What is Love? (A Byler AU)

Will And The Mind Flayer Play Tug of War

The morning after we were attacked by whatever horrifying form the Mind Flayer had now taken at Hawkins Memorial Hospital our party had met up at Hopper's Cabin to decide where we would go from here. While Eleven was in another room trying to find Billy with her powers, Max, Lucas, and Mike were in the living area of the small cabin arguing about El's well-being or something. It was stupid; they always argued about the most random stuff; and shouldn't El be involved in a discussion about her own life? It was pointless!

Anyways, I was helping Nancy and Jonathan do some investigative work in the kitchen to avoid all the arguing in the next room. Nancy was on the phone while my brother and I were at the counter looking through the phone book.

"...yes, from the Hawkins Post. I--I called a couple of days ago about the... yes, yes, uh... I was just following up to see if anything else had gone missing, or if... okay. Um... sorry to bother-" I could only hear Nancy's side of the brief conversations that often ended much like this one: the person on the other end hanging up the phone within minutes. "Who's next?" Nancy approached Jonathan and me.

"There is no next," Jonathan told her as he looked up from the phone book before him. "Unless you want to start calling random people's homes."

"It doesn't make sense."

"What part of any of this makes sense?"

"There's a pattern, okay? A consistency to their behavior. They've been feeding on these chemicals since this started, and... and, what, they just stop, out of the blue?" I had to admit, Nancy did have a point, but there had to be a reason for the end of the chemicals disappearing.

"Maybe they have all the chemicals they need?" I suggested. "Maybe they've all turned into those... things."

"But what about the source?" Nancy brought up, "I mean, did the Mind Flayer just suddenly stop infecting people? And even if the flayed are monsters now, why can't El find them?"

Soon Max, Lucas, and Mike approached us as Max said: "Okay, can you guys settle an argument for us? Who do you think should decide El's limits? Mike, or Eleven?"

"The way that you frame that is such bullshit!" Mike screeched.

"It's not bullshit, Mike. This is your whole problem. And it's also why she dumped your ass." She half-yelled.

"El dumped you?" Nancy looked at him, astonished.

"Yeah! Because she is conspiring against me!" He gestured to Max. "She's corrupting her!"

"No, enlightening her. The fact is, Mike, she's not yours. She's her own person, fully capable of making her own decisions."

"She's risking her life for no reason!"

"For no reason? Mike, the flayed are out there doing God knows what." Nancy told the pair. Finally! A voice of reason that can end this!

"Killing, flaying..." Lucas chimed in, also bored with the arguing.

"Transforming into monsters," I contributed. Seriously, Mike, we've got bigger things to deal with now. Let it go.

"And El's not stupid. She knows her abilities better than any of us." Mike rolled his eyes as Nancy spoke.

"Exactly, thank you." Max thanked her.

"And she is her own person."

"Exactly!"

"With her own free will."

"Exactly! El has saved the world twice, and Mike still doesn't trust her." Max turned back to the irritated boy beside her.