29.

"ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ⁱᵗ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵏˢ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ ʷʰᵉⁿ ᴵ ᶜʳʸ ᵃᵍᵃⁱⁿ,
ᵒᵛᵉʳ ʰⁱᵐ."
—ᵍʰᵒˢᵗⁱⁿ ᵇʸ ᵃʳⁱᵃⁿᵃ ᵍʳᵃⁿᵈᵉ

1 month later; August, 1985

Screams.

Chaos.

Anguish cries.

"Am–Amb...I'm sorry." He apologized, tears fell from her eyes. Her hand laid gently on the side of his face.

"I–I... Still." He coughed.

"I know. I know."

The haunting sound of the mindflayer screeched throughout her head. Amber squeezed her eyes shut before flashes of red overpowered all around her.

"Amber," The voice called out to her. Her eyes opened and soon enough she took in the sight around her. All the black vines around her with the floating particles in the air. It was eerie and dark. Red flashing lightning in the distance of the town of Hawkins stuck in the upside down.

"Amber, you let me die. You left me and let them kill me," The gravelly voice said. She shook her head at the monstrous voice. Turning around where she stood to try and find where the person was. Her eyes finally landed on the dark figure walking out from the woods. It forced her to take a step back seeing Billy Hargrove emerge in front of her.

"You did this, Amber," His dark mechanical voice said, approaching her.

"Don't listen to him! He's not me," Someone yelled out. Walking towards her now was another figure. Another Billy. Amber looked between the two of them unsure of what she was even seeing. Some sick and twisted joke on her. Two Billy's.

She still had no idea what it even meant but it kept happening.

"He's trying to trick you. It's not your fault. I chose to sacrifice myself. To save everyone. To save you. He's trying to mess with your head," Billy told her, his normal voice being the only thing setting him apart from the gravely one. "Amber, you're stronger than him. He fears what you can do."

Amber's mouth dropped open as she watched the upside down Billy hold his hand over Billy's face which caused him to start levitating. Stumbling backwards onto the ground, her hands had touched part of the slimy vines but they let out screeches of pain when feeling the heat radiate from her. A blinding light grew in her sight which caused her to cover her eyes with her forearm, struggling to see what was going on until she heard a new voice.

"Come on, kid."

Amber was pulled to her feet before guiding her away from the two Billy's. Her gaze drifted to see the tall man she had missed so much.

"Dad," Amber let out a strangled cry. Her eyes welling up in tears as she looked at Jim Hopper who was pulling her out of the darkness. Opening up one door that led into her house that seemed to have a glow to it. Looking untouched by the upside down.

Amber's hand gripped onto the man's arm while she looked up at him. He still was wearing the horrible Hawaiian shirt he was obsessed with.

"How are you here?" Amber questioned.

"Kid, you gotta wake up. The longer you stay in here, the longer you let your guard down. And then it's easier for him to get to you," Hopper told her, looking around the house.

"Please, tell me I'm right. You're not dead. You can't be. I would've been able to tell," Amber rambled on. He rested his hands on both of her shoulders, giving her a sad look. "You can't be dead."

"I will tell you this once. Trust your gut always. When you think someone is bad news. Listen to yourself. You'll know what to do when the time comes," Jim Hopper encouraged her. Wanting her to believe in herself even though she was at the point in her life where she felt quite hopeless. Lost.

"What's coming?"

"I gotta go for right now, kid. And you need to wake up," She shook her head.

"Wait. No. What's coming?" Amber asked.

"Amber. Wake up. Wake up, Amber," Hopper began to say before his voice started to change.

"Amber. Amber, wake up!"

The girl shot up from her spot on the bed, sweat dripping down her face. Her eyes falling onto Steve who was kneeling on the ground on her side of the bed with a worried and tired look.

Steve was exhausted. Even when he would try to fake it, it was evident that he was quite drained. It had been like that since everything that happened at the Starcourt Mall. And he understood that it all impacted everyone differently. For him he had his fair share of nightmares but for Amber, it seemed to happen all the time. The pain. Whenever he heard her cries in the night, it broke his heart. No matter how many times he tried to reassure her when she woke up that it was just nightmares. Bad memories too, she never seemed to believe him.

Amber had her connections to the upside down, so deep down she knew that her gut instinct was right. Whatever she was being haunted by was real. And while Steve thought he was the one battling away the monsters in the night for her. She was the one battling the monsters to keep them at bay so they wouldn't touch him. Amber-Lynn would do everything in her power to make sure that Steve Harrington survived until the very end. She would give up everything she had to protect him. She couldn't lose him like her Mom, Billy, Hopper. The girl was willing to sacrifice everything to make sure Steve was left untouched. But that was something that also haunted her. The idea of how far she might have to go to make sure she stayed true to her own word.

"Was it the same one?" Steve wondered, rubbing Amber's arm. She shook her head a little.

"Something was different. It was more real," Amber responded.

"I'm sure it's nothing too bad. Just your subconscious," Steve tried to reassure her.

"No. Steve. It was different. Hopper was there. He pulled me out of the upside down. He was being a little cryptic. Steve," Amber looked into Steve's dark brown eyes, "I think I was right. I think Hopper is still alive."

"Amber..." Steve let out a sad sigh. He didn't want to believe Hopper was gone either, but that's what Joyce had told them. She was the one to see everything when it went down. He had wished that it wasn't true. Steve liked the chief too, but he didn't know how healthy all of this really was for Amber to keep believing that the man was still alive.

"Steve, don't look at me like that. You have to believe me. He's alive," Amber told him. More like pleading with him to believe her. That was another thing that started to wedge itself between the two. The fact that Steve didn't believe Amber. The way he looked at her in sympathy. Only categorizing it as her still being in the stage of denial. It was ultimately what was creating a rift between them. He just didn't understand. Amber only hoped that he would come around soon but the chances were getting lower.

"I think we should try to get some sleep again," Steve suggested. Silence fell upon them while Amber looked at him. Waiting. But he didn't say anything further.

She shook her head, "I'm gonna go shower."

Amber pushed herself up off the bed and walked right past Steve. Closing the bathroom door behind her without sparing him another glance. She started up the shower and leaned against the sink while the water was warming up. Taking a deep breath, the girl stared at herself in the reflection. Her tired eyes looking back at her. Silent tears quickly escaped from her eyes down her cheek. She wished things weren't like how they were. Only wondering how long it was going to take before they could all return to normalcy again.

Steve had watched her retreating figure before it disappeared behind the closed door. Rubbing his hand over his face, he dropped his head down slightly. He waited until he heard the water turn on before making his way over to the dresser. The Harrington man quietly opened the drawer before rummaging around. His fingers landed on the thing he was searching for. Glancing back over at the closed bathroom door before returning his attention back to the item in his hand. Opening up the box, a small sparkle twinkled in his eyes while he looked down at the ring. He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face again before closing the box and tucking it away back in the drawer. It wasn't the right time. And he had no clue when if ever, there was going to be a right time. All of his plans had come undone and he had no idea how to fix them.