"I swear, if I'm dying tonight because of you, I'm gonna haunt your ass so hard, Harrington!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna go full Poltergeist and shit!"
"Then bring it, Graveswood."
"Challenge accepted."
***
In which after years of suppressing their...
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Chapter Eighty-Four: A Warm Welcome Back
(pre-Suzie, Do You Copy?, Pt. 3)
***
When Rowan woke up early the next day, she was not murderously grumpy or plotting to catch two more hours of sleep.
Instead, she was wide awake, her body thrumming like she'd drunken ten cups of coffee with several shots of caffeine or she'd been hit by a bolt of lightning and making her already-frantic energy skyrocket, wrestling with her jeans as she pulled them on and hopped about on the floor.
Because she and Alistair would be boarding a plane meant for Indianapolis. And they needed to leave in less than an hour to make their flight.
"Come on, come on, you fucking piece of clothing..." Rowan muttered before, finally, the jeans were yanked on. Rowan didn't relish in her triumph as she yanked her Docs forward and put them on, the heavy boots stamping on the floor as she slid on her parka over her faded denim jacket—a spot of slime from the Upside Down she'd never got out on the lapel still there two years later—and Ozzy Osbourne band shirt and put on her fingerless gloves, brushing her hair so it looked presentable. Grabbing her duffel bag and the plane tickets, Rowan wrenched the door open and rushed down the hallway and the stairs, where she saw that Hazel was awake, along with a grumpy-looking Ash, Sage and Kieran, and Alistair, who was already drinking a cup of coffee and inhaling toast like his life depended on it, Hugin watching to make sure he didn't choke.
"Hey," Rowan said breathlessly as she made her way to the pantry, pulling out a box of Honeycombs and then a bowl and carton of milk.
"Hey, Rowan. You sleep well?" Hazel asked as she put jam on her toast, a cup of coffee next to her.
"Good," Rowan muttered as she splashed the milk into the cereal. She didn't even wait for the cereal to get slightly soggy before she was inhaling it.
"Slow down, sweetie, you're gonna choke," Hazel warned, but Rowan shook her head.
"Can't. Early flight," Rowan mumbled between bites, the cereal scraping against her throat as she downed it.
"I know. I'm driving you and your brother there, remember?" her aunt reminded, but Rowan didn't care, only focused on eating.
"Why do they need to go to the airport, anyway? Can't Amarantha portal them back to Hawkins?" Kieran asked.
"Because we have friends waiting for us who don't know," Rowan explained. The cereal was eaten and she slurped up the milk before telekinetically chucking both bowl and spoon into the sink. They clattered and Hazel gave Rowan a sharp look, but Rowan didn't care, looking at Alistair as she asked, "You packed, squirt?"
"Yep," Alistair confirmed around a mouthful of toast, nodding at the open suitcase by his feet.
"Okay. Great," Rowan said, ruffling her brother's hair. Her brother gave a halfhearted swipe at her hand, gulping back his coffee as he finished off the toast.
