chapter twenty-two , I always feel like somebody's watching me

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"August Castillo-Hopper. The Town Slut."

Gus looks at the flyer set in front of her. It was her school picture and eyes had red x's going over them. The brunette's leg was already bouncing from her high adrenaline. Gus raises her brows and exhales a sharp breath."Yeah, I've seen them." she runs her thumb over her bloody knuckles.

"Do you know who put them up?"

Gus bunches her shoulders, "The person's jaw I dislocated, maybe."

"Miss Castillo-Hopper, you've been doing really well." Mrs. McKinely states. "Now, I'm going to have to call Chief Hopper and--"

"Please don't tell my dad." Gus quickly says. Mrs. McKinely tenses from the teenager's erratic movements. Gus freezes and she sinks into her seat with a sigh. "You said I've been doing good, right?" she raises her brows. "Now, just think of this as a relapse." she shrugs. "It won't happen again."

"August, I have to tell the Chief."

Gus inhales a breath, "If you do, he's gonna ground me," she shifts her eyes to her bruised knuckles and her expression was solemn.

"Yes, I'm aware of how grounding operate--"

"Which means, he's not going to let me compete." Gus sighs, keeping her eyes on her red knuckles. She then looks at Principal McKinley. The Principal looked like she had shit his pants. The brunette smirks. Her plan was working. "I really am enjoying this sport and that means it's something I can lose."

"And I can't lose this, Principal McKinely." Gus exhales a soft breath. "Me punching Tyler was a terrible choice. I know that. Things got out of hand. I just...saw him putting the flyers up and I...flipped out."

The Principal points at Gus, "I won't tell Hopper. But you have to promise me that you'll be more careful with how you act, Miss Castillo-Hopper."

Gus relaxes her shoulders and lets out a soft laugh. "Thank you, Principal McKinley."

"But, August," McKinley calls out. "You will have detention for a week."

Gus presses her lips into a small smile. "That's fair. I understand, thank you." the brunette grabs her bag and throws it over her shoulder. She quickly walks out office, her grateful smile and bright eyes dropping with a flip of a switch. Fallon's back was pressed against the lockers, her fingers tapping against her lower lip. She looks over at the door and sees her best friend walking out.

"Hey, so how'd it go?" Fallon asks, approaching her.

Gus holds up a pointer finger, signaling for them to wait a moment. Fallon pulls her brows together and blinks. The brunette shifts her eyes to the Principal's office and it finally closes. Gus lets out a sharp breath, "Fuck—why does that door take a long time to close?" she looks at Fallon. "She's not gonna call Hopper."

"But, I have detention."

Fallon raises her brows. "How is that gonna work? Don't you have track and field?"

Gus shrugs a shoulder, "I'll probably just skip detention."

"Wait--but isn't Mrs. McKinley seriously pissed at you?" Fallon asks. "She's not gonna be okay with you--"

"Everyone who goes to detention worships me, Fal." Gus walks backward with her eyes on her best friends. The brunette holds her arms out. "I'll be fine."

Fallon chews on the inside of her cheek as Gus turns around and starts to walk forward. "You never talked about it, y'know?" They stop at Gus' locker.

Gus raises her brows, "Oh, you mean..." she opens her locker revealing many flyers, reading the same thing.

"August Castillo-Hopper. The Town Slut."

"I'm over it, you remember what happened with Nancy and the theater?" Gus asks. She then raises her brows and chuckles softly. "Well, I'm sure you remember."

Fallon's chest tightens and she inhales a soft breath. She knows Gus is going through a rough time, so she wasn't going to push it. It's been 2 weeks since Steve and Gus ended their friendship. The brunette has been a bit more snappy than usual. With everyone. Then once the flyers were released, that just added fuel to the fire. As soon as the flyers came out, Gus slammed Steve against the walls and cursed him out. He told Gus that he wasn't the one who made them, Gus wanted to believe him. But in order for the brunette to believe him, she had to trust him. And ding dong: Gus did not trust Steve Harrington.

"I do remember the theater--yes. And the flyers weren't what I was referring to." Fallon slowly nods her head.

Gus frowns, "Then what are we referring to, Fal?" she grabs her books and closes her locker.

"You just haven't told me what happened in your own words." Fallon tilts her head. "It could help, talking about it."

Gus leans her shoulder against the lockers then lays her head against them. "Fal, you saw me that night." she lets out a breath. "I was a fucking mess."

Before Gus made her way back to the cabin, she immediately drove to Fallon's house after she left Steve's. And she may or may not have interrupted Fallon and Robin's French horn lessons. Robin kept saying she was fine with going home early when she saw Gus crying. I mean, she had every right to freak out. She's never seen Gus cry, especially to the point she couldn't speak.

But, Robin ended up staying when she realized that Fallon had no idea how to take care of someone when they were heartbroken.

Fallon raises her brows and frowns.  "Yeah, Robin and I had to feed you licorice and read you comic books until you stopped crying."

"Exactly." Gus bunches her shoulders. "I hated the weeping and the feeling weak thing. I miss...this."

"What? Every one of your emotions being absolutely constipated, except for your anger?" Fallon questions.

Gus grips Fallon's arms. "This is why I love you. You get me."

"Yeah, you know who also got you and you haven't talked to in almost a month?" Fallon raises her brows.

"Fal..."

Fallon points behind the brunette and Gus turns to follow her finger. Her eyes land on the brunette boy walking down the hall with Nancy. Gus inhales a soft breath and she digs her nails into her binders. Her ears start to ring and the lockers begin to rattle. Fallon's eyes widen, "Gus." she touches the brunette's arm.

Gus blinks and the lockers begin to settle. She looks back at Fallon with a small smile. "Look, from now on, my breakdown didn't happen and he doesn't exist, all right?"

Gus raises her brows, "So, tell me how your french horn lessons are going?" she nudges Fallon.

Fallon raises her brows and a timid smile forms on her lips. Gus purses her lips and frowns. "Oh, I know that face." she wraps an arm around Fallon's waist and the two teenagers walk down the hall. "You used to make that face at me all the time."

Fallon rolls her eyes, "How do you know what my face looks like when I like someone?" she looks at Gus. "You never even noticed that I had a crush on you."

Gus slowly nods her head. "True. But I see how you look at her and I just figured that's the look you gave me."

"Well, it's not." Fallon looks forward.

Gus touches her chest, "Ouch."

Fallon softly chuckles and readjusts her books. "Anyway, you have to come over so you can hear what I've learned." she shrugs a shoulder in a cocky manner. "I'm getting pretty good."

Gus raises her brows, "And I guess we have that woman to thank!" she points at the chestnut brunette, who's head was in her locker.

Robin jerks her head up, hitting it on the top of the inside of her locker. "Shit!" she pulls her head from her locker and looks at the two girls. "Well, if it isn't Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?"

Gus and Fallon frown. "Who's who?"

Robin presses her lips together and closes her locker. "I will let you two figure that out." her eyes shift to the girl, she has gotten close to. Despite not wanting to at first. "Hey, Fal."

Gus raises her brows and shifts her eyes to Fallon. The coil-haired girl smiles, "Hey, Rob..."

Gus winces, "Never heard anyone call you that before." she looks at Robin.

"Yeah, me neither." Robin frowns. "I like it."

Fallon raises her brows. "Oh! You left this at my house the other day." she holds the book out to the girl. Robin accepts the book with a small smile.

"Wait, you guys hung out? Without me?" Gus holds her arms out. "What's that about?"

Robin presses her lips together. "Well, my non-band friend..." she looks at Gus. "You had track practice."

"And Robin was just giving me more pointers on the french horn," Fallon adds.

"Yeah, and I have to say. You are amazing." Robin looks at the Price girl.

Fallon's eyes slightly widen, "What--really?"

"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true." Robin insists.

Fallon's stomach flutters and she frowns. "Well, I guess you can just call me, Aubrey Brain."

Fallon and Robin both laugh while Gus just looks between the girls with a perplexed look across her face. She blows air out of her mouth. "I should...get to class. I will leave you, band bros, to your...bonding."

Fallon inhales a soft breath and waves at Gus. "I'll see you later, Gus."

"See ya, Guster!" Robin waves.

Before Gus leaves she watches Robin and Fallon talk with so much ease. Gus smiles softly, excited that her friend actually managed to form some kind of relationship with Robin. Ever since Fallon started hanging out with the Buckley girl, Fallon seemed to have become more relaxed. She was still focused on her future and her current work. But, for a moment, she lifted her head out of her books and was able to breathe.

Gus quietly chuckles and spins on her heel. She starts down the hallway. The brunette shifts her eyes to the her bloody knuckles. She lifts her hand up and presses her knuckles against her lower lip. Gus hates to admit it, but she felt a familiar rush flow through her when she punched Tyler. Fighting was almost like an addiction. That part made her feel guilty as shit, because she knew that if she ever admitted that to anyone; they would look at her like a freak.

"Gus!"

The brunette stops in her tracks and turns to her friend. A small smile forms on Gus' lips. She waves a hand, but her heart immediately drops when she sees Steve walk over to Nancy. Gus inhales a soft breath and her hand drops. She closes her hand into a fist. Nancy motions Gus to come over and her jaw clenches.

Gus shakes the nerves out of her hands. She swipes her tongue across her lower lip and walks over to the couple. Gus' heart was banging through her ears and she pulls her books close to her chest.

Steve's head lift and his eyes meet the brunette's. His body freezes and his world starts to move in slow motion. It's almost like he was taken back to that night on his porch. The tears in her eyes. The strong facade Gus continued to try and have throughout Steve's explanation. He hurt her again and he was never going to forgive himself.

Gus forces a smile onto her lips. "Hey, Nance." She keeps her eyes on the brunette. "Steve."

Steve nods his head, "Hey, Gus."

"How are you?" Nancy asks.

Gus raises her brows. "Uh, I'm good. Why?"

Nancy cranes her neck forward. "The flyers?"

"Oh. You mean, me being the town slut?" Gus grits her teeth. "Yeah, it's...it's something."

Gus glances at Steve and he looks away from her. He didn't know how the information got out. The only possible way the conversation could've been revealed is by Steve and Gus. But they both said that they told no one and the people they did tell wouldn't spread it around like a wildfire. No way.

"This town is so fucked up." Nancy shakes her head. "You know what we should do?"

Gus raises her brows and slowly nods her head. "Get me pissed off, so my powers can activate and we can sink this town into the fucking dirt?" She smiles.

Nancy and Steve's eyes widen. The Wheeler girl slightly opens her mouth. "I was going to say take down all the flyers." She rolls her lips into her mouth.

Gus' smile drops, "Oh. I...right, that makes more sense." She looks at the ground. "So, does that mean sinking the town is out of the question—"

"You're not gonna sink the town, August." Nancy sighs.

"Yes, ma'am."

☆

Gus let's out a soft breath as the credits roll. She looks at the now curly haired girl and raises her brows. "Well?"

Eleven looks at Gus, "The swords were...pretty."

Gus presses her lips together and chuckles softly. "I'm guessing that means you liked the movie."

Eleven gives Gus a small smile and nods her head. "Han and Leia were cute." She says hesitantly.

Gus raises her brows, "Yeah, I would definitely kill to have date someone like either of them." She quietly huffs and eats some of the popcorn.

Eleven looks at her hands. "Gus?"

"Yeah?" Gus hums softly.

"Does Mike..." Eleven trails off.

Gus slows her chewing and looks at the timid girl. "What's wrong, El?"

"...does he miss me?" Eleven whispers.

Gus raises her brows. "Yes, he misses you. Of course he does. They all do."

Eleven's lower lip starts to tremble and tears form in her eyes. "I miss them." She lets out a choked sob.

Gus' back straighten and she sets the bowl aside and wraps her arms around Eleven's shoulders. Eleven wraps her arms around Gus' waist and softly cries, her tears staining the teenager's shirt. A lump forms in Gus' throat, listening to Eleven's sobs.

Gus wasn't new to comforting the kids. There would be times she saw Mike breakdown, seeing something Eleven used to take interest in. Every time she did comfort one of the kids about how much they missed Eleven, the more her guilt would grow. It would be so easy for her to tell everyone that Eleven was alive and she wanted to see them all.

But she also knew how easy it would be for the bad men to find Eleven and kill everyone who knew about her location. And Gus wasn't going to allow anyone else she cared about to get hurt.

"Eleven, I am so sorry, you haven't been able to see them...well, with them knowing." Gus says, she pulls away from the hug. "But, Hopper says that it should be soon." She brushes some of Eleven's hair out of her eyes and wipes her tears. "Hopper is someone you can trust."

Eleven presses her lips into a small smile and she sniffles. Gus grabs the tissue box and holds it out to the young girl.

"Come on, let's go stick some chocolate chips in some Eggos." Gus motions her head to the small kitchen. Eleven's smile grows and she follows after the teenager. Eight months ago, Eleven wouldn't have trusted Gus with her life. But now that all has changed. Gus was such a different person than who she was in the Lab. And now, Eleven saw it. The girl would do for Gus. And Gus would do anything for her.

...

Gus pushes her cart down the aisle with a small sigh. Her arms were leaning against the handle bar of the cart and her eyes were skimming the shelves. Gus shifts her eyes to the list Hopper gave her.

"Milk..." Gus yawns. She lifts her eyes from the list and her eyes land on the sunglasses rack. The brunette stops and raises her brows. She reaches for the dark green shades and places them on her eyes. Gus looks at herself in the mirror and raises her brows.

"This is the first time I can admit that I look...good." Gus softly smiles.

A figure moves in the mirror behind her. Gus shifts her eyes to the figure in the reflection, but it quickly hides behind the shelf. The brunette's jaw clenches and she feels her stomach turn. "I'm not fucking around today, Carol!" Gus snaps, she walks over to the shelf the figure hid behind. The brunette opens her mouth to say something else, but no one was there. Gus raises her brows, "It's time for you to lay off the weed, August."

A small scoff is heard beside her. Gus looks and sees a mother covering her child's ears. "Shame on you!"

Gus presses her lips into a small line. "Sorry!" She calls out as the mother and sin walk away from her.

Gus quickly grabs everything off Hopper's grocery list and she sighs once she gets to the front of the check out line. The brunette sets everything onto the counter, with the barcodes showing. "Hope this makes it easier."

The boy softly chuckles. "You don't have to do that every time, y'know?"

Gus knits her brows together. "Does it help make your job easier?"

"I mean, not really—"

"But it's our thing, Byers!" Gus raises her hands.

"I thought the cafe was our thing?" Jonathan raises his brows and continues to scan the items.

Gus shrugs a shoulder. "We can have more than one thing." She presses her hands against the counter and sighs.

Jonathan looks at the snacks. "You and Hopper gonna pig out on junk food tonight?"

Gus looks at the piles of junk food. "Oh, yeah. And we're gonna watch Star War : The Empire Strikes Back. My personal favorite."

"Great choice. As always." Jonathan praises the girl. He stops on the box of Eggos. "And these?"

Gus' mouth slightly opens. "Oh, those are mine." She slowly nods her head. "Became obsessed with them when Eleven was here."

Jonathan softly chuckles. "I wish I got to get to know her better. She seemed nice."

Gus let's out a soft breath and raises her brows. "She was." She meets Jonathan's eyes. The brunette clears her throat. "Did you hear that everyone's calling me the town slut?"

"Oh My God!"

Gus and Jonathan look at the woman and son. "I mean, honestly! Do you have no filter?"

The mom sets her things down and walks out of the store with her kid. Gus winces and turns to Jonathan who has a deadpanned expression. "Seriously?"

"Oops?" Gus bunches her shoulders.

Jonathan continues to scan the items and he glances at the brunette. "Seriously, how are you doing with that stuff?"

"I'm okay..." Gus shrugs. "I mean, as long as I'm still able to run in track and Hopper doesn't find out about me being slut-shamed I'm fine." She runs a hand through her hair. "I've been through worse...I guess..."

Jonathan stops scanning the items completely and looks at Gus. "Hey."

Gus meets Jonathan's soft eyes and she raises her brows.

"Just because you have experienced alternate dimensions, powers, and monsters...that does not mean you have to act like this flyer shit doesn't piss you off." Jonathan places a hand over Gus'.

Gus slightly opens her mouth and looks at their hands. "Uh, right." She softly chuckles. And suddenly she felt something...weird. She looks back at Jonathan. The boy smiles and her heart...flutters. She's only felt like that one time. Ever. And that made her freak out. "I mean..." she pulls her hand away from Jonathan's and touches the back of her head.

"I'm not pretending like it doesn't piss me off. Just ask Tyler."

Jonathan's eyes widen, "That was you?!"

Gus holds her arms out and curtsies. "Guilty as charged."

Both of the teens laugh. Gus' laughter trails off when she feels an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She turns around and her eyes shift around the store.

"August, you all right?"

Gus looks back at Jonathan and blinks. "Uh, yeah. I'm good, just feel like I'm being followed all day."

Jonathan pulls his brows together and his back straightens. Gus slightly opens her mouth, noticing she now had Jonathan worried. She lets out a soft chuckle and shakes her head.

"You know what, that sounds stupid." Gus covers her face. "I've just got a lot going on."

"Well, do you want to talk about it? Over coffee maybe?" Jonathan shrugs a shoulder.

Gus softly smiles. "I would love that. When are you free next?"

"Uh, Wednesday."

Gus smiles, "I get off track practice at 4:30."

"Meet you at 6?" Jonathan raises his brows, holding his hand out to her.

Gus gnaws on her lower lip and shakes his hand. "Meet you at 6."

After Jonathan scanned Gus' items, she made it out of the store and walked to her car. Gus still had this uneasy feeling in her stomach that wouldn't go away. So, she decided to test her theory. She places her bags into her car and closes the door. The brunette looks around the parking lot and spots the alleyway beside the store.

She stalks over to the building and walks into the alley. Gus looks at the knocked-over trash cans spread around the area and she scoffs. "Seriously? What the fuck?" She gets sidetracked and starts to toss the trash into recycling or regular trash.

"Does no one care about the environment?" Gus scoffs, tossing the last bit of trash into the can. The brunette claps her hands together and places her hands on her hips. "Making the world better with one recycling bin at a time."

A clatter is heard behind the brunette and her ears perk. Without another second wasted, Gus turns around and swings her foot into the side of the figure's face; forcing them to fall to the ground. They quickly stumble back onto their feet.

Gus looks at the trash cans that start to shake and the ground does the same thing. "Would you look at that? My new training dummy." A smirk forms on her lips. "I am so going to enjoy this."

The ground starts to shake and the figure's stomach drops. "No, August—wait!" The person holds a surrendering hand out.

Gus slightly tilts her chin up. "You know who I am?" Her powers settle.

The man lifts his hand up and takes his hood off. Gus looks at the bearded man with gray patches across it. She lets out a deep sigh. "Oh okay, I get what this is..."

The man lets out a soft breath.

"Did I vandalize a building of yours in the past?" Gus waves a hand. "You want me to like pay for the damages or—"

"What—no, no. August, it's me." He takes a step toward her.

Gus slowly nods her head and takes a step back. "Right, because that's supposed to make things so much easie..." the brunette trails off her sentence when her hazel green eyes meet the man's. She raises her brows and her whole body feels numb. Her hearing goes out and the man starts to talk.

"D-Dad?" Gus' eyes start to water. She starts to walk over to him. Before she could get any closer to Tristan, Gus remembers what he did. He was the one who told Dr. Brenner to give her electroshock therapy. He gave her up to the Lab in the first place. Gus stops in her tracks. Tristan notices that Gus' shocked stance changes to a distant one. She curls her hands into fists and her back straightens.

"I thought..." Gus looks at the ground for a second, before looking back at her father. "I thought you died. Your comrades showed up at the school and told me that you died!" she shakes her head. "How is this even possible, right now?"

Tristan pulls his brows together and shakes his head. "You...don't know?"

Gus rolls her eyes, "Do I look like I know?"

"August, after bringing you home from the Lab. After--"

"After you told Dr. Brenner to shock my memories away." Gus raises her brows.

Tristan raises his brows. "You remember?"

Gus nods her head and kicks a pebble. "Yeah, it took a while and it was painful as hell. But yeah, yeah I remember. So, why don't you tell me how you're standing here, right now?" she points at him. "The truth."

Tristan nods his head, "Okay, yeah. Of course." he stuffs his hands into his pockets. "I...knew that Dr. Brenner would still be looking after you and...I knew that I could never forgive myself for what you went through."

A lump forms in Gus' throat as she thinks about everything she was put through because her father didn't want her.

"And I couldn't...I couldn't look at you without crying. So, I joined the Militairy. And I continued doing my rounds." Tristan shakes his head. "Then there was landmine that killed a few of my comrades and took my leg." he slightly lifts his left pant, revealing the metal prostethic. Gus shifts her eyes to the prostethic, then back to Tristan.

"I was in the hospital for a while and I...just thought that it would be easier for the both of us if I just disappeared."

Gus' eyes widen and she exhales a shocked breath. "You faked your death?" she softly speaks. The girl's body was cold and she was frozen in place. Gus couldn't even comprehend what she was hearing right now. Her father was alive all this time and the only way he thought he could get away from her was by faking his death?

As a few minutes passed by, Gus slowly feels the cold shock in her body morph into a boiling heat of rage.

"Listen, August, I know it's a lot to take in right now. But I just...Hopper and Joyce told me about you and I felt like I had to see it for myself."

Gus keeps her eyes on the ground, but she pulls her brows together. "Wh-what?" she looks at him. The trashcans start to rattle and the ground starts to quake.

Tristan looks around the alley, his breathing picking up. Gus takes a step toward him and he takes a step back.

"You said, Hopper and Joyce." Gus' quickens her pace and starts speed walking toward him. She grips Tristan by his sweatshirt and pulls him clothes. "What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"I thought that...I-I-I--"

"Joyce and Hopper knew?!" Gus' eyes fill with tears. "They knew about you being alive?!"

Tristan starts to shake with fear and he keeps his head ducked down. Gus' frustration rises and she shoves him to the ground. And one of her knees comes into contact with the pavement with a thud. "Answer me, right now, or I swear to god, I am going to vibrate your fucking bones into dust!" her voice starts to shake with every negative emotion she was feeling.

"YES! YES, THEY KNEW!!!" Tristan cries.

Gus' eyes widen and an audible gasp leaves her lips. She lets go of the sobbing man, who was curled into a ball. Gus stands up.

"They know everything..."

Gus touches her stomach, and she starts to feel sick. Her breathing quickens and dark dots fill her vision. "E-Everything? What...does that mean?" she looks at Tristan.

He continues to sob and her upper lip curls.

"Tristan--"

"I told them everything about your mom, Dr. Brenner, your powers--"

"When did you tell them this?" Gus crouches beside him.

"The day that boy was found."

Gus raises her brows and she stands up. "They knew all this time and didn't tell me?" she takes a step away from Tristan's body and she shakes her head.

Gus wanted to understand why they did this. She wanted to be a mature teenager about this. But this was her fucking father. And she thought he was dead. The amount of times she would think about her father giving his life to the Military, because he would rather die than take care of her was overwhelming. Joyce and Hopper could've told her, but they chose not to.

Gus' tears roll down her cheeks. "Is...is my mom really dead?"

Tristan takes his hands off of his head and meets Gus' distraught expression. The man realizes that this was a mistake. All he did was bring troubling emotions to the brunette.

"Y-Yeah. She is..." Tristan nods. "I swear."

Gus inhales a soft breath. She walks past the man, who was still on the ground. Tristan quickly scrambles onto his feet. "I-I'm sorry!"

Gus stops in her tracks.

"I didn't mean to make you upset." Tristan speaks. He takes a step forward and for the first time ever, Gus feels it. It felt like a vibration hit her feet and echoed through her body.

"I just had to see you."

"Don't contact me. Ever again." Gus orders. Her tone was firm, but you could still hear the shakiness in it. "I don't want to see you either."

Tristan looks at the ground, tears filling his eyes.

"Do you understand?" Gus slightly turns her head to Tristan.

Tristan lifts his head again. Even though Gus wasn't making eye contact with him, he could tell that she felt betrayed. He had ruined her life once again. It was best for the both of them if he just stayed away.

"I understand."

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author's note.

Common Tristan L 😭

Mf got me mad and I'm the one writing the dialogue. Anyway as you can see, Gus isn't going to be doing too well this season. Sorry lol.

Anyone noticed Jonathan and Gus are getting kinda cute? Wonder where that's gonna lead 👀

Don't be afraid to comment! I love hearing what you guys have to say and I love hearing feedback if you have any!

Words : 5024