𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 | ᴍᴀx ᴍᴀʏꜰɪᴇʟᴅ x ᴏᴄ

uǝǝʇɹıɥʇ

꧁꧂

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛᴇᴇɴ: ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ ᴍᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ

Her hair was slicked back down to the back of her neck, damp from the looks of it, and most of the clothes that she wore other than the white sneakers was black. Eyeshadow seemed to have been thrown on at the last minute over high eyelids. It wasn't the El I knew from back November. Then again, the El I knew from last November I thought was dead.

Mike and Eleven hugged while I stood there, shocked to the core. She wasn't... dead? Yes, of course Parker, you complete and utter dumbass. How else is she standing here?

"Is that..." I heard Max murmur, yet I stared still at Eleven. This girl? I owed her basically everything. I felt a nudge and looked over at Maxine.

"Uh- yeah." I tried to smile but it seemed fake even to me. Looking back, Mike kept his head on El's shoulder as the hug continued, the couple not wanting it to end.

"I never gave up on you." Mike told her, pulling away as I saw a broad smile on his face. "I called you every night. Every night for-"

"353 days..." El finished his sentence. He hadn't been the only one counting, huh... "I heard." She told the boy.

"Why didn't you tell me you were there?" Mike asked, confused on why contact hadn't been made so much sooner. "That you were okay?"

"Because I wouldn't let her." Hopper stepped over to them both, still holding his gun, but looking only at El. "The hell is this?" He asked, quiet tone. "Where have you been?"

"Where have you been?" El retaliated, causing me to think quick. Where have you been? Hop pulled her into his embrace, kissing the top of her head. That's when the penny dropped.

"You've been hiding her." Mike says, reading my mind. Oh my God. He was about to kill Hopper right here, if we're not careful. Silence sat awkwardly between us all. "YOU'VE BEEN HIDING HER ALL THIS TIME." The boy pushed the back of Hop and he turned to look back at Mike, grabbing his shirt.

"Hey!" He told the boy. "Let's talk. Alone." Jesus. Even I would've shit my pants with that tone. Mike turned hot in his heels, storming out of the room with Hopper following his every step.

⊹˚˖⁺

"We missed you." Lucas says as El hugged both him and Dustin tightly. I could only stare.

"I missed you, too." Eleven says, holding them tightly.

"We talked about you pretty much every day." Dustin says with a grin, making me smile weakly.

When they pulled away, El looked at them both, turning to me before glancing back at Dustin, hand reaching out to his mouth. "Teeth." She suddenly said, pulling her hand back away after a moment.

"What?" Dustin says, confused like he'd just been asked to work out the mass of the sun.

"You have teeth." She said, adding on to her last sentence.

Dustin smiled over proudly to Lucas, of who was also smiling back at him. "Oh, you like these pearls?" The boy purred, of which El did not like. She moved away from him slightly, looking over at me.

"Hey." I say, voice quiet than ever. "I'm not uh-" The girl stepped forward before I could even choke the words out, wrapping her arms around me. Letting it sink in, I smiled lightly, reciprocating the action. She'd grown so much, huh... "I missed you." I eventually say in between a chuckle.