𓆩♡𓆪

THE HEAT FROM THE sauna room is so high that it has started to heat up the locker room. Brooke's arm is wrapped around Danny, protectively holding him back.

"MAX! Let me out of here!" Billy bangs onto the door. His hair is sticking to his sweaty skin. His voice echoes. Brooke feels odd seeing Billy in such a vulnerable state. Trapped by his own sister and her friends, sweat dripping off all his words the louder he yells. Brooke catches Billy's softened eyes.

"Let me out," Billy pleads desperately. As quick as the soft look appeared in his eyes, it quickly became anger. After Brooke and Paisley had beat Billy's ass last year, Billy would give the two of them the same look. They could be simply walking the halls and Billy would glare at them. The scar from Brooke's teeth was still visible for a while before it faded into a pale white. Billy's constant reminder.

"You kids......You think this is funny?" Billy pants. Brooke glances at Will, both nervous. Billy continues, "You kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh?" Billy spits at the glass pane, "You little shits think this is funny?!" His tone is nothing out of the ordinary but something is still nagging Brooke, like she knows this is all a game to the Mind Flayer.

"What is this? Open....the door!" His words fog up the glass pane, "Open the door!" Billy yells and all the kids jump. Danny flinches beneath Brooke's hold. Brooke doesn't move, she clenches her jaw. Anger rising from her chest to her head. "Open the door!" Billy slams into the blue door even harder, "Open the goddamn door!" Billy's nose is smashed up against the glass. His voice bounces off the walls.

Danny holds his sister's arm against his chest. His breath quickening when Will walks closer to the door simply to check the temperature when Billy falls to the floor screaming.

"We're at 220," Will tells the group.

"220? Billy should be dead!" Brooke yells. There's a shared look of worry between the teens but then the sound of Billy sobbing catches their attention. "It's not my fault. It's not my fault! It's not my fault, Max," Billy cries. The redhead steps forwards. Brooke's hand reaches out to try and bring Max back but she continues to walk forwards.

"What's not your fault, Billy?" Max asks, staring at Billy Hargrove. He's sitting on the tile floor, sweating and crying. "I've done things, Max. Really.......bad things. I didn't mean to. He made me do it," Billy tells her.

Brooke detaches from Danny to step behind Max. Her eyes widen seeing Billy. His hands together in a pleading motion. "Who made you do it?" Max softly asks.

"I don't know, it's like a shadow. Like a giant shadow! Please, Max." Billy's words send shivers down Brooke's spine. They were right. It's all back. Did it ever really go away?

"What did he make you do?" Max asks. "It's not my fault, okay? Max, please!" Billy falls apart behind the door. Brooke almost feels bad—almost but a part of her knows Billy deserves this hell he's trapped in. He's a racist piece of shit.

Billy continues to plead with Max to believe him, that he tried to stop him. Brooke shakes her head while Max tries to tell Billy that it'll all be okay. Through the fogged up room, Brooke can just barely see Billy's hand over the bench gripping something. Danny and Mike hear Will shudder next to them. His hand flies to the back of his neck and both boys know exactly what it means.

"I feel him. He's activated," Will whispers. Danny slowly turns his head at Max and Brooke who are now both against the door.

"I need you to trust me, please," Max continues to plead.

Mike's eyes stay on Will, "Brooke, Max, get away from the door." The two girls could barely hear what Mike said, both saying What? to Mike. "Get away from the door!" Mike yells. Brooke whips her head around right as Billy shatters the glass pane. Shards fly around Max and her.

Billy hangs his body out of the small opening, screaming even louder, "Let me out, you bitch! Let me out! I'll fucking gut you!" Brooke isn't panicking, she's getting angrier. She puts Max behind her as Billy slams the door. Billy sees the chain around the handle which makes him more pissed off. "Let me out!" Billy roars.

Suddenly, something hits Billy in the face and he falls to the tiled floor. Brooke turns her head to see Lucas and his wrist rocket. "Guys, come on!" Lucas shouts. Brooke pushes Max towards the group but Brooke stays close to the door. "Brooke, come here—" Danny is cut off by the lights flickering around them very rapidly.

This is what causes Brooke's anxiety to spike. Lights flickering only reminding her of that night two years ago. She thought she was over it after fighting the Demodogs but as her hands shake and breath quickens, Brooke realizes she was never over it fully, she had buried it like everything else that has happened to her. A feeling of homesickness forms in her stomach, distracting her for a second when Steve's face pops into her head. A comforting feeling mixed with worry because of the situation at hand.

Brooke hears Billy grunt and then he roars again. Brooke steps over to the door to get a view of Billy but he runs right at the door, trying to break the chain. Brooke swallows, she has to protect the kids. She'd much rather herself get severely hurt rather than one of the kids.

"Brooke!" The kids all yell her name. Billy slams into the door again. The chain slightly busting open. "He can't get out, can he?" Max asks in fear. "No way. No way," Lucas repeats.

Brooke keeps glancing between the door and the chain. "Fuck," Brooks curses. She sits on the floor, against the door as Billy roars again. "Brooke! Brooke, please!" Danny cries out for his sister. Brooke shoves her body against the door as Billy slams into it a couple times. She strains herself, putting all her weight onto the door but it's not enough because Billy slams one last time into the door and the chain breaks.

Brooke gets sent across the floor, slamming into a set of lockers. She groans in pain. "Oh, fuck me," Brooke curses, holding her head in agonizing pain. There's a ringing in her ears. Her vision is blurry but she shakes her head, forcing herself to get up.

Once Brooke gets to her feet, she sees Billy standing in front of the kids. In front of El.

El lifts the barbell next to her and with a scream, she throws it at Billy. He hits the brick wall not far from Brooke. She gasps, running over to the kids. El uses her powers to hold the barbell against Billy's throat. His face is becoming red as his feet leave the floor.

Brooke thinks El has got this, there's no way she doesn't. His eyes look like they might pop out of his head. El is screaming as the lights flicker more and more but all the sudden Billy throws the barbell towards El but she dodges it.

Billy grips El by her small ponytail, staring at Brooke and the kids, and then grips the girl's throat. El gurgles as Billy continues with no remorse to pick El up by the throat and hold her in the air. Her feet kick in desperation.

Brooke looks around frantically and spots a free barbell. The pain and ringing in her head increase as she struggles a bit to pick it up. With a deep breath, the brunette manages to hold it. She runs over and swings it towards Billy, "Fuck you!" Brooke's head throbs as she smacks the metal bar into Billy's back. The blonde falls to the floor, letting go of El.

Mike picks up a pipe and walks over, his anger matching Brooke's, "Go to hell, you piece of shit!" He curses. Mike goes to hit Billy with it but the older teen grabs the pipe, stopping Mike in his tracks. Billy throws the pipe out of Mike's hand, pushing both Mike and Brooke back against the wall. Menacing eyes—ones that look inhuman to Brooke stare them down, forcing them to back into the brick wall.

El manages to use her strength to lift Billy up and through the brick wall across from them. Danny runs over to the hole but he can't see much through the dirt that is flying in the air. Brooke swallows hard, trying to wrap her head around it all.

El falls into Mike's arms and they slide down to the floor. After he lifts El up, they all walk over to the hole, watching Billy run away.

Brooke catches her breath, "El—is—is everyone okay?" All the kids nod stiffly. "Brooke, your head. It's bleeding," Lucas points to the blood dripping down the side of Brooke's head. Danny smacks him, "Bro, she has a fear of blood."

Brooke takes a deep breath. She can't see the blood, she'll be okay. The only thing that lets her walk out somewhat okay is the adrenaline running through her.

PAISLEY'S THROAT FEELS RAW from screaming so loud and for so long. The elevator hasn't stopped sending them to their death. Dustin and Erica continue to press at the buttons that still do nothing.

"We're going down! We're going down!" Steve yells. "Yeah, no shit, Harrington!" Robin yells back. Paisley's fingers grip the table in front of her with her eyes closed, "We're gonna die. We're gonna die—"

"Stop saying that!" Steve yells at Paisley. She can hear Dustin and Erica arguing about the damn buttons. The elevator comes to an abrupt stop making all of them fall to the ground. Paisley hits the wall next to her and Robin.

"My groin. It fell on my groin," Steve yells, "Dustin! Get this off of me!" Paisley's head is spinning. She looks to the side of her, "Robin, you alright?" Paisley frantically asks. Robin sighs, holding her head, "I think so. Are my pupils big? Doesn't that mean I'm concussed?" Paisley holds the girl's face in her hands, no big pupils thankfully.

"No, no. Just normal sized pupils," Paisley reassures Robin. "Is everyone okay?" Robin asks. Steve gets up after Dustin takes the heavy box off of him, "Yeah, I'm great, not that I know Russians can't design elevators!" He yells, shoving Dustin out of the way.

Robin gets up and gives Paisley a hand which she takes. "I think we've clearly established that those buttons don't work!" Robin tells Steve. "They're buttons. They have to do something," Steve says with a red face. Paisley narrows her eyes, "We need a keycard, Steve." She sighs. Paisley wants to yell at her dad for telling her to get a job. If she didn't and just stuck to sitting by the pool like every other summer, she wouldn't be in a Russian elevator.

Steve turns to Paisley, "What?" He asks breathlessly. Robin steps forwards, "It's an electronic lock. Same as the loading dock door. If we don't have a keycard, it won't operate, meaning—"

"We're stuck in here," Dustin finishes. Paisley smacks her thighs, "Fucking Christ!"

"Just so you nerds are aware, I'm supposed to be spending the night at Tina's, and Tina always covers for me. But if I'm not home for Uncle Jack's party tomorrow and my mom finds out you four are responsible, she's gonna hunt you down, one by one, and slit your throat!" Erica tells the teens.

"I don't care about Tina! Or Uncle Jack's party! Your mom's not gonna be able to find us if we're dead in a Russian elevator!" Steve yells, pressing his lips together and cocking his head at the kid. "Oh, but when I say we're gonna die, I need to shut up?" Paisley puts her hands on her hips. How hypocritical of Steve.

"Hey, what if we climbed out?" Dustin points to the trapdoor above them. Dustin and Steve climb to the top. The younger boy's grunts echo. They both look up at the never ending elevator shaft they have found themselves in.

"What was that about climbing out?" Steve asks.

Paisley rummages through the boxes to see if she could find anything at all to help them but it's just all the green tubes. "This is bad. Jesus, my dad is gonna lose his mind. He's gonna raid everyone's house—"

"Paise," Robin holds Paisley by the shoulders, "We're alright, alright?" Robin is reassuring herself and Paisley. Brown eyes stare into blue eyes and Paisley feels a sense of relief even though they're nowhere near getting out of here.

Her hand rests on top of Robin's, her fingers sliding under the leather studded bracelet, "Cookies n crème would make it better though," Paisley and Robin laugh. "When we get out of here I will make you as many cones as you want, I promise. Scouts honor," Robin puts two fingers to her forehead, flicking them away.

THERE'S A COLORFUL TIE wrapped around El's face. They're sitting around her as she spots Hopper. "I found him," El softly says. "Where is he?" Brooke asks. The static hums behind her from the Wheeler's basement TV.

"Woods. He's with......Will's mom," El says. Brooke raises an eyebrow. She's pretty sure the date with Joyce went horribly because she never got the explanation from Hopper the next day. "My...My mom?" Will stutters.

"What are they doing?" Max asks, confused. El pauses and Brooke can see her eyebrows knit under the tie.

"Ill.....annoy," El sounds out, "They're going to Ill-annoy."

"El, the state, Illinois?" Brooke tilts her head. She vividly remembers trying to teach the girl the different states. A knock from the door upstairs makes them all whip their heads. "Mike! Breakfast!" Karen Wheeler yells down. "Not now, mom!" Mike, very loudly, yells back. Brooke flinches in pain. Thankfully the injury isn't anything serious. Her head is most likely gonna hurt for a while but Max's knowledge of injuries somewhat assured her that she won't die from it.

"So, the state of Illinois?" Danny asks. El takes off the tie and shrugs, "I—Ill—annoy," She stutters. The blood runs down her face. Brooke involuntarily gags at the sight. Blood is such a stupid fear to have, Brooke constantly thinks to herself. It's basically the only one she can't hide from people. Her already pale skin goes even paler when there's copious amounts of it. The dizziness that floods her head.

Hemophobia. That's what the fear of blood is called.

Monophobia, the fear of being alone. The other major fear that Brooke is concerned about. If it's obvious to others or just her.

Brooke takes a deep breath, "Let's get you cleaned up, El Bear." El's hand flies to her face, "But...blood."

"I know, it's fine come on—"

"Brooke," Max stands up, "It's okay. I got her." The two smile at each other. Brooke is relieved she won't have to wipe the blood from El's face.

The girls go into the bathroom and Brooke situates herself on the couch. Her feet dangle over the arm as she stares up at the ceiling. The feeling of being homesick still resides within her stomach and she hates it. Within 24 hours Brooke has had to accept her feelings for Steve fucking Harrington as well as deal with the bullshit that comes with living in Hawkins.

She's been trying to recall when a crush could've possibly been mistaken for hatred—fake hatred that actually turned into wanting to kill Steve at some point. Steve was an ass, she's said it before and she'll say it until the day she dies but nothing comes to Brooke's head to help her pinpoint when it could've possibly been a crush. All she can think is when she knew she hated Steve Harrington. She always had a distaste for him but some random day fucking confirmed it for the next 10 or so years.

Elementary was already rough for Brooke. Being a girl who wanted to rough house and hang from the monkey bars till her face went blue in the early 70s was like having a target on her back. How dare a young girl not just read a book under a tree? She's surely a witch.

There were insults she wouldn't understand till she was older spewed at her.

Steve Harrington had climbed to the top of the monkey bars, sitting right next to Brooke Martel.

Being a year younger than him, Brooke was surprised he even acknowledged her existence. Third and fourth graders aren't supposed to mix—you'll lose out on Carol's extra pudding cup if she were to find out.

Brooke scooted to the side, legs kicking in the air, not saying a word to Steve. The boy eyed her. The dirty hoodie and jeans that Tommy kept telling him she picked up from the trash were even dirtier because of her rambunctiousness. Steve heard all the bad things about the Martel family from his dad so he just assumed Brooke was bad as well. He's like, 9, he doesn't know any better.

Just do it, you'll get 5 bucks from Carol, Steve thought to himself. Brooke and Steve never really interacted out of school and if they did, Brooke was sending a glare into him. Steve scooted closer to the girl, "Brooke? Yeah, hi. Where'd you get your pants?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow, "None of your beeswax, that's where." A slight lisp thanks to her losing a front tooth a week beforehand. Steve scooted closer, "It was the trash. That's where they belong anyway." Brooke turned to insult the boy but Steve had pushed her off the bars and onto the dirt.

Carol and Tommy laughed in the distance as Steve hopped off the bars. It's a childish reason to hate someone, Brooke knows that now but it's everything after that kept reigniting the hatred.

So how the hell did she end up feeling homesick for Steve's touch all these years later? Homesick is supposed to be the feeling of missing a place—not a person. Brooke scoffs to herself at her own ridiculousness.

"Something's not right. I can't get Hopper off my back all summer, now all of a sudden, he's hiking with Will's mom to Illinois?" Mike paces the room, "And Dustin's MIA, too? I mean, this can't be a coincidence."

Lucas moves Brooke's legs so he can take a seat, "What does it matter? The bottom line is, they're not here. It's up to us."

"Up to us to do what, exactly?" Mike continues to pace. "Find Billy and stop him," Lucas answers. Brooke rubs at her head. Mike pacing out of the corner of her eye is annoying her more than it should be.

"Okay, yeah, that's a really nice sentiment, but even if El could find him again, and that's a pretty big if, then what?" Mike dramatically flails his arms.

Brooke places a pillow on each ear to drown out the boys rambling but it's no use. She can still hear Lucas' plan that Mike automatically disagrees with.

"We got the Mind Flayer out of Will before and he just came right back. We don't just have to stop Billy, we have to stop the Mind Flayer." Mike says.

"And how would you propose we do that?" Danny asks with an eye roll. Mike points at him, "I don't know."

"Maybe El does," Will states. The boys all stare at the bathroom door. "What are they still doing in there?" Mike asks.

Brooke lifts her head up, "It's a girl thing." The unexplained one where you bring a girl with you to a bathroom no matter what. "A girl thing? What does that mean?" Mike asks more frustrated this time.

Lucas stands from the couch, shoving Cocoa Puffs into his mouth, "Girls just like hanging out in bathrooms."

"Why?" Mike shoves the box of cereal away. "I mean. I don't know," Lucas shrugs. Brooke pushes herself up on her elbows. It's entertaining watching them try to figure out girls. "They're conspiring against me," Mike whispers.

Brooke lets out a snort at the accusation. Conspiring against Mike Wheeler, as if they don't have better things to do. "That's what you're concerned about now?" Will whispers.

"It's not my main concern. It's just a sub-concern," Mike tells him. "I thought it was already over!" Will says. He sounds beyond annoyed with the fact that Mike is still bringing up his ex-girlfriend. So annoyed that Brooke has to raise her eyebrows at the possible reasons for it.

Will and Mike continue to argue about the El and Mike breakup when Max shouts from the door, "It wasn't! You guys do realize we can still hear everything you're saying, right?"

Brooke stands up from the couch, cracking a couple bones and walking over to the boys. "They aren't conspiring, Michael," She shoves the boy, "Get a hold of yourself."

There's another knock at the basement door. Mike takes a breath, "Not now, mom!"

"Mike, open the door!" Nancy yells. Mike races up the stairs, opening the door to reveal not only Nancy and Jonathan but also the new unofficial couple of Hawkins, Stella and Casey.

Brooke stands at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed, "What in the fresh hell is he doing here?" She points to Casey as they walk down the stairs.

"Steve told me to come find you," Casey says with a sigh. He expected this reaction. Even Jonathan told him that maybe he should just walk away and never turn back.

Brooke's jaw drops, "And you listened? Where is Steve? Why couldn't he come get me himself?"

"I'm just—" Stella moves between the two awkwardly to get to a chair. "He's doing something —"

"I'm aware he's obviously busy, dipshit but he still could've gotten me himself!" Brooke shouts. When Casey doesn't say anything, Nancy steps forwards, "Can we all just sit? There's a lot going on."

Brooke pushes past Casey to get to the couch. He stumbles back a bit, sighing loudly as he makes his way over to Stella.

"You okay?" She softly asks. His blue eyes are full of sadness. Stella would be lying if she didn't feel a twinge of jealousy at the fact that Casey cares so much about what Brooke says or does.

Casey drifts his eyes over to Brooke, "I just wonder how long it'll be before she doesn't hate me. I want to be her friend, oddly enough."

"Yeah, that is pretty odd," Stella rolls her eyes. Maybe being a stoner fried the logical part of Casey's brain, the part where you're supposed to be rude to your ex.

"I can't blame her too much. I'd be pretty upset too if my girlfriend told me she didn't love me," Casey picks at the fabric of the chair. Stella never got the full story, just that they broke up and Casey felt guilty for the way it ended. Hope builds up a bit in her heart before her own insecurities shoot it down.

"Yeah, I would be too," Stella softly says.

"I feel even worse for the person I do actually love though. Because I've been really fucking stupid," Casey shrugs. He's honestly hoping his eyes do more of the talking for him. Stella loses her words for a second but once again, her insecurities deny everything for her.

"Alright," Brooke puts her elbows into her knees, "Start the meeting. I think we all need a recap because these two," She points to Jonathan and Nancy, "look like they've been through hell."