-july 1st 1985-
-reader's pov-
the thunder rumbles could only be heard very lightly from max's room where us girls laid in her bed, safely tucked under the warm covers.
"so which one?" max asked as she held out two comics, wonder woman and green lantern. she was on the right side of the bed and I was wedged in the middle.
"I don't know," el replied with a shrug from the far left side of the bed.
max looked down for a moment before placing the comics onto the bedsheets, "hey, there's nothing to worry about, anymore okay? heather's okay and so's y/n."
"I know, but.." el trailed off, "it doesn't make sense."
"what doesn't make sense?" max asked her.
"heather, the blood, the ice." el listed.
"heather had a fever, so she took a cold bath, but she's better now." max said, though it was pretty obvious she was trying to avoid the possibility that billy could be the new host, "that has to be it.. I don't know where that blood came from, but.. we saw her. we all saw her, she's totally fine."
"what about billy?" el fretted.
"what about him?" max inquired as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"he seemed wrong, and the way- the way he looked at y/n.." el stuttered.
"wrong is kinda like his default, plus, he might've just been drunk or something." max assured which brought a few light chuckles upon the trio.
"who.. is that?" el pondered as she pointed at the wonder woman comic.
"oh my god, y/n. don't tell me you haven't read wonder woman to el?!" max exclaimed.
"umm.." I said awkwardly whilst scratching the back of my neck.
"for goodness sake." max playfully tutted before picking up the comic, "anyways.. this is wonder woman, AKA princess diana. she's from paradise island, which is, like, this hidden island where there are only woman amazon warriors."
"oh lord, take me there." I joked before max flipped the page.
——————
max had finished the comic and was now snoring quietly with her head facing the opposite direction to me.
I could feel el's heated breaths blow onto my cheek in a relaxing pattern as I stared up at the dark ceiling.
"el?" I whispered, "are you awake?"
"yeah." she whispered back.
"good, 'cuz, I'm kinda worried and I don't really know why." I replied back, my voice so very quiet so I didn't wake max.
"what's wrong, n/n?" el silently replied before slipping her hand upon my face and cupping my cheek.
"I think that the shadow-monster.. wants me to join him and.. I'm worried that if I don't.." my voice began to go very shaky, and I was now properly facing el as I lay on my side, "that i-if I don't, he'll kill me.. he'll k-kill us, all of us." tears were now streaming down my face and wetting el's resting hand.
"oh, y/n." she cooed before pulling me close, she wrapped her arms around me as I furrowed my head into her chest, "don't worry, he's gone for now.. the monster's gone, I'm here.."
I felt fuzzy and protected as I wrapped my arms back around her. el then pecked my forehead softly before digging her head into my hair and slowly, but also together, we drifted to sleep.
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-july 2nd 1985-
-reader's pov-
I stirred lightly in my sleep due to the mumbled voice of lucas emitting from the radio. followed by max grunting and snapping something along the line of, "shut up. I'm sleeping and so are the girlfriends. leave us alone!"
I settled back down in eleven's arms to only then be disturbed by the telephone ringing. I grumbled weakly as max leapt up from the bed with a scoff. she marched over to the phone before shouting into it, "we're sleeping! go away-" she went to slam the phone down but she paused and put it back up to her ear, "..what are you talking about?.. what?.." the phone then went dead and max returned it to its holder.
"what's going on?" el asked with a raspy morning voice that caused my cheeks to tinge with a scarlet blush.
——————————
about an hour later and we were pedalling up to my house. us girls headed down to the basement where we found mike, will and lucas sat in a circle.
"I didn't think it was anything at first.." will wearily began, "I mean, I think I just didn't want to believe it.. the first I felt it was at day of the dead."
"-power went out that night, too." mike added.
"-and then I felt it again." will continued, "at the field near the nelson's farm, the next day, it was why mike and I left so early and then again yesterday outside castle byers."
"what does it feel like?" max inquired.
"it's almost like.." will tried, "you know when you drop on a rollercoaster?"
"-yeah."
"-sure."
"-totally."
"-mhm."
"no?"
"-it's like, everything inside your body is just sinking all at once, but.." will explained, "this is worse, your body. it goes cold and- and you can't breathe.. I've felt it before, whenever he was close."
"whenever who was close?" pondered max.
"the mind flayer." will replied.
"I closed the gate.." el spoke.
"I know, but.. what if he never left?" will then turned to face el, "what if we locked him out here with us?"
————
will slammed a sheet of paper down onto the table, "this is him." he then drew a quick but well-drawn picture of the shadow monster with a black crayon, "all of him. but, that day on the field a part of him attached himself to me." will then swiped his hand on the charcoal.
"my mum got it out of me.." he said at a quick pace, "..and eleven closed the gate." he then flipped the paper over to the plain side, "but the part that was still in me, what if it's still in our world?.." he then swiped his charcoal covered hand onto the clean paper, making it smudge with an inky-black colour, "in hawkins."
"I don't understand, the demodogs died when el closed the gate." max said, "if the brain dies the body dies."
"we can't take any chances." mike announced, "we need to assume the worst, the mindflayer's back."
"yeah, and if he is, he'd want to attach himself to someone again." will added, "a new me."
"a new host." lucas said.
"how can you tell if someone is a host?" el then asked.