A/N: Hello all! I promise, I am alive and well. I know it's been four weeks since my last update, which is unacceptable to me, but here I am. Not to make excuses, but I have still been adjusting to my new job, and then the coronavirus came in and threw everything off. I was sick for about a week (fever for four days, painful uncontrollable cough for about a week and a half), but I am feeling a lot better now. I hope you are all managing to stay safe and healthy out there. I also thank you for reviewing the last chapter, and I hope you all like this one!

Guest: Lucas did voice to El in his basement that what she and Mike did was wrong. I just feel like he is in the position to be a bit more candid with Mike than with El.

CalvinHobbesGatsby: Maybe she is on the something after all.

Guest: Yes, at least Lindsey had the opportunity to get everything out that she needed to say. And your points about El will be addressed soon.

UnoPeso22: I agree that Lindsey is completely justified to be feeling used and hurt. I hope you enjoy this chapter. And no, I have never explored archiveofourown, but I am always open to more exposure.

Shrike176: Thank you. I agree, Mike handled himself as well as he could in that situation. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Iron. exe: Yeah, we definitely saw some of Lindsey's darker side with the ultimatum and the "safe option" comment. I know a lot of you were waiting to see a little more into her.

Phieillydinyia: Those questions will definitely be coming up soon!

JAX001993: I'm not writing this with the intent of you guys disliking El, I promise. I also see what you are saying about the ultimatum. It does go to show the point that Mike pushed her to, though. I hope you like this chapter.

Niko: Yes, things are certainly complicated. And yeah, once you find yourself making an ultimatum for your partner, it's time to reevaluate things.

Guest: Never apologize for a long review! I'm glad you liked the breakup scene, and all those concerns you raised about El going forward are completely valid. I hope you like where this story goes.

Guest: Thank you so much for saying that! I hope you like the rest of it.

Stranger Records: I agree, Lindsey doesn't know any better than to think that way because she doesn't know/understand Mileven. I hope you like this chapter.

Grievesforyou: Thank you. I appreciate that and hope you like this chapter.

LabAlley: Yeah, Mike and Lindsey's fallout was painful. Hopefully things end on a happy note and you enjoy the rest of the story!

Simon Samovar: The focus will be back on the angsty relationship stuff soon! Brad certainly won't be the primary focus of the remainder of this story.

Guest: Thank you. I'm glad you liked Lindsey's reaction. I hope you like this chapter too.

OdoMango: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the breakup and that you found it so lifelike. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or any of its original characters.

0-0-0

The rest of the week passed without further incident for El. Lindsey made no further contact with her, much to El's relief. The thought had crossed her mind that Lindsey may do something to try and physically or reputationally hurt her, especially because Lindsey's warning in the bathroom that day to stay away from Mike had replayed itself several times in El's mind. But, Max insisted that Lindsey was all talk and that El was likely safe from any retaliation, and El finally agreed that Max was probably right.

El also hadn't seen Brad for anything longer than a brief glimpse in the hallway in between classes, and Brad never seemed to spot her in the crowd. Lindsey and Brad both seemed to no longer be a factor in her life, and El struggled with cold feet one day, almost telling Max to call off their revenge plan on Brad. After all, Mike had told her to leave it alone. But she couldn't. It seemed like whenever the thought crossed El's mind to forget about their plan, she happened to see Mike; and while his eye was healing a little each day, El still felt the fire burning in her stomach at the thought of him getting hurt by that scumbag. It hurt even more that Mike still hadn't tried to talk to her, and while El knew that Brad had nothing to do with that part, she still believed that getting justice for what Brad had done would make her feel just a little bit better.

"So what are you up to this weekend?" Lucas asked Max as the three of them gathered at Max's locker after school.

"Just hanging out. Staying out of trouble," Max shrugged with a mischievous grin in El's direction.

"You better," Lucas said firmly, looking back and forth between the two girls.

"How is Mike doing?" El asked the question she had been dying to ask all week.

"He's okay," Lucas sighed. "The day everything happened, Lindsey got to chemistry before him and told their teacher they weren't working well together and asked for a new lab partner. So she was moved to the other side of the classroom and apparently hasn't even looked Mike's way."

"He hasn't tried to talk to me at all," El said. "He is still feeling guilty about what happened."

"Yeah, he is," Lucas agreed. "I think the weekend will be good for him. It'll give him a couple days to himself away from school to just clear his head and try to come to terms with everything. And I know it's hard for you, El, but you should keep giving him his space. You don't want to suffocate him."

"I know," El nodded. "That's what I've been trying to do all week. I'm trying to give him as much time and space as he needs, but I just wish I knew how long he is going to need."

"He probably doesn't even know that himself," Max said, wrapping her arm around El's shoulders. "But this weekend will be good for you, too. We can watch some movies, read some magazines. Oh! Maybe start Christmas shopping."

"Yeah, you two have fun this weekend," Lucas agreed. Max shared a look with El that said they both knew they would be doing much more than watching movies and hanging out. "And, El, I promise, I've known Mike almost my whole life. He will come talk to you when he's ready to talk about it."

El nodded and offered a small appreciative smile before hugging Lucas goodbye for the weekend. After Max gave him a hug and a kiss, she and El headed out of the school and to the parking lot to Max's car.

"Movies and magazines, huh?" El asked when she had gotten into the car and was pulling the seatbelt over her body.

"Well the basketball game is only going to last a couple hours tomorrow evening. We have plenty of time to hang out tonight and tomorrow afternoon," Max said innocently.

"Max, are you sure that we shouldn't just drop it?" El asked hesitantly. "I really don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"We aren't going to hurt him, we're just going to scare him," Max reminded her gently. "Well… I guess he might get a little bit hurt. But that's going to be entirely up to you."

El chuckled lightly at Max's comment, but it was just the encouragement that she needed to shake her cold feet. She wanted payback. She wanted Brad to face some sort of justice for what he had done. But more than anything, she just wanted them all to move on and for things to be back to normal. She wanted Mike to forgive her, and she wanted them to enjoy the last half of their senior year, and the rest of their lives, together like they had always planned.

"Are you okay?" Max asked after El had been silent for several moments.

"I just really want to be passed all of this," El admitted.

"I know," Max said. "And this will be the first step in getting passed it. That jackass deserves to be put in his place after what he did to Mike and what he did to you. It'll bring you some closure, El, and I think you really need that in order to move on."

El thought about Max's words, and then she thought about the plan that Max had come up with and shared with her. With a sigh, El nodded, and Max smiled and drove the two of them out of the parking lot.

The next evening, Robin's car came to a stop outside of Max's house about thirty minutes before the basketball game was scheduled to start. Max and El hurried out the front door and climbed into the backseat of Robin's car, where they were promptly greeted from the passenger seat by the part of Max's plan that had taken El the most by surprise.

"Ladies," greeted Steve Harrington with a slight nod of his head.

At lunch the other day, Max had told El that she had called Robin after returning home from Lucas's and the two of them had brainstormed a few ways to get payback against Brad. Robin had been quick to agree to help, saying that she felt like she owed Max and El one after the mess with Abby. What Max hadn't expected was for Robin to offer to bring Steve into the mix, but she quickly came onboard.

"Steven," Max returned the nod. "Hope the video store can function without you for one night."

"Very funny, Maxine," Steve quipped in return. "You're lucky I even agreed to be a part of this. Threatening minors seems a little juvenile at this stage of my life."

"You think tonight will make you seem juvenile? You have more friends under the age of eighteen than over it," Max pointed out.

"You know what? I think you girls can do this without me. Robin, pull over here," Steve pointed vaguely out the window, feigning annoyance.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Max said quickly, although she knew Steve wasn't really going to back out on them. "We appreciate you agreeing to help, Steve."

"That's better," Steve smirked at her before turning his attention to El in the rearview mirror, a more serious expression on his face. "Robin told me about this creep. She said he crossed the line with you and beat the shit out of Wheeler."

"That's right," El replied softly with a nod.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Steve said sincerely.

"Thanks," El smiled.

The rest of the ride passed quickly, Max and Steve finalized exactly what his part of the plan was. Before they knew it, Robin had put the car into park outside of the school.

El, Max, Robin, and Steve walked into the gymnasium and were greeted by the loud sounds of pregame festivities. The four of them walked up the stairs of the bleachers about halfway before finding enough space near the aisle for them to sit comfortably while the varsity cheerleaders performed in the center of the court to the music played by the pep band on the other side of the gym.

El glanced around the gym to the lower bleachers where she had sat when she came to watch Brad practice, the center of the court where he and his friends had talked and pointed toward her, the locker room where Brad had come out and introduced her to his friend Tyler before inviting her to that homecoming party. The gym had never really held memories for her before, and now being in here reminded her of the beginnings of hers and Brad's relationship.

"Okay, it's starting," Max nudged El's elbow as the pep band's music ceased and the cheerleaders moved to the side.

The announcer introduced the opposing team which was greeted with clapping and cheering from the visitor section across the gym. The students in Hawkins' student section quickly drowned out their visitors' cheers with thundering boos. Out of the visitor locker room jogged the players from the opposing team, though El couldn't hear the player introductions over the commotion in the bleachers.

"And now… your HAWKINS TIGERS," rang the announcer's voice throughout the gym.

Suddenly, everyone around El was on their feet, and she felt Max tug her arm, encouraging her to stand as well. El stood up, clapping along with everyone else as the team took the court while the cheerleaders hyped up the crowd. El's eyes locked on Brad before the announcer read his name; he was raising his arms in the air, encouraging the student section to scream even louder. He had a wide smile on his face, and El couldn't help but roll her eyes as he winked at one of the cheerleaders before joining his teammates along the edge of the court for the National Anthem.

The gym quieted down as the announcer asked everyone to remain standing for the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. El tried to keep her eyes on the flag hanging from the ceiling while the pep band played the song, but she was drawn to Brad who was standing there so sure of himself, slowly swaying back and forth anxiously waiting for the Anthem to be over so the game could start. Her eyes narrowed, disgusted just by seeing him acting so normal; acting like he wasn't a walking lie who pretended to be a good guy to get girls into bed; acting like he wasn't a bully who had no problem outnumbering and attacking innocent people in hallways. To those who didn't know who Brad really was, he looked like any other high school basketball player, happy to be there and excited for the game to start.

The crowd cheered as the band held out the last note of the National Anthem, and El's attention was drawn away from Brad for the time being.

El watched as the referee carrying the basketball approached the middle and was met with one player from each team. She scoffed when she saw that Brad was the Hawkins player to join him. The ref tossed the ball up into the air, Brad and the opposing player both jumped up, but Brad was the one to tap the basketball away from his opponent, and suddenly the game was underway.

For a moment, El nearly forgot why she was there in the first place. She was actually intrigued by the game happening before her. Her eyes tried to follow the orange blur that was the basketball as it passed from person to person, the sound of shoes squeaking on the court mixed with the hollers from the stands as Brad's friend Tyler caught the ball from another teammate.

El watched as a player from the opposing team guarded Tyler, his arms stretched out as he tried to block any move Tyler could make. Tyler looked to his right and was able to quickly pass the ball to another Hawkins player who took his shot as soon as the ball reached his hands.

"Yeah!" Steve yelled, rising to his feet and cupping his hands around his mouth. "Woo!"

The crowd erupted around El as the basketball swooshed through the net. The pep band played a brief version of the high school's fight song, and the cheerleaders danced along to it. El glanced at the scoreboard and saw the game had only been going for less than two minutes.

"I almost forgot how exciting high school basketball games can be," Steve said, sitting back down.

"Is it like this the whole time?" El asked.

"If we keep scoring," Steve chuckled.

"Are you good?" Max leaned in to El's ear to ask.

"Yeah," El nodded. "It's just so loud."

"Let me know if you need to step outside for a few minutes," Max offered, and El nodded with an appreciative smile.

El directed her attention back to the game, and her eyes instantly found Brad. She knew the main part of the plan that Max and Robin concocted was taking place after the game ended, but they had all agreed there was no harm in El having a little fun during the game as well.

On the court, Brad raised his arms out in front of him, communicating to his teammate that he was open. El watched as Brad's teammate passed the ball, and as it traveled through the air, Brad started shifting to his left to get himself in the proper place to catch it. Subtly, El jerked her head and watched as Brad slammed onto the floor, smacking his chin fully on the court as the ball sailed over his body and bounced out of bounds.

The ref blew his whistle loudly, which was nearly masked by the groans coming from the stands, and El quickly dabbed her nose with the tissue she kept in her pocket.

Brad hopped to his feet, rubbing his sore jaw with a perplexed look on his face. El saw Tyler raise his hands and shoot Brad a questioning look, and Brad responded with something about tripping.

Moments later, the action had resumed, and El was back to following the ball up and down the court. Hawkins scored three more times, and the opposing team had only scored once. Brad was face to face with the opposing player who had the ball, a smug look on his face as he challenged his opponent to try and get passed him. Brad made a small move toward the ball, and El tilted her head, making him fully lunge forward, losing his balance and ending up sprawled on his belly on the court while his opponent ran by him and made it down the court, shooting and scoring.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the Hawkins coach hollered at Brad as Brad pushed himself to his feet, a pissed off expression on his face.

El watched as Brad shook his head, his hands placed on his hips, and it looked like he was biting the insides of his cheeks. She smirked, dabbing again at her nose.

The game was well into the second quarter now, and El wanted to give Brad one more surprise before halftime. Her eyes found him at the opposite end of the court, towering over his opponent who possessed the ball. Deciding to be a little more subtle this time, she tilted her head and watched as Brad's opponent's elbow was driven sharply into Brad's chest. Brad's hand instinctively shot up to grip his chest, and with his attention taken away momentarily, his opponent scored once again for the opposing team.

"What is wrong with you tonight, Connor?!" the Hawkins coached hollered from the sidelines amidst the booing from the stands.

Halftime was nearing, and El watched the rest of the second quarter with no further incidents. When the buzzer sounded, Hawkins was leading by four points, and El watched Brad jog toward the locker room looking confused and angry with himself for his performance thus far into the game.

"Hey," Steve nudged her, speaking in a low tone. "Just don't make us lose the game, all right?"

"Of course not," El promised.

After halftime, El let half of the third quarter go by before finding an opportunity to strike again. Brad was wide open, his arms outstretched as his teammate passed him the ball. This time, Brad didn't have to move to catch it, so instead of making him fall again, El held his hands in place with her gaze, not letting them close around the basketball which passed through his hands and crashed directly into his face.

The ref's whistle blew loudly as the basketball bounced away and Brad cupped his face with both of his hands, squatting down and resting his elbows on his knees. A couple of his teammates went to his side, and when Brad lowered his hands, El could see blood on his palms and streaming from his nose.

Brad was pulled off the court and cleaned up on the sidelines while the game continued, and El smirked in satisfaction when she saw the coach's mouth form the words that Brad was done for the night. For the rest of the game, El watched, actually enjoying seeing her high school team win, while Brad watched the game from the sidelines, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back in his folding chair, lips pursed with an angry expression covering his face.

The final buzzer rang through the gym, and the stands erupted once again while the pep band burst into the school's fight song and the cheerleaders broke into their routine. El, Max, Steve, and Robin joined the crowd in applause momentarily, until Max drew their attention in, reminding them they needed to head outside and prepare for the second phase of the plan.

Once outside, the four of them retreated to Robin's car. She popped the trunk and Steve pulled out something El and Max hadn't seen in years.

"You still have that thing?" Max asked, eyeing the bat.

"Just for special occasions," Steve shrugged, slamming the trunk shut. "You never know when you may need it for a little extra effect, and it hasn't let me down yet."

Steve leaned the bat against the back of the car, and Robin and Max climbed into the front seat while El and Steve waited for Brad to come out. Robin had purposely parked in the parking lot on the side of the school where Steve had told her the players typically parked, so they wouldn't be crowded by everyone else from the crowd leaving. After El had identified Brad's car, Robin had parked a couple rows over so they would be able to see him approaching, but he wouldn't see them waiting for him.

Other members of the team started filing out of the door on the side of the school. They were excited about their victory, and El was certain they were all heading off to a party somewhere. She kept her eyes pealed for Brad, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"With the performance he had tonight, the coach probably kept him after the game to rip him a new one," Steve explained when he saw the questioning look on El's face.

"You think so?" she asked.

"Hell yeah," Steve confirmed. "I guarantee he's getting his ass chewed out right now."

"Can't say I have much sympathy for him," El muttered, to which Steve chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh, here he comes now," Steve gestured toward the door that Brad just walked through, making his way to the parking lot, fixed on getting to his car.

Brad opened the door to his backseat on the driver side of his car and tossed his gym bag in, slamming the door and looking utterly defeated.

"Hey! You Brad Connor?" Steve called, taking a few steps toward him.

"Who's asking?" Brad called back, a skeptical look on his face as he took a few steps nearer to Steve.

"My name's Steve," Steve replied, standing about ten feet from Brad.

A look of recognition started to cross Brad's face, finally replacing the puzzlement as he stared at Steve.

"Harrington, right?" Brad asked.

"That's right," Steve nodded.

"Yeah, I know who you are," Brad said. "You graduated with my cousin Paul. He said you always walked around like you were the king of the school… until that Billy Hargrove came around."

"I'm not here to talk about Billy or your family tree, Connor," Steve said.

"Then what are you doing here? Nothing better to do than come watch a high school basketball game?" Brad asked, scrunching his forehead.

"I asked him to come," El said, finally breaking her silence as she stepped from the shadows into the lighted area illuminated by one of the streetlamps in the parking lot, joining Steve's side.

"You asked him to come?" Brad repeated, shock written all over his face at seeing her, and El nodded.

"I'm really glad I did, too," she smiled. "I had a great time… I should've listened to you and come to a game a lot sooner."

"Yeah, it was a great game, wasn't it?" Steve agreed, looking at Brad. "But it looked like you were having a rough time out there."

"Listen, I don't have time for this shit," Brad spat, rolling his eyes and reaching for his driver side car door.

"Make time," Steve said firmly. "You and I need to have a little chat about the way you've been treating some people I care about."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Brad demanded. He glanced at El standing at Steve's side. "I don't know what bullshit she told you, man, but she wanted it."

"Really? That's funny, because in my experience – which I assure you, is plenty – a girl who wants it doesn't typically tell you no while smacking your hands away," Steve said.

Brad was silent, but the smug look on his face remained.

"Or does it get you off when they struggle, you sick son of a bitch," Steve added venomously, stepping closer to Brad.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Brad scoffed.

"I know you tried to take advantage of El," Steve recounted. "And I know you beat up Mike Wheeler."

"That little shit had it coming," Brad said.

"I was hoping you would see things differently by now," Steve sighed, striding back into the darkness toward Robin's car.

When Steve reemerged seconds later, he was carrying his bat in his hands. Brad's eyes tripled in size as they bulged in their sockets, fixed on the nails protruding from the bat.

"Whoa, man, what the fuck is that?" Brad asked, his voice more high-pitched than he would have preferred.

"A little incentive for you to leave them alone," Steve said, walking past El and straight up to Brad.

"Dude, why do you care so much?" Brad asked, his smugness coming back to the forefront.

"I dated Mike's sister for a while, and I really came to care about them. Mike, El, and all their friends," Steve answered honestly. "So I'm going to tell you one time to stay away from all of them. If I hear one more time that you gave any of them a hard time…"

"What? You're gonna beat me with that deranged bat thing?" Brad challenged, glancing at the bat in front of him.

Steve chuckled.

"Of course not," he said, followed by a long glance to Brad's car that they were standing next to.

"You wouldn't," Brad dared him, following Steve's gaze.

"Wouldn't I?" Steve asked, amused. "Leave them alone, and you won't have to find out. Understand?"

Brad held Steve's gaze for several moments, maintaining a smug look on his face, but he nodded nonetheless, deciding not to see whether Steve meant what he said.

"Good," Steve said. "Now get out of here."

Steve turned his back to walk away, and Brad shifted his focus back to El who had watched silently from ten feet away.

"Go to hell, bitch," Brad muttered in her direction.

Steve stopped in his tracks and turned on his heel, swinging the bat through the air as he spun. The bat collided hard with the front driver side tire, puncturing it with several nails.

"What the fuck?!" Brad screamed, jumping back.

"What did I just say?" Steve asked, dislodging his bat from Brad's car.

"All right, all right, I get it. I'll leave them alone. Jesus Christ," Brad surrendered, looking back and forth between Steve and his deflating tire, a look of horror on his face.

"Good to hear," Steve grinned, taking a final couple steps toward Brad and placing a hand firmly on his shoulder. "Hope you know how to change a tire."

Satisfied, Steve and El turned and walked back to Robin's car where they climbed into the back seat. Robin turned on the engine, and the four of them drove out of the parking lot, sneaking a glance back to see Brad pulling his spare tire and jack out of his trunk.

"That was insane," El giggled.

"Yeah, well, it's a one-time favor. Don't get used to it," Steve said, though El could tell by his smile that he was happy to have helped.

"I thought the bat was just to scare him, though," Robin reminded him of their original plan in a slightly disapproving tone.

"It was supposed to be, but that little twit really pushed my buttons," Steve admitted.

"He definitely deserved it," Max chimed in. "Seriously, Steve, thanks for helping us out tonight."

"No problem," Steve replied.

Minutes later, Robin dropped off El and Max at Max's house, and the two girls went inside to Max's bedroom.

"I can't believe we did that," El sighed, flopping down on Max's bed and staring at the ceiling.

"It's nothing he didn't deserve, and now you won't have to worry about him talking more shit about you or touching Mike again," Max pointed out, scooting El's legs over so she could sit on the edge of the bed.

"You're right," El nodded. "But my heart was beating so fast!"

"It was an adrenaline rush, that's for sure," Max laughed. "So, are you going to tell Mike about what we did tonight? Since, you know, you mostly did it for him."

"I don't know," El sighed. "He was really serious about wanting me to drop the whole issue… I think before I worry about talking to him about this, I should be worried about getting him to talk to me at all."

"He will, El," Max assured her. "He needs some time to come around, but everything is going to work itself out."

El nodded and sighed deeply. She sat up, ready to change the subject.

"Let's watch a movie," she said, hopping up and toward to bedroom door. "I'll make some popcorn."

Max stood and looked over her VHS collection, not really reading any of the titles, and just praying that all this hope and encouragement she was giving to El would come true soon.

0-0-0

A/N: Hopefully the revenge plot line was satisfactory. A couple of you had mentioned vandalizing Brad's car, and I didn't see that being something that El would do or think of, but Steve on the other hand… Next chapter will be back to focusing on the relationship stuff. And I promise it won't take me another four weeks. Thanks for sticking by me, and please remember to leave a review!