Steve's POV
I couldn't wrap my head around anything that happened. I stood frozen as we watched the vans pull away.
"Steve," Dustin hesitantly said my name. "You okay?"
"She lied to me," I mumbled.
"What?"
"Y/N lied to me," I said louder. "We've been together two months and she never told me that she was. . . Whatever she is."
"She's a spy."
We turned around when El spoke up. "What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"I know Y/N," she stuttered. "She's the only one who was nice to me."
"What are you talking about?" I pushed.
"It's. . . It's kind of a lot to explain," El stuttered.
I ran my fingers through my hair, forcing myself to calm down. "Y/N's place isn't far from here. Let's go."
The group walked down the path in silence. Eleven was trying to figure out the best way to explain everything. I was struggling to get past the fact that Y/N had lied to me.
When we got to Y/N's house, I grabbed the spare key she had hidden and unlocked the door. I held it open for all the kids but stopped El.
"What are they going to do to her?" I asked under my breath.
"It's not good," El sighed. She hesitated before continuing. "Papa is going to punish her."
"Papa?" Will asked.
"It's a long story," El mumbled.
"Well, we're all ears," I scoffed. I cleared my throat, forcing myself to calm down.
We sat in Y/N's living room and listened as El explained everything. The more she explained, the harder it was to understand.
"Let me get this straight," Lucas sighed. "You and Y/N have been tortured and experimented on by this doctor that you call Papa."
"Y/N doesn't call him Papa," El sighed.
"What does she call him?" Will asked.
"Dr. Brenner," El said.
"He called her Six," Dustin said. "Why would he call her a number?"
"Because she was the sixth experiment," El said like it was obvious.
"Is Y/N even her real name?"
Everyone looked at me. Since we got here, I haven't said anything. I clenched and unclenched my fists. I looked up at El to see her smiling softly at me.
"It is," she said. "We all had real names that Papa changed to numbers."
"What's your real name?" Mike asked Eleven.
"Jane." She looked over at me and sighed, "Y/N took care of me when we were at the lab. She always had my back. She protected me. She was my friend."
"Earlier you said she was a spy," Lucas said. "Why did they send her here?"
"They were afraid that the town would find out about the lab," El explained. "She was forced to be here."
"She lied," I whispered.
"She was taken because of me."
"Because of?"
Eleven hesitated. "El," I whispered, "what's going on?"
"Y/N's been the one hiding me," she said. "The lab sent her to find me and when she did, she hid me instead of turning me in. She protected me, Steve."
"We have to get her back," Dustin said.
"How?" Will asked.
"El can lead us," Lucas shrugged.
"Can you?" I asked. "Can you find her, El?"
El smiled and let out a small chuckle.
"It shouldn't be a problem."
Reader's POV
I woke up with my head in someone's lap. I looked up to see Steve driving. I slowly sat up, making everyone in the car jump.
"You okay?" Steve asked, glancing at me.
"I'm. . . fine. . ." I mumbled as I looked around. "Where are we?"
"We're on our way back to Hawkins," Steve explained.
"El!" I gasped, sitting up more. "Where is she, Steve? Where's El? Is she safe? Please tell me they don't have her."
"Y/N."
I jumped when someone put their hand on my shoulder. A sob got stuck in my throat when my eyes landed on Eleven.
"El," I said, my voice breaking. I reached for her and she grabbed my hands.
"I'm okay," she whispered. "Y/N, they never took me."
"Wait, what?"
"You let them take you," Steve said, making me look at him. He glanced at me with soft eyes. "You went with them so El wouldn't be taken."
"I did?" I stuttered. "I don't. . . I don't remember."
"It's true," Mike spoke up. "You saved El."
"How could I not remember this?" I mumbled to myself.
"They probably wiped your memory," Eleven said.
"They can do that?" Lucas asked.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Steve asked. I looked up at him and struggled to try and remember.
"We were on a bike ride," I mumbled. I tried to think of more but it gave me a headache. I gasped in pain, causing Steve to snap his head toward me.
"Are you okay?" He stuttered.
"It's a side effect," El explained for me. "The thing they do to erase memory, it messes with your head. It causes a severe headache if you try to remember what they want you to forget. It's supposed to make it hard to remember."
No one said anything else. My head was still pounding so I leaned it against the window. I opened my eyes when I felt someone reach over and grab my hand. Steve was still focused on the road but he was holding my hand.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. We dropped the kids off at Mike's. El asked if she could go and I didn't hesitate to let her. As Steve drove us, I wasn't sure if we were going to my place or his.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. He glanced at me, the look in his eyes dropping.
"Y/N," he started but I cut him off.
"I hated lying to you," I said, my voice breaking. "I wanted to tell you the truth, but I was worried that. . ."
"That what?" Steve asked under his breath.
"That you wouldn't love me anymore."
"Y/N," Steve sighed as he put the car in park. I looked up to see we were at my house.
"I'm sorry I lied to you, Steve," I started to stutter as I slowly sat up. "They sent me here to keep an eye on Hawkins. But I met you and. . . Things changed. I stopped focusing on Hawkins and started focusing on you. I gave them reports but nowhere near as detailed as they wanted. I met you and I. . . I fell in love with you, Steve. And that made the lying even harder. I'm so sorry, baby."
Steve took off his seatbelt and scooted closer to me. He gently pulled me into his arms, wrapping them tightly around me.
"I'm so sorry," I said as tears streamed down my face.
He shushed me as he rubbed my back. I pulled out of the hug, ready to stutter out another apology. Steve cut me off as he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I let out a soft moan as I started to kiss him back. When neither one of us could breathe, Steve broke the kiss.
"This doesn't change how I feel about you," he whispered.
"It doesn't?"
"Of course not," he smiled. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "I love you."
"I love you too, Steve."