With hoppers words the house instantly remerged into chaos, Jonathan ran into his room and grabbed his boombox, taking 'should I stay or should I go' with him down to the shed. Mike, Hopper and Joyce followed him down, while Mia stayed in the house, everyone surrounding her has she listened to the Morse Code her dad was sending through the walkie talkie.
"Dash, dot, dash, dot..." Dustin repeated, writing on his own sheet of paper as Mia tried remembering what her dad had taught her so many years ago,
"C" She mumbled, more to herself, but everyone heard her as she wrote it just under the first part, "L" ... "O" ... "S" ... "E" everyone chipping in by using pamphlets made them get it much faster "G" ... "A" ... "T" ... "E" They heard the music stop from the bottom of the garden and hopper had stopped pressing the walkie, so they all gathered around Mia who was holding up her sheet of paper,
"Close Gate" They all read just as the phone rang, making them jump,
"Shit, shit" Dustin huffed running up to the phone and slamming it down on the receiver, hoping to god Will didn't hear it, But as they went go go back to the table it rang again. Nancy threw it off the wall, leaving the phone in pieces on the ground,
"Do you think he heard that?" Max asked,
"It's just a phone. it could be anywhere. right?" Steve shrugged. The house fell silent again, but it was soon broken by loud growling in the distance,
"That's not good" Dustin stated, everyone stood behind him as they faced the front door. Hopper had rushed the gang from the shed back into the house,
"Hey. Hey, get away from the windows!" He demanded stomping into the living room with two guns, "Do you know how to use this?" he asked Jonathan,
"What?" He stammered back, having just placed Will down,
"Can you use this?" He pushed the gun towards the trembling boy just as his daughter snatched it from hand, holding it against her as if it where second nature,
"I can" she sighed, Lining her aim for the door as Hopper pointed for the windows,
"Where are they?" Max questioned from behind Lucas. No one answered her as Mia, Hopper and Steve took a step in front of everyone, each of them holding a hand out to block anyone else from moving- Steve twirling his bat around. Growling came from the side of the house, making everyone quickly turn,
"What are they doing?" Nancy asked, her breathing heavy. More snarling came from the front, causing them to whip around again. The noises it made sounded different, as if it was in pain. But then it came to a abrupt stop. It was eerily quiet for a moment before something came crashing through the now broken window, guns and weapons followed it as the demo dog slammed against the couch, they stood there, wating for it to move... but it never did...
"Holy shit..."
"Is it dead?"
Hopper slowly approached it and kicked it once he was close enough, it's head flopping around lifelessly as he did. they let out relaxed sighs, but their breaths all hitched when the door creaked, sending them all spinning around to face the noise again, quickly it unlocked itself, making them all raise their weapons in panic. The chain slid off the door as it opened widely, everyone dropped their weapons as if they where in slow motion as they locked eyes on the familiar face. Mike was the first to step out of the group, making his away around Hoppers shield of a body and stopping a few feet in front of everyone, they both starred at each other for a second,
"Eleven" Mike sighed as they both took slow steps towards each other, closing the gap with a huge hug,
"Mike," she gasped as they both started to cry in each others arms,
"Is that...?" Mia heard Max as from behind her, only getting soft nods with smiles from the two boys by her sides,
"I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for--"
"353 days" She finished his sentence for him "I heard"
"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"
"Because I wouldn't let her" Hopper sighed, bringing both the tweens, and the rest of the rooms attention to himself "The hell is this? Where have you been?" He questioned the young girl, bringing her slowly into his arms,
"Where have you been?" She questioned him back,
"You've been hiding her. You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike shoved the tall man, causing him to whip around,
"Hey! Let's talk. Alone"
Mike stormed off before hopper, making him follow him into Wills bedroom, slamming the door behind them. Mia's eyebrows furrowed as she backed into the kitchen, all the information slowly becoming to much for her. She shook her head as she opened the fridge, pulling out a beer and cracking it open, gaining Jonathan and Steve's attention. She didn't look at either of them as she took a sip her eyes fixated on the pieces of paper flooding the house. she could hear footsteps approach her, and stood a few feet away,
"Are you ok?" Her small voice made Mia's head instantly snap up, she caught look of the young girl, blood dripping from her nose, and she opened her arms for her, letting her almost collapse into her chest. After a few seconds of just holding her she pushed her out at arms length and used her thumb to gently wipe the blood away, drying it on her shorts as she pulled Eleven back into her, resting her head on top of hers.
"I'm fine... I'm just a bit surprised" Mia hummed, her free had rubbing up and down the younger girls back,
"What happened?" El asked, her hand moving to point at Mia's thigh,
she shook her head "Nothing, just a scratch... So... Have you been living with my dad this whole time?"
"No... Most of the time, Yes..." She slowly released the older girl from her grip and looked into the living room, she gave one last squeeze before she waved and trudged back towards her old friends who swallowed her in hugs, Mia smiled softly as she leant back against the fridge, her eyes closing as her head hit the cold metal.
#
After talking for a while, the party had come to a conclusion for them to be able to close the gate and save Will they'd need to burn the parasite out of him. It was going to be hard, and painful for the young boy but everyone had high hopes, everyone knew he'd be ok. And that's all they wanted, for Will to be okay.
After everyone had sorted their own plans, Mia watched as Jonathan and Nancy hopped in the front seat of his car, she saw the way they looked at each other before they left... like something was going on. She couldn't stop looking as he pulled out the driveway with a soft wave, following her dads truck. The second they where out of sight she let out a breath she didn't even realise she was holding in, her shoulders slumped to her sides and she threw her head back. She heard the kids retreat to the house, so took her opportunity to let a few tears fall,
"Are you gonna come inside?" Steve's soft voice rang from behind her as he placed a hand on her shoulder,
quickly she dried her eyes and shook her head "I might stay out here..."
"It's cold Mi..." The way he spoke drew her in, she turned and slammed her body into his, his arms flew around her, holding her tight,
"You see the way they looked at each other?" She sniffled against him,
"Yeah..."
"Did you see-see them hold hands under the table, when we where all talking?"
He nodded
"Why is he doing this to me? I have haven't done anything wrong... I-I was there for him last year when will-- I was-- I've always been here for him.." She cried, finding herself falling vulnerable in the arms of Steve 'the hair' Harrington was not something she wanted... "Shit... I'm sorry... i-i didn't mean to just--"
he shook his head "Its ok... you've had to deal with a lot today... and i doubt having the thought of what they might of done behind your back is going to help... hm? come on, lets just go inside and wait for them to come back... then you can do what ever you want... cry... throw something at him... beat the shit out of him... anything... ok?" he whispered into her hair, making her nod in agreement and pull away, wiping her tears quickly before following him back into the byers house, the kids sat on the couch, whispering between one another.
About half an hour later Mia couldn't for the life of her figure out what curse got her in this situation. Sat on the counter next to the sink, a half drank six pack of beer by her side, she watched Dustin empty the fridge next to her while Steve stood behind him holding the dead demo dog wrapped in a blanket,
"Alright. It should fit now" Dustin sighed, turning around,
"Is this really necessary?" Steve asked
"Yes it is okay?" The younger boy insisted "This is a ground breaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog." Steve groaned but agreed, only to shut Dustin up,
"But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right?" the two struggled to it the demo dog into the fridge and she drunkenly laughed at their sheer stupidity. She turned head and peered into the living room, Max and Lucas had taken it upon themselves to find the brooms and dustpans to sweep up the broken glass that glittered the floor while Mike paced around them.
"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas pleaded
"You weren't in there, okay, Lucas? that lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs" Mike protested as he stopped pacing.
"Demo dogs!" Dustin huffed as he yelled into the living room,
"Seriously?" Mia groaned, hopping down from the counter "Who cares what they are called?"
"The chief will take care of her" Lucas assured, his eyes moving to the three approaching them,
"Listen dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. alright?" Steve lectured
"Okay first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game" Mike rolled his eyes "And second, we're not even in the game. we're on the bench"
Steve looked up, and nodded, stammering his words out "So my point is... Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do" he shrugged, throwing a kitchen towel over his shoulder,
"That's not entirely true," Dustin interjected "I mean, these, demo dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away"
Mia's face fell into a odd look "So what.... if we can get their attention... we what? draw them away from the lab and be bait again?" She shook her head, thinking to last time where she threw herself in as bait in the very house she was standing in.
"We can clear a path to the gate" Mike nodded
"Yeah, and then we all die!" Steve exclaimed "those things could of ate Mia alive! and they ate Mrs Byer's boyfriend! are you guys completely forgetting that?"
she rolled her eyes "Stop focusing on the negatives Harrington" She turned to the kids, eyeing them down as they started planning. It was simple enough, They'd all meet at the opening for the tunnels-- mike could lead them there --they'd walk the length of it and get to the main hub, set it on fire as a way of distracting the demo dogs so that El and Hopper could have a clear run to the gate. All the conversations over lapped each other as they all tried finalizing the plan.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Steve clapped his hands, silencing the party "This is not happening"
"But---"
"Nonononono. No buts. I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what i plan on doing. we're staying here. on the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?" He threw his pointer finger around accusingly at all of them as he lectured,
"This isn't a stupid sports game" Mike cut him off,
"I said does everybody understand that? I need a yes" Everyone silenced in way of showing they understand.
"Yes mom..." Mia laughed to herself as Steve furrowed his eyebrows at her pushing her into the wall jokingly,
"funny"
The loud revving of an engine turned everyone's focus to the front. They all rushed towards the windows, Max the first to speak, worry laced in her voice,
"It's my brother. He can't know I'm here. he'll kill me, he'll kill us"
A look plastered Steve's face as he stepped towards the door "Stay away from the windows" he warned, and walked out, shutting the door behind him. Mia ran to Jonathan's room, searching the drawers for some of her clothes, she found a pair of jeans almost identical to the ones she wore when she was attacked and she slid them on. When she slightly stumbled back into the living room, her bandaged leg now out of view, she found all four kids looking out the window, arms propped on the window cil and everything,
"Hey what the fuck are you guys doing! Get away from the windows, he'll fucking see you!" they all ducked, startled by her voice but their faces laced with fear. "What--" the door swung open before she could finish her sentence, revealing Billy. With Steve's bat in one hand Mia pushed the kids behind her.
"Well, well, well. Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise" He slowly inched towards them, Mia shoved the other three kids into the living room, her whole body now covering Lucas,
"Why don't you go fuck yourself Bills?" She cocked an eyebrow as she laid her hand on his chest, trying to stop him from moving any closer. The blonde licked his lips menacingly as he laid his hand on top of hers, giving it a light squeeze as he gently moved it away,
"I don't want to have to involve you doll... How about you just... step aside, and let us boys--"
"Fat chance. Look if you asshole even lay a single one of your pretty hairs on this boy... you'll regret it" She threatened,
Billy chuckled, and shook his head before he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her onto the dinning room floor and shoving Lucas up against the wall- all in one swift move, she blanked out all their screams until she heard Lucas yell, "I said get off me!" And a loud thud to follow. she quickly scrambled to her feet as her eyes fell on the stumbling blonde,
"you're so dead Sinclair! You're dead!"
She didn't even notice the figure who pushed past her into the room, it was like a blur before they spoke,
"No," He turned Billy around. "You are." Steve muttered before swinging a powerful punch at him, clocking him square in the face.
"Steve!" Mia exclaimed, her feet dragging her towards him, But Dustin held her back. The look Steve momentarily shot back at her showed her that he wanted to prove a point, he had wanted a reason to paint Billy black and blue since the day he started... this was his chance.
A loud guttural laugh left Billy's mouth as he turned back to face Steve, Lucas raced across the floor into Mia's arms before the blonde spoke "Looks like you have some fire in you after all, huh? I've been waiting to meet this king Steve everybody's been telling me so much about!" Billy was not one to back down from a fight, Mia knew that better than anyone in the room... she was genuinely worried for Steve...
"Get. Out" Steve's voice was stern, any other man would of taken that cue to leave... but there was no chance in Hell Billy'd walk out. He'd given himself a challenge, and he intended to finish it. Steve dodged and skimmed past punches and blows thrown at him and kept managing to hit him again, the Blonde leant over the sink in pain. But it was all a farse as he laughed and smashed a plate over Steve's head, sending him tumbling backwards.
"Fuck Steve!!" Mia was done standing back. he was in the ground after being thrown across the floor. She, like Billy let out a chuckle and she rolled her sleeves her hands balling into fists as she walked up by his side, she threw a kick behind his knees, making them buck so she could give him a quick jab to the nose- she'd hoped that it would send him tumbling to the ground, to give Steve a chance to get himself back up, but he was still on his feet, a tight, blood filled smile plastered his face as he spun around to her, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt, and holding her tightly against him, she could hear the kids cry for him to stop, to just put her down, but she knew he wasn't listening, "What you gonna do? hit me? hm?" she teased, she remembered a conversation they had after a fight once in California, how a girl jumped in and he just stopped throwing and let her knock the life out of him,
though he knew that's what she was thinking about,
"My morals changed doll... I just throw" he smirked, dropping her as he went for a swing, she dodged "WHOO!! when did you get so feisty!!" he laughed swinging again, this time he hit her, sending her tumbling to the ground, he took his chance and powered back to Steve, hovering above him he took hit, after hit, after hit. Mia watched as she got her bearings back, and in that moment she just imagined Billy was Jonathan, and imagined he had just told her about Him and Nancy. She laughed, the same sort of laugh that escaped Billy's mouth not ten minutes ago and she pulled him up by his collar, spinning him around- now it was her turn to throw punch after punch, all her pent up anger came out, everything to do with her dad hiding eleven, her mom being back- everything she thought of made her angrier... and her anger made Billy's adrenaline pump faster as he started getting more aggressive, catching her jaw, catching her sides-- she was getting weaker as he was getting stronger. Mia hadn't even noticed Max stalk up behind Billy and jab a needle into his neck, letting the fluids that they used to knock out Will fill Billy's veins. he grunted, as he stumbled away from Mia, letting her quickly catch her surroundings as he pulled the needle out of his neck, stumbling towards Max, who Mia had already situated herself in front of,
"The hell is this?" he mumbled "You little shit, what did you do?" he rocked forwards before he went back, flopping down with a laugh. Max pushed past the brunette and grabbed Steve's bat high above her head as she towered Billy,
"From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?" She threatened
"Screw you" His voice was low, but distinguishable, Max slammed the bat between his legs, the nails sticking in the ground before she pulled it back up,
she raised her voice "Say you understand! Say it! say it!"
"I understand" he grumbled,
"What?"
"I understand"
Mia moved max away just before he passed out and held him up by the shirt, her eyes piercing holes through him "Don't ever touch one of my kids again" She spat,
"Your kids? They aren't your kid--"
"Never again" And with that she threw him harshly back to the ground, and the drugs took over, knocking him out.