Ashes Falling Upwards (stranger things, Will x OC/reader)

Accept

"Hey! Ash!" Dustin called, waving to her car.

"Those are your friends?" Helen asked nervously. "They seem nice."

"They are nice. You should meet them sometime."

She hopped out of the car, her tall boots almost making her fall. She regretted wearing them, but without them she really didn't feel like her character, so here she was.

As her mother drove away she made her way over to the others, who had paused their play fight to welcome her. Will wasn't there yet.

"Seriously?" Mike hissed to Lucas, "you invited a girl?"

"Will invited her," he informed him, "and she's cool so it's fine."

"It's not fine," he growled, then pulled Lucas away to talk to him in private.

"Sorry 'bout that." Dustin blinked, then pointed to her costume. "What...are you?"

"Just a gh—"

Ghost lady, that's what I've told everyone. But I don't think he'd mind if I said it.

"It's an idea I have, of a rich woman who devotes her life to hunting down ghosts but ends up getting possessed. But then, during that, she can't handle it and dies, so she kinda becomes a double ghost." She pointed to her white boots and gloves, plus the fancy white clip in her tied up chocolate brown hair and the fancy looking white bag she carried. "Lots of white. I swear I didn't know you guys were going to be ghostbusters."

"I can't believe it."

"Huh?" She looked up from unbuttoning her bag in confusion.

"You're a nerd!"

She felt her cheeks heat. "I—ah, you think so? I mean, I dunno if..."

"You're super smart, you're hanging out with nerds, and you make up stories in your head? Total nerd."

Ash felt a warmth bloom in her chest and laughed happily. "Sure, I'm a nerd."

Lucas and Mike finally returned, both frowning.

"Will told me what your deal is, and Lucas told me about what you did, but that doesn't mean I'm accepting you into our party."

"Mike!" Dustin protested. "No one said you have to, just don't be such an asshole about it!"

The three boys stood there glaring at each other until the sound of a car brought their attention to a tan Ford pulling up next to the house with Will and another, older boy who Ash guessed was his brother Johnathon in the front two seats.

He said something to Will, handing him his Proton pack, then the boy got out of the car, waved to him, and he drove away.

"Will!" Lucas called, his face lighting up. All of their faces lit up, in fact, as the shorter boy made his way over to them.

"Hey," Ash said.

"Hey, you came." He glanced nervously towards the others. "Sorry I just—"

"Don't worry about it," Dustin assured him. "We're cool."

Mike scoffed and Will flinched but neither said anything.

"Is that a camera?" Ash asked awkwardly, pointing to the thing Johnathon had handed him.

"Yeah, Johnathon gave it to me." He held it up to his eye, pressing a button on the side to record them. Ash smiled even more awkwardly as Will planned to Mike, who was still glaring at her.

"Should we head out?" She asked, eager to get out of this situation.

"Y-yeah, let's go."

And with that they set off, slowly drifting into the positions of Lucas, Dustin and Will at the front and Ash and Mike in the back. She'd wanted it this way, though, because there was one person she still hadn't won over and she was determined to change that.

"I'm jealous, honestly," she started.

"What?" The glare he sent her wasn't as strong as it had been before, which she saw as promising.

"This friendship you have, the four of you, it's awesome. I've never had a friendship like you have. You're lucky."

He nodded. "Yeah, the four of us."

Ouch.

"I just— I'm not trying to force my way into your party. I get that you don't want a random new person and I totally get that."

"Exactly." His glare hardened. "So why are you here?"

"Because of Will. 'Cause we're the only ones who can really understand each other."

"He has people who can understand him."

"I mean on a deeper level. We're both linked to the Upside Down and we will be forever. Every time I'm around him I can feel it—sense the remnants of that place in him and what they're doing."

Mike sighed. Because he hadn't asked how she knew about the Upside Down she guessed Will had told the rest of them who she was and what had happened to her. Not that she minded. The more they knew, the more they could understand.

"I'm not asking you to accept me," Ash finished, "I'm asking that you let me help your friend, and that you let me be around him. Then, maybe, I'm hoping you get to know me better."

He sighed again. "Whatever. Just don't get in the way."

And with that he quickened his pace to join the rest of the party in the front.