Welcome to the first chapter of what I plan to be a two-part story. I hope you'll enjoy reading it. In it, you'll find my take on Eleven's return to Hawkins, and some Mileven, because I liked that a lot.

In the first few days after El had battled the Demogorgan and disappeared, they'd all been half-expecting her to come back. After all, they'd seen their new friend do so many impossible things in just the week they'd known her; it didn't seem like evading certain death, and escaping another dimension was out of the realm of possibility.

But days passed, and she didn't come back.

Weeks passed, and she didn't come back.

Months passed, and she didn't come back.

Before they knew it, it had almost been a year.

She came back.

It happened one night when they'd gathered at the Dungeon Master's house for another new campaign. It wasn't quite the same as in the pre-El days; Mike's heart just didn't seem to be fully in it anymore. He tried valiantly to recapture the old magic of campaigns past, but they could all tell he was wondering why they were bothering with imaginary adventures when they'd had a real one. Who cared about defeating the monsters and saving the proud princess when they weren't able to save El, who'd saved them?

Even though she'd never actually joined them for a D & D campaign, her absence seemed to be felt most keenly on those long days in Mike's basement. Perhaps because the basement had been where she'd made her home, perhaps because certain twists in the campaign made Mike pause and swallow before he announced them, leaving no doubt as to what or who had inspired them.

They rarely talked about her. It hurt Mike to think of her, and it hurt Will to think about any reminder of the Upside Down. So Lucas and Dustin carefully avoided the subject in the presence of their friends. Occasionally, when it was just the two of them, they'd relive some of El's greatest hits, like rescuing Mike from the quarry (described in great detail by Dustin to Lucas who of course, hadn't been there) and of course, the infamous van flip (to this day, one of the coolest things they'd ever seen.) They never forgot the superhero stuff, but after a while, the girl herself began to fade into a kind of legendary figure in their minds-totally awesome, but had she really been real?

Yes she had, as they were all quickly reminded of when the knock came at the Wheeler's front door.

Lucas had been upstairs in the kitchen, getting more soda, during a campaign break. Normally, being Mike's house, he would be the one to do such a chore, but he, Will and Dustin were embroiled in a good-natured argument about which Star Wars character was the best. He was actually smiling, an increasingly rare occurrence these days, so Lucas left them to it.

An armful of Cokes later, he was heading for the stairs, when he heard Chief Hopper's voice through the open door.

"I know it's late, Karen," he was saying, twisting his hat in his hands, "but I didn't know what else to do." He lowered his voice, and Lucas had to sneak forward a few paces in order to still hear him. "Ever since I picked her up three hours ago, she's said exactly three words. 'Hungry' 'no' and 'Mike.'"

Lucas froze. It couldn't be. Could it?

"I don't understand," said Mrs Wheeler. "Who is this? I've never seen her before. How does she know Michael?"

She was blocking the door, so Lucas couldn't see who they were talking about, but the suspicion only grew stronger as the Chief went on.

"I'm sure you remember that business with the Byers boy last year."

Mrs Wheeler nodded. The town of Hawkins wouldn't be forgetting about that any time soon. A little boy lost, and then found again, thought to be dead, but alive. It had been a tough week on everyone but especially on Joyce and Jonathan Byers, and Will's friends. Mike in particular had been especially shaken by it all. Her boy hadn't been the same since.

"Well, long story short, this girl here had a pretty big hand in it, and from what I can guess, got a bit attached to your son."

It clicked instantly. "This is El?" she asked, with a gasp. She'd heard the name from Mike, over and over, but never thought she'd actually get to put the name to a face.

"Yes ma'am," said the Chief, and then, in a gentler tone. "Come here El, and say hi to Mrs Wheeler."

There was a shuffling sound outside of the door, another audible gasp from Mrs Wheeler, and then Lucas heard it, the voice he never thought they'd hear again.

"Hello." And then, almost immediately. "Mike?"

Holy shit. The Coke cans clattered to the floor, making the Chief, El, and Mrs Wheeler turn towards the noise. Upon spotting him, El's eyes softened in recognition.

"Lucas."

He rushed forward, still not quite believing what he was seeing. Her hair was longer, her skin was paler, she was thinner, but it was her. She was back. He almost wanted to hug her, but she looked so frail that he worried she might snap in two if he tried. So he settled for grinning at her from ear to ear, and was pleased to see her tentatively smile back.

She was actually here. Alive.

Mike was going to flip.

"El! You're alive! How did you—when did you—I can't believe…" He had so many questions and exclamations that he couldn't even finish one without moving on to the next. The result was both the adults looking at him like he'd grown a second head, and El giving him that terrified, overwhelmed look she'd given them all on the night they'd found her, wide-eyed and twitchy, like a cornered animal paralysed by fear.

"All right kid, back off," growled Hopper. "Give the girl a break. You won't get any answers anyway. Like I said, she hasn't been too chatty." He turned to Mrs Wheeler. "She's been asking for your boy constantly, Karen. I don't think I'm gonna get anywhere with her till she's seen him. Just ten minutes. Please?"

"Please?" echoed Eleven, looking plaintively up at her. "Mike? Please?"

Mrs Wheeler let out an audible sigh, as Eleven continued to gaze up at her. Lucas could tell she was relenting, because Mike had looked exactly the same way that fateful night when he'd decided to bring El home with them. Maybe being susceptible to El was a Wheeler family trait. "Well…okay. But ten minutes only. It's a school night. Lucas, can you go call him please?"

Lucas didn't need to be told twice. He dodged around the scattered Coke cans and bolted for the stairs to the basement bellowing 'MIKE!' MIKE!" at the top of his lungs.

"What?!" came his best friend's irritated response.

"Get up here! Now! All of you!"

"What for?"

"There's something you've gotta see."

"What?"

"I can't say, just get up here!"

"Why can't you just tell me?"

Frustrated at Mike's belligerence, Lucas didn't hear or notice El's approach until she was by his side. Hovering at the top of the stairs, as if debating whether or not she dared to go down them.

"Mike?" she called softly. "Mike?"

Silence from the basement.

She tried again. "Mike?" And again, slightly panicky now. "Mike?!"

And then, finally, "Lucas, is that-?" Mike's voice trailed off, as though to finish the sentence might get his hopes up even more.

"Like I said," yelled Lucas. "Get up here!"

A crash was heard from the basement, and Lucas knew it had been caused by Mike's chair toppling over, as his quick footsteps dashed for the staircase.

A week later, safe in the Wheeler's basement, with Mike and Nancy away at school, Ted at work, and Karen and Holly out running errands, El narrowed her eyes at the toy Millennium Falcon resting on the floor. She was staying at the Wheeler's until a more permanent arrangement could be made, though she privately hoped she could stay here forever. She liked being back in her fort, and she especially liked being near Mike. She'd missed him terribly in the Upside Down. Before Mike, she hadn't known that one could 'miss' somebody, and she certainly hadn't had anyone in her life whose presence she had craved when they weren't around. Not even Papa.

She was glad of the solitude for the moment however, as it meant she could try and use her powers without fear of discovery. Mike had cautioned her against using them in front of Holly and his parents, at least for the moment.

'Nancy and I are OK," he'd said, when he brought her morning Eggos down to her. "You can do whatever you want when it's just us. But Mom and Dad don't know what you can do yet, and you might kind of freak them out."

She latched on to a familiar word, pointed to herself, and asked, "Freak?" She'd heard the word used to describe her several times now. Maybe 'freak' was something a person could just be, like tall or skinny.

Mike's eyes had bugged out with horror, and he'd practically fallen over himself to reassure her.

"No way!" he'd blurted, so loudly it had made her flinch. "I mean…uh, you're not a freak El. You're awesome. You're the coolest person I know." He said all this very quickly, and refused to meet her eyes afterwards. He seemed uncomfortable. Why was he upset? Was he mad at her?

Before she'd had a chance to ask him, he'd had to leave for school, waving to her as he ran for the staircase and promising he'd see her later. That was one of the nicest things about living here. When people left they always came back.

She harnessed her mind like Papa had taught her, and concentrated hard on the toy spaceship. Slowly, it rose a few inches off the ground and hovered for a moment, before falling back to earth with a crash. She groaned in mingled frustration and exhaustion.

Ever since she'd gotten back, her powers hadn't been working the same as usual. It was taking more and more effort just to perform simple tasks, like lifting the Falcon. She supposed escaping from the Upside Down had taken more of a toll on her than she realised, and so her powers were taking longer to recharge. She'd been quite severely weakened after the Demogorgan anyway, and a year in that awful place only made things worse. But what if they didn't come back at all? How was she supposed to help her friends, and protect them, without her powers?

Mike didn't know. Even though they'd spent nearly every spare moment together, he'd been more interested in getting her food and fresh clothes, resettling her in the fort, and showing her comics then quizzing her about her powers. She had always liked that about him, the way he had always treated her like a person and not a science experiment. He was the first one who ever had, reaching out for her even when Dustin and Lucas had shrunk back on that first stormy night.

He had come home from school yesterday with a black eye, and she'd been nearly consumed with anger that she was no longer strong enough to go and find that awful mouthbreather Troy, and re-break that arm of his, plus maybe a leg or his collarbone for good measure. She wanted to hurt him, punish him for harming Mike.

Mike was kind. Mike was safety, and warmth. Why would somebody want to hurt him? She couldn't understand it.

She kept trying for a little while longer until blood was streaming from her nose, and the exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. She let the Falcon drop for the last time just as the front door opened and Mike's mother returned. She never left Eleven at home alone for too long, for which the girl was grateful.

"El"?" called Mrs Wheeler uncertainly down the stairs. "Is everything okay?"

The true answer of course, was no. She was weak. Her powers weren't working properly, and every time she closed her eyes she was taken back to the Upside Down. But she knew she couldn't let anyone else know that. Papa had always punished her when she was weak. Perhaps Mrs Wheeler would too. All she'd ever known of grown-ups was pain and sadness and fear. What if they were all like that? They might send her away, separate her forever from Mike and her other friends

And what of them, her friends? Would they still want to be her friends if they found out she was no longer capable of the 'awesome' things she had once been? Would Lucas change his mind about her again? Would Dustin still want to hang out with her? Would Will ever trust her? And Mike, what would he do? She had seen first hand his loyalty to his friends, and she couldn't believe he would turn his back on her.

Then again, he'd been acting a little oddly the last few days, as though her presence made him nervous. Why was he like that? Had he guessed? She hoped not.

There was just too much at risk by telling the truth. So she lied.

"Yes," she replied, "I'm fine."

I hope you found something you liked and enjoyed reading it. In the next chapter, El will confide in someone. Friends don't lie, after all.