El stared up into the expressionless face (or lack thereof) of Fellbeast, who made clicking noises to look her over with his sonar. He looked a bit like a giant, bald bat, his wings folded in and his head cocked as he looked down at her.
Slowly, carefully, she reached up to touch him. If he hurt her...she'd break his neck. If he hurt anyone she would break his neck. The same went for Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. She didn't trust them. Not now.
She ignored the part of her that had said that she was being silly. Fellbeast had helped save them all from the giant bird that had chased them to the clubhouse. She'd seen the injuries that Nina had gotten trying to draw the thing away from them. Still, El was unclear about what the girl had been doing. Was she on Fellbeast's back? It seemed possible, but El wasn't really sure. Still...that was before. Before she'd found out that her new friend who had gone through hell in Hawkins' Lab just like her...she wasn't her friend at all.
Friends don't lie and Nina or Sara or whatever she was...she had lied to all of them. She'd gotten Will to lie to all of them too. She had trusted her. She had trusted both of them and it turned out that they were both liars. They weren't her friends. Maybe they'd never been.
Worst of all...her dad...well...it looked like he wasn't going to be her dad anymore. Why would he need her when he had his real daughter back? She knew he was glad that she was alive and well. She couldn't really fault him for that, but...where did that leave her?
For a moment, she considered breaking Fellbeast's neck despite the fact that he hadn't hurt her. No one was here. They wouldn't know. All she'd have to do is tell them that he'd gone rogue and tried to kill her and no one would fault her for it. Mike, Max, Lucas, and Dustin would back her up. Will wouldn't. He had betrayed her. None of her friends had betrayed her before, but she understood how much it hurt. Recalling how Lucas had reacted to thinking she was a traitor...she understood.
Fellbeast made a few more clicking noises before he nuzzled against her. This surprised her so much that he nearly shoved her over, but he wasn't trying to be rude or hurt her. He was rubbing up against her like a cat. I giant winged...bald cat. She fixed her jaw, forcing herself to not get upset. He wasn't mean. He had protected her and her friends. Just because he had joined their side because of Sara didn't make him any less on their side. Warily, she wrapped her arms around his head, hugging his head towards her. The noises it made were suddenly much louder. She could have sworn that Fellbeast was purring and that made her laugh.
"Hey, El."
She looked up and saw Mike, looking at her and Fellbeast like they were the most insane pair he'd ever seen. Maybe they were. Fellbeast grumbled a bit at the interruption, but El released him. He took his as his queue to go, shaking out his wings and taking off into the sky.
Mike joined El in staring up, watching the beast fly off. "I've seen a lot of things," Mike began, "but I never thought I'd see a dragon."
"Do you think that's what he is?" El asked. "Sara might disagree." There was a bite in her voice when she said Sara's name. Perfect Miss Sara. She could get into people's heads, she could turn a monster into a friend, she was smart. El was used to people being smarter than her. Mike was smarter than her. Dustin was smarter than her. All of her friends were smarter than her, really. That never made her feel bad, though. Not before Sara. Sara made her feel small and stupid. She didn't try to, but that didn't mean anything.
Mike, however, was kind of dumb when it came to girls. Most girls. El was different. He could read her like a book. Not that she was making it hard. He wasn't surprised, though. Hopper had just dropped a bomb on her. He had tried to talk to her about it, but El wasn't in a talking kind of mood. Mike didn't think that she'd have a problem talking to him though. "I don't think she wanted to hurt you, El."
She turned and glared at him. "She lied, Mike," El growled. "She lied. Will lied. Friends. Don't. Lie."
"Can you really blame her, though?" Mike asked. "I mean, we're all practically strangers. And Hopper said that she found out right after she got you out of the in-between. She was probably scared. I mean...what about when you were messing with the compasses?"
She glared at him but didn't say anything. She really didn't like him using that against her...justifyable as it may be. "That was different," she said, turning away from him and looking at one of the hellbenders as they prowled around the house, sniffing to make sure nothing got too close.
"Not really," Mike said. "I mean, yeah, friends don't lie, but...they do forgive."
El's mouth turned into a hard frown. She couldn't deny that. Lucas had forgiven her. Could she forgive Sara though? "I'm scared, Mike," she admitted at last.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her into him. "What're you scared of?"
El bit her lip and considered the question for a few minutes before she knew the answer. "She's going to replace me," she said, keeping her gaze down.
"What?" Mike exclaimed, unable to keep the amused smile off his face. "You're afraid she's going to replace you?"
"She's his daughter," she said, her eyes glazing over as they met his, hurt that he was amused by something that horrified her so badly.
"You're the chief's daughter too," Mike said, taking her cheek in his hand and brushing away a tear that was starting to spill from her eyes. He placed his forehead against hers and forced her to meet his eyes. "If she comes back to Hawkins with us you won't be losing a dad. You'll be gaining a sister. Don't you remember how excited you were when you thought Nancy was going to be your sister?"
She considered his thoughts on the matter. He did make sense. Still...there was doubt. "He'll stop caring about me, though. He won't love me anymore."
Mike closed the distance between their lips and kissed her softly. When he pulled away he fixed her with his eyes, which were soft and understanding. "Love doesn't work that way, El. I didn't love Nancy any less because Holly was born. Besides...I think you'll like having a sister."
"Like Kali?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. She hadn't told anyone about Kali...just Mike.
Mike glanced at the house. Based off what El had told him about Kali she wasn't exactly the type of person you wanted to associate with. He was aware that El had killed before, but that was different. That was in self-defense. That was to protect her friends. Kali killed for revenge. They weren't the same. And while he didn't know Sara very well, he did know Will. Will had seen into her head. He would never have lied about Sara's true origins if he thought that she couldn't be trusted. He trusted Will's judgment on this. He just hoped El would too.
"I really don't think that Sara's like Kali," Mike said. "Will would have told us."
"Will lied," El repeated. Obviously, she wasn't going to let go of that so easily.
"And I'm sure he had his reasons," Mike countered. "Look, I know this is hard. It must suck. Like REALLY suck, but did you ever think that Sara might have wanted to keep who she was a secret because she was afraid you and Hopper wouldn't like her?"
She went silent for a moment and considered his words for a moment. "I guess I hadn't thought of that."
"I'm sure that she had a good reason," Mike smiled, sure he was getting through to her.
Unfortunately, her brow furrowed into a scowl again. "Why do you trust her so much?"
"I don't trust her," he sighed. "I trust Will, and Will trusts her. We can talk to her, and Will, in the morning, but I think...just maybe...you should cool down before you talk to them. Plus...Sara kind of looks like shit. She could use some rest."
She looked away from him to one of the hellbenders, who was looking at them in its odd way. This one's face was half gray and speckled with white splotches. He sat down and cocked his head at them. He almost looked like a dog. El wished she could have been able to make the demogorgon kind rather than killing it. It seemed like the creatures from the upside down were excellent allies to have.
"Alright," she said at last. "I'll talk to her tomorrow."
"And try to be nice," Mike added, a hint of sternness in his voice.
Rolling her eyes, El agreed, "And try to be nice."
With a smile, Mike said, "Good. Now...what do you want to do?"
El gave him a sly smile before wrapping her arms around his neck. He'd gotten a lot taller. He was about a head taller than her now. She didn't mind, though. She liked it. Though, she would have liked him still even if he was too short to kiss her. She'd just have to bend over to reach him. "Well...there's no one out here...and I think we can find something to do."
Mike glanced over at a darker area where he was pretty sure no one would be able to see them from the house. El as good as read his mind and started to yank him into the shadows. Once they reached the wall they were both laughing like a pair of kids, but that didn't last long. All it took for them to quiet down was when Mike pulled her tightly against him and gave her another kiss, this one longer and harder.
Okay so...I know no one asked for Joyce and Hopper, but they're coming next! I have a solid game plan now. Then some Lumax, Bev, and Steve. After that is a surprise. I'll maybe put some Jonathan and Nancy in with Hopper and Joyce, but I'm excited to actually know where this is going. I already knew, but I have it in order now. But behold! MILEVEN! Look at these two, growing up and acting like horny teenagers.