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˚⋆ ┊ ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING ┊ ⋆˚
☆⋅⋆ ─ act i. don't you want me, baby?

CHAPTER NINE - dumpsters, dead cats & demogorgons
( episode four & five ; will the wise & dig dug )

❀

⠀ ⠀ ALTHOUGH HE FELT GUILTY ABOUT IT, PARKER KNEW he wouldn't be much help at the Byers' home. In any case, Bob and Joyce had rather firmly insisted that both he and Peyton attend school as normal.

He'd hardly slept, visions of El being taken by that creature playing over and over in his mind as though the more he thought about it, the more chances there were of the memory disappearing altogether. But he knew that would never be the case.

Rather insistent on cycling to school (Peyton had, fortunately for her, been awarded her keys after the whole Will possession-or-something incident) Parker was rather glad to be clear of any supernatural, or non-supernatural, drama. As much as he appreciated being driven by his sister, he'd gladly admit he'd rather jump out of a moving train than watch Billy Hargrove's smug smirk eyeing his sister's rack one more time. No, he'd much rather turn up a few minutes late and miss whatever new, probably rule-breaking, activity his friends had decided to encourage one another to conduct.

To his surprise, Dustin was still locking up his bike by the time he rolled up to school. But at least that meant the task of looking for his friends needn't be conducted alone. In fact, finding them had been made rather easy by simply listening out to the sound of Mike Wheeler's taunting tones.

"Stop being a baby and do it already!"

Soon to be followed by Max's disgusted questioning

"This is so disgusting. Is this really necessary?"

Rounding a corner, Dustin and Parker soon found Mike and Max, garbage pokers in hand, with Lucas nowhere to be seen

"What the hell's going on?" Dustin questioned, soon to be met with an exasperated look from Mike

"What do you think? We're looking for Dart," Clearly, he was still upset about Dustin's insistence upon keeping his pet from the upside-down. And, in fact, looked less than convinced that D'art was lost at all.

Suddenly gripped by the collar, Dustin hauled the Newby kid backward just in time to save him from the bag of garbage flying his way, "Gees!"

"Jesus!"

"Oh!"

"Ugh!" all backing away from the bin, Parker watched in utter confusion as Lucas hauled himself over the edge of the dumpster

"Well, well, well," annoyed, Lucas brushed the dirt from his palms before firmly placing his hands on his hips, "Look who finally decided to show up. After I drew the short straw. Real convenient,"

Nose scrunched up in complaint, Max soon struggled to even stand beside Lucas as the smell of garbage wafted in the air, "You stink!" she exclaimed, rushing to stand between Parker and Dustin, the latter greeting her with a lovestruck smile whilst the former remained confused

"Hi, Max," confused at his staring and randomly timed greeting, Max's brows remained firmly knotted together

"Hi?" her answer came out as more of a question than a response, but Dustin wasted little time in changing the subject to save his embarrassment

"Where's Will?"

"His mom didn't want him to come in today," Parker was quick to answer. Which his friends could trust because, as they had all teased them about for months now, their parents were a couple.

Mike stood in silence for a moment, but Parker could tell how Will not being around was affecting him "Is he okay?"

Parker breathed in, wanting more than anything to comfort his friends. Tell them that Will was fine and they had nothing to worry about. But the truth was, he just didn't know. In the end, the Newby boy found himself settling for a reluctant nod, which did very little in reassuring his friends that he was telling any kind of truth. With a short sigh, Lucas sprung back into action as he took one of the two wooden sticks propped up against the dumpster

"Are you just gonna stand there?" he tossed it, watching Parker panic to catch it before it impaled him in the foot, "Or you gonna help?" the next flew toward Dustin, who still managed to fumble even with the extra time it took Lucas to grab it.

The four got to work cleaning their mess, confident they would have heard D'art's distinct screeching by now if he had settled himself in the garbage. Only one without a poker, Lucas kicked the thin plastic bag, watching as a few cockroaches scuttled out from their home inside it.

Several boring classes later, Paker waited patiently as Mike once again dialed the number of the Byers' home into the school's outside the telephone. The last of their quarters used up, Mike groaned in annoyance when the familiar sound of Joyce's voicemail message

"Hey, you've reached the Byers. We're sorry..."

"Anything?" called Lucas, but Mike only shook his head, slamming the phone back into its socket with more force than intended. Running back toward their friends, Parker and Mike's concern only grew as countless anxieties about what could possibly be happening to Will swirled through their brains.

"We need to talk," urged Mike, running past his friends up the stairs without so much as a sideways glance, "AV room. Right now," all in agreement that they very much needed a private place to discuss, the kids all followed in close pursuit of Mike.

Max included. Skateboard under her arm, she readied herself to offer whatever help she could to her newfound friends. And yet still, Mike's unwillingness to allow a newcomer to the group

"Party members only," frozen in place, Max's expression did little to hide her hurt, even when it shifted to one of anger

"Come on, Mike," pleaded Dustin, but it was no use

"No!" snapped the increasingly agitated Wheeler boy, "This is non-negotiable!" without another word, he stormed through the doors into the school, leaving Dustin, Parker and Lucas behind with the knowledge that, although they hated to upset their new friend, they had no choice but to follow.

"Sorry, Max..."

"Sorry," Parker looked back at the young girl's truly hurt expression. But he knew better than to attempt to explain their actions. If anything, it was probably for the better that Max was distanced from the group. Especially if it were related to the Upside Down.

Gathered around like old times, Mike situated himself on the desk as the other three boys listened intently to what he so urgently, and privately, needed to say

"Will didn't want me to tell anyone, but on Halloween night he saw a sort of shadow in the sky,"

"A shadow?" repeated Lucas, "W-What kind of shadow?"

Mike sighed unknowingly, "I don't know. But it scared him," Brows furrowed, Parker looked between Dustin and Mike quizically

"So... if Will really has True Sight..." he trailed off, "I mean, if he can really see into the Upside Down, maybe he saw that shadow again yesterday?"

"So that's why he was frozen like that?" asked Dustin

"Maybe," replied Mike

"Can it hurt him?" questioned Lucas, drawing the attention of his friends as he continued, "I mean, if this shadow thing isn't from our world..." that was a good point. If Will was only able to see into the Upside Down, that meant this shadow thing wasn't actually in their world with them

"I'm not sure," Mike confessed, opting to ask the smartest friend of the group, "Dustin?"

"Well, if you're in another plane, you can't interact with the material plane," explained the Henderson boy, "so theoretically, no, the shadow can't hurt him," Mike frowned, staring down in thought and Parker immediately understood why. Using their game as a way to view the world had worked for a long time. But Dungeons & Dragons wasn't a rule book for the Upside Down

"How do we know that's even what's happening?" chimed Parker, arms folding across his chest, "This isn't D&D. This is real life," all in agreement that Parker was right, an uncomfortable and thoughtful silence fell upon the pondering boys.

"So what do we do?" Lucas finally asked, fingers intertwined as his leg bounced in worry

"We acquire more knowledge," assured Mike with confidence that Parker was sure had more to do with comforting himself than the rest of the party, "I'll go to Will's with Parker after school. See what's going on. You guys stay here and find Dart,"

"Dart?" questioned Dustin with a rather suspicious amount of concern, "What's he gotta do with this?"

"Will heard him in the Upside Down," explained Mike, "I don't know how yet, but he's gotta be connected to all this. He's gotta be. If we find Dart, maybe we can solve this thing. Maybe we can help Will..."

New missions secured, the boys left the AV room to attend their remaining classes shortly after.

Once Mike and Lucas were no longer in sight, Dustin, in a clear state of panic, hauled his no doubt closest friend in all the party, Parker, to his side.

"Ow!" yelped the Newby boy, hand to his neck in feigned pain as he breathed in to make a joke about having whiplash from the sudden movement. But Dustin had more important plans.

"I have to tell you something, but you have to promise me you won't tell another soul," he suddenly blurted, without taking a single breath between his words, "Not the party, not Hopper. Not even your sister,"

Oh, no...

Paker knew better than to promise to keep anything at all from Peyton. She could read him like a book. And he got really sweaty when he was lying.

"What is it?" was what he instead opted for, hoping that his question would distract Dustin from the fact that, although he had nodded, the words 'I promise' had yet to leave his mouth

"Come to my place after school,"

Beginning to panic even more, Parker stepped back, motioning with his thumb in the direction Mike had just left in, "I- I'm supposed to go to Will's-"

"This is more important!"

"More important than our friend having visions or some shit?"

"Okay, not exactly-"

"Is it about D'art?" in sudden shock, Dustin froze, turning to look at his friend with suspicion before swiftly denying the accusatory question

"No..."

"You paused!" pointed Parker, eyes wide as he did everything in his power not to raise his voice and draw attention

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Do you trust me, or not?" eyes narrowed, the Newby boy stood back, as though genuinely considering whether he did, in fact, trust Dustin. To which the agitated Hendersen boy took about as well as expected, "Parker!"

"Okay, I trust you!"

"So come with me after school, okay?"

"Okay!"

❀

⠀ ⠀ PARKER COULDNT TELL IF HE WAS CONCERNED OR RELIEVED to find his sister nowhere near Billy Hargrove or his stupid car. Max, however, wasn't so lucky.

He and Max had a mutual understanding of one another's situations. Not that Peyton's behavior was in any way comparable with the constant terror and taunting Billy inflicted on his step-sister. But, in their summer not-dating, their younger siblings had found comfort in the relatability that came with having an older sibling in high school.

Although, Parker knew the dangers of inviting a so-called 'outsider' like Max into their party. They knew things. Things nobody else in all of Hawkins knew. Befriending Max could quite literally cost her life.

"Newby! Hey, kid!"

Parker wished the word familiar in that moment was synonymous with relief once he recognized the voice tearing his gaze from his unfortunate friend. Eyes landing on a young man much taller than himself, before him stood none other than Steve "the hair" Harrington.

"What?" he hadn't entirely meant to come across so rude from the get-go. But he'd heard nothing but complaints about the so-called King of Hawkins high ever since he could remember. Be it from his sister or Mike, this man meant bad news. Sure, he earned himself a couple of bonus points when he decided to grow a pair and pick up the, now infamous, nail-studded bat to save Peyton's life. But other than that? Grade A asshole.

"You, uh, you okay?"

"I'm fine," with an uncomfortable nod, it was clear Steve was only being polite. That he had some kind of ulterior motive in approaching the increasingly angered Newby boy.

"You, uh, haven't seen your sister by chance, have you?"

Oh, Hell no.

He'd already heard enough from Mike about how his older sister's relationship with Steve made his life a living hell. Not only that, but Parker had found it easier putting up with Billy because of the friendship he found in Max. But Steve? That left him with Sidney Harrington. In all honesty, the youngest Harrignton wasn't all that difficult to put up with. She was an athlete, but not a mean girl. And far more tolerable than her brother. But a Harrington was a Harrington nonetheless. Anyone that lived on that side of town, that lived in the giant homes in their peaceful, perfect Hawkins bubble were less than tolerable.

Fortunately for him, Peyton's hatred for the eldest Harrington far preceded Parker's dislike for his sister. As far as he was concerned, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

"What do you care?" he replied coldly, blunt answer enough to let Steve know just how keen the Newby boy was to be conversing with him. And just how suspicious he was of the elder Harrington's interest in his sister

"Look, I don't know what your problem is but Peyton's my fr..."

Friend? I think the fuck not.

Brows to the sky, Parker was quite literally holding back laughter, tauntingly awaiting the end of Steve's clearly regretful sentence. With an exasperated eye roll, Steve took a step back toward his car, where his sister was now growing evermore impatient. Parker was rather grateful to be saved by the very girl that had gotten him in trouble with a Harrington in the first place

"Steve!" suddenly shoved backward, Peyton stood firmly between the senior and her brother, flames in her eyes as she glowered at him up and down, "What are you doing?"

"Looking for you," smirked Sidney, earning what Parker could only assume was a glare when Steve turned his head to face her.

"For me?" repeated Peyton, although rather than getting a reasonable response, Steve seemed to be at a loss for words, "Okay, can I talk to you for a second?" harshly gripped by the arm, Steve's eyes widened in surprise as he was dragged out of earshot from their impatient siblings. Although none of Peyton's words were audible, her anger was very much evident through extravagant hand gestures and expressions that Parker had unfortunately grown all too familiar with. Much to his surprise, however, Steve had rather a lot to argue back. Now, under any usual circumstances, Peyton would have, no doubt, smacked the shit out of whoever it was talking back to her. In all honesty, it was a shock that she had decided to use her words (their altercation being in a middle school parking lot notwithstanding).

Impatiently, Sidney let out a loud, rather dramatic sigh as the back of her head collided with the passenger side window. Dustin looked over, for some reason hoping he could get through to the agitated teenage girl, giving a small wave and smile along with a simple

"Hey," but, lo and behold, his niceness was greeted simply with a irritated frown, looking the boys up and down with more confusion than animosity.

After what seemed like forever, Peyton simply walked away toward her brother, car keys in hand as Sidney finally seemed to attempt to save her brother's dignity, "Steve, come on, let's gooo!"

"I don't know what you want me to say. I'm trying here," were the final words overheard by the young teens, before Peyton snapped back with, rather forced, hostility

"Well, don't," watching his sister's more saddened glare, Parker couldn't tell if she genuinely hated the guy, or if she was so conflicted with the idea of liking him she'd put up yet another of her signature (quote-unquote) Newby no-no emotion walls.

Either way, all Steve could do was nod in defeated acceptance. Nothing left to say, the Harrington boy finally followed his sister's wishes, driving off without so much as a backward glance toward the regretful blonde.

Maintaining her composure, Peyton let out a deep sigh, hands slipping from her pockets to fold defensively across her chest.

"What did he want?" questioned Parker, tearing his sister from her once fixated gaze upon Steve's BMW.

"Don't worry about it," At that point in time, Parker had grown rather accustomed to that phrase. Especially when it invoked some asshole guy Payton was wasting her time with, and even more so when she was astronomically out of their league.

"Like I 'didn't worry about' Billy?" he hadn't meant to say that aloud. It was more of a passing thought, something he should have kept to himself. He could tell he'd hurt his sister. and to anyone else, that hurt would have turned to anger. But at that moment, all it turned to was an undeniable expression of guilt.

"Parker-"

Deciding he didn't want to hear the following excuses from his sister, the Newby boy decided to simply interrupt, hands tightly gripping the handlebars of his rusted bicycle, "Well, um, I was actually gonna head to Dustin's actually, is that okay?" Parker could practically see the cogs turning in her brain as she tried to decide whether it was a good idea to let her baby brother out of her sight. But, apparently, his brief complaint was

"Uh... sure, yeah, you need a ride?"

"Nah," Dustin interjected, finally deciding to speak up as his hand collided with Parker's shoulder, "we'll just bike there, right Newby?"

"Sure," nodded Parker, trying his best not to seem tense at how he'd been forced to fib to his sister.

"Okay," she nodded, poker-faced as she always was when Parker tried to get a read on her, "You sleeping over?"

"I don't-"

"That'd be easier, right?" laughed Dustin, rather nervously, "Than biking home in the dark?"

"Sure," nodded the, increasingly sweaty, Newby boy, heartbeat thumping in his ears when Peyton took a moment too long to respond

"Okay," although seeming suspicious, Peyton finally let her hand meet her car door, letting her brother go, much to his surprise, without much of a fight, "Well... I'm gonna be at the Byers' place," she cautiously continued, "Check on Joyce and Will,"

"Okay,"

"Alright, stay safe," eyes awkwardly darting between the siblings as though watching the world's worst tennis match, Dustin stifled a laugh as he watched Parker's rather shaky hand form a finger gun that pointed toward his perplexed big sister

"You too!" rather speechless, Peyton decided simply to nod, fist-bumping his shoulder affectionately before promptly getting into her car and driving away. Gaze glued to her wonky license plate, Parker tilted his head, addressing his friend without so much of a sideways glance

"What the hell did you do, man?" remaining silent, Dustin and Parker did a simultaneous slow turn to look at one another, their nervous expressions contrasted by the Newby boy's glower vs the Henderson boy's smile.

❀

⠀ ⠀ THE RIDE TO DUSTIN'S WASN'T NEARLY AS AWKWARD AS HE'D EXPECTED IT TO BE. Dustin had grown rather understanding of the various types of drama Peyton would, consciously or not, introduce to her little brother's otherwise peaceful life. Especially for an only child. Then again he was probably used to it. Considering almost every other party member had at least one older sibling in high school.

When the boys hurried inside, Dustin's mom was halfway through pouring cat food into a rather expensive-looking bowl, shaking it as she called out for her pet, "Mew-mew, dinner!"

Cat nowhere to be found, Mrs. Henderson turned upon hearing rushed footsteps following the sound of a slammed front door, "Hey, Dusty!" she greeted, smile widening when she noticed the taller boy follow after her son, "Parker! Good to see you!

"Hi, hey. Hey, Mom,"

"Hi, Mrs. Henderson," the two panted, speaking over one another with enough nervousness to invoke concern in Dustin's mother

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Yeah,"

"Mhmm great, fantastic actually," Parker nodded, unconvincingly backing up his friend's rather blatant lie.

Met with a sideways glare, Dustin forced a smile to explain, "Parker and I were just wondering if we could have a sleepover,"

"Oh, of course!" smiled Mrs. Henderson, "your parents know?"

"My sister, yeah,"

"Oh good-"

"Okay, anyway!" interrupted Dustin, chuckling anxiously as he rubbed his hands together, "I gotta show something super important to my friend here so..."

"Oh, alright then-"

"Love ya!" eyes wide, Parker had barely half a second to register that Dustin had grasped him by the wrist, dragging him (unintentionally) harshly toward his room.

"Love you, honey!"

Parker's nerves were at an all-time high as he yanked his arm away from Dustin, hand gently meeting the slight red marking around his wrist from Dustin's accidental firm grip. Still, there was little to say until the bedroom door closed behind them. Parker grimaced as he was met with a familiar yet unnamable stench, almost about to make a joking comment before Dustin whirled around frantically

"Okay... you have to promise you won't be mad," eyes narrowed suspiciously, Parker glanced around for any sign of D'art, his gut feelings becoming more and more of a reality when he noticed the enclosure of Dustin's actual pet to be covered

"Why is there a blanket over your turtle cage?"

"He's a tortoise-"

"Dustin!"

"Alright!" Dustin's whispered yell was an unfriendly reminder that they, in fact, weren't the only two in the house, "He was just so scared! And he needed me!"

"Oh my god..." Parker muttered, fingertips holding the bridge of his nose as a million thoughts of what this meant for not only them but Will as well. He turned away, listening as Dustin approached the tarp. It was only then that he realized exactly what the unnamable smell that had overwhelmed him was.

Blood.

A trail of dark red splattered something led to a hidden corner of the room. And Paker couldn't tell if it was his mind playing tricks, but he swore there was some kind of disgusting sound coming from it.

"At least we know exactly where it is now, right?" continued Dustin, none the wiser, "Maybe he can help us in some way. Figure out what's wrong with Will?"

"Uhh... Dustin?" trying to concentrate on the grotesque noise, Parker's anger continued to bubble when Dustin simply spoke over it

"Dart, I've gotta talk to you, buddy."

"Dustin-"

"It's about my friend, Will... I think..."

"Dustin!" yell muffle by the loud sound of ruffling fabric, Dustin's smile faded into wide-eyed horror at the sight beneath the blanket. The glass along the side closest to him had been completely smashed, with small shards beneath his feet that he hadn't even noticed. Unable to mask his curiosity, Parker slowly approached, a step behind his friend as they simultaneously leaned in to get a better look at the atrocity that had occurred within the glass cage. A clear goo dripped from the outlining glass, puddling at the bottom of the enclosure where what could otherwise be assumed to be a snake skin lay in the center

"What the hell?" murmured the perplexed Henderson boy, hand reaching inside to pick up the shredded skin. A sudden shriek from behind them had the two turning in seconds, anxiety quickening every breath, "Dart?" Dustin's call for his pet only turned fear to anger as Parker gave him a sideways glare. Reaching to one side, he grabbed the closest weapon-looking object he could find. A plastic lightsaber that, thank god, had no batteries., "What are you doing?" scolded Dustin in a harsh whisper, only earning an exasperated shrug at how ridiculous it felt to be asked a question like that.

Once again that familiar growl came from the corner of the room. Begging the floorboards beneath their trembling feet not to creak, Parker and Dustin slowly and silently made their way toward the noise.

The Newby boy had already started to piece together the reality of what had happened. Something far too horrific to even suggest aloud. It wasn't just growling they could hear. Flesh was torn from crunching bone as the creature gashed and swallowed its innocent prey.

Finally close enough to peer over the edge of the, once yellow, now blood-stained chair, Parker felt his stomach churn upon seeing his worries were true.

Mews the cat had come to an untimely and gruesome end. At the hands of Dustin's 'pet' from the Upside Down. Claw marks tore through the skirting boards and up the walls at her unsuccessful escape, with blood pooling all around and beneath her continuously devoured corpse.

And if that wasn't horrifying enough, a shrill growl suddenly froze the creature in its tracks. All efforts to stay silent were void. Because the thing could sense their mortified gaze on the back of its blood-coated skull. Turning slowly, Dustin and Parker watched with wide eyes as the thing's mouth split apart. Blood sputtered across their legs as its gargled roar became a bone-chilling comprehension of just what the naive Henderson boy had so willingly welcomed into his home.

A goddamn Demogorgon.

Flight taking precedence in his very much lack of Fight response, Parker's hand, rather aggressively, met his friend's shoulder, tugging him backward with a generous, "Run,"

"What?" urgency clearly not coming across enough to snap Dustin from his stunned state, Parker tugged him once more, feet stumbling backward as his hand moved to grip Dustin's wrist

"Dustin, now, come on!" too frightened to look back, Parker didn't know whether D'art had begun to chase them or not, "We gotta go, we gotta go!" just barely making it through the door, Dustin pulled it closed, soon followed by a loud slam that could only have been Demogorgon JR's body slamming into it. Yet to catch their breath, Dustin and Parker slowly turned to look at one another, adrenaline pumping through their veins as they realized just how near-death that experience had been.

"Boys, what was that?"

Lucky for them, Dustin's mom remained elsewhere in the house, probably just asking in case anybody had gotten hurt. The boys had made far more noise simply playing D&D than simply slamming a door.

"Nothing!" they replied in chorus, same anxiety-shaken tone and all.

Panting still, Parker ran a hand through his hair, trying to gather his thoughts into some kind of reasonable plan that wouldn't get anybody else killed

"I think we should call-"

"Don't say your sister," interrupted Dustin, finger pointed toward his friend although he'd yet to realize just how increasingly panicked the Newby boy was becoming. He'd even started to pace, both hands resting above his forehead as he spoke in a perturbed whisper

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,"

"Parker-"

"What the hell, man?!" he quickly scolded, still yet to raise his voice although speaking with a whispered yell

"Stop freaking out!"

"Stop freaking out?!" repeated the Newby boy, continuing to do the exact opposite of that, "You're cat-" stopping himself once he realized how easy it could be to overhear what he was going to say, Parker's anger was faltered by genuine sadness as he remembered just how much Dustin's mom loved that cat, "your cat has been eaten by a demogorgon!"

Dustin frowned, gripping Parker by the arms to drag him, presumably, further from his mother's earshot, "SHHHH! we have to wait until morning-"

"What?"

"If we try and trap him or something now, we won't be able to see him!"

Parker narrowed his eyes, almost laughing not in joy but genuine disbelief at the idea of just leaving the creature inside of the house with them overnight, "You're right, yeah, yeah," he nodded sarcastically, "Besides, you know, at least we won't have to worry about feeding him!"

"That's not funny!" gasped Dustin

"No, it's not! It's horrifying!" adrenaline beginning to wear off, Parker shoved Dustin in the shoulder, not hard enough to hurt him, just enough to get his point across. As much of a mistake it was, there truly wasn't a way of knowing that D'art was a demogorgon, "I can't believe you lied to us!"

"Okay, you're right, I'm sorry!" upon hearing his friend's genuine apology, Parker seemed to visibly calm, sympathy getting the better of him when he saw Dustin's distraught expression "The only thing we can do now is... wait till we get some daylight,"

Momentary lack of anger quickly fading, Parker tried his best to hide the malice behind his perplexed expression, "And then what?" he asked with a raised brow, "He'll turn to dust?"

"No, idiot!" this time, it was Dustin that shoved his friend, although Parker managed to catch the brief regretful expression in his frustration-fueled action, "But we'll be able to see him. Trap him. And then we'll..."

"Call my sister?"

Rolling his eyes Dustin let out an irritated groan, "God, what it is with you and your sister?" Quick to come to his own defense, Parker could only assume by the shift from irritation to shock that he was glaring at Dustin as though he were insane. If there was something he knew for certain it was that Peyton should be number one on everybody's call sheet if shit was about to go down. No matter how bad it was.

"I don't know if you noticed but my sister is kinda scary!" he emphasized, "And deals well with this... shit!"

"So do I!" shrugged Dustin, his high-pitched tone contrasting his confident words.

"Clearly!" replied the increasingly irritated Newby boy

"Then we'll radio somebody!"

"With what?" snapped Parker, "The radio is in there!"

"Okay, fine! We'll call your stupid sister,"

Finally getting an answer he was satisfied with, Parker let out a relieved sigh, hands on his hips as he tried his best to process all that had happened in barely ten minutes. And yet, all he could think to do was continue to put his mind at ease by holding onto what little normality he had left.

Which, unfortunately for Dustin, meant the teasing words, "I'm gonna tell her you said that," now, Dustin half knew he wasn't actually going to tell her. He also knew that, being one of her favorites of Parker's friends he wouldn't truly be in trouble with her. Those facts still, however, didn't help ease his anxiety

"No you're not," he assured more himself than anyone with a nervous chuckle. But the Newby boy simply shrugged, a hint of a smirk on his face as his back hit the locked bedroom door, "You're kidding, right? Parker!" still silent, parker began to slide down in preparation for the long night ahead of them, Dustin following him only with his concerned gaze, "Parker!"

❀

⠀ ⠀ THE BOYS COULD HARDLY SLEEP THAT NIGHT, BASEBALL BATS IN HAND (though neither with any nails through them) as they sat with their backs to the door. Awaiting any sign of daylight, they knew that, although keeping Dustin's mom free from concern, the worst had yet to come.

After listening to Dustin blatantly pretend to call some other resident of Hawkins, it became clear that getting his mom out of the picture was, no doubt, top priority. And after several 'we can find her's and 'I love you's, Mrs. Henderson was out the door.

With Dustin's mom safely out of the picture, the two boys were left to conspire a way of getting the otherworldly cat murderer out of the house and somewhere that he couldn't harm anything (or anyone) else. It was then that Parker remembered the storm cellar just outside Dustin's home. They'd lure the beast together, and slam the doors shut once it was inside.

That couldn't be too difficult.

Dangerous, sure.

But no more than anything they'd experienced last year, right?

Padded to the nines, Dustin had lent his friend an old hockey helmet whilst he sported the metal face guard. He'd let his friend keep the bat, whilst the Henderson boy himself decided to instead wield a hockey stick (which parker joked to himself was simply to match his attire). Path of cold meats laid out into the storm cellar, Parker and Dustin had only each other to reassure.

Slowly beginning to reach for the door, a sudden wave of panic hit Parker like a freight train. He grasped his friend by the shoulder, wide-eyed anxious enough to make him freeze in his tracks

"You okay?" mouthed Dustin, too frightened to make any kind of sound this close to his bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, Parker soon nodded, dropping his hand from Dustin's shoulder so that it could tightly grip his bat.

"Let's do this," Parker's non-silent exclamation shocked the Henderson boy, although his (albeit feigned) confidence was reassuring. Pat on the back the signal he'd been waiting for, Dustin sprung into action, fingertips meeting the cool metal of the door handle

"All right, Dart!" he called shakily, "Breakfast time," seemingly doing a countdown in his head, Parker was thankful for the sudden rush of adrenaline when Dustin's door slid open all too quickly. Sprinting into action, the two soon realized they had forgotten to consider how difficult it would be to run with the ridiculous amount of gear they'd strapped to themselves.

Forced into a waddled run, Parker and Dustin sped through the house at a pace they'd never reached before, with the latter repeating, "Oh, my God, Oh, my God. Oh, my God, Oh, my God," whilst the other went for a more simple, "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Finally making it to the shed where Dustin promptly locked the door behind them. Without uttering another word, the two hastily leaned down to peak through the gaps between the wooden walls.

But the creature was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on," muttered Dustin, much to his friend's dismay, "Come on, I know you're hungry," And soon enough, the beast, following the trail of ham, came bounding out of the house, stopping to consume each and every slice.

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes," Dustin's lack of whispered tones sent a wave of anxiety to the pit of Parker's stomach. Like waiting for the drop of a rollercoaster. Except there were no restraints. And the track actually stopped before the drop so you'd literally fall to your death. Trying, yet failing, to shush his friend, Dustin's all too confident murmurs of "Yes..." were soon made void when, just as it seemed that D'art was heading into the cellar, he turned, as though the shed wasn't even there, staring at the trembling teens with a bone-chilling growl.

"Shit!" Dustin gasped, this time it was him that grasped Parker by the back of his sweater, pulling him to the side where he'd pressed his back into the cool wood. There was no use in hiding. The monster knew exactly where they were. And there was nowhere left to run.

With no time to think of a plan, the boys were left to improvise.

And this time, flight wasn't on the table.

With a battle cry loud enough to startle the creature, Parker's eyes widened into an oh shit, are we doing this? grimace as he watched his friend all of a sudden kick the door in, sending it swinging open. Much to his surprise, this time it was D'art who turned around running; he'd seemed to have forgotten that the thing was, in fact, still just a clueless baby (other-worldly predator or not).

Rushing after his friend, Parker made it out just in time to see the end of Dustin's hockey stick collide with D'art's torso, ending the screeching creature flying to the bottom of the stairs. Dustin turned to his friend with a grin, forgetting the most important part of the plan.

Closing the doors.

Parker sprinted to grab one of the cellar doors, slamming it shut as he called out in fright, "Dustin!" thankful that simply hearing his name was enough for him to spring back into action, Dustin ran for the other door, collapsing on his front just as Parker fell onto his nack, both suddenly jolted at D'art slamming into it from the other side.

"I'm sorry... You ate my cat," Exhausted, Parker looked through his visor to the panting boy beside him as they rested on the storm cellar doors. Repeating the very same question that had been playing on his mind since the moment Dustin confessed he'd been keeping a secret all those hours ago in the busy hallway.

"Can we call my sister now?"

uhhh hi

so it's been a billion years but finally a new chapter!

again sorry for spell mistakes i have tried to proof reed but i can pretty much guarantee i missed smth 😅

i actually loved writing from parker's pov so i might do that w more OCs and just change the title of this book from 'steve harrington' to 'stranger things' idk yet

it might be beneficial for s3-4 especially cause idk if i have the energy to start a whole other book for all of my OCs especially w me being in uni now too

anyway the next chapter will be us catching up w my fav oc of all time (peyton ofc) and i already have quite a bit written properly and a lot of the dialogue planning finished too :,)

ty for reading and voting
and commenting it really does make my day!

<3