𝘿𝙍𝙄𝙁𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 - Max Mayfield

12. The Pollywog

The yellow glow of the lightbulbs in the house met Aiden's eyes as he approached his... Dangerously close to being constipated from eating so much candy at a time. At first his mind was plagued with the thought of he and Will's current situation.. he was now the target of a gigantic spider monster and although he had the abilities to fight it, it didn't make the prospect any less bizarre or terrifying. Most would think he would've gotten bolder after essentially destroying the Demogorgon alongside Eleven, but he was even jumpier than before as he knew the things that came out of the upside down would only get worse and worse.

Luckily, the others helped dispell these thoughts from his mind. They spent at least an hour at Max's house eating and trading candy bars, watching old movies and laughing at Lucas' girlish screams everytime a scary scene came on. Max and Melanie seemed to get along rather quickly,with both having surprisingly a few things in common. Besides,it was hard for Aiden to stay tense for long when Max kept throwing candy wrappers at his head.

Although the night had been fun, he was pretty sure he'd eaten enough candy bars to last him a lifetime as he slung his now empty pillowcase over his shoulder. Aiden lazily placed his foot on the first step on the Wheelers' porch, but a sudden white flash of light right in front of him stopped him from going any further.

"What the fu-" Aiden covered his eyes for the split second that the light hit them. Once the light died down,Aiden opened his eyes and looked around only to find himself surrounded by walls... Wooden walls.

"Aiden"

Turning to his left,the light-skin boy saw the shorter frame of Eleven tear drops building up in the girl's eyes.

"El?"

The girl immediately ran towards him and engulfed him in a hug, pressing her face against his chest. Although his stomach still slightly hurt from the slight force, Aiden wasted no time to hug her back.

"Hey,hey it's okay..." As he whispered to her and softly stroked her hair, Aiden looked a little past her and noticed the knife he'd given her stuck in the wall behind her.

She'd summoned him.

"Mike..." Eleven whispered against Aiden's chest. "...I miss him"

"He misses you too,buddy" Aiden softly reassured her. "He misses you lot"

"When?" Eleven looked up at him. "when can I see him?"

Aiden wished he could tell her,but that might drive her to do something even more reckless than what she was originally supposed to.

"I wish I knew,El" Aiden wiped the girl's tears. "But I can't say anything for sure right now"

The two stood there for what felt like an eternity,Aiden lightly rocking the girl left to right in his arms as her quiet sobs slowly stopped.

After a few minutes, Eleven calmed down enough to pull away from the embrace.

"Thank you" El whispered. Aiden smiled, lightly ruffling her hair.

"Anytime," he said. "I know you and Hop aren't on the best terms right now,but I promise it'll get better... Okay?"

"Okay" El whispered.

"Come on," Aiden held her hand. "Let's get you to bed"

Eleven climbed into her bed and Aiden helped pull the covers over her , making sure her pillow was comfortable as well. The brunette cracked a small smile at him.

"Is this good enough?" Aiden asked as he crouched down next to her bed. El nodded at him.

"Hero..." She said softly.