TEENAGE NIGHTMARE
CHAPTER SIX — PART ONE.
A NEW SPECIES.

( gif by SPDERVERSE )

          Franny already regretted walking into the gymnasium. The smell of putrid sweat and unwashed gym shorts airing out into the gym was bad enough, but upon entering alongside Steve Harrington, all eyes were on her. She abruptly gripped the shirt sleeve of the tall boy beside her, pulling him towards her so that she could speak under her breath.

" This was a bad idea, they're all gonna think I'm your rebound or something. " She insisted, her anxiety already climbing as a few of the boys warming up on the court snickered to each other.

" No they won't. " Steve reassured her, but she shot him a look that told him she wasn't convinced; he looked down at her with a lowered brow, " Trust me. And, if anyone's got any shit to say, they can deal with me. "

" I thought you were my friend, not my bodyguard. " Franny reminded him, moving towards the bleachers that were, per usual, empty minus the gym bags and bottles of water scattered around.

Steve shrugged, leaving her side and walking backwards on to the court, " Think of it as a two for one deal. "

Franny rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the smile that rose on her mouth as Steve gave her a two finger salute before turning around to join Tommy and a handful of other boys on the court.

" Alright, losers, game on! " He called, and Franny leaned forward, resting her elbow on her bent knee as she prepared to watch the back and forth game; Steve was on the varsity basketball team and he was pretty good, even if Franny had only seen a few games to know. Even after his fallout with Carol and Tommy and the rest of the self proclaimed 'popular' kids, he still maintained his title of King of the Court.

Until today, apparently.

Franny had, for a foolishly brief second, truly thought that her day wouldn't be complete and utter shit. She was proven wrong as soon as the gym doors across the room, which led to the locker rooms, swung open, the pretentious, mullet-wearing asshole himself strolling through with an ever-smug look on his face. Franny felt her heart drop and she immediately wanted to shrink into herself, wishing that she could disappear. What an idiot she was, not even imagining that Billy would be there. Of course he was, constantly trying to prove himself as the new top dog.

Oddly enough, he didn't seem to notice her at first, and she was glad enough that she breathed a sigh of relief. He exchanged a few words with Steve, who looked frustrated to say the least, and then they started the game. Franny would backup Steve on his skills on any given day because it was true that he was pretty good at the sport, but she would have to keep her mouth shut after watching Billy beat him at his own game.

Countless times, Franny cringed and winced as Billy shoved and bumped Steve, muttering to the lanky boy to get him even more riled up, causing him to lose focus. It was embarrassing to watch, and Franny wasn't even the one getting demolished. It was like Steve couldn't keep the ball, couldn't move his feet quick enough to block his shots, he just wasn't Steve.

And then, with the scoreboard lighting up, showing that Billy's team was one point from beating Steve's, the blond purposefully drove right into his shoulder, sending him to the ground before laying the ball up into the basket effortlessly. Franny instinctively straightened her back when she heard the sound of Steve's body colliding with the ground, and she lowered her foot to the bleacher as she nearly stood up to see if he was okay. At her sudden movement, Billy's eyes shot over to hers, her abrupt concern for Steve not going unnoticed and, without hesitation, he winked at her.

Franny felt a wave of disgust crash over her, and she glared briefly at him before shifting her gaze to the doors, where a new figure appeared. Nancy stood at the entrance of the gym quietly, looking so antsy that it was unnerving to Franny. The girl turned and caught Nancy's eye, nodding to her but not expecting her to walk over to her. Out of the corner of her eye, Franny could see Billy hold his hand out to help Steve up. Steve hesitated, scowling at the boy before accepting his hand.

" Hi, Franny, didn't expect to see you here. " Nancy greeted plainly, sounding a bit off, not her normal cheerful self.

" Uh, yeah, me neither. . " Franny trailed off, trying to figure out why she was there if her and Steve were done; from what Steve had told her last night, it sounded pretty over to her. So, Franny took upon herself to ask, " Um, not to be rude or anything, but, why are you here? "

Nancy blinked at her once, and before she could ask her to elaborate, Franny added, " You broke up with Steve last night, figured this would be the last place you'd want to be. "

" What? " She suddenly asked, a wide eyed look crossing over her face at the news that was apparently new to her. " I don't remember that, is that why he's been acting weird? "

" What do you mean, acting weird? " Franny questioned, raising an eyebrow.

" He's been ignoring me all day, he didn't even tell me he wasn't coming to pick me up for school today, " She stated, shaking her head, short, brown waves bouncing with the movement; Franny looked over and locked eyes with Steve, who looked just as surprised as she felt. " I–I'm gonna go talk to him, bye, Franny. "

Franny hummed in response, watching as the petite girl marched over to Steve. Upon seeing Nancy, the other boys dispersed, either heading back towards the locker rooms or heading to sit on the bleachers and chat. Steve looked past Nancy briefly to Franny as the girl continued talking to him, and she raised an eyebrow at him questionably. He didn't respond, instead turning his attention back to Nancy.

" I heard you had an eventful night yesterday. " An annoying arrogant voice called, and Franny lifted her head to see Tommy standing beside her, a knee propped up on the bleacher where her foot rested.

" What are you talking about, Tommy? " She asked, looking up at him with furrowed eyebrows and narrowed eyes; the boy gave her a comically exaggerated look of surprise.

" You haven't heard? You're the talk of Hawkins, Walker. " He declared, and, at the curious face hidden behind her defensive glare, he smirked, " Go check out the new art in the hallway. "

Still confused as to what he was alluring to, Franny fed into it. She huffed in annoyance, rising to stand and pulling her book bag over her shoulders before storming out of the gym, into the hall, Tommy close behind her. She nearly whirled around to complain to Tommy that he was being a dumbass, like usual, but she stopped when her eyes landed on exactly what he meant.

She felt frozen in place, a sharp pain shooting right into her stomach when she saw the red spray paint, still fresh, dripping down her locker from the word 'SLUT'. Franny took a step back from the locker, fingers digging into the straps of her bag as her jaw clenched. A few kids had stopped on their way to their next class to stare at her. She subconsciously wondered how many of them had known. She inhaled and exhaled quickly, feeling her chest start to tighten, her throat closing up. She wondered if this was at all what Will felt like when an episode was coming on, because she felt terrified, much like he had described to her in the past.

Carol stood nearby, two of her cronies latched onto either side of her as she let out an obnoxiously loud laugh, meant to draw Franny's attention to her, which it did. Franny felt herself scowl at the girl, but she knew that, deep down, she wasn't really all that bothered by her antics. Sure, it would aggravate her for a little while, but it was just a word graffitied sloppily onto her locker. The thing that really got her was the fact that everyone knew why it was there and what had happened at the party. What should've been a secret, for her to tell and her only, was whispered and giggled about amongst the entire student body.

" Hey, thought you were gonna wait on me— " Steve's voice rang in her ears, but Franny didn't turn to face him as he approached her, cutting himself off as he followed her stare to the locker. He quickly caught his breath, lowering his eyebrows at the graffiti before glancing over at the shaken up girl beside him, gently grabbing her shoulder. " Oh, shit, what the hell. . Fran, are you okay? "

She didn't answer him. She barely peeled her eyes off of the locker when she saw a flash of blond that suddenly moved into her peripherals. She whirled around at the sight, a hardening glare settling onto her face. As soon as her eyes set on Billy, hair still dripping from the recent shower he took in the locker rooms, she felt a flame light inside her.

" Hey, asshole! " She shouted, making everyone in the hallway freeze, scurrying off to the sides to allow Billy to turn and look at her with a scoff. Before Steve could stop her, Franny's shoulder left his grip and she began storming down the hallway, approaching Billy, who looked anything but threatened. " What'd you tell them? That you had sex with the priss of the school? That you left me in that room alone, naked?! What would've happened if someone had tried to— "

She stopped herself, unable to fathom the idea that she knew he knew she meant. Her face was blotching with red spots, fists clenched at her sides as she stood toe to toe with Billy, glaring up at him as he simply looked down at her with a smug smirk pulling at his lips. Steve had followed her on her rampage, pushing through a few students that were watching silently to get to her as she waited for an answer that she wasn't going to get.

" Like I said, I'm not your keeper, sweetheart. " He said carelessly, lazily raising an eyebrow before gesturing between Franny and Steve, clicking his tongue, " And, it looks like you've already found yourself a new knight in shining armor, you move fast, Walker. "

" You took advantage of me, I was drunk and you didn't stop me— " Franny persisted, her voice coming out scratchy as it broke with tears.

Billy let out a low laugh before he dipped his head so that his bored eyes were level with her reddened ones, and, in a hushed voice, he reminded her, " You wanted this, Walker. I told you I'd get rid of that goody-two-shoes shit, turns out you didn't need my help at all. Still, pleasure doin' business with ya. "

Franny swallowed thickly, shaking her head frantically as Billy straightened back up, cocking a grin at her before walking past her, bumping Steve's shoulder as the tall boy scowled at him. Unable to say anything to convey whatever god awful fury she felt racing through her veins, Franny spun on her heel and reached past Steve to shove Billy forward, making him stumble slightly and turn around with a look of amused surprise.

" That's not fair, you know this isn't what I wanted! You knew— " Franny cried, lunging to hit, slap, punch Billy again when she felt a pair of lanky arms wrap around her waist, pulling her just out of reach. She pushed at Steve's arms when her back hit his chest, feeling her breath quicken as tears spilled over her cheeks, " Let me go, Steve, let me go! He has to—he has to tell them, he knows that's not true! "

" Franny, Fran, come on, " Steve urged, eyes locked onto a very smug looking Billy as he turned and began walking down the hall; Franny's hands wrapped around Steve's as she lurched forward, nearly falling to her knees in the middle of the hallway, all thought of the other students around her disappearing as she let out a strangled sob, chest rising and falling rapidly. " It's not worth it, he's not worth it, Fran, "

" No, it's not fair! It's not fair! " Franny's voice began to die out as she watched Billy fade amongst the other students, her muscles finally giving up, making her grip onto Steve's arms to steady herself. " It's not fair. . "

" I know, Fran, I know. " Steve's words were as reassuring as they could be, but he didn't know how else to comfort the hysterical girl in the situation, so, when she turned and began to sob into his Phys. Ed t-shirt, he instinctively shifted his arms to wrap around her. His slightly surprised gaze lifted from the top of her head to the kids that were still standing around, staring unashamedly. Steve's eyes instantly lowered and he shouted, " Nothing left to see, folks! Go on, get lost! "

Then, as second period began with a telling ring, and the hallways began to empty, classroom doors shutting routinely, the scene was anything but usual. Steve Harrington stood in the middle of the corridor, arms tight around the back of a sobbing Franny Walker.

X X X

In the AV room, Charlie was beginning to think that Dustin had gone absolutely insane. Sure, he was normally very eccentric and always had some sort of crazy idea running wild in that head full of curls, but he had never actually acted like a mental patient. So, when Will questioned the wide eyed, eyebrow furrowed look on Charlie's face, he couldn't help but feel as if he was going crazy right alongside Dustin.

" Dustin's acting batshit crazy. " Charlie responded, looking around at the others, who seemed to agree. " It's not just me, right? "

" No, you're definitely right. " Mike confirmed, though he looked less than enthused to have Max standing alongside the party.

Before anyone else could interject, the door bursted open and slammed shut as Dustin appeared, a shoebox in his hands as he rushed in. He tossed to the box onto the table that the kids were all grouped around, earning puzzled looks from all of them. Dustin didn't say anything to clear their confusion, and he simply leaned forward and lifted the lid from the box.

Charlie shared a cautious look with Will before the group simultaneously peered down at the box's contents. What was inside solidified Charlie's theory of Dustin being absolutely, entirely insane. Squiggling around along the cardboard, leaving a trail of slime in its wake, was a small, legless, slimes creature that made Charlie rear back and look up at Dustin with an incredulous look.

" What the hell, Dustin?! " Charlie seemed to speak for the entire room as the others just looked to Dustin with wide eyed faces. The Walker boy placed his palm to his face, dragging it down and pleading, " Please tell me you didn't make this in your bathroom with some leftover supplies from last week's science experiment. "

" No, I didn't. " Dustin declared proudly, making Charlie blow out a stream of air, half relieved. He wasn't expecting him to continue with, " His name is D'Artagnan. "

Dustin reached his hand inside the box and picked the odd creature up, making Charlie recoil abruptly, stumbling back into Lucas and Max as he instinctively grabbed the nearest arm to him, which happened to be Will. A disgusted frown etched into his face as Dustin shoved the creature towards them, a smile on his face as he insisted, " Cute, right? "

" Get that thing away from me before I fucking smash it. " Charlie demanded, eyes locked onto Dustin's newfound pet with a deadly stare; he absolutely hated reptiles and the likes of them, so, whatever mutated species was squirming around in Dustin's hand, made his stomach churn.

" Hey, don't talk about him like that! " Dustin scolded, moving his hand away from Charlie, who visibly exhaled, releasing his hold on Will's arm, making the boy glance over at him briefly.

" D'Artagnan? " Mike asked, earning a look of disbelief from Charlie; was Dustin's colorful choice of baby names really the important part here?

" Dart for short. " He replied casually, " I found him in my trash can last night. "

" Where you should have left him. "

Charlie's comment went ignored, save for the amused look Will flashed him, and Max questioned, " Doing what? "

" Foraging for food. " Dustin stated in a 'duh' tone, like it was obvious what the goopy creature had been doing. Then, the boy looked to his array of friends with a mischievous grin, " You wanna hold him? "

" NO! " Charlie immediately exclaimed, rushing to move away from Dustin while the others simultaneously backed away, shaking their heads frantically.

" He doesn't bite! " Dustin insisted loudly, dropping the creature into Max's hands, ignoring her shouts of protest. The redhead immediately cringed and shook her head, red locks flying.

" Oh my god, it's slimy! " She whined, transferring Dart to Lucas, who let out a surprised noise and passed it to Will, and then, in result, to Mike. Charlie stood defensively as he glared at the dark haired boy who held the creature out to him.

" I swear to God, if that thing touches me, I will kick someone's ass! " Charlie announced, wrinkling his nose as Dart got dangerously close to him, feeling a nasty taste in his mouth, " Or, better yet, I'll puke on all of you and then kick Dustin's ass! "

" Noted. " Dustin muttered, watching as Mike lifted the creature to his face, squinting at it analytically.

" What is he? " A question that Dustin, apparently, didn't have an answer to.

" My question exactly. " The curly haired boy stated, turning to unzip his book bag, searching through it before pulling out a set of books. He didn't open them, just sat them on the table, pulling Charlie's attention for a moment before he informed them, " At first, I thought it was some type of pollywog. "

Max's eyebrows scrunched together at the unfamiliar word, " What's a pollywog? "

Charlie opened his mouth to answer, but Dustin eagerly beat him to it, sounding a bit patronizing, " It's another word for tadpole. . A tadpole is the larval state of a toad. "

Max subtly rolled her eyes, sighing, " I know what a tadpole is. "

Charlie was starting to wonder if Dustin actually had a crush on Max or not. When she first showed up, he was almost certain of it. Franny was always the most observant Walker, but he was pretty close behind. It was the reason he was able to keep his own crush on Will a secret, well, mostly. But, by the way Dustin kept talking to her like she was stupid, or like she couldn't keep up with them, he was a bit puzzled. If there was one thing he knew about girls, it was that you did not want to make them mad, and, if it was Charlie, he would've been pretty pissed if Dustin has assumed he didn't know what a tadpole was.

" Alright, then you know most tadpoles are aquatic, right? " Dustin asked, shifting his gaze from the redhead to the boys, " Well, Dart— he isn't. He doesn't need water. "

Charlie had started questioning how long Dustin had kept Dart from them; if he knew that he didn't need water to survive, what else did he know? Or, more concerning, what didn't he know?

" Yeah, but aren't there non-aquatic pollywogs? " Lucas questioned, and Dustin nodded to him.

" Terrestrial pollywogs, yes. Two, to be exact: Indirana Semipalmata and the Adenomera Andreae. " He replied, and Charlie's eyes nearly bugged out as he tried to decipher what had just spilled out of his mouth; for a second, he wasn't sure if it was even English. " One's from India, the other's from South America. So, how did one end up in my trashcan? "

" Maybe some scientists brought it here and it escaped. " Max interjected, raising her eyebrows when all the boys turned to give her unconvinced looks. She shook her head and asked, " What? "

" You're from California, where I'm sure crazy shit happens and goes unnoticed, but this is Hawkins, Indiana. " Charlie reminded her, " Things like that don't just happen and not turn into mass hysteria. "

He realized he was being a hypocrite, but he wasn't going to correct himself. Max didn't know about 1983, and that was that. Charlie wasn't going to be the one to explain that shit show to her unless it was absolutely necessary.

" Um, " Will cut in, looking worried and having been mostly mute for most of the conversation, " does anyone else see that? It's. . something's moving inside of him. "

Charlie and the others glanced back to look at Dart in Mike's hand. The boy held his hand out so that they could all very clearly see what Will meant. Around what Charlie would assume was Dart's stomach was a small thumping, like a heart pulsing inside its body. Mike's eyebrows knitted together curiously, and he placed the creature onto the table, quickly grabbing the lamp and holding the light over over it. Reactively, Dart let out a high pitched wail and scurried away, jumping off the table and right into Dustin's hands while the others all jerked back.

" Shh, it's okay, " Dustin cooed the creature, " I got you, little guy, it's okay. "

Charlie felt the urge to vomit again at the sight of Dustin comforted Dart like it was a dog. The boy turned back to his friends, explaining, " And, there's another thing. Reptiles are cold blooded, ectothermic, right? They love heat, sunlight, but Dart hates it, it hurts him. "

" Dustin, you are just asking for me to kill you. " Charlie warned, and Lucas stepped forward, an eyebrow raised.

" So, if he's not a pollywog, or a reptile. . " he trailed off, and Dustin grinned at the insinuation; he had already came to this conclusion and was very ecstatic for his friends to hear it, too.

" He's an undiscovered species. " He claimed, " Which I just discovered. "

Charlie opened his mouth in a half frown as he went to threaten to strangle Dustin, but he was interrupted by the school bell ringing loudly. They would have to figure out what to do with Dart after school, and Charlie was not at all saddened by the news.

" We gotta show him to Mr. Clarke. " Lucas decided, and Dustin looked offended.

" What if he steals my discovery? " He retorted, and Charlie groaned inwardly as he and Lucas replied in unison.

" He's not going to steal your discovery! "

Dustin promptly rolled his eyes and placed Dart back into the box before carefully tucking it under his arms. He walked out of the AV room first, the others following him as he continued to insist that he was going to name Dart's species after himself. Charlie could feel himself growing increasingly annoyed with Dustin's new obsession, but he tried to distract himself by glancing over at Will, who was walking beside him, the two of them bringing up the rear of the group.

Charlie gently bumped into the shorter boy, who had seemed to be off in his own little world again, eyebrows crinkled and eyes hardened in concentration. Will's head turned to look at him, though, when their arms touched, a curious half smile finding his face.

" Hey there, daydreamer. " Charlie greeted him sarcastically before lowering his eyebrows at the way Will's smile fell from his face almost instantly. " I know a lot of people have been asking you this a lot, but, are you okay? "

Will met Charlie's eyes with his own, sleep deprived ones, his lips pressed to a thin line. Charlie didn't want to push him, but he was worried about him. He was looking paler than usual, and he wasn't sure how he was the only that had noticed his change of demeanor. Maybe everyone was still waiting for him to readjust after what had happened last fall, but something told Charlie that it was more than that.

" You don't have to tell me, but, I want you to know that you can tell me, if you want. " Charlie promised, eyes dropping to his feet as they trudged against the tile floor; he nearly had a heart attack when Will's hand swung too close to his, accidentally brushing it. He swallowed it down, though, and just added, " I'm here for you, Will, we all are. "

Will was quiet for a minute, making Charlie realize just how quiet he had been for nearly a year. He was less inclined to speak, and he rarely got excited about anything. The last time Charlie had seen his eyes light up with joy was Halloween, and that was before the episode. Then, he surprised Charlie by actually speaking.

" I-I don't know what it is, but something just doesn't feel right. " Will said with a quiet sigh, giving Charlie a quick look as he added, " I'll let you know if it gets worse. "

Charlie nodded at him, eyes lingering on Will as they rounded the corner. He wanted to have faith that Will would actually hold out on his promise, but something in the back of Charlie's head told him that it was already getting worse.

X X X

note.

As always, all comments, questions, predictions, and feedback are greatly appreciated!