ৎ ָ࣪    𓄹 ﹙𝟬𝟬𝟮﹚˖  ᨒ  .ﾟ ꗃ  𓄸
❛ MISSING FRIEND ❜ 𓂃 𓈒 𓏸₊˚

         THE NEXT DAY WAS IN FACT A SCHOOL DAY, and Grace didn't want to be late. She quickly got dressed, checking herself out for a few minutes before actually leaving the house. She rode her bike to Mike's house as usual, knocking on his door as she came face to face with just the person she was looking for.

        "Hey, Grace," Mike greeted with a big smile, not even surprised to see her there. She came to get him early every school day, and he was more than delighted about it. See, Mike's had a crush on Grace since first grade. He was sure that it would never go away.

         "Hi, Mike, you ready to go? Or do I have to wait for you to eat breakfast like last time?" The blonde asked with raised eyebrows, her hands on her hips. Mike let out a laugh, squeezing her face in his hands.

         "That was one time. I told you it would never happen again." Mike explained, shuffling from one foot to another. Grace smiled at him, tilting her head to the side as her blonde hair covered her face a bit.

        "Sure, one time. It happens like once a week." Grace rolled her eyes, grabbing Mike's hand and pulling him towards their bikes. They got onto their bikes, and rode to school, meeting Lucas and Dustin halfway.

The four best friends made it to Hawkins Middle, with no sign of Will whatsoever. It shouldn't have been such a big deal, but Will never missed a day of school. Grace put her bike in the bike rack, sighing sadly. She had a really bad feeling in her stomach.

"Where is Will?" The blonde asked her friends. Mike looked around, squinting his eyes. "That's weird. I don't see him." The boy responded.

"I'm telling you, his mom's right. He probably just went to class early again." Lucas softly spoke, hoping he was right about this.

"Yeah. He's always paranoid Grusky's gonna give him another pop quiz." Dustin nodded, agreeing to what Lucas was saying. "I hope you're right." Grace stated, letting out a shaky breath.

"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen." Troy, a bully, walked up to the group. Grace ignored him for the most part, only looking up when he asked Dustin to do the arm thing he was able to do. She scoffed at him.

"We don't have time for your silly games Troy, some of us actually come to school to learn." The blonde told him, her eyes turning into slits.

"Yeah, whatever. Let me know when you're ready to hang around real men." Troy smirked, blowing Grace a kiss, as him and James walked away together. She let out a disgusted noise. Troy was so weird.

"I swear, the main reason he messes with us is to get a chance to talk to you." Lucas shook his head, glaring at Troy as he walked away. The boy constantly tried to bully them, but ended up flirting with Grace.

"It's not my fault he fell into my charms." Grace flipped her hair to one side, earning looks from the boys. One of awe from Mike and Lucas, while Dustin shook his head at her huge ego.

"I don't blame him." Mike mumbled under his breath, but Lucas heard it. The two boys shared looks with each other, watching as Grace explained to Dustin how hot she was for such a young age.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆⠘ *‧☽ ‧* ⠘☆ﾟ‧ ───

        THE DISMISSAL BELL RUNG, and Grace lifted her head from her desk with a frown. She had fallen asleep in class. "Remember, finish chapter 12, and answer 12.3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of science investigation." Mr. Clarke told his students, a smile adorning his features.

         Class was over, but he was still going to give them work. "So, did it come?" Mike asked eagerly as the four students stood in front of their teachers desk. The two other kids beside him stood eagerly, ready to let out their excitement. Grace was there, but she was not as excited as the boys were. Will wasn't here.

        "Sorry kids. I hate to be the barrier of bad news, but. . it came." Mr. Clarke told them with a grin. Grace smiled a little, knowing how much this meant to her friends. They were a couple of nerds, after all.

       "Awesome!" Lucas cheered, pulling the blonde into the AV room with him. "The Health Kit Ham check." Mr. Clarke enlightened with a smirk. "Whoa." Mike gasped, his eyes wide in astonishment.

"Ain't she a beaut?" Their teacher announced, his students nodding along with big smiles. "I bet you could talk to New York on this thing!" Dustin exclaimed excitedly, his fists raising in the air.

"Think bigger." Mr. Clarke made a gesture with his hands. "California?" Lucas tilted his head to the side, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Australia?" Grace stated at the same time Mike did. The two shared a look, smiling at each other. Mr. Clarke nodded his head, and their smiles widened. They could talk to Australia, which was amazing.

"Oh man," Dustin grinned. "When Will see's this, he's totally gonna blow his shit!" Lucas almost squealed like a girl, excitement taking over his senses. "Lucas—" The teacher called out, giving the boy a stern look.

"Sorry," Lucas apologized, his three best friends laughing at the look on his face. Lucas shoved Dustin, stopping him from his humorous fit.

"Hello, this is Mike Wheeler, president of Hawkins middle AV club." Mike announced in a very poor accent. Grace raised her eyebrows, wondering if Australians actually sounded that posh.

Dustin took the headphones from Mike and put them on his own head to do the same. "What are you doing?" Mike asked him, rolling his eyes at Grace and Lucas as they made fun of his poor accent.

       "Hello. This is Dustin, the secretary and treasurer of Hawkins middle AV club. Do you eat kangaroo's for breakfast?" Dustin did an impression, which happened to be horrible in the blonde's opinion.

"No one eats kangaroo's for breakfast," Grace laughed and Dustin smiled at her. Lucas was about to grab the headphones from Dustin to take his turn, but a knock on the door captured all their attention.

"Sorry to interrupt— but, uh, may I borrow, Grace, Michael, Lucas, and Dustin?" The principal poked his head into the room. Their smiles washed away almost immediately, following the man.

The principal lead the four students into his office, where a few cops were. Grace could feel her nerves kicking in, and she didn't know what to do, or say, so instead she kept her mouth shut. He talked to them about Will, declaring that the boy was missing.

"Okay, one at a time. Grace." Hopper explained, causing the four kids to go quiet. "You said he takes what?" The man asked. He already knew the blonde girl form years of visiting her father Ethan. They were in high school together, and their friendship blossomed throughout their adulthood.

"Mirkwood." Grace answered plainly, like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Mirkwood?" Hopper raised his eyebrows, confused.

"Yeah," Mike answered, earning a shove from Lucas. "He's talking to her, not you." The boy quickly defended. Dustin shook his head at them.

"Have you ever heard of Mirkwood?" Hopper asked the cop standing behind him. "I have not. That sounds made up to me." The man stated.

"No. It's from Lord of The Rings." Lucas told the man in offense. "Well, The Hobbit." Dustin added in a correction. "It doesn't matter." Lucas shook his head at Dustin, not wanting him to start.

"He asked!" The curly haired boy scoffed. "He asked." Lucas mocked in a dumb voice. Dustin leaned over in his spot, hitting Lucas on the arm. Lucas threw a hit back, and they started to fight.

Mike and Grace were in the middle, their faces clear with annoyance. Dustin hit Grace, causing a gasp to escape her lips as she threw a hit at his arm. "Stop hitting each other!" Mike glared at the boys.

Grace stuck her tongue out at Dustin, leaning back in her spot. "Idiots, I swear." The blonde mumbled to herself, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Hopper sighed at the fact that they weren't helping.

"Hey, hey, what'd I just say? One at a damn time." The man glared, shutting all the kids up. Grace shared a look with her friends, turning forward.

"Mirkwood. It's real, but the name is made up. It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet." Grace told the man with her held high. She wanted to appear brave in his eyes, even though she was scared for Will.

"Yeah. All right. I think I know that—" The man started to speak, getting interrupted mid sentence. "We can show you if you want." Mike offered, earning a look from Hopper. He didn't want help from a bunch of kids that thought they could solve a mystery.

"I said I know it!" Hopper told Mike sternly. "We can help look." Mike tried to sound demanding as he leaned forward in his spot. He earned nods of agreement from his three best friends while the cops sighed.

"No. After school you are to go home. Immediately." The man spoke, determined. Grace rolled her eyes, if she wanted to she could've tapped into his mind and made him say yes, but it wouldn't last long.

"That's bullshit! Will needs our help." The blonde told the man. She wasn't thinking as the words slipped out of her mouth, and when she noticed his glare, she immediately regretted saying it.

"You'll do what I say. That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no nonsense. This isn't some lord of the rings book." Hopper spared Grace one last glance, and she gulped.

"The Hobbit." Dustin quickly corrected. "Shut up!" Lucas glared at the boy. "Not again." Grace covered her face in her hands, feeling the boys reaching over her to constantly throw hits at each other.

"Hey, stop it!" Mike drew the final straw. Both boys stopped, ashamed of their actions. "Do I make myself clear?" Hopper asked them, earning nods.

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        AUTHOR'S NOTE 📝  .    .     .
Hopper and Grace are going to be super close, so get ready for that in the next few seasons.