NO ONE//Stranger Things

007

The sun, falling behind the mountains, had set the sky ablaze with a fiery pink, blended a brilliant blue. Carol, having just left the Miller's house, was marching to see her friend. The Millers had told her that last time they saw Matt was when he was headed to the mall with Bentley. The plan was to spend some time at the arcade. Carol, as mad as a steaming inferno, sprinted to Bentley Rodger's house. She knew exactly what to say. First, she would call Bentley by his real name, with only his dad calls him, to tick him off. Then, she would start bringing Amand into it, wich would tick him off even more, and lastly, pretend everyone is innocent besides him, which he hated the most. She knew her friend very well. She  knew he hated to be called out, although his biggest fear was being like everyone else. 

She swiped her bangs out of her face as she took a deep breath in. I'll be calm about this. Carol reasoned. Then, she did the opposite, by pounding on the door. No one answered. She pressed her ear to the door after a few seconds, and heard distressed whispers. Suddenly, Bentley opened the door, and Carol almost fell over. 

Standing back up, she took a second to remember everything she would say. Drawing a sharp breath in to begin her rant, she looked Bentley in the eyes and stopped. His eyes were red, as if he had just been crying. He looked weak and vulnerable, as if something bad had just happened. She had never seen him like this. This was the guy who claimed he was afraid of nothing. 

Bentley wiped his nose once or twice, then shifted his shoulders back to look more confident. He didn't look Carol in the eyes as he spoke, "Yeah, what do you want?" He asked nonchalantly, sounding better than he looked. 

"Bentley....What's wrong?" Carol asked, trying to sound caring. Bentley opened the door wider to reveal Justin, on the ground, with Sylvia fanning him, and Allen, his dad, yelling to someone on the phone. 

"Nothing! We-I-I mean, nothing's wrong. Everything, uh, couldn't be better." Bentley wiped his eye, as he wanted to sound confidant. 

"What's wrong with Justin? And why is your dad yelling?" Carol asked, the tone of panic not hidden whatsoever. Looking back into the house, Carol now noticed two kids-Brennan and Mollie-who she knew somewhat well, outside, chatting quietly, but taking nervous glances at Justin. 

Carol could not wait for Bentley to respond. She had burst through the open door, and sat next to the unconscious Justin. She looked up at Sylvia, whose eyes were gleaming with worry. 

"What happened to him?" Carol tried her best to stay calm, but when her best friend's younger brother was unconscious on the ground, it was hard for her. 

"Well, when Allen proposed to me," Sylvia showed Carol the shiny new ring on her finger, "He came from the attic and...fainted." Carol smiled and congratulated Sylvia before returning her attention to Justin. She propped his head up onto her lap, so she could stroke Justin's cheek with her hand. Soon, Bentley sat on the other side of Justin. 

"Oh, no! Allen," Sylvia called to her new fiance, "It's past the kid's bedtime. I have to take them home." Sylvia stood up and kissed Allen, who had finished his phone call with an abnormal amount of rage. Then, she gathered her kids and left abruptly. 

After a half an hour, Justin woke up with a deep gasp. He looked around the room with his tired eyes. "Bentley?" He called. No one was there. He only heard voices from down the hall. Before he could stand up and see who was talking, his dad came through the back door. 

"Hiya, champ." He smiled as he helped lift his son off the couch. 

"What happened? Did I faint? Is 18 alright?" Justin rubbed a bump on the back of his head. 

"18? Well, you must have had a bad dream," his father rolled his eyes, "Now, Let's go. I'll make your favorite dessert." His dad started to walk away. Justin stared at him. He opened his jaws but no sound came out.

"Go-Let's go? Why?" Justin's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at his dad in the eyes. 

His dad groaned, "After seeing how little money Bentley has, I realized he doesn't have enough to support both of you. So, I'm taking you home."

"What!? No!!" Justin shouted, in hopes of his dad changing his mind. I can't leave 18! She needs me! Justin thought. He wanted to say something to his dad to stop this. Anything. He put together arguments against going home, but since he couldn't include 18, he had no purpose to fight it. He felt like the breath inside him had evaporated. He felt defeated. Following his dad out of Bentley's doors, he wondered if he would see 18 anytime soon.