╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
ONE!
dungeons and dragons
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

───────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────────

         The sun had already set and a light shower of rain had proceeded to drench the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. To say the town was small was kind of an understatement. Nothing exciting or groundbreaking ever really occurred in this town. It was just a mere rest room stop on a road trip to Disneyland.

It was a boring little town that looked like every other stereotypical suburban American town that was filled with many families and people who wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of the big cities. It was a great town to settle in if you wanted nothing to do.

Speaking of nothing to do, the town was completely barren of attractions and the local kids had to spend their free time coming up with whatever they could in order to keep themselves occupied. Sure there was an arcade, a movie theatre and a few stores in the downtown but it wasn't enough to satisfy the thrill of excitement. There just was never enough to do in this boring small town.

Five of those local kids, William Byers, Michael Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson and Wendy Harrington, were currently sitting in the basement level. They were in the process of playing the fun but equally nerdy game, known as Dungeons and Dragons.

This fantasy adventure game was considered everything to these five kids, it's as if their lives depended on it. They spent countless hours of their time just preparing for their campaigns before actually participating in them. You can't blame them for being obsessed with this board game when they were stuck in a boring town like Hawkins.

"Something is coming. Something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here." Mike Wheeler began to narrate the game.

The five preteens all sat around a small table in the semi dark basement with the board game laid out in front of their eyes. Mike secluded himself to one side with a propped up book in front of his face to hide all of the cards and characters he had.

The raven haired boy held the very impressive position of grand master of the game. This meant that he was was the main one in charge of planning the campaigns as well as setting up the game. Mike was granted the honour as the five preteens mostly used his basement.

The other roles in the game consisted of the magical being known as the cleric, who was given to Will Byers or Will the Wise as he often referred to himself as due to the cleric's magical powers.

Next was the ranger, who is considered the adventure seeker, which was fitting for Lucas Sinclair as he is considered the adventurous one of their small party.

Next was the bard, which is a skilled fighter and magic user. That role was assigned to Dustin Henderson due to his extensive knowledge on the works around him.

Lastly, we have the role of psychic, who's main goal is to use its magical abilities to predict the outcomes of the situation. That role was given to Wendy Harrington, who had a freakish ability of predicting things. She truly lived up to her character's archetype.

"What is it?" Will Byers questioned from the other side of the table.

"What if it's the demogorgan? Oh, Jesus, we're so screwed if it's the demogorgan." Dustin Henderson sighed in disbelief.

The demogorgan was considered the most vicious but important monster that was present in the Dungeons and Dragons world. The flesh eating being was from an alternate dimension and had come to their world in search of blood to fulfil its craving and people to enslave for its own personal use.

It was the most feared monster in the role playing fantasy game and every interaction the Party had with it always ended up with a member dying in some way. It was not a creature that you wanted to mess with.

"It's not the demogorgan." Lucas Sinclair assured.

"I hope not." Wendy Harrington agreed.

"An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber." Mike explained, place a card down.

"Troglodytes?" Dustin questioned happily.

"Told ya." Lucas grinned.

"I was gonna be worried if it was actually the demogorgan." Wendy sighed in relief.

"Wait a minute....Did you hear that? That....that sound? Boom....Boom.....Boom!" Mike acted for dramatic effect. His role of the grand master forced him to be expressive when describing the concept of the game to entice the other players.

"That didn't come from the troglodytes. No, that....that came from something else.....The demogorgan!" Mike confirmed, slamming the small plastic statue of the plastic monster on the table.

The four teens eyes all widened in disbelief. They never expected the Wheeler boy to actually pull that trick on them and now they were pinned as they were in tricky situation on what abilities to use. Ultimately, the game would end in a death of some kind, even if they use the right move to defeat the monster.

"We're in deep shit." Dustin shook his head.

"Will, your action!" Mike demanded, looking straight at the Byers boy.

Will was the only one who can do anything as he had the magical abilities to do so. The other preteens turned to him, hoping that he had a solution to this sudden monster.

"I don't know!" Will pondered out loud as he took the dice into his hands to roll for the group's fate.

"Fireball him!" Lucas exclaimed.

"I'd have to roll a thirteen or higher!" Will reminded, raising his voice.

"Too risky, cast a protection spell." Dustin protested the other boy's demands.

The two were always arguing during Dungeons and Dragons and even during real life situations as they always had opposing views on how to handle like every situation.

"I'm with Dustin on this one." Wendy agreed.

"Don't be a pussy, fireball him." Lucas insisted.

"Cast protection." Dustin argued back.

"Can't Wendy use a mind control spell?" Will suggested.

"Nope! The demogorgan is a super organism. That's far too complicated for my power levels." Wendy reminded with a sigh of annoyance.

Sure, the Harrington girl liked being the psychic of the group as she was the one who would get first dibs on anything important but her powers were sometimes useless.

Case in point, she has no way to protect herself against the demogorgan as it has a too complex mind for the girl to infiltrate. She just had to sit back and watch the entire situation unfold.

"The demogorgan is tired of your silly human bickering. It stomps toward you. Boom!" Mike exclaimed in annoyance, getting fed by the four preteens bickering.

He just wanted to move on with the game but couldn't, so he had to wait for the others to be mature enough to make a move.

"Fireball him!" Lucas demanded.

"Another stomp, boom!" Mike acknowledged, trying to pressure the others to make a move.

"Cast protection." Dustin argued.

"He roars in anger." Mike reminded.

"Fireball!" Will exclaimed, throwing the dice that he had shaken for the last minute or so.

Unfortunately, his throw was a little too hard and the pair of dice fell somewhere onto the ground. "Oh, shit." Dustin's eyes widened.

The five preteens immediately jumped up from their chairs to begin searching the rather large basement for the small blue and red dice set. Without the dice, the game couldn't continue and they would have to deal with yet another setback, prolonging the end of their campaign that they worked so desperately on.

"Where'd it go? Where is it?" Lucas questioned.

"I don't know." Will pondered.

"Is it a thirteen?" Dustin questioned.

"I don't know." Will shouted this time.

"Where is it?" Lucas wondered in annoyance.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" Dustin exclaimed, getting paranoid.

"Did you find it yet?" Lucas wondered.

"No, I can't find it." Will denied.

"Mike!" His mother called suddenly from the top of the basement stairs and the boy in question, quickly ran over to deal with the situation.

The rest of the preteens continued to hunt for the stubborn dice until Will had luckily stumbled upon it. "Oh, I got it!" He announced happily.

This caused Lucas, Dustin and Wendy to all ran towards the boy to see the number he had rolled. The four were all practically bouncing on the spot in suspend until he showcased the dreaded number.

"Does a seven count?" Will questioned.

Their faces all fell when they realized that the number on the dice would ultimately get them killed in the game. "It was a seven? Did Mike see it? Then it doesn't count." Lucas lied.

Mike came back down the stairs after arguing with his mother in the kitchen and announced that it was time for everyone to leave. The group reluctantly agreed and went out to grab their bikes but Dustin went to quickly spy on Mike's older sister, Nancy.

"There's something wrong with your sister." Dustin announced suddenly, exiting the back door with the pizza box in hand.

Will, Wendy and Lucas all ignored the boy as they continued to get on their bikes. The Party constantly blocked out the Henderson's boy rambles about the older girl as they deemed it to be unimportant to their game or friendship in general. He still continued on as if their opinions didn't matter.

"What are you talking about?" Mike questioned, unsure about what his friend was referring to.

"She's got a stick up her butt." Dustin clarified.

"Yeah, it's because she's dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington." Lucas pointed out, not realizing that the blood relative of said 'douchebag,' was standing next to him.

Wendy's ears immediately perked up as soon as her older cousin's name was mentioned in the conversation. She frowned at the insult Lucas hurled at him. "Hey! That's my cousin!" She reminded in a semi offended tone.

Wendy was the paternal cousin of Steve Harrington. Her father was brother's with his father, making them first cousins. Their family didn't have the most perfect relationship but they still tolerated each other enough to be able to celebrate holidays together and to also be there for the other one during stressful situations.

"Yeah but you have to admit that he's kind of a jerk." Lucas defended.

"Yep, she's turning into a real jerk because of him." Dustin agreed with Lucas.

"She's always been a real jerk." Mike rolled his eyes.

"Nuh-uh, she used to be cool. Like that time she dressed up as an elf for our elder tree campaign." Dustin remembered.

"Like four years ago." Mike pointed out.

"Just saying." Dustin shrugged before beginning to pedal his bike to leave the Wheeler driveway.

"Later." Lucas waved, following after the boy.

"It was a seven." Will announced suddenly.

"Huh?" Mike questioned.

"The roll, it was a seven. The demogorgan, it got me. See you tomorrow." Will explained before biking after the other two boys, who had already left.

"Well, that's my queue to go. My dad will kill me if I don't get home before he does. See you, Mike!" Wendy awkwardly announced, rocking back and forth on the seat of her purple bike.

He just nodded in response and that was enough to give the girl confirmation to leave. She gave him one final wave before peddling away.

───────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────────

         The pale crescent moon had almost reached it's highest point in the dusky grey sky when the soles of Wendy's converses had hit the plush grass of the Harrington property. She had gently leaned her bike against the wall at the side of the house after she had carefully dismounted.

Standing still, the girl took in a long deep breath of the crisp night air, enjoying the slight chill it brought to her lungs and the shiver that crawled beneath her skin. It was the tranquil moments like these, where she could take in the surroundings without anyone bothering her.

The calming aroma of the night had also acted like a soothing balm that brought sweet relief to her somewhat pounding earache she had gained from her irritated hearing aids. It was pleasant to know that the aching pain was starting to retreat.

For those who don't know, Wendy Harrington wore hearing aids. She was born partially deaf in both ears but neither parent or even doctors had known of her condition until she had reached her toddler years.

The girl could hear certain noises and even people talking to her but it just sounds like the noises were being muffled by invisible ear plugs. Doctors had determined that she was partially deaf and she was subjected to wearing hearing aids for the rest of her life.

Her hearing aids consisted of two ear plugs that were attached by a small wire. The attachment wire then lead back to a small walkman sized audio receiver that she had to carry on her at all times, finding its place in her back pocket.

Her aids could be annoying at times for her to deal with. Sometimes, she dealt with horrible ear infections due to the plugs or sometimes her wires would get caught and tug on something. But the girl put up with the trouble in order to hear properly.

After a few minutes of silence and a quick adjustment of the straps on her lavender coloured backpack to fit snugly on her shoulders, Wendy decided to walk up the porch steps that lead to the wooden front door.

She dug into her jacket pocket for the house key that she constantly kept on her due to the countless times that her older brother, Stanley, had accidentally locked her out of the house for hours on end in the pouring rain or sharp cold weather. She had unlocked the door with ease before pushing it open to reveal the deserted front foyer.

The Harrington residence was a decent looking place. The outside looked like every typical traditional American suburban house with muted red bricks and a nicely trimmed lawn but the inside looked nothing like that picture perfect image of suburbia.

The best way to describe the inside of the Harrington house was that it was decently clean but it was paired with a mix match of whatever clutter they had laying around. The family never bothered to organize anything after the matriarch had passed on, so they kind of just put everything in random piles around the place.

The house may look like a mess but it was definitely very homey compared to most other family homes. You would always be greeted with warm welcomes and love when you first enter the household. That was it's charm factor.

Wendy immediately threw her backpack about on the floor as her main priority at this moment was to tackle the stubborn red and white converses that were practically trapped on her feet. The girl had double knotted them to ensure that they wouldn't get caught when she was biking.

But it had come back to haunt her as her nimble fingers struggled to undo the tight knots. It felt like hours before Wendy could actually release her feet from the torturous converses with a gasp. She threw the shoes off to the side as she got up from the floor.

Her hearing aids were removed next as she didn't need to wear them at home. Her brother and father were well aware of her presence at all times, so they were deemed useless indoors. She placed the device on the little side table for safe keeping until later, when she would bring them up to her bedroom.

Wendy then stood in the front foyer, with her hands on her hips, figuring out what she wanted to do, which meant there was endless possibilities for her. She and her older brother had the entire house to theirselves all weekend, due to their father's tight work schedule.

Their father, Thomas Harrington, worked long crazy hours at his job. He was a radio engineer. This means that he is the one in charge of maintaining and repairing the abundance communication lines that hung around town.

It was definitely hard work but the paycheque was enough for the family to make ends meet and splurge here and there on luxurious things like the occasional takeout or pay for view television channels.

Though Thomas Harrington works long and tiring hours, he still takes time out of his day to look after his children. He tried his best to be a good father, especially after his wife had passed. It was hard sometimes due to his schedule but he always made time to be with the two preteens. Their family of three was filled with so much love.

Speaking of family, Wendy had yet to know if her older brother was home. She sometimes didn't notice his being as the house was constantly silent when it was just the two of them. Their dad and her were the loudest members but her brother was the quietest one out of the Harrington trio. The boy preferred to be locked up in his room and paint.

"Stan! Are you home?!" Wendy called, loud enough for the unresponsive boy to hear.

The teen boy constantly shoved his personal pair of earbuds into his ear canal at any chance he got, which made him deaf to everything around him. Within a few minutes or so, the tall lanky boy came bouncing down the stairs at the loud calls of his younger sister.

"Hi." Stanley greeted, wiping his paint covered hands on the dirty smock he wore in order to not ruin his Star Wars shirt.

Here was the eldest of the family, fourteen year old, Stanley Harrington. He was only two grades ahead but still somehow looked just as young as his sister, who had barely reached the age of twelve.

The boy was blessed with a tall stature, thin physique, wild brown curls, a defined jawline, almond shaped eyes that were a honey brown colour and had a bright smile that could make every girl melt on the spot. He was definitely an attractive boy for his age but had an even better personality.

He was the right amount of awkwardness and down to earth vibes that made him come across as an easy going person. He was the child that caused the least amount of problems as he dedicated his time into creating whatever masterpiece his mind had somehow come up with.

Stanley Harrington had to be the easy going child as their father had enough on his plate, trying to work his hectic schedule but also, dealing with the abundance of costs and issues associated with Wendy's disability.

He tried his best to be the caring and responsible older brother but sometimes he cracked under pressure. For example, he once tried to stop Troy Walsh from bullying his sister but only received a swollen eye after the confrontation. It wasn't his best moment but it still meant a lot to his little sister.

The two were very close but became even closer after their mom's death. The sibling duo constantly spent their time at their home together, just watching movies or playing video games until their father came home. They were definitely the perfect sibling duo.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Wendy questioned.

The sudden growling in her stomach made her decide on making a quick snack instead. Sure, she had some pizza at the Wheeler house but it was had been a few hours since the desired meal. It was a great time to have a sandwich of some sort to fulfil her stomach's needs.

"Sure, make my usual." Stanley agreed, making sure to amplify his tone and over enunciate his words. He knew that his young sister had removed her hearing aids, so he needed to be loud and clear enough for her to register his answer.

The teen boy's usual sandwich choice was a slice of bread covered in a thick layer of Nutella and another slice that was slathered in whipped cream that was then squished together to make a sugary mess. It wasn't the healthiest snack in the world but it was what their mother used to make for him when he was upset, so he had to keep the tradition going.

"Yeah, I'll make your usual and then we can watch Saturday Night Live reruns together. Dad taped a bunch." Wendy exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I'll be down after I clean up." Stan nodded in agreement with the plan.

And with that the girl had turned away with full intention of entering the kitchen to begin her nighttime routine.

★ AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Here is my latest fanfic that's been in the making for months. I've always wanted to do a fanfic for Stranger Things but I couldn't come up with one clear idea as I had so many since Stranger Things is one of those shows that give me endless ideas as I love media in the science fiction genre.

I also couldn't decide which character that I wanted to ship my oc with as I literally love everyone in this show. I have finally got something that I'm cool with, so let's see how long it takes for me to change. I'll wait until season four comes out to make any major decisions but for now, this is what I want.

I'm excited to start this book as I'll actually be excited to write and finish it. Especially to write for my oc, Wendy Harrington, who happens to be my first disabled character as I've never written a character with a disability before. I tried to research the hearing impairment in the 80's as much as possible but if anything is wrong then let me know. Please continue to look out for updates and thanks again for all of the support.

★ 𝐎𝐃𝐃 𝐄𝐘𝐄 ! stranger things fanfic ★
(© 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱)