𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐏𝐒𝐄 | 𝐬.𝐡.

𝟏𝟗. 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

  "What the hell is this? Where have you been?" Hopper inquired firmly.

  "Where have you been?" the girl countered.

  He didn't answer though and instead hugged her close for a moment. Lorelei turned over to glance at Steve in search of some possible answers, but he seemed just as lost as she did.

  "You've been hiding her. You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike accused as he shoved Hopper's back.

  "Hey! Hey!" Hopper grabbed Mike's arm, stopping him from shoving him any further. "Let's talk."

  As they both headed out of the room, the girl followed them with her eyes before she took a deep breath. Her eyes ran over the rest of the people in the room, and a small smile came onto her face as she saw Dustin and Lucas.

  They were hugging her the next second, eyes closed and arms wrapped tightly together as they reunited for the first time in almost a year.

  "We missed you," Lucas spoke into the girl's shoulder.

  "I missed you too," she replied.

  "We talked about you pretty much every day," Dustin added, and Lorelei could hear the smile in his voice.

  As they pulled away, the girl furrowed her brows at Dustin. Lorelei watched in amusement as she reached forwards and poked Dustin in the mouth - much to his surprise.

  "Teeth," the girl murmured.

  "What?" Dustin asked.

  "You have teeth," she affirmed.

  "Oh." He grinned proudly, turning to Lucas for a moment. "You like these pearls?"

  He purred, which Lorelei instantly winced at before stepping backward with a grin still etched on his face. As he did so, Max stepped forwards confidently with a smile on her face.

  "Eleven?" she asked. "Hey. Um - I'm Max," she reached her hand out for the girl - Eleven, to shake. "I've heard a lot about you."

  Lorelei hung her mouth open in surprise as Eleven simply brushed past Max without so much as a glance her way. Eleven headed over to where Joyce and David were standing, enveloping the woman in a hug first.

  "Hey. Hey, sweetheart," Joyce comforted.

  Eleven sniffled slightly and then turned to David, who had a small smile on his lips. He reached out and offered his fist to her, and Lorelei simply watched with her arms crossed as Eleven fist-bumped him with a tear-filled smile.

  "Hey, kid-" David spoke up. "How've you been?"

  The girl shrugged in reply, and her head snapped over to where Lorelei and Steve were standing. Lorelei gulped as she made eye contact with Eleven, and she felt Steve stiffen beside her.

  "Oh, that's Lorelei - she's my daughter," David clarified. "The one I told you about - remember?"

  Eleven nodded her head slowly, and Lorelei hesitantly stepped forwards. She reached her hand out, scared that she would be rejected just like Max had been, but she tried to keep her composure.