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"FLIGHT 623 FROM INDIANAPOLIS AT GATE TWO." EL, WILL, JOHNATHAN AND ARGYLE WAITED IN THE AIRPORT FOR MIKE TO ARRIVE. Only half of the group were excited, El standing up once she saw Mike with some... sunglasses on. "Mike." She called with a smile, Will's grin getting larger. "Ah!" Mike let out once he noticed them, flowers in one hand as he smiled widely. The group stood up as El ran to Mike, the two sharing a kiss and hugging. "Oh, careful, careful, careful. You're squishing your present." Mike spoke quickly, El letting go of him. "It's a gift." Mike handed her the flowers, El smiling at them. "I, uh- I handpicked those for you in Hawkins." Mike explained, taking his sunglasses off as El smiled more.

She was so excited to see the boy. To see her boyfriend. "I know you like yellow, but now I'm realising it's too much yellow." Mike continued, Argyle looking to Johnathan. The boy looked very disassociated, Argyle smiling and looking back to the young couple. El saw a note on the side,  smiling at it.

To El,

From Mike

Again.

Her smile faded slightly, looking back at Mike as he didn't seem to notice. "I know you also like purple, so I got purple as well. So I kinda did, like, a 70/30 split kinda thing." Mike finished his explanation, El smiling more. "They're perfect, thank you." El grinned, moving past Mike to reveal Will. Another smile overtook Mike's face as he met eyes with the boy, the two sharing a surprisingly awkward hug. "Hey, how you doing?" Mike asked, Will nodding with a small smile. "Hey, Mike." Johnathan seemed to save Will, Mike turning to his brother. "How you doing?" He asked, Johnathan smiling as Mike nodded to Argyle. El stood behind Mike, watching the greetings as the latter looked to Will's painting.

He had been working on some sort of art project that he'd never let anyone see. "Great. Uh, what's that?" Mike asked, Will holding it up. "Um, it's nothing. Just this painting I've been working on." Will answered, Mike nodding. "Cool." He spoke bluntly, Johnathan staring at his brother. "That's rad shirt, man. Is that Ocean Pacific?" Argyle spoke up, Mike turning to him stunned. He didn't expect the teen to speak to him. "Oh, hey, Mike. This is, uh, my friend Argyle." Johnathan introduced, Mike nodding. "Oh. Hey." He spoke, putting his hand out to shake before Argyle hugged him. El smiled as Mike stood confused. "Oh, no, no, no." Argyle spoke, checking the tag at the back of Mike's tshirt before breaking the hug.

"No, it's a shitty knockoff. Yeah." He informed, Mike looking down to his shirt. He didn't know that- "But don't sweat it. I'll get you the good threads out here." Argyle offered, Mike standing awkwardly. What was he supposed to say? "I heard a lot about your sister." Argyle added on, Jonathan looking to him quickly. Shrugging once Mike looked at him, Johnathan cleared his throat. "O-Okay. Um, should we go?" He asked, changing the subject as Argyle nodded. "Yeah, this is kinda awkward, man." He let out, not seeming to have a filter to his blunt honesty. Mike just nodded, seeing this as a chance to get out of this conversation. "Yeah. So awkward." Mike wrapped an arm around El's shoulder, pulling the girl forward with him as the boys followed behind.

"I really thought it was Ocean Pacific."

☆

"I HAVE OUR WHOLE DAY PLANNED." EL SPOKE EXCITEDLY, MIKE NODDING. The two still walked ahead of the group, Will in the middle as Johnathan and Argyle stayed behind. "First, El Rodeo for burritos." El listed off, Mike turning to her. "What, really? Burritos for breakfast?" Mike asked, El nodding. "Yes. Trust me." She grinned, Mike nodding with a warm smile. "Yeah, no, I... I trust you. It's just, you know, a little weird." He smiled, El shaking it off and continuing none-the-less. Will awkwardly watched the two from behind, gripping his painting more. "Then, after burritos, I want to go to Rink-O-Mania." El stated, Mike nodding again. "Rink-O-Mania, okay. What's Rink-O-Mania?" He asked, having no clue of anything in Lenora.

"It's the most fun place in Lenora. They have skating and games." El smiled as they rounded the corner to the airport's entrance. "Sounds awesome. Are your friends gonna meet us?" Mike asked, Will looking up. Friends? Not to sound horrible, but El had no friends in Lenora... "Friends? What friends?" He asked, El looking to him. "You know, Stacy and Angela." El informed, Will's face dropping. "Angela?" He spoke. Angela wasn't friends with El. Angela bullied El. "You'll meet them, I promise." El turned back to Mike, him humming. "Just not today. I want today to be about me and you." El leaned forward to receive a head kiss from Mike, Will bending his painting.

They walked over to their pizza van,

Murray Bauman packing his belongings into an airport taxi.

"Where to?" The driver asked once the man closed the door. "4819 Lonzo Way." Murray spoke quickly, the driver having no time to respond as Murray began again. "Let's go. This is life or death. Snap, snap!" He rushed, the man nodding. "Yes, sir." He began the pay timer, driving away from the airport.

-––––––☆––––––

CHRISSY'S DEATH WAS ALL OVER THE NEWS, HER NOT BEING IDENTIFIED BY THE POLICE YET. Dustin and his mother watched from their couch, the latter holding her new Siamese cat. "In the meantime, we recommend you keep your doors and windows locked tight." Dustin sighed, his mother kissing the cat's head. "This is Beverly Moss, signing off for-" "My heart can't take it anymore. It just can't take it." Dustin's mother shook her head, looking to the door once the doorbell rang. Dustin got up to answer, seeing Max Mayfield at his door, the girl seeming to be out of breath.

☆

"CHRISSY CUNNINGHAM? YOU'RE SURE IT WAS CHRISSY?" DUSTIN ASKED, PACING HIS ROOM AS MAX NODDED FROM HER SPOT. "Yes, in her cheerleader outfit. Same thing she was in when I saw her with Eddie." Max informed, being in the same trailer park that Eddie and Chrissy were in the night before. "Did you tell all this to the cops?" Dustin asked, Max shaking her head. "No. No, but I... I can't be the only one who saw them together. They stood out." Max answered, Dustin holding his head. "Eddie the freak with Chrissy the cheerleader?" Dustin asked, turning back to the girl as she nodded.

"Exactly. You know, his name's not in the news yet or anything, but I guarantee you Eddie is suspect one now." Max informed, Dustin walking to face her. "That's crazy. Eddie didn't do this. No way." He supported his friend, Max starting to shrug slowly. "No way." Dustin repeated, Max huffing. "We can't rule it out." She let out, Dustin nodding. "Yes, we can." Dustin shot back, Max scoffing. "Dustin!" She scolded, the boy shaking his head. "You don't know him like I do, Max." Dustin defended Eddie, making the girl shrug. "Okay? When we got to high school, Lucas made all his sports friends. Mike and me? I mean, no one was nice to us. No one except Eddie." Dustin made his speech, Max huffing.

"Okay. Well, they said the same shit about Ted Bundy." She shot back, Dustin's eyebrows knotting up at her accusations. "Yeah, he's a super nice guy, but then he's murdering women on the weekend." Max shrugged, Dustin sighing. "So you're saying Eddie is like Ted Bundy?" Dustin made sure even Max knew what she was talking about, the ginger girl shrugging. "No, I'm not saying-- I'm saying that we can't presume anything, okay?" She made her point, Dustin holding his head with a sigh. "But it doesn't look good for Eddie." Max added, Dustin sitting on his messy bed looking at the ground. There was no way Eddie was a killer...

was he?

Sighing, Dustin looked back up at the girl. "Why haven't you told the cops this?" He asked, Max crossing her arms. "I... I don't know." She admitted, Dustin leaning forward. "You 'don't know'?" He confirmed, watching as Max sat next to him on his bed. "After I saw Eddie and Chrissy go in the trailer... something else happened." Max spoke, Dustin confused. "Like what?" He asked, Max shrugging. "Nothing that weird, I mean, Eddie always drives like a maniac, and he power goes off at my place all the time. It's a piece of shit. But... This morning, I started to think back, and... I don't know." Max shook her head, Dustin looking to her. It couldn't be the Upside Down...

Could it?

"The look on his face. He was scared, Dustin. Really scared. Maybe he was scared because, you know, he just killed someone, or...maybe, um," Max didn't want to believe it herself, nor consider it as an option. "Maybe be... because, I don't... maybe-" "Something else killed her." Dustin finished, causing Max to nod to him. "But that's impossible. Right?" She asked, dreading the answer she didn't want. "I don't know." Dustin whispered, Max shaking her head. "But Sebastian died closing the gate." She let out quickly, Dustin shrugging faster. "I don't know. It should be. Only one person knows what actually happened." Dustin told the girl, her nodding.

"Eddie."

☆

"HAVE YOU TALKED TO ANYONE ELSE?" DUSTIN ASKED AS THE TWO MADE THEIR WAY OUT OF HIS BEDROOM, MAX SHAKING HER HEAD. "No. I can't find Lucas or Nancy, and Mike's in-" "California. Shit, shit, shit." Dustin let out aggressively, storming past his mother towards the door. "Dustin, where are you going?" His mother asked quickly, visibly on edge from what they had just watched on Tv. "To see a friend." Dustin didn't lie, letting Max out first. "You heard the news. It's not safe!" She let out, Dustin poking his head through the door. "We'll be extra careful. Thanks, Mom. Love you. Bye."

The woman turned to meet a closed front door.

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"HOP IS ALIVE. HE LOOKS FORD TO DATE. PLEEZE TO MAKE RESERVAZION, CALL SEVEN-FOUR-ONE-FIVE-TWO," MURRAY READ THE RANSOM LETTER JOYCE HAD BEEN MAILED, THE WOMAN PACING. "Blah, blah. Open 12 day P.E.T.T. No government, please. Kind regards, Enzo." Murray spoke, finding this whole situation dangerous. With a passion. "Read the back." Joyce urged, Murray sighing. "Don't know where boy is. He must have escaped on transfer." Murray looked up at her, Joyce holding her head. She cared greatly for Seb and now he's wandering around a random area of the world on his own? Where was he? "Sorry." Murray continued, shaking his head. "I like it even less in person." The man scoffed, Joyce looking to him.

"What do you mean, 'like it less'?" She asked, Murray shrugging sarcastically. "I don't trust it. For starters, who the hell sent this?" Murray slapped the note, Joyce huffing. "A friend?" She suggested, Murray humming quickly. "A friend?" He confirmed, Joyce sighing. "Of Hop's?" She raised her voice, Murray looking back at the letter. "Hop is alive. No government?" Murray slapped the letter continuously. "This looks and reads like a ransom note, and a bad one at that. There's no proof of life here." Murray argued, Joyce pointing to it. "Yes, there is." She sat down next to the man, "It's signed, 'Enzo'." Joyce huffed, Murray shrugging. "So?" He asked, Joyce inhaling deeply.

"So? There's only two people other than me who know about our date at Enzo's, and that's Sebastian and Hop. So, whoever wrote this, Hop trusted enough to make him sign it Enzo." Joyce spoke, Murray sighing. The woman yearned for Hopper and Sebastian back so badly that she'd take any piece of evidence to grasp onto. "He's sending me a message." Joyce finished, Murray turning the letter around. "What about the kid?" He asked quietly, watching as Joyce's face dropped lightly. "I don't know. Maybe they've been separated." Joyce spoke quieter this time, Murray sighing and sitting up to face the woman. "You saw them both die, Joyce." He let out slowly as to not upset the woman, her clearing her throat.

The look on Sebastian's face scarred the woman until this day and probably would forever. He never wanted her to turn the keys. He just wanted to protect his father from some maniac. He never wanted to die, nor take his father down with him. He had failed. And Joyce had ignored his wish. "I never saw any bodies." She croaked slightly, Murray gulping. "Because they both evaporated." He spoke slowly, Joyce humming. "Or... they survived." She was stubborn on her mindset, Murray nodding. "Okay. Okay." Murray stood up, moving to the front of the couch. "Let's indulge this fantasy for a moment. They're Houdini. I doubt the kid knows who that is. They're both cats with nine lives." Joyce watched as Murray did a silly dance on the spot, sighing.

"Whatever it is, they survive. What's Hopper doing in Russia? He is captured, that's what. How did the kid get separated? He used his mind moving abilities to somehow get out the hold of many Russian men. Hopper probably met some new friends." Joyce listened intently, Murray's tone getting harsher as he continued. "And by friends, I mean the KGB. And believe me when I tell you, these people are the worst of the worst." Murray spoke, Joyce's face scrunching up. "I am talking torture, Joyce. And no matter how strong you think Jim is, they will break him. I have no clue about that kid, but he cannot kill the KGB. He probably has no clue who they are either. They'll get Jim's whole life story. And yes, that might very well include a planned date at Enzo's with you, his co-conspirator, making this all an elaborate ruse to capture you as well."

Joyce scoffed, Murray finally finished his speech. "You just made all that up." She shot back, Murray scoffing himself. "It's a theory." He sat down on the coffee table in front of Joyce. "I prefer mine." She spat, Murray humming. "So do I. Doesn't make it right." He assured, Joyce shrugging. "Well, either way, this could be real. Hopper could be alive. Sebastian could be roaming around cluelessly with no help." Murray sighed, looking down. He didn't like the sound of Sebastian on his own after all that happened...

No one did.

"I suppose there's only one way to find out." Murray suggested, walking to his suitcase. "What are you doing?" Joyce asked, Murray dragging the object in front of her. "We're gonna call that number and you're going to find out who the hell sent you that letter." Murray unzipped his suitcase, revealing a whole machine. "But we're doing it...

my way."

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[2487 words!]

Hope you enjoyed!!

Byeee!