STRANGER THINGS 3 [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 1: White lie (Part 7)

Jane sat in her room dressed in her comfortable pyjamas that Joyce got her for Christmas. She got the exact same pair as Jane so they can match. The pyjamas were a simple red colour, the top was a button up and the bottoms were like regular pyjamas. Those were Jane's favourite pair. She was reading a book, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" to be exact. "Atomic" by Blondie was quietly playing in her room as she read the book, devoting her full attention to it. Page after page, the book was keeping El like a prisoner. She was curious on what would happen next.

Hopper walked in her room and she didn't even notice the big man leaning against her door frame. "Hey, kid. Lights out, it's getting late." – Jane looked up and frowned. "Five more minutes, please! I want to finish this chapter!" – She tried to compromise with Jim, to which he chuckled. "You can finish it, but only this time!" – Hopper smiled lightly towards the girl that shot him a warm smile. "But, I first want to talk about something with you..." – He said while approaching the bed where she laid. Jane supported her weight on her hands while getting up so she can make space for her guardian.

"I talked to Mr. Clarke about your progress and he said that he has good news!" "Really? What did he said?" "If you study hard enough, you'll be able to go to 10th grade in September and join the rest of the party, but that means that you'll need to study all summer long..." – Jim said to the girl and frowned a little, thinking she might be heartbroken. Her answer surprised him. "I'll do it!" "But, you do realise that you won't get a break like last summer?" "Yes, and if it means that I have to study all summer so I can go to school with my friends, I'll do it!" – Jane told him and sneaked a small smile at the end.

Hopper sighted. "Are you sure?" – He asked her. "Yes!" – She told him, again. He taught for a few seconds and Jane played with her fingers while waiting for the ol' man to proceed. He inhaled a deep breath. "Will told me earlier today that the boys and Max were going to Jack's tonight, but I forgot to tell you." – Jim decided to be honest with the girl. He could see her heart break piece by piece, slowly. She gulped. "I understand..." – El told him quietly and looked lowered her gaze to her hands. "I'm really sorry, kid! The good news is we're going to Will's tomorrow and if you want, you guys can invite some of your friends over!" – Hopper informed her and she smiled, still keeping her gaze towards her hands.

Hopper nudged the girl in hope to cheer her up; it worked for a small moment until she got serious again. "Dad, can I ask you something?" – The way she said dad to him melted Jim's big heart. They are at a point where El called him dad, or in a joking matter pops, but she never saw him as her papa. "Shoot!" "Am I really free? Or the doctor still wants me to hide?" – Jane asked him with saddens and fear in her voice. "Do you want the truth?" – She nodded. "Dr. Owens came by today to ask me how you are and told me that they still haven't found anything related to him... I, on the other hand, told him that if his men and he don't speed up the process I won't keep my part of the deal!" "And what is your part?" "TO not expose what they really did to this town..." – This put Jane into deep taught.

"Don't stress it, Jane. I'll always protect you no matter what! I won't let a single sole to take you away from me... From us!" – He told her as she snuggled into his warm embrace. Jim caressed her head in a soothing manner. He knew that this was hard for her and that she finally understands what can happen if she doesn't stay put. "But, Owens said that if you want you can go out sometimes!" – He told the girl in his arms and pecked her head. She hummed in his embrace and raised her head. "Thank you!" – She simply told him. "You don't have to thank me, kiddo!" – He said. They hugged one last time and said their goodnights before lights out for Eleven.

-

Dustin walked home while humming the tune of "Just can't get enough" – by Depeche Mode. He had a "sweet ear" for British bands and artists such as Depeche mode. It was another thing he inherited from the infamous Steve Harrington. Dustin looked up to Steve in any aspect. Coming from a house where it was only him, his mom and her cat, Dustin was lacking of a male role model and since Steve came to his life he held tight to him. Surprisingly, Steve cared for Dustin and after hearing what the kid went through in his life he decided to stick around him.

Steve looked at Dustin as the sibling he never had. He was the only thing that kept him sane in moments. Plus, he enjoyed the little shit's company! They went on adventures together; they talked females and shared a lot of memories together. They were the ultimate duo, fighting crime and breaking a lot of hearts on the way.

Dustin walked pass the trashcan that he found Dart in. The boy didn't forget about his demodog and taught of him every now and then. He unlocked the front door and was greeted by darkness, only the kitchen light was on so he can find his way towards his room. He locked the front door and took off his shoes and jacket.

He felt thirsty and walked towards the lit kitchen to get a glass of water. On his tip toes, he took out a glass from the top shelf of the cabinet and filled it with tap water. While gulping it down, Dustin felt light-headed, like something was draining out his energy. This wasn't the first time this happened to poor ol' Dusty. He carefully placed the glass on the kitchen counter and turned around to walk towards his room down the hall. Still feeling light-headed, Dustin took off his clothes and changed into his pyjamas. Before getting into his sheets, a wave of pain rushed over his body and everything went black for a moment causing him to lose balance and fall on the ground making a loud thud.

He closed his eyes a couple of times and clenched his whole body. It felt like he was hurting all over his body, but in waves, each lasting a couple of seconds. Once he regained a bit of his vision, through the pain he tried to reach for his walkie-talkie that was on his nightstand. After 10 seconds of struggling, he reached it and tried to contact Mike, but nothing was coming out of his mouth. He couldn't talk! He tried and tried to produce a sound from his vocal cords, but nothing was coming out!

A few attempted struggles to produce a sound resulted in Dustin giving up. He taught "This is it! I'm going to die. This is how I'm going to go out! I don't even have a farewell letter or nothing. Who will take care of my mom? What are they going to bury me in?" Taught after taught, Dustin began to ignore the harsh pain waves through his body. After a minute of struggling, the pain stopped completely. He continued to lay on the floor, eyes closed and not moving a muscle, appreciating that it stopped.

The curly haired boy got up and looked around his room. He was sweating like crazy from all of the pain he was in. This was the first time pain waves occurred after him feeling lightheaded and thirsty. All of these symptoms were happening after that night. Dustin decided to no tell anyone about them and continued with his life, trying his best to ignore them. He got up, only a few seconds later to run towards the bathroom and pour his guts out. The sight wasn't a pleasant one. Black substance mixed with green and red was pouring out of his mouth and nose. Dustin stared at the sight in front of him. In the mixture of the three colours, he spotted a few white seed like flakes that reminded him of the things that were sprayed in his face in the tunnels.

Before washing out the sink, Dustin ran to his room and got a little zip lock bag and a spoon from the kitchen and collected a small sample. He flattened out the substance in the bag and sealed it. After putting the bag in a secure place, he proceeded to wash out the mess in the bathroom and went to his room. On the way to his more than ever comfortable sheets, Dustin looked at himself in the mirror. The bags under his eyes showed a lot more red likes that before. They looked like little lightning bolts. He sighted and got under the sheets trying to push away the thought of tonight out of his mind.