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CHAPTER TWELVE
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ATLAS
ROSIE HAD NEVER made a chair before. She wasn't the best at woodwork, she had taken a single class when she was eleven (boredom had gotten the best of her in summer) and had immediately dropped out because she got a splinter. Rosie despised splinters. So, it was a surprise to her that she was able to put together a chair, cardboard or not, all on her own. Was it a good chair? Irrelevant, because it was a chair nonetheless. Working with cardboard and the sticky tape was much easier, though it didn't make her any less frustrated.
Mike had figured out a way to get Will back, and that plan began with setting up the shed in the Byers backyard. Rosie and Max were tasked with making these chairs, chairs that were practically taunting the former as she tried her hardest not to single-handedly ruin Mike's plan with her horrible craftsmanship skills.
Rosie wrangled with bits of cardboard as she stuck legs on the bottom, while Max did the same (albeit a lot calmer) and Mike got other materials from under the kitchen sink. Bleach, other stuff Rosie didn't care about because of this stupid goddamn chair—!
"I get why El was your mage now," Max said, breaking Rosie from her angry thoughts. She looked up from her work, watching as Max's face was lit up with a smile. Rosie loved seeing other people smile, for when others were happy, it made Rosie happy. But when Max smiled, it was different. Max's smile made her feel like everything was going to be okay.
"What?"
"Lucas," Max explained, quickly glancing at Rosie, "He told me all about her."
Rosie nodded, recalling bits of information Dustin had given her. El sounded absolutely wicked. The way she stood up to the party's bullies, fended off the bad men, sacrificed herself for the rest of the group? She sounded badass. Rosie wished she could meet her, just like she wished she would've met Bob.
Mike seemed to consider this for a few seconds, eyes filled with memories of the past. Until it was wiped away, with a quip, "Well, he shouldn't have. Dustin shouldn't have told you either, Rosie. And just because you know the truth, it doesn't mean you're in our party. You do know that, right?"
The brunette huffed to herself, pulling a string of tape off, "Yeah sure. It's not like we fought those demodogs, and now we're helping out with the party's plan. Definitely not," she mumbled to herself, hurt.
Max sighed, still managing a smile, "Yeah, I know. I mean, why would you want a stupid zoomer and a ray of peppy sunshine in your party anyway?"
Rosie looked up from her chair, "Peppy?"
The redhead turned to her, mischief alighting in her ocean eyes, "Peppy. I'm just saying, El? She sounds like she was really awesome."
