Not Just Another Number

This can't be real

Sarah's POV

I park my car outside of the meeting spot, already seeing the boys and El there. I get out and start apologizing. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. There was some drama with some friends, and I had to deal with it." I say, walking up to them.

They just nod their heads and start walking, their bikes at their sides. I follow them through the trees, staying next to Dustin. "How you holding up, Dusty?" I ask him. He looks at me and laughs a little. "Good, I guess." He replies.

We keep walking in the woods, but Dustin suddenly grabs my hand. I smile at this. Even after the chaos so far, he's still a little kid. "So, about your powers...." He trails off. I laugh and squeeze his hand.

"Well, I do owe you some answers, so what do you wanna know?" I ask. He smiles and starts asking questions rapidly. "Where did you get them? Can you do anything else with them? Are you more like the Human Torch or Aquaman?"

I laugh again and hush him. "Alright, alright, alright. Calm down, Dustin! For starters, I got them when I was younger, but not in a good way. Second, besides the little tricks, they can be pretty useful. Finally, I'm better than both of them." He seems like he wants to add more, but he's hesitant.

"What is it?" I ask, making him stop. We were already in the back, so the others don't notice. He mumbles something, but I can't hear him. "Can you repeat that?"

"Why did you never tell us?" He asks shyly. I sigh and start walking, causing him to walk as well. I don't know how to answer this, but he really should know. "Well, Dusty, I couldn't tell you guys. I guess I was scared." I say, not knowing what to say. He just scoffs at that.

"You, scared?" He asks. I chuckle and squeeze his hand again. "Yeah, believe it or not, I get scared. A lot, actually. But now I know that I don't need to be scared. I got my family to look out for me, blood or otherwise." I say, looking forward. He just smiles and keeps walking.

I watch Eleven look at Mike with concern. "They hurt you?" She asks. Mike is hurt? Mike just looks down. "I fell at recess." Bullshit.

"Mike, friends don't lie." She tells him. Huh, Mike told her that? Cute. Mike scoffs, but keeps his head down. "I was tripped by this mouth breather, Troy, okay?" That makes me angry.

"That dipshit again? Mike are you sure you don't want me to deal with him?" I ask. This isn't the first time Troy and his friends have picked on Mike.

"Mouth breather? Dipshit?" Eleven asks. Mike just nods his head. "Yeah, like a dumb person. But only Sarah is allowed to say Dipshit."

"Why?"

"Because she owns it."

Eleven just nods her head, making me laugh. Her and Mike start talking about his school, making me smile. Looks like Mike has a little crush. Lucas and Dustin are fake gagging beside me. I hit the back of their heads and tell them to knock it off.

"Lucas, we're cool, right?" I ask, gaining his attention. He looks up at me and then looks away. "Y-yeah, we're good." He says, looking forward. I smile. Seems like he's getting over it, slowly but surely. Thank God.

Time Skip

We've been walking for hours, following Eleven. The boys believe that she could find Will, and I believe it too. By now, the sun has already fallen, so we have to rely on the lights on the boys' bikes to see. We've finally made it out of the woods, leading us to my house?

Will's home? But he can't really be here, unless he found his way to our house again. "Here." She says, stopping.

"Yeah, this is where Will lives." Mike says, confused.

"Hiding."

"No, no, this is where he lives. He's missing from here, understand?" Mike asks, not understanding. Lucas drops his bike and walks over to Mike. "What are we doing here?"

"She said he's hiding here." Mike says.

"I swear, if we walked all the way out here for nothing-" Dustin whines, but Lucas interrupts him.

"That's exactly what we did! I told you she didn't know what the hell she was talking about!" Lucas yells.

"Lucas!" I yell.

Mike turns to Eleven and huffs. "Why did you bring us here?" He demands. Eleven starts to stutter, so I try to help her. "Guys, just calm down. What if she does know. What if Will is here, just not now?" I suggest, struggling to help. God, it's so hard to explain without them getting angry.

They look at me weirdly. Lucas scoffs and looks at Mike. "We should have gone to the police like we planned." He scoffs.

"We are not calling the cops!" Mike yells. This starts an argument between them, but I'm more focused on Dustin. He steps forward, and is just staring out into the road. I look at where he's looking, and see flashing lights. Police? Oh no....

"Guys?" Dustin says, trying to get their attention. They still don't stop. "Guys!" He yells, making them turn around. The sirens have gotten louder.

"Will..." Mike whispers. They all run to their bikes. "Shit, what do I do?" I yell at them. Dustin climbs onto his bike and looks back at me. "Just run and follow the cars." He says before pedaling off with the others.

Great, now I gotta run. I quickly run after them, trying to keep up. I keep following them through trees and down the road, my lungs aching, but I don't stop until I see them slow down. We stopped at the base of the quarry.

There's tons of police cars out here. I run up to the kids and walk over to one of the cars. They're getting something out of the water. It's a body. I could see Hopper helping out. That...that can't be....

"It's not Will, it can't be." Mike pleads, holding onto the car. Dustin and Lucas are holding my hands, tightly. They bring the body out of the water, letting us see it clearer. Lucas squeezes my hand, taking in a shaky breath. "It's Will. It's really Will." He whispers.

I feel a tear fall down my cheek as I shake my head. It can't be. This can't be real, it just can't be him. Mike walks back to his bike, making us turn around to look at him.

"Mike.." Eleven tries, but Mike cuts her off. "Mike what?! You were supposed to help us find him alive. You said that he was alive! Why did you lie to us?" Mike yells at her.

"What is wrong with you?" He yells, making El tear up. "Mike.." I whisper, but he doesn't listen. He storms off to his bike and climbs on. "Mike, come on. Don't do this." Lucas pleads, but that doesn't stop him.

"Mike, where are you going?" Dustin asks, but Mike is already pedaling away. I let go of Lucas's hand and wipe my face. They all look at me, but I look at the ground.

Lucas sighs sadly and walks over to his bike, leaving too. Dustin tugs on my hand, making me look down at him. "Sarah, you okay?" He asks. I nod slowly, plastering a fake smile on my face. "Y-yeah. I just need to get home. You do too." I say, walking over to Eleven.

"Come on, I'll drive you two home." I say, walking away. They quickly follow me. I shakily grab their hands, for my sake, and walk in the direction I left my car, not wanting to let Dustin and Eleven see the tears falling down my face. That couldn't have been Will, he's in the dark place, but why does this feel so real?