𝐖𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍. ˢᵗᵉᵛᵉ ʰᵃʳʳⁱⁿᵍᵗᵒⁿ ¹

017

017. 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀:
𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲.

"𝑻𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑰𝑺?" 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃, 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐃. "Telekinesis. What does— what the hell does that even mean?"

Steve dropped a handful of raw meet onto the tracks, at the same time Dustin did, a few steps in front of them. The group of three were walking on the Hawkins train tracks, crunching on the dead autumn leaves that covered the wooden planks and it was some time in the afternoon now, the sky was grey overhead.

Lori had agreed to go with them. It was a conflicting decision, one that she wasn't certain about— but she was also uncertain with the option of staying home. She didn't want to know how it felt to sit at home, while her cousin and neighbor fight off a demon from an alternate dimension. But at the same time, she didn't want to be the one fighting off said-demon. She'd done it once— apparently she hit the baby demogorgon into the cellar when she was overcome by a crazed rush of adrenaline— but she couldn't remember that because she'd passed right out cold. So much for being a hero. She didn't know if she could be a hero again. She didn't know anything anymore.

But Lori Philbin hated a lot of things. And one of the things at the top of her hate list was curiosity. Really, it had only made it on the list when she moved to Hawkins, because there were so many questions she had that needed answers. It had been racking her brain for days. Lori never let anything rack her brain. Or torture her chest in hunger for answers. She needed answers about Hawkins on her first day, and she needed them now. More than ever. It was terrifying, nerve racking, and bewildering. But she needed to know everything.

So there she was, walking on the train tracks she hadn't even known existed, listening to the stories about Hawkins once again. Only this time, it was in great detail. They didn't miss a damn thing.

"She can move shit with her mind," Steve answered, calmly. "It's pretty awesome."

"Really awesome," Dustin commented, with a big smile.

"You've seen it?" Lori asked Steve, the back of her hand touching the side of his arm briefly. Her voice sounded in disbelief. "I mean— her? Like, you've seen her move things with her head?" she spoke uncertainly, because the words felt weird rolling off her tongue. She felt like she was telling a story, or that she was just talking about some random character in a movie. But she wasn't, and she knew that with grave bewilderment.

Up to date, they'd told her everything. Everything she needed to know. Answered all of her questions. They told her about Will and his story— how he was doing now — the upside down, the demogorgons, Nancy and Jonathan— and Lori finally learned the actual reasoning behind their alliance — how Steve had killed a demogorgon himself, the lab, the new tunnels, and now they were on their final stage: every single detail about Eleven.

At times, Dustin debated whether she should know everything. She was an outsider, yeah, but she wasn't just anybody. She was family, whether they were cushy about it or not. And after seeing her beat Dart into the cellar, he decided that she was, how do you say— worthy? — of knowing the truth. Somewhat. And even though he'd only known her for a little while, he knew with certainty that Lorraine Philbin was not a snitch. Sure, she wanted to call the cops when she first found Dart— but that's just because she was scared shitless and didn't have a clue what was going on.