╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
THREE!
the disappearing act
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

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The sudden invasion of the harsh sunlight, poking out from behind the blue curtains, was what woke Wendy Harrington up from her deep slumber.

It also didn't help that the obnoxious beeping that came from her pink alarm clock had rang through the room, adding extra salt to the annoying wound. Though the deaf girl couldn't hear the noise, she could feel the vibrations of the clock shaking on her nightstand and that was enough to alert her.

Wendy groaned in annoyance as she cracked her eyes open. The first thing she did when she was finally aware of her surroundings was beat her alarm clock to a pulp to get the device to shut itself up. She then laid on her back again and stared up at the cream coloured ceiling. She still had some time to lay about in bed before it became too late.

Once the girl had decided she had contemplated her life choices enough, it was time for her to drag herself out of bed. She reluctantly threw her large comforter off of her body, forcing herself to sit up as she did so. She huffed as she didn't want to continue getting up.

It was already Monday morning and she already had given up on the week. It's not like the girl hated school. She actually loved the idea of learning and studying up on new topics.

But it was the other things that were associated with school. She hated tests, projects, homework, grades, the local bullies, the popularity hierarchy and other self deprecating mindsets that came with the pubescent body. That made her middle school experience more unbearable.

Wendy did end up forcing herself to get out of bed to get dressed. She threw on the first thing she saw, which was just jeans, a shirt and a knitted cardigan over top to keep her warm as it was constantly windy outside during the fall in Hawkins.

Her hearing aids came next. She reached for the small device that sat on her dresser, pushing the two tubes into her ear canals and untangling the wires to make the sound connection clearer. She turned the dial at the top of her sound box and she was immediately met with the chirps of birds, indicating that the device was indeed hooked up properly.

Wendy then reluctantly dragged herself downstairs to the kitchen, in order to get some much needed breakfast into her growling stomach. When she had entered the retro looking kitchen, she was immediately met the smell of slightly burned bread.

That smell came from none other than the stack of burnt toast that sat on the counter. It was currently being slathered with a slap of butter by Stanley as an attempt to save his tastebuds before he ultimately had to eat the charred mess.

The girl tried her best to block out the pungent smell, preferring to have a simple breakfast that wouldn't result in smoking up the place. She immediately went over to the cabinet to grab a plastic cup to pour herself a glass of orange juice.

"Morning." Stanley greeted with a grin, once he had spotted his sister sitting down at the table.

"Sorry about the smell, kind of forgot about my breakfast in the toaster. I can make you a slice if you would like?" The boy suggested.

"Alright but don't burn it." Wendy warned, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"Don't worry, I'm the toast master." Stanley joked, placing two slices of bread into the toaster.

"Says the guy who just burned like a stack." Wendy pointed out with a chuckle.

"Shut up." Stanley stuck his tongue out at his sister, who was too busy sipping from her glass of juice.

A peaceful silence filled the room as the two teens focused on their own tasks. Stanley watching the toaster like a hawk to ensure another disaster of burnt toast wouldn't occur and Wendy was just busy nursing her glass.

"Do you think Nina would like a slice of toast to eat?" Stanley questioned randomly, breaking the silence and this caused the preteen girl to immediately chocked on her juice.

It was in that moment that Wendy Harrington had finally remembered that she and her brother had let a total stranger sleep on their living room couch. She had totally forgotten about the girl until now.

With wide eyes, the girl lost all control of her hands and dropped her glass on the table. She then quickly got up from her chair before flying out of the room to find where her new friend was. She rushed into the hallway like a maniac, practically tripping over her own feet and almost smashing into her father, who was currently coming down the stairs.

"Woah, kiddo, what's got you in a rush?" Thomas Harrington questioned with an awkward chuckle.

"Uh.......I just forgot my bag upstairs!" Wendy exclaimed, a little too loud for the lie to be real but somehow her father bought it.

Thomas just nodded with knitted eyebrows before walking into the kitchen to see where the sudden burning smell had come from. Of course, Stanley had just burned the toast again but the situation involving Nina was more important than the girl's charred breakfast.

Wendy had quickly made a beeline for the living room as that was where her and Stanley left the mysterious girl to settle in for the night. Looking back, it probably wasn't a good idea to let Nina sleep on the couch since it would of been easy for her father to notice the random girl just laying about on their couch.

They were grateful that their father, Thomas, had gone straight to bed upon getting home from his shift at work. It was a lucky coincidence but that meant that the two Harrington teens had to be more careful next time.

There was no one in sight on the couch, except for a large lump that sat underneath a blanket on the middle cushion. Wendy had cautiously tip toed over to the couch and carefully lifted the blanket up, expecting to find Nina underneath the thick fabric. Instead, she was greeted by a twelve pound chocolate cat with large yellow eyes.

The preteen girl was taken back at the fact that her new friend was now a feline. She couldn't comprehend the situation. Nina was literally a human the night before and now she was a cat. She didn't know if her mind playing tricks on her or the fact that she couldn't sleep well the night before due to some unsettling dreams.

"Nina? Is that you?" Wendy questioned in a low tone to ensure that no one could hear her. The last thing she needed was someone to walk in on her talking to a mysterious pet.

The cat slightly nodded its head, confirming itself to be Nina.

Before the girl could try and interrogate the furry animal that laid in front of her, Stanley Harrington, had entered the room in complete disarray. He was usually like this all the time and was currently desperately searching for his backpack that he left somewhere on the main floor. It didn't help that he had the memory of a child.

"Wen, have you seen my.........When did we get a cat?" Stanley cut himself off when he had spotted the chocolate brown cat on the couch. He was confused at the sight as he never remembered bringing a cat home or even owning one.

"It's Nina......" Wendy confirmed in a low tone as their father was in the kitchen, which happened to only be a few feet away from the teens.

Stanley's eyes immediately popped out of his skull when he had heard that statement. He was definitely filled with doubt but still wanted to get a closer look at the mysterious feline on their couch. The two teens intensely stared at the cat, who gave them worried eyes in return. They didn't know how to explain the situation if their father caught them.

"Stanley." Thomas called suddenly, entering the living room.

Stanley shot up from the ground to block the view of the cat on their couch as Wendy scrambled to toss the blanket over the feline. The two teens had nervous grins on their faces and were desperately hoping that their father didn't pick up on their suddenly anxious and clammy stature.

"Oh, what's wrong, dad?" Stanley asked, a nervous chuckle escaping through his lips.

Wendy mentally rolled her eyes as that was the boy's biggest lie detector test. The boy then pretended to cough, hoping that would cover up his nervous laughs. Their father gave him a knowing look but decided to ignore whatever they were hiding as it was too early for him to handle their antics.

"Your bag was hung up in the closet. I put it on the bottom step for you to not forget." Thomas explained suddenly, knowing his son had been looking around the house for the last few minutes for said item.

"Great, that's totally great, dad. Thanks." Stan awkwardly assured, trying to get rid of their father as fast as possible without drawing attention.

Thomas just awkwardly nodded before walking back into the kitchen to finish his coffee that he had just made. The two teen sighed in relief as they no longer had to deal with their father's suspicion but now had to deal with the original problem on how their mysterious friend, Nina, had transformed into a cat.

When the two teens had turned around to face the feline, they were just met with the human form of theirs new friend. Nina sat crossed legged on the couch cushion as if this was the most normal thing that has ever happened.

"How did you do that?" Wendy asked in awe.

"Yeah, how?" Stanley practically bounced on the spot in anticipation.

The two never expected that this total stranger that they had found in their kitchen, could actually shape shift into another living form. "I have special abilities." Nine answered simply, a grin playing at the corner of her lips.

The two teens leaned in closer into her space in order to hear her low tone better. "Special abilities? Like what?" Wendy wondered with sparkling eyes of excitement that matched the same look that her brother held.

"I can transform into any living being on Earth." Nina leaned forward to whisper her secret without anyone else in the house knowing.

"You're a shape shifter like Raven from X-Men?" Stanley pondered excitedly.

"I guess, even thought I have no idea who that is." Nina gave him a look of confusion.

"So, what else can you......?" They were cut off by their father entering the room again. Stanley threw the blanket over Nina's form, so she just looked like a horizontal lump that laid on the couch. The two awkwardly smiled, trying to be as normal as possible.

"Wendy, Stanley, let's go! You're gonna be late but I'll drive you to school." Thomas suggested.

"Ok." Wendy mentally rolled her eyes in annoyance at her father's timing as she wanted to pry more answers out of the girl. Their father just nodded before going to the front foyer to get himself ready to leave for work.

"I'll tell you later." Nina assured the two teens as they got up from their spots on the floor.

"Stay here at all costs. Do not leave. There are people outside our house who are not very good people." Wendy explained simply, earning a nod of agreement from her brother.

The sibling duo shared a look of apprehension before deciding to follow after their father, who was most likely starting up the car.

That statement left a confused Nina on the couch. She didn't understand what Wendy meant by, 'not very good people.' The teen girl knew who the bad people were, so it confused her to see someone that she trusted, using that word so freely.

Nina just sighed to herself, trying to forgot those eerily specific words, as she got up the couch to then go on to explore the rest of the Harrington household.

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The slow ticking clock had barely hit noon and Wendy Harrington had already given up on the school day as a whole. The girl was sitting in the back of her seventh grade AP science class, trying her best to write the last of the lesson on the board before the bell rang.

The girl was all sorts of annoyed due to her current situation. She was crammed in a small desk in the back of the class that caused her knees to press uncomfortably together, making them ache. Her hands was also shaking from the amount of pressure she had pushed into her pencil to darken the letters on the lines piece of paper.

Her stomach was contorting in uncomfortable ways due to the lack of food contents that currently sat in the organ. She wanted nothing more than for the class to end, so she could rush to the cafeteria to devour her sandwich.

Wendy's prayers were quickly answered and the bell went off, signifying the end of the class. Everyone was immediately in a rush to pack up their binders, textbooks and pencil cases into their bag, in order to bolt out of the classroom to maximize their lunch break.

Wendy happily placed her pink binder and matching rainbow pencil case into her equally as obnoxious bright pink canvas backpack littered in different fun pins of rainbows, unicorns and more. Despite the girl's entire aesthetic being labelled as 'uncool' by the other kids, she decided to keep it as it felt the truly most like her.

"Remember to finish chapter twelve and answer 12.3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of scientific investigation." Mr Clark reminded as everyone began to all pile out of the classroom to escape to their lunch break.

The only students who still hadn't left the classroom was the Party, who had happily gathered around the teacher's desk after packing up their bags.

"Did it come?" Mike asked, his tone full of hope. He was referring to the advanced communication broadcasting system that their science teacher, Mr Clark, had ordered for their club.

"Sorry, guys." Mr Clark apologized, causing the kids faces to all fall flat with frowns. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but......it came." All of their faces suddenly perked up with excitement.

The four preteens were then lead to their designated club room where the new communication system was already set up. They all gathered around the system in awe. They had never seen anything as advanced as this.

"I bet you can talk to New York on this thing!" Dustin exclaimed excitedly, practically jumping on the spot at the sight.

"Think bigger." Mr Clark suggested.

"California?" Lucas wondered.

"Bigger." Mr Clark smiled at their excitement.

"Australia?" Mike questioned in disbelief. Mr Clark only nodded and they gasped in awe, "Holy shit." He muttered to himself in awe.

"Oh, man, when Will sees this, he's totally gonna lose his shit!" Lucas exclaimed.

The boy clearly forgot that their teacher was standing right behind them when he let the curse word escape his mouth. "Lucas." Mr Clark scolded.

"Sorry." Lucas shrugged sheepishly.

"Hello, this is Mike Wheeler, president of Hawkins Middle A.V Club." Mike spoke in a silly Australian accent into the system's microphone. The preteens all laughed at the Wheeler boy's antics.

"Hello, this is Dustin Henderson, secretary and treasurer of Hawkins Middle A.V Club. Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?" Dustin questioned in his own badly done Australian accent, earning a laugh from the others.

The four preteens antics were immediately cut off when the door was opened to reveal their principal and the town's chief of police, Jim Hopper. "Sorry to interrupt but may I borrow Michael, Dustin, Lucas and Wendy?"

Mr Clark immediately nodded in agreement, forcing the four preteens to get up from their seats and follow after the authority. The four were lead to the principal's office, where two more police officers stood, waiting for their arrival. The preteens all sat down in the chairs as Hopper pulled up on his own to face the four, who were all visibly uncomfortable about the whole confrontation.

"Alright, kids, let's get this over with, huh? I've been told you're all acquainted with William Byers, is this correct?" Hopper questioned them and all four preteens nodded nervously in agreement.

"And I've been told that Will was at your house last night?" He directed his question at the raven haired boy.

"That is correct, sir." Mike confirmed.

"And how did he exactly get home?" Hopper asked.

"He rode his bike." Mike answered.

"We were racing down the street but my house is the first one." Dustin added.

"Yeah! On Mirkwood." Lucas exclaimed at the same time as the other two, causing their voices to accidentally topple over each other.

"Alright, alright! One at a time!" Hopper demanded, annoyed at the preteens petty arguments.

"You!" Hopper pointed at Mike to speak again.

"He took Mirkwood." The raven haired boy answered.

Hopper had a confused look on his face, unsure of what that word meant. He then turned to his colleague, who sported a similar expression. "I've never heard of it, have you?"

"I've never heard of it, sounds made up to me." The officer spoke in slight annoyance.

"No, no, it's from Lord of the Rings." Lucas answered like it was obvious.

"Well, the Hobbit." Dustin corrected.

"Does it matter?" Lucas asked in annoyance.

"He asked!" Dustin defended.

"Hey! Hey! What did I say?! One at a damn time!" Hopper reminded, his patience being tested.

The chief of police was known for having a very short temper and always had severe outbursts when his anger was tested. You could tell that in that exact moment, Jim Hopper, was trying to restrain himself from getting into a physical altercation with the witnesses, that were more than half his age.

"Mirkwood is a real road." Wendy spoke up, trying to break up the argument.

The girl could sense the rise of anger in the room, mostly from the chief. She was trying her best to act as a soothing balm to the confusion and frustrated atmosphere in the room. "It's just the name that's made up. It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet up."

"We can show you if you want." Mike suggested.

"No, you kids are gonna go home right after school. No biking around looking for your friend. This isn't some Lord of the Rings stuff." Hopper shook his head at their foolish ideas.

"The Hobbit." Dustin corrected again. The curly haired boy ended earning a glare from the chief and a shove in the shoulder by Lucas.

"Do I make myself clear?" Hopper asked but it was more of a demand.

"Yes, sir." The four preteens nodded, swallowing the nervous lumps in their throats.

"Good." Hopper was satisfied by their fear.

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The dreadful school day was over and Wendy Harrington had happily returned to her home for some much needed rest and food before she was forced back into the repetitive cycle the next day.

She was home alone as Stanley had gone to a friend's house to work on a project and her father had already left for his shift. Currently, the girl sat at her bedroom desk, trying to answer out her mountain of math problems.

Wendy's new roommate, Nina, sat crossed legged on the floor, playing catch by herself with a tennis ball. The mysterious girl was able to go through a whole day without being caught by the other inhabitants in the house but it did help that the house was mostly empty during the day.

The teen had just spent the entire day in front of the device that she considered magic, the television and flipped through cheesy sitcoms as she waited for the siblings to come back home.

"Wendy? Are you there?" A static voice broke the silence of the room.

Wendy immediately jumped up from her seat and ran over to her nightstand, where her walkie talkie sat. This was the best way for the Party members to communicate when the phone lines were all busy in their households. The girl picked up the small device and turned it on to speak.

"This is Wendy. Do you copy, Mike?" Wendy answered the boy's static voice.

"Yes, I copy! The Party has decided that we're gonna go look for Will after dark." Mike explained.

"But didn't the chief say that we shouldn't?" Wendy reminded, confused by the idea.

"Yeah but we have to be sure ourselves that Will is out there. Just meet us in half an hour by the power lines near my house, ok?" Mike answered.

"Yes, I'll be there." Wendy confirmed before turning off her walkie talkie.

The girl was indeed a bit apprehensive about agreeing to the plan but it was understandable as one of her best friends had gone missing and for all they knew, there could be a psychopath on the lose that kidnapped children. She decided that the rewards of finding Will Byers alive and well, outweighed the risks associated.

"What is that?" Nina questioned in confusion, breaking the girl's train of thoughts. She had never seen a device like that in her life and was completely fascinated by the idea.

"It's a walkie talkie. I use to it to talk to my friends when I'm not with them." Wendy explained.

"Wow......" Nina was in awe.

"Alright, I'm gonna go meet up with the others to help find our missing friend, Will. I need you to stay here just in case anything happens. Can you do that for me?" Wendy asked.

"Of course! I'll do anything for my friend!" Nina assured with a soft smile.

"Great, thank you! You're the best!" Wendy complimented, earning a hug from the girl.

The Harrington preteen then packed as many useful objects into her bag that she would need for the search. This included a flashlight, a compass, a map of the city, her walkie talkie, a few protein bars and anything deemed important enough to be shoved in the small pink canvas backpack.

She then ran down the stairs to put on her calf length rubber rain boots and her equally as shiny raincoat to protect herself from the heavy downpour of rain. Luckily, nobody was home to stop her from going against police orders, so she was able to waltz out the door without any hesitation.

Wendy had made it on time to their designated meeting spot but neither of her friends had made the effort to show up on time. This was always the case, she'd show up way too early and slowly but surely, everyone would show up.

The girl sighed in annoyance as shallow raindrops began to fall on her head. Just her luck that it started to rain once she had decided to leave the comfort of her own home. She was just grateful that she had brought a waterproof jacket as she couldn't risk her hearing aids getting wet as she desperately needed the device to live properly.

Wendy then proceeded to stand in the pouring rain for what felt like hours before she caught the sight of the three preteen boys walking down the now very muddy path towards her.

"You're late, I've been waiting for almost an hour." She exaggerated, blowing wet hair strands that fell into her face.

She had only been there for twenty minutes but the harsh downpour of rain had made her extra cranky as she was starting to get soaked. Her socks were damp and her pink rain boots were now starting to sink into the soft dirt. She was ready to call it quits due to the negative weather but her missing friend was more important than her discomfort.

"Sorry." Dustin mumbled.

"Alright, we begin our search." Mike ordered before walking towards the forest.

The rest of the preteens followed after their supposed 'leader.' They were all apprehensive about the situation but trusted each other enough in order to find Will. The four preteens walked through the surrounding forest in Hawkins in complete misery.

The rain had gotten heavier and harshly beat down on them, causing their backs and shoulders to ache. The ground had gotten increasingly soft and muddy, causing them to easily slip. Most of them were soaking wet as they never anticipated the rain to get worse, thus not preparing for the weather.

Finally, it was completely pitch black. The only source of light the four preteens had were their small portable flashlights and the strikes of lightening that broke through the dark sky every so often.

"This is so stupid!" Lucas complained.

"You're telling me." Wendy agreed in annoyance.

"Mike, we're having no luck. Let's just go home and wait for the rain to stop." Dustin explained.

"No! We have to keep looking! Will could be out here!" Mike defended, walking deeper into the woods to search more.

The boy had suddenly stopped with a loud gasp of disbelief at the sight in front of him. The other preteens quickly went to his side to see what the Wheeler boy had saw. The rest shined their flashlights on the dark figure, hoping it would reveal their missing friend.

Their hopes were immediately destroyed as it was just a mysterious preteen girl, dressed only in a long yellow t-shirt. The four preteens looked at each with wide eyes before looking back at the shivering and scared girl.

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