𝐓𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐓: 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟐
made with love,
☆. [ prev ] [ next ]
pairings: steve harrington x reader x jonathan (past)
summary: you and Will have been missing since last night. after you don't show up to school, a frantic search begins.
masterlist | TIT FOR TAT TAGLIST
notes: a lot of this chapter is in the 3rd person! italics indicate the past! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT AGAIN! ALL IS APPRECIATED!!!! follows ep 2 of stranger things: The Weirdo on Maple Street.
Malik L/N was a man who let his children run loose. Your whole family lived separate lives and just happened to live in the same house. His wife, Sierra, was an attorney for the United States federal courts. She was the one who put federal criminals in prison for various reasons, such as drug trafficking and fraud. Malik L/N was a CIA agent, investigating the Russians during the height of the Cold War. The couple's jobs granted your family an income well above anyone else in the small town of Hawkins. Everyone knew who the L/Ns were with their mansion and multiple cars in their driveway.
Due to their busy jobs, Sierra and Malik weren't ones to necessarily care much for their children, you and your older brother, Jaden. They gave you both some money, and you went wild. Days went by when none of you ever saw each other.
Naturally, when you didn't come home last night, your parents didn't bat an eye, assuming you stayed over at a friend's house. Kelly Martinez was your best friend as of lately, co-captain of your volleyball team, and truly the only person you hung out with outside of school. However, both Kelly and your family knew one thing: you've always had perfect attendance to keep your grades. You would never dare miss a day.
So, when the call came to the L/N residence, you weren't at school, and your father made his way immediately to the police station. Upon his arrival, a worried Joyce Byers was also there.
"Just letting yourself in, Malik?" The Chief of Police stated, raising an eyebrow. He had his eyes focused on a few other papers. Joyce was biting her nails, on the edge of her seat. In the back of the room was Jonathan, worried as ever.
"Y/N L/N. I'm making a missing persons report, Hop," He says. The room goes silent. A pin could drop. "16 years old. Last seen heading the the Byers." his eyes scan and land on Joyce's.
"You sure? She's 16, she's quite the popular girl, no? A girl like her is probably off doing who knows what," Hopper huffs. He doesn't believe Malik, understandably so. You did seem like the girl who would just be doing her own thing right now. But Malik knows his daughter. "No, she's never missed a day of school, rain or shine, sick or healthy."
"Not even volleyball tournaments?"
"Those don't count, Hop." Malik sneers. He went into thought. You and your father recently got into an argument and never fully resolved it. Maybe you really were just rebelling? Still, missing school isn't something you'd do.
Jonathan sighs, "We were hoping you'd seen her." he begins pacing. "Since they were both together last."
"Y/N isn't one to just leave Will, either. She'd fight tooth and nail for my boy." Joyce added, She's hysterical, she was a second mother to you. Hopper sighed both out of concern and exhaustion and began writing yet another missing persons report, this time with your name. Never in his years as chief as he ever had two missing people at once, especially kids who were well known in their groups.
"I guess I'm adding Hawkins High to my list of stops for questioning. Is there anyone specific I can ask? Close friends, boyfriends, classmates..." Hopper asks, and Malik thinks for a second. "Kelly Martinez has been her other half since we moved here. If she's been seeing boys, she hasn't told me."
"Nancy Wheeler and her know each other through school and babysitting Mike, too." Jonathan chimes, and Hopper writes down a few notes as he nods. "They friends?"
"...Not exactly."
Hopper's lips form a tight line, and he nods again.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
SMACK ! The volleyball hits past two bodies, just before the boundary line. There's an uproar from a few voices on the sidelines. A brunette high-fives a few of her teammates and smiles are her teammates on the other side of the net.
One blonde girl speaks. "Kelly, where's Y/N? Haven't seen her all day."
The brunette frowns, full lips form into a pout as her dark, full eyebrows furrow toward one another. The blonde takes this as a sign to shut up, and she quickly hurries to the sidelines to grab her duffel bag.
Kelly sighs, hands on her hips. She doesn't sit still long enough to think of the fact that you aren't here. No call, nothing. Just gone. It's driving the poor girl crazy as she begins overthinking when she grabs her duffel and school bag.
The girl can't even make 10 steps into the hallway before being bombarded by Carol and Tommy. "Yo, Kelly!"
"Hi, Carol." Kelly is seething; she would rather be anywhere but with these two idiots.
"No Y/N, huh? Wonder where she went. Bet she's pretty crucial to the team to go to nationals, right?" Tommy chimes. He puts his arm around Carol as he watches the people passing by. His eyes widen, and he smiles. "Is it true she ran off with Jonathan right before she went missing?"
Kelly turns her head, and Jonathan putting up missing flyers for Will. She cocks an eyebrow and makes a face at the couple, seriously wondering why they're as popular as they are. "I'm not sure."
"She was over at my place," a voice says, approaching the group. A brunette emerged through Tommy and Carol; it was Nancy. "She was babysitting the boys last night."
"That's not helping your case, Nancy Drew. Makes me wonder if you did something," Kelly snickers, but she knows fully Nancy would never do such a thing. Nancy visibly deflates at the comment, just before Steve comes up behind and wraps an arm around her.
Steve plants a small peck on Nancy's cheek before drawing his attention to Kelly. "Any news on Y/N? Heard Mr. L/N made a missing report."
"He did?" This was news to Kelly. She knew you and your father had issues, so the fact that he made a report this early was a bit out of the blue for him.
"Dunno, that's just what I heard," Steve comments.
"From who?"
"Jonathan."
Carol cackles. "You seriously listened to that moron?" Tommy joins in on mocking him. "Seriously, he's probably the one who killed both of them."
For once, Steve looked oddly concerned when he eyed Kelly. He raised an eyebrow as he looked around, perhaps you were around the corner playing a prank on the town of Hawkins.
Kelly looked over her shoulder again at Jonathan. Sweet, quiet Jonathan. He was simply an introvert compared to Steve and his group. You and Jonathan had known each other since you moved to Hawkins your freshman year. You were one of the few extroverted, popular kids who had the heart to treat Jonathan like a human rather than some loner. You saw him for who he was: an animal lover, mixtape enthusiast, and photographer. You two often had late nights together after watching Will, where you would just listen to his mixtapes in a comfortable silence, messing with Jonathan's camera and taking pictures.
Kelly's eyes looked at the missing poster; the face on the left was Will's, the other was yours. She and Jonathan shared a small, knowing look at one another, grieving for their respective friend.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 1982.
"How about..." you flash a pose, a damsel in distress. "Hurry, Jonathan, my leg is cramping!" Jonathan quickly gets into position and snaps the. camera, a flash temporarily blinding you. As quickly as the flash hits you, you're on his bed next to him, waiting for the Polaroid to eject.
Tonight marked the third night you two spent together. Joyce was working late tonight, and Will was fast asleep.
You grabbed the Polaroid and shook it, seeing the image slowly come to life. You couldn't help but smile and admire yourself, considering you were in pajamas with hair rollers. Faint music played in the background, a mixtape that you and Jonathan both made.
How you ended up here is a bit...odd. Jonathan is a boy who always keeps to himself, never speaking unless spoken to, and even then, he mostly just listens. You two had the same chemistry class, and you were desperately struggling. Instead of simply struggling, you swallowed your pride and asked for help, who happened to sit next to you. The more sessions you had with Jonathan, the more you realized that he was quite an interesting person behind closed doors.
"It's nice, I like it." You say, looking around Jonathan's room as if you hadn't already seen everything there's to see. Jonathan stays quiet, but you know he acknowledged you. "You should really try and get clients to grow your portfolio."
Jonathan smiled. "How?"
"Asking kids around at school, duh." You roll your eyes and hop off of his bed. "I can ask for you?"
"No, it's fine, really."
"What? Why not? You know, you could, like, get some sexy photos of girls. They're into this kinda stuff." You start rummaging through some of the albums of photos he already has. Most are of nature, a good chunk of his mother, Mrs. Byers, and Will, the boy you've begun to babysit after school on weekdays when Jonathan and Mrs. Byers work. "Just sayin'."
Jonathan rolls his eyes at your comment. "Is that all you care about?"
"No, but I'm sure it's all that you think about. It's what all teenage boys think." Your eyes land on an odd photo. It's dark and also has a dark figure. "What's this?"
"Huh?" Jonathan gets up and comes up next to you. "I don't remember taking that..." he grabs the photo from your hand and examines it closely. He flips it, and there's no label. Jonathan always labels his Polaroids. How odd.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ . . . ?
The air is cold. The floor is sticky. You feel wet. You're shivering, you gave your jacket to Will, and had nothing but a thin long-sleeve shirt between you and the fall air. Will was quietly asleep, still shivering. You laid a hand on his arm as you kept a close eye on your surroundings, trying to make out just where you were. The forest you were in was exactly like the one near the Byers residence, just with a red hue.
Your mind begins running as you get up and peek outside of Castle Byers. Everything is exactly the same, just dark. You've been here for only God knows how long, and it feels like an eternity. Your eyes shift back on Will; he's cold and wet. If you don't get him somewhere warmer, he might get sick. If everything truly is the same here, why not try to give a call?
You quickly grab your backpack and pull out your English notebook and a pen. You begin scribbling: 'WILL, WENT OUT TO FIND HELP. DON'T FOLLOW. STAY HERE! BE BACK SOON.' You tucked the note into his jacket to ensure he would find it when he woke up and grabbed a small flashlight that was lying idly in Castle Byers.
The walk feels endless. There are loud cracks of lightning that make you jump just about every time, frantically looking around for those weird creatures that drag you and Will down here. So far, so good. You slowly open the door to the Byers' residence before hurrying to the home phone. You can barely feel or move your fingers, both out of fear and coldness, as you slowly spin the dial on the phone to call Joyce. There's a slow dial tone, you shut your eyes, hoping that someone picks up this time.
"...Hello!? Will, baby!? Where are you!?"
Oh my god. Your hands grip the phone tighter than ever. "Mrs. Byers!? Mrs. Byers! Can you hear me!? It's Y/N!" You hold the phone even closer to your ear as the voice slowly drifts to static and makes a POP! "...Mrs Byers? Jonathan?"Shit. You can use the house for a second phone, which you may recall was always in Jonathan's room.
You repeat the same as before, shakily dialing the phone number and waiting for the infamous ring. It only has to ring once before this time, and Jonathan picks up. "Hello!? Y/N, was that you!? Where's Will!? Where are you guys--"
POP! The phone bursts again. You begin to visualize a house that's closest to the Byers. That's it, it's Kelly's. You sprint before your mind can even make a decision through the forest and onto the road, your car still off on the shoulder, lights flickering. You stop, feeling your pockets for your keys, the familiar jangle heard as you grab them and run to your trunk. There's the baseball bat that's been sitting in your trunk for ages now, after you picked up your brother from practice and he seemingly forgot about.
Jonathan and Joyce begin seeing their lights flicker across their house, and out the door, the headlights of their cars begin flickering. Hopper raised an eyebrow.
There's a loud slam as you shut the trunk and begin running towards Kelly's house. Your hand wraps around the doorknob, locked. You begin pounding against the door before huffing and swinging your bat. After a few short tries, the door is broken just enough for you to enter.
Kelly whipped her head, noticing her front porch light flickering. She got up and opened the door; perhaps the pizza she ordered was here. Nothing.
The door slowly opens, and you run to the home phone.
The phone rings behind her. Maybe it's the pizza guy telling her he would be late. That's alright, the pizza delivery boy is quite cute, anyway. She grabbed the phone.
"Kelly!? It's Y/N I need your help--"
"Huh!? Who is this!? Where's my damn pizza--"
POP! This isn't a very fun game. You groan and start thinking again, leaning against the wall. Kelly lived in the same neighborhood as...
...Steve. Wonderful. Like he would help you.
You need help, though. To give the town a sign that you and Will are very much alive. You begin jogging down the road, your lungs and throat hurting from running the most you have in a while.
Kelly looked at her phone in confusion. Her lights began flickering again, this time moving out the door. She slowly followed them, noticing the flickering moving down the street and making a turn to the boy next door, Steve Harrington. She was too hungry to deal with this.
You stand in front of the Harrington residence. The luxurious house makes you seethe with jealousy. His pool was bigger than yours and was heated, something you didn't have. You begin wondering how good that house party he threw was. The pool was empty, though. The gate that led into the backyard was also open, and you let yourself in. Surely Steve had multiple phones, so you could make a clear message for him.
There's a squeal to your left, a feminine one at that. Your head whips, seeing a young woman being dragged, she's gripping onto the handrails of the pool, knuckles turning white.
"Barbra?" you mutter, confused. You didn't know Barbra well; you two shared a few classes together, but that was about it. You didn't mind her too much; you were only not a fan because she's best friends with Nancy. Your eyes move from her knuckles up to what exactly is dragging her, the very thing that also dragged you and Will to this hellhole.
Your heart sinks in your chest, eyes widening. You look at Barbra, then at the creature. Half of you want to save the girl, and the other screams to run away. If you just get your message through, maybe it could save all three of you. You begin slowly running away and moving the sliding door to go to the first home phone, looking at the yellow phone book to find the Harringtons' home phone.
The loud ring of the phone startles both Steve and Nancy out of their makeout session. Steve sighed in frustration but quickly recomposed himself to continue. After the second and third ring, Nancy smiled and backed away from Steve. "You should answer. What if it's your parents?"
"So?"
"Maybe they're checking in on you." Nancy continues, and Steve ponders for a minute before grabbing the phone, sighing a half-assed hello.
"Steve! It's Y/N," you begin yelling, squeezing your eyes shut in hopes the phone doesn't pop again. There's a crackle.
"What?"
"Look, Steve, I need you to tell Hopper that--"
POP! You run to grab another phone and repeat the numbers. A confused Steve picks up. "You need to tell Hopper that Will and I are alive!"
"Alive? Where the hell are you two?" Steve covers his other ear to try and listen better through all the static. "The whole town is looking for you guys." Nancy comes into the room, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion about who he's talking to.
"I-- I don't know where we are, but--"
"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Steve sneers. He hangs up.
Your eyes fall on another phone. This is your last chance.
The phone rings from a different room. A frustrated Steve picks up. "Look, Y/N, if this is your way of getting back at me, you win; I don't care anymore. You've had your fun, just stop this sick joke."
"STEVE! This isn't a damn joke, you dimwit! God, you're so insufferable! Can you please tell Hop that we're alive and to inspect the shed at the Byers!?" you yell, your face is hot with frustration.
"What? No. Just come out of hiding, Y/N. You win, the whole town loves you. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Is he for real? Your grip tightens. "I'm not joking, plea--"
POP! Steve has his eyebrows furrowed, and his cheeks are flushed. He hates this game he's playing with you, competing for the top spot for popularity. He feels like he's been humiliated and humbled, realizing just how many people miss and are looking for you. He slams the phone back into the receiver.
You yell in frustration. Why would the moron ever listen in the first place? There's no relying on the guy with hair bigger than his own brain. You throw the phone across the room, brushing your hands past your face and into your hair, confused about where to continue from here.
TAGLIST tags as of 11/27 at 12:40 am! join HERE.
@darkworldlover , @corrodeddeadlydoll , @lalalalalalalaland , @juninnyxriddle , @mattelbaby , @saralb265 , @pinkribboncoco , @kikilovesdankmemes , @levibabymama , @yuyita-rosier , @cherrylooney , @venusbabysblog , @xletsrunaway-together , @leclrc16s , @purplepiratephantom , @wherespr1nce , @insideoutjulie , @starrlovee , @candelagil , @snealeyyy , @nothere-forlong , @blurrygir1 , @Wildvampireknight , @shouldakissedyouanyway , @heartsforhischier , @aadoresh99 , @Mrsnarnian , @adribarbie , @ahoytherebean , @tillbots , @salvatt1 , @cityof-4ngels , @harrystylesswif3 , @lou-0111 , @wicca-void , @minaxcarter , @crazylady20 , @ellie-bellie-29 , @90smusee , @firstlyferrari , @underurmoonlight , @katgotnapped , @gods-menace , @eyeswoutaface , @xoxo-ada . . . i literally don't know why some don't show up but i promise im adding all u LOL
