***

Sophie was used to standing on the sidelines, watching the world around her. Though she may have played "Vicki with an I" the night before, Billy's newfound date was the real deal with tight red curls and blue eyes -- and she barely acknowledged his sister's existence, playing the invisible observer once more.

She tapped her books impatiently, leaning into his side. Her gaze was sporadic, searching the parking lot for Max. "So, your sister coming or what?"

Billy glanced at his watch again before releasing a swift huff. "Screw it. That little shit can skate home." He chucked his cigarette away and spat on the ground, heading over to the other side of the car. "And don't call her that."

His date froze, thinking she had caused offence. "What?"

"Sister." He stated. "She's not my sister." Billy briefly pointed in Sophie's direction. "That's my sister."  Vicki frowned, slightly off-put by his attitude towards Max. Nevertheless, she pulled the door open, ready to climb inside when Billy stopped her. "Pull the seat forward, would you?"

Sophie stood nearby, clutching the strap of her bag. As Vicki reluctantly fulfilled the task, Billy's twin sister searched the parking lot, her eyes darting every which way. She really didn't want Max to get in trouble, but she also didn't want to be late home.

"Hey, daydreamer!" Billy smacked his hand against the metal roof. His sister spun back, meeting his agitated glare. "Get in."

Then again, she didn't want to share the car with his judgy date and have to sit through her brother's terrible flirting.

She bit her lip, making a rash and stupid decision. "Hey, why don't I go find her?"

"Soph, get in the car!" He called after her, but Sophie was already backing away from the car, her pace quickening. 

"I'll only be five minutes!" Her walk turned into a light jog, raising her voice as she travelled further down the parking lot. "You can wait a little longer, can't you?"

"Sophie!" It was no use -- she had already made up her mind. He couldn't prevent her from rounding that corner and heading for the sacred threshold.

Sophie Hargrove crossed the boundary into Hawkins Middle, passing younger kids who she knew would worsen with age. Their parents still picked them up, granting them hugs and kisses for all their "good work" at school.

That didn't matter; Max was not among them.

She strolled through the main entrance, spotting the differences in aesthetics when compared to the high school. There were displays of well-written work stapled on wooden boards and beautifully designed projects behind glass cases.

It didn't take Sophie long to find her stepsister, turning a corner to find her pounding on someone's door. "Guys, what's going on? Come on!"

"Max?" The young girl's head snapped towards her, displaying a look of frustration. "What's going on, Billy and I have been waiting for you?"

She gestured to the door. "These assholes locked me out."

Sophie glanced back and forth. "Are these assholes your friends or-?"

"I don't know!" she exclaimed before bending over, reaching for her bag.

"Listen, Billy's about to lose it. You know he doesn't like being kept..." Her words trailed off when she noticed Max digging through her backpack, eventually coming upon a paper clip. Max spun back to the door, adjusted the shape of the thin metal, and then slipped it into the lock. "What are you doing?"

"Pretending I care," Max replied with a slight scowl as she twisted the paper clip.

Maybe she was still annoyed with the siblings for ditching her the night before, even though it wasn't Sophie's fault.

"Look, I didn't know that he was supposed to pick you up from trick-or-treating, and if I did, I would have picked you up myself, so please don't attack me for his mistake." Her stepsister didn't look back once, too focused on picking the lock to care. "But, Max, he's our ride home. If he shows up without us, Neil's gonna freak-"

Just then, the door clicked, and with an accomplished smirk, Max pushed it open. A weird chittering noise echoed inside and she looked down at the floor. "What the...?"

To their shock, a lizard-like creature, roughly the size of a hamster, emerged from the room, scampering across the linoleum floor.

"Ew, what is that?!" Sophie couldn't stand reptiles, especially the native ones from California; that and spiders freaked her out. It skittered past her with a little chipmunk-sounding roar, though it appeared fairly harmless.

"Oh, shit!" a voice cried from inside the room.

Two boys toppled over Max, the three kids crashing to the floor as two others raced out, scanning the hallway. Sophie recognised the boys in an instant, realising they were the mini Ghostbusters Billy had attempted to run over the day before. But what were they doing with this strange creature?

"Where'd he go?" a dark-skinned boy questioned.

Max shoved the boys off her, getting back on her feet. "What was that?"

"Dart!" a black-haired boy in a knitted sweater answered. Whatever it was, they all seemed to know the creature quite well.

"What?"

"You let him escape!"

Sophie's chin trembled, her voice shrill. "Okay, what the hell is going on?!"

The boy who yelled at Max turned to her, lowering his brows. "Who are you?!"

"I'm Max's sister." She told him.

"Stepsister." Max's correction stung a little, but the older girl understood where she was coming from. If Billy didn't treat her like their sister, then why shouldn't she treat them the same way?

A boy in a blue and red trucker cap threw the black-haired boy against the wall. "Why did you attack him?"

The other boy shoved him back, ignoring him. "Come on!" He started to lead the rowdy pack down the hallway. "Did you see where it went?"

"Is no one gonna tell me what that thing is?!" Yet the boys continued, disregarding the panicked teenager. "Hello?!"

"Don't hurt him!" The trucker cap boy shouted, his voice cracking. "Don't you hurt him!"

He jogged after his friends, his large backpack weighing him down. Max snatched her bag and skateboard off the ground, ready to join them when Sophie grasped her arm, pulling her back. "What are you doing?!"

She fought against her grip, releasing herself. "I'm gonna help!"

Her stepsister sprinted after them, leaving Sophie on her own. "What-? Max, wait!"

***

She didn't need telepathy to know that Billy was probably gone by now, zooming down the streets of Hawkins with a lady in his lap. But she couldn't just leave Max to face the consequences on her own.

Sophie had caught up to her stepsister, pleading with her. "Max, we really shouldn't be doing this-"

"You're allowed to leave. I honestly don't know what's keeping you here." Max scoffed as her gaze darted across the ground, scanning every dark corner.

She placed her hand on Max's shoulder. "I want to make sure you get home in one piece, okay? Is that too much to ask?"

"I don't need a babysitter." Oh, Sophie could tell -- the girl planned her whole runaway trip to LA on her own.

The young girl brushed her off, moving on. Sophie sighed, marching after her. "Look, I just want to make up for last night-"

"It wasn't your fault." She said. "I knew Billy would flake anyway."

"That's no excuse," Sophie confessed. "And, to be honest, I would have rather gone trick-or-treating with you."

Max rolled her eyes. "I just said I don't-"

"No, I didn't mean being your babysitter." She followed her through the gym, heading for the locker room by the bleachers. "I just -- I love Halloween, you know, and I miss doing stuff like that."

Her harsh tone shifted, softening as she wondered. "Then why did you go to some stupid party instead?"

She crossed her arms. "I only went because Billy dragged me along and-"

"Soph, I get that he's your brother and all," they stopped outside the door as Max expressed, "but you know you don't always have to do what he says."

The strawberry-blonde entered the locker room, leaving Sophie to take in her words. It appeared this thirteen-year-old understood her better than anyone.

"Yeah, I know." her soft murmur ricocheted off the gymnasium walls, reverberating in her skull.

Sophie followed her stepsister into the locker room, wary of every dark shadow. She'd hate for this creature to jump out at her and try to nibble off her face.

"The Halloween costume was a success, by the way," Max informed her, shedding a light chuckle. "I scared the shit out of those boys."

With furrowed brows, Sophie chortled. "You mean the boys we almost ran over and you're now suddenly friends with?"

Max nodded. "Yeah, they let me go trick-or-treating with them."

"That's a quick turn of events." She remarked. "Why'd they lock you out then?"

"No idea." Max shrugged, glimpsing back at her. "But maybe if I find Dart then they'll let me in their group."

Sophie nudged a tennis ball with her foot, letting it roll under a nearby bench. "Is that its name or species?"

"Name." She clarified before peeking her head around a corner. "Dustin, the boy with the cap, thinks he's discovered a brand-new species. He was gonna show it to Mr. Clarke, our science teacher, when that asshole, Mike, came running in and claimed it was a prank."

"A prank?"

"Yeah."

"Why would he say that?"

"I don't know -- he looked really freaked out," Max explained. "Anyway, then they ran back to the AV room and locked me out because "it's not my business to know" -- whatever that means."

Sophie wandered up to her side, shedding a small smile. "I guess I better help you then."

The natural light streaming through the window made Max's wide eyes sparkle as she peered up at her stepsister. "You wanna help me?"

"I want you to have some people to fall back on, okay." Billy scared away the ones she had in San Diego, so it was only fair for her to make some new ones here. "Friends are like the family you've always wanted."

Slowly, Max's lips curled, and a growing grin began to appear. But it disappeared when Sophie leaned back, knocking a set of hockey sticks over. "Careful!"

She grew quiet. "Sorry..."

Abruptly, the guy Max dubbed an "asshole, jumped out with a mop, yelling at them. "What the hell are you doing?"

He frowned, putting the mop down. "What are you doing? Why are you in here?"

"We're looking for Dart."

"This is the boys' room."

Sophie's nose wrinkled, cringing. "Oh, that's why it smells."

Her stepsister seemed unaffected, responding. "Yeah, so?"

"So you should go home!" Mike began to leave, storming out of the locker room with a huff and a puff.

The blonde's mouth fell open. "Hey, don't be so rude! She's trying to help!"

The girls gave chase as Mike shouted. "We don't need you -- either of you!" They exited the room as Max demanded to know why he hated her so much, to which he responded. "I don't hate you. How can I hate you? I don't even know you."

Max caught up to him, halting the boy. "But you don't want me in your party?"

"Correct." He replied, seemingly unfazed by her anger.

Sophie squinted, glancing at her stepsister. "Party?"

"It's what they call their little group of nerds." She glared back at the boy, snarling. "Is it because I'm not a nerd like you, Mike?"

"No, it's because you're annoying." Mike declared. "Also, we don't need another party member. I'm our paladin, Will's our cleric, Dustin's our bard, Lucas is our ranger, and El is our mage."

The designations caught Sophie's full attention, her lips parting. "You guys like fantasy?"

But Max looked past that aspect. "Who's El?"

He hesitated, rapidly blinking. "Someone -- no one."

She pursed her lips. "Someone or no one?"

"She was in our party a long time ago. She moved away, okay?" Sadness lingered in his tight expression, and it was clear Mike had a bond with this mystery girl.

Sophie tilted her head to the right. "So this isn't about sexism?"

"What? No!" Mike started to walk away again, hoping to continue his search for Dart.

"She was a mage?" Max leapt onto her skateboard, gliding over to him. "Well, what could she do? Like, magic tricks or something?"

"Well, that's what a mage means, yeah." When it came to fantasy, Sophie was obsessed. And even though she didn't exactly like this boy, she remained intrigued. "So what's this for anyway?"

"DnD." He answered.

Her jaw dropped, and Sophie practically sprung off the ground. "No way! I've always wanted to play that game, but I never got any friends who played it."

With all the rumours going around about it being a satanic game for occultists, Neil forbade her from having anything to do with it.

"It's not a game," Mike stared back at her, glowering, "and aren't you a little old?"

It only took a second for her displeasure to turn into pure loathing. Her smile fell, and she uttered. "Well, aren't you sweet?"

Max stopped her board in front of him, smirking. "Well, I could be your zoomer."

"That's not even a real thing." He remarked.

She disagreed. "It could be."

"That's what fantasy is -- you make stuff up." Sophie folded her arms, knowing more about the subject than he did.

Max stepped back on her skateboard and nudged her foot against the floor, setting off. She circled the boy with a grin. "See? Zoomer."

Mike stayed detached. "Mind-blowing." 

His sarcastic comment did not deter her. "Come on, you know you're impressed."

Sophie definitely was, watching her stepsister go round and round. "How are you doing that?"

"It's like riding a bike."

"But aren't you meant to be looking in the direction you're heading?"

"Basically, yeah." There was a soft gleam in her eye, glad that someone was appreciating her skills. "But when you're as awesome as me, you just know how to do these things."

"Cool." She muttered.

And yet, Mike remained unimpressed. "I don't see any tricks. You're just going around in a circle."

She scoffed. "If it's so easy, you try it."

"No."

"Why not?"

The dark-haired boy stammered. "I-I don't know how."

Mike's confident demeanour slipped the moment this new girl started showing him up, and Sophie couldn't help but laugh. "Are you scared you're gonna embarrass yourself?"

"So, then you admit it's kind of impressive," said Max.

"I think if I spent, like, all day practising, I could do that." He could certainly try.

Sophie raised her chin, slightly exposing her neck. "Has anyone told you that you're a bit arrogant?"

"I'm not!" he argued.

Max continued to prove her point. "I would give you a million bucks if you could."

His head followed her as she skated around him -- a diminutive smile forming. "Okay, you're making me dizzy. Please, just stop."

"I'll stop when I join your party." She declared.

"Come on -- just stop."

"It's a simple question, am I in or out?"

She liked that Max was determined; it was a good quality of hers. When someone pushed her down, she always found a way to stand back on her two feet.

Sophie giggled a little as they persisted in their arguing, though it seemed the pair were beginning to warm up to one another. But, in the corner of her eye, the blonde could see a face by the door, looking at them through a glass pane. She couldn't tell if they were a girl or boy, but Sophie knew they were not among the other kids she met earlier. They wore a scowl on their face, oblivious to the fact that they had been spotted.

"Hey, is that one of your-?" Before she could ask, Max was wildly thrown backwards. Her spine slammed against the floor with a loud smack. "Max!"

The pair rushed to her aid. "Jesus, are you all right?"

"Yeah -- yeah, I think so." She replied with a faint groan.

Her stepsister placed two hands around her arm whilst Mike grasped the other. "You sure?"

They helped her stand. "Yeah, just some light bruising."

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know. It was like a magnet or something pulling on my board." Max rolled her eyes at him. "I know that sounds crazy."

Her skateboard rolled towards the wall, but before it could collide, Max managed to halt it in time. "Maybe your wheel got stuck or-"

"I don't see how that would cause me to fall like that." She responded.

When she turned back, Mike was already running off, and the stranger at the door had vanished from sight. Had he seen them too, or maybe he had spotted Dart nearby?

She glanced back at Max. "Hey, did you see that kid at the door?"

The younger girl rubbed her backside, squinting at her stepsister. "What kid?"

Sophie shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know -- I saw someone watching us outside."

Max hoisted her board under her arm, holding it near her chest. "You sure you're not seeing things?"

"No, I definitely saw someone." There was no point in lying about something like that. She didn't just picture a random, curly-haired kid with a furious expression for fun.

Yet, Max didn't seem to care much, already walking away. "Maybe you saw a ghost."

Sophie didn't believe in ghosts, but she wasn't imagining it either. There was someone there -- she was sure of it.

The stepsisters followed Mike out of the gym, heading towards the bathroom by one of their teachers' classrooms. Along the way, they rejoined the dark-skinned boy, who introduced himself as Lucas Sinclair.

They gathered as one group, entering the bathroom with a sense of unease -- knowing full well that their mystery animal was in there. However, the only living creature in the room was a coy Dustin, staring back at them with a guilty expression. 

Mike peeked into stalls, swearing that this was where Will told them the creature was. "Where's Dart?"

With a light shake of his head, he stated. "I don't know -- not here."

"What?" He edged closer, throwing a couple of stall doors open.

"He said by Salerno's, right?" recalled Max.

"Yeah, maybe Will has him." The young boy seemed unsure -- as if he were hiding something.

But suspicions were pushed aside when Mike asked. "Where is Will?"

A heavy pause weighed down on their morals. If Dart wasn't here, then where could he be? Panic crossed over their faces, filling them with dread.

Their concern rocked Sophie's calm exterior. "This thing isn't poisonous, right?"

"That's not the issue!" The boys sprinted out of the bathroom without any hesitation. Dustin clutched the top of his hat, jogging after them.

Sophie shared a sigh with Max. "Then why don't you clue us in?"

The girls exited the room, finding Mike assuming leadership once again. "He can't have gone far. Dustin, look down there. Lucas, head the other way. I'll check outside."

"And us?" Max wondered, gesturing between them.

"Go home!" he yelled back in her face. This kid really had a problem with her hanging out with them.

Mike stormed off down one corridor and Lucas marched down another, but Dustin remained. He adjusted his cap, unveiling his toothy grin. "You ladies can accompany me if you want?"

With few options left, the girls accepted his offer and followed the excitable boy along a separate hallway, calling out for their missing friend.

Sophie wanted to question why they went from searching for a weird lizard to a lost boy, but at this point, she was just too tired to ask.

"Will!" he shouted with a croaky voice. "Will!"

A middle-aged woman wandered into the hallway, her eyes brightening in recognition. "Dustin!"

He lowered his brows. "Mrs. Byers?"

The woman fumbled her words, befuddled. "What's going on? Where's Will?"

Sophie's gaze darted between them. "Is everyone looking for this kid?"

Their heads snapped towards the main exit when the doors were thrown open and Lucas came rushing in, losing his breath. "The field!"

Mrs. Byers, whom Sophie soon realised was Will's mother, followed Lucas outside. The others trailed behind, though the stepsisters did not realise the true calamity of the situation until it was too late. At the other end of the field, feet rooted to the spot, was Will -- his eyes firmly shut.

Mike was by his side with his hand on Will's shoulder, shaking the poor boy. "Will!" He saw the others running over. "I just found him like this! I think he's having another episode!"

His muscles jerked and there was movement under his eyelids -- it was as if he was in a trance. "Wait, this has happened before?"

"Last night." Max told her.

"Will!" His friend let go, allowing Mrs. Byers to get to her son. "Will! Will!" she cried, shaking his frail body. "Sweetie, wake up! It's Mom!"

Sophie wiped her clammy hands against her light-blue jeans, her elbows digging into the sides of her ribs. "Okay, what if he's having a seizure or something? Maybe we should call 911?"

"Shut up!" Mike ordered.

Mrs. Byers kept trying to wake him, but it was no use. The girls observed his body tensing, his neck tightening like he was about to swallow. Max scratched the back of her head, finding it difficult to remain calm. She took Sophie's hand, her face paling. And though she didn't expect any love from the teenager, the blonde tightened her grip, assuring her that she wasn't alone in her fear.

Then, within seconds, the shivering boy's eyes burst open and his mouth dropped, gasping for air. The terror he wore -- Sophie would never forget it.

His mother, on the brink of tears, wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Will..."

Will said nothing, collapsing into her chest and burying his face in her shoulder. His white knuckles gripped onto Mrs. Byers's brown jacket. They could still see him shaking, slowly recovering from his traumatising episode.

The girls didn't receive a proper explanation as to what just occurred, only following the Byers back through the school. They observed his mother retrieve his bag from Will's locker before they walked out through the main entrance.

The Party stood on the front steps, watching the pair from afar.  "Okay, that totally freaked me out." Max glanced at the boys. "Did that not freak you guys out?"

"Two episodes in two days." Lucas expressed, ignoring his new friend's question.

Mike's gaze was fixed on his best friend, knowing all too well where this situation was heading. "It's getting worse."

Lucas dug his hands into his trouser pockets. "You think it's True Sight?"

"What's True Sight?" queried Max.

His lips parted, but upon acknowledging Mike's shaking head, Lucas hesitated. "... It's nothing."

They all looked out at the Byers one last time, watching his mother drive the two home. And with the thought of home kicking at her anxiety, Sophie piped up again. "Okay, uh, Max, we should be heading home. It's getting late."

"Yeah, of course." She turned to Lucas and Dustin, noticing the latter adjust his hat again. "See you guys tomorrow?"

Lucas nodded, tugging on his bottom lip. "Yeah, see you."

"Bye, Max." Dustin waved, his cheeks blushing. "Bye, Max's sister."

This time, the young girl didn't correct him, and Sophie felt a shift in their sibling dynamic.

Mike didn't say goodbye, pretending to adjust the signal on his walkie instead. His friend's enthusiasm was cut short by Lucas, pulling Dustin's hand down. "So embarrassing, dude."

They strolled through the middle school parking lot, though Sophie followed her stepsister's lead, sensing she'd lose her way without her.

"Okay, freaky stuff like that's only supposed to happen on Halloween." Sophie believed. "It's, like, a cardinal rule."

***

During the long walk home, Max explained the story Lucas had told her during the day, providing a lot of context to the situation. "So, Will went missing last year? Like, he just magically disappeared?"

"That's what Lucas told me." Her stepsister disclosed.

Nevertheless, there were a few things that weren't adding up. "But you said he got lost in the woods. Didn't they think the woods would be a great place to start?"

"I know -- his whole story is bullshit." She spat, her palm outstretched. "And he said that they thought Will was dead because of a body they found in this quarry."

Sophie went still, her facial muscles going slack. "I'm sorry, what?"

"He said the body was, like, super decomposed, so they couldn't identify it," Max recalled what the boy had told her, but even she didn't believe it. "But they check for DNA now, so how would they make a huge mistake like that?"

"This town's so weird." She commented.

It's like they stepped into a different dimension. This town's "home-sweet-home" exterior might do well to disguise the issues behind closed doors, but there was no doubt that Hawkins was a freaky place. Sophie expected very little of a small town in Indiana, and now she was wondering what else they were hiding up their folded sleeves.

They began walking again. Sophie leaned closer to Max, asking. "So, do you like this Lucas kid?"

"He's the only non-weird one in the group." The corner of her lip twitched, her expression brightening the moment she heard his name.

Sophie knew Billy would disapprove of their stepsister's choice of friends; another trait he picked up from their maker. She only hoped he would never see Max with them, especially when it came to Lucas.

"They all seem nice, though." Sophie paused, examining her statement. "Well, all except Mike, that is."

"Yeah, why the hell did he have to be such an asshole?" She pressed her lips into a fine line. "Like, I'm sorry I can't be your old girlfriend, but that doesn't mean you get to treat me like garbage."

The blonde couldn't help but agree. "Boys are shit at this age. They have this universal belief that girls are the weaker gender because we don't have penises."

"Literally." She asserted with a light chuckle. Max peered up at her stepsister, her pursed mouth twisting. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

She raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you barely talk to me most of the time," she mentioned, "and you know, I argue a lot with Billy."

"That doesn't mean I don't like you, Max. I gave you my Michael Myers mask -- I wouldn't do that for anyone." Sophie confessed to her. "Honestly, I think you're awesome." She swallowed, turning her head away. "It's just..."

"It's Billy, right?" guessed Max. "He's the problem."

Most days, when was he not?

"He seems to think that, because he hates you, I should hate you too." They shared a lot of things when they were kids, including opinions. Sometimes, Sophie felt obliged to agree since he was the older twin. "But I don't because you're actually a decent person."

Her head jerked back. "So you don't think I'm mean and scary?"

"I think you're crazy doing all those dangerous stunts." She'd seen her come home with more open wounds and scabs to count. "But mean and scary?" Her lips curved into a beaming smile. "Absolutely not." Though she was practically tiny, Max was a force to be reckoned with. Yet, as they arrived on Cherry Lane, they prepared themselves for a greater force. "You ready to face the music?"

Reluctantly, Max nodded. "Yeah."

In a simultaneous fashion, the girls strolled down the empty street, their worn sneakers scuffing against the cracked pavement. Billy's car was in the driveway, as expected. As they neared the house, muffled yells echoed through the thin walls.

Why their neighbours hadn't complained yet, Sophie would never understand.

Her blood relatives stood on the other side of that front door, blaming each other for harmless mistakes.

"We could always climb in through the window," Max suggested. "Pretend we've been here all along."

It wasn't a bad plan. "That would really mess with them, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah." The lock on her bedroom window was broken. Of course, she was the one who broke it. It was a warm day, and Neil wouldn't give Max the key. That day, she took the largest rock she could find and bashed it against the hinge, but she would never tell a soul what she had done.

It bewildered the teenage girl how, within a few days, Sophie felt a stronger bond with her stepsister instead of her own brother. Would it be so bad to admit that she would have rather grown up with Max instead?

She shouldn't think such things -- not when Billy needed her. "Let's save it for next time, okay?"

Sophie retrieved the key from her jacket pocket, pressing her hand against the door as she slipped it into the lock.

She heard Billy's voice inside. "Look, Sophie went to get Max, and she never came back, so what was I supposed to do?"

"Be responsible and wait for them." The blonde took a deep breath, "They could be anywhere!" and unlocked the door.

The fast click of the lock silenced their argument in an instant. Sophie placed her hand on the handle, pushing it open. On the other side, the stepsisters met Billy and Neil's despondent faces. They didn't bother saying hello.

Billy squeezed his eyes shut, sucking in his cheek. "Looks like they're right here."

As they entered the house, Neil stepped towards them with a stern expression. "What were you girls doing, leaving your brother waiting like that?"

"He's not my-" Max started.

Before she could start another argument, Sophie interrupted her. "We got held up at school."

"Doing what?" Neil questioned.

"Yeah, Soph," Billy crossed his arms, edging closer, "doing what?"

Shit. Shit. Shit. What was she supposed to say -- they were looking for Dustin's pet lizard-frog thing or that they were held up by a young boy's mental episode? Her dad always knew when she lying, catching her out every time.

"We were volunteering." She didn't expect her stepsister to interject, but Sophie was kinda glad she did.

The Hargroves' shared glares drifted towards Max. "Volunteering?"

"Yeah, at Hawkins Middle." She stated.

Neil glanced between them. "Both of you?"

Max scraped a hand through her thick hair, trying to sputter her words. "Well, it was just me, at first, but then Sophie wanted to join in."

Her stepsister frantically nodded, and it appeared Neil was beginning to believe them. "What were you two doing?"

Sophie chimed in. "A rodent escaped from the science lab."

"Yeah, and we volunteered to help look for it." Max voiced, supporting her claim. "My science teacher's really passionate about animal safety, especially in schools. If we didn't find it then they'd have to call an exterminator."

And they didn't find it, so they were going to have to anyway.

"I didn't want Max to walk home on her own." Sophie gave her brother a blank stare, seeing that he was willing to leave her behind barely a few minutes after school ended.

He angled his head towards Billy, turning the attention back to him. "She shouldn't be walking home anyway."

Billy's lips separated and he held his arms out in defence. "What, so you expect me to wait fucking hours for them?"

"It is your job to look after your sisters." Their father told him.

"Why don't you or Susan pick them up for once?" he raised his voice.

Neil pivoted his body away from the girls. "You know we can't."

"Just rearrange your fucking hours!"

"Enough with that tone, young man. I taught you better than that!"

"You taught me shit!"

Their yelling continued, and the stepsisters shared a look, deciding in silence to sneak away. With Billy and Neil too focused on each other to notice them, the girls managed to creep past them and enter the main hallway.

The tension settled, and Max's face softened once she knew they were in the clear. "Do you wanna read comics with me?"

"Yeah, sure." Sophie glimpsed back at her family. "You got something to drown out the noise?"

Max perked up a little. "Do you like Kate Bush?"

Her lips curved into a genuine smile. "Yeah, she's cool."

***

Yeah, we did a bit of a shit on Mike during this chapter. He's a great character, but sometimes he doesn't make smart decisions and I hate how he treats Max.

As you can see, Sophie gets scared easily. I mean, if you were thrown into a situation where you have to find a creepy creature and some kid you barely know has a medical problem, don't tell me you wouldn't be scared or at least concerned.

And Sophie saw El too. My original plan was for the girls to meet in the woods whilst walking home but I figured it would be weird and out of place, so I scrapped it. Besides, I love the sibling development growing between Max and Sophie.

Basically, Sophie's gonna be out of the loop for most of this part. Like, she's always gonna be a bit confused and scared since she's kinda thrown into the whole situation without warning.

Anyway, I wanted to get this out because I'm really excited about the next few chapters. I hope you liked this one. Votes and comments are always appreciated.

- Alice.