YOU DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT
ABOUT ME !

☀︎

ALL CLEANED UP AFTER THE VISIT TO THE BATHROOM, THE THREE WERE ALL BACK TO THEIR SENSES AND READY TO MAKE AN ESCAPE OUT OF STARCOURT MALL. Back to the Future had ended just as they exited the bathroom. It had been the perfect way to blend into the everyday crowd of the mall-goers. Filing into the crowd, the five had straightened out their clothes and hair, sticking close to one another as they kept their eyes out for any Russian guards.

Alex had held onto Erica's hand to keep her close, however, Steve had felt the same for Alex as he held onto her other hand. They were centered in a crowd of people leaving the movie and together, they had all blended in perfectly.

"Well, shit, that actually worked," Erica whispered, flashing a smile at Alex.

"Of course it worked," Dustin gloated. He was the mastermind, and to have someone recognize that his plans were brilliant, no matter how small, it made him feel great inside. "We just need to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come."

Alex and Steve turned to one another, exchanging knowing glances. There may have been an incident back with the Russian officer that neither was too thrilled to mention to Dustin. Alex had widened her eyes as she signaled for Steve to explain the misfortune they had brought the group.

Swallowing hard, Steve had kept his head low, "Uh, Dustin? Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house."

"Why?"

"Well, I might've told them your full name," Steve mumbled in regret. However, he did not hesitate to throw Alex under the bus with him. "Hey, your sister joined in on bragging about you."

"What is wrong with you two?" Dustin had kept his eyes forward, resisting the strong urge to look at the two and give them the true anger he had felt knowing how much jeopardy they had put him in.

"We were drugged, we weren't thinking straight," Alex whispered. "You would have done the same."

"No, I wouldn't," he said through his teeth. "I would resist as you two should have. You tough it out."

"Oh, yeah, it's easy for you to say," Steve mumbled with a roll of eyes.

Up ahead, Robin had spotted the first sign of a threat. Out of the conversation between the three, Robin had to gather their attention to focus on the true threat at hand. Had they not even made it out of the mall, then it wouldn't have mattered whether or not they knew where the Hendersons lived. "Guys," she whispered in a warning. Reaching out, she had grabbed onto Steve's shoulder to bring them to a stop before they could make notice of themselves to the Russian guard stopping and searching people's bags as they exited the mall.

Standing in the crowd of people, Dustin gave clear instruction, "Abort." Head-turning, the Russian guard had maneuvered his eyes across the crowd before they had landed on the group that had watched him in horror. "Abort," Dustin repeated louder.

Out of their stunned state, the group had turned on their heel, now heading opposite the crowd. The Russian guard had abandoned his station, bringing his walkie to his ear, calling for more backup. Unsure where to go, the group had a second to pause at the escalator and decided it was their only shot.

Between the escalator, the stairs had been a wide enough opening for them to slide down. It was a quick escape and their best chance at creating some distance. One-by-one, each of them had slid down between the escalators to the large center of the mall.

Stumbling onto her feet when she had reached the end, Alex had felt lightheaded. Closing her eyes, she held onto Erica's shoulder to keep her steady enough to bring herself back together. Sliding down last, Steve had joined the group, placing a hand on Alex's back as they searched for the safest spot for them to hide.

"I'm okay," she whispered, but every part of her felt weak. Feeling something hit her hand as they rushed towards Great America Cookie for a place to hide, she had noticed a red splotch of blood sitting there. She had sighed silently to herself and wiped her hand clean.

There was no time to stop and recollect any longer. Backup was on its way and there were no choices to further them to safety. The only thing they could rely on was hiding behind the counter of Great America Cookie. The five had crouched together, sitting as close as they could to one another. Had they died, they had wanted to do that together.

Alex leaned into Steve as she felt her heart racing and her breathing pick up. There was no moment like now that she had felt as worse as she did but it was only the beginning of what was to come. It was nothing of the normal headaches and random nose bleed. This had started to become more consistent and more draining on her. It was now more than ever that she needed him in order to feel that she could survive this.

The five had stayed still and quiet, awaiting the worst to follow after. Footsteps of the man chasing them were lurking close and were only followed by more of his men coming to join in the search. It was painful to know that there was nothing they could do but sit and wait it out. None of them could take on all of these men with guns and after their neverending journey, they felt that they didn't have the energy to even try.

Steve fumbled with his free hand, no longer caring about his stupid popularity points, and grabbed onto Dustin's hand to comfort him. Scooting closer, Erica rested her head on Alex's shoulder while Dustin squeezed tightly onto Steve's. Robin on the other hand did not see it as useful to join in when she thought she had all that she needed. Watching the four before her, she realized that even if no one would give any of them a second look, she was proud to have been a part of their lives. Thanking the universe for allowing Steve Harrington to land the job at Scoops Ahoy and annoying the living hell out of her because without that, she would've never been able to meet the people that have and would continue to change her life.

Their hearts had beaten against their chest, threatening to break through as they awaited their capture and certain death. Most of them had closed their eyes, leaning into one another as they accepted that this was the end of the line for the Scoop Troop. Their fear had been unreal, that even the smallest noise had slipped by them and they didn't notice. They had given away their location and none of them knew it was coming to an end.

They were labeled as forgettable by Dustin Henderson when this had all begun. At the time it had felt like the perfect label. This summer, it felt that their friends had somehow forgotten about them and it hurt. Only, they were far from forgettable. Joyce and Hopper were racing around in search of all their children-- blood or not, and the rest of the party were racing against Billy unknowingly and in search of what happened to the people they needed the most to help them out.

The car alarm had been the moment that the Forgettable Five could no longer call themselves that any longer. They were the Scoop Troop and most importantly, they were part of the party, never to be left behind.

The group of men that had their guns drawn and pointed to the counter the five hid behind had jerked to their right, pointing to the car that's lights flashed and shook unexpectedly. The five had held their breaths as they listened, unable to move, trapped in fear.

Standing on the floor above, Eleven Hopper had held out her hand, nose bleeding heavily. When the Russians had met her eyes, she pulled her hand back before jerking it forward. The car below had followed her force of power and flung at the men, taking them out as it hit the wall behind them.

The crash of the car had the five behind the counter jump, but they had felt the safety when there was no sound coming from the men once following them. Letting go of one another, they slowly turned to their knees and peeked their heads over the counter. Where the men once stood had been torn through and just a few feet away was a tipped-over car with bodies left in its path.

Turning their heads up, they had spotted them. The rest of the party had surrounded Eleven, all watching with panted breaths the five that came out from behind the counter. With safety finally consuming them for the moment, they didn't hesitate to reunite with one another. Despite only being apart for a few days, it had felt like a lifetime.

The party had made their way down the escalators, meeting up with the five, finally finding the ability to smile in relief.

Instantly, Alex collided with Max, holding onto her as tightly as she could just glad to see the young girl had made it to her. Holding onto her face, Alex held her at a distance, scanning over for any signs of harm then let out a laugh when Max had smiled brightly back up at her.

"I'm all good," Max reassured.

"Lucas?" Erica's yells to her brother had pulled Max and Alex away from each other causing Alex to fall into Lucas's arms next when he approached her as he started yelling at his sister. Too occupied for a proper hello, Lucas gave her several pats before he tried to get away. Bringing him back to her, she let out a laugh, "Hey, shithead, I've been worried about you."

Lucas hesitated. He had wanted to let her know that he cared too, how he had been at his radio trying to reach Dustin and see if she had been okay after finding out what Will had told him about the Mind Flayer. He still found himself settling on their usual attitudes towards one another, but his smile was a giveaway. "You didn't give a shit about me."

"Actually, I had this whole speech about how you'd come in with your wrist rocket and come save me," she laughed. He met her eyes, wanting to see if she had been messing with him. When he had looked at her, he knew there was no chance she could have lied to him. He gave a nod, "Yeah, well, I'm here to save your ass now. By the way, your nose is bleeding and you look like shit."

"You look like shit, too," she stated as she dropped her arms down. "Better fix yourself up before Max breaks up with you again, or did she already?"

"Shut up," he scoffed, but he paused for a moment, giving her a look out of the corner of his eye. "Thanks for not dying on me, Henderson."

"I'll try harder next time," she teased, letting him off to meet up with Erica. Turning back, she had spotted the rest of the party had continued to make their way down and felt her chin quiver as she fought to keep her smile steady. "Will," she whispered softly. When Alex had wrapped her arms around him tightly, Will had closed his eyes, holding in his tears of joy, holding just as tight onto her.

"You're okay," Will said quietly. "We tried calling you."

"I'm fine," she whispered, "I think it's more important you're okay, man. I've been so damn worried about you." Pulling him out at arm's length, she looked him over with a smile. "How have you been handling him?" Her question had brought confusion to him as he shook his head in question. Smile beginning to fade, Alex gave a simple nod. "Are you..." her voice trailed off as she looked him over. "The nose bleeds, headaches, voices... It's happening to you, right?"

Will had furrowed his brows together as he shook his head. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," she said in a single quick breath. "We're okay. That's all that matters." Seeing that she didn't convince him, she forced a smile but her eyes didn't light up like they always did. "We're fine," she whispered. "We're going to get through this."

"We will," he confirmed with a small nod. She had let go of his arms and he knew better than to talk her through it all. Right now, they had needed to catch up and find a way to stop the chaos that was unleashing on Hawkins. Spotting Dustin making his way over, he gave her one last smile before he went to see him.

Alex stood there, running a hand over her face, forcing herself to pull it together. This was a moment to reunite and finally feel truly safe with the people they were surrounded with. No matter how she felt or what she went through, she convinced herself to push it all away for them.

There was, however, someone that could bring a smile to her face. Someone that she truly hadn't seen in a while. Things were different and this summer proved that, but not once did they lose sight of the person that was always there for them. Jonathan had called out her name loudly, hopping off the last step. When she had looked over at him, a smile grew wide on his face and he took off in a sprint after her. Without any hesitation in his actions, Jonathan collided with her and wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in a hug.

"Oh my God. Oh my God! You're okay! You're here! Jesus Christ, Alex, I've been calling you!" Jonathan's yells were muffled in Alex's shoulder, Jonathan not finding it necessary to ever pull away.

"You did?" Alex asked, slightly shocked. All summer she had been afraid that the only person that had never left her side, even in the worst of times, had forgotten about her.

Lifting his head, a crooked smile spread across his lips, "Hey, dipshit, of course. Bonded," Jonathan held up his scarred palm causing Alex to let out a relieved laugh.

"I really thought..." Her voice faded off as she realized she didn't have any reason to explain to him her doubts about him. "Dude, I just missed you," Alex managed to get out, gently lifting her hand to his. It was an unbreakable bonded connection that they would never lose sight of. No matter how far apart, they had a scar to prove that there was someone out there that felt their pain.

"I missed you way more," he chuckled. Heading towards the group, they had joined in to swap their set of stories of what they had faced in just a short amount of time.

Still trying to understand everything going on around her, Robin had pointed over to the car with wide eyes. "I don't understand what happened to that car."

"I told you, El has superpowers. She threw it with her mind," Alex said, motioning over to Eleven, who smiled in response.

"Right, right," she said quickly. "It's just you told me a lot of crazy shit."

"Of course," Alex nodded in agreement. It wasn't always the easiest to jump in and follow along and she understood that clearly. Sometimes just speaking of what they had all gone through had felt like some bad story she had made up on the spot.

One that was not following along was Nancy, pointing over to Robin. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Robin," El said simply.

"Yeah, I'm Robin," she said, looking over to El with a smile. "I work with Steve."

"She cracked the top-secret code," Dustin bragged.

"Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians," Steve added in. All eyes turned over to him in shock and confusion. "Russians? What Russians?" Jonathan asked. The Scoop Troop all turned, pointing to the dead men left on the floor without any further explanation.

"Those were Russians?" Max questioned loudly.

"Some of them," Erica said with a shrug.

Annoyed as he always was with her, Lucas gave Erica a look, "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you hear our code red?" Dustin asked, looking over to Mike.

"Yeah," he scoffed. "All I heard was that you said Alex was doing drugs." Turning over to her, Mike extended a finger out in her direction. "Why'd you call me Michael? Don't do that. It's weird!"

Holding up her hands, Alex tried to calm him down. "Hey, relax. The Russians drugged us and things got weird fast." Reaching out, Nancy laid a hand on Alex's back, giving her a few comforting pats to show she had understood that she was innocent in the matter.

"Whatever," Mike scoffed before turning back to Dustin. "I couldn't understand what you were saying."

"Goddamn low battery!"

Steve, with his hands already on his hips, looked over to Dustin. He had warned him and once again, he was ignored. "How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery?"

"Okay, calm down, mom," Alex called over to him.

"Oh no! Not happening! Just divorce now or some shit because I am not dealing with Steve acting like our mom!" Lucas yelled, taking a step towards Alex.

"Excuse me? What?" Nancy questioned in confusion. It was reasonable not understanding the situation that Steve and Alex had created for themselves. It was a joke that had only continued to grow whenever they didn't have a clear head.

"She's our dad, he's our mom. Honestly Nancy, keep up," Dustin scolded, shaking his head in disappointment.

"None of this makes sense or even matters," Jonathan said, taking a step between the group, "We were discussing Russians." Trying to gather the group back together to discuss the more important matters at hand, they had all failed to notice that Eleven had silently dismissed herself from the group. With one bad leg, she had limped away, feeling the overwhelming sense of pain consume her.

A ringing had begun to form in her ears, causing her to stop in place. Cupping her ears, she had felt herself growing weak with pain. While the group had continued to discuss Russians, the Mind Flayer, and the gate, Alex had stayed quiet, her eyes bouncing around the group to whoever was speaking. She had begun to lean against Nancy without realizing it. It wasn't until the taste of blood had filled her mouth. Reaching up, she had felt blood pouring from her nose. It was much more than she had ever felt. Lightly touching it, she had pulled her fingers away, looking at the blood, "Oh, shit," she whispered.

Eleven fell to the ground and none of it mattered. Alex had stayed in her spot, feeling Nancy's absence as the group rushed to Eleven's aid. Lifting the front of her tank top, she had wiped the blood out from under her nose, but it hadn't mattered, more blood had replaced what she had wiped away.

Wanting to help Eleven, Jonathan had made it his mission to gather supplies. Seeing that Alex had been hanging around, he grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him. "Come on!"

Pulling herself together, Alex had accepted that she was going to be perfectly fine. All it had been was a nose bleed, just a bit worse than usual. She was still able to function, so she didn't see the need to worry. Running alongside Jonathan, she had chosen to be there to help than worry about herself.

"Holy shit, she's running," Jonathan laughed.

"Still not funny," she called over to him with an annoyed laugh. However, payback was always on her mind. "By the way, Steve knows we kissed. He might kick your ass now."

"I can take him," he said knowingly. "I did it before."

"Okay," she mumbled quietly to herself, accepting the defeat. There was no reason to argue because there was enough proof to show that Jonathan actually could take him on.

"I can't believe you told him," he said in disbelief. He couldn't let go of how much it had bothered him. It was an embarrassing moment that he regrets so deeply. "That was the worst thing I could have done and now he knows."

"Okay, says the guy that took a picture of Nancy in her bra," she scoffed. As they approached Imperial Panda, the two hopped over the counter, flashing each other a look. Even if they had managed to frustrate one another, it felt refreshing to do it again.

Each of them had begun looking into drawers for anything that could help. Looking over his shoulder quickly, Jonathan felt a single laugh come out of his mouth, "You know, I missed this, us annoying each other."

"Oh, yeah, we should do it more often," she called over to him. "Are you free tonight?"

"Hm, might have something going on but you can always tag along," he responded. Grabbing a knife, he looked it over and felt himself giving a small nod of approval. With limited supplies and not enough time, it would have to do. "You know, you could always tag along though. Oh, but your monster ex boyfriend is going to be there and he's pissed."

"Yeah, he's not really a people person," she said as she shut her drawer, coming up short. Just as that drawer had shut, she had felt a dizziness fall upon her causing her to take hold of the counter for some support. Trying to keep up her mood, she went to make another joke, "Think he'll get jealous when he sees Steve?"

Jonathan had laughed as he grabbed a set of gloves he could use. Alex had stayed in her spot, eyes closed and blood still pouring from her nose. She had tried to maintain her breathing, but there was no use. Weakness was all she felt. It was as if she was drained from every bit of strength in her.

"I got everything. Let's go," he called over to her. Turning to leave, he had taken quick notice that she was not as eager as she once was. Stopping in his tracks, he looked over his shoulder at her barely able to keep herself standing.

"No, no, no," he mumbled as he made his way back over to her. "No, Alex, you are not really doing this right now, please." Setting the knife and gloves down, he grabbed onto her. "Can you walk?" When she hadn't responded, he grabbed onto her waist and turned her to face him. Her face had become a ghostly white, contrasting horrifyingly with the red blood that poured from her nose. "Okay," he whispered to himself. Swallowing hard, he knew he could never leave her behind again. "I'm gonna carry you," he whispered to her. Face growing tight, he had lifted her with a grunt, holding her in his arms. Leaning up against the counter for some support, he quickly reached out for the knife and gloves and put them on her to hold onto so he could carry her.

Holding on tightly to her, he had made his way around the counter, carrying her as he tried to rush to help the others. He was in a battle knowing he had to be there for Eleven, but he was afraid that leaving Alex would be a decision he would regret.

As the group approached, he had stopped short, not wanting her close enough to hear what he knew would be screams of pain from El when he would cut that thing out of her leg. He laid her down and kneeled over her. Taking the knife and gloves, he watched as she opened her eyes, still in much pain. "You're gonna be okay. I need to help El and then I'm coming back. Don't move."

"Don't think I can," she whispered with a small smile. To see her even give him that smallest bit of playful attitude, he knew he could count on her to pull through until he got back. Standing up, he had looked down at her one last time before rushing off to assist El. It was a risky choice, but he knew how to help Eleven and not Alex.

Alex had laid there, watching as the ceiling above her began to spin. She questioned herself if it had been any drugs that had been leftover in her system, ready to come out or not. She blinked slowly, listening as a voice had faded in and out, blocking the screams of Eleven just a few feet away. Tuning out everything else around, she had focused in, letting the voices grow louder inside her head.

The low voice of Billy Hargrove had whispered through her ears. "He did all of this for her," he began quietly. Unable to understand, Alex had shut her eyes, waiting for it all to go away. "But you, he hasn't forgotten about you. You thought it would be easy letting him go? That he would leave so easily by a flicker of a flame?" Tears had spilled out of the corner of her eyes and she clutched her ears, begging for it all to end as his voice boomed in her ears. "He never let you go. Never left. He buried himself in you and you never asked yourself why he would leave you so easily."

Groaning, Alex had begged for it all to stop. To end the pain and suffering she had already gone through. The Mind Flayer always had a hold on her and she wanted to let it go so badly that she ignored what had always been in front of her. It had taken a lot more for Will Byers to rid the monster in his mind, nearly killing him in the process. For Alex, it was all too easy. The Mind Flayer could put on a show and expel most of him from her. Enough that she wouldn't question it. Back in the junkyard in that broken-down bus, he had left the smallest part of him and that smallest part had done the most damage to her mind.

It was a reminder that the Mind Flayer was forever going to be linked to her. It felt that he would have a constant hold on her whether or not she was able to fight against it. Everything felt cold, and the feel of a hand wrapping around her caused her to jerk away. Eyes opening, a relieved sob had escaped her mouth when kneeling beside her had been Jim Hopper. Standing behind him, Joyce Byers and Murray Bauman stood.

There was no hesitation as she pulled herself up and wrapped her arms around him. He was the only person she had wanted to see to know that maybe it could be better. Hopper was always there to help get her and the rest of the kids out of trouble. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding on tight to him. "He's still in me," she whispered. "He's in my head. He told me."

"It's okay, kid," he whispered as he pulled her back. Holding onto her arms, he helped her up onto her feet. He didn't need to say anything, she could already tell by the look on his face he was worried but staying strong as he always was. He was going to find a way out of this, even if it meant sacrificing it all for the kids.

The two had turned over to the group that had been filled with fear and in awe of the monster that Eleven had pulled out of her leg. With her powers, she had enough strength to send it flying at them and landed just at their feet.

Stepping forward, Hopper had pressed his boot down onto the monster, squishing it as it gave a horrifying shriek. No longer on the move, a part of the Mind Flayer had died but it was far from the end. The gate was opening and the Mind Flayer had been on his way to Starcourt Mall, ready to end it— the battle between the small group in Hawkins and the world itself.