ৎ ָ࣪ 𓄹 ﹙𝟬𝟬𝟯﹚˖ ᨒ .ﾟ ꗃ 𓄸
❛ IN THE WOODS ❜ 𓂃 𓈒 𓏸₊

LATER THAT DAY, the blonde girl sat comfortably in her bed, as she focused her mind on Will. Her powers allowed her to control the mind of whoever she pleased, with the ability to read their personal thoughts, and even emotions. Grace somewhat hated that part of her self, knowing it wasn't right in any way to invade someone's privacy, while she also loved it because she had an advantage over everyone.

        Deep down, a part of her always felt like she could take over the world and make it hers. That was an idea the strange man installed into her brain the day he helped her escape Hawkins lab. She never knew his true motive for letting her leave that place unharmed.

        The blonde always got chills just thinking about it, his words never escaping her mind. She was treated so wrong in that place, all for being born with a gift. The man told her that someone had to pay the price for her suffering, for all of her siblings suffering.

         She laid back onto her mattress, blood trickling down her nose as she started to have flashbacks of that unforgettable night. The man with strikingly blue eyes and blonde hair whispering things to her, giving her instructions no child should've been given. The blonde didn't understand back then that he was gaslighting and manipulating her. She was only a child, merely at the age of five. Her brain wasn't even fully developed.

The loud buzz of her walkie talkie going off captured the girls' full attention, her eyes traveling over to the pink device sat on her dresser. She quickly wiped the blood from her nose with a tissue, tossing it into the pink trash can across the room. Everything in her room was covered in different shades of pink. Even her clothes and stuffed animals were pink, most of them anyways.

          Grace flicked her wrist towards the walkie talkie, the device landing in her lap in seconds. She smiled at the voice she expected to hear. "Hey, guys. Do you copy? It's Mike, over." Mike spoke into the device.

        "Hey, Mike. What do you want?" Grace asked, picking at her fingernails to rid them of any dirt. She didn't bother saying over, and Mike never corrected her on it. He made sure the boys always said it, though.

       "Hey, it's Lucas. Why have you summoned us?" The boy asked, and Grace didn't have to see him to know that he was rolling his eyes at Mike. Lucas hated talking over the walkie talkies, mostly because Mike always forced him to use the weird code talk.

       "Say 'over'  when you're done talking so that I know you're done. Over." Mike told them. "Grace never says over. Why is it a problem when I don't say it?" Lucas asked Mike in clear agitation. It was clear that Mike had his favorites, and liked Grace, so of course he'd give her the special treatment.

        "I'm obviously his favorite, Lukie. You have to step up your game in the Mike department." The blonde smiled, brushing her hair out of her face. Lucas groaned pretty loudly, throwing his head back. "I'm done. Over." Lucas responded in a bored tone.

       "Just listen. It'll be quick. Over." Mike ignored their words, hating how true they were. He tried hiding his crush on Grace, but every single part of his being made it so obvious. She was still oblivious though. .

       "I'm listening. Over." Lucas told him, his ears perking up. "I'm worried about Will. Over." Mike stated with a sad look, though he knew the others couldn't see him. He was panicking about it.

        "Me too. It's freaking me out." Grace felt her hands shake, and she tried her best to ignore the fear inside of her. It was as if her body was telling her that something bad happened to Will. She didn't want to believe it, but the feeling was too strong to ignore.

       "Yeah, this is crazy. Over." Lucas spoke, his eyes casting downward in fear for his friend. Nothing ever happened in a town as small as Hawkins, but the sudden disappearance of their friend was bound to shake up the super boring place for once.

       "I was thinking. . Will could've cast protection last night, but he didn't. He cast fireball. Over." Mike told the two, his eyes sullen. "What's your point? Over." Lucas asked the boy, not sure why the campaign from the night before came up in the conversation.

       "My point is, he could've played it safe, but he didn't. He put himself in danger to help the party. Over." Mike explained, hoping they understood.

       "The Demogorgon. It got him." Grace stated, feeling her heart stop at the words that left her mouth. She knew it was just a game, but it fit the situation.

       "Meet me in ten. Over and out." Lucas told the two with a sad sigh. He was always close to Will, so the boy's disappearance probably hurt him a lot. Grace knew because she was hurting too, but occupied herself to try and clear her mind. They would find him.

      "See you in ten. Over." Mike stated, and Grace shook her head at them. "See you in ten, Mike." The blonde whispered, dropping her connection as she leaned back in her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆⠘ *‧☽ ‧* ⠘☆ﾟ‧ ───

  GRACE COULDN'T BELIEVE THEY WERE DISOBEYING HOPPER, but she was more than ecstatic about it. They went out to search for Will, searching the last place he had been seen. The four kids stopped their bikes, setting them up on their kickstands as they stared ahead of them and into the woods.

       "Hey, guys. You feel that?" Dustin looked up at the dark sky, no stars present. "What do you mean?" Grace asked the boy, following his line of sight. She didn't see or feel anything unusual.

       "I mean, maybe we should go back." Dustin shook his head shakily, walking forward. Grace followed behind him, her hand placing itself on his shoulder to comfort him. She knew things like this bothered him.

      "We're not going back. Just stay close. Come on. Just stay on channel six. Don't do anything stupid." Mike told Dustin under his breath. When Dustin didn't move any further, Grace pulled him along.

       They walked around for a while, searching for Will. The kids called out his name as it started to rain, nearly drenching them in the coldness. It was a good thing they had on their rain coats, or else their clothes would've been soaked which was quite uncomfortable.

        Mike looked over at Grace, watching as she nervously clutched her flashlight. He grabbed her free hand in his gently, calming her enough to let out a tiny smile. Both kids pulled away from each other at the looks Lucas and Dustin gave them.

        "Guys, I really think we should turn back." Dustin whined with a frightened look. Grace stopped walking, looking up as raindrops coated her face. She hated to admit how much she agreed with Dustin, but the kids weren't getting anywhere with their search.

       Her powers couldn't even sense Will's presence anywhere. . which scared her. "Seriously, Dustin? You wanna be a baby, then go home already!" Lucas told Dustin, followed by a groan.

      "I'm just being realistic, Lucas!" Dustin raised his arms defensively, his heart racing. "No. You're just being a big sissy." Lucas commented, earning a shove from Grace and an incredulous look from Dustin.

       "Cut it out. I think Dustin's right. If this were a horror film, we'd be making all the wrong choices right now." The blonde girl sighed, blowing strands of hair out of her face. Dustin gave her a high five.

       "Exactly. Did you ever think Will went missing because he ran into something bad? And we're going to the exact same spot where he was last seen? And we have no weapons or anything?" Dustin exclaimed.

      "Dustin, shut up." Mike commented, and Dustin held his chest in hurt. "I'm just saying, does that seem smart to you?" The boy asked again. Grace was going to respond, but Mike tugged at her arm.

       "Shut up." Mike told Dustin, looking ahead of him. That's when Grace heard a weird noise in the distance. "Someone's out there." The blonde gasped, instinctively taking a step back in caution.

        "You heard it too?" Mike raised his eyebrows. Grace nodded, flinching when she heard another noise behind her. The group turned around with loud screams, flashing their flashlights into the face of. . Eleven. . a girl Grace thought that she'd never meet again.

        The shaved head and those pretty brown eyes had given it all away. She was sure Eleven recognized her too, as her confused eyes widened at the sight of her.

       "Nine?" Eleven called out softly, her lips curling up into a slight smile. The blonde bit her trembling lip, holding back her tears as the boys stared between her and the strange girl in the rain.

       "Did she call you Nine? Like, the number nine?" Mike asked in confusion. Grace turned away, quickly making her way to her bike. She must've been dreaming, well, it felt too real to be a dream. She was going mad, that's it. She'd lost her mind.

        "Mental." Dustin muttered to himself, following after the blonde girl with a sigh.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE 📝 . . .
This chapter goes a lot more into depth about my character. I really love it, and it's important for later in the story as well! She's been through a lot, and 001 will be trying to bring her to the dark side.