— 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬 —

"I NEVER gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for—"

"353 days. I heard."

"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?" Mike asks Eleven.

"Because I wouldn't let her."

We all turn to look at Hopper and I feel my stomach sink. Hopper walks towards Eleven.

"The hell is this? Where have you been?" He asks her.

"Where have you been?" She asks.

They embrace in a hug and Mike starts to get angry.

"You've been hiding her." Mike says, "You've been hiding her this whole time!"

He pushes Hopper.

"Mike!" I say to him.

He turns around and looks at me with anger.

"You were hiding her too! You knew about this!" He yells at me.

"Hey!" My dad says, grabbing his jacket, "Let's talk. Alone."

Hopper pulls him into the other room and we can hear Mike yelling.

I hand my axe to Steve and walk towards Eleven. I give her a small smile and she smiles back. I grab her quickly and pull her into my arms, squeezing her tightly. She squeezes back and I plant a kiss on the top of her head. She pulls away and I hold the side of her arms, taking in her silhouette.

"I like the new look." I say to her.

She smiles at me and then I let her go. She walks over to Lucas and Dustin and they engulf her in hugs. I walk back to Steve and he puts an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side.

"So, you were hiding a fugitive?" Steve whispers to me.

"I had to." I whisper back.

"That whole time I was coming over to your house, she was there?" He asks in disbelief.

"That's why I had you wait until everyone was asleep." I say and smile up at him.

"I thought that was just cause of your dad." He smiles back at me.

"That too."

Lucas and Dustin let go and Max walks up to El.

"Hey. Um, I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you." She sticks out her hand for El to shake and El pushes past her, not saying a word and hugs Joyce.

Max looks down at the floor and then over to Steve and I. I give her a small smile with my lips pursed.

"Yikes." Steve says.

I nudge his side and swing his arm off of my shoulder, taking my axe back from him.

Joyce takes El to see Will and then they come back out. El walks over to the dining room and we all follow her. She looks at the paper on the table that says 'CLOSEGATE'.

"You opened this gate before, right?" Joyce asks.

"Yes." El says, quietly.

"Do you think if we got you back there, that you could close it?" Joyce asks.

El looks at Joyce and then looks in front of her. She thinks for a minute, then answers.

"Yes."

"It's not like it was before. It's grown. A lot." Hopper says, while we all gather around the dining table, "And, I mean, that's considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demo-dogs." Dustin corrects.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hopper asks.

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

"How is this important right now?" Hopper says, raising his voice.

"It's not. I'm sorry." Dustin says, turning back to the rest of the group.

"I can do it." El says.

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

"I'm hearing you. I can do it." She insists.

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

"I thought that was the whole point?" Max says.

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

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

"Will dies." I say and everyone looks over at me.

"Right," Mike says, causing everyone to turn their attention back to him, "Closing the gate will kill him."

We all stay silent, and then, Joyce gets up and walks towards the hallway. Hopper and Jonathan follow her, leaving the rest of us to follow behind. We make our way into Will's room and Joyce speaks.

"He likes it cold."

"What?" My dad asks.

"It's what Will kept saying to me." Joyce nods, "He likes it cold."

She walks over to the open window and shuts it, then turns around to look at us.

"We keep giving it what it wants." She says.

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

"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable." Jonathan says, kneeling beside Will.

"So if he likes it cold..." I say.

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

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

"Yeah, somewhere far away." Dustin adds.

Hopper looks at Dustin and then looks over at me.

"I know a place." He says.

He wraps Will in a blanket and picks him up. The rest of us walk out to the living room and Jonathan grabs his keys, leaving the house. Hopper follows behind him with Will over his shoulder and gives him directions to our cabin, Joyce following behind as well.

I follow Steve and Nancy outside and we walk to the discarded items that were inside the shed that was previously holding Will. We search around to find any available heaters. After a bit of silence, Steve speaks up.

"You should go with him."

Nancy and I look up at him.

"What?" Nancy asks.

"With Jonathan." Steve says.

"No, I'm... I'm not just gonna leave Mike." She says.

"No one's leaving anyone. (Y/N) and I will watch them." He says, moving from his place and walking over to Nancy.

"I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but... turns out I'm actually a pretty damn good babysitter."

We stay silent and Nancy and Steve look at each other. I feel my heart breaking for Steve, knowing he's lost Nancy, but I also feel relief.

"Steve..." She begins.

"It's okay, Nance." He says, "It's okay."

He then shines his flashlight in my direction.

"Besides, (Y/N) will be there." He says, then walking away from both of us.

"I..." Nancy says, trying to explain herself.

I pick up another heater and stand up from the ground, I start to make my way back to the house when Nancy stops me.

"(Y/N)?" She says.

I turn around and look at her in the eyes.

"Take care of him for me."

I feel my cheeks start to heat up and the guilt ready to spill out of me.

"Nancy, I don't—" I begin.

"I already know, (Y/N). He told me." She says.

I drop my head to avoid eye contact with her.

"I'm not mad at you." She says.

I look back up at her.

"I'm sorry, Nancy." I say.

"It's okay." She smiles, "Just make sure he's alright."

I nod my head and she smiles. I walk back to the house, leaving her outside. I take the heater and walk out front, handing it to Jonathan.

"Be careful, okay?" I say to him.

He nods his head and then pulls me in for a hug. I pull back quickly and wipe a stray tear from my face. Steve walks over and hands Jonathan another heater and I feel the tension between the three of us. I walk over to my dad and he gives me a hug, as well.

"I'm so sick of you risking your life for us." I say to him.

He chuckles and pulls me away from him.

"That's my job, (Y/N)."

I push him gently and then walk over to El who was walking to the truck.

"Come back in one piece, yeah?" I say to her.

She smiles and hugs me quickly.

"Take care of Mike?" She asks me.

I nod my head and smile at her.

"For you, only." I say.

Steve and the rest of the kids stand my the porch, so I make my way over to them. The two cars drive off and we watch as what might be the last time ever seeing them.

"Alright, guys, lets head in." Steve says.

I usher the kids in, having a bit of trouble getting Mike inside, and they all sit around the living room. I walk into the dining room and throw my axe on the table, taking a seat. I throw my head in my hands and rub my face, noticing a headache start to creep in. A few moments pass, then I hear a banging noise in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" I yell.

There's no answer, so I get up from the table and make my way over to the noise. I see Dustin clearing out everything in Joyce's refrigerator and throwing it on the floor.

"Dustin! What the hell are you doing?" I ask him, throwing both of my hands on my head in disbelief.

"All right." He says, ignoring my presence, "It should fit now."

Suddenly, I see Steve walk into the kitchen with something wrapped up in a blanket.

"Steve? You're in on this too?" I ask him.

"I was forced against my will, (Y/N)." He says.

"He was not." Dustin defends.

"Is this really necessary?" Steve asks him.

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

I look closer at the blanket Steve was holding and notice the Demogorgon's head sticking out.

"You have got to be kidding me." I say.

Steve gives me a guilty look and I shake my head. He then walks over to the refrigerator.

"You're explaining this to Ms. Byers, all right?" Steve says to him.

He smashes the Demogorgon's head on the side of the fridge in an attempt to stick it inside. Failing at his attempt to stuff it in, I walk over and try to assist him.

"Just push it in!" I yell at him.

"I'm trying!" He yells back.

"Harder!"

"It's too big!"

I grab the refrigerator door and start to close it. Steve quickly throws the Demogorgon inside and takes the door from me and shuts it quickly. He pats my shoulder and we turn around, noticing a group of eyes on us.

"What?" Steve asks.

They all giggle and then walk back to the living room with a dustpan and broom in hand. 

"You guys are wild." Dustin says walking away from us.

I look at Steve with a confused face and he looks back me and shrugs his shoulders. I walk back to the dining table and take a seat. Steve follows, sitting next to me with his chair faced towards me. I rest my cheek on my hand and place my elbow on the table. I feel a hand rest on my knee and I look over at Steve.

"Sorry about Dustin. I'll make sure he tells Ms. Byers it was his idea." He says to me.

I smile at him.

"It's okay, I'm not mad." I say.

He nods his head and looks over towards the living room.

"Thank you for all of this." I say to him.

He looks back over at me.

"What do you mean?"

"This whole thing," I say, "The junkyard, the Demogorgon, Dustin..."

He exhales through his nose and smiles.

"You don't have to thank me. I should be the one thanking you."

I raise my head off of my hand and put my arm down on the table.

"For what?" I say.

He sighs and looks away.

"For not giving up on me."

I stop smiling and study his features. His eyes look tired and his smile slowly wiping off of his face.

I take his hand from my knee and hold it in mine. He looks at our hands and smiles, then looks up at me.

"What would I do without you, Harrington?" I say.

"I could say the same thing, Hopper."

We hear the kids start to talk and Steve stands up and walks over to them.

"The chief will take care of her!" Lucas says.

"Like she needs protection." Max says.

I lean over in my chair and look at them, Steve joining their group.

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

"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 says.

I snort out a laugh and Steve looks over at me, so I quickly stop and purse my lips.

"So my point is..." Steve begins and we all look at him, waiting for his answer.

"Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do." He finishes.

"That's not entirely true." Dustin begins, "I mean, those Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

I stand up from my seat and make my way over to the group, standing in-between Steve and Mike.

"So, if we get their attention..." Lucas begins.

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

"And clear a path to the gate." Mike says.

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

"Well that's one point of view." Dustin says.

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

Mike then runs through Dustin and Steve to the kitchen and we follow. He points at the drawing of the tunnel on the fridge.

"This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So..."

He runs to another part of the house where the drawings were.

"Here, right here. This is like a hub."

We follow him around the house, following the drawings.

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

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

"The mind flayer would call away his army." Dustin says, ignoring Steve.

"They'd all come to stop us." Lucas says.

"Hey." Steve says, trying to get their attention.

"We circle back to the exit." Mike says.

"Guys." Steve says, trying to get their attention, again.

"By the time they realize we're gone—" Mike continues.

"El would be at the gate." I say, quietly.

"Hey. Hey! Hey! This is not happening." Steve says, clapping.

"But--" Mike says.

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

I walk away from the group and back over to the kitchen.

"Right, (Y/N)?" I hear Steve say.

I kneel down by the refrigerator and look at the drawing Mike was pointing out previously. I think for a moment and I hear the group shuffle over to me.

"(Y/N)?" Steve says.

I stand up from my kneeling position.

"It could work." I say.

"No, (Y/N)! Not you too!" Steve says.

Suddenly, we hear a car engine revving outside. Max runs over to the window and looks outside.

"It's my brother. He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me. He'll kill us." She says.

"Shit." I say, looking out the window and confirming her statement.

"All right," Steve says, "I'll handle it."

He goes to walk outside and I follow behind him.

"Stay in here and stay away from the windows." I say to the kids.

They nod and we walk outside.

Billy gets out of his car, puffing on a cigarette, and I stand behind Steve and to the side.

"Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?" Billy says.

"Yeah, it's me. Don't cream your pants."

"And is that the chiefs daughter? Haven't heard from you, baby. Thought we were gonna hang out?" Billy says.

"Don't call her that." Steve says.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't know she chose a sucker like you." Billy says.

He takes off his jacket and throws it in his car, slamming the door. Steve walks down the steps and I stay by the front door.

"What are you doing here, amigo?" Billy asks.

"I could ask you the same thing." Steve says, "Amigo."

Billy and Steve stand face to face in the driveway.

"Looking for my stepsister. A little birdie told me she was here." Billy says.

"Huh, that's weird. I don't know her." Steve responds.

"Small? Redhead? Bit of a bitch." Billy says.

"Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry, buddy."

Billy takes a drag off of his cigarette and nods his head.

"You know, I don't know, this..." He sighs, "This whole situation, Harrington, I don't know. It's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" Steve asks.

"My thirteen-year-old sister goes missing all day. And then I find her with you in a stranger's house. An you lie to me about it."

Steve chuckles.

"Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what? I don't know what you don't understand about what I just said. She's not here." Steve says.

Billy points slightly to the window.

"Then who is that?" He asks.

I look over to the window, and sure enough, all of the kids are looking out the window.

"Shit." I say, barricading myself in front of the door.

"Oh, shit. Listen—" Steve begins.

Billy pushes Steve to the ground.

"I told you to plant your feet." Billy says.

He then sends a kick to Steve's stomach and walks over him. He makes his way up the stairs and I hold myself at the door.

"Excuse me, sweetheart." He says to me.

"Back off." I say.

He chuckles.

"You wanna do this the easy way or the hard way?" He asks.

I don't respond and he throws his cigarette to the ground. He then pushes me against the door and it flies open, sending me inside. I fall on the floor and groan. Billy walks over me and I look back and see the kids standing in the hallway.

"Well, well, well. Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise." Billy says, walking over to them, "I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max."

I flip myself over and push my hands against the floor, trying to regain my breathing and stand up.

"Billy, go away," Max says.

"You disobeyed me. And you know what happens when you disobey me."

"Billy..." She says.

"I break things."

He then grabs Lucas and pushes him up against the wall. The kids scream for Billy to stop and I begin to pick myself up off of the ground. Billy continues to yell at Lucas and I feel a pair of hands quickly pull me up off of the ground.

"You're so dead, Sinclair! You're dead." Billy yells at him.

Steve then pushes Billy off of Lucas and faces him.

"No. You are." Steve says.

He sends a blow to Billy's face and he falls backwards. Billy laughs, picking himself back up.

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

"Get out." Steve says, pushing Billy away slightly.

I grab the kids and push them behind me while we watch the scene unfold in front of us.

Billy throws a swing at Steve, but he ducks just in time and throws one at Billy, again.

"Yes! Kick his ass, Steve!" Dustin yells.

Steve hits him again and again, pushing him into the kitchen sink. Billy then grabs a plate from behind him and smacks it on Steve's head. Steve crouches over, grabbing his head, and Billy comes from behind and punches Steve in the face. Steve runs to the living room and Billy grabs him by his coat.

"No one tells me what to do!" He yells, hitting Steve and sending him onto the floor.

Billy walks over to Steve and pins him down, continuing tot throw punches to his face. Desperately, I look around for anything that would get Billy off of Steve. Suddenly, I see it, and Max does too. I run over to the coffee table and pick up a small syringe that was sitting on the table. I take off the cap and look at Max. I hold it out to her and nod my head. She takes it from me and runs over to Billy. Quickly, she tabs the needle into his neck and pushes on the syringe. Billy stops punching Steve and gets up. He turns and looks at Max, then grabs the needle and pulls it out of his neck.

"The hell is this?" He asks, walking towards her.

Max backs up and Billy starts to stumble on his feet.

"You little shit, what did you do?"

He then falls back onto the floor with a thud. He laughs and