• Chapter One: Basements and Blanket Forts •
H i • • •
Welcome to A Stranger Sleepover, fan-fiction by Me! (positively shook). I wrote this cos I love Stranger Things like everyone else. (wow I'm so original & unique ^-^)
I'm not gonna do a super long 'Author's Note' cos that shit is boring lmao
All I will say is that this story is set straight after Season Two (so yes, spoilers), it is in the third person and,
* Don't read ahead for S2 spoiler *
I will be referring to Jane Hopper as Eleven still. This story is a lot more focused on the kids of the show, (e.g Dustin, Lucas, Mike) and I feel like it will have taken them a while to get used to calling Eleven by a different name. Just my opinion! Sorry if it doesn't float your boat. -_-
Anyway, without further ado, let's crack on with the story!
A STRANGER SLEEPOVER
Fanfiction by frecklesandconstellations
• Chapter One •
Basements and Blanket Forts
MIKE WHEELER waited eagerly in the basement of his house, chatting to Eleven and sharing some toffee popcorn with her. The girl had loved watching the brown seeds jump in the microwave, and enjoyed the sweet burst of toffee explode on her tongue. There was a plate stacked high with Eggos, some pots of chocolate pudding scattered randomly, and a bowl of fruit (Mike's mother had insisted on the kids being somewhat healthy) that was left untouched.
Tonightwas one that would surly go down in history, Mike thought. After the success of the Snow Ball, he realised how much the gang needed to get together and just relax after so many straining events, and he couldn't think of a better way to do it than a sleepover. He wanted to show Eleven what fun was, because she deserved to know, and he couldn't help but gaze at her in admiration while she chewed on her popcorn.
There was no one he liked more.
"Hey, El," Mike said after swallowing some popcorn. The short-haired brunette looked up with a smile.
"I think that when the others get here, we should build a fort - It would be so awesome!"
Eleven looked at him in confusion at the new word, and Mike quickly explained what fort meant to her. When he finished she was grinning broadly and nodding repeatedly. Mike was glad that she liked the idea.
Suddenly the doorbell rang and a woman's voice called down the stairs. "Micheal, Steve's here with your friends!" The unlikely pair grinned and ran to the front door, flinging it open. Will, Dustin, Lucas, Max and Steve stood on the porch, grinning back at the two. Mike's mum appeared at the doorway.
"So good to see you all!" She exclaimed in joy. "And you, Steve! Thanks for delivering them here, safe and sound like usual."
The older boy shuffled from foot to foot in the cold, burying his hands in his jean pockets and declaring 'You're welcome'. Ever since Steve had looked after the four kids so well before the Snow Ball, practically every mom in the neighbourhood counted on him to ferry around their children. Steve had reluctantly agreed to their favours, because he was being paid for it, and that made him happy. Mrs Wheeler handed him some money and wished him well.
"Mom, I'm going to stay over at Abbey's tonight, I haven't seen her in a while and I think it could be fun." A female voice called, before she appeared at the base of the steps, fastening her hair. The girl's eyes were made up, and her lips were tinted red. To anyone else it would seem obvious that it was not a friend's house she wanted to stay at, but rather a boy's. Will rolled his eyes, knowing the truth. Nancy was going to see his brother, Jonathan.
Something like pain flashed across Steve's face, still lingering at the doorway, and he left before the older girl could notice he was there. Completely unaware, Mrs Wheeler wished her daughter well before shutting the front door behind her.
• • • • • •
"I vote for Dungeons and Dragons."
"We can't play that now - Max will beat us!"
"She's good at arcade games, Dustin, not necessarily board games.."
"Excuse me? I'm right here you know."
Mike, Will and Eleven exchanged weary glances as they listened to their friends arguing. Eventually Will shrugged and grabbed a waffle from the stack and Eleven did the same, glad for another Eggo. Mike breathed in deeply.
"Will the three of you cut it out?" He yelled, stunning the threeinto silence. "I have a better idea." Max, Lucas and Dustin turned around to face him with glares.
"I think we should build a fort!" Frownswere quickly replaced with grins that spread across the kids' faces as he said it. Looking at each other, they nodded in approval of his brilliant idea.
"Will and Dustin, you can look around down here and see if you can find any beanbags. The rest of us will go upstairs and get some blankets from the cupboard." After they all agreed, Mike grabbed Eleven's hand and they made their way up the stairs.
When they got there, Lucas and Max in tow, Mike took them to his mom's airing cupboard, which was stacked high with blankets, sheets and towels.
"We'll take these back." Max said to Mike, smiling in a friendly way. Lucas did a thumbs up behind her.
"Great. Me and El will look for some cushions." Mike told them, before heading into the lounge. Eleven let go of his hand when she spotted the funny chair that Mike's dad usually sat in; she ran towards it, giggling. The boy rolled his eyes at her playfulness but laughed when she pressed the button and it flung backwards, a look of amusement and delight on her face. Mike kissed her forehead gently, glad that she was back.
Once scooping up all the cushions they could find, the pair joined the rest of the group down in the basement. They had somehow managed to move the yellow sofa so that it would be inside the fort when they built it, and Dustin was pouring the contents of his backpack onto the table, spilling various snacks everywhere.
Lucas looked like he was about to say something, but then Max ran towards the snacks, picking up a few chocolate bars and scooping some of Eleven's toffee popcorn into her mouth.
"Thanks, guys!" she spoke through a mouthful. "We never have snacks this good at home."
After everyone had gotten something to eat, the group started to build their fort. Eleven placed the cushions in a circle, and then sat in it munching on another waffle. Dustin started hooking sheets and blankets onto anything that he could find; chairs, shelves, the stair handrail. Max parked her skateboard in the corner of the room, and Will brought out what seemed like hundreds of christmas lights from his bag, untangling the brightly coloured bulbs. The rest of the group stared at him a little oddly, before he remarked: "What? My mom doesn't need them anymore, now that I'm safe. We can use them to give the fort some colour." After a moment, Lucas nodded in agreement, then sat down to help Will detangle the rest of the lights, while Mike helped Dustin re-enforce the sheets so that the fort was stable. Eleven was still sitting in her circle of cushions, watching in awe of her friends at work.
"Are you gonna help us, El?" Mike questioned, laughing at her while she finished her waffle, still in her circle of cushions that she created. She looked up at him, then smiled while nodding. She helped Lucas and Will hang the lights around the growing fort, and then plugged them into the wall. After a split second, each bulb lit up with bright colour and grins spread like wildfire.
"Great job, El!" Max stated, still trying to get the other girl to talk to her after she was ignored on her night of return. Eleven looked up and and unexpectedly smiled at Max for the first time. The redhead couldn't help feeling a burst of pride at the positive reaction, and Lucas walked past, giving her an awarding hair ruffle. This resulted an eye roll, but she felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Dustin and Will chatted about their favourite arcade games, and which ones they thought were the best.. Mike promised to take Eleven to an arcade soon, to show her what it was like. The idea excited her further.
"Lucas Sinclair on the line, any reports of trouble?" The boy with the bandana spoke into his walkie-talkie, and Mike's one crackled with electricity at the other side of the fort. He ran to go get it, lowered his voice and declared,
"We have a robbery sir, at the shop on Baker Street..." Eleven scooped up several boxes of Eggos from the floor and began running in circles around the fort, giggling uncontrollably. Dustin held an invisible steering wheel in his hands and 'drove' after the thief, with Will by his side. After several laps of running, the kids collapsed on top of the blankets and pillows in peals of hysterical laughter.
"I got you!" Will exclaimed while tickling Eleven as she rolled around on the floor, before Max batted cushions in their faces. The seams threatened to split and spill feathers all over the room as she did so, but no one noticed. Will's face burst into a grin and without hesitation the boy yelled "Pillow fight!"
Everyone grabbed a cushion or a pillow and started a very competitive game. Eleven made sure she didn't accidentally smack Mike in the face with her pillow, and was cautious to do the same. For everyone else, however, it was quickly game on, and they fought with no remorse. Will, being the smallest, managed to dodge every pillow that came his way, even the ones that Eleven lifted with her mind. Eventually, he was crowned winner, and Dustin went to fetch a plastic golden crown from the Wheeler's dressing up box, and it sat lopsidedly atop Will's head. He couldn't stop beaming while his friends picked up feathers from the floor and sprinkled him in them like confetti, the outcome of a destroyed pillow.
Eleven's eyes shined; in this moment, Mike didn't think he'd ever seen the girl so beautiful.
• • • • • •
Hope you enjoy this lil story so far! I know loads of people absolutely adore Stranger Things, and rightly so, but no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to find any decent fanfictions for it. That's why I decided to write my own! If you do have any good ones though, please tell me in the comments :)