brontide ; stranger things

TWELVE

Ineffable (adj.)

too great or amazing to be expressed by words

-Collie's Word of the Day #301

•••

  THEY had a plan. Oh, they had a plan. One that they were sure would bring the walls of Hawkins Lab crashing to the ground. They worked for hours, never stopping once until it was all done.

  They made dozens of copies of the tape containing Owens' confession and put them in envelopes, all with letters explaining what was to be done. They then marked the envelopes to be delivered to the biggest, most widely-bought newspapers in the country, such as the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York Times, and everything in between.

  It was late in the evening when they finished and all sat down to have yet another round of watered-down vodka. Swing music sounded from the record player and next to the door was the huge box full of envelopes waiting to be mailed out.

  "To taking down the man!" toasted Murray with a smile. Collie, Jonathan, and Nancy all grinned and repeated in unison,

  "To taking down the man!" They all chugged their drinks and set down their glasses, all just a tiny bit tipsy.

  "Call me a bastard, but sure know how to make a spirit, am I right?" questioned Murray as he began to pour them all more. Nancy leaned forward and waved her hand, furrowing her brows.

  "Oh, no, no, no," she dismissed him, "we can't." Jonathan voiced his agreement and hiccuped a bit, shaking his head.

  "Yeah, no, I have to drive."

  "Drive?" Murray looked at them all incredulously. "What, tonight?" Collie, who was silent as she leaned back between her friends, watched Nancy and Jonathan share a look.

  "Yeah, our parents-" Nancy began, though was cut off.

  "Would be proud if they knew what you were up to," interrupted Murray. "Just tell them you're at Tammy's, or Don's, or whoever's and take my guest room." Though the other two hesitated, Collie was glad for a place to stay the night. She still didn't have the bravery to go back home, where she knew Hopper would be waiting for her.

  "It is pretty late," said Nancy as she checked her watch. Jonathan looked to Collie, who simply bobbed her head in concurrence. Nancy nodded once it was agreed that they were staying and stood, announcing, "I'll be back, I'm gonna go to the restroom."

  She left and Jonathan looked to Murray. "Um, can I have the sofa?" he asked. Murray was silent, a perplexed expression playing his face as he looked between Jonathan and Collie.

  "Okay, I'm confused," he finally said after a long moment. "What's going on here? Lover's quarrel?" Sitting up, Collie shook her head and unconsciously grabbed Jonathan's hand.

  "What? No. We're... we're fine," she answered defensively.

  "Yeah, I just thought the girls, um, would want to be together," Jonathan added, inching closer to Collie. "I-It'd be... kinda weird to sleep with Collie..." Murray tried to hold it in but failed and let out a long, hard laugh, causing the two teens to exchange a confused look.