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skyeeuphixia2 · 2 months ago

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𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙴𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝

𝚂𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝟷 ~ 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴

'Holly, Jolly'

...

Y/n pulled up outside her house, turned the engine off to her car, allowing silence to settle around her, processing the events of the night, exhaling slowly. There was a faint glow from the living room window, her Mom had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV again.

She slowly entered the house, wincing slightly as the door creaked, but succeeding in not waking her mom. She slowly started making her way over to her room before a voice cut through the silence.

"Whose shirt is that?"

Y/n jumped, turning toward the kitchen, to find Dustin, holding a glass of water, his hair messy. His eyes however were wide awake and squinting at her suspiciously.

"Jesus Dustin!" She whisper shouts, clutching her chest, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

He ignored her question, pointing acusingly at the oversized shirt, "You don't own any shirts like that, your shirts don't smell like cheap cologne and bad decisions,"

She rolled her eyes, tossing her keys into the dish on a side table, walking towards her room.

"Where were you really?" He interrogates as if he had just found the prime suspect in a crime, following her.

"Out," She answers plainly, shutting her bedroom door behind her to avoid the conversation, but Dustin barges in.

"Dustin!" she hissed.

"Out with who?" he pressed.

Y/n sighed, knowing he wouldn't drop it. "Nancy invited me to a party," she admitted.

"A party?! You chose to go to a party instead of helping out Mike, Lucas, and me?" He says, his tone laced with disappointment, which made Y/n's chest clench with guilt.

"Well, when you put it like that..." She sighs, sitting on her bed, "I'm sorry Dustin, there were only six of us and the music was shit, it was hardly a party, I had to go to try and stop Nancy make any stupid decisions,"

"And did you?" Dusitn asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, she's spending the night at Steve Harrington's house so what do you think? And before you ask, yes this is his shirt, he offered it after I got soaked after being splashed from the edge of the pool,"

"Steve Harrington?! You went to a party at Steve Harrignton's house?! And you're wearing his shirt?! My sister? My cool, badass, caring sister?! Next thing I know, you're gonna start styling your hair like his," he teased. "Or wearing sunglasses indoors."

"I will smother you in your sleep," she deadpanned.

Dustin snorted, but then got serious, "You're not going to start acting like the popular kids are you?"

She sighs, seeing her brothers worry. She removes Steve's shirt, chucking it carelessly on the floor in the corner of her room, switching it for a hoodie. She walks over to Dustin and ruffles his curls. "No Dustin, it was a one-time thing. I went to a party, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm suddenly ditching my leather jacket for pom-poms and bad decisions."

Dustin smiles, "Good, cause if you ever stopped hanging out with me because you got cool friends-"

"You have full permission to smack me upside the head and banish me from the party. Besides, why would I ditch you for cool people when you're the coolest person in the world?" she says, making him smile brightly.

"Now, what happened with Eleven this evening? Get anything?" She asks, sitting back on her bed.

Dustin's face gets serious as he comes and sits by her, fiddling with her childhood stuffed animal 'bunny'. "She started acting strange, well stranger. She picked up Will's D&D character and identified it as his. Mike asked where he is and she flipped the board over and placed his piece in the middle of it, saying he was hiding."

"From those bad men she was talking about?"

"That's what we thought, but she said no, she put the Demogorgon on the board opposite Will,"

Y/n sat up slightly. "So Wills hiding...from the Demogorgon?" She asked, not entirely convinced, "Ok sure...but...why turn the board over?"

"Don't know," Dustin shrugged.

Y/n rubbed her face, exhaustion starting to set in. "This is all so messed up. Just...see what more you can get out of her, and don't go exploring unless I'm there, ok?" She asks, to which Dustin nods. She smiles and hugs him. "Now get out nerd, I need my beauty sleep,"

"More like you need a beauty coma," He teased, Y/n throwing a pillow at him which he dodged as he ran out the room laughing, shutting the door behind him.She chuckled, shaking her head as she kicked off her shoes and climbed under the covers. Tonight had been a mess.

One thing was certain though...

She wasn't changing for anyone.

...

Y/n approached Nancy, who was putting her stuff in her locker, looking extremely on edge, and about ready to climb into her locker to avoid people. "You good?"

She jumped slightly, not expecting her friend to be there, before looking at her, letting out a shaky breath, "Yeah I just, I feel like everyone's staring at me,"

Y/n looked around noting the occasional person looking at Nancy. Tommy, and Carols doing no doubt. "Don't worry about it," Y/n assured her, leaning casually against the lockers. "Rumors fizzle out quickly here. As soon as someone else sleeps with someone, which—knowing this place—won't take long, people will forget all about you."

Nancy groaned, shutting her locker with a dull clang and rubbing her temples.

"Speaking of sleeping with people, though—" Y/n smirked.

Nancy's face turned scarlet. "Oh my god,"

"How was it?" Y/n asked, unable to resist teasing.

"It...was fine," Nancy sighed.

Y/n raised her eyebrow. "Fine?"

"Yeah,"

"That's it?"

"Yes," she answered, clearly not going to go into any more details, whether that was from embarrassment or regret, Y/n didn't know. Before Y/n could push the subject any further, Nancy changed the subject. "Did Barb get to her car alright?"

Y/n furrows her eyebrows, frowning slightly, "shouldn't you know, she waited for you after all,"

Nancy blinked, confusion flickering across her features. "She did? I didn't see her when I left,"

Y/n's stomach twisted. That was... odd.

Before she could say anything, she spotted Steve making his way over, wearing that signature Harrington confidence like a damn accessory, well he was clearly way more pleased aboul last night than Nancy was.

"You know what? There's ten minutes until class...I'll go check the library," Y/n said, suddenly feeling like she needed to move, Nancy nodding before she walked off.

Y/n goes to the library, searching every aisle, but with little success, she checks a few classrooms on the way to her first class, but still nothing. She could feel her stomach dropping with each passing minute. Nancy was already in her seat, watching the door expectantly as Y/n came in, her whole demeanor dropping slightly when she saw Y/n come in without Barb.

Nancy leaned forward, tapping the shoulder of the girl in front of her, the girl turning around. "Hey Ally, Where's Barb?"

Ally gives her a slightly confused look, "Um, shouldn't you know?"

"You haven't seen her anywhere?"

Ally shakes her head and turns back to face the front. Nancy and Y/n looked at each other with concerned faces. An uneasy feeling creeping in.

Something was really wrong.

...

Y/n glanced around the lunch hall, feeling a little anxious. With Barb not here, she didn't really have anyone to sit with. Outside of Barb and Nancy, her only other friend in her year was Robin Buckley, but it didn't look like Robin was in today either, and Johnathan was still avoiding anyone and everyone. That left her with two options: sitting with Nancy and her group or eating in a toilet stall. The choice wasn't great, but it was obvious...Nancy it was. She walked over to Nancy who had just finished getting her lunch, "Hey Nance...can I sit with you?"

"Yeah of course," Nancy answers kindly, knowing that sitting with Steve, Carol and Tommy was the last thing she wanted to do, but that she didn't want to sit alone.

"No, I swear. Look at it. It's totally frostbite," They hear Carol say as the approach the table. Carol's foot was on the table as she showed off a gross-looking mark on her ankle, not frostbite, definitely just a bump or cut, but Carol failed kindergarten so...

"It was a heated pool," Tommy points out, which was maybed the smartest thing she had ever heard him say. Nancy and Y/n both sit down on the same side as Steve, Nancy in the middle.

"Well if it's not frostbite what is it?" She whined.

"Ugh, I don't care what it is, it's disgusting!" Steve grimiced, "Get it off the table,"

Carol rolled her eyes but finally dropped her foot, pouting. Nancy leaned forward slightly, her expression shifting to something more serious. "Hey, Tommy. When you left last night, did you see Barb?"

"What?"

"Barbara," Y/n said flatly, not in the mood for games. "Red hair? Big glasses? You've made fun of her almost every day since fourth grade."

"She's not here today," Nancy adds.

Tommy smirked, the corner of his mouth twitching like he was about to make a joke. "I seriously have no idea who you're talking about," Carol giggles at his 'joke'.

Steve rolls his eyes at his friend's antics, "Cmon don't be an ass man. Did you...did you see her leave last night or not?"

Tommy huffs slightly before answering, as if it was a massive inconveniace to him, "No. She was gone when we left,"

"Probably couldn't stand listening to all that moaning," Carol teased, before letting out mocking moans, "Oh Steve!"

Tommy laughs and joins in, pounding on the table making moaning and grunting noises, Carol continued to moan Steve's name as people around them start looking. Nancy looks down clearly mortified, Y/n just sitting there feeling really awkward and uncomfortable, while Steve tries to hide a smirk and a laugh, haphazardly trying to get them to stop before turning to Nancy.

"Listen I'm sure she's fine...she's probably just skipping or something,"

Y/n was less than convinced, Barbra and skipping didn't belong in the same sentence. She got up and looked towards Nancy, feeling extremely uncomfortable being sat with Steve, Tommy and Carol. "I just remembered, I have...tutoring, I gotta go," Wandering off before anyone could call out her excuse.

...

Y/n had avoided Nancy, Steve, Tommy, and Carol for the rest of the day. She felt bad for avoiding Nancy, but all that stuff with her and Steve was just making her more and more uncomfortable and being around Steve was simply unbareable to her. However as she was leaving, eager to get home soon as she was going to help her brother, Mike, and Lucas look for Will again, she spotted Nancy by one of the pay phones, looking incredibly upset, so she went over to her.

"You know what. I just remembered...she's at the library. Yeah...yeah I will. Sorry to bother you," She hangs up the phone, her hands shaking as she turned to face Y/n. "Barb didn't go home last night,"

Y/n feels her chest tighten with worry as the words leave her mouth.

"I think Barb's missing," She practically whimpers.

"There...there has to be some sort of logical explanation, Nance," trying to keep her voice steady. Logical explanations hadn't exactly gotten her anywhere this last week, what with a telekinetic girl and Will supposedly hiding from a fictional monster. Logic hadn't exactly been on her side recently.

"Yeah," Nancy said sounding less than convinced, her eyes suddenly set on something. Y/n's gaze followed Nancy's, spotting something that made her blood boil. Across the lot, Steve, Carol, some random girl, and Tommy were crowded around Jonathan's car. Tommy had just yanked Jonathan's bag from him, and now Steve was rifling through it, pulling things out like they had every right to.

"What the fuck?!" Y/n says, feeling anger rising in her chest, as she starts walking with purpose towards them, ready to jump in and help her friend, Nancy following close behind.

"What's going on?" Nancy asks as the two of them reach the group.

"Ah here are the girls on film," Tommy says, a slight smirk on his face as Y/n and Nancy look at him with confused faces.

"What?" Y/n asked, frowning.

"This creep was spying on us last night," Carol sneers before handing a photo to Nancy, "Was probably saving this one for later,"

The photo was of Nancy in the window of Steve's room, taking her top off. She was facing away from the camera thankfully, so you could just see the back of her head, her back, and the back of her bra, but it was still extremely invasive. Y/n and Nancy looked at the photo, disappointed and hurt expressions on their faces, Nancy's face paling slightly. Y/n was about to say something before Steve interrupted.

"Oh don't feel left out, Henderson. The creeps into losers too," He says, Y/n not even noticing the insult as she was too busy looking at the photo he handed her. This one was of her, just after she had been soaked by Tommy and Carol. You could see her pissed-off expression, her top in her hand, leaving her in just her bra, her cleavage on full display, and though slightly cut off, you could see Steve to the side of her, laughing.

"Johnathan, what the fuck?" She says, her voice not even angry, just genuinely confused and disappointed in her friend. Johnathan looked down, completely ashamed of himself.

Steve clicks his tongue, "See you can tell that he knows it's wrong but...Man that's the thing about perverts. It's hardwired into 'em," He says, messing with Johnathans clothes, "They just can't help themselves," With that, he started tearing the photos apart, pieces fluttering to the ground like dead leaves.

"So," Steve continues, "we'll have to take away his toy," He says, walking over to his bag and pulling out Johnathan's beloved camera.

"No please not the camera," Johnathan begs, trying to go over but being pushed back by Tommy. But surprisingly, Steve stops him, holding the camera.

"No no, wait, Tommy, Tommy. It's ok. Here you go, man," For a breif moment, it looked like Steve was genuinly going to give him the camera, For a brief second, it looked like he might actually give it back. He held it out, letting Jonathan reach for it...

Then dropped it

Causing it to shatter to pieces as it hit the ground. Y/n and Nancy gasped and Johnathan looked devastated.

"Come on, the games about to start," Steve says before walking off, Tommy, Caro,l and the random girl following, all laughing and taunting Johnathan as they leave.

Johnathan drops to his knees trying to pick up all the pieces he could, Y/n also bends down to help but avoids eye contact with him. Nancy hesitates but also bends down, quickly grabbing the photo of her and a photo of Barb, before running off when Steve called for her.

"You shouldn't have taken those photos, Johnathan," She says, her voice laced with disappointment as she pockets the photo of her.

"I'm sorry..." He mutters guiltily, "I-"

"I have to go," She didn't let him finish. She stood up, brushing her hands off. "I'm helping the party look for Will," She mutters before getting up and going to her car. She looks at the photo for a few seconds before ripping it up, putting the pieces in a pocket in the passenger side sun visor, flipping it up before starting her car and driving off.

...

"Sorry I'm late," Y/n says running over to the party as they were waiting on the grassy hill by Mikes house, Eleven with them. Breathing heavily once she reached them as she had ran from her car.

"It's fine, we just got here," Lucas says, shrugging.

"Hi El," She says smiling at the girl.

"Y/n," She says quietly, a small smile on her face, making Y/n smile more.

"Right c'mon lets go," Mike says, starting to mount his bike but Y/n stops him, grabbing his chin and inspecting it.

"Woah, woah, woah. What's this?" She says, looking at a nasty-looking cut on his chin.

"Nothing," Mike he muttered, brushing her hand off.

"Troy pushed him," Dustin buts in, ignoring Mike's glare.

Y/n sighs, leaning down and talking lowly to Mike, "Mike, next time something happens with this kid...don't be afraid to kick him in the dick," she says, making all three of the boys chuckle, and Eleven tilt her head in confusion. "Now c'mon lets go," she says, and they all set off.

The five of them made their way into the woods, the boys pushing their bikes as they trudged through Mirkwood. Skye, Dustin, and Lucas trailed behind Mike and Eleven, watching the way he glanced at her every few seconds.

"He's totally got a crush on her," Dustin says.

"Ew," Lucas grimeces.

"I think it's cute," Y/n smiles watching the boy and girl with an amused smile.

"Cute? No way, it's gross," Lucas says, gagging.

"Now Lucas, there comes a time in all young boys' lives where you start to take interest in the opposite gender, it's perfectly natural," She teases as the two boys dramatically gag and cover try to cover their ears while pushing their bikes. Skye just laughs, walking quicker to walk with Eleven and Mike, as they continue to walk through Mirkwood, Eleven guiding them to wherever Will is.

It was past dark when they eventually reached wherever Eleven was taking them...Wills house? Well, that made no sense, surely Joyce would've noticed if Will had been home the whole time. Eleven turns around to face them, talking quietly, "Here,"

"Sweetheart, this is his house, he can't be here," Y/n says softly.

Eleven looked up at her, eyes pleading. "Hiding,"

"No, no. This is where he lives. He's missing from here. Understand?" Mike explains.

Lucas and Dustin catch up, both breathing heavily, "What are we doing here?"

"She says Will is hiding here," Y/n sighs, trying to hide the fact that she was a little frustrated that they had walked for hours for seemingly nothing.

"Um no!" Lucas says, his patience, if he even had any to begin with, wearing extremely thin for the millionth time in the last few days.

Dustin huffed, "I swear if we walked all the way out here for nothing-"

"That's exactly what we did!" Lucas interrupts, throwing his arms up. "I told you she doesn't know what the hell she's talking about!"

Mike at this point was also done with everything, facing Eleven, "Why did you bring us here?" But Eleven only stammers, not getting a response out before Lucas chimes in once again.

"Mike, don't waste your time with her,"

"What do you want us to do then?" Mike shot back.

"Call the cops like we should have done yesterday!"

As the boys argue, voices beginning to overlap, Dustin pulls on Y/n's sleeve, grabbing her attention and pointing in the direction of the road, where distant blue and red lights could be seen, sirens slowly getting louder and louder.

"We are not calling the cops!"

"Hey guys?"

"What other choice do we-"

"Boys!" Y/n shouts getting their attention, as they now all spot two police cars and an ambulance speeding in the direction of the creek.

"Will..." Mike says quietly, before they all rush to grab their bikes, all fighting forgotten about. El getting on behind Mike, and Y/n clambering onto Dustin's bike, Dustin getting on behind her. They peddle harder than they ever did before, close behind the speeding emergency vehicles. They arrive at the creak, skidding to a stop, hiding behind the fire truck, peaking out to watch what was happening. There were paramedics, firemen, and police everywhere, including chief Hopper. They watched as they pulled a body from the water, Y/n recognizing that red gilet anywhere. Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried to hold back tears.

Mike shook his head, staring at the scene, "It's not Will. It can't be,"

Y/n feels a body pressing into hers. She looks away from Will's body to see Dustin pressing himself into her for any sign of comfort, unable to take his eyes away. Y/n puts an arm around him, using her hand to turn his face into her side.

"It's Will...It's really Will," Lucas says his voice wobbling slightly, as Y/n wraps an arm around him too, giving him a comforting kiss on the top of his head.

Mike walks away slightly, not wanting to watch the scene anymore, followed by Eleven who reaches out for him, "Mike..."

Mike slaps her hand away, "Mike, Mike what?!" He almost shouts at her, his voice filled with emotion and betrayal, "You were supposed to help us find him alive! You said he was alive! Why did you lie to us?! What is wrong with you?! What is wrong with you?!"

"Mike she had no way of knowing," Y/n said quietly, her voice openly trembling as she tried to keep it together.

"Mike..." El said quietly, not knowing what to tell him.

"What?!" He shouts, waiting for a response, but not getting one. He turns and storms over to his bike.

"Mike. Come on. Don't do this man," Lucas says, tears streaming down his face but not moving away from Y/n's hold. "Mike,"

"Mike, where are you going?" Dustin also calls as Mike starts to storm away on his bike.

"Micheal!" Y/n calls after him, but it was no use. He was gone.

Eleven turns round and hugs Y/n's middle, crying into her. Y/n holds the three crying kids close, allowing her tears to fall looking back at Will's body, one last time.

He was gone.

...

Y/n had made sure Lucas and Eleven both made it home safe, dropping Eleven off at Mike's house, although she was probably the last person Mike wanted to see right now. She was led in bed, trying to get some sleep, but all she could think of was Will, and Johnathan...and poor Joyce and how they must be feeling after trying so hard to find him. How must they be feeling after fighting so hard, after never giving up, only to lose him anyway?

Her thoughts also kept going to the night Will went missing. It could have been Dustin...the body could have been Dustins. The thought causing her to almost go into a spiral and panic.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when there was a knock at her door. "Come in,"

The door slowly opens and Dustin steps in. His face still streamed with tears, his whole body trembling slightly. He looked so...small. The sight of her brother in this state devastated her. He spoke, his voice coming out small and shakey, "Can I stay with you?"

"Of course," She whispers, pulling back her sheets and opening her arms to him. He instantly walks over and gets in, hugging her tightly and crying into her, sobbing loudly. Y/n covers him with the duvet, holding him tightly not daring to let him go.

"I've got you, Dusty...I've got you," She stroked his curls gently, quietly shushing him. Little by little, his breathing slowed, the tremors fading as exhaustion finally overtook him. Eventually, she felt herself drift too, the weight of the day finally pulling her under.

(fin)

Taglist: @sadieshairbrush @springflwer07 @tagakalat @snegyysnapped

#dustin henderson #dustin henderson x reader #eleven hopper #jim hopper #johnathan byers #joyce byers #lucas sinclair #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #stranger things #80s #upside down #steve harrington x reader

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skyeeuphixia2 · 2 months ago

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𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙴𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝

𝚂𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝟷 ~ 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝚆𝙾

'The Weirdo on Maple Street'

...

Y/n had not expected the search for Will to go the way it did. In all honesty, she didn't think that they were going to find Will or anything for that matter. And yet now they had essentially kidnapped a young, traumatized girl. The girl was sat on the couch in Mike's basement, her breath coming in small, paniced bursts, looking anywhere but at the four people standing opposite her.

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asks, grabbing her attention.

"Where's your hair, do you have cancer?" Dustin blurted out, earning him a swift smack on the shoulder by Y/n who just shook her head at him and his inappropriate question.

"Did you run away?" Lucas asks next, the three boys at this point bombarding the girl with questions, the rapid-fire questioning only made the girl shrink further into herself, her hands gripping the fabric of Mike's couch as if it could somehow protect her.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Is that blood?"

"Guys you're freaking the poor girl out," Y/n interjected, crossing her arms.

"She's freaking me out!" Lucas argued back, and Y/n couldn't blame him, if she wasn't the adult in this situation, she would probably also be freaking out way more.

"I bet she's deaf!" Dustin chimes in before clapping in her face, understandably making her flinch, "Not deaf..."

"Yeah no shit Dust," Y/n sighs, "Look guys, that's enough now, from all of you. She's scared, cold, and clearly overwhelmed by all your questions. Now, Mike, do you have any dry clothes you can quickly grab for her to borrow?"

Mike nodded and wandered off to a nearby laundry basket, searching through it. A low growl of thunder rattles the house slightly, making the girl flinch as Lucas, Dustin, and Y/n continue to watch her, Y/n noting how hyper-aware and on edge she was. Mike returns with a thick jumper and some grey sweatpants. He holds them out to the girl who takes them cautiously. She stood up and, without warning, began to take off the T-shirt. "OH MY GOD!" The boys lost their shit, all scrambling to look away ad yelling over each other in panic. Y/n quickly but gently grabs her hand, stopping her from revealing too much.

"Woah! Slow down, sweetheart. Um, when changing, you need to do it away from others, privacy," She tries to explain as simply as she could, she turns her head to Mike, "Hey Mike," 'Show her to the bathroom,' she mouths, before letting Mike guide the girl away.

"This is crazy!" Dustin exclaims, the three of them watching as the girl simply responds 'no' and 'yes' to a few of Mike's questions.

"Mental," Lucas agreed.

"Well at least she can talk," Mike reasons, walking over to join them.

"She said no and yes, your three-year-old sister says more," Lucas quips.

"She tried to get naked!"

"She was changing Dustin," Y/n corrected, "She clearly didn't understand."

"There's something seriously wrong with her, like wrong in the head," Lucas decides, twirling his finger by his head.

"She just went like-" Dustin mimics her taking her T-shirt off, knocking his cap off in the process, Y/n rolling her eyes, and grabbing it off the floor.

"I bet she escaped from Pennherst," Lucas theorized.

"From where?" Mike asks, unconvinced.

"The nuthouse in Kerley County,"

"Got a lot of family there?" Dustin teased.

"Bite me! But seriously, think about it, that would explain her shaved hair, and why she's so crazy-"

"Why she went like-" Dustin repeated the gesture.

"Point made, Dustin," Y/n grumbles, hitting him lightly with his hat.

"She's an escapee, is the point, a psycho!"

"Like Michael Myers!" Dustin gasped, his eyes widening.

"Exactly! We never should have brought her here!" Lucas declared.

"So what, we should have just left her out in the storm?" Mike argues, thinking his friend was being completely unreasonable.

"Yes! We went out to find Will, not another problem!"

"Right, all of you shut it!" Y/n steps in, tired of their bickering, "Lucas, Dustin, I understand that this is a crazy and messed up situation, but that does not give either of you the right to be insensitive jerks. She is tired, cold, and probably traumatized, and all you're focused on is calling her crazy. How would you feel if someone found Will and started treating him the way you two are treating her right now?" She scolds both Lucas and Dustin, who look down guiltily. "Now, Mike, you let her stay here for the night, in the morning, get her to ring your doorbell, your mom will know what to do and who to call, and that way you guys can avoid getting into trouble for sneaking out tonight."

Mike nods and Lucas and Dustin don't dare try and protest against her, she was kinda scary when she was serious like this, they much preferred when she was dressing up to play D and D with them, or taking them to diners after school. Lucas and Dustin couldn't believe they were agreeing to this, but it was better than anything they would have come up with. Maybe it was a good thing Y/n had caught Dustin sneaking out.

...

Y/n yawned as she made her way through the crowded school halls, she hadn't gotten much sleep last night, she was too busy worrying if Mike would be able to successfully pull off their plan, or if he had already been caught. She started to make her way to Barb and Nancy, letting out a small smile of relief, however, groaning internally when she noticed that Steve, Carol, and Tommy H were also there. She was not in the mood to deal with them. She never was. But she hadn't spoken to Nancy or Barb since before Hopper questioned her, so she owed them answers as to what happened. So reluctantly, she made her way over.

"Good call," she hears Tommy comment on something that Steve had said, making Steve nudge him lightly.

"Hey," She says casually, facing Barb and Nancy, not caring that she was interrupting whatever Steve was talking about.

"Hey, what happened with the Chief yesterday?" Nancy asked her friend, concerned.

"Wanted to ask me about Will," She said simply, Nancy nodding in understanding, before looking over to Steve, Tommy, and Carol awkwardly, not knowing how to introduce her to them.

"Um, you guys know Y/n," She says, hoping to introduce them in a way that wouldn't cause Y/n to set off World War Three.

"Who?" Carol scoffed, looking Y/n up and down.

"Oh yeah, you're the loser that uh, plays the ukulele or something, right?" Steve asks, he wasn't even necessarily trying to insult her; it was just habit. The word 'loser' had been thrown at Y/n so often that he barely thought about it.

"The guitar," she says through gritted teeth, her fists clenching at her sides. The mention of her beloved instrument caused a familiar bitterness to crash over her. Freshman year. Steve. The broken guitar. She glared at him, her stare sharp enough to take an involuntary step back.

"Oh yeah, Y/n 'the loser' Henderson, right? Where'd that name come from anyway?" Carol asked, grinning obnoxiously.

"You, Carol," Y/n says bluntly, meeting her gaze dead on, which both Carol and Tommy just thought was the funniest thing in the world, Steve also chuckling along.

"So the chief asked you about that missing kid?" Tommy cut in, his tone mocking and insensitive "Not a shocker, it's always the quiet ones that are doing creepy shit."

"Actually my younger brother's his best friend, so I know the kid well, but thanks for your brilliant analysis," She says, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever," Steve muttered, clearly bored with the conversation. His attention was back on Nancy. "So are you in?"

"In for what?" Nancy asks cluelessly.

"No parents, big house," Carol hinted.

"A party?"

"Ding ding ding"

"But it's Tuesday," She said in slight surprise. The innocence in her tone was picked up on by Carol and Tommy, who sniggered at her.

"C'mon, it'll be lowkey, it'll just be us, you can bring your friends," He says smoothly, not even bothering to look in Y/n or Barb's direction, not that Y/n wanted to be invited. At all. "Waddya say, you in or out?"

"Um..." Nancy starts to consider it before her train of thought is interrupted by Carol's voice ringing out in disgust.

"Oh, God. Look," She says, looking towards something, or someone. The four of them look to where Carol is gazing, spotting Johnathan pinning a missing person's flyer, which he had no doubt made, to the announcement board, the image making Y/n's chest tighten.

"Oh god, that's depressing," Steve says looking at Johnathan, though it's clear from his tone that he doesn't think the fact that Will is missing depressing, he just thinks Johnathan's existence is depressing.

"Should we say something?" Nancy asked, watching Johnathan sympathetically.

"I don't think he speaks," Carol sneered.

"How much you want to bet he killed him?" Tommy says cruelly.

"Dude, shut up," Steve scoffed, hitting him in the arm to shut him up. Y/n narrowed her eyes. She wasn't fooled. Steve wasn't defending Jonathan. He just wanted to look good in front of Nancy. Rolling her eyes, she turned away from the group and made her way over to Jonathan.

"Hey," she says, her tone soft as she gave him a sympathetic smile, one she knew he hated; he didn't want people to pity him, but how else was she supposed to look at him right now?

"Hey," He replied, his shoulders tense and voice quiet. Even though they were such close friends, he really didn't want to be around anyone at the moment.

"Listen I know I can't do or say anything to make this situation any better, it's all just...horrible. But, he's called Will the Wise for a reason," She says, making Johnathan smile slightly, "He's smart, wherever he is, he's going to think things through and be as safe as possible. The kids and I went out to look for him yesterday, I'm sure it won't be the last time we do,"

"Thanks, Y/n," Johnathan said sincerely, shifting slightly awkwardly as Nancy approached, all of them still under the watchful gazes of Steve, Tommy, Carol, and Barb. Nancy and Johnathan had never been as close as Y/n and Johnathan had been, which was always rather strange to Y/n, considering just how close Will and Mike were, maybe they were just too different.

"Hey...I just, I wanted to say you know, um...I'm sorry about everything," She says, choosing her words very carefully. Jonathan nods, his gaze briefly looking over to the people watching them, Barb continuing to observe, Carol shot him a judgemental glare, Tommy giving a rather off-putting wave and Steve rolling his eyes slightly and looking away. "Everyone's thinking about you," Nancy continued, "It sucks,"

"Yeah," He muttered, shifting uncomfortably.

"I'm sure he's fine," She offered. "He's a smart kid,"

The school bell saved them from any further awkwardness, "I have to go. Chemisty test," Nancy chuckles slightly, before hurrying off.

"See you, John," Y/n smiles, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze, making him smile, before heading off to math class.

...

"Come on, Y/n! You might have fun!" Nancy says as they make their way out of school, Steve close to Nancy's side like a lost puppy.

Y/n scoffed, "You and I clearly have very different ideas of fun, Nance,"

"Afraid you'll actually enjoy it and realize that you've been wasting your high school years being all nerdy and shit? Too cool for real fun?" Steve teases, his arm lazily slung around Nancy's shoulders.

"Afraid I'll lose brain cells more like," Y/n grumbles.

Steve rolled his eyes, "Seriously Henderson, what's your problem with me? Ok so I've called you a loser once or twice-"

"Try dozens" she cuts in.

"-but I don't think it warrants all this hatred toward me,"

"Do you want the list in alphabetical order or in order of severity?" Y/n smiles condescendingly at him, and Nancy interrupts before they can get into a full-blown argument in the parking lot.

"Just think about ?" She asks, "Please?"

Y/n sighs, "I'll think about it," she gives in, making Nancy smile and Steve smirk slightly.

Nancy suddenly looks at something, a confused look on her face, "Isn't that your brother?" She says, pointing across the car park.

Y/n furrows her eyebrows and looked to where Nancy was looking, sure enough, her brother was a few feet away, on his bike waving her over like a madman, a frantic look on his face, "See you," She mutters to Nancy before swiftly making her way over to him hearing Steve ask Nancy 'Seriously what's her problem?'.

Ignoring it, she closed the distance between her and her brother, "What's going on?"

"It's Mike!" he pants, clearly having come over as fast as possible. "He kept the girl!"

...

"Are you out of your mind?!" Lucas bursts out, and honestly, quite reasonably, they had a plan! A solid and sensible plan And yet here they were, in Mike's room, the strange girl sat cross-legged on his bed, looking at everyone inquisitively.

"Just listen to me!" Mike insisted.

"Mike, we had a plan!" Y/n accused, she didn't necessarily want to get rid of the girl quickly or anything, but they wouldn't be able to help her the way she needed to be. She needed an adult, not four kids sneaking around behind their parent's backs.

"She knows about Will!" He blurted.

That got their attention.

"What do you mean she knows about Will?" Dustin his voice cautious.

Mike grabs a photo from his dresser, the one of the boys after they had won the science fair, Johnathan had taken it, Y/n loved that photo, "She pointed at him, at his picture. She knew he was missing! I could tell,"

"You could tell?" Lucas asked, not believing him for a second.

"Think about it! Do you really think that it's a coincidence that we found her on Mirkwood? The same place that Will went missing,"

"Ok yes that is strange, Mike," Y/n agrees, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"And she said that bad people are after her! I think maybe these bad people are the same one that took Will. I think she knows what happened to him,"

"Ok but even if that is true, Mike, that's all the more reason to let your mom know so the right people can help her, and keep the 'bad men' away," Y/n argued.

"Exactly! And why doesn't she just tell us?!" Lucas snapped, before going up to her, towering over her, "Do you know where he is? Do you know where Will is?!" He shouts, grabbing her shoulders, Mike pushing him off her, and Y/n putting a hand on his shoulder, in hopes of grounding him slightly.

"Stop it, you're scaring her!"

"She should be scared! If you know where he is tell us!" Lucas says firmly, turning his attention back to her, but all she does is look at him nervously with wide eyes, flinching slightly at the volume of his voice. "This is nuts! We have to take her to your mom!"

"No! Eleven said telling any adults would put us all in danger?"

"What kind of danger?" Dustin asks, his voice laced with worry.

"Eleven?" Y/n frowned.

"Her name, El for short," He clarifies.

"Mike! What kind of danger?!" Dustin asks, his voice rising.

"Danger, danger!" Mike shouts back, raising his hand to Dustin's forehead mimicking a gun, before also pointing it at Y/n and then Lucas, who swatted his hand away.

"Mike this is ridiculous! Three twelve-year-olds and a 16-year-old aren't going to be able to defend her from bad men with guns if that's even true! You know who can? The police!" Y/n argued she understood Mike's point, but she couldn't let the boys put themselves in danger.

"Right, we're going back to plan A, we're telling you, Mom!" Lucas finalized, storming over to the door. But as he opens it, as if it had a mind of its own, slammed shut again, making the room shake slightly, Lucas looks shocked for a second before trying again, this time the door slams even harder, causing D&D characters to fall off Mikes dresser, the doors lock turning on its own with a click. All four of them look at it in shock, not fully believing what had just happened. Slowly, they turn around to face Eleven. All of them with shocked and scared expressions on their faces. She was stood up, glaring intensely in their direction, a single stream of blood trickling from her nose.

"No,"

...

Dinner was unusually quiet. Skye and Dustin picked at their plates, the tension from earlier still lingering between them. Across the room, their mother sat on the couch, absentmindedly stroking Mews while watching TV.

Everything felt... off.

Now that they knew Eleven had superpowers, handing her over to the police didn't seem like the best idea anymore. But keeping a secret this big? It weighed on them.

"Hey, mom?" Y/n asks, deciding to test her luck about going out later.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"There's an assembly on the football field at school today, it's in support of Will, can I go?"

Claudia sighs, "I don't know sweetie, it's not safe at this time..."

"The whole school will be there, big crowds and I'm sure some police will be there too," Y/n tries to convince her, she felt bad for lying, but she really didn't feel like dealing with Nancy or Barb the next morning getting upset with her for not going.

"Wait what assembly? I didn't know about this," Dustin says furrowing his eyebrows at her.

"I only found out today," She answers back casually, hoping he wouldn't push, lying to Dustin feeling way harsher than it did to her mom.

"But you're supposed to come back to the Wheelers with me, for the thing," he says, lowering his voice, talking about Eleven.

"I know, but it would be a really bad look if I'm not there, Barb and Nancy are also going," She reasons, "I'll still drop you off,"

"Hmmm ok honey, but be back by curfew," Claudia tells her. Y/n mutters out a quick 'will do' before standing up and taking her and Dustin's empty plates over to the sink to clean them before going to her room to get ready.

...

Y/n parked a few doors down from Steve's house, because like hell was she going to risk anyone she knew seeing her car parked outside Steve Harrington's place, she had already passed Barbara's car, so she was likely the last to arrive.

She rang the doorbell and waited. And waited. Five minutes passed before someone finally opened the door, the sound of loud laughter and shouting echoing from the backyard. Barbara appeared in the doorway, visibly relieved. "Y/n thank god! I don't think I could've handled these idiots alone any longer," She sighed as the two of them wandered out to the backyard.

"My patience is already wearing thin from hearing the screaming while waiting," She grumbles as the two step into the backyard, Tommy and Carol ignoring their existence as Tommy tries to throw a screaming Carol into the pool, Steve just giving Skye a casual nod before downing a beer and Nancy smiling and waving Y/n over.

"You came!" She says happily as Y/n sits next to her on the sun lounger, Barb sitting slightly away from them, rolling her eyes at Steve's antics.

"Wouldn't miss it," She says sarcastically, grimacing as Steve downs a second beer before collapsing into a sun lounger next to them, pulling out a cigarette.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" Nancy asks.

"You're not?"

"You are such a cliche, you do realize that?" She teased, her voice light but amused.

"You are a cliche, with your grades and your band practice," Steve retaliates.

"I am so not in band," She shot back.

"Sure, Henderson there, though, is the biggest cliche here, with your band T-shirts, your jackets, your sarcasm, and drums,"

"Guitar," she once again corrects, Nancy turning to give her a look that says 'don't start'.

"Whatever party girls, why don't you show us how it's done then?" He asks tossing a beer to Nancy, which she accepts with a plyfull grin, and then one to Y/n which she immediately shakes her head.

"No,"

"Aww come on," Steve pries, still holding it out to her.

"I'm driving," She says back firmly.

"Just stay here," He offers, not letting up.

"I'd rather die,"

Steve rolled his eyes, finally giving up and turning his attention to Nancy, who was poking a hole in her beer can with a small penknife. "You gotta make a little hole-"

"I got it," She says, somewhat smugly as she nailed it on the first try.

"Yeah, she's smart you douche," Tommy laughs, smashing his beer can on his head and throwing it to the side, so that's how he lost so many brain cells.

The three of them start chanting 'chug' as Nancy manages to down the whole thing, Y/n would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit impressed, but that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes alongside Barb. Nancy looks over to Y/n but knows there wasn't a chance of getting her to try, so she instead looks to Barb, grabbing a beer for her, her eyes gleaming with mischief, "Hey Barb, wanna try?"

"What? No. I don't want to thanks," She says, clearly uncomfortable.

"C'mon," She pushes, Steve now chiming in with encouragement as Tommy and Carol watch her.

"Nancy I don't want to," Barb says firmly, but Nancy wouldn't drop it.

"Nancy she said no, don't be an ass," Y/n chimes in, anyone could see that Barb was uncomfortable, and the fact that they were pressuring her was disgusting. But Nancy just brushes Y/n off.

"Just try," She pushes one more time, handing the beer to Barb, who reluctantly takes it, standing up. Her hands are shaking slightly as everyone watches her, holding the beer and trying to make the hole in it with little success. Her hand slips and she ends up cutting her hand, making her drop the can and hold her hand, hissing in pain. "Shit, Barb," Y/n says, stands up, and comes over to her to inspect her hand, as Tommy and Carol laugh, oblivious to the tension between the three friends.

"Are you ok?" Nancy asks, concern in her voice.

"Yeah," Barb says, brushing her off, pulling her hand away.

"Barb, you're bleeding."

"I'm fine," She says, her voice shaking slightly, Y/n was unable to tell if it was cause she was upset, embarrassed, or angry at Nancy. She turns to Steve, "Where's your bathroom?"

"Oh it's um down past the uh...kitchen, to the left," He points as Barb turns and walks inside.

"I'll check on her," Nancy says, quickly following after her, not giving Y/n time to argue, she would go as well, but she knows Barb won't want to be swarmed, so instead she just sits by the edge of the pool, dipping her feet in, judging as Tommy and Carol start messing around, trying to push each other in the pool again as if someone hadn't hurt themselves.

Steve sits next to her, lighting himself another cigarette and offering her one. Y/n eyes him suspiciously but takes it, allowing him to light it for her before taking it to her lips, breathing it in before removing it, and letting out a long breath, smoke blowing out her mouth. "So that kid you picked up earlier? Your brother right?" He asks, breaking the awkward silence .

"Yeah, why?" She asks, raising her eyebrow, not knowing where this conversation could possibly be going.

"He uh...he looks, different," He says carefully, not knowing how to phrase it, his tone more curious than the cruelty she was used to when people made comments about her brother's looks. "Like, I dunno, his teeth or something?"

Y/n takes another drag of the cigarette, before letting out a long exhale, this was the last conversation she expected to have with Steve Harrington of all people, but he seemed genuinely curious.

"It's called Cleidocranial Dysplasia. It affects his teeth and bones, so yeah, he's different, " She says flatly, not looking at him. Steve nods thoughtfully, not showing any signs of judgment, which was truly shocking Y/n, though she didn't show it on her face.

"He get picked on for it?"

"Yeah, by kids like you," She says grimly, knowing that there were two boys in the school who were particularly awful the her brother and his friends, the way they behaved reminding her of how she'd seen Steve and Tommy treat other people.

"Ok, seriously, what's the deal, Henderson? You act like I killed your damn cat or something,"

"If you really don't know Harrington, then clearly my impression of you was right," Skye snapped, standing up abruptly, her frustration boiling over.

Just as she was about to storm off, a loud splash startled her. Tommy had thrown Carol in the pool, drenching Skye in the process. "Seriously?" she hissed, her frustration hitting its peak. She was soaked, her clothes sticking to her skin as Tommy and Steve laughed. Carol started shouting profanities at Tommy,

Y/n lets out a sharp breath, removing her T-shirt, leaving her in her bra as she storms inside, brushing past Nancy, who was coming back outside, and going to find Barb. "You ok?" She asks, seeing Barb wrapping her hand with a bandage.

"Yeah," she sighs before looking at her friend, noticing she was only in her bra, "What happened to you?"

"Tommy happened," She sighed.

Barb looked down, focusing back on her hand."I don't like this, this isn't Nancy," she muttered quietly.

"No, it's not," Y/n agrees, her voice heavy with disappointment, "But if she wants to change for some guy, that's her business,"

"But as her friends, we should stop her,"

"Barb you know how Nancy is, we can warn her, yes, but she won't be told. Yes it sucks but she can make her own decisions, besides, if she really is the type to change herself for popularity, then that's not the person we want to be friends with anyway"

Barb sighs but nods in agreement, the two of them hear a bunch of giggling and laughter, so they step out of the bathroom to see everyone running upstairs, so they rush over to the staircase, "Nance, Nancy?!"

Nancy turns around, a towel wrapped around her, her and the rest of her clothes soaking wet. "Where are you going?" Barb asks.

"Nowhere. Just upstairs, to change. I fell in the pool," She says, chuckling nervously, her lie more than obvious to her two closest friends. "Why don't you guys go ahead and go home, I'll just get a ride or something,"

"Nance," Barb scoffs.

"Barb, I'm fine" she chuckles.

"This isn't you Nancy, and you know it's not," Y/n says, her voice laced in disappointment.

"Guys I'm fine, just go ahead and go home," She says before going upstairs, leaving her friends behind.

"Well then...she's made her priorities perfectly clear," Y/n sighs, turning to Barb, "Want a lift to your car, you're parked quite far away?"

"No I'll uh, I'll wait for her," Barb says.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll just wait by the pool so I don't have to hear two lots of people screwing, you go home," She says, before heading to the backdoor. Y/n sighs and turns to leave, but before her hand reaches the door nob,

"Henderson,"

She looked up at the landing, to see Steve standing there looking down at her, something in his hand, "It's cold and dark out, not safe to walk around in just a bra," He said, his tone uncharacteristically gentle, chucking her whatever he was holding. Y/n catches it, seeing it was one of his T-shirts.

She nods slightly, "Thanks..." she says, pulling it over her head before turning and leaving.

She hoped that Nancy wouldn't regret this.

(fin)

Taglist:

@snegyysnapped @sadieshairbrush @tagakalat @springflwer07

Let me know if you want to be added or removed <3

#dustin henderson #dustin henderson x reader #eleven hopper #jim hopper #johnathan byers #joyce byers #lucas sinclair #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #eleven #stranger things #1980s

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skyeeuphixia2 · 2 months ago

Text

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙴𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝

𝚂𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝟷 ~ 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙾𝙽𝙴

'The Vanishing of Will Byers'

...

November 6th, 1983

Hawkins, Indiana

...

The low sound of Blondie's 'One way or another' quietly fills her room, hardly audible over the soft strumming of her guitar. Y/n was led back casually on her bed, her well-worn instrument in her arms as she focused on the song quietly playing, attempting to learn it by ear. She would have the music louder, it would be a lot easier for her to learn it that way, but after three noise complaints that week from neighbors, she wasn't eager to push her luck. Right as she was getting the hang of it, she heard shouting from outside her bedroom window.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

She chuckles, setting the guitar to the side, pushing herself off her bed, and going to the front door, opening it just in time to see Will Byers speeding past the house.

"I'll take your X-men 134, Goodnight Y/n!" He shouts, a triumphant little grin on his face as he disappears down the street.

"See ya, say hi to your brother for me!" She shouts after the boy, amusement dancing in her voice. A few seconds later, her younger brother slowly rolled to a stop in front of the house, staring after his friend, panting slightly.

"Son of a Bitch," he muttered under his breath.

Y/n, who had been watching the whole thing with her arms crossed, leaning on the doorframe, a knowing smirk on her face, "Bet another comic?"

"What do you think?" He grumbled as he dragged his bike over to the garage.

"You gotta stop starting races when your opponents are already in front of you, now in you come, leftovers in the microwave, just gotta heat it up," She says, ruffling his hair playfully as he passed her into the house. "Yeah yeah," he grumbles, but he couldn't stop the small smile that was tugging at his lips.

"So," She says, sitting across from Dustin once he had heated the pasta Skye had made earlier, sitting down to eat it, resting her chin on her hand, "how was the campaign, it had to be at least 8 hours this time,"

"Ten!" He corrects, through a mouthful of pasta.

"Impressive, so how was it?"

"It was all going really well until the Demogorgon got Will,"

"Why didn't he just cast protection?" she asks, shrugging her shoulders in question as if it was the most obvious choice to make.

"Thank you!" Dustin says, throwing his hands in the air, "That's exactly what I said to do but he went- this is so good -but he went with Lucas' idea to cast fireball instead!"

"Stupid move," she shrugs, shaking her head.

Dustin's eyes squinted at her wrist as he took another bite, "where'd you get that?" He asked, looking at the simple gold bracelet on her right wrist, his voice slightly muffled by his full mouth.

"First of all, gross, second I bought it the other day,"

"With what money?"

"Money I got from babysitting Will two weeks back and Lucas 3 days ago, cause I, unlike you, save my money, maybe you should have considered doing it before betting away your comics," She quipped back, taking his plate when it was empty, and putting it in the sink.

Y/n had been the official babysitter for the 4 boys since she was 13, well technically not Mikes cause Nancy could babysit him, but Nancy would always invite Y/n over when she was babysitting and she often ended up being the one to entertain Mike, so she was essentially Mikes babysitter. "Now, bed, it's a school night," she says pointing down the hall to his room.

Dustin trudged his way to his room, not without grumbles and protests, but he knew his older sister was right. "Night,"

"Night Dust," she smiled. She pulled him into a quick hug, which he gladly accepted, before they headed to their rooms, the quiet hum of Blonide's song still lingering in the air.

...

Y/n trudged out of her room the next morning, already running late. She had thrown on a random band T-shirt she'd grabbed off the floor, paired with jeans, her dark blue striped number and black boots. Her hair was slightly messy, but that was a priority, getting out the door on time was, she had a hair brush in her car anyway.

"Morning sweetie," her mother, Claudia, calls from the couch, their cat, Mews, curled up on her lap. "Can you wake up Dusty?"

She rolled her eyes slightly as she made her way to his room, "I really need to get him an alarm clock that works for Christmas, or ten,"

She knocks a few times. No response.

With a sigh, she slowly pushed the door open, finding her brother sprawled out on his bed, his blanket half on him, half off the bed, a star wars comic fallen lazily on the floor, his hand dangling above it, he had likely fallen asleep reading it. "Dust, up you get," she yawns, turning his light on for a rude awakening.

"No," he grumbles, pulling the blanket over his head.

"You get up in five minutes I'll give you a lift to school," she bargains.

Dustin instantly shoots out of bed, almost tripping over himself, "I'm up!"

Y/n chuckles as she leaves the room, going back to the kitchen. She starts prepping some toast for Dustin when the phone rang, she grabbed it, tucking it between her ear and shoulder. "Hello?"

"Hi, Y/n, it's Joyce," she heard from the other end, the older woman's voice fast and slightly nervous.

"Oh hi Joyce, what's up?" She asks.

"Nothing, nothing, just wondering did you see Will ride past last night?"

"Uh, yeah I - hold on - DUSTIN HURRY UP! -sorry, yes I did, He rode back with Dustin, why?"

There was a small pause and a sigh from the other end, "Um...nothing. Don't worry I just..." Joyce sighs, clearly uneasy, "I haven't seen him this morning,"

Y/n frowned, setting the butter knife she was using to butter Dustins toast down, "Strange...he came back last night right?"

"I was at work and so was Johnathan," she admits, clearly trying to stop herself get worked up.

"Ok, well don't panic just yet, maybe he just went in to get some homework done," she comforts, hearing the tension in Joyce's voice.

"Yeah...maybe," Joyce agrees, though she didn't sound all that convinced.

"I'm taking Dustin to school today so I'll keep an eye out for him,"

"Thank you so much, Y/n," finally a hint of relief in her voice.

"Don't worry about it, sorry but I really gotta run, I'll call you once I'm at school,"

"Thank you again, bye,"

Y/n says a quick bye before hanging up, her stomach twisting slightly. Had Will made it home last night? He seemed perfectly fine when she saw him. She cared for all three of Dustin's best friends like they were her brothers, so if any of them weren't ok, she'd drive herself crazy trying to help them.

"Dustin I'm leaving without you!" She shouts making her way to the door and grabbing her bag.

Before she was able to reach the door, Dustin came barreling around the corner, snatching his breakfast out her hand as he ran past towards her car. She sighed, shaking her head with a small smile. She had a bad feeling about today.

...

After dropping Dustin off at school, and failing to spot Will or his bike, Y/n made her way to her school. As promised, she gave Joyce a quick call to let her know what little she had found. She pushed her worries aside, at least for now, and stepped inside the building into the bustling school hallway, instantly she spotted her friends Barb and Nancy at their lockers, she smiled to herself and made her way over to him.

"We just made out a couple of times," she heard Barb tease Nancy, who rolled her eyes, so Y/n came up to them making obnoxious kissing sounds.

"Ooo Steve shove your tongue down my throat," she said in her best imitation of a lovestruck Nancy, causing the brunette girl to gag in horror.

"Oh my God it was not like that," She blushes furiously, practically hissing at her as Barb tries her hardest not to laugh.

"I hope not. God knows what you could've caught, I don't want to know where that tongue has been," she grimaced, leaning on the locker by Barb, the redhead laughing at Y/n's clear disdain for the self-titled 'King Steve'.

"Seriously Y/n? Can't you just give him a chance? He's not that bad," Nancy huffed, trying to defend her boyfriend.

Y/n gave her a look, one that clearly screamed 'do I look like I'm joking?'. Y/n had her reasons, good ones as far as she was concerned. It was a long time ago, back when she was a freshman, Y/n would spend her free periods in the schools practice rooms, renting a school guitar to play as she refused to use her Dad's old one they had at home, and couldn't afford a new one. One day, she made her way to the practice room, only to find the guitar she rented completely smashed on the floor. The school had blamed her for the damage, forcing her to pay for the damage, her having to use all her savings, and on top of that, she had been banned from using the practice rooms or renting school instruments again.

It hadn't taken her long to figure out who the real culprits were, she had spotted Steve, Tommy H, and Carol, laughing to themselves while she was being scolded by the principal. Now she was stuck using her dad's old guitar which was out of tune, and she hated using anything of her dad's.

To Steve, it was probably just another meaningless day. A joke. Something he'd already forgotten.

To Y/n, it was the day she decided she hated Steve Harrington.

And now he'd taken a liking to her close friend. Fantastic. Thankfully, she and Steve never really interacted. She made sure to avoid him like the plague whenever he was around, and she planned to keep it that way.

"Nance seriously, you're going to be so cool now it's ridiculous," Barb says, a small hint of disdain in her voice, popularity changed people, and Y/n and Bard didn't want to lose their friend to the likes of people like Tommy H and Carol.

"No I will not," Nancy insisted, shaking her head.

"We're serious, Nance," Y/n says, "You better still hang out with the redhead nerd and Y/n 'the loser' Henderson," She says, referring to names that Tommy H and or Carol had so graciously given them over the years.

"Yeah, if you start hanging around Tommy H, or Carol-"

"Ew gross! It was just a one-time-" Her voice trails off as Y/n and Barb raise their eyebrows at her, "Two-time thing," Y/N opened her mouth to respond, but Nancy suddenly noticed a folded piece of paper in her locker. Curious, she grabbed it, unfolding the note as Barb and Y/N peered over her shoulder.

Meet me in the bathroom - Steve

"You were saying?" Barb says smugly, Y/n crossing her arms unimpressed, Nancy looking at the two of them coyly before wandering off in the direction of the bathroom. Barb and Y/n both look after her, each of their smug looks slightly disappearing, both of them slightly sour by their friends new company.

"The bathroom, real classy Harrington," Y/n says rolling her eyes slightly.

"Didn't you know, all the best love stories happen in the bathroom," Barb jokes, causing both girls to laugh as they wander to their first class, at least Barb wasn't changing anytime soon.

...

Y/n sat in her literature class, head resting in her hand, elbow propped against the desk. She usually enjoyed English, but Mr. David had a way of making even Hamlet sound like white noise. She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts however when there was a knock at the door, Chief Hopper stepped in, looking as uninterested in being there as Y/n felt about the lesson.

"Sorry to bother you," he says addressing Mr David with a nod, "I need to borrow Y/n Henderson,"

Murmurs spread across the classroom as all heads turned to her. Y/n blinked in surprise, glancing at her teacher. He gave her a quick nod, granting permission. She hesitated for a second before standing up, shrugging at Nancy and Barb as she passed their desks.

Y/n followed Chief Hopper through the halls of the school, eventually out of the building, confusion growing with each step. "Um, excuse me, Hop? What's this about"

"You'll see soon enough, kid." He replies, not sparing her a glance as they continue walking which did nothing to ease her nerves. A pit begins forming in her stomach as they go to his truck, both of them getting in as they silently drive, the only sounds being the occasional sigh from Hopper, it wasn't long until they pulled up at Dustin's school.

Her nerves spiked. Something was really wrong.

When Hopper led her to the principal's office, she felt her stomach somehow sink further. Inside, Dustin, Mike, and Lucas sat on the couch, looking just as confused as she felt. Another officer stood nearby, arms crossed.

"Sit," Chief Hopper told her as he sat opposite the boys. She sits on the armrest of the sofa next to Dustin.

"The hell did you do?" She whispered to him.

"Nothing!" He whisper yelled back at her. Hopper asks them about Will and that's when it hit Y/n, Will was still missing. The four boys all start to talk over one another, talking about when they last saw him, which way he goes home, trying to be helpful but just pissing Hopper off, Y/n was about to speak up also, but seeing the chiefs patience already wearing thin, she held back.

"Okay, Okay, Okay, one at a time, all right? You," he says, indicating to Mike, who nods, ready to answer any question that the chief had, eager to help search for his best friend. "You said he takes what?"

"Mirkwood,"

"Mirkwood?" He asks sceptically, squinting at him. The three boys nod at him. Hopper looks over towards the other police officer, "You ever heard of Mirkwood?"

"I have not. It sounds made up to me-"

"It's not, it's from the Lord of the Rings," Lucas explained.

"Well The Hobbit," Dustin instantly corrected. Y/n pinched the bridge of her nose, time and place Dust, time and place.

"It doesn't matter Dustin," She says leaning down, telling him off quietly.

"He asked!" He argued back, only for Lucas to mock him and the two to start arguing, Mike trying (and failing) to mediate them, Hopper trying to get them to shut up with little success, so he lets out a long sigh, rubbing his temples.

"Boys!" Y/n shouts, all three of them shutting up under her harsh glare, shrinking back into the couch slightly, "Thank you,"

The chief set her an approving look before looking back to Mike, "You,"

"Mirkwood, it's a real road. It's just the name that we made up," Mike informs him, before Y/n steps in for them, knowing that, while enthusiastic to help, they'd just give a bunch of information that wouldn't matter.

"It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet," She clarifies, and the Chief nods in understanding.

"Yeah, yeah I think I know it-" He says leaning back presumingly to talk to the officer just to get interrupted by Mike.

"We can help you if you want!"

"I said that I know it!"

"We can help look," Mike protests, Lucas nodding while Dustin lets out a small 'yeah'. However, the idea is immediately shut down by Hopper, Lucas and Dustin opened their mouths to argue, but Hopper raised a firm hand.

"No. After school, you are all to go home. Immediately. That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no-nonsense. This isn't some Lord of the Rings book."

"The hobbit..."

Y/n looks at her brother and hits his shoulder and when he looks up to protest she just shakes her head at him. Hopper stands up and looks down at all of them, his voice low and commanding, "Do I make myself clear?"

All four of them nod.

"Good, you're dismissed, except you," He says pointing to Y/n who nods and stays seated while the boys get up and file out, all muttering under their breath.

Hopper sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You still their babysitter?"

Y/n crossed her arms. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Right," he said. "Then I need you to keep them in line. Make sure they go straight home after school. No sneaking off, no riding around at night—nothing. I don't want them out there."

She nodded. "Understood, Hop."

"Good." He gave her a firm look. "I mean it, kid. Keep 'em safe. Like you always do. Like I know you can,"

Y/n exhaled, suddenly feeling the weight of responsibility on her shoulders.

"I will."

...

Dustin, Mike and Lucas all trudge out of the building after what felt like the longest day of school of their life. Sitting through class, pretending everything was normal without Will, it was torture. The only thing on their minds was figuring out a plan to find him that night. As they reached the parking lot, they spotted Skye leaning against her car, arms crossed, waiting for them. She waved them over.

"What are you doing here?" Mike asks as they approach her.

"Well first off, Dustin doesn't have his bike so I'm picking him up, and secondly, I'm taking you two home,"

"But we both have our bikes," Lucas points out after he and Mike exchanged looks.

"I know you do, but I'm here to make sure that you're not gonna ride to Mirkwood, I'm driving you straight home and that's where you're going to stay, get your bikes, and put them in the trunk," She says, leaving no room for arguments as she gets in the driver's seat, Dustin joining her in the passenger's side as the two boys sigh and go to grab their bikes.

Her grip on the wheel was tight as she drove, Y/n was worried about Will, not just Will, she was worried about Johnathan and Joyce as well. She's incredibly close with Johnathan, they first met when Dustin met Will and the rest of the party two years ago when they moved to Hawkins, and the two of them have been close ever since, sure they didn't hang out in school all the time, Johnathan preferring to be alone, but they knew they were friends, and that's all that mattered. She hadn't seen Johnathan at school that day, he'd probably skipped to look for Will, but she couldn't blame him, she knew she would do the same if Dustin went missing...god she didn't even what to think about the possibility. Just the thought alone made her feel sick.

They were nearing Lucas' house when she caught snippets of the boys muttering in the backseat, Dustin twisted around to whisper to them. "We'll have to wait until later—"

"Meet at my house—"

"We should bring flashlights—"

Y/n narrowed her eyes and slammed on the brakes, just enough to make their heads jolt forward slightly. "Woah, woah, woah, let's stop that conversation right there,"

"Y/n-" Dustin tries to argue, but Y/n doesn't let them get a word in.

"No listen to me, you are not, under any circumstances to go out on your bikes around that area, or looking for Will, especially after dark. The chief is right about this one guys, this isn't a fantasy book or a campaign, this is real life, and it's scary and it's dangerous. The best thing you can do for Will right now is listen and cooperate with the police, and not become the next kid on the milk cartons. Please...if you're ever going to listen to me, let it be now," She says, practically begging them as they all look down guiltily and nod. "Thank you, Lucas we're here,"

Lucas grabbed his bike from the trunk, murmuring a quiet "Bye" before heading inside. Next was Mike's house. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, he hesitated before getting out. "Y/n..." he started, looking like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just gave a small nod and closed the door behind him.

Now, it was just her and Dustin.

The ride home was quiet. Uncomfortably quiet.

When they finally arrived home, Dustin started heading to his room, however was stopped when Y/n called out to him, "I'm serious, Dustin,"

"Hmm?" He asks, turning around to look at her, confused. She steps over to him, her expression softer as she looks down at him.

"I'm serious, no going out to look for him. I know you want to find him, I want him home safe just as much as you do," She takes his chin in her hand gently, tilting his head up so he was looking at her proparly, "But I don't think my heart could handle it if anything ever happened to you," She says, her voice full of emotion.

Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her middle, hugging her tightly. Y/n exhaled, hugging him just as tightly in return. When they finally pulled away, she ruffled his curls. "Go get some rest, nerd."

Dustin smiled softly before heading to his room. Y/n stood in the hallway for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She just hoped to God they listened.

...

It was late that night, past the time that their mother had gone to sleep that Y/n hears a small thump, and a hushed 'shit', from outside. Frowning, she sat up and looked outside her window just in time to see Dustin pedaling past the house on his bike, no question where he was going.

"Son of a bitch," She mutters before throwing on a jacket, and running out the house, grabbing her keys and getting in her car, "Always the goddamn babysitter!"

It was already drizzling rain as she reached Mirkwood, finding three familiar boys stood just outside the police tape that was blocking off the woods. As soon as her headlights washed over them, they all froze like deer caught in the beams. Slowly, they turned to face her, blinking against the glare.

"Y/n?" They all call out.

"Are you shitting me?!" She yelled at them, Y/n slammed her door shut and stormed over, her boots crunching against the damp earth.

"The hell are you doing here?" Lucas asked her, still squinting against the headlights, causing her to scoff sharply.

"What am I doing here? I could ask you three the same thing. What did we talk about?!" She yells at them, her hands on her hips as she glares at them all with disappointment.

"We can't just sit around while Will is missing Y/n, now you can either protect us or leave us to get lost as well," Mike says stubbornly, ducking under the tape and wandering into the woods, without waiting for a response, closely followed by Lucas. Dustin hesitates and just looks at his sister, who huffed and snatched a spare flashlight off him.

"Manipulative little shit," She grumbles as the two of snatching a spare flashlight from his hands before following the other two into the darkening forest, as the rain starts to get heavier.

They felt like all of them had been searching for hours, all of them starting to lose their voices from the constant shouting of Will's name, all of them soaked all the way through, exhaustion starting to set in, Dustin falling behind slightly.

"Guys I really think we should turn back," He says, sounding tired and worried.

"Really Dustin?" Lucas argues back, already gearing up to start another argument. Mike and Y/n look at each other, both rolling their eyes and allowing the two boys to argue, there was no telling them at this point. They let them argue until they heard the rustling of leaves, like something around them was moving, Y/n tensed and looked at Mike, who was already looking at her with a concerned face, signaling that they had heard the same thing.

"Dustin shut up," Y/n straining to get a better listen.

"I'm just saying that-"

"Shut up," Mike hisses this time, all of them now listening out, a small rustle comes from behind them. Hoping it might be Will they all point their flashlights in that direction, but nothing.

Another rustle comes from behind them once again, and they all point their flashlights, this time the light falling on a girl. She couldn't be anywhere older than the three boys, shivering in nothing but a soaked, oversized yellow t-shirt. Her head was buzzed, and her wide, terrified eyes darted between them.

"Holy shit..."

(fin)

author note:

hello lovelies, this is all very spontaneous, I haven't tried to write a story following a series or film for years so we will see how it goes and if I commit.

please go and read: just friends by user_is_nonexistant and my bestfriends ex by skullarr as they were big inspirations for me to write my own story (both on wattpad)

hope you enjoy xx

Taglist: @snegyysnapped

Let me know if you want to be added/removed <3

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