¤The Upside Down¤

"Or walk a long bloody road, like the Hero who never ran. You'll feel it, you'll feel it, you'll feel the rush of it all."

Rowan tapped her foot impatiently against the plastic bleacher, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in both her hands. Hopper and Joyce had left to go to Castle Byers and see what they could get from there on where Will was and how to get him while Johnathan and Rosemary went to go find Nancy who'd stormed off after finding out that Barbara was dead. That left the five middle schoolers alone in the school gym on a Saturday night. Mike stood up suddenly, the movement capturing Rowan's attention to see him rush out of the gym.

"Michael?" Rowan called after him, but he didn't turn back around.

He came rushing back into the room suddenly a few moments later and Rowan shot up to her feet, looking at him curiously. "They're gone." He told them, stalking up to where the four of them still sat/stood on the bleachers. "Nancy, Rose, and Johnathan. His cars gone."

"They're probably just off doing stupid shit" Dustin shrugged, like it was no big deal. "Rose's always disappearing like this."

Rowan frowned, shaking her head. "Johnathan wouldn't do that. Not at a time like this."

"Did they go with the Chief?" He asked instead and Rowan shrugged in response, looking over at Mike.

"I don't know." He shrilled.

"No," Eleven answered for him. Rowan slowly sat back down next to the girl, her wide eyes looking at her curiously.

"Did you see where they went?" She asked and Eleven nodded timidly. Rowan gaped at her, "Well, where did they go?"

"Demogorgan." She uttered the one word, but it was enough to send Rowan's heart leaping into her throat. She darted her wide worried eyes up at Mike, silently sharing the same thought. They couldn't just sit here while everyone else was out their risking their lives to end this thing.

"Well, we have to go help them." Rowan jumped up with out a second thought, ready to leave. Mike was obviously the only one to agree as he was the only one to get up to follow her. She stopped when she realized this, slowly turning around to face the others, an exasperated look on her face.

"Are you crazy?" Lucas finally snapped and Rowan tossed him a look that asked him pretty much the same thing. "In case you two forgot we're still fugitives, the Bad Men are still looking for us."

"Yeah, we don't even know where any of them, are" Dustin said.

"El can find them." Mike said like it was that simple, gesturing to the girl behind them on the bleachers. Even Rowan had the good sense to look at him like he'd lost his mind, she wanted to find Johnathan, Rosemary, and Nancy too, but Eleven wasn't going to be any help to that mission with the state she was in.

"Mike, look at her," Dustin pointed out what Rowan was thinking and the dark haired boy peeked back over his shoulder at the girl huddled up in her seat still. "I still think we should stick to the Chief's plan."

"Exactly," Lucas was quick to agree. "We stay here, keep El out of sight and keep her safe. That's the most important thing, right?" Rowan worried her bottom lip between her teeth, half torn from wanting to keep Eleven safe and wanting to go help her brother. "Besides, Nancy, Rose, and Johnathan will be fine as long as they're together."

"Yeah, plus my sister's a badass, so..." Dustin trailed off, turning on his toes suddenly and starting for the door.

"Well, where are you going?" Mike called after the retreating boy. "You just said stick to the plan!"

"I am, I'm just going to get some Chocolate pudding! I'm telling you, lunch lady Phyllis hoards that shit!" Was Dustin's response. Rowan let out a short, incredulous laugh, shaking her head at him. She didn't know why she was so shocked by this, it was Dustin after all.

"Are you serious!" Mike called as Lucas jogged to catch up with the curly haired boy.

"El needs to be recharged!"

***

Jonathan pulled the car to a screeching stop in front of his house and the three teenagers quickly climbed out of the car to grab the boxes out of the trunk. Nancy and Rosemary immediately started screwing in all of the Christmas bulbs around the house while Jonathan set up the bear traps. Nancy stuck with the gun while Jonathan pounded some long nails in through the bat. Rosemary kept with her crowbar and then started pouring trails of gasoline through the house leading up to the bear traps.

About thirty minutes later everything was set up and ready - they were gonna get this son of a bitch by the end of the night.

Jonathan came over to the two girls, a lighter in one hand and a set of knives in the other. "Okay, remember..." he began and both girls immediately straightened up, ready for the fight.

"Straight into Will's room," Nancy finished for him, nodding.

"Wait for the yo-yo to move and then..." Rosemary finished, gesturing to Jonathan as he flicked the lighter for emphasis.

Jonathan let out a slow steadying breath, "alright, ready?" Rosemary and Nancy shared an uneasy look, it was now or never. Nodding, Rosemary held out her hand and Nancy did the same. "On three..." he began and the three teenagers pressed the knives to their palms. "One... two... you don't have to do this."

"Jonathan stop talking."

"I'm just saying-"

"Dear God. Three!" Rosemary finished the count down, slicing the knife across her palm. Jonathan and Nancy quickly did the same but she paid it no mind as she quickly dropped the knife, "Shit," she cursed softly, biting down on her lip, hard.

They all squeezed their hands, letting some of the blood drip onto the carpet before wrapping them up. Rosemary fell into the armchair in the living room, holding the crowbar in her lap as Nancy helped Jonathan wrap up his hand.

"Did you hear that?" Nancy said suddenly and Rosemary sat upright, going silent to listen for any noise.

"It's just the wind," Jonathan assured her. "Don't worry," he added after seeing the scared look on Nancy's face. "My Mom said the lights speak when it comes."

Rosemary frowned over at the pair of them, her eyebrows pulling together thickly, "they speak?"

"Blink," he corrected quickly. "Think of them as alarms."

Rosemary settled back into her seat, ignoring their 'I love you' eyes and hand holding until there was a banging on the front door. Rosemary jumped nearly a foot in the air, practically falling off the chair. "Shit," she whispered, resting a hand over her racing heart as she looked over at Jonathan and Nancy wide eyed.

"Jonathan!" A familiar voice called from the other side of the door. "Are you there man? It's... it's Steve!"

"Harrington?" Rosemary whispered, looking over at Jonathan to see if he had a clue on why he was here, but he looked just as lost. The Henderson girl shot up out of her seat, her eyes scanning the room as Nancy went to the door to get her boyfriend to leave. "Oh, this doesn't look good," she muttered, looking over at Jonathan as she heard Nancy and Steve arguing.

He shoved through the front door suddenly and Rosemary turned to him wide eyed as he froze in the middle of the living room, his eyes scanning all the traps laid out.

"You need to get out of here," Jonathan immediately jumped into action, trying to shove Steve back out the door but the Harrington boy stayed still.

"What is all of this?"

"Steve, you've gotta go," Rosemary came up on the other side of the boy, grabbing his other arm to try and help Jonathan haul him out of here before that thing showed up.

"What is that smell? Is that gasoline."

"Steve! Get out!"

Rosemary whirled around wide eyed when she saw Nancy had the gun trained on Steve - she immediately jumped out of the line of fire as Steve froze in his spot, his hands raised. "Wait, what? What is going on?!" He shouted.

"You have five seconds to get out!"

"Nancy, put down the gun!"

"I'm doing this for you!"

Rosemary attention was pulled from the arguing couple when the Christmas lights started to blink around them, and her wide eyes turned to Jonathan. They speak. "Nancy," Rosemary cut in quickly, stepping in front of Steve and holding out a hand. "Nancy, the lights!"

Nancy's eyes widened, whirling to look up at the string of Christmas lights over her head. It was too late, Steve was in this now.

"It's here!" Jonathan shouted, swiping the nail bat off of the coffee table and pressing his back up against Nancy's as they searched for wherever this thing was.

Rosemary could hear Steve freaking out, trying to ask what the Hell was going on as she moved around them to grab her crowbar. She made her way back over to Steve and fisted the front of his shirt in her hand to get him to look at her, "shut up Steve and stay behind me, got it?"

He could only stare at her wide eyed, nodding frantically. The roof suddenly broke open and she whirled around with wide eyes as she watched all the wood and debris fall to the floor. Gripping the crowbar tightly in her hands she made sure to keep Steve behind her as Nancy shot at the creature coming out of the ceiling.

"Go! Go! Run!" She heard Jonathan shout and Rosemary did not need to be told twice. She turned quickly and shoved Steve ahead of her as they raced down the hall with Jonathan and Nancy just behind them.

"Jump!" She shouted and Steve jumped over the bear trap shouting a "oh, my God!" the whole way into Will's room.

Nancy was the last one through, slamming the door shut and turning to point the gun at the closed door. Steve fell onto the bed, his eyes wide, "Jesus, what the Hell was that? What the Hell was that?"

"Steve, shut the Hell up!" She shouted at him again before turning to face the door with Jonathan and Nancy, gripping the crowbar in her hands tightly.

She could hear it's odd growling and chirping as thundering footsteps stalked closer to the door. Her chest heaved with every rapid breath she took as her eyes stayed trained on the yellow yo-yo, waiting for it to move. It never did.

The electricity suddenly jolted and everything fell into silence.

"Do you hear anything?" Nancy whispered and both Jonathan and Rosemary shook their heads.

Slowly, Jonathan pushed open the bedroom door and the four teenagers creeped out into the Hallway. That thing was gone.

"Where the Hell did it go?" She whispered, but no one had an answer for her.

They crept out into the hallway, Jonathan leading the way and Rosemary nearly rolled her eyes as Steve latched onto the back of her jacket. "This is crazy. This is crazy. This is actually crazy. This is crazy!" Steve's frantic mumbling turned into yelling and she felt the grip on her jacket fall off making her whirl around to see Steve trying to call someone on the landline.

She yanked it out of his hand and tossed it aside and his crazed eyes turned to her, "what're you doing? Are you insane?"

"What're you doing?" She shouted back, looking at him like he was crazy. "That things gonna come back any minute so you need to get out of here. Now!" She shouted and his eyes widened, darting passed her to Jonathan and Nancy, but they were both starring at him waiting for him to do what she said.

He didn't need to be told twice. He booked it out of the house.

Rosemary let out a long sigh, turning back to Jonathan and Nancy to see what they wanted to do next when the lights started to flicker again. "Shit..." she cursed softly, hurrying over to the other two to form a small circle to be able to see all angles for wherever this thing was.

The lights cut out suddenly and the growling came back. Rosemary whirled around to see the creature towering over her at almost 8 feet tall. She couldn't even get a scream out before it tackled her to the ground. She could hardly hear Nancy and Jonathan's yelling with the blood pumping in her ears.

Jonathan swung the bat down at it but it only threw out an arm, sending the boy flying across the room. Its attention was back on the Henderson girl, and she cringed into the floor as it slobbered on her, it's face opening up to reveal a gapping mouth full of teeth as it roared in her face. She heard gunshots going off and the creature stumbled back, screeching in pain.

Arms grabbed her to yank her away but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the creature to see who it was. The thing stalked up to Nancy, her Gun clicking to signal it was out of ammo when Steve came out of no where with the nail bat. He cornered it back into the hallway and Rosemary could just barely hear the clang of the bear trap.

"He's in the trap!"

"Jonathan! Now!"

It was then when she realized Jonathan had grabbed her as he yanked her to her feet with him and the two teenagers raced into the hallway. Flicking the Zippo lighter on, he tossed it and the monster went up in flames.

She could only stare with wide eyes at the growing fire until she was shoved out of the way, her heart pounding in her ears. Jonathan put out the fire quickly, the whole room filling with smoke and making it nearly impossible to see more than a inch in front of her.

"Where'd it go?"

"It has to be dead."

Rosemary shook her head, bringing her arm up to cover her mouth and nose as the smoke started to clear. All that was left was a large soot stain and sizzling flesh on the bear trap.

***

"Mike! I found the chocolate pudding!" Dustin's voice echoed to her through the halls and she giggled softly. She leaned back against the counter, taking the chocolate pudding Lucas offered to her before they both turned back to grab arm fulls of pudding.

"Do you really need that many?" She asked, as she started wandering through the kitchen area looking for any kind of silverware.

"Yes, I do," Dustin said back to her, turning to drop all of his puddings onto the counter. "I'm owed so much pudding with how many times she's said she's out. Bald faced liar," he grumbled under his breath.

Rowan let out a soft giggle at that, bringing a couple of the plastic silverware packages over to the two boys and handing them out. She immediately began to dig in - she was absolutely starving. Her smile fell slightly as she scooped the pudding up onto her spoon but made no move to actually eat it.

"You okay?"

She jerked her head to the side to see Dustin leaning next to her and she gave him a soft smile, "I just hope they're alright," she whispered. She may not get along with her brothers always, but it would crush her if anything happened to them, either of them.

"They'll be fine, I know it."

It fell silent between them again, but she didn't want it to be awkward. So, she took a deep breath, "I'm glad we're all friends again, Dustin," she admitted and Dustin smiled at that.

"Me too."

"Can I ask you a question?" She said randomly before shoveling the spoonful of pudding into her mouth. Dustin simply nodded at her.

She ducked her head, pushing some of her brown and pink hairs behind her ear, "so, I know we're all going to the Snowball Dance as a big group. But, if a slow song were to come on while we're there... would you dance with me?" She finally met his eyes, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"Oh, uhm..." his eyes were the size of saucers, his cheeks tingeing a soft pink as he realized what she was asking him. "I, uhm..."

The double doors flew open and Rowan turned wide eyes over to Mike and Eleven as they came barreling into the room. "Guys, they found us!" Mike told them, coming to a skidding halt. "The bad men!"

Rowan shot up from her seat, her pudding long forgotten as she darted her wide eyes over to Dustin and then Lucas. "We have to hide." She told them what they were all thinking, but saying it out loud is what really sent them into action.

"How did they find us?" Lucas asked as they raced down a set of stairs and then down the hall.

"I don't know, but they knew we were in the gym." Rowan peeked back over her shoulder at the four of them, since she was at the front and leading the way. She looked back ahead of herself, only to gasp and freeze as the double doors at the end of the hallway were thrown open and a literal spotlight was on them. "Son of a..." She cut herself off, spinning on her Converse and shoving everyone ahead of her to get them moving themselves.

They raced back up the stairs and down another hallway only to get cut off again. She slammed into Eleven's back when she came to a stop and the bald girl copied Rowan's earlier actions by turning and shoving everyone in front of her to get them moving again. They rounded back out of the side hallway only to be cornered on all sides. "Son of a bitch." Rowan didn't stop herself from cussing this time, sighing out in defeat as she looked around helplessly.

Suddenly, blood stared dripping from the Bad Men's eyes and ears, their muffled choking hitting Rowan's ears and making her own eyes wide as her heart raced. She looked over at Eleven to see her glaring ahead of herself and the look on her face scared her. She took an involuntary step back when they suddenly dropped. "Oh, my God..." She whispered, looking around at the bodies.

Rowan stayed frozen in her spot when Eleven dropped, despite all three boys running to her aid. Her wide brown eyes scanned the area around her, stuck in horrified memorization. "Somethings wrong." Mike's voice was enough to yank her back to the present and she was quick to join them.

"She's just drained," Dustin tried to tell him, but the boy was shaking his head before he'd even finished his sentence.

"No, no, no, she won't wake up. El!" Mike shouted, his voice sounding more panicked by the second. He knelt down, placing his ear by her face, "she's barely breathing."

Rowan clutched the back of his shirt in her hands, "Michael, we have to go."

"Leave her," a new voice joined them and all four Middle Schoolers stood up pole straight. An older man with white hair and cold eyes made his way over to the, several of his Government lackies following him with guns. "Step away from the child."

"No!" Mike stood before her and Rowan stepped up next to him, locking her arm with his to stand their ground. "If you want her you're gonna have to kill us."

"Woah, wait. What?" Rowan snapped her head to the side to look at Mike.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, stepping up on the other side of Mike.

Lucas jumped over the unconscious girl and up next to Rowan officially completing the make shift wall, "eat shit!"

Rowan let out a startled shriek as hands grabbed her and she was suddenly pinned backwards against some guys chest, holding her back from Eleven. She struggled in the man's iron grip as the older man came rushing forward and taking Eleven in his arms. She couldn't hear anything, not even her own voice over Mike's screaming. "Let her go! Let her go you bastard!" Eleven whimpered, starring sluggishly at the man holding her.

"Bad, bad," She was able to hear her mutter once Mike calmed down a bit. She struggled weakly in the Man's grip, reaching out for the boy. "Mike. Mike." Mike struggled in his grip to get to her, but it was no use. "Rowan." Will's sister snapped her eyes to the bald girl, seeing the panic in her brown ones.

The lights flickered over head and Rowan's eyes snapped wide open, knowing what that meant. This just went from bad to worse. "Blood," Mike muttered and Rowan snapped her attention to him, slowly making the connection and remembering what Nancy had said about the Demogorgan being attracted to blood.

"You've got to be kidding me," Rowan whispered, stomping her foot like a child and puffing out her bottom lip. She heard a crash from down the hall and she found herself starring at a slimy, creature come out of the wall, his face opening up like a big ass venus fly trap, and that was putting it lightly. "Son of a..."

"Demogorgan," Dustin mumbled just as the creature let out a ear piercing shriek. Luckily, it was a good enough distraction for the government men, they released the four middle schoolers and moved in front of them to attack the creature with everything they had.

Rowan rushed the boys along as Dustin scooped up the unconscious girl in a pink dress and they raced down the hallway with Mike and Rowan leading the way. "Come on, we're almost there," Rowan called back, holding the door open for Dustin and Eleven to get through before shutting and locking the door behind them.

Mike led them into the Science room and Rowan stopped to shut and lock that door two before joining the boys around the counter top that Dustin had laid Eleven on. Rowan stood at the head of the table, taking Eleven's face in her hand, and pressing her the palm of her hand along her face. "She's cold." Rowan's eyes widened at how cold she was, almost like ice.

Mike's own eyes were wide as he took one of Eleven's hands in his, Rowan holding the other, "just hold on a little longer, okay?" Mike whispered to her, holding her gaze steadily. "He's gone. The bad man's gone. We'll be home soon, and my Mom... she'll get you your own bed, and you can eat as many Eggos as you want. And we'll go to the Snowball."

"And you'll be safe," Rowan added, in a rushed whisper, smiling softly at the girl. "No one's going to hurt you ever again. I won't let them."

"Promise?" She asked.

"We promise." They responded in unison. The monster let out a loud scream, way too close to the room for Rowan's liking. The lights were still flickering over head and the screaming and gun fire echoed from outside of the room, muffled by the door. And just as suddenly it stopped.

"Is it... Is it dead?" Dustin stuttered, but Rowan couldn't find her voice to answer him. A startled scream left her lips and terrified tears sprung to her eyes as the door was threw down and the Demogorgan came crashing in. Everyone's voices and screams overlapped each others in Rowan's ears at they all rushed Lucas to get the wrist rocket. She fumbled to grab her pocket knife out of her shoe with shaky hands and brandished it in front of her, even though the tiny knife was no match against that thing.

Lucas fired rock after rock, but it just bounced off of it. "Guys, this isn't working!" Rowan shrieked, hiding behind Dustin and Mike, but no one listened to her. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God..." She whispered over and over again, gripping at the roots of her hair with a shaky hand.

The monster suddenly flew back against the chalk board, the desks flying out of the way. Rowan's expression was half between shocked and confused, looking over at Lucas who looked just as startled as she did. Eleven came walking around them and Rowan's eyes darted to her as she stepped menacingly up to the monster she had pinned to the wall. Her eyes were a deep red as blood dripped from her ears and nose.

"Eleven, stop!" Mike tried to run after her, but Rowan quickly latched her arms around him, pinning his arms to his sides and holding him back.

"I'm sorry, Mike," She whispered as she didn't let go, no matter how hard he tried to break free of her grip. Rowan watched with wide, worried eyes as Eleven looked back at them sadly. She didn't say anything, but Rowan knew what she was thinking. She wasn't going to make this battle. The thought caused a new wave of tear to spring to Rowan's deep, brown eyes.

The monster let out an ear piercing scream that had the goosebumps rising on Rowan's skin. Eleven rose a hand, letting out a battle cry as she pressed the monster further and further into the wall, it's flesh peeling off piece by piece.

Then, everything went still. Everything was silent and the lights stayed steady, giving light to what was left. Just the four of them. Rowan's grip that was holding Mike back loosened into a hug, burying her face into the back of his shoulder as she felt her tears fall loose. She felt Mike turn in her grip, his arms looping around her shoulders and pulling her in tightly, because he needed that hug just as much as she did.

Everything after that for Rowan was a blurred chaotic mess. There were police cars and ambulance, lights were flashing everywhere. Johnathan came to get her after having to sit with the paramedics for a good two hours. She didn't answer any questions, she just sat with Mike in the mutual understanding that neither wanted to talk about it, but neither wanted to be alone. Dustin and Lucas had been picked up an hour before Rowan even saw Johnathan's car pull up.

She wasn't allowed to see Will until the next morning after his hospital visit and making sure he was stable and okay. But, when she did see him, alive and well in that hospital bed, she felt this immense relief. Like, this weight had been taken off her shoulders and she could breath again.

"Will," She tackled him in a hug as best as she could with him laying down, feeling the tears spring to her eyes. "Will, I'm so sorry." She croaked, her voice muffled by the sheets. Will said something, but the words never really processed to her, the blood pumping to her ears blocking out any noise. "I won't ever leave you again." She whispered, clutching the hospital blanket. She pulled back enough to smile at him, brushing his hair out of his face. "God, we have so much to catch up on."

"Yeah..." Will breathed out, his eyes going wide for a second which made Rowan laugh despite everything. "I could hear you... sometimes, in that place." He whispered, his voice still hoarse. Rowan jerked back slightly, looking at his startled. "I'm pretty sure it was just my imagination."

"Yeah," Rowan nodded after a hesitant moment, smiling weakly. "Probably." She licked her lips, looking back to the door when it flung open to see the three boys come in. She took a step back to let them have their own reunion.

"Guys, calm down." Rowan laughed, pulling Lucas back slightly by his shirt since he was closest. Her eyes darted over to where her Mom and brother were hovering in the door way then back to the four boys reunion with a smile. It was good to have everyone together again, well, all except one... Rowan's heart lurched at the memory of Eleven, but she quickly pushed it back into the back of mind. She didn't want to dwell on that right now, not when she just got her brother back. All three boys rushed to tell him everything, and Rowan laughed at Will's face. "I told you we had a lot to catch up on."

Will suddenly started coughing making Rowan's smile instantly drop into a worried one. Mike reached out to touch his arm, "you okay?"

"It got me," Will wheezed when he'd finally calmed down from his coughing fit. "The Demogorgan."

"We know," Mike nodded, peeking over at Rowan who was standing between him and Dustin and then back at his returned friend. "It's okay. It's dead. We made a new friend," Rowan's wide brown eyes snapped to Mike at the mention of Eleven. "She stopped it... she saved us, but she's gone now." Rowan reached out to touch his arm, smiling softly at him when he looked at her.

"Her names Eleven." Dustin spoke up trying to lighten to mood.

Will frowned, "Like the number."

"But, we call her El for short." Lucas told him making Rowan smile.

She nodded eagerly, turning her eyes back to her twin brother, "She was a total badass."

"Rowan, language." Joyce called over to her.

Rowan peeked over her shoulder at her Mom, grimacing. "Sorry." She turned back to the boys, sharing a sheepish look that sent them all into a soft laughter. "The point is she was like a wizard, with superpowers."

"More like a Yoda." Mike corrected her and Rowan nodded in agreement. He had a point.

"She flipped a Van with her mind, and these agents were trying to shoot us," Dustin began to recount the story, all of them growing excited again. "And then she squeezed their brains out."

"Blood went everywhere." Rowan told him with a grimace, that made Will chuckle. She smiled then, reaching out to take his hand in hers. She wouldn't leave him again, not this time.

One Month Later...

"Where are you guys taking me?" Rowan giggled nervously, a blindfold over her eyes as the four boys led her down to Mike's basement. She stepped hesitantly, not wanting to fall flat on her face, and gripped the sleeves of both boys on either side of her, she couldn't see who was who though.

"It's a surprise," that was clearly Mike's voice to her right and she nodded hesitantly.

"Stay right there," Dustin said, touching her shoulders to still her before the sound of several pairs of footsteps receding filled her ears.

"Guys," She reached out to touch the air in front of her, but nothing was there. "Guys, if you don't answer me I'm taking off this blindfold." When she got no response she hesitantly pulled Lucas' camo bandanna off her eyes, squinting at the light. She gaped at the sight before her. All four boys were grinning at her, gesturing to the table top. But, that wasn't what caught her attention. What caught her attention was the Walkie Talkie on it with a red ribbon around the antennae. "What's this?" She smiled, taking a small step forward.

"We figured if you're gonna be apart of the party again, you need your own Walkie," Lucas spoke up with a shrug, smiling at his friends.

Rowan's lips split up into a wide smile, a hand coming up to cover it in shock. "Yeah, since I'm back now, you can't keep using mine." Will told her and Rowan could only nod, smiling too big to be able to say anything.

"But, you have to do the initiation first." Mike spoke up, raising a finger.

Rowan eyebrows shot up, "you don't mean..."

"Oh, I mean." Mike smirked his dorky little half smile, nodding his head. Rowan wasn't going to object.

They set up the table quicker than she would've thought, all of them oozing with excitement. Rowan sat at the head of the round table with Will and Mike on either side of her, Dustin and Lucas across the way. They went on with the Campaign for about ten hours, with Rowan leading it as her initiation back into the party.

She narrowed her eyes at the boys over the black book that was keeping the attack hidden. She wiggled her eyebrows at them, loving the anticipation that rolled off of them. "Something is coming. Something angry," She said in a low voice, darting her eyes between the four boys. "Hungry for your blood. It's almost here."

"What is it?" Will asked, not being able to take the anticipation anymore.

"It's the Thessalhydra, I'm telling you." Dustin persisted like he had been for the past five minutes. Rowan did her best to keep her face neutral as not to spoil what was about to happen.

Lucas sat back in his seat, "It's not the Thessalhydra."

"I'm with Dustin," Mike nodded at his curly haired friend. "It's the Thessalhydra."

Rowan cut off their bickering by slamming the game piece down on the board, "the Thessalhydra!" Lucas threw his hands up int defeat while Dustin and Mike high fived. "It roars in anger," She said dramatically, letting out a roar that made the boys laugh. She slammed her hands on the table top, suddenly turning serious, "William, what's your move?"

"What should I do!" Will panicked, looking at the board with wide eyes.

"Fireball him!" Lucas shouted and silence fell over them that confused Rowan, she frowned at their shared looks.

Will looked over to Dustin for answer and the curly haired boy sat forward, rubbing a hand over his chin. He smirked, "Fireball the son of a bitch." Will was quick to agree, grabbing the dice and rolling them across the board.

"Fourteen!" All four boys exclaimed, shooting up from their seats with cheers and high fives that had Rowan laughing giddily as she watched them.

"Direct hit!" Rowan cheered, smacking the game piece off the table, mocking a crashing noise with her mouth. "Will the Wise's fireball hits the Thessalhydra dead on. It lets out a painful..." She trailed off, standing to her feet and letting out a screech, her arms flailing dramatically. All four boys were on their feet to watch now. "And crumbles to the ground," She dropped to a heap on the carpet, stretching out a hand desperately towards the table. "It's clawed hand reaches for you one last time and... and- and..." She trailed off, dropping and pretending to be dead.

The four boys broke out in cheers, but it was Mike who came up to her to help her to her feet with a wide smile, "Welcome back Rowan. Or should I say, Rowan the Clairvoyant." He handed her the Walkie Talkie.

She held onto it like her life depended on it, her lips slowly breaking out into a wide grin that took up almost her whole face. "Yaaaaaaay!" She slowly got louder the longer she drew out the word before finally flinging her arms around Mike in a big hug that had them stumbling. It wasn't long before Dustin, Lucas, and Will all found their way into the group hug themselves. And in that moment, Rowan couldn't even fathom why she stopped being friends with them in the first place.