March 24th, 1986
AVEN'S EYES FLICKED UP FROM the mud-covered doormat as the door was pulled inwards, creaking on it's hinges as it opened in the early morning breeze. The person on the other side of the entrance, standing with one of their hand's running down the length of their face, let out a tired sigh before glancing up from the floor.
"What the fu-" they rubbed their eyes before looking back wildly, their mouth dropping open as Aven let out a thankful breath of relief.
"Dustin." She instantly pulled him into a hug, balancing her chin on his head as she let out a sob. She couldn't believe it.
"Aven, what- what's happening? Please tell me this isn't a hallucination because-"
"It's me, Dustin. It's me." He let out a sob too.
"I missed you," he murmured into her torn jacket, his tears soaking into the thick material as her hand found it's way running up and down his back in comfort.
"I missed you too, so much," she whispered as she pulled away and bent down, cupping his cheeks as he looked into her eyes, "so, so much." She stifled a laugh as she smiled, ducking her head as the tears on her cheeks began to glisten in the sunrise.
"People- people are downstairs," he told her as he began to laugh along with her, their insanity spiralling down upon meeting each other once again. He quickly wiped his tears away with the sleeve of his grey shirt, the material damping to a darker shade as the liquid on his skin disappeared.
He turned around and started to walk through the hall and down the wooden steps, Aven taking a minute out in the fresh air to take a breath before following after him.
Dustin was confused - and yet undeniably happy. The person he thought was dead, his soulmate, was back. He'd seen it with his very own eyes, watching from the top story as the girl disappeared in the Mind Flayer's grasp, thought to be never seen again. He'd cried, gone to her funeral, mourned, and accepted - and yet there she was. She was still alive.
"Guys, there's someone you might like to see," Dustin grinned as he walked down the basement steps, getting to the bottom before falling onto the sofa, hands held behind his head as he smugly smiled over at Lucas and Steve. The other two boys stared at him with confusion before hearing another set of feet trailing down the stairs. With furrowed brows, they turned to find the culprit standing on the second last step, eyes holding an emotion no one had ever seen.
Steve was already standing before he recognized who he locked eyes with. He locked eyes with her.
"Holy shit," he whispered before sprinting towards her, Aven doing the same. With a laugh, she leaped into his arms. He lifted her off the bottom step as she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head into the side of his hair as she cried with joy.
Lucas stood up as well, holding his hands over his mouth as the corners of his eyes dried up. Max, hearing the commotion from her position by the desk, spun around in her seat with a deadpan expression. However, as soon as her eyes landed on the back of the newcomer's hair, her expression soon changed.
"What the hell is happening," Steve shouted as he pulled away from the girl, her arms still remaining locked around his neck as his palms found her flushed cheeks. "How are you alive?" The girl let out a laugh as his hands tapped around different inches of her face, brows furrowed in concentration as he checked to make sure his girl was really standing in front of him.
"Pure luck," she shrugged with a grin. He looked down at her passionately, eyes filled with the love and admiration his heart had lacked for the previous eight months by himself. He didn't feel complete without her, but she came back. He finally felt whole again.
He guided her face towards him, smashing his lips onto hers for a kiss he'd been dreaming about for what felt like ever. He didn't think he would ever get the chance to even see her again, let alone kiss her - nor did Aven. She believed that she would be stuck in the Upside-Down, alternate dimension forever, but she escaped. Unbeknownst to her, the death of a Hawkins citizen brought her back from the dead.
As soon as she pulled away, Lucas approached her. "It's good to see you, Aves," he muttered as he pulled the girl into another hug, patting her back as she let out a laugh.
"Good to see you too, Lucas. Love the haircut, by the way. Flattop?" She joked lightly as she leant her head on the boy's shoulder. She missed it - the jokes and the laughs, the hugging and the talking. She'd missed her friends from Hawkins dearly.
"Okay, my hair is stylish," he pushed after pulling away from the girl. She just laughed, shaking her head at his silly response. Her laughing soon stopped, however, when she heard the voice behind her.
"Aven?" The redhead spoke with tears already brimming in her eyes. She couldn't believe it, her deceased sister was back.
The girl instantly whipped around, eyes widening upon seeing her step-sister for the first time in almost a year. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her eyes drained of all the life they used to adorn twenty-four hours a day. She used to be lively, smiling and laughing all the time, but now she had heavy bags beneath her eyes. Aven could tell that things had taken a toll on her.
The elder girl didn't even say anything as she walked towards her and wrapped her into a comforting hug. As soon as her hands brushed against the bright blue jacket the redhead was wearing, the younger teen burst into tears. Of course, as soon as she finds out her life is on a countdown, her favourite person comes back.
Aven quietly shushed her as she rubbed a hand down the length of her back, pressing feathery kisses into the top of her messy hair as the teen cried into her presumed-dead sister's coat. She just wanted all the pain and suffering to go away.
After reuniting with the small portion of the Hawkins group, they caught up. Aven explained where she'd been, what it was like - and with tears in her eyes, explained how she made it back. Once the sympathetic smiles and hugs had been dealt with, even some proud kisses being given from her boyfriend, the others went on to explain what they'd been up to.
They told her how the Byers moved to California with Eleven after the passing of Hopper, which Aven couldn't believe. They confirmed the death of Billy, which she found it hard to brush over, and told her about the new deaths of Fred and Chrissy. They told her about Victor Creel, who she already knew about, and Vecna. After hearing all the information, most of it being too much for the traumatised girl to handle, she escaped with a towel to the bathroom upstairs. She wanted to ease back into the world, not be thrown back into yet another life or death situation. She needed to catch a break.
So, she had a shower. Steve had insisted that she'd borrow some of Nancy's clean clothes to change into, since her torn and tattered ones were a bit outdated. After crying her heart out - quietly - she got dressed and looked into the mirror. She couldn't even recognize herself.
When she was in the Upside-Down, she'd caught glimpses of herself in the puddles on the streets, or the reflections of her in the tinted windows. She would always have dirt on her face, scratches littering her body, and hair a knotted nest atop her head. But now, she looked okay. She could see her usual glow shining through her pale skin, and her usual straight hair easily untangling between her fingers. She was okay.
When she finally got downstairs once again, she noticed two new presences.
Nancy and Robin.
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