ৎ ָ࣪ 𓄹 ﹙𝟬𝟭𝟯﹚˖ ᨒ .ﾟ ꗃ 𓄸
❛ MERRY CHRISTMAS ❜ 𓂃 𓈒𓏸₊˚

         JOYCE AND HOPPER LEFT TO BRING WILL BACK, leaving the kids alone at the middle school with Nancy and Jonathan to look over them. The two teenagers didn't get the motto, though, since they were nowhere to be found. Mike left to go search for them throughout the school, while the other four kids sat on the bleachers, waiting for him to return.

        "They're gone." Mike stormed back into the building, mad that they were left alone.

        "What?" Lucas scoffed, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. They were told to watch them.

        "Nancy and Jonathan. His car's gone." Mike told his friends, shaking his head in disappointment.

        "They're probably just sucking face somewhere." Dustin implied, puckering his lips.

         "Gross," Lucas scrunched his face up at the thought of it. "Everyone does it. It's not gross." Grace tried her best to defend the two teenagers.

          The blonde knew they that liked each other. Jonathan was more like in love, though. She didn't have to use her powers to figure that out.

          "No. No way!" Mike didn't want to imagine his sister sucking face with Jonathan.

          "Do you think they went with Hopper?" Grace changed the subject, tilting her head.

           "I don't know," Mike sighed in defeat. "No," Eleven shook her head at them.

           "What? Did you see them? Do you know where they went?" The boy raised his eyebrows.

          "Yes," The quiet girl nodded. "Where? Where did they go?" Grace paled, worried for them.

          "Demogorgon," Eleven told them. All four kids shared looks with each other. That started a couple of arguments about what they should do.

          "Guys! This is crazy. We can't just wait around." Mike stopped all the arguments.

          "Mike, in case you forgot, we're still fugitives. The bad men are still looking for us." Lucas reminded him, knowing they would be found.

          "Yeah, and we don't even know where your sister is." Dustin quickly agreed with Lucas.

          "El can find them." Mike gestured towards the girl. "She's not your personal tracking device. Give her a break, Mike." Grace shook her head.

          "I still think we should stick to the chief's plan." Dustin pointed out with a loud sigh.

          "Exactly. We stay here, keep El out of sight and keep her safe. That's the most important thing, remember? Besides, she's okay. She's with Jonathan." Lucas tried to make Mike feel better about his sister.

          "Yeah, and she's kind of a badass now, so. . ." Dustin trailed off, turning to leave.

           "Well, where are you going? You just said stick to the plan!" Mike called after him.

           "I am. I'm just gonna go get some chocolate pudding. I'm telling you, lunch lady Phyllis hoards that shit." The boy with curly hair informed.

           "Are you serious?" Mike raised his arms in annoyance. "They need to be recharged!" Dustin pointed at both girls, closing the door behind him.

           Lucas and Eleven followed the boy, not being able to turn down his offer of sweets.

          That left the gym emptier than ever. Grace and Mike stared at each other. Neither of them knew what to say now that they were alone.

          "Guys, I found the chocolate pudding!" Dustin shouted. The pair rolled their eyes.

          "Okay!" Mike shouted back. "Are you feeling any better?" He turned his attention to Grace.

           "I'm fine. El needs more recharging than I do." The blonde stated, more worried about the girl that had been overworked way too much.

          "Yeah, but I care about you. You know that, right? I just want to make sure you're okay." The boy began to stutter out responses, nervous.

          "I'm fine. I mean it." Grace smiled at the boy in front of her. She was glad that he was such a caring person when it came to her.

Mike nodded as he looked away from her, a small smile covering his face. He loved the way her dimples became more prominent whenever she smiled at him. He wanted to make her smile more often.

          "I know you don't need me worrying about you. It's just, you take care of everyone else. I wish you would let other people take care of you." Mike stared at the girl, his brown eyes meeting her blue ones.

"Yeah, right. You guys always take care of me." Grace let out a small laugh, trying to make the situation seem a lot more humorous than it was.

"Not like that. We don't protect you how you protect us, but from now on, I want to." Mike sighed, wanting the girl to put herself first.

After he said that, the two of them just stared at each other in silence. There was a mutual understanding between the pair in that moment.

"Your eyes are so beautiful." Mike spoke up, a small boost of confidence running inside him. The blonde girl could only blush. The feeling of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach was ethereal.

She'd received multiple compliments throughout her life, but none of them, made her feel as special as Mike's simple one did in that moment.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. Well, I meant it, but still—" Mike tried to explain, his words interrupted by her lips on his.

        Mike's eyes widened, his heart beat speeding up as he kissed the girl back. Their lips pressed against each other's once more before the girl pulled away, their faces so close they could feel each other's breath.

"That was. . .wow," Mike was at a loss for words, staring at the girl in front of him. He had always dreamed of this moment, but he was shocked.

"I had to shut you up somehow." Grace mumbled, her fingers brushing over her lips. She was surprised by her own actions, but didn't regret them.

"I'm glad you did." Mike told the girl, smiling at her. The girl smiled back, not able to form her response when cars began to pull up outside the school.

"Do you think that's them? Nancy and Jonathan?" Grace gasped, in hopes that it was them. "I don't know, but I think so." Mike answered her.

         The two kids then ran towards the noise, spotting multiple cars, and military trucks, parked in the front of the school. That wasn't a good sign.

          After sharing a scared look with each other, the pair took off running back into the building. "Guys! They found us!" Mike shouted to their friends. The three kids dropped their chocolate pudding.

          All five of them ran in the opposite direction of where the men were. "How did they find us?" Lucas asked out of breath, running.

         "I have no idea. But they knew exactly where we were. Someone told them." Grace spoke in confusion, wondering who gave their location up.

         "Lando," Dustin called out to the group. A man running towards them made him shut up. The kids ran in the other direction, only to be cornered.

         They turned around once more, cornered again. There were people coming in from every opening of the building. A woman and the crew behind her held up their guns, pointing them at the children.

         Grace and Eleven stepped forward, standing in front of their defenseless friends to protect them. The people around them stood frozen, blood leaking from every part of their faces, falling to the ground after.

          Eleven and Grace both dropped to the ground as well. Mike panicked, being the first to rush to their aid. The others followed, shaking the girls.

          "They won't wake up!" Lucas could feel his eyes watering, his chest hurting from all the running, and from the fact that they could lose the girls.

          "Come on, wake up! You're stronger than this." Dustin yelled, shaking them both.

          "Leave them. Step away from the girls." Brenner showed up, threatening the three boys.

          "No! You want them, you have to kill us first!" Mike stepped forward. "That's right!" Dustin backed him up. "Eat shit!" Lucas shouted at the man.

          Their bravery didn't suffice. A bunch of guards snuck up on them from behind, holding the struggling boys back as Brenner approached the girls.

          "Eleven? Nine, can you hear me?" He shook the girls awake, holding both their faces in his hands as if they were his prized possessions.

          "Papa," Eleven whimpered, easily manipulated by the cruel man all throughout her life.

         "Let go of me," Grace tried to shake the man away from her, afraid. His grip on her face tightened, sending the girl a sickly sweet smile.

         "Oh, Nine, how I've missed you. I'm going to take you home with me and Eleven. I'm going to make all of this better. No one else gets hurt." The man tried to sound convincing, both girls fighting in his grip.

         The lights started to flicker on and off, everyone in the building knowing exactly what that meant. There was enough blood on the ground to keep the Demogorgon full for at least a few weeks.

          The men holding the kids let them go, pointing their weapons at the monster. Once all attention was off them, Grace forced herself to stand, helping Eleven by leaning the more exhausted girl on her shoulder.

          Mike and the others ran to help, all of them escaping the scene unharmed. They found an empty classroom, deciding to hide in there.

          Dustin and Lucas lifted Eleven up onto a desk, letting her lay there. Mike checked on Grace, all up in her face, making sure she was fine. She swatted the worried boy away, saying that she was alright.

         "Hold on a little longer, okay, El? You're gonna be okay. The bad man's gone." The blonde girl leaned towards El's face, their foreheads touching.

         "You promise?" Eleven asked, tears in her eyes. "I promise." Grace bit her lip in agreement.

         The sound of growling and gunshots grew louder. They all stared at the door to the classroom, hoping they wouldn't be the Demogorgon's next targets.

         "Is it dead?" Dustin stuttered out. The silence in the room after that was deafening.

          No longer than a second later, the door to the classroom was knocked down. The Demogorgon burst into the room, growling. Grace closed her eyes, her friends struggling to pull out their weapons.

          Lucas used the wrist rocket, hitting it each time, until he hit it right in the mouth. The Demogorgon flew back, everyone turning to Eleven.

          "El, stop! What are you doing?" The blonde stepped forward, only to be held back. Eleven was using her powers so that she couldn't move.

         All four kids realized what Eleven was doing, sending sad looks to each other. She was sacrificing herself just to make sure they were safe.

         "Goodbye," Eleven called out softly, looking down, before turning to the Demogorgon.

         The monster made pained noises as El held her hand out, screaming so loud they had to cover their ears. When they looked back up, Eleven was gone, and so was the Demogorgon. Grace closed her eyes, tears falling down her face as her breathing picked up.

        The girl could feel her chest closing in, her mind jumbled, as her chest rose and fell at an abnormal pace. She was having a panic attack. Dustin was the first to notice, hurriedly rushing to her side.

         "Hey, hey, hey. Breathe in, breathe out." The boy helped her breathing slow down, her face disappearing in his chest as she let out loud sobs.

         Dustin tightened his arms around her. The others joined in on the embrace, each of them letting out their own tears at what went down.

         AFTER ELEVEN SAVED THEM, everything went back to normal. As normal as things could be, in Hawkins anyway. Everyone just acted like nothing even happened, like their town wasn't haunted. Like Will never went missing. Like they were just normal kids playing D&D in Mike's basement again.

         "Something's coming. Something angry. . .hungry for your blood. It is almost here." Mike talked to the group in his mysterious voice.

          "What is it?" Will slammed his hands on the table, very impatient. "It's the Thessalhydra. I'm telling you." Grace turned to the boy, sure of it.

          "It's not the Thessalhydra." Lucas shook his head at the girl, hoping she was wrong.

          "Actually, it is, Lucas." Dustin agreed with Grace, the two of them nodding together.

          "The Thessalhydra!" Mike shouted, dropping the game piece onto the board.

           Everyone started to complain about the monster that was after them. It was hard to defeat.

           "It roars in anger! Will, your action!" Mike called out. Grace felt a strong sense of deja vu.

          "What should I do?" Will asked the girl, trusting her decision the best. "Fireball him," She told Will, glad he asked for her help out of everyone's.

         "Fireball the son of a bitch." Dustin gave her a high five. Everyone laughed at his words as Will rolled the dice. They all smiled in triumph.

          "Direct hit. Will the Wise's fireball hits the Thessalhydra. It makes a painful screech, and then, it crumbles to the ground. It's clawed hand reaches for you one last time. . .and, and," Mike drops to the ground, finalizing the monsters death.

          "Yeah!" The blonde cheered, each of the kids jumping up from their seats. They danced around the basement, proud of Will.

          "Grace cuts off its seven heads, and Dustin places them into his bag of holding. Lucas carrie's the heads out of the dungeon, victorious, and you present them to King Tristan. He thanks you for your bravery and service." Mike spoke to each of his friends, bowing.

           "Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not it, is it?" Dustin's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that was the end of the campaign. It wasn't as long as he hoped.

           "No, there's a medal ceremony." Mike explained, trying to defend the campaign.

          "Oh, a medal ceremony? What are you talking about?" Dustin was dissatisfied.

           "Yeah, man. The campaign was way too short." Lucas stated, "Yeah," Will agreed.

           "It was ten hours! Nothing about that was short!" Grace shouted, tired of playing the game.

           "But it doesn't make any sense!" Dustin shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe it.

           "It makes sense!" Mike scoffed, disliking how quick they were to single him out.

           "Uh, no! What about the lost knight?" Dustin stated at the boy in questioning.

           "And the proud princess?" Lucas added, "And those weird flowers in the cave?" Will help up his hand. "I don't know!" Mike raised his voice.

           "Jeez, what's that smell? You kids been playing games all day, or just farting?" Jonathan showed up in the basement, there to take Will home.

           "Oh, that's just Dustin." Grace laughed, calling the boy out, earning a glare from him.

           "Dustin farted." Lucas began to sing a song, mocking the boy as he blew raspberries.

           "Very mature, Lucas." Dustin laughed eventually, everyone else joining in as Lucas continued to sing. He sounded really good, despite joking.

           "Come on," Jonathan messed up Grace's hair with his hand. The girl opened her mouth in shock, while Will stood up to follow his brother out.

           "Bye, guys," Will waved at them all. "Bye, Will," All his friends responded, smiling at him.

           Lucas and Dustin started fighting as Grace and Mike just smiled at each other. Their eyes then drifted to El's fort, their smiles dropping after.

           "Oh! Your gifts! I can't believe I almost forgot." Grace covered her mouth with her hand. She ran upstairs, leaving the three boys behind.

          The girl quickly reached under the Christmas tree, grabbing Will's present. She rushed out of the front door, feeling the cool breeze as her eyes watered. The girl had just caught them leaving the house.

          "Hey, Will, I almost missed you!" The blonde pulled the boy into a tight hug. After she pulled away, she handed the present to Will with a grin.

          "I can't take this, I didn't you a present." Will frowned, sad that he forgot about gifts.

          "After everything that's happened, Will, you deserve it. Merry Christmas." Grace placed a kiss on Will's cheek, both their faces bright red from the coldness outside and the snow falling on their skin.

         "Thank you, so much. This means a lot to me." The boy smiled so bright. The sun had some competition. She couldn't tell what was brighter.

         "We should really get going. Merry Christmas." Jonathan smiled at the girl, him and Will leaving after a few smiles and gestures.

         Grace watched the brothers leave, a hopeful look in her eyes as Will opened his present. He looked at her with wide eyes, sending her a thumbs up.

          She waved one last time before turning around, spotting Mike at the door. He held his arms open for the girl. She rushed forward, hugging him back with so much force, he almost lost him balance.

          "We're under the mistletoe. You do know that, right?" Mike raised his eyebrows with a smirk. Grace took a quick glance above her head.

          "That wasn't there before." The blonde retaliated, knowing that he put it right there.

          Mike shrugged innocently, looking away from the girl in front of him as he started to whistle.

          Catching the boy by complete surprise, Grace leaned forward, placing a small peck of her lips on his exposed cheek.

         Mike blushed at the unexpected contact of her lips on his face. She was full of surprises. He didn't actually expect her to give in to his teasing.

          "Merry Christmas, loser." The blonde told him, taking his hand in hers, swinging them.

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        AUTHOR'S NOTE 📝  .    .     .
I love this chapter. Season one is officially done, and my babies finally kissed! They are so adorable! Thank you to everyone that continues to vote and comment on my book! It means so much to me!