Hello! If you're new here, this story is a prequel to my completed fanfiction Tether - which is set during Season 2 of Stranger Things. This wasn't something I planned to do, but I have a break from work for a while and I needed a writing project to keep me occupied. I wrote the first couple of chapters as an exercise in character development (purely for my own benefit, to give Faye more depth and understand her motivations a bit better), not having any intention to post them; but I find Faye really easy to write and before I knew it I had enough for a full-blown prequel and decided to run with it.

So yeah, I hope you enjoy! Reviews are greatly appreciated, as always.

November 6th 1983

"Faye! Mike! Breakfast!"

Twelve-year-old Faye Wheeler answers her mother's summons with a groan. Judging by the pallid light dappling the carpet and the gentle chorus of birdsong outside, it's much too early to leave her bed. Plus, it's Sunday. Getting up before 10AM on a Sunday is just wrong. Faye is on the verge of rolling over and drifting back to sleep when Mrs. Wheeler says those three magic words.

"I made pancakes!"

This time, it's Faye's stomach that groans. Damn - her mom knows her too well. After a brief debate over which is more important to her - pancakes or sleep - Faye tosses back the covers. On her way to the bathroom, she shoves the quietly snoring pile of blankets on the opposite bed.

"Go 'way," comes the muffled response.

"Mom made pancakes."

Silence

"With butter, and the good syrup."

...

"Fine, I'm eating yours."

The pile of blankets wriggles and a mop of tousled black hair emerges from one end. "No you aren't."

"Too late, I called them."

Mike scowls at her, still tangled in his sheets. Faye feels like she's arguing with a mummy having a bad hair day. "You can't call my pancakes."

"Funny, 'cause I just did."

"Bite me."

"I won't have room after all the pancakes."

Mike's pillow flies at her face and Faye ducks out of the way, flitting down the hall before he can take another swipe.

"THERE BETTER BE PANCAKES WHEN I GET DOWN THERE OR YOU'RE DEAD!"

After finishing up in the bathroom, Faye heads down to the kitchen. A string of voices carry up the stairs, which Faye identifies as her mom, her sister Nancy, and Nancy's friend Barb. Nancy is a Sophomore in high school and seems to spend all her time nowadays either studying, talking on the phone to Barb, or going shopping. They used to be really close; Nancy would dress up for Faye and Mike's Dungeons & Dragons campaigns - usually as an Elf because she was taller and prettier than the rest of them - but now she thinks D&D is for nerds.

"So, what're you two doing today?" Mrs. Wheeler asks.

"Shopping," Nancy announces. Big surprise.

"Shopping for what?"

There's a pause. "Just, you know, looking around."

Faye hears Nancy and Barb giggling and rolls her eyes. They're probably going to find Nancy an outfit to impress Steve Harrington - her douchebag new boyfriend.

The next words, however, stop her cold. "Why don't you take Faye with you?"

What?! Faye pauses mid-step and hovers in the kitchen doorway.

"Why would we take her?" Nancy asks, a little unkindly.

Mrs. Wheeler sighs. "I worry about her spending so much time around boys. She doesn't really have any girl friends, you know? I think it'd be good for her to do some shopping. Maybe you could paint her nails or do her hair or something?"

Faye can't believe what she's hearing. What's wrong with Will, Dustin and Lucas? They've been Faye's best friends for ten years! Well, Will has; she and Mike met him in Kindergarten, then Lucas joined in Elementary School, and Dustin in the Fourth Grade. It feels like the five of them have always been together - The Party. Dustin had wanted to call them The Fellowship, but you need nine members for that. Regardless, Faye wouldn't trade them for anything.

Sure, there's a tiny part of her that thinks it would be nice to have someone to do girly stuff with. Faye doesn't have the first idea about choosing clothes or styling her hair; the extent of her effort is to tie it in a loose ponytail so it doesn't blow in her face during bike rides. Sometimes at school, the girls in her class will come in with these elaborate braid crowns or sleek, undulating curls and Faye will stare at them in awe - wishing her hair could look like that. Not that she'd dream of admitting it. If the boys ever caught her wearing makeup or painting her nails, they'd rip into her like a flock of ravenous vultures - she'd never live it down. But having her mom beg Nancy to take Faye shopping is just tragic.

"Mooom," Nancy whines.

"I don't mind if Faye comes with us," says Barb in a genuine voice. How did a jerk like Nancy get someone as nice as Barb to be her friend?

"She'll just get in the way!" Nancy insists. "It's not my fault she's a weirdo who doesn't have any friends."

"Hey!" Faye snaps, marching into the room. "I'm not a weirdo!"

Nancy narrows her eyes. "Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop? And yes, you are a weirdo."

"Nancy!" Mrs. Wheeler chastises. "Take that back!"

"Okay," Nancy shrugs. "She's not a weirdo… she's a freak."

"Nancy!"

A smirk tugs at Faye's lips. "Oh yeah? Then how about I tell mom what you're really going shopping for."

The smugness on Nancy's face gives way to alarm, and she hisses at Faye to shut up. Luckily for her, Mrs. Wheeler is distracted with the pancakes and doesn't hear.

"So Faye," she says, turning back to face them. "D'you wanna go shopping with Nancy and Barb today?"

Nancy's fork clatters to her plate. "Mom!"

"No thanks. Will, Dustin and Lucas are coming over for a campaign and it took two weeks to plan." Faye eyes Nancy and places a hand over her heart. "But I'm touched by the sincerity of your offer."

Nancy responds with a rude gesture while Mrs. Wheeler sighs again, seeming disappointed. "Okay, but don't stay cooped up in that basement all day."

"We won't," Faye states, even though they probably will. Their last campaign spanned an entire weekend; Friday night to Sunday night - they even had to schedule in bathroom breaks. Somehow though, it never feels long enough when they're actually playing. Days disappear in the blink of an eye, and minutes morph into hours at an unprecedented pace. Mike has been up late every night this week adding the finishing touches - as Dungeon Master, he likes to put his own spin on things.

Faye is the Rogue of the group, which means she's the stealthy one; she can pick locks and scale castle walls undetected, but she's also a deadly assassin and can slit a person's throat in the time it takes them to scream for help. Only when they deserve it, of course. Will is their Wizard (which is why they call him 'Will the Wise'), Lucas is their Knight and Dustin is their Dwarf. Faye doesn't care what Nancy says - D&D is the best game. Period.

At that moment, Faye hears Mike thundering down the stairs and proceeds to cram three pancakes into her mouth. She's totally going to feel sick afterwards, but it'll be worth it to see Mike's face when he has to have cereal instead.

"Something is coming… something hungry for blood," says Mike in an ominous voice. "A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness…"

The Party are crowded around a table in the Wheelers' basement, hanging on Mike's every word. The campaign has been a long and arduous one, but they're finally nearing the end. The grand finale. Faye fidgets in her seat, limbs pulsing with nervous energy. She can't decide whether she wants to just get it over with and relieve the tension, or keep playing all night.

Under the table, a hand suddenly touches hers. Faye glances at Will, who is sitting to her left, and he shoots her a quick smile before turning his attention back to Mike. They're not usually a hand-holdey group, but the suspense of the game is almost too much to bear and Faye squeezes back. If she's going to hold anyone's hand, it's Will's. Dustin has a freakishly strong grip, Lucas always forgets to wash his after doing a spit promise, and Faye wouldn't hold her brother's hand unless her life depended on it. Maybe not even then.

Besides, she kind of likes holding Will's hand.

"What if it's the Demogorgon?" says Dustin. "Jesus, we're so screwed if it's the Demogorgon-"

"It's not the Demogorgon!" Lucas insists.

Mike grins. "An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber!"

"Troglodytes?" Faye scoffs. "Seriously?"

She'd at least expected a troll, or a goblin horde.

"Wait a minute," Mike whispers. "D'you hear that? That sound. Boom… boom… BOOM!"

Mike's hands smack down on the table, making everyone jump. Will's fingers tighten around Faye's.

"That didn't come from the troglodytes, it came from something else…"

There's a pause and Faye leans forward with baited breath.

A two-headed figurine slams onto the board. "The Demogorgon!"

The Party emits a collective cry of despair.

"We're in deep shit!" exclaims Dustin.

"Will, your action!" Mike demands.

Will shakes his head in panic. "I don't know!"

"Fireball him!" Lucas shouts.

"I'd have to roll a thirteen or higher!"

"Too risky, cast a protection spell!" asserts Dustin.

Lucas waves this off. "Don't be a pussy! Fireball him!"

"Cast protection!"

Will turns to Faye. "What do I do?!"

Faye's eyes dart between Dustin and Lucas, grappling frantically between the two options. Ultimately, Faye goes with her instincts. "Fireball!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Mike's fists pound the table again. "The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering! It stomps towards you. BOOM!"

"Fireball him Will!" Lucas yells.

"Another stomp. BOOM!"

"Cast protection!" Dustin bellows.

"It roars in anger!"

Faye points at the figurine. "Do it Will!"

The basement erupts into a cacophony as everyone shouts over each other, straining to be heard above the clamor. Just as the Demogorgon raises its clawed arm to attack, Will jumps to his feet.

"FIREBALL!"

The dice fly onto the board and bounce off with a crisp thwack, disappearing over the edge of the table. In unison, the group dives after them, toppling their chairs in haste.

"Where'd it go!"

"Where is it?!"

"Is it a thirteen?!"

Faye drops to her knees and crawls underneath the basement stairs, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of red against the grey carpet. They have to find it - the fate of the entire campaign is at stake-

Suddenly, the basement door swings open. "Faye! Mike! I've been calling you two for ages!"

"Mom, we're in the middle of a campaign," Mike replies.

"You mean the end," Mrs. Wheeler states, tapping her watch. "Fifteen after."

With a frustrated sigh, Mike follows their mom upstairs while the others continue searching for the dice. Faye swats at a cloud of dust particles that have settled on the fabric of her sweater - great, now she's going to need another shower before school tomorrow. Just as she's about to give up, she spots something sticking out from behind the leg of a desk.

"I found it!"

Faye carefully plucks the die from where it landed so as not to cheat, while Will, Dustin and Lucas circle around her.

"Does a seven count?" Will asks.

Lucas frowns. "Did Mike see it?"

They shake their heads.

"Then it doesn't count."

Faye narrows her eyes. "Isn't that cheating?"

"You wanna get ripped in half by the Demogorgon and have the last ten hours be for nothing?" Lucas quips.

He does have a point. Plus, it wasn't exactly a fair roll considering the dice landed on the floor. Faye tucks it in her pocket as the boys gather their things and join Mike upstairs. Mrs. Wheeler announces it's now twenty after eight, and Faye mumbles that yes, she does know how to tell time thanks mom, which makes Will snicker. They head out into the garage where Will, Dustin and Lucas retrieve their bikes for the journey home; Lucas only lives a few doors down, and Dustin is a couple of blocks away, but Will's house is right across town - out past Mirkwood. It used to be a nightmare to travel between all their houses before the Party got bikes a couple of Christmases ago. Dustin and Lucas bid the Wheelers goodnight and peddle away down the drive, but Will lingers.

"It was a seven."

Mike turns to him. "Huh?"

"The roll, it was a seven," Will clarifies. "The Demogorgon, it got me."

"You serious?!" Mike gasps. "Well, guess I'll have to plan a new campaign for next weekend."

With that, he says goodbye to Will and goes back inside. Once Mike is safely out of earshot, Faye grimaces.

"Lucas is gonna kill you."

Will just shrugs. "I don't like secrets. Besides, there's no point playing if we're just gonna make stuff up."

"Isn't making stuff up the whole point of Dungeons & Dragons?"

Will rolls his eyes, but he's smiling. "You know what I mean."

An answering smile sweeps across Faye's face. It's a reflexive action; when Will smiles at her, Faye smiles back - even if she doesn't feel like smiling. She can't help it. Will just seems to radiate this positive energy. Even though he's usually the quiet one of the group, he has a wicked sense of humor and unparalleled timing - and can make the rest of them roar with laughter until they're wheezing messes on the floor. More than that though, Will is just... nice. Inherently. It's rare he ever has a bad word to say about anyone, despite mouthbreathers like Troy picking on him at school. Faye wouldn't say it out loud, because it would sound sissy, but she's really grateful to have someone like Will as her best friend.

"WILL! COME ON!"

Dustin and Lucas ring their bells impatiently from the sidewalk.

"YOU TWO CAN FLIRT LATER!"

Faye freezes and she looks at Will, who is rapidly turning beet red. Every now and then, Dustin and Lucas will make some stupid joke about Faye and Will liking each other - which is ridiculous. Just because a boy and a girl are close, doesn't mean they like like each other. Faye makes a mental note to give them both dead arm at school tomorrow. After years fighting Mike, she's notorious for her lethal right hook.

Flustered, Will mounts his bike and pushes off. "Um, see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Faye replies, watching him go.

All of a sudden, the garage lights begin to flicker and the Wheelers' driveway pulses with a strangely tangible darkness. Odd - Faye could've sworn her dad just replaced those bulbs. Something twists unpleasantly in the pit of her stomach. The muscles in her torso seize up and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It only lasts a few seconds, but Faye is overcome by a feeling she can only think to describe as sinister. By the time the lights come back on, Will is gone.

Brushing it off, Faye hurries to the backdoor and grabs the handle - only to find that her idiot brother has locked her out.

"Dammit Mike!" she yells, banging on the window.

"That's what you get for eating my pancakes!"