SATELLITE [STEVE HARRINGTON]

mega plot twist

"ELEVEN." The rasp in Mike's voice was heartbreaking.

Eleven smiled. "Mike."

They met in the middle of the room, catching each other in a tight embrace. Tears rolled down Eleven's face.

"Is that..." she heard Max ask quietly. Dustin and Lucas nodded.

Mike held El by the shoulders, tears in his voice. "I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for—"

"353 days," she finished for him. "I heard."

Mike's shoulders fell. "Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"

"Cause I wouldn't let her."

Hopper stepped up. "The hell is this? Where have you been?"

"Where have you been?" El countered.

He brought her into a one armed hug, kissing the top of her head.

Mike realized what was happening. He clenched his fists. "You've been hiding her."

Ginny's eyebrows raised in shock, her lips parting.

"Mega-fucking-plot twist..." she muttered.

"You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike shouted, shoving Hopper in the shoulders.

"Hey!" he grabbed him by his collar, and Mike fought against him. "Let's talk. Alone."

If looks could kill, Mike would have murdered Hopper in that moment.

They left the room, leaving Eleven to breathe in their absence. She looked overwhelmed.

Ginny kind of wanted to adopt her, like she and Steve did the other little ones. But Ginny fangirling over this girl with superpowers might make her more overwhelmed, so she stayed quiet.

El smiled at Lucas and Dustin, hugging them both at the same time. "We missed you," Lucas told her.

Ginny smiled to herself, and El replied, "Missed you, too."

"We talked about you pretty much every day," Dustin insisted. They parted and she stared at him, confused.

She pulled at his chin suddenly and stuck her thumb onto his gums, saying in wonder, "Teeth."

Dustin frowned. "What?"

"You have teeth."

Dustin and Lucas grinned at each other. "Oh, you like these pearls?" He purred with his new teeth. Eleven flinched.

"Eleven?" Max said, making her way forward. "Hey, um... I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you." She extended her hand.

El just stared at her, an agry furrow in her brow. She brushed past Max without a word to hug Joyce.

Ginny placed a hand on Max's shoulder as she deflated. The redhead gave her a small smile.

Joyce took El to see Will, and they ended up in the kitchen. El stared silently at the page they'd written "CLOSE GATE" on.

Something dawned on Joyce's face. "You... you opened this gate before, right?"

After a moment, El nodded. "Yes."

The crew gathered behind them peering over their shoulders.

"Do you think if we got you back there, that you could close it?" Jouce asked shakily.

El's answer came in the form of a taut silence. She could close the gate and end it all.

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