After a mile down the road, Eleven was quiet.
"So, what, we're not just gonna talk about it?" Hopper asked quietly.
Eleven turned to Hopper and asked, "About what?"
"Oh, I don't know, (Y/n) and I are just curious, you know, why all of a sudden you look like some kind of MTV punk." Eleven looked at me and I shrugged in the back, and she turned back to look out the window. "I'm not mad, kid. I just want to know where you've been. That's all."
"To see Mama."
My eyes widened as well. "Your mom?" I questioned.
"Okay." Hopper said, unsure whether or not he accepted it.
"How did you get there?" I asked.
"A truck."
"A truck?" Hopper asked.
"A big truck." Eleven said.
"A big truck? Who's truck was it?"
"A man's."
"A man's?" Hopper asked, and I was suprised.
"A nice man." Eleven said bluntly.
Hopper was still in shock. He looked at me through the rearview mirror and back at Eleven. He made sure he was still watching the road.
"Okay." I said, holding my hand up. "So, let me just get this straight. So, a nice man in a big truck drove you to your mom's and then what? El, that could've been dangerous. What really happened?"
"I-" She started to say, worry appearing on her face. "I shouldn't have left." She looked at Hopper and me and repeated the words "I shouldn't have left."
"Mmm-mmm..." Hopper mumbled, keeping his eyes on the road. "No...No, this isn't on you, kid. I should've been there. I should never have lied to you about your mom."
"What about (Y/n)'s?" Eleven asked.
"My mom?" I asked. "What about my mom?"
Hopper's jaw tightened as he prepared what Eleven was about to say. "You're the missing experiment. Your mom...she..." Eleven said, "She died after giving birth to you, I'm sorry, (Y/n)." I looked at Hopper, who didn't make contact with me. "I found files in the cabin before I left, and your mom, she...they got to you both and they killed her."
"What-?" I managed to say, then I turned to Hopper. "You knew? You knew this whole time I was a missing experiment? Wh-? How- Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Because, (Y/n), while I put two and two together, you suffered from memory loss for at least three years! I had to cut you some slack." Hopper said. "But now you know, kid..."
"I-I can't be a missing experiment." I sputtered. "I don't even have a tattoo on my wrist!"
"Maybe not." Hopper muttered, "But did you ever think that the tattoo was covered up this whole time, somehow?"
I looked at my wrist to see the number 006 inked in. "That was not there three years ago."
"They must've used something to cover it up real good."
"I've been having these flashbacks of being back at Hawkins Lab as an experiment?!" I growled. "But Dustin and my mom-"
"They weren't a part of the cover up story." Hopper said. "Don't worry, I can tell you that much truth. Dustin's your brother and he loves you and so does your mom. So, don't you think that they're hiding something too. There's a lot of things I shouldn't have done to you two. Sometimes I feel like I'm..." Hopper took a deep breath and exhaled a sharp one. "Like I'm just some kind of black hole or something."
"A black hole?" Eleven asked.
"Yeah, it's a...You know, it's this thing in outer space." Hopper explained. "It's like, it sucks everything towards it and destroys it. Sarah had a picture book about outer space. She loved it."
"Who's Sarah?" I asked.
"Sarah? Sarah's my girl." Hopper said to us. "She's my little girl."
"Where is she?" Eleven asked.
"Well, that's kind of the thing, you two. She uh..." Hopper said quietly. I could hear the hurt in his voice. "She left us."
"Gone."
"Yeah, the black hole. It got her. And somehow...I've just been scared, you know? I've just been scared that it would take you, too." He said, looking at her.
I looked at them quietly as Hopper tried to tell Eleven how much she reminded him as his own. I knew Eleven wanted to have a normal childhood, with a mother, but what about a father? She didn't get to experience that, but I did.
I felt like something punched me in the gut. I was lucky enough to have a family. She wasn't. She remembered everything. I didn't.
"I think that's why I get...so mad." Hopper closed his eyes to hold back his own tears and shook his head.
I facepalmed and shook my head in disbelief.
"I'm so sorry." Hopper apologized. "For everything. I should've told you both the truth. I could be so...so..."
"Stupid?" Eleven croaked, and we managed to chuckle lightly.
"Yeah, stupid." Hopper grinned, and Eleven smiled. "Just really stupid."
I watched her hold his hand at the front of the car. She looked at me, and wanted me to put my hand together with theirs. "I've been stupid, too." Eleven said, looking at me. "I've hurt you, (Y/n). Made you fall off Max's skateboard just because it hurt me to see you with Mike. I felt jealous. It was wrong."
"It's okay, El." I said, smiling at her. "I'm just glad we patched things up."
"I guess we all broke rules." Hopper spoke up. "I don't hate it, by the way. This whole-" He used his hand to wave it around his face. "-look."
"Yeah, El, it kinda gives you a real punk vibe. It's really cool." I said, leaning forward to elbow her. She smirked at me.
"It is kinda cool." Hopper said.
"Bitchin'." Eleven said.
"Yeah, okay, sure." Hopper smiled.
The both of us repeated after her: "Bitchin'."
~~~
*Third Person POV*
Back at the Byer's house, Dustin was cleaning up everything in the fridge, and by cleaning up, I mean he was tossing everything out of the appliance. "All right." He sighed, "It should fit now."
Steve just stared at him while he held the demo-dog that was covered in a blanket. "Is this really necessary?" He asked.
"Yes, it is, okay?" Dustin said. "This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog."
"All right, all right, all right." Steve murmured, and then placed it in the fridge. "But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right? And your sister." He struggled to shove it in sideways, and tried to make sure he wouldn't drop it. "Christ...Help me out?"
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Get the door, man."
Dustin came over to close the door. "All right, I got the door."
Steve managed to place the demo-dog in, but some parts of its body touched it and it felt slimy to him. "Ew, Jesus..."
"God-" Dustin grumbled, and Steve backed away for him to close the fridge shut.
Steve sighed and placed his hand on Dustin's cap. "Phew..."
Everyone split up to clean parts of the house while Mike paced around the living room. Max had held the dust pan and Lucas was sweeping the glass up.
"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas asked in annoyance.
"You weren't in there, okay, Lucas?" Mike said. "That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs. And (Y/n)...She couldn't save...someone. She almost died."
"Demo-dogs!" Dustin shouted from the kitchen to correct him.
"The chief and El will take care of (Y/n)." Lucas reminded him.
"Like they need protection." Max rolled her eyes.
Steve and Dustin joined up with everyone else. "Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it." Steve said. "All right?"
"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game." Mike glared at him. "And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench."
"Right- So my point is..." Everyone just waited for him to say something, but he couldn't even figure out what to say. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do." He placed the towel rag over his shoulder.
"That's not entirely true." Dustin said, and everyone looked at him. "I mean, these Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."
"So, if we get their attention..." Lucas said.
"Maybe we can draw them from the lab." Max finished.
"Clear a path to the gate." Mike said.
"Yeah, and then we all die!" Steve said, reminding them of one crucial fact.
"That's one point of view." Dustin muttered.
"No, that's not a point of view, man." Steve said. "That's a fact."
Mike walked away, "I got it!" He walked to the kitchen to point at one area of the map. "This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So..." Everyone followed him back into the living room to where a big blue blog was on the ground. "Here, right here. This is like a hub. So, you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire..."
"Oh, yeah, that's a no." Steve suggested.
"The mind flayer would call away his army!" Dustin exclaimed.
"They'd all come to stop us." Lucas said, and Steve was still against the idea.
"Hey!" Steve called out to the kids.
"We circle back to the exit." Mike continued.
"Guys."
"By the time they realize we're gone-"
"(Y/n) would be at the gate." Max said, and then had a thought. "But her memories. Mrs. Byers said that (Y/n) just remembered that she opened the gate before. Would she remember to close it?"
"Hey. Hey!" Steve shouted, clapping his hands to get their attention. "Hey! This isn't happening."
"But-" Mike started to say.
"No, no, no, no!" Steve interrupted. "No buts. I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. We're staying here. On the bench." Max tilted her head aggravatedly. "And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?"
"This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike argued.
"I said, does everybody understand that?!" Steve grabbed the towel from his shoulder to wave at their faces to get their attention once more. "I need a yes."
The kids were about to answer until they heard a car approaching. It was a very loud engine and Max heard the familiar revving. She ran to the window.
She gasped, "It's my brother."