"Hop, get your ass up."
"You have to shake her. She doesn't wake up easily." Steve kicked the bottom of her foot, only getting a movement in response. "Have to do more than that. Shake her." Steve bent over, grabbing and shaking her shoulder. "Oh, for God's sake." He pushed him out of the way, grabbing a cup and pouring a little water on her face and ear. "Lo, wake up we got to go." She shot up, rubbing the water out of her ear.
"What the fuck."
"Let's go." Dustin grabbed her arm pulling her off the ground.
"Why?" Lauren whined.
"Because we are losing daylight you already got two more hours than us."
"Why?"
"We woke up crazy late ourselves and we were cutting the meat up and you would not wake up at all. Let's go, we are losing daylight." Lauren stood the rest of the way but not fast enough. "Let's go, Lo."
"Boy I'm gonna beat your ass, I'm getting up."
"Well, do it faster." Lauren grabbed her shoes by the rest of her clothes slipping them on. They walked out the door and to the car that was already loaded up. When they got in the car Lauren sank into the seat trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep. From going to sleep at two and waking up at two she still got twelve hours but they were the worst sleep she's ever had, so she still wanted more.
"You are not going back to sleep. I don't want to listen to you snore or talk about curling your hair." Lauren looked at him confused about what he knew one of her dreams was about.
"What?"
"You run your mouth when you're sleeping just as much as when you're awake." He said pulling out of the driveway.
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do. Tell me why you asked me to take this and wrap it around the iron. I thought you were awake so I said what you said and you told me to wrap the hair around the iron. I made the mistake of saying what again and you got all mad and said stop being a dumbass and wrap your fucking hair around the iron."
"So what I am getting from this is that my subconscious knows you are a dumbass and wants to cuss you out too." Lauren interrupted him.
"I'm done, you two are forbidden from talking to each other again." He said looking back and forth between the two.
"O..." Dustin reached back covering her mouth.
"Forbidden." Lauren pushed his hand away and back into the front seat.
"Hey, Hop? Do you know what forbidden means?" He looked at her through the rearview mirror.
"No, do you?" She said in a sarcastic tone.
"No. I just know It makes me want to talk a whole lot more."
"It means shut the hell up." Dustin interrupted him.
"We know Henderson we're just fucking with you, and how long is this walk?"
"A couple of hours." Lauren's eyes widened when he said this.
"Hours. Hours. Hell, maybe we should have killed it in the town hall. These aren't exactly walking shoes. They're more like blister shoes."
"You will be fine, and why would you wear shoes that give you blisters."
"Because they were cute before they were covered in trash juice. Also, one of you owes me for those jeans I just got them."
"Neither of us is giving you money, Lo."
"I just bought them."
"Whys is he buying you clothes?"
"Because he owed me." Steve, turn up here on the dirt road." Steve pulled onto the road and parked on the shoulder where Dustin told him.
"Harrington, where did you put the gloves you bought last night."
"Trunk, we used them when we were cutting up the meat." They all got out of the car. Lauren pulled up her hood, covering her ears. Steve grabbed the unused gloves and threw them at Lauren. She wasn't expecting it, so it just bounced off her face.
"Thanks so much. I love getting things thrown at my face." She said sarcastically, glaring at him.
"I'm glad, I love to do it." Steve reaches into the truck, pulling out the buckets.
"Well well well look who it is," Dustin said into his headset. The other two were only able to hear the other side of the conversation. "Well, when you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped, and I'm pretty sure he's a baby Demogorgon." He paused for Lucas to say something. "I'll explain later. Meet me Steve and Lauren at the old junkyard. And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket."
"Alright, let's go." Steve started walking while the other two followed behind.
"Just be there, Stat, Over and out. We walk along the tracks pretty much the whole time." Steve handed one of the buckets to Dustin and Lauren after they got their gloves on.
"Earlier, you said you didn't know if it was the Demogorgon, but you told whoever you think it's one. What changed?"
"I guess I didn't want it to be true, but when he breaks through the foundation of my house, I have to kind of believe it." He said, throwing down his first thing of meat.
The three of them walked for what felt like hours throwing down meat every few feet. Dustin had trailed off in front of the two teens, Steve looked over at Lauren. "Are those mine?" He said, referring to the glasses she stole from his backpack pocket.
"Yes, they are. It's bright and I don't have any."
"Can I have them back?"
"Why?"
"They're mine."
"You just want them because I have them."
"Your point is?"
"Fine, just take them." She handed them to him, and he just slid them into his belt loop. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I do to you?"
"I don't hate you, Lauren," she looked over at him, shocked never having heard him call her by her first name. She never once got called Lauren by him. She always thought it was weird. She always saw her dad as Hop, she was just his daughter.
"You said, Lauren." She glanced up at him in between, throwing pieces on the ground.
"Because I wanted you to know I'm serious, I don't hate you. If anything, I think you hate me,"
"That's because I do." She smiled when she saw him with a straight face. "I'm kidding Harrington, I don't hate you. I just really, really don't like you."
"Well, I can return that feeling." He picked up his pace and walked up to Dustin. Lauren fell behind the two she was nearly two hundred feet, so she nearly had to throw her meat. With this time, she kept replaying what Nancy had said a few nights prior. Was she right? She thought, but then she thought that she was right. Nancy was invalidating her feelings. Just because Nancy hadn't seen how it affected her didn't mean it wasn't. She thought about the fact that they went trying to, but the Hollands had resented her because her dad wanted to do anything to find Barb.
"Hop hurry, you ass up," Steve yelled, interrupting her thoughts.
"My feet hurt."
"We've been walking for an hour. You're fine. Come on before you get eaten, and we won't even notice." They stopped so they could catch up.
☆
The three of them walked into the clearing full of cars. "Oh yeah, this will do. That'll do just fine." Steve said, adjusting his grasses. "Great call, dude." Steve walked, throwing meat on the ground. The other two followed behind, pouring their meat altogether into a pile.
"I said medium-well,'' Lucas yelled, grabbing their attention. The three of them looked at Lucas and Max.
"The fuck is she doing here?" Lauren said looking down at Dustin.
"Who is that?"
"A girl I babysat." She looked over at Dustin. "I thought she was your friend?" Dustin says nothing just staring at her. They walked up to them Dustin and Lucas split off, and so did Steve.
"Hey, Lauren."
"Hey, Max." Lauren scratched the back of her neck. "I don't mean to sound like a bitch because don't get me wrong I like you but what the hell are you here for?"
"Lucas," was all she said Lauren knew what she was getting at. They walked over to Steve and started to board the bus. Steve walked away, grabbing more supplies. Steve hit something, grabbing her attention.
"Hey, dickheads. How come the only ones helping me out are the inferior of the Hopper family and this random girl." Lauren rolled her eyes at his comment going back to work. "We lose daylight in forty minutes. Let's move."
The boys started helping to make the process move a lot quicker. Lucas and Lauren were hanging a grate over. "So Lo..." He said, looking over at her.
"What, Lucas, you're using your guilty voice." She stopped drilling the grate looking at him.
"So, you have to go on that date with Keith..." he paused, scratching his head while Lauren's eyes widened. "And-"
"There's an and?" She introduced him her nodded.
"He may have bumped it up to the third base." Lauren's jaw dropped.
"Fuck no," she physicality gagged even thinking about it. "Do you know what third base is? I'm going to fucking kill you. No way am I jerking him off. I'd rather jerk off Steve. I'm not kidding." She threw her hand up, Steves head looked over at the two. "And I'd die before I did that. You sold me out when I told you no."
"I'm sorry I had to get Max to talk to me." Lauren smiled at him. "What's that." He poked her smile with a grossed-out look on her face."Stop that. Stop smiling. I don't like it."
"You had to get her to talk to you?" She wiggled her eyes at him. "Why were you so desperate? Do you like her?" She teased him.
"No, and I don't like you either. Help me." Lauren smiled at him screwing the other side of the grate back on. Steve finished pouring the gasoline while everyone piled onto the bus.
Lauren sat down on one of the seats, closing her eye. She took a few breaths trying to relax a little bit. Freaking out was the last thing they needed at that time. She felt someone sit next to her. She pecked on eye open seeing it was Steve. She took long deep breaths as the others paced or fiddled with something. Lucas started moving up the squeaky latter making Lauren open. She wasn't going to say anythingLauren nudged the girl next to her to get her attention.
"So Lucas?"
"Lucas." She responded with a nod. This made Lauren have a giddy grin not being able to hide her delight.
"If you to date. I'm calling you Mucus." She whispered in her ear, causing the girl to shake her head. "How did he convince you?"
"He still hasn't. I like to believe in what I know is real." She glanced at her.
"It's as real as you and me."
"So, you like fought one of these before?" She said to the whole bus as opposed to just Lauren this time. Steve nodded, flicking the lighter closed for the millionth time since they had been on the bus, but there was no sense in picking a fight, not right now. "You're, like, totally, a hundred percent sure?"
"Shit. Don't be an idiot. Okay? It wasn't a bear. Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home." Lauren looked at the kid surprised seeing explode like this before.
"Geesh. Someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?" Lauren let out a soft chuckle at a joke she would have made when she was younger. Now she just reacts with a simple, fuck you, eat me, blow me, or shut up. Max stormed up the latter, annoyed at the boy.
"You don't have to be a douche kid."
"Don't listen to her that was good. Just show her you don't care." Steve said, continuing to flick the lighter.
"I don't," he said, pacing back and forth. Steve winked at him, picking Lauren's interest.
"Why is he winking?" She looked back and forth between the boys. "Why is he winking? What did that dumbass tell you?" Steve flipped the light another time. "I swear you do that one more time. I will choke you out for real this time." He opened it again, flinging it closed. Lauren stood up when Dustin grabbed her waist, holding her back.
"We can't have you two killing each other." Lauren stopped resisting, so Dustin let go. She collapsed back down on the chair.
"Can you please stop? With a cherry on top." Lauren said with a smile. He pushed the lighter into his front pocket at her request. "Thank you."
"All you had to do was ask nicely," Lauren took a deep breath, rolling her lips in. If the boy had not been there, she would have started choking him for being so arrogant. There was a loud noise coming from outside the bus. The boys immediately moved to the window. Lauren stood up, pushing their heads out of the way so she could see too.
"Do you see him?"
"No."
"Lucas, what's going on?" Dustin yelled up to him.
"Hold on." He yelled back. "I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! Ten o'clock! He repeated clearly. The mini Demogorgon was staying hidden back away from the meat.
"What is he doing?" Dustin glanced at the two.
"I don't know."
"He's not taking the bait. When is he not taking the bait?"
"Maybe he's not hungry."
"Maybe he's sick of cow." Steve pushed away from the window and walked to the door.
"Steve, what are you doing? Steve?" He turned around, holding up the lighter and he tossed it to Lauren.
"Just be ready." He opened the door walking out slowly, whistling for the Demogorgon. Max climbed down the tatter.
"What is he doing?"
"Expanding the menu." Lauren turned to him, having heard it out loud, changed a lot,
"The hell he is." Lauren tossed the lighter to Dustin.
"What are you doing?"
"If he dies, Nancy kills me. I'd like not to die, and if I do, at least it will be helping you guys." She grabbed a metal pole off the ground and slid open the door. Slowly, stepping out, Lucas had been yelling that there were more Demogorgon's coming around. They were closing in on Steve. They hadn't seen Lauren as she walked along the bus. The only thing she thought to do was draw them away from him. And she knew they were drawn to blood. She looked over and they were getting closer and closer to him.
There was a sharp price of the bus metal, she put he hand on it, sliding it down directly on the scar she had from last year doing it. She thought it was a shit idea as soon as she did it. Some of the Demogorgon turned to her, sensing or smelling the blood. Some stayed focused on Steve creeping closer. "Abort guys, abort," Dustin yelled from the bus. This only aggravated the Demogorgon making them charge. Lauren ran the opposite of the creatures, which happened to be toward Steve. They ran into each other, seeing how the creature had them trapped.
"Steve?"
"Are you suicidal or something?" Steve grabbed her wrist, holding out her blood hand.
"I think you're the suicidal one. Why the fuck did you come out here?"
"Because I'm dying from Nancy or from these and Nancy wouldn't be able to live with the guilt."
"Hop?"
"What."
"You have something you can hit them with, right?"
"Yes, what?"
"On three, we run as fast as to the bus. If one comes at us, we swing."
"Dustin, open the door." Dustin did just that. The two stood back to back, and they could fall each other's breath. The old rusty metal rod Lauren had was covered in blood at this point. If she were to swing it, it would slide right out of her hand.
"One, two, three." They process the connection on their backs running to the bus. Steve made it to the bus he turned around, reaching out for her hand. She grabbed it right before she felt a claw slice throw her back when the nail came out Steve pulled her up not trying to hurt her but throwing her out of the way to keep it off the bus. He swung the bat back, hitting it in the head so that they could close the door.
Lauren grabbed the metal sheet, placing it in front of the door to keep them out. She held it closed with her shoulder pushing against the animal. It was pushing back. She wasn't strong enough herself when Steve started pushing. Lauren wipped her hand on her sweat pants, picking the rod back up. Steve's legs held the door closed but not well enough it was getting in, and no way in hell were those two going to let anything get in and hurt these kids. Lauren reached the pole up, slamming it down on the thing's head she repeated it again and again.
"Hop!' He yelled, looking at the ceiling. She knew another one was coming, and she could handle this one.
"Go!" He paused the metal back as hard as he could, picking up his bat. Lauren hit it again, but it wasn't doing anything. Only holding it back. She hit it one more time before it howled. She reached back, slamming it into his howling mouth. It did some version of gagging it back up before it spit it back at her. She looked over, and Steve's one had done the same thing. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything." He said, stepping past her, stepping on the dented metal. Moving out of the bus.
"Be careful, please."
"Yeah." He waved her off.
"What happened," Lucas said, following them off the bus.
"I don't know."
"Steve scared 'em off." He turned around to look at them.
"No, they're going somewhere."
"Holy shit Lauren you back." Dustin's hand ran down her back. Her body winced away, and she turned away slapping his hand away.
"Don't fucking touch it." She tried to turn him back to see it but couldn't. "Shit." She pulled the hand that wasn't bleeding itself away from her back and it was covered in blood.
"Are you like good?"Max asked with wide eyes.
"As of right now." The sweatshirt and bra were turned from top to bottom. It was a wonder it was still holding on. But it wasn't going to be all night. "Sorry I'll get you new clothes Henderson." She looked down at the sweats that were also covered in blood.
"I don't give a shit." Dustin looked around at the others.
"Steve give her your jacket."
"You don't have to..." he took off his jacket handing it to her. "Seriously, I don't need it."
"Hop one gust of wind and your naked.Take it. I'll be fine." Lauren walked behind the bus, sliding the arms off her arms and just pulling it off the front. Considering it was completely ripped down the back, she did the same with her bra. She pulled the jacket on hesitantly as it pressed against her back. She zipped up the jacket. It was tight around her body because of her breast. She ripped the already ripped sweatshirt to wrap it around her hand.
☆
"How's your back?" Lauren glanced over at Steve.
"Same old same old," Steve gave her a serious look. "Hurts." She took a brief pause and a deep breath. "Hurts a lot actually, and I think I'm bleeding through your jacket. Which I'll pay you back for."
"You don't have to."
"It's an experience jacket, Steve. I can't not."
"I don't care. I got it for my birthday it's not like I bought it. Just keep your money." Lauren nodded at him even though she was going to pay him back she couldn't not, these jackets were expensive at least to her. The two tuned into the kids' conversation.
"You're positive that was Dart?"
"Yes. He had the same yellow pattern on his butt."
"He was tiny two days ago."
"Well, he's molted three times already."
"Molted?"
"Molted. She'd his skin to make room for growth like hornworms."
"When's he going to molt again?"
"It's going to be soon. Real soon. When he does, he'll be full-grown or close to it. And so will his friends."
"Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats."
"Wait, a cat?" Lucas intruded with an abrupt stop. "Dart ate a cat."
"No. What? No."
"What do you mean?"
"He ate Mews." Lauren and Steve said at the same time. Max looked at them confused.
"Mews? Who's Mews?"
"It's Dustin's cat."
"Was." Lauren corrected him, and he agreed with a nod.
"Guys!" Dustin yelled at them.
"I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas put his hands on his shoulders, shaking him.
"No. No." Max Steve and Lauren all looked at each other while the boys argued. "No, I... No, I... He missed me. He wanted to come home."
"Bullshit," Lucas yelled.
"I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?"
"Oh, so now you admit it?"
"Guy, who cares? We have to go."
"I care! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!" Steve slowly walked away, peeking Lauren's interest. She drew back from the group, walking towards him.
"What are you doing?" He turned his head, motioning for her to come over.
"You hear that?"
"Here what?"
"Listen." She listened and heard the sound he was referring to. "You hear it?"
"Yeah, I hear it." She turned around, yelling for the boys who were still arguing. "Guys," they continued yelling at each other.
"Guys," Steve yelled, gaining their attention. They stopped screaming and looked at him. Another screech drew the boys in. They all started walking into the woods following the sound. They made it to a clear area, over looking at more woods they saw light in the center of all the trees. Lucas brought up the binoculars, looking to see what it was.
"It's the lab. They are going back."
"Guess we are, too."