╔═════   ∘◦ ☽ ﾐ ◦∘ ══════╗

𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧

𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓷𝓮:
"𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍!"

╚═════ ∘◦ ミ ☾ ◦∘ ══════╝

hawkins, indiana. circa 1985.

SUMMER. IT WAS the one time of the year where kids would get out from school and just have fun. Mackenzie Tate was always one to strive for good grades and earn high marks, but goddamn, she needed a break. Not to mention, she was spending her entire summer with her best friends (minus Dustin Henderson, of course, he was still at camp). After everything they had gone through in the past couple of years, Mackenzie believed they earned some time off from saving the world.

One thing that never failed to cease during the summer was Mike Wheeler being late for everything. He was probably sucking face with Eleven, and while she thought their relationship was cute, Mike was spending every living moment with her. She wanted to invite El to her and Max Mayfield's girl nights, but noooo, Mike wouldn't allow that.

Mackenzie waited outside the Starcourt Mall with Max, Lucas Sinclair, and her all-time best friend, Will Byers. Her and Will had been spending most of their summer with each other. Maybe she was imagining it, but she was almost positive that Will reciprocated the same feelings she had towards him. Mackenzie had liked Will for entire life but she wouldn't dare tell him. However, summer was a time to be wild and free. Her feelings for him had grown exponentially since summer started and she wanted nothing more to kiss his stupid face.

Mike suddenly pulled up on his bike, his hair a little messy and his lips swollen and red. Mackenzie smirked at him as he got off. Once he turned around to face them, he noticed her facial expression.

"Don't give me that look," he said.

"What look?" she asked innocently.

Lucas shook his head. "Whatever. You're late."

"Sorry," Mike offered.

"Again," Lucas added.

"We're gonna miss the opening," Will complained.

Mike put his bike in the rack. "Yeah, if you guys keep whining about it. Let's go!"

Lucas then began to mock Mike as the group made their way into the mall through the crowds of people.

"Just please stop talking, dude," Mike pleaded.

"Let me guess," Lucas added. "You were busy."

He began to make kissing noises with his lips. Mackenzie rolled her eyes at his antics and shared an exasperated look with Max.

"Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas," Mike commented.

"Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever and never hang out with any of our friends!" he mocked.

Max looked annoyed. "Lucas, stop."

"Will thinks it's funny."

"Because it is," Will laughed.

"Oh, come on, give him a break," Mackenzie said. "If Mike wants to spend some romantic time with his girlfriend, he can. Summer's a time of love."

Lucas wrapped an arm around Max. "I'm spending romantic time with my girlfriend."

Mackenzie locked eyes with Max, who mouthed help me despite the smile on her face. She giggled slightly and shook her head. "Oh, I'm sure you are."

Lucas suddenly turned to the two best friends with a smirk on his face. "And Will's spending romantic time with his girlfriend. Isn't that right, Mackenzie?"

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Mackenzie protested at the same time as Will said, "She's not my girlfriend!"

But you want to be, Mackenzie thought to herself.

Mike looked back to them with a knowing look on his face. "Yeah, sure."

Mackenzie rolled her eyes. "Come on. Let's keep going."

They had to make their way to Scoops Ahoy so Steve Harrington could sneak them into the movie theater. The escalators, however, was extremely crowded with people. They then began to push through them, earning noises of protests from everyone.

Will suddenly took ahold of her hand. Mackenzie glanced down for a moment, her cheeks feeling like they were on fire.

"Come on, Mack," he encouraged. "I don't want you to get lost in the crowd."

He pulled her along, through almost running into people and Mackenzie tripping over her own two feet. She faintly heard Lucas arguing with his little sister Erica, but that wasn't her main concern at the moment. All she wanted to do was see Day of the Dead.

Picking up the fallen strap of her pink tank top, she marched into Scoops Ahoy and followed Mike up to the counter. He rang the bell multiple times, making the cashier, whose name was displayed as Robin, get incredibly annoyed.

"Hey, dingus, your children are here," she called out.

Steve opened the window behind her, and Mackenzie tried not to laugh at his sailor uniform. "Again? Seriously?"

Mike looked straight at him rang the bell once more. Steve sighed and led them to the back, where he opened the door to the tunnels that could lead them to the movie theater without going through the main entrance. This way they didn't have to pay for anything. It was quite handy.

"Come on, come on," he urged as the group of teenagers quickly walked in. "I swear, if anybody hears about this—"

"We're dead," they all chorused.

After a couple of minutes of walking, they found the door to where the movie theater was. Mike opened it a minimal amount and gave them the all clear. All of them moved out of the tunnel and entered the theater where Day of the Dead was playing. They found a row where there was five open seats and pushed past everyone.

Mackenzie finally sat down in between Will and Max. She soon noticed that she was holding Will's hand this entire time, even when they weren't in the crowds. Her face burned crimson and suddenly she was glad that the movie theater was dark. Even though she didn't want to, she let go of their hands. Max nudged her arm with her elbow, and Mackenzie glared at her playfully.

"See, Lucas? We made it," Mike pointed out.

"We missed the previews," Lucas complained.

"Still made it, fart face," Max said, quoting what Erica had called him earlier.

Mackenzie laughed before looking over at Will. He was opening his backpack which had all of the snacks they wanted to watch the movie with. Will pulled out a soda and handed it to Lucas. She glanced inside of the backpack, seeing her favorite snack sitting there.

"If you don't give me those M&M's right now, I'm gonna smack you across the face," she joked.

Will rolled his eyes and handed her the packet. "Here you go, Princess."

"Shut up," she responded, a wide smile on her face and her heart thumping.

She turned her attention to the screen and opened the pack of M&M's. Mackenzie popped a couple in her mouth as she fully invested her attention into the movie. She was enjoying what was happening until the screen flickered for a moment before completely going dark.

The whole movie theater exploded in sounds of protest. Mackenzie sighed and leaned back in her chair, watching the dark screen. The film suddenly started rolling again, making everyone shout out in glee. A smile made its way onto her face as she ate more M&M's happily.

Will suddenly reached up and touched the back of his neck. Mackenzie looked over in concern to see his eyes wide with fear. The dim light of the projector made her notice goosebumps were also risen on his skin, which was weird because the movie theater was stuffy due to the amount of people packed into it.

"Will?" she questioned. "What's wrong?"

He seemed to snap out of it and turned to look at her. "Oh, i-it's nothing."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Why don't I believe you?"

Will sighed. "Mack," he insisted. "I'm okay. I promise."

Mackenzie, feeling suddenly brave, grabbed his hand again and looked into his eyes. "I worry about you, you know that?"

He rolled his eyes and squeezed her hand. "Yes, Mack. But I swear I'm fine."

Mackenzie sighed, smiling at him a minimal amount and turning her attention back to the screen. She watched as hands suddenly came out of the wall, not even flinching in the slightest. She'd seen scarier things in her days, but the most scary of all was the exorcism of Will. Mackenzie knows he told her he was fine, but she couldn't help but worry more. There was something wrong, really wrong. She had a feeling that this break from monsters and shit wasn't going to last very long.

But she didn't focus on it, she only focused on the screen and the way Will's thumb was gently rubbing back and forth over her knuckles. With a ghost of a smile on her face, she put more M&M's in her mouth and ignored the nagging feeling in the back of her mind.

☾ ★ ☽

does anybody wanna tell me why it's 39 degrees in may