LETTING OUT A HUFF, Mariella hopped down the schools steps alongside Mike. Tilting her head back and fourth as they walk towards the bike rack in an awkward silence. It was odd — they always had things to talk about, they were just too scared to even face the thing they wanted to talk about.

They were about to set off to Will's. Mariella already having called her parents from the payphone outside the school and telling them that she'd be going to Will's to make sure he was okay since he wasn't in school that day.

"Nervous?" Mike looks to her, nervously as he fiddled with his lock while Mariella stands next to him — she'd be riding on the back of his, her dad has dropped her off to school.

She looks at the ground for a moment, shrugging softly as he pulls his bike out. "Kind of. Yes. I am," She admits, Mike gently taking her hand and intertwining their fingers.

"It's gonna be okay, Mars," He says to her, leaning in and taking in a deep breath before pressing his lips to her forehead. A simple yet comforting gesture and Mariella couldn't help but lean closer to him and hug him tightly.

This felt right, Mariella thought. It felt so, so, right. Them two. The two of them, it made sense. Being together like this. The way her arms were wrapped around him, the way her head leaned into his chest as he held her.

Mike smiles, head leaned into her head before she pulls away and looks up to him. "Alright," She says as Mike smiles softly at her before mounting the bike, her following.

They really needed to figure out what they were. They really needed to talk. Just not yet. No. Not yet. They needed to figure things out about Will. Will is what matters.

♧

The bike ride to Will's was silent besides from the sound of Mike's heart beating in Mariella's ears and the sound of the bike tires against the road. Her arms wrapped around his waist and cheek pressed to his back Mike turns corners to Will's house.

Carefully pulling the bike to a stop when the bike approaches the front of the house and hopping off the bike, hurriedly grabbing Mariella's hand and helping her off the bike, walking up towards the front door.

"Ready?" She looks to Mike biting her lip as they stare at the door.

He nods. Banging his hand against the door in a fist over and over. "Hello?" He calls through the door as Mariella cringes at the loud noise. "Will! Mrs. Byers?".

They hear the sound of the door unlocking, it opens, revealing Joyce who sighs, stressfully smiling at them. "Hi, Mike, Mariella," She greets them, out of breath.

"Is Will here?" Mike asks, eyes wide not even giving Joyce time to process the sight of the two kids on her doorstep.

Joyce looks to them before turning her head back towards the inside of the house. "You know what? N-Now is not a really good time," She says to them.

Mariella tilts her head at her. "Is... Is he okay? Sick?" She asks, voice wavering softly.

Joyce sighs, stepping out of the doorframe and outside, shutting the door behind her. "Yeah, sweetie. You know, he's... He's just not feeling real well," She explains, putting a hand on each of their shoulders and leading them towards Mike's bike. "He's laying down, so I'll tell him you stopped by, okay? He'll be real happy, don't worry too much, Mariella," She goes on before turning back towards the door.

"It's about the shadow monster, isn't it?" Mike blurts out.

"We know, Mrs. Byers. I think I've figured out what's going on," Mariella adds as they stare at Joyce freeze, hand on the doorknob before turning to them.

"What do you mean? 'What's go on'?" She stammers, approaching them once again and putting a hand on Mariella's shoulder.

Mariella looks to her with furrowed brows. "I think I figured out why Will's not feeling well," She responds, looking to Mike nervously.

Mike nods. "She doesn't think. She knows, Mrs. Byers. We can help you," He assures her, nodding with confidence.

Sighing softly, Joyce nods, leading them into the house. "Mike could you go keep Will company?" She says as she locks the door and turns to the two kids.

They stared around the dark house, looking at the messy drawings which lined the walls and floors. Mike nods, walking off from the foyer and towards Will's room as Mariella turns to Joyce, pulling her backpack off her back and opening it up.

"Can we sit?" She asks, grabbing her purple notebook and pen, furrowing her brows and tilting her head — taking on the so-called classic DeGray stare which her family was known for.

Joyce stares at her for a moment, seeing the image of Emma and Charlie in this girl so deeply. It was baffling to say the least. The way Mariella DeGray has entered the party and left such a mark. She nods, ushering her over to the dining table.

"Okay," Mariella begins as she sits down at a chair, Joyce sitting across from her.

Opening the notebook, she flips to the first diagram she had drawn. "Last year, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Eleven, and I searched our world for Will," She begins, pointing to each X with her pen. "But what we didn't know what's that, Will wasn't in our world. He was in the Upside Down," She goes on, gesturing to the single X and nodding.

Joyce stays silent, listening to the small girl explain her theory. "To get to the Upside Down, a gate must be opened," Mariella continues. "And, in that case, it was El who opened it,".

She flips to the next page. "But, we already knew that. Here, is where it gets weird," Mariella says, looking up to Joyce who stared at her with a confused expression.

"I know. This doesn't make sense so far, but hear me out," Mariella adds, noticing Joyce stare down at the phrases written on the paper with wide eyes before staring back at Mariella as if she was insane.

Mariella gestures to the four figures on the line. "Here we are again, this is Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and I," She says. "What I'm thinking is Will never was suffering from PTSD," She goes on, Joyce staring down at the small X drawn in between worlds.

"His body is here but a part of his mind is still in the Upside Down and something latched onto him. Yesterday on the field—" Mariella continues.

Joyce gasps quietly, tearing her eyes off the paper. "He... He was taken over? Whatever was latched onto him, took over him?" She mumbles.

Mariella nods. "Not completely. But, yes. I think something is trying to take over him. Yesterday, in the field, whatever it was got stronger and I think whenever he's weak, it'll get stronger," She answers.

"How do we stop it from growing stronger?" Joyce asks, not really to Mariella just in general, looking around the room while sighing.

Mariella shrugs. "That's the thing, I don't know," She responds before pointing to her note about the gate. "And see, Dustin found this... This thing... And, Will said it looked like something from the Upside Down, and how else would it come here is the gate wasn't opened again? Or was never shut at all? That would explain how Will got... Possessed," She explains, pointing to 'Dart' written on the paper.

"And the only person who can open the gate is Eleven. So, somehow, someway, something opened it. Someone opened it and I think, Eleven might be alive. And if we can find El, she can close the gate. And maybe, that'll solve this whole thing," She goes on, placing her pen down and looking to Joyce with the same furrowed brows.

With shaking hands, Joyce picks up the notebook. "Y-You figured this out all on your own?" She asks, scanning the pages with wide eyes.

Mariella nods slowly. "Yes. Of course, I don't know if it's right but it's our best bet, I think," She rambles, playing with the hair tie on her wrist before Joyce puts the notebook down and gently puts a hand on her shoulder.

"You did good, Mariella. You're going to make one hell of a lawyer," She smiles softly to her before standing up and bustling around the house. Trying to figure what to do and who to call and how to protect her son.