A/N: Welcome back! I hope you enjoy this next chapter ❤️

Warnings: non-permanent heterosexual relationship between Will and Doc, violence, sexual innuendos, mentions of death

Word Count: 6682

"Wait, so her name is Suzie?"

Dustin currently led his friends out of his room and down the hall of his home, all five of them holding some form of equipment for his Cerebro. "Suzie with a 'z'. She's from Utah." He answered Mike's question.

"Girls go to science camp?"

Doc raised a brow at her boyfriend's question. "I don't know, Will, do they?"

Will widened his eyes and sputtered out a jumbled mess of an apology and a save. Before he could get a single coherent sentence out, Dustin interrupted him, "Suzie does. She's a genius."

"Is she cute?" Mike asked.

"Think Phoebe Cates, only hotter."

"Phoebe Cates?" El whispered to Doc.

"She's in movies and stuff. She's very pretty." She clarified.

El nodded in understanding as the five passed by the kitchen to get to the back patio. Max noticed this and frowned at them. "What's going on?"

"Going to talk to Dustin's girlfriend." Will smiled as they walked outside. At this, Lucas shot up from the sink.

"Girlfriend?!" He and Max gasped in unison. They shared a look before hurriedly following their friends out the door.

When Dustin had told the lot of them that they needed to set up his Cerebro, they didn't think they'd need to hike. Mike and El had long since passed the equipment they held off to Max and Lucas. This was just so their hand-holding wouldn't be interrupted. This also meant the two of them would be less tuckered out than the rest of the group. Dustin happily and excitedly led them all up a very, very high hill. The trip wouldn't have been as tiresome had the sun not been beating down on them and their arms not being weighed down by the equipment.

"Dustin, I think I'll drop dead soon." Doc groaned. Just like her friends, she was beginning to sweat through her clothes. Though, she feared more for her outfit than anyone did theirs. It was brand-spanking new, a lavender shirt tucked into a brown corduroy mini skirt. Brenda picked it out especially for her and she was excited to wear it for the special occasion, but now she was sure she'd have to worry about sweat stains.

"Just hold out, we're almost there." He looked back at her with an encouraging smile.

"Aren't we high enough?" Lucas huffed out.

"Cerebro works best at a hundred meters."

Max sighed. "You know, I'm pretty sure people in Utah have telephones."

"Yeah, but Suzie's mormon."

"Oh, shit." Lucas widened his eyes. "She doesn't have electricity?"

"That's Amish, Lucas." Doc corrected.

"Oh."

"Then what are Mormons?" Will questioned.

"Super religious white people." Dustin answered. "They have electricity and cars and stuff, but... since I'm not Mormon, her parents would never approve."

Doc frowned a bit. "Awe, I'm sorry, Dust."

"Nah, it's alright. It's all a bit... Shakespearean."

"Shakespearean?" Max raised a brow.

"Yeah. Like Romeo and Juliet."

"Right."

"Star-crossed lovers."

"I got it."

From a few feet behind them, Mike's voice called out, "Hey, guys!" and they all turned around to see the great distance between them. "This is fun and all, but, uh..." He tapped his watch to indicate the time.

"I have to go home." El explained.

"We're almost there." Dustin frowned.

"Sorry, man," Mike shrugged. "Curfew."

And with that, El clasped hands with Mike and giddily followed him back down the hill. The Party watched them with narrowed eyes and shaking heads as Dustin checked the time. "Curfew at four?"

"They're lying." Lucas informed.

"It's been like this all summer." Will shook his head again.

"It's romantic." Max shrugged.

"It's gross."

"It's bullshit," Dustin cut in with a sad tinge to his voice. "I just got home."

Doc watched the couple scamper through the grass without a care or thought to how their friends would feel about them ditching their time together. And while Doc was unaware of how much room she did not have to talk, she knew that nothing would pull her away from their day dedicated to Dustin. No friends, mall, pool or boy could keep her from that.

Turning her head, she gave Dustin a one-shouldered shrug and a smirk. "Well, their loss. They won't get to see Cerebro in action and they won't get to meet Suzie, right?"

At that, a smile slowly graced the Henderson boy's face. It was small and a bit trying, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Right. Onwards and upwards!" He cocked his head towards the top. "Suzie awaits!"

Max and Lucas threw their heads back with groans before following Dustin. Doc chuckled and adjusted the equipment in her arms, jogging a bit to catch up with them. Will was about to be right behind her, but he felt it again.

At first, it was the goosebumps. He reached behind his neck to feel the prickling there. But that presence that he felt at the mall was back. It had never really left, it just lingered all the other times. Now, though, it was here with them. It was somewhere hiding within the grass or maybe it was right in front of him and he just couldn't see it.

"Will! Come on!" Doc called from up ahead. With a start, he flinched and turned around, running up the hill and catching up with them. Grinning brightly, Doc grabbed hold of his hand and continued their hike to Suzie.

-------------------------------------------------

From atop his throne, Billy watched Karen Wheeler like a hawk and with a hunger that was once reserved for the senior girls of Hawkins High. Now that he had graduated, it was summer and he was stuck within the confines of the pool, his choice in... company was limited to those who decided to hang around.

And hang around Karen did. Billy wasn't an idiot, he knew exactly what she was doing. She sat there along with the other mothers of Maple Street, perched atop her lawn chair and adorning a new swimsuit or hairstyle to catch his attention. It was a tactic he was used to, a tactic he could never get tired of.

But this was new.

Beneath his umbrella, he watched as she elegantly cut through the water of the lap pool, never letting the water reach her face and ruin her full face of makeup. Never had Karen ever swam in the lap pool while he was on watch. Had she before, he would have noticed, for he had the perfect view from his throne. She was changing her routine. She was trying something new to catch him. And catch him, she did.

Billy reached the other side of the pool by the time she climbed out and slicked her hair back. "Looking good out there, Mrs Wheeler." He complimented.

"Thank you." She grinned.

"Perfect form." He handed a towel to her that he grabbed on his way over. Karen took it from him with a deep inhale.

"Well... your form is amazing." She practically slurred, regaining her composure when he let out a chuckle. "I'm sorry, I mean, I... I've seen you... uh, teaching... lessons. Swimming lessons."

Billy chuckled once again, enjoying the reactions he got out of her. "You know, I could, uh... I could teach you, if you like."

"Oh." She blinked.

"I know all the styles. Freestyle..."

She sharply inhaled as he stepped closer.

"Butterfly..."

He knew he almost had her by the way her eyes became half-lidded, raising a stick of gum to his lips.

"Breaststroke."

She dropped her towel. He had her. Hook, line and sinker.

Billy bent down with her to retrieve the towel, handing it off to her. "You okay?" He asked as if he didn't know the cause of her flustered state. Karen nervously laughed as she fastened the towel around her waist.

"I didn't think you... I didn't think you taught adults."

"Well, I offer more, uh... advanced lessons to select clientele."

"Oh..."

"Come to think of it, there is a good pool out at a Motel 6 on Cornwallis. It's very quiet... You know, very private."

She hummed.

"Shall we say tonight? Eight o'clock?"

Karen absently nodded, but came back to her senses quickly. The baiting and the flirting were all she had planned, locking the memories away for her to reminisce. She never actually thought of going as far as to sneak off in the night with Billy Hargrove. After all, she had a husband. She had a family. What kind of mother would she be, hiding out in motels to enact affairs while her husband and children sat at home, completely unaware?

"I'm sorry," She shook her head. "I can't."

Billy's face dropped to feigned shock. "Can't what? Have fun?" This pulled a laugh out of her. "Mrs Wheeler!"

"No," She ran a hand through her hair. "I... I... I just, uh... I don't think I need any lessons."

"Oh, you see, I think you do." He tilted his head so their faces were dangerously close. "I just don't think that you've had the right teacher."

Her bravado faltered at the insinuation. "I, uh..."

"It will be... the workout of your life."

And with that, Billy Hargrove truly had Karen Wheeler in his grasp. Family momentarily forgotten, she met his smirk with her own, mischief twinkling in her eye. Off to the side in two lawn chairs, Brenda and Sheriece gaped at the scene and then at each other.

"Girl..." Sheriece mouthed.

"I know." Brenda mouthed right back.

-------------------------------------------------

Dustin dropped his duffel bag beside his feet with a triumphant smile. "Made it."

Behind him, though, his four friends were dragging themselves to meet him at the top of the hill with huffs and puffs and groans and moans. "Yeah, only took five hours." Max sighed.

"Why couldn't we just play D&D?" Will whined as they all dropped the equipment to the ground. Doc gently patted his shoulder as she passed him.

"I'm so thirsty." Lucas whispered and unscrewed the cap off the group's canteen. Max watched with a clenched jaw as her boyfriend drained the entire canteen with loud gulps and slurps. Once he was sure there was nothing left, he wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

"Did you seriously just drink the rest of our water?"

Lucas quickly looked up at her, his cheeks puffed out with the remainder of the water. Hurriedly, he spat it back into the canteen, holding it out to his girlfriend with a sheepish grin. Max only stared at him, seriously unimpressed.

"Don't worry, Max." Doc walked up to them and pressed a full canteen into her hands. "I brought an extra. Which is for everyone but Lucas."

"Oh, come on!"

With a clap of Dustin's hands followed by a string of authoritatively-toned instructions, the Party worked together to assemble Cerebro. Doc wasn't sure of half the things she was told to do, but she did them with no complaint. At one point, as the sun began its setting, Dustin had asked for her to bring him the tin foil while he held a piece together. As she passed by Will, she gently bumped him with her hip. When he didn't even spare her a glance, her whole attitude shifted, the girl dropping the tin foil to Dustin's side and moving to help Max.

"Wait, Doc, I need you to- Nevermind." Dustin sighed out.

She didn't speak of why that encounter bothered her, but Max could feel her mood change. It also helped that Doc's eyes were laser-focused on Will's every move. "What's wrong?" She whispered. "You two fighting?"

"What? No." Doc frowned. "To be honest, I have no idea what's going on. I'll let you know when I find out."

After making sure Max was fine on her own, Doc quickly made her way around Lucas to reach Will. She carefully knelt down beside him and watched him work with a small smile on her face. Will didn't even acknowledge her, which worried her even more. She had noticed that lately his smiles had been too small, his holds on her hands were always too loose, and the kisses he left on her cheeks or forehead were too quick, quicker than a peck. She wasn't sure if something about her was dissatisfying him, but if it were true, she would prefer to know sooner rather than later.

"Hey, um... After all this, do you wanna come over? I have this cool new design I wanna show you." She tried.

"Uh... We'll see." He finished his task and stood up. "I'm gonna see what else Dustin wants us to do."

As he walked away, those two words rang in her head. 'We'll see'. There was never a 'We'll see'. There was almost always a 'Yes' or an 'Of course' or a 'Sounds good'. Sometimes there was a 'Maybe' or an 'I'll ask my mom', which always meant yes. But 'We'll see' sounded hesitant. It sounded like he didn't want to and he was just giving her an answer to shut her up for the time being.

"Doc! Come help us push 'er up!"

Sighing heavily, Doc pulled herself up and joined her friends. With careful hands and a bit of effort, the five were able to push Cerebro until it was standing up straight. Dustin grinned up at it with the rest of them blankly staring at it. "Pretty impressive, right? Now, you ready to meet my love?"

"Okay, sure."

"Yeah."

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah."

Dustin plopped onto the ground and held up his radio to his mouth, holding down the button to speak. "Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

Static hissed on the other side. Dustin looked up at his friends and held up a finger.

"One sec. She's probably... She's still there." He clicked the button again. "Suzie... this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

The four gave each other knowing looks when they were greeted by static once again. He gave them a sheepish look as he tried to explain in a quiet tone, "I'm sure she's there. It's just-"

"Yeah." Lucas nodded.

"You know, maybe she's, like, busy or-"

"Yeah."

"It's around dinnertime."

"Mm."

"Here." Once again, Dustin clicked the button. "Suzie, do you copy? This is Dustin. Over."

Static.

"Suzie, do you copy? This is Dustin. Over."

And static again.

-------------------------------------------------

The sun had long since setted and Nancy was still at work, rubber-gloved hands throwing out the remains of her superiors' lunch she had jumped through hoops to get for them. When she and Jonathan decided to take the summer internships at The Hawkins Post, she didn't think she would get the short end of the stick. Sure, Jonathan wasn't exactly where he wanted to be, but at least he didn't have to be a glorified vacuum cleaner for a bunch of grown men. She just knew that she could be doing so much more here than just... clean-up.

Outside of the conference room, she heard the phone ring from a secretary's desk. She was never in any position to answer any phones around the office, but there was nothing else for her to do considering she was the only person inside. Hurriedly taking off her gloves, she rushed up to the phone and answered it.

"Hawkins Post." She greeted. The feminine voice on the line spoke quickly, almost too quick for Nancy to catch everything, especially with what she was spewing at her. "Um, hold on, I'm- I'm sorry, can you- can you repeat that?"

She picked up a pen and wrote down on a nearby piece of paper what the woman repeated.

    DORIS DRISCOLL

4819 CORNWALLIS RD

DISEASE...

RATS

Elsewhere, at the Hopper residence, the Chief laid in bed with a pillow clutched to his chest and a cigarette between his teeth. He could hear the sound of REO Speedwagon blasting from Eleven's room, she and Mike no doubt sucking face right about now. Every fiber of his being wanted to shoot up from his bed and drag the Wheeler boy by his ear and out of his home, but that was not the way to solve this problem.

"...why it's important to establish these boundaries..." He mumbled the practiced speech to himself that he was to deliver to the children. "...moving forward, so that we can create an environment where... you feel comfortable and trusted and open... Shit."

When his mind went blank, he took a quick look at the speech written on a piece of paper by Joyce, who had given him the idea to talk to them in the first place rather than lashing out.

"'To share our feelings'."

Rolling his eyes, Hopper lowered the paper and removed the cigarette from his lips. He deeply inhaled and sharply exhaled before springing out of bed. He shoved aside the curtain that acted as his bedroom door and took one more drag of his cigarette, a look of determination on his face. After putting out his smoke, he tucked the letter into his breast pocket and walked the few steps it took to reach El's bedroom. The door was open three inches, just as he asked.

Sighing, he knocked on the doorframe so as to not push the door open any wider. "Hey."

There was a couple seconds of silence before El softly called out. "Yes?"

"Can I talk to you guys a minute?"

The door opened wider, allowing him access. Had the music not still been playing, the situation might have been even more agonizingly painful than it already was. Upon walking in, he saw that El was sitting at the head of her bed while Mike sat at the foot.

At least they had the decency to act like they weren't doing what he knew they were doing.

He swallowed. "Hi."

"Hi...?"

Awkwardly, Hopper walked further into the room, taking an empty chair and moving it in front of the bed. Mike and El shifted so they both sat cross-legged in front of him. The two watched in confusion as Hopper's eyes lifted from the ground and to Eleven, then to the ground, then to Mike, then immediately back to the ground. He had all the words, he knew what to say, he had practiced, he was ready just a moment ago. Now that he was in front of them, though, the words stuck in his throat and his mind went to static. Perhaps he needed silence.

Turning around, he shut off her radio, cutting off all sound within the room. When he turned back around, he realized it only made it worse. The first thing his eyes caught was Mike. Hopper gave him a once over, the boy returning it in confusion. As much as he wanted to lay into the boy right now, he knew he couldn't.

"Um..." He fell into silence, the kids widening their eyes in anticipation. "What I, uh... needed to say to you... What I wanted to say to you... is that, um..."

"Uh-oh." Mike whispered and turned to El with a mischievous smile. "I think we're in trouble."

The two chuckled as Hopper watched them in shocked irritation. His gaze stayed on Mike for a lot longer than it did on El and he remembered why (Y/N) was his favorite Wheeler. "No. No, nobody's in trouble, okay? I just, um..."

Hopper trailed off when Mike leaned over and whispered something in Eleven's ear, the girl quietly laughing. For the life of him, Hopper couldn't find how the Wheeler boy had the nerve and audacity to treat him with such disrespect in his own home. In his mind, there was no reason for him to show respect for Mike in the first place. So, he decided to improvise.

"You know what? Your mom called."

Mike narrowed his eyes at him. "What?"

"Yeah." Hopper raised his brows. "She needs you home right away."

"Is everything okay?"

"No, I don't think so. It's your grandma."

And Hopper knew by the look of horror in the boy's eyes that he got him. Within seconds, he was leading Mike to his truck, the boy firing questions after him as they went.

"Is she dead?"

"No."

"Did she fall again?"

"No."

"Does she have cancer?"

"No." He rounded his truck before the two of them swung the doors open.

"Then I don't understand. What's wrong with Nana?"

It wasn't until they were in the truck and both their doors were closed that Hopper finally exploded. "Nothing! There's nothing wrong with Nana!"

"What?!" Mike gaped.

"But... there's something very wrong with this thing between you and El."

As Hopper sniffed and reclined back in his seat, Mike's face slowly morphed into realization. "Oh, you lying piece of shit!" He whipped around to open his door, but the lock snapped down. Gasping, Mike pulled it back up, but then it snapped down again. And again, and again, and again. Angrily, he whirled on Hopper. "You're crazy!"

"Crazy?" The Chief's wildly wide eyes slowly made their way over to the boy as he spoke low and menacingly. "You wanna see real crazy? You disrespect me again. Okay?"

Mike's jaw dropped out of fear.

"Here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna drive you home. And I'm gonna speak... and you're going to listen." Very slowly, Hopper leaned forward until he was resting against his steering wheel, eyes glued in front of him. "And then, maybe... maybe by the end of it, maybe if you're lucky, maybe... I will continue... to allow you... to date my daughter."

Hopper's head slowly turned back to Mike's petrified look.

"Nod if you understand!"

When the boy rapidly nodded his head, the engine of the truck sputtered to life and the two were off.

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"...do you copy? This is Dustin. Over."

The pale light of the moon shone down upon the Party. Dustin was still talking on his radio in search of his supposed girlfriend while his friends lounged around in the grass. Lucas and Max laid beside each other, using an empty bag as a shared pillow. Will laid on his back with Doc's head resting on his stomach, his hand limp in hers as she played with his fingers. The four of them shared a silent groan as the sound of hissing static responded to Dustin.

"Suzie! This is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

Radio static.

"Suzie, this is your Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

And hissing static again.

"Suzie-"

"Dustin, come on!" Max exclaimed. "She's not there."

"She's there, alright?"

Doc sighed out. "Dustin, you've been at this forever."

"She'll pick up!"

"Maybe Cerebro doesn't work." Will suggested and propped himself up on his elbows.

"Or maybe Suzie doesn't exist." Lucas threw out.

"She exists!" Dustin defended.

"She's a genius and she's hotter than Phoebe Cates? No girl is that perfect."

Immediately, Max shot upright. "Is that so?"

Ever the observers, Will shifted to lean on one elbow as Doc adjusted against him accordingly in order to watch Lucas dig an even deeper hole for himself.

"I mean..." He quickly sat up with wide eyes. "...you're perfect. Ye- Ye- Per- I mean, like, per- perfect in your own way. In your special- your own special way."

Max relented and let out a chuckle, relieving her boyfriend's nerves. "Relax, I was teasing. I'm obviously perfect and Dustin's obviously lying." She didn't see the look of hurt on her friend's face as she got to her feet and held a hand out to Lucas. "Come on, Don Juan."

Lucas grinned and grabbed her hand, standing to his feet and beginning down the hill with her. Dustin frowned and threw his arms out to the side. "Where are you going?"

"Home."

Doc smiled as she leaned away from her boyfriend. "They're so cute." She giggled, feeling a pair of hands help her to her feet. When she saw that it was Will, her smile brightened and her heart warmed in a newfound hope in him. In them. Will returned her beaming expression with a small, trying smile.

"Well... I guess it's just us three."

The couple looked over at Dustin with opening and closing mouths. They shared a look and then turned back to him, Will checking his watch. "Um... it's late. And I've gotta get (Y/N) home."

"Yeah... uh, I have plans tomorrow." Doc tightly smiled as Dustin's disappointment deepend in his features. "Sorry, Dustin."

"Maybe tomorrow, we can play D&D. Or something fun. Like we used to?"

Dustin couldn't have been bothered to hide the hurt in his voice. "Yeah, sure."

Doc exhaled and wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing him tight against her. "See you later, okay?"

"'Kay..."

She pulled away from him and gave him one last smile before starting down the hill. Will awkwardly nodded to Dustin as he tried to give any parting words. "Welcome home..."

And with that, Will caught up with his girlfriend, took hold of her awaiting hand and ran down the hill with her. Leaving Dustin all alone with nothing but distorted radio chatter that he had yet to even notice.

When the young couple reached the bottom of the hill where their bikes sat, Doc let go of Will's hand so they could set them upright. "Hey, uh... Do you wanna come over for a bit? I have a few new designs I wanted to show you."

Will didn't even look up from his bike. "I was serious about it being late, (Y/N)."

Doc playfully scoffed with a crooked grin. "I mean... we've hung out late at night plenty of times."

"Yeah, well," He glanced over his shoulder. "Maybe I don't want to anymore."

At that, Doc swallowed the thick lump in her throat and dropped her bike to the ground. "Okay, we're talking." She placed her hands on her hips as Will hesitantly turned to her. "What is up with you? You basically ignored me on the hill and now this?"

"Just because I don't respond to every single flirtatious thing you do doesn't mean I'm ignoring you, (Y/N)."

"Okay, well, it didn't start with the hill. I feel like you've changed, Will. You've changed around me. It's like ever since Dustin went to camp, things have just shifted weirdly. I feel like you're not even here anymore."

Will furrowed his brows and fully turned his body to her. "What?"

"I-I mean... obviously, you're here. But you're distant." Her face dropped as she slowly moved closer to him. "Is it because of what happened with the Mind Flayer...?"

"No," He sighed and shut his eyes tight. "No, it's-"

"Because you know I don't blame you for any of that."

"(Y/N)-"

"You should know that, Will."

"It's not because of that." He held his palms up to stop her, opening his eyes and casting them to the side. "It's just... no one wants to play D&D anymore..."

She gave him a very unimpressed look as her shoulders sagged. "Really, Will? That's your issue right now?"

Offended, he scoffed and pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Okay, where have you been? Hanging out with Sheriece and Brenda all day, everyday?"

"It's not all day, everyday."

"Well, whatever. The Party hardly ever gets together as much anymore and when we actually do, you and Mike are never there. Then I'm stuck third-wheeling Lucas and Max all the time. If anyone's changed, it's you."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, I've changed?"

"Yeah! I mean, just look at you. You don't even skate anymore."

"My skates aren't practical."

"Well, you used to think they were! You know what I think this is, (Y/N)? I think this is you just pushing us away. Ever since you lost your powers, it's like you want to get away from us all the time."

At the mention of her powers, (Y/N) swallowed and dropped her arms, a fire in her eyes. "This has nothing to do with my power." She hissed through clenched teeth. "This is about having a fun summer! It's not my fault you wanna spend it on D&D, and it's not my fault that you can't handle me hanging out with other people!"

Will blinked rapidly and shook his head. "You are completely missing the point of what I'm trying to say. I mean, this is it! This is how we've been talking lately! We either talk at each other, or we don't talk at all."

"We barely even look at each other anymore..."

A very tense and very silent moment fell over the two. This was possibly the most they had spoken to each other in one setting since the summer started. Doc felt alienated from her boyfriend, like he was a completely different person now and she failed to miss all of the subtle changes.

"Maybe we need a break."

Will faltered. "H-Huh? A break?"

"I just think we need some space to think. Clearly, we've both got some... things we need to work out. It's all been addressed..."

"(Y/N), I-"

"It's not a real breakup, nothing's official. But we haven't been acting like boyfriend and girlfriend in the past few weeks. So, if you can't give me that right now, then... can you at least give me this?"

Will knew that the only way to solve this problem as soon as possible was to be honest with Doc, to open his heart to her and tell her everything on his mind. Why he'd been so different, so distant and so unfair to her. But every time he opened his mouth to reveal the truth, it formed into a lump and lodged itself in the middle of his throat, forcing him to choke on and swallow down his own words. So, with hesitation, he nodded in response.

"Cool." Doc cleared her throat and picked up her bike. "So, it's settled then."

"Ye- Uh, yeah." He nodded and scrambled to pick up his own bike. When he did, he looked over to find Doc's crestfallen look, her eyes nowhere near him. He hated this. If anything, he had hoped that she would at least always be a friend to him, but now he felt like he ruined even that. "I guess I'll... see you?"

"Yeah." She gave a trying smile and mounted her bike. "See you."

Will watched with a longing gaze as she pedaled off into the night. Meanwhile at the Wheeler residence, Karen dolled herself up for her rendezvous with Billy. She put on a red dress, she pampered her face, she teased her hair. After checking in the mirror one last time, she deemed herself ready for the night. That was until she glanced at the wedding ring on her finger. Her mind raced as she twisted the ring against her skin. And eventually, with a pumping heart, she took it off and set it on the bathroom counter.

Karen had nearly been at the front door when she heard awfully familiar snoring from the living room. Her excitement slowly disappeared as she slowly made her way into the room, her breath hitching at the sight of Ted asleep in his recliner, Holly fast asleep in his lap, his hand gently resting on her back.

Just then, she heard the door to the garage shut and she waited to see which of her oldest had just arrived home. A genuine smile spread across her face when Doc had made her way to the staircase. "Hey, sweetheart. You're home late."

"I was with my friends, sorry." Doc mumbled, her head tilted down, and Karen detected a tremble in her voice.

"It's alright. It's summer, after all." She furrowed her brows as her daughter climbed the stairs. "Honey, is everything okay?"

"I don't wanna talk about it right now," Doc sniffled. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Well... Alright, then. Goodnight, honey. I love you."

"Love you, too," And just as Doc reached the top of the stairs, she quietly called over her shoulder, "You look really cute, by the way."

Karen's grin stretched at her daughter's complement. But that grin faltered more and more the longer she contemplated her future actions. She glanced between the stairs and the living room, and she knew then and there that she couldn't do this. Not to Ted or to her children or even to herself. She wouldn't.

Doc was just about to reach her bedroom when Mike emerged from the bathroom, the two almost colliding. "Sorry," Mike mumbled, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed the drying tear marks on his sister's cheeks. "Hey... are you crying? What's wrong?"

At first, she was going to lie. She was going to say that nothing was wrong and follow up with a phony excuse for the tears, hoping it would hold him over until he forgot about it. But she knew that Mike wouldn't believe her lies and she knew that he wouldn't forget about this. It was a part of the Caring Sibling Package. She was unable to hide most things from him. Besides, they both promised to be truthful with each other. So, with a sigh, she told him the truth.

"It's Will..."

Mike frowned and walked closer to her. "What- Did... Did he hurt you?"

"No." She defensively shook her head. "No, nothing like that. It's just... we're on a break right now."

"Oh..."

"Yeah... We've got some issues..."

"I see..."

"...that we need to work out. So..." The two stood in a bit of an awkward silence before Doc's eyes traveled up to her brother's troubled face. "Are you okay?"

It was a question she thought would have a simple answer, so she hadn't expected to be sitting in Mike's room, watching as he paced back and forth and listening to him ramble. He explained everything to her. What happened at the cabin, what happened in Hopper's truck, what happened on the way home. She could understand his panic, but she also thought he was being his usual dramatic self.

"So, what are you gonna do about it?" She raised a brow.

"I have to do what he says or else he'll kill me!"

She rolled her eyes and stood up from his bed. "Mike, Hopper is not going to kill you. You need to think about what you're going to say to El."

Mike gasped and spun around to his sister. "Doc! You can help me!" He grabbed hold of her shoulders. "Can you tell me what to say to her?"

"Mike, just tell her the truth!"

"What?! No! I can't do that!" He shook her back and forth. "Anything but that!"

Once he stopped shaking her and once her vision was clear, she rolled her eyes at him. "You're such an idiot..." She mumbled and swiped his hands off her shoulders, walking out of his room. "Goodnight, Michael."

"Night..."

Doc enclosed herself in her room and deeply sighed. Today was supposed to end on a much lighter note than it had. Will was supposed to come over, thinking he was going to see yet another sketch in Doc's book, and she was supposed to surprise him with what she made him. Instead, her night ended in heartbreak.

Everything was supposed to be different. She wasn't supposed to have problems or issues. She feared that every time she began to move on from a horrible experience, another one would arise. She was tired of the confusion and the hurt. She just wanted to be happy for more than a few months.

Kneeling down, Doc opened the bottom drawer of her dress and took out a doll. She hadn't played with dolls for a few years, but when she tried to give them to Holly, her little sister wasn't all that interested in them. She learned to put them to use, though. She clutched the doll in two hands and shut her eyes.

"After all this, do you wanna come over?"

"Uh... We'll see."

She couldn't believe it.

"I mean... we've hung out late plenty of times."

"Maybe I don't want to anymore."

He wasn't interested in her anymore.

"If anyone's changed, it's you."

She hasn't changed, not one bit.

"I think this is you just pushing us away."

She doesn't push people away, she brings them together.

"Ever since you lost your powers, it's like you want to get away from us all the time."

And none of this has to do with her powers. She was over that, she was healed from that, she had forgotten about it, even. None of her behavior was a reaction to it because she found ways to cope.

Inhaling sharply, she snapped the plastic doll in half. She slowly released her breath and tossed the broken pieces in with the rest of the decapitated dolls who had met their maker over the course of six months. Doc cleared her throat and closed her drawer, rising to her feet and changing into her night clothes before climbing into bed.

Her sad eyes found their way to a beaded bracelet on her nightstand that she had made especially for Will. She had been thinking of him one day and decided to make it. The wooden beads created a circle up until the alphabetical beads finished it, spelling out Rug Bug. It was what she wanted to surprise him with, but now she feared she'd never be able to give it to him.

Because he didn't love her anymore.

-------------------------------------------------

In the dark of the night, Billy Hargrove sped down the street in his blue Camaro, heavy metal blaring in his speakers. He tapped his steering wheel to the music as he thought of all the possibilities of the night, and suddenly he couldn't contain his grin or his laughter. He reached up and fixed his rearview mirror so that he was looking at himself. "Hey, Karen." He practiced his smooth talk as he sucked on his teeth. "You don't mind if I call you Karen, do you?"

    Oh, of course not, Billy, she would say.

"Good."

Just then, something smashed across his windshield, shattering it and sending his car into a spin. The tires screeched and Billy forced it to a stop in front of the abandoned Brimborn Steelworks warehouse, his head smacking into the window with the force of it. Once he was fully conscious, his eyes widened at the state of his car. "Oh, no..." He painfully groaned. "No. Piece of shit." He smacked the dashboard before holding his injured head, his radio music distorting eerily.

"Damn it!" He grunted and climbed out the car and into the otherwise silent night. He tried to open his passenger door, but it was jammed. He cursed and kicked the side of the car angrily before circling back to the front. Just as he was about to open the hood, he stopped at the sight of a substance coating his broken windshield. Careful of the glass, he swiped some of it up on his finger to inspect it, face scrunched up in disgust at the slimy texture now on his skin. "What the hell...?"

Somewhere in the grass near him, a creature of some sorts shrieked. Nothing like he had ever heard before. Billy immediately straightened and turned away from his smoking car to look out at the empty space around him. "Who's there?!" He called out.

But there was no answer.

"Hey!" He called out again, beginning to walk away from his car. "I said, who's there?!"

Suddenly, he was grabbed by the ankle and harshly pulled to the ground. Billy fearfully screamed as he was dragged across the ground, grunting in pain when he was thrown against the walls of the warehouse, but whoever (or whatever) had him wasn't done. He was continuously dragged across the ground until he reached the entrance of the warehouse. Billy quickly grabbed the railing of the stairs to halt him and his captor. But that only proved successful for a moment, for his grip wasn't strong enough, and he was pulled down the stairs.

His screaming abruptly stopped, the creature shrieked again. Then there was howling. Then, wailing. And then nothing.