𝙷𝙾𝚁𝚁𝙾𝚁 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙼𝚂 sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ꜰᴀɴꜰɪᴄ

episode six

d&d and real life

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

   SAM, DUSTIN, AND LUCAS STAYED FOR DINNER, BUT NONE OF THEM ACTUALLY ATE. No one spoke either and, quite frankly, it was very awkward. Sam just kept her head down to avoid any confrontation.
"Is there something wrong with the meatloaf?" Karen asked once she'd had enough of forks sliding around plates.
"Oh, no." Dustin smiled kindly. "I had two bologna sandwiches for lunch. I don't know why."
"I told you not to do that, moron." Sam breathed out a laugh.
"Me, too." Lucas chuckled with a forced smile.
"It's delicious, Mommy." Nancy smiled innocently to her mother. Mike grimaced at the interaction. Sam tried to hide her laugh behind a cough, but it was obvious no one bought it.
"Thank you, sweetie." Karen smiled, unknowing of its true sticky sweetness. Nancy was up to something.
"So, there's this...special assembly thing tonight..." Nancy started. "For Will at the school field. Barb's driving."
"Why am I just hearing about this?" Karen asked, cutting her meatloaf.
"I thought you knew." Nancy shrugged slightly, her voice high to show her innocence.
"I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found." Karen reminded as she shook her head.
"I know, I know." Nancy nodded quickly. "But it'd be super weird if I'm not there. I mean, everyone's going."
"Just...be back by 10." Karen caved. "Why don't you take the boys and Sam with you?"
"No! No." Mike immediately shot down.
"Mm-mm." Dustin shook his head.
"Don't you think you should be there? For Will?" Karen asked rhetorically, face contorted from their apprehension. 
Sam caught sight of Eleven walking down the stairs. She kicked Mike under the table who choked on the milk he was drinking. Karen furrowed her eyebrows and went to turn around but Dustin slammed his fists on the table. Karen gasped and Holly whimpered from the sudden fright.
"Sorry...spasm." Dustin chuckled nervously.
"It happens a lot. No need to worry." Sam smiled awkwardly.
Mike looked down at his shirt that had spots of milk on it. Lucas shook his head while the Henderson's stifled their laughter.
"Oh..." Karen placed her silverware down and looked to her youngest child who was lowering herself in the seat. "It's okay, Holly. It's just a loud noise."
"Nice." Nancy mumbled sarcastically at the curly haired boy.

-

   AFTER THE TORTURE THAT WAS DINNER, THE PARTY GATHERED BACK DOWNSTAIRS. Mike had previously snuck into the kitchen and taken some leftovers to bring to their stowaway.
"El?" Mike walked down with the tray of food. "No adults. Just us and some meatloaf."
Lucas, Sam, and Dustin stood by the stairs, the older Henderson girl resting her arms on the boys shoulders. Eleven looked at the three with an untrusting look.
"Don't worry, they won't tell anyone about you. They promise, right?" Mike looked back at them pointedly, raising his eyebrows to signal them to answer.
"We never would have upset you if we knew you had superpowers." Dustin smiled sweetly. Sam scoffed shortly and shoved him with her hip, sending him a look that read Shut the hell up, dude. The boy grumbled and swatted at his sister from behind his back.
"Quit, Dustin Henderson! I will shove you down the stairs." Sam swatted back at him childishly.
"There are no stairs to shove me down." The boy pointed out.
"Then I'll wait till you walk up them to shove you back down." Sam rolled her eyes.
"Shut up!" Mike looked at the two. "What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared...earlier. That's all."
"We just wanted to find our friend." Lucas added gently with a nod.
"'Friend'?" The girl mumbled with her brows pinched together.
"Yeah, friend." The Sinclair boy tried to mask his confusion. "Will?"
"What is 'friend'?" Eleven elaborated.
"Is she serious?" Lucas glanced at Dustin who shrugged. "Uh, a friend-"
"A friend is someone you'd do anything for." Sam smiled as she moved to sit next to the Wheeler boy.
"You lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards." Dustin added with a bright smile.
"And they never break a promise." Mike nodded along.
"Especially when there's spit." Lucas clarified.
"'Spit'?" El repeated.
"A spit swear means," Lucas spit in his hand as demonstration. "You never break your word." He then shook hands with Dustin who looked down in disgust. "It's a bond." Sam chuckled at her brothers grimaced look.
"That's important because, friends...they tell each other things. Things that parents don't know." Mike smiled.
"With friends, it's like another family. But this one you can choose. It makes it better, almost." Sam brushed her hair behind her ears.

After talking for a bit, Eleven stood from her little fort and walked over to the D&D board. Sitting down in one of the seats she placed her hands on the table.
"What's the weirdo doing?" Lucas mumbled as he and the others walked towards her. Sam hit him with her elbow.
"Ouch!" The boy groaned. Eleven placed her hands flat on the board and closed her eyes.
"El?" Mike wondered. The girl picked up the wizard game piece. 
"Will." She stated as she held the piece up. Sam slid into the chair next to her.
"Superpowers." Dustin recalled in a mumble. Lucas just rolled his eyes.  Mike took the other seat next to El. "Did you see him? On Mirkwood? Do you know where he is?"
Eleven said nothing but pushed the other pieces off the board and onto the floor. Sam furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at Dustin and Lucas who just shrugged.
El then leaned forward and grabbed the edge of the board and flipped it over to the side painted black. She then grabbed Will's game piece and slammed it in the middle.
"I don't understand." Mike looked from the board to the girl.
"Hiding." Eleven stated quietly.
"Will is hiding?" Mike elaborated for her. The girl nodded. "From the bad men..?" She shook her head. "Then from who?"
Without looking away from the board, she grabbed the other piece nearest Sam and slammed it next to Will's. The Demogorgon.
The party members glanced at each other.

-

   MAKING A GAME PLAN WITH A GROUP OF MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS WAS NOT THE EASIEST THING IN THE WORD. There was a lot of back and forth, petty arguments.
"We'll tell our parents we have AV Club after school. It'll at least give us enough time for Operation Mirkwood." Mike finalized as El played with the radio.
"You seriously think that the weirdo knows where Will is?" Lucas mumbled.
"Stop calling her weird or she'll throw you across the room with her powers." Sam countered quietly.
"Just...trust me on this, okay?" Mike sighed. "Did you get the supplies?"
"Yeah." Lucas turned to his bag. "Binoculars...from 'Nam. Army knife...also from 'Nam. Hammer, camouflage bandanna, and...the wrist rocket."
"You're gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?" Dustin teased with a stifled laugh.
"First of all, it's a wrist rocket. And second of all, the Demogorgon's not real. It's made up." Lucas reminded. "But, if there is something out there, I'm gonna shoot it in the eye..." Lucas flicked the elastic. "And blind it."
Sam smiled, raising her hand for a high five. "That's gnarly." She laughed. Her face then fell and a grimace flashed over her features. "Ew, don't let me say that again."
Mike huffed, trying to get them back on track. "Dustin, Sam, what did you guys get?"
Dustin grabbed his bag and dumped the contents out on the table. "Well, alrighty. So, we've got...Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Pringles, Nilla Wafers, apple, banana, and trail mix." The curly haired boy smiled brightly.
"Seriously?" Lucas stared at the boy before turning to Sam. "Seriously?" The blonde teen looked at her brother with raised eyebrows as well. Spotting Lucas' unimpressed look on her, she raised her hands in surrender.
"We need energy for our travels. For stamina. And besides, why do we even need weapons anyway? We have her." Dustin pointed to the girl on the sofa.
"She shut one door." The Sinclair boy rolled his eyes in aggravation.
"With her mind!" Dustin reminded. "Are you kidding me? That's insane!"
"It is pretty cool." Sam mumbled with a shrug.
"Imagine all the other cool stuff she could do. Like..." Dustin rushed over to the desk. "I bet...she could make this fly!" He grabbed the plastic Millennium Falcon. "Hey, hey." He mumbled to get her attention. "Okay, concentrate. Okay?" He then dramatically dropped it, however it didn't fly. Sam snorted a laugh.
"Okay, one more time." Dustin smiled and picked the ship up."Okay. Use your powers, okay?" He then dropped it again, and it just clattered.
"Idiot." Lucas shook his head. Sam chuckled and nodded in agreement. Mike rushed forward and picked up the toy.
"She's not a dog!" He lectured loudly.
"Boys, Sam!" Karen yelled. "Time for school!"
Lucas and Dustin grabbed their things and rushed up the stairs while Mike kneeled by the sofa.
"Just stay down here." He told El quickly. "Don't make any noise, and don't leave. If you get hungry, eat Dustin's snacks, okay?"
"Michael!" Karen yelled again.
"Coming!" Mike turned and shouted harshly. "You know those power lines?" He then turned back to the girl with a soft voice.
"Power lines?" Eleven furrowed her eyebrows.
"Yeah, the big stringy poles behind his house?" Sam explained.
"Yes." Recognition passed the girls face.
"Meet us there, after school." Mike told her.
"After...school?" Eleven glanced from Mike to Sam. The Henderson girl sighed and pushed Mike out of the way.
"Okay, three fifteen. That's when we get out. Be there then. Mike, give me your watch." Sam smacked the boys arm. He slipped the digital thing off his wrist, handing it to Sam who clipped it around Eleven's.
"When it says three-one-five, be there." Sam pointed down at the numbers.
"Three-one-five." The girl nodded.
"Three-one-five." Mike stated again, starring at the girl in awe. 
"Mike, come on." Sam stood as she rushed up the stairs, he rushed after, hot on the blondes heels.

chapter six
d&d and real life