose and cheeks are red from long hours spent outside in the falling snow. Boots soaked and knees scraped from low branches and small tumbles.

The hem of her pink dress pokes out from an oversized jacket, tattered and torn through an unknown life or time. A speck of blood here and there, only noticeable if you really look. And Autumn is looking—staring. Taking in this image of a ghost that once danced through the darkness of her mind. A place of mystery. The place where they truly saw one another before all faded into nothing.

The glass shatters at Autumn’s feet, and doe-like eyes find hers once more. An unseen thread twists through the universe to bind them together. Lacing through stilled blood and slipping around a racing heart like a cage. Constricting, with the pain leaving her breathless and unshakeable in the small kitchen, unable to fight for her life.

Her mind fills with static. Her ears ring out a sharp tune as she slips from this plane to the next. That place where they meet as strangers. Both were uncertain of what was real as they locked eyes in fright. Then their gaze shifts to study that blue car, left abandoned in a field. The world was so vivid and bright, no longer an echoing shadow.

Then she’s gone.

Yet here she stands.

“This is the kid that’s been missing.”

His voice blends in with the ting in her ear. Muffled and hardly there. Something unseen blocks him out—a wall too big for even her to fathom. Stretching to the skies to protect her from the officer and his words, and the girl meant to be a lost soul. A dead soul. A figment of the imagination, though now pulled into reality. This blockade calls itself denial—something she’s far too familiar with.

“She’s like…you.”

“There’s a girl.”

Eyes look up to him through fallen strands, waiting patiently for him to move forward with his thoughts.

“I don’t know how t’explain it. She-she saw Will, too.”

Brows begin to furrow as Autumn straightens her posture, zeroing in on his words as they stumble out. “What d’you mean?”

“I mean, she saw Will. Barb, too. She knows where they are like she knows that place. She called it ‘The Upside Down’, or something.”

The tides of madness pull out from the shore, revealing the bare bones beneath it all. A lingering threat of what was building over the horizon. A weapon of destruction preparing to wipe the world away. Her breath remains stolen out of fear. Unable to find the strength to fill and run. To escape certain death. Autumn looks to Hopper for comfort—for reassurance. Maybe this had all been just another nightmare. Another trick of the mind to cast her over the edge. But she can feel the pressure of his grip that remains and nearly hear the sound of his racing heart in the eerie silence.

“We-we lost her that night. The night you were at the Byers.”

“Aut?” He calls in a softened tone, worries now brewing as he watches her spin on heels to stare at nothing. But when she looks back at Steve, there’s fear in her eyes. A finger raises to point out into the void, where only broken picture frames lay scattered across the ground. Words are caught on the girl's tongue, jabbing at thin air with a silent plea for someone to help her—to see what she’s seen.

There’s no rejoicing as he closes the distance, only more unease as the heartache turns to agony. A fist tightly wound around her heart and squeezed until it burst. Her skin becomes red from the pressure, fingers tightening around her sweater and pulling on it, trying to rip away this unseen grip so that she may breathe again.

“Hey, hey!” Steve shouts, hands held out in fear, seeking to touch her, to pull her into safety, but they linger just over her arms. She had become so delicate the more her insides twisted. “Autumn, hey!”

“No more.”

Autumn had tortured herself over the idea of Will being within reach of her. Hands reaching out to touch in the blackness before he crumbles away into nothing. He had seen her. The same way this child had. She couldn’t rescue him then, though she had no idea how. She had hoped to pluck him from the devil's grasp and carry him home. He suffered instead. And yet, this girl…

“She’s been out there, Autumn. All on her own. She has nowhere t’go, okay? She needs help.”

The teenager has slipped into a comatose state, though eyes wide open and drinking in her surroundings. She’s rendered paralyzed and forced to endure what’s forced upon her—down her throat. Cramming this dizzying reality down her throat until she’s choking on it. She’s so lost in it all that she barely notices the small steps the girl has taken forward. Another cursed creature with an unbreakable stare.

This girl looks up to Autumn with big, brown eyes, filled with an unknown horror. Tales of sorrow and wonder. The thread turns to the wire. A shapeshifter as it tangles and works through her body. Rising into her throat and scratching at the walls, leaving her too pained to cry out, though fingers tremble at her side from the ache.

“Look, kid,” he’s suddenly closing the space between them, towering above someone so frail and lost, looking for some sort of guidance through the haze. “I’m not afraid. Not of you, or whatever happens tomorrow. Hell, even a year from now. But I think there are times when… you’re afraid of yourself.”

Afraid of her mind. Afraid of what she’s done and what she could do. Afraid of what was so deeply buried within her and unwillingly giving it the freedom to crawl through the cracks. She was afraid of the truth, and it was staring her in the face.

Within seconds, the pair are locked in a place of shadows, where Hopper no longer exists. There’s no warmth on her back from freshly cooked food or the gentle tick of a timer as she waits for the final dish. No sharp kiss against her cheeks as the winter wind comes barreling through the opened doorway. Only a frightened beat of her heart fills the void, reaching out for relief.

The girl is a barricade. She’s a weapon used against Autumn. She’s the finger on a trigger of overwhelming panic, and she pulls with a single word falling from her lips, echoing out into the nothingness. “Blue.”

Life finally flows through her. Lungs filling with ragged breath—shaken and unsteady. Wires ripped from within, pulling her out that same doorway the girl once stood in. She follows without question, letting them guide her in a dizzying state. Autumn clumsily moved past the girl with haste, arm knocking into her shoulder and retreating like it had been stung. She doesn’t look back, not even as he calls her name. Not even as her world shifts to a vision of darkness, with the moon high above casting an eerie glow against the snow.

The trees stand tall above her. Leaves long dead and in the shadows, they look like monsters—like people. Are they the same? Men in suits hidden within the shadows, watching her run out into the nothingness. Evil smiles bright and haunting, watching as she spirals out of control.

The worry of how far she’s run doesn’t seem to dawn on her in the moment. Simply letting her body fly until there was freedom—some peace and relief. It never comes, no matter how far she believes she’s gone. It all seems to happen so fast that she’s tumbling down into the piles of snow. The shock of its chill drowned out the sound of heavy footsteps and the call of her name.

Warmth soon finds Autumn. Her smaller frame is wrapped in his embrace as he comes to a crashing stop just at her back, pulling her in for comfort. She doesn’t fight away his hold, instead collapsing within it. Her body is wracked by heaving sobs as her mind races and contemplates her sanity. What was real, and what was all an illusion?

“Not real. It’s not real-”

“I’ve got you; you’re okay.” Locked in a tight hold, they sway together, back and forth. Ignoring the burn of ice against their legs or the ache in their lungs. “It’s okay.” He whispers into the girl's hair. His words of assurance fought against her repeated mumbles, questioning the world around her and working to pull her back from the ledge and into a place of security. Eventually, the tremble in her body lessens, and her mantra fades out, carried away by the wind and leaving her exhausted in his hold. She’s slumped against him, cheeks wet, and eyes nearly closed from the drop of adrenaline.

Autumn is hardly present—a mere shell of herself. She doesn’t fight or budge as her body is plucked from the ground, snow stuck to her clothes. Hopper acts as her savior once more. Carted through the night and back toward that cabin, where the girl named Eleven waits.

[aprilludgate357]

chapter four: the body

steve harrington x gracie williams(eventually) word count: 7463 summary: will was dead... or was he. in what wasn't her finest moment, gracie finds oddly finds comfort in an uexpected someone. everything wasn't making any sense anymore but gracie was willing to blindly hope that both barb and will were still alive. its funny what a little hope, some christmas lights, and a girl who can telepathically communicate through a radio can do.

GRACIE HADN'T YET COME TO TERMS WITH EVERYTHING THAT HAD HAPPENED THE DAY BEFORE. It was the day after Will had been found in Lover's Lake, the same day Barbara disappeared. She’d been unable to sleep the entire night, plagued by the image of Will lying pale and motionless. Her mother had tried to get her to talk, but Gracie refused, retreating inward. She’d barely said a word to anyone since last night, and she had no intention of remedying that anytime soon.

While Gracie had planned to skip school and continue mourning, the police had called her down to the high school, wanting to interview both her and Nancy at the same time.

So that's how she found herself in the empty school cafeteria, sitting next to her mother, Nancy, and Mrs. Wheeler, with two officers seated across from them.

"This argument you and Barbara had—what exactly was it about?" asked Officer Powell, a man Gracie had never seen before.

He held a notepad, diligently writing down everything Nancy and Gracie told them. Except Nancy had done most of the talking since Gracie hadn’t even been there the night Barb went missing.

"It wasn’t really an argument," Nancy explained. "Barb just wanted to leave. I didn’t, so I... I told her to just go home."

"And then what?" Powell prompted.

"Then I went upstairs to put on some dry clothes," Nancy said, carefully omitting the fact that she stayed the night.

"And the next day, you both went back and... saw a bear, you’re thinking?" asked Officer Callahan, who sat next to Powell. Gracie recognized him as the officer who had accompanied Jim when they interrogated the boys about Will's disappearance.

"I don’t know what it was," Nancy admitted, her voice wavering slightly.

The officers turned their attention to Gracie. "Did you see it?" Callahan asked.

"No, but I trust Nancy. What she saw—it wasn't like anything in this world. But... we think it took Barb," Gracie explained, hoping they would take her seriously.

But the officers exchanged a glance, their disbelief evident. "But you didn't see it," Callahan repeated, making Gracie's frown deepen as he scribbled something down on his notepad.

Trying to make their story more plausible, Gracie added, "But we saw the track marks, like she’d been dragged off into the woods."

"You need to check behind Steve’s house—" Nancy urged, desperation creeping into her voice.

"We did," Powell replied monotonously. "There’s nothing there. No sign of a bear. And no car."

"What?" Gracie straightened in her seat, her confusion growing. The car had definitely been there when she and Nancy had gone back.

"We figure that Barbara came back last night and then took off, went somewhere else. Has she ever talked to either of you about running off? Leaving town, maybe?" Callahan asked.

"No!" Both girls answered in unison, their voices firm with conviction.

"No, Barb wouldn’t do that, ever," Nancy insisted, as Gracie looked at the officers, disgusted by their suggestion that Barb would just run away.

"We're telling you, that thing took her," Gracie repeated, her voice trembling with frustration, but her words were once again met with skepticism.

"She wasn’t maybe upset about the fact that you were spending time with this boy?" Powell asked, now addressing Nancy directly. "Uh, Steve Harrington?"

"What? No!" Nancy exclaimed, her eyes widening at the mention of Steve. This revelation also caught the attention of Mrs. Wheeler, who looked at her daughter in surprise. Gracie had almost forgotten that Nancy had yet to tell her mom about her boyfriend.

A few weeks ago, telling her mom about Steve had seemed like the biggest problem Nancy had. Gracie would give anything for it to be like that again.

"Maybe she was jealous because she saw you go up to Steve’s room?" Callahan pressed, continuing to prod.

"It wasn’t like that," Nancy quickly assured him. "Steve and I are... we're just friends. We... we just talked."

Gracie looked up at her friend, wondering why Nancy wasn't telling the police the whole truth. Was hiding her relationship from her mother more important than giving the police the information they needed to find Barb?

Gracie didn't say anything, but she could feel a fire slowly building up inside her. This entire situation was infuriating. She was angry at Nancy for not being honest with the police. She was angry at the police for not taking their claims about Barb being taken seriously. But most of all, she was angry at herself because somehow, she'd failed Will as a babysitter and Barbara as a friend. She was angry because not only had she lost them, but she couldn't save them either.

Standing up from her chair, Gracie could feel her breathing growing heavier, her chest tightening with rage. The abrupt sound of her chair scraping the floor caused everyone to look up at her as she glared at Powell and Callahan.

"So that's the best you got, huh? That Barbara was a jealous bitch who was petty enough to run away? That's how you're gonna let people remember her? What you're gonna tell her parents?" Gracie asked, her voice shaking with anger.

"Gracie!" her mother yelled, but Gracie didn’t care. Tears began to blur her vision as her rage boiled over.

"You don't care about Barb. Neither of you do," she sneered. "As long as the case is closed, you don't care if you find her at the bottom of the lake just like Will! If you did, you'd listen to me when I told you that she was taken. That thing took her, and if you don't believe me, then good luck following your useless leads."

Gracie didn’t wait for a response. She turned on her heel and ran out of the cafeteria, her mother’s profuse apologies to the officers fading into the background as she bolted down the hallway, wanting to get as far away from them as possible.

The empty halls were a blessing; she didn’t want anyone to see her like this. Her only focus was reaching her locker as soon as possible. Quickly unlocking it, Gracie grabbed a pack of cigarettes, quickly going behind the school avidly avoiding the yard where P.E was taking place.

Leaning against the brick wall, Gracie took out a the pack, lighting one before quickly placing it between her lips. Gracie wasn't proud of the habit she had acquired, in fact, she barely did it. But in moments where she was so upset, she couldn't help but allow herself some leeway.

Taking a deep puff, Gracie closed her eyes, allowing herself to be overtaken with her anger and despair over Barb.

So lost in her own thoughts, Gracie didn't even hear footsteps approaching her until she heard a familiar voice that forced her to open her eyes.

"Smoking kills you know." Steve said, dressed in his P.E uniform and a towel around his neck.

"Did I ask?" Gracie asked, taking a puff as she looked momentarily at the boy before turning to look at the front again.

Laughing at the girl's response, Steve didn't expect anything less than a biting response from the girl. "Rough day?"

Dryly laughing, Gracie looked down. "Yeah, you could say."

Steve stayed quiet for a second, and Gracie thought that he had finally gone away, closing her eyes to enjoy her time alone.

"Mind spotting me one?"

So that's how Gracie found her self side to side by Steve on the brick wall, each taking a puff of smoke.

"They just don't care you know?" Gracie said, venting her emotions to the last person she'd thought she ever would. "I mean, its just so stupid to think that Barb ran away. I mean, you knew her... kinda, and I mean, do you think she'd run away?"

"Definitely not." Steve immediately answered with complete honesty, "She's way to boring for that."

Giving him a slight shove, Gracie rolled her eyes, "She's not boring okay?"

"Right sorry." Steve apologized immediately regretting his choice of words. "You know, I'm sure she's fine. I mean, its Hawkins you know? Nothing bad happens around here."

At that, Gracie had to hold in her laugh, knowing the exact opposite to be true due to the most recent events that had occurred so far. Still, he found his menial attempt to still be somewhat comforting.

"Thanks Harrington." Gracie said, with a small smile on her face.

"For what?" Harrington asked laughing, "For taking your cigarette?"

Shaking her head with a chuckle, Gracie dropped her cigarette to the ground, smothering it with her foot. "For not being a complete ass for once."

Cocking his head to the side, Steve let out a smile once again not expecting any other response from the girl, "Any time Williams."

Before Gracie could even respond, they suddenly heard a thundering voice from the across the school yard. "Harrington, Williams, is that you guys? You better not be smoking on school grounds!"

"Oh shit." Steve mumbled, quick to put out his cigarette too before quickly following Gracie who had already started running away from the school P.E teacher.

------

Gracie decided to skip the rest of school after her unexpected run-in with Steve. While she wanted nothing more than to seek solace in her bed, she couldn’t bring herself to go home, knowing her mother was probably waiting there to berate her for being so rude to the policemen. She thought about heading over to the Wheelers to see Nancy or Mike, but neither seemed like a good option—Nancy and her mother were likely fighting about Steve, and Mike was still mourning Will.

Thinking about Mike and the rest of the party, Gracie wondered how they were all coping. She had told them yesterday to call her if they needed anything, but she hadn’t heard from any of them since. In fact, for the first time in forever, her walkie-talkie had gone completely silent after they demanded she meet them at Lover’s Lake. Gracie assumed they all needed individual time to process their grief, just like her.

With nowhere else to go, Gracie decided to head into town, busying herself with a few errands to keep her mind off everything. She went to the library, the pharmacy, and now the local grocery store, stocking up on Eggos—Eleven’s favorite food. After grabbing a box of ice cream pops, she made her way to the cashier, when she suddenly overheard a commotion from outside.

Recognizing the voices, Gracie walked to the front of the store and peered out the window, her eyes widening when she saw Joyce and Jonathan Byers screaming at each other on the sidewalk. Telling the cashier to keep the change, Gracie grabbed her Eggos and ice cream, quickly making her way over to the Byers.

Just as Gracie walked out of the store, she heard Jonathan frantically throw his hands in the air, yelling, "Do you even hear yourself?"

"I know it sounds crazy," Joyce shot back fiercely, a wild look in her eyes, "I sound crazy! You think I don’t know that? It is crazy! But I heard him, Jonathan. He talked to me! Will is—he’s calling to me!"

By this point, a small crowd had formed around the two, but Gracie didn’t even notice, Joyce’s words echoing in her head. She didn’t know if it was denial, grief, or just pure madness, but it couldn’t be possible. Gracie was done trying to believe that a miracle had occurred and that Will wasn’t dead. She had foolishly let herself believe that with Eleven, and she wasn’t going to do it again—not when she’d seen Will’s dead body herself.

Joyce’s loud voice snapped her out of her thoughts. The woman was still ferociously yelling, "And he’s out there, and he’s alone, and he’s scared, and I... I don’t care if anyone believes me! I am not going to stop looking for him until I find him and bring him home. I am going to bring him home!"

With that, Joyce stormed off, leaving Jonathan behind. "Yeah, well, while you’re talking to the lights, the rest of us are having a funeral for Will! I’m not letting him sit in that freezer another day!" As his mother’s figure retreated, Jonathan suddenly became too aware of the crowd that had formed around him.

"All right, show’s over," he announced coldly, about to storm off when he spotted Gracie. Embarrassed, Jonathan didn’t know what to say after what the girl had just witnessed.

Gracie was at a loss for words too. For a moment, the two just stared at each other, neither sure how to react after seeing Jonathan, who had always been so reserved, go completely ballistic alongside his mother.

Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck, breaking the silence. "Gracie, I uh, I didn’t see you there."

Gracie awkwardly held out the box of ice cream pops. "I was just in the grocery store when I heard the, uh... yelling."

Wincing at her choice of words, she kicked herself, unsure of what else to say. After a moment, she asked, "Are you okay?"

Jonathan shook his head with a dry laugh. "Never better, actually."

"Stupid question. Sorry," Gracie quickly apologized, mentally kicking herself again. Of course, he wasn’t "okay." His brother had just been found dead. None of them were okay.

Jonathan sighed, guilt creeping into his voice. "No, I’m sorry. You were just trying to be nice. It’s just my mom—she’s really not taking this well. She’s not taking it at all, actually."

"Yeah, I heard," Gracie admitted. "She thinks she can communicate with him through lights?"

"Basically, yeah." Jonathan nodded, looking exasperated. "I know it sounds crazy."

Gracie shook her head, letting out a small laugh. "Surprisingly, it sounds pretty normal compared to some things that have happened recently."

Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows. "So you believe her, then?"

Gracie paused for a second before admitting, "I—I don’t know. Sometimes it’s nice to just believe. It makes things easier."

"We found his body," Jonathan argued firmly, unable to take another person feeding into what he saw as nonsense. He already thought Hopper had entertained his mother too much.

"I know," Gracie sighed, unable to look past the undeniable proof of Will’s demise. "Look, just give her time. Everyone grieves differently, and she’s probably just in denial."

"This has been going on even before they found the body," Jonathan said, wishing his mother’s behavior was simply part of the five stages of grief. "I mean, she’s created this entire narrative with this monster taking Will, walls opening and closing, the lights, I mean—"

But Gracie had stopped listening, freezing in the middle of his sentence. "Wait, what did you just say?"

------

Quickly leaving a thoroughly confused Jonathan behind, Gracie wasted no time hopping back on her bike, rushing straight to the Wheeler's house.

As soon as she reached their front lawn, she jumped off her bike, leaving it on the sidewalk, and quickly ran up to the door. She wasn't even going to bother knocking, about to barge in when the door suddenly opened, revealing Nancy, who also seemed to be in a rush.

"Gracie!" Nancy exclaimed, surprised but relieved to see her. Stepping outside, she quickly closed the door, not wanting her parents to overhear. "I was just about to go see you—I need to tell you something."

"Me too," Gracie cut in, sure that whatever she had to say took precedence. "Let me go first."

As quickly and precisely as she could, Gracie recounted her conversation with Jonathan, up to the point where he mentioned his mother seeing a faceless monster.

"I mean, she said it took Will. And if it’s the same creature you saw, maybe—"

"It took Barb," Nancy finished, shock evident in her eyes. "We were right. I mean, it can't be a coincidence."

"That's what I said," Gracie agreed. "Jonathan said he was going to look at caskets, so if we wanted, we could meet him there to talk."

Nancy laughed, unable to believe the irony of the entire situation. What were the odds that both of them had found evidence that Barb was taken? Confused, Gracie asked, "What's so funny?"

Shaking her head, Nancy assured her, "No, it's not that. It's just... seeing Jonathan is exactly what I was going to suggest." Instead of explaining further, Nancy took out a taped picture from her bag. Gracie quickly recognized it as the complete picture of Barb sitting by the pool that Carol had previously ripped.

"What—"

"Just look at the side," Nancy cut her off. Gracie's eyes immediately widened. There in the corner was a black blur, faintly shaped like a creature.

"I just taped the picture together, and I mean—what if it's the creature?" Nancy explained. "What if this is it?"

Folding the picture back up, Gracie demanded, "We need to go see Jonathan right now."

Nodding, the girls were about to step off the front porch and rush to the car when the door suddenly swung open, revealing a very annoyed Lucas, Dustin, and Mike.

"Gracie, where the hell have you been?" Dustin asked, shocking Gracie with his presence. She had thought they were all mourning separately today, as she hadn’t received any calls on her walkie-talkie.

"What—"

"We've been calling you all day!" Mike interrupted, not even letting Gracie finish. "What the hell?"

"I didn’t get anything!" Gracie defended herself, quickly taking her walkie-talkie out of her backpack. Upon further inspection, she took out the batteries, shrugging. "The batteries must have died."

"Oh, the batteries just died!" Dustin said in mocking sarcastic tone. Turning back to Lucas and Mike he repeated, "Did you guys hear that? Well then that's okay, it isn't like we called a code red. Let’s go." He finished, tugging her back into the basement where Eleven was already waiting.

Looking at Nancy, Gracie turned back to the boys. "Look, I’m kind of in the middle of something—"

"It's fine," Nancy quickly assured her, noticing the desperate looks in her brother and his friends' eyes. "I can go see Jonathan myself. I’ll come back later to tell you about it."

"Are you sure?" Gracie asked after a moment of hesitation.

Nodding, Nancy smiled. "Yeah, don’t worry about me. You have a job to do."

"Did she just call us a job?"

Ignoring Lucas, Mike jumped between the two girls before Gracie could respond, pushing the girl back into the house. "Okay, you heard her. She’s good by herself. See you, Nancy!"

"Mike, what the hell—"

But the boys didn’t give her time to finish, slamming the door the second they got her inside. "No time to explain," Lucas said, quickly dragging her down to the basement with Mike and Dustin close behind.

"Also, where does Nancy keep her makeup?" Dustin said from behind her.

Gracie barely had time to process what was happening as the boys hurried her down to the basement. The intensity of the situation with Jonathan and Nancy's discovery was still fresh in her mind, but the urgency in Mike, Lucas, and Dustin's voices made it clear something serious was going on with them too.

As they reached the basement, Gracie caught sight of Eleven sitting on the couch, her expression distant but determined. The tension in the room was palpable, and Gracie’s anxiety spiked.

"Okay, seriously, what’s going on?" Gracie asked, glancing between the boys and Eleven.

"Will’s alive," Mike blurted out, eyes wide with a mix of fear and hope, “Look I know it sounds super crazy but you just gotta-“

“I know.” Gracie cut off, suprised but not at the idea that Will was alive but how the boys had come to that conclusion too, "I-I mean I don't know know, but I believe it."

“How do you already know?” Dustin asked, all four boys confused as to how Gracie had known what they had only found out this morning.

Shaking her head, Gracie didn’t want to concern her friends with Barb, who they hardly even knew, “Long story. How do you know?” She asked still confused.

Lucas held up a walkie-talkie. "We heard him, Gracie. He called out to us through this. It’s real. He’s out there."

Gracie’s mind raced, the pieces slowly coming together. First, Jonathan's mention of the monster, then Nancy's picture, and now this. It was all connected somehow, but the how still eluded her.

“You heard him talk?” Gracie asked her head spinning, “He picked up his walkie talkie?”

“Well not exactly.” Mike explained, “Eleven was playing around with the walkie talkie, and somehow she picked up on him breathing.”

“Are you sure you weren’t just on the wrong channel or something?” Gracie asked, having yet to see Eleven’s powers yet, still skeptical to it all.

“It was Will! Look, right now she can only pick up on his breathing but earlier he was singing that stupid song he always does.” Mike exclaimed, Gracie immediately knowing what he was referring to. Will had shown her the song right after Jonathan introduced it to him, Should I Stay or Should I Go. Even thought Gracie already knew the song she pretended not to, seeing how happy Will was to show her something knew.

“It’s not about the channel.” Lucas continued, “It’s almost like she was channeling him.”

“Like Professor X.” Dustin added on, the boys nodding their heads at the analogy.

Looking towards Eleven, who was still sitting on the couch Gracie asked, “Can she do it again?”

“The signal or something is too weak.” Mike said shaking his head, “We need to get her to a stronger radio.”

Gracie’s heart pounded in her chest. "Okay, so what’s the plan? How do we find him?"

"Well if you replaced your damn batteries and picked up one of our thousand calls you would know.” Lucas scorned, Gracie waving her hand in dismissal at the his grumbling

“I’ve got a plan, but it’s a bit unconventional." Dustin cut in, knowing that they didn’t have time to place blame

Gracie raised an eyebrow. "Unconventional how?"

“Mr. Clarke’s Heathkit Ham Shack.” Dustin answered with a proud grin at his idea, “That's why I asked about the makeup. We need to make her look… normal and sneak her into the middle school. So are you in?”

Looking over at Eleven, Gracie looked back at the boys with determination. What was another leap of blind faith anyway. "Okay," Gracie said, taking a deep breath. "Let’s do this.”

------

The group quickly sprang into action, with Gracie leading Mike and Eleven upstairs to search for Nancy's makeup. As Gracie opened Nancy’s vanity drawer, she found the familiar makeup box nestled inside. Meanwhile, Mike and Eleven had made themselves comfortable by the window, quietly chatting. Gracie pulled out the box and called over her shoulder, "Alright, nothing too fancy—just a bit of blush should do."

But when she turned around, she noticed neither of them was paying attention. Instead, they were absorbed in their own conversation. Mike was speaking softly, while Eleven listened with intensity.

The sight brought a smile to Gracie’s face. She had always known that Mike had a soft spot for Eleven, but it wasn’t until now that she truly saw the connection they were building. It was as if, in the midst of all the chaos and danger, they had found something precious—a bond that went beyond just friendship.

Gracie had never really considered the possibility of any of the boys having crushes. To her, they were still the same kids who would rather spend their afternoons playing Dungeons & Dragons in the basement than engaging in anything as mundane as a romance. But now, seeing the way Mike’s face lit up whenever Eleven smiled, she realized how much they had all grown through this ordeal. It was sweet, in a way that tugged at her heart.

Deciding to give them a moment alone, Gracie quietly placed the makeup box between them. "I’ll head back downstairs with Lucas and Dustin to find some clothes. Mike, you got this?"

Mike nodded, his eyes darting nervously from the makeup box to Eleven. He wasn’t exactly confident in his makeup skills, but the chance to spend a few more minutes alone with Eleven was worth the challenge. As Gracie left the room, she shot him a teasing wink, and she didn’t miss the way his cheeks flushed pink in response.

Down in the basement, Gracie found Dustin and Lucas huddled in the corner, rummaging through boxes of the Wheeler family’s old clothes. The basement was dimly lit, with the faint smell of dust and old cardboard filling the air. The boys had already pulled out several items, tossing aside anything that wasn’t useful.

"Any luck?" Gracie asked, kneeling beside them to join the search.

"Not yet," Lucas replied, frustration edging his voice. "But we found a wig. Dustin, show her."

Dustin held up a blonde wig with a flourish, and Gracie’s eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh, that’s Nancy’s old Cinderella wig! She wore it for Halloween when we were kids. I was Belle."

Gracie smiled at the memory, recalling how she, Nancy, and Barb had dressed as princesses for Halloween year after year. Nancy had always been Cinderella, with her blonde wig and sparkling dress. Gracie had chosen Belle, with her brown hair and yellow gown. And Barb…

The smile faltered on Gracie’s face as she remembered Barb, who had always insisted on being Merida from Brave, with her natural red hair cascading down her back. Barb had worn that costume for years, loving the fierce independence of the character.

The memory hit Gracie like a punch to the gut, but she fought back the tears that threatened to spill over. If there was even a chance that Will was alive, then Barb could be too. She had to believe that. She had to hold on to that hope.

Gracie was snapped out of her thoughts by Lucas, who triumphantly held up a dress he’d found at the bottom of a box. "Gracie! How about this?"

She looked up to see Lucas holding a pink long-sleeve dress, one that she instantly recognized as one of Nancy’s old ones. Lucas held it up to his chest, striking a ridiculous pose as if he were modeling it. The sight made all three of them burst into laughter.

"That’s perfect," Gracie said, still chuckling.

They brought the dress upstairs to Eleven, who quickly disappeared into the bathroom to change. The hallway outside the bathroom was quiet, the kind of stillness that only comes in the calm before a storm. Gracie leaned against the wall, her mind racing with everything that had happened that day.

"Do you think this is going to work? Any of this?" Lucas asked, breaking the silence. His voice was laced with doubt, his usual skepticism coming through. Out of all of them, Lucas had always been the most cautious, the one who questioned everything. He had been the most hesitant to believe in Eleven’s abilities, the most reluctant to accept that there might be another explanation for Will’s disappearance.

Gracie took a deep breath, her thoughts heavy. "It has to."

Before they could say anything more, the bathroom door creaked open, and Eleven stepped out. The transformation was stunning. Dressed in the pink outfit and wearing the blonde wig, she looked almost unrecognizable.

"Wow," Dustin whispered, his eyes wide. They all stared, amazed at how different Eleven looked.

"She looks—"

"Pretty," Mike finished for Lucas, his voice soft with admiration. The word seemed to hang in the air, drawing a shy blush from Eleven and knowing smiles from the others. Realizing he’d spoken out loud, Mike quickly added, "Good. I mean, you look pretty good."

Despite the correction, Eleven’s face lit up with happiness. She walked over to the nearest mirror, taking in her reflection with a mixture of surprise and delight. Mike followed her, staying close as if he couldn’t bear to be apart from her for even a moment.

As Dustin and Lucas exchanged amused glances, Gracie playfully swatted the back of their heads. "Cut it out. I think they’re cute."

"No way," Lucas grumbled, crossing his arms in defiance.

"Yeah, girls are gross," Dustin chimed in, and the two boys fist-bumped in solidarity.

Rolling her eyes, Gracie crossed her arms over her chest. "One day, you two will have crushes too, and you won’t think it’s so gross."

The boys responded with exaggerated gagging noises, making Gracie laugh. She left them to their antics and walked over to join Mike and Eleven, who were still admiring Eleven’s new look in the mirror.

Standing behind Eleven, Gracie couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the girl’s happiness. It was a rare moment of joy in the midst of everything they were facing, and it warmed her heart to see Eleven so pleased.

"Pretty," Eleven murmured quietly, her eyes still fixed on the mirror. Then, she glanced at Mike’s reflection and added, "Good."

Gracie shook her head fondly and knelt down beside Eleven, their faces close as they both looked into the mirror. Gently adjusting the wig, Gracie smiled and corrected her softly, "No. Just pretty."

------

Gracie was stunned by how much had happened in such a short span of time. Before the school day had even ended, she had been interviewed by the police, had a startling conversation with Jonathan, confirmed everything with Nancy, and now found herself sneaking back into Hawkins Middle School with the party to find a radio so Eleven could try to contact Will.

As they crept through the dimly lit hallways toward the AV room, the loudspeaker crackled to life above them. "Attention, students," the principal's voice echoed, "there will be an assembly to honor Will Byers in the gymnasium now. Do not go to fourth period."

Gracie felt a pang in her chest. It was heartening to know that the community was mourning Will, but all she could hope was that their efforts today would prove that the assembly wasn’t necessary—that Will was still alive somewhere out there.

"Remember, if anyone sees us, look sad," Mike instructed, the rest of the group nodding as they remembered they were supposed to be mourning their missing friend. They finally reached the AV room, but when Mike tried the handle, it wouldn’t budge.

"It’s locked," Mike sighed, causing a chorus of groans from the others.

Dustin turned to Eleven with a hopeful grin. "Hey, do you think you can open it? With your powers?"

Before Eleven could respond, Mr. Clarke appeared around the corner, catching them off guard. "Boys? The assembly is about to start," he said, eyeing the group suspiciously as they tried to play it cool.

"Gracie?" Mr. Clarke asked, puzzled when he noticed her with the boys. "Shouldn’t you be at the high school?"

Caught off guard, Gracie quickly scrambled for an explanation. "Oh, h-hi, Mr. Clarke!" she stammered, giving him a sheepish smile. "I’m their babysitter, and their parents wanted me to stay with them all day because, you know... we’re just so sad about Will."

"So sad," Lucas echoed, quickly swapping his grin for a frown in an attempt to sell the story.

Fortunately, Mr. Clarke seemed to buy their less-than-convincing act. "That’s really kind of you," he said, smiling warmly at Gracie. "You’re a good babysitter." Gracie mumbled a quiet thank you, relieved that he hadn’t caught on to their deception. "Well, the assembly is about to start," he continued, turning back to the boys.

"We know," Mike replied, his tone appropriately somber. "We just need some time alone."

"T-to cry," Dustin added, stumbling over his words.

Mr. Clarke nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I get it. I know how hard this is, but let’s just be there for Will, okay? And then... the Heathkit is all yours for the rest of the day. What do you say?"

With a wink, Mr. Clarke tossed Gracie the keys to the AV room. The group exchanged triumphant grins, nodding eagerly at the arrangement.

That’s when Mr. Clarke’s eyes landed on Eleven, and he cocked his head curiously. "I don’t believe we’ve met. What’s your name?"

"Eleven—"

"Eleanor!" Mike quickly interrupted, cutting off the confused girl. "She’s, uh, she’s—"

"His cousin," Gracie chimed in, seeing Mike struggle to come up with a lie.

"Second cousin," Dustin added, as if that somehow made it more believable.

Regaining his composure, Mike continued, "She’s here for Will’s funeral."

Mr. Clarke’s expression softened as he looked at Eleven. "Ah, well, welcome to Hawkins Middle, Eleanor. I just wish you were here under better circumstances." Eleven mumbled a small thank you, but Mr. Clarke pressed on, "Where are you from exactly?"

"Bad place—"

"Sweden!" Gracie exclaimed, once again cutting off Eleven. "Mike’s got a lot of Swedish family," she explained, with Mike nodding fervently in agreement.

"She hates it there," Dustin chimed in, and suddenly everyone was talking over each other, trying to make the story stick.

"Cold!" Lucas added, eager to join in.

"Subzero," Dustin affirmed.

A bit surprised by their frantic explanations, Mr. Clarke simply shrugged and smiled. "Shall we?"

The five of them quickly followed Mr. Clarke toward the gym, eager to escape what had felt like an interrogation. As they approached, Gracie could already hear the principal droning on with his speech. His words were as generic and uninspired as she had feared: "At times like these, it is important that we come together as a community. We come—"

Suddenly, Dustin pushed open the gym doors, and the five of them were met with hundreds of eyes staring directly at them. The entire student body and faculty were seated, their faces a mix of sorrow and confusion as they turned to see who had interrupted the solemn event. It was like one of those nightmares where you suddenly find yourself in front of a crowd in your underwear—only this time, it wasn’t a dream, and it was just as awkward.

"Abort," Dustin whispered urgently, he and Lucas instinctively stepping back, but Gracie grabbed the backs of their shirts, preventing them from retreating.

With a deep breath, she steered them into the gym, walking through the rows of seated students until they found an empty spot. The principal continued his uninspiring speech as if nothing had happened, but Gracie could hardly focus on his words. "We come together to heal... we come together to grieve..."

This was going to be pure agony.

------

"...Will Byers’ death is an unimaginable tragedy. Will was an exceptional student and a wonderful friend to all of us."

Gracie could hardly believe the principal was still droning on. It felt like an eternity had passed, and yet he was nowhere near finished. Sure, she appreciated the gesture of the assembly—at least on the surface. But it was hard to take seriously, knowing that many of the same people now shedding tears had ignored Will and the boys' complaints about bullies at lunch. This whole assembly felt like a performance, a way for the school to pretend they cared when, in reality, they hadn't done much for Will when he was still here.

As Gracie scanned the faces of the students around her, all she saw were expressions of boredom and indifference. It made her stomach churn.

Mike, clearly just as fed up, muttered under his breath, "Look at these fakers."

Lucas nodded in agreement. "They probably didn’t even know his name until today."

Suddenly, laughter broke out from a group to their left. All five of them turned to see who could be so disrespectful during the assembly. Gracie immediately recognized them—Troy and his friend, the same boys she’d had to reprimand more than once for bullying her kids.

"Who cares about this? This is so stupid," one of them mocked.

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah..." the other joined in, their snickering growing louder.

Gracie felt bile rise in her throat, but she kept her composure, refusing to make a scene again. Eleven, however, muttered under her breath, "Mouth breather," earning nods and murmurs of approval from the rest of the party.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the assembly. The students and teachers wasted no time jumping to their feet, confirming to Gracie that their concern for Will was little more than a façade.

Before she could fully process what was happening, Mike stormed over to Troy, his face red with anger. "Hey, Troy! You... you think this is funny?"

Troy turned to Mike, unfazed and smirking. "What’d you say, Wheeler?"

Mike’s confidence faltered for a second, but he quickly found his voice again. "I saw you guys laughing over there. And I think that’s a really messed-up thing to do."

Gracie and the rest of the party caught up with Mike, standing by his side. She didn’t stop him, proud that he was standing up for Will without resorting to violence—yet.

But Troy and his friend only sneered, the larger boy scoffing, "Didn’t you listen to the counselor, Wheeler? Grief shows itself in funny ways."

Troy, ever the taunter, added, "Besides, what’s there to be sad about, anyway? Will’s in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies. All happy and gay!"

Gracie had to physically restrain herself from doing something she’d regret. As a high schooler, getting into a fight with a middle schooler wouldn’t end well, no matter how deserved it was.

But Mike wasn’t bound by the same restrictions. He glanced at Gracie, almost as if seeking her approval. She gave him a nod, and that was all Mike needed. He marched up to Troy and shoved him hard, knocking him to the ground.

"Yeah, kick his ass, Mike!" Gracie cheered, but she should have known that a push was about all Mike had in him. Troy quickly scrambled to his feet, eyes blazing with fury. "You’re dead, Wheeler! Dead!"

Gracie stepped forward, ready to handle the situation. "Now listen here, you little shi—"

But her words caught in her throat as Troy suddenly froze in mid-stride, his eyes wide with confusion and something else—fear.

Everyone around them went still, the crowd of students that had gathered unsure of what was happening. Gracie’s eyes widened in realization as she noticed a dark stain spreading down the front of Troy’s pants.

"Dude, Troy peed himself!" someone from the crowd snickered, and that was all it took for everyone to burst into laughter.

Even Gracie couldn’t help but join in, along with the rest of the party. Dustin chortled, "Holy shit!" Gracie didn’t even have the heart to scold him for his language, too busy glancing at Eleven, who was wiping her nose with a satisfied smile.

Gracie realized that this was the first time she'd actually seen Eleven use her powers. Uptil then she had simply taken the boys' words for her abilities but not only what she had done been funny as hell, but it also installed faith and hope to the possibility of truly finding Will and Barb.

Still chuckling, Gracie grabbed Mike’s hand. "Let’s get out of here." She quickly gathered the boys, pulling them out of the gym before any adults could intervene. While it had been fun to watch Troy get what he deserved, they had more important things to focus on now.

Now, they were going to find Will.

------

As quickly as they could, the party rushed back to the AV room. Gracie, familiar with the space from countless afternoons spent with the boys, quickly found the light switch. She’d been in this room more times than she could count, but today felt different—today was going to trump all those other times by a milestone.

The group gathered around Eleven, who sat in front of the Heathkit. Mike immediately started adjusting the radio, tuning the frequencies with an intensity that kept the rest of them silent.

“Now what?” Dustin asked, breaking the silence, his confusion mirrored by the others, except for Mike, who seemed to know exactly what was supposed to happen.

“She’s gonna find him,” Mike answered, still focused on the radio. “Right, El?”

Eleven didn’t respond. Instead, she leaned forward, closing her eyes. The boys instinctively took a step back, giving her space as the room filled with static from the radio. For a moment, nothing happened—just the crackling hum of static filling the tense air.

Then, suddenly, the static grew louder, the frequency shifting erratically. The party unconsciously leaned closer, eyes wide with a mixture of awe and fear. “She’s doing it,” Mike grinned, his voice filled with a mix of excitement and disbelief. “She’s finding him!”

“This is crazy,” Dustin breathed, echoing the astonishment on Gracie’s face. She was too stunned to speak.

Lucas, however, remained skeptical. “Calm down. She just closed her eyes.”

But before Lucas could finish, the light above them flickered and sparked before going out with a sharp hiss, plunging the room into semi-darkness. Everyone gasped, the suddenness of it making Gracie’s heart race.

"Holy..." Dustin whispered, as Gracie placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart. In the eerie quiet that followed, a strange clanging sound emerged from the radio, pulling everyone’s attention back to the device.

The clanging grew louder, rhythmic, like heavy footsteps echoing through an empty space. Gracie’s mind raced—what could it be? Was it... something stomping?

“What is that?” Dustin asked, but no one could answer, all of them equally transfixed and terrified by the sound.

Then, cutting through the clanging, a child’s whimper echoed from the radio. Gracie’s heart leaped to her throat. She knew that voice—she would recognize it anywhere. It was the same sound Will made when he fell off his bike last year.

“Mom?”

There was no doubt in her mind now. The voice belonged to Will Byers.

Lucas, finally convinced, gasped, "No way!"

“Mom... Mom!” Will’s voice trembled through the speakers, and the entire group sprang into action, their initial shock replaced by a desperate need to communicate.

“Will!” Mike called out, leaning closer to the radio. “Will, it’s us! Are you there?”

“Can you hear us?” Lucas shouted, desperation lacing his voice. “We’re here!”

But there was no response from Will—just more frantic pleas. “Hello? Mom?”

“Why can’t he hear us?” Gracie asked, her voice trembling with fear. The terror in Will’s voice twisted her stomach into knots.

“I don’t know!” Mike cried, just as distraught.

Will’s voice grew more frantic, “Mom, it’s coming!” The urgency in his tone sent a cold shiver down Gracie’s spine. She remembered the faceless monster Nancy had described. Was that what was after Will?

“Mom! It’s like home, but it’s so dark... It’s so dark and empty. And it’s cold!” Will’s voice echoed through the small room, each word a dagger to Gracie’s heart. Dustin, visibly shaking, clung to Gracie’s side, and she quickly wrapped an arm around him, trying to provide some comfort even as her own fear mounted.

Suddenly, a low growling sound began to accompany the clanging, growing louder and more menacing by the second. It was followed by a screech that made Gracie clap her hand over her mouth, tears spilling down her face. Whatever it was, it was alive, and it was after Will.

Run, Will, run! Gracie thought desperately, but the words refused to leave her lips.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly as they listened to Will’s terrified pleas. Then, with a sudden, sharp crack, the radio’s circuitry shorted out, the device bursting into flames. The boys yelped in shock, but Gracie was quick to react, grabbing the nearby fire extinguisher and dousing the flames. The Heathkit was ruined, but that was the least of their concerns.

The fire alarm blared above them, and Gracie knew they had to get out before anyone caught them. Turning back to the boys, she saw them huddled around Eleven, who had passed out from the exertion.

“El, are you okay?” Mike asked, his voice thick with worry, but there was no response.

“Here, help me get her up,” Gracie ordered. Mike carefully lifted the small girl from the chair. Gracie took Eleven from him, throwing her over her shoulder. She moved quickly, ushering the boys out of the AV room and into the hallway, the fire alarm still wailing.

As they made their way out of the school, Gracie’s mind raced. She was overwhelmed with emotions—relief that Will was alive, but also a deep, gnawing fear. Whatever had been making those horrible noises was with Will. And if Will was trapped with it, was Barb trapped with it as well?

One thing was clear: Neither of them were safe. And while Will might be alive now, their time to save him or Barb was running out.