Not Just Another Number

I knew I was right

Sarah's POV

I walk inside of my house and close the door. I had just dropped off Dustin and Eleven, so now I have to deal with Mom and Jonathan. Hopper is in the living room with Mom. They look up at me with solemn looks in their eyes. "Sarah, where have you been?" Mom asks with a shakey voice. I take a shaky breath, but I break.

Tears start streaming from my eyes as I let go. They both come to my side as sobs rack my body. They rub my back, but it doesn't stop the tears. I hug Mom tightly and soak her shirt. "M-mom....W-Will..." I try, but she shushes me.

"I know baby, I know." She says with a shaky voice, petting my hair. My knees go weak but they keep me up. They keep me up until my exhaustion hits me, making me fall asleep on my mom's shoulder.

Time Skip

"Will!" I yell, shooting up from the couch. I'm breathing heavily. I woke up from the strangest dream. Will was there, and he wasn't doing so well. He was in Castle Byers, and he seemed scared. I tried calling out to him, but he couldn't hear me. I only woke up because there was a growling sound geting closer.

I look around and see Mom in the kitchen, looking through a hole in the wall. "Mom?" I ask, getting off the couch. She looks at me and walks over.

"Hey, morning. How are you feeling?" She asks, holding my face. I look down, but I reply. "I'm fine, I'm gonna head to school early today." I say, knowing that my bag is in my car. I lean back and get ready to leave, but she stops me. "You're not going to come with us to the..." She asks, trailing off. I wince, of course they would want us to go check out his body.

I shake my head and give her a sorry look. "Sorry, but I don't think I could. I just.... I don't want to see his body lying there." I tell her, and she seems to understand. She nods her head and gives me a sad smile."Okay, just....take it easy today." She says.

I nod one last time and leave the house, walking over to my car. I climb in, but I don't start it. I just sit there and stare out at the rest of the driveway. I can't even cry anymore, I just feel numb.

I sigh, and start my car, pulling out of the dirt driveway. I drive down the road, watching the sun rise next to me. Quickly, I make it to the school. There are only a few cars here, most likely belonging to the teachers.

I lean back, when suddenly, my walkie-talkie goes off. I groan and hit my head on the stearing wheel. I love the boys, but I just can't deal with them right now.

"Sarah, come in! It's Mike, we really need you." He says, but I ignore him. Not suprisingly, that doesn't stop him. "Sarah, come on. This is urgent, come in!" He practically screams over the com.

I lean over and grab the walkie-talkie, answering it. "Mike, I'm not coming in right now. I'm not in the mood." I say before signing off. I'm about to throw the walkie in the back, but what he says stops me. "Will's alive, we all heard him." I look at the walkie in suprise. He's alive? I look over at the lack of cars in the parking lot, and sigh. I got time to spare. "Fine, I'm on my way."

The things I do for these kids.

Time Skip

I park the car outside of Mike's house, seeing the boys' bikes outside of the house. I climb out of the house and walk over to the open door that leads to the basement. "Alright Mike, what do you mean that Will is alive?" I walk in. Everyone's in there.

Mike comes up to me, leading me to El. Eleven starts messing with the walkie, making whimpering sounds emit from it. "That...that is Will. I was right...." I mumble.

"You were right?" Lucas asks. I stand up and start to pace, a small, relieved smile on my face. He is alive! "Yeah, I knew he was alive! I just had no proof without looking crazy." I say.

I stop pacing, looking back at Eleven. So if he's alive, than he really is in the dark world. Oh no. "We need to get her to a bigger radio, like Mr.Clarke's Heathkit ham shack." Mike says.

"But we need your help disguising her." Lucas says. I look away from Eleven and sigh. "You guys know that isn't my forte. But, I'm pretty sure we can steal some of Nancy's old clothes and find a wig somewhere." I say, counting off the things I need.

"Alright, let's go!" I say, clapping my hands. We all start to run around, looking for some clothes for Eleven. I grab her hand and take her to Nancy's room, knowing that she is at school by now, so we can use some of her makeup. I grab some and lead El to the bed.

"Alright, so I've never done this before to anyone, so this is new for both of us." I say, putting some blush on a brush. I put it on her face, but she scrunches her nose. "No, you need to keep a straight face. See?" I laugh, before demonstrating on myself.

She nods and lets me do it another time. "This what sisters do?" El asks after I finish with the blush. I smile. "Yeah, that's what sisters do, so I guess we're sisters." I say, grabbing a mirror. I hand it to her, and she smiles. "Pretty." She mumbles. She hands me back the mirror. "Not just pretty, beautiful." I compliment.

I stand up and open the door. "Hey, have you guys found any clothes?" I yell. Dustin and Lucas run up the stairs, carrying a pink dress and a blonde wig. This'll do great. They hand me the clothes, and I walk back into the room.

I walk over to El and put the clothes on the bed, "Do you want me to leave the room?" I ask. She shakes her head no and takes off her shirt. After she takes off her clothes, I help her put on the dress. With the dress on, she actually looks her age, not like a run away convict.

I help her put on the wig, and she looks like a normal little girl. She smiles a little. "You know, I like you better without the wig." I whisper, giving her a side hug. Her smile widens.

"Alright, let's show the boys." I say, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the room. I lead her down the stairs, and to the opening of the basement. We walk down the stairs, and the boys are silent. Mike looks starstruck while Lucas and Dustin look impressed. "Great job, Sarah." Dustin compliments. I flick my hair over my shoulder and put my hand on my hip.

"Pretty." Mike whispers. He blushes after he realizes what he said. "Good, You look pretty good." He covers up. I roll my eyes. Smooth. I look over at the clock on the wall. It's almost time for lunch. Shit! How long have we been doing this? I look at everyone and sigh. "Guys, I need to head to school." I say, walking over to the door.

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Dustin asks.

"No, It'll be pretty weird if a highschooler is walking down the halls of a middle school without a pass. If you need me, I'll be across the street." I say. I open the door and wave at them. I walk over to my car and climb in. Let's hope they don't screw up their plan.