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Sam Hughes would like to say she was a patient person, very patient in fact. When her friends needed time, she gave them both that and space for them to accomplish what they needed first. She didn't like pestering them in fear that they'd just feel attacked or cornered. So, yes, Sam would say she was a patient person.

Or, she usually was, when Mike Wheeler wasn't involved.

Don't get Sam wrong, she loved her best friend. But, recently, Mike was getting a little... frustrating to handle, let's call it. Not only was he late every time the group wanted to hang out, he was late because he was making out with El, his new girlfriend. Again, Sam loved them both; she shouldn't have a problem with their rather codependent relationship that was a little too "amazing" to seem real.

But, well, she had eyes. And Sam would also like to say she was a good cousin. So when Corey Gray looked absolutely distraught every time Mike appeared late, breathless and hair messy, Sam honestly cared about that more than a little relationship. A relationship that, honestly, Sam was sure wasn't real, but Corey was too stubborn to listen to Sam's reasoning.

It was all really difficult for Sam, because she was close with both boys, and didn't want to put herself in the middle of their issues, but Mike had already called out Sam's "unhealthy urges to help." Sam felt that if she didn't help them resolve whatever was going on, she was useless and both of them would be in pain for eternity.

That may be dramatic, but after everything they'd been through, it was better to be prepared.

Anyways, the whole point was that Mike was late again, and nobody was surprised.

"Can't we just go without him?" Max groaned, throwing her head on Sam's shoulder dramatically.

Lucas and Will nodded, wanting to go inside before it was too late, but Sam pat Max's head in comfort and shook her own in denial. "Just wait a little longer, guys. He'll be here."

"You have too much faith in him," Lucas grumbled, though Sam could hear him. "Among others."

Sam shot a glare Lucas's way. "And what does that mean?"

Luckily, Mike Wheeler had shown up just before Lucas could respond. He rushed to put his bike on the rack, his friends walking up to him with annoyed looks on their faces.

Besides Sam, who cheered, "Hi, Mike!"

"Hey, Sam," Mike sent a little, fond grin. Then, immediately, he realized, "Where's Corey? Is he not coming? Why isn't he coming?"

Sam huffed out a little at Mike's badgering, but it wasn't that funny, or else Corey would be here. "He's just working, chill out."

Since turning fifteen, Corey was required to find a job, because that was the rule in the Gray/Hughes household. Corey's choice of work was found at Josephine Foster's father's auto-repair shop (Fostering and Repair). Since Jo was one of Stephanie's best friends, Stephanie landed him the job. Apparently Corey's calling was fixing cars, because he actually loved doing it.

That's why he had "totally coincidentally" been scheduled to work right now, when he was supposed to be hanging out with Mike.

"He's always working," Mike muttered, hurt. He deflated a little, which didn't go unnoticed by Sam.

Everything was a mess.

Not letting Mike off the hook, Lucas walked up to him with folded arms and a scowl. He chastised, "You're late. Again."

"Sorry," Mike dismissed quickly, not really seeming to care.

With a frown, Will worried, "We're gonna miss the opening."

"Yeah, if you guys keep whining about it," Mike said, rushing for the mall doors. "Let's go!"

"If you guys keep whining about it. Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh," Lucas mocked him, and Mike sneered, pushing Lucas to follow him.

They all walked inside Starcourt Mall in a fast pace. So fast, Sam didn't even have time to take in the flamboyance and brightness of it all. The mall was the newest and hottest thing in Hawkins – it was large and, ever since summer had started, every kid in town was always here. It had everything anyone needed: food, games, movies, shopping – you name it, and Starcourt had it.

The downside was that the large business of the mall was putting smaller stores out of business, but none of Sam's friends cared much when she tried speaking on the topic.

"Let me guess," Lucas began, making kissy noises as his lips moved together, "you were 'busy.'"

Mike rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas."

"Oh, El! I wish we could make out forever and never hang out with any of our friends!" Lucas mocked him, as Will laughed.

As Max saw Sam was getting upset again – always worried the Party was falling apart in her hands — she warned, "Lucas, stop."

"Will thinks it's funny," Lucas defended himself, gesturing lazily towards the boy behind him at the sound of Will's laughter.

"Because it is," Will said through his giggles.

Sam sighed, sending Mike a sorry look. Then, to the boys, she chided, "Come on, guys, just stop. Can we just have a good time?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, another tease falling silent on his lips.

"Sorry, Sam," Will quit laughing, sending her a half-hearted shrug.

"Sorry, Sam," Lucas and Mike echoed.

A pleased, tiny smile was put onto Sam's face as she successfully got her friends to shut up. Max sent Sam an amused look, barking at a laugh as she had everyone in the Party wrapped around her finger.

"Thank you," cheered Sam, happy mood returned. She got in front of them all to lead them towards their destination in the fastest way possible. "Now, come on!"

The Party rushed down the escalators, pushing by a bunch of people.

"Excuse us! Sorry! Totally my fault!" Sam apologized.

"Sorry," they kept saying, finally getting off. Their speed had them bumping into a group of girls.

"Hey! Watch it!" one of them spat as Mike pushed past her, the two girls behind her following suit with shouts of annoyance.

"Yeah, watch it, nerds!" Erica Sinclair called to them from where she was sat with a group of her friends on the bench, snarling at her brother in distaste.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Lucas scoffed.

Erica clicked her tongue. "Isn't it time you died?"

"Psycho!" spat Lucas.

"Butthead!" she shot back.

"Mallrat!"

"Fart-face!"

When Lucas ran out of things to say, he frowned and blew a raspberry at his sister. Max rolled her eyes, and Sam grabbed the bend of Lucas's elbow, pulling him away.

"Oh, now that was mature," Sam said, bringing his attention off Erica.

Finally, they'd made it to the place they'd been speeding towards: Scoops Ahoy.

Sam walked she and Lucas past a familiar, Hispanic boy by himself in a booth. They ended up at the front counter, all five kids with expectant faces. Robin Buckley leaned on the counter, just like she did every time they came.

"Hey, Robin!" Sam greeted with an excited smile. Sam got very excited every time she caught Robin working when she visited Scoops Ahoy. And, after their interactions, Sam would run straight to Stephanie back home and tell her not-straight sister all about it.

Robin was, of course, the girl Stephanie has had a crush on since the seventh grade. It was perfect luck that Robin ended up working here, in Sam's opinion.

"Hi, Goldie," Robin said less enthusiastically, sending Sam that suspicious look she always sent Sam, because it always seemed like Sam was up to something when she greeted Robin.

Sam's face even got more mischievous, which freaked Robin out increasingly more.

Their interaction was cut short, though, by Mike starting to ring the bell rapidly. It annoyed Robin and made Sam remember what they were actually here for.

"Hey, dingus, your children are here!" Robin whipped her head to the back room behind her with the roll of her eyes.

The white slabs of paneled glass parted to reveal the frowning face of Steve Harrington, who leaned his elbows on the counter with a small huff of disapproval.

"Steve!" Sam cheered happily, ignoring his annoyed face. "Hi!"

"Hey, Goldie," Steve sighed tiredly. Then, addressing the whole Party in annoyance, "Again? Seriously?"

Mike smirked, hitting the bell once again.

"Are you gonna let us through or not?" Mike, the most impatient person Sam knew, raised an eyebrow.

"You're lucky I even let you walk through the front door," Steve glared at the boy for a long moment, still begrudging. Somewhere, alone in a both, a boy was watching the interaction with a smile. Then, Steve let out a sigh, and gestured to the door behind him. "All right, hurry it up, you little cretins."

The Party shared victorious grins as they were led into the back and towards the steel door hid away from the rest of the customers for staff and delivery use only. They forced themselves through it once Steve gave the all-clear and began ushering them through.

He started, "I swear, if anyone hears about this—"

"We're dead!" the Party cut him off in unison. 

They've heard him say it hundreds of times now, and it was getting old. He said it every time they needed to sneak around, which was a lot more than they'd like to admit, not even counting the times they hung out in pairs.

The group walked down the hallway, and when they reached the familiar door, Mike opened it first, peering his head out. He looked both ways before whispering, "All clear."

They rushed out and snuck into the theater that played The Day of The Dead.

"See, Lucas, we made it," Mike told him as they all tried to find open seats.

"Sorry," Sam whispered to a couple she squeezed between. "I'm sorry!" she mumbled when she stepped on a middle-aged man's foot. "Sorry!"

"We missed the previews," Lucas hissed.

Lucas sat next to Will in the two spots that were open in that row. One row behind them, sat Max and Mike, as there were also only two available seats there. Sam didn't care much, because one row behind them, there was one lone spot she had been aiming to sit at, anyways.

When she sat in the vacant spot to the left of Justin Zimmerman, he didn't even seem to notice her at first. His head was turned to the right, talking to someone else that Sam couldn't see due to the combination of the dark light of the theater and her horrible eyesight.

"Hey," she whispered, announcing her presence.

Justin's head whipped over to the sound of her voice, the corners of his lips quirking up at the sight. Caught off guard, he responded, "Hughes. I was wondering when you'd show."

"Well, here I am," she grinned back, a little teasing note to her voice.

"You know, actually," Justin whispered in the same teasing tone, "I was just about to go and buy more popcorn. Wanna come with?"

Sam's grin turned into a smile. She responded, "Yeah, sure, I'd love to go get popcorn."

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Justin locked the bathroom door behind him before his hands gripped her waist, and he pinned her against the door with strength that had Sam short-winded. Sam had to stay on her tippy toes and Justin had to bend down more than usual to account for his height and her lack of height.

Sam wrapped one arm around his shoulder, getting him lower; her other hand held the underneath of his jaw. They kissed each other furiously with hunger. Her head was banging against the door behind her with the amount of passion he threw into the kiss, but Sam didn't really care.

So, Sam and Justin were dating, if that part wasn't obvious. 

After the Snow Ball, Sam thought Justin was lost hope — that he liked Carrie and Sam should give up while she was at it. But that night honestly should've been a hint that he liked her back, because she was dumb enough to think he didn't reciprocate her feelings. On the last day of eighth grade, Justin finally mustered up the courage to ask Sam out, and they'd been dating since then. A little over two months, if anyone was counting.

Justin pulled a particular move that had Sam's hands flying into his hair, and she made a quiet nose against his mouth. She turned her head to suck in a breath for air. Her fingers spasmed in Justin's hair, clenching, and a noise was let out from the back of Sam's throat as his mouth began moving down.

Caught off guard, Sam choked out, "Alright. Yeah, alright, Jay. We need — We need to get back to — Are you listening?"

"I'm listening," Justin muttered distractedly, ducking his head further to find better uses of his mouth along Sam's jaw. Sam hissed and tugged on his hair reflexively, causing him to inhale sharply. Justin pressed closer, mouthing further down until he made it to the bottom of her neck where it dipped between her collarbones. He bit at it, and Sam's head thudded against the door against.

"Alright, alright, Justin," Sam blurted out, her voice a harsh croak. "The whole point we came here was to see the movie. Shouldn't — Shouldn't we be doing that? Jay?"

It took Justin a bit to finally calm down and pull away, but he didn't go very far, stock still staring down at Sam. He drank in the sight of her, blinking slowly, all swollen mouth and bright eyes and flushed cheeks and messy hair.

"I missed you," Justin whispered down at her, and Sam's heart squeezed.

Trying to fight down a smile, she panted, "You just saw me."

"Yeah, like, three days ago," he rolled his eyes. "I feel like I don't see you, anymore."

"Oh, my god," Sam laughed, throwing her head back onto the door. "Are you listening to yourself? You're such a drama queen."

"You like it," Justin teased back, dipping down to kiss her quickly.

Sam couldn't hide her smile, now, when he pulled away. Fingers running along his jaw, she muttered, "Maybe."

"Now," Justin pulled himself away from Sam, and she frowned a little at the loss of contact. But he didn't remain that far away, one hand moving up to the side of Sam's head so he could rest himself on the door and lean in front of her. "When are we seeing each other next? Tomorrow?"

Sam rolled her eyes with a grin, though she couldn't deny her cheeks were flushed. Justin was just really clingy. She tried crossing her arms to seem nonchalant and uncaring.

"I already told you, I can't tomorrow," Sam replied, because he really should have known that already. "Dustin's coming back in town, remember?"

Justin looked very confused at the mention of Dustin, and Sam tried not to frown, tried to tell herself Justin knew who Dustin was, he just forgot about him coming home. That had to be it, because she told Justin about her friends all the time.

"Right, yeah," he muttered absentmindedly so that Sam wouldn't get upset. "Your friend. Right, sorry... What about the day after that?"

Sam did frown this time, apologetically. She said, "I'm hanging out with Max that day."

Justin's face screwed up, not looking pleased. He pressed off of the door and leaned away from Sam. "What do you have to do with him?"

Sam's face hardened, and her eyes narrowed at Justin. Her arms were still crossed, and she didn't look pleased, either. "Max is a girl," she defended, "and she's my friend. I talk about her all the time, you should know that, Jay."

"Shit," Justin's eyes widened, and he grimaced to himself. "No — No, sorry, I knew that, I just—"

"You forgot?" Sam finished for him, raising an eyebrow.

Justin sighed, trying to come up with something that wouldn't make him look like a shitty boyfriend. "I know who Max is, Hughes. She's that redhead who you're best friends with. I'm sorry, my mind just went, like, blank. I'm stupid, remember?"

Sam tilted her head at him with her brow still raised. "You can't use that excuse every time you mess up, you know?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Justin apologized, bending down to kiss Sam against softly. She stood there and let him, but not with much enthusiasm. He continued, "Come on, Hughes, you know I didn't mean to say that. Don't be like this."

Sam sighed, deflating as her arms came down to her sides. She wasn't really that happy that Justin definitely forgot who Dustin and Max were, but he always made her feel bad for getting upset at him for that. And she was feeling bad now, because Sam was essentially ruining their hangout with this issue.

"Okay, sorry," Sam managed out finally, and Justin let out a relieved breath. "I'm being weird. I just... I don't know, I feel like you don't care about anything I talk about."

Justin scoffed, taking a step back. He said, "Of course I do, are you joking? Seriously, Hughes, stop being like this." Then, he walked up close to Sam again; Justin grabbed either of her wrists and stared down at her with a serious look. "You're just getting anxious again, all right? You know I care about you."

Do you care about me or just care about dating me? Sam wondered, but Justin was right. There wasn't much of a difference between the two things. He cared about her, he wouldn't be telling her right now if he didn't. Sam was just getting anxious again.

Her lips quirked up sadly, embarrassed at herself. Sam looked down, embarrassed at herself as she muttered, "I'm sorry."

"Hey," Justin whispered, one hand coming up to tilt her head up and look at him. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault you get worried like this. Just trust me, Hughes, all right?"

Sam's face went serious again. Eyebrows furrowed firmly, she said, "I trust you."

"Good," he said back softly. "Then everything's okay."

Everything was okay, and Justin kept a hand on her jaw. Everything was okay, and Justin guided her head to meet back with his in a kiss. Everything was okay, and Sam's arms moved up to his shoulders.

Everything was okay, but there was a creeping, biting cold in Sam's chest. 

Everything was okay, but, suddenly, the power went out.

Sam and Justin broke apart in surprise, looking up at the darkness around them.

"What the fuck?" Justin wondered while Sam's grip on Justin tightened.

"Something's not right," worried Sam; her chest was cold and there was a returning, sinking feeling in her gut.

Justin felt Sam begin to shake, and his head whipped down to her, though he couldn't really see her. He shifted his grip on her so that one hand interlocked their fingers, and the other was free. He used that hand to unlock the bathroom door and walk them out into the hall. The power was out everywhere, and not just in the bathroom.

"A storm, do you think?" Justin pondered, wondering what could have caused a mall-wide power outage. When Sam didn't respond, when Sam just continued shaking, Justin squeezed her hand and pulled her closer, repeating, "Hughes. Hey. Do you think it's a storm?"

Something's not right, Something's not right, Something's not right, Something's not right.

Sam shook her head, although Justin couldn't see it. "It's not supposed to rain today," she rasped. "I really don't think that's it."

"Then what is it?" Justin was asking, but his voice sounded muffled in her ears. Her face screwed up and Sam felt like she couldn't breathe. "Hey, Hughes, it's all right. I'm just asking what it is. What do you think?"

Something's not right, Something's not right, Something's not right, Something's not right, Something's not right, Something's not right, Something's not right, Something's not—

But then the power flipped back on as if everything was fine. The cold in Sam's chest lifted, but Sam could feel the ghost of how it felt through her body.

"It's probably nothing," Sam lied.

And the couple went about their night, as if it was nothing.

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"I told you we were going to be late because of the damn casserole, Tony!" Diane Hughes laughed from the passenger seat. She held her husband's hand over the console as she gazed at him fondly.

He glanced back at her for a moment, smiling back at her. Anthony Hughes squeezed his wife's hand before responding, "We couldn't show up empty-handed! It's okay if we're late, darling."

From the backseat, Stephanie Hughes looked at her sister. She pretended to gag, tongue sticking out and finger pointing at her open mouth. Sometimes her parents were so in love it was disgusting.

Samantha Hughes giggled at her sister's disgust, although she thought her parents were rather adorable. In her lap sat the casserole her dad had baked, and was the reason they were running late for... for...

What were they going to again?

Sam's face screwed up in confusion. Why were they in the car? What were they late for? What were they all doing together?

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Diane turned her head back, looking at Sam with a frown.

"This... This isn't right," Sam muttered, looking around the car and out the window, growing more and more distressed. "This isn't right. What's going on? What's going on?"

"Sammy, chill out," Stephanie laughed in a judging manner, eyes wide as they looked at her sister. "What's going on with you?"

Her parents weren't supposed to be here. This car didn't exist anymore. Why was Sam fourteen? She hadn't seen her parents since...

Wait, when did Sam last see her parents?

What was going on?

Stars shining bright above you...

"STOP THE CAR!" Sam began yelling desperately, tears in her eyes. "PLEASE, DAD, STOP THE CAR!"

"Aw, Sammy," Anthony cooed, as if if nothing was wrong. He was eerily calm. "What's the matter, kiddo? Are you feeling sick?"

"DAD, PLEASE! STOP THE CAR!" Sam was crying now, and she didn't know why, and she didn't know where she was.

Night breezes seem to whisper, "I love you..."

"I love this song," Diane grinned at Anthony, as if their daughter wasn't screaming crying in the background. "Remember when we danced to it back at—?"

"At Tim Johnson's party?" Anthony finished for his wife, barking at a laugh. "God, I was horrible at dancing."

Birds singing in the sycamore trees...

"You were," Diane laughed back, but she seemed very fond.

Sam began screaming, crying, begging for someone to listen to her. "STOP! PLEASE STOP THE CAR! DAD!"

Dream a little dream of me—

Out of nowhere, headlights sped straight for them. In the next second, it slammed straight into the car and sent the Hughes family flying off the road. Sam and Stephanie screamed, bodies thrashing around like rag dolls.

The scene changed.

Sam and Stephanie were out of the car now. Both sisters were bleeding and hurt, badly. They stared at the car before them, completely flipped over. Near the driver's side, Anthony Hughes' head lolled out of the shattered window.

"Dad, wake up," Stephanie begged, cradling his bleeding head. She crouched before him, sobbing. "Please, Dad, wake up!"

Sam stood on the road, watching Stephanie cry for their father. Stephanie was begging him to wake up, but Sam knew. Sam knew he wouldn't.

"Steph," Sam sobbed, hang moving over her mouth to try and stifle her cries.

"What?!" Stephanie's head whipped around to glare at Sam through her teary eyes. Sam flinched back at the anger, and Stephanie stood up with a venomous look. "They're dead because of you, Sam! This is all your fault!"

Sam choked, taking a step back in surprise. "W-wait. No, I — I didn't mean for this to happe—"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Steph roared, and Sam cried harder. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

The scene changed.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" roared Will. Sam jumped backwards with a gasp, back running the supporting beam behind her, and she clutched the wood for some semblance of comfort. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Hopper was trying to keep Will still, arms wrapped around him tightly. He wanted to shut the boy up, but there was no way of doing that without Joyce shutting him up indefinitely. It hurt to hear this words come out of Sam's best friend's mouth, and it hurt even more to see Sam's reaction to them.

"No — w-wait, no," Sam choked, shaking her head without realizing she was doing it. Everyone stared at her, and her vision grew blurry and wet. "I — I-I — I didn't mean for any — any of this to happen," she forced out through a cry, looking towards the other members in the shed, as if begging them to believe her, to forgive her. "I didn't want any of this to happen, I — I'm — I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry—"

"THIS IS HER FAULT! THIS IS HER FAULT! Let me go! This is her fault!"

The scene changed.

Sam heard two voices in hear ears. "It's gonna be okay," came a familiar voice. "Remember, Bob Newby, superhero."

Another voice cheered, "And Sam Hughes, side-kick!"

But when the scene faded in, it wasn't as happy as the two voices had sounded. They were in a hospital that was covered in blood, dead bodies everywhere. Sam and Bob looked to each other, terrified, the former holding a gun in her hands.

"RUN!"

They didn't waste any time. Sam and Bob ran down the dark halls, Sam running as fast as her little legs could carry her. Her chest was on fire, her mind was on fire, her legs were on fire. Sam didn't breathe, she just ran.

She cocked the gun and turned to the creature. Sam shot twice — but it had no effect on the Demogorgon dog. Her shoulders ached from the power of the handgun, but it didn't stop her from running. Bob pushed the last door open, held it, and waited. Sam's sneakers hit the ground — with the Demogorgon dog on her trail, she pushed her legs faster, right through the last door Bob held open.

Bob slammed it shut behind them, locking it quickly and keeping the Demogorgon dog out.

Sam and Bob could hear the creature screeching from the other side, slamming into the door and trying to get through, but it couldn't. They let out simultaneous breaths of relief, Bob pulling Sam into an unexpected but well-deserved hug. Sam accepted the hug gratefully, returning the embrace with her arms around him — she hadn't been hugged like this since her parents died.

"Bob! Sam!"

Hearing the voice of Joyce, Sam and Bob pulled away from each other. They turned around to see Joyce standing near the doors to the exit — they'd made it! They were actually going to make it out of here alive!

Bob smiled, making eye contact with Joyce at the fact they'd found each other, but then his expression went slack with horror, eyes fixed somewhere behind Sam.

"SAM, WATCH O—"

She didn't catch the last word as she turned around, just barely seeing it before it hit her—

Sam cried out as a big grey something barreled through the hospital doors and into her, slamming her back into the ground hard.

There was a second where everything seemed to freeze. Bob and Joyce, simultaneously yelling out in horror, the fucking Demogorgon dog, claws pressing her into the ground, gaping flower-shaped maw hovering right above her. That only lasted a second though, before everything came rushing back to speed.

Sam finally remembered she was literally the only one in the lobby with a weapon in her hand. Through her panic, through her cries, Sam held the gun with two hands and just started fucking shooting like her life depended on it — oh wait, it did.

But hot white pain shot through her side, and Sam screamed as the Demogorgon dog's teeth dug into her, clamping down and then tearing the flesh with a sickening ripping sound that brought bile to Sam's throat. The gun clattered out of her hands, and Sam couldn't do anything about it. Her shout was different, this time. It was a sob, heavy and emotional, a beg for help.

Her hands came up uselessly to defend herself, gun lying somewhere to her right, but she couldn't move, couldn't do anything but get mauled by a — a fucking literal hellhound.

Sam was screaming in piercing pain, tears running down her face; she'd never screamed so loud in her life. I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die. She was so desperate that her dazed state had Sam begging the creature to get off.

"PLEASE! PLEASE STOP, I'M SORRY! I-I'M SORRY—" but she was cut off by a blood-curdling shriek pushed past her lip straight from her gut — it was laced with pain and horror; the torture had become raw and consuming.

The next part happened in a blur. Suddenly, somehow, someone was tackling the monster in Sam's wake, forcing the creature off top of her. The moment the force was no longer pinning Sam to the ground, she was flailing and kicking away, scrambling backwards. Her hands automatically shot to her side, pressing down, and her breaths came in heaving gasps. The pain felt like it was digging into every nerve in her body, and Sam grit her teeth, trying to blink away the white spots blossoming across her vision.

She was able to see who had sacrificed himself for Sam in a mess of blood tears.

"NO!" Sam reached for him. "BOB!"

Hopper was wrapping his arms around her. Sam tried to pull away as she shouted and cried.

"DON'T LEAVE HIM! NO!" she sobbed, fighting back. "BOB! STOP! WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!"

"Sam!" yelled a voice, trying to wrench her away.

"STOP! BOB! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY, BOB!"

"Sam, wake up!" the voice wrapped their arms around Sam's waist, and pulled.

Sam shot awake with a gasp, screaming and crying. She scrambled backwards, but there was a body behind her with their arms wrapped around Sam as she thrashed. Blood poured from her nose as she cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Sam, it's just a dream!" Corey shouted, trying to calm Sam down. His back was against her headboard and Sam was leaned into him. Sam was curling up in his hold, as if they were six and seven again, and grasping at the arms wrapped around her with her hands.

Sam continued to cry, mind still hazy. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean — I didn't want—"

"Sam!" Corey tried snapping her out of it. "You were dreaming! It was a nightmare! You're okay!"

Sam gasped in breaths, pulling down the defenses she had unknowingly forced around her mind and held Corey's arms tighter. She still cried, but quieter this time as the tears streaming down her face. "Corey, I—"

"Shh, Sam," Corey continued his attempts to calm Sam down. "You were just dreaming. It was just a dream. Everything's fine now. It was just a dream."

Or were dreams and reality slowly intertwining?

Sam wiped the blood from under her nose, not knowing the answer to that question.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

As if nothing happened the night prior, excitement crawled through Sam's veins. She pressed her back on the wall, biting her lower lip, trying to calm herself down. Sam was on her tippy toes, trying her hardest not to be seen.

The whole Party but Dustin hid in his house for a surprise "welcome back" party. Their curly-haired friend was finally back home from his month-long science summer camp. Sam was, of course, very jealous she couldn't attend, but Aunt Kat was too afraid to let her. Ever since the... incident... last year, she had Sam on constant surveillance.

Nevertheless, Sam stood between Max and Lucas, a smile clear on her face as Max looked over at her with a bright grin. In order, they stood Max, Sam, Lucas, Will, Corey, Mike, and El. El, on the end, had her eyes closed and blood down her nose as she made att of Dustin's toys come to life. The plan was to lead Dustin into his living room with the living toys. Sam could tell everything was going accordingly when she spotted Dustin holding hairspray out of the corner of her eye. She heard Dustin mumble to himself, "This can't be happening, this is just a dream..."

When Dustin successfully made it to the living room, Mike turned his head to Eleven and whispered, "Now!"

Eleven's eyes opened, and Sam heard all of Dustin's toys stop moving.

Each of them placed a noise maker in their mouths while Lucas unfurled the banner that read "Welcome Home Dustin!" (Sam and Will had made it themselves, and they were very proud of it, thank you very much) while Max led them into the foyer. Each of them came to a stop directly behind their friend as Max held her hand up in a silent countdown.

One... Two... Three...

They all blew into their noise makers, Sam and El pulling the strings on their party poppers to release a color explosion of confetti. All immediately leaped back as Dustin turned and unleashed a terrified scream, spraying Farah Fawcett's hairspray directly into Lucas's eyes.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sam coughed out a laugh at the sound of her friend's pained scream, dropping her hands from where they'd pushed Corey and Mike away from the line of fire before holding back a gag at the smell of the hairspray.

"Jesus fuck, Dusin, hello to you, too!" Corey coughed, waving a hand to try and rid of the hairspray's fumes.

Dustin faltered, hairspray falling at his feet as he surveyed them fro a moment. His chest heaved, then he broke into a wide smile. "Aw, you guys!"

"Help!" Lucas shrieked, digging his heels into his eyes as a girlish wail tore from his throat. "My eyes are burning! I'm going blind!"

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

Sam felt bad that she forced Lucas's head underneath the stream of the sink's water, but she had to do it to rinse the hairspray from out his eyes. As Lucas muttered, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," Sam frowned, "I'm sorry, Luke. Sorry. You gotta keep rinsing."

Her hand was on his neck gently, watching Lucas try and relieve his eyes of the pain Dustin had forced upon them. She sort of wanted to be in Dustin's room, where he was showing everyone else the inventions he'd made at summer camp, but Sam could practically feel how much Lucas's eyes stung. As much of an asshole Lucas was being lately, she didn't want him in pain.

Lucas hissed, finally having enough of the water. His fingers pressed into his eyes as he rose up from the sink. Sam's hand on his neck fell, and she frowned empathetically at Lucas as he stood up straight.

"Better?" Sam wondered, hoping he was okay.

"Still stings," Lucas blinked rapidly when his hands left his face. Sam watched him slowly register his surroundings again, and his eyes narrowed on Sam. "You know, you don't have to be in here with me. I know you want to check out what Dustin made."

Sam huffed at him kindly, said, "Yeah, well, I also don't want you to go blind. Seems a little more important right now."

Lucas seemed only upset that Sam was keeping the conversation light-hearted with him. He rubbed his eyes again, but when his eyes connected with Sam's again, they weren't kind.

"Didn't know you thought I was important anymore," he mumbled passive aggressively.

Sam's face screwed up, taken aback and offended. "Excuse me?"

"I just think it's funny you were talking about wanting to have a good time with us yesterday, then you went missing with Zimmerman for some 'unknown reason,'" Lucas scowled unkindly.

Sam stared at Lucas for a little longer. It felt like her heart had dropped in her chest. It was mean, Lucas was being cruel, and Sam didn't know what she did to deserve it all. Tilting her head to the side incredulously, she said, "What is wrong with you?"

Sam grabbed Lucas by the back of his head and shoved his face under the running sink water against, harsh this time. She kept his head there, essentially waterboarding him, ignoring Lucas's girlish shriek of pain. 

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

"I call it... The Forever Clock," Dustin announced, showcasing a makeshift analog clock put together from popsicle sticks and soda can metal. "Powered by wind, very useful in the apocalypse."

Will accepted it from him and smiled as he toyed at the mechanics of it, whirring the ride at the back of it for his own amusement and beaming as he watched the contraption come to life. Corey had to admit, he wished he and Sam switched places, because he didn't even care a little for Dustin's inventions and it was very hard to try to. He knew Sam would be interested in them.

"I give you, The Slammer," Dustin held out a thriving mechanic hammer towards El's face and she leaned away, not seeming too impressed. Instead she just seemed terrified, and Dustin let out a dorky laugh. "Pretty neat, huh?"

Corey coughed awkwardly. Mike nudged him in disappointment. Corey sent Mike a glare, and Mike looked away.

"This," Dustin picked up a heavy-seeming duffle bag, setting it on the floor with a grunt, "this is my masterpiece."

As Dustin kneeled to the floor, Corey, Mike, Will, Max, and El crouched with him. Corey wondered what was in the blue bag with yellow accents.

"I would like you to meet," Dustin unzipped the zipper to reveal the contents inside, "Cerebro."

The six of them stared at an assortment of wires, metal rods, and rubber coils.

"What exactly are we looking at here?"

Max reached over Corey to thwack Mike over the head, scoffing as she gestured to the bag of mismatched objects. "Don't be stupid, Wheeler, it's obviously a... a — Hey, Dustin, what the hell is this?"

"An unassembled, one of a kind, battery-powered radio tower!"

"So... it's a HAM radio?"

"Corey," Will hissed, leaning past Mike and El with a pointed look, "shh. Let him ramble."

"The Cadillac of HAM radios," Dustin grinned, undeterred by Corey or Mike. "This baby carries a crystal clear connection over vast distances."

They all stared back at him, still not understanding.

Dustin deflated with a sigh, looking down at Cerebro. "I wish Specks was in here. She'd freak out."

Admittedly, Corey agreed. If Sam was in here, she would freak out, compared to the people that were here that weren't freaking out. Feeling that uncomfortable feeling of guilt again, Corey spoke up.

"No, we're freaking out, too, Dustin!" Corey lied, ears turning red as he did so. "Just — you know — internally." Max, Mike, El, and Will looked at Corey in confusion, so the latter cleared his throat. "Um, like how far does the Ceeb thing actually connect?"

Dustin brightened up at Corey's forced care of his radio. "Dude, I'm talking North Pole to South. Isn't that cool? I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever I choose."

"Girlfriend?" they all chorused, a few frantic glances being shared between them.

Suddenly, Corey was interested.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

"Wait, so her name is Suzie?"

"Suzie with a 'z.' She's from Utah!"

"Girls go to science camp?"

"Dude, shut up. You're literally friends with Sam Hughes."

"Yeah! And Suzie does. She's a genius!"

"Is she cute?"

"Think Phoebe Cates, only hotter."

Sam glared at Lucas with her arms crossed, staring at him as he stuck his head under the sink all on his own. She was leaning back against a kitchen counter, just sending him a disapproving look that made him regret his earlier words. That's why his head was under the sink, so he didn't have to make eye contact with Sam.

Although, Sam's face was falling as she saw all of her friends trail into the living room and head for the from door. Her arms fell and she straightened off the counter. Sam asked, "What's going on?"

"We're going to talk to Dustin's girlfriend," Will said, amused, as everyone filed out of the house.

"Girlfriend?" Sam and Lucas questioned in unified bewilderment. They were so caught off that Lucas's head whipped up from the sink, and Sam forgot she was even upset with Lucas. They shared baffled eye contact as the front door closed, everyone leaving them behind.

The duo wasted no time in grabbing their bags and running after everyone eagerly.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

Sam did not expect Dustin's girlfriend to be located at the top of the highest hill that Hawkins had to offer. She had expected to show up at Suzie's house, not to be forced to do extra physical labor that Sam didn't have the endurance for.

Technically, the physical being of Suzie wasn't at the top of the hill. Lucas had thought that at first, but he was only led astray. In reality, Dustin had met a girl at science camp that he'd started dating. Also at camp, he'd created an ultimate HAM radio that could reach far, and Sam was freaking out in excitement. Her friend had found love and he'd made a cool ass invention! Despite how much the hiking sucked, Sam was desperate to see Cerebro and meet Suzie.

"I mean, it sounded like camp was good," Sam said to Dustin as they clambered a fair distance in front of their friends up the large hill. "Anything else cool that happened? What other kind of stuff did you make?"

Dustin grinned at Sam for a reason unbeknownst to her. "I knew you would care about what I did!"

"Well, duh," Sam responded, because she didn't know why she wouldn't care. "I'm so jealous you got to go, dude!"

"Yeah, I definitely wish you went. You would've loved it," Dustin rambled eagerly. "I made the coolest shit. Cerebro's definitely the best, though. It took me and Suzie the whole month, but I bet you could've done it by yourself in, like, a week."

Sam laughed nervously, cheeks flushing as she looked away at the praise. "No way, Dustin. Don't sell yourself short."

"I'm just being honest," Dustin beamed unapologetically. "And I bet you and Suzie would get along great."

"You think?" Sam wondered, adjusting her bag strap on her shoulder now that she began to crimp tiredly.

Dustin sent her a pointed look. "You get along with everyone. I don't even want to imagine what it would be like if you were thrown into a room of girls that also liked science. You'd have an aneurysm."

Sam nudged him weakly with a genuine laugh this time at her friend's teasing. But, she ultimately said, "Probably," before she was moving on with their conversation. "I'm excited for you about Suzie, by the way. What's she like?"

"She's the best," Dustin began on an excited tangent. "I mean, she's a genius, of course, but she also gets my jokes, you know? We just click. And she listens to me, and I listen to her, and I... I don't know," he looked down a little awkwardly, "I didn't think I'd ever find someone who likes me like that. But Suzie does. And it's... nice."

Sam almost seemed like her mind was somewhere else, like she was having realizations of her own. Seeing Dustin describe his relationship like that was... a little eye-opening, and a tad heartbreaking. For reasons more than just Dustin's apparent low self-esteem.

She tilted her head, looking up at Dustin with a kind smile.

"Hey, Dustin?" Sam nudged him to get his attention, and when he looked her way, she said, "She sounds awesome... but you're awesome, too. I'm glad Suzie sees that. She's lucky to have a great guy like you."

Dustin's face immediately was overtaken by a smile. He shifted his tired shoulders to fix the heavy bag on his bag. "Thanks, Specks."

"Any time," Sam responded right back. She held out a fist, waiting for him to initiate their famous handshake.

With Dustin's hand that wasn't holding a duffle full of Cerebro, he curled his hand into a fist, too. Sam and Dustin fist-bumped, followed by synchronized snaps.

"I don't know why you still call me that," Sam huffed shyly.

Dustin sent Sam an incredulous look, because, really, Sam should know this by now. "You'll always be Specks to me, Specks. Glasses or not."

Sam smiled at him softly and nudged him playfully; as much as she tried hating the nickname, she'd grown rather fond of it, because it was something that tethered her to Dustin and made their friendship special. Sam thought that was cute.

"How's Zimmerman, by the way?" Dustin wondered casually. In the high-pitched teasing tone he always took on, he asked, "Is he dreammyyy?" with a shimmy of his shoulders.

And instead of pinning him down with an annoyed look, Sam just fidgeted with her bag strap dully. She shrugged, causing Dustin's act to fall, alert on. "He's fine. I mean, I just saw him yesterday. It was fine."

"Oh, yeah," Dustin scoffed. "It sounds 'fine.'"

Sam immediately remembered she shouldn't be showing her friend she was upset. She sobered up, forcing energy back into herself. "No, I mean — he is fine. We're fine — great. We're doing great, I just... sorry. The lights went off at Starcourt when we were together, and I think it creeped me out, and now I'm being weird. Ignore me."

"That's why you're being weird?" Dustin checked, sending a boy in the distance a glance too quick for Sam to notice. "No other reason? You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Sam said very quickly. She tried not to think of kitchen sinks and burning eyes and angry slights. She tried not to look behind her. It was very hard when she heard the sound of her cousin's complaining voice—

"Dustin!" Corey called out tiredly. "Aren't we high enough?"

"Cerebro works best at a hundred meters!"

"You know," Max heaved, sweating and craving water, "I'm pretty sure people in Utah have telephones."

Dustin continued upwards, undeterred. "Yeah, but Suzie's Mormon."

"Oh, shit," Lucas piped up as everyone finally caught up to Sam and Dustin. He questioned, "She doesn't have electricity?"

Sam rolled her eyes, keeping her head forward and not looking Lucas's way. Still, she couldn't help herself correcting him with, "That's the Amish, Lucas."

"What are Mormons?" Will asked, confused.

"Super religious white people!" Dustin answered. "They have electricity and cars and stuff, but... since I'm not Mormon, her parents would never approve."

"Okay, but, can't you just say you're Mormon over the phone?" Corey groaned sluggishly. His hair was damp with sweat, and his back was flexing tiredly with the weight of the bag he was forced to carry. He hoped that Mike, behind him, wasn't disgusted.

"Come on, Core," Sam broke Corey out of his thoughts optimistically. "This'll be cool. Do you realize how far this radio can reach? Imagine we accidentally intercept some, like, secret code, or something!"

"Secret code?" Lucas questioned judgmentally.

Sam shot Lucas an unamused look with, "Or something. I was just joking. I didn't mean it."

"Hey, guys!"

Sam, Lucas, Corey, Max, Will and Dustin turned to see that Mike and El were many feet behind them. They held hands, which sort of disgusted Sam in a way, because she knew they were both sweaty.

"This is fun and all, but, uh..." Mike tried to find the words, but he made eye contact with a vexed Corey, and all of the options ran from his brain.

"I have to go home," El said.

Mike remembered what the point of him speaking up had been, and he nodded slowly, signaling to his watch. Corey's heart clenched as he closed his eyes at their stupid excuse to go and make out in El's room. Totally gross... who even wanted that...

"We're almost there!" Dustin exclaimed.

Mike shrugged. "Sorry man, curfew!" he finished, turning around with his hands locked tightly with El's.

"Good luck," El smiled sweetly at them before turning around with her boyfriend, the two of them rushing back down the mountain.

Totally not jealous.

Sam put a hand on Corey's shoulder, nodding for him to look away. He was definitely being too obvious.

"Curfew at 4:00?" Dustin questioned incredulously, glancing at his watch.

"They're lying," Lucas pointed out the obvious.

Will threw up an annoyed hand, "It's been like this all summer."

"It's romantic," Max argued, being the only one who thought it so.

"It's gross," Corey scowled, finally turning his head away from where their bodies grew smaller.

"It's bullshit," Dustin spat. "I just got home."

Sam sighed, eyeing Mike and El suspiciously, then watched her sad friends empathetically. She tried cheering them up with, "Well, their loss, right?" With a newfound pep in her step, she started up the mountain with too much energy. "Onwards and upwards!"

"That's the spirit, Sam!" Dustin cheered as everyone else groaned and threw their heads back tiredly. "Suzie awaits!"

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

"Made it," Dustin analyzed when they finally made it to the top of the hill.

"Yeah, only took five hours," Max commented sarcastically, not pleased with the frizziness and wetness of her hair.

Sam threw her bag off of her back, ignoring the sound of metal clashing together and just collapsing onto the grass tiredly.

"Why couldn't we just play D&D?" Will breathed desperately, throwing a red bag holding Cerebro's antenna down.

"For once, I agree," Corey bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breathing again.

"I'm so thirsty," Lucas panted. He desperately threw his bag off his back, and Sam snatched it when it reached the floor so she could use it as a pillow for her head. He quickly unscrewed their canteen of water and chugged down water to clear his dry throat.

Max stared at him, then up at Corey, then back at Lucas. She squinted her eyes in the sun, watching him gulp down the rest of the water. "Did you seriously just drink the rest of our water?"

Lucas met her disapproving gaze dumbly. He spit some water back in the bottle before holding it out towards Max. She shook her head with a glare and walked over to Sam while Lucas walked over to Dustin, Corey, and Will.

"Come on, Sam," Max was trying to pull Sam up from the grass. "We still gotta put this shit together."

Sam groaned, burrowing her head into Lucas's bag, too tired to get back up.

Corey sighed, watching the sad sight of Max desperately attempting to get Sam up. After living with the girl for almost four years, he knew what to do. Corey stopped helping Dustin, Will, and Lucas unpack Cerebro and walked over to the girls instead.

"Let's go, Sammy," Corey said, before wrapping two hands around her left ankle and pulling.

"Corey Alan Gray!" Sam screeched, as he smeared her clothes along the dirt and grass.

He laughed in amusement down at his miserable, little cousin. Wiping his hands together, looking at Max, he said, "There you go."

"You're an asshole, Gray," Max carped before bending down to help Sam up gently.

"Thank you, Mayfield. It's the only thing I'm good at," he mock-bowed before going to help the boys set Cerebro up again.

It took them a good hour or so to assemble the entire thing, so long that the sun officially began to set. But after a few mishaps – including a pole or two rolling all the way back down the hill and Sam pushing Max and Will out of the way because she knew a falling chunk of metal was about to come their way – Cerebro was officially online.

Genius, Sam thought as they all stepped back to assess their craftsmanship, clapping Dustin on the shoulder with a proud grin. "Holy shit, Dustin!"

"All right, are you guys ready to meet my love?"

"Of course we are!" Sam cheered, at the same time Corey deadpanned, "Your happiness is disgusting."

The group went quiet for a moment, blinking.

"I don't understand how you two are related," Will muttered.

"Beats me," Dustin sighed. He plopped himself down in front of the radio and took the mic in his hands. With a small smile on his face, he pressed down on the device. "Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

He was met with radio static hissing. And while Sam was impressed that the thing just worked, everyone else was waiting for Suzie to answer in unamusement.

"Uh, one sec," Dustin stammered, "she's probably... she's probably still there — Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

Corey let out a quiet sigh as the silence resumed and Max and Lucas crossed their arms impatiently. Sam and Will shared frowning looks, only to be waved off as they all continued to watch Dustin expectantly.

"I'm sure she's there, it's just — maybe she's, like, busy. It's around dinner time there..."

"It's 3:00pm in Utah," Sam deadpanned. Then, when Dustin looked upset that Sam unintentionally shut him down, she said, "I mean, it might be. I could be wrong, though. You're right, she's probably at dinner."

"Yeah, totally," everyone nodded in agreement with Sam, trying not to make Dustin feel bad. They pretended to believe him, though no one really did.

Dustin shrugged, then went back to calling Suzie. "Suzie, do you copy? This is Dustin. Over."

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

Time seemed to fly over their heads. The sun had already set, Sam laying down on the grass again with everyone else this time. Luckily, they weren't sweaty anymore, considering it was nighttime and cooler than it would be in the afternoon.

Sam's head laid on Max's stomach, and Will was laying right next to her with his head using Sam's bag as a pillow. Together, they hummed to the tune of "Our Last Summer" as Sam stared at the stars and the full moon.

"I can still recall our last summer," Sam began to sing aloud as Will continued to hum.

Will laughed in amusement. He joined Sam in singing, "I still see it all! Walks along the Seine, laughing in the rain, our last summer – memories that remain!"

Sam and Will both sat up, the former leaving Max's torso. Sam played the air-piano dramatically, and Max, Lucas, and Corey laughed in amusement as Sam and Will continued their performance. It might've been the most amusing thing this day, save for Lucas getting sprayed by hairspray.

"I can still recall our last summer, I still see it all!"

Sam stretched out the last line, as it sounded in the song, belting jokingly, although her voice sounded good.

"In the tourist jam, round the Notre Dame, our last summer," Sam grabbed Will's hand, swinging their hands around dramatically. "Walking hand in hand! Paris restaur—"

"Will you two stop it?!" Dustin called out from where he still sat next to Cerebro. "I'm trying to contact Suzie!"

"Dustin! She's not there!" Max sat up, finally having enough now that Dustin was trying to ruin the only fun they were having. They'd been hearing the same words over and over again for the past hour.

"She's there, all right? She'll pick up!"

Will stopped playing his air-guitar, tilting his head at Dustin. "Maybe Cerebro doesn't work."

"Or maybe 'Suzie' doesn't exist," Lucas shot Dustin an annoyed look.

"She exists!" Dustin's voice cracked, offended that Lucas thought he was lying.

Lucas raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "She's a genius and she's hotter than Phoebe Cates? No girl is that perfect."

Corey shared an incredulous look with Will and they both pursed their lips, settling in for the show.

Together, Sam and Max wheeled around to face Lucas with almost identical faces. "Is that so?" they asked in unison, pinning Lucas down with looks.

"I mean, you guys are perfect – D – N – Like, perfect in your own ways – Your special – Your own special ways."

"So I'm not a genius?" Sam asked, at the same time Max questioned, "So I'm not hotter than Phoebe Cates?"

"I – I," Lucas gaped, trying to think of words that wouldn't have both of them waterboarding him under a sink. "No, that's not what I meant—"

He was cut off as the girls broke out into snickers. Max shook her head, said, "Relax, we were teasing. Sam and I are obviously perfect, and Dustin is obviously lying!" She rolled her eyes, standing to her feet and brushing her hands off on the back of her jean shorts, holding a hand for Sam to take. "Come on, sunshine. Sleepover at mine?"

Sam blinked, then smiled innocently. "Oh, okay!" She took Max's hand, letting herself be pulled up. Then, "Core—"

"Yeah, I'll tell Mom. No worries."

Sam nodded gratefully, then she spun around for a moment, pulling Dustin for a hug. "I believe Suzie's real, and I'm glad you're back, Dustin. I've missed, you," she said in his ear, and pulled away to find Dustin grinning.

"I missed you, too."

"See you around," Sam waved back at him, then running down to catch up with Max.

◦☆＊★ ━━━━━━ ★＊☆◦

hughclair nation (me) is taking a major loss today... :( 

who is responsible for this? (i am)

so um... jaysam is a thing... how are we feeling

STOP PLEASE DON'T HATE ME I HAVE A PLAN. JUST TRUST THE PROCESS AND ENJOY THE ANGST AND PINING COMING YOUR WAY THIS SEASON

i also want you guys to examine how jaysam interactions go/how sam talks about HERSELF vs. how hughclair interactions go/how sam talks about herself... THERE'S A REASON FOR EVERYTHING

but this is the season of a hughclair loss. sorry.

alexa play "instead" by ryan amador in respect for lucas sinclair today

^^^now i'm tempted to give every chapter a song

on the bright side this is the season of a colorwheel win!

someone pointed out sam was a variant of stiles and THAT IS SO TRUE OMG LIKE SHE IS SO STILES STILINSKI BYE. they would be THE BESTEST OF BESTIES.

it's not letting me tag her but it's @sarahcarp_gmw and i just need to shoutout her separately bc she's been commenting on all my chapters and i just makes my day and gives me a reason to keep posting! thank you ily!

ok real question: i have all of season 3 written but only like 2 chapters of season 4. would you rather me post all of season and wait for season 4 updates (they won't take long) or me like post a season 3 chapter for every season 4 chapter i write?

what'd you think?