Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Mike stepped closer to Jane, overjoyed about seeing her again. Removing her hands from her mouth, she stammered out, "M-Michael...?"

His smile widened when he heard her say his name...in real time. "Jane." He was about to hug her, but to his surprise...she shoved him away, looking upset. He looked both puzzled and shocked.

"Why, Mike...?" He still looked puzzled as she stormed to him. "Why did you do it?! WHY DID YOU THROW WILL LIKE THAT?!" She shoved him one more time, now making him look sorrowful. Everyone looked shocked to hear this, especially the adults. Joyce was completely dumbfounded by that statement, but Terry and Hopper felt completely baffled that they both had actually seen each other at school the other day and that...he threw Will.

The freckled boy's eyes became teary. He should have known that she knew it was him that threw Will like that, though she still went after her friend afterwards. To be honest with himself...he came to regret it. Still, it hurt him to see Jane act this way towards him. He gulped and said, "I'm sorry..."

She scoffed, sniffled, and wiped the tears that came out of her eyes. "That's all you need to say?"

He shook his head. "I...I'm stupid." Her angered expression softened a little. "I wish I never did it."

She frowned. "Why did you, though?"

Tears began to run down his cheeks. "I thought...I thought he was going to...ask you to..." He sniffled. "The Snow Ball." Her eyes widened. "I wanted to go with you..." She thought that was the reason why he did it...even though that wasn't a good one. "You promised...I thought he was gonna break it." He wiped his tears away. "I'm sorry, Jane. I'll never do it again. I'm stupid."

She shook her head and hugged him, much to his surprise. "No, you're not, Mike." Feeling comforted to hold her again, he hugged her back and let more tears. "But please don't do that ever again. Promise?"

He sniffled and nodded. "I promise."

While everyone was feeling better about the situation, some still had to process that Mike threw Will...maybe at the school. For Max, it was quite the shocker to find out that the asshole that ran into her at school was Mike all along, maybe running from that throwing Will situation. For Hopper and Terry, it was definitely at the school. They definitely had words to say to him about that and for Terry, her daughter too because she told her that she didn't see anything strange (in other words, she didn't see Mike). But for now...

After a bit, they broke their hug and looked into each other's eyes. Jane smiled through her tears. "I missed you so much, Mike."

He smiled at her through his tears as well. "I missed you too, Jane."

She kept her smile. "I never gave up on you. I called to you...every night for-"

"353 days." She looked surprised that he knew that, him nodding. "I heard."

Her smile dropped. "Y-you heard?" His smile dropped as well when he nodded again. "Th-then why didn't you answer?"

Hopper and Terry looked at each other with guilty faces, Hopper whispering, "I'll take the blame."

She shook her head and faced the two kids, saying to them, "We wouldn't let him, sweetheart." She turned to her and Hopper with a completely shocked look on her face.

"'W-we'?"

The police chief sighed. "Me and her." The tomboy could feel her blood run cold. Her mom...and the chief...they were...they knew he was...?

They both walked to Mike, him looking upset at the two. "What the hell, bud? Where've you been?" the man asked him.

"Where've you two been?" he asked them in a voice that matched his expression before they all went in for a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright..." Terry whispered to him.

Jane felt the anger she felt at Mike not too long ago rise up again, this time for both Hopper and her mom. "Y-you've been hiding him?" she asked in a shaky voice. The two adults looked at her as she looked at Terry. "Y-you have your night shift!"

She sighed and straightened up. "We can talk in private."

Her daughter nodded. "Yeah...you and Hopper." Hopper sighed as the three went into a room to talk. Mike looked worried, knowing that this revelation was hurting her, as it was for him to be away from her for 353 days.

...

As Hopper closed the door, Terry turned to Jane and said, "I quit the night shift to help Hopper take care of Mike."

"What?!" Jane exclaimed, the two adults tensing up. Never mind how she was still earning more money...

"Kid, calm down-" Hopper told her, but she cut him off.

"Why haven't you told me about him?!" She looked at Hopper. "And you! WHY did you hide him?!"

He sighed again and put his assault rifle down. "Listen, Jane, the more people know about him, the more danger he's in," he answered.

"And the more danger our family could be in," her mom added. "We're just protecting him and I'm protecting our family-"

Jane looked baffled when she said they were protecting him. "What, do you think I would tell EVERYONE that he's still alive?!"

Terry huffed. "No, but I'm on thin ice with the Lab and I can't risk any more situations that'll lead to me DEAD and you and Kali orphans!"

The curly-haired girl gritted her teeth, more tears coming out. "Jane, calm down," Hopper said, making her look at him.

"How can I calm down when I've been LIED TO by my OWN mom?!" She pointed at her, the woman looking hurt.

He raised his hands up. "Listen, I was the one that brought up the idea to her." He could feel her sharp gaze pierce through him...like Mike's, a few days ago. However, he still kept his ground. "You don't need to be mad at her, alright?"

"I'm mad at you too!" She pointed at him. "YOU kept talking about him to me like he's GONE, JUST LIKE MAMA!" His lips drew to a thin line.

"Jane, don't get mad at him either-" Terry told her sternly.

She whipped her head to her. "What, are you two dating or something?! Is that why you guys kept him in secret and didn't tell me?!" They both fell silent, feeling cold for a second as they diverted their eyes away from hers. She looked appalled at their reactions, shaking her head and backing away from them. "No, no, no, no..."

The dirty-blonde-haired woman sighed and walked to her daughter. "Jane-"

"Why, Mama?"

"Jane, you got to believe me-"

"How can I believe you anymore?! After seeing that you KNEW Mike was alive and KEPT him in secret with...with HIM!" She pointed at Hopper, who looked damn well frustrated. "With that stupid, ugly, lying piece-of-shit police chief-"

"HEY!"

"-that's probably gonna be my new dad or something!"

"JANE!" She grabbed her daughter's shoulder tightly and shook her. "There is NOTHING between me and Hopper, okay?! NOTHING!" Jane's breathing became shaky as the man in question felt heartbroken to hear that. "We both worked together to give Mike a new home and take care of him! Nothing more! Do you understand?!" Her lip was quivering a little and she began crying again. Terry looked forlorn to yell those things to her own daughter, so she said in a soft voice, "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that, sweetheart, but it's the truth." The girl sniffled and closed her eyes, looking down. "We need you to understand this, okay?" She tried to hug her, but she was quick to get out of it.

"I don't understand, Mama!" she replied in a distressed voice. "I don't understand why you and him have to do this!" Terry began to cry as well, shedding a tear.

Despite being heartbroken by what Terry had said to her, Hopper felt just as awful for Jane as Terry was, so he walked towards her. "Listen, Jane. You don't need to understand right now, okay?" He pointed at the wall, actually pointing at Mike. "Just don't be mad at him too, okay? He's upset enough as he is-"

The curly-haired girl scoffed. "I'm not mad at him for this! I'm mad at YOU!" She pointed at him before pointing at her mom. "And YOU! I HATE YOU GUYS! I HATE YOU!" She shoved her mom when she got close.

Hopper made sure she didn't fall by putting a hand on her back before facing her again with a sad smile. "Y'know what? It's fine if you hate me-"

"It's NOT fine! NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS FINE!" She sniffled as the two adults came closer to her. "YOU'RE BOTH TRAITORS! LIARS!" She shoved her mom again, but she managed to capture her in a hug, which struggled to get out of. "YOU'RE BOTH LIARS! I CAN'T TRUST YOU TWO! NOT EVEN YOU, MAMA!" Those words hurt the woman, but she still hugged her, letting the tears come out. She knew that this awful situation was going to come eventually, but it still stung her hard. It didn't mean she shouldn't still show her daughter that she still loves her. "LIARS! LIARS! LIARS!"

"Come on, kid," Hopper said solemnly as he joined in on the hug too.

"LIARS! Liars! Liars...liars..." She then broke down, sobbing and crying onto her mom's shoulder. Jane never felt so hurt about being betrayed before...but as time went by, she slowly became more comforted by her mom's embrace...and Hopper's as well. She just had a lot to process and...she didn't go over it well. She had a reason to be completely upset, but still...

...

Meanwhile, back in the living room, Mike gave Lucas and Dustin a hug, closing his eyes and smiling. "We missed you, Mike," Lucas said to him.

"I missed you guys too," he replied.

"We talked about you everyday," Dustin added as the three boys released from their hug. The freckled boy kept his smile until he saw Dustin, looking puzzled. He touched his front teeth, making him back away in confusion.

"Teeth?"

"What?"

"You have teeth?"

It took him a few seconds to realized that he was talking about his new front teeth. He smiled, exchanging that with Lucas before facing Mike again. "Oh, ya mean these pearls?" He pointed at them, making him nod. He then growled, getting a weirded-out reaction from him.

"What was that?" Mike asked. The African-American boy could only shake his head and face-palm.

"What?" asked Dustin. "It's the best way to show them off." Was it?

He shook his head. "No way, dude..."

A couple seconds later, Max walked up to him, looking very friendly and happy to meet him. He recognized her, being a little stiff. "Hey Mike, I'm Max," she greeted, holding her hand out to him and smiling. He only looked at it before looking up at her. She nervously laughed a little and added, "Sorry about calling you an asshole back at the school." Both Lucas and Dustin looked surprised to hear that, but then remembered that Jane said he threw Will back at the school, so they figured they must've bumped into each other there too. "I've heard a lot about you and I think you're awesome."

It was nice of her to say and she actually looked nice too. Plus, she was a friend of theirs, so he smiled back at her and shook her hand. "Thanks," he replied. The red-haired girl actually felt relieved that he wasn't mad at her for calling him an asshole. She couldn't wait to get to know him more. That was, when they're going to end the shit-show that was tonight.

Mike then walked to Joyce, the two hugging each other tight. "Hey..." she greeted him in a soft voice.

"I'm sorry about hurting Will," he whispered to her in a sad voice.

They released the hug as she looked him straight in the eyes. "You know what, sweetie?" She then held his shoulders. "It's okay. You're going to make up for it, right?"

He nodded. "Where is he? Can I see him?" She nodded back at him as she led him to Will's room.

She opened the door and they both got in. Mike saw the boy he saved last year, the boy he threw a few days ago...the boy he was going to save again, Will. He was unconscious, laying in bed with a blanket over him. He took a deep breath as he and Joyce crouched down to him. "Y-you see, he's not doing well..."

He nodded a little. "I know. I saw." During his bus trip, he used his powers to see what was going on. He saw what was happening with Will amongst everything else.

The brunette looked surprised that he knew what was going on with him, but became very curious. "Wh-what else did you see?"

...

Not much later, he entered into the dining room with her, looking at the message Kali wrote out on cardboard. Joyce suddenly knew where he was getting at, pointing at it. "You opened this gate before, right?" she asked him.

"Yes," he answered. Everyone else, including Jane, Hopper, and Terry, were getting to the dining room to hear everything.

"Do you think that if...if we can get you back there, then you can close it?" He looked at her straight in the eye. The hole he's created has gotten bigger than he ever imagined...

Meanwhile, Billy had to go around town to find his little sis-no, she wasn't his little sister. To him, she was a piece of shit. However, his dad and Susan came back and wanted him to cancel his date so he could find her, so that was what he was doing. Goddamn son of a bitch...

He drove away from the Ives's home because not only were the lights out, but no one answered the goddamn door. Thankfully, with this piece of paper Mrs. Sinclair gave him, there was another address he could go to because there were two places the kids would hang out at: the Ives's home...

And the Byers's home.

"It's not like before," Terry told everyone, who were all gathered up in the dining room. "It's grown much more."

"And, even considering that we can get in there..." Hopper added. "That place is crawling with those dogs-"

"Demo-dogs," Dustin corrected him. He and Terry glared at him.

"What was that?"

"Uh, I said Demo-dogs. Like..." He used his hands to make his point. "Demogorgon and dogs. Ya put them together, it sounds pretty badass-"

"Dustin, is this important right now?" Terry asked him sternly.

He frowned and looked away. "N-no, it's not, m'am. I'm sorry."

Mike should have known there was going to be imminent danger when he gets back there. If he didn't know any better, he wouldn't want to go and close it. But after what's happened to him and everyone else today, he was determined to close it, no matter what. He looked up at his parental figures and said, "I can do it."

Not only did they gave him a worried look, but also Jane. "You're not hearing us, bud-" Hopper replied.

"I'm hearing you guys. I can do it." The hole was massive. How could he close it? His powers could be powerful, but...he was just a kid.

"Okay...even if Mike can, there's still another problem," Jane stated, everyone looking at her. "If the brain dies, so does the body."

Max looked puzzled. "I thought that was the point."

"It is, but..." She paused and sighed. "If we're REALLY right about this, if Mike closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayer's army..."

"Will will go out with them," Lucas finished for her in a solemn voice.

She nodded, looking sad. "Yeah, closing the gate will kill him." Everyone fell silent, wondering what the hell they should do now. Joyce had just remembered something though...and that something gave her a big realization.

...

Everyone got into his room, the brown-haired woman looking at the open window. "He likes it cold," she said.

"What?" Hopper asked.

"Will kept saying that to me." She was nodding a little before walking to the opened window. "He likes it cold." She closed it, facing her unconscious son. "We keep giving that thing what it wants."

Almost everyone was catching up to what she was saying. "If this is a virus and Will's the host..." Kali began, looking at her friend's little brother.

"We have to make the host uninhabitable," Jonathan finished for her, being near his little brother.

"If that monster likes it cold..."

"We need to burn it out of him," Joyce said.

"That means we'll have to do that somewhere he doesn't know this time," Jane replied.

"Yeah, somewhere far away," Dustin added. This gave Hopper and Terry an idea, the two exchanging glances.

...

In the backyard, Kali and Steve was digging through the things Hopper threw out of the shed for heaters. While they were doing so, the Indian girl had this burning desire to continue the conversation they were having while covering the shed. She sighed and asked, "Steve?"

"Yeah?" he plainly replied.

"Do you want to know why else I didn't meet up with you to tell you that I was leaving?" He looked curious before realizing that she avoided that topic earlier in the shed. He didn't answer, but continued looking at her as he picked up a radio. She looked at him and said, "You acted weird that day, after the party."

He felt like shit when she brought that up. He knew he didn't act the best way when she confronted him about that. "Right...about that..." She looked up at him as she held up a fan and he dropped the radio he was holding to carry a bunch of Christmas lights. "I didn't think you would react very well if I told you what really happened at the party."

She looked concerned, remembering the rumors Jonathan told her about. "What happened, Steve? I want to know." He took a deep breath and dropped the Christmas lights, walking to her and crouching down to dig through the junk some more. "Are the rumors true?"

He shook his head, looking at her in disbelief. "No, they're bullshit."

She figured. "Then what happened?"

"You..." He took another deep breath, looking at her deep in the eyes. "You had an emotional breakdown in the bathroom."

She looked quite shocked to hear that. "What?"

Now they stopped digging through the junk, not breaking eye contact as she crouched down as well. "You came into the bathroom to wash off that punch stain off your dress and I tried to get you back home, but then..." He frowned, looking away from her and shaking his head. "You called yourself stupid for not listening to me, for pointing a gun at me last year, and...for arguing with Barbara before she died." She looked forlorn to hear all of that, Steve now looking into her eyes again. "You were crying and...I just felt like shit, y'know? I felt awful for you to hear you say all of that. I let you cry on me for a while, then you just...cried yourself to sleep. Then I brought you home." She looked away from him, trying to process all that he said to her. She broke down crying and blaming herself for those things...she couldn't believe that Murray's read of her hit her harder than before. She wasn't her biggest fan, after all...

He let out a deep sigh, glad to get that off of his chest, but still hurt from remembering that night. He wondered how Kali was taking all of this. He hoped she wouldn't be pissed at him for it, but she probably would, he thought. He continued, "I was stupid for not telling you before. Made me look more suspicious of those rumors, right?"

She looked at him and answered, "Yeah."

He scoffed and looked away from her for a second. "I figured." He got on his feet and continued digging through the junk. "If you want to break up with me, you can." He looked sad when he said that. "I'm an idiot and a pretty shitty boyfriend. Pretty valid reasons to break up, right?"

She gave him a shocked look. Why would he suggest something like that? It wasn't like she was perfect either. Plus, he DID drive her back home, like a good boyfriend would do. She stood up, smiled, and said, "You are an idiot, Steve Harrington." He nodded a little before she wrapped her arm around his shoulder, surprising him a little and making him stop what he was doing. "But you're my idiot." He looked at her in surprise when she said that, grinning just a little. "Besides, I'm not the perfect girlfriend either. I left without telling you and got you all worried. Plus, there's all that stuff last year." She chuckled at that, making him chuckle as well and grin wider.

"I guess that's fair," he replied. "So, I'm your idiot, huh?"

She nodded, grinning back at him. "My one and only."

Their faces were close to each other, him stating, "I can live with that." They then shared a kiss, solidifying that they weren't going to leave each other anytime soon.

...

The police chief carried Will, who was wrapped up in a blanket, out to the driveway with Jonathan, Joyce, and Terry. "You take Denfield and when you see a large oak tree..." the dirty-blonde-haired woman said to the Byers. "Swing a right and you'll see a dead-end. From the look of your car, you can park there and it's a five-minute walk. You'll see it."

Jonathan opened a door of his car to let the police chief put Will inside. "O-okay, Denfield to oak tree...swing a right. That's it?"

"Yes."

"It's channel ten, right?"

"Yes, it's channel ten," Hopper said as he got out of the car and Jonathan closed the door. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, you let us know when that thing's outta him, right?" He just nodded, leading him to pat him on the back and go back inside with Terry. She looked back at her friend, giving her a worried look. Joyce gave her a reassured one, making her smile. She hoped to Christ that Will was going to be okay, Joyce and Jonathan will definitely make sure of it.

Meanwhile, she and Hopper will accompany Michael to the Lab. Terry will be there for directions while Hopper will be defending her and the telekinetic boy. Terry will also be armed in case those monsters came in more ways than one. This would leave Jane alone...but she knew who to trust with her and the rest of the kids.

...

Back in the house, Kali was ready to leave with Jonathan and the heaters brought to the car, but talked to her boyfriend before going out there. "You're fine with me going with Jonathan, right?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah, you're his friend, aren't you? Friends go and support each other." She smiled at him and caressed his cheek.

"You may not be the perfect boyfriend, Steve, but from what you've told me, you're a damn good babysitter." Her hand then travelled down onto his shoulder.

He laughed a little. "Am I?"

She got her hand off of his shoulder. "You saved Jane's friends from those Demo-dog-things with your bat. I haven't seen any babysitters willing to do that."

He laughed again. "You're right." He held her hand and gently squeezed it. "Don't worry. I'll make sure Jane and the rest of the little shits are safe."

"Thanks." They then shared a quick kiss before she left.

...

Outside, Kali hugged Jane, who was near Mike, and said, "I'll see you later. Don't treat Steve like shit, okay?"

She chuckled a little and nodded. "Sure, Kali. Don't die."

She scoffed. "Wasn't planning too." She then left, leaving her with the dark-haired boy now.

They looked into each other's eyes, the tomboy holding his hands and very worried. "Just be careful, okay?" she said, her eyes becoming watery at the thought of what she was going to say next. "I don't wanna lose you again, Mike."

He shook his head, his eyes watery as well, and told her, "You're not going to lose me, Jane."

She blinked, a tear going down her cheek. "Do you promise?"

He nodded, giving her a bit of a reassuring smile. "I promise." She smiled back at him as they both leaned towards each other...about to kiss.

Suddenly, Hopper and Terry, who now had a pistol Hopper found near the shed in her back pocket, spotted what they were going to do, their parental instincts kicking in. "Hey," they both called out to the both of them. They got away from each other and looked back at them. Terry walked over to them and said, "Come on, Mike. It's time to go."

"Yeah, buddy, we don't have all night," Hopper added as he got into his car.

They both sighed and looked at each other again. "You're also going to make sure Mama will be safe, right?"

He nodded at her again. "Yes." They both smiled at each other once more as the girl let go of his hands. Terry got to them, hugging her daughter tight as she returned it.

"I'll miss you, sweetheart," she whispered to her. "Please be safe."

"You too, Mama," she whispered back as they released the hug. Her mom gave her a reassuring look as she made Mike go to Hopper's car with her.

As he got into the car, Terry went to Kali and they both hugged each other. "Be safe, sweetheart."

"You too, Mum." They broke it off, giving each other reassuring looks as they got into their respective vehicles. And just like that, both of the cars drove away.

Mike couldn't help but look back as he, Hopper, and Terry were driving off. Jane looked so worried about him and his mom, Kali too, probably. He will keep his promises to her, no matter what. He will be careful, he will make sure Terry is safe. He will also make sure that Hopper is safe and that he'll close the gate, once and for all.

Happy belated 2019, folks! How was this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?

This took a bit because I began having second thoughts on how this entire chapter should go because I've been WAITING to write this one! Where everything comes to an emotional high! Now this chapter is how it is!

So...there's the case of Mike throwing Will at the school. Of course Jane would be angry at him, but we all know she wouldn't angry at him for long and that he's learned that what he did was wrong, so now they're both really happy to see each other again.

Aaaaaand then there's Hopper and Terry taking care of Mike coming up to surface. I made Jane a helluva lot more mad because, well, her MOM and the police chief, people she thought she could trust, kept that a secret. It's a LOT more intense. Poor Jane...poor Hopper too, since Terry said there was nothing between them and poor Terry for making her daughter mad and distraught like this...

Of course Mike is going to shake hands with Max and see her as another friend. She wasn't the one he threw...

Yeaaaaaah, no MILFs answering the door for Billy in this AU. I mean, I'll-as a matter of fact, we'll have to see if that scene with him and Karen get to someplace in Season 3.

I hope I didn't make that moment when Steve tells Kali what happened too cheesy. I began loving them together more and more as I write this entire fanfic, so...yeah. They're still gonna be together~!

Yeah, Terry's gonna go with Hopper and Mike to close the gate, just for directions and some extra protection (and maybe something else). I hope you guys don't mind that!

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

P.S.: Before any of you ask, OF COURSE I'm gonna write M11 Season 3! I'm sure it's a given at this point. We'll have to wait 'til the 4th of July though AND I'll have to plan what changes I'll have to make when I see it in its entirety. But yeah, I'll write Season 3 around when it comes out! Who's pumped to see it though? I know I am! Since I'm American who celebrates the 4th of July, this'll add to the fun! :D