Fates Intertwined

Chapter 7

Derry, 6/4/1988

"Wait, did he really say that?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Max, who seemed to be choking on air from laughing too hard. "Then, Lucas grabbed his shake and threw it at him."

El grabbed her sides and fell onto her pale pink bed. The smile on her face felt as if it was plastered on. "Oh god!" she said in between giggles.

It was a dim Saturday morning. The sun's usual bright light was blocked by thick clouds. There was a chill breeze flowing outside, making the trees' branches dance in the air. The outside weather would've brought many people down since the days before were so warm and cheerful. El Hopper, though, would not be one of them. She was currently in her newly finished room, laughing heartily with one of her best friends through her walkie talkie.

"Are he and Dustin still mad at each other?" El asked as she regained control of her breaths.

"Yeah," Max replied, also starting to calm down. "They better suck it up, though, for our gaming competition."

"It's tomorrow, right?"

"Yup, and, as always, I'm gonna beat their asses."

"I wish I was there to see that," El said, her laughs turning into soft chuckles. She had already lived in Derry for a week, and her stay only made her miss her friends even more. "We just had to move," she grumbled.

"Yeah," her best friend replied in a similar sad tone. "But, hey, Derry can't be that bad."

"Really?" El put her hand up. "Last time I went out I ran into a blondie who eyed my outfit, whispered to her friend, and laughed at me along with her clique," she listed off, putting one finger in the air for every action.

"What? What's her name? I need to hunt her down," Max said, in a playful but threatening tone.

El burst out giggling. "Thanks for the offer, but I can't let you get arrested yet. Besides, I don't even remember her name. I think it started with a G. Gr-Gertude? Gigi? Um..."

"The-greatest-disappointment-to-all-mankind?"

El shook her head. "Nah, that starts with a T."

"Damn it!" The girls started laughing again.

"Oh god, my sides are killing me," Max stated, breathing heavily.

"My head is killing me," El replied. She looked down to see blood starting to come out of her nose. "Frick!"

"Again?" Max asked in a slightly worried tone.

Hopper told El that the house phones wouldn't work until Monday, so she had to use her telekinesis to strengthen her walkie talkie's signal in order to talk to her friends. She was even able to stop her nose from bleeding with a little extra concentration. However, both actions weakened her by a lot, so she couldn't either for long.

El sighed. "It's fine." She leaned towards her shelf to get a tissue from the box and quickly wiped the blood off her face.

"I guess that's all for now," Max said with a disappointed voice.

No, please don't go. "I...I guess," El replied gloomily, crumbling the tissue in her hand.

"Hey, relax, El," her friend stated in a knowing tone. "We'll just talk again tonight. Eight thirty?"

"Like always." El sighed in an exhausted tone. "See you."

"Later!" The line cut off.

El released her grasp from her walkie talkie and tossed her tissue into a small garbage container.