should I stay or should I go? | mike wheeler x reader

the bathtub pt.3

Static played on the walky-talky as we watched El use her powers to contact Will and Barb. The lights flickered a couple of times. "I'm sorry," El cried. "What's wrong? What happened?" Joyce stammered. "I can't find them," El whispered.

"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak," Mike explained. "The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets. Like, she flipped the van earlier," I start, "It was awesome," Dustin cut in. "But she's drained. Like a bad battery," Mike continued. "Well... How do we make her better?" Joyce stuttered. "We don't. We just have to wait and try again," I explain. "Well, how long?" Nancy asks. " I don't know," Mike shrugs. "The bath," El blurts. "What?" Joyce asks. "I can find them. In the bath," El repeated.

Dustin spoke on the phone with Mr. Clarke while the rest of us sat around and watched him. Dustin wrote down everything Mr. Clarke told him on a note pad. "Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?" Dustin asks Joyce. "I think so. Yeah," Joyce replies. "Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it," Dustin explained. "How much is 'lots' ?" Hopper asked. "1,500 pounds," Dustin specified. "Where are we gonna get that much salt?" I ask.

We pulled up to school in Hopper's car. Mike, Nancy, and I went into the supply closet to get hoses. We barreled them out. "What did she even eat?" Nancy asks, referring to El. "Candy, leftovers, Eggos... She really likes Eggos," Mike replied. "Where'd she sleep?" Nancy asks. "In my bed," I sigh. "Then where'd you sleep?" Nancy asks. "In Mike's be--" "On the top bunk," Mike lies, cutting me off. Nancy heard me anyway. Nancy and Mike had a sweet bonding moment while I stood there quietly. "From now on, we tell each other everything," Nancy exclaimed. "Okay. Do you like Jonathan now?" Mike asked. "What? No. No, it's... it's not... it's not like that. Do you like Eleven?" Nancy asked. "What? No," Mike retorted. "Then, do you like y/n?" Nancy continued. "I'm--no, well, I--no," Mike stuttered, and Nancy smirked.

Mike and I filled up the pool while Nancy plugged in the hose's. "Colder!" Lucas yelled to Nancy. Nancy adjusted the temperature. "Warmer!" Lucas yelled again. Nancy changed the temperature again. "Right there!" Lucas yelled.

Mike put his watch back on as El got ready to get in. We did various experiments, and we did them correctly. Eleven stepped into the pool, slowly lying down as everyone watched around her. The lights flickered in the room, similar to Joyce's house.

"Barbara?" El muttered. El began to breathe slowly. "What's going on?" Nancy asked. "I don't know," Mike replied. "Is Barb okay? Is she okay?" Nancy questioned. "Gone. Gone. Gone," El blurt. Nancy began to cry. Joyce tried to soothe El. "Castle Byers," El muttered. I gasped, grasping onto Mike's arm. "Will?" El called out quietly. "You tell him... tell him I'm coming. Mom is coming," Joyce begged. "Hurry," we heard Will speak over the radio. "Okay. Listen, you tell him to... to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey," Joyce stuttered. Eleven shot up, gasping for air. Joyce embracing her in a hug and calming her down.

Dustin, Lucas, El, Mike, and I sat on the bleachers next to El, we huddled up for comfort. Everyone remained silent. I abruptly get up and walk outside to Nancy, Mike looking at me confused. "Nancy?" I stutter out. "Yeah?" she sniffles. "I'm sorry about Barb. I feel like it's my fault. If I were home, I could've helped her," I cry. "It's not your fault, y/n, don't worry. It's my fault," She cries. I hug her before Jonathan walked in. I walked back into the gym and to my seat, giving them some alone time. "Where did you go?" Mike asked. "To apologize," I exclaim, wiping my eyes.