I do not own Stranger Things or any of the characters.
Arguing
Thirteen crossed his arms, glaring at the others, still with the same appearance as the night before, but with his hair loose now. "She saw me using my powers. Maybe she didn't know what I was doing, but she still saw it. She'll get suspicious if we don't explain, and if we don't tell her, she'll suspect we're keeping secrets, correctly, and then-"
"And then, what?" Mike interrupted. "You can't date her? So what? No one cares about your stupid crush. She's not a part of our party!"
"Only because you refuse to accept any girl who's not Ellie!" Thirteen snapped back. "I was under the impression that the Party could vote on things. When did you become the supreme leader?"
"When everyone decided to just invite random people!" Mike snapped.
"It was four votes to one!" Thirteen snapped. "You got out voted! Just because you don't like that doesn't mean you get to turn it into a dictatorship!"
"We're not telling her!" Mike shouted, then sighed. "We gotta get to class."
He walked away quickly, and Thirteen glared at his back, considering using a barrier to trip him. However, he decided against it as everyone else headed after Mike. Thirteen sighed, then turning and walking away. He was going to tell her. He just needed to decide how to get her alone so he could tell her safely. And her believing him wouldn't be a problem. After all, he was living proof.
He stopped as Dustin ran into him, literally, almost taking him off his feet. "Dustin? What are you-"
"Meet us for lunch!" Dustin shouted back at him as he ran for the school. "I have something to show you all! Ten o'clock! We'll be outside so you can sneak in to us! Then we'll take you to the AV club room!"
Thirteen stared back at him before sighing and heading for the woods around the school. A few hours later, a door opened and Dustin looked around. Thirteen jogged over, slipping in past him before hurriedly following the others to where they were supposed to be meeting, happy that the group included Max. The room was dark once Dustin shut the door, but as he set a replica Ghostbusters trap on the table, a high, chirruping sound coming from it, the lack of lighting stopped being a concern.
Dustin opened the trap and they all leaned forward to look, seeing something that looked like a pollywog inside. Except, it was slimy-looking and brown with a stumpy pair of legs about where a quadruped's front legs would be. Thirteen recoiled, eyes widening slightly. He hated slimy things and insects, slugs being the worst. He had ever since he joined Eleven in the Void and saw the slug crawling out of Barbara's mouth.
"His name is D'Artagnan," Dustin said, scooping it out of the trap. "Cute, right?"
"No," Thirteen said flatly.
"D'Artagnan?" Mike asked.
"Dart for short," Dustin nodded.
"And he was in your trash?" Max asked, obviously not a fan of the slimy little vermin either.
"Foraging for food," Dustin said proudly. "Wanna hold him?"
"No, no," Max said, shaking her head vigorously.
"He doesn't bite, don't worry," Dustin said, dropping the thing into her hands.
"No, I don't-" she stopped as it hit her hands, her face contorting in disgust. "Oh, Go, he's slimy!"
She hurriedly passed it to Lucas, who reacted similarly.
"Ugh, he's like a living booger!" Lucas said, passing it to Will.
"Ugh, oh God!" Will gagged, shoving it into Mike's hands.
Mike held it up to inspect it. "What is he?"
"My question exactly," Dustin said, taking him back, then looking to Thirteen. "Wanna turn?"
Thirteen shuddered and stepped back as he held it closer to him. "Get that thing away from me before I throw you with all my power!"
"What?" Dustin asked before grinning. "Aw. Are you scared of him? He's fine! Just hold him!"
Dustin stepped forward and Thirteen let out a high-pitched yelp, slapping Dustin's hands with his own right. Dustin shouted in surprise, the shout echoed by Will, mixed with disgust, as Dart slapped into his face and fell to the ground.
"Dart!" Dustin gasped as Mike picked Dart up, Dart visibly trembling. "How could you!?" He took Dart back and put it back in the trap.
"I earned you not co come bear me with that disgusting thing!" Thirteen said, voice slightly higher than normal, making Max grin and raise an eyebrow. "You're lucky I didn't throw you like my sister did to Lucas."
"Wait, you lost a fight to a girl?" Max grinned, turning to Lucas. "That explains so much."
"It wasn't like that!" Lucas said. "She...She's just...special."
Max laughed.
"Anyway," Thirteen said, forcing his voice to sound calm again. "What the fuck is that thing?"
"Right," Dustin nodded, setting a stack of books on the table. "At first, I thought it was some type of pollywog."
"Pollywog?" Max asked.
"Tadpole," Thirteen translated.
"Tadpole's the larval stage of a toad," Dustin explained.
"I know what a tadpole is," Max said.
"Alright, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right?" Dustin asked, opening a book on pollywogs. "Well, Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water."
"Yeah, but aren't there nonaquatic pollywogs?" Lucas asked.
"Terrestrial pollywogs?" Dustin asked. "Yep. Two, to be exact." He turned the page. "Indirana Semipalmata," he opened another book to a different pollywog, "and the Adenomera andreae. One's from India, one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash."
"Maybe some scientists brought it here, and it escaped?" Max offered.
"Do you guys see that?" Mike asked, looking into the trap.
"If it's to do with the living snot ball, no, I don't," Thirteen said.
"Wuss," Max smirked.
"It looks like something's moving inside of it," Mike said.
Thirteen grimaced before forcing himself to look. Mike was right. Its sides behind its legs were bulging and shrinking like something was pushing outward from inside of it. Mike swung the light over it to get a better look and the thing let out a near-deafening shriek of pain, leaping out of the trap and scrambling off the table, only for Dustin to catch it in his hand.
"It's okay," Dustin smiled. "It's okay. I gotcha, little guy. I know you don't like that. It's okay."
The thing chittered up at him. Except something that had been nagging at Thirteen's mind for the last few minutes finally pushed it's way to the front. He'd heard that sound before.
"And that's another thing," Dustin said. "Reptiles. They're cold-blooded, ectothermic, right? They love heat, the sun. Dart hates it. It hurts him."
"So, if he's not a pollywog, or a reptile..." Lucas began.
"Then I've discovered a new species," Dustin grinned proudly.
Just then, the bell rang and everyone scrambled to grab their things for class.
"We gotta show him to Mr. Clark," Lucas said.
"Will," Thirteen said, catching his arm. "Halloween, right?"
Will's eyes widened.
"That's where you've heard that thing's noises before?" Thirteen clarified.
Will nodded.
"Tell Mike," Thirteen said. "Don't let them show Mr. Clark. That thing's from the Upside Down. I'll be back after school ends to kill it."
Will nodded and ran after the others while Will made himself look like an adult with dirty-blonde hair and a mustache, walking out of the school quickly. A few hours of waiting in the woods, again, later, the bell rang and he sprinted back into the school as the same child form from earlier, finding Max pounding on the door of the AV club room.
"Hello?" Max shouted. "Hello!?"
"Move!" Thirteen snarled.
She stepped out of his way, and he threw the door open, then turned.
"Wait here," Thirteen said. "I'll explain after."
Max gave him an incredulous look and he closed and locked the door, turning to the others.
"Give me that disgusting fucking thing so I can stomp on it!" Thirteen growled.
"No!" Dustin shouted, stepping into his way. "Don't hurt him!"
"Move!" he snarled, shoving Dustin out of the way.
"He's harmless!" Dustin pleaded.
"It's from the Upside Down!" Thirteen hissed, rounding on him. "It could be a baby Demogorgon!"
"You don't know that!" Dustin argued.
"You don't know it's not!" Thirteen snapped.
"Just because it's from the Upside Down doesn't automatically mean he's bad!" Dustin argued.
"That's like saying just because a Stormtrooper was on the Death Star doesn't make them bad!" Mike snapped.
"We have a bond," Dustin said, sighing.
"A bond!?" Mike scoffed. "Just because he likes nougat!?"
"No, because he trust me!" Dustin shouted.
"He trusts you?" Lucas asked skeptically.
"Enough of this!" Thirteen snarled. "I'm crushing the thing!"
"No!" Dustin shouted, shoving Thirteen into the table the trap was on, making him fall and knock the table over, smashing the radio that was on the table, the trap popping open as it hit the ground.
Dart rolled out, double its size from earlier that day with most of its body now a dark grey. Then, as soon as it stopped rolling, a pair of digitigrade hind legs tore out of its sides.
"It's dead!" Thirteen said, raising his hand.
"No!" Dustin shouted, hurling a book at him and hitting him above the eye, making him shout in pain as blood began to leak from the cut.
Dart scrambled toward the door just as the lock clicked and the door swung open. Max stared at Dart in confusion as it scrambled past her, but as Thirteen moved to run after it, Dustin shoved him again, sending him into Max, making him fall on top of her.
"You're dead next, Dustin!" Thirteen snapped as he shoved himself to his feet.
"What was that?" Max asked.
"Dart!" Mike said.
"What!?" Max asked.
"You let him escape!" Mike snapped.
"Why did you attack him!?" Dustin demanded, getting in Thirteen's face, only for Thirteen to punch him in the jaw, sitting him onto his ass, hard.
"I TOLD YOU WHY! ! !" Thirteen roared. "THAT THING NEEDS TO DIE! ! ! STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY, DUSTIN, OR I'LL BREAK YOU BEFORE I SPLATTER THAT THING! ! !"
He turned, storming off to look for Dart, and after a second, Max caught up to him, glancing at him.
"You wanna explain?" Max asked.
"Not right now!" Thirteen said angrily. "After I've calmed down and crushed that disgusting little shit!"
He focused, but found he was too angry to track Dart, which pissed him off even more. He huffed. The hard way it was.
"Don't hurt him!" Dustin shouted after him. "DON'T YOU HURT HIM! ! !"
Thirteen ignored him, storming toward the gym.
"Where are we going?" Max asked.
"The locker rooms," Thirteen said. "It's dark, quiet, and out of the way. Good place to start."
Max nodded in agreement. When they reached the gym, they separated, Thirteen heading to the men's locker room and Max to the women's. Once Thirteen was alone, he formed a barrier in the middle of the room, then another around his fist before drilling his fist into it several times. Finally, both shattered like glass, the shards fading into oblivion before hitting the ground, and he kicked a locker.
"No luck, I take it," Max said, stepping into view.
"No," Thirteen said. "You?"
"Nope," Max said, glancing at her feet. "Shoes are clean."
Thirteen nodded just as Mike walked in.
"Oh, you're here," Mike said. "I was hoping your usual luck looking for things would find it."
"To angry," Thirteen said.
Mike looked over at Max. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for Dart," Max said.
"This is the boys' room!" Mike said.
"Yeah, so?" Max asked.
"So you should go home!" Mike snapped, throwing a broom he'd been holding to the floor and storming out of the room.
Max glared at his back, then stormed after him, Thirteen following. "Why do you hate me so much?"
"I don't hate you," Mike said. "How can I hate you? I don't even know you."
"Yeah, but you don't want me in your party!" Max pointed out.
"Correct," Mike said.
"Why not!?" Max asked.
"Because you're annoying!" Mike snapped. "Also, we don't need another party member! I'm out paladin, Will's our cleric, Dustin's our bard, Lucas is our ranger, Thirteen is our arcane warrior, and El is our mage!"
"El?" Max asked. "Who's El?"
"My sister," Thirteen said. "His first crush who moved away."
Max glanced at him, curiosity and sympathy in her eyes, but she didn't ask. Instead, she dropped her skateboard and followed Mike, who was stalking away. "She was a mage? What could she do, like, magic tricks or something? Well, I could be your zoomer." She stopped in front of Mike.
"That's not even a real thing," Mike said.
"No, but cavalry is," Thirteen said, stopping beside Mike.
Max began to skate in a circle around them. "See? Zoomer. Or cavalry. That sounds better."
"Mind-blowing," Mike said sarcastically.
"Come on," Max smirked. "You know you're impressed."
"I don't see any tricks," Mike said. "You're just going around in a circle."
"The trick is staying upright," Thirteen said. "It's hard."
"Exactly!" Max said. "Impressed?"
"No!" Mike said.
"Why don't you try it?" Max asked.
"I don't know how!" Mike said.
"So then you admit it's impressive," Max said.
"I think if I spent, like, all day practicing I could do that," Mike said.
"I would give you a million bucks if you could," Max said.
"Okay, you're making me dizzy," Mike said. "Please just stop."
"I'll stop when I join your party," Max said.
"Come on, just stop," Mike said.
"It's a simple question," Max said. "Am I in or out?"
"Come on, Mike," Thirteen said. "It's not like she's replacing Ellie. She's just trying to be a friend."
Just then, the skateboard lurched forward, throwing Max off of it.
"Oh shit!" Thirteen said, kneeling beside her. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Max winced.
"Damn, and you were doing so well showing off, too," Thirteen grinned as he helped her up.
Max glared at him. "I didn't lose my balance. It was like...a magnet or something pulling on my board." She sighed. "I know that sounds crazy."
Thirteen glanced at Mike as Max walked after her board. "Less crazy than you'd think."
They both looked around, but Eleven was nowhere to be seen. Mike ran to the door, shoving it open and looking around, only for his shoulders to slump. Thirteen walked over to him, glancing back at Max.
"I think I know what happened," Thirteen said. "She saw you and Max spending time together and got jealous. I'll explain the situation later."
"Can't you just take me to her?" Mike asked. "Or at least tell me where she is?"
"No," Thirteen said. "You'll see her soon, evidently."
Mike sighed and nodded as Max reached them, passing Mike his radio.
"Guys, I found him," Will said.
"Where?" Dustin asked.
"In the bathroom," Will said. "By Mr. Salerno's."
"Copy that!" Mike said, taking off at a run, Thirteen just behind him, mind once again on crushing the slimy little monster.
After a few seconds, they spotted Lucas.
"Let's go!" Mike shouted. "Down here!"
"I'm coming!" Lucas shouted.
They all streaked toward the bathroom, Thirteen pulling ahead. Then, he shouldered through the door, finding Dustin present, not seeing Will, and not seeing Dart.
"Where is it?" Thirteen snarled.
"I don't know," Dustin said. "Not here."
"What?" Mike asked, beginning to check the stalls.
"He said by Salerno's, right?" Max asked.
"Yep," Dustin nodded. "Maybe-"
"I swear to God, Dustin," Thirteen snarled, grabbing him by the collar. "If I find out you have that slimy little freak, I'm going to knock those teeth back out of your..." He stopped, blinking as a more pressing problem registered. "Where's Will?"
"I don't know," Dustin said as Thirteen released him. "He wasn't here when I got here."
Thirteen's eyes fell to an abandoned radio on the ground, then began to widen rapidly before he breathed, "Episode."
The others, minus Max who didn't know the true nature of the episodes, swore harshly as Thirteen closed his eyes.
"The field out back!" Thirteen shouted, shoving past the others and breaking into a dead sprint.
He burst out of the door, following the thin, glowing blue trail only he could see, the others all a few steps behind him. As soon as he was outside, he tore across the field and into the trees. However, he'd only made it a few yards before skidding to a stop above Will, who lay on the ground, convulsing, his eyes rolled back into his head.
"Will!?" Joyce shouted from outside the trees.
"Over here!" Thirteen yelled to her. "In the woods!"
He closed his eyes, setting his hand on Will's forehead, only for the massive, four-armed shadow creature Will had drawn a picture of to appear in his mind, shrieking deafeningly and sending pain lancing through his head. He recoiled, clutching his head and shouting in pain, and Max dropped beside him instantly.
"Are you alright?" Max asked. "What's going on?"
"Thirteen, what's happening?" Mike asked.
"It's too late," Thirteen said, lowering his hands and staring at Will. "It's got him."
"Will!" Joyce shrieked, sprinting over just as Will gasped for breath, jerking and looking around in a panic.
"Joyce find Hopper," Thirteen said seriously. "It got to him."
Joyce's eyes widened as her face paled, looking panic-stricken for a moment before nodding and lifting Will into her arms. She turned and ran out of the woods toward her car, and Thirteen sighed, holding a hand to his throbbing head.
"Will someone please tell me what's going on!?" Max snapped.
"Will was-" Thirteen began.
"No!" Mike snapped. "You're not telling her! She's not in the party, and we don't want her to be!"
"No, Mike, you don't want her to be!" Thirteen snapped back. "You don't want her in the party, because she's a girl who's not El, and you're so self-centered and obsessed with El that you refuse to spend any time with anyone who isn't her! You're the one who's always going on about the rules of the party, and yet here you are playing dictator just because you don't want any female friends until after you and El are together again! What's wrong, afraid you're going to stop liking El? Or are you afraid she'll see you having fun with another girl and decide you're not worth her time?"
Mike swung at Thirteen, but he ducked under it and drilled a punch into the side of Mike's jaw, knocking him to the ground.
"You swung first, you spoiled little brat!" Thirteen snarled, squatting down beside him. "Don't expect an apology from me. In case you didn't notice, we have more pressing issues to worry about than whether or not Max is our friend, but you're so focused on El that you're not even worried about Will! You'd rather fight me over whether or not I explain what's happening to Max than you would go after Will, who was just having a fucking seizure during an episode!" He stood up and spat on the ground beside Mike's head. "Until Mike's decided to take his head out of his ass, I'm done with your stupid little party. I have bigger things to worry about than tiptoeing around Mike's ego." He turned, stalking away, only to stop, looking back at Max. "Meet me at the arcade on Saturday, and I'll explain everything. Since I'm not in the party, I don't have to worry what Mike thinks about it."
Max hesitated before nodding. Then, Thirteen turned, sprinting into the trees before forming himself a barrier to ride on like a skateboard, streaking through the woods back to his house. As he arrived, Eleven and Hopper were in the middle of a screaming match. He stepped into the house just as Eleven sent a book sailing at Hopper, only to raise his arm, stopping it.
"That's enough!" Thirteen snapped, both turning to him. "Both of you calm down!"
Both glared at him, but he slammed the front door with his mind, locking it before wiping the blood from his face.
"Neither of you are the innocent party," Thirteen said. "And I've had enough arguing for the day, so shut up and listen. Hopper, you should have let her go out, at a minimum, on Halloween. I could have looked after her and no one would have been any the wiser. She's been locked up in here for a year, no different than she was locked up in the Lab. The only difference is that you don't run tests on her powers. How would you like being locked inside for a year? You'd lose your fucking mind! And Eleven, while I do understand wanting to leave, and it's not fair that I can but you can't, leaving alone was a bad idea. Now, I know you saw us in the gym and pulled Max's skateboard out from under her, so you probably had the wrong idea about what you were seeing."
"Mike likes her," Eleven said.
"No," Thirteen said. "Mike doesn't like her. In fact, that entire conversation you found us during was Max trying to convince Mike to let her be a part of our group of friends, but he kept refusing because she's not you. He refuses to accept a girl who's not you, because he feels like it would be replacing you. You don't have to worry about him deciding he likes Max more. I'm the one with the huge crush on Max."
Hopper's eyebrows rose, but Eleven frowned in confusion.
"Crush?" Eleven asked.
"Having a crush on someone is when you have romantic feelings toward them beginning to form," Thirteen said. "When you're attracted to them. Mike has a crush on you, you have a crush on Mike, and I have a crush on Max. Mike's not going to start liking Max, so you don't have to worry about that."
Eleven hesitated before nodding and turning to Hopper. "I'm sorry."
Hopper sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, too. Let's just all go to bed and in the morning I'll make something special for breakfast."
Eleven nodded, hugging him, then headed to bed.
"Thanks," Hopper said. "But she still broke the rules."
"But only because you really were treating her like a prisoner," Thirteen said. "Don't punish her for it."
Hopper sighed and nodded, also heading to bed, Thirteen doing the same.
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