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Chapter Ten

Material Girl

Cassidy led them through a very cluttered house and into an even untidier garage, although space had been cleared for the 'salon'. There were still boxes unopened from when she first moved but the most welcoming aspect was the smell of wood burning in a fireplace near the back of the house that wafted down. Anything that didn't smell of chemicals to Eleven was magnificent until she walked into an invisible cloud of them when entering the garage.

These weren't the sterile cleaning chemicals that stuck to every surface but gave her a sensory vibe of being sticky and maybe unnecessary. They were just as likely to induce a headache, but the magnitude was thoroughly less when Eleven's very first headaches took place due to crying and stress.

There is a cat lying flat out on the carpeted area by a slouchy couch, dedicated to the salon and stretches languidly when it hears people approaching. Eleven's heart seizes her at the sight of it and she unknowingly grabs Lucas in the fray.

He's about to shrug her off from habit when others touched him but noticed how pale she was. "El, are you okay?"

She looks up at him and is shocked to see she grabbed him. "Sorry…cats don't like me."

Lucas frowned at this statement and turned to Mike who is busy taking in the home salon with their friends. He nods to him so that he gets his attention and he comes over when his eyes drift over to Eleven.

"El, what's up?"

Her eyes are glued back on the most chilled out cat Lucas has probably ever come across and she doesn't see it that way evidently. Mike soon picks this up and wonders if this is something from before the Upside Down or something that freaks her out because she doesn't know what it is.

"Cats don't like her," Lucas repeated, sounding sceptical at the suggestion.

It sinks in for Mike when he watches her eyes glaze over and can tell she's thinking deeply about something, a memory, her past, something that always ends up taking her far away from the present.

Will soon picks up on her vibe and walks over too. This leaves Dustin looking around curiously by himself although he doesn't see how this will work against him yet.

Mike doesn't try to ask her what's wrong or how to help when he walks over to the cat. He's never been a fan and has only been capable around Will's dog at most and Dustin's cat Mews was never one for affection from his friends but only his mother. Mike knows he needs to prove something, however.

She is scared, but the feeling is decreasing when Mike walks right up to it and very tentatively pets it. The fluffy grey cat relishes in the feeling and yawns, rolling closer to Mike. Mike's own personal fear diminishes the moment the cat has accepted him without even questioning him to begin with. It stands up, unsteady for a moment before it rubs up against him.

Cassidy comes back from finding her mother and looks amused by Mike's affection for her cat.

"That's Mothball. Blind as a bat, as old as my great uncle, once let a rat and a bird drink from his bowl and only cries for food and attention," Cassidy listed off with clear practice. "He's the most un-feline cat to ever exist."

"He also purrs louder than my Dad snores," Mike adds.

"Yeah, we couldn't figure that part out," Cassidy chuckled as she stands next to Dustin, who is attempting not to appear quite like a lunatic in her presence.

Mothball meowed in appreciation, and if one were to describe the noise it made closely, it would be the equivalent of a stoner teen that maybe no longer had a straight direction in life but had accepted it and was the happier for it.

A toilet's flush is muffled and running water is soon heard afterwards before a very relaxed white, blonde woman with only Cassidy's eye shape to indicate their relation, walks through an open doorway with hanging beads to conceal it. Her look is very seventies inspired, her hair long and curving outward from her face in wispy blonde waves. Her voices could be described much the same, an attractively croaky voice that forms waves and drags on the way a hippie child would. She wears a lot of turquoise and bangles, with a long skirt and a peasant shirt to top it off. Michael immediately feels the regret pouring from him as he thinks it best to take Eleven's hairdo somewhere remotely normal but is stopped when she greets them.

"Well hello. You must be Cassidy's classmates," she directs within an almost dreamy complexion. "My name is Donna, don't worry about that surname nonsense with me."

Will is the one taking the reins for the group introductions, probably because he knew Dustin was basically incapacitated, Lucas was just stunned a person like this could still exist in this decade and Mike was figuring out an exit strategy.

"I'm Will Byers, these are my friends Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, and Mike Wheeler. And this is my, um, cousin, El. She really badly needs some skilled hands for her…predicament."

Unlike her overall demeanour, Donna's eyes widen as she finally spots the strangely formed lumps hidden through the best job Will could do at brushing out her hair and Dustin's at putting it into a bun. "Oh my, what on earth happened to your locks dear?"

Eleven looked thoroughly lost for an explanation before Lucas thought of something. "She had a really rough trip on the flight over from…Iceland. Her hair took quite a beating from it."

Cassidy frowned at this excuse as she watched Lucas carefully, as he refused to show any signs of distress, also refusing to be caught in a lie. Donna was instantly inspecting it regardless of their answers, not minding the amount of personal space of Eleven's she was invading as she closely analysed the strands and how to undo the locks as best she could as she carefully tugged on the scrunchie, freeing her hair from its bond.

"Well, we'll rewash it all in the new basin I had installed…put some essential oils through it. Brush it out as much as possible and cut it to a suitable length…although she would look thrilling with a buzzcut."

Eleven looked absolutely horrified.

"It took a lot of effort to grow out her hair from a bad cut last time…she wants it as long as it can be given the circumstances," Will added for better clarity.

Donna nodded and said agreeably, "Our hair can be a big part of our identity. We'll keep it as long as we can make it dear."

It was then to their shock, that Eleven wasn't being haphazardly cut to with large scissors as the guys suspected she might be taking her to an evidently hippy hairdresser with her own special style. Some would call it outdated and uncool. But if Cassidy's hair, simple and yet not untouched by the influence of 80's waves and a slight bump of volume, was any indication, then it was likely Eleven would be in safe(ish) hands. Once she was handed a thick folder of lengths, cuts and styles, with various ones to choose from in the recent era and celebrities, Eleven finally poked her finger with a razor-sharp jolt at a promotional still of Mia Sara's character Sloane Peterson in Ferris Bueller's Day Off from a teen magazine.

"Lovely and won't take as long considering the groundwork we need to do to get there dear," commended Cassidy's mother warmly which made Eleven feel more comfortable.

She was led away to the basin where Donna explained what was going to happen. Will sat by her and explained that it wasn't going to be like a bath when she had another look of panic settle in her eyes. As she laid back in a cream leather chair and was tilted into a basin, her hair received warm water, lathered into her scalp.

Once Donna started massaging her hands into her scalp and through her hair, she was relaxed significantly.

"You've never had a massage before, have you El?" Will surmised quickly as her face fell from the tense hold into the slack contentedness she was now experiencing.

"What's a massage?" she asked blearily.

Cassidy again looked mightily surprised at hearing her ask this until Dustin spoke up. "We don't know the word for 'massage' in Icelandic."

She brushed it off until her mother asked her to help. "How about you give our new client a small manicure Cass? I fear this overseas flight has done more damage to her aura than it has her physical features."

While Cassidy wasn't one to prescribe to her mother's terms and the highly spiritual beliefs attached to them, Cassidy couldn't help but agree with her mother's assessment. She hadn't seen El so comfortable in her own skin yet. She was a shy girl with much insecurity, which was obvious enough, but she was constantly aware, like a spider, up and ready at half a second's notice.

She was also worryingly green in colour. Will looked equally as worried but Cassidy didn't wish to embarrass her with questions of her health in front of these boys, even if one of them was related to her and was likely the most sympathetic to her mysterious plight.

And while Cassidy didn't see any of them as a threat, she still had to consider the possibility that this friendship group was damaging to this odd and enamouring teenage girl, considering how much she was allowed to speak for herself.

She pulled out a drawer from an old dresser, repurposed to be part of her mother's in-home business and found a selection of nail polish colours, clippers, files and buffers. Cassidy also didn't see the necessity but her mother's contradictory vanity was lax to her beliefs that sprouted from the freedom and love period of the sixties, and Cassidy knew that people could be both complex and like their nails to be manicured.

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Pink," Eleven said quietly, hardly any hesitation in her response. Mike smiled to himself, hiding it behind his hand.

Cassidy chose the least offensive pink in the drawer, reminiscent of the rare coloured sandy beaches coveted in the recent colour encyclopaedia she received for her birthday.

Cassidy took to a swivel chair and sat beside El while her hair was washed and rubs her fingers clean with rubbing alcohol before clipping her nails and filing them to an agreeably round shape. Eleven gets light headed from the fumes but doesn't totally despise the smell when Will is sitting on her other side and the boys are forced to sit on the lumpy couch. Mothball seems most entertained by the three.

With nothing much else to do but watch Eleven receive treatment for her nails and her hair, Dustin saw another possible addition so that Eleven didn't stand out for the wrong reasons.

"Maybe we should put makeup on her again…"

Lucas elbowed Dustin in the gut for being so vocal about what was clearly a shared idea and Mike protested it immediately.

"She doesn't need makeup asshole," Mike harshly whispered.

Dustin stopped himself from rolling his eyes before responding honestly. "I don't think she needs it for those reasons…but they've noticed Mike."

He gestures to his face for better understanding and says quietly, "Girls our age – or any age for that matter don't look that discoloured without some sort of cause for suspicion."

Lucas agreed hesitantly, and Mike's glare lessened when he saw the questioning glances between Cassidy and her mother every now and then.

Cassidy had finished with one hand and was working on the other when Donna got to the hard part of the hair cut.

Combing through wet hair, she eventually opted on Eleven not facing the mirror exactly and let her focus on Will so that she wouldn't grow anxious about her hair again as he kept her attention with a conversation about school. Lucas whispered in his ear and moved away swiftly back to the couch where the cat had attempted to take his seat, Cassidy carefully watching the whole way.

Dustin picked up Mothball and placed him on his lap where he was happy to settle into a loaf position, eyes closed and purring. When he caught Cassidy's eyes for a moment, Dustin averted them back to her cat and stroked him so as to concentrate his nerves away from her inquisitive stare.

Soon Cassidy was done well before her mother had a chance to finish on the first knot and instructed Eleven to keep them aloft. "You don't want to smudge the paint."

Eleven smiled gratefully at Cassidy, mesmerised by her handiwork with her newly done nails. It wasn't something she had been aware of from her reading, but she immensely enjoyed the clean and polished feeling that came from her nails being tended to.

"Thanks, Cassidy," Will spoke meaningfully, glancing away from Eleven.

He was careful to frame himself that many had seen him, so as to gain the sympathy that came with being the kid who disappeared for a week in unknown circumstances.

"It means a lot…she's not great with flying and this is exactly what she needed after her trip over…"

"It's no problem Will," said Cassidy kindly, albeit tightly.

"But I was hoping to ask you for another favour?"

"Oh?" she spoke unexpectedly.

"Yeah…El lost all her luggage, which is why she's been more stressed than comfortable the last 24 hours…all her toiletries, makeup and clothes are gone and she's not coping," he said, with an ounce of truth to the matter.

Cassidy softened at hearing this, and Will continued while he was on a pretty decent lying streak.

"I've got a ton of cash to pay for everything, but my Mom hasn't got time to go shopping with El while she's working and well…we're a bunch of guys who play D&D most weekends."

Dustin looked about ready to die when Will had mentioned their beloved past time, Lucas wasn't much impressed either with the confession and Mike was just waiting for an answer, past his status of being the epitome of a fucking nerd.

"Could you give us a hand? Maybe then we won't look like creeps when it comes to the more intimate stuff."

Cassidy considered him for a moment and when she took a quick look at Eleven, knew that maybe this was her chance to figure some stuff out in a more isolated situation.

"I'd be happy to help Will."

"Cool," said Will brightly. "You wouldn't also mind providing her with a temporary makeover until then too?"

Cassidy looked disbelieving at such a suggestion but Eleven pictured Mike putting blush on her cheeks and very carefully applying mascara to her eyes and she sat up. "Could you?"

Cassidy turned to her mother who nodded without hesitation, her daughter shrugging in return. "You may as well get the full works, I suppose."

It's about half an hour of tedious combing, cutting, trimming and snipping that Donna finally reaches for a hairdryer in a drawer and connected it to the power outlet. The group is fairly sleepy in their wait, with only Mike being the energised group of jittery cells, leg jiggling in anticipation as habit always had done in these moments.

When she flipped the switch, a crashing noise filled with electricity sparked up, with darkness soon enveloping the garage.

Mike could feel his friends immediately react to this and quickly panicked when he thought of Will and El somewhere in the darkness.

Lucas screamed as his memories of the night in the Middle School took over as Dustin tried to muffle him, his own instincts kicking in and needing silence to survive whatever the hell might be lurking in the dark.

Will had pulled El to him, hair still slick and she was attached to his body when she felt his familiarity take her, but she was practically standing in front of him, ready to be useful.

A flashlight illuminated the blacked out garage and Donna's face was eerily framed in its warm glow.

"Oh, I'm so sorry kids," she said breathily, "That happens sometimes, I'll go check the fuse box and get things working again."

She handed the flashlight to Cassidy who was now given the literal spotlight and she looked fearful too, although certainly not from the irrational fears built up from childhood. The flashlight was slowly spread across the room as she checked on everyone. Dustin was just releasing Lucas' mouth and Mike was in a crouch position on the couch, with Will clutching Eleven, who looked by far the most prepared for something, but Cassidy could never predict what that would be.

"We haven't had a sudden blackout like that in a while…are you guys okay?"

Mike reverted back to his normal sitting position, as Will sat Eleven back down in the chair, her fierceness changing to that of confusion. He quietly said, "It's always flashing, always flashing."

It served as a reminder, and everyone else seemed to be coming down from their heightened adrenaline rush, with Cassidy left curious about the whole incident that had also put her on edge in a way she couldn't comprehend.

After the lights had turned on, and Eleven's hair had finally been styled and dried, the entire trip to Cassidy's mother's in-home salon had taken about an hour and a half.

"Just one last thing dears," Donna insisted.

She kept Eleven gently in the chair and pulled a small fishing tackle box onto the vanity table. Opening it up, she revealed a vast array of cosmetic items.

"A touch here and there will enhance your natural features."

Enhancing Eleven's natural features didn't require as much time as Lucas had predicted and she didn't end up looking like Cyndi Lauper in any of her music videos. Blush, mascara and a cherry gloss were perfected upon Eleven's visage and she relished in the smells of the cosmetics, and to the pleased expressions of her friends, especially when Donna claimed to finally be finished.

Once she was allowed to look at herself in the mirror, Eleven's face dropped in shock. It had been so long since she'd been happy with her appearance, so proud it was overwhelming. Her face broke out into the biggest smile she could muster from years of training herself to be passive in front of others.

"You still clean up pretty nice El," Dustin said confidently.

"Yeah, you look great," Lucas spoke with sincerity.

Will simply grinned as he watched his kindred spirit glow.

For Mike though, seeing Eleven turn around to look at herself in a mirror and light up with the gleeful expression she had made up for nearly shitting himself in Cassidy Fox's garage. It didn't hurt that once she walked up to him, her hair had a touch of lavender wafting throughout and showed herself off to him.

"Pretty?"

"Yeah…really pretty."

Cassidy had forgotten for a moment that she was highly suspicious of the whole lot of them when she watched something as adorably uncomfortable as Mike Wheeler expressing sentiment for a girl and Will pulled up and handed her a pretty nice sum in twenties considering the discount she had offered.

"Give this to your Mom, Cass. She did a good job."

Donna walked back in and waved off the funds entirely. "Oh no, I've succeeded where money doesn't need to be a reward. Her aura is relaxed and she seems pleased."

"Well thank you, Mrs Fox, I mean, Donna," Will speaks kindly although manages to slip the sum to Cassidy as he recalls her briefly mentioning that funds weren't always great and he was indeed paying for the service her mother supplied that day. Cassidy was grateful for the reluctance on his part to follow her mother's wishes and swiped the money into her pocket. She was sure a bill was due soon.

He turned and started to walk away from the garage, where his friends and Eleven were reconvening by Lucas' car. As she flipped the notes in her hand to count them, he pulled to a stop and called back to her, dragging her attention away from the money in her hands.

"…You coming, Cass?"

She slowly smiled and nodded, making sure to grab her purse on the way out of the garage from her school bag.

After the lights had turned off, the boys were ready to get the hell out of that house, mostly embarrassed but also very much so aware of their priorities again, driving away with a new passenger still in tow to Eleven's anxious delight.

It was a tight squeeze, one that made Eleven and Mike forcibly bunch a lot closer for comfort than either had anticipated and with only Will supplying any sort of conversation. Nevertheless, they made the ten-minute drive to the Starcourt Mall glad to see that Eleven could blend in with the crowd better, and the guys believing that going to the mall wouldn't likely be on the radar of anyone hunting after Eleven.

Lucas, the only one with much experience in the mall since the guys don't tend to find their way at the shopping locale often, leads the way. He takes Eleven's arm into his like a gentleman escorting a lady, which heightens Mike for a second until Will rolls his eyes and says, "Dude, chill."

"That over there is the Hot Dog On a Stick, not worth your time, honestly," Lucas points out to El who is amused at Lucas' observations. "The Dairy Queen is dynamite - the server girls are always cute - not that that matters to you obviously - but the ice cream is pretty good too!"

"I don't think the food court matters much right now," Mike comments honestly.

"Yeah, hate to say it fellas...and, and ladies, but we do have to get the most boring part out of the way," says Dustin, not entirely thrilled to go clothes shopping.

"With Byer's style and my dire need to stay away from capitalism as much as possible - we're going to be finished sooner rather than later," Cassidy states quite clearly, gently taking Eleven's hand and leading the way to a department store far away from the food court, Will and Lucas in tow.

Dustin looks down at his clothes with some disdain and says, "Do I have bad taste?"

Mike rolled his eyes and catches up, with Dustin coming up in the rear in due time.

It had been forty-five minutes. They'd come out with nine items from two stores already - what Cassidy insisted were basics. A second pair of jeans in acid wash black that were extra skinny and higher waisted, a pair of boots that she managed to get cheaper for a scuff mark, a denim jacket since she had Mike's coat for winter weather, two sweaters that were half price in a store sale, one that was green, white and blue and a another that was knitted with a knotted cord design and beige, a plain turtleneck, a black and yellow button-up shirt ("it'll go with the jeans"), a plain long sleeve white button up shirt that had a pocket on the front, and a long sleeve striped shirt.

Currently, Eleven was about to add a pair of loafers, a mid-length skirt, a pair of pyjamas and was now trying on a dress - based on Cassidy's advice. From the way Cassidy had seen Mike eyeing El in every outfit as though every little thing she did was magic, she knew the girl would need a nice dress at some point or another if Mike ever gathered enough courage.

Cassidy set the clearly bored Lucas and Dustin to find a pair of relatively cool sunglasses at a decent price and a few pairs of socks. She sent Will off into the department store to find a warm scarf and gloves - and maybe a pair of earmuffs or a hat too. They were all happy to be given something useful to do. A shop girl helpfully added a basic white t-shirt to the try-on pile when Cassidy asked her if they had any in stock in El's size.

"Thank you," Cassidy said politely before she walked off. Mike was the only one left sitting at the special chaise lounge waiting for El to change again.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Mike asked reluctantly.

Cassidy shook her head, to his ultimate relief. "No, I don't think you're that confident with me being alone with the girl you're clearly head over heels for Wheeler. Besides every time you react like Cindy Crawford walks out of that stall, we get things done a lot quicker."

Mike is taken aback by this brash statement. He could see the similarities certainly, but he was never thinking of her crassly - but she wasn't wrong about the former statement. Cassidy was clearly curious and they couldn't afford for her to poke and prod El at her most vulnerable.

"What's that meant to mean?"

"It means," Cassidy says more quietly as she steps closer, considering Eleven's not deaf, "that Will's cousin thinks pretty highly of your opinion Wheeler."

Mike shrugs his shoulders as he inevitably burns at his cheeks.

"I'm ready."

"Come on out Miss Reykjavik," Cassidy called back, taking a seat next to Mike who perked up at the announcement.

El was frowning, as she didn't understand the nickname suddenly given to her by Cassidy, but it didn't stop her from leaving the changing room. She was wearing a moss green, short sleeved, A-line dress, cinched with a belt that fell just above her knees. Mike's shoulders sagged at the sight of her. She was playing with the skirt, ruffling about the texture when she asked, "Pretty?"

Mike swallowed and smiled, almost forgetting Cassidy beside him as he felt the focus of the world soften around Eleven, as she stood in her element - exploring her femininity and her freedom unabashedly.

"You look beautiful El."

Her eyes widened. She knew the significance of the word. It was marked down in her dictionary. She had finally heard it aloud - not the clunky pronunciation she'd given it when attempting it. Her smile was brilliant and she almost felt shy for a moment. She simply repeated the word quietly and looked to Cassidy for her assessment.

"It's a winner girl."

"Are we nearly finished?"

Lucas had forgotten what shopping with girls felt like after cutting himself from the activity of going with his mother and sister for the last time two years ago. It was an hour and a half in now and they'd left the third store with a decent haul once more. Will had a significantly lighter wallet but overall was surprised with Cassidy's eye for a bargain even when it seemed like she was getting more than he suspected was necessary (although he decided not to comment since he'd picked out a couple of the pieces that ended up in the shopping bags that were possibly deemed unnecessary, such as a navy blue beret he found in JC Penney that Dustin scoffed at).

"Well is there anything we're forgetting?" Cassidy asked, mostly in Will's direction. The girl had lost her suitcase in her mind after all. "I know we have to go to the Drug Fair to pick up some makeup for El, but - Oh."

Her face fell with the recognition of something considerably more private when Cassidy moved closer to Eleven to whisper in her ear. El's eyes and cheeks burned and she nodded.

Cassidy turned to the boys and said, "El and I are going to have some girl time - by ourselves - no take backs, Wheeler," she directs at Mike before he can interrupt. "There must be a comic book store around here somewhere you boys can hang out in?"

Will caught on the quickest. He forked out some cash of the Hamilton variety and handed it to Cassidy discreetly.

"Yeah, sounds like an excellent idea, we'll see you in half an hour? I think the mall closes around then - we'll meet you at the -"

"Wait, I'm not so sure about this," Mike started.

Dustin, having a peachier appearance than most were used to seeing on his complexion elbowed Mike roughly. "Fox is giving us an out man - and I don't think you really want to be present for the next half an hour. We'll meet you by the Dairy Queen where Lucas will fail to hit on the girls at the counter."

Lucas consequently punched Dustin in the arm.

Will dragged Mike away before he could protest the conditions once more and Eleven waved them goodbye until she would see them again. Mike watched as Cassidy slipped her arm into a loop with Eleven, making her feel comfortable and safe. At least Cassidy knew that this wasn't easy for her to be separated even if they felt it was necessary for some dumb girl bonding reason.

"Are you sure we can trust Fox?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, stopping in his path. "Mike it's not about trust - which is hardly a problem if we keep our cool, which you kind of suck at - it's about what clearly makes girls, you know, girls."

Dustin held up his hands to his chest in such a suggestion which made Mike blanch.

"Yeah, El might like you but there's only so much exposure she can handle after the way you reacted to seeing her in a bra earlier," Dustin explained simply.

The boys couldn't walk into the Starcourt Mall's arcade with fears that their allegiance to the local Hawkins Palace Arcade being quashed and some perks being lost with that too. After a bit of flirting with a brunette across the counter, Lucas was approached by the manager and asked if he planned on buying anything or just holding up the servers. Lucas skedaddled after that.

And so when the boys were scuffing their shoes with no idea of what to do, something sparked within Mike.

"I, uh, I have something to pick up."

All bored and with nothing to do, the three followed to Mike's humiliation. "No, you don't need to come, seriously."

"Mike it's okay, it's always good to have support when you're getting your first bra."

Dustin's joke fell short but the message came across pretty clearly.

"What's so important and secretive that we can't be around?" asked Will concerned.

"It's nothing really...just...goddamnit you'll find out soon enough."

Mike trudged away and the other three, with a short glance of confusion followed Mike on his journey to his next destination.

After picking up the right shade of foundation, concealer, powder and blush, Cassidy found a plastic bag full of disposable triangular sponges and a couple of cheap brushes and a small pot of golden shimmery powder stuff that she called 'highlighter'. She added a mascara before she forgot and a brand new toothbrush, floss, deodorant, and an emergency pack of menstrual pads, before hightailing it out of the Drug Fair where they would spend a majority of their time in a nice lingerie store.

It was a word that Eleven was still unable to pronounce due to its confusing lettering, but Cassidy had helped with no scepticism on her part to Eleven's relief.

Cassidy assessed from a quick look behind Eleven's jeans what size she was most comfortable before getting some multipacks of cotton underwear. A shop assistant helped measure Eleven's chest when the said girl looked blank when asked what size she was around her chest.

"She's from Iceland, not everything translates well," Cassidy explained. The shop assistant with bright purple eyeshadow and overly hair sprayed do simply responded "Ah," before grabbing her tape.

After getting some comfortable t-shirt bras for her, Cassidy found her new acquaintance staring in awe of a blonde model on an advertisement for the brand new Wonderbra from Gossard. It was a push-up bra. The tagline had something to do with "driving the boys wild".

"Why would you want to drive a boy wild?" Eleven asked when she felt Cassidy's presence beside her. "Surely that would make them...frightening?"

Cassidy smiled at the interpretation, "It's sexist advertising that insists we wear bras for men - which in a lot of ways is part of the reason bras exist - to keep them perky for Western men. I'm going on a rant. Sorry."

"What does sexist mean?"

Oh, Cassidy had a lot to teach. But now wasn't the time, nor the place.

"I'll give you the Manifesto later. There's a lot of history. But I think the easiest answer for you is that men shouldn't stare at your chest or see it as a priority unless you want them to. Plus, Wonderbras are stupid expensive when I know a cheaper brand my cousin buys with virtually the same effect."

"Mike covered his eyes when he walked in on Will helping me put mine on today."

"That doesn't surprise me in the least El," Cassidy said with an amused smile, realising why Mike Wheeler may have been more flustered than she'd ever witnessed of him in classes.

"Does he not want to stare at my chest?" El asked as she saw a bunch of guys looking at the display window advertising the Wonderbra to the unwashed masses.

Cassidy's eyes narrowed, careful not to be seen watching the boys when she recognised the busted up face of Troy Donovan leering with his friends, the girl pulled Eleven closer, her back to the entrance of the shop, effectively covering Cassidy from their view.

Unsure as to how to answer this question with her own personal beliefs, Cassidy looked for the least condescending way to do so. "I'm sure in time he will, but I don't think Mike will do anything that you're not comfortable with - he seems too respectful for that. Besides, there's more to life than pleasing the opposite sex. You've got to live for yourself too El."

Eleven nodded, for once fully understanding just what a perfect stranger had said to her and what that meant for her in the long run. She liked Mike, but Cassidy was right. She had to live for herself too.

Mike stood in front of Oppenheimer's Emporium, a jewellery store that had been in Mike's repertoire for some time. Lucas looked at the store and then back to Mike. Dustin looked quite impressed and Will couldn't help but smile and pat Mike on the shoulder.

"Bit soon for an engagement ring, isn't it Mike?"

Mike glared at his best friend and squinted his eyes at the stupidity of such a suggestion.

"I'm not getting her a ring asshole. I've got something on the books."

"Something on the books?" Dustin questioned with a curious smile.

"We can wait out here Mike," Will suggested kindly, trying to give his friend some slack.

"Hell no, I want to see what Mike's 'got on the books'," Dustin protested, immediately walking into Oppenheimer's before another word could be uttered on the matter.

The opulent store glittered from the thousands of things on display, reflecting from the store lights. There was a couple looking at rings and an older gentleman wearing a nice suit with a trench coat over his arm finishing a purchase with a saleslady, while a much older looking man could be seen polishing some unseen jewellery or diamond.

Dustin was about to walk up to him before Mike stopped him.

"No, not him. Just wait Dustin."

The testiness in Mike's voice was enough for Dustin to put his hands up in surrender. Will and Lucas were behind him, looking around curiously, waiting for Mike to push himself toward a counter.

As the older gentleman walked out the store, the saleslady was more visible to the boys, her big black perm and her dark purple dress with accentuated shoulder pads, a fake beauty spot and an intimidating look, saw the boys with an air of scrutiny before her frightening icy blue eyes landed on Mike and her face dropped, a sparkling white smile emitting as brightly as the diamonds she was surrounded by.

"Well, well, well, Mr Wheeler," her velvety voice echoed, an accent from the East coast rumbling through, "You've certainly grown."

"Hello Miss Oppenheimer," Mike said with a small smile.

"As much as it's a pleasure to see you again, I do hope you're here to make your final payment," She smiled knowingly.

"Final payment?" Will couldn't help but ask.

Miss Oppenheimer smiled slyly as she leaned over the glass case counter and said, "Who are your friends Michael?"

"This is Will, Dustin and Lucas," Mike quickly went through pointing them out one by one. "I didn't think they'd be here, but they were too damn nosey to leave me be."

"Language Mike," Lucas said under his breath, his tenacity to always be respectful within the company of adults shining over his need to support his friend.

"I suppose it's not every day a teenage boy walks into a jewellery store," Miss Oppenheimer stated with clear reminiscence on her mind. "Well, you got the money or am I holding onto your gift for another year until you decide to mosey on in again?"

Mike pulled out his wallet and asked, "How much do I owe you still?"

Miss Oppenheimer held up a manicured fingernail and walked behind the counter to a drawer, pulling out a piece of paper. Her heels click-clacked along the cream tiled floor and she had an official invoice with a few scribbles here and there. Pulling out some glasses to read the finer printed ink, faded with a little age and stained by a coffee mug, the three other boys unintentionally leaned in to sneak a peek.

Dustin gasped and Lucas and Will followed up with cartoon-like bulging eyes

"You started this back in '83?"

"Mike that's a lot of money!"

"Who the hell is E.J.?"

The last one came from Will who was clearly confused by the initials. Lucas and Dustin took their time to come down from their own personal questions on the matter before wondering the same of Will's immediate thoughts on the matter.

"Stands for Jane - you know, the other name," Mike said quietly.

"Why didn't you put 'M' there instead, kind of feels like the present indicates more than just simple friendship," Dustin pointed out.

"Because that would be mighty presumptuous of me," Mike spoke honestly.

Miss Oppenheimer coughed, her eyes narrowing on the boys as they stepped back from a force they didn't know she had. She looked a little more softly at Mike before asking, "Shall we continue Michael?" He nodded gratefully toward her and said,

"Thank you, Miss Oppenheimer."

"You know my damn name well enough now Michael."

"Sorry...Regina," Mike said with a small smile.

She smiled in return and looked back at the invoice. "Okay, so, you paid most of this off last year...all that's left is," and she looked back at the boys who were eavesdropping and from a clear glare and zero trust in them, she gestured Mike closer with the pointy manicured fingernail on her index finger.

She whispered in Mike's ear and he nodded, checking his wallet and sighing when he said, "Looks like it'll have to be next time Regina."

He handed over a ten dollar note and she sighed too, "Well, you're just that bit closer Michael, that's more than I can hope."

Suddenly, a twenty dollar note was smacked down on the counter next to them, the hand it belonged to being Will's.

"That's all he needs, right?" Will asked.

Miss Regina Oppenheimer looked down at the invoice and smirked, "Sharp eyes kid."

"Will I can't let-"

"Shut up Mike," Will said in the friendliest way possible, a smart smile on his mouth.

"So the girl's back in town?" Miss Oppenheimer surmised quickly.

"Yes, she's back in town," Will answered before Mike could say anything.

"So what has Mike 'had on the books' these last three years?"

Regina glared slightly at Mike who shrunk somewhat, before turning back to Will, Dustin and Lucas behind him watching on with curiosity, "Your friend Mike got lucky coming across me the day he did. I don't let people often layby one of our least costly items, and my father outright refuses it, but your boy here hit a soft spot so I just couldn't turn him away. You don't spread that story around or I'll get some very pissed off customers coming in, understood?"

"Yes Ma'am," Lucas said quickly, the others nodding eagerly. Mike was now leaning over the counter, fairly embarrassed at all these revelations coming out in front of his closest friends.

In the same drawer from whence she pulled the original invoice of '83, a square white box, too big for a ring to Dustin's disappointment, with the gold writing of Oppenheimer's printed on top with a little gold bow for emphasis, was placed in front of Mike, who still hadn't looked up from his pure embarrassment.

"Can we see it, Mike?" Will asked carefully.

Mike took a moment before standing up and opening the box carefully. there was some protective foam on top which he removed to find the solid gold bangle and it's very few embellishments staring at him, his memories flooding back from that December he spent shovelling people's driveways for money.

He remembered Nancy giving him a five dollar note when she found out about his plan, how it barely dented the price but it was the thought that counted.

How Regina, with all her intimidation and know how gave Mike the time of day when he didn't necessarily deserve it, but he guessed she felt sympathy for the red nosed twelve-year old that had walked in cluelessly, hopeful and naive of Eleven's chances of coming back. He'd lied about her, that she had left town but that he was hoping she'd move back one day. First love seemed to burn away at Regina's policies and she argued her father down until he threw his hands up and walked out back. He wasn't a huge fan of Mike's to say the least and so he avoided him like the plague when he came in over the last three years.

The bangle, with two letters, one E and one J either side of a gold heart with a small diamond in one of the curved sections glared at him with a sense of reckoning a year ago. He had realised then it was likely that once he paid off the gift that he would bury it - as a way of giving her what she deserved in life with her six feet under instead. It was bittersweet at the time.

Now it's golden sheen didn't taunt him with 'Never'. It brought him the new face he saw wave goodbye not fifteen minutes ago to him, a renewed sense of being in her second chance knowing she'd not disappear despite what his paranoia screamed at him 24/7 since he reunited with her this morning.

Mike smiled at Regina, "Thank you, for keeping it safe for me."

Regina felt the emotion reverberate from his very being as he looked down at the bangle and all it signified to him after some gruelling years and she smiled kindly to him. "I'm glad she came back, Michael."

Somewhat slumping on a chair in the food court, Eleven decides that while shopping is fun it can also be tiring and a little tedious when it comes to the boring stuff, and it's dark outside which tells her how time-consuming it's all been. There are bags of all different shapes and sizes around her and she doesn't think she's seen so much stuff all for her in one go.

Her new friend Cassidy comes up to the table piled high in bags and slides over a tall cup that has a lid and straw. It's a bright shade of blue that she's never seen in food before.

"I didn't know what you'd like so I just got you blue raspberry, seems to be the most popular flavour. I prefer cherry."

Eleven sipped at the straw, and nearly spits it out at the feeling of the texture, but holds herself together to swallow.

"Shit sorry! I should've explained. It's a slushie - maybe they don't have those in Iceland?"

Eleven shakes her head and tries it again now she knows what she's in for. It's very cold and sugary, but it doesn't taste bad, and the texture melts in her mouth upon touching her tongue.

"Cool," she remarks with a smile to Cassidy. Cassidy begins to smile as El begins to enjoy herself, although maybe sips too quickly the third time.

"Ah! Why does it hurt?!"

"You have to sip it slowly otherwise you'll get a brain freeze," Cassidy seethed in realisation again, "I'm doing such a great job of giving you a heads up."

Eleven laughs, catching onto the sarcasm which she'd only grasped from the dictionary definition of it.

She notices over the few minutes they're sitting alone in the food court that Cassidy's mouth is slowly getting more red.

"Are you bleeding?" El asked with worry in her tone. Cassidy touches her mouth in regards to her concern and comes away with nothing, only to chuckle slightly. "One last thing with the slushies, they'll stain your mouth. Yours is blue - mine is red."

"Really?" Eleven asked in some wonder.

Cassidy nodded and wrangled her small handbag from the floor, pulling out the tortoiseshell compact mirror her mother insisted she kept with her at all times and flipped it open to show Eleven the evidence. Eleven gasped and covered her mouth, giggling in spite of herself.

Cassidy smiled and put the compact away. "It'll go away once you brush your teeth when you get home."

"Oh good," Eleven giggled again. She wasn't sure how appealing a blue mouth was to look at all the time, "I don't think blue is my colour."

"Don't worry, red isn't mine either," Cassidy laughed.

So this was what living for oneself felt like?

Eleven didn't mind it at all.

When the boys arrived by the table, they could see Eleven having the time of her life with Cassidy and Will was forced to say it. "Looks like Cassidy is definitely sticking around for a while."

"It's a risk," Mike insisted.

"A risk that's making El pretty damn happy," Lucas admitted, "Besides she gives me lots of anti-government vibes."

"Well, she rightly would with her heritage," Dustin spoke softly.

Mike sighed resigning himself to the fate before him. "Fine, she can stay. But she's on a probationary period. And no one can tell her the truth."

"Obviously. She'd think we were insane," said Lucas sharply.

Will lead the somewhat melodramatic group of his friends toward the table where El and Cassidy camped out waiting for them to return from their secret errand.

"Oh hey," Cassidy greeted, "I'm showing El the great big world of how not to drink a slushie."

"I got my first brain freeze!" El announced like it was a big deal.

"Accidentally. Forgot to warn her about that," Cassidy admitted sheepishly.

Dustin stole the drink from Eleven, as he regaled her with a tale of a slushie-pocalpyse that hit the Fair Mart one year when someone with a vengeance against the owner put fliers all around town for a free slushie for a day in the hottest month of summer.

"Did you manage to get everything?" Will asked Cassidy with the intention of being discreet. She nodded and said, "But you won't be seeing any change. Your cousin had an eye on a nice matching set when we were in Glenda's Lingerie."

"That's fine, Mom got the money out with the intention she could spend it any way she wanted," Will brushed off with ease. "And thanks, for doing that. The guys are especially weird about that stuff."

"You don't need to tell me twice. I heard all about the walk in from earlier today," Cassidy smiled in mild amusement.

Lucas nudged Mike when he checked the time, seeing the perfect image of his concerned mother going in on him for such little communication all the while just getting off from being the next cage fighter of Hawkins High.

"I think we're going to have to get going soon, guys."

"And by soon, he means now," Lucas reiterated, taking a hold of two of the bags from the table, as Dustin picked one up and Will took another two.

There was only one bag left and Mike grabbed it before Eleven could even try for it, holding it out his hand in a reinvigorated sense of courage he couldn't find a few hours ago. She smiled and took it as Cassidy walked alongside Will, much to Dustin's dismay.

Just as Eleven let her hand fall from Mike's, he slipped it through his arm, which warmed her to no end.

But that feeling didn't last, not when she felt like intuitively, she was being watched.

Her paranoia picked up quickly as she continued to walk with Mike, holding his arm and carefully looking around. What she found alleviated her original worry, but it still didn't feel good to have eyes on her, even if they were a bunch of teenage loiterers with a few clearly staring down the lanky boy next to her.

Eleven tried to think nothing of it until they arrived at the parking lot. Within sight of Lucas' car down a long row of others, Eleven turned to see the group following them. She felt a peculiar sense of familiarity, but what could it be when she couldn't remember much of her last time in Hawkins with the exception of the four boys who currently her company.

Mike seemed to catch on when he felt her head turn around the third time.

"El, what's up?" he asked with concern.

It didn't take long for the memory of the Quarry to be pulled up, wherein which Mike jumped off the edge to save Dustin from being cut up by what was essentially a boy who shouldn't have found a knife, because El certainly made him regret it.

But regret turned into hatred and turned into revenge. And she felt it come off him with heat and despise, as he stared down Mike. El felt herself rise to the challenge.

"Mouth Breather."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she was talking about Troy Donovan. And he was backed up with more than James and Brock behind him.

They were only so many yards to Lucas' car when Mike looked behind his shoulder and rolled his eyes, deciding to just keep going closer to the car. He wanted to avoid the girls getting in the crosswires of what was obviously going to be a violent confrontation and what made Mike speed up and away wasn't the fear of being beaten up. It was the fear that Troy or James would recognise El and that she would no longer be safe.

"El whatever happens," Mike began to whisper as he continued to look on ahead to the rest of the group, "I need you to stay hidden. They - they can't see you - not your face at least. Donovan has a big mouth and last time -"

"Hey, Frogface - you're walking mighty quick to get away from me!"

The rest of the group turned, the boys clearly panicked. Cassidy looked solely unimpressed once more as she pulls Lucas towards the car to at least unlock it. Troy, sporting a black eye and some bandages, is flanked by Brock and James who haven't got a single scratch on them from the previous day's incident. There are about two more guys behind him, who Mike recognises to be Juniors, with two of the girls being Juniors and Stacey, who is lighting up a cigarette and clearly preparing for a second performance with what they're expecting to be a different outcome with the extra muscle and the girls to impress.

The boys are outnumbered. They won't touch the girls, it's not the way. And El can't risk being exposed. She holds onto Mike's arm, refusing to follow his words.

"What do you want Donovan? A repeat?" Mike gritted out angrily. He felt Will step up beside, pushing El effectively out of sight and behind Mike, but she is adamant not to let go of him.

"Don't be so fucking sure of yourself Frogface - I don't think your nerdy ass and your faggy friends could go up against the likes of us."

"Do you ever take a day off from being a complete ass, Donovan?" Dustin comes up beside Will.

Lucas and Cassidy are filling the trunk with the purchases while the warring groups are distracted, Lucas knowing the minute they get beat, they'll probably rob them just for kicks. With the final bag in, Lucas slams the trunk closed.

Lucas hands Cassidy the keys. "We're going to be here a while."

"I'll try to defuse the situation," Cassidy says with a groan.

"No, you need to get El away from the situation. Things tend to get hairy when she's involved," Lucas impedes on Cassidy.

"Fine," Cassidy relents as the keys jingle in her hand. They walk back to the group cautiously, Cassidy about to gently pull Eleven away when the next thing is brought up in the fighting words.

"And I thought you were being a fucking coward Midnight, hiding away like the little co-," Brock sneered.

Lucas is about to push through with fists at the ready as Brock doesn't need to finish his sentence, it having been years since Lucas was last called anything with that heavy sense of gravity to it, but it certainly made an impact after so long. Will and Dustin are forced to hold him back as the group laughs. Eleven doesn't understand the sudden outburst from Lucas but knows it must be pretty significant for him to feel so outraged.

"I figured you would be trying to hide your Dad's side gig Brock - or is the Ohio chapter no longer in operation after the CIA put him in prison," Dustin retorted with significant ease.

Cassidy snorted in disbelief and grand amusement and the boys looked to him with shining admiration for that blow.

Brock went a furious red, with both shame and anger toward the curly haired boy who turned out to know a lot more about the secretive new bully then he let on.

"Your dad's a Klansman?" James spoke in mild shock.

"You all seemed pretty okay with the diet racism before," Will mentioned with disgust to their hypocrisy.

Brock launched himself toward Dustin when Cassidy jumped in the way which inevitably forced Brock to stumble and blunder it so he wouldn't hit a girl. Violence against girls was apparently too far.

"I think the Sharks versus Jets number can take place another time, don't you?"

"Oh no, not this time Fox," spat one of the Junior boys, an olive-skinned short guy with hair as styled as a Hair rock band's lead singer, a shake of his head condescendingly, "You fucked it up last time by letting it become an unfair fight for my boy Troy. Either get out the way or find yourself getting hit."

"Don't you fucking dare," Dustin pushed himself forward but Mike pushed them both back behind him fiercely.

"This is between you and me Donovan, no one else needs to be involved," he said as he stared him down.

Donovan smiled sadistically, "That's right. All I did was comment on your dead girlfriend and you went fucking psycho on me."

Mike felt Eleven's grip tighten around his arm, his heart beating a mile a minute with her present at hearing all of this.

He would have to explain it later, likely while he was in the hospital recovering from his injuries or in another state because his super-powered crush took matters into her own hands. Now was not the time or the place.

"Just you and me, Donovan," Mike repeated. Half his face couldn't quite make the smile, but he could see the self-satisfied grin in Troy's eyes as he finally came to terms with the conditions. After all, Mike couldn't catch him unawares this time. But he was about to do the same.

Troy pilfered through his pocket when he found his latest purchase and placed the knuckleduster on his right hand. Mike's eyes widened when he realised just how fucking nuts Troy Donovan was.

"Round Two Wheeler."

"Troy," Cassidy pleaded, "You don't need to do this."

It seemed to be her last amnesty to a clearly demented teenage boy, who simply looked at her, head tilted as he squinted his less busted up eye at her with disappointment.

"This is a different issue, Fox. And you chose your side. You'll regret that soon enough," the venom dripping in his near threat.

Cassidy's whole body straightened up at that and she shook her head as she glared at him. Her last resolve had broken.

She said one last thing, "When you eventually get off your high, just remember this. I fucking tried."

Will patted her on the shoulder, not sure of what went down but wanting her to be as far away as possible from the inevitable.

Mike took a second step forward into a formed circle Lucas taking El's hand away from Mike's arm.

"It's just something he needs to do," Lucas whispered to her painfully.

She was in view of one of Troy's flanks. James had finally got a glimpse of the girl hiding behind Mike Wheeler when something seemed to filter through from three years ago. There was an imminent sense of danger flooding his veins.

But he never got to warn Troy.

A fancy car enters the strip of road that accesses the row of undercover parked cars, lights blaring from the darkened winter night, screeches to a stop right beside them. The Police is playing from what is a black 4 door Mercedes Benz, and Troy is about to tell them where they can go and get lost.

He's alone as he steps out the car, lights still illuminating their confrontation with the winter air swirling in its ambience. While such numbers should intimidate even the oldest and most authoritative of adults trying to tell some kids to knock it off and separate, the influence that ripples from this young man is enough to get their attention and immediately defuse the tension in a way Cassidy couldn't accomplish.

The young man flicks the cigarette he's finished and closes the door to the car.

The hair, the suave stance as he leaned against his car and the wealthiness that surrounded him with such ease and confidence was enough to tell who it was.

"Steve?" Mike said with some surprise.

His slight smirk found his way to his visage when he eyed his ex-girlfriend's little brother.

"Yeah. We got a problem here?"

Author's Note:

Yikes.

So it's been a while. Like over a year lol.

Basically, I lied when I said I had all the chapters planned out. Now I actually do.

I'm not going to be as busy this year and I guess in sole anticipation of the July premiere of Season Three, I decided to finish this before the canon got even further away from this story. It's inevitable, but I'd rather post this first and then watch what the Duffer Brothers have in store for me.

In preparation, I decided to cut this chapter down a bit to add some more cliffhangers. This is definitely still a thirty chapter fic, doesn't need to be any longer because any one-shots will be in the series but separate from this set of chapters.

I've also planned out a second fanfic that is far more AU in the plot.

But I don't want to start that until this is finished, which I have better feeling it will be.

This is the Madonna song title chapter I was talking about in chapter 8's notes that I ended up pushing to another chapter to add some stuff about another OC called Zemora to add a bit more build up for her part in the story. It's purely Stranger Things Kids (turned to Teens) based until I give you a heads up when it's more Adult character-centric, although they're going to gradually get more split up between perspectives when the chapters start to get a bit more frantic in plot.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I haven't discontinued or abandoned this fic. Hopefully more to come soon.

Fadinggx