epilogue
how evergreen, our group of friends

        Winter blows into Hawkins with a flurry of snow.  Wreaths hang in the windows of the Wheeler's home, and Christmas lights are strung on the walls outside.  A pine tree stands tall in the corner of the living room, adorned with ornaments and popcorn strands.  The table is covered with an array of cookies and desserts.  Christmas is just around the corner, and the air is buzzing with excitement. 

Usually, around this time, Alex is cooped up inside with a mug of hot chocolate and nobody but her parents and Steve for company.  Winters in Hawkins used to be barren and lonesome and cold.  But now Alex has this; this rowdy group of misfits that are gathered with her around the rickety card table tucked away in the Wheeler's basement and a crackling fireplace that keeps the interior of the house warm.   

It's been a month since Will has returned to the right side of the world. Alex keeps a close eye on him at school. He's been going to therapy and getting the help that he needs, but she knows that it's not easy coming back from the dead. The spotlight has been rather crudely shifted to Will, who has always preferred to fade into the background. For weeks after Will's recovery, newspaper articles are released with Will's face plastered across the front cover on all of them. The spotlight hasn't been particularly positive, either. Will is treated like a celebrity for a few days back at school, students fawn over him and welcome him back, but then Will starts getting mean notes in his locker. Students stare and whisper when he passes them. They plaster him with the name Zombie Boy.

Alex has taken to walking by his side at all times in the hallways, glaring at the students who whisper. She takes the notes out of his hands and crumples them before he can read them. This makes her angry. They have no sympathy for a boy who had disappeared in the middle of the night. They have no sympathy for the boy who has been through so much more than they will ever be able to comprehend. Alex threatens to fight them, but Will tells her to let it go.

The boys have accepted her into their ranks with warm, open arms.  She spends her lunches with them in the AV Room as opposed to the bleachers in the gym.  She meets Lucas and Dustin on her way to school now, and the bike ride is filled with raucous laughter.  She goes home with them too, sometimes, and spends hours with the in Mike's basement.  They had even had the movie night that Dustin had promised to her back on the school bus in the junkyard.  She is one of them, now, despite what her initial trepidations had told her.  She had been hesitant to approach them when she finally returned to school.  They had Will back, what if she had only been a temporary placeholder for him?  But they had waved her over to their small group, and she has been a part of them ever since.

Troy and James leave them well enough alone at school, now.  The most that they do is give them venomous glares whenever they pass in the hallway.  They still fear the possibility of more.  Of El and her anger.  Alex tries to act as though she does not see them.  The day at the Quarry has affected her more than she cares to admit.  Before, she hadn't feared Troy and James because she knew that their threats were empty and meaningless.  But the day at the Quarry changed everything.  Troy had wanted to hurt them.  Troy and James had almost hurt them.  If El hadn't arrived on time, Mike would be dead because of Troy and James.

These aren't the only major changes that have been brought to Alex's life in the wake of everything that had happened that week.  She thinks that she's seen more of her parents in the past month than she's seen in her entire life.  The possibility of losing both of their children had finally opened their eyes.  They're trying their best to bridge the gap that they created between them and their children.  The Harrington house is no longer empty and silent.  Some days, Alex finds herself smothered by her parents' overcompensation.  Their presence in her life is enough.  It's all she's ever wanted.  But she doesn't mind the movie nights or the homecooked meals or the incessant offers to drive her to school.  They're trying to understand her and Steve and that's all that matters. 

Alex has taken a step forward, slowly healing from the horrors of that week in November.  She gets those moments from time to time—panic attacks, Kyra the Counselor had called them—where she can't breathe and she feels like everything is going wrong.  She's plagued with nightmares about the blood.  The path to healing is not an easy one, Kyra had told her, and Alex knows this.  The thought of El still hurts more than words can describe.  She had let the girl into her heart, and now her absence leaves her with a gaping wound.  The weight of Barbara's death still rests on her shoulders, but she shares the weight with Nancy, now.  They'd talked and bonded and shared their guilt over Barbara's death.  Nancy Wheeler has grown on Alex, it's clear she cares about Steve and Steve cares about her.  She's kind and smart and has dreams like Alex.  She sometimes jokes about stealing Nancy from Steve.

Alex leans forward on her elbows toward Mike.  The tip of her Santa hat falls into her face and she angrily bats it away.  She hasn't been in the basement for hours.  Rather, she's been transported to a world illustrated by Mike's words.  She's still new to the world of Dungeons and Dragons (and despises the fact stabbing is not the solution to all of their problems), but the boys help her along as she learns. 

"Something is coming," Mike says in a hushed voice.  "Something angry.  Hungry for your blood.  It is almost here."

Will leans forward eagerly.  "What is it?"

"It's the thessalhydra," Dustin insists, slamming his hands down on the table for emphasis.

"It's not the thessalhydra," Lucas dismisses.

"I'm telling you," Dustin replies, cap lopsided on his mop of curly hair, "it's the thessalhydra."

Mike slams a serpentine figurine with eight heads down onto the playing board.  The card table rattles with the force.  "The thessalhydra!"

Alex blinks.  "How bad?"

"Very," Dustin answers.

"It roars in anger!" Mike exclaims.  He turns his attention to Will.  "Will, your action!"

Will throws his arms in the air and glances around the room.  "What should I do?"

"Stab it," Alex answers instantly.

"You can't stab the thessalhydra!" Lucas exclaims.  He turns to Will.  "Fireball him!"

Will turns to look at Alex and Dustin.  Even in Dungeons and Dragons, Alex gives little thought to her actions.  Her first instinct is always to attack and ask questions later.  The fictional aspect of Dungeons and Dragons has given Alex the illusion of immortality.  The others often have to find themselves talking sense into her before she makes too many rash decisions (she's already had to re-roll her character more times than she would like to admit). 

Alex instantly nods.  "Fireball it." 

Dustin takes a few moments to ponder the possibilities, resting his chin in on top of his fist before nodding with a finality.  "Fireball the son of a bitch."

Lucas grins and Will nods, reaching for the dice.  Alex watches with bated breath as the dice rattle in the palms of Will's small hands.  This is what they should be concerned about—whether or not they will roll high enough to defeat their imaginary monsters.  They shouldn't need to fear waking up to another one of their party members missing.  Alex had put her youth in a casket some time ago.  But sometimes, it reemerges.  The dice roll to a stop and they all peer over at the numbers, almost too scared to see what Will had managed to roll.

"Fourteen!" They cheer unanimously.  The next few moments are spent in racous celebration, fists are thrown in the air, whoops of joy escape from their mouths, Alex ruffles Will's hair, and infectious grins are spread around the table.

"Direct hit!" Mike exclaims.  "Will the Wise's fireball hits the thessalhydra.  It makes a piainful—" Mike stands suddenly and lets out a shriek of pain, that uncannily reminds Alex of a dinosaur, "—and then it..." Mike suddenly collapses to the ground.  Both Will and Alex rise from their seats to get a better view of Mike writing on the ground.  He reaches out a hand toward them as he narrates, "its clawed hand reaches for you one last time.  And, and, and, and, and..." Mike collapses forward onto the table, resting his head in the crook of his elbow. 

The basement is filled with a second round of cheers as the children revel in their sweet victory.  It feels like the first win that Alex has had in a long time.  Will opens his arms and Lucas embraces him as they jump up and down.  Dustin leads a train around the table and together, they jump around it, cheering loudly for all to hear. 

Mike settles back into his chair and watches the celebration with bright eyes.  As soon as they are settled back into their seats, he continues,  "Lucas cuts off its seven heads, and Dustin places them into his bag of holding.  Alex stabs the corpse for good measure and cuts off the claws, fangs, and pincer, and stashes them away in her bag.  You carry the heads out of the dungeon, victorious, and you present them to King Tristan.  He thanks you for your bravery and service—"

"Whoa," Dustin interrupts.  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, that's not it, is it?"

"No," Mike replies.  "There's a medal ceremony—"

"Oh, a medal ceremony?" Dustin repeats incredulously.  "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, man," Lucas agrees.  "The campaign was way too short."

"We've been sitting here for ten hours," Alex points out. 

"But it doesn't make any sense," Dustin argues.

"It makes sense!" Mike retorts.

"Uh, no, what about the lost knight?"

"And the proud princess?" Lucas asks.

"Now that I think about it, there was that one rat problem that we said we'd come back to," Alex muses.

"And what about those weird flowers in the cave?" Will wonders.

"I don't know," Mike replies, "it's—"

He's interrupted by the basement door swinging open.  Jonathan makes his way down the stairs followed by a girl around his age.  She's dressed in a threadbare sweater and worn converse.  Alex hasn't seen her before, but Dustin visibly brightens at the sight of her. 

"Hey, Curly-cue," she greets.  "You just about ready to head home?"

Dustin nods with a grin.  "Yeah."

Jonathan reaches the bottom stair and crinkles his nose in mock disgust.  "Jeez.  What's that smell?  Have you guys been playing games all day, or just farting?"

Lucas lets out a bark of laughter.  "Oh, that was just Dustin.  He farted."

Alex lets out a laugh as Dustin's face falls. 

"You go ahead and gather your stuff," the unknown girl tells Dustin with a laugh.  "I'll be waiting outside.  Away from the stink."

Dustin glares at Lucas as the boy continues to make fun of him.  Alex only laughs at their antics, watching as Will gathers his backpack and manual.  She's always wary of watching him leave.  She's scared that she's going to wake up to his absence the next day.  But she reassures herself that he's in good hands.  He has Jonathan by his side. 

"Bye, guys!" He calls over his shoulder as he follows Jonathan out of the basement.

"Bye, Will!" They chorus.

Dustin and Lucas tussle for a few minutes before the former begins to pack up his backpack.  Alex cackles as Lucas knocks Dustin's cap off of his head, but she doesn't fail to notice that Mike has been silent throughout these moments.  He stares ahead forlornly at the for that El once resided in.  Alex's heart aches.  There are moments throughout the day when she forgets that El is no longer with them and when she remembers, sometimes it feels as if she's experiencing the loss all over again.

"Give Abby a kiss for me," Lucas teases.

"Shut up, Lucas," Dustin rolls his eyes.  "That was three years ago, okay?"

"What was?" Alex questions.

"Dustin used to have a crush on his babysitter," Lucas tells her.

"Is that who that was?" She wonders, jerking her head toward the basement door.  Lucas nods and Alex lets out a laugh.  "Aw, Dusty has a crush?"

"Had, a crush," Dustin retorts, red in the face.  Then he points a finger at Alex.  "If you tell anyone else about that..."

"Don't worry, Dustin," she assures him.  "Your secret's safe with me."

Dustin disappears up the basement stairs shortly after that along with Lucas whose parents have also arrived.  They don't have as much freedom anymore, their parents cling to them just a little tighter when they leave, and they aren't allowed to ride their bikes home at night.  Alex misses when she had more freedom, but at least she knows that her parents care.

Alex is left alone in the basement with Mike, who continues to stare forlornly at the fort on the opposite side of the room.  She decides she should give him space and silently exits the basement, leaving the remnants of the campaign behind her.  She's greeted with the scent of freshly baked desserts when she emerges into the kitchen.

"These smell delicious, Mrs. Wheeler," she says with a smile.

"Thank you, Alex," Karen beams as if Alex has made her day.  It makes her wonder how much she hears that.  "Your brother's in the living room with Ted and Nancy."

Alex smiles.  "Thanks."

The soft sound of Ted's snoring fills the living room when Alex enters.  As per usual, the man is reclined in the La-Z-Boy with a bowl of popcorn cradled in his arms.  A sitcom plays on the TV that's pushed into the corner.  Holly sits criss-cross in the center of the room, rolling marbles across the floor.  Nancy and Steve cuddle on the couch.  Alex wrinkles her nose and feigns disgust, retching.  Steve only rolls his eyes.  Nancy smiles fondly.

"What's with the hat?" He asks.

"What's with the sweater?" Alex retorts.

"What's wrong with my sweater?" Steve asks.  "Nancy, is there something wrong with my sweater?"

Nancy looks between Alex and Steve.  "I—"

"It's okay, Nancy, he's your boyfriend. I can say it for you." Alex replies.  She returns her attention to Steve and places a hand on his shoulder.  "You look like an old man in that sweater, Steve."

"I do not!" Steve exclaims indignantly.

"Sure," Alex replies with a laugh.  She takes a seat on the carpeted floor in front of Holly and smiles at the young girl.  Holly has practically latched herself to Alex now that she spends more time at the Wheeler's house.  She is convinced that Alex is her best friend, and Alex finds it endearing (Mike finds it annoying.  He does not like the idea of his friend preferring his younger sister over him).  "Hey, Holls!"

"Hi," Holly replies with a smile. 

"Mind if I join you?" Alex asks.

Holly shakes her head and rolls a marble in Alex's direction.  Alex grins.  They make a game of rolling the marbles across the floor to each other as the sitcom plays in the background.  Alex is too preoccupied with Holly to notice the fond gaze of both her older brother and Nancy.  Karen joins them in the living room, and soon after Mike though Alex can tell that his sudden reverie of El has dampened his mood significantly.  But despite that, he wears a smile. 

Alex looks up to gaze around at the warm living room.  She looks at Mike, who bats away Karen's hand as she tries to brush his hair out of his eyes, then to Ted who still sleeps peacefully in his recliner, to Holly who seems to be fighting sleep, and finally to Steve, who only pulls Nancy closer.

And somehow, she knows that everything is going to be okay.

FIN.

author's note: i'm getting a little emotional typing this up, you have no idea just how much alex means to me.  she was my first published oc and she has grown up so much along with me.  to think that i created her almost five years ago is....well mind-blowing.  i've written and rewritten and refined her so many times over the years, and i'm happy to say that i'm content with the alex that i have now.  her development and story means so much to me and i'm glad that i'm able to share this with you guys, and i'm glad that you all love alex as much as i do. 

i have been writing her from the moment that i joined this site.  i kept writing and rewriting and refining because i was never satisfied with her story.  it became almost a yearly thing to bring alex's story back, but she never stuck around for long because i wasn't happy with what i was doing with her.  but finally, i brought her back this year (three years exactly since i published her for the first time!!  thought i didn't even realize that at the time) and this time she stuck.  i'm honestly glad it took me this long to finally complete her story because my writing has grown so much since i first posted her story, and it just wouldn't be the same.  i know she's just a figment of my imagination, but i am so incredibly proud of her and the journey that she's been on so far. 

finally, i could not have done any of this without YOU.  yes, i'm talking about you.  your support—whether it's spamming me with comments, or just simply voting—means the absolute world to me and i couldn't have done this without your support.  it was my biggest motivation to finish her story.  all of you have my heart. 

i would also like to give a shout out to those of you who have been here since the very beginning (alex's into oblivion era) and stuck around through all of alex's changes and growth.  i appreciate you guys so so much <33.

soon, just one yesterday will be marked completed, but this is not the end of alex's journey.  i will post an update in here when the sequel is posted for any of you who are interested in continuing alex's story (keep an eye out for 'miss missing you').  i'm so incredibly excited to take this next step into alex's chapter, one that i have not ever explored before in all my time of having her. 

thank you again, for all your support.  see you soon :)

FINAL WORD COUNT: 71,738

originally started: 04.12.19
originally published: 04.12.19
1st rewrite started: 07.26.19
2nd rewrite started: 02.13.20
3rd rewrite started: 05.20.20
4th rewrite started: 01.01.21
5th rewrite started/published: 04.12.22
finished: 6/10/22