( darkest before dawn / act three )
episode three | stranger things

❛ WAITING ROOM ❜

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      THE DIM GLOW OF her bedside lamp cast long shadows across Auroras room as she sat on the edge of her bed. The room was eerily silent, save for the occasional rumble of cars outside of window. Her hands trembled softly as she clutched a crumpled letter, the words on the page blurring through her tears-filled eyes. She could feel the imprint of his handwriting, the familiar loops, undotted i's and uncrossed t's now only a cruel reminder of what she had lost.

The air felt heavy, almost suffocating, as if the weight of her heartbreak was pressing down on her chest with each passing second. She tried to steady her breathing, but each inhale brought a fresh wave of pain, sharp and unforgiving. Aurora's thoughts raced, replaying every moment shared — friends or dating — every stolen glance, every whispered promise. Now all gone, shattered like glass.

She stood up slowly, her legs unsteady beneath her, and walked to the window. The early morning was calm, a stark contrast to the storm raging inside her. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass, hoping it might somehow numb the ache in her heart. Hawkins was slowly waking up and she could even point out the lights from Starcourt, the town indifferent to her sorrow, and she felt a pang of loneliness deeper than she had ever known.

Aurora's mind drifted to their first official date, he ( Nancy ) had taken her to one of the valleys that surrounded Hawkins, and had given her dinner under the stars. That was the first time she truly felt seen, by anyone, and in his eyes she found a promise of forever. She had believed in that promise, had let herself fall into the dream of a future together. But now, standing alone in the morning light, the dream felt like a cruel joke, a beautiful illusion that had vanished in the harsh light of reality.

She turned away from the window and looked around her room. It was filled with reminders of him — photos pinned to the corkboard, a worn-out sweater he had left behind, a book they had read together. Each item was a dagger, twisting deeper into her heart. Aurora knew she should put them away, hide them where they couldn't hurt her, but the thought of erasing him completely felt like losing him all over again.

Sinking to the floor, Aurora hugged her knees to her chest. The tears came harder now, uncontrollable sobs that wracked her body. She felt small, broken, and utterly alone. Her aunts had warned her about her first love, about the pain it could bring, but nothing had prepared her for this. This was a pain that seeped into her bones, that made her question everything she thought she knew about love and trust. Last night she hadn't felt it, like she had been pumped full of adrenaline and when she got home it all wore off and the pain hit her full force.

As the hours ticked by and the sun had full risen as Aurora's sobs slowly subsided into quiet, shuddering breaths. She felt drained, as if the heartbreak had emptied her of everything she once was. She knew she would have to find a way to move forward, to piece herself back together, but today, all she wanted do was grieve. Grieve for the love she had lost, for the dreams that would never come true, and for the part of herself that had been left behind in the rubble of her first heartbreak. But she knew she couldn't.

So, she did as she had done over a year ago. She had showered and dressed the cutest outfit she could, a shorter white skirt and a baby blue top with lace. She had even gone as far as curling her hair before pulling a few small piece off on each side to make small pigtails. Of course she had to add a bow to each one using left over lace fabric. She looked put together, a stark contrast to how she felt on the inside, but she had pushed through once, and she could do it again.

      She stopped in the mirror, taking a moment to just look at herself. The girl in the mirror looked different that herself. The girl that looked back at her in the mirror looked put together, she looked content with life. The girl in the mirror didn't look like she had just gone through her first heartbreak.

      Aurora brought her hand up to prod at her cheek, the girl in the mirror did the same. She ran her hand across her lips, the girl in the mirror did the same. Everything seemed normal, but the girl in the mirror made Aurora jealous. Why couldn't she just be like her too, life would be simple. There would be no heartache, no pain, no tears, everything would just be okay. When she cast her eyes downward, her head clenched at the necklace that hadn't been taken off since Christmas also two years ago. She let a tear fall, before taking a shuttering inhale as she reached her hands behind her neck to unclasp the jewelry. The simple necklace drop into her hand softly, and the faint click as Aurora dropped it to the table as a tear few seemed to echo in her desolate room.

      She let out a harsh breath, before crushing her nails into her palm as she walked away from the mirror, from sanctuary, from peace, from Mike.

      It was like walking into the lions den, Aurora could hear her aunts hushed whispers from the kitchen, along with the smell of french toast. She tried to smile, but the action was hard, so Aurora settled with walking in like everything was fine.

"Good morning," Aurora nodded as her aunts all straightened up, trying to seem less suspicious.

"Rory? I thought you would've been asleep til at least noon!" Fauna stuttered.

"I couldn't sleep. Besides I've got a shift at nine, and it takes about thirty minutes to bike to the mall." Aurora spoke, only glancing up as not to run into anything, before casting her eyes back to her plate.

      "Oh!" Aurora watched from the corner of her eye, her aunts all glancing between themselves in a panic, it was almost comedic. "I think it would be completely normal if you called out of your shift today, Aurora. And I believe that Mary and Flora would agree."

      Aurora set her fork down, and finally glanced at her three aunts. They all stood in front of her, watching her as if she was a cracked glass and they were waiting for her to shatter.

      "I'm not going to put my life on hold just because I got my heart broke," Aurora swallowed harshly, silently begging her tears to stop. "I won't give him the satisfaction, so no, I won't call out of my shift, and in fact I have plans afterwards as well. So I won't be home until, maybe nine? I'll call ahead and let you guys know."

      Mary took a step forward, "are you sure?"

      Aurora hummed, "and I think I've lost my appetite, so I'm going to go now, is that alright?"

      Her aunts just nodded, as Aurora reached for her bag before silently moving out the door. The garage was open, and Aurora froze as she glanced at her pink bike with tassels from the handlebars and a basket hanging from the front. She thought back to all of the times Mike and her hung out with this bike, the time where he wheeled her bike around because she had a flat tire and didn't want to walk. The time when he had switched bikes with her, because Taylor Dinkins had made fun of her girly bike, and Aurora was temped to rip off all of her tassels.

      She glanced up at the ceiling of the garage, blinking as fast as she could to rid to tears, before she sighed. Aurora moved around her bike, and reached for the spare that hide in the back of the garage. It was painted a plain black color, with no tassel, no basket, and no memories.

Aurora pedaled as hard as she could, as if she was attempting to leave behind every moment, every moment. The warm summer wind brushed through her curls, as she maneuvered her way through town, noting every newly closed shop.The silence around her felt like a set of hands slowly lifting up the weight from her chest.

A few sets of shuttering breaths later, Aurora had parked and locked her bike up in the front of the mall before quickly walking in. The mall opened at eight, and as usual the crowd was slow. She walked into Made With Love, feigned a smile towards Vicky before walking to the back to clock in. Her movements were sluggish as she headed towards the front counter.

      Vicky sent her a warm smile before it turned to worry, "oh my god, Rory! Are you okay?"

      Aurora nodded slowly, humming in response as her eyes begged to close. Vicky ushered the girl up to the register, before resting her hands on her shoulders.

      "I'm going to ask you this once, and I won't tell anyone," Vicky brought her voice to a whisper, "are you hungover?"

      "What!" Aurora wasn't sleepy anymore as she stared at Bicky starstruck, "what! Why would you think that?"

      "I mean your all..." Vicky slouched down, before closing her eyes and began walking slowly, wobbling slightly.

      "For one, I do not look like that, and for two, I'll have you know that I'm not hungover I'm just...heartbroken."

      Vicky looked confused for a second before her eyes went wide as she connected the dots, "oh my gods that little shithead!"

      Aurora cracked a soft smile, "that's what Robin said too." She felt something in her gut — jealousy — as she watched Vicky's eyes light up at the mention of Robins names. Vicky then asked the basics of what happened, and didn't pry on any topic that had Aurora chocking up. Vicky was fuming by the end of the conversation, before she chose to just send Aurora down to Scoops Ahoy for her shift.

"No, no I can't! That like, lying and I'm perfectly fine to work." Aurora scanned a candy bar quickly before typing in her code and paying for it.

"You just inventoried four-hundred of those candy bars Rory," Vicky spoke as she stumbled off her stool to cancel her order. "Just, please go. If Mrs.Brinson shows I'll let her know what happened and she would agree with me. Just go relax, please."

      Aurora sighed before nodded and slowly dragging her feet out of the store.Thunder rumbled overhead, as Aurora glanced over the side of the railing, watching as family's huddled by the doors waiting for the weather to slow enough so that they could leave. She watched as a boy and girl simply glanced at each other before rushing out of the mall hands interlocked as they laughed. Aurora felt her heart break even more.

She kept her eyes on her feet for the rest of the walk back into Scoops Ahoy, trying to control her breathing. The store was empty when she walked inside, so Aurora headed to the back. Pushing the door open, she watched Robin jump off the counter quickly.

"Oh hey, Rory." Robin ran a hand down her apron, "wait, why are you working?"

Aurora sighed, "Vicky said to come here because I looked hungover, but I call bullshit. I think she was just waiting for Ben to stop by."

Aurora didn't notice to surprised look that crossed Robins face, "Ben—" the words came out squeaky, "—who is, um, who's Ben?"

"Dunno, I think Vicky's boyfriend but, who cares." Aurora coughed once, before snatching the recording from Robin and pressing play, listening to it once more fully. "What else have you gotten?"

Robin stuttered for a moment, "um, 'A trip to China sounds nice if you tread lightly' but per usual it doesn't make any sense."

Robin pulled her Russian book from the corner of the window, flipping through the pages before someone began knocking from the back door. Robin tossed her book to Aurora as she headed to answer, smiling at the postal worker before signing off on the box. When she glanced up, Aurora noticed her posture change before the man walked away. Half expecting Robin to just close to door, Aurora was surprised to watch her step into the service hallway as she mumbled something to herself.

"Robin? What are you going on about?"

The girl rushed into the shop again, kicking the door closed with her foot as she almost bounced on her toes, "silver cat! Silver cat!" Robin snatched her bag off the table before rushing out of the back room, Aurora stumbling to follow behind her.

Robin brushed past Dustin and Steve while Aurora paused for a moment, "I think she found something, come on!"

The two boys didn't question it, running with Aurora to catch up to their short-haired friend as she pushed past people in the mall. Robin jumped onto one of the raised ledges at the fountain, flipping around to find each part of the coded message when the three of them caught up to her.

"Robin?" It was Steve that spoke first, "what are you doing?"

"I cracked it!"

"Cracked what?"

Robin jumped off the ledge with a grin, "I cracked the code.They're working inside the mall, the delivery people: the silver cat, their logo is literally a silver cat! And then—then they go to each of the stores, trip to china," Robin pointed at the Chinese restaurant, "tread lightly," a shoe store next, "and when blue and yellow meet in the west," Robin finally faces the clock, pointing at the blue and yellow hands.

The four of them moved back into Scoops Ahoy, as Robin laid out her entire plan. When the hands met nine o'clock, they pointed west, so when the four of them could they snuck to the west of the mall, and found an entrance to the roof where they could watch over a suspicious entrance to the mall that was guarded by two guys with big guns.

Scoops Ahoy didn't close early, but Robin and Steve's covers showed up, which meant the four of them headed out there early. The rain pelted them hard, but they had to stay. Figure out what exactly was going on under their noses.

"Look for deliveries for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes," Robin spoke up, wiping the rain from her face as she glanced to her right where Steve and Dustin were silently fighting over the binoculars. She glanced right to find Aurora holding in her laugh.

Robin didn't know, but being around the three of them made her free a try of freedom she didn't get when she was around the Party. Around Will, Lucas, Dustin and Mike, she had to pretend to to be special, she had to pretend to no okay with everything they decided because she was the newest to the party, and she didn't get a say. But with Robin, Steve and Dustin ( along with Eleven and Max, thought they didn't know what was going on ) Aurora didn't have to pretend. She was automatically included in every vote and decision they made, and while she couldn't exactly show that she had powers, she didn't have to pretend with the them. With them, Aurora forgot about her issues and troubles, with them Aurora was herself and that made gave her freedom.

"They're with that whistling guy," Dustin spoke loudly over the rain, "ten o'clock!"

Aurora silently wiped a tear from her face as they also pushed themselves up a bit more to watch as the guy softly placed the packages down.

"What do you think is in there?" Dustin asked.

"Guns...bombs?" Steve scoffed.

"Chemical weapons?" Robin suggested.

Dustin grunted, "whatever it is, they're armed to the teeth."

Aurora groaned, resting her face in her palms, "why can't one year we deal with too many puppies or not enough candy? Why does it always have to some something like this?"

Robin pulled a face, thinking about questions what she meant, as she had phrased her words, as if something similar to this had happened before. She almost spoke up, but Aurora got to that before her.

"What's in there?" She questions as one of the guards used a keycard to open up another section.

"It's just more boxes," Dustin shook his head.

Steve reached over, grabbing the binoculars from Dustin, "let me check it out."

They two of them began to wrestle loudly over the binoculars, both of them pulling in either direction. Though, the rain made them slip from the hands, slamming into the metal siding in front of them. Robin let out a string of curses before tugging Aurora down behind the metal to hide, the two boys doing the same.

Aurora glanced over, watching as Robin and Steve held hands in their panic, before the two of them quickly pulled away. Over the thunder and rain, one of the men below them shouted in Russian, "Stay here, watch the door," as Aurora translated back to the other three.

"We've got to get out of here," Steve spoke, before the four of them jumped up and began running to the side door they had entered from. Just as the door clicked shut, they heard to sound of the other door slamming open.

The four of them silently ran through the service hall way in a panic. None of them speaking until they deemed themselves far enough away from the roof that they could speak.

Robin spoke up first, "well, I think we found your Russians."

Steve nodded, "yeah, I guess we did."

"We need to find out what is in that room. It seemed pretty important for them to be guarding like that." Dustin added.

"I can get the blueprints for the building," Aurora spoke up softly.

"What?" Steve paused, turning around as fast as he could to face Aurora.

She just shrugged, "um yeah, my aunt Flora works in the mayors office, I can be in and out of there with her keys. I've been in there a few times, I don't think it would be hard to find some blueprints for Starcourt. Especially given the fact it's so new, and we can find out exactly where the elevator leads."

"Oh um, yeah! That works for me," Steve nodded, rubbing at his neck.

"I'll go with you," Dustin nodded.

"Oh, um, I'm fine with going by myself."

Dustin shook his head, "we'll go together, two is better than one, Rory."

"He's right," Robin nodded.

"Okay, then it's settled, me and Dustin will get the blueprints for Starcourt in the morning and meet back here at noon?" Aurora spoke up.

Everyone nodded their heads, before Steve shivered, "now can we get out of here? This is giving me the creeps."

The other three voiced their agreements before they all began walking back to the door for Scoops Ahoy, where they collected their things and left the mall with their minds on something else entirely.

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( LET ME SPEAK : )

so the start of the chapter is dedicated
to waiting room by phoebe bridgers bc
it is SO mike and aurora coded like it's
kinda crazy. especially at like the start
of the chapter bc aurora is grieving,
and if anyone says, while she's fine at
the end of the chapter, it's called faking
dumbass. she literally just got her heart
broken for the first time and i feel like i
got her feelings very well captured...
anyways ill see you guys soon!!!!!!!

( also as soon as i get on a writing kick,
   i get into a book slump and i hate it )

credit goes to fivehxrgreeves