Elijah Brooks's life is turned upside down when his best friend Will Byers goes missing one night. Teaming up with an unlikely group of friends, Eli finds himself transforming from a quiet bookworm to a courageous adventurer willing to do anything f...
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TWIX WAS MIKE'S FAVORITE.
Eli learned that very quickly, the same way Mike stumbled upon the realization that Eli enjoyed a pack of Skittles over anything chocolate. The trade-offs initially began with careful negotiation, but it reached a point where Mike would toss Eli a set of Twizzlers while the Brooks boy dropped another Hershey's in the Wheeler's bag.
"I still can't believe you don't like chocolate," Mike prodded, resurfacing the ordeal once again. His tone was light with amusement, and Eli took it upon himself to nudge his shoulder against the taller boy. "I mean, who doesn't?"
"I didn't say I don't like it," Eli jumped in defensively, watching the small cloud that puffed out of Mike's lips every time he exhaled. "I just don't like it in exorbitant amounts."
"What does that even mean? 'Exorbitant'? Not everyone has a dictionary for a brain," Mike laughed, his sound bubbling above their heads and floating towards the stars. Eli very well could've been among them, given the incredible feeling that had consumed him.
"Did you hear that? Mike just admitted to me being smarter than him," Eli turned to Will, where he was met with a glistening camera lens capturing the playful display.
"You're smarter than everyone," Will mumbled from behind the hefty camera, struggling to balance it on his shoulder.
"Isn't he!" Mike agreed.
Eli looked ahead of the three boys, watching Lucas, Dustin, and Max exchanging their own banter. The redhead had met up with the party earlier, making Lucas scream an unearthly sound with her Michael Myers costume. Eli had no idea how she agreed to trick or treat with them, given her hostile note directed at the four boys yesterday.
"Woah, hey," Mike's hand landed softly on Eli's shoulder, steadying the Brooks boy to a stop. His voice had changed from its youthful bemusement to one of worry, and Eli noted why almost instantly.
"Where's Will?" Eli demanded, his eyes wildly flying past Mike to roam around the hoard of costumes swimming around every corner.
"I don't know."
A panic began to set in, and Eli felt himself drawing back to that night at the arcade. Will's empty, hollow eyes while looking at him, until they burned with fear while gazing at something unseen in the sky.
"Hey, Eli!"
Mike was ahead of him now, and the Brooks boy broke into a sprint to catch up to him, eyeing what the raven-haired Wheeler was scooping up from the ground. The knot in Eli's stomach doubled seeing Will's camera now nestled in one of Mike's arms, and the two shared an uncomfortable, anxious gaze.
