That night, the group of Ethan's friends stayed over, to make sure no one from the lab would come and take Hallow, Jaeden or Ethan. Lucas slept on the living room couch, with Dustin sleeping upright on the end. Jaeden and Hallow slept on the floor under many layers of blankets, and Mike slept on the recliner, leaned back halfway for comfort. Ethan slept in his bed the first time in a year, he couldn't wrap his head around the comfort he once loved being so new and weird, he tossed and turned all night.
And by morning, Lucas and Dustin both went home, Dustin to hide Dart, who was still hiding in his hat, and Lucas to probably find Max and go crush on her more. It was kinda obvious that both Dustin and Lucas liked Max Mayfield, but they probably wouldn't say it or try and show it off.
Ethan and Mike woke up before Nicole, leaving her a post-it note on the door that they'd be at Will's, wanting to make sure he was okay. They would leave Jaeden and Hallow to explore the small, but to them huge, new world around them. Just the Boise's home, though, they warned the two not to step foot outside for now.
It was to dangerous, they had to treat them like when they found Eleven, anyone seeing them could put them in danger. Specifically the tattoos, even if they looked like normal kids, the heavy eyebags, the improper grammar, and dozed looking state would give it away. The neighbors would call the police in suspicion of kidnap, most likely.
Mike and Ethan hopped onto Mike's bike, their white Nike's and black converse hanging onto the pedals for dear life. Carrying two people on these bikes was quite hard, you had to focus more on balance, and unluckily Ethan couldn't ride his bike out of fear of falling, and they couldn't be wasting time now.
When they reached the rocky, long driveway to the Byers house, they were greeted with a red-orange car in the driveway. They threw Mike's bike down, rushing inside as Joyce greets them. The brunette woman looks at Ethan, a shocked expression on her face as she pulls him in for a hug, asking many questions like where he'd been and how to help his stoner-looking state.
Joyce drags the boys inside, rambling about Will entering another episode and covering the walls with paper.
Mike and Ethan look around, Joyce wasn't lying, the whole house was covered as Bob was trying to figure out what it was. Joyce explained Hopper went missing and this was some sort of map.
"What's with the X?" Ethan asks, pointing towards a large red X on one of the papers
"That's where Hopper is, I think" Joyce replies, looking to Will sitting at the table.
Will just nods his head, afraid and scared.
"This is.. Satler's Quarry" Bob tells Joyce as she grabs a measuring tape and pencil from off the coffee table.
"Eno River.."
Ethan walks to Will, embracing him in a hug, feeling the fear Will was holding inside of him. Will hugs back as he drags Ethan to his room, wanting to talk. Mike stays with Joyce and Bob, seeing that it was a private conversation, not wanting to interrupt.
Will softly closed the door behind them, his bare chest sweating even in the freezing cold house. He sat on his bed, Ethan stood in front of him as he fidgeted with the sleeves of his grey sweater.
"What have you gone through..?" Will softly asks, looking up at Ethan
"A lot," Ethan admits, "but being back here, with you guys, helps distract me from the pain, Will. Please don't worry about me, we need to help Hopper, and we need to help you."
Will looked down at the floor, remembering all the words in the journal he had read during sixth and seventh period before finishing in eighth. The torture, experiencing the Upside Down, how they just ignored the fact he was deaf and probably couldn't hear them when they found him, luckily he had a hearing aid though, Will felt so bad for being so ignorant about it.
"I'm sorry about assuming and forgetting you could hear us, yesterday. I was so ignorant and forgot and-"
"Will, its fine" Ethan chuckles, placing his hands on Will's shoulders.
"I just feel like shit for doing that" Will explains, looking Ethan in the eyes
"It's okay, I promise" Ethan says, a small, reassuring smile on his face
Ethan sits down next to Will, taking his hand in his to give him some sort of comfort.
"So, what happened last night? With all the stuff out there?" Ethan asks, referencing the papers covering the walls as he hears Bob outside say that they're a map of Hawkins.
"I dunno, it just happened, I saw Hopper in what looked like the Upside Down or something. And like, it just.. happened, I guess" Will explains, not even able to comprehend what had happened.
Ethan gives him a side hug, laying his head on Will's shoulder as Will lays an arm over Ethan. They just sat there, for hours, silent. They thought about the recent events of the past year, how everything changed since Eleven opened the gate to the Upside Down. Everything had blown to shit as things from fucking DnD came to life to torment them.
Over the course of the day, and finally by around 8 or 9pm, Joyce and Bob found exactly where Hopper was. So, their rescue mission for Hopper was going smoothly, for now.
The group hopped into Joyce's car, speeding off to wherever that red X was. The three young boys sat in the back, with Ethan sat in the middle, Will on the right, and Mike on the left. Will sat staring out the window as they passed the trailer-park neighbourhood.
When they arrived, Joyce ordered the boys to stay in the car, seeing Hopper's vehicle sitting next to theirs.
The boys sit silently as Joyce and Bob disappear into the ground, following a hole as it seemed to be. The cars headlights illuminated their figures as they disappeared in what Will described as tunnels of some sort. The poor boy didn't even know, he was so scared and tired, he just wanted a nap.
The boys silently agree to go check the hole after a minute to long after being unsupervised, what if they were shouting for the boys for help? They quietly approached the hole, staring down at it. Will, in his pjs, looked around, heavy bags under his eyes and fear blatantly showing.
"Do you see anything? In your now-memories?" Mike asks
Will shakes his head no as Ethan wraps an arm around his lower torso, providing him a bit of comfort.
Tires screeched behind them, headlights becoming visible as they looked back, they weren't alone. But they were alone at the same time, they were massively screwed. From the hill, they could see the road, three or four Hawkins Lab vans turning the corner to get on the road leading to them.
The boys stand clear in their headlights approaching, shock, confusion, and fear evident as they look at each other.
"How did they find me?" Ethan mutters, hiding behind Mike
The men exit their vehicles silently, in white hazmat suits as they walk passed the boys, not even acknowledging their existence.
They went into the hole with some sort of machinery while the three kids stood obediently next to it, waiting for Joyce, Hopper and Bob to pop out of it and take them home.
Suddenly, Will drops to the floor as Ian and Mike follow him down to check on him.
"Will, Will, you okay?"
"He's clearly not okay, Mike!"
Will grunts and shakes, screaming as he flips himself over to be able to look straight at the sky.
The terrifying scream, Will's face as he was ridden with excruciating pain and fear would later haunt Ian and Mike forever. He looked like a possessed child from a horror movie.
Mike and Ethan slowly step away from Will, unable to help them as he let out screams and high pitched noises that were not his.
Ethan covered his ears, not wanting to hear his best friend scream in such pain and agony, and to even see him in such state was to much as the men put him on a stretcher. They didn't even look at Ethan, they didn't care about him anymore, which was good, he wouldn't be forced to give away Jaeden and Hallow, or forced to be a lab rat.
The trio of adults rised from the hole to be met with two frantic children.
"Will had another episode thingy or something and they took him somewhere!" Ethan exclaims
"They put him on a stretcher and took him away, probably the lab" Mike says, informing the adults.
"Well then let's go" Hopper orders, running to his car and turning the ignition
"To Hawkins Lab"
AN- SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 7 OF S4
explanation to el causing the massacre, we all know 001 did it, but "papa" told jae and hallow that it was elevens fault to keep 001 a secret still and stuff, they just choked them out, not actually kill them like he did when he was vecna and shit, that'll come up later in the story tho :)