July 4, 1985 Long Beach, California

Anastasia Bradshaw woke with a start. There seemed to be a fire burning in her lungs and her heart was beating rapidly. Her slowly waking mind told her this was fear she was experiencing. Ani began slowly trying to regulate her breathing while quickly shifting through any other emotions she could be feeling in that moment.

What the fuck is going on? she wondered while still tapped into the fear gripping her chest.

Glancing at the alarm clock on the bedside table, she noted it wasn't well into the morning as she expected. She didn't remember falling asleep, but knew it hadn't been that long ago as the clock read 10:40 PM. She also realized she hadn't been dreaming before she woke suddenly.

"Odd, I haven't felt anything like that in months. The last time was…" her whispers trailed off as the red lights began flashing in her mind.

Closing her eyes, she began to mentally retreat into her mind. She quickly found the thickest and strongest tether in her emotional range. By the time her mental self-had grasped the tether, her body fell limp back onto her bed. Unconsciously, she pushed her long chestnut hair out of her face as if to help her see clearing. In her mind, Ani began to 'walk' the length of the tether going hand over hand down the length. It was longer than the last time she took a walk along this particular one.

He's gotten further from me. How did I not see this one coming? I could still feel him… panic replaced the fear in her heart. This could be where the fear came from. What if he gave up on me? What if he didn't wait?

It took what felt like hours before the tether finally started getting thinner. Ani knew this was the end of the line. Suddenly, she hit the blunt end of the length and stopped her mental route to him. Looking around, her eyes landed on a different version of the boy, no make that man, she knew better than herself. The hair was the same, the eyes hadn't changed, and yet the face was different. This was a man who had endured things he should not have had to. Sure, he was still the most beautiful person she had ever seen, but the expression she wore was not one she was used to.

Eyebrows knitted together; Ani opened her mouth to call out to him. Before she could get the words out, his head turned towards hers and their eyes met. He opened his mouth and the words tumbled out before she could speak.

"Help me. Hurry. I don't have much time."

Without walking the line of the tether back, Ani snapped her eyes open with yet another gasp and heavy breathing. Calming herself as best as she could, she reached under her bed and grabbed her duffle bag. Not bothering to glance at garments, Ani began stuffing essentials into the bag. Changing from her shorts and favorite t-shirt, she reached for the phone on her bedside table. It was ringing before her hand could lift it from its cradle.

"Six? Is that you?"

"Ani, he's in Indiana. Some shit town in the middle of nowhere. Hawkins? Fuck if I know but that's what One picked up. It took him weeks to pin point him based on how far you said the tether was not based on emotional distance. Do you have any idea what you owe us?!"

"Fuck, Six. I'm sorry. Look, I appreciate it. I'll leave my tips from last night and the night before for you guys under the rock in the backyard. Can you feed my cat while I'm gone?" Ani frantically grabbed her shoes from the bottom of her closet. Her hands where shaking so badly, the laces didn't seem to want to tie together into neat eye yet loose knots she had perfected over the years.

Hawkins, Indiana? What kind of small-town hell is he living in? God, if Neil ruined him at all he's going to get a visit from Six. Fuck, where are my keys?!

"Ani… Two… we'll take care of Fiona. I know this isn't the time, but it's good to hear you like this."

"Like what? Scared and unable to function?"

"No. You sound scared sure. But there's hope under that fear. Hope that he really is there. That he's ok and you'll be reunited. Look, I called a few of your usual types of places for while you're out there. There's a place right in that town that's looking for good help. I did the normal feelers and when it felt right, I sent a good dose of assurance with my praises for my most popular employee. They're expecting you the Friday after next for an interview at 10 in the morning. I forget the name but call me when you get to the town and I'll have the name by then. Use what you've got to get the job."

"Six…I don't know how to repay you. I promise I'll call. Thank you. Thank One for me, okay? I'll be fine. Keep the lines open, and I mean all of the lines. Something feels off this time. Something isn't right about that town."

"We're good, Ani. Go, hurry. We love you. Come home safe to us."

Before Ani could reply, Six ended the call. She reminded herself to kill Six for using her name…That Name…how many times had she asked that they all use the name she had chosen. But that wasn't true, He had chosen it for her. When they were just 13 years old and she had suddenly appeared on the beach one day with One and Six in tow. Snorting, she pushed the memory to the back of her mind while grabbing her keys from the bowl on the kitchen table. She slipped around the front of the house, and hid the promised money under her normal hiding place. Ani locked the house up tight before pulling the car cover off her car. The inside smelt of him even after so many months. Leather, Marlborough's, peppermint, and his cologne. Breathing in she let the tear fall slowly down her cheek before turning over the ignition and backing out of the driveway. Driving how he taught her, she pushed down on the gas pedal and made her way to the interstate.

Days later, Steve Harrington would swear that the shortest and feistiest woman he had ever seen would come barreling down the street at a speed that would have stopped Billy Hargrove in his tracks. He thanked God that he was walking on the edge of the road and could push the kids further into the grass. The red Shelby GT500 screeched to a halt a quarter of a mile away from them. The door swung open and shapely legs in the shortest shorts he had ever seen swung out of the driver's side. The gravel crunched under Doc Martens as the stranger hurried towards them.

Lifting his eyes to assess the stranger, he couldn't make out a face past the stylish Ray-Bans. What he did make out, was Max breaking away from the group and run to the woman only feet away from them now. Steve took two steps and called out to Max to stop.

"Ani!" Max threw her arms around this woman's neck tightly. For only being fourteen, she was already a whole head taller than the woman clutching her just as tightly.

Steve made it the two as they both pulled back. He watched Ani lift her hands to Max's face, wiping the tears off the younger girl's face. Max lifted the sunglasses off Ani's nose and slide them onto the top of her head. Concern was evident in her features, but quickly changed to distrust when she swung impossibly blue eyes onto Steve's face.

"Where is he?" her voice was girly, yet low and dangerous.

"Where's who? Who are you? You could have killed us?" he gestured between himself, Max, and the group of boys and Eleven standing just feet behind him on the side of the road. Glancing back at kids, he almost snorted at the looks on the boys' faces while their eyes were rapidly taking in the inches of sun kissed skin on the stranger still holding Max in her arms.

"Where is he?" she asked again, impatience lacing her words. "Hargrove. Where the fuck is Billy Hargrove?"

Steve swore later that he got whiplash from the speed his head swung back to the woman in front of him. Heart hammering in his chest, he took a deep breath before speaking

"He's gone, Ani. On the Fourth. There was a fire at the mall. He had broken in for some stupid reason and he…he…" Max spoke before Steve could even get a word in.

"He's not dead, Maxi. He was there a few days ago. I followed the tether. I should have followed yours too. His is bigger and easiest for me to follow. He's not dead." Ani looked up at the girl she considered a kid sister and saw the hope flash in her eyes before she felt it rolling off of Max in waves.

"How do you know? We watched the fire. And just what the hell is a tether?" Steve didn't understand what was going on. This girl came out of nowhere and was asking for Hargrove just days after his death? Something wasn't adding up.

"She's special, Steve. Like El. She can feel emotions, and do some other things. She can feel Billy's feelings the strongest and is connected to him through his emotions." Max explained.

"And cut the shit. I know there wasn't fire. I know all about what things you kids may have seen in this shitty little town. Better than all of you do. Better than that one over there in the pink. You're El, kid?" El nodded shyly. A kid with a mop of unruly black hair stepped next to the girl and slide his hand into hers. She was briefly reminded of her younger self holding onto a blonde-haired boy's hand. "We'll talk, El. I think I can help you."

Steve took a step closer to this Ani chick and grabbed her by her elbow. Yanking her away from Max, he hissed at her quietly, "I still don't know who you are. I promised to keep these kids safe, and I've done a pretty damn good job of it. Who are you? Why are you looking for that asshole?"

Ani gripped Steve's fingers before flinging the offending appendage off of her arm. Smiling as sweetly as she could, she hissed back, "That asshole is important to me, shithead. Who am I? I used to be the love of Billy Hargrove's life. We'd been in love with each other since we were 13. I need to know where the body that looked like Billy died. I need to see it."

Along with the whiplash, Steve would also tell Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers that the shock of hearing the hottest girl he'd ever seen say she had been in love with Hargrove could have possibly killed him.

Author's Notes:

Hello! I'm not exactly new to this. I've written fic before. Got rid of the only one on this account because it wasn't something I was proud of. I had also lost interest in the work a long time ago so I just stopped working on it. This however, I'm already immensely proud of. I have notes and a rough idea of where this is going so please be patient. I hope to update again in a few days so we'll see how things go. Thanks for stopping in and please review!