𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍; steve harrington

ᶠ ⁱ ᶠ ᵗ ʸ

March 25th, 1986

AFTER JOURNEYING THROUGH THE UPSIDE Down, they came across their final destination: the Wheelers' house, in search of Nancy's precious guns. The large building was covered in crawling vines, itching to get a feel of something foreign to attack. Carefully, they stepped over the tentacles on the front porch and walked inside.

"Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler," Robin suggested lightly, smiling as she heard Aven snicker from her side.

"Come on. I don't want to stay here longer than we have to," Nancy mumbled before rushing up the stairs. Everyone else followed - everyone else being Eddie and Robin. Steve and Aven stayed, however, after hearing a familiar voice.

"You heard that, right?" She asked, Steve only sending her a subtle nod before frantically running down the few steps he'd managed to climb and jogging towards the kitchen. The girl ran right after him.

"Dustin! Dustin! Can you hear me, Dustin? Hello? Hel-Hello?" Steve shouted as his flashlight waved through the air, his eyes scanning the ceiling as he tried to listen out for another faint noise.

"Can you hear us, we're right here! Dustin! Please, say something!" Aven shouted from the other side of the table, flicking her body from side to side as if it would increase the chance of hearing the boy once again.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Nancy asked, the pair spinning around to find her, Robin and Eddie staring - questioningly - by the entrance of the room.

"He's here, Henderson. That little shit, he's here," Steve mumbled as he flashed his carry light around the small, dimly-lit room. 

"We heard him, I swear we heard him. It was right here," Aven muttered incredulously as she pointed to the ground. The trio watched as the other two fell back into their yelling and screaming states, until they heard it too. It was as if Dustin was really there, and yet, he was in a whole other different dimension.

After all five of them screamed out his name, hoping that he could hear them, he just continued to speak to whoever else was in the room without regarding their voices whatsoever.

"All right, either this kid can't hear us, or he's being a total douchebag," Steve gathered with a sigh.

"Maybe it's both?" Aven suggested with a smirk, Steve glancing over to her and nodding in agreement.

"Will found a way," Nancy whispered beneath her breath, her eyes flicking up to Aven's as they shared their knowledge between their eye-contact.

"What?" Robin asked with furrowed brows.

"Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights," Nancy started as she stepped closer to the group.

"No," Aven shot down sadly, her eyes slightly dropping to the floor, "it doesn't work. I tried to do it with the lights in Steve's bedroom, but it never worked."

Steve's face dropped. "You're shitting me, that was you?" He yelled as he ran a hand through his hair, his forehead wrinkling with disappointment as Aven gasped. "God, I'm so stupid. This- this is stupid!"

"You could see it! Oh my god, you could see it!" Aven cheered, falling against the wall behind her with her hands on her cheek. At first, Steve thought she was crying, but on closer look, he saw her wide grin and grateful eyes.

"How did you do it?" Nancy questioned hurriedly.

"Uh- you, you need to- Steve, shine the light on it," Aven directed as she climbed onto the table with her knees pressed against the cold wood, reaching up to brush her fingers through the sparkly dust floating near the ceiling lamp. Everyone else followed her actions whilst gasping in amazement.

"Does anyone know Morse Code?" Nancy asked the group, glancing around before settling her eyes on Aven. Suddenly, she remembered the time when Will was Flayed, hiding out in the shed whilst Hopper squeezed answers out of him.

"I do!" Aven cheered, although Nancy already knew it.

"Does SOS count?" Eddie asked sheepishly, his eyes locking onto Aven's in question.

"Hell yeah, it does. You go, Eddie. You do the honours." With a pat on the back, Aven stepped back and watched as Eddie communicated with Dustin through the lights. Soon enough, they were sitting in one of the bedrooms as Dustin set up one of Holly's drawing toys, Nancy drawing into the air to gather information. By the end of it, they'd been told to go to Eddie's trailer, where Dustin had assumed would be another gate. So, by finding bikes in Nancy's backyard, they made their way towards the rundown trailer park.

"That's gotta be a Guinness World Record. Most miles travelled interdimensionally," Robin muttered as she pushed her bike to the ground.

"Definitely a world record," Aven agreed with a puff of air, getting off her bike before leaning against her knees whilst she caught her breath.

"Just inhaled a bunch of that crap. It's stuck in my throat," Steve coughed with disgust, "C'mon Aves."

When they walked into Eddie's trailer, their eyes settled on the pulsating, red gate pressed against the ceiling. They all stopped and looked up with amazement, not truly believing Dustin's theory would be correct.

"This is where Chrissy died. Like, right where she died," Eddie told them slowly.

"I'm sorry, bud," Aven murmured as she softly rubbed the back of his shirt, the boy nodding as he ducked his head whilst muttering a quiet thanks.

"I think there's something in there," Robin said as she pointed up to the squirming gate. Something was trying to get through.

"What the hell is that?" Eddie asked as he stumbled back worriedly.

"Oh shit," Aven muttered. They all screamed as the gate broke open, Steve immediately pulling Aven back as he fought to get in front of her. He crept forwards as the others stayed back, peering up and into the gate, only to find Dustin, Lucas, Max and Erica standing there, Upside Down.

"Hi there," Dustin laughed with a wave.

"Hey, guys!" Aven waved back with a grin, fighting the urge to run outside and throw up.

"Holy shit, this is trippy," Robin muttered as she shared a look with Aven, the girl mimicking vomit before Robin held a hand over her mouth to ease her laughter.

"Bada-Bada-Boom!" Dustin shouted as his signature laugh rang through the air. The teens on the other side pulled a mattress down to help them all land safely on the right side of the world, tying a bunch of sheets together to create a dangling rope. Slowly, one by one, they all climbed back. Robin, then Eddie, then Nancy. Except Nancy didn't make it.

1118 words