𝐌𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐀 // M. Wheeler

[𝗫𝗜] KAT'S MY FRIEND

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Dustin and Kat stood in front of Joyce's brand-new phone as he hurriedly spun the rotary to call their science teacher. "I hope he's not busy." She mused as he did. 

Dustin scoffed. "What could he be doing at this time? He's a teacher."  

She laughed. "So? He's still a person." 

He smirked. "Trust me, Kat, we're doing Mr. Clarke a solid giving him some company." 

She shook her head, smiling, as the phone rang. Their teacher's unsure voice came through the speaker. "Hello?"

"Mr. Clarke? It's Dustin."

"And Kathryn." Kat added, putting her shoulder on Dustin's and leaning over it to speak into the phone as well.

"Dustin? Kat? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just, we... we've got a science question.

Mr. Clarke seemed exasperated.  "It's ten o'clock on Saturday. Why don't we pick this up-"

Dustin wasn't deterred. "Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks? Specifically how to build one?" 

 "Sensory deprivation? What is this for?"

"Fun."

"Important fun." Kathryn stressed important.

"Okay. Well... Why don't we talk about it Monday? After school, okay?" 

Kathryn looked at Dustin, wondering what they should do. He sent her a confident face. 

"You always say we should never stop being curious. To always open any curiosity door we find."

"Dustin-"

He smirked as he finished. "Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?"

"Clever of you." Kat whispered, smirking herself. 

As their teacher started explaining, he mouthed back, 'I know.' They listened for a few more minutes, Dustin occasionally saying 'Uh-huh' to show he was understanding, before he hurriedly hung up. 

The pair turned back to the assembled group. "Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?" Dustin asked Joyce, his expression determined.  

"I think so. Yeah. Yeah." 

Kat, having taken her arm from Dustin's shoulder, nodded. "We're gonna need a lot  of salt, too." 

Hopper creased an eyebrow, looking at Kathryn. "How much is "a lot"?

Dustin piped up, looking grim. "1,500 pounds."

Nancy looked like she wanted to give up then and there. "Well, where are we gonna get that much salt?"

 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Dustin and Lucas are struggling to lug the kiddie pool into the gym while Kathryn follows behind, clapping and smiling mischeviously. "Keep it up, boys. You've got this." 

"This damn thing is heavy."

They sent her dirty looks as they finally dropped it in the center of the gymnasium. "Great work, Kathryn. You were super helpful." 

"Thank you, Lucas. Always glad to be of assistance." Despite this, she trotted over to the side they weren't covering to help set it up.

"Come on. It's upside down." Dustin says, frustrated.

Kat grimaces at the reminder of why they're putting all of this effort into setting up the pool as she shifts her position. "No, it's this way." She says. 

"Okay, um....How does this even work?" Dustin asks. 

"Try that side." Lucas calls.

"Son of a bitch!" 

"Pull it back. Pull it back." 

"I am!"

"Guys, relax." Kat snickers. "If we all pull back at the same time, we should be able to stretch it out enough to get it stay long enough to fill it."

Lucas counts down, "One, two, three." Kat pulls, but Dustin resorts to swearing again.

"Shit!"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The Wheeler siblings (minus Holly) are attempting to get into the school's shed, but neither is having luck. It's locked. A shocker. Mike, thinking he must be an X-man now, tries bashing the door open, but his poor noodle arm just succeeds in hurting itself. "Ah." He says, wincing. 

"Stand back." Nancy calls from behind him.

"Huh?" He steps back anyway and Nancy brings a giant rock down on the lock, which snaps open. She opens the door and enters, wasting no time.

"Whoa." He hurries to help her load the hoses into a wheelbarrow, which they start wheeling back up to Hawkins Middle. 

Seemingly out of nowhere, Nancy asks, "What did she even eat?"

"What?"

"Eleven."

"Oh. Candy, leftovers, Eggos... She really likes Eggos."

"I knew you were acting weird. I just... I thought it was because of Will."

"I knew you were acting weird, too. I thought it was 'cause of Steve."

Nancy suddenly comes to a decision, turning to her little brother. "Hey... No more secrets, okay? From now on we tell each other everything."

"Okay. Do you like Jonathan now?"

Nancy shakes her head with vigour. "What? No. No, it's... it's not... it's not like that. Do you like Eleven?"

Mike shakes his head somewhat slower. "What? No. Ew. Gross."

She stops, giving him a look. "Kathryn?" 

He pauses for a second before he shakes his head again. "Kat's my friend." He doesn't say more, but he's turning that phrase around in his head over and over again. The more he does, the more he hates it. 

He's not sure why. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Having finished setting up the baby pool, the kids, teens, Hopper and Joyce, cluster around it. Joyce helps Eleven into the pool while Kat watches, rubbing her shoulders anxiously. This could be their chance to find Will- if this doesn't work, then what will? Pun not intended in the slighest. 

She looked away as Eleven began to murmur and then as her words rose with volume, eyes clenched shut and her hands rubbing her arms more roughly. Mike noticed, slipping over quietly to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer. 

He had expected her to push him away as they were still fighting, but she didn't. She let her arms wrap around his waist and they hugged as Eleven suddenly said their best friend's name. Kat's head shot up and she trained her gaze on the floating girl with bated breath. And then Will's name can be heard over the radio. "Hurry." Kat's breath leaves her then and she leans into Mike again, who seems caught between blushing and looking concerned. 

Joyce and Hopper scramble away to find Will, leaving two teenagers and a group of middle-schoolers to their devices in a big school, with a wanted woman..or girl. Perhaps they should've been a bit more smart- or at least told Johnathan and Nancy to stay with the younger kids. 

They don't, though. 

A | N

This is such a terrible, short, cringey chapter, and I apologize in advance. What even is a stable mental state and good writing?? Love you all and bear with me, promise we're getting closer to the event I've had planned since I began Moira! Stay safe <3

word count. 1072 (excepting a/n)