26. make it in america

MAKE IT IN AMERICA

✧･ﾟ: * Fourth of July morning, the whole group made their way to Hopper's cabin, in hopes of finding the flayed with El's help.

The girl has locked herself in her room while the others hang out aimlessly around the cabin, waiting for news.

Mike is pacing outside the bedroom door, Lucas is eating cereal - straight out of the box - on the couch, Nora is braiding Max's hair (the closest she could get to talking about the other day), Nancy is in the kitchen calling random numbers to find leads, and Jonathan and Will sit at the breakfast counter.

"It can't be good for her to be in there this long," Mike says for the hundredth time.

"Mike," Max sighs. "You need to relax."

"What if she gets brain damage or something?" Mike continues.

"Oh, shit," Lucas gasps. "Is that, like, a real thing?"

"Oh, my God," Nora sighs.

"No, it's not," Max shakes her head. "He made it up. Mike doesn't know what the hell he's talking about."

"Oh, and you do?" Mike shoots.

"Mike, stop being a dick," Nora tangles the braid out of Max's hair as the two turn to Mike.

"I'm not! I'm just saying Max doesn't know everything."

"Okay, sure," Max agrees. "But at least I can admit it, unlike you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The argument continues on and Nora and Lucas watch in annoyance.

"I'm in the right, right, Nor?" Max turns to Nora and the girls looks in surprise.

"I- I don't know-"

"No! Stop trying to steal my friends!" Mike interrupts.

"I'm not stealing her! I just asked her a questi-"

"She's on my si-"

"Can you guys settle an argument for us?" Max stands up and stalks over to Nancy, Jonathan, and Will, the others following behind her. "Who do you think should decide El's limits? Mike or Eleven?"

"The way you frame that is such bullshit!" Mike argues.

"It's not bullshit, Mike," Max looks annoyed. "That's your whole problem." Lucas takes a seat, eating his cereal as if it were popcorn and he is watching a movie, and Nora just stands by the counter behind Max. "And also, precisely the reason why she dumped your ass."

"El dumped you?" Nancy looks in shock.

"Yes!" Mike shouts and points to Max. "Because she is conspiring against me. She's corrupting her, just like she's corrupting Nora too!"

"Wait, what?" Nora cuts in.

"Nora's always been corrupted," Lucas gives his input and Mike just shoots him a glare. Nora would've too if he weren't right.

"I'm enlightening them," Max gets back on track. "The fact is, El is not yours. she's her own person, fully capable of making her own decisions."

"She's risking her life for no reason!" Mike defends.

"For no reason?" Nancy scoffs, annoying Mike more. "Mike, the flayed are out there doing God knows what."

"Killing, flaying. . ." Lucas offers.

"Transforming into monsters," Will continues.

"And, El's not stupid," Nancy adds. "She knows her abilities better than any of us."

Mike rolls his eyes as Max nods, "Yes, thank you."

"And she is her own person," Nancy agrees. "With her own free will."

"Exactly," Max nods more. "El saved the world twice and Mike still doesn't trust her."

"You wanna talk about trust, really?" Mike looks at Max and Nora. "After you both made El spy on us?" Max and Nora just give each other annoyed looks as Mike looks proud of himself.

"Wait," Lucas says and him and Will both look confused. "What?"

"Oh, she didn't tell you this?" Mike feigns confusion. "Your girlfriend used El's powers to spy on us."

"Ex-girlfriend," Nora corrects. "And that isn't what happened!"

"We did not make her!" Max shakes her head. "It was her idea. And why are we even talking about this, seriously?"

"Yeah, who cares?" Will asks.

"I care!" Lucas argues.

"Yeah, I guess girlfriends don't lie, they spy!" Mike yells angrily.

"We were just joking around," Max explains.

"What it have been so funny if I was taking a massive shit or something?"

Max and Nora scrunch their noses.

"Ew," Nora mutters.

"Well, you weren't!" Max defends.

"But what if I was?"

"Then, gross!" Nora says.

"Seriously, Mike?" Nancy sighs.

"I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Max is with Eleven's powers. In fact, how careless all of you are," Mike starts ranting. "You're treating her like some kind of machine when she's not a machine, and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they've obviously vanished off the face of the earth. So, can we please just come up with new plan, because I love her, and I can't lose her again!"

Everyone gets quiet, Will and Lucas share knowing smirks, looking across the room to Nora who's trying to hold a smile in. Max, Nancy, and Jonathan just widen their eyes in surprise, not expecting that from the normally harsh Mike.

"What's going on?" El comes into the kitchen, looking around the silent room.

"Nothing," Mike shakes his head. Then softer, "Nothing."

"Just a family discussion," Lucas smiles.

"Oh," El nods. "I found him."

Nancy looks up. "Found who?"

—

✧･ﾟ: * El sits in front of the a TV in the living room with her blindfold on, static clouding the room. The group sits on the couch around her, watching her search.

Her breaths start getting more rapid and she rips the blindfold off, trying to calm her breathing.

"What's he doing now?" Max asks from behind her, next to Nora.

"He's in his room," El looks over her shoulder before rushing to get a glass of water.

"And that's not normal, right?" Nancy asks Max.

"Billy staying in his room on the Fourth of July?" Max raises her eyebrows. "No, that's not normal."

"He wants us to find him," Will states.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Nancy admits. "If we go to Billy, then the rest of the flayed know where we are."

"Sounds like a trap," Nora comments.

Mike nods. "It probably is. We'll be ambushed."

"We won't be surprised," Lucas stated confidently. "We'll know that they're coming an we'll kick their flayed butts."

"You mean El will kick their butts," Max shoots.

"Too risky," Mike speaks up.

"Yeah, and unnecessary," Nancy agrees. "Killing the flayed won't stop the Mind Flayer. We have to find out where it's spreading from. We have to find the source."

"Billy knows it," El informs, walking back into the living room. "Billy's been there. To the source."

"Yeah, but-"

"It's a trap, I know," El interrupts Mike. "We can't go to Billy, but I think there's another way. A way for me to see where he's been."

El sits in front of the television once more, preparing to go back into the void. Lucas and Will had gone into the kitchen, but everyone else sit back where they were.

Mike walks to up to El just before she puts her blindfold on. "El, I know you think you have to do this, but you don't." Nora practically feels Max's eyes roll. "It's just. . .  you've only done this once before. And your mom, she loved you, and wanted you to know what happened. And Billy's mind is- is sick, diseased. The Mind Flayer is in him."

"He can't hurt me," El assures. "Not in there."

"We don't know that," Mike shakes his head.

El grabs Mikes hand gently and sighs. "Mike, I need you to trust me."

Mike looks up at Max and Nora who raise their eyebrows simultaneously and he sighs. "Yeah, just. . . be careful."

He goes back to the recliner as Lucas and Will enter the room, and everyone watches again as El tries to find the source.

A few minutes passed, and El suddenly started to pant, her face scared.

Mike sits up immediately. "Something's wrong. El, are you okay? Are you okay?"

El looks like she's about to cry, but she just sighs and softly replies, "I'm okay."

"What's going on?" Mike asks, not completely convinced.

"I'm. . . on a beach," El answers.

"Alright, I might be dense," Lucas speaks up.

"You are," Nora nods.

"The last time I checked, there weren't any beaches in Hawkins."

"What else do you see?" Max leans forward.

El pauses for a second before answering. "A woman. She's. . . pretty. . . I. . . I think she's looking at me. . . There's a boy. . . It's Billy."

"It's California," Max realizes. "It's a memory."

"I think I see it," El tells everyone. "The source. I think I found it."

"Where, El? Where are you?"

"Brimborn Steelworks."

Jonathan and Nancy quickly go to the kitchen and flip through the phone book. "Found it," Jonathan speaks up. "6522 Cherry Oak Drive."

"That's close," Nancy states.

"El! El, we found it!" Mike yells. "Get out of there! Get out!"

The group waits for her to take the blindfold off, but she starts breathing heavily, nose dripping with more blood.

She suddenly rips off her blindfold with a shout and Mike rushes to her, wrapping his arms around her. She hyperventilates, falling into his arms and he holds her tightly.

a/n:

the next chapter>>>