Tuesday, March 11, 1986

It's been a little over a week since Mike came home, and he's had to adjust to being back with everyone. He never wanted to be alone for more than an hour or two, and usually, his mom was with him, at least, during the school day until Nancy and Holly got home, and then she'd go to work and the party would come over and continue filling him in on everything he'd missed over the last few months.

The day the party reunited, they stayed for hours, Dustin flipping out over Mike's powers and asking him a million questions, whereas Mike had replied with,

"Dude, I've only known about them for like, two months, for all I know that's all I can do."

He didn't go outside much, even now, scared that they would be out looking for him, so he usually just went out at night. The Wednesday after Mike came home, he somehow managed to get El to go home with Hopper after staying at the Wheeler's for two days, and convinced her to go to school, which she was pretty iffy about, but did as he told her, he didn't want her to have to be held back due to too many days out of school.

"El broke Troy's nose." Dustin told him the other day. Mike looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"He was talking crap about you so I may or may not have used my powers and tripped him and he fell on his face." She shrugged. It was the first time he really smiled since he got back, other than when Bryan brought Rosie home.

Today, El was home alone, waiting for Hopper to get back from a call so he could take her to Mike's house. She kept herself busy doing homework, until the phone rang. Groaning, she got up off the couch and went to the kitchen and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Jane." El's eyes widened, and then narrowed. It was Kali.

"Kali." She hissed.

"Wait, what's wrong? I figured you'd be happy to hear from me."

"I would be, under different circumstances."

"Look, I'm sorry I haven't called in a couple months, I-"

"Oh I know exactly why you haven't."

"But-Wait, what do you mean you know?"

"Mike told me." She said simply.

"He told you? How?"

"He's home. But you obviously didn't know that, because you left him to die."

"How the hell did he get home?"

"I don't know, and he doesn't either, but you sure as hell got some explaining to do, and you better start right now."

Kali spent the next twenty minutes explaining her side of the story, how they captured her, how she made a deal with them, how she trained Mike, and how she escaped and planned on coming back for Mike.

"They weren't going to kill him, El, I know that for a fact. They just wanted information."

"They had a gun to his head, Kali, that seems like they were gonna kill him to me. Do you know how terrified he's been since he came home? How much you hurt him? You just left him!"

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave him, but they weakened me, and he isn't strong enough to take on so many people yet."

"Bull. Mike is stronger than you think."

"I...Look, we had a plan to get him out, tomorrow. We were going to leave tonight and I was going to tell you everything that's happened and we were going to get him. Now, we don't have to do that."

"Who's we?"

"Oh, um, I'll uh, I'll explain everything then, Ja-I mean El. There's a lot to talk about. I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up.

"Kali? What the hell!" She exclaimed and slammed the phone down, running a hand through her hair. Well, I guess today is a good day to tell everyone about our phone calls, she thought, and plopped back down on the couch, completely ignoring her homework.

When Hopper got home and took her to Mike's, she was strangely quiet during the ride, so he asked,

"What's wrong? I figured you'd be bursting with energy about going to see Mike."

"I need to tell you something." She said, after a few minutes.

"Okay... Go ahead."

"I've talked to Kali." He looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Um, you've talked to Kali? When did that happen?"

"About an hour before you got home. She called me. I used to talk to her before Mike was taken." She talked in a low voice, as if scared he would flip out on her. "When you weren't home."

"What the hell, El? Why didn't you tell any of us?" He demanded.

"Because it wasn't that big of a deal then! You didn't like how I went to see her so I know you wouldn't want me talking to her."

"Yeah, because she's dangerous! She wanted you to help kill people, El."

"I know, but she's changed, dad. At least, she had before everything went down with Mike."

"I hope you know you're going to tell him. As soon as we get there, you need to tell him."

"But-"

"No buts, El." She sighed.

"Fine." She crossed her arms.

"What did you talk to her about today?"

"She was going to tell me about Mike, and why I didn't hear from her for two months, I told her I knew, and told her that Mike was home. She said that they had a plan to get him out, tomorrow, and now that he's already out, they're coming anyway."

"Who is they?"

"I asked the same thing, and she said she'd explain tomorrow." She ran a hand through her hair. "We're in a mess, aren't we?"

"Yeah, no kidding. I'm serious, you are going to tell Mike as soon as we get there, and I'll be there with you in case anything gets out of hand."

"What's that supposed to mean? Mike wouldn't hurt me."

"I know he wouldn't, not on purpose, but we still don't know what he can actually do, and I don't want him to get mad and freak out on you or anyone else, okay?" She rolled her eyes and nodded. The rest of the ride was quiet, while El kept thinking of ways to bring it up to Mike, but she didn't exactly have to worry about it because Hopper brought it up the second he saw Mike.

"Hey, kid, you mind going down to the basement with me and El? We need to talk about a few things." Mike raised an eyebrow but stood up from his spot between Max and Dustin on the couch.

"Is everything okay, Hop?" Max asked.

"Oh yeah, everything's fine. El just needs to talk to Mike is all." She still looked skeptical and Dustin and Lucas looked like they wanted to say something, but didn't. Hopper shut the basement door and the three sat at the D and D table.

"What is it? Did something happen?" Mike asked, biting his lip.

"No, not necessarily. El here hasn't been all that truthful with us is all."

"Dad! Stop making it sound worse than it is!" She exclaimed, smacking his arm. Mike looked back and forth between them. She took a breath, and said quietly, "I talked to Kali today." He stared at her for a moment.

"You talked to Kali today." It was a statement. "As in the Kali who left me at the lab."

"Yes. Let me explain, okay?" He crossed his arms, leaning back on his chair. He nodded for her to go on. "I talked to her, way before you were taken, on the phone. It wasn't all the time, and it was just for a few minutes at a time. I didn't think it was a big deal at the time, and then, it wasn't. She called me a little over an hour ago and..." She explained everything Kali had told her. "...they'll be here tomorrow." Mike didn't say anything for a few minutes and finally, he said,

"They? Who's they?"

"I have no idea." She says, honestly. "I wish I knew. I get it if you're mad at me, I totally understand. I-"

"I'm not mad. Pretty annoyed, but not mad. It's just, we've always said that friends don't lie, but you've been lying."

"Not lying, I just didn't tell you. Like I said, it wasn't a big deal then. At least I'm telling you about it now and the phone call I had with her today."

"Look kid, I didn't know anything about this either, until today, if that makes you feel any better." Mike rolled his eyes. "I guess not. I understand if you're angry, but don't blame her."

"I'm not blaming anyone. And I'm not mad."

"You sound pretty mad to me." Hopper pointed out. Mike clenched his jaw.

"If you keep telling me I'm mad, then I'll get mad." He said, finally. "I'm mad at Kali, so when I see her tomorrow, I might just accidentally let that anger show and either set her on fire, or she'll get doused with water." He shrugged. "Take your pick."

"No fire, please." El said. "She does deserve to get doused in water, I'd say, but that doesn't mean you should do it." He cracked a smile.

"We'll just have to see what happens, won't we?" The father and daughter looked at each other nervously. "Don't get your panties in a twist, the worst I could or would do is douse her with water. I wouldn't actually set her on fire, no matter how bad I want to."

"Alright, ya little badass." Hopper chuckled, leaning over and ruffling Mike's hair. "Keep that confidence up, just don't loose control, got it?"

"Yes sir." Mike nodded.

"I'm gonna go upstairs, explain everything to everyone up there. Come back up when you're ready." He told them, and left them alone. Mike looked at El, who stared at her hands, biting her lip.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled when she noticed him looking at her. He sighed.

"Come here." He told her, standing up. She hesitated but grabbed his outstretched hand. He led her to the couch and plopped down, wrapping an arm around her. "Don't be sorry. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your shoes."

"I should have told you though, way before now."

"I agree, but it's in the past. Now, like I said, Kali is gonna know I'm mad, and she's gonna have to explain to me why she left to my face, and then I'll consider forgiving her." He said, playing with her fingers. She smiled slightly, and then frowned. "What?"

"You kinda scared me for a minute there." She said, quietly. He raised an eyebrow.

"I scared you? I wouldn't hurt her, El, or anyone. Not on purpose."

"No, I know. I just... the way you were talking... it didn't seem like you. A few months ago, you never would have said something like that. You've changed." He sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry. I guess I changed because of all that's happened." He shrugged.

"I completely understand, Mike." He squeezed her hand gently.

"I want to be carefree Mike, just as much as you and everyone else do." He said. "But knowing that they could come after me, or you, or any of us really, at anytime just has me on edge. I'm terrified that something could happen to you guys. I want to laugh, smile, be a teenager, but after everything that's happened, I just can't do it. Not anymore."

"I know." She put her head on his chest and hugged him. "I'm sorry all of this has happened to you, Mike. It's all my fault."

"I've told you once and I'll tell you again, it's not your fault. It's not like you asked for all this to happen. And I shouldn't even complain, I know you had it a lot worse than I did. You went through all that for twelve years, and I only did for like, four months." She rolled her eyes.

"We both have a right complain, together." She stated. He chuckled lightly and kissed her on the forehead.

"Yeah, together."