Joe Keery Imagines

The Way Of The Universe

Dustin Henderson was a total butthead. He was also your younger brother and was the reason you got dragged into all the chaotic situations that started when Will Byers disappeared, and then the discovery of a strange little girl by him, Mike, and Lucas, who they'd found while searching for Will. Her name was Eleven, which everyone found weird, yet no one seemed to question it, all going along with calling her El - a nickname Mike had decided on. It was quickly discovered that El had special powers and that a range of strange monsters from an alternate world called the Upside Down, wanted nothing more than to destroy El and your crazy little group of misfits. Then there were the evil Russians who also wanted to destroy Hawkins, from miles below the brand-new mall that had been built on the outskirts of town, specifically for their evil purposes and the worst of them all, was a young boy named Henry, who'd grown up under the same circumstances as Eleven – his name had been changed to One by the man El called 'Papa' aka Dr Brenner. Henry had killed his mother and sister, for which his father, Victor was blamed but then Henry/One had turned evil and was now killing teens and was now going by the name Vecna. He was also currently fixated on taking Max, something that everyone was trying their hardest to prevent. 

Dustin was also the reason why you had been drawn to Steve Harrington - he'd somehow managed to get Steve involved in all these situations too. It was also because of Dustin that you now found yourself standing on the edge of Lover's Lake, watching the small boat with Steve, Robin, Eddie and Nancy in it, floating away as they went in search of a gate that Dustin was sure was in there. You sat on the fallen log, eyes close tears, nails being chewed and legs twitching – Steve had insisted you stay behind, he wanted you to stay safe and to watch the younger teens. You were focused on the yellow sweater of Steve's getting further and further away, until Lucas's comment about Steve being hairy brought you out of your mind. You were on your feet and yanking the binoculars away from the boy in seconds. You quickly focused on the sight of Steve standing on the edge of the boat, bare chested, having removed his yellow sweater to prepare dive into the lake look for the gate. Dustin's compass had gone haywire in Nancy's hand, info Robin had relayed back to you through the walkie talkie. You were too engrossed in looking at the view of Steve to hear what the others were saying about him and your reaction, and you didn't care.

What happened next, seemed to happen way too fast. Steve jumped into the lake, reemerged and was then dragged back under. Nancy, Robin and Eddie all followed suit. At the same time, the police had found their way to the shore line and to where the four of you had tried to out run them. Now you were sitting at the Wheeler's house, surrounded by Karen and Ted Wheeler – who were wanting to know the whereabouts of Nancy, the Sinclairs, your mother and the Hawkins P.D – all of whom were trying to interrogate you along with Dustin, Lucas and Max as to what was going on. You were too stressed about Steve and the others to chime in, allowing the younger three to spit out excuses – until Erica had enough and called bullshit on it all. While Max was taken to be questioned by the police, the three of you, along with Erica snuck away to the kitchen area of the Wheeler's house to discuss what was going on and if the other four would have been stupid enough to end up in the Upside Down. It didn't take long to get your answer. The lights started flickering and Dustin quickly worked out that they were being sent SOS in Morse code – the four were indeed in the Upside Down. You tried so hard not to let your emotions unravel right then and there, instead trusting that your brother had worked out what was going on and how to get them out.

After managing to fill in Max with what had happened while she was with the police, you along with Dustin, Lucas, Erica and Max, took off on the various bikes the Wheeler's had and high-tailed it to Eddie's trailer, where Dustin had worked out there would be another gate and would be the way to get Steve, Robin, Eddie and Nancy back into the real world. You didn't realise you were holding your breath until Dustin broke the barrier between the two worlds and you saw the four looking up at you. Your eyes scanned across from Eddie, Robin, Nancy and finally on Steve, who looked like he'd been injured in some way. There were several angry red marks around his neck and a makeshift bandage of some sort around his waist. He was also wearing what looked like Eddie's denim vest. You felt your breath catch in your throat and tears prick the corner of your eyes, when you looked at the man you were madly in love with (but had not been able to tell him). He'd been hurt and you weren't there to protect him, to look after him. You moved away from the landing area, as Dustin called it, to allow for him to throw the sheet rope thing he'd put together through and for the foursome to climb it back to the real world – Robin and Eddie managed to climb back with no dramas, Nancy attempted to be next and was caught up with Vecna, the tell tale signs evident by the way Steve was yelling at you all to hurry up and find some music for her, as you knew this is what would bring her back as it had with Max at the cemetery. Finally all four were back in the correct world, all shaken up some what by being in the Upside Down.