¤The Body¤

"Every now and then I fell apart, and I need you now tonight, and I need you more than ever. And if you'd only hold me tight, we'll be holding on forever."

They found his body in the quarry. They were trying to tell her that Will crashed his bike, made his way over to the quarry and fell in. That the earth must've given away. It wasn't until her Mom started spouting out nonsense about Will trying to talk to her through the thousands of Christmas lights she spent their food money on and a monster coming out of the wall, that Rowan couldn't take anymore of it. She made her way down to Hawkins park.

It was pitch black when she got there, the only light being from the moon shining over head and the millions of stars that had been spilled across the sky. The only sound was the crickets buzzing and chirping and the soft squeak of the swing as she gently swayed back and forth. Her hair fell around her face like a curtain, hiding the tears that fell down her cheeks and splashed into her hands. Will fell in a lake and drowned. There was no Demogorgan, there was no psycho killer on the loose. It was just an accident, a horrible accident.

And then it wasn't just her anymore with her thoughts, with the sounds of the crickets. The air was filled with the hum of a car and she slowly looked up to see his familiar truck pull up. She'd been picked up and hauled down to the station so many times in that truck, she'd know it anywhere.

She was quick to put on a brave face when he got out of the car, sniffling back her emotions and ferociously rubbing away the tears on her cheeks. "Hey, there kid. Mind if I sit?" He asked. She simply shrugged, gesturing to the open swing beside her. With a grunt of effort, he sat down, the swing creaking beneath the new weight. "How you holding up?"

"My Mom's crazy, isn't she?" She whispered, swinging her legs lightly beneath herself.

"She's not crazy," Hopper sighed, his sad eyes taking in the crying girl beside him. Despite being the nuisance she was, he cared for her much like he did his own daughter. He felt the need to keep her out of trouble, keep an extra eye out for her. "Your Mom's just going through a tough time."

"She said she talked to my brother, through the Christmas lights strung up through the house." She finally looked up at probably the only male, adult figure she had in her life. She never really knew her own father - he left when she was just six and it wasn't like he ever came to visit her. He simply made up for his absence with card on Christmas and her birthday filled with cash or the occasional present.

Hopper sighed heavily, knowing how that must look to a girl her age. He leaned his elbows onto his knees, rubbing his hands together as he groped for the right words. "After Sarah..." Rowan's eyes widened at the mention of his daughter. He never really talked about her or what happened. The only thing she knew was what her Mom told her and the whispers through town. "I saw her, too. And I heard her. I didn't know what was real. Kid, that's what grief does to some people, and you just... you just gotta give your Mom some time to sort all this out, to figure out that it's just all in her head."

She nodded timidly, pressing her lips into a thin line to fight of the new wave of emotions that hit her like an oncoming truck. "I, uh..." She let out a slow breath, taking a moment to regain herself. "The night that Will went missing I... I was supposed to be with him. I was supposed to ride home with him, but I was late." Hopper felt for the girl, felt the guilt she did over the loss of her brother. No kid should have to carry something like that. "And- and then, instead of going after him, I stayed the night at Mike's house because I didn't want to be alone. But, he was." This time, when her eyes met his, they were shining with unshed tears, making her brown eyes look like bowls of freshly melted chocolate. "He was alone, and it's all my fault."

"Hey, hey," Hopper was up and kneeling in front of the girl before she could blink. He took both her hands in his much larger ones, encasing them in a comforting warmth. "It is not your fault, do you hear me?" He ducked his head, forcing her to hold his gaze. "It is not your fault. What happened to your brother was terrible, but it was an accident. It's no ones fault, okay?"

A fresh set of tears tracked it's way down her cheeks, nodding as she tried to get the words that were caught in her throat to come out. "Okay," her voice strained against her throat painfully and she let her head fall forward against his broad shoulder. And he let her stay like that, crying out all her pain into his shoulder as he brought his hand up to cup the back of her head. She just needed to get it all out, and he knew that. She didn't want to talk, she didn't want anyone to talk to her, she just wanted someone to sit there. So, he did.

The next morning, Rowan bailed before her Mom even woke back up. They were supposed to go I.D. Will's body, but she couldn't bring herself to go along. She couldn't. She couldn't see him like that. That's what brought her to his house. She stared up at the familiar door, her eyes lingering on the flickering lantern on the porch that never seemed to get fixed. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there - but the sky had changed colors about six different times since she arrived there.

With a loud, protesting squeak she kicked down the kick stand - parking her bike on the side of the porch and hurrying up to the front door. She knocked timidly, immediately pulling her hand back to tuck them into the pockets of her brown, leather jacket. It took Mrs. Wheeler only a moment to answer the door and when she did, she had the good sense to look shocked at the young girls arrival.

"Rowan, sweetie, what're you doing here?" She asked, the sympathy and pity clear in her voice.

Rowan shrugged, "can I talk to Michael?" Mrs. Wheeler gave a warm smile and a nod, stepping aside to let the girl in.

"I'm actually glad you came, now he won't be alone all day." Rowan stopped on the steps, looking back at the older woman curiously. "There's Pot Stickers in the freezer, your favorite." She winked, the action being enough to make a small smile pull at Rowan's lips, but it was mainly out of habit. She waited until the older woman grabbed her jacket off the hook and left the house, the sound of her cars engine disappearing into the distance. Then she made her way up the carpeted staircase to Mike's room.

She stopped in the doorway to his room, a small frown pulling at her plush lips when she saw him sitting on his bed, starring down at the walkie talkie in his hands. Gently, she rapped her knuckles up against the archway and Mike's eyes snapped to her, they went wide in shock and he jolted up to his feet. "Rowan, what're you doing here?"

"Can we talk?" She nodded her head back out of the room, silently telling him to follow her and he did.

She was sitting at the island in his kitchen, stabbing the plastic fork into the Pot Stickers Mike generously made up for her. He set a glass of Orange Juice in front of her, taking the stool across the counter top from her, hesitantly. "So, what's up?"

"Chief Hopper thinks that Will slipped and fell into the quarry," She whispered and Mike stayed silent, waiting for her to get to the part he knew was coming. "And it makes sense, you know? Will's always been a clumsy kid and- and it was dark and raining. He could've easily misstep or tripped or something. It's the logical explanation." She broke off, shaking her head. She didn't know what she was doing here, she should be with her family right now. But, this morning when she woke up she just had this urge to see Mike - to explain to him what's going on.

"But..." Mike prompted, sensing there was more and he was right.

"It don't believe it," She whispered, her big, brown eyes meeting his curious ones. She swallowed hard, glad he wasn't like Lucas or Dustin in that moment - that he was patient enough to let her ramble on and get to her point rather than interject every pause with a sarcastic comment or argument. "I just... I have to tell you something."

Mike frowned at the fear in her eyes, not knowing why she was being so hesitant. There was nothing she could say to scare him away, or make him angry or sad or whatever reaction she was so afraid of. "Rowan, you're my best friend," Rowan's eyes widened at hearing him actually say it after all this time. "You can tell me anything."

"I saw Will get taken," Rowan admitted softly, and Mike took an actual step back in shock. "In a dream," She added quickly, seeing his hesitance and confusion. "That night that I came here looking for him, the night he went missing... I had a dream of this thing taking him, I- I couldn't make out what it looked like, it... it was almost like a shadow."

"The Demogorgan?" Mike asked, his face serious.

"Yeah," she nodded, scoffing at herself for how crazy it sounded. She knew how crazy it sounded, but after meeting Eleven and what her Mom said about the lights and the monster coming out of the wall, she was starting to think that maybe it wasn't so crazy after all. "I saw the Demogorgan take my brother, and we need to get him back."

"Dustin and Lucas are going to be over any moment," Mike told her, nodding and getting right into action. "Eleven and I figured something out about Will, I'll tell you when they get here." He added the last part as soon as Rowan opened her mouth to ask what.

"Michael," She jumped off the stool and caught his arm. "Dustin, he already knows about my dream, but- but Lucas doesn't."

"Do you want me to tell him?" Mike reached back to take the hand that was gripping his sleeve in his, sensing her hesitance and fear like he could read the emotions on her forehead. She nodded. After seeing Lucas' reaction to Eleven, she didn't want to be the one to tell him about her own powers... or whatever it was. Her connection to Will.

Rowan went right down to the basement while Mike waited for Lucas and Dustin to show up. She padded down the stairs slowly, stopping on the last step when she saw Eleven sitting their in the fort that Mike built for her what seemed like years ago, when in reality it hadn't even been a week yet. Eleven's eyes snapped up at the sound, she immediately stopped fiddling with the dial on the Walkie Talkie when she saw who it was and set the large device aside.

"Michael told me you figured something out about Will," Rowan filled the silence seeing as it was pretty obvious Eleven wasn't going to. The bald girl didn't say a word, per usual, and just watched the girl stroll easily up to her. Rowan sighed, when the silence became them again and stopped just in front of the fort. "I'm sorry, for yelling at you like that the other night. I was just upset and scared." She admitted. Kneeling down in front of the strange girl, Rowan offered her a friendly smile and held out her hand, "friends?"

Eleven hesitated, like she didn't know what to do. Rowan rolled her eyes and took the girls hand to place it in her own and gave it a firm shake. Eleven smiled slightly, "friends." She nodded. Rowan's own smile returned as she sat back on her ankles, hooking her arms around her knees as she waited for the boys to get here.

Eleven's big brown eyes studied the side of her face curiously. It was like she could feel the electricity buzzing off Will's sister as clearly as if she'd stuck her finger in a socket. It was strange. "You feel him." She stated more than asked, her voice quiet, and Rowan snapped her eyes to the girl just in time to see her tap her finger against the side of her head. "In here."

Rowan's dark eyebrows drew together in confusion, "feel who? What're you talking about?"

"Will." Eleven answer shortly and softly.

"What?" Before either one of them could say another word the door to the basement flung open and several sets of footsteps came rushing down the stairs. Rowan ignored them and their questions, her eyes still glued to Eleven as she silently tried to decipher what she meant. Did she know about the dreams?

"Listen to this." Mike handed the Walkie Talkie back to Eleven with an encouraging smile before joining the circle that the other four had formed. Rowan waited with baited breath as Eleven fiddled with the knob on the Walkie Talkie until the sound of distinct whimpering came filtering through the speaker. And then just like that, it was gone. "We keep losing signal, but you heard it right?"

"Yeah, I heard a baby." Lucas droned out, looking completely done with everything. Mike turned incredulous eyes on him, not understanding how they couldn't hear it. "You obviously tapped into a baby monitor, probably the Blackburn's next door."

Mike gaped at him, "did that sound like a baby to you? That was Will."

"Mike..." Lucas whispered, rubbing at his forehead tiredly and rolling his eyes. He was so done with Mike's gullibility in believing everything that Eleven told him - a girl they just met.

"Lucas, you don't understand. He spoke last night!" Mike snapped. "Words!"

"Really, cause I thought he spoke colors." Rowan drawled out sarcastically, resting her chin in the palm of her hand and leaning her elbow against her knee.

"He was singing that weird song he loves." Mike continued, choosing to ignore the girls expected sarcasm. Rowan perked at that, remembering when Will played that song, 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' by the Clash like a whole week straight until she wanted to claw her own ears off. Right now, she'd give anything to hear him listening to it again. "Even El heard him!"

"Well, if the weirdo heard him then I guess-"

"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" Dustin asked, cutting off Lucas' comment.

"I don't think it's about that." Mike shrugged, looking over at Eleven and then down at the Walkie Talkie in her hands. "I think, somehow, she's channeling him."

Lucas huffed out a short, disbelieving laugh. "Oh, you mean like Rowan's freaky dreams, cause she's suddenly psychic right."

"No one said I was psychic." Rowan shot back. She sat up straight, her nostrils flaring and a reddish color tinging her cheeks. She should've known as soon as she told Lucas, he'd treat her just like he did Eleven.

Dustin noticed the look and immediately came to her aid. "Yeah, she's more like professor X." Dustin told Lucas, but his eyes were on Rowan, giving her a goofy grin. Her shoulder's relaxed slightly, smiling softly in thanks.

Lucas gaped at the one person he thought was on his side. "Are you actually believing their crap?"

Dustin look at him with big eyes, shrugging. "I don't know, I mean... do you remember when Will fell off his bike and broke his finger. He sounded a lot like that."

"Did you guys not see what I saw?" Lucas' voice rose in frustration, looking between the three of them. "They pulled Will's body out of the water. He's dead!" Rowan physically flinched at his words, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to block out the truck loud of negative thoughts coming her way. "You said it yourself Rowan, it's time to grow up and see this for what it really is."

Rowan faltered at that, she did say that. And at the time, she'd meant it. But, it was like she could feel Will calling out to her. She could feel his fear and sadness - feel how hungry he was, how cold. That wasn't just in her head, it wasn't just grief or her way of dealing with things. It was real.

"Well, maybe it's his ghost. Maybe, he's haunting us." Dustin offered.

Rowan sighed, shaking her head; her brown locks swimming around her face. "Dustin, even I wouldn't go that far."

"It's not his ghost." Mike shot down the ludicrous idea instantly, obviously growing frustrated.

Lucas narrowed his eyes at him, "And how do you know that?" He challenged. He was willing to believe that Eleven was connecting to Will, that Rowan could dream of him, but not that ghosts were real. Honestly, it was probably the least crazy thing he'd heard since Will went missing.

"I just do!"

"Then what was in that water?" Lucas challenged.

"I don't know. All I know is Will is alive." Mike's wide eyes darted between his three best friends, silently begging him to believe him. "Will is alive! He's out there somewhere, all we have to do is find him." At his words, Eleven tried to tap into Will's frequency, only getting the same static as he'd been getting. "This isn't going to work, we need to get El to a stronger radio."

Dustin's face suddenly lit up, "Mr. Clarke's Heathkit ham shack."

"Mr. Clarke's what?" Rowan echoed, looking over at him with squinted, confused eyes.

"It's a radio with this crazy out reach. It sends radiowaves all the way to Australia." Dustin explained, his voice picking up pace as he grew more excited.

Rowan smiled at his enthusiasm, nodding as she processed what he was telling her. "So, it's bound to reach wherever Will is." She stated more than asked, but still waited for Dustin to nod in confirmation

"The Heathkits at school." Lucas reminded them of one of the many flaws to their plan. "There's no way we're going to get the weirdo in there without anyone noticing. I mean, look at her." Lucas gestured to the wide eyed girl across from him and Rowan slowly looked over at her.

She cocked her head to the side, her dark, brown eyes taking her in and slowly, a smile wormed it's way onto her plush lips. "Leave this one to me." Calling over her shoulder that she'd be right back. She biked back to her house and easily snuck back inside without her Mom noticing to get to her room and grab everything she needed to make Eleven not stand out so much at school.

After packing everything she needed into a bag and heading back to the Wheelers quickly, she dragged Eleven into the bathroom. Eleven watched her curiously as the 12-year-old girl dropped the bag onto the sink and started pulling out some of the few makeup pieces she owned. She shook the blush palette and blush brush for the girl to see with a smirk and silently began to compare shades to her skin tone.

"So," Rowan started up, trying to fill the silence and ask the questions she'd been dying to ask. "When you said I could feel Will... in here," she tapped the handle of the blush brush against her temple and met the girls doe eyes briefly. "What did you mean? That I'm connected to Will, like you?"

Eleven shook her head, "like you." She said, only confusing the dark haired girl even more.

Rowan frowned in thought, dusting the light pink blush onto her high cheek bones. Eleven jerked back, wrinkling up her nose in a way that had Rowan laughing. "It's just blush, it gives your cheeks color." She explained and this time when she dusted the makeup onto her cheeks, she didn't jerk away. "What do you mean like me? How am I connected to Will?"

"Sister," She said simply, pointing at the brunette in front of her.

Rowan peered down at her, slowly setting the make up back on to the counter top. "Because I'm his sister? Like Twinepathy?" She asked. Eleven simply cocked her head to the side and Rowan quickly realized she more than likely had no idea what that was. She sighed, grabbing her cherry chapstick out of the bag next. "It's this superstition that you can subconsciously connect with your twin." Eleven nodded curtly, confirming silently what Rowan was saying.

"What he sees, you see," She told her, pointing at Rowan's big, brown eyes. "What he feels, you feel." She poked the girls chest, over where her heart was.

Rowan opened her mouth, having a million questions running through her head, but not being able to pin point just one long enough to ask it. Instead, she shook her thoughts away and capped the cherry scented chapstick. "Let's get you into some real clothes." She smiled, grabbing the clothes she picked out for her.

It was an old pink dress she hadn't worn in like two years and one of her blonde wigs from her old dress up trunk that she hadn't touched in what felt like forever. She situated the blonde wig onto her head and comb out the bleached locks easily over her shoulders. "Voila." She kissed her fingers tips dramatically, giggling. Eleven smiled shyly, making Rowan smile widely and take her by the shoulders, leading her out of the bathroom and to the hallway where the boys were waiting. "I present to you, the new El."

Rowan stepped aside with her hands on her hips and smiling proudly at her work. Eleven glanced shyly at the three boys who were practically gawking at her. "Wow..." Dustin breathed out.

"Pretty," Mike whispered and Rowan's eyebrows shot up curiously as a blush danced across his cheeks. He cleared his throat, "good. You look pretty good."

Eleven caught sight of something over their shoulders and Rowan slowly turned to see her walking over to the hallway mirror. She stood back, her arms crossed as she watched Eleven stare at her reflection in disbelief. "Pretty." She whispered.

"Now," Rowan clapped her hands together to get the attention on her. "Let's go to school." She faltered, her smile dropping and her arms swinging down to her sides. "Wow, I never thought I'd say that so enthusiastically."

"Come on," Dustin chuckled at her, hooking his arm around her shoulders and guiding her towards the stairs with the others quickly following. Next stop, the school's AV club.

They biked there in under thirty minutes. It was nearing the end of the school day by the time they got there, but there was also an assembly being held for Will in the gym for the last hour of the day, leaving the halls empty. Which made it incredibly easy to sneak through the halls and to the storage closet that was the AV club.

"Okay, remember. If anyone sees us, look sad." Mike reminded them and Rowan rolled her eyes, but otherwise nodded, her hands in her jacket pockets as she strolled between Dustin and Lucas down the ceramic halls. Mike tried the door, jiggling the doorknob, only for it to remain in it's spot. "It's locked." He huffed, turning back to the other four.

"What?" Lucas tried himself, only to get the same result. Honestly, Rowan didn't know what he was expecting.

"Hey, do you think you can open it?" Dustin asked, turning to Eleven. "With your powers?"

Eleven stared back at him wide eyed, her mouth dropping open. Lucky for her, she was saved by the bell- or AV teacher as Mr. Clarke came around the corner. "Boys? Rowan?" They all jerked around, trying to look innocent and like they weren't trying to break into the AV club. "Assembly's about to start."

"We know, we're just..." Mike trailed off, looking at the ground sadly.

"Upset," Lucas finished for him, and Rowan cringed at their horrible acting skills. None of them looked upset.

"Definitely, upset." Dustin added.

"Distraught, even," Rowan added, puffing out her bottom lip and looking up at her teacher with big eyes. "And we just wanted some alone time."

"To... Cry..." Dustin finished slowly. Rowan closed her eyes, inwardly punching him in the arm for being so stupid.

Mr. Clarke sighed. "Listen... I get it, I do. I know how hard this is. But, let's just be there for Will, huh?" He asked, not really waiting for an actual response from the five kids. "And then..." He trailed off, unhooking the keys from his belt loop and tossing them to Mike. "The Heathkit is all yours for the rest of the day. What do you say?" Rowan smiled softly, nodding her agreement. Mr. Clarke's eyes were on Eleven then. "I don't believe we met. What's your name?" He asked, being the giant teddy bear he actually was.

"Elev-"

"Eleanor!" Mike cut her off suddenly, realizing how weird a number for a name would sound.

Rowan caught on quickly, "she's my cousin, actually."

"Second cousin." Dustin corrected, holding up two fingers for emphasis.

"She's here for Will's funeral," It came full circle and back to Mike, the boy making his voice sound sad and depressed.

"Ah, well," Mr. Clarke gave them a sad smile, seemingly buying there cover story, which was a relief. "Welcome to Hawkins Middle, Eleanor. I wish it were under better circumstances."

Eleven looked over at the others confused before her eyes landed on Rowan. The dark haired girl gave her a small smile and a tight nod, letting her know it was okay to speak. "Thank you," The faux blonde said, her face neutral of any emotion.

And just like that, real suspicion came flooding into Mr. Clarke's eyes. "Where are you from exactly."

Eleven's eyes turned to the size of saucers, shaking her head forlorningly, "Bad place."

"Sweden!" Mike shouted, catching the strange look on his teacher's face.

Rowan smiled, "I have a lot of Swedish family."

"She hates it there," Dustin tagged in and Rowan nodded along, confirming what he was saying about her 'cousin'.

"Cold!" Lucas added, feigning a shiver.

"Subzero." Dustin said slowly and Rowan had to resist the urge to face palm or laugh or both, which was the most likely to happen.

Mr. Clarke's eyes darted between the five of them and Rowan could tell he didn't know whether to believe them or not. Deciding it was best not to get into it with a bunch of Middle Schoolers right now, especially after they just lost their friend/brother. "Shall we?" He offered instead.

"Definitely." Rowan nodded, being the first one to follow her teacher with the other four following closely.

Dustin and her each grabbed a door handle and threw the double doors open with a loud bang. Rowan froze in the threshold, her eyes wide as it seemed literally everyone in the entire gymnasium was looking at her. "Abort!" Dustin whispered, turning on his toes to flee only for Rowan to catch him by hooking her arm through his.

"Get your ass back here," she whispered just as quietly, keeping on a sweet smile as she latched onto his arm to keep him from leaving. She led the way into the gym, peeking over her shoulder to make sure the others were following as she claimed a seat a few rows back from the front and let Dustin move in first, then her, followed by Mike, Eleven, and finally Lucas.

Rowan was slowly beginning to feel her patience slip away from her as the Principal droned on and on about coming together as a community and supporting one another. She let out a low groan, shaking her shoulders impatiently and letting her head laul to the side and rest on Mike's shoulder. "I'm gonna shoot my own brains out."

"It's not that bad." Mike whispered, not wanting to draw attention to themselves.

"Please, not a single person in this room, has ever said a word to my brother," She sat up straight, cocking her head to the side to look at the dark haired haired boy beside her. "I doubt half of them even knew his name until today."

Laughter caught her attention and she jerked around to see those dumbasses, Troy and James laughing to themselves. "This is so stupid." She barely caught one of them mutter, and she felt her temper flare. "Oh, he was such a great student. Oh, he's gonna leave a hole in the community." Troy mocked.

Rowan jerked to her feet, just about ready to trample the six or so students between her and them to kick their asses. And she would've too, if Dustin hadn't stopped her. He grabbed her hand tightly in his and yanked her back down to her seat beside him, "Calm down, Rowan."

Rowan shook her head, her nostrils flaring like they always did when she was angry. "I'm gonna kick their asses, Dustin. This community isn't going to be the only one with a hole in it, when I'm done with them."

"Not now, Rowan," Dustin's voice was low, holding her gaze intensely. "They're not worth it."

And just when Rowan looked like she was about ready to give in to his words, to calm down and seize fire. The school bell rang and the students began to flood out of the gym. "You're right," She nodded, so calm it actually scared Dustin. "Not when we're honoring my brother. But, we're not honoring him anymore." She yanked from his grip and practically jumped down the bleachers to catch up to Troy and James. She shoved him so hard he nearly toppled into the ceramic floor, "what'd I say about talking about my brother like that, shitstick."

Troy whirled around, catching his footing and the anger clear in his eyes. "Chill out, Byers. It was just a joke."

"Yeah, well it's not funny," Rowan was shocked when she heard Mike speak up, turning slightly to see him stalk up next to her. "I think that was a really messed up thing to do."

"What's there to be sad about?" Troy challenged and Rowan clenched her fist at her side. "Will's in Fairytale land, right? Prancing around with all the other little fairies. All happy and gay!" He spat the word out loud. He started mocking a little fairy, humming and skipping before busting out into stupid laughter.

Rowan felt her hands literally shake as she lashed out with a right hook to his jaw. The sound crackled through the air as the boy jerked to the side and bit it into the gym floor. Gasps filtered through the room from her friends and the kids that had gathered around them, forming a big circle.

Troy was quick to his feet, rubbing at his lip, the blood trickling off the skin and onto his hands. He looked at her like she was crazy, "you bitch!"

"Stop calling her that." Mike snapped, shoving the boy back, causing him to stumble over his feet and flat on his ass once more.

Troy's eyes were wide with shock and anger, "You're dead Wheeler." He jumped to his feet and charged, than the unthinkable happened. He froze in his spot, his eyes wide with confusion, making it clear he had no idea what was going on. The whole room busted out with laughter as the obvious wet stain growing on the front of Troy's pants was seen by all. Rowan let out a short, incredulous laugh, peeking over her shoulder at Eleven who was glaring at the boy.

"Dude, Troy peed himself!" One of the other kids called out.

"Hey! What's going on here!" The Principal called, yanking Rowan back to the present.

Her eyes widened, "Gotta blast," she grabbed Mike's arm and dragged him along with her as she merged with the fleeing crowd, to escape the gym.

***

"Mews! Come eat!"

Rosemary Henderson. Dustin's older sister didn't get involved in much, she kept to herself. Just go to school, do your work, and then go home - that was her everyday. There was once a time when she had friends she would go out with everyday like her younger brother then, but all of that stopped when they got to High School and everyone got involved with their own things. One got her own friends, the other really dove into his photography, another was labelled a freak and stopped hanging out with her or anyone for that matter.

A knock at the door caught the 15 year old girls attention and she frowned over at the door. The only visitors they ever got were her brother's little friends and they were all at the assembly for Will at the Middle School right now.

Hurrying over to the door she pulled it open, shocked to see who was on the other side. She stopped in the doorway with an odd smile pulling at her lips as her eyes took in the girl that just came knocking on her door after almost 2 years of radio silence.

"Wheeler," she leaned into the archway of the door but didn't move to open the screen door. "What're you doing here?"

Nancy was an absolute wreck now that she took a closer look at the girl. Her eyes were wide and red around her waterline like she'd been crying. She kept peeking over her shoulder like she was expecting someone to jump out at her at any minutes. "Uh, I'm sorry... I know this is totally weird a-and random."

"Yeah, it kinda is, but it's okay..." she said slowly, a frown pulling at her lips and her eyebrows drawing in together in concern. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Nancy slowly shook her head and Rosemary could see the tears beginning to build up in the corners of her eyes. "Can we talk?"

Rosemary only nodded, stepping out of her house to join the girl she used to be friends with out on the patio. She motioned for Nancy to take a seat on the little patio set they had and she did quickly, clutching a picture in her hand like her life depended on it.

The Henderson girl slowly sat in the seat beside her, frowning curiously, "what's going on Nancy?"

"Barb's missing," she whispered, her bottom lip quivering as she tried to stop herself from crying. "We- we went to this little party thing at Steve's a couple days ago and I haven't seen her since. And I... I just know something terrible happened, Rose."

"Like what happened with Will..." she asked slowly and Nancy shook her head.

"I think... I think someone took her. Look at this," she shoved the picture out and Rosemary took it from her gently, frowning at the black and white, grainy image. She immediately recognized the girl in it to be Barb, sitting by the pool at she assumed to be Steve's house. She couldn't know for sure though, she hardly knew the guy other than what she'd seen in school in the classes they shared together. "In the corner."

Rosemary squinted at the corner of the picture, just barely there was a tall figure but it was impossible to make out anything else. She could barely tell if this was a person or not.

"Where'd you get this photo?"

Rosemary looked up and Nancy pressed her lips into a thin line, wiping away a tears from her eye quickly before it had the chance to fall. "Jonathan took them. He said he was looking for his brother but, uh..." she trailed off, shifting awkwardly in her spot.

Rosemary's eyebrows shot up at that, "He took stalker photos of you guys?" She asked, her lips pulling into an unimpressed grimace as Nancy simply nodded. "Well, that's not creepy or anything," she muttered sarcastically. "But, I guess it's a good thing he did, cause he caught this," she flashed the photo to Nancy with a soft smile. "Let's go talk to him about it. Maybe he saw something else."

"Both of us?" Nancy asked in shock, shooting up from her seat to follow the girl back to the front door.

Rosemary stopped in the doorway to look back at her, "yeah, Barb used to be my friend too. We'll figure this out," she assured her, reaching out to give the Wheeler girls arm a quick squeeze. "Let me just get my bag and keys, I'll drive you."

"You drive!" Nancy shouted after her in shock as the girl hurried inside. All she could hear was the girl laugh and she didn't know if that should worry her more or not.

Rosemary came bounding back out with her back over her shoulder and the keys jangling in her hands. She pulled the door shut and locked it before turning back to Nancy, "I have my permit, it's close enough. Come on," she waved the girl along and down to her Mom's red, Ford Sierra.

They went to the Byers' house first, looking for the eldest of the Byers siblings, but they only found Joyce. The woman looked pale and worn to the bone, absolutely out of it, but she was able to tell the two girls that Jonathan was at the funeral home trying to make arrangements for Will's funeral.

Rosemary was almost reluctant to go bother the boy while he was dealing with such things, but Nancy assured her it'd be quick. Just a few questions.

So, she found herself heading into the Funeral home, trailing behind Nancy as her eyes scanned the room. In one of the backrooms, they found Jonathan talking with one of the Directors, showing him coffins. She couldn't help but frown at how small they all were, her chest tightened in grief at the thought of being in his shoes. Looking at Coffins that seemed unnaturally small for her brother.

Pushing the thought of her head before it made her too sad she waved to get Jonathan's attention and the boy frowned to see the two girls there. The girl who's boyfriend just absolutely wrecked his camera and the girl he hadn't talked to in almost 2 years now besides in passing.

"Will you just give me a second," Jonathan muttered not waiting for a response before he bounded over to the two girls. Nancy gave him a short, tight lipped smile and Rosemary waved awkwardly at him. "Hey."

"Hey, your Mom um..." Nancy turned to look back at Rosemary awkwardly before continuing. "She said you'd be here. I just... can we talk for a second?"

Jonathan hesitated, looking back at the Funeral Home Director and Rosemary quickly cut in with a soft smile, "It'll only be a second, please."

His eyes darted between the two girls before giving in with a soft sigh and gesturing for them to move ahead of him first before following. They sat down in some chairs the lined the wall a little ways down the hallway, Jonathan in the middle seat.

Nancy gave him the photo and he frowned as both girls started to explain what happened. Nancy telling them that Barbara went missing that night and she thinks someone took her, and Rosemary being the one to point out the figure in the back of the picture - hardly there.

"It looks like it could be some kind of perspective distortion," He explained in a soft voice, his face contorted in confusion before looking up and over at Rosemary since she was the last to speak. "But I wasn't using the wide angle. I don't know, it's weird."

"And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there?" She asked, taking the photo back from him gently, careful not to mess up the image anymore than it already was.

"No," he answered truthfully and Malinda sighed dejectedly at that. "And she was there one second, and then uh... gone. I figured she bolted."

"The cops think she ran away, but they don't know Barb," Nancy answered this time and both Rosemary and Jonathan turned to look at her. "And I went back to Steve's and I thought I s-saw something. Some weird man or... I don't know what it was." Rosemary frowned curiously as the girl shook her head, her wide eyes darting between the other two teenagers starring at her. She immediately back tracked. "I'm sorry, I... I shouldn't have come here today. I'm so sorry."

She quickly shot up, gathering up her stuff and Rosemary quickly followed suit, "Nancy, wait," she called after her, wanting to know what she was talking about. She hadn't told her that part when she came to her earlier that afternoon.

"What did he look like?" Jonathan suddenly called after them and both girls stopped and slowly turned back to him - Rosemary looking utterly confused while Nancy's eyes were wide in shock.

"What?" Nancy whispered.

"This man you saw in the woods..." he clarified. "What did he looks like?"

"I... I don't know," Nancy shook her head helplessly and Rosemary frowned at him. "It was almost like he... he didn't-"

"He didn't have a face?" Jonathan finished for her and Rosemary's eyes widened, looking over at Nancy to tell her that was crazy, but when she saw the look on the girls face she was beginning to think it wasn't as crazy as she thought it was.

What was going on here?

***

"Come on," Mike tugged on Eleven's sleeve and led her over to the single chair in front of the Heathkit that was set up on the table. Rowan gawked at the radio, resting her hands on the back of Eleven's chair and hovering behind her.

"Now, what?" Dustin asked from her left.

"She'll find him. Right, El?" Mike asked, leaning over the the faux blonde to tune in the radio. Rowan's eyes darted from the radio to Eleven expectantly, as the girl closed her eyes in concentration.

"She's doing it!" Mike said, excitement in his voice. "She's finding him."

"This is crazy," Dustin darted his eyes between Mike and Rowan.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Calm down, she just closed her eyes."

"She won't be able to do anything, if you guys don't shut up." Rowan hissed, tossing a pointed look around the room that effectively shut the three boys up. The light overhead shattered, the soft glow it was giving cutting out. Rowan jumped, a startled gasp escaping her lips as she snapped her attention upward. "Son of a..." She trailed off, her eyebrows furrowing as she turned incredulous eyes on the girl in front of her.

Clanging came in over the speakers, one every other second and effectively catching all four middle schoolers attention. "What is that?" Dustin was the one to ask the question they were all thinking.

"Mom?" A terrified, and familiar voice came over the radio. Rowan felt her heart leap into her throat. She had been preaching pretty hard that she believed that Will was still out there, but to actually hear his voice and confirm the thought brought this huge weight off her shoulders.

"No way." Lucas uttered, finally on board with the whole 'Will is Alive' band wagon. Rowan stumbled back as all three boys scrambled to reach for the mic, screaming for Will, asking if he could hear them, letting him know they were there. Rowan brought a hand up to cover her mouth, feeling her heart race with fear and tears spring to her eyes. But, it wasn't her own fear - it was like a feeling knawing at the back of her brain.

What he feels, you feel

Eleven's words echoed in the back of her head and she started breathing heavily, not being able to catch her breath. Someone was shaking her, clutching her arm, but their voice was distorted, like it was a million miles away. Her own house flashed before her eyes, but not like it normally was. Almost like it was rotted, covered by this slime and soot that she'd never seen before. The man without a face came next, the lights flashing around him and each time making him closer than the last. Her skin felt like ice, making her lip tremble violently and a shiver run up her spine. Tears were streaking down her cheeks, but she didn't even notice them.

"Rowan!" She was jerked to the present, gasping as she was finally able to get that fresh air she was desperate for. She clutched the closest thing to her, that being Mike. Her hands bunched up his sweater sleeves, her eyes big and filled with unshed tears as she stared into his own worried ones. "Are you okay? What was that?" She swallowed hard, not being able to find her words.

"Twinepathy," Both Mike and Rowan snapped their attention to see Eleven turned in her seat to face them, her eyes aged way beyond her physical one. Mike looked from Eleven to Rowan, confused and startled, but neither girl broke their gaze from the other one. Rowan licked her dry lips, looking over at Lucas who had a fire extinguisher in his hands and then to Dustin who was watching her with wide eyes. She was suddenly aware of the fire alarm ringing throughout the room.

"We have to get out of here. Get El," Rowan said suddenly, finally being able to find her own voice. Lucas and Mike struggled to carry Eleven along, seeing as she was still dazed and out of it after that much strain.

"Come on," Dustin hauled Will's sister to her feet, keeping his arm around her to keep her from slumping to the ground in exhaustion. "Let's go."

***

Rosemary's eyes wandered around the Red room, squinting to see through the darkness and at all the things in the room that were shrouded in the Red light. She jumped up on one of the tables in the far corner, sitting down with a sigh as she turned her attention back to Jonathan and Nancy. The older Byers boy was doing something to the picture that Nancy had brought him and the Wheeler girl was hovering over his shoulder watching him work, curiously.

"And you're..." the girl trailed off promptingly.

"Brightening and enlarging," he answered distractedly.

"Did your Mom say anything else?" Nancy asked. Jonathan had explained to the two of them as they drove here that his Mom had been seeing things - patterns in the lights like someone was talking to her and a creature coming out of her Living Room wall. "Like, um, where it might have gone to, or..."

"No, just that it came out of the wall," Jonathan muttered. The machine gave a soft ding and Jonathan reached up to grab the photo out of the printer before turning to lay it in the water to develop.

"How long does this take?" Rosemary asked with a soft, impatient sigh as she let her head fall back against the wall behind her.

"Not long."

"Have you been doing this awhile?" Nancy asked quietly and Rosemary slowly lifted her head to narrow her eyes at the pair of them. "Photography," she specified when she saw Jonathan's odd look.

"Yeah... I guess, I'd rather observe people than, you know..." he shrugged, almost uncomfortable.

"Talk to them," Nancy finished for him with a soft smile and he nodded.

"I know," he scoffed out a humorless laugh. "It's weird."

"It's not unless you don't ask them for permission before snapping a few photo's," Rosemary muttered in distaste and Jonathan dropped his head in shame as Nancy snapped her attention over to the girl.

"Rose," she reprimanded and Rosemary scoffed, raising her hands in mock surrender.

"I'm just saying," she grumbled.

"No, she's right," Jonathan admitted and Rosemary gave her friend a pointed look, making the girl sigh softly before turning her attention back to Jonathan. "It's just... sometimes people don't always say what they're really thinking, but you capture the right moment... it says more."

"What was I saying?" Nancy asked quietly, pressing her lips into a thin line. "When you took my picture."

Jonathan let out a soft sigh, shaking his head at himself. "I shouldn't have taken that."

"You really shouldn't have," Rosemary muttered, narrowing her eyes at the back of the boys head, but he didn't turn to acknowledge her.

"I'm sorry. It's just..."

"That's it," Nancy cut him off and Rosemary's eyes widened slightly as she quickly jumped off the table to join the pair of them at the developing table. "That's what I saw."

Rosemary starred at the grainy photo of what looked to be a man with no features, it's skin a sickly grey. Her lips pulled down into a horrified frown, "what the Hell is that thing?"

"My Mom..." Jonathan muttered and Rosemary had to tear her gaze away from the creature to look at him as he spoke. "I thought she was crazy. Cause she said that's not Will's body, that he's alive."

"And if he's alive..." Nancy began and Rosemary's eyes widened in realization.

"Then maybe Barb is too."