[A/N] I'm SO happy that I'm finally posting another chapter. Sorry it took so long. School hasn't been very forgiving to me lately. Anyway, I won't delay the story any longer. Enjoy!

"It's like before a storm, you know? You can't see it, but you can feel it. Like this uh… Electricity" – Steve Harrington.

Steve sent a thankful nod to the girl working at a food tent as she handed him a steaming Styrofoam cup of coffee. It had been a long day and a warm, caffeinated drink was all he needed at the moment.

It didn't take much longer for the teenager to find a bench near the Ferris wheel from where he could watch Lucas and Max and make sure they'd be alright. He had lost track of Mike, but the boy seemed unable to be apart from Jane and so did Hopper, so as long as those two stuck together and Joyce stuck to Will, his main concern were Max and Lucas.

Besides, he didn't feel comfortable around Jane at all. Whoever that girl was… Whatever that girl was, she had killed countless people – And monsters – for what he knew and no one knew better than Steve how easy it was to make a thirteen-year-old kid pissed off. Who could guarantee that she wouldn't snap into a murderous tantrum whenever she felt like it? What kind of things she would do if she totally lost control?

"Hey", Will's voice startled him and made him turn back on the bench "Um… Can I sit here?".

There was the slightest pause.

"Yeah, yeah", Steve said, gesturing to the empty spot next to him on the bench "What's up, buddy? Where's the rest of the guys?".

"Oh, they're over there".

Will made a vague motion towards Mike and El stepping in the line to the Ferris wheel, the boy talking frenetically while the girl remained silent. Steve couldn't see Joyce or Hopper anywhere, but he assumed that they were close. Unlike Mrs. Wheeler or Mrs. Henderson, Hopper and Mrs. Byers were concerned parents that always seemed to be one step away from losing their shit. Not that they didn't have a reason, but being constantly watched could be unsettling for a kid.

"So, about Jane…", Steve spoke, eyeing the girl with mistrust "What do you guys know about her?"

Will moved uncomfortably on the bench.

"I-I don't know… I wasn't around most of the time she was with the guys. All I know is that she saved my life", there was an uncomfortable pause "Twice".

"Does she… You know, what kind of stuff she usually does with her… Powers?", the teenager questioned.

He shrugged.

"I don't know", Will repeated "She never uses her powers. Hopper doesn't let her".

So she actually might be dangerous, Steve thought.

"Yeah, but the guys sure told you about it, right? Is it like… Super strength or…?", he said.

"No, it's like…", the boy thought for a moment "She can move stuff with her mind, like throw stuff in the air and levitate people".

Steve looked back at the couple of kids that had now moved a little bit forward in the line.

"That's not funny, alright?", he whispered.

"I'm not joking!", Will protested "Ask any of the guys. They said that she lifted a van, once".

Holy shit, she's dangerous.

"A van", Steve waited for the boy to confirm it, which he did with a shy nod "A-alright, so, what exactly keeps her from getting mad and using her powers to hurt other people, then?".

"She doesn't want to", Will looked around to make sure no one else paid attention to the conversation "Even if she did, she knows that the guys from the lab still might be looking for her and she's terrified of them. We all are, actually".

Steve thoughtfully moved his chin sideways before taking another sip of the coffee. Will looked disappointingly at Mike and El, who were about to board the ride.

"Besides, she has this weird crush on Mike, so she's afraid to do anything bad around him", he sighed.

Steve followed his eyes and noticed that he wouldn't look away from the couple.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for you buddy. I felt this same pain before", he said, leaning back on the bench "I mean, it's weird that you chose her out of all people, but…".

"What are you talking about?", Will asked.

Steve gestured at El.

"You have a crush on her".

"What? No!", Will's eyes went wide.

"You can't hide it, my friend. I saw you looking at her like this the whole day", he said.

"Like what?!", the boy said.

"Like, you know…Like she's a beautiful painting in a museum. You can't touch her, you can't take her with you, but you look at her wishing that you could", he said.

He was yet to discover that his metaphors were arguably lame.

"No, I'm not!", Will said.

Steve smiled and took another sip of his beverage.

"Alright then", he said "As you want".

Will looked at the floor in embarrassment and then up at the line. Mike and El weren't there anymore, which meant that they were in the ride already. The boy thought for a bit, checked his surroundings once more and turned his attention back to Steve, who was looking ahead with his arms supported on the backrest of the bench. He sighed.

"Steve, can I tell you a secret?".

He looked down at the boy.

"Sure", he simply said.

"But you can't tell anyone", Will said "Not even mom or Jonathan. You have to promise that you'll keep it".

Steve nodded and crossed his legs.

"Alright, I promise. What is it?", he took a swig of coffee.

Will opened his mouth to speak and it took him a few seconds to find the appropriate words.

"I don't have a crush on El. Actually I, uh… I have a crush on Mike".

Steve choked on his drink, coughing loudly and spilling it on his face and on his clothes.

"Y-y-you…", he started, wiping the coffee from his nose in a nothing discrete way "That's uh… Are you serious?".

Will nodded. He seemed ashamed of what he just said.

"Well, that's um… For how long, exactly?", Steve asked.

The boy shrugged.

"Since… Since I met him, I guess. But I only noticed it last year, after I first saw the Shadow Monster", he said "Back then, Mike was… I don't know; he was the only one helping me besides mom. He was there for me all the time and I guess…"

He didn't finish the sentence. Steve was trying his best to not let the shock become visible.

"What should I do?", Will asked, on the brink of tears.

Steve sighed and wiped the rest of the coffee from his face.

"It's complicated. You like a guy who's dating a girl, so, you know, he's not into it and he's with someone else already", 'Even if this someone is really freaking dangerous', Steve thought "I think you shouldn't do anything. It's only gonna break your heart and you really don't need any of that crap right now".

Will looked back at the floor and stood quiet. Steve eyed him for a solid moment.

"But that doesn't make you a bad person, you know?", Steve said "It's nothing to be ashamed of".

The boy raised his head in surprise.

"Really?".

"Yeah, it's just a bit different. And just because there are some assholes out there who hate anything that's different, it doesn't mean that they're right and you're wrong", Steve comforted him "Just relax. You're still young. You're going to find someone that likes you, some day".

"You think so?", the boy asked.

"Yeah, I really do", Steve said, giving him an encouraging smile "Just give it some time, okay?".

Will nodded and let a timid grin sprout on his face.

"Okay".

Steve got up to throw the now empty coffee cup in a nearby trashcan, but Will detained him.

"Steve?".

The teenager halted and turned around.

"Yeah?".

"Thank you".

Steve smiled.

"No problem, buddy. That's what I'm here for".

Before Steve reached the trashcan, he caught a lamp post flickering on and off with the corner of his eye. At first, he didn't worry, but by the time he was walking back to the bench, many other electric light sources started flickering, including the lights on the sides of the Ferris wheel.

"What's going on?", he asked now that he was close enough for Will to hear him.

"I-I don't know".

Now all the lights of the park flickered at their own rhythm, hysterically flashing their bright colors before turning off for a split second. At last, they all went on again, but instead of spilling peaceful and joyful lights across the fair, they started getting brighter in a way that was so uncomfortably familiar to Will that made his skin crawl. For a strange moment, the whole place was immersed in blinding lights.

Then they all went off.

"I must admit, this is way better than the movie", Nancy said, holding a pink half-eaten cotton candy on her hand as they carelessly walked through the fair.

Jonathan chuckled.

"You think so?", he sarcastically asked, walking with his hands on his pockets.

She faked an analyzing expression and looked around in silence.

"Let me see…", she gave two steps to the side as if carefully inspecting the place "I'm at a fair, I'm having the greatest time of my life and I'm with the most handsome man in the world", she looked at him seductively.

"'The most handsome man'?", he playfully doubted.

She simply lifted her eyebrows as if confirming what she had just said. He slid his hand under her hair and gave her a long kiss. They both stared deep into each other's eyes at the end of it. She smiled and gave him another kiss.

"Yeah", she said "The most handsome man in the whole world".

It was his time to smile. Maybe, just maybe, there was such thing as 'back to normal', after all and Nancy was there to prove it. Right, not everything was perfect, but at least they were making some progress. Will didn't have any episodes in three months, Nancy looked way happier lately and the Jonathan suspected that there was some sort of chemistry going on between his mom and Hopper. That was none of his business, but if that spark of affection developed into something bigger, it could distract her from all of the recent stress, not to mention the grief.

"How come I've been so lucky to finally be with you?", he asked.

"Well... We went to this crazy guy's house, he helped us to shut down the lab and while we were there, things just sort of…", she said, remembering the day they visited Murray Bauman "Worked out".

"Yeah, tell me about it", he said, smoothly leaning forwards.

When their faces were so close that they almost touched each other's lips, the Upside Down haunted Nancy again.

The tents vanished and so did the rides and the people. The fair was just a huge concrete yard at the end of which she could see the town covered in dark vines and dead plants. The lights flickered every now and then and the moss on the floor was even thicker out there.

That was the first time she got to see the sky in the Upside Down and now she understood why the place was so dark. There was an omnipresent blanket of pitch black clouds covering the sky and blocking all light, except for the crimson thunders that cut the air and flashed red above the ground.

Some thunders seemed to try to reach the same place on the horizon behind her, flickering red as they lit up the darkness, which drew her attention to that spot. One of them managed to shoot out a stronger light as it cut the air towards the ground, spotlighting an absolutely huge black figure with a slender head and many tentacles supporting its body above the floor. Nancy felt so terrified by simply being on its presence that she was suddenly unable to move. She could feel the evil that emanated from the imposing figure. She felt bad, she felt corrupted by looking at it, but she couldn't look away.

It stood above the trees, looking at the girl from above like a hawk. It let out a loud, imposing howl that echoed through the Upside Down.

Before she acknowledged that the thing was the very same creature that possessed Will, a much deeper, much more potent howl came from right behind the girl and when she turned around to look at it, she finally let her body absorb the shock and let out a terrified scream.

On the opposite end of the town, the sky also lit up, but not by occasional lighting strikes. It seemed as if the clouds themselves were glowing yellow, which gave that version of Hawkins a ghostly aspect.

Walking through the city, another massive figure was highlighted by the yellow clouds. It had a more solid appearance than the other monster, with a quadruped silhouette and a rough, reptilian-like skull with no eyes. It roared once more, displaying rows of huge sharp teeth and a much brighter yellow light that came from inside its throat. The spikes on top and on the sides of its head vibrated with the deafening sound and so did the spikes on its back.

The Mind Flayer responded with yet another howl and, coincidence or not, many lightning fiercely stroke the ground around it, making the sky bleed. With her limbs weak and eyes soaked, Nancy realized that she stood right in the middle of a battleground.

Without a warning, the Shadow Monster started to move towards the opponent, gliding above Hawkins with a frightening grace and sliding its tentacles through the air.

The opponent didn't hesitate before it started charging towards the Shadow Monster, knocking down buildings like sand castles on its way towards fight. Its mouth opened wide in a primal battle cry.

Suddenly, Nancy was involved in a swirling column of black specs and she somehow knew that she was inside one of the Mind Flayer's tentacles. She felt the air vanishing from her lungs as she inhaled the ashes that made her throat feel sore. Her heart raced so fast that it hurt her chest. She could see everything ending at that moment, inside that spinning tornado of nothing but the filthiest kind of evil.

A choir of confused voices replaced the beastly battle cries. The night was still cold, but not as cold as the other version of the fair. The black ashes had vanished. Everything went back to normal.

"Nancy!".

She desperately inhaled and felt her limbs aching as she looked at Jonathan, terrified. The boy was shaking her shoulders as he yelled her name. His face was red and his eyes were wide open. A little crowd had formed around the couple to check on what was happening. All the lights around seemed to be off, but that wasn't the girl's main concern right now. A part of her now knew that the lights were merely a symptom of the issue.

"Nancy, what happened? Are you okay?".

Tell him. You don't have much time. Nancy didn't have time to worry about how that thought had slipped into her mind like someone was whispering it in her ear. She got up without saying a word and grabbed his hand.

"Jonathan, we have to leave. Now", she said "I think I just had an episode".

"This isn't funny, Stalker", she said, sitting in front of the boy with her arms and legs crossed.

"It isn't meant to be funny! She literally threw me back in the air", Lucas explained.

Max shook her head and gave him an ironic smirk.

"And what, exactly, does that have to do with me anyway?", she asked.

"I'm trying to tell you that El isn't exactly adapted to our world. She grew up in a lab. You had to see how she first looked at me and Dustin when she met us; she was terrified. It takes a while for her to get used to people", Lucas spoke.

"And you still managed to be friends with her after a week. I've been waiting for three months, Stalker!", Max replied.

"I don't know, maybe… Maybe she's just jealous of you", he said.

"Jealous?", she spoke as if the idea was funny to her.

"Yeah, think about it: She had to stay alone with Hopper for a year and when she comes back, she sees a stranger hanging out with us. Of course she wouldn't understand what's going on", Lucas spoke.

Max laughed with disgust.

"Besides, she didn't use her powers on you", he added "That means she probably doesn't really hate you".

"Are you trying to convince me that she likes me now?", she asked.

"No, I'm trying to convince you that you could get along with her if you explained that you're not a threat", Lucas explained.

"A threat?", Max asked "Yeah, like I'm the one with crazy superpowers!".

Lucas sighed.

"Not that kind of threat", he tried to explain it to her "Just… Let me talk to Mike. He will talk her into apologizing to you and you'll show her that everything is fine. If you forgive her, she will realize that there's no reason to hate you".

She thought for a bit.

"What if it doesn't work?".

"Trust me, it will work", Lucas said.

She looked through the window to think, immediately regretting after seeing the ground dozens of feet below her. She would've backed away from the glass if the hundreds of blinking lights hadn't caught her attention.

"What the hell is going on down there?".

Lucas followed Max's eyes to spot the unusual scene. The lights underneath them were flickering on and off like Christmas lights.

Christmas lights.

"Uh oh", he said.

Max opened her mouth to ask something else, but before she could make out the first word, all the lights went off and the Ferris wheel stopped. The sun had set half an hour ago, giving space to the night, so everything went pitch black.

"What's going on?!", she asked, widening her eyes.

"Relax, the power just went down", Lucas said.

"Yeah, no shit!".

"Why are you acting so nervous?", the boy questioned.

"I'm not, okay?!", Max spoke with her hands shaking.

Lucas eyed her for a moment.

"Holy shit", he said "You're scared of heights".

"What? No! That's stupid", she said.

"Oh yeah? Then look down".

Max slowly peeked through the window of the ride. They were almost at the very top of it and she could see the confused people walking around down below. That was a ninety feet fall. She quickly pulled her head back and closed her eyes.

"Alright, I'm scared of heights, okay?!", she said, not looking into his eyes "Are you happy now, Stalker?".

"Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have brought you here if I knew it", Lucas spoke.

"Because…", she started with increasing frustration on her voice "I didn't want to look like a scared baby to you guys. You're always doing cool stuff and I'm just… I'm just lame"

"What are you talking about? You're MadMax! The MadMax! You're the one who's a pro at every single game at the arcade and can ride a skate better than anyone at school!", Lucas said "Do you think that any regular kid would literally drive us to the Upside Down? Or fight your psycho brother with a baseball bat?".

She shrugged.

"Yeah, I know, but… It feels like you guys have more history and I'm just new to all of this", she spoke "And besides, you guys have Eleven now, so…"

"Yeah, she's cool and all, but… She isn't tubular!", he gestured with his hands next to his head.

Max chuckled and looked up at Lucas

"You're the only one who still says that, you know?".

"And you're the only one who calls me 'Stalker'", he responded.

"Well, it's an appropriate nickname", she joked.

They went quiet for a few seconds.

"Hey, you're not freaking out about the height anymore", Lucas pointed out.

Realizing that it was true, Max resisted to the wild impulse to look back down and focused on the boy's eyes.

"Well, I guess I just really like being around you, Stalker", she said.

"Seriously, can you stop calling me that?".

She smirked.

"You're so cute when you're mad".

"I'm not–", he started.

He wasn't expecting her to lean closer and giving him a long kiss, so he flinched when she did. They stood in silence when she pulled herself away, both looking awkwardly to each other.

"Thanks for not letting the guys give up on me", she finally said "I know I'm an asshole sometimes".

"Hey, you're not, okay? And we would never give up on you!", Lucas said.

She smiled.

"I really like you, Stalker".

He smiled back.

"I really like you, MadMax".

They were leaning closer once again when the Ferris wheel started to shake. Max jumped back and grabbed Lucas' hand.

"What was that?", she asked.

"Hey, relax! Maybe it's the power trying to come back on", he tried to sound more confident than he felt.

Something flashed red behind Max, barely bright enough for Lucas to see. Highlighted by dim red lights that danced above the clouds, a massive creature stood right above the Ferris wheel, supported by five tentacles bigger than buildings. Lucas always thought that Will's drawing of it was scary, but that was straight up terrifying.

It lasted for only a brief moment, so fast that it was gone by the time Max had turned her head to check the source of the red light.

"What was that?!", she said.

Now Lucas was the one shaking.

"Judgment day", he mumbled.

An invisible force crashed like a wrecking ball into the side of the Ferris wheel and the ride tipped to the side. All that Lucas could hear as he felt himself getting closer to the ground was Max screaming at the top of her lungs.

Mike could feel her big hazel eyes analyzing him interrogatively at the instant they sat inside the Ferris wheel. They were the last two people boarding the ride, so it started spinning as soon as the door of their cabin was closed. It was a round blue metal cabin with glass windows that allowed them to see the fair from above. It was a small ride, so it had only enough space for two passengers to sit in front of each other.

The boy exhaled heavily to try to calm his racing heart before he looked up at El. Every time she looked at him, he couldn't help but remember that confused and helpless girl who had lived on his basement. Every time she spoke, she reminded him of when she asked if she was still pretty. Every time they kissed, it felt like the first one.

"Mike?", El called.

"Yeah?", he spoke.

"You're quiet".

"Uh, yeah, I'm…", he started, scratching his neck "I-I have to tell you something, but it's complicated."

She blinked twice. Since there was no interruption, he proceeded.

"It's not about the Upside Down. I made that up", he saw her interrogative look get yet more confused "But it's something about us, something important".

Jane still stared attentively at the boy with no signs of interrupting him.

"Do you remember the first time I asked you to go to the Snow Ball with me?", Mike asked.

"Yes".

"Well, um… What I was trying to say that night was that… When I said that you can't go with a sister or a friend because you usually go with someone special, with someone you really like", he spoke.

El nodded. She couldn't forget that night even if she tried.

"And uh… This someone is someone special to you, someone you feel something for", he explained.

"Feel?", she asked.

"Well, yeah. Like, you get super nervous around them or keep thinking of them all the time and you know that you'd do anything for this person", Mike explained.

She gasped. He was describing precisely how she felt around him.

"Sometimes you just kind of like the person and it's not a big deal", Mike said and avoided using Lucas and Max as an example "But sometimes you really feel something big for this person and you just… You just want to be with them. That's how you know that you're in love with them and I, uh…", he stumbled on his own words.

"Mike?", she said with a timid and childish smile "Do you… Love me?", she asked.

He blushed and widened his eyes.

"Y-yeah", he clumsily stuttered with no option but confirming the fact.

She felt her chest getting tighter and her face getting warmer. Love! Mike was in actual love, just like in the soap operas. Jane had always heard of that mysterious and powerful feeling in the TV, but no one had ever explained it to her. Apparently, it was something you could feel by anyone, like your mom or your brother, but usually a boy and a girl were in love in the TV and they kissed each other a lot. So that's why Mike kissed her so often!

"I'm sorry El. This was just stupid. I shouldn't have said that. It probably just freaked you out. I understand if you don't love me", he said, lowering his head.

She gripped his arm, which made him stare straight into her deep dark eyes when he looked up.

"Mike, I love you too", she said.

He could swear that his heart had skipped a beat.

"Y-you do?".

She nodded. Mike stood still on his seat, trying to muster enough confidence to speak, but no words came to his shocked mind.

The uncomfortable silence that fell upon the cabin seemed to draw them closer, because before Mike realized it, they were both standing up and their faces were mere inches away from each other. He grabbed her shaky hands into his, only to find out that he was also shaking. El still stared at him like he was made of Eggos and smiled when he reciprocated the look. She leaned forward very slowly and closed her eyes when her lips met Mike's.

They had kissed many times before, but this wasn't a shy, quick smooch like the other ones. It was a long, slow and vivid kiss. El rested her hands on Mike's shoulders as he held her waist. After many seconds, they drew themselves away from the kiss, but not from each other. They stood there in silence, just speechlessly staring into each other's eyes.

As if only to ruin that perfect little moment, the ride completely stopped and all the lights went off. El pulled herself closer to Mike and pressed her head against his chest.

"Mike…?".

The atmosphere had changed significantly as if the darkness itself wasn't the whole issue. He looked at the town in the distance to realize that Hawkins had been completely immersed in shadows. The sight made a glimpse of a doubt sprout in his mind. Whenever something, anything bad happened in Hawkins, it wasn't what it seemed to be, for better or for worse. He had stopped believing coincidences a long time ago. Most people would think that a boy getting lost for a week or a runaway girl appearing in the woods were mere accidents, but they never were. Nothing there was an accident anymore. Mike realized something was happening in Hawkins again, which was absolutely terrifying.

"Just stay calm, alright? The power should be back on soon", he said.

It took him a while to realize that the people who held Jane captive at the local Department of Energy, which had been permanently shut down, were also the people in charge to handle incidents like that.

Crap.

Jane also looked worriedly to the dark town and frowned. She had never seen lights go off like that before. Of course, she had been exposed to dark and confined spaces before, most of them back in her childhood at the lab, but they were outside now. There was no way so many lights had stopped working at once… Right?

The ride shook and she firmly grabbed his hand.

"I'm scared", she said.

Part of Mike understood it. She was just a girl of his age who had been through a lot in her life. She had the right of being scared, he was scared too.

Another part of Mike was deeply worried though, because that girl next to him also happened to be Eleven, and whenever she got scared, she had a strong reason for it.

A grim red light flashed right above them, which drew their attention. Whatever it was, it was gone by the time the boy looked at it.

"What was that?", he asked.

El looked straight at the direction from which the light had emanated as if expecting to see it again, but it was gone now. Though the girl couldn't get a second look at it, she clearly saw the gargantuan silhouette of a shapeless monster.

"Upside Down", she whispered.

It felt like a house had crashed into the Ferris wheel's side and knocked it out of its foundation. As Mike and El saw the ground getting closer and felt the wind in their hair rushing faster and faster, their only instinct was to protect each other. Mike wrapped El up in his arms and sunk his fingers in her hair, turning his back against the floor to spare her from the impact. Jane's nose started to bleed.

Next chapter preview: The inccident at the fair brought kids, adults and teenagers together once again. Not all of the kids were left unharmed and now lives may be at risk. When Kali loses her track, she finds out the kind of mysteries Mirkwood hides.