the year of el | mileven

ch. 20 | twinkie hands

"Wait dude! slow down! so you're saying you heard from Will?" Dustin nearly jumped up from his seat

"Yeah! El found my old supercomm in the basement and we heard him! We actually heard him! Right El?" Mike said glancing at her for approval

She nodded vigorously

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows "What were you and El doing in your basement?"

"That doesn't matter" He slightly blushed "but what matters is that Will is out there somewhere and he needs help!"

"So did he say where he was?" Lucas questioned, excitement prominent in his voice

"The supercomm gave out before he could say, but he mentioned something about Hawkins and a unit?"

Max put her hands up "Guys, hold up! I'm completely lost"

"We told you about Will, remember? He's our friend that Eleven saved from the upside down" Lucas responded

"Yeah you told me that, but you never told me what happened after that. What happened to him and why do you guys hardly talk about him?"

El looked up, curious for an answer to that as well.

The boys exchanged somber glances.

Talking about their friend was difficult and they had done their best to avoid it over the years. The last memory they ever had of him was at the hospital and from then on they never heard from him again. They stopped playing D&D because it wasn't the same without Will. He had made their little group complete and ever since he was gone they tried their hardest to close the gap he left behind but they never could.

"We don't exactly know what happened. The last time we saw him was at the hospital" Dustin commented with a downcast expression

Mike hung his head "Yeah, he was sick. The damn upside down made him sick and we couldn't do anything about it"

Max noticed the pain in their voices and her face fell with empathy "I wasn't aware.. I'm sorry... But he must've been a good friend, ya know because he stuck around you weirdos" She teased, playfully trying lighten the mood

They all rolled their eyes giving her a faint smile

"He's still here" El interrupted

"Yeah she's right you guys! He's nearby so we can find him, We'll find him like we did last time!" Mike exclaimed

"But you said that he's in danger? What do you think he means by that?" Dustin questioned, animatedly waving his hands

Lucas looked over at Mike "Yeah, Do you think it has to do with the upside down again?"

Mike exhaled slowly "that's what I'm afraid of.." he then paused noticing his friend "Ugh really Dustin?"

"Wha?" Dustin mumbled with his mouth full

Lucas glared at him "We're having a serious discussion and you're over there stuffing your fat face"

"Well I can't think on an empty stomach"

"I can't thinkkk on an emptyy stomach" Lucas mocked in an exaggerated tone

Dustin shoved him

Lucas shoved him back "Man! gross! you got your dirty twinkie hands all on my shirt"

"Oops.. want some more twinkie?" Dustin chuckled, waving the spongecake in his face

"Man If you don't get that thing away from me"

"Guys! Knock it off! We have to keep focused!" Mike intervened "What if Will is in the upside down, then what? what are we gonna do?'

"No, he's not" El replied shaking her head

"He's not?"

"No. the signal was stronger. He's not in the upside down. Trust me"

Lucas rubbed his temples "Well if he's not in the upside down then why the hell is he in danger?"

"That's what we have to try to figure out" Mike slammed his fist in his open hand

"I think we should just get Hopper. He'll know what to do" Lucas sighed becoming indignant

Dustin nodded "Yeah I actually agree with Lucas. Hopper helped us last time"

"Hopper is working on the lab case now" El addressed

"That's right. Hopper is already busy. We can't wait until he's off the clock. Will needs our help NOW" Mike concluded

Max took a deep breath "So you're wanting us to go find him ourselves? We don't even know where he's at?"

Mike left and came back laying out a map on his bedroom floor "Okay guys Will said he's in Hawkins" he then circled the small town with a red pen "So that means he has to be somewhere here.." he pointed "but unit.. I don't exactly know what he means by that"

Dustin scratched his head "Uhh unit.. unit.. Storage unit is the only thing I can think of"

"I doubt he'd be in danger at a storage unit. Oh no antiques and old clothes are so life-threatening" Lucas remarked

"Well got anything better?"

Max snatched the pen "Hawkins immediate care unit! She circled repetitively "I had to go there once when I broke my arm trying to land a kick flip"

"That makes perfect sense! Since the last time we saw him he was in the hospital, maybe they transported him there" Mike shot back with a smile

Lucas grew skeptical "I still don't get how he's in danger. He's in the ICU for christ's sake"

"I don't know either but we gotta try to find him and then maybe we'll get some answers." Mike replied "So guys we need to gather some supplies just in case we have to take matters into our own hands"

"But we have El and her kick ass powers though" Max countered

Dustin pointed at Eleven "Yeah she took out a damn monster. I think she can handle any possible danger that comes our way"

"Guys, we can't always use El for her powers! it weakens her after awhile. Let's just be on the safe side and get some supplies." he then looked at the clock "We'll meet at Hawkins ICU around 5"

They all reluctantly agreed

"By the way Dustin"

He glanced over at Mike "What?"

"No more snacks this time..."

He laughed "But we need our fuel!"

"I'm serious."