Chapter Nine: The Gate

chapter thirty-nine , Face your fears

a/n : content warning! Implied Racism

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Mike and Eleven greet each other with a tight embrace. Gus smiles softly at the two. Sofía raises her brows in awe of the girl. She's heard so many stories about Eleven. Her powers, her bravery, her protectiveness. It was all something Sofía admired. Fallon kept her brows knitted together. "Hold on..." she lessens her grip on the axe.

Gus looks at Fallon, who had confusion written all over her face. Fallon points at Eleven and looks at Gus. "I thought she was...you know." The curly-haired girl closes her eyes and sticks her tongue out, signifying death. Gus raises her brows and slightly opens her mouth. Shit. She and Hopper had to explain that they knew Eleven was alive this entire time.

"I never gave up on you." Tears brim Mike's eyes. "I called you every night. Every night for—"

"353 days." Eleven finishes. "I heard."

Mike slightly shakes his head. "Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"

"Because I wouldn't let her," Hopper speaks up. He walks toward Eleven. "The hell is this? Where you been?"

"Where have you been?" Eleven questions back, the same way Gus did earlier.

Hopper then pulls Eleven into a hug and she hugs him back. Gus walks toward the two, "Would now be a bad time to ask about who's watching Hedwig?"

Eleven looks at Gus and tears fill her eyes. She bites her lower lip and wraps her arms around Gus' waist, not caring about the tears that were now staining her clothes. Gus stumbles back from the eager hug but she touches Eleven's back, hugging her as well. After, Eleven got mad at Gus for not taking a side during her and Hopper's argument; she had been ignoring Gus. But after she had just met Kali, Eleven was even more grateful for Gus. Gus kept Eleven grounded, and she tried her best to help Eleven feel like a normal kid. That just made Eleven miss Gus more than ever.

Eleven pulls away from the hug and wipes her eyes. "I put a lot of food and water in Hedwig's cage before I left." She sniffles.

Gus bites the inside of her cheek, "I bet you he's having a field day with that." She touches the top of Eleven's head and chuckles.

Mike keeps his eyes on Hopper, "You've been hiding her." His upper lip curls with rage. "You've been hiding her this whole time!" He shoves Hopper.

"Hey!" Hopper snaps.

Mike's eyes snap over to Gus and they widen with realization. Gus' chest tightens from the look of betrayal across the kid's face. "Mike—"

"You pricks!" Mike shouts at them. "You both knew! You both knew and you didn't tell me!" He points at Gus. "I cried to you about her almost every night!"

Guilt fills Gus' chest. "I know that and I am sorry. But you have to understand that—"

"NO, SCREW YOU!"

Mike goes to shove Gus, but Hopper grabs the kid's arm.

"Hey—Hey!" Hopper glares at the boy. "Let's all talk. Alone."

Hopper, Gus, and Mike go into a separate room. Gus quickly closes the door behind the three as soon as Mike starts to yell.

"Protecting her--Protecting her?!"

"Listen. Listen to me." Hopper starts. "The more people know about her, the more danger she's in. And the more danger you and your family are in--"

"Oh, what--so, I should be thanking you then?!" Mike shouts.

Gus keeps her back against the door, "Mike, nobody wants you to thank them. We just...we're asking you to understand why we kept this a secret--"

"I don't! I don't understand!"

"That's fine. That is fine! Just do not blame her, all right? She's upset enough as it is." Hopper raises his voice. "And do not blame Gus."

"I don't blame them! I blame you! I blame you!" Mike points at Hopper.

Gus slightly opens her mouth, "Guys--"

"That's okay, kid. That's okay." Hopper scoffs.

"No! Nothing about this is okay!" Mike's voice starts to shake and Gus raises her brows. "Nothing about this is o-kay!" he shoves Hopper.

Mike starts

"You're a stupid, disgusting, lying piece of shit!" Mike starts to hit Hopper in the side.

Hopper tries his best to calm Mike down, but the boy continues to scream. At some point, Mike's screams turned into cries. Gus' eyes soften as Mike cries even harder than before. Hopper hugs Mike, comforting him.

"We missed you." Lucas and Dustin hug Eleven.

"I missed you, too." Eleven hugs them back.

"We talked about you pretty much every day," Dustin tells the girl.

They all separate from the hug. Eleven looks at Dustin and she pulls her brows together. She leans forward and touches his teeth. "Teeth."

"What?"

"You have teeth," Eleven says.

Dustin and Lucas smile. "Oh, you like these pearls?" Dustin then purrs at Eleven, which causes her to slightly jump. Lucas' smile drops and he shakes his head.

"Eleven?" Max walks toward the three. "Hey. Um, I'm Max." she holds a hand out to the girl. "I've heard a lot about you."

Eleven glances away from Max and brushes past her. Fallon's mouth hangs open. Eleven stalks toward the quiet girl, which causes her back to straighten. Eleven stands in front of her with intense eye contact. Sofía opens and closes her mouth, trying to speak. "Uh...h-hi. I'm--"

"Sofia." Eleven then smiles.

Sofía's face relaxes and she nods her head. "Yeah. You...know who I am?"

Eleven nods her head and chuckles. Eleven had never met Sofía, but she was grateful that Sofía was saved from the Upside Down. Gus had told Eleven all about Sofía and how kind she was. Eleven had always been eager to meet the girl. Sofía presses her lips into a smile, "It's nice to officially officially meet you." she wraps her arms around Eleven. "I'm a hugger."

Eleven hugs Sofía back with a smile.

...

Everyone stands around the table, listening to Hopper.

"It's not like it was before. It's grown." Hopper starts. "A lot. And, I mean, that's considering we can get in there. That place is crawling with those dogs."

Dustin turns to Hopper, "Demo-dogs."

Hopper looks at the boy, "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, uh, Demo-dogs." Dustin repeats. "Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass--"

"How is this important right now?"

"It's not. I'm sorry." Dustin turns back to the table. "Your daughter was the one that made it up, so..."

Gus pulls the bill of Dustin's hat down and hushes the boy.

"I can do it." Eleven speaks.

Gus looks at her little sister with her brows raised.

"You're not hearing me." Hopper starts.

"I'm hearing you. I can do it." Eleven repeats.

"Even if El can, there's still another problem." Mike starts. "If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the whole point." Max pulls her brows together.

"It is, but if we're really right about this...I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayer's army..."

"Will's a part of that army." Lucas states.

Sofía's eyes widen, "Closing the gate will kill him."

All the color drains from Joyce's face hearing this. Her eyes trail over to the room that Will was in. She stands up and walks to the room with everyone else following. Joyce looks at her unconscious son in bed. Her eyes then shift to the window that was wide open.

"He likes it cold..."

"What?"

Joyce slowly nods her head, "That's what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold." she walks over to the window and shuts it. "We keep giving it what it wants."

"If this is a virus, and Will's the host then..."

"...we need to make the host uninhabitable." Jonathan finishes.

"So, if he likes it cold--"

"We need to burn it out of him." Joyce states.

"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time." Mike says.

"Yeah, somewhere far away," Dustin adds.

Simultaneously, Gus and Hopper look at each other; the same location in their minds. Hopper tells them that he knows a place. He picks Will up and covers his head with a blanket, making sure he couldn't see. Hopper walks out of the house with Joyce and Jonathan. He directs them on where they need to go. Gus and Eleven go to the front yard as well.

Gus walks over to the truck with Eleven. She opens the passenger door, but Hopper quickly closes it. "What are you doing?"

Gus looks at Hopper with an arched brow, "I'm going with you guys."

Hopper lets out a chuckle of disbelief, "No--absolutely not."

"Hop, I can protect you guys, okay?" Gus says. "While El is trying to close the gate. I can keep them away from the both of you."

Hopper sighs and looks at Eleven. Gus cranes her neck forward. "Hey, why are you consulting with the child here instead of talking to me?"

Hopper looks back at the teenager, still not convinced.

"My powers are made for this, Hop," Gus sighs.

Hopper pulls his brows together, "What do you mean?"

Gus shrugs and looks at the gravel. "My powers? It's like they were made to destroy things. So maybe killing these Demo-dogs is what I'm supposed to do."

Hopper's eyes soften. Is that really how Gus thought of herself?

"You can't think about it like that Gus," Hopper assures the girl.

Eleven grabs Gus' hand, and Gus looks at the little girl. "You're a hero."

Gus quietly chuckles, "I appreciate that, but--"

"No, buts," Eleven says. "You are a hero. My Hero."

Gus' eyes well with tears. She quickly wipes at her eyes and sniffles.

"You're coming with us," Hopper says.

Gus looks at Hopper, "Really?"

Hopper nods, "Come on."

Gus nods, "Okay--"

"Gus!"

The brunette turns and her heartbeat quickens seeing Steve. She goes to walk over to him but stops. She turns to Hopper, "I'll be right back."

"Mmhmm." Hopper walks over to the car.

Eleven walks over to Mike and Hopper scoffs.

"You two better hurry it up," Hopper grumbles.

Gus walks over to Steve and stands toe to toe with him. She lightly touches his pointer finger.

Steve looks down at their fingers touching and his heart jumps into his throat. "You going with Eleven and Hopper?" Steve asks.

Gus nods her head, "Yeah, I have to protect them, Steve--"

"You don't have to explain to me." Steve cups her face. "You've gotta protect your family."

"I'm protecting part of my family," Gus says. "You and Fallon are going to be protecting the other half."

Steve inhales a deep breath and groans, remembering he has to be around Fallon. Gus rolls her eyes, "Stop it." she chuckles.

Steve keeps his eyes on Gus and smiles softly. "We'll protect them." he drops his hands from her face.

Gus chews on the inside of her cheek. "I knew you would like babysitting." she chuckles.

Steve gnaws on his lower lip and Gus raises a brow at the look Steve was giving her. He then grips her wrist and pulls her forward, connecting their lips. Gus smiles against his lips and kisses him back. Her hand grips his arm and she stands on her toes.

"Holy shit!"

Fallon quickly runs out of the house. "What? What is it? A meteor? Dinosaurs? Aliens, oh my god—what?!"

Sofia blinks at the stressed teen. "It's Gus and Steve."

Fallon knits her brows together, she looks at Gus and Steve. Her eyes blow wide, "Oh God--Oh God! This is worse than anything I could think of."

Hopper's eyes widen from Gus and Steve making out. "Nuh-Uh--Gus! El! Bring your asses!"

Gus quietly groans and pulls away from Steve. She softly chuckles, "I'll see you later."

"Yes, you will, August." Steve playfully winks at her and walks back toward the house.

Gus rolls her lips into her mouth and giggles. She turns and walks to the car.

☆

The car was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Gus and Eleven were smushed in the passenger seat together, while Hopper was driving. The teen knew that Eleven and Hopper needed to address the argument they had back at the cabin. But neither of them wanted to talk first. So, Gus was gonna have to get the ball rolling.

"Since neither of you wants to start, I guess, I will." Gus slaps her hands shaking her thighs. She turns to her sister. "Ellie, I love the look. I'm getting major MTV Punk vibes from it."

Gus raises her brows, "Did you get into my closet again?"

Eleven looks at Gus and shakes her head. "I went to see mama."

Gus' expression drops, "Your mom? But I thought she...?" She looks at Hopper and just from the shocked expression on his face, she knew that he kept it a secret.

"Hopper lied," Eleven speaks.

Gus slowly nods his head, "Yes, he did..." she comfortingly rubs Hopper's arm. "Hopper lies a lot—"

"Gus, what the hell?"

"And—And Hop is going to try and change that." Gus then glares at Hopper. "Aren't ya, Hop?"

Hopper lets out a low inaudible grumble. "Okay..." he looks forward.

Gus presses her lips together and looks at Eleven. "How'd you get there?"

"A truck?"

"A truck?" Hopper and Gus chorus.

"A big truck."

Gus inhales a breath. She was the mediator in this situation. She had to stay calm.

"A big truck? Whose truck was it?" Hopper asks.

"A man's."

Gus' eyes widen, "What the hell were you doing in a man's truck? You could've asked me to drive you wherever—you could've..." she inhales a deep breath and covers her mouth. Gus leans her elbow against the middle console between her and Hopper. She closes her eyes and exhales through her nose. "I've taught you about stranger danger."

Eleven nods, "You have." She presses her lips into a small line. "He was a nice man."

Gus takes her hand off her mouth and lets out a sigh of relief. "He better've been."

"Okay. So let me just get this straight on my head." Hopper squints his eyes. "So, a nice man in a big truck, he drove you to your mama's, and then what? Your Aunt Becky gave you those clothes and that makeup?"

"Hey, no attitude," Gus whispers. "Besides, I'm the mediator. Let me handle the questions, all right?"

Hopper deeply sighs and keeps his eyes forward. "Go ahead."

Gus looks at Eleven and clears her throat. "Did you have a makeover at your mama's house?"

Eleven's eyes slightly widen, thinking about meeting Kali. Gus watches as Eleven's expression drops and tears fill her eyes. "I shouldn't have left..." she looks at Gus then her eyes shift to Hopper.

Hopper shakes his head, "No. No, this isn't on you, kid. I should've been there." He admits. "I should never have lied to you about your mom or about when you could leave."

"A lot of things I shouldn't have done." Hopper continues. "Sometimes I feel like I'm..."

Gus turns to Hopper, noticing his words trail off. "...Like I'm just some kind of black hole or something."

Gus pulls her brows together. She wanted to protest and tell Hopper that was completely wrong. It was wrong, but she felt like the two needed to talk now without her two cents. And she had to let that happen. Gus thinks back to how not too long ago, she described her own self as a black hole during her counseling session.

"A black hole?" Eleven questions with tears.

"Yeah, it's a...you know it's this thing in outer space." Hopper describes. "It's like, it sucks everything towards it and destroys it. Sarah had a picture book about outer space. She loved it."

"Who's Sarah?"

Gus and Hopper look at the girl. The teenager slightly opens her mouth.

"Sarah's my girl," Hopper answers. "She's my little girl." He can't believe he never told Eleven about her.

"Where is she?"

"Well, that's kind of the thing, kid. She, uh...she left us."

Eleven's voice gets caught in her throat, but she still speaks. "Gone."

"Yeah...the black hole. It got her." Hopper says. "And somehow...I've just been scared, you know? I've been scared for years, ever since I took Gus in. I've been scared that it would take the two of you, too. I think that's why I get...so mad."

"I'm so sorry. For everything."

Tears leave Eleven's eyes and Gus feels tears form in her eyes too.

"I could be so...so..."

"Stupid?"

Gus lets out a soft chuckle along with Hopper and Eleven.

"Yeah. Stupid." Hopper nods his head. "Just really stupid."

Eleven then takes Hopper's hand. "I've been stupid, too."

Gus slowly places her hand over Hopper and Eleven's. "I haven't been as stupid as the two of you have been lately, but..." she presses her lips into a smile. "...let's just say we've all been pretty stupid."

A smile forms on Hopper's lips. "I guess we all broke a rule."

Gus chuckles, "Look at us, we're just a buncha rule breakers."

"I don't hate it, by the way." Hopper starts. "This whole...look."

"It's kind of cool."

"Kind of?" Gus huffs. She then looks at Eleven. "It's badass, all right?"

"Bitchin'."

Gus raises her brows, she looks at Hopper, and laughs with him. She then looks at Eleven again. "Yeah, yeah. Bitchin'."

"Also, all I'm saying is, if this is your style now? I can help you find some more clothes." Gus volunteers.

Hopper rolls his eyes, "All she has to do is look in your closet and there's more clothes."

Gus raises her brows and points at Hopper. "That's not an insult—" she then looks at Eleven. "That is not an insult. That is the biggest compliment in the world."

Eleven nods her head, "Your clothes are bitchin'."

Gus beams a smile, "Why yes. Yes, they are."

☆

"I can't believe this is even real..."

Sofía watches as Fallon crouches in front of the dead Demo-dog in the house. "Wait, didn't you fight one of these last year?"

"I mean, fight, run away...not much of a difference if you ask me." Fallon moves her hand from side to side.

Sofía nods her head, understanding Fallon easily. Fallon tilts her head at the dead creature. "It's still just so...surreal."

Sofía raises her brows, "You're telling me." She shakes her head. "There's always a small moment when I forget that I was there in The Upside Down. Then something happens, like a light flicker or my hearing starts to ring and...I'm back there."

Fallon looks at the young girl. Sofía then huffs, "Everything that we've been through is surreal."

Fallon and Sofía look back at the Demo-fog.

"Out of the way, out of the way!" Dustin makes his way to the front room with Steve behind him. He brushes last Fallon and points at the Demo-dog. "Steve, would you be a doll and pick that up? Thank you."

Steve looks at Dustin and scoffs as the kid walks into the kitchen. He looks back at Fallon and notices the smirk across her lips. Fallon motions her head over to the Demo-dog. "Go on. Pick it up. Doll."

Steve softly scoffs and walks over to the Demo-dog. "This is such bullshit."

"Isn't that what Nancy said about your guys' relationship?" Fallon asks.

Steve stops and looks back at Fallon. She closes her mouth and holds her hands up. "Kidding."

Steve looks back at the Demo-dog. Sofía and Fallon look at each other with the same smile of entertainment across their lips. Steve picks up the dead Demo-dog and walks into the kitchen.

"All right. It should fit now."

Fallon looks over at the creature in Steve's hand and raises her brows. "Yeah..."

"Is this really necessary?" Steve asks.

"Yes, it is, okay? This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery." Dustin pronounces. "We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog."

"Or...a cat." Fallon clicks her tongue.

Dustin deadpans and looks over at Fallon. The curly-haired girl covers her mouth. "I am so sorry. It was definitely too soon for that."

Steve walks over to the fridge, "You're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right?" He starts to shove the dead creature into it. Fallon snorts softly as Steve orders Dustin to help him.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"The door, man. Get the door."

Fallon rolls her eyes, "Great teamwork, guys."

Steve slams the fridge door shut and turns to Fallon with a huff. He then pulls his brows together, "Well, I don't see you helping out or anything."

"I am too, helping!" Fallon walks over to the counter and picks up the drying towel. "Here." She holds the towel out to him.

Steve looks at Fallon and squints his eyes. He grabs the towel and wipes his hands clean. Fallon presses her lips into a firm smile. "See? Helping." She then crosses her arms. "Now, about that make-out session outside."

Steve's face gets hot. "Oh, uh, I don't know what you're talking about—"

"Everyone saw it, Steve," Dustin calls out. "No need to lie."

Steve then shoots a glare at Dustin, which causes the boy to slam his mouth shut. Steve looks back at Fallon and she wasn't taking her stern glare off of him. His back straightens.

"When did this start happening, huh?" Fallon arches a brow. "You and my best friend."

"Just tonight." Steve answers. "We kissed on the porch and the Chief walked in on us—"

"You guys kissed more than once?" Fallon cranes her neck forward. Steve swallows but he nods his head. Fallon exhales through her nose.

"And if you're going to give me this whole protective speech thing. Hopper already talked to me—"

"Yeah, but he didn't give you my speech." Fallon runs her tongue across her teeth. "Gus is one of the most important people in my life. Which is probably the same case for you, since you're like...kissing her and stuff." She inhales. "I won't kill you, if you hurt her, Steve."

Steve raises his brows. "Um...what?"

"I will make Gus' life 100 times better than when she was with you. And when she is living her better life, I will inform you on it, until the point you are run out of this god-forsaken town. And then you will never see her again." Fallon explains. Dustin's mouth drops open as Fallon explains her devious plan. Steve's entire body tenses. Fallon steps closer to Steve.

"Then one day, I will find you again. And you will be miserable, I'm sure. And when I find you again, guess who will be right there? Gus. That's when you will see she doesn't even recognize you because of how amazing her life is going." Fallon chuckles. "You will end up being nothing to her. And maybe that's when Hopper decides to kill you."

Dustin raises a hand, "Ooh! Ooh! Can I add something to that?!"

"Go ahead, Henderson." Fallon tilts her head to the side, her eyes still on Steve.

"We'll convince Hopper into letting Steve live, so he can live a miserable life and die alone!" Dustin raises his hands in the air, triumphantly.

Fallon smiles and turns to Dustin while Steve had a stone-cold look across at Dustin. Fallon looks back at Steve. "Got it?"

Steve looks at Fallon and squints his eyes. "Got it."

Fallon smiles once again, "Perfect!" She walks over to the group of kids talking.

Steve walks over to Dustin and mushes his face. "What the hell, man? Why did you help her with that diabolical plan?"

"Because if you do hurt Gus. We will all be coming for you, Steve." Dustin squints his eyes at the teenage boy and walks away from him. Steve chuckles softly. He felt his stomach flutter thinking about how real this was getting. His relationship with Gus. Even though the threats he has gotten were terrifying. He loved how much everyone else was protective of Gus. She meant a lot to everyone.

...

"Mike, would you just stop already?"

"You weren't in there, okay, Lucas?" Mike looks at everyone. "That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

"Demo-dogs!" Dustin walks over to them.

Sofía crosses her arms, "We barely got out of there."

"The Chief will take care of them," Lucas says.

"Like they need protection," Max speaks.

"Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?" Steve speaks.

"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game. And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench." Mike explains.

Fallon raises her brows and looks over at the stammering Steve.

"Right, so my point is..." he thinks and everybody waits for him to speak. Steve blinks. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do."

Fallon rolls her eyes and holds her hand out to Steve, silencing him. Steve pulls his face back and lightly smacks Fallon's hand out of the way. Fallon's eyes widen and she pinches Steve's side. He flinches and pinches her neck. They both start to push each other and the kids watch as the teenager's scuffle.

"Uh, guys?" Sofía speaks.

The teens continue to harshly whisper and lightly push each other.

"Guys!" Dustin shouts.

Steve and Fallon suddenly stop pushing each other and look back at the kids. Fallon clears her throat, "As I was going to say before being rudely interrupted." She snaps her eyes over to Steve. "We don't need to be there to help them at the Lab." She looks at Mike. "Let's try and help them from out here, okay?"

Dustin raises his brows and nods his head. "Okay, okay. These Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

"If we get their attention..."

"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab." Max finishes Lucas' thought.

"And clear a path to the gate," Sofía adds.

"Yeah, and then we all die," Steve speaks.

"Well, that's one point of view." Dustin voices.

"No, that's not a point of view, man. That's a fact." Steve replies.

Fallon shakes her head, "You're such a pessimist, dude."

"You're only siding with them right now, because you know it annoys me." Steve seethes. Fallon rolls her eyes, "Look, we need to do everything we can to help them in that lab. And if this helps them. I'm doing it."

"I got it!" Mike walks through the house. Everyone else follows him. Mike crouches down and points at a certain piece of drawing. "This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So..." he walks to another place in the house with everyone behind him. "...here, right here. This is like a hub."

"So, you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire—"

Fallon's eyes widen, "Um—what?"

"Oh, yeah? That's a no." Steve speaks.

"The Mind Flayer would call away his army," Dustin adds.

"They'd all come to stop us," Lucas speaks.

"Then, we circle back to the exit." Sofía raises her brows.

"Guys," Steve speaks.

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Fallon raises a hand.

"By the time they realize we're gone..."

"El and Gus would be at the gate," Max says.

"Hey. Hey! Hey!" Steve claps his hands, catching everyone's attention. Fallon knits her brows together at his aggressive clapping.

"This is not happening." Steve points at the drawings.

Fallon rubs her face. "Guys, I hate to agree with him. But Steve's right."

"But—"

"No, no, no, no, no. No buts. I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on doing." Steve quickly explains. "We're staying here. On the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand?"

"This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike exclaims.

"I said does everybody understand that?" Steve points the kitchen towel at the kids. "I need a yes."

Fallon massages her temples, "Just say yes."

The sound of an engine revving is heard outside of the house, which causes each person to look towards the window. Max and Lucas look out the window. Max's eyes widen.

"It's my brother," Max says, fear evident in her voice. "He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me." She then looks at Lucas. "He'll kill us."

"Brother. You have a brother?" Fallon questions.

Steve looks at Fallon with a softened expression. "Fal, it's Billy Hargrove."

Fallon's entire body runs cold, she quickly looks over at Steve with fear in her eyes. "Wh-what?" Her voice shakes.

Steve touches Fallon's arm in a comforting manner. "You guys, get away from the windows. And do not come out of this house." He looks at Fallon. "Watch after them, okay?"

Fallon swallows, but she nods her head. Steve makes his way out of the house and closes the door behind him. Fallon looks over at the window and she gnaws on her lip, curiously. "Maybe just a small peak." She makes her way over to the window and looks out of it. Soon the kids make their way over to the teenage girl and look out the window as well.

Fallon watches with her heart pounding against her chest as the two boys talk to each other outside. Her eyes shakily stay on Billy as his upper lip curls. Suddenly, Billy points at the window. Steve turns to the window. Everyone dives away from the window and sinks into the couch.

"Shit! Did he see us?" Dustin asks.

Fallon rolls her eyes and looks at the boy. "Of course he did." She swallows thickly. "Shit, you guys...uh, stay behind me."

Fallon stands up and quickly walks over to the door. The kids follow after her and stand behind the teenager. "Uh, Fallon. I just want to say that if Billy kills you. You were really cool. Not as cool as Gus, but—"

"Dustin, shut up." Lucas snaps. "You're cool, Fallon. But seriously, Billy might kill you."

Sofía shakes her head, "Guys, please be optimistic." She starts to rub her palms against her jeans. "Oh, God. I think I'm gonna throw up."

Fallon's body starts to shake and she inhales a deep breath. If Gus and Eleven were risking their lives to save and protect the whole group, then Fallon had to do everything in her power to do her part. She had to protect these kids. Even if she was deathly afraid of Billy Hargrove.

The door is kicked open and it slams into the wall, causing Fallon to flinch. Billy looks at the group, his eyes travel from Max and Lucas to Fallon. A twisted chuckle leaves Billy's lips. "Well, Well, Well. Fallon Price, it's always good to see you—"

"You need to get out of here," Fallon speaks. Billy pulls his brows together and laughs at the fear in Fallon's voice. "For some reason, I don't think you mean that. And besides, I'm not here for you." His eyes move to Lucas and Fallon knits her brows together.

"Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise." He steps closer, but Fallon steps in front of him. "I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max." Billy looks at his step-sister.

"Billy, go away," Max says.

"Listen to your sister, Billy—"

"She's not my sister." Billy seethes. He looks at Max. "You disobeyed me. And you know what happens when you disobey me."

"I'm serious, Billy." Fallon's voice was low.

Billy shifts his hate-filled gaze to Fallon and her blood runs cold.

"I break things."

Before Fallon could comprehend anything, Billy lunges forward; he touches the side of Fallon's neck and rams her head into the wall. Fallon crumbles to the ground and her ear starts to ring from the heavy impact of the wall. The curly-haired girl lets out a small cry as her head starts to throb.

Billy grabs Lucas and shoves him into a shelf. Fallon tries her best to blink the black dots out of her vision. She touches her ear and looks at the blood. "Oh, fuck..."

Fallon hears muffled screaming from the kitchen and she pulls her brows together. She touches the wall beside her and forces herself into her feet. Fallon stumbles into the kitchen and sees Lucas pinned against the wall by Billy. Lucas then knees Billy in the crotch. Billy releases Lucas and Fallon quickly shoves herself between Lucas and Billy. Fallon grabs Lucas and hides him behind her.

"You are so dead, Sinclair!" Billy shouts. "You too, Price!"

Fallon slightly tilts her chin up at Billy. Her eyes shift to Steve, who was stalking toward Billy. The Harrington Boy turns Billy toward him.

"No. You are." Steve punches Billy in the face.

Fallon manages to get her and Lucas over to the group of kids, away from Steve and Billy. Billy lets out an unstable laugh and a bone-chilling shiver is sent down her spine.

"Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh?" Billy exclaims. "I've been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about."

"Get out." Steve shoves Billy back.

Billy swings at Steve, but he ducks and punches Billy again.

"Yes! Kick his ass, Steve!" Dustin shouts with a smile.

"Get him!"

"Beat him up hard, Steve!" Sofía shouts, her hands in the air.

"Murder the son of a bitch!" Fallon shouts. Her eyes widen, caught off guard by what she just said. Steve continues to beat Billy up. Billy falls against the counter, he laughs, and smashes a plate against Steve's head.

Fallon's mouth hangs open and she gasps. "Steve!"

Billy gains the upper hand and starts to punch Steve. The two make it into the front room. Billy grips a fistful of Steve's shirt. "No one tells me what to do!" He headbutts Steve and the boy falls to the ground with a loud thud. Fallon's breathing quickens as Billy continues to beat Steve up. Her eyes fill with tears and her hands start to shake. She knows that she wants to run and hide. This whole night has been terrifying for her. Fallon was a runner. All she does was run. But in this moment, she knew that she couldn't run from this. She had to face this head-on. She had to help, even if it was for Steve Harrington.

Fallon inhales a deep breath and runs toward Billy. She jumps on his back and wraps her arms around his neck. "Get the fuck off of him, you racist piece of shit!" She yanks Billy's neck back and pulls him off of Steve.

Billy stands up and growls. He digs his nails into Fallon's arms and she bites her bottom lip, to suppress her cries. Billy then backs into a wall, slamming Fallon's back against it. The wind gets knocked out of the girl's lungs and her grip loosens on him. Billy turns to her and presses his arm against her throat."I told you this once. And I will tell you this again. You. Don't. Belong here." He seethes. "And this time I'm gonna make sure you get the message. You and that little shit, Sinclair."

Billy applies more pressure against Fallon's throat and she begins to fall short of breath. "You people just never get it..."

Fallon wheezes, her air supply was being completely cut off. She grits her teeth and rams her knee into his crotch. Billy groans and he stumbles back. Fallon gasps for air and coughs. She tries to recover before Billy. The teenage girl grabs the back of Billy's head and rams her knee into the side of his cheek. He stumbles to the ground.

Fallon inhales a deep breath and leans against the wall. Billy slowly stirs and slowly gets back up, Fallon wipes at her throbbing ear. She walks over to Billy, grips his shirt, and punches him in the face. Billy was laughing menacingly. He wasn't going down.

Billy slowly stands up and takes a step toward Fallon. She presses her hands against Billy's chest and shoves him back.

Billy looks at her with amusement, "You don't want to do this." He chuckles.

Fallon tilts her head, "Funny, I could say the same thing to you."

Fallon punches him across the face again, which was strong enough to knock him on the ground. As soon as Billy rises to his feet again. Fallon kicks him in the back of his knee.

"Fallon!"

Fallon turns to the redhead. Max hands the syringe to Fallon. The curly-haired girl grabs the syringe and raises her brows. She looks back at Billy and rams the syringe into the side of his neck with a grunt. She pushes the fluid into Billy's neck and takes a step back. Billy freezes and he stumbles onto his feet. He turns to the curly-haired girl. His vision starts to blur and his body starts to sway. Billy pulls the syringe from his neck and looks at it.

"The hell is this?" Billy slurs. "You stupid cunt, what did you do?"

"Just gave you a little something...now be a good boy and lie down." Fallon raises a brow and a devious smirk twitches onto her lips. Billy stumbles back and falls onto the hardwood floor.

Billy starts to laugh which causes Max's blood to boil. She grabs the spiked bat and walks over to Billy. Fallon raises her brows, but she lets Max continue.

"From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?" Max asks.

"Screw you."

Max slams the bat between Billy's legs which causes Fallon to yelp. Sofia's mouth hangs open from Max's fierceness.

"Say you understand! Say it! Say it!" Max screams.

Billy reluctantly speaks, "I understand."

"What?"

"I understand..." Billy then falls unconscious.

Max drops the bat and walks over to Billy's unconscious body. She pulls the keys from his pockets. "Let's get out of here."

The kids start to walk toward the door. Fallon's eyes widen, "Wait—guys! What about Steve?"

The kids all look at the bloodied and unconscious boy. "What are we supposed to do?" Sofía asks. "Take him with us?"

"No way!" Mike exclaims. "If he wakes up when we're in that car. He's not gonna be cool with it."

Fallon curses, "Look. I'm not the biggest fan of this idiot, but he's Gus'...I don't know, whatever." She waves a hand. "And I can't leave him here bloodied and unconscious next to Billy Hargrove!"

The kids all shift, thinking about it. Dustin sighs, "Guys, Fallon's right. We can't leave him here."

"He's not gonna be okay with us going there," Lucas says.

"Which is why we're not gonna tell him." Sofía shrugs her shoulders.

Fallon looks at Max, "I need to make sure our 'hero' doesn't code on us..." she raises her brows. "I can't believe I'm asking this, but are you sure you're okay to drive?"

Max smirks, "I'm better than okay, Fallon. I'm a Zoomer."

Fallon blinks as the kids leave the house. "Uh...that didn't really make any sense, but okay."

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author's note.

Fallon is so fucking cool 🫡

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