Crush Culture [M.Wheeler]

[17] THE BATH

Dustin, Nori, and Lucas roll the kiddie pool into the gym, where they would set it up. "This damn thing is heavy." Dustin grunts.

He rolls it up to the center, then unties it. "Come on. It's upside down." Dustin says as the three of them pull it open. "How does this even work?"

"Try that side." Lucas suggests. "Son of a bitch!" Dustin sighs as it continues to fall over. "Pull it back." Nori instructs. "I am!"

"One, two, three." He they pull it, but it only falls again. "Shit!"

Soon enough, Mike and Nancy come in with two hoses, setting it up by the pool. Mike holds one, while Nori holds the other.

Meanwhile, Lucas measures the water temperature. "Colder!" He calls out. "Warmer!"

"Right there!"

After the pool was filled, Jim and Johnathan cut open the salt bags, spilling it out into the pool.

To test it, Dustin sets an egg. When it sinks, they knew they needed more salt, so Johnathan and Jim spill out two more bags.

When Dustin does the egg test again, it floats, fascinating the kids. Dustin smiles proudly while Nori, Lucas, and Mike pat him on the back.

***

Eleven takes off her socks and Mike's watch, then puts on some duct tape goggles to block the light in her eyes. She gets into the water, lying down on her back.

Nori walks over, taking a seat beside Mike and intertwining their fingers. He looks down at their conjoined hands for a moment, then smiles.

The lights flicker, then shut off completely. "Barbara?" Eleven asks. Nancy glances over at the others, pursing her lips.

Suddenly, eleven begins to breathe heavily while the lights turn on and off once more. "What's going on?" Nancy asks. "I don't know." Mike says.

"Is Barb okay? Is she okay?" She furrows her eyebrows. "Gone. Gone." Eleven days tearfully. "Gone!"

"It's okay. It's okay." Joyce says calmly, holding her hand. "Gone! Gone!"

"Hey. It's okay. We're right here, honey." She continues softly. Eleven seems to calm down. "Castle Byers."

"Will." She mutters. Joyce gasps. "You tell him.... tell him I'm coming. Mom is coming." Joyce instructs.

"Your mom... sh-she's coming for you." El stutters. "Hurry." They hear Will say through walkie talkie. Nori looks to Mike, then to Dustin and Lucas.

"Okay. Listen, you tell him to... to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey." Joyce cries.

"Just... just hold on a little longer." Eleven says. "Will. Will." Suddenly, she screams, gasping awake.

They all jump, backing off while Joyce wraps her arms around the girl. "I got you. I got you."

***

Mike, Dustin, Nori, Lucas, and Eleven sit down on the bleachers, Nori leaning her head onto Dustin's shoulder. They sit in silence, comforting the cold El.

Mike looks at his watch, then stands up, running out. "Nancy? Johnathan?" They could hear him shout.

"They're gone." He states, walking back in. "What?" Lucas raises his eyebrows. "Nancy and Johnathan. His car's gone."

"They're probably just sucking face somewhere." Dustin comments. "Gross." Lucas scrunches up his nose in disgust. "No. No way!" Mike denies.

"Did they go with the chief?" Nori suggests, lifting her head. "I don't know." He shrugs. "No." Eleven speaks up.

"What? Did you see them? Do you know where they went?" Mike inquires. "Yes."

"Where? Where did they go?" He questions. "Demogorgon." She says.

"Guys, guys! This is crazy." Mike states. "We can't just wait around."

"Mike, in case you forgot, we're still fugitives. The bad men are still looking for us." Lucas reminds. "Yeah, And we didn't even know where your sister is." Dustin adds.

"El can find them." Mike responds. "Mike, look at her." Nori tries to reason, motioning towards the girl. "I still think we should stick to the chief's plan."

"Exactly. We stay here, keep El out of sight and keep her safe." Lucas agrees. "That's the most important thing, remember? Besides, she's okay. She's with Johnathan."

"Yeah, and she's kind of a badass now, so.." Dustin trails off, then begins walking away. "Well, where are you going? You just said stick to the plan!" Mike calls.

"I am. I'm just gonna get get some chocolate pudding." Dustin explains. "I'm telling you, Lunch Lady Phyllis hoards that shit."

"Are you serious?" Mike yells. "El needs to be recharged!" Luca follows after him, leaving only Mike, Nori, and Eleven.

***

"Mike, I found the chocolate pudding!" Dustin yells as him and Nori sit beside each other, Eleven resting on the bleachers.

"Okay!" He calls. "Do you think your powers can do anything?" Mike asks softly, turning to look at Nori. "Mike, I barely know how to control them. From what I know, all I can do is just look like someone else." She sighs.

"With all that's been happening, I almost completely forgot anyways. Not like I wanna have these powers constantly creeping up behind me. I just want to be normal." She sighs.

"Normal's boring. I think your powers are cool." Mike states. "Really? 'Cause so far whenever Dustin or Lucas brought them up you'd get mad or change the subject." She points out.

"I'm just worried about Will, that's all. I guess, we don't really have much time to figure out your powers and how you even got them, and why so sudden, but we will, alright? We'll figure it all out as soon as we get Will back." He assures her.

"Yeah, I hope so." She nods. Nori wanted to ask him how he felt about their moment earlier today, when they almost kissed, but she can't bring herself to do it.

They sit in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, lights appear from the large windows. "Nancy. Hold on, I'll be right back." He says, running off.

After a moment, Mike runs back into the gym while Dustin and Lucas set down multiple chocolate puddings. "Guys! Guys!" Mike yells, panicked.  "What is it?" Lucas asks.

"They found us."