Hey guys, welcome back! Thank you so much for the response on the last chapter. It's given me a bit of a boost to know that this story is being read by more people. At the end of the day, I write for my own enjoyment, but it's great to know that other people appreciate this story too :)

I got to work on this chapter pretty quickly, I'm pretty sure it's only been about a week since the last chapter. This one is the longest yet (5600+ without the AN) and has a bit of everything in it, so I hope you guys like it!

Jbg: Thank you for this review! You're right, this story has gotten a fair amount of views, but something about the reviews just make it feel... more real? I don't know. But I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! i hope you like this one too.

HyperSushi: Things have felt really depressing recently with this fic. After the move, I'll have a clean slate to work with. The moving storyline was something that I imagined to be very sad, I mean look a the final minutes of the finale... I cried so hard.

Darkstrife77: Thank you for the understanding! hopefully all those people will enjoy this chapter.

Luna0603: Always love reading your reviews :) I'm glad that you thought it was a good resolution. Believe it or not, I found it very challenging to tie everything together in a way that was realistic and flowed nicely. I'm glad it paid off. Good on you for picking up that parallel, I really liked writing it. I was wondering if anyone would notice, haha. I do have a lot of ideas for the future of this story... like I've said before, I plan to keep this going until (ideally) the premiere of season 4. In the meantime though, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Mike was walking home from the Byers; it was quite late, and the sun was setting over Hawkins. His hands were jammed in his pockets so as to protect themselves from the cold, but he had a sweater to protect the rest of his body from the cool night air. Walking home, he felt… lost. Like something from his very soul had drifted off into the air.

He didn't know why he felt like this; he never went into Joyce's house expecting to change her mind; he didn't know what he had wanted, if he was honest. All he knew is that he did not want El to move out of Hawkins. He didn't Will to leave, either. His first childhood friend was leaving the town they grew up in, and then he would only be able to see them a few times a year, at best. He hoped that they would be able to see each other more, but he didn't want to get his hopes up.

It seemed like every time that happened, he just got his heart crushed. It hadn't even been a year since they were reunited a year after being separated. At least this time she knew she would be alive and safe. But if she wasn't, he would never know.

He shook his head to himself. He couldn't let these kinds of thoughts plague his mind; he'd drive himself insane if he did. As long as he knew El was safe and with people who loved her, then… then he'd be okay. All he needed to know was that she was safe and taken care of. Because he knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if she wasn't. His thoughts started to wander again.

What if something happened to her and he wasn't there to help? Her powers were gone. And it's not like El could fight off a grown man. What if something happened at her new school? Mike knew that he wasn't a fighter. He had endured his fair share of beatings in his early school years. But he'd throw himself in front of a bullet for El. He'd die for her, and he knew he would. The idea of not being there if something happened felt like a knife being twisted deep in his stomach.

He blinked back tears that were now trickling down his cheeks. He'd be able to drive in a few years. If something happened, he'd just fucking take his car and drive there. And if he didn't have his own car, then he would take his parents' car. If they didn't let him use their car, then he would fucking steak it. That's what he would do. Hell, he would take their car even if he didn't have a driving lesson.

The only thing he had ever wanted to do since he met here was to protect and love El. It sometimes scared him, how much he was obsessed with her. But he couldn't help it. He couldn't even explain to himself why he felt the way he did, but he knew that come Hell or high water, he would never, ever, ever, let a living soul harm her until he was gone or couldn't fight anymore. And he would fight till he couldn't stand for that girl.

When he finally got home, he went straight to his room and cried until he finally fell asleep.


"I'm… sorry…"

"Billy, get up, please-"

Max shot awake, her chest heaving. She was sweating all over, and pajamas and sheets were drenched. "Fuck," she whispered to herself. She was in her own bed, for the first time in nearly a week. The previous evening she had begrudgingly dragged herself back to her own home; she and Lucas had a close call in his house where his mom had almost found her. Max had realized that it was getting too hard to hide her from Lucas's parents, so she had gone home.

Oddly enough, nobody had been in the house at her time of arriving. She didn't think much of it, but rather thanked God for it. It had only been around 8:00 when she had walked through the front door, but she had nothing else to do so she had just gone to bed.

Glancing over at her digital clock, she saw the time flashing in bright red numbers back at her. 3:26 am. She groaned and fell back on the bed, but remembered how sweaty it was and cursed to herself. After quickly changing her clothes and tossing her old ones in the hamper in the corner of her bedroom, she threw a blanket over the mattress and lay down on that. She sighed in content when she no longer felt like she was lying down in a lake.

Max rolled over on her side and closed her eyes, but it seemed like sleep was evading her. She knew why.

That memory of Billy still haunted her. Of course, it had gotten extremely better in the last months. But every so often, there would be a night where she could not get the image out of her head, no matter how hard she tried to think of something else, or just clear her mind. She wished Lucas was with her. Part of the reason why it had not bothered her in the last week was because she had been sleeping with him. Not having sex or anything, just sleeping, cuddled up close. His presence seemed to keep the memory away, and she missed that. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since she left his house, and she already felt like she was losing her goddamn mind.

An idea popped in her mind; she had done it before, but sometimes it didn't work. There was no point in just lying here, though. Silently, she got out of bed and moved toward her door. She opened it slowly so it wouldn't squeak, and closed it just as slow. When she looked down the hall, she could see through the front window, and realized that there was only one car in the driveway; her Mom's. Her brow furrowed. Why wasn't Neil here?

She supposed she'd find out promptly in the morning. Shaking the thought from her mind, she tip-toed from her bedroom door to Billy's. Holding her breath, she turned the knob and stepped inside. The faint scent of beer and cigarettes came to her almost immediately. It was nearly gone; he hadn't been in here in a long time. She used to be revolted every time she stepped in here, but now it seemed like some sort of haven. A place where she could go to feel closer to him, even after death.

The rug on the ground in front of his bed felt soft on her toes as she walked into the center of the bedroom. His bed was still unmade. She pulled the sheets to the side and slid underneath and closed her eyes. The smell was stronger now, which warmed her up inside. The sensation of being in his bed calmed her down. The ache that came from missing him seemed to cease. At that, she finally fell asleep.

In the morning, Max awoke slowly on her own. Her eyes surveyed her surroundings, and for a moment, she didn't know where she was. Then it came back to her; she had slept here tonight. Was it weird that she did that? The fact that she was so upset about him still seemed weird to her. A month before July, if someone had told her Billy was dead, she honestly thought that she wouldn't have cared.

But somehow, after everything that had happened… she did care. She knew that the image of the Mindflayer piercing his body with its tentacles would be forever engrained into her brain, seared into it like a brand. But he had done it while making the ultimate sacrifice.

Stop thinking about it, Max. It was too early for this shit. She had just woken up, she wasn't going to spend the rest of the day sulking over everything.

Her growling stomach got her out of the bed. She opened the door and walked toward the kitchen and the first thing she saw her mom; she was sitting at the dining table, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. There was a plate next to her, where Max usually sat; on the plate rest two pancakes and some scrambled eggs. She was incredulous.

"Um… hi, Mom," Max greeted awkwardly.

"Sit down, sweetie," she said and gestured with her head toward the empty seat. Max complied, and wordlessly walked toward the chair and sat down in it. She had been hungry before, but something about this situation was making her nervous, and her appetite had disappeared completely.

"What's going on, Mom?"

"There's just something that I'd like you to know," she answered. "Your step-father and I… we're getting a divorce."

Max blinked. "A… a divorce?"

"Yes." Max fought back her initial reaction, which was to just smile like a fool. But she knew there were other factors here. Who was going to provide for the family? Her Mom barely worked. Where was Neil now? Was he already gone?

"So where is he?" she asked.

"He's at a hotel right now… we're still sorting out the legal issues, but I imagine it will be done soon. I just thought you'd like to know."

Of course, she did. But were there going to be any problems because of all this? "Are we still going to be okay? Are we going to have to like… move, or anything?"

"No, I don't imagine so," she replied. "I've been looking at a different job, a higher paying one. You're older now, so I don't have to be around the house as much. But it would mean you'd be on your own a lot. Are you okay with that?"

She absolutely was. A free house all the time? She could see her house becoming the future hang-out spot of the group. She could throw parties, drink, have fun… it sounded like a great deal to her. "No, that's fine," she said smoothly, hiding her enthusiasm.

"Okay, good," she sighed. "That's all I wanted to say. I have to go and run some errands soon, so I have to get ready. Enjoy your breakfast, sweetie." She got up and pushed her chair in, leaving Max alone at the table with a full plate of breakfast. As she picked up her fork and cute a bite out of her pancake, she smiled to herself.

Things were seeming alright.


"Mike? Mike, come in. Mike, it's Will. Come in."

Mike shot awake and flung his hand out from under the sheets and snatched his Supercomm from under the bed. "Will, I'm here," he said urgently. "What's the problem? Over."

He heard a light laugh from the other side. "Calm down, man. Nothing is wrong. Over."

Mike relaxed. Usually, nothing good came from being woken up by the walkie. If something was taking place early in the morning in summer, it was not natural. "So why are you waking me up so early? Over."

"It's not early, Mike. It's almost noon. Over."

Mike rolled over and looked at his clock. Sure enough, it was. Ten minutes to, to be exact. "Shit, my bad. Must have gotten home later than I thought last night… I don't know. Over."

"No worries. Sorry for waking you up. Over."

"It's okay. My mom probably would have woken me up soon, anyway. What's up? Over."

"I was just wondering if you'd want to come over for a little bit to my house this afternoon. The rest of the guys are coming, and I was going to call Max after you. I was talking to El and my Mom, and we think that's it's time we tell the others. Over."

"About… about the move?"

A pause. "Yeah… you forget to say over, by the way. Over."

Mike coughed. He had just woken up, and he had already been reminded of the thing he had spent the last portion of last evening crying over. He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're probably right. You guys are leaving pretty soon, right? Over."

"Yeah, I think so… a little over a month, maybe? Something like that. Over."

"Okay, I'll get ready and be there soon. Is one o'clock alright? Over."

"It's fine. Over and out."

"Over and out."

After a shower and breakfast, Mike was biking over to the Byers house. Hopefully, the afternoon wouldn't be too depressing. But he knew Will was right. It was high time the others knew. If it was up to him, all of them would have already known. As it was, he was upset that Joyce had to wait so long to break the news to El. But Will had told him that he was telling her to wait so they could work out that argument they had been having before she did. He guessed that would have been a smart idea, but it never really got realized.

Oh, well.

After a few more minutes of biking, the Byers house came into view. He recognized the bikes that were already out front; it seemed as though he was the last one. After swinging his leg over the seat, he let the bike clatter to the ground along with the rest of them and knocked on the door. The door opened and Dustin was standing there.

"What's up, Mike?" he greeted.

"Hey, man," he returned, and they bumped fists.

"Everyone else is in the living room," he told him, and led him to where everyone else was sitting. "Will said he has to tell us all something, do you know what it is?" he whispered quietly to Mike.

"Yeah, I do," he deadpanned, feeling too sorry for himself to show any kind of emotion in his voice. Dustin furrowed his brow, looking concerned, but before he could ask, they were already sitting down with everyone else. Without a moment's hesitation, El got out of her chair to hug Mike and give him a quick kiss on the lips that lingered for a little bit. Both of them ignored the oncoming teasing and noises coming from the rest of them.

"Alright, alright, sit down, you two," Will said, biting back a laugh, but at the same time wondering why he felt uncomfortable watching them kiss. Perhaps he had unknowingly developed some sort of brotherly instincts toward her; the idea of some boy messing with his (technically) sister felt weird to him, even if it was his best friend. He knew that if any boy gave her a hard time at their new school, he would protect her.

Mike and El sat back down on the couch, but their hands were still intertwined. Everyone was looking apprehensively at Will, anticipating what he was going to say. He cleared his throat. "So, uh… there's something that me and El need to tell you guys," he began, sounding slightly nervous. A confused look swept across the room.

"Is it something bad?" Lucas asked, looking slightly worried.

"No, I wouldn't say it's bad," he replied. "It doesn't have anything to do with… with the Mindflayer or anything."

A collective sigh of relief washed through everyone. "Next time you get us all over here and worked up, can you clear that up from the beginning? I was freaking out here, man," Dustin complained.

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry," Will said. "Look, there's no easy way to say it, so I'm just gonna say it; our family's moving in around a month."

No one dared to say anything. To Mike and El, it was old news, but the other half of the people in the room were shocked. Nobody knew what to say.

"You knew about this, Mike?" Dustin questioned, incredulous.

"I found out yesterday," he mumbled. "Believe me, I haven't known for long."

"Why are you moving?" Lucas asked, still seeming to be confused.

Will sighed. "Look, guys, I could repeat everything my Mom said for hours. Long story short, she needs a new job, we need a new house for more space, this one is falling apart. She hates Hawkins, and to be honest, I don't blame her. Look at everything that's happened." Everyone else in the room looked at each other, sharing silent glances of agreement. He was right about that stuff.

"And it's… it's for sure happening?" Max clarified.

"Yeah, it is," Will said, scratching the back of his neck.

Max was quiet for a second, processing the new information. "So that means El is going with you guys, too, doesn't it?" She looked at El, who nodded slowly. It was obvious that she was squeezing Mike's hand really hard, and he was doing the same.

Max's heart sank. She couldn't believe it. The first friend she had made in this town who was an actual girl was moving away? "I'm assuming you guys are moving far away, otherwise you wouldn't be telling us this."

"It's about a five-hour drive, it's looking like. Maybe it'll be somewhere different. But yeah, whatever my Mom chooses, it will be far."

No one spoke. Two members of the Party were being, in a way, lost. For most friend groups, this probably wouldn't have been a big deal.

But this wasn't a normal friend group.

"I don't know what to say, man," Lucas said softly. "It won't be the same without you guys."

"Mom said we can come and visit every so often… maybe Dustin can help us get some kind of communication tower like the one here so we can talk?"

Dustin replied immediately. "Of course, man. There's no way that you guys are moving away and not talking to us. I can make one." A smile spread through the group. El and Mike exchanged a glance of pure relief and happiness. They would be able to talk to one another. Both of them had been going under the assumption that they wouldn't be able to, because long-distance phone calls were so costly. But they wouldn't have to pay for this.

"Maybe I can whip up something just for Mike, 'cause God knows he'll be wanting to talk to El every night." The rest of the group laughed, El and Mike included.

"Hey, dude, I don't want you to break your back for me or anything," Mike commented. "But, Dustin, if you did that, I… I would never be able to thank you enough."

He nodded. "I'll see what I can do, Mike. It won't be like the one at Weathertop. That one can communicate all around the Earth. You guys are only a couple hours away, so it'll be easier. I'll figure something out."

Mike felt like he was about to cry. This whole time, he had been preparing to never talk to her, never see her, never touch her, for months at a time. Now, he'd be able to talk to her. Maybe not every night, but he'd be able to make sure she was okay. He'd be able to tell her about his day, and he could listen to her about her day. They'd be able to help each other. Any doubt he had about maintaining a long-distance relationship had fizzled away in a couple of moments.

Not knowing what else to do, he got up out of his seat. He stuck out his hand to Dustin. Their eyes met and Dustin grabbed his hand and got up. Mike wrapped his left arm around his friend's shoulders and he did the same. "Seriously, dude," he said. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"No, I do," he replied, and hugged his brother a little bit harder. A few seconds later, El joined them and put her hands around Mike and Dustin.

It didn't take long for the others to join them.


The Party spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and having fun. Joyce was out of the house at dinnertime, so they all put their money together to get a pizza delivered to the house. It wasn't until around eight o'clock in the evening that Dustin eventually left, saying that "his Mom was going to kill him if he wasn't home at nine," so he left at eight-thirty to give himself enough time to walk.

They had been watching a horror movie that they had dug out of the storage room when Dustin had left, but no one was really enjoying it, so soon after Dustin departed Lucas and Max went off together to head back to their houses.

Max had told the party about the news regarding her parents, and how her horrid stepdad was going to be out of her life forever. All of them were happy for her, especially Lucas, who was ecstatic that he wouldn't have to fear being caught with Max by Neil. She had also said that her house would probably be more open and available to them. They had discussed the possibilities of different things they could do as a group without any adults around; hosting parties and just generally stupid stuff like messing around with, as Dustin put it, "fireworks and shit" in the backyard.

Despite how poorly the night at Steve's had gone toward the end, everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the firework show, and had enjoyed the drinking even more. However, Steve had been adamant that whatever they did, they would have to be careful. And of course, they had told him they would be. They were all smart kids, after all.

Mike was mulling over what had been discussed over the course of the day when the voice of his girlfriend came through his ears. "Mike?"

He swiveled his head to look in the direction of the other side of the couch, and El was looking at him, a skeptical look in her eye. "Yeah?"

"You seem… distracted. Is everything okay?" she asked him.

Mike brought himself closer to her put his hand on her thigh, and rubbed it in assurance. "Yeah, it's just… a lot of stuff has happened in the last few days. It seems like everybody has some sort of change going on."

"I'm happy that Max can finally live without her dad," El remarked, leaning sideways toward Mike and snuggling into his body on the couch. "We can hang out at her house now, too."

"Yeah, me too," he agreed. They both exhaled together at the same time by pure coincidence, but neither of them bothered to comment on it because the tranquility in the room was just too blissful to break. The TV was still on, but the rest of the house was completely dark. The light coming from the screen was casting eerie shadows around the room that gave a sort of spooky feel, but it just made the feeling of being close to another ten times better. From the side window, the moonlight was shining through, and Mike could have sworn it was reflecting right off El's eyes, which made them seem even more beautiful than usual.

Will had left the common area to brush his teeth, and El and Mike were alone on the couch, enjoying one another's company. Mike slowly became aware of the fact that her hand was still resting on El's thigh, and it just so happened that she was wearing a skirt. It wasn't short, by any means, but they had been sitting on the couch for a while and it had gotten slightly hiked up. He let his fingertips wander down the fabric toward her knee where the skirt ended. His index finger toyed with the hem for a brief second before he eased it under and started massaging her inner thigh just above the knee joint.

El inhaled sharply at the feeling of his hand on her bare skin, but didn't pull away in the slightest. She looked over at him, and when she saw Mike's mischievous smirk, she couldn't help but giggle. In a second, she was getting pushed back so that she was lying across the length of the couch, and then Mike was on top of her, kissing her. It started out innocent and calm enough, but as Mike's hand continued drawing circles against her skin, both of them were becoming more urgent in their movements.

Mike pulled away and wrapped his lips around the skin on her neck and gave a hard suck followed by a gentle nibble, which was met by a context hum from El. He traced a line from the side of her neck to the front, and El found herself craning her neck upward to give him space to kiss and suck her throat.

"Mike, that feels so good," she moaned lightly, not even able to control whether or not she was speaking or not. Mike never responded, but rather quickly let his hand touch her panties right over the junction in her legs and El gasped. His middle and index finger found purchase around the edge of it and-

"Jesus Christ!"

Mike jumped off El as if she were on fire and flung himself to the other side of the couch. He turned toward the direction of the sound and saw that Will was standing there, in his pajamas, looking quite shaken.

"Fuck's sake, Will!" Mike said loudly, blushing madly. "What are you doing here?!"

"I live here, dummy," he replied shortly. El couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Mike looked at her and noticed she was also getting pretty red in the cheeks.

"Uh, yeah, that's right," Mike muttered. "It's getting late, I should probably start heading back to my house."

El's face fell. She was feeling really wound up from what they had been doing before Will had interrupted them, and now that she knew she wasn't going to get any sort of payoff, she couldn't help but feel upset. Mike must have picked up on it, because he moved closer to her and gave her a hug.

"It's fine, I'll hang out with you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, softly, letting her hand roam in his hair while they embraced. Mike let go and kissed her lips, letting them stay there for a few seconds before pulling away slowly.

"Bye," he waved at her as he walked out the front door.

"Call me on the Supercom when you get back so I know you're safe," she said.

"Okay, I will." He closed the door, leaving Will and El alone in the living room. Their eyes met. El couldn't help but smile stupidly at her almost-adoptive brother.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, laughing.

Will snickered and shook his head. "You guys are ridiculous. You know that, right?" He made sure not to sound upset or condescending in his words, because, in all honesty, he wasn't. Ever since the argument that had taken place between him and Mike after their D n' D game, and the apology he had issued him soon after the Fourth, Will had gained a new perspective on his and El's relationship. He understood how much they loved and valued one another, and he had to respect that. Sure, he knew that he couldn't even comprehend being so close to a girl, but that didn't Mike couldn't.

On top of that, he recognized that the Party wouldn't be kids forever. It was important for him to move on with his life, because that was how life worked. There wasn't any way that he could cling onto the things they did when they were twelve when most of them would be turning fifteen within the next year. Just as long as they played D n' D at least once in a while, it would be fine by him.

But nothing could be compared to the newly-found connection he had gained in the last few weeks with her. Ever since he started regarding her as a sort of sibling, he felt like now they were somehow more connected. And it was weird because it hadn't even been a month, but they had already had so many conversations about things and chances to bond, it had kind of been inevitable.

But he would be damned if he didn't get to tease her about Mike.

"What do you mean?" she asked, still grinning.

Will shrugged. "Nothing… I just never thought I'd see something like that."

"We were just kissing," El replied, the red returning to her face.

"Don't think I didn't see where his hand was, El," Will said, his voice mixed with amusement and hint of mild disgust (but, again, he understood that obviously, her and Mike's relationship was far deeper than anything that he could picture himself having with anyone, so he wasn't going to judge).

El's eyes widened. "Oh, my God…" she looked away from Will, wishing that she could disappear into the floor.

"Hey, look," Will cut her off, going to the couch to sit beside her. "I don't care what you guys do, I just don't want either of you to be weirded out."

El nodded. "No, it was fine. Everything Mike does is fine."

"Okay, good," Will responded. "But still… be careful. We're only fourteen, you know."

"Yes, I know," she agreed. "I want to wait longer before we have sex."

Will coughed abruptly, masking the sudden inhalation of surprise that he had just made. "W-what?"

"Sex," she repeated. "I want to wait until both of us are fifteen."

"So you… you've talked about it?" Will asked to clarify.

"No, we haven't," she admitted. "But if it were to come up, that's what I would tell him.

That's what I want."

Will shifted his body so that his shoulders were square with El's. "I don't really know how else to ask this, but, um… do you, like… do you know, uh-"

El sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Will, I know what sex is," she huffed. She looked at the

floor, the look in her eyes suddenly changing.

Shit. "What's wrong?" Will asked, already willing to bet on the answer.

"I… I don't like it when people treat me differently," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone always thinks I don't know things or I'm… I'm stupid or something."

"El, I don't think that-"

"No, I don't think you do," she interrupted him. "But everyone still treats me different then

everyone else. Would you have asked Lucas or Dustin if they knew what sex was?"

Will hesitated. "No, I wouldn't," he replied simply.

"I might not talk as well as everyone else, but I still understand more than people think I do," she continued. "I know when people are babying me."

Will didn't reply, not quite knowing what to say, because he knew she was right. "The only people who always treated me normally were Mike and… and Hopper." Her voice nearly got caught in her throat at the mention of his name, but she kept it together.

"I learned math and science and how to read and write in the lab," she went on. "I'm not dumb. I just don't always know how to talk to other people, or what to say. Or sometimes I just don't understand things."

Will immediately felt terrible, thinking about all the times when he or Lucas or Dustin or Max treated El like a child because they felt like she didn't know what she was doing or something. But it was becoming abundantly clear that she wasn't, and she had probably picked up on all the times they had treated her differently.

"El, I… I'm sorry. We just didn't know."

El shook her head slowly. "No, I know you didn't mean it… you guys were just trying to be nice. But it's still annoying."

"I understand," Will said, looking forward out the window. "More than I'd like to, I think."

Now it was El's turn to be confused. "Why?"

Will leaned back in his seat, still looking out of the window, through which the moon was still shining its light. "After the Upside-Down… when I got back and went back to school, people treated me differently, too."

"They did?"

"Yeah, definitely," he said. "Everyone I knew was always babying me. It was like… it was like they thought that I was going to break at any time. Like I was some kind of little kid. Even Jonathan did it. Mom sometimes, too. The guys did a lot, but Mike didn't as much."

El smiled. "Mike's good like that," she said dreamily.

Will nodded slowly, his face serious. He knew what good of a friend Mike was. He knew that he was like a brother to him.

"Yup." The two of them sat in silence a while longer, enjoying the quiet serenity of the night. It was almost surreal, how peaceful everything was.

"I think I'm going to head to bed now," Will announced, getting off the couch. He started to walk toward the bedroom hall when El called to him.

"Wait," she said. He turned around and El got off the couch and started to walk toward him. She stopped about three feet in front of him. Will was caught off guard by what she did next.

She stepped forward once and hugged him.

It was simple and friendly, and obviously not romantic. It was like the kind of hug that he would get from his Mom or Jonathan. Like a hug from family.

Will hugged her back.

Alright, we're all done here. I hope you guys enjoyed this one, I feel like there might have been a lot of jumping around but i wanted to cover a lot in this one before the actual moves come up. I think that I'm going to do a one month time jump or so to bridge the gap between now and beginning of September. Although it'll be a pain in the ass to go through, High school technically starts before the move. (3 months after July 4th is October 4th. So our gang was a month deep in HS at the end of season 3). I would have liked to do the high school stuff after the move, but I'm trying to stick to the timeline in the show as well as I can. So stay tuned for that! Take care, guys!