The Long Game, Lucas Sinclair

008. glock in my lap everywhere i'm strapped

CHAPTER EIGHT.
1x08: The Upside Down

The five party members and Corey were left behind from all the action, sitting in the bleachers of the middle school's gymnasium. Hopper and Joyce had left to go to the Gate, and Nancy and Jonathan were ordered to stay back and make sure the kids stayed (mostly because Sam had tried leaving with Hopper and Joyce, fighting hard with the chief on it). The two teenagers were not in the gym, but presumably in the gym's entrance.

Dustin, Mike, and Eleven sat on the first row, Sam and Lucas on the second, and Corey by himself, per usual, on the third.

Not even one of the kids were at easy hearts right now, all stressed out about everything that could be happening right now—or, at least, that was how Sam felt. Will could be dead, Hopper could be dead, Joyce could be dead, Barbara was dead, maybe the bad men had arrived and even Nancy and Jonathan were dead—

Okay, so a lot of people could be dead, and Sam needed to calm the hell down.

Sam glanced behind herself anxiously, feeling uncomfortable with having Corey at her back. She hated knowing he could be staring at her, judging her, and she couldn't do anything about it. But he was zoned out, eyes trained on nothing in particular. She sighed over how anxious she could really get, turning back to face the front, putting her elbows on her knees.

Lucas leaned into Sam, starting to whisper. "So... Corey?"

Sam turned her head, face close to Lucas's. She didn't risk turning her head back again, but side-eyed her cousin to see he hadn't moved in the past few seconds. So Sam locked eyes with Lucas .

"Yeah," she breathed. "I mean, I guess. I don't know."

Lucas frowned at the uncomfortable look on Sam's face. He kept his voice low, said, "It's weird."

What was weird—the fact Corey was here, that he was being civil, that he wasn't beating anyone up, that he wasn't vandalizing property, that he and Sam weren't stuck in a screaming match—Lucas didn't specify, but they all were viable prospects. Sam agreed with all of the unspoken options.

"It is," Sam agreed, because she didn't really know what else to say.

"I thought he'd be... different. Worse?"

"I thought he would be too."

"Are you okay?"

Sam huffed, because that question had a lot of weight to it. She stared out, contemplating, before glancing at Lucas again. "Ask me tomorrow?"