Alright guys, welcome back. Sorry for the wait with this one, midterms are coming close and school's a bitch. Enjoy the chapter :)
Guest: You're right, that conversation won't be good at all... I have some ideas for when the time comes.
Bruh: No problem, read what you want. Thank you, I try to make it seem as real and intimate as possible :) And thanks for your support, you've given me a lot of reviews. I appreciate it.
39CluesStrangerThings-Star: I actually don't even know how to use break lines. I have just been skipping lines and doing the three dashes (-) to break it up. I understand your hesitation when it comes to the alcohol, but I promise it won't be bad. I'm gonna keep it tame, and only plan for it to be a one time thing. One of the things I wanted to do was to depict teenage-hood in a real way, and I think that some recreational drug use and alcohol is a part of that. I'm not sure where I'm going to go in the future, but don't worry... I'll keep things nice. I assure you, we won't be having any crackheads in the Party :) Thanks for you continued support, Star!
El cracked her eyes open slowly, and was immediately met with blinding light coming in from her window. She groaned and rolled over in the sheets and buried her head in her pillow, letting the softness and comfort envelop her. Something that her real life was lacking these days. Her thoughts went back to the previous night at dinner, when she got the vibe that things were being hidden from her by the Byers family. Her idea that they were hiding something from her, or at least trying to keep her from asking questions.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she got out of bed and made a beeline for the shower, eager to rinse off and clear her head. After shedding her clothes she stepped into the tub and turned the water on and tilted her head up and let the water run onto her face. It slicked her hair down and it stuck to her skin and face. She didn't bother pushing it away, getting lost in the feeling of just having a moment to be calm and think about her life.
She always enjoyed showers; sure, she had her bed, and some private time, but there was just something nice about stepping into a little box and letting hot water cleanse you, rinse away all the pain and worries just for a short amount of time. She looked down and saw the red marks on her breasts that Mike had left, and smiled to herself. It had felt so good, and she would have given anything to be with him for longer. But they had slept together, and it had been nice. Waking up next to him was like waking from a great dream, except the dream did not end when she woke up. It just continued.
But then she started thinking about that thing; the conversation she had party overheard. Mike saying that it was better for someone to move on. And then he lied to her about what they were talking about. She was almost positive that he was lying. But if she was honest with herself, part of her did not want to pursue it. With all of the stuff happening in her life right now, would it be best just to let it slide? If it was a huge deal, Mike would have told her. And maybe whatever he was hiding, maybe it was best for her that it was being hidden. But how could she know for sure if she didn't know for sure?
Her mind was spinning, not having a clue what to think or do. She decided that she would maybe bring it up the next time the two of them were together and they were alone. But she would be nice about it; she would not dump him, no matter what. Doing that before had been a mistake; she just got caught up in the moment with Max, and wanted to make her happy. But Max just wanted what was best for El, and if that being with Mike, El knew she would accept that.
Nodding to herself, she resolved that she would try to talk to Mike about it, at some point. Later; not today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some point. She finished washing off and stepped out of the shower to greet the rest of the family for breakfast.
A few days had passed, and the middle of July was upon the party. Moving on from Starcourt was being a slow process, but as a group, they were getting better. Max still had not heard from her parents, which she was happy about. She had been staying with Lucas for the past few nights, and he had managed to hide her from his parents successfully. "And you made fun of me for hiding a girl in my basement when we met El," Mike had teased him one day.
"Yeah, and look where we are today," Lucas had dismissed him. "I've apologized to you both for that, you know?"
"I know, I'm just teasing you."
Hopper's funeral was coming up, something that Joyce had been working hard to coordinate with some other people in town. The Party admittedly was not looking forward to it, not because they didn't want to honour Hopper, but because they knew it would stir up a lot of emotions. Especially for El, who was still in deep mourning for Hopper. It was getting a little bit better, slowly. Mike had been working hard to be there for her every day; coming to visit as much as he could, answering calls on the Supercom in the middle of the night after a bad dream. Joyce was doing her best to make sure El had all she needed, and Will and Jonathan were also supporting her.
She was starting to find that, despite her past attachment to Hopper, perhaps she would be able to find a true home with her new family. The ghost of her first true father would always haunt her, but perhaps that could be a good thing. Maybe not to think of it as a ghost, but as a spirit, or a memory, watching over and protecting her. That was a pleasant thought. Or at least a spin on a bad thought.
She turned off the water and stepped out. She dried herself off carefully; she always made sure to be careful with drying off, she hated being wet. Even though she loved her showers, part of her always disliked water from her memories in the Bath.
She through on some of the clothes that she had got at Starcourt with Max. She paused to look in the mirror, and a smile spread across her face. It made her so happy that Max had taken her shopping; it seemed like she had discovered a part of herself that she never knew existed. Over her body she was wearing a romper, like the one she had worn after leaving Starcourt, except it was a different design. The main color was red, and it had a couple splatters of black on it.
After a quick breakfast shared with Will, she went back to her room in hopes to get some more Cosmo reading done, but her process was interrupted by the ringing phone. She picked it up. "Hello?"
"El! Hi! It's Dustin! How are you?" he practically shouted into her ear. El recoiled a little bit from the phone. You could always count on Dustin to be the loudest person in the Party.
"Hi, Dustin. I'm doing good. What about you?"
"Great! I was with Steve last week, it was amazing! He gave me some beer, at first it tasted terrible but then he dared me to chug a can and it was great and I think I got a little bit drunk but I'm not sure, maybe I was just dizzy from being tired, I haven't gotten a full sleep in like two weeks-"
Will grabbed the phone from El, and she silently thanked him for doing so. She had no idea how to get Dustin to stop talking sometimes. "Dustin!" he yelled into the telephone.
El heard some indiscernible mumbling coming from the speaker. Then Will, "you drank what?" Another pause. "You drank beer?"
More talking from the other end. "I don't know if that's a...No, I don't think that's a good idea, Dustin, I… yeah, I know my Mom drinks sometimes, but she's an adult… No, we aren't 'basically adults,' we're fourteen...Okay, okay, Jesus, fine, I'll come to Steve's tonight… Okay. Alright, I'm in."
He hung up and rubbed his eyes. "What did he want?" El asked. "Why was Dustin drinking beer? Isn't that only for grown-ups?"
"Uh, yeah, usually," Will mumbled, walking around the room. "But you know, like Mike said, 'We're not kids anymore.'"
"What?"
"Never mind," he said, waving his hand. "Looks like we have a night of swimming and drinking ahead of us," Will said.
"Drinking?"
"Alcohol," Will clarified. "Beer, and I think Dustin might have mentioned whiskey, too? I don't know."
"Do you want to drink, Will?" El asked.
"What?" Will looked at her confused.
El cleared her throat. She could tell Will was having doubts about Dustin's proposal. And she wanted to make sure Will was going to be perfectly fine with what they were going to be doing. She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable, after all.
"Do you want to Steve's tonight? Or are you just doing it because Dustin wants you to?"
Will shook his head, as if trying to shake away his thoughts. "No, I'm fine, I want to… "
"Friends don't lie, Will."
Will threw his arms up in the air. "No," he said sharply, making El draw back a little bit. "I don't really want to, El. I don't think drinking alcohol is a good idea, there's a reason why it's not legal for kids to drink. What if something happens?"
"But Steve will be there," El pointed out. "He'll make sure nothing bad will happen. Dustin said he's a… a good 'baby-sitter.'"
"Uh-huh," Will rolled his eyes, not surprised by his friend's antics, nor convinced. "I don't know, I know that I patched things up with Mike, but a part of me still doesn't really like where the Party is going."
El was confused. "I don't understand, Will," she stated. "What do you mean?"
"I don't like that everyone seems to be growing up without me. I missed out on a year of my life because of all this… this fucking Upside Down demo-whatever-the-fuck bullshit!" he yelled. "And for the last six months, where my life was actually somewhat normal again, all everyone wanted to do was spend time with their girlfriends, and not do anything fun anymore."
El was taken aback. She never had a clue Will felt this way, and she definitely had no idea that she had been stealing Mike away from him for so long. Immediately she felt terrible, but she didn't know what to say.
"And now," Will continued to rant, "Instead of doing something like playing D n' D, we're going to Steve's to get drunk. Like a bunch of stupid teenagers. Like a bunch of fucking hooligans." He was breathing heavily, out of breath from yelling. It was a good thing no one else was home, because Joyce and Jonathan would have been hounding him at this point.
El inhaled. She honestly had no idea what to say. She had just learned that Will felt like she had stolen Mike away from him, and at the same time, stolen part of his childhood away. She needed to apologize. "Will, I-"
"I'm sorry, El, I don't have anything against you, I know you didn't mean to do any of that, I know," he quickly backpedaled, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "And Mike apologized and said that he was going to be better. It's only been like a week and a half, so I can't really say he's breaking his promise or anything."
If there was one thing that El knew for sure, it was Mike's loyalty. Sure, he could get distracted or possessive, and sometimes lose sight of what was important. And she now knew that he had been excluding his friends in favour of her for the last six months. But, if Mike had told Will he was going to do better, then he would do better. El was sure of it.
"You're his best friend, Will. Don't worry, he will follow his promise. I know he will," she assured him.
"I hope so," Will grumbled, cooling off still from is outburst. He was still pacing around the room slowly.
El was thinking, and decided that she needed to get something off her chest. "Will?"
He turned to look at her, scratching the back of his neck expectantly. He made eye contact, and that made her a little bit nervous about she wanted to say. "Yeah?"
"I…" she trailed off. Come on, El, you have to say sorry. "I'm sorry. That I took Mike from you guys. I didn't want that to happen. I thought you guys were okay with it, but you weren't. I'm sorry. I promise I'll make sure not to… not to keep him all to myself."
Will went wide-eyed, and starting shaking his head quickly. He instantly launched into a nervous ramble. "No, no, no, El, I'm not mad at you, I-I was just upset with Mike, I know that you didn't know, and I don't expect an apology from you or anything, but-" he abruptly stopped speaking, realizing that he was blabbering like a fool. "Thanks, El. For apologizing. It means a lot to me."
Not able to find the right words to reply with, El just nodded. A sort of awkward silence fell upon the room, and it came to her that she had another question that she wanted to ask.
"Are we… are we siblings now, Will?"
Will slightly startled, but didn't show it in his body language, just in his mind. Were they siblings? Hopper and Joyce were never a couple, officially. Sure, they were close, but he thought that the only person in his Mom's heart was Bob. And he knew that for a fact; he had seen his Mom many times looking at the drawing of him on the fridge, or staring at old photos they had taken together. A part of her had never moved on from Bob, that was certain. But had another part of her secretly had feelings for Hopper as well?
Disregarding her relationship Hopper for a moment, was Joyce going to formally adopt El? He saw no other alternative. She was going to be living with them, and every child needs some sort of legal guardian; that was irrefutable. She was going to have to go to school, get viable legal identification for when she finally started to go out into the world, among other things. You needed to have a parent to do all that. So he supposed that it was just a matter of time before they were considering siblings, or at least step-siblings.
Did he want them to be siblings? He didn't quite know. He certainly cared for El; he had saved his life on more occasions that he could count. He valued her as a friend, and certainly wanted what was best for her. He had made that evident during the argument about moving away with his Mom. He wanted what was best for all his friends, and El was no exception. But siblings… that was something entirely different, and to be honest, he hadn't really thought about it that way yet.
"Yeah, El," he answered. "Yeah, we are siblings, I guess. As soon as my Mom adopts you, it'll be legally official, but to me, we are siblings. Brother and sister." He was happy with that response. He was happy with it because it was the raw, unaltered truth.
"And Jonathan too?"
"Of course. We're family now," he confirmed. "For better or for worse," he joked, eliciting a tiny giggle from El.
"And I guess that means my Mom is your Mom too," he thought aloud. Now that was kind of a weird concept. Sure, the idea was basically synonymous with "siblings," but when you thought about it that way, it was just… he couldn't find the right word. Whatever. It's not strange. You're just being weird.
"Are you okay with that, Will?" El asked.
Shit. Was he being that obvious? "Oh, no, of course, El, having you as a sister sounds awesome. You're a great person. It's just that the idea of my Mom having a new kid it just… a little odd. Or something. I don't know. It's just… a lot of change is happening right now. It's hard to keep up, I'm sure you can relate to that."
"Yes," El replied, knowing all too well about that. Good change, bad change, whatever. Her life had been a whirlwind since the day she had met Lucas, Dustin and Mike in the woods.
"I guess we have more in common than we think," he grinned. He was finally building a connection with the girl that meant so much to his best friend. Sure, it had only taken over six months, but that was okay. The important thing is that it was happening now, when it mattered most. There was a bridge being made here, he could feel it.
"Don't worry about tonight with Dustin and the alcohol," El said, assuring her brother. "It'll be fun to be with the party. You might enjoy it, even."
Will thought about it. He decided she was right. It was the beginning of July, the height of the summer was still upon them. They had been through the ringer for the first couple days, but they had the rest of the season laid out in front of them, waiting to be experienced. And he was going to experience it to the fullest, not a worry in his mind. Or at least he would try his damn hardest.
"Alright, yeah. Let's do it."
