CHAPTER SEVEN.
SEARCH PARTY

☆ミ ☆彡

THEY WERE LOOKING FOR DART, THE HALLWAYS NOW NEARLY EMPTY as most students have already gone home. The boys had split up and gone other ways to look for him, leaving Challan and Max alone to search where they weren't. Challan honestly wanted to just go home, not really up for searching for that strange creature. However, she didn't want to just leave Max alone with the boys, especially when Mike seemed to hate her and Challan's guts.

"I don't even know why we're helping them look. They don't deserve our help," Max muttered and Challan nodded in agreement as the two walked side by side, a skateboard tucked under Max's arm.

"'Respond intelligently even to unintelligent people'," Challan quoted absentmindedly.

Max looked over at her with a puzzled expression, "What?"

"Oh, it's just a quote," Challan mumbled, heat coming to her cheeks from embarrassment. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Who said that?" Max inquired after a moment.

"Laozi also known as Lao Tzu. My mom would always say that to me because of..." Challan paused, taking a deep breath, "Because of the bullying and stuff. My grandma used to say it to her. And I get the whole 'take the high road' thing but sometimes, I hate taking the high road. You know?"

Max's head bobbed and she whispered, "Yeah."

"Sorry, that was probably bleak," Challan apologized.

"Bleak? You read a lot of encyclopedias or something?" Max joked. Challan could feel her face heat up again, from further embarrassment.

"No, I just, I just read a lot. Of books! Regular books. Not encyclopedias because that would be... weird," Challan said lamely and Max laughed.

"I'm just messing with ya. Come on."

The two walked through the gym and Max walked to the doors that led to the boys' locker room.

"That's the boys' locker room," Challan pointed out.

"Nobody will be in there. Come on," Max beckoned. Challan followed her through the doors and into the locker room, feeling out of place. She wrapped her arms around herself to ease her discomfort.

The two began looking around the locker room. Challan looked in her general vicinity first, not seeing anything. She sighed and unwrapped her hands from herself as she reluctantly started looking under benches. She quickly skimmed the cubbies, trying not to be invasive. The two continued searching for Dart, neither seeing the creature anywhere.

After a while, Challan's eyes found themselves gazing in Max's direction. The girl's red hair fell into her face, obscuring her vision and Challan watched her push strands of it behind her ear. The dark haired girl couldn't believe that she had made a friend. Someone so nice and cool. It almost felt too good to be true. Challan really hoped that this wasn't just some cruel joke. She didn't think her heart could take it.

A sudden shout from behind her made Challan jump in fear. Both she and Max turned to see Mike, a broom in his hand and pointed at them. Challan rested a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart.

"What the hell are you doing?" Max demanded.

"What are you doing? Why are you in here?" Mike looked between the two.

"We're looking for Dart," Max answered.

"This is the boys' room," Mike stated.

"We know," Challan replied.

"So?" Max asked.

"So you should both go home," Mike's sharp glare was shared evenly between the two. Challan would love nothing more than to go home but she remained silent. He dropped the broom and began walking out of the locker room.

Max was quick to follow after him. Challan groaned softly, throwing her head back before following after the two.

"Why do you hate us so much?" Max inquired, completely fed up with Mike's attitude and disrespect. Challan couldn't blame her. He was very rude to them.

"I don't hate you. How can I hate you? I don't know either of you," Mike retorted. Challan could scoff at that. He very much held a high level of dislike towards them.

"Yeah but you don't want us in your party," Max walked behind him.

"Correct," he said.

"Why not?" Max pressed angrily and he whipped around to face her.

"Because you're annoying and she's a follower. Also, we don't need another party member. And we definitely don't need two. I'm our paladin, Will's our cleric, Dustin's our bard, Lucas is our ranger, and El is our mage," he looked between them.

"El?" Challan asked softly, pushing down how offended she was at Mike's earlier words. She was not a follower.

"Who's El?" Max asked.

"Someone. No one," Mike replied.

"Someone or no one?" Max retorted.

"She was in our party a long time ago. She moved away, okay?" Mike turned around and walked to the door of the gym.

Max put her skateboard on the ground and pushed off on it after him. "She was a mage? Well, what could she do? Like, magic tricks or something?" She stopped and hopped off her skateboard in front of him. "Well, I can be your zoomer and Challan can be your... terpsichorean."

Mike and Challan stared at Max with eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"A what?" The curly-haired girl asked.

"It's a dancer," Max explained, "Because you're a dancer and terpsichorean sounds cooler than just dancer."

"Why do you know that?" Challan asked, her head tilting slightly to the side.

Max shrugged with a smile, "I read books too."

Mike groaned in annoyance, "Those aren't even real things."

"They could be," Max replied. She got back on her skateboard and began skating in circles around the two. Challan's eyes followed her around, her gaze never leaving her figure. Skateboarding seemed so fun, she kind of wanted to try it. But she couldn't risk injuries, not with the recital coming up.

"See? Zoomer," Max said, her arms spread out like a 'T'.

"Mindblowing," Mike deadpanned.

"Come on, you know you're impressed," Max said, sending Challan a wink as she continued to circle them.

"I don't see any tricks. You're just going around in a circle," he pointed out and Challan rolled her eyes. Going around in a circle seemed easier than it probably was. She was definitely impressed.

"If it's so easy, you try it," Max said.

"No," the boy said.

"Why not?" The redhead questioned.

"I don't know how," he admitted.

"So, then you admit it's kind of impressive," Max gloated. Challan smirked, enjoying the fact that Max could do something that he couldn't. It's what he deserved.

"I think if I spent, like, all day practicing, I could do that," Mike said, trying not to be embarrassed.

"I'd like to see that," Challan spoke up.

"I would give you a million bucks if you could," Max remarked and Challan giggled.

She continued circling around the two. "Okay, you're making me dizzy. Please just stop," Mike said, growing annoyed again.

"I'll stop when we join your party," Max retorted, making sure to include the shorter girl who she looked at momentarily.

"Come on, just stop," he tried again. But she didn't stop.

"It's a simple question. Are we in or out?" Max said. Mike was starting to smile as he watched her and Challan felt as though he might have been letting up. Maybe they'd be joining the party after all.

Max jerked slightly on her skateboard, but her feet remained planted on it. Then the next thing they knew, the skateboard was flying out from underneath her and Max slammed to the ground with a grunt. Challan was startled and quickly ran to the redhead.

"Max! Are you okay?" Challan asked at the same time Mike said, "Jesus! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I think so," she said. The two each reached a hand down to the redhead. Max took their hands and let them pull her up.

"What happened?" Mike asked.

"I don't know. It was like a magnet or something pulling on my board. I know that sounds crazy," Max answered. It did sound a little crazy. But if that's what Max said it was, then Challan believed her. But how did that happen? She quickly shook the thought off, more concerned about whether or not Max was really okay.

Max went to grab her skateboard from where it had rolled to and Mike hurried to the exit as if realizing something. Challan watched him rush out into the hallway, looking around as if he was searching for someone. Max came to stand by her side.

"What's up with him?" She asked.

"I don't know," Challan shrugged. She turned to the redhead and added, "Are you sure you're okay? You hit the ground pretty hard and if you hit your head or something, you could get a concussion. Or maybe you sprained something or—"

"I'm fine, seriously. I didn't hit my head, I don't have a concussion, nothing is sprained. I'm good," Max interrupted.

Challan nodded her head and sighed, feeling a little relieved.

"It's cute that you're concerned though," Max smirked.

"Should I not be concerned that my friend could've died just now?" She questioned with a frown.

Max chuckled, "So dramatic. Come on, tiny dancer. Let's see where Mike's gone to." The two walked out of the gym and into the hallway, stopping beside a disheartened Mike.

"Are you okay?" Challan asked him, eyebrows furrowing at his facial expression. He looked... sad. Challan didn't think she had ever seen him look anything but angry. Before he could answer, if he was even going to, a voice spoke up through his walkie-talkie.

"Guys... I found him," Will spoke slowly.

"Where?" Dustin asked through the walkie.

"In the bathroom by Mr. Salerno's," Will replied.

"Copy that," Mike said. The three made their way to that exact location, resuming their search for Dart.

They quickly moved through the hallways, heading for the bathrooms. "Let's go. Down here," Mike called when he saw Lucas.

"I'm coming!"

Mike pushed open the bathroom door, the four walking in to see Dustin standing there. "Where's Dart?" Mike asked him.

"I don't know. Not here," the curly-haired boy said quickly.

"What?" Mike exclaimed, beginning to look in the stalls.

"He said by Salerno's, right?" Max asked.

"Yeah, maybe Will has him," Dustin replied.

"Where is Will?" Mike asked, realizing that Will wasn't there. The five looked at each other before immediately running out of the bathroom.

They began a new search, this one for Will. Challan looked in open classrooms, calling out his name. She didn't know Will well and she might never get the chance to if Mike had anything to do about it but she was still concerned. Concerned because his friends were concerned and they knew something she didn't. She didn't know what he went through that week that he was missing last year, but she knew that it must have been bad if his friends were this worried.

"Will!" It was as if he disappeared. But he couldn't have, he had to be there somewhere. So where was he?

Challan rounded a corner, nearly slamming into Dustin and Max. She could have shuddered at the memory of the two falling onto her. Dustin grabbed her shoulders, stopping her from running into him. "Anything?" He asked.

"No," she replied. He let go of her shoulders and the three began searching together.

"Will!" Dustin yelled.

They rounded another corner and came face to face with Joyce Byers. Challan recognized her instantly. She would recognize all three of the Byers clan instantly. The woman had gone through hell and back when Will went missing. She never once stopped searching for him. She was also one of the few people who didn't think the Logans had something to do with Will's disappearance from the beginning. To be honest, when Will had gone missing, she didn't even think about Challan's family being responsible. Not even when the idea was proposed to her by other people in town. Challan didn't understand why the woman hadn't blamed them for her son going missing. Challan recounted her mother having run into the woman early on in Will's disappearance and Joyce apologizing on behalf of the people in town that were accusing her of doing something to Will. For whatever reason, Joyce didn't believe it had been them. And the fact that she apologized in the midst of searching for her son, well Hadiyah was thankful. They were all grateful when Will was found alive and well, despite reports of his body being found in the quarry going throughout the town. Challan was glad that it wasn't Will but she was sad for that other poor boy who had drowned. She wondered if they ever found out who he was.

"Dustin!" Mrs. Byers called when she spotted him.

"Mrs. Byers?" He questioned, the three stopping in front of the mildly frantic woman.

"What's going on? Where's Will?" She rushed out.

One of the doors that led outside was pulled open and Lucas ran through. They all turned to him.

"The field!" He informed before immediately turning around and running out the door. The four instantly dashed after him. The group sped out onto the field, Will's unmoving form coming into their line of sight.

"Will. I just found him like this! I think he's having another episode!" Mike told them. Will was standing on the field seemingly unresponsive. His eyes were closed and Mike was desperately trying to wake him up.

They all came to a stop, Mrs. Byers directly in front of her son. Her hands went to his shoulders and she shook him gently. "Will! Will! Will! Sweetie, wake up! It's Mom!" Challan had never seen someone so terrified. She didn't know what it meant to be a mother. And while some could see it as rewarding, watching the scene in front of her was scary. Loving someone so fiercely was terrifying to her. Mrs. Byers looked at the kids helplessly before turning back to Will.

The air was so tense around them. All six people who stood around Will were stressed. Challan was beginning to feel uneasy.

"Will! Will, wake up! Can you hear me?" Joyce tried again. Challan's hand reached to Max's beside her, gripping onto her hand like a lifeline. Max squeezed back, the two girls not tearing their eyes away from the scene.

"Will, please, just wake up. Please, wake up! It's Mom! It's me!" The woman continued. Will's eyes flew open and he gasped loudly. Challan let out a breath of relief, her heart continuing to thunder in her chest.

Mrs. Byers pulled Will into a hug, repeatedly asking if he was okay. Will said nothing, just stared blankly ahead. "Come on, let's go," Mrs. Byers spoke, beginning to usher Will off of the field. The remaining kids all looked at each other in apprehension. Lucas, Dustin, and Mike seemed spooked, Max and Challan were confused. They all followed after the two Byers, walking back into the school and out the front doors.

They stood at the top of the steps, the tension remaining in the air. Max released Challan's hand, the shorter girl not realizing that they were still holding hands until the redhead did so. They watched as Mrs. Byers led a silent Will to her car.

"Okay, that totally freaked me out. Did that not freak you guys out?" Max broke the tense silence. Challan said nothing, her eyes following the two who walked to the vehicle parked in the grass.

"Two episodes in two days," Lucas muttered.

"It's getting worse," Mike conveyed.

"You think it's True Sight?" Lucas asked him.

"What's True Sight?" Challan rasped, speaking for the first time.

Mike gave Lucas a look, telling him to keep his mouth shut. "It's nothing," Lucas said.

Challan sighed, watching as the car pulled out of the school.

••••

I honestly gave up on editing this chapter after a few paragraphs so if there's a mistake, no there's not. But anyway, more little cute moments between my girls. The next chapter is probably my favorite so far. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please vote, comment, and support, it gives me the motivation to actually write.