The Girl
in the Woods

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As per usual, Jack was last minute picking them up. It didn't matter much to Tiffany because, for the first time, she put little to no effort into her appearance.

Much to her dismay, Jack called this out immediately. "Geez, Tiff, you sick or something?" He asked her, once they'd both gotten in the car.

She looked at him through slitted eyes, ignoring the question. He shrugged and shifted the car into drive and headed into the direction of Hawkins Junior High.

When they pulled to the front of the building, Mallory threw open the door. "Try to have a good—," she cut her older sister off by slamming the door. "Day..." she finished, watching as Mallory urgently pushed through the forming crowd.

Tiffany had only a fraction of an idea as to where her sister's mind was at. She'd found her mind there too—wondering if Will would be at school.

Though, they both had a sinking feeling that they knew the answer to that question. If, on the off chance he was at school, why did he leave Mallory there? Where did he go?

"Tiffany?" Jack's voice boomed in her ear, bringing her back to reality. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"I'm just tired." It wasn't completely a lie, but she wasn't going to dare tell him about what was actually going on. All it would do is give Jack more ammunition in his argument that the Byers family are freaks.

Jack didn't push her any further—that would require far too much effort on his part. They pulled into the parking lot next to where Steve, Carol and Tommy were perched.

"Damn, Harrington, late night?" Jack slammed his hand down on Steve's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Must've finally got that girl to put out, huh? Where's the lucky lady at, anyway?" He was grinning, laughing along with Tommy, while Carol eyed Tiffany curiously.

"Nancy stayed at Barb's," Steve shrugged, sliding a pair of sunglasses on his face to hide the dark circles that had formed under his eyes. Just as he'd spoken their names, they strutted up—Nancy much more enthusiastic than Barb. Nancy threw herself into Steve's arms, making him perk up a little bit. "I came by to pick you up."

Nancy let her arms fall to her sides. "I tried calling last night to tell you I was staying at Barb's, but your mom said you hadn't been home. I figured you were at Tommy or Jack's."

"Not my place," Jack shrugged, leaning back on his car. "Wait, if you weren't with your girlfriend, then who had you up all night?" Tiffany's eyes widened, knowing that if any of them knew they were together, it'd be blown out of proportion—the exact reason they never hung out alone, anymore.

The bell rang, allowing for the breath that had caught in Tiffany's throat to release. Steve walked away first with Nancy, whose eyes were planted on his face as Jack's question ate away at her.

Jack kissed the top of Tiffany's head as he and Tommy walked the opposite direction as she and Carol did. Carol crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Tiffany in a not-so-discreet fashion. "So?"

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Carol rolled her eyes and threw her head back in an exasperated fashion. "Don't be coy," she scoffed. She scanned her surroundings and stepped closer. "You were totally with Steve last night," she whispered.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she countered gruffly.

"Look, I don't blame you at all," she laughed. "Honestly, I figured you two would rule the school anyway. Nancy and Steve are just...weird. So if you two are doing it, my lips are sealed."

"Carol!" Tiffany's eyes widened. "We are not 'doing it'. That's just—that's—no!"

Carol's jaw slacked slightly. "Holy shit," she laughed out. "I was kidding, but your face is as red as your top! Did you sleep with Steve?"

This time, Carol's voice wasn't as quiet and earned them a couple of curious glances from bystanders as they walked through the front door of the school. "No," Tiffany hissed, urging her to lower her voice. "Just listen to me." Tiffany gave her friend the full spiel about her whereabouts and how Steve got caught in it. "I'm exhausted because I haven't slept, not because I slept with Steve freaking Harrington." Tiffany realized herself that she was being loud, but she didn't have the patience left to care.

The duo walked into the classroom just as the bell rang. Her mind was racing the entire class, wondering whether or not Will had been found. She hoped that Jonathan found him just like she'd found Mallory and that the two would be reunited at school.

The day dragged by and no opportunity presented itself to inquire about Will, but seeing as Jonathan was never seen at school, it only caused her uneasy feeling to grow.

After her final class, she rushed towards her car without waiting for anyone. The last bit of hope she was clinging onto was that maybe her sister had some good news. It wasn't like Tiffany really cared for Mallory's group of friends, but she'd had to babysit them all on different occasions and she knew just how important Will was to her sister.

"Whoa, Tiff!" Jack's voice called from behind her. "What's the rush?" He jogged to catch up to her, leaving the other four to trail behind slower. "You feel like coming over and...hanging out? My parents are gone for the night." He licked his lower lip, eager for her response.

"I have to get Mal," she said, reaching for her car door.

Jack pushed it harshly closed. "You're blowing me off for your sister again, seriously?" By this time, the rest of the group had slowly made their way up. "I don't know what's going on with you today, but you're starting to piss me off."

Tiffany flinched at the fire in his tone. Maybe it was from the stress, or maybe just from the lack of sleep, but she was finding it difficult to restrict the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. "Hey, take it easy, man," Steve chimed in, leaning against the car behind him.

His words only added more fuel to the fire. "Fuck off, Harrington," Jack warned. "Look, Tiff, I'm sick of coming in second to your problems and your family. Call me when you've got your shit together." He looked at Tiffany, as though he was expecting her to say something to get him to stay, but she knew that if she opened her mouth, she'd humiliate herself even more.

All she could do was stare after him, as he stormed off. Tommy and Carol were long gone by then and Barb was nudging Nancy away from the tension. Nancy tried pulling Steve with her, but he put up a finger to give him a moment. When Barb and Nancy were just out of earshot, Steve spoke. "You alright?"

Tiffany's head shot in his direction. "I don't need you to defend me, okay?" She had clearly shifted from hurt to furious. "I don't need Steve Harrington, of all people, to be my knight in shining armor. Just leave me the hell alone." Steve's eyebrows knotted together at her outburst, but she missed the look of hurt that coated his face as she sped out of the parking lot.

Tears stung her eyes as she cruised to the middle school. Knowing there were bigger fish to fry, Tiffany pulled it together just before Mallory climbed into the front seat and squeezed her bag tightly. The impending silence was enough to answer Tiffany's looming question, but she asked anyway. "W-was he there?"

Remaining quiet, Mallory shook her head and bit her cheek. That was how the entire ride home went—uninterrupted silence.

When they pulled into the driveway, Mallory grabbed out her walkie talkie and threw her bag into the back seat with a grunt. She ran into the garage that held their grandfather's 1950's Thunderbird—it was their mom's most prized possession—and scooped up her bike off the ground.

Tiffany watched her, putting her hands on her hips. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to find Will," she answered simply.

"We?"

"The party." Mallory spoke in reference to her friends.

Tiffany threw her head back, knowing where this was headed. She walked to the opposite side of the garage and dragged her bike out from under its cover.

"What are you doing," Mallory peered over the old car to get a glimpse at her sister.

"No way in hell I'm letting you guys run around in the dark by yourselves—especially after last night," she scoffed. "Not a chance."

Mallory considered objecting, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't relieved at the thought of her sister tagging along. Be it the adrenaline, or the lack of sleep, her heart was racing out of her chest. So, instead of fighting, she gave her sister a small nod of acceptance—not that Tiffany was willing to take no for an answer, anyway.

"Moving out towards Mike's, over." Mallory spoke into her walkie talkie. She tossed it into the basket on the front of her bike and pushed off with one foot and started pedaling.

If it weren't for cheerleading, Tiffany would've been in even more pain than she had been by the time the two made it outside of the Wheeler's house. She slammed her feet against the asphalt with a huff. It had been a long time since she'd ridden a bike and it was evident.

Slowly, the rest of the party wheeled in the end of the driveway. Mike was curious about Tiffany, but didn't bother arguing, while Dustin was more than happy to have the older girl there. When they were younger, she was, by far, his favorite babysitter.

Lucas Sinclair was the last to arrive. "Who said she could come?" He nodded his head in Tiffany's direction, but didn't look at her.

"I didn't know I had to ask your permission," Mallory scoffed. Lucas clamped his jaw shut in response. She looked over his shoulder at a shadowy figure that was attempting to climb onto the roof. "What the hell is that?" She whispered. The sun had set, leaving only the streetlights to illuminate their path.

They all whipped their heads in the direction of the shadow that was rustling in the bushes. "Probably my sister's douchebag boyfriend," Mike muttered. Tiffany squinted her eyes in an attempt to see better.

"Steve's not terrible," Mallory defended, picking at the rubber on her handlebars.

"Gross! Mallory is crushing on Steve!" Lucas teased loudly, causing him to be shushed by the rest of the group.

"I don't have a crush on Steve," her voice was timid, but quickly turned fierce. "Look are we just going to sit around and twiddle our thumbs, or are we going to look for Will?"

Realizing that they were on a time limit, they all mounted their bikes and pedaled off. Tiffany gave her sister's arm a squeeze, knowing full and well that it wasn't Steve that she had a crush on.

Mallory led the pack to where she last remembered seeing Will. "There was this...this weird growling," she explained when they got to the area that the police had barricaded off. "I don't remember anything else," she frowned at the realization. "Not until..." she looked up at Tiffany, unsure of how honest she should be, or if the boys knowing that Steve was there would lead to more teasing.

"I found her," Tiffany finished for her. "Which is why you little shits weren't coming out here by yourself."

"Do you guys feel that?" Dustin held his hands out as rain droplets began to pelt them. "Maybe we should go back."

"No way!" Mike objected. "Just stay on channel six and don't do anything stupid." He ducked first under the barricade and the others followed behind, leaving Dustin to hesitate.

Tiffany looked over her shoulder at him and frowned, slightly. "Come on, Dusty," she alluded to the nickname she'd given him in his younger days. "It's like an adventure."

At her words, his face lit up slightly. He ducked underneath and joined the rest of them.

"Will!" Each of the kids took turns yelling. Tiffany kept a close eye on each of them, cringing at the realization that her white converse were ruined by the wet mushy foliage that was littering the ground.

"I've got your X-Men 134!" Dustin attempted to lure him out to no avail. "Seriously guys, I think we should just go back."

"If you want to be a baby, then just go home," Mallory snapped, not slowing her pace.

Dustin frowned, but continued to trail behind them. "I'm just being realistic. Did you ever think that Will went missing because he ran into something bad? And we're going to the exact same spot he was last seen without any weapons or anything?"

"Dustin, shut up," Tiffany ordered, as she heard a rustling not far off from them. Dustin opened his mouth to object, but she cut him off. "No, seriously." Her eyes flashed to account for each of the children. "Did you guys hear that?" The rustling came again and they all flew their flashlights in the direction of the disturbance. The beams landed on a young girl with a shaved head that was shivering from the rain.

There was no hesitation amongst the group to help the girl and for the time being, that meant hiding out in the Wheelers' basement.

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Mallory drifted to sleep not long after they got home, but Tiffany couldn't get her brain to power down. For the fifth and final time, she popped her head in on her sister, who was, of course, still sleeping. She had a solid grip on her walkie-talkie that she had programmed to the channel that she and Will always talked on late at night.

Tiffany closed the door and grabbed her car keys off of the counter. She decided that the best thing to help her sleep was going for a visit to Jack's to put her mind at ease. She'd tell him about everything—she decided that on the drive over. There wasn't any valid reason to keep it from him. She fully believed he was her soulmate.

That was, until she snuck through his bedroom window and saw Shannon Grey in his bed.