Joey Hopper//Will Byers -Book two-

The Pollywog: Part one

"Rise and shine." I hear my dad call.

"Ugh, too early." I complain, pulling my covers up over my head.

I hear his footsteps walk over to Els bed and I peek a look.

"So that's it, huh? You're still not talking?"

With that the memory of last night hits me. Last night totally sucked. The whole day sucked actually. The only highlights were getting candy and planning a campaign with Mike. I almost had a good conversation with Will but those stupid jerks just had too ruin everything. Will. Tonight I'm supposed to go over to Will's house and eat dinner, hang out, all the fun stuff we usually do. Maybe that will make today better than yesterday. Dinner at Will's always makes me feel better.

My dad starts talking again, "alright. I guess I'm gonna have to, um...enjoy this triple decker eggo extravaganza on my own."

That piques my attention. And I'm sure by the look on El's face it piques hers too.

We both rush and get dressed, then we walk out to the kitchen. There on the table is probably the most unhealthy thing I've ever seen. Its three egos separated by layers on whipped cream with boatloads of candy scattered around it. El doesn't talk or anything. She just sits down at her seat. I'm not exactly sure what the situation is. El doesn't talk all too much anyways so I'm not entirely sure if we're still giving my dad the silent treatment or not. I just decide to follow her lead and sit down.

We all start eating and Dad says stuff like, "yum! Mmm! Good right?"

I crack a smile but don't dare make the first move.

"You know the great thing about it?" My dad questions, "It's only 8,000 calories."

The rooms quiet for a while. The quiets not entirely bad though. It's not a tense silence any more. Now it's just an awkward silence.

"I heard the static last night," my dad starts looking towards El. "You visited him again?"

I turn to El. I know exactly who she visited, Mike. She's been doing it for a while now. As far as I'm aware though he's never actually seen her.

"He says he needs me," El whispers.

"I know that you miss him, all right? But it's too dangerous." My dad starts. "You want Joe to check on him? Ask if he's okay."

"He's not." I finally say, causing them both to turn to me. "We talked last night, after trick or treating. He says he thinks he's going crazy. I almost told him the truth."

"Joey-"

"I know, I'm sorry Dad." I sigh, "I didn't though, I didn't tell him."

"You're the last thing he needs right now, El." My dad says in a calm voice, "You're gonna see him. Soon. And not just in that head of yours. You're gonna see him in real life. I feel like I'm making progress with these people."

El leans towards him with a glare. "Friends don't lie."

"What?" Dad asks, obviously thrown off by her response.

"You say 'soon' on day 21," El starts. "You say 'soon' on day 205. You now say 'soon' on day 326?"

As El raises her voice I start inching away. I really don't want to be around for a fight. Maybe if I'm sly enough I can make it out the door without either of them even noticing.

"What is this?" Dad asks, "you're counting the days now, like you're a prisoner?"

"When is 'soon?'"

"'Soon' is when..." Dad thinks for a second. "When it's not dangerous anymore.

I call bull in my head but don't dare to say it out loud. Like I said, I don't really want to be involved in this.