(      darkest before dawn      /      act one      )
episode five  |   stranger things

❛  CONFESSIONS AND REVELATIONS  ❜

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AURORA HATED THE COLOR black. Every time she saw the color, it felt as if all the light in the world was being swallowed up, leaving her in a cold, endless void.

Now, as she found all of her aunts dressed in the exact same color as her, it felt suffocating, like a tangible reminder of her loss. Will isn't dead, she had to remind herself the entire drive there, he's just lost.

Everyone dressed in the same color just seemed echoed her sorrows.

Will isn't dead. But it felt like he was.

Aurora had to face Jonathan and Mrs. Byers, she had to watch them cry as Aurora knew the truth. She had to watch them mourn over him, knowing that Will wasn't dead, they weren't burying Will. Some other family was mourning the loss of their child, and that child was being buried.

Flora and Fauna tried to speak with her on the drive there, but Aurora wouldn't answer them. She felt like it should've been raining as Pastor Charles spoke to what felt like the whole town.

Aurora stood by Mike, as the sun beat down on her bare neck. Her hair pulled into a bun by Merryweather's choice. Dustin tried to lighten the mood with a grin towards each of them, but Aurora softly shook her head.

"Just wait till we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral." Aurora cracked a grin at his comment, before Mrs. Wheeler shushed him.

When the ceremony was finished, Aurora had cried. She didn't think she had it in her, she had cried so much she thought she had run out of tears. As people dropped roses into the hole, Aurora went to hug Mrs. Byers, the older woman hugging her back tightly. "Will loved you so much." The older woman whispered in her ear.

"He loves you more," Mrs. Byers didn't notice the use of present tense in Aurora words, as she squeezed the young girl tighter before letting go.

"You're welcome to use Castle Byers anytime," Jonathan told the girl, lightly touching her shoulder. Aurora looked down, tears welling in her eyes, as Jonathan hugged her. "Come over for dinner anytime, Rory."

Aurora lightly nodded before pulling away and running up to the reception. Aurora found her friends talking to Mr. Clarke at a table, Aurora pulled up a chair next to her teacher and Mike.

"So, you know how in Cosmos, Carl Sagan talks about other dimensions? Like, beyond our world?" Mike started.

"Yeah, sure. Theoretically," Mr. Clarke nodded, and sent a small smile towards the blonde who joined them.

"Right, theoretically," Mike nodded.

"So," Lucas started, "theoretically, how do we travel there?"

"You guys have been thinking about Hugh Everett's Many-Worlds Interpretation, haven't you." No, they hadn't even thought about the small book their teacher had recommended them, because right now, the four of them had a real problem on their hands. Of course, none of them could tell Mr. Clarke that.

"Of course!" Aurora grinned towards her teacher, "I've been trying to get my mind off of" —Aurora motioned around her— "everything that's been happening. So anything helps, that's why we're asking."

"Well, basically, there are parallel universes," Mr. Clarke didn't catch on Aurora sarcasm as the man laughed slightly, "just like our world, but just infinite variations of it. Which means there's a world out there, where none of this tragic stuff ever happened."

"Yeah, that's not what we're talking about." Lucas jumped in, trying to turn the topic away from Mr. Clarkes wannabe grief counseling.

"We were thinking of more of an evil dimension," Dustin started, "like the Vale of Shadows. You know the Vale of Shadows?"

"An echo of the Material Plane, where necrotic and shadow magic—" Mr. Clarke grinned. He was once apart of the Dungeons and Dragons club in high school.

"Yeah exactly." Mike cut the man off, stopped another rant before it started. "If that did exist, a place like the Vale of Shadows, how would we travel there?"

"Theoretically," Lucas and Aurora chimed in.

"Well," Mr. Clarke began a thorough explanation of how one could travel there, using a flea and an acrobat as his example. As he spoke, the group got more and more interested, asking more questions as he explained.

"But we're not the flea, we're the acrobat." Mike stated.

"In this metaphor, yes, we're the acrobat."

"So we can't go upside down?"

"No," Mr. Clarke seemed a bit unsure about his answer.

Dustin leaned forward, pointing to Mr. Clarkes drawing, "well, is there anyway for the acrobat to get to the upside down?"

"Well...you'd have to create a massive amount of energy." The teacher started, "more than humans are currently capable of creating, mind you, to open up some kind of tear time and space, and then," the teacher bent his drawing in half, before stabbing the pen through the plate, creating a hole. "You create a doorway."

"Like a gate?"

"Sure. Like a gate," Mr. Clarke placed the items back onto the table, "but, again this is all—"

"Theoretical," The four of them chimed in together, smiling.

"What if the gate already existed?" Aurora questioned. She knew there was a gate, Will had gone through it.

"Well, if it did. I think we'd know. It would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment. Heck, it might even swallow us up whole."

"Thank you Mr. Clarke," Aurora spoke, pulling Mikes arm up with her as she stood, "but we have to go, um, do something."

"Mourn," Dustin nodded as he and Lucas stumbled out of their seats as well, all of them having the same thought.

Eleven.

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AURORA WAS LYING ON the couch as Mike explained to Eleven what their teacher had told them, in a much simpler manner. Auroras feet were in Lucas' lap, as Dustin paced the floor.

"What we want to know is, do you know where the gate is?" Lucas questioned.

"Please," Aurora added sweetly, only to have Lucas scoff and dramatically push her legs off. Aurora's smile fell as Eleven shook her head.

"Then how do you know about the Upside Down?" Lucas questioned as Aurora sat up, watching Dustin spin around in circles.

"Dustin, what are you doing?" Mike questioned, "Dustin?"

"I—I need to see your compasses," Dustin demanded, his voice shaky.

      "Sorry, I left mine right next to my catapult in my cave, why would I have a compass, Dustin? I barely go into the woods willingly." Aurora sarcastically remarked.

      Dustin just scoffed, "Your compasses. Please, all of your compasses, right now!"

      They piled them on top of Mikes Dungeons and Dragons board that was still flipped over. Dustin made sure all of them were flipped the right way before grinning.

"What's so exciting about this?"

"Well, they're all facing north, right?" Dustin questioned.

"Yeah, so?" Lucas rolled his eyes as Aurora sat at one of the chairs, her head lolling to the side as she tried to pay attention.

"Well, that's not true north."

      "What do you mean?" Aurora questioned, her voice heavy with sleep.

      "I mean exactly what I just said. That's not true north." Dustin rolled his eyes, "are you guys seriously this dense? The sun rises in the east, and it sets in the west. Right? Which means that that's—" Dustin pointed in the direction "—true north."

      "So what you're saying is that the compasses are broken," Mike answered throwing his hands in the air.

      Aurora stood up, "No, he's saying that there's a larger magnetic field that is pulling the compasses in different direction. One larger than the Earths magnetic north pole." Mike gave her a questioning glance while Dustin grinned, "It's the gate! A large force of energy that's changing the compasses direction because it's—"

      "Disrupting the electromagnet field." Mike spoke, everything clicking in his mind.

      "I would've said it better, but," Dustin shrugged before holding his hand up for a high five that Aurora completed.

      "So if we follow the compasses north," Lucas grinned, everything making more sense now.

      "They should lead us to the gate." Dustin finished with a smile and Aurora cheered. No one in the party noticed Elevens terrified look as her mind registered where the gate was.

      They all left quickly after that, all of them running from Mikes house towards the woods. Aurora had a slight skip in her step as Mike walked in pace with her. Jitters from the funeral still touched at her fingers, make them shake slightly.

      Each of them were holding a compass as they walked along train tracks. Eleven was slightly behind Aurora and Mike, the former kept glancing behind making sure she wasn't walking too fast for her.

      Eleven tried to smile at Aurora once, but it was shaky. Aurora didn't seem to notice as she turned back to her compass. The few seconds she didn't pay attention to her feet, caused her to trip on one of the metal bars. Aurora would've face planted had Mike not caught her. His hand at her waist while the other grabbed her hand.

      As soon as she was stable, Aurora pulled away from him, "You seem to be doing that a lot." She mumbled.

      "Huh?" Mike played pretend as though he didn't like the feeling of helping Aurora.

      "Um, never mind," Aurora shook her head, "I'm gonna go—go catch up with Lucas and Dustin."

      Mike didn't get the chance to say anything as Aurora quickly walked ahead of Mike who fell behind to get into step with Eleven. Aurora quickly caught up with the two boys ahead of them.

      They walked to the empty junk yard a while later, before Dustin stopped them. "Oh no."

      "'Oh no'? What's 'Oh no'?" Lucas questioned.

      "We're head back home."

      "What?" Auroras eyes widened as she realized the same thing.

      "Are you sure?" Lucas stepped towards Dustin, looking at the compass in his hand.

      "Yeah, I'm sure. Setting sun, right there," Dustin pointed behind him, and Aurora sighed. "We looped right back around."

      "And you're just realizing this now?" Lucas threw his hands up.

      "Why is this all on me?"

      "Because you're the compass genius!"

      "What do your guys say?"

      Mike, Lucas and Aurora all responded with the same answer, "North."

      "Makes no damn sense." Dustin spoke as Lucas sighed harshly.

      "Maybe the gate moved?" Mike spoke up, glance into the trees.

      "No," Dustin shook his head, "I don't think it's the gate. I think it's something else screwing with the compasses."

      Aurora glanced at El as the girl wiped her nose. Realization washed over the girl, as Eleven tried to hide her arm. Lucas followed Aurora's line of sight, anger setting into his bones.

      "It's not a magnet." Lucas pointed at Eleven, "she's been acting weirder than normal. If she can slam doors with her mind, she can definitely screw up a compass."

      "Why would she do that!"

      "Because she's trying to sabotage our mission," Lucas sneered, "because she's a traitor!" The boy took a few steps towards Eleven, glaring at her.

      "Lucas, what are you doing?" Mike moved to stop him, but Lucas shoved him away slightly.

      "You did it, didn't you?" Lucas accused, but his voice was filled with realization. "You don't want us to reach the gate. You don't want us to find Will."

      "Lucas come on," Mike pleaded, "seriously, just leave her alone!"

      "Admit it."

      "No," Eleven shook her head, eyes watering slightly.

      "Admit it!" Lucas shouted, as Eleven flinched backwards. Aurora took a step closer to help, and the soft shake of Elevens had had her pausing in her tracks. Lucas grabbed Elevens sleeve, finding blood, new and old wiped on the sleeve. "Fresh blood, I knew it."

      "Lucas, come on."

      "I saw her wiping your nose on the tracks! She was using her powers!"

      "Bull," Mike argued, "That's old blood, right El?" Eleven didn't answer, "Right, El?"

      "It's...not...it's not safe." El spoke through her tears.

      "What did I tell you? She's been playing us from the beginning!" Lucas was in Mikes face as they argued, Aurora stood by Dustin.

      "That's not true. She helped us find Will!"

      "Find Will?" Lucas scoffed. "Find Will? Where is he, then? Huh? I don't see him."

      "Yeah, you know what I mean."

      "No, I actually don't. Just think about it, Mike." Lucas pointed at El, "she could've just told us where the Upside Down was right away, but she didn't. She just made us run around like headless chickens."

      That's when Dustin left Auroras side, "Alright, calm down."

      "No!" Lucas shoved Dustin away, "she used us, all of us! She helped just enough so she could get what she wants. Food and a bed. She's like a stray dog."

      "Screw you, Lucas!" Mike shouted.

      "No! Screw you Mike. You're blind because you like that a girls not grossed out by you. But wake up, man! Wake the hell up! She knows where Will is and now she's just letting him die in the upside down."

      "Shut up!"

      "For all we know, it's her fault."

      "Shut up!"

      "We're looking for some stupid monster, but did you ever stop to think that maybe she's the monster?" Lucas pointed to Aurora. "Maybe Auroras the next victim."

      "I said shut up!" Mike threw a punch at Lucas, which turned into the boy tackling him as Dustin and Eleven shouted at the pair, Aurora just started to panic.

      Lucas managed to get on top of Mike as Eleven screamed, the boy was thrown off Mike, slamming into a sheet of metal over ten feet from where they were.

      "Jesus!" Dustin yelled, and Mike stumbled to Lucas, Aurora and Dustin close behind.

      "Lucas! Lucas! Lucas, are you all right? Lucas."

      "Lucas, come on!"

      Mike turned, yelling at Eleven as Aurora fumbled around, trying to find Lucas's pulse, which was there, stronger than ever. Then Aurora started trying to wake the boy up, shaking him did the trick as Lucas woke up slowly.

      Mike and Dustin started crowding him, asking question after question. Mike reached for Lucas's head, only for his hand to be slapped away harshly, "get off me!"

      "Lucas, Lucas let me see." The boys pushed himself up, trying to hold back tears as he kicked Mike away. Lucas quickly walked away from the three of them, Dustin holding Mike back from catching up with him.

      "Where's El?" Mike asked, his mind on the girl now. Aurora scoffed, and Mike glared at her.

      "What! All you care about now is El! Will is missing, Mike. Lucas was just knocked out because of her and she's the one you're worried about?" Aurora blinked harshly, trying to conceal her tears, "Come on, Mike."

      Aurora then took off in the direction Lucas went, running to catch up with him. He hadn't made it far, Aurora found him leaning against a tree, holding his head. The boy glared harshly at her before realizing it was Aurora.

      "It's only me," the girl raised her hands in surrender, "can I check your head?"

      Lucas nodded, and Aurora held his chin as she made sure nothing was seriously wrong. He would most likely have a bump on his head for a few days and a slight headache but nothing more.

      "I'm no doctor, but I think you're gonna live." Lucas laughed at Aurora joke, before throwing a hand over her shoulder as the pair walked together.

      "So," Lucas started, "you like Mike?" Aurora stopped in her tracks, staring at the boy with an open mouth. "Come on Rory, it's obvious. I'm gonna be honest, I had a slight crush on you a few years back, right when Will introduced you. But I told him, and he said you already had someone in mind. I guess I didn't put it together until now."

      Aurora just nodded, "For what it's worth, you're gonna find someone amazing even if it is Mike."

      Aurora laughed, "You too Lucas."

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(      LET ME SPEAK    :      )

i feel like the plot with lucas liking rory
very much came out of left field, so i
apologie because idk if i really like it...
i just don't know how to change it, so
whomp whomp! BUT their friendship is
literally top tier, and now we're getting to
the good stuff!!!

credit goes to fivehxrgreeves