Nothing inside // stranger things

.06

TRIGGER WARNING-
Homophobic language/slurs in this chapter, read with caution.

Chapter six

Episode six: the monster

Jonathan had started to look around the tree frantically calling out for their two missing friends, but ivy who had sunk to the floor the second she thought they were gone, had noticed that the trunk of the tree had a piece missing from the bark almost like it was a crawl way. As she looked at it more she realised that this was the gate the monster had used. She just hoped Leo and Nancy weren't stupid enough to go through it.

"Leo!" Jonathan shouted. "Nancy!"

"Hey! Look at this" Ivy called him over.

"What the hell is that?" He said crouching beside her.

"I think it's a gate" she ran her fingers over the weird goo and grimaced wiping her hand on her jeans.

"You think they went through there?"

They could hear voices echoing almost like they were right behind them, it was Leo and Nancy both of them calling out there names. As Ivy looked at the tree again it seemed like the hole was shrinking. Closing. Her panic set in.

"Guys the gates closing! You have to come back through!" She shouted at the closing gate.

"Follow the sound of our voices!" Jonathan shouted into it.

After a few second of them shouting some more, a hand poked through the goo and ivy pulled it, hard. Nancy flew out first practically landing on top of Ivy, whilst Jonathan helped Leo out. Nancy clung to Ivy as she sobbed, the Harrington girl not caring that she was being covered in the goo, she just embraced the hug.

Jonathan had both his hands at the side of Leo's face checking him over both of them breathing heavily, Jonathan pulled him in and kissed him right there in front of the other two. Ivy had only seen them kiss once when she walked in on them in Leo's room, it made her smile as she still cradled Nancy. When the two boys pulled away Jonathan wrapped his arms around him.

"Don't do that to me ever again, I can't loose you too" he shouted at Leo who just hugged him tighter.

The gate in the tree had now fully closed over and the four teens were all sprawled out in the dirt, two of them hyperventilating and the other two trying to calm them.

It took them practically hours to get out of the woods and back to their cars. Nancy wordlessly got in the passenger side of her own car throwing Ivy the keys, Ivy told her she'd just be a minute and walked over to the boys. She pulled Leo into a hug and he tightened his arms around her.

"You gonna be okay?" She asked him.

Leo looked over at Jonathan who was looking at his shoes trying to give them privacy, he chuckled under his breath, "Mhm, I'll be fine. You just make sure Wheeler gets home alright." He nodded over to the other car.

"I love you"

"I love you" he kissed the top of her head and she walked away.

The drive back to Nancy's was almost completely silent other than the heavy breathing coming from Nancy who had yet to fully calm down. Ivy helped the girl to her room and turned to leave, but Nancy stopped her.