𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀, ( 𝗺𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿 )

[48] QUESTIONING & LIES

THE PARTY SEPARATED, Dustin and Lucas sifting through the trash for pieces of cardboard, Mariella bringing empty trash bags out to Steve and Nancy who covered up the walls of the shed, leaving Mike and Max searching through cleaning supplies.

The air was thick, tension from Mike leaving her out that day in the AV Room. Despite so, they still did have some type of unspoken respect for one another. Max understood why he was so skittish now, why he was so protective over his friends. "I get why El was your mage now," She speaks up with a soft smile.

He turns his head to her, looking away from the open cabinet. "What?" He hums.

Max returns to look. "Lucas. He told me all about her. About what happened last year," She responds, ripping a piece of duct tape off the roll.

Mike stares back at her, blinking every few seconds. "He did?" He presses.

Nodding, she goes on. "Yeah and I know you guys can get in really bad trouble if I told anyone, so trust me, I won't," She smiles at Mike softly. "El, she seemed really cool and I get why you were so... Iffy about me,".

"Yeah, she was. You know, her and Mars? Thick as thieves," Mike turns to face her completely as he begins to fiddle with the lid of the Ammonia bottle.

Max scoffs with a curt nod and smile. "I can see that. They seem so..." She trails off.

"Badass?" Mike finishes, nodding.

"Yeah. Badass. I can't see Mars being so little, shooting a pistol," Max goes on, noticing the way Mike's eyes glaze over with adoration at the mention of her name.

"None of us could. Her and Lucas, man. Saved our asses. Then El saved us again. Without them we'd probably be dead," Mike's smile fades as he fumbles the cap in his hands. "I just want to keep them safe," He mumbles.

Max nods, crawling over to Mike and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You've done pretty good so far. Barely any bumps or bruises," She says.

Mike shakes his head. "Barely? Maybe physically, yeah. Lucas and Dustin are okay right now. At least, I think they are. Will? He's possessed by that thing. And Mars? She thinks we don't know but we all do," He scoffs, placing the cap onto the bottle again and twisting it shut.

"Know? Know what?" Max asks curiously.

"Losing El, Will going missing, all that happened last year, it messed with her. More than me, Lucas, and Dustin. I know she sits on empty channels and just listens and that she writes out those stupid algebraic equations because she isn't in control of anything except those numbers," Mike lists things off on his fingers before he looks to Max.

"And I know that everyday she's terrified to be alone, no matter how many times she says it's okay," He pauses. "I think that's why I always keep her so close to me,".

Max shakes her head. "You keep her close to you for a lot of reasons. You hold onto her like she's your lifeline and honestly, Mike? Can you really deny it that she is?" She says, a smirk appearing on her face at the sight of his cheeks burning red and his bottom lip being rigged under his top.

He stays silent for a moment, twisting the bottle cap loose again and then twisting it back on. He noticed the heat radiating off his cheeks and the odd way his heart began to race. "I... Uh," He begins, stumbling over his words as he looks to Max with his mouth parted slightly.

She gives him a knowing look, head tilted and eyebrow raised. "Don't lie," She tells him, smirk still intact.

Mike pauses. The sound of those two words slipping off her tongue just sending him back to the night where the party told Eleven their age-old rule. Friends don't lie. He opens his mouth to speak, realizing his has nothing to say and closes it again, shaking his head before nodding. She's right.

♧

They all stood in the shed, taping up cardboard and stapling plastic bags up onto the walls in order to keep their whereabouts hidden from the boy who is now just a shell of who we once was. It was a group effort, tossing all the things out. They left only a lone chair in the middle of the room.

And so, Jonathan Byers carries his sleeping brothers body into the shed. Sitting him on the chair comfortably before wrapping a rope around him, trying his wrist and ankles to the chair. All whilst, Mike strapped a lamp to the corner of the small, damp room. Joyce administrating the sedative once again. Lucas plugging the lamp in, the room blinding them because of the bright fluorescent light.

They had decided who to question Will as they set up. Ultimately deciding on Joyce, Hopper, Mike, and Jonathan. It wasn't a decision up to debate. These four people were the people who were most fit to.

Mike stood in the living room, now. Only a mere five minutes until they were to start. Mariella in front of him, tapping her hands anxiously on her legs.

Her eyes were wide, bottom lip pulled under her top as she looks up at him. "This is gonna work? Right? You think so," She mumbles out, looking him straight in the eye.

Apprehensively, he nods. Not knowing what to say. He wasn't going to outright say yes. He didn't really now. And, after all — friends don't lie. "Mars, I need you to calm down," He responds softly, bringing his hand up and brushing her hair from her face.

She breathes out shakily. Her head nodding repeatedly as she quickly grabs his right hand and intertwines their fingers. "Calm. Calm. I can be calm," She assures herself, voice soft. She was talking more so to herself than him.

He chuckles lightly at her, despite the situation, before he pulls her into him. Wrapping his arms around her quivering body, she instantly reciprocated the hug. Melting into him, out of fear, out of comfort. Mike, he made her feel safe. No matter what.

Breathing in, he recalls the scent of strawberries lingering in her hair and softly kisses the top of her head. And, though, he hated the thought of it. It made him feel guilty. He lied. "We're going to be okay," He tells her. Despite not really believing his words.