𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃
𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞; 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧
" Last one there's a rotten Demogorgon! "
"𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐈𝐌 𝐒𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆?" Alana pondered as she leaned into Will who stood beside her with his arms folded; he rolled his eyes. "Why do you think?" he grumbled back to his girlfriend who nodded solemnly.
For the past few months, this is how it's been. The group waiting on Mike. Ever since they had defeated the threat of the upside-down Mike had been attached to El like a leach and it started to annoy the group to no end; he was late to everything, every conversation directed back to her, and he even smelled like her recently... that part was a little weird.
At long last Mike finally pulled up to the curb and put his bike beside theirs, they all let out the same groan seeing the blushed boy. "Welcome back to Earth" Alana mocked ruffling his hair making him slap her hand and attempt to flatten down his unruly mane; there was nothing fixing that.
"You're late," Lucas said annoyed as he tapped his watch remarking the time, Mike rolled his eyes and nodded, "I'm sorry"
Alana felt for him, she really did, but after a while the same routine got old. She couldn't bring herself to imagine the pain and anguish Mike went through when El disappeared and was presumed dead, she was the first female with a heartbeat to show romantic interest in him... Alana often thought she was brainwashed to fall for Mike.
"We're gonna miss the opening!" Will exclaimed grabbing his girlfriend's hand into his -- she smiled up and him before leaning her head onto his shoulder as they walked through the new mall; Starcourt.
Starcourt mall had become the new hangout, you would see people of every age hanging here. Max didn't see the revelation of the mall but then she realised that, unlike California, Hawkins wasn't accustomed to such fine things. If you could call it that.
"Yeah, if you keep whining about it! Let's go" Mike said picking up the pace to walk in front of them as if he was leading them. Lucas mocked him quietly and stuck up the middle finger to his back, Alana and Max stifled a laugh.
"Let me guess... you were busy?" Lucas said walking beside Mike; he began smacking his lips mockingly together as if he was kissing someone. Alana laughed, let go of Will's hand, and rubbed her hands on her back as if she was making out with someone. Will laughed at his girlfriend before pulling her back to his side.
"Oh yeah, real mature, Lucas," he said rolling his eyes before pushing Alana slightly who hadn't stopped laughing with Max.
Lucas winked at Alana, "oh El! I wish we could make out forever and never hang out with any of our friends" he mocked smacking his lips together once more --- Alana went close to Mikes's face and hummed, "want some chapstick? your lips look chapped from all the making out" she said innocently handing him some of her grape chapsticks, Mike rolled his eyes before pushing her hand away.
Lucas laughed before high-fiving his friend. Alana grabbed Will's arm and cuddled it. "Lucas stop, Alana you too," Max said rolling her eyes at her boyfriend and her friend while Alana and Will laughed at her.
"Will and Alana think I'm funny," Lucas said proudly as he lifted his nose into the air and smirked at his girlfriend who looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"Because it is" Will answered shrugging his shoulders pulling his girlfriend along with him who laughed when he tousled her hair messily.
"Yeah, it's so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend" Mike answered sarcastically rolling his eyes; Alana thought his eyes would stay there if he kept doing that... well that's what her mother told her would happen.
"I'm spending romantic time with my girlfriend" Lucas stated proudly wrapping an arm around Max who didn't look impressed in the slightest, she looked pissed off; but Alana thought that was her usual look.
Will and Alana looked at each other and fake gagged at all this talk; they laughed at one another before Will slung his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. "Yes, Lucas. Because this is so romantic" Alana commented smirking at her friend's fake-offended face.
"Last one there's a rotten Demogorgon!" Max yelled running towards Scoops Ahoy followed by the rest who were stunned by her comment but laughed nevertheless.
The five ran into Scoops Ahoy catching their breaths as they tried to figure out who was last, "it was so Lucas" Max and Alana agreed as they laughed and linked arms walking ahead of the boys -- "no it wasn't" he grumbled following them closely.
"Hey, dingus! Your children are here" Robin yelled when she saw the five roll up with their deadpan expressions. Steve opened the window behind Robin with an annoyed expression, "again? seriously?" he commented rolling his eyes.
The group shrugged, Mike pressed the service bell once more with a smug smirk. "Are you trying to get us kicked out?" Alana answered rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, Wheeler. Listen to my sister" Luna's voice sounded from beside Steve as she walked out of the staff entrance.
She wore her purple leggings and pink overall with her jazzed-up hair making Mike and Lucas gawk at the eldest Jones girl -- Alana rolled her eyes at the amount of testosterone filling the air. "Alright that's enough" Steve commented with an eye roll opening the staff entrance letting the kids come through.
"I think I just vomited in my mouth," Alana said clearing her throat and pushing Lucas out of her way as he practically drooled.
"Why has she dressed like that anyway?" Will asked tilting his head to the side watching his girlfriend smile at him, "she teaches yoga"
"If anyone hears about this..." Steve begins watching the kids trek down the hall towards the movie theatres, "we're dead!" the group called out not bothering to look back at the Harrington boy.
Lucas and Max plopped down in the front seats whilst Mike, Will, and Alana sat behind them. "See Lucas, we made it," Mike remarked smugly as Will handed Alana her skittles making her face light up.
"We missed the previews" Lucas grumbled annoyed, his point still stands. Alana scoffed a laugh, "Lucas, who in their right mind wants to watch the previews?" she asked the Sinclair boy with a smirk.
He turned around and looked at her with a deadpan expression, "me, Alana, me" He said bluntly before turning around and munching down on a crisp making it echo through the seats -- Alana flipped him the bird and smirked.
"Still made it -- fart face," Max remarked mocking his slight interaction with his sister earlier.
As the movie began the audience grew quieter. Alana wrapped her arm around Will's and leaned her head onto his shoulder, he sighed contently with a smile and put his head on top of hers.
Halfway through the movie, just when they were reaching the climax, the cinema's power turned off, and little did they know the power went out throughout the entirety of Hawkins. Every house, every shop, the mall... everything. The audience groaned as Alana picked up a skittle and flung it at Lucas' head making his hand reach up to grab the back of his head with a groan -- he turned around making Alana look in a different direction.
Will began to feel ill, he felt a fluttering feeling take over him, his stomach felt like a pool of anxiety. He felt... a presence. He slowly reached his hand up and grabbed the back of his neck as his breath became ragged. His ears drowned out every sound around him and only heard the sounds of a flutter.
"Will?" He heard Alana say making him jump in his seat and turn his head towards her -- his shoulders visibly dropped but his hand remained on his neck. "Are you alright?" she pondered looking into his eyes seeing fear and worry align.
"Yeah, I'm fine" he spoke softly taking his hand off his neck and facing the front but Alana's eyes stayed on him. She knew Will, better than he knew himself. She knew when he was lying, and right now, he was. Looking over she made eye contact with Mike who shook his head slowly signaling for her to forget about it, and he was right, when Will wanted to talk about it, he would.
✩
"Shut up, Lucas" Alana whispered rolling her eyes at the unnecessary loud breathing her friend was doing beside her. She pressed her body into Will's side more so Dustin didn't see her frame peeking out from the other side of the wall.
"Shut up, Lucas" Lucas mocked making Alana look at him with a glare before they began to slap each other; this happened a lot. Will rolled his eyes and grabbed his girlfriend's waist with one hand and her hands with the other, Max grabbed her boyfriend's hands and kept them down.
El closed her eyes and began to make the robots in Dustin's room move and travel down the hallway, his breath picked up and his heart raced. He grabbed his Farrah Fawcett hairspray Steve gifted him and ventured down the hallway after his toy robots.
"It's just a dream... you're dreaming" he assured himself as Alana threw her hand up to her mouth to stop her from laughing at his talking -- Will looked to the side to watch Alana stop herself from laughing and a small smile graced his face.
"Now!" Mike exclaimed quietly making El's eyes fly open and the blood stops running down her nose. "Come on" Max whispered as she held up one end of the banner with Lucas holding the other.
Max lifted her fingers up to count down the seconds till they surprise him, "surprise!" they yelled blowing into their noisemakers making Dustin scream, jump in the air, and whip around spraying hairspray in Lucas' face.
Alana put her head into Will's shoulder to avoid getting sprayed by the hairspray. "Why are you still spraying?!" Alana exclaimed slapping the hairspray out of Dustin's hand before laughing at Lucas' scream.
✩
"I call it... the Forever Clock," Dustin said turning around with a contraption that Alana thought was a windmill. She lay on Dustin's bed with her legs on Will's legs and her head resting on Mike's arm; she stared at Dustin with bored eyes.
At first glance El had been extremely jealous of Alana and Mike's closeness as any sane girl would be; like that time where she threw Alana into a wall because she high-fived Mike... not her finest moments. "Powered by wind! Very useful in the apocalypse" Dustin informed the four who stared at it with deadpan expressions.
"Dustin... is that not just a windmill?" Alana asked tilting her head to the side watching the machine move like one. Dustin stared at her with pursed lips before looking back down at the contraption, "moving on..." he said handing it to Will who gave it to Alana who started playing with it.
"Then, I give you the slammer," Dustin said showing them when you press a button the hammer starts banging. El's eyes widened as she watched it.
"Pretty neat, huh?" Dustin said with a proud smirk that showed off his teeth that were newly formed.
"Wicked" Alana said sarcastically making Will laugh but when Dustin glared at him he covered it up with a cough.
"Very clever" She whispered in Will's ear, he smiled and slapped her on the arm softly.
"But this... this is my masterpiece," Dustin said throwing down a bag on the bed making Will move closer to Alana; not that she minded, of course.
"I would like you to meet... Cerebro" Dustin said opening the bag to see a bunch of different cords and metal.
Alana nodded unamused, "you named it?" she said laughing slightly, Dustin rifled her hair making her slap his hand away.
"What exactly are we looking at here?" Mike asked looking down at the machine skeptically before glancing at Dustin -- his hand went onto El's as he rubbed circles on the back of her hand.
"An unassembled one-of-a-kind battery-powered radio tower" Dustin answered cheerfully -- the room suddenly went very quiet. Birds sounded over the silence.
"So it's like a... a ham radio?" Will pondered furrowing his eyebrows glancing at the machine and back at Dustin.
Dustin scoffed, "The Cadillac of ham radios. This baby carries a crustal-clear connection over vast distances. I'm talking the North Pole to the South. I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever i choose" Dustin said watching their expressions drop.
"Girlfriend?!" The four chorused together.