*One week later, Nikki's POV*
   School was getting dauntingly closer, making us all even more on-edge than when we battled that damn Displacer. Sarah, of course, only remembered kindergarten; because of her absence, though, she would be staying behind and going to ninth grade with me and the rest of the party. Jonathan was supposed to be a senior like Nancy, but the two of them dropped out because Little Miss Perfect was pretty pregnant now, despite it only being a few months. Steve had already gone to work as Hopper's deputy, so we really hadn't seen much of him. Instead, I was spending all of my time with either the girls, Will, or Dustin. Yeah, I was still living with the Hendersons, which made it really awkward when we saw my parents that very morning at the supermarket.
   "Holy shit, is that Monica?" My mother's shrill voice not-at-all-subtly uttered this as she and my dad were close to me and Dustin, trying to find cat food good enough for Claudia's little princess. They were a few feet away in the frozen meat section, presumably trying to find some good eye of newt for dinner.
They don't even recognize their kid when she's right there. I stayed silent and pretended not to hear them, though Dustin tensed and moved closer to me. What's he doing? This was something a boyfriend did.
"I think so," my dad replied. "Just look at the crazy-ass hair on the kid next to her. Obviously that Henderson kid."
Don't do anything, Mon, I told myself. They're not worth spending the night in jail.
Hell, my other half told myself, Steve is on the police force now. And Hopper loves you! You'd get away with it.
Before I could turn around and address them, though, Dustin had grabbed a bag of Purina and was now bolting down the aisle, dragging me by the wrist as he ran. When he finally stopped all the way across the store in the hair products section, I gave him a weird look. "What the hell was that?"
"I knew... I knew that look... in your eyes," he explained, panting relentlessly. "You were about to go up to your parents, and that wouldn't have ended well for anyone."
I crossed my arms, angry that he knew me so well. "That's not your job anymore," I muttered.
"As your friend? It was."
   "We're friends?"
   "Hardy har har, smartass," Dustin said, rolling his eyes as I laughed at him.
   We saw Claudia coming toward us, looking confused. "Dusty? I just bought you more Farrah Fawcett spray and that hot oil treatment-"
   "Mom!" Dustin hissed as I burst into a fit of giggles. He then nudged me, hissing, "Shut up, dipshit."
   Claudia gasped. "Dusty! Don't talk to her like that."
   "Thank you, Mrs. Henderson," I said smugly, nudging Dustin with my shoulder as I walked past him to his mother.
   "For the hundredth time, honey, call me Claudia."
I do, just in my head. "Yes, ma'am." She raised her eyebrows. "I mean, Claudia."
   As Claudia started toward the checkout counter, Dustin rolled his eyes at me. "Son of a bitch, does everyone love you?"
   "Everyone except you, obviously," I joked, though he seemed to take it seriously. Trying to lighten the mood, I spoke again: "Let's go find your mom, she's probably waiting for us at the car."
Claudia turned out to be at the checkout counter still, trying to get all of the bagged groceries into her cart. When she failed miserably to get everything fitting in, Dustin and I stepped in to help her.
"Well, well, well. Would you look at what we have here?"
Oh, shit. My "parents" were at the aisle right next to us. They'd obviously seen me this time, despite the fact that I was facing the other way. Dustin stopped what he was doing, but I kept rearranging groceries as if nothing had happened.
I then felt a hand on my shoulder. "You know, Monica, you really shouldn't have run away." My mother's voice was painfully close, making me clench my fist in an effort not to let out an angry scream. Of all people, of all places, why did she have to be here?
Her hand was soon ripped off of me as Dustin snapped. "Don't touch her," he hissed.
I turned around to see him and my mother having a death glare-off. If looks could kill, this entire store would be dead at the rate they were going. Pulling Dustin back, I looked at my mother. "I thought I made it perfectly clear that I didn't want to see you ever again."
"When did you make that clear?"
"When I ran away, you dumbass!"
My dad soon came over to us, towering over me and discretely putting his hand on the back of my head. "Don't you ever talk to your mother that way again." He then made a fist, tugging savagely at my hair.
As much as it hurt, I couldn't show any weakness. Instead, I jerked away, making his hand come away from my head. "She's not my mother. And you're sure as hell not my father. You two lost the right to call yourselves that when you left me alone for the summer," I spat.
Claudia then broke out of her bubble of sweet obliviousness and came to my aid. "Is there a problem here, Paul?" she asked, getting in between my dad and me.
Paul, my dad, glared at her, then started to walk away. Damn, I had no idea Claudia was such a badass.
Dustin stared at his mom his disbelief. "Son of a bitch," he whispered.
Claudia smiled at me. "Ready to go?"
Speechless, I nodded, and Dustin and I followed Claudia out of the store. What the hell just happened?

*Dustin's POV*
After seeing Mon's parents at the grocery store, I was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. I tried not to let it show, but Mon would figure it out soon enough. She was the most observant girl I've ever known.
"Dustin?" she asked as we were riding home with my mom. "When's the next party meeting? I need to tell Will about-"
"Today," I said, cutting her off. "Two thirty, we're all meeting at Will's."
Mon stared at me for a moment, then at my mom in the front seat, then settled her eyes on her knees. She knew something was up, but I'm assuming she knew I didn't want to get into it around my mother.
Truthfully, I still had feelings for her. Of course, everyone seemed to know that before I did, so I'm guessing it's no news to you. Seeing her next to me, knowing she's actually there, seems almost unreal after not seeing her everyday while she was gone. Seeing Paul and Liza today at the store made me realize that at any minute, Mon could be ripped away from me again. There didn't even have to be a reason, it could just happen. Feeling a little clingy after this last thought, I reached over and grabbed her hand.
Mon smiled a little as she looked out the window. "Boys are so weird."
When we finally got home, Mon and I helped my mom carry in the groceries, then I went to my room. Of course, Mon followed me. Not that I was complaining.
"Okay, what's up?" she asked as soon as the door clicked shut.
Taking a deep breath, I sat on the bed, where Mon sat next to me, placing her hand on my back. "I just- hell, this is stupid, it's nothing."
"It's obviously something. Was it my parents? They're just assholes-"
"It's not just them, Mon." I tried to say this at normal volume, but my voice came out a soft squeak, miles and miles away from where I was sitting on my bed.
Mon's eyes never left mine as she spoke again. "Dustin, come on. Tell me what's wrong."
"What if- I mean, it's probably gonna happen, we might as well just stop talking about it."
"What is?"
"I'm going to lose you, Mon."
Not only were her eyes fixed on me, they were now brimming with tears. "That's what you're so on edge about? You think you're going to lose me?" I nodded. "Do you really have that little faith in me, Dustin?"
Shit. "Of course not. I don't think it will be your fault; it'll just... happen. Eventually, I mean."
"Why, all of a sudden, are you so worried? I came back, didn't I? You brought me back."
"But you might not always be able to," I pointed out. "You're eventually going to have to work something out with the Harringtons. Right now, they could snap their fingers and make you go back to them. You need someone to get custody of you before you end up in the system."
Mon scoffed. "I'm not ending up in the system," she insisted. "Besides, who'd want to adopt me?"
"I'm sure my mom would... but then we'd be siblings, so that's gross, um- I mean... Lucas's parents might take you, but-"
"Dustin," Mon said, putting her hand on my shoulder now. "Everyone else has siblings to worry about. I can't force myself on them. It's bad enough I've inconvenienced you and poor Claudia all this time."
I gasped. "Don't ever say that again." She raised her eyebrows. "You haven't inconvenienced us. My mom loves you." I love you. "My point: you might not always be around, and that terrifies me."
Mon moved her hand yet again; this time, it landed in mine, drawing small circles on the back of my hand with her ring finger. Her eyes looked sad, but her smile fooled me into thinking otherwise. She was willing herself not to be sad in front of me. "As long as I have anything to say about it, I promise I will always be around."
"You can't promise me that."
Her soft pink lips brushed my cheek, stopping right next to my ear. "I think I just did."

A/N: Hey, guys, I know this is kind of a sappy chapter, but I had to get in the Harrington parents a few times. I mean, they all live in Hawkins, how could they not run into each other? Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and comment what you want to see more of! Thanks for reading, guys, it means the world to me ❤️