okay, okay, okay, okay

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

Love. It had always been a human weakness, a snivelling, pathetic little feeling that crawled up and made its horrid little nest in their hearts. It made them bond with others, made them look out for each other, even when it really just should've been everyone for themselves. But no, humans had linked hands and sung Kumbaya, and then civilizations were built, packed to the brim with millions and millions of these pathetic creatures. It was the only thing the Mind Flayer could find that really set them apart from the other loathsome species that roamed the planet it itched to take over. They helped each other. Most of the other species did not. And even though it was quite a weakness—people cried when their friends and family members died, and pieces of their hearts died with them (the Mind Flayer knew as much for the girl)—it was almost impressive. If it wasn't so irritating.

The girl had escaped the first time the Mind Flayer had attempted to bring her back home, so, when the Hargrove had spotted her flickering image in the mall, it had tried a different method. It used the pathetic love it knew that she possessed and tried to turn it against her. It showed how everyone in her life had turned against her, how those she cared about would leave her in the end. It had tried to remind her of who she was, and who she'd always be, but then they had to get in the way, and turn the Mind Flayer's own images against it. She'd been reminded of her feeble little family and friends, along with that boy she thought herself in love with. And then, and then, she'd wrenched herself out of their grasp yet again.

The Mind Flayer was beginning to think she wasn't worth the trouble. She might have been a mere flea, but she was a clever one, one that seemed determined to burrow deeper and deeper into its back without detection. So, using the vessel of the Hargrove boy—the only one left—the Mind Flayer finally decided to forget about her, at least, until she came back. Right now, the other girl, the gate-closing one, the powerful one, needed to die. And die she would.

Billy heaved her down onto the ground in the food court, where she continued to lay unconscious, blood glistening on her forehead from the blow he'd given her. The three others were back in the hallway, but it was clear they wouldn't be waking up for a while—if they woke up at all. Their fragile shells had burst within seconds (although one boy had taken a little while longer), and now they were all down for the count.

No, nobody would be stopping them today.

Billy bent down until his lips were right beside El's ear. "Don't be afraid," he whispered to the girl. Her eyelids began to flutter, but he didn't worry about it. "It'll be over soon. Just try and stay... very still."

Nobody should be afraid. Least of all this girl, who was indeed opening her eyes now, her face emotionless. One thought probably hadn't connected to another in her muddled brain yet and she didn't realize what was happening. Which was good. The Mind Flayer didn't want her screaming. It made things all the more difficult.

The Mind Flayer—the actual, melted Mind Flayer—burst back through the ceiling of Starcourt Mall, growling. As it settled itself back into the center of the food court, it snarled, catching sight of the girl on the ground, the girl who had caused so much misery. The girl who had been such a nuisance.

Billy rose to his feet, standing in front of the thing, which, obviously, made no move to hurt him. El, on the ground, was beginning to realize the direness of her situation now, as whimpers began to escape her lips and she shuffled back, even though there was nowhere for her to go. Not on that leg of hers.

She had no one to support her now.

The Mind Flayer crept closer, snarling and growling, its lips opening to drip saliva onto the floor. Its pointed yellow teeth hungered. It prepared itself to strike, a tongue crawling out of its horrid great mouth and beginning to snake its way towards the girl, the claws on the end of it snapping and screeching. It was just going to sink its teeth into El when the explosion rocketed it backwards.

"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" Lucas Sinclair yelled, firework in hand, and then he heaved it right at the Mind Flayer, who had whirled around to greet him. There was no fear present on his face as he threw it, causing the firework to explode right in its mouth, sending it backwards with a screech of pain.

"Happy Fourth of July, asshole!" Alina, beside him, yelled, heaving her own. It exploded into a multicolored mix of purple and blue, rattling the mall. She felt it in her teeth but stood her ground as the others continued to throw fireworks, exploding in green, blue, and gold. Every single one sent the Mind Flayer flailing about, screeches tearing loose from its maw, but no matter which way it turned, there was someone throwing fireworks from the other side.

Alina's palms were itching, literally and figuratively, to be used, so she channelled the abundance of anger coiling inside of her and formed a tight ball on her palms. "This is for possessing me and my brother!" she screamed, and then hurled the energy right at the Mind Flayer's head. The red light shot at it like a comet and blasted into its head, sending bits of it flying. She ducked, avoiding the sticky splatter, and grabbed another firework even as blood dripped down her face.

"Hey, asshole!" Steve taunted. "Over here!"

It was hard to see the Mind Flayer through all of the multicolored explosions now, but everyone kept throwing the fireworks, because they could hear the thing continue to wail in pain with each blow, almost like a wounded animal. Alina would've pitied it if not for the fact that it had been responsible for killing Bob, possessing her and Will, and maybe playing a part in killing her dad. She didn't think about the people it was made of. She couldn't stand to. So she just threw fireworks and shot energy, screaming all the while. Because this was it. This was the end. She wouldn't stand for this bullshit anymore.

And she realized that hurting the Mind Flayer meant hurting Billy, but Billy wasn't human anymore, either, and she'd had no qualms about hurting him even when he was. Through the multicolored haze she could see that he'd fallen onto his knees, pain probably lancing through him, but didn't stop. She just threw another firework.

This one's for Max.

Then, her heart sunk as she looked at the contents of the basket near her, Lucas, and Will. Will seemed to notice, too, for he shouted, "We're almost out!" at Lucas, who had once again saved the day.

"I know!" he shouted back, but there was nothing they could do. Steve was trying to contact Dustin from the walkie-talkie, telling him that the gate needed to be closed now, and Alina sparked energy on her palms yet again and lobbed it at the wicked monster, even as her eyelids started to droop. Come on, come on.

They were running out of time.

Max Mayfield's eyes fluttered open on the cold hallway floor, and she was instantly aware of a splitting headache and pain battering at her cheek. She let out a soft moan, her brain struggling to comprehend where, exactly, she happened to be, when suddenly the memories whirled back. They'd been trying to escape. She'd been trying to let Billy remember who he was. And then... nothing. Darkness. She didn't even know how long it'd been.

She raised her head, and that was when she saw Mike, lying on the floor across from her. He didn't seem to be conscious, and she realized that Billy must've knocked him out soon after he'd gotten her. "Mike," she said aloud, attempting to sit up, even as pain lanced through her. Her head was aching and she probably had a concussion, but she could get that checked out after everything was over.

"Mike," she said again, crawling towards the boy. The lights were still flickering above her head, so she knew this wasn't over. "Mike." She began to shake him, worry spilling through her. What if he was dead? What if Billy had killed him? "Mike," she said again. "Mike. Mike, get up. Mike, can you hear me? Mike! Mike!"

Mike whimpered on the floor, his eyelids fluttering open, and he raised his head. Max didn't have time to inform him of what was happening, though (what even was happening?) before she was seizing his wrist and attempting to pull him to his feet. "Hey, come on," she ordered. Then, when they were standing: "You okay?"

Mike nodded, but he still seemed a little loopy. There was a scrape etched across his bloody face, and a knot on the back of his head the size of a marble, but he managed to turn, looking for El and Gabe. Max did the same, worry shooting through her, and that was when she saw, just a little way away, the unconscious body of Gabriel Burton. He was lying in a pool of blood, his back facing them, and there were knives strewn around his figure stained with inky black blood. He'd obviously tried, at least for a couple of seconds, to fight back. But neither Max nor Mike had seen it, because they'd been out like lights.

"Gabe!" Max shot forward, even though her legs were wobbling. "Jesus Christ, Gabe, oh my God." She staggered her way over to him, immediately crouching beside her friend, her fellow new kid. Mike followed after her, and the two of them rolled him onto his back. Max immediately sucked in a panicked breath. "Oh my God."

The bridge of Gabe's nose had split and swollen, leaving a jagged, bruised mark and a lot of blood spilling down to his lip, which was also bloated and adding to the amount of crimson. His cheekbone was bruised, and, like Mike, he had a goose egg on the back of his head near the other one he'd acquired before. The raised lines of his face from where Billy had hit him back at the sauna weren't even the main attraction to this terrible, because, God, he looked terrible, and Max feared, for a moment, that he was dead, just like she had for Mike.

Mike shook his friend. "Gabe? Gabe, wake up, man, come on, get up, you're okay, you're gonna be okay, just wake up, okay?" his breath was coming out in a shaky sob. "Come on, Gabe, get up, come on, you're okay. Gabe, can you hear me? Come on, man, wake up."

Max found herself crying. "Gabe, come on, buddy, just open your eyes, okay? Just show us that you're all right, and then we can help you. Come on, Gabe, I love you, you're such a great friend and I can't lose you. Come on, Gabe, wake up, please."

Looking back, Max would say that this moment lasted forever, though in reality it was only a couple of tense seconds as she and Mike shook Gabe desperately, trying to get him to wake up. And then... his eyelids fluttered. And then a moan tore loose from his lips. And then Gabriel Burton really did open his eyes.

"Oh, my God, Gabe, you're okay." Her body shuttered. "Oh, my God. Gabe, we're right here. We're right here."

Gabe spoke through bloody lips. "So I'm not dead?" he asked, his words slurring slightly. He seemed daze, much like Max and Mike had been when they'd originally woken up.

"No, no, you're okay, we're all okay," said Mike. "We just need to find—" his head whipped around as he stared around the hallway, and his eyes widened at a new, terrible realization. "Where's El?"

Max swallowed. "Shit. Billy... Billy must've taken her. Taken her back into the centre of the mall. We have to go find her." Even though her head was throbbing to each pulse of her heart. She couldn't leave El behind.

She bent down. "Gabe... Mike and I, we're going to have to go back, okay? We're going to have to find El. We'll be back soon, I promise, but are you going to be okay here until then?"

Gabe raised a floppy arm made out of rubber and wiped the blood away from his lips. "I'll be okay," he said faintly. "You can go on. You can find El. I'll just... I can just wait right here. I'll be okay. I'll be okay." He chuckled dopily. "Okay is a weird word. Okay. If you say it enough, it doesn't sound like a word anymore."

Max exchanged a panicked look with Mike. Obviously, Gabe wasn't okay, but it wasn't like there was much they could do but hope he'd still be conscious when they got back. If they got back. She was reluctant to leave him behind, but she knew it was the only way. So, she and Mike backed away from their friend, and began to head their way back into the mall, leaving a dazed Gabe behind in his pool of blood.

"Okay," he murmured. "Okay, okay, okay, okay. It really doesn't sound like a word now. Who even came up with words, anyway?"

His mouth tasted awful. His head rattled with so much pain that the flickering lights were hurting his eyes. He was dimly aware that his nose was throbbing.

But he was alive.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: LMFAOOO not y'all thinking i'd actually kill gabe 😭 when writing that chapter, i literally meant for it to seem like he'd only been knocked out, but i guess you guys took it the other way?? my mistake 😳 

(but why did you think i'd kill off the only openly gay oc?? i'm not supernatural, guys!)

next chapter... holy shit, it's the end of the battle of starcourt. there are still a couple chapters after that, but... we're really close to the end, guys. 

'till next time!