Imogen was right, Will did call out for her.
Mike had taken the chance to explain to her about what happened and to even bring up Dart. She felt herself shiver thinking that a creature from the Upside Down was momentarily a residence in her own home.
She was sat on Will's bed since he was leaning on her shoulder, explaining his current situation. She did not give any care that he was sweating profusely only making her worry significantly at the state he was in.
"It's like...It's like I feel what the shadow monster's feeling" He gulped slightly shaking," See what he's seeing"
Mike was tracing his fingers on the drawing that Will had made over the past few hours which Jim and Joyce had spent connecting around the entire Byers household. He turned to them," Like the Upside Down?"
Will removed his head from Imogen's shoulder nodding," Some of him is there" His voice was shaking," But some of him is here, too"
Imogen looked at the drawings and let out a small breath," Here, like, in this house?" She spoke softly, the sound of fear was in her voice.
Will kept his eyes forward," In this house and—" He let out a whimper," in me"
Mike walked over sitting on the other side of Will as he continued to speak," It's like...It's like he's reaching into Hawkins more and more and the more he spreads, the more connected to him I feel"
"And the more you see these now-memories" Mike mumbled
"At first I just felt it in the back of my head" Upon saying those words Will raised his hand rubbing the back of his neck," I didn't even really know it was there...It's like when you have a dream and you can't remember it unless you think really hard"
He looked up at both Mike and Imogen," It was like that, but now it's like—Now I remember. I remember all the time"
"How about when you called for me Will?" Imogen asked
He looked at her shaking his head," It was like calling your name—somehow snapped me out of my trance"
"But why me?" She tilted her head as Mike looked over also curious
"I don't know" He muttered
"Maybe that's good" Mike spoke up
"In what context?" Imogen asked him
"Him calling you—like it's a way for him to wake up, and also the entire issue"
"Good?" Will's voice cracked looking at Mike
"Just think about it, Will...You're like a spy now. A superspy. Spying on the shadow monster. If you know what he's seeing and feeling maybe that's how we can stop him" Mike looked up eyeing all the taped drawings all over the room," Maybe all of this is happening for a reason"
Will looked up following Mike's gesture of observing his drawings," You really think so?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I really do" Mike said confidently," Especially with the connection with Imogen"
Will looked at her as she held his hand smiling," It can be, yeah" She answered
He looked at them both for a moment then shifted his gaze to the ground, and his eyes landed on the drawing of the Shadow Monster.
"What if he figures out, we're spying on him?" Will sniffled," What if he spies back?"
"He won't," Mike said immediately and Will looked at him," How do you know?" his other hand next to Mike was grabbed by the said boy," We won't let him"
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"Lucas?" Imogen called out to the boy who she nearly passed by, after getting her car early in the morning at school not risking her car to be towed over the weekend.
"Hey, Imogen" He was out of breath looking at her braking his bike.
"You need a ride? It's one of the hottest days, and you look all dressed up, so—I have a feeling you're not going to just hang out with the boys"
He looked at her for a moment and sighed," That—" He held back his words and looked at her," Actually, that would be great—I kind of needed someone other than my parent's advice at the moment"
"Pop your bike in my trunk" She gestured her head, and he did as she said stumbling a bit, nervous about what he was about to do.
Once he got into the car after putting his bike away, it was silent when she drove.
"You gotta tell me what you need advice on buddy, I can't read your thoughts" She peeked at him for a second turning her attention back to the road.
"There's this girl" he started which made Imogen smirk," Oh a girl huh?"
He rolled his eyes leaning his head on the back of the seat," She's new, just moved from California" He paused feeling his palms getting sweaty
"Do you have a crush on her?" Imogen asked
"W-What?! N—No" She grinned at his nervousness and let out a chuckle.
"Young love" She teased making him groan," I think I'm regretting asking for advice now"
'I'm just kidding buddy, so tell me—What's got you all unsettled?"
"I'm just going to go straight to the point" He looked at her," Her name is Max, or more so— Madmax" Imogen looked at him confused and he sighed," It's her player name from the arcade"
"Oh" was all she said," Continue"
"Well Max, beat our scores at the arcade, and well we approached her for that at first—But then things didn't go well with everything, and she is kind of getting mixed in with almost knowing about the Upside Down"
Imogen was thankful that they were currently an intersection, and there were no cars behind her," Hold on" she shifted her body to face Lucas," How much does she know?!"
"Not much actually, just—the whole thing with Dart"
She scrunched her nose," Oh that temporary intrusive reptile that lived under the same roof as me for a night?"
"Yeah..." He nodded trying to keep the subject in hand," Well—the timing was horrible when Mike needed to tell us about what Will told him"
"About the Shadow Monster?"
"You know?" He asked
"Yeah, but—okay back to Max" Imogen did not feel comfortable about talking about the Shadow Monster again, having had nightmares the same night.
"I want to tell her—about the Upside Down, all of it" He blurted out quickly making Imogen gape at his confession
"W-What? If this is to impress her—
"It's not Imogen" He quickly rejected," She really helped us, and I feel like she really fits in with the group"
"It's not to replace Eleven, right?" Imogen narrowed her eyes
"No of course not" Lucas shook his head," I never even thought about her being a replacement—I feel like Mike does in a way"
"It's only natural Mike does, but—" Imogen sighed running a hand through her hair," It's a bad idea, to make her be involved" Lucas was about to retort but she raised her hand stopping him," But, if you feel like telling her, then do it"
"What?" His eyes widened to her words
She snickered patting his shoulder," Tell her"
"You're like the cool parent you know" Lucas added," Now we just need the strict parent, and everything all fits"
She rolled her eyes and continued to drive," Goodluck finding someone who can love you, nerds, as I do"
"I bet we will"
"I bet not" She challenged making him laugh
Imogen was parked in the arcade lot waiting for Lucas. She heard the familiar revving from a car, and she peeked at her side mirror and groaned lowering herself.
It was Billy.
She watched him drop off a younger girl, most likely his younger sibling.
She watched them interact, and soon he sped away with his sibling flipping him off," I like her" Imogen mumbled to herself.
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Dustin was impatiently trying to contact any of the boys, but none of them was reachable—or well Lucas' radio was available but Erica was the one who answered, disrupting the signal in annoyance.
He had found the mess Dart had left behind and the extreme growth he had, which not even Imogen was still unaware of since she came home very late, and left early in the morning.
So, he decided to go and check their homes, and the first place he went was the Wheeler's residence, which had neither of the Wheeler siblings currently.
As he was leaving, riding his bike to search for anyone, he saw Steve passing by him, which got the older male's attention making him stop before he could talk, Dustin was already discarding his bike on the side of the road making him jump into the car.
"Uh—What the hell?" Steve looked at him
"I need your help"
"Wh—Doesn't matter, do you still have that bat?" Dustin cut him off
"Bat? What bat?" Steve raised his eyebrow
"The one with nails"
"Why?"
"I'll explain it on the way, so drive"
"Now?"
"Now!" Dustin raised his voice making Steve step on the gas pedal
"Where am I headed?"
"To my house"
"Oh I was—"
"Just going to head there anyway, to check on my sister, since she didn't go to school yesterday"
"How did you—"
"You were heading in the direction of my house moron, and besides she's not home at the moment"
"Where is she? Is she okay?"
Dustin rolled his eyes trying to calm down his annoyance," Yes she is okay, I don't know where she is but she's fine—We have bigger things than your love life at the moment"