The Upside Down~Stranger Things

Eight

November 8th, 1983, Hawkins, Indiana

The Supercomm crackled as Eleven messed around with it, allowing me to lean up against her side as I played with the string which had came loose from the sweater I was wearing. Mike had been sitting on the couch, far from us as he stared down at a stack of drawings.

"Will you please stop that?" He growled in annoyance, making Eleven flinched underneath me. She quickly turned it off, before tossing it in front of her as I sighed out in depression. She then turned it on again after a few moments, making Mike groan in anger, "are you deaf!" She ignored him and continued to mess around with the buttons. "I thought we were friends, you know? But friends tell each other the truth. And they defenitely don't lie to eachother! You both made me think Will was okay, that he was still out there, but he wasn't. He wasn't!" I swallowed, staring over at him in shame.

"Maybe you thought you were helping, but you weren't. You hurt me, you understand? You both did. What you did sucks. Lucas was right about you two all along.." My face softened in guilt, moving my eyes to my muddy knees as tears built up inside of my eyes. The tears soon slid back into the bottom of my eye lids as a voice echoed through out the room, making Mike turn his head to us in sudden shock.

"So come on and let me know..should I stay or should I go? Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now?" The voice sang, as I broke away from Eleven's side, turning so I could see the supercomm closely. Mike had ran over, shock written all over his face as he stared down at the singing radio. Eleven quickly handed it to him, letting him listen closely.

"If I go there will be trouble, and if I stay there will be double," The voice continued to sing, allowing me to recognize the voice fully. Will. My heart started to beat against my chest quickly in shock, leaning on my knees towards Mike as he quickly pressed the button to speak.

"Will, is that you? It's Mike! Do you copy?" He then removed his finger from the button, waiting for the boy to speak. The static then started to crackle, the singing barely audible as Mike pressed the button again, bringing it up to his mouth. "Will, are you there? Will!" There was a sudden interference on the radio, nothing but the crackling of the radio audible now. I lowered my gaze down to my grey socks in sorrow, wishing that Will could have heard him. Eleven's nose had been dripping with blood once again, along with the sides of her ears as she stared at Mike in apology.

"Was that..was it.." He stuttered, sharing stares between me and my sister, who smiled up at him weakly.

"Will."

~~~

"We keep loosing the signal, but you heard it right?"

"Yeah, I heard a baby," Lucas mumbled, staring at his friend in greif, "Mike, you must've tapped into a baby monitor. It's probabaly the Blackburn's next door."

"Uh, did that sound like a baby to you?" Mike squinted his eyes in annoyance, making Lucas roll his eyes with a sigh, "no, Lucas, you don't understand. He spoke last night. Words! He was singing that weird song he loves. Even El and Levy heard him!"

"Oh, well, if the weirdo's heard him, then I guess-"

"Cut it out Lucas. Are you sure you're on the right channel, Mike?" Dustin spoke out, staring over at Mike.

"I don't think it's about that. I think, somehow, El is channeling him." I turned my head to the boys as I sat next to Eleven on the couch, locking eyes with Dustin, who had already been staring at me. His cheeks instantly flushed that same red from a few days ago, making me grow confused once again. What was he doing? 

"Do you really believe this crap?" Lucas exclaimed in disbelief.

"I don't know..I mean..do you remember when Will rode his bike and fell off and broke his finger..he sounded alot like that," Dustin mumbled, his cheeks slowly fading back to normal as he stared over at Lucas.

"Did you guys not see what I saw? They pulled Will's body out of the water. He's dead!" I stared over at him in sorrow, not knowing what to say to help..or think I was helping.

"Maybe it's his ghost coming back to haunt us.."Dustin then replied, his voice low as he peered around the room.

"It's not his ghost."

"Well how do you know that, Mike?" Lucas questioned with interest, staring at Mike with his arms crossed against his chest.

"I just do!"

"Then what was in that water, huh?"

"I don't know! All I know is Will is alive. Will is alive! He's out there somewhere," Mike finally calmed down, breathing in as he stared down at the table, "all we have to do is find him." The boys all shared looks with eachother, before Mike turned to look over at Eleven, who had been messing around with the radio again. "this isn't gonna work. We need to get El a stronger radio somehow."

Dustins face brightened up as he grinned, "Mr. Clarkes Heathkit Ham Shack!" Mike nodded, but Lucas just sighed.

"The Heathkit is at school. There is no way we're gonna get the weirdo's in there without anyone noticing. I mean..look at that one. She barely has any hair. And that one..her hair is too much of a mess, for godssake a bird could make a nest in there!" I stared at him with narrowed eyebrows, before placing my fingers through my hair, which didn't get very far. He was right, I did need to brush it..

~~~

I sat near Mike as he dug through the box from Nancy's room, before pulling out a stick which held a fluffy thing on the end.  He then took out another square shape box thingy, which opened up, showing a soft pink circle. He then dipped the fluffy stick into it, before putting it near Eleven's face, making her pull back the second it hit her cheek. He slightly smiled, nodding, showing that he understood why she had flinched.

"It's makeup."

I watched him place the 'makeup' on her face, before finishing and turning to me. It felt weird at first, but when I looked in the mirror, I felt like a whole new person. The other boys had handed us clothes, before giving us privacy by letting us go to the bathroom and change. Eleven placed a blonde wig on her head, along with a pink dress, and white (close to white anyway) shoes. My hair had been down, my bouncy curls rested upon my shoulders after sliding on the white sweater dress, and the soft pink blouse, which must've been Nancy's as a young child. We finally exited the room together, the three boys turning to face us instantly. 

My eyes met Dustins as his jaw dropped slightly, a small smile forming on his lips. I could feel my pulse start to quicken, my body radiating a strange heat that I've never felt before. It was felt mostly in my stomach and face, and I felt as if there were moths fluttering around inside of me, making me start to sweat underneath my clothing. "wow. They look-"

"Pretty," Mike finished, staring at us, mostly at Eleven, in awe. My nerves faded away slightly, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips. I caught Eleven smile from out of the corner of my eye, making my heart start to beat, but with joy. "good. Pretty good." I then followed after Eleven towards the mirror which had been placed up against the wall, breathing in deeply once seeing my appearance.

"Pretty," Eleven whispered, making me smile. I then grabbed her hand, grinnning as I spoke.

"Pretty good."