Invisible- Stranger Things Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty Two: Reconciliation

*Nikki's POV*
After she told us her name, Sarah was out cold, but my brother and Dustin both stared at me.
"She- she said her name was Sarah Hopper," Steve said.
Dustin nodded. "As in, Hopper's dead daughter."
"She couldn't be..." I said. "I mean, how old was she when Hopper said she died?"
"She wasn't very old at all, around six," Steve replied. He had talked to Hopper about his daughter a few times while they were preparing him for the police squad. "But she was born a few years before you two, and this girl looks about the right age."
I studied the sleeping Sarah: her nose and jawline were exactly like Hopper's. (Minus the beard, obviously.) Even her skin tone was almost an exact match, except she was about half a shade paler. "Did the lab maybe fake her death like they did Will's?" I asked Dustin. Everyone in Hawkins knew that Will Byers had supposedly died, then came back to life, but Dustin and Steve told me about how the lab made a decoy Will and made everyone believe he'd drowned in the quarry.
Dustin shrugged, staring at Sarah instead of me. "They could have. I wouldn't rule anything out with those bastards. Not after what they did to poor El."
   Worried, Steve looked to me. "Nik, what do we do with her?"
   I thought for a moment. It wasn't often Steve came to me for help, so this had to be carefully thought out. Both of us, I think, knew in our hearts what had to be done. Steve was probably just too afraid to suggest it himself. "We have to take her back to Hawkins."

*Dustin's POV*
   "You mean, you're actually coming back?"
   I was trying not to sound desperate, but Steve and I were both surprised at how quickly and calmly Mon came to this solution.
   "Yeah, Nik, are you sure?"
   Mon nodded her head. "She needs to go home, Steve, and maybe us being the ones to take her back isn't such a bad thing."
   Was she actually considering this? After she bitched for so long about staying away from Hawkins? Maybe she missed it. Missed us. Missed me.
Shut up, Dustin.
   Steve still looked confused. "Nikki, you hate Hawkins-"
   "I know, Steve," she interrupted. "But how else is she going to get back? Dustin's bike would hurt like a bitch if the two of them rode in it all the way back."
   "Do you really want to come back though?" I asked. Yeah, my whole point of coming here was to bring her home, but if being away from Hawkins is what it takes to make Mon happy, then she should stay with Steve in their little hotel room. Screw the party.
Shut up, Dustin!
   Mon got under the covers and laid back in bed, preparing to shut off the light on her nightstand. "We're going back to Hawkins tomorrow, and that's final."

A few hours later, I woke up to soft noises coming from one of the girls' beds. Steve was still sleeping soundly, not worried by anything. Sarah, who was in the bed right next to me, was also fast asleep. Mon.
Getting up slowly, I saw my ex-girlfriend squirming in her bed, her face twisting in worried and angry ways. Her nightmares hadn't been this bad in a while. Stealthily, I tiptoed across the floor to her bed, putting my hand on her shoulder to try to wake her up. Mon made a final humming noise before opening her eyes.
"Dustin," she breathed. As soon as her eyes landed on me, Mon jumped out from under the covers, hugging me from the side as she burst into tears.
I lifted her onto my lap, stroking her hair and feeling her tears drench my shirt. Oh well, it was Steve's anyway. "Hey, hey," I whispered, "everything's gonna be alright."
Mon sniffled. "It was awful, Dustin. I dreamed about going back with my parents. What am I going to do? I can't go back to them, Dustin, I just can't."
"We'll figure it out in the morning, okay? For now, just try to get some rest. You're probably exhausted from these past few weeks." With that, I helped her back under the covers, trying to avoid looking at her soft eyes and pale skin that was almost glowing in the dark.
"Wait."
As I turned to go back to my spot on the floor, Mon grabbed my wrist, silently begging me to stay. What was she doing? She left me. Literally left me. Yet here she was, staring up at me with her big puppy dog eyes.
Those eyes.
With those eyes, she could sell the ocean a cup of water. With those eyes, she could end wars. With those eyes, she could make a guy fall in love with her and break his heart all at once.
Even without those beautiful eyes- when she's wearing sunglasses, I mean, not like if someone gouged them out- she could make a guy fall in love with her. Mon was the most gorgeous girl I'd ever-
Wait a minute. What the hell? Son of a bitch, not again. I can't fall for her again if I'm just going to lose her. Again. It was painful enough to lose her once- well, twice if were counting middle school.
But I wasn't going to lose her. She was bringing Sarah to Hawkins, meaning she could stay. I could find her somewhere to stay. As long as she was in Hawkins, I didn't care where it was.
"Dustin?" Mon cooed sleepily. Shit, I was too busy thinking about her to focus on her real-life picture in front of me.
I sat at the edge of her bed, pushing the hair out of her eyes as she looked up at me. "Better?"
Mon's next words proved that her eyes weren't her greatest weapon anymore: "Will you stay with me?"
The soft tone of her voice, pleading without being too desperate, made it impossible to say no without sounding like a total douche. At least, that's what I told myself. In reality, I just wanted to stay with her. Make sure she was okay. That used to be my job, and I wanted it back.
"Of course," I whispered, kissing her forehead. Mon slid closer to the wall, waiting for me to get under the covers. I did, staying a few inches away from her in a last attempt to pretend I wasn't totally still in love with the girl next to me.
Mon shifted closer to me, her breathing slowing as she started to drift back off. "Dustin?" Her voice was distant, as if she were in a whole other world as she said my name.
"Yeah, Mon," I replied.
Her eyes fully closed, she draped an arm over me, as if holding onto me would protect her from her bad dreams. "I have no... idea what... I... was going.. to.. say."
I smiled at her as she fell totally asleep, her breathing low and light as she rested her head on my chest. What a goofball.