I'LL ALWAYS BE YOUR BULLSHIT !

( THREE MONTHS LATER )

☀︎

THINGS HAD TO CHANGE FOR THE GROUP IN HAWKINS. Everything had been different now that the gate was shut and the Mind Flayer was gone. It was supposed to be refreshing but some just couldn't let go. They carried the burdens of the people they lost, filled with guilt and regrets about their last moments spent with them. Some felt they had no choice but to run from Hawkins, even if that meant leaving others behind.

In the Byers' home, everyone had pitched in to help them pack and share final goodbyes. Some had taken positive attitudes toward this move while others couldn't stand letting go. Three that just wanted to stay in the moment forever were Jonathan, Nancy, and Alex.

The three had worked quickly to help Jonathan pack up, cleaning out his room until nothing remained but themselves. They had all laid in the middle of the room, looking up at the ceiling above them. There were no words exchanged while they soaked in those last moments together.

In the middle, Jonathan had reached out, taking a hold of each of their hands. "We'll see each other again, won't we?"

"Of course," Nancy whispered. She held her breath for a moment, holding back her tears and the fears that this was the end of the line for them. They could make promises all day about seeing one another, and staying in touch, but they couldn't be certain they would hold true. Jonathan was moving across the country, it wasn't a guarantee that they would have that chance to stick to their world.

"I'm going to miss it," Alex said softly. "Coming over just to steal your breakfast or hiding in the darkroom when we'd skip class." She paused as she looked over to Jonathan, tears in her eyes as she began to laugh. "Who the hell am I going to annoy every day?"

"You two have each other." Pulling himself into a sitting position, Jonathan looked down at each of them. "Take care of each other. I don't want to come to visit and find out you two drifted apart or anything."

Sitting up next, each of the girls looked at one another with smiles. That was something they could easily promise. They would always have each other even in the darkest of times. Reaching a handout, Nancy had waited for Alex to take hold. When she did, they squeezed one another's hands as they made their promise. "Always."

Out in the living room, the echoing voices of Lucas and Max had come floating through once again, this time followed by frustrated groans from Dustin Henderson. Alex had given a small sigh, dropping Nancy's hand as she got to her feet. The two had needed a moment alone to say their goodbyes and Dustin had given her that opportunity to leave them be. "I should probably go babysit those assholes."

Watching as she made her way towards his bedroom door, Jonathan called back to her with a smile. "Can't call it babysitting when they're your kids."

Alex laid her hand on the doorframe as she turned, giving him a look. "They aren't my kids if two of them are leaving me." Looking around the room one last time, she had said her goodbye to the last memory she would have sitting in Jonathan Byers room. She dropped her hand down as she felt her smile fade the moment she turned her back to the group.

Running her hand against the wall of the hallway, she had looked around at a house that had become a second home to her. She wasn't just saying goodbye to the Byers, but she was saying goodbye to a home she practically lived in.

When she had entered the living room, immediately Max and Lucas called out to her for some backup. "Tell him, Henderson! We just want one versus from your stupid brother."

"Come on, Alex, we missed our chance at hearing it. You gotta make him do it," Max pleaded. Alex gave a small sigh looking at the two sides of the situation. Dustin had given her a look, practically begging her to defend him while the others had already burst back into song once again.

Alex's shoulders slacked as she came to a final decision. Walking over to Max and Lucas, she laid her hands on their shoulders, leaning down and causing them to come to a stop with their singing. They dreaded that Alex had picked her brother over them. It was a decision that Steve would've made and given they had appointed Alex the cool one between the two, they expected better. But she had made her decision long before they had even bothered to ask.

She didn't disciple them as they had expected. Instead, she opened her mouth, picking up where the two had left off in the song. Throughout the Byers' house, their voices had carried through, the NeverEnding Story being sung out until laughter followed soon after.

It was everything Joyce Byers had needed to hear before she left for California. This house deserved one last laugh, one good memory before she could close the door behind her and let Hawkins go.

『••☀︎••』

After saving the world, they had thought nothing could be any harder. That was until the whole group that helped pack up the Byers' house were all outside for final goodbyes. None knowing when the next time any would see each other again.

Alex had stood back, watching as everyone had held one another in each other's arms, tears already falling and goodbyes being said. She couldn't bring herself to do the same just yet. Doing so would mean letting them go.

Feeling a nudge in her side, Alex looked up to see Jonathan standing next to her with crossed arms, looking out at the group as she did. He couldn't bring himself to look at her, unsure if saying goodbye was something he was going to be able to do. "Do you think we'll see each other again?"

Alex kept her eyes on him. All he wanted was the truth. She couldn't promise him they would even if it wasn't what she had wanted. "I hope so. This summer was hard enough not seeing each other all the time."

"I'll find reasons to come back. And, who knows, maybe I'll save up enough money so on your birthday I can come back and pay you a visit." He sniffled his nose as he finally brought his eyes to her. He had tried so desperately not to cry, but seeing she already was, he couldn't help but laugh. "I hate crying."

Alex gave a small nod as she struggled to find her voice. He was her best friend and he meant the world to her. To say goodbye had caused unimaginable pain. Rather than force herself to speak, she pulled him into her arms, hoping to never let go. They had let the other cry it out as they stalled their goodbye just a little longer.

When they had decided to pull away, each had made quick work to wipe away their tears, making themselves laugh. Reaching into his back pocket, Jonathan had unfolded a photo as he extended it out her way. "Just so you don't forget this ugly mug."

Alex took the photo from his hand and immediately she felt like crying all over again. It was a picture of the two sitting on the Byers' couch. From the way, the camera was angled and the lack of focus, it was clear that it was the picture Will had taken when he wanted to give it a go and test out Jonathan's camera. Alex pinched the picture between her fingers as she held it up. "I'm literally going to carry this everywhere from now on."

Jonathan smiled at her. "I love you," he said softly. That was it for the two. It was the official start of a goodbye. After this, it would be some time before they could see each other again. But Jonathan knew he left her in good hands, between the kids, Steve, Nancy, and her new friend Robin, she was going to be okay.

"I love you way more," she said quietly. He rested a hand on her shoulder, knowing if he had gone for another hug, he may not be able to let go. Her head turned with him as he walked away and when he was gone, she felt alone again.

Feeling a poke in her side, Alex turned to see a small girl attempting a smile despite her mood, "I'll miss you," El said quietly.

"Trust me, I'll miss you too," Alex said through a sad smile. To see Eleven grow into the person she had become had made it even harder to know this was a goodbye. She had found her in the woods with the boys and now she was sending her off with a family she knew would take care of her.

Looking around, El started to grow nervous until she knew there was no point. Wrapping her arms around Alex, she let out a small sigh, "I... love you."

Alex slowly wrapped her arms around Eleven, keeping her eyes shut as she forced the tears away. "I love you, too." Getting onto her knees, Alex released El from her arms and held onto her hands with a smile, "I know you already know this... but Joyce will take such good care of you."

"I know," El said, letting a tear slide down her face.

Wiping away at the tear, Alex let out a small chuckle, "You're so smart. Hopper would be so proud of you. You remember his note, right? So if Mike ever visits you... three inches. Or else."

Letting out a laugh, El shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Blah, blah, blah. You're such a dad."

Alex couldn't help but laugh, lowering her head in disbelief. She was never escaping this nightmare of a joke but it did always warm her heart to know these kids could look at her and see family. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Come with," El whispered.

"I wish I could," she responded gently. If she had the choice, she would have packed everyone in, all of them escaping Hawkins and starting a new life together. One where they could stay with one another and finally find happiness, a way out of the nightmare. "Now give me a hug again so I can soak in all your love before Mike steals it all." Alex laughed, pulling El into her arms.

Squeezing tightly, El held on as long as she could to build up her courage. Before she took off back to Mike, El quickly kissed Alex on the cheek knowing all she'd have left until she came back was the memories of sleepovers with her and Max, the journey of saving the world, and the stories Hopper would tell her before bed of the older Henderson and the plenty of trouble she got into that he'd have to save her from.

When Eleven had walked away, Will had taken his chance at saying goodbye to her before they had left. "You'll call," he stated as he stood before her. "You'll call me if anything happens again. Don't think you'll hurt me either and lie to me. We're never going to be okay and... and that's fine because we have each other. So," he paused as he shrugged to hide how hurt he was to leave. "You'll call."

"I'll call," she agreed. On her knees before him, she took his hands in her own causing him to look away when he felt he was going to cry. "And you'll call. And not just for anything end of the world like. Call me when you start school so you can tell me all about it, and you'll call whenever you need help with school work, and you'll call whenever you just need someone to talk to. And I'll do the same."

He gave a nod as he finally looked back at her with a sad smile. "You should say bye to my mom, too. She won't do it herself. She's afraid she'll start crying." Bending down to her, he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Bye, Alex."

"Bye, Will," she said softly as he pulled from her arms. Glancing over to the woman that leaned up against the moving truck, Alex knew she had to say goodbye. She wasn't going to let an opportunity ever pass her again to say goodbye to someone she left. She never knew when it would be the last time. That mistake already happened with Hopper and she had to live with that. Not with Joyce, though. She had a chance and she had to take it.

Back onto her feet, she had made her way over arms crossed over herself as a comforting blanket to her. She forced a smile to her lips as she stood before Joyce. "Is my mom really leaving her favorite child behind?"

A pained smile came across Joyce's face. "Don't tell your mom, I totally thought of kidnapping you. Maybe leave Jonathan here and you come with the rest of us."

"Don't tempt me. I'd end up running home and packing."

"Oh, come on. You wear my clothes so well though," Joyce teased, grabbing Alex as soon as she felt tears start to come. Holding the girl against her, Joyce looked up to the sky, begging herself not to let a single tear fall.

Alex's vision had gone blurry as tears clouded over her eyes. She rested her chin on Joyce's shoulder as she held onto her. "Thank you for everything you've ever done for me."

"Don't make me cry," Joyce whispered, "I'll never want to leave then." Pulling away, Joyce had held her out at arm's length, looking her over. "You call me if anything happens. You're still my kid and I'll kick anyone's ass to protect you. You know that."

"Thought you wanted out of all of this?"

It was true. Joyce needed this escape and have that chance to restart her life. The one in Hawkins was too dark but that never took away from the people she would be leaving behind. "Not if you're still in it." Joyce moved her hands up, holding onto Alex's face gently as she looked her over. "This isn't goodbye so we don't get to cry. I'll make sure we have a spot for you to come spend some time with us whenever you want. And I'm sure when you finally marry that boyfriend..."

Alex scoffed. "We're way too young."

Running her hand down Alex's hair, Joyce smiled. She had never been more proud of her than she was now. She watched her grow into this person and she was there for the good and the bad— just as she wanted. "Well, when you're ready then and I'm not some old bag of bones, I'm coming. Even if you forget all about me."

"I could never," Alex said with a smile. "I love you too damn much."

"And I love you so much more than that," Joyce whispered, pulling Alex back into her arms. It wasn't goodbye to her. Joyce believed they were always going to be family and family was something she didn't let go of so easily. She'd be back and she'd get to hold her like this all over again.

Even if it wasn't goodbye forever, they still had to leave. The groups had separated: the Byers heading to their cars while the rest could do nothing but watch. Alex and Nancy had found themselves beside one another, neither smiling and both with tear-stained faces.

Both girls found one another's hand, stepping back as everyone gave one more wave goodbye and climbed into their vehicles. Hearing the honk of his car, Jonathan stuck his hand out the window, giving his two favorite girls one last goodbye before pulling out of the driveway. Squeezing tightly, Nancy rested her head on Alex thankful that she wasn't left alone. Feeling another hand slip into her other, Dustin looked up to his sister with a sad smile. Every single one left in the Byers' old yard, watching the street until the cars were out of view, all hoping that it wouldn't be the last memory of the family that changed their lives.

『••☀︎••』

Alex Henderson had rode her bike down the street all alone. She had been lost in her mind as she relived the memories she shared with the Byers. She wasn't sure how long it would be until she'd get to make some more. How long until those memories faded and the Byers was a thing of the past?

She couldn't bring herself to head home just yet. Too much weight had rested on her shoulders. This was the end of the bad things that Hawkins Lab had started. It should have made things better for everyone. They all should have been able to move on and find themselves in this new world. That's how it was supposed to be.

So why did Alex Henderson feel the way she did?

Coming to the edge of the woods, Alex had gotten off her bike, laying it down on the side of the road. A camera dangled from her neck and she felt she should take pictures to clear her mind. That's what she and Jonathan used to do. Well, they used to do it before the events of November 1983. It was a thing of the past. Somewhere she longed to be.

She came to a pause as a stick had snapped in the distance. A chill had washed over her from pure fear. Memories of the demogorgon lurking in the woods had replayed in her mind. That was in the past, yet the memories and fears that lived inside her had felt like yesterday.

She convinced herself that it was all over. No monster could ever lurk in those woods again. Not after what they had put themselves through to make sure it never happened again. Picking up her camera, she snapped some pictures. Instinct had her look to her left, prepared to make a comment to Jonathan, but he wasn't there. He was now one of those things of the past. Moments like this wouldn't happen again.

Alex went to raise the camera back up when a voice called out her name. Stepping back, she looked down the road at Steve Harrington. He had been riding a bike similar to hers. "Alex, holy shit! You won't believe it, babe. I-I did it! I got the job!"

"Dude, that's awesome," she congratulated, however, her eyes had turned down to the bike. Pointing to it, she turned her eyes to him with a questioning look. "Where the hell did you get that from?"

"Oh, right," he chuckled. "Do you like it? I figured you ride yours all the time so I thought I'd get one. Dustin helped me out since I was clueless."

Alex walked up to him, giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Wow, a job and a bike. Isn't that super hot?"

Steve shrugged his shoulders with an embarrassed smile, "Well, Robin helped me get the job. So..." He reached over, pulling the camera off from around her neck, "I celebrated her awesomeness to join in on yours." Holding up the camera to his face, he took a picture of her when she flashed him an annoyed smile.

Taking the camera back from him, Alex asked for him to follow alongside her. Dropping his new bike down beside hers, he followed after with his hands in his pockets, taking a look at the trees surrounding them. "You know this means we can hide away from the kids whenever we want? We can ride out to Lover's Lake."

"Oh, that sounds nice," she said through a smile. "Yeah, this could be fun. Super romantic."

"Speaking of romantic," Steve spoke up. Letting out a long breath of air, he pulled her to a stop. "I have something for you." Reaching into his pocket he had pulled out the same folded paper she wouldn't let him read before. Scrunching up her nose, she let out a groan. "Oh, god, don't let it be a song. I'll just start laughing and I don't want you to feel bad."

"It's not a song," he interrupted. "Why would it be a song? I'm not crazy."

"You could be," she said under her breath. She ended up giving a small shrug. "I like crazy though. Just not songwriting kinda crazy. I didn't even know you could sing. A lot of good-looking people can sing though so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I'll probably just be really embarrassed for you for, like, a second. Only a second though."

"I can't sing and it's not a song," he reminded her through a laugh. Nodding in understanding, she motioned for him to go ahead and continue. But he had paused as he looked at her. It was like falling in love all over again, the way just being around her immediately made him feel relaxed. Then the realization hit him. "It's garbage," he stated as he crumpled up the piece of paper. "You don't need to hear any of this. You're right, you'll just laugh. I had this... this super kick-ass speech about love and other boring shit. You don't need to hear any of that. You know how I feel, so this," he held out the crumpled paper for her to see before tossing it over his shoulder. "This is bullshit."

Alex cupped her hands over her mouth and as she pulled them away to speak, he saw how big her smile was. "Oh, no. Wow, okay, am I getting a famous Nancy Wheeler speech? Should we... should we maybe head to a bathroom to do this?"

"Shut up," he scoffed. "You know what, here. Take it." Taking her hand in his, he placed a ring in the palm of her hand.

Alex grew wide-eyed, feeling that Joyce Byers had somehow predicted a wedding down the line— one she was not prepared for at such a young age. "This isn't... please tell me you're not proposing. I know we have kids already but this is... I'm not ready for that."

He couldn't help but laugh at the panic in her voice. "Calm down, Henderson. It's like a promise ring, I guess. Nancy said it would be a nice thing to do and I wasn't sure..."

"I love it, Steve," she pouted. "I'll always wear it. Even if you just told me your undying love for me was too bullshit to read out loud."

He rolled his eyes at her teasing words. None of it was bullshit. Everything he felt for her was the exact opposite of that. However, he played into her teasing. "That's your bullshit ring. You know, we deal with a lot of bullshit together. It's a promise that we'll be there for each other's bullshit. So, Henderson, will you be my bullshit?"

"Are you sure you didn't write that all down on that paper?" She laughed. Putting the ring on, she made her way up to him, wrapping her arms around him as she rested her chin on his chest to look up at him. "I'll always be your bullshit, Harrington."

Hawkins, Indiana had found its moment of peace. The pain was sure to never wash away, but the two standing in the woods had still managed to find love through it all. It wasn't how it was supposed to go, wasn't planned in any way, but they always made the best of it.

With the gate closed and the monsters stashed away to their knowledge, everything seemed okay for now. Yet no one would forget the sacrifice of Jim Hopper and Billy Hargrove, the firework show courtesy of Lucas Sinclair, or the story of the man who made it all happen with his cherry Slurpee and his knowledge of the doorway between worlds known as Alexei.

— SEASON FOUR

COMING SOON !