Mike was originally planning on calling Lucas through his radio, but for some reason, as he stepped into his room, a wave of exhaustion hit him.
Before he could do anything, his eyes drooped and he collapsed to the ground. His body slowly disappears until he's gone. Nancy faints and disappears in her room as well.
The same strange event was happening in other parts of Hawkins. Will and Jonathan collapse and disappear right after Joyce, Eleven, and Hopper. Lucas and Erica pass out in their separate rooms. Dustin, Max, Steve, Robin. All pass out and disappear.
When Mike comes to, he blinks and looks around. Everyone was sitting in large fancy movie theater seats, waking up from their magic slumber.
"What the fuck," Steve says after a moment.
"Where are we?" Joyce questions. "Why are we in a movie theater?"
Mike looks at the two people sitting next to him. Will was on his left and Lucas was on his right, with Max and Dustin sitting after Lucas. "Um.." Dustin starts, but doesn't continue, not knowing what to say.
The screen lights up and words appear.
Dear Hawkins, Indiana,
You all are here to watch your lives play out in different universes, different ways your lives might've gone.
I am not here to harm you in any way, but you will need to stay here until the screen stops. If you would like a break at any point, the screen will stop at your command.
With kindest regards, ~
"That's not ominous at all," Steve says, annoyed.
"Should we listen to them?" Will asks, looking around at his friends and family. Hopper sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose.
The chief of police looks up at the screen. "I don't think we have a choice," He says.
So they all got into their seats and stared at the screen as it turned on, seemingly able to know when to turn on and off by itself.
Screen fades in to show Mike Wheeler sitting in a chair in the school counselor's office.
"Ms. Kelly's office?" Max questions in confusion. Mike glares up at the screen, eyes narrowed. Everyone was a little nervous.
His knee was shaking terribly and he was fiddling with his fingers, glancing down at them before looking up at Ms Kelly. The woman smiled and gestured to her ears, indicating she wanted Mike to take off his headphones.
"Sorry," Mike says softly, dipping his head for a moment.
"Mike Wheeler saying sorry?" Nancy snorts a laugh. "This is a strange universe." Mike rolls his eyes at his sister, but Max and Lucas exchange a concerned look.
Ms Kelly looked down at the papers in front of her. "A D in English and a D- in Spanish," She notes. Mike presses his tongue to his cheek.
"Yeah," He mutters.
"That's not the grades I got," Max mumbles. Only Eleven and Lucas could hear her.
Ms Kelly looks at Mike. "That's unusual for you," She says, sounding concerned. Mike quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head down.
"If you say so," Mike murmurs.
"You are quieter in this world," Eleven says, making Mike shrug. Now, the tone of the theater was darker, more somber.
Ms Kelly sighs. "How's your mother doing?" She asks. Mike's eye twitches in annoyance.
"Mom?" Nancy questions, frowning.
Mike looks at the floor. "She's- She's fine," He says, looking uncomfortable with the conversation. He glanced at the door like he was considering running out. "I mean, she hates our new place, which is like— yeah, it's terrible but.. She's fine."
"So Mike is swapped with me in this universe?" Max questions, raising an eyebrow. Mike frowns at the ground, glancing between Max and Nancy.
"But that.." Dustin trails off, gulping down the lump in his throat.
Ms Kelly nods curtly. "Is she still drinking?" She questions, and Mike shuffles in his chair, definitely uncomfortable.
"Woah.." Robin says. "You shouldn't just ask people that."
"Yeah– Yeah, a little," Mike says, his eyes shining slightly. "Well, she's working two jobs so it's– it's not easy."
"It must not be easy for you," Ms Kelly says. "With your dad gone?"
Mike and Nancy frown at the same time. "Dad's gone?" They say in unison. Max rubs her face with a sigh. Great.
"It's kinda better," Mike mutters, looking at the ground again.
"Better how?" Ms Kelly asks.
"She's not a good therapist," Joyce says, her usual nervous voice teetering through the air. Mike always liked that about her. She always looked out for everyone.
Mike gulps. "He was an asshole?" He tried, and the tears were evident in his eyes. "So there's less..." He looked around like he was trying to find the word. "Assholery?"
Robin snorts and then coughs. "Sorry," She mutters.
Ms Kelly nods slowly. "Are you sleeping better?" She asks.
Mike nods. "Yeah, fine," He mutters, obviously lying.
"So no more headaches?" Ms Kelly asks. Mike shook his head. "Nightmares?" Mike stares at her for a moment, his shaking getting worse.
"If–" Dustin starts, but the scene changes before he can continue.
Nancy screams as the mind flayer stabs into her chest, just like how Billy died. Mike screamed her name, exactly like Max did for Billy.
"Nancy," Mike whispers, eyes wide in shock. Nancy gasps, as do many other people in the room.
Nancy collapses to the ground and the screen switches back to Mike in the Ms. Kelly's office. "No," Mike says after a long moment of silence.
Ms. Kelly sighs. "Mike," She says, and Mike looks at her again. "What you've been through, what you're still going through, it's a lot for anyone." It showed Mike's shaking leg and fiddling fingers again. "And it's okay to not be okay. But I can only help you if you're truthful." Mike glances up and down nervously. Ms Kelly places a palm to her chest and smiles. "If you.. Open up to me."
"Yeah, I– I know, I'm being open," Mike says, eyes twitching. Ms Kelly presses her lips together and tilts her head. Mike's eyes darken. "I'm being open."
"Mike.." Will starts, but Mike shakes his head.
The door slams shut.
"Well," Nancy says slowly. Mike glances over at her, eyes narrowed. "That's... something. So.. is Billy still alive in this universe?"
A simple 'yes' appears on the screen.
"Oh," Max whispers. Lucas takes her hand and squeezes it reassuringly.
Someone suddenly appeared next to the screen, making everyone tense. She had white skin, but not natural, it was paper white. Her eyes were black pools, and she had black lipstick. Her hair was wavy and black as well, and tied back in a high ponytail. She smiled at the group. "Hello," She says. "My name is Elle."
"What are you?" Hopper questioned. Despite the rude question, Elle didn't stop her polite smile.
"A different species," She says with a shrug. "I'm here to better help you guys understand what's going on in the universe and answer some of your questions."
Hopper frowns, but nods in approval.
—(1.1k words)
wassup
I'm not okay with how many stories I have in this app but whatever
