Will to Survive

Summer Fun

That day, it was packed at the arcade in the town. Now that everyone was on summer break, a lot of people were hanging out at public places, and that included Max, Dustin, Lucas, and Reyna. The three kids had gotten Reyna really into all kinds of arcade games and she quickly became obsessed with them. So when they suggested the idea of them hanging out at the arcade, she quickly said yes.

It was Lucas's turn at Dungeon Master, but he was losing fast. The dragon killed him and he grew upset and kicked the machine. "GOD DAMMIT! I used to be good at this game! Fuck me!" He exclaimed.

Reyna couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. "I think Max has that covered for you," she said jokingly. Lucas and Max looked at her disgusted while Dustin snickered to himself, earning a smack in the head from Lucas. "I'm kidding guys! You're too young anyway. Damn, health class in school has a lot," she said.

"Tell is about it. Now step aside stalker. It's my turn now," Max said, grabbing the joystick and inserting a coin. She played for a while and was able to defeat the game. "And that's how it's done," she said, stepping back with her hands up in victory.

"How are you good at this?!" Dustin exclaimed. "TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!" He added, getting down on his knees and begging.

Reyna snorted at him and rolled her eyes. She loved hanging out with the kids and being a part of their party, but sometimes they could be a bit much with their dramaticness, especially Dustin. But she hung out with them nonetheless because they were nice kids and loyal to each other. And they introduced her to amazing things, such as video games, turning her into as big as a nerd as they were.

"Okay, you know what? I challenge you Mad Max," Reyna said with a smirk on her face. "I bet that I can beat your high score of 7,500 points on Dig Dug. You'll be second place on those rankings in no time," she said.

Max raised an eyebrow, clearly looking like she was doubting her. "You sure about that Rey? Cause I'm the best at Dig Dug. No one has been able to beat my high score in months," she said, sounding confident in herself. 

Reyna didn't even listen to her and started heading over to the Dig Dug machine. She inserted a coin and started playing the game. The three kids followed her and watched closely, Dustin and Lucas cheering her on while Max stood back, doubting her a lot. A few minutes later, Reyna stepped back from the machine, with the screen saying that she had a new high score. Max's jaw dropped and she entered in her name with the new record of 10,000 points. Dustin and Lucas looked even more shocked, never having heard of it being possible to be getting that many points in that game.

"Oh come on! No fair! She used her powers to win!" Max said, lowering her voice a bit. She had to be careful of mentioning their powers out loud because they didn't want to look suspicious of anything. 

"Max, you seem to forget that I don't even have that kind of power to cheat at a game like Dig Dug. It's just pure skill," Reyna said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Max sighed in defeat, accepting that she was now in second place.

The four continued to play more games until they saw Keelan and Jordan come up to them. They waved at them as Dustin quickly finished the game they were playing before turning to them.

"Hey guys! We were just wondering if you'd like to join us at the pool. Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, Heather, Damien, Cat and Ryder are already there. We also left a call at Will's and let Hopper know that El and Mike can come," Jordan told them.

"The pool definitely sounds fun! I think we'd all like to go," Reyna said, with Dustin, Lucas, and Max nodding their heads in agreement.

Keelan grinned. "Sweet! Lets go then! We're hanging out at the community pool and Jordan has been failing miserably at flirting with the lifeguards," she said in a teasing voice.

"Shut the fuck Up Keelan," Jordan said, shoving her lightly in the shoulder.

...

The group all showed up at the community pool. There they saw Nancy and Jonathan at the chairs together and talking. Steve was at the diving board and doing tricks to show off to the female lifeguards. Heather, Damien, Ryder, and Cat were playing Marco Polo and Will had showed up around the same time as the others and he joined in on Marco Polo. Lucas, Dustin, and Max went over to say hi to Will and joined in on the game as well.

Reyna went over to Steve while taking off her clothes to be able to swim. "Yo Harrington! Instead of doing cannonballs nonstop, watch this!" She said before doing a backflip into the water. Steve's eyes widened when he saw her trick, never knowing she could do that. Reyna rose up from the water and laughed nonstop. 

"How?!" Steve asked, confused.

Reyna smirked. "I've just been practicing a bit. Not the first time I've been here," she said before starting to do some laps. Steve chuckled as he did another cannonball into the water.

Jordan then saw a lifeguard watching them, and to him, she looked hot. He tapped Ryder on the shoulder and motioned towards the lifeguard. They both climbed out of the pool and took deep breaths while watching the lifeguard, who took no notice of them. 

"Okay dude, I'm gonna teach you how to flirt. You want to get Keelan to like you, then you gotta practice on flirting," Jordan said, patting Ryder on the shoulder.

Ryder gave him a look. "Like that's happening. So far the only thing she's in love with is alcohol. And that's not a joke, she's actually into it," he said.

Jordan shook his head at his friend. "She'll like you, okay? Now watch me," he said, walking over to the lifeguard. He did his best to look as sexy as he could as he strolled on over. Ryder watched them for a few minutes before he saw the lifeguard slap him in the face. She glared at him and said a couple of things. As Jordan came back over, Ryder gave him a slow clap.

"Yup, you are great," he said sarcastically. Jordan scoffed and jumped back into the pool, Ryder jumping in after.

That was when Mike and El showed up at the pool. Everyone noticed them and waved and Mike waved back at them while El looked around nervously. She had never been to the pool before and was scared of it, especially after the lab. When it was explained to her that a pool was like water, she started thinking of the lab and the bath. The girl wasn't so sure if she would be able to go into the pool.

Mike noticed her worrying and gentle squeezed her hand. "You'll be okay, Alright? Pools are noting like the bath. All they are is fun," he reassured.

El looked up at him, like she normally had to do because of the height difference between the two. "Promise?" She said in a small voice.

"Promise," the boy said, giving her a reassuring smile. He slowly led her into the pool and they stood at the shallow end together so she could get used to it. El shivered at how cold it was, but when she was standing, she felt a little better. This wasn't so bad.

They continued walking into the pool until they got to a good part where no splashing was involved. Mike then showed her how to do swimming laps, which El watched closely. She kicked her feet up and did the same thing that Mike did the best she could. She stopped to take a few breaths, but managed to make it where Mike was. El grinned and looked at where Mike was, but he disappeared. Confused, she looked around until she felt herself being picked up.

Mike lifted her up out of the water after diving underneath the water. They both laughed as the boy held onto her. El then jumped off and splashed Mike, who splashed her back. The two then both leaned in and kissed each other. They pulled away a few seconds later, only to have all of their friends looking at them with smirks on their faces.

Mike gave them all a look. "Why are you looking at us when Nancy and Jonathan are practically making out over there?" He asked, motioning where his sister was kissing Jonathan while sitting on the chairs. "They practically had sex like 10 times!" He added in, which made everyone laugh, except El who had no idea what he was talking about.

Nancy heard him and pulled away from her boyfriend before yelling out, "FUCK YOU MIKE!" Everyone continued laughing.

"I CANT THAT WOULD BE INCEST!" Mike shouted back, which only made everyone laugh harder.

The party may be having fun now, but little do they know of the dangers that will soon come to their peaceful town.