cocoa puffs and crucial conversations

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In the morning, gathered up in the basement with puffy eyes, the party crowded around El, who, with a blindfold around her eyes, was searching for Hopper. It had been universally agreed that Alina needed a break—she'd used too much energy back in the sauna—and even after a full night's sleep, exhaustion was sweeping over her. Which was why El was doing this alone. Even though there were bruises beginning to form on her neck, and she still seemed to be trying to catch her breath, like it had been only moments since Billy let go of her instead of hours. Alina sat there and watched and worried, wishing she could be more helpful.

Gabe seemed to be doing okay. His face was darkened with bruises now, and although he still couldn't open one eye, his head wound was better. The bleeding had stopped, and, according to Gabe, the headache—which had been pounding through him ever since he'd woken up—was feeling a little less painful. Not so... noticeable. More like something he could shove to the back of his attention. Which was definitely progress.

Right now, everyone was quiet, with only the buzz of TV static filling the silence. Their thoughts were whirling, crashing from one track to the next, and it didn't help that most of them were wearing the same clothes they had yesterday, when everything had gone down. The only exception was Gabe, who'd needed a change. Alina trained her eyes on him.

"I found him," said El suddenly. It had been around five minutes, and Alina was beginning to wonder when she would. She was sitting on a chair beside Lucas, passing a box of Cocoa Puffs between them, knowing it would be a good idea to refuel to prepare for the uncertain days ahead. Gabe, perched on the arm of a chair, was sharing Froot-Loops with Will, but the latter didn't seem very hungry. He looked like... well, like shit. Probably because the Mind Flayer had seen him. Just like it had seen Alina.

And Alina was afraid, too, but she knew that there was no use just sitting there. She'd be less scared if she did something, if she fought back, instead of just wondering what there was to be done. And they were doing something right now. They were finding someone they knew could help them.

She shifted slightly, sending her ribs into a flickering pain. Wincing, she put one hand against them. It was almost poetic that she'd hurt her ribs this year, given that she had two years ago, falling out of a tree right before everything had gone down. Unfortunately, this poetry was not lovely. More... excruciating.

"Where is he?" Max asked, and everyone leaned forward almost in sync, their hearts thudding. Hoping he was close. Hoping he could be there for them. Hoping they weren't utterly alone in their quest to save the world, which seemed extremely heavy on seven teenagers' shoulders.

"Woods," El answered. Everyone blinked.

"Woods?" Lucas repeated.

"He's with... Will and Al's mom," said El. Alina's eyes widened at that. What was Joyce doing in the woods with Hopper? What woods, exactly? The ones near Hopper's cabin? Had she, too, suspected something strange going on? Was that what she'd been doing?

Will exchanged an inquisitive glance with his sister. "Our—our mom?" he asked.

"What are they doing?" Max questioned.

"Ill...annoy." El pronounced the word weirdly, as she obviously didn't know the meaning of it. "They're going to Ill-annoy."

Before the party could question the meaning of the word, there was a sudden knock on the basement door, causing them all to jump. None of them said it, but they were all bound to get startled easily after what had happened last night. And as their hearts raced, they listened to the voice flood into the basement. It was Mike's mom's.

"Mike! Breakfast!" she called, and Alina found her eyes wandering to the door at the top of the stairs the woman was most likely standing in front. Breakfast. Such a simple, ordinary thing. But even that seemed extraordinary given all that had happened during the past twenty-four hours. Breakfast. She'd probably made pancakes, or waffles, or scrambled eggs, slightly cold, with just a little bit of pepper...

Not the time, Alina reminded herself. She couldn't think about her dad. Not right now. Or she would go into another phase of sorrow, of burning eyes filled with tears and aching lungs. And right now, she couldn't afford to do that. She had to focus.

"Not now, Mom!" Mike called upstairs, his tone harsh at the disturbance, and then he whipped his head back to face El. It was almost comical how fast it changed to softness when he looked at her. "Illinois? Illinois, like the state? The state of Illinois?"

"Where Chicago is?" Gabe added. "You've been to Chicago, haven't you?"

El pulled off her blindfold, shrugging. "Ill-annoy," she repeated. She clearly had no idea. But Alina figured Mike was right. That Hopper and Joyce were going to Illinois, and leaving them all on their own.

Well, she shouldn't be surprised. But Alina found herself longing for one of Joyce's hugs, that managed, all in one touch, to let her know that everything was going to be fine. She longed for Hopper, who was so strong with his guns, to lead them. To tell them what they had to do.

Maybe, if certain things hadn't happened, Hopper could've been like a father to her, as Bob had been before. After all, he was closer to Joyce, and sometimes he did end up coming over to their house, but Alina wouldn't risk it. She was scared that if she let Hopper into her heart, like she had for her dad and Bob, he, too, would meet his end. Which was stupid, she knew. Another one of her irrational fears.

Well, given all that was happening lately, maybe it wasn't so irrational.

Max suddenly stood up. "C'mon, El," she said. "Let's go wash up."

El nodded, and Max tugged her along to the bathroom, where they would wipe the still-streaming blood from her nose. That left the others to just sit there, eating their cereal and wondering what would bring Hopper and Joyce to Illinois. Especially now. Especially through the woods, instead of by car.

The party spread out, with Alina and Lucas moving to the couch and Will and Gabe to what could be classified as "The D&D table." Once they were all settled, Mike immediately leaped up, and started his extraordinarily annoying habit of pacing to think. Alina watched him go with enthusiasm, popping handfuls upon handfuls of Cocoa Puffs into her mouth and leaning her head on Lucas's shoulder. She was immeasurably glad that he was safe. That they all were. And, although there had been injuries, that they weren't worse.

"Something's not right," said Mike aloud. "I can't get Hopper off my back all summer, now all of a sudden, he's hiking with Will and Al's mom to Illinois? And Dustin's MIA, too? I mean, this can't be a coincidence."

"I think they know," said Alina. "That something strange is going on. Maybe they don't know about the Mind Flayer, but they're like us. They've been through the same shit we have. They'd be the first ones to get suspicious."

She wondered what Jonathan and Nancy were doing. Had they, too, noticed the signs? Or were they still obliviously working at Hawkins Post? She found that she was missing them. Desperately. Hopefully they were alright.

"Yeah," Gabe piped up from the table, crunching on his own cereal. "Joyce is, like, the most paranoid person I've ever met, possibly disregarding my grandma. And me, I guess."

Lucas let out a sigh. "What does it matter?" he asked. "The bottom line is, they're not here. It's up to us."

"Up to us to do what exactly?" Mike asked.

"Find Billy and stop him."

"Yeah, because that went excellent last night," Gabe muttered. "It's not like we nearly died or anything."

Lucas shot him a glare, but Mike was already talking. "Okay, yeah, that's a really nice sentiment, but even if El or Al could find him again, and that's a pretty big if, then what?"

"We burn the shit out of him and make sure he doesn't escape this time," said Lucas through a mouthful of Cocoa Puffs. Alina sat up. Well, when Lucas put it like that, it seemed positively simple. But there was one thing he wasn't thinking about.

Mike beat her to it. "Okay, then what?"

"Then we win."

"No, see, that's the problem," said Mike. "We don't. We don't win. We got the Mind Flayer out of Will before and he just came back. We don't just have to stop Billy, we have to stop the Mind Flayer."

"He's right," said Alina. "The part of the Mind Flayer in Will... it was just a piece. When I saw it happen on the field, there was still a whole lot of the Mind Flayer that wasn't inside him. Or me, I guess. So even if we get that piece out of Billy, there's still around ninety percent of the Mind Flayer left. So we have to focus on energy on stopping that."

"How in the hell do we do that?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know," said Mike.

"Maybe El does," Will suggested. It seemed as good an offer as any. Mike turned to look at the door to the bathroom, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, and Lucas and Alina both exchanged a look, continuing to stuff their mouths with Cocoa Puffs. Alina was sort of disappointed to see that they were reaching the bottom of the box, because she was still so hungry.

Her energy did seem to be coming back to her, though.

"What are they still doing in there?" Mike asked.

Both Alina and Lucas stood up, finishing off the last of the cereal. "I don't know," said Lucas, as he, Alina, Will and Gabe all joined Mike. "Girls just like hanging out in bathrooms."

"Why?"

"I mean, I don't know."

"Maybe it's because there aren't any boys in them," said Alina, crossing her arms. "Ever think about that?"

Gabe winced. "You're probably right."

"They're conspiring against me," Mike said suddenly.

"That's what you're concerned about right now?" Will hissed.

"It's not my main concern. It's just a sub-concern."

"It shouldn't even be one of your concerns right now," Gabe pointed out. "Given that, oh yeah, the world might end."

"Yeah, and I thought it was already over," said Will.

"It's not over, okay? We're just taking a break."

"She said she dumped your ass. That doesn't sound like a break."

"It wasn't!" Max's voice called from the bathroom. Alina smirked, and a laugh came loose from her lips. Given that she hadn't had many opportunities to laugh lately, she let herself do it. "You guys do realize we can still hear everything you're saying, right?"

From inside the bathroom, El giggled.

Mike lowered his voice. "Conspiring. I told you, they're conspiring."

"You know," said Alina, "I think they're just staying in there to take a break from you, Mike. Which is understandable. I might have to join them in there if they let me. Gabe and Will can come too. They also seem sick of your nonsense."

"Hey!"

But Gabe was laughing. A second later, he was wincing, and his smile dropped. "Okay, note to self, don't laugh. But yes, Alina, I might have to take you up on that offer. Will, you in?"

Will shrugged. "I'd be up for it."

"Why are you guys always against me?" Mike asked, his voice practically a whine. "What did I do?"

Before anyone had the opportunity to recite the extensive list of answers to what Mike had obviously thought was a purely rhetorical question, there was another knock on the basement door. Mike, already angry at the jibes, yelled up, "Not now, Mom!"

But it wasn't Mrs. Wheeler's voice that spoke next. It was one of the people Alina had just been worried about.

"Mike," said Nancy, "open the door."

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a/n: and the griswold family is finally all together!! i honestly love jonathan and alina's relationship, so i'm excited for you guys to see the jonathan/alina scenes in this book! we love a healthy sibling relationship <3

also, this is a random question, but important: do you like the length of these chapters? all of them are around 2000 words, which i guess is on the shorter side. so for future fics, would you prefer longer ones? tell me what you think!

'till next time!