I own nothing. If you wanted to drop a review it would be appreciated! (but not required). Shout out to Superdani4Ever for commenting on the last two chapters. Cheers!

November 10th, 1983

HAWKINS, INDIANA

It was Thursday afternoon, and Georgie was pulling out of the school parking lot. Dustin actually did stay home today, because he was overwhelmed before school and seemed to have a borderline panic attack.

Georgie had seen Nancy at lunch, and she really considered asking about Barb. But she had nothing to say. Nothing to ask that didn't have a good reason behind it. What would she say? Hey, do you think Barb fell into another dimension and is now trapped? Hey, do you think Will is there too? No. That all sounded crazy.

She drove down the road carefully, hellbent on getting home and checking on Dustin when she had this urge to just, investigate. She wanted some answers. Will Byers' body had been found, Barb's had not. Maybe there was some kind of clue at Steve's house. Nancy had said that was the last time she had seen Barb. Georgie decided to look around behind Steve's house. It was Friday, he would be somewhere with his friends. Probably. Hopefully.

Georgie parked her car on the street a little bit away from Steve's house. She got out and walked into the woods behind his house. She had no idea what she was looking for, but she hoped she would find something anyway.

It was getting colder in Indiana, and Georgie wanted to be more excited about it. She loved the snow, but there was just a lot going on.

Dead leaves crunched under her shoes as she walked between the trees. What was she doing out here? When she got to the edge of the treeline, she saw the Harrington house. Steve was in one of the windows, seemingly in a screaming match with his father. Georgie watched as Steve slowly looked more and more upset. Maybe he wasn't kidding when he talked about his dad being a dick.

But it didn't excuse Steve also being a dick.

Steve looked out the window, and Georgie tucked herself behind a tree. What was she doing? She didn't do things that could result in her getting caught. She didn't get caught doing things.

She waited there for another minute, deciding that she needed to get out of here before someone saw her and thought she was up to something.

"What are you doing?" Georgie whispered, balling her fist and lightly hitting it off her forehead. She didn't do things like this. Stupid stuff.

"Good question," Steve said, scaring Georgie out from her hiding place. "What are you doing?"

"Shit," she said, looking at him. He had his hands on his hips, and a frown on his face. She didn't think he was coming down here, and she had no idea he would be down there so fast. He must have seen her out the window. "Uhm, I don't actually know. I just thought that maybe I would find something." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, I have never felt this stupid in my life, I'm going to go now. Bye."

"Wait, Georgie, wait a second." Steve rubbed his forehead while Georgie stood there, feeling humiliated. He would tell everyone that she was stalking him or something. But he sat down, bending his knees and resting his arms on them. Georgie didn't understand the situation, so she just sat down beside him, crossing her legs and folding her hands together. Her Adidas track pants had all her attention. Her brown hair acted as a wall, shielding her from Steve. "What did you see? Through the window?"

"Nothing really, just looked like you were in a fight with your dad."

"Yeah, he found out that Barb was last seen here," Steve said, looking at her. She tucked her hair behind her ear, realizing that Steve wasn't going to be a dick. "He's not happy."

"Sorry that I was trespassing, if he gets mad that I'm here you can tell him that I just wouldn't leave or something. I'll take the blame," she said, fiddling with her shoelace. Having a sincere moment with Steve was dangerous. Seeing a nicer side of him was bad. She'd rather just see his act – it was easier to hate him that way.

"It's okay, he's leaving tomorrow for a while anyway," Steve said. He looked back at the house. Georgie looked the same direction. For a couple of minutes, they just sat there silently.

Georgie walked into the house and was immediately greeted by Dustin. He was in a better mood, and he wanted to talk more about Eleven and what everything meant. Georgie needed a minute, she picked up Mews, petting the cat while Dustin begged her to go on a drive to Mike's.

"Is she even up for it? She seemed pretty pooped last night, and I want to stop by and see Joyce and ask if she needs anything and I need to go buy a black dress for the funeral," Georgie said, looking at Dustin's disappointed face. She couldn't see him like that, he's been through enough these last few days. "Fine, but only for a little bit."

At Mike's house, Eleven and Mike were in the basement.

El definitely looked better than yesterday, but also different. Gone was the blond hair and dress, replaced with some sweats and a buzz cut.

"Did you guys just do this?" Georgie asked, looking at the lack of hair. It looked pretty cool.

"No, the hair was a wig. Her hair has always been cut like that," Mike said, he turned his attention back to Eleven.

"Well, I like it. I think you're very cool," Georgie said, smiling. Eleven smiled too. "So, what're you guys doing?"

"Flying," Eleven said, looking at a toy model of the Millennium Falcon. Without anyone touching it, the toy floated a few feet off the ground. Georgie stared at it. It was somehow worse knowing that this girl actually did have powers. Georgie couldn't deny it anymore.

"That's..." Georgie stared at it before it fell back to the floor with a crash. It didn't look broken. "Amazing." She didn't want this girl to know that on the inside Georgie was freaking out. She didn't want to scare Eleven. "How long have you been able to do that?"

"Forever," she said, casually. She has only ever known powers. Georgie had trouble grasping the concept that some people had abilities not yet explained by science. She relied on textbook information. She relied on facts. And she now knew a fact that no one in the science community knew.

Or did they know?

"Eleven, sweetie." Georgie sat down on the couch next to Eleven. "Do you always talk so shortly?" Eleven said nothing. "Do you usually only say a few words."

"She doesn't know a lot of them," Mike said. "We've been trying to help."

"Okay, okay! Studying!" Georgie got excited. "Something I can really do to help. I can help Eleven learn more words, and the more she knows how to say the more she can help."

"We kinda needed more serious help," Mike said. Georgie glared at him. She didn't care if he was a kid, he would get the stink eye if he gave Georgie attitude. Anyone was going to get the stink eye if they're rude to her.

"I know that Mike, but I don't know what to do quite yet." Georgie fiddled with her fingernail. "But I'm working on that, and I have nothing right now. This is all very new territory."

"She has a point," Dustin said. "We just kind of sprung this on her."

"Would you like to study with me?" Georgie asked, giving Eleven a chance to put her own say into what happens with her. El nodded. "There we have it. If the girl wants to learn she shall learn. Wonderful."

Georgie felt a small twinge in her chest. She had an objective. Something to work towards. A goal that made her feel a little more grounded. Sure, she was going to have to deal with the idea of a shadow world that had Will Byers as a prisoner, the fact that Barb is missing (possibly in the same place as Will – unconfirmed) and that monsters might possibly be real. But when that gets too much she can revert back to teaching Eleven some grammar and words and stuff. That will keep her grounded.

Georgie left Dustin at Mike's, giving him a few hours to hang out with his friends while Georgie went off to do a few errands. She wanted to stop by the Byers' house to see Jonathon and Joyce, and then she had to go buy a dress. She was at this weird stage of her life where she would be attending a funeral of a boy she wasn't one hundred per cent sure was dead.

It wasn't a normal day.

When Georgie pulled into the Byers' driveway, there was a car there that she didn't recognize. It was probably the dad. She couldn't think of his name, but she knew Jonathon must have said it at least once. She got out of the car, frowning. The reason she was here should've been better. When was the last time she had dropped by just to say hello? Now she was stopping in to say sorry your son is dead – even though he may not be! But Georgie couldn't possibly give that kind of hope to a grieving mother.

"Georgie," Joyce said, opening the door. She fluttered across the yard and pulled Georgie into a hug. Shocked at first, Georgie put her hands around the older woman. "Why are you here? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine I just dropped in to see how you are," Georgie said pulling away from Joyce, but keeping her hands held. Joyce shrugged.

"I'll be better when they find Will, the real Will. My boy is still out there somewhere and someone wants me to believe he's dead but he's not."

Georgie nodded. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Here she was, afraid to say the wrong thing, when Joyce was thinking it already. Georgie swallowed, "Weird question," she said. "Do you believe in monsters?"

Joyce looked at Georgie with wide eyes. She looked like she was going to answer when Jonathan came onto the front lawn. Joyce just nodded, making Georgie feel both good and ridiculous. She shouldn't have asked, but luckily Jonathan would be a perfect scapegoat if need be. Probably bad to think of him like that during this time, but it was the truth.

"Georgie, hey." He walked across the grass to Georgie and his mother. Georgie dropped Joyce's hands, and stepped closer to hug Jonathan. His arms wrapped tight around her, and she felt so bad thinking of what Jonathon must be going through. She couldn't even begin to imagine the feeling. "Thanks for coming by."

"Yeah, of course." She rubbed his back a few times before pulling away. "I just wanted to drop in and see how you guys were, or if you needed anything."

"We're managing," Jonathan said. She couldn't put her finger on it, but things between Jonathan and Joyce seemed a little tense. Georgie made a note not to bring anything up to Jonathan, he did not feel like he was on the same page at all.

"It was sweet of you to drop by," Joyce said, putting a hand on Georgie's shoulder. "I have a couple things to do, I'll see you later."

"Bye," Georgie said. Joyce smiled and walked away. "How's she doing?" she asked once Joyce was out of earshot.

"She thinks that Will is alive, and being held captive by a monster." Jonathan looked exhausted, and the words seemed to suck out a little more of his mental state. "She'll get out of the denial stage at some point, we just have to wait it out."

"You let me know if you need anything at all, alright?" Georgie said, hugging him again.

"Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," Georgie said. "And I'm really so sorry."

"Me too." And for the third time, Georgie hugged Jonathan. But this time she felt his shoulders start to shake. She couldn't blame him for crying, not a bit.