Sorting through clothes on the floor, Will leans his back against his bed, listening to El talking on their ham radio with Max. They speak every few weeks whenever Max has the time to get to Cerebro since she prefers not to call from her house, but it's been over a month since they last spoke. Actually, calls from the rest of the Party have been scarce lately. The last person Will spoke to from Hawkins was Nancy, and that was three weeks ago.

Holding the radio up, El sits beside Will, legs curled to her chest. "They're still not back, but I've been trying to practice."

Will holds up an old Joy Division shirt, examining it. "And El's been helping me out a lot, too. By the time her powers do come back, I think we'll both be a bit more comfortable using them." At least, he hopes so. Every few days, he practices turning lights and other electronic devices on and off, which isn't much, but he's noticed that the more he practices, the less his nose bleeds. He isn't sure what to make of it, though he hopes it's a sign he's getting better.

"Do you think once El gets her powers back," Max says, "you guys will be able to come back to Hawkins? Since both of you will have your powers and can help us if things go sideways."

Will and El exchange glances. As much as they want to, the idea of returning to Hawkins seems pretty far-fetched. At least for the time being. Leaning forward, El speaks into the radio. "We're not sure. It's Will's mom's decision."

From the other end, Max lets out a sigh. She seems to be doing that a lot lately.

El frowns. "What is it?"

"I just wish you guys could come back."

"We do, too."

"Man, this place sucks right now."

The sharpness in her voice makes Will's forehead crease. Was it really that bad in Hawkins? "I thought things were getting better since the break? At least, with Dustin and Mike."

"It was for a while, but lately, it's been worse than it was before." She groans. "It's that stupid Hellfire Club and Lucas's stupid teammates. They're at each other's throats. I've been trying my best to stay out of all that shit, but I have a bad feeling something horrible's gonna happen soon."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just... I don't know. There's this weird sort of... aura. It's like everything here is tense, like it's waiting for something to happen so it can strike."

"So what can strike?"

"Not anything specific. Like I said, it's just a feeling."

That doesn't sound good. Will knows very well that 'feelings' aren't always meaningless. Bad things can follow those feelings.

"I'm sorry, Max," El says.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. All the crap that's going on has nothing to do with you guys." She lets out a laugh. "Honestly, this whole year's been a drag."

"I wish you could come visit."

"In my dreams." She sighs. "Anyways, what are you guys up to? Have you electrocuted the shit out of those assholes who keep bullying you?"

El cracks a smile when Will laughs. "I wish," he says, "but I'd rather not be abducted by the government and have them run tests on me."

"Isn't there some way you can use your powers to mess with them without them knowing it's you? You can zap them every so often until they go crazy."

Will guffaws. "Okay, Max, I'll just go around zapping them. Then they'll definitely leave us alone."

"It was just a suggestion. Besides, if they do find out you have powers, what can they do about it? Everyone will think they're crazy if they try to tell people."

"I know... but Jonathan would hate me if I did anything."

"He's not your boss; he's your brother. And I'm sure he would understand."

He glances at El before shrugging. "I don't know. We'll see."

"You can't be afraid of fighting back," Max says. "If they treat you like garbage, it's only fair you do the same."

"I'm not afraid of fighting back." Will rolls his eyes. "Anyways, it doesn't matter. We're making a plan to get back at them."

"Ooo, really? What is it?"

Smile on her face, El sits forward. "We're dumping paint on them."

Max laughs. "Dumping paint on them?"

"Yes, they always hang out in a stairwell at school, so we're going to throw paint on them and get the rest of the school to see."

"That should be interesting."

"It's just a short-term solution," Will explains. "Obviously it's not gonna solve everything, but since it's the last day of school before break, we figured it couldn't hurt to get back at them a little."

"Huh. So... you guys are still gonna figure out a way to get back at them for good though? Later on, I mean?"

"Hopefully. We're going to figure out a plan over spring break."

"Good. Tell me how it goes."

"Will do."

"So... have either one of you spoken to Mike yet?"

His stomach drops. He should've expected the question at some point, but it still doesn't take away the tightness in his chest that's been there since they got the call. Glancing at El, he notices her watching him closely. Will looks back to the clothes on the floor.

Twirling the end of her hair, El leans back against the bed. "I talked to him on the phone a couple weeks after we tried to see him."

Max doesn't say anything.

"How-" Eyes still on the clothes, Will clears his throat. "How's Mike doing?"

"Oh, um..." Max pauses. "I've seen him at the video store a few times and around school. He's also been talking to Lucas, which I'd say is good."

Will furrows his eyebrows. "So... is Lucas on good terms with you guys again?"

Max huffs. "Hardly. He's only talking to Mike because he feels bad about New Year's."

"Oh." Whenever he's reminded of the conflict between his friends, a knot forms in Will's stomach. He always thought the Party would get through things together forever. Of all the things to tear them apart, rather than it being the Mind Flayer or any of the Upside Down-related drama, it turns out it's high school. "Dustin said a couple weeks ago that Mike joined the Hellfire Club."

"Yeah... yeah. They keep trying to get me to join still, but I really don't care."

El leans closer to the radio. "Do you have any new friends?"

"Pfft, no. Other than seeing Dustin and Mike, I've just been hanging out at the video store sometimes. I've seen a few new people in town hanging around there who seem cool, but I haven't spoken to them. What about you guys? Any new friends yet? Wasn't there some guy you mentioned who works at a roller rink?"

Perking up, a grin forms on El's face. "Daniel. He's really nice." She nudges Will's shoulder. "And you like Daniel, too."

"Yeah, yeah, Daniel's cool. He's in my art class," he explains to Max. "He's got this sick mohawk and an awesome dragon tattoo on his arm."

Max chuckles. "I didn't know you were into tattoos and mohawks."

When El lets out a giggle, Will's cheeks turn red. "I'm not – that's not what-"

"Relax, relax!" Max laughs. "I'm joking. But that's good that you two are making some friends there."

"Took us long enough," Will mumbles. "Seriously, this place sucks."

"It's not that bad," El says, snatching a bandana from him. "Some people are really nice."

"Some people, sure. And some people are total numbskulls."

"There are numbskulls everywhere," Max says. "I mean, not everyone was that welcoming when I came to Hawkins."

Will and El murmur in agreement.

"Oh, yeah! Will, your birthday's this Saturday, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Happy birthday! Are you excited? Fifteen, right?"

"Yeah." He shrugs. "I'm pretty stoked, I guess. Mike's coming over with Nancy, so I'm happy that we get to see them."

"Nancy and Jonathan are still going on strong?"

"I guess."

"Will?" his mom calls. "Can you come here for a minute?"

Will and El exchange glances. "I'll be back." Frowning, Will gets to his feet and leaves the room. When he gets to the kitchen, he sees his mom standing by the table, a crumpled paper in her hand. His stomach drops. On Monday, they got their report cards for the quarter, and it wasn't pretty. Seeing as he'd been arguing with his mom earlier that week, showing her the two Fs and three Ds on his report card wouldn't go well. So, he crumpled up the paper and shoved it to the bottom of the bathroom trashcan. How she found it, he didn't know.

His mom's forehead is creased, a frown on her face. "Can you take a seat?"

He sits across from her, keeping his head down.

She tosses the paper in front of him, the Fs and Ds glaring back at him. "Would you like to explain why I found this in the trash?"

"Why were you searching in the trash in the first place?" he murmurs.

Joyce stares at him. "I threw something out a couple days ago, which I shouldn't have. I was looking for it when I found this. I just want to know why you threw it away without telling me."

His stomach curls together. He hates the way she's staring at him like something's wrong with him. So what if he threw away his report card? Since when did she care about his grades in the first place? She never cared until now. It's all because of those stupid assholes at school.

"Sweetie," she says, taking a seat across from him, "I don't care about the grades. I know this move and going to a new school is tough. All I want is to know what's going on."

"Nothing's going on."

"Clearly something is. Is it those kids at school? The ones who keep bothering you and El?"

He leers at her.

"I can't help if you don't talk to me."

"You don't help even when I do talk to you," he shoots back. "I told you you can't call the school 'cause it'll only make things worse, but you didn't listen to me."

"What was I supposed to do? Let them keep hurting you?"

"No, but..." He rubs his knuckles against his temples. His mind swirls with thoughts, and he can't figure out what to say. "I'm not a baby. I can handle things on my own."

"Oh, I know that." She reaches for his hand, but he moves it away. Her smile falters. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm just worried about you. I want to make sure you're okay."

Make sure he's okay? She's barely been around since they moved, doing God knows what, rushing off to take phone calls at absurd hours and going out without saying where, and now she wants to know if he's okay?

When Will doesn't answer, Joyce wrings her hands together. "Is this about Mike? I know you've been worried about him."

A lump lodges in his throat.

"Have you spoken to him yet?"

He stares back at her.

"If you want, I can get Lonnie to take you boys to the arcade or a game or wherever you want on Saturday."

At the mention of his father's name, he freezes. Gaping at her, he whispers, "What are you talking about?"

Her eyebrows knit together before realization hit her. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry." She puts her hand to her head. "With everything going on, I completely forgot to tell you. Your dad's coming over this weekend for your birthday."

His voice catches in his throat. "What?"

"He called yesterday and said he wants to see you and Jonathan since it's been so long, and he said he's doing well right now."

All Will can do is stare at her. His voice is gone.

"It's only for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday, okay? You haven't seen him in so long, I figured it would be good for you." She watches him. "Is that okay?"

"I..." His throat feels like it's glued shut, forcing him to choke out his words. "I'm going to... to bed." Blood pounding in his ears, he stumbles to his feet and rushes to his room, shutting the door and collapsing against it.