🤍🕊🏹🖤🌫

STANDING OUTSIDE THE Byers' residence, Annie knocked on the front door. Today she and Will were walking to school together today, much to Mike and Jim's displeasure. Will and Annie had been spending a lot of time together in general.

Will's mother opened the door.

"Mrs Byers, is Will here? We were going to walk to school together." Annie explained.

Mrs Byers smiled. "Oh yeah he's here, Will your friend is here! Come on, honey, come inside. Um, what did you say your name was again?"

"It's Annie Hopper."

"Oh what a nice name. I haven't seen you since you were seven years old. And call me Joyce, not Mrs Byers." Joyce smiled.

Annie and Joyce walked inside the house to see Will, Mrs Byer's boyfriend, and Will's brother looking for something.

"Have you found the keys yet?" Joyce asked frantically.

Will looked up. "Yeah, we're... we're looking — oh hi Annie!"

Will greeted Annie with an awkward hug. With Will's older brother and Joyce smirking in the background.

"A-ha! Found 'em. Hiding under some jeans, sneaky little buggers." The man said, "I'm Bob Newby by the way."

"Annie Hopper. My Dad calls you Bob the Brain." Annie joked.

"Yeah and I'm Jonathan." Will's older brother said.

Joyce kissed Bob's cheek. "Thank you. Thank you. You're a life saver. Can you just take Will and Annie, please Jonathan? I don't want Annie and Will to walk all that way."

Bob smiled. "I can take them."

"Will you make sure they get in okay?" Joyce asked him.

"Yeah, of course. What do you say, kiddos? Wanna go for a ride in the Bobmobile?"

🤍🕊🏹🖤🌫

ANNIE HAD ORIGINALLY planned for Annie to ride to school on her roller skates and for Will to ride his bike, but right now, Annie and Will were awkwardly sitting in the 'Bobmobile' with Bob. Bob, who seemed like a nice guy, was not the best at starting conversations.

So half of the ride, Annie and Will were just talking like good old friends.

"Favorite comic?" Will asked.

"Wonder Woman." Annie told him. "Coolest thing you've ever done?"

"Talk to Australia at AV club. You?"

"Win the Hawkins annual shooting contest four years in a row." Annie answered.

After a few minutes, they arrived at school.

"Bye Bob!" Annie and Will waved awkwardly.

Bob smiled. "Have a great day, kiddos! Remember what I told you Will!"

🤍🕊🏹🖤🌫

ANNIE SAT IN SCIENCE CLASS with a strange spark of interest. This lesson was surprisingly absorbing to Annie. It seemed like Mr Clarke was growing on Annie.

"The case of Phineas Gage is one of the great medical curiosities of all time. Phineas was a railroad worker in 1848 who had a nightmarish accident. A large iron rod was driven completely through his head. Phineas miraculously survived. He seemed fine. And physically, yes, he was. But his injury resulted in a complete change to his personality. So much so that friends that knew him started referring to him as "No longer Gage." At the time, this was known as the American Crowbar Case. Although it wasn't a-"

Suddenly, Dustin rushed into the classroom. "I am so sorry, Mr. Clarke. Really, I'm so sorry. Please continue with the class. Don't mind me. Really, continue, please. Thanks."

Mr. Clarke continued. "Although it wasn't a crowbar, it was a rod, as I said."

Dustin whispered the party, which Annie heard since she sat nearby them. "We have to meet. All of us. At lunch, AV Club."

"Why?" Mike asked.

Dustin looked at them, including Annie and Max. "I have something that you won't believe. AV Club. Lunch."

"Dustin!"

Dustin smiled. "Yes, my lord?"

Mr. Clarke smiled back. "Would you care to join the class now?"

"Please, yes."

Mr. Clarke stated. "The case of Phineas Gage."

"Phineas Gage."

"Page 104."

"104. 104."

"Focus."

"Focusing. Focusing.

"AV Club." Dustin whispered to Annie and Max. The two nodded.

Mr. Clarke continued the lesson. "And he began to curse, using terrible words that I don't dare repeat here."

🤍🕊🏹🖤🌫

AV CLUB. A small room Annie, Max, and the group of boys were standing in. Along with a slimy animal that Dustin held in his hands.

"His name is d'Artagnan. Cute, right?" Dustin told them.

"What the hell is that —" Annie mumbled.

"D'Artagnan?" Mike repeated.

"Dart for short." Dustin added.

"And he was in your trash?" Max spat.

"Foraging for food. You wanna hold him?" Dustin replied.

"No, no." Max gagged.

"He doesn't bite." Dustin reassured.

"I don't want to —"

Dustin handed Dart to her.

"Oh, God, he's slimy!"

Max passed Dart to Annie quickly.

"It's like a fat tadpole, Jesus." Annie gagged. Making Will laugh.

Annie passed Dart to Lucas.

"Ugh, he's like a living booger." Lucas scoffed.

Lucas passed him to Will.

Will gagged. "Ugh, oh, God!"

Will passed him onto the table.

"What is he?" Mike questioned.

Dustin nodded. "My question exactly. At first, I thought it was some type of pollywog."

"Pollywog?" Max asked.

Dustin explained. "It's another word for tadpole. A tadpole is the larval stage of a toad."

Max scoffed. "I know what a tadpole is. "

"All right, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right? Well, Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water." Dustin said.

"Yeah, but aren't there nonaquatic pollywogs?" Lucas asked.

"Terrestrial pollywogs? Yep. Two to be exact. Indirana semipalmata. And the Adenomera andreae. One's from India, one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash?" Dustin said.

"Maybe some scientists brought it here, and it escaped?" Annie shrugged.

"Do you guys see that? Looks like something is moving inside of it." Mike noted.

Mike moves the light over Dart to get a better look, but the light made him screech.

"Whoa. It's okay. It's okay. I got you, little guy." Dustin said with Dart in his arms. "I know you don't like that. It's okay. And there's another thing. Reptiles, they're cold-blooded. Ectothermic, right? They love heat, the sun. Dart hates it. It hurts him."

"So, if he's not a pollywog or a reptile..." Lucas said.

Dustin grinned. "Then I've discovered a new species."

"Something isn't right about this fatass of a tadpole." Annie spat.

The bell rang as the group exited the AV club.

"You okay Will?" Annie whispered to him. "You don't look well."

"I'm okay." Will smiled.

"We gotta show him to Mr. Clarke." Lucas insisted.

Dustin gasped. "What if he steals my discovery?"

"He's not gonna steal your discovery." Mike reassured.

"You know, I'm thinking about calling it Dustonious pollywogus. What do you think?" Dustin asked.

"Shut up Dustin." Annie rolled her eyes.

"I think you're an idiot." Mike spat.

Dustin scoffed. "When I become rich and famous for this one day, don't come crawling back, saying, "Oh, my God, Dustin, I'm so sorry for being mean to you back in 8th grade. Oh, my God."

"Screw you Dustin." Annie teased putting her middle finger up at Dustin.

🤍🕊🏹🖤🌫

ANNIE STOOD BESIDE Will at his locker. The two were talking like usual.

"Will, you coming? Let's go show Mr. Clarke." Mike said.

"Mr Clarkes' gonna blow his shit." Annie said.

"It's about d'Artagnan..." Will said stopping Annie and Mike.

*MINUTES LATER*

Will, Annie, and Mike bursted into the science room.

Mike shouted, "Stop! I'm sorry, Mr. Clarke. It was just a stupid prank."

"What the hell are you doing?" Dustin spat.

"Just take your fat tadpole and Cmon!" growled Annie. Frighting Max, the party, and Mr Clarke.

(Her powers had tended to make her twice as angry as the average person.)

"Right now. Right now!" Mike said closing the trap. They all ran out of the classroom.

🤍🕊🏹🖤🌫

ANNIE AND THE PARTY stood inside of the AV Club, with Dart on the table. And poor Max outside the room.

"Why don't you just fucking let Max in?" Annie snapped at Mike. "What are you? Ronald Reagan?"

"She's not in the party and she doesn't even know about the Upside Down." Mike snapped back. "Plus, if it wasn't for Will, you wouldn't even be inside."

"Y'know what? Fuck you Michelle Wheeler." Annie yelled.

"My name is Mike, not Michelle!" Mike yelled.

"Guys, guys, calm down!" Will said.

Lucas sighed. "I don't understand.

Mike groaned. "What do you not understand?"

"Will saw something that looked like Dart last year?" Lucas said.

Will looked at the animal. "Kind of, but there was no tail."

Mike looked at them. "But then he heard it yesterday. The exact same sound."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Dustin asked.

"Because Mike was too busy being an asshole!" Annie shouted.

"Annie Hopper!" Will shouted. "Calm down please."

Annie sighed.

"Anyways, I wasn't sure." Will said.

"So it's a coincidence." Dustin added.

"Or not. What if when Will was stuck in the Upside Down, he somehow acquired True Sight?" Dustin whispered.

"True Sight?" Lucas wonder.

"It gives you the power to see into the ethereal plane." Dustin and Annie said in sync.

Dustin looked at her. "How did you —"

"Read it somewhere." Annie told him.

Lucas sighed. "Elaborate."

"Maybe these episodes that Will keeps having aren't really flashbacks at all. Maybe they're real. Maybe —." Mike said.

"Will is psychic. Will can somehow see into the Upside Down." Annie finished. Making Will groan.

"And that Dart is from the Upside Down." Mike added.

Lucas sighed. "We have to take him to Hopper ... I mean Annie's Dad."

"Eh, what the hell. I say we tell him." Annie shrugged.

Mike nodded. "I agree. With Lucas obviously."

"Dammit Michelle Wheeler —"

Dustin shook his head, "No way. If we take him to Hopper, Dart's good as dead."

Mike shrugged. "Maybe he should be dead."

Dustin gasped. "How can you say that? "

"How can you not? He's from the Upside Down." Mike stated.

"He's a baby monster Dustin." Annie spat.

"Yeah. But even if he is, it doesn't automatically mean that he's bad."

Mike looked at him. "That's like saying just because someone's from the Death Star it doesn't make them bad."

"We have a bond." Dustin excused.

"A bond? Just because he likes nougat?"

"No, because he trusts me!"

Lucas laughed. "He trusts you?"

"Yes, I promised I would take care of him." Dustin snapped.

"Promised? It's an animal you dork!" Annie yelled.

The trap started to move around the table.

"Guys, let me in!" Max shouted. "Annie what the hell? Let me in!"

"These losers won't let me Max!" Annie said.

The trap flipped onto it's side.

"Don't hurt him." Dustin said as Mike grabbed the microphone in defense.

"Only if he attacks." Mike told him.

Lucas sighed. "Just open it already."

Dustin opened the trap and Dart came stumbling out, bigger than he was before.

Lucas and Annie yelled in sync. "Holy shit!"

They all watched as Dart stumbled around on the table. Suddenly, Dart's legs shot out from Dart's sides.

"Oh, shit!" Lucas shouted.

Mike and Annie went to attack Dart. But Dustin attempted to stop them.

Dustin gasped, "No! 0

Dart leapt off the table as started to run just as the door opened, Dart ran past Max.

"Oh shit we're dead." Annie said as they ran out of the AV room.

Max gasped. "What the..."

"Oh, shit!" Mike groaned.

"What was that?" Max questioned.

"Dustin's stupid tadpole!" Annie answered.

"What?" Max screeched.

"Why did you attack him?" Dustin inquired.

Mike rolled his eyes and they all ran after Dart. "Come on."

"Don't hurt him. Don't you hurt him!" Dustin yelled.

"Guys I found him!" Will shouted a few minutes later into the walkie talkie.

"Ask Will where did he find it?" Annie told Dustin.

"Where?" Dustin asked.

"In the bathroom by Mr. Salerno's." Will answered.

Mike nodded. "Copy that."

Annie, Max, Mike, Will, and Lucas entered the bathroom minutes later to see Dustin in the bathroom.

Mike asked, "Where's Dart?"

"I don't know. Not here." Dustin shrugged.

Keep it cool Dustin.

"Don't lie Dustin." Annie snapped folding her arms.

"I'm not." Dustin spat.

It was far too hard to read Dustin's mind again. He wasn't thinking about where Dart was.

Dustin shrugged. "Yeah, maybe Will has him."

"Where is Will?" Mike said.