Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers

chapter one , Troublemaker

a/n : LETS GOOOOOOO

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Hawkins, Indiana is boring. Nothing exciting ever seems to happen in the town. For kids, it was always school, playing with friends, or even using your imagination. For the teens, it was school, partying, sex, booze, and drugs. If only, Gus was actually invited to some of those parties. Maybe she wouldn't be in this mess right now.

"Shit--fuck, shit--fuck, shit--fuck."

The brunette sprints down the street, she turns her head, and looks behind her. The red and blue lights flash across the wet streets of Hawkins. The girl turns a sharp corner and slips on the ground. The palms of her hands scrape against the soaked ground. Gus ignores the pain in her hands and laughs softly. She pushes herself back onto her feet and runs through the neighborhood.

Gus looks behind her and sees the cop car abruptly stop. Her eyes widen.

He never gets out of the car.

"I'm fucked." Gus' vans skid across the slippery concrete and she stops in her tracks. She looks around, trying to catch her breath. Her eyes land on the space between the two house and a devious smile spreads across her lips.

"Hell yeah."

"Freeze!"

Gus rolls her eyes, she sprints toward the houses and squeezes between them.

"DAMMIT!"

The brunette laughs from the anger in the officer's voice. Gus makes it out from between the houses and hops over the fence. She lands in the grass and continues to run.

Gus makes it onto the street again and huffs. Before she could triumphantly laugh, she sees the red and blue lights once again. Her eyes widen and she runs down the street with the cop car behind her.

"Just stop!" The officer's voice blares throughout the streets.

"Now, you know that's not happening!" Gus shouts.

She pivots a corner and sprints into an alley. Gus quickly stops and she is now faced with a brick wall.

Gus slumps her shoulders, "Shit..."

She turns around and shields her eyes from the light flashing into her eyes.

"Put your hands in the air and get on your knees!"

The brunette inhales and looks at the pitch-black sky. "Really couldn't have let me get away this time, huh?"

"Put your hands in the air and get on your knees, now!"

Gus raises her hands in the air and falls to her knees. A twinge of pain is felt in her knees, but she keeps quiet about it. The officer walks over to her and forces her hands behind her back.

"Where is it?"

The brunette shrugs, "Where's what?" her voice was airy and sarcastic.

The man lets out a scoff and he slaps the metal around her wrists. The familiar cold metal tightens around her wrists. A small huff of disappointment escapes the officer's lips and the brunette smirks. She's forced onto her feet and led to the car.

"Hold on." The officer turns Gus around. She tilts her head, "Yeees?"

He digs into her messenger bag and pulls out the spray can.

"Eat shit, animal testers." The man says. "That was you, right?"

Gus presses her lips together and the officer's eye twitches. He opens the car door and Gus is pushed into the backseat of the squad car. The girl quietly starts to laugh. Her eyes meet the Chief of Police in the rearview mirror. His eyes were cold and Gus could see the agitation in them.

"You caught me," Gus says with a shrug. "Like always."

The man keeps a straight face.

Gus rolls her eyes, "Oh, come on, Hop, Smile! It's a good night!"

"Justice was served tonight." She motions to the spray praying across the lab. "It's gonna take those assholes weeks to wash that off."

Hopper turns his head towards the girl and sees the smug expression across her face. "Do you really think that I like doing this with you every night?"

The brunette shrugs her shoulders, a smirk on her lips.

"Well--"

"Gus."

The brunette's smirk falls and she looks out the window. Gus knows how much Hopper hates chasing after her, but it was either this or stay home with no one. She was alone, and Hopper knew that. He was working all the time.

Hopper takes a deep breath and exhales. "Did you finish your homework?"

Gus rolls her eyes, "I always do."

"And yet your grades are still ass."

"You had to get out of your car today." she huffs.

Hopper shakes his head, "And for that, you have the dishes for a month."

Gus' mouth hangs open. "No way--"

"You just vandalized that laboratory--again." Hopper cuts the brunette off. "You should be going to juvie."

"Again..." Gus sighs.

Hopper turns toward her once again and she closes her mouth.

"You're doing the dishes."

Gus frowns and sinks into her seat.

☆

Gus' eyes continue to droop, listening to the teacher talk. Her fist was pressed into her cheek and her mouth was slightly open. Gus knows that her 'painting the town red' late at night messes with her sleep schedule. But honestly, she's never seemed to care about any of that anymore. The sound of the chalk scraping against the board, caused her breathing to shallow.

It sounded familiar...

Like the sound was from a far away lifetime of hers. A small pain forms in her head. Gus squeezes her eyes shut and opens them again. Instead of seeing her female teacher, she sees a man with white hair.

The brunette's back straightens, "What the hell?"

"So, can you do it?"

Gus blinks, she looks around; wondering if the man was talking to someone else. She looks back at the white-haired man.

"Y-You're talking to me?" Gus points at herself.

The man walks toward Gus and she pulls her face back. He places the chalk on her desk. "Move it."

"Oookay..." Gus lightly pushes the chalk. "Boom, I moved it."

"Move it, number five."

"Okay--who the hell is number five?" Gus laughs softly. "I don't take kindly to odd nicknames, all right?"

The man slams his hands against the desk and Gus flinches. Her breathing quickens, that loud abrupt sound was all too familiar to her.

"MOVE IT--"

"Shut up!" Gus tangles her hands into her hair. "I don't want to move it, you can't...you can't make me."

"Miss Castillo!"

Gus shoots her head up and looks around. "I'm not gonna move it!"

Light laughter fills the room.

The short-haired brunette pulls her brows together. She looks at her desk and doesn't see the chalk there. "Whoa..."

"What was it I just said, Miss Castillo?"

Gus clears her throat and scratches her neck. "I, uh--I cannot recall."

The teacher then walks back over to the chalkboard and continues talking. "This is your first day back from suspension and you're already tired...sadly, I'm not surprised."

Gus squints her eyes and tilts her head, "Did you always wear those low cut shirts or are they specifically for the eyes of us high school students?"

Small laughter fills the class. The teacher tenses up and she clears her throat. "Moving on!"

Gus sinks into her seat and taps her fingers against her desk.

"You're going to be grouped in pairs and presenting about ways to get any job." The teacher states. "Now, you won't pick your partners..."

The brunette's stomach turns.

Shit.

Gus hated school, but she was great at it. Every subject she could ace if she wanted to. She was fine with presenting, as long as it wasn't with a specific person.

The teacher begins to look at the student roster, and she pairs each classmate with another. Then she finally gets to Gus.

"Gus and..."

Listen, Universe. I know I haven't been the best person in the world. But I know that I can change--for the better obviously. As long as you don't pair me with Steve Harrington.

"...Steve Harrington."

Gus hits her forehead against the table and she groans.

"Fuck you, Universe. I'm not changing for shit." The brunette grumbles.

"Fallon and Nancy." The teacher calls out.

Fallon's back straightens and a smile appears on her lips.

A scoff leaves Gus' lips and she rolls her head to the side. "Oh, fuck that!"

Fallon's mouth hangs open. She slaps her hand over her mouth.

"Miss Castillo!" The teacher shouts.

A sheepish smile finds Gus' lips, "It's great to be back, Mrs. Click."

Mrs. Click shakes her head and turns away from the class.

Gus hears laughter beside her. She turns her head and makes eye contact with her best friend. Gus places a finger gun into her mouth and one against her temple. The brunette then pulls the triggers, making an explosion sound, and she slumps into her chair with her eyes closed and her tongue sticking out. Fallon's laughter grows.

As much as Fallon wanted to feel sympathy for her best friend, she couldn't help but feel relieved by her own situation right now. Not only were Fallon and Nancy good friends, but they were also study partners.

Gus and Nancy never had anything in common, but they did hang out together when they were younger. But one day, Gus just seemed to want to start over. Forget everything.

It makes sense, she had a hard life.

Gus moves her eyes to the side and she looks at Steve.

Steve Harrington...everyone knew Steve. He was the King! And everyone knew Gus as the lonely troublemaker. She didn't want to be anywhere near him.

"I am going to enjoy watching this dumpster fire."

Gus smiles softly, she turns around and connects her hazel green eyes with the girl's icy blue ones. "Well, I'm glad someone is going to get a kick out of my misery."

Gus squints her eyes, "And I can't wait to see yours and Tammy Thompson's dumpster fire."

The girl chuckles softly, "20 bucks says my presentation is going to go right and yours is going to be absolute ass."

Gus pulls her brows together, she then smirks and holds her hand out towards the short-haired girl. "You're on, Buckley."

Robin and Gus shake hands.

The bell rings, and Gus' back straightens. Robin raises her brows, "You better get out of here quick, before he catches you." her voice was eery.

Gus' eyes widen, and she quickly packs her things up, trying her best to get out of the school fast. She grabs her dark green messenger bag and heads for the door. Robin chuckles softly and shakes her head. Fallon catches up with the short-haired brunette down the hall. The curly-haired girl interlocks her fingers with Gus' and lightly tugs her down the hell.

"If we hurry, maybe we'll outrun him--"

"Yo, Castillo!"

The curly-haired and short-haired duo quickly stop in their tracks.

Gus closes her eyes and tilts her head back. "Why me?" she whines.

Fallon looks at Gus, "Did you try praying to the universe?"

"You know I always do..." Gus huffs.

"And this time...?"

"This time the universe didn't listen. Like always." Gus looks at her shoes. "I'm gonna die."

"Well...after you're done dying--call me." Fallon touches Gus' arm and gives it a squeeze.

"Don't leave me." Gus looks at her friend walking away from her.

"You've got to face him, Guster. It's been years." Fallon shrugs, while still walking away.

"No, please!" Gus grabs Fallon's hand.

The curly-haired teen slightly jumps. She quickly turns to Gus and looks at their hands intertwined. A small chuckle leaves her lips, but she pulls her brows together and rolls her lips into her mouth. Fallon burns her chestnut brown eyes into Gus' teary hazel ones.

"Hey, I'll stay with you, dude." Fallon lightly taps Gus' chin with the back of her pointer finger. "I got you. Always."

Gus exhales a soft breath, "Thank you."

Fallon smiles softly and shrugs a shoulder.

Gus pulls her hand out of Fallon's and the girl's expression becomes small. The brunette closes her eyes for a second to gather some strength. She opens her eyes and spins on her heel and comes face to face with her former best friend. "Hi, Steve."

"Hey, Gus."

Fallon nods her head, glad that Gus was keeping her cool.

"So, partners?" Steve rocks back and forth on his heels.

Gus chuckles nervously, "Yeah--I know! Wh-Who would've thunk it?"

Steve blinks and Gus' face heats out of embarrassment. Fallon winces and she scratches the side of her neck.

"Uh--anyway..." Steve shakes off Gus' previous statement. "I just wanted to know if you had a way to do this."

The brunette pulls her brows together and so does Fallon. "A-A way to do...what?"

"Get us an A." Steve clarifies.

Fallon's back straightens.

"Mrs. Braden hooked me a big fish--I mean...Nancy would've been better but..." he stops talking when he notices the two girls walking away from him.

"Wh--hey!" He calls out as she walks out of the school. Steve starts to chase after them.

Fallon looks at the brunette. Her eyes shift to Gus' clenched jaw then her hands that were now curled into fists. Gus has always had a problem with her temper. She's had a history of starting fights when not necessary. And Fallon knew this could be a potential fight.

"You just gotta breathe, okay?" Fallon lightly touches Gus' back. "I mean, what did your therapist--"

"I stopped going to therapy," Gus says through her teeth.

Fallon raises her brows, "Okay--wow. That's surprising...and you didn't tell me?"

"What's there to tell? I finished the required therapy to come back from my suspension--so I stopped going." Gus shrugs.

"Gus!" Steve calls out. "Guster! My main wom--"

"Big fish?!" Gus spins on her heel and faces the boy. Steve quickly stops in his tracks, the tips of his sneakers hitting Gus'. He swallows, noticing how close he was to the brunette. "You think I'm a fish, Harrington?!"

Steve chuckles nervously and takes a slight step back. "N-No...I was just--it was a fishing thing--"

"So, you were comparing me to fish?" Gus questions, she drops her messenger bag.

Fallon's eyes widen, "Gus, you there is no need to throw hands."

Steve pulls his brows together, then his eyes blow wide. "Fight? No--No! I don't want to fight." he waves his hands around.

"You're just...really smart and I really caught a big fish with you being my partner." Steve tries to explain.

"There's that fish shit, again..." Gus lets out a bitter chuckle.

"Enough with the fish shit." Fallon seethes at the boy.

"Okay--sorry."

"But..." Gus starts. "You then said that Nancy would've been better, so...what was that about?" she bunches her shoulders.

Steve nods his head, "I-I guess, I did say that..." he squints his eyes and slightly opens his mouth. Gus watches as Steve starts to fiddle with his hands. He always did that when he was tried to figure out what to say.

"Well, what I meant was Nancy has had less of a negative record than you--"

"She has no negative record at all, actually." Fallon voices.

Steve points at the coil-haired girl. "Yes--exactly!"

Gus rolls her eyes, "I'm one of the smartest people at this school--"

"Well, you don't really show it..." He mumbles.

Fallon's mouth hangs open. It's like Steve wanted a death wish.

Gus' nostrils flare and Steve's eyes widen. "I meant that in the nicest way possible!"

Gus pulls her fist back and Fallon grabs the brunette's arm. "Hey, you just got back from suspension." she stands between Steve and Gus.

Gus rips her eyes off of Steve's shaken expression. She looks at Fallon and exhales through her nose. The brunette knew that Fallon was right. And it took everything out of Gus not to slam her fist into Steve's jaw right now.

Gus closes her eyes and exhales through her nose. She allows her hand to fall to the side and Fallon takes her hand off Gus' arm. The coil-haired girl takes a step to the side.

"I'll get you a passing grade." Gus opens her eyes and meets Steve. "After that...leave me alone."

A hint of pain is seen in Gus' eyes and Steve spots it. Gus grabs her bag off the ground. Before Steve could apologize, she turns around and begins to walk away all by herself.

Gus and Steve used to be best friends. Until he became a 'cool kid' and decided that Gus wasn't someone that would increase his cool status. It hurt Gus to even think about Steve choosing anyone over her. But then again, it's high school. Not everyone stays friends.

Fallon stands beside Steve and shakes her head. "Damn, you pissed her off..." she gives Steve a pat on his shoulder. "...dick." she then jogs after her friend.

Steve runs a hand through his hair and looks around, making sure no one saw that exchange. The boy couldn't help but feel worried about the brunette. The way the fight left her so easily by the end of that conversation, made it fully aware just how tired Gus really was.

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Gus sits at the table with her microwave tv dinner. She pushes her food around with her fork. The short-haired brunette was still pissed at Steve, but at the same time, she felt like she overreacted.

"I totally overreacted." the brunette whines.

Gus scoffs softly. "I'm not gonna apologize to his big-haired ass."

The brunette then laughs softly, "He does have big hair."

She frowns, "But it's also luscious and shiny..." Gus lightly touches the ends of her frizzy brown hair and scoffs. "...how the fuck does he get his hair to do that?"

Gus lets out a groan and leans back in her seat.

The front door opens and Gus quickly shifts her gaze to the door. A small breath leaves her lips, "Hey, Hop."

Hopper takes his hat off, "Hey, kid."

Sometimes, Gus wonders if Hopper actually remembers her name. The brunette stands up, "Uh...I made you dinner." she points at the other meal on the table. "I know we never have dinner together, but--"

"Sorry, kid. I would, but I've got paperwork." Hopper cuts her off.

Gus watches Hopper approach the stairs. She then scoffs. "You don't have to lie."

Hopper stops and turns to her, "Excuse me?"

She holds her arms out, "Hopper, you never work when you get home--never."

Hopper rolls his eyes.

"I made you dinner--"

"You microwaved it--"

"Same fucking thing!" Gus shouts.

"Hey!" Hopper's voice booms.

Gus flinches, but she slams her jaw shut. Hopper's hand drops to his side and he sighs. He pushes down his guilt. "I'm tired, so I'm going to my room."

Gus watches Hopper walk up the stairs. The brunette's eyes fill with tears, "If you hate me just say that!" she calls out.

As soon as she hears Hopper's door shut, she sits back down in exhaustion. Gus covers her face and lets out a frustrated growl.

The brunette tangles her hands into her hair and roughly pulls at it. She looks down at the some of the food she's eaten and her breathing quickens. Gus never felt like she had control of her life. And from what she could remember, she never did have control.

With a fit of rage, Gus grabs her food and chucks it at the wall. The brunette inhales a deep breath and holds it. She pulls her brows together, and slumps her shoulders. Her eyes widen with realization, "Shit."

Gus grabs a paper towel and walks over to the mess she made.

...

Fallon lets out a sharp breath and wipes the eraser shavings from her paper. She massages the side of her brow and quietly hums.

"How was school today, sweetie?"

Fallon looks up from her homework and looks at her parents in the kitchen. "It was pretty good. Gus came back today."

Fallon's parents exchange a look. "From suspension?"

"Yeah. Two weeks." Fallon states.

"I see..."

Fallon stops writing and pulls her brows together. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, I think there's something wrong with Gus." Fallon's mom chuckles.

"Cynthia..."

Cynthia looks over at her husband. She then looks at her daughter, who was confused. Cynthia sets the chef's knife down. "Fallon, sweetheart..."

"Mom..."

"I think Gus is bad for you."

Fallon slightly opens her mouth, "Oh..."

"I'm glad you consider her your best friend, but she's a psycho."

"Oh, wow..." Fallon leans back in her seat.

"Cynthia."

"Greg, I'm just saying what you and I were talking about." Cynthia bunches her shoulders.

"Wait, you guys both feel this way?" Fallon asks. "Gus isn't a psycho. She's just...someone who gets into unnecessary confrontations."

"An unstable and aggressive person." Cynthia huffs. "That's the definition of a psycho."

Fallon rolls her eyes.

"Fallon, your eyes. Fix them."

The teenager's back straightens and she looks back at her parents. Cynthia lets out an exhausted breath.

"She's trouble and I don't want her dragging you down. That's all." Cynthia gives her daughter a smile.

Fallon rolls her lips into her mouth. "Thank you for your honesty, mom."

Fallon looks down at her paper, her smile saddening.

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author's note.

I hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter!!!! Make sure to vote and comment, I don't bite! I love hearing what you guys have to say <3

Words: 3,587