Chapter Six: The Monster

chapter nine , Stay Gold, Ponyboy

a/n : the title 💔

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Gus was feeling nostalgic.

Getting all her memories back, made her realize how to appreciate the things she did remember. And for some reason she felt drawn to her previous living situation.

Her eyes examine the Orphanage. The outside of the White House was now slowly turning into a yellow mustard color. Her eyes shift to the dusty, cracked windows and she winces.

"I see they're still low on budget..." she huffs.

Gus steps onto the porch of the Orphanage and knocks on the door. She rocks back and forth on her heels with her hands tucked into her trench coat.

The door opens, revealing the now gray haired woman.

"Can I help you?"

"Uh, Hi. My name is Gus West." The brunette introduces herself. "I used to be one of the kids that lived here and I ...felt like looking back on my past." She holds her arms out and forces an amused cheer.

The woman raises her brows, "Oh, My Word! Gus!"

Gus presses her lips into a small smile. "Hi, Mrs. Wallace. You've gotten...grayer."

Mrs. Wallace lightly touches her hair. "Oh, come in! Come in!" She steps aside and Gus enters the building.

As soon as Gus walks in a group of kids run past her. Gus holds her hands up and freezes.

"Kids! Please stop running!"

The group of kids run down the hall and sprint into a room, closing the door behind them.

"I'm sorry about that." Mrs. Wallace apologizes.

Gus shakes her head, "You have nothing to apologize for. It's nice seeing them happy."

"You sound surprised." Mrs. Wallace walks through the house. "Was it that terrible living here?"

Gus' mouth slightly opens, "Oh, no! Not at all!" She waves her hands and follows the woman. "I mean, granted—I came here after my father died and wasn't the best person to take in."

Mrs. Wallace enters the kitchen and opens the refrigerator. She grabs a bottle of water and hands it to the brunette.

"This is all we have." Mrs. Wallace chuckles.

"Oh, I love water!" Gus grabs the water. "Can't get enough of it."

Mrs. Wallace chuckles softly. "So..." they both sit at the table. "...does it still look the same?"

Gus looks around the kitchen and sighs. "Yeah it really does." She looks at Mrs. Wallace.

"Which means it's obvious you know that we're still having money problems." Mrs. Wallace's smile saddens.

Gus tilts her head. "You know just because you don't have the money and the house needs a little fixing up..." she opens her water. "...doesn't mean you don't care."

The woman looks at the brunette.

"I wasn't nice to you or grateful when I was here." Gus sighs. "I avoided everyone and was angry at the world. But, I'm older now and I just wanted to let you know that I am grateful for the time that I had here."

Mrs. Wallace's eyes fill with tears.

"Oh, stop it!" She fans her eyes. "I'm going to cry."

Gus laughs softly.

"Oh, I have to show you something!" Mrs. Wallace stands up and leaves the kitchen with Gus following her.

Gus makes it to the cork board that Mrs. Wallace was looking at. The brunette turns toward the cork board and sees the many pictures across it.

"Ah! Here you are!" Mrs. Wallace grabs the picture and shows it to the teenager.

It was a group photo with all the smiling kids and in the corner was Gus, not smiling. The same cold expression she has always had on her face. Her fringe was covering her eyes and her arms were folded.

Gus lets out a soft laugh, "I was scary." She moves her head side to side. "Still am scary."

Gus looks back at the cork board and smiles softly. "Are these the kids here now?" She grabs a photo with a group of smiling kids.

Mrs. Wallace's chuckles softly. "Yes, yes. They are magical."

"I just wish I was good for them."

Gus pulls her brows together and looks at the woman. "Why would you say that?"

Mrs. Wallace points at one of the kids in the photo. "Sofía Alvarez."

"She ran away a couple weeks ago."

Gus looks at the girl in the photo. "I'm so sorry."

Mrs. Wallace chews on the inside of her cheek. "She was supposed to meet another family that day. But, they didn't want her." She explains. "I wanted to take them all to the movies to lift everyone's spirits, but Sofía just stayed here."

"Alone?"

Mrs. Wallace swallows. "I shouldn't have left her all by herself."

Gus pulls her brows together. "Mrs. Wallace when you got home after Sofía ran away. Were the lights flickering?"

"I mean, they always are." Mrs. Wallace answers. "But that night just felt...different."

Gus inhales a breath, "Do you have another picture of Sofía? Just her?"

When Gus got back home, she was greeted with a mess. More of a mess than usual. The cushions on the couch were ripped open, the light bulbs from the lamps were on the ground, and all the phones were ripped from their wires. Gus lets out a huff and closes the door behind her. She walks over to the table, inhales a deep breath, and forces it back onto its legs.

She sits on the couch, ignoring the rips in the cushions. Gus grabs her messenger bag and pulls out the picture of Sofía. She bounces her leg and shakes her head.

Sofía couldn't be in the Upside Down. Wouldn't Eleven know?

"El, just doesn't know what she's looking for..." Gus says softly. She rubs her lower lip. "...now she will."

She sets the picture on the table and Gus places her hands over her face

Gus slowly flutters her eyes open and a small buzzing was in her ears. The bright lights shine in her eyes and she winces. The brunette squeezes her eyes shut and her head droops to the side.

A soft hand is felt on her head and she opens her eyes again.

"Papa?" Gus murmurs.

"I'm here, Five."

Gus' eyes start to adjust to the light and she sees Dr. Brenner standing there. Gus starts to sit up, "Where am I--"

The brunette quickly stops, feeling herself being yanked back down. Her eyes shift down and she sees leather straps over her body. "What's...what's going on?" her breathing quickens. Gus starts to yank at her restraints. "Let me--"

An electrical shock runs through her body and she lets out a cry. Gus' body slumps and she tries to catch her breath. She inhales a small breath. "Wh-why?"

"You're a monster, Number Five." Dr. Brenner runs a hand through her hair and her eyes widen. "A liability."

Gus shakes her head and starts to cry, "Y-You said that I was a hero. YOU CALLED ME A HERO!"

The door opens, revealing two guards at the door. Dr. Brenner turns just in time to see the guards step aside, revealing a clean-shaven man. The man shifts his eyes toward the girl strapped to the examination table. His jaw goes slack, seeing the crying girl. She sounded so scared. It was hard to believe that she was someone that everyone feared.

"I-Is that her?"

Dr. Brenner nods.

"Papa? Please, why are you doing this?!" Gus sobs.

Dr. Brenner turns toward the girl and gives her a small smile. "Because you can't control yourself, Five."

Five shakes her head, "I can change. I swear. I won't hurt Eleven again."

"I don't believe you can change, Five." Dr. Brenner turns toward the man.

The man raises his brows, "Wait--so you want me to take her back?"

"What else can we do--"

"Kill her!"

Dr. Brenner chuckles softly, "Absolutely not. All that power going to waste...at least keep her until I'm ready--"

"N-NO!" The man takes a step back, but the Guards grab his arms.

"Tristan--"

"Fuck you, Brenner." Tristan shakes his head. "There's a reason I had you take her in the first place. And it wasn't just for the fucking money."

Dr. Brenner deadpans and Tristan exhales.

"Okay, it was mostly about the money--I mean, $100,000! Of course, I was gonna say yes." Tristan scoffs.

Dr. Brenner tilts his head. "I'll pay you more."

Tristan blinks, "Uh--what?"

"I will double the pay I gave you 6 years ago." Dr. Brenner says.

Tristan looks at the ground, then back at the girl on the table. He has seen some of the videos that had Gus testing out her abilities. When she killed the woman and smiled after, turned the snake's bones into dust, even when she created sinkholes with a scream.

Tristan couldn't take his daughter back in, knowing how deadly she was. He needed more that just money to solidify his decision.

"Make her forget everything."

Dr. Brenner tilts his head. "And how do you expect me to do that?"

"Shock therapy." Tristan answers.

A chuckle escapes from Dr. Brenner, but he stops laughing seeing the serious expression on Tristan's face.

"Oh, I highly doubt I can--"

"Just try," Tristan emphasizes.

Dr. Brenner purses his lips, thinking for a second.

"Okay, I will try..."

Dr. Brenner turns toward the girl and she shakes her head.

"Please, Papa..."

A sigh escapes his lips and he kisses her forehead.

"I am sorry, Little One. But sacrifices are meant to be made in the grand scheme of things."

Dr. Brenner slips the straps around Gus' head and her breathing quickens. He hooks up the wires to her head and she sobs. Gus' entire life was a lie. Her father lied to her, Dr. Brenner lied to her. And neither of them wanted her for who she was.

Dr. Brenner tried many times with the shock therapy until finally, it worked. Gus lost all important pieces of her life. She forgot she had powers, she forgot her father gave her up in the first place.

A knock on the door quickly wakes Gus up. She sits up from the couch and wipes her eyes. The brunette stands up and walks over to the door, but she stops in her tracks.

What if Dr. Brenner tried to come after her if he found out she was alive? What if these were the bad men and they just came here to kill her?

Gus inhales a breath and grabs the door knob. She quickly pulls the door open. The brunette relaxes, but she was pissed as soon as she sees the boy standing in front of her.

"Harrington." Her eyes burn into his.

Steve clears his throat and tries to brush off the fear he had, standing in front of the brunette right now.

"Hey, I know today was Will's funeral and I know how much you cared about him--"

Gus folds her arms, leans against the doorframe, and tilts her head. "Is that why you really came here?"

Steve stops talking, "Yes, I know that I'm a dick--"

"Glad we agree on something."

Steve sighs and nods his head. "I came here to apologize about Will and...about what I said to you about your parents." he stuffs his hands into his pockets. "That day outside of school wasn't fair."

Gus gnaws on her lower lip. "We both said some shitty things that we didn't mean." she looks at her shoes. "I shouldn't have tried to embarrass you in front of your friends. That wasn't cool for me to--"

"I don't care about you embarrassing me, okay?" Steve speaks.

Gus blinks.

"I care about how I made you feel, and seeing that pain in your eyes..." he shakes his head. "...you walking away was different. Because you usually beat the shit out of people and it's like the fight left you."

Gus' jaw goes slack.

"I am so fucking sorry, Gus."

The brunette searches his eyes and she could actually sincerity in them.

"Okay, but...why reach out now?" Gus asks.

Steve pulls his brows together. "What do you mean?"

A chuckle of disbelief slips through her lips. "See you later, Steve." she starts to close the door. Steve jerks forward and plants his hand on the door, keeping it open.

Gus raises her brows, she looks at Steve and burns his eyes into hers.

"Hey, talk to me." Steve gently urges.

Gus' mouth twitches, "Out of everyone. I do not want to talk with you. Especially when..." she trails off her sentence and shakes her head, keeping quiet.

"What? When what?--"

"When you're the problem half of the time!" Gus snaps, looking back at him.

Steve slightly flinches and Gus' jaw slams shut. She wipes her nose and clears her throat.

"Listen..." Gus lets go of the door and folds her arms. "...I appreciate you taking the initiative to come here and apologize, but..." she chews the inside of her cheek and looks at her shoes again.

Don't do it.

Don't.

Do not.

Gus sniffles.

Goddammit.

Gus hated crying. More than school...well that's a lie--but she still hates it.

Steve hasn't seen her cry since she heard about her father's death. The brunette was led out of the Principal's office, sobbing. Her wails of agony had so much pain in them and Steve hated that he couldn't help her in any way. And he hated himself for not being there for her.

The first time Steve saw Gus cry ever was when they were little. Someone broke her red crayon. So, he glued her crayon back together and--Bam! Friends for life...at least that was the plan.

Steve takes a step toward the brunette. He snakes his arms around her waist and pulls her close. Gus quietly gasps. Her heartbeat increases and her face heats up.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"I'm...comforting you," Steve answers in a soft tone. "Do you want me to stop?"

The tears in Gus' eyes roll down her cheeks. "No..." she whispers. The brunette slowly wraps her arms around Steve's middle and silently cries.

Guilt rises in Steve. He hated that one of the real reasons he was here was because he saw Nancy and Jonathan together through the window. He hated that he came here to try and make a move on Gus, so he could forget his pain with Nancy.

I am such a dick.

They soon separate and Gus wipes her nose. "Do you still want to talk?"

Gus inhales, "What the hell--my schedule's free."

She steps aside and lets him in. Steve steps inside the house and examines the messy place.

"Uhhh--nice place?" Steve squeaks.

Gus chuckles softly, "Thanks, I guess..."

They sit down on the cushions that were torn up. Steve looks at Gus waiting for an answer.

Gus slightly opens her mouth. "Oh, you know--Chief of Police."

Steve nods his head. His eyes shift to a picture and he pulls his brows together. "Who's that?"

Gus looks at the picture of Sofía. "Oh, just researching for a...project." She grabs the picture and stuffs it into her bag.

Gus looks down at her hands nervously. "I'm not really someone who likes to talk about their issues or feelings." she shakes her head. "I don't know how to start this."

"I'm a dick, right?" Steve asks.

Gus presses her lips together, "Yeah."

"Then, let's talk about that. When I started to become a dick." Steve shrugs.

"Oh...okay." Gus looks forward, her arms in her lap. "Well, do you remember the day my dad died?" she rubs her hands together.

Steve tenses, but he nods his head. "Yeah. I remember."

Gus inhales, her heart was banging against her chest and she could hear it through her ears. "My dad died, and...I don't know--you weren't there for me, Steve." she looks back at him and Steve sees the sadness in them.

"I heard what everyone was saying about me, I know that they thought I was the weirdo, freak--Whatever!" Gus throws her hands in the air, her emotions surfacing. "The point is, you listened to them. And you left me."

Gus exhales a sharp breath. Steve doesn't say anything and he watches Gus press her forehead against the coffee table. "That's all I had to say." she huffs.

Silence settles into the house.

Steve leans forward and presses his forehead against the coffee table as well.

"Do you...ever get this feeling that you have to be a certain way?"

Gus keeps her forehead on the coffee table. "No..."

Steve sighs, "I've had this thing ever since I was a kid, where I want to make people around me proud. And if they saw me...the real me. It would make everyone cast me out." he explains. "I was afraid--I still am afraid. And I feel like I always will be."

Gus pulls her brows together. Is that how Fallon feels?

"You and Fallon have a lot in common, y'know?" Gus speaks.

Steve sits up and sputters, "No, way."

"Yes, way," Gus replies. "The need to create this perfect fake facade to satisfy others."

Steve looks down at his hands and Gus senses his hurt.

"That was super blunt. I'm sorry," Gus apologizes.

Steve shrugs a shoulder, "Nah, I needed to hear it."

He looks at the girl, who seemed like she was dozing off.

"Hey, I have an idea...how about we go out to a movie?"

Gus scoffs, "Hey, I have an idea..." she says in a deep voice, mocking Steve like she always has.

A snort comes from Steve and he chuckles.

"How about...I put my head back down and you get bent?" she throws the idea out.

Steve's chuckle quietly changes to laughter and Gus chuckles. She finally lifts her head back up and runs a hand through her hair. "Fine, okay. Uh, what movie?" she slaps her knees.

Steve smiles, "All the Right Moves."

Gus wrinkles her nose, "Pass."

"Wow! Okay--what do you have in mind, then?" Steve fully turns toward the girl and observes the side of her face.

Gus shrugs a shoulder and turns toward him. "What about...The Outsiders?"

Steve purses his lips, but then he frowns. "Okay, I can do that."

Gus smiles softly. Steve stands up and holds his hand out toward the brunette. Gus stares at his hand. She lets out a soft chuckle and takes his hand. They both leave the house.

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Gus watches the end credits roll with tears blurring her vision.

Steve glances at the girl. He looks back at the screen, but then he quickly looks back at her.

"Wait--are you...crying?--"

"What? And you're not?!" Gus turns to Steve and sees his glassy eyes. Steve quickly looks away from her and wipes at his eyes.

"You are crying." She seethes.

"Yeah, so?" Steve sniffles.

Gus' mouth hangs open, "Well, you were judging me about my tears, you ass."

"Well, I just figured that you weren't one for tears." Steve shrugs. "I mean, you're kind of...hollow."

Gus raises her brows, "Oh, wow! Thank you for saying that."

"No, no--I didn't mean it that way." Steve scratches his ear. "I mean, over the course of these past few years you haven't expressed a lot of emotion."

Gus raises her brows and frowns. "You've got a good point.

The brunette looks around the car. "Jeez, do you not have tissue in here?"

"No, why would I?" Steve chuckles.

"I don't know. Just in case you're crying or...doing other things..." Gus trails off her sentence.

Steve looks at the brunette. "Gross, Gus. You pervert--"

"What? How dare you?!" She lightly shoves him while they both laugh.

Steve pulls the sleeve of his jacket down and leans toward the girl. "Here..."

Steve wipes the tears from Gus' face. The brunette's haw goes slack and her face becomes hot. "Uh, thank you--thanks."

Steve's eyes shift to her hazel green ones and his stomach flutters. He pulls his sleeve off her face. "Next time, I'll be sure to have tissues."

"I'm going to hold you to that." Gus lightly elbows him with a chuckle.

Steve looks back at Gus and his eyes soften.

"I am sorry, Gus. About everything."

Gus looks at her hands and swipes her tongue across her lower lip.

"August."

Steve pulls his brows together. "What?"

Gus scratches the side of her next and a smile scrunches onto her face. "My name--full name is August Castillo...Gus for short," she explains. The brunette has never told anyone her actual name. The last person she knew to call her by August was her mom. Hopper knew Gus' full name, but she told him not to call her that. And he never did.

Gus looks at Steve and notices the starry expression across his face. She pulls her brows together and tilts her head, wondering why he was looking at her like that.

Steve was glad that the car was dark, otherwise, Gus would've been able to see the blush across his face.

"That's really beautiful."

Gus closes her mouth and a dry chuckle escapes her lips. She looks away, her face heating up once again. "Riiight, because being named after a month is, Beautiful." the sarcasm was heavy in her voice. She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Steve looks at the side of her face and his heart quickens. "It is."

Gus turns back toward the boy and her stomach twists, noticing how close they were to each other. Steve leans toward the brunette and her eyes widen. She looks away from him and winces from embarrassment.

"Uh--I'm sorry." Steve looks away from her.

Gus covers her face, "You have a girlfriend." she says through her hands. "And...we're slowly trying to become friends again, right?"

Did Gus have an intense attraction toward Steve Harrington? Of course! Did she want to kiss him? She has for a while now! But she was not, I repeat--was not going to kiss a taken boy.

Steve looks away from Gus for a moment. A pain forms in his chest thinking about Nancy and Jonathan.

"Yeah, right. About that...Gus--"

A tap was heard on the top of the car.

"Yo! Steve!"

Gus turns her to Tommy who was standing outside of the car. "Great..." she sinks into her seat. The brunette's eyes travel across each person's face Tommy was with. Her eyes abruptly stop on the mahogany-skinned girl.

Any other day, Fallon would've dragged Gus out of the car; reprimanded her for being in the car with Steve Harrington. And then ask her if she made out with him. But that was when they were friends. Fallon now just scratches the side of her neck and glimpses away from her.

Gus' chest tightens and she looks at her hands. She wishes that she handled the situation with Fallon better. Why did she think kissing Fallon back would make the situation better? After all this shit is over within Gus' life, she was definitely going to work on thinking before acting.

Gus gets out of the car and Steve's eyes widen. He gets out of the car as well. "Gus, wait--"

"I should probably get home," Gus says. "It's getting late and Hopper gets worried." she sends him a small smile.

Tommy raises a brow, "What were you guys doing in there?"

"What do you think they were doing?" Carol giggles. "Guess the Virgin Guster isn't so innocent after all."

"Knock it off, guys." Steve snaps at them.

As much as she appreciated Steve's attempt to protect her, she was still embarrassed. Gus feels Fallon's eyes on her and she meets them.

Fallon inhales, her mind screams for her to defend Gus. She wanted to. But she didn't. The Price girl was always able to push down her true feelings for Gus and support her crush on Steve. But now, she felt like she can't be her true self. Fallon felt like the only way she could live is by being her old bitchy self. The Fallon Price before she met Gus.

Fallon lets out a scoff, "I mean--come on, Steve. Nancy decides to cheat on you with Freak number 1 and you decide to go for Freak number 2? Could've just called me..." she shrugs a shoulder. "And you would've had the time of your life."

Fallon wanted to vomit, just saying that.

Gus' heart falls into her stomach. Everyone looks to the brunette, who was now hugging herself. They were waiting for her next move. They were waiting for her to explode. Gus looks at Fallon with betrayal etched across her face. Fallon arches a brow and looks away from the brunette like she didn't care.

A low ringing sets in Gus' ears and anger rises in the teenager. But it wasn't anger towards Fallon. The cars in the drive-in movie slowly start to shake. Everyone looks around, questioning what was going on.

Gus bites her tongue and she turns away from everyone. She looks at the cars shaking and worried chatter floats around the drive-in theater. The brunette snaps her eyes over at Steve, who was already staring at her.

Gus was disappointed that she even thought that Steve changed. He was just using her. Then he was going to throw her away.

Just like Dr. Brenner.

Just like her parents.

Hopper doesn't even fucking care about me.

A scoff leaves Gus' lips, she turns on her heel and stalks away from the group of pricks.

"Shit!" Steve looks at his friends. "Seriously, guys?"

Fallon forces out a chuckle. But her chest tightens with guilt.

"Gus--wait!" Steve jogs after her.

Gus feels the ground underneath her shake, the ringing in her ears wouldn't stop. She sticks her pinky finger in her ears and groans softly.

Steve catches up to the brunette and touches her arm. Gus stops and turns back to him, causing Steve to stop in his tracks.

"Get away from me." Gus hisses.

Steve takes a few steps away from her. "Okay, okay. Look, Gus--"

"So, that's what this was? Just some kind of distraction from Nancy cheating on you?" Gus looks at him with all the anger in the world.

Steve shakes his head, "No, August you got it all wrong--"

"Don't call me that." Gus snaps, and she holds a shaking hand up.

Steve slams his jaw shut.

Gus' hand drops to the side and she scoffs. "What did you think was going to happen, tonight, Harrington?" she steps closer to him. "Did you think I was gonna blow you and let you add a few fingers in me?"

"N-No--"

"Bullshit!"

One of the cars honks from the invisible impact. Gus spins on her heel and turns away from him. She starts to walk away, but Steve grabs her arm again.

"H-Hey!--Listen to me, I'm sorry! I didn't know they were going to be here--"

"I'm sure that was a lie too." Gus turns back to him. "You wanted a show. You always love a fucking show, Harrington."

Steve's eyes soften. "Okay, here's the truth. I will tell you the truth."

Gus folds her arms and raises her brows with a shrug; waiting for him to explain.

"I saw Nancy and Jonathan together in her room and...I just wanted to forget about my pain, all right?" Steve says. "So, I went over to your house to try and distract myself."

Gus nods her head, she goes to turn around. Steve quickly stands in front of her again, causing the brunette to sigh.

"But, when I got there, I couldn't go through with it." Steve shakes his head. "Because I care about you and I have already made your life a living hell. And I didn't want to add to that. I didn't know they were going to be here, Gus. I swear."

Gus looks at her shoes and sighs.

"I just...I wish they didn't drag Fallon with them." Steve scoffs.

"She wasn't dragged. She and I aren't friends anymore so she joined your Goons." Gus folds her arms over her chest.

"Aw, jeez. I-I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Gus looks up at him, but her eyes move to his friends, and sighs.

"Thank you for the movie, but...I should go." Gus whispers and continues to walk away from him.

Steve exhales and runs a hand through his hair. He turns and walks back over to the group. "Really?"

"You were trying to sleep with her, right?" Fallon questions with a chuckle.

Steve turns to her with a cold glare. Fallon raises her hands and sighs. "Sorry..."

"Whatever reason you have for hanging out with us, it must be pretty stupid. You know that, right?" Steve questions her.

Fallon's jaw tightens.

"Please, you guys love my company--"

"Yeah, well...there's someone who would appreciate it a lot more." Steve motions his head to the brunette who was walking away.

Steve walks back to his car. Fallon lingers on his words and her guilt begins to rise in her, but she pushes it down and turns to Tommy and Carol. "You guys love my company, right?"

"Oh yeah, more than that Freak Guster ever will," Carol says.

Fallon forces a small smile on her lips and she looks away from them and back at the brunette.

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