stranger things imagines.

the battle of starcourt

POSTED ON: scoopsahcy

-

You emerged from Starcourt Mall smelling of fireworks. You were frantic, searching for someone you knew. You hadn't seen your dad for hours, and your sister just narrowly avoided death.

You looked around for her, pushing your hair out of your face. You could feel the rainwater sticking to you, even though it was only sprinkling.

When you looked at the mall, it was up in flames. You followed military personnel and police officers. You walked past a few ambulances, in which you saw Steve, Robin, Mike, Max, and everyone else who was in Starcourt with you.

You looked over to see Joyce and Will hugging tightly, Joyce sobbing into his shoulder. That was when you saw your sister wandering around with a bandage on her forehead.

You sprinted over, catching her off guard.

"Y/N," she said in a relieved tone as you pulled her into a hug similar to Joyce and Will's.

You pulled away and cupped her face in your hands, looking at her.

"Are you okay?" you asked, examining her face. She nodded and you wiped the tears that fell down her cheek. "Where's Hopper? Where's my dad?"

She didn't answer, instead looking past you. You turned to see Joyce crying while watching the two of you, an expression you wish you didn't understand. That was when you began crying with Eleven, pulling her into another hug.

-

You packed things in boxes, putting them into the U-Haul outside of the Byers house. You walked past Max and Lucas singing 'The Never Ending Story' to Dustin, who was unimpressed.

You followed Eleven to Joyce's room, who was looking at a piece of paper.

"Donation box?" Eleven asked, pointing to the teddy bear in her arms, making Joyce turn around.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"What's that?" she asked, looking at the paper.

"It's the speech Hop wrote for you and Mike."

You straightened up, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

When Eleven and Hopper started fighting over Mike being there, he got advice from you and Joyce, asking how to talk to her. You both said the same thing, and you helped him write some of it. But you never got to hear the final thing.

She looked at you, before giving her a confused expression.

"Speech?" Eleven said.

"Yeah. You know, the heart-to-heart?" Eleven just stared. "He never talked to you, did he?" She shook her head and Joyce scoffed.

"Can I read?"

You sat on the floor in another bedroom, the letter in your hand. It had only been three months, but it seemed like forever since you'd seen his handwriting. You forgot how sloppy and sometimes illegible it could be, but you missed it more than anything.

You took a deep breath before beginning to read, your sister laying on her stomach in front of you.

"There's something I've been wanting to talk to you both about. I know this is a difficult conversation, but I care about you both very much." You looked at her, and she raised her eyebrows.

"And I know that you care about each other very much, and that's why it's important that we set these boundaries moving forward so we can build an environment where we all feel comfortable, trusted, and open to sharing our feelings.

"Feelings. Jesus. The truth is, for so long I'd forgotten what those even were. I've been stuck in one place. In a cave, you might say. A deep, dark cave. And then I left some Eggos out in the woods and you came into my life. For the first time in a long time, I started to feel things again."

You felt a tear roll down your cheek, able to hear his voice in your head reading the letter. You remembered when you went with him to leave Eggos in her memorial box when you thought she was dead. You remembered her timid figure slowly walk out of the woods, and the adrenaline running through both your bodies when you saw her.

"I started to feel happy. But lately, I guess I've been feeling distant from you. Like you're pulling away from me or something. I miss playing board games every night with Y/N, making triple-Decker Eggo extravaganzas at sunrise, all three of us watching Westerns together before we doze off."

At this point, you were both crying. You sniffled before you took a deep breath and continued reading.

"But I know you're getting older, growing, changing. I guess, if I'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I experienced it once with Y/N, and I remember how hard that was.

"I don't want things to change. So I think maybe that's why I came in here, to try and make stop that change. To turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were.

"But I know that's naive. It's just not how life works. It's moving, always moving, whether you like it or not. And yeah, sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's sad. And sometimes, it's surprising. Happy.

"So you know what? Keep on growing up kid. Don't let me stop you. Make mistakes, learn from 'em. When life hurts you, because it will, remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you're out of that cave. But, please, if you don't mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches."

You both chuckled at that, wiping your cheeks. You both started sobbing a bit, and you reached out and grabbed her hand, giving her the letter with the other.

She looked over it, smiles on your faces.

Someone knocked on the door, and you looked over to see Joyce. She looked sad, tilting her head.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked softly.

You both nodded.

"Yeah," Eleven said. "Time to go?"

"Yeah."

"We'll be out in a minute," you said, using your shirt as a tissue.

A moment later, you both stood up, slowly walking out and grabbing the last boxes. Jonathan latched the U-Haul trunk closed before you all hugged the kids, giving Max the longest hug. She was your favorite, although you'd never tell that to the other kids.

Group hugs ensued for a few minutes. You sat in the backseat of Jonathan's car, silently crying with Will.

You were sad to be leaving Hawkins, leaving your home. Leaving behind the cabin that you, Hopper, and Eleven helped to refurbish, and all the places you and your dad would go to spend time together. But you gained a sister, two brothers, and a mom, something you hadn't had before.

Wherever you were going, you knew you'd be safe, and you'd be able to escape the Upside Down. For now, at least.