MAD'OUK- Lucas Sinclair ²

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

She'd have to wait, of course, but the notion that she had at least the faintest inkling of an idea made her relax a little more, and she let herself relax as Jonathan, at the party's urging, finally dug through the bag he'd brought with him. "So," he said, "we, uh, we got something for you."

"You did?" Alina hadn't expected anything. Hadn't even had the room in her overflowing mind to expect anything. So much had happened in the brief moments she'd been awake, been healed, been whole, that she hadn't thought about it at all. But she remembered when Will was in the hospital—he'd stayed for a week after the Accident—and how his bedside had been overflowing with gifts. She'd gotten him a sketchpad.

"Yeah, of course, Al," said Lucas, and he smiled, adjusting the bandanna tied around his head. He was still wearing it, even though there weren't any Mind Flayers, Demogorgons, or bad men left to fight. Perhaps it was just a comfort thing. Perhaps because he knew she loved it—or maybe Max did.

Jonathan put a box down on her bed. "Open it," they all urged, as Joyce watched on, seeming a little nervous. Alina didn't have time to be confused, however, because she was opening the box, and pulling out the first thing she found inside. It was heavy and smooth in her hands, and she took extra care as she pulled it out. Her eyes bulged when she saw what it was. "Holy shit!"

It was a camera, sleek and polished and definitely better than the shitty old one she'd been given by Joyce for her photography lessons. As Alina felt the new camera's weight in her hand, Jonathan let out a laugh at her expression. "It was secondhand, but it's barely been used," he explained. "I thought that since I've been teaching you photography lately, you should have a better camera."

Neither he nor Joyce reprimanded her for cursing, and Alina grinned. "This is amazing. Thank you so much, Jonathan." Fondness for the older teenager swept into her heart, and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly before pulling the next gift out of the box.

Two chocolate bars. One was a jumbo-sized Snickers, which would always be her favorite, and the other one was a 3 Musketeers bar with a smiley-face drawn on it in Sharpie. Alina didn't even have to ask who it was from. She already knew.

"Dustin," she groaned, causing the boy to burst into laughter.

"Sorry," he chuckled, "I couldn't resist. But now you'll be able to befriend Demogorgons, won't you?"

Alina hugged Dustin, who'd been there for her since the very beginning. Making the decision to speak to him and Lucas that day before school had been the best decision she'd ever made, and she was so glad to have a friend like him by her side. Even if he hid baby Demogorgons under his hat in attempts to impress girls and fed them 3 Musketeers. He was Dustin Henderson, and Alina wouldn't ask for anyone else.

She pulled out a bag of gummy worms from Mike next, who explained that they'd compiled this box together in case she woke up. "Like we knew you would," he added at the end quickly, but Alina wasn't so sure about that. She was just grateful to have Mike, who may have not let her in the party at first, but was the one who, eventually, made her feel the most welcome.

From Will, she got a comic, one of the newer ones she'd told him she'd been eyeing before all of this shit had gone down. From Gabe, she'd gotten a new Halloween costume for Skywalker (a skeleton, to match her costume this year), from Max, a gumball machine, but when she pulled out a leather jacket, nobody claimed it.

"It's from El," Mike explained.

Alina blinked. "She's okay, right?"

"Yeah, perfectly fine," Joyce butted in. "Hopper just wanted her to stay home for a little while. She's dying to see you, though." She let out a laugh at the jacket. "That must've been the one that she was given by that girl she met."