"The Mind Flayer, it built this monster in Hawkins, to stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world." Mike explained, the group huddled around the fountain in the middle of Star Court. Max sat with El and Hopper, Lucas and Cassie together.

"And it almost did. That was just one tiny piece of it." Nancy spoke alongside her brother.

"How big is this thing?" Hopper looked at the teens in questioning.

"It's big." Jonathan nodded his head. "Thirty feet, at least."

"Yeah. It sorta destroyed your cabin." Lucas frowned over at Hopper, an apologetic look across his face. "Sorry."

"Truly, the biggest apologies we have." Cassie nodded her head with an exhale.

"Okay, so, just to be clear, this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic...weapon?" Steve gave an odd, questionable look.

"Yes." Nancy nodded.

"But instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon... with melted people." Steve confirmed, the odd tone in his words still there.

"Exactly." Nancy agreed.

"Yeah, okay. Yeah, i'm just making sure." Steve nodded his head in confirmation.

"Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?" Joyce asked, confusion across her face with deeply frowned eyebrows.

"El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." Max shrugged from in the middle of Steve and Lucas.

"But if we close the gate again-" Will began.

"We cut the brain off from the body." Max rose an eyebrow with a nod of her head.

"And kill it." Lucas grinned. "Theoretically."

"Yoo-hoo !" Murray called, running their way and flapping the papers in his hands. He slapped them down infront of them. "Okay, this is what Alexei called the hub. Now, the hub takes us to the vault room."

"Okay, where's the gate?" Hopper leaned over him.

"Right here. I don't know the scale on this, but I think it's fairly close to the vault room, maybe fifty feet or so." he explained, circling his finger around the small map.

"More like 500." Erica added in, getting a weird look. "What? You're just gonna waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?"

"She's very much correct." Cassie had to agree.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Murray looked down at her.

"Erica Sinclair. Who are you?" she gave him a sassy look.

"Murray...Balman." he hesitated, staring at the young girl.

"Listen, Mr.Bunmam, i'm not trying to tell you how to do things, but i've been down in that shithole for 24 hours. And with all due respect, you do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die." Erica looked around at the group with a point of her finger.

"I'm sorry, why is this four-year-old speaking to me?" Murray stood up straight with a wave of his hand.

"Um, I'm ten, you bald bastard!" she snapped upwards to him.

"Erica!" Lucas scolded her with a look of disbelief. Cassie was holding in a laugh.

"Just the facts!" she yelled back at her brother.

"She's right. You're all gonna die, but you don't have to. Excuse me." Dustin nodded his head, looking down at the map. "Sorry, may I?"

"Please." Murray gave a dramatic nod, scooting away sarcastically.

"See this room here? This is a storage facility." Dustin pointed down to one of the boxed off areas. "There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system. That will lead you to the base of the weapon. It's a bit of a maze down there but between me and Erica, we can show you the way."

"You can show us the way?" Hopper rose his eyebrows.

"You can do all the fighting and the dangerous hero shit." Dustin went back to his original plan, nodding at the sheriff. "We'll just be your navigators."

He stared at the two a second. "No. Nope."

"Lucas." Dustin walked over to the boy as they all started to spread out. "Ugh, can I speak to you?"

"I see." Cassie nodded. "I am no longer wanted or invited to this private conversation. I shall direct myself elsewhere, possibly to talk to Max."

"Right, see ya, Cass." Dustin gave her a smile, waiting until she was far enough away to face Lucas with wide eyes. "Dude."

"Dude, what?" Lucas mocked him with a faint laugh.

"Okay, i'm doing this because i'm a good friend and because I can feel the electricity, okay? And I know you're with Max, but-" Dustin started to ramble.

"Dustin!" Lucas huffed in annoyance

"Okay." he spoke quickly, digging into his pocket and pulling out a notebook.

"Hey, Cassies been looking for that thing." Lucas laughed slightly. "Where'd you find it?"

"My house. I think she dropped it when we were trying to contact Suzie." he nodded his head to him, Lucas went to take it before he pulled back. "Wait."

"What?" the Sinclair boy shook his head.

"To be clear, you didn't hear this from me." Dustin gave him a knowing look. "Despite not totally believing she'd hurt anyone, those big words she uses terrify me."

"Dustin!" Lucas huffed in annoyance once again.

"Okay, okay." he spoke quickly, passing the notebook. "Look at the third page."

Lucas flipped, blinking down at the page.

How To Stop Being Hopelessly In Love With Lucas Sinclair.

"You did this?" Lucas looked in disbelief. "That's not even funny."

"It's her handwriting." Dustin shook his head. "Cassie is in love with you."

Lucas stared, and it really made sense that this was her handwriting. "Wh- Cassie? But she's so..."

"Yeah, you're not her type." Dustin shook his head, getting an eye roll. "So, what are you gonna do?"

"She's my best friend." he looked toward Cassie, and she had been sat with Max. "And I have a girlfriend?"

"Duh." the curly haired boy nodded. "But..."

"But what?" Lucas scoffed.

"But you've chased after her ever sees you threw your lunch on her." he smacked him in the chest. "I'm not an idiot, despite what you think."

"What? I have not!" Lucas gapped. "What? What? No. Noo."

"Why?" Dustin looked toward Cassie. "She's beautiful, she's cool, she doesn't get mad at us for doing guy stuff, she's smart, she uses big fancy words that I know you love."

"Yeah." Lucas nodded, looking to Cassie again. "She's very beautiful, and she's sweet, and smart, and I do really like her big fancy words. She also knows me better then anyone else, and I can tell her anything without feeling like she's gonna judge me or-"

He stopped when he saw the look Dustin was giving him. "Oh, shit."

"Oh, shit is right." Dustin nodded as he patted him on the back.

Across the mall, Cassie and Max shared a coca-cola. She sensed Max's blueness, following her gaze toward Mike and El. "Max, what's on your mind? Anything soul crushing and heart burning?"

"Nah." Max exhaled, sipping the drink. "Do you think El and Mike are gonna get back together?"

Cassie frowned her eyebrows. "I don't see why not. Mike has been dreadful without her, withering in pain and longingness. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondered." she said in return, giving her the drink back.

Cassie blinked, following her gaze. She was no stranger to the look Max had, the jealously, the longingness, the want and need. "Do you have love for Mike?"

"What!" Max gapped in disbelief. "Gross, no!"

"My most sincere apologies." Cassie held her hands up with a shake of her head. "I just couldn't help but notice the- oh."

Max looked over as Cassie blinked in realization. "Not Mike."

"Cas-" Max started.

"You have love for El." she confirmed as Max exhaled. "How did I not catch such a thing? A tragical romance was happening right before my eyes and I was entirely blind of the whole thing."

"It's not a romance." Max waved her off with an eye roll. "You gonna tell anyone?"

"Of course, not." Cassie grabbed her hand. "But, you know, if you're worried people are gonna be stupidly judgmental to you and your feelings...well, sorry, but screw them."

Max had to laugh. "Damn, Cas."

"I think that if you truly like her, whole heartingly and as if you genuinely will suffer and mist away in pain without her, you should say something." Cassie nodded with an inhale, Max looked her way. "And i'd do it fast, before that Michael Wheeler has something to say. You know that boy loves to jack his jaw."

"No kidding." Max nodded.

Cassie hesitated. "I have one small request though."

"What's that?" Max's blue eyes blinked over to her.

"Just, don't lead Lucas on." she exhaled with a small nod. "He's the best boy i've ever known. And I haven't lived too entirely long, but I like to believe i've lived an entirely terribly amount of lifetimes and still imagine he's the best person I could ever know. If you don't return those feelings, no one will blame you, but don't string him along."

Max nodded, hugging her as Cassie hugged her back.

•

kylie speaks

maxine and cassandra <3