BE SCARED AND DO IT ANYWAY.

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

STARCROSSED (book one).
°•        CHAPTER NINETEEN        •°

"        AND IF IT'S REAL,
YOU HAVE TO FEEL IT.       "

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

ELEVEN WAS ONCE JUST A CHILD. The government turned her into a weapon and used her abilities for their own selfish needs. Elijah's heart hurt every time he thought about it, how a girl whose powers were so strong that it would cause headaches that brought intense nosebleeds, and how she was forced to use them until she accidentally brought evil into their small town that she sacrificed herself to get rid of. Will was just a child. Will had survived on his own for days when the Demogorgon was chasing him and it's beyond Elijah how he made it or how he's possibly fighting against the possession of whatever shadow monster had taken control of his mind.

Hell, Elijah was just a kid. It's easy to forget that sometimes when he's stressing over the other's needs instead of his own.

He was tiredly digging through the barrels of trash that the Byers' shed had to offer to find whatever scraps they could use to hide it. Nevaeh worked beside him by ripping tape strips and sticking them to the edges of what he found so they could attach it to the wall later. Elijah snuck a glance at her. Bags sat below her dark eyes and her shoulders slumped at a low angle. He almost forgot that his baby sister, too, was a kid. They were a year apart. Who knows what she saw when she thought she was dreaming? And she saw someone who laid his life on the line for them be brutally murdered before her. God knows what was going through Nevaeh's head because Elijah couldn't guess.

Shot in the dark, it wasn't anything good.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Elijah offered after a beat.

A long strip of tape that Nevaeh pinched between her pointer finger and thumb ripped off the roll. "About what?" She played dumb.

Elijah sighed. He was left torn down the middle. He didn't want to force Nevaeh to talk about it, but he didn't want her to suffer when she kept it inside either. Doing so would be like allowing a bomb to stew and slowly count backward until an explosion. Elijah was the diffuser with a pair of shears and was sweating the closer he grew to the red and blue wire. He didn't know which one would cause a detonation.

So Elijah chose the red one.

"The first time I saw the Demogorgon, I was in the Upside Down. I followed Nancy there 'cause I hadn't wanted her to go alone. It... It smelled us quickly. It hunted us. Every time I ran and circled a tree, it was there." Elijah took a deep and shuddering breath as he remembered. He tried not to think about it too much. "It didn't matter I escaped. It was never going to stop so we tried to draw it in. Every bullet Nancy fired at it was like poking a bear with a stick. It stood over me, it... It opened its mouth, and... And I thought that was it for me. I didn't think I'd see you or... Or Dad again."

They never really had a chance to talk. Nevaeh's hands paused their movements as she allowed every word to sink in. They started to tremble so badly that the roll of tape fell and bounced off the floorboards. Her eyes squeezed shut and she flinched when Elijah gently brushed one of her loose curls out of the way. He waited until she was ready. He could still hear the bomb ticking.

"How do you deal with it?" Nevaeh finally whispered as if the terror alone had stolen her voice. "Every time I close my eyes, I... I see it ripping into Bob. I hear him scream as blood gets everywhere." She pressed the back of her hand over her mouth before she could release a sob of anguish. Elijah lets her as he lowered his hand to rub his thumb across her shoulder. "I can't get it out of my mind," Nevaeh cried. She must've thought that by now she'd be done crying, but her tears betrayed her and slid down her cheeks. "Going into the... The Upside Down when I was asleep, it-it's different. I can run. I can wake up. But here, it's real."

"And if it's real, you have to feel it," Elijah finished for her because he knew. He knew the feeling all too well. He couldn't wake up from this nightmare and on days that he couldn't get out of bed, he couldn't just snap out of it. Elijah had to feel everything deeply even if it would rip him to shreds. The thing was, he dealt with it. Smoking, driving over the speed limit and doing whatever would bring him the slightest relief. Sometimes it's shredding his knuckles when he hit something too hard. Sometimes it was thinking about what it felt like when he slid his palm to draw the Demogorgon in.

Nevaeh started to ask again, "How... How do you - " But it's too late. The bomb had finally burst.

She didn't explode in screams, but sobs. Nevaeh tried to cover her face with her hands as her body racked with the cries, but Elijah reached for her. His baby sister crumpled in his arms. Elijah nearly cradled her against his chest with his chin pressed over the top of her head. She fisted his t-shirt and crumpled the dampening cloth to ground her. He didn't tell her it'll be okay or just let it out. Elijah didn't say anything at all. He just let her cry until she was ready to hear him.

"You're like Athena," Elijah told her softly. Nevaeh's cries lowered into a sniffle that he could hardly hear, but he continued before she fell into justified hysterics again. He remembered the last time she was frantic, asking her about the stories of the stars had her remember better memories. "You're so strong and smart, Nevaeh, and you're such a fighter."

A small voice in Elijah's head says, she's just a kid. She shouldn't have to fight. And he knows the voice is right.

A wet and dry laugh covered Nevaeh's sob. She wiped at her eyes and sat up again. She attempted to clean up her face before her eyes met Elijah's. "If I'm Athena, you're Atlas. You're carrying the weight of the world and you still haven't crumbled."

What a pair they made. It hadn't mattered that they were siblings and Atlas and Athena had no crossover relations in the books of Mythology that Elijah read in his free time. In his eyes, he saw no one stronger than Nevaeh, and there was no one better to compare her to. He knew there what she saw when she looked at him too.

Elijah gave her a sad smile. He didn't tell her how bad his shoulders hurt from the universe resting on them. He didn't let her see that his armor was cracked from the pressure. He couldn't do that to her. He didn't want to poke at the wound Nevaeh already had. "You're stronger than me," Elijah told her instead. He smoothed the palm of his hand over Nevaeh's knotted curls to tilt her head so he could plant a kiss on the top of her head. She released a shuddering sigh of relief.

The Wolfhart siblings waited until Nevaeh was ready to put the wires that had come undone together. She didn't want to see the others in fear they'd look at her with pity for falling apart. Her tears still linger by the time they're ready to set Will in the shed. The kid is still fast asleep, his head hung low, even when they bring his arms behind the pole to tie his wrists tightly. Hopper knelt in front of him and waved a cotton ball dipped in ammonia under his nostrils.

It was a few seconds later when Will's head flung back and he gasped loudly with his eyes wide open. They flicker around the room as he studied every inch. From the people staring back at him, the lights shone on his face, to the cardboard plastered across the walls. "What? What is this?" Will mumbled. He started to squirm and realized he couldn't move out of his sitting position. "What is this? Why am I tied up?"

His mother crouched before him and sent him a tender gaze. "Will, we just wanna talk to you. We're not gonna hurt you," she promised.

Will's voice rose. "Where am I?!"

The colored picture Mike had flashed them with the shadow monster is dangled between Hopper's fingers as he nearly shoved it in Will's face. "You recognize this?" He interrogated. The kid didn't answer, but his features pinched in confusion. "Do you recognize this?" Hopper repeated himself.

Will furiously shook his head.

Elijah hadn't expected anything helpful but he still winced. Will looked terrified. He couldn't tell if it was the possession or if it was really Will.

"Hey. We wanna help you," Joyce soothed him with a gentle hand on his arm. "But to do that, we have to understand how to kill it."

Suddenly, Will snapped. "Why am I tied up?!" And Elijah flinched at the volume in his voice. He's never heard the kid raise his tone, not once. "Why am I tied up?! Why am I tied up?! Why am I tied up?!"

Joyce struggled to answer while Hopper held the boy by his shoulders. Will was seemingly losing his mind, beginning to kick in rage, and scream with as much power he could, "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"

The lights in the shed start to flicker as Will released everything he kept pent up amid his fit. Elijah wearily glanced around the small space that becomes dark and bright repeatedly in just a few seconds. It was minutes before Will finally let up. His words started to grow quieter until it was almost a whisper. He fell slack against the ropes and Hopper's arms. The lights stop flickering as he calmed down but Elijah hadn't felt any more settled than he did before.

A chair squeaked as Joyce dragged it across the wooden floor. She planted herself in it and glared directly at a panting Will. "Do you know what March twenty-second is? It's your birthday... Your birthday. When you turned eight, I gave you that huge box of crayons. Do you remember that? It was a hundred and twenty colors." She gnawed on her lower lip as she waited for a reply, but it didn't come. Will only glared back. "And all your friends, they got you Star Wars toys, but all you wanted to do was draw with all your new colors. And you drew this big spaceship, but it wasn't from a movie. It - it was your spaceship. A rainbow ship is what you called it. And you must have used every color in the box. I took that with me to Melvald's and I put it up and I told everyone who came in, my son drew this. And you were so embarrassed."

A breathless and pained laugh fell from Joyce's lips. Elijah knows the walk down memory lane must be killing her when all she wanted was her son back. "But I was so proud. I was so, so proud," Joyce insisted fondly.

Jonathan, who has stood his ground the whole time without crumbling once, took a small step forward. "Do you remember the day Dad left?" He whispered. He joined his mother's side and Elijah watched the back of his best friend's head with a worried frown, but Will's eyes met him next. "We stayed up all night building Castle Byers... Just the way you drew it.  And it took so long because you were so bad at hammering - " Jonathan choked on a laugh alongside Joyce at the memory. "... You'd miss the nail every time. And then it started raining... But we stayed out there anyway. We were both sick for like a week after that. But we just had to finish it, didn't we? We just had to."

A tear rolled down Mike's pale cheek. Elijah didn't think the kid could speak nor did he think he should be there, but Mike didn't want to leave his best friend behind. "Do you remember the first day that we met? It was the first day of kindergarten. I knew nobody. I had no friends and... I just felt so alone and so scared, but..." He stopped to sniffle. Nevaeh came up behind him and crouched to press her chin over his head, an arm crossing his shoulders. Mike leaned into the touch and took a deep breath. "I saw you on the swings and you were alone, too. You were just swinging by yourself. And I just walked up to you and... I asked - I asked if you wanted to be my friend. And you said yes. You said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done," he finished solemnly.

"Will, baby," Joyce pleaded in a cry, "If you're in there, just, please... Please talk to us. Please, honey, please, can you do that for me? Please. I love you so much."

Will hadn't made a move to speak once to them. His face curled until he was crying too as his mother begged him to talk to them. There was pain evident behind his big brown eyes welling with tears that made Elijah have to blink back his own. But Will fought back his lower lip trembling and the cries before they could escape. His expression turned rock-hard and wiped clean of any emotion. "Let me go," he demanded.

There were a couple of quiet thuds against the cardboard Will had been sitting against. Elijah's eyes darted toward the sound. Two of Will's frail fingers were tapping against the board in a steady and repetitive beat all while his stare remained locked on his family. Elijah would've thought it was a muscle spasm or a coincidence if it wasn't the same, familiar motion. He recognized it quickly but he wasn't fluent. Not with Morse Code.

Hopper, however, was. He grabbed Elijah by the shoulder who jumped at the contact and cocked his head towards the exit. "Let's go," he ordered them.

They file out of the shed and join the others in the Byers's house again. They're almost immediately flocked by everyone else asking to know what happened while Hopper tore the space apart looking for a pen and a piece of paper. They gather around the table in a circle as Hopper slammed the paper down and started to scribble on it as he spoke.

"I think he's talking. Just not with words."

"What is that?" Steve questioned with his eyes squinted in confusion.

A couple of dots Hopper drew on the paper made Elijah's eyes light up. "Morse code," he stated. He released a breath like the wind had been knocked out of his lungs. "God, he's such a smart kid."

"H - E - R - E," Hopper read aloud. "Here. Will's still in there." He tossed the pen onto the table. "He's talking to us!"

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

They separate into their groups again and soon enough, Elijah has Should I Stay Or Should I Go blasting in his ears courtesy of Jonathan's tape being clicked into his radio. Whatever is possessing Will - the Mind Flayer, Dustin called it? - stared at them in bewilderment at the change of events. Elijah doesn't break the stare. He doesn't want that thing to think he's scared even if he is as they all take turns sharing stories about Will to try and talk to the kid who was reaching for them on the other side.

Jonathan went first. As the tune continued in the background, he asked, "Do you remember the first time I played you this? Mom and Dad were both arguing in the next room so I played you the mix tape I made you. And it was the first time you got into music. Real music."

His little brother's face remained blank but Will's fingers continued to tap on the cardboard. Hopper watched with a hidden walkie held behind his back to press buttons in the same pattern that would deliver a signal to the others.

"... And then you saved us. You saved the whole Party," Mike finished.

Even if he wasn't half as upset as he was earlier, Nevaeh still guided him out of the chair with a hand on his shoulder. The poor kid was still shaking and Elijah frowned at the sight. He wished he was better with kids like she was. He didn't know how she did it. He always thought he was shit at comforting an obviously disturbed kid because he felt his gut clench into a cringe every time he was left alone with one. But then Elijah sat across from Will and matched his blank stare with equally daring brown eyes.

"I told Jonathan how shit I was with kids. How I'd probably make you scared of me more than anything. But Jonathan, he laughed, and he left us alone anyway. I don't know... I don't know how." Elijah sighed and rubbed his forehead. "But you got through to me when you asked me to help you with your Science project. I told you about the planets, constellations, anything you wanted to know." He weakly smiled when he saw Will's fingers lightly drum the cardboard again and knew what he was doing was working. "You drew me the solar system. I still have it plastered in my room, kid, 'cause you and Jonathan are so important to me. You just are. We ripped apart the town looking for you, Will, and you're so much braver than me. I don't know how you did it, but you kicked the Upside Down's ass. You can do it again."

Nevaeh encouraged him out of the chair in the same fashion she had for Mike. Elijah's hand sunk into hers so he could clutch it for support. Drop the idea that you are Atlas, carrying the world on your shoulders - it'll spin without you, his mind supplied. They were one of the same, he realized. Elijah can carry the world on a curled back, but he shouldn't have to. He still does as long as it meant it wouldn't crush anyone else.

Will's mother had just finished the story of how Will sacrificed a beloved toy truck to a crying little girl when the tape cut off. The song had come to an end. As if on cue, a shrill noise echoed from inside the house. Elijah's hand slipped from Nevaeh's as his head snapped toward the sound. The phone inside was releasing a shrieking tone that reached the shed. Will's eyes were wide as he took in the sound that paused before reappearing. Then stopping completely.

It was too late anyway. It didn't matter if they thought maybe Will wouldn't have recognized it since all phones made the same sound, but Elijah could tell he did. How could he not have? He's a smart kid and this was his home. Will started to breathe heavily as if he couldn't catch a second of air while his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Joyce gently shook his arm. "Hey, hey, can you hear me?" She pleaded.

He didn't answer. Will's eyes were flickering back and forth behind his lids while his breathing quickened.

"It knows," Hopper announced as he crouched in front of him. "It knows where we are."

A spark of fear crawled up Elijah's spine. He still didn't know whatever the hell Dustin went on about when he mentioned the Mind Flayer, shadowy monster, or whatever - but he knew what it came with. "Knock him out," he snapped. "Knock him out, Joyce - "

Joyce swiftly grabbed one of the syringes she had snatched from the lab and pressed the needle into Will's arm. As soon as the sedation entered his system, his head slumped forward as his breathing relaxed into a soft rhythm.

Elijah felt sick as he followed Jonathan and Hopper outside, Mike hot on the adult's heels. The trees that made up the woods were shivering because of the night chill as well as the familiar roar that ripped through the air. A dreadful feeling spread through Elijah's system as his hand started to shake. He blinked and suddenly saw small fibers floating in the air, a blue atmosphere having swallowed his usually colorful vision, trees that creak as they sway, and a horrible monster with long claws that dug across the trunk before him -

A lump rose in Elijah's throat and panic swelled in his lungs, freshly stealing the air. He opened his mouth to scream, but he blinked his burning eyes again, and suddenly, Jonathan was in front of him, snapping his fingers in front of his face, and shouting his name.

It finally snapped Elijah out of his stupor. He was shaken to his core as he fumbled to grasp what was real and what wasn't. Staring at his best friend felt real. But so did the screech of the evergrowing demogorgons.

"Don't. Don't coddle me," Elijah choked out. He shoved Jonathan's hand off his arm. "I'm okay."

He wasn't, but it's fine.

Jonathan darted into the shed again, warning the others in a breathless gasp, "They're coming!"

Having been left behind with his shoes glued to the ground, Elijah cast one last stare toward the woods. What if this isn't real? He started to panic. What if he's locked in the Upside Down and this was just his mind playing tricks on him?

A heavy hand planted onto Elijah's shoulder and gave the other a heavy shake. "Kid, listen to me," Hopper's gruff voice spoke, filled with something Elijah almost don't recognize. Was it with concern? "I know that you survive something, you hear a noise, and your head starts playing tricks on you - but it's not. Real. You know what's real? Your family. Your friends. Say their names," he demanded when Elijah swallowed an anxious cry with his teeth sinking into his lip like a cage.

"Nevaeh," he began. A slight weight was lifted off of Elijah's chest. "Jonathan." It was working. "Will. Nancy. Dad. St... Steve."

Elijah realized that he didn't feel healed, not even close, but he could breathe again. His blood rushing wasn't a roar in his eardrums anymore. He blinked a few times to get rid of the tears that had started to build. Thinking of the people he loved had helped him discover what was real and what wasn't. It cleared Elijah's mind and he could breathe again.

"Good, kid, you're good. You can do this." Hopper squeezed his shoulder with a relieved look and released the grip he had. "Get your ax. Go."

The shed door swung open again as Jonathan carried his unconscious baby brother outside. Elijah grabbed the ax he had left outside as Hopper seized a few firearms and the group darted into the house. Elijah squeezed the wooden handle as the weight of the weapon slowed him down and startled Steve when he saw the dark, unstoppable glare in his eyes.

The kids had gathered on the couch to peek out the window for any sign of monsters. Hopper loaded the shotgun in his hands swiftly as he demanded, "Hey, get away from the windows!"

They immediately scrambled away as the group formed into a large huddle. Elijah scanned the room to double-check that Nevaeh was there. Her face had been drained of color in terror, but she stood behind her brother, fingers trembling with nerve. Elijah shot her a nod as a silent promise that he would never let anything happen to her again.

"Can you use this?" Hopper asked Jonathan as he thrusts the shotgun in his direction.

Jonathan glared at the Chief as if he lost his mind. "What?"

"Can you use this?!"

Nancy took a step forward. "I can," she declared.

The Chief didn't hesitate in trusting the girl and tossed her the firearm. She flipped the safety switch off as the three armed teens gathered shoulder to shoulder, clutching their weapons, and staring directly at the window as the hungry screeches grew closer. The anticipation was killing Elijah. He's seen firsthand how these things would attack with no mercy and it made the dread he felt worse.

"What the hell are they waiting for?" He snarled but didn't dare take his glare off the window.

Max cowered behind Lucas who had his slingshot ready. "Where are they?" She asked in fear.

The leaves on the bush behind the glass start to quiver as a horrible snarl filled the air that caused them to jump in fear. Nancy pointedly glared through the eye scope, teeth grinding as she exclaimed, "What are they doing?!"

Elijah could hear the patter of their claws as they slapped across the gravel to circle the house. He gritted his teeth too, he couldn't help it. They were edging an attack on their prey. He couldn't tell if the groans were of pain or taunts. If they were going to break in, they should've done so already. What was stopping them?

All of a sudden, a body was flung through the window. Glass shattered into pieces around them and Elijah nearly swung at the sight as it knocked a few things down from the impact, but then stopped. It would've been useless. The thing wasn't moving. It was limp where it was sprawled across the floor.

However, Elijah didn't trust that for a second, and he stayed protectively in front of his sister as Hopper crept near it slowly. He kept his gun pointed at it and remained steady even when Dustin swore in shock and Max questioned if it was dead. Elijah watched as it hadn't even flinched when the Chief bumped it with the toe of his boot. Nothing. It wasn't breathing and it had to be dead.

The door behind them creaked and the group turned once more just in time to see the golden lock's switch flip as if someone on the other side had the key. Elijah's grip loosened on the weapon he held over his shoulder as he watched it unfold. Demogorgons don't use doors. They would've just crashed it into splinters. However, his heart still raced faster when the knob turned, and the door started to creak open slowly.

A pair of sneakers beneath cuffed jeans stepped over the ledge and entered the house. Elijah's eyes slowly panned upward at who stood before them. The sight was slowing the rate of his heart completely. At this rate, he didn't know if he was breathing right, but it wasn't panic. He thinks it was of confusion, maybe relief, but overall, Elijah was left stunned. The little girl with a dribble of blood leaking from her nose and black makeup smudged under her dark eyes that locked onto them as if she was staring right through them.

Everyone's weapons lowered. Nevaeh gasped and Elijah heard the palm of her hand slap over her mouth. He probably would have done the same if he could move, but in that moment, he couldn't even choke out Eleven's name.

.

━━━━━━━━

author's note:

will there ever be an update where i don't say "long time no see" or apologize for taking forever to update? never. IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT ❤️ school and work has kicked my butt but i've asked for saturdays off so i have at least one day put aside for myself. my mental health was getting out of wack.

my favorite moment of this chapter was probably hopper being a dad towards elijah. don't get me wrong, tobia is a wonderful dad doing his best for his kids, but this was something he needed to hear after being diagnosed with ptsd. and instead of naming the stars, this time he named the stars in his life - his loved ones ❤️ and then he's ready for war.

i'm really hoping i'll be able to wrap up this season by the end of next month because season 3 & 4 are my favorites overall and i absolutely can't wait to write them! i have so many plans.

anyway, if i don't update anything by the time spooky season passes, i hope you guys have a great halloween! 👻 choosing this to update was great for the spooky season. stay safe and i really hope you guys liked the chapter! ❤️

- koda

.•° ✿ °•.
WORD COUNT:
4.5k.
°•. ✿ .•°