chapter thirteen , dig dug

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Luckily for Kennedy, she wasn't involved in the night's events. Max was in her room, crying over the way Mike, Dustin, and Lucas had treated her, as well as the cruel words Billy said to her about Lucas. She just wanted to be included, but she didn't know why they wouldn't.

Nancy and Jonathan were driving. They were getting the hell out of Hawkins and searching for an unfamiliar figure to expose the lab. Will was home. Scribbled hundreds of drawings of scribbles, or vines, as Hopper called it. That's where Mike was. Trying to figure out what happened to Will, who the shadow monster was.

Hopper was at a farm, digging into the ground. Vines. He was going to find the vines. Walking through the dark unfamiliar tunnels that could only be the Upside Down infecting Hawkins.

She wasn't with Dustin, who selfishly hid Dart from his friends until realizing Dart may be the key to saving Will. That would've been simple if Dart hadn't quintupled in size and eaten his mom's cat.

No, Kennedy was at the Wheeler house. Babysitting young Holly Wheeler.

It was scheduled a while ago, far before Wills's visions worsened and Nancy's guilt about Barb ate at her. Karen and Ted had a date night. Not that Ted wanted to go, but his wife had nagged him into doing so.

"We'll be back late, are you alright spending the night?"

Kennedy smiled wide, bouncing four-year-old Holly on her hip. "Yeah, I can do that! I have an overnight bag in my car." She hummed as she looked over at the blond girl in her arms. "We're gonna have so much fun, huh?"

"Yeah!" Cheered Holly, kicking her legs excitedly. She loved Kennedy just as much as the boys did. The girls often played dress up or colored together. They'd play Barbies and pretend or watch all of Holly's favorite movies. They would even sing songs together and Holly would help Kennedy bake late-night cookies.

Clearly, Kennedy was great with kids.

Kennedy did exactly that for the night. She and Holly baked cookies as soon as Karen and Ted were gone. Holly wore cute footie pajamas while Kennedy wore a pair of pink silk pants and an old T-shirt. They cuddled up on the couch and watched Cinderella (Holly's favorite).

Holly was out before 10 pm (which was late for her, anyways). Kennedy sweetly tucked her in and made sure her nightlight was on before sliding into Nancy's room. It felt weird, being in there without the older Wheeler. She kind of missed Nancy, oddly enough. She hadn't wanted to admit it til now, but she knew that she did.

The Theroux sat on the edge of Nancy's bed careful not to touch any of her things. She fumbled through her overnight bag, looking for her medications. She took two pills at night. Benzodiazepines, and an unfamiliar pill that the Lab had given her. She found her little red pill, a benzodiazepine for her sleep and anxiety. But she could find the small white ones.

One night won't hurt, right?

Kennedy took one of her two pills, swallowing them down with a glass of water she brought up to bed before turning out one of her two lamps. Kennedy kept the other one on. One for herself, and one for Holly down the hall in case the tiny blond wanted to climb into the bed. Which, in fact, she did.

Kennedy was asleep before midnight.

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There was no question of if Karen Wheeler adored Kennedy Theroux. She did. A lot.

It's almost annoying, actually. How everyone was so fond of pretty little Kennedy Dawn. The pretty girl with dyed red hair and a sweet as honey smile. She babysits kids and cheers when it's in season. She parties on the weekends and sings sweet lullabies to children on weekdays. She was what everyone adored and more.

And she almost hated it.

She hated that perfect perception of her. Before, she wanted nothing more than to fit into that mold and never escape. But ever since Halloween, Kennedy couldn't be sicker of that stupid title. Perfect. She wasn't perfect, she never could be as much as she prayed to be. She was Kennedy Dawn Theroux. A teenage werewolf with anger issues and a whole lot of abandonment issues that wanted nothing more than to kick Billy Hargrove in the balls and shove his face into a toilet.

That's what she dreamt of last night.

Kennedy skipped her medicine Saturday morning at the Wheeler house. She couldn't find them. Perhaps she had left them at home, despite remembering vividly that she put them in her bag earlier.

She got dressed quickly, wearing a pair of pale blue jeans and a light purple cropped top. She was standing in front of Nancy's mirror, putting a belt through the loops when Holly came bouncing in, blond pigtails waving around excitedly.

"Mommy made waffles!"

Karen stood at the table, smiling wide when Kennedy came rushing down the stairs with Holly's hand in hers. "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler!" She chimed sweetly as she slid across the floor on her socks. Holly squealed as Kennedy scooped her up, spinning her around as she carried her to the table.

"Good morning, Kennedy! Did you sleep well?"

"I did," Kennedy took Nancy's usual spot at the table, mainly because Holly demanded it. "How was your date? Sorry I was already sleeping when you got home."

Karen waves her off casually. "Don't bother! We were just so glad you and Holly clearly had a good time." She beamed as she set a plate of pancakes in front of Kennedy.

"Those cookies were delicious." Mumbled Ted, mouth full of eggs and waffles.

His wife sent him an annoyed glare. "The date was amazing." She gushed, smiling.

"It was alright."

Karen's smile fell again. She sent her husband yet another glare before looking back at Kennedy. "So, any plans today?" Karen rested her head in her hand, looking over. Karen loved chatting with Kennedy. It made her feel young again, reminding her of her old self before she met Ted and settled down.

The red-headed girl sighed as she shrugged. "No, I don't think so." She hummed casually, twirling her fork in the syrup on her plate before taking a bite of her waffle. "Probably just going to go home or something."

"No parties? No dates?"

Kennedy slowly shook her head. "No, no parties." She laughed casually. "Just at home with my grandma." The Theroux smiled at Holly who cheekily ate her food. "And definitely no dates." Her mouth was full of food as she looked back at her plate.

Karen shrugged her shoulders as she began to ramble. "I don't see why not. You're absolutely gorgeous. You deserve a nice, sweet, and attractive boy to treat you right." She was projecting. In an attempt to fix the mistakes she made by marrying a man she didn't really know if she loved or not, she spoke to Kennedy in a way to stop her from making those same very mistakes. "Takes you out on dates, tells you how much he loves you, buys you things, comforts you, and actually cherished you." Kennedy shifted uncomfortably. She didn't know what to say or do.

"Right, yeah," Kennedy whispered as she looked over at sweet innocent Holly. She leaned closer, "You hear that? Listen to what your momma said. Keep your standards high, honey."

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Dustin Henderson was freaking out. Freaking. Out.

I mean, you get your cat eaten by a Demogorgon-esque creature named Dart! Yeah, this was freak-out-worthy.

Nobody was answering their phones. Nobody was answering their Walkie-Talkies to his Code Reds. He had to clean up his bloody carpet, and he had to stuff Dart in the cellar under his house.

So, he rushed to Mike Wheeler's house, in hopes of finding his nerdy best friend. Nobody was answering the phone! Their line had been busy! For hours!

"Maybe if it was Margaret Thatcher, that'd be another sorry." Laughed Karen Wheeler as she sipped on a glass of wine. Ted was watching TV, while Kennedy and Holly were playing upstairs. The doorbell rang. "Just a second, Cath," Putting her hand on the phone, Karen turned to the living room. "Ted, can you get that please?"

Ted made no initial movement. The doorbell rang two more times and then Ted began to slowly get out of his chair. Kennedy could hear the door ringing from upstairs, but she made no initial moves to see who it was from Holly's window.

Dustin Henderson spoke as soon as Ted opened the door. "Your line has been busy for over two hours, Mr. Wheeler. Do you realize this?"

"Oh, I do realize," Ted mumbled, his hand on his hip.

"Is Mike home?"

"No."

Dustin frowned. "No? Well, where the hell is he?" He asked in annoyance.

Ted opened the door slightly. "Karen, where's our son?" He called out.

"Will's."

Ted looks back at the boy. "Will's."

"No one is picking up there." Dustin sighed, "Nancy. What about Nancy?"

"Karen, where's Nancy?"

Karen let out an annoyed sigh. "Ally's!" She snapped loudly. Kennedy frowned as she looked up, wondering why Karen was shouting.

"Ally's," Ted mumbled. Dustin rolled his eyes in frustration. "Our children don't live here anymore. You didn't know that?"

"Seriously?"

"Am I done here?" Ted asked as he raised a brow.

Dustin rolled his eyes. Again. "Son of a bitch. You're really no help at all, you know that?" He mumbled before walking down the steps.

"Hey! Language!"

Dustin trotted down the sidewalk, making his way back to his bike. He paused, seeing a familiar maroon BMW pull up in front of the house. Steve Harrington came climbing out, carrying flowers.

"Listen," Steve was mumbling to himself. "I'm sorry about what people have been saying. I'm sorry for pushing to talk to you for the last year. I'm sorry for ruining your friendship with Carol." He rushed through the grass, running his hands through his hair.

"Steve." Dustin hummed as he looked at the Harrington. "Are those for Nancy? She isn't home."

Steve frowned. "Uh, no, actually." He said as he held the roses in his hands. "They're for Kenny."

Dustin gawked. "What? Why?" Steve opened his mouth to answer. "Wait, she's here!?"

"Yeah," Steve pointed down the street, and Dustin nearly threw himself to the floor at the sight of Kennedy's car.

Ted swung open his door again to see Dustin Henderson. "Where's Kennedy?"

The red-headed girl came walking outside of the Wheeler house in ten minutes. She had her bag on her shoulder and she was wearing a denim jacket now. "Dustin? Steve?" She looked between them. "What's going on? How did you know I was here?"

"Your grandma told me," Steve said, shifting on his feet awkwardly. "I called because I was worried when you didn't show up at Tina's house last night. Diana said you were babysitting Holly."

Kennedy looked down at the red roses. She raised a brow. "Who are those for?" She asked playfully.

"Uh, you, actually." Steve held up his arm, the roses extending in her direction. Kennedy's eyes lit up, the way Steve knew they would. "To apologize for the last few days at school."

Kennedy rolled her eyes as she took the flowers. "I can handle a few bullies, Steve." She slowly brought the flowers to her face, smelling them. "But thank you." Steve gave a smile that caused Dustin to roll his eyes.

The two teens gasped as Dustin ripped the flowers from Kennedy's hands. "Come on, you two. We have more important things to do and bigger problems." Dustin walked right up to the back seat. "Do you still have that bat?"

"What bat?" Asked Steve. Kennedy looked between the two in confusion.

Dustin waved the roses aggressively. "The one with the nails?" He deadpanned.

"Why?"

"I'll explain it on the way," Dustin said as he climbed into the back of Steve's car.

Kennedy began rushing to the car. "Now?" Steve gawked in confusion.

"Now!" Dustin shouted before slamming the door shut. Kennedy climbed into the passenger seat, buckling in as Steve got into his car.

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