Jeopardy- Stranger Things

Chapter Forty Three

November 11th, 1983

"The good news is," Nick said, having turned Lucas over so he was lying on his back, "He's still breathing. He's still got a pulse. His eyelids keep flickering so he is responsive but he should seriously see a doctor."

"No," both boys blurted, sharing a suspicious glance at each other before fixing back on Nick. Nick furrowed her brows and mumbled "Okay, okay, jees," before continuing to check on Lucas.

"Lucas," she called, not quite knowing what to do next, "Lucas, can you hear me?"

Nick glanced back at the other two when there was no response from Lucas. George and Dustin kept flashing each other worried glances but they mostly just stared at Lucas, wide eyed and with gaping mouths.

Nick wasn't sure why they'd called her and not an ambulance. Sure, she knew a bit of first aid and had managed to successfully patch George up over the years but there was a big difference between when George mildly sprained his wrist and Lucas lying unconscious on the floor with a head wound. She sighed and picked up Lucas's limp arm and moved it across his body to shift him into the recovery position. His head tilted sideways and rested in the crook of his elbow giving Nick a better look at the cut on the side of his forehead.

It wasn't very deep, thank god. It looked as if it were slightly deeper than a graze. Nothing that should be that serious. Then again, Nick wasn't a doctor.

"I can't see any major injuries," Nick told the boys, who both sighed in relief, their bodies visibly relaxing, "But you should really get this checked," Nick added and they tensed up again, "How did this even happen?"

George and Dustin shared a look. Neither boy said anything. Nick sighed, glancing between the two boys who were doing anything but look at her. She shook her head slightly and stood up, brushing the dirt off her hands and knees.

"Okay. Don't tell me," she mumbled, "But this can't keep happening, boys," she said as firmly as she was able to, pointing at both of them, in turn, to try and make them feel guilty so they'd stop whatever it was that they were doing that kept constantly placing them in danger, "This is getting dangerous and at some point, someone is going to end up getting hurt far, far worse than this."

George looked away from Nick and mumbled something into the grass. Nick couldn't make it all out but heard something about Will.

Nick's stern expression softened slightly. Of course, this had something to do with Will. George had never acted out before. Of course, this had something to do with Will. She had no idea what George got up to anymore but it had to have something to do with his grieving process. Perhaps she shouldn't have been so hard on him.

Lucas grumbled and propped himself up on his elbows. Nick let out a sigh of relief. Her 'first aid' hadn't killed him, thank god. Dustin and George scrambled to get up and darted over to him. They tried to help him up but the ever stubborn Lucas swatted away their hands and he staggered to his feet himself and promptly swooned. Dustin and George, whether Lucas liked it or not, threw his arms over their shoulders. The three of them stood expectantly before Nick.

"Go on," She sighed, "Get in then," she said, waving her hand in the vague direction of where she had parked the car. She knew she had basically become George's personal taxi but now she was becoming an ambulance and she wasn't sure if she liked where it was heading.

*

Nick drove the boys home, obligingly not taking Lucas straight to hospital. Dustin, George and, to her surprise, Lucas had all pleaded with her not to. She didn't like doing what they told her to, she didn't want the bidding of a bunch of 12 year olds to become a habit but what else could she do? She didn't exactly want to explain to Lucas' parents when they turned up at hospital that she had found him and the boys unconscious at a junkyard.

The atmosphere inside the car was sickeningly tense. Nick was stewing in her worrisome thoughts, just staring straight ahead and gripping the wheel so tightly her knuckles were going white. George wasn't exactly calm either. He felt as if they had taken a humongous step backwards in their journey to rescuing Will. Plus he now found himself in the front seat of a car being driven by his sister who was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed she was speeding.

Nick waited until she had dropped off Lucas and then Dustin before she confronted George about what had happened. She didn't want to put him on the spot in front of his friends, she wasn't that cruel.

"Are you lying to me, George?" she said, scarily calmly. George had expected her to shout at him. She certainly looked angry enough to scream at him. George didn't know how to answer her. So he sat in silence.

"We used to tell each other the truth," Nick continued, softly. George almost thought she were pleading with him, "We would be so honest with each other because no one else would. I just want you to know you can trust me."

"Then why don't you trust me?" George asked, he too sounding much calmer than he felt, "I told you what we were doing and I know it sounds crazy but sometimes life is." he continued, his voice starting to show the anger he felt at his sister for not believing him, "Just look at us and mum, and our dads- our life is crazy! You made your decision. You didn't believe me." When he got to the end of his sentence, George found himself shouting. He never meant to shout at Nick. He didn't want to argue with Nick at all but she had made her decision to not believe him when he was telling the truth. There was nothing more he could do. Nick kept asking him to tell her the truth but he already had done. What was he supposed to do then?

George could feel the anger boiling through him. He jumped out the car, slamming the door behind him and ran straight inside, heading to his room.

Nick stayed sat in the car, still gripping the steering wheel. She watched George run inside and slam the front door as hard as he could. The door bounced back and swung open. She could see him storm into his room and slam the door with so much force that the whole house shook.

How was she supposed to believe he was telling the truth when every time she mentioned it, he stormed off? Something was definitely going on with him. And Nick was going to get to the bottom of it whether George liked it or not.