¤MADMAX¤

"Take my hand, we'll hide till it's over, till it's all over"

One Year Later...

Mad giggling was heard echoing through the Byer's household, followed by rapid footsteps. Will shot up, his eyes wide as his bedroom door flung itself open, smacking against the wall dramatically. In the doorway was his twin sister, the pink streak long since faded from her hair and her long, chocolate waves reaching her mid back. His attention was rather pulled to the purple zip tie bag in her hands.

He instantly knew what that meant, "what's your haul."

"Let's just say, Dustin is gonna eat my shorts when I kick his ass at Dragons Lair." She bumped her shoulders. She jumped onto his bed, sitting across from him and dumping out a mountain of quarters in between them. "We can share it." She smiled.

Will's eyes were wide, like a little boy on Christmas morning, "where'd you get all that."

"I told Mom I needed some cash to get a Halloween costume, and then I changed it out on a vendi machine. Quarter flooded out of that bitch." She laughed, high fiving her brother. She put a twenty in the vendi machine, got a Dr Pepper and then watched as her change poured out. That Vendi Machine at her Mom store may or may not need to be repaired now, but it was worth it.

"Language," A voice called from the doorway. Both twins snapped their attention over to see their Mom standing there. Rowan gave her a sheepish grin that got her an eye roll and a fond smile in return. "Are you guys ready."

"Definitely." Will nodded, helping his sister collect up all the quarters again. Rowan pulled on her brown leather jacket and hurried out to the car with her brother.

"Shotgun!" She yelled, touching her nose and running backward to toss the younger by three minute boy a taunting smile. Will groaned, begrudgingly climbing into the back seat as his sister got the front. It was Sunday, which meant they had two hours to try and top each others score - by the end of the night, whoever had the highest would be crowned King/Queen of the arcade until next weekend when the battle recommenced.

Joyce pulled up to the Arcade and honked, causing the three boys who had just parked their bikes to look back at them expectantly. They waved and Rowan went to hurry out of the car, only to be stopped by her mother. "So, I'll pick you up in two hours, both of you. That's nine O'clock on the dot, okay?"

"Okay." Will said impatiently. Ever since what happened last year Joyce had been doting on the twins like they were the only thing in the world. Not that anyone could blame her, but it got kind of suffocating.

"And if anything happens, and you need to come home. Use their phone to call me," Joyce said sternly. "Don't walk or bike-"

"Walk or bike home," Will cut her off again. "I got it."

"Mom, I got this," Rowan told her, her hand resting on the handle to the car door. "Why are we still talking about this?"

"I don't know," Will leaned forward against the back of his sisters seat, cocking his head to the side to look at her. "What I'm wondering though, is why we aren't talking about how last you, you kissed-"

"Bye, Mom!" Rowan said really loudly, cutting off her brother and throwing open the car door. She was quick to move around to her brothers door and yank him out before he could say anything else.

"Have fun!" Joyce called after them and both twins waved back with a big smile before rushing to meet up with their friends.

Will held the door open for his sister, letting her step inside first before following in after her. He ran right into her back as she had frozen in her spot, wide eyes looking up at Mike. "Hi." She said shyly.

"Hey," Mike gave a small awkward wave, Dustin and Lucas sharing a quick look behind the boy, both looking greatly annoyed by their awkwardness. "Hi. Hey," he nodded.

Rowan's nose scrunched up as she gave a tight lipped, awkward smile, "hey." She said when nothing else came to mind.

"All summer." Lucas muttered, rolling his eyes as he watched the two share another awkward smile.

"Hey..." Mike trailed off.

"You have to talk about it." Dustin finally snapped, peeking around Mike to look between the two of them.

Mike sighed in defeat, "he's right."

"Hi!" Rowan said really loudly, smiling brightly and cutting him off. She wouldn't talk about it if she could help it, she would avoid that conversation as long as possible.

Mike's face contort back into that piss poor excuse of a smile, his cheeks a light pink, "oh, hey." All three boys rolled their eyes at the two of them.

"How about we just play." Will finally broke in and everyone was quick to agree and get out of the awkward situation they had put themselves in. Rowan was usually okay when it was all of them hanging out together and they were doing something to keep her mind of the fact that she kissed Mike, and then he kissed her, and then they never talked about it or what it meant.

Rowan was having a grand time watching Dustin fail miserably. She popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth - that she had brought at the concession stand - smirking in victory when Dustin's character turned to nothing but bones. "No. I hate this over priced bullshit!" Dustin raged. "Son of a bitch! Piece of shit!"

"Oh, it was a valiant effort Mr. Hernandez," Rowan pushed Mike and Will aside dramatically to lean back against the console to face Dustin with a superior smirk. "But, alas you're attempts were futile. I am still the reigning Queen of Dragon's Lair."

"Yeah, whatever," Dustin scoffed. "I'm still tops on Centipede and Dig Dug."

"We'll see about that, I have 60 silver coins and an hour still left on the clock. Fuel." She ordered, holding out a hand and smirking when Lucas handed her a Dr. Pepper. She smirked around the red straw and skipped happily over to the next game.

All four boys groaned in annoyance, watching her go. "Guys, if one of us doesn't beat her score, she's gonna be Queen again." Lucas pointed out, gesturing to the brunette who was already counting out her quarters for Dig Dug.

"And we'll have to put up with this for a whole week, again." Mike added. The terms were simple, the Queen and or King shall be doted on whenever on Arcade grounds. And so far, Rowan had been named Queen for the past two weeks, which meant every weekend they were practically her slaves.

"Uh... guys?" Rowan peeked over her shoulder, the look on her face having all four boys rush over to her curiously. "You might want to check this out." She stepped aside to give them a better view of the screen and the blasphemy that was written on it.

"751, 300 points!" Will shrilled, looking at the top score that screen name MADMAX held.

"That's impossible." Mike shook his head, reading the screen. Just below MADMAX was Dustin's screen name at 650, 990 points and then just below him was Rowan at 641, 900 points.

"Who's Mad Max?" Dustin asked, looking around for the Arcade boy Keith, he worked at the joint.

"Better than you." They whirled around to see exactly the guy they were looking for standing there, stuffing cheese puffs into his mouth. Dustin tossed him a look that screamed 'asshole' and flicked him off.

Will peeked through Dustin and Mike to be seen, "is it you?"

"You know I despise Dig Dug," Keith scoffed, like just the thought of it was crazy.

Rowan rolled her eyes impatiently, crossing her arms, "So, spill. Who is it?" She demanded, quirking a daring eyebrow at the boy.

"You want information, than I want something in return..." He trailed off, smirking his cheesy teeth over at Mike. He didn't say it out loud, but the implication was clear.

Mike's jaw dropped, "No. No way. You're not getting a date with her." He down right refused and Rowan gave a tight nod in agreement."

"Mike, just get him the date." Lucas sighed out in exasperation, not seeing the big deal. But, to Mike and Rowan it was a huge deal.

"He's not prostituting my brother's girlfriend out," Rowan shrilled, her arms crossed tightly across her chest and gaping at Lucas like he was crazy for even suggesting the idea.

"Nancy and Johnathan are not dating!" Lucas shouted and Rowan narrowed her eyes at him. Of course she knew that, but they would. One day and that was the day she kept on waiting for. She lived for that day.

"No, no, don't get him the date," Dustin stepped forward, like stepping in between the two of them would cut the tension. "He's gonna spread his nasty ass rash to your whole family, and then probably the Byers too." He jerked a thumb back at the twins. Rowan laugh nastily at him, sticking out her tongue at the boy.

Keith actually looked hurt by their taunting, coming from a bunch of 13-year olds no less. "Acne isn't a rash and it isn't contagious you prepubescent wastoid." He sneered.

Dustin gaped at him, "Oh, so I'm a wastoid now?"

Everything began to fade around Rowan in that moment. Their bickering and the chatter of the arcade dulled to nothingness, and everything went black. She felt her skin stand up on ends, like she could sense the raw fear in the air. Not the kind of fear that had you screaming and running for your life, but the bone chilling fear that left you frozen, no words able to come out. A terrifying fear that made you feel like you couldn't breath, like your heart might burst out of your chest at any moment. The arcade flashed before her eyes, rotted and cover with roots and slim, like in the upside down. The horizon came next, the trees dark shadows and the clouds rolling in, pitch black.

"Rowan!"

Rowan gasped back to the present, turning wide eyes on Mike. She knew exactly what those flashes meant and they'd been happening more recently, which scared her beyond belief.

"Will..." She whispered, turning on her toes and racing outside. She found him standing in the middle of the parking lot, starring up at the sky in terror. "Will!" She shouted, grabbing his arm and yanking him around. Much like she had, he gasped back to the present, his eyes filled with terrified tears. "Are you okay?"

Will turned to check the sky and Rowan knew then he saw the angry clouds, heard them roar like they were alive and coming for you. "Yeah, I just..." he hesitated, turning a shaky smile to his sister. "I needed some air."

"Come on, I'm up on Dig Dug," She smiled, taking his hand in hers both for her comfort and his. "I need you to watch me beat Dustin and whoever this Mad Max is, high score." Will had a genuine smile this time, nodding and hurrying after her into the arcade.

Rowan was completely exhausted for school the next day. She hadn't been able to beat the high score on Dig Dug, but she had been able to top Dustin's score in the last minute. Securing second place until next week - which a big enough accomplishment in itself to satisfy Rowan.

"How long are you going to avoid this?" Will asked as he and his sister made their way down the hall towards their first hour which was Science with Mr. Clarke.

"Not avoiding nothing," she gave a firm nod, hiking her messenger bag up on her shoulder. "Just life moving on from that thing that happened between me and Mike." Will didn't say anything, instead he started making kissing noises pointedly at his sister, making her cheeks flush a bright red. "I know what it was, you do not have to fish face me." She narrowed her eyes at him, but he only continued, bringing his hands up on the sides of his face like fins on a fish. Rowan rolled her eyes, placing her whole hand on his face and shoving him away. "The whole world has moved on Will, why can't you?"

"Because you and Mike not talking about-" He trailed off to make kissing noises again, causing Rowan to roll her eyes. "Buts the whole party into an awkward conversation."

"You wanna talk, let's talk." She finally stopped to look at him, her arms crossed. "I kissed Mike. What happens now?" Will opened his mouth, but he didn't get a chance to say a word since the bell for first hour rang. She smirked at him, "So, glad we talked about this." She gave him a two fingered wave and hurried into her Science room. She knocked her knuckles against the desk tops as she walked by the three boys and winked at them, smiling widely. She hopped over the desk chair behind Will easily and slid into her seat behind Mike, slipping off her bag and dropping it onto the ground by her feet.

She never liked Science, never would. She was definitely more into language arts and literature and everything to do with that. So, while Mr. Clarke was droning on and on about the human brain she was sketching little drawings in the margin of her notebook rather than taking notes like pretty much everyone else. Without even looking she slipped the note that was passed to her, to the boy behind her like a robot.

The door slamming caught her attention and her eyes snapped up to see a girl being escorted in by one of the Dean's. She had long red curly hair and a splash of freckles across her pale face. "This must be our new student?" Mr. Clarke asked with a smile.

"Indeed it is." The other admin said, Rowan didn't know his name. She watched the girl curiously, mindlessly twirling a loose strand of dark hair around her finger like she had been for the past 15 minutes.

"Alright, hold up there. You won't get away that easy." Mr. Clarke stopped her as she tried to scurry to the back. Rowan grimaced for her, she'd never been a new student - she's lived in Hawkins her whole life - but she'd watched plenty of other students have to go through the whole 'tell me three things about yourself' humiliation. "Dustin, drum roll." Dustin flipped his book shut and tapped an ascending beat on the cover that had Rowan letting out a breathy chuckle.

"Class, please welcome, from sunny California the latest passenger to join us on our curiosity voyage, Maxine." Mr. Clarke introduced the red head girl.

"And class, please welcome, all the way from dork central, our Science teacher who loves to embarrass people. Mr. Clarke." Rowan mocked, leaning back in her seat and smirking at the few laughs she got in response.

Mr. Clarke tossed her an unimpressed look, "thank you, Ms. Byers."

"I'm here all week." She threw her hands out to the side in a 'ta-da' manner and tried to give a mock bow despite the fact she was still slumped in her seat, her feet kicked up on the back of Mike's seat.

"It's Max," The girl suddenly said, and Rowan snapped her eyes to the red head, her eyes widening. "Nobody calls me Maxine, it's Max." With that she skulked back to an open seat in the back row. Rowan slowly turned in her seat to watch her go, the strand of hair slipping from her finger as she realized who that was. Mad Max. The ginger frowned at her and Rowan realized that she wasn't the only one starring at her, all four boys were too.

She snapped back around, her sudden movement getting the boys to look at her instead. "You don't think..." She trailed off with wide eyes, her eyes danced between the four boys until they landed on Lucas' who was nodding.

"Mad Max." He mumbled.

When the bell rang for lunch the four boys sat out in the field, watching as the new girl, Max, rode her Skate Board around the parking lot. Mike looked up and over at the double doors, waiting for Rowan to come barging through them and come complain about Math, but she never did. "Where's Rowan?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lucas tossed the boy a knowing look. Will made kissing noises at Mike, getting a laugh from the two boys and a shove from Mike who was blushing like crazy.

"Shut up." He snapped at the three of them.

"So, what's the next thing you guys are supposed to do?" Dustin asked instead, leaning up against the chain link fence.

Mike frowned at him, looking startled at the question. "Supposed to do?" He echoed incredulously. "So, what? There're rules now."

Dustin shrugged, throwing his arms out to the side, "I just don't see how you could kiss someone and not be with them after wards. Especially when you get a chance with a girl like Rowan."

"So, are you guys like boyfriend and girlfriend now, or what?" Lucas asked, crossing his arms and giving the boy a pointed look. Honestly, all the awkward tension between the party was getting to be too much for them. They just wanted it settled and done with whether that meant Mike and Rowan became a thing or they didn't.

Mike shrugged uncomfortably, "I don't know. Do we have to be anything?"

"Well, you did kiss her." Will pointed out with a shrug, looking up at the boy who kissed his sister.

"Oh, look! Rowan!" Dustin shouted suddenly and Mike whirled around with wide eyes.

Rowan slowly approached the four boys, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as they all stared at her. "What did I miss?"

Lucas and Dustin shared a look before they both grabbed Mike's arms and shoved him towards the girl. He stumbled a bit, catching his footing before he accidentally tackled the girls. Rowan's eyes went wide for a second as she stared up at the boy towering over her. Mike let out an awkward chuckle, "hey."

She gave a strained smile, "hi."

"What are you two?" Will asked, prompting the two to actually talk about the topic they'd been avoiding forever now.

Rowan bit her lip, looking up at Mike, "what are we?" She asked quietly.

"Are we boyfriend and... girlfriend?" He asked slowly, pink coloring his pale cheeks.

Rowan shrugged, "are we?" Dustin rolled his eyes at the two of them, groaning in frustration. It could never just be cut and dry with them, they had to dance around the topic.

"I don't know, you wanna?" He asked, ignoring his friends pestering stares.

"I don't know, you think, maybe?" She clasped her hands behind her back, twirling slightly and awkwardly. Mike simply shrugged in response, scratching at the back of his head.

"Oh, just..." Dustin trailed off in frustration and shoved at Mike's back, causing him to stumble into Rowan. His hands flew up immediately to encircle her and keep her from falling over as she pressed her hands onto his chest to steady herself, looking up at him wide eyed as their noses brushed slightly. Dustin gave Lucas a high five behind them, but they didn't really pay them any mind.

Rowan untangled herself from him immediately, brushing her hair out of her face. "Okay, here we are," Rowan whispered, her cheeks a bright red. "What now?"

"You guys go on a date after school." Will spoke up.

"And you do something cheesy and look at each other all stupid like." Lucas added, mocking a girly flutter of his eyelashes.

Mike looked back at him, and gave a curt nod before turning to Rowan. "Will you go on a date with me after school?" He finally asked.

Rowan felt her heart flutter in her chest, and the heat prick at her ears. "Yeah, I'd like that." She smiled shyly, ducking her head into his chest as she hugged him. Lucas, Dustin, and Will all let out a mocking 'aw' that had Mike shoving them with one arm while the other he kept wrapped around Rowan's shoulders.

"William and Rowan Byers," Both twins turned to see one of the Deans walk up to them. "Your mother is here."

Rowan sighed heavily, fixing her book bag strap, "Alrighty then, bye guys." She gave them all a quick hug stopping in front of Mike long enough to tell him she'd meet him when she got back, before hurrying out to the car line with her brother, ignoring the stares he got from his classmates. Their Mom, who was leaning up against the car, smoking a cigarette, smiled and waved at them when they came walking out. Will had been going in for these treatments down at Hawkins lab, to try and figure out the PTSD that came with surviving the Upside Down and try to help him heal.

Rowan thought they were a waste of time and money, but she went anyways for moral support. And maybe learn a few new things about this connection she seemed to have to Will and the Upside Down herself. She hadn't told anyone, not the doctors, not her Mom, not even Will - she didn't want to worry him. The only ones who knew were Dustin, Lucas, and Mike and they agreed to keep that secret for her until she was ready to tell her family.

Joyce pulled the green car into the parking lot and Rowan was out as soon as the engine cut. "Hey, Chief." Rowan's face brightened as soon as she saw him, giving the man a two fingered wave. The change in her mood was quite obvious.

"Hey, there, Kid." Hopper ruffled her hair, getting a laugh from the girl as she wormed away from him and fixed her hair. His eyes moved from the older twin to the one they were all there for. "Hey, buddy."

"Hey." Will mumbled, dropping his eyes to the concrete as he let his Mom guide him towards the building

"Come on," Rowan tugged on the Chief of Hawkins Police Department sleeve, jogging after her Mom and brother as she pulled the older man along.

It always started like a usual doctor's check up, weight, height, blood pressure all of that it. And then it wasn't anymore. He'd get set up in this hospital bed, hooked up to this device that would monitor his brain waves while they talked about his feelings and if he'd had any episodes recently. Rowan knew he had, but Will didn't like being treated so differently, so he had a tendency to leave details out.

"Hey, it's going to be okay." Rowan told her brother softly, sitting in a chair at his side. He gave her a weak smile that she tried to return, hugging her jacket around herself uncomfortably. It was always so cold in the office.

"Sir, Will," the doctor said and Rowan looked over at him quickly before her eyes were back on Will. "How are you today? Mom. Pop. Sister." He nodded at Rowan last and she gave him a small smile in return. He took a seat on the other side of Will, his chair rolling, "I see here you shaved off a pound since the last time we spoke. Must be making room for all that Halloween candy?" Will shrugged. "What's your favorite candy. Desert Island candy, if you had to pick one?"

"He's obsessed with Reese's Pieces." Rowan spoke up making a face. It was the only candy she didn't like, just the smell made her nauseous - she didn't know why.

"Yeah, Reese's Pieces," Will spoke up with a small smile.

"Good call," The doctor nodded, closing the file and tossing it onto the counter behind him. "So, tell me what's been going on with you? Tell me about this episode you had?"

"Well, my friends - and my sister were there, and then they just weren't." Will began to say and Rowan's mind flashed back to the arcade the other night. The fear, the angry clouds. "And I was back there again."

"In the Upside Down?" The doctor clarified. Will nodded to confirm what they all already knew. "Alright, well what happened next?"

"I heard this noise, so I went outside, and it was worse." Rowan frowned at the look in Will's eyes, like he wasn't even really there. "There was this storm." The machine behind her picked up, making Rowan look back at it with furrowed eyebrows. The pattern picked up, the waves shorter and closer together.

"Okay..." The doctor continued, moving the story along. "How did you feel about this storm?"

"I felt frozen," Will said. Rowan felt her hands shake at just the memory of that feeling, it was a feeling of helpessness, like you couldn't do anything except just accept what was happening to you. "Like when you're scared and you can't move or talk or do anything. I felt... felt this evil, like it was looking at me."

"It was evil?" The doctor echoed, clearing his throat. Rowan didn't take her eyes off her brother, seeing the scared tears in his eyes and reached to take his hand in hers instinctively. "What do you think this evil wanted."

"To kill," Will whispered and Rowan felt her heart jump up into her throat, making it hard to swallow.

"To kill you?"

"Not me," Will mumbled, turning glazed eyes over at his doctor. "Everyone else."

"I think that's enough for today." The doctor finally sad after a long silent moment of shared gazes and worried looks.

The nurses bustled about to undo the machine and Joyce came up behind her daughter, "why don't you sit with Will while Hopper and I talk to the doctor." All Rowan could do was nod and then follow her brother out into the hallway after he got changed back into his clothes. She sat in the chair next to him, tapping her foot against the tile as she watched him sketch beside her. He was always such a great artist.

"It's just dreams Will, you know that right?" She spoke up after a quiet moment, her voice a low whisper. Will shrugged not even looking at her. She huffed out a breath, "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm always here Will." Again she got no response. "Or if you want to not talk, you know?" She sat up right in her chair, starring ahead of herself.

She was happy to get out of there, so when Hopper and Joyce came back out saying it was time to go she practically ran to the car.

When they got home she changed out of her school clothes and into a pair of jeans, her favorite Beatles T-shirt and her brown leather jacket before biking to Mike's. They were currently sitting side by side on his couch, both awkwardly trying to think of a way to start the conversation, and failing miserably. It had never been awkward between them before and Rowan hated that they couldn't talk to each other like they used to.

"We're just sitting here." Rowan pointed out the obvious, her fingers laced together and her hands placed in her lap.

"Yeah," Mike nodded in agreement. "We haven't talked to each other much at all, recently."

Rowan frowned at that, she really hadn't talked to him that much - not like she used, not like they had before the kiss. She huffed out a breath, turning to face him and pulling her legs up on the couch with her. "And that sucks," she finally blurted out, getting Mike to look at her. "Because, you're one of my favorite people to talk to."

"I don't know why it's so hard to talk, all of the sudden." Mike tilted his body towards her more, rather than facing straight forward like a stiff pole. "It's not like we've changed."

"We're boyfriend and girlfriend now," Rowan pointed out, saying it slowly like she was tasting the label out on her tongue. "I'd say a lot has changed."

"But, those are just words." Mike threw back, frustrated at himself for being so awkward around this girl. This girl that he really liked and finally got a shot with. "Words don't change people."

"Mike! Its time for dinner!" Mrs. Wheeler called from upstairs, causing both middle schoolers to snap their attention to the stairs.

Mike slowly turned his eyes back to the girl beside him, smiling softly as he took in her face, "come on, I'll walk you home."

Rowan's eyes were all for Mike then, her eyebrows shooting up, "you don't have to."

"No, I think I should." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

She smiled softly at how flustered he got, resting her head in her hand as she leaned her elbow on the back of the couch, "try that again."

Mike bit his bottom lip, "I want to walk you home, very much." Rowan giggled at that, biting her tongue over her bottom lip to try and contain the sound. Mike hesitantly held his hand out to her, his palm up, "hold hands?"

Rowan's eyes flickered down to his offered hand then up into his dark eyes, "I guess we should." She said quietly.

Now it was Mike's turn to smile widely at the blush on her cheeks, "try that again."

Rowan's lips broke out in a barely contain smile, dropping her head out of her hands and pushing her hair out of her face as she looked back up at him, "I want to hold your hand, very much." She mocked his earlier words. Mike held out his hand again, and with her bottom lip pulled between her teeth, Rowan took it, lacing her fingers through his.

"Come on," he nodded for her to follow, keeping his hand locked with hers as he told his Mom he was going to walk her home and then proceeded to do exactly that. The walk was only twenty minutes and as they walked through the brisk Hawkins air, it became less and less awkward and the two talked easily about anything and everything over the passed year until they reached Rowan's house.

Rowan licked her lips, looking up at the door she was standing in front of and then over at the boy who's hand she was still holding. "You know, it was kind of awkward at first, but I actually had a great time." She told him softly, lifting her free hand up to push her curls behind her ear.

"Me too." Mike smiled cutely at her, forcing her lips up into a smile of their own. Mike's thumb trailed along the top of her hand, causing her eyes to fall down to the action and then back up into his dark eyes once more. She had the sudden urge to kiss him, like this magnet pulling her in, and she would've if it wasn't for the fact that the front door was thrown open.

The two quickly yanked their hands apart like they were on fire, looking anywhere but the two adults in the doorway. "There you are," Joyce said. "Where were you?"

Rowan turned slowly to see her Mom standing there with her hands on her hips and Bob - her Mom's new boyfriend - right beside her with a video camera that he was always carrying. "Michael's," She said, glancing over at said boy.

"Hi, Ms. Byers." Mike gave an awkward wave when all eyes turned on him.

Joyce looked between the two like she could read their minds, and she pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. "Did you have fun?" She asked, with a knowing look.

"Mom..." Rowan whined, her cheeks flushing as she crossed her arms uncomfortably.

"Okay, fine," She raised her hands in surrender before gesturing for Rowan to come inside. "Come on, it's movie night." Rowan nodded, peeking back at Mike with a shy smile and a small wave before ducking into her house. Joyce nodded at Mike, "thanks for bringing her home."

"Anytime." Mike gave a small half smile, before turning and bounding back down the steps.

Joyce closed the door softly and turned to see her daughter already rummaging through the fridge for a Dr. Pepper. "Is Hopper coming again tonight?" She asked hopefully, cracking open the can. He'd come every once in a while whenever he had the night off and Rowan flashed her big puppy eyes.

Joyce sighed softly, "No, sweetie. I'm sorry, he had something to do." Rowan's smile faltered, but she did her best to hide it, nodding in understanding. He was the Chief, he couldn't spend every night at her house.

"But, hey, I'm here. So, we'll have lots of fun, what do you think?" Bob asked with a big grin, leaning over so he was at her height.

"Totally," Rowan's eyebrows shot up sarcastically, moving around him to go put her stuff back and get changed into something more comfortable.

Bob sighed in defeat, watching the girl go as he straightened up, "she doesn't like me very much, does she?"

"She does, in her own way," Joyce hooked her arms around his one, leaning against his shoulder. "She's just... her father was never around much, and Hopper - he's always looked out for her," Joyce lifted her head to look up at her boyfriend, giving his arm a soft squeeze. "Come on, let's get set up."

Thunder rumbled loudly, making it feel like the whole world was shaking. Bright orange flashes would light up the sky every other second like it was set up on a timer. This cold flash washed over her, like accidentally starting up the shower cold and stepping in. The hairs on her skin rose up on end and her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. Her mouth dry, a lump forming in her throat that made it hard for her to swallow. The world was rotted, decayed, the particles floating through the air at a hundred miles an hour. It was almost suffocating. And there in the distance came this thing, this creature. It was pitch black with seven tentacles and stretched up higher than any building she'd seen. And it looked right at her.

With a gasp she jolted up in her own bed, her chest rising and falling fast as she groped for air. Her hand shot up to tangle into her curls, her hairline soaked with sweat. "What the Hell..."