ৎ ָ࣪    𓄹 ﹙𝟬𝟬𝟲﹚˖  ᨒ  .ﾟ ꗃ  𓄸
❛ THE DEMOGORGON ❜ 𓂃 𓈒 𓏸₊˚

GRACE BAKER LAID IN BED, a sad smile on her face as she listened to 'Should I stay or should I go'. She knew it was one of Will's favorite songs. He used to listen to it with his older brother Jonathan all the time, and she'd sometimes catch him humming it whenever they hung out, or even at school when he was nervous. The song meant a lot to the boy, and now Grace wished she could've listened to it with him.

         After she skipped school with El, Mike got caught, but she didn't. The blonde girl went home with her backpack on, pretending she had a really bad day at school. Ever since, she's been locked in her bedroom like some sort of emo girl. Will's sudden disappearance was affecting her the most out of everyone, besides his family, she felt like. Maybe that's because he was her first friend, like ever. She adored him for many reasons.

          A knock on her door was what snapped the girl out of her trance. The blonde turned off her hot pink speaker, unlocking her bedroom door and opening it with a quick movement of her wrist.

The woman at her door smiled as soon as she was let inside, a plate of freshly baked cookies in her perfectly manicured hands. Grace began to smile lightly as Bailey placed the plate on her bedside table, taking a seat next to her on the queen sized bed.

         "I got a call from your school today. They said you weren't there." Bailey spoke slowly, her eyebrows raising a bit at her daughter. This was her giving the girl a chance to tell the truth, but of course, she didn't take it.

         Grace tried not to look surprised, her facial expressions revealing her true feelings. "That's weird because I was there." The blonde played out, biting her lip slightly, a thing she always did when she felt guilty about something she couldn't ever own up to.

         "I know you skipped school with Mike, Grace Baker. I talked to Karen. She told me everything." Bailey spoke in a knowing tone. "How does Mike's mom know? I was extra careful. She didn't catch me." The girl gasped, her shock being as clear as day.

         "I did talk to Karen earlier, but I lied. She has no idea you weren't at school today. I know my daughter, though." The brunette woman explained, smiling when she saw the horror on her daughters face. "You tricked me!" Grace crossed her arms over her chest, her bottom lip poking out in a pout as she looked at the woman.

         "Don't give me that look. Why weren't you at school, sweetie? You know you can tell me anything, right?" Bailey stared at the girl in front of her, wanting nothing, but the truth and the full truth.

         "It's just been a lot with Will going missing. I feel like everything is only going to get worst. But I promise, mom, that it won't happen again." The girl defended her situation, not wanting to disappoint the woman sitting in front of her with the kindest heart in the world.

          It was the last thing Grace wanted to do. The woman accepted her, she knew about her gift, and she didn't freak out or run from it like most people would. She loved her, and so did Ethan. Grace Baker would forever owe it to them. The last thing she wanted was to give them a reason to regret ever taking her in. She had to be the perfect daughter. All the time. She rarely showed flaws, or imperfection. This was the first.

          "Grace, it's okay, I swear. I'm not disappointed, or angry, or anything. Wipe that frown off your face. You'll get wrinkles at an early age." Bailey reached forward, as she pulled the blonde into a comforting hug.

          "I know that. I'm a mind controlling empath." Grace let out a light laugh, reminding the woman that she could in fact hear her thoughts if she wanted, and feel the emotions radiating off of her like a heat wave.

          "How could I forget?" Bailey joked, messing up her daughters hair when she pulled away, getting ready to leave the girl alone again. "Anyways, I have to pick up your dad from work in about ten minutes. You think you'll be alright?" The woman questioned.

          "I'll be fine. If anything happens, I can defend myself. You know that better than anyone." Grace spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

          "I know, I know." Bailey rolled her eyes, leaning down to give her daughter a peck on the cheek. She left the room, closing the door behind her. Grace moved her wrist towards the door, hearing the lock click as she laid back, her hair flopping all over her pillow.

          She moved her hand towards her speaker, turning it back on and turning it up loudly like it was before she was interrupted. The girl brought a cookie towards her hand, eating it while trying not to drop crumbs.

        This aspect of her powers left her feeling lazy all the time. Grace barely had to move or do anything on her own. She had everything handed to her on a silver platter. People at school hated her for it, others were envious, and the rest were madly in love with her.

          Could she blame them? Not at all.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆⠘ *‧☽ ‧* ⠘☆ﾟ‧ ───

         A FEW HOURS LATER, Grace received a call from Lucas and Dustin. They were both freaking out about the fact that El used her powers in front of them, spoiling the secret she fought to keep all those years. She wondered what Mike thought about it, so she biked to his house, only to find all of them having dinner.

         "Something wrong with the meatloaf?" Karen asked the boys. She had just fixed Grace a plate, almost forcing the girl to join them when she got there.

         All three boys shared a hesitant look with each other, not really in the mood to eat after what they saw Eleven do. Grace on the other hand, could never turn down a good meal. She ate with a smile.

         "Oh, no, I had two bologna sandwiches for lunch. I don't know why." Dustin lied, looking around the table as he played with his food. "Me too," Lucas stated almost hesitantly, apologetically. She shook her head.

         "It's delicious, mommy." Nancy grinned, "Yeah, it's amazing, Mrs Wheeler." Grace agreed, both girls sharing a smile with each other. "Thanks girls." Karen seemed content with both their compliments, despite the boys not taking a single bite of their food.

          "There's this special assembly thing tonight for Will, at the school field. Barb's driving." Nancy perked up out of nowhere, grinning at her mom.

         "Why am I just hearing about this?" Karen looked surprised. "I thought you knew." Nancy quickly stated, earning a sigh from her mom. "I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found." The woman was turning serious as she turned to Nancy.

        "I know, but it'd be super weird if I'm not there. I mean, everyone's going." The teenager replied almost awkwardly, as if she made it up. "Just— be back by ten. Why don't you take the kids, too?" Karen pointed at all the kids. They all shouted in retaliation, the woman looking surprised since Will was their best friend.

        "Don't you think you should be there? For Will?" She asked again. Mike choked on his milk when he spotted El coming down the stairs, Dustin banging his hands on the table to keep all eyes on him.

        "Sorry. Spasm." Dustin apologized when Holly began to get scared. "It's okay, Holly. It's just Dustin being a dingus." Grace tried to calm the little girl down since she was the closest to her, rubbing her head.

         "Nice," Nancy glared at Dustin, annoyed that he scared her little sister.

Everyone finished eating after that. The four kids made their way to the basement. They spotted Eleven sitting at the table where they usually played D&D. She was messing around with the pieces.

"What's the weirdo doing?" Lucas asked his friends, staring at Eleven. He didn't fail to notice how nervous the blonde next to him was. He put his arm around Grace, trying to calm her down as she chewed on her fingernails. The girl looked at him with a smile.

"El?" Mike called out, ignoring the two who stood closer to each other than he might've liked. Eleven didn't answer Mike, but instead she picked up Will's character and held it in the air. "Will," The girl whispered.

"Superpowers." Dustin stated in astonishment, earning a look from his friends.

"Did you see him? On Mirkwood. Do you know where he is?" Mike asked Eleven, the quiet girl nodding at his question. She threw all the game pieces onto the floor, flipping the board upside down. Then she dropped Will's piece on the board. The blonde felt chills run down her spine, staring at the board.

"I don't get it." Grace told them. "Hiding," Eleven told her, letting out a breath. "Will is hiding? Is he hiding from the bad men?" Mike asked, El shook her head at that. "Then from who?" Grace bit her lip, feeling Lucas rub her shoulder, never leaving her side.

Eleven grabbed the Demogorgan off the floor, placing it onto the table next to Will's character. All four kids shared a look with each other. Holy shit!

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        AUTHOR'S NOTE 📝  .    .     .
I want to let you all in on a little secret of mine. . . Mike isn't the only one crushing on Grace!