1. Time After Time

[A/N: Hi all! This is my first Stranger Things fic so I'm a little nervous. But I had several ideas floating around and theories I'm interested in and this was the best thing I could think to do as I patiently (agonizingly) wait for Season 2. Please let me know how I'm doing, if you like it, etc. Thank you!

Also, I like the way that music can supplement the emotional context of writing so each of my chapters will have a "theme song". You're welcome to listen to the song and see if it puts you in the groove of the chapter or ignore it completely :)

D/C: I don't own Stranger Things. These characters are not mine.]

Chapter 1: Time After Time (by Cyndi Lauper)

"After my picture fades and darkness has turned to grey, watching through windows - you're wondering if I'm okay. Secrets stolen from deep inside, the drum beats out of time,"

. . . . . . . .

The end of the year always seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye, what with so many holidays clustered together. As quickly as Christmas had come, it was gone, and now the small town of Hawkins was making its way toward New Years Eve.

The boys were certainly enjoying the winter break from school, spending most of their time at Mike's house playing Dungeons and Dragons, eating pizza, and otherwise simply hanging out. Everything was almost back to normal, as if Will had never disappeared into the Upside Down. As if the town of Hawkins had never been in a frenzy over the missing Byers boy. As if the events of the past month had never deviated from anything more than predictable suburban small town life and fictional monsters and quests - the key word being "almost".

This was no truer than for Mike who still couldn't bring himself to tear down the makeshift blanket fort he'd set up for Eleven in his basement. Neither Lucas, nor Dustin, nor Will had the heart to comment on it whenever they'd come over and find it still set up in the corner, Mike's super-com nestled between the pillows.

Things weren't quite the same with Will either, though he'd been doing everything he could to hide the fact that at random times, he would briefly flicker in and out of the Upside Down. The first few times it had happened, he almost considered telling Jonathan. However, he couldn't put aside the thought of worrying either his brother or his mom. Joyce had gotten into the habit of randomly dropping whatever it was she was doing just to hug her young son, reaffirming over and over how much she loved him and how happy she was that he was home. She couldn't savor the moments enough. And that's exactly why Will didn't want to worry her. In the weeks since coming home from the hospital he'd vomited a few slugs which, while alarming, he rationalized as being a side effect of his time in the Upside Down that would eventually subside. The first time he'd flickered into the Upside Down since his home coming was more than a little shocking but over the past couple weeks, he'd grown somewhat used to it and could almost feel the episodes coming on, though he had no control over when or if they happened. He never stayed in the Upside Down for long and at times he wondered if he was only imagining it, like a bad memory that would creep up on him when he least expected it.

This time was different, though. This hadn't been a flicker.

For the majority of their break from school, the boys had set up camp in Mike's basement with long D&D campaigns running every day.

"You find yourself in a swamp," Mike said, setting the scene in a dramatic tone as the boys settled back into gameplay following the arrival of the pizza they'd ordered for dinner. "To the North, you see a house. To the West, you can go deeper into the thick, stinking swamp. The East and South are blocked off by dense growth. Lucas, what is your action?"

"I'm going North," Lucas said definitively. "But slow, and with my sword ready in case we run into something,"

"How deep is the swamp?" Dustin asked as he guided melting cheese into his mouth from the pizza slice in his hand.

"I'm going North, too," Will said, nodding, as he moved his character piece.

"Thick, dirty swamp water comes up to your knees and the mud sucks at your feet with every step," Mike went on, acting out the sounds he was describing. "You-"

"Mike!" Mike's mother called down from the kitchen.

Mike deadpanned at the interruption before turning around and yelling, "What?!" When she didn't respond, he rolled his eyes, grumbling. "Sorry guys. I'll be right back,"

"Okay," Will nodded pleasantly.

"I'm getting another piece before Dustin eats the whole pizza," Lucas said, getting up from the table and walking over to the couch where the pizza box rested.

"Shut up, Lucas," Dustin said over his shoulder, to which Lucas pushed Dustin's arms, inciting one of their typical shoving matches.

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you!"

The two continued their play-shoving match as Will felt a familiar nausea settle into his stomach.

"Hey guys," He said, standing up. "I'll be right back,"

Dustin and Lucas barely responded as Will headed to the small half bathroom on the other side of the basement.

Upstairs, Mike stood opposite his mom at the kitchen island as she placed the remains of several cakes into colorful Tupperware containers. Much of the house was still decorated for Christmas and the tree in the living room had several opened gifts resting beneath it.

"What is it?" Mike asked, resting his hands on the island.

"Lucas' mom called," Mike's mom said as she sealed the lid to a container of frosted spice cake. "It's time for him to go home,"

"What?" Mike complained. "But we're in the middle of a campaign!"

His mom stopped what she was doing to shoot him a stern look. "Tell Lucas his mom is waiting for him at home. He can pick back up with you guys tomorrow,"

"But you don't understand," Mike went on. "We can't keep going without him. It throws off the whole-"

"Michael," She said, turning to face him directly and Mike sighed.

"Okay, fine," He conceded, trudging back downstairs where Lucas and Dustin were still bantering back and forth. "Hey, where's Will?" He said, looking around and noticing the obvious absence of their fourth party member.

Dustin stopped wrestling against Lucas to look around, earning him one last sucker punch to the shoulder. "He was here a second ago,"

"Will?" Mike called, wandering around the basement. "Will!"

"You don't think he -" Lucas trailed off as the trio's search became a little more frantic. After all, he'd only just come home a month ago.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Dustin muttered to himself as he held his head in his hands, his fingers tugging at his curls in anxiety.

"No!" Mike snapped adamantly, pushing the thought of Will disappearing yet again out of his mind. "He's gotta be arou -"

Without warning, Will appeared before them, crouched in front of the El's old fort.

"What the shit?!" Dustin exclaimed as all three boys did a double-take at their friend.

Will coughed several times before registering the three sets of eyes locked on him.

"Dude, what was that?" Lucas demanded, his voice a little shaky with concern.

"Will, were you…?" Mike ventured to ask, not sure if he actually wanted his suspicion to be true.

"Yeah," He said quietly, clearing his throat and leaning back against one of the table legs supporting the fort. "For a few minutes,"

Lucas shook his head. "How the hell did you get there?"

"More importantly, how did you get back?" Dustin added.

"I don't know," Will shrugged, pulling his knees up to his chest as his friends came closer, kneeling to the ground tentatively as though the slightest wrong move could send Will back into the Upside Down. "It's happened a couple times before but only for a split second and I wasn't sure if I was just imagining it or not," Will's gaze was fixed on the floor in front of him as he did his best to calm down. He was back. He was okay. Somehow repeating those thoughts in his head wasn't enough to comfort him, though.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mike asked gently.

"I don't know," Will shook his head, his eyes wide as he gathered his bearings. "I thought maybe I was just imagining it, you know? I didn't want to worry anyone if it was just a side effect or something," One minute, he had been standing in front of the toilet in the basement bathroom and the next, he's in the Upside Down. But it was different this time. Rather than a flicker between dimensions, he'd actually stayed in the Upside Down for a few minutes, long enough to wander out of the bathroom and back to the other side of the basement. "I think I saw -"

"What was it like?"

"Are you okay now?"

"What did you see?"

His friends bombarded him with questions at once, further disorienting Will as he turned his gaze to the empty fort beside him. Mike noticed his friend's gaze.

"What is it?" Mike asked excitedly, following Will's gaze to the blankets and pillows, the super-com beside them. "Did you see -"

"Come on, Mike," Lucas said pessimistically but in as gentle a tone as he could. "She's gone. We all saw her d-"

Dustin slapped Lucas on the arm, shooting him a look.

Mike just glared at Lucas, still desperate to hold onto his hope.

"No," Will began, Mike's heart sinking momentarily. "I-I think I did?"

"Really?" Mike's voice rose in pitch, his face immediately brightening. "Did she say anything? Is she okay? How did she get there?"

"I don't know," Will shook his head as his friends listened earnestly. "I thought I saw someone in here," He gestured to the fort. "But when I came over, that's when I came back,"

"This is mental," Dustin said, shaking his head.

"Are you sure it was a person?" Lucas questioned. "What if there's another monster in there? Like the demogorgon?"

"I didn't see them very well," Will said. "But I think it was her,"

"Are you sure?" Mike asked, his enthusiasm leaping ahead.

"Dude," Dustin said. "He just said he wasn't sure,"

"Can you… are you able to go back?" Mike wondered. "You said this happened before?"

"Yeah," Will nodded. "But it happens randomly. I don't know why or how to control it. I can just feel when it's about to happen,"

Mike sighed, sitting back on his haunches.

"Like I said," Dustin nodded knowingly. "Mental,"

Mike was caught up in thought at this point. If Will had in fact seen Eleven in the Upside Down then that would mean she hadn't also died when she killed the monster. Maybe that meant they could find her and bring her back? But how? And even still, was she okay? Will had been in the Upside Down for only a week and barely made it out alive. It had been a month since Eleven disappeared…

"We've gotta find a way to get back to the Upside Down," Mike declared.

"Mike, seriously?" Lucas said. "How are we gonna do that?"

"Yeah," Dustin added ruefully. "Remember Chief Hopper said the gate closed when the monster died?"

"And besides," Lucas continued. "We're talking about Eleven here. If it was really her, why wouldn't she use this to talk to us right now?"

"Maybe her energy's zapped!" Mike rationalized. "I dunno!"

"Mike, you're losin' it, man," Lucas sighed, earning another smack and pointed look from Dustin.

"What are you talking about?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

"She's gone, man," Lucas gestured wildly, his arms wide as he looked around the room. "It sucks. It really sucks but it's the truth, Mike. And you haven't accepted it," He continued, despite Mike's glare. "I mean, you've got this fort set up like a shrine -"

"Abort, Lucas. Abort!" Dustin muttered.

"-and why are we not freaking out about the fact that Will is randomly slipping in and out of that place? Like, hello? He just appeared out of nowhere!"

"But you're okay," Mike turned to his friend who, despite his circumstances, was sitting rather comfortably at this point. "Right, Will?"

"Yeah, I think so," Will nodded.

"So what now?" Dustin asked, earning an incredulous look from Lucas.

Mike's brow set with determination. "We've gotta find a way to find Eleven,"

. . . . . . . .

"If you're lost, you can look and you will find me, time after time..."