Escape ~ S.Harrington

40} All About The Hendersons

"Aren't we high enough?" Lucas complained. The group had been trekking up a hill to get to a high point above the town so Dustin's signal would reach Suzie.
"Cerebro works best at a hundred meters," Dustin told him.
"You know, I'm pretty sure people in Utah have telephones,"Max pointed out.
"Yeah, but Suzie's Mormon," Dustin announced.
"Oh, shit. She doesn't have electricity?" Lucas exclaimed.
"No, Dipshit," Jenna smacked him upside the head, "That's Amish. Mormons are more strict christians."
"Ohhhh..." Lucas trailed off.

"Like Jenna said," Dustin continued, "She's super religious and since I'm not Mormon, her parents would never approve. It's all a bit... Shakespearean."
"Shakespearean?" Max chuckled.
"Yeah," Dustin nodded, "Like Romeo and Juliet. Star-crossed lovers."

"Hey, guys!" Mike yelled from behind, "This is fun and all, but, uh-"
"I have to go home," El smiled while Mike aggressively pointed at his watch.
"We're almost there," Dustin's smile dropped.
"Sorry, man," Mike shrugged, "Curfew."
"Good luck," El wished Dustin and she and Mike skipped away.

"Curfew at 4;00?" Dustin scoffed.
"They're lying," Will rolled his eyes, "It's been like this all summer."
"It's romantic," Max shrugged.
"It's gross," Will corrected.
"It's bullshit," Dustin said in disbelief. "I just got home. Well, there loss, right? Onwards and upwards! Suzie awaits!"
"That's the spirit!" Jenna patted him on the back then trailed behind to talk with Will.

"So," Jenna tried to start up a conversation, "Any luck in the romance department?"
"I wish," He giggled, "I mean, it's hard."
"I know, bud. You can always talk with Alice, you know."
"I know, but it's different for her. She's, like, hot and I'm not."
"Don't sell yourself short, bud. I wish you luck, though. I know everyone else is in a relationship. If you ever need a buddy, call me."
"Thanks, Jen. So, how about you? Anything going on with Steve?"

Since the last Upside Down incident, Will and Jenna had become a lot closer. Will was now her Steve gossip buddy and Jenna was his Mike gossip buddy. It was fun.

"No, unfortunately. He just keeps flirting with every girl that walks into Scoops and it gets old. Fast. I think Robin is catching on, though."
"Well, I wish you luck. At least you have a chance with the person you like, I don't."
"Looks like we're both stuck in the best friend zone, huh?"
"Yep. Unfortunately."
"Unfortunately indeed."
"Jenna!" Dustin broke up their conversation, "Come here! I need your help carrying this!"
"Well," Jenna shrugged, "Guess that's my cue. We'll talk later."
"Alright, Jenna."
Jenna ran to catch up with her brother to help him carry Cerebro. As she was running she started to feel the weird tingling sensation again. When she looked at Will, he was feeling the back of his neck with a panicked look on his face.
I really hope this doesn't turn into a big problem again.

~

"Made it," Dustin threw his bags on the ground.
They had finally made it to the top of the hill.
"Yeah, and it only took five hours," Max scoffed and plopped her bags on the ground as well.
"Why couldn't we just play DND?" Will complained.
"I'm so thirsty," Lucas dumped the entire canteen into his mouth.
"Hey," Jenna snapped, "Save some for the rest of us."
Lucas smiled bashfully and spit a bit of water back into the canteen.
"Not what I meant, asshole. Gross."
"And he drank the rest of our water," Max threw her hand in the air, "Great! Now we all die of dehydration."
"Exactly why you're one of my favorite kids," Jenna grabbed her shoulder.
"Thank you. I try my best."
"Screw the water, let's get to work!" Dustin rallied everyone.

Each person got to work setting up a different part of Cerebro. The process to get everything up and working took about a half an hour, but it was well worth it. The teens stood back to admire the work they accomplished while Dustin got ready to turn it on.
"Pretty impressive, right?" He bragged. "Now, ready to meet my love?"