season two is a go !! wooo
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"Y/n!!! Do you have any change!??" You hear your brother Dustin call from the other room. You sigh in annoyance, just wanting a second to relax before you had to go with your brother and his friends to the arcade. "Yeah! For me!!!" You shout back, to which you hear an angry groan in response.
You were currently seated on your twin xl, reading Stephen Kings 'The Shining,' which was a new tradition you've made for yourself to get pumped up for Halloween, one of your most beloved holidays that just so happened to be tomorrow.
You had your new song obsession, "Fly Me To The Moon" by Frank Sinatra playing on loop in the background. You had finally gotten a stereo boom box to play different cassette mix tapes of music that you've made. It was the best Christmas present you've ever received.
Your appearance had changed quite a bit since last year, you had somehow gotten even more attractive than you were the year before, and more people had started to notice. You got asked out on a regular basis, though always saying no. You didn't want to date while still being a Junior. And besides, you wanted to work on yourself and worry about your own mental health before needing to do so with someone else. You still had a lot of mental barriers to get around before being ready for that kind of commitment.
Speaking of mental health, after the Demogorgon incident, all of the people who had previously worked at Hawkins Lab had been immediately fired and replaced. The people who now occupied their spots were now working towards fixing the others mistakes, and that started with your group.
You were all offered therapy for the trauma you all had to endure over the past year. Nobody but you and Will took them up on their offer. You saw the same person he saw, someone called 'Dr Sam Owens.' He helped you open up, as well as overcome some hurdles in order to make the way to recovery possible. Your mom took you once or twice a month, but left once you were in the office as it was confidential information.
You had also started returning to your martial arts classes once Dr Sam had recommended you going back. It was a healthy and good escape from reality. It made you feel capable again. You also had started to work out, getting stronger and more fit as the weeks went by. You were quite happy with the progress you had been making as of late.
Your nightmares were still bad as ever, but not as consistent. Your anxiety had started to come in small waves as opposed to the tsunamis you had last year, making your life much easier.
"Come on Y/n!!! We have to go, we're gonna be late!!!" Dustin yells, barging through your room and making you jump slightly at the sudden noise. "Jesus, Dustin, you gave me a heart attack! Give me a sec, would you? I'll be out in a second, just let me put my shoes on."
You go to your closet, grabbing your shoes before hastily putting them on, you also take ten dollars from your money bank on your way out just in case. On your way out, your mom tosses you the car keys from the plush chair she was currently trapped in, due to Mews laying contently on her lap. You catch them with a short disapproving sigh. You really hated driving.
"Get in, loser." You tell Dustin, meeting him up at your car that was parked next to your moms. He gets into the passenger seat, both of you buckling up before you start the car, putting it into reverse.
"So, how much did you losers end up with?" You ask, driving in the direction of the arcade. "Twenty one dollars, not including Will and Mikes earnings."
"That should be more than enough." You say, putting your cassette tape into the car before turning the volume up, smiling at the familiar sound of "Old Time Rock & Roll."
——————-
You wave Lucas and Mike over to you and Dustin who were currently stood in front of the arcades front door. They put their bikes into the racks located on the sidewalk. You see Joyce's car pull up as well, and wave over to her so she could be reassured that you would be watching over them.
You all immediately rush into the vibrant place that was the arcade, you see the wonder on all the boys faces, wondering which game they would play first. They decided to play Dragons Lair first, with you trailing behind them lazily, hands in pockets.
Dustin was on the controls, the stakes were high, Princess Daphne needed to be saved by the oh so ferocious dragon, and he was on his last life.
"To slay the dragon, use the magic sword~" The princess says provocatively, pointing to the said magical sword. This was the farthest Dustin had ever gotten in this game, so this was kinda a big moment for all of you.
"Oh, Jesus! I'm in uncharted territory here, guys!" He shouts to you all. You shake your head in disappointment, smile playing onto your lips. You were currently leaned up against the arcade game, hands in your hoodie pocket, eyes focusing on the game the boys were playing from time to time.
"Down! Down! Down!" You can hear them all shout to your brother, you assumed that the dragon was coming after your brother. You made a bet with yourself over weather or not he was going to die.
"I'm going, I'm going, I'm going!!!" He shouts back to his companions. Not for long. You think to yourself. You can hear many more shouts of protest at your brothers actions.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!!"
You hear the sound of the dragon scorching your brother to a crisp, the game over track playing. You laugh to yourself. You owe me a good night of sleep where it only takes 10 minutes to fall asleep, brain. You say to yourself triumphantly.
"No!!! I hate this overpriced bullshit!!!" Dustin says, punching and hitting the 'overpriced bullshit.' You move from your spot, not particularly wanting to get hit by one of Dustin flying limbs.
"You're not nimble enough! But you'll get there one day." Lucas comforts him, patting him on the back as Dustin sulks in disappointment. "But," he continues, smirking cockily. "Until then, Princess Daphne is still mine!"
The girl in question squeaks as if on cue. You shake your head at the twos antics, smiling slightly. Dustin walks away, obviously still worked up about losing a fictional game.
"Whatever, I'm still top on Centipede and Dig Dug." Your eyes light up at the mention of your favorite arcade game. Unfortunately, Dustin still had you beat on Dig Dug, but you were getting better.
"You sure about that?" You hear an annoying voice come from around the corner and groan in irritation. Keith.
This guy. Had not left you alone for one second since he found out of your existence. It exasperated you to no end, and you prayed on his ultimate demise every day upon seeing his face. He was a creep, always looking at you up and down with lustful eyes, chewing 'seductively' on his orange cheetos, you were pretty sure he's tried to follow you home once or twice. It was scary.
"Am I sure about what??" Dustin retorts, looking to him with judgefull eyes. Keith only looks at him with a challenging grin on his stupid face, eyebrow cocked.
"You're kidding me. No, no, no..." He starts walking towards the Dig Dug, pushing people past as he moves through the crowd which left you to say a bunch of apologies to random strangers.
"Move! Move!"
"Sorry! So sorry! Excuse him, he doesn't know right from wrong."
"No! Oh no no no no!!!" He exclaims in anguish, running his fingers through his hair in stress. "Jesus, Dustin. Don't ever do that again." You say, putting your hands onto your knees in mock exhaustion, trying to make him guilty over the clear trauma he had made you go through. "Coulda killed me-" you stop once you see what he was so worked up about.
"751,300 points?!" Mike says, the group finally having caught up with you. "That's impossible!" He continues.
"Apparently not." You sass, though still thoroughly amazed at the achievement. "Who is MAD MAX??" Dustin interrogates Keith, who was clearly enjoying the groups confusion.
"Better than you." He retorts, now right in front of you which made you a tad uncomfortable. Your brother flips him off. "Is it you??" Keith scoffs at Will, obviously offended by the accusation.
"You know how much I despise Dig Dug."
"Then who is it???" Lucas asks aggressively. "Yeah! Spill it Keith!" Dustin agrees. "You want information, then I need something in return." He says, putting that nasty smirk on his face before looking to you with provocative eyebrows.
"Oh, hell no, you dickwad." You say, wrapping your arms around your body. "Yeah! She'll beat your ass before you can even lay a finger on her!" Dustin defends you, standing in front of you in a protective stance.
He shrugs. "Guess I'll go for second best." He says, looking over to Mike now. "No. You're not getting a date with my sister either!"
"Yeah you pervert!" You agree with Mike. "Mike, just get him the date."
"I'm not prostituting my sister!"
"Yeah, Lucas! What's wrong with you?!" You scold him. "But it's for a good cause!" He defends himself.
"No! Don't get him the date. Know what, he's gonna spread his nasty ass-rash to your whole family." You snort in amusement to your brothers response.
"Acne isn't a rash and it isn't contagious, you prepubescent waistoid!"
"Hey, watch your damn mouth. He wasn't talking about your acne." You defend him, quite angry at his words.
"Yeah, you need to practice on your listening skills. And besides, she wouldn't go on a date with you in the first place! You make, like, what? 2.50 an hour??" Dustin presses on.
"Nice perm."
"Oh so you're making fun of my hair now?" The two keep going at it for some time, you only egging them on. It was only when you realized that you didn't see Will anywhere that you stopped.
Dammit. These kids are going to be the death of me.
You begin your search, doing a walk around the whole arcade before checking outside. Only then do you see the small boy staring in fear up at the sky. "Will?" You call, walking up to him and rubbing his shoulder in a comforting manner.
"You okay?" You ask, and he nods in response with a gasp, seemingly calming down upon seeing you. "Yeah I just... I needed some air..." You nod curtly, still a bit suspicious of his actions.
"Oookay... Just- tell me when you do next time, alright? You really scared me for a second." He shakes his head in agreement.
"Good. Come on, you're next on Dig Dug. Let's take that high score back, huh?" You say, wrapping your arm around his shoulders before returning to the arcade to meet up with the rest.
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"It's crap, I know." Steve says to Nancy, who was currently reading over his college application essay. You had your arms slung over the two front passenger seats of Steve's car, looking over Nancy's shoulder at the essay.
You had started to ride along with Steve and Nancy as of late, not really feeling like riding your bike to school these days. Since your house was near the school, you had been catching a ride with the two (upon their approval of course), and it was pretty nice. The days that you couldn't you either rode with Jonathan or your bike.
"No, it's not crap..."
"Yeah, it could be worse!" You try to comfort him. "Not much..."
"Hey, it's okay. It's going to be better, It just- needs some reorganizing." Nancy says, putting her hand on his and smiling up at him. He sighs.
"Can I mark on this?" She asks him innocently. "I guess." He says, looking away from her in dismay. "So... In the first paragraph, you used the basketball game versus Northern as a metaphor to your life, which is great! But... Then around here, you start talking about your granddads experiences in the war? And I... I just don't see how the two correlate?"
"It connects because... Because, you know, we both won... Do you think I should start from scratch?"
"Yes-"
"No-"
You and Nancy look to each other, both having said the opposite answer. Steve looks to the two of you in confusion. "Um... When's the deadline again?" You ask him, doubt present in your voice.
"It's tomorrow for early application..." You sigh, leaning back from the two seats and onto your own. "You need to plan out your thoughts first, organizing your thoughts clearly and efficiently, because right now they're all over the place. It's hard to see the point you're trying to get across. Then, you need to figure out how to organize the essays intro, bodies, and conclusion-"
"Jesus, Henderson, speak English."
"I am. This is basic middle school English-"
"Well, I never payed attention to Mrs Sanders in that class, and I'm never going to remember all this... Can one of you just please come over tonight to help me?"
"We have the dinner tonight, remember?" Nancy reminds him, to which he cries out from the stress. "Oh, my God!"
"We already cancelled last week-"
"You don't have to go, Harrington. Just stay home for tonight, work on this. Your future is much more important than some dinner. Besides, you didn't know Barb that well, it'll be okay." You try to reassure him.
"No, no, no. What's the point?" He asks, crumbling the essay up before throwing it who knows where. "Hey, calm down." Nancy says, putting her hand onto his arm.
"I'm calm, I'm calm. I'm just being honest, you know? I mean... I'll just end up working for my dad anyways..."
"That's not true. Don't talk like that, Harrington."
"I don't know, Henderson, is that such a bad thing???"
"Yes!!!" Nancy says, agreeing with your statement. "No! There's insurance and benefits and all that adult stuff... And if I took it, I could be around for your senior year..." You fake gag, taking that as you cue to leave.
You close the door behind you, walking up to the entrance of the school before stopping suddenly, seeing an unfamiliar car pull up a few spaces to the right of you. The car was blue, and the man who walked out was... You couldn't deny he had some handsome looks.
His sunkissed skin shone in the sunlight, the cigar in his mouth upturned due to the small smirk that played on his face. He had a nice mullet that perfectly complemented his nice, strong jawline. He looked like a complete and utter douche bag.
You see a small red headed girl run out of the car, riding on her skateboard in the direction of the middle school. Maybe she's in Dustin's grade. You think to yourself, walking off to the entrance of the school again, not waiting for Nancy.
Once you got to your locker, you feel a strong arm slam against your locker, trapping you between it. You roll your eyes, slamming your locker shut before turning to the person who had disrupted the silence.
"What do you want." You ask the unfamiliar-familiar man. You recognized him immediately as the man you had saw earlier come out of the red car.
"Well, if you couldn't tell, I'm a bit new here. I was wondering if maybe a pretty girl like you could show me around?" He asks, flashing you a charming, pearly white smile. You turn away from him quickly, slapping him in the face with your hair.
"No." You say simply before walking off to your first period.
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"Hey Nancy! Hey Y/n!" Tina says, handing each of you a halloween party invitation. "Hey, Tina!" You greet.
"Thanks!" Nancy says. "Oh, could I get one more?" She asks suddenly, and you smile upon realizing her plan. You, her, and Jonathan were currently coming back from your shared English class and to your lockers, and you would bet anything that the extra invitation was for him.
"Yeah, sure!" Tina responds, handing her a second one. Nancy catches back up to the two of you, sneakily shoving the paper into Jonathan's chest. "You're coming to this." She says cheekily, upon which Jonathan reads the words.
"'Come and get sheet faced.' No, I'm not."
"Um... Yes you are?" You say. "We can't just let you sit alone all Halloween! That's just unacceptable."
"It would make us bad friends." You agree with Nancy, nodding your head. "Well, you can both relax, because I won't be alone." You both look to him doubtfully.
"I'm going trick or treating with Will!" You roll your eyes, sighing in exasperation. "I am literally their babysitter, not to mention Dustin's sister, and not even I am going to be with them all night."
"Yeah, you're going to be out with him all night???" Nancy questions doubtfully. "Yeah." He says confidently, to which Nancy chuckles and shakes her head.
"No, no way. You're gonna be back by 8:00, listening to the Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something."
"Sounds like a nice night." He says contently. You shake your head in annoyance, going up to your locker which was right next to Nancy's.
"Jonathan, just come?"
"Yeah! I mean, who knows? Maybe you might even meet someone!" As if on cue, Steve sneaks up behind Nancy and wraps his arms around her waist. He was wearing those stupid sun glasses he loves.
"Oh, my God! Take those stupid things off!" Nancy exclaims, voicing your thoughts exactly. "I missed you.." He whines, leaning into her for a kiss to which you groan in disgust.
"It's been an hour!"
"Yeah, tell me about it." You grab your books and leave that situation as soon as you could, you really didn't feel like watching those two lovebirds flirt, it made you feel like throwing up.
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"I'm so sorry, I didn't get any time to cook." Mrs Holland says to you, Nancy, and Steve, who were all currently seated at the Hollands dinner table, KFC chicken bags and food seated in front of you all.
You were at the Hollands for your annual dinner with them. You had told your mom where you were so she wouldn't worry about you, and Steve had driven you and Nancy as soon as school was out.
"I was going to make that baked ziti you guys like so much," you take in a sharp breath at the memory of you, Nancy, and Barb eating the dish 3 years ago. "But I just forgot about the time! And, before you know it, "Oh my God! It's five 'o clock!" Mrs Holland laughs nervously, her husband following suit.
"It's fine... It's- great-"
"Yeah, we love KFC." You continue Nancy's sentence. "So... I noticed a "For Sale" sign in your front yard... Is that your neighbors or..." Nancy asks. Mr and Mrs Holland look at each other with expectant eyes, having a silent conversation.
"You wanna tell them?" Mrs Holland asks. "Go ahead." He responds happily. You look at the two in confusion.
"We hired a man... Named Murray Bauman. Have any of you heard of him?"
"No..."
"No, I don't think so..." You all say in unison, looking at each other. "He was an investigative journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times."
"He's pretty well known."
"Anyways, he's a freelance now, and... He agreed to take the case!" You gasp in sadness... They were selling this house for a man who would never uncover the truth... The house with so much memories and nostalgia...
"That's... Thats great! No, no that's really great, right?" Steve says, looking over to Nancy.
"What... What exactly does this mean?" Nancy asks in response, her eyes silently pleading for the answer to not be what she thought it was.
"Means he's gonna do what that lazy son of a bitch Hop-" Mrs Holland coughs silently, nudging her husband in the ribs. "Sorry." He apologizes, taking a deep breath before letting it out.
"What the Hawkins police haven't been capable of doing." He corrects himself. "It means... We have a real detective on the case!"
"It means... We're going to find our Barb. If anyone can find her, it's this man."
"He already has leads. By God, he's worth every last penny." Mr Holland says, his words make your heart drop. "Is... Is that why you're selling the house?" You ask, willing the answer not to be what you knew it was.
"Don't worry about us, sweetie. We're more than fine. For the first time in a long time, we're hopeful." She says, looking over to her husband happily, putting her hand over his.
You bite your lip, willing the tears to stop gathering up in your eyes. "Um.. Ex-excuse me... I'll be right... Right back." Nancy says, shakily getting up from her seat and off to the direction of the bathroom.
"I'll go talk to her... Be right back." You say, standing up from your chair before rushing to the bathroom as well.
You knock on the bathroom door, hearing broken sobs from inside the room. "It's... It's me Nancy." You say. You hear the sound of it unlocking, and walk in silently.
You see Nancy's mascara stained face sitting back down onto the bathroom side. Tears still flowing from her eyes. You look around the bathroom, seeing all the different pictures of Barb placed every which where. You sit down next to your best friend, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"I know... I know."
"They- they deserve to know. T-they're selling their house." You shush her gently, stroking her hair gently and placing her face into your shoulder for her to cry on.
"I know... But... We can't tell them. Not yet." She only sobs harder at your words, to which you sigh. "For now... Let's just be there for them. We can worry about things tomorrow." She nods shakily, before going over to the sink to wash her face.
"You ready?" You ask her once she was done washing up. "Yes..." She says, and with that, you both return to the dining room.
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You had returned home a bit later than expected, immediately going to your room to take a shower and get ready for bed. You were emotionally drained from tonight, not to mention very tired.
Once you returned from your nice, relaxing shower, you go over to your desk and start writing your letter.
This is one of the exercises your doctor had encouraged you to use on a regular basis, and after tonight's adventures, God knows you needed it. The idea was to write to someone you missed dearly, putting all the words you wished you had said into the open. It was pretty healing for you.
Tonight, you decided to write a letter to the person you missed the most right now.
'Dear Barb,
I miss you so much. It only seems like yesterday that you were pronounced missing... My best friend, vanished off the face of the earth. It feels like I'm cursed. Everyone who means something to me is either put into mortal danger or dies.
Me and Nancy went to your house today for the first time in a month, and it was hard. Being there without you, it's weird. It's always weird without you, Barb. I miss you... So so much. I never should have let you stay at that stupid party. I should have just dragged you along with me, because you hating me is so much better than you not being here at all.
Your parents are selling the house and putting all their money out for some stupid detective who won't ever discover the truth about what happened to you that night, and I feel horrible. I wish I could just tell them. But I can't. I can't. I feel sick, Barb. You would know what to do if you were here... But you're not. And it's all my fault.
Anyways, I really wish you were here right now. Nancy is having a really hard time, and I don't know what to do. If you're reading this, I love you.
-From,
Y/N'
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hey everyone! i hope the goodbye letter wasn't too bad, i'm sorry if it was though, i suck at writing letters, especially if they're sappy and sad 😭
im super excited for the next chapter though, it's gonna be juicy ;)
question of the day : what's your favorite movie?
word count : 4170