After giving Eleven time to say hi to everyone, the group was circled around the kitchen table trying to figure out how to stop the monster and save Will.

Hopper sighed, making the whole group turn to him and watch as he shook his head lowly. "It's not like it was before. It's grown. A lot. And, I mean, that's considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demo-dogs." Dustin blindly interrupted.

Slowly, every head turned to him. Kendall tilted hers and raised her eyebrows. Hopper on the other hand, glared at Dustin. "I'm sorry, what?" He asked, his voice laced with annoyance and soon-to-be anger.

Dustin realized now wasn't the best time to interrupt and nervously gulped, looking at everyone else circling the table with him instead of Hopper. "I said, uh, Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass..."

"How is this important right now?" Hopper asked, his voice louder than last time and even making Kendall nervous for Dustin.

Dustin searched the table for someone to save him before he quickly shook his head, deciding to just give in. "It's not. I'm sorry."

"I can do it." Eleven announced, looking up at Hopper beside her. The man's angry expression softened almost instantly as he shook his head at El. "You're not hearing me."

"I'm hearing you. I can do it." Eleven interrupted, her voice more harsh and loud than normal.

"Even if El can, there's still another problem. If the brain dies, the body dies." Mike blurts. Everyone turned to him, confused by his words. Nancy shook her head at her brother, her eyebrows furrowed. "I thought that was the whole point." She asked and Mike nodded. "It is, but if we're really right about this... I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayer's army..."

Kendall watched as her brother's eyes widened from beside Mike, turning to him as he finally caught onto what he was saying. "Will's a part of that army." He muttered and Kendall's heart sank.

"Closing the gate will kill him." Mike said barely above a whisper considering Jonathan was just a couple people away from him. Kendall turned to face Jonathan and frowned at the sight of his face paling and his chest rising up and down shakily.

She looked down, noticing his hand rested on the table, his middle and pointed fingers tapping the wood nervously. Kendall looked back up to Jonathan's eyes and rested her hand over his.

Jonathan jolted at the touch, Kendall's hand pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned his head to face her and felt himself calm just a little when his eyes met hers.

Kendall squeezed Jonathan's hand. A small way to tell him that she is here for him. She felt Jonathan readjust their hands so they were palm to palm. In a quick movement, their fingers were interlocked and Jonathan was squeezing her hand back.

"He likes it cold."

Kendall turned at the voice and saw Joyce standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Hopper took slow steps towards her, his eyebrows furrowed. "What?" The man asked, trying to get Joyce to look at him but she stared off in front of her.

"It's what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold." Joyce said before she turned around and started walking down the hallway.

Everyone was quick to follow her. When she walked into Wills room, she ran straight for his AC, turning it off. "We keep giving it what it wants. If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..."

"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable." Mike said, finally understanding what Joyce meant.

"So if he likes it cold..." Nancy asked, leaning against the doorway of Wills bedroom. Kendall turned her head and locked eyes with Nancy. "We need to burn it out of him."

"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time. Somewhere far away." Mike said and from the back of the group, Hoppers back straightened and his eyes widened, coming up with a place.

"I know a place." Hopper said, making everyone turn to him.

His eyes were still on Will and Jonathan took a step towards the man to get in his line of sight. "What?" Jonathan asked and Hopper finally turned to him.

"I said I know a place." Hopper said. His hand grasped Jonathan's as he nodded his head to Will. "Grab him. You two go." He said, to Jonathan and Joyce.

Jonathan turned to Kendall. He didn't say anything but there was a pleading look in his eyes. Kendall could tell he was asking her to come along and she nodded.

The two ran towards Will, Kendall wrapping him up in his blanket to keep him warm before Jonathan lifted him up. The group parted, opening the walkway for the Byers and Kendall to run out.

"Take Denfield, then you'll see a large oak tree. You're gonna swing a right. That road is gonna dead-end. And it's about a five-minute walk from there." Hopper explained as they all rushed towards Joyce's car.

Jonathan and Kendall took note of the directions in their heads and nodded. "Okay. Denfield to oak tree. Swing a right." Jonathan said as they reached the car. Kendall opened the door the back door for Jonathan as Hopper handed her a walker talkie.

Kendall looked down at the walkie talkie before she looked back up at Hopper. "Channel ten, right?" She asked and Hopper nodded, resting his hand on her shoulder and leaning down closer to her as Joyce and Jonathan jumped into the front seats.

"Yeah, ten. Listen... You let me know when that thing is out of him." Hopper said and Kendall immediately nodded. "On it." She said before she looked past Hopper and to the party standing on the porch. Kendall raised her hand and pointed at them.

"Hey! All of you be careful!" Kendall yelled and once they all nodded, Kendall climbed into the backseat of the car.

...

When the four got to the cabin, Jonathan laid Will on the coffee table and started to tie him down while Kendall and Joyce looked for anything that could heat up the room. Kendall found a small plug-in heater and placed it right beside Wills arms while Joyce turned on the fireplace a foot or so away from Will.

With the fire and the heart on, Kendall's as already starting to burn up. She pulled off her sweater and was grateful she had a black tank top underneath.

Kendall placed her sweater onto the couch behind her and Jonathan before she looked up at Joyce, who was on the other side of Will.

The woman looked back and forth between the two teens with a determined look in her face. "Let's kill the son of a bitch."

It didn't take long for Will to wake up. A loud gasp from the table where he laid made all three of them whip their heads to him. With wide, shay eyes, Will looked between the three. "What's happening?" He asked but no one answered, all of them watching as he tried to move around and get away from the heat.

"It hurts!" Will screamed. Jonathan flinched at his words and Will noticed. Kendall watched as Wills eyes darkened and he threw his head back. "It hurts! It hurts! Let me go! Let me go! It hurts!"

Kendall looked at Will with wide eyes before she turned to Joyce. The woman was already looking at her and they had the same thought in their heads. They both watched as he used Jonathan's love for Will as a way to get pity and possibly be freed

"It hurts! Let me go! Let me go! It hurts!" Will continued to scream, but Joyce ignored her son's cries, cranking up the heat on the small heater.

Jonathan looked at his mom with wide eyes, reaching his hand out to stop her. "Mom!" He yelled, but Joyce whacked his hand away.

"It's not working." Jonathan muttered, shaking his head at the sight of his brother sobbing. Tears started to fill his own eyes as he turned to his mom. "It's not working! Mom, are you listening to me?" Jonathan yelled but Joyce just shook her head, her eyes staying on Will.

"Just wait!" Joyce said and Jonathan looked back down at Will. "How much longer? Look... look at him! You're killing him!" Jonathan screamed and Kendall took a small step back, her own heart breaking hearing Will cry.

She's known Will for years. He was Marcus's life long friend. Seeing him like this made Kendall sick to her stomach. She couldn't even imagine how Joyce and Jonathan felt.

Suddenly, Jonathan jumped towards his brother and started to untie one of the restraints on Wills wrist.

Joyce was quick to grab Jonathan, trying to stop Jonathan from freeing Will. "No, leave it!"

"You're killing him!" Jonathan screamed, his voice breaking. Kendall looked down at Will and her eyes widened when she saw the veins on his neck turn back and slowly start to climb up to his face.

Kendall felt her heart in her throat as she grabbed Jonathan's shoulders and pulled him back. "Jonathan! His neck!" She yelled, pointing down at the thrashing boy.

Jonathan and Joyce both looked down at Will. At the sight of her son, Joyce's grip on Will loosened. Will practically roared, freeing his arm from the Joyce's hold and grabbed her neck. Joyce croaked, letting go of Will completely as he strangled her.

Jonathan and Kendall both try and pull Will's hand off of his mom's neck, but it was no use, the boy was too strong.

Kendall's eyes fell past Will, and to the fireplace just behind the Byers. Her eyes widened when she saw a fire poker beside and immediately ran towards it. Once she had a tight grip on the metal, Kendall stuck the end of it into the fire and watched as it started to heat up.

"Come on... Hurry up." Kendall muttered to the poker, watching as it slowly started to redden as it heated up. Her hands shook as she waited impatiently, looking back and forth between the fire poker and the Byers behind her.

Once the poker was a bright orange-red, Kendall pulled the poker out of the fire and brought it to Will's side, burning him, but not stabbing him.

Will screamed in pain, the noise leaving a ringing in Kendall's ears as he released Joyce from his grasp. His scream turn into shrieks and he started to shake. Jonathan grabbed his moms shoulder and pulled her off of Will. Kendall jumped the fire poker in shock as her stomach churned, not being able to tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her but completely queasy and the sight and the temperature of the room.

Suddenly, Will stopped shaking and he threw his head back as black smoke started to leave his mouth in a big cloud. The smoke twisted and turned around the boy like a tornado before flying out of the cabin, bursting through the door.

Kendall ran after the smoke, grabbing the walkie talkie that was sitting on the stool beside her as she did so. The cold Hawkins air hit her like a ton of bricks once she walked out of the house, the sweat across her body making her colder faster. She watched as the smoke got further and further from the cabin until it disappeared from sight.

Keeping her eyes on the last place she saw the smoke, Kendall brought the walkie talkie up to her mouth, moving a piece of hair that was sticking to the side of her face behind her ear. "Chief, are you there?"

Kendall let out a exhale as she waited for a response, the condensation from her breath making a small loud in front of her. "Hopper, do you copy?"

"Yeah, I copy."

Kendall swallowed to try and ease her dry mouth. She looked back inside the cabin and smiled at the sight of Joyce and Jonathan hugging a now awake and okay Will. She turned back in front of her, the cold now starting to feel a bit more relaxing after the heat in the cabin. "Close it."

Kendall didn't get a response from Hopper, but she didn't expect one from him either. As soon as she let him know to close the gate, Kendall stuffed the walkie talkie to her waistband and ran back inside. She saw Joyce and Jonathan holding Will just where she left them. Not wanting to intrude on their moment, Kendall swiveled on her heels and headed towards the kitchen.

She searched the dusty cupboards for a glass and once she found one, she filled it with some water and ice for Will. Kendall took slow steps back towards the fireplace where the family sat. The three Byers looked up at the sound of Kendall walking towards them and Will immediately gave the girl a weak smile.

Kendall returned the smile as she sat down on the couch in front of the makeshift bed they had made for Will. "Here you go, bud." She muttered as she handed Will the glass of water. Will shakily reached for the cup, his hand still shaking as he brought it to his lips. "Thanks, Kenny."

ONE MONTH LATER

Tonight was the party's Snow Ball dance. After helping Marcus tie his tie and getting caught in the many photos their grandma insisted on taking, Kendall drove him and Lucas to the dance.

Kendall signed up to be a high school chaperone with Jonathan and Nancy. While Kendall was in charge of checking students in, Nancy was handling punch and Jonathan took photos.

Kendall had already checked in Marcus, Lucas, Mike, and Max when Dustin arrived. She smiled at the boy, his hair gelled and styled. "Dustin! You're looking very snazzy tonight." Kendall complimented, giving him a small nod.

Dustin smiled bashfully at the compliment, nervously fidgeting with his fingers. "Why thank you, Kenny." He said, digging into his pocket and handing Kendall his ticket.

Kendall took the ticket and ripped it in half. As she handed Dustin one half, she looked into the gym and nodded in the direction of his friends. "The whole party is already inside. You're the last one to show." She said, turning back to Dustin.

"Okay." Dustin muttered under his breath, shaking his hands to control his nerves. He took a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing before he turned back to Kendall. "See ya." Dustin said with a small smile, bringing his hands up to give her finger guns and a wink. Kendall rolled her eyes at the boys action, a small smile on her face. "See ya." She responded as Dustin started to leave the table Kendall sat at.

Kendall watched as Dustin walked into the gym and towards his friend group. As they all start to laugh at his entrance, Kendall's eyes fell just past them to Jonathan. Just as he finished up taking a photo of a group. Jonathan looked up and locked eyes with Kendall.

His cheeks started to tinge pink as a smile grew on his face. Kendall's face slowly started to match Jonathans, a swarm of butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

After the gate to the Upside Down closed, Jonathan and Kendall had more time to figure out what they are. Or at least, what they wanted to be.

The two had a couple dates in the past month and every now and then, the two would share a few kisses when they were alone, but that was it. They had no titles.

Kendall had to be the one to break the eye contact between her and Jonathan when another student walked up to her table to hand her their ticket. She looked up to the kid and her eyes widened when she saw Eleven standing in front of her in a blue dress and beautifully done makeup.

Eleven nervously smiled at Kendall, not knowing how else to react to the Rogers girls wide eyes. When Kendall started to smile, Eleven's smile only relaxed and brightened. "El, you look beautiful." Kendall gushed, taking the ticket from El's hands. El blushed at the compliment, muttering a small "thank you" to Kendall before looking to the doors of the gym.

Kendall noticed the nervous look on the girls face as she scanned the sea of kids for Mike and the party. Not wanting to startle her, Kendall gently reached out to tap the girls wrist. Eleven's head whipped around to look at Kendall.

Kendall only smiled and pointed to where the party stood. She watched as Eleven relaxed and gave her one more smile of gratitude before walking completely into the gym just as Every Breath You Take by The Police started to play.

Feeling a small tap on her shoulder, Kendall turned her head and looked up at Mr. Clarke who stood beside her chair. The man smiled down at the girl and nodded his head, silently telling her to stand up. "You can go inside if you want, Kendall. All the high school volunteers are on break."

Kendall looked back into the gym and noticed both Nancy and Jonathan talking with the teachers in charge of the stations they worked at, most likely getting the same talk she was getting. Kendall looked back up at Mr. Clarke and smiled. "Thanks, Mr. C." She muttered with a big smile as she got out of her seat.

Mr. Clarke took Kendall's spot at the table, a small chuckle leaving his lips at the old nickname she had for him back when she was in middle school and his student. Kendall walked into the gym and immediately made a beeline to Jonathan, her steps coincidently following the beat of the song.

She made it to Jonathan just as Ms. Price, the photography teacher, left Jonathans side after telling him he could go on break. Jonathan smiled at Kendall, nervously shoving his hands in his pockets. "Hey." He muttered, unable to hide the smile growing on his face.

"Hi." Kendall replied, her voice equally soft.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Jonathan cleared his throat. "Do you... do you want to go outside?" He asked, his finger pointing to the back door of the gym that led to one of the parking lots. Kendall felt her cheeks grow sore from her smile, but she nodded. "Sure."

Jonathan's face lit up with a shy smile as he took her hand. The touch caught Kendall off guard, her heart beating even faster. He led her out of the gym, their hands entwined as they stepped into the cool night air.

The faint hums of the slow song drifted out through the open doors. Jonathan moved his hands from Kendall's hand to her hips, and she placed her hands on his shoulders, and they started to sway.

Kendall looked up at him with a confused smile. "Why couldn't you have just asked me to dance inside?" She asked, a small laugh leaving with her words.

Jonathan looked away from Kendall. Hesitating, he let out nervous chuckle. "I just wanted more privacy. Didn't want all of the kids around to make fun of me for dancing with my girlfriend."

Kendall's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the title, a big smile spreading across her face. "Girlfriend?" She repeated, her heart fluttering and her voice higher up in excitement.

Jonathan, not noticing his choice of words at first, nodded his head. "Yeah, I mean..." He suddenly froze once he realized what he said. His blush deepened as his eyes bounced back and forth between both of Kendalls. "Unless you don't want to be. That's oka—"

Jonathan's words were cut off by Kendall leaning in and kissing him. She felt him relax against her almost immediately and kiss back. She smiled into the kiss at the action and when she pulled away, her grin stayed wide.

"I would love to be your girlfriend." She muttered happily. Jonathan let out a small laugh, his relief clear as he stared at the girl in front of him. He couldn't tell if it was the sky or just how Kendall's eyes normally were, but they shined and it made his stomach flip when she looked at him.

Jonathan leaned in and kissed her again, this time with more confidence, both of them lost in the moment as the music played softly in the background.

—GUYSSSSS THE ENDING (i'm actually losing my shit)

WE ARE OFFICIALLY ONTO SEASON 3
i apologize in advance this is gonna be an insane season

I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY AND ILL SEE YOU ALL SOON🫶🫶🫶