— CHAPTER 22 —
IN THE WAKE

WEDNESDAY 16th NOVEMBER,
1983

WEDNESDAY sweeps through Hawkins with full force, strong gales and gusts sweeping away the rubble of their ordeal. The weather forecast lands the conditions inconveniently on the first day back at school — Monday and Tuesday had been closed down, as the school worked on clearing the bodies and the other carnage the demogorgon left in its wake... of course, no one else knows that. Either way, none of the kids seemed to complain, being given two free days off school.

     In truth, Daphne has been dreading going back. Her talk with Dr. Owens still looms over her, her signature on the page burned into her memory.

What has she done? What has she done?

     The past couple of days have actually been... nice. Daphne mostly spent them inside with Cath, reconnecting. Lots of movies were watched — deliberately lighthearted ones that they had on VHS, from 'The Aristocats' to 'Bugsy Malone', to avoid any possible recollection of the past week. A couple of board games in there somewhere. Anything to feel normal again.

Maybe it is because of their shared experiences this last week, but she suddenly feels much more able to relate to Cath than usual. She is no longer just her baby sister, but her new confidante by circumstance. The five-year age gap used to throw Daphne in the past. However, Cath seems maturer now — although she catches herself when she remembers why that probably is.

Daphne did manage to squeeze in a visit to her mother's grave, a couple of days late again. She thought of her last visit, back when she was blissfully ignorant of everything going on in Hawkins. That was so long ago. Standing under lead-tinted clouds, hands in her pockets as she stared at the headstone, she had the distinct feeling that life was never going to be the same again...

Wednesday morning arrives. She enters her first taste of her new reality embittered after a restless night. As Daphne pulls her sweater over her head, she hears an exasperated little knock on her door. Cath is hovering outside her room, bouncing on her heels— half-dressed, her skirt and sweater on and hair still not brushed, but with no socks on.

     "Hey, have you seen my stockings?" she asks breathlessly.

     Daphne freezes. "Which ones?"

     "My favourites ones. The white ones, they have tiny little hearts on them?"

     Oh, shit.

     "Uh... nope. Have you looked in your room?"

     "I've turned it upside down, and still nothing." Cath furrows her eyebrows at her sister as she suddenly snorts with laughter. "What is it?"

     "Nothing, nothing..." Daphne dismisses it with a wave of her hand. Really, she finds herself chuckling uneasy at the irony of the words 'upside down', when that pair of stockings are somewhere in that very place — the same pair she used to wrap that kitchen knife with.

     Oops.

     After breakfast, unlike their usual routine — where Daphne might cycle or catch a lift, and Cath would take the bus — they file out into Thomas's car. He insists it after the week they've had. To prevent either of them being abducted or running off without his knowledge, their father has decided that he will be the one giving them lifts to school, and eventually Daphne can take over with Cath when she gets her license.

     Daphne can't say she complains. She feels somewhat safer inside a car, despite that being the same metal cage Tonya was torn from.

     Instantly upon opening the front door, the wind slams it against the wall with a mighty gust. Cath's neatly brushed hair instantly becomes dishevelled, and Daphne can hear her disappointed sigh as they hurtle into the back of the car. "Don't worry," she assures her, running a hand through her own loose hair as an example. "Just ruffle it instead. It looks cool, trust me. Kind of like Stevie Nicks."

     "But I don't look like Stevie Nicks, I look like I just got electrocuted..." Cath murmurs, trying to flatten her damp hair.

Thick sheens of water run over the windows' glass as Thomas drives, obscuring any vision of Hawkins around them. Daphne is left to her imagination to wonder what the mood of the town is. How much do they know about what happened? Do they know even anything at all? If she has signed a pact of secrecy even from her own father, it wouldn't surprise her if it has somehow flown under the Hawkins citizens' radars...

     But that does not make it any less scary.

The worst thing she dreads this morning is meeting Felix. How is she supposed to lie to him about this? Tonya's missing posters are still strewn up on every corner, her parents growing more worried with each day, and here she is with this awful secret. Daphne is sure she will never be able to look him in the eye again.

     When they arrive at school, the only indicator Daphne has of it is that the car has stopped. She can't see anything outside of the windows.

     "Alright, we're here," Thomas says, turning in his seat and looking between them. "Now remember, no running off today. And don't try to get home by yourself — I'm going to pick you both up, on the dot. Do you understand?"

     "Yep," Daphne sighs, and Cath nods in the back seat.

     He taps her shoulder before she unlocks the door. "Hey... just have a good day, alright?"

     I'll try, she thinks uneasily.

     Getting out of the car, a gust of rain batters her face. She hears Cath whoop next to her and shield herself with her bag. Not bothering to waste time on goodbyes, Daphne watches her meander haphazardly around puddles until she reaches the entrance. The girl shakes out her coat and grimaces at her wet shoes before disappearing into the school. Daphne is already getting soaked through by the time her dad has also left the car park. She doesn't mind it.

     Now it's her turn to make the run to the entrance. Feeling the tips of her socks already wet — somehow a perfect representation of her mood — she feels a familiar figure slip into the corner of her periphery. She doesn't stop to talk to him until they're safely shielded under the eaves of the school.

     "Jonathan..."

     The Byers boy's hair has gone completely soggy from the rain, obscuring his eyes. When he flops it back, she is relieved to see how much better he looks (comparatively) than the past week. Like he actually got a decent night's sleep. Although there is still an edge to him, like he thinks this is all good to be true, and is still expecting the tables to turn again. Boy, does she know that feeling now.

     "How's everything at home?" she asks, wiping water droplets from her face.

     "Better," Jonathan admits, after a brief pause. "Will's still recuperating for a couple extra days. Mom is totally obsessed with his safety now. I mean, she even worries when he goes to the bathroom. But... more than anything, I'm just glad he's home."

     Daphne manages a bittersweet smile. Of course he would say that. And still, to think that Will is back safe still fills her with relief, despite the strange gut feeling of hers that it isn't over. But Daphne can't help wonder... who is looking out for Jonathan during all of this? She is surprised the guy hasn't busted a lung from all the stress piled onto him this week.

     She reaches out and places a hand on his shoulder. The intention had been to say something else, but nothing feels right in the moment. It works out better this way, anyway. Jonathan smiles through thinned lips and pats her hand — an acknowledgement. He knows Daphne is going to look out for him in any form she can.

     As he disappears into school, she figures she should follow him too. Daphne takes extra long when wiping her feet, head bowed down low so she won't have to look at anyone yet. The hallway bursts at the seams with conspiratorial chatter. As she finally looks up, she sees it too. On the cork board by the entrance, a newspaper clipping paired with a black-and-white yearbook photo of a smiling Will, the headline reading:

'THE BOY WHO CAME BACK TO LIFE'

     Daphne stops and watches it thoughtfully for a moment. When they put it like that, it really does sound like a miracle.

     She turns away from the cork board, and a group of girls part just enough to let her see them. Right at the end of the hallway. She thinks she might fold into herself from shame.

     There, right ahead of her, are her friends. Amy is already facing her way, engaged in an intellectual-looking conversation with him until she clocks Daphne. God, she missed her. She wishes she had had Amy's pragmatic attitude and her sternness in some of her situations. She watches her hit Felix on the arm, nod towards her. Then Felix is turning around, locking eyes onto her, Adam's Apple bobbing in his throat as he swallows thickly.

     Daphne still can't move.

     She is wondering; her way over here in the darkness of the doorway, them under the brighter fluorescent lights over there. Is this how they are going to be now? Never quite going to meet in the middle again, because of experiences they haven't shared?

     She crosses that bridge. She doesn't give a damn who sees. Before the tears can threaten to surface, Daphne storms over to Felix and wraps her arms around him tight. He reciprocates after the initial shock of the embrace. But she isn't doing this for comfort, oh no. It is the best way not to look into his eyes just yet. Daphne clings onto his shirt, hearing him mumble an endearing "Hey, hey... you missed me that much?" into her wet hair.

I'm so sorry.

"For what?" Felix asks, breaking away from the hug, his lips titled into a confused half-smile.

She said that out loud. "Nothing," Daphne murmurs. "It's nothing... I'm just glad to see you guys again."

"You're telling me. We were worried about you. But most importantly, we need someone to keep us from going insane. Okay, mainly me. Amy has a story to tell you, I think..."

Even Amy manages a smile at that, which is saying something for her. She looks at both of them, these two idiots she's glad to call her friends, and a soothing wave of reassurance washes over her. Maybe this will be alright.

"Why, what happened?" Daphne asks, their smiles catching onto her like contagion.

"Well, I was at work the other day, doing the usual. You know, restocking the freezers and whatnot. But then this little girl walks in — at least I think she was a girl — all covered in dirt, with a shaven head. She couldn't be any older than... eleven, twelve?"

She blinks at her. "... Oh, really?"

"I'm serious!" Amy insists, getting irritated as Felix begins to chuckle. "It was so weird. She came in and just started raiding Eggos from the freezer. Then the doors broke and a lady nearly got flattened by a shopping cart. I don't know how to explain it, but the air just felt different when the girl was there... Felix, if you laugh again, I'll hit you with a shopping cart."

Daphne must admit, there is something amusing in seeing the usually rational Amy unable to explain something. But with her foreknowledge, it doesn't take much of a guess to know that little girl was Eleven. And she can't blame Amy for being clueless about a reasonable explanation.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he holds his hands up. "It's just she hasn't shut up about it since it happened, and I'm so glad someone else can finally hear this broken record."

She feels herself laughing, finally for real, as she accepts the arm that Felix slings around her shoulder. Trying to block out the wisps of curious conversation among other students, Daphne tries to imagine this little bubble with just the three of them... as long as nothing pops it, she might be able to handle this.

━━━━━━

THE walls of Mr. Clarke's new classroom are whitewashed and lacking in his personality. Well, she says new, but Cath and her class have been vacated from their usual science room since it had been mysteriously trashed at the weekend. Kids around her conspire about what it might be — one kid suggests to his friend that it might have been a bear, to which his friend scoffs and retorts, "Bears can't unlock doors, dipshit!"

Of course, Cath knows exactly what it was, but she wishes she was none the wiser.

Eleven's dying scream sears through her mind at the memory.

Everything feels muddled up in here. Everyone is sat in the wrong seats, in her mind, as Cath involuntarily finds herself sat second from the front. Usually she prefers to opt for the middle — far back enough to disappear, but close enough to pay attention and see the board — but today she honestly would rather have sat in the shadows at the back of class. However, maybe it's for the better. She is nearer to Mr. Clarke, whose ceaseless spirit in the face of crisis is contagious. She absorbs every molecule of it she can.

"Alright everyone, settle down! Now, I know this all feels pretty weird for everyone..." he clasps his hands together, leaning back on his desk (which isn't actually his desk). "Hopefully things will be normal by the start of next week. So for now, let's all just be grateful for each other's safety and health at this time. And very soon we will be able to give Will the warm welcome back he deserves..."

Cath glances over at the one empty desk in class. She agrees with Mr. Clarke, that once that void is filled, everything should hopefully revert back to normal.

Dr. Owens had promised her that. He said it would by no means be easy, but they could do it with some resilience. It was difficult to trust the kind man at first. After all of the fear running from the Bad Men, willingly going into a sealed room with him felt like shooting herself in the foot. But Dr. Owens was different. He had a lightness of being, despite the great burden now dealt onto his shoulders. He called her 'kid', and not in a belittling way. If Cath didn't know any better, on first glance she would have mistaken him for a friendly average doctor — not fulfilling the job that he really was.

Anyway, he was a lot nicer than Brenner. That was the silver-haired man's name. Dr. Martin Brenner. She learned that, and remembered it. Not that she would need it later, of course... he is dead. Dead and gone.

So is Eleven.

The intrusive thought deals her a sucker punch to the gut. But before she can dwell on it, Mr. Clarke's voice brings her back around again.

"I think today, we'll take it a little easier," he says with a twinkle in his eye. "If everyone could take a sheet of sugar paper from the front, how about we make some posters about the solar system, hm? The display case in my room could use some new ones."

The class begin to exchange triumphant murmurs, one kid even punching the air with an excited "Yes!" as Mr. Clarke shakes his head slowly.

"Thought you'd like that. But in your usual seats, please! Your science buddies are your friends too."

To this, half of the class hum a disappointed "Awww..."

Cath gets right to work. The more she tries to indulge herself in her poster, the more soothing she finds it. She writes the title with meticulous care, drawing sections with a ruler and pencil, studying the diagram carefully — for once, it is nice for her main concern to be making sure Uranus is smaller than Neptune. It distracts her from the occasional stares she can feel burning into the back of her head...

Just thinking about the reaction when she walked into this school this morning, makes the nape of her neck prickle. Cath may have wanted to stop feeling invisible, but in that moment she wanted nothing more than to be exactly that. She couldn't help noticing the stares as she walked past groups of friends at lockers. At first, she was clueless as to why. Then it occurred to her — it was when a girl hastily asked her, "So do you know what happened at the school at the weekend?" By association, she was suddenly the person to go to for any information about Will. It was bizarre.

Cath saw Pam, Gina and Sandy in the hallway before first period; she physically had to tell herself not to walk over, as she had always instinctively done, dragged behind like an old dog. This 'breaking away' thing seems easier said than done...

But it was the other ones, her real friends perhaps, that made it easier. It didn't feel easy. She found herself constantly looking over her shoulder, looking to see if people were reacting in any way. Maybe she was trying to see if Pam and the girls were noticing her absence or not.

Luckily the boys were experiencing the same thing as her, but on an amplified scale — everyone wanted to know everything about Will. More infuriatingly, people who had never talked to him were suddenly acting like he was their old chum. A couple of girls in Cath's Math class asked her to send their regards, one of them clutching her chest and lamenting about how she always felt so sorry for him... they were the same girls yawning during the Principal's speech when he 'died'.

This discussion came up at lunch — during which, to her utter delight, Cath sat at the boys' table.

"At least they're being nice about him, and not saying nasty things," Cath had tried to smooth over, although she herself was irked by the whole thing.

"That's worse. It's only because he 'died' and came back," Mike had replied sceptically. "If that hadn't happened, they wouldn't give a damn about how he was doing."

The only thing missing from this 'breakaway' was a certain new girl, who Cath knew she wouldn't see until Sixth Period. Comparing timetables on their first day, Wednesday was usually when she and Andrea would not cross paths until then. Sure enough, she now spots Andrea going to the front of the class to get supplies. The girl is about to go back with an obscenely large handful of crayons, when she clocks Cath sat in the front seat.

Andrea gives her a smile, all-teeth, though there is something apprehensive about it. Turning in her seat as she follows her backwards, Cath observes her until she finally looks her way again. If Andrea hasn't forgotten about her at this stage, then she would like to at least apologise for her absence.

"Meet after class?" Cath tries to mouth, without attracting too much attention.

In response, she gets a double thumbs-up. A good sign.

Once class is finished, everyone files out kitted in raincoats, some lucky enough to be wielding umbrellas. Cath lingers by the doorway and waits, until she sees the familiar denim jacket-clad girl walk out.

"Hey," is all she can manage initially.

"Hey..." Andrea rocks back and forth on her heels, almost nervously. "How've you been? I hadn't seen you for a few days, and then I heard about all of the..." She begins to gesture vaguely, but Cath gets it.

"It's definitely been the craziest week of my life."

"Well, if you ever need help with anything, lemme know."

"Thanks..." But you can't help. Not with this.

Over Andrea's shoulder, Cath spots the boys walk out from class. Lucas and Dustin are arguing over an inaccurately-drawn Saturn, while Mike tags along tiredly on the side. An exciting notion pops into Cath's head that she can't stop...

"There's some people I'd like you to meet," she tells Andrea, before raising her voice a little and waving. "Hey guys!"

The boys all turn around to face them, making their way over. For some reason, they happen to stand in a uniform line before Andrea, and the whole appearance of it all makes Cath chuckle.

"This is Andrea. She was new here last week."

The trio murmur friendly 'Hello's at different intervals, and the new girl nods back at them with a grin.

"And Andrea, this is Mike, Lucas, and Dustin..." Cath stops, before timidly adding, "... my friends."

"There's Will, too," Lucas interjects. "But he's coming back next week."

"I look forward to it," Andrea says. She all-smiles, before her eyes suddenly widen. She is staring thoughtfully at Dustin's chest for some reason...

He starts becoming self-conscious. "What? Did I spill Capri Sun on my shirt again?"

"Is that a Star Wars t-shirt?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Dude..." Andrea chortles to herself. She unzips her raincoat, opens up her denim jacket and the plaid shirt underneath, puffing out her chest like Superman. In an amusing coincidence, Andrea is wearing the exact same t-shirt as Dustin — the movie poster printed on the torso, from lightsabers to Darth Vader.

Dustin seems to consider this a few seconds, none of them able to gauge his reaction.

Then he simply deadpans, "Oh, I like her."

Andrea chuckles at this, zipping herself up again.

"You— you like 'Star Wars'?"

"Among other things, yeah. Although I'm more of an Indiana Jones kind of gal."

"Okay, we should probably get going," Cath glances at her watch, aware of her dad coming to pick her up. "But I'll see you guys tomorrow, I guess?"

"Yeah, see you," Mike says, with a twinge of sadness that makes her suddenly feel awful for leaving them. That underlying grief hasn't left him since Eleven sacrificed herself for them.

As the boys walk away, Dustin can still be heard blabbering about Andrea — "What? No!" he cries, voice cracking. "You can't just dangle the carrot in front of me, and then take it away! Please, just give me one sec, I might have just found my soulmate!" — until the two girls are alone again.

Wordlessly, they venture to Cath's locker as she gets something out, and she begins to wonder who will say something first.

"So, what happened with Pam and that whole group?" Andrea asks hesitantly.

When Cath only shrugs, feeling nothing more is needed, she gives a decisive nod.

"I've made and let go of friends more times than I can count," she says. "You know, 'cause I've moved around so much. Whether they let go of you first, or you just lost touch... I don't know, maybe they stop writing letters to you one day. It always sucks. But... starting fresh isn't always a bad thing."

Cath gently shuts her locker door, not wanting to cut off Andrea's train of thought. She looks as though she is itching to say something to her.

"I guess that's why I can be a little bit... intense? I promise, once you get to know me, I don't always act like I'm on a sugar rush."

"Don't be silly, you don't have to apologise," Cath tries to assure her.

Andrea shrugs her shoulders. "I know, I know, but I guess I still worry, you know? Coming to a new place, re-setting... it isn't easy. I thought that maybe I... maybe I scared you off, or something."

Scared me off? Cath almost bursts out laughing. There is nothing about Andrea that could scare her off. If anything, she feels like the luckiest person that she had even thought about starting a friendship. And the fact she worried about it? That was Cath's job, not for the fearless Andrea... or perhaps not so fearless at all. In that moment, she wonders if they are both as scared of rejection as the other. Maybe they aren't so different after all...

"Look, if anything, I'm the one who should apologise," Cath admits. "I promise I don't usually run off like that all the time."

"Good to know," Andrea grins, but still with an edge of uneasiness.

The two stop at a fenced-off area by the wall, where bricks are still torn and crumbled. Andrea gapes and nosily stands on her tip-toes, as if this will give her a better insight to the hole. Cath realises she is standing a metre away from it, instinctively, at the memory of the demogorgon bursting through. A hot flush runs through her — she quickly stares down at her feet to check. No blood. No bodies. Seeing that the floor is polished clean, she allows herself to breathe again.

"This is wild..." Andrea marvels at the hole. "What do you think came through here? Maybe it was a huge monster, or– or an intergalactic alien!"

"Maybe..." Cath trails off, after a nervous laugh. If only you knew, she thinks.

They both stare at the taped-off area for a while, as if they were at an art gallery. Not wishing to dwell on it any longer, Cath turns Andrea's way.

"Do you maybe want to hang out soon?"

"How soon?"

"I don't know. Like... now?"

Now, just like she had hoped, Andrea beams properly. She shoves her hands into her jacket pockets.

"But it might have to be my house," Cath quickly back-tracks. "After the past week, my dad is super paranoid about curfew, so he's picking me up with my sister."

"No problem. My mom's just as paranoid, it's fine. I think she's half-thinking of moving us somewhere else again!"

This throws Cath for a moment, but Andrea then shoots her another thumbs-up.

"But don't worry," she pretends to toss her hair. "When I'm done with Hawkins, it'll be begging me to stay."

     It's so unexpected that Cath suddenly snorts with laughter, surprising herself. She stops herself short for a second, fearing Andrea might find it weird, but she is barely fazed. The storm rages on outside, sweeping a poor girl's umbrella away with the wind. Rain batters against the windows, and for a moment it reminds Cath of the peppered gunfire she heard outside that dark classroom.

But it will be okay, she tries to tell herself. It will have to be. With folks like her sister, the Party and Andrea around her, what could go wrong if they just make-believe a better present?

Everything will be fine. Everything will be fine. Everything will be fine.

━━━━━━

A/N;

ONE! CHAPTER! LEFT!

also, this is totally unrelated to this chapter, but HAPPY RED (TV) DAY!!! i'm literally still shook that DYLAN O'BRIEN and SADIE SINK are going to be in a TAYLOR SWIFT VIDEO?! taylor literally took the 3 big obsessions from my life: taylor, stranger things, dylan (even though i'm not as hardcore into dylan anymore 😂) and said "you like that? well, have all three then!"

the very last chapter is next... we're almost there. the last one is technically a ✨christmas special✨ so expect some wholesome christmassy stuff (as well as a bit of angst, because where would paranormal be without that?)

i'll say it more in an ending note for this book, as well as the A/N next chapter, but thank you all SO MUCH for your support on this book. seriously. it means a lot. it hit me today that i'm about to finish paranormal, and it felt strangely emotional, because this has been such a journey and i never thought i'd finish it this early? i'm honestly quite proud of how far we have come.

please leave some feedback in the comments if you get the chance. otherwise, i'll see you in the last chapter!

— Imogen

[ Published: November 12th, 2021 ]