I woke up with a pounding headache and a mouth as dry as the Sahara desert. The curtains were closed but even the small slivers of light they let through were too much for my sensitive eyes. It took me embarrassingly long to roll over and prop myself up on my elbow. With a shaky hand I took the glass of water that mom had left on my bedside table, and gulped half of it down in one go. I gasped for air dramatically, taking a few seconds to catch my breath, before downing the rest of the water and lying down on my back again. Even though I hadn't known that there was alcohol in the punch at the time, I should have guessed. Now I was paying the price and I was going to have to suck it up. I didn't want to think about sitting in class later, or even worse, cheerleading practice after school.

I looked over at my alarm clock to see just how much time I had to pull myself together and get ready, but I was sure I must still be seeing double when I saw the time. The clock read 11:43. Surely that was a mistake. Was it still the same evening? We had gotten home before 11, so technically it was possible that I had only slept for a short time and woke up again, but I genuinely felt like I had slept for three days in a row. Besides, the sun was up, so I quickly put that theory to rest.

It was past noon by the time I managed to actually drag myself out of bed. I slowly shuffled down the hall to the kitchen. The house was quiet. I was evidently home alone. There was a piece of paper on the kitchen table and I had to sit down to examine it properly.

Out working, Jonathan and Will are at school. There's left over lasagna in oven, you just have to turn it on. You're home sick from school today, we'll talk after work. See you tonight, honey. Love, Mom.

I could cry from happiness reading my mom's handwriting. Even after the shit I pulled the last few days—breaking curfew by over an hour and a half one evening and coming home hammered from a party the next—mom still made sure to take care of me.

Eating was the last thing on my mind right now, so I decided to wait to heat up the lasagna until my stomach had settled properly. I took a long, hot shower to wash the party stink off of me, took some painkillers against the headache and changed into sweatpants and a baggy hoodie. If I was going to be home sick all day, I might as well make myself comfortable.

I decided to get out my box of art supplies and work on a painting. It had been quite some time since I last painted anything and since I'd have the whole afternoon to myself, it would be nice to do something creative again. I was working on a landscape—a beach to be exact. It was still a dream of mine to visit the ocean someday, and until then I would have to make do with painting it rather than seeing it in person.

Before sitting down to paint, I walked to the kitchen and turned on the oven. I was getting hungry now, the hangover subduing and making room for a need for food in my stomach. The lasagna would probably take fifteen or twenty minutes to heat up properly, so I sat down at the kitchen table to continue the painting I had started a few weeks earlier.

I had just squirted a large blob of cerulean blue onto my palette, when I heard the loudest thunderclap I thought I'd ever heard, making me jump in my seat. There was a loud growl from outside—or was it the wind?—and I felt the static wash over me again. In the blink of an eye, the kitchen was dark, all the lights off and every piece of furniture and wall covered in slimy black vines. I was back in the Upside Down.

Something was different, though. My ears were ringing and, while the static was a normal feeling at this point, it was much more intense now. More so even than the last time I felt it. It was almost as if it consumed me, both inside and outside my body, like it was flowing through my veins and coating my skin.

"No… No!" I screamed as I jumped up from the chair, apparently with so much force that the whole set of chairs and table went flying through the kitchen. I ran out the front door, but everything looked exactly like when I had gone to find Will in the Upside Down. It was at that moment that I heard him.

"Go away!"

Will's terrified voice rang through the air, carried by the still roaring thunder, and it was as if I could sense where he was coming from. More terrifying that that, I saw a large shadow in the sky, moving slowly. It felt threatening, but not towards me. It was so far away, yet so large still that I didn't want to think about just how big it must look in person. If I had to make an estimate, I'd guess that the shadow was somewhere around the school grounds. Which was also exactly where Will aught to be at that time. It didn't make any sense that I could hear Will's voice if he was at school, but I had long since given up trying to make sense of the Upside Down.

"Go away!" I heard Will scream again, and I realized that he must have been addressing the shadow monster. It made me sick to my stomach to hear him like that and before I knew it, I was running. Barefoot once more, I ran down the dirt path that stretched from the house to the main road. The road was empty as I ran down it, my lungs burning from running as fast as I could and inhaling the toxic air. I didn't care that the gravel and small stones cut into my soles, in fact I hardly felt any pain. All I felt was my stomach turn whenever I heard Will's voice again, until it suddenly came to a stop, and everything around me felt empty and loud at the same time. I had no sense of gravity or pressure, I could have been floating through space for all I knew, but the thunder was roaring in my ears, as if it was coming from inside me. I didn't know how long it went on for, but one moment it was all there, and the next it was all gone—the thunder, the emptiness, the Upside Down—and I was inside a car. I was inside a car with Billy.

Billy tapped his hand on the steering wheel while the music blared through his speakers loudly. He tried to shake the annoyance of Max being late, again, and this time he hadn't had the patience to wait for her. Instead, he had left with the hot redhead from his English class that kept looking him up and down during fourth period. Joanne was her name. Or was it Jolene?

He couldn't remember and he didn't really care either. The original plan was to drop Max off at home, then take Joanne or Jolene to the lake he had discovered two nights ago for some good old fun in the backseat of his car. The dark water glimmering in the moonlight, the rustle of the leaves in the wind, the sound of Lori's laughter all came back to him as he remembered that night, and he quickly shook his head as if to shake the thought out of his head. He didn't want to think about Lori now. Not when he was about to get laid and the thought of her was almost sure to prevent him from getting it up.

Not that she was repulsive or ugly. She was actually pretty hot, especially in the outfit she had worn the night before. But the memory of said party was exactly why he couldn't think of Lori right now. When she had appeared in front of him, drunk and looking as if she was ready to pass out, he had just given the performance of his life and was crowned the new "Keg King". He had been very intoxicated and was running on the high of alcohol, notoriety and the knowledge that he was about to bang the host of the party. He had let his ego get the better of him, wanting to show off in front of Tina—which was pathetic in hindsight—and he was pretty sure that he had left Lori feeling humiliated. Normally he didn't care much about other people's feelings, but she had actually provided him with the first good memory of this town. He had enjoyed himself on the hood of her car that night, she had been kind and interesting. She definitely hadn't deserved the shit he had thrown at her last night.

He blinked a few times when he rounded a broad corner and a person came into view a long distance down the road. There was nothing strange about seeing people next to the road, but this person was in the middle of said road. They were running towards something, or from something, Billy wasn't sure. But he was sure that whatever they were doing, they clearly had a death wish.

"What the hell," he said as he slowed down a little.

Joanna had her eyes fixed on the person as she leaned forward in her seat a little and squinted. "Is that Lori Byers?" she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Of all the people that they could have ran in to, of course it had to be Lori. As they got closer and closer, Billy noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes or socks, and she looked dirty, as if she had been running through woods and sand and puddles of mud. He came to a stop about a hundred meters in front of her—Lori still running towards the car—and got out.

"Lori?" he called out to her, but if she heard him, she didn't acknowledge it. She had her eyes fixed on something behind him, though her gaze sometimes shifted to the sky. It was as if she couldn't even see him.

"Hey, Lori, what's going on," he said as he started walking towards her, when she suddenly came to a stop. She stood still, her eyes rolling back into her head and her arms spread out slightly, her palms facing up. He had no idea what he was looking at. It looked like she was having some kind of seizure.

"What the hell is wrong with her," Joanna said, who had stepped out of the car too and was now looking at her. Billy ignored her, his eyes fixed on Lori. He quickly walked over to her. Was he supposed to touch her, to try and wake her up? Or was it bad to touch people who were having a seizure? He couldn't remember, but he knew he had to do something.

"Lori, wake up," he said as he reached out to her, but he stopped when Lori slowly started rising. It was like she pushed herself up on her toes, but when he looked down at her feet, they were very clearly not touching the ground anymore.

"What the…" he whispered as he put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her down again, her feet back on the asphalt, but she was still unresponsive. He shook her shoulders slightly, but it changed nothing. He then scooped her up in his arms and turned to walk to the car.

"Move," he told Joanna, who scoffed slightly as she stepped away from the car. Billy put Lori in the passenger seat and closed the door, Lori now slumped against the door.

"What the hell, Billy," Joanna said, and Billy turned towards her.

"Seeya later, Jolene," he said before getting into the car and driving off. He had no idea where Lori lived, and even if he did, he wouldn't have just taken her home. He knew all too well that home wasn't always the best or safest option to go to, and especially in the state he had found her in, there was more than enough reason to suspect something was going on at home. He couldn't bring her to his home either, for the exact same reason, so he drove to the only place he knew they would have some peace and quiet.

He came to a halt by the lake and turned off the motor. He turned in his seat and looked at her. Lori's eyes were closed now, but moving rapidly behind her eyelids.

"Lori, wake up," he said, leaning over and lightly tapping her cheek with his hand. He looked around his car to see if he had any water laying around—people woke up from fainting when you splashed water in their face, right?—but of course he didn't.

"Come on Lori, wake up," he said again, shaking her a little, when Lori let out a loud gasp and sat up straight, her eyes shooting open wide. She was shivering and looked extremely skittish, before her eyes met his and she looked even more confused.

"Billy?"

It was as if I had been under water for too long, and I had come up just in time to draw a breath. The last thing I remembered I was in the Upside Down, trying to get to Will before that monster could get to him, and now I was… inside Billy's car?

"What…where am I? How did I get here?" I asked, looking around me as I tried to get my bearings. We were at the lake again, although it was broad daylight and rather than sitting on the hood of Jonathan's car, we were inside Billy's car.

"I picked you up, you were out in the middle of the road. You could've gotten run over. What the hell happened, it was like you were in some kind of trance," Billy asked, and I finally turned to look at him properly. He looked genuinely concerned, something that I hadn't expected he was actually capable of after last night. I then remembered Will and the monster again, but everything about that threatening feeling had subdued. As if it had never happened.

"Nothing, I…" I stammered as I tried to come up with a reason as to why I would be in the middle of the road, without shoes and unresponsive. I couldn't think of anything. "Can you just take me home?"

Billy stared at me, almost as if he couldn't believe what I had just asked of him.

"Please," I insisted. "Just go down this road and go left at the next turn."

He let out a humorless chuckle before he turned the motor on again and started driving.

"You're really not going to say anything?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. "You were floating, you know."

That made me freeze for a second. I had been floating? Now that had been a new one—I had never done that in any of my nightmares, not even in my episode during the day. Maybe I really was getting worse. I contemplated whether I should tell mom what had happened, and concluded that yes, I probably should. Especially since whatever had happened to me was directly linked to Will.

"Listen…if you're not talking to me because of last night, I-… I was really drunk, but I realize that's no excuse to be an asshole. You didn't deserve that. You looked pretty messed up…did you get home okay?" Billy asked, and I let out a long sigh.

"I don't care about last night, Billy. Just drive, please."

I saw his grip on the steering wheel tighten, his knuckles turning white, but whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself. When we drove up to our house, I spotted mom's car in the driveway and I felt a sense of relief wash over me. The car came to a stop and Billy turned towards me, about to say something, but I beat him to it.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I opened the door and quickly got out. I closed the door again before he had the chance to say anything and walked to the house, not looking back at him. I had bigger things to worry about than Billy right now. I heard Billy's Camaro drive away as I walked up the steps of the porch, happy that he hadn't tried to push conversation, and entered the house.

There hung a burning stench that tickled my nose and I realized that I had never turned the oven off. The house wasn't on fire, so I assumed mom had turned it off when she came home. I heard voices coming from the kitchen and I slowly walked there. Mom and Will were sitting at the kitchen table—Will looking like he had been crying and mom with a worried frown on her face.

"Oh Lori, thank God, what—…sweetie what happened?" she asked when she spotted me looking frazzled and dirtied. She got up and hurried over, wrapping me into a hug. "The kitchen was a mess when we got back, the oven was on with the lasagna burning inside it and the table and chairs were all knocked over. The front door was open as well, I-I thought something had happened to you."

"I'm okay, mom," I said when she let me go, and I turned towards Will. He was looking up at me, and in that moment I knew we understood that whatever had happened, we had both bared witness to it. I quickly closed the distance between us and dropped to my knees to hug him. He hugged back tightly and we sat like that for a little while.

"I heard it, I heard you," I finally said when I pulled back to look at him.

"Heard what? That big monster?" mom asked, and I knew Will must have told her about his episode. I nodded and sat down on one of the chairs, mom following my example as she also sat at the table again. I told them what had happened—how I turned the oven on and how I had suddenly been in the Upside Down. How I had heard Will, had gone out to look for him, had seen that monster in the distance and had felt it consume me, or what I now realized, had been Will.

"I thought you only had occasional nightmares, not episodes like Will's," mom said, nervously lighting up a cigarette.

"I do. Or, did…at first," I said. "I…had nightmares more often than I let on, though. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I didn't think it was that big of a deal. They were just nightmares," I said with a light shrug, avoiding my mom's gaze.

"But this was different. It was like I was back. It felt and looked so real. And Will… it felt like he was in actual real danger. I've never felt it this strongly before."

It was silent for a while, the three of us all looking exhausted and spent.

"Will, honey, let's get you to bed, huh? You can take a nap," mom said as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Will you stay with me?" he asked softly.

"Of course, sweetie, of course," mom quickly answered before looking up at me. "Will you be alright, dear?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to take a bath. Was this grime off me," I said, gesturing to my feet. Mom gave me a small smile before walking down the hall with Will and disappearing into his room. I walked to the bathroom and drew myself a bath. I dunked half a bottle of liquid soap in there for good measure and placed a clean towel and pajamas on the counter next to the sink. I lowered myself chin-deep into the hot water and took a deep breath, feeling my muscles relax slowly. I leaned my head back against the edge of the tub and closed my eyes. I wasn't sure how long I had been in the bath for, but when the water started getting too cold for comfort, I drained the tub and took a quick shower, washing off all the mud that hadn't soaked off yet.

When I exited the bathroom, dabbing my hair dry with a towel, the house was still quiet. I checked in Will's room, where mom and Will were sound asleep. I knew if I went to sleep now—it wasn't even 6 PM yet—there was no way I would sleep throughout the night. I walked to the fridge and made myself a sandwich—egg salad I had made a few days ago—and slowly ate it while sitting on the couch. I had just put the last piece in my mouth when I heard the familiar roar of Jonathan's car. When he entered the house, I greeted him with a meek smile.

"Hey, Lori. Where's mom and Will?" he asked, confused by the emptiness and darkness of the house. He turned on a few lights before sitting next to me on the couch.

"They're sleeping," I said as I pulled my feet up and wrapped my arms around my knees. I told him everything that had happened in the afternoon, in as much detail as possible. I even told him about waking up in Billy's car and what he had told me—that I'd been out on the road in a trance, and even that I apparently had been floating. This seemed to alarm Jonathan, and I couldn't blame him. I was alarmed by it too.

"What do you think it means?" he eventually asked, but I shook my head.

"I don't know. But I do know that something is very, very wrong. Something happened to Will on that field. I didn't get to him in time, the shadow monster got to him before I could. And whatever he did to Will, it was bad, Jonathan. I could feel it, like it was taking over somehow."

Jonathan wrapped an arm around me and I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"He'll be okay, Lo. And so will you."

I just hoped he was right.

"Jonathan, I think this is a bad idea," I said as I followed him around the house while he tossed things into his duffel bag.

"I know, you've told me a million times by now," he said, " but we have to do something. The Hollands still believe they can find their daughter. They need to know the truth."

"It is dangerous, though, what if these guys come after you and Nancy," I protested. I hated their plan. They wanted to actually get inside Hawkins Lab to get an audio recording of then admitting that Barbara was dead, so they could finally get justice for her and closure for her parents.

"That's the whole point, to get into the lab," Jonathan said as he turned to me.

"Right, and what about getting out?" I said as I planted my hands on my hips.

"If everything goes according to plan, they'll let us walk out."

"And if everything does not go according to plan?" I challenged, and was met with silence from my brother.

"If not…we'll come up with something. You know where we are, we'll make sure they also know that people know about our whereabouts. We'll be fine," he assured me as he swung the bag strap over his shoulder.

I sighed deeply, knowing I wouldn't be able to stop him even if I kept pleading.

"So let me come with you, the more—"

"No, you need to stay here. Will, and mom, they need you."

I wasn't surprised by this either, and I wondered if that really was the only reason, or if he also wanted to be alone with Nancy. No way, there was no way he was thinking about something as insignificant as that right now.

"Just promise me you'll be careful," I said as I stepped closer and hugged him. He hugged me back tightly.

"I will. I'll be back, okay," he said before disappearing through the front door. I heard his car take off, and was met with silence. Will and mom were still asleep in Will's room, so I decided to get ready for school by myself and walk. In spite of everything that happened yesterday—or maybe because of it—I craved normalcy. I just wanted to go to stupid classes and have a stupid school lunch and pretend like everything was normal, even if it was just for a couple of hours. I was determined to make today as normal as possible.

School didn't disappoint. It was boring and uneventful, just like school always was, and I couldn't have been happier about it. At lunch, Jenna chatted about how she and Steve had talked on the night of Halloween, how Nancy had basically broken up with him and left him hanging. How the cheer squad had practiced, some of them upset at me for staying home with a hangover while they were out there busting their asses even though they too had gone to the party. I scoffed at that. If only they knew.

"Also, I heard a rumor but there is no way this is real because you weren't even at school yesterday," Jenna said, piquing my interest.

"A rumor about me?"

"Yeah. Joanna claims that she was driving with Billy yesterday after school, but that they ran into you and he basically threw her out of his car and left with you instead," she explained.

Oh. That.

"Apparently the two of you went somewhere to…you know," she continued, and I could tell what she was hinting at just from her expression.

"Who has heard about this," I groaned, leaning my head back and staring into the bright lamps overhead.

"Basically everyone…"

"Wonderful," I sighed as I looked around me, suddenly very aware of every single person in the cafeteria. Was I imagining things or were people staring at me?

"So…is it true?" Jenna asked, and I could tell from her tone that she felt a little guilty about it.

"What? No, of course not," I quickly said with a shake of my head. "I mean, he did drive me home yesterday… I was out, uh…I had to run errands but I didn't have a ride, we ran into each other and he gave me a ride home, that's all. Joanne is just a bitch who thrives on gossip and being the center of attention. She just made it up so that people would pay attention to her."

I felt a little guilty badmouthing Joanna, since I hadn't even seen her at all yesterday and didn't know what had happened, but then remembered that she had also told everyone that apparently Billy and I got it on. Now I knew for a fact that that hadn't happened, so she could go to hell for starting that rumor.

Even so, the whole thing felt silly and significant in the grant scope of things, and that's exactly what I had wanted: a typical stupid school day. Be careful what you wish for, I thought to myself.

A/N — Hi! Thank you so much for all the nice comments, guys! It's very flattering to see something you're passionate about also being liked by others, and it works very motivating too! So please consider leaving a comment if you like the read, even if it's a very short one! Also, I hope the shift in style (with Billy's POV) wasn't too jarring, since the rest of the story is in first person. I plan on including some other POVs in the future as well, so I hope it was an interesting switch. Uploads will be a little slower from now on—every few days instead of pretty much every day, but they'll still be frequent. Thanks again for reading and I hope you'll look forward to the next chapter!