▸ Under Pressure - David Bowie and Queen

T H E U P S I D E D O W N
P T . 1

Danny and I waited for outside the Byers home leaning against the hood of our car. I nervously fiddled with the handle of the machete as I mentally prepared myself for the fight against the Demogorgon that was due to happen tonight.

"Are you scared?" I muttered, looking at the dark sky.

"Sorta." Danny admitted as he looked down at me. He took noticed of my fidgeting. "You scared?"

"Sorta." I nervously grinned up at my twin. "I think its more towards fighting a monster that has been close to getting me twice now. I'm hoping when the times comes to facing the Demogorgon, that my rage and instincts take over and I don't cower."

"I know you won't." Danny wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I scoffed and shrugged him off. He laughed and gave me a smirk. "No, I mean it Dawn. You're strong. It's four against one anyways. Plus, you can release all of that pent up rage towards Carol and Steve. I'm sure you'll be the one to either finish it off or badly injure it."

I pushed Danny off of the car as he laughed. The sound of gravel being ran over by a car and headlights beaming at us, caused the two of us to look at Johnathon's approaching car. As they parked, I hopped off of the hood and started walking towards them. Nancy and Johnathon quickly got out of the car.

"Took you guys long enough. What were you doing, eating each other's faces?" Danny remarked.

"No, shut up Danny." Nancy immieadly stated as she punched his arm. Johnathon glared at my brother.

"Come on, we don't have time for this. We have a Demogorgon to summon and kill to help Chief Hopper and Mrs. Byers." I reminded them.

They all nodded and we went to the trunk of the car. Johnathon popped open the trunk. We started to grab the things before closing the trunk shut. Quickly walking inside the house, we set the things down on the floor.

"So, who is doing what?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

"Nancy and I will start hanging up the lights. You two start setting up the traps." Johnathon informed.

"Alright, let's do this." Nancy breathed out.

Nancy and Johnathon went straight to the string of Christmas lights and started to hang them around the house like Mrs. Byers had them. Placing my machete against the wall next to Danny's weapon, I started grabbing the equipment to make the traps. I first laid out the things were we had previously talked about setting them earlier today. Danny had grabbed the hammer and started to stake the thick long nails in the two holes the bear trap had to the floor of the house.

By this time, Johnathon and Nancy were done with the lights. They started to help us out. Johnathon went to making his weapon, hammering nails into a wooden bat. Nancy started to pour a trail of gasoline in the house. Soon we finished rigging the house full of traps and made sure our weapons were loaded and ready for the fight.

We entered the kitchen, nerves tearing at my stomach at what we were going to do next. Johnathon went to the drawer that held the silverware and pulled out four kitchen knives. He silently handed one to each of us.

"Remember..." Johnathon started, trying to see if we remember the plan.

"Straight into Will's room. And-"

"Don't step on the trap." Danny reminded Nancy.

"Wait for the yo-yo to move." I added, tightly clinching the handle of the knife to stop the shakiness in my hands.

"Then..." Johnathon lifted up a lighter and spun the dial with his thumb, igniting the flame. "All right. You guys ready?"

"Ready." Nancy gulped down. Johnathon turned to face Danny and I.

"Yeah...ready." I nodded, trying to compose myself.

"Let's kill this son of a bitch." Danny held the knife over his palm. Following his lead, the rest of us got ready to slice the palm of our hands.

"On three." Johnathon stated. "One...two...You don't have to do this."

Johnathon looked at Nancy. I scoffed, glaring at him. We had already agreed that all of us were doing this.

"Johnathon stop talking." Nancy breathed out, her eyes watering slightly.

"I'm just saying you don't have to-"

"Three." Nancy cut Johnathon off. At the cue, the four of us sliced our palms. I slightly winced at the pain, biting my lip to refrain myself from hissing.

"Alright...cool. We now called the demon with our blood. Can we cover this up now?" I sighed, already reaching for the gauze we had set out.

"Yeah. We don't want this to get infected or anything when we're fighting." Nancy agreed. I gave everyone their roll of gauze. Nancy and Johnathon went to the living room. I had to hold back a scoff at the idea of the becoming closer while Nancy was still dating Steve.

"Just ignore them." Danny whispered to me after he had nudged me. "C'mon, we need to clean our wounds before we wrap the gauze."

I nodded and washed my hand with soap before drying it off. As I started to finish up wrapping the gauze around my hand, a noise from outside stopped my actions. I furrowed my eyebrows at looked at Danny.

"What was that?" I muttered, quickly tying up the gauze.

"I don't know." Danny shrugged, quietly going for our weapons. He quickly handed me mine while h tightened his hold on his weapon. We walked into the kitchen to see Nancy and Johnathon talking. "Did you guys hear-"

A loud knocking cut off Danny. We all turned to face the door. A hand showed knocking again on the window.

"Johnathon?" A familiar voice called out. "Johnathon? Are you there, man? It's...it's Steve!"

"What the hell is Steve doing here?" I hissed at Danny. Nancy and Johnathon looked at one another before facing us.

"How should I know?" Danny replied back with wide eyes.

"Listen, I just want to talk!" Steve continued to bang on the door.

"Do we answer it?" I hesitantly asked.

"I'll do it." Licking her lips, Nancy went to go answer the door. She cracked open the door a bit and blocked Steve's view of the house. "Steve, listen to me."

"Hey. Nancy, what are the Henderson's car-"

"You need to leave." Nancy firmly cut Steve off.

"I'm not trying to start anything, okay?" Steve softly spoke to his girlfriend.

"I don't care about that. You need to leave." Nancy repeated.

"No, no, no. Listen, I-I-I messed up, okay?" Steve stammered, slamming his hand against the door as he struggled to admit his fault. "I messed...I messed up. Okay?"

"She won't be able to make him leave." I mumbled to myself, crossing my arms.

"Then you go over there and make him." Johnathon told me, not taking his eyes off of Nancy.

"Alright." I sighed, dropping my arms and placing my machete on the coffee table next to Johnathon's bat. I walked towards the arguing couple.

"Wait, Dawn." Danny tried to catch my wrist but I slapped his hand away. "Johnathon, she won't be able to make him leave. That will only make Steve want to stay."

I ignored Danny and walked up behind Nancy. She turned around to face me. I held in a gasp as I noticed the bruises on Steve's face look darker that before.

"Okay? Please. Please..." Steve trailed off when he saw Nancy look at me. "Dawn? What are you doing here?"

"Steve, you really need to go." I muttered, avoiding eye contact with him.

"What? No, why? I need to apologize to Johnathon. Look, you were right. Relationships require honesty and trust. I lacked both, okay? So..." Steve licked his lips. "So let me make this right."

"You can do it tomorrow, okay?" I tried to get him to leave, placing my hand on the door and closing it.

"Wait!" Steve stopped by the door, staring at my hand. "What's that? Is that blood? What happened to your hand?"

"Nothing. Look, Steve you really got to go." I tried closing the door again only for Steve to stop it once more.

"No, what the hell happened Dawn?" Steve narrowed his eyes at me. He looked passed me at rose an eyebrow at Nancy. "You too?"

"It was an accident." Nancy blurted out. I closed my eyes shut and mentally cursed her.

"Yeah?" Steve didn't look convinced. Disbelief was written in his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, we decided that we should do a blood pact. You know?" I winced out. That wasn't smart. He's not going to buy that.

"A blood pact? Really?" Steve's facial expression became neutral eyeing me and then Nancy. A look of horror quickly flashed in his eyes before he tried to push the door open. "Wait a sec. Did Johnathon do this to you two?"

"No." Nancy immediately tried closing the door.

"Nancy, let me in!" Steve pressed his full weight against the door, breaking the chain that kept it closed.

"No. No! No, Steve!" Nancy stumbled out of the way as Steve bargained inside the house.

"Steve!" I tried to catch his wrist to stop him. Steve stopped as he took in the condition of the house. Danny and Johnathon stood frozen as they stared at him.

"What is...what the..." Steve scanned the house, his gaze stopping at our weapons that were laid on the coffee table in alarm. Nancy closed the door and started to make her way to Steve.

"You need to get out of here." Johnathon stormed towards Steve, pushing him towards the door.

"Whoa. What is all-"

"Listen to me. I'm not asking you," Johnathon cut off a confused Steve. "I'm telling you, get out of here!"

"What is that smell?" Steve's nose twitched at the smell of gasoline. He turned to face me and then Danny. "What the hell is going on Hendersons?"

"Steve-" I tried to take a step towards him. Johnathon kept trying to shove Steve out of the house.

"Is that... is that gasoline?" Steve finally realized, distress evident in his eyes.

"Will you help me out man?" Johnathon called over his shoulder towards Danny. My twin sighed, walking over to his best friend.

"Danny, what the hell man?" Steve looked betrayed and confused at the situation. There was a click and I saw Nancy raise her gun.

"Nancy-"

"Steve, get out!" Nancy aimed the gun at her boyfriend. Johnathon and Danny stumbled out of the way staring at Nancy in fear.

"Wait." Steve stuttered out, slightly raising his arms. He looked at all of us in anger. "What? What is going on?"

"You have five seconds to get out of here." Nancy threatened.

"Whoa, Nancy..."I hesitantly took a step towards her. "You're taking this too far."

"Dawn..." Steve reached out and grabbed my wrist holding me back. I glanced at him and then at my wrist, trying my best to ignore the butterflies that erupted in my stomach.

"He needs to leave Dawn, you know that." Nancy replied, her eyes looking at the physical contact between Steve and I.

"Okay, is this a joke? Stop. Put the gun down." Steve tried to reason with Nancy, letting go of my wrist.

"I'm doing this for you." Nancy said.

The lights flickered. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at Johnathon. Panic flashed in his eyes and he stared at the lights.

"Nancy." Johnathon softly called out.

"Wait. Is this a...what is this?" Steve continued to ask questions. The lights started to flicker at a faster pace.

"Johnathon....what the hell is going on?" Danny asked, looking at the flickering Christmas lights.

"Three. Two." Nancy started to countdown.

"No, no, no! No, no!" Steve begged.

"Nancy!" Johnathon yelled out. Nancy looked at Johnathon with the gun still aimed at Steve. "The lights. It's here."

"Shit." I breathed out. Danny and I looked at each other before dashing for our weapons.

"Wait, what's here?" Steve asked. Johnathon joined us, tossing our weapons to us. I caught the handle of the machete, tightening my hold on it. "Woah, wait. Why do you guys that? Dawn, why the hell do you have a machete!?"

"Where is it?" Nancy questioned, ignoring Steve. She pressed her back towards Johnathon as Danny and I stood near Steve.

"Where is what?" I swung the machete with I heard a noise. "Whoa! Easy with that!"

"Where is it?" Nancy started to frantically look around the room.

"I don't know. I don't see it." Johnathon replied.

"Where the hell is it?" Danny held his hand made weapon out in front of him.

"Where is what?" Steve screamed. "Hello? Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going-"

"The Demogorgon." I cut him off. Steve went to open him mouth only to be cut off by a shattering noise.

The lights violently flashed. Nancy let out a gasp before aiming her gun to the ceiling. Looking up I saw the Demogorgon trying to claw its way out of the ceiling and toward us. Nancy started to fire at the monster. There was a loud roar.

"Run" Johnathon grabbed a hold of Nancy and started to drag her away from the Demogorgon. "Go! Go! Run! Go!"

The Demogorgon fell onto the ground, landing on all fours. It let out a series of growls before releasing another roar. We all started to run, excluding Steve who stared at the beast in horror. I stopped and turned to face him.

"Steve!" I called out his name. Huffing, Johnathon grabbed hold of Steve's arm and started to tug him.

"Get out of here!" Johnathon let go of Steve who finally came to his senses. I started to run with everyone else once I knew that he was right behind me. We made our way to the hallway trying to get to Will's room. Both Nancy and Danny dodged the bear trap and ran into the room.

"Jump!" Johnathon warned as he jumped out the trap. I followed suit with Steve still on my tail.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Steve chanted quickly as ran behind me. We ran into the room and I quickly slammed the door shut. "Jesus! Jesus! What the hell was that? What the hell was that?"

"Shut up!" Nancy and Johnathon yelled in unison. Danny and I joined the two who were standing near the door with their weapons held out in front of them. Johnathon was holding the lighter with flame ignited.

A growl was heard from the other side of the door. My breath quickened even more as I anxiously stared at the door that separated us from the Demogorgon. The sound of our heavy breathing was the only thing that was able to be heard. The monster had quieted down and the lights in the room flickered.

"What's it doing?" Nancy asked.

"How the hell are we supposed to know?" Danny shot back, perking an eyebrow.

"I don't know." Johnathon informed Nancy, shooting Danny a look. I felt Steve step closer to us, his hot breath hitting the back of my neck.

The lights stopped flickering.

"Do you hear anything?" Nancy questioned.

"The lights stopped..." I muttered, straightening my back as Johnathon flicked the lighter off. "What does that mean?

"No." Johnathon stood up straight. "That means he's gone."

Johnathon cautiously opened the door and peaked his head out into the hallway. When he stepped out of the room, we slowly followed after him. The lights were off in the house besides Will's room. Taking the lead, Johnathon led us down the hallway. We held our weapons in front of us as a precaution, not knowing when the Demogorgon will come and attack us.

I scanned our surroundings as we made it into the living room. Once I knew that we were safe, I started to lower my machete. Incoherent mumbling came from behind me. Turning around I saw Steve looking at us.

"This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy! This is crazy! This is crazy!" Steven repeated in frustration. He ran to the phone and started to dial a number.

"Wait, Steve!" I jogged over to him and took the out of his hand and hung it up.

"What are you do-What are you doing? Are you insane?" Steve turned to face me.

"Most likely." I shrugged. "But you can't call anyone."

"And why the hell not?" Steve crossed his arms, glaring at me.

"It's going to come back!" Nancy butted in. "So you need to leave. Right now."

Steve frowned before he looked at Danny and I. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He glanced at Nancy one more time before walking past me.

"Steve..."I trailed off, not knowing what to say to comfort him. He stopped and looked over his shoulder to look at me. "It's not safe. That-that thing, the Demogorgon, its here to kill. And we have to stop it. So, um, I-we're protecting you."

Steve let out a scoff and shook his head. He quickly made his way out of the house and slammed the door behind him. I winced at the sound. A hand gripped my shoulder.

"It was what needed to be said." Danny uttered, giving my shoulder another squeeze before letting go. The lights turned back on before the flickering started again. The four of us immediately went into a defensive stance with our weapons.

"Where is it?" Nancy breathed out, looking around the room. We gravitated toward one another, our backs facing each other.

"Come on. Come on, you son of a bitch." Johnathon called out. "You see it?"

"Nothing." I responded.

"Where the hell is this beast?" Danny muttered.

"Come on. Where are you? Come on!" Johnathon yelled.

The lights turned off, leaving us in a blanket of pitch black. I tightened my hold on the machete. A rumbling noise came from my right. Turning towards the noise, I saw the Demogorgon open it's mouth.

"Johnathon!" Nancy screamed. The Demogorgon jumped at Johnathon, knocking him to the ground. The bat that he held clattered to the ground. "Johnathon!"

Danny swung his pole, one of the ends slashing the Demogorgon's back. It let out a hiss, throwing one arm back. Danny flew across the room, hitting the wall.

"Danny!" I shrieked, wanting to go run towards him but the fear of the Demogorgon freezing my actions.

"I'm okay." Danny wheezed out. "Just...trying...to catch...my breath."

Sucking in a breath, I ran at the monster and swung the machete aiming for it's neck. The Demogorgon ducked as it's mouth neared Johnathon's face. Cursing at the monster, I stabbed my machete into the arm that held Johnathon captive. There was a growl as the Demogorgon turned to face me.

"Don't kill me!" I cried out, yanking my machete out of it's arm. The monster rose onto it's feet and started walking towards me. A yell got caught in my throat as I took a few steps back.

"Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" Nancy shot at the Demogorgon. Another shot was fired, the bullet going through the monster's shoulder and almost hitting my ear. A squeal escaped my lips as I covered my head with my arms.

"Nancy! Can you try not to aim where I'm at!?" I shouted.

"Well, I'm trying not too! Move out of the way!" Nancy yelled back. The Demogorgon growled and turned towards Nancy. The lights flickered as the monster roared. Nancy started to fire more shots at the monster who stepped towards her. There was a clicking that told us that Nancy had run out of bullets.

"Danny! Switch weapons!" I quickly kneeled down and slid my machete towards my brother. Groaning, Danny slid his towards me.

Grinning, I grabbed the pole and ran towards the Demogorgon. Twirling the pole in between my fingers, I gripped the metal and slashed the monster's back. The knife dragged across the spine, the white bone showing. Arching it's back in pain, the Demogorgon spun around and roared in my face. Spit smacked against my skin as I tightly held Danny's weapon.

As I was mentally prepared myself for the possibility of me dying, I swung the weapon again. The Demogorgon swiped at me, smacking the pole out of my hand. I gasped as one of the knives cut my forearm. Yelling distracted the Demogorgon, giving me enough time to dive out of the way.

Looking back, I saw Steve beating the Demogorgon with Johnathon's bat. I stared in shock as he repeatedly swung the bat at the monster.

"Steve!" Nancy called out. The Demogorgon let out a roar as Steve swung the bat again, the nails digging themselves in the flesh of the monster before being torn away.

Steve let out a yell as the Demogorgon advanced towards him. He took a step back and swung the bat. As Steve fought the Demogorgon, Danny rushed towards me. He quickly helped me to my feet and handed me my machete as he took his own weapon.

"What the hell is he doing?" I heavy panted out, trying to get air into my lungs.

"It looks like he's pushing the Demogorgon to the bear trap." Danny let out a chuckle with a smile on his face. We all watched as Steve twirled the bat in his hand before he hit the Demogorgon in the chest. That was the last hit before the Demogorgon stepped into the trap and releasing a painful screech.

"He's in the rap!" Johnathon yelled out. The four of us ran to stand next to Steve. We all held our weapons out in front of us. The Demogorgon tried getting out of the trap, but it only made the jaws dig further into the monster's ankle. "He's stuck!"

"Johnathon, now!" Nancy ordered. Johnathon flicked the lighter and tossed it to the ground where Nancy had poured the gasoline. The gas ignited, the trail leading to the Demogorgon. The flames engulfed the monster as it screeched in pain.

"Get back!" Johnathon warned as he held the fire extinguisher. We all took a step back and Johnathon sprayed the extinguisher onto the flames. I coughed as the fumes from the fire extinguisher entered my lungs. Waving the mist away, the house became pitch black. The others were also in a coughing fit.

There was no more screeching or flames. Slowly, the lamp in the hallway turned on. Once our coughs had diminished, I looked up at the trap.

"Guys...he's gone."

"Where did it go?" Nancy asked. We slowly drew near the trap.

"No." Johnathon muttered. "It has to be dead. It has to be."

"Well, there's no ash in its place Johnathon." Danny pointed out. The trap itself was clamped shut with the metal bubbling. "So where the hell is it?"

Johnathon let out a gasp as he stared at the ceiling. Following his gaze, I saw the Christmas lights turn on one by one.

"What the hell?" I breathed in.

The trail stopped right above us. We all took a step back, Steve holding out an arm in front of me. The lights started to head down the hallway. Looking at one another, we slowly followed after the trail of lights. They ended up leading towards the front door of the house. We stopped in awe.

"These lights aren't the Demogorgon...are they?" I questioned. Johnathon stepped in front of us.

"Mom?" He uttered. "Is that you? Mom."

"What is he doing?" Steve looked at Danny and me.

"The hell I knew." Danny shrugged.

The lights went to the door before they all turned off. Johnathon quickly opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. We all followed suit. The lamp post that stood near Danny's and my car flickered.

"Where's it going?" Nancy inquired.

"I don't think that's the monster." Johnathon breathed out.

"So...what do we do now?" I bit my lip.

"I-I don't know." Johnathon stumbled out.

"We should probably go check on the kids at the school." Danny inputted.

"Oh my God...we left them all alone." I gasped, my eyes wide.

"Let's go check on them, then." Steve held the bat over his shoulder.

"Yeah, we've already done our part." Nancy agreed.

The three cars pulled up towards the school to see flashing lights. Danny quickly put the car in park. I stumbled out of the car and ran towards the lights. Fear flooded through my body.

"Dustin!" I called out frantically as I looked for him.

"Dustin!" Danny yelled, pushing past fire fighters and EMTs.

"Can you see him?" I looked up at Danny.

"No." Danny shook his head. Tear welled up in my eyes as I feared for the worst. "Dustin!"

"Danny?! Dawn!?" I heard my little brother call out. Danny and I ran in the direction of his voice. I choked on a sob when I saw him sitting in an ambulance with a blanket wrapped around him. Tears were streaking down his face and his blue eyes were bloodshot.

"Dustin, oh my God." I ran towards him. He hopped off of the vehicle before I pulled him into a hug. Tears ran down my face as he cried into my shoulder and wrapped his arms around me. Danny quickly joined the family hug, wrapping his long arms around Dustin and I.

"She's gone. El's gone." Dustin chocked out. I frowned, my heart aching for the group of friends. "She vanished after she defeated the Demogorgon and saved us."

Danny and I exchanged looks before letting go of the hug. Loud footsteps caught our attention. Looking behind us we saw Nancy and Steve running towards us.

"They got Will." Nancy smiled.

"Is he okay?" Dustin asked.

"He's alive, but they just checked him into the hospital." Nancy responded. "We'll meet you guys there."

"Dustin, where's Lucas and Mike?" Danny looked at our little brother.

"Mike is with his parents and Lucas is in the ambulance over there." Dustin pointed to the vehicle three cars over.

"Go tell Lucas we'll take him to the hospital." I softly smiled at Dustin. He grinned and nodded before running to his friend.

"Ma'am." Someone grabbed my shoulder. I jumped, facing the female EMT with wide eyes. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I was walking by when I noticed that your arm was bleeding. May I examine it?"

The EMT pointed at the gash on my forearm. Blood had been dripping down my arm and onto the asphalt. I blinked. I had forgotten about it.

"Oh-uh-"

"Please do." Danny answered for me.

"Go ahead and sit on here." The EMT patted the ambulance. "I'm going to get the supplies to clean it and see how deep it is."

She left before I could say anything. Biting my lip, I hopped onto the ambulance. Dustin and Lucas returned, looking at me with confusion.

"Why didn't you tell us about the cut?" Danny crossed his arms.

"I honestly forgot about it. It doesn't even hurt." I truthfully said. "It's probably due to the adrenaline or shock."

"What happened?" Lucas asked.

"I fought the Demogorgon." I smirked. The younger boys gasped.

"No way!"

"How?!"

"Correction, we all fought the Demogorgon." Danny informed.

"You were thrown across the room and into a wall. You barely fought the thing." I rolled my eyes.

"So?" Danny grumbled. "I couldn't breathe for a few minutes. Give me a break."

"Okay, can I see your arm?" The EMT walked towards me as she set the medical supplies next to me. I held out my arm.

She got a wet rag to wash the blood before getting the hydrogen peroxide. I automatically started to scoot away from her. She tightened her grip in my arm before dabbing a cloth soaked in the rubbing alcohol. I hissed at the burning sensation as the EMT cleaned the cut. Once she was done rubbing the hydrogen peroxide, she got out a thing needle and some blue thread. My eyes widened at the sight.

"I have to get stitches?" I whined.

"It's a pretty deep cut. It would be safer to heal with sutures than with gauze." The EMT responded. She prepped the needle and held it above my skin. "I hope none of you are squeamish."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly know since I've never seen someone get their skin sown together." Dustin responded. He winced when the needle pierced through my skin. "Oh my God, are you not in pain, Dawn?"

"Not really. It doesn't really hurt." I shrugged. The EMT scolded me not to move. "It's kind of like a pinching sensation."

"You're stitching her up pretty quick." Lucas stared in awe.

"It's a quick procedure." The EMT smiled before tying a knot at the end of the suture. She tapped my thigh before she gathered her supplies. "And you are done. Give it up to a week to get the stitches out. Just come to the hospital and we will get it done for you."

"Okay, thank you!" I hopped off the ambulance. I turned to face the boys. "Let's go see Will."

We were all in the waiting room besides the Byers. I was sitting in between Dustin and Danny. It was quiet. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Dustin and Lucas were crashed out. At one point, Dustin had his head resting on my shoulder. Now, it was on Lucas' as the two lightly snored.

The door opened as Johnathon entered the room. Everyone sat up, eager to know any news about Will. Johnathon gave Mike a nod. The younger boy leaned over to wake up his friends.

"Guys. Guys, he's up." Mike shook his friends awake. "Will is up. Guys, Will's up."

Lucas shoved Dustin awake from him as the two woke up. The both grunted out incoherent words at each other as they rose to their feet.

"Guys, come on." Mike told them before running out of the room. The sleepy heads quickly chased after Mike to go see their best friend. Nancy soon got up and walked out with Johnathon. Danny and I decide to stay behind due to the number of people that were able to visit Will at one time.

"What happened?" Steve quietly asked as he walked towards Danny and I. Harrington sat next to me.

"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows. Steve pointed at my stitches. "Oh, um, the knife cut my arm when the Demogorgon knocked my weapon away."

"Oh. You okay, though?" Steve licked his lips.

"I'm alright. Give me a few minutes or hours before sleep deprivation hits me and the adrenaline goes away. I'll be knocked out." I truthfully admitted, a giggle slipping through. Steve chuckled as he leaned backwards into the seat.

"If-if, uh, you need to sleep. You can use my shoulder if you want." Steve offered, sending me a nervous smile.

"Oh...thanks." I blushed, looking away. Danny smirked at the two of us.

"I'm going to go make a couple of phones calls. Be right back." Danny told me.

"Phone calls? To whom?" I looked at him as he stood up.

"Well, for one, our parents. And then Becca. She's going to chew me out for not calling her for two straight days. Not to mention Chad and Manda. We skipped two band practices, and with the benefit concert being in two days? Yeah, they're going to have our heads." Danny sighed. "Just rest, you need it. I'll be a while."

I nodded and leaned back into my chair as Danny left the room. A yawn escaped from me and that was all it took for the exhaustion to hit me. Bringing my legs up and curling them towards my body, I leaned my head on Steve's shoulder. I felt him stiffen at the touch before he relaxed. My eyes started to droop as a thought entered my mind.

"Don't blame me if I drool on you, you're the one to offer your shoulder to me."

I finally had the chance to update and I hope I didn't disappoint!

One more chapter and part 1 of this book will be done. Then it's onto season 2;)

I don't know when the next time I will be able to update due to my busy schedule so please bare with me guys. You have no idea how much I want to finish and write this story but life man.

Until next time
Much love,
Lux