#the crawl

Stranger Things

so him and reader have been in love with each other for a long time but they have never said it, everyone knows because it’s obvious and they unknowns act like a couple. anyway, so, she was very interested in finally joining a crawl (after convincing mike) was basically preparing everything amd not resting at all, focusing on details. however, the day of the crawl, they have a scare thinking a demo was chasing them and all the stress, tiredness and running make her collapse, causing mike to lose it. obvs, he nurses her back to health and they confess their love

All I Need | mike wheeler

summary: 1,2k. everyone knows they’re in love, except the two people living it.

cw: mutual pining, idiots in love, hurt/comfort, emotional confession, soft angst, vulnerability, english is not my first language xx.

currently playing: all i need (radiohead)

By the time Dustin says it out loud, everyone has already known it for months.

“You know you two act like a married couple, right?”

You’re crouched on the floor of the Wheeler basement, surrounded by maps, half-empty cans of Coke, and notebooks filled with frantic handwriting and red circles around places that probably don’t exist anymore. Mike is sitting across from you, legs crossed, elbow on his knee, chin resting in his palm as he watches you talk with your hands.

You stop mid-sentence and Mike groans.

“Dustin.”

“What?” He shrugs. “I’m just saying. You plan together, you argue like an old couple, you finish each other’s sentences, and Mike looks like he’s about to pass out whenever she’s in danger.”

“That is not true,” Mike snaps a little too fast.

You don’t look at him. If you do, you’ll smile, and if you smile, it’ll give everything away.

Everyone knows. You just don’t say it.

You and Mike have been orbiting each other for so long it feels inevitable, like gravity, like if one of you stopped, the other would shatter.

You sit too close. You share glances across rooms. You fall asleep shoulder to shoulder during stakeouts, your head tipped against his collarbone like it belongs there.

But neither of you says the word. Love.

Joining the crawl was supposed to be different.

You’d wanted in for months, really in. Not just planning from the sidelines, not just being the one who noticed patterns and drew maps while everyone else ran headfirst into danger. You wanted to be there.

It took weeks to convince Mike.

“You don’t have to prove anything,” he’d said, pacing your driveway, hands tugging at his sleeves. “You already help. You’re already… you already matter.”

“That’s not what this is,” you’d insisted. “I can do this. I want to.”

He’d looked at you like he was afraid of losing something precious, which maybe he was.

Once he said yes, you went all in. Too all in.

You barely slept the week leading up to it. You stayed up late double-checking supplies, rewriting plans, memorizing escape routes. You skipped meals without noticing. Your hands shook from too much caffeine and not enough rest, but you brushed it off every time Mike asked if you were okay.

“I’m fine,” you kept saying. “Just focused.”

The day of the crawl comes heavy and humid, the air thick with that awful, electric feeling that always means something bad is waiting. You’re already tired before it even starts.

It happens fast, too fast.

One second, you’re moving through the abandoned stretch near the tunnels, heart pounding but steady, Mike right behind you like he always is. The next, there’s a sound.

It’s wrong. Wet. Too close.

Someone yells. Dustin swears.

Then you hear it, that low, distorted shriek that doesn’t belong to this world.

“Run,” Mike shouts.

You do.

Your legs burn almost immediately. Your lungs feel like they’re collapsing in on themselves, your breath coming too sharp and too shallow. Adrenaline pushes you forward even as your vision blurs at the edges.

You trip, catch yourself, and keep going.

You can hear Mike calling your name, panic threaded through his voice, closer than the others, always closer.

Then your body stops.

It isn’t dramatic. There’s no pain and no scream, just a sudden, terrifying weakness as your knees give out and the ground rushes up.

Mike doesn’t remember dropping his backpack or shouting at everyone to keep moving. He only remembers you.

Your body crumpling like you’ve been unplugged from something essential, your skin clammy and your breathing shallow as he drops to his knees beside you.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” he says, hands shaking as he cups your face. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”

You don’t answer.

His chest tightens so hard it feels like it might split open. For one horrifying second, he thinks you’re gone, and something in him snaps.

He gathers you up without thinking, arms tight around you as he runs, shouting directions and barking orders, terror bleeding into every word. He doesn’t stop until you’re safe and hidden, the others standing guard while he lowers you carefully onto the ground.

He presses his forehead to yours.

“Please,” he whispers. “Please wake up.”

When your eyes finally flutter open, he lets out a sound that’s halfway between a laugh and a sob.

You wake to warmth, to Mike. His jacket is draped over you, his hands gentle as he presses a bottle of water to your lips.

“Slow,” he murmurs. “Just a little.”

Your head throbs and your body feels heavy, like gravity has doubled.

“What happened?” you ask.

“You collapsed,” he says, voice tight. “You scared the hell out of me.”

The words hang there.

You try to sit up and he immediately puts a hand on your shoulder.

“Nope. Not happening.”

You blink at him. “Mike—”

“You didn’t sleep,” he cuts in. “You barely ate. You pushed yourself until your body literally shut down.”

There’s something raw in his voice now, anger edged with sharp, unhidden fear.

“I almost lost you,” he says quietly.

Your throat tightens.

“I didn’t mean to,” you whisper. “I just wanted to help.”

He laughs once, broken. “You think that’s ever been in question?”

Silence stretches between you, thick with everything unsaid. He exhales and rubs a hand over his face.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he admits. “And I hate that you don’t see that you’re already enough, that you don’t have to keep proving it.”

Your eyes burn.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t want me there,” you confess. “Afraid that if I didn’t try harder, if I didn’t keep up, you’d—”

“Stop,” he says immediately. He looks at you then, really looks at you, like he’s memorizing your face. “I’ve been in love with you since before I even understood what that meant.”

The world seems to tilt.

“You what?”

His voice shakes. “I love you. I always have. And when you fell today, I realized I can’t keep pretending this is anything else.”

Your breath stutters and tears spill over before you can stop them.

“I love you too,” you say. “I just didn’t want to ruin what we had.”

Mike leans forward, pressing his forehead to yours again, softer this time.

“You are what I have,” he says. “You always were.”

When he kisses you, it’s careful and reverent, like he’s afraid you might disappear if he isn’t gentle enough.

For the first time in a long time, the fear eases because you’re here and he’s holding you.

And neither of you is pretending anymore.

Bylerween Day 1! The Crawl!

So this theory is not based on my own thoughts. But unfortunately I can't credit the person saying this. I saw on Twt someone say, they took 38 crawls to find VECNA.

38 days later from the finale is the Superbowl

The crawls all consist of attempts to find Vecna and defeat him. We as a fanbase are also trying to find Vecna, we are trying to find clues of what is going on. We are doing this in all kinds of different directions.

The crawl has everything that we needed to get the hints, the WSQK radio, maps, dialogue about signals.

The crawl is the only registered episode

This could be the first real hint. They registered this one first and as the only one. At least when I am typing this.

the crawl

Episode 1: The Crawl

Hi everyone, so I have a bit of a theory I'm going to work through during my s5 rewatch pre-finale, because I think the implications of this theory are huge for not only Byler, but Mike's arc this season.

Although s5 opens with Mike feeling more like a leader again, more like his old, authentic self, he still seems, more or less, sidelined again this season, and yet somehow, is present in the majority of the scenes. What if I told you all I think this is intentional?

I recently posted an analysis on Mike's indirect POV within the context of Kali's speech to Hopper, how although the conversation was not expressly directed at him, because he was in the room, it still applied to him. After I made this realization, I decided to go back, scene by scene, episode by episode, and watch everything again. And only 1 episode into season 5, I already have a motherload of evidence that points me toward believing that this theory and analysis could be correct.

Before I get into full scene breakdowns, I want to pay direct attention to the line Mike says when delegating their roles for the crawl. He says, "Lucas, we'll take our usual observation post," which literally, in text, sets Mike up to be an observer, which becomes important for later analyses.

Now that we have the basis for our theory, that Mike is still acting within each one of these scenes, that these scenes apply to Mike, let's get into the actual text.

Scene 1: Dustin's Hellfire Shirt

We know how important costuming and symbolism is in this show, and the Hellfire t-shirt, quite literally in text, is supposed to convey non-conformity, something that Eddie established in s4 when he claimed that conformity was "killing the kids."

After Eddie's death and surrounding scandal, we know that Hellfire has become a thing associated with satanism and danger. While everyone else in the group has let go of Hellfire, Dustin hasn't, attempting to live up to the promise he and Mike made Eddie last season to take on the club's legacy after Eddie graduated.

While Dustin, lives by this promise, Mike does not. He's trying to stay as normal as possible, once again.

While Dustin has his encounter with Andy and the bullies, Lucas, Will, and Mike all walk up to defend him. I want to expressly call out Mike's line here, which we all know and love for its cringiness, but I'm going to put a pin in it for later because I think it might be saying something important given the context. When Lucas says he would kick Andy's balls so hard they would pop like water balloons, Mike says, "I say kick away. Stop this mouth breather from reproducing and further infecting the would with his unique brand of idiocy"

The scene after shows Lucas, Will, and Mike all following after Dustin, concerned. And the dialogue is as follows:

Mike: You've gotta stop provoking them man.

Dustin: Oh, so this is my fault? For what? Wearing a t-shirt?

Lucas: You know it's more than just a t-shirt.

We've already established that the t-shirt is a symbol of non-conformity, but I want to draw your attention back to this line in s4, where Eddie references what Dustin and Mike were both wearing when he met them.

Here, Eddie says that while Dustin was wearing a Weird Al t-shirt, definitely not something that screams fitting in, Mike was wearing the "clothes [his] mommy bought him from the goddamn gap"

But while Dustin continues to where the t-shirt in s5, we see Mike revert back to dressing like he used to in prior seasons, preppier sweaters instead of the loose, relaxed look of Hellfire

In other words, Mike has regressed. He has gone back to conforming and trying to blend in, which is further indicated through the dialogue in the remainder of the scene

Dustin: I can't be like you guys and turn the other cheek while they spread their bullshit about Hellfire, about Eddie.

Mike: Eddie never gave a rat's ass about what those mouth breathers were saying about him and you know it. You know what he would care about is finding and killing Vecna

Dustin: Do you seriously think I don't care about that, Mike? Really?

Mike: I think you're fighting two battles and you need to be fighting one.

This especially feels like an interesting bit of dialogue. It feels to me like Mike is both saying this to Dustin and to himself, that Mike is throwing himself into focusing on Vecna to avoid the other internal battle going on within him. He's not paying attention to it because he can't face himself and the truth of his feelings.

Will: Mike's right, Dustin. What if you get hurt, like seriously hurt?

Lucas: You're drawing attention. Remember what Hop said. We need to keep our heads down.

Will: Follow the rules. Blend in.

Mike: Stay focused on our next crawl.

This bit of dialogue all messages the same thing. Don't stand out. Don't be different, or there will be consequences. Mike is signaling to himself here that he needs to stay focused on the crawl so that he doesn't risk outing himself and having to deal with the consequences of being authentic.

Dustin: Do you even hear yourselves right now? Blend in? Follow the rules? That's not what we've ever done.

Mike: (under breath) Jesus Christ.

Maybe it's a stretch, but invoking Jesus here almost seems like a subtle callback to "Fruit on pizza? That's blasphemous." At the very least, it calls attention to the conservatism and conformity that have an influence on Mike.

Dustin: We stay true to ourselves. We're supposed to stay true to our friends. We stand up for what's right, no matter the cost.

Lucas: You're not listening to us

Dustin: No, you're not

Will: Dustin!

Dustin is presented as pushing his friends away, as picking unnecessary fights, but on a textual level, he is doing what the others are too scared to do, to stand their ground and be authentic like Eddie was. And so, Dustin operates here as an enemy to Mike's closet, insisting for him to be true to himself while Mike still chooses safety and conformity.

And because I said I would come back around to Mike's comment to the bullies, I think there was intention about giving him a line about "Stop[ping] this mouth breather from reproducing," it's to further introduce the idea that Mike is influenced by the roles of the traditional American family: grow up, get married, have kids, and live a white-picket-fence lifestyle. I'll address this idea again in a later scene.

This narrative thread of Dustin's Hellfire shirt and his insistence on continuing Hellfire is once again brought up during the conversation between Mike, Lucas, and Will at the lunch table where Lucas claims Dustin "lost his damn mind" and that he's been talking about going out and "finding the lost sheep" again, a term that was once used to refer to both Dustin and Mike.

I think this is important to note in terms of not just Mike's wardrobe change, but his personality changes, how it seems that whoever he spends the most time around seems to drastically influence his sense of self. In this way, Mike is still the lost sheep looking for guidance and struggling with the balance of social acceptance and authenticity.

Scene 2: The Crawl Plan

There are a few key moments in this scene that I want to call too. Structurally, we are seeing Nancy and Mike both being portrayed as leaders here, initiating the plan of the crawl. But there seems to be dissatisfaction with this crawl in relation to the other party members.

When it's brought up that zone G1 is incredibly "Un-Vecna-y," the scene cuts to Dustin in which it says:

Dustin: Big Buy? What are the chances Vecna's shopping for Lucky Charms?

This is a direct foreshadowing to Will's coming out speech in which he uses "Lucky Charms" as one of the ways in which he is "like" all of his friends, with a direct pan on Mike's face before it cuts back to Will when he says it. Aside from the fact that this line once again ties Will and Vecna together, it's also worth looking at the symbolism of "Lucky Charms" in that the branding for Lucky Charms, even in the 80s, was riddled with rainbows. This brings queer-coded subtext to the forefront of this scene.

While Dustin is not shopping for Lucky Charms, it seems like Will, and in relation, Mike, who Dustin directs this question to, are shopping for Lucky Charms.

Later in this scene we see Will collapse against the tree during one of his visions, and he says:

Will: I just had this crazy feeling and then the sky was spinning...I don't know I guess maybe it's nothing, right?

Lucas: I don't know

Will: Maybe I just get nervous sometimes before crawls

Lucas: Yeah, I...I get nervous too. But the sky doesn't spin for me

Then Lucas looks at Mike, directing his next question toward him

Lucas: It ever spin for you?

Mike doesn't answer him, but instead purses his lips and says, directed to Will

Mike: Maybe he's close

This is so incredibly pointed. Once again, their friends are functioning as a way to illustrate that they are unlike Mike and Will. Lucas's sky doesn't spin when he gets nervous, but Will's does, and so does Mike. And we know this because of that line of dialogue, "Maybe he's close," meaning that the sky spins for Mike when Will is close to him.

Though Mike can't express this directly, as the narrative is still functioning as a closet for him, it can be expressed indirectly and through the dialogue of others.

Scene 3: Mike and Holly Heart-to-Heart

This was one of my favorite scenes we got from this episode because of both the emotional and narrative work that it's doing. Not only is this a big brother moment, but I think for a lot of this scene, Mike uses Holly as a stand-in to speak to a former version of himself, an attempt to rectify the preservation of his own innocence by preserving his sister's.

The scene begins with Holly expressing that her "mystery friend" Mr. Whatsit is "only trying to help"

Mike: Help? How?

Holly: By protecting me. He says there are monsters in Hawkins, and they like to eat kids like me.

This, to me, feels like a very direct callback to the atmosphere of the town when Will went missing in season 1. There was a lot of speculation that he was potentially killed or hurt by people who believed Will was gay, that he was pushed into the quarry or took his own life as a result of the homophobia rampant in Hawkins. The "monsters" in this scene are supposed to be representative of the "monsters" of the town Mike dealt with growing up, the bullies who talked about Will, and him, because of their preconceived notions about queerness.

I think this is especially a relevant take as we note that Mike and Holly are sitting beneath a wall with rainbow art, and while we know Holly supposedly has a crush on Josh, she is consistently paired with rainbows, just as Will had been textually in earlier seasons. This brings the line "kids like me" to mean something different than just it being about being a nerd. Whether or not Holly herself is queer, the symbolism behind why she is being targeted is there in the design and in how it relates to both Mike and Will.

We then get Mike switching into his protectiveness and introducing his character, Mike the Brave

Mike: Monsters aren't real, Holly

Holly: I don't believe you

Mike is in denial here. He's trying to protect Holly, but also protect himself. Monsters aren't real because they don't apply to you. Conform and you will be okay.

Mike: I know you're scared because of everything that's happened. With the crazy stories people tell, I mean, I get scared sometimes too.

Holly: No you don't

Mike: Are you kidding? Everyone in Hawkins is scared shitless, and anyone who says they aren't is full of it. Like that mouth breather in your class...What's his name again?

Holly: Derek?

Mike: Yeah, Derek. He probably wets his bed every night.

This is also a direct callback to Mike's season 1 bully, Troy who made fun of Will for being gay and whom El made pee himself. He was also the bully that showed up at the quarry to get revenge on Mike, getting him to jump off of the cliff into the quarry. I actually believe this whole scene is a callback to the implications of the quarry and how it still affects Mike.

Mike: You know who I turn to when I get scared?

Holly: *shakes her head*

Mike: Mike the Brave. He goes on these adventures called dungeon crawls.

Holly: What's a dungeon crawl?

Mike: Basically, he explores these underground worlds where he fights monsters, evil wizards, sorcerers and stuff. But Mike the Brave is never scared. So whenever I'm feeling frightened or nervous, I just imagine that he's at my side, and I feel better. So maybe the next time you get scared, you don't need this Mr. Whatsit. Maybe you just need Holly the Heroic.

These lines have so many implications. The first one, as pointed out by others, is that Mike talks about "fighting sorcerers" in his dungeon crawls. In this way, Mike views that in order to be the Brave leader and the man he's supposed to present as, he needs to fight off any feelings he has for Will.

I'd also like to point out the idea that if Mike is actually talking about himself, then this comparison about not needing Mr. Whatsit the "mystery friend," and instead needing Holly the Heroic, the woman figure in his life, this also plays into the idea that he feels the need to conform to traditional roles and standards for masculinity. Not needing another man, but instead a woman.

Before this scene ends, after Mike gives Holly the figurine of Holly the Heroic, the scene extends over Mike and Holly while Will starts talking in the next shot.

Will's voice over Mike: It was this weird feeling. Like something I really haven't felt before.

Will: Mike thinks it could mean that maybe Vecna's close, that he's finally re-emerged

We are meant to tie these scenes together, to tie the dialogue together, to tie Mike to Will's words. Acknowledging that the weird feeling that Mike has never felt before is his feelings for Will.

This scene is then followed by Will seeing Robin and Vickie together, allowing the narrative to pull in the comparison of the feeling never experienced before into the dynamic of a canon queer couple on the show.

Scene 5: The M*leven Rooftop Talk

We've talked about how this scene sets up Mike and El's relationship ending, but I think I have some new insights to share about this scene.

The scene itself starts by focusing on Dustin, and as I illustrated from my analysis of Dustin's earlier scene, we are meant to see Mike and Dustin in tandem with Mike representing the closet and conformity while Dustin is representing non-conformity.

El: Do you think Dustin is okay?

Mike: I hope so. He was acting weird today.

El: Weird how?

Mike: Just angry, scared, reckless. Not himself

I think this is a really interesting bit of dialogue coming off the introduction of Mike the Brave. "Angry, scared, reckless" are all descriptors that easily could have applied to Mike when he was going through his own level of survivor's guilt in season 2, believing El might be dead and having to contend with that loss while also re-introducing Will into the narrative. "Angry, scared, reckless" also feels very much like season 1 Mike who was willing to jump off a cliff to save his friend with the weight of knowing that was where Will's body was recovered. Mike the Brave is not angry, scared, and reckless. He does not let his emotion influence his decisions in the same way s1 and s2 crashout Mike did.

El: Hopper's the same, not himself

Hopper is another character we know is actively dealing with the grief of having lost someone, of survivor's guilt. And this shows up in his attempt to sacrifice himself

Mike: Maybe it's just getting to us, you know? Being stuck in here, not knowing where Vecna is, no end in sight. I mean, we really need to catch a break. And maybe we will. Because earlier, Will had a feeling.

This whole bit is so loaded. And I think it could have many possible meanings. "It's getting to us," -- quite literally getting to Mike and El's relationship, the staleness of it, the lies between them. Mike is not himself with El.

But also, "Maybe it's just getting to us, you know? Being stuck in here" can also refer to Mike's own struggle with his proximity to Will over the past 18 months. When the Byers were in California, Mike had space to not confront his feelings about both El and Will, but now that he and Will are literally living in the same house, there is no escaping how he feels differently and more about Will than he does about El.

El: If Will has a feeling--

Mike: Then it means something. So...So, maybe tonight's our break. Maybe even our last crawl. We find Vecna and we end this once and for all.

If this is not so incredibly breakup coded, I don't know what is. Mike is acknowledging that Will's feelings, that his feelings for Will mean something. And tonight is the "break," the "last crawl" for his relationship with El, essentially saying that their relationship is on it's last legs because Will is involved and Mike can't ignore Will's feelings or his own.

El: And then what happens?

Mike: You mean after you totally demolished Vecna? In my campaigns, if the party wins, then they all live happily ever after.

El: Happily how?

Mike: Well, usually what happens is the party doesn't return to their local village because too much has happened. They've seen too much. So, they travel to a faraway land, a...a peaceful land, somewhere beautiful with like three waterfalls or something, and they all start again, together.

I think here, Mike is actually foreshadowing El's ending. She cannot return to the local village (Mike) because she has seen too much, but she will travel to a faraway, peaceful land. This to me represents both El's arc into independence and Mike's continued use of the fantasy of a traditional, hetero-normative lifestyle to ignore the blatant closet he is hiding in.

El: Do you think that could be real for us?

Mike: Yeah, of course. I mean not the three waterfalls part. But the other stuff, yeah, of course. If Vecna's gone, what's stopping us?

Many people pointed out the comparison of Will as Vecna as expressed in Sorcerer, meaning, if Will's out of the picture in this hetero fantasy, what is stopping us? But I think it's also fun to note that while the "three waterfalls" are not realistic for Mike and El, Mike can't shut up about Will taking out "three, to be exact" of the demogorgons.

The scene then cuts to Lucas calling Mike and El "lovebirds," and while I don't necessarily think their expressions are signifying that they have already broken up, the lack of love on their faces is supposed to create a sense of cognitive dissonance between what we see and what we hear.

I'd also like to note that the very next shot we get of Mike is him dressed in camouflage immediately after having a conversation about his hetero fantasy ending. Like, let's be serious.

And that immediately cuts to our final scene I want to discuss here.

Scene 6: Signal

During the preparation for the crawl, we see Robin on the walkie with Steve trying to find the signal.

Robin: Harrington, you getting any signal? Tag is active

Steve: Yeah, just give me a second. Hey does anybody know how Henderson's wheelie thing works?

Robin: Uh, any ideas?

Will: There's a safety lock. Look for a small switch under the wheel.

Steve: Safety lock, real necessary. Okay, getting a signal. It's pretty quiet though.

Despite the fact that Steve and Will have never really spoken to each other on screen, Will is the one to step in here, which is intentional to not just set up his independence narrative with Joyce, but when we read this as a scene shortly following the conversation between El and Mike, it sets up another dynamic about signals.

The subtext here is that the signal between Mike and El is there, but quiet. And the one helping them find that signal? Will.

Steve: How am I supposed to monitor the signal and drive?

Will: I can do it. I...I can monitor.

Not only is Will the one that finds the signal, but he monitors it, much like how we saw him repair the relationship between El and Mike in s4.

When we compare this to Mike's position in the crow's nest as he's watching Hopper, this dialogue takes on another meaning to. When Hopper goes into the upside down, he says:

Mike: He's flipped

Joyce: Jonathan, signal?

Jonathan: Snagged it

Quite literally, when Mike "flips," when he switches teams, when he interacts with Will instead of El, no longer is the signal quiet. It's snagged, easily.

This concludes my full analysis of Mike Wheeler's indirect POV in The Crawl, but expect that I will be back with more episode-by-episode breakdowns.

ׂ╰┈➤ SUCKER PUNCH! ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁

Chapter Four: Upside Down

MIKE WHEELER X NOBODY!READER.

↳ in which a loser boy meets an even bigger loser girl.

𖤓 ch.4 CONTENTS: reader is described as chubby, unfortunately I do use Y/n for simplicity sake I’m sorry, mentions of bullying, awkwardness, friendlessness, eventual yearning, shitty nerd x grumpy loner trope, silliness, 80’s, physical violence, mentions of blood and slight gore..? (Scrapes n’ stuff like that), verbal bullying, talking poorly about oneself, 

𖤓NOTE: HELLOOOO! So, this chapter takes place during 'The Crawl' Episode in season five, and while it will be similar to the canon, I will be changing things so that you, the reader, can feel more involved and immersed! Get ready for some drama, romance, and shit inducing panic! (it is a time skip btw.. but after this one, no more!)

I WILL BE UPLOADING THIS TO WATTPAD AS WELL! I like Wattpad's formatting :)

Ch.5

— — — — — — — — — — — — —

Upside down!

THE smell of freshly salted fries right out of the fryer and grilled burger patties filled the Jukebox, chatter filling the new diner in Hawkins as people sat around together and ate their deliciously deep fried and greasy meals.

Boy you turn me,

"There is absolutely zero way that Wolverine would beat The Hulk in a fight." Lucas argued with Mike as he took a bite out of three French fries at once. Michael gave the young man what was probably the nastiest, sassiest look any human being could muster as William Byers sat in-between the two boys at the counter, nervous as they literally argued over him. Poor boy.. should he excuse himself to the bathroom so they could have some privacy...?

-Inside out!

"You're actually an idiot, all he has to do is- oh, I dunno, Slice his Achilles tendon and it's quite literally wraps??" Mike argued back. Will opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it as Lucas repeated what their friend had said in a childish, mocking tone. Mike gasped in astonishment, but before he could fuel the debate anymore, you came with a rounded tray full of hot food. "Boys, you're gonna drive away our customers." You scolded through gritted teeth. this wouldn't be the first time you had to tell them to shut up per Shepherds orders: in fact, it was a weekly occurrence... if not, daily.

What? They got a family discount on the food!

After the 'earth quake' that literally split Hawkins into sections like it was a tray of brownies getting distributed at a family gathering, the lovely record shop known as The Afterglow was sadly split with it, along with many other shops and small businesses. Both you and Shepherd were distraught, his whole life's work destroyed due to interdimensional chaos--well, to everyone else other than you and your friends, it was actually just a gnarly natural disaster.

A whole lot of shit went down since Veronica Steel punched you in the face, and ever since then your life had been permanently altered. You made new friends, found new movies and songs you liked, discovered that there were real life monsters in a creepier, nastier version of your world that were out to get people in Hawkins, found out super powers were real... Oh, and you got a car! Like you said, a whole lot of shit.

Of course, it wasn't all fun in games. You also lost people. Like Eddie, and even your best friend Maxine Mayfield, who was now in a coma that seemed to have zero improvement and no sign of changing any time soon, like she was stuck in limbo or something. You found yourself listening to Kate Bush a lot, missing your friend more than anything in the world. You visited her with Lucas quite often, but left the two of them alone most of the time because you knew that he was affected the most by the terrible, heartbreaking incident that transpired back in March. It was a rough time for all of you.

Dustin especially, he had grown... Distant.

Speaking of which, your eyes trailed to the empty stool at the counter besides Lucas, the place the curly haired geek usually sat. You pointed to it with your thumb. "Where's Dustin?" You ask the three boys in your sight. They all exchange a glance and shrug, you join the gesture with a roll of your eyes. This wouldn't be the first time Dustin had canceled or just straight up ditched plans--and you were sure as hell it wouldn't be the last.

"L/n! Table four's food is gettin' cold already! Hop to it!" Shep scolded from the window behind the fountain that led to the kitchen. Your head whipped to the food placed on the window sill and you nearly dropped your now empty tray. "Shit!" You curse, nearly slipping as you dash to get the food ready. God damn, how long had that been there??

The boys winced at Shepherds harsh tone as you carry on with your job, Will finally digging into the chicken tenders he had been waiting for. Lucas had gotten another batch of fries and onion rings, while Mike got the Jukebox classic 'Turntable Burger' with tater tots.

"Man, I've never seen her work so fast in her life." Lucas chuckled, watching with the group as you delivered table fours food and apologized kindly for the wait. "-yeah, never seen her act so nice to people either." Mike teased, of which you heard, so it earned him a glare as you moved to another table that had just sat down so you could take their orders. The actual Jukebox located by the restrooms of the joint played Diana Ross upon some strangers request, nearly giving the group of teenagers a heart attack when they first heard it start to play. Thankfully, the radio that you had conveniently kept on the edge of the counter for 'news' and 'weather updates' had remained silent the whole time.

"Y/n's a hard worker guys, give her a break. I'm sure she's always been." Will defended, taking a bite of his chicken with a smile. He hadn't known your time at the Afterglow, and hadn't even known you at all for very long. Even then, the two of you got along pretty well. "we're just messing... It is funny though, seeing her in that stupid uniform and smiling at strangers." Lucas added, earning a small laugh from both the boys. "They must pay good, cuz' I know it kills her."

Mike shrugged and spoke with a mouthful. "As long as we get heavily discounted food, I don't care."

You weren't the only one with a new job. Like previously mentioned, that radio you kept on the edge of the diners counter was used so you could tune into the radio segments from The Squawk, something that was absolutely mandatory since you and your friends with sneaking around the military and trying to find a big bad monster under the table. That's where Robin and Steve spent their time, broadcasting things like weather, musical facts, and playing tunes for the people stuck in Hawkins. Robin was the true voice, and honestly? She was pretty damn good. Sometimes, she'd let you recommend songs to play and she'd put them on the next morning for you to listen to on your way to school in the brand new car you had gotten. Okay... Not brand new, but it was new to you.

Your parents got you the car because they didn't feel safe and confident in you riding your bike everywhere. With all the past disappearances, 'murders', and natural disasters transpiring now? They wanted you in a car. So. they got you a shitty old Toyota Camry that was the most ugly color you could ever conjure up in your mind. It had rust, scrap metal that replaced damaged parts, torn seats in the interior... But, it drove. It got you where you needed to be.

Actually, you were ecstatic when your parents surprised you with it a little after they made you get your license. You then drove yourself in your new hot ride to the plans you had with your friends, surprising them as well. Dustin had said it looked like shit, so you promptly threatened him and smacked him on the shoulder. Will thought it was cool, so you offered to drive him home at the end of the movie night you all had. Now, you were one of the designated drivers... As long as Steve wasn't available-cuz' lets be honest, the beamer was way cooler than your Camry.

And due to the fact you had a car, you had obviously stopped biking to school in the mornings.. which brings you to now, waiting at a stop light right before the turn you had to take to get to the same shithole high school you had been going to since what felt like the dawn of time. Your fingers tapped to the rhythm of the song you requested as Robin kindly broadcasted it to all of Hawkins: A Blondie classic, of course. You still had a smile on your face from what she had said before playing it on the radio.

"-Which, Hawkins.. Brings me to our next song this morning: courtesy of a great, good friend of mine who always insists there's 'another way', this is Blondie's 'One way or another', enjoy kids--this one is for you, L/n."

You mouthed the lyrics that were so well known to you, reminiscing the days where you and Max would have dance parties in your bedroom while punking out to the band. Your mother would burst in, telling--no, demanding the two of you to 'knock it off' and 'quiet down', to which you would both break out into laughing fits the moment she slammed your door and walked away.

You shook the memories out of your head before you could get upset. You wanted today to be better than yesterday, you just wanted to relax... See your friends, get through school and have the night off from work. Maybe you'd take a bubble bath.

You slammed your hands against the wheel harder as the climax of the song came on, hitting in unison of the drums that played on your radio and dancing to yourself.

Not far away from where you had just drove past, The boys peddled like hell as Holly lingered behind and waited for the turn to go to the Elementary school. They glanced at the radios that were haphazardly taped to the front of their bikes as the song played. "It's a good song," Will nodded, pulling up closer to the group. Lucas and Mike looked to one another and shrugged, Mike spoke.

"Yeah, it is."

-

THE bell rang—sharp and metallic, slicing through the hallway with the same exact pitch and volume it had carried all year, all four years, probably since the beginning of time if you really stopped to think about it. The sound grated on your nerves like sandpaper against skin. You sighed and shut your locker, the hollow clang echoing just long enough to remind you how painfully bored you were. Pure, bone-deep boredom pulsed through your veins as you adjusted the strap of your bag and waited for the day to finally be over.

You had promised yourself this morning that today would be better. That somehow, miraculously, things would feel lighter.

They didn’t.

The familiar sense of dread settled in your chest again, heavy and unavoidable, wrapping itself around your ribs like it always did the moment you stepped foot inside Hawkins High. It followed you everywhere—every hallway, every classroom, every glance from people who thought they knew everything about you. You hated that you kept hoping it would disappear on its own, as if one day you’d wake up and feel normal without ever putting in the work to fix what was broken. Or maybe what was missing.

Even if that kind of change were possible, today clearly wasn’t the day.

There was a tension lingering in the air, something sharp and electric that never quite went away after everything that had happened. The jocks were back on top, loud and untouchable, ruling Hawkins High like they always had. You supposed that when you’d gotten involved with Hellfire—when you’d been pulled into late-night games, laughter, and the safety of shared understanding—you’d forgotten just how cruel the real world could be. How unforgiving. How quick it was to turn its back.

Eddie’s name was ruined. His memory twisted into something ugly by people who’d never known him. Known the truth. Students were still missing. And your best friend—the one who had been the reason you weren’t alone to begin with—was gone, in a coma. If it hadn’t been for her, you wondered sometimes if Vecna would have come for you too. If things would have played out differently.

You always reached the same conclusion: no. Nothing would have changed. If you’d stayed invisible, friendless, tucked safely into the background, the world would have kept spinning the same way it always had. Veronica made sure you remembered that.

“Nice to see ya, loser.”

The voice slid into your ears like poison disguised as honey. You turned sharply, hair bouncing slightly out of place, and found yourself face to face with the wicked bitch from hell.

“Sick hair cut.”

Your jaw tightened. Everyone had changed—senior year did that to people. Ronnie especially. Her hair was longer now, falling in soft Hollywood curls instead of the tight perm she used to wear. Her lips always shone with light pink gloss, gold jewelry delicate and intentional. She looked like she belonged everywhere. You hated how easy it seemed for her.

You hated that you envied it.

Because aside from a different hairstyle, you hadn’t really changed at all. Beneath everything, you were still the same lonely girl you’d always been.

“What do you want, Veronica?” You sighed, the exhaustion in your voice unmistakable.

Before monsters and alternate dimensions, she’d been your personal Demogorgon—only this one wore cute sweaters and smiled while she hurt you.

“Nothing from you, other than to know who did your hair so that I know to stay away from their salon.”

Her laugh rang out, sharp and unapologetic, as she glanced at her friends before looking back at you like she expected an encore. Your brows pulled together as you shook your head, already drained.

“What..?- Veronica, dude, I got my hair cut like months ago.”

You hadn’t shown up one day looking completely different. You’d eased into it over the summer, experimenting quietly, learning how to style it properly with Nancy’s help. It wasn’t sudden. It wasn’t dramatic.

“Well, whoever told you it looked good is doing you a great disservice.”

She giggled.

“Nothing looks good on me to you, Steel..” you muttered, voice low.

She opened her mouth to say more, but a loud commotion erupted further down the hall, pulling both of your attention at once. You craned your neck, rising onto your tiptoes, but all you could see were bodies—students packed together, whispering, staring.

Groaning, you shoved forward, pushing past people without apologizing, leaving Veronica behind. Panic sparked when you heard it.

“Henderson!”

Andy’s voice.

Your stomach dropped. Your face went cold as you shoved harder, forcing your way through the crowd, shoulders colliding with yours as you moved. Times like this, you were grateful for your strength.

“Not again..” you muttered under your breath.

You caught fragments—raised voices, laughter, the tops of familiar heads.

“Hope you brought a new change of clothes Henderson... No one wants to see that shit.”

The words made your hands curl into fists. By the time you broke through, Andy and his friends were already leaving, laughter trailing behind them. You adjusted your bag and stared at Dustin, confusion and anger colliding in your chest.

“What the fuck was that? What just happened??”

You barely needed an answer. The torn Hellfire shirt said everything. Dustin didn’t respond. He just turned and walked, shoulders stiff, expression unreadable.

“You have to stop provoking them, man!” Mike said as you all followed, voices raised over the crowd.

“Oh, so this is my fault? Fer’ what? wearing a T-shirt?”

"It's not just a T-shirt and you know that.."

“So I should just be more like you guys and turn the other cheek while they spread more bullshit about Hellfire- about Eddie??”

The name cracked something open. Dustin pulled away again, creating distance you couldn’t bridge.

“Eddie never gave a rats ass about what those mouth breathers were saying and you know it-”

“Yeah, C’mon Dustin. We all know the only thing he’d care about right now is putting an end to all the bat shit stuff happening..!” you reminded.

Dustin stopped, spinning toward you.

“Do you seriously think I don’t care about that?” He questioned. “Really?”

“No, Dustin, We know you care but there is way more prominent and important shit going on right now!” you replied.

“Y/n’s right, Dustin- I mean, what if you get hurt? seriously hurt? You’re drawing too much attention...”

“Will and Y/n are right. Remember what Hop’ said? We need. to keep. our heads. down.” Lucas repeated.

“-Follow the rules, blend in..?”

“yeah, stay focused on our next crawl..?” Mike attached to Will's continuation and you concluded it. “Does that ring a bell, Henderson?”

He laughed—sharp, bitter—leaning against the painted brick wall.

“Do you guys even hear yourselves right now? Blend in..? When is that something we’ve ever done??”

You rubbed your face, frustration burning behind your eyes.

“We stay true to ourselves...--we’re supposed to stay true to our friends!”

“We stand up for what’s right, no matter. the cost.”

“What?- are you crazy?? Do you even hear yourself?? We need to stay alert and we need to stay out of trouble. That includes you.”

“You aren’t listening!”

“No.” Dustin was quick to cut off Lucas. “You’re not.”

And then he walked away, leaving the space between all of you wider than it had ever been. He just.. Walked away.

“You’ve got to be shitting me..!” you let out in disbelief, the words tumbling from your mouth before you could stop them. Your hands dropped stiffly to your sides, fingers curling like you were bracing yourself for impact. You stood there for a second too long, staring at the space Dustin had just occupied, like if you waited long enough he might turn back around. He didn’t. His footsteps echoed down the hall, swallowed by the noise of lockers slamming and students laughing, a sound that felt entirely wrong for the moment you were living in.

“Dustin!-” Lucas called out, his voice sharp with urgency as he took a half-step forward, instinctively ready to chase after him. His jaw was tight, frustration and worry clashing across his face in equal measure. For a split second, it looked like he might actually go after him—might say something that could still pull Dustin back from the edge.

“let him go..” Will sighed.

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic. It was tired.

Will’s shoulders sagged slightly as he spoke, his gaze fixed on the floor like he couldn’t bear to watch Dustin walk away again. There was something heavy in his tone—resignation mixed with understanding—like he knew that anything said now would only make things worse. You hated that he was probably right.

The hallway continued moving around you like nothing had happened. Students passed by, some whispering, some staring, others completely oblivious. Life went on, uncaring. You swallowed hard, your chest tight with words you hadn’t said and apologies you didn’t know how to make. Dustin wasn’t just angry—he was hurting. And the worst part was knowing that no matter how right you felt, no matter how logical your arguments were, they hadn’t reached him at all.

He was already gone.

And you were left standing there with the rest of them, the space he’d left behind feeling louder than any argument you’d had all week. Your head shook as you stood there in disbelief. You were damn near speechless. "I mean... Are you serious..?" You stammered, looking to your friends.

You had to admit, you weren't the best at controlling your temper. Honestly, that wasn't a secret. And it wasn't that you didn't feel bad for Dustin and Eddie-because you did. A lot. You just couldn't wrap your mind around the disregard he had for what you were all saying, trying to remind him. You were supposed to be best friends... Maybe not you, but Mike and Lucas? No one could reach him... It was painful to watch.

The lot of you had to quickly leave each other to get to second period, but god was the moment ricocheting in your mind... At lunch, you just knew you would have to debrief... Thankfully, you had a whole 45 minutes to collect yourself and calm down.

-

“I’m getting real sick of his shit.” You grumbled the words under your breath, stabbing your fork down into the sad pile of cafeteria food on your tray like it had personally wronged you. The plastic utensil scraped harshly against the tray, the sound sharp enough to draw a few glances from nearby tables. Your jaw was clenched, shoulders tight, irritation rolling off you in waves. You’d never claimed to be good at controlling your temper—especially not lately—and Dustin had been testing what little patience you had left.

Across from you, Will paused mid-bite. He didn’t say anything right away, just looked at you with that familiar, gentle sympathy in his eyes—the kind that said I get it, even if I don’t fully agree. Then he sighed quietly and shifted his gaze to the rest of the group, like he was bracing himself before speaking.

“I know... He actually told me he want’s to start up hellfire again...”

The table went still.

Your fork froze halfway to your mouth before you dropped it back onto the tray with a dull clatter. You stared at Will, disbelief written all over your face, a humorless scoff escaping your lips before you could stop it.

“I’m telling you- calling it right now, he has lost. his damn. mind-”

Your voice was low but sharp, frustration bleeding into every carefully separated word. Hellfire—again? After everything? After Eddie? The idea alone made your chest tighten, equal parts anger and fear bubbling just beneath your skin. It felt reckless. Dangerous. Like tempting fate when fate had already proven how cruel it could be.

“Who lost their mind?”

Dustin’s voice cut through the moment like a knife.

He appeared out of nowhere, tray in hand, and before any of you could react, he dropped it down onto the table with a solid thud and slid into the seat Eddie used to occupy. The sound of plastic against metal echoed louder than it should have, your heart lurching painfully at the sight. For just a second, the world tilted—like muscle memory had kicked in and your brain expected Eddie’s voice to follow.

It didn’t.

Dustin leaned back slightly, looking around at all of you with raised brows, confusion flickering behind his eyes as one by one, your faces went pale. Silence stretched. Mike’s mouth opened and closed uselessly. Lucas stared down at his tray like it suddenly held the secrets of the universe. Will’s shoulders stiffened.

And you—your earlier anger vanished instantly, replaced by pure, stomach-dropping dread.

“Uhm...”

The word slipped out of you weakly, all bite and attitude wiped clean in a heartbeat. Your fingers curled around the edge of your tray, knuckles whitening. You weren’t scared of Dustin—but you were terrified of hurting him, of confirming whatever ugly thoughts had been rattling around in his head lately. You scrambled for something—anything—that wouldn’t blow this wide open.

“Andy! Andy lost is mind!”

Phew. Good save.

You seized onto it immediately, nodding along like it had been the plan all along. Your heart was still hammering in your chest as you forced yourself to relax, rolling your shoulders like nothing was wrong.

“Psh, yeah... The way he’s been acting? What a cunt... Right?”

You lifted your fork and waved it dismissively in the air, doing your best impression of casual, though it felt stiff and forced even to your own ears. You shrugged, eyes flicking briefly to Dustin’s face, searching for any sign that he didn’t believe you.

Dustin watched all of you in silence, his gaze moving slowly from face to face. There was something unreadable in his expression—not anger, not amusement, just a quiet, lingering suspicion. Like he knew something was off but couldn’t quite put his finger on what. Finally, he gave a small nod.

“Yeah.”

The word was short. Flat.

He looked down at his food, poking at it absently, and the tension didn’t ease—it just shifted, settling heavier over the table. He glanced back up at you all again, eyes narrowing slightly, like he was watching a group of circus freaks trying and failing to act normal.

There was a silence.

Not the comfortable kind. Not the kind filled with jokes or shared looks or what used to be Eddie’s loud commentary echoing across the cafeteria. This silence was thick and suffocating, filled with everything none of you were saying. Forks scraped. Trays shifted. Somewhere across the room, someone laughed too loudly. Your eyes drifted to Mikes, only to see that his were already on you. It was almost like you guys spoke telepathically, but you looked away before it could go on any longer. Your eyes now glued to the food you played with sadly on your tray.

And all you could think about was how wrong it felt—Dustin sitting there, Eddie’s seat empty, Hellfire hanging over your heads like a ghost none of you knew how to put to rest.

Then, it happened.

The radio sitting at the far end of the cafeteria table let out a sudden, violent screech- feedback shrill enough to make several students wince and groan. Forks paused mid-air. Conversations around you faltered, then slowly dissolved as heads began to turn. The noise crackled and popped, static bursting through the cheap speaker like electricity crawling over exposed wires.

Your heart stuttered.

Before anyone could react, the static cleared just enough for a familiar, bright voice to break through the chaos.

“Hey there friends! This is Rockin’ Robin!”

Your breath caught instantly.

Every single one of you leaned forward at the same time, chairs scraping faintly against the cafeteria floor as you hunched over the table. All eyes locked onto the radio like it was the only thing left in the room. The laughter, the chatter, the clatter of trays faded into a dull blur at the edges of your hearing.

“Sorry for the abrupt departure, Hope you all survived without me..”

You felt it ripple through the group—shock, relief, disbelief—colliding all at once. Robin. Broadcasting. Your fingers curled tightly around the edge of the table, knuckles whitening as you stared at the radio, half-expecting the voice to disappear again.

“We had some...annoying technical difficulties!”

Her voice dipped and rose theatrically, punctuated by random sound effects—cartoonish beeps, faux explosions, static bursts—that matched her tone perfectly. It was so Robin that it almost hurt. Almost.

She continued in a sing-song cadence, bright and deliberate, like she was trying to mask something beneath it.

“But! To make it up to you, we have a very special treat...that is sure to turn your day...”

Your chest tightened.

Slowly, one by one, you looked up from the radio and met the eyes of the people around you. Mike’s brows were pulled together, disbelief etched deep into his face. Lucas had gone rigid, his hand frozen halfway to his drink. Will’s lips parted slightly, like he was about to say something but couldn’t find the words. Dustin’s gaze flicked between each of you, searching, calculating.

It couldn’t be.

Not now.

Not yet.

It made no sense. The timing was wrong. Everything was wrong. Your pulse hammered in your ears, each beat louder than the last as dread crept up your spine, cold and familiar. It was all so confusing.

…Today…?

The radio hummed softly between words, the silence stretched just long enough to make your skin prickle, and you knew—deep down—that whatever was coming next was about to change everything.

"Upside down."

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