As El prepares to look for Billy again, Will stays seated by the counter, feeling like a ton of bricks hit him in the gut. Jonathan leans over to him. "You alright, Will?"

He nods mindlessly. Jonathan stares unconvinced until Dustin wanders over to them, kicking Will's foot. "How much time would you say we have until El finds the source?"

Will raises an eyebrow while Jonathan says, "Could take a while. Why?"

"We've got complaints of hunger, and Steve-" Dustin glances around the room. "-wherever he's gone, is in need of medical attention. Quite a few of us are, actually." He gestures to Will's bruised throat.

"Are these complaints of hunger from you?" Will asks with a smirk.

Dustin nudges him on the shoulder. "We need sustenance, Byers. You do realize we were down in that Russian base for an entire day, right?"

"Right."

"Are you asking if we should go get food and medical supplies?" Jonathan asks.

Dustin nods. "Precisely."

Grabbing his car keys, Jonathan moves around the counter but before he can lead Will and Dustin out the door, Nancy stares him down. "Where are you going?"

"To get food and medical supplies."

"We need you here. I'm not looking after the kids on my own."

"Nancy," Dustin cuts in, "we need food and medical supplies. It's dire to our health."

"Get Steve and Robin to go. They haven't been much use here." She gestures to the room where Steve and Robin are nowhere in sight.

Dustin looks to Jonathan. "Keys?"

With a sigh, Jonathan tosses them to him. "Be back soon. In and out, only get what you need."

"Will do." Dustin grabs Will by the sleeve, and they duck out of the cabin.

They glance around for any sign of Steve or Robin. "Where could they have gone?" Will asks.

"I don't know." Dustin ventures to the side of the cabin, peering around the corner. "The cars are still here, so they didn't drive off. I don't know why they just ran off like this."

"Maybe they're-"

Dustin holds up a finger when laughter breaks out in the distance. He and Will look to each other before breaking out into a sprint. They find Steve and Robin sitting atop a fallen tree. "Okay, what the hell?"

Steve and Robin look at them and burst into more cackles. Rolling his eyes, Dustin gestures for them to follow. "Come on, guys. We're going to get food and medical supplies while El looks for the source."

"With what car?" Steve asks as he and Robin get up and weave through the trees after Will and Dustin.

"Jonathan's letting us borrow his," Will says. Dustin tosses Steve the keys, and they get in the car, Steve and Robin up front, Will and Dustin in the back, and head to the grocery store. When they arrive, they split up, Steve and Robin heading for the first aid section while Will and Dustin look for food.

As Will grabs a couple boxes of cereal and sets them in the cart, Dustin leans on the handle, staring hard at Will. Sighing, Will stops walking and stares back at him. "What is it, Dustin?"

"Did something happen with you and Mike?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Erica mentioned something."

Will's eyebrows draw together. "Erica?"

"Yeah, sort of out of the blue. Lucas and I were talking on the porch this morning after you went with Jonathan and Nancy to get the car when she came outside and asked us if our two friends were in love."

Will freezes, not knowing how to react or how Dustin would react if he told him the truth. "What did you say?"

"She didn't explain exactly who she was talking about, so I'm pretty sure Lucas just thought she meant Mike and Eleven."

Tapping his knuckles on the cereal box, Will narrows his eyes. "But you don't think that?"

"No, dummy, I don't." He flashes him a grin. "Is it true then?"

Will shakes his head. "You heard Mike. He's in love with El."

Dustin rolls his eyes. "And what about you?"

"Am I in love with El?" Will smirks, trying to will away his racing heartbeat.

"Come on, Byers."

He sighs, putting his head in his hands. "Max figured it out as well. Am I that obvious?"

"If I'm being honest, no. If anything, I thought Mike was more obvious than you."

"What?"

Dustin pats him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You don't make it obvious. Does Mike know?"

"Of course he knows, and he's pissed about it."

"Why's he pissed about that?"

"Why do you think, Dustin?" Will lets out a groan. "I ruined everything."

"Ruined everything? Hey-" Dustin looks him in the eye. "No, you haven't. Hey, Will, look at me. You haven't ruined a thing. Just because you have feelings for him, doesn't mean you can't still be friends, if that's what you're worried about. Just look at me and Max. I used to like her, but now we're friends, and I'm with Suzie. Things work out in the end. But if he's going to be an asshole about it, that's on him, not you."

Smiling faintly, Will clutches himself. "You don't think it's weird or gross?"

"No way, far from it."

"I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?"

"I really like him... like really like him, and I don't know how to get over it. I know I have to at some point, but I think I've liked him so long it's almost become my default."

Tapping his fingers on the edge of the cart, Dustin's eyebrows knit together. When he doesn't answer, Will goes on, "How did you get over Max?"

"I didn't like her as much, so I wouldn't compare."

"Sorry to interrupt." Steve clears his throat from behind them, and they spin around to stare at him and Robin. How long have they been there? After glancing between Will and Robin, Steve gestures to Dustin. "Henderson, I need help finding bandages."

Both Will and Dustin give him confused looks. "Did you not look in the first aid section?"

"I need your help, dude."

Dustin narrows his eyes before shrugging and walking off with Steve and the shopping cart, leaving Will and Robin alone. She gives him a smile. "How are you, Byers?"

"Good." They move down the aisle, Robin carrying a shopping basket filled with boxes of band-aids in her hand. Will gestures in the direction Steve and Dustin went. "What was that about?"

Robin scrunches her nose. "I think Steve wanted me to talk to you."

"About what?"

"We sort of heard you and Dustin talking."

"I don't..." He was about to dismiss it, but he was pretty sure he knew what she was getting at. "I don't..." Will inhales. "I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?"

Will responds with a shrug.

"Do you mean you're looking for a way to get over this person you're in love with?"

"I don't know." He sighs. "I just wish I was different."

"You're perfect how you are." They stop walking as Robin turns to him. "Look, it may seem like this massive thing in your life right now, but you'll be okay. Everything will work out in the end even if that means moving on."

"I don't know if I can move on."

"You might have to." She ruffles up his hair. "It'll be hard, but you'll be fine."

"How do you know?"

"I went through the same thing."

"But how did you move on?"

"I found other people. Friends. People I can count on to be there for me and who actually care about me. But hey." She nudges him. "You already have friends you can count on and who care about you. Even when you think you don't, they'll be there for you. So many people love you, Byers, even if you feel alone or different or wrong, you have to know that there are people who love you exactly how you are, and you shouldn't change just to fit some mold of what's considered normal."

Will smiles. "You sound like my brother."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Will! Robin!" Dustin and Steve's shouts echo from the other side of the store. Glancing to each other, Will and Robin break out into a run. They find Dustin and Steve by the front of the store, Dustin holding his walkie-talkie up to his ear.

"What's going on?" Robin asks.

Dustin puts a hand up as he listens to the walkie-talkie. Mike's voice breaks through the static. "He knows we're here! The Mind Flayer is coming! You guys-" His voice is overtaken by static.

"What?" Will asks in a panic.

Dustin shakes the walkie-talkie. Only fragments of Mike's voice can be heard. "The Mi – is here – get to the – we need bac – ing!" The low battery light on the walkie-talkie blinks. "Get to – now! Code – I re – red!" It fades to static, beeping.

"Mike!" Dustin cries, scrambling through his backpack for the pack of batteries he and Will had bought at the mall. He got it out, tore it open, and shoved the AA batteries in the walkie-talkie. "Mike, Mike, do you copy? It's Dustin. Are you there?"

No one answers.

"Shit," Steve mutters.

"Come on," Dustin says, running towards the door. "We have to get back to them!"

"Hey!" a cashier shouts as the four of them start for the door with the food and medical supplies. "You have to pay for those!"

Steve and Robin rush over to the check-out line with the supplies while Will and Dustin wait by the door, ears glued to the walkie-talkie. Once Steve and Robin return with the supplies, they rush to the car, throw their bags in the trunk, and gas it to the cabin. No further word comes from the walkie-talkie.