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"I've always liked quiet people:
You never know if they're dancing
in a daydream or if they're carrying
the weight of the world."
~John Green
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As Dustin and Steve prepared a spot for the eldest of the two to sleep, Dustin noticed that Steve knew exactly where the Henderson's kept their extra blankets and pillows. After discovering that Dart had melted again and fled Dustin's basement, Steve decided they should go after the bloody thing the next morning.

Steve decided to take the couch in the Henderson living room, not wanting to spend a night in Scarlett's room without her there. That simply felt too intimate, especially with her kid brother across the hallway. The teenager quirked a brow however when Dustin started to settle into the living room as well.

"What the hell are you doing?" Steve asked as he put down the pillow he had been fluffing.

Dustin looked up from the blankets and pillows he had been spreading out over his mother's lazy chair. "What?" Steve gestured to Dustin's blankets in response. "Oh, well it's safer to stick together. So one of us doesn't get murdered in our sleep," Dustin spoke as a matter of fact and Steve blinked at the boy a few times before shaking his head.

The phone suddenly rang and immediately Dustin dashed towards it, skidding to a stop as he answered it. "Hi, Henderson residence!" He half screamed.

"Dusty?"

"Oh hi Mom," Dustin muttered, the little hope he had felt flickered out like a candle in the wind.

"Hi sweetie, Lorenzo has invited me to stay the night here so we can keep looking for Mews on this side of town," Claudia's voice shook and Dustin felt a pit forming in his stomach. Claudia and Scarlett loved Mews so dearly, and while Scarlett would eventually know the truth, Claudia could never know. "Do you mind? If you do I can come straight back home and stay with you and Scar."

"Oh nononononono Mom, you stay there and find our little Mews alright?" Dustin peered at Steve who was eyeing one of the pictures on the wall that showed the Henderson family after moving back to Hawkins. Covering the horn with his hand Dustin called Steve's name a few times to gain his attention. "Steve has come over to help me and Scarlett look for Mews, so we're going to be fine." Dustin nodded at Steve who only frowned.

Dustin made a 'psst' sound and nodded towards the phone he was holding and finally Steve understood Dustin's plan. "Hey Scara, how about we ask the neighbours again?" Dustin gave nod of approval and stomped on the ground a few times before he and Claudia bid their goodbyes.

Meanwhile Steve wondered into the kitchen in search of food. He grabbed some leftovers he found in the fridge and grabbed two plates, divided the food and warmed it up in the microwave before returning to the living room and shoving the plate in Dustin's face.

"Henderson."

Hesitantly Dustin took the plate, eyeing Steve cautiously. Steve sat down on the couch and started to devour the food, grimacing as he realised how bad it tasted. Sure Scarlett had told him the horror stories of Claudia's cooking which had only been enforced by Jonathan, Blake and Nancy. Steve was yet to taste Claudia's cooking himself and now he wished he had never tasted it.

With his hunger suddenly gone, Steve set down his plate on the coffee table and looked back at Dustin who was scarfing down the food. In many ways Scarlett and Dustin were alike, and there were also enough jarring differences.

When Dustin finished his food, Steve grabbed the plates and put them in the sink before returning to the living room where Dustin waited for him clad in pyjamas. "I'm pretty sure there are some clothes that would fit you in Scarlett's room," Steve gave Dustin a bewildered look. "Old boyfriends, and she had some of our dad's old sweaters."

"Okay, thanks," Steve said, he walked up the stairs and entered Scarlett's room. While Dustin gave Steve the permission to use some off Bill's old clothes, Steve wondered if Scarlett would feel the same and thus reached for the sweater that Scarlett had borrowed from Steve last summer but had never given back.

Steve's gaze wondered around the room and he racked a hand through his hair and shook his head. Reaching into his pockets, Steve fished out a small box. He opened it to reveal a small heart shaped locket with a small note attached to it.

The brunet delicatley laid the box on Scarlett's pillow before he strolled out of the room and into the bathroom that Scarlett and Dustin shared where he changed. After about an hour Steve and Dustin drifted off into a restless sleep.

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Blake tapped her foot nervously as she leaned against a wall. Floyd stood a foot away from her with a phone in hand. After some convincing Sam had allowed Mike, Floyd and Blake a supervised phone call to ensure their parents wouldn't come looking for their kids. Both boys had refused to leave Will's bedside but eventually with enough coaxing Floyd went over to make a phone call as Mike lingered behind claiming his parents wouldn't worry.

Not wanting to leave Floyd alone with one of the scientists, Blake said she'd go along and so Blake stood in a hallway with a lab worker and Floyd. As soon as Floyd's phone call ended the boy let out a breath and lent forward, forehead pressing against the wall.

The redhead was by his side in a moment. In the last year Blake had found a soft spot for the children, in particular Floyd and Will. Will for obvious reasons as for Floyd, well he and Blake just seemed to naturally gravitate towards one another. One day in summer when Blake felt as though she couldn't spend another night at her other friends and was planning to bunk in her car, Floyd offered her his place. His parents were travelling to New York for a few days to visit Judith's mother. Originally Floyd intended to spend the days at his cousins' house but when he heard from Scarlett that Blake was being stubborn about sleeping arrangmetns he invited Blake to stay with him.

It didn't take long for Blake to consider Floyd her little brother, after all she had more in common with him than she did with her own twin sister.

Blake rested a hand on Floyd's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. In response Floyd's head lulled slightly to the side and the smallest smile tugged on his lips in thanks.

"Are you two done?" The scientist huffed before sipping his coffee, causing small droplets to get stuck in his overly big moustache.

While Floyd nodded, Blake shook her head. She turned to Floyd. "Do you know Scar and Dustin's phone number?" Blake asked, the girl always struggled with her memory. Remembering phone numbers, formulas, etc... was hell for her. Therefore the teenager always carried a small notebook with her with phone numbers in case she ever needed to call someone. Sadly she did not have the notebook on her because her hospital gown did not have pockets.

Luckily Floyd had an excellent memory and silently dialled the number to the Henderson house. The phone rang once. Twice. Thrice. With a groan Blake hung up and she and Floyd followed behind the annoyed scientist.

Back in Will's room the boy had seemingly fallen into a restless slumber and Mike had passed out on his chair, a small blanket covered his chest. Floyd returned to his seat and cuddled into his own blanket while Blake watched the three kids with her arms crossed, she craned her neck to see Bob trying to calm Joyce down.

In all honesty Blake had expected Bob to react very badly to the whole situation but he seemed to be holding up well. As well as any of them at least.

"Blake?" Sam peeked into the room and the three adults turned to face the man. Sam gestured for Blake to follow him and the redhead cast a last glance at the three kids before she turned to follow Sam out.

"Want me to go with you?" Joyce asked sweetly, effectively softening Blake's features. Even with the little money Joyce had she had offered Blake a permanent home on multiple occasions, Blake however had always refused. Not because she didn't love the Byers, she just didn't want to impose and cause them to grow tired of her. Still that did not stop Joyce from mothering Blake whenever she could.

While Blake would love to have a maternal figure with her, one look at Will was enough to make Blake softly shake her head. Will needed Joyce more than Blake did. "No, I'll be okay."

It was then Bob's turn to ask, and while it was truly sweet. Blake would rather not have her boss with her and so she shook her head and follow Sam out the door.

A few other doctors pressed some sensors to Blake's forehead as others took her blood pressure and yet another blood sample.

"So Blake," Sam started, looking up from his notes. "Are you feeling any different?"

Blake stared back at the man. "A little constipated sure, but otherwise no. Like I've already said a million times, I'm fine," Blake breathed out, moving to sit up on the hospital bed. She didn't get far before Sam gently rested a hand on her shoulder and eased her back down.

The man sighed and looked at her for a second, making Blake huff impatiently. "Blake," Said young woman looked at the doctor with pursed lips. "We are doing everything we can to help Will but I need to make sure that whatever's happening to him isn't happening to you."

"It isn't!"

"You mentioned you had a vision of a storm, Blake," Sam quipped back yet his tone remained soft. "Will said the same thing a few days ago..." Sam studied Blake's face closely. "Now I don't want to scare you, your vitals until now have been normal for someone who has faced trauma..."

"That's because Will has a connection to the Upside Down," Blake said. "Ever since we were there he has always been more affected by it, I don't know why but he has."

After Blake's vitals turned out to be normal, Sam gave her the good news and Blake was finally given some scrubs to change in to after Sam decided they had done enough tests. Blake tied her hair up into a ponytail and gazed out of one of the small windows. The earliest rays of sunlight had started to appear in the distance.

"Blake," Said girl turned to look at Sam and raised a brow. "Scarlett has been cleared and is waking up." After being rescued from the Upside Down, Scarlett and Hopper had been thoroughly cleaned and received medical assistance. Scarlett whilst still in quarantine had undergone surgery for her hand.

Slowly Scarlett opened her eyes before closing them again and letting out a groan. "Hey," Blake whispered as she carefully cradled Scarlett's uninjured hand, a grin tugging on her lips.

Scarlett winced before prying her eyes open and sneaking a glance at her right hand. Her heart fell and Scarlett closed her eyes and threw her head back into her pillow. Not even a second passed before Scarlett remembered her saviour and she sat up, making the world spin and Sam pass her an emises basin. Bile tickled Scarlett's throat but the brunette pushed it back down and let out a breath.

"Hopper, is he okay?" She asked.

"Hopper is quite alright, he's still in quarantine. But he's looking good," Scarlett's brows furrowed together and her mouth opened, ready to ask a million questions. Sam held up a finger however. "Blake will explain in a moment, in the meantime you can have these," He handed her some glasses and looked at his watch, noting he was late for his meeting. "These aren't your prescription, but they're close to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have tone somewhere." Sam gave them a fleeting smile and nod before rushing out.

Scarlett turned to her best friend with a questioning look and so Blake started the long explanation. When Blake arrived at the point where she had experienced a vision at Henderson house, Scarlett gave Blake a lecture.

Dressed in blue scrubs Scarlett was finally allowed out of quarantine. Her right hand was coated in a cast that reached just past her wrist and covered her fingers. Gauze had been wrapped around Scarlett's arm from her wrist to her elbow. Underneath it all Scarlett's hand was three screws richer.

As Joyce went to talk with some doctors, the rest of the group huddled by Will's side. Mike and Floyd had perched themselves on either side of Will's bed while Blake, Scarlett and Bob spread out over the room.

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Morning arrived far too early for Steve who had barley slept in the Henderson living room and it wasn't due to Dustin's surprisingly loud snores. With a grunt Steve stood up from the couch, put away the blankets he had used before putting on his jeans. Afterwards he went to Scarlett and Dustin's shared bathroom where he grabbed Scarlett's hairspray and worked on styling his hair.

After 15 minutes Steve went downstairs and had a quick breakfast with Dustin where they made a plan. They would go to the store, buy some meat to lure Dart. They would gather the meat in one pile which they would dose is gasoline and set on fire. Dustin promised that he had a good location in mind before the duo set off towards downtown with some supplies in the back.

Steve pulled up at the dirt rode where Dustin said and the two brunets got out of the BMW and walked around towards the trunk which Steve opened. The two quickly took two buckets and put on some bright yellow rubber gloves before grabbing the discounted cow meat and dumping it in the buckets.

The two were abut halfway when Dustin's walkie-talkie crackled to life, the faint voice of Lucas coming through. "Dustin! This is Lucas. Do you copy? Dustin?"

Dustin sighed and answered. "Well, well, well, look who it is," He grumbled.

"Sorry man," Lucas replied sincerely. "My stupid sister turned it off.

Annoyed Dustin recalled how Erica had answered the walkie the previous day, indicating that Lucas was not lying. He missed the days before Erica developed an attitude. "Well, when you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped," Nervously sparing Steve a glance. "And I'm pretty sure he's a baby demogorgon.

"Wait, what?!?!?!" Lucas exclaimed from the other side.

"I'll explain later," Dustin hastily replied. "Have you seen Scarlettby any chance?" Dustin closed his eyes, hoping, praying that Lucas would say yes.

However Lucas did not provide the answer that Dustin wanted. "No, why? Did something happen to her?"

Dustin felt Steve's eyes on him as he bit his lip. "I don't know, I haven't heard from her in two days," Dustin let out a breath before recomposing himself. "Meet me and Steve at the old junkyard.

The mention of Steve caused a frown on Lucas' face. "Steve?"

Yet Dustin ignored Lucas' question while Steve slung his backpack over his shoulders. "And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket."

"Steve Harrington?" Lucas questioned again, whilst Dustin didn't answer Lucas, the boy received his answer when he heard the Steve Harrington's voice.

"All right, let's go," Steve urged as he set the two buckets on the ground and closed the trunk of his car before locking it.

"Just be there, stat! Over and out." With those words, Dustin got off his walkie-talkie and picked up his bucket and jogged to catch up to Steve who had already started down the tracks.

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The group in Will's room had the constant beeping of his heart monitor as company. On a tiny couch in one of the corners, Blake and Scarlett had huddled up together to try and get some sleep in. The two girls were cuddling with Blake's arms around Scarlett and Blake's head on Scarlett's shoulder.

The way the two girls lay there reminded Scarlett of the night Blake came out to Scarlett. The girls had been 15 and Scarlett had noticed that Blake spent a lot of time staring at Nancy Wheeler. It went on for two months before a crying Scarlett asked Blake if the redhead wanted to be best friends with Nancy instead of Scarlett.

It resulted in a nervous Blake trying to explain that she liked Nancy, liked Nancy in the same way Scarlett had liked Jonathan the year before. And while Sarlett didn't fully understand how a girl could like another girl in that way, Scarlett opened up her arms for Blake. The two watched '9 to5' that night.

A similar event transpired one year later when Blake told her parents and twin sister. Only then it wasn't Scarlett who had gone to Blake as she cried, it was the other way around. They watched 'Blue Lagoon' that day.

Now neither of them cried and they watched young Will Byers in a hospital bed instead of a chic flick.

Meanwhile Joyce and Bob stood near the two teenagers on the couch and exchanged hushed whispers. "They made me sign,        like, a thousand documents," Joyce licked her lips, trying to find the words to justify her actions to the man she loved. "I mean... we all had to. We had to. I mean, I lost track at a certain point," Joyce kept glancing up at Bob before looking away again. "They're gonna make you        do the same. I'm sure."

Bob, who had been staring at Will looked back to Joyce. "Yeah. Well, hey, whatever," He offered her his best reassuring smile before he realised what Joyce had actually said. "What kind of documents?"

"Uh, confidentiality, and there were these official forms saying, like, nothing ever happened, which is why..." Joyce trailed off, craning her neck to gaze at her sleeping son.

"Will got lost in the woods," Bob realised earning a 'yeah' from Joyce. Bob shook his head in disbelief. "Man, I always thought stuff like this   happened in movies and comic books. Certainly not in Hawkins,  and certainly not to someone like you," Gently the man put his hands on Joyce's upper arms.

Joyce's lips tugged up and she rested a hand on Bob's chest. "Or you."

"Yeah. Bob Newby, superhero," Bob chuckled quietly, earning another smile from Joyce. A shaky deep sigh left Bob's lips.

"You cold?" Joyce requested, her gaze instantly contorting to from a worried look.

Bob shook his head. "Uh, just a little jitters, I guess," His answer didn't ease Joyce's worrying and he gently rubbed her arms. "Hey, don't you start worrying about me." While Joyce gave Bob a reassuring nod, her eyes gave her away. "Okay? I'm fine," The man grasped Joyce's hand. "I'm fine. It's not like you didn't warn me," Bob snickered, easing Joyce's features ever so slightly. "'This is not a normal family.' Isn't that what you said?" Bob tilted his head at Joyce.

"Yeah."

"You weren't kidding." Bob chuckled again. "It kinda makes my idea of moving to Maine     sound a little less crazy, right?" Bob wondered out loud.

Immediately Joyce shook her head. "Oh, it... it's not crazy at all." Joyce allowed her mind to wander, they could build a new life in Maine together. The four of them could become a normal family there, Will wouldn't live in the shadow of what happened to him and Jonathan could attend collage near them.

The daydream was interrupted by a tiny fragile voice. "Mom?" Immediately Joyce gasped and rushed to her son's side while Bob stepped towards the door.

"Is there a doctor? We need a doctor!" Bob called, effectively waking the others in the room.

Floyd's head snapped up and he winced at the stiffness in his neck and brought up a hand to rub his neck. The curly haired boy forgot the pain in his neck however as he leaned forward to gaze at Will who was staring at Joyce with a blank expression.

"Sweetie, how you feeling? You okay?" Joyce brushed some of Will's hair from his forehead.

"It's okay, doctor's coming." Bob moved to stand beside Joyce, arm sneaking around her shoulders. The man looked down at the boy in the hospital bed. "Hey."

With a few grunts Blake and Scarlett scrambled off of the couch, stretching their limbs as they strode towards the bed and stood on Floyd's side.

Will's eyes found Bob's but there was no recognition on his face. The Byers boy looked back to his mother. "Who is that?"

"What?"

Bob let out some uneasy chuckles as Scarlett and Blake shared a bewildered look."It's me, big guy. It's Bob," Bob murmured, glancing at Joyce and her son.

The name Bob didn't seem to ring any bells for Will who stared at Bob. "Are you a..." Will eyed the blue scrubs that clung to Bob's big frame. "Doctor?"

Desperately Bob tried to hide the pain in his voice. "No. No, it's just me. Just... just Bob," He whispered, voice strained.

"How are you feeling?" Floyd asked, edging towards the edge of his seat in order to be as close to Will as he could. Will moved his head to look at Floyd, there was a faraway look in Will's eyes which hinted at Will remembering Floyd, yet Will's face still didn't display much emotion.

There came no answer as Will's eyes drifted from Floyd's face to Scarlett, and Will looked at the eldest Henderson the same way he had looked at the middle Henderson. But when Will turned to look at Blake his eyes narrowed.

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Within a few moments multiple doctors piled into the the room and Sam took Floyd's seat. The middle Henderson now stood between Blake and Scarlett with Scarlett's broken hand resting in Floyd's hand.

"Do you know your name?" Sam wondered, clicking off the flashlight he had just shone in Will's eyes.

"Will."

"Your full name?"

"William Byers," Will answered monotonously.

"Do you know... Do you know who I am?" Sam frowned at the young boy, awaiting an answer.

Will closed his eyes as he tried to remember. "A doctor." He replied.

"Have me met before?" Sam persisted.

That Will could not answer as he shrugged lightly. "I don't remember."

Sam hummed. "You don't remember me?" Will shook his head and Sam pressed his lips together in thought. "Okay," A beat passed before Sam turned in his chair slightly and pointed his pen at Mike. "How about, uh... how about this guy here? Know who that is?" Sam looked back at Will who seemed to be racking his brain searching for what should be an easy answer. "It's alright. Take your time," Sam assured.

Mike reached out, grasping Scarlett's other hand. The young woman peered down at Mike for a second before giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"That's my friend," Will breathed out. "Mike," Will looked at Floyd next, the stare set Floyd's skin on fire as anxiety took over in his brain. "And that's Floyd."

"What about her?" Sam pressed, pointing at Scarlett. "Do you know her?"

A minuscule nod was the answer Sam received as Will worked on remembering the name. "Scar." That was strange, Will had only called Scarlett Scar the first year they had known each other. After that one year Will basically always called her Scarlett.

"Do you know my full name?" Scarlett questioned, setting a tiny step towards Will's bed. Will however shook his head to everyone's surprise.

"What about her? The redhead?"

Again when WIll's eyes settled on Blake they narrowed, resulting in the group around him exchanging a few glances. "No," Will simply said.

Hopper bent over a little so he was more in Will's line of sight. "What about me, kid? You remember me? They tell me you helped save me and," Hopper looked back at Scarlett. "Scar last night. You remember what happened."

Will looked away from Hopper and back at Sam. "I remember they hurt me," He spat with a grunt.

"You mean the doctors?" Sam requested.

Slowly Will's face twisted into a spiteful look. "No. The soldiers," Will hissed.

"How did the soldiers hurt you?" Scarlett piped up.

Will didn't look at Scarlett nor did he answer her. "They shouldn't have done that. It upset him."

The image of the monster in the middle of the storm flashed in Blake's mind and she gasped softly as Sam produced a Polaroid of Will's drawing of the monster. "You say, 'Upset him.' Is that him?" Will gave a curt nod which made a lightbulb pop up above Sam's head.

Moments later a glass box with a vine was wheeled into the room and a man stood next to it, a blowtorch in his hand.

"Okay. Okay, I wanna try something. It's gonna seem a little odd at first, but I think it's really gonna help us         understand what's going on," Sam gave the man the go sign and the blowtorch turned on and was slowly brought closer to the vine. "Is that okay?" Sam stared at Will who nodded. The blowtorch inched closer and closer to the vine when the vine started screeching. "Do you feel anything?" Sam demanded.

Sweat beads formed on Will's forehead. "Little sting."

"It stings? Where?" Sam asked as the screeching of the vine intensified.

Will grunted loudly, his hand clawing at his chest. "My chest."

"Okay, son," Sam huffed and the blowtorch inched closer to the vine as Joyce whispered small assurances for Will. "How about now?" The skin of the vine started to colour pink and blister.

"It... it burns!" Will suddenly cried out. "It burns!"

          The blowtorch didn't stop as Will continued to scream louder than the vine. "Where?" Sam questioned.

'Everywhere!" Will hollered, throwing himself back into his pillows. A sob escaped Floyd's lips and he spun around, burying his head in Scarlett's neck.

"That's enough. That's enough!" Joyce cried, but the blowtorch didn't stop.

Blake charged forward towards the man with the blowtorch. "HEY!" The redhead grasped the man's shoulder, pulling him backwards. Sadly the man was significantly stronger than Blake she did little to stop him.

Hopper leaped forward towards Will, holding down the boy as he sent a dark glare towards the man who tried to shrug Blake off. "Stop! You heard her! That's enough!That's it! We're done!"

Only at Hopper's words did the man stop and Blake whisked the torch away from the man. "Sexist pig," She grumbled. The man reached out to take back the blowtorch but Blake squared her shoulders, raised her jaw and stared into the eyes of the man silently daring him to try her.

"It's okay, let her be," Sam said, and once more the blowtorch man listened to a man and left Blake alone and took a large step away from her.

The beeping of the heart monitor was still erratic as Joyce rushed to her son to try and comfort him. "Sweetie... sweetie, it's okay," She sniffed softly.

a/n:
whoop okay a lot of things happening lol, i do think i'll wrap up s2 in like 2 chapters
and then maybe i'll do like 2 bonus chapters + a social media chapter before we move
on to s3!! and i am excited to share my plans!! also can we talk for a moment about the
fact that blake and steve have the same type in women? they are that meme where the person's like
'if ur into men here's my number, if ur into women here's my friend's number.' hahaha

funny post

this is going to happen/has happened istg
date published:12 june 2022
word count: 4674