A/N: Ok, chapter this was written post ST3, so Dustin's girlfriend is no longer Stacey in this story, but is now (obviously) Suzie. I'm not going back to change those chapters. Just pretend it was Suzie all along :)
"Ok, this is what we do." Mike said to the group.
"We wait a few hours, Lucas, Dustin, and I go in and scout around."
"No."
It was Max.
"What do you mean no , Max?"
"Did you forget what I was like when I thought Lucas wasn't coming back?"
Mike looked down.
"Exactly. So. No. Do you want to put El through that."
"Mike?" He could see her lips start to tremble and he went over to hug her. She whispered in his ear.
"Please don't leave me Mike."
Mike hugged her tighter.
Everyone gave them a moment. Finally he turned around, "Ok new plan. We camp out right here. We all go into town after sun up."
"Not at night?" Suzie said.
"They, assuming there is a they would be expecting that. We waltz right in during the day. We'll be able to see sunlight reflecting off of binoculars, or," he looked at Lucas, "a gun barrel or something."
Lucas threw up his hands. "I knew you wouldn't forget."
"What's that about?" Dustin said.
"Nothing. Mike's just being a little asshole. I can call you and asshole right? We're friends enough for that." Lucas smiled back at him.
"We are a party, we stick together. Strength in numbers isn't just a saying. Max was right. El wouldn't just lose me… I… I would lose her too. I love her and I can't lose her."
El squeezed his hand and smiled at the rest.
"But we should , keep watch."
"I'll take the first shift," Max said. She went over to Mike and hugged him, "Thanks Mike."
XXXXX
In the morning they packed up. "We leave our stuff here" Mike said.
"Why?" Lucas said.
"If we have to run out of town, we have supplies waiting for us right here. If not, we pick up new supplies in town.
Lucas shrugged, "Makes sense."
They started the walk into town. Mike put on sunglasses.
"Are those serving a purpose Mike? Or are you just trying to look dorky. Those are cheap sunglasses."
"And do you know what cheap sunglasses don't have?"
"Enlighten us," Dustin said.
"Well, no polarization, which means they don't cut glare."
Lucas rolled his eyes, "Like glare off of gun barrels."
Mike smiled, "See even Lucas gets it."
"You're an asshole, Mike." Max said smiling, "But you're an asshole that's keeping us alive, so you get a pass on that one."
"Have you guys ever heard of a peacock spider?" Mike asked.
"It's a species of jumping spider." Dustin answered.
"Right, and like all spiders it has eight eyes. You also might know that spiders eyes don't move like humans and other animals."
"That's why they have eight. Each one has a field of vision."
"Exactly," Mike said.
"Ok, that was fun info. Why tell us that?" Lucas said.
"Mike wants us collectively to be a spider. That means each of us takes a particular view. Max looks straight ahead, El looks behind, Mike takes one side, Lucas the other, I double check each field of view every few seconds."
"Your girlfriend is very smart Dustin," Mike said smiling handing Lucas a pair of cheap sunglasses.
Dustin grinned at him, "And she's taken."
Nobody saw El's secret smile. It was Mike's idea. Mike's smart idea. He was keeping them safe. He was keeping her safe. Only one other person had kept her safe. Her dad was gone now, but Mike had filled the gap in her heart. She squeezed his hand and again while he talked. He gave her a quick sidelong glance and smile. And squeezed back.
They kept the spider formation through the walk into town.
They saw nothing. No people, no sunlight reflecting off of binoculars, or off of gun barrels.
Nothing.
The sun was starting to set, revealing which lights were on and which were off.
"Ok, it looks like the other end of town where the mall is." Mike said.
XXXXX
It was nice and cool in the mall. It had full power, all the lights were on and all the air conditioning.
"This is a big mall, there's no way it should be powered up right now." Mike said.
"Unless it's being powered by the lab. Remember the lab is supposed to be run by the Department of Energy." Max said.
"Ok, maybe, but why is it powered up now?" Mike said.
"I think it was always powered up. We just didn't notice it because you can't really see the light when you are in town. Definitely not from where you live Mike."
"Hmm, good point. Um, guys why don't we set up in the mall? Plenty of supplies, plenty of hiding places if we need to. We'll search for rooms on the second level. Always keeping an eye out for escape routes."
"Works for me." Dustin said.
"Ok then, sorry about the false alarm," Mike said, "I was just trying to keep us safe."
"You don't need to say sorry," El said. She'd been quiet for the entire walk. "Not for keeping us safe. Keeping me safe."
Mike smiled at her, leaned over and kissed her. On the mouth. So that everyone could see. She smiled shyly and looked down.
Max did the same thing to Lucas. Dustin followed suit with Suzie.
"I'd like to propose kind of a new rule." Mike said looking at the others.
"What's that?" Lucas said.
"If we feel the need to go wandering around the mall, or even outside, we only do it in pairs. I mean our couple pairs. None of us wants us to lose our partners. They are hard to come by these days. Um, I don't want to be out of El's sight. I can't..."
They all nodded their heads enthusiastically. El's arm was around Mike's waist and she squeezed him hard. Mike knew this rule would be easy for them to follow.
XXXXX
"Mike? Bathroom?" El's big eyes looked at Mike.
"Sure, El it's just around the corner."
She continued to look at him, her eyes still with the question, "I need you to… be close."
"Right." Mike they got out of their sleeping bags. "Um, El, you're legs are beautiful, but you should put on some track pants or something."
She smiled her thanks, nodded and pulled on a pair of pants in front of him, he got a brief glimpse of her underwear, felt himself flush and looked away. They walked towards the bathroom.
"Um, El, do you want me outside the bathroom or insi-"
"Inside Mike." She could see Mike was red, she kissed him on the cheek. "I never had privacy. You are more embarrassed than I am, Mike, don't cry, it's ok." She hugged him. "It's ok."
Mike was sure her childhood was much worse than she'd ever let on.
When she was finished. She left the stall, "Are you ok?"
Mike's face was so red he felt like blood would start leaking from his eyes.
She stood in front of him and looked into his eyes. He tried to avoid her gaze.
"Mike. Look at me."
It was the hardest thing Mike ever had to do. She turned her face up to him, closed her eyes and kissed him. She stood back, and looked at him, the trust in her eyes let Mike know her feelings for him mirrored his own for her.
"Mike, I understand."
