Hello readers! It's finally here - the long-awaited sequel to Tether! Thank you so much to everyone who has followed this story, particularly those who took the time to message me or leave a review. It really does mean a lot! Just to let you know, all of my other stories (including Faded, the prequel to Tether) are currently on hold while I concentrate on this.

IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON 3 OF STRANGER THINGS, DO NOT READ THIS!

I'm hoping to upload a new chapter every couple of weeks, but it could be more or less frequent depending on how much time I have. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated - enjoy!

PREFACE

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

The room spins as Faye struggles to her feet, wincing at the searing pain in her head. It feels like a screwdriver is being drilled into her skull. There's blood everywhere. Some of it isn't hers, but most of it is.

A few feet away, the monster growls - the sound reverberating through the small room as if it's coming from every direction. Maybe it is, maybe there are a hundred of them all closing in on her, biding their time to strike. Not that it matters. All it takes is one.

Faye draws herself up to full height, but she's dwarfed by the grotesque predator before her. Strangely, she doesn't feel scared. Perhaps the head trauma has made her delirious, but the only emotion coursing through her is anger.

You'll be dead soon too

The monster hisses, as if it can hear what she's thinking.

If the Russians don't kill you, she will

Rows upon rows of blood-soaked teeth flash dangerously as the Demogorgon prepares to attack-

Faye closes her eyes and thinks of Will.

Bang bang bang

"FAYE! GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM!"

Fourteen year old Faye Wheeler ignores her sister's screeches while she inspects her reflection in the mirror. Her mouth twists into a frown as she decides something is missing, before she spots a pink lipstick by the sink.

"YOU BETTER NOT BE USING MY MAKEUP IN THERE!"

The door handle jiggles furiously. Grimacing, Faye carefully replaces Nancy's lipstick where she found it and blots off the excess. She then re-evaluates her appearance - still not right. Suddenly, Faye remembers a tip her and Max read in Super Teen the other day. Unravelling a wad of toilet paper, she carefully folds and places it inside her bra.

"I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW YOU CAN WALK TO WILL'S HOUSE!"

Faye rolls her eyes. "OKAY OKAY!"

After a final check in the mirror, Faye unlocks the bathroom door to reveal a very disgruntled-looking Nancy. "You were in there for nearly an hour!"

"Still three hours off your record," Faye retorts.

Nancy huffs and shoves past her. "And if you're going to stuff your bra, at least do it properly."

Faye flushes, crossing her arms over her chest - but before she can reply Nancy slams the door in her face. Scowling, Faye tiptoes into her sister's bedroom and finds a bottle of tanning lotion on the dresser, which she proceeds to squeeze into the tub of face cream beside it. Nancy usually puts the cream on before she goes to bed, which means when she wakes up in the morning she'll get a nasty surprise. Good luck explaining that at work tomorrow.

Feeling pleased with herself, Faye heads downstairs to wait for her ride, but her good mood quickly diminishes when she hears arguing coming from the kitchen. Mrs. Wheeler is screaming at the top of her lungs while Mr. Wheeler is trying to calm her down, but from the sounds of it isn't having much success. Faye sighs, wondering what it's about this time; yesterday it was Mr. Wheeler being late to pick up Holly, the day before it was Mrs. Wheeler spending too much time at the Hawkins Community Pool, and last week they argued for three days straight over a sock drawer. Who argues about socks?!

The Wheelers have never exactly been 'one big happy family', but even for them this is bad. Whereas before it was just the odd snide comment or withering stare, it's now full-blown screaming matches day in and day out. Faye, Mike and Nancy have been trying to ignore it and act normal for Holly's sake, but there's a noticeable tension whenever Mr and Mrs. Wheeler are in the same room.

Faye keeps expecting to come home and find her parents sitting on the couch, waiting to announce that they're getting a divorce. Max said that was what happened with her mom before she started dating Billy's dad. It's not the idea of her parents divorcing that bothers Faye, it's the thought of what might happen next. What if they have to sell the house? Or worse - what if they have to leave Hawkins altogether? Faye's whole life is here; the thought of having to give up her home, her school, her friends and everything she's ever known terrifies her. But it's nothing compared to the thought of having to give up Will. That simply doesn't bear thinking about.

When Nancy finally emerges from the bathroom, Faye loads her bike into the trunk of the car (so that she and Will can ride to Starcourt later to meet the others) before they set off for the Byers' house. One benefit of Nancy dating Jonathan is that Faye doesn't have to make the journey across town so often. The downside is that hearing your siblings fooling around in the next room is a real mood killer when you're trying to make out.

Jonathan comes outside to greet them when they pull up. He's wearing a nice shirt and Faye gets a whiff of cologne as he walks past. Great - another live sex show commencing any minute.

At that moment, Will appears on the porch. He smiles when he sees Faye and her stomach flutters with excitement; even after six months of dating, sometimes she still can't believe that Will is her boyfriend. As he walks down the steps, Faye could swear he looks taller than the last time she saw him (even though it was only a couple of days ago). Up until recently, Will was always the shortest of the group, but now he's second only to Lucas in height - much to Mike's dismay. He also managed to beat Dustin at an arm wrestle before he left for summer camp. And if you listen closely when he talks, Will's voice is getting deeper; Faye would never admit it, but she finds his new voice really hot.

"Hey."

"Hey," Faye replies, grinning like an idiot.

Will leans in to kiss her, but Jonathan suddenly interrupts.

"Hey, no funny business you two."

They turn around to find their siblings staring at them disapprovingly. Will raises his eyebrows. "You're seriously telling us that?"

"We're adults, we can do what we like."

"You mean who you like," Faye mutters.

Will chokes on a laugh, Nancy stares daggers at Faye and Jonathan just looks embarrassed. The pair quickly head into the house, leaving Faye and Will alone on the porch.

"Wanna go to Castle Byers?" Will asks.

A high-pitched moan from inside has Faye nodding eagerly. "Please."

Will takes her hand and they walk through the woods surrounding the Byers' residence until they reach the small clearing where the castle is located. Faye ducks inside and breathes in the familiar, earthy scent; feeling the stress of the past few days slowly draining away. Just as she is beginning to relax, out of nowhere Will launches himself at her and the two collapse into a heap of flailing limbs. His hands immediately find the ticklish spots beneath her ribs and Faye squeaks and flinches away, but Will just laughs and pins her down. Giggling uncontrollably, Faye tries in vain to break free of his hold, finding that Will is stronger than he looks. Only when they're both out of breath from laughing does he finally let go.

"You suck at tickle fights," Will announces, brushing the hair out of his eyes.

Pouting, Faye pushes herself up. "Yeah well, know what I don't suck at?"

"What?"

"This."

Without hesitation, Faye presses her lips against Will's. He is caught off guard at first, but soon kisses her back with equal vigor. Given that they've spent the majority of the past six months joined at the hip, they've both become pretty good kissers. However, their make out sessions are restricted to when they have time alone, as both Faye and Will value their privacy. Unlike Mike and El, who can't seem to go five minutes without sucking face - no matter who's watching.

The most they ever do in public is hold hands, or occasionally kiss on the cheek. Which makes moments like these - with no-one around to disturb them - even more amazing. Faye wonders how long they could hide out in Castle Byers before someone came looking for them; probably no more than a day, but she's more than willing to test the theory. When they break the kiss, Will's eyes definitely linger on her chest longer than usual. Faye suppresses a smirk - she'll have to tell Max that the toilet paper trick really works.

"You definitely don't suck at that," Will grins.

Faye pecks his lips a final time before they settle into a comfortable position, with Will's arm wrapped around her and Faye's head resting on his chest.

"How're your mom and dad?"

"Worse," Faye answers. "At dinner last night, no-one said a word the entire time. I even skipped dessert just so I could get away quicker."

"Wow, it must be bad then," Will teases, earning an elbow in the side.

Faye thinks for a moment. "Is this what your parents were like before they separated?"

There's a pause as Will considers this. "Yeah kinda. They argued a lot, then dad started staying out late, then not coming home at all."

As far as Faye is aware, neither of her parents are staying out late. Her mom is spending almost every day at the pool, but she always comes back in the evening. And her dad never really goes anywhere, apart from work. Still, Faye can't shake the feeling that something's not right.

"I'm just scared they'll get divorced and mom will make us leave Hawkins."

Will stiffens underneath her. "Couldn't you just, change her mind? With your powers?"

"It doesn't really work like that."

Faye is still learning the extent of her mind control abilities. Ever since the incident with the Mind Flayer last year, she has been practising with El every week (when she can tear her away from Mike). Hopper doesn't approve, and thinks she and El should only use their powers when absolutely necessary - but come on. Who the hell would find out they have superpowers then not use them?! Faye is already a lot stronger than she was, but the more she improves, the more her limitations become clearer too.

Faye can manipulate a person's mind in the short term, but not so much in the long term. Whenever she tries to explain it, Faye likens her abilities to using a TV remote; you can turn the TV off and on, change the channels, do whatever you want - as long as you're holding the remote. The second you put it down, it's not in your control anymore. If Mrs. Wheeler decided that she wanted to leave Hawkins tomorrow, there wouldn't be anything Faye could do about it.

"Well I guess we'd just have to run away together then."

Faye looks round in surprise. "What?"

"Run away together, you and me," Will clarifies. "We'll save up some money, get on a bus and go."

Sitting up, Faye stares at Will and tries to work out whether he's joking. When it becomes clear that he's not, her heart doubles its pace.

"We can't run away, we're kids!"

"You and El did last year to Chicago," Will points out. "Besides, if I can survive in the Upside Down on my own, I'm pretty sure I can handle the United States."

He has a point. Suddenly, the idea doesn't sound so outrageous - in fact, it's rather tempting... Much better than hiding out in Castle Byers, anyway. If they were smart enough, no-one would be able to find them. They could go anywhere they wanted, just her and Will. No siblings, no parents, nothing to get in the way of them being together. A surge of longing steals through Faye at the prospect.

"Are you asking me to run away with you, Will Byers?"

Will smiles, his green eyes glistening with excitement. "Maybe I am. Are you saying yes?"

Faye bites her lip. "Maybe I am."

"So it's settled," Will states. "If anyone or anything ever tries to split us up, we go. Deal?"

"Deal," Faye nods.

This time, it's Will who catches her off guard with a kiss. His hands gently grip the sides of her face and Faye's breath hitches in pleasure. Grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, Faye pulls him against her so that their bodies are perfectly aligned, but just as things are starting to get heated - Will's radio buzzes.

"I'm sure you guys are busy making out right now," Lucas' voice announces. "But take a cold shower and meet us at the movie theatre in 20 minutes. Over and out."

The radio goes silent and Faye and Will break apart, panting heavily. For a moment neither of them speak, and then Will drops his head to her shoulder and they both burst out laughing.

"Damn you, Lucas."