"What do you mean it wasn't you? Who did it then?" I don't mean to sound as troubled as I do, but I'm freaking out. On my face is an expression of fear, and I'm worried I'm scaring Eleven by the exact same expression that she is wearing on her face.

Her eyes are wide and her lips are parted, and in this moment she looks exactly like the small girl I found that night.

"I- I don't know... I mean... I tried to push her off of me, so some of it was me. But not all of it," she stutters to get out an explanation. Who else was with us who had superpowers, other than El and Lilith?

I try to recall that day, to think of anything that could have peeled Lilith off of El. Some of it was El... What if she's mistaken? What if she's more powerful than she knows? Then again, she seems so sure... What happened that day?

The blood from Twelve's nose drips onto the ground like crimson raindrops, and I realise she must be drained after not only closing the gate, but killing the monster too.

Suddenly, a strong force pushes Twelve back against a tree, in fact, it pushes us all to the ground.

I get up and run to Eleven who is coughing and sputtering on the ground, blood dripping from her nose and I hold her close and stroke her hair and telling her that she's going to be okay.

I look down and see that there is already bruising around her throat, and I feel a pang of guilt hit me.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, stroking her cheek gently, "I'm so sorry, El this is all my fault!"

"No," she replies, her voice husky and strained, "No, Mike."

"It is! I'm so sorry!" I squeeze my eyes shut and I can feel cold wet tears rolling down my cheeks. I'm so stupid, so weak.

I look up to see my friends gawking at me in horror, Will wiping his nose with his sleeve as he looks at Eleven with a puzzled expression.

Eleven looks up at me with terror in her eyes, and all I want to do is hold her. I pull her into my arms, holding her and holding her, letting her fear seep away into me. I need to help her. I need to stop her from drowning, I need to pull her out of the water and warm her ice cold hands.

But one thought won't stop nagging at me from the back of my mind. One recollection of that day that I refuse to consider as an answer...

Will wiping his nose with his sleeve as he looks at Eleven with a puzzled expression.

I hold her for a while, her arms wrapped around me so tightly I'm scared I'll suffocate. Nevertheless, I continue to hold her close to me, keeping her warm and safe.

I sneak a glance at my clock, which reads 8:26am. I jump up and remember we have school today! I pull Eleven up our of bed and we run down the stairs to the basement to gather her clothes.

As she dresses, I run back up the stairs and get dressed myself. When I return to the dining room, I find my mum feeding Holly her breakfast, even though she is old enough to feed herself now. I think that my mum just likes having someone to fuss over, especially now with everything that's happened, Nancy and I can take care of ourselves.

Eleven eventually makes it up the stairs, and she's wearing a pink sweater with my sister' sold denim jacket, jeans and sneakers. She's also pinned a little piece of her fringe back, she looks beautiful.

I sit down at the table and munch in my breakfast, El sitting beside me doing the same. Our breakfast consists of the usual, Eggos, but I don't mind how often we eat them because I know that they're Eleven's favourite.

Eleven is having a conversation with my mum, which I can't really hear because of the constant voices in my head.

Will wiping his nose with his sleeve

But it's impossible. Maybe he just had a runny nose and needed to wipe it? Maybe he knocked his head when he fell and his nose started to bleed? But then again... It's the only possible explanation. He has been acting strange since he got back. What happened to him in that place is there something he's hiding from us?

"Michael!" My mother yells across the table, interrupting my thoughts. My eyes snap up to meet hers, and she looks concerned. I glance at Eleven beside me, who wears the same look as my mum.

"Y-yeah?" I stutter, looking back at my mum wide-eyed.

She shakes her head looking down at the table, "Michael, could you please take Eleven's plate to the sink? She's finished her breakfast."

I jump up hastily, "y-yeah sure!"

I collect the dishes from the table and place them in the sink.

I stand at the sink for a few seconds, contemplating the idea of Will having powers. That would explain everything. The strange behaviour. Random things breaking whenever he gets upset. The tree falling down and Will proceeding to sip his nose.

Now I really am curious as to what happened to him in the Upside Down. I know that the monster got him, but what happened after that?

My thoughts are disrupted my the feeling of Eleven's hand slipping into mine. Her fingers are icy cold as they lace through mine, and my immediate reaction is to use both of my hands to warm hers. I hold her hand in both of mine, rubbing and warming her until the feeling of ice is gone.

I meet her eyes and she smiles at me, yet there's something else in her dark eyes that I just can't place.

"I think I know who did it. Who pushed Twelve off of you," I whisper under my breath so my mum can't hear.

Eleven cocks her head and offers me a questioning look, asking, "who?"

My voice drops even lower, I dread to say his name, "Will."

A/N: hellooooo so I guess we know who did it now, I'm surprised no one picked it up back in chapter 16 haha. Big things are coming your way so prepare for that!