Warning: before you read this, barely any of it will make sense unless you read the first part, titled `A Stranger Monster in Hogwarts.' This is the sequel, and features loose ends and cliffhangers left off in part one. This turned out to be much longer than I was expecting and is way over twice the size of part one. Additionally, this fanfic will be a high T rating because it contains darker themes to the first one, and a little more swearing. Plus I aim to write Pennywise as scarily as I can. If you type a review, no swearing or hate or I will remove it immediately. Hope you enjoy!
1
November 30th, 1985
Mike listened to Mr Clarke's explanation of how lightning struck a tree.
`Negative and positive charges build up in the ground around the tree, the tree itself, and the cloud…'
Sometimes Mike wondered if Mr Clarke would have as much faith in the science books as he did if Mike revealed the existence of magic.
`Hey, sir, you're never gonna believe this- Eleanor was actually called Eleven, right, and she had telekinesis. Cool, huh? See, me and Lucas got into a fight and she was so scared she zapped us to Scotland in 1993. And here's the hilarious part- magic exists! I know, right?!'
Sometimes Mike still got nightmares of the short period of time he'd spent in Hogwarts. Mainly the body he found; that poor first year, torn open with only one remaining eye.
A shiver gripped Mike, and his knuckles turned white on his pen. Will looked at him out of the corner of his eye, and started to draw.
Mike couldn't see what; Will kept his hand covering it. After about two minutes of scribbling, Will passed it over. It was a caricature of Billy; his mullet and backside were of epic proportions, probably based off the senior girls descriptions of him.
Mike let out a loud snort, passed it off as a sneeze, and nodded at Will in thanks. Deciding that Max would probably appreciate it as well (considering she'd almost ensured he would never have children a few months ago), Mike passed it along to her.
Their relationship had certainly improved over the last few months. Yes, he'd kinda hated her at the start. But when her psychotic brother Billy had almost killed Steve, she'd stunned him with a small trophy on the shelf and grabbed a nailed bat Steve kept with him at all times.
The memory of Max smacking the nailed bat down on the floor between his legs regularly brought a smile to his face. Max had then lived up to her self-given title of `Zoomer' and driven Steve to the hospital, face pulped after the brutal beating. Billy had somehow found out Steve had offered his house as a safe place for Max to meet up with the boys.
There hadn't been any supernatural happenings in Hawkins. Not since Eleven had dissapeared.
Mostly, nightmares about Eleven stayed the same.
She'd return. It would feel so, unbearably real, and they'd just talk and hold hands. Simple stuff like that.
Then she'd suddenly dissapear, and Mike would start crying in the dream and wake up crying in real life. Or at the very least, his pillow would be damp.
That dream had haunted him every other night, then once a week, then a couple of times a month.
Now, two years on, that dream was almost gone. He only had it once in a while for seemingly no reason.
Like last night.
Mike stifled a yawn, not wanting to offend Mr Clarke. The clock edged round to noon.
`And that concludes our final lesson of 1985!' Mr Clarke said cheerfully, wiping off the board. Students started to pack things away at lightning speed. `I'm sorry we couldn't do anything fun, but I've been doing so many practical experiments with you I forgot about the academia. Now, I'll be hosting a science class over the Christmas holidays and sign up sheets-' Mr Clarke turned round from the blackboard and realized he was only talking to the four boys and Max. `Will be in the library.'
He sighed heavily. `Never become teachers, kids. So, what can I do for you?'
Mike went a little pink. `Um, remember you said in October you were collecting up newspaper clippings about supernatural occurences?'
`Yes?'
`Could I please take a look at them over the holidays?'
There was some uncomfortable shifting from behind Mike. He blushed even harder with embarrassment. Mr Clarke looked curiously at him, but then clapped him on the shoulder.
`Sure thing, I'll drop them round. Now, off you go! Be free!'
Mr Clarke saluted them out of the classroom. Max ran ahead.
`Come on, slowpokes! Bet you can't keep up with the zoomer!'
`Oh, you're on!' Lucas ran after her. Mike and Will both looked at Dustin, who was seemingly fascinated by his sneakers. It was hard not to feel bad for him.
`Cheer up, Dustin,' Will said. `It's Christmas! There'll be girls everywhere. Plenty of other fish in the sea.'
`Yeah. Yeah, you're right.' Dustin started smiling. `So, marathon D&D session?'
`Sure. When should we do it? And,' Mike started hinting heavily,`who'll be the Dungeon Master? I suppose it would have to be someone who's done it a lot in the past and is good at sound effects.'
`Hmm, who do we know who could do that?' Asked Dustin, rolling his eyes skyward. `Oh, I know! Mike, would you like to be the Dungeon Master?'
`I'd be honoured.'
`Woah, what about me? I never get to be Dungeon Master.'
The bickering continued all the way out of the door, and the boys collected their bikes. Max and Lucas waited a little further up the road.
They cycled/skated along the road, peeling off when they reached their houses.
Soon, it was only Mike and Max. Just because they'd repaired their relationship a little, didn't mean it wasn't extremely awkward.
`So, uh. How's your brother?'
`Terrified of me.'
`Hah. Good.' Mike's house came into sight on the horizon, and he let out a breath of relief. `Well, see you.'
He pedalled furiously towards it, jumped off his bike halfway down the drive and stowed it in the open garage.
`Mom, I'm back!' He shouted, walking into the house. `What's for lunch? Mom?'
His dad came through the door, toting Holly. `Your mom went out for some supplies, Michael. She'll be back soon.'
His face seemed stiff. And were his eyes… red? Mike felt something tighten in his chest.
`Dad, is Mom okay?'
Ted let out a mirthless splutter. `Oh, she's fine, she's absolutely dandy.'
`Then why-?'
`She left! Nearly eighteen years of marriage and she goes off with a, with a teenager!' Ted's voice exploded into the kitchen and his hands tightened on Holly.
`What? Mom's divorcing you? Where's she gone?'
`I don't know, I don't know!'
Holly began to cry and squirmed to be let down. Ted put her on the floor and she toddled away.
The room seemed to be sucked of air. Mike ran out to the garage, grabbed his bike and pedalled away.
0
`Damn,' Lucas said quietly.
`I should've seen it coming,' Mike mumbled, chin balanced in his hands. `It was totally Billy, wasn't it?'
`Probably. Max told me he'd been sneaking out more than usual. I bet she'll come round in a minute to say he's gone too.'
`I'm really sorry, Mike.' Will patted his knee. `You can always come round my place.'
`Yeah, he'll starve to death if Ted's gotta do all the cooking,' Dustin chipped in in an attempt to make Mike smile. `Ah, there it is!' Mike smiled wider.
The doorbell went and Lucas's mom opened it. Footsteps clattered up.
`Lucas, you'll never guess what-'
`We know,' the four boys answered in unison.
`Bastard,' Max said, kicking the door shut and flopping onto the floor. `Dad's going nuts. He's saying he'll kill Billy if he ever comes back.'
`Well, that'll make life easier for you,' Will said, trying to help a little. Max chewed her lip.
`I dunno. If Billy doesn't get his ass back soon, I'm scared Dad'll take it out on Mom and me.'
Lucas sat bolt upright. `He does that?'
Max shrugged. `The worst he's done is smash a plate but he was trying to miss. I'm more scared for Mom, to be honest.'
Then she dipped her head so no one could see her face behind her auburn hair.
`Has anyone noticed our families seem to be falling apart?' Mike asked into the room.
`What do you mean?' Asked Will.
`I mean, Mom just left with Billy, Max's dad seems to be getting worse, Lucas' parents split up last year, and Will's going stir-crazy- Dustin's family is the only one intact and that's because it's just his mom and the cat.'
`Low blow, dude,' Dustin replied, `but true. It's weird every one of our families seem to be disintegrating in some way.'
`Are you saying it's like a signal?' Asked Max, surfacing from behind her hair.
`I dunno. Could be. Anything can happen in Hawkins.' Mike looked carefully at Max to see how she'd react. Lucas had told her everything about the demogorgon, Eleven, and Hawkins Lab (which he, Dustin and Will saw as cardinal sin) but it was obvious that a small part of her didn't believe a word.
After that, they just sat in silence, watched Ghost Busters, and ate cheese and crackers off a plate Mrs Sinclair brought up.
0
Mike looked at his house, sighed, and reluctantly wheeled his bike in. Ted waited at the door, arms folded.
`Where have you been, young man?'
`Lucas.' Mike tried to get by, wanting only to flop onto his bed. Expecting his father to stop him or yell for being out for so long, Mike was a little surprised when Ted simply let him pass.
`Oh, your science teacher called by. Left a box of newspaper clippings.' The man gestured limply behind him.
Mike nodded, smiled politely and collected the box from the hallway. A fact he tried not to notice was how dull his dad's voice sounded. Dull, dry and empty.
0
Mike sat cross-legged in his room. The cardboard box stuffed with clippings had come with a card concealed in it; For your christmas, it read, in Mr Clarke's teacher handwriting, with a cartoon of a reindeer in the corner. Mike smiled, and placed it carefully on his windowsill.
Then sifted through the piles of supernatural happenings, ninety percent of which would probably be hoaxes. The clock hands moved closer to midnight, and his dad didn't come up to say goodnight.
Mike saw a news article that Mr Clarke must have put in there by accident; it was about potholes. Pothole Problem in Derry: and WHO is willing to fix it? The picture was about as faked as you could get; a row of residents stood in front of three middling potholes, with ridiculous expressions of deep woe on their faces. One even pouted out their bottom lip.
Mike went to toss it in the trash when his heart jumped out of his chest.
0
`Lucas! Pick up your walkie talkie right now, you're gonna want to hear this!'
Lucas rubbed his eyes, crawled out of bed, tripped over twice and grabbed his walkie talkie off the window sill.
`What?' He hissed, sat against the wall. `This had better be important.'
Lucas wasn't dissapointed. His eyes almost popped out of his head.
`Have you told the others?'
`None of them are picking up.'
`Are you sure it's her?'
Two streets away, Mike looked at the paper again. Eleven was just about visible in the background, walking out of a supermarket with a box of Eggos clutched to her chest.
`Positive.'