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June 28, 1984

Night - Russian Lab

A team of Russians were building a device, electronic and biomechanical, that would be able to open the Gate.

Several scientists, including one named Alexei, were watching from behind glass in a cordoned off room.

Alexei and another scientist used two keys to turn the device on, trying to start it up and tear a hole into the wall and open a Gate, as the machine roared to life, electricity sizzling all around it, shooting into the wall, cracking the cement wall.

The entire building started to shake, making everyone look around.

The machine started to shut down, failing, while the cement sealed itself back up, preventing the Russians from opening the gate. Electricity exploded out from the machine, killing the several men that were standing around the machine, electrocuting them to death.

A general, a Russian man named Grigori, Alexei and the other scientist walked down the steps toward the machine and the wall, looking at the charred bodies of the guards on the ground around the machine.

The general put his hand against the wall, disappointed that it had sealed itself back up.

The scientist spoke in Russian. "Comrade-General. We are close. You can see. You can see our progress. We just need more ti--"

(Song:) The Red Army is the Strongest - The Rest Army Orchestra

Grigori grabbed the scientist by the throat, strangling him, lifting him in the air, dangling his feet off the ground, choking him to death.

The general walked up to Alexei. "You have one year."

The general walked away.

Alexei watched him go nervously, speaking in Russian as well. "Yes, Comrade-General."

Grigori let the body of the scientist fall to the ground.

∰

Outside

Grigori and the general walked outside, bundled up from the cold of Russia.

(Song Ends)

∰

Worlds Colliding (Stranger Things)

∰

One Year Later (Now)

Day One

Night - Hopper's Cabin - Eleven's Room

(Song:) Never Surrender - Corey Hart

The camera panned across Eleven's room, showing books that she was using to speak a little better over the summer since the events of book 2.

Eleven and Mike were sitting on her bed, making out passionately.

Mike started to sing along to the song on the radio. "And nobody wants to know you now." He thrust his arms like drumming on air, making Eleven jump back in amusement and confusion. "Nobody wants to show you--"

Eleven put a hand over his mouth to stop him. "Mike. Mike, stop! Stop."

Mike took her wrists in his hands, pulling them off his head. "So if you're lost and on your own..."

Eleven laughed. "Mike! Stop! Mike! Mike!"

Mike continued to sing. "You can never surrender."

Mike growled.

Eleven laughed. "Stop."

"What, you don't like it?" Mike asked.

"No," Eleven answered with a laugh.

They continued to kiss.

∰

Living Room

Hopper was in the living room, eating chips and salsa grumpily as he watched TV, able to hear the music from Eleven's room. He leaned back in his chair to peak into Eleven's room, seeing that Eleven and Mike were making out. "Hey!" Eleven and Mike looked toward the door. Eleven thrust her hand toward the door, using her powers to shut it. "Hey! Three inch minimum!" Hopper placed his snacks aside, standing, running to Eleven's door, trying to open it. "Leave the door open three inches! El, open this door. Open the--"

Hopper opened the door.

Mike and Eleven were sitting separately on Eleven's bed, laying down, having comics in their hands that they were "reading".

"What's wrong?" Mike asked, giving a smile.

Hopper glared at Mike.

∰

On the Road

Mike was riding his bike down the street, talking with Eleven via walkie talkie. "My God, that was priceless. Did you see his face?"

Still in her room, Eleven laid down on her bed, smiling. "It was like a tomato!"

"Yeah, a fat tomato," Mike agreed.

"I wish I was still with you," Eleven admitted.

"I know," Mike told her. "Me too. But I'll see you tomorrow, all right? First thing."

Eleven nodded. "Tomorrow."

(Song Ends)

∰

Starcourt Mall - Outside

The new, brightly lit mall was teaming with people going in and out.

Mike rode his bike up to where Hailey, Niko, Will, Lucas and Max were waiting for him by the front door of the mall.

"You're late," Niko told him.

Mike parked his bike. "Sorry."

"Again," Lucas agreed.

"We're gonna miss the opening," Will told them.

"Yeah, if you guys keep whining about it," Hailey agreed. "Let's go."

Lucas mocked Hailey. "'If you guys keep whining about it. Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh'."

"Just please stop talking, dude," Will told him.

They walked toward the front door.

∰

Inside

The party (minus Eleven and Dustin) walked in.

Niko looked at Mike. "Let me guess. You were busy with El."

Lucas made kissy noises to mock Mike.

"Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas," Mike told him sarcastically.

Lucas continued to mock. "Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends.'"

"Lucas, stop," Max told him.

"Will thinks it's funny," Lucas told them.

Will chuckled. "Because it is."

"Yeah, it's so funny that Mike wants to spend romantic time with his girlfriend after he got El back last year," Hailey told them sarcastically. "And Lucas gets to spend romantic time with his girlfriend Max and Niko gets to spend romantic time with his boyfriend Will."

Max chuckled. "Oh, Hailey, feeling a little left out?"

Hailey scoffed. "No. Why would I be feeling left out?"

"Don't worry," Max told her. "Dustin's gonna be back soon."

"I've told you guys before, and I'll tell you guys again," Hailey told them. "Dustin and I are not together."

Lucas went back to mocking, teasing. "'Dustin and I are not together'. Even though he's been crushing on you forever and you basically show that you like him by hitting him in the head every time you get the chance, Hailey. Not as bad as Mike with Eleven, I'll give you that, but..."

Hailey gave Lucas a shove. "Shut up, Lucas."

Niko, Mike, Lucas, Will and Max laughed, while Hailey rolled her eyes. They walked down the escalators, cutting past people as they did.

"Excuse us," Niko told them. "Sorry, sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry."

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," Max apologized.

"Sorry," Will said.

Once reaching the bottom floor, they continued on their way. Mike bumped into a girl as they did.

"Watch it!" the girl complained, walking away.

Erica was sitting with her friends, eating ice cream. "Yeah, watch it, nerd!"

Lucas gave his sister a look. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Isn't it time you died?" Erica asked.

Lucas continued walking away with his friends. "Psycho."

Erica turned to call after Lucas. "Butthead!"

Lucas turned to call back to Erica. "Mall rat!"

"Fart face!" Erica replied.

Lucas blew a raspberry.

Max grabbed Lucas by the arm to pull him along. "Oh, now that was mature."

The members of the party walked by a fighting class that Nadia had set up, seeing that Nadia and Ruby were practicing inside.

Nadia gave her a look. "So you told Billy about your powers?"

"No, I didn't just tell him," Ruby answered. "I've been using my powers to make us both sane for over a year now, and since our craziness is actually genetic, it likes to come back and I have to repeat the process. So he's seen my nose bleed a lot, and he asked about it, and one time, he saw me start to lose control of the light energy beam, and I told him. Just about me, Nadia. I swear. He doesn't know about you, Niko, Natasha, El. He doesn't even know about Steve, Hailey, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, Max, Joyce, Jonathan, Nancy and Hopper being all caught up in it."

Nadia sighed, nodding. "Okay. All right. At long as it stays that way."

Nadia tried to punch Ruby. Ruby ducked, pushing her arm away, hard enough to make her spin and face her again, trying to kick her in the face. Nadia raised an arm to block the move, catching Ruby's arm as she tried to punch her, still having hold of her leg as well, using the to flip her through the air. Ruby managed a spin through the air to land on her feet in a crouch, looking up, smirking, standing, spinning to backhand punch Nadia in the face, punching her twice in the chest and stomach. Nadia kicked her back, trying to flip her to the floor. Ruby spun free of the restraint, trying to kick her twice and punch her in the face. Nadia ducked both kicks, catching Ruby's arm when she tried to punch. Taking Nadia by surprise, Ruby punched her in the side, pushing her back, spinning to kick her. Nadia ducked, spinning to kick Ruby. Ruby caught her leg, flipping her through the air, though Nadia back flipped through the air to land on her feet, spinning to kick Ruby back.

Nadia and Ruby would have kept training, if Hailey, Niko, Will, Lucas, Max and Mike hadn't started cheering, calling their attention away from their mock fight. Nadia and Ruby turned their heads to see the kids, smirking slightly, chuckling.

"Hey, kids," Ruby told them. "Here to see Mama Steve and Papa Nadia?"

Nadia gave her a sarcastic look. "You're so very funny, Ruby."

"Hey, don't blame me," Ruby told her. "Hailey's the one that started calling you two that, and El, Niko, Will, Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Max are the ones that started to copy Hailey."

"Whatever," Nadia replied.

Ruby looked at the kids. "And I would've won that round if you kids hadn't started all that noise."

"Yeah, nice to see you, too, Ruby," Max told her sarcastically.

Mike chuckled. "You're getting better."

"Yeah, my leg's not busted, I'm learning to fight better because of Nadia, so I don't have to rely on my power all the time since that can easily get out of control with my anger issues," Ruby mused.

"Not to mention the fact that you were originally insane, and your insanity/madness power lets you ease the craziness in your own head little by little," Nadia added. "And you've been using that on you and Billy for the past year."

"I see you're having fun with your fighting classes though, Nadia," Niko told her. "And with teaching Ruby how to fight and how to control her powers better. You should feel lucky that Hailey gave you the idea to start to teach a fighting class here."

"And I do," Nadia agreed, taking a drink of water. "Thank you, Hailey. It was really helpful, and I loved the idea. Not only do I get to help Ruby, but I get to help other kids like you. I mean, Mama, Niko and I got to teach you how to defend yourself and look at you now. And look at Ruby now after a year of training after her leg got better."

Hailey smiled. "Well, I'm glad that I could help, Nadia. And I'm glad that I'm the one that gave you the idea for the fighting classes, since I'm the first one outside your family that you taught and mentored. And not to mention you're like an older sister/mother/father to basically all of us."

Nadia nodded sarcastically. "Oh, really?"

The kids laughed, saying things like "Totally", "Definitely", "Oh, yeah", "Absolutely", etc.

Ruby smirked smugly. "Told you."

"Shut up, Ruby," Nadia replied.

Ruby chuckled. "Anyway, after all that training, I could go for ice cream."

Nadia nodded in agreement. The kids smiled.

∰

Scoops Ahoy (Ice Cream Parlor)

Nadia, Ruby and the kids walked into the ice cream parlor of the mall, where Steve and his coworker Robin worked.

"Hey, Nadia, Ruby," Robin told them. "You guys had training pretty heavy today, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Nadia answered. "Hey, Robin."

"Could you get us our usual?" Ruby asked.

"Sure," Robin answered, turning to get their ice cream.

"Hi, Robin," Will told her.

"How is our favorite Scoops Trooper doing?" Niko asked.

Steve called from the back room. "I heard that."

Robin smiled. "My baby boys, always nice to see you."

Ruby called into the back room. "Hey, Steve! Your and Nadia's children are here!"

Nadia rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me?"

Ruby and Robin smirked.

Steve opened the doors/windows behind Robin, giving the kids, mostly his sister Hailey, a look. "Seriously? Again?"

Hailey gave Steve a smug look, smirking, ringing the bell on the counter. "Yep. We need you, Steve. Some assistance from the mom of the group? Crazy Aunt Ruby and the dad of the group, Nadia, already provided us kids entertainment in the form of training. It's your turn."

Steve gave her a look. "Hailey."

Hailey smiled, patting the bell a few more times to ring it, doing a little rhythm with ringing the bell, nodding in amusement to the beat.

Robin smirked, handing Ruby and Nadia their ice cream, enjoying every minute of Hailey taunting/teasing Steve and Nadia.

Ruby smirked, starting to lick her ice cream.

Nadia rolled her eyes, giving Hailey a look, tilting her head, licking her own ice cream. Steve sighed, giving in.

∰

Back Hallway

Steve snuck the kids through a secret hallway, watching them walk down the hallway. "Come on, come on. I swear, if anybody hears about this--"

Hailey, Niko, Will, Mike, Lucas and Max all finished as they walked down the hallway, "We're dead."

Steve sighed, walking away.

Niko whispered to Will. "So do you kinda get a vibe out of Robin?"

"Oh, yeah," Will answered. "We should hang out more with her."

Niko nodded in agreement. "Definitely."

∰

Movie Theater Hallway

The kids snuck in.

Mike looked around. "All clear." They walked down the hallway toward the movie theater they wanted to go to, which was the Day of the Dead. They walked into that movie showing, going to sit down, starting to watch. "See, Lucas? We made it."

"We missed the previews," Lucas told them.

"Still made it, fart face," Max replied, teasing Lucas by calling him what Erica called him, smiling.

Will and Niko went through their bags, handing out the snacks that they snuck in, looking at each other, smiling.

The movie started, but soon after, it cut off and faded to black, causing everyone in the movie theater to complain.

∰

Everywhere in Starcourt Mall

Power started to shut down everywhere in the mall.

Erica looked up in confusion. "The hell?"

∰

Scoops Ahoy

Ruby and Nadia were still here to eat their ice cream while talking with Steve and Robin while they worked when the power went on.

Steve looked up. "That's weird."

Steve tried to flip on the light switch.

"That isn't gonna work, dingus," Robin told him.

"Oh, really?" Steve asked, aggressively flipping the light switch on and off repeatedly.

Ruby gave him a look. "Are you fucking serious?"

Nadia chuckled.

∰

Townwide

All the power in town was turning off, leaving Hawkins in a town wide blackout as power grids failed across the town one by one.

∰

Brimborn Steel Works

The camera slowly panned into the steel works, as an amorphous mass very similar to the Mind Flayer's form was slowly coalescing, chasing any all the rats surrounding it away.

∰

Townwide

Power was seen to be restoring all over town.

∰

Starcourt Mall

The power was turning back on.

Erica, with her friends, eating ice cream, shrugged.

∰

Scoops Ahoy

Steve turned the light switch on just as the power was restored, looking at Nadia, Ruby and Robin smugly. "Let there be light."

Nadia gave Steve a sarcastic look, while Robin and Ruby exchanged a look and smirked.

∰

Movie Theater

The power returned and allowed the movie to continue playing, causing everyone in the movie theater to cheer.

Max and Lucas looked at each other and smiled.

Niko and Will shared a look and smiled as well.

Will, however, felt the presence of darkness returning to Hawkins, though he didn't know what it meant yet, becoming very serious, almost looking scared, as he flashed back to the time of seeing the Mind Flayer and being possessed by him, raising a hand to touch the back of his neck.

Niko noticed the change, concerned. "Hey. You okay?"

Will snapped out of it, nodding. "Yeah."

"Are you sure?" Niko asked.

Will nodded, swallowing, determined to believe that what he felt meant nothing. "Of course."

Everyone went back to watching the movie.

∰

Day Two

Morning - Byers House - Jonathan's Room

(Song:) Open the Door - Gentlemen Afterdark

Nancy and Jonathan had fallen asleep in bed together.

Nancy bolted upright when she woke up. "Shit." She checked the time on her watch. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"

Jonathan sat up. "What's wrong?"

"It's almost 9:00," Nancy answered.

Jonathan looked at the clock on the table next to him, which said 12:00. "What?"

"We forgot to reset the clocks," Nancy reminded him. "The power went out last night, remember?"

"Oh, shit!" Jonathan complained. They both ushered out of bed and hurried to get dressed. In doing so, Jonathan tripped and fell to the floor. "Whoa!"

∰

Outside

Nancy threw her shoes out of the window, climbing out, picking up her stuff, running across the lawn.

∰

Inside - Living Room

Jonathan walked out of his room, dressed for work.

Joyce walked toward him. "Hey, hey, hey. Wait up."

"Oh, no, I'll eat at work," Jonathan told her. "I'm late."

Joyce reached out to wipe a lipstick mark off of Jonathan's cheek. "Your cheek."

Jonathan chuckled, but in a rush, backed away. "All right, all right, I gotta run. See you later."

"All right," Joyce agreed.

Jonathan turned around, running out of the house.

∰

Kitchen

Will was sitting at the table for breakfast, having seen Jonathan on his way out. "Gross."

Joyce walked in, smiling, sitting at the table with him. "Well, I don't think you're gonna think it's gross when you fall in love." Will looked up. "Speaking of, are you and Niko..."

"If that's your way of asking if we said that yet, no," Will answered. "Nice try, Mom." Joyce chuckled. "And in any case, at least Niko doesn't have lipstick to smear on me."

Joyce smiled, tilting her head in acknowledgement. She looked past Will, frowning, standing, walking toward the fridge. "Hey, what happened here?"

"I don't know," Will told her.

Joyce knelt down to pick magnets up from the floor, along with the stuff that they were supposed to be holding up to the fridge, putting them all back up. One of them was a drawing Will had made for Bob with a cape, flying in the sky, with the words "Bob Newby, SUPERHERO"

∰

Outside

Joyce walked outside to see Natasha there. "Hey, Natasha."

Natasha chuckled. "Hey, Joyce. I saw Nancy jumping out of Jonathan's window. You aware of what was going on?"

"I'm aware," Joyce answered. "Jonathan's not good at lying, and Nancy's not good at hiding. But I'm okay with it. And I'm okay with Will and Niko."

Natasha chuckled. "Right, yeah. Niko's the happiest he's ever been, and Will's a main reason why."

"Well, Niko and Ruby are the only reasons I still have Will, after what the Mind Flayer did to him, so I am more than okay with our sons dating, Natasha," Joyce told her.

Natasha chuckled. "Yeah."

"And with that Ruby girl being included, now that she's making sure that she's better, mind wise," Joyce added.

"Yeah, I think we all are," Natasha agreed. "To be completely honest, I think that the only two real weaknesses out of us that the Mind Flayer could have had, besides me and Nadia, are Niko and Ruby, because of Nikolai's fire power, and Ruby's energy beams, which are basically as hot as the sun. And I think that's why Niko and Ruby were able to work together to get the Mind Flayer out of Will, even though they were in two different places when it happened, before El closed the gate so that we don't have to worry about it anymore."

Joyce nodded. "Thank God for that."

Natasha noticed that Joyce was holding magnets. "What are you doing with those?"

"Oh, they just fell off the fridge, and I guess they lost their magnetism, so I was gonna throw them away, but took the trash out last night, so came out here," Joyce answered.

Natasha frowned. "That's weird."

"It is weird," Joyce agreed. "I don't know why, it's just I've been focusing on that lately. Maybe it's because Will and Jonathan are always gone with Niko and Nancy. I'm so happy for my sons, Nat, but seeing them with relationships like that..."

Natasha nodded sadly in understanding. "It reminds you of losing Bob."

"Yeah," Joyce answered sadly.

"It's okay, Joyce," Natasha assured. "It took me a very long time to heal from losing my husband when he sacrificed himself to save me, Nikolai and Nadia. And now I get to watch Niko be happy with Will, and Nadia's denying that she has a thing with Steve..."

Joyce chuckled. "Yeah. Maybe our luck will turn around."

"I hope so," Natasha agreed. "I'll see you later."

Joyce nodded in agreement. "Bye."

Natasha walked toward her car, opening the door, getting in, closing the door, starting the engine, revving it a little before driving away.

∰

On the Road - Jonathan's Car

Jonathan was driving.

Nancy was in the passenger seat, doing her makeup. "Can you please drive faster?"

"Do you wanna break down?" Jonathan asked. "We're lucky this thing still drives at all."

"I'm serious, Jonathan, I can't be late," Nancy told him.

"You mean we can't be late," Jonathan corrected.

Nancy shook her head. "No, I mean I can't be late. They like you no matter what you do."

"Hey, they like you too," Jonathan told her.

Nancy scoffed. "Yeah, they like that I'm a coffee delivery machine. They don't actually like me or respect me as a living, breathing human with a brain."

"Wait, you just--you just gotta be patient, okay?" Jonathan asked. "They're set in their ways, you know? But once they realize what a gifted writer you are, they'll come around."

"I really don't need a Jonathan Byers pep talk right now," Nancy told him. "Can you just... please drive faster?"

Jonathan sighed, driving faster. "Okay."

Going in the opposite direction as they passed Jonathan's car, Claudia and Dustin were driving.

Dustin was trying to speak through his walkie talkie. "This is 'Gold Leader' returning to base. Do you copy? Over. This is 'Gold Leader' returning to base. Do you copy? Over. I repeat, this is 'Gold Leader' returning to base. Do you copy? Over. I repeat, this is goddamn 'Gold Le--'!"

"Dusty!" Claudia chided.

"What?" Dustin asked.

"Relax, for goodness sake," Claudia told him.

"I'm in range," Dustin told her. "They should be answering."

"You've been away a whole month, honeybun," Claudia told him. "Maybe they just forgot."

Dustin looked worried that they could forget, looking hurt.

(Song Ends)

∰

Henderson House - Outside

Claudia pulled up the car, parking in the driveway.

∰

Inside - Dustin's Room

Dustin sat down on his bed, looking at his pet turtle. "At least someone's happy I'm home."

All of Dustin's electronic toys spontaneously started to go off on their own, walking or beeping. Dustin, in shock, stood, alarmed. All the toys started to leave the room in procession, seemingly by their own volition.

Dustin grabbed his spray bottle of hairspray before starting to follow the toys.

∰

Hallway

The toys all led Dustin down the hallway.

Dustin was following slowly. "This is just a dream. You're dreaming."

Max, Lucas, Will, Niko, Hailey, Eleven and Mike were hiding behind the kitchen wall. Eleven had her eyes closed, and her nose bleeding, revealing that she was using her technopathy power to make the toys go off and lead Dustin into the room to surprise him.

Hailey looked at Eleven, smiling. "Now."

Eleven opened her eyes, and made the toys stop moving, making them power off. Dustin walked toward the toys, kneeling down to check on them.

The rest of the party stepped out of hiding from behind Dustin, with Lucas standing in front holding a sign that said "Welcome Home Dustin!", while Hailey held up her hand and used her fingers to count down from three. They all blew party blowers in their mouths.

Dustin, scared out of his mind, spun to face them, screaming, spraying Lucas in the face with the hairspray, much to the shock and alarm of the rest of the party.

∰

Pool

(Song:) Rock This Town - Brian Setzer

The town pool was filled with people having fun.

Ruby walked along the outside of the pool, wearing sunglasses, wearing a one piece swimsuit as opposed to the last time that she could go swimming.

Four women, including Karen, were sitting in lounge chairs, relaxing. Karen was drinking from a New Coke can with a straw.

Another woman looked toward the female lifeguard, Heather. "Ladies, she's coming down."

(Song Ends)

(Song:) Moving in Stereo - The Cars

The four women watched as Heather climbed down, getting themselves comfortable and looking better in their suits.

The woman that had spoken held up a compact mirror. "And... showtime."

Billy walked out of the locker rooms for his lifeguard shift, wearing sunglasses, smoking a cigarette.

All the teenage girls or cougar women were watching Billy longingly, lusting.

Ruby saw Billy, smirking, taking her sunglasses off, putting the tip between her teeth, biting her lip a little.

Billy saw that a chubby kid was running, blowing his whistle. "Hey, lard ass!" Everyone at the pool froze. "No running on my watch! I gotta warn you again, and you're banned for life. You wanna be banned for life, lard ass?" The kid shook his head. "Didn't think so." Billy blew his whistle again, and everyone returned to having fun. Billy walked by the women. "Afternoon, ladies."

The women said, "Afternoon, Billy."

Billy walked by, walking toward the lifeguard seat, seeing Ruby on the way, slowing to a stop to talk.

Ruby looked toward where the kid Billy called out was walking in shame, looking at Billy. "You may be less crazy now, but you can still definitely be a dick. Isn't that right, Billy?"

Billy scoffed a laugh. "Hi to you too, Ruby. And you're one to talk about being less crazy and still being able to be a bitch."

Ruby shrugged. "True. And literally no one calls me Jinx anymore, when I used to prefer it, but now I don't even care that they call me by my real name."

Billy smirked. "That's a good thing, isn't it? You said that you preferred to be called by Jinx because your foster parents from the past used to say that they would make you bleed like a real ruby because of your name. But if you don't mind it now..."

"Am I over it?" Ruby asked. "Not really. But I've gotten used to it."

"Pretty sure you got used to swimming in the day when other people were around, too," Billy pointed out.

Ruby shrugged. "I've gotten used to a lot of things that I used to hate."

Billy chuckled, pulling himself up onto the lifeguard seat.

Ruby watched him for a moment, biting her lip, smirking, turning away, putting her sunglasses down on a bench, and went to go swim. Billy watched her curiously, taking off his sunglasses, chuckling.

(Song Ends)

∰

Police Station - Outside

Natasha drove up to the station for work, pulling her car over, getting out.

Hopper was standing by his chief truck.

"Hey," Natasha told him.

"Hey," Hopper replied. "You busy?"

Natasha shrugged. "I work here in the station with you, partner. You're the Chief of Police. You tell me."

Hopper chuckled. "Well, since we took care of things last year, thanks to you, Niko, Nadia, Ruby and El, and even Steve, Hailey, Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Max, things are really slow right now, so I'd say that we're good. Just kinda needed to talk, Natasha."

Natasha sighed. "What now? It's always something with you, Jim."

Hopper laughed sarcastically, pointing to the station. "Talk inside? My office?"

Natasha nodded. "Sure."

∰

Inside - Hopper's Office

Hopper and Natasha were sitting on either side of the desk, talking.

"And then El, she just... slams the door," Hopper explained. "Right in my face."

Natasha chuckled. "Uh-huh."

"You know, it is that smug son of a bitch, Mike," Hopper told her, going to smoke a cigarette. Natasha stood, taking the cigarette out of his mouth like she had done before, tossing it down on the desk. Hopper was so used to that that he wasn't even bothered, and went on with the situation like it was just something part of their routine. "He's corrupting her, I'm telling you. And I'm just gonna lose it. I mean, I am gonna lose it, Natasha."

Hopper went to eat a donut.

Natasha took the donut away, turning to put it down on the table against the wall, grabbing an apple. "Just take it down, Hopper."

Natasha turned to face Hopper, handing him the apple.

"I need for them to break up," Hopper told her.

Natasha pointed at him, leaning against the desk with one arm as she picked up a second apple. "That is not your decision."

Natasha took a bite.

Hopper took a bite of his own apple. "They're spending entirely too much time together." He stood. "You agree with me about that, right?"

"I normally never agree with you about anything, because then we'd both be wrong like 99.99 percent of the time," Natasha told him. Hopper, knowing she was joking, sighed. "And I mean, they're just kissing, right?"

Hopper stood, walking around the desk toward her. "Yeah, but it is constant. It is constant." Natasha smirked in amusement, taking another bite of her apple. "Okay, that is not normal. That is not healthy. I mean, is it normal for Niko and Will?"

"Nikolai and William are two boys having come to the realization that they aren't like other people, and having to keep their love life a secret from most of the world because people aren't so accepting about people being gay, Hop," Natasha told him. "It is completely different than El and Mike."

"Okay, what about Nadia?" Hopper asked. "She's the good one, mostly antisocial except for having Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and Ruby as her only friends, and she's not in a relationship. So Nadia's not stressing anyone out by being in a relationship."

Natasha chuckled. "No, but Nadia's having her own denial about possibly having feelings for Steve, even though Nancy told her that it was okay, and practically anyone can see that they both like each other. That's one of the main reasons why Hailey started to call Steve and Nadia the parents of the kids last year."

"Steve's a troublemaker, so if Nadia won't be the one to kill him, or you, I would," Hopper told her.

Natasha couldn't help but laugh lightly. "You're so protective of me, Niko and Nadia, and El, but you have to realize, that we can protect ourselves, and we know what we want and what we can do."

"So you're saying that Niko is fine with Will, Nadia's not testing waters with Steve, and I can't stop El from seeing Mike?" Hopper asked.

"Yeah," Natasha answered. "You can't just force them apart. I mean, they're not little kids anymore, Hop. They're teenagers. And Nadia's almost an adult, just like Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and Ruby." Hopper was pacing, tossing his apple up in the air repeatedly to catch it. "If you order them around like a cop, then they're gonna rebel. It's just what they do. Remember that Niko and Nadia are super spies and no one can tell them what to do. And you shouldn't do it to El, either."

"So what, we're just supposed to let them do whatever they want?" Hopper asked.

"No, I didn't say that," Natasha answered. "I think you should talk to El and Mike."

Hopper shook his head. "No, no, 'cause talking doesn't work."

Natasha made herself some coffee, turning to face Hopper. "Not yelling. Not ordering. But talk to them." Hopper tossed his apple into the trash. "You know, like a heart to heart."

Hopper turned to face her. "A heart to heart? What is that?"

Natasha turned to face him an amused look. "I'm the Russian ex-super spy who's been brainwashed and was supposed to have a heart of ice, and yet I'm the one that knows about a heart to heart conversation and you don't? Wow, Jim. Just wow."

"Nat, just tell me," Hopper told her. "I'm floundering here."

"You sit them down and you talk to them, like you're their friend," Natasha answered. "I find if you talk to them like you're on their level, then they really start to listen."

"It works with Niko and Nadia?" Hopper asked.

"Yeah," Natasha answered.  "But they're fine with their own love lives, Jim. Or Nadia's lack of one. I mean, they're not out of control."

Hopper sighed. "Not like El and Mike."

"Well, once you talk to them, you could start to create some boundaries," Natasha suggested.

Hopper leaned against the wall. "Boundaries."

"Yeah," Natasha answered. "But, Hop, it's really important that no matter how they respond, you stay calm. You cannot lose your temper."

Hopper tapped his fingers on the wall. "Uh, maybe you could do it for me?"

Natasha chuckled, shaking her head. "No."

Hopper walked toward her. "Yeah, you could. Yeah, you could. You come over after work. Yes."

"No," Natasha disagreed. "It only works it if comes from you. You're El's adoptive father, so you have to do it."

"But El always listens to you," Hopper pointed out. "She relates to you, Niko and Nadia, not just because you all have powers like Ruby, but because Niko and Nadia were taking care of her and offered her a place to stay two years ago, and you were taking care of El like a mother when she, Nadia and Niko went into the Void, so she got close with all of you. She listens to you more than she does with me."

"Okay, fine," Natasha said. "Compromise."

"What?" Hopper asked. "What compromise?"

Natasha pointed a finger into Hopper's chest. "I won't talk to El and Mike for you, but maybe I can help you find the right words."

Natasha sat down, grabbing a pen and paper. Hopper leaned over her shoulder to look at what they would be writing.

∰

Street

(Song:) Working For a Living - Huey Lewis and the News

Nancy was walking quickly down the street.

∰

Hawkins Post

Nancy was hanging out coffee and lunch to everyone in the office, walking into the developing photo room.

Jonathan turned to stop whoever came in. "Oh, no, no, no, no! Nancy!"

Nancy winced. "Sorry."

Nancy walked out of the office, closing the door, walking through the Post to continue handing everything out.

(Song Ends)

Nancy walked toward a meeting of men which included Tom Holloway, passing out everyone's orders, as they were talking over each other to talk about ideas for the paper.

"I hear there's a beauty pageant at the fair this year," a man named Bruce told them.

"Yeah, I'm looking for above the fold here, Bruce," Tom told him.

"Then clearly you haven't seen Lucy Lebrock," Bruce mocked. "Because I'm not sure she'll fit above the fold."

The men all laughed, besides Tom.

Tom was all business. "Fellas! In six hours, we go to print. I need something real."

"Oh, I think they're real," Bruce told him.

Nancy was about to leave, but turned back. "What about Starcourt?" The men all looked at her. "I--I was just... thinking... I mean, I know everyone loves the mall, but... how many small businesses have closed since it opened? Like five on Main, at least. It's changing the fabric of our town in a way--"

Bruce pointed at Nancy. "The Death of Small-Town America." Nancy nodded. "I like it. I like it a lot." Nancy smiled. "But I think I've got something even spicier." Bruce turned his burger toward Nancy to show her that something was missing. "It's about the missing mustard on my hamburger." Men all around the table started to laugh mockingly. "You think you can follow the clues and solve the case of the missing condiment, Nancy Drew?"

Nancy was humiliated by the mockery of Bruce and the other men, taking the burger. "Sorry."

Bruce looked at the man sitting next to him. "Look out, Phil, she might be after your job."

Nancy turned around, walking out.

∰

Henderson House - Kitchen

Lucas had his head in the sink, running water over his eyes to wash out the spray. "Ow, ow, ow, ow."

Lucas stood.

Max looked at him in concern. "Better?"

Lucas wiped his eyes. "Still stings." He pointed to Max's forehead. "Is that a new zit?"

Max raised her eyebrows as if to ask 'oh, really?' "What is wrong with you?"

"I was just asking," Lucas said.

Max took Lucas by the head, dunking his head into the sink under the water again. Lucas let out a dramatic scream.

∰

Dustin's Room

Dustin was showing Hailey a device, spinning it around. "I call it... the Forever Clock. All right? Powered by wind. Very useful in the apocalypse." He handed it to Hailey, who held it cautiously. Dustin picked up another device with a hammer head. "Then I give you... the Slammer." He laughed. "Pretty neat, huh?" He grabbed a bag. "But this? This is my masterpiece." He put the bag on the floor, and they both knelt down to look in the bag. "I would like you to meet... Cerebro."

Hailey frowned in confusion. "What exactly am I looking at here?"

"An unassembled one of a kind battery powered radio tower," Dustin answered.

"So it's a--a ham radio?" Hailey asked.

Dustin smiled. "The Cadillac of ham radios. This baby carries a crystal clear connection over vast distances. I'm talking North Pole to South. I can contact the friend I made up at Camp Knowhere whenever and wherever I choose."

"And this friend is..." Hailey trailed off.

"Suzie," Dustin answered. "She's actually one of the reasons why I got super determined to ask you something."

"Ask me what?" Hailey asked.

"Well, we went to the Snow Ball together last year, but we never really got the chance to say that we were ever officially together, since you and Steve left town for a little while with your parents, and then when you came back, I had to leave to go to Camp Knowhere," Dustin pointed out. "Right?"

"Right," Hailey answered. "Dustin..."

"Hailey," Dustin replied. "I'm like super nervous, so can you just let me finish what I was saying before I chicken out again?" Hailey sighed, nodding. "Would you like to go on another date with me, like to the fourth of July carnival? They're starting to set it up now, and I know that if we can sneak in one of these nights, that can have some fun. And I've waited almost a year to ask this... but will you be my official girlfriend?"

Hailey was blushing a little, hiding a smile by pressing her lips together, but the smile faded when she heard something from the hallway, knowing that others were listening, rolling her eyes, speaking loudly enough to make sure that they heard her. "How about no?" Dustin frowned in confusion. Hailey whispered to him to explain. "They're listening, just go with it."

Dustin looked toward the door, nodding in agreement, mouth agape, before he started to go with it, speaking loudly enough to make sure the others heard. "Can I get a yes? If you don't fall in love with me after the date, I'll leave you alone."

"Will a maybe cut it?" Hailey asked.

"No," Dustin answered.

Hailey and Dustin were laughing quietly because they knew the others were listening but not knowing that the two knew that they were listening and that they were playing a prank on them.

Hailey went along with their prank. "Maybe, if it'll get you to shut the hell up and leave me alone." She stood, making her way over to the door quietly. "Come on, we have more important stuff to do right now, Dustin, you know, with the party, our friends, since you just got back." She ripped the door open, scaring the other party members outside of the door. "Who we know are listening!"

Will and Mike had been leaning against the door to listen, both falling over when Hailey ripped open the door. Niko and Eleven helped Will and Mike up, and Lucas and Max walked over, all of them laughing.

Dustin nodded sarcastically. "Nice going, assholes. You blew my shot at asking Hailey to actually be my girlfriend."

Will, Niko, Mike, Eleven, Lucas and Max pretended to be surprised and that they weren't listening. "Girlfriend?"

Hailey gave them a look. "Oh, don't even." They smiled sheepishly. "And they didn't blow your chance, Dustin."

"What do you mean?" Dustin asked.

Hailey looked between all of them pointedly, before looking at Dustin, smiling. "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

Dustin's mouth fell open happily in surprise. Will, Niko, Mike, Eleven, Lucas and Max all looked at them in surprise but happy for them. 

"Yeah?" Dustin asked.

Hailey smiled, nodding. "Yeah."

Will, Niko, Mike, Eleven, Lucas and Max all started to cheer and laugh, applauding.

Dustin picked Hailey up in a hug, spinning her around, causing her to laugh in shock, before putting her down. "I knew I could get get Hailey Harrington to say yes."

"Don't make me change my mind, dweeb," Hailey told him teasingly.

Dustin smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Lucas did a handshake with Dustin. "I knew you could do it, dude."

Dustin gave him a look. "No, you didn't. You used to tell me all the time Hailey would never wanna be my girlfriend."

Lucas shrugged.

Max chuckled. "Looks like all the party's paired up now."

Will smiled. "Yeah."

Niko gave Hailey a hug. "Happy for you, Hailey."

Hailey smiled. "Thanks, Niko."

"Oh, but Dustin, remember, if you hurt Hailey, you won't just have to deal with Steve or Hailey kicking your ass, or Nadia," Niko told him, using his power to let fire rest in his hand to prove his point.

Dustin nodded nervously. "Got it."

Will took Niko's hand, making him let the fire fade. "He's joking. Right, Niko?"

Niko nodded unconvincingly. "Right." He looked at Dustin, shaking his head. "Not."

The rest of the party laughed.

Will and Mike did a handshake with Dustin too.

"Proud of you, Dustin," Will told him.

Eleven hugged Hailey. "Happy for you, Hailey."

Hailey smiled. "You too, El."

Dustin remembered his Cerebro, picking it up. "Oh, but I did want to do something together as a party since it's my first day back, and we can use my new device."

"Contacting who?" Hailey asked. "Your friend Suzie from Camp Knowhere?"

"Yeah, she wanted me to radio in after I asked you out and asked you to be my girlfriend to make sure that I actually did it," Dustin answered. "Making sure that I didn't chicken out again."

"You told this girl from camp about Hailey?" Max asked in amusement.

"Girls go to science camp?" Will asked.

"Suzie does," Dustin answered. "She's a genius. Let's go."

They all walked out together.

∰

Starcourt Mall - Scoops Ahoy

(Song:) Sailor's Hornpipe - Brian Gulland, Richard Allen Harvey

Steve was serving some girls, giving them ice cream. "All right, one scoop of chocolate. That's a buck .25. Anything else?" One of the girls gave Steve money, and Steve looked at her college shirt. "Ooh, Purdue. Fancy."

The girl smiled. "Yeah, I'm excited."

Steve typed into the register. "Yeah, you know, I considered it, Purdue, but then I was like, you know what? I really think I need some real life experience, you know, before I hit college, see what it feels like, not to mention taking care of a younger sister Hailey since our parents are always gone. Kinda like, uh, I don't know, see what it's like to earn a working man's wage, you know? Uh... Oh, I'm sorry. I think that's like, really important."

The girls were clearly not caring. "Yeah, totally."

Nadia walked over from her fighting class, seeing Steve trying to flirt with the girls, shaking her head, rolling her eyes.

Steve took out their change. "Yeah, anyway, this was, like, so fun. We should kind of like, you know, I don't know, maybe hang out this weekend or..." He accidentally dropped change at the girl. "Oh, sorry about that. Uh... I don't know. Maybe next weekend or..."

"Yeah, I'm busy," the Purdue girl told him.

Steve nodded. "Oh, that's cool. I'm... I'm working here next weekend, so... the following weekend's better for me."

"Uh, no," the Purdue girl told him. "I'm sorry, I can't. Okay, thanks."

"I..." Steve trailed off. "This is... my first day here."

The two girls walked away. Steve sighed, rolling his eyes.

Nadia smirked, walking closer. "And another one bites the dust." She called back into the backroom behind the windows. "How many has he lost now, Robin?"

Robin appeared from next to the windows, holding a white board, which had a cart labeled "You Rule" / "You Suck", with five tally marks under "You Suck", and none under "You Rule". She added another tally mark under "You Suck". "Oh, Popeye's oh-for-six, Nadia."

Steve nodded sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah, I can count."

"You know what that means?" Robin asked. "You suck."

Steve nodded. "Yep, I can read, too."

Nadia smirked. "Since when?"

"It's this stupid hat," Steve complained. "I am telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature."

Robin put the board behind the wall. "Yeah, company policy is a real drag."

Nadia looked at Steve, shrugging. "You know, it's a crazy idea, but have you considered... telling the truth?"

"Oh, you mean that I couldn't even get into Tech and my douchebag dad's trying to teach me a lesson by having him and mom always out of town so that I'll have to learn real responsibility by taking care of Hailey on my own for real this time without help of their money, I make three bucks an hour, and I have no future?" Steve asked. "That truth?"

"Oh, I have an even crazier idea," Robin told him. "Why don't you give up this competition to prove me, Ruby and Nadia wrong about the fact that we told you that you couldn't get a girl to go out with you, and you actually ask someone that knows you and likes you for who you are?"

"Yeah, like who?" Steve asked.

Robin gave Steve a look, looking at Nadia, scoffing. "You two are oblivious or in denial or something else." Steve and Nadia were about to retort, before Robin saw girls approaching. "Hey, 12 o'clock."

Steve turned to look at the group of girls. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit." He turned back to Robin and Nadia. "Okay, uh... I'm going in, okay?" He pointed at them, taking off hit hat, tossing it at Nadia, who swatted it away with a hand. "Screw company policy."

Nadia gasped mockingly, sarcastically. "Oh, my God, you're a whole new man."

Steve shook his head sarcastically. "Right? Ooh." Nadia smirked. Steve turned to face the girls. "Ahoy, ladies!" The girls gasped. "Didn't see you there. Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I'll be your captain. I'm Steve Harrington." The girls laughed at him. "Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee? No? Anybody? Banana Boat? Four people, four spoons? Share it in the booth? Anybody? It's hot out there."

Nadia rolled her eyes, turning to Robin. "Oh for seven."

Robin nodded in agreement, rolling her eyes at the two, turning to add another tally mark to the board under "You Suck".

(Song Ends)

∰

Police Station - Hopper's Office

(Song:) She's Got You - Patsy Cline

Hopper was sitting at his desk, reciting from the letter that he and Natasha wrote, as Natasha sat in front of him. "I know this is a difficult conversation to have... but I hope you know that I... care about you very much. And I know that you..."

Natasha pointed at her eyes. "Eye contact." Hopper sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. "Go ahead, keep rolling your eyes. Maybe you'll find a brain back there."

Hopper scoffed a laugh at that, which Natasha intended, making both smile.

Hopper sighed, continuing. "And I know that you... both care about each other very much." He stopped, shaking his head. "This does not sound like me at all."

"Just keep going," Natasha told him. "Come on."

Hopper sat back, continuing. "Which is why I think it's important to establish these boundaries... moving forward."

Hopper took a peak at the letter.

Natasha reached out to stop him, her hand resting on his. "No looking. You know this. Come on."

Hopper looked up. "So we can build an environment... uh, where we... all feel comfortable and trusted and open..."

Natasha helped him with the next line. "Share our feelings."

"To sharing our feelings..." Hopper trailed off, giving up. "This isn't gonna work." He shook his head, standing up. "Um, it's not gonna work. It's not gonna work."

"Yes, it will," Natasha told him. "I promise. Come on."

Hopper sat on the desk next to Natasha's chair. "Maybe I'll just kill Mike. I'm the chief of police, you're a Russian ex super spy. We could cover it up."

Natasha hit his hand lightly. "I'm not helping you with anything like that. And like you said, super spy right here. I could easily stop you from hurting Mike. You got this. I promise."

They shared a long look.

"You wanna have dinner tonight?" Hopper asked unexpectedly. Natasha gave him a surprised, amused look, chuckling. "You can give me some more pointers."

Natasha took a deep breath. "Um, I'm supposed to have dinner with Niko and Nadia tonight, since we hardly see each other anymore, and even less of each other when things are going on. So gonna try and keep things normal for a little while, keeping up with the weekly dinner."

Hopper nodded in understanding. "Okay, sure. Yeah, I get it. I would do the same with El. Kinda do."

Natasha nodded barely. "Yeah."

Before they could talk more, they heard Powell's voice from the main room. "Chief, Natasha, you in there?"

"Chief?" Callahan asked. "Natasha?"

Hopper groaned under his breath, rolling his eyes. Natasha smirked, chuckling a bit as they looked at each other with small smiles and shook their heads.

(Song Ends)

∰

Field

The party were all walking in the field, up a hill, while Mike and Eleven were all over each other behind everyone.

"Aren't we high enough?" Hailey asked.

"Cerebro works best at a hundred meters," Dustin explained.

"You know, I'm pretty sure people in Utah have telephones," Max told him.

"Yeah, but Suzie's Mormon," Dustin explained.

"Oh, shit," Lucas said. "She doesn't have electricity?"

"Oh, that's the Amish," Niko told him.

"What are Mormons?" Will asked.

"Super religious white people," Dustin answered. "They have electricity and cars and stuff, but..."

Mike and Eleven stopped walking.

"Hey, guys!" Mike called. They all turned back. "This is fun and all, but, uh..."

Mike pointed at his watch.

"I have to go home," Eleven told them.

"We're almost there," Hailey told them.

"Sorry, guys," Mike told them. "Curfew." He turned to lead Eleven back down the way they came. "Come on, let's go."

Eleven looked at the others. "Good luck."

Eleven left with Mike.

"Curfew at 4:00?" Dustin asked skeptically.

"They're lying," Lucas told him.

Will rolled his eyes. "It's been like this all summer."

"It's romantic," Max said.

"It's getting old," Niko told them.

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

"Well, their loss, right?" Hailey asked. "Onwards and upwards."

Lucas and Max both groaned. 

Will chuckled. "Hey, Niko, don't you have your dinner with Natasha and Nadia again tonight?"

"Yeah," Niko remembered. "I still have time before I have to head back though. Let's go."

They all started up the hill again. Will hesitated before following, touching the back of his neck.

"Will, come on!" Dustin called.

Will ran up to follow them.

Rats were scurrying across the ground behind him.

∰

Brimborn Steel Works

From all around the town, rats were congregating at the Brimborn Steel Works, where they exploded gruesomely.

∰

Town Pool

(Song:) Hot Blooded - Foreigner

Ruby was doing the background stroke in the pool. Billy was watching her, putting his whistle to his lips and tongue, blowing the whistle. Everyone else who wanted to jump in did. Ruby climbed out of the pool, running her hands through her soaked hair to pull it back. She walked toward where her stuff was, picking up a cassette player and headphones to play a song.

(Song Ends)

(Song:) Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar

Billy walked toward her. "Looking good out there, Ruby." He handed her a towel. "Perfect form."

Ruby took the towel, holding it in her hand, sighing. "Yeah, probably the first time I've been swimming in public in broad daylight since the accident, and it's because of this suit."

Billy chuckled. "Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you that I like it."

"Well, of course you would," Ruby replied. "After you caught me swimming here that one time and I told you that I couldn't afford a new suit, let alone a one piece, this magically appeared in my motel room. You wanna explain that?"

Billy smirked. "Mm, sounds like you have an admirer."

Ruby looked at him in amusement. "Sounds like. You went from straight up asshole to a more tolerable, less insane asshole who became a lifeguard and teaches little kids swimming lessons, and even being nicer to Max. Still kinda crazy though."

Billy chuckled sarcastically. "Ha ha, very funny." Ruby smirked. "You're less bitchy lately, less crazy too, even if not completely better. And you're the reason why. I've been meaning to thank you, for helping with that. The madness, the sanity, whatever." Ruby nodded. "I can't believe that you..."

Ruby looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Shh."

Billy chuckled. "I know, I know. Let's just say the sun as some competition for who's hotter. It, or you. Your light thing."

Ruby smirked. "Very smooth. But it's called a psychic energy beam. I used to call it a light ray, so don't feel bad."

Billy nodded in amusement. "Got it. You know, speaking of lessons, I could teach you if you'd like. I know all the styles. Freestyle, butterfly, breast stroke."

Billy put his whistle to his lips again.

Ruby smirked, clearly affected by the way that he could still get to her, trying to appear unaffected, pressing her lips together. "So how did I go to having perfect form to needing lessons?"

"Well, swimming wasn't exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned perfect form," Billy told her.

"Oh, really?" Ruby asked sarcastically. "Mm, and you'd know 'perfect forms' so well because..."

Billy gestured to himself. "Have you seen mine?"

Ruby couldn't help a smirk, biting her lip. "I've seen. And to be clear, not that great at swimming because I avoided it whenever I could since..."

"Since the accident and the scars," Billy finished. "But pretty sure that I could help with getting over how you feel about that. Make it a little more comfortable. Somewhere where you don't have to hide. Come to think of it, there is a good pool out at a Motel 6 at Cornwallis. It's very quiet, you know, very private. But you would know that, wouldn't you, Jinx? Since that's the motel you're staying at. Shall we say tonight? 8:00?"

Ruby looked down, considering, placing her hands slightly over her sides where the scars would be. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Do what?" Billy asked. "Have fun or stop hiding when you have nothing to hide? Gorgeous body." Ruby couldn't help but laugh, blushing lightly. Billy smiled. "Ruby Charlize can blush. I didn't know that was something I could achieve."

Ruby chuckled sarcastically. "You know, Billy, I've been fine my entire life with what you call 'hiding', and I'm doing just fine with swimming. I don't think I need to stop hiding or need lessons."

Billy nodded, unconvinced. "Oh, you see, I think you do, for both. I just don't think that you've had the right teacher or the right person to help you out. It will be the workout of your life. Might possibly change it too." Ruby heard all the double meanings and innuendos, as neither she or Billy could help small smiles. "Or we could skip the swimming and go out and do something fun."

"Like what?" Ruby asked.

Billy shrugged. "You tell me."

Billy and Ruby smiled.

(Song Ends)

∰

Starcourt Mall - Outside

Nadia was walking through the parking lot, toward her car.

Steve walked outside to get to his car, which was parked nearby Nadia's. "Hey, Nadia. Going home already?"

"Yeah, my last class for the day just let out," Nadia answered. "And Ruby's not coming tonight so that we can train. Besides, tonight I have--"

"The dinner with Niko and Natasha, right?" Steve asked.

"Yep," Nadia answered. "You have to get home to Hailey, right?"

"Nah, the kids are all gonna be with Dustin today, so won't see Hailey for a while, and you probably won't see Niko until like right before the dinner with Natasha," Steve answered.

Nadia smirked. "Oh, Dustin's back tonight? I'm sure you're thrilled about getting the chance to see your little buddy again soon."

"Oh, not so thrilled if he and Hailey are gonna be--" Steve started.

Nadia chuckled. "Steve, Dustin's not gonna hurt Hailey. Hailey would kill him if he did. So you can stop pretending like you're not super psyched to see your little friend again." Steve tried to hide a smile. "Yeah, see?"

They laughed lightly.

"You took off from Scoops pretty soon after you showed up again," Steve pointed out.

Nadia nodded. "Yeah, had to get back to a class. And you were still trying to prove me and Robin wrong about not being able to get a date from another girl that you didn't know."

"You, Ruby and Robin questioned my manliness," Steve defended himself. "I'm gonna try and prove you wrong, Nadia."

"Oh, really?" Nadia asked. "Because each date you tried to get, you bombed. And I've seen you be smooth with Nancy, but you weren't smooth with any of those girls you asked out. It's like you were trying way too hard." Steve looked down, pressing his lips together. Nadia looked at Steve in realization. "Or not trying hard enough. You were throwing the game." Steve tried to deny that but couldn't. "Why?" Steve looked at Nadia, a little nervous, not knowing what to say, stammering a bit. "Steve?"

Steve took a deep breath, shaking his head. "I wasn't throwing the game. Maybe I'm just off my game."

Nadia looked at him skeptically. "Really?" She did a little teasing/taunting. "The great King Steve Harrington off his game?"

Steve shrugged. "Yeah, it happens." They shared a long look, both sighing. "See you tomorrow, Nadia."

Steve walked away to his car. Nadia was left stunned, confused about her own feelings and Steve making her more confused, sighing, rolling her eyes slightly, before turning to go to her own car. They both got in, stealing glances at the other before driving away in separate directions.

∰

Field

Hailey, Dustin, Will, Niko, Lucas and Max made it to the top.

Hailey sighed. "Made it."

"Yeah, only took five hours," Max told them sarcastically.

"Why couldn't we just play D&D?" Will asked.

Lucas reached for the water. "I'm so thirsty."

Lucas gulped down the water as Max watched.

Max gave him a look. "Did you seriously just drink the rest of our water?"

Lucas spat some of the water back into the jug, offering it to Max. Max shook her head, walking away.

Niko sighed. "Guys, I can't stay. I have to head back."

"What?" Dustin asked. "No, you promised, Niko."

"Yeah, that was before I knew that it would take five damn hours to get up here," Niko replied. "Look, the sun's about to set. I need to get home."

"Niko's got that dinner with Nadia and Natasha," Will reminded him. "Dustin, come on."

Dustin sighed. "All right, damn it."

"Sorry, Dustin," Niko told him. "I gotta go."

"I know," Dustin sighed, disappointed but understanding. "All right, say hi to Nadia and Natasha for me."

Niko nodded in agreement. "You got it."

"Hey, Niko, I can walk you back," Will told him. "I have to check in with my mom anyway. She still gets paranoid where I'm out at if it's too late."

Dustin sighed, nodding. "Okay. I guess. Later, Will."

Hailey waved, smiling. "Bye, Will, Niko."

Will and Niko waved back. "Bye, Hailey."

"See you guys," Lucas told them.

"Lucas, Max, try not to drive them too crazy," Niko told them.

Max laughed sarcastically. "Hilarious, Niko."

Niko and Will smiled, walking down the hill together.

Hailey turned to Dustin. "All right, let's put this thing together."

Dustin smiled. Dustin, Hailey, Lucas and Max spent the next few hours putting the Cerebro together, which involved a lot of parts, coils, springs, etc.

Dustin smiled. "Pretty impressive, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Max answered.

"Ready to meet my friend?" Dustin asked.

"Am I ready to meet over the radio, the friend of yours that convinced you to finally ask me out on another date and to be your official girlfriend?" Hailey asked. "Why not?"

They all chuckled, sitting down.

Dustin spoke through the handset. "Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over. One sec. She's probably... she's still there. Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over." Lucas and Max were extremely bored. "I'm sure she's there. It's just... you know, maybe she's, like, busy or... Niko was right, it's around dinnertime." Lucas, Max and Hailey nodded, making sounds of agreement. "Suzie, do you copy? This is Dustin. Over. Suzie, do you copy? This is Dustin. Over."

∰

Woods

Will and Niko were making their way back, talking, smiling, holding hands.

"So are you sure you don't wanna stay to eat?" Niko asked. "You can stay over if you want."

Will shook his head. "I'm sure this is a family dinner, and I have to get home."

"Hey, first of all, my family loves you, but I understand," Niko told him.

They stopped.

"I'll come over tomorrow, first thing," Will promised.

Niko smiled. "Well, I don't mind your face being the first thing I see once I wake up."

Will smiled. "God, you are so cheesy."

"You love it," Niko replied, smirking, stepping closer.

Will stepped closer, still smiling. "Not denying or accepting it." They looked at each other for a moment before kissing passionately. Niko put a hand to Will's face to deepen the kiss. Will pulled away. "You're gonna be late."

"You're so responsible," Niko complained.

"Being your boyfriend kinda demands that," Will replied.

Niko smirked. "I love it when you call yourself my boyfriend."

"Yeah, I know," Will said. "Your eye gets all shiny when I do."

Niko pushed him lightly in the shoulder, teasingly. "Does it now?"

"Yeah, it does," Will answered.

"I'll make you breakfast tomorrow," Niko offered.

"You can't cook, remember?" Will asked. "You burned mac and cheese."

Niko scoffed. "The instructions weren't clear."

"You were too impatient to let the water boil, so you used your powers and incinerated them," Will reminded him.

They both laughed.

"So that a yes to me cooking for you?" Niko asked.

"Definitely," Will answered.

"Let's have a date tomorrow," Niko suggested.

"Yeah?" Will asked in surprise, amused.

"Don't say it like that," Niko told him. "I mean, we've had dates before."

"Yeah, but we can't be ourselves because of people," Will pointed out.

"They're ignorant," Niko told him, a little down. "Yeah, I know."

Will wanted to get his mood back up, smiling. "But who cares, right? Let's do it. Let's have a date."

Niko smiled. "Really?"

Will nodded, beaming a smile. "There is that glow. Oh, wait, you're not Ruby."

"You're so funny," Niko told him.

"I know," Will replied.

Will and Niko exchanged a look, kissing again before pulling away, smiling, holding hands, continuing to walk away.

∰

Night - Reed House - Foyer

Natasha walked in. "Hey, Nadia, Niko, I'm home. Guys?"

Nadia walked downstairs. "Hey, Mama. Just got home too, did you?"

"Yeah," Natasha answered. "It's pretty slow at the station, but Hopper needed some help, so I helped him." Nadia walked over to embrace her. Natasha smiled. "Hey, Nadia. Where's Niko?"

"Niko is..." Nadia trailed off.

Niko ran inside, closing the door behind him. "Hey, here. Sorry I'm late. Dustin got back today, and Hailey told me, Will, Mike, El, Lucas and Max that she wanted to surprise him, so we did, and Dustin sprayed Lucas in the face with hairspray, before he asked Hailey to be his official girlfriend."

Nadia smiled. "Dustin finally asked Hailey to be his girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Niko answered.

"What'd Hailey say?" Natasha asked.

"She said yes," Niko answered. "Dustin and Hailey are officially going out." They chuckled. "And then Dustin took us up this hill that took five hours to climb so we could use his Cerebro, and I didn't know that it was gonna take five hours, so I told them I wanted to come home for the dinner, and Will walked me back down, and now here I am."

Natasha smiled. "Sounds like you had a busy night. What about you, Nadia?"

"Just teaching more classes at the mall," Nadia answered. "Hailey's idea for me teaching fighting classes is really taking off. Robin and I teased Steve more. That was about it."

"What, Ruby didn't come to the mall for more training?" Niko asked.

"No, we took the night off because of the dinner," Nadia answered.

Natasha chuckled. "Good. I'm so happy to see you both like this." They looked at her in confusion. "So full of life, no longer in your shells of antisocialness or introversion. Niko, you have an entire party of friends, when you started out with none, and then Will and then Hailey. And you opened up yourself to Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Max. Nadia, you were the same way. Never letting anyone in. Then Nancy and Barb." Nadia looked down sadly at the mention of her dead friend. Natasha looked at her sadly in concern, taking her hand. "And then Jonathan, Steve. Ruby and Robin. I'm happy both of you found the friends that you both deserve. Both of you being close to Hailey and El."

"Yeah," Niko and Nadia agreed.

"We're happy that you're starting to be happy again too, Mama," Niko told her.

"Really," Nadia agreed. The three Reeds smiled. "Come on. Let's eat."

They chuckled, cheering lightly, walking into the kitchen to go cook and eat.

∰

Byers House - Kitchen

Joyce, alone, was making herself some dinner, pouring herself some wine.

∰

Living Room

Joyce sat down to watch some TV.

Man: (on TV) "Bob, who do you want to go next?"

Joyce was saddened by hearing Bob's name on the TV, and let the rest of the voices on it fade away as she started to flash back over her moments with Bob before he was killed by the Demodogs.

∰

Flashback

Night - Byers House - Living Room

Bob and Joyce were cuddling on the couch.

Bob laughed. "Ah, they're funny, don't you think?"

"Yes," Joyce answered.

"I just wish they'd get back together again already," Bob admitted.

Joyce smiled. "Me too."

They looked at each other, smiling, kissing.

∰

Now

Night - Byers House - Living Room

Joyce snapped out of her flashback, returning to hitting alone, sadly mourning and missing Bob. The camera panned over to the kitchen on the refrigerator, as the rest of the magnets lost their magnetism and fell to the floor, along with everything that the magnets were holding up.

∰

Hawkins Post

Nancy was alone, cleaning up trash when the phone started to ring. She walked over quickly to answer it. "Shit, shit." She answered. "Hawkins Post. Um, hold on. I'm... I'm sorry, can you--can you repeat that?"

Nancy wrote down: Diseased rats.

∰

Hopper's Cabin

(Song:) Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon

Eleven and Mike were sitting on the bed, making out once again.

∰

Living Room

Hopper was leaning back in his chair, practicing the speech from the letter. "Why it's important to establish these boundaries...moving forward, so that we can create an environment where... you feel comfortable and trusted and open. Shit." He checked the letter. "To share our feelings." Hopper sighed, getting up, walking toward Eleven's room, knocking. "Hey."

"Yes?" Eleven asked.

"Can I talk to you guys a minute?" Hopper asked.

The door opened a bit more.

∰

Eleven's Room

Mike and Eleven were sitting separately on the bed, facing the door.

Hopper walked in. "Hi."

"Hi," Mike and Eleven replied.

Hopper walked closer, moving a chair in front of the bed to sit down facing them, staying silent for a moment, turning the radio off.

(Song Ends)

Mike and Eleven were waiting for him to speak.

"Um..." Hopper trailed off. "What I, uh... needed to say to you... what I wanted... to say to you... is that, um..."

Mike looked at Eleven, smiling. "Uh-oh. I think we're in trouble."

Eleven smiled, both chuckling.

"No," Hopper said softly. "No, nobody's in trouble, okay? I just, um..." Mike leaned over to Eleven to whisper something in her ear, as Eleven laughed, both being disrespectful and rude. "Uh... you know what? Your mom called."

"What?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, she needs you home right away," Hopper told him.

"Is everything okay?" Mike asked.

Hopper shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It's your grandma."

Eleven glanced between them in concern.

∰

Outside

Hopper led Mike outside.

"Is she dead?" Mike asked.

"No," Hopper answered.

"Did she fall again?" Mike asked.

"No," Hopper answered.

"Does she have cancer?" Mike asked.

They reached Hopper's car.

"No," Hopper answered.

"Then I don't understand," Mike told him. "What's wrong with Nana?"

They got into the car, Hopper in the driver's seat, Mike in the passenger's.

"Nothing!" Hopper answered. "There's nothing wrong with Nana!"

"What?" Mike demanded.

Hopper lowered his voice. "But... there's something very wrong with this thing between you and El."

Mike realized what he did. "Oh, you lying piece of shit!" He tried to get out of the car, but Hopper had the lock on. Each time Mike pulled up the lock to try and open the door, Hopper hit the lock button again to keep him in the car. This happened about ten times. Mike finally gave up, turning to Hopper. "You're crazy!"

Hopper turned his head to look at Mike with wide, crazy looking eyes. "Crazy? You want to see real crazy? You disrespect me again. Okay? Here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna drive you home. And I'm gonna speak... and you're going to listen. And then maybe... maybe by the end of it, maybe if you're lucky, maybe I will continue to allow you to date my daughter." Mike was scared shitless. "Nod if you understand!"

Mike nodded vigorously. Hopper drove them away.

∰

Field

Dustin was still trying to contact Suzie with the Cerebro, sitting with Hailey, Lucas and Max. "Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over. Suzie! This is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

"Dustin, come on!" Max complained. "She's not there."

"She's there, all right?" Dustin asked. "She'll pick up."

"Maybe Cerebro doesn't work," Lucas told him.

"Or maybe Suzie's not there and she'll be home later," Hailey told them.

"And can we please go now since all you've been doing is trying to contact Suzie, and telling us how perfect it is now that you finally got Hailey as a girlfriend?" Lucas asked. "I'm like always used to you saying how perfect Hailey is--"

Dustin blushed in embarrassment. "Lucas!"

Hailey looked at Dustin in amusement, raising her eyebrows. "You kept saying I was perfect?"

"Hailey this, Hailey that, perfect, perfect, perfect," Lucas answered. "Sorry, but no girl is that perfect."

Max sat up to give Lucas a look. "Is that so?"

Lucas, realizing that he said the wrong thing, sat up to fix it. "I mean, you're perfect. I mean, like per--perfect in your own way.  In your special--your own special way. Perfect to me like Hailey's perfect to Dustin."

Max chuckled. "Relax, I was teasing. I'm obviously perfect, and Dustin and Hailey obviously need their own time, just like me and Lucas. I mean, Will and Niko, and Mike and El get their alone time. Why can't we?" She pulled Lucas up with her as she stood. "Come on, Don Juan."

"Where are you going?" Dustin asked.

"Home," Max answered.

Max and Lucas started their way down the hill.

"Dustin, it's okay," Hailey told him. "I mean, like Max said. She and Lucas. Will and Niko. Mike and El. You and me."

Dustin smiled. "You and me."

"Maybe we can go sneak into the carnival that they're setting up for July 4th like you were talking about earlier," Hailey told him.

Dustin nodded in agreement. "I'd like that a lot."

Hailey gave him a hug. "Welcome home."

Dustin chuckled. "Yeah. Welcome home." They pulled away when they heard the distorted radio chatter coming from the Cerebro, exchanging a confused look. Dustin scrambled for the handset. "Shit, shit. Suzie? Suzie, is that you?"

They heard a man speaking Russian over the radio. Dustin and Hailey sat next to the Cerebro, listening to the Russian on the radio, both very confused, looking at each other.

∰

Under Starcourt Mall

Russian Base

The Soviet scientists were here, having once again rebuilt their portal drill underneath the mall, and they were using it to try and reopen the gate to the Upside Down. 

A scientist looked at Alexei, speaking in Russian. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Alexei nodded nervously, watching the ray.

∰

Motel 6 - Ruby's Motel Room

(Song:) I Just Died In Your Arms - Cutting Crew

Ruby was getting ready for her date that night, blow drying her hair after a shower, listening to the song on the radio. She added some dark makeup, picking up her body spray, spraying it over her, combing her hair. She applied dark red lipstick, chuckling, running a hand through her hair. After finishing getting ready, Ruby turned to look at her swim suits, the two piece from before and the one piece from Billy. She put them aside, going through more of her things, finding pictures and paintings from her past.

Billy stood in the doorway, tilting his head as he looked at the belongings curiously in amusement. "So you're into photography and painting." Ruby jumped, turning to face him, sighing. "You are just full of surprises, aren't you, Ruby?" Ruby gave him a look, so he corrected himself with a smirk. "Jinx."

"Jesus, don't you knock, Billy?" Ruby asked, turning back to her stuff, trying to put it all away in a hurry. "Didn't want you to see this shitty stuff."

Billy walked closer to pick up one of the pictures and paintings to look them over. "They're not that bad."

Ruby took them back to pack them away. "You're early. And I didn't want you to see these."

"Hey, if you want secrets and privacy, learn how to close a motel room door and lock it," Billy told her.

"Pretty sure I did, Billy," Ruby told him in honest sarcasm.

Billy smirked, nodding in acknowledgement. "All right, next time, use a lock that I can't pick." Ruby gave him a sarcastic look, sitting down. Billy chuckled, licking his teeth, biting his lip, sitting down. "So Ruby Charlize has a passion."

"Not a passion, a hobby, that I used to have," Ruby told him.

"Oh, used to?" Billy asked in amusement.

Ruby nodded. "Yes, used to."

"That explains why you still have them," Billy told her sarcastically.

Ruby couldn't help a smirk, sighing, giving in. "All right. I took up photography and painting as a way of an escape when I was younger. Back when I wasn't so..."

"Damaged?" Billy finished.

"In a word, yeah," Ruby answered. "I fell for painting and photography. I could take pictures of anything and everything that seemed to make everything seem all right for even a little while. Dark photos helped make me realize that shit could be worse. And the way I could just pick up a paint brush and paint what came to me... it was beautiful."

Billy nodded, impressed, smirking a bit in amusement. "Would you ever paint me something?"

Ruby smirked, teasing. "Well, that's something you'd have to earn."

Billy smirked. "Is that so?"

"That is so," Ruby answered. "It's been years since I picked up a brush. I'm gonna need a reason to pick it up again." They both smirked. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Billy asked.

"You had to have a hobby growing up," Ruby told him. "A passion or whatever you call it."

Billy shook his head a bit. "Ah, I don't know."

"Oh, no, you made me fess up," Ruby told him. "Fair's fair. And remember that I told you about my powers."

"You didn't just come out and tell me, I saw like a dozen nosebleeds this last year, and I saw you lose control of one of the light ray psychic beam things, and then you had to tell me," Billy replied.

Ruby shrugged. "Normally I wouldn't be able to tell you anything. You basically know everything about me, Billy. Like I said, fair's fair."

Ruby held her hands in front of her, letting them glow with golden light to prove her point, but not letting a psychic beam shoot out. Billy watched the light in curiosity, amusement, looking at Ruby. Ruby smiled, letting the light fade, and as a little blood trickled from her nose, she wiped it away.

Knowing she was right, Billy considered whether or not to tell her, and after a moment, he gave in, smirking. "When I was a kid, I surfed. Like you said, it was an escape. It gave me an out, a way to not see what my dad did every day to me and my mom. Back when he didn't beat the naïve child out of me. The one that had hopes and dreams. Back when my mom was still with me before she took off and left me with this asshole that..." He didn't finish, shaking his head in frustration. Ruby looked down knowingly, knowing all too well what Billy meant even without him finishing, biting her lip lightly. Billy settled down again as he thought of a pleasant memory. "I remember a time when I was surfing, my mom was still there, and she watched me surf my biggest wave. Seven feet. And it seemed like for that one moment, things weren't entirely fucked up." They both shared a small, sad smile at thinking of a past where they weren't so dark or messed up, so violent and so forth, when things hadn't been so bad. This time when they shared a moment that let down their walls and showed vulnerability to each other, neither of them pushed the other away, as they just sat there and reminisced and longed for a better life. Billy took a deep breath, trying to change the subject. "All right, that got dark fast."

Ruby chuckled in agreement. "Yeah. You said that we could skip swimming and go out, and considering that neither of us are actually dressed for swimming..."

Billy smirked. "Not all swimming needs to be. Or other activities." Ruby laughed lightly as Billy cheered the mood up again, both smiling slightly. "And if you wanna get out for a while, I'll be happy to oblige." Billy stood. "Come on."

Ruby smiled, standing.

(Song Ends)

∰

On the Road

(Song:) Nothing to Say - Head On

Billy and Ruby were driving in Billy's car, both laughing lightly, having a good time. Ruby reached out to take his hand, and clearly, she was using her power of madness/sanity to make the madness in both of them a bit more easier, making them even more sane, her nose bleeding a bit, wiping it away.

Billy looked at her curiously. "How do you know when to do that?"

"Do what?" Ruby asked.

"Your power," Billy answered. "How you make everything better, how to make it all easier. The craziness, I mean. How do you know when to do it?"

"I can feel the craziness spark up in my head whenever II haven't done it in a while, and so I know it's time to do it again," Ruby answered. "And for you too. Keeps us less violent and out of control, and makes way for better relationships with everybody, including you and Max."

Billy sighed. "Yeah. Max still kinda avoids me, not that I blame her. But it's a lot better between us now than it ever has been."

Ruby chuckled. "Good. Even though both of us still have anger issues, because my power does not fix that."

Billy chuckled. "Right. Listen, Ruby--" Before Billy could go on, just as they were passing by Brimborn Steel Works, something hit the windshield hard and sent the car spinning, making Ruby and Billy hit their heads hard, bleeding from their heads, both reeling from the accident. Billy hit the dashboard. "Oh, no. No, piece of shit." The song on the radio resumed with distortion. Ruby held her head in pain, her vision blurry due to the accident, flashing back to the accident that had killed her real parents and nearly killed/paralyzed her when she was younger, clenching the dashboard very tightly, her knuckles white. Billy noticed her reaction, knowing the big deal. "Ruby? Jinx. You okay?" Ruby swallowed deeply, unbuckling herself, getting out of the car. Billy sighed. "Damn it."

(Song Ends)

∰

Outside

Ruby walked toward the engine to try to get it to start. "Oh, shit. Damn it."

Billy got out of the car, walking toward her. "You're seriously worried about fixing the car after the accident? Ruby..."

"If you're trying to relate what just happened to PTSD from the accident from when I was a kid, I'm fine, Billy," Ruby told him. "Just trying to fix this." She saw goo on the car when she was trying to fix it, frowning in confusion. "What the hell?"

They heard something rush behind them, turning around.

Billy stepped toward the sound, in no mood for games. "Who's there? Hey! I said, who's there?"

Ruby was getting nervous, having a terrible feeling. "Billy..."

Billy was suddenly grabbed by the ankle, pulled toward the Steel Works, as he tried to latch onto the doors to keep him from going inside, yelling. "Ruby!"

Ruby ran to help him. "Billy!" 

Ruby held out her hands, which started to glow with golden light as she prepared to shoot the energy beams, but shadow appeared behind Ruby, wrapping around either of her wrists to stop her, pulling her hard to the ground, making the light beams shoot into the sky instead. Billy was pulled inside the steel works. Ruby struggled against the shadow restraining her wrists, though she was pulled inside as well, leading the fate of Ruby and Billy to be unknown, but in jeopardy, even though one fate for them was far worse than the fate for the other.