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“DUSTIN, WHAT THE FUCK! ”
“Well, it used to be Dart.”
“Dart?!” Your head swung back to stare incredulously at your little cousin. “The little slug thing you found?”
He nodded, and your mouth gaped like a fish out of water.
“YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT TURNED INTO THAT?!” You screeched as it lunged forward, and you reflexively smashed the toe of your boot into its… chin? What do you even call that? Dustin protested, clinging to the arm you swung out in front of him.
“ Stop! ” He yelled out. You kept backing up, eyeing the creature all the while. “Look just– be careful it ate Mews!”
It's like your brain stopped entirely, the rest of you stock still. That is, until your eyes went wide and your veins froze like ice, and in your shock you bared to tear away your gaze to look back at him.
“... IT ATE THE CAT?! ”
This wasn’t how you pictured your day going - shit, you know your cousin’s a little odd but what in the ever living fuck?!
“We– we need to get this thing outta the house before your mum finds it.” You mumbled, Dustin still clinging to your sleeve all the while.
“We can’t let it run loose!”
“Then what do you propose we do?!”
It took him a second, but to his credit, he did manage to come up with a solution.
So here you were, laying out slices of bologna in a trail through the house and out the backdoor. Unlike Dustin, you didn’t bother decking yourself out in hockey goalie gear, but you did put on your biggest, spikiest boots; if it came to it, you could easily stomp the blighter’s lights out. You finished the meat trail in the garden between the storm cellar and the shed [where Dustin hid]. Just as you finished, you could hear commotion from inside the house - you took this as your cue to hide as well.
“This is going to work.” He assured as you hastily ducked into the rickety old shed, keeping an eye through the crack in the door.
“I fucking hope so.” You furrowed your brows. “Anything happens to you, Aunt Claudia will murder me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve dealt with worse before.”
It took you a second to process exactly what he just said.
“You’ve– wait, hang on a second–!”
“ Shh, here he comes! ”
The hulking creature crept up to the last slice of meat, eagerly swallowing it down in one go. With the distance, you could finally appreciate just how horrifying the thing was… a fleshy, hairless body and a menacing flower-shaped maw of skin and teeth. It looked straight out of a horror movie, like it leapt from the screen itself. If you weren’t shitting yourself in fear, you’d be consumed by how fucking cool it was.
Then it shrieked .
“ SHIT!” Dustin yelled, stumbling back from the shed door as it came speeding towards the two of you. Panicked, you both screamed, the creature quickly tearing through that shed door like paper. In that moment, it seemed adrenaline dominated and you threw Dustin behind you, bringing your shoe down on the thing’s head.
“ GO BACK TO HELL DEMON DOG!!”
“ [Y/n]! ”
Worried he was hurt, you turned back to Dustin, only to have a slice of lunch meat thrust in front of your face.
“Take this, and throw when I tell you!”
“A-alright??”
You grabbed the meat and waved it in front of the creature’s face to distract it as Dustin rushed past. You were being backed into a corner here - there was only so much distance you could keep in the tiny wooden shack, you were sure it was only a matter of seconds before you were totally gored by this flesh demon.
“Stay back.” You mumbled, voice trembling. “You want the meat, right? O-only good dogs get meat– good dogs don’t eat people...? O h christ, I’m gonna get mauled. ”
It backed up on its haunches, like it was about to pounce, when you finally heard it.
“NOW! THROW IT NOW! ”
Hell, you didn’t need to be told twice!
You threw the lunch meat as hard as you could, and Dart quickly chased after it. The morsel landed next to the storm cellar, and only then did you notice the doors had been opened. Like salvation itself, Dustin came rushing behind the thing and smashed his hockey stick into its body. Roaring, it tumbled into the cellar, and he wasted no time shutting the doors behind it. No matter the way it screamed and thumped the wood, it wasn’t strong enough to break free. Thank fucking God!
“Dustin, oh my god!” You cried, running out of the shed. You scooped him up into your arms - to an onlooker, it may have looked like you were comforting your little cousin, but you both knew damn well this was more for you than him. “You’re alright? A-are you ok?”
“I’m fine, [Y/n]! Don’t worry, it’s all ok!”
“Christ, you were amazing out there… you–” Clarity suddenly hit you; he handled this too well. Almost like he knew more about this than he should. You pulled away from the hug enough to look him in the face, holding onto his shoulders as you fixed him with a stern look.
“Um… yes?”
“Dustin.” Your breath was shaky as you studied his reaction. “O-ok. I… look, I know you have your own life and secrets– a-and I respect that! You know I do! But… I swear to God , Dustin, you need to tell me what the fuck’s going on here before I have a fucking aneurysm. ”
The boy looked reluctant, but you could tell he understood the gravity of the situation. Shit, you just got attacked by something that was DEFINITELY not of this world - he didn’t have much choice .
“...Fine. Alright fine but you cannot tell a soul!” He relented. “And promise to be open minded.”
“After what I’ve just witnessed, I’ll believe about goddamn anything .”
“Ok… it’s a long story, but… you know how Will went missing in the woods?”
So it turns out you had stumbled ass backwards into a government conspiracy involving telekinetic children and a parallel hell dimension. Lucky you! You didn’t sign up for this shit - no matter how often you may have daydreamed about starring in your favourite horror movies, it didn’t mean you actually wanted to be part of one! Honestly, you didn’t even want to believe Dustin when he finally opened up about everything that had been going on, but considering the demon creature crashing in the storm cellar, you didn’t have much of a choice other than believing. Now you were crouched in the corner of your cousin’s room, cleaning up the cat’s body to distract from your growing anxiety. He’d gone out to tell his friends about Dart’s unfortunate development, but surely he should be back by now… normally you wouldn’t give his safety a second thought, but since the possibility of horror movie monsters was made clear to you, you’ve become a little wary . For a while, the smell of ammonia and dried cat blood helped to keep your mind off it, but the deed was done and you were left to spiral in your own confusion and panic. Would it make you feel better or worse to wait for Dustin on the porch? Maybe you should go hang out with some friends and forget this whole ordeal…
Oh wait, you don’t have friends. Rad. Front porch it is.
Your leg bobbed up and down as you chewed on your thumbnail, waiting for him to come home safe and sound on his shitty little bike. Christ, since when were you such a nervous wreck? Since you nearly got mauled, you guess. Every chirp from the birds or snap of a twig had you jolting, head spinning from side to side like a crack addicted meerkat. Curse Aunt Claudia’s insistence on living near the woods - why couldn’t she live on a main road like a regular person? Then again… Aunt Claudia isn’t exactly regular.
The sound of a car pulling up dragged you from your thoughts, and you mentally prepared to face said Aunt with a forced smile, but that definitely wasn’t her car.
Why was a stranger’s car pulling into your drive?
Thankfully, Dustin casually exited the passenger side unharmed [downright nonchalant, really]. You were too relieved he was ok to question what the fuck he was doing in a random person’s car.
“Dusty!” You called out, smiling as you jogged up to him. “Wait, where’s your bike?”
“Not important.”
“Kinda is? Your mum wouldn’t be happy if you lost it.”
“Oh, it’s not lost, I left it at Mike’s.”
“Right…” And speak of the devil, “Where are your friends, anyway? You said you were gonna go tell them?”
“Okay about that–”
Before he could finish, the driver side door opened, and out stepped a teenage boy, round about your age. That begged the question: what the fuck was your little cousin doing in some random dude’s car? Dustin must’ve sensed your apprehension, a reassuring hand pulling you forward by the arm as he gestured to the equally confused boy.
“Mike wasn’t home but I ran into Steve!”
You narrowed your eyes, looking him up and down like you were trying to suss him out by sight alone. He shifted awkwardly, screwing up his nose.
"Who’s the chick?” He asked; now you were shifting your weight too, a slightly uneasy feeling between the two of you. You’re a little… wary of people, especially people your age, but you didn’t know why he seemed so uncomfortable. Maybe he’s just not used to seeing a ‘weird girl’ in the wild.
Dustin gestured to you in return. “My cousin, [Y/n], she lives with us.”
“Oh… why?”
“None of your business . ” You mumbled as you kicked at the dirt, stuffing your hands in your denim jacket pocket so you didn’t start anxiously fiddling. You didn't want to be immediately pegged as a target. He made an odd face, raising an eyebrow and scowling a little, like he didn't get what your deal was. “Dustin does he…” You leaned down to whisper in your cousin’s ear. “...does he know? ”
“He knows.”
“Knows what? ” Steve huffed, spreading his arms out on either side after pushing the driver side door shut. “What are you two conspiring about? ”
“We have an issue! If you’d like to follow us to the storm cellar!” And like that, Dustin marched around to the back of the house, leaving you with a strange man. Steve watched you warily, then fumbled for his car keys so he could lock it and leave as soon as he could.
“...So you know about these… what do you even call ‘em, flesh demons?” You asked, scurrying after him.
“He told you?”
“Not that he had much choice.”
He hummed, slowing down just the slightest so you could catch up with him. You guess that was considerate of him.
“ W e’ve dealt with this kinda thing before, long story.” He started, mirroring your hands in your pockets. “The short of it is we stopped them–”
“With the telekinetic little girl? Yeah, Dustin said.” In that moment, you couldn’t help but think of the Byers - what a horrible thing for such a nice family to deal with. “Poor Will… shit, can’t imagine what it’s like being trapped in that… upside down place. Not to mention his mum... shitty situation.”
“Yeah, really sucks.” He searched for something to say, staring at his shoes instead of at you. "You know Will then?"
"I drive Dusty and his friends around sometimes, they're all... weird. Nice kids. Definitely weird, though. Dorky, too."
There was an awkward silence after that, both of you keeping a considerable distance between each other. Steve turned to look at you, properly processing the new character next to him.
His immediate prejudice was ‘she’s clearly weird, too’. The heavy metal shirt, the baggy jeans that looked like they date back to the 70's, all the piercings and chains and unkempt hair - you were someone he probably wouldn't be caught dead with not too long ago . He bet you’d get on with that Munson guy. However, even with those prejudices, he made a few other observations: though you dressed like some hard-edge troublemaker, your face was rounded, making you look far more innocent than your demeanour tried to portray. Pouty lips, sparkly eyes, if he saw only your face and nothing else you would seem like anyone else at school. A normal, back-by-curfew kind of girl. He also noticed y our expressions were exaggerated, almost cartoonishly so - the way your muscles contorted more than it really needed to or the theatrical tilts of your head. Hell, even the way you kicked out your legs with every step. It was kind of like there was energy buzzing in you that had to be let out. Weird, but admittedly a little endearing.
Steve dared to think you were… nice looking– if you didn't dress like such an outcast, of course.
He should probably say something.
“We’re not exactly supposed to tell anyone about this shit, y’know?” He said, turning back to look ahead of the two of you; he spotted Dustin waving from in front of the storm cellar. “Get what I’m saying?”
“Look I get it, some big secret about the town's supernatural shit and suddenly a girl you've never met knows all about it and it doesn’t feel right. I get it.” You assured him. You didn't want to be talked to like some blabbermouth. If Dustin could trust you with the secret, then so should he.
“Why did he tell you in the first place?”
“You’re about to see.”
Ok, well that was ominous. A chill rolled over Steve’s spine as his imagination started to run away from him - what on earth could happen for Dustin to tell you? Sure, you’re family and all, but as far Steve’s aware, all this shit’s on a need to know basis.
Begging the question: what happened for you to need to know?
“We have something in the storm cellar.” Dustin introduced as you both reached said cellar. Steve furrowed his brow, looking a little like a startled deer.
“What– what something , be a little more specific.”
“Just get your bat out.”
“My– what?! The hell’s down there?!” Steve spluttered; you looked at the cellar doors gravely, before approaching. With a strong stomp, you broke through the doors, leaving the ominous abyss open to the group.
“Flesh demon.” You spoke, staring down into the darkness.
Steve's eyes widened, looking to Dustin for confirmation. “Flesh demon? You don’t mean…”
Dustin nodded. “Demogorgon.”