ℕ𝕆𝕀𝕊𝔼

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• 𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝙰 𝙵𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 - 𝙱𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗 •

"I found him." Eleven alerts back in Mike's basement. Last night's events crushed everybody, but they need to know where everyone is. El had just found Hopper.

"Where is he?" Max asked.

"Woods." El replays what she sees, "He's with... Will's mom."

"My—my mom?" He wondered with a shaky breath. He's happy to know where his mom is, but Bea is his top priority right now.

"What are they doing?" Max questioned.

"Ill... annoy. They're going to Ill-annoy." Karen yelled down to her son that breakfast was ready. He quickly shouts up to her that now is not the time as they go back on to focusing on El.

"Illinois? Illinois, like the state?" Mike turned back to her. Why would they be going there? "The state of Illinois?"

Eleven takes off her blindfold and shrugs. "Ill-annoy."

The two girls go into the bathroom to clean El's bloody nose. All of last night they tried to look for Beatrice. Not just for Will, but for them, too. She is their best friend. They have to—no, they need to find her.

Wetting a rag, Max slowly cleans the dried blood. Eleven was unable to look away from her neck in the mirror. There's a bruise from Billy's hand on it.

"Does it still hurt?" Max asked cautiously.

"Only when I talk." El answered quietly.

"Well, it's a good thing you're not Mike, then. 'Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.' And you'd be in constant pain." Max jokes. They chuckle, but only for a quick moment before Eleven's mind drifts elsewhere.

"I failed her." She mutters.

Max's head snapped in her direction. "What? Who?"

"Bea. I failed her. And not just last night. All summer she's tried to hang out with me, but I was too busy with Mike. The only time I actually spent time with her was when he and I broke up. And then, last night..." She gulps harshly, the formed bruise causing a strain on her movements. "I practically threw Billy to her. I basically gave my best friend away." Tears roll down her face.

"Hey, hey. Shh. Don't think that way," Max soothes and hugs her. "She's not dead. Beatrice is not..." She takes a deep breath, "not dead. She's not."

Outside of the bathroom, the boys were having their own conversation. "Somethings not right. I can't get Hopper off my back all summer, now all of a sudden, he's hiking with Will's mom to Illinois? And Dustin's MIA, too? I mean, this can't be a coincidence."

"What does it matter?" Lucas sighs. "We should be focusing on Bea," he said as he thought of his friend. She was the one who invited him to join the party when they were younger. She's the reason he's in the group and he's grateful for her. She's like his sister, but better because Erica is annoying. "And the bottom line is, they're not here. It's up to us."

"Up to us to do what exactly?" Mike challenges.

"Find Billy, save Bea, and stop him." Lucas shot back. Will is in his own head to talk right now. All he can think about is his girlfriend and if she's okay. Technically, they wouldn't know if she died. She's the one who screams when people die. She predicts death. She's the banshee. Why would Billy need her?