The shriek of the alarm clock ripped El out of dreamland and firmly punted her into morning. Reaching out blindly, she groped around her nightstand to stop the horrible sound. She hammered the alarm clock and released a deep sigh, happy to when the blissful silence returned.

Knock, knock, knock! Hopper rapped his knuckles sharply against the door and El groaned loudly.

"Time to get up kid." His voice was muffled through the door.

"Okay, okay. I'm up." She grumbled, sliding out of bed in a daze of sleepiness. El stood up, putting her full weight on her ankle thoughtlessly.

"Ouch!" Pain bit at her ankle, banishing the last traces of sleepiness.

El flopped back down onto the bed. She lifted her ankle onto her knee in order to inspect the damage, running her fingers gently over her ankle as she searched for any visible signs of bruising. It was a little swollen, but there wasn't any discoloration that she could see. Satisfied, El reached for the familiar drawer in her bedside table. She rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a spool of elastic bandage. This was not the first time she'd had to wrap her ankle and it probably would not be the last. After wrapping, El held on to the end of the bandage, carefully standing up to test the waters.

Discomfort, but not pain. Perfect.

Hopper was already sitting at their modest sized kitchen table when El emerged from her bedroom, dressed and ready to go.

"How's the ankle?" Hop asked, glancing at her from over the top of his newspaper.

"Good. It's just a mild sprain. I'll be running again soon." El helped herself to some toast and a banana before sitting down at the table. She began to eat her breakfast happily, content with their quiet but companionable routine.

The shrill ring of the phone broke the quiet morning spell. El knew this could mean only one thing.

Grumbling, Hopper dropped his newspaper onto the table and got up to answer the phone. El began shoveling her toast into her mouth, half listening to Hopper at the same time.

"Hopper here." There was a moment of silence as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line.

"Uh huh. And why did he do that?" Hopper asked exasperatedly. He muttered under his breath as (presumably) Flo filled him in on a situation at the station.

"Okay. Okay. I'll be right there." He sighed tiredly before hanging up the phone. The job of a police chief was an unending one.

"Let's go kid, I need to go in early today."

El nodded, her mouth full of toast. She stood, dropping her plate in the sink and grabbed the banana to go.

In less than a minute she was ready and standing by the door of Hopper Cabin, backpack slung over her shoulder. This was not as uncommon of an occurrence that they would have liked. Often Hopper was called in early, or worked late at the station because of some kind of situation popping up that only the Chief of Police could handle.

...

The September morning was crisp and clear as Hopper and El exited the cabin and began their walk towards the highway. Hopper Cabin was older, yes, but El loved it. She'd only ever lived in the city before Hopper, and the cabin was quiet and peaceful.

This was one of her favourite times of the day. She loved the cool morning air against her cheeks, the bright autumn leaves and the sunlight streaming through the trees warming the frostbitten ground. They stepped over the tripwire in perfect synchronization, an installation of Hopper's in order to alert them to any trespassers. She loved the sound of Hopper walking beside her, his heavy steps crunching against the forest floor. It was a moment they could keep to themselves and a moment that El cherished.

The truck was waiting by the side of the highway for them, the windows frosted over. The door squeaked loudly as she pulled herself in, sliding onto the worn leather seats. El arched against the cold leather, a shiver running down her spine. Her breath lingered in the air as she adjusted her backpack and reached for the old brush Hopper kept in here. He started the old truck and accepted the brush with a grumble, getting out to quickly scrape off the windows. Once the windows were clear enough to see where he was driving, Hopper hopped back in and they were off.

Hopper pulled smoothly into the Hawkins High School parking lot about ten minutes later. It may has well have been a ghost town for how many cars were currently there, but she didn't mind. El nudged the door open with her foot and slid out.

"Have a good day kid." Hopper said with a nod.

"You too Chief." El swung her backpack over her shoulder and saluted teasingly. Hopper snorted at her antics before she shut the door and he sped off.

El watched him go before turning around sharply and walking towards school. Normally she headed straight to her locker to wait for Max. But today there was still about a half hour to kill before her best friend got to school.

Shoving one of the front doors open, she paused as the subsequent slam rang through the hall. There was not another teenager to be seen. The halls were normally bustling and rowdy. It was strange to see it so empty.

Knowing that she shouldn't spend too much time on her feet with her ankle still injured, El moved to find a place to sit. There was a bench around the corner from Max and El's lockers that they had officially dubbed as their 'secondary meeting place'. There she could also comfortably catch up Max about her strange Sunday adventures.

El dropped her backpack down onto the bench sat next to it. Digging out her trusty Walkman and headphones, she settled in and pressed play. She fished her notebook out from her backpack, it was going to be a while before Max got here and she might as well get some of the homework done that had been unintentionally neglected on Sunday.

.

.

Some time later there was an abrupt knock against her foot that made her legs lurch. El laughed, thinking it was Max who had snuck up on her. She looked up, fully expecting to see her best friend but was instead met with the smirking face of Troy Wilkins. The smile slipped so fast from her face El was certain she could hear it shatter on the floor below her.

"Happy to see me Eleven?" Troy pushed a hand through his hair with an arrogant twist to his lips. Her good morning mood curdled like milk left in the sun.

"What do you want?" El scowled, very conscious that the two of them were almost entirely alone.

"What do you want?" Troy mimicked in a poor imitation of El. She bristled but tried not to let it show, choosing to try and burn a hole through his fat head with her eyes.

"If you're here Red must be around. Where is she?" Troy glanced around as though Max would appear for him.

Troy had been relentlessly harassing Max for months now. From asking her out again and again to crudely describing what they would do on their supposed date, Max had nearly put a foot through Troy's chest several times already. He was not the type who liked to be told no and the only reason why Max didn't beat Troy to a pulp was because of the track team. Max both loved and needed the opportunities the track team would bring her. She had already been in trouble with the school several times in her short stint in Hawkins. Max knew if she did beat the crap out of Troy, who also happened to be a star football player, she'd be booted from the team. It was an incredibly frustrating situation.

"Go away." El rolled her eyes, moving to put her headphones back on. Troy snatched the headphones from El's hands and tossed them to the floor. Her Walkman landed on between them with a loud clatter.

"What? Jealous? You want me in your pants instead?" Troy sneered unkindly. Bile rose in her throat as he stepped closer, towering over El and clearly enjoying how she unconsciously leaned away to put more space between them. After a tense moment, Troy relented and stepped back with a pleasantly cruel smile.

"But I guess I wouldn't turn down practice. Even ugly bitches have their use." El's face burned, his words lashing across her cheeks like an ugly brand.

Troy turned and headed back down the hall, dismissing her as though she were nothing.

El to her shame, didn't say a word as Troy left. Anger simmered under her skin as though it would burst forth and devour her whole. She took a few deep breaths and tried to tell herself that the words a mouth breather like Troy meant nothing. But the words both stung and disgusted her.

Even ugly bitches have their use.

She felt dirty, as any interaction with Troy often left her. But now he was gone. So the terrible things she wanted to say, wanted to scream at him evaporated and was replaced with a bitter taste on her tongue.

She retrieved her Walkman and headphones from the ground. Luckily they appeared undamaged but El could not stop the way her fingers curled around them as her anger still had yet to abate.

Privately (because she knew Max wouldn't like it), El told Hop about the situation with Troy. As much as El knew it pained Hopper, Troy was doing nothing but making verbal comments so there was not much he could do. He wasn't following Max home or physically trying to grab her. Never had El seen Hop look so angry and yet so disappointed. She knew that Hopper also had a soft spot for Max, despite acting like he was a grump. And to hear some "horny punk" was harassing Max had not gone over well. He'd growled about how he'd "keep on eye on the bastard" and that if "Troy so much as touches either of you I'll lock him away myself and throw away the key". Hopper's words both assured and worried her. She didn't want Max to have to put up with any kind of harassment. And basically until something actually happened—physically— Max was powerless to stop it.

Stewing resentfully on these thoughts, El almost didn't catch a glimpse of the familiar vibrant hair of her friend out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and raised an eyebrow, catching Max in what looked like some kind of 'sneaking' pose mid-step. Once she realized the jig was up, Max laughed and dropped her sneaking stance.

"Damn it. I was trying to scare you." Max huffed, dropping her backpack on the floor beside the bench and leaning her skateboard next to it. She grinned happily before noticing the scrape on El's chin.

"What's that?" Max asked sharply, her blue eyes trained on the scrape that decorated El's chin. That's when Max caught sight of the look on El's face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" El shied away from Max's scrutinizing gaze and the words tumbled out far too quickly to be convincing.

"El." Max narrowed her eyes warningly. "Friend's don't lie."

It was a saying that El was certain Max had read off a bumper sticker early in their friendship. When El asked Max about the origins of the phrase, Max shrugged bashfully and said she must have heard it somewhere but couldn't remember. It sounded like something that was sewn onto an Eagle Scout badge that you got for being a good friend. But the simple, endearing phrase had helped keep them both accountable to each other despite how they also poked fun at it. Bottling your feelings or lying to your friend was never good and this phrase was a reminder of that for both of them. For two people who really sucked at making friends, it was important.

"Sorry," El sighed. She could never hold out long from Max. "Troy visited me before you got here." The effect of her words was immediate.

"Did he do that to you?" Max's snarled, face stormy. El feared Max would lunge off the bench to go hunt Troy down.

"No! No." El assured Max seriously, making sure her friend understood that the scrape hadn't come from their hated classmate. "This was from yesterday, I fell on the pavement. I promise." Some of the tension left Max's shoulders and she let out a relieved breath.

"Okay. So what happened?" Max believed her.

"He didn't say much. Just asked where you were and said some uh… gross things when I told him to go away." El explained. Already she was feeling better talking to Max about it. Perhaps they could daydream about all the ways they would hypothetically dispose of Troy. That always cheered them up.

Max made a noise of disgust and then looked apologetically at El.

"I'm sorry you had to see his ugly mug so early in the morning. Whatever he said to you is not true, you know that, right?" Max asked, her eyes searching El's.

"Yeah. I know." El offered Max a weak smile, before noticing that the halls were becoming increasingly full of teenagers. It must have been getting close to class time.

"We should get going." Max grabbed her bag and skateboard, waiting for El to gather her things. "Whoever comes up with the best way to get rid of Troy wins. We'll compare notes at lunch." El grinned in response, her spirits lifting as they headed towards their lockers.

Morning passed by in a blurry haze of boredom. Normally El enjoyed English Literature; but she just couldn't seem to get into it today. From the back of the classroom she could see Max scribbling furiously on her notepad and though it appeared she was a diligent student, El knew that she was likely working on their contest. She tried to pay attention, or even work on their contest, but El found her mind wandering to the events of Sunday.

Will, Mike and Dustin saved her skin. Dustin had been understandably prickly to her at first, but he'd seemingly warmed to her by the end of the night.

Max and El were the 'new kids' in Hawkins. Even several years after Max moved here she was still considered the new kid. El had only been in Hawkins for almost a year and a half, but moving to such a small town (especially in high school), the odds were pretty stacked against you in the friend department. Everyone already had their friends and it seemed they were quite content not to bother making new ones.

When El first moved here with Hopper she was completely alone and dreading high school. She knew no one in Hawkins except her adoptive father. Alone and anxious, El's first day of school had been miserable. The words she had practiced in her head never came out right and when El tried to start a conversation she mostly got exaggerated eye rolls or sneers. Her hand-me-down sweater and overalls were an easy target for her peers. By the end of the day El knew she'd be spending the next four years of her life alone.

After the final bell rang she'd sat down on a bench outside of the Hawkins High track, seeking solace from the stares of her classmates while she waited for Hopper. At one point El heard someone approaching, and she didn't even bother looking up, thinking it wasn't her they were coming to.

"Hey new kid," A voice had greeted casually. El looked up, surprised that anyone was talking to her. Most of the day she'd heard whispers and couldn't help but feel that she was an animal on display at a zoo. A lithe, red headed girl stood before her. She wore a sporty red jacket and a simple pair of jeans and had a skateboard tucked under her arm. Her blue eyes were intense—it was a little unnerving to be on the receiving end of such a gaze.

"Yes?" El asked, eyeing the girl warily. If she was here to pick a fight or do something unkind, El would rather get this over with quickly.

"I'm the new kid too. Max Mayfield. What are you listening to?" Max pointed at El's headphones.

El, though confused and a still cautious, held them out to her automatically. Max gently took the headphones and lowered them over her own ears, brushing her long red hair out of the way as she did so. El watched as Max's head bobbed to the music for a moment.

"Nice. Can I sit with you?" Max asked hopefully. Suddenly her gaze didn't seem quite so piercing.

"Y-yeah!" Startled, El scooted over while nodding exuberantly. Max smiled and settled down beside El.

"Do you have a name, new kid?" Max handed the headphones back to El.

"El. El Hopper."

And just like that El acquired a best friend. As it turns out Max was relatively new to Hawkins too, having just moved here after her mother remarried. Initially they bonded over being the outcasts in such a small town, but after that their friendship had really taken off.

El would be forever grateful that Max had the guts to approach her first. If Max hadn't, they may never have become such good friends! The thought was something she did not like to linger on, but it really made El think about what happened on Sunday.

Was yesterday an opportunity that she should not let slip by? Was this the flag of friendship being waved and she missed it?

Determination flared in her chest. She could not let this opportunity pass! Will had mentioned that their final party member was Lucas Sinclair. The very same Lucas Sinclair that Max had a crush on for the past six months. This was both an opportunity for friendship and for Max to finally get to know Lucas.

El's gaze slid to the back of Max's head, nearly burning a hole through her friend's skull. As if Max sensed someone's eyes on her, she turned around and looked to El first. El smiled innocently and waved at Max, realizing that if she was going to try and make the plan that was slowly forming in her head happen, she really needed to work on her poker face. Max narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but turned around again before the teacher could scold her.

Reaching for her pencil, El quickly turned to a random page near the back of her notebook and jotted down a numbered list:

(1)Befriend Party.

(2)Introduce Max to Lucas. Maybe they'll get to know each other!

El furrowed her brow. She would have to think that point through a little more. She couldn't introduce Max to Lucas when El hadn't even been introduced to him yet either. She moved on.

(3) All of us become friends.

El smiled at the last point. It felt a little silly to write such a thing down, and yet it was oddly comforting to have a plan.

She definitely would not forget how kind and considerate Will had been last night, lending her first aid supplies and some fresh clothes. Or even Dustin after he'd warmed to her (she did, after all cause him to swerve into a ditch). And El wouldn't forget that it was Mike who offered her to ride with him and how he had thoughtfully fetched a chair and some frozen peas in order to elevate her ankle. Or how she had made him laugh in the back of the truck, an unexpected but light sound that made El feel as though she were glowing because she was the cause of it.

If they were all so kind, El couldn't help but wish for her and Max to be apart of that kind of friendship group. Though she hadn't met Lucas yet, El imagined that he must be similarly friendly.

Satisfied with her plan so far, El practically floated into her next class. Max had math class and El was in American History for the period before lunch so they always parted ways at the door of English Literature.

It was while she was floating into the classroom that El came face to face with one of the subjects of her thoughts.

"Mike." El blurted out, startling Mike—who was sitting right there! Right in her history class in the row closest to the door! How on earth had she never noticed him before? He was so tall and gangly he was a little hard to miss. Not to mention the knitted sweaters, which were rather unique.

Mike, who looked suitably surprised by her sudden outburst, turned to her, his dark eyes wide. "El?"

"I mean uh… Hi! Mike." El recovered lamely, wondering if she should dig her own hole in the ground and hop right in. Luckily no one but Mike seemed to have noticed her weird outburst and to her immense relief, he smiled.

"Hi El." He greeted, sounding a little shy. They stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say to one another, but neither wanting to move.

"How is your ankle today?" Mike asked casually.

"Better. Thanks to you guys." El said sincerely. "You probably saved it from getting worse with the frozen peas and the chair you brought me."

"It was no problem." Mike assured her bashfully, turning slightly pink from her praise. "It was the least I could do after almost running you over."

"Okay everyone let's begin. Get to your seats." Ms. Hotchkiss called over the chatter of the students. El tried not to be too disappointed that their conversation had been cut short.

"Well, I guess I'll just be over there." Smooth. El cringed inwardly when she awkwardly pointed across the classroom to her seat, near diagonal to Mike's and far behind him.

"And I guess I'll just be right here." Mike smiled wryly, pointing downwards.

El fled to her desk before she could put her foot in her mouth any more. She quickly brought out her notebook and pencil as Ms. Hotchkiss began the lecture, trying to calm the nerves in her stomach.

Focusing on class today was a losing battle. El found her mind firmly fixed on the boy who sat across the class from her. She was happy they'd gotten to talk, even if it had only been for a few moments. A different thought suddenly dawned on El.

What if he doesn't want to be friends? The thought left an unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was something that El hadn't even considered. Yes. She wanted to be friends, but would Mike want to? Would Dustin or Will or even Lucas welcome new friends? Or was there some kind of secret quota that was enough friends for one person? She frowned.

Would Max even want to be friends with the boys? What did they really even have in common? Max and El were both on the track team while all she knew was that the boys liked to play Dungeons and Dragons and rode bikes. That wasn't a whole lot to go on…

But at least she could try.

Once more optimistic, El refocused on the important homework assignment… If she didn't get her plan for Troy disposal done by lunch, Max would win by default and she couldn't have that.

The halls were bustling and bright with the hum of students as El filed out from history class. Her good mood made it nearly impossible not to walk without a spring in her step. Reaching her locker, she cheerfully loaded this morning's books into her locker and grabbed her lunch.

"Hey El." Max appeared at her elbow, quickly opening her locker and doing the same.

"Hi Max." El greeted happily, closing her locker. Max rummaged around for a few moments; dumping the books she needed for this afternoon into her backpack and grabbing her lunch.

"Ready to go? I've got a whole list of suggestions on how to dispose of…" Max trailed off. El frowned when she noticed the peculiar look on Max's face.

"Hey El." A new voice greeted timidly. El spun around, surprised to see Will standing there. His features were hesitant, as though unsure he should be approaching her in school or not.

"Hi Will," El smiled warmly. She could practically see the tension melt from his shoulders.

"I wanted to give you these before I forgot." Will held a small bag up. Curious, El accepted the bag and peered inside. It was her track clothes from the previous night! Though from the smell of fresh laundry detergent, they had clearly been washed.

"Oh! Thank you! And thanks washing them for me." El said happily. She could practically hear Max's jaw hit the ground behind her.

"My mom put them on for you. She thought you might need them sooner than later." Will explained, a little alarmed by the growing look of disbelief on Max's face, who was standing directly behind El.

"I haven't washed your clothes yet." El admitted, feeling as though now she really should have. Not that her and Hop had a dryer or anything so she would have had to give them back to Will wet.

"Don't worry about it." Will shook his head. "Just get them back to me before Christmas time when my brother comes home."

Will bid them a quick goodbye, leaving the two girls alone once more.

"What the hell was that?" Max whirled on El as soon as Will was out of ear shot.

"What?" El asked innocently, pretending as though she really had no idea what Max was talking about.

"What do you mean what? Since when are you best friends with Will Byers?" Max exclaimed, disbelief dripping from her words. Clearly, their schemes of how to get rid of Troy were forgotten for now.

"Well that's not true," El said thoughtfully. "Because you're my best friend." Max looked ready to explode, but then finally caught sight of the coy smile on El's lips.

"Mouth breather." Max rolled her eyes, giving El a firm punch in the shoulder. El couldn't help but laugh.

She rubbed absently at her smarting shoulder as they walked through the front doors of Hawkins High and headed toward their usual spot near the track. The bench that Max had first approached El on had become their go-to lunch spot when the weather permitted.

It was wonderfully sunny outside. The trees that bordered the school fence were full of warm autumn colored leaves and against the blue sky they looked so vivid it was stunning.

"Spill it, El." Max huffed when they were safely out of earshot of any classmates.

"I rolled my ankle and wiped out off of Cornwallis somewhere. It was dark when Mike and Dustin nearly ran me over with their bikes." El hopped onto their bench.

"So that's where this came from?" Max pointed to her chin.

"And these." El rolled up the leg of one of her pants to show Max the scrape on her knee.

"What happened next?" Max eyed El's scrape sympathetically.

"They gave me a ride to Will's house and let me use the phone."

"How'd Hop take it?" Max cringed, knowing that El was supposed to run closer to downtown.

"Flo had to pass on the message for me because Hop was out on a call," El shrugged, "he wasn't happy with me, but we're good now."

"What happened while you were at the house? Was it weird?" Max dug out her lunch, unwrapping her sandwich absentmindedly.

"It was a little weird at first. Only because I don't really know them." El scrunched her nose in thought. "But Will let me use the phone and his first aid kit. Mike grabbed some of Will's brother's clothes because mine were gross. I forgot them on the hamper so that's what Will was talking about." Max nodded.

"Oh good. I thought you'd gone and got naked at the Byers' house or something crazy." El nearly choked on the water she had just taken a deep drink of.

"Max!" She exclaimed, red faced as the water dribbled down her chin.

"That was payback for earlier." Max laughed. "So when did Hopper come and get you?"

"Sometime around 10:30 I think?" El mused, "but he gave Dustin and Mike a ride home too." El realized this was about a good of a time as any to broach the subject with Max about becoming friends.

"I think you'd like them." El leaned back casually, carefully not making eye contact with Max. She could see Max's incredulous look from the corner of her eye.

Don't look at her. You'll blow it if you make eye contact.

"Aren't they nerds?" Max asked bluntly. El turned to Max with a frown.

"No. I mean, I guess they are? But so what? They like a board game called Dungeons and Dragons… which was confusing but sounded like it could be fun." El defended, annoyance creeping into her voice. The red head simply raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Wow. One night at Byers' and suddenly you're hooked? What did they do? Feed you Eggos?" Max grinned as El turned bright pink.

"Shit, they did feed you didn't they. No wonder." Max snickered at El's increasingly pink face.

"It was pizza!" El whined. "Not Eggos." Max snorted, but then seemed to appear as though she was mulling over what they were talking about. El waited with bated breath. Max could be so stubborn; once she made her mind up about something it was hard to change it.

"Fine. I'll meet the nerds." Max sighed finally. El perked up, a happy smile pulling at her lips until Max turned to look at her with what could only be described as an evil smirk.

"But on one condition."

El eyed her best friend suspiciously.

"What is it?" She asked nervously, though in her sinking heart she knew the answer.

"You have to let me teach you how to skateboard finally!" Max grinned.

El blanched. Ever since they first met, Max had been trying to convince her to try it. She had managed to evade her skateboard lessons thus far, but it seems Max was a cruel negotiator, who knew when she had El over a barrel. There was already a victorious smirk stretching lazily across Max's lips.

"Deal." El mumbled. Her face looked as though Max had kicked a puppy right in front of her.

"Deal." Max agreed, shaking El's hand firmly and that was that.

They moved on to more important things, like who had won the 'dispose of Troy ideas' contest.

...

A/N

A sincere thank you to AliKattt for being my first reviewer. And what a review! I had a smile on my face the rest of the day. Cheers :)