In case you don't live forever

Chapter 011: First Blood

Peter's Pov:

I sat on Lucas's bed in his room. "So, how are we going to save Will?" I asked Lucas as he paced back and forth. "We are going to find the gate, go in the Upside Down and save Will. Without El" Lucas stated. "But maybe El was trying to protecting us... Maybe the gate is dangerous or.. or it's somewhere dangerous like a secret lab or something. Maybe it's better if we have El with us... I just really want to find Will and have him safe and beside me, Lucas. I need him" I almost broke down in tears.

"We all do, Peter! And why do you need him? You sound like you are in love with him or something" Lucas raised his voice a little. "Because I am Lucas! I am in love with Will" I shouted, covering my mouth right after I spoke. Lucas stood quietly for a minute before speaking "Wait... You're gay Pete?" Lucas asked quietly and I nodded my head. "Who else knows?" He asked. "No one. Not even my dads.. or my brother" I replied. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Lucas rested his hand on my shoulder. "Because I was scared. Scared that you guys wouldn't except me anymore and that you would all leave me" I let a few tears roll down my cheeks. Lucas wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. We stayed in the hug for a little bit before pulling away. "Well... I still except you. You are still one of my best friends. Just because you are attracted to dudes doesn't change how I see you." Lucas gave me a gentle smile. "Thanks" I gave him a small smile and wiped the tears from my cheek. All of a sudden the phone started to ring. Lucas picked it up "Hello. Yes. It's for you" He said holding the phone towards me. I took it out of his hand. "Hello," I spoke.

"Hi, Peter. Can you come with me to Mike's house? Please?" Dustin replied on the other end. "Sure, I'll see you in a bit. Bye," I hung up the phone and grabbed my fanny pack off of Lucas's bed. I put it around my waist and Lucas looked at me questioning where I was going. "I am meeting Dustin at Mike's about something. I'll see you later" I told him before walking out his bedroom door and running out of the house.

I ran to Mike's which wasn't very far from Lucas's house and stood outside the door waiting for Dustin. I stood outside for a few minutes until I saw Dustin approaching on his bike. He got off it and parked it in front of the house. He walked up to me "Come on. Let's go inside" He knocked on the door and I stood beside him. Mrs. Wheeler opened the door "Hey boys. Mike is in the basement." We gave her a small smile before going downstairs to Mike.

"I just.. I can't believe she didn't come back" Mike complained pacing around the basement. "She's got to be close," Dustin told him. "She said it wasn't safe. She just messed up the compasses because she wanted to protect us. She didn't betray us" Mike spoke back. "Mike, calm down," I said sitting on the floor. "I shouldn't have yelled at her. I never should've done that" Mike continued to talk. "Mike, this isn't your fault," Dustin told him. "Yeah, it's Lucas's," Mike said. "It wasn't his fault either," Dustin said and Mike stopped pacing. "It wasn't his fault?" Mike sounded pissed now. "No," Dustin told him. "So you're saying he wasn't way out of line?" Mike slowly got a little closer to Dustin. "Totally, but so were you" Dustin snapped back. "What?" Mike still sounded pissed. "And so was Eleven" Dustin added. "Oh, give me a break" Mike sounded even more pissed. "No Mike, you give me a break. All three of you were being a bunch of little assholes! Peter and I were the only reasonable ones. But the bottom line is.. You pushed first. And you know the rule, you draw first blood." Dustin raised his voice, calming it in the last sentence. "No, no way. I am not shaking his hand" Mike shook his head.

"You're shaking his hand!" Dustin told Mike. "No, I'm not" Mike spoke. "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 raised his voice again. "No" Mike replied. "Good" Dustin walked away from Mike and started putting on his coat. "Where are we going?" Mike asked. "Where do you think? We're going to get Lucas. And then we are going to find Eleven" Dustin told him and threw Mike's backpack to him. I got up from the floor and grabbed my fanny pack and followed Dustin.

Mike hopped on his bike and Dustin hopped on his. I had left my bike at home so Mike told me I could ride with him. I hopped on Mike's bike and wrapped my arms around his torso so I wouldn't fall off. They rode quickly to Lucas's house. When we arrived we all got off the bikes and walked up to his door, ringing the doorbell, Mike and Dustin in front and me slightly behind them. After a few seconds Lucas opened the door with an annoyed facial expression "What do you want?" He asked. Dustin looked at Lucas then Mike and smacked Mike's arm. "I drew first blood so.,." Mike told Lucas and then held out his hand for Lucas to shake. 

Lucas paced around his living room with Dustin, Mike and I waiting. "Okay, I'll shake. On one condition. We forget the weirdo and go straight to the gate" Lucas told Mike. "Then the deal's off" Mike spoke. "Fine" Lucas yelled throwing his hands in the air in anger. "Fine" Mike raised his voice. "No, no, not fine. Guys seriously? Do you even remember what happened on the Bloodstone Pass?" Dustin looked at Mike and Mike looked at Lucas in confusion. "We couldn't agree on what path to take so we split up the party and those trolls took us out one by one. And it all went to shit and we were all disabled! So we stick together, no matter what!" Dustin explained. "Yeah, I agree. But this is the party, right here in this room" Lucas said.

"What about Will?" I asked. "Yeah he is too" Lucas answered. "El's one of us now" Mike spoke. "Um, no she's not. Not even close. Never will be. She's a liar, a traitor.." Lucas raised his voice. "She was just trying to keep us safe. She didn't mean to hurt you it was an accident" Mike yelled. "An accident?" Lucas asked. "All right, accident or not, admit it was a little awesome" Dustin interrupted. "Awesome?" Lucas yelled. "She threw you in the air with her mind!" Dustin spoke. "I could have been killed!" Lucas raised his voice again. "Which is exactly why we need her. She's a weapon. Do you seriously want to find the Demogorgon with your wrist rocket? That's like R2-D2 going to fight Darth Vader. We're no use to Will if we're dead" Mike told Lucas. "If you two want to waste your time looking for a traitor, go ahead. Cause I'm not spending my time on her anymore. No way. Peter and I are going to the gate. We are going to find Will" Lucas pushed threw Mike and Dustin and grabbed my hand, leading me to his bedroom.

Word count: 1260