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As the group all began to put up all the things they had around the small shed in the back, Clove found herself thinking. Thinking about her friends, her family, El, Max... she was worried. And all she could do now was have hope that this would work as she plugged in the bright lights
"Are you worried?" Clove asked Nancy from where they sat leaning on the wall together
"Very, are you?" Nancy asked the girl who sighed
"More scared then worried but yeah... I really am" Clove nodded as Nancy patted her knee
"When did your Mom get home?" Nancy asked as she looked over to Levan and Stella sitting next to each other on the couch
"Two days ago, she was staying in a bunker. She was trapped in the upside down but that's were she went once she got out" Clove said as she looked over at Nancy
"It's not your fault" the blue eyes girl said
"It might be" Clove said as Nancy put a arm around her
"It's not" she stated once again as the lights began blinking, causing them to stand as Hopper walked in
"I think he's talking but not with words" he told them all as he began writing stuff down
"What is that?" Steve asked, looking down at the dots Hopper was drawling
"Morse Code" Clove and Mike stated
"H-E-R-E" Hopper spelled out
"Here" All the teens said
"Wills still in there, that what he's telling us" Clove stated
"He's talking to us" Hopper nodded while looking up at her
The next hour consisted of them putting together all the words Will was telling them one by one. Yelling out random letters as Joyce, Mike, and Jonathan all spoke to the smallest boy. Nancy wrote them down quickly to sort out the words with the fellow AV members inside
"Close Gate" they all said as Nancy finished writing just as the phone rang, causing them to all gasp as Dustin runs over and took it off the line before slamming it again. It was silent for a second before it rang again, causing Nancy to pull it off the line and smash it onto the floor
"Do you think he heard that?" Max questioned
"It's just a phone, he could be anywhere" Steve added in as Clove looked around just as they heard the sound of the Demodogs
"That's not good" Dustin said with wide eyes
"Hey! Hey get away from the windows!" Hopper said as the kids quickly backed away as everyone ran inside as Mike quickly joined Clove's side
"Do you know how to use this?" Hopper asked as he held a large gun up to Jonathan, who's eyes widened
"What?" he asked
"Can you use this?" Hopper asked again
"I can" Nancy said while Hopper tosses it to her
"Bad ass Nanc" Stella grinned at the girl while Mike grabbed a candle stick and pushed Clove behind him some as she did the same to Max as a Demodog suddenly flew through the window but it appeared to be limb
"Is it dead?" Max asked as Hopper kicked it with his foot gently as the slime was mixed with blood, causing Clove to gag and race for the bathroom while her Father jogged after her
"That was so gross" Clove stated as she puked her guts up
"You've always had a weak stomach, didn't you puke last year too?" Levan asked as Clove wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet
"Yeah, it was worse though" Clove asked while splashing water in her face as Levan offered her a breath mint from his pockets. After Clove popped it into her mouth, they heard shouts from the hallway
"What was that?" Clove asked as she opened the door to see Mike screaming at Hopper as he dragged him down the hallway
"What the heck is going on?" Levan asked while the Father and Daughter hurried to the living room
"Guys, what happened?" Clove asked just as Dustin and Lucas pulled back from where they were hugging someone.
Clove blinked twice as her heart began to beat out of her chest. Her skin was now covered in goosebumps as her eyes filled with tears. Standing infront of her with a soft smile was El
"Clove" El said as she raced toward the girl and wrapped her in a hug as Clove let out a laugh.
"El, El where were you?" she cried as El hugged her tighter
"Missed you" she stated as Clove laughed into her shoulder
"Missed you too" Clove stated as she began laugh agaun
"Spied on you too" El said after a second of silence, causing Clove to laugh along with the people around them
"New look?" Clove asked when they pulled away and she took in El's dramatic eye makeup and black shirt and pants, she looked great
"Bitchin" El said as Clove smiled
"I like it" she said while they stared at each other
"Hey um i'm Max, i've heard a lot about you" Max smiled at the girl who simple stared at her and brushed past her to hug Joyce
"Just give it time" Clove said to Max even though her gaze never left El
"Yeah, yeah I will" Max said as she looked down
"Can I see him?" El asked Joyce who nodded, El looked back at Clove who gave her a nod and watched her leave to the other room
"Where was she?" Clove asked as she looked back at them
"She's been with me" Hopper stated as he walked back in with Mike who was wiping her eyes
"The whole time?" Clove asked as she clenched her jaw
"Yeah the whole time, look i'm sorry kid but-" Hopper began but was cut off by Clove lunging for him but she was quickly held back by Max
"Let me go! You son of a bitch kept her away from me! I needed her! I needed her!" Clove shouted at Hopper while her friends watched with wide eyes, never seeing Clove act that way
"Clove! Clove calm down!" Max shouted as she tried to hold her back
"Let me go Max!" she said while attempting the push her arms away before Max froze completely not being able to move as Clove stepped back with a odd look
"Let.Her.Go" El stated with a glare toward the redhead as she held her hand up to freeze Max while blood dripped down her nose
"El, chill out" Clove said as she walked toward her, causing El to drop her hand and Max to step back. Clove looked her way in worry, getting a nod to hint she was okay
"It's not like it was before, it's grown a lot" Hopper said to the group a few minutes after everyone calmed down
"Not like we could get in there, that place is crawling with dogs" Levan spoke refuring to El's idea about shutting the gate herself
"Demodogs" Dustin corrected
"How is that important right now?" Hopper asked the boy annoyed
"It's not i'm sorry" Dustin said with a wave
"I can do it" El stated from in between Clove and Mike
"You're not hearing me" Hopper stated
"I'm hearing you, I can do it" El stated again causing Clove's face to light up
"Even if El can there's still another problem... if the brain dies the body dies, just like Clove said earlier" Mike said to them
"I thought that was the whole point?" Max asked
"It is but if we're really right about this, I mean if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayers army-" Mike began
"Wills apart of that army" Lucas stated
"Closing the gate will kill him" Mike stated
"We can't hurt him" Clove spoke as she stood up but was pulled to sit back down by El's hand before they all walked toward Will's room
"He likes it cold" Joyce stated as she looked around the room
"What?" Levan asked from behind her
"That's what Will kept saying to me, he likes it cold" The woman stated again as she rushed to shut the window
"What does that mean?" Stella asked
"We keep giving it what it wants" Joyce explained
"If this is a virus and Wills the host then..." Nancy trailed off
"Then we need to make the host inhabitable" Jonathan finished for her
"So if he likes it cold..." Nancy trailed off again
"We need to burn it out of him" Joyce glared
"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time" Mike said
"Yeah somewhere far away" Dustin nodded while Joyce and Jonathan rushes to the car to bring Will to the place Hopper recommended
"El, you have to be carful okay?" Clove asked as she began to tell the girl goodbye
"I will" she nodded
"I don't want this to be the same goodbye as last time, understand?" Clove asked as she looked up at the girl, who has grown to be taller then Clove now
"Understand, it won't. Promise" El said as she squeezed her hand
"See you soon?" she asked as El nodded and hugged her tightly not realizing Max was watching the two
"She still likes her, doesn't she?" Max asked while looking at Lucas
"El was her first crush ever" Lucas stated with a shrug as he noticed the sad look on Max's face
"But she likes you too, i've known Clover my whole life. She likes you Max, a lot" Lucas said as Max nodded
"I know" Max stated while playing with her hands as Clove walked over to them
"Hey" she said sadly as Lucas rubbed her shoulder
"Your Moms a badass now Clove" Lucas said as Clove let out a chuckle before Lucas walked away
"Hey, i'm really sorry. I promise i'm not pushing you to the side or any-" Clove began as she looked up at the redhead
"No I get it, El's back and your feelings are all over the place. I get it" Max said as Clove looked down
"There's so much I wanna say to you, but i'm not sure it's the right time" Clove shook her head as Max nodded, "But i'm not- like, trying to push you away or anything."
"We'll talk when all this is over, swear" Max said as Clove nodded
"Hey, we're heading out. You sure you don't want me to stay? I can tell Hopper I can't go" Levan said as he walked up to her
"Yeah and I don't have to go with Joyce" Stella shook her head
"No, you guys go and help your friends while I help mine. Just please don't let anything happen to Will or El. Please" Clove said as she hugged both her parents.
"I don't think we met yet" Stella said as she looked behind her daughter
"I'm Max, Cloves friend. It's really good to finally meet you Mrs.Reyes" Max said as she smiled at the woman
"I like your hair" Stella gave her a wink as Max smiled widely
"I like her" Stella whispered to Clove when she pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked off
"Hey, I have a problem" Hopper said as he walked to Levan
"I'm gonna need you to come with us" Hopper stated as he looked down at Clove
"Hop, that's dangerous" Levan said as Clove looked up at them
"Yup, still need her. El is refusing to go without her, says needs her best friend" Hopper said as Clove looked at her Dad
"Stay by my side the whole time" Levan said as Clove smiled
"Please be safe" Max whisper to her as they hugged
"I will, I promise" Clove said as she swallowed hard
"Come back soon" Max stated as Clove gave her one last squeeze before jogging off to get in the seat behind El who smiled at her in the mirror while Clove smiled back
•••••
Kinda on the Clax train but also on the Elover train