Wait On Your Song

Chapter under the cut

You had been so focused on your brother, you hadn't even noticed the stranger in Mike's basement. She was sat with her knees drawn to her face on the sofa. Mike must have given her some of his clothes to wear, but she still looked cold as she watched you approach her.

'She won't speak,' said Lucas

'She tried to get naked!' cried Dustin

'She spoke to me,' insisted Mike, 'and she was getting changed,' he added hastily.

She was looking at you wearily, like a cat deciding whether to run and hide or hiss and stand her ground. I got the impression she was good at hiding. Like Will.

About a foot from the sofa you stopped and plonked down into one of the DnD chairs.

'I'm Y/N,' seemed like a good start, 'I'm Dustin's older sister, so I'm used to getting people out of trouble. You're in trouble aren't you?'

She nodded slowly.

'That's okay, how about we start with your name.' You pause to see how she reacts.

You're met with a stare.

You smile in response, 'Well like I said I'm Y/N, and this lovely basement we're in here is Mike's. He's gonna let you stay the night while we come up with a solution.'

'What' screeched Dustin, making the girl flinched.

'No, no, no, not you as well,' said Lucas.

'What are they talking about?' you asked.

Mike explained his plan. The girl would spend the night here and then go to the front door and ask his mom for help. That way the Party wouldn't be incriminated for finding her in Mirkwood when they were supposed to be at home.

'I hate that that's the best plan we've got,' you admit, casting a glance at the girl. You're not convinced she'll go for it.

'Right, let's get you settled then. Dustin, Lucas go home. Dustin if mum asks where I am, I'm still at Jonathan's, helping him with some stuff after the search party.'

'What, why arent you coming?'

'Because I'm not letting this girl stay the night alone here. Every time there's thunder she flinches like she's never heard it before. I'm staying here to make sure she's okay, I'm the closest thing you guys have to an adult on your side right now.'

'Fine,' says Dustin.

'The pair of you better get home safe,' you say sternly, the guilt of not biking home with Will continuing to gnaw at your insides. A slight feeling of déjà vu settles in your stomach as you momentarily debate whether you should escort them home.

'We'll be fine,' says Lucas, 'lets go Henderson.'

Dustin waves his walkie at you by way of agreement, before shoving it into his backpack and following Lucas out.

Meanwhile, Mike has made the girl a den under a table with an old duvet and some blankets.

'What is your name?' he asks, more gentle than you've seen him before.

The girl pauses then raises her arm.

'Is that real?' exclaims Mike, causing the girl to back up into the den.

011 it had said.

'Sorry, I've just never seen a kid with a real tattoo before,' Mike was saying.

The sinking feeling in your stomach told you that this girl was in a kind of trouble you were not as accustomed to fixing.

'How about, El, for short?' Mike is asking.

Eleven nods slowly.

'Who are you in trouble with?' Mike asks.

'Bad'

'Bad? Bad people are after you?'

She nods gravely.

'You won't do it tomorrow will you?' you ask.

She shakes her head.

Mike doesn't understand, 'Why not?'

Eleven raises one hand, her fingers making the shape of a gun. She points at you, then Mike, then her own skull.

You shiver, she is so young. They all are.

'Okay guys,' you say, 'bedtime. Mike you've got to at least pretend you're going to school tomorrow. I actually have to go tomorrow. And you're both shattered from being out in the freezing all night anyway. Come on.'

You herd Mike up the stairs before collapsing on the sofa. There's no real reason Mr or Mrs Wheeler would come down here, but if they did you'd come up with some lie.

You radio Dustin three blasts of static. He sends three back.

Eleven is looking at you, 'it means he's safe,' you respond. The method started a long time ago when you'd first started covering for his sneaking out. As long as you knew he was safe, you wouldn't rat him out.

You smile slightly at the memories of all the shit Dustin and the Party have gotten into. How many R rated films you've snuck him into; the coins you lend him for the arcade; the white lies you've told about needing to stay up late to study, not design his next DnD character; or cleaning up scientific 'experiments' that always seem to end up in minor explosions.

'I do get them out of trouble all the time,' you say softly, 'I know the people who are after you are bad, but you chose one good basement to hide out in,' you smile before adding, 'you can't tell him I said this, but you found some good kids. Mike is the most loyal person I know. You're safe here, really, so tonight, get some rest okay?'

She looks at you dubiously, and it's clear she doesn't really believe you. But she still pretends to sleep. At one point she cries, you just hold her hand until she falls asleep properly.

When you wake up, you're awkwardly contorted having been half on the floor to reach Eleven's hand.

You groan and try to get up. There's an ache in your neck and your clothes on the radiator are still damp. But there's no way you're going to school in some of Nancy's laundry.

'I am so going to fail my exam later,' you think aloud.

Eleven switches off your walkie that you hadn't really even noticed she'd been playing with.

'I have to go to school today, I have no reason to not show that anyone will believe. I need to be there for my friends too.'

Eleven looks a bit confused and you don't blame her.

'The point is, yourself here, my brother and Mike and Lucas won't tell anyone you're here okay? They won't come looking in random basements for you.'

You pick up Mike's walkie from the table.

'This is the same as mine. If you need help, use it, me or one of the others will hear it.'

That's when Mike comes thundering down the stairs. He's got an Eggo for El. He didn't get you anything, of course.

'I'm gonna skip today, so you won't be alone,' he tells El, 'I just need to pretend to leave and come back, so hide until then?'

Eleven nods.

'Wheeler if anything happens, I want updates,' you say as you leave. He gives you a mock salute, and you smile.

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When you arrive at school, sweaty from cycling as fast as you could the whole way, Nancy and her love life debate was the last thing on your mind. Her interest in Steve made sense to you, she was excited. This was her first proper relationship, and you could see that Steve was conventionally attractive, you suppose. Just how she saw past the rest of him, and, ugh, the thought of speaking to Tommy and Carol more than absolutely necessary felt disgusting.

Nevertheless, when you see her, the first name to cross her lips is Steve's.

'He came round last night, even though I told him I was busy!' she seemed so excited about it, but you couldn't help but frown.

'Is that not a bit odd?' you ask, 'I mean you were pretty clear, you had to study all night for the test. Did you even want him there?'

'I don't know,' she tries to shrug it off despite the smile flickering across her lips, 'and he came to help me study anyway.'

You raise an eyebrow, a trick Barb had taught you.

'I'm serious!' Nancy playfully shoves you, 'he was all 'we can't have you failing this test.'

'Well, if you're happy...' you say, because she clearly is.

As you're walking through the halls, Nancy and Barb are revising. Your attention for it comes in waves, counteracted by the disbelief that Will is still missing, and the confusion about the girl who was hopefully still safe in Mike Wheeler's basement. Suddenly revision didn't seem that important.

Lost in thought, you crash into someone else. You're about to apologise until you see who it is. Steve. Stealing Nancy's flash cards no less. Yet he smells frustratingly nice. He ruins this by speaking.

'You look like crap,' for a minute you think he's concerned. Nancy and Barb haven't even noticed that something might be wrong. Your hair is a mess, you know you have bags under your eyes and your clothes are crumpled from sleeping on the sofa last night.

Then the sniggering from the King's friends starts.

You swipe back the notes, 'what do you want Harrington?'

'To speak to my girlfriend,' he says turning to Nancy, his eyes linger slightly on you.

And they start talking parties. Apparently Tuesday is a whole thing. You don't like the scorn in Steve's friends eyes as they mock her. You don't like that Steve doesn't stop them.

'Just because Nancy is actually smart enough to have plans for after high school' you say, 'she doesn't need to waste her weekday evenings getting sloshed when she has something called potential.'

'Potential to be a boring nobody like you maybe,' sneered Carol.

You're preparing your retort when Jonathan starts putting out posters

'How much do you wanna bet he killed him?'

'The fuck is wrong with you? You think that makes us want to party with you?' you glare. At the same time Steve tells her to shut up.

For a minute the two of you share a look of agreement. You shiver inwardly, he thinks he knows morals because he's finally learnt not to make fun of someone when they're clearly struggling.

You think back to when you joined this school. Well it has been middle school, final year. You were still mourning your dad, the anger at it all was on the backburner and you were in denial. Which wasn't ideal for moving to a new country and starting a new school. You were wearing your patch jacket, at the time it was pretty much the only thing you wore. It was covered in references to all you and your dad's favourite artists. Bowie, Queen, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Clash, The Cure, The Who, Metallica, Dio, the list goes on. It made you feel slightly safer, it always had. You and your dad had had a complicated relationship but remembering working on the jacket, him teaching you to sew and laughing as you constantly pricked your fingers. It made it all okay.

But you had been wondering the halls of a new school, no friends but thinking, 'hey somebody round here is gonna like one of these bands right?'

All you really got was some funny looks. Jonathan had complimented you on it, but only when you met him at his house to find Dustin. It had made you sort of friends, which was what you remained today. Both of you too drawn into your own problems for it to really go anywhere.

But King Steve and his friends. They had made your life hell. At first it was jokes that you couldn't afford your own clothes so you'd had to make them.

When you defiantly told them your dad had made it with you, that at least your dad wanted to spend time with you, something had flashed across Steve's face. Anger? Jealousy? At the time you had just assumed he wasn't used to people talking back to him.

'If he loves you so much why did he send you across the ocean?'

'He's dead,' they'd stared, 'now leave me alone,' you'd added weakly.

Ever since that interaction you'd regretted not making fun of him for not knowing which ocean was the Atlantic. Because that's when a new kind of teasing started with 'zombie girl', 'haunted clothes', or 'how come there was nobody in your own country who wanted you?'

You'd grown out of the jacket by the end middle school. It got you your job at Record Breaking. It still hung on the back of your door. But the names and the words followed you around for a while until King Steve and his subjects found a new target.

That's when the bell rang. You turned to Barb to leave. You could feel Steve's eyes on you as you left.

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'Well that sucked,' you complain as you leave the classroom.

'But you are coming to the party with me right?' Nancy insists, her eyes doing some incredible begging.

You and Barb share a look, 'it's already a terrible day, I guess I can't make it worse,' you admit. Then you think of El. Shit. 'Why don't I meet you at your house and we can go together?'

Barb agrees to go to, 'be your guardian angel.'

When you arrive at Nancy's it's easy enough to get to the basement and check up on the situation. Dustin was down there already and explained to you how El had 'superpowers'.

'We never would have upset you if we knew you had superpowers,' he apologised.

'We just wanted to find out friend... Will?' explained Lucas.

'What is friend?'

'Is she serious?'

You shoot Lucas a look, 'it's someone you'd do anything for,' like go to terrible parties you think, 'you help them when they're stuck, and if they're happy it makes you happy.'

The rest of the party carry on your sentiment with thoughts of sharing your best comics and toys, and secrets.

'Friends never break a promise,' Mike says seriously.

Lucas nods in agreement, 'Especially if there's spit.'

You raise an eyebrow, 'spit?' you ask at the same time as Eleven.

'Yeah it seals the deal. A spit swear is a pact,' Lucas and Dustin demonstrate.

You roll your eyes but you can't help but smile too. Eleven sees this and seems to marginally relax.

'Will,' she contemplates.

Then she walks to the table where the boys play DnD, picks up Will's piece.

'That's him,' you breathe.

Eleven clears the board and flips it before slamming Will's figurine onto the board. The sound settles into your skin making you shiver.

'Hiding,' is her explanation.

'From who?'

She doesn't hesitate as she chooses a monsterous figurine.

'Shit,' whispers Lucas.

'The Demogorgon,' exclaims Dustin.

'Y/N, are you coming?' Nancy's voice filters down the stairs, like a reminder to question which reality is real. The one where you go to parties at King Steve's or the one where a child is missing and apparantly there's a monster involved.

You sigh, 'I have to go, otherwise Nancy is going to think something is wrong and she'll come looking. The less people in danger the better,' you glance at the four kids, 'that includes all of you. I know you lot are going to go off adventuring and I'm not totally okay that I can't be around to help, but you better look after eachother okay. And I'm taking my walkie talkie, if there's an emergency you call me. It looks like I'm the closest thing to an adult you guys have so that makes me responsible for you. Okay?'

Dustin nods. The other two boys wave you good bye. Eleven is still staring at Will's figurine.

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Nancy insists on parking three blocks away in case the neighbours see us arriving, you're not sure why being seen is such a crime. Barb is trying to wriggle out of going. You're too busy trying to decide what Eleven meant and can't believe you've gone from danger of death to danger of neighborhood watch.

'He's just trying to get in your pants,' Barb argues.

'He is not,' Nancy actually manages to sound genuinely offended.

'He invited you to his house'

'His parents aren't around,' you add

'You aren't this stupid,' Barb says softly.

'Tommy and carol will be there,' says Nancy smugly.

'Tommy and Carol have been having sex since the seventh grade,' says Barb.

'Damn how old are you in the seventh grade again?' you ask.

Barb smiles slightly.

'Whatever lets just go,' Nancy insists.

'Welcome ladies' says Steve. You groan inwardly, this is gonna be a long night.

Carol is squealing as Tommy threatens to throw her in the water.

'It's like a fox's mating call,' you mumble to Barb who smirks despite clearly uncomfortable.

You're not sure how you feel. You remember hanging out with some of your dad's more sleazy friends when you started getting into music a bit more. You felt the same on edge feeling now that you did then.

Steve shotguns a can whilst looking at Nancy.

'Is that supposed to impress me?' she asks.

'Are you not?' asked Steve, you're impressed he manages to sort of sound offended.

'Anyone can do that, it's not even a pint,' you mean to whisper to Barb, but it comes out louder than intended.

'Okay party animal, why don't you show us how it's done?' Steve challenges you, tossing you a can.

You pull your keys out of your pocket and without missing a beat stab the side of the can and start chugging, as you go you crack open the lid of the can. You neck the whole thing without breaking eye contact. Something flickers across Steve's face. You're not sure what it is, amusement?

'Show off,' he mumbles.

Nancy follows your lead as the others shout 'chug! chug! chug!'. You grin, when she finishes it. So what were surrounded by sssholes your first illegal drink is still something to laugh about.

Then it's Barb's turn. Her hands are shaking. 'Barb you don't have to do this,' you whisper.

The firm look in her eyes suggests otherwise.

You feel sick as her hand slices open. For a second you think you can see her pulse.

'Where's your bathroom?' she asks remarkably calmly.

'Er- yeah, left, past the kitchen,' says Steve, remarkably less calmly.

You go with her to the bathroom, holding her hand above your head to slow the bloodflow.

'Why did we come here?' she sounds drained.

'We were supposed to be guardian angels remember,' you laugh bitterly, 'but if I'm being totally honest, I'd rather be hanging out in here with you than out there.'

You hear screaming, laughing, and splashing outside.

'At least you could do that stupid thing with the can,' Barb groaned, 'I'm never gonna fit in am I?'

'So what? Do you want to know why I know how to do that?' She nods, you pause before continuing, 'My stupid dad, he really thought I could make it big in music. Or make it at all actually. Anyway, he was in this band, and I guess he wanted me to grow up to be like him. He had all his mates round and they were drinking. It got loud and stupid, but they taught me to do it with a Coke can. I think it's probably cooler that you made your first shotgun attempt at a high school party than as a ten year old in your dad's living room.'

Barb smiles slightly, 'how about we go back to yours, you can teach me with a can of Coke. Then I'll be ready for college.'

You cross past Nancy as you leave. She doesn't even turn from the stairs as you are leaving.

'Nancy?'

'I'm going to change, I uh - fell in the pool,' she said sheepishly, 'Why don't you go ahead and go home, you didn't want to come anyway.'

The anger swells up in you then, you ditched your brother for this, you ditched helping two missing kids for this. You try to swallow it down, but there is a chaser of jealousy in there too. How come you have to be responsible, whilst Nancy gets to try all this without you, without feeling all the anger towards these people.

'Whatever Nance, just be safe. When you come crawling back to us I want the damage I have to help you to repair to be minimal.'

You and Barb head outside, she doesn't speak for a while, simply takes off her shoes and socks and dangles her feet into the water. You lay on your back and wash your hands back and forth, watching the tiny waves crash and disappear against the pool's edge.

'She didn't even ask about your hand - I'm sorry its kinda my fault we all had to shotgun.'

Blood drips from Barb's hand into the water, it diffuses and dances. The night air is cool against your face by the water.

'It's fine, at least I got my typical high school experience right? Someone has to be the nerd.'

You smile, 'to being nerds.'

Just as the weight is leaving your chest, is when you sink straight back down into the darkness. It appears those two universises of parties and monsters have collided.