𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 // 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

1-3: Holly, Jolly

I couldn't tell if the "party" liked me or not. They gave me a walkie talkie to join in on their conversations and meetings, but would exclude me from other things-- small things. It didn't matter, though, because now at least I had things to look forward to after school. We met up at Mike's house again to talk to Eleven once more before school started.

She sat on the couch, fiddling with the radio to create static.

"We just tell our parents we have AV Club after school." Mike said to his friends. I didn't need an excuse to stay late out, and besides, I doubted my mom would be home before I was. "That'll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood." That was the dorky name that the boys decided on while we searched for Will.

"You seriously think that the weirdo knows where Will is?" Lucas questioned, calling the girl names. I sat down beside her. She looked at me briefly, her gaze softening before she went back to messing with the radio static.

"Just trust me on this, okay?" Mike asked of his friends.

"Okay."

"Did you get the supplies?" He questioned Lucas.

"Yeah." Lucas bent slightly under the table him and the other two were standing around. "Binoculars... from 'Nam." He pulled out some binoculars and set them on the table. "Army knife... also from 'Nam." He then took out a knife and placed it next to the binoculars. The boy began taking out more items from his bag and named them off as he did it. "Hammer, camouflage bandana..." Lucas then pulled out a yellow slingshot and a smile grew on his face. "...And the wrist rocket." He grinned.

"You're gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?" Dustin asked sarcastically.

"The Demogorgon?" I asked, an eyebrow raised. 

"It's the name of the monster that El put on the board." Mike explained. I just nodded and shrugged, looking back at El. 

Lucas nodded at me and then turned back to Dustin. "First of all, its a wrist rocket. And second of all, the Demogorgon's not real. It's made up." He looked at me as he said it, then turned back to his friends. "But if there is something out there, I'm gonna shoot it in the eye..." He drew back the yellow band and flung it at Dustin, causing him to flinch. "And blind it."

Mike sighs and looks to Dustin. "Dustin, what did you get?" Dustin grabbed his backpack and turned it upside down over the table, causing a plethora of snacks to fall out of it as he shook it. 

"Well, alrighty." Dustin started. "So we've got Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Pringles, Nilla Wafers, apple, banana, and trail mix." He looked at Mike and grinned. 

"Seriously?" Lucas groaned.

"We need energy for our travels. For stamina. And besides, why do we even need weapons anyway? We have her." Dustin explained.

"She shut one door!" Lucas exclaimed. 

"With her mind!" Dustin argued back like usual. Their bickering competitions started to grow on me and I grinned a bit at the two of them, remembering times when I was their age. "Are you kidding me? That's insane! Imagine all the other cool stuff she could do. Like..." Dustin didn't finish his sentence as he ran over to her. "I bet... that she could make this fly!" He picked up a space ship that I had recognized from Star Wars and held it in front of El. "Hey. Hey." He said, trying to get her attention. "Okay, concentrate. Okay?" He dropped the ship in front of her and it clattered on the ground. El just stared up at him. "Okay, one more time." Dustin picked the toy back up as Lucas sighed. "Okay. Use your powers, okay?" He dropped it again with the same affect. 

"Idiot." Lucas commented and Mike sighed. 

"She's not a dog." I scolded Dustin. Karen suddenly shouted down to the basement.