Don't You Want Me? ✵ Steve Harrington

Chapter 5

The next day, Kim sat in Mike's basement with the rest of the kids, listening to what was supposedly Will over a walky talky. Kim wasn't totally sure if it was him, but maybe the boys just needed a little hope. And if they were right and Will was still alive, Kim wanted to do everything she could to help them.

"We keep losing the signal, but you heard it, right?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I heard a baby," Lucas shrugged, not really believing it. "You obviously tapped into a baby monitor. It's probably the Blackburns' next door."

"Uh, did that sound like a baby to you? That was Will," Mike said confidently. "Lucas, you don't understand. He spoke last night. He was singing that weird song he loves."

"Not to be rude," Kim cut in. "But are you sure you didn't just imagine it? I mean, you were probably really tired and after everything that happened-"

"No, I didn't imagine it!" Mike exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Even El heard it."

"Oh, well if the weirdo heard him, then I guess," Lucas rolled his eyes. But knowing that El had heard it too started to convince Kim a bit more.

"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" Dustin asked, trying to prevent another fight between Lucas and Mike.

"I don't think it's about that," Mike said, looking down at the walky talky. "I think, somehow, she's channeling him."

"Like Professor X," Dustin said, starting to believe Mike even more.

"Yeah," Mike nodded, glad someone finally understanding him.

"Are you actually believing this crap?" Lucas asked Dustin.

"I don't know," Dustin shrugged. "I mean, do you remember when Will fell off his bike and broke his finger? He sounded a lot like that."

Lucas rolled his eyes, looking around for any support from Kim. "Did you guys not see what I saw? They pulled Will's body out of the water! He's dead!"

"Well, maybe it's his ghost, maybe he's haunting us," Dustin suggested.

"It's not his ghost," Mike said, starting to get annoyed again.

"So how do you know that?" Lucas challenged.

"I just do!" Mike snapped at him.

"Then what was in that water?' Lucas asked.

"I don't know!" Mike yelled. "All I know is Will is alive!"

Kim took a deep breath, realizing how tiring it was to be the mediator. "Boys, just calm down."

Mike took a deep breath and went on, trying not to start yelling again. "He's out there somewhere, all we have to do is find him."

The sound of radio static filled the room again as El started messing with the walky talky again.

"This isn't going to work," Mike told her, taking the walky away from her. "We need to get El to a stronger radio."

"Mr. Clarke's Heathkit ham shack," Dustin smiled.

"What?" Kim asked, having no idea what they were talking about. As the boys kept nerding out, she leaned over to El. "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?"

The younger girl shrugged and shook her head. "No, you?"

"Not a clue," she said. El laughed quietly at her older friend and laid her head on Kim's shoulder.

•••••

The boys had decided that they needed El to look more normal if they were going to take her into school, so Kim took Eleven into Nancy's room. She sat the girl down on the bed and went to get Nancy's makeup bag.

"I have to warn you," Kim said as she looked through the floral bag. "I'm terrible at this and have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. Make-up on myself is one thing but on other people..."

El didn't really seem to care. She watched as Kim got up again and put some music on so the room wouldn't be so quiet. Kim laughed as she tried to apply blush and El flinched away confused by the weird texture of the thing. Kim hummed along to a Madonna song as she finished applying a lightly tinted chapstick.

"Okay," Kim said, handing El the dress and wig Dustin had brought in a few minutes previous. "I'll leave while you get changed. Let me know if you need help with the wig."

When El finally walked out of Nancy's room, all of the boys' jaws dropped.

"You look pretty. Good. You look pretty good," Mike added the last bit nervously.

El smiled and walked over to the mirror Kim was standing by, her smile growing wider as she realized she did look pretty good. "Pretty," the girl said quietly. "Good."

The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs made them all shove El and Mike into Mike's room, hoping that wasn't where the person was headed.

"Kimmy?" Nancy asked once she had gotten up the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I came to see you," she lied, hopping Nancy would notice how strangely Lucas was leaning against Mike's door or how Dustin was looking anywhere but at Nancy.

Nancy nodded, not picking up on the group's suspicious behaviour. "I need your help," Nancy said to her friend. "We need to go talk to Jonathan Byers."