The car ride is short, I sit in the back sit, squished in with Lucas, Dustin and El. When we get to Joyce's house, I sigh, getting out of the car. My ponytail swings around as I close the door and I try to keep my head down when I pass Hopper. But he stops me, grabbing my arm and pulling me back slightly.

"You disobeyed me." He says and I make my eyes meet his.

"I told you I'd stop at nothing to find him." I say firmly, "And I didn't lie."

"Actually yes you did lie." He says, "You agreed to my terms, and then threw them away like another one of the rules you constantly break."

"Well sometimes my friend's life is more important than your trust," I argue.

"Yes, but we had people looking!"

"But those people don't know how to find him," I say, "We tell them how and they don't believe us, so the only thing left for us to do is look ourselves!"

"God, kid!" The man throws his arms in the air, "Why are you so goddamn stubborn!"

"I don't know, Chief!" I say, "But I'd rather be stubborn and do the right thing than be a pushover that obeys the rules when she should be doing what ever she can to find Will and bring him home!"

"Sometimes the best thing you can do for that kid is stay inside and let the adults take care of it!"

"Explain to me how that is the best thing, 'cause I'm not seeing it!" I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow as the others go inside, leaving us alone out here.

"Well if somehow you're wrong, and you can't find Will. If you go back to that place alone to retrieve him, and you get lost too, now how is that a solution to our problems?"

"I won't get lost!" I shout, "It's the exact geography of Hawkins. It's just like here!"

"Well he got lost. He couldn't find a way back, how are you planning on saving him if you get lost too?"

"What does this have to do with me disobeying rules!" I say, "I wasn't just gonna sit inside and twiddle my thumbs while Will is stuck being chased around by a man eating monster!"

"I know you weren't," Hopper says, "I just thought, for once, you could do something right!"

"Yeah well maybe I'm not you!" I shout angrily, "Maybe I'm not gonna grow up to be just like you. Did you ever think of that?! Maybe I'll grow up to be a criminal, just like you thought in the first place. And you know what? I'd rather be a criminal than be you if being you means sitting back while people are in danger."

I'm so fed up that I turn on my heel, stalking in the opposite direction of the house.

"Hey where are you going!" He shouts after me.

"To find my friend!"

"Oh no you're not!" He shouts, running after me and grabbing my arm.

"Let go of me!" I shout, pulling my arm from his grasp. I'm blinded by anger, not thinking straight as I make this decision.

"That monster could be eating him right now, I'm gonna find him, and at least distract the creature. I will not let him stay in there another minute."

I walk away, Hopper too shocked to stop me. I know I shouldn't be doing this. I know I should stick with the plan, but it's true, what I said. That monster could be eating Will, or chasing him. The least I can do is let it chase me instead. I probably have much more energy than Will does anyways.

It's better this way. I'm doing the right thing.

Or am I doing the stubborn thing?

Whatever, I'm already doing it so it doesn't matter either way.

~~~~~~~

I regret this decision already.

It's a cold night, and all I'm wearing is Steve's old letterman jacket over a t-shirt and a pair of jeans with holes in the knees. I take a flashlight out of my bag and use it to guide myself through the trees. Every sound makes me jump, and I hold my breath every time I round a corner.

I keep my eyes out for any distant noises or glowing trees, my feet crunching on the brittle branches that litter the forest floor.

I know I'll be walking for a long time, it's already been over an hour. I can't turn back now, so I may as well continue looking.

It's so weird how some people haven't even noticed that things have been weird lately. No one's said anything about the flickering lights, or the giant footprints that lay by their house.

Everyone's living their lives, as if there's no man eating Demogorgon or alternate dimension. No boy missing or freaky Russian girl with superpowers. Just work and school and family and friends. Nothing out of the ordinary for most of the people in Hawkins.

But there is so much more, there are other dimensions. There are kids with mind control powers and there is a scary creature with no face. There is all that, and I would bet my shitty life that there's much, much more.

My thoughts are distracting, as always. My eyes remain on the ground, so I don't miss a giant footprint that sits in a pile of mud. My heart sinks into my stomach immediately and my breath hitches in my throat.

It has to be here somewhere.

I begin looking, behind bushes and around tree trunks. I frantically search, my heart pounding against my ribcage. I search and search, shining light anywhere that the portal might be. Sweat drips down my already dirty face, and the bruises that scatter me sting from the cold. I sigh after half an hour of looking, sitting down against a tree and groaning. I rub my eyes, feeling discouraged as I sit in the dark, not even sure which way is the way back. I'm lost, and cold, and hungry.

I think of all this, but I know that Will is feeling all the same things, but ten times worse.

This is what gets me off the ground, gets me back to searching. I close my eyes, focusing on my surroundings. I ignore the general noises, the background noises, and focus on the individual sounds. My ears catch the coo of an owl, and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. They catch the sound of the breeze blowing extra hard, and....was that a crunch?

My eyes snap open and I turn around, hearing the crunch again. It's a weird noise, sounding like a vacuum sucking up chips. My ears strain to hear it again, and I follow it. I hear it growing louder, and turn around a dense section of trees.

Suddenly I know what that sound is.

Seventy metres away, in the trunk of a tree, an orange light glows slightly. I see it, the portal, and the crunching sound? That's it closing.

"Shit!"

I don't think, I don't think about the consequences of my actions as I break out into a full on sprint. I watch as it closes, slowly returning to its original dimensions. I push my legs harder, and I know I won't make it with the heavy load I carry. I have food and water in my bag. I'm prepared this time, I brought a flashlight and my walkie talkie.

But all that is going to shit, because I can save him. I can do it if I go to extremes.

And going to extremes is what I live for.

AUTHOR'S NOTE~~~~~~

Hello hello!

We are getting to the juicy stuff my friends. The end is near. Hope you're excited. Remember to comment and fix my mistakes. And I always appreciate new ideas so hit me up.

Question: Who is your least favourite character in ST?

That's a tough one because they're all amazing.