the year of el | mileven

ch. 18 | art room

"So El, are you in a lot of trouble? Is Hopper still pissed? If he is I can try talking to him again, if you want?" Mike rambled, leaning against the wall near her locker

El put her books away quietly before giving him eye contact "Can we talk?"

"Yeah! Sure! What's up?"

"Alone?"

Mike started to panic, allowing his overthinking to get the best of him "O-okay.. We can go to the the art room then I guess.."

Lucky enough for them art club only met in the mornings and not after school. So it was just Eleven, Mike, and the paintbrushes.

Mike looked at the canvases attempting to distract himself from his worries "Is everything okay?" he gulped

"I talked to Hopper"

"I'm sorry El, It was completely my fault. Please tell him that'll I take all of the blame and everything and-"

"It's okay. I told him we didn't"

"He believed you?" Mike chimed, "So we can hang out again?"

El nodded

A grin spread across his face "Awesome! So I was thinking maybe we could do a picnic or if you want we could go out on the lake? My uncle has a boat and stuff so that would be fun"

"Mike.."

He suddenly quit talking and faced her

"Do you want sex?"

Mike grew baffled by the question and just stared at her blankly, making sure that he had heard her correctly. "Did you asked if I wanted.."

"Sex" El stated bluntly

"Did Lucas or Dustin put you up to this? Because if they did, I swear.."

"No, they didn't"

"Look El, it doesn't matter okay, as long as you're happy that's all I want"

Eleven smiled wholeheartedly as she grabbed his hand "You're the right one Mike."

✧

This was his chance.

Will had carefully been planning it for a week but now that the moment had arrived he was having second thoughts.

He paced back and forth frivolously around his room.

It was currently 11 and he wouldn't see another doctor until the morning but there were still security guards that he had to avoid.

He looked over at his bed where he covered multiple pillows with a blanket to use as a decoy, just in case.

He exhaled slowly and then thought about his friends.

They deserved to know that he was okay and also that he hadn't forgotten about any of them.

He would never forget about Dustin's stupid jokes and how he was kind of the glue that held their group together. He smiled to himself remembering that Dustin once had made him laugh so hard strawberry milk came out of his nose.

He would never forget Lucas's headstrong personality but also his loyal friendship. He still recalled the time when Lucas gave him his first ever comic book because how could he not know who the x-men were?

He also would never forget Mike and how genuine he was. He remembered once in second grade when he was sitting alone at recess and Mike invited him to join in a game of tag which became the very start of their friendship.

His friends deserved an answer, His family deserved peace, and Will deserved his freedom

He stood up straight and marched straight to his door.

He pressed his back against the wall as he inched his way down the hallway

The lights were off and the only noise he could hear were the faint voices of the security guards who were standing outside.

He walked cautiously so he wouldn't bump into anything, approaching the big door that led to the back exit of the hospital.

He yanked on the door "Shit.. it's locked" he breathed

Improvising a new plan he changed his course and decided to go down stairs, hoping to find another back exit

He had never been to this part of the hospital before. The floor was concrete, the halls were narrow, and the rooms weren't like the regular hospital rooms. They looked larger and had weird symbols on the doors.

Will did his best to ignore this eerie place. It personally gave him the creeps but he just needed to find a way out and fast.

He tugged on the heavy door that looked as though it could be an exit.

Once he made his way inside, to his dismay he found out that it was just another room.

He turned to leave but then saw the halls light up and heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

He peered around the dark room trying to make out anything that he could possibly hide behind.

Immediately he found a large table-like structure and made his way under it, now having new found appreciation for his short stature.

The doorknob to the room turned and Will's heart pounded violently against his chest

The lights came on and two individuals made their way into the room

Will held his breath, hoping and praying they didn't know that he was in there

"The process is going too slow, The boy should've connected us to the other realm by now"

"My apologies Professor, but he just can't seem to tap into it lately"

"Then use excessive force! Probe his brain and channel it yourself if you have to! Just do whatever needs to be done!"

"But.. sir, we could risk the possibility of losing him"

"Then so be it! We've waited long enough haven't we? Lowe commented, uncovering the giant tanks.

He placed his hand against them and a devious smile crept on his face "They're ready"

Will turned ghost white as he saw the monsters knocking viciously against the glass. Their shrieks and cries made his stomach churn.

"So when would you like us to start the brain wiring procedure?"

Professor Lowe looked straight at Dr. Jones "we begin tomorrow"

Will closed his eyes, wanting this nightmare to come to an end. His plan hadn't gone how he hoped and now he was stuck on either allowing them to tap wires into his brain or either fighting back. How could one person fight against so many and actually win?

He knew he didn't stand a chance.

He needed help.