𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

13

𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐉𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 awoke to the sound of their mother calling out to will with a despair and pain they'd only ever heard from her. the ginger sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes and ruffling out her hair. across the hall, not only did she hear jonathan shuffling in his own bed, but the sound of her mother persistently yet softly speaking her littlest brother's name. sherrie wiped the drool from her mouth and let out a sigh before finally getting up and into the hallway.

both of joyce's eldest children opened their bedroom doors at the same time. they exchanged groggy, confused glances before slowly making their way to the doorway of will's room. the byers woman was surrounded by every lamp in the house, it seemed. she begged for will to say something to her. or to give her a sign.

"mom?" jonathan piped up, sleep still lingering on his voice.

joyce's head snapped in the pair's direction. she let out a sigh of relief. "sheridan, jonathan, come here." she hastily waved them over with her hand. "come here, come here!"

"what's going on?" jonathan inquired through joyce's sniffles. the pair sat down on will's bed, peering at their mother with scared expressions.

"it's will. it's will, he-he's trying to talk to me," the woman quietly explained.

"... he's trying... to talk to you?" jonathan asked in disbelief. both sheridan and joyce peered around the room at the setup she had going on. it was far-fetched in sherrie's eyes, too, despite seeing what she saw last night; it was simply too early in the morning for a protest, though.

"yes, th-through the lights," joyce motioned.

jonathan's eyebrows furrowed, the boy letting out a scoff. "mom-"

"i know, i know..." the woman outreached a hand, sounding as if she didn't even believe her own craziness. "just... just watch." silence overwhelmed the room. "will... your sister and brother are here... can you show them what you showed me, baby?" sherrie sighed. the ginger closed her eyes and bowed her head, practically falling asleep again. the girl jolted awake to the sound of her mother's gasp. "did you see that?!" she exclaimed and she pointed to a light bulb; dani assumed it had just flickered.

"it's the electricity, mom!" jonathan retorted. "it's acting up. it's the same thing that fried the phone!"

"no! it is not the electricity, jonathan! something is going on here!" joyce insisted.

sherrie could no longer stand her and jonathan's incessant bickering. the red-haired girl stood up and entered her own room. she quietly shut the door, afraid to disturb the two. dani stood there for a moment as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. she nabbed a pillow and hugged it close to her chest, prior to grabbing her tray out from underneath her bed.

✽

𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐀 𝐔𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐀𝐘 at hawkins high, sherrie made a slow exit out towards betsy. she chomped down on her signature watermelon gum and spun her car keys around her finger. following her mother's antics last night and that morning, her attitude seemed rather chipper in comparison. and to like salt in her open wound, parked by betsy was steve, with tommy and carol and... jonathan?

she watched as the boys tossed around jonathan's backpack before digging into its contents. "what's going on?" sheridan questioned as she neared the group, using her sunglasses to push her hair from her view. tommy and carol broke out into a fit of snickers. steve examined what appeared to be sheets of photographs.

"oh, dani, you've just got yourself a front-row seat to your brother's own creepshow," tommy piped up with a wiggle of his fingers. steve flipped through the last of the photos in silence.

"jonathan? what is he talking about?" sherrie asked with concern, her grip on her bookbag strap tightening.

"d-dani, it's nothing, i swear-" jonathan sputtered out. the girl glanced at steve, who held out the pictures in her direction.

"oh, that's not 'nothing', byers," steve retaliated. jonathan attempted to swipe the photos in the midst of the exchange, but sherrie dodged her brother in the knick of time. she shot him a confused look before beginning to inspect the photos for herself. "that's creepy, that's what that is."

much to sheridan's dismay, they were exactly what steve had been depicting. jonathan had snapped photos of steve, tommy, carol, nancy, and barb at steve's house last night. dani could hear them through the woods. pictures of them drinking and smoking, just being normal kids; she wouldn't have thought much of it, until the last few pictures. nancy and steve, in what dani could only assume to be steve's bedroom. the two attached at the lips. clothing progressively got removed, photo after photo. the last frame contained a topless nancy wheeler.

dani clapped a hand over her mouth, using the other to shove the photos against steve's chest. she felt absolutely sick to her stomach. she turned with her back facing jonathan, not even wanting to look at him, or witness nancy's reaction. the girl choked down tears of disgust, with a hint of pain.

"jonathan, i-" sheridan cut herself off, trying to stop herself from physically gagging. "...i can't believe you..." she winced at the sound of the glass in her brother's camera shattering as steve dropped it to the ground. a tear fell down her cheek, dragging her mascara along with it. the girl shoved off the arm that snaked around her shoulders as quickly as it had found itself there. "get the fuck off me, steve," she spat.

a chorus of "oooooooh"s plagued the parking lot. sherrie hastily flicked away the tear and began to stomp towards betsy. she wasted not a second to reverse and pull out of the high school lot. her tires screeched against the asphalt on her way out. she saw steve in the rearview mirror; he wore a miserable expression. as she overheard "heart and soul" on the radio through her sobs, she turned the dial to silent.

✽