Invisible- Stranger Things Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty Three: Changes

*Dustin's POV*
Mon left Sarah's room quietly, closing the door quickly as she came out, like there was some secret behind it. The other didn't notice her appear, but Will and I exchanged glances as we walked outside to talk to her. She followed us swiftly, smiling nervously at Will as we got out to the porch.
"What happened?" I asked, earning looks from the two of them.
"Um... Henderson," Mon's voice was awkward and uncomfortable, something it hadn't been around me in quite a while. "This is more of a conversation for me and Will. Just me and Will."
"Why?" I looked at them, exchanging glances and silently arguing over who would talk to me. "You know, just because we broke up, doesn't mean I've changed at all! Damn it, Mon, don't be so immature-"
   "She killed someone." Mon looked like she'd been dying to say that, but now that she had, she realized what she'd said. "Sarah. She did it purely out of self-defense, at the Lab, so it's not like she's crazy or anything."
   Will nodded. "Is she okay?"
   "Why did she just tell you?" I asked.
   Mon ignored me, answering Will's question. "She seems pretty shaken up about those..." A glance at me. "nightmares she's been having."
   "I'll go talk to her-"
   Mon grabbed Will's arm to stop him. "No. We shouldn't bother her. What I really came out to talk about was... um, Dustin?"
   That's it, I couldn't take this anymore. "Have we all forgotten that I'm the one who found her? Mon, she may trust you, but she trusts me too. Probably more than Will. So if you're going to throw someone out of your conversations, it should be-"
   "Oh, grow up Dustin," Mon snapped. "Just because you almost ran her over with your bike in a thunderstorm does not make you her legal guardian. Sarah trusts me because I put the effort into earning that trust. All you've done is bitch about how I'm the one acting differently, like you're doing right now."
   "I'm not saying that, I'm just-"
   "Yes, you are."
   "Stay out of it, Will!"
   "Don't talk to him like that!"
   "What's all the shouting about?"
   The three of us had been so invested in winning this argument, we hadn't noticed Steve pull up in a Hawkins PD van. He was now standing next to Mon, his arm protectively around her shoulder.
Mon looked at me, then at Will. "We're just having a little... debate," she said.
"A debate I could hear all the way down the damn street." Steve laughed at his own remark. "Dustin, why do you look so pissed?"
I rolled my eyes. "Ask your sister," I said, walking back into the house and slamming the door behind me.

*Nikki's POV*
After Dustin went back inside in a huff, Will and I explained to Steve everything that had happened since we last saw him. School, Sarah's nightmares, and her revelation to me just minutes ago.
"Holy shit," he whispered. I hadn't realized how much information it must have been to hear. "How do we make her feel safer? Ya know, seeing as this is her house, she shouldn't have to worry about anything."
   I nodded. "But what could we do?"
   "Set traps!"
   "Don't be a dumbass, Will."
   "That's actually not a bad idea," I said, coming to Will's defense. "I mean, maybe not traps, but we could put up an electric fence or something. Hopper would be all for it, since he hates trespassers."
   Steve rolled his eyes. "What about us?"
   "We'll figure out a way to turn it off."
   "This sounds like a job for the AV Club." Will ran inside, grabbing all the boys to talk and running back outside. Max and El looked at me for an explanation, but I really didn't have one.

*Dustin's POV*
   So after their little conspiratorial meeting, Will and Mon went their separate ways, Will pulling the guys (except Steve) over to talk. How is he taking charge now? First Mike appointed himself our leader, now the puniest of all of us is taking over? Hell, if anyone of us guys should be in charge, it's Lucas; he's the only reasonable one, which I'm man enough to admit.
"All right, here's what we need to do-"
"Hold up, hold up," I interrupted. "What the hell, Will? You're not our boss."
Mike rolled his eyes at me. "Who is our boss?"
"Nikki," Lucas and Will said simultaneously.
Mike nodded. "Fair enough. Will, keep going."
"Okay, here's the plan: we have to figure out a way to make an electric fence."
"Easy," Lucas said.
"I wasn't finished. We have to build an electric fence that only the Party can deactivate. To keep intruders our and to keep Sarah safe."
This was bullshit. "This is bullshit," I said out loud. "Sarah's safe. She's got her dad- Chief of Polive- with her, a sister with telekinesis, and she's got Mon protecting her. What else does she want, a forcefield?"
Lucas rolled his eyes at me. "Dustin, us all a favor and grow the hell up."
"What? You're getting mad at me when Will's trying to move in and take over as the leader?"
"We're a team, Dustin, we don't even have a leader," Mike said. "Except Nikki, but that's just because she's tough- and still, she only leads us in fights and shit, she hasn't taken control of the whole group. You're just jealous."
I laughed sarcastically. "Jealous? Yeah, sure. What the hell so I have to be jealous about?"
"How about the fact that Will's best friends with Nikki, and you were too stupid enough to let her go in the first place that now you're scared he's moving in on her?" Lucas never really talked about girls with me since Max became his girlfriend, so this really stung. "Dustin, we all know you still want her, but it was your fault that she left in the first place."
"Her parents-"
"Yeah, they drove her out, but you didn't even try to see things her way. You were selfish and childish. Just like you are right now."
I knew Lucas was right- he normally was about this stuff- but it still hurt like a bitch to hear. Especially since they were siding with Mon over me.
   "She's not even a real member of the party!" I protested. "What, just because she can kick all of our asses with one hand, we just let her back in?"
   Will looked at me with annoyance apparent in his expression. "Would you rather she not be on our side and actually kick our asses?"
   I glared at him. "She'll kick anyone's ass she has to, Will. Remember Steve? Her brother? Look, all I'm saying is that we shouldn't let her be so involved."
   "And why is that?"
Well, shit.
   I turned around to see the girls- El, Max , and Mon- standing in the doorway, arms crossed as they looked at me like I had three heads.
   I struggled to find a response. Shit, I was gonna get my ass kicked. "Mon- Max, I- El, what are you- girls, we can explain."
   "I'd love to hear this," Max sneered.
   Mon was smirking, but her eyes looked the way Nancy's did a few years ago when I called her fat. "Why don't you want me involved, Dustin?"
   Shit, she used my first name. It's been so long since she did that. "Mon, I-"
   "He's worried about you," Will cut in before I could speak.
   Mon scoffed. "Worried. About me? What, does he think I can't handle myself or something?" I was right there, but she was talking to Will as if I wasn't.
   "Oh, no, trust me, we all know you can handle yourself, Mon," Will replied. "It's just... well, you got pretty banged up the past couple of times we've brought you with us, and we just- he just doesn't want to see something happen to you."
   "He doesn't care what happens to me," Mon protested, walking off the porch and towards the woods.
   Will started to follow her, but I stopped him. "You've done enough interpreting. I'll handle this." I ran after her, noticing the tear slipping down her cheek as I fell into step with her. "Mon-"
   "Don't," she hissed, wiping it away so viciously that her cheek turned red.
   Well, she hadn't tried to kill me yet, nor had she told me to go back to the Hoppers'. That was a good sign, right? "I'm sorry, okay? Lucas was right, I've been acting like a little bitch."
   "I know," she said, still looking straight ahead as we kept walking. "Why?"
   I thought for a minute. Why had I been so stupid lately? I mean, yeah, I miss Mon, but I've missed her for a while. What changed? "I don't know, honestly. And there's no excuse for it, either. I'm sorry, Mon."
   She stopped walking, looking around at her surroundings. "Where the hell are we?" she asked, totally ignoring my apology.
   "No clue." It was getting sort of dark, so I could even tell what we were close to. "Do you have your walkie-talkie?"
   Mon looked at me like I was an idiot. "I don't exactly carry it around the house, Henderson."
And we were back to the last name. Damn.
   Smirking, I pulled out my walkie-talkie, channeling it so I could get ahold of the Hopper household. "Can anyone here me? Hello?"
   The Harrington girl rolled her eyes at me, sighing when nobody answered. "They're probably all still talking about how stupid and childish you are."
   "Is that everyone's description of me?"
   "Pretty much, I mean-" Mon's eyes went wide. As I followed her gaze, I saw a bright light coming toward us. Headlights. I looked around more, trying to use the incoming lights to make out what I could.
   "Shit." Mon and I were standing right at the metal fence entrance to the Hawkins Lab. The headlights were to a big white van coming toward us. The lights came closer, and I froze.
This is it, I thought. The day I die.
   I braved myself for the van to either see me or hit me, but neither happened. I felt myself being pulled back by the collar of my shirt, coughing as I landed on... oops.
   "Get the hell off me, Henderson." Mon groaned as I rolled next to her, clutching her ribs in pain.
   Still trying to stay as low as possible, I reached for her abdomen. "Are you alright? Sorry, Mon, I-"
   "Why didn't you move, you dumbass?" she asked, letting go of her ribs and glaring up at me.
   I sighed. "Well, I guess- holy shit, Mon, you're bleeding." I looked at her face, noticing the new cut forming just under her huge scar.
   "Your jacket's zipper must've gotten be when we fell," she muttered causally. "We have to go. Now."
   I grabbed her hand, keeping her where she was. "Let's just... wait a while."
   "Are you crazy, Henderson?" Mon whispered, looking around to make sure there were no cameras or anything.
   I stepped forward, walking closer to the gate. "They said it got closed down last year." The light coming from the Hawkins Lab said otherwise.
   Mon pulled me back again. "Let's just pretend we never saw this. Let's go. Please."
   Turning around, I noticed the pleading look in Mon's eye. Around the group, she never showed when she was scared. With me though, even now, it was like she couldn't help herself. "Fine," I sighed. "Let's go." I tried to grab her hand, but Mon pulled back.
   "Touch me again, and I kick your ass," she said, a newfound hostility forming in her.
   We continued walking back quietly for a while, but I couldn't bear the silence between us. "Mon?"
   "What?"
   "What did you mean? Earlier, when you said I didn't care what happened to you?"
   She didn't look at me, just rolled her eyes and let out a short laugh. "What the hell do you think I meant? You told me when I ran away that you were fine never seeing me again. Why should I believe that that's changed?"
   "You haven't mentioned it before. Things have been fine since we got ba-"
   "Do you even know why I came back, Henderson?"
   Finally, a question I could answer correctly. "To bring Sarah home, and to get back to us-"
   "No."
Shit.
   "I came back," Mon said, "because I thought maybe finding Sarah wasn't just a coincidence. Maybe it was supposed to be us that found her. I thought it was fate trying to tell me to go back. That Hawkins was where I had to be right now. And since I've gotten back, it's been nothing but chaos. And I- I just thought that, through all of this, at least I'd have you- as a friend, I mean- and now I don't even have that. So just do what you all did best and just forget I exist."
   Shit. "Mon, I-"
   "Where the hell were you guys?"
   Mon and I had been so wrapped up in our conversation, we hadn't noticed that we'd reach Hopper's place. We also hadn't noticed Steve charging angrily toward us.
   Mon jumped as she realized how mad her brother was. "Steve, I-"
   "Nikki, go inside."
   Mon looked too emotionally drained to argue, rushing inside without even looking back.
   Steve turned to me as soon as the door shut. "What did you do?"
   "Nothing, I-"
   "She could have run away again, Dustin. My sister's been through enough this year. This lifetime. And she'll never say anything because she thinks she has to be tough all the time, but I know. We all know. And you can't be irritating her anymore."
   I rolled my eyes. "She is tough, Steve. Shes not made of glass, either, she can handle herself. Treating her like she's fragile will only make her more fragile."
   "What the hell do you know? You're the one who was stupid enough to get shot for her."
   "Because I loved her!" I shouted. Then, more quietly, "I love her."
   Steve laughed at this. "Then why are you being such an ass?"
   "I don't know, Steve. Maybe it's because when- not if, when- she decides to go again, it'll be easier to let her go if we hate each other." I hadn't realized it until just then, but I knew that was why I'd been so on edge lately. We weren't promised forever, and that was just getting more and more apparent as time went by.
   Steve looked at me, then at the screen door. We could see Mon, laughing with everyone inside as Will told some stupid joke. "She's too happy with them to leave now, Dustin. You used to be her only reason to stay, now you're the only thing making her want to go."
   I knew he was right. How is it that everyone in this party knows more about my life than I do? They'd all been right lately. I needed to fix this with Mon, but how?
   "Steve, I know you probably want to kick my ass as much as Mon does right now, but I need your help."