she's healing

✧

IT HAD BEEN AN OVERCAST since she had woken. At first, she assumed that it was too early to be up, the light hardly slipping through the curtains. But after some moments of trying to return to sleep, she remembered she was in a basement, and there weren't any big windows for the sun to shine.

The sky was awash with various shades of grey, and in places, a chink of light managed to breakthrough. The air was humid and smelt of storms. It was going to rain.

Rue yawned, and she tried to stretch but had a limit with the small space she was in. Where was she? She went to rub her eyes, but there were glasses on them. Rue pulled them off and saw that they were her heart-shaped sunglasses. She looked around the basement, it was silent and messy, and Rue pitied whoever had to clean it. As she sat up and felt an arm unwrap itself from her waist, she turned to find that it was Lucas' arm. And Mike's fingers got tangled in her hair somehow.

She groaned, softly grabbing Mike's hand that hung off the couch and tried to pull his hand away from the knots, but she had to hold back a laugh when she saw his face. "FROGFACE!" Was written on his forehead as he drooled in his sleep.

Rue looked at Lucas to see he had "KING!" on his left cheek. She wondered what the fucked happened last night and why they didn't change into pyjamas.

Rue yawned again, struggling to keep her eyes awake and felt herself leaning on the coffee table that had crumbs of . . . something. She didn't care as she tucked her hand in her arms and soft snores slipped from her lips again. Her stomach hurt, a lot. She must've eaten something bad . . . yeah . . .

It was calm and peaceful in the Wheeler basement for a while. Only the cracking sounds of thunder from outside were heard.

That silence was disturbed when loud booming medieval music started to play. Lucas, Mike and Rue jerked awake.

"YES!" They heard Will exclaim over the music.

Rue groaned, lazily pulling her head away from the table and knocking over empty cans of soda. Her stomach still ached in pain.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked, fixing the hat on his head.

"Yeah, Will, can you turn down the music?" Mike asked.

A different question ran through Rue's head when she saw her brother dressed in a purple wizard's costume. Will pulled the pointy hat off his head for a second, running his hand through his hair, exposing the words "A BABY!" written on his forehead. "Please address me by my full name!" Will said.

"What?" Mike asked. It was too early to be tormented.

They all jumped when Will hit the floor with the large stick he had in his hand. "My full name!" He yelled.

"Oh, my God, okay. . ." Mike groaned, pressing his hands on his eyes. "Will The Wise, can you turn down the music?"

"That is not music!" He started with a scoff, "That . . . is the sound of destiny!" he shouted, waving his arms in the air, "I have seen into the future and I've seen that today . . . is a new day. A day . . . Free of girls!"

Mike and Lucas shared a glance before they looked at Rue, who was, in fact, a girl.

"Okay — uh — a day: Free of ex-girlfriends!" Will corrected himself.

"What is happening right now?" Lucas asked Rue, who only shrugged.

"Will, come on," Mike sighed.

Will ignored him and turned to the table at the side of the room. "A tribe of villagers are under threat from an evil force from the swamp of Kuzatan!" he spoke dramatically, inching towards the D&D set up he's been working on for two days.

"It's so early — " Mike tried to say, only to be interrupted.

"Is it?" Will snapped, "Is it early, Michael?" he narrowed his eyebrows at the boy. "Tell that to the villagers crying for your help! The children are so frightened!" He stepped closer to his friends, clutching on his staff. "They cannot sleep, are you truly going to let them perish? Or are you going to come to their rescue and become the hero's you were always meant to — Rue, where are your pants?"

The tired smile Rue had on her face had quickly washed off as she looked down. Where were her pants? Why wasn't she wearing pants?

She looked up again, her face crimson red as she looked at Will for help. She was in stupid unicorn bikini panties in a room full of boys. As if her life wasn't already horrible.

The door to the basement clicked open, and footsteps sounded down the stairs. Alex appeared with his messy curly hair flopped over his forehead, and he clicked on the lights. He had a big plate of sandwiches in his hands, and he froze at the sight of everyone.

"You're all awake," he tried not to laugh, his eyes switching from the titles everyone had on their faces: Frog face, King, Baby, and Virgin.

Everyone watched as he pushed all the trash and empty cans and pizza boxes on the coffee table to the floor and placed the plate of about a dozen sandwiches down. There was a hint of a smirk on his face as he did so, and he looked at Rue. "Mrs. Wheeler put your pants in the wash last night because . . . girl problems," he said, making a face.

That would explain the stomach ache. Rue blushed and hurried up the stairs for her pants, and the four boys quickly looked away or covered their eyes as she did so.

"Will, what are you wearing?" Alex asked, looking at the boy who was now bright red and tried to hide his face with his purple wizard's hat.

"I — I thought you went home?"

"No, I went to make breakfast," he said, taking a bite of one of the sandwiches. "Last night was crazy huh?"

"What exactly happened?" Lucas asked him, helping himself with a sandwich.

"I have no idea," Alex shrugged, "But I woke up with this on my face," He pulled his hair out of his forehead and pointed at the words NOODIE HAIRED WEIRDO! "I tried to wash it off, but I think its permanent marker. You've all got one too."

Mike's eyes widened, and he jumped up to the nearest mirror. A scowl grew on his face as he turned to face his friends. "Oh, very funny, assholes," He let out a fake laugh, "Which one of you was it?"

Rue came back, wearing Nancy's old sky blue tank top and grey sweatpants. "Mike, your sister's saying weird things," she said as she finished her side braid. "She kept calling me a virgin."

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

The rain was slowly starting to fall outside, and it was already three in the afternoon, but that was because they had woken up late.

"Anyway you want it, that's the way you need it," Rue softly sang, bopping her head along to the music as she carefully dragged the tip of the black eyeliner over his lash line. "Anyway you want it . . ."

"That tickles," Alex snickered, trying not to move too much under her touch. Rue giggled, nodding despite the fact he couldn't see her. But once he heard her laugh, he relaxed a little.

"Open," Rue said, and he did. She smiled at his hazel eyes that seemed darker because of the simple thin black line. "This might be weird, but just trust me," She said seriously.

"I trust you."

"Okay, look up."

After grabbing his chin and pulling his face back down, clarifying she only meant his eyes, Rue used her steadiest hand to coat Alex's lower lash line with the pencil. When she noticed his eyes tearing up, she gently blew on his face.

Alex didn't speak in fear of messing her up. When she finished making his next eye match, Rue stepped back and beamed at her amateur work.

"Fucking hell," Alex huffed, blinking rapidly. He stood up from the toilet seat and hurried towards the mirror to look at himself. "Oh, wow."

Rue tilted her head, standing next to him. "I'm sorry it's not that good — This is my first time doing girly things like this."

"No," Alex shook his head, "It's great."

Pride swelled in Rue's chest, and she told him to sit down again so she could do his lips and then finally his mascara.

"Don't make me a clown," he warned, watching as Rue Newby dug in the big makeup bag.

She shook her head, "I would never," she said, looking at the colour of the lipstick in her hands, debating which one would look better on him. "We're lucky Mrs. Wheeler isn't home right now," she said, "she'd lose her mind if she found out we were using her makeup,"

Alex laughed and nodded, itching to look at himself in the mirror that was teasingly sitting next to him. The two were in the bathroom of the basement. "I can't believe I died twenty minutes into the game," he huffed.

Rue laughed as she kneeled before him, applying a natural glossy peach to his lips. "Some of us just don't have the talent," she smirked as she pouted.

"You didn't have to sacrifice yourself for me,"

Rue popped the gloss back in the bottle and smiled softly at him. "I don't mind," she said, "Besides, I'm sure Will wanted to play with his childhood friends today."

Alex grinned as Rue reached for the mascara, "I think it's cool how they're all friends from kindergarten. I've never had friends stay for that long, they always move away."

She nodded in agreement, "Me neither — if I'm honest, they're my first friends ever," Rue told Alex before motioning him to look up.

He sighed, "Didn't you move here last year?"

"Yup. Around this time last year, maybe a little closer to August."

"Why did you move here? Out of all places, why Hawkins?"

"My dad lived here," Rue frowned, finishing his eyelashes. "He owned the Radio Shop,"

"Oh," Alex quickly stopped asking questions. It was known that Bob Newby had passed away last year. He watched as Rue wiped her eyes as she began to clean up. "I'm sorry."

Rue sniffed and shook her head, "It's fine," her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. "It's okay. We're okay, she's just healing — I'm healing."

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

Rue sipped on a juice box as she watched the game of D&D. The only survivors were Mike, Lucas and Will, and it's been hours since Alex and Rue and died. Will had held a memorial for the two who will be remembered as heroes. Alex wouldn't stop giggling.

It had started to pour outside, and it was around eight now. Will continue his game, and only Rue and Alex seemed to be interested despite the fact they were dead.

If Rue was honest, she thought that Mike was the better narrator, not because Will's storyline was boring, but because he wouldn't get distracted by Alex. Will had stuttered and stumbled through his words the second Alex had sat down after Rue did his simple makeup.

Mike and Lucas were half asleep, thinking of better things to do. But they didn't want to disappoint Will.

"Sir Mike, what's your action?" Will called.

"What should I do?" Mike asked in a monotone voice. Lucas only shrugged and suggested he attack. "Okay, I attack with my flail," he rolled the dice.

"Whoosh!" Will suddenly yelled when Mike got a five. "You miss! Your flail links the stone, the zombie herd lumber, and . . . the — the Juju to bites your arms off! Flesh and tears — aahh! Seven points of damage!" Will beamed.

Alex watched with all his attention, his mouth slightly ajar as he tried to understand the game. And Rue grinned at her brother's passion.

"Oh no! My arm," Mike said sarcastically, nearly laughing over how stupid this was. "Guys, look at my arm," he joked, gripping on his shoulder, making Lucas chuckle.

The smile on Will's face turned into a frown. He remembered how passionate Mike and Lucas used to be when they played, especially Mike. Will shook his head and covered it up, leaning over to Lucas since it was his turn. "Sir Lucas, the zombie horde roars! Do you fight back or do you run?"

Lucas opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the phone ringing. They all looked at it. Mike and Lucas shared a glance, and Will frowned. "No! It's a distraction! A trap! Do — not — answer — it!"

The two boys ignored him and rushed towards the phone.

"What? No!" Will sighed.

Alex smiled sympathetically and placed his hand on Will's shoulder, and Will unknowingly leaned to his touch.

"El?!" Mike spoke into the phone then groaned when it wasn't her. "No, not interested, bye," He shut the phone. "Telemarketers," he shook his head.

"Maybe we should just call them?" Lucas proposed.

Mike's eyes widened. "We can do that?"

"I think so?"

"Okay, but what will we say?"

Will slammed his staff on the ground. "We'll say nothing! The tribe still needs your help!" His voice cracked, motioning to the game.

Rue sipped on her apple juice and looked at them from the chair, leaning her head on her hand and waited to see if they'd answer right. She was the only one that understood why Will wanted to play so badly, but Mike was too lovestruck to see.

"Alright, I'll use my torch to set fire to the chambers, sacrificing ourselves, killing the Jujus, and saving the Khwisar. We all live on as heroes in the memories of the Kalamar — just like Rue and Alex."

"Victory," Lucas said, putting his hand up for Mike to high five.

Will scoffed, "Okay," he grumbled, throwing his stick on the ground. "Fine. You guys win," he turned off the music. "Congratulations." Will pulled off his hat, making Alex frown and stand up in worry.

Rue stood up two. She's never seen Will react in such a way. And it was clear neither have Mike and Lucas because their cocky smirks were long gone.

"Will, I was just messing around," Mike started, but Will ignored him, pulling off his cape and costume. Thunder roared outside, and lightning flashed.

"Hey," Mike said softly, walking over to him. "Let's finish for real," he started to sit back down, "how much longer is the campaign?"

"Just forget it, Mike!" Will told him, continuing to pack everything up. He didn't want to force his friends to do something they didn't want to, and what was the point of continuing anyway?

"No," Mike said, "we want to finish playing, right?"

"Y-yeah totally!" Lucas agreed.

"See? We'll just call the girls afterwards," he finished, and Alex rolled his eyes.

"I said forget it, Mike, okay?!" Will spat.

Everyone's eyes widened at his outburst. Almost instantly, Mike looked at Will in sorrow, like he was about to cry. Alex stepped forward, "Will. . ."

"Not right now, 'Lex," Will sighed, shaking his head. "I just — I'm going home," he finished, slowly sliding Alex's hand off his shoulder. Will grabbed his bag.

"Come on, Will," Lucas tried to say, but Will cut him off, telling him to move before running up the stairs. Mike quickly followed after him.

"I guess I should go too," Rue spoke up, already packing her things as Alex and Lucas just watched her. She had slipped on her shoes when Lucas stopped her.

"Wait, Rue," he said, "you know that I'd never mean to hurt him, right? You know I'm sorry."

Rue smiled softly at him. She reached and gave his shoulder a soft squeeze, "I'm not the one you should be telling that to," she said, "Give him space for now but talk to him as soon as possible."

Lucas grinned thankfully and nodded. "Okay,"

She waved Alex goodbye before hurrying up the stairs. Rue was as quiet as she could be when she walked past Ted Wheeler's sleeping figure. She opened the door to the garage and stopped after hearing Mike and Will argue. There's a first for everything.

"You're ruining everything! And for what? So you can swap spit with some stupid girl?" Will yelled.

"El's not stupid! It's not my fault you don't like girls!" Mike spat back.

Rue's mouth dropped, and Will stepped away from Mike, his face falling as tears filled his eyes.

Mike's face softened when he saw Will trying to get away from him. "I'm not trying to be a jerk, okay?"

"You sure have a funny way of showing it," Rue spoke up, stepping into the garage. She scoffed, stepping to stand next to Will. Rue put her hands on his shoulders, and she had to swallow the sudden sob that was about to escape from her lips when she felt Will's body tremble. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of Mike.

He ignored her and looked at Will, "We're not kids anymore, I mean what did you think really? That we were never going to get girlfriends? We're just going to sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?"

"Yeah," Will's voice cracked, and he sniffed. "Yeah, I guess I did — I really did." He nodded sadly and reached for Rue's hand on his shoulder. He held it tightly and glared at Mike. Will pulled Rue towards his bike, ready to go home.

"Wait," she told him and let go of his hand as she stomped towards Mike.

"Rue. . ." Mike frowned. He had the saddest expression on his face Rue's ever seen, and tears were about to fall down his freckled cheeks. He seemed heartbroken, "Rue, you know didn't mean it. . ."

He was talking, saying something. Rue couldn't hear him over her heartbeat and the flickering fire in her eyes. Rue's hands were in tight fists that were glowing softly. She laughed, and Mike stopped talking. Her laugh was bitter, and if he was honest, it scared Mike.

"Rue. . . listen to me," Mike tried to reason, his tears nearly slipping from his eyes. If only they had fallen, perhaps she would have felt bad.

If they were in a boxing ring, then she would've been satisfied when her glowing fist collided with his cheek. The second time she punched Mike Wheeler, it felt just as good as the first, and a part of her wished he had punched back so she could hit him again. Rue needed to punch something. Mike Wheeler just happened to be her punching bag.

Mike's head flew back, and his hands went straight to his nose. He grunted, squeezing his eyes shut in pain as the tears finally fell down the side of his face.

Rue looked at her fist in shock. She didn't know why she punched Mike. But his words angered her in a different way, not the same way they'd piss her off. What he said to Will had truly hurt her.