A New Life

Aftermath

After living out most of her early childhood in a lab, then fighting off monsters, and living in isolation with her adoptive dad, El was finally living life the way she wanted to live. She could finally see her friends again, including Will, who she had officially met after closing the gate; Dustin; Lucas; and especially Mike, her boyfriend. She got to spend a lot of time with each of them and even befriended Max later after they went shopping together and had sleepovers. She also had powers that she enjoyed using.

She seemed to have everything going for her until the events leading to July 4th, 1985: the summer that changed everything. Russian scientists had infiltrated Hawkins and reopened the gate El worked so hard to close and the Mind Flayer had a new plan on expanding his realm that involved possessing many people, especially Max's stepbrother, Billy.

El used her powers to protect her friends from the Mind Flayer while Dustin, Erica, Steve, and Robin investigated the Russian lab, and Joyce and Hopper went to Chicago to find their answers. Ultimately, thanks to contributions from the party, Scoops troop, Joyce, Hopper, and Murray, the gate was sealed, and the Mind Flayer was killed. This did not come without its price though, as Jim Hopper lost his life getting the gate closed, Billy fought off his possession and saved El, but ended up getting killed, and El lost her powers.

Jim Hopper's death stung the worst for her as he was the only parent she had ever known. El had a good relationship with Joyce, but she wasn't her mother. Her home had also been destroyed, leading to her living with the Byers. She loved the Byers family and was grateful that they took her in, but she never saw them the same way she did Hopper and his cabin. Ultimately, it wasn't that important if she liked the house or not because they were moving away from Hawkins as soon as they could sell it.

From losing her dad and her powers and the gate being sealed to the actual move took three months. During that time, she and Will spent most of their time with their friends, making the most out of the limited time they still had together. They all knew this wouldn't be the end of their friendship, but after the move, they would only be able to get together a few times during the year, though they would still chat on the phone.

Will and El got along well as siblings, but they didn't spend too much time alone with each other. They liked each other, made each other laugh, and enjoyed each other's company, but they hadn't gotten close yet.

El had lots of people that she loved, but she stopped herself from getting too close as if that was the reason why Hopper was no longer around. She and Mike remained close, but they never did rekindle their relationship. They hadn't spoken directly about it, but neither of them wanted to. With El and the Byers moving out of town, neither of them knew if they were ready for a long-distance relationship.

Will liked and admired El. He knew that she was instrumental in saving him from the Upside Down and that she saved him and everybody else countless times, but he never quite knew how to thank her. He had also built-up emotional walls, especially after his fight with Mike that led to the destruction of Castle Byers, which he had forgiven him for, but he had a lot going on in his mind after the crisis of July 4th was over and he had time to process what happened along with the past trauma that he was still dealing with.

The party made the most out of their remaining time together and the moving day finally arrived. With everyone's help, the process was a lot smoother and quicker than expected, but the hardest moment was when they were ready to go and had to say their last goodbyes. It was difficult for everyone, especially El and the Byers because they were leaving behind their friends and the place that they called home for so long. They weren't necessarily opposed to the idea of moving because of everything they went through, but that didn't make it any easier.