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chapter eight:
the Upside Down
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JONATHAN PARKED HIS CAR right out front of his house before him, Nancy and Evelyn all got out the car and headed towards the trunk. Jonathan opened the trunk and Nancy grabbed the two gasoline tanks, Jonathan grabbed the box's that was full of the equipment they needed including the bear trap and Evelyn grabbed the axe that was lying right next to the box that Jonathan grabbed.

She also noticed that Jonathan had a crossbow plus arrows in his trunk. "We saw it in the hardware store, it made us think of you. We don't know why it was in a hardware store, the only thing the owner told us was that his daughter used to do archery but she doesn't anymore so she just left it there, so he decided to sell it. So now it's yours" Jonathan told her as he noticed her looking at the crossbow.

Evelyn smiled at Jonathan and Nancy before picking up the crossbow and the arrows. Jonathan closed his trunk and after making sure they all had everything, the three headed inside to get everything set up.

After setting everything up, Jonathan and Nancy decided that they were going to be the one to lure the demogorgon ( the name she found out from her brother before she left ) in. While they were doing that, Evelyn decided she was going to use the bathroom before it decides to make its appearance.

Evelyn closed the bathroom door and walked up to the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror and began thinking about what she has been going through in the past couple days. She began washing her hands trying to get some dirt out from her hands since the axe that she carried in had a little bit of dirt on it.

Evelyn couldn't help but be worried for her brother and the rest of the kids plus Sabrina, her best friend. She was forever grateful that Sabrina offered to stay with the kids, she just hopes that the bad men don't get them and that Joyce plus Hopper will find Will and bring him home.

Evelyn heard some talking going on in the living room, she assumed it was just Jonathan and Nancy since they were the only two in that room but she was wrong once she heard Steve's voice. "Steve?" Evelyn muttered out before drying her hands on the towel that the Byers had and walked out of the bathroom.

"Evelyn? Hey, what are you doing here?" Steve automatically questioned out as soon as he heard the bathroom door open and saw her walking out. Evelyn looked from Steve to Nancy to Jonathan, wondering what the hell was going on and why Steve is here.

"What the hell is going on? What is Steve doing here?" Evelyn questioned out as she completely ignored Steve's question.

"I just came to apologize to Jonathan and than I saw what happened to Nancy's hand so I came barging in. Than I saw all this" Steve was stating as he motioned his arms around the living room. "Than I saw you come out and now my main concern right now is what are you doing here and are you okay? You aren't hurt are you?"

Before Evelyn can answer Steve's concerning question, Nancy pulled her gun up right in front of Steve. "Steve, get out!". Steve looked at Nancy shocked on why she was holding a gun and more importantly why it was directed towards him.

"Woah, what! Wait. What? What is going on?" Steve questioned out as everyone kept ignoring his previous questions and trying to ignore the fact that Nancy had a gun. "You have five seconds to get out here." Nancy told him.

Evelyn got in front of Steve in a protective way. She didn't like that Nancy was holding a gun up to him. "Nancy, put the gun down. Steve will leave just put it down" Evelyn tried telling Nancy.

Nancy ignored Evelyn as she told Steve she was doing to for him as Steve was trying to get Nancy to put the gun down. Evelyn taken notice on how the lights were flickering. She looked towards Jonathan who noticed it as well.

Evelyn stayed in front of Steve and lightly grabbed his hand from behind as Jonathan was calling out Nancy's name to get her attention. "It's here" Jonathan stated as he grabbed the bat that had nails on it off the table. Nancy and Jonathan stood back to back wondering where the monster is.

"Evelyn, what is going on?" Steve called out towards the girl who hasn't left his side since Nancy put that gun on him. "Trust me Steve, you really don't want to know but you are about too" Evelyn told him as she still kept a hold on his hand.

The ceiling of Jonathan's house started falling off. Nancy started shooting at the demogorgon who was still trying to find its way in from the ceiling. Evelyn didn't notice that Steve grabbed her from behind and shielded her from any falling pieces from the ceiling until Jonathan told all of them to run.

Evelyn grabbed onto Steves hand again and started running with him following behind her. She jumped over the bear trap that Jonathan has set up in the hallway and told Steve to jump, which he did while also freaking out.

They went into Wills room and as soon as everyone was in Jonathan slammed the door shut. "What the hell was that?" Steve kept asking, hoping to get an answer so he can calm down.

"Shut up!" Jonathan and Nancy yelled out as they turned their attention towards the door where the demogorgon was still screeching. "Demogorgon" Evelyn whispered to Steve.

Steve turned towards Evelyn with confusion laced on his face. "A what?" Steve questioned as he moved a little closer to her. "It's what my brother and his friends call it. It's hard to explain but I promise if you will like,  I can explain it too you once this is all over" Evelyn told him as she looked up at him not knowing how close the two were actually standing next to each other.

Steve nodded his head. "I'll like that" Steve told her which made Evelyn smile a little. Evelyn noticed that the screeching sound and the flickering lights have stopped. She looked away from Steve and over to Nancy and Jonathan.

"Do you hear anything?" Nancy whispered out as she kept her eyes on the door. Jonathan shut the lighter off before saying no. The four all walked towards the door. Jonathan opened it, looked at the hallway making sure the demogorgon wasn't hiding. Once he didn't see it, he walked out the bedroom with Nancy, Evelyn and Steve right behind him.

They all walked into the living room to find it empty. "Where did it go?" Evelyn questioned as she looked around the room. "I have no idea" Jonathan told her.

"This is crazy! This is crazy! This is crazy! This is crazy! This is crazy! " Steve muttered out before reaching out towards the phone that was hung up on the wall in the kitchen. He began dialing 911 but before he can put the phone to his ear, Nancy grabbed it out of hand and threw towards the ground.

"What are you do.. What are you doing? Are you insane?" Steve questioned out but Evelyn noticed in the tone of his voice that was he was scared. "It's going to come back! So you need to leave. Right now" Nancy firmly told the him.

Steve looked from Nancy towards Evelyn. A part of him didn't want to leave her behind but one look in her eyes shown that he should listen to Nancy. Steve rushed out the front door and slammed the door shut.

The lights started flickering again as Nancy, Jonathan and Evelyn started forming a circle with their backs touching, trying to keep an eye out for the demogorgon.

"Where is it?" Nancy questioned as they kept looking all around the house all while the lights kept flickering. "Come on. Come on, you son of a bitch" Jonathan kept muttering out.

"I think it's playing tricks on us guys" Evelyn stated out as they all kept looking around the house with their weapons held firmly in their hands. The lights suddenly turned off.

"Does that mean it's near or gone?" Evelyn whispered out as they couldn't see since the lights have completed shut off. Before anyone can answer they all heard a low growl coming from behind Jonathan.

"Jonathan!" Nancy called out. Jonathan turned around but before can do anything the demogorgon knocked his bat out of his hand and knocked him on the ground.

"Jonathan!" Both Nancy and Evelyn shouted out. "Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" Nancy called out as she started shooting the demogorgon, trying to get it away from Jonathan. 

Evelyn noticed the crossbow and arrows that was laid out on the kitchen table. She dropped the axe that was in her hands and ran over to grab the crossbow.

Evelyn taken notice on how Nancy was almost running out of ammo so she set up the arrow in the crossbow and lined up her shot. "Eat this, you piece of shit" Evelyn muttered out before striking it with her arrow.

The demogorgon growled at the sudden impact of the arrow. It turned its attention away from Nancy to where Evelyn was at in the kitchen. "Shit!" Nancy muttered out once she found out she ran out of ammo.

Evelyn noticed how the demogorgon was heading her way now instead of going heading back towards Nancy and Jonathan. She lined up her shot again and let the arrow go. She heard it growl out again, she went to reach out for another arrow to find out she had no more. 

"Did this crossbow only have two arrows? I swore it had more, what the hell" Evelyn muttered out. She heard the demogorgon growl out again as she noticed it was getting closer to her. Before she can do anything, she saw someone hit the demogorgon with the bat that Jonathan made.

Evelyn instantly noticed it was Steve once she saw the hair. "Steve!" Evelyn called out but Steve only had his focus on demogorgon. Evelyn noticed how Steve was luring it into the trap. Once she saw that he had him the trap she instantly ran over to him. "Jonathan! Nancy! It's in the trap"

Jonathan and Nancy ran over to the two as Jonathan lit the lighter and threw it on the demogorgon. Once the lighter hit the demogorgon, a fire started going off since Nancy put gasoline on the floor minutes before it arrived.

Evelyn covered her eyes and turned away as the demogorgon kept screeching in pain. Jonathan ran off to get the fire extinguisher that was on the floor. "Get back" Jonathan called out he started getting rid of the fire.

Once the fire was out, the four started heading towards the trap to see if it worked. "Where'd it go?" Nancy questioned once they saw it was gone.

"It has to be dead! It has to be" Jonathan stated out as the kept trying to get a better look. "Let's hope it didn't play another trick on us." Evelyn stated as she turned towards Jonathan, Nancy and Steve.

The lights started turning back on in the hallway which gained the four teenagers attention. "Please don't tell me it's back. That thing just loves playing tricks" Evelyn stated as they all kept watching the lights.

The lights started turning back on through out the house. The four looked at each other before deciding to follow to see where it will lead them at. Jonathan stopped in front of the front door once he saw the lights getting brighter. "Mom. Is that you? Mom." Jonathan muttered out.

"Do you think it's them? Hopper and your mom?" Evelyn questioned as she walked up to Jonathan. "I think so" Jonathan told her as they all walked outside to where the street light was flickering on.

"Where's it going?" Nancy questioned out as she didn't know it was Joyce and Hopper. "I don't think that's monster" Jonathan told her as he kept watching the street light.

"Dustin! Sabrina! I need to go to the school" Evelyn called out gaining everyone's attention as she grabbed her jacket from inside the house. "Why?" Nancy questioned as watched Evelyn pace around the house making sure she had everything.

"My brother and best friend plus the rest of the kids are at the school and Nancy, I have really bad feeling that something terrible is going to happen so please can one of you drive me to the school" Evelyn told Nancy as she looked between the three teenagers.

"I will" Steve called out as he grabbed his keys out of his pocket. Evelyn looked at him to find him already staring at her with a look in his eyes that she couldn't tell if it was a good look or a bad look but a part of her believes it was a good look.

"Thank you" Evelyn told him as she looked at Jonathan and Nancy. Nancy pulled Evelyn in a hug and gave her light squeeze. "Be careful please" Nancy told her as they pulled apart.

"I pinky promise I will" Evelyn told her as she held out her pinky. Nancy lightly laughed getting a sense of deja vu. Nancy interlocked her pinky with Evelyn's and they both gave it a gentle squeeze.

Evelyn waved goodbye to Jonathan before walking towards Steve's car. She waited by the passenger door as she watched Steve say something to both Nancy and Jonathan. While she was waiting, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. The same feeling she told Nancy about. She hopes it's just a feeling and nothing bad will actually happen.

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It was complete silence that filled the car as they drove towards the school where the kids and Sabrina were at. Steve turned away from the road to look at Evelyn, making sure she was okay before looking back towards the road.

Evelyn looked towards Steve once he looked away from her. She wasn't sure how she should talk to him since the last time they basically talked was when the whole fight happened between him and Jonathan. "Thank you" Evelyn whispered out towards Steve.

"For what?" Steve softly asked as he looked back towards her. "For saving me back there. It really means a lot to me that you came back and that you practically saved me.So again thank you" Evelyn told him as she looked at him with a small smile on her face.

"Of course. I would do it all over again if it means that you are safe" Steve told her before looking back towards the road.  If he kept looking at Evelyn a little longer than he wouldn't of missed the look that she was giving him. This time it wasn't a look of hatred that she would normally give him when she was around him but more of an admiring type of look.

Flashing red and blue lights is what snapped Evelyn out from staring at Steve. "Oh my gosh" Evelyn whispered out as she saw multiple police cars and ambulances parked right outside of the middle school. Steve parked the car and once the car was parked, Evelyn ran out and started searching for her brother and best friend.

"Dustin? Sabrina?" Evelyn called out as she kept looking around. She noticed Mike and Lucas around their family. She was hoping El was with Mike but she couldn't really tell as Mike was hugged in between his mother and father.

"Dustin? Sabrina?" Evelyn called out again as she still hasn't seen any sign of them. Evelyn looked towards Steve who automatically followed her. "Steve, please tell me you see them somewhere" Evelyn felt her eyes start to tear up as she was scared that she might of lost her little brother and her best friend.

Steve grabbed her hand and pulled her into him in hopes to calm her down a little. While trying to calm her down, Steve spotted Sabrina sitting inside an ambulance along with Dustin who was next to his mom.

"Evelyn, I found them" Steve told her as he pointed out where they were at. Evelyn followed where his finger pointed to find her brother and her best friend sitting in ambulance getting checked out with her mom right by them.

"Dustin! Sabrina!" Evelyn called out as she started running over to them and as soon as she got close, she pulled Dustin into a tight hug.

"You're okay! Oh thank goodness, you're okay" Evelyn whispered to him as she kissed his head. Dustin held tight to his sister as she kept muttering that she was glad he was okay. Evelyn pulled away from Dustin before looking at Sabrina.

Evelyn pulled Sabrina into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. Thank you for staying with them and protecting them. Thank you so much" She whispered to her best friend. "Of course. I'm just glad you are okay" Sabrina told her as they pulled away from the hug.

Sabrina noticed Steve standing behind Evelyn. "What is Steve doing here?" Sabrina questioned. Evelyn pulled her brother back into a side hug before looking at Steve. "He saved me and he was also the one who drove us here" Evelyn told Sabrina before looking back at Dustin.

Sabrina looked at Steve who kept his full attention on Evelyn. "Where's el? Is she okay? Is she with Mike?" Evelyn questioned to her little brother. Evelyn noticed how Dustin looked down towards the ground at the mention of El.

"Dustin! What's wrong? Where's El?" Evelyn questioned again. Dustin looked up at his sister not knowing how to tell her that El is gone. "She's gone" Dustin told her.

"What do you mean gone?" Evelyn questioned with a shaky breath. "Did the bad men get her again. Did they hurt her?" Dustin shook his head no indicating that didn't happen. "She died saving us from the demogorgon" Dustin told her.

Evelyn looked away from Dustin to Steve. They were all sure that the demogorgon died once Jonathan set it on fire but I guess they were wrong. Evelyn felt her hear break a little once it really hit her that El, a little girl who held a special place in her heart was officially gone.

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Will Byers was officially back. An officer that was on the scene let the whole family who were friends with the Byers family that Will is alive and at the hospital getting treated. So that's where Evelyn found herself, sitting next to Nancy and Sabrina in the waiting room.

Evelyn saw that Dustin and Lucas have fallen asleep, the only one who didn't fall asleep was Mike. Evelyn could tell that El being gone affected Mike a lot more than it did for anyone else. Evelyn heard the waiting room door open and turned around to see Jonathan by the doorway.

Everyone turned their attention to Jonathan, all waiting on the news about Will. Jonathan nodded his head towards Mike who seemed to understand what he was saying.

"Guys. Guys, he's up. Will is up. Guys, Will's up" Mike was trying to tell Dustin and Luke. Mike kept shaking them trying to get them to wake up. Once Mike saw that they were waking up he ran out into the hall and started heading towards the room where Will was at.

Everyone watched as the boys ran towards the room where Will is in. "Evelyn, I think Will would like too see you as well" Jonathan called out to the young girl who still was seated by Sabrina. Nancy decided to follow her brother out and see Will as well.

Evelyn smiled and got up out of her seat. "I'll be back " she told Sabrina who only nodded her head. Evelyn walked out of the waiting room and started heading towards where Will was currently at.

Evelyn heard her brother and the rest of his friends talking to Will. Trying to explain to him what has been happening while he was gone. "Okay guys, go easy on him" Evelyn called out as she walked into the room.

The boys stopped talking as they saw Will advert his attention to the door. "Evelyn!" Will called out with a smile on his face. "Hi sweetie, I've missed you so much. How are you feeling?" Evelyn told him as she gently gave him a hug.

"I missed you too. I feel okay but I feel a whole lot better now that you guys are all here" Will told her and his friends. Evelyn gave Will a gentle squeeze on his hand before letting the boys continue telling him what happened.

Evelyn felt relieved and she felt happy. Will Byers was officially back and he was okay. The only thing that has been running on her mind was El. Evelyn had a feeling El could possibly still be out there, just this time not around Hawkins but somewhere else. She's just not sure where. All she's hoping right now is that El is somewhere safe.

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A month later, Evelyn pulled her car in front of Nancy's house and putting it in park. "I'll be right out" Evelyn told Sabrina who was sitting in the passenger seat trying to find a tape to play.

"I'll be here. Trying to find a tape to play. Don't you have Metallica? All I see is Queen" Sabrina questioned as she kept rummaging through her best friends tapes.

"Metallica? Since when have you listen to Metallica besides you know this car only has Queen and ABBA is in there somewhere but that's only because Nancy left it in here. " Evelyn told her as Sabrina set the tapes down back in the compartment.

"Just decided to give that band a try on their music, which by the way is really good. Speaking of Nancy, you got the gift?" Sabrina questioned as she looked towards Evelyn who grabbed something from in the backseat.

Evelyn pulled out Nancy's gift that both her and Sabrina got her. "Yup, now I'll be right out" Evelyn told her as she got out of her car and started heading towards the front door. She spotted Jonathan walking up towards the door as well.

"Hey stranger" Evelyn called out as Jonathan knocked on the front door. Jonathan turned towards Evelyn who just walked up with a gift in her hand. "Hey, who's the gift for?"

"It's for Nancy. It's from Sabrina and I" Evelyn told him. Jonathan nodded his head, he knew the three girls got close with each other especially since the death of Barb. Sabrina and Evelyn welcomed Nancy with open arms into their friendship. Jonathan can tell that it made Nancy happy that she found not just one but two new best friends.

The door opened up gaining the attention of both Jonathan and Evelyn. "Oh hello, Jonathan and Evelyn. Merry Christmas" Karen Wheeler told the two as she welcomed them into the warm house.

"The boys are all downstairs in the basement if you will like to go get them" Karen told them as she walked back into the kitchen. "Thank you Mrs.Wheeler" Evelyn told her as they both started walking downstairs towards the basement.

"Oh, Jeez what's that smell? Have you guys been playing games all day or just farting?" Jonathan questioned as all the boys stopped their campaign to see who was coming down the stairs. "I believe they have been farting all day" Evelyn jokingly stated.

"Oh, that's just Dustin" Lucas chuckled out. "He farted" Dustin stopped laughing and looked towards Lucas. "Dustin farted" Lucas started making a farting nosies while still mocking Dustin.

"Okay, very mature, Lucas" Dustin told him as Lucas kept mocking him. "Will, come on" Jonathan told his little brother. Will got up from his seat and started grabbing his stuff.

"Bye, guys. Bye, Evelyn" Will told everyone as he walked past them and followed after his brother. "Bye Will, Bye Jonathan. Get home safe" Evelyn called before the basement door shut behind them.

Evelyn turned back towards the rest of boys and saw Dustin and Lucas messing around with each other while Mike kept his attention on the fort he had set up for El.

"Okay, that's enough you two. Dustin we have to go. Lucas will you like a ride home?" Evelyn questioned as she handed Dustin his backpack. "That's okay, my mom is picking me up but thank you" Lucas told her as he sat down on the couch.

Evelyn nodded her head before looking at her brother who was already ready to leave. "We good to go?" Evelyn questioned as she began walking up the steps. "We are good to go. Bye guys" Dustin called out as they left the basement.

"Evelyn please let your mom know that we wish her a merry Christmas" Karen told her as she saw the two walk by the kitchen. "I most definitely will. Merry Christmas"

Evelyn spotted Nancy standing in the hallway watching Jonathan leave the house with a gift in his hand. "Dustin, Sabrina is already outside waiting in the car so if you will like you can go out there. I just have to do something real fast" Evelyn told her little brother.

"Fine but Sabrina better not be in that passenger seat and if she is than I'll be throwing some snow on her to get her to move" Dustin told her as he began walking out the door but not before saying goodbye to Nancy.

Evelyn slightly laughed at her brothers comments before walking up to Nancy. "Hey" Evelyn called out as she stopped right in front of Nancy. "Hey!" Nancy looked at her before looking at the gift that was in her hand.

"Whose the gift for?" Nancy questioned. Evelyn held her hand out towards Nancy. "It's for you. It's from Sabrina and I. We hope you like it" Evelyn told her as she watched Nancy grab the gift and start opening it.

Nancy gasped at what was inside the box. It was a small ring that held a little bow that was wrapped around and next to the ring was an ABBA album that they both saw Nancy looking at the last time they hung out.

"Sabrina and I have a similar ring like that. It's like a best friend ring, that indicates our friendship. Sabrina knew someone who can make rings so she gave them a call and made you one. The ABBA one... well we knew how much you love them" Evelyn told her as she watch Nancy put the small ring on her index finger.

"Thank you. It really means a lot and I'm really grateful that we all became friends." Nancy told her as she pulled Evelyn into a hug. "Merry Christmas, Evelyn"

"Merry Christmas, Nancy" Evelyn told her as they pulled away from the hug. Nancy saw Steve heading towards the two with a gift in his hand. Nancy knew the gift was for Evelyn since she was with Steve when he got the gift.

"Speaking of gifts, Steve got you something" Nancy told her as she pointed towards where Steve was at. Evelyn turned towards where Nancy was pointing out to find Steve standing there with a big box in his hand.

"Hey" Steve told her as he watch Nancy leave to go help her mom in the kitchen. "Hey" Evelyn called out as she watched Steve nervously play with gift in his hand.

"This is for you. Before you say anything, you don't have to give me a gift in return this is just a gift I wanted to give to you with some help from Nancy" Steve told her as he handed her the box.

Evelyn lightly grabbed the box in his hand and looked up at him. "Should I open it now or would you like to me wait until I'm gone" Evelyn questioned with a small smile on her face.

"I'll feel better if you open it later because you know...in case you don't like it than I'll completely forget I got it" Steve muttered out. He was really hoping she will like it. Evelyn smiled before walking up to Steve a placing a small kiss on his cheek.

Steve felt his heart beat a lot of faster once Evelyn placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Steve. I should probably go but merry Christmas" Evelyn told him as she walked out the door.

"Merry Christmas, Evelyn!" Steve whispered out after watching her leave with the gift in her hand. "I do really hope you like it"

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Later on that night, after opening gifts and dropping Sabrina off at home. Evelyn sat on her bed with Queen music softly playing in the background as she looked at the gift that Steve got her.

Evelyn unwrapped the gift and opened the box. She slightly gasped at what was inside. She saw a new Queen poster that was laid neatly in the box. On top of the poster was a Walkman with a mixtape right next to it. She grabbed the mixtape and noticed handwriting on it.

For Queens biggest fan! Love, Steve. P.S now you can listen to them while you walk around. Hope you enjoy. Got some help from Nancy as well on making the mix tape. Had to make sure I didn't miss a song.

Evelyn lightly laughed and smiled at the mixtape before placing it back in the box next to Walkman. She noticed something else that was in the box. She noticed it was smaller box. She grabbed it and opened it to found a small bracelet with a small crossbow dangling at the bottom.

She noticed another note by the box and grabbed it. She unfolded the note and read what was inside.

Hope you enjoy the bracelet. You are pretty badass when it comes to the crossbow. Merry Christmas Evelyn. Love, Steve

"Merry Christmas, Steve" Evelyn whispered out as she placed the bracelet on her wrist and played with the small crossbow. Evelyn felt a weird comfortable feeling inside her, she came to the conclusion that she might be falling for Steve Harrington!

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author note:
act one is officially completed!!
this chapter kinda of gave me writers
block but I'm glad I got some inspiration
by re-watching the episode! hope you
guys all enjoy it!! next up: act two!!
also hope some of you guys kinda
understood the Metallica reference ;)

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