Love Is A Battlefield (A Stranger Things/Steve Harrington Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: It Got Me, Mom

After school, and spending the entire day avoiding Steve, and everyone else for that matter, I called Mrs. Wheeler and asked if Mike was home. She informed me that he had AV club after school, so I headed to the middle school to check up on him.

When I got to the AV room there was a red-headed girl sitting on the floor beside the door. I recognized her as the girl that usually rides to school with Billy. She looked up at me.

"Aren't you Billy Hargrove's sister?" I asked.

"Step sister." She clarified. "Who are you?"

"I'm Riley Hopper. I'm looking for Mike Wheeler, have you seen him?"

"He's in there," She nodded at the door, "But whatever they're doing is apparently top secret, and they won't let me in." I furrowed my eyebrows, walking over and knocking on the door. There was no answer, and the next thing I knew, the girl was on her knees in front of the door, picking the lock. We pulled it open just as an ugly, grotesque slime ball with legs ran past us out the door, taking off down the hall. The boys ran out after it, taking out the girl in the process.

"Where'd he go?!" Lucas asked.

"What was that?!" The girl asked.

"Dart!"

"What?"

"You let him escape!"

"HEY!" I shouted, causing them all to be quiet and look at me.

"Riley?" Lucas asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." I said, crossing my arms. "You mind telling me what that was that we just let loose in the school?"

"That was Dart." Dustin told me. "I found him in my trash can-"

"Yeah, no offence, but I don't really care about that part. What is he?" I looked at Mike, and clearly he knew what I was referring to. That thing did not look like anything from our world, which made me think it had to be something Upside Down related. He nodded. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Come on!" We all split up in different directions to go and track down whatever that thing was.

"Don't hurt him!" Dustin screamed at us. "Don't you hurt him!" 

~~~

Despite the fact that I came here to check on Mike, I ended up scouring the school with Will.

"East is clear. No sign of Dart." Mike said through the radio.

"West is clear too," Dustin said, "Will and Riley?"

We came out of the last classroom on our list.

"South is clear. Lucas?" Will reported. "Anything?"

"Nothing here, man."

"Why don't you go ahead and check the boy's bathroom. I'll hit the girls." I suggested. He nodded and we split up, going to each bathroom. I walked through, opening the stalls and checking under the sink but so far nothing. We have to find this thing, we can't set a creature from the Upside Down loose in the Middle School of all places. Who knows what that thing is capable of?

I walked out of the bathroom at the same time Will did, a terrified look on his face.

"Will, hey...you ok?" I asked. Suddenly the lights began to flicker and we both looked up as the hallway transformed into the Upside Down. "No, no, no, not again."

Suddenly there was a loud growl sound and black fog came barreling around the corner. Yet again, I could feel the creatures desire to kill, as well as to get to Will and I, and it was overpowering.  I grabbed Will's shoulder, pushing him ahead of me.