Teenage romance is already difficult enough to navigate.
But when the one you love doesn't love you back? That's the worst pain of all.
STRANGER THINGS | NANCY WHEELER
seasons 1-2
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( the bathtub, pt. i )
• °:.☆ . ₊°• ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆
LAURA STRUGGLES TO comprehend everything that Dustin has just thrown at her. He'd told the story of the past week at an impressive speed, complete with random details that she isn't sure she needs to know—like this random child making the school bully wet his pants in front of the school—along with wild hand motions and sound effects.
They're sitting on opposing bean bag chairs in the Wheeler's basement, and now it feels too quiet without Dustin's rambling. He fidgets while he waits for her to finish processing everything.
"So... she can move things... with her mind...?" Laura asks.
"Yes!" Dustin exclaims, pleased that she'd understood. "It's wicked. She always gets a nosebleed, though, but it's no big deal—she just wipes it away."
"And you think she can help us find Will and Barb?"
"We know so," he corrects her. "The place where Eleven is from—it has a door to the other world."
Her spine stiffens. "The other world?"
"Yeah, where Will is. And your friend. Where the monster is hunting them."
Laura remembers pulsing, warm walls and thick mucus dripping all over her. Flashes of that faceless thing appear in her mind. She can smell the ripe scent of blood and decaying flesh from the animals it had devoured, can remember the fear that had almost paralyzed her as she struggled to navigate that desolate place. Even now, that same terror begins to pump through her veins, increasing her heart rate.
"What if there's more than one gate?" she asks. "Is that possible?"
Dustin considers this. "Eleven only knows about the one." He squints, fully absorbing Laura's question. "Why?"
"I think I've gone through it."
Just as a wide-eyed Dustin opens his mouth, a crackling noise emits from a walkie-talkie placed on the table beside them. Both of their heads whip toward the sudden interruption. The crackles sound again, this time interspersed with the sound of a familiar voice shouting indistinctly.
"Is that Lucas?" Laura asks.
"Holy shit." Dustin catapults himself to his feet and runs toward the bathroom where Mike and Eleven are, flinging the door open. "Guys! It's Lucas. I think he's in trouble."
Laura stands as well, trying to make out the jumbled words. Lucas sounds frantic. Even if she can't understand what he's saying, it's clear that something is wrong.
