"Okay, get her down." Nancy spoke as she got ahold of all the medical supplies she'd need. Corey sat El down on the ground, a lot strong then the other boys had been. "Okay. Lemme see."
They all cringed when Nancy rolled up El's pant leg, the large hole in El's leg leaking terrible. Jude shook his head. "What the shit?"
"Jude." Mike scolded him.
"Sorry, that's just so gross." Jude shook his head. "Gag in my freaking mouth."
"Jude!" Mike repeated with an insane look.
"What- hey, hey, what are you doing?" Max cut Nancy off when she went to open the whips.
"I'm cleaning the wound." Nancy said back honestly as she looked back down at El's leg.
"No, first, we need to stop the bleeding, then clean, then disinfect, then bandage." Max listed on seriously, nodding her head each time. "I skateboard. Trust me."
Max pressed a gauze pad to El's leg, telling Corey to hold it in place, doing some with ease. "Keep the pressure on it, nice and firm, okay?"
"Yeah, I got it." Corey nodded his head. "Blood doesn't bother me."
"Yeah, it does me." Jude spoke. "I love you, cousin. But, I might pass out."
"We're gonna need water, soap." Max looked at Nancy and Jonathan as they nodded and headed off. The clatter of stuff falling made them look over, seeing Lucas had emptied his backpack with unnecessary supplies across the floor.
"Does any of this help?" he asked, looking down at the three with Will by his side.
Max gave a look of disbelief. "No. Go get me a washcloth and a bowl."
"A bowl?" he asked in disbelief.
"Lucas." the redhead huffed in response. Will smacked his arm, heading off quickly and leaving the remaining four.
Jude nearly tipped over as he stared at the wound. Max gapped. "Jude!"
"Sorry, sorry." he apologized, feeling light headed. "I should sit."
"Okay, I'm gonna-" Mike pulled Jude's arms.
"Good idea." Corey pointed out. "Weak."
Mike lead Jude toward the lawn chairs near the register, setting him down. "I can't believe this is how you are."
"Jesus, I know." Jude held his head. "Remember when I passed out in class because I cut my finger?"
"I had to carry you to the nurses office, I think I remember." Mike laughed slightly as Jude cracked a grin. "Well, drag you, more so."
"Yeah, and I was way tinier back then." he laughed slightly. "Then my dad decided to get a job at a diner and feed me like crazy."
"Yeah, but weight gain looks good on you. Good for the baseball team." Mike nodded his head.
Jude narrowed his eyes. "Are you calling me attractive?"
"Jude, you find yourself enough attractive for all of Hawkins." Mike said back with a knowing look.
It made the Mackenzie boy laugh. "It's true. Maybe Max is right about humbling myself."
"Maybe." Mike shook his head. "But, it's cool. You know? Having confidence, feeling good about yourself."
Jude scoffed. "You don't feel that way about yourself?"
"I don't know, not really." Mike shook his head.
"Okay, well, I wouldn't kiss someone unless I thought they were equally as attractive as I am." Jude said, his eyes widening when his own words sunk in. "Sorry."
Mike laughed. "Carful, Max might start telling both of us to humble ourselves."
"I'm a bad influence, remember?" he cracked a grin at him.
Mike leaned over and kissed him mid laugh, like they had on the roof, pulling back and staring with wide, panicked eyes.
The walkie connected to Mikes waist had caught their attention. Jude gapped. "Dustin?"
"Dustin!" Mike yelled.
"Dustin?" Mike asked as he pulled the walkie from the ground quickly.
"Mike!" Dustin yelled.
"Dustin!" Mike exclaimed.
"Oh, my god, you have to listen. I know i've been MIA, I-Russian-Steve-" Dustin's voice broke up over the speaker, Mike looking up at Jude in confusion.
"Clear! Clear sentences!" Jude yelled into the walkie
"Dustin, you're going way too fast. I cant understand you." Mike said over the walkie to stop him, only making the rambling and broken words even worse. "To open the gate."
Jude met Mikes eye. "Gate?"
"Dustin, you're-you're breaking up!" Mike called to him again quickly. Radio silence over took them, Mike sighing as he turned the walkie off.
"What is it?" Nancy came around in corner in questioning.
The hum of the freezers echoed in El's ears, the blind fold over her eyes. The group all stood around her in the freezer isle, Corey yanked on Jude's jacket. He sighed, taking it off and giving to him for warmth.. Lucas popped the New Coke can, making Max shh him.
"How do you even drink that?" Mike gave a look of disbelief his way.
"Because it's delicious." Lucas looked at him oddly in return.
"What?" Max and Mike asked on sync.
"It's like Carpenters The Thing." Lucas explained. "The original is a classic, no question about it. But the remake-"
He paused to take three dramatic sips of the drink before sighing loudly. "Sweeter, bolder, better."
"It's like watermelon flavored stuff to drink. It's never good." Jude shook his head with a weird look.
"Wouldn't that be an opinion?" Corey gave a curios look.
"No." Jude answered.
He nodded. "Got it."
"You've never had a real logic in your life and you expect me to care what you think about New Coke?" Lucas asked in disbelief.
"No real logic?" Jude looked in disbelief. "I'm so logical."
"He really is." Mike agreed, Max rolled her eyes.
"He's a lady killer." Corey pointed out. "Wouldn't a lady killer know about coke?"
"Why would that mean anything?" Lucad looked oddly.
"He means because I know everything." Jude rose his eyebrows.
"Hey!" El yanked the blind fold off.
"Sorry." Mike apologized.
"Sorry." Lucas gave a worried look.
El stared as Mike hesitated. "Did you find him?"
"The movies?" Lucas asked in disbelief when El told them where Dustin had been, the group walking down the isle with a cart of fireworks. "Dustin's so freaked out about the gate, he decides to go watch a movie?"
"Probably some bullshit movie based off of a book, which is definitely a hundred times better." Jude rolled his eyes, Mike rubbed his back in comfort. "You sure he didn't said great? You know he's still getting use to his teeth."
"Yeah, like, 'this movie i'm watching is great.' " Will explained in questioning.
"Sounded like gate." El said from under Corey's arm.
"Which would explain how the Mind Flayers still alive." Mike agreed with El's words.
"Yeah, we just have to shut it again." Nancy sighed as they headed out of the store.
"Then the monster dies." Will agreed.
"But if not, we always have Lucas' fireworks." Max spoke sarcastically as she helped him roll his basket of fireworks out of the store.
"And my good looks." Jude grinned.
"Why would that get us anywhere?" Mike rose his eyebrows.
Jude shrugged. "It's gotten me this far."
•
kylie speaks
perfect, your honor. they
are perfect.