teenage nightmare [ stranger things ] discontinued.

chapter ten.

tw: mention of homophobic slur

TEENAGE NIGHTMARE
CHAPTER TEN — PART ONE.
THE EXPLANATION.

           It had been a few hours full of rearranging papers and pure concentration between Joyce, Hopper, Charlie, and Franny as they tried to put the pieces to the puzzle together. The drawings were strewn across the entire living room, the couch and coffee table having been shoved off to the sides courtesy of Hopper. Franny flexed her newly bandaged hand, remembering the way it had stung when Joyce tried to clean it before deciding to just wrap it up again. Now, the four of them stood around the room, staring down at the giant picture before them, which still looked a lot like a bunch of scribbles sprawled out on to the school.

          " I don't. . I don't understand. . " Franny trailed off, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed under her, and injured hand laid in her lap while she reached out with the other to trace her fingers along the drawing.

          " Did you, uh, did you see anything else? " Joyce asked, wringing her hands nervously as she looked over to the girl hopefully, " Like, what this could be? Did he say anything else? "

           " No. . " Franny mumbled under her breath, shaking her head lightly. She remembered what she had seen very clearly, even if she was still a bit hazy as to how she got there and why she was there. " No, all he said was that it's a puzzle. "

          " A puzzle of what, though? " Charlie asked, placing his head in his hand as he leaned over; Joyce began biting her thumbnail unnervingly, and Hopper just stared at the drawings analytically. Charlie silently wished that Mike, Dustin, and Lucas were there, they would be helpful in bouncing ideas off each other.

          " Does this mean anything to you? " Hopper asked, seeming to be asking all three of them separately, but Joyce was the only one that answered, shaking her head.

          " No, " She said in exasperation, throwing her hand up slightly as she tried to think of what it could be, " I mean, is it some sort of maze or-or road? This sort of forking and branching, like, like lightning. "

         " You think it's a storm? " Hopper suggested, moving across the floor, briefly looking up at Joyce before gluing his eyes back to the expansive drawing.

        " It's not. " Franny insisted, slowly lifting her gaze to Hopper. Although she couldn't really explain why she was adamant about that, she knew that she should be. Will would've told her if he thought they couldn't figure it out past that, he knew they could get it, but they just needed that last little push. The brunette pondered an idea for a minute, then she suddenly stood, looking between the trio before her. " I'm gonna go back. "