#Mr. Mom 1983

[kittehbiscuits]

I keep rewatching this stupid movie it's been 6 times so far please tell me I'm not alone

[stevie-petey]

episode one: the vanishing of will byers

Steve nods, as if you almost getting hit by his car makes perfect sense to him. When you walk over to your bike and inspect it for any damage, he follows after you.  “So,” he whistles, trying to pretend that this is all a completely normal occurrence. “You, uh, need a ride?” Honestly you don’t know why you’re surprised he hasn’t noticed the clear signs of you crying, your swollen eyes and red nose. Not only is he a boy, but he’s also Steve Harrington. It’s a miracle he even stopped to make sure you weren’t dead.

summary: jonathan smuggles you free food in exchange for friendship, will goes missing the one time you listen to jonathan, hopper doesn't really like you, and steve harrington almost hits you with his car as you're sobbing like a damn baby (in a cool way).

rating: general, although there's plenty of cursing and slight innuendos, so fair warning.

warnings: cursing, fem!reader, and use of y/n.

words: 7k

before you swing in: hello ! this is the first chapter of my come home series, where i plan on rewriting the entirety of stranger things because i really love a good rewrite fic and this is me just indulging in my ideal fic fantasies tbh. before we start: this is a steve x reader fic, however there will be some slight feelings between the reader and jonathan, but it doesn't at all get in the way of steve and honestly just adds to the angst because i love a good tragedy. also, reader is dustin's older sister, but i tried to write her as neutral as possible in terms of physical features, so let's all just play along. that is all ! i'm very excited for this series and i hope y'all enjoy her as much as i do :)

-

November 6th, 1983

Your shift at Bookstrordinary ends at 8:30 tonight, so as soon as you’ve organized all the books within the store and cashed out the last customer, you say goodnight to your boss, Mrs. Waters, and clock out. Today had been a longer shift, and it didn’t help that you had to deal with a particularly eager bookclub mother who insisted that you had the latest copy of some obscure novel that she needed for her club. After several attempts to inform her that no, you really didn’t have some novel about a cowboy falling in love with a rodeo girl from Michigan, nor would you ever want to read that, the mother angrily walked away. 

You’re happy to finally be free from work though, excited to see Jonathan to tell him about the book club mom because you know he gets a kick out of those suburban middle class mothers that terrorize Hawkins. He works across from you, at The Hawk theater, and it’s one of your favorite things about the bookstore. Besides getting to be surrounded by books all day and reading Spider-Man, you get to be across the street from your best friend and share frequent breaks together. 

A bell signifies your arrival at the theater, alerting Jonathan to look up from the concession stand and smile at you. He looks tired, which you can understand. It’s been a particularly long school year so far with Jonathan having to work more shifts than usual to support his family. 

“Welcome to The Hawk, can I interest you in our specialty popcorn and candy corn mixture?”

You make a face, “No, thanks. Candy corn freaks me out.” 

Jonathan laughs, knowing you’d say that. It’s been a running joke between the two of you for as long as you can remember. You’re not picky with most foods, but candy corn? The bane of your existence. “Tough crowd, then.” 

You laugh as well, now standing in front of the counter, and you learn against it so that you’re in Jonathan’s space. After being friends for so long, personal space doesn’t exist between the two of you. You’re the only person that Jonathan lets get this close to him on a regular basis, which you’re secretly proud of. 

“So, you almost done so we can pick up our idiotic brothers?” Tonight, as usual, Will and Dustin are at Mike’s house playing DnD. They’d biked over as soon as school let out, while Jonathan drove you to work, so he was your ride back for the night. 

He shakes his head at you, wincing, “I picked up an extra shift tonight. Stacy called out sick, and it’s good money…”

You nod in understanding. He doesn’t have to explain himself to you, which he’s always relieved by. 

“It’s okay. Is my bike still in your trunk?” 

“Yeah, I can get it out for you since I’m kind of ditching you tonight.” 

You wave him off, already reaching across the counter to grab his keys from his coat pocket. “No need, I’ll get it out myself so you don’t get in trouble with your boss.” Jonathan’s boss is an older guy, extra scary. “I’m assuming that I’m taking Will home tonight?” 

“It’ll be late by the time you get the boys, and you’ll have Dustin. We only live a couple blocks apart, you can just bike with Will until you get to your street.”

“Are you sure? I know he’s scared of the dark.” 

“It’s fine, Y/N. You’re already doing enough being there for most of the ride; I’m sure Will can survive the last five minutes alone.” 

You give Jonathan an unsure look, but you don’t argue with him. He’s his brother, he knows Will’s capabilities, and it’s an unspoken fact that you baby Will a bit too much. He’s just so much tinier than the other boys, softer in a way that you want to protect. He’s special. 

Jonathan sneaks you a large peach lemonade and hot dog from the concession stand when you return with his keys. You’ve parked your bike up front, and you accept the food gratefully. You hadn’t had time to eat your usual dinner during your break due to the bookclub mother fiasco, so you inhale the food quickly and give his hair a ruffle. 

“You’re a lifesaver, bee.” 

Jonathan lightly hits your hand away from his hair. “Consider it your payment for dealing with Will and Dustin on your own tonight, bug.” 

Bee and bug were the names the two of you had given each other years ago. Jonathan had started it with bug, stemming from the fact that you love Spider-Man so much, and you had struggled to come up with your own nickname for him. Then it came to you: bee, or B, for Byers. It was perfect, and you’re still incredibly proud of yourself for the creativity, honestly. 

After your quick dinner, you say goodbye to your friend and head off. It’s late now, nearing 9, and you hope that Mrs. Wheeler and your own mom won’t be too upset with you for being late for pick up. You know they prefer to have the boys in bed by a decent hour, but in your defense, Jonathan did skip out on you.

You arrive at the Wheeler’s in a short amount of time and knock on the door. Your cheeks are flushed from the early November cold, and you’re regretting that you only put on a thin sweater and jeans this morning.

Mike answers the door, giving you a dirty look. “Did you have to come early?”

“I’m actually later than usual,” you sidestep him, making your way into his house; you’ve become used to Mike’s attitude. “I take it the campaign is still ongoing?”

“See, mom? Even Y/N understands how long a good campaign can go on for!” Mike waves his arms at you, as if to signify to his mother the importance of your understanding. 

Mrs. Wheeler ignores her son to greet you kindly, albeit a bit exasperated. “Hello, Y/N, please come in.” Then she turns to Mike, giving him a stern look. “Mike, why don’t you tell Y/N how you boys have been playing for ten hours? I’m sure she’ll be understanding then.” 

“You guys have been playing for ten hours?”

Mike looks down in embarrassment for a second before turning to his father for help. You laugh a bit at his enthusiasm and see a faint smile on his mom’s face as well. Quietly you excuse yourself to go downstairs to find the other boys, and Mrs. Wheeler wishes you luck. 

Everyone always acts like the boys are some giant pain; truthfully, you enjoy them. Sure, they can be a handful, but they’re just kids; it’s hard for you to ever stay mad at them. Plus they like you, so it makes dealing with them easier. 

Lucas, Dustin, and Will are running around the basement when you get down there, frantically searching for something. You hear Lucas inform Will that if Mike doesn’t see something, then it doesn’t count. The urgence in his voice amuses you; you’ll never fully wrap your head around why they take DnD so seriously, but you love that they can enjoy it with each other. 

Dustin is the first to see you. “Y/N!”

The other boy’s heads turn to you and they greet you with enthusiasm as well. Will rushes towards you for a hug, which you gladly accept. When you break apart, Lucas gives you a high five and asks about a comic you’ve put on hold for him at the store. 

“Any luck?”

“Sorry, Sinclair. It’s still sold out, but the second it’s restocked I’ll smuggle one for you.” 

“Sick!” 

Dustin walks over, now in his coat and holding a pizza box. “Want a slice?” 

You decline, informing him that Jonathan snuck some food for you. At the mention of his brother’s name, Will asks where he is. You tell him that Jonathan had to cover a shift and that you’ll be taking him most of the way home tonight. 

As you all make your way upstairs, you notice that Dustin continues up to the second floor. Lucas notices too, and the two of you share a knowing look. 

“Still have a crush on Nancy?” You ask, already knowing the answer. 

“Yup.” Lucas responds, smiling in disappointment. 

You wait for your brother outside, helping Will with his coat and listen to Mike’s rambling about the campaign. Lucas is already on his bike, ready to go. 

“There’s something wrong with your sister.” Dustin declares when he finally returns.

Mike looks at you, then at your brother, confused. “What are you talking about?” 

“She’s got a stick up her butt.” 

“Dustin!” You berate. Nancy isn’t your favorite person, but she’s always been nice to you the few times you’ve interacted. You guys used to be closer when you were younger, but high school has a way of distancing people.

“Yeah,” Lucas now speaks up. “It’s because she’s been dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington.” How the hell does Lucas even know about that? You didn’t even know about that until just now. 

“Lucas! Language!” 

“Yeah, she’s been turning into a real jerk.”

“Dustin, I swear to God-” 

The boys ignore you, which you’re honestly not surprised by. While they may like you, that doesn't mean that they listen to you. On a good day they maybe listen to you 25% of the time, but tonight was clearly not a good night. 

Mike finally cuts in, “She’s always been a real jerk.”

“Hey, she’s your sister. Give her some credit-”

Dustin is now the one who cuts you off. “Nuh-uh, only you get the sister leniency, Y/N. Nancy used to be cool, now she isn’t.” 

“Remember that time she dressed up as an elf for our Elder tree campaign?” Lucas asks, almost reminiscent. 

You shudder at the way he says it, and you shudder more when you see the dreamy look in your brother’s eyes. “Yeah, I remember…” 

“Gross,” you huff at your brother, now hopping on your own bike. 

Lucas and Dustin begin to pedal away, and you call after them to wait up. Will is still with Mike, and you promised Jonathan you’d get him home. You give the boys a bit of space, waiting a few paces ahead. Will has always been shy around Mike, something that you’ve tried not looking into too much, but to be safe you give them some privacy. 

Faintly, you hear Will say, “The Demogorgon, it got me.” 

Lights flicker a bit, but you’re too focused on the slight unease you feel by Will’s words. Before you can think too much about them, he joins you. “Race you up to Lucas and Dustin?”

“You’re on,” you tell him. 

Will beats you to the boys (which you let him do), and you’re out of breath. The four of you bike in silence for a bit until you reach Lucas’s turn into his neighborhood. 

“Good night, ladies.” He says, and you don’t need to be a psychic to know what your brother’s response is going to be.

“Kiss your mom ‘night for me.” Bless him.

You and Will giggle together, and Dustin smirks at the two of you, proud. He sits in the praise for a few moments before challenging you and Will to race home with the promise of a comic for whoever wins. 

“I call last year’s Black Cat issue of Spider-man!” You call out, already biking away from the boys. 

“We didn’t say go!”

Dustin and Will call after you as they try to catch up, and within a few seconds the three of you are speeding down the hill towards your home. You laugh gleefully, enjoying the way the wind whips through your hair and the way Dustin, though annoyed by your early start, laughs alongside you with Will. 

Somehow Will is the one who wins the race, which you’re impressed by. He may be small, but he’s surprisingly good at winning when it comes to a competition. Dustin shouts at Will that he’ll kill him, which makes you send a warning look at him. 

“I’ll take your X-Men 134!” Will retaliates, still flying through the street. 

You and Dustin are now stopped at your mailbox and you take a moment to catch your breath before shouting at Will, “Be careful, please! Stay safe!”

“I’ll be fine, I promise!” Will’s voice is distant, now a few yards away, and you stand outside for a few more seconds to watch his figure disappear into the night. Dustin has already gone inside but you wait to follow, only going inside when you can no longer see Will, hopefully home safe and sound. You feel fear creep upon you, but you chalk it up to your usual worry when it comes to the boy. 

He’ll be okay, Jonathan should be home within the hour. 

– 

The next morning you’re frantically biking to school, pissed off at Jonathan. He’s your ride every morning, or everywhere, really, and for the second time in 24 hours he’s bailed on you. Dustin left for school ages ago on his bike, so you’re thankful he doesn’t see you embarrassingly sweaty and gross as you race to school. 

It’s not that you’re pissed that Jonathan bailed again, you’re pissed because he didn’t even have the nerve to call you ahead of time to warn you. Now you have only ten minutes before the first bell rings, and your sweater clings to you uncomfortably as you sweat. 

You make it to school with a few minutes to spare, so you quickly make your way over to your locker to grab the necessary books for the day. You’re still sweaty, and you don’t want to even think about what your hair looks like right now. You look down the hall towards Jonathan’s locker, still not seeing him, and you begin to worry a bit. Maybe he overslept after last night’s shift? 

A body crashes into yours, sending your notebooks spiraling to the ground. Steve Harrington looks at you sheepishly, only saying a small “whoops!” before continuing his fast pace towards the girl’s bathroom. You scoff, now even more annoyed with your entire morning, picking up your stuff as you see Nancy enter the same bathroom a few moments later. 

“In a public school bathroom?” You mutter in disgust, collecting the last of your things and heading to class. 

You decide to give Jonathan until second period, sophomore English which the two of you share, before you freak out. You know you have a problem with over worrying about the people you love, so you try to calm yourself down. While Jonathan has never been the type to cancel without at least calling first, you reason with yourself that everyone has a bad morning. He simply slept in too late. When he wakes up, he’ll come to school and he’ll be sitting in the seat next to you in English. 

Except Jonathan isn’t in the seat next to yours when you enter the classroom an hour later. Now you officially let yourself begin to worry. Something about this doesn’t feel right. 

You’ve never skipped class before, school has always been important to you. You’re the top of your class with hopes of running away from Hawkins with Jonathan to a big city with an even bigger university. However, you don’t even hesitate to flee the classroom and find the nearest phone in the school to call the Byers’ residence. 

Jonathan answers after a few rings, and the words that leave his lips change your life forever. “Will is missing.”

You feel all the air in your lungs be knocked out of you. You can’t breathe and you sway a bit as your knees threaten to give out. This isn’t real, this can’t be happening. 

“What?”

“Will, he-he’s gone, Y/N. We can’t find him and-” 

You don’t hear whatever else Jonathan says. You struggle to get air back in your lungs. Will isn’t missing, you just saw him last night. Mere hours ago Will laughed next to you, face alive with joy, he hugged you and joked along with you. 

“He didn’t come home last night-”

“He didn’t come home?” Jonathan’s words catch your attention and you feel bile rise in your throat. Will didn’t make it home last night. You were the last one to see him, and the realization crushes you; it’s all your fault. 

“Mom and I just searched the woods, and there’s no sign of him and-” Jonathan is rambling now, his own fear and despair clear in his voice. 

“Jonathan,” you force his name out, now needing to be there for your best friend. You can worry for Will in your own time, right now Jonathan needs you. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” 

“Y/N, you don’t-”

You hang up before Jonathan can argue with you and stumble towards the exit. Your limbs feel heavier than normal, and your ears are ringing. Will is missing. He’s so small, he’s scared of the dark… You left him alone in the dark. 

The bike ride to the Byers home is a blur. You don’t remember much, your body going on autopilot the second you hopped on your bike. You’re running on pure fear and adrenaline right now, too worried for your boys to focus on anything else. 

You don’t bother to knock when you arrive, instead you let yourself in. Joyce is on the phone, arguing with some woman named Cynthia. Your eyes find Jonathan’s, who is sitting on the couch hunched over something. You walk over to him and sit down beside him and your stomach lurches when you see the words “have you seen me?” he’s so neatly printed out on a piece of paper.

“Bee…” you exhale, voice cracking a bit. 

Jonathan doesn’t say anything, but you know him as well as you know yourself. He doesn’t want comforting words right now. You take his hand into yours and lean your head against his shoulder. Worry has made his muscles tense, but you feel him relax into you a bit as he rests his own head against yours. The two of you sit like that for a moment, taking in the comfort you bring each other. 

“Bitch!” Joyce slams the phone down, causing you and Jonathan to jump apart. 

“Mom,”

“What?” Joyce is a mixture of both rage and anxiety, and you feel awful looking at her. Her son is missing, you can’t imagine what she must be feeling right now.

“You have to stay calm.” Jonathan tells her, his voice firm but kind. You know it’s taking everything in him to be as stable as he is right now; he’s putting on a front for his worried mother. You squeeze his hand, hoping it conveys the support and love that you need it to.

He squeezes back, and you see Joyce finally recognize that you’re there as well. She sends you a weak wave, which you return, before she goes back to dialing and trying to reach Lonnie. Jonathan gives your hand one last squeeze and lets go, now returning back to the posters. You immediately understand that he’s doing this to distract himself, so you do the same and wordlessly help him.

You begin writing your own “have you seen me?” when Joyce once again slams her phone down. The sound makes you flinch, inadvertently messing up your writing, which you sigh at. Before you can ask Jonathan for another piece of paper, you hear a car pull up. 

Jonathan stands up to investigate, alerting his mom that the cops are here. You follow after them outside, your heart dropping when you see Will’s bike in the Chief’s hand. He ushers everyone inside, informing Joyce that he found the bike lying in the road.

“How far was it from the house?” You ask, your voice frail. 

The Chief looks at you, his nametag informs you that his name is Hopper, and raises his eyebrows. “And can I know who is asking?” 

You clear your throat, nervous under his scrutinizing gaze. “I’m Y/N Henderson. I’m close with the Byers, I biked with Will home,” your voice catches in your throat, snagging onto the guilt that has been clawing at you ever since you found out Will was missing. You clear your throat again, determined to continue. “I was with him last night. My brother and I live right off Mirkwood, a few blocks from here. He only had a few more minutes before he would’ve been home.” 

Hopper stares at you. “Mirkwood?”

“It’s where-”

“Yeah, those moron kids explained it to me. I just didn’t think someone your age would call the street that, too.” Then, as an afterthought, Hopper adds, “The bike was found a block from here.”

His words sting, but you ignore it. If the bike was found only a block from the Byers’ home, then that means that something had to have happened to Will only minutes after you last saw him. You feel the familiar churning in your stomach, wracked with guilt. 

“Did it have any blood on it?” Joyce now asks, and you’re thankful she’s taken the attention off of you. 

Jonathan sees your distress and grabs your sweater so that you fall back a bit from the cops and Joyce. “Do you need a minute?”

You can only nod, afraid that if you open your mouth you’ll either cry or throw up. He gently guides you to his room, closing the door. Once you’re alone, he wraps his arms around you and pulls you in tight. You’re shaking harder than ever now, Will’s happy and shining face from last night keeps flashing through your mind. 

You were the last one who ever saw him.

You’re the one who was last responsible for him. 

You.

“It’s not your fault,” Jonathan whispers, his voice muffled by your hair. You’ve always loved how you fit perfectly in his arms, your height difference being just enough that he always rests his chin against your head when he hugs you. 

“I’m the last person who saw him.”

“Y/N, I was the one who asked you to only bike him halfway-”

“No,” your voice comes out louder than you intend it to, and you push Jonathan away. He lets out a confused noise as you grapple at him, forcing him to look directly at you. “I should’ve been with him, Jonathan. It’s your job to support your family, and it’s my job to help you. I have to… I have to be the one who helps you.” 

You’ve always been fascinated by psychology, and you remember reading in one of the journals about codependency; the term was used in relation to addiction, specifically alcoholism, but it had caught your interest. To love someone to the extent that their actions make you feel responsible for them, to selflessly take on their burdens to a debilitating extent, well, it reminded you of your relationship with Jonathan. 

You’ve always taken on whatever Jonathan has had to deal with, ever since you were kids, and it’s always come so naturally to you. He’s never asked you to, and sometimes the extent to which you carry his weight angers him, but it’s how you love.

It’s who you are. You’re always the one who helps, it’s what you need to be able to do. If you can’t help the ones you love the most, then what good is your love for them?

Jonathan may not know about codependency, but he knows how hard you love those closest to you. “Bug, listen to me.” He grabs your face, almost aggressively, in order to cut off your rambling. “My mom, she-she’s already spiraling and I can’t… I need you. I need you to be here, with me, right now. If I lose you too, then I-I don’t know what I’ll do.”

His words cut through you like glass. He’s right, you know he’s right, and you feel another wave of guilt wash over you. This guilt is different from the guilt surrounding Will. This is mixed with shame for allowing yourself to spiral so far and forcing Jonathan to take care of you. Joyce is clearly unwell, you can’t fathom how much he’s had to deal with today. 

You gently remove Jonathan’s hands from your face and take a step back. If you’re going to help him, you need to collect yourself. From here on out, you have to be a wall for him to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, someone who will listen to him. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Jonathan shrugs at you, now allowing a hesitant smile to cross his face. “If it makes you feel any better, it took a lot less pleading to get through to you. I’m still working on my mom.” 

The joke is foul, one that should make you feel even worse than you already do, because what sixteen year old has to plead with their mother to remind her that he’s there, too? The joke is horrible, and it’s exactly what you need to find yourself laughing, and Jonathan joins. 

Codependency can be a bitch, but Jonathan understands you in ways that no one else can. 

“You think the cops are gone?” You ask, wiping away the remaining tears. 

Jonathan listens for any sign of them and shakes his head. “No, I think we’re all clear.”

He walks out the room first and you follow after him. Joyce is standing in the kitchen, staring at the counter with a far off look in her eyes. You and Jonathan look at each other and you motion for him to go talk to her. He nods, and then you motion to the living room to indicate that you’ll continue working on the missing posters. 

Carefully writing on the posters soothes you, in a way. It’s rhythmic, providing a sense of lull that you readily embrace. You faintly hear Jonathan talking with his mother, then you watch as he leads her to her bedroom and shuts the door. When he returns he sits next to you on the couch and begins to work on the posters as well. No words are needed. 

You work on the posters in silence for a few hours until it nears 3pm. Dustin will be getting out of school soon, and you have to be there for him when he’s home. While Will may be Jonathan’s brother, he’s also your brother’s best friend. You get up and head into the kitchen, long familiar now with its layout and usual contents within the fridge, and quickly prepare the ingredients for spaghetti. It’s a simple meal, but Jonathan and Joyce need to eat. Once it’s all laid out, you return to the living room and tap on your friend’s shoulder. 

“Hey, I have to head out now to check on Dustin, but I just put a pot of water on the stove along with some noodles on the counter. I also cut up some vegetables and put them in the fridge for the sauce. Start the meal whenever, I laid everything out for you.”

“Thank you, really,” Jonathan exhales, relief evident on his face. He hadn’t even thought about dinner, which you figured he wouldn’t. 

You bend down to kiss the top of his head. “Anytime, bee. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” 

“Just…” you linger at the door, not fully wanting to leave him all by himself. “Be careful, please.” 

“Go, Y/N. I’ll be fine, I promise.” Jonathan reassures you.

“I’ll be fine, I promise!” Will’s voice is distant, now a few yards away, and you stand outside for a few more seconds to watch his figure disappear into the night.

It’s brief, but the flashback punches you in the gut. You close your eyes, holding onto the image of Will’s face in the moonlight last night, and when it fades you take a deep breath and force yourself to leave. 

The second you’re on your bike, pedaling away from the house, you let the sobs that have wracked against your throat all day out. It’s messy, the tears coming down your face faster than you can wipe them away. All the fear you’ve felt is now able to freely come out. It’s not the safest way to bike home, but you know that if you hold the tears in any longer you’ll collapse. You do your best to still be alert, but apparently you fail because a BMW honks at you to avoid you hitting it. 

“Fuck!” You yank your bike to the right, having no idea that you had been on the left side of the road, and topple over. The fall isn’t anything bad, but it definitely is your final straw for the day. You lay in the ditch you’ve landed in, staring at the November sky, and let the pain from your skinned knee serve as something to ground you to reality. 

“Holy shit, did I hit you?” 

Steve Harrington stands over you, a horrified look in his eyes. 

“Unfortunately not, otherwise I’d be able to sue you and get money out of it.” 

“Uh… okay?” He offers you his hand, although still very confused. “You didn’t like, happen to hit your head or anything, right?” 

You accept his help, albeit mostly because you have to, and brush yourself off when you’re up. “I’m fine. I just wasn’t paying attention, sorry.” 

Steve nods, as if you almost getting hit by his car makes perfect sense to him. When you walk over to your bike and inspect it for any damage, he follows after you. 

“So,” he whistles, trying to pretend that this is all a completely normal occurrence. “You, uh, need a ride?”

Honestly you don’t know why you’re surprised he hasn’t noticed the clear signs of you crying, your swollen eyes and red nose. Not only is he a boy, but he’s also Steve Harrington. It’s a miracle he even stopped to make sure you weren’t dead. 

“No,” you say, now repositioning your backpack so that you can get back on your bike. “Thanks anyways, Harrington.” 

Steve continues to follow you, even after you’ve started to pedal away. “You’re welcome, random girl I almost hit!”

You’re a bit further now, and you still feel like utter shit, but his words somehow make you laugh a bit. For a brief moment, you forget about everything, so you call behind, “It’s Henderson!” 

“That’s an odd first name!” The boy shouts after you, still following from a distance. 

“Y/N Henderson!” You’re fully yelling now, a good yard away, but you can tell that Steve hears you based on the way he begins to wave eagerly, finally stopping next to his car. Faintly you understand the boyish charm that makes him so loved by all the girls in the school; you understand why Nancy Wheeler has fallen for him.

“Bye, Y/N!” It’s faint, but you swear you can hear a smile in his voice.  

The good mood that Steve Harrington inexplicably puts you in vanishes when you near your house. Nothing has changed, yet it feels as if something has shifted. Will had been here only hours ago. You spot Dustin’s bike laying on the grass, haphazardly thrown as usual. 

Dustin is just taking off his coat when you enter, immediately running over to him to pull him into a bone crushing hug. 

“Y/N!” he squeaks in surprise. 

“Are you okay?” You know you’re squeezing your brother harder than you need to, but God. He’s safe, in your arms, and you’ve now learned that not everyone can say the same about their own loved ones. 

Dustin wiggles a bit, trying to break away from the hug, but you only pull him in tighter. “Geesh, no one died.” 

Normally you’d berate him, but you embrace his snarky comments. They’re what make Dustin so unique, his humor one of your favorite parts of him

When you don’t respond, Dustin stops wiggling around and finally accepts the situation. “I love ya too, sis.” 

You giggle a bit, now pulling away. “At least mom isn’t home right now. The minute she hears about what’s happened, we’ll be on lockdown.”

Dustin’s eyes widen. “Shit, you’re right.” 

“Lan-”

“Language, I know.”

You ruffle his hair, now feeling a bit better. Dustin is still Dustin, so maybe everything will be okay. You and your brother go into the kitchen for your post school snack, and you call your boss to inform her that you can’t make it to your shift. The words “family emergency” catch in your throat a bit, and Mrs. Waters is kind enough not to push it.

Dustin catches you up on his day, informing you about Hopper questioning him and the other boys. 

You scrunch your nose at that. “Is that even legal?”

“Unsure, but it was awesome.”

“Will went missing, Dustin. It isn’t ‘awesome’.”

Dustin tilts his head at you. “Well, I bet Will is going to have a blast hearing everything when we find him.” 

His words are so matter of fact, as if he already knows that Will will be found after all. His naivety worries you a bit, but you also can’t help but indulge in his hope as well. Then you think about what he’s just said. “Wait, who’s ‘we’?”

Your brother pretends he can't hear you, miming at his ears. “Dustin-”

“What?”

“Dustin, you and the boys can’t just-”

“I can’t hear you!” He’s running to his room now with you quick behind his heels. 

“Dustin, I swear to God-”

“I gotta do homework, Y/N, bye!” He slams the door in your face. 

You sigh. There’s no getting through to him, years of being Dustin’s older sister has taught you that, so you go into your room instead. You might as well get started on the assignments you missed today, and you have a huge chem test tomorrow, so you’ll focus on that and keep an ear out for Dustin. Whatever he’s planning with the boys, you won’t let them do it alone. 

After a couple hours of silence from Dustin’s room, you decide to call Jonathan. The line rings for a while with no answer, and eventually you give up. It makes sense that he’s not answering, he’s had a long day. You hope he’s asleep, but you know him better than that. He’s probably holed up in his room, trying to distract himself like you are right now. 

A loud thud from Dustin’s room breaks you from your thoughts. Then you hear a quiet “shhh!” that sounds suspiciously like Lucas, and you immediately throw on your shoes and a jacket and march outside. 

Dustin is halfway out of his window when you arrive, and Mike and Lucas stare at you, caught red handed. 

“Guys, I think she can hear us.” Your brother says, breaking the silence. Mike scoffs at him and Lucas groans. 

You eye the three of them, unamused. “Your best friend just went missing, what the hell are you guys doing out here so late and alone?”

Dustin awkwardly finishes his descent down, finally landing on his feet with a thud. He secures his hat back on his head and goes to grab his bike. You block his path. 

“I’m serious, one of you needs to start talking, now.” 

Lucas and Dustin look at Mike, who is their unofficial leader of the gang, and he huffs. “Look, Y/N, I like you-”

“How thrilling.” You say, voice monotone. 

The boy ignores you and continues to talk. “But Will is missing, and we aren’t just going to sit around and wait. He’s our friend, we have to do something.” 

You open your mouth to speak, but Lucas interrupts you. “You’re definitely our favorite sister in the group, so you’d be even cooler if you let us go.” 

Again, you try to respond, but this time Dustin beats you to it. “Yeah, you’re like, totally cool already. If you pretend that you never saw us, that’d be great.” 

“Guys-”

“And don’t give us a whole lecture about safety. That’s all bull.” Mike says. 

“Boys!” You scream. They all fall silent, not used to you ever raising your voice at them. You’ve only ever yelled at them once or twice, preferring to be the “cool” sister whenever you can, but right now they’re seriously pissing you off. 

“Let me speak.” When no one says anything, you continue. “I’m not going to stop you guys from looking for Will. In fact, I support it-”

“You do?”

You shoot Mike a death glare, which promptly shuts him up. “Yes, I do. However, I’m not letting you guys go alone.” 

The boys all groan at this, acting as if it’s the worst thing in the world to have you tag along with them. You ignore their complaining and head over to where your bike sits against the porch. You zip up your coat, the chill from the night making you shiver a bit. 

“No arguing, or I’ll call all your moms. Ours included, Dustin.”

“Why me?”

“Look, guys. I’m proud of you for stepping up, but I’m coming with. The last time I let one of you boys go off into the woods alone…” 

The boys shift uncomfortably now, realizing how heavy the guilt weighs upon you. After a few beats of silence, Mike finally gives in. 

“Fine,” he says, pointing a finger at you. “But the second you start to freak out, you’re gone.” 

You salute Mike, hopping on your bike as you all begin to bike away. The ride doesn’t take long, since you live just off of where Will was last seen. Thunder rumbles when you all approach the crime scene, and you shudder a bit. 

“It’s going to rain, guys.” You inform them. 

Dustin looks up at the sky with uncertainty. “I think maybe we should go back.”

Mike is quick to shut down the idea, urging the others to keep going. You admire his loyalty to Will, and you figure it’s why the two of you butt heads so often. Out of the entire group, you’re the most similar to him. 

Lucas and Mike go under the caution tape first, and Dustin hangs back. You place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “We can go back, you know.” 

He clenches his jaw, jutting his chin out a bit. “No, Will needs us.”

Your brother puffs out his chest and follows after his friends, leaving you to take up the rear. More thunder rumbles and the rain begins to come down. You flip your hood up, thankful you remembered to grab a hoodie when leaving. 

Mike guides the way with his flashlight, then Lucas, then Dustin, then you in the back. You make sure to keep your eyes on the three boys, scared that the second you look away they’ll be gone. The woods have always creeped you out, but you push your fear down to keep them safe. 

“Will!” Mike calls out, the rain now pouring down on you guys. 

“Byers!” 

“Will, little bee!” You call out as well. He never liked when you called him that in front of the others, but tonight was an exception. 

“I’ve got your X-Men 134!” Your brother bribes, unintentionally making you laugh a bit. If Will is nearby, he’ll surely come out to claim his prize. 

Your foot catches on a tree log, and you slip in the mud before just barely managing to catch yourself. It’s getting hard to see given how dark it is and the rain surrounding you. Dustin voices his concerns, only to be called a baby, and you bite your tongue. If you defend him, he’ll only look more like a baby to his friends. 

“I’m just being realistic!” He retaliates, which you commend him for. 

“Dustin’s right, guys. It’s getting really bad out here. We’re surrounded by a ton of trees, don’t they attract lightning?” You ask, now paranoid that you’ll be struck down any second. 

“You guys are being sissies.” Lucas taunts, annoyed as well. 

You try to argue, but Dustin voices a thought that’s been at the back of your mind. “Did you ever think Will went missing because he ran into something bad?”

You think back to how Hopper seemed worried when he investigated the Byers home. From what you can recall, he suspected that Will had been running away from something, explaining why he’d abandon his bike.

“And now we’re going to the exact same spot where he was last seen, and we have no weapons or anything?”

Maybe Dustin’s right. This definitely wasn’t your best idea, and you’re regretting letting them follow through with their plan. For someone who claims to want to keep their loved ones safe, you really suck at it. 

“Dustin, shut up.” Mike voices, though he now looks a bit concerned as well. 

“He’s right, Mike.” You speak up, stumbling a bit in more mud. Your shoes are definitely ruined, now. “I was at Jonathan’s when Hopper showed up, he thinks Will was running from something.” 

The boys go quiet now, and when you’re about to suggest going home, you hear rustling in the bushes. 

“Did you guys hear that?” Mike asks. 

Your heart stops as the rustling continues and you all start to twist and turn, looking for the source of the sound. The rustling gets louder, almost as if it’s getting closer, and you tighten your hand around your flashlight, ready to use it as a weapon just in case. 

Then, the light flashes upon a little girl, drenched in an oversized yellow shirt, shivering. Her head is shaved, but her small stature suggests to you that she is indeed a girl. You all stare at her, no one saying a thing. She stares back, a terrified look on her face that breaks your heart. 

“Holy shit,” you whisper. 

Her eyes land on you; something about her reminds you of Will, and  you know that nothing will be the same again.

-

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[she-talks-to-angels-14]

Homecoming Queen: A School Spirits Story.

Wally Clark x Reader

Part 2

A/N:I just finished season one of school spirits and I had this idea I kind of ran with. This is a single part story but I left it open for more parts and i could definitely be persuaded to make more parts.

Split River High Homecoming week 2013

Homecoming had once again rolled around at Split River High and the festivities had just begun. I was sitting in my first period class patiently waiting for the morning announcements. They were supposed to be announcing the homecoming court during announcements this morning. This is supposed to be my year. I had been voted onto the court each year by my classmates but this year was finally the year I could be in the running to be named Homecoming Queen.

“Good morning Bandits!” Assistant Principal Hartman’s voice echoed over the intercom. “Today kickstarts homecoming week and I know we are all looking forward to our court announcement but there are a few things we must announce before then.”

I zoned out while he rambled off the announcements that came prior to the homecoming court announcement. I was lost in thought wondering if they would change things up this year for the 30th anniversary memorial of Wally Clark, our fallen football star who tragically died during this game back in 1983.

The memorial had been the same since I started attending the football games, since 2007, my brother Lincoln’s freshman season the memorial has always been a moment of silence at half time followed by a speech from his parents. It’s sad really reliving the worst moment of your life year after year, replaying that horrible moment every time you step foot in the stadium named after your son. That must be why his dad stopped coming back in 2008.

“Earth to Y/N!” My best friend Bailey snapped her fingers in my ear breaking my train of thought. “You spaced out, he’s announcing homecoming court now!”

“What grade are we on?” I asked my interest suddenly brought back to the announcements

“Sophomores about to be Juniors.”

I listened intently as each Junior Maid was announced patiently waiting for Senior Maids.

“Now for your Senior Maids,” Mr. Hartman said enthusiastically over the intercom. “Haley Johnson, Bailey Lewis, and Y/N YL/N. Let’s give a round of applause for your 2013 homecoming court!”

“We’re both on homecoming court!” I squealed at my best friend and teammate!

“Maybe a basketball girl will finally win Queen!” Bailey smiled back at me.

“Alright girls settle down.” Mr. Anderson called out, “congratulations but we have a lesson to get through.”

We ended our conversation and Mr. Anderson proceeded with his lesson. The rest of the day passed by rather quickly and before I knew it, it was lunch time. Bailey and I were sitting at our normal table with the rest of the team.

“So Y/N do you have a dress picked out for homecoming?” Sarah asked.

“I sure do,” I said showing her my phone with the picture of my dress on it.

“Oh my god you are going to look amazing!” She squealed.

“Thank you, Bailey’s dress is even prettier than mine.” I redirected the conversation.

While the rest of the team chit chatted about homecoming and their plans for the game and dance I was lost in thought about who I would have escort me during presentation at the game Friday night. My dad and mom separated 4 years ago and he moved off to Florida and has since remarried. I could try to have him come in to escort me along with mom but he would likely have an excuse as to why he couldn’t make it. Maybe Lincoln would escort me along with mom. I spent the rest of lunch lost in thought.

The rest of the week went by fairly quickly. It was a blur of dress up days to show our school spirit. Tuesday was decade day, I sported my best 80s get up. Wednesday was twin day, Bailey and I were twins in our basketball jerseys. Thursday was country vs country club and I dressed like a proper country girl. Lastly Friday was spirit day, I went all out to show my school spirit!

———————————————————————

Homecoming game 2013

I stood with my mom and Lincoln on the track as we watched the final seconds of the the second quarter tick by. We were currently winning the game by two touchdowns. At halftime we were lined up waiting to be presented, the presentation was to take place after the memorial. This year Mrs. Clark gave her speech first. The speech however was followed with a slideshow this year, pictures of Wally flashed on the screen below the scoreboard I had never seen pictures of him before, he was a rather attractive young man. The video ended with the stadium name flashing.

“We all knew his story,” Lincoln said to me as we waited for my name to be called. “He was the football teams idol.”

“He was your idol,” I sighed, “but I can’t help but feel sad for him, he had a young life that was cut short by the sport he loved.”

“He was the best player to grace this field Y:N.”

“Yes he was but could you imagine having the future he could have had only to have your life ended by the sport you loved?” I could feel the tears pricking at the corner of my eyes. “Then every year your family has to relive that awful moment over and over?”

Our conversation was cut short by the announcer calling out my name.

“Y/N is escorted tonight by her mother Amber YL/N and her brother former state champion quarterback Lincoln YL/N.” the announcer spoke into the microphone. The crowd erupted into a roar of cheers although I’m not sure if they were for me or for the returning Split River royalty I was related to.

“Give it up one more time for your 2013 Split River Homecoming Court.” The announcer spoke as we all left the field in the choreographed manner we had practiced all week.

We made our way back to the stage set up for the court and we all took our seats.

“Did you hear the way the crowd cheered for you?” Bailey asked, “I’d say based on that you are definitely our Homecoming Queen.”

“You know they weren’t cheering for me,” I sighed. “They were cheering for Lincoln, a part of Split River royalty.”

“You don’t know that!” She scolded

“I do Bailey, he’s a state champion, I’m just his little sister.”

“You are so much more than that.” She said she popped me in the back of the head. “You are literally one of the most popular girls here, you’re friends with everyone and have always gone out of your way to do for anyone who needed a helping hand.”

“You and I both know that that doesn’t hold a candle to being a state champion around here.”

She rolled her eyes at me but let it go. Thankfully the remainder of the game passed faster than expected and I was able to escape the stadium in no time.

———————————————————————

Homecoming Dance 2013

I walked into the gym with my chiffon train flowing behind me. I felt like a million bucks, this was my last homecoming dance and I was determined to have a good time no matter the outcome of the vote. I quickly found Bailey and the rest of our teammates and we proceeded to head to the camera line where we could take one final team homecoming picture together.

Once we finished with the pictures we made our way out on to the dance floor. The DJ had just started playing ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ by One Direction, we all sang in unison at the top of our lungs “baby you light up my world like no body else,” as we danced and jumped around. The song was fading out and the tune to a slow song was fading in when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Turning around I was face to face with Jax Dawson, our quarterback.

“Can I have this dance?” He asked smiling sweetly and sticking his hand out to me.

“Of course,” I said taking his out stretched hand. He put my arms around his neck and placed his hands on my waste very lightly. We swayed in sync to the music and lyrics of ‘I’ll Be’ by Edwin McCain.

“You look gorgeous tonight Y/N.” He whispered in my ear.

“Thank you Jax.” I could feel my cheeks flush. “You look handsome.”

“Handsome enough I could snag a second dance later in the night?” He flirted

“We might can arrange that.” I laughed.

We danced with each other until the song faded out and a shrill screech of the microphone broke us apart.

“Can we please have our Seniors on homecoming court report to the stage?” The Principal Mrs. Sheridan called out.

I made my way to the stage my heart was beating out of my chest I was so nervous. I could literally hear my heart beating each step I took that got me closer to the stage.

Once everyone was situated on stage Mrs. Sheridan only added to everyone’s anxiety by dragging out the crowning. She started by crowning the Homecoming King, who was none other than Jax.

“No time for your 2013 Homecoming Queen,” she called into the microphone. “Drumroll please, this years Homecoming Queen is, Y/N YL/N!”

The crowd erupted in applause and I stepped to Mrs. Sheridan for her to crown me. Once the crown was secured to my head I turned back to find my best friend Bailey, “You did it,” she smiled, “I knew you had this.”

“Thanks B,” I said hugging her, “finally one of the basketball girls won.” We both laughed.

“Please give it up one more time for your king and queen.” Mrs. Sheridan called out followed by applause.

I had to stay on stage with the court and take pictures for a few minutes after the presentation. Once the pictures were done I headed to the steps of the stage so that I could get back to the dance floor. As soon as I stepped off the first step I felt my dress tug on something causing me to miss the second step and fall down the steps hitting the back of my head on the steps as I fell down them. I could faintly hear people calling my name and I could tell my hair was wet with something, I stuck my hand to the back of my head and brought it to my eyes to see my fingers covered in blood before everything went black.

I’m not sure how long I was out for but when I finally came to I had a major headache and was still on the gym floor. My vision was still slightly blurred but I could make out a male figure standing in front of me.

“What happened?” I asked groggily.

“You fell down the steps of the stage.” A sweet unfamiliar voice responded, “you hit your head on the way down.”

“How long was I out for?”

“Well about that.” The voice responded, I could listen to this boy talk all day,

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked as my vision finally began to refocus. I was face to face with a face I had only ever seen once before, on the screen at last nights game. “Yo- you’re wa- wa.”

“Wally Clark,” he finished my sentence for me “Homecoming King of ‘83”

“That’s impossible,” I panicked. “I must be dreaming or in a comma because you’ve been dead for 30 years!”

“It’s not impossible cherry pop.” A girl with dark curly hair stated plainly.

“The only way it’s not impossible is if I’m.” I choked on the last word of my sentence.

“Dead.” Wally stated softly grabbing my hand.

“No I can’t be dead!” I whaled, “I’ve got a concussion or something.”

“Im afraid not,” a shorter boy with glasses said pointing off in the distance to a crowd of people around someone.

I pulled myself together enough to get up off the floor and see what was going on. I could see Bailey, Sarah and Jax clearly in the distance. I made my way to each of them touching their shoulders and telling them I was ok but neither of them even noticed I was there.

“They can’t see or hear you,” the shorter boy said.

“This can’t be real.” I real I sobbed, as I pushed my way through the crowd to see what the commotion was I saw my lifeless body laid out on the gym floor as one of the teachers attempted CPR.

“She’s not breathing.” The teacher shouted, “I’m going to continue with chest compressions until the EMTs get here!”

“Dispatch says they’re two minutes out,” another teacher called.

My friends were all a wreck, the sound of their sobs and cries tore through my heart like a bullet from a gun.

“She can’t be gone!” Bailey cried out. Sarah could barely speak she was crying so hard. Jax had his head in his hands and I could hear soft sobs escaping his lips. My friends were hurting and there was nothing I could do.

Within minutes the EMTs burst through the gym doors with a gurney. They rushed to the group of people surrounding my lifeless body.

“How long have you been doing compressions,” one of them asked the teacher who had been working to keep my heart beating.

“Ten minutes,” he responded.

“She doesn’t have a pulse,” the other EMT called out. “Let’s try to shock her.” They pulled out their defibrillator and proceeded to put the paddles to my chest. Shockwaves ripples through my body and I didn’t even move. They tried a second and third time with not a single movement. I was gone and I wasn’t coming back.

“Let’s call it,” one of the EMTs said. “Time of death?”

“Ten o’clock,” the other responded.

They began getting a body bag ready and I felt a hand lightly touch my shoulder. “You don’t need to see this,” the sweet voice from earlier said. I turned around and instinctively buried my head in the chest of the tall brunette football player. He wrapped his arms tightly around me as I sobbed into his chest.

“Let’s get you out of here while this is cleaned up.” He said as he ran his hand through my hair.

“Where could we even go where I won’t see them drag my body out of the school?” I sobbed

“Let’s go to the auditorium,” he started walking while he still held me into his side. “You won’t be able to see anything in there.

I didn’t say a word I simply let him lead me to the auditorium. I wasn’t ready to die. I still had so much life to live. I was supposed to go to college and play college ball. Meet a wonderful man and get married and have kids and grow old with the love of my life, I wasn’t supposed to die at my senior homecoming dance!

By the time we had made it to the auditorium my sadness had turned to rage. I was enraged by what had been taken from me. Once the auditorium doors shut I let out a blood curdling scream from the rage that was coursing through me.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s ok,” tried to south me. “I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same way after reality finally set in. Mad at the world for what has been taken from you.”

“I’m pissed,” I cried. “ I had so much to look forward to a now it’s gone. No college ball, no love, no wedding, no kids, no growing old with the love of my life.”

“I get it,” he said putting his arm around me and pulling me to him. “I watched all of those same dreams I had die when I died on that damn football field 30 years ago.”

“How do you live with it?” I asked leaning into his embrace. I felt like I was safe sitting here with him as if not matter what he would protect me from whatever harm could come to me now.

“It gets easier,” he smiled, “eventuality the sting isn’t as painful as it used to be, that and with Mr. Martin’s help.

“Who is Mr. Martin?”

“He leads the afterlife support group we are all apart of.”

“Oh,” was all I could manage “what’s it like being a ghost?”

“It’s nothing like the movies make you think.” He giggled, “we can’t walk through walls, touch people, talk to them, or possess them.”

“So we’re really lame immortals basically?”

“Basically,” he sighed, “we still have the same needs and wants as we did when we were alive though.”

“So what we can get sick or something?”

“We’ll charley is allergic to nuts, even in death if he eats them he swells.”

“So can we still fall in love or have sex?”

“Yes and yes,” he laughed, “I just said we still have needs and wants like we did when we were alive.

God that laugh, something about his laugh was contagious. Hearing him laugh just put a smile on my pained face and I couldn’t fight back.

“I know the night didn’t go how you planned,” he said scratching his neck “but you are still homecoming Queen,” he said pulling out my crown, “and the homecoming Queen does get a dance with the homecoming king.”

“The homecoming king is still alive,” I said quizzically.

“This years king is yes but how about a king from 30 years ago?” He asked as he placed my crown back on my head.

“It would be my honor,” I smiled as I stuck my hand out to him.

“You know I never even made it to accept my crown,” he said as he took my hand in is. “I died the night before they crowned me so I never even got my dance.”

“Until now that is.” I smiled up at the handsome jock who had his arms tightly wrapped around my waist. “We don’t have any music.” I said I we swayed together in silence.

Wally began to hum the tune to ‘Iris’ by the Goo Goo Dolls then began to sing the opening lyrics. “And I’d give up forever touch you, cause I know that you feel me somehow, you’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be and I don’t wanna go home right now.”

I was mesmerized by how good of a singer he was and before I knew it I was lost in the song. My arms around his neck and my head lay perfectly on his chest, this moment eased the pain I felt moments before for just long enough for me to enjoy the dance.

The song had been over for a while but Wally and I still stood in the middle of the auditorium my arms around his neck and his around my waist neither of us wanting to break the comfortable space we were in.

“Wally?” I asked softly “how did you know that song, it came out years after you died?”

“I’ve been to so many of these dances over the years you can’t help but learn the songs.”

“I see well,” I sighed.

“Well what?” He asked concerned.

“You sang my favorite song very well.” I smiled.

“I’m glad I could do your favorite song justice.” He said as he let one arm fall from my waist and moved it to cup my cheek. “Do you feel better?”

“I do thank you,” I smiled as I leaned my cheek into his touch. Being in this moment felt right I didn’t pull my check away from his touch and he didn’t pull his hand away from me either we are just standing there looking into each others eyes. The next thing I know both of us are leaning into each other, within seconds his lips are pressed to mine in softest and sweetest kiss I have ever felt. His lips are soft and they feel like they were meant for mine. Moments later we break the kiss both of us breathless.

“I will never forget this night Y/N,” he smiled as he ran his thumb across my cheek bone.

“Neither will I,” I say as I reach one of my hands up to grasp the hand he has placed on my cheek.

[lovingmj]

1983

michael jackson x reader

the wind blew through the hair strands on your head as well as the lavender shirt you wore. you stood outside the house rocking back and forth waiting for the door to open. the hayvenhurst house as they call it. you were standing next to your mother and glanced at her. you slightly hear footsteps.

“hello!” the door was opened by none other than mrs. jackson herself.

“hi katherine how’re you doing” your mom said to her while leaning in for a hug.

“i’m doing well and look at you y/n, you’ve grown so much! you don’t remember me do you?”

you smiled and hugged back as she pulled you in, “no i do”

you faintly remembered her over the house back in indiana, sometimes bringing her kids, she was a close friend of your mother’s back in the day.

“come in, come in, come in”

you scanned her outfit, you could tell she had a lot of money just by what she wore, it looked like it was all designer. her smile was kind and loving.

as you walked into the house you were in awe by how pretty it was, and the outside was beautiful.

“are you guys hungry?”

as you heard your mom and katherine talk you continued to look around, at pictures and furniture.

you soon felt a tap on your shoulder, you turned around and it was a very familiar face. you couldn’t pin point if it’s because you’ve seen his face when you were younger, or because you see his face on television.

he scratched the back of his neck, “hi y/n, it’s, it’s been so long”

“hi michael, nice to see you again”

you shared a bit of an awkward hug.

“michael, why don’t you show y/n around while we catch up”

he nodded and said “follow me” as he walked upstairs.

“so this is where most of the bedrooms are” he pointed to a specific room, “that’s my bedroom”

you saw one of those red jackets he always wears laying on a chair.

“is that a jacket for stage?”

he turned to look at what you were looking at, “that’s the jacket from beat it”

you nodded, “cool. great song by the way”

“thank you”

he looked outside his window, “do you want to see my animals?”

you lit up “yes!”

he chucked and went downstairs as you followed him outside.

an hour later you and michael were sitting by the fountain eating and laughing.

“wait so what happened”

“so i jumped way too early and ruined the whole shot”

you laughed, “i thought you were perfect”

he put on a deep newscaster voice “breaking news everybody michael jackson is far from perfect”

you laughed even harder causing you to almost fall back into the fountain.

“careful y/n” he laughed while holding your back to push you away from the fountain.

he looked at you, “it’s nice to have someone other than family that i can just be myself with you know”

you nodded, “i’m sure it’s a bit difficult for you”

as you both sat in a comfortable silence you heard footsteps

“michael you sure know how to let someone know when they have company” janet walked up to you and hugged you

“hi janet how have you been”

“hi girl! great, great, i’m sure michael is feeling ecstatic that his first crush is ba-” janet was cut off by michael throwing a fry at her

“janet!”

she just laughed at waved, “fine i’ll leave you two alone”

michael laughed and rolled his eyes, “sorry about her”

you sat and let the wind blow while you looked at his hair strands move lightly. “first crush huh?”

michaels two shoulders bunched up as he blushed, “you’re embarrassing me”

“so it’s true?”

he shrugged his shoulders trying to be cool causing you to lightly hit him, he laughed, “yes”

“well i guess we’re even”

“why?”

“because you had a crush on me before. and i have a crush on you now” you slightly winced at what you were saying.

michael used his finger to move a strand out of his face, “no. i think it’s just 2 to 1 now”

you smiled and looked at the sky, he did the same. you felt his hand move closer to yours until it fit into your palm.

at that moment you realized, things were about to change for you

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

From Hell to Home to Back Again

Summary: At the talent show, Chrissy Cunningham is so hungry that she nearly collapses. When she's found by Hopper, her parents ended up losing custody of her. She ends up being placed in the care of the Hendersons, and she finally finds the family she so desperately needed. She also ends up falling in love. What other changes are made in this alternate universe?

Prologue

Chapter One

November 6th, 1983

" - I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you, I know you were right believing for so long - ," Chrissy Henderson was cut off by a pillow to the face. "Nancy Wheeler!"

"Shut up!" Nancy hissed.

Chrissy giggled as she collapsed on the bed next to her. They were sitting in Nancy's room while Chrissy's brother and Nancy's played Dungeons and Dragons down in the basement.

"Oh, come on, what's the point of being your friend if I can't tease you mercilessly about you and Steve?" Chrissy asked.

"All we did was make out," Nancy rolled her eyes.

"And you like him," Chrissy said.

"He's cute," she shrugged.

"You like him," Chrissy sang. "Admit it."

"Okay, so, I do. . .what if he doesn't like me?" Nancy asked.

"He wouldn't be showing interest in you if he didn't like you," Chrissy sighed.

"He's just. . . slept with a lot of women," Nancy said.

"I didn't think you were the kind of girl who listens to rumors, Nance," Chrissy sighed, making a clucking noise of disapproval. "Shame. . . Three isn't a lot."

"How do you know?" Nancy asked.

"I've known him since before I was adopted. Of the jocks to date, he's the one you'd want," Chrissy said. "He's good."

"Tommy and Carol?" Nancy asked.

"Oh, no, they're assholes. Tommy's been Steve’s friend for as long as he can remember. It's hard to walk away from that," she said.

"How come you never dated Steve?" Nancy asked.

"I think it's because our asshole parents wanted us to date that made us not want to," Chrissy replied.

"That makes sense," Nancy said.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Robin, Nancy's fraternal twin sister, came blundering in.

"Coming through!" Robin exclaimed.

"What did I say about coming into my room without knocking?!" Nancy shrieked. "Asshole! What are you doing?"

Robin whistled cheerfully as she began digging through Nancy's closet.

"Making sure you didn't steal my clothes again," Robin said.

"Why in the hell would I ever do that?" Nancy asked.

"To annoy your darling older sister," Robin replied and pulled a pink top out of the closet. "What's this then?"

"It's pink, so it's mine," she replied. "By the way, I'm older!"

"Looks dark to me," Robin grinned. "So, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Nancy hissed.

"Boys," Chrissy replied with a grin.

"Chrissy!" Nancy hissed.

"Ew, gross. Well, I'm out of here. The boys are wrapping it up downstairs," Robin said.

Robin left with Nancy's shirt. Nancy groaned and threw a pillow at the door.

"Ugh, I can't believe we ever shared a womb," Nancy groaned.

"Speaking of siblings, I'm pretty sure mine is going to come up here soon with an excuse to talk to you," Chrissy giggled. "So be nice."

"What are you talking about? I'm always nice," Nancy said, but she was fighting a smile.

"I love you, Nancy, but no, you're not," Chrissy giggled. "Not all the time."

Speak the devil, and the devil shall appear. Dustin stood in the doorway, holding a pizza box.

"Hey, Nance, there's one more pizza if you want it," Dustin said.

"No, thank you," Nancy said.

"I'll take it, though. Thanks for asking me if I wanted it. . . Butthead," Chrissy said, and Nancy raised her eyebrow. "Oh, I'm his sister, I'm allowed to be mean to him."

Chrissy chewed happily on the pizza as she escorted her brother downstairs. She finished before walking through the kitchen.

"Thanks for having us, Mrs. Wheeler," Chrissy said.

"You're more than welcome. Tell your mom I said hello. Get home safe, you two," Mrs. Wheeler said.

"Yes, ma'am," they said before walking outside.

It was cool outside, not too cool, but enough to make Chrissy shiver a little when she picked up her bike. She was saving up to buy her own car, and though shifts at Benny's diner didn't offer much, she enjoyed working there. She rode behind Dustin and Will, keeping an eye on them with a fond smile.

"Race you to our place?" Dustin asked Will. "Winner gets any comic."

"Any comic?" Will asked delightfully before racing ahead.

"Hey! Hey! I didn't say go! I'm going to kill you!" Dustin yelled.

"Slow down, guys!" Chrissy laughed as she sped up.

"I'll take your X-Men 134!" Will yelled.

"Hey, Will, you sure you don't want me to ride back to your place with you?!" Chrissy asked as she usually did.

"I'm fine! Thank you!" Will hollered as he sped off.

"Son of a bitch!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Well, you should know better than to bet against Will the Wise," Chrissy said with a smile as she put her bike away.

"Yeah, yeah," Dustin huffed as he walked inside the house with his sister.

Chrissy greeted their mother with a kiss and scratched behind Mews' ear.

"How'd your game go, Dusty? Did you win?" Claudia asked with a grin, and Chrissy bit her lip to stop from laughing.

"That's not how it works, mom!" Dustin exclaimed before launching into the replay.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight! Good luck, mom!" Chrissy exclaimed as she headed towards the bedroom.

Her room was well lived in with pink walls and blue curtains. Her bedspread was a floral blue and unmade. . .oops. There were clothes thrown about but not too terribly, and they were mostly out of the way. Photographs littered the wall of a smiling, happy Chrissy with her proper family. Her favorite was one with her brother in a fort in the living room after a couple of weeks living there, reading Charlotte's Web. Dustin had spent so much time trying to make her feel better, trying to spin a negative into a positive. It worked. After Dustin went on about how intelligent pigs were, Chrissy went out and bought a little pig figurine to put on her dresser. She got a spider one for Dustin, which now sits happily on his own dresser. Now, whenever she thinks of pigs and she looks at the pig, she thinks of happy memories of her brother.

"Hey, Wilbur," she greeted and touched his snout.

Chrissy was about to start undressing when there came a tap on her bedroom window. She jumped and whirled around, clutching the sweater to her chest even though she wasn't even naked.

"Argyle!" Chrissy exclaimed and threw her sweater on the bed before opening her window.

"Hey, Fair Lady," Argyle grinned. "Wanted to return this book to you."

"You couldn't have returned it when you stopped by cheer practice tomorrow?" Chrissy asked, taking it.

"Oh. Yeah, I could have done that," Argyle said, and he sighed. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

"What is?" Chrissy asked.

"It seems like only yesterday that we were meeting at Benny's diner, and you were serving me food. . .now, here we are," Argyle said. "Isn't it funny how time works? I want you to know that I'm going to look back on our friendship fondly."

"Argyle. . .we met two weeks ago," Chrissy giggled and then paused. "Wait, did your dad finally decide if he wants to put a Surfer Boy here?"

"He didn't tell me yet. He wants to tell the whole family when we get back to California," Argyle said. "I'm going to miss you, Lady Henderson."

"You as well, sir Argyle," Chrissy said with a grin. "I really hope that you'll be able to move to Hawkins. Although, you might miss California."

"I go wherever my story takes me," Argyle said with a grin. "And this place is as beautiful to me as California. Goodnight, Chrissy."

She watched him walk off into the darkness, and she smiled. She got dressed, brushed her teeth, and slipped underneath the covers before reaching over to turn off the light. Chrissy drifted off to sleep, hoping that the next day would be just as good.

The next day. . .

Chrissy met Barb and Nancy at Nancy's locker. She could already guess what they were talking about.

"I'm telling you, it's a one - two time thing!" Nancy exclaimed as she opened her locker, and a note fell out.

MEET ME IN THE BATHROOM. - STEVE.

"You were saying?" Barb asked.

Nancy rolled her eyes at Barb and bit her lip, hesitating.

"It's okay if you want to go," Chrissy said, nudging her. "We'll be fine."

Nancy smiled gratefully at her before rushing off to meet Steve.

"I can't wait until Steve loses interest, but I do wish he would stop messing with her," Barb sighed.

"That's a rotten thing to say," Chrissy frowned.

"Oh, come on, Steve Harrington is notorious for leaving women high and dry," Barb said, rolling her eyes.

"It sounds like you're basing an opinion on silly rumors from other people," Chrissy said. "I thought you were better than that, Barbara. How about you get to know him before you start judging him?"

"Ugh! Why do you have to be right? Yeah, okay, so maybe that is shitty of me, but I just don't want this thing between him and Nancy to be serious is all," Barb said.

"Why?" Chrissy asked.

"It's - It's nothing," Barb said, blushing.

"You're my friend, too, Barb. Whenever you're ready to talk to me, I'm here," Chrissy said softly.

"Yeah, okay, let's get to class, I do not want to be late," Barb said, sniffling.

After school, Chrissy was walking to cheer practice when she spotted Jason Carver waiting for her. She sighed and pinched her nose before painting a forced smile on her face.

"Jason," she greeted politely.

"Hey, Chrissy," Jason smiled. "I was just wondering - "

"No," Chrissy said shortly.

"You didn't let me finish," Jason said.

"I know what you were going to say, and the answer is no. It's always no," Chrissy said. "Now, leave me alone."

"Come on, Chrissy, what's other people going to say when you're the only cheerleader without a boyfriend?" Jason asked.

"The fact that you care about that is sad. I am not the only cheerleader without a boyfriend, and quite frankly, I don't give two shits about what other people think. Doing that for my birth mother nearly killed me. You'd spend your time better doing the same," Chrissy said. "I do not want to date you, and I've tried to be nice about it, but quite frankly, I am tired of you being my shadow."

Jason was about to say something when he looked up and his eyes widened.

"Is there a problem?" Hopper's voice asked.

"No, sir," Jason said quickly. "I, um, going to go."

"That would be a good idea," Hopper said.

"Oh, I thought he was going to - ," Chrissy said, turning around and stopping when she saw Hopper's face. "What's wrong?"

"When Will rode away from your house last night, did you notice anything strange?" Hopper asked.

"No," Chrissy said. "Why?"

"Will hasn't been seen since last night," Hopper replied softly.

"Oh no! I knew I should have rode back with him!" Chrissy gasped.

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault. I just questioned your brother and his friends," Hopper said. "Thought you should know in case you wanted to check on him. I need to get back to it."

He squeezed her shoulder before walking away. Chrissy frowns, and that's when she spotted Heather. She ran over to her.

"Hey, can you tell the others I won't be able to make it cheer practice this evening?" Chrissy asked. "My brother needs me."

"Is everything okay?" Heather asked.

"I don't know yet," she replied and started heading towards the middle school.

She found Dustin huddled with Lucas and Mike. Dustin looked at her with surprise.

"Don't you have cheer practice?" Dustin asked.

"Skipping it entirely. The Chief told me what happened," Chrissy said softly. "Are you boys alright?"

"We need to look for Will," Mike said.

"The first thing you need to do is go home and be with your parents. Let Hopper handle this," Chrissy said. "Look, maybe an animal spooked him, and he's hiding somewhere. You're not helping Will or your parents if you get lost too."

When they got home, Chrissy made sure to call Argyle and update him before calling in sick to work. Dinner was a quiet affair. . .well, mostly. Claudia tried to get Dustin to eat or talk, but after several moments, he pushed his plate away.

"I'm not very hungry. Can I go lay down?" Dustin asked.

"Sure thing, honey," Claudia said and watched him leave. "Oh, I should probably check on him."

"Give him a few minutes, mom, and then we check on him," Chrissy said. "I'll clean up."

After cleaning up, Chrissy and Claudia went to Dustin's room to check on him, only to find it empty. The window was wide open.

"Goddamn it," Chrissy cursed.

Chapter Two

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers

Author:@harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) (eventually) Word Count: 3,008 Warnings: lil' bit of angst, lil' bit of fluff, not proofread Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! Another rewrite series is upon us!! I'm so excited for y'all to read this one, and I hope y'all are just as excited!! If you are, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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November 6, 1983. A normal fall night in Hawkins, Indiana. A Sunday night spent in the basement at my little brother’s best friend’s house. My brother is Dustin Henderson. His best friend is Mike Wheeler. They’re both here with their other best friends, Will Byers and Lucas Sinclair. 

I’m Olivia Henderson, and I do not want to be here. You see, Mike has an older sister named Nancy. She and I used to be the best of friends… before she started dating my other best friend, but we’ll get to that later.

“Something is coming,” Mike said. “Something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here.”

I watched as all four boys playing a board game called Dungeons and Dragons, or D&D for short. They were all so immersed, I seriously think they all thought I left.

“What is it?” Will asked, almost excitedly.

I smiled at him, so happy to see him excited and happy about something, even if it was just a board game. He’d been through so much with his parents splitting and fighting all the time.

“What if it’s the Demogorgon?” Dustin asked.

I stood up from where I sat on the couch, moving towards the group.

“Oh, Jesus. We’re so screwed if it’s the Demogorgon.”

“It’s not the Demogorgon,” Lucas said, completely sure of his answer.

“It’s definitely the Demogorgon,” I whispered, face scrunched.

“Shut up, Liv,” Dustin said.

Slamming a gaming piece on the board, Mike said, “An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber!”

Lucas pointed at the board like he was right as my brother said, “Troglodytes?” with a smile on his face.

“Told ya,” Lucas chuckled.

Mike went serious as the rest of the group chuckled a little. “Wait a minute.”

I walked slowly around the table, as Mike thought for a moment. “Something is coming. Something hungry for blood.”

“Did you hear that?” Mike said, looking to his left. “That… that sound? Boom… boom… BOOM!” He slammed his hands on the table, the other three young boys jumping a little in their chairs.

“That didn’t come from the troglodytes,” I whispered, now standing behind Dustin. “That… that came from something else.”

Slamming another gaming piece on the board, Mike yelled, “The Demogorgon!”

The boys groaned as I chuckled.

“We’re in deep shit,” Dustin said, to which I smacked his hat off his head.

“Will, your action!” Mike said.

“I don’t know,” the young Byers boy exclaimed.

“Fireball him!” Lucas exclaimed.

“I’d have to roll a 13 or higher!”

Looking at Will, Dustin said, “It’s too risky. Cast a Protection spell.”

“Don’t be a pussy,” Lucas said. “Fireball him!”

“Cast Protection.”

Slamming his hands on the table yet again, Mike exclaimed, “The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering! It stomps towards you. Boom!”

“Fireball him!” Lucas said.

“Another stomp! Boom!”

“Cast Protection!” Dustin said.

Looking up at me, Will asked, “Liv, what should I do?”

Shrugging, I answered, “I say cast Protection, but Fireballing sounds fun.”

“He roars in anger!” Mike yelled.

Everyone at the table started talking over each other before Will decided to roll the dice and yell out, “Fireball!” as the dice flew across the table and onto the floor.

The four of them quickly got up and started looking for the dice, wanting to see what numbers Will rolled. Dustin paced while saying, “Oh, my god,” over and over again.

“Mike!” Mrs. Wheeler yelled.

“Mom, we’re in the middle of a campaign!” the middle Wheeler said.

“You mean the end? Fifteen after.”

I looked at my watch with wide eyes, mouth agape after a second. “Shit. Dustin, we gotta go.”

“Why do we have to go?” Will asked.

“Because it’s a school night, Will,” I said, putting my jacket on. I looked at Dustin, watching as he put on his jacket as Will said, “Does a seven count?”

“Did Mike see it?” Lucas asked. “Then it doesn’t count.”

Not totally understanding the meaning behind that, I said, “Come on, boys. I can bring you back over next weekend for another 2 hour game.”

“It was 10,” Dustin said, picking up a box of pizza.

“You been playing for ten hours?”

Ignoring my question, my brother said, “Anyone want this?”

“No,” Will and Lucas said.

“Liv?”

I looked at the ceiling, thinking for a minute. “See if Nance wants it.”

“I thought you were mad at her,” Lucas said.

“Mad? No. Upset? Yes.”

“What’s the–”

“Don’t get involved,” Dustin said. “It’s complicated. Come on, Liv.”

Dustin and I walked up the stairs, and I immediately wished I hadn’t because what I heard made me want to rip my own ears off.

“Yeah, he’s cute,” Nancy said. “Barb, no. I don’t think so.”

Dustin waved at her, trying to get her attention. “Hey, Nancy. There’s a slice left if you want it. Sausage and pepperoni!”

I watched as Nancy rolled her eyes and told Barb to hold on before putting the phone down and walking over to her bedroom door… closing it in our faces.

“Do not let her bother you,” I said, the two of us walking down the stairs and to the garage door. “She’s just being a bitch.”

“There’s something wrong with your sister,” Dustin said as I closed the door behind us.

“What are you talking about?” Mike asked.

Will, Lucas, Dustin and myself all got on our bikes as Dustin said, “She’s got a stick up her butt.”

“Yeah. It’s because she’s been dating that douche bag, Steve Harrington,” Lucas said.

“Watch it, Sinclair,” I said.

“Yeah, don’t talk about Steve like that around Olivia,” Dustin defended. “Douche Bag was her best friend before Nance came along and she started becoming a real jerk.”

“She’s always been a real jerk,” Mike and I answered.

“She used to be cool. Like that time she dressed up as an elf for our Elder Tree campaign.”

“That was me,” I said, riding off with two of the younger boys. I stopped pedaling when I heard Will say, “It was a seven. The roll, it was a seven. The Demogorgon, it got me. See ya tomorrow.”

As soon as Will met me at the end of the driveway, I pedaled behind him after waving bye to Mike. When we made it to Lucas' house, he turned to us and said, “Goodnight, ladies and Liv!”

“Kiss your mom ‘night for me,” Dustin teased. He looked at Will and said, “Race back to our place? Winner gets a comic.”

“Any comic?” Will asked.

“Yeah.”

My chuckle turned into a laugh as Will started pedaling faster towards mine and Dustin’s house. Unintentionally, Dustin yelled, “I’m gonna kill you!”

“I’ll take your X-Men 134!” Will yelled, passing by our mailbox.

Dustin stopped, putting his feet flat on the ground. “Son of a bitch.”

I stopped beside Dustin, laughing, as I heard our mom yell out, “Livvie! Phone call!”

“I really wish she would stop calling me Livvie.”

Dustin chuckled as we made our way up the driveway, parking our bikes before heading inside, where I took my phone call in my bedroom.

“Yeah, hello?”

“Did you do the homework for Click’s class?”

“Hello to you, too.”

“Did you?”

I sighed, and hung my head. “Yes. But I’m not doing it for you?” I heard yelling on the other end of line. “Go before you get even more trouble for something you probably didn’t do.”

~~~

Since our mom works part time, she lets me take her car to school… but not on this Monday morning. I didn’t mind riding my bike, though. It was good exercise. When the boys and I made it to the high school, I stopped my bike and put it on the bike rack before bidding Lucas, Dustin and Mike a good day at school.

Right as I started walking up the school doors, I watched as Nancy Wheeler did the same. We smiled at each other a little, almost walking together like we used to. She went to say something before her friend Barbra Holland walked up.

“So, did he call?” Barb asked.

“Did who call?” I asked, acting oblivious. I knew exactly who she was talking about.

“Keep your voice down,” Nancy said, almost whining in her tone.

“Did he?” Barb inquired.

“Okay, someone has to fill me in,” I said.

“Barb, I told you, it’s not like that,” Nancy said. “Okay, I mean, yes, he likes me, but not like that. We just…” Nancy stopped at her locker, as did I. Our lockers were next to each other. “Made out a couple times.”

Barb mimicked her as I poked my head from behind Nancy, and said, “Will one of you please quit ignoring me and tell me who the hell she’s talking about?”

“Nance, seriously, you’re gonna be so cool now, it’s ridiculous,” Barb said.

“No, I’m not,” Nancy said.

“Hey, Olivia,” a random girl said.

“Hey, queen Liv,” another girl said.

I sighed, and closed my eyes. “Really wish they wouldn’t call me that.”

“Why?” Barb asked. “Because you got the nickname by association with Steve and now you two aren’t friends anymore?”

I held a finger out to her. “We never said we weren’t friends anymore. We just… drifted apart, is all. Happens all the time.” I looked at the back of Nancy’s head, gesturing to the younger girl. “Back to the task at hand.”

“You better still hang out with us, that’s all I’m saying,” Barb said.

“Us?”

“Yes. Us. I’m declaring you two friends again. But, Nance, if you become friends with Tommy H. and Carol–”

“Gross,” I mumbled. 

“It was a one-time– two-time thing,” Nancy said, opening her locker.

I chuckled as Nancy put stuff in her locker before she grabbed a piece of paper in handwriting that I knew all too well.

Barb and I looked at each other before we said in unison, “You were saying?”

Nancy put the note back in her locker before closing it. She turned to face me, asking with her eyes if I’d meet her at the bathroom, to which I nodded my head and silently told her yes.

The only thing I heard before she walked out of the bathroom was the words to study in a stern, but almost playful voice by Nancy. When Steve opened the door a couple minutes after Nancy walked out, he and I locked eyes. 

“I really hope you’re being careful with her,” I said. “She doesn’t need to have the reputation like all of your other cohorts. She isn’t like that.”

“Liv, I’m not–”

“You better not be. Don’t forget, I know where you sleep.”

He smiled a little, knowing I was right. I guess he decided to have some weird lame-ass comeback ‘cause he said, “Clothes get a little darker there, Henderson?”

When he looked over my head, I realized why he said that. Tommy H. and Carol.

“Yeah, well, I’d rather dress in dark clothing than dress like the ultimate geek,” I said. Turning to face Tommy H and Carol, I really didn’t want to waste my breath on them, so I just rolled my eyes and walked away.

“That’s right,” Carol said. “Walk away.”

Turning to walk backwards, I said, “Hey, Carol. Why don’t you stop being a bitch? Maybe then you wouldn’t have to beg for friendships from people that dress like nerds.” I walked straight to class, not thinking about them for the rest of the morning.

~~~

Third period. Not my favorite, but then again it was my favorite because that meant that lunch was next and all I wanted was to sit on the hood of Steve’s car and eat my lunch without him knowing.

When the Principal and Chief Hopper showed up at the door, knocking on it, my nerves went up about 100%. My first thought was Dustin, that something had happened to him. When the Principal called my name and had me follow the Chief to the Middle School, I kept quiet, not wanting to ask too many questions.

When we got to the AV room and I saw that Dustin was perfectly okay, I sighed in relief, hugging him when they entered the hall. The four of us followed Hopper to the Principal’s office, who joked that he never thought he’d see me in his office again.

Once the boys and I were sitting down on the couch, Hopper started asking his questions, and the boys started talking over each other.

“One at a time, alright?” Hopper said. He looked at Mike and asked, “You said he takes what?” “Mirkwood,” Mike answered. 

“Mirkwood?”

“Yeah.”

Turning to Officer Callahan, Hopper asked, “Have you ever heard of Mirkwood?”

“I have not,” Callahan answered. “Sounds made up to me.” “No, it’s from Lord of the Rings,” Lucas said.

“Well, The Hobbit,” Dustin corrected.

“Here we go,” I sighed. 

As Lucas and Dustin started their bickering, Hopper leaned forward saying, “What did I just say? One at a damn time.” Looking at Mike again, he said, “You.”

“Mirkwood, it’s a real road,” Mike said, before looking up at me.

I sighed and said, “It’s just the name that’s made up. It’s where Cornwallis and Kerley meet.”

Leaning back, Hopper said, “Yeah, alright, I think I know that–”

“We can show you, if you want,” Mike said.

“I said that I know it!”

“We can help.”

As the boys agreed, Hopper disagreed. “After school, you are all to go home. Immediately.” He looked at me and continued, ��Make sure they don’t go biking around looking for their friend. No investigating, no nonsense. This isn’t some Lord of the Rings book.”

“The Hobbit,” Dustin said.

“Dustin, shut the hell up,” I said.

As the boys bickered, once again, Hopper looked at me and asked, “Do I make myself clear?”

“Inescapably clear.”

He stood up and looked at the boys, asking, “Do I make myself… clear?”

Once they all agreed, we were let go and Hopper walked me back to the high school, where his car was parked.

Before I walked back into the building, I turned and said, “Hey, Hop?”

He looked at me, pointedly, telling me to correct myself.

I sighed. “Chief.”

At his look of almost relaxation, I asked, “Do you think Will’s in danger or do you think something happened to him?”

He sighed, brushing his hand over his face. “I don’t know, kid. If he went home and then vanished, maybe his dad–”

“That piece of shit wouldn’t come back for his son,” I said, almost angry. 

Hop sighed again. “Look, I’m just not sure. I’ll keep you updated. Get back to class.”

~~~

I looked at my phone, confused, as it rang. I picked the receiver, putting the earpiece to my ear. “Hello?”

“Can you come help me study?”

I sighed into the mouthpiece. “Nance. There’s a curfew in place because of Will missing.”

“Please?”

“Nance, I can’t. I can’t break the curfew.”

She sighed on her end. “You used to sneak out all the time.”

“Yeah. With Steve because we were both little shits,” I chuckled. I sighed, thinking it over for a moment. “Okay. I’ll come over–”

“Nevermind,” she said. “Steve’s here.”

“Don’t get caught,” I said, hanging up the phone. Dustin burst through my door a few seconds later, jacket and backpack on. “What are you doing and where are you going?”

“Looking for Will. You’re coming.”

~~~

Neither boy gave me a chance to try and explain why I didn’t want to go out looking for Will, but alas! Here I am. In the cold. Standing the barriers the police put up. Nice.

Getting off my bike, I mumbled, “You three are going to get me into some deep shit with the police.”

“Like you haven’t been in enough trouble with them already,” Lucas mumbled back.

“Watch it, Sinclair.”

“You feel that?” Dustin asked, a few seconds after a low rumble came from the sky.

I felt a raindrop on the top of my head, so I put my jacket’s hood on to protect my hair. 

“I think maybe we should go back.”

“For once, I agree,” I said.

“No,” Mike said. “We’re not going back. Just stay close.” He and Lucas started going under the barrier while Dustin and I looked at each other, deciding that since we were both here and bound to get in trouble, we might as well just follow the other two.

I’m following three 12 year olds? Gross. 

“Just stay on Channel Six. Don’t do anything stupid,” Mike continued.

The four of us started our hike into the woods in the torrential downpour happening, yelling out Will’s name, in the hope that he’d answer back.

“Will!” I yelled. “This isn’t funny! WILL!”

“I’ve got your X-Men 134!” Dustin yelled. “I really think we should turn back.”

“Seriously, Dustin?” Lucas said. “You wanna be a baby, then go home already!”

I walked up to Lucas and grabbed his jacket, pulling him  back. “Would you quit being a damn bully? Look, we’re all scared! Dustin’s just not that great at hiding it. We’re going to stay searching for Will, even though Hopper told us to stay at home.”

“Did you ever think Will went missing ‘cause he ran into something bad?” Dustin asked. “And we’re going to the exact same spot where he was last seen? And we have no weapons, or anything?” “Dustin, shut up,” Mike said, more calmly than Lucas.

“I’m just saying, does that seem smart to you?”

Putting his hand back to stop my brother in his tracks, Mike said, “Shut up, shut up.”

That’s when I heard rustling and went to stand in front of the three pre-teens. We all turned to our left, not seeing anything. We, then, turned to our right, seeing what looked like a little boy in a yellow shirt, drenched in the rain. 

Upon further inspection, the little boy turned out to be a little girl, and my big sister instinct kicked in like crazy.

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

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~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! i hope y’all liked this, and it got y’all excited for always the babysitter. i’m working as hard as i can on it. again, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox.

Additional Note: i know that some of y’all are waiting to see your requests, and i promise i’ll get to them. the writer’s block hit really bad with them. atb is the only thing i have motivation to write for at the moment. once i receive my ged, i’ll have more time to sit down and write them.

~~~

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

Steve Harrington Taglist: none yet!

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

~~~

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

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

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

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

Posted on November 6, 2023 *Happy Stranger Things Day!*

[citizenscreen]

Teri Garr and Michael Keaton for Stan Dragoti‘s adorable MR. MOM (1983)

[fireflywitch]

previously on california show your teeth..... (for those interested in a summary/spoilers/refreshment for the first installment!)

Will, Joyce, Jonathan, Hopper, and El grew up in Lenora, not Hawkins. There is a lab in Lenora, Brenner is in Lenora (or was...), and Will still goes missing on November 6, 1983.

November 1983: Barb (and others) go “missing” from Hawkins.

El escapes from the lab in Lenora and goes to Surfer Boy Pizza where she meets Argyle and Jonathan.

Jonathan takes El home, she meets Joyce and Hopper, but then Will’s “body” is found behind a dumpster.

El reaches Will in “Other Hawkins” - Hopper and Joyce rescue him, ten days after his disappearance.

El hides (and gets closer) with the Byers during the interim.

Will tells Jonathan that he’s been uncontrollably teleporting around Lenora, Hawkins, and “Other Hawkins”.

Jonathan handles this extremely normally but promises not to tell Joyce, Hopper, or El.

Halloween weekend 1984: Joyce and El go to visit Terry

The boys stay home, Will gets possessed by the Mind Flayer and starts erratically teleporting all over Lenora as Jonathan and Hopper desperately try to catch him.

El and Joyce come back. El successfully exorcises him with fewer happy memories and way more fire (+ burn scars).

Even with MF gone, Will still teleporting basically every time he falls asleep - El “fails” to wake him up/stop him and they teleport to real Hawkins together, the same day as the Snow Ball, meeting Dustin and Mrs Henderson.

After getting back, El convinces family to move to Hawkins For Real - for a variety of reasons, they agree.

January 1985: present day begins

Will, Jonathan, and Jane Hopper all start at school, meet the Hawkins crew, and start to make friends.

Joyce meets the other moms, Hopper replaces the widely hated previous chief of police.

Things start to get weird again: Benny Hammond goes “missing”, El forgets not to use her powers in front of people (Max), and Lucas and Dustin find a demodog strange creature and name it Billy Pilgrim.

Murder suspects Nancy and Steve are still dating.

El, Lucas, Dustin, Max, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, Hopper, and Karen Wheeler end up trapped in the Hawkins Lab by two mysterious lab agents.

Mike reveals to Will that at 7 he either jumped or fell into Sattler Quarry, prompting years of doctors and medication.

Mike then immediately falls into the Upside Down.

Will realizes all of his friends and family are missing, finds them, teleports them out of the lab, and passes out.

The group realizes that Mike has vanished: Will volunteers to go after him and teleports into the Upside Down.

El and Hopper close the gate once and for all.

Nancy, Karen, Joyce, and Jonathan set a trap and kill the Demogorgon.

Steve, Lucas, Max, and Dustin go into the tunnels to try to burn them as a distraction, mostly successfully, but Steve also sort of loses his hand.

Will returns with Mike from the Upside Down - with Barb’s body.

Epilogue!! March 22, 1985: Will and El celebrate a joint birthday, Will is surprised/unnerved by a card from his dad, Max gets El a skateboard, the boys gift Will a radio, and Mrs. Henderson offers Steve and Jonathan summer jobs at a lamp factory/store.

One of the lab agents is dead, one's whereabouts are unknown, and the Mind Flayer is still out there...

[best-tv-theme-song]

Round 1 is over, full results below!

Round 2 will start on Monday.

What are your most devastating losses this round?? Mine are Milo Murphy's Law, Gilmore Girls, That 70s Show, and Reba. (No respect around here for a single mom who works too hard who loves her kids and never stops)

Group A

The Addams Family vs. Fairy Tail

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat vs. Goosebumps

Wizards of Waverly Place (S1-3) vs. Ed, Edd n Eddy

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood vs. Only Murders in the Building

The Backyardigans vs. Downton Abbey

Naruto vs. The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy

Dexter's Laboratory vs. Kenan & Kel

Parks and Recreation vs. Jujutsu Kaisen

Danny Phantom vs. Pippi Longstocking/Pippi Långstrump

My Life as a Teenage Robot vs. My Hero Academia

Sabrina the Teenage Witch vs. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (S4-7)

Little Einsteins vs. The Benny Hill Show

Teletubbies vs. Ted Lasso

VeggieTales vs. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Lizzie McGuire vs. The Proud Family

Steven Universe (Original Theme) vs. The A-Team

Group B

Doctor Who (New S1-2) vs. Charlie's Angels

Thomas & Friends vs. Bob's Burgers

Community vs. The Brady Bunch

Adventure Time vs. Ever After High

Seinfeld vs. Ranma ½

Batman vs. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Monty Python's Flying Circus vs. One Piece (2023)

Friends vs. Rocko's Modern Life

Sesame Street (S1-23) vs. Saved by the Bell

Total Drama vs. Monk

Full House vs. Winx Club (We Are the Winx)

Looney Tunes vs. Murder, She Wrote

M*A*S*H vs. South Park

Pinky and the Brain vs. Happy Days

One Day at a Time (2017) vs. The Suite Life on Deck

Pokémon (Pokémon Theme) vs. The Andy Griffith Show

Group C

Gravity Falls vs. Milo Murphy's Law

Horrible Histories vs. Leverage

Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers

The Simpsons vs. Samurai Jack

The Golden Girls vs. Wonder Pets!

Merlin vs. El Chavo del Ocho

Victorious vs. CSI: Miami

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic vs. Smallville

Good Omens vs. Good Luck Charlie

House, M.D. vs. Pride and Prejudice

LazyTown vs. The Big Bang Theory

Bob the Builder vs. Wild Kratts

New Girl vs. Infinity Train

Arthur vs. I Love Lucy

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The X-Files vs. Pucca

Group D

The Fairly OddParents vs. X-Men: The Animated Series

Sherlock vs. Monster High

Spider-Man vs. Revolutionary Girl Utena

Orange Is the New Black vs. Hunter × Hunter

The Office vs. Angel: The Series

Law & Order (SVU) vs. Arcane: League of Legends

BoJack Horseman vs. Wonder Woman

Jeopardy! vs. Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody vs. Taskmaster

Totally Spies! vs. Yellowjackets

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia vs. Ouran High School Host Club (Japanese)

Yuri on Ice vs. Samurai Champloo

Ducktales (1987) vs. Charmed

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood vs. Shaun the Sheep

How It's Made vs. Tokyo Ghoul

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! vs. The Emperor's New School

Group E

Kim Possible vs. Once Upon a Time

The Great British Bake Off vs. The Legend of Vox Machina

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power vs. Gilmore Girls

Animaniacs vs. Pretty Little Liars

Zoboomafoo vs. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

The Umbrella Academy vs. The Muppet Show

WandaVision (A Newlywed Couple/Ep 1) vs. NCIS

Reading Rainbow (1983-1999) vs. Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Hannah Montana (S1-2) vs. Gilligan's Island

The Mandalorian vs. Dragon Ball Z (Cha-La Head-Cha-La)

What We Do in the Shadows vs. Inspector Gadget

Big Time Rush vs. Barney & Friends

Power Rangers (Mighty Morphin) vs. Young Justice

Futurama vs. Spy × Family

Succession vs. Bluey

iCarly vs. Code Lyoko

Group F

The Magic School Bus vs. Jackie Chan Adventures

Digimon Adventure (Butter-Fly) vs. The Last of Us

Star Trek: The Next Generation (S3-7) vs. Soul Eater

Zoey 101 vs. Xena: Warrior Princess

Dora the Explorer vs. We Bare Bears

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend vs. Carmen Sandiego (2019)

Star Trek: Enterprise (S1-2) vs. Mr. Bean

Sailor Moon (Japanese) vs. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (S1-2) vs. Red Dwarf

Death Note vs. Phil of the Future

Yu-Gi-Oh! vs. El Chapulín Colorado

The Flintstones vs. His Dark Materials

Game of Thrones vs. Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure

The Nanny vs. Haikyu!!

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends vs. Frasier

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air vs. Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji

Group G

Bill Nye the Science Guy vs. The Facts of Life

George of the Jungle (1967) vs. Veronica Mars

H2O: Just Add Water (S1) vs. Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: The Original Series (With Vocal) vs. Hawaii Five-O

Drake & Josh vs. Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman

Puella Magi Madoka Magica vs. Cowboy Bebop (1998)

Lilo & Stitch: The Series vs. Torchwood

The Twilight Zone vs. Wander Over Yonder

Rugrats vs. Columbo

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius vs. The Walking Dead

Hey Arnold! vs. Psych

Twin Peaks vs. Voltron: Legendary Defender

Dragon Tales vs. How I Met Your Mother

Stranger Things vs. Mission: Impossible (1966)

W.I.T.C.H. vs. Daredevil

What's New, Scooby-Doo? vs. Tiny Toon Adventures

Group H

SpongeBob SquarePants vs. X-Men: Evolution

Fraggle Rock vs. Stargate SG-1

Firefly vs. Scrubs

Codename: Kids Next Door vs. Inuyasha (Change the World)

That '70s Show vs. Bear in the Big Blue House

Cheers vs. American Dragon: Jake Long

A Series of Unfortunate Events vs. Black Sails

The Powerpuff Girls vs. Darkwing Duck

That's So Raven vs. Grey's Anatomy

Ben 10 vs. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Cyberchase vs. Reba

Malcolm in the Middle vs. Shake It Up

Teen Titans (2003) vs. Mob Psycho 100

The Owl House vs. I Dream of Jeannie

Assassination Classroom (Question) vs. Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

Phineas and Ferb vs. Batman Beyond/Batman of the Future

[retropopcult]

“Dad, mom always makes my cheese sandwich grilled...”

Mr. Mom (1983)

[yukidragon]

Sunny Day Jack Transcript - INTERVIEW - 41683

I've decided it's long past overdue to write up the transcript of the interview Jack has while in character back in 1983 when the SunnyTime Crew Show was at its peak in popularity. You can listen to this audio for yourself after playing through the demo of Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack, along with [Redacted]'s interview with the psyche consultant.

Disclaimer - I have auditory processing disorder, which makes it difficult for me to translate sounds into words, so please forgive any errors I might make. If I got something wrong, please do let me know so that I can correct it. Thank you.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

...

(A click of starting a tape playing. Audio starts a bit distorted then clears up.)

Dan: Alright. Now… I’m assuming that out of all of you listening today, some of you have to be parents, right? I’m sure quite a few of you have been tuned in to this new kids show - big hit, it’s everywhere. It’s inescapable, really. I’m of course talking about the SunnyTime Crew Show.

Dan: Now I have to admit, I don’t really know what all the fuss is, but… then again I am 36 and if I did, I’d… (awkward chuckle) I’d have bigger things to worry about. (chuckle)

Dan: But today we are making an exception. We have with us one Mr. Sunny Day Jack, who I am to believe is the… the leader? The front guy? For the mass acclaimed SunnyTime Crew. How you doing, Jack?

Jack: (cheerful) I’m great, Dan! Thanks for having me on the show. Glad to be here.

Dan: (enthusiastically) I can tell. For the folks at home, you can’t see this, but wow, this guy can smile! Look at that. Your dentist must be so proud!

Jack: (modest chuckle) Oh it’s nothing a simple and consistent brushing routine can’t do, but thank you! I do my best.

Dan: (more moderate tone) Of course you do, of course you do… Now. Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, hmm? Tell me about Jack.

Jack: Well…, I’m sure that, as you said. I’m part of the SunnyTime Crew. I wouldn’t say I’m a leader or anything. We all just kind of do our own things, and… You know. We help the kids at home learn and talk about their feelings. There are a lot of ways to do that, and we run through them all with the kids, and… (soft laugh) Well, I mean, there’s not too much to say about it. I think it’s a very important job and I… I like it. I get to come into so many homes and be there for so many young viewers, and… Sometimes they really need it… and sometimes they don’t, but… the company is nice to have around… Yeah.

Dan: Right, right… If I’ve read up on this show correctly… you’ve all been burning hot and fast haven’t you? You know, what with all the toys and the lunchboxes and the… um… What was it? An ice show?

Jack: Oh! Uh, we’ll be doing a small live tour, nothing too big. We’ll be doing some singing, some book readings… really interacting with our fans. It’ll be a lot of fun! But if you want to know more, you can find out more information by calling in at-

(Audio glitches out and becomes incomprehensible for a second.)

Dan: Right, right, so… If you don’t mind me putting this out there… You’re kind of a celebrity, aren’t you?

Jack: (slightly awkward) I… guess you could say that. But really, we’re all-

Dan: Then we’ll put you through the same wringer as the rest of them. You’re a fine young man - plenty strong, plenty (grunting sound), you know? And you’re in there, right? Mom’s home, you’re taking care of the kids while she… you know - irons or cooks or whatever. Tell me. Do you ever get fans who are moms?

Jack: (slightly awkward) Well… sometimes. You could say that. (cheerful) And they’re really nice, just like the kids!

Dan: (sly) I’d put money on you being the crush of at least half of the housewives across America who tune in. You could do that, you know.

Jack: (awkward) I-I… guess. I wouldn’t really know.

(Awkward silence for a few seconds.)

Dan: (chuckle) Anyways… I believe… you’re on the show today with a mission?

Jack: Actually yes, Dan. I just wanted to come on and let the parents know that this weekend, me and my friends will be at the-

(Audio distortion glitches out the recording.)

Jack: -East of the-

(More audio distortion.)

Jack: -And you know, I’d love to meet and make as many new friends as possible. So, if you’d like to come down and say, “Hi,” we have balloons and games and activities!

Jack: Well, uh… actually we’ll be doing pictures and book signings too. We’re a local show, and it means a lot to have these opportunities. I just think it’s really great to be able to thank you all in person. As parents, your kids, we love teaching them and helping them grow… but when that TV turns off, it’s really is you who comes in and does the important work.

Dan: Aww… Isn’t that sweet? Unfortunately… (feigned surprised/disappointed gasp) Oh! Would you look at that? It seems like we’re out of time. But before you go though, I have to thank our sponsors and… One last question before we go, Jack. I’m asking on behalf of all the mothers out there. Ladies, thank me later.

Dan: Are you sure you aren’t… holding out on us at all? Like, come on! A guy your size has to have come from modeling or something. I’m putting it out there - there’s gotta be a picture of this guy in somebody’s charity calendar. I’m serious! Check your Mr. Junes, folks! Nobody gets this fit for themselves-

Jack: (curt) Alright. Thank you for having me, Dan. It was really… nice to be here. Um… Parents, we’ll see you this weekend. Remember, that’s at the-

(Audio distortion.)

Jack: -Mall, East of the-

(Audio distortion.)

Jack: -I’m really looking forward to it, and you should be too.

Jack: (cheerful, in character) This is Sunny Day Jack signing off, and wishing you a Sunnytime-tastic day-

(Voice distorts on the final words and fades out to static. The tape stops with a click. The beep of a TV with no signal plays before the audio ends.)

...

Additional Notes: A charity calendar are calendars made to raise funds for a particular local charity. The most well known and best selling charity calendars featured naked models posing provocatively for each month's image. These were one of the ways people could get their hands on pornographic imagery before the advent of the internet.

[pastel-pillows]

I want you all to know I planned this one way and thought of a way to make it hurt more.

This is the longest thing I’ve ever written, its about 3,200 words, with my hands i don’t generally write long things so I’m proud of this.

Pieces of you

Billy Hargrove x Reader

Lots and lots of angst, like heavy CW: mentions of death, Injury and memory issues, no comfort

Unedited for now.

No one really seems to understand the way day to day things affect your life, the constants overlooked and unappreciated until they’re gone. You were neither over looked, nor under appreciated but the absence of your presence has left a gaping clarity to the extents of which you’ve filled the lives around you, and even now a year later things fall short and spaces remain empty. There are only pieces of you remaining that struggle to fill the you shaped molds.

Halloween was your favorite holiday, the outrageous costumes and parties following a night out with the kids trick or treating, you always stealing from their candy buckets as you walked down the streets of Hawkins despite their muttered protests.

“It’s a babysitter tax, you don’t think I’m doing this for free do you?” They’d long since grown out of the age of needing a babysitter, freshly done with middle school and just barely into their first year of high school, but old habits die hard and you’d been taking them trick or treating since Mrs. Henderson had hired you as Dustin’s baby sitter back in 1983 when Will had gone missing. You knew they’d be fine, but you were well past the age of trick or treating and who else was going to let you eat the new airheads candy from their bags.

“We’re fourteen! I can trick or treat on my own this year.” Annoyed as he pretended to be, Dustin loved having you around, seeing you as an older sister and enjoying the noise you brought into his quiet home. Even if you were overprotective you filled the nights his mom worked with idle chatter, letting him talk about the campaigns he’d played or what Eddie or Mike had done during lunch, he liked how you listened, but loved how you’d parrot parts of his story back or ask questions on things you didn't understand. He liked the addition you were to his group and to his family, and if the price was a strawberry piece of taffy, it was a good deal.

“Are you saying you’re too old for me now Dusty? Have you outgrown my services?”

“Yes, don’t you have a boyfriend to make out with or something? We can see Mike’s house from here, you can go.” Dustin’s scowl couldn’t stay in place when you ruffled his hair, laughing as you did and handing you yet another few pieces of taffy to sate your sweet tooth for the night, then shooed you off to the blue Camaro parked across the street from the Wheeler house, Billy leaned against the hood with a cigarette tucked between his lips.

“They’re tougher than they look.”

“Yeah I know, but they aren’t gonna trick or treat forever and then I’ll be forced to make my boyfriend go broke buying me candy.” Smoke came out in puffs against your lips when Billy laughed, your face pinching in disgust making him laugh more.

Chucking Billy apologized when you smacked his chest, clicking your tongue and rolling your eyes when he wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you in for a kiss, your tongue sweet with artificial strawberry. “You know I’m more of a Cherry man.”

“I know, that’s why I got all Strawberry.”

***

Looking back, the headaches had started first, you’d just been cleared to go home with instructions to be careful and avoid strenuous activities, to which Billy made an obligatory sex joke, asking what counted as strenuous. Scattered here and there, you never really complained too much, telling the others you needed a nap or some Tylenol and you’d bounce back just fine. You always had, but the headaches began to get worse and the naps went from thirty minutes to three hours, the pain enough to nauseate and incapacitate you, not that you’d ever let that fact slip.

***

The following Halloween all of them gathered for trick or treating, none of them wanting the role to go unfilled, even Billy tagged along, arms crossed over his chest and his gaze unfocused. The happy chattering of the other kids and teens swarming around seemed distant and muffled, things going in and out of clarity without you there ruffling hair and stealing candy, your teasing remarks absent amongst the idle chatter of which houses to hit and who had the best candy.

The night was still fun, with bags and buckets full of candy they did as they’d done every year, dumping their hauls into piles and trading. There ended up being a small pile in the middle of the living room floor when trading had finished, all bright red wrappers with smiling balloons ready for the only person who liked them. Every kid had grabbed Strawberry taffy, ready for your greedy hands to reach into their bags and buckets to collect a babysitter tax like you had in years past.

Dustin missed you ruffling his hair and eating his candy and he didn’t try to hide it when his eyes began to tear up watching Billy awkwardly take the pile of candy and ruffling the kids hair, it was the first time they’d ever been without you for halloween and it’d felt wrong to not have you there, telling them which houses were the best and talking about what party you and Billy were heading to after.

You had always crinkled as you walked, the wrappers in your pocket giving away your candy theft, your lips and mouth always a bright red.

By the time their final year of trick or treating came around, there was always a pile of your favorite that Billy ultimately took and along the way cherry wasn’t his favorite flavor anymore, strawberry was, cherry just didn’t taste as good anymore.

***

“My house, my couch, my spot.” It was hard logic to argue with, it was his house and it was his couch but they’d been banking on you having softened up Billy around the edges, when it was just you hosting the movie night spots had always been first come first serve, even with the pillows and blankets the littered the floor everyone had scrambled for a spot on the couches and chairs, not wanting to sit on the floor for several hours, you’d made sure you did your best and kept everyone comfy, but for yourself, you were always just content to lay against your boyfriend.

Dustin and Lucas protested the most, the former appealing to your babysitter side, Lucas tried bargaining with Billy saying he was basically family since he was dating Max and should be able to squeeze onto the couch with you three, you spent the whole time on Billy’s lap so there should be room for him too. “You Shit birds can sit on the ground, Max too. We need the room to stretch.”

“Great, Lucas, now we both have to sit on the floor” With a roll of her eye Max slid to the ground, her back pressed to the couch and knees turned away from a now apologetic Lucas, her lips twitching into a smile against her will when he offered her the last Reese’s as a show of remorse, Mike arguing in the background that Lucas hadn’t left any for any of the others.

“This is why we need a movie night with just the guys, all the couples ruin it!” Dustin chucked a throw pillow at you, Billy just managing to smack it away when it nearly nailed him instead. The warning stare he got had him turning around and crossing his arms over his chest, peeved but knowing better than to say anything else.

“Dustin, you act like you wouldn't be acting the same way if Suzie was here, we haven’t forgotten your rendition of Never ending Story.” Dustin smacked your leg when you nudged the hat from his head with a sock covered foot, the beginning of the song being hummed by you and earning you another smack to your leg.

“Can we just start the movie now.” The shared grin between yourself and Max a foreshadowing of the teasing to come if Dustin didn’t redirect the conversation now, he could only hear your off pitch singing so often and having been driven here by you and Billy he felt he’d suffered enough for the next week. No one should love Elton John as much as you did, the lyrics of I’m still standing embedded into his memory.

“Yeah, yeah. What’d you guys swindle from Steve this week?” You scooted into pace on Billy’s lap, head resting on his shoulder, arms winding around him, ready to watch whatever movie they’d convinced Steve to let them ‘borrow’ from the store for the night.

“We got die hard! They just got it in.”

“Mike, Die hard isn’t a Christmas movie.” You’d only heard about the movie and with what you’d learned of it not only was it not a Christmas movie, but it wasn’t one for kids, or at least it wouldn't have been if they hadn’t already seen worse.

“It takes place on Christmas, it’s totally a Christmas movie.” This time you shoved Dustin with your foot knocking him into the peacefully observing Will, both shouting ‘Hey!’ At you.

“It is not.” Not that you ended up really paying any attention, you’d found Billy’s lips to be far more entertaining than the actual film, catching bits and pieces of it when the kids would chuck popcorn at you, telling you that you were missing all the good stuff.

***

When the headaches got the addition of dizziness, falling down the stairs and stumbling across sidewalks, Billy had quite literally dragged you to the doctors for an answer, the development of your two left feet painting your skin in a series of unfortunate purples and blues. The nausea of the room swaying wreaking havoc on your appetite and ability to keep food down.

You got your answer soon enough, Post concussion syndrome, it was a problem that could last for a few weeks, but shouldn’t last longer than a few months, you would be fine in time. Nothing to worry about.

The reassurance was enough to sate both Billy’s worries as well as you own, you were tough enough to deal with this for awhile.

***

Movie nights were held at the Byers now, without you Billy and Steve never remembered to make sure there were pillows and blankets for everyone or what snacks were everyone's current favorite. It took a few cramped nights of discomfort at your apartment, trying to keep the tradition alive and as familiar as they could for the sake of your memory,but the venue was quickly changed to somewhere more comfortable, it was just never quite the same. No amount of pillows filled the room the way you’re teasing and jokes had.

The argument of whether Die hard was a Christmas movie was had every year, the sides evenly split with who stood where on the issue, the large group crowding the aisles of the movie store while they picked their choices for their holiday movie marathon, voting on three movies to spend the day watching in between decorating Christmas cookies and sledding.

Every year, of the three choices, Die hard was played.

***

Whether it was intentional or some weird habit, you’d always tap a pattern into Billy’s skin when he was worked up, a repetitive pattern of numbers. You never acknowledged it, or really looked at him when you did it, eyes on whatever you’d been focused on prior or closed and content with resting as you did.

5,4,3,2,1

4,3,2,1

3,2,1

2,1

1

1,2

1,2,3

1,2,3,4,5

It’d taken him a while to actually realize you were doing it, so caught up in whatever argument or nightmare he was having that the tapping of your skin against his was lost, blurred by a flurry of emotions, be they anger or fear. You were always the first thing to break through, the rhythmic pattern grounding him in whatever situation he’d gone blind to, the gentle warmth and reassurance helping him refocus on his body and in turn his breathing.

“I’m good, babydoll.” Your tapping turned to two firm pats against his arm, your smile enough to melt the remaining tension from his shoulders, you knew Billy had a hard time voicing his emotions still, and physical touch was easily his love language, yours personally being words of affirmation made a barrier that had taken you some time to work around.

“Do you want to go back to sleep? It’s only 2:30 in the morning.”

“Yeah.” Billy settled back under the blankets and waited for you to take your place on his chest, he didn’t think he’d get the chance to go back to sleep, not with the way his heart was still racing and the chill of the Mindflayers memory crept into the deepest parts of his bones, cooling him in a way he always swore he’d never warm up from, visions from the nightmare that had startled him awake still dancing across the backs of his eyelids each and every time he closed them.

“I love you Billy, good night.”

“Love you too.” Accepting a night of restlessness Billy stared at the spinning fan on your ceiling,the blades doing little to cool the room but feeling almost arctic to his flushed skin, the bright red numbers of the alarm clock illuminating the room and seemingly unchanging even with the dragging of time.

The clock only read 2:35 when he next checked it, despite it feeling like thirty minutes had easily passed, and suddenly the thought of staying here for another four hours made Billy’s skin crawl, a trapped feeling prickling along his skin and eliciting a need to flee from a situation that didn’t exist, his very body begging him to run.

5,4,3,2,1

Your eyes hadn’t opened and your breath was still slow and steady when your fingers began to tap against his ribs.

4,3,2,1

Billy waited with baited breath hoping you’d fall asleep, with the headaches you’d been getting you needed all the rest you could get and he didn't want to be the reason you were kept up.

3,2,1

A tightness he hadn’t realized had made a home in his chest began to unwind, the breath he didn't know he’d been holding leaving him in a heavy sigh.

2,1

With each deep breath his eyes felt heavier, the pressure of you on his body and the rhythm of your skin against his lulling him to sleep.

1

Billy was asleep by time the clock reached 2:45 am

***

The nightmares didn’t feel as present as they used to, muted by time and space from the actual events, his body no longer falling into fight or flight with each glance of the Mindflayer his mind presented to him at night.

They weren’t easy though, his skin still drenched in sweat and his breaths were heaving from a fight he hadn’t had to deal with since the summer of ‘86, his sleep muddled mind taking awhile to process that he was home, alone and safe in bed free from monster and things that went bump in the night. On nights like these, he found it hard to fall back asleep, watching the clock tick the minutes of his night away, his eyelids heavy and his eyes aching but sleep refusing to take him.

Billy found tapping the sheets on your side of the bed helped, the patten or 5,4,3,2,1 one mixed with your perfume spritzed on the sheets an effective treatment to his insomnia. The warmth it lacked wasn’t something he’d been able to recreate again, despite his best efforts.

***

Spring rolled around the same time your confusion began, alarm clocks weren’t set, keys were lost and important events forgotten. Things you’d both written off as stress with the approach of tourist season and both of your jobs picking up as you prepped for sight-seers and visiting families, stuff could easily be missed or forgotten between shifts and headache naps.

Your few months of Post Concussion Syndrome should have passed and Doctors could only offer the reassurance that some people took longer to heal than others, you were managing and healthy enough and all you could do was give it time and to keep yourself taken care of.

Things had taken a turn for the worse after a small fall on a wet floor at your work, you’d bump into a vending machine and had hit your head pretty good. It wasn’t anything to worry about, you’d definitely taken some worse blows to your head over your years of monster hunting and both you and Billy had written it off, going about your days and moving on, accidents happened.

People began to worry when you forgot which apartment was yours, Steve had found you sitting in your car outside of your apartment complex, staring dazed at the building with an underlying frustration lining your features, puzzling over something he didn’t understand. When he’d approached your car you startled easily but responded to his greeting, he’d helped you grab the groceries from your car and watched as you stopped and looked between the first floor and the second, the same look of frustration scrunching up your features until Steve began to head up the stairs to your apartment, you trailing behind after a moment of hesitation.

Steve bought your excuse of being tired when he questioned if you were feeling ok and helped you begin to pack away the groceries, it was a believable excuse, your job was hard and had demanding hours, staring with the frozen stuff your best friend grabbed the container of Strawberry Ice cream you’d gotten, the movement causing the insides to slosh around.

Your place was only a five minute drive from the store, how could the ice cream be so melted?

Your headaches stayed and your confusion increased, food was going untouched or left on counters and stoves were being left on,conversations were dropped mid-sentence or redirected to completely unrelated topics, names were forgotten and faces gone from your memory before they could ever set into your brain. Doctors offered no real help, it must be another concussion from your fall at work, just give it time and you’d be yourself.

Healing took time you didn’t end up having and as the first heat waves of summer of the following year rolled in you had been long gone and the group struggled to adjust to your lack of presence. Your bright smile and genuine affection for all of the group missed even a full year later, they’d lost a lot of people along their journey but somehow you sat heaviest in their minds, the way they’d lost you was different, even if the damage had been caused by the events of the upside down.

Billy can’t help when his mind wanders now, to how it might have been easier if he’d lost you all at once, or even entirely, the pieces of you he’d been left with almost too painful to enjoy. Watching you tap your leg in that same pattern with an absent look on your face, eyes glazed and unfocused ripping at a part of Billy he’d thought he’d lost long ago.

“It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?” Your smile, at the very least, was something he’d never lose.

@boomhauer 💕

More or less, brain swelling and damage from the battles took reader in a cruel and unusual way.

[lovebillyhargrove]

Wake me up when July is around

Chapter 20/? "Early Spring Fever"

Billy's listening to Alice Cooper's "I'm eighteen" (released in 1970)

***

Billy doesn't remember ever seeing a tornado in California. Supposedly, they do happen there, but very seldom.

Usually it's just strong winds, quite often San Diego gets hit by a storm, and once in a blue moon they would issue a hurricane warning.

But Billy's never seen an actual twister. One time though in March 1983 a tornado touched down in Los Angeles, damaging buildings and injuring dozens of people. There were news reports on TV, shit was disturbing.

Apparently, in the wonderful state of Indiana tornadoes occur every year, it's nothing extraordinary.

Billy's watching one go through the field as he is driving to work. It's unstoppable and unpredictable like a serpent, twisting and hurling. Creepy as fuck. A ghost coming from nowhere and on the way to nowhere

Thin and even fragile, but Billy is aware of the destruction tornadoes can inflict.

A strange sense of foreboding comes over him while he's watching the spinning column of air desperately reach down from the sky, digesting anything it finds on its path.

Seeking.

The feeling chills him to the bone, lasts only a second and dissipates quickly.

Fucking Indiana. It's dangerous to live here.

Hawkins remains unharmed this time, the tornado making its route further into the fields and forests, away from the town.

Mr. Dailey is surprised Billy's on time for the shift, and Hargrove doesn't understand why.

"They sent out a warning on the radio and you had to be staying in a hideout, not driving across town when it was passing. Thank heavens it was only an EF-1."

"An EF-1 ..?"

A first-level Effing Fuck, that's what it was.

"It means that the wind speed wasn't very high. But still, gotta be careful, kid. The sucker came early, usually they don't start roaming around till summer. Anyways .. if you ever hear a warning, drop whatever you're doing and find a safe place to hide."

Billy should probably inform Max on that. Susan must have done it, but it's better to be sure the gremlin knows about this shit. After all, Billy's leaving in summer, but Max is gonna be staying.

***

During the second week of March together with the first spring tornado, life-changing news arrive in Hawkins. Seniors are getting their acceptance or rejection letters from universities.

Anxiety is through the roof.

Yikes.

Steve gets a rejection from Purdue University in Indianapolis. No biggie. It's not like he was riding his expectations high. How many places did he apply to in total? A couple of more in Indiana, he didn't even try anything out of state. There are definitely some options left, so there's hope.

There's no hope.

Steve knows he won't get into a university, and that's actually fine with him, but his parents are gonna behave like it's the end of the world.

Mom has told him to have a plan B several times already this year. Steve still doesn't.

He'll come up with one, there's nothing to worry about.

If only his parents knew about the monsters wandering under - is it under or is it like an absolutely different dimension? - their quiet town, that would certainly change their perspective of what is really important in the world.

***

Billy gets an acceptance letter from Chicago University and a rejection from UCLA.

Fuck.

Fuck !!

Billy is not planning on going to Chicago. He isn't going to stay in the fucking middle of the continent. He wants to go back to his state where he knows his way around, where there is access to the ocean. To air, and .. water. He sent a couple of applications to the nearby institutions just for kicks, to have some more options which he knew, he was never gonna use.

UCLA is probably out of his league as it is, and it was too ambitious to aim for it in the first place, but Billy is still a bit disappointed.

That's where he wanted to go.

Billy is not one of those super lucky kids who are unquestionably sure what they want to do in life, from the cradle. He's had different ideas and aspirations, as well as his ups and downs - he almost got expelled from middle school once .. or twice, due to behavioural issues and general neglect towards studying. Guess when this happened. Yes, mama, the first couple of years after you'd run away were the toughest. On the other hand, he's always had one true constant all through the years - his interest in cars. Repairing, yes it's a passion, but also .. perhaps .. developing and building them? Automotive engineering. That's the dream. That's the ultimate dream.

Yeah, sounds too much for a guy like him, he thinks so too. A too big piece to swallow.

There are still some answers to receive, so he's gonna wait for those. The UCLA rejection doesn't come as a total shock though. His mind wasn't in the right place when Billy was sending out those applications back in the fall. In August the news about their move came out of the blue, dad didn't exactly talk things through with his son, so Billy was absolutely not ready for fucking relocating to butt-ass Indiana. He didn't have time to get any recommendations from his teachers in San Diego, the school was closed in summer, couldn't get any from Hawkins High faculty, having just started the year in a new place. His mood was awful and he lacked the reason to get up in the morning, let alone forage for recommendations. It's like the timing of this move was the worst possible. His motivation letter that he wrote hastily and on emotions sounded probably too desperate. The GPA and SAT results were good, however, apparently, other candidates have outperformed him.

It sucks, big time, but he can live with that. He can try next year, or .. or maybe he'll just stick to fixing cars. Now all Billy wants

Is to breathe with a full chest.

Go back home. He's had enough of this place.

Fucking tornadoes just roaming the fields, can you fucking imagine?

***

He's had enough of this new sickness, too. Billy decides to refer to it with the help of this word, cause he can't think of any other.

It's like years ago, when Billy was little and there was this period of time after his mother had left. He would open his eyes in the morning and feel

Normal.

The day was beautiful, the sunshine would be pouring through the curtains

Billy opened his eyes, still lingering in the haziness of sleep.

He felt .. light. As if nothing was burdening him.

And then, morning realisations put their weight on him, slowly crushing him, like under a huge press

The first thought - that he was, as of recently, motherless.

She wouldn't be in the kitchen making breakfast for him. She wouldn't be anywhere around.

And then - that his dad was an unmelting iceberg.

The little boy lay in his bed some more, wishing just to go back to sleep and maybe never even open his eyes anymore

Because what was the point.

A minute later Billy would get on his feet and go about his day.

But even now, he so clearly remembers those couple of seconds between waking up and sliding into reality

Those few seconds were his safest haven before the truth became too crystal clear.

It's like now, not so tragic of course, but the overall idea is kinda the same. Billy's eyelashes fly open, he's still in the grasp of sleep, not fully conscious.

Everything is fine, the way it usually is

He's feeling

Normal.

Uhm, no. Did you forget about

Harrington ??

..

It lies heavy, the unwanted intrusion.

Like a pile of rocks in his chest.

Fucking Harrington sickness. Fucking everything. Billy's feeling discontented, neither his body, nor mind are at ease. When the fuck is it gonna get better.

It will get better, right?

***

At school the boys have purposefully avoided being in the showers together ever since Steve's visit to Mr. Dailey's garage. Ever since Hargrove touched the royal dick for the first time and the horny dam got broken and fucking flooded all around. It was actually Billy who began to be very particular about not coming to the showers when Steve was standing there in the nude under warm streams of water.

A fucking wet dream

Usually he just skipped it altogether and took a shower at home or didn't have one at all if there was no time. Sometimes when he knew that Max was going to get held up at her AV club a bit longer, he stayed alone in the gym and shot the hoops for ten or fifteen minutes to make sure Harrington would be gone from the dangerous territories and Billy got a green light to go in.

The basketball court is a problem, but the showers? Standing there completely naked next to a butt-naked Harrington?

Let's just be honest about it, Billy is not able to do it anymore. His dick is not gonna behave, and there would be nothing to cover it with.

Today when the guys leave the court, Billy's staying behind. He waits for fifteen minutes, dribbling the ball, practising various tricks. He usually smokes in the parking lot anyways if Maxine has AV, so he has time to spare.

There's no-one in the showers when he gets there. Good. Billy takes a quick one, turns the water off, wraps a towel around the hips and goes into the locker room, to find Harrington sitting on a bench and looking savoury as hell.

As fucking always.

Those eyes, stop looking at me with your fucking eyes

Steve's waiting for Billy.

They are alone in the room, all the other guys have already left.

Billy is aware what's about to happen to his body in a matter of seconds. The sickness. His heart is gonna be jumping out from his ribcage, the sound of blood roaring in his ears will deafen him, knees will feel as if they are giving out from under him, failing to hold the bulk of his trembling body.

Billy moves to his locker and digs in it to find a t-shirt.

His cock is already swinging like a bat between his legs.

Fucking pavlovian shit.

He can't .. he's feeling too naked, he can't be naked in front of the fully dressed King Steve who's leering at him

Salaciously.

What the fuck is this, the sensation of the world narrowing down to just the two of them? Zooming in, and the rest is inexistent?

How would it feel to be absolutely naked with Steve in bed? Would he be shy? Just a little bit? Or will he be as shameless spreading his legs in front of Billy?

Because Hargrove's suddenly fucking shy, and blushing and

His temperature is rising, it's the disease.

Neither of them utter a single word, and this is so damn weird, yet they really don't need to say fucking anything

Steve's eyes are raking over Hargrove's bare back and arms, and Billy is in a hurry to put the t-shirt on. He needs to be on equal terms with Harrington.

He's burning up. He's definitely coming down with something.

"Quit fucking staring."

"You never had a problem with people looking at your body."

How do you even know what I have and what I don't have a problem with

"Just shut up. It's so much better when you're not talking."

Bitch.

Steve is getting up from the bench, comes closer to Billy

An inch away

There's a heat wave standing behind him.

Hargrove turns around, grabs Harrington by the shirt and drags him behind the row of lockers, out of the plain sight. Slams him into the metal and the motherfucker smiles as if he's getting off only on that.

The towel is dropped on the floor

Billy's fingers get tangled in the pretty boy's lush hair

Lips clashing, tongues diving in deep

Fuck, he's so weak, he's so weak

Harrington bites Billy's lower lip, and Billy growls, left hand sliding down Steve's chest and belly to reach for his dick, the right one still pulling on the hair

Steve's fly is already open, the asshole knew what they would be doing.

Billy puts his hand into the furnace

He can't, seriously, he absolutely fucking can't with this bitch

He squeezes Harrington's cock in his palm, it is piping hot, lets go of the king's hair and guides Steve's hand to his own hurting dick

Why does everything in his abdomen hurt like that, like muscle cramps

The moment boys get ahold of each other's cocks

The world becomes a better place, instantaneously.

They kiss hungrily, in a hurry and jerk one another off just as desperately. It's quick and it's dangerous but the fear makes them both cum in record time.

It's not enough.

***

***

The weekend is slow and uneventful. Billy drowns himself in work. He would actually prefer to stay at home, in bed, not see or talk to anyone, loaf around, watch porn on the VCR - given the family's been abducted by aliens and he's home alone - and masturbate minimum five times a day to all the recent and not so recent recollections of

Harrington's everything.

Extraterrestrial creatures do not show any interest in the Hargroves, and Billy has things to do at the garage, an old Chevy truck and a pricey-looking beautiful Oldsmobile Cutlass expect his undivided attention. If he's gonna be repairing cars for the rest of his life, he's fine with that, he can continue honing the skills.

He interrupts his work to step outside for a few whiffs, watch the world around change and gradually regain its vibrancy. Despite the fact that March weather in Indiana is unpredictable and volatile - one day it can be relatively warm, sunny and windless and the very next day might be chilly and pelting cold rain - winter inevitably loosens its grip.

Billy's been working for two days straight, long hours, there isn't much sense in doing useless homework anymore, the spring break is just around the corner, and seniors are one foot over the school doorstep, ready to leave for good, even teachers themselves have been cutting the students some slack.

It's already late on Sunday, and Billy wonders what Steve is doing. Most likely, spending time with that new girl of his. Maybe he took her out to a diner or something.

How does it feel to sit across King Steve, talk about stupid shit, mindlessly sucking on a milkshake straw? Billy would make Harrington choke on his food right there, right in front of everyone. He would ignite that fire in those two pools of darkness, would do his magic, making Harrington turn to ash.

How would it feel to drive to the royal palace, fall between the sheets, bodies a mess, and do all the things your minds tell you to do, eager and unrestricted

Taking the time. Not having to rush it.

Maybe the king and his new concubine are fucking right this moment. Maybe Steve's coming, shutting his eyes, throwing his head back, moaning stupid, that Adam's apple under the thin skin quivering

Billy wants to watch it quiver, needs to put his mouth on it, trap it under his lips

Hargrove keeps on wrenching one especially tough nut in the Chevy's insides.

Lucky bitch.

Lucky fucking ugly cow bitch, that fucking Tammy or whatever her name is.

Billy can always call Harrington, the offer is surely still on the table, but it is still a very firm

No.

He doesn't want to feel like a fool. He doesn't want to accidentally come across Harrington's parents, doesn't want to call at an inconvenient time, or god forbid, interrupt something.

No.

When Hargrove sees Harrington at school on Monday, and that girl is glued to his arm, Billy thinks he guessed right. The lovebirds must've had some nice time at the weekend together.

The sight is literally crippling Billy

He looks away, and then back, and then away, and again back

Stop fucking staring at each other like you're getting married tomorrow, for fuck's sake

It's school. People come here to study, not to fornicate.

The disease is flourishing, sweeping through his insides, and Billy's helpless. There is nothing for him to do, so he'll just be simmering in his own gall

It's bitter, stifling, and he can't run away from it.

Hargrove's putting his forehead against the cold metal of his locker

"Are you okay? Billy?"

It's Jennifer's voice

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Stop nagging

"Are you coming to lunch?"

"Sure."

He slams the locker shut and Jennifer coils her arm around his.

The medicine isn't working.

***

***

This week more news from universities and colleges arrive.

Steve has officially got into none of the places he applied to.

Parents freak out. Dad, red in the face and roaring, shouts something like

"You're the shame of the family!" And something else about his brother's kids being way smarter than his own son and having a life plan, and Steve's aunt's children also having promising perspectives in life, but his child, his flesh and blood is just an irresponsible, immature, still holding onto his mother's skirt and hiding behind his father's checkbook

Loser.

Yeah.

He's heard it all before. Steve's the lamest among the Harringtons, he gets it.

Mom is nervously clutching a glass of wine in her hands, and after Mr. Harrington storms away to their bedroom, talks to her son in a different tone, but still very very disappointed.

She even cries a little at some point.

Mom what the fuck, why are you crying, it's not like I'm incurably sick or dead or something.

"Mom?"

"Oh, Steve .. What are we going to do? Maybe we can look into some undergraduate programs? Or maybe get you into an SAT prep program, retake the exams, try next year? .."

"Mom .."

"We can talk to dad, ask him to look for connections, pour some money into it .."

"No! Mom !! Would you just listen to me? I'm done with this higher education thing. For now, at least .. I don't want it, I can't, okay ?? Maybe next year, yeah. Leave me alone. I'll get a job."

"Oh Stevie, do you think it's easy to get a job??"

"I don't know? But people get some! Tommy's getting one soon .. in his dad's company. Hargrove's got one. Some other guys too .."

"Who is Hargrove?"

"Uh .. a guy from school."

"Never heard the name before."

"He is new in town. Doesn't matter, just .."

"Oh. Honey .. What job are you planning on getting? Minimum wage?"

"Mom, honestly? Right now, I'm not getting anything, let me graduate. But trust me, I'll get one. And maybe yeah, it'll be minimum wage, I need to start somewhere."

Mrs. Harrington finishes her wine and sighs unhappily

"Steve, I know and we know that this has been a hard year."

You have no fucking idea

"It's just more difficult for dad to accept .."

Mrs. Harrington cuts herself off

That his son is a failure?

"But Dad, he .. we want you to succeed in .. in life, to do well."

Steve's aware that his father considers him a disappointment.

"I know you want what's best for me, mom. I just .. Everything will be alright. Okay?"

"Promise me you are going to look into universities next year. You are not going to give up on the education."

Jesus Christ.

"Okay, mom. I promise."

Please just let me be young for a bit longer

Mrs. Harrington joins her husband upstairs. It's around eight-thirty, Steve's not feeling like staying at home. He calls Tommy and asks if he's free right now

"Yeah, man, did something happen?"

"Can I come over?"

"Yeah, sure. Gonna stop on the way and grab some beer?"

"Yep."

The stay in Hagan's room, drink a couple of cans of Budweiser

"Hey, Tommy .."

"Yeah?"

"Do you like .. you know what you're gonna do after school, right?"

"Sure. Work for my dad. I told you that."

Steve's nodding and taking a gulp of cold beer.

"And you're .. okay with that?"

Tommy's scratching his head and makes a vague gesture with his hand

"I don't really know what other options I have."

"Yeah, but .. you are okay with that? The fact that you're gonna sell farm machinery and you don't seem to have other variants?"

"Yeah, man. I guess."

"That's uh .. that's good."

They keep on sipping the beer and Tommy lights up a cigarette. Steve reaches for it, so Tommy gives him the cig and digs for another one

"Hey, do you know where I can get a job?"

"A job?"

"Well, I gotta do something after graduation."

"I thought daddy was gonna take care of that."

"Dad doesn't think .. he's not .. yeah, I don't know. No universities for me, and dad believes I'm a loser with a capital L. I need a job, alright?"

Tommy's thoughtfully blowing grey smoke up in the air

"They are opening this huge mall nearby, can always ask there."

That's actually not a bad idea.

"Can't imagine you working 9 to 5, dude."

"Yeah. Me neither."

***

On Friday Harrington bumps Billy's shoulder passing him in the school hallway - purely by accident, he can swear on the Bible in front of the judge and the jury - and Billy is quick to shove him back

"Watch where you're going, assface."

There's no malice in his voice, it almost sounds fond. Its low grumble sparks a pleasant tug in Steve's lower abdomen

Some people are looking at the two boys but no-one from the king's usual company is around, so Billy grabs Steve by the collar of his yet another excessively annoying polo

Gets his face close, inhales the pretty boy's scent.

Whispers in his ear

As though he's threatening him

"Meet me in the drama hall during lunch break."

The tugging sensation in Steve's lower belly flares into sharp twinges

They have to be careful.

Harrington is playing along keeping his voice low

"Tommy's gonna freak out if I'm not there to share my brownie."

That's true. Hagan might go scour the building.

Hargrove pushes the other boy away and keeps on walking

"Douchebag!" Steve's shouting, just in case, and flips Billy's tight ass off.

***

He catches Hargrove in the hallways later, before the last period.

"Whatcha doing after classes?"

"Picking my stepsister up."

"That redhead you're always carting around?"

"Yeah."

"You working tonight?"

Billy's glancing around, but nobody's paying attention to them. They are just two dudes walking alongside on their way to the class, and maybe exchanging a word or two. In a non-aggressive way.

"Uh-huh."

"I'll come by the garage then. You finish at eight?"

Jesus, Billy feels like .. like it's a date

It's probably as close to a date as they are gonna get, so why not accept the offer

"Yeah."

***

Old Joe is closing the shop at 8.10. Billy is hanging around.

"Are you coming tomorrow, kid?"

"Yes, Mr. Dailey, as usual. After school."

"Don't you want a free day from this place? You've been working your ass off lately. Wouldn't you like to .. I don't know what young people do these days .. take a girl out?"

Billy's snorting, not in a disrespectful way though

"Yeah, maybe. Gotta get those two ladies back into shape first. That olds cutlass is a beauty."

His boss is nodding

"Right .. Don't even know what I'm going to do when you leave, kid."

"Still plenty of time till July."

Old Joe is shaking his head in disagreement now, but doesn't say anything anymore. He gets into his old ford and Billy opens the camaro's door

"Have a nice night, Mr. Dailey!"

"You too, Billy. You too."

Hargrove starts the engine, but waits till the ford drives away first. His hands are already giving in to a slight tremor. He fishes out a Marlboro

Gotta calm down

He inhales the smoke deep and rolls out slowly.

Steve's car is parked nearby. It doesn't look conspicuous or anything, it standing on the side of the road. A buddy can be waiting for Billy, right? Also, it's quite late and all respectable Hawkins residents are most likely watching TV, all snug and comfy in their recliners. Wives scurrying in kitchens, kids diligently doing homework.

Billy drops in the backseat, feet still on the ground, finishing the smoke. Harrington is sitting there, huffing in irritation

"Where were you? You said you finish at eight."

"Yeah, got a bit held up, what's fifteen minutes, jesus."

Of course, King Steve doesn't enjoy being kept waiting.

Billy takes the last drag, throws the butt away and closes the door. Harrington's hand is already running up his leg.

They make each other cum. It burns too hot, it ends too quick. Billy needs more time to relish the things he wants to relish. Although it seems like some kind of a well-practised routine by now,

This time it's .. different.

Like Steve is searching for a hint of .. tenderness? Or maybe that's on Hargrove himself, and Harrington is just following the lead.

Or not, it's probably only Billy, but

The way they kiss is different.

It's slower. Tastier.

The way they are touching each other has changed. The shift borders on impalpable.

Yet it's right there.

Fuck.

Perhaps it's all in Billy's head, his imagination running wild.

It is breaking wild, always, always now.

Everything is slower but finishes too fast anyways, and

Please, that's all the drugs I'm gonna get to ease the pain ..?

There's a pack of Parliaments in the front passenger's seat again, and a box of tissues

Harrington has come prepared

After wiping his fingers, Billy takes two cigarettes out, just like last time, and flicks the lighter.

"I'm going away for the spring break," Steve says.

Oh.

The pretty boy wanted to get some time alone with him before fucking off for a week.

Don't read too much into that, Billy.

"Like I need to know."

Okay, he can keep the conversation up

"Where to?"

"Indianapolis. My parents have an apartment there."

"Sweet."

I'm gonna miss you I'm gonna miss you I'm gonna miss you

Shut the fuck up.

"You going anywhere?"

"Nah."

Not yet, your majesty. Not yet.

They finish the smokes, not saying anything else. Hargrove feels the sadness bloom in his chest and doesn't fight it.

When he's watching the beamer drive off into the chilly March evening, Billy's hunger awakes again.

It wasn't enough.

***

The last week of March is spring break, and Steve, indeed, leaves for Indianapolis on Saturday morning. He has to do some shopping, he wants to unwind a bit.

Steve also spends some time with dad in the office, watching it work, churn, make money that he likes spending so much.

Honestly, he just feels so out of place there, it's plain uncomfortable. Although Dad does his best, gotta give him that, stays on the phone most of the time, doesn't make his son feel like a piece of failed shit entirely, Harrington junior can't outrun the feeling that he doesn't belong where his dad thrives and prospers.

Parents and kids can be different, can want different things, right? Too bad Steve has no idea what he wants. He kinda feels bad for his father, imagine building a solid business dreaming of an heir, and then the heir turns out ..

Meh.

Steve has heard it from Tommy that Hargrove got accepted into the University of Chicago. Billy must be fucking proud of himself. His family must be proud

Come to think of it, he doesn't even know anything about Hargrove's family. Not that he needs to. He's only mentioned having a stepsister

"We are pleased to inform you of your acceptance to .."

Steve's jealous?

Nooooo. Of course not.

Jealous of what?

University education is not exactly something he wants to pursue.

Andy got accepted somewhere on fucking basketball scholarship. The scholarship Steve had been dreaming of, before .. before everything started happening all at once and falling apart, before he strated realising maybe he's not cut out for university, or college. Maybe it's just too early for him to decide what to do with his life. The money is of course an issue, but his parents have loads, so why rush it now? Having some kind of a career is important, do all the adults know what they want to become when they are 17 or 18?

His dad did, actually. Or so he told Steve, numerous times.

Is Steve just super stupid and slow on the uptake, or maybe it's actually okay for him not to know right this second what he fucking wants ??

Tina has been in tears for the last couple of weeks. She's happy for Andy, her high school sweetheart, she is. However, what's going to happen to their relationship? Harrington's kinda curious which place Andy made it to, he needs to be filled in on the news.

Steve's sliding his hand down his face. Yeah, whatever. He's standing at the traffic lights, and it's time to move, but he can't decide which turn signal to switch on, whether to go forward or back.

On his shopping spree in Indianapolis Steve visits a perfume store. He's sampling different brands and

Oh my god

That's .. that's Hargrove's smell.

He spritzes the fragrant liquid on a strip of paper and places in under his nose again

That's it, that's definitely the smell.

Steve glances at the label

Paco Rabanne

Pour Homme

After Shave

Yeah.

He has finally identified it, the scent that's been on his mind for months

However, at parties - whenever he found himself in Billy's vicinity, or when they were actually getting in each other's space and kissing - Harrington caught a whiff of different perfume notes

Another distinctive Hargrove aroma.

Hmmm ..

Gotta crack that one as well.

***

***

Gods of Indiana finally have fucking mercy on Billy because Neil and the family go away to visit Susan's relatives again. For three days, what a delight.

He runs into Hagan in Fair Mart where he's buying a block of Marlboros and two six-packs in the evening after having left the garage at six

All work and no play is gonna make Billy a dull boy

He thinks he's entitled to have a little fun, and Tommy just happens to be in the right place at the right time.

First, Hagan suggests driving up to the quarry, the evening's actually pleasant and relatively warm

"Can't believe you've never seen the quarry, man. It's like the coolest place around Hawkins. You need to check it out."

Alright. So they follow Hagan's plan.

He didn't lie, the view from the top of the cliff is spectacular. Wow. They smoke usual cigarettes, down a couple of cans of beer each, and Tommy of course asks Hargrove if he still has some of the Californian weed left

Billy's feeling generous and hospitable

"Actually, my family aren't home tonight - thank fuck - we could uh .."

"Totally!"

Say no more, brother.

They stop on the way to pick Carol up. Ladies always brighten up the mood, however small the party is.

Hargrove needs a love interest for tonight as well. Unfortunately, Jennifer happens to be out of town, but Billy is in dire need of some kind of a sedative, even if for a short relief, it's not gonna cure the problem, but it'll help deal with the ache. The disease hasn't stopped spreading through his body and mind, it's like the fucking plague. He doesn't say all that to the happy couple of course who are already getting handsy near Tommy's ford, but he makes it clear that they need to come up with some ideas on the subject of Billy not third wheeling tonight.

"Hey, Carol, you know Alison, right? Alison Bell from the 11th grade?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you have her phone number?"

"I don't, but I can call Tina and ask her. I think she might know."

Sounds like a plan.

"What about Jennifer, Billy?"

"She's away from town. We are not dating. So what about her?"

Carol doesn't have anything to object to that, and Tommy's urging her

"Come on, baby, let it be a fun night."

So Carol goes back inside, makes a couple of phonecalls. Alison is on board with the evening program.

After picking the girl up, they all drive to Billy's place.

Make themselves comfortable on the couch and the floor in front of the tv, turn MTV on, lay the coffee table with beer, cigarettes, some snacks and weed

No fucking adults around

Paradise.

The four teenagers smoke their brains out, turning dumb, numb and horny. Billy takes Alison to his room, leaving the other couple in the living room. They kiss and giggle and

Alison sucks him off in his bed, but

Damn it. Not much of a surprise.

Hargrove pictures Harrington doing it. This has become a habit lately - whatever action he gets with a girl - he closes his eyes and imagines Steve in her place.

Fucking make-believe, fucking stupid. Is that even healthy?

Ahhhahah.

This time even his tongue slips, and Hargrove almost gives himself away when he cums

"Fuuuck .. Take it deeper haa .. rr .. Honey .. girl. Ahh fuck."

That was a close one.

***

Next day Billy stops by at school before work. With an agenda.

School's closed.

Well, the door is open, but there are no people around, maybe a couple of teachers' cars parked in the parking lot. Billy comes inside and is greeted by the school janitor, Mr. Willis

"Whatcha doing here boy? Missed school much?"

"Yeah, I uh .. just need to pick up some books from the locker."

Mr. Willis looks at him incredulously

"Knock yourself out."

Billy proceeds to his locker, takes out Harrington's welcome gift from behind a stack of books, stuffs the box into his messenger's bag, heart pounding for some unclear reason.

He drives it around in his car all day and when he gets home after eight

He puts the box on the bed. Goes to the kitchen, rummages around in the fridge. Takes a shower. Comes back to his room, throws the towel on the floor, stands there naked, looking at the box.

He isn't sure what he wants to do with the dildo, but he wants to do something. Billy gets on the bed, opens the box, takes the plastic dick out.

He's hard already.

Billy is sliding his fingers over the dildo. It feels cool to the touch, feels weird and .. arousing. It's not as big as Harrington's dick, maybe seven inches,

King Steve is bigger

The sex toy actually looks as realistic as possible, the skin-like material with a pattern of barely visible veins and a couple of thick ones running up and down

The texture is soft and it even has the plastic ball sack.

God, Billy's leaking like a bitch.

He wraps his deft fingers around himself, holding at the dildo with the other hand, imagining he's touching Steve's cock.

Caressing. Squeezing.

And then sucking it.

Billy brings the dildo closer to his face. He's not gonna take it in, no, what he really wants to suck is the pretty boy's pretty dick

But he sticks his tongue out to fuel his imagination to the point of explosion, licks the ridge of the head and

Moans loudly.

Oh fuck .. oh god.

He must look so stupid, jesus

Hargrove licks it again and again and it still feels cool on his tongue, but Billy knows

Harrington's dick is gonna burn in his mouth.

Volcanic.

Nnnuuugh ..

He doesn't last, shooting cum all over his belly.

..

..

Thanks for the gift, King Steve, it sure came in handy.

Billy lies down for a while, eyes shut, listening to his own heartbeat

Christ in heavens, the stuff Harrington makes him do, not even stirring a finger, not even being in the near, in the same town for fuck's sake.

Finally, he gets off the bed, and stuffs the dildo back into the box and into the suitcase in his closet. He'd like to ..

Do so many things. Do so many fun things.

With Harrington.

He misses him. Billy fucking wants to see him at every damn moment.

He wants more. He wants to do so much more

With Steve.

***

The next day is March 29, and guess what date it is?

Yeah, it's Billy's birthday. He officially turns 18. His family are still out of town, so no-one congratulates him or anything, it's a usual day. The sun is out, which can be considered as a present, in a way.

When mom was around, there used to be cake and stuff, but then it stopped being a special day. Susan made a couple of weak attempts to revive the cake tradition but it didn't stick, so

Whatever.

Billy gets up late and searches himself for indications that he, as of today, is an adult, mature and earnest. He finds none of course, it's all bullshit, he's still same old Billy Hargrove. Nothing is gonna change for the time being, the only thing he knows dad's gonna do when he comes back - he's gonna have a serious man-to-man conversation with his son about responsibility and such, and inform him that now he will have to pay his share for food and utilities. Neil has mentioned it before. Billy is fine with that. Fair is fair.

Yesterday he asked Mr. Dailey if he can come to the repair shop only for like four hours in the afternoon. The boss didn't mind.

Billy wants to have his evening free. He has a plan to go to the quarry to smoke and look at the vast mirror of water below.

The place seems to calm him down.

When he gets there, a beautiful purple lightning cracks the sky open - another gift - and the rain comes suddenly, fresh and joyful.

Showers began pouring here on the regular maybe a couple of weeks ago, and they are not those awful icy winter drizzles

Nah, spring rains are cool. It's actual water. Just coming from the sky, can't swim in it, but it's still the element that's especially close to Hargrove.

Right now it is a thunderstorm and it's even better. Billy's like a fish, he straightens his gills in the humid air, and breathes more freely

He's in his car, listening to the sounds of raindrops tapping on the hood and the roof, and thunder rumbling in the distance.

Gonna be hell driving back down the muddy road

But it's worth it

Because here he feels closer to the water but also closer to the sky.

He watches the beauty unfold.

When the thunderstorm begins to subside, Billy turns on the music. He wanted to listen to this very song on this very day

Lines form on my face and hands

Lines form from the ups and downs

I'm in the middle without any plans

I'm a boy and I'm a man

I'm eighteen

Billy is eighteen, and as soon as he finishes school and gets everything ready

He'll leave.

I'm eighteen

And I don't know what I want

Eighteen

I get confused every day

Billy sure gets confused. The Harrington thing that's been eating at him, changing hues and evolving but never going away

Confuses him. Irritates him. Bothers.

Other than that predicament, Billy knows what he wants

I've gotta get away

I've gotta get out of this place

I'll go runnin' in outer space

I'm eighteen!

And I like it

Oh yeah

Billy stopped caring about his birthdays a while ago. However, this number now feels big, like he's starting a new page.

I'm eighteen

Lines form on my face and hands

Lines form from the ups and downs

I'm a boy and I'm a man

Billy's looking at his palms. They say, everything that's ours is written on the skin of our hands.

The lines are our life story.

That's all fortune telling nonsense, but he's tracing the lifeline on his left hand with his right thumb

Who knows what's gonna come.

Maybe one day l'll feel free and different.

..

Happy birthday to me.

***

***

On Saturday afternoon Tommy drops by the repair shop and hands Billy a flyer with spring-like ornaments

"Personal delivery to Mr. Hargrove."

His freckled face breaks into a hearty and mischievous grin.

"I knew you'd be here. So here I am, bringing the news."

Billy scans the piece of paper.

Tina is throwing another party right before the last school term.

It's Easter in the quiet town of Hawkins. Not exactly the type of holiday for a wild boozed up teenage mayhem but why not take it and make it sexier

"All girls are gonna be wearing bunny ears, dude. Oh, and fluffy tails on their butts. Can't miss that, am I right?" Tommy is winking and looking even more adorable.

He's got a valid point.

"So .. you gonna be there, Hargrove?"

***

[juliesandothings]

promo for the film Mr. Mom featuring Teri Garr and Micheal Keaton, 1983

[zippocreed501]

FROM THE BADLANDS...

...images from the lost continent of cult films, b-movies and celluloid dreamscapes

The Kids Are Alright: Child heroes in horror films

Yes Mom, I'll finish my homework right after I rid the town of an ancient evil...and I don't mean old Mr Jones at number 9...

Phantasm (1979) Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) The Company Of Wolves (1984) Phenonema (1985) Silver Bullet (1985) The Gate (1987) The Lost Boys (1987) The Monster Squad (1987) The Lady in White (1988) The Hole (2009)

[w0rd3855]

want to hear about my 4 tormentor au? No? TOO BAD I’M GOING TELL YOU ANY WAY!

(Warning: adult topics, drug and alcohol use, abuse, stupid teens boys)

(btw this takes place before Liz and C.C died. After Mrs. Afton died which in my au William killed her. And the only pizzera open is ‘Fredbear Family Diner’ And William and Henry are in the makes of making ‘Circus Baby Pizza World’ 4 tormentor are all in their Junior year none of them are dating their all the example of ‘it’s not gay if you have socks on’ it’s also 1983 so being gay is not allowed)

Mark: Bonnie mask

17

6’2

your local flirt 🤪 (very straight)

abusive parents

Gangster boi (so tough)

MAJOR ANXIETY LIKE PANIC ATTACKS AND SHIT

Felix: Chica Mask

16

5’3

Does not like to be touched (other than Mike just cause Mikes touched starved)

biggest drug and alcohol user (trying quit)

prob bi-curious

Jeremy: Freddy mask

16

5’6

very closeted gay

homophobic mom

Your local quiet kid (unless he’s with his friends then he’s the loudest fucking kid ever)

Micheal (Mike): Foxy mask

17

6'0

mom of the group

fucking scary if you do anything he doesn't like oh you better run bitch

swearing problem

actully weridly good at school

There u go 4 stupid teens boys! If you want to know more about them or my au let me know ;)