LUCAS HAD HATED HER ONCE.
Back in the beginning, when Will had first disappeared, and they had found El in the woods, Lucas had been so angry. Angry at the fact that his friend was gone, at the fact that Caroline was hurting, at the fact that Eleven had come along and suddenly that's all his friends wanted to talk about.
Part of it had definitely been fueled by Caroline. She was right; they had gone out that night searching for Will, not another problem. Will was their best friend, her brother, and all the rest of the group wanted to do was marvel at El's powers. The whole thing had been extremely suspicious to him; all the pieces fell into place too quickly. She had to have some kind of ulterior motive, right?
But the more time he spent with her, he saw a completely different person. She didn't fit the norm, that was for sure- but if there was anything Lucas knew from being the only Black kid in Hawkins, it was that being different wasn't bad. Beneath the shaved head and terrifying stare and goddamn superpowers, El was just scared.
A scared little girl who didn't have anyone to go to, or anyone to ask for help.
She just needed a friend.
It wasn't until that night in the classroom, his hands slick with his girlfriend's blood as he kept his palms pressed against her gunshot wound, the screeches of the monster in the doorway, the feeling of Callie's heart stopping- that he really got it.
It wasn't until El stood up and faced the demogorgon head on, using the last of her powers and strength to save them, that everything was put into perspective.
It didn't matter how long you had known someone. The biggest, most important thing to Lucas Sinclair was loyalty. You never turned your back on a friend. You were always there when someone you loved needed you, or needed your help.
He had been prepared to sacrifice his life that night.
But Eleven beat him to it.
Even after she was gone, Lucas realized that that was the definition of a friend. Eleven was the most loyal person he had ever known. She was there for him until the end. She died to help them, to give them a chance at survival.
Now here she stood, once again, and he had nothing but respect for her.
"El," he whispered.
Mike didn't even speak. He just moved forward, a look of pure joy and relief on his face. Like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.
Like he was home.
Eleven's face broke out into the sweetest, saddest smile Lucas had ever seen. She stumbled forward at the same time and the two grabbed onto each other, pulling into an embrace that was so very long overdue.
Olivia was on the floor, grasping her hands to her chest like her heart was splitting in two. Her shoulders trembled with silent sobs as Steve knelt behind her, rubbing her back with tears in his eyes. He looked up at Eleven, but the little girl only had eyes for Mike.
She still hadn't seen her sister yet.
"I never gave up on you," Mike stared down at Eleven with teary eyes, his hands holding hers in between their chests. "I called you every night. Every night for-"
"353 days," Eleven whispered. Her eyes darted between his, drinking in every inch of him. "I heard."
Mike's eyebrows furrowed. "Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"
"Because I wouldn't let her."
The group turned to see Jim Hopper, whose eyes were glued on Eleven. His harsh features had softened to something like relief.
Like he had been waiting for her.
"The hell is this?" he said gruffly, his voice tight. His hat hung over his eyes as he gestured at her leather clothes and slicked back hair. "Where you been?"
El gritted her teeth, her lip trembling. "Where have you been?"
Then, to everyone's shock, Hopper pulled her into a hug and El sank into it, letting out a heavy breath as he kissed her hair.
And suddenly it all made sense.
"Hopper," someone whispered brokenly.
They turned to see Olivia, her body trembling and eyes wide and horrified as Steve held her to him, supporting her weight. Her shoulder was bleeding through the white T-shirt she wore, her wet hair sticking to her cheeks. "You... You hid her..."
"Olivia," Hopper's expression morphed into something close to begging.
"You've been hiding her!" Olivia's voice was quaking almost as hard as she was. She clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes teary as she clutched her stomach. "You told me she was dead! You-"
"Olivia, I had to," Hopper pleaded.
"No!" Olivia choked. Steve was holding her hips as she slumped into him, biting back tears of his own. "Eleven..."
Eleven stared at her in silence, her lips slightly parted. A tear slipped down her cheek and her face screwed up into a sob. "One?"
Olivia stumbled forward weakly, sweeping El up into her arms with a gut-wrenching cry of pain. Her knees collapsed and they fell to the floor, gripping each other harder than anything Lucas had ever seen.
"You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike bellowed as they cried. He shoved past Lucas, who made a feeble attempt to pull him back, and shoved Hopper square in the chest.
Dustin gasped, but Hopper, being built like a brick shithouse, was unfazed.
"Hey!" He growled, eyes dark. He glanced at Eleven and Olivia, gripping Mike's arm. "Let's talk. Alone."
They quickly left the room, slamming the door, but not before the party heard Mike shout, "How could you do this to them?"
Lucas felt his eyes burn as he watched Eleven and Olivia. The older of the two had pulled away, gasping for breath as she took Eleven's face in her palms, smoothing the hair from her face. El sank into her touch, her big brown eyes making Lucas realize just how much she must have been through over the past year.
Olivia wiped the tears off of El's cheeks with her thumbs, sobbing as she pressed a gentle kiss to her sister's forehead. "Eleven..."
"I don't understand," El cried, her hands grasping Olivia's around her face. She let out a sob. "I thought... I thought you were... gone."
Olivia shook her head, pulling Eleven in close again. "I'm not. I'm right here. I'm right here, okay? I'm never leaving you again."
"Pretty," Eleven whispered, touching Olivia's hair. Lucas remembered how long it was when she had first arrived; it had been brushing her hips. Now it hung just below her shoulders.
"Me?" Olivia echoed with a watery smile. Her eyes were filled with pain. "Look at you! You got... so big!"
"Pretty?" El asked in a small voice.
Olivia choked out a sob. "So pretty."
"You look pretty badass," Lucas whispered. Him and Dustin stood shoulder to shoulder, wiping away the tears that had escaped.
Eleven grinned when she saw them. She slowly stood up and the three of them stumbled together, pulling into a small group hug. She smelled like shoe shine and Lucas's eyes widened in surprise as he realized that was what was in her hair. "I missed you," she whispered.
"We talked about you pretty much every day," Dustin admitted, leaning his head against hers before pulling away.
Eleven's brows furrowed and she squinted before sticking her thumb in Dustin's mouth. "Teeth."
"What?" Dustin frowned, pulling away in bewilderment.
"You have teeth," El observed.
"Oh," Dustin grinned at Lucas, who chuckled excitedly. "You like these pearls?" He purred like a cat and Eleven's eyes widened. Lucas shook his head in disgust. Idiot.
There was an awkward silence before Max moved forward. Lucas had almost forgotten she was there. "Eleven? Hey. Um, I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you."
She held out her hand.
There was a beat of silence as Eleven stared her down with a look that could kill. Lucas tried to hide his smile as he watched Max's smile falter. He wished Mike were here to see her finally get knocked down a peg.
Then El shoved past Max, knocking the redhead with her shoulder as she moved past.
Lucas shot her a look of approval that she smiled sheepishly at. He felt slightly guilty for a moment as his eyes floated back to Caroline, who lay on the couch, still completely catatonic. She somehow still looked pretty, even when she was dying.
His stomach churned at the thought, and he decided that he really needed to not think about that right now.
Olivia sucked in a breath from across the room and El turned so quickly that Lucas though she might have gotten whiplash. Her eyes widened when she saw her sister's shoulder.
"One?" she asked, fear creeping into her voice. "You are hurt!"
Olivia sat on the couch now, taking in shallow breaths. Her face had gotten a lot more pale and sweaty in just the past few minutes. Lucas felt bile rise in his throat when he realized what that meant for the twins...
"We need to talk about some things, okay?" Olivia forced a smile. Steve's eyes were big and worried as he helped his girlfriend stand. Olivia wobbled for a moment, grasping onto Steve's outstretched hands. "Come here."
Eleven quickly made her way over, taking Olivia's hand, and the two of them disappeared down the hallway.
The party waited they heard the door shut before glancing at each other. Steve lowered himself onto the couch, letting out a strangled breath as he ran his hands through his hair. Hopper stood and moved to the couch where the twin's lay and picked them up one by one.
"I'm going to move them to their room," he told Joyce quietly. "They need the cold. I'm gonna open up a window."
He disappeared down the hallway. Joyce had her hands over her mouth, looking completely broken.
Lucas realized, with a start of horror, that three of her four children were dying.
How was she even still standing right now?
"Mrs. Byers?" he and Dustin moved forward at the same time. They stopped and looked at each other, having a silent conversation before Lucas took the wheel.
"Mrs. Byers?" he repeated quietly. "Do you want some coffee?"
Joyce stared at her children's best friends for a moment, tears in her eyes. She let a tear trickle down her cheek before sucking in a shaky breath. "Okay," she rasped.
Dustin hurried forward into the kitchen, as Lucas gently took her arm, slowly tugging her away from her catatonic twins.
L. S. + C. B
They had been waiting for about fifteen minutes before Ollie's bedroom door opened again. The sisters emerged, their eyes red and cheeks wet with tears. El had Olivia's arm over her shoulder, helping support her before handing her off to Steve, who quickly kissed her forehead and pulled her into him.
El wandered into the kitchen, her lip trembling before she stopped, seeing Joyce at the dining table. The woman quickly stood, abandoning her coffee, and pulling the girl into an embrace.
"Hey," Joyce cupped El's cheeks in her hands, giving a watery smile. "Hey, sweetheart."
El sniffled, taking in Joyce's touch before her eyes went wide. "Can I see them?"
Lucas stiffened immediately, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Dustin noticed his movement and patted his friend on the shoulder, his face solemn. Mike, whose eyes were red and puffy from his screaming match with Hopper, was too busy staring at El to notice; like he was trying to make up for the past year of separation.
Lucas swallowed hard and followed El to the twins room, where Callie and WIll lay catatonic.
It was unnerving, how in sync they were. Their chests rose and fell at the exact same time, every twitch in their fingers mirroring each other. It was like the mind flayer had morphed them into one person.
El knelt down next to Caroline, sweeping aside her friend's hair to get a better look at the dried blood around her ear.
"Friend," she whispered. Lucas felt a lump grow in his throat and he reached forward, patting EL on the shoulder, unsure of what else to do.
"They're not doing well," Joyce said quietly, running a hand through Will's hair.
"I know," El responded. Her eyes looked pained as she stared at Caroline's pale face. "I saw."
"What else did you see?" Joyce narrowed her eyes, a tiny spark of hope in her features.
They quickly moved back to the kitchen, where El pointed at the message they had interpreted.
C.L.O.S.E.G.A.T.E.
"You opened this gate before, right?" Joyce watched El closely.
"Yes," El said quietly.
"Do you think if we got you back there," Joyce swallowed hard, eyes flickering back towards her children, "that you could close it?"
El nodded firmly.