Verse: "Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close." Psalm 27:10
Encouragement: God will always hold on to us! Even when others reject us, He will hold us close. No matter what we're doing, what we're going through, He is near! He loves us more than we can imagine. We always need Him, and He will be there whenever we call out to Him!
I'm finally back! Sorry it took so long, pals. The third and final part of the Draco imagine will be up as soon as I finish it! In the meantime, here's another, great request.
Also, I've entered Saving Grace in the Watty Awards!
Prompt #17
Requested by antihoshial
Summary: We're all gonna die (but this isn't that depressing).
QOTP: What's your favorite slushee flavor?
Word Count: 4857
Billy -
He wasn't sure why she let him in after everything that happened to her, but she did. When she disappeared with Will Byers, he was no where near here — never even heard about the incident until he asked somebody why she was so closed off.
She eventually told him the whole story from her eyes, and they both think, for a time, it's just the trauma of it that's staying with her. That it is, really, over. But she keeps having dreams.
"At first it was just Will and I hiding, getting taken... things that have happened before, in there," she tells him, whispering over the phone one night. She calls him whenever the nightmares get too bad. "But now it's different. It's things I've never seen before. Scary, awful things."
"Have you asked Byers if he's seeing the same stuff?" Billy asks, trying to solve the problem, to help.
"No. I don't... I just don't know. Maybe it's just me. Maybe my mind is that broken."
"Whatever is, we'll figure it out, okay?"
"I'm just tired. Of all of this. All I want is to be okay again, you know?"
"I know," he says softly, wishing he could hug her.
She sighs. "Thanks for talking to me in the middle of the night. Again."
"You don't have to thank me."
"Yeah, well, I am," she replies, causing him to chuckle. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow. Try to get some rest, okay?"
"I'll try."
The next day, a Saturday, Billy picks her up for a date: an aimless drive around town with spontaneous stops along the way.
After grabbing a bite to eat, they end up at the park, taking a calm walk. Tiredness hangs in bags around her eyes, and he notices, but doesn't point it out. It does neither of them any good.
She's quiet today, and it worries him. It's not just tiredness, but it's like she's closing off again. Getting lost in her own head. She doesn't really speak unless he asks her something first.
As they get closer to the jungle gym, children's voices and shrieks of laughter hit their ears, and parents' conversations and barking dogs soon join the symphony. Y/N crosses her arms, eyes roaming. Cars pass by on the road, one of them honking their horn. Kids run in front of them in a game of tag as their parents shout at them to come back, stay where they can see them.
Somewhere in all of it, Y/N seems to shut down.
"Y/N/N?" Billy asks, nudging her shoulder. She just stares forward, mouth agape. Tears are forming in her glazed eyes. "Y/N," Billy says urgently, shaking her. "Y/N/N, talk to me. What's happening?"
Her eyes are above him, looking at something he can't see. Her breathing becomes more rapid, and she finally moves, running out of his hands, in the other direction.
"Y/N!" Billy shouts, chasing after her. He glances behind, almost expecting something to be chasing them, but there's nothing. Whatever this is, it's in her head. She's never done this before. It's like she's dreaming while awake.
People quickly move out of her way as she runs for her life, Billy pushing himself to catch up, stop her before she gets hurt. Finally, she stumbles in the gravel. Billy manages to speed up, getting to her before she can even raise her head.
"Y/N!" he shouts again, crouching next to her.
She turns to him, her eyes no longer glazed but containing a fear that stops his heart. "We're all gonna die."
Dustin -
Even after hours, the school hallways have never looked creepier, but at least the usual smell isn't lingering in the air — not that they would notice if it was. The monster chasing them probably wouldn't care, either.
Somehow, they all forgot every episode of Scooby Doo ever and decided splitting up would be a great idea. So now, Y/N and Dustin are basically Scooby and Shaggy running from the monster by themselves. Except this monster is real and not a person in a suit.
Probably.
"I can't keep running much longer!" Y/N says.
"Me neither!" Dustin agrees. They both quickly regret wasting breath on talking when their lungs begin to burn. Roaring sounds from behind them.
Y/N looks back to see how close the monster is, and it's not good news. Its breath is worse than any BO that's ever lingered through that hallway. Adrenaline manages to get her legs to move faster, and she grabs Dustin's hand, pulling him along.
When they round the corner, she yanks him into the first classroom on the left. They duck, sitting in the floor, away from the window in the door. Dustin presses his ear against the wood, listening for the monster.
"Can you hear him?" Y/N whispers.
"Not yet," he replies.
They go silent, waiting, trying to quiet their breathing. Y/N would love to stay here forever, but she knows they can't; the monster would find them eventually. And that won't help them get out of here.
She turns, just to check, and confirms that there is, in fact, no window in this classroom. They'll have to go out the door, back into that hallway.
"I say we wait for him to pass and then make a break for the front door," she says.
"We can't just leave the equipment in the AV room; we need it," Dustin argues.
"Do we really?"
"This is a world-saving level situation, Y/N/N. We definitely need it." The gate is open, again, but this time it's much more complicated than El throwing all her power into closing it. The Russians have really up-ed the anti with this new tech, and the Mindflayer is getting creative.
"Can we bring back reinforcements and get it later?" Y/N asks, wanting nothing but to be out of this school and the immense danger lurking over their shoulders.
"We might not have time. And, anyway, we can't just leave this thing running around the school."
She groans quietly. "Well, we're running in circles; we can't keep this up forever."
"I know," he replies, raising up to peek out the window. "But don't worry, babe." He turns back and smiles at her confidently. "I've got a plan."
Y/N sighs deeply. "We're all gonna die."
Johnathan -
"Okay, this is fine," Jonathan says, his voice betraying that it is not, in fact, fine. "This is totally fine. Everything's going to be fine."
In front them, the Upside Down's gate is slowly opening, preparing to let unmanageable horrors into their own world. They were just supposed to take out the Russians' science equipment (after writing down some of their data for future reference). But the Upside Down and its inhabitants have other, awful plans.
"Do you think breaking the equipment will make it stop?" Jonathan asks hopefully.
"I think the Upside Down will do whatever it wants to do, whenever it wants to do it," Y/N replies, looking through the data. Except it all means absolutely nothing to her even in a calm moment, so it doesn't help at all.
Jonathan sighs; she's right. The equipment might even be helping for all they know, if only slightly. If they just knew how to operate this stuff, they might be able to at least manage the situation to give the others more time to get here. "Why did we get stuck with this and not, like, Dustin? He would know how to work this... Probably."
"Try contacting El on the walkie talkie," Y/N suggets, gesturing to the one they brought, sitting on the table.
Jonathan turns, having forgotten about it in his panic. He picks it up, pressing the button and holding it to his mouth. "Come in, Eleven. Come in. This is, uh, Jonathan and Y/N. We have a situation," he says awkwardly.
There's only crackling on the other end. Not even a response from somebody else.
"Come in, Eleven. The gate to the Upside Down is opening. It's, um... bad."
Again, more crackling.
"Okay, that doesn't seem to be working," Y/N mutters, trying to make sense of all the buttons and switches and numbers, glancing at that gate, still slowly opening. When whatever gets out gets out, they're gonna be the first die. And then who knows how many others before somebody can stop it — if they can.
"What do we do?" Jonathan asks, looking at all the same things, understanding it even less than Y/N does.
She bites her lip, willing the stuff to suddenly make sense. It's either that or sudden death. Or the cavalry arriving at just the right time — meaning Eleven happening to show up before the thing gets out, or at least before it kills them. She doesn't have much time, and neither do they.
Y/N takes in a deep breath. This may be difficult, but not impossible. "Don't panic," she says. "I'll figure this out."
Jonathan watches her unsure eyes roam across the control board, her hands poised to do something she clearly hasn't determined yet. He sighs. "We're all gonna die."
Lucas -
The mall is full of chatter, but it's not unpleasant, as crowded as it is. In any case, Lucas and Y/N are only paying attention to each other anyway.
It's just the two of them, walking around, getting ice cream, having a good time. They try on clothes they're not going to buy, pick up things they can't afford. Ice cream, though, is a necessary expense.
"Ahoy, there, young love birds!" Steve says. "Would you like to take a trip on the USS Butterscotch this fine afternoon?"
Y/N laughs. "No thanks, matey. I'll have [flavor] instead."
"Cookie dough," Lucas says boringly.
Steve nods, grabbing an ice cream scoop. "Aye."
He rings up their ice cream, Lucas pays, and then he and Y/N slide into a booth to eat. He smiles at her — at the happy, content look on her face as she eats her ice cream. Her eyes roam over the decorations she's seen a hundred times by now before coming back to land on his.
"What?" she asks with a small laugh.
He shrugs, looking down. "Nothing."
"Seriously, what?" she repeats. "Is there ice cream on my face or something?"
"Maybe not yet, but knowing you, there will be."
She laughs again, not disputing the fact. A short silence follows as they continue eating, and then she asks, "So, what do you wanna do after this?"
"Movie?"
"What's playing?"
"I don't know, we can go look."
"Alright."
They soon finish their ice cream, clean up, and head back out into the mall, hand in hand. As Lucas heads for the movie theater, though, Y/N stops. Her eyes are up, brows furrowed at the skylight.
"What?" Lucas asks, following her line of sight.
She points to the clouds. "Does those look... odd to you?"
"Odd?" Lucas asks. He studies them; they're gray, and slowly swirling around each other, but not enough to be concerned. "I don't think-"
They begin to speed up, soon going so fast that others start to notice. The sky gets blacker and blacker as the clouds darken, signaling much more than just a thunderstorm.
And then the ground begins to shake, and something like a roar sounds outside. A familiar roar to Lucas and Y/N, but foreign to everyone else.
"Call El," Y/N says, panicking as she fights for balance. Her voice raises to be heard over the continued roaring. "Call everybody!"
"I didn't bring my walkie talkie!" Lucas shouts back.
"Then... let's go to Steve!"
Lucas sighs, muttering, "We're all gonna die."
Mike -
With labored breathing, it's incredibly hard to keep silent, but they're managing it somehow. The only other sound is the monster, hunting for its terrified prey. Somewhere in all this, the party got separated, leaving Y/N and Mike by themselves. She's clutching his hand for dear life, determined not to get left by herself. He feels much the same, holding on tight even though it hurts and his hand is sweaty. But they have much bigger fish to fry.
In this demented game of hide and seek, they've ended up behind the counter of Hot Dog on a Stick, unable to see or hear anybody but the giant, horrible monster searching for them and their friends. Plans are scarce in both their minds for the moment.
They watch with bated breath as the monster turns this way and that, trying to sniff them out. Suddenly, it stops, seeming to lock onto something. It creeps closer, right in their direction.
"We're going to die," Y/N whispers.
"No, we're not," Mike assures her.
"We are absolutely going to die."
The monster inches closer and closer, prompting Y/N and Mike to scoot back, pressing themselves against the wall. Then, the monster pounces, snatching up something on the ground.
A discarded hot dog on a stick, thrown by someone running in terror serves as his appetizer. He turns back around, hunting again.
Mike lets out a sigh of relief.
"We are still very much in danger," Y/N reminds him.
"I know. But we can get out of here." He looks around, waits, then pulls her up. "Come on."
They creep out from behind the counter while the monster's back is turned. The doors are in sight, though still seemingly miles away. Out of the corner of her eye, Y/N spots Dustin and Steve hiding in the Gap. Dustin looks at them with wide eyes, mounting, "What are you doing?!"
Y/N's heart races, and she glances back at the monster, trying to hold her breath so as not to make a sound. Unfortunately, Mike accidentally kicks a discarded cup. It rolls along the ground, bumping into the wall.
The monster turns, spots them, and begins the chase.
They run like mad, looking behind them. Dustin yells, throwing something with a loud bang as a distraction, and then he and Steve are running, too, making a break for the door. Roaring sounds behind them, backed by the thundering of large, horrible feet.
"We're all gonna die!" Y/N shouts, feeling the monster's breath on her back.
Fortunately, they're able to bust through the doors while Steve hurriedly finds his keys in his pocket. "Come on!" He leads them to his car, where they all literally jump in, and the tires leave skid marks on the pavement as they peel away, hoping a quarter tank of gas will let them outrun the monster.
Steve -
When he saw her for the first time, she had an ice cream stain on her shirt.
The ice cream he handed her not two minutes before dripped right off her chin onto her chest, and she didn't even notice until her friend pointed it out. She laughed and came back to the counter, asking Steve for some more napkins. He couldn't help but laugh with her, and soon they were talking, and the conversation ended with him thinking about how adorable she'd look in the Scoops Ahoy uniform and hoping she'd get the job.
Now, he's looking at her tear-stained face as they sit, handcuffed deep underneath the Starcourt Mall, waiting for Russians to come and kill them. He can feel the blood on his face, taste it in his mouth. Even through the hair matted to his forehead, getting in his eyes, he can tell a bruise is forming on her cheek. They hit her. His blood boils, he grits his teeth. He'd tear every one of them apart if his hands weren't tied. The first chance he gets, the second they get in here, and they'll regret it.
"I'll kill 'em," he says, pulling at his handcuffs. "I'll kill every last one of them-"
"Steve?" Robin says, tied to his back. "Steve, are you okay?"
"They won't be. Are you alright, Y/N?"
She swallows, with the slight shake of her head. "We're all gonna die," she whispers.
"No," Steve declares. "No, you're gonna be okay. You're gonna be fine. We're gonna get out of here, and I'm gonna-"
The door swings open, letting in the head Russian, his minions, and the doctor they called for Steve. The head Russian laughs. "You're going to what? Hmm?"
Steve pulls at his restraints, shaking the chair. "I'm gonna kill you, that's what." They all laugh at him, but he's deathly serious. "You touch her again, and I promise you it won't be quick."
The head Russian raises a brow. "Her? Which one?" He walks around Steve, probably looking at Robin. A moment later, he hums to himself, then steps slowly over to Y/N. She recoils, pushing herself into the wall. She can't get far enough away. He grabs her by the chin, examining her face while she cringes, eyes screwed shut.
Steve jerks on his restraints again, seeing red. "Don't touch her!"
The head Russian pauses, hand still on Y/N. "Start with her."
The 'doctor' grabs a large syringe gun, taking it over to Y/N. She squirms, kicking at him, screaming. Steve feels helpless, panicking, trying to get out, to save her, but he can't. The screams rip through his throat as the 'doctor' injects her with something. The pain on her face kills him, and then the 'doctor' moves on to he and Robin. It's unbearable for a few, long moments before it's over. And then the Russians leave.
Time moves slow — or fast — and things start to feel lighter. Steve's face stops smarting. His head is swimming, but it's not too unpleasant. Y/N gets a sort of blissful look on her face. Those morons messed up the drug.
When they come back, though, everything turns serious. The 'doctor' has more tools, the head Russian seems more impatient. He leans down, getting in Steve's face. "Now, let's try this again. Who do you work for?"
He chuckles. "Scoops. Scoops Ahoy."
"And how did you get here?"
"It was a total accident, man, I told you!"
"Lies." He motions to Y/N.
With that cue, the 'doctor' grabs what look like pliers, then walks over to her. She begins shrieking, then Steve and Robin start screaming, up until Steve can get actual words to come out of his mouth. "We cracked your stupid radio code, you idiot!" he shouts, trying with everything he has to get out of that chair. "Now let her go!"
The head Russian rolls his eyes, getting in Steve's face again. "Do you really think you can tell me-?"
Steve head-butts him, cutting him off. It hurts like crap, but it's worth it to see the blood running out of his nose. "There'll be more where that came from if you don't leave her alone!"
"He knocked one of your guys out; he's serious!" Robin adds. "And he just looked at Y/N funny."
The head Russian slaps Steve, who ignores the sting. "I don't care what you do to me. Go ahead, hit me all you want. But she doesn't know anything, so just let her go."
"You will regret that, you-!"
An alarm begins blaring, and everyone but the 'doctor' leaves the room, promising to be back. Instead, though, Dustin and Erica enter, tasing the 'doctor' with a long, electric weapon, then removing their restraints. Steve rushes to Y/N. "Are you alright?"
"I still have all my fingernails, so yes," she replies, wincing as she talks. "Thanks for head butting that jerk for me."
He blushes, mumbling. "Yeah, well... anything for the girl I love, you know?"
Her eyes widen. "The girl you what?"
"We don't have time for this; we have to go!" Dustin shouts, pulling them out of the room and to the getaway car.
Will -
Ever since he came back from the Upside Down, Will's been having issues. For a while, he kept them to himself. And then Joyce, Jonathan, and Will kept it to themselves. And then it became too big to hide from Will's friends — especially Y/N.
She's always worried about him. Always there, always reassuring him she is, always waiting for something to happen, to spring into action. It'd be endearing if it weren't hovering, and if it didn't make Will worry about her. She's on edge all the time anymore, and he doesn't know how she does it. One day, it's gonna catch up to her, and she's gonna lose it, one way or another.
Slowly, though, he's stopped worrying about her, stopped caring. Deep in there, he still does, but something else is taking over. The thing that followed him out, that's been causing all these problems in the first place. And the worse he gets, the more Y/N can't stand it. He's become a spy for the Mindflayer, someone they can't even trust.
It's all wrong. She could trust Will with anything. Ever since they were little, he was the one she told all her secrets to. He was the one who heard every bad idea first, who knew her like the back of his hand. He's the one she risked her life to find, and the one who would do the same for her without batting an eye.
While he lay there on the couch, eyes shut, it's a relief. To watch those horrid words fall from his lips is nothing short of terrible. But, sadly, they need him awake. They need to talk to him to stop all this, to set it right. So, they take him to the shed, cover everything in sheets. They have to tie him up, shine bright lights in his face. He can't know where he is or the Mindflayer will.
Hopper puts some ammonia under his nose, and his eyes snap open, wide and panicked. "What is this?" They dart around the room. "Why am I tied up? Where am I?"
Joyce crouches in front of him, ignoring the chair made from cardboard boxes. "Will, honey, we just want to talk to you."
Hopper joins her, holding up Will's drawing of the Mindflayer. "Do you recognize this?"
Will shakes his head vacantly, and Joyce goes on. "Hey. We want to help you. But to do that, we have to understand how to kill it."
"Why am I tied up?!" he shouts. "Why am I tied up?!" He repeats it over and over, his voice raising to a shriek. Y/N chokes back a sob as he thrashes while the lights flicker. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" That's when his voice changes, fading in and out from Will's to something sinister, something horrific. Something that can't be Will. Hopper holds on to him until he calms, going silent and vacant.
Joyce sits in the cardboard seat. "Do you know what March 22nd is? It's your birthday...
"When you turned eight I gave you that huge box of crayons. Do you remember that? It was a hundred and twenty colors. And all your friends got you Star Wars toys. But I told Y/N what I was getting you, and she bought all those sketch books with her allowance. And all you wanted to do was color in those books with those crayons. And you drew this big spaceship; you must've used every color in the box. You called it your rainbow ship, and you drew Y/N in the pilot's seat. I took that with me to Melvald's, and I told everyone who came in, 'My son drew this.' And you were so embarrassed. But I was so, so proud."
Jonathan takes in a shaky breath. "Do you remember the day Dad left? We stayed up all night building Castle Byers, just the way you drew it. And it took so long because you were so bad at hammering; you'd miss the nail every time. And then it started raining, but we stayed out there anyway. We were both sick for like a week after that. But we just had to finish it, didn't we?"
"Do you remember when we first met?" Mike asks. "It was the first day of kindergarten, and I-I didn't have any friends, and I was scared and alone. But then I saw you and Y/N on the swings, and you were laughing. You looked like you were having fun. So I walked up and I asked... if you wanted to be friends. And that's the best thing I've ever done."
His eyes are wide, something in them now that's vaguely familiar. His fingers are twitching, but Y/N soon recognizes it as morse code, even if she can't figure out the letters. She moves slowly, tapping Hopper. But Will's eyes lock on her, and his hand stills.
Her chest goes tight, and she begins talking, trying to bring him back. "Will, I-I know you're in there. I'm not giving up on you, okay? None of us are."
"Let me go," he says, hand shaking.
"I'm never letting you go, okay?" she insists. "I just got you back, and I'm not letting you go ever again. You're my best friend — you're more than that, Will. And I wish I could ask if you remembered me telling you that I've liked you for all this time, but I've never had the courage to do it. So give me the chance to, okay? Help us get to you in there." She reaches out to him, but before anybody can stop it, his hand locks around her wrist like a vice.
His eyes bore into hers, losing whatever piece of Will that was in them. "Let me go."
She shakes her head, wincing at the pain. "No. I told you, never again. I'm not going to lose you."
He jerks her closer, his voice turning sinister again. "You will."
She tries to pull her hand away, but his hold only tightens, making her cry out. In her head, she reminds herself that it isn't him. It isn't Will. She can't look in his eyes.
"Y/N..." he says, making her cringe at the sound of her name in that terrible voice. "We're all gonna die," he warns, sounding amused by it. "So let me go."
She takes in a breath, looking at the Mindflayer instead of Will. "No, you let me go. And then you let him go, too." She pulls again, ripping his fingers away from her wrist with her free hand. Hopper pulls her back immediately, out of his reach. He stares her down, and she watches his hand twitching. He's in there. She just needs to think straight, to get him back.
"Do you remember when were seven, that day when we rode our bikes down the street and back? I told you I could ride with no hands, and you told me not to, but I did it anyway, and I crashed. My hands and knees were skinned, and my lip was busted, and you started freaking out. I was crying, and you ran to get your mom, but she was at work. So Jonathan came instead, and you had to wheel my bike back home while he carried me. And he kept stopping to take breaks because he was too weak to carry me all the way back in one go.
"And do you remember what we do the first day of Christmas break every year? Just you and me? We make hot chocolate and you always put exactly three marshmallows in yours. And then we sit on the couch and watch It's A Wonderful Life. We've seen it so many times we do all the dialogue, and we always argue over who gets to be George. I need you to be okay by Christmas break, okay? I can't go a year without watching that movie, and I'm not gonna watch it without you."
His hand is moving, tapping out a message. Hopper hurries out, then soon comes back with a radio, nodding at Y/N to continue. She goes over every memory she can think of, talking and talking and searching for Will in his wide, haunted eyes.
And then the phone rings, and the Mindflayer finds them.