Invisible- Stranger Things Fanfiction

Chapter Eight: Surprise

*Dustin's POV*
We all decided that the ass-kicking lessons could wait until tomorrow; today, we were going to experiment with pepper spray ingredients. Lucas made a list of eye-killing substances that he thought might work, which Steve was taking with him to the grocery store. We all began to gather beakers and other supplies from Mon's old chemistry set (she was friends with nerds, after all). Mon helped us all relocate to the kitchen, where we could make more of a mess without her parents grounding Steve for being irresponsible. After helping us move everything upstairs, she went to her bathroom to get latex-free gloves from her first-aid kit. (Mon's allergic to latex.)
"Hold on, Henderson," Steve said, taking the beaker form my hand and leading me to the front door. "You're coming wth me."
"Okay," I said excitedly. All drama aside, Steve is still my best friend, and I love hanging out with him. Even if it's an activity so mundane as grocery shopping.
   Nikki was just coming down the stairs, but before she saw me, Steve whisked me out the door and slammed it behind him. "We're gonna have a little talk, you and I," he said, his car keys jingling as we walked down the Harrington's front steps.
   "About what?" I asked.
   Steve unlocked the car and waited for me to get in before responding. "Nikki."
   "What about her?"
   "Are you really this oblivious?" Steve asked. As he got out of the driveway (he had parked backwards), he waited for me to get what he was saying. When I didn't respond, he spoke: "You like her or something, don't you?"
   Well, duh. "Um... define like-"
   "Yes or no, dipshit?"
   "Hell yes," I blurted out.
   Steve's grip on the wheel tightened. "Okay."
   I braced myself for the worst. He was probably gonna stop the car and kick my ass. Or worse: he wouldn't stop the car and still kick my ass. Maybe he'd lecture me about his baby sister, and how he'd always have to protect her.
   "Steve, I'm really sorry-"
   "This is great!" Steve cut me off, a bright smile consuming his face.

   Oh shit, it's a trick.
   "You're... happy?" I questioned.
   Steve started slowing down as we got closer to the supermarket. "Hell yeah, this is amazing! My baby sister and my best friend, gettin' all datey and shit."
   "All datey?" I repeated. So maybe this isn't a trick...
   "Dude, I can't even tell you how happy I am about this." Steve looked like a kid in a candy store- well, like me in a candy store.
   "Why?"
   "Be-cause," he said with slight annoyance, "Nikki hasn't been this happy in a long time, and you guys- all of the party, but mostly you- finally got her to make friends. Plus, I mean, you're not a terrible kid."
   I was confused, yet flattered. "Thanks, I guess."
We got out of the car, Steve skipping excitedly into the store. Great, now people are looking at us. And I thought I was a nerd.

*Nikki's POV*
"Guys, help me clean these beakers. Where the hell is Dustin?"
Will grabbed one of the glass science bottles. "Steve took him to the store."
"Shit."
"What's wrong? Worried 'bout your boyfriend?" Max teased.
I rolled my eyes, rinsing out a test tube in the sink. "He's not my boyfriend. I am worried, though. Dustin might be strong, but Steve could easily kick his ass."
"He knows about you two?"
"What do you mean, us two?" I asked El.
El rolled her eyes, mimicking me. "You're obviously a thing!"
"When did she learn about this shit?" Mike whispered to Max, trying not to interrupt my conversation with El.
"El and I have had sleepovers you guys don't know about," Max whispered back.
"Dustin and I are not dating!" I insisted, getting a bunch of my mom's daisy-patterned dish towels and putting them on the counter. "We're just-"
"In looooove?"
"Friends," I corrected Lucas. "Nice try, smartass."
Lucas shrugged. "He's in loooove with you."
"Lucas!" Will scolded with a playful gleam in his little eyes. "We're nerds; we're not supposed to point out the obvious!"
I used my dish towel as a lasso and with it, smacked them both across the face in one go. "Would you two morons give it a rest and get to work?"
Mike looked up from the dropper he was playing with. "Do you like Dustin?"
"Shut up, Mike," Max said. "Of course she does."
I threw my hands up in frustration. "Must everyone intervene in my love life?"
Lucas gasped. "So it is loooove-"
"Shut up!" I said with record-breaking annoyance, although a slightly amused smile broke out on my face. "So what if I do like him, anyway? Wouldn't it kind of ruin the whole dynamic of the party if there was a couple-"
Lucas, Max, Mike, and El all stared at me while Will looked at all of them with a smirk.
I tried to think of another argument. "Well... erm- ooh, I've got a good one! What about Will?" I gestured to the Byers boy, who was sitting at the kitchen table.
"What about him?" Will asked.
I walked over to the smallest party member, tousling his hair. "Why, this little fella would be the only single one left! We can't just leave him to... to..." I counted all of us. "I can't just leave him to seventh-wheel!"
"Seventh wheel?" El repeated with confusion.
"Instead of a third wheel, because there's three couples in the group. Six people dating someone, one single kid. That makes Will the seventh wheel," Mike explained.
"So, what are we, some weird kind of SUV?" Max asked. "Or a handicapped spider?"
"Spiders don't have wheels, dumbass."
"Anyway," I said, getting them back on track. "How are we going to know when this thing is close?"
   "We won't," Will replied. "Not until it tries to kill us, anyway."
   "Well, that's comforting," Max muttered.
   I rinsed off a pair of goggles in the kitchen sink. "Well, then. We all have to get to work on your physiques."
   "What's wrong with my physique?" Lucas asked, patting his relatively flat stomach.
   I shook my head. "Nothing wrong with that." I put the goggles down, dried my hands, and walked to him. "It's more about this." I squeezed his tiny bicep. "And this." I pointed my finger to his forehead. "We have to be physically and mentally strong if we want any chance in taking down this son of a bitch."
   "It's not exactly like we can turn into The Terminator in a few hours," Will sighed.
   "No," I agreed, "but you can at least be a little more confident. You know, a little less like a bunch of nerdy little twigs?"
   El and Max looked over at me angrily. "Hey!"
   "Well, I'm sorry, but let's face it, y'all are pretty skinny too." I lifted my shirt slightly to show off my abs- they weren't a six pack like my brother's, but they were still there. I started working out with Steve when he got on the football team and have kept up ever since.
   When the front door opened, we all fell silent, waiting to see my brother come stirring into the room, Dustin trailing behind him, holding grocery bags filled with our experimental supplies. 
   "Took you long enough!" I shouted as the four footsteps got closer.
   What I thought at first was a chuckle made everyone else turn into statues, their darting eyes the only things moving.
Grrrr.
   Holy shit, I only know two things that make that sound: Dustin and the Displacer. And that wasn't annoying enough to be Dustin.
   "Grab something," I whispered to all of them. As if the huge monster couldn't hear me. "Anything, just grab. Something."
   Everyone scrambled to get the weapon closest to them, whether it be a ballpoint pen or a rolled-up newspaper (they totally forgot that we were in a kitchen filled with knives), while I tried my best to keep my cool. I was supposed to be their fighter. I had to be the strong one.
   Rather than grabbing the obvious choice like a knife, I took the oldest beaker in my set- it was gonna shatter soon anyway- and hit it as hard as I could on the counter. Just as I expected, the end shattered off, giving me the perfect jagged weapon for fighting my invisible opponent.
Grrrr.
   "Well, grrrr to you too, jackass," I yelled, feeling a pang of confidence as I notice all of my friends were watching me with hopeful eyes. They knew I could do this.
   I felt the warm breath of the Displacer hitting my arm, which was stretched in front of me, the jagged glass ready to strike. "Come on, you filthy son of a bitch," I uttered under my breath. "Come at me. I dare you."
Grrrr.
   "Nikki." I turned to see Will cowering in a corner, the Displacer's figure in front of him.
   "Don't worry, dude," Max said. "It's just its projection."
   I smacked the invisi-beast in front of me, but when I went to make contact, there was no luck. I hit the air with the beaker, making me pull back quickly in surprise.
   "Mother of Pearl!" I screamed as the broken glass cut my left hand, sending scarlet blood dripping out.
   It was then that I came to a gut-wrenching realization:
   The monster in front of Will was real. The beast could apparently also project its voice to throw us off. I ran to the beast, which was already charging at me after hearing my screech. My beaker could only do so much damage, so after slashing it in the stomach, I started kicking and punching the bastard.
A terrible decision on my part...
   The monster let out an ear-splitting shriek, the tentacles on its back waving frantically and crazily. It wrapped one around my arm, sticking to me and pulling me closer in order to- presumably- maim me. I braced myself, knowing that we couldn't all get out of this alive. I was the new one, the guy in Star Trek with the red shirt. I had to make the sacrifice. The Displacer swung down and dug its sharp claw onto my face, then into my free arm, filling me with a stinging pain. Our voices made for a battle of the cries: battle cry versus baby cry. The agony was too much for me to handle, and as I gave up and prepared for the end, the beast unhinged its huge jaw and prepared for lunch.
   Due to the pain all over me (and the overwhelming loss of blood), everything became dizzy. The walls were spinning, and I almost didn't see the beast topple to the ground, unconscious just like I was about to be... or the redhead standing above us.