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dumdumsun · 8 months

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Wax and Wane

A/N: Welcome back, my luvs! Long time, no see... Oops. So sorry for the long ass wait, babes. I had a lot (and I mean a lot) going on. Many not-so-great times, I'm still trying to sort myself out after several nights of absolutely no sleep. And now I'm back in college, yay... Another big explanation for the lateness is the unfortunate fact that I just don't like s3 all that much, so half the time I was writing this, it was a trekking. That doesn't mean I didn't want to write this, because I did. When I wasn't writing for this, I was thinking about it all the time. And now all I can think about is the s4 book XD.

On the note about Will. Yes, I know, he was confirmed gay. You will see changes in the second chapter, so try and bear through he and Doc being a couple in this first one. I didn't want to make his character gay in my series until it was confirmed by someone from the show. Unfortunately, it wasn't confirmed until after s4 came out so... yeah. You'll be happy to see some changes and I'll be happy to not be labeled as homophobic anymore ❤️

For anyone who was on the first and second taglist, but do not see their handle in this one, plz lmk because it didn't let me tag a lot of you. And if you wanna be added to the list, then also lmk. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this first chapter!

Warnings: non-permanent heterosexual relationship between Will and Doc, mentions of blood and death

Word Count: 5692

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Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?

Within the woods on a warm summer’s night sat a cabin belonging to Hawkins, Indiana’s finest police Chief, Jim Hopper. The Chief had been spending his evening as he usually did as of late, which consisted of Magnum P.I. episodes with some sort of snack clutched in his hands and shoved into his face in handfuls. His poison for this evening was a bag of Tostitos tortilla chips paired with a jar of salsa.

“Don’t look at the dogs, work the lock.”

He really did try to distract himself from the two teenagers in the other room. He promised that he wouldn’t watch their every move.

“Work the lock. Work the lock. Don’t look at the dogs.”

He was getting better at giving them space. At least, he was working on getting better. Glaring at the television, he threw another salsa-soaked chip into his mouth.

“You looked at the dogs.”

Hopper swiped up his beer can and took a hearty gulp of it. He shouldn’t even think about peeking at them. He promised himself that he would try to make this work. Setting his can down, he wiped his lips free of any alcohol before quickly glancing at the door to El’s room. And that was it. That was all it took. Very slowly, Hopper reclined his chair.

“Sometimes everything goes exactly as planned.”

The workings of his chair creaked the farther back he reclined. In the three-inch sliver between the door and the threshold, he could make out Mike Wheeler sitting on El’s bed, the sound of Corey Hart lowly playing from her radio. Curious, and maybe a bit accusatory already, he leaned back further.

“Sometimes it doesn’t.”

That was when he practically fumed at the sight of the Wheeler boy’s lips smashed against his daughter’s.

“Hey!” He shouted. Startled, the two looked up and El’s hand shot out, the door slamming shut. Angered even further, Hopper shot out of his seat. “Hey! Three-inch minimum! Leave the door open three inches!”

He went to burst into her room, but when he turned the doorknob, he found that it was locked. In disbelief, he jiggled the knob some more. “El, open this door. Open the-” He successfully threw the door open, frown deepening when he saw El sitting at the head of her bed with a look of feigned shock on her face, a book open in her hands. At the foot of her bed was Mike, a comic in his hands and wearing a smug smile.

“What’s wrong?” The boy nearly laughed.

After a hasty getaway, Mike was speeding down the street on his bike, his walkie wedged between his handlebar and his light. “My god, that was priceless! Did you see his face?!”

“It was like a tomato.” El laughed through the walkie.

“Yeah, a fat tomato.”

“I wish I was still with you.”

“I know. Me, too. But I’ll see you tomorrow, alright? First thing.”

“Tomorrow.”

With a smirk, he pedaled harder. After some time, he was beginning to see the neon lights of Starcourt Mall up ahead. The shopping center had become the ultimate location for the residents of Hawkins to shop, eat and seek entertainment. It was the usual spot for the Party to unite and spend time together. Minus El, for she was still keeping her head down for another six months before she was free to become a member of society.

At the sound of another pair of tires against asphalt concrete, Mike looked to his left to see his sister rolling up next to him on her own bike. Although it had been nearly seven months now, Mike was still adjusting to the changes he saw within Doc. Yes, she obviously was getting older, they all were; her hair had grown out even more over the months, her facial features were gaining structure and losing their babyness, she was definitely getting taller, though he did like to tease that in the future their height would settle and he would tower over her still.

“You’re late again.” He smirked, the girl widening her eyes with a grin.

“So are you.”

“Where’ve you even been?”

“Well, I was at the pool all day with the girls, but we went back to Brenda’s with her mom.”

That was another change Mike was getting used to. As if a flip had been switched, Doc had suddenly started spending much more time with Brenda and Sheriece. He noticed that in the past, she was so worried about being in the Party that the two girls would be sidelined and nearly forgotten, only receiving Doc’s attention when Mike would shove her aside and exclude her. Once she was welcomed in the Party, she spent even less time with her friends.

Lately, though, ever since the spring, Brenda and Sheriece were the only words coming from her mouth. Every weekend, she was either sleeping over at their house or Mike was covering his ears at night to muffle their giggles when she would host a sleepover. He was glad his sister was balancing her friend groups, but he wondered if she would be able to breathe air being away from the two of them. They had quite the influence on her as well.

Growing up, Doc never came across as the “girly” type, but now all she cared about were her looks. In the past, he could count on his hands how many times he’s seen her casually wear a dress and now, right beside him, she was wearing a denim overall dress on top of a yellow blouse. Instead of her signature black-and-red rollerskates were a pair of white converses, yellow socks peeking out. She hardly ever wore her skates anymore.

“I’ll race you there.”

“You’re on!”

He sometimes missed his sister, but he knew that she deserved this happiness. That wasn’t to say she never spent time with the Party. It was just that when she did, she was a bit distant. Mike knew that part of the reason Doc was pulling away was because of what happened last November. When Will had been possessed by the Mind Flayer, she used an excessive amount of power to save him, El closing the gate and ending it all. At least, that was the theory the two of them came up with. They couldn’t think of any other reason her power would vanish like that.

In the following months, whenever she was around the Party, it seemed like her smile stretched just a bit too far and that her laughs were a little forced.

Arriving at Starcourt Mall, the two rode through the parking lot littered with cars and moving people before they reached the bike rack near the entrance, Doc triumphantly reaching it first. Though, the victory was short-lived when she saw three figures standing there expectantly.

“You’re late.” Lucas crossed his arms as the two hopped off their bikes.

“Sorry.” She whispered.

“Again!”

“Sorry!” Mike sighed as Max came up behind her boyfriend.

“We’re gonna miss the opening.” Will chided.

“Yeah, if you guys keep whining about it. Let’s go!”

Lucas mocked his friend's words as the Party followed Mike into the mall. When she caught up to Will, Doc threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Missed you.”

“Yeah,” He quietly chuckled, gently patting her hands. “Missed you, too.”

Doc giggled and pulled away enough for just one arm to be wrapped around him, Will moving a hand to the middle of her back as they tuned in to their friends’ conversation.

“Let me guess,” Lucas teased. “You were busy.”

Mike cringed at the kissy noises his friend made. “Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas.”

“‘Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends’.”

“Lucas, stop.” Max sighed.

“Will thinks it’s funny.” He motioned to said boy, who was snickering next to his girlfriend.

“Because it is.” Will agreed, Mike rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, it’s so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend.”

Amused by his sarcasm, Lucas wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulders and pulled her close. “I’m spending romantic time with my girlfriend.”

Doc chuckled at Max’s attempt to keep her growing smile at bay, but it was no use. At her laugh, Will looked over at her, receiving a quick peck to the lips, the tips of his ears burning a bright red in response. As the five hurriedly moved through crowds of people with hushed apologies, Will tried desperately to keep up with Doc, who was pulling him along with her by the hand.

If tallies had to be kept, Will would have the most out of all the Party members to spend the most time with Doc. This was foreseeable since the two had been inseparable for the past year and a half. Through thick and thin, the two of them remained a couple. Even the moments when Will couldn’t even remember his girlfriend. When Doc wasn’t with Brenda and Sheriece, you could find her in Castle Byers with her boyfriend, the boy coming up with D&D campaigns while she talked his ear off about what new designs she was brainstorming. And yes, even those times were brief compared to what she gave the two girls.

“Hey, watch it!” A girl shouted when Mike stumbled into her.

“Yeah! Watch it, nerd!”

The Party’s attention was brought to Erica Sinclair, sitting and enjoying ice cream cones with her posse. Doc always did admire the girl’s spunk, which was much more than Lucas could say.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Isn’t it time you died?”

“Psycho!”

“Butthead!”

“Mall rat!”

“Fart face!”

With nothing else to quip with, Lucas stuck his tongue out at her and blew a raspberry before Max grabbed him by the elbow. “Oh, now that was mature.” She scolded before pulling him with her and the others into the Scoops Ahoy ice cream parlor.

The place was full of customers, as per usual, but no line was formed at the register. Mike led his group right up to the very disinterested employee. She wore a red, white and navy blue sailor costume with an embarrassingly adorable sailor hat atop her light brown bob. With very intense eye contact, Mike annoyingly rang the bell at the counter repeatedly.

“Hey, dingus, your children are here.”

Behind her, the glass doors slid open to reveal The Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington in a similar costume, his luscious locs concealed by the sailor hat. With an unimpressed look, he leaned on the counter. “Again? Seriously?”

Mike rang the bell one more time in response.

Disgruntled, Steve led the five kids to the back of the parlor and opened the door for them. One by one, they all filed out and into the hall. “Come on, come on.” He urged them. “I swear, if anybody hears about this-”

“We’re dead!” They called back. With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, Steve returned to work, the door closing behind him. Those kids would be the death of him one day.

Within the halls of the theater, the employee door opened, Mike peeking his head out and looking around. “All clear.” He nodded, pushing the door open and quickly leading his friends down the hall until they reached a theater next to a poster advertising Day of the Dead. The Party was lucky enough to find five empty seats in two of the middle rows. Doc, Mike and Will took the open three while Max and Lucas took the two in front of them. “See, Lucas? We made it.”

“We missed the previews.” He whispered back.

“Still made it. Fart face.” Max playfully snickered, her boyfriend making a face at her before they were shushed by a stranger.

As the movie started up, Will opened up his backpack and passed smuggled snacks to his friends in front of him. He then turned to his right to pass some to Mike, then to his left to Doc, earning a sweet smile from her. Silence fell over the audience as the screen brightened with the opening of the movie. Doc didn’t recognize the actress she was presented with, (her mother would easily tell her it was Lori Cardille) but the opening scene already disturbed her.

The way the woman sat alone in a white room, staring at a calendar, surfaced so many unwanted memories to Doc’s mind. Faint memories of a white room where she would color, or where she would perform tests for Dr Martin Brenner, or when the guards would punish her for failing. She tried her best to keep them at bay so that she could enjoy the movie, but the chilling music accompanying the film didn’t help. Absently, her hand found Will’s and their fingers intertwined and locked. Sensing her unease, he gave her a comforting squeeze.

Before the movie could progress any further, the audio slowed to a stop as the screen went dark, sending the audience into a fit of groans and dissatisfied exclamations. Unbeknownst to them, this had happened with every other theater and spread to the entire mall. Lights vanished, fountains fell, escalators and mini-carousels came to abrupt stops. When the power outage reached Scoops Ahoy, Steve snapped his head up.

“That’s weird.” He hummed, strolling over to the light switch and flipping it down, then up, then down, then up, then down, then up-

“That isn’t gonna work, dingus.” His coworker rolled her eyes.

“Oh, really?” He challenged, flicking the switch even faster, much to her annoyance.

The outage reached the rest of Hawkins, bathing the entire town in darkness. A presence loomed over them all. It was a presence that was banished, but not defeated. It promised destruction, it promised bloodshed, and it promised a meeting with a certain group of young teens.

It was a presence that Doc couldn’t feel, even if it was right in front of her.

Within seconds, Hawkins brightened and Starcourt was neon once again. The lights returned, the fountains sprouted, and people jerked forward with the sudden movement of the escalators and carousels. At Scoops Ahoy, Steve had just flicked the switch up when the parlor lit up once again. He smugly shrugged at his coworker and returned to the counter.

“Let there be light.”

In the theaters, the crowd erupted into cheers when the projector came to life and brought their movie back to them. Unlike everyone else, though, Will’s smile began to fade. That presence, though Doc couldn’t feel it, was still there. And he could definitely feel it. His body stiffened as he reached a hand to graze the goosebumps formed on the back of his neck. The cheering around him was swallowed by a memory of November.

He tried to run. The sort of shadow being, rising tall enough to tower over everyone, everything. The sky lit up in a frightening red as the storm brewed behind the creature. No matter how fast he ran, it was always right there. Even as he screamed, it came nearer. And nearer. Until it had nowhere else to go but within him, forcing its way into his being.

And another memory.

Will and Doc’s screams filled the room as the dark entity flooded out of every place in the boy’s face it had entered before. It swirled up to the ceiling as a way to collect itself, and when it was done, it bolted out of the cabin, crashing through the door.

“Hey.”

Will let out a startled gasp and ripped his hand away from his neck as he turned to Mike’s concerned eyes. He gave his friend a quick once-over. “You okay?”

Will blinked. “Y-Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” He nodded. Hesitantly, Mike turned back to the screen. Will let out a slow breath and moved his gaze over to Doc, who hadn’t even noticed his current state. She was just like that recently, very unaware, a bit inconsiderate. In this case, though, he was grateful for it. He didn’t want her worrying. She was finally happy.

So, he held her hand tighter and went back to watching the movie.

-------------------------------------------------

Nancy shot up in bed, heart hammering in her chest.

“Shit!”

She hurriedly reached over to her wrist watch on the nightstand and widened her eyes at the time. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

“Wh- What’s wrong?” Jonathan sat up beside her, tired and discombobulated.

“It’s almost nine.”

“What?!” He moved his blanket to see that his alarm clock blinked twelve o’clock.

“We forgot to reset the clocks. The power went out last night, remember?”

Cursing aloud, Jonathan scrambled out of bed with his girlfriend and hurriedly got dressed. After slipping on his shirt, he dived across the other side of the bed to reach his pants, falling to the ground as he tried to shove his legs in. Nancy got dressed much faster than him and hurried to his window. Her purse flew outside, then her shoes before she hopped out the window to make an escape to the car. Jonathan was in the process of finishing the last couple buttons on his shirt as he walked out of his room.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Joyce rushed over to him. “Wait up.”

“Oh, no, I’ll eat at work. I’m late.”

“No.” She reached up and used her thumb to wipe away the kissy mark on his face. “Your cheek.”

With an embarrassed chuckle, he moved her hand away and backed into the living room. “Alright, alright. I gotta run.”

“Alright.” Joyce threw her hands up in surrender.

“See you later.” He called out before he disappeared out the door.

“Ugh. Gross.” Will muttered as his mother returned to the kitchen table.

Joyce snickered. “Oh, don’t be like that. You and (Y/N) can be gross sometimes, too.”

He stiffened as he twisted the top off of the syrup. “We are not like that.”

“You might be when you’re older.” She nudged him as she picked up her fork to resume her breakfast. Will irritably sighed.

“I doubt that.”

“Okay.” Her attention was brought to the mess on the floor in front of the fridge. “Hey. What happened here?” She asked as she rose to her feet and walked over to the papers and magnets in a pile on the floor.

“I don’t know.” Will shrugged and returned to his food. Joyce sighed and crouched down, sticking papers back onto the fridge. When she got to the last one, a bittersweet smile graced her features as her heart swelled in affection. Pursing her lips to suppress a tremble, she stood back up and hung the drawing Will had made of a true hero back in its rightful place.

Bob Newby. Superhero.

On the road, Jonathan drove as fast as he could with Nancy hurriedly doing her makeup in the passenger seat, eyes glued to her mirror. “Can you please drive faster?”

“Do you wanna break down?” He tried a smile as he patted the dashboard. “We’re lucky this thing still drives at all.”

“I’m serious, Jonathan, I can’t be late.”

“You mean we can’t be late.”

“No, I mean I can’t be late. They like you no matter what you do.”

“Hey, they like you, too.” He gently patted her knee.

“Yeah. They like that I’m a coffee delivery machine. They don’t actually like me or respect me as a living, breathing human with a brain.”

Once again, he tried gently rubbing her leg in a comforting manner as he gave her another smile. “Hey, you just gotta be patient, okay? They’re set in their ways, you know? But… once they realize what a gifted writer you are, they’ll come around.”

“I really don’t need a Jonathan Byers pep talk right now.” She snapped. “Can you just… please, drive faster?”

He sighed, speeding up the car the best he could. “Okay…”

Crossing their path on the other side of the road was a car belonging to Claudia Henderson. Beside her in the passenger seat was her son, headset on as he repeated the same phrase.

“This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.”

Not even a second later, he tried again.

“This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.”

His tone grew irritable and impatient.

“I repeat. This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.”

Then, he snapped.

“I repeat. This is goddamn Gold Leader-”

“Dusty!” Claudia scolded.

“What?!”

“Relax! For goodness’ sake.”

“I’m in range. They should be answering.”

“You’ve been away a whole month, honeybun.” She shrugged. “Maybe they just… forgot.”

Just in her tone, he knew his mother didn’t want to say it. Maybe because she knew there was some truth to it. Mike and El were together, Lucas and Max were together, Doc had lots of exciting things going on, a new mall opened up. Everything was changing while he was gone, but he didn’t think it would completely wipe the memory of him from his friends’ minds. They had to remember he was coming home.

They had to remember.

After his mother dropped him off at home, he made a beeline to his room. With a defeated sigh, he plopped his duffle bag on his bed and sat down beside it, burying his face into his hands. His first day back and he had no plans to spend time with any of his friends. His face brightened just a bit when he noticed his beloved Yertle, comfortably in his new terrarium.

“At least someone’s happy I’m home.” He quietly chuckled. Suddenly, a robotic voice startled him into a standing position. Every toy in his room that moved or made noise sounded and grouped together in the middle of his floor. His R2D2, his chimp that banged its cymbals, his toy tank that made shooting noises, all of them. He looked even mildly offended when one of his toys spit little rings at his chest.

This wasn’t right. None of this was. He began panicking, hoping that he wasn’t making yet another strange discovery having to deal with supernatural powers. He noticed that his toys were filing out of his room and into the hallways. So, quickly thinking, he grabbed his choice of weapon off his desk.

The Farrah Fawcett spray never failed him before, and it wouldn’t now.

Dustin let the weapon leave the room before him, stepping out into the hall and cautiously following his line of toys. “It’s just a dream.” He told himself. “You’re dreaming.”

Behind the wall that separated the living room and kitchen stood Max, her back against the wall as she stealthily watched Dustin follow the toys in the living room. She turned to Lucas, who stood next to her. He grinned and turned to Doc, who turned to Will, who turned to Mike, who turned to El.

“Now!” He whispered. El opened her eyes, blood dribbling from her nose.

All at once, the toys powered down in the middle of the living room. Confused, Dustin ran over to them and knelt down, lifting them up one by one to examine them. His friends silently crept up behind him, noise makers ready in their mouths, Lucas holding a banner they all made that read WELCOME HOME DUSTIN.

As Lucas properly held up the banner, everyone looked to Max. She excitedly held up her fingers to signal them.

One.

Two.

Three.

At once, everyone happily sounded their noisemakers, but they immediately stopped when Dustin fearfully screamed and spun around, assaulting Lucas’s eyes with his hairspray.

-------------------------------------------------

“Cannonball!”

Happy cheering, splashing of water, and chanting of ‘marco, polo’ brought the joy that radiated from Hawkins’s public pool. If there was any other place in town that was as lively as the mall, it was the pool. It was the perfect spot for parents to cool off while letting their children blow off steam, all while socializing.

And socializing Karen Wheeler did. She sat perched upon her lawn chair, a romance novel in one hand and a coke can in the other, the tip of her straw stained pink with her lipstick. On either side of her were some of the other stay-at-home mothers of Maple Street. She was so engrossed in her novel that she almost didn’t catch what the woman beside her said.

“Ladies,” She tilted her sunglasses to the edge of her nose. “She’s coming down.”

Upon seeing Heather Holloway descend her post on the lifeguard’s chair, the four straightened their posture, checked their hair, got into seductive poses, and turned to the pool shed.

The door opened to reveal Hawkins’s heartthrob, Billy Hargrove. His shirtless body glistened in the sun, his gorgeous blond curls moved with the very light breeze, his dazzling blue eyes were concealed by his sunglasses sat on the bridge of his nose. After discarding his cigarette, he began his stroll towards his chair. His gaze scanned the entire area in search of anything he had control over. It was his shift, this was his turf, and he called the shots.

He knew every girl in Hawkins had eyes on him, but that wasn’t his focus at the moment. There was something at this pool, something not quite right, that he needed to take into his hands. Catching sight of it, his whistle that sat around his neck and on his chest was lifted to his lips before he blew into it. Instantly, the entire pool went silent and everyone’s attention was brought to a chubby little boy who was caught red-handed, running around the pool. At the sound of the whistle, the poor victim froze in his spot.

“Hey, lard-ass!” Billy bellowed. “No running on my watch! I gotta warn you again, and you’re banned for life. You wanna be banned, lard-ass?”

Timidly, he shook his head.

“Didn’t think so.”

And, with a blow of his whistle, the pool unpaused. Only this time, the little boy walked away with his head down. Satisfied, Billy continued his stroll. When he noticed the Maple Street Mothers, he nodded to them in greeting. “Afternoon, ladies.”

“Afternoon, Billy.” They seductively responded in unison.

“Dig the new suit, Mrs Wheeler.” A small smirk quirked on his lips.

“Thank you.” Karen grinned.

Billy turned the corner before climbing the small ladder and taking place on his throne. It was a safe distance away from the mothers to gawk and drool over him without him noticing. But he knew they were, and they knew he knew, and they loved it. A nice piece of meat didn’t come often in Hawkins, so it was only logical that the eager women would feast their eyes upon him any moment they could.

The woman of the Wheeler residence was lucky enough to get him in her house last fall when he was looking for his stepsister. She had hardly been wearing any clothes upon their first interaction and the way he looked at her sent her skin blazing. She was never able to quite shake that feeling he gave her, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. He was brilliant, he was beautiful, he was powerful and he knew it.

And Karen Wheeler was all in.

From in the pool, a head of chocolate brown hair surfaced from the water. Brenda wiped at her face to clear her vision. “How long was that?”

“Ugh, look, girl.” Sheriece mumbled, her eyes glued to the mothers. “That is so gross.”

“I know.” Brenda rolled her eyes. “Could you imagine the look on (Y/N)’s face if she saw the way her mom was staring at Billy Hargrove?”

Sheriece sadly sighed. “I miss my friend.”

“Me, too,” The brunette floated on her back. “But she can’t be here, she’s celebrating Dustin.”

A moment of silence sat between them before they started giddily giggling about the Henderson boy.

In a much quieter and vacant part of Hawkins was the downtown area. With the opening of Starcourt Mall, many small businesses had closed down, much to the townees’ distress. The only form of business that was lively in the downtown area was The Hawkins Post. Which was Nancy’s current destination.

She tried to calm her breathing as she sped down the sidewalk to her place of work, a brown bag clutched in one hand. She checked her watch again and again worriedly as she sped up her pace. She could not be late. She could not.

Entering the building, she quickly and politely set down sandwiches on the desks of the writers, the ladies thanking Nancy as their gazes hardly left their work. Her next stop was the darkroom. As usual, she completely ignored the warning sign and pushed the door wide open. Jonathan, bathed in red like the rest of the room, frantically turned to her.

“Oh, no, no, no, no! Nancy!”

“Sorry.” She whispered and set his sandwich down. With an eye roll at his dramatic behavior, she shut the door and headed for the lion’s den. Pushing open the glass door to the conference room, she began passing out sandwiches to her superiors all sat together at the table as they passed around ideas for the front page of the paper.

“How about a piece on Iran?”

“I want something local.”

“I hear there’s a beauty pageant at the fair this year.”

“Yeah, I’m looking for above the fold here, Bruce.”

“Then clearly you haven’t seen Lucy Lebrock,” Bruce cupped his hands at his chest to mimic breasts. “...because I’m not sure she’ll fit above the fold!”

The men erupted into laughter, Nancy cutting a look to Bruce as she set his sandwich down for him. “Fellas!” Their boss called out. “In six hours, we go to print. I need something real.”

“Oh, I think they’re real.”

As the men laughed again, Nancy paused at the door. She had no more sandwiches to hand out. She wasn’t needed here anymore. But she so clearly was. These men didn’t know the first thing about stories worth reading. At this point, she wouldn’t be surprised if the headline of the paper read about some missing dog on a cul-de-sac. Inhaling deeply, she dove right into untrifled water.

“What about Starcourt?”

The room went silent as all eyes were on her, some eyes on other parts of her. She tried to ignore it as she continued. “I-I was just… thinking…” A deadly thing for a woman to do. “I mean, I know everyone loves the mall, but… how many small businesses have closed since it opened? Like, five on Main, at least. It’s changing the fabric of our town in a way-”

“‘The Death of Small-Town America’.” Bruce pitched a headline idea, receiving a hopeful nod from her. “I like it. I like it a lot. But I think I’ve got something even spicier. It’s about… the missing mustard on my hamburger!”

Once again, the room exploded into laughter as Nancy’s eyes flitted away defeatedly.

“You think you can follow the clues and solve the case of the missing condiment, Nancy Drew?” He mocked above the laughter.

“Sorry.” She whispered and took the sandwich back. Breathing in through her nose and out her mouth, she threw the door open and hurried out of the room as Bruce taunted,

“Look out, Phil, she might be after your job!”

At the Henderson residence, Lucas had his head in the kitchen sink, warm water running over his assaulted eyes. He winced and hissed in pain as he slowly stood up straight, slowly blinking as he tried to regulate his sight. He’d kill Dustin for this.

“Better?” Max asked in front of him.

“Still stings.” He sighed out. Blinking some more, his vision began to clear as he noticed a red dot on his girlfriend’s forehead. “Is that a new zit?”

Max widened her eyes and grabbed hold of the back of his head. “What is wrong with you?”

“I was just asking!” He screamed out in pain as his face was shoved back into the stream of water.

In Dustin’s bedroom, the boy was excitedly showing off his contraptions he had gotten from camp. He was currently showing off a device that resembled a windmill, using his other hand to crank and spin it. “I call it the Forever Clock. Alright? Powered by wind. Very useful in the apocalypse.”

He handed it off to Doc, who held one side of it, Will holding the other. They both stared at it in wonder as Dustin took out another contraption. This one was a hammer with several objects stuck to its handle.

“Then I give you…” He pressed some sort of button that made the hammer shake. “...the Slammer.” He chuckled as El, attached to Mike’s arm, moved away from it. Doc and Will were only partially paying attention, Doc attempting to make the Forever Clock move by blowing on it, Will watching her in interest.

“Pretty neat, huh? But this…” He put the Slammer away and picked up his duffel bag, grunting as he plopped it on the ground. They knelt down with him, Doc putting the object in her hands off to the side. “...this is my masterpiece.”

He unzipped the bag with a grin on his face. “I would like you to meet… Cerebro.”

The four stared at the millions of pieces within the bag. Nothing was formed, which made it hard for them to understand what Dustin was showing them. “What exactly are we looking at here?” Mike voiced their confusion.

“An unassembled one-of-a-kind battery-powered radio tower.”

The room did not match the enthusiasm Dustin possessed. Will slowly nodded. “So, it’s a… a ham radio.”

“The Cadillac of ham radios. This baby carries a crystal-clear connection over vast distances. I’m talking North Pole to South.”

“That’s actually pretty cool.” Doc shared a nod with her boyfriend, who looked on his other side to see that Mike and El were still not impressed.

“It’s more than ‘pretty cool’, Doc. With this baby, I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever I choose.”

Now there was something that got their attention.

“Girlfriend?!”

—————————————

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