chapter nineteen , Training is now in session

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"You're kicking me out?!"

Simultaneously, all the kids sputter and look at each other. "What?!--No--No!" Dustin lets out a nervous chuckle. "We're just...putting the party under some new management."

"Yeah, yeah! Like, we don't want you as Dungeon Master anymore..." Mike hesitantly says.

Gus' eyes blow wide, "Guys, what the fuck?!" she holds her hands up. "You are kicking me out!"

"August, they're not kicking you out!" Sofía reassures the brunette.

"We're," Dustin adds. "You're a part of the party."

Sofía nods her head, "Right. We're not kicking you out."

"I took you to the arcade a few days ago. Why didn't you tell me before?" Gus cranes her neck forward.

"Well, we were all talking--"

"Wait..." Gus closes her eyes and inhales a soft breath. "You guys had a meeting without me?"

"Meetings..." Lucas murmurs, but Gus quickly catches it.

"Great, plural!" Gus exhales a stress-filled chuckle.

Dustin nudges Lucas, "Dude!"

"I didn't think she heard me--"

"Oh, I heard you!" Gus stands up with her hands on her hips. "I think...I am hearing pretty clear what's going on right now..." she shakes her head. "I'm outta here." The brunette grabs her bag and places it over her shoulder. She walks over to the door of the basement.

"Gus, come on," Will calls out. "We want to explain. Please?"

Gus reluctantly stops and looks at the kids. She exhales a sharp breath, drops her bag, and sits back in front of the kids with her arms folded. "All right, I'm listening..."

"You've been pulling your hair again." Lucas states.

Gus shrugs her shoulders, "Okay...I don't understand."

"You usually do that when you're stressed," Mike says.

"Specifically stressed about school." Dustin states.

The teenager tenses and looks at the ground. "And...we know that having to come up with a 10-hour or more campaign can add to that stress," Sofía pronounces, fiddling with her fingers. "We didn't want something that you love suddenly end up as something that feels like a job."

Gus runs her tongue over her teeth, understanding their point. Now the girl just felt embarrassed for how she acted, when they were only worried about her wellbeing.

"So...do you have anyone specific in mind to take my place?" Gus raises her brows.

"Yeah, actually uh..." A giddy smile forms on Dustin's lips and all the boys point at the young girl, who was doing jazz hands.

"Sofía? You're gonna be Dungeon Master?" The brunette smiles.

Sofía nods her head. "Yeah, I was talking to the guys and telling them about a few small ideas that I had and--"

"She's downplaying it," Lucas interjects.

"Yeah, those ideas were awesome!" Mike exclaims.

Sofía lets out a sheepish laugh and looks at the ground.

"And this time we might actually be able to go on a quest without any...continuity errors." Mike looks at the brunette.

Gus' mouth hangs open, "I'm sorry, okay? You guys were right, I have been a little stressed over school and track." she tangles her hands in her short hair. "I just...didn't want to disappoint you guys."

"August." Dustin deadpans. "You're Gus. You are our hero. You're never gonna disappoint us."

Gus' eyes start to well with tears and she presses her lips into a small smile. "So, I'm still in the party, right?"

"Of course you are," Will chuckles softly.

"You're our Guardian." Mike shrugs a shoulder. "You'll always be in the party, whether you like it or not." he folds his arms and looks at the ground.

Gus smiles softly, "Guys..." she holds her arms out. "Group hug!"

"No." Mike stands up. "I'm going upstairs--"

Sofía grabs Mike's arm and pulls him toward Gus.

"Dammit!" Mike groans as Gus wraps her arms around Mike and Sofia. Will, Dustin, and Lucas wrap their arms around the teenager. Mike rolls his eyes, but he soon smiles and hugs everyone back.

☆

Gus sticks her pinky in her ear and scrunches her face. She then places her hands on her hips with a sigh. Hopper, Eleven, and Gus were all outside in the woods. After they all moved to the cabin, it was difficult for Eleven to avoid Gus. Especially since the cabin was pretty small.

Gus and Eleven were forced to share a room due to the fact that there were only two sleeping areas in the cabin. And no one wanted to sleep on the tattered couch. One day, Eleven asked how everyone was doing, which became the conversation starter for the two brunettes. Then their conversations would include Eleven asking Gus about school. Or Gus asking Eleven about any tips on how to control her abilities.

The two girls actually enjoyed each other's company. Especially since now, they have bonded over many things. Feeling the need to protect the ones they care about, being in Hawkins Lab, loving to eat; especially sweets,

"Okay, so...how should I go about this?"

Hopper opens his mouth to answer, but he pulls his brows together and frowns. "I actually don't know."

Gus sighs, she looks at the young girl. "How did you start to control your powers?"

Eleven looks at Gus, "Emotions..."

Gus scrunches her nose and frowns.

"Pain."

The brunette raises her brows and slowly nods her head. "Okay..." she looks at Hopper, hoping for a decoding of that message.

"I think she means to use your pain to your advantage," Hopper explains. "Maybe that'll help you use your powers."

Gus slightly opens her mouth, "Use my pain...?" she looks at Eleven for confirmation.

Eleven chews on the inside of her cheek and nods her head. Gus slightly tilts her chin up, "Okay--yeah. I can do that."

Gus inhales a soft breath and her eyes fall shut. Eleven and Hopper watch as Gus' body tenses with every second that goes by. Gus' brows pull together. She starts to remember Dr. Brenner using her fondness for him as a way to manipulate her. Then he tossed her aside like she was nothing. Her own father didn't want her unless her memories were wiped from her mind. And now her father would've rather died than raise her. Gus' mother died when she was younger and she barely remembered her. But if her mom did see her now, would she be scared? Disappointed?

The teenager's ears start to ring and a crease forms between her brows, showing her distress. The ground beneath Hopper and Eleven's feet begin to shake, causing them to look at the brunette. The trees around them begin to slowly rattle, and the birds begin to fly away from the area.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Hopper asks.

Eleven looks at the man, she opens her mouth to speak, but suddenly the dirt begins to give in underneath them. The shaking becomes more violent and the sound of rumbling increases to the point that it sounded like war drums echoing through their ears. Hopper stumbles forward and he tries to catch himself. As soon as he regains his footing, a small breath of relief escapes his lips.

Suddenly, the ground begins to crack. Forcing a sinkhole to form beneath the man's feet. A scream comes from Hopper, causing Eleven to snap her head over to him. Her eyes widen and she holds a hand out towards the man. Hopper's body comes to a violent stop before he could fall any further into the hole. The man's breathing quickens seeing how deep the sink hole was. Hopper's body slowly starts to float out of the sink hole and he moves his head to look at the teenager.

"GUS!!!"

But the brunette couldn't hear him. The ringing in her ears was now deafening to her, her hands were over her ears and she was on her knees with tears in her eyes. Eleven's breathing quickens, she looks over at Hopper then snaps her eyes over to Gus. The teenager wasn't able to hear anyone right now. Not with the pain she was emotionally going through. Eleven slightly lowers her head and activates her powers. An invisible force slams into Gus.

The brunette flies back and her side slams into the dirt. Gus quietly inhales a breath and wheezes. She rolls onto her back and everything stops quaking. Eleven looks over at Hopper and pulls his floating body away from the sinkhole, so he was now hovering over the grass.

Gus focuses on the sky, "What the hell, Eleve..." she trails off her sentence, seeing the disturbed area. The ground was now unevenly leveled and most of the trees were knocked over. Gus' eyes widen at the sink hole. Her breathing hitches, seeing Eleven lower Hopper to the ground.

"Oh, sh-shit...." Gus forces herself onto her feet. "...I did it again."

"Yeah, ya did." Hopper huffs and he stands up.

Gus runs a hand through her hair and gnaws on her lower lip. "Okay, so...thinking about my pain and trauma does activate my powers, but..." she motions around the forest. "...major downside."

"Maybe, you should try something else." Hopper stretches and groans. "Don't use your pain or trauma, that could possibly destroy the world."

Gus nods her head, "Yeah, right." she laughs. The brunette's laugh slowly trails off, seeing Eleven and Hopper's blank expressions. Gus' smile drops.

"Wait--you guys are serious?!" The brunette shouts.

"Well, there's a reason Brenner gave you up, right?" Hopper shrugs. "You hold a lot of power, kid."

Gus shifts uncomfortably. "Yeah, but enough power to destroy the world?" she bunches her shoulders. "It's scary."

Eleven watches as Gus' confidence deplete and stress quickly takes over.

"We will...figure it out."

Gus and Hopper look at the young girl.

Eleven presses her lips into a small smile, "Together."

Gus lets out a soft chuckle and presses her lips together. "Together." she nods her head.

Eleven and Gus look at Hopper and he shakes his head.

"I'm not doing that corny thing, where we all say the same thing as like a confirmation thing." Hopper scoffs, he folds his arms. "It's stupid." he walks toward the cabin. "Let's go inside and eat some Eggos."

Gus and Eleven gladly follow after the man.

☆

Fallon looks at the flashcards and slowly mouths the words. She flips the card over and her eyes light up. "Fuck yes!"

"Miss Price!"

Fallon snaps her eyes over to her boss and she slightly opens her mouth. "Oh...I am so sorry, Marissa." a sheepish smile forms on her lips and she slowly lifts the card up. "I got the flashcard right."

"So you curse?" Marissa shakes her head. "Shame on you."

Fallon arches a brow, "The only shame around here is Hopper never calling you back." she tilts her head.

Marissa's eyes widen and Fallon blinks. The girl pulls her brows together and her stomach turns. Fallon slaps her hand over her mouth. "Oh. My. God. Marissa, I am so so sorry. I don't know what came over me! I mean, you were talking to me about shame, and then you--"

"You've been hanging out with that delinquent far too much." Marissa cuts Fallon's explanation off. The Librarian holds her hand out to the teenager. "You're fired."

Fallon's eyes widen, "Wait--"

"And for the record. I stopped calling him." Marissa snaps.

Fallon purses her lips and tilts her head. "But, Gus said that Hopper said you told him 'You could've at least called me back'." she raises her brows. "Was that a lie...?"

Marissa's face heats up and she points toward the door. "Fired."

Fallon lets out a defeated breath. She takes her badge off and hands it to the woman. Fallon grabs her purse and speed walks out of the library. The coil-haired girl tilts her head up to the sky. "Shit--shit!" she then places a hand on her forehead. "How the hell did you manage to screw up a library job?--"

Fallon's shoulder comes into contact with someone else's shoulder. She stumbles off to the side and touches the wall to steady herself. "God dammit, can you please watch where you're..." the girl trails off her snappy remark seeing the chestnut brunette glaring at her.

"Nice job, Price," Robin murmurs. She crouches down and starts to pick up her books.

Fallon's stomach flutters and a shaky smile forms on her lips. "R-Robin..." she raises her brows. "Here! Let me help you." Fallon walks over to the teenager and crouches in front of her.

"I've got it--thanks." Robin grabs the books from Fallon's hands and stands up.

Fallon stands up as well and rolls her lips into her mouth. "Uh, how are you?"

Robin looks at Fallon and blinks. The teenager wrinkles her nose and Fallon pulls her face back.

"Is there a problem?" Fallon raises her brows.

"You know who I am..." Robin lets out a breath. "It's weird."

Fallon slightly opens her mouth, "Oh...I thought you had an issue with me or something--"

"Oh, I have an issue with you." Robin states.

"Okay..." Fallon looks down at her purple heels. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Robin frowns, "Nah, I think I wanna keep it bottled up for a few years then when you least expect it, I'll blow up and snap at you. Then maybe I'll sob hysterically,  you comfort me, and we have an unplanned heart-to-heart."

Fallon doesn't even blink, she just stares with awe at the girl. Robin inhales a soft breath and notices that she's been talking for far too long. Especially to a girl, she wasn't cool with. Robin keeps her books to her chest and brushes past Fallon. The Price girl spins around and watches Robin quickly walk down the street with a smile of astonishment on her face while her heart started beating faster. Fallon exhales a sharp chuckle, "Robin rambling...that was so much better than her flipping me off." she covers her mouth and laughs.

Thank you for firing me today, Marissa.

As Fallon walked over to her car, she realized that there was a high possibility she wasn't going to have a conversation like that with Robin again. So, she had to figure out a way they could talk. There was one idea Fallon had. It was an idea she wasn't too excited about, but it was something that was going to be worth it.

☆

"So...what's its name?"

Dustin looks away from his walkie and at the girl. Sofia was petting the orange tabby. And the cat seemed to be enjoying it from how loud it was purring. "Mews."

Sofía raises her brows, "Like one of the nine sister goddesses' or like the compliment kind of way?"

Dustin looks at Sofía with his brows raised. "You know Greek Mythology?"

"Duh!" Sofía snorts. "Ms. Gretchen reads the rest of the kids and I stories about Greek Mythology all the time." she shrugs a shoulder. "They kind of bring me comfort now. Might be a little twisted for that, I don't know--"

"No, no!" Dustin lets go of his walkie and walks over to the girl. He sits in front of her. Sofía slightly pulls her face back.

"No one ever wants to talk about Greek Mythology," Dustin says. "I mean, I talk to Will about it but he doesn't get it. He just--"

"Pretends to understand because he likes it when someone's passionate about something." Sofía raises her brows.

Dustin nods her head and the girl laughs.

"Yeah, he does that a lot." Sofía shrugs a shoulder. "It does make me feel good though. Having someone to talk to outside of the orphanage."

Dustin watches the girl go back to petting Mews. "You know..." he looks away for a second and Sofía looks back at him with her eyes slightly wide.

Dustin looks back at the girl and his eyes meet her angelic gaze. "...I know it's hard to make new friends and I'm sorry if we ever made you feel left out."

Sofía presses her lips into a small smile. "I get that it's hard to have another girl join the group after Eleven." she shrugs a shoulder. "I'm not trying to take her place or anything. You know that right?"

"Well, that would be hard for you to do since you don't have powers." Dustin states. "But, I see the point you're trying to make."

Sofía softly snickers and looks at the ground.

"I'm glad you're our D.M. now."

Sofía raises her brows and a sheepish smile forms on her lips. To other people, that sentence would mean absolutely nothing. But to Sofía or any other girl who understood the importance of being Dungeon Master. My God, that meant the world to her.

"Okay!" Lucas comes into the room with Will. "We've got, popcorn, Cola, Licorice, Twix, chocolate chip cookies."

The kids all planned to hang out together tonight. But sadly, Mike didn't join them. He said he had homework, but they all knew the truth. He was still in pain over Eleven. There would be times when one of them would catch him deep in his thoughts about the girl or even shedding a few tears. But they always gave the boy his space. Lucas and Will sit down and set the stuff between Dustin and Sofía. Mews lets out a meow and runs out of the room. Sofía lets out a breath, "You scared her."

"She'll be back," Will says.

Sofía smiles and looks at the food. "Twix!" she reaches for the candy bar. The girl unwraps the candy and takes a bite out of it. Sofia pulls her brows together and slows her chewing. "Uh, guys?" she looks at Lucas and Will. "Where'd you guys get this candy?"

"From that candy bag Dustin had under the cabinet." Will answers.

"You what?!" Dustin shrieks.

The three kids flinch.

"That is my secret stash. I have had it since I was 9!"

Sofía's eyes widen and she spits the candy back into the wrapper. "Why the hell do you have old candy?"

"Hey, call it old all you want." Dustin points at the girl. "But if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, you will be grateful for that candy."

Sofía blinks. "Okay, but, there's no zombie apocalypse now..." she presses her lips together.

Dustin slightly opens his mouth, but he doesn't speak. "Oh, whatever!" he grabs all the candy and walks out of the room. "Don't touch my stash!"

Sofía raises her brows, "Jeez, he sounds like Gus when I found her weed."

Lucas shudders, "She almost quaked our faces off."

"I've never seen her that mad before." Will frowns. "Except for when she heard about Nancy and Steve first getting together."

"That was a steer clear moment." Lucas states.

Lucas and Will both laugh and Sofía presses her lips together. The boys both look at Sofía, noticing her silence. "Oh, sorry Sof."

Sofía shakes her head, "Guys, you don't have to be like that around me, okay? I like hearing about your memories." she shrugs. "They sound awesome."

Sofía presses her lips together, "Hey, what's...Dustin like. I mean, really?"

Will chuckles while flipping through his comic book. "Why so you can become his dream girl?"

Sofía eyes widen and she snaps her eyes over to the boy. Will's eyes widen and he keeps his eyes on the comic. "I-I mean..." he looks at Sofía and then Lucas, who had already caught on.

"Hold on--"

"No." Sofía shakes her head.

"You like--"

"No." Sofía seethes. Her face was now bright red.

Lucas raises his brows, not breaking eye contact from the girl. Sofía's shoulders sag and she hangs her head low with defeat. The girl looks at Will, "Seriously--"

"I'm sorry, it slipped out!" Will exclaims.

"Like with Jonathan having a crush on Gus?" Lucas chuckles. He then slaps a hand over his mouth. Will and Lucas look at the girl and her eyes were wide.

"No way!" Sofía whispers harshly. "Jonathan has a crush on Gus?"

"It's only a small one," Will says. "He still really likes Nancy and Gus still really likes Steve--"

"Oh, My God!" Sofía laughs. "Jonathan likes Nancy?"

Will slaps his hands over his mouth and whines. "I suck at keeping secrets."

Sofía stops laughing and she presses her lips together. "We all suck at keeping secrets." she touches Will's arm with reassurance. Her eyes shift to Lucas and he raises his brows, catching on.

"Oh, yeah--I mean. We're all a bunch of blabbermouths." Lucas also reassures the boy.

Will takes his hand off his mouth and sighs. "We've gotta promise not to tell anyone else what we have revealed today, all right?"

The three kids all exchange a look and nod their heads.

"Deal."

☆

Gus opens and closes her hands before knocking on the door. She taps her fingers against her thighs as she waits patiently for the door to open. After a few minutes it finally opened, revealing the Wheeler father.

"Oh, Gus. It's you."

Gus raises her brows. "You say that everytime, Ted. And each time, it sounds like you hate me." she presses her lips together.

"And yet you still come over." Ted sighs.

Gus sniffles. "That sign in your front yard..." she points at it. "...it makes me uneasy. I would hate for something...awful to happen to it."

And for the first time ever. Gus watches Ted emote. His eyes widen and he had fear written across his face. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would. Ted." Gus nods her head. "You wanna know why? Because that sign shows that the things you believe in...negatively affect other people. Good people. But your sign shows you don't care about other people. At least, different people. Like me, Fallon, and Lucas. It's disgusting."

"You're on my property--"

"Oh, come on, Ted. You gonna call the cops?" Gus raises her brows. "I pratically run that place. Everyone that works there loves me. Even despite my many many arrests." she places her hands behind her back and presses her lips together. "Anyway, is Nancy home? I have to talk to her."

Ted's face was deep red and Gus had a cocky smile on her lips. "She's in her room."

"Thanks, Ted." Gus walks past him. She triumphantly walks up the stairs. The brunette makes it to Nancy's room. She lifts her hand to knock on the door, but stops when she hears sniffling. Gus' throat tightens, but she softly knocks on the door.

"Mom, I said I'm fine..."

"Oh, uh...it's not your mom. It's me, Gus." the teenager speaks. "I just...um. I don't know, if now's a bad time then--"

"No!" Nancy opens the door.

Gus lightly jumps and Nancy holds up her hands.

"Sorry, if I scared you." Nancy says.

"It's okay. You're good." Gus sees Nancy's red rimmed eyes. "I mean, are you...good?"

Nancy wipes at her eyes, "Uh--yeah! Yeah, just. Crying over some dumb movie." she waves a hand. "No big deal."

Gus nods her head, "Oh..."

Nancy motions her hand into her room. "You wanna...?"

Gus raises her brows, "Oh, yeah! Thanks." she chuckles nervously. The brunette rubs her palms against her jeans. She looks around the room, noticing how it hasn't changed one bit since she's last been here.

"So, what's up?" Nancy asks.

"I wanted to talk to you." Gus turns back to the girl.

Nancy raises her brows, "I really wanted to talk to you too."

Gus slightly tilts her head, "Really?"

"Yeah. I know we haven't been on the same page since...forever. But I would like to..."Nancy trails off her words and scrunches her face. "I'm sorry, you were speaking first. You go."

Gus inhales softly, "Uh, okay. I wanted to talk to you about...Barb."

Nancy's chest tightens. "Wh-what..." her voice starts to shake and she looks at the ground. Nancy inhales a soft breath and looks at Gus. "What about Barb?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing." Gus takes a step toward her. "And I know we aren't as close as we used to be, but...shit, Nancy. I am so sorry. I am so fucking sorry..." she stops talking when she sees Nancy's eyes start to water.

"Nancy?"

"I told her to go home that night, y'know?" Nancy's voice breaks. "I told her to go home and she didn't...she waited at the pool. And I was just thinking, was she waiting for me? Did she know that I would need a ride back?" she starts to sob.

Gus' eyes start to get teary as Nancy's body starts to shake.

"She was my best friend! And I just...pushed her away--why did I do that?" Nancy shakes her head.

Gus quickly walks over to Nancy and wraps her arms around her neck, pulling her into a warm embrace. Nancy's sobs grow louder and she lays her head on Gus' shoulder. "I'm a terrible friend..." she hiccups.

Gus shakes her head, "No, you're not." she softly speaks. "You are a great fucking friend, Nance. And you're a great person. It wasn't your fault."

Nancy inhales a soft breath, "I was the one there—"

"You didn't know about Demogorgon's." Gus pulls out of the hug with her hands now on Nancy's arms. "You didn't know all the crazy shit that went on in Hawkins. Nancy, you were just being a lovesick teenager."

Gus pulls Nancy into a hug once again and touches the back of her head. Nancy quietly cries while Gus continues to comfort her. "Why are you comforting me?" She asks. "I mean, I haven't been a good friend to you."

"And I haven't been a good friend to you." Gus presses her lips together. "We were neck deep in our own shit."

"But, I would like to be there for you." Gus and Nancy separate from the hug and look at each other. "I want us to be friends again."

Nancy wipes her eyes and sniffles. She manages a small smile and nods her head. All this time, Nancy hasn't realized how much she's missed Gus. But in this moment, it was so comforting having her again by her side.

"I would like that too."

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author's note.

Gus putting Ted in his place is a sight 🫶

Don't be afraid to comment! I love hearing what you guys have to say and I love hearing feedback if you have any!

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