╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
EIGHT!
grieving period
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

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         Night time, defined as the time between evening and morning but to many people, it was designated as the worst time frame in the day.

Maybe because it was the only available time in the twenty four hour period where it was harder to distract the human consciousness.

The sun always receded in the late hours, causing the light to disappear and the world to be engulfed by total darkness. Maybe because the temperature always dropped in the nights, turning the warm weather into bitter coldness that nipped at your bones as you slept.

Or maybe, night time was the only time when the intrusive and violent thoughts were given their chance to escape from the depths of the mind and make themselves known to the soul that they inhabited.

It was the easiest time as there was nothing to push those thoughts back inside as there was no longer any barriers or mere distractions that could stop them from reaching the vulnerable human consciousness.

It was like a broken cycle of pure fear, despair, panic, doubt, grief and guilt that constantly plagued the mind. It was hard to throw a mechanism into the machine once it was turned on and began to run on its own. It would just continue to feaster until the harsh nightmare became nothing but a living reality. A dark, cold reality.

That's how Wendy Harrington would describe her life at the moment.

It was all a nightmare. It was just all a nightmare that she would eventually wake up from. That's what she kept telling herself. No, forcing herself into believing.

She so desperately wanted this whole situation to be some sort of sick joke that Will Byers had pulled on her. She so desperately wanted the boy to pop out of hiding with the biggest grin on his face, bursting into a fit of laughter at how stupid her face look.

She didn't dare sleep a wink. She spent half the night sobbing her eyes out and the other half, wide awake, just staring that the pale ceiling. She just couldn't sleep. Not when every time she closed her eyes, she was met with the image of the Byers boy's body, floating lifelessly among the grey water of the quarry.

She was also plagued with the vision of the shadowy monster that she encountered in the forest when her world had suddenly switched to a mere daydream. She couldn't escape the dark images that flashed her mind every time she tried to sleep, so she tried her best to avoid the activity all together.

Wendy pulled her rainbow coloured comforter up higher until it was only her face sticking out. Her hands were practically shaking as they harshly balled  up the material.

The girl was stiff as a board under the soft comforter as she could not find ease in her own bed. Her body refused to relax itself, so she was frozen in her laying down position, despite how much she was shaking.

It felt as if the temperature had dropped completely and the freezing cold had taken over the atmosphere of the heated room. No amount of heat could bring comfort or warmth to the numb and cold body of Wendy Harrington.

"Wendy." A male voice called.

The girl in question, turned her head slightly and was met with the worried eyes of her father. After seeing the vulnerable state of his daughter, Thomas Harrington refused to leave her side the entire night.

He knew that she needed all of the comfort in the world in order to feel better. He was there through every stage of her grief. He held her as she sobbed. He assured her when she mentioned her distresses about the situation and laid beside her until Wendy could finally close her eyes to sleep in peace.

"How are you feeling?" Thomas asked solemnly, getting up from his sleeping arrangement on the ground to sit beside her on the bed.

"Ok, I guess." Wendy shrugged, not in the mood to dump out all of her crushed feelings.

He just nodded, not wanting to overstep her boundaries and knew it was better to give her space.

"I know it's hard right now, darling but it'll get better. It'll take a long time but one day, everything will be better again." Thomas assured, gently combing his fingers through her hair to calm her.

"You promise?" Wendy asked.

She knew it was stupid to ask him to promise something again as the last time he did, it was about Will being alive. We all know how that promise went.

"I promise." Thomas nodded sadly.

"What time is it?" Wendy asked, glancing towards the pink alarm that sat on her nightstand.

"It's almost ten." Thomas answered.

"You should of woken me up for school. I'm late now." Wendy argued.

"School? Wendy, you're going through an emotional time right now. I don't think school is the best place for you to be. Do you have any tests or assignments that are due?" Thomas explained.

"No." Wendy shook her head.

"Alright, how about we all take the week off? Doesn't that sound nice?" Thomas suggested.

"Ok." Wendy nodded.

"Alright, how about breakfast? What do you want to eat? I'll let you have whatever you want, even ice cream. How about pancakes? I'll make your favourite, chocolate chip and sprinkles pancakes with whipped cream and Nutella." Thomas suggested out loud to the quiet girl.

"Not hungry." Wendy mumbled.

The thought of eating any type of food, made the girl sick to her stomach. She couldn't bare the idea of actually putting something in her stomach as she wouldn't probably throw it up right away. As much as she loved it when her father made her pancakes, she'd much rather go hungry then feel queasy.

Death was really causing a toll on her well-being.

"Wendy, you have to be a bit hungry. You haven't eaten since yesterday and you barely ate the sandwich I packed you for lunch." Thomas reminded in a worried tone.

"I just don't feel like it." Wendy shrugged.

"I understand. When you feel good enough to eat then let me know and I'll make you something. For now, lay in bed for as long as you want. I'll be in the kitchen if you want anything." Thomas placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head as he stood up.

He sent one last smile to his daughter before exiting out of her bedroom door. He closed the door all the way to give the girl some much needed privacy. Wendy went back to her favourite and lazy hobby of doing nothing but staring into space.

This quiet activity only lasted a few minutes as the static noises from her walkie talkie echoed through the bedroom, forcing the girl out of her simple staring contest with the ceiling.

"Wendy? Do you copy?" Mike's voice echoed through the walkie talkie that sat on top of her nightstand.

Wendy was in no mood to talk to the Wheeler boy, let alone anyone in general. She had no energy to turn herself over and to grab the walkie talkie to the boy off. She just laid frozen in her bed, just staring at the ceiling and hoping the boy would get the hint and leave her to be alone.

The Harrington girl just wanted to lay in her bed all day and do nothing. After everything that has happened, she deserves some sort of peace before being dragged into another problem with the Party or having to confront her own inner demons.

"Wendy! I know you're there! Please pick up! This is an emergency!" Mike exclaimed impatiently.

Wendy rolled her eyes in annoyance, forcibly rolling onto her side. She lazily reached over to grab the walkie talking from her nightstand. "Mike, I'm not in the mood." She complained.

"Wendy! This is an emergency! Like a whole blown emergency!" Mike exclaimed, hoping this would the girl to care enough.

"Are you sure?" Wendy questioned with a sigh.

"Yes, I'm sure! Just be at my house within twenty minutes, alright?" Mike ordered.

"Yeah, I'll be there." Wendy confirmed before shutting off her walkie talkie with a groan. She couldn't believe that she agreed to this.

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         Wendy had somehow managed to pull herself up out of bed and change into a pair of overalls before sneaking out of her bedroom window without her father noticing. She did leave a note this time to assure the man that she was just at Mike's, so he wouldn't freak out when she came home.

The girl took her sweet time riding on her bike to the Wheeler residence as she liked the way the wind made her hair fly. It was soothing and definitely calmed her heighten nerves a bit.

The girl made it to the Wheeler residence and was met with an annoyed Mike. He was definitely impatient with the fact that the girl took twice as long as he expected to arrive but he couldn't stay mad at her as he understood that she was upset.

He quickly invited her into the house and lead her to the basement, where the rest of the Party was. Eleven sat crossed legged underneath the fort, fiddling with the Wheeler boy's walkie talkie. Dustin and Lucas sat in front of her with confused looks before being joined by Mike and Wendy.

The four all sat together, watching Eleven fiddle with the walkie talkie that emitted loud whimpering noises. "We keep losing the signal but you heard it, right?" Mike asked, hopeful about the situation.

"Yeah, I heard a baby." Lucas answered.

"What?" Mike questioned in disbelief.

"Mike, you obviously tapped into a baby monitor. It's probably the Blackburn's next door." Lucas pointed out the most probable explanation.

"Uh, did that sound like a baby to you? That was Will!" Mike confirmed.

"Mike....." Lucas called.

"Lucas, you don't understand! He spoke last night. Words! He was singing that weird song he loves. Even El heard him!" Mike explained.

"Oh, well, if the weirdo heard him then I guess...." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" Dustin asked, not too sure about the situation either.

"I don't think it's about that. El can channel him." Mike simplified.

"Like.....like Professor X." Dustin said in awe.

"Yeah." Mike nodded happily.

"Are you actually believing this crap?" Lucas questioned in disbelief at the two boys.

"I kind of believe." Wendy spoke up for the first time in the past hour.

"I mean....do you remember when Will fell off his bike and broke his finger? He sounded a lot like that." Dustin remembered.

"Did you guys not see what I saw? They pulled Will's body out of the water. He's dead!" Lucas exclaimed, getting annoyed by the situation.

"Well, maybe it's his ghost. Maybe he's haunting us." Dustin pondered.

"Not ghost, real." Eleven confirmed.

"El's right." Mike agreed.

"How do you know that?" Lucas questioned.

"She just does, ok!" Wendy answered with rolled eyes. The Harrington girl was getting fed up with Lucas' antics as well.

"Then what was in the water?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know! All I know is Will is alive! Will is alive! He's out there somewhere. All we have to do is find him." Mike pointed out.

Eleven began fiddling with the walkie talkie again, trying to channel the Byers boy once more. Instead, she was met with static noises.

Mike sighed, reaching over to grab the device from her hand and turning it off. "This isn't gonna work. We need to get El to a stronger radio." He pointed out.

"Mr Clark's HeathKit ham shack." Dustin reminded and the Wheeler boy nodded in agreement.

"The HeathKit's at school. There's no way we're gonna get this weirdo in there without anyone noticing. I mean......look at her." Lucas pointed out.

The Party all glanced over at Eleven, who gave them all a look of confusion.

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         The Party had decided the best way to sneak Eleven into their school, without her getting noticed was to dress her up like a real preteen girl.

Mike, Dustin and Lucas were tasked with going through Nancy's old clothes in order to find a suitable outfit for Eleven to wear. Wendy was given the task of putting makeup to make the girl look more girly. The two girls were currently sitting together in the older Wheeler's bedroom.

"Is it okay if I do your makeup?" Wendy asked, grabbing the makeup bag off of Nancy's dresser and sitting down in the window.

Eleven just sent her a look of confusion as she didn't understand the concept of makeup but ultimately agreed with a nod as she trusted the Harrington girl.

Wendy then zipped out the small bag and proceeded to dump out the contents onto the cushioned bench. Nancy Wheeler had every single makeup item imaginable. Everything from light coverage foundation to electric coloured eyeshadows to bright red lipstick.

It was exciting for both of the girls to see. Eleven because she had never seen makeup before and for Wendy as she had no one to put makeup on her, so she never wore any herself. This would be Wendy's first time actually putting makeup on, so she desperately hoped that Eleven would look pretty and not like a circus clown.

"I'm gonna start with blush." Wendy thought out loud to her herself, reaching the golden compact, labeled blush.

Wendy opened the compact to reveal the bright pink powder. She retrieved a fluffy brush covered in remnants of the pink power and concluded that this was the designated tool for putting blush on. The girl lightly beat the brush into the powdery substance to get some colour but not too much where Eleven would look like a Care Bear.

Wendy then brought the coated brush up to the girl's cheeks to begin placing the powder on her face. Eleven flinched at the sudden contact but ultimately melted into the action, allowing the girl to continue powdering her face.

"El, can I ask you something?" Wendy asked, stopping her action to look at the girl's face.

"Ok." Eleven nodded.

"When you were at the lab, did you know a girl named Nine?" Wendy questioned.

The Harrington girl suddenly remembered that Nina and Eleven where both from the same place, Hawkins Lab. She wanted to know if the two girls actually knew each other and if this would solve the mystery surround the name, thirteen.

"Yes, my sister." Eleven confirmed with a slight smile at the memory.

"That's great. Ok......did you have a sister named Thirteen?" Wendy asked.

"Yes......but the bad men took thirteen away." Eleven answered in a solemn tone.

"Is that why you called me thirteen? Do you think I look like your sister?" Wendy asked, a pit of uneasiness began to form in her stomach.

She didn't know what to think about the entire situation. Was she really thirteen or did she look like the girl and thirteen was just dead? These series of answers didn't settle her anxiety and instead, made her feel worse.

"Yes." Eleven nodded.

"Ok.....I'm gonna apply lip gloss now." Wendy said.

She turned the conversation back to the topic of makeup as she was no longer comfortable discussing about the lab.

The girl picked up the small yellow tube of the shimmery tinted lipgloss. Wendy didn't want to accidentally mess up Eleven's face by putting on obnoxious eyeshadow or mascara or eyeliner due to the shakiness of her hands. She uncapped the tube and gently glided the sticky product all over Eleven's lips, who slightly cringed at the texture.

Wendy then made the last minute decision to put a bit of shimmery tan eyeshadow on Eleven's eyelids to make the colour of her hazel eyes pop.

"I'm finished, so let me help you get into your dress." Wendy suggested.

Eleven nodded as the girl got up from her seated position to walk over to the bed where the outfit was laying.

The outfit was just a plain pink dress with a white Peter Pan collar and a blonde wig to help cover up the shaved head. Wendy smoothed out any wrinkles in the dress before picking it up to help the girl into the new outfit.

It took a few minutes but Eleven was able to get into the dress without smudging her makeup and Wendy easily zipped her into it. The wig was placed on her head next and Wendy brushed out the pesky strands with a comb that she had taken off of Nancy's dresser as well.

"One last thing to complete the look." Wendy remembered suddenly.

The girl reached into her overalls pocket and pulled out something that Eleven so desperately wanted since the day they had met up at the power lines. It was a hair clip but it wasn't the typical one that Wendy usually wore.

It was a special one, meant to be unique to El's style. The clip was bigger than average and was in the shape of a thick square. The clip was decorated with some sort of a pink quartz pattern and had gold accents to complete the classy prep style.

Wendy quickly clipped a portion of the blonde wig behind Eleven's ear to finish the look. "There! Do you like it?" She asked, hopeful.

Eleven took one look at herself in the mirror and her breath was practically gone at the sight.

This wasn't the same girl that she usually recognized but this was someone different. A different persona of some kind. Her new look had given her more of a girly girl innocent appearance, which clashed with her tomboyish features but Eleven liked this change.

Change was good, the girl thought as she now looked like the pretty preteen beside her.

"Pretty." Eleven nodded.

"Yeah, you do look pretty." Wendy smiled brightly.

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