chapter twenty-one , His World

a/n : the ending of this chapter made me cry—I'm not even kidding lmao

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"How frequent are your nightmares?"

The young girl keeps her eyes on the ticking clock and she gnaws on her lower lip. Sweat starts to form on her brows and her heartbeat begins to aggressively beat against her ribcage. Even though Sofía has been through these questions and tests every day for months, they still made her nervous. Like, one day out of the blue, the scientists and doctors were going to find something wrong with her mind. Besides the nightmares of course.

"Miss Alvarez?"

Sofía blinks and looks at Dr. Owens. "Oh, uh, sorry." she inhales a soft breath. "Every time I go to sleep."

Dr. Owens nods his head, "Even during the daytime?"

Sofía  nods her head, "Yes, sir." her eyes shift to the leather restraints on her. "I-I don't see why I still need these." she forces out a chuckle. "I'm fine."

Dr. Owens looks at Sofía with a worried expression and she squints her eyes. "I'm fine." her voice was filled with force.

"We understand that you feel fine, Miss Alvarez." Dr. Owens nods his head. "But, you did injure one of my nurses--"

"By accident!" Sofía exclaims, she tries to sit up but the restraints stop her and she groans.

Sofía chews on the inside of her cheek. "He grabbed my arm and I just...I felt..." the girl then falls silent.

"No, no. Keep going, please." Dr. Owens' voice was soft. "You felt what, Sofía ?"

Sofia moves her jaw from side to side. "I felt...cold. Like, I was back there." her eyes start to fill with tears and her hands start to shake. "It felt like it was grabbing me."

"The...Demogorgon?"

Sofía nods her head and her breathing quickens. She starts to shift in her seat. "Where's Will? Is he okay?"

"Yes, Will is fine. He's just outside--"

"Can I see him?" Sofía's voice starts to shake. "Please?"

The monitors Sofía was hooked up to were now beeping while the graph machine was moving at an accelerating rate causing Dr. Owens to grow worried. He looks at the hyperventilating child and tears roll down her face.

"I have to get out of here..." Sofía shakily whispers. She starts to tug at the restraints. Dr. Owens nods his head, "Okay, okay..." he stands up and walks over to her. "Let me just--"

"No! Don't touch me!" Sofía cries.

Dr. Owens holds his hands up and takes a step away from the girl. The door swings open, and Joyce and Will run into the room.

"Sofía, hey sweetie." Joyce stands on one side of the crying girl while Will stands on the other. Will's wide eyes fill with tears as Sofía's stay shut. Joyce slowly shakes her head, confused. "I don't understand what's happening--why isn't she listening?"

"She's having an episode." Will states. "Just like me."

The only reason everyone was worried is that this has never happened to Sofía before. At least, not what they know of. Everyone knew Sofía as the bright smiling girl, who could make anyone smile. But now--her yelling and hurting people. It wasn't like her.

"Screw this, I'm taking them off--"

"Joyce, I don't think that's--"

"I am taking them off, Sam. Now!" Joyce snaps at the doctor. He quickly steps off. Joyce and Will take the restraints off the girl's wrists. Will rips the suctions off her temples and forehead. "Sof, you're okay now." he softly reassures. "I-It's me, Will."

Will touches her hand, "Me and my mom are right here, okay? We're here."

Sofía's cries become quieter with every second that passes. Joyce and Will were patient with the girl. They allowed her breathing to steady and her crying to stop. Sofía slowly opens her eyes and looks around the brightly lit room. Her eyes meet Joyce's relieved face. "Oh thank god." she exhales.

"I-I'm sorry if I worried you guys." Sofía looks at Will.

"We're just glad you're okay." Will wipes the tears from his eyes and smiles. "You are okay, right?"

Sofía presses her lips into a small smile. "Yeah, I'm okay." she hesitantly looks at the doctor. "I apologize for yelling at you, Dr. Owens."

"Sofía, did the yelling help you in any way?" Dr. Owens inquires.

The girl chews on the inside of her cheek and shrugs a shoulder. "Honestly...yeah."

Dr. Owens then smiles, "Then you can yell at me anytime."

Joyce inhales a breath. "We should get going," she speaks.

Sofía nods her head, "Okay." she gets off the examination table and rubs her wrists. Once they all left Lab, Joyce offered to get them some ice cream. And of course, Will and Sofía quickly accepted the offer. After a few hours of laughing and forgetting all about what happened at the Labs, Joyce and Will slowed to a stop in front of the Orphanage.

"Okay, Gus will come and pick you up for school tomorrow." Joyce turns to the young girl. "Then she'll drop you off at my house, okay?"

Sofía softly smiles. "Okay, thank you for the ice cream." she gets out of the car. The girl looks at her friend and waves, "Bye, Will!"

"Bye, Sof! See you tomorrow!" Will waves back with a smile. Sofia watches as the car drives down the road, her smile falls, and her arm drops to the side. She exhales a sharp breath and touches her turning stomach. Her uneasiness from the Lab coming back.

"Sofía! You're home!"

The girl quickly turns around and she smiles at the older woman. "Hi, Ms. Gretchen!" she runs over to the lady and wraps her arms around her. Ms. Gretchen touches Sofía's back, hugging her back with a soft laugh. "How was school today?"

Sofía smiles softly, "Good, really good." she presses her lips into a smile. "Had a spelling test today?"

"And...?"

Sofía quietly laughs and grips the straps of her backpack. "I don't know the results yet, Ms. Gretchen! I'm going to get them next week."

"Well, how do you think you did?" Ms. Gretchen asks, placing her hands on her knees.

Sofía playfully rolls her eyes, "Aced it. Obviously."

"That's my girl." Ms. Gretchen holds her hand out and Sofía high-fives it.

"Come on, we're all about to eat dinner!"

☆

"Okay, class! I know it's pretty late in the season, but this is a special occasion!"

"We have a new bandmate on the French Horn!"

Robin rolls her eyes. She practiced this instrument too hard to have someone try and take her place. Especially, some newbies. She would destroy them. With her instrumental skills, of course.

"Miss Price, everyone!"

Robin's jaw goes slack, seeing the straight-haired girl, enter the room. The Buckley girl slowly shakes her head as Fallon stands beside the instructor. "Thank you for having me, Ms. Osborn!" she faces her new bandmates with a smile and waves at them. "Hi, everyone! I am Fallon Price!"

Everyone knew who she was. They just didn't understand why she was here.

"And I can't wait to work with all of you." Fallon rocks back and forth on her heels. She looks at the instructor. "Also, I am sorry my mom got a little...verbally abusive. She was just joking."

The instructor looks at the smiling student. "Is she...always like that?"

Fallon raises her brows, "Oh, yeah!" she softly laughs.

"My God..."

"Oh, if you thought that was bad, try living with her." Fallon's laugh awkwardly becomes quiet and her smile gradually gets smaller. "Seriously."

Fallon then presses her lips into a small smile. "So, where will I be seated?"

"O-Oh..." Ms. Osborn tries her best to refocus. "You will be next to Robin Buckley--Miss Buckley raise your hand please?"

Robin lets out a small whine as everyone looks at her. She reluctantly raises her hand.

"Ah! There she is." Ms. Osborn points at the student.

Fallon's grip on her french horn tightens, and her heartbeat continues to accelerate. She makes her way up the risers with her shoulders bunched. Like the red sea, the students all step aside for the Price girl and she raises her brows. "That is very kind of you guys." she lets out a soft breath.

Robin tilts her head to the ceiling and scoffs. "Seriously?" she then shrugs her shoulders. "I mean...why?"

Fallon blinks and tilts her head. "Uh, who are you talking to?"

Robin looks at Fallon and her back straightens. "My...self?"

"Oh. Okay." Fallon then smiles. "It's nice to see you aga--"

"Are you stalking me, or something?" A crease forms between Robin's brows.

Fallon slightly opens her mouth. "Me? Stalking? Why would I...?" she raises her brows.

"Oh, you think I joined for you?" Fallon laughs softly and waves a hand. "No, no...I joined for the a-acoustics."

Robin slowly nods her head, "Right, right. Have fun with those acoustics."

"You didn't think that was convincing?" Fallon chuckles.

The chestnut brunette scrunches her face. "I mean, if my sarcastic comment didn't let you know that then..." she winces. "...you might be a lost cause."

"Oh, okay. And you were totally talking to yourself, right?" Fallon raises her brows. "And not...the Lord?"

Robin scrunches her lips together. "Okay, so, we're both terrible liars." she shrugs.

A small smile forms on Fallon's lips, "I guess we are."

Robin turns back to the front. Fallon rolls her lips into her mouth to contain her giddy smile. The caramel brown-skinned girl then pulls her brows together and as her mission has been solved, a new one now has been created.

She had to learn how to play the fucking french horn.

...

"Well, this seems..." Gus tilts her head and reads the sheet music. "...complicated."

"Trigonometry is easier than this shit." The brunette laughs softly. She turns to her friend and notices her pacing back and forth. Gus' smile lessens. "Uh, Fal? Are you okay?"

Fallon continues to pace, but she raises her brows. "Huh? Oh, yeah...I'm--I'm good. I'm great!" she keeps her eyes on the french horn in her hand. "Just, trying to understand the different...finger placement thingy's."

Gus raises her brows and snorts. "You mean the valve levers?"

Fallon stops in her tracks and looks at Gus. "How did you know that?"

Gus presses her lips together and shrugs her shoulders. "I am friends with one of the french horn players."

"Who?"

Gus slightly lowers her head, "Are you--you're serious?"

Fallon blinks and Gus continues to stare at her best friend, waiting for it to click.

Click.

"You're friends with Robin?!"

Gus frowns and raises her hands in a bragging manner. "Hold your applause."

"I was planning on it." Fallon places her hands on her hips and Gus winces.

"Oops. I'm about to be scolded, aren't I?" Gus lets out a sheepish laugh.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you and Robin were friends?" Fallon asks. "Why didn't you introduce us sooner?"

Gus slightly opens her mouth, then purses her lips. "Well, Robin, kind of...doesn't...like you."

Fallon keeps her eyes on Gus. "Like...she hates me?"

"No!" Gus exclaims. "She just doesn't like the vibes you give off."

Fallon's mouth hangs open, "What vibes?!" she holds her arms out.

"I...I dunno--"

"Truth time, August."

The brunette's lips sputter and she hangs her head low. Gus scratches the back of her neck and places one hand behind her back. "All right, fine. Truth time." she holds her hand up. "She doesn't understand why you always wear heels."

Fallon looks down at her yellow pumps and frowns. "What's wrong with my heels?"

Gus shrugs, "I think they're cute. But, Fallon, you're at home." she motions around her friend's room. "You can kick your shoes off and relax."

Fallon exhales softly through her nose. "Relax." she nods her head. "I can do that." The girl kicks her pumps off and walks over to the dresser. Gus quietly laughs, "Now, I remember why you wear pumps. You're short as hell!"

Fallon glances at the ceiling with her lips pursed. "Hey, Gus?"

"Yeah?"

"You're shorter than me."

Gus' laughter falls silent and she sits there staring at the wall. She then clears her throat, grabs the magazine on the bed, and starts to look through it. Fallon lets out a soft laugh.

The curly-haired girl grabs a pen and notepad. She flips to a new page and scribbles down a sentence. "Okay, what else?"

Gus blows air out of her mouth, "Uh...I don't know--you're the 'Queen Bee' I guess." she looks at the ceiling. "You always have your face in a textbook. Which is fine, but for once focus on the outside world." she looks at Fallon, whose face was practically smushed against the notepad.

"Okay, what are you writing down?" Gus chuckles.

"Oh, nothing serious, just everything I need to change about myself to get Robin to like me." Fallon shrugs a shoulder. "So, what else did she say?"

Gus quickly stands up, "What?"

"Okay, I say 'what' too much--"

"No, I meant 'what' as in 'why the hell are you trying to change yourself'?" Gus grabs the notepad from Fallon's hand.

"Hey!" Fallon exclaims.

Gus shakes her head, "Dude, Fallon, if Robin doesn't like you for who you are then she doesn't deserve you."

"Or there might be something wrong with me." Fallon retorts. "And I might just be a bitch."

"You're not a bitch." Gus states.

Fallon deadpans, "Do you not remember what I did to you before Winter break?"

"Oh, I remember." Gus chuckles. "But, guess what? You have been doing some major changing inside yourself--good changing. Not some weird changing, like just to have someone like you."

"But, Robin isn't just someone, all right?" Fallon slumps her shoulders. "She makes me feel...like, really airy. I could fall on my ass right now and it would feel like I'm jumping on a trampoline."

Gus frowns, "Shit, really?"

Fallon nods her head and Gus raises her brows.

"You are having the full-on Guster Flutters." The brunette states.

Fallon chuckles softly and Gus presses her lips together. "Look, I'm serious when I say that you're amazing, Fallon. I wouldn't be best friends with just anyone."

Fallon frowns, "Well, what about Steve?"

Gus deadpans and arches a brow. Fallon holds her hands up.

"You guys are gonna have to start getting along, y'know?" Gus pronounces.

"I don't have to be friends with everyone you're friends with." Fallon rolls her eyes.

Fallon already spent way too much time with him, when planning Gus' party. She didn't need to actually try and be friends with the boy. A thought pops into Fallon's head and her stomach turns. "Hey, has Steve...talked to you?"

"Oh yeah, he wanted me to come over later. He had something we wanted to tell me, I guess..." Gus shrugs and hands the notepad back to Fallon.

Fallon slightly opens her mouth, she turns to her dresser and places the notepad on it. "Oh..."

Gus looks at her coil-haired friend and presses her lips into a smile. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Fallon turns to the brunette.

Gus folds her arms across her chest and pokes her tongue against her cheek. "You made that 'Oh' kind of Oh."

"I have different 'Ohs'?" Fallon raises her brows.

Gus nods her head, "Yeah, your first 'Oh' went up a few octaves while the second one was just...wait a minute..." she holds up her pointer finger, then points at Fallon. "You are trying to distract me."

Fallon presses her lips together and shakes her head. "Nuh-uh--"

"Uh-huh!"

"Okay, fine!" Fallon throws her arms up and they hit her thighs, causing her to softly wince. "I may have said a few things to him...a few weeks ago."

"What things?" Gus cranes her neck forward. "Certainly not...confessions of me liking him kind of things."

"No!" Fallon holds her hands up. She then pulls her brows together. "Actually..."

"Fallon!"

"I don't know--I may have kind of...blacked out." Fallon starts to twiddle her thumbs.

Gus' eyes widen, "You blacked out? What were you guys talking about that made you black out?"

"Well, it was after he finished talking to you on his front porch and I noticed how calm he was around you." Fallon continues.

"Wait, how do you know about me talking to him?" Gus chuckles. "Were you there?"

Fallon bunches her shoulders and a sheepish smile forms on her lips. "Yeah...?"

"You have got to be shitting me--"

"Hey, we were trying to do that thing that people do when they're trying to become f-frie..." Fallon shudders, causing Gus to cock her head to the side.

"Fal, the word is not that hard to use."

"That may be the case for you." Fallon points at her. "But, I never ever thought I would use Steve and...f-frie...friend in the same sentence. Unless it's in the rudest way possible."

"Can we get back on the subject please?" Gus pinches the bridge of her nose. "What else did you tell him?"

Fallon swipes her tongue across her lower lip. "I told him to not drag you along and not to hurt Nancy's feelings."

Gus' eyes widen, "Oh, My God..." she walks over to the bed and sits down. Fallon watches as Gus tangles her hands into her short hair.

"I fucked, didn't I?" Fallon asks.

Gus shakes her head, "No, you didn't." she sighs. "I mean, you gave him an ultimatum."

Fallon's mouth opens, "Oh, shit--"

"But, it's an ultimatum that has been long overdue." Gus tugs at her hair and Fallon winces.

"Okay, August, honey..." Fallon walks over to her best friend. "We've talked about the hair pulling, all right? Who do we save that for?"

Gus starts to bounce her leg and she inhales a deep breath. "Uh, we save it for people we fight or people we have sex with."

"Correct." Fallon pats Gus' knees. Fallon's expression falls, seeing tears form in Gus' eyes.

"He's gonna choose Nancy, isn't he?"

Fallon feels like she's been punched in the gut. The way Gus asked the question, made it seem like it was her worse fear. Gus rubs her hands against her jeans. "And you know what is one of the things I'm most afraid of?" she lifts her head up and meets Fallon's guilt-ridden eyes. "How I'm gonna react to Nancy when I see her next."

The two brunettes just started becoming friends again. She didn't want to lose Nancy or Steve. But something was bound to happen, and Gus knew what was going to happen. Because she knows Steve Harrington.

"Just...breathe, all right?" Fallon whispers softly. She rolls her lips into her mouth. "Shit, Gus, I'm so sorry...I didn't know that this was going to--"

"Fallon, you have nothing to apologize for." Gus looks at the girl. "You stood up for me. Made my silent feelings known. And I fucking appreciate that so much."

Fallon sniffles and a small smile forms on her lips. She wraps her arms around the brunette's neck and pulls her into a hug. Gus' lips press against the crook of Fallon's neck. Her eyes fill with tears again, knowing what the outcome of her conversation with Steve was going to be.

☆

It's only been a few hours since Fallon told Gus about her conversation with Steve. Gus was pretty sure her eyes were still puffy from crying. Her head was sure still hurting from it. Fallon wanted to drive Gus here, so she wouldn't be alone. But the brunette decided against it. Besides, Gus came up with the greatest plan for Fallon to learn how to play the french horn and hang out with Robin. And Gus wasn't going to have Fallon miss out on that.

But, now that the girl was here, staring at the dark pinewood door. She couldn't go through with it. Losing Steve. Again. Even just thinking about it made the brunette feel sick. Gus was ready to turn and run for the hills. Then she realized that this was never going to go away. She had classes with the boy. His girlfriend is Gus' friend. Gus had to face this head-on. No matter what happens, she had to deal with it. So, she rubs her sweaty hands against her jeans and inhales a soft breath. Despite her heart pounding through her ears, Gus heard her knuckles knock against the door.

Gus taps the tip of her shoe against the cement porch. The door finally opens, revealing the brunette boy and his expression immediately drops. That confirms Gus' theory.

"Gus. Hi."

The brunette keeps her signature strong gaze on Steve's distant one. "Hey, Steve." she manages a small smile. "What'd you wanna talk about?"

Steve pulls his brows together. He keeps his eyes on Gus' hazel green ones. Her eyes didn't have the certain light that she has recently gotten back. Steve understood why he was being distant. But why was Gus? Then it clicks in his head.

"Fallon talked to you." Steve lets out a breath.

Gus drops her content expression and she's left with a solemn one.

"What did I do wrong?" Gus scoffs softly with her arms out. "I mean, I thought we were good. I thought we were friends--"

"I thought so too..." Steve looks at his sneakers.

"Then what's the problem?" Gus questions.

Steve inhales a soft breath and looks back at the brunette. His chest begins to painfully tighten. There was every part of him that was screaming for him not to do this. But, he sadly heard the small piece of information that his father burned into him.

"You...like me."

Gus' entire body stiffens. She knew what he was talking about, but she decided to play dumb. "What are you talking about?"

"Gus, come on." Steve lets out a tired sigh. It almost sounded like he was tired of Gus. And that made her strong facade waver.

"I have a girlfriend."

"I know that!" Gus lets out a soft laugh. She then pulls her brows together, seeing Steve avoid eye contact. "Whoa--hold on. Did you think I was gonna make a move on you or something?"

Steve doesn't answer and Gus' eyes widen. "Nancy, is my friend--"

"Gus, you've been trying so fucking hard to become my friend again." Steve snaps. "And honestly, I really think that was some kind of rouge to get closer to me in an inappropriate way."

"Inappropriate way..." Gus exhales a sharp breath. She then starts to laugh and she touches her stomach. "You. Steve 'The Hair' Harrington want to talk about inappropriate?"

Gus takes a threatening step toward him and his gut turns. "You pretending to want to watch a movie with me only to try and make out with me, after you thought that Jonathan and Nancy were sleeping together." she cocks her head to the side and shrugs her shoulders. "Did you forget about that little rouge of yours, Harrington?"

Steve freezes. Gus only called the boy by his last name when she was pissed at him. He was still shaken by it. The brunette's ears start to ring and she curls her hands into fists. "God! You really that highly of yourself, don't you?!" She barks.

The ground beneath her feet begins to quake and Steve's jaw clenches.

"I was fine with you ending our friendship because I knew you were doing it for Nancy. Your girlfriend, who you love."

Gus shakes her head. "I was ready for you to give me some bullshit excuse, but...telling me I acted in an inappropriate way because I like you is..." her voice gets caught in her throat and her eyes start to burn with tears. Steve's back straightens when Gus finally breaks eye contact by looking at the ground.

"Gus, I am really sorr--"

"You wanted to end this friendship?" Gus presses her lips into a frown and shrugs her shoulders. "Cool. You got what you wanted." she digs through her satchel. The brunette pulls out the mixtape Steve made her. The mixtape she listened to everyday. Gus' hands start to shake and shoves it toward Steve's chest. He grabs the mixtape before it falls and Gus burns her glassy hazel green eyes into his shaky brown ones.

"This friendship is fucking done."

Gus turns on her heel and quickly walks toward her car with her hand over her mouth. Steve looks down at the mixtape in his hand and his eyes burn with tears. He felt like he had been hit by a truck. Steve couldn't even move. He just stood in his doorway, feeling like he just lost his world.

And that's because he did.

☆

Hopper bounces his leg up and down while running his face. His eyes shift to his watch and shakes his head.

"Late."

Hopper jumps from the sudden voice. "Jesus!" He looks at the curly haired girl. "What?"

"August." Eleven motions her head to the clock. "She is late."

Hopper let's out a soft breath, seeing Eleven was just as worried as him. "Yeah, she's late, kid." He grabs his keys and grabs his jacket. "I'm gonna go find her—"

"I can find her." Eleven says, taking a step forward.

Hopper looks at the girl, "Eleven—"

"I want to find her." Eleven insists. "Please. She could be in danger. The bad men—"

The cabin floors start to shake, causing the two to fall silent. The shaking stops and Hopper stands up. "Do you think that was—"

The shaking returns more violently than before. The entire cabin starts to quake to the point that wood chips from the ceiling start to fall. All the windows shatter. Hopper ducks down. And Eleven quickly reacts. She holds her hands out and all the shards of glass, stop in place before they could stab her and Hopper. The man let's out a soft breath as the glass shards drop to the ground.

The door blows off the hinges and flies into the house. Eleven quickly stands in front of Hopper, with her eyes glued to the door. Hopper grabs his gun and aims it at the door. They both wait anxiously for something to enter the shaking cabin. But there was nothing.

Eleven let's out a soft breath. Impatient, she speed walks toward the door.

"El, don't!" Hopper growls.

Eleven stands in front of the door, ready to attack whatever tried to enter her home. The young girl stops when she sees the teenager stalking toward the house. A small breath of relief leaves her lips. Eleven smiles and opens her mouth to speak, but she quickly stops when she notices Gus' breathing was ragged and her eyes were glued to the ground.

The brunette enters the house and brushes past Eleven.

"Gus, what the hell?!" Hopper raises his voice. "You break curfew and on top of that— you destroy the cabin?! What were you thinking..."

Gus walks down the hall and goes into her and Eleven's room. She slams the door shut, causing Eleven to jump. Eleven looks at Hopped with knitted brows. "She's upset."

Hopper inhales a soft breath and slips the gun back into his waistband. "Hey, can you, uh..." he motions to the door that was off the hinges.

Eleven looks at the door, she lifts her hand up and the door floats in the air. The door moves back to the doorframe and it loosely leans against the doorframe. She turns her head to see Hopper standing at the door Gus closed.

"Hey, kid, you all right?" Hopper asks. He presses his hands against the doorframe and leans his head against the white oak door. "Look, I don't need you to open the door or anything. You want to be alone and I get that. But, I need you to give me a sign or something that you're okay."

Silence.

Hopper moves from one foot to the other and his throat tightens. "August?" He grows nervous.

"I'm okay, dad." Gus' voice was small and weak from behind the door.

She wasn't okay. But, Hopper closes his eyes and pushes himself off the door. He looks at the young girl looking at him. Hopper shifts his eyes to the door. "I'll fix that tomorrow." He pinches the bridge of his nose. Hopper looks at Eleven. "I think this might be about, Harrington."

Eleven blinks, "Big hair Steve."

Hopper let's out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, big hair Steve." He rubs his neck. "She doesn't...talk to me about those kinds of things with boys or girls. I know she talks to you about it and all, so..."

Eleven bites on the inside of her cheek. "I will talk to her."

A small smile forms on Hopper's lips. "Thanks, kiddo." He ruffles her hair. Hopper looks at Gus' door one last time before reluctantly walking to his room.

Eleven walks over to the door and lightly knocks on it. "Gus, can I come in?"

"It's...El..."

Eleven rocks back and forth on her heels. She shifts her eyes to the hem of her pajama shirt and picks at the strings. Footsteps are heard behind the door, they were soft but also sounded weak. Like they were dragging against the hard wood floor. The door opens and Gus walks back over to her bed and gets under her covers.

Eleven enters the room. "You're still in your everyday clothes."

"I know..."

Eleven walks over to her bed on the other side of the room. She sits on her bed and gets under her covers. The girl lays down and keeps her eyes on Gus, who's back was turned. Eleven looks at the light switch and squints her eyes. She flips the light off and the sisters were left in the dark with a deafening silence.

Eleven lays on her back and stares at the ceiling. She lets out a soft breath, thinking that there was no way to talk to Gus. How was she supposed to come up with something to ask the girl? Eleven loved listening to Gus' life. And she has grown to like Gus too. But Eleven knows that Gus is someone who is snappy. Eleven didn't want Gus to yell at her.

Eleven is snapped out of her worried thoughts, when she hears sniffling. The young girl lays on her side and looks back at Gus' figure in the dark.

"August?"

Gus doesn't answer. But her cries become more audible than before, causing Eleven to sit up. She uses her abilities to flip the light switch back on. Eleven quickly gets out of her bed and walks closer to Gus' body that was shaking with wracks of sobs.

The room starts to shake and Eleven's voice catches into her throat. "Gus, your powers are..." the girl trails off her sentence and she closes her mouth. She couldn't talk to Gus about her powers being out of control. Then the teenager would be worried about more than one thing. And it seemed like she couldn't handle that right now.

Eleven walks toward Gus and sits on the edge of the teenager's bed. She opens and closes her hand as Gus continues to cry. Eleven raises her hand and lightly places it on Gus' shoulder. Gus inhales a soft breath and turns her head, her red rimmed eyes meet Eleven's soft ones. Eleven rubs Gus' shoulder and presses her lips into a small smile. Neither of the girls spoke, they just sat there. Eleven didn't have to say anything to comfort Gus and that made the teenager feel better in a way.

Gus lays her head in Eleven's lap and continues to softly sob.

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author's note.

I'm not gonna lie when I wrote Steve and Gus' argument, 'I Love You So' came on and I cried. I also wrote this at 5 am so if it's terrible...my bad.

Okay, but Eleven silently comforting Gus is everything.

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

Words : 5385