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❛ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴇxᴘʀᴇss ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟғ ꒱


❝ COME ON GIRLS, DO
YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE? ❞

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"I'll take first watch," the brunette spoke up after they'd closed the door to the bus.

"What? No!" Lucas protested immediately.

"Yes," she replied simply and held out her hand for his binoculars.

Instead of handing them to her, though, he pulled them closer to his chest. "They're mine so I should get to use them first."

Jessie sighed and searched around in several of her pockets before producing her own set. "I don't need yours, I was just going to let you be useful for a change. Never mind then." She turned on her heel and stuck her nose up in the air as she stalked over to the ladder. Lucas glowered at her as she climbed up to the roof and grumbled under his breath in response.

Darkness folded around her as she left the safety of the bus but she didn't mind. She rather liked it, actually, especially when it got her away from the temperamental boys below. It was only a little chilly as she hunkered down below the makeshift ramparts they'd put in place and for the thousandth time, she was glad that she had her coat.

Settling into position, she raised her binoculars to her face and scanned the now-foggy field for any signs of life. The silence fell around her and her mind calmed in the protective blackness. A cool breeze brushed through her hair and against her cheeks as she waited for something. Anything.

A faint rattle from below barely caught her attention but suddenly, Max was beside her sitting cross-legged on the bus's roof. "It's kind of awesome."

Jessie flinched slightly at her strikingly loud voice against the quiet of the night. "Huh?"

"The fog, I mean. It looks like the ocean."

"I've never seen the ocean," she admitted quietly. "Only in pictures." And your eyes.

"It's beautiful," the redhead began. "There's rolling waves as far as your eyes can see. There's a tang of salt in the air and the breeze is a little sticky but in a good kind of way. The birds are noisier there, I think. Maybe because they know how free they are."

At her tone, the brunette looked over at her. "Do you miss it? California, I mean. I wouldn't be surprised. Indiana's all concrete jungles and stinking cities. I've never even traveled beyond Hawkins."

"It's not so bad," Max offered. "It's just. . . my dad's still there. So. . ."

She shifted against the metal roof. "Divorce?"

"Yeah. My mom and my stepdad. . . they wanted a fresh start away from him. As if. . . As if he were the problem, which is total bull. And things. . . are just worse now. My stepbrother's always been a dick. I mean, you saw him the other day. But now he's just. . . angry. All the time." She looked down, unable to meet the other girl's sharp brown eyes. "Well, he can't take it out on my mom so. . ."

"I get it," Jessie murmured. "My mom. . . she's kind of like your stepbrother. She's not around so much, which is good, but when she is. . ."

"It's bad," Max agreed softly. "What about your dad?"

"He's a 'Nam vet," she explained. "We thought he could escape the war but he was sent in during one of the last drafts. Something happened to him out on the battlefield and he's been nonresponsive ever since. Shell shock, they call it."

"That sucks," the redhead said, truly meaning it. She paused before she added, "do you. . . are you ever scared that you'll end up like your mom?"

"What do you mean?"

"I. . . don't know. I just. . . I know that I can be a jerk like him sometimes and I don't want to be like him. Ever. I guess I'm angry, too, and. . ." she trailed off as she pressed her lips together in an effort to keep her tears at bay.

Jessie hesitated for a moment before she sat up, fully abandoning her watch. She mirrored the other girl's position and reached forward to clasp their hands together. "Can I tell you a secret?" at Max's nod, she continued: "I'm not afraid of ending up like my mom. I'm not afraid of the dark, or of the Demogorgons or even of dying." She took a deep breath. "I'm not afraid of anything."

"I wish I wasn't afraid of anything," the other girl mumbled (rather predictably, if Jessie was being honest.)

Immediately, the brunette shook her head. "No. You don't, actually. Being afraid is a part of being human. It's good that you're afraid of ending up like your brother. It means that you're less likely to be like him because you're consciously making the choice to be the opposite. Being fearless might be helpful in some cases but being brave. . . being brave, Max, is something that can be respected. You can carry on in spite of the fear instead of the absence of it."

Max sniffled slightly and rubbed at her eyes harshly. "You're very good at inspirational speeches, you know."

Jessie smiled self-deprecatingly. "That's ironic since I'm not very good with emotions. Usually I just feel things when I blow stuff up. I'm a bit of a pyromaniac, actually."

"That's totally tuuuubular," the redhead said, drawing out the vowels the way Jessie usually did. "The pyromanic bit, of course."

"I thought you said no one used that word," she said before she quickly added on, "that-that was a joke. I wasn't. . . I wasn't accusing—" She stopped speaking abruptly when Max squeezed her hands and let out a quiet chuckle.

"Don't worry, kooky. I know."

The two girls exchange soft smiles as their words faded into the silence of the air around them, which was broken abruptly by the loud cry of something that could only be described as. . . otherworldly.

Jessie jerked to attention at the low growl that broke their peace and turned to face the field. She raised her binoculars to her eyes and scanned the area to pinpoint the source of the noise before she raised her voice: "I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! Ten o'clock!"

Dustin, Steve and Lucas raced to the windows of the bus and peered out at the darkness. The curly-haired boy strained to see past the foggy windows. "What's he doing?"

Dart had made it to the open area in front of the bus but instead of immediately taking the bait like they'd planned, the Demogorgon sniffed the large pile curiously. Steve let out a tense breath. "I don't know."

Up on the rooftop, Jessie had handed Max her binoculars so the redhead could get a better visual. As she pulled them away from her eyes, she couldn't help but ask, "are you sure that's not a dog?"

"What?"

"He's not taking the bait!" Dustin exclaimed below. "Why is he not taking the bait?"

"Maybe he's not hungry?" Lucas offered.

"Maybe he's sick of cow," Steve added.

If Jessie had been a part of the conversation, she would have offered to go out and fight the Demogorgon herself. As it was, Steve jumped away from the window and grabbed his bat before he headed for the doors.

"Steve, what are you doing?"

"Just get ready," was all he said in response as he tossed the lighter in the younger boy's direction. His eyes shone with determination as he stepped into the junkyard.

At the sound of Steve's whistling, the two girls climbed down the ladder to join Dustin and Lucas as Max demanded, "what's he doing?"

"Expanding the menu," Jessie breathed out. Although she was sure she was imagining it, Max could have sworn there was a hint of jealousy in the brunette's tone.

They watched as Steve slowly approached Dart while he swung his bat and murmured, "come on, buddy. Dinner time. Human tastes better than cat, I promise."

"He's insane," the redhead stated as her mouth opened in shock.

"He's awesome," Dustin corrected her with a grin.

"He's so lucky," Jessie finished. Her eyes were wide as she tracked his every move.

The quartet watched as Dart stepped out from the fog, his form becoming clearer now that he was closer. He had clearly grown.

A loud bang sounded nearby and the brunette snapped her gaze away from the older boy and towards the ladder. Oops. Maybe she shouldn't have left her post but she was the best option if Steve needed backup. She quickly made her way to the entrance of the bus. "Steve!"

"A little busy here!" he yelled back, not letting his attention off Dart for a second.

"You've got company!" she called. "Abort! Abort!"

He seemed to realize the sudden excess of Demogorgons and stilled as he twisted around to take them all in. In front of him, one of the creatures let out a furious growl and charged without warning. He dove out of the way just in time and rolled across the hood of a car. He swung his bat as the Demogorgon charged.

They started shouting at the older boy to get out and run before he came to any harm and he did his best to follow their advice. He raced straight for the entrance to the bus and slipped past Jessie, who slammed the door shut right as a Demogorgon made to leap through it.

"Are they rabid or something?" Max exclaimed.

Rather than answering her, Steve grabbed a sheet of metal and pushed it against the door. With his legs, he used all of his weight to keep it there to prevent the rest of the creatures from coming in. Lucas started panicking. "They can't get in! They can't!"

The Demogorgons shook the bus with the force of their attacks, causing everyone but Jessie to shout in fright. Instead, a strange sort of calm had descended on her. She'd felt this way last year when they'd first encountered Demogorgons so she was well familiar with it. Everything around her seemed to become muted, as if she'd just sunk under water. Steadily, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the silver pistol that she always carried with her.

Steve ran towards the front of the bus and began beating a Demogorgon with his bat as Dustin tried to radio the rest of the party again, but she barely heard them. They screamed again as claw marks appeared on the side of the vehicle. Above them, loud thuds threatened to break through the roof at the creatures attacked from above. The open portal where the ladder rested allowed for easy entrance that one of the Demogorgons discovered quickly.

Max's eyes followed the ladder upward to see the creature's face peering over the opening. Too scared to make a sound, her hand reached backward to grasp anything, anyone to gain some sense of comfort. Her fingers landed on familiar, rough wool and she began to tug on the sleeve of the coat urgently.

Jessie spun around at the motion, her hands already raising the weapon to shooting level. The redhead abruptly found her voice and began to scream as she realized how imminent the Demogorgon's attack was. The brunette followed her gaze to where the creature stood threateningly above them and in one smooth motion, she pushed Max behind her while keeping her free hand firmly on the other girl's wrist.

She raised the pistol higher in and released the safety latch, ready to use it if she needed to. Her finger rested unwaveringly on the trigger as she stared up at the creature. Before she could even try to shoot it, a distant roar caught the beast's attention. It turned away from them and let out a roar of its own in response before it promptly jumped off the bus and ran out of the junkyard.

.・。.・゜✫・.・✫・゜・。.

"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asked some time later as they trekked through the dark woods.

"Yes," Dustin answered firmly. "He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt."

"He was tiny two days ago," Max pointed out.

"Well, he's molted three times already."

"Malted?"

"Molted," he corrected her. "Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms."

"Or Snakes," Jessie offered.

"When's he gonna molt again?"

"It's gotta be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown or close to it and so will his friends."

"Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats," Steve said.

"Wait, cat?" Lucas repeated as he stopped suddenly. "Dart ate a cat?"

"No. What? No," Dustin tried to play it off.

"Yes he did," the brunette cut in easily. "He ate Mews."

"Mews? Who's Mews?" Max asked.

"It's Dustin's cat," the older boy answered.

"Jessie! Steve!"

"I knew it!" the dark-haired boy exclaimed. "You kept him!"

"No!"

"No?"

"No, I. . . No, I. . ." he trialed off and sighed. "He missed me. He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit!"

"I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?"

"You didn't know or didn't want to know?" Jessie suggested smugly.

"I didn't know!" Dustin snapped.

"Oh, so now you admit it?" Lucas demanded.

"Guys, who cares? We have to go," the redhead interrupted them.

"I care! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law! Even Jessie agrees with me!"

"No I don't!" she countered immediately, causing him to glower at her.

"You just said that he didn't want to know!"

"But I didn't agree with you," she said evenly. "I'm siding with Dustin on this one just because I feel like it. Besides, you broke the rule of law too."

"What?" Max asked.

"You told a quote-unquote stranger the truth!" the brunette pointed out. "Didn't your overlord Mike forbid you to do that?"

"You wanted to tell her to!" Lucas argued back, directing his words at both Jessie and Dustin.

"But we didn't, Lucas, okay?" the curly-haired boy retorted loudly over the distant screeches. "We didn't tell her! We all broke the rule of law, okay? So we're even. We're even."

"Hey, I don't fall under your jurisdiction anymore," she protested. "Those rules don't apply to me so I'm the only one not at fault here."

"We're not even," Lucas countered furiously, "and it wouldn't hurt for you to take the fall once in a while, Salvador. It's not a bad thing to be a team player."

"There might not be an I in team but there certainly is a me and me is the only one on my team."

"What sort of grammar is that?"

"Look, it doesn't matter, okay?" the dark-haired boy said heatedly. "Dustin's stupid pet project could have eaten us for dinner!"

"That was not my fault! He wasn't gonna eat us."

"Guys?" Steve spoke tentatively. He'd drawn away from the group during their argument and was staring off into the darkness as he listened to the Demogorgon's distant noises.

Lucas scoffed. "Yeah, he was crawling to come say hello."

"Guys!"

They abruptly fell silent as the screeching continued. After a moment's pause, the three boys started to run forward as they left the girls behind. Max called after them: "no, no, no. Hey, guys, why are you headed towards that sound?"

"Because they're idiots," Jessie said with a sigh. "Great, just what I need. More running."

The redhead glanced at her curiously. "What's wrong with running?"

"I get winded easily," she explained. "It's not fun." She gave another sigh. "Well, I guess it's inevitable. Let's go."

[edited jul. 2022]