ৎ ָ࣪    𓄹 ﹙𝟬𝟬𝟵﹚˖  ᨒ  .ﾟ ꗃ  𓄸
❛ UPSIDE DOWN ❜ 𓂃 𓈒 𓏸₊˚ 〆

           ONCE GRACE FINISHED WITH EL'S MAKEOVER, all her friends made comments about how pretty she looked. Even Lucas complimented her, despite not liking her as much as them. The girl stared at her own reflection, smiling at the sight. Eleven never thought of herself as pretty, she always wanted to be, though. So, their compliments gave her confidence.

         "Okay, remember, if anyone sees us, look sad." Mike announced, following his friends into the school. Grace made a sad face, Lucas and Dustin doing the same to show El what Mike meant by looking sad. Eleven copied them, the three nodding at her.

          "Attention, students, there will be an assembly to honor Will Byers in the gymnasium now. Do not go to fourth period." The intercom was sounded all throughout the school. Each hallway they passed by was vacant, most likely because everyone was in the gym.

         "It's locked." Mike scoffed, disappointed since his plan didn't go as smoothly as he thought. "What?" Lucas rushed forward in surprise, also trying to get the door open. It was never locked before.

         "Hey, do you think you can open it? With your powers?" Dustin asked the two girls. "Sure," The blonde nodded, about to open the door. She didn't get too far when Mr. Clarke appeared out of nowhere.

        "Boys? Girls?" The man called out in confusion. He was sure they weren't at school before. "Hey." Each of them chirped out in surprise.

         "The assembly's about to start." The teacher informed them, squinting at El. "We know. We're just, you know. ." Mike looked down in pretend hurt.

         "Upset." Lucas smiled, but realized he was supposed to look sad, and frowned.

         "Yeah, we're just so. .sad." Grace faked a few tears, looking away from the man.

         "We need some alone time." Mike gave another sad look, making the man feel bad.

         "To cry." Dustin agreed. Mr Clarke looked at all their heartbroken expressions and frowned.

         "I get it. I do. I know how hard this is, but let's just be there for Will, huh? And then, the Heathkit is all yours for the rest of the day. What do you say?" The man handed them the keys to the room. All kids smiled at the man in gratefulness. Plan back on track.

          "I don't believe we've met. What's your name?" Their teacher turned to Eleven, realizing she was a new face, and an unfamiliar one.

           "Elev—" El started to tell him, only to be interrupted by Mike. "Eleanor!"

           "She's my sister. Can't you tell by the striking resemblance?" Grace bragged to the man with a smirk, pulling El closer to her, one arm hanging loosely over the shorter girl's shoulder.

           "Step-sister," Dustin added in as well. "Yeah, they aren't blood related." Lucas bit his lip. "She's here for Will's funeral." Mike finished with a nod.

          "Ah, well, welcome to Hawkins Middle, Eleanor. I wish you were here under better circumstances." Mr. Clarke nodded at the girl with a smile. "Thank you," El smiled back, the confusion on her face obvious.

          "Uh, where are you from exactly?" The teacher couldn't help but ask. "Bad place—" Eleven shook her head, not wanting to go into detail.

           "Sweden!" Dustin came up with it on the spot. "I have a lot of Swedish family." Grace lied as well, hoping the man would take their lies.

           "She hates it there." Mike said immediately after. "Cold," Lucas rubbed his shoulders, mimicking someone that was freezing cold.

           "Sub—zero." Dustin finished. Mr Clarke knew that his students were being weird, but dismissed it since their friend was announced deceased.

           "Shall we?" He asked, earning nods. With that, he lead them into the gymnasium. Dustin busted the door open, causing all eyes to travel to them. In an instance, the whole entire school was staring.

           "Abort." Dustin regretted his loud entrance, turning to leave. Lucas shoved him forward. Grace took her chance, waving at everyone, and even winking at a few boys that wouldn't stop staring.

          "Is she serious?" Mike whispered under his voice, salty at the fact that she never winked at him. He wanted to be winked at every once in a while.

          As they all took their seats, Mike was next to Grace with El on her other side. Lucas and Dustin sat next to each other, closer to the teachers. They all stared ahead of them silently. This whole speech about Will and how great of a students he was made Grace furious. No one at that school truly cared about Will.

          "Look at these fakers." Mike whispered to his friends, seeing all the students putting on a show. A lot of them were crying, sniffling, and some were even sobbing. It was probably their guilt swallowing them for all the years they bullied the poor kid.

         "They probably didn't even know his name 'till today." Lucas whispered back, his annoyance clear. Grace tilted her head to the side, hearing Troy mock the whole situation while his minion laughed.

          "Oh, he was such a great student. Oh, he's going to leave a hole in the community." Troy mocked in a teasing voice, laughing loudly and rudely.

          "Mouthbreather," Eleven whispered, her eyes glaring holes into the boy near them. Grace opened her mouth, shocked to hear her say that.

          "You are too cute, El," She couldn't help but lean closer to the girl, pinching both sides of her face, trying to show how adorable she was.

          The school bell rung a few seconds later, signaling the end of Will's assembly. Everyone began to head out of the gym, Mike approaching Troy bravely.

          "Hey, Troy! You. . .you think this is funny?" Mike stuttered out in anger. "What'd you say, Wheeler?" The boy felt threatened, tilting his head.

          Mike created an entertaining scene. Everyone in the gym was standing to watch the situation unfold rather than leaving like they were before.

          "I saw you guys laughing over there. And I think that's a real messed up thing to do." The boy defended his friend, despite knowing he wasn't dead.

         "Didn't you listen to the counselor, Wheeler?" Troy retorted, "Grief shows itself in funny ways," his minion added. "Besides, what's there to be sad about, anyway? Will's in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies. All happy and gay!" Troy laughed at his own joke, twirling and singing.

         The boy walked away with his minion following, thinking they won the argument. Mike didn't let them get too far, rushing after them as he shoved the boy onto the ground. The whole school made a 'ooo' noise.

         "You're dead, Wheeler!" Troy shouted in anger, standing up to hit Mike. Instead, he stood there frozen in place, a wet spot appearing on his pants.

         "Dude, Troy peed himself!" A kid shouted, laughs erupting from the whole school. Troy could only stand there embarrassed, his face turning red.

         Mike looked back confused, catching El wiping her nose and turning to leave the gym.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆⠘ *‧☽ ‧* ⠘☆ﾟ‧ ───

          AFTER EMBARRASSING TROY IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE SCHOOL, Mike lead his friends to the AV room. He used the key to unlock the door. While El was occupied trying to talk to Will again, the others stood around waiting for something to happen. Lucas and Grace were whispering to each other about whether or not he was a ghost, while Dustin and Mike held a quiet conversation about how cool the whole situation they were in was. It was like experiencing something that only happened on television, or in horror films.

"She's doing it. She's finding him." Mike spoke in amazement. "This is crazy." Dustin said with a big smile. "Calm down. She just closed her eyes." Lucas shook his head, a banging noice being heard right after. Everyone in the small room went silent, the noise intensifying.

"Mom?" Will's voice was heard, all the kids gaping in shock. "No way!" Lucas was shocked beyond belief, no longer being able to deny it.

"Mom. . .mom!" The boy continued to call out for his mom, sounding as if he were in tears. Grace could feel her heart beating so hard, it started to hurt. She covered her ears, not being able to take it anymore.

Will's emotions suddenly flooded into her senses. She could feel the fear, loneliness, sadness, anxiousness. Everything she would've expected from someone who was missing out there. It was heartbreaking.

"Will! It's us! Are you there?" Lucas shouted out loud, his fists balled in discomfort.

"Can you hear us? We're here!" Dustin's voice was loud as well. The blonde couldn't take it.

Everything was happening so fast. It was just too much for her. She could feel a single drop of blood drip from her nose, reaching up to wipe it.

"He can't hear you. She's channeling him." Grace told the kids around her. That's when Mike noticed the blood on her face, concern written all over him.

"Are you okay? Your nose." Mike motioned to his own nose. Grace shook her head, being grabbed by her hands and pulled into an embrace.

"Mom, it's coming!" Will shouted, hopeless and scared. The blonde felt his emotions consuming her again, shaking her head with a quiet whimper that only Mike heard, causing him to hug her tighter.

"It's like home, but it's so dark! It's so dark and empty! And it's cold! Mom!" Will continued to cry out for his mother, his friends listening sadly, wishing they could do something to help him. Anything.

Soon after that, the radio set on fire, flames high enough to set off the fire alarm. El sat there, her nose bleeding, barely conscious.

Dustin put out the fire with a fire extinguisher on the wall. After that, the boys pushed El on a cart since she couldn't run on her own. They ran as fast as they could out of the school to not get caught.

All five of them made it to the bike rack, everyone hopping on their bikes, with El on the back of Dustin's as they raced to Mike's house. As soon as they arrived, the group of five made a rush into the basement. They sat there for a few minutes in silence.

"What was Will saying? Like home. . like home. . but dark." Mike rethought his words.

"And empty." Lucas added in. "Empty and cold." Dustin added as well. "Wait, did he say cold?" The boy turned to ask Grace. "Don't ask me. I couldn't listen." She quickly answered him, shuddering.

"It's like riddles in the dark." Dustin stared at the roof, wondering what he meant.

"Like home, like his house?" Mike raised his eyebrows, slightly understanding.

"Or maybe like Hawkins?" Lucas felt his eyes widen, a light bulb turning on.

"Upside Down." Eleven whispered to the four kids around her. She was currently laying on the couch, her legs sprawled on top of Grace's midsection.

"What'd she say?" Lucas piped up. "Upside down. When El showed us where Will was, she flipped the board over, remember? Upside down. Dark, empty." Mike spoke as if he was solving the mystery.

"Do you understand what he's talking about?" Lucas wasn't comprehending.

"Nope. Dumb it down a little for me, please? I'm not a super nerd like the rest of you." The girl with blonde hair explained, her eyes squinted.

"You totally are. Just think about it. When El took us to find Will, she took us to his house, right?" Mike was excited now that he'd figured it out.

"Yeah, and he wasn't there." Lucas said, the ghost of a frown on his face.

"But what if he was there? What if we just couldn't see him? What if he was on the other side? What if this is Hawkins and. . .this is where Will is? The Upside Down." Mike flipped the board like Eleven did days before, showing a demonstration of what he meant.

"Like the Vale of Shadows." Dustin started to understand as well. "What the fuck is a Vale of Shadows, Henderson?" Grace asked with a head tilt.

"The Vale of Shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection or echo of our world." Dustin explained, having read about it in the D&D guidebook.

"Who would've thought that this game would've given us all the answers we needed?" She shook her head at the whole situation, shocked.

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        AUTHOR'S NOTE 📝  .    .     .
I feel like Grace is such a bisexual queen.
Of course she doesn't know it yet.