Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers

chapter two , This Is Only The Beginning

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Gus was someone who couldn't let things go. Someone tripped her once. A few weeks later, she hit them with her bike. Like, she lifted the bike above her head and threw it at someone's back. Some bullies made fun of the kids. She smashed one of the bullies faces into ice cream. She would've gotten the other kids too if one of their cornea's weren't injured from the sprinkles. How was she supposed to know sprinkles would temporarily damaged a kids eye?

"A big fish?! Can you believe that?!"

The boys all exchange a look and sigh. They shift their gaze toward the fuming brunette.

"Wasn't he just saying that you're like, 'the jackpot' or--"

"Then he should've said I was the jackpot!" Gus exclaims.

"Jeez, Guster, for someone who hates talking, you sure do know how to flap your gums," Dustin speaks.

Gus growls and she folds her arms over her chest. The short-haired girl pulls her brows together.

"Guys...do I look like a fish?"

"He wasn't comparing you to a fish!" The boy's chorus.

"It seemed like he was comparing me to a fish!" Gus snaps.

"Gus, why are you hanging down here with us?" Will asks. "I mean, Nancy and Fallon are upstairs."

Gus rolls her eyes, "I know, but Nancy's talking on the phone with Barb--"

"Probably about Steve," Lucas speaks. The boys nod in agreement and Gus' pointer finger and thumb start to twitch, a pain shooting into her right arm.

"And Fallon is helping Mr. Wheeler fix the TV and that piece of shit isn't going to get fixed anytime soon."

"That's because you broke it!" Mike deadpans at the teenager.

Gus waves her hand in a dismissive manner. "It wouldn't stop cutting in and out. I got angry!"

"You always get angry." The kid's chorus.

Gus' mouth hangs open. She grabs at her chest in a dramatic manner. "D-Do you all feel this way?"

"Here we go..." Lucas rolls his eyes.

Mike and Lucas look back at the game, annoyed by the girl's antics. While Will and Dustin watch the brunette with a smile. Gus collapses to the floor of the basement.

"Why would you guys say something like that? I thought we were friends?!" Gus pretends to cry.

Lucas and Mike exchange an expression that was filled with frustration. But they both ended up smiling.

"You're a terrible actress." Mike voices.

"And you're a little shit." Gus spits out the remark.

Quiet 'ooohs' are heard through the basement. Lucas shushes all of them and the group quiets down. Gus begins to chew on a Twizzler as she looks at the table.

"Something's coming..." Mike speaks in an eery tone. "...something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here."

"You have to teach me how to narrate like that." Gus chuckles softly.

"What is it?" Will asks.

"What if it's the Demogorgon?" Dustin questions. "Awh, Jesus. We're so screwed if it's the Demogorgon--"

"It's not the Demogorgon!" Lucas exclaims.

"You always say it's not the Demogorgon." The brunette rolls her head to the side and looks at Lucas. "Then it ends up being the Demogorgon."

"An Army of Troglodytes charge into the chamber!" Mike slams down a piece onto the board.

"Troglodytes?" Dustin exhales a breath.

Lucas smiles, "Told ya."

Everyone begins to laugh.

"Wait a minute...did you hear that?" Mike inquires.

Gus looks at the kid and her eyes widen seeing the mischievous smirk.

"That...that sound. Boom...boom...Boom!" Mike slams his hands on the table. "That didn't come from the Troglodytes, no that came from something else."

Mike slams down another piece. "The Demogorgon!"

Gus throws her arms in the air, "Dammit!"

"We're in deep shit!" Dustin pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Will, your action!" Mike turns to his friend.

"I don't know!--"

"Fireball him!" Lucas speaks.

"I'd have to roll a 13 or higher!" Will states.

"Too risky. Cast a protection spell." Dustin advises.

"Don't be a pussy. Fireball him!--"

"Cast protection." Dustin retorts.

Mike slams his hands on the tab;e, grabbing everyone's attention. "The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering! It stomps towards you. Boom!--"

"Fireball him!" Lucas exclaims.

"Another stomp--Boom!"

"Cast Protection!" Dustin shouts.

"He roars in anger!" Mike shouts.

Will looks at the brunette, wanting an answer from her. "Gus?"

Gus presses her lips into a comforting smile. "Fireball...?" she bunches her shoulders. "In the end, it all depends on what you want--"

"Fireball!" Will tosses the die.

"Oh, all righty then." Gus nods.

The die rolls off the table and everyone starts to panic.

"Shit!" Gus exclaims.

Everyone gets out of their seats and scurries around the basement, looking for the die. Dustin begins to panic with his hands against his temples.

"Mike!"

Gus looks down at her watch and her eyes widen, "Shitsticks!"

The brunette gets up and starts up the stairs.

"See ya, squirts." She waves at them.

"Wait, but we didn't find the dice!" Dustin turns toward the brunette.

Gus stops in the middle of the stairs and looks at the kid's desperate expressions. The brunette blinks, "Did you really think those puppy dog eyes were going to work on me?" she deadpans. "You guys have known me long enough to understand that when I say I'm leaving--I'm leaving now."

"You are the worst!" Lucas shouts as Guns continues up the stairs.

"So, I've been told," Gus calls out with a content smile.

The brunette makes it out of the basement. She turns her head to her friend helping Mr. Wheeler with the TV.

"That's wrong." Fallon shakes her head.

Ted frowns, "I don't think so."

"Look it." Fallon points at the instructions on the paper.

Ted looks across the words and Fallon rolls her eyes. "Hold this." she hands it to the man.

Ted grabs the paper and looks across it. Fallon grabs the antennas and starts to adjust them. "I can fix my own T.V. Thank you, Fallon."

Fallon smirks, knowing she was getting in Ted's nerves. "With all due respect, Ted. You were getting nowhere. And I couldn't just stand by any longer."

"Hey, Fal."

Fallon stops moving the antennas and looks at the brunette. She slightly opens her mouth and nods her head. Fallon turns to Mr. Wheeler. "I've gotta get going, Ted."

"But...the TV isn't working..."

Fallon shrugs, "I'm not the one who broke it."

Ted then looks at Gus and the brunette's mouth hangs open and she holds her hands up. "What?--It was already flashing before I hit it!"

Ted grumbles and looks back at the TV. Gus lets out a breath as Fallon runs up the stairs. The short-haired girl turns to Karen. "Thanks for having me over, Mrs. Wheeler."

"Thanks for watching the boys, Gus." Karen smiles softly. "You didn't have to watch them that entire time, y'know?"

Karen hands Gus 20 buck. The brunette smiles softly, "It was no problem."

"Call me if you need anything else!" Gus waves.

The brunette makes her way up the stairs and approaches Nancy's room.

"So...what's going on with you and Steve?"

Gus stops in her tracks before she could make it to Nancy's door. Nancy lets out a nervous chuckle and shakes her head, "Nothing..." she looks at her teddy bear.

Fallon's mouth hangs open, "No way!" she grabs Nancy's arms and lightly shakes her. "Come on, you have to tell me before Gus gets here!"

Nancy raises her brows, "Does Gus still have a thing for Steve?"

Fallon rolls her eyes, "Gus hates Steve now. She is currently stuck on the fact, he called her a big fish last week."

Gus' face heats up. I haven't been talking about it that much...have I?

Nancy pulls her brows together and Fallon waves a dismissive hand.

"Yeah, he meant it in a jackpot way, but Gus didn't get it," Fallon says.

Gus folds her arms and looks away from the door. As much as Gus didn't like that Fallon and Nancy were talking about her. She appreciated Fallon lying to Nancy about her still not liking Steve. If Nancy found out, it would be even more awkward between them.

Fallon raises her brows, "But...something is happening, right? With you and Steve?"

A timid smile forms on Nancy's lips, thinking about the boy.

"M-Maybe...?" Nancy bites her lower lip.

A large smile forms on Fallon's lips and Gus feels a pain in her chest.

"Nancy Wheeler, are you going to leave me out of the loop?" Fallon pulls her face back.

Nancy looks away from the girl. The coil-haired girl arches a brow. Her eyes shift to the phone on the nightstand. Fallon grabs the phone and places it against her ear. "Hey, Barb."

Nancy's eyes blow wide, "Fallon, don't!"

"So...what's going on between our girl and King Steve?" Fallon presses her hand against Nancy's shoulder to keep her away from the phone.

A laugh comes from Barb. "What isn't going on between them?"

"They totally made out in the school bathroom."

"The school bathroom?!" Fallon gasps. "Scandalous."

Nancy's face was now a deep red. Fallon bites her lower lip and smiles. She hands the phone back to the brunette.

"Don't worry, Lady Wheeler." Fallon leans forward, close to Nancy's ear. "Your secret's safe with me."

Nancy quietly laughs, "Thank you." she wraps her arms around Fallon's shoulders.

Fallon's jaw goes slack. She quickly recovers and hugs Nancy back.

Gus couldn't help but feel jealous. That interaction between Nancy and Fallon sounded fun. More fun than Gus and Fallon ever had. The brunette inhales and walks into the room.

"Hey, Nancy. We're about to head out." Gus says, stuffing her hands into her blue and red puff jacket.

"I haven't seen you all day," Nancy says as she stands up and walks over to her.

Gus sends her a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah--no...I've been watching the D&D campaign."

Nancy nods her head, she remembers helping her brother and his friends with the campaign, but she was in high school now and so was Gus. There was a time when they had to grow up.

"That's...interesting." Nancy forces out a chuckle.

Gus arches a brow, understanding where Nancy was getting at. "Yeah, but--I'm sure talking on the phone tops that, huh?" she scratches the inside of her ear and chuckles.

A tense silence fills the room. Fallon grabs the phone once again and presses it against her ear. "Did you hear that?" she whispers with a wince.

"I really wish I didn't..." Barb says with a whine.

Fallon looks between the two brunettes. The only reason Gus and Nancy still have conversations with one another is that they were friends with Fallon. And without her there, they would have nothing to talk about. Fallon clears her throat, catching the two girl's attention.

"Why are you still on the phone?" Barb speaks. "Break this up."

Fallon raises her brows, "Okay!" she stands up. "I should get Gus home before the Chief of Police has my head.

Fallon makes a motion with her thumb against her neck. Gus rolls her eyes and Nancy chuckles.

"Okay, I'll see you two tomorrow."

Nancy walks over to the bed and Fallon hands the brunette the phone. Gus walks out of the room and it's like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She exhales a dramatized breath.

Fallon elbows her, "Stop being dramatic."

Gus smirks and bumps her hip against Fallon's. Dustin comes running up the stairs, trying to shoot his shot with Nancy once again. Gus pushes the bill of his hat down, so he couldn't see. Dustin groans and smacks Gus' hand away and she quietly snickers.

"Do you think all the boys are in love with Nancy?" Fallon inquires. "Except for Mike, of course."

Gus scrunched her face, "I mean...not Will."

"Why not Will?" Fallon asks.

Gus and Fallon look at each other. The coil-haired girl raises her brows and frowns. "Nevermind--I know."

Fallon loops her arm through Gus', "Also, FYI--Lucas and Dustin are totally crushing on you."

Gus pulls her brows together and sputters her lips. "Shut up."

"I'm serious!" Fallon lightly shakes her.

"We we're just talking about them liking Nancy." Gus rolls her eyes.

Fallon shrugs, "People can like more than one person."

They make it out of the house and get to the car, to see the kids getting on their bikes. Dustin comes out a few moments later, "There's something wrong with your sister."

"What are you talking about?" Mike asks.

"She's got a stick up her butt." Dustin states.

Gus laughs softly and Fallon elbows her once again.

"Gus, you're never gonna have a stick up your butt, right?" Dustin looks at the brunette.

Gus smiles and taps the top of Dustin's head. "Nah, I'm all good on sticks, Henderson."

"You better be..." Lucas huffs. "...we need you in our campaigns."

Gus tilts her head, "So...what you're saying is--"

"Yes, you're acting fits for our campaigns." Lucas nods.

The brunette rolls her lips into her mouth, trying to repress her smile.

"But you do know why Nancy has a stick up her butt now, right?" Lucas raises his brows. "It's because she's been dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington."

Gus' smile drops and she clears her throat. She walks over to the passenger side of Fallon's car and gets in. Fallon groans and she smacks Lucas on the head.

"Ow! What did I do?" Lucas rubs his head.

Everyone looks in the car and sees the brunette tangling her hands into her hair and tugging at it. They all knew from that tic, that she was angry.

"Oh, shit! I forgot she was in love with him." Lucas slumps his shoulders.

"She could do so much better." Dustin shakes his head, his starry gaze on the frustrated brunette.

"Yeah." Lucas and Fallon agree.

The kids all look at the caramel-brown-skinned girl and her back straightens. Fallon clears her throat and she tucks a long strand of her curly hair behind her ear.

"How about you boys try being in love with someone who is actually in your grade, huh?" Fallon rolls her eyes.

"Shouldn't you be giving Gus advice about love?" Mike asks.

Fallon looks at Mike with a crease between her brows.

"Yeah, I mean...Steve is a taken man--tell her to get over it." Lucas says.

"That's harsh." Fallon retorts. "But believe me I. Have. Tried."

"We should try an intervention," Dustin says.

Everyone looks at him and he shrugs. "It could work!"

Gus gets out of the car, "Fallon. Hopper is gonna kill me." she huffs. "Then he's gonna kill you."

"Nope, not me." Fallon places her arms against her hips. "Not unless he wants to be arrested for a hate crime."

"Fallon..."

Fallon looks at Lucas, who was giving her a deadpanned expression.

"This is Indiana."

Fallon runs her tongue over her teeth. "Yeah, I know..." she slumps her shoulders. "...my parents are unbelievable...moving here."

Fallon gets into the car. Gus waves at the boys with a soft expression and she gets back into the car as well.

☆

"Here you are, Little One."

A crate is set in front of the girl. Her eyes shift to the white-haired man. "I...I don't understand?--"

He kicks the crate onto its side. The girl's eyes widen from the snake slithering out.

"W-Wait--"

"Kill it."

"I can't--I'm not ready." she scoots away from the snake until her back hits the wall.

"Please, get it away from me," The girl begs.

"I can't do that, Five."

She tangles a hand in her knotted hair. "Leave me alone."

"This is one step closer to you becoming stronger, Five."

The hissing grows louder than before. The brunette looks at the snake that was closer to her and tears brim her eyes.

"GET AWAY!"

The snake snaps over to her and its fangs dig into her ankle. A scream escapes her lips. The darkroom begins to shake and the man looks around, noticing the walls begin to crack. His eyes shift to the snake that was limp on the ground, dead. He crouches in front of the snake and touches it. The snake's bones were completely turned into dust.

"Incredible." He chuckles and looks at the teary-eyed child. "I'm sorry, little one." he gently touches her ankle.

"I just had to see what you were capable of." He lightly touches her arm. "You forgive me, right?"

The little girl sniffles and nods her head. "I forgive you, Papa."

Gus felt like she was yanked into freezing water and she couldn't breathe. She tried to scream, but everything was muffled. Then unfamiliar flashes went through her mind. It felt like memories that weren't hers. But why were they from her point of view?

The brunette has always had weird dreams. But this one was different for her. It made her sick to her stomach and made her legs go numb. Gus looks at the bags under her eyes and lightly pokes at them. A groan of disgust leaves her lips. Gus slips on pair of whitewashed denim jeans. She puts on a black turtle neck, then puts a dark green crew neck over it. She slips her black fingerless winter gloves on. The teenager grabs her navy blue corduroy jacket and slips her checkered vans on.

After getting dressed, Gus runs down the stairs and hops to the floor.

Gus stares at the man sleeping on the couch. "Gross..." she groans. She approaches the man and lightly kicks his arm that was hanging off the couch.

Hopper jolts awake and opens his eyes. "What?"

"Look at your watch," Gus says, chewing on a Twizzler.

Hopper looks at his watch and curses at how late it is.

"Fallon's giving me a ride," Gus informs the man while she walks away. She stops at the front door. "And just so you know, if the principal calls you..." she points at him. "...I was sick."

Gus leaves the house without another interaction with Hopper, who quickly went back to sleep.

Gus and Fallon were on their way to school when the brunette noticed Fallon was tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. Gus purses her lips and looks over at her friend, who obviously had something on her mind.

"Hey, you all right?"

Fallon glances at the brunette and lets out a small laugh. "Yeah, I'm good. Why do you ask?"

Gus moves her head from side to side. "Uh--I mean...I don't know. It's just you've got that thing going on..."

"Thing? What thing?"

"You know the..." Gus starts to tap her fingers against the dashboard. "...thing."

Fallon chuckles, "I mean...I'm just excited to go to school with you."

Gus smiles softly and slowly nods her head. "Riiight..." she rolls her head to the side and looks out the window.

Fallon presses her lips together and scrunches her brows together.

"I told my mom that you came back from your suspension," Fallon speaks.

Gus looks over at Fallon and pulls her brows together. "Oh?"

"Yeah...she had some things to say."

"Still hates me?" Gus asks.

"Hate? Hate is such a strong word, Guster." Fallon lets out a forced laugh.

Gus continues to stare at her friend and Fallon's laughter dies down.

"Yeah, yeah she hates you."

Gus raises her brows and nods. "Good to know information, I was already informed about."

Fallon rolls her lips into her mouth. "She's just protective, y'know?"

"She used to be protective of me too." Gus sinks into her seat. She grabs one of the pieces of licorice from her bag and chews on it.

Fallon's mom considered Gus a child of her own at some point. When Gus was in Cynthia's opinion 'worthy' of being protective over. But over the course of the years, as Gus became more familiar with the law; Cynthia grew weary of the brunette being around her daughter. She wanted Fallon to be the best of the best. And Cynthia thinks Gus isn't the best.

"I think it's just because of how you act."

Gus blinks and looks at Fallon.

Once they got to school, Fallon and Gus walk down the hallway.

"Okay, what's wrong with the way I act?" Gus inquires.

Fallon blows air out of her mouth. "Uh--nothing, it's just..."

The duo stops walking and Fallon begins to open her locker.

"...you say you hate people, when--hello? We're talking right now! And then you talk to Nancy--"

"Barely..." Gus mumbles as she folds her arms.

Fallon deadpans, "Nancy's cool."

Gus presses her shoulder against the lockers and sighs. "I know she is, it's just--we have nothing in common anymore. I mean, we never did but we were friends. And now she's with Harrington, so..." she then shrugs her shoulders. "...there goes my chance at being her friend."

Fallon looks from her locker to her friend. "A boy shouldn't come between girls."

"Why do you want me and her to work, anyway?" Gus asks.

Fallon presses her lips together and raises her shoulders. "One step closer to world peace...?"

Gus snorts, "More like one more step into Nancy's pants." she then starts to laugh.

Fallon's jaw goes slack, and out of shock, she drops her things on the ground. She snaps her eyes over to Gus. "Wh-what?"

Gus stops laughing at her joke and looks at her friend, who looked shaken. "Fallon, I was only kidding."

Fallon swallows the lump in her throat and forces out a chuckle. "O-Obviously. I knew that, sorry--didn't get much sleep last night."

Gus slowly nods her hard, "Right...okay."

Gus crouches down and helps Fallon pick up her books. Before Gus could ask anything else, Fallon speaks again.

"What do you have going on tonight?"

Gus huffs and leans her head against the lockers. "I don't know...maybe T.P. the principal's place?"

"Why get into trouble?" Fallon asks.

Gus lifts her head off the locker. "What do you mean?"

"Well, ever since you moved in with Hopper after..." Fallon stops talking and hesitantly looks at her friend.

Gus' chest tightens, but she presses her lips into a soft smile. "It's okay, Fal. I'm not going to burst into tears at the mention of my dad."

The brunette didn't remember her mom. But Gus' dad always told the girl that her mother died when she was 2 in a car crash. She does remember her dad being distant. At one point, he left for the Military and died in battle. She was thrown into the nearest Orphanage after that until Hopper took her in. She never knew why Hopper would put himself through that much stress. Everything about Gus' past was spotty. She didn't remember anything before her father died.

Sadly, she remembers all the grief she had, when she heard her dad died. And she remembers when Steve Harrington treated her like she was nothing to him. She wished her memories of him were spotty. But they were so clear. She hated it.

Fallon gives her a small smile. "I just think that...you could put your energy into something other than getting arrested."

Gus bites her lip and nods her head. "Mmhmm, Mmhmm--I hear you, I do. But, what if I..." she moves her head from side to side, pretending to think really hard.

"...don't want to?" Gus bunches her shoulders. Fallon rolls her eyes, closes her locker, and they continue down the hall.

"How about a sport--"

"Teamwork? No, thank you."

Fallon nods her head, "Math club--"

"No."

"But you love math." Fallon rolls her head to the side and looks at Gus.

"So?"

Fallon exhales, "AV club? I mean, you were in it when you were younger."

Gus shakes her head, "I don't want to stay after school for anything. I have a job, I get money, and...that's all I need." she shrugs her shoulders.

Fallon wanted to keep pressing Gus, but the girl has been friends with Gus long enough to know that she wasn't going to budge.

So, Fallon nods her head, "All righty then."

☆

Fallon pulls her pencil from between her teeth as the students disperse into their pairs for the presentations. She looks around and spots Nancy. The curly-haired girl waves at the brunette and Nancy waves back. Fallon's eyes land on Gus and she groans as she sees the brunette sleeping. Again.

Steve walks over to the sleeping brunette. Gus had her head tucked into her arms. Steve sits next to the girl and huffs.

"Castillo."

Gus continues to lightly snore. Steve bites his lower lip. "Gus..." he pokes the brunette in her side. Gus groans and she stirs but still keeps her head down. Steve continues to poke her, his pokes begin to move up and to the back of her neck.

Nothing.

Steve smirks mischievously, a thought popping into his head. He sticks his finger in his mouth and Fallon's eyes widen.

"No!"

Steve looks at the coil-haired girl and notices her shaking her head furiously. Steve shrugs his shoulders, brushing Fallon off. He sticks his pinky into the brunette's ear. A gasp leaves her lips, she jolts awake and spins her head over to the boy.

Steve holds his hands up in a surrendering manner. She squints her eyes, looks around the class, and notices everyone in their groups.

"Crap..." Gus mumbles. She covers her face with her hands and drags them down.

"So...you ready to get this A?" Steve lightly punches her arm.

Gus looks at him and sighs, "Oh--yeah, sure."

The brunette wipes at her ear and groans. "D-Did you fucking..." she looks at Steve with disgust.

Steve shrugs a shoulder, "That used to always wake you up."

"Please don't do that ever again." Gus slumps her shoulders.

"Noted."

The brunette opens her notebook and begins to jot down facts. "So, did you finish what I asked you to do last week?" Gus questions. She doesn't receive an answer and turns to him.

"Steve..." She stops talking and sees Steve staring at Nancy.

Gus' right eye twitches. "Harrington." she hisses. He turns to her.

"Wha--huh? I-I'm here." Steve presses his knuckles into his cheek.

Gus rolls her eyes, "Riiight..." she looks back at her notebook.

Steve pulls his brows together and chuckles nervously. "I'm sorry, did I do something?"

Gus looks at him. She wanted nothing more than to tell him off. But what's the point in bringing up something that happened years ago?

Gus inhales and shakes her head, "No...I'm just tired." she continues to write the points down.

"Our presentation is soon, so..." Gus rips the paper out of the notebook and hands it to Steve. "...this is basically what you need to say."

"What about you?" Steve asks.

"I did the work now you do the presentation." Gus shrugs.

Steve's jaw goes slack, "Wait--me present all by myself? Gus, I can't do that--"

"Relax."

He stops stammering and looks at the brunette. "I'm going to write my points tonight." she then nudges his arm. "Not gonna leave you to do all the work, Harrington."

Steve exhales a sharp breath and Gus smiles softly.

"It was pretty funny though..." Gus starts. Steve looks at her.

"You panicking." Gus quietly chuckles and her chuckles grow into soft laughter.

Steve pulls his brows together and a small smile forms on his lips. "I'm so glad that you're enjoying my fear of public speaking."

Gus shrugs, "Just...pretend that everyone's in their underwear."

Steve pulls his brows together, "Does that really work?"

"Test it out, Superman." Gus motions her head over to the student next to them.

Steve follows Gus' motion and his eyes land on Nancy Wheeler. He squints his eyes.

"Gross, Steve!" Gus exclaims. "Are you seriously pretending that she's naked right now?!"

Steve jumps and turns to Gus with wide eyes. The brunette bites her lower lip and raises her shoulders. She then snorts softly. "The underwear thing only works for public speaking, dweeb."

Steve exhales a laugh and he lightly kicks Gus' ankle. The brunette looks at him and kicks him back. They both start to laugh. Gus watches Steve mouth the words on the paper, trying to memorize them, and a gentle smile forms on her lips.

There was a time in Gus' life when considered Steve one of the most important people she had met. They were best friends. Now, what were they? Acquaintances? Strangers?

The bell rings and Gus notices she's been staring at Steve for far too long. She pinches her arm and winces from the pain. But she snaps out of Steve's trance and grabs her things. The brunette clears her throat and Steve looks at her.

Gus stands up and Steve follows her lead. Steve pulls his brows together. Have her eyes always been that empty?

Gus pulls her brows together, noticing Steve stare at her. "What, do I have something on my face?"

Steve blinks, "Uh--no, just...thinking."

"Okay, well, you memorize those lines, and you'll get a passing grade."

Steve lets out a chuckle, "Cool."

Gus presses her lips into a firm line. "Yeah, anyway..."

"...bye." she walks past him.

Steve spins around to watch the girl walk away. "Uh--th-thank you!"

Gus ignores him and continues walking. She looks down at her watch and cursed. The brunette starts to sprint down the hall.

"Gus, wait!" Fallon shouts after her friend.

"I'm gonna be late!"

Fallon slumps her shoulders, she throws her head back and groans. She remembers where Gus was going and the girl was not going to waste her time on that.

Why would Fallon want to run to the other school building?

Fallon shifts her eyes down to her navy blue heels. "Yeah, I'm not running in these."

Gus darts down the hall and pivots around the corner. She makes it out of the school and sprints to the Middle School Building. Gus kicks open the school doors.

"Excuse you!"

Gus runs past the teacher, "I'm sorry!"

The teacher rolls their eyes, "Of course it's her,"

"It always is!" Gus shouts back at the teacher. The brunette's vans slide against the slippery floors and she runs down another corridor. She quickly opens another door, catching everyone's attention.

Gus inhales a deep breath, "Is that it?"

Gus sees the smiles on the boy's faces, she then looks at Mr. Clarke and he nods his head.

"Sweet!" Gus drops her bag and walks over to the table.

"Did you run all the way here?" Lucas asks.

Gus shrugs, "It's no biggie."

"Uh--that is a huge biggie, Gus!" Dustin exclaims.

"I like running." Gus snorts.

"Have you ever considered joining track?" Mr. Clarke inquires.

Gus turns to her former teacher and laughs softly. "Oh, I don't know about that...I'm not really someone who's good with groups."

She then moves her head from side to side. "Especially if those groups think I'm a freak and want nothing to do with me."

Even though Gus laughed immediately after stating that, everyone in that room knew she was hurt.

"Hey, Gus..."

The brunette turns to the boys. Mike holds out the microphone towards her. "...you wanna try?"

Gus smiles softly. Even though Mike and Gus argued like they hated each other, they both cared when the other was hurting. This time Mike saw that Gus was hurting and he wanted her to feel better.

"Mike with the mic." Gus grabs the headphones and puts them on. She then ruffles Mike's hair.

Mike groans and smacks her hand away. "See, this is why I'm never nice to you!" he then tries to flatten his hair back down.

Gus snorts and presses the button on the microphone. She inhales a breath and closes her eyes.

"Uh, Gus? What are you--"

The brunette opens her mouth and burps into the mic.

"Oh, gross!"

"Are you serious, right now?!" Mike grabs the microphone from Gus.

Everyone continues to reprimand the girl, but the short-haired teen was laughing until tears were in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it!" Gus holds her hands up.

"I honestly thought it would be worse."

Everyone looks at Mr. Clarke.

"What do you mean?"

Mr. Clarke inhales a breath and sighs, "There's a reason everyone called Gus, 'The Tooter'."

Gus' mouth hangs open and her face heats up.

"Gus farts?!"

"I do not!" Gus shoves Lucas, wanting him to stop laughing. "Only on Full Moons!"

"Then there must have been Full Moons every day in my cla--"

"Mr. Clarke!"

"Hey, hey. I'm just joshing ya." Mr. Clarke ruffles the brunette hair and she groans.

"Now, you know how I feel." Mike nudges her.

A knock is heard at the door and everyone turns their head.

"Sorry to interrupt, but, uh, may I borrow Michael, Lucas, and Dustin?"

Gus makes eye contact with the Chief of Police. "Shit..." she mumbles, turning away from her guardian.

Hopper squints his eyes, "Gus?"

Gus continues to look at the wall, pretending not to hear him. Her finger was tapping her chin and she was concentrated on the wall. "Oh, yeah...I really like the beige paint on this wall, Mr. Clarke very...beige. You've got to tell me the name of the painter--"

"Gus!"

The brunette closes her eyes and hesitantly turns to the man. A shocked expression spreads across her face. "Oh, hey, Hopper!" she scratches the back of her head. "I-I didn't see you there."

Hopper deadpans, "Suuure."

He motions his finger, so Gus could walk over to him. "You can join us too. I've got some questions."

"About what?" Gus asks.

"Will."

☆

Hopper massages his temple as the three kids continue to talk over each other. "Okay, okay, okay. One at a time, all right?" he looks at the brunette, staring off into the distance. He looks back at the boys and points at Mike.

"You. You said Will takes what?"

"Mirkwood."

"Mirkwood?"

Hopper turns to Callahan, "Have you ever head of a Mirkwood?"

"I have not. That sounds made up to me." Callahan says.

"No, it's from Lord of The Rings." Lucas states.

"Well, The Hobbit," Dustin claims.

"It doesn't matter." Lucas turns toward his friend.

"He asked!"

"He asked!" Lucas mocks in a nasal tone.

"Shut up, guys!" Mike snaps.

The three boys continue to argue once again.

Gus inhales a breath, and her right hand starts to twitch once again. A small pain forms in her head and she closes her eyes as a low ringing grows in her ears. She starts to bounce her leg and her breathing quietly quickens. The brunette felt like she was drowning and she couldn't breathe.

Gus has been having terrible nightmares lately, so maybe this was one of them. Her mind was trying to trick her into thinking that this was real. She opens her eyes and looks at her fingers.

"Ten fingers..." Gus whispers to herself.

"Gus!"

The brunette snaps her head over to the Chief of Police. "You with me?"

Gus pulls her brows together, she looks to the side and sees the kids staring at her too. There were only three of them. Will wasn't there.

This is really happening.

"Mirkwood..." Gus starts. She presses her thumb between her brows, trying to get rid of her migraine forming. "It's a real road. It's just the name that's made up."

Hopper nods his head, glad that Gus is back to reality now.

"It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet." Gus wipes under her eye.

"Yeah, all right, I think I know that--"

"We can show you if you want," Mike says.

"I said that I know it!" Hopper speaks.

"We can help look," Mike states.

"Yeah."

"No." Hopper immediately shuts down the idea.

The kids all try to speak again, but Hopper just grows more irritated. "No. After school, you are all to go home. Immediately."

"That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no-nonsense," Hopper says. "This isn't some Lord of the Rings book."

"The Hobbit."

Everyone looks at Dustin with a deadpanned expression.

"Shut up!" Lucas smacks Dustin on the leg.

Dustin hits Lucas back, they continue to smack each other, and Mike tries to break it up.

Hopper looks at the brunette, wondering how she could even handle them?

"Do I make myself clear?"

Gus looks at Hopper, recognizing that low tone. The kids quiet down as Hopper stands up and walks over to them.

"Do I make myself...clear?" Hopper repeats.

Simultaneously, Gus and the boys all sink deeper into the couch.

"Say yes, say yes, say yes..." Gus whispers harshly.

"Yes, sir."

Hopper nods his head, "Get out of here."

The three kids stand up and run out of the room. Gus stands up and walks out of the office with Hopper and Callahan. Gus follows them out of the school and down the stairs.

"So, do you guys really think Will's missing?" she asks.

"Well, he's not around so..." Callahan shrugs.

Gus looks at her shoes and stops in her tracks.

Hopper looks at Callahan, "Are you fucking kidding me--what's wrong with you?" he hits Callahan on the arm.

"I-I'm sorry, I was trying to make the situation lighter," Callahan whispers. "Uh...I-I'm sorry, Gus."

Hopper walks back over to the brunette and she looks at him. "We're looking for him, Gus." he tries to reassure her. "Just...just stay here." he starts toward his truck.

Gus raises her brows, "What? I'm not staying here, okay? I can help."

Hopper stops at his truck and looks at Callahan. "Give me a sec, okay?"

Callahan presses his lips together and gets into the passenger seat. Hopper sighs, "How?"

"What?"

"How can you help?" Hopper looks at Gus. "Do you have any special tracking skills that you forgot to mention?"

Gus slightly opens her mouth, "Well--no. But, I want to help." she says. "There has to be a way I can help, Hopper."

Hopper looks away for a second and sighs. Gus rolls her eyes.

"Look, I don't know what kind of games you and those kids play in that basement, but this is a missing person case. Not a board game."

Gus curls her fingers into fists. "I know that." her tone was firm. "And I'm not like Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, all right? I'm not a child."

Hopper lets out a huff, brushing the girl off and her anger rises.

Gus moved in with Hopper five years ago. And these two had so many walls up, that they barely speak to each other in the house. When they did speak, it was usually an argument or just a small greeting. Gus always thought that she was a burden and Hopper was forced to take her in. Hopper didn't say it, but Gus knew.

Hopper notices the crease between Gus' brows, signifying her anger. He inhales, "Don't go out tonight, okay? Not until we figure this out."

Gus looks down at her vans once again. "Right--as if you even care." she scoffs.

Hopper looks at her, "Hey." he speaks in a firm tone.

Gus looks up at him. "What?" she snaps back.

"Stay inside. I'm not asking." Hopper orders.

Gus inhales and holds her breath, hoping for her heartbeat and along with her anger to settle. "Yeah--okay." she exhales.

Hopper nods his head, "All right. Can Fallon give you a ride tonight?"

Gus chews on the inside of her cheek. "Yeah..."

"I'll see you later, then." Hopper rounds the car and gets into the driver's seat. Gus watches the truck pull out of the parking lot and she lightly tugs at her hair.

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author's note.

How are we feeling about the long chapters??? Don't forget to vote and comment <3

Words: 6,546