"The feeling of warmth and shakiness and emptiness fluttering all at the same time. It was so... odd."
Grace Knightwood never liked to follow rules.
Especially when one of her best friends has just gone missing and the sheriff has forbidden her and...
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As soon as the gym hall doors opened, the group and Mr Clarke were greeted by silence and what seemed like hundreds of eyes.
"Abort." Dustin tried to leave but was blocked by Lucas who pushed him back.
Principal Coleman had been talking and they'd just interrupted him with their arrival. Beside the principal sat Lizzy Knightwood. Grace looked her mother in the eyes and her heart broke. Lizzy was like a second mom to Will, much like Joyce was to her. Without trying to cause too much a commotion, the gang were directed to a bench. What irritated Grace the most was the annoyed sighs of their fellow students as they were ushered to make room for the quintet.
Grace felt as if even though Coleman had gone back to droning on about grief, everyone's eyes still lingered on her. She could sense their pity and judgement from a mile away, it irritated her.
She was snapped from her internal annoyance by her mother's concerned face. She was mouthing, 'are you ok?', she hadn't seen her daughter since the previous morning. Grace did what Grace always did and just nodded with a blank expression. Her mother's eyes never left her own as she tried to stare at the ground. All she wanted to do was scream.
Yes, she knew Will wasn't dead but still. Everything that had been going on was so frustrating. She didn't need pity, she didn't need judgement. Hell, she didn't evenneed sleep. All she wanted was Will. Then, after they got him back she could sort things out.
"I'd like to introduce you to Mrs Elizabeth Knightwood, she's the local guidance councilor at Hawkins High School but occasionally deals with several cases across the state. But before she comes up I'd just like those of you who are having trouble dealing with this tragic loss...-" Principal Coleman introduced Grace's mom but continued to ramble. Grace was seated beside Mike and El, who had Lucas and Dustin beside them. Eleven examined the room, the foreign faces unsettled her, she'd never been in a room with this many people in it. Dustin smiled at her and Grace tapped her on the shoulder.
"That's my mom." Grace discreetly pointed at Lizzy. Eleven could immediately see the resemblance. Grace's face was slightly rounder like her father's (and she had his nose) but with the dark hair, she was usually compared to her mother more.
"Look at these fakers," Mike whispered to Lucas and Grace. "They probably didn't even know his name until today." Lucas agreed.
"They didn't even know him. Only rumors and stupid shit like that." Mike gave a breathy laugh at Grace's foul language and Eleven looked confused. Just under a quarter of the people in the room probably thought she was Will's girlfriend (or at least they'd hear that she was Mike's girl, which although she had a crush on him, it made her feel like an object. Grace Knightwood belonged to no man). Another small percentage of the room probably thought Will was gay, I mean, no wonder! His best friend is a girl so obviously that MUST mean he was queer! (A/n: Sorry if this language is offensive, I'm trying to illustrate judgemental 12-13 year olds and it's mentioned on the show that they would call him that)
