The next day at school, Mike and Frankie were really regretting staying up until 3am.

Frankie was so tired that Mike had to hold her hand and lazily guide her to the front of the school, nearly tripling twice. They even bumped into a few people on the way there. By the time they reached the entrance, Dustin, Lucas, and Max were staring at them with questionable looks. Seeing the two so tired is weird, but seeing them together without fighting, while holding hands is even weirder.

"We need to talk. AV room. Right now," mike demands, rushing up the stairs with a sleepy Frankie close behind.

The boys follow with questionable looks. Max gets up to follow too, but is soon put to a halt.

"Party members only," Mike states, giving her a somewhat hostile look.

"C'mon Mike," Dustin retaliates.

"No! This is non-negotiable," he replies.

He knew from the moment the Byers' family didn't answer their phone this morning that something had to be wrong. It had to have something to do with the upside down.

"Why does Frankie get to go in then," Dustin questions.

Frankie give Mike tired eyes, a clear sign that she couldn't be bothered to speak right now. In other words, it meant a silent, "Mike, you explain."

"She's different," he mumbles, catching Frankie's look, and tightening his grip on her hand.

"Since, when? I thought you hated her," Lucas argues. "What the hell is going on here Mike?"

"Yeah, what the hell, Mike?" Dustin hops in. "Why're you holding hands? What, suddenly you're dating her, and that makes her apart of the party? You know Will has a thing for her—"

"I'm not dating her!" Mike raises his voice. "If you guys would just fucking listen to me, you would understand better!"

Everyone is silent.

"Sorry, Max," Dustin finally says, following Mike inside of the school.

"Sorry," Lucas adds.

Max stays behind with an annoyed frown, feeling extremely left out, and very upset.

As soon as they're all in the room, and Mike is sure no one can hear them, he makes his way over to the main table, and stands closely to Frankie. She's still not fully awake, but she at least doesn't look so grumpy anymore.

"Will didn't want me to tell anyone, but on Halloween night he saw a sort of shadow in the sky," Mike explains.

"A shadow?...What...What kind of shadow?" Lucas questions, shifting to properly face Mike.

"I don't know. But it scared him. And if Will really has true sight...I mean, if he can really see into the Upside Down, maybe he saw that shadow again yesterday."

Frankie shivers at the thought of how cold Will's skin felt. She'd felt coldness before— real coldness. She felt it when ghosts touched her all the time, but the temperature radiating from Will's skin was unreal. It wasn't right.

"So that's why he was frozen like that?" Dustin concludes.

"Maybe," Mike nods.

"Can it hurt him? I mean, if this shadow thing isn't from our world..." Lucas trails.

"I'm not sure. Dustin?" Mike turns to the curly haired boy for his thoughts.

"Well, if you're in another plain, you can't interact with the material plane, so theoretically, no, the shadow can't hurt him," Dustin responds logically, trying to rack his brain for any other outcome.

"Yeah, if that's even what's happening. This isn't D&D. This is real life," Mike sighs, slouching forward slightly.

A moment passes where they all just sigh, realizing that Will just couldn't seem to catch a break.

"So what do we do?" Lucas asks.

"We acquire more knowledge," Mike nods, finally letting go of Frankie's hand. "Me and Frankie are going to Will's after school to see what's going on. You guys stay here and find Dart."

"Dart? What's he gotta do with this?" Dustin asks somewhat defensively.

Lucas glances towards him, as does Frankie.

"Will heard him in the upside down. I don't know how yet, but he's gotta be connected to all this. He's gotta be. If we find Dart, maybe we can solve this thing. Maybe we can help Will," Mike says determinedly, trying to appear more serious about the situation.

As soon as that topic is dropped, they turn to a new topic— one that needs immediate answers.

The two boys give Frankie a skeptical look, making her grow uneasy under heir gaze. She quickly grabs Mike's hand again for reassurance, and she automatically wishes Will was here to defend her in case they attempted to verbally attack her. Mike would have to suffice.

"Okay, now explain how the hell she knows all this," Dustin demands, crossing her arms over his chest.

"Will told me— well, actually, Steve told me," Frankie explains.

"Steve? Steve Harrington?" Lucas questions. Sure, he'd seen him drop her off on Halloween, but he didn't think anything of it.

"Yeah, he practically lives with her! Anyway, that isn't the only thing. She's special," Mike adds, a somewhat excited smile taking his features.

"As in mentally?" Dustin questions.

Frankie throws him a dirty look, and Mike can't help but laugh a little. Lucas rolls his eyes, feeling as though this seriously isn't the time for joking around.

"You should show them," Mike whispers.

"Do I have to?" Frankie whispers back, although Lucas and Dustin can clearly hear the two talking.

"Show us what?" Dustin impatiently questions. Lucas crosses his arms.

"Yes," Mike responds, ignoring Dustin's question. "They won't tell, and they won't judge. I promise. Whatever happens in here, stays in here."

With a reluctant sigh, Frankie removes her watch. It slips off her wrist and reveals the tattooed numbers on her skin. A familiar font— a familiar trait.

"Woah," is the only thing to leave both of the boys mouths.