"Steve, stop it!" The worst part about what her brother was doing wasn't the part where it was unbearably annoying. The worst part was that in the time he took to flick her ear, was the time he should've had his eyes on the road. "Steve, you're going to crash the goddamn car!" Reagan shouted and shoved the boy's hand away from her ear. Steve let out a smug chuckle before he returned his eyes to the road. "You worry too much." He scolded her, as if the girl had done something to warrant being scolded in the first place.

Reagan crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned to her right, pressing her arm against the car window. The girl leaned forward and pressed her nose against the glass. The tip of her nose grew slightly chilly due to the temperature outside. It was too dark to really take in the scenery. The only things you could really pick up were some objects that strayed close to a street lamp. Other than that, Reagan only focused on the blackness of the night.

As the car began to slow down a little when Steve pulled up in a driveway, the darkness was cut through by the light of the convenience store. Reagan removed herself from the glass and looked over at Steve as he parked the car. She lifted her pale hand towards him, turning it over and looked down at her palm before her eyes shifted up back her brother. "Pay up, Wonder Twin." She told him and narrowed her eyes as Steve reached into his pocket.

"Remember, two Coca Colas and one bag of Doritos. And don't think of getting anything else. I know how much it should cost." He warned her, matching the girl's eyes by narrowing his. Reagan couldn't help but chuckle and nodded her head. "I'm impressed you think I have the capacity to steal from my own brother." She pointed out.

It wasn't wrong to think that. Reagan hardly did anything wrong when she could help it, and when she did do something wrong it was usually because Steve talked her into it. She unlocked her door before opening it up and the cool November air welcomed her. She frowned and looked down at the short sand colored skirt she decided to wear. Even if her socks went up just below her knees, Reagan still felt underdressed for the night. Her jean jacket didn't seem warm enough either.

The girl slipped inside the convenience store, her eyes immediately catching the sight of the snacks she was after. She didn't realize how urgent her hunger was until she saw all the snacks in the store. Even if she had her specific instructions, Reagan was quite aware of the temptation. But she had already spent her allowance for the week on beauty products that Carol insisted she had to get herself. Reagan was lucky enough that Steve hadn't spent all his, especially considering she was the one who begged him to stop for a snack on the way home.

She located the bag of chips and two cans of pop. She held the bag between her fingers and the cold cans underneath her arm. The aisles of the small store seemed lonely and it only made sense. This was Hawkins after all. All people did in Hawkins around this time on a Sunday night was wonder about what was on television. Reagan approached the counter, setting down the items in her hands. When her eyes looked up at the cashier, she was quick to bite down her tongue to avoid from yelping.

Jonathan Byers furrowed his brows at the startled girl but began ringing up her purchase. After the dumbfounded look she gave him, the boy decided his best option was to avert his eyes. He initially wanted to say 'Hey Reagan' or something remotely normal to her. Mostly because Jonathan never said anything to her and when he did it was usually one worded replies. There was a desperate need in him to not be weird around her. She didn't deserve it. Reagan was actually nice. She was definitely nicer than her brother, but more importantly she was nice to Will.

He couldn't understand why he was nervous around her. It wasn't like he was afraid of her.

"I didn't know you worked this late." Reagan decided to break the silence, mostly trying to make up for the way he surprised her. But the only times she ever saw Jonathan was at school or his house. She knew he worked at the convenience store but she had never actually been there when he was, and for good reason. "I don't." Jonathan replied, looking up at her. It was a short reply, the ones she must've been used to from him.

The boy almost felt sorry for it and decided that he couldn't just avoid talking to her forever. She was Will's babysitter after all.

"Eric asked me if I could cover." He explained. Reagan nodded her head, knowing that she had definitely been around the store when Eric was the cashier. "Is Will at home?" The girl inquired. Jonathan shook his head quickly, already seeing the girl's concern a mile away. "No, no... you know if he was you'd be there with him. He's been at the Wheeler's all day so... I just figured..." Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. Also he wasn't sure if he wanted to call Reagan. His mother usually handled talking with the girl and this was the first time he had a real conversation with her. "Do you want me to go pick him up? Because I could stay with him until you or your mom got home?" Reagan offered.

Jonathan considered it but then shook his head. "No, we can't–" He stopped himself before he could continue. This is why he never said more than one word to her. He had to catch himself or else he would've just said that they couldn't afford to have her babysit right now. Reagan frowned, looking at him sympathetically. "If this is about being short the last two times, I told your mom that it was no big deal." She reminded him.

"It's twenty dollars, Reagan. Don't you need it?" He asked her, looking up to meet her eyes. Reagan smiled softly, which took Jonathan by surprise. "I don't need the money, Jonathan. It's just spending. I spent my last savings buying these shoes." She looked down at the heeled brown loafers she wore. When she looked back up at him, her face showed no sign of any negativity. It was soft and gentle, but most importantly it was forgiving. Jonathan was temporarily shocked to realize the last time he saw that kind of good-hearted innocence was on his younger brother.

Maybe that's why the girl and his brother got along so well.

"Still." He murmured. Reagan sighed a little when she realized it didn't seem up for debate. She placed the money Steve had given down on the counter. Jonathan didn't even say how much it costed out loud but he wasn't eager on opening his mouth again. He gave her the change, briefly making contact with her hand. It was only then he met her eyes again. Reagan gave him an apologetic look like she was in the wrong here. She picked up the chips and drinks, moving back over to the door. Before she could leave, she looked back at Jonathan.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school. Tell Will I said hi."

She left with a smile, and Jonathan watched her until she was out of the store.


"Your roots are showing." Mrs. Harrington reminded her daughter as Reagan puffed out her curls in front of the bathroom mirror. Reagan frowned and looked over at her mother. "Are they?" She asked nervously, leaning into the mirror to inspect the part in her hair. Her mother smiled softly before moving over and stepping inside the bathroom. She took the hairbrush off of the sink and began to comb through Reagan's attempts at making her hair curly. "You know your hair is never going to look like Carol's or Nicole's. You don't have to wake up so early to curl your hair or dye it for that matter." She ran her fingers through her daughter's bleached hair, missing the mousy brown hair her daughter used to have.

The girl shook off her mother a little. "I think I look better as a blonde. Carol agrees too." Reagan pointed out, taking the brush from her mother. Her mother frowned,"Why wouldn't she agree? She's the one who pressured you into it in the first place." Mrs. Harrington commented lowly as she exited the bathroom. Reagan frowned,"She didn't pressure me!" The girl called over but she was convinced her mother stopped listening.

Even if she had spent so much time on her curls, they were practically flat by now. Reagan gave up and instead of trying to puff them up again, she just combed her hair out. At least that gave it some waves. The girl put left the bathroom and watched as her brother dashed right in still wearing his pajamas. "Wake up late again?" She teased her brother who rolled his eyes at her. "Shove a sock down your throat." Steve replied and shut the bathroom door. It wasn't long before she heard the shower going.

Reagan made her way downstairs where her mother was making coffee for her father. He sat there reading his newspaper by the table and she watched as he hardly looked up at her when she came into the kitchen. She moved around the table and got the bag of bread to put two slices into the toaster.

The phone rang, sending the girl in a little jump. To say she scared easily was an understatement. Anything that nerved her sent her heartbreak racing. Mrs. Harrington moved over to pick up the phone after setting a cup of coffee down in front of her husband. "Yes?" She asked into the telephone, tensing up when the person talked. "Reagan?" Her mother said, getting the girl's attention as she buttered her toast. The woman held out the phone and the teenager slid over to answer it.

"Yes?" Reagan bit into her toast, chewing her food as the voice replied. "Hey, you didn't pick up Will last night, did you?" Jonathan questioned. Reagan nearly choked on her toast, mostly because she could hear the urgency in the boy's voice. She swallowed as fast as she could,"No, no I didn't. Why? Is he not there? Did he stay at the Wheeler's? Did he leave early for school?" Her questions came out fast, as concern built up in her voice until it matched Jonathan's. "God, I'm so stupid... I should've asked you to pick him up." Jonathan muttered his admittance into the phone, and Reagan picked up on the guilt.

"I'm coming over."

"Wait, what–" She hung up the telephone. Mrs. Harrington furrowed her brows at her daughter,"Reagan, is everything okay–" "I'm leaving early for school. I'll see you before dinner." Reagan rushed out as she ran out of the kitchen to pick up her backpack by the door. She quickly slipped on her shoes before adjusting her turtleneck.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Steve leaned over the staircase, his hair wet and a towel wrapped around his waist. He looked down at his sister with a questioning look. "I gotta go. I'll see you at school." She simply said before exiting out the front door of her house.


He didn't feel alright being left alone in the house. Jonathan felt that he should leave for the station with his mother, but after Reagan told him that she was on her way he knew that he had to wait for her. His mother could probably handle talking to Sheriff Hopper by herself but Jonathan felt on edge being at home. He felt like he should be doing something. Like getting a head start on looking for Will.

A knock on the door jerked him back on reality, and Jonathan looked up from his untouched breakfast towards the door. He got up slowly and made his way over, opening up the door to see Reagan with a worried look on her face.

She was breathless and covered in a light coat of sweat, mostly because she ran all the way over to his place. Instead of saying anything the girl shoved backpack into Jonathan's arms. He clumsily held it, almost having letting it dropped. Reagan desperately unzipped her bag, swishing around the papers and textbooks until she finally found it.

Reagan pulled out her inhaler, shaking the device before taking a puff. Her heavy breathing slowed as she took another puff. Jonathan realized as his confusion wore off and he waited for the girl to catch her breath. "I shouldn't have ran." She shook her head and Jonathan took a step to the side to let her in. Reagan walked in, turning back to take her backpack back from him. "You didn't have to run all the way here." Jonathan pointed out simply.

"I'm worried." She explained as she set down her backpack on the floor. Reagan was already comfortable in the Byers home and didn't waste another second before going down the hall to Will's room. She stopped at the open door and looked inside the empty bedroom with a frown. "Where are you?" She mumbled at the empty room, as if it could talk and give her the response she wanted.

Jonathan just watched the girl as if he was seeing her for the first time. It was odd to for him to actually be alone with her, mostly because he had never really had been before. "You didn't have to come over, you know. You should head to school. You'll miss class." He felt the need to remind her of that. He knew Reagan usually cared for stuff like that. Whenever she babysat Will, she would always bring her homework over if she had any.

"Will is more important." She justified her actions even though she knew her parents would kill her if they found out. Her mother might understand though Reagan was sure her father wouldn't. Jonathan eyed the girl curiously, noting how she said the words so seriously.

It was an unwavering firmness he wasn't used to seeing the soft girl.


"You really didn't have to come out, Reagan." Joyce assured the girl, almost feeling as bad as her son looked for bringing the girl into all the commotion. The woman looked at the girl softly before slipping one of her jackets over the girl's petite frame. Reagan had left her house in such a rush that she forgot a jacket. Her turtleneck was warm enough but the sleeves only went down to her elbows.

She shrugged her shoulders a little,"It's not a big deal, Joyce." Reagan assured the woman, slipping her inhaler into the coat pocket in case she needed it. "Thanks for lending me the coat." The girl thanked her, adjusting the dark brown material so it hung comfortably. Jonathan had slipped on his jacket too. He looked over at his mother and Reagan and raised his brows.

"We going?"

The teenaged boy gestured vaguely towards the door and the three of them made their way towards it. Joyce was a little uneasy, but she nevertheless still hoped that Will would be close by. The mother would know if he was gone and a part of her knew with all her heart that he wasn't. He couldn't have just disappeared into thin air, or that's what she convinced herself.

Reagan picked up onto the woman's nerves and linked arms with her as they braved the November air. Jonathan walked a few paces ahead of the two, leading the way to the first place they knew would go.

Castle Byers.

Joyce looked up from the fallen leaves on the ground to Reagan. "Thank you." She felt like she hadn't said it enough. The woman had bumped into the girl briefly ages ago when she was putting up flyers all over the center of Hawkins with her new babysitting service. Reagan was younger and looked so proud of it too, confidently telling Joyce that she was starting her own business. When Joyce asked about the girl's customers, as soon as she heard the reply that Reagan had none so far, she knew she wanted to be the first.

It worked out too considering Jonathan desperately wanted to get a job. He couldn't stand his mother working for hours on end and it still never being enough. She didn't have the heart to deny him any longer of wanting to help out and Reagan's prices were mostly manageable, especially considering she got the first customer discount.

"You're welcome." Reagan felt no need to be thanked but she knew Joyce was going to take a no, especially since she couldn't help but noticed that holding onto Joyce's arm was one of the few things keeping the woman grounded from losing it. It was easy to want to lose it, Reagan imagined. Especially when you didn't know where your kid was.

The walk to Castle Byers wasn't a long one, considering it was located not too far away from the house. Joyce unlinked her arm from Reagan, moving past her eldest son as soon as the small structure came into sight. Reagan caught up with Jonathan and the boy briefly looked over at her. "Let's split up." He suggested, and went wandering off in one direction towards a cluster of trees.

"Will?" Jonathan was the first one of them to call out. Reagan watched as Joyce marched up to the entrance of the little hut and looked disappointed when she lifted up the sheet. "Will!" Jonathan shouted again, and this time his mother joined in as she moved away from Castle Byers.

Reagan couldn't help it. She went up to the structure and watched as the sheet blew briefly in the wind. The girl lifted it up before stepping inside and her eyes scanned over everything. Will's drawings were the first to catch her eyes, and she studied the many adventures of his campaigns that he spent time drawing out. Her eyes shifted to the toy lion that was tucked underneath the blanket and she frowned sadly as a memory came back to her.


"You know... you're the first girl that has ever come in here." Will admitted nervously, looking up at the girl. He still wore a familiar smile on his face, on that Reagan must've been used to by now. The fresh summer air breezed over them gently and Reagan raised a brow with a chuckle. "Apart from my mom, of course." The young boy quickly corrected himself, giving Reagan the answer she was expecting. Castle Byers was an exclusive place too. Limited mostly to just Will because it was where he escaped when he wanted to be alone.

"You still remember the password, right?" The boy questioned her and Reagan nodded her head. "Of course. Radagast, yes?" She asked carefully, knowing that Will had gone over it before they left the house but there was so many characters in Tolkien's books that often she had gotten them confused. No matter how many times she read the books too.

Will lifted the sheet for her,"You may enter." He chuckled as the teenager slipped inside and he followed behind her. "So this is where you constantly run off to?" Reagan asked, looking back at the boy. Will gestured for her to take a seat down on the makeshift bed he had going on and the girl gently plopped herself down on it. He nodded his head with a shrug,"It's quiet out here." He sat, laying back. Reagan joined him, her blonde locks pooling around her head as she laid back.

For a moment, she decided to be silent.

The only noises that the two heard were the sound of their breathing and occasional rustles of leaves and branches from the warm wind. The sun was clearly starting to set over Hawkins as the golden rays grew darker into an orange glow. They were both quiet for a few moments until Will decided to speak up. "What am I going to do when you leave?" Will asked, turning his head to look at her.

Reagan looked over, her eyes soft as she studied the young boy's face. "You mean college?" She asked and he nodded his head a little. "You know that's not for a long time, right? You'll be older by then." Reagan reminded him. Will knew it was true but it didn't feel right. "But both you and Jonathan will be leaving." Will insisted. She almost smiled, mostly because the boy was putting her to an importance as same as family.

"You don't need a babysitter forever, Will. You'll grow out of me one day, and as for Jonathan–" She didn't know if she could comment on a boy she hardly knew. Reagan wished she knew him better, only because he was always around either the school or his house. He had his camera in hand, seeming so content just to capture life. The girl saw how he was with his brother, so loving which was different from the fights she usually got in with hers. "Jonathan would never leave you behind. You're his brother. He'll visit you as often as he can, and miss you so much." Reagan decided that would be a reassuring enough answer.

He nodded his head a little once more, smiling faintly as he rolled his head back over to look up at the roof of the structure known as Castle Byers. "You'll visit too, right? You'll miss me too?" Will asked carefully, almost afraid her answer would be 'no'.

"I'll miss you, Will." Reagan assured him.


"Reagan?" Jonathan's voice broke through her memory, and he stood by the entrance of the fort, lifting the sheet. He studied the girl as she clung onto Will's toy lion. She seemed dazed, almost out of it. It was only his voice that got her eyes off of the lion.

She looked up, her eyes gently but not in the way that they were kind, but in the way that they were fragile. Reagan's lips parted to explain herself but she couldn't find the right words to say to make the situation better. Jonathan moved over to hesitatingly, making the decision to put his hand on her shoulder. "He's not here."

Once again, his voice pulled her further into reality as Reagan nodded her head briefly and set the toy lion back down in its place. She then straightened back up and Jonathan studied her briefly again before asking,"Are you okay?" There was something worrisome about the way she looked right now. As if her concern was making her dizzy. Reagan wanted to speak but her words weren't finding her.

Instead of saying what she wanted to say, the short girl just pressed her forehead against his chest and Jonathan realized what she was doing only when she wrapped her arms around his torso. She was at the right height for him to put his hand gently on the back of her head and he wrapped an arm around her too, returning the hug mostly because he knew that's what she needed right now.