After Henry’s attack, you somehow survived, but you had lost almost all ability to speak. It didn’t matter if you were only one of two left, Papa hated you. You were always the weakest and he despised you for it. He only kept you around after the massacre as incentive for Eleven; his pride and joy. When she didn’t, or couldn’t do as he said he would hurt you. Papa decided that if you couldn’t use your powers then he would make you stronger in other ways and appointed you a tutor to strengthen your mind. When an opportunity to escape came you took it. You grabbed Eleven and the two of you ran as far as you could. You thought you were safe, but when Papa’s men came you and Eleven you were forced to run again. You lost her in the woods, but you stumbled upon someone else. A boy who appeared to be your age. He said his name was Steve.
Another Henderson
You had gone missing a month ago. An entire week where your mother and your brother and the entire town searched endlessly for you. But you didn’t remember any of it. One moment you were riding your bike home from a party and the next you were lying in a hospital bed. You thought that you had crashed, that you had gotten into an accident, but when the Chief of Police explained that an entire week had passed you didn’t know what to think. Apparently, someone had found you in the woods and had called the police. But you didn’t remember a single moment of it. There was nothing, not even the flicker of a memory. Not even a dream. You moved on with your life, blocking out the weird stares and snide comments. The only thing you cared about was your little brother. He was your entire world and you would do anything to protect him, you had done everything to protect him. But Dustin didn’t know that. Dustin didn’t know anything. Not about your disappearance and not about your late father (curse his soul). And you were not about to let him know any of it. You were not gonna taint the perfect family image he had in his head. You were going to move forward, a happy smile on your face. Even if it was fake. But there was something preventing you from pretending. Something that kept cracking your perfectly crafted mask. Something that had made you forget, and something that you wanted to forget.
Damn Mayfield
You hated having to move halfway across the country. A fresh start? Yeah, right. It was just another way for Neil to have control. He wanted you to act like the picture perfect family; happy and content. Neil was an asshole, Billy was a jerk. Your mom put up with it for God knows what reason and poor Max just wanted some peace. Not a day had gone by since your mom had married Neil that you felt like you could breathe. And as much as you hated leaving California, maybe Hawkins wasn’t as bad as you thought. It had its downsides and secrets, but maybe not all of the people were so bad. Maybe this Harrington guy that Billy was so intent on hating actually had a heart.
Fourth Wheeler
You had just recovered from a year long battle with cancer. A brain tumor that you had luckily found just in time. But it had been a long and hard recovery. Now you were back to normal, back to school, and you somehow found yourself dating Steve Harrington of all people. You weren’t even quite sure how the relationship started. One day he sat next to you in class and then a week later he was kissing you in his car. He was already a lot sweeter than you had imagined, and you were finally starting to feel normal again. But when Will goes missing it seems like your newfound normalcy was about to be turned on its head.
Hopper Junior
You barely saw your dad after Sara died. Your parents had gotten divorced and he went back to his home town while you stayed in the city with your mom. You got birthday cards and saw him on the occasional holiday, but you hadn’t really seen him since you were twelve. And now you were forced to live with him. Your mom, never having recovered from losing your sister, had killed herself due to grief, and you were forced to uproot your life to go live in some small, quiet town where nothing ever happens. Or, at least, nothing was supposed to happen. Hawkins was supposed to be boring; normal. But it seemed like this small town held more secrets than it was letting on.
bye steve as a freakin' weatherman in hop's mind HAHAHAHA i'd like to think it gets to a point where he's just casually ducking over flying cars and stuff while still smiling and newscasting lovingly 🥹 it's also giving karen from mean girls as a news reporter 😭😭😭 he checks his hair instead of his chest—most of the time!
Lmao! That visual came to me mid-writing that reply! He’s literally the only one who doesn’t find Hop scary in the slightest. Our boy Steve is down bad just like he always is lol!
It might just be me, but Hop low-key reminds me of Ash Lynx for his whole personality (especially after being through so much trauma) and how both of them are always on alert except when they're with their loved ones (or rather, loved one)
...and also they both have a reputation in New York
Had to look up who that was, but they are very similar!
I can see the hurricane being like that too! And it’s also kind of similar with Max’s hurricane and Hop’s hurricane, both being from their choices and how they decide who to help throughout their experiences.
(i also highly recommend this game to anyone #baeoverbay)
Yes! And, sort of but not really unrelated, but I just thought about this lmao! Imagine Steve in Hop’s mind like a seasoned weatherman, completely unbothered, reporting from the middle of a hurricane just to tell you it’s raining lmao!
omg i love the s2 finale! not sure if it was intentional or not but i love how the hop pointing a gun at billy kind of mirrors what happened with steve and nancy in og s1! and we all know how stancy turned out...but yes. their mutual attraction for hop just adds fuel to the fire of their beef and the car scene was changed so well too! steve is heartbroken at the end but at least his now seemingly unrequited crush is initiating skinship with him now and questioning himself too and the 2 hops are finally talking 👏😭 excited to see what happens with our golden retriever and his little black cat! robin's gonna have a front row seat to their tension again oml
also on a somewhat related note, have you thought about self-reblogging the chapters you put out on days you don't post? just as a little signal boost to it!
Thank you! And I didn’t even realize that about Hop pointing the gun at Billy, but that is such a good parallel! And now we are finally getting into Steve hanging off of Hop while Hop just stands there silently!
I haven’t thought about self-reblogging before. Don’t know if I’d do that or not. I’d always love more interaction, but I don’t really like reblogging my own stuff to the same page.
Hop always makes me think of the spinning teacup trend with the song Army Dreamers. Imagine young bright-eyed Hop sitting across from his mentally insane future self in an old teacup ride. Or alternatively, younger Steve from when he was in the lab sitting across from his future self.
Aww! I think that would end up being two opposite reactions. Like, Hop is seeing how happy and carefree he used to be/his younger self is seeing how hardened and traumatized he’s become. Meanwhile, Steve sees his scared younger self while his younger self is viewing how happy and free his older version is now.
Another way I think Hop’s head looks like from the inside is that scene from Osmosis Jones where Thrax goes into Frank’s memories. The animation for that sequence kinda is how Hop’s head must look for Vecna or Steve.
Another one I have is that apocalypse scene from the SpongeBob Movie; Sponge out of water. You know after they lose the formula and the whole town turns into a literal apocalypse/ fallout map. Yeah, that’s probably what Hop’s head looks like after all that trauma
I had to look both of those up, but I love the ideas! My head was going to El in Billy’s mind in season three and how it’s a literal storm that is surrounding his memories. Also an amalgamation of Hop’s memories as well I guess. Like, they’re all stockpiling and joining together plus being surrounded by a literal storm, maybe even the emotions are turned up to the max, affecting those who enter his mind.
Honestly, these are some good examples for me to reference cause when we actually get to enter Hop’s mind I wanted to make it different from all the other readers. Like, navigating his memories alone would be as bad as a labyrinth. Lmao think of being stuck in a tornado and every time a car flies at you is like when one of Hop’s memories and associated emotions crashes into you without any warning.
Just remembered, if you’ve ever played the original Life is Strange game think of that ending part where (Max I believe?) is going through that weird memory/back in time sequence. It’s been a while since I’ve played lol.
My mom is forcing me to go to summer camp, so I'm gonna have to miss the updates 😔✌️🥀
(It's gonna be on my mind the whole time tho)
Awe, hope you have some fun anyway. If you’ve finished season two of Hopper Junior I’d suggest just waiting to read three and four until you get back. That way you’re not left in the middle. That is, if you’re not allowed to have your phone. It’ll be right here when you get back! And then you’ll be able to binge the second half lol!
very much so hoping for some billy povs or just other povs or like a chapter 10 cause otherwise s3ep1 is going to hit like those damn planes all those years ago in a good and bad way cause the angst and fluff potential is sooo
(in any case s2 was a ROLLERCOASTER from beginning to end and loved it omg it's planted the seeds for s3 and s4 so well! hop may be the scariest but he's the most baby of em all <3)
Don’t worry, we’ll get some Billy povs soon. Someone suggested a pov of Billy visiting Hop at Scoops, so I’m definitely doing that one soon.
“Eleven.” Mike announced, a heartbroken shock about him as he took a step forward.
“Mike.” El answered sadly, taking her own step forward and meeting Mike halfway where they embraced each other.
“Is that…” Max whispered.
Dustin and Lucas nodded in confirmation, the both of them too shocked to form any words as El and Mike finally pulled away, tears in their eyes.
“I never gave up on you.” Mike said. “I called you every night. Every night for—“
“353 days.” El finished. “I heard.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were there?” Mike asked sadly. “That you were okay?”
“Because I wouldn’t let her.” Your dad said as he stepped up to El. “The hell is this?” He asked her. “Where you been?”
“Where have you been?” El bit back.
Your dad wrapped his free arm around El and hugged her into his chest, the complete opposite reaction he had when you hopped into his cruiser. You then felt Steve’s arm bump into yours, soft and gentle as he sniffled quietly.
“You’ve been hiding her.” Mike said. “You’ve been hiding her this whole time!” Mike shoved your dad back a step, turning his anger onto you. “Did you know?!” He glared at Steve. “Did all of you know?!”
“Hey!” Your dad exclaimed, whipping around and grabbing the front of Mike’s shirt. “Let’s talk. Alone.”
Your dad dragged Mike out of the living room by his shirt and the two of them disappeared down the hallway. When they were gone, El turned to you and Steve, taking one large step over and throwing herself into yours arms. You and Steve hugged her back instantly, her face smooshed between both of your chests.
“I’m sorry for leaving.” You apologized quietly. “I shouldn’t have just left like that.”
“It’s okay.” El murmured against you.
El pulled away slowly, though none of your arms left each other, but El’s attention was fixed onto Steve, eyes staring into his. Steve’s eyes were vacant, completely, the way they did when he searched deeply into a mind. His nose began to bleed, but he paid the blood no mind as he continued searching for a moment, brows first scrunching into confusion and then slowly morphing into shock. His eyes snapped back to reality, his hand wiping away the blood, but neither of them said a word.
Once it seemed like Steve had received whatever silent message El had sent his way she turned towards the boys and was immediately bombarded by Dustin and Lucas running over to her and pulling her into a group hug.
“We missed you.” Lucas said.
“I missed you, too.” El whispered back.
Dustin chuckled. “We talked about you pretty much every day.”
The three of them pulled away from each other and El squinted her eyes at Dustin, inspecting him. She held a hand out towards his mouth and pushed at his teeth.
“Teeth.” El said.
“What?” Dustin asked.
“You have teeth.” El pointed out.
“Oh.” Dustin smiled, sharing a quick look with Lucas before turning back to El. “You like these pearls?” He then purred.
El’s eyes widened in confusion and shock as she reeled back slightly, not expecting Dustin to start purring. You hadn’t expected it either and you could feel as your face reacted freely, openly.
“Eleven?” Max called out as she stepped forward. “Hey. Um, I’m Max.” She stuck out her hand with a small smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
El completely ignored her, like she couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge Max’s existence, and she pushed right past her and over to Joyce. Joyce embraced her immediately, and you could see her nearly starting to cry as she whispered soothingly.
“Can I see him?” El asked.
Joyce led El away to Will’s room where he was currently resting, returning only a few moments later and heading straight for the kitchen. You watched as they walked up to the table where the pad that read ‘close gate’ sat. You and the rest of the group walked over to them to see what was going on.
“You opened this gate before, right?” Joyce asked.
“Yes.” El whispered.
“Do you think if we got you back there, that you could close it?”
El turned to Joyce and fixed her with a determined look. Everyone huddled around the table again, going back and forth as you all ran through ideas of how to close the gate and stop the mind flayer’s army, running through the pros and cons of each one.
“It’s not like it was before.” Your dad sighed. “It’s grown. A lot. And, I mean, that’s considering if we can get in there. That place is still crawling with those dogs.”
“Demo-dogs.” Dustin corrected as he whipped around to your dad.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I said, uh, Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass—“
“How is this important right now?”
“It’s not. I’m sorry.” Dustin lowered his head and turned back to the table.
“I can do it.” El announced.
Your dad shook his head. “You’re not hearing me.”
“I’m hearing you.” El argued. “I can do it.”
“Even if El can, there’s still another problem.” Mike said. “If the brain dies, the body dies.”
Max squinted at Mike in confusion. “I thought that was the whole point.”
“It is.” Mike agreed. “But if we’re really right about this… I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayer’s army…”
“Will’s a part of that army.” Lucas finished.
“Closing the gate will kill him.” Mike said.
Joyce suddenly got up and started taking off towards Will’s room. The rest of you quickly followed suit, making sure to keep your steps as quiet as possible as to not wake Will and alert the mind flayer to your location.
Joyce looked down at Will’s unconscious body and then over at the open window. “He likes it cold.” She whispered.
“What?” Your dad asked.
“It’s what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold.” Joyce crossed over to the window and slammed it shut. “We keep giving it what it wants.”
“If this is a virus.” Nancy said. “And Will’s the host, then…”
“Then we need to make the host uninhabitable.” Jonathan finished.
“So if he likes it cold…” Nancy started again.
“We need to burn it out of him.” Joyce said.
“We need to do it somewhere he doesn’t know this time.” Mike chimed in.
“Yeah.” Dustin agreed. “Somewhere far away.”
The cabin, you realized. Nobody knew about the cabin outside of you, your dad, Steve, and El. It would be the perfect place. You glanced over at Steve, him already looking in your direction, his thoughts mirroring yours. And then you chanced a glance at your dad, simply for the mission’s sake, and he understood as well.
~~~~~
You, Steve, and the kids stood on the porch as you watched the two groups pull away. The plan was for Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy to take Will to the cabin where they would make the place as hot as possible in order to burn the mind flayer out of him. Meanwhile, El and your dad would go to the lab, make their way down to the basement, and wait for the signal that Will was safe before closing the gate.
You were again pissed off at your dad, making you stay at the house with nothing to do instead of going to the lab with him to help El navigate her way through. The lab was swarmed with Demo-dogs around every corner, they needed someone else who could fight them off so that El could conserve her energy. But no, your dad just couldn’t even let you step off the porch.
Once the cars had turned the corner, disappearing behind the black mass of distant trees, your group slowly made its way back inside. You plopped right down at the kitchen table, outwardly sulking at the fact that you had nothing to do. You weren’t even waiting this time, you were literally doing nothing as the others did all the fighting. Of all people that should’ve gone to the lab, it should’ve been you.
You ripped your cigarettes out of your pocket and slipped one out, lighting up quickly and taking a long, deep drag. The smoke hit you instantly, your head going a bit light and fuzzy. That wasn’t good, when was the last time you actually ate something? You ate the food Steve had bought you that morning, but you didn’t eat anything since then. And you were out of insulin. You were totally screwed. Maybe it was a good idea you didn’t go to the lab, but you were still pissed, and you took another drag.
Dustin suddenly walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge where he started ripping everything out and throwing it onto the floor, shelves and all. Steve walked in next, the dead Demo-dog wrapped up in a blanket in his arms. You just sat there, taking idle drags as you offered them no hand. What the hell did Dustin even want with that thing?
“All right.” Dustin announced once every last piece of food and grate had been dumped onto the floor. “It should fit now.”
“Is this really necessary?” Steve sighed.
“Yes, it is, okay?” Dustin exclaimed. “This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can’t just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It’s not a dog.”
“All right, all right.” Steve huffed as he walked the Demo-dog over to the open fridge. “But you’re explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right?”
Steve started trying to shove the Demo-dog into the fridge, unable to maneuver much at his angle and causing the monster’s head to just bang against the freezer door as it refused to fit. He shouted at Dustin to help him and after a few second of very uncoordinated maneuvering they managed to shove it inside and slam the door shut. Steve reached over and ruffled Dustin’s head, Dustin just letting it happen.
“Why are you smoking?” Dustin asked, his tone almost bordering on annoyed.
“Cause I can.” You stated, taking another drag.
“It’s not good for your health.” Dustin argued, and you went to fire back when he cut you off. “And I mean your health specifically. Steve said you have diabetes and high blood pressure.”
You turned to Steve and fixed him with a glare, sending him a silent message. You never told anyone about your health problems unless you had to. He shouldn’t have told Dustin.
“Sorry.” Steve apologized sheepishly. “He was asking questions at the store.”
“He doesn’t need to know.” You said.
“He won’t tell anyone.” Steve tried to placate with a small shrug. “And isn’t it better more people know anyway? In case something happens?”
You couldn’t argue with that point, and you knew everyone here knew how to keep a secret. You had all been harboring a huge secret for the past year, what was one more to add to their list? You still didn’t like people knowing, though. It made you look incapable. It made you look weak.
“You’re not weak.” Steve muttered with a small sniffle.
You felt your annoyance at Steve deflate immediately. Besides El, Steve was the strongest one here, and if he didn’t think you were weak, then maybe you weren’t.
You were pulled from your thoughts by the sound of Lucas and Max sweeping up the broken glass in the living room as Mike paced anxiously back and forth across the creaky wood.
“Mike, would you just stop already?” Lucas complained.
“You weren’t in there, okay, Lucas?” Mike snapped at him. “That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs.”
“Demo-dogs!” Dustin shouted at them as Steve mockingly mouthed the words at you, a smile forming on your face despite yourself.
“The chief will take care of her.” Lucas said.
“Like she needs protection.” Max mumbled.
“Listen, dude.” Steve sighed as you, him, and Dustin joined the others in the living room. “If a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?”
“Okay, first of all.” Mike huffed. “This isn’t some stupid sports game. And second, we’re not even in the game. We’re on the bench.”
Steve nodded. “Right, so my point is…”
You fixed Steve with a look. He did not have a point.
“Right, yeah, we’re on the bench, so, uh, there’s nothing we can do.”
“That’s not entirely true.” Dustin said, and you snapped to attention, cigarette sitting idle at your side. “I mean, these Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away.”
“So, if we get their attention…” Lucas continued.
“Maybe we can draw them away from the lab.” Max added.
“And clear a path to the gate.” Mike finished their train of thought.
“Yeah, and then we all die.” Steve exclaimed.
“That’s one point of view.” Dustin shrugged.
“No, that’s not a point of view, man. That’s a fact.”
“It would come down to timing.” You chimed in, years of experience circulating your mind. “Get in and get out before they arrive.”
Mike’s eyes lit up and he pushed his way into the kitchen. “I got it.” He announced, and you all quickly followed him to where he knelt down in front of the fridge and pointed at the map. “This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnels. So…” Mike stood up and you all followed him back into the hallway. “Here. Right here.” Mike stopped on the largest part of the map. “This is like a hub. See how all the tunnels feed into here?” Mike knelt down and tapped the papers. “Maybe if we set this on fire…”
“Oh, yeah?” Steve said. “That’s a no.”
“The mind flayer would call away his army.” Dustin said, completely ignoring Steve’s protests.
“They’d all come to stop us.” Lucas added.
Steve tried to get their attention, but they all continued to ignore him. You ignored him as well, too engrossed in the kids’s plan. It was a really good one, and you couldn’t just sit around here doing nothing.
“We circle back to the exit.” Mike continued as Steve kept trying to get your attention.
“By the time they realize we’re gone—“ You started, completely on board with the plan. It reminded you of a couple jobs you pulled in the city, the undercover ones, the ones that required stealth and a quick exit.
“El would be at the gate.” Max nodded as she finished all of your thoughts.
“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Steve clapped his hands, finally gaining your attention. “This is not happening.”
“But—“ Mike tried to argue, but Steve shut him right down.
“No, no, no, no, no. No buts. I promised I’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. We’re staying here. On the bench. And we’re waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?”
“This isn’t a stupid sports game.” Mike argued, but Steve was having none of it.
“I said does everybody understand that?” Steve ripped the towel off his shoulder and pointed it at all of you. “I need a yes.”
“You’re not in charge.” You said sternly. “I am. I’m older and I have more experience.”
“I don’t care.” Steve exclaimed. “We are staying here where it’s safe.”
“You can stay here.” You fired back. “All of you can. I’ll go do this by myself.”
Steve pointed a stern finger at you. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I’ve done deadlier things with less.” You forged ahead. It was true, you had gone on far more dangerous missions with nothing but your wits to guide you. And you were still alive.
Steve opened his mouth to protest again when the sound of an engine revving outside caught everyone’s attention. Max and Lucas ran over to the couch to see what was going on, but you already recognized the sound. It was Billy.
“It’s my brother.” Max said. “He can’t know I’m here. He’ll kill me.” She turned to Lucas, worried. “He’ll kill us.”
You stubbed your cigarette out on your jeans and started stepping towards the door when Steve grabbed your arm and yanked you back.
“I’ll go out there.” Steve said.
“Steve—“ You tried to argue, knowing that you would have the easiest time getting Billy to go away. The two of you were an ‘us,’ after all.
“No.” Steve cut you right off. “You all stay here. I’ll deal with it.”
Steve left no more room for argument as he immediately spun around and stepped through the front door. He was an idiot for not letting you handle this. Could he not see your thoughts? Could he not see that Billy would surely back down if it were you out there? Then again, you found yourself not wanting Steve to know that.
You pushed your thoughts aside and huddled up behind the kids as they knelt on the couch, peering out the window. Billy stepped out of the car, a cigarette dangling loosely from his lips. Because the window had been broken earlier you were just able to make out what Steve and Billy were saying to each other.
“Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?” Billy called out.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Steve said tiredly, hands placed on his hips. “Don’t cream your pants.”
Billy slipped off his jacket and threw it into the car before slamming the door shut. Steve stepped down from the porch and walked over to him.
“What are you doing here, amigo?” Billy asked.
“I could ask you the same thing. Amigo.” Steve responded lowly, trying his best to sound threatening.
“Looking for my step-sister. A little birdie told me she was here.”
Billy slipped the cigarette from his lips. “You know, I don’t know, this… this whole situation, Harrington, I don’t know. It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
Billy took a drag. “My thirteen-year-old sister goes missing all day. And then I find her with you in a stranger’s house. And you lie to me about it.”
“Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what?” Steve said as Billy blew the smoke out in his face and licked his lips. “I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said. She’s not here.”
Billy lifted his cigarette and pointed it right at the window. “Then who is that?”
“Shit!” Dustin exclaimed as the four of them dropped down on the couch to get out of sight as you jumped back a step, going a bit off balance as the room blurred slightly. “Did he see us?”
“Oh, shit.” Steve said. “Listen—“
Billy threw out his arms and shoved Steve to the ground. “I told you to plan your feet.” He sent a swift kick to Steve’s gut and you felt your heart ache at the sight. No one was allowed to lay their hands on Steve, and it was your responsibility to keep him safe.
The kids shot up from the couch and ran over to the other side of the room, huddling close together as they awaited the inevitable. But was it inevitable? You might still be able to quell Billy’s anger. But why? And how? Were you going to fight him? You didn’t have time for that. You needed to get to the tunnels, and you needed a car.
You moved with precision, one hand pulling up your pant leg as the other slipped your gun out. Your head throbbed as you rose back up to your feet, vision blurred at the edges as you raised the gun. Even your heart was beating rapidly, a chill running through you as your skin got clammy with sweat.
You planted yourself in front of the kids right as the door swung open, the handle slamming into the plaster. The kids’s arguments against the gun died in their throats at the intrusion. And Billy’s fight disappeared instantly. His eyes were wide, body stock still and the room deadly silent as he stared down the barrel of the gun. You weren’t exactly planning on shooting him, but you would if you had to.
“Dustin, open the fridge.” You demanded.
“What—“ Dustin tried to argue when you cut him off. This was the quickest way.
“Dustin.” You bit at him, gun and eyes never leaving Billy.
“Shit.” Dustin hissed, footsteps trailing to the kitchen, followed immediately by the sound of the fridge opening.
You motioned with your gun for Billy to enter the kitchen, you staring hard at him. He followed your silent order, now terrified at the prospect of you killing him. You didn’t want to do that, and not just because it would be a huge mess to cover up—you had killed friends before when they betrayed you—but because you did like Billy.
“What the fuck is that?!” Billy exclaimed the moment he set eyes on the monster.
“It’s called a Demogorgon.” You explained.
“Demo-dog!” Dustin shouted at you, annoyed, and you took a deep breath to quell your own annoyance at him.
“It’s called a Demo-dog.” You corrected. “It’s a monster from another dimension. Don’t worry, it’s dead. A kid with superpowers killed it.” Billy’s eyes snapped around the room, lost and confused and scared. “She just left.” You said, and Billy’s eyes landed back on you. “She’s going to close the gate, which is where these monsters are coming from. But these monsters are guarding the gate. She won’t make it if we don’t help her. They’ll destroy the entire town if we don’t stop them. So we need your car.”
“For what?” Billy asked, utterly confused.
“You see these maps on the wall?” You gestured with a tilt of your head, Billy’s eyes following your movement, growing even more confused with each new piece of information. “They’re a map. They lead to a set of tunnels. We’re gonna burn it. You don’t have to come with us.” You pulled back on the hammer of your gun, the small metal sound echoing like a bomb in the stillness. “But I am taking those keys from you.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Steve shouted as he ran into the kitchen, arms waving out in front of him as he stepped up to your side. “Hop, stop. Stop. Put the gun down.” You refused to even acknowledge him, keeping your sights set on Billy. “Don’t make me do it for you.” Steve said sternly, and you could feel his eyes boring into you.
“Fine.” You listened, somewhat, gun lowering to Billy’s leg, hammer still cocked. “I won’t kill him.”
Everyone stood stock still, awaiting either an answer from Billy or for you to fully relent. But you could barely make out their faces anymore, the room blurring all the way, head throbbing, and another chill running through you.
“Hop?” Steve called out worriedly. He could see it, he could feel it. “Hop, are you okay?”
“What?” You turned to him, breathing heavily as you could feel the sweat all over you, heart beating at a rapid pace.
You lowered the gun all the way, it hanging loosely at your side. What were you doing again? You shook your head, trying to clear up both your vision and your thoughts, but all that did was make the room swim violently and send you stumbling to the side. A hand grabbed yours. No, a hand landed on yours and grabbed your gun. It was Steve’s hand, you knew that warmth. Why was he grabbing your gun? Why were you letting him take your gun?
Steve called out to you again, the kids too, but you could barely make out half of what they were saying. They were worried, confused, scared, maybe. You needed to sit down. No, you needed to lay down. Yeah, you just needed to lay down for a moment. You slowly crouched down, intending to just lay down right there on the floor, but your legs gave out on you before you could make it all the way down and it all went black.
~~~~~
You blearily cracked your eyes open, the world blurry and out of focus and the side of your head aching. You could feel something on your head, something cold, something that did little to dull the ache. There was something beneath your back as well, multiple somethings that had your body splayed up and down awkwardly.
You blinked a few times, the world slowly coming into focus as you caught sight of curly brown hair and a round face above you. “Debbie?” Your voice came out mumbled, slightly slurred, and you reached up to the side of your head, fingers just able to make out the feeling of a bandaid before it was gently pulled away.
“No, don’t touch it.” Dustin’s soothing voice called out, and you finally recognized it as his face above yours, not Debbie’s. “Hey, buddy. It’s okay. You had a seizure. You hit your head really hard on the way down, but we helped you out, buddy. Okay? You’re okay.”
“Okay.” Steve’s voice announced from beside you, from the passenger seat. You recognized it now, you were in a car. You were in Billy’s car. But then who was driving? “You’re gonna keep straight for half a mile, then make a left on Mount Sinai.”
You turned your attention to the front seat, noticing now that you were laid out across the kids’s legs. Except Mike. Mike was smooshed on the floor by their feet.
“What’s going on?” You mumbled, and Billy whipped around. Oh, so he was driving. “Oh my god.” You freaked out, brain still muddled from the seizure and unable to understand why all of you were packed into the car.
“Hop, relax.” Dustin soothed. “We’re heading to the tunnels.”
“He probably forgot.” Max said.
“Yeah.” Lucas agreed. “I heard seizures can do that.”
Your head whipped around, your mind slowly putting the pieces together, effectively calming you down. The kids wanted to go to the tunnels and burn it. You were going to draw the Demo-dogs away from the lab to clear a path. You agreed with them on the plan.
“They were going to leave you behind.” Dustin explained. “But I didn’t want to leave you passed out alone, okay? And you’re the most skilled anyway.”
Billy started speeding up.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.” You started flailing around, any logical thought leaving you as old memories pushed their way to the surface. “What’s going on?” Billy sped up even more. “Stop the car. Slow down.” You freaked out.
The last time you woken up in a car after passing out you had almost died. Twice. Two times that had happened. You couldn’t die. You didn’t want to die. Were they going to dump your body like last time? Would they take care of you for good?
“I still don’t understand why I was shoved onto the floor.” Mike complained, and his voice half brought you back to reality, but half of you was still lost.
“Stop the car!” You screamed.
“Everybody shut up!” Billy screamed back. “I’m trying to focus!”
“That’s Mount Sinai.” Steve started jabbing his finger out the window, and the sight of him snapped you back to the present. “Make a left.”
“What?” Billy asked.
“Make a left.” Steve said hastily.
Billy abruptly swerved the car to the side, swiping a mailbox as he turned onto a road. Everyone started screaming and crashing into each other. You grabbed onto Dustin with one hand, your other flying to the side and gripping tightly to Steve’s shoulder, clamping down on both of them like your life depended on it. And it really felt like it did. You couldn’t do it again. You didn’t want to get that close to death.
Billy swerved around another corner and ran right over a wooden sign before grinding to a halt, throwing you all forward. Your body went flying to the side, legs crashing into the back of Steve’s seat while your head slammed against the back of Billy’s. You let out a pained groan, unsteadily pushing yourself back up.
“Jesus Christ.” Mike complained, hand rubbing the side of his head.
“You drive like a maniac.” Max bit at Billy
“We’re here, aren’t we?” Billy bit right back.
The kids threw open the doors, your hands reaching up for the frame as you pulled yourself backwards out of the car, the kids doing their best to shove your legs along with you. You let yourself drop down in a heap on the grass, just grateful not to be stuck in that death trap anymore.
The kids quickly filed out of the car after that, completely ignoring you as they rounded to the trunk and got to work. You stumbled your way to your feet, doing your best to fit your mask into place to keep them from asking any questions about your freak out. They couldn’t know about that. Knowing meant death.
A pair of hands landed on you and you turned to see Billy looking at you worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” You said, doing your best to sound vacant, but it was a bit of a struggle.
“You were freaking out.” Billy said quietly. “I didn’t think you did you.”
“I’m fine.” You said sternly. “Just confused. My brain hadn’t caught up yet.”
You gently pulled yourself from his grasp, eyes glancing to the other side of the car to see Steve watching you, his face falling into a look of heartbreak as he quickly averted his gaze. He then crossed right over to Dustin by the trunk and you followed after them.
“I still don’t like this plan.” Steve complained, but it sounded more like he was just trying to deflect something. “It’s stupid. It’s really stupid. And we’re all gonna die.”
“Steve.” Dustin exclaimed harshly, effectively shutting his arguments right down. “You’re still upset, I get it. But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance. Now, I know you promised Nance that you would keep up safe.” Dustin grabbed a backpack with one of the nail bats and held it out to Steve. “So keep us safe.”
Steve sighed and ripped the bag from Dustin’s hands as you joined them at the trunk. Dustin then gave you your own bag with the other nail bat before giving you and Steve bandanas, gloves, and goggles, just like the rest of them had on. You and Steve slipped the weapons onto your backs before trudging your way over to the hole where the kids had already lowered down a rope.
The kids were already in the process of lowering themselves down into the hole when you stepped up to them. Once they were out of the way you lowered yourself down next, finding it urgent that you get down there in case something was waiting to greet them. Billy joined you next, followed right behind by Steve as you slipped the bat out of your bag.
“You good?” Steve asked, and even through the face covering you could see just how worried he was.
“I’m fine.” You gave a curt nod. “We’ll deal with me after we deal with this.” Steve nodded back, but he clearly didn’t agree.
“You’re pretty sure, or you’re certain?” Dustin called out.
“I’m one hundred percent sure.” Mike said. “Just follow me and you’ll know.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey.” Steve cut in as he stepped over to Mike. “I don’t think so. Any of you little shits die down here I’m getting the blame. Got it, dipshit?” Steve snatched the map from Mike. “From here on out, I’m leading the way. Come on, let’s go.”
You all followed after Steve, you letting him take the lead, Billy with the kids in the middle, and you taking up the rear. You kept your head on a swivel, eyes trained on the slithering vines as you maneuvered yourself over them before snapping back behind you, making sure the tunnel was still clear of monsters.
After a few twists and turns, your head beginning to ache from the constant turning, you came up to a large cave-like opening, slimy vines slithering and writhing across every surface.
“God.” Lucas said in disgust.
“What is this place?” Max asked.
“Guys, come on.” Steve said. “Keep moving.”
You moved forward again, Dustin right by your side as Steve led the way towards the hub. You looked down, making sure you didn’t trip, and then as soon as you looked up Dustin was gone. You whipped around, trying to see where he could’ve ran off to or what might’ve grabbed him, but he was just gone.
“Shit!” Dustin screamed, and you took off running back towards the cave-like opening, heart pounding in your ears at your own idiocy for having lost track of him.
You skidded to a halt when you got there, Dustin kneeling on the ground, screaming and coughing violently. You dropped down instantly, hands flying to his sides to check if he was injured.
“What happened?” You asked as Steve pushed the kids aside to see what was going on.
“What happened?” Steve echoed you.
“It’s in my mouth!” Dustin screeched. “Some got in my mouth! Shit!”
You watched on in a silent panic as Dustin continued to cough violently, spitting and spluttering onto the ground before finally calming down and looking up at you. Your heart still hammering away against yours ribs.
“I’m okay.” Dustin breathed.
“Are you serious?” Max asked.
“Very funny, man.” Steve mocked.
They all turned and started walking away, still complaining as you hung back to make sure that Dustin was really okay and that he didn’t fall behind again. You knew just how scary it was to inhale unknown substances.
“Hold on.” Dustin said. “Wait. Wait.”
You grabbed Dustin’s arms and hauled him to his feet, pushing him in front of you as you trudged your way back towards the group, being extra careful not to disturb anything. When you caught back up you came upon another large cave opening, this one at least twice the size of the last, if not bigger. Vines were crawling along every surface, the whole place covered in spores.
“All right, Wheeler.” Steve said. “I think we found your hub.”
“Let’s drench it.” Mike announced.
You each grabbed a canister of gasoline and got to work covering every single disgusting surface in the flammable liquid. Lucas sprayed all along the ceiling as the rest of you doused the walls and floor, leaving no spot untouched. You had to create as much pain and destruction as possible. Just like you always did.
When you were finally done, canisters empty and every surface soaked, you all huddled back into the tunnel that you had entered from, preparing to run as soon as Steve lit the place up.
“All right.” Steve said. “You guys ready?”
“Ready.” You all confirmed in unison.
Steve held up his lighter and flicked it on. “I am in such deep shit.”
Steve tossed the lighter forward and the entire hub bursted into flames, sending you all reeling back slightly from the sudden burning heat. The vines were flailing about, trying desperately to escape as they hissed and sizzled away, the flames consuming them.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!” You shouted and started ushering the group ahead of you.
You all took off sprinting down the tunnels, trying your best to reach the hole and climb your way to safety before the Demo-dogs showed up. You just had to keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other, just like every other escape.
“This way!” Steve shouted and took off down another tunnel.
You felt something suddenly land on your leg, wrapping around it, and you were dragged to the ground before you could react, head slamming into the fleshy vines. You whipped around to see a vine wrapped around your ankle, slowly inching itself higher up your leg.
“Help!” You shouted, hands already gripping your bat tightly as you lifted it up and then swung it right down, nails digging into dark flesh. “Help!”
You could hear the group running up from behind you, footsteps urgent as you ripped the bat from the vine and held it up before swinging right back down again. It chittered in pain, but your angle was all off and it was too strong, its grip on you barely even letting up.
“Everybody back!” Steve shouted as he appeared beside you. “Everybody back!”
Steve halted beside you, nail bat held at his side as his other arm was reeled back. He shoved his hand forward, a small, angry scream escaping him as the vine went flying off your leg, completely unmoving as blood poured from Steve’s nose. Multiple pairs of hands grabbed you and hauled you to your feet as your eyes were trained on Steve in fascination. He hadn’t been able to do anything close to that since he threw you into his fridge, only able to lift pencils and scraps of paper.
A loud growling suddenly sounded from behind you and you all whipped around, you shoving the kids behind your back as you readied your bat, Steve doing the same beside you. But you could see it, his heavy breathing, his slightly sluggish movements. He was drained. Billy stepped up next to you, no weapon in his hands, but creating even more of a shield between the Demo-dog and the kids.
“Dart.” Dustin took a step forward, and everyone started whisper-yelling at him to get back. He just put up a hand to shush them. “Trust me, please.” Dart slowly stalked forwards as Dustin removed the goggles and towel from his face. “Hey.” Dustin said calmly. “It’s me. It’s me. It’s just your friend, it’s Dustin. It’s Dustin, all right?” Dustin kneeled down in front of Dart. “You remember me? Will you let us pass?”
Dart growled, his flower face flying open in a vicious warning, rows and rows of razor sharp teeth baring themselves at you. You tensed, muscles going taut as you held your bat in a white knuckled grip, prepared to attack.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Dustin continued to speak calmly, completely unfazed by the growling. “I’m sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douchey thing to do.” He chuckled. “You hungry? Yeah?” He slipped off his backpack.
“He’s insane.” Lucas whispered.
“I’ve got your favorite.” Dustin kept talking to Dart. “See? Nougat.” He held up a Three Musketeers and Dart slowly inched forward, inspecting the candy. Dustin tore up the candy and placed it on the ground in front of him. You could almost laugh. Debbie had the same taste in candy as an interdimensional monster. “Eat up, buddy.” Dustin kept his eyes trained on Dart as he ate the candy, signaling you all forward.
You motioned the group ahead of you, all of them slowly creeping their way around Dart as to not startle him. You made sure everyone else was safely on the other side before slowly stepping around Dart yourself.
Dustin slowly pushed himself to his feet and joined you on the other side of Dart, looking down at him sadly, heartbroken. Dart turned around to face Dustin for a moment before going back to enjoying the Three Musketeers.
“Goodbye, buddy.” Dustin said and replaced his goggles and towel.
“Let’s go.” Lucas whispered and waved Dustin over.
You all took off running down the tunnels again when a loud screeching echoed from behind you and the tunnels started shaking violently, throwing all of you to the ground.
“What was that?” Max asked, and the monsters growled again.
“They’re coming.” Mike said. “Run! Run!”
You pushed the kids forward, head whipping back and forth as you kept an eye out for the incoming Demo-dogs. You hopped and jumped over the slithering vines, pushing your bodies to the limit.
“There! There!” Lucas shouted as the rope came into view up ahead.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Steve shouted as he halted under the rope, signaling you all forward. “Go, go, go, go, go! Let’s go! Come on! Come on!”
Billy went up first, basically flying up the rope and disappearing on the other side, his hand reaching through the hole as Max stepped up to Steve. Steve wrapped his arms around her legs and hoisted her up as far as he could, her grabbing a hold of Billy’s outstretched hand as the two of them got her out of the tunnels as quickly as possible.
You raised your bat up, putting yourself between the group and the direction from which the growling had sounded from. Steve grabbed Lucas and hoisted him up first and then Mike, passing the two of them over to Billy who dragged them out of the way. He was about to go help Dustin, but it was too late.
You could hear the rapid footsteps approaching, the noise almost like thunder, the shadows growing closer as the Demo-dogs rounded the corner. You huddled close to Steve and Dustin, Steve raising his bat alongside you as you shielded yourselves around Dustin.
A wave of monsters came barreling through the tunnels towards you, loud and rampant, like a tsunami crashing down. But they didn’t attack, they just kept on running. Completely ignoring you.
Steve threw an arm around Dustin, pulling him backwards into his chest, his other arm flying out to the wall to keep himself steady as he was thrown off balance. You threw your arm out at the opposite wall and wrapped your other around Steve, hugging Dustin tightly between the two of you as the Demo-dogs kept knocking into you. More and more kept coming, each one ignoring you as they simply ran past, none of them attacking. And then, finally, there were no more.
You slowly let go of Steve, releasing Dustin from your suffocating hold as you stepped forward, head whipping from side to side for any stray monsters. Steve bent down and wrapped his arms around Dustin’s legs, not wasting any more time in getting him out of there. This time, the kids helped Billy to pull him through, terrified.
You gave Steve a quick nod of your head, signaling him towards the rope to climb through first. You could see it in his eyes, he didn’t want to leave you alone down there, but he listened to you anyway, grabbing onto the rope and climbing up, everyone on the other side grabbing him and dragging him out of the way.
Once Steve was clear of the rope you stuffed your bat back into your bag and grabbed the rope, climbing up with lightning speed. Hands grabbed you just a foot from the opening and pulled you the rest of the way through, body dragging through the dirt. As soon as they deemed you far enough away, which was a good few feet, all but two sets of hands let go; Steve and Billy.
The two of them helped you up to your feet despite you not needing any help. And then you saw it, their shared looks. They both looked at you with a mix of worry and fear, but when they looked at each other, it was like they were throwing punches. You ignored them, your attention pulled to Billy’s car as the headlights began to grow, practically becoming blinding. You all threw your arms over your eyes, trying to block out the harsh yellow glow. And then it went right back to normal. It was El, it had to be. You won.
~~~~~
After you had all gotten back to the Byers house you all flopped down onto whatever empty surface you could find, utterly exhausted. You didn’t quite realize how tired and lethargic you were until the adrenaline had worn off. You grabbed yourself a fresh glass of orange juice, now slightly warm from Dustin having thrown it out of the fridge, and then put together a half fast peanut butter sandwich, just to ensure you didn’t have another sudden crash.
When the others arrived they had been confused, questions firing away as to why Billy was there, the boys doing their best to explain, and then Joyce went to the kitchen, and before any of you could say something, she screamed. It was loud, ear piercing, and then the fridge closed and she announced that she was going to bed.
Billy took Max, Nancy, and the boys home after that, the rest of you staying because the cabin was beyond destroyed, and Steve not wanting to go home to an empty house. Joyce let your dad take her room as her and Jonathan went to sleep with Will, too afraid to leave him alone. El almost immediately passed out when she laid down on the couch, leaving you and Steve sitting on the floor, backs resting against the recliner.
“So, um…” Steve drawled out, voice quiet as to not disturb El. “When we got to the tunnels, I felt—saw something.”
You froze, afraid that he had seen something about your fear, more like terror at having woken up in the car. “What did you see?” You asked, hoping that even if he had seen something then, that he couldn’t see anything now.
“It wasn’t you.” Steve explained, fingers playing with the strap of his watch. “It was Billy.” He turned to you, that heartbroken look in his eyes again. “But it was about you.”
“What did you see?” You asked again, your fear now no longer targeted at your memories of the city, but of your kiss with Billy.
“I saw you and him.” Steve’s eyes drifted down to his knees, tucked up against his chest. “You were at the quarry. He kissed you.” You felt even more afraid. What would he say? Did he accept that kind of thing? And what kind of thing even was it? “I’m fine with that, by the way.” He said quickly, but no sniffle or blood followed. “I mean, it’s a little—or, a lot weird that it’s Billy. But, uh… I guess he isn’t all that bad.” His nails dug into the leather of his watch. “I guess tonight proved that.”
“Steve, I don’t…” You trailed off, unsure of what to say, because you were unsure of what it was. “I don’t even know what it is.” You admitted, the truth escaping in a way that it hadn’t in years.
“He likes you.” Steve said distantly, that heartbreak never leaving his eyes. “A lot. He thinks you’re boyfriends.”
“I—“ You what? You didn’t know? It seemed like you didn’t know anything anymore. Were you boyfriends? Was that what Billy meant by an ‘us’? Did that really mean you were into guys? You did agree to there being an ‘us.’
“It’s okay.” Steve said gently, looking over at you with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I just didn’t think it would be fair not to say anything if I know.” He turned away again, like he was physically unable to look at you for too long. “You don’t have to tell me anything. And I didn’t look on purpose. Just, uh… if you ever do want to talk, then you can, you know. You don’t always have to keep everything to yourself.”
You pushed your leg up against his, the words unable to form, but the message getting through anyway as he pushed back, your legs just resting against each other. For some reason, when Steve said it, you found yourself understanding. You had been keeping years worth of secrets to yourself, unable to say a word without the fear of getting a bullet to the head. But this wasn’t like that. This secret was different, and Steve already knew. He knew more than you did, because you still didn’t understand what it all meant.
You thought about you and Billy being boyfriends and it didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world, you were fine with that kind of thing anyway, you just didn’t think you were like that. But it seemed like you were. So why didn’t it still feel right? It was normal to kiss Billy, more normal than when Tina kissed you. But it still didn’t feel like it was correct. Maybe you were just getting used to the fact that you kissed a guy, or, rather, a guy kissed you. You probably just needed some time to get used to that. And you’d probably have to talk to Billy anyway, explain all of this to him, fill in the probably many blanks Max would leave.
All of that could wait until tomorrow, though, because right now, Steve was tired, his eyes practically being pulled down by magnets as his head kept jerking back to attention. You didn’t let yourself think and, instead, you placed a gentle hand on his head and guided it to your shoulder. Steve instantly let his eyes close, a contented sigh escaping him as he turned his body towards you. And then he was out cold, and something about this warmed your heart, a smile forming on your face. Why did this feel right?
~~~~~
You didn’t sleep at all, at least a full hour passing as you just sat there, Steve’s head on your shoulder as he breathed softly against your neck. God, him and El really did look the same when they slept. The way their lips would part slightly, their faces always half smooshed, a slight crease to their brows. They probably didn’t share any blood, but damnit if they didn’t look almost exactly alike.
You could hear the floorboards creaking from your left and turned your head to see your dad standing there, looking like he hadn’t slept either. “Hey, kid.” He whispered quietly. “Can we talk?”
You sighed silently, realizing that this conversation was now inevitable lest you risk waking up anyone else in the house. You carefully lifted Steve’s head from your shoulder, instantly missing his warmth as you placed him gently down onto the chair and pushed yourself to your feet, silently following your dad over to the kitchen table.
“Look.” Your dad said once you had both settled down, but you refused to look at him. “I’m sorry about the other night. It’s not your responsibility to look after El. And, as much as it pains me, you’re an adult now. Have been, mentally, for a while now.”
“It’s fine.” You said blankly.
“No, it’s not fine.” Your dad said. “I can see that it’s not fine.”
“I’m fine.” You hissed at him.
Your dad sighed. “You have to stop saying that, kid. We all know it’s not true.” He sighed again, like he was trying to find his words. “Listen, you don’t have to tell me what happened in New York. Maybe some of it you can’t… you’re not allowed to say. But I need you to talk to me. I mean actually tell me how you’re feeling.”
“I’m not feeling anything.” You stated, but you knew that was far from the truth.
“Of course you’re feeling something.” Your dad leaned in closer. “If you weren’t, then you’d be a psychopath. And trust me, kid, you are no psychopath.”
He was right, you weren’t. You were the complete opposite. You always cared too much, your feelings always getting in the way of the mission. But how could they not? How could you not try and save as many people as possible? You killed people for a living, but you always made sure that whoever you killed actually deserved it. No one innocent met your bullet.
You felt tears welling in your eyes despite yourself. You had been alone for so long that you barely even knew what to do with friends anymore. You didn’t even really have friends, you had Steve, and that was it. Nancy and Jonathan were sparse, probably them not knowing how to deal with your vacant attitude. But you only did it to protect people, to protect them from you. When people knew how you felt, those close to you got hurt. It wasn’t fair. None of it was fair. And they were all gone because of you.
“I just want you to be my dad again.” The words left your lips before you even registered you were saying them, barely even a whisper, choked behind the burning tears that you refused to let fall and make you look weak.
“I am your dad.” He reassured. “I never stopped being your dad.”
“No.” You shook your head, half to dismiss him and half to keep the tears at bay as you finally turned to him. “No, you’re my father now. You’re not my dad. You’re always smiling and joking with El, but with me you’re cold and distant.”
“I’m cold?”
“Yes.”
“Im sorry if it came off that way.” He apologized, tears forming in his own eyes. “I was just trying to give you your space.”
“It’s too much space.” You cried, but you kept the tears locked up.
“What do you want me to do, kid?” Your dad leaned in even closer, lowering his head just a bit so he was looking up at you. “Genuinely. Because we don’t even know each other anymore. You used to tell me everything.”
“I don’t know.” Your words were barely above a whisper. “Just be there, I guess. I haven’t had anyone since you left. Mom was always drunk or high or both. I didn’t have any real friends. And any friends I did have didn’t have good relationships with their parents, either.”
“I’m sorry.” Your dad apologized again. “I’ll work on being more present. I promise. But you have to put in the same effort with me, okay?”
“I don’t know how.” You took in a shaky breath, throat closing up as you did everything in your power not to cry. “It’s like I don’t even know how to function as an actual person anymore.”
Your dad fixed you with a soft, almost understanding look. “Because of what you used to do?”
“No.” You argued sadly, because he still just couldn’t get it. “Because of what was done to me. I…” You turned your head away, unable to keep looking at him. “God, I can’t even fucking talk about it.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Your dad asked.
“Can’t.” But you weren’t quite sure if that was actually true. You weren’t in the city anymore, there were no connections. You might not be killed for talking, but nobody would look at you the same way if you did.
“How bad was it?” Your dad asked gently, not even trying to know the details, and you found that the words were impossible to stop now.
“Bad.” You whispered. “It was really fucking bad.”
“Is that were those scars came from?”
“No.” You shook your head. “They… they came from everything. I just… I just… I made a stupid call. I accepted the wrong fucking job.”
“Kid, I promise you, whatever you think will happen if you tell, it won’t.”
“It will, though.” You buried your head in your hands, the tears flowing against your will. “It will. You don’t know these people, dad. And it’s not even them I’m afraid of. They weren’t that bad. It was—“ You cut yourself off. You already said too much. Why were you saying so much?
“It was what?” Your dad gently prodded.
“I can’t. I can’t.” You shook your head, eyes squeezing shut as you tried to block out the memories. The blood, the pain, the funerals. The goddamn burning all of kinds. “I just wanna forget.” You cried, actually cried, and you threw yourself at your dad, arms wrapping around him in a bruising grip as you buried your head in his chest, just like when you were a kid. “I wish I never fucking went.”
Your dad wrapped you up in his arms as you sobbed into him, shielding you against the world, but unable to shield you from your thoughts. You had longed for real comfort after that job, after the multiple close calls that had you leaning up against death’s door. But nobody was there. Not your mom, not your dad, not Sara. You hadn’t even had Debbie anymore. You had been all alone, left to suffer through your pain as you fought for your life, no one sure if you would even make it. You never wanted to be that close to death again.
~~~~~
Steve had El situated in front of the mirror, his hair care products strewn about the counter as he did her hair for the Snowball. You were sitting on the toilet, staying out of the way as you watched the two of them. Joyce had helped Hop pick out a nice blue dress for El and now she was watching, fascinated, as Steve moved her hair about.
“Now this is called hairspray.” Steve explained as he held up the Farah Fawcett can. “This is gonna help your hair hold its shape. Just like mine.”
“I like your hair.” El smiled up at him, and he smiled right back, their matching dimples showing.
“Well, good.” Steve shook the bottle. “Now try not to breathe this in too much.”
Steve put four puffs of the spray into El’s hair, El’s eyes squinted shut and her mouth closed as she scrunched her face at the smell. You didn’t mind it so much, it smelled like Steve. Or it was because you weren’t the one directly under the spray.
Steve started messing with her hair again, fingers running through the strands as he made sure to keep all of the knots out as he worked it into place. He was laser focused on his work, brows slightly scrunched in the way they always did when he concentrated hard enough. Another thing that him and El shared.
“All right.” Steve announced, hands landing on El’s shoulders as he moved behind her. “What do you think?”
“I like it.” El said slowly, another smile forming on her face. “It smells like you.”
You and Steve both laughed. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” He asked.
El shrugged. “Good.”
“Good.” Steve repeated, smiling. “All right, what time is it?” You glanced at your watch, but Steve beat you to the punch. “Shit. I gotta go. I’m supposed to pick up Dustin.” He gave her shoulders a happy squeeze. “Have fun.”
Steve ran from the room, either completely forgetting or not even caring about the mess of products he was leaving behind. Or maybe he just knew he could come get it all tomorrow. Either way, it made you smile, him being so comfortable in your space to leave his things behind.
“All right.” You announced, pushing yourself up to your feet. “Time for makeup.”
You set some of Steve’s stuff to the side as you took out a small bag of makeup that Joyce had leant you. You took out the eyeshadow and decided to start there.
“This is eyeshadow.” You explained. “It goes on your eyes.” You opened the palette and lightly dipped the brush. “Close your eyes.” She did, practically squeezing them shut. “Not that much.” You laughed. “Just gently.”
El relaxed a bit, eyes only just closed now, and you lightly brushed the makeup onto her. You had watched your girlfriends do their makeup in the past, and Debbie had actually taken the time to explain to you what she was doing one day when she found you staring at her. She was never a huge makeup person, but she liked to add a little bit for an ‘extra flair,’ as she called it.
“All done.” You placed the palette down, El slowly opening her eyes. “I think we’ll just do some blush and a little lipstick as well.”
“Where did you get it?” El asked as she watched you search for the blush palette.
“Joyce leant it.” You said, finding the right object and pulling it out. “Now this goes on your cheeks.”
“Joyce does her makeup?” El asked as you gently applied to blush.
“Yeah.” You nodded. “Nancy, too.”
“And Max?” El asked, a bit more cautiously than before. After having ignored Max’s greeting at the Byers house El was now intrigued with her, her little one-sided beef having disappeared.
“I don’t think Max is the type to wear makeup.” You answered.
“Not the type?” El echoed, confused.
“Yeah.” You shrugged, putting the blush away and grabbing a light lipstick. “Some girls don’t like wearing it. Most do, though. She might wear it when she’s older, she might not. You don’t have to wear it either if you don’t want to.”
“I do.” El nodded. “I like it.”
“All right, good.” You laughed. “Cause I already put it on.”
El laughed as well, trying to school her features as you moved in with the lipstick, applying just a light coating to bring in some more color. By the time you were done, El couldn’t stop looking at herself in the mirror, face wide in awe as she took in her appearance. You found yourself mindlessly playing with Sara’s hair tie, her other one now on El’s wrist. And you couldn’t think of a better person to have it.
Prev Next
//AN: Every mention of Hop’s past this chapter all has to do with July of 83. We’re beginning to get sparse details, but full explanations won’t happen until season four :)//
I was snickering the other day at the idea of Vecna getting into Hops head and planning on torturing him with his memories, only to walk in on the literal gates of hell that is inside of Hop’s head
My personal favorite way of thinking about this joke is that that scene from Gravity Falls where Bill goes into Stan’s head, only to find Stan there. Bills reaction is exactly how I imagine Vecna’s
Lmao! Yeah, when Vecna went into Hop’s mind he was not having a good time lol. Like, Hop has trauma, but even when he himself acknowledges it it’s still locked up/surrounded by a hurricane.
With how good Hop is with kids, I can see him being a teacher in the future. Specifically the shop teacher who looks really intimidating, but is one of the all of the students favorties, regardless of if he has them in his classes. I can also see him getting really into grilling.
A teacher would be a good idea! I was kind of thinking cop since as a kid he used to want to be just like his dad and it would be a good way to have him use his skills for good. But I’d love more suggestions as well and I can put some of my favorites into a poll if you guys want!
The sun had set a while ago, two hours past when Hopper was supposed to be home. Hop was next to El on the couch, staring blankly at the piece of paper in his hands as he wrote. Homework, he called it. El found it strange that he rarely showed any emotion, but Steve had told her that he had dealt with a rough past before moving to Hawkins, so that’s why he didn’t show emotion.
El started to feel annoyed as there was still no signal from Hopper saying that he would be late. He always signaled when he was late. She looked over at Hop, his eyes still trained on the paper. She couldn’t tell what he was feeling, she couldn’t read people like Steve. But there were a few things she had been able to pick up on in the past few months together. Mostly it was anger. Hop was often angry at his dad, but he never said why.
“Where is Hopper?” El asked, hoping that Hop would have the answer, or at least a better one than she did. Which was none.
“I don’t know.” Hop said, putting down the paper as he turned to her, but the page was only half finished. “He’s probably late.”
“There was no signal.” El pointed out.
“Not surprising.” Hop muttered, but El heard him anyway, the only other sound in the cabin being the little commercial jingle on the tv.
El decided to just ask, because she didn’t like not knowing anything about Hop. “What was… New York like?”
Hop seemed to stiffen slightly. “It’s fun, I guess. If you’re a tourist. Not that great when you live there.”
“What’s a tourist?” She asked. There were still a lot of things she didn’t know, and she didn’t like not knowing them.
“It’s someone who visits another place.” Hop explained. “Like, if you were to go to New York one day then you would be a tourist.”
“When you were in New York… did you have friends?”
“Not really.”
“Why not?” El couldn’t understand why he didn’t have any friends. Steve had told her how much he liked to hang out with Hop.
Hop smiled, but something told her that it wasn’t a real smile. “People didn’t like me very much.”
“I like you.” She said. “Steve likes you.”
“It’s not the same thing.” Hop shook his head, finally starting to show a bit of emotion. And El felt happy having accomplished that.
“Can I go to New York?” El asked. She wanted to know how Hop grew up, what it was that made him so blank. Steve said that it was bad, but that’s all he said.
“Yeah, you can go to New York.” Hop nodded, his smile looking real now. “It might not be for a while, but we’ll get you there.”
“What’s school like?” El wanted Hop to keep talking to her and not go quiet like he always did. It made her sad when he was quiet.
“It’s school.” Hop shrugged. “Mostly it’s boring, but it can also be fun. You learn a lot of stuff, get to spend time with friends. You’ll go one day.”
El frowned. “When?” Hopper said she had to stay in the cabin until it was safe, but he never said how long that would be.
“I don’t know when.” Hop answered, and it sounded honest. “But I promise that it’ll happen.”
El really wanted to go to school, just like Mike and Dustin and Lucas got to do. She wanted friends too, she wanted to be able to go out and see them, or at least have them come see her. But Hopper said it was too dangerous. He only let Steve know because Hop had forced him. But it wasn’t fair that Steve got to go to school as well while she was stuck in the cabin.
She had missed Steve after he left the lab, Papa never explaining where he went. He was just there one day and gone the next. She had given him a drawing of the two of them during that last day, the only one of her siblings that was never mean to her. He always smiled at her, always came over to play when she was sitting alone. She had seen the way their siblings were mean to him as well. Mike probably would’ve called them mouth breathers.
“How’s your writing coming along?” Hop asked.
“It’s… okay.” El said shyly. She had been tracing the letters in her book, but they didn’t look nearly as nice as Hop’s handwriting.
“Let me see.” Hop had the tiniest hint of a real smile on his face, a sight so rare that it made El freeze for a moment before she registered his words.
El got up from the couch and went over to her room, picking up the writing workbook from the shelf and handing it over to Hop as she sat back down. She felt nervous having him look at it, she hadn’t even made it halfway through the book, and her lines were all shaky and jagged. She wanted her handwriting to look like Hop’s, to have it look pretty and neat. He probably had the best handwriting she had ever seen. Although, she hadn’t seen that much handwriting.
“This is really good.” Hop complimented, and El felt herself beam at him. If he thought it was good, then it must be good. “You keep up with this and soon you’ll be better than Steve.”
El laughed at that. Steve’s handwriting was okay, definitely not the best, and she probably would be better than him if she kept practicing. She wished Steve was able to live in the cabin with them. She wanted the two of them to be like real siblings. Like Mike and Nancy were, or Jonathan and Will. He still visited almost every day, but it wasn’t the same as living with him. She still had Hop, though, and he was really cool. But did he think of them as siblings? El viewed him the same way she viewed Steve. But she couldn’t tell if he felt the same. She wanted him to feel the same, she really hoped he did. But it was so hard to understand what he was thinking. A closed book, as Hopper had called it. He was a mystery, and El desperately wished he wasn’t.
The five of you were walking down the abandoned railroad tracks, eyes peeled for any sign of Dart or the other monsters. You had your nail bat held loosely at your side, knuckles white, while Steve had his stuffed into his bag. Steve hadn’t said much since the Demogorgons had fled the junkyard, just focused on making sure no one had gotten seriously hurt. But you could feel him drifting towards you every once in a while before he righted himself back out.
It was times like these where you wished your roles were reversed and you could see into his mind, figure out what it was that he was thinking. You had become good at reading people, but Steve was still a slight mystery to you. You could read what he wanted to show, but when he hid he practically disappeared.
“You’re positive that was Dart?” Lucas asked after a while of silence.
“Yes.” Dustin said. “He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt.”
“He was tiny two days ago.” Max pointed out.
“Well, he’s molted three times already.”
“Malted?” Steve questioned.
“Molted.” Dustin corrected. “Shed his skin to make room for more growth like hornworms.”
“When’s he gonna molt again?” Max asked.
“It’s gotta be soon.” Dustin said. “When he does, he’ll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends.”
“Yeah, and he’s gonna eat a lot more than just cats.” You stated.
“Wait, a cat?” Lucas grabbed Dustin’s shoulder, stopping him dead in his tracks. Did the kid really not share that crucial information? “Dart ate a cat?”
“No, what?” Dustin tried to deflect. “No.”
“What are you talking about?” Steve chimed in. “He ate Mews.”
“Mews?” Max echoed, looking over at Steve, confused. “Who’s Mews?”
“It’s Dustin’s cat.” Steve explained.
“Steve!” Dustin shouted, trying to get Steve to shut up, but it was way too late for that.
“I knew it!” Lucas exclaimed. “You kept him!”
“No!” Dustin tried to deflect again, but it was no use. “No. No, I… No, I… He missed me.” Dustin finally relented. “He wanted to come home.”
“Bullshit!” Lucas shouted.
“I didn’t know he was a Demogorgon!” Dustin defended.
“Oh, so now you admit it?”
“Guys, who cares?” Max tried to interject. “We have to go.”
“I care!” Lucas shouted. “You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!”
“So did you!”
“What?”
“You told a stranger the truth!” Dustin pointed his flashlight directly at Max’s face, making her cringe back from the blinding light.
Max scoffed. “A stranger?”
“You wanted to tell her, too!” Lucas argued.
“But I didn’t, Lucas, okay? I didn’t tell her!”
A loud screeching echoed off in the distance as the kids continued arguing and your head whipped around to the sound, eyes scanning the area, ears trained, your other hand finding the bat. Steve turned to you, worry written all over his features that you returned with a blank stare, another screech reaching your ears.
“Hey, guys?” Steve called out, but the kids ignored him as they kept on arguing.
“Guys!” You shouted, and they all went silent.
You stepped over the tracks first, taking the lead as Steve followed closely behind you with the flashlight. The little yellow strip cut through the dark shadowed branches before disappearing up ahead through the tree line. The boys quickly followed after you, but you could hear the missing third pair of footsteps.
“No, no, no.” Max called out. “Hey, guys, why are we headed towards the sound? Hello? Hello?”
Max’s footsteps fell in line a moment later as you followed the stream of light, pushing the bare branches aside as you stepped out from the tree line. You came up to a clearing at the top of a large hill, the town laid out below you, electric bulbs shining like stars from the distance. But no matter how hard they tried, they would never be as beautiful. The screeching was a bit clearer now due to the lack of brush, echoing out through the cool night air.
“I don’t see him.” Dustin said.
Lucas picked up his binoculars and looked around. “It’s the lab.” He said. “They were going back home.”
~~~~~
The five of you traversed your way down the hill quickly, you and Steve in the lead as the kids stayed glued to your heels. You wanted to take out your gun, its weight in your hand always a calming force during rough moments, but bullets did nothing against monsters.
“Hello?” Someone called out from the other side of the tree line up ahead. “Who’s there?”
The five of you broke through the clearing and came face to face with Nancy and Jonathan.
“Steve?” They both called out in shocked unison.
“Nancy?” Steve called back.
“Jonathan.” Dustin said.
“Hop.” Jonathan said.
“Hi.” You stated blankly.
“What are you guys doing here?” Nancy asked as your two groups walked up to each other.
“What are you doing here?” Steve echoed.
“We’re looking for Mike and Will.”
“They’re not in there, are they?” Dustin asked nervously as he glanced at the lab, a wave of protectiveness washing over you.
“We’re not sure.” Nancy answered slowly.
“Why?” Jonathan asked.
The Demogorgons’s loud screeching reverberated from the lab, the sound now as clear as day from the proximity, and all heads turned towards the blacked out building. Then they all started arguing with each other, going back and forth about the last time they had seen the boys. They were all in the middle of practically yelling at each other when the lights suddenly turned back on.
“The power’s back on.” Nancy announced, effectively shutting them all up.
Everyone took off towards the control booth, Jonathan taking the lead as he flew inside, hand slamming down on the button. But it didn’t work. He pressed again and again, his movements becoming frantic. But nothing happened.
You realized that the power in the building was back up, but the power to the gate was still turned off. There was no way to get inside, no way to find the boys and drag them to safety. Except, there was a way. You could climb right over the fence, just like you had done the other night. Getting the boys back over would be tricky, but at least you could get them out of that death trap.
You took a step forward, arms reaching for your jacket, when a hand, warm but insistent, grabbed your arm, stopping you dead in your tracks.
“No.” Steve said sternly, a small trickle of blood leaking from his nose. “You’re not going in there.”
“The power’s off.” You stated, body having reverted fully back to its statue-like presence of before. For the moment, at least. “Someone needs to go get them.”
“You can’t go in alone.” Steve nearly pleaded.
You just stared at him. “Then come with me. Cause I’m not doing nothing.”
Steve opened his mouth to say something, to argue against you, but he was cut off by a loud buzz, and his previously scared look was replaced with relief as his eyes trailed to the gate behind you. You turned, watching as the gate slowly slid open, almost beckoning you forward.
Jonathan came bolting out of the booth then, Nancy following him right over to the car. You went to follow them, to listen to your instincts and help, but Steve pulled you away before you could even take a step, and you found yourself listening to him, allowing yourself to be dragged away. The engine roared to life immediately and the two of them booked it towards the lab.
“They’ll get them.” Steve reassured quietly, voice only loud enough for you to hear. “They’ll get them.”
You just stared on at the empty road, finding yourself unable to form any words. You should’ve gone with them, you should’ve gotten in the car. You shouldn’t just be standing there, completely useless. But Steve was right, Nancy and Jonathan would get the boys, they were both extremely capable. They’d get them to safety.
“What happened to your arm?” Max asked, and it took you a moment to register that she was talking to you, her eyes trained on where your sleeve had ridden down, a few drops of fresh blood leaking from the cut on your arm.
“Barbed wire.” You stated, pointing at the fence ahead.
“Barbed wire?” Lucas echoed. “How?”
“I broke in.” You said, not taking your eyes off of the road.
“You broke into the lab?” Dustin exclaimed. “Again?”
“Again?” Max echoed, confused. “What do you mean again? You’ve broken in before?”
“Once.” You stated. “Last year. When I was looking for Will.”
“Why’d you break in this time?” Lucas asked.
“Because.” Was all you said.
“Because why?” Lucas prompted, annoyed.
“Because.” You repeated, and you could feel Steve’s thumb brush across your arm from where he was still holding you, having never let go.
Everyone went silent, their eyes trained on you as they waited for you to say more, but you just ignored them. You could then hear Lucas huff in annoyance, followed quickly by a hushed back and forth with Dustin about how annoying you were. You almost smiled. Almost.
“Guys?” Max called out, breaking up their hushed conversation as you heard the sound of screeching tires steadily growing nearer.
Jonathan’s car appeared down the road, his foot all the way to the floor as he sped through the gate. And then he kept on going, followed closely by a second vehicle that grinded to a halt in front of you. Your dad’s cruiser.
“Let’s go.” Your dad waved you forward.
The kids ran for the car, piling into the back seat as quickly as possible as you pushed Steve ahead of you, both because you needed to make sure he was safe first and because you needed him to be a barrier between you and your dad. Although, you assumed that Steve already knew that second part, even if there wasn’t any more blood or any sound of sniffling.
Once Steve was inside the cruiser you jumped in after him, smooshing him between you and your dad as you slammed the door closed.
“Let’s go!” Steve shouted, and your dad floored it.
~~~~~
You were sitting with the kids in the kitchen, slowly sipping on a glass of orange juice that you could barely even swallow. It wasn’t the waiting that you hated—you were used to that part—but the whole thing was just an entire mess. Apparently, something was wrong with Will, this shadow monster—as Mike had called it—had somehow possessed him.
“Yes, the number I gave you, yes.” Your dad said angrily into the phone, drawing your eyes over to him. There was still a lot of tension between the two of you and you were pretty sure everyone else could feel it. “6767. I will be here.” He slammed the phone down.
“They didn’t believe you, did they?” Dustin said.
“We’ll see.”
“We’ll see?!” Mike shouted. “We can’t just sit here while those things are loose!”
“We stay here, and we wait for backup.” Your dad turned and left the kitchen, leaving Mike no room for further argument.
Steve bumped his knee into yours, once, twice, just a nervous movement, and you found yourself bumping his knee back a couple of times. Your dad was an idiot for thinking that the military was going to do anything about the situation. There was no way they believed him. You should all be brainstorming some kind of plan to get this shadow monster out of Will.
Mike suddenly stood and crossed over to the living room, picking up some weird blue cubic puzzle. “Did you guys know Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?” Mike asked sadly.
“Really?” Lucas asked.
“He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fundraiser for equipment.” Mike turned around and crossed back over to the kitchen. “Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome, right?”
“Yeah.” Dustin and Lucas said.
Mike came over to the table and placed the blue cube down. “We can’t let him die in vain.”
“What do you want us to do, Mike?” Dustin asked angrily. “The Chief’s right on this. We can’t stop those Demo-dogs on our own.”
“Demo-dogs?” Max echoed incredulously.
“Demogorgon. Dogs.” Dustin explained. “Demo-dogs. It’s like a compound. It’s like a play on words—“
“Okay.” Max cut him off.
“I mean, when it was just Dart, maybe.” Dustin said.
“But there’s an army now.” Lucas chimed in.
“Precisely.” Dustin agreed.
“His army.” Mike stated.
“What do you mean?” Steve asked.
“His army.” Mike repeated, and everyone just stared at him, confused, as you took a sip of your orange juice. “Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too.”
Mike took off in the direction of Will’s room and the kids hurried after him, you and Steve lagging behind just a few paces. Mike grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and handed it to Dustin. It had a drawing of a large monster on it. The shadow monster.
“The shadow monster.” Dustin said for you.
“It got Will that day on the field.” Mike explained. “The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him.”
“And so this virus, it’s connecting him to the tunnels?” Max asked.
“To the tunnels, to the monsters, to the Upside Down, to everything.” Mike exclaimed.
“Whoa. Whoa.” Steve cut in with a wave of his hand. “Slow down. Slow down.”
Mike took a breath before he started talking again. “Okay, so, the shadow monster’s inside everything. And if the vines feel something like pain, then so does Will.”
“And so does Dart.” Lucas added.
“Yeah.” Mike agreed. “It’s like what Mr. Clarke taught us. The hive mind.”
“Hive mind?” Steve shook his head in confusion.
“A collective consciousness.” You explained.
“It’s a super organism.” Dustin added.
“And this is the thing that control everything.” Mike ripped the drawing back from Dustin. “It’s the brain.”
Dustin’s eyes lit up with realization. “Like the mind flayer.”
Lucas snapped and pointed at him, apparently on the same wavelength as Dustin. The most you knew was that this mind flayer had to be some monster from D&D, just like the Demogorgon was.
“The what?” Steve and Max asked in unison.
The boys started running around the room, items being tossed here and there in their search. Dustin then held up a large book and ran back out of the room, calling everyone into the kitchen. He placed the book on the table and started flipping through the hundreds of pages before he landed on the correct on.
“The mind flayer.” Dustin said.
“What the hell is that?” Your dad asked.
“It’s a monster from an unknown dimension.” Dustin explained. “It’s so ancient that it doesn’t even know its true home. It enslaves races of other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly-developed psionic powers.”
“Oh, my God.” Your dad complained. “None of this is real. This is a kids game.”
“No, it’s a manual.” Dustin argued. “And it’s not for kids. And unless you know something that we don’t, this is the best metaphor—“
“Analogy.” Lucas cut him off.
“Analogy?” Dustin echoed in disbelief. “That’s what you’re worried about? Fine. An analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is.”
Nancy waved her arms around to shut them up as she leaned in to look at the book. “Okay, so this mind flamer thing—“
“Flayer.” Dustin corrected. “Mind flayer.”
“What does it want?”
“To conquer us, basically. It believes it’s the master race.”
“Like the Germans.” Steve said.
“Nazis.” You corrected, deadpan.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Nazis.”
“Uh… if the Nazis were from another dimension totally.” Dustin stammered. “Uh, it views other races, like us, as inferior to itself.”
“It wants to spread and take over other dimensions.” Mike added.
“We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it.” Lucas said.
“That’s great. That’s great.” Steve started to freak out as he stepped away from the table, a hand running through his hair. “That’s really great. Jesus.”
“Okay.” Nancy leaned back towards the table again, doing her best to keep everyone on track as Steve rejoined you, half of his chest going flush with your back. “So if this thing is like a brain that’s controlling everything, then if we kill it…”
“We kill everything it controls.” Mike finished.
“We win.” Dustin said.
“Theoretically.” Lucas added.
“Great.” Your dad said as he took the book from Nancy. “So how do we kill this thing? Shoot it with fireballs or something?”
“No.” Dustin chuckled. “No, no fire—no fireballs. Um, you summon an undead army, uh, because…” Dustin looked up at your dad who was just staring at him incredulously and Dustin started laughing nervously. “Because zombies, you know, they don’t have brains, and the mind flayer it… it… it likes brains.” Your dad just continued to stare at him. “It’s just a game. It’s a game.”
Your dad slammed the book shut in frustration and threw it onto the table. “What the hell are we doing here?”
“I thought we were waiting for your military backup.” Dustin mocked.
“We are!”
“But even if they come.” Mike argued. “How are they gonna stop this? You can’t just shoot this with guns.”
“You don’t know that!” Your dad yelled. “We don’t know anything!”
“We know it’s already killed everybody in that lab.”
“And we know the monsters are gonna molt again.” Lucas added.
“And we know it’s only a matter of time before those tunnels reach this town.” Dustin chimed in.
“And we already tried the gun thing.” You stated.
“They’re right.” Joyce’s tired voice called out from the hallway and all heads turned to her. “We have to kill it. I want to kill it.”
“Me, too.” Your dad stepped over to Joyce. “Me, too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don’t exactly know what we’re dealing with here.”
“No.” Mike stated. “But he does.” He walked over to the living room where Will was laying unconscious on the couch. “If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it’s Will. He’s connected to it. He’ll know its weaknesses.”
“I thought we couldn’t trust him anymore.” Max piped up. “That he’s a spy for the mind flayer now.”
“Yeah, but he can’t spy if he doesn’t know where he is.” Mike countered.
“What if Steve looked?” Dustin announced, everyone turning to him, and Steve’s face paled. “Maybe he could mind walk. If he could find Will, then he could ask him directly.”
“I can’t even get into the void.” Steve argued, but to you he sounded scared. “How the hell am I supposed to find Will?”
“You could at least give it a shot.” Mike shot back. “Just do something except stand there.”
“I just fought off those Demo-dogs.” Steve exclaimed. “I’ve done my part.”
“Yeah, well, you’re our best shot.” Mike bit at him.
“You can do it.” Dustin smiled, a feigned act of encouragement. “I believe in you.”
“That makes me feel so much better.” Steve sassed. His eyes then drifted back over to Will, his features falling. “Fine.” He grit out. “I’ll try.”
Dustin immediately ran for his backpack, pulling out the radio and tuning it until he hit static. You reached out, your hand landing on Steve’s back for a moment, the closest thing to a ‘good luck’ you could muster, and Steve gave you a small smile and sniffle in return before crossing over to the table.
Steve sat down, Dustin turning the volume up to max as he slid the radio in front of Steve. Steve then closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths as he tried to concentrate. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, everyone just staring on at his still form, and then the light above the table began to flicker slightly. Dimmer, brighter, dimmer, brighter.
Steve’s breathing started to pick up, his eyes flickering rapidly beneath his lids as blood started to stream from his nose. All of the lights in the house began to flicker then, blinking in rapid succession just as it had done at the Demogorgon’s arrival last year. But you could see that something was wrong. Steve’s brows knitted together, hands balling into fists.
“What’s happening?” Max asked worriedly, eyes raking over the blinking lights.
You ran forward, instinct taking over as your hands flew to Steve, one gripping his shoulder and the other landing gently on his knee as you crouched down beside him. Your touch and words had calmed El in the bath last year, so why couldn’t it work for Steve now?
“You’re okay, Steve.” You soothed, remembering all those times you had comforted a scared child back in the city. “You’re okay. We’re right here. We’re right here. You’re safe. I’m right here.”
Steve went from scared to terrified and you felt an invisible force slam into you, sending you flying away from him and crashing backwards into the hard tiled floor with a pained grunt. Steve’s eyes flew open only a second later, his head instantly snapping in your direction as Joyce dropped down beside you, motherly hands helping you up into a sitting position.
“Oh my god.” Steve was freaking out. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m okay.” You held one hand up, the other planted on the floor as you pushed yourself to your feet, Joyce’s hands never leaving you.
You tried your best to send Steve a silent message, to make him feel that you really were okay. You were fine the first time he had done that to you, and you were fine now. Not to mention, those didn’t even come close to the worst hits you had ever received throughout your life.
Steve seemed to calm down, but his fear only seemed to turn into a none-personal heartbreak as he wiped away the blood. He looked remorseful, like a child who had just done something wrong.
“Did you see anything?” Mike asked, insistent.
“No.” Steve shook his head, eyes dropping to the table. “It didn’t work.”
“The lights were going crazy.” Mike argued harshly. “Your nose is bleeding. Obviously, something happened.”
“Nothing happened.” Steve bit at him, jaw locked shut and eyes refusing to look up.
~~~~~
After you had all gotten Mike to back off of Steve, you came up with a different plan to get through the Will. The plan was to make the shed outside unrecognizable so that the mind flayer wouldn’t know where you were when you woke Will up and you started questioning him. You knew it was a necessary plan, but the thought of having to tie Will up, blast his face with bright white lights, it brought up one too many bad memories.
Your dad had forced you to help him empty out the shed, almost having to drag you outside with him as you adamantly refused. You could see it, he wanted to talk, to have a conversation. But this was certainly not the time or the place for it. In your eyes, at least.
“So.” Your dad started as you dragged the mower out into the lawn. “Where did you sleep the last two nights?”
“Not outside.” You stated, fitting the blank mask into place at will, not wanting to give anything away to him.
“Well, I hope not.” Your dad sighed. “I kept thinking that maybe you were freezing to death.”
You forced your mouth to stay shut. If he had been so worried, then why didn’t he go out looking for you? Apparently, he had done it when you disappeared after your mom died, so why couldn’t he do it now? You knew he was trapped in that tunnel last night, so you didn’t hold that part against him, but what about the night before? What about right after you ran away? Did he even try to contact you? Or did he just assume that you could handle yourself?
“Did you stay with Steve?” He asked when he realized you weren’t going to just say.
You grabbed the cardboard box of Christmas lights, the shed now containing about ten times as many as it did last year. “I was warm.” You said, dumping the box into the pile outside.
“You been taking care of yourself?” He asked.
“You know what?” You turned to him, a slight hint of anger shadowing your features. “I think you’ve got this covered.”
You turned around and stormed off back to the house, your dad shouting out after you, but you simply ignored him. Everyone turned to you as you entered, worry etched into every one of their faces, but you ignored them as well, heading straight over to Steve where he was gathering up some tarps to give him a hand.
You stuck next to Steve until the shed was finally completely sealed up, not wanting to give your dad another chance at an interrogation. Jonathan carried Will’s limp body out to the shed where Joyce, Mike, and your dad were waiting. Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike were going to try and talk to him, bring Will back enough to talk to them.
The rest of you were waiting around the house, spread all around as you awaited a response from the others. The kids were growing anxious, Nancy restless, and you were just sitting on the couch and watching as Steve idly swung his bat around.
The lights in the house started to flicker then, everyone shooting to attention. You whipped your head towards the kitchen, watching as everyone ran to the window to see what was going on. They didn’t say anything, probably couldn’t even see anything. The only sign that there was a problem were the still flickering lights above. And then that was gone too.
You jumped up from the couch then, snatching up your own bat as you and Steve rushed into the kitchen. Everyone suddenly came running back into the house, your dad in the lead as he snatched up a piece of paper and a pen and sat down at the table.
“What happened?” You demanded.
“I think he’s talking, just not with words.” Your dad said as he wrote Morse code down on the paper.
“What is that?” Steve asked.
“Morse code.” You all answered.
“H-E-R-E.” Your dad said as he wrote the corresponding letters below the code.
“Here.” You all said in unison again.
“Will’s still in there.” Your dad said. “He’s talking to us.”
Everyone rushed into action, Jonathan running off to go grab his boombox and a tape of Will’s favorite song, and then the four of them ran back out to the shed. Your dad gave you all a paper with the Morse code translation on it—even though he knew you knew it by heart—and the plan was for him to signal Will’s code back to you through the radio.
Buzzing came from the radio and Dustin started writing. “Dash-dot-dash-dot.”
“C.” You answered, no one batting an eye at your quick answer, but Lucas double checked your translation anyway as Nancy wrote the letter down.
Your dad kept transmitting the Morse code through the radio as Dustin wrote it down and you provided the letter for for him, Lucas giving up after a little while and looking a little disheartened at having nothing to do. You got a L-O-S-E-G and kept going until you had two full words written down.
“Close gate.” You all said in unison.
Brrrring!
The phone rang out through the quiet house and you all whipped your heads in its direction.
“Shit. Shit.” Dustin exclaimed as he and you rushed over to the phone. But Dustin beat you to it and he quickly hung up the phone.
Brrrring!
The phone rang out again and Dustin tried to reach up to answer it again when you grabbed it first, ripping the entire thing off the wall and throwing it to the floor where it shattered. Good, now it couldn’t disrupt you anymore.
“Do you think he heard that?” Max asked.
“It’s just a phone.” Steve said. “It could be anywhere. Right?”
The screeching of Demo-dogs echoed off in the distance.
“That’s not good.” Dustin breathed.
Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike came running back into the house with Will and you all rushed into the living room, huddling up as you and Steve raised your bats. Mike, Lucas, and Max ran over to the window, peering out to see what was going on when your dad came running back inside.
“Hey!” Your dad yelled. “Hey, get away from the windows!”
The three of them quickly backed away and huddled close to the rest of you against the wall.
Your dad had two guns in his hands and held one out to Jonathan. “Do you know how to use this?”
“What?” Jonathan said.
“Can you use this?” Your dad asked desperately.
Nancy stepped forward. “I can.” She announced.
Your dad tossed her the gun and the two of them held them up at the ready. You glanced around, noticing that there were only a few sparse weapons between you, two guns, two bats, Lucas’s wrist rocket, and a small statue that Mike had picked up in desperation.
“Take this.” You shoved your bat into Dustin’s hands, his eyes going wide as he took it from you before quickly mirroring Steve’s pose.
You leaned down and quickly snatched your gun from your leg, pulling back the hammer as you held it up. You and Steve huddled close together with your weapons raised, putting yourselves between Dustin, Lucas, and Max, even though the former two had their own weapons.
There was a loud growl and a whoosh from the right and the entire group turned to face it. But nothing came inside.
“What are they doing?” Nancy asked.
There was another loud whoosh and a growl from the front of the house that time and you all whipped your attention back to the front door. You all held your weapons up, bodies tense as you prepared for a fight. But still nothing came inside.
There was a sudden loud crashing outside, metal and leaves that was followed by a pained chittering, and then it went deadly silent. You all waited, everyone breathless and on edge as you stared blankly at the door, taking an almost imperceptible step closer when a Demo-dog came crashing through the window and flying into the corner of the room, unmoving.
“Holy shit.” Dustin said as the whole group stalked closer to the monster, you taking the lead.
“Is it dead?” Max asked.
You reached out with one foot and pushed the Demo-dog’s limp head to the side. It was dead.
Creeeak!
You all spun towards the door as the lock clicked open. The chain slid out of the socket all by itself, the door creaking open slowly, and in walked El.
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//AN: While Steve tries to mind walk to find Will both in this chapter and back in season one he has visions of Henry (just like reader Seven did) which is why he’s so cagey when he denies having seen anything :)//
Yes. He’ll get some povs after I start season three. I also have an El pov for between seasons one and two that I still need to write. And then I have a lot of party pov ideas for now, but not a lot of Steve ones. As always, feel free to send your suggestions!
