Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

The final bell rang in the middle school, kids either going out or getting into their club rooms. As Will closed the locker, Jane waited for him and said, "Come on, Will. We're going to show Mr. Clarke Dart." He didn't look happy though...he actually looked worried, making her look worried as well. "Will?" He slowly walked to her. "What's wrong?"

"It's about d'Artagnan," he told her in a scared voice. That didn't make her worry go away at all. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the side hallway that was surprisingly empty. "But before I tell you, I need to tell you something else."

She was concerned, asking, "What is it?"

He gulped, taking a deep breath before saying, "Last year on Christmas, when my family was about to eat dinner, I had to...uh...go to the bathroom." She nodded, listening to him. "I stared at the mirror for a bit, feeling like..." He shuddered at remembering the feeling. "Like you know when you get sick and have to cough out phlegm?"

She nodded again. "Yeah."

"That's how I felt...then I coughed something out. I-it looked like..." He gulped. "A black slug." The tomboy's eyes widened at that statement.

"What? You coughed THAT out?!"

He nodded. "Yeah. I, uh, must've got it from being in the Upside Down. I-it got down the drain and...that started my episodes." He paused. "Jane..."

"Yes?"

"I..." He took another deep breath. "I think I coughed out d'Artagnan." She gasped, looking terrified as she covered her mouth. "H-he's got the same yellow streak a-and...the noises I told you about yesterday...he was making the same sound." That just made her more aghast. "I don't think he's a harmless animal, since those eggs came from the Upside Down." There was no doubt about that...in fact, some things could be explained...

"Oh my God..." And everyone else was going to show him to Mr. Clarke...God, what COULD it do?! She then exclaimed, "Come on, we need to stop them before it's too late!" He nodded as they both ran to the way to Mr. Clarke's room as fast as they could.

When they reached to his room, Jane opened the door and charged inside with Will, the teacher as well as their friend's looking at her weird. "Stop!" She looked at the teacher and snatched the trap away from him. "S-sorry, Mr. Clarke! Dustin was gonna pull a mean prank on you! I told him not to do it so many times!"

The curly-haired boy looked at her in utter disbelief and exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing?!"

She looked at him with terrified eyes. "Come on, we need to go, right now." She began to ran and gestured everyone to follow her. "RIGHT NOW!" The few of them puzzled, they and Will ran out of the room, leaving Mr. Clarke perplexed.

...

While Max was left out of the room because Jane told the boys she had to and pounding on the door, she yelled, "Can I please come in?!"

"No!" Jane shouted back at her, hearing her groan and pound the door once more. She rolled her eyes before, looking at Dustin and Lucas, both of whom were puzzled by what the other two said.

"I don't get it," Lucas stated.

"What don't you get?" she replied with a baffled look.

He tapped his fingers on the table. "Will coughed up something that looked like Dart last year?"

The auburn-haired boy nodded a little. "Yeah...there was no tail though."

"But he has the same yellow streak," Jane added. "And he heard his growls yesterday. They're the exact same sound."

Dustin looked hurt, asking the shy boy, "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

He shrugged a little. "I wasn't sure."

"Maybe it's a coincidence."

"Or not," the tomboy retorted, looking at her best friend. "What if when Will was stuck in the Upside Down, he got True Sight?"

Lucas looked a little puzzled. "True Sight?"

"It gives you the power to look into the ethereal plane," the curly-haired boy said to him.

He was still confused, moving his hand. "Can you please elaborate?"

Jane sighed. "Maybe these flashbacks Will keeps having aren't really flashbacks. Maybe they're actually real, like Will can SEE into the Upside Down."

Now he was kind of getting it. "So that means that Dart's..."

"From the Upside Down." Dustin sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"We have to take him to Hopper."

She nodded. "Agreed."

"No, no way!" Dustin exclaimed in protest. "We take him to Hopper, then he's as good as dead!" Will looked a little sad hearing that.

She gave him an irritated look and said, "Maybe he SHOULD be dead."

He gave her a disapproving glare. "How can you say that, Jane?!"

"How can you NOT?! He's FROM the Upside Down! It's a terrible place!"

"True, but that doesn't automatically make HIM terrible!"

That completely baffled her. "That's just like saying that just because someone's from the Death Star that it automatically doesn't make them TERRIBLE!"

He shook his head, looking down at the trap. "We have a bond-"

"Because he likes that crap called nougat?!"

His glare to her became sharp. "NO! It's because he TRUSTS me!"

Lucas looked just as skeptical as she did. "He TRUSTS you?"

He looked at him and nodded. "Yes! I promised that I would take care of him."

The argument stopped when Dart screeched and rattled the trap. Everyone tensed up at that, then stepped away from the table when he kept doing that, becoming cautious now. He tilted the trap forward, causing Jane to instantly grab the microphone to hurt him. Dustin pointed at her and demanded, "Don't you dare hurt him."

"If he attacks, I will," she replied in a biting voice, Will being behind her in horror.

"Just open it, dude!" Lucas demanded the curly-haired boy. Carefully, Dustin grabbed the opener for the trap and pressed it. It threw open, seeing Dart be more bigger and greener, still having the yellow streak he had. He growled, everyone shocked to see him change like this.

"Ho-ly SHIT..." Lucas muttered, Dustin throwing the opener back. They all saw the creature crawl a little and growl more, the tomboy tightening her grip on the mic. It growled more as the things on his sides began to move again, then pop out in puss and blood, turning out to be an extra pair of legs. Everyone shot back, he black-haired boy exclaiming, "OH SHIT!" It roared menacingly, causing Jane to bring the mic down to smash him.

"NO!" Dustin exclaimed as he grabbed her hand and made her miss. Dart ran and fell off the table, being completely fine. He then ran out and the door, thanks to Max lock-picking it as a desperate means to get inside, opened, letting him run loose now. Even she was shocked at his change.

"Shit!" Jane exclaimed as they all got out of the room, two of the boys tripping down and one falling on Max. All of them looked frantically as the two boys got up. "Where is he?!"

"Was that DART?!" Max asked in utter shock.

She looked at her. "Yeah, and YOU let him escape!"

"Why did you attack him?!" Dustin yelled at her.

She rolled her eyes at him and began to storm after him. "Come on, we need to find him and quick!"

They all did, but Dustin continued to yell at her, "Don't hurt him! DON'T YOU HURT HIM, JANE!" Why wouldn't she? Jeez, Dustin was so attached to that thing like it was a harmless pet or something. It was annoying and REALLY unnecessary right now! He was dangerous and he needed to be stopped before he could do any harm.

Arriving at the Ives home, Kali, who was carrying a walkman bought from RadioShack, and Jonathan walked inside, Kali saying, "Weird that that my Mum's not back home." She didn't see her car there, after all.

"She usually is?" the auburn-haired guy asked her as they both went up the stairs.

"Yeah, she's always off work on Thursdays, so she usually goes grocery shopping in the morning, then comes back before I do." She wondered why this wasn't the case today.

"Well, it's not like she's going to stop us if she was here. I mean, there was last year."

Right, she did trust them since things were going on. She would approve of what they were going to do too. "Yeah, I guess." They finally got into her room, closing the door and the girl sitting on the bed, setting the bag next to her. She then grabbed her phone and punched in the numbers, taking a deep breath.

"Are you sure about this?" Jonathan asked her since he saw her do that.

"Wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't," she replied as she placed the phone to her ear. It's risky, but she knew it could be worth it.

After a little bit, she heard Mrs. Holland greet, "Hello, this is Marsha speaking."

"Hey, Mrs. Holland, it's me, Kali."

"Kali?"

She took another deep breath to keep herself calm. "I...I need to tell you something...about Barbara, about that night. I...uh...haven't be completely honest with you." She looked up at her friend to see if she was doing alright, him nodding. "But not on the phone. We can meet tomorrow at Forrest Hills Park at nine in the morning. Don't tell anyone else, okay? And don't call me back here, it's too dangerous."

"Kali...what is this?" The woman's voice was of concern and shock.

"Please trust me on this, okay? Bye." She then hung up, letting out a deep sigh.

Jonathan nodded at her again. "You did good."

"I hope I did." If this goes wrong in any way...

As Terry drove to the school, she heard a police siren ring several feet behind her, making her slow down and drive to the side with the rest of the cars so the vehicle would go through. That made her more worried, making her watch them go so she could follow it.

...

After a bit, she finally arrived where the police car was: a house in a neighborhood...with one of its swings at the back of it being completely wrapped into the bar it was hung on. She saw the police question a woman and her daughter, it looked like, having no doubt in her mind that Michael was behind this. When she finds him, she swore to God...

She drove away to prevent suspicion and continue her route to the school.

As he saw a bus drive away, Mike emerged out of the trees and saw the middle school right before his eyes. He walked towards it, but not before stopping by the bike stands. He spotted Jane's bike, remembering about riding with her fondly. His strong feelings for her washed over him as he held onto the bike's gripping bars. After 353 days...he finally touched her bike again.

"Jane..." he murmured, smiling a little. He let go and then proceeded to go into the school.

Inside one hallway, Jane walked through it with a walkie-talkie in her hand, looking around for Dart. She pressed the speaking button on it and said, "East is clear, no sign of Dart." She went up the stairs and muttered, "Where are you, you slimy monster...?" She went forward, still looking for him.

...

In another hallway juxtaposed to the one Jane was going through, Mike stopped and went through a short one connected to the other hallway. He looked to his left, not seeing Jane, before walking to his right. Where was she...?

...

As the tomboy looked into an empty classroom, she heard Dustin say, "West is clear too. Will?"

"South is clear," he answered. "Lucas? Anything?" She scanned the entire classroom and saw no sign of the creature, so then looked into another one.

"Nothing here, man." She could say the same for this other classroom she looked in.

The gym was near, so she walked to that and opened the door, entering into it. She looked around before hearing the door to the boys' locker room open and swaying back and forth. Holding onto the possibility that Dart did that, she walked towards it and entered inside, trying to get rid of the weird feeling of going in there.

She slowly walked around, looking at every inch for him. She then spotted a mop she could attack him with, so she grabbed it and positioned it like a poking stick as she continued forward. She kept her guard up, but couldn't help but feel nervous about this. If she did...how would he react? She knew she would attack him instantly, but what if...he attacked HER first? She'll make sure to prevent that from happening.

As she finally got into the locker room, she became cautious and took slow and careful steps. She suddenly heard some objects clatter from the other side, making her breath hitch and her stand behind one locker. She took a deep breath...attack him before he attacks her first...she could do it...she could do it.

When the sounds got close, she let out a cry and got out to attack Dart...only to see a puzzled Max instead. "Whoa, what the hell are you doing?" she asked.

Just seeing her made her irritated, making her reply, "What the hell are YOU doing?"

"Looking for Dart."

She groaned and threw down the mop. "I hate this..." she muttered to herself. She risked going into the boys' locker room only to see HER, of all people, in there. What a waste of time.

Max felt a little bad, so she decided to follow her out. "Hey-"

"Go away."

Well, that was quite friendly. "I just wanna help you-"

"I'm fine without your help, now go home."

Jeez... "Dude, you should chill-"

She turned to her and yelled, "Will you shut up?!" She tensed up at that, the curly-haired tomboy turning back and walking away. This girl was getting bitchy for no reason. She was JUST trying to make some conversation.

She continued to follow her, the two getting out of the locker room. "Do you hate me?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Why does it matter?"

"Uh, because you want me to go away."

"That'd be great, then you wouldn't be bothering me."

Max scoffed. "Dude, come on. It's like you don't want me to be in your party."

"Right."

She said that so plainly that it baffled her. "Why?"

She stopped and turned to her again. "Because you're annoying, okay?! And we don't need another member in our party!" She pointed at herself for a second. "I'm our Paladin, Will is our Cleric, Dustin's our Bard, Lucas is our Ranger, and Mike's our Mage!" She suddenly realized that she dropped his name right in front of a stranger.

The red-haired girl looked puzzled. "Mike? Who's Mike? Does he go here?"

She huffed. "N-no, he...moved away, okay?" She then tried to leave her once again.

However, Max was never the girl to not let up, so she put down her skateboard and began riding it to her. "He was your mage?" Jane didn't answer, but she kept going, "What could he do, like magic tricks or something?" She still didn't answer, but the red-haired tomboy performed a kick-stop with her skateboard and got in front of her. "Well, I can be your guys' Zoomer."

The curly-haired girl gave her a weird look. "That's not even a real thing."

She had a face of persistence. "But it COULD be." She got on her skateboard again and began to ride around her. "See? Zoomer."

Jane looked unimpressed. "Wow, how mind-blowing..."

Max grinned. "Come on, you HAVE to be impressed." Well, it wasn't like Jane could skateboard anyway.

She kept seeing her go in circles, making her state, "You're just going in circles. Do you even know any tricks?"

She scoffed. "You try it since you probably think it's easy."

She shook her head. "No."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I...don't know how. I never learned how to skateboard."

She actually looked a little surprised. "Seriously?" She performed a kick-stop again and held her skateboard. "Maybe I can teach you."

She gave her a weird look. "Why would you care to teach me?"

"I just wanna be friends. I never thought I'd meet another girl like me before." Jane didn't reply to that, Max shrugging a little. "I'm just saying, there's no reason to treat me like I'm your enemy or something. I can be nice and a good friend. You just have to treat me like one." Well...she certainly wasn't annoyed by her now. Plus, she was right about the two of them being the same since they were tomboys. Maybe...

She nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll try."

She smiled at her. "Great. Now, let's go find Dart." Jane guessed it wouldn't hurt to have her along after all. She'll give her a chance.

The two left the gym, Max skating. After a couple of minutes, Jane said, "Sorry that I treated you wrong before. It's just..."

"Just what?" Max asked curiously.

She shook her head, wondering if she should tell her that they have crushes on her. She decided not to say that. "I guess it's just that Lucas and Dustin like you more than me."

She raised an eyebrow again. "Really?"

"I mean, they seem to like hanging out with you more and they keep talking about you and stuff." She sighed. "I guess they're just tired of me."

"Hey." She skated around her again, making her stop. "If they're good friends, they'd still like being with you-y'know, despite me."

She guessed she had a point. "I guess."

Suddenly, Will's voice came through the walkie-talkie, saying, "Guys...I found him."

The two girls stopped moving, looking shocked at that statement as they both listen to the walkie-talkie closely. "Where?"

"In the bathroom...by Mr. Salerno's."

Jane pressed the speaking button and replied, "Copy that. Be right there." She walked forward, seeing that Max wasn't following. She stopped and looked back at her. "You coming?"

"Actually..." Max looked a little embarrassed. "I need to go to the bathroom, but I'll catch up."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later." She nodded back before they both parted ways, Jane running to the bathroom her friend was at.

Will, being in the bathroom, looked at Dart, who was near a toilet, and calmly said to him, "I-it's okay...I'm not gonna hurt you...just stay there until everyone else arrives..." He cowered to a corner and screeched at him. That caused him to drop his walkie-talkie and run out. He panted, feeling like he was shaking again. He reminded him of...

He saw the lights began to flicker, making him horrified by this. He didn't want to be in another episode...damn-

"Will?" Jane's voice called out. That caused the flickering to stop as he saw her go up the stairs and to him. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Um, yeah. I just..." He pointed at the bathroom door. "I just saw Dart get in there."

She nodded. "Okay." She was about to go in there to attack it, but Will grabbed her arm.

"Wait! He could hurt you!" She turned to him and stopped, realizing he could be right. After all, she didn't have anything to attack that creature with.

"Right, sorry."

He shook his head. "It's alright." She smiled at him, making him smile back and blush a little. He tried to get it away, his heart beating faster than before. Jeez, why was he doing this now? Was it because...

He remembered the confession advice Bob gave him this morning. Should he do it right now though? They were in a situation where-

"Are you alright?" the tomboy asked him, breaking out of his thoughts.

"Y-yeah, I just, uh..." He had all these feelings bottled up so much that he felt like he was going to explode. But then he remembered something: take a deep breath. He did so before saying, "Can I tell you something?" He was doing this...he was really doing this without being prepared.

She nodded. "Sure."

He took another deep breath. Since they were alone and this time was better than any today... "We've been friends for a very long time, haven't we?"

She nodded again. "Yeah, we have."

...

Mike was roaming through a hallway before he heard some voices. He froze, listening to the voices carefully...

...

Tell her how wonderful she is... "Ever since kindergarten, you always had my back and...you always stood up for me. I mean, I know you do it for Lucas and Dustin too, but I still appreciate it."

She smiled at him again. "Thanks. It's really no problem. I never liked seeing people get kicked down."

He nodded. "Right."

...

The freckled boy's eyes widened. He heard Jane's voice...Jane was near then. But who was she talking to? He slowly walked towards the sounds of their voices, trying to be out of sight as much as he could.

...

"And also, uh...you're into things I'm into like, uh, Dungeons and Dragons and, uh...technology stuff."

She nodded. "Yeah. I don't think I would've gotten into them if it weren't for you." She giggled a little. "I would've missed out."

His blush got more spread out, but he kept trying to tone it down, though he probably shouldn't in this case. Force of habit. But he liked being appreciated by her. "Well, uh, thanks."

...

He hid behind a wall, discreetly looking over to see Jane and Will, the boy he communicated with last year. He smiled at seeing her face again, but seeing her smile at Will, who was smiling back at her with a red face...it made him feel...uneasy.

...

"We always listened to each other and I really liked that you listened to me last night about..." He trailed off, shrugging a little. "You know."

"Anything for a friend." Friend... "So, uh, not to be rude, but what is this about, Will?"

God, he never felt so nervous in his life. But he had to pull through with it, just like Bob said. "I-I guess what I'm trying to say is..."

...

Will looked pretty nervous. Mike wondered why. He then heard him say, "You're a great person, Jane. You're unlike other girls, in a good way, and...you're a great friend."

He saw her blush a little, making him feel more uneasy and...feeling another thing he couldn't describe. "Wow, thanks, Will." He felt like...she shouldn't be with him right now.

...

"And, um, that's why I...I, uh..." Bob was right that this was easier said than done, but he still had to pull through to make it all worth it. "I wanted to ask you something."

Jane was curious. He was kind of acting a little weird. "Uh, okay. What did you want to ask?"

He cleared his throat and looked straight into her eyes bravely. "The Snow Ball's next month, right?"

...

The words "Snow Ball" hit Mike like a sack of bricks. Jane's promise to take him to the Snow Ball never left his memory. He wanted to go to the Snow Ball with her...but Will...was he going to...?

...

She nodded. "Yeah, of course it is."

He gulped, taking another deep breath. "Well, I was wondering if we could go there..."

...

He knew it.

He WAS going to ask her to go there with him.

The freckled boy felt something inside of him snap. He never wanted him to get the chance, so he tilted his head down...

...

"Like, with Lucas and Dustin?" she asked him.

"W-well, they could come too, but...I wanted to ask...uh..." Come on, pull through... "If you..." He suddenly spotted something from the corner of his eye, making him stop talking. But before he could really see what it was...

He suddenly got thrown right across the hallway by a strong force, landing across one of the exit doors hard. He let out a pained cry, rubbing the back of his head before he opened his eyes...and saw the school having the Upside-Down look. Just as he thought he wouldn't have another episode today...

...

That's what Mike did. He tilted his head up and threw him across the hallway to make sure he wasn't going to ask her to come to the Snow Ball with him. However, he saw Jane's aghast face, feeling awful to see it. "Will?!" she exclaimed. When she looked back, he hid himself from her sight.

...

Before she could go check up on him, she did notice that he could thrown hard by...nothing. Just a force...

A telekinetic force.

She looked back in shock, seeing no one there. She thought...it had to be Mike. It had to be. There was no doubt in her mind about it. After all this time...after nearly a year...

He threw Will like he was some rag doll?!

That made her decide not to go find him and to go check up on Will. He could have a concussion or something!

...

Will suddenly heard something whisking close to him. He felt the goosebumps rise and his skin crawl. The second he spotted a wave of dark matter come out from the hallway and rushing towards him, he stood up and pushed open the door, running away from it.

...

Jane heard the door open and saw her friend running, worrying her a lot. "Will, wait!" she cried out, running down the stairs. "Will!" She pushed open the exit door and left to go after him.

...

Now Mike felt absolutely terrible. First, she looked worried for him, and then she went after him, calling his name. He had watched her go, feeling very upset and...wanting to cry. He never thought things could go this way after what he did. Did she know it was him? Why did Will have to leave? Not that he minded that in particular, but THAT caused HER to leave too. He was her friend, but...he shouldn't go to the Snow Ball with her. Still...

He sighed heavily and began running away, holding back the guilt and the tears on his eyes. Suddenly, he bumped into someone, the two of them landing on the ground. "Ow..." groaned an unfamiliar female voice. He stood up and saw a freckled, red-haired girl looking at him, annoyed. "What the hell?! Who are you?!" He wasn't to be spotted like this, so he just ran off as fast as he could to the nearest exit without being spotted any more.

Max was absolutely puzzled, yelling, "Asshole!" He didn't apologize for crashing into her like that. Jeez. She stood up and continued walking to the bathroom by Mr. Salerno's, hoping to see the rest of the group there.

...

Dustin managed to get there before anyone else and hide Dart in his hat. When Lucas and Max came in, the black-haired boy asked, "Where's Dart?"

He shrugged, trying to be coy. "I dunno. Not here."

Both him and the red-haired tomboy looked baffled. "What?!" They both looked in the stalls, not seeing the creature there.

"Maybe Will has him."

Will...wait.

"Where IS Will?" Lucas asked.

"And where's Jane?" Max also asked. Dustin just shrugged, but became just as concerned as they were.

Jane saw him run to the woods, then stopped and faced the school. She continued to run at him, yelling, "Will! WILL!" He had to be going through another episode, he had to. He wouldn't be acting like this otherwise.

She heard him say something to her (at least, she thought), making her slow down a little. She then finally heard him yell, "Go...away!" She then stopped on her tracks. Was he saying that to her? Or something else? Or was he saying that to her, thinking she was something else...?

"Will?" she called out to him, slowly walking towards him.

"Go away! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" She saw that he was completely terrified and near tears. He was also looking up at the sky, probably seeing that shadow monster he told her about.

"Oh my God, Will, snap out of it!" she shouted to him, quickening her walking pace. However, she suddenly saw him completely freeze up, his eye rolling to the back of his head. That terrified the hell out of her. What happened? Did it get him?! She finally approached him and shook him. "Will! Will, speak to me!" He didn't move a muscle, still stuck like he was. "Snap out of it! It's just another stupid episode!" He still hadn't moved. "Will!" She didn't want to think the shadow monster got him...but it did looked like it. "WILL!"

Stopping here. Poor Will...but how was this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?

Sorry that this is a day late! I just struggled with how Will is going to ask Jane out. I wanted to make it pretty awkward and shy because that's who he is. Hope I handled that well.

Oh yeah and Mike threw him across the hallway...yeah, instead of that scene with Max 'cause it wouldn't work in this AU, I had him do that to Will in this AU. Let's say that Jane's not going to be happy when she finally sees him again...

Oh and speaking of Max, I hope I handled her interactions with Jane well. These two deserve to be in a friendship, not one practically snarling at the other all the time. And she DID see Mike, despite her not knowing it was him...

Anyways, follow, favorite, review, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

*P.S.: As of next Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, I'll be going to my college classes, then at September 4th, I'll go back to to my tech school (which means no more high school classes for me, yay!), so I dunno if I can keep updating every 2-3 days. I'll try though!*