𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴 ~ (ᴍɪᴋᴇ ᴡʜᴇᴇʟᴇʀ)

.14.

Later, after an unexpected but appreciated hug and apology from El, Mike was wiping off the leftover makeup from Fives face. "That's better," He said, throwing the towel to the side.

"Still pretty?" Uncertain, she asked as she caught eyes with herself in the mirror.

"Yeah!" Mike replied almost too enthusiastically, "Pretty. Really pretty."

Five smiled at the boy, which he more than happily returned before saying, "Fi?"

"Yes?"

"Uh, I'm happy you're home," he looked at her intently.

"Me too," she turned to face him fully and began to step closer towards him until Dustin and Eleven burst into the room - scaring them both.

"Guys! It's Lucas! I think he's in trouble!"

Dustin led them out of the bathroom and showed the radio, where Lucas was attempting to make contact but his voice kept on going in and out. "... son of a bitch!" Lucas' voice came through clearer now, prompting Mike to pick up the supercom, "Lucas, if you can hear us, slow down. We cant understand."

"Yes! I do copy!" He shouted, "... snow... ven... out of... mad hen."

"Mad hen? Does that mean anything to you?" Dustin stared at the group, dumbfounded, "Like a code name or something?"

"-The bad men are coming!" Lucas came through more clearly now, causing Mike to look to Five in fear.

"The bad men. The bad men are coming," He reiterated, "Stay here."

Both Dustin and Mike disappeared upstairs, leaving the two girls completely bewildered. Minutes later, they returned but quickly rushed them out of the house and onto the back of either boy's bike. As they were about to ride away Five and Eleven turned to see the man that tormented their lives for years.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Dustin ushered them away. Five held onto Mike tightly as they rounded a harsh corner, her nerves going haywire - Dustin's fear only making her worse.

"Dustin, do you copy?" Lucas' voice came through the radio again.

"Yes, Lucas, they're on us," He panicked, turning back to look at El - Eleven looking equally as fearful.

"Where are you?"

"Cornwallis," he responded.

"Meet me at Elm and Cherry," Lucas instructed, Dustin, repeating it to Mike.

As they rounded another corner, however, the vans seemed to have come out of nowhere, forcing them onto a different track - which almost resulted in the squashing of two little girls. The moment they got back to the road they saw Lucas, but there, they also reunited with the heaps of vans trailing them. The screeching tires suddenly came from all angles and they found themselves heading straight for one of the vans. Five and Eleven looked to each other and nodded before, Five focused solely on the car - flipping it and turning it to dust. Similarly, Eleven turned to face the upcoming vans, took control of its direction and crashed it into another - stopping the rest of the vans from following. While the boys freaked over what they did, Five looked back again, catching eyes with Brenner, who looked defeated, and she smiled.

"Holy... Holy shit!" Dustin exclaimed as they stopped in the middle of the junkyard, "Did you... did you see what she did to that van?!"

After helping Five off the bike, Mike deadpanned, "No, Dustin, we missed it," - causing Five to laugh, which made Mike somewhat proud of himself.

"I mean that was..." Dustin began but Lucas finished, "Awesome."

Eleven and Five turned to face the boy that up until that point despised them. "It was awesome," He panted, "Everything I said about you two being traitors and stuff... I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Five smiled at him, while Eleven said, "Friends don't lie... I'm sorry too."

"Me too," Mike added.

"I'm sorry, three," Five felt the urge to include, looking to Lucas, apologetically.

-

At the first sound of a helicopter, the group hauled up inside the derelict bus - every one of them, especially Five and El, scared out of their mind. Five, who stayed the furthest away from the entrance, was cradling her knees in the corner, while Mike sat next to her - holding her hand. "We'll be okay, you know?" He suddenly said, "I won't let any bad men hurt you."

Five grinned at him before teasing, "I feel like I'm the one with the force."

"Yeah, you're right, I suppose," Mike laughed, "You really are going to be a real-life Jedi." The girl stifled a laugh and leant her head on the boy's shoulder. Five had never felt this way before about anything - but it wasn't like back at the lab she had the chance - but with Mike, she felt so safe and secure and well just happy. And she liked that. She really liked that.

"Mike? Are you there?" A feminine voice came through over the supercom, "Mike?"

"You guys hear that?" Dustin looked between the group.

"Mike, it's me, it's Nancy," The voice returned, causing Mike to jump over to his bag - Fives head almost coming in contact with the floor due to his urgency. "Mike we need you to answer," the voice became clearer now once Mike had gotten it out of the bag.

"Is that your sister?" Lucas asked the boy. Five crawled over to the rest of her friends and sat beside Mike, curious as to what was going on.

"Is she the pretty one?" Five whispered to Mike, which he ignored.

"This is an emergency, Mike," Nancy called out again.

"Do you copy?" She tried again, "Mike, do you copy?"

"Okay, this is really weird," Dustin commented.

Lucas reached over, attempting to grab the radio but Mike stopped him, "Don't answer it!"

"She said it was an emergency," He retorted.

"What if it's a trick?"

"It's your sister!" He reminded him.

"What if the bad men kidnapped her?" Mike told him, "What if they are forcing her to say this?"

"I need you to answer."

"Lando Calrissian," Dustin stated, alarmed, "Don't answer."

"We need to know if you're there, Mike," Nancy added before the radio was snatched from her, "Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up. We know you're in trouble and we know about the girls."

"Why is he with the chief?"

"Chief?" Five asked Lucas.

"He's like the head of police - Chief Hopper," He informed her, causing her face to drop.

"Hopper?" She looked at the radio obsessively, waiting for his voice to return.

"We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up," He came back, "Are you there? Do you copy? Over."

Unsure of what to do, Mike looked to the others before landing his eyes on Five, "Answer it."

"Why?" He questioned her.

"Just answer," She pleaded, "He wouldn't lie, please."

Nodding, he picked up the radio and said, "Yeah I copy. Its Mike. I'm here."

He smiled to Five, "We're here."