(      darkest before dawn      /      act three    )
episode one   |   stranger things

❛ FLOWERS FROM GUILT ❜

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MIKE BROUGHT AURORA FLOWERS — Gardenia's and Sweetspire, her favorites — when he picked her up. It was his way of apologizing without any words and Aurora preferred it like that. They didn't even argue, just a bit of miscommunication and she got flowers out of it.

      Her aunts weren't home, so Aurora ushered Mike into the house while she placed her flowers on her bedside table. Mike had already prepped them with flower food, pulled off the extra leaves and wilting petals, as well as dethorning and cutting the stems at an angle.

      When Aurora turned around to thank the boy, Mike pulled her in and planted a soft kiss to her lips. Though, as Aurora brought her hand to his neck and deepened the kiss. Mike led her backwards slightly, before her knees buckled to her bed. They broke apart for a moment, just allowing Mike to sit up onto the bed before he began to kiss her again. Aurora kissed back, a smile on her face.

      Time seemed to stand still, and all Aurora wanted was to stay with Mike, in that moment forever.

      When Mike pulled away breathless, Auroras eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. Her eyes widened before she pushed Mike away from her as she rushed to fix her hair. "Mike! We're going to be late! Dustin gets home in fifteen minutes."

      Mike rolled his eyes, "it only takes ten to get for your house to his, which means I have five minutes to kiss you."

      The boy turned Aurora around, and pressed a harsh kiss to her lips. Aurora bent into the kiss for a second before pushing him away in annoyance, "Mike!"

      The boy scoffed, before trying to kiss her again. "Michael Wheeler, Dustin is your best friend! We have to great him."

      Mike grinned, holding onto the girls waist, "but you're my girlfriend, so can't we just stay here?"

      Aurora blushed, and glanced at her shoes, her fingers playing with the hem of her pastel green skirt. She already ironed her white baby-tee with lace on the edges twice this morning. "Come on, you still owe me for ditching me last night."

      "I'm sorry," Mike mumbled, as Aurora led him from her bedroom outside.

      Auroras shook her head, "Mike, it's fine. I don't expect you to forget all about your other friends just for me. Which is why," Aurora pushed the boy outside the door before closing it behind them. "We have to go greet Dustin. I planned this whole thing, so I have to be there."

      Mike nodded and kissed Aurora one last time before helping her onto his bike before climbing on and peddling towards Dustin's home. They parked his bike around the back before walking into the house through the back door — which Ms. Henderson conveniently forgot to lock.

      Lucas was the first to notice them, scoffing, "thank you for showing up," he glanced at his watch, "ten minutes late!"

      "At least we're here!" Mike argued back, Auroras hand still held tightly in his.

      "Oh my gods, guys," Aurora rolled her eyes, looking to Max and Eleven in annoyance. "You can argue later, can we just enjoy the fact that Dustin is coming back today!"

      Mike turned to the girl with a soft smile, "'course." Lucas pretended to gag, while Will just smiled at the two.

      "When is Dustin supposed to arrive?" Max broke the tension.

      "Any minute now," Will nodded, as Aurora glanced outside the window.

      The walkie talkie then began to sputter, pulling everyone's attention towards the wooden table. The radio cut to Dustin's voice, "This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over."

      "He's in range," Will spoke from the couch. "That means he's close."

      Aurora giggled at the nickname Dustin had given himself before he left. "Two minutes, give or take."

      "This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over." Dustin repeated, frustration setting in. "I repeat: This is goddamn Gold Leader—"

      "Dusty!" His mother called in the background, causing the group to let out a series of giggles.

      From beside Aurora, Eleven took a seat, "Is Dustin angry?"

      "Probably," Aurora nodded, turning to El. "I mean, he's been gone for a month. Most likely, he thinks we've all ditched him."

      El furrowed her eyebrows, "But we didn't."

      "Exactly. We didn't." Aurora assured the girl. "Once he finds out that we were here all along, it'll all be worth it."

      "Man, I can't wait to see the look on his face when we all jump out." Lucas joked.

      Moving her gaze back out the window, Aurora watched as the Henderson's yellow car pulled into the driveway. Smiling, she announced to Lucas,"Well, you won't have to wait any longer. He's here guys!"

      Grabbing Aurora's hand, Eleven led the girl over to the large stone wall that wedged between the hallway and the living room. They chose to hide there because Dustin wouldn't be able to see them when walking out of his room.

      After the two girls situated themselves, Mike followed the girls, standing on Aurora's other side, while Will, Lucas, and Max followed just after. Once everyone was standing in their places, their backs resting against the stone wall, Lucas turned to the girls and whispered, "Nobody make a sound. It is very important that we stay absolutely—"

      "Lucas, shut up!" Max whispered harshly, pulling him back onto the wall just before Dustin and his mom entered the house.

      As soon as Dustin disappeared into his room, Aurora turned to Eleven and nodded, "It's go time."

      Shutting her eyes, Eleven began to manipulate the toys in Dustin's room with her powers, making them come to life with movement. Soon, a series of robotic beeping sounds filled their ears, followed by many zapping and crashing.

      "It's just a dream..." Dustin's voice appeared in the hallway. "You're dreaming."

      When he made his way to the center of the living room, Max turned to Eleven again and whispered, "Now."

      Eyes shooting open, the toys suddenly powered down. Lifting her gaze to Mike, Aurora felt his hand grab onto hers as he spoke softly, "Let's go."

      As quiet as they could, the group of six snuck up behind Dustin, who kept picking up and inspecting his toys nervously, one hand gripped a can of Farah Fawcett spray. There was a moment where Dustin's face washed blank with confusion, like his brain couldn't process fast enough to take in the information from his wide eyes. After all, toys couldn't just move by themselves, and half of them were missing at least one battery.

      From the front of the group, Lucas unrolled the Welcome Home Dustin sign, and Max held up her fingers, mouthing, "One, two, three...!"

      In unison, the group all blew at their obnoxious noise makers as they raised their arms. Aurora smiled, before Dustin spun around, screaming. Without glancing at who the people were, his fingers found the trigger of the Farah Fawcett spray. Right into Lucas's eyes.

      His hands flew to his eyes as he screamed, "Dustin! What the hell?"

      Lucas continued to cry out in pain as the curly haired boy furrowed his brows into confusion. He slowly lowered the can of hairspray, staring at the group in confusion.

      Aurora's hand flew to her mouth to stifle any laughter that tried to escape, but one glance at Max and Eleven who both seemed to be struggling not to laugh, and Aurora broke. The laughter escaped her lips harshly, Max and Eleven couldn't hold on much longer either. Soon enough the three girls couldn't even catch their breath because of their laughter.

      Lucas glared at his girlfriend as best he could with watering eyes, before his jaw dropped as the two other friends broke into laughter as well. Tears gathering in the corner of their eyes, that threatened to spill over with their continuous laughter.

      Once the laughter had lightened just a bit, Max helped Lucas to the skin to wash the spray out the best they could. Lucas's complants could be heard in Dustin's room where the rest of the party was being shown all of Dustin's new creations.

      Aurora seemed to be the only one truly paying attention as Dustin demoed his 'Forever Clock' and the 'Slammer'. Dustin almost shoved the object into Auroras hand, which had Eleven turned away as she held onto Auroras arm.

      Will placed Dustin's new clock to the group as the boy slammed a duffle onto his carpet with a toothless grin. "This is my master piece," he unzipped the bag to reveal a bunch of metal, "Cerebro!"

      "What exactly are we looking at here?" Mike questioned, and Aurora punched his side at his harsh tone.

      Dustin, ignoring the attitude, grinned, "and unassembled one-of-a-kind-battery-powered radio tower!"

      "So, it's a..." Will turned his head as if it would give him a different view, "a ham radio?"

      Dustin was still grinning enthusiastically, "the Cadillac of ham radios! This baby carries a crystal-clear connection over vast distances! I'm talking North Pole to South. I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever I choose."

      "Girlfriend?" The four kids almost shouted.

      Aurora leaned over Cerebro to hug the boy, "oh my gosh! I'm so happy for you! What's her name?"

      Dustin grinned even wider, as he stood up once Aurora leaned back. He grabbed the duffle bag and spoke, "Her name is Suzie, thank you for asking, Rory! Grab these please." The boy then quickly handed off different parts to the four of them and then walked out of the room, Aurora scrambling to grab her boyfriend's hand to follow.

      "Wait," Mike questioned, "so her name is Suzie?"

      "Mike, he just said that." Aurora whispered to him with a grin.

      Dustin couldn't stop grinning as he led the four of them into the kitchen where Lucas and Max were. "Suzie with a 'z'. She's from Utah!"

      "Girls go to science camp?" At Wills question, Max and Aurora rolled their eyes in unison.

      "Suzie does! She's a genius."

      "Is she cute?"

      Aurora paused to turn and glare at her boyfriend, "rude!"

      Dustin laughed, "Think Phoebe Cates, only hotter!"

      Aurora rolled her eyes, and paused to let Max and Lucas know what was happening. At the words "Dustin's girlfriend" the two rushed after the party.

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      "ARENT WE HIGH ENOUGH, Dustin?" Lucas complained as the party trekked up the hill.

      "Cerebro works best at one-hundred meters." Dustin responded without even looking back at the complaining boy.

      "You know," Max started, slightly out of breath, "I'm pretty sure people in Utah have cellphones!"

      "Yeah," Dustin finally glanced behind them, "but, Susie's morman."

      "Oh shit!" Lucas scoffed, "she doesn't have electricity?"

      Max laughed and turned to her boyfriend with a grin, "that's the Amish, babe."

      "What are mormans?" Will glanced at Aurora, who was pulling Mike up the hill.

      "Super religious white people!" Dustin shouted behind him.

      Mike pulled Aurora back a bit, "wanna ditch them? We can go back to my house and watch a movie."

      The idea intrigued Aurora for a moment, before she realized that they would be abandoning her friends too. "Mike are you kidding? We can't just leave them! They're your friends too, one of which you haven't even see all summer!"

      Mike scoffed, "come on, is it bad that I just want to be with my girlfriend?"

      Aurora glared at him, "no, Mike. It wouldn't be fair."

      At the back of the group, Will had paused. A chill had rushed over him, even in the middle of the summer heat, and he knew something wasn't right. His hand gripped the back of his neck as he shuttered, glancing around him in a panic.

      Aurora took note of this, and dropped Mikes hand to help her friend, "Will? Will, you okay?"

      He stuttered out a yes, and Aurora sighed. She didn't believe him, but she wasn't going to pain him either. "Okay, well at least let me home you carry this. I think it's stupid that I didn't have to help, but Mike said I should 'cause I'm in a skirt!"

      Aurora pulled the red bag from his arms, and used the backpack strap on the bag to lift it over her shoulder. Then she tossed the other arm across Will's shoulder — which was quite hard due to the height difference — and began walking up the hill with him.

      Mike watched the two of them, an unfamiliar feeling stirring in his stomach, he knew that Aurora would always put Will before him, but watching it happen in front of his eyes had him feeling something different. He pursed his lips and tightened his hold on the bag he was carrying, walking up behind the two.

      When they finally reached the top of the hill, Aurora laughed triumphantly as she dropped the bag down. She skipped over to Max and Eleven, weaving the way in between them.

      "Today was not the day to wear a skirt," Aurora huffed, rubbing at her legs before she tugged at her skirt again.

      Max laughed, "That's why I stick to shorts, Rory."

      Eleven tapped at Auroras arm, whispering, "why does Mike look like he wants to murder someone?"

      Max glanced up, "What?" She looked over to where Mike was. The boy was glaring at the ground, his fist clenched at his sides, but the small frown gave him away. "What happened?"

      Aurora sighed, "he wanted to leave, go watch a movie at his place. I told him no because Dustin just go home. He got mad, I don't know."

      Max laughed, and tucked the blonde girl under her arm, "he's a big baby." Max pulled the three of them over to where Lucas was chugging at their only water, the boy gasping as he finishing it in one breath. "You seriously just drank the rest of our water?"

      Lucas looked at the girls with a sheepish look before spitting the water he had in his mouth back into the container. Aurora laughed as Eleven gagged.

      "Let's get to building!" Aurora clapped her hands enthusiastically, before the rest of them groaned before complying. They spent over an hour just building Cerebro, the sun was now setting as the group finally titled the radio tower up to the sky.

      "Pretty impressive right?" Dustin smiled, as Aurora voiced her agreement. It was pretty cool, and she wouldn't have thought to build something like that.

      She glanced to her right, where Mike was staring at her, as he had been ever since they had started building the tower. She just chose to glance at her feet, as Dustin spoke again, "you ready to meet my love?"

      Aurora made herself smile, "yes!" She sat down next to the boy, who turned the radio on with a large grin.

      Dustin cleared his throat, "Susie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

      Silence. Aurora scrunched her eyebrows as they waited for a response.

      Dustin glanced around, almost panicking, "one sec. She's probably...she's still there." He turned to call on the walkie-talkie again, "Suzie...this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

      Max's hands slammed to her sides as she groaned softly. Aurora tilted as the grass beneath her began to dig into her uncovered knees. A sweatshirt hit her back, and she looked up to find Mike to her left. She mouthed a 'Thank you' to her boyfriend before quickly shuffling to kneel on the sweatshirt.

      "I'm sure she's there." Dustin stuttered, glancing around to the rest of the kids, "It's just—"

      Eleven cleared her throat, "I have to get home."

      "Maybe she's, like, busy or — it's around dinner time."

      Aurora sighed, "Dustin, I've got to get home, too. I'm sorry,"

      Mike rolled his eyes, "Come on Rory."

      Aurora kissed Dustin's forehead as she stood up, bringing Mikes sweatshirt with her. "I'm sorry, but I'll see you tomorrow, at Scoops? Steve wants you to say hi."

      Dustin just nodded, disappointed.

      "Lucas and I have to get home too," Max pointed out, the sun almost setting as they nodded.

      Aurora whispered a goodbye to Eleven and Will, before the two couples began skipping down the hill. Distance was separating Aurora and Mike, as the former raced down with Max at her side.

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(      LET ME SPEAK    :      )

i have no motivation for this chapter...it literally
sucks so im sorry bout that darling! BUT I AM
ALIVE don't worry! my sister graduated on
thursday and i started my first job so it's been
a little crazy for a while! but here we are!!!!
also...math is NOT my strong suit, bc tell me
why i did my math final and was SO CONFIDENT
like i left thinking i was about to get like an 80%
or something...
tell me why i deadass got a 42%💀

credit goes to fivehxrgreeves