Strawberry Cigarettes | Max Mayfield

8. suicidal but not really

The whole day. The whole entire rest of the evening yesterday was spent on trying to find el. Did they find her? NO. No they didn't. Mike was very beat up about it. No matter how many times his two friends told him that it's not his fault, he still blames himself for it. 

Next day, Mike and Chris were sitting in the basement. Mike was playing with a rubics cube and Chris was once again at the guitar. She was trying to figure out a new chord progression for not a melody but maybe a song. "If you don't mind me asking" mike started and looked over to the girl with the instrument. "How do you even know how to play the guitar?" he asked. Chris stopped for a second. "I went on a mission once when i was about seven, i think, and i found a guitar there. I found it interesting so i took it with me and the doctor that was kind of taking care of me, if you could call it that, let me keep it. He would teach me like 30 minutes a day." she answered simply. 

"You know, you keep saying 'Missions' but what kind of missions?" Mike then asked again. This time chris kept quiet. She didn't want to tell him. In fact, she didn't want to tell anybody. "I'm gonna tell you one day. Just not now, okay?" she just said. Mike nodded and went back to his rubics cube. He looked over to the blanket fort. It was empty. 

Suddenly, rage took him over and he went over to the blanket fort. He started to destroy it. Kicking it with as much power as he could sending one of the pillows flying towards the basement door. 

"damn..." Chris whispered so that only she could hear it. "i guess i am sleeping on the couch." she then said, trying to cheer the black haired boy up. He looked at her with a tiny, tiny smile on his face.

About 20 minutes later, dustin rolled up on his bicycle to the wheelers residence. He came in trough the back door. "Morning Dustin" Chris said the moment he came in, still guitar in her hands. She decided on a chord progression. It will be E minor, B and A minor for the verse. That's it. That's all she has. You didn't expect more did you?

"Morning." he said back he looked around the basement searching for Eleven before realising, she didn't come back. "She didn't come back?" he asked and Mike just shook his head 'no'. "i just.. I can't believe she didn't come back" he said and started pacing back and forth. "She's gotta be close." Dustin tried reassuring his friend. "She said it wasn't safe. She just messed with our compasses because she wanted to protect us. She didn't betray us." he went on. Chris put down the guitar and stood next to Dustin. "Mike, calm down" she said. "I shouldn't have yelled at her. I never should have done that." the wheeler teen continued. "Jesus, do we have to go over this again? This isn't your fault" Chris said. "Yeah, it really isn't." Dustin agreed.

"Yeah, it's lucas'" Mike then said. "It wasn't his fault either." Dustin then said. Mike then stopped in his tracks. "It wasn't his fault?" he asked in disbelief. "No" Chris replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "So you're saying he wasn't way out of line?" Mike then asked. "Totally, but so were you!" "What?" "And so was Eleven" Dustin added. "Oh, give me a break!" "No mike, you give me a break! All three of you were being a bunch of little assholes! Chris and me were the only reasonable once's. But the bottom line is.. you pushed first. And you know the rule, you draw first blood.." 

Mikes eyes widened. "No! No way! I'm not shaking his hand." he replied. "You're shaking his hand." Dustin said. "No, I'm not." "This isn't a discussion. This is the rule of law. Obey or be banished from the party. Do you want to be banished?" Dustin argued and then asked. "No." Mike replied quietly "Good." Dustin said and started heading out of the basement. Chris followed him. "Where are we going?" Mike then asked "Where do you think? We're going to get Lucas. And then we're gonna find eleven." Dustin simply replied. "remind me what are the rules of law again?" she whisper-asked Dustin. "I'll fill you in once everything is over" he said with a little smile. Chris just smiled back and got onto the back of his bike.