It was early when Eleven's alarm clock went off. Too early. After an entire summer of sleeping in however late she wanted, the fourteen-year-old could already tell that this was going to be adjustment. But today…today was the day. The first day of high school. Months and months of preparation with Nancy Wheeler had all led up to this day. She'd endured so many frustrating and difficult sessions and had more than one breakdown as she continued to doubt herself, but this was the day it would all be put to the test. Everyone kept telling her that Nancy couldn't possibly have done a better job preparing her, but she still didn't feel ready. The idea of going to school had lost much of its appeal once she'd realized it was more than a daily social event, and the work was hard. El had come a long way, but she still had a long way to go.
It wasn't all bad, though. Even though she wasn't sure she'd like it, going to school was a normal thing to do. This was what normal teenagers who weren't government experiments did with their lives, and El was more than ready to become one of them. After today, no more hiding. For real this time- they'd even moved out of the cabin in the woods back to Hopper's little house by the water. After two years of having to hide, El was finally getting her freedom. Even if school was the worst thing ever, it was worth it for that alone.
The girl rolled out of bed and ran her hand through her wavy shoulder-length hair, rising to her feet and approaching her closet, where she fished out her favorite pair of jeans, a purple top with small flowers on it and a pair of socks. After getting dressed she brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her wavy hair, sweeping it up into a half ponytail to keep it out of her face before putting on her white Converse sneakers. They'd just been washed and almost looked like new again. Then, she grabbed her new blue backpack containing a stationary set Mrs. Byers had given her for her birthday and went into the kitchen where she knew Steve Harrington would be waiting.
Steve had been coming around quite a bit since he graduated, and he had grown on El quite a bit. He was training to be an officer and had become Hopper's go-to babysitter when Nancy was busy like this morning. He was always nice to her, and it was El's personal opinion that he would make a great police officer.
"Morning, champ," Steve said cheerfully, grinning at the younger teenager. El slid her backpack off her shoulder, letting it fall on one of the four chairs at the table. She offered Steve a little smile in return.
"Morning."
"Ready for high school?" Steve turned around and placed a mouth-watering stack of Eggos in front of Eleven, along with a bottle of maple syrup. Her eyes widened in amazement- Hopper always made her have "real food" before Eggos.
"Think so," she replied, pulling the chair back and sitting down. The truth was that she was terrified, but she was the girl who'd faced the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer. How could she admit to being afraid of a high school filled with other teenagers just like her?
Except, other teenagers weren't just like her. No matter how many times everyone told her she was going to be normal, it wasn't true. No matter how normal she managed to appear on the outside, she would always be different. And that wasn't a bad thing; El knew it was her differences that had given her the ability to save her friends, but it was also her differences that caused the reason they needed to be saved.
"Think so?" Steve produced his own plate of Eggos and sat down across from her, leaning over to catch a glimpse at her downcast eyes. "What's that supposed to mean? You know, I promised the Chief you'd be okay." El glanced up to meet his eyes, looking slightly annoyed.
"I'm okay," she insisted.
Just then, the doorbell rang and Steve leapt to his feet, opening the door on a smiling Dustin with his backpack slung over his shoulder.
"Steve!" the boy exclaimed, not having expected to see his friend. "I didn't know you'd be here, what's up?"
"Just gettin' the boss's daughter off to school, here," Steve replied, equally as happy to see Dustin. They didn't really make a point of hanging out anymore, but Steve was always there when Dustin needed help with his hair or his love life…though the latter was still nonexistent. "You coming in?" Steve opened the door wider and Dustin pushed past him, smiling again when he saw Eleven.
"Hey, El!" he greeted her with a wave. "Ready for school?" El nodded, having learned her lesson.
"She thinks so," Steve clarified, returning to the table. "Want some Eggos?"
"El's not allowed to have Eggos for breakfast," Dustin reminded him.
"Yeah well, I'm in charge," Steve argued, picking a waffle up and taking a bite out of it. "It's El's first day of school, and they're her favorite. You don't want one?"
"I didn't say that." Dustin reached out and took a waffle of his own from Steve's plate as El continued to finish hers. When she was done, she jumped up to her feet and deposited her plate in the sink, glancing towards the coffee machine. Was she mistaken, or was there a little bit left? When Steve wasn't looking she took a mug from the cupboard and poured the remaining coffee into it. Hopper had a strict "no coffee for El" rule because he was convinced that it made her too jittery to control her powers, but El thought that was stupid. She had excellent control, and who was anyone else to tell her otherwise? They didn't know anything about her powers, not really.
But of course, Hopper was right. It did make her jittery.
El returned to the table and took a huge sip of the bitter drink, wiping away the small bit that dribbled down her chin with the back of her hand. Steve looked at her disapprovingly, raising his eyebrows.
"I'm tired," she offered in explanation, yawning dramatically for effect. She didn't actually like coffee that much and it was cold, but she did like giving Steve a hard time and seeing how much she could get away with. And she really could use a little extra energy.
"Yeah, right. Just because I let you have Eggos doesn't mean I'm bending the coffee rule." Steve leaned over and gently pushed the mug away from her mouth with his index finger. "Besides, this stuff will only make it worse. You'll rely on it too much." He plucked the mug from her hand and poured the small amount that remained down the sink.
"I won't rely on it," she disagreed. She didn't understand how that could happen. Maybe it happened to other people, like Hopper, but it wasn't going to happen to her. Sometimes El thought herself above things like that...mostly because she just didn't understand the science behind caffeine addiction. "Fine. Tastes bad anyways," she told him, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Just wait El, a couple years and we'll all be caffeine addicts," Dustin laughed, finishing up his Eggo. "All high schoolers are, right Steve?"
"Yeah, yeah." Steve glanced towards the clock on the microwave, startled by the time. "Jesus, you kids gotta get moving."
"Aw, shit!" Dustin glanced at the clock and had a similar reaction. "C'mon El, let's go!" Dustin rushed towards the door and swung it open, bolting down the stairs. He tripped about halfway down and would have fallen the rest of the way if it weren't for Steve catching the collar of his shirt.
"Watch it," Steve reprimanded. "Promise me you'll at least get Jane to the Byers' safely, alright?" The emphasis put on her legal name elicited a groan from El, but it was the number one rule. Now that she was going to school, there was a whole new set of rules that needed to be followed and this time they weren't just for her.
Number 1: Her name is Jane Eleanor Hopper. Whenever Eleven is in public she must be referred to as Jane. If she wanted to start going by Eleanor in a year or two it could be discussed, but otherwise everyone who knew the truth had to be very careful.
Number 2: When out, Eleven should never be alone. Hopper had already made sure that at least one of her current friends would be in each of her classes.
Number 3: Biking to school is allowed, but all other trips to town must be chaperoned by Steve or Hopper.
Number 4: Eleven comes home right after school unless otherwise discussed, in which case curfew is 7pm.
Number 5: Absolutely no powers.
Somehow, even though she was being granted more freedom El had graduated from three rules to five. They were the new "don't be stupid" rules and they were even harder to follow than the originals, but if they managed to do a good enough job and stay safe then one by one, he'd promised her they would go away.
"We'll be fine," Dustin grumbled. "I've biked to Will's a thousand times, you think I can't get there? I'm not an idiot."
"I know you're not, but you've got a history of losing your friends," Steve reminded him with a smirk. "Which reminds me, no racing. Got it?"
The boy rolled his eyes. Two years later people really should be over that, but of course they weren't. He'd never live it down. "Not cool, Steve, not cool," he muttered, turning away. But it was all in good fun, and racing probably wasn't the best idea today. Dustin knew that the rules would become more relaxed as the year went on without any incidents, but if there was a day to bend the rules it wasn't today.
El followed her friend outside and grabbed the handle of her bike- a Christmas present. Steve followed them outside as well and ruffled El's hair playfully.
"Alright, champ. Have a good day, okay? Don't do anything I wouldn't." El's lips turned up in a smile and she gently swatted his hand away, smoothing out her hair.
"You'll be here at…three fifteen?" she asked him.
"Three fifteen," Steve confirmed with a nod.
Dustin was eager to get going, so with a quick, "Bye, Steve!" he hopped on his bike and started heading down the driveway. "Come on, El! Sorry, uh, Jane!" The other teenager wasn't far behind, hopping on the bike in a similar fashion and following him. Before they rounded the corner El turned around and waved goodbye to Steve. She nearly lost her balance on the bike in doing so, but a brief moment of intense focused fixed that.
No powers starting...now.
She had to pedal a little faster to catch up with Dustin, but El didn't mind. She'd only biked this route once when they'd done a little "test drive," and before that she'd been confined to the driveway as she learned the mechanics of it all. The boys biked everywhere they went so she anticipated it being a little hard to keep up at first, but she didn't mind. It was so freeing, being able to zoom away from the house like this. El closed her eyes for just a moment, feeling the breeze comb through her hair and gripping the handles tightly. She could get used to this.
Her bike had been her favorite Christmas present, but it wasn't the only one that meant something to her.
Christmas, El had decided, was the best time of the year. She hadn't gotten to celebrate it last year, so this time she'd made sure that she and Hopper went all out. He refused to put lights on the outside of the cabin, but to make up for it they'd strung colorful lights all over the inside. Joyce Byers, as it turned out, had plenty to spare. He'd also brought home a Christmas tree, things to decorate it with, and some Christmas records. After Sara had died and he'd gotten divorced Hopper didn't celebrate Christmas much, but El gave him a new reason to. And after consulting with her friends about what to get her, he'd come up with the perfect idea.
It was Dustin who insisted that they all come over Christmas Eve and give it to her together, because, "Even if it's your money, we helped pick it out." Dustin had a present for her as well: a little mage figure from Dungeons and Dragons. It wasn't a lot, but it was the meaning that was important. It meant that she was officially a member of the Party. She was already technically a member, but Dustin liked for things to be made official, especially in D&D terms.
Christmas was a crazy time, but somehow all the kids had managed to get to the cabin on Christmas Eve for the sake of celebrating El's first Christmas with her. Dustin loved the holidays, but they were almost boring when it was just him and his mom and a cat, so for him this was incredibly exciting. All the kids loved sharing new things with El, but this was Christmas! It was extra special, and even though Dustin knew that his little gift would take second place behind the bike and whatever Mike had gotten for her, he still wanted to do his part to make it special.
El was elated to see them all on Christmas Eve. She gave them each a hug and they gathered around the Christmas tree to exchange gifts. Dustin's wasn't wrapped; it just sat in his pocket as she opened everything else and handed out the gifts she'd picked out for them. Dustin's present from El was a massive bag of Three Musketeers bars, which was incredible, and Mike gave her a necklace with a sparkly "E" on it. Pretty lame in Dustin's opinion, but El's eyes lit up like nothing he'd ever seen. She did like pretty things, and it was probably the first necklace she'd ever owned.
After a little while of opening presents, there didn't seem to be any more under the little tree. "Alright, I think we've got one more outside," Hopper said meaningfully, pulling himself to his feet. The kids jumped up to follow him outside, leaving Dustin behind.
"Wait!" he tried to call, feeling for the tiny mage figure in his pocket. "Son of a bitch, wait for me!" He hadn't gotten to give it to her yet. By the time he made it outside, El was practically squealing with joy at the sight of her new bicycle. It was rare to see her so animated and excited, but the girl wasn't able to hold back. Even though she wasn't very good at saying thank you, the look on her face said it all.
"We'll have to teach you how to ride it once the snow melts," Hopper was saying as Dustin approached. "Then you can use it for school, how about that?" El nodded enthusiastically, giving everyone another hug, even Hopper. That bike meant that freedom was on the horizon- finally, they could start to leave everything else behind them.
It was freezing outside and no one had bothered with their coats, so one by one everyone started to head back inside for some hot chocolate. El was still examining her bike, looking over every inch of it. It was then that Dustin made his move.
"Hey, El?" he asked awkwardly. "I never got to give you my present." Without explanation, he dropped the mage figure into her hand. El didn't say anything at first. She held the figure up to her face and examined it carefully, squinting to figure out what it was. "It's a mage," Dustin explained. "It means...well, see, Mike is the paladin, Will's the cleric, Lucas is the ranger, I'm the bard, and you're the mage. And Max is the zoomer...I guess." He shrugged, still not sure about that one, but he supposed it was fine. He didn't care if the redhead called herself a zoomer. "It means you're an official member of our Party. Friends forever." Once again she didn't say thank you with words, but the look on her face told him everything he needed to know.
The Byers' house was the first stop on their journey. When they arrived Dustin leapt off his bike and let it clatter to the ground, leaving El behind as she took a little more time to get off and push out the kickstand. Dustin was used to having a bike, but it was one of El's most prized possessions and she took very good care of it. Will had already opened the door by the time she caught up to her friend.
"Hey guys!" the small boy exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. El couldn't understand it, but somehow Will was the most excited out of all them to start high school. It certainly showed.
"Hi, Will," El replied with a smile. Aside from Mike, Will was her best friend in the Party. His house was just about the only place she could go, so Steve drove her over here often when she started to get stir crazy and the two had bonded. They were both quiet and soft-spoken, and they'd both been through hell in a way that none of the others would ever understand. Will couldn't understand all El had gone through in the lab and she hadn't experienced the Upside Down for nearly as long as he had, but somehow they had connected. Will was like a brother to her.
"You ready for school, El?" Will asked excitedly. Eleven shrugged.
"Think so," she said, repeating her answer from earlier. But she gave him her best smile just in case he worried. It wasn't even fake, because his own smile was contagious.
Will grabbed his bag from where it sat next to the door and slung it over his shoulder. "Jonathan, can you help me with my lock?" he called back into the house.
"Yeah, buddy!" Came the response. A moment later, Will's older brother appeared at the door. "Hey guys, how's it going?" he said with a crooked smile. "Excited for high school?"
El sighed, quickly tiring of being asked the same question. She forced another smile and nodded, while Dustin shrugged.
"I'm sure today will be great. Let's go get your lock fixed, hm?" He ruffled Will's hair playfully before pushing past him to get Will's bike out of the shed. His lock was rusted and kept on getting stuck, and Jonathan had to pry it off just about every time he used it.
While they were waiting, Will turned to Eleven. "El? Don't you think we should start the day off properly?" He gave her a coy smile and extended his hand to begin the secret handshake they'd developed over the summer. It had taken them weeks to perfect it, and El wasn't sure that Mike liked it very much, but it was fun. She extended her hand to begin the routine, when suddenly Dustin noticed something.
"Oh shit, El, your tattoo!" He pointed to the mark on her wrist. "We were supposed to cover it up! Shit." El retracted her hand, eyes wide. She knew that was the kind of thing that people asked questions about- she had a wide bracelet she was supposed to wear to cover it up, but she'd forgotten it back home. "Mrs. Byers!" Dustin hollered as if it was the end of the world. He bolted back inside the house. "We need something to cover up Eleven's tattoo!"
"Dustin, come on!" Will complained, shaking his head in disapproval. Still, he looked to El with an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, my mom will figure it out." El nodded, hoping he was right. The two followed Dustin inside finding him and Joyce Byers in the kitchen.
"Alright, Dustin, slow down!" Joyce was saying. "We'll fix it, and Hop never has to know, okay?" She glanced up as Will and Eleven entered, giving them all a quick wink as she hurried off to her bedroom to return a couple of seconds later holding a small bottle of light, peachy liquid. "This should do the trick." She sat at the kitchen room table whilst the kids quickly gathered around her. Joyce carefully took Eleven's extended wrist in her hand.
"What's that?" Will asked.
"Foundation. It's makeup. Girls use it to cover blemishes, create a more even skin tone," Joyce explained as she covered the 011 tattoo in a small layer of liquid. As she rubbed it in, the kids watched as the black outline started to disappear.
"Blemishes," El repeated. She hadn't used much makeup- all she really had was the purple eye shadow and clear lip gloss that she'd worn to the Snow Ball. Hopper had made it very clear that she wasn't allowed to wear the eye shadow except for special occasions, which El thought was stupid, but that basically reduced her makeup knowledge to the lip gloss. Foundation was a completely foreign concept to her.
"Yeah, like a flaw," Dustin explained. Thanks to his mom, Dustin knew exactly what it was and he sighed in relief as Joyce painted the foundation over El's tattoo. It wasn't ideal because it would smudge, but it would work for today. "Thanks, Mrs. Byers," Dustin sighed.
A flaw? El looked down at her wrist again, frowning slightly at the notion. She had never thought of her tattoo as a flaw; it was just a part of her, and she had to cover it up so that people wouldn't ask questions the way Mike had the first night she met the boys. Suddenly she felt self-conscious about it, but if foundation was supposed to cover up flaws...well, it was working. The sight of her wrist without the tattoo was strange, but when Mrs. Byers pulled her sleeve back down she resolved not to think about it. "Thank you," she said, taking the tube of foundation when Joyce offered it to her.
"You're welcome, sweetie," she said kindly. "You might need to reapply a little more if it smudges, but a little bit goes a long way so be careful not to use too much. Where's your bag?"
Finally ready to go, the kids went back outside and hopped on their bikes. El took a moment to put the foundation inside of her pink pencil bag and re-zipped her backpack before tugging it over her shoulders. It was light today since she wasn't carrying anything except for her beloved stationary set and her pencils, but the boys assured her that textbooks would make it much heavier. El was dreading that. Dustin led the way again as they headed down the road to get to Mike's. "Bye!" Dustin called to Mrs. Byers as they continued on their journey.
Mike's house was the next stop, and as always, the thought of seeing him gave El a fluttery feeling in her stomach. She loved all of her friends, but everyone knew she had a special place for Mike. He was in a category all on his own, even if that category still didn't have a name. She was also excited to officially meet his parents. She hadn't been allowed out very much and the Wheeler's were especially iffy, since she was the girl that Mike had hidden in their basement a couple years ago. But now she was legitimate; her name was Jane Hopper, she was Hopper's daughter from a fling with a woman in the city, she lived near Dustin, and she was starting at the high school. She still had to be careful, but she didn't have to hide anymore.
When they arrived at the Wheeler's Dustin leaped off his bike, again letting it clatter to the ground. Just like before, El more carefully stood hers upright before following him to the door with Will. Mrs. Wheeler was the one to open the door, her hair perfectly styled even this early in the morning.
"Good morning," she said, looking down at the kids. "Ready for school?" El resisted the urge to groan. Was everyone going to ask her that?
"Yeah, is Mike ready?" Dustin asked, wasting no time. They were already running late.
Karen nodded and turned around to call towards the kitchen, "Michael, your friends are here!" El glanced up towards the stairs, hearing some shuffling about when Mrs. Wheeler called for Mike. She smiled to herself knowing it must be him and was easily able to picture him scrambling about to get ready on time. He'd probably slept late, which she had been very tempted to do herself this morning. She was anticipating waking up early would be a daily struggle, which was why it would be really nice if Steve let her have some of that coffee.
"Coming, Mom!" Mike's voice rang down the stairs. Satisfied, Karen turned back to Dustin, Will, and El.
"I don't believe I've met you," she commented, tilting her head curiously and offering El a kind smile. "What's your name, honey?"
"Jane," Eleven replied, offering a small smile in return. One introduction down, about a thousand more to go.
"Well it's nice to meet you, Jane. Are you one of Mike's friends?" El nodded, her smile widening just a little more.
"Yes," she confirmed. An awkward moment of silence passed, filled only with the sounds of Mike clambering about upstairs. Mrs. Wheeler turned back towards the stairs, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"Michael!" she hollered again.
"Coming!"
Finally the lanky teenage boy tumbled down the stairs looking more than a little disheveled. His hair was wild and curly- it seemed to have curled up quite a bit over the summer. Just one of the many things that had changed, but El kind of loved it. Except today he didn't seem to have gotten a chance to do anything to it.
"Hey guys," he said, grinning at Dustin and Will. Then his eyes landed on El, who was stood on Will's right. "Uh…hi El." He gulped when their eyes met, his cheeks growing a little warmer. She didn't say anything, but her cheeks grew red as well.
"Sorry we're a little late," Will finally spoke up.
"Don't worry about it. Me, too," Mike muttered. He sat on the staircase and tugged on his sneakers, clumsily tying up the laces. When he was done, he grabbed his backpack and stepped outside, taking both of El's hands in his. "Ready for school, El?"
Coming from him, the question wasn't quite as irritating. But before she had a chance to answer, Mrs. Wheeler cut in.
"El? I thought her name was Jane?"
"Shit," Mike whispered, glancing down. His eyes landed on El's necklace, the one he'd given her, and he nearly murmured the curse word again. "Necklace," he mouthed to her. El's eyes widened and she took her hands from Mike, stuffing the charm inside the collar of her shirt. They were making so many mistakes his morning.
"That's your middle name, right?" The sweet voice of Nancy Wheeler came from behind her mother. A moment later, she appeared in the doorway. "Eleanor, or something?"
"Yes," El nodded, looking towards Nancy gratefully. "Eleanor. I go by that, sometimes."
"Oh, alright…" Mrs. Wheeler was looking more and more confused by the second. "Nancy, you two have met?"
"Yeah, over the summer." Nancy shot El an encouraging smile and took a bite of her toast. "Mike introduced us."
"I see. And why wasn't I introduced to Jane, Michael?"
"Mom," Mike groaned, embarrassed at this whole encounter. "We're late, and we're leaving."
"Michael-" Mike had already grabbed El's hand and was leading her back towards the bikes parked in the driveway. With awkward waves, Dustin and Will took their leave as well. Karen sighed in annoyance and turned around to shut the door.
"Don't be too hard on him, Mom," Nancy advised with a smirk. "He's got a really big crush on her."
Lucas and Max would be meeting them at the end of the Wheeler's driveway, and from there they would ride to the high school together. Mike got his bike and adjusted his backpack, running his hand over his forehead and unsuccessfully trying to push his hair back. El frowned, concern coming across her face as she looked at him.
"You're tired," she observed.
"Yeah…rough night," he explained. "And I overslept. But I'm fine. I'm excited for today." El wasn't convinced. She approached him and reached up to smooth down a bit of his unruly hair, tilting her head.
"Promise?" she asked meaningfully, searching his face.
"Yes, I promise." El nodded, satisfied for now. Still, she kept a hold of his hand as they waited for the rest of their friends. Maybe he was nervous or maybe he really did just have a bad night, but either way Mike's hand in hers was reassurance that they were in this together. And it wasn't just Mike- all six of them were going through this together. It didn't matter if they didn't fit in, because they all had each other. Maybe it was cheesy, but that was what El continued to remind herself.
Moments later, Lucas and Max approached in the distance. Lucas was on his bike and Max was holding onto the back of his seat riding along on her skateboard. As they drew closer, Max let go of the bike and kicked the back of her skateboard out from behind her, it spun quickly in the air then began to fall to the ground again. Catching the skateboard with same back foot, she skidded to a stop in front of the group. El had tried to ride the skateboard once or twice, but she had no sense of balance and it hadn't ended well. She wished she could do those fancy tricks.
"Hey El!" Max bumped her hip against the other girl's, giving her a quick wink when she noticed she and Mike holding hands. "So, anyone know of any demodogs I can fight?" She pretended to swing a bat. "Because I don't know about you, but I'd much rather being doing that than going back to high school!" Despite her words, the last two came out as a squeal of excitement. She couldn't wait to take on high school with her friends and her boyfriend, and to teach El all about it. After they'd gotten over their little misunderstanding, the two girls had become close as well. As the only two girls in the Party, each of them totally badass in their own way, it was inevitable.
"No," El disagreed lightly, cracking another smile.
Dustin groaned at Max's question. "No, no demodogs, and I'm beginning to think we're never gonna get to high school. The Chief is gonna kill me if I don't get El to school on time. Can we please go?" Normally he wouldn't be so uptight, but the police chief had him sufficiently intimidated and this morning had already been stressful with both her tattoo and her name being a problem. Dustin was under the impression he would go to jail if he didn't keep everyone under control.
"Jesus, calm down," Lucas laughed. "We've got plenty of time, and we're going." El dropped Mike's hand only for the sake of getting on her bike. Dustin got on his, and Lucas looked back to make sure that Max had a good grip before they finally took off.
It was about a mile from Mike's house to the high school, which was conveniently right across the lot from the middle school. For Max and the boys it was weird to turn left instead of right, but for El it was all weird. The difference between the two school was obvious just by looking- at the middle school, the students were smaller and most of them were being dropped off by their parents, being hugged and kissed goodbye on the first day of school. A lot of the older kids were on their bikes.
By comparison, the high school lot was filled with cars, older teenagers leaned up against them gossiping or having a quick smoke before they went inside. El wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant sight of a couple making out inside of a car and tried not to get distracted by it as they rode by. The bike rack was right by the front entrance, so after hopping off El discreetly helped Will with his dysfunctional bike lock while everyone else got situated. Thankfully they weren't late and actually had a few minutes before they needed to get to class.
"What's up, freshmen?" A random voice behind them said mockingly. "Mommy couldn't take you to school today?" El turned around just in time to see an older teenager reach out his hands to ruffle both her and Will's hair. El shrunk back distastefully, gritting her teeth together and glaring as the boy headed inside, laughing to himself.
"Mouth breather," she accused, reaching up to smooth her hair back down. Between Steve, the wind, and now this guy it was probably a disaster, which wouldn't matter much except El knew other girls cared about that kind of thing.
"Just ignore it," Lucas advised. "They stop if they think you don't care."
Max let out a snort as she hung her arms around Will and El's shoulders. "Did you see the size of that pimple on his face? I thought Mount Vesuvius had already erupted." She laughed at her own joke which caused Will to giggle. Eleven joined in nervously a second later. "Yup, that kid's a mouth breather alright. Couldn't agree more Jane." Max emphasized her legal name for effect as if to remind them all that they were in public now.
"Why does it look so big all of the sudden?" Will asked, staring wide-eyed at the high school building.
"We'll get used to it," Mike figured. But El thought it was intimidating, too. She reached down to grab both Mike and Will's hands for comfort, squeezing them tightly. She vaguely heard Mike huff in annoyance beside her and he jerked his head back to shake his bangs out of his eyes, but she hardly noticed. Lucas had slid his arm around Max's shoulders.
"Alright, guys," Dustin said resolutely, adjusting his hat. "Let's go." Feeling much more dramatic than they looked, the group entered the school building. The first order of business would be to get their official schedules, then it would be divide and conquer.
Hey all! Ava here, and first I want to say thank you so much for clicking and reading the first chapter of this little story! This fanfic is a bit unique, so I want to take a moment to tell you guys about it!
First, this is a collaboration fanfic! My new friend wordsfromthefeatherquill and myself (AvianJen) have come up with a really cool plot that we think you guys will really enjoy and we are taking turns writing these chapters. Feel free to check out our individual accounts!
Second, this story is a collaboration in every sense of the word. We started writing this as a roleplay, which if you don't know is basically a story where two or more people have "control" of certain characters and take turns writing a story and responding to what the other person has written. It's super fun and very addicting! My job for this chapter was to take sections from both of our posts and compile them together into a full chapter, and I want to make that clear because not every word in this chapter is my original writing.
We're super excited to be working on this unique project and eager to hear what you guys think of it! Please leave a review if you feel so inclined, and the next chapter will come courtesy of wordsfromthefeatherquill! Thanks everyone!
-Ava