after the couple had woken up, they proceeded to spend the next couple hours cuddled together on steph's couch while their friend slept soundly in her room. no words had been said between the two, only tears and hugs and comforting kisses. the events of the day had been so emotionally and mentally stressful so the idea of just sitting with one another and enjoying each other's company was definitely what lydia needed. they watched e.t and munched on chips and popcorn and just ignored every problem that had plagued their minds previously.

when the movie ended, a strange silence settled over the two and glances were exchanged, both waiting for the other to start a conversation. their breathing was synced but it felt like they were not. like their usual rapport had been interrupted and there was something stopping it from continuing normally.

"so, how are you feeling now?" lawrie asked, trying to ignore the obvious tension.

"i'm, uh, i'm okay. i think. a lot happened. it was, uh, a little shaken. you know?" lydia tried explaining. he nodded in response. "how was your trip?"

"yeah, it was good. my grandmother said she would love to meet you sometime, like maybe over winter break or even this summer. just, whatever works for you." she smiled tenderly at thought of her boyfriend talking to his grandmother about her. "yeah, i'd like that."

soon after the brief conversation, lawrie had to leave to go to work so lydia thought it would be a good time for her to leave too. clambering up the stairs, she knocked on door and peeked her head in and was met with a very distinct odor. the room was filled with smoke despite the open window, and shirts were packed on the underside of the door to prevent anything from getting out. with bloodshot eyes and a mellow demeanor, steph laughed at her friend.

"heyyyyyy lydssss, how's it hanging? you wanna smoke?" she held the joint out to her friend as she leaned her arm out the window. the girl stood in the doorway and contemplated for a second before closing the door and jumping on the bed with a fried steph.

"okay but only a few hits, and i'm borrowing your bike because i refuse to drive high again." she stated as she brought the joint to her lips and took a deep inhale. the heat travelled slowly from the front of her mouth down her throat and settled in her lungs. lydia sunk into the bed and savored the feeling of the smoke heating up her chest. her eyelids slowly became more and more heavy and she took another hit. then another. then another. every move she made felt like it was in slow motion, but she was at peace.

she pulled her jeans on and left steph's house a giggling mess, hopping on the brown and white cruiser before pedaling back to her house.

~

on the way back to her humble abode, lydia got some intense munchies. her stomach growled and she craved every snack food imaginable. as she turned down a street to go to fair mart she was met by screaming from a very familiar voice. she squinted her eyes as she saw a couple kids biking towards her, with big white vans trailing them in the distance.

"lydia!" the voice yelled. she giggled as the bikes got closer. that's funny. that sounded like dustin. "lydia what are you doing just standing there, go!" as they came into focus, she noticed the familiar red, white, and blue hat that sat upon a curly mess of hair. oh wait, that was dustin. funny how things work out. then the reality of the situation clicked in her head as she saw the panicked look on her little brother's face. momentarily snapping out of her high, she turned down the street and started pedaling in the same direction as the kids.

her mind was a jumble of incoherent thoughts as she tried to sober herself up. who are these people chasing her brother? and who was that little girl on the back of mike's bike? and why was her head shaved? did she have cancer?

lydia biked down the street as fast as she could with no real direction of where she was going until she heard frantic screaming from behind her.

"turn right, now!" she turned the handles and yelled as she abruptly entered the playground.

"look out! sorry! coming through!" she stopped on the street and took a minute to recollect herself. she could feel parts of her back that she didn't know she could feel, and was very aware of everything. she could hear her blood pumping in her ears, and her heartbeat felt like a drum against her chest.

her thoughts were interrupted when lucas, mike, dustin, and the weird girl appeared by her side. their breathing was heavy and their limbs were sore but they barely felt it due to the intense adrenaline that coursed through their bodies.

"where are they?" lucas panted.

"i don't know." mike stammered.

"i think we lost them." dustin started. but the screeching of tires made them all turn their heads. they saw the vans through the trees and started pedaling again.

"can someone, explain, what the hell, is happening?" lydia yelled in between dustin and mike's screaming. but her question was never answered, because a van appeared in front of them, coming at the kids at full speed. then, the van went up in the air. time slowed. she watched as it flipped over all their heads and down behind them, right in front of the other vans. she couldn't tell if this was real life or if the weed she smoked was laced.

"what just happened?" she exclaimed as she pumped her legs faster to keep up with her brother.

"she just flipped the van with her mind lydia! keep up!" he yelled. the teen blinked a few times as she tried to process what she just heard.

"she did what?" she had too much weed in her system to properly process this.

"she has powers. she can move things with her mind and those men want her so they can do a bunch of experiments on her." he explained again, slightly slower. the reality of the situation hit her and she almost fell off the bike.

what a weird ass day.

~

they arrived at the old junkyard and all the kids were in shock.

"did-did you guys see what she did to that van?" lydia panted. her mind was everywhere and she wished she just stayed at steph's a little longer.

"no, lydia, we missed it." mike retorted. she stuck her tongue out and her middle finger up at the sarcastic preteen.

"i mean that was, that was-" her brother stammered.

"awesome." lucas finished. "it was awesome." he walked over to the girl and knelt down next to her.

"everything i said about you being a traitor and stuff, i was wrong. i'm sorry." he apologized. then, the little girl spoke. her voice was soft.

"friends, friends don't lie. i'm sorry."

"i'm sorry too." mike held out his hand in an almost robotic way. lucas stood up and shook his hand, signifying that all was good between the two boys. meanwhile, lydia was so lost. she stood off to the side and watched everything play out but gained no knowledge from the conversation.

"okay, okay, can someone please explain to me what the fuck is going on?" her chest began to tighten and her mind was racing. dustin held her arms as she began to collapse to the ground. there were too many things happening in her head and she couldn't figure out why these people were chasing them and she just wanted to go home to her cat and lay in her bed.

"oh shit. lydi? lyds look at me." the curly haired boy held his sister's flushed face in his hands and he looked into her eyes. "son of a bitch, she's high." he muttered.

"she's what?" mike questioned.

"she's high. she smoked weed. when she smokes and gets stressed she's prone to panic attacks." he yelled back at his friends. he pulled off his bag and started rifling through, pulling out various snacks before eventually finding a bottle of water. "okay, i need you to breathe with me. okay? just like we used to. in, and out. deep breaths. it's gonna be okay." dustin held her shoulders and inhaled and exhaled deeply. but this time, it wasn't working. lydia had been through too much trauma in the past couple days and it was all hitting her now.

will's funeral, the monster, the fight with steve, it caught up to her. the flashes of the faceless creature grabbing her ankle and dragging her through the woods made her hyperventilate even more. the very idea that she could no longer call her best friend made her breath get caught in her throat. the throbbing in her ankle reminded her that she will always have a memory of it, engraved in her body. tears streamed down her face as she clutched dustin's arms, trying to get a grip on reality. every time she closed her eyes, she felt like she was spinning. it was too much. it was all too much.

"i can help." el's soft voice cut through lydia's whimpering and made everyone turn towards her. all eyes were on her as she sat next to the teen, and placed her hand on top of hers and looked her in the eye. "you see it." the panicked girl nodded.

"how do you know?" she whispered. dustin looked back and forth between the two, unsure of what was happening.

"saw what? what did she see?" he urged. el looked at him, and he suddenly understood. "she saw the demogorgan." mike and lucas rushed over.

"what?"

"how?"

"when?"

"did she see will?"

"does she know where he is?"

"guys stop!" the curly hair boy yelled. he looked at his sister with worried eyes. "he can't get you here. not when you're with us. i promise." he pulled her in for a hug, and held her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"can i?" dustin hesitated before nodding and letting his sister go. el held the girls shoulders and closed her eyes letting the blood trickle down her nose. lydia's heartbeat slowed to it's normal pace, and she felt the tightness in her chest start to dissipate.

"how'd- did, did you? how did you do that?" instead of answering, the little girl just pointed to her temple and wiped her blood off with the sleeve of her jacket. the brunette wiped away her tears on her sweater and shook her body out, trying to rid herself of all the thoughts and feelings that overwhelmed her seconds before.

"okay, okay, okay, okay. i'm, i'm okay. i'm okay. now what's happening?"