Byers' House – POV
The clock on the wall ticked steadily, but to Joyce, Nancy, and Jonathan, every second felt stretched. It had been more than two hours since Hopper had left to get the kids, and with each passing minute, their anxiety deepened.
"It's been over two hours," Nancy finally said, her voice low but tight. "What's taking so long?"
"They said they were at the junkyard," Jonathan added. "It's not that far."
Joyce bit her lip, her worry plain. "Maybe something went wrong."
Nancy sat at the window, eyes darting to the street every few seconds. Then—finally—a pair of headlights cut through the night. Tires crunched against gravel.
They all rushed outside.
Hopper's car rolled into view, and as the doors opened, a wave of relief swept over them. Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Eleven stepped out, dirty, tired, but safe.
"Mike!" Nancy gasped, rushing forward and wrapping her brother in a tight hug.
"Hey, hey—easy!" Mike laughed, breathless from the sudden squeeze. "I'm okay!"
Nancy pulled back, her eyes darting across the others. "You're all safe?"
"We're fine," Dustin chimed in, smiling.
She turned—and her eyes landed on the girl standing just a step behind the boys. Her hair was buzzed, her face drawn and curious, and she wore a familiar pink dress under a weathered jacket.
"Wait... is that my dress?" she asked, blinking in surprise.
Mike looked sheepish. "Uh… yeah. Sorry."
Eleven shifted uncomfortably, but Nancy offered a gentle smile. "It looks better on her anyway."
"Alright," Hopper called out, ushering everyone toward the house. "Inside. Now."
Back inside, the tension slowly lifted. Joyce fetched some snacks and water while the kids sank into the couch cushions. They ate in silence for a few moments, the weight of the past few hours hanging over them.
Then Nancy spoke, her eyes fixed on the girl across from her. "So… you're Eleven. The one we've all been looking for."
Eleven gave a small nod, clutching a glass of water between both hands.
Dustin, mouth half-full of pretzels, turned to Nancy. "Wait—you know her?"
Nancy looked at Jonathan. He gave a small nod of understanding.
She straightened and looked around at all of them. "There's… a lot we haven't told you. About the lab. About what we saw. And there's someone else—someone we think might be able to help."
"Who?" Lucas asked.
But before she could answer, there was a knock at the door.
Everyone froze.
Joyce's eyes widened. "No one knows we're here…"
"Agents?" Lucas whispered.
Mike jumped to his feet. "How did they find us so fast?"
"Everyone calm down," Hopper ordered, moving cautiously toward the door. "Stay behind me."
He grabbed a nearby chair, angled it quietly, and cracked open the door.
As it swung wide enough to reveal the figure on the porch, everyone's breath hitched.
There was a moment of silence. Total stillness.
They were dumbfounded.
Dray's POV – Steve's Car (Two Hours Earlier)
Steve leaned against the side of his car, arms crossed, brows furrowed. The bruises on his face were still fresh, one eye slightly swollen. He was tense, impatient, and still reeling from everything that had happened earlier.
"Just shut up, man," Steve snapped. "Tell me what you wanna talk about."
I didn't jump straight to the point. My eyes drifted to the bruises on his face, the dried blood near his lip. "That from Jonathan?" I asked casually, like I didn't already know.
I'd seen the graffiti, heard the whispers. I knew Steve and his friends had gone after Jonathan. This was just bait—to see if he'd confirm it. If he had, it meant there'd been a blowup with Nancy too. And if that was true, then maybe—just maybe—it'd be easier to find where Jonathan and Nancy had gone.
He stiffened. His silence was all the confirmation I needed.
"You seriously gonna do this?" Steve muttered, irritated. "Why are you even here?"
I shook my head and chuckled softly. "Relax. I get it. The whole thing... probably felt like betrayal."
He didn't like that. His fists clenched a little tighter. "If you came here to humiliate me or get a few laughs in, just get lost. I've got things to do."
As he turned to walk off, I said, "Do you wanna know why Nancy is with Jonathan? What they're really doing?"
He stopped in his tracks.
Slowly, Steve turned back around and looked at me, his eyes narrowing. "Yeah. I do."
I met his stare. "I'll tell you. Everything. But…"
"But what?"
"You'll need to come with me. And I won't lie to you—this could get very dangerous."
He blinked. "Dangerous? Like… how dangerous?"
I didn't flinch. "We might die."
He scoffed at first, like I was joking. But when I didn't crack a smile, he went quiet. Then, finally, he nodded. "Alright. I'll come. I don't want Nancy facing whatever this is alone."
I clapped him on the shoulder, maybe a bit harder than necessary. "You're not as bad as I heard, Harrington."
He let out a breath, somewhere between amused and exasperated. "Can we skip my reputation right now?"
I laughed. "Fair enough. First things first—we need to find out where Nancy and Jonathan are."
He hesitated for a moment, then admitted, "They got arrested. During the fight. Police took them to the station."
I raised an eyebrow. "Of course they did. Great."
Steve looked confused. "So what now?"
"We go to the station," I said simply. "But not like this."
I gestured at his face—bruises, cuts, dried blood.
He got the message immediately. "Right. Clean-up first."
"Exactly. You're not walking into a police station looking like you just crawled out of a bar fight."
He nodded, quietly embarrassed.
I smirked. "Let's get you cleaned up, King Steve. Then we go find your girl—and save the damn world."