Lyn park Darling beside Steve's BMW in her driveway. Lyn got out of her car and made her way over to Dustin and Steve. They were looking into BMW's trunk that had the bat with nails in it. "This isn't some dumb prank it is, Lyn? I got things to do today." Steve turns to her. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. Even though he would act upset if it was a prank, it what he was hoping for.
"I wish it was, Steve." She reaches in and grabs the red flashlight that was in his car. She went into the garage to grab the weapons she gathers up. She passes the crowbar to Dustin. She kept the hairspray and lighter to herself. "You said you guys killed the last one with fire, right?" She shows Steve what she had in her hands.
"Yeah," He nods weakly. He grabs the bat from his car and closes the trunk.
Dustin went into the garage to grab his headset and walkie. "Alright, let go." He put it on as he walks to the backyard where the cellar is. Steve grabs the flashlight from Lyn to walk in front of them. He turns on the flashlight so they could see better, some much time had passed that it was now dark. The unknown around them was making everyone anxious.
Steve walks over to the cellar with Lyn and Dustin right behind him. Steve pokes the cellar's door with the bat to see if Dart would react. When he didn't, he slams the bat down on it. "I don't hear shit." He turns towards them.
"He's in there." Dustin nod to the cellar.
Steve lifted the flashlight up to shine it in his face. "All right, listen, kid. I swear if this is some sort of Halloween prank, you're dead."
"It's not." Dustin glares at the stubborn teen with squinted eyes.
"Alright?" He shrugs sarcastically.
"Stop acting likes a douche bag because you're heartbroken. It's not a prank. We all wish we were doing something else right now. I would rather be doing homework or picking up a shift. Dustin would rather be hanging out with his friends. You would rather be making up with Nancy. But, we have more important matters to take care of." Lyn snaps. If Steve treated this like it was a game, he was going to die when those doors open.
"Alright," He nods his head. This being real was a hard pill to swallow.
"Can you get it out of my face?" Dustin put his hand up to block the light that was starting to hurt his eyes.
"You got a key for this thing?" He puts the light on the cellar. Lyn grabs the keys from her back pocket and hands it to him. He gave the flashlight to Dustin. He bent down and unlocks the cellar and opens the doors slowly. Lyn had the lighter and hair spray in hand ready to light Dart up if needed. But, nothing came running out at them. "Let me see that." He grabs the flashlight back from Dustin and shines it down into the cellar.
Everywhere Steve could shine the light there was no sign of anything living. "He must be further down there. I'll stay up here in case he tries to escape." Dustin said making Steve look back at him and shake his head.
"I'll go down with you." Lyn offers.
"No, you stay up here. The fewer bodies down there, the less error for confusion there be." Steve stood up. Dustin and Lyn held hands as he walks down the stairs. Soon he was out of the sights and all they could do is strain to hear what was going on.
A few minutes pass with the silent cellar. "Steve? Steve, what's going on down there?" Lyn calls for her friend.
Dustin and Lyn jump when the light flashes up at them. "Get down here." He orders. They slowly walk down the steps.
Lyn grimaced when Steve held up a Dart's shed skin with his bat. "Oh, shit." Dustin gasps when he realizes that meant Dart got bigger.
Steve flashes his light over to the giant hole in the wall. "Oh, shit!" The Henderson sibling yells as they ran over there to inspect the wall. He shines the light to show that the tunnel that Dart dug seems to be endless.
"No way. No way," Dustin shook his head.
"Oh my god, what if he's killing someone right now." Lyn looks down at her hands as if she would be able to see blood on them. "It's my fault." She put her hands over her face.
"Your fault, it's my fault. I found him and feed him. All that wasted nougat." He whines.
"But, I'm the one that feeds him meat. I gave him crickets and mice. I gave him his first kill and now he wants more." She couldn't believe that she was so desperate to keep a connection with Dustin that she let him keep a monster.
"Stop it, both of you. It doesn't matter who fault is it, all that matters right now is there a monster on the loose in our city." Steve scolds them. Dustin and Lyn look at him and nod their heads. "Come on, we'll take my car and go looking for him." He went up the stairs with the Henderson sibling behind him.
Dustin and Lyn grab their backpack before they got in the BMW. They drove around looking for Dart. Steve refuses to let them out of the car to go looking in the woods.
They stop at a gas station when they ran out of gas. "Here," Lyn pull a ten from her wallet and held it out to Steve.
"Don't worry, I got it." He pushes her hand away.
"Well, then use it to buy some snacks." She stuck her hand back out.
"Rosalyn, stop it. You earn your money. I get mine from my parents." He got out of the car.
"I'm going to go with him to pick out candy." Dustin got out of the car and follow Steve into the gas station.
Lyn leaned her head against the window. She had been fighting her sleep for the past two hours. Dustin was sleeping at the time, so she didn't want to leave Steve by himself. Now in the silence, she was unable to lift her eyelids.
Lyn, Dustin, and Steve were taking the buckets of raw meat and a gasoline can out of Steve's trunk. They end up parking on the side of the road when no one could stay up anymore. They woke up early in the morning and went to the supermarket to buy 6 pounds of raw meat and gasoline.
"Well, well, well look who it is?" Dustin moves away from them to talk to one of the guys on his walkie.
"About time someone answers. I was hoping it be Hopper, though." Lyn grumbles. She put her crowbar, hair spray, lighter, and matches into her backpack.
"Why Hopper?" Steve put his bat in his backpack along with the gasoline.
"Because he's big, manly, and knows how to shoot a gun." She said with a duh tone.
"I'm two of those and guns don't even work on these things." He rolls his eyes. Lyn giggle, Steve was tall but she wouldn't describe him as big. Hopper had that intimidating presence that the teenage boy didn't have. "What?" He snaps, not liking how funny she found what he said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just you're lean and Hopper bulky. The man looks like he could take out a bear if he needs too." She bites her bottom lip to stop from giggling when she saw how seriously upset he was.
"Just because a guy knows how to shoot a gun and act like some macho, mysterious loner doesn't mean he's some superior male." He grumbles.
"Mysterious, are we still talking about Hopper?" She raises an eyebrow at him.
Steve picks up his bucket of raw meat. "Let go." He calls out to Dustin. She rolls her eyes while she picks up her own bucket up.
"Just be there, stat. Over and out," Dustin spoke into his walkie as he ran to grab his bucket and follow the older teens.
They made their way along the old railroad track and throwing raw meat as they went. They form a line with Dustin in the front, Lyn in the middle, and Steve in the back. Dustin was explaining everything to Steve. Lyn was learning some new things too, like the fact that Dart was his way to win a girl's heart. "All right, so let me get this straight. You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who you just met?" Steve tilts his head as he stares at the back of Dustin's head.
"Alright, that's grossly oversimplifying things." Dustin shook his head.
"I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?" Steve pulls a gross-out face at the thought of the slimy creature.
"He was ugly cute like a pug or those hairless cats." Lyn defends her brother, baby dart, and herself.
"Yeah and he was an interdimensional slug? That's awesome." Dustin smile, he still found the possibility of other worlds to be cool. If there was the upside-down, there had to be others.
"Well, even if she thought it was cool, which she didn't, I just… I don't know. I just feel like you're trying too hard." Steve shrugs. Lyn shot him a look. He was not one who should be talking about others trying too hard.
"Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, alright?" Dustin rolls his eyes. Steve dated plenty of girls. He didn't know what it was like to feel like an outcast that no girl wants to even make eye contact with.
"It's not about the hair, man. The key with girls is just acting like you don't care." Steve let out a chuckle at the kid's ignorance.
"Oh no, you are not going to give that kind of advice to my brother." Lyn shakes a finger in Steve's face.
"Rosalyn, why don't you walk ahead of us," Dustin pushes her to walk forward.
"What, so you can take douche bag 101, I don't think so." She glares at her brother.
"I would like to get advice from a male who has been in a relationship before." He nods his head forward for her to get lost.
"Yeah, Lyn, he needs advice that would work in the real world, not in books." Steve spat out at her. He was getting tired of her insults. First, she says he wasn't manly and now he wasn't good enough to be giving advice to her brother.
"You're right this isn't like my books. In my books when the good girl changes the bad boy's way, they live happily ever after. Maybe I'll get some experience with Billy." Lyn's words and glare cut him deep. She turns around to rush ahead of them. She couldn't believe that two of the closest people to her were throwing her inexperience in her face. Steve didn't care about it when he was begging for her advice the other day. Dustin that ungrateful brat, she was sacrificing her youth for him and their mom. It was moments like this she wanted to be pity. She wanted to quit her job and act like a normal teen that dates and parties. Then they would realize how much she does for them when they can't buy action figures or cat food anymore.
When Lyn was out of earshot, Dustin turns to Steve who was still stunned by what she said. He knows she could get nasty when she was upset, but he hadn't seen that side of her in a while. "So you act like you don't care, even if you do?" He asks him.
He looks down at the boy who was just starting to interact with the opposite sex. "Yeah exactly, it drives them nuts." He gave him advice that works on most teenage girls.
"Then what?" Dustin like always wanted to soak up all the knowledge that he could.
"You just wait until, uh..." Steve look to make sure that Lyn was still a good distance ahead. "...until you feel it."
"Feel what?" Dustin pushes his eyebrows together.
"It's like before it's going to storm, you know? You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh electricity, you know?" Steve was having a hard time explains the gut feeling that let him know that a girl was ready.
"Oh, like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere," Dustin felt relieved that he could compare it to something that he knew.
"No, no, no, no, no. Like, like sexual electricity." Steve shook his head.
"Oh." Dustin gasps. He was realizing that this was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He didn't even have anything to relate it to.
"You feel that and then you make your move." He moves his hand forward quickly like he was striking something.
"So that's when you kiss her?" Dustin smile, excited to get to the part he was looking forward to.
"No, whoa, whoa, slow down, Romeo." Steve put his hand up like a crossing guard telling him to wait.
"Sorry." He looks down ashamed.
"Sure, okay, some girls, yeah, they want you to be aggressive. You know, strong, hot and heavy, like a…. I don't know, like a lion. But others, you got to be slow, you got to be stealthy, like a... like a ninja." Steve explain it the best he could. Despite what Lyn thought, he did want to give her brother good advice.
"What type is Nancy?" He asks about the girl he thought Steve was still dating.
"Nancy's different. She's different than the other girls." Steve looked down, wondering if he could get her back. If not, then would he ever find a girl like her again?
"Yeah, she seems pretty special, I guess. It's funny, the guys and I always joke about Lyn being a different species because no one's charm works on her. We joke that she must have a different courting ritual." Dustin laughs. He had seen many guys hit on her. Some were older, handsome, and had money. She would take one look at them and rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, I know that all too well. But, girls like Nancy and your sister are rare. You're not going to come across them often, so the advice I gave you will work on 99 percent of the girls you come across." Steve told him. He didn't want to think about girls like them. Girls like Nancy and Rosalyn would break your heart when it ended.
"But this girl's special, too, you know. It's just, like, something about Max." He blushes as he thought about her.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Hey, Hey, Hey!" Steve protests.
"What?" Dustin looks confused about what he said wrong.
"You're not falling in love with this girl, are you?" He narrows his eyes at the younger boy.
"Uh, no… No." He shook his head. He likes Max a lot, but he didn't know her enough to call it love.
"Okay, good. Don't." Steve warns him.
"I won't." Dustin promise.
"She's only going to break your heart, and you're way too young for that shit." He let out bitterness as he spoke. A silence fell between them as Dustin thought about what Steve said. "Faberge," He decides to drop a gem on him.
"What?" Dustin once again looked at Steve in confusion.
"It's Faberge organics. Use the shampoo and conditioner, and when your hair's damp. Not wet, okay? When it's damp," Steve put emphasize the word damp every time he said it.
"Damp," Dustin repeat to let Steve know that he got it.
"You do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray." He finishes giving away his secret.
"Farrah Fawcett spray?" Dustin giggles, that was the same spray his sister uses.
"Yeah Farrah Fawcett, you tell anyone I just told you that and your ass is grass. You're dead, Henderson. Do you understand?" He stops to threaten the boy.
"Yup," He pops out, still amused.
"Okay," Steve waves his hand to let him know they could continue moving.
"Farrah Fawcett, really," Dustin chuckled.
"I mean, she's hot." Steve shrugs.
"You know my sister probably knows." The younger teen watch with amusement at Steve's horrified face.
"What?" He looks from Lyn's back to Dustin.
"She has the same spray. She knows the smell. I'm surprised I didn't recognize it earlier." He got on his tippy toes to get a whiff of Steve's hair.
They stood at the entrance of the junkyard. "Oh yeah, yeah, this will do. This will do just fine. Good call, dude." Steve smile as he surveys the land. Dustin beam at the praise.
They throw red meat all over the junkyard and dump the rest of their buckets into the middle of the field making a big pile. "I said medium-well!" They look up to see Lucas with his bike and Max standing beside him.
"Who's that?" Steve asks. When Dustin didn't answer him, he looks over at his new buddy to see the way he was staring at her. Dustin went over to pull Lucas behind an abandoned car.
Max stood awkwardly in front of Lyn and Steve. "Hey, Max." She greeted the girl. Steve let out a quiet oh from beside her. "I see that Lucas told you." She wanted to know where the girl stood on everything.
"Yeah, so this is all true?" She squints her eyes at them. It was either true or living in a small town was so boring that two high school seniors would help pull a prank on her.
"Yup, it's true. I don't know why he brought you here though." Lyn groan. They didn't need another person's life being on the line.
"I didn't believe him, still not sure I do." She shrugs as she looks around for any evidence.
"You'll see for yourself in a little while. Why don't you help Steve and I board the bus up?" The three of them split up to find random pieces of scrap metal and wood to cover up the window on the bus. Dustin and Lucas seem to be arguing behind the car.
"Alright, I had enough." Steve grabs a fold-up chair that was beside Lyn and walks over to the boys. Lyn stood up from her spot to watch as he hit the car with the chair, scaring the shit out of the boys. "Hey! Dickheads! How come the only one helping out Lyn and I is this random girl? We lose light in 40 minutes. Let's go." He glares at the two boys as he moves to get back to work. "LET'S GO, I SAID!" He yells when he saw they were still in a state of shock from him scaring them.
"All right, asshole!" Dustin yells at his back as he follows after him.
"Okay! Stupid" Lucas mutters.
They work together to make the old rutty bus into a fort. The boys grabbed scrap metal and put it over the windows of the bus or anywhere Dart could get in. Steve was making a gasoline trial from the pile of meat to the bus, so they could light the monster up without getting close. Max and Lyn carried in a ladder, so they would climb up to see out. Lyn went up to stand on the roof as Steve throw tires up to her. The tires went around the top, so their lookout wouldn't be seen.
"Alright, we're losing daylight let's get in." Steve ushered them into the bus. Dustin was the last in closing the door.
It got dark fast, Lucas went to the roof to keep watch with his binoculars. The rest of them were sitting around on the bus.
Lyn didn't know she could be bored out of her mind and scared shitless at the same time. She watches from beside Steve as Dustin did his nervous pacing. She put her head on Steve's shoulder as he plays with Mr. Byers lighter. "I'm sorry if I hurt you when I made that gab about Nancy earlier." She whispers to him.
"I'll forgive you if you agree to never go out with Billy." He whispers back to her. She pokes him in the side making him jerk. "And I'm sorry too, there is nothing wrong with being inexperienced."
"I wasn't going to go out with Billy anyways." She was his friend, so it would be horrible for her to go out with someone he hated. Lyn knew in her gut that it was deeper than that. Steve did too. The difference was the male was willing to acknowledge that. This made him feel like an even worst boyfriend to Nancy.
"So you really fought one of these things before?" Max stares at Steve. Lyn pokes his side again for him to realize that she was talking to him. He looks up to nod at her before going back to play with the lighter. "And you're, like, totally, 100% sure it wasn't a bear?"
"Shit. Don't be an idiot. Okay? It wasn't a bear. Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home." Dustin stops pacing to snap at her. Steve nod in respect as Lyn and Max look at Dustin like he lost his mind.
"Geesh, someone's cranky, past your bedtime?" Max got up and rolls her eyes. She went up the ladder to be with Lucas.
"That's good. Just show her you don't care." Steve gave him a thumb up. Lyn slaps his hand down.
"I don't." Dustin sighs. Steve throws him a wink. "Why are you winking, Steve? Stop," He scolds the older teen when he winked again.
"I'm sorry, but how was that good work. He just pushes her into someone else's arms." Lyn points up to where Lucas and Max were most likely bonding.
"Oh my god, Steve," Dustin gasps, looking helpless to Steve.
Lyn stood up and put her hands on her brother's shoulders. "I know I haven't been in a relationship. I've only read books, but that means I have experienced a hundred love stories. I can tell you confidently that loves happens when people are being themselves. Heartbreak comes when people pretend to be something there not. You can only pretend for so long before you get sick of that person and yourself." A realization fell over both of the males on the bus.
Dustin realized that getting the girl and love were two different things. Steve's advice was for temporary flings, while his sister's advice was for a long commitment.
Steve realized that Nancy was pretending to be someone else since Barbara died. She was no longer the good girl that was dying for a bad boy to help her let her hair down. She was growing into the strong independent woman who was ready to take on the world that she was meant to be. Steve was still trying to figure it out. He knew that he was always going to be laid back. He was never going to want to chase after things like Nancy. They were growing up and apart, while that didn't lessen his heartache, it did make him feel better about letting her go.
A roar pulled everyone from their deep thoughts. The three of them ran to the bar window. "You see him?" Dustin asks them.
"No." They shook their heads.
"Lucas, what's going on?" He yells up to his friend.
"Hold on!" Lucas yells down to them. "I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! Ten o'clock!"
"There." Lyn points to the shadowy figure in the fog.
"What's he doing?" Dustin squints his eyes, waiting for the Demogorgon to go in the fire zone.
"I don't know." Steve shook his head. They stood there waiting for him to make a move. "He's not taking the bait. Why is he not taking the bait?" He glares at the figure.
"Maybe he's not hungry?" Dustin shrugs.
"Maybe the food has to be alive like snakes," Lyn groans, thinking that they were all going to die. She wonders how the lab would cover this up.
"Maybe he's sick of cow," Steve stood up and grabs his bat.
"Steve? Steve, what are you doing? Steve?" Henderson's siblings yell at him.
"Just get ready." He throws the lighter at Dustin.
"Wait, you can't go out there." Lyn shook her head and held onto his arm.
"I got too." He gave her a peck on the lips. It didn't last for even a second, but it throws her off enough that Steve was able to slip from her grasp and out the door.
"I think Steve found out your courting ritual." Dustin smiles up at his sister.
"Shut up." She smacks him upside the head. They went back to watching through the window as Steve slowly walks over to Dart.
"What's he doing?" Max came down the ladder.
"Expanding the menu," Dustin told her.
"Don't say it like that." Lyn smacks him again.
"Stop it." He glares at her.
"Focus guys." Max pushes their heads to look back out the window. Steve stood his ground as he swings his bat around to taunt the creature. "He's insane." She watches with wide eyes as Dart came through the fog. Lyn nod in agreement with her.
"He's awesome," Dustin smiles.
"Steve, watch out!" Lucas yells. Lyn looks around to see multiple Demogorgon coming towards him from all angles.
"A little busy here!" He was so focused on the one in front of him he didn't notice he was surrounded.
"Three o'clock! Three o'clock!" Lucas yells from the top. Steve finally turns his head to see that there was more than one.
"Steve! Steve! Abort! Abort!" Dustin ran to open the bus doors to yell out to him.
"Steve, run! Come back!" Lyn ran to the doors also.
"Steve, hurry! Steve, run!" They yelled at him. Steve move towards the bus when one jump at him. Lucky, he made contact with his bat and force it away from him. He ran to the bus with a group of them on his tail. He jumps into the bus and as able to slam the door shut with his feet. The monster started throwing themselves into the door.
"Shit!" Dustin curses.
"Are they rabid or something?" Max cried out as the creatures were throwing themselves at the bus from all over.
"They can't get in! They can't!" Lucas tried to convince himself more than us. They were rocking the bus violently. Lyn grabs a piece of extra scrap metal and gave it to Steve. He put it in between his feet and the door for extra pressure.
They let out a scream as one broke through the back. Steve got up and ran over to beat it to death with his bat. Lyn had to put her crowbar into one face when it tried to come in from the window by them. "I've been dying for some action, come at me." She glared at the hideous monster.
"Shit! Is anyone there? Mike? Will? God! Anyone! Shit! We're at the old junkyard, and we are going to die!" Dustin screams into the walkie.
Everyone froze as they felt and heard one jump into the roof of the bus. It looks down at Max who was the closest to the opening. She let out a scream being face to face with it for the first time.
"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Steve pushes Max to the side and raises his bat. "You want some? Come get this!" He and the monster stare each other down. It turns its head like it heard something and let out a roar before running off. Lyn ran to the window to see they were all running away.
Lyn looks back at the group. She saw Lucas and Max were holding hands, which made her turn towards Dustin who definitely notices too. If he's sad and confused face was anything to go by.
"I'll go out and look. Stay on the bus." Steve walks towards the entrance. Lyn moves silently after him. "Stay on the bus, Lyn," He didn't have to look back to know she would follow him. Steve slowly opens the door. The rest watched from the doorway. Dustin had a hand wrapped around his sister's arm to keep her in place.
"Jeez. What happened?" Lucas looks around.
"I don't know." Lyn shrugs, wondering the same thing.
"Steve scared 'em off?" Dustin beam at his new idol.
"No. No way. They're going somewhere." Steve put his bat over his shoulder and looks back at them.