ix. everybody wants to rule the world

3.2K 102 37
                                    

"nothing ever lasts forever

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

"nothing ever lasts forever."
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

STEVE, CASSIE, AND COLBY LEANED UP AGAINST THE COUNTER IN THE BYERS' KITCHEN. The kids were seated around the kitchen table, and Jonathan was mumbling incoherent words to Will, who was laid on the couch. Hopper was on the phone with someone (Colby hadn't bothered to pay attention to who it exactly was). However, the chief seemed very upset.

"I don't know how many people are there!" he yelled into the phone. "I don't know how many people are left alive!"

There was a pause as he listened, and then he yelled again, "I am the police! Chief Jim Hopper!" he calmed down. "Yes, the number that I gave you, yes. 6767... I will be here." He slammed the phone into the wall and turned around.

"They didn't believe you, did they?" remarked Dustin with a raised brow.

"We'll see." sighed Hopper, glancing down at the ground.

"We'll see?" repeated Mike in disbelief. "We can't just sit here while those things are on the loose!"

"We stay here, and we wait for help." grumbled Hopper, before heading down the hallway where Joyce had locked herself in her bedroom. From what Colby had learned from Mike, Bob had been killed at the hospital, and Joyce was traumatized. Josh had been unnaturally quiet, staring at the table blankly.

"Josh." Max Mayfield was the first to speak up, looking closely at Josh's face.

"What's up?" he croaked out, narrowing his eyes at the sudden attention he was receiving from her.

"You're bleeding." She reached out, hesitating, before running her fingers lightly over his skin right below his eye. He winced, and she immediately pulled back.

"Sorry." she breathed out.

"It's fine. Thanks for telling me." he pursed his lips. Josh got up, heading over towards the kitchen. Steve and Colby followed him excitedly, high-fiving each other.

"Harrington." greeted Josh as he ran the cloth under the tap. "Martin."

"You like Max!" Steve exclaimed cheerfully.

Josh wheeled around, his eyes wide. "What- no, no. I do not."

Colby smirked. "You do."

"You're wrong. Me-me and Max are just friends, that's all." Josh explained frantically, trying to keep the boys' voices down. From the way his eyes went wide and his hands began shaking, Colby immediately knew that he definitely did like Max. Of course, it could be him being heartbroken over his father's death— Colby couldn't tell.

"Bullshit!" exclaimed Steve. Josh slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Harrington, you need to learn when it's appropriate to yell and when it is not. And what about you and Cassie? You seemed pretty flustered around her-"

like i can \/ nancy wheelerWhere stories live. Discover now