In My Blood

Episode 2 - Happy Halloween

"Now?" I asked, shutting off the flashlight. I could still see a dim outline of her body, but it was coming more into focus as my eyes adjusted.

"I want to speak like you," she said. "Speak like Mike and Dustin and Lucas. Not weird."

"Um, okay," I agreed, rolling on my back and looking up at the ceiling. "So remember how the Lorax lived by those colorful trees?"

"Yes."

"Well, the colors stood out a lot. They weren't faded, which basically means to lose color and become grey. They were really bright, so you could describe them as vibrant."

"Vibrant," Eleven repeated, holding the 'v's out for a long time as she felt the strange vibration against her lips. "Vibrant. Dull."

"Yeah, and when you see something very old, it's ancient, like the houses monsters on TV live in. Celebrations are when you're happy and decide to be together with other people who are also happy. Enormous means very big, and versatile means you can move however you want without something outside of you stopping you."

"Is Hopper ancient?" I held back my laughter at her question. "What?"

"Yes, but don't tell him I said that."

♢♦︎———————-♦︎♢

"Hey, that smells good," I grinned, giving Dad a hug from behind as he prepared breakfast for the three of us. My hair had already been pulled up into a high ponytail for cheer (it was required to wear the uniform almost all the time) and I had done my makeup. "You haven't made french toast in a long time."

"Well, I'm in a good mood," he chuckled, allowing me to join by his side and help him. The events from last year had brought us closer than we had ever been before. "I heard you get up last night. Another nightmare?"

"Not exactly," I told him. "I've had this dream a few times before. It's this woman, and she's yelling at a man about being done with something. I have no idea what it means."

"As long as it isn't scaring you, that's all that- oh, Jesus!" I turned my head to the right, jumping myself when I saw Eleven wearing a bedsheet with two holes cut out for her to see.

"Ghost," she exclaimed proudly.

"Yeah, I see that." Dad left the stove with the skillet, dropping the french toast on individual plates for us. I gave El a small smile, but my heart hurt to see her so excited for something she wasn't allowed to do.

"Halloween."

"Sure is," my father sighed. "But right now, it's breakfast, okay? Come on, let's eat." I sat down in my usual seat at the middle, motioning for Eleven to join me.

They wouldn't see me," she said quietly. Dad froze for a few seconds before grabbing the silverware for us.

"Who wouldn't see you?"

"The bad men." When she mentioned them, I reached my hand under my shirt and scratched my scars, bumpy to the touch. "Trick or treat." Dad gave me a quick glare before turning back to the younger girl.

"You want to go trick-or-treating?" The sheets moved back and forth from El's nod. "You know the rules."

"Yes, but-"

"Yeah, so you know the answer."

"No, but they wouldn't see me," El protested, desperation evident in her voice as he sat her down in the chair next to me. "They wouldn't see me!"

"I don't care," he said sternly. "You go out there, ghost or not, it's a risk. We don't take risks, all right? They're stupid, and-"

"We're not stupid!" El finished for him with a huff, pulling the sheets off and tossing them to the ground to join me at the table. She stayed silent, pushing her breakfast aside.