Opposites attract (Mike W.)

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

Act 3~Chapter 12: Reunion

Nancy had driven the group towards one of the closest stores to care for El's bleeding, gaping wound. Nancy went over to the door to see if it was open. She pushed it and nothing happened.
"How do we get it?" Max groaned as Nancy sighed walking away from the group. Avery looked around and saw a large rock on the ground. She raised her arm back and threw the rock at the glass door. They all turned around at the sound of the glass shattering.
"I found a key," Avery shrugged, "You're welcome." She walked in, the others looking at one another and following her in.

They walked down an aisle full of medicine and bandages and anything to help with your health.
"Okay, get her down," Nancy told Max and Mike who had El's arms wrapped around their shoulders. They sat the girl down, her back against one of the shelves whilst Nancy rolled up her pant leg saying, "lemme see." Nancy revealed a large, bloody gash in the centre of El's calf, the blood dripping down her leg.
"Oh, shit," Max breathed looking at it from her position next to El.
Nancy opened a packet of wipes, bringing her hand closer to Eleven.
"What- What- Hey, what are you doing?" Max asked the older girl.
"I'm cleaning the wound," Nancy said matter of factly.
"No, first, we need to stop the bleeding, then clean, then disinfect, then bandage," Max informed, looking around at the group who were looking at her completely shocked, "I skateboard. Trust me."
"Will, hold this," the ginger girl told him, handing him a tissue, "Keep pressure on it, nice and firm, okay? We're gonna need water, soap."
"Yeah, okay."
"All right."
Nancy and Jonathan stood up going to get what Max had just told them to.
Lucas grabbed his backpack, turned it upside down and emptied all of the contents of it out.
"Does any of this help?" he asked.
"No," Max sighed, "Go get me a washcloth."
Lucas agreed and went to go and find what he was instructed.
"Mike, Ava. Can you go find a bowl?" she asked the two. They both nodded, standing up and walking around the small grocery store to find a bowl.

"Wouldn't it be with the cereal?" Mike asked after a few minutes of searching.
"No, Mike it would be with the, like, shitty party decorations or something," Avery chuckled. The two continued walking in silence until they reached the aisle of party decorations, spotting the bowls. Avery picked up the packet of them just as Mike began speaking.
"Hey, Ava," he said, "There is something I really need to tell you.
"Yeah? What's up?" Avery replied.
"Well..." Mike sighed, trying to find his words, "Ava..."
"Mike, you can tell me," she smiled.
"Well... I know we forgave each other and apologised but I still feel really bad. And, being broken up, it's been hard. And, I'm so happy you and Max are friends. It's just I was jealous at first, and-- and angry. And that's why I said all that stupid stuff. And It's like I wanted you all to myself. And now I realize how unfair that is. And selfish. And, like... I'm sorry. I just, like, I've never felt like this, you know, with anyone before... and... You know, they do say it makes you crazy."
Avery looked at him, feeling her cheeks heat up a lot, "What makes you crazy?" she teased, knowing full well what he meant.
"You never... you never heard that term?" he asked, his cheeks going slightly pink in embarrassment, "You know, like the phrase, like... "blank makes you crazy" like the word..."
""Girlfriends"?" she asked, keeping up her act.
"No, no, no, no, not-- not girlfriends," he quickly said.
""Boyfriends"," she nodded, trying to contain her laughter.
"No! No, no, not boyfriends either," he replied, "It's like-- It's like a feeling or..."
"A feeling?"
"Yeah, like something... Like, old people say it to each other sometimes," he told her, not realising her lie.
"Old people?" she chuckled, knowing what he was trying to say but wondering where he was going with it.
"Yeah! What I wanna say is... that I just... I know that I--" Mike began, getting cut off.
"What's going on?" Max asked, who had just appeared from around the corner.
"Nothing," they both said at the same time.
"Well come on, I need to sort out El's leg," she told them, taking the bowls away from Avery and turning on her heel back towards El. Mike and Avery began to follow Max when a voice from Avery's backpack went off.
"I repeat... this is a code red!" the recognisable (but very distorted) voice of Dustin Henderson shouted. Avery quickly opened her bag, taking out the walkie talkie and pulling up the antenna.
"Dustin?" Avery said.
"Ava?"
"Dustin!"
"Ava!"
"Oh, my God, you have to listen," he began talking very quickly, his voice cutting out every now and again, "I know I've been MIA, and I'm sorry, it's not because I'm mad, I mean, I actually was mad, but it's also because I was trapped underground in a secret Russian base."
"Dustin, you're going way too fast, I can't understand you," Avery said, beginning to walk towards the aisle where El was seated, with Mike following closely behind.
"I know that sounds insane, but the Russians have infiltrated Hawkins! The goddamn Russians! And now-- they're using-- to open the gate!" he said, not understanding what Avery had said either.
"Dustin, you're-- you're breaking up," Avery told him.
"And now they're after us and we don't have a way out of here, so I need you to come and get us. Can Nancy drive?" Dustin finished, taking a deep breath, however neither Mike nor Avery could understand what he was saying as every other syllable he seemed to be cutting out.
"Dustin! You're cutting out!" Avery shouted. They were met with silence.
"Dustin? You there?" she asked, after not getting a response. Avery continued shouting for Dustin when they eventually turned the corner, being greeted by everyone knelt down next to El. They all looked at Mike and Avery, who were extremely pale.
"What is it?" Nancy asked, worried for her younger brother.
The two explained to them all what was going on with Dustin whilst Max cleaned up El's wound.