The next morning started the way it always did: murky sunlight and a screeching alarm clock. Sammy groaned as she smacked the offending alarm off, her mind still half asleep. She could feel her hair sticking to the drool on her cheek, but she had no energy to actually try and move it. With an amount of effort that felt excessive, Sammy threw herself out of bed, feet making a dull thump on the carpeted ground as she made her way to her feet. The floorboards groaned beneath her, stepping around the stray t-shirts scattered around the ground. She maneuvered herself around the mess on her floor towards her closet.

Everything was quiet as she quickly shoved herself into a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt that happened didn't have any holes in it. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror, hair tangled on top of her head so badly she looked like she had a bird's nest on her head. Brushing it was going to be a nightmare. Sighing, she snatched her brush off of her nightstand and made her way into the hallway.

The house was still silent, no sounds of snoring or movement. A telltale sign that she was alone. No part of Sammy wanted to think about where her father might be, so she dragged her brush painfully through her hair and trudged her way to the kitchen. She knew she had a few old Eggo's in the freezer she could heat up without screwing it up too bad. She quickly popped them in the toaster and leaned against the counter, trying to pull the last tangle out of her hair. Then, annoyingly breaking the silence, the phone started ringing. Figuring it was her dad calling to have her pick him up, Sammy groaned and trudged over to the other side of kitchen, quickly picked up.

"Where are you?" she grumbled, rubbing lazily at her eyes to get the sleep out, feeling a few stray hairs from her brush stick to her cheek.

"What?"

Her hands froze over her right eye, realizing it wasn't her father on the other end of the line. "Jonathan? What's up?"

Normally, he'd ask if her father was home or make sure she'd gotten enough sleep. Overprotective shit like that. But something felt off.

"I, uh…", he stuttered, putting Sammy on edge, "I was just wondering if Will told you if he was staying at someone's house last night."

"No", she responded curiously, "He just said he was going to Mike's. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah!", he blurted out unconvincingly, "I'm- I'm sure he's just gone to school early or something. Just wanted to check."

Her friend's voice was higher than usual, faster. He only sounded like that when he lied, and he was a terrible liar. The line frizzed out like he was moving to hang up, but something was making the brunette nervous.

"Jonathan, what's really going on?" Sammy rambled quickly, trying to keep his attention before the line went dead, "You sound really freaked out. Is Will okay?"

Her friend didn't respond, instead letting the line stay quiet. But she could hear him breathing, confirming that he was still on the phone.

"Jonathan," she repeated urgently, "Tell me Will's okay."

There was some sort of static, like he was breathing hard, before he spoke again. It sent a jolt right up her spine. Her body tightened, waiting for any sort of information to confirm the worst. "Will didn't come home last night."

"What?", she squeaked, suddenly completely awake, "How- do you know where-"

"No, I don't", he cut in frantically, "And I have no idea where he might be. The Wheeler's said he left around eight last night and no one's seen him since."

"Okay- okay, don't freak", she tried to reassure him, running through every possible place he might be, "Have you checked Castle Byers? Or maybe he snuck out to the art store- he's done that before."

"We're checking", Jonathan sputtered, "I'll make sure we check the art store. Thanks for that. I'll- uh, I'll tell you when we find him-"

"You think I'm just gonna wait around to hear about this?", she cut him off, already reaching over and snatching her backpack off of the chair over the counter, "I'm coming over."

"No, you have school-"

"Don't pull that shit with me", dragging her pack behind her, Sammy quickly threw it over her shoulder, "I'm already on my way."

"Sammy-"

Before her friend could protest, Sammy slammed the phone back into the receiver and ran out of the house, Eggo's forgotten. Her hair flew behind her as she jumped onto her bike, pedalling as hard as she could out of her lawn and down the road. She barely even paid attention to the patches of ice on the concrete, nearly falling face first and knocking her teeth out several times. Instead she focused on keeping her breathing even, panic at bay.

There was no way Will was just pulling a prank. He wasn't that kind of kid. Dustin, maybe. Mike would probably do something like this. But not Will. At the very least he would have called and told her so she could tell Jonathan or Joyce and keep them from worrying. Something had to be wrong. Very very wrong. It made her gut twist up in knots, bile already burning her throat.

The ride felt longer than usual, unbearably long. And halfway through, Sammy realized she'd completely forgotten her coat. The air was starting to get painful against her skin but she just pushed harder to get to they Byers' faster.

She could feel her skin tighten and fingers turn an ugly shade of blue as she finally pulled into the yard, dropping her bike unceremoniously beneath her before running up the porch and into the house. She threw herself into the living room, floor screaming beneath her as her heavy footsteps slammed against the old wood.

"Jonathan! Joyce!"

She could hear someone scrambling from a room not too far away. She could hear Joyce yelling something somewhere. Her backpack dropped onto the ground with a heavy thud as she made her way towards the noise, nearly slamming straight into Jonathan as he came running in through the hall.

"Anything- has anything changed?" Sammy asked, out of breath and breathing hard.

"No," Jonathan responded quickly, grabbing hold of her shoulders and holding onto her desperately, "Nothing. We checked everywhere this morning. Mom's trying to call my dad because the police said-"

"You're going to the police?"

The thought of police searches and Hopper coming in made it all feel more dangerous, like Will was further away than she'd thought.

The thought clearly went through Jonathan's head, too. His breathing was heavier, like he was putting effort into keeping the breaths normal. His body was stiff, tight around the edges. Trying her best to keep herself in check, Sammy gently grabbed hold of his shoulders and looked seriously up at him.

"What can I do to help?"

Her friend swallowed hard, eyes flicking up to the front door. "We're just waiting here, just in case Will shows up. Then we're- uh, we're gonna start making missing posters."

"Okay," she nodded, already tugging Jonathan towards the couch, "We'll start on the posters. I'll find a good picture, you start drawing it out. We'll just- just stay calm."

Instead of moving, Jonathan just stood and stared at her. "If we start making posters…"

Realizing what her friend meant, Sammy quickly made her way back over to her friend. She planted her hands firmly on his shoulders, staring him straight in the eyes. "It's just a precaution. It doesn't mean anything other than you're smart enough to make sure things move quickly just in case. You need to stay calm, okay?"

"Yeah," Jonathan croaked, swallowing hard and nodding his head, "Yeah, you're right."

The brunette smiled up, the smallest bit of relief running through her. "I'm always right. Now get the poster material."

The two teens separated, each going off to find what they needed. Sammy went straight to the hallway where all the Byers' family photos hung.

Will's absence felt heavy in the house. His crayons and colored pencils still littered every corner of the hall. He'd never been the best at picking up after himself when he started drawing. It made Sammy's throat feel tight, like she couldn't breathe.

Shaking it off, she quickly started taking down pictures of Will from the wall. Ones that were just of him, a few of him with Joyce. She didn't want anyone confusing Jonathan for Will, so she made sure her friend was in none of the photo's she chose. Her fingers stopped, however, over a family photo Jonathan had let her take only a few months ago. He'd just bought his Pentax camera, and Joyce had insisted the first photo taken should be of him. He'd obviously protested. All three Byers' had broken into a joyful argument about what photo he should take. While they were all bickering, Sammy had quietly grabbed the camera off the counter and snapped a picture of them in action. It was a little blurry, not nearly as good as anything Jonathan could do. But all three members of the family were smiling, Joyce gesturing wildly while Will was halfway into a jump. Jonathan's head was turning towards the camera, smile wide on his face as he shouted at her to put the camera down.

The image made Sammy's lips perk up slightly. Her chest felt tight, but she quickly shook it off. Will wasn't gone. He was just missing.

"Sammy?"

The girl turned her head to see a distressed Joyce walking towards her. She dropped her hand from the photos and walked up to the older woman, immediately throwing her arms around her. Joyce responded immediately, squeezing her arms tight around Sammy's middle and sniffling.

"I- I don't know where he could be," Joyce stammered into the younger girl's shoulder, "I've been calling everyone, going everywhere. He could be hurt or-"

"Will is a smart kid," Sammy cut her off, keeping her hold on Joyce, "Way smarter than anyone gives him credit for. If he's really lost, he'll know what to do. We're gonna find him, Joyce."

"Shouldn't you be at school?" Joyce croaked, pulling back slightly, "It started a few hours ago, and I know-"

"Screw school," Sammy shrugged, keeping her hands on the older woman's shoulders, "Will matters way more to me than an English quiz."

A watery smile spread over Joyce's face. She reached up and pushed back some of Sammy's hair off of her face. For a moment, Joyce felt like a mother. The gesture made the younger girl's chest ache. It was a little more painful than comforting.

"You keep making calls," Sammy said, trying to cover up the shake in her voice, "Jonathan and I are making posters. We'll go to the copy place then start putting them up if he doesn't come back in the next few hours."

Joyce nodded, her brown eyes boring into Sammy's. "Yeah, that's… that's smart, sweetie. But Lonnie won't pick up the phone, and some bimbo keeps screening the calls and-"

"Guys!"

Joyce and Sammy nearly jumped at the sound of Jonathan's voice. They turned to see him staring out the window, face creased up and worried. He turned and looked over at his friend, shoulders tense.

"Police."

Sammy felt her whole body tense up. "Is Will with them?"

Her friend slowly shook his head. The sound of the door opening cut through the quiet house like a gunshot. It pushed the women into action, both Joyce and Sammy walking into the front room. Three cops were there, Hopper and two deputies Sammy had seen once in a while. They'd arrested her father on more than one occasion. The taller one seemed to recognize her, his eyes rolling. Hopper, however, took notice and his face went soft. Sammy's eyes travelled down to see what was in his grip and her stomach dropped.

"That's Will's bike," Jonathan said softly, pointing shakily at the bicycle held up by the police chief.

"Yeah," Hopper responded, his voice low as he lay the bike down against the kitchen table, "We found it out in the woods."

"What? Just lying there?" Joyce exclaimed, her voice high and shaking. She stepped closer to the chief, who looked incedibly uncomfortable with the situation.

"Yeah," he muttered again, eyes landing on one of the cops beside him, "Cal?"

The cop- Cal- seemed to know what to do as he stepped out of the room and down the hall. Jonathan was standing shock still beside Sammy, nervousness practically radiating off of him. Quietly, she reached out her hand and wrapped it around his wrist, as if that could anchor him. He responded quickly, sliding his hand up and grasping hers tightly.

Joyce kept in step with Hopper, her eyes big and terrified. "Was there blood on it or-"

"No, nothing like that," he quickly cut her off, turning to the other deputy, "Phil?"

The taller man nodded his head and went in the same direction as Cal. Both teens watched him saunter through the house, nose wrinkling in haughty disgust at the state of the place. The boy held even tighter to Sammy's hand, leaning down towards her ear.

"What are they looking for?" he whispered shakily, "There can't be anything in the house, could there?"

Shaking her head, Sammy gave his hand a squeeze. "I don't know. I'll check it out."

With a nod, they let go of each other's sweaty hands and Sammy made her way down the hall. She could hear the two deputies talking, clearly in the same room. It didn't make sense. Why would they be looking in the same place if they were searching for evidence? Her gut began to twist in knots when Sammy realized they were searching Jonathan's room.

Quietly avoiding any squeaky floorboards, the curly haired girl stepped up beside the door and out of sight. She kept her ears open, listening to the two men inside.

"The fuck is all this?"

Sammy recognized that as Phil, his voice rather distinctive and high. Her brows pulled together, confused at what the hell he was talking about.

"Kid's a fucking weirdo," Cal responded drily, "I'd put my money on him."

Heat flooding through her face, Sammy pressed herself further towards the door. What they hell did they think? Jonathan would kill Will? Her face twisted into a scowl at the thought of anyone accusing her friend of such a thing.

"Check this one out," Phil snickered, his rat-like voice grating on Sammy's ears, "He looks like a goddamn tranny."

"Looks like we found his next victim."

Finally having heard enough, Sammy stomped through the door and drew the attention of the cops. Both of their heads whipped around, their doughy faces slack and caught off guard. The girl could feel the tips of her ears heat up with anger after seeing what they were pointing at.

Plucked from the dozens of photos that decorated his wall, the taller cop's fingers were pinching the one from the last time Sammy had taken Jonathan to Rocky Horror. Her face and chest were carefully smeared with gold and silver glitter, her poorly put together Columbia costume clinging to her body. Jonathan had been dressed up as Frank n' Furter, the blue dress and pearls number. She'd even convinced him to wear makeup. It was shakily executed, since neither of them was particularly good at makeup. But both of them had their arms around each other, mouths wide and smiling at the camera mid-laugh.

"Are you done in here?" Sammy griped, feet planted firmly beneath her, "Or do you want to throw around another slur or two?"

The taller cop dropped the photo to his side, eyes flicking over her patronizingly. "Miss, we're just looking around for evidence-"

"Well, you're not going to find much in here," she shot back, "In case you forgot to do your job, Jonathan has an alibi. He was at work. Our manager watches us the entire time from his car like a pervert, so you can double check with him. Now how about you actually start looking for Will."

Cal eyed her suspiciously. "You seem to know a lot about his whereabouts. Maybe you could-"

"That's enough, Cal."

Sammy's hair whipped around as she turned towards the voice speaking behind her. Hopper stood in the doorway, his face heavy and annoyed. He eyed the two deputies with distaste. "Quit harrassing the kid and search the house."

Turning her head, she watched as the two men seemed to battle between mouthing off and doing what they were told. The latter won out. A smirk crawled over her face as she watched them stomp out of the room like petulant children. She even sent them a wave, earning her two very angry looks.

"You really shouldn't piss them off," Hopper sighed, drawing Sammy's attention, "They're too dull to focus on more than one theory at a time. You don't want to go up on their list."

"They can kiss my ass," Sammy grumbled, looking up at the chief earnestly, "Have you found anything?"

Something flicked over Hopper's face, something tight and uncertain. The teen's brows pulled together, keeping her eyes level with his, challenging him to leave her out of the loop. He matched her gaze, seemingly almost impressed. He huffed a breath out, rubbing his neck.

"We're putting together a search party," he said gruffly, "I'd say you should stay out of it but you've never listened to me."

Her stomach dropped, plummeting all the way into the earth. The girl's eyes widened, throat closing over the words that seemed unable to pass her lips. A search party. That meant something was wrong. Will really was missing. Her breath felt too hot in her chest, too heavy for her system to take. Taking in a rattling breath, Sammy raised her eyes to Hopper's.

"You're right," she croaked, "I'm not listening to you. I'll be there tonight."

Without waiting for a response, Sammy pushed past Hopper and made her way towards the hallway. She came to a stop in front of the phone, ripping it off the receiver and quickly dialing the school's number. It rang a few times before the vice principal picked up.

"Hawkins High," she groaned, her voice groaning under the weight of her chronic chain smoking.

"Hey Linda," Sammy said as steadily as she could, pressing the phone tight against her ear, "Is there a way you can get a volunteer group together for a search party tonight?"

"Depends," she replied, the slightest twinge of worry in her voice, "Who're you looking for?"

"Will Byers."

There was a silence on the other end of the line. Sammy's breath still felt too heavy, her head swimming with too little oxygen.

"I'll make an announcement," Linda finally replied firmly, "Anything else I can do?"

She was about to say no, hang up and go straight to Joyce and Jonathan. However, an idea picked at the back of her brain. She opened her mouth, unsure of what she was about to ask. "Can you put me through to the library?"

"Uh, sure," Linda replied uncertainly, a few clicks sending her call over to her requested area.

"Hello?" Damian, the librarian greeted.

"Hey Damian," Sammy huffed, pressing her free hand against the wall, "Can you get Steve on the phone?"

"Finally," the man groaned, "The poor boy's been waiting for you to come teach him basic math for the past twenty minutes."

"Yeah, please just get him," she responded half-impatiently.

The librarian's voice was muffled as he called for Steve. The line crackled with shifting grips and new breath.

"What's up, Gorgeous?" Steve inquired, "Haven't seen you around today, and I thought-"

"Will's missing," Sammy cut in, no time for pleasantries, "There's a search party tonight"

She could practically see the older boy's mouth gaping open. He never quite knew what to do in awkward situations. "I- uh, I'm sorry?"

She pressed her hand harder into the wall, chest tight. "Don't be sorry. Get your popular asshole friends to sign up for the search party."

"Why am I doing that?" he asked stupidly, his voice practically making her want to slam her fist into the wall.

"Because if your popular asshole friends do it, half of the school will follow."

"I don't know if I can-"

"Please," Sammy begged, voice cracking over the words in a desperate haste to get them out, "We've got to find him. He's just a kid."

The line crackled with the sound of Steve sighing, though his breath sounded tight like hers. Her chest swelled full of half hope, half fear as he continued his silence. He had to say yes. He had to help.

"Okay. Yes, I can make that happen."

Sammy's breath practically fell out of her chest. Her body ducked under the relief, hair falling into her face as she did. "Thank you- thank you so much!"

The phone shifted against his skin, making his voice muffle. "I kinda owe you one, don't I?"

Without waiting for a follow up, she quickly hung up the phone and ran into the main room. Jonathan and Joyce were huddled together with Hopper trying to talk to them about the search party. Sammy's slapping footsteps drew their attention as she bounded into the room. Jonathan's wide eyes bore into hers.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly, hair falling in his face.

Sammy took another rattling breath, pushing her own wild hair out of her face. "I think I just got half of Hawkins High to join the search party."