Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

An hour after they had sex, Kali got dressed in the clothes Steve offered her and sat next to her boyfriend on the bed, gazing at him while he slept. She just couldn't believe it. She actually had sex, with Steve Harrington. She thought it was great, that it was worth it through everything, having the biggest smile on her face. "Hey, Steve?" she asked, nudging her sleeping boyfriend a little. She got a little grunt in response. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Mmm-hmm..." he hummed. She thought that was cute, that he looked cute while he was sleeping. She then got up from the bed, grabbed her coat and wet clothes, and walked out. She hid the wet clothes inside the coat, buttoning it up and leaving the home.

When she was out, she stopped at the sudden sound of a twig snapping, but after a few seconds, saw nor heard nothing else, so she finally left Steve's home and decided to walk all the way home.

Terry was back home, but after Becky and Carl got back as well. The mother was cooking a casserole in the kitchen, but they weren't far from her, being able to talk to her. "Are you sure you two haven't seen her?" a worried Terry asked.

"We came in, we called her name, we looked for her around here..." Becky answered before shaking her head. "Nothin'." Terry let out a deep sigh before her sister patted her arm gently again. "Hey, let's hope for the best for now, okay?" She nodded, but she could feel her worry skyrocketing.

Suddenly, the three adults heard the door open, Terry straightening up and seeing Kali entering in. She gasped, left her casserole, walked towards her, and instantly hugged her, startling her a bit. "M-Mum?" she said, surprised.

She released her hug from her and looked both worried and stern. "Where have you been, Kali?" she asked before tilting her head towards Becky and Carl. "Your aunt and uncle didn't see you at ten!"

Kali quickly thought up a lie. "After the assembly, some people wanted me to go out for a bite."

"And you didn't think to call us here to let us know?" Becky asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, young lady," added Carl. "We started to worry about you, especially with the things going on around here."

The teenage girl was annoyed but worried, facing her mother. "Mum, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how late it was." She began walking upstairs. However, her adoptive mother spotted something and grabbed her arm to stop her. "What?" she asked, her annoyance coming through.

"Why are you wearing sweatpants?" Terry asked, pointing at them.

"Oh, uh...I spilled my drink and Steve offered me one of his sweatpants from his bag so that I can change in them in the bathroom."

Terry became less worried and even more stern, realizing what her daughter has been up to. "It was Steve's? Is Jane right about him being your boyfriend?"

Kali was appalled at the accusation. "What?! No! We're JUST friends!"

Becky shushed her, making her feel more annoyed, and pointed upstairs. "Jane and the boys're sleeping, so keep your voice down," she whispered to her.

She rolled her eyes at her and was about to go upstairs until Terry said in a slightly louder voice, "Don't give your aunt those eyes-"

"Good night, Mum."

"Kali!" The teen stopped and turned to her, very mad and irritated, making her adoptive mother become sad and worried again. "It doesn't have to be in front of them, but you can talk to me. Whatever happened, you can talk to me about it." She then placed a hand on her heart. "I'm your mother."

Kali let out another heavy sigh. She just wasn't in the mood, not right now. "Nothing happened, Mum. Good night." She finally went upstairs and into her room. Terry sighed and turned to Becky and Carl, her eyes welling up with tears and her mouth turning into a frown. Becky instantly stood up from the couch and gave her sister a big hug.

"Aw, Terry, don't worry," she whispered to her ear soothingly. "She'll come to realization soon, okay?" She nodded yet again, though she partially didn't believe it. From that sight, Carl frowned, feeling bad for his sister-in-law. Terry then remembered something of her past again...

In an orphanage, Terry and her ex-husband were looking around a hallway, looking into rooms and seeing what child they should adopt. At the time, Terry was a couple weeks pregnant with Jane. However, the two decided to adopt a child because her ex-husband insisted.

They looked into another room, seeing a group of children playing with different toddler toys. The room was light-blue and had unicorns, a happy sun, and a large rainbow over it. The dirty-blonde-haired woman then spotted a little girl, possibly around the age of 3, with brown skin and black hair in a braid, a navy-blue dress, a white collared shirt under it, white socks, and black Mary-Jane's. She was playing with a bunch of colored blocks, sitting against the wall.

The woman smiled, tugging her ex-husband's shoulder and pointing at her. "How about her?" she asked him.

He looked at the young girl closely, narrowing his eyes and grinning. "I think she's perfect," he answered her. She hugged him in joy. She thought that girl was pretty and also lonely, since she was playing by herself. A girl like her deserved a family.

...

Later, they went through the process of adopting the little girl, whose name was Kali Prasad, and she finally arrived at the house. Terry looked very happy, carrying her and hugging her. "I will take care of you until the end of my days, Kali," she whispered to her.

"Okay, Mummy," the young girl replied, making her smile wider. Terry never broke her promise to her.

Even when she divorced her husband because of...that.

In the basement the next morning, Mike messed around with the walkie-talkie again, Jane and the boys down there with him and talking among themselves. Jane now wore an orange plaid long-sleeved shirt, baggy jeans, and tennis shoes. The boys changed into different clothes too. "Alright, we'll just tell our parents and I tell my auntie and uncle that we have AV Club after school," the curly-haired tomboy said to her friends. "That should give us a few hours for Operation: Mirkwood."

Lucas still looked skeptical. "Are you sure Mike really knows where Will is?" he asked.

She sighed. "Just trust me, Lucas." He nodded before she asked, "Do you have the supplies?"

He nodded again as he got out some supplies from his bag. "Sooooo, I got binoculars from 'Nam," he stated as he set a pair of binoculars on the table. "Army knife from 'Nam..." He then set a sheathed knife onto the table. "Hammer...camouflage bandanna..." He set those on the table as well. "And the wrist rocket!" He then proudly showed off a yellow and black slingshot.

Both Jane and Dustin raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?" he asked.

Lucas scoffed at him. "First of all, it's no ordinary slingshot, it's a wrist rocket. Second of all, the Demogorgon's not real. It's a made-up monster. But if there is something out there..." He then positioned the wrist rocket to a shooting position. "I'll aim at its eye and THWACK!" He let the shot go, startling both of his friends. "I'll blind it."

Jane nodded at him and looked at her curly-haired friend. "And you, Dustin?"

"Alright!" He then poured out an assortment of food on the table, getting weird looks from both of his friends. "I got Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Smarties..." As he listed the food off, Jane and Lucas exchanged glances, thinking that Dustin packing so much snacks was so ridiculous. "...and trail mix." He smiled at the both of them, the two giving him weird looks.

"Are you serious?" the coily-haired boy asked.

His smile disappeared. "We need energy to go on with our travels and increase our stamina."

Jane nodded at him. "I think a few snacks are good enough."

Dustin shot her a glance before looking back at Lucas. "Also, why do we need weapons anyway? We have him!" He then pointed at Mike, who looked up at his pointing finger.

"He only shut one door!" Lucas rebutted.

"With his mind! Isn't that crazy and cool?!" He smiled again. "Imagine all the other insane stuff he can do, like..." He then ran to grab Jane's Star Wars starship. "He can probably make this fly!"

Jane looked at him disapprovingly. "Dustin..."

"Hey, Mikey." The freckled boy looked up at him. "Concentrate and make this fly!" He then dropped it, hoping to see Mike make it float. He didn't, so it dropped to the ground. Dustin didn't lose hope though. "Okay, one more time." He then picked it back up and said, "Make this fly, okay?" He then dropped it. Mike didn't do it again and let it drop back on the ground. Both Jane and Lucas sighed as the tomboy picked up her starship.

"Dustin, he's not a dog," she told him sternly.

"Kids! It's time to go to school!" Terry shouted from upstairs. Dustin and Lucas got their things and left in a hurry, but Jane decided to stay behind for a little bit and crouch down next to Mike.

"Stay down here, okay?" she asked of him. "Please do not make any noise or leave. My auntie and uncle will be here, so they'll catch you if you come up there, alright?" He nodded in understanding, making her smile a little. "If you get hungry, then you can eat Dustin's snacks."

"Jane!" Terry yelled out. "Let's go!"

She groaned a little, turned her face to the voice, and yelled back, "I'm coming, Mama!" She then turned back to Mike and said in her usual quiet voice, "You know where the power lines are?"

He became puzzled. "Power lines?"

She nodded. "Yeah, those lines behind my house? Do you know where they are?" He nodded back. "Meet us there after school."

"After school?"

"Three-fifteen." He was still puzzled, so Jane quickly thought up of an idea. She took off her watch and strapped it onto Michael's wrist. "When this says 'three-one-five', meet us there."

He looked down at the watch, murmuring, "Three...one...five?"

"Yup. See ya." She then got her backpack and coat and hurried upstairs to leave.

He watched her go, murmuring again, "Three-one-five." He then looked at his watch, waiting for those numbers to come.

Kali arrived in Hawkins High School that very morning, wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt, a black skirt that reached to her knees, white socks, and black Mary-Janes. Some of her hair was pulled to a tiny ponytail at the back of her head, like Becky's. She looked around. Some students did glance at her for just a second, making her feel nervous. She never felt this way about anything before...not since she approached Terry and her ex-husband for the first time. But this was different.

She approached her locker and opened it, but not before Steve opened it farther and slammed it onto another locker, making her jolt a little and look up at him. She giggled a bit nervously when she saw him. "Hey, Kal," he greeted her.

"Hey...Steve," she greeted back before looking as nervous as she did before.

The jock noticed that expression and asked, "Everything alright?"

She lost that face and answered, "Oh, yes, yes, definitely." She then got out the supplies she needed for her class out of her locker. "It's just that...I feel like everyone is staring at me."

"Oh, I didn't tell them."

She chuckled a little. "I know you didn't, but still..." She sighed anxiously and looked at him in the eye. "If Tommy or Carol told anybody..."

He gave her a reassuring smile and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You're being paranoid."

She became more nervous, muttering, "Sorry..."

"Nah, Kal, it's cute." She smiled warmly at that. Cheesy, but sweet, yet again. She didn't mind that though. "Really though, I had a good time."

Her smile widened, replying, "Me too." They then shared a loving kiss for a few seconds. When it broke off, the couple laughed together, feeling happy. Steve then pointed at the rainbow butterfly stickers and left. She giggled, thinking he was an idiot, but a lovable one. She finally closed her locker and walked to her classroom.

...

When she arrived and sat at her desk, she looked to her right and saw an empty seat. It was Barbara's seat. She began to worry a little, wondering where she might have gone to. She couldn't be skipping – hell, she was never one to skip a class...

Later in the day, Mike did eat all of Dustin's snacks, though some were left unfinished. Out of boredom, he decided to make Jane's starship actually fly back and forth, using his powers by looking at it and moving his eyes back and forth. It was easy for him to do, not needing to strain himself to make it happen.

Suddenly, he heard Becky and Carl's voices from upstairs, making him tense up and drop the starship. He then stood up, waiting to run and hide in case they came down there. For a minute, it didn't happen, making him sigh in relief. He wanted to go up and do things around the house, but those two adults were up there. He began thinking about what he should do. He didn't feel like staying down there anymore. He was more safe there, but...

Maybe he can just sneak around?

He shook his head. He tried with Benny with the fries, but he still caught him. But that was just one time, right? Maybe the second try wouldn't be the same? He nodded, thinking that he should give it a chance. He took a deep breath and walked up the stairs on the ground floor of the home as quietly as he could.

He could hear Becky and Carl in the living room as well as the TV being on. He slowly crept to an edge of the wall that separated the hallway he was in and peeked to see the two of them sitting down and watching television, Becky sitting on one chair and Carl sitting on the La-Z-Boy. He made sure that he wasn't visible enough to see the two of them.

"So your sister's been divorced?" Carl asked his wife.

She nodded in response. "Two years after Jane was born," she answered.

"Do you know why?" Mike thought of a way to sneak past them, so he walked to the other side of the wall.

She shrugged. "She only told me he did something extremely shitty, but she never elaborated for me."

"Do you think you know why?"

She shrugged again. "Maybe he cheated on her. Guy always gave me the wrong vibe, never knew what Terry saw in him." Mike then quietly sneaked past the living room, hoping the two adults wouldn't see him.

Carl raised an eyebrow. "The wrong vibe?"

She looked at him. "Like...he looked kind, he acted kind. But there was something off about his kindness, almost as if he was faking it." She paused, scoffing. "Like some of those people back in the city."

Carl sighed. "Rebecca, I'm not going to deny that there are fakers in Indianapolis."

She nodded skeptically. "But...?"

He stood up from the La-Z-Boy, approaching his wife. "It IS better than this town. It's more secure, there are good jobs, more happy people-"

"Addin' to the fakeness..." she rebuffed, making him look annoyed at her for a second.

He lowered himself to her eye-level, having a sincere expression. "Becky, you'll see...and you'll adjust to it."

She huffed, feeling defeated. "I guess I will." He smiled at her, holding her hand. God, she wished she could have a smoke, just so she could deal with him.

Mike quietly ascended up the stairs while they were talking, but then heard a commercial come on. Curious, he took a peek at it. A playful jingle was playing and a woman began singing happily. He narrowed his eyes and saw a large can of Coca-Cola in the commercial. Instantly, his mouth hung open and he looked...scared, breathing a bit unevenly. He then went upstairs and into Jane's room, closing the door.

As it closed, he sighed and sank to his knees, his hands still on the knob and his eyes closed as that image reminded him of another event of his past...

He was in an isolated room, alone and having a set of wires on his head as a headgear. He was sitting at a metal table and in front of him was an empty can of Coke. He could see, behind the only window in the room, the scientists working on some machines. Dr. Brenner and his father were in his sight, in front of him and looking down at a board with an analysis of the boy and what test he will do. Dr. Brenner, who was holding the board, handed it to another scientist. Both him and Dr. Wheeler stared at him. He kept a neutral face, trying to keep calm as he looked at Dr. Brenner first. The white-haired man nodded at him. He then turned to his father, who nodded at him as well.

He took a deep breath and then stared intently at the can. He began to strain, trying to make it crush. The instrument that measured his brain waves scribbled back and forth quickly on some paper, showing smaller waves more frequently. He narrowed his eyes and strained himself even more until the can finally crushed. He relaxed himself, feeling a bit hazy as his nose bled a little. He looked at the two men.

Both doctors smiled at him and talked to each other before looking at the boy again. He wiped his nose and saw fresh blood on it. He looked shocked before looking up at them, their smiles widening. He was terrified. Their smiles were always unsettling to him, not only because of the way they looked, but also because of what they implied. They implied that there will be more experiments like this...

He suddenly heard footsteps ascend the stairs, stopping his flashback and making him stand up in a state of panic, looking for a place to hide. He didn't want to hide in the closet again, so that was out of the question. He saw Jane's bed and saw the gap between it and the ground. With very few seconds to spare, he ran and slide himself under it. He heard the door open and saw two pairs of feet walk into Jane's room. He gulped and stayed still, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Becky and Carl looked all over the room, seeing what the noise of footsteps and a closed door was about, looking concerned and cautious. "Maybe it was the wind?" Carl suggested before the two of them looked at the window. It was closed.

She shook her head. "No, couldn't be that," she answered as they wandered around the room again. "Hello?"

"Who's here?" the man asked in a demanding voice. "Show yourself."

Michael was shaking in fear, hoping they wouldn't see him.

As Becky opened the closet to see if anybody was there, her husband began approaching the bed, amplifying the boy's fear and anxiety. He quickly thought of doing something to make him not look under the bed, so he stared at his feet. He began straining himself for a bit, then tilted his head up for a second. That made Carl slip and land his face on the bed, biting his tongue and yelling in pain.

The woman gasped and ran to him. "Carl?!" she exclaimed. "Wh-what happened to you?!" He tried to talk, but it was slurred, the man holding out his tongue and choking on his spit. Becky was very worried for him now, making him stand up. "Hold on, honey. Let's go downstairs and put some ice on that, 'kay?" He made a noise that was an affirmative. The two then left the room and went downstairs, making Mike feel relieved and come out from under the bed.

He closed the door quietly this time and sat on Jane's bed. That was a close one and it was worth using his power. He wiped the small drop of blood from his nose and laid onto the bed, looking at his watch again. He read quietly, "One-two-seven..."

In the place where the mysterious hole was at, Dr. Wheeler and Dr. Brenner witnessed a rope machine being drilled down across from it. Out of nowhere, Dr. Brenner said to his fellow doctor, "That boy is stubborn."

The man with the glasses glanced at him and replied, "Michael?"

He nodded. "M11 was always stubborn. This is no different."

The dark-haired man sighed and crossed his arms. "He may be stubborn and a bit clever, but he is not that smart. I know we will find him." He and Brenner heard more growling come from the hole. "I just hope it's soon."

Brenner gave him a reassuring smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't you worry, my old friend. We will." They both exchanged grins and looked back at the hole, feeling more confident about finding the boy now.

An hour later in the home, Mike began fiddling with the character pieces Jane had. He then grabbed the Yoda one, fiddling with it a little and inspecting it closely. He wondered what Yoda was, since he wasn't a human. He remembered Jane telling him that he had a power to move things with his mind. It was like...he was him. He sure didn't look green or had long, pointy ears. But him sharing the same power...it kind of intrigued him and made him think, were there others that had powers like him? He never saw or remembered anyone else from that...place.

He suddenly heard a door close downstairs, making him look puzzled. Several seconds later, he then heard a car starting outside. He immediately ran to the window and looked out of it to see Carl and Becky driving away. Seeing them leave left a smile on his face. He was finally safe, being the only one in the house now.

He instantly exited his room and ran down the stairs. He got to the La-Z-Boy and sat on it. He pulled the handle on it, making it recline him back. He laughed a little at how fun that was to do. He looked over to see a phone on a small table next to him and decided to pick it up. He heard the dial tone, mimicking it a few seconds after. He thought that maybe he should ask Jane about it when he meets her again.

He set the phone back and pulled the handle to un-recline his chair. He then walked towards the TV and crouched down to it. He pressed a button and it turned on, showing an ad for hair spray and making him jolt back a little. He saw it for a few seconds before pressing another button. The channel changed to Ronald Reagan giving out a speech about what was going on in Syria. He pressed another button and it showed He-Man, shouting his iconic line. He looked a bit intrigued by that, but then pressed another button to show a shopping channel. His intrigue disappeared when he saw that. He pressed one last button, showing a channel that played gospel music. He finally pressed the off button, turning the TV off.

He felt like exploring more of the upstairs, so he went up there and opened a door to a room he never discovered. It was Kali's, being girly, purple, and white. He entered into it and looked around. There were posters, lamps, pillows, pictures, even books and a small TV.

He then spotted a box. It was cream-yellow and had green vines on it. On the middle of the top was a rounded picture of a meadow with a pretty girl and a kitten in her basket. This box sparked his curiosity, so he opened it, hearing a lullaby. He instantly closed it, his breath hitched at the moment. The sound of the lullaby nearly scared him. He decided to open the box to see what was in it. He saw a small ballerina figure twirl around and a mirror behind her. He didn't care to look more into the box because the lullaby that was playing made him feel...anxious, scared even.

After one part of it ended, he closed it, trying to calm down. He then looked back and saw a billboard with an assortment of photos with Kali in them pinned onto it. He walked closer and inspected the photos. They ranged from her being three to being sixteen, her current age. The photos with Barbara caught his eye the most, she and Kali smiling in the photo with them wearing sunglasses and others where they made silly faces. He smiled at them. He noticed that Kali was smiling for the majority of the photos, even from when she was young.

He wished he smiled just as much when he was younger.

He wished he could be outside more.

He wished he had friends.

He wished he was always happy.

His smile disappeared at those thoughts. He let out a heavy sigh and exited her room, feeling a bit pained.

Done! What do you guys think of this chapter? Any typos or mistakes?

Keep supporting this fanfic and I'll see you in the next chapter!