✓ | 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 (BYLER)

𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒊𝒊. LATE NIGHT TALKING

━━━━  𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎

After rearranging the restaurant's kitchen to the best of their abilities, the crew gathered into the Surfer Boy Pizza van and speedily fled the scene. Jonathan encouraged the others to keep an eye out for somewhere affordable to spend the night. Everyone, especially El, was in need of quality rest as well as a shower.

Luckily, just five miles from the Surfer Boy Pizza establishment was a quaint little motel. The neon sign perched above the building read: SUNSET INN. The motel appeared to be a bit sketchy and unkempt, but anything was better than sleeping in the van.

"Bingo," Jonathan remarked under his breath. "This'll do."

The eldest of the Byers boys swerved the van into the empty parking lot with a rather sharp motion. He winced at the screeching sound that came from the tires.

Once Jonathan parked the vehicle, the rest of the gang gathered their belongings and sluggishly dragged them outside. Argyle made sure to stuff his beloved stash of Purple Palm Tree Delight into his pocket "in case of an emergency."

According to the watch on Will's wrist, it was nearly two o'clock in the morning. He couldn't recall the last time he had actually slept in a bed. For the past few days, he was forced to sleep in the back of the hot, sticky, and extremely uncomfortable van. He was looking forward to getting a decent night's sleep for once.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱

The five teenagers scuttled into the worn-down building and approached the front desk. A pudgy old man sat behind it with a cigarette in his left hand and the local newspaper in his right hand. He was unfazed by their entrance, so Jonathan rang the little bell on the counter to capture his attention.

"What do you want?" The man rudely grumbled, his dark eyes still fixated on the newspaper.

"Uh, we need two double rooms, please," Jonathan spoke.

The man exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke and reluctantly punched a few numbers into the cash register, eventually unveiling the total cost.

"$75.33," He declared.

Jonathan yanked a wad of cash out of his pocket and quickly examined the bills to ensure that he had enough. He placed $76.00 into the old man's palm in exchange for his change as well as two room keys.

"Thank you, sir," He muttered.

"He was friendly," Mike scoffed beneath his breath, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Tell me about it," Jonathan replied with an eye roll.

As the crew walked down the hall leading to their designated rooms, Jonathan gave everyone a quick rundown on the room arrangements.

"Argyle and I are going to take 107. You three can take 108."

"But there's only two beds," Will argued.

"Then two of you are going to have to share, unless one of you is willing to sleep on the floor."

Will knew what this meant. He was going to share a bed with Mike. It was inevitable, really. There was no way El would feel comfortable sharing a bed with either one of the boys, which was completely fair. However, the mere thought of sharing a bed with Mike was intimidating to the Byers boy. It had been years since they last shared a bed.