𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

16

𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒, the three boys roped her into their elaborate scheme, just as they always do. they insisted that will was alive, and eleven knew how to reach him, they just needed a better system. what better than the heathkit ham shack radio used by their a.v. club? but they knew eleven would instantly be suspicious... so, of course, they enlisted sheridan's help.

"i don't own a dress... and the only makeup i have is some mascara..." the red-headed girl countered. mike, dustin, and lucas let out a collective sigh.

"i knew she wouldn't be any help!" dustin insisted, slamming his hands on his legs in frustration.

"i'm right here!" dani exclaimed in protest. her arms extended out to her sides as an instinctual reaction.

"dani might not have what we need, but i think i know who does..." mike trailed off, leaving confusion amongst the group. suddenly, the boy scrambled to his feet and up the basement stairs. there was a glint in his eyes that sherrie recognized well; will got that gleam every once in a while, when he was excited about something. she saw so much of him in his friends.

"hey!" lucas and dustin called after the boy. they got up and chased after him, as well, leaving el and sherrie in the basement.

"after you," the girl insisted to eleven, motioning towards the stairs with a wave of her hand. it didn't occur to sheridan that el's vocabulary was limited, especially in regard to jokes or sarcasm. "...i need a doobie." sherrie expressed under her breath as she followed behind eleven.

after a few seconds of silence that only dani deemed awkward, the two girls made it upstairs and eventually to nancy's bedroom. sheridan hadn't been inside that room since their freshman year, and only bits and pieces had changed. nancy took down the canopy from her bed that sherrie absolutely adored, and traded in a few of the posters. a blondie calendar hung across the room, on the left side of the window hidden behind her bedframe. dani recalled the girl complimenting her music taste when she first began decorating her bedroom on her own. it was one of the quirks in their friendship: in hopes of gaining popularity amongst their peers, nancy only admitted to liking whatever music was on the radio, and sheridan kept her love for the exact music a secret.

dani felt as though she were intruding on a space that she'd once held so close to her heart, that had now become a place in only her memories.

"how do i do this?" mike questioned, snapping dani out of her trance. the girl noticed the blush and designated brush in his hand.

the ambiance of lucas and dustin rummaging through nancy's closet and hope chest filled the empty wheeler home. the boys groaned in frustration, being unable to find something that would suit eleven. sherrie chuckled at mike's question. "you're barkin' up the wrong tree, man."

✽

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 the shaffer girl aided in the boys' excursion and enlisted betsy's help in dropping them off at the middle school, she met jonathan at the funeral home.

the sight of her brother practically made her sick, after seeing those pictures he took of nancy and steve. she couldn't stand to be around him for more than ten seconds at a time. it was enough that she had to go to the coroner's with him, and now that their mother had left them stranded, she also had to be alone with him in the funeral home; but she knew that if anything was going to happen to him, perhaps at her hands, they were in the perfect place.

the pair of siblings sauntered around the dull showroom. it was littered with caskets and wreaths of many varieties. the flowers were vibrant in contrast to the circumstances. her stomach did flips as she pictured will in each crate she passed, the boy's stiff, lifeless frame coating the silk inside of the chests with water from the quarry. color drained from her face, her orange hair illuminating her features.

just as jonathan and sheridan began to cross to the opposite side of the home, they spotted a familiar figure at the entrance. dani's body was paralyzed in its step and her eyes widened upon seeing nancy wheeler. "what the hell," she spoke quietly, her mouth falling open.

she cleared her throat. "hey," the girl spoke up. sherrie gave her a questioning look and her brother took the lead, gaining on nancy before she could. "your mom said you guys would be here..."

"yeah, we kinda have a funeral to plan," dani dryly responded, motioning towards the caskets with her thumb. nancy winced at her comment. "what're you doing here, nance?" sherrie folded her arms across her chest as her former best friend pulled out a sheet of taped paper from her bag. it was pieced together like a puzzle, to form one of the pictures that jonathan had taken. sheridan recognized it in an instant. "oh my god, don't even get me started on this," she groaned, placing a hand over her eyes.

nancy and jonathan debated on tactics he used while taking the shot, to see if jonathan had any clue about barbara holland's whereabouts. "and i went back to steve's..." dani's attention was captured. "and i thought i s-... saw something... some, weird man or..." nancy knew her attempt at explaining was futile. "i don't know what it was," she stated with an exhausted sigh.

sheridan thought nancy was crazy, sure, but she thought she was crazy herself, seeing what she saw in her own home.

"what'd he look like?" jonathan questioned, before nancy could leave. her brows furrowed.

"what?"

"this man you saw in the woods. what'd he look like?" the boy pressed further.

nancy wheeler stuttered as she tried to formulate a response. "i don't know... it was almost like... he didn't-"

"didn't have a face?" jonathan finished the girl's sentence. sheridan's eyes widened as visions of the creature in the wall replayed in her mind. she made eye contact with her brother, and instantly knew they had connected. they weren't crazy after all.

nancy, jonathan, and sherrie all piled into betsy to head toward hawkins high school. once they entered, jonathan and the wheeler girl left sheridan outside the dark room as they attempted to enlarge the photo of the occult creature. the red-headed girl blew a breath towards the sky, sending a strand of her hair into the air, only for it to gracefully fall onto the tip of her nose for her to repeat. after a few moments of silence, nancy and jonathan burst from the dark room. "hey, watch the light!" sherrie insisted. she hadn't touched a camera in years but it was a process she held very near-and-dear to her heart.

nancy slammed the door shut as gently as she could as jonathan placed the picture in front of her face. "is this what you saw?!" he questioned, almost entirely out of breath despite the short distance he had just run.

chills breezed down sheridan's spine, the hair on the back of her neck standing stiff. her mouth began to go dry at the sight. "yeah. that's it."

✽