Birdie's stare was fixed, unable to tear away from the display of lights. Her feet itched to move but her brain couldn't decide what to do. She contemplated going to investigate to make sure that everything was okay but that noise...the memory alone sent goosebumps up her arms.

"Birdie!" John's shout once more rung from the porch. As if on cue, the lights suddenly stopped and the Byers' house was bathed in darkness. Her decision was quickly made for her.

"Coming!" Birdie called back as she grabbed the ball and jogged inside. She offered John a cheesy grin as she passed him in the doorway and he rolled his eyes, fighting hard to keep the stern look on his face but ultimately losing. He ruffled her hair before she could make it up the stairs to her room, bidding her goodnight on her way up.

Birdie finished her paper and got ready for bed, but all the while the lights and the noise stuck in her head. She wasn't able to fall asleep until she convinced herself that what she had seen had merely been the result of faulty wiring and that what she had heard had just been a sick animal...a really sick animal. Her brain didn't completely believe it but it was enough to allow her heavy eyelids to finally fall.

By the time Birdie awoke the next morning, the lights and the noise had almost completely left her brain. She showered and dressed for the day, her mind focusing on new thoughts: the math test in second period...practice after school...and whatever iconic dad shirt Morgan would be wearing that day; a tradition Morgan had started her first day of high school when she had neglected to do laundry the day before and was stuck wearing her dad's "Dad to the Bone" shirt. From there, her collection grew to include any shirts with cheesy slogans she could find at thrift shops and outdoor supply stores and she wore a new one every Monday.

Birdie hopped down the stairs, pausing only briefly when she noticed her dad standing in the open doorway.

"No, sorry, he hasn't been here," John said to whoever was standing on the other side. Birdie tried to catch a glimpse but she wasn't able to see past her dad's stocky frame.

Birdie continued to the kitchen, assuming that it was just their neighbor, Eleanor Gillespie. Her cat, Mr. Murder Mittens, often escaped and wandered the neighborhood looking for strays to shack up with. He was a whore of a cat and a public menace to the songbirds that nested in the surrounding trees. He often yowled at the moon all night, his screechy love songs forcing Birdie to press pillows over both her ears in order to sleep. But now that she thought of it, she hadn't heard him last night...

Birdie grabbed two slices of bread from the bread box and popped them in the toaster when John joined her in the kitchen.

"That damn cat get out again?" Birdie asked over her shoulder as she waited for her breakfast.

"No," John answered, taking a seat on one of the stools at the island. "It was Ms. Byers. She was wondering if Will came over here last night. They haven't seen him this morning."

Birdie's shoulders tensed, memories of the flickering lights and the strange noise rushing back to her. The toast popped up, startling Birdie.

"I'm sure he just went to school early again," John reassured her, picking the newspaper up off the counter to resume the article he had started before answering the door.

"Yeah," Birdie replied, the word barely audible. She coughed and cleared her throat, adding this explanation to the long list of others she had convinced herself of. She repeated herself, this time more confident, "Yeah."

When Birdie arrived at school she found Valeria and Morgan waiting in front of her locker like they did most mornings. Birdie chuckled to herself when she noticed that Morgan's Dad Shirt of the Day™ contained a sturgeon in scrubs operating on a bass that read, "Sturgery". Valeria and Morgan were still bickering about MacLeodDonald but thankfully they switched topics quickly when Valeria mentioned the upcoming Styx concert in Chicago.

"There's rumors that this is going to be their last tour," Valeria informed them. "and if I don't get to hear Renegade live before I die I'm going to become completely unbearable."

"Going to?" Morgan retorted playfully.

"I can't," Birdie sighed as she opened her locker and grabbed the books she'd need for first period. "After Benny's and filling up my car last night, I've only got ten dollars left."

"Get a babysitting job," Valeria replied. "It's easy cash. I babysit for the Henderson kid and he listens to my every word because he both loves and fears me."

"I heard the Sinclair's are looking for a babysitter," Morgan chimed in.

"And if you babysit for the Sinclair's, we'll pretty much get paid to hang out because Dustin and Lucas are always together," Valeria added.

Birdie ignored them as she shut her locker and started towards class. They made good points, but now that basketball season had started, she couldn't afford to divert any focus from it. Babysitting led to concerts but basketball led to scholarships. She had to prioritize.

"Please, Birdie," Valeria begged, her bright blue eyes glistening and her pink lips pouting in the classic puppy-dog face that ninety-nine percent of people struggled to resist. "Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don't have very long."

"The jig is up," Morgan continued the lyrics, flanking Birdie from the other side. She held an invisible microphone in her hands, which she passed between herself and Valeria. "The news is out. They've finally found me."

"The renegade who had it made, retrieved for a bounty."

"Nevermore to go astray, this will be the end today..."

There was a pause as Valeria and Morgan waited for Birdie to finish the lyrics. Birdie tried her best to hold out but their obnoxious, goofy grins finally broke her. "OF THE WANTED MAN!" she nearly shouted, attracting stares from the students that they passed in the hallway, but none of them cared because they were too busy falling over each other laughing.

Their bout of laughter was interrupted when they passed by Tommy and Carol. Tommy and Carol's third wheel, Steve, was nowhere to be seen but it didn't take a genius to guess where he was. Birdie, Valeria, and Morgan had just passed a giddy Nancy Wheeler who was giggling on her way to the bathroom.

"Laugh it up while you can, Philippe," Tommy called out to them, a smug smile glued to his face. Birdie tried her best not to look back but her eyes faltered.

"Ignore him," Morgan muttered, wrapping her arm around Birdie and steering her onward.

The rest of Birdie's school day went by without incident until second period. Birdie was about to start her math test when a knock on the door drew all eyes to the corner of the classroom.

"I need to borrow Miss Philippe," the principal informed her math teacher, Mrs. Rodriguez. Mrs. Rodriguez nodded her head and gestured towards Birdie. Jealous mumbles echoed around Birdie as she gathered her things and headed for the door; she got to miss the test and no amount of trouble could beat that.

Birdie followed Principal Higgins towards the main office, racking her thoughts for a reason for his impromptu visit. Birdie's cheeks flushed when she remembered the flask they had passed around at Benny's. While Birdie hadn't taken a sip, merely being in the presence of alcohol was grounds enough to get her kicked off the team. Tommy's comment in the hallway began to nag at Birdie. He wasn't above snitching.

"Principal Higgins--" Birdie began to explain herself as she entered his office when she paused. Sitting in the chair across from the desk was Hopper, with Callahan and Powell flanking him on either side.

"Hi Birdie," Callahan greeted her with a small wave but Birdie was too flustered to return it. Had the school really involved the police over something so minor? But then another thought struck her: Will.

Birdie had never been as close with Will as she had with Jonathan, given the age gap, but she knew him to be a sweet kid. Jonathan frequently tried to include Will whenever they hung out and while he didn't tend to say much, she enjoyed the times they spent drawing together in the Byers' kitchen. She even had a drawing of Will's that he had given to her still stuck to her fridge: Birdie, Will, and Jonathan battling a giant troll. Will had drawn himself as a wizard, Jonathan as a knight, and Birdie as a basketball player. The thought of him missing or hurt or...that noise...worse...

Birdie took a seat in the empty chair next to Hopper, flattening her clammy palms on her thighs. "If you're looking to get your money back, my dad already spent it," Birdie joked in an attempt to lighten the tense mood that had settled upon the office.

Callahan coughed into his fist and Hopper didn't even so much as crack a smile. Birdie's fingernails dug into her legs, leaving ten tiny crescent creases in her jeans. "Shit, is this about Will?"

"Your dad told me that you were out shooting hoops last night after we left," Hopper began, neglecting her question but answering it all the same. "Do you recall seeing anything?"

"No," Birdie answered instinctively, the word leaving her mouth before she could formulate a proper response. She shook her head and corrected herself. "I mean, there was this weird thing with the lights, but..."

"Lights?" Hopper asked, sitting up in his seat. Powell jotted something down on his notepad. "What do you mean?"

"The lights at the Byers' house were all flickering on and off at the same time. It was like, faulty or wiring, or something," Birdie recited the explanation she had convinced herself of.

Powell continued to write.

"That was all?"

"Yes--," Birdie began before changing course halfway through her answer. "--No."

"So what is it?" Powell asked, his pen resting on his notepad. "Yes or no?"

"Well, there was this noise," Birdie explained, goosebumps freckling her skin at the memory of it. "Some sort of animal. Something I've never heard before, but definitely an animal...a really sick animal."

"So...faulty wiring and a sick animal?" Callahan repeated, causing Birdie to flinch. She had forced herself to accept these explanations as truth but now that somebody else said them out loud, she was once more unsure. Birdie nodded her head, the movement slow and unsteady.

"But no Will?" Hopper asked.

"No Will," Birdie confirmed. This was the only thing she was confident of.

Hopper sat back in his seat, exchanging another glance with Powell and Callahan to signify that they were done. "If you think of anything else, have your dad call me," Hopper informed her as he rose to his feet.

"He's okay though, isn't he?" The question rushed out of Birdie's mouth as she shot up from her seat.

Noticing Birdie's unease, Hopper pressed a small smile onto his face. "I'm sure he is," he answered. "We're just doing the rounds."

Birdie nodded her head and sat back down. Another explanation for the list.

The bell for third period rang through the school, indicating the start of Birdie's favorite, but also most dreaded, class: gym. Favorite, because they had started the basketball unit, and most dreaded, because she shared the class with Steve and Tommy. And as per usual, they were on opposing teams.

Steve had the ball and was dribbling it at the top of the key with Birdie positioned between him and the hoop. His eyes darted around the court, trying to look for an in, but Birdie was following his every move closely, her arms held out wide. One of his teammates was wide open but he was too focused on taking the shot for himself, which ultimately became his downfall. The ball dropped to the court on the dribble but before it could return to Steve's hand, Birdie struck. She snagged the ball and broke free down the court, going for the lay-up.

Coach MacDonald's whistle blew twice from the sideline, indicating two points for Birdie's team. On top of coaching the boy's basketball team, he also taught gym with the intensity of a dictator of a small, relatively unknown, country.

Possession returned to Steve's team and Birdie once more took coverage of him. Tommy led the ball up the court before passing to Steve but on his way to his position he veered into Birdie, knocking her to the ground. He snickered as he continued on, insinuating that the hit had been intentional.

"Coach!" Birdie called out in disbelief, gesturing towards Tommy as he jogged away.

"Hagan, come here," Coach MacDonald instructed, pointing to the floor in front of him. His face remained emotionless, the dark sunglasses he always wore regardless of whether he was inside or outside making it all the harder to determine whether he was going to scold Tommy or high-five him. Tommy rolled his eyes before jogging over, his feet planting on the exact spot that Coach MacDonald had pointed at.

Coach MacDonald placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder, Tommy's look of confusion reflecting in his shades. A moment of silence passed before Coach MacDonald pushed his hand forward and Tommy toppled backwards, sprawling out on the court.

"There, even," Coach MacDonald said before blowing the whistle again to resume play.

Birdie had watched the whole spectacle from the ground and was surprised when a hand entered her vision, blocking her view of Tommy on his ass. She was even more surprised when she followed the arm up to see that it belonged to Steve.

"Here," Steve mumbled, offering his help. Birdie refused it, scowling as she pushed herself to her feet. While Tommy may not have been acting on Steve's orders, Tommy had shoved her because she had bested Steve. She also still hadn't forgotten the comment he had made the night before about being better than her.

"What the hell, Coach?" Tommy exclaimed, still upset about being humiliated. "You can't just shove students!"

"I can, actually," Coach MacDonald replied, his sunglasses slipping to the tip of his nose as he glared down at Tommy. "It's in my job description." Coach MacDonald continued to stare at Tommy, not even blinking once, until Tommy gave up and walked away.

Tommy kept away from Birdie for the rest of the game but she could hear him muttering "Dirty Birdie" every time he passed her. The game ended with Birdie's team winning, several of the baskets thanks to her, and she quickly retreated to the locker room to change for lunch.

The ordeal with Tommy had almost made her forget about Will but she was once more reminded when she walked into her fourth period shop class and noticed that Jonathan's work station was empty. To help calm her nerves, she went through her mental list again. The flickering lights was just the result of faulty wiring. The noise she had heard was just a sick animal. Will was okay. Will was okay. Will was okay.

Fourth, fifth, and sixth period passed with her repeating the list to herself over and over again until at last the school day was over and Birdie was back on the court for practice, albeit not on the same court she had been on for gym. Despite having a better win rate than the men's team, the women's team was resigned to practice in the back gym, which was much smaller and had cracked flooring. The men's team also got the prime Friday night game spot, while the women's team was forced to play on Sunday's or right after school on Friday's when they were lucky. Birdie had just finished lacing up her shoes when a shadow loomed over her and she looked up to see Valeria and Morgan grinning down at her with matching mischievous smiles.

"What now?" Birdie asked, her brow arching in suspicion.

"I heard from Kelly who heard from Amanda who heard from Mitch that he saw you talking with the police in Principal Higgins' office," Valeria answered. "Did you finally snap and kill that douchebag, Tommy?"

Birdie just rolled her eyes in response. "No, I promised you both that if I ever did you'd be my accomplices, remember?"

"Carol, then?" Morgan pushed. Birdie shook her head. "Steve?" Birdie didn't even acknowledge that one.

"It wasn't because I killed anyone," Birdie replied with a roll of her eyes, standing from the bench and stepping out onto the court to begin warm-ups. "Will Byers is missing. Hopper wanted to know if I had seen anything."

"Shit," Morgan muttered, her face turning pale. "Like, missing missing?"

Birdie didn't get a chance to respond because just then, the high-pitched shriek of Coach MacLeod's whistle echoed around the gym, signifying that it was time to get a move on. Birdie, Valeria, and Morgan began to jog around the court with their fellow teammates, keeping to the back of the pack so that they could continue conversing.

"I know something that will cheer you up," Valeria informed Birdie between breaths. "Cheer us all up."

"And what's that?"

"Brainstorming session tonight," Valeria explained with a smile. "I mean, it will ultimately turn into a Rocky marathon--"

"Again," Morgan interrupted to add.

"--but we can think up ways to score some cash to buy tickets for the Styx concert. You know, like raking leaves and that kind of crap. And I'm going to ever-so-graciously offer up your house as the host--"

"Because you own all three Rocky movies on VHS," Morgan interrupted once more. Valeria scowled at Morgan but it didn't last long.

"Yeah, pretty much," Valeria confirmed with a shrug of her shoulders and a nod of her head.

Birdie's pace slowed as she contemplated the proposition. It was a school night, so her dad wasn't likely to be keen about the idea but if she placed more emphasis on the job-searching and less on Rocky, she might just convince him. He was also less likely to say no if Valeria and Morgan were there with her when she asked. Valeria's puppy-dog face was killer. "Alright," Birdie said with a smile. "We'll go straight to my house after practice."

"Philippe!" Coach MacLeod shouted, followed by a sharp whistle. Birdie instinctively began to run faster, worried that they had been caught slacking, but Coach MacLeod had other intentions. She gestured to Birdie to meet her by the bench and Birdie exchanged a nervous glance with Valeria and Morgan before jogging off. One-on-ones with Coach MacLeod often didn't go well.

"Yes, Coach?" Birdie asked as she approached. Like Coach MacDonald, Coach MacLeod was notoriously hard to read.

Coach MacLeod glanced both ways before taking a step closer to Birdie. "I heard through Coach MacDonald that there's going to be a scout from Purdue at Friday's game."

Birdie froze, her face turning pale. She had been desperately hoping for this moment her entire basketball career but she hadn't expected it to come so soon. It was only the second game of the season, after all. Practice had only started two weeks prior. And Purdue was one of Birdie's top colleges. Birdie felt like she was going to hyperventilate but she held it together the best she could.

"Apparently they're coming for the men's game," Coach MacLeod continued with a roll of her eyes. "But they've heard about you and are coming down from West Lafayette early to catch our game too. I just wanted to give you a head's up."

"Th-thanks," Birdie stammered, her mind still reeling from the information. She struggled to grasp onto a single thought because they were all rushing her like a stampede.

Coach MacLeod patted her on the shoulder before sending her off to rejoin warm-ups. The rest of the team had moved on to stretching and Birdie joined the circle, purposely distancing herself from Valeria and Morgan. She needed to focus for the rest of practice, she couldn't afford to goof around. Valeria and Morgan sent her confused glances across the circle, which Birdie avoided catching. She kept her eyes on the floor at her feet the whole time until stretches were over and drills began.

The rest of practice continued with Birdie living in her own little world where it was just her and the hoop. She played okay, but it was far from her best. She kept second-guessing her every move, missing shots she could make in her sleep and tripping over her own feet. Valeria and Morgan knew her well enough to let her be when she was like this and waited until after practice to approach her in the locker room.

"So...what was that about?" Valeria asked, her arms crossed over her chest and her brow raised.

"I can't tonight, I'm sorry," Birdie responded, her tone clipped. She continued to change without even looking at Valeria and Morgan. "Coach said there's going to be a scout at the game on Friday. I need to focus."

"And we don't...?" Valeria replied, anger rising in her chest.

"It--it's not like that," Birdie retorted, still unable to look them in the eyes. She grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, her feet pointed towards the door. The stress was practically eating her alive at this point and she just wanted to get home so she could continue to practice.

"Not like what?" Valeria pushed.

"Val..." Morgan cautioned her, her voice barely a mumble. This wasn't their first time having this argument and Morgan knew how it was bound to go. While Morgan and Valeria didn't take the sport as seriously as Birdie, Valeria had a competitive streak that made her quick to anger and Birdie wasn't one to back down from an argument, often putting Morgan in the middle.

Birdie paused, turning to finally look Valeria in the eyes. "They're coming for me, okay? Not for you, for me," she snapped, the stress finally breaking her. "And maybe if you actually took practice more seriously instead of fucking around and thinking about tickets for a stupid concert the whole time, they'd be coming for you too."

Valeria's mouth pressed into a firm line, her cheeks burning bright and her brows creased. The two stared each other down for a full minute before Valeria gave up, grabbing Morgan by the arm and storming off. "Come on, Morgan. I guess we're not good enough for superstar Birdie Philippe."

Birdie watched Valeria and Morgan exit the locker room, the door slamming shut behind them. She was mortified by the words that had come out of her mouth but she was still too worked up to chase after them. An explosion of emotions ricocheted through her, pressing themselves into the corners of her eyes until the pressure had built up too much and they finally broke through.

Birdie wiped the tears off her cheeks and rushed out to her car before her other teammates noticed. Once she was sitting in the driver's seat with the doors locked, she screamed, long and loud, expelling everything she was feeling into the damp autumn air. When there was nothing left and her lungs ached, she put the car into drive and headed home.

"Hey, dad," Birdie greeted John solemnly as she stepped through the door. He was in the process of putting on his shoes and his coat. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Hopper put together a search party for Will and I'm going to go help," John answered, patting down his pockets for his keys.

Upon hearing his response, Birdie's stomach dropped and she was flushed with even more shame about her behavior. A boy was missing and she was worrying about a basketball game? It was foolish. "I can help," Birdie offered, leaning down to re-tie her shoes.

"No," John replied immediately. "It's nice of you to offer, you're a good kid. It's just, if we find something...." John paused, his voice trailing off. "It's not something you should be burdened with."

"But--" Birdie began to argue when John cut her off with a firm shake of his head.

"Stay here, stay inside, and keep the doors locked. I'll be back as soon as I can," John instructed her. Birdie wanted to say more but she knew that John wouldn't budge from his decision so she accepted defeat with a nod of her head. John wrapped Birdie in his arms in a tight hug, holding her for a moment longer than he normally did. Birdie suspected that he was imagining what he would do if she went missing, so she hugged him back just as tight. "There's leftovers in the fridge," he informed her, his voice just barely making it through the door before it shut behind him.

Birdie curled up on the couch in the living room, watching out the window as her dad climbed into his car, backed out of the driveway, and disappeared. Once he was no longer within sight, her eyes instinctively strayed towards the basketball hoop. She felt useless sitting there...she could be helping to find Will...or practicing basketball...or sucking it up and calling Valeria and Morgan to apologize...but she was too emotionally wiped to even move. So she remained there, her eyelids growing heavy and her head nodding off, until a knock at the door startled her out of her semi-slumber.

Birdie couldn't see who was at the door from the angle she was sitting. She contemplated just ignoring it but she figured that whoever it was had seen her sitting there on their walk up. Birdie begrudgingly pushed herself out of the indent she had made in the couch and got up to answer the door, completely surprised when it swung open to reveal Valeria and Morgan on the other side.

Valeria still wore a look of frustration but she held a basketball tightly under her grip. A moment of silence passed when Morgan elbowed Valeria in the side to get her to speak. "You were an asshole," Valeria began, causing Birdie's cheeks to burn in embarrassment. "But friends don't let friends be assholes. So we're here to help you practice for the game on Friday."

Birdie was too overwhelmed with emotion to speak, so instead she threw herself on Valeria and Morgan in a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered into their ears. And they knew she meant it. While their friendship could be explosive at times, there was nothing stronger. It had started in the fifth grade when Birdie had moved to Hawkins from Quebec. Her dad had wanted a fresh start after a tough split from Birdie's mother, Lila, who had struggled with substance abuse issues and lost custody of Birdie as a result. While Lila had already been living separate from them at that point, Birdie still struggled with leaving her and had a tough time settling into a new place. It was Valeria who had helped her with that.

Birdie had been seated next to Valeria on her first day of school, who took one look at her and asked, "So you're a child of divorce too, huh?". Birdie had been completely taken aback by the blunt question but from there on out, they were best friends. Valeria helped Birdie to navigate Hawkins and it was nice to have somebody who understood her pain, Valeria's parents having divorced the year prior. It had been Valeria's idea to join basketball when they started middle school and it was there that they met Morgan. Morgan was a year younger, so she didn't join the team until Birdie and Valeria were in seventh grade, but she instantly clicked with the two girls and they were all three inseparable after that.

"Game of HORSE to start?" Morgan suggested after Birdie had finally let go.

"I don't know," Birdie replied, eliciting a look of surprise on Valeria's and Morgan's faces. Birdie had been born with a basketball in her hands and she would die with one. It often took everything in their power just to tear her off the court. "I appreciate you guys offering to help but Will is still missing and the whole scout thing feels pretty stupid in perspective. I was thinking maybe we could do something to help."

"Like what?"

"My dad won't be happy about it but maybe we could start our own search party," Birdie answered. "Or even just make something to bring over to the Byers'."

Valeria and Morgan exchanged a glance, telepathically communicating their agreement. "Whatever you want to do, we'll do," Valeria said with nod of her head and a supportive smile. "If you want to shoot hoops, we'll shoot hoops. If you want to go looking for Will, we'll go looking for Will. If you want to bake cookies to bring over to the Byers', we'll bake brownies because brownies are better."

"With caramel and white chocolate chips," Morgan added, her mouth salivating at the thought.

"So what'll it be, captain?"

What should happen next?

Practice for Friday

Search for Will

Visit the Byers'

AUTHOR'S NOTE !
I'm going to try to stick to a schedule of posting new chapters bi-weekly on Saturday's. After a chapter is published, there will be a week to read and vote, and then voting will close the following Saturday. That being said, voting for this chapter will close on Saturday, April 8th.

Just a head's up: build-up between Birdie and Steve is going to be slow, mostly because Steve is with Nancy during the first season (I also want to milk the enemies part of enemies to lovers until the cow is dry). But don't worry, there will be more interactions between the two coming soon! The other canon characters will also be serving a larger role in coming chapters. I wanted to use these first couple chapters to introduce not only Birdie, but John, Valeria, Morgan, Coach MacLeod, and Coach MacDonald as well because they're all going to be playing an important role in the story (and because we're only two chapters in but I already love them all so much).

Who is your favorite side character that's been introduced so far?

Happy Weekend! ♥