She's Got a Way - Billy Hargrove

Chapter One

October 1984
Indiana, Hawkins

Traveling overseas is never fun for anybody, so enduring a 12 hour flight was not what Elizabeth Henderson wanted. Moving from London to Hawkins was not ideal for a 17 year old girl. It was never going to be her first choice of places to live, even if it meant reuniting with the family she had abandoned. If it was down to her she would have got a job and stayed in London but Social Services wouldn't allow that, her dad was unfit to care for his only daughter, so she was shipped off to his sister-in-law, Mr and Mrs Evans. The only reason she was going to them was because they were her Godparents, it defiantly wouldn't have been her first choice.

Moving to Hawkins wasn't all that bad, her dad's sister also lived in the small town meaning she would finally be able to see her little cousin Dustin again. It had been years since she had seen any of her family so it was going to be a nice change. A change of people, a change of scenery, and a fresh start.

The taxi from the airport finally stopped outside a little two story house, the front garden was neat and quite obviously well looked after. The front of the house was white with a few large windows and a garage with a grey door to match the grey roof tiles. It was a really dinky little house which Elizabeth was quite excited to live in. Hopping out of the cab she grabbed her suitcase and hand luggage from the trunk and wheeled it up to the front door.

A small bubble of anxiety welled in her chest as she knocked on the grey door in front of her. No more than a couple of seconds later she heard the door being unlatched and the handle twist open. There before Elizabeth was a tall plump lady with long blonde wavy hair with an expressionless face. A face that she could never forget. Her Auntie Jenny. Elizabeth smiled and waved slightly at her aunt who stood to the side and gestured for her to come in, she obliged and walked into the house.

"You still a mute?" Her Aunt snapped, inconsiderately. Elizabeth nodded gripping the strap of her bag a little tighter. Sighing in annoyance her Aunt pointed up the stairs, "Second door on your left, that's where you'll be staying."

Lizzy smiled thankfully, nodding her head before carrying her bags upstairs with no help. Pushing the door to her room open she was greeted by a fairly sized room with very basic furniture, that you would need to survive High School. A wardrobe, a bed and a desk. Opposite the door there was a decently sized window overlooking the house's back garden. It was a pleasant view compared to her house in London which, when you looked out of the window you just saw another row of terraced houses. Placing her bags on her bed she unzipped them and began to unpack what she had brought and hang her things up in the wardrobe.

After around an hour of unpacking, she slid her suitcase under her bed, before sitting down to admire the room she would be living in for the foreseeable future. She had placed a couple of photo frames on her desk with memories from London, her favourite one being a photo of her and her parents at London zoo. It was the last family trip they took before things began to fall apart.

As she sat on her bed she heard a knock on the door downstairs and her Aunt's bitter tone, the door slammed shut and someone walked up the stairs. The door to her room swung open and a short boy a couple of years younger than her stood looking at her with a toothy grin on his face. Instantly she recognized him, Dustin Henderson, her baby cousin. Smiling, Lizzy stood from her bed and embraced him.

"Elizabeth Henderson, long time no see!" Dustin beamed pulling away from the hug, Smiling back Lizzy nodded in agreement. Turning around she went back and sat on the bed, patting the space beside her, indicting for him to sit too. He nodded and sat next to her pulling his legs up into the crossed position like his older cousin.

"Your Aunt said you still didn't want to talk," Dustin said softly making Elizabeth look down slightly, guilty. She used to love talking to her favourite family member but now she couldn't bring herself to even say hello. Dustin quickly caught on to the sadness she showed and placed his hand in his bag.

"No worry Amigo, I've brought you this just in case," He smiled pulling out a notepad and pen, "Now you don't have to talk, you can just write."

Elizabeth had not smiled that much in months, flipping open the first page she scribbled down a 'thank you'. Dustin was the first person in a long time to accept that she just didn't want to talk anymore. 'Catch me up, what have I missed?' Lizzy wrote passing him the note. Those seven words opened Dustin's flood gates and he told her about everything that she had missed. All about Eleven, The Upside Down and the Demogorgan. Elizabeth just sat there enthralled in the tales about life in Hawkins.

"You cannot repeat any of that to ANYBODY." Dustin laughed once he had finished his rant about the past year. Dramatically, she drew and 'X' with her finger over her heart, smiling stupidly. For the next hour Dustin told Liz about the arcade, school and everything she might need to know before her first day. Lizzy just smiled and nodded attempting to retain as much information as possible.

"Okay," Dustin said looking at his watch, "I'm gonna have to go home but me and Steve will pick you up tomorrow for school at eight on the dot, so don't be late." He said in a joking tone. The two hugged before the younger boy went downstairs and disappeared out of the house she was now living in.

A strange new house in an even stranger new town.