Downside Up [W.Byers]

039

"Wait, So her name is Suzie?" Mike asks. "Suzie with a 'Z'. She's from Utah." Dustin explains. "Girls go to science camp?" Will questions.

"Hey, I'd love to go to science camp." Ruby tugs at his arm. "Suzie does. She's a genius." Dustin nods. "Is she cute?" Mike adds.

"Think Phoebe Cates, only hotter."

"What's going on?" Max asks as she watches them exit the house. "Going to talk Dustin's girlfriend." Will responds.

"Girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Come on!" Ruby calls, pulling Will out along with her.

They tiredly continue to walk up the hill. It feels like it's been years since they started climbing. Ruby slouches as she turns to Will, holding the bag at his chest.

"Are you sure you don't want me to hold it for a bit?" She asks. "Yeah. I'm fine." He nods. "Aren't we high enough?" Lucas speaks up.

"Cerebro works best at a hundred meters." Dustin responds. "You know, I'm pretty sure people in Utah have telephones." Max states.

"Yeah, but Suzie's Mormon."

"What's that?" Ruby asks. "Oh, shit. She doesn't have electricity?" Lucas says, ignoring the question. "Oh, that's the Amish." Max explains.

"What are Mormons?" Will asks again. "Super religious white people. They have electricity and cars and stuff, but...since I'm not Mormon, her parents would never approve. It's all a bit... Shakespearean." Ruby rolls her eyes, sighing in exhaustion.

"Shakespearean?" Max repeats. "Yeah. Like Romeo and Juliet." Dustin nods. "Right." The red head chuckles.

"Star crossed lovers." Dustin continues. "I got it." She states. "Hey, guys!" Mike calls from behind the group, El by his side. They all pause, turning around. "This is fun and all, but uh..." Mike taps his watch.

"I have to go home." El finishes. "We're almost there." Dustin argues. "Sorry, man. Curfew." He turns to el, intertwining their fingers. "Come on, let's go"

"Good luck." She smiles, before running off.

Dustin looks down at his watch. "Curfew at 4:00?" He asks in disbelief. "They're lying." Lucas states. "It's been like this all summer." Will sighs.

"It's romantic." Max comments. "It's stupid." Ruby adds. "It's annoying." Will continues. "It's bullshit. I just got home. Well, their loss, right? Onwards and upwards!" Dustin nods his head up.

"Suzie awaits!"

They all groan in exhaustion, before following. Ruby continues on, not noticing that Will had fallen behind. "Will, come on!" Dustin calls. Will sighs, running back up.

"Is everything alright?" Ruby asks worriedly. "I told you already. Im fine. I thought you promised me you wouldn't worry so much anymore." Will sends her sad eyes.

"I'm sorry. I just.. I lo- I'm sorry. I'll stop." She sighs, placing a hand on his shoulder for a moment, before placing it by her side.

They finally arrive at the top, where Dustin sets down his large bag. "Made it." He smiles proudly. "Yeah, only took five hours." Max groans.

"Why couldn't we just play D&D?" Will asks . "I'm exhausted." Ruby takes a seat on the grass, exhaling loudly.

"Not so fast, Rube. We're gonna need your help to set it up." Dustin says as he unzips the bag. Ruby groans, forcing herself up.

They work together for about an hour to attach all the parts together and push it up, until they're finally done.

"Pretty impressive, right?" Dustin beams. "Yeah." Ruby looks up in amazement. "Now, you ready to meet my love?" Dustin asks. "Okay, sure." Max shrugs. "Yeah." Will nods.

Dustin takes a seat on the ground, causing Ruby to plop herself down beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

Dustin sighs, looking up at everyone else as he gets no response. "One sec. She's probably... she's still there.."

"Suzie.. this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

"I'm sure she's there. It's just—-" Dustin sighs. "Yeah." Lucas crosses his arms. "You know, maybe she's, like, busy or—"

"Yeah." Lucas nods. "It's around dinner time." Dustin continues. "Mm."

"Yep." Max nods. Dustin shrugs. "Suzie, do you copy? This is Dustin. Over."

"Dustin, I don't think she's gonna answer." Ruby sighs, picking at the grass. "Suzie, do you copy? This is Dustin. Over." He repeats.

"Do you copy? This is Dustin. Over."

It's already nightfall and the moon is well up. Ruby, Will, Max, And Lucas are all lying on the grass. Ruby fell asleep in Will's arms, resting her head on his chest.

"Suzie, this is your Dustin. Do you copy? Over." He continues. "Suzie—"

"Dustin, come on. She's not there." Max speaks up. "She's there, all right? She'll pick up." He argues.

"Maybe Cerebro doesn't work." Will suggests. "Or maybe Suzie doesn't exist." Lucas adds.  "She exists!"

"She's a genius and she's hotter than Phoebe Cates? No girl is that perfect." Lucas argues. "Is that so?" Max asks, picking up herself, looking down at him.

"I mean... you're perfect. I mean, like, per—perfect in your own way." He stammers. "In your special— your own special way."

Max chuckles. "Relax, I was teasing. I'm obviously perfect and Dustin's obviously lying." She responds. "Come on, Don Juan." She says as she gets up.

She helps Lucas up to his feet, before the two of them walk away. "Where are you going?" Dustin asks. "Home."

"Well.. guess it's just you two and me." Dustin sighs. Will slowly gets up, lightly pushing Ruby off. "Um... it's late."

"Sorry. Maybe tomorrow we can play D&D." He smiles hopefully. "Or something fun. Like we used to?"

"Yeah, sure." The curly headed boy nods. Will bends down beside Ruby, shaking her awake. "Come on, Rube. It's late." He says quietly.

Ruby takes his hand, tiredly pulling herself up. "Welcome home." Will turns to Dustin, sighing. "Bye, Dustin. Oh, and just so you know, I still wanna hear from this Suzie girl." She beams, earning a smile from the boy.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll try to contact her another day." He shrugs. "Call me if you do." She nods.

Will and her walk away, hand in hand, making their way back home.