Don't You Want Me? ✵ Steve Harrington

Chapter 69

Nancy opened her front door. It felt so strange and eerie to be entering the Upside Down version of her own house, let alone to be in the Upside Down again. The rest of the group cautiously followed behind her, taking in their surroundings.

"Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler," Robin joked.

Nancy ignored her. "Come on. I don't want to stay here longer than we have to." She started up the stairs and led them into her bedroom, none of them realizing that something downstairs had caught Steve's attention. Nancy opened her closet that just days before, Kim had been looking through for something they could wear to meet with Dr. Hatch at Pennhurst. She pulled out a shoe box and opened it on her desk, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion when she pulled out a pair of shoes.

"Those aren't guns," Eddie stated the obvious.

"I mean, these heels are a bit pointy, but I was hoping for a deadly projectile," Robin added.

"I don't understand," Nancy muttered, shaking her head.

"Maybe you left them somewhere else," Eddie suggested.

"There's a six year old in the house. I know where I keep my guns," Nancy snapped.

"Wait," Kim said, taking a closer look at the heels. "Didn't you throw these away last year? You wore them for junior prom but it was raining and you stepped in mud. I remember you were super pissed that your shoes got ruined before pictures."

Nancy nodded, remembering how she had been so upset that Jonathan had even offered to go out and buy her a new pair before the dance. Her eyes landed on a textbook and stack of flashcards that were sitting on her desk as well. She quickly flipped through the chemistry cards, thinking back to the night Steve had tried to help her 'study'.

"I get that grades are important to you but perhaps studying can wait till we get out of here?" Robin suggested, trying not to sound annoyed.

"These are from sophomore chemistry," Nancy said, taking a better look around her room. "And th-this is old wallpaper. And this mirror, this went to a yard sale. And you," she picked up a stuffed animal from off her bed. "You're not supposed to be here. No, I gave you to Cousin Joanna two years ago." She finally spotted her diary and flipped open to the last entry. November 6th, 1983.

"What is it?" Eddie asked, growing more confused the longer he was in the Upside Down.

"Nancy? You're freaking me out," Robin added.

"I think the reason that my guns aren't here is because they don't exist yet," Nancy said quietly.

"They don't exist?" Kim asked. "What do you mean?"

"This diary should be full of entries but it's not," Nancy explained. "The last entry is November 6th, 1983. The day–"

"The day Will went missing," Kim realized. "The day the gate opened."

"We're in the past," Nancy said.

"Dustin! Dustin!" Steve shouted from down stairs.

Kim took off at a sprint, wondering how the hell her little brother had gotten into this hell hole. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Steve spinning around the Wheeler's kitchen, acting like a crazy person.

"Maybe he really does have rabies," Robin whispered.

"Steve, what are you doing?" Kim asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"He's here. Henderson! That little shit, he's here. He's, like, in the walls or something," Steve explained in a rush. "Just listen. Dustin! Dustin! Dustin, can you hear me?"

Kim rolled her eyes but listened carefully. Just as she was starting to believe that Steve had totally lost his mind, she heard the far off sound of her brother's voice. It was echoey, like she was hearing him from the other end of a tunnel, but she would recognize his voice anywhere.

The group started calling out his name, looking behind curtains and in cabinets for the younger boy.

"Alright, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag," Steve sighed.

"Will found a way," Nancy realized. "He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights."

"Lights?" Steve asked, not quite as involved with that part of the supernatural saga.

Kim understood what her best friend was talking about and quickly tried to turn on the nearest lamp. She switched to flicking the light switch on the wall, growing frustrated when nothing happened. "It's not working!"

"Guys," Steve said, shining his flashlight at the chandelier. "You seeing this?"

Kim turned around to see light coming off of the chandelier. The light bulbs burned dim, but the area around the chandelier seemed to glow and almost sparkle.

Nancy walked towards it, almost mesmerized. She reached her hand up, feeling the pleasantly warm glow of the light.

"Whoa," Eddie breathed as the rest of the quintet walked closer to the light.

They cautiously put their hands in the light the way Nancy had, causing it to grow brighter.

"It tickles," Steve said.

"It kinda feels good," Robin agreed.

"Yeah it's like warm water," Kim grinned.

"Does anyone know Morse code?" Nancy asked.

Everyone shook their heads except Eddie. "Wait, does SOS count?" he asked. "Is that– is that good?"

"Uh, yeah," Kim nodded. "That'll work."

The rest of the group pulled their hands away and let Eddie tap out SOS, hoping that Dustin would pick up on the pattern.

"It's working," Robin said, a smile pulling at her lips.

•••••

While Dustin, Lucas, and Erica stoll Holly's Lightbright machine and gotten everything set up, the older teens waited anxiously in Nancy's room.

"Okay, are you guys seeing this?" Dustin yelled, his voice still echoey.

The glow of the Lightbright illuminated their faces as they all started to smile in relief.

"We're not moving it, but we're gonna unplug it. Stand by," Dustin instructed. The light went out. "Okay, try it now."

Nancy spelled out 'hi' in the air where she thought the Lightbright was. The letters left a sparkly trail in the air for a second before fading away.

"Hi!" Dustin exclaimed. "That worked!"

The older kids cheered with excitement, glad to finally have some way of communicating with the outside world again. Nancy quickly traced out 'Stuck'.

"They're stuck in the Upside Down," Lucas's voice said.

"Uh, you can't get back through Watergate?" Dustin asked.

"What the hell's Watergate?" Steve muttered.

"Cause it's in water and it's a gate," Robin pieced together.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Yeah, only Dustin would come up with something like that."

Nancy tried to figure out how to explain their situation with just one word. She spelled out 'guarded'.

"Okay, uh, Watergate's guarded," Dustin said. "We think we have a theory that can help with that."

"Genius child," Robin muttered.

"We think Watergate isn't the only gate. That there's a gate at every murder site," Dustin explained.

"Does anybody understand what he's talking about?" Nancy asked. When they all shook their heads Nancy drew a question mark.

"Okay, seriously?" Dustin whined. "How many times do I have to be right on the money before you guys just trust me?"

"Jesus Christ," Steve rolled his eyes. "This kid's gotta get his ego in check."

"It's his tone, right?" Eddie agreed.

"Yeah, it comes from being the favorite child," Kim informed them, also rolling her eyes.

"Okay, so how far is your trailer?" Nancy asked Eddie.

Eddie thought for a second. "Seven miles."

Robin cleared her throat. "Nancy, uh, I know your house here is, like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven't you always had bikes?"