✓ | 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 (BYLER)

𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒗. CONFUSION

━━━━  𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄

Unbeknownst to the flustered pair of teenage boys, Eleven had been quietly panicking for the entirety of their prolonged absence.

She repeatedly scanned over the short note her step-brother had left before vanishing from the motel room. It was written in his typical handwriting, which appeared as if it were typed because of its uncanny neatness.

Tossing the tattered sheet of paper aside, El lowered herself onto the edge of the bed and let out a loud sigh. She slowly closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose in thought.

Where could they be?

She knew it was stupid to feel paranoid about the minor predicament. The motel wasn't very large, so they couldn't have been too far away.

However, after her intense battle against Vecna, she couldn't help feeling overprotective over the people she loved the most. Not to mention the fact that she didn't know what else the monster was capable of. What if he magically appeared in Nevada and attacked the boys? The mere idea of it caused her to feel sick to her stomach.

When the door finally swung open, El's concerns were brought to an immediate halt. She released a dramatic breath of relief that she didn't even know she was holding.

"Where were you guys?" The girl snapped, her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot against the carpeted floor.

Truthfully, she was a bit frustrated that the boys had disappeared for such a prolonged period of time. The past week had been filled with multiple traumatic events that nobody deserved to endure, so she didn't appreciate the duo increasing her stress levels.

After her question was asked, Mike and Will simultaneously cranked their heads to look at each other. They struggled to stifle their laughter, as there was no denying the evident fact that they had spent approximately fifteen minutes making out by the pool rather than heading back to the motel room like Will promised.

"We were just hanging out by the pool," Mike shrugged, pursing his lips in a weak attempt to look casual.

"Hanging out?" El echoed, her chocolatey brown eyes wide with disbelief. "Will said he was just going to look for you after you ran off. He never said anything about hanging out!"

"That was the original plan," The Byers boy said, nervously chewing his lower lip. "We just got a bit . . . sidetracked after I found him."

"What did you do?" The girl inquired, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

She had an overwhelming notion that the boys were hiding something from her, and she was determined to figure out what it was.

"We might've kissed," Will smirked, his entire face turning beet red.

El's jaw practically fell to the floor as a result of the surprising news. At first, Will couldn't tell whether her reaction was positive or negative. However, her shocked expression soon faded into a massive smile. Her eyes brimmed with tears of joy. Holding her arms out like a proud mother, she pulled the boys in for a group hug.

Will nuzzled his head into her shoulder and began to smile uncontrollably. Unlike the rest of the world, his step-sister didn't feel disgusted by the idea of two boys having romantic feelings for each other. She didn't view them any differently, which most likely resulted from spending the majority of her life in a lab with zero exposure to the brainwashing media outlets.