I do not own any ST characters, only my OC's. I have the first season all planned out, please let me know what you guys think and if I should continue! This chapter is going to be mostly character development for my OC as well as some background, but fear not! Familiar characters from the show are coming soon :)

"Ripley, I have had enough of your goddamn attitude!" The drunken man slurred at the teen in front of him as he slammed open her bedroom door.

The girl looked at him with wide green eyes, nervous with just a hint of anger. She ran her fingers through her dark hair in frustration.

"Dad, I'm just saying. I'm doing the best I can, but it's never good enough for you. I'm sorry I'm not fucking perfect-" She was interupted by a loud slam as her father's fist hit the door.

"Watch your mouth you ungrateful brat." He stumbled a little as he stepped further into his daughter's room, making her step back away nervously.

She had never been afraid of her father. Not really. But he had gotten so drunk tonight at some work party and he was just so angry. He was a tall balding man with stern features, and having his glare focused on her made her uncomfortable.

Ripley had been having some issues with school. Bullies at her school, and struggling to understand the material left her with less than stellar grades and her father wasn't very understanding.

She was doing homework and listening to music in her room when she had heard the front door slam. Her dad had come home in an angry tirade that had led to the argument now.

"Dad, I'm not ungrateful. I'm trying my best here, but I don't know what you want from me." She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself.

He scoffed and paced angrily. "Everything I do for you. I bust my ass at work. All you have to do is half decent in school and stay out of my way. How am I supposed to get anywhere in my job if I have to babysit you all the time?" He said with a growl. Ripley furrowed her brows.

"Half decent? Dad…my grades aren't that bad…" She willed the tears away. Sure, she had a couple C's, but otherwise her grades were mostly B's. She frowned. "What do you mean, babysitting me? I'm 15, I'm home by myself all the time…" She didn't understand where this was coming from.

Her father continued his tirade like she had said nothing. "That's it. I can't do this anymore. You're going back to Hawkins. Your mother can deal with you." He punched the wall next to her door frame one last time before stumbling off.

Ripley sat there frozen in place. What…just happened? Her heart was going a million miles an hour. Hawkins? She was so torn. If her dad meant that, then it meant seeing her mom and Dustin again for the first time in so many years. Sure, they had kept in touch with phone calls and letters, but her dad didn't let her go see the rest of her family in Hawkins, and her mom couldn't afford to send for her to visit, much less get both herself and Dustin to Houston Texas to see Ripley.

She paced nervously. If her dad remembered this conversation in the morning, then she guessed she had some planning to do. The only real tie she had here to Houston was her friend Rose. Rose had been there for her since she moved in with her father when she was 7 years old and her parents had gotten divorced.

Ripley walked over to the phone sitting on her bedside table and made the call to her best friend. She glanced at the clock and winced. 12:37am. She knew Rose wouldn't be happy to be woken up, but she figured it was important enough to warrant the call.

The phone rang several times before a grumpy greeting came through.

"Hey Rose. Sorry to call so late, but my dad came home very drunk…" She trailed off. She heard the sigh on the other end of the line.

"What did the asshole say this time?" Ripley smiled sadly. Rose was the most loyal person she had ever met.

"He told me that I have to go back to Hawkins. That he couldn't deal with me or my shitty grades anymore… I don't know if he will remember the conversation in the morning or not, but I just wanted to make a plan to hangout tomorrow just in case he was serious…" Silence was her answer for a few tense moments.

"Do you really think he's going to send you back?" Rose asked quietly. Her voice had taken on a somber tone. She knew how Ripley's father could be.

Ripley sighed and plopped down on her bed. "Honestly? I think he's been waiting for a reason. He's been so angry lately… Anytime I'm home it seems like I'm just a burden." Silent tears fell down her cheeks. She may not get along with her dad very well, but it still hurt to feel so unwanted by him. "Anyway, can we meet up tomorrow? It's Saturday, so he's going to be home all day. I'm sure I'll figure out for sure what's going on in the morning. Maybe we can meet up at the park and just hang out?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll bike over around 11 and we can bum around. I'm gonna go back to sleep so I'm awake by then. Good night Rip. Don't let him get you down, okay? He's an ass that doesn't deserve you." Ripley could hear the smile in Rose's voice.

"Thanks Rosie. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." She clicked the receiver down and curled up in bed, letting the tears continue to fall as she fell into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, Ripley woke up to crashing in the kitchen. She jumped up and quickly made her way out of her room. She peeked down the hall to see her dad tossing various projects from the storage closet next to the kitchen into a cardboard box. She frowned and cautiously approached her father.

"Dad, what are you doing?" She asked. She flinched at the angry look plastered to her father's face.

"Pack your shit. You leave tomorrow. All this shit is going in storage. You don't need it anymore." His voice held no emotion. It was just like he was done. She felt a fierce tug on her heart.

"But…Dad… What did I do so wrong…?" She fought the tears that were building in the corners of her eyes. Her father didn't bother to meet her eyes. He scoffed.

"Don't give me that bullshit. We talked about this last night. Your flight leaves at 6am tomorrow morning. I'll be dropping you off on my way to work. Your mother will pick you up. Just pack what you need, you only get the one suitcase and a carry on. I'm not wasting my money on extra baggage." He continued throwing things haphazardly into the box. Ripley whipped around and ran back to her room.

She sobbed as she pulled her suitcase out of her closet. Glancing at the clock, it read 9:12am. She still had a couple hours before she had to meet Rose. She dug through her closet, and picked out an outfit for the trip. Comfortable jeans, a colorful striped t-shirt and a light jean jacket in case the plane was cold was what made up her travel attire. The suitcase was fairly large, so she managed to get a good variety of clothes and mementos packed into it. She dumped out her school bag and filled it with her toiletries, books, and some other small things that were important to her. She knew that there was a good chance that her father would throw everything else away once she was gone. She changed from her pajamas into a black tank top and a pair of jeans and threw her hair up into a ponytail.

She chanced a look at herself in her mirror above her dresser. Her eyes were red, making the green stand out vividly. Her cheeks were pink and tearstained and she rubbed furiously at them. She tried to collect herself, but she was feeling a whirlwind of emotions. Was she happy to go see her mom and brother? Of course, but she was also feeling so incredibly worthless to her father. He never used to be like this…

Her parents had gotten divorced when she was 7, and her brother Dustin was 4. After an ugly custody battle, it was agreed that I would go live with our father, and Dustin would stay with our mother. The first few years were happy. Her father was doting, loving, and made sure she always knew that she was valued.

But as the years went on, he turned to bars and parties to get away from the responsibility of parenthood. The first few times Ripley realized her father hadn't come home, she had been terrified. She called the police the first time, and got an earful from her raging father when he got home. That was the start of the souring of their relationship. It never really recovered from that fracture.

After she thought she had everything that she was going to need, she climbed out her window and grabbed her bike. She couldn't bring herself to face her father again yet. She made her way to the front of her house to see Rose already there, glaring at the front door defiantly. Her expression softened when she saw Ripley come from around the corner.

"Hey bitch. Let's blow this joint." She said with a cackle. Ripley chuckled and nodded.

They made their way to the park and leaned against a tree overlooking the local pond. Rose had brought some sandwiches and a soda for each of them in her bag.

Rose brushed her long blonde hair out of her face as she took a big swig of her soda. "So I told mom what happened." She rolled her eyes at Ripley's incredulous glare. "Hey, you're the one that called so late. The phone woke them up." Ripley sighed, but let it go. "My mom is pissed by the way. You should have heard what she was saying about your dad." She laughed maniacally.

Ripley smiled sadly. She had always loved Rose's parents. They treated her like one of their own when she was over there. "I appreciate the support. It's not all bad though. I have really missed my mom and my brother." She picked at the slight fray in the bottom of her tank top. She really was excited to see them again. Rose slung an arm over her shoulder.

"I know you are. I'm going to seriously miss you though." She trailed off sadly, resting her head on Ripley's shoulder. Ripley nodded and put her head on Rose's.

"I'm going to miss you too, Rosie."

They said a tearful farewell before splitting off to their respective houses after a few hours of talking and laughing and crying at the pond. She trudged through the front door, ignoring her father on his chair in the living room, probably passed out drunk. She pulled some leftover pizza out of the fridge and went to her room. She did a final check that everything was ready for tomorrow before changing back into her pajamas from the night before, packing the clothes into a plastic bag before putting them in her suitcase.

With a heavy sigh, she swiped her walkman off her bedside table and settled herself on her bed, enjoying her last night at home as much as she could.

The next morning was a flurry of activity. Her father couldn't be more excited to be rid of her apparently. He had toast made, a glass of orange juice on the table, and was pacing the kitchen with an abnormal pep in his step.

Ripley sighed as she pulled her suitcase and backpack into the kitchen. She left her things against the wall and sat down awkwardly, eating some toast and sipping on the orange juice.

"I'm going to call your mom and let her know to expect you. You have a couple stops on your way, you should get there around 4 this afternoon." He told her. "Make sure you have everything, and keep track of your things." Ripley said nothing, nodding silently as she finished off her juice and toast.

She gathered her things and her father practically shoved her out the door. He didn't say anything to her the whole drive to the airport. When they arrived, he gave her the ticket, yanked her suitcase out of the trunk, gave her a rushed "see you later" and was off.

Ripley's hands shook as she nervously took in the big airport. She had never flown before, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do. She let out a shaky sigh and grabbed her things, making her way into the airport and up to the receptionist.

After some tense trudging through the airport, she finally made her way to her gate, eventually loading onto the plane and starting her journey home.

The flights were loud, crowded, and stressful, but luckily her stops and re-boards went without a hitch, and she even arrived at the Indianapolis airport a little early. She made her way down to the carousel to pick up her suitcase, and walked over to where everyone else was meeting people.

She looked around, but saw nobody familiar. She waited thirty minutes before she made her way to the payphone. She tried to call both of her parents, but there was no answer at either number. After a brief moment of panic, she found another airport employee that gave her the number to a local taxi type company that would get her all the way to Hawkins for a pretty penny. Luckily her father had at least given her some travel money, so she was able to make it to Hawkins that night.

By the time she made it to her new home, she was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. The drive had been silent. The driver apparently was not interested in making small talk with a teenager. She hurried to get her things from the trunk, paid the driver, and made her way to the front door. The lights were on in the house, and she could hear the quiet noise from a television. She took a deep breath, releasing it before working up the nerve to knock on the door.

She heard her mother holler from another room, and Dustin's voice carried as he walked up to the door. "Okay, okay, I'm getting it Ma! Sheesh!" The end of his sentence was much clearer as he had opened the door. He turned to see who was at his house at this hour, and did a double take. "R-Ripley?" He stuttered.

Ripley immediately started crying and wrapped Dustin up in a fierce hug. He returned it after a moment of disbelief. He hadn't seen his sister in years, what in the world was she doing here?

Their mother approached the door when she didn't hear voices. "Dustin, who-" She dropped the glass she had been drying and it shattered on the floor. "Ripley?" Her voice and face showed confusion. "What in the world are you doing here?" Her voice didn't sound angry, just confused.

Ripley released Dustin from his hug before hurrying over to her mother and hugging her just as tightly. "Hi, mama. Didn't Dad call you?" Her voice was muffled by her mother's shoulder. The woman's grip was tight around her daughter, tears streaming down her own cheeks.

"Thomas? No, why dear, what happened?" She pulled away to give her daughter a once over. She had grown so much since she had last seen her. She wiped the tears from her cheeks before running a gentle hand over her daughter's hair.

"Well, can we talk about the details later? I had a long trip and I am exhausted." Ripley said with a yawn. Her mother fretted over her a little before she answered.

"Oh my goodness, of course! Dusty, grab her suitcase and show her to the guest room, won't you? I'm going to get her some leftovers from dinner and some water!" The sweet woman bustled back to the kitchen, stopping for a moment to fret over the broken glass. Ripley smiled sadly at the sight. She had missed her mother so damn much.

Dustin awkwardly walked past her, grabbed her suitcase and closed the front door. "So…" he started. "How long are you here for?" His voice was a little guarded. He was afraid it was going to be a short visit and then she'd be gone for years again. He frowned at the sad look that took over his sister's face.

"As long as you guys will have me. Dad said he was going to call mom and tell her, but he kicked me out. I'm supposed to move back in with you guys now." She brushed the stray tear away from her cheek. The residual pain from feeling like her own dad didn't want her was just icing on the cake that was this chaotic day. She was surprised by the fury on Dustin's face.

"He did what? What an asshole!" She startled at his language, but couldn't help the laughter that escaped her. She shook her head and put an arm around his shoulder. He had really grown.

"It's okay. As long as you guys don't mind, I really missed you. I'm glad to be back in Hawkins, believe it or not."

Dustin snorted, but didn't pull away from the affection. He gave her a playful grin.

"Yeah, I always knew there was something wrong with you."