The Fate of Hawkins; A Stranger Things Fanfiction

Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly

Y/n's POV

"Ooh. Something smells good," I comment as I entered the kitchen.

"Mom made breakfast," Jackie announced from where she was sitting down at the table eating some pancakes.

"Breakfast, huh? What's the special occasion?" I ask.

"There is none," Marilyn responded. "We just haven't had breakfast together in a while, so I figured I'd change that. I made chocolate chip pancakes and sausage patties."

I smiled. "My favorite. Thanks, mom." After eating breakfast, I gathered my stuff for school and climbed into my car. The drive to Hawkins High School only took a few minutes, and when I got there, I met up with Nancy by her locker.

"They're not actually staring at me, are they?" Nancy quizzed.

I frowned and looked around. "Who?"

"Everyone," Nancy replied. "It feels like they're staring."

"Why would they be...." I trailed off. "Nancy, you did not!"

"What? I didn't do anything," Nancy defended.

"You had sex with Steve Harrington," I deduce. "That's why you're all paranoid. Oh my god! Well, how was it?"

"I mean, you've seen Steve. The man is hot," Nancy stated.

"You're not wrong," I agree.

"Not wrong about what?" Steve implored and appeared in front of us.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Y/n and I were just talking about girl stuff," Nancy lied.

"Yeah. I uh, I should be getting to class, so I'll leave the two of you to talk. See you guys later!" I call out to them as I began to walk away.

"Y/n wait!" Nancy interrupted and grabbed a hold of my arm. "Have you seen Barb at all since yesterday?"

"Well, I left Steve's house before she did, so I didn't see her at all then. But I also didn't see her car in the parking lot, and I haven't seen her since I've been here. So no," I answer. "Why? Is something wrong?"

Nancy shook her head. "No. She's probably just running late. I'll uh, I'll see you later." 

Later that day, at lunch time, I skipped lunch, deciding that the grapes I had in my backpack would be good enough. I used the time to walk over to Hawkins Middle School, which was conveniently right next to the high school. I wanted to talk to Dustin, Mike, and Lucas to see if they had talked to Hopper or if they had heard anything about Will. I popped a grape in my mouth as I rounded the corner to get into the enclosed space of the small yard the middle school had, and as I did I saw that two boys were standing threateningly in front of Lucas, Dustin, and Mike. I knew the boys well, or, well enough. Troy and James had been bullying the boys for a while, and today, I was not tolerating it.

"Hey!" I shout and approach the group. "What do you two boys think you're doing to these guys?"

"We were just having a conversation," Troy lied.

"Conversation my ass," I retort. "Get away from them before I call on my jock friends from the high school to show you how it feels to be picked on. Now, I'm gonna count to three, so you better be long gone by then. One. Two."

I didn't even need to get to three.

"You don't have any jock friends," Dustin reminded me.

I smiled. "Yeah, well, I had to seem threatening somehow, didn't I? And I do have jock friends, thank you very much."

"Who? Steve Harrington, my sister's boyfriend? I thought you hated his guts," Mike recalled.

"I did. I still do. Well, that's actually to be determined. He's not as bad as I thought he'd be. Then again, one party doesn't exactly amount to the years I've disliked him," I ramble. "Anyways, I was hoping to talk to you guys about Will. Did Hopper come speak to all of you guys?"

"Yep. But like we told him, we don't know anything," Lucas shared. "The last time any of us saw him was the same night you did. We rode our bikes down the street and then went our separate ways."

"Damn," I curse. "I was hoping maybe you guys knew something. Any word about the search though?"

"Nothing. We're being kept in the dark," Mike spoke. "But why are you asking? Do you know something?"

"No. I was just wondering. Even though my mom works for the police station, she won't tell me a thing," I admit. "And she, like the rest of the parents in Hawkins, are worried that someone else will go missing too."

"My mom is freaking out. She watches the news like, religiously," Dustin disclosed. "But, as soon as we hear anything, we'll let you know."

"Great. Thanks. I've gotta get back to school, you know, for obvious reasons, but I'll talk to you guys later," I say.

............................................

"There you are," Nancy breathed out when she saw me walking down the hallway she was sitting in with Steve, Carol, and Tommy. "I thought you forgot."

I frowned. "Forgot? Forgot what?"

"Our plans. Remember?" Nancy quizzed and glanced at me pleadingly.

"Oh. Yeah. Our plans," I murmur. "How could I forget? We should get going."

"Right," Nancy agreed. "Um, sorry Steve. Y/n and I made these plans a week ago so..."

"It's okay," Steve assured her. "Go." With that, the two of us walked down the hallway and exited the school. Once we got to my car, I climbed into the driver's seat and turned to Nancy.

"So, are you gonna tell me about the plan?" I ask.

"I called Mrs. Holland, she said Barb never came home last night, and she's not there now, so she didn't just skip school. I'm worried, Y/n," Nancy confessed. "Can we go to Steve's house and look around? Just for a little bit."

I nodded. "Of course. Come on." It only took a few minutes to get to my block, and when we got there, I saw that Barb's car was still parked in the same spot she put it yesterday. After finding nothing around the car, we made our way to Steve's house. I pulled into his driveway and put the car in park, following Nancy towards the backyard. She didn't hesitate and walked through the gate, entering the area by the pool. "You know, this is breaking and entering. It's illegal, Nance."

"Steve won't mind," Nancy muttered and began to look around. 

We didn't find anything by the pool either, so we trekked towards the woods, where it sounded like something was milling about. I glanced around, training my eyes on certain trees to see if I could spot anything, but there was nothing there. Until, something ran past Nancy and I. Nancy let out a yelp and went to walk backwards, only to bump into me. The two of us then fell to the floor in a heap, and the wind was knocked out of me. In no time though, we were sprinting out of there, all the way back to my car.

"What the hell was that?" I exhale, shutting my door after me.

"I don't know. Lets just get the hell out of here," Nancy urged. After dropping Nancy off at her house, I drove back home and headed up to my room to do some homework. And that night, while I was lounging in my room, I heard the front door open and shut, meaning my mom was home from work. Instead of going straight to her room like she usually did, she came into mine.

"Hey mom," I greet and turn down the volume on my radio. "I left a plate of dinner for you in the microwave if you're hungry."

"Y/n," Marilyn started, her voice laced with worry and concern.

"Mom," I reply back with the same tone. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"They found a body in the local quarry," Marilyn explained. "And Hopper....he thinks it might be Will."