Crush Culture [M.Wheeler]

[08] YOU'RE BETTER

It was a hard night. Nori couldn't manage to fall asleep. Will, her best friend, dead? It sounds near impossible.

She lies on her back, staring up at her ceiling, emotionless.

"Nori? You awake?" A voice comes on the walkie talkie on her bedside table. She decides not to respond. It's Mike. Ever since he ran off, she's been a little upset at him.

"Please, Nori." He says again. It takes all of her to hold back, until she couldn't anymore. "Mike, What are you doing awake? Over." She asks tiredly.

"I can't sleep. Over." He sighs.

"I can. Goodnight. Over and out." She shakes her head. Just as she is about to push the antenna down, Mike speaks up again.

"No, please. Nori, I really need to talk to someone right now." He says. His voice sounds weak, as if he were crying.

Nori exhales, softly closing her eyes then holding the walkie talkie up to her ear. "If I'm being honest, I can't really sleep either." She admits.

"Over." She quickly adds, leaning back on her bed.

"I'm sorry I left you guys there. I was a jerk. I saw how sad you were and I just couldn't stand there and watch. Over." He apologizes.

"What you did was really messed up, Mike. You can't just run off like that when your friends need you more then ever." She says angrily, but sighs. "But.. I see where you were coming from. And I forgive you. Over." She sighs.

"Thanks, Nori. El came back. I'm angry at her, but she has nowhere else to go. I had to take her back in. Over." Mike states.

"That's the right thing to do, Mike. That's really thoughtful of you. Over." Nori commends, causing Mike to smile, though she couldn't see.

"You really think so? Over." He asks.

"Yeah, for sure. Over." She chuckles. The line goes quiet for a moment, both of them unsure of what to say.

"Hey, you think Lucas and Dustin are mad at me? Over." Mike inquires, a tint of regret in his tone.

"Trust me, we're all going through a hard time. I'm sure they understand. Over." Nori responds reassuringly.

"Thanks, Nori. You're the best. Over."

"You're better. Over."

***

Early that morning, Mike had practically begged Nori to come over. Now, they sat on Mike's couch.

His head was rested on her lap while he looked through old drawings Will had drawn as she plays with his curls, losing focus.

"Can you please stop that?" Mike asks, annoyed, as he turns to Eleven. She seems to be playing around with the signal on his walkie talkie.

Nori looks up over at Eleven at that moment, then sighs, looking back down at Mike. When eleven doesn't stop, he shouts again.

"Are you deaf?" He sits up from Nori's lap. "I thought we were friends, you know? But friends tell each other the truth. And they definitely don't lie to each other." he continues.

"You made me think Will was okay, that he was still out there, but he wasn't. He wasn't!"

El's face seems conflicted while she continues to playa round with the frequency.

"Mike, take it easy." Nori says softly, placing her hand on top of his.

"Maybe you thought you were helping, but you weren't." Mike sighs, shaking her hand off and continuing to speak to Eleven.

"You hurt me. Do you understand? What you did sucks. Lucas was right about you." He shakes his head. "All along."

The static continues on the walkie, until a voice comes on. A very familiar voice. "So come on and let me know." The boy sings.

Mike and Nori look to each other, then to El. "Should I stay or should I go?" Will continues. El was doing it. Her nose was bleeding.

"Should I stay or should I go now?"

Mike and Nori quickly stand up, running up beside Eleven. "Should I stay or should I go now?"

Eleven lifts the walkie talkie, handing it to mike. "If I go there will be trouble. If I stay there will be double."

"Will, is that you? It's Mike! Do you copy? Over." He asks. Nori feels a wave of joy and hope come across her. "Will are you there? Will!"

When there was no response, Nori sighs, leaning her head down onto Mike's shoulder. "Was that..." She trails off, looking to eleven.

"Will." The girl smiles back.