benched with the five stages of grief

✧

THERE ARE FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF ; Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. And Rue Newby was shifting from the first stage, Denial, into the second: Anger. She didn't know it yet, but it was coming.

Sitting on the dining table, Rue Newby leaned back in her seat, lazily playing with her dad's brain teasers. A sad smile grew on her face that barely reached her eyes. She remembered the time she got sick, and he brought them down from the attic, jumping in excitement. He called a day off at work, which wasn't a worry since he owned the radio shop, and they played with puzzles all day while enjoying the chicken soup Rue made with her mom's recipe. And all that happened in her first week in Hawkins.

A tear rolled down her cheek, knowing that was the first and last time it'll ever happen.

Steve and Dustin's voice grabbed her attention. She trapped her lower lip between her teeth as she quickly cleared up the games. Her feet lightly tapped on the hardwood floor as she walked to the kitchen. Rue tilted her head in confusion, and her eyes widened when she saw Steve carry the dead Demo-dog in his arms with a blanket, Dustin clearing out Ms. Byers' fridge.

Rue leaned on the wall, crossing her arms before her chest, trying to hold back a smile as she watched the duo bicker. "What are you doing?"

Dustin shrieked at the sudden voice. He spun around quickly, spotting Rue smirking at him, looking tiny in the giant navy blue sweater that nearly reached her knees. "It's a scientific discovery!" he exclaimed as Steve struggled to shove the dead Demo-dog into the fridge.

Rue scrunched her nose, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. "That's disgusting," she said, going to play with the ends of her hair just to remember she hand cut it off, so instead, she passed her hand over her bangs.

Steve grunted, shutting the door once he got the dog inside, then trying to shake off the goo that got onto him. "Thank you!" He said sarcastically, clearly out of breath. He grabbed a kitchen towel, cleaning his hands before running a hand through his hair to put it back into its place.

"Mike, would you just stop already?!" Lucas's voice blared. The trio looked at each other for a few seconds before walking over to the living room.

"You weren't in there, Lucas!" Mike exclaimed, stomping his foot on the ground. "That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs!"

"Demo-dogs!" Dustin corrected, throwing himself on one of the couches.

"Can it, Dustin," Steve rolled his eyes, and Rue stood next to him, hugging herself.

"The chief will take care of her," Lucas said, continuing to sweep more of the glass onto the dustpan Max held.

"Like she needs protection," she muttered under her breath.

Steve sighed, continuing to wipe his hands. "Listen, dude," He turned to Mike, "if a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it, alright?"

"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game!" Mike scoffed, "And second, we're not even in the game, we're on the bench."

"Right — so, my point is — " Steve paused, throwing the towel over his shoulder. "Right — yeah, we're on the bench, so uh — there's nothing we can do."

"Well, not exactly . . . " Dustin stood up from the couch, moving to stand next to Steve and Rue. "I mean these Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

"So, if we get their attention . . ." Lucas began, looking over at all his friends hoping they'd catch on.

" . . . Maybe we can draw them from the lab."

"And clear the path to the gate!" Max nodded.

Rue narrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Mike stepped forward, "We go to the hive and call them away!"

She blinked in surprise, choking on her spit. "You mean, you want to go to the hive?"

"Yes!"

"To call all of the Demo-dogs away from the lab?"

"Yes!"

" . . . The same hive Will — or the Mind Flayer — sent those guards . . . to die?"

"Yes! Exactly!" Mike nodded while grinning. However, Rue was far from smiling.

"Are you hearing yourself?"

"Yeah," Steve agreed, hitting the back of Mike's head with the kitchen towel. Mike winced, stepping away from him while rubbing his head. "There's something wrong in that head of yours, Wheeler. We'll all die,"

"Well, that's one point of view," Dustin nudged Steve's shoulder.

"No, it's not a point of view, man. It's a fact." he said, pointing his finger at Dustin like he was a mother giving his son a lecture.

"I got it!" Mike beamed suddenly, shoving between Steve and Rue, and moving over towards where Bob had found the X on one of the drawings a few days ago.

Rue slowly dragged her feet behind him, feeling a hint of Deja Vu as she kneeled next to Mike.

"This is where the chief dug his hole, this is our way into the tunnels," He pointed at the red mark, then turning to the girl next to him. "Rue, your dad, he found it!" He said brightly before getting up and walking where there was a large patch of the papers taped to the floor. "So, here, right here, this is like a hub. So, you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire —"

"Oh yeah?" Steve nearly laughed, his eyes widening, "That's a no."

Mike rolled his eyes at him, and Rue began to pace around the room, chewing on her lower lip as she thought about how horrible this plan could end. They could all end up burnt or eaten like her dad.

Lucas snapped his fingers in understanding where his best friend was going with his idea about the hub. "The Mind Flayer would call away his army!"

"They'd all come to stop us," Dustin walked up to them.

"Hey," Steve tried to say, only to get interrupted.

Mike smiled, knowing his friends caught on, "We circle back to the exit —"

"Guys."

"By the time they realize we're gone, Eleven would be at the gate!" Max finished.

"Hey! Hey!HEY!" Steve clapped his hands loudly, grabbing their attention. "This?" the motioned to all the drawings, mostly the hub Mike kneeled on. "This is not happening."

"But—"

"No, no, no, no, NO! No buts. I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on. We're staying here, on the bench, and we're waiting for the starting team to do their job! Does everybody understand?"

"This isn't a stupid sports game —"

"Shut the fuck up!" Rue abruptly stopped pacing, nearly slipping on the floor in her socks. She furiously waved her hands in the air, but she looked more adorable than angry with the giant sweater she had on and the brightly coloured socks.

The second stage of grief was now a commence.

Everyone stood quietly, not knowing what to say. Never have they heard Rue yell so bitterly before.

"Shut up about this plan, shut up about this burning the hub bullshit," tears brimmed her eyes. "Mike, you said it yourself, the lab is full of those things! Don't you ever stop and think, if we burn the hub where do you think the Demo-dogs are going to come? TO US!"

"Yes, but if we circle back — "

"WHO YOU DO THINK YOU ARE? I've seen you run in Gym class, you can't even jog 50 meters without getting a cramp!"

Mike's ears went red, and he looked down at the floor.

"And if we do miraculously make it out? Then what? Do you think they're not going to keep chasing us? They'll hunt us down and kill us all before Eleven gets the chance to close the gate. This is a suicidal one-way mission."

"I thought you said you didn't care if you—" the boy didn't get the chance to finish his sentence because Rue had pounced on him. She didn't know what caused it, but the second he opened his mouth, she saw red and had the urge to hit him. And hit him hard. He had some nerve to recall what she said when she just saw her dad die.

Usually, Rue never saw violence as the answer. It never was. But it was the question . . . and the answer was yes.

Mike screamed, attempting to pull her off as she pinned him to the floor. "I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!" He tried pushed her arms away, "I DIDN'T MEAN IT — OUCH — RUE—"

"STEVE! DO SOMETHING!" Dustin yelled, pointing at the two fighting kids.

It seemed that Steve Harrington, the babysitter, was too busy laughing at the situation rather than fixing it.

"STEVE!" Lucas and Max shouted, snapping him out of his laughing fit.

"Oh, fine," he rolled his eyes, hurrying to pull Rue off Mike, who kept kicking and crying to get her off. "HEY — BREAK IT OFF, YOU TWO!" he roared, wrapping his arms around Rue's waist and trying to draw her off, but she hung on tight like a cat.

"Jesus," he stumbled back, losing his grip. He panicked for a moment, hearing Rue's cries. "Maybe we should wait it out-"

"She's gonna kill him!"

"Steve!"

"Beat his ass, Rue!"

"Fucking Hell . . ." he muttered, before pulling on Rue again, and this time she slipped away without a fight, dropping in his arms as he stepped away from Mike, who scrambled to his feet with the help of Dustin and Lucas. He had a bleeding scratch on his cheek, and he felt winded from the blows to the stomach that he was sure were going to burse.

Rue came out without any injury, only a cut on her lip as angry tears ran down her cheeks.

"You're crazy!"

"I fucking show you crazy!" Her voice laced with venom as she went to jump at him again, forgetting the Steve was still holding on to her. Mike stepped away, hiding behind Lucas. "Let me go, let me show him how it feels!"

"No, no, Rue, he didn't mean it."

"He — he's right! I didn't! I'm an idiot!"

"Fucking right you are," Max muttered under her breath.

"Don't you get it, Mike?" Rue cried, trying to get out of Steve's grasp. "Don't you get it that I can't lose you guys? Eleven has powers! She can take care of herself! If you go, you'll die, and I don't know how I'll live with myself knowing I could've stopped you!" Her voice cracked as she sobbed, "Please, don't go," Rue's voice was quiet as she looked at her four friends. "Stay here, where it's safe. You're the only friends I've got. . ."

She sniffed, and Steve slowly let her go, only for Rue to turn around and hug him tightly. Maybe she's not feeling better. Rue still needs time to heal. Sobs shook her body as she held Steve tightly, not wanting to let go. He placed his chin on the top of her head as they slowly rocked side to side.

Their moment cut short when the sound of revving was heard just outside the Byers' home. Rue slowly pulled away, pulling the hood up of her sweater to hide her face.

Max rushed towards the broken window after hearing the car engine. "It's my brother," she said loud enough for everyone to hear. "He— he can't know I'm here! He'll kill me—"

As if things couldn't get any worse, huh?

"Stay here," Steve told them. He nodded to himself for a few seconds, trying to gain confidence before walking out. The second the door closed, the kids ran to watch from the window, being as careful as they could to not be seen.

Everything seemed to be going fine until Max's brother pointed towards them, and the five kids quickly ducked down and pressed their backs on the couch.

"Shit! Do you think he saw us?"

Before anyone could answer Dustin, the door burst open. An angry yet good looking guy stormed in. His red blouse had about three buttons undone, showing off his chest that was as red as his face with rage. They stood from the floor, watching as he glared at all of them. His eyes trailed from each kid, skipping across Mike, Dustin and Rue until it lingered on Max and then Lucas.

"Well, well, well," He slammed the door, making all of them jump. "Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise," he started to move closer to the boy, then snapped his head to Max. "I thought I told you to stay away from him."

"Billy," Max said slowly, "go away—"

"You disobeyed me," he cut her off.

Rue glanced down at Max's hands to see them shaking in fear, and without thinking, she reached to hold it, feeling it relax before Max squeezed her hand tightly. Rue always wanted to meet Billy after Max had told her about him, but not like this.

A sinister smirk grew on Billy's face as he neared his sister. "You know what happens when you disobey me."

"Billy . . . " Max tried to reason with him before he cut her off again.

"I break things," he growled, then took Lucas by the collar, pinning him to a wall.

Everyone gasped, jumping away.

"Lucas!" They all yelled at him to stop hurting an innocent boy. Billy kept saying things to Lucas before the boy yelled in his face, kicking him in the balls. The older teenager grunted, letting him go.

"You are so dead, Sinclair! You're dead!" Billy said.

He froze in his shadowing steps when Steve ran back into the house. He turned Billy around by the shoulder, shaking his head in disgust. "No," Steve spat, "You are," and he punched him square in the face.

Billy's head jerked to the side in pain. He leaned down for a second before he started to laugh.

Lucas ran back to his friends, who hugged him. Rue gripped him tightly as she stared at Billy in horror. The boy had a bloody nose, yet he was still chuckling.

"Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh?!" He yelled, "I've been waiting to meet this King Steve, everybody's been telling me so much about!"

Steve didn't say anything at this. He shoved two fingers at Billy's chest, pushing him slightly. "Get out."

Billy gave him an unamused looked before he swung to hit him, and Steve quickly ducked out of the way. He jumped up and knocked him in the face again. Billy fell back on the counter.

"Yes!"

"Kick his ass, Steve!"

"Get him!"

"Be careful! Oh, God! Please be careful!"

The party started to cheer on for Steve, gawking at the fight before them. "Murder the son of a bitch!" Dustin yelled.

"They're gonna kill each other," Max said under her breath before looking over at Rue, holding her hand tighter and pulling her closer.

Steve punched him again, winning the fight as the kids he babysat praised him for it.

Billy leaned back on the sink, spitting out blood as he kept laughing. And then, to everyone's surprise, he reached for a plate, hitting Steve with it.

The group of kids gasped when it shattered loudly, "Billy, stop!" Max screamed.

"Holy shit," Steve muttered, tripping over himself, trying to get away from the kitchen. The plate beat him hard as his vision blurred when he stumbled away, almost bumping into the kids. Billy was hot by his steps and punched him again, and then again to the point Steve was about to fall.

"No one!" Billy punched him again, and Rue winced when she heard a cracking noise, "No one tells me what to do," He gripped onto Steve's collar before head bumping him, and Steve falling on the floor.

"You're gonna kill him!" Rue shouted as Billy got on top of Steve, throwing punches all around. "You're gonna kill him!" she cried, her eyes wide when Steve was no longer responsive while the blows kept going. Blood began to stain on Billy's knuckles and covered Steve's face, making him almost unrecognizable.

Rue felt Max's hands slip from hers, and she turned around to see her grab the needle they used to put Will to sleep. Max ran over to Billy, stabbing him in the neck with a needle, then injecting him with whatever was in it.

Everyone stopped screaming while Billy drunkenly stood up, staring at Max. His world was becoming blurry when he pulled out the needle from his neck. "The Hell is this?" he grumbled, taking a few swayed steps closer to Max, who backed away.

"You little shit, what did you do?" He raised his voice, and Rue was about to run over to Max before he fell on the ground with a thud.

She watched with wide eyes when Max grabbed Steve's bat with nails, holding it up as if she was going to hit her brother with it. "From here on out, you're going to leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?" she said sternly.

"Screw you."

His words got on her nerve, and Max hit the bat between his legs, puncturing holes into the floor. She pulled it back up, holding it threatened "Say you understand! Say it. Say it!" she screamed at him.

"I understand . . . "

"What?!"

"I understand!"

Max dropped the bat on the ground when he passed out. She scoffed, digging in his pockets before pulling out his car keys, "Let's get out of here," she held the keys up, jiggling them in the air.

"Wow," Rue breathed, feeling her heart beat wildly at her chest. A smile grew on her face as she pushed herself away from the boys and followed Max like a lost puppy.

The third stage of grief would be Bargaining, which has several meanings, such as: negotiating the terms and conditions of a transaction. Or it could be parting with something after negotiation but get little or nothing in return. In honesty, I have no idea what it means or what it has to do with grief, so I searched it up;

By bargaining, the person is willing to concede the outcome but attempts to do so by squeezing a few more moments of "normal," out of the turmoil that pounds on life's door. The individual is clinging to the threads of hope, however thin and worn the fabric may be.

"Okay, this is what we're going to do," Max clapped her hands, taking the lead. She walked around the living room, stepping over the two knocked-out teenagers. "Dustin Mike, go clean up Steve's wounds, check if there's a first aid kit in the bathroom. Lucas and Rue, go and find some flammables out in the backyard, anything we can use to burn the hub."