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˚⋆ ┊ ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING ┊ ⋆˚
☆⋅⋆ ─ act i. don't you want me, baby?

CHAPTER TEN - the i in team is in the a hole
( episode four & five ; will the wise & dig dug )

❀

⠀ ⠀ PEYTON HAD JUST ABOUT STARTED TO CONSIDER NEVER leaving the house again if it meant she would be free from the drama of whatever boy decided to waltz all too confidently into her life. It had dawned on her during the walk from Hawkins High to Hawkins Middle (where she'd decided to park her car simply to avoid said confident boys) that much of her teenage years had been wasted worrying about boys and self-deprecation and being perceived as 'cool' .

Point proven to herself further, Peyton barely had time to register the daggers being glared at her by one Mr Hargrove before noticing that the other bane of her existence boy stood far too close to her little brother for her liking.

Although the lack of fear in Parker's eyes was rather reassuring (in all honesty, he looked far more amused than afraid) Peyton gripped him by the shoulder, hauling him back to stand firmly between the senior and her brother, flames in her eyes as she glowered at him up and down, "What are you doing?"

"Looking for you," smirked Sidney, her brother turning just slow enough for Peyton to catch the stern glare heading his sister's way

"For me?" repeated the agitated blonde, beginning to understand her brother's amusement. Before her widening eyes, Steve turned into a stammering mess. And despite the fact that Peyton had, on many occasions, found herself quite literally praying Steve would lose his ability to talk, his lack of ability to formulate a response only boiled her blood further. With an exasperated nod, Peyton walked toward Steve with a forced smile he could see through like a shattered window, "Okay, can I talk to you for a second?"

Brows knotted together, Steve quickly realised that this, much like any other of their harsh interactions, was most certainly a demand rather than a request. Hand gripping his bicep (and rather spectacular masking her 'shock' that Steve, the athlete, the swim captain, had muscular arms), Steve's eyes widened in surprise as he was dragged out of earshot from their impatient siblings

"Peyton-" sure that he was going to attempt to reason with her, the angered blonde's grip only tightened, "Ow, ow, ow!" once she'd made up her mind that she didn't actually want to hurt him, Peyton let go with a rather harsh shove, "How are you small and strong?"

"What the hell are you doing bugging my brother?" she spat back, arms folding tightly across her chest expecting Steve's usually apologetic responses. In fact, it was only when she received a certain fury-inducing wry chuckle that she realised just how long it had been since they'd had it out.

"Bugging him? Really? I asked him one question,"

"Yeah, about me!" snapped Peyton, "Which he seemed pretty pissed about already,"

Steve rolled his eyes, mouth running faster than his brain, "Yeah, probably because he's been so traumatized by your lousy taste in guys!" Peyton could practically feel the regret seeping off of him as he realized the deep shit he'd voluntarily dived into. This, however, did absolutely nothing to stop her growing anger. Regretful or not, he'd officially fired the first shot. And, as far as Peyton was concerned, deserved exactly what was coming to him.

"Did you seriously just say that to me?" she asked, as though giving him a second chance to backtrack his harsh words. But, much to her surprise, the Harrington boy was rather adamant about poking the bear.

"Yeah," nodded Steve, tone growing all the more challenging as though he knew he was not just poking the bear but, at this point, beating it like a piñata.

Peyton's infuriated gaze wandered up and down Steve's all too confident demeanour, "My 'lousy taste guys' is none of your goddamn business, Harrington," Peyton could tell by the way his eyes darted back and forth he was trying to think of a way to retract his statement.

"Billy's not a good person,"

"And you are?"

"Better than him," now, admittedly, the only person Steve had truly insulted this entire discussion was one William Hargrove. This, however, did absolutely nothing to stop Peyton's all-too-fragile mind from hearing what was likely the exact opposite point Steve was trying to make.

Better than him.

Those were his words.

He said he was better than Billy.

But all Peyton could hear were the words better than you...

The idea of Steve thinking that he was better than her was in no way a shock to the system. In all seriousness, she'd probably agree. Mr. Popularity whose daddy earns six figures and lives in a big house on the 'rich people' side of Hawkins was objectively better than the girl born out of wedlock who spent most of her childhood living in a trailer park.

"Yeah, as of the last couple of months maybe," she sneered, "What, just cause we went through something together means we gotta be friends now?" taken aback, Steve breathed in but before he could get an anger-inducing retort in, Peyton stepped closer, proximity interrupting his train of thought, "We are not good people, Steve!" emphasis exaggerated as her finger waved between their torsos, Peyton's index rather harshly poked Steve's chest, "Need I remind you of the... lovely things you spray-painted about Nance at the movie theatre?" Peyton ran her tongue briefly over her teeth, satisfied in the way Steve's guild changed his one confident demeanour, "Or how you and Carol and Tommy fucking whatever would pick on anyone that even dared to be different or shy or smart or not... a carbon fucking copy of you and your friends?"

Silence.

And although her words were harsh, Peyton was right. And Steve knew it. He could barely look her in the eye, gaze fixated on the wind brushing through the wood surrounding the school, "You have been nothing but a dick to everyone that crossed your path for years so don't stand there and act like you're better than me 'cause you're not," with his stare averted, Peyton raised her brows, tilting just to force him to look at her. Waiting, daring him to say something else, "That's what I thought,"

Peyton didn't want to waste any more time tormenting the Harrington boy. Even if it had been mere moments since such hostile words left her mouth, the Evans girl wasn't prepared to let Steve see even a hint of regret in her eyes.

After what seemed like forever, Peyton simply walked back toward her brother, car keys in hand as Sidney finally seemed to attempt to save her brother's dignity, "Steve, come on, let's gooo!"

"I don't know what you want me to say. I'm trying here," Steve's final attempt at an olive branch was simply too little too late. Those were the final words overheard by the young teens, before Peyton snapped back with, rather forced, hostility

"Well, don't," by now anger had turned to sadness, her glare a not-so-blatant white flag begging Steve not to say another word.

And although he did just that, it was almost astounding the way he knew when enough was enough. Even when Peyton had gone out of her way to hurt him he still refused to push further than he ought to. All Steve could do was nod in defeated acceptance. Nothing left to say, the Harrington boy finally followed his sister's wishes, driving off without so much as a backward glance toward the regretful blonde.

Maintaining her composure, Peyton let out a deep sigh, hands slipping from her pockets to fold defensively across her chest. As though it would stop any kind of inner emotion projecting on the outside. With Steve gone, however, she now had another problem (on her seemingly never ending list) to deal with.

Her brother.

"What did he want?" questioned Parker, tearing his sister from her once fixated gaze upon Steve's BMW.

"Don't worry about it," Peyton regretted how many times she'd found herself repeating those words to her brother. Quite often, there was something to worry about. But she alone needed to deal with said worry, so her baby brother could remain worry-free.

"Like I 'didn't worry about' Billy?" it was clear by the way his mouth remained agape for a moment that he hadn't meant to say that aloud. Peyton wanted to be angry. She much preferred it to the guilt upon being reminded that it wasn't just her left to suffer when she had a shitty ex

"Parker-"

But before she had the chance to dish out excuses, the Newby boy decided to simply interrupt, hands tightly gripping the handlebars of his rusted bicycle, "Well, um, I was actually gonna head to Dustin's actually, is that okay?" brow furrowed in thought, Peyton's mind flicked through the picture book of possible things that could go wrong when letting her brother out of her sight. But, figuring Dustin to be the second most sensible of the party (first place going to Lucas) she decided he shouldn't be stopped from having fun simply due to her anxiety and protectiveness.

"Uh... sure, yeah, you need a ride?"

"Nah," Dustin interjected, finally deciding to speak up as his hand collided with Parker's shoulder, "we'll just bike there, right Newby?"

"Sure," nodded Parker, beginning to give a real lying-though-his-teeth vibe

"Okay," Peyton's internal frown was masked by her signature poker face, looking her brother up and down thoughtfully as she hoped not to catch him in a lie, "You sleeping over?"

"I don't-"

"That'd be easier, right?" laughed Dustin, with a suspicious amount of anxiety, "Than biking home in the dark?"

"Sure," nodded the, increasingly sweaty, Newby boy, surely a signature tell he was lying to her face. Yet still, Peyton said nothing of it.

"Okay," although suspicious, Peyton finally let her hand meet her car door, letting her brother go, much to his surprise, without much of a fight. In her mind, being at Dustin's meant being away from Will's. And being away from the Will meant being as far from this shadow monster as possible, "Well... I'm gonna be at the Byers' place," she cautiously continued, "Check on Joyce and Will,"

"Okay,"

"Alright, stay safe," eyes awkwardly darting between the siblings as though watching the world's worst tennis match, Dustin stifled a laugh as he watched Parker's rather shaky hand form a finger gun that pointed toward his perplexed big sister

"You too!" rather speechless, Peyton decided simply to nod, fist-bumping his shoulder affectionately before promptly getting into her car and driving away. Although she was sure they could feel her gaze through the rearview mirror, Peyton only hoped whatever was worrying her brother was simply middle school drama. Normal kid stuff. Not the things of nightmares that they'd witnessed last year. And not the stupid creature Dustin had allowed to escape their grasp.

❀

⠀ ⠀ BY THE TIME PEYTON HAD COMPLETED HER SILENT DRIVE to the Byers's house there was already an unexpected visitor at the door. Unexpected, yet in no way surprising.

Mike Wheeler.

Without a doubt Will's best friend in the world. So, of course, he'd want to do whatever he could to help figure out what was going on with Will. Whether he was just sick, or if this really did have something to do with the upside down.

"Will!" he called, pounding the door in a clear panic, "Mrs. Byers!"

"Wheeler!" spinning on his heels, Mike looked surprisingly relieved to see the Evans girl walking toward the door, backpack slung casually over her left shoulder, "Here to see Will?" Mike simply nodded, almost tearfully, as Peyton finally reached the porch, "I don't know if Joyce is gonna want you to-" before her sentence had a chance to end, the Byers' home door suddenly opened, but only long enough for Joyce to slide through and close it behind her.

"Hey, Mike," she greeted rather calmly, though it was clear to Peyton just how stressed she truly was.

"Is Will here?" Mike's concern was soon greeted with motherly sympathy

"You know what?" Joyce began, brow furrowed as her hand gently met Mike's shoulder, "Now is not a really good time,"

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah," the Evans girl was quick to pick up on Joyce's forced smile. It was as though she was more reassuring herself than Mike with every word, "Peyton, honey, you better head home too I- I already called your dad," with a short sigh, Joyce's smile faltered, only for a moment, as she began to guide both Peyton and Mike away from her home, "Told him we'd have movie night another time, okay? Because... You know, Will's... he's just not feeling real well," exchanging concerned glances, Mike and Peyton's determination only grew with Joyce's every word, "He's laying down, so I'll tell him you stopped by, okay?"

"It's about the shadow monster, isn't it?" Mike's sudden interruption had both Evans and Byers in shock. With her hand still squeezing the doorknob, Joyce slowly turned to face the frightened Wheeler kid. Too in over his head to know the trouble such a simple question was about to cause.

Nothing could have prepared Peyton for the sight she was about to behold upon entering the icy Byers home. Plastered on the walls, floor, counters... any surface you could think of were crayon drawings. Blue and black crayons scribbled across white (and a few red) pages scattered in winding paths connecting, some dead ends, others abruptly stopped, as though their crossroad had yet to be found.

"What the hell?" Peyton's whisper, although unacknowledged, hadn't gone unheard. She watched as Mike carefully stepped over the winding artwork, hurrying to find his friend at a speed she'd never seen him move before. And as much as Peyton wanted to see Will in person, her insatiable need to know what the hell was up with the Byers' sudden interest in wall art was all the more intriguing.

She barely even flinched upon hearing the (surprisingly familiar) sound of Jim Hopper's voicemail the words - "Hey, you've reached Jim... I'm probably doing something incredible right now-" - cut abruptly short when Joyce slammed the phone in frustration.

Carefully stepping over the blue and grey paths, Peyton began making her way toward Joyce, who had since ditched the phone and was now circling the room desperately as though trying to fit the piece in her hand in the chaotic puzzle, "What is it?"

With a slight jump, Joyce glanced back to where her stepdaughter stood, taking it all in. She frowned, the answer to such a simple question undoubtedly unknown. Never before had Peyton seen such confusion in Joyce's eyes.

"I don't know..." she trailed off, glancing between the sheet in her hand and the ones surrounding her, " I don't know, vines or... roots," her arms dropped, eyes closing in confusion and exhaustion, "Hopper and I... asked Will to- to draw what he was feeling," she explained, approaching Peyton to show the drawing that didn't look much different to those winding beneath their feet, "We figured out, you know, they connect... these drawings," Joyce motioned, "But... we don't know why or... or what it means," brows knitted in sympathy Peyton brought her hand to meet Joyce's back.

She nodded with support and determination, "We can figure this out, okay?" seemingly unsure that that statement was true, Joyce simply forced a fearful smile, guiding the falsely confused blonde to the middle of the room.

The two discussed endless possibilities for hours, but none could solve their problem. It was driving Peyton crazy, the familiarity of the puzzle before her. The answer on the tip of her tongue yet still out of reach.

She'd hardly registered falling asleep, tiredness forcing her eyes shut against her will but Joyce daren't wake her.

Trail of drool cementing the crayon-covered sheet of paper to her face, Peyton jolted upright when she heard Will's saddened voice calling for his mother. She rubbed her eyes, looking around as though hoping nobody would notice she'd passed out on the living room floor. It was, however, now early morning. Swatting the paper from her face, Peyton cleared her throat, acting as though she wasn't still in a post-dream haze.

"What- what happened?"

"I saw him," whispered Will, though this did little to settle the Evans girl's confusion

"You saw who, baby?" questioned Joyce softly

"Hopper," Will's voice continued to shake tearfully as a wave of genuine horror washed over Peyton's body. Surely enough to wake her fully, "I think he's in trouble," eyes darting behind Will to where Mike stood, hands buried anxiously in the pockets of the hoodie he'd undoubtedly slept in, "I think he's going to die,"

Springing into action was an understatement for the way the rest of the morning was spent in the Byers home. With Peyton appointed the job of attempting to connect the growing amount of scribbled sheets, Mike and Joyce waited anxiously for Will to pinpoint exactly where Hopper had ended up stuck in his system of vines.

"Hey, is this where you saw him?" she overheard Joyce ask, "Is this where you saw Hopper?"

"I think so," nodded Will, eyes meeting Peyton's as she circled back toward where they sat at his desk, "Yeah," nods in understanding exchanged between the three non (seemingly) psyching beings, the problem-solvers dispersed, hands running along the walls carefully as they tried to match it to somewhere, anywhere, on the labyrinth

"Here!" Mike suddenly called out, Joyce and Peyton whirling around to see Mike with his finger resting atop a fridge magnet. Sprinting over, Will's wrapping paper masterpiece was a perfect match.

"Okay, so... so Hopper is here?" asked Peyton, Joyce only giving an uncertain nod

"Yeah..." trailed Mike with a confused sigh, "Now we just need to find out where here is, right?"

"Right," agreed Joyce

"Did he say anything?" Mike quizzed, watching as Peyton stood straight from where she crouched beside him, "I mean, before he left?"

"Uh, some... something about vines?" suggestion halted suddenly by the hum of a car engine, Joyce sighed in relief, clearly hoping for the best.

That Hopper had returned alive and well.

But Peyton knew better than to succumb to wishful thinking. Not only that, but she could recognize exactly whose car had parked itself on the Byers' driveway.

"Is it him?" pondered Mike hopefully, Peyton shaking her head confidently

"No, it's-" car door slamming behind him, Peyton felt the only one in the room relieved to see her father. Bob made his way down the drive, copious board games and puzzles in his hands, not knowing he was already being watched by his family inside. Joyce sighed guiltily as she made her way to the door, closing behind her before Peyton or Mike even had the chance to intervene. These were, however, extremely nosey teenagers she'd left unsupervised, who soon found themselves with their ears pressed up against the door.

"I would've called, but you said not to clog up the line,"

"You know, I... We're fine, we don't need anything,"

"You know, when Peyton was sick as a little kid, and she was sick all the time as a kid nothing made her feel better than focusing on these brain teasers,"

Snickering in amusement at the idea of badass Peyton secretly liking supposedly nerdy things such as brain teasers, Mike earned himself an admittedly gentle whack behind the ear.

"I could teach him how to play,"

"Y'know... he's sleeping,"

"Okay... I could wait with you?"

Pretending to barf when hearing a hint of a romantic tone, Mike had to hold his breath to stop himself from giggling once again.

"Listen, it's just not a good time. But, um, you know what? I'll call you, okay?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah..."

Joyce paused, but the teens knew she had her hand on the doorknob. They backed away suddenly, both in fear of getting caught and ending up with their brains splattered over the door if it swung open on them.

"Well, have him call me... They don't call me Bob the Brain for nothing!"

A fond smile placed itself comfortably on Peyton's unusually upturned lips. She enjoyed hearing how comfortable her father was in his intelligence. In fact, he was the one to thank for her smarts and problem-solving skills and...

Holy shit.

Overwhelmed with an impulse to burst through the door, Peyton counted herself lucky that she hadn't altogether slammed into her would-be stepmom, rushing halfway past her to stand between the rather worried parents.

"Dad, wait!"

"Peyton?" he questioned, approaching his daughter with more concern than anger, "I thought you were at Joey's?"

"I- I was," she panicked out a lie, "I was I just... I felt so bad I- I wanted to help Joyce any way I could cause- cause I remembered how much you... appreciated the help when Parker was sick," just convincing enough for her dad to give a thankful nod

"Well, that was very kind of you," Joyce nodded thankfully, although unsure why Peyton felt the need to interrupt what was already a smooth interaction, "Why don't we head home,"

"Actually, I think maybe you should come inside?" she more asked than told, almost unaware of just how kind she was capable of sounding to the people she truly cared about.

"Sweetheart, Joyce already said-"

"I know, just- just hold on! Please!" rushing suddenly back up the path, Peyton's breathless urgency left no time for Joyce to protest, "Listen, I-I'm smart, okay? I know that but my dad is a million times smarter," comfortable enough to begin talking with her hands, Joyce seemed rather fond of the passion in her somewhat desperate speech, "Maybe... maybe there's a way of getting him to figure all this out without actually telling him what's going on?" she ran a hand through her hair, hushed tones enough to confuse her father as she peered briefly over her shoulder to where he stood with a perplexed smile, "I just- I know..." both girls now turning to look at him, Bob continued waiting out of earshot, "If anybody is gonna figure this out... it's him,"

Joyce was frozen.

Left with the final decision of whether it would be in Will's, or Bob's, best interests to have him anywhere near what was likely going to be a dangerous mission.

The second he stepped through that door, knowledge of the Upside Down or not, there would be no going back. But for her son? It was a risk she had to take.

Welcomed into the Byers home, Bob stared in awe at what he assumed to be an elaborate puzzle from the creative mind of his would-be stepson.

"Huh..." hands still tightly gripping the games in his hands, Bob found himself at a slight loss for words, head tilted to one side, "You drew all these yourself?"

"Mmm-hmm," replied Joyce, although Bob's gaze lingered upon Will's anxious features until he saw a nod for himself

"Why, exactly?" he asked, turning back to the crayon-covered wall.

"I... I told you the rules," Joyce quickly interjected, afraid her son may reveal too much, "No questions, okay?"

"Yeah..." nodded Bob, although it was clear he, in fact, had many questions to ask. Not even noticing when Joyce walked away toward the fridge, their target location, to continue explaining

"We... we just need you to help us figure out what..." turning to see she hadn't been followed, Peyton was shocked when she found herself stifling a smile at their lack of communication "Bob? Bob!" waved Joyce, the Newby soon whirling around to face his partner, "Over here," soon deciding to follow, he watched as Joyce, rather aggressively, scribbled a red X over Will's crossroad drawing, "Where... where this is. That's the objective. Find the X,"

"Yeah?" chuckled Bob, glancing over his shoulder at the children, "What's at the X? Pirate treasure?" met only with nervous smiles, Bob's chuckle soon faded when Joyce drew his attention back to her

"Bob, no questions,"

"Okay!" Bob sighed, standing up straight with his hands on his hips. He clicked his tongue in thought, brows knitted together before Joyce, only clearing her throat, tore him from his concentration. It was clear to Peyton what his thought process had become...

How the hell is this supposed to help Will?

And yet still, rather than argue, he opted instead to peacefully pull his partner to one side. "Let me talk to you for a second," peering over her shoulder to where Peyton, Will, and Mike still stood in a line, Bob pointed a number 1 with his index, "Hang on, guys,"

Deciding this time not to eavesdrop on her father's conversation in another room, Peyton instead lifted a small fragment of path scribbled onto a takeout menu, holding it at an arm's length as she spun around the room aimlessly. Even the ringing of the telephone couldn't tear her from her concentrated gaze. She hadn't realized how long she'd been staring until her father zoomed past her, clearly in a much better mood

"And if that's Lake Jordan, then you can probably find..." he snapped his fingers, pointing to the opposite side of the wall, "Yeah, that's, uh, Sattler's quarry!" Will and Mike stared in confusion, now sat at the kitchen table, whilst Peyton spun on her feet to watch her father's mind at work, "And if you just follow it naturally..." he walked along, following the path, "it moves to... the Eno River," stopping at the corner of the room, he extended his arms triumphantly, "And there it is," turning to Joyce to ask, "That's the Eno, do you see it?" although she seemingly didn't every piece she'd yet to solve began to fall into place for Peyton, "Okay, so the lines aren't roads," he explained, crossing over to the kitchen, "But they act like roads. And they act like roads 'cause when you follow 'em, you'll see..." smirking, Bob pointed around at the scribbled labyrinth, "they don't go over water. And that's the giveaway," he chuckled in triumph, this time turning to his daughter for support, "That's the giveaway. Ha!" triumphant laugh plastering both Byers and Evans with half-relived smiles, Bob circled the table until he stood face to face with the X marking the spot, "Don't you get it? It's not a puzzle, it's a map!"

Of course, how could she have been so stupid?

"It's a map of Hawkins," all other minds in the room were in complete awe, they'd somehow managed to drown out the incessant ringing simply by being too shocked to process the sound. Will Byers, without even knowing it, had given them all the answers to saving Hopper they needed "Right, Will?"

Unable to coherently respond, Will barely managed to nod when the seemingly never-ending ring of the phone finally sent Peyton over the edge, the angered blonde stormed towards it, picking the thing up with all the same aggressiveness as her greeting to whomever found themselves so unlucky to be at the other end.

"What?"

"Oh, Peyton, thank god!"

Familiar voice sending her stomach plummeting through her core, Peyton turned, expression softening in genuine worry, "Parker?" before she knew it her brother was panicking incoherently down the phone, "Woah, hold- hold on, I can't understand what you're saying-"

"Dustin's pet was a demogorgon!"

Entire body turning numb, Peyton's grip tightened enough to hear the creaking plastic telephone threaten to snap into pieces, "What did you say?"

"We- we trapped it, I think... I don't know..." Peyton could hear her brother's struggled breaths down the phone, tears stinging her already tired eyes. She squeezed them shut, hand meeting the bridge of her nose when she couldn't quite make out what Dustin's urgent words to her little brother were. She thought she'd heard the word Lucas... maybe Mike too, but she wasn't sure. All she knew was she had to get to them. They needed her more than Will and Joyce ever could.

"Peyton, we need you,"

Nodding frantically, Peyton had all but forgotten her brother couldn't actually see her, clearing her throat in an effort to buy time for her thoughts to catch up with her words, "O-Okay... okay, I'm- I'm coming, alright? Everything's gonna be fine," she sighed, grip loosening in fear of actually smashing the phone to pieces, "Stay put okay?"

What was much less reassuring, however, was when Dustin seemingly snatched the phone from Parker, deciding, with all the good intention in the world, to inform her, "We're headed to Mike's, just meet us there, okay? Bye!"

"What?" worry turned to anger, the Evan's girl tried her best to interject, "No, no, no, no, Henderson, stay where you are!" - beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep - "Hen- Henderson!" she repeated, although very aware he'd just slammed the phone in her face, "Hello?" once again taking her anger out on the Byers home telephone, Peyton slammed the yellow piece of plastic back into its mount on the wall, "Little shit!" yell now loud enough for her father to hear, he looked over from where he stood before the crayon pages displaying Lover's Lake

"Language!" but rather than apologise, Peyton simply frowned, hurrying to find her coat as all worries that were once directed at Will shifted to her other little brother

"I have... I have to go," even Bob had a look of concern, as she was the one who had insisted upon staying in the first place.

"What?" he questioned, approaching his daughter with caution as she rummaged around the coat closet.

"Something's happened..." she panted, poking her head around the corner as she attempted to mask her worry, "At Dustin's?"

"Are they alright?" piped Mike, the mention of his other friends quickly gaining his attention

"Yeah!" high-pitched tone rather unconvincing, Peyton cleared her throat before trying again, "Yeah they... need my help with something..."

Motherly instinct yet to fail her, Joyce walked closer to the almost trembling blonde, gripping her hands as she queried in a hushed tone, "Has it got anything to do with..." trailing off her words, Joyce's glance to the side at the crayon vines spoke louder than words

"Mmhmm," she nodded, eyes wide and alert although yet to see any danger

"Go," Joyce reluctantly encouraged knowing Parker needed her more than they did. Especially now that they had Bob.

Bob, who was now even more confused than before.

"What?" he asked, only one to follow his daughter to the door.

"Dad, I'll be right back," she sighed, leaving the house with her father still at her heels

"Peyton, wait, I don't- I don't understand-"

"It can wait, okay? I'll explain everything-"

"Peyton stop!" an urgent yell snapped her from her anxiety-induced haze, Peyton's adrenaline felt as though it had run dry. Every muscle that had once been controlled by bravery trembled at the idea of bringing her father into their fight against evil. She whirled around tearfully, facing the only person in the world she was truly unafraid to cry in front of. To her father, she was still a child. His little girl, and she sure as hell wasn't going anywhere without an explanation, not with that amount of fear in her eyes, "Talk to me, please, I just wanna know what's going on,"

"I can't!" she cried, a lone tear rolling down her cheek that she quickly swiped away, "Joyce has this- this no questions asked rule but you- you- you're involved. You're part of it now. I'm s... I'm so sorry," voice trembling in fear simply at the idea of losing her father, Peyton visibly relaxed when Bob did the very best thing he could have in that moment. Arms wrapped softly around his daughter's shoulders, he waited until the embrace was returned before he hugged her any tighter, "I'm sorry,"

"It's okay," he reassured. No longer asking why or how. He didn't have it in him to push his eldest any further, "It's okay," whispered tones more comforting than any other in the world, Peyton let out a deep breath, forehead resting on his shoulder as she attempted to compose herself. Taking a step back, Bob dropped his arms (although still very much ready for another hug at any moment) and Peyton wrapped her hands around her stomach, fingertips fiddling nervously with the zipper of her jacket

"There's things... things you don't know," she began, choosing her words carefully as her eyes darted around her. Even if she was 99% sure nobody from the lab or the government or whoever was listening, that 1% could get her and her family killed, "About Hawkins... About what happened to Will last year,"

"So tell me-"

"I can't," she emphazised, in a way that let her father know that she desperately wanted to "Nobody can you... you'll just find out and..." and running anxiously through tangled locks, Peyton soon remembered just why she was in such a rush to get the hell out of there in the first place, "I'm okay..." she lied, knowing he could see through her brave facade, "I have to go, Dad. Parker's in trouble,"

"Like the Chief?"

"No..." Peyton tried to reassure. But the reality was she just didn't know. The image of D'art mauling both him and Dustin to death had been playing over in her mind the second the word demogorgon was throw into the mix, "I mean... I don't think so,"

Bob grabbed his keys, with all the best intentions "Then let me drive-"

"No, you- you stay here," she place her hand atop of his, key jangling as she pushed his arm away, "Solve the puzzle. I mean, you're the only one that can," small laugh sneaking it's way through tearful eyes, Bob's half-smile mirrored his daughter's anxiety, "Just stay safe," she nodded, suddenly serious again, "Promise me,"

"Peyton, you're scaring me-"

"Promise me,"

"Okay..." nodding with certainty, Bob brought his hands up to grip Peyton by the shoulders, looking her deep in the eye as he reassured, "I promise,"

Grasping ahold of her dad once again, Peyton caught a brief glimpse of the shock in his eye before her chin met her shoulder, no longer worried about appeasing expressions, "Listen, if- if anything happens..." she cleared her throat, still determined to hide her worried face, unable to fake a smile any longer, "It won't but, uh, just- just in case-"

"Peyton-"

"I, um..." finally, she pulled away, hands on her father's shoulders as she stood at an arms length from him, "I'm proud of us," she nodded, "You... me, Parker," trying her best to remain unemotional, the slight quiver in her voice spoke louder than words, "And I love you,"

Wanting nothing more than to comfort his daughter, Bob only nodded, much more confident of his survival in blissful ignorance of the dangers ahead, "I love you too," finally satisfied with her what she hoped not to be goodbye, Peyton backed away, boots scraping against the gravel as she approached the driver's side

"Just be careful, okay?" smiled the blonde, "Trust Joyce. Find Hop," simply nodding in acceptance, Bob took a step back toward the house; Peyton knew he'd stay outside until he could no longer see her car.

Brows knitted tightly, Peyton, now alone, let a short sob escape her lips, muffled by the loud sound of the engine. Maintaining her composure, Peyton's foot slammed the pedal to the metal, finding herself staring, for the second time, at the family she hadn't wanted to leave behind through a rearview mirror.

❀

⠀ ⠀ RATHER THANKFUL THAT THE WHEELER HOME WAS SO CLOSE to the Byers' residence, Peyton was just pulling into the drive when she found none other than Dustin and Parker dismounting their bicycles. Increasingly snappy, the fuming blonde wasted no time in exiting her vehicle, slamming the door rather loudly behind her in a rather successful attempt to get the boys' attention.

"Hey! Shitheads!" clapping her hands together, the two were quick to whirl around, a mixture of relief and fear on their confounded features, "I told you to stay put!" pointed the heated blonde, pace quickening as she headed toward the boys to stand between them before they could reach the door

Dustin began stammering an excuse, "We're looking for Mike-"

"Mike's at Will's!" snapped the blonde, red in the face with concern-fuelled rage which was only made worse when Dustin questioned

"Why didn't you tell me Mike's at Will's?"

"You hung up on me!" eyes narrowed harshly, Peyton stepped forward, ignoring the way her brother's eyes darted back and forth between the two, "They're dealing with..." about to explain herself, Peyton stopped short, realizing she was letting her anger get too out of control. Eyes fluttering closed, Peyton stood straight, hand running through her knotted blonde locks as she forced herself to take a deep breath, "Something else, okay?" suddenly, it dawned on her why she had rushed to the boys so urgently. Dustin's pet that turned out to be an evil creature form the Upside Down, "And I thought I told you to get rid of that thing!" hand on each of their shoulders, Peyton pushed them apart (not nearly as harshly as she would have anybody else) beelining toward the Wheeler's door

"What are you doing?" questioned Parker, rather confused as to why she had suddenly headed toward the house she had just a few moments ago been yelling at them for rushing to

"If we're fighting a demo... something, you came here looking for the wrong Wheeler," intentions clearer than ever, Parker and Dustin froze behind her as he fist slammed into the door, turning to one another simultaneously

"Nancy..."

Just about able to hear Mrs. Wheeler yelling at her husband to get the door, Peyton's fist almost collided with the irritated face of the young man who had instead answered her aggressive knocks. Barely flinching, the Wheeler's eldest looked Peyton up and down with seemingly genuine disgust, brow raised upon noticing her unusual company

"Don't you have any friends your own age?" questioned Jacob, his lack of effort to even utter the words 'hello' utterly unsurprising.

"Ah, shit..." muttered Peyton, not entirely under her breath, allowing Dustin to shove his way in front simply for the reason that if she remained where she stood, her swing would surely not miss his smug face. While Jacob wouldn't be useless on their hunt for the demo-creature, he was in no way at the same level of kick-ass as his sister.

"You're not Nancy," poked Dustin, greeted with the same joy-absent smirk.

"Nope. Just her evil twin," attempting to shut the door, Peyton was quick to shove it open, intimidating eye contact clearly not a successful tactic as she stared right back with confused anger. His narrow-eyed gaze quickly averted to the young man berating him.

"Your line has been busy for over two hours, jackass," continued the heated Henderson, "Do you realize that?"

"Oh, I do realize," nodded Jacob, practically ready to slam the door in their faces before, once again, Peyton shoved it open.

"Look, we're just here for Nancy,"

"Yeah, is she home?" queried Parker, last of the three to speak up. Jacob turned, glowering as though the Newby boy's simple question was an insult

"No," Peyton's exasperated eye-roll came as a shock to no one when Jacob's relentless attitudes remained unaltered,

"No?" she repeated mockingly, "Well, where the hell is she?"

Silent groan turning to an irritated huff, Jacob barely bothered to turn toward the house as he tilted his head back to yell, "Hey, mom! Where's Nance?"

"Ally's!"

"Ally's," repeated the Wheeler boy, as though his mother's yell hadn't been clear enough.

Glare intensifying, Dustin's arms wound tightly across his chest, "Mike. What about Mike?" With her irritated gaze suddenly averted, Peyton raised her hands in anger,

"Dude! I already told you-"

"Mom!" flinching suddenly when Jacob's voice boomed even louder this time, Peyton's glower was soon fixed back on the eldest Wheeler, "How 'bout Mike?"

This time, a loud sigh preceded her reply, "Will's!"

"Will's," Jacob repeated his mother's words again, smirk widening, no doubt at the sigh of Peyton's anger increase

"Yeah, we got that, thanks," forced smile met by a taunting wink, Peyton was next to fold her arms across her chest (although, for her, it was more a method of self-restraint).

"My siblings don't live here anymore," he remarked with a sarcastic head tilt, "You didn't know that?"

Dustin narrowed his eyes, "Seriously?" but Jacob only returned his impatient glare

"Is that all?"

"Son of a bitch," Dustin stifled his yell, knowing if Mrs Wheeler heard such language she would surely tell his mother, "You're really no help at all, you know that?"

"Gee, kid," pouted Jacob mockingly, hands covering his heart, "that hurt my feelings," his expression suddenly dropped, glare returning as he raised a brow, "Are we done here?"

Patience at its tipping point, the unusually calm blonde channelled her anger in a way much more silent and frightening than usual. Because she knew the true stakes behind wasting so much daylight with pointless arguing. And if Nancy was nowhere to be found, then her brother was the next best thing. Actually, a flame thrower might be the next best thing but she didn't have one of those, so, Nancy's asshole brother it was.

"No. We're not," palm shoving the door open rather harshly, Peyton all too confidently barged her way past Jacob to grab his coat, forcing it into his shocked hands whilst simultaneously shoving him out of the door, "Mrs Wheeler!" she called, straining when Jacob decided that, rather than protest, he would simply let all his weight fall back onto the petite blonde, "So sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow your eldest for a while, is that okay?"

Unable to see what was going on at the door, Mrs Wheeler happily called back "Sure, sweetie, be safe!"

"But, Mom-"

"Great! You have a good night, Mrs Wheeler!" Door slammed shut behind him, Jacob very nearly fell on his ass when Peyton's final shove sent him stumbling across the concrete path

"What the hell, Evans?"

"Shut up!" she pointed, gripping him by the shoulder and forcing him to stand face to face, "We think Dustin might have set a baby demogorgon loose in Hawkins and now we have to find it before it eats something bigger than his cat!" clearly unable to compute this new information, Jacob frowned, turning to Dustin with concerned curiosity

"Mews is dead?"

Not yet processing that she should probably have let Jacob sit with such horrific news, Peyton snapped her fingers in his face, only just not catching his nose. He flinched, turning to her with a glare she was honestly expecting yet could not care less about because at least she had his attention, "You need to go to Will's and take care of your brother,"

Even just a causal mention of his little brother shifted the eldest Wheeler's entire demeanour, hands sliding from his pockets to fold across his chest, "Mike? What, happened, is he okay?" Peyton had a rather surprising amount of sympathy when she saw the genuine concern in his eye. The one and only thing she and Jacob had in common was the lengths they would of to protect their little brothers

"He's fine," she reassured, hand meeting his shoulder the second his arms dropped, "but Will's not. And your sister has probably gone god knows where with Jonathan," anxiety and speed increasing as she spoke, Peyton had grown rather careless with the amount of fear she let seep through her seemingly unaltered bravery, "And we think Hopper might be stuck in the upside down,"

"You're..." hand motioned in a circle, Jacob extended it toward Peyton more with confusion than disgust, "unloading a lot of information on me all at once here, Evans,"

"Look, I..." before her sentence had even began, yet another loud sound to add to the list of never ending distractions sounded for their attention. And this time, it was the worst possible thing she could have ever imagined.

The loud engine of none other than Steve Harrington's car.

"Oh, Jesus Christ," sighed the already pissed Evans girl, fingertips squeezing the bridge of her nose as though she could simply pull the stress from the source. Steve frowned upon noticing the unusually large gathering around the Wheeler home. Followed once again by his permanently agitated sister, Steve held a small bouquet of flowers as he approached the squabbling teens

"Hi, Sidney," Dustin greeted in a suspiciously familiar tone, earning an awkward wave from the seemingly less mean-girl-ified brunette.

"What are you guys doing here?" there was no malice behind his words. In fact, Steve seemed genuinely curious, if not worried, to discover the urgency behind each of their eyes. Especially since, this particular group of people he hadn't seen all together since last year.

Peyton, however, was in no mood to explain. In her already clouded mind, Steve's presence would only make things worse. It was trouble enough having Jacob, whom she could barely put up with for Nancy's sake, quizzing her for answers she simply didn't know.

"Eat a dick, Harrington," respect earnt for her hostility, Jacob couldn't help but chuckle as Steve continued to make his way toward them, shooting them both a half-assed glare

"Well, aren't you in a good mood?" he retorted, twirling the flowers rather carelessly in his hand. Peyton smiled mockingly as she watched red petals cascade to the ground, but what would have surely been an insult was soon cut short by one short-fused Henderson

"Steve," he began, coming between him and the hot-headed blonde, "Are those for Mr. or Mrs. Wheeler?" gaining confused looks from all around him because, of course, they were for Nancy

"No?" he questioned blatantly, although he soon came to regret his answer when the flowers were not-so-delicately snatched from his hands

"Good,"

"Hey! What the hell?" with Dustin simply ignoring him, the others soon followed Steve's quick pursuit of the boy with the flowers, "Hey!"

"Nancy isn't home,"

"Where is she?" asked Steve, his genuine concern almost shocking

"Ally's," snapped Parker, evidently also not a fan of the Harrington boy. His sister, however, had a less snappy more anger-inducing approach when it came to the inevitably newest additions to the group

"Yeah right," she scoffed, "Ally hasn't spoken to Nancy since they turned up to school wearing the same shoes last week," earning perplexed glances from the boys surrounding her (Sidney seemingly the only one to understand the pettiness of high school drama), Peyton shrugged as though her words were the simplest in the world "What?"

"So where is she?" glowered Jacob.

Watching his protective brother instinct sink in, the Evans girl couldn't help but smirk, "I don't know," shrugged Peyton, happily stirring the pot as she buried her hands in leather pockets, "probably with the other person we can't find anywhere,"

"Who?" asked Steve, jealousy and confusion battling for the most prominent emotion.

"Her new boyfriend," provoked the blonde. Although unsure her statement was true, Peyton knew for a fact that if both Jonathan and Nancy were missing they were together. And, being one of Nancy's closest friends and pretty much Jonathan's sister, it wasn't exceptionally hard to put two and two together.

"Boyfriend?" Steve and Jacob's simultaneous questioning only widened the Evans girl's grin

"Jonathan," she beamed with a blatant nod, playing dumb when the dumbfounded boys simply stared back at her with wide eyes, "Jonathan Byers?" she continued, hands slipping from her pockets to fold across her chest

"What?" Steve looked as though he was about to blow a fuse. His entire concept of reality short-circuiting in a matter of seconds. Dustin, however, seemed less than pleased that the elder teens had wasted so much time in talking relationship drama over life or death drama.

"Oh my god, it doesn't matter!" he exclaimed, patting Steve on the back, "She was out of your league, man, move on!" Peyton brought her fist to her mouth to stifle her laughter as she watched Steve's cheeks redden with anger in a way that she half expected steam to blow from his ears, "We have bigger problems than your love life,"

Mouth clearly working faster than her brain, Peyton couldn't stop her quick-witted remark, "Oh, he'd need to have one for it to be a problem," regret wasn't the first word that came to mind upon realizing her final taunt was the final straw for the already frustrated Harrington boy. He turned, suddenly, a step too close to the grinning Evans girl.

"You know what, Evans?" seemingly a warning, Peyton found it rather amusing that his angered words were said with the intention of getting her to back down.

Had he not learned from past mistakes at all?

Almost challenging the Harrington boy, Peyton's smirk widened as she ran her tongue tauntingly over her teeth, "What?" it wasn't for lack of trying that Peyton found herself unable to ignore the way her heart raced from their proximity. Although she'd perfected the poker face on the outside, her inner thoughts and intentions were lost. Clouded by confusion at the idea of wanting Steve Harrington.

They'd almost been at each other's throats just moments ago, for god sake. To make matters worse, if Peyton didn't know better, she could have sworn he was returning the same exact look.

"Hey, hey!" pulled back into reality by Dustin's high-pitched tones, "Enough!" he snapped, shoving them apart gracelessly. Peyton stumbled toward Parker, who simply gave her an - it's not worth - it glance accompanied by a short shake of his head. For once in her life deciding to listen to someone (although the fact she was so freaked out by her unwarranted attraction to Steve "The Hair" Harrington was mostly to blame) Peyton decided against continuing their ongoing conflict, deciding instead to let Dustin take the reins for a moment, "Do you still have that bat?"

"Bat?" Steve hesitated, brows knitted tightly in his seemingly permanent state of confusion, "What bat?"

Squinting in disbelief, Dustin turned, walking backward toward his car, "The one with the nails?" A sudden glare shot in the Harrington's direction; Peyton failed to bite her tongue

"That's my bat!" she argued, although this time earning a brief eye-roll before all attention turned back to Dustin.

"Why?" incessant questioning yet another cause of irritation, Peyton forced herself back into monster hunting mode, following Dustin to the car whilst going out of her way to slam her shoulder into Steve's side.

"We'll explain it on the way, come on," the others caught on quickly, following to where the Evans and Harrington cars were parked side by side.

"Now?"

"Now!" clapped Peyton, hiding her smile as Steve goofily panicked to run up the hill after them. Noticing Jacob was still cluelessly stood behind her, she turned, brows knitted.

"No, no, we're looking for D'art, you head to the Byers,"

"What?" argued Jacob, "That's not fair, you're taking The Hair and not me?" he gestured, Steve feigning offence by placing his hand dramatically over his heart

"Ouch?" the Wheeler boy stifled a fake laugh that was quickly cut short when Peyton delivered a harsh shove to his left shoulder.

"Hey, asshole! Your brother needs you!"

"Nancy's got the car!"

"Oh my god..." rolling her eyes dramatically, Peyton buried her hand deeply in her pocket once again only to pull out her beloved car keys, holding them out rather hesitantly toward him, "Take my keys," heart dropping at the sight of such an unfamiliar hand reaching toward her keys, she pulled them back, just out of his reach, earning an exasperated glare that did little to strike fear in her heart, "Scratch my car and I will kill you. I'm not kidding,"

Finally able to grasp the cool metal, Jacob simply turned to Steve, teasing smirk painted on his features, "She's rather sweet isn't she?"

"Oh, an absolute delight," agreed Steve, only happy to banter sarcastically when it wasn't at his expense. Tongue poking at her cheek Peyton's angered eyes darted between the two as she ignored the prepubescents snickering behind her. Always the girl on a mission, Peyton suddenly stormed toward Steve, not-so-accidentally shoving him against the car he'd been leaning against. Arms darting into the air, Steve stared down in shock at her aggressive actions, unsure what kind of intentions she could have for such intimate proximity.

"Woah, hey!" Hardly protesting against her hold, Peyton smirked at how easy it had been to get him blushing. Although, of course, she kept such thoughts to herself. Hand buried in his jacket pocket, her true intentions were soon unveiled when she pulled Steve's own car keys, dangled between her index and thumb.

"I'm driving," cold tone clearly informative rather than questioning, Peyton went so far as to wave the jagged metal in his face, chiming mockingly before she clutched them in her palm.

"Wh- come on, it's my car!" Steve's arguments were useless, yet still he knew better than to fight her for the keys. Defeat was inevitable. He watched as his so-called enemy made her way to the drivers door, about to get in before shooting him one last teasing glare

"I'd get in the shotgun seat before one of the kids takes it, moron," eyes darting to meet the Henderson boy's, two soon raced to the passenger side, unable to even opened the door as they squabbled childishly

"Wh- No!" protested Steve, although all Dustin could do was snicker, "Get in the back!" voice strained at grappling with the younger teen, attempting to shove him to the back seat, "Dustin! Get... in the back!"

Mission only successful upon Parker quite literally grabbing Dustin by the collar to pull him into the back of the rather crowded BMW, Steve's full family car was a rather somber contrast to where Jacob sad, all alone.

But that was the only way it could be.

Wheeler heading to protect his family.

Harrington and Newby... staying with theirs.

uhhh hi

once again very delayed chapter im sorry these updates are so slowwww i'm trying i swear :((

ALSO grammarly is not working for me for some reason and i suck at proof reading so i hope u enjoyed all my spelling mistakes :)

gonna try fix it soon so if u didn't seem any yay it's fixed already 🥳

anyway, i hope the beginning w peytons pov of the convo from last chapter wasn't too boring, i tried my best to basically only use the dialogue so it didn't seem like u guys were reading the same thing haha

i wanna get season 2 done tho (wishful thinking, i know) so im rlly gonna try and pick up the pace !! tho this chapter is like 9k words so my longest yet (a double chapter in one if you will)

just been trying to balance uni and work and waiting this book n ofc i have to prioritises uni work cause like this is my hobby n that's my future lol

ty for reading and voting
and commenting it really does make my day!

<3