Author's note: El is on the same track as in Season 2, finding her way to Terry Ive's house. The boys are doing things a little differently, though, now that Max has shaken things up. I'm really looking forward to writing some of these Billy and Max scenes, too. He's the same Billy, but just a little different.
El stared at the door for a long moment. She didn't know who would answer the door, or what she was going to say or do when they did. She only knew that Mama was here. Mama.
She had a Mama.
For most of her life, she'd never even thought about it. She'd had a Papa, and that was all. It hadn't been until after escaping from that miserable lab that she'd even realized that everyone had a Mama. Mike and Will and everyone on the TV she watched and everyone in those books Hopper read to her... they all had a Mama, except for her.
Except that she DID have a Mama. It was just that people had been lying, LYING to her for her entire life. Papa had lied to her, or at least, never mentioned that she had a Mama. Hopper had lied to her. That much was certain. He'd even had photos of Mama hidden away in a box, and he'd flat out lied to El's face, telling her that Mama was gone. But now she knew better.
Pushing away all those thoughts, trying to focus on the present and forget the past, El knocked on the door.
There was no answer, so she knocked again.
"Go away, I'm not interested," came an unfamiliar voice from inside.
It was obvious to El that the woman on the other side of the door didn't want to be bothered, but she NEEDED to see get inside. With her face scrunching up in frustration, she started smacking her hand against the door, and didn't stop until it suddenly swung open.
A little gold chain kept it from opening more than a few inches, but a woman's face appeared in the gap, wearing an annoyed expression.
"Look, I don't want your thin mints, alright kid?"
"Thinmints?" El asked, suddenly more confused than frustrated. She had never heard that word before.
"Or your religious mumbo jumbo. Whatever you're sellin, I ain't buying. Ok?" The woman slammed the door in El's face, startling her.
El stared at the locked door that stood between her and Mama. Her timid confusion at the very unfamiliar situation was quickly draining away to be replaced by anger. She was tired of everyone lying to her. She was tired of hiding from the Bad Men. She was tired of living in a little cabin. She missed Mike with all her heart. And she wanted to meet the Mama that she'd gone her whole life without knowing. She was done with asking permission. No one was going to stand in her way this time.
She'd seen the little chain that kept the door locked. Focusing her mind, and imagining where it hung on the other side of the door, she slid it easily out of place and swung the door open. A single drop of blood fell from her nose.
The woman inside the house turned around and stared at her in shock. El didn't care who she was or what she thought of the strange girl with a bloody nose on her doorstep.
"I want to see Mama."
Max fell out of step from the other four as they pushed through the front doors and headed for the bike rack.
"I'll see you guys at the arcade," she said.
"You can ride with us," Dustin offered. "Mike's bike has pegs for a rider."
"No thanks," Mike said.
"Or you just... you know, ride your board and hang on to my bike," Dustin tried. "I can pull you."
"My 'brother's supposed to drive me home," Max said. "My mom thinks I can't skate all the way there. Like it's dangerous to skate on the roads, or something. Like there are even enough cars on the roads here to watch out for."
"...Okay," Dustin said, clearly looking for another way.
"Look, it's fine, I'll just ask my mom to make Billy drop me off at the arcade in an hour. I'll meet you guys there. Now I have to go. Billy gets pissed when I'm late."
"Uh, Ok, well we'll save you a spot on Dig Dug," Dustin called after Max as she left. She waved impatiently to them as she rounded the corner of the middle school and headed for the high school parking lot. Her "brother" was leaned up against his car, smoking a cigarette. But he wasn't alone. Three other high schoolers, including a freckle faced boy and two girls, were with him. She slowed her pace to give them time to finish up their conversation, because Billy would only be annoyed if she came into the middle of his so much older and so much cooler friends.
The highschoolers departed after a minute, and Max timed her arrival just right. Billy would be more agreeable about taking her to the arcade if he wasn't already annoyed. She got in the car and rode in silence for the first few minutes. This was their new routine, now that they lived in Hawkins. Back in California, Max had ridden the bus home and hadn't had to put up with Billy's attitude as part of her daily ride home. Here in Hawkins, though, she lived off the bus route, so they rode in silence, not asking each other how their day was or gossiping about their classmates. Max assumed that was what you called a dysfunctional family.
She watched the trees and mailboxes pass for another minute before she came out with the question.
"Can you please take me to the arcade later today?"
She'd said it without any attitude in her voice. She'd asked instead of demanded. No one could say she'd given Billy any reason to say no.
"No."
"What? Why not?" She demanded. "It would take you five minutes, the speed you drive."
"No," he repeated.
"Don't be an ass Billy," she argued. "I did your half of the dishes last week, just like we agreed, so you owe me a trip to the arcade."
"Hey, watch the language, shitbird," Billy said.
"Just give me one good reason why you won't!"
"Because, Max," Billy said, exasperated. "I have a date tonight."
"Oh, so that means your going to spend all day in your room doing your hair?" Max said.
"You want me to throw that thing out the window?" Billy asked, half reaching for her skateboard.
"Ugh, forget it," Max said. "I'll just ask mom."
"Good luck with that," Billy told her. "Dad and Susan are gonna out shopping until late again. And don't even think about skating to the arcade. You know Susan thinks its too dangerous."
"Like you care," Max said.
"Hey, like it or not, I'm responsible for you," Billy said, in a tone that suggested he didn't like it any more than she did. "So forget about the arcade today. You can go some other time."
Max half groaned, half growled in frustration and threw herself back in her seat.
"Do you think she's still coming?" Dustin asked, looking at his watch.
"For the hundredth time, I don't know," Lucas complained. "Stop asking me."
The three of them huddled around Will, who was tearing it up on Asteroid. He couldn't match Dustin and Lucas at Dragon's Lair, and it had been a long time since he and Mike had the top score at Dig Dug, but Asteroids was Will's game. His forehead wrinkled in concentration as he blasted away at the drifting polymorphs. The others cheered him on with plenty of gusto, at least when Dustin and Lucas weren't asking why Max hadn't joined them.
"Here it comes!" Lucas said eagerly.
"That's it!" Dustin shouted. "That's it. There it is! A new record!"
"He's not even done yet," Lucas added, grinning.
"He's about to get another 2,000," Mike said, his voice quieter but just as intense.
"It looks like 4,000 to me," Dustin said.
Boom!
Will's luck finally ran out. He jumped away from the game and pretended to yell a great "Noooooo" to the sky, but he couldn't shake the ear to ear smile from his face. Lucas jumped in and high fived him.
"Just wait," Lucas said to Will. "I've been saving up to buy Asteroids for the Atari. Once I get it, I'll practice every night, and then I'll come for you high score."
"I'll be ready!" Will said confidently.
Dustin watched the scene play out for a minute. He loved seeing Will in his element, God-knew that Will hadn't gotten nearly enough things to celebrate in his life, especially in the past year. It was great to see him whenever he got a win, whether at life or in a game.
One of the other very few times where Will got to win big was in their D&D games, but Mike hadn't been up for DMing much lately, and the others just didn't have his flair for story telling, so they didn't play much without him.
Will finished his celebration dance with Lucas and then ushered Mike toward Asteroids. "It your turn," Will said.
"Don't break your streak," Mike replied. "Play another round."
"I'm out of quarters," Will said, still just as happy as Dustin had ever seen him. "You play."
"Here," Mike said, handing over his own quarters to Will. "You can't stop in the middle of a streak. It's a rule. Keep going."
Will bought Mike's excuse and happily used the gifted quarters to start another round. Though Mike's logic was sound (one should never stop in the middle of a winning streak), Dustin saw right through him. Mike just didn't have the heart to play today. Dustin felt for him, but he couldn't think of what else to do for his friend. Sometimes Mike seemed Ok, but other times it seemed there was nothing that could cheer him up. Even the things that he used to love just didn't mean as much as they used to. Dustin knew why, but he had no idea how to make it better.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dustin spotted an unfriendly face in the crowd of kids playing the arcade machines. He slapped Lucas on the arm at pointed. Troy was heading their way, though it looked like he wasn't paying attention or hadn't noticed them yet.
"What is it?" Will asked.
"Keep your eyes on the game," Mike encouraged. "You can't stop now."
The three of them closed ranks around Will as Troy approached. The kid who had once been two grades ahead of them had actually been held back last year, which had only made him meaner. They didn't run into him too often these days, but they tried to keep their distance when it did happen.
Suddenly, Troy looked up and spotted them. He froze in his tracks.
Dustin didn't know what to make of it. The bigger, meaner boy had once given them a little bit of respect back when El had rightly taken care of him, but that had been a year ago, and Troy's memory of the experience had faded fast. He'd been back to his vindictive old self not long at all after their trouble at the quarry. But now, here in the arcade, Dustin saw a fresh note of fear in Troy's eyes.
They stared at him for a long and painful moment, and he stared back. Then he spun on his heel and left. He kept walking, out through the door, and then headed off down the sidewalk. Dustin gaped as he watched through the arcade's big front windows. There Troy was, leaving them alone and heading home as fast as dignity would permit.
"Well I'll be a stuffed-" Dustin began.
"What just happened?" Lucas asked.
"I have no idea," Dustin told him.
"What?" Will asked, his eyes still on the game, as Mike had told him.
"Troy..." Lucas said.
"I guess we scared him off," Dustin said, barely believing it himself.
"I have been getting a little taller," Lucas suggested. A second later, he glanced at his watch. Reflexively, Dustin did the same. Max was over an hour late. Had she ditched them?
"I guess it's a good day, then," Will said. Dustin blinked, needing a second to remember that Will was talking about Troy.
"Yeah," Dustin agreed, not quite as boisterously as he would have liked. He noticed Mike, then. Mike wasn't watching Will play Asteroids anymore. He was staring off at at one of the walls, lost in thought. The smile on his face was at once happy and sad. Dustin couldn't describe it any other way. Seeing Troy must have triggered a happy memory for Mike.
"That reminds me," Lucas said, bringing Dustin's mind back from where it had been wandering. "Will broke another record, so Keith owes us another slice."
"That's right," Dustin said, turning a full circle to look for the assistant manager of the Palace Arcade. The title was largely honorary. Keith was barely a half step above the regular arcade employees. Dustin spotted him, with his purple shirt and long black hair, over by the pizza counter. Perfect. He would have to walk all the way over to them, all the way back to the pizza counter, and all the way over to them again. Dustin waved to catch Keith's eye, and then motioned him over, as imperiously as possible.
Keith rolled his eyes, and took his sweet time sauntering up to the Asteroids machine.
"What are the fantastic four up to today?" He asked sarcastically.
"Save it, Keith," Dustin said. "We want our free slice."
He pretended not to understand.
"Don't play dumb this time," Lucas warned him. "Will broke his high score again. Bring us the free slice."
"Hi," Will said politely, still keeping his eyes on the game. He was the only one of the four who didn't have the heart to take part in their semi-good natured hatred of Keith.
"Again, Byers?" Keith asked, exasperated. "Ugh, fine. I'll be right back."
Dustin hoped that Will was soaking in every bit of the glory that he could, politely or otherwise. Victories didn't come easy or often.
Lucas gripped Will's shoulder and congratulated him once more. Then he said, "You know what, guys? I'm actually out of quarters, too. And I have some homework that I didn't finish during study hour. Since this is a Thursday..."
"You're going home early?" Dustin asked in disbelief. "But the night's still young."
"Like I said, out of quarters," Lucas told him. "Sorry, man. If I'd known yesterday that you wanted to come to the arcade today, I could have made another few dollars mowing lawns. Sorry guys, if I didn't have homework I'd stay all night."
He slapped Will on the shoulder one last time, and slipped out the door. Dustin watched him mount his bike and pedal off with a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Keith was back, with a single slice of pizza on a greasy paper plate.
"Palace-Arcade-Inc-thanks-you-for-being-one-of-our-valued-customers-and-congratulates-you-on-your-victory," Keith rambled off from memory, for what might have been the thousandth time in his life. Keith hated the Palace Aracade's owner and his silly sales gimmicks, and Dustin loved to push his buttons. He finished with the Palace Arcade motto, "Play Hard. Live Hard."
Dustin looked down at the free slice. "Nuh-uh, I don't think so," Dustin said. "Try again."
"Do you want the free slice, or not?" Keith complained.
"Yeah, we want a real slice, Keith," Dustin said. "This is half a slice, at best."
"Fine," Keith grumbled. "Wait a minute. Where's your fourth musketeer? Where's Sinclair?"
"He went home early," Dustin said dismissively.
Keith looked around the arcade with narrowed eyes, as if he expected Lucas to be hiding somewhere, ready to get the jump on him. He scowled back at Dustin. "I'm keeping my eyes on you."
Suddenly it hit him. The nagging feeling in Dustin's mind. He knew where Lucas was going. "Son of a-"
Hopper closed the door to his truck and trudged up the muddy, leaf strewn path to his cabin. Today had been one of his worst in a while. Joyce was worried because Will seemed to be getting worse. That worried Hopper, and he wanted to help, but there was almost nothing he could do. All the while, his mind was weighed down with thought of his fight with El. There were so many things he wished he'd said differently, but at the same time, the idea of apologizing to a kid who needed to learn how to survive in the real world was too much for him. He'd spent the entire day half expecting to get another call from Dr. Owens, full of veiled threats about El. Hopper's nerves were stretched about to their breaking point.
He deftly stepped over the trip wire, which he was encouraged to see was still right where it should be, and climbed the steps to his porch. He gave his special knock at the door.
There was no answer.
Feeling a little panicked, he gave the special knock again.
When there was no answer a second time, Hopper grabbed the knob and tried to open the door that should have been secured with about a dozen locks.
It swung open easily.
His heart started racing as his mind conjured up images of El walking alone through the woods again. He pictured her walking until she stumbled across a chain link fence. The sign on the fence read Hawkins National Lab. He imagined white vans racing after her. He imagined them dragging El back down into that place, where she'd remain locked up for the rest of her life.
"El!" He shouted as he burst through the door. It was dark and quiet inside.
"Oh, God, please," he said to himself as his eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of her.
There were papers and photos lying on the floor. Hopper rushed over to them, confused. The papers lay next to an open cardboard box. On the side of the box, in his own handwriting, were the words "Hawkins Lab."
His heart stopped.
"No, no, no," he said to himself as he spun around and sprinted back out of the cabin.
If El had opened that box, then she would have found pictures of Terry Ives, and that might lead her to the house where the woman who had once been El's mother sat in a comatose state. Hopper was certain the men from the Lab kept an eye on that place. If El showed up there...
He jumped into his truck and tore off, his tires throwing mud as they spun. He HAD to find her before the agents did.
Author's note: So as you've probably noticed, this version of Season 2 is moving just a little slower. So in this story, Dart hasn't triggered Will into having his possession experience with the Mind Flayer on the school field, which means that Hopper hasn't followed Will's map down into the tunnels. Wow, season 2 moves fast, doesn't it? So in our version of the story, Will is NOT possessed yet, and Hopper is still going about his day job at Hawkins PD, which means that he comes home from a normal/stressful day of work to find that El has run off after Terry Ives. The story is really starting to diverge from Season 2 now.
