he likes it cold

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

The impromptu group of potential-world savers gathered around the dining room table, Alina beside Eleven and Gabe beside Max as they formulated what to do next. Hopper explained what he'd seen of the gate when he was at the lab, as they now knew that they had to close it to save Will. Alina had given him a death glare when he'd reentered with Mike, whose eyes were red and puffy, but she didn't yell at him, obviously realizing that there were more important tasks at hand. Gabe could tell that she wanted to, though. Could tell she was itching to tell him how much she'd missed her friend, how much she'd cried after she'd 'died'. He didn't even know her that well, but her face made it quite clear.

He couldn't believe he was still here. He knew he could go home right now—that he should, considering how worried his grandparents probably were about him, considering he'd been gone all day—but he refused to. The world could be ending, and he would be incredibly stupid if he went home and just let it be destroyed all around him. Whatever he could possibly do, no matter how small, to help prolong this Armageddon was worth staying for. Plus, he knew he couldn't look into everyone's eyes and tell them he was leaving. Tell them that he was giving up—on Will, on the party, on the Demodogs that now roamed Hawkins.

He didn't want to give up, anyway.

"It's not like it was before," Hopper said. "It's grown. A lot. And I mean, that's considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demodogs," Dustin corrected, seeming unable to resist himself.

Hopper turned to look at him, his blue hospital scrubs peeking out from his jacket. Neither he nor Joyce had changed out of the bloodied uniforms, and Bob had never gotten the opportunity. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said uh, Demodogs," said Dustin, his voice getting quieter at Hopper's intense stare. "Like Demogorgon and dogs. Like, you put them together, it sounds pretty badass—"

"How is this important right now?" Hopper asked.

Dustin looked away sheepishly. "It's not. I'm sorry." Gluing his eyes to the floor, his cheeks slowly turned red, and Gabe reached over to rub his shoulder sympathetically. Dustin looked grateful at the gesture.

"I can do it," said the new member. When Gabe had learned about Eleven and what she'd done, he hadn't expected a punk girl with slicked-back hair. But he had to admit, Eleven did look pretty good in this getup.

"You're not hearing me," said Hopper.

"I'm hearing you." Eleven bored her eyes into his, her face confident. "I can do it."

"Even if El can, there's still another problem," said Mike. "If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the whole point," said Max, lost.

"Yeah," Gabe added, also confused. "I thought that was how we were going to beat it."

"It is," said Mike, "but if we're really right about this, I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayer's army..."

"Will's a part of that army," finished Lucas, his eyes widening. Gabe sucked in a surprised breath.

"Closing the gate will kill him," said Mike.

Everyone sighed at this new roadblock. If they wanted to kill the Mind Flayer and its army, they now would have to find a way to get it out of Will first, or else he would die, too. Gabe looked around at the others' thoughtful faces, all of them trying to come up with a solution to this problem, Mike and Lucas bouncing off ideas, when Joyce suddenly stood up, her eyes big. She headed out of the room, and everyone stopped talking and followed, obviously believing that she knew what she was doing.

She stopped in front of Will, who was asleep on her bed, his limbs splayed out and his face peaceful. Furrowing her brow, she moved her gaze to the open window, just as goosebumps spread over Gabe's arms. It was freezing in here, and he clutched his sweater closer to him. Everyone else shivered, too, except for Alina, who merely looked interested in helping her housemate and friend. "He likes it cold," Joyce murmured, watching how the wind blew against the curtain half-covering the window.

"What?" Hopper asked.

"It's what Will kept saying to me," Joyce explained. "He likes it cold." Breathing out a sigh, Joyce moved to the open window and pulled it shut, before turning back to the intrigued group. Alina wiped sweat off her brow as Joyce spoke. "We keep giving it what it wants."

Nancy blinked. "If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..."

"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable," said Jonathan, his eyes hardening at the sight of his brother looking so peaceful while horror raged within. Gabe could tell that he wanted to rip the Mind Flayer from limb to shadowy limb for what he'd done to Will, and that he was determined to do anything that could help his brother. He'd definitely be volunteering for whatever was required to save him.

"So, if he likes it cold..." started Nancy.

"We need to burn it out of him," finished Joyce.

"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time," said Mike, reminding them all of the near-disaster that had occurred because of one phone call. Gabe shuddered at the thought of what might've happened if Eleven hadn't been there to save them.

"Yeah," said Dustin, "somewhere far away."

Hopper clenched his jaw. "I think I know a place."

After that, the details of the plan were quickly finalized. Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy would bring the still-unconscious Will to Hopper's cabin, which lay somewhere deep in the woods (it was the same place he'd hidden Eleven, apparently) where they would proceed to burn the Mind Flayer out of the boy. At the same time, Hopper and Eleven would make their way to Hawkins Lab, wait for the signal, and close the gate, hopefully killing the Mind Flayer and his army. And Steve would stay behind, watching over Lucas, Alina, Dustin, Max, Mike and Gabe, all of whom had protested loudly to this idea. But their concerns had been ignored. It was too dangerous. So, yet again, they had to stay behind.

But Alina wasn't okay with that, and so, after all the other party members—plus Max and Gabe, who hadn't quite found their place in it yet (although they would soon, Alina was sure)—said goodbye to Eleven and wished her luck on the mission, Alina followed her outside, the bitter November wind somehow a comfort on her face.

She'd already wished Joyce, Nancy and Jonathan good luck on their mission, and Joyce had held her close, her soft hands tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Alina had breathed her in—Joyce smelled of cigarette smoke and a hint of perfume—and closed her eyes. She could almost pretend Joyce was her mom in this position.

"Be careful," Joyce had told her, stroking her hair.

Alina held her tighter. "You too," she'd said, her voice breaking. "I can't... I can't lose anyone else." And in that second, they both thought about Bob, one of the superheroes who'd made it so Joyce was alive right now. Alina missed him. Missed his corny jokes and his bad taste in music and his adoration of Skywalker. She had a new hole in her heart for him, right beside the one for her dad. Maybe it was the same one Eleven had recently tried to fill.

Now, Alina made her way to Hopper, wincing at the pain in her still-bandaged leg, and found the man finishing a smoke by the car. He jumped a little when he saw her, and Alina felt a little bit satisfied at that reaction, because the temptation to have a less than civil conversation with him was overwhelming. But, just for now, she knew that would do her no favors. So instead, she shoved her hands in her pockets and tried to approach casually.

"What are you doing here, kid?" Hopper asked, twirling the cigarette around in his fingers. "Go back inside with the others."

Alina took a deep breath. She knew the others would be furious if they found out what she was planning, but she simply couldn't sit here while Hopper and Eleven roamed through a Demodog-infested Hawkins Lab. She couldn't wait in bated breath for news about Will's condition.

"I want to come with you," she said now, her jaw clenching at the resistance she already saw in Hopper's eyes. "I want to help El close the gate."

"Didn't we already talk about this, kid?" Hopper asked, blowing out a stream of smoke into the night air. "You're not coming."

"Why not?" Alina fumed. "You said that it was too dangerous for the others, but I'm not like the others. My abilities are back! And I can control them better now!" she reached out a cupped hand and closed her eyes, letting the energy enter her body. Let it fill her up and enter her palms. Soon enough, a ball of red energy formed, floating right above her hand. It bobbed up and down to the rhythm of the crickets chirping in the bushes nearby before Alina reached out and let it reenter her body. A small trickle of blood came from her nose. "See?"

"Kid, I already said no," said Hopper. "Even with your abilities, it's too dangerous. I'm sorry, but you have to stay here. You'll be safe."

"Really?" asked Alina. "That's what you said last year, and we ended up being attacked by the men from the lab and a Demogorgon! Nowhere is safe! And I could protect you, Chief! And besides, you owe me for keeping El a secret for a year! For letting me think she was dead! So let me come!"

"No." This time it wasn't Hopper who spoke. Eleven came from behind, her eyes wet from the goodbyes she'd had to give, and shook her head at Alina, who slumped. "Stay here," she said. "Protect them."

"But I can help you," said Alina, clasping her palms together in pleading. "I can help."

"Not ready yet," said Eleven. "But you will be. Soon." She stared into Alina's eyes and grabbed her hand. "You're sick, aren't you?"

Alina nodded, her eyes momentarily widening. Had Eleven figured it out yet? It seemed not, but Alina was still glad someone noticed. Even if it would be too late when they found out for real. She tried to smile at her, but couldn't manage to turn the corners of her lips up. "Okay," she said, making up her mind. She'd known, deep down, that she'd never really be going with them. That'd she always end up staying behind. "Just... El, please, promise me you'll be okay. I... I missed you so much. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again."

The magnet tugged at her stomach, and Alina stepped forward, pulling her friend into a hug. Eleven held back, strong and firm, and the two girls held each other in the dark night. They'd come a long way since that day in the lab, where they'd both been dragged away. Since the day in the treehouse, where Eleven had flinched at her touch. Now there was nothing pulling them apart.

"Promise me you'll be safe," said Alina, once they'd finally broken apart.

Eleven nodded. "I promise, Al." she moved away, opening the car door, but turned to look at her one last time. "And friends don't lie."

Alina watched as the cars pulled out of her driveway, and bit her lip. As the taste of blood flooded her mouth, reminding her uncomfortably of Bob, her eyes traced the path driven by the two vehicles. Nobody saw the tears that began to spill from her eyes. Eleven hadn't made her promise that she'd be okay back at home, which was good, because this was a promise Alina Fairgrieves knew she couldn't keep.

She wasn't scared, even though she probably should've been. No, all Alina felt was a strange numbness inside of her, much like how she was numb to the bitter wind nipping at her skin. As she stood outside for a couple of minutes, long after everyone else had gone inside, she closed her eyes, and breathed. Because Eleven was going to close the gate. Because this might be the day her life ended.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: i know you guys have been enjoying the daily updates, and i'm going to keep doing that for six more days, but after that i'm going to stop. not only because there's cliffhangers i want you to experience properly (which is kind of mean, i know, but you all knew i was a mean author) but because we're getting super close to the end, and i want to get ahead on paroxysm. i'm thirty chapters in right now, so obviously, i have a lead, but for some reason, it's taking me forever to write. like, i've been working on it since february. and usually, that would mean that i'd be finished it by now.

i guess i'm just not ready to finish it.

anyway, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! not much happened, but there's definitely going to be a lot of action soon!! so prepare for that!!

'till next time!