Hey again, my loves! I know it's been a few days. My original plan was to upload chapters six, seven, and eight all within three days, but with the eighth chapter, I wanted to take a little more time to make sure everything I wanted to do with it could be done. I hope the wait wasn't too long and I hope you all enjoy! :)

Chapter Eight: Mall Rats

Morning rose as El sat in her chair in front of her desk by her window. She slouched in posture and stared down at her blue hair tie that sat on the polished wooden desktop. Hop had given it to her. He told her it was his biological daughter's before she passed. Eleven often thought of what she would be like if she were still alive. Whether they would be friends. Maybe she would've had her own sister. She and Max were close, but they were more friends than sisters. El rose her hand slowly and focused on the hair tie as it began to levitate off of the desk. She kept her gaze trained on the object as it rose to her eye level. She caused the tie to rotate in the air at a slow and steady pace. Her head swayed with the motion. Suddenly, a tap on her window cause her to snap out of focus as the hair tie plopped back down onto the desk. El's head shot toward her window to see no one there. Just then, a small rock shot up and hit the glass lightly, falling back down. She got out of her seat and leaned on the window sill to see Max about to toss another pebble. El flicked her neck up as the window flew open by itself. Max froze, dropping the pebble. "Oh, there you are." She said with a smile.

El returned the expression warmly. She waved subtly. Max just took it as her being her usual quiet self. "So, uh...Can I come in?" Max asked. El shook her head rather vigorously. She remembered being told she couldn't have anyone over. Nor go out herself. "Well, can you come out?" Max tried. Met with the same shake of her friend's head. An added eye-widen for good measure. Max stared up at her. "Why aren't you talking?" She asked worriedly, covering her eyes from the bright sun. El pulled her head back into the room as Max seemed confused. She peeked back out with a small notepad and a pencil. She took the time to write some words onto one of the pages before turning it around for her to see it. "I'm grounded..." Max read it aloud. "What for? Is that why you had to leave Mike's the other night?" She asked. El nodded sadly. "Well...What'd you do?" Max pelted her with another question. Eleven exhaled and shook her head, putting her hands together and pulling them wide apart. "It's a long story?" Max deciphered her signal as El nodded. "Well...I miss you..." She pouted, squinting up at her. The Summer Sun shone on Hawkins with more color than usual.

El gave her friend a sympathetic look as if to return the affectionate confession. Max looked down. "Um...The thing I wanted to talk to you about..." She started as El gave her her attention. "Mike and I...Yesterday, we...We kinda sorta maybe had sex in his basement..." Max fiddled her hands together, not sure what her friend's reaction would be. A look of surprise ran across El's face. She almost choked on her own spit as she coughed violently. "Are you okay?" Max asked worriedly. Eleven gathered herself and looked back down at her. "Se-x..?" She croaked. Her voice was torn and in ruins, but she managed to wheeze out the one word. "...Yeah..." Max said admittedly. She seemed guilty. El was too busy becoming overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions to notice her friend's regretfulness. Surprise, confusion, jealousy, anger...All swirling into an emotional hurricane within her heart as she held her chest. "Are you okay?" Max asked. El didn't answer her. "I'm really sorry, El...Mike he was...He was waiting for you cause you said you would meet him...and I stopped by to say hi and he was feeling down because you stood him up-" El's head shot toward Max with an enraged look on her face.

It almost made the ginger shiver. She didn't get to see El like that often. But, it was the last thing she saw before Eleven spun around and waved her arm as the window slammed shut, locking by itself. Her curtains fell closed on their own as well. "Damn it..." Max cursed to herself. She looked around, not knowing exactly what to do before walking to her board and skating back down the block. El stood in her room. "Stood him up." She scoffed at the thought. She didn't stand anyone up. She was held captive by her step-mother because her step-brother told her that her boyfriend came over at night and had sex with her, when in actuality, it was her other son who was the one who raped her heartlessly while Will did nothing but ignored it. She couldn't believe Max had the audacity to accuse her of standing him up. And just because she didn't show up once means that he can just fuck their best friend? All the bad thoughts flowed through El's head. Thoughts that she'd shun any other time. Thoughts that she usually deemed unfathomable in her innocent mind. She didn't know how to process betrayal. Heartbreak. She started to tear up again.

What else was going to happen to break her spirit even further? Just then, her brain clicked. She glanced over at her nightstand that had her walkie-talkie rested by her alarm clock. And a picture of her and Mike. A picture of Max and her right beside that one. She smirked almost mischievously. Lucas propped his bike in the bike rack outside of the mall. "Was hoping you'd come..." Dustin greeted, walking up to him, commset in hand. "What do you think she wanted?" Lucas asked, wiping the sweat off of his exposed arms in the hot sun. People bustled past the boys in and out of the massive shopping center. "No idea. But, she messaged in Morse code. Something's up." "Why would she message us in Morse code?" Lucas looked confused. "Hmm, Lucas, let me just use my mind-reading powers to find out." Dustin touched his temple mockingly and went to touch Lucas' before he slapped his hand away. "Not funny." Lucas stated. "It is kinda fun-" The boys were interrupted when they turned to see their friend walk up to the mall. She stood between them and exchanged glances with both of them. "El, what the Hell are we doing here?" Dustin asked, seeming bothered.

She smiled and tapped his commset. "Yeah, I know I got your message. Why aren't you talking?" He asked. She put her chin up and caressed her throat hesitantly. "She lost her voice?" Dustin looked at Lucas, who seemed worried. "Y-Ye-s..." El squealed softly and winced. "Hey. Hey." Lucas put his hand on her shoulder and took her wrist with the other. "Don't talk. If your voice is shot, you could damage it worse by talking." He explained to her. El looked at him with rounded eyes and nodded, resting her head on his chest. Lucas held her awkwardly, looking over at Dustin. His friend shrugged. "So you say you got in a fight with Will...Then, you screamed so hard that you lost your voice..?" Lucas went over the story again. The three were now walking through the mall side-by-side. Eleven nodded, looking at him. "I don't know. I'm just not seeing it. Will? Angry? Especially as angry as you said he was?" Lucas said unsurely. "Y-You don't...Believe me..?" El wheezed. "No. Of course I do. It's just...I've never seen that side of Will before. None of us have..." He explained. "Well, I h-have..." El told him.

"That must explain why he left in such a rush the other night..." Dustin deducted to himself as the other two looked at him. "And you said he had powers?" Dustin asked. El nodded again. "He shot black smoke from his hands?" Lucas asked. "That sounds totally badass..." Dustin admitted seriously. "Maybe he got the powers while in the upside down..." Lucas added. "Maybe..." Dustin replied. Lucas halted, causing the others to stop just ahead of him. "What's wrong, Lucas?" Dustin asked as he and El followed his gaze. He was staring at a young woman across the mall with a cast on her arm and body stitching all down her arms. "Isn't that Heather Holloway?" Lucas asked. "The chick from the public pool?" Dustin added. "Yeah, Max told me she works with Billy." Lucas explained, not taking his eyes off of the injured girl. Dustin scoffed. "No wonder she's all banged up." He remarked as his friends looked at him. "What? Hanging out with a guy like Billy Hargrove? I wouldn't be surprised if he did it himself..." Dustin explained. "Don't say that..." Lucas told him. "What? Am I wrong? Remember when he tried to kill you in Will's house a couple years ago?" Dustin defended.

"W-What..?" Eleven seemed surprised at the news. No one had told her about it. "Yeah, Billy busted into the house while we were hiding out for you and the Chief to close up the gate." Dustin explained. Eleven looked over at Lucas concernedly as he just shrugged. El took his hand and laced her fingers with his, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked. Lucas, again, looked to Dustin, confused. Dustin shrugged, smiling and putting his hands up as if to say "Hey, don't look at me..." "So, El, why'd you wanna come to Starcourt?" Dustin asked. She suddenly, stopped and pointed right above their heads. The boys followed her finger to the "Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream Parlor" sign above the restaurant. They both slowly looked at her as she smiled innocently, holding Lucas' arm close. "Alright, and will that be all you lovely kids order today?" Steve asked, leaning against the glass counter, looking at the three teens, all with a cone of ice cream from various flavors in their hands. "Who's payin..?" He asked, glancing between them. Eleven simply took a lick at her cone as he looked over to Lucas. He winced.

"Ooh, ya see...The way my bank account is set up..." He stalled as Steve turned to Dustin. He thought. "You're paying..." He simply stated, pointing at him as if it was obvious. Steve sighed. "What?" How many times have I covered you, Henderson..." Steve complained. "Oh, come on it's three cones of ice cream. You and your waitress salary can't cover that?" Dustin pointed at him while licking his own frozen treat. "I-I'm not a waitress, ok? I'm a server." Steve tapped his chest offendededly. He noticed the teens exchanging giggles between themselves and realized Dustin was just poking fun. "Gosh, man. It's bad enough we got Christina Columbus comin' in here and takin' over with her free sample scandal that she's pullin'..." Steve pointed behind them as they all turned to see Erica Sinclair sitting in a booth by herself, surrounded by free sample cups. "What are you lookin' at, nerds?" She asked rudely, taking another spoonful into her mouth. "Erica, what the Hell are you doing here?" Lucas asked, annoyed simply by her presence. "I should ask you the same question, Lukey..." She mocked him as he took a deep breath.

"Wait till Mom finds out you gotta new girlfriend..." Erica threatened as Lucas looked to his side to see Eleven holding his arm again. "El...Not helping..." He whispered to her. She just laid her head on his shoulder again and took another lap at her ice cream. Lucas sighed. "She's not my girlfriend. She's my friend." He told his sister, not wanting her to be spreading lies. "I dunno...Last time I checked, "friends" didn't touch each other like that..." Erica slowly shook her head in uncertainty. "Well, we do." Dustin argued, annoyed of Erica's antics as well. He even wrapped his arms around both Lucas and El to prove their point. El looked down at Dustin's hand and held it to her chest affectionately, not paying much attention to their argument. "Exactly. Thank you, bro." Lucas motioned to his friend as Dustin nodded, smirking. Erica cocked a brow and shook her head. "Y'all are weird. Some real...NERD...shenanigans..." She teased obnoxiously, going back to her free samples. El scowled at the brat and squinted her eyes as all of the samples of ice cream exploded, covering the girl in the frozen dairy products. Erica gasped, looking at the mess.

"WHAT the HELL?!" She exclaimed, standing up out of the booth. She strutted away towards the restrooms as the party was in shock and surprised laughter. El wiped the drop of blood from her nostril and laughed harder than she had in a while. She hadn't felt truly happy like this in a couple of days. Everything that had happened to her leading up to today, all of the pain. She felt like she could forget it all and just have fun with her friends. The only friends who haven't stabbed her in the back so far. "Yeah...That looks like a real mess...We should probably get outta here..." Lucas pointed his thumb to the exit awkwardly before making a dash out of the parlor. El grabbed Dustin's hand as they followed behind him, laughing the whole way. "Y-I know it was El...guys, you know that ri-Ah, forget it." Steve said to himself, waving his hand dismissively as Robin pushed the kitchen door open lazily and it swung back and forth. "Whatcha doin'?" She asked, leaning on the counter beside him. Steve just shook his head as Robin noticed the mess in the corner booth. She gasped. "What in the name of-...What the Hell happened here?" She asked, turning to her work partner. Steve paused.

"It was Erica." He stated, glancing at the young woman. "Oh, my God. That little brat." Robin said in disbelief, leaning her hip on the counter. "I know, right?" Steve played along. "Well, who's supposed to clean all this up?" She threw her arm down on her uniform. Steve thought for a second. "Well, I'll do it..." He offered, standing up to her level. "You will?" Robin asked. "Yeah, totally. You just gotta do one thing for me..." Steve muttered as Robin groaned. "And what's that?" She asked, rolling her back onto the counter, playfully annoyed. Steve got closer and held her chin in place as their faces slowly drew nearer. "I think you know what..." He mumbled. "Oh, really? Do I?" She asked sarcastically as an uncontrollable smile formed on her face. The two kissed passionately, inhaling deeply. Steve fixed his posture and held both sides of her face as he intensified the already intense embrace. Robin hung her hands in between the folds of his elbows as their mouths stretched and their tongues explored each other's. Steve broke the kiss, starting to make out with her neck, running one hand up her skirt and the other down her figure.

She breathed heavily, putting her head back and closing her eyes, enjoying him pleasuring her body. "Ugh, what're you gonna do? Fuck me out here on top of all this ice cream?" She opened her eyes and turned her head, studying the produce they leaned against. "Yeah, we'll be fine. Our only customer all day was Erica." Steve looked at her as they met eyes. Robin looked at him, unsure. "And she didn't even pay for anything..." He added. "Alright, but be quick." She told him, patting his chest as he lifted her up, setting her onto the counter. Robin laughed hard as she landed abruptly on her rear end after he plopped her on the aluminum ledge. "Oh, sh-" Steve brushed all of the objects off of the counter and pulled his shorts down. Robin brought him closer, putting her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The pair moaned in sync as he thrusted up into her. Steve kept a steady pace, fucking her on the ledge as her thighs rippled. She reached back and held onto the glass produce cover as she rode his erect shaft. She blew strands of hair out of her face and panted, working up a sweat. "Oh, Steve..." She moaned.

"Steve!" She wailed his name sensually as loud as she could as he worked her in. Steve put his head against her chest and held her hips tight, putting effort into his thrusts. Across the mall stood none other than Billy and Jonathan, leaning on the wall and peering into the shop, watching the two make love. "Time flies when you're fuckin' on the job..." Billy remarked, chewing on a toothpick that hung from his clenched teeth. He watched them intently as if intrigued, but still as stoic an expression as always. Jonathan held his own wrist and shook his leg impatiently. "They're busy, I think we should go..." He said, looking over to Hargrove. "Up. Up. Up." Billy waved his index finger up to him. "I want a piece of this. This is too golden..." He breathed, rotating his neck and taking the toothpick out of his mouth. He flicked the wooden pick onto the floor as he noticed a young man and woman walk by. "No way..." He said monotonously. "What?" Jonathan asked, following his gaze. Billy snapped his fingers in the eighteen year old's face. "Easier target. Forget about the bird. Let's go." He started to strut through the mall after the couple.

Jonathan looked into Scoops Ahoy one last time to see Steve kissing Robin's lower neck as she leaned her head back to face the entrance with her eyes closed. He shook his head and followed the delinquent with a nervous pace. "Woah! Check these out." Lucas exclaimed, stopping at a kiosk in the middle of the shopping center. He pressed his hands against the glass as he peered inside at the various articles of jewelry. El and Dustin joined beside him. "I was gonna get Max one of these. Too bad they're WAY too expensive." He explained. "Ah, a mega price for a mega prize!" The enthusiastic salesman winked at the boy from the other side of the case. Lucas just gave him a nervous smile and a fake laugh to deter him. It worked as he turned back around to file his nails. "Woah. Check this one out." Dustin stated, pointing through the glass at a small chain locket in the shape of a silver heart. On the heart were two cracks on either end that broke it off into three pieces. "Never seen a three-way friendship necklace..." He admitted. El looked at him before stepping in front of the boy, bending forward to see for herself.

She backed herself into his downstairs area and held her hair aside with both hands as she eyed the necklace. Dustin backed up, not wanting to be in the awkward position, but was forced back into his friend's rear end uncontrollably. "What the-" He held El's waist, trying to break away to no avail. "Dude, let go." Lucas whispered. "No way, really? I can't, genius, I'm stuck..." Dustin whispered frantically back at him. El smirked slyly, biting her lip as Dustin kept trying to pull away, adding to the friction. She fixed her posture and knocked on the glass for the salesman's attention. He turned back from fixing his cuticles to see the girl being, what appeared to be, grinded from behind by the fifteen year old boy. He cocked an eyebrow in suspicion. El pointed through the glass at the necklace and rubbed her fingers together as if to ask how much is cost. She acted as if nothing was going on behind her as Lucas tried to help pull Dustin free. The salesman warily nodded, understanding her gesture. "It's one-fifty for the locket..." He sneered. El's jaw dropped. Suddenly, Dustin was flung back, almost losing his balance as Lucas caught him.

El discreetly wiped her nose, glancing back at them as they joined beside her. "You mean a dollar and fifty cents, right..?" Lucas asked in disbelief. "Nope. One hundred and fifty dollars." The salesman told him. The three teens' jaws dropped simultaneously this time. "We do NOT have that kinda money..." Lucas looked at his friends. "Speak for yourself." Dustin scoffed. "Oh, really? Where is it then?" Lucas questioned, not convinced. "Uh, well...It's at my hou-" "Exactly what I thought." Lucas cut him off, lightly smacking him in the back of the head. "Ow." Dustin held his head before smacking Lucas back. The boys bickered as El noticed something behind the salesman who tried to break her friends up. It was a neon sign for a shoe store that hung just above the kiosk. She focused on the large sign and narrowed her eyes as the metal creaked, allowing it to loosen from the wall and fall to the mall floor, smashing with a loud bang. A few passerbys screamed in surprise as the salesman spun around. Lucas and Dustin froze when they heard the crash. As the salesman exited his booth to try and assess the situation, El held her open hand over the counter.

The locket beneath the glass shot out from the case and into her palm as she held it up to marvel at it. "El, what are you doing? Put that back!" Lucas whispered. She just giggled and took Dustin's hand, running away from the kiosk with Lucas sighing and reluctantly following behind them. The three stopped after running around a corner and halting, out of breath. "El...What the Hell was that?" Dustin panted. Eleven laughed out loud, but almost choked as her larynx tightened. "Hey, El, you gotta be careful with your voice." Dustin told her, seeming worried. Eleven held up her hand signaling she was okay. Lucas snapped his fingers. "I know just what'll make your throat feel better." He suggested. "I swear. If you say more ice cream..." Dustin complained. "Nope. Hot tea." Lucas told him. "Ooooh..." A look of realization came across Dustin's face. "W-What?" El wheezed. "Yeah...My Mom's a nurse. And she said that really hot tea can heal a sore throat. She always gave it to me when I was little and was sick." Lucas explained. El just watched him talk, holding her throat and lightly caressing the pain away.

"Come on. I know just where to get some." He began walking away as El and Dustin looked at each other. Dustin shrugged and followed him as did El soon after. Billy exited the back door of the mall to see the couple walking through the vacant parking alley. Jonathan exited behind him. "Hey, man, maybe we shou-" "Just be ready when I signal you." Billy cut him off, disregarding him and speeding up to catch them. "Well, if it isn't Tommy H and Carol Perkins..." Billy said aloud as the pair turned around, stopping just behind Billy's parked car. He stopped just before the two. "Billy Hargrove?" Tommy asked with a confused look. "In the flesh." He boasted with his arms wide. "You're still kickin' around?" Carol crossed her arms and stuck her hip out, chewing her gum with a sour expression on her face. Billy just chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you could say that..." He muttered. There was a pause. "So, what's the matter there a problem?" Tommy asked, shifting his stance. "Nah...Problem? No way..." Billy stepped closer to him, invading his personal space. "No problem here, old friend..." He said in a deep, rumbling tone as he dusted off his letter jacket for him cordially.

Tommy studied the young man with impatient curiosity. "Now." Billy said, reaching for him and spinning behind him, looping his arms around Tommy's behind his back, holding him in place. "What the f-Hey! Get the fuck off me, man!" Tommy squirmed around, trying to break free, but he had no luck. He had him for sure. Carol turned and backed away towards Jonathan as she watched her boyfriend be subdued by the sweaty teen. "What the Hell is your problem?" She asked, still chewing her gum rather carelessly. Jonathan came from behind her and backed her up against the trunk of Billy's car. She put her hand against his chest, holding him back nonchalantly. "What do YOU want, creep?" She asked with an attitude as he loomed over her. "It's okay, alright? Just behave and he won't do anything..." Jonathan explained shakily. "Who? Him? Cause he looks like he's a bit busy right now. I'm more interested in what you think you're gonna do..." She scoffed, sizing him up insultingly. Jonathan winced at her words. "Ergh. Tgah!" He grunted, slapping himself a couple of times, trying to hold himself back. "D-Don't talk to me like that..." He trembled, getting closer to her.

She bent her back over the trunk, trying to keep away from him as much as possible. "If you touch her, I swear to fucking God, you're DEAD, Byers! You're DEAD!" Tommy continued to wiggle around in Billy's firm arm-lock. "No, I wanna see what he does..." Carol objected, looking at Jonathan. "What?" Tommy asked, freezing and looking at the young woman. "Yeah. Come on. What're you gonna do? Fuck me? Let's go! Do it right here!" Carol held her arms out, looking him up and down. "What the f-...Ay, are you serious?" Tommy asked. "I'm waiting..." Carol prodded, staring at Jonathan. "Table for three, please..." Lucas leaned against the hostess' podium. "Sure. And will that be a booth or chairs?" The hostess asked. "Uh...Booth's fine..." Lucas said after looking back at El and Dustin. "Alrighty then. Follow me." The hostess walked through the small mall shop-sized restaurant. "Come on." Lucas waved his friends to follow him as they reluctantly obliged. "Lucas, I thought you said we were getting tea..." Dustin said, following close behind him. "We are." He replied simply. "At a pizza place?" Dustin asked. "They have tea..." Lucas told his friend as if it were obvious.

Dustin shook his head as the hostess stopped at a booth. "And here we are. This is for you." She motioned for the teens to sit. "Alright, cool. Awesome. Thank you." Lucas told her, sliding into the booth. "And can I take some drink orders real quick?" She asked as Dustin slid into the booth across from his friend. "Uh, yeah...Can I get one hot tea please?" He ordered. "Just one hot tea?" The hostess asked with her notepad and pen. "You're not getting anything else?" Dustin asked his friend. "One tea is all I have money for, so yeah..." Lucas said through a painful smile. Dustin smirked and shook his head again. "Alright, one hot tea, comin' up..." The hostess smiled at El and brushed past her, walking back through the restaurant. El stood by the table and looked around the place. She noticed a group near the back with a girl a little older than her age sitting on a boy's lap. She tilted her head in interest before turning back to the boys. They eyed her as she slid into the booth and plopped down onto Lucas' lap, fitting her legs under the table. "Uh...El..." Lucas put his hand on her waist and looked up at her. She turned to look at him as Dustin snickered.

"What's goin' on with you..? All day, you've been really...touchy-feely with everyone..." He explained awkwardly. El seemed confused. "N-Not everyone...Just you guys..." She wheezed, looking between him and Dustin. The boys paused and realized she didn't get his exact words. "W-We know. That's what he meant." Dustin looked around the restaurant with a nervous laugh. "I-Is everything alright...with you and Mike?" Lucas asked, seeming concerned for her. "Yeah, have you even seen him since the other night?" Dustin added. "Everything's FINE with me and Mike!" El choked out, banging both of her fists on the table. The boys looked around as other customers stared. "O-Okay..." Lucas whispered, tapping her arm nervously. Eleven crossed her arms and pouted childishly, seeming annoyed. "We-We didn't mean to upset you..." Dustin assured her, reaching across the table towards her as Lucas nodded, agreeing. Eleven looked at both of them with her flexed lower lip. "YOU guys are my friends. I'm hanging out with YOU..." El whispered, hopping off of Lucas' lap and plopping close beside him, laying her head on his chest with her arms still crossed.

"It's okay, Bubba, we're here for you..." Dustin assured her as Lucas rubbed her back. Dustin nodded at him and stuck his thumb up, signaling his friend to keep her at bay. Lucas nodded back. "Alright, and here's your tea..." "Thank you." Lucas took the steaming cup from the waitress who brought it to them. "Here, El. Drink up. It'll make your throat feel better." Lucas put it in front of her as she sat up. She warily wrapped her hands around the porcelain mug, looping four of her left fingers through the handle. She looked to her friends for approval. "Go ahead. Try it." Dustin said as he and Lucas nodded. El titled the cup to her lips and dipped her tongue in the liquid, jumping back. "Ow." She said adorably. "Oh, uh...Yeah, you might wanna blow on that a bit...Ya know...Hot tea...Extra emphasis on the "hot"..." Dustin explained awkwardly. El looked at him as he talked. She held the cup up to her mouth again, this time perking her lips and blowing softly over the surface of the beverage. She took a sip and brought the mug down to her chest as she let it run down her throat. Eleven smacked her lips shyly, letting the taste sink in.

"Do you feel any better?" Lucas asked with his arm around the booth behind her head. She slowly looked at him. "Better..." She whispered softly. The boys were surprised that her voice didn't sound scratchy anymore. "Your voice sounds better. Maybe try to whisper for now though. You know...Let your voice heal?" Lucas suggested, rubbing the back of her neck. El batted her eyelashes at him and nodded, taking another sip of the tea. "Alright, well you kids enjoy your...one...tea..." The waitress said, cocking an eyebrow and strutting off through the restaurant. El set the mug down as the waitress passed by the table. She looked around to make sure no one was looking as she pulled out the silver heart locket. "I still can't believe you stole that." Dustin remarked, watching her fiddle with it in her hands. "Maybe we should take it back..." Lucas suggested. El just ignored them as she split the locket into the three pieces. She placed the far left piece on the table in front of Lucas and the middle piece across from her in front of Dustin. "Oh." Lucas said, studying his piece. "You meant for us to share it." Dustin smiled down at the shard of metal in his palm.

El nodded, holding the left piece close to her chest. "Here. Let me put your's on..." Lucas told her as she turned her back to him. He took her piece and wrapped the thin chain around the front of her neck, clasping it behind and resting it on her shoulders. El reached behind her and unclipped her yellow and black splotch-pattern jumper, slowly sliding it down, revealing her bare shoulders and back. She held the jumper over her chest and around the middle of her arms as Lucas brushed her luscious, near shoulder-length, brunette hair to the side, moving his massage from her neck, down to her shoulders. Her back was smooth, supple, soft. A small mole just by her right shoulder blade. Not a dent in the masterpiece. Her flawless skin glistened in the amber glow from the lamp above the booth.

El arched her neck as Lucas squeezed her shoulders thoroughly, rocking her back and forth subtly. "So, you guys are just gonna...W-With everyone...Okay..." Dustin clarified to himself. No one could see them. Their booth was across from a wall that separated two halves of the dining area. Only booths behind their's on either side blocked off by thick, laminated wood walls. El held her friend's hand over her shoulder with her eyes shut peacefully as he pleasured her upper body. Her skin was tan. Not sunburned or sunkissed in any part. Her tone was a desert rose. A soft cherry of beige that almost seemed unachievable so naturally by anyone else. Lucas worked her shoulders intently. He shifted his hands a bit lower down the sides of her arms just above her triceps and continued to massage her. Lucas leaned down and planted a slow and passionate kiss on her back. She glanced behind her a bit as he moved up to take her lips in his over her shoulder. The two made out softly as he moved his massage down her back subtly. El reached over her shoulder and held his chin, deepening the kiss.

"Alright, if you're not gonna order anything else, I'm gonna get a pizza or something cause I am STARVING..." Dustin muttered, opening a menu and examining the contents. He glanced at his friends. "Aand you guys are making out...Of course you're making out." He slammed the menu shut, blowing his short curls in place with a light gust. "God-Did I miss some type of special meeting where everyone in our party just gets to screw each other whenever they want or is that just a coincidence like Max and I-..." He froze in his words as Lucas slowly broke his kiss with El. Eleven eyed the two with her signature innocent, clueless expression. "What did you just say?" "It was one time. I swea-" "You and me are gonna talk." Lucas pointed at him from across the booth. "Dude, you're literally tongueing Mike's girlfriend and you wanna talk to ME about it?" Dustin fortunately realized and accused his friend. "Mike doesn't own me. I'm not his property..." El whispered as they both looked at her. There was a pause. "If he gets to do sex with Max, then I can do what I want..." "Wait, Mike had sex with Max too? When?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, Luke, your girl's kinda been aroun-" "I don't wanna hear nothin' from you." Lucas stuck his finger closer to Dustin's face halfheartedly. He wasn't truly upset with him. There was another moment of silence. "Fuck this. El, I'm drinking some of your tea." Dustin said, reaching across the table and drinking from the same side she did. "What is...eating out..?" Her voice mumbled quietly between them. Dustin choked on his sip, spitting tea everywhere. "Oh, shit..." Carol moaned. Her pants were off and her ass was on the trunk of Billy's car with her legs around Jonathan's back as he thrusted up into her. "Am I a creep now?" Jonathan panted close to her face. Carol laughed seductively. "Yes, you are..." She moaned again, running her fingers through his hair. Jonathan grunted angrily and kissed her neck with force as he thrusted her harder against the car. "Ay, get off of me!" Tommy yanked away from Billy, backing up nervously. "You people are sick. Ay, we're done! You hear me, slut?" He exclaimed, looking over to Carol who was thoroughly enjoying being nailed against the back of the vehicle. She rolled her eyes and stuck up her middle finger, focusing her sensual moans at Jonathan's performance.

Tommy huffed away, not looking back as Billy just smiled menacingly. He took a toothpick and bit down on it, turning back to watch the show. "Hey. Mind if a brother cuts in on some of the action?" He walked up to them with effortless swagger. The pair stopped as Carol looked at Billy with her resting ignant expression. Jonathan backed up, allowing her to hop down from the trunk. "You really think you can handle this-" "Can do everything he can do and more, so start suckin', maybe you'll find out..." He growled, followed by the unzip of his fly and his palm forcing the back of her head down. Her torso folded perpendicular to her legs as Jonathan held her hips in place behind her. Carol's face came forth to Billy's member. It was very different from Jonathan's who's appendage was rather long and narrow. Where as Hargrove's package had a subtle thickness to it with an addition of sweat. "Wow..." Carol wrapped her hand around the base of his cock. "I said start suckin'." Billy forced the back of her head again as her gag reflex grogged, muffled. His girth squeezed through her throat like a hand through a latex glove as her face slowly started to turn red.

She gasped desperately as he pulled her head up for air. She chuckled through strings of saliva connecting his shaft to her lips and ran her tongue around the exterior of her mouth. She reached up her shirt and squeezed her breast as Jonathan entered her from behind and Billy put her back under. The young men's hips worked her back and forth like a saw in the empty parking alley. "Has Mike seriously never gone down on you?" Lucas asked, lowering his head between Eleven's bare thighs. Her lower body was exposed as she laid on her back with one leg and arm over the edge of the booth and her opposite limbs rested on the table. She shook her head to answer his question. "Jeez, so much for him helping you explore your body..." Dustin remarked, taking another sip of the now cleaned up tea. "Does it hurt?" She whispered, looking at him as Lucas scoffed. "Trust me. You won't even remember what pain is..." He assured her before looking down at her exposed sex. He planted a kiss on her inner thigh before wrapping his lips around her cutely trimmed labia. Eleven's eyes shot open as she gasped quietly.

"Shh!" Dustin whispered, signaling her to be silent before looking to see if anyone heard. El's hips shifted as her back arched and she put one arm behind her head, running her fingers through Lucas' nappy hair with the other. Her lips hung open as her neck twitched. Faint murmurs escaped her as she put her own hand over her mouth. High pitched squeals were muffled behind her palm as Lucas satisfied her. "Luc-" She couldn't ever whisper his name without pleasure overtaking her entire form. "Here. Try this. It makes it better." Dustin scooted through the semi-circular booth beside her. She looked up at him as he paused. "So I'm told..." He clarified. He held her wrist as she laced her fingers with his tenderly and kept eye contact with him. He smiled down at her and guided her hand to her clitoris. "Here ya go..." He placed two of her fingers just above her folds and rotated her hand slowly. "And then you just go crazy with that..." He sat back up. El seemed intrigued as she started to flick her clit around vigorously. Her quiet moans stuttered as she twitched uncontrollably. "You like that?" Dustin asked, watching her.

Lucas peeked up from between her legs, still working her walls with his tongue. "Yes, yes, yes, yes...Ohh..." El whimpered. "Yeah?" "Yes..." "Yeah?" "Mhm..." El nodded as her face was overrun with disarray from the euphoria. Dustin hovered his face over her's and kissed her intensely, inhaling a hurricane as his lips went to work on her's. El reached up and held his face as their noses caressed each other's chins. The inverted embrace was heated. Eleven moaned cutely into his mouth befor- "What are you doing?" A feminine voice asked as the trio froze. Their eyes slowly, but surely locking with the waitress who stood beside their table in shock. "Oh, sorry, this is his meal..." Dustin told her politely as Lucas nodded with a muffled "Mhm." before going back to work on El's downstairs. The girl moaned a bit louder than she probably should've, running her hand across her chest, caressing her developing body. "Actually, let me get in on some of that..." Dustin leaned forward, moving her jumper aside and taking one of her small breasts in his mouth. El squeezed his curly hair and put her head back as both her upper and lower body were being loved.

"S-Security..!" The waitress called to the front of the restaurant as the kids froze again. "Aand...that's the bell..." Lucas sat up and rushed to help El get decent as quick as possible, Dustin doing the same. "Run." Lucas ushered her out of the booth as El ran towards the exit. The waitress stepped aside as the boys followed behind. "Oh...Uh...Here's your tip..." Dustin stopped, handing a quarter to her. "Idiot, let's go!" Lucas tugged on his friend's arm and dragged him towards the front of the restaurant. "Hey! Stop right there!" A rather heavyset security guard jogged up to El, seeming out of breath with large sweat stains around his collar and shoulders as he fixed his cap. "Argh!" El screamed, waving her hand as the guard flew over the counter, smashing into shelves and shattering glass, landing hard on the floor, unconscious. "Let's get out of here!" Lucas ran past her, dragging Dustin with him. El followed the boys with her eyes, wiping a bit of blood from under her nostril and jogging after them.

"Somebody stop them!" The waitress stopped at the exit, pointing at the soon disappeared teens. Eleven took the lead and turned a corner, leaving them invisible from the scene. "In here..." She whispered, running into a narrow corridor that split off from the main mall. It led to a dead end with a male and female bathroom entrance to the right, a couple of large vending machines against the wall beside them, and a bench on the opposite end of the restroom entrances. El stopped running as Lucas stopped in front of her. Dustin stopped a few feet behind them, holding his knees desperately. "I think I need a breather, guys..." He panted. Lucas and El looked at each other and couldn't hold back their laughter. They clasped their hands together in front of them, leaning against one another as they cackled uncontrollably. "Ooh! Jackpot!" Dustin noticed the vending machine closest to the restroom entrance. "Nougat!" He exclaimed, slapping his palms against the glass and focusing on one sole 3 Musketeers bar in the center of the products. He quickly dug in his pocket, looking for a quarter. "That was insane." Lucas exclaimed. "I know." El whispered as the two laughed again.

"Oh..." Lucas stopped her and saw she had a drop of blood still under her nose. "Here. Let me get that..." He gently wiped the crimson liquid from above her lip, smiling. El just stared at him. She took his hands again and held them in front of her while she looked him in the eyes. Lucas studied her face as she slowly leaned in, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. She pulled back to meet his eyes again before leaning in again. This time, she kissed his lips delicately, with a quiet passion. Lucas held both sides of her face, adding to the intensity. Dustin grunted frustratedly behind them, scrambling through his pockets in front of the vending machine for change. "Guys, I think I'm out of quarte-Oh..." He noticed his friends making out heatedly. "Did I give that waitress my last quarter?" Dustin growled. "Argh...And she didn't even appreciate it. That quarter could've been turned into a 3 Musketeers...Shit!" He kicked the vending machine angrily. As soon as his foot banged against the glass, all of the contents of the machine simultaneously flew off of the racks and out through the purchase slot. The same happening with the neighboring machine as well.

Snacks flooded at Dustin's feet as he looked at his friends. "Thanks, El." He figured it had to be her. She gave him a thumbs up without breaking her kiss with Lucas. Lucas held her hips against his body and moved his lips down to her neck. "Wait..." She whispered, stopping him. He pulled apart, looking at her. "I want to-...to go down on you..." She muttered softly. "Well, that's a first..." Lucas seemed surprised. "Why..?" Eleven replied. "Well, girls don't usually get much out of it...It's mostly for the guy." He explained. "I've never done it before..." She continued. "Maybe you should wait...You know...For Mike to show you..." Lucas told her hesitantly. El's face grew annoyed again. Why did they think about him so much when she was concerned. As if she was attached to him. As if she wasn't her own person. She visibly got mad. "Or-Or...Uh...Maybe...I gue-Wel-" "Stop talking." She said softly. He shut up. Eleven slid her hands down his chest as she slowly lowered to her knees on the tiled floor of the corridor. "El, are you sure you wanna do this?" Lucas asked. She just looked up at him as she unzipped his fly. "I guess ya do..." Lucas exhaled, looking away.

El fumbled with his pants and undergarments before his erect member popped out through the fly, staring her in the face. Her pupils dilated as she stared in awe at the appendage. It was even bigger than Mike's. And darker to accompany Lucas' obviously darker complexion. "See, what you wanna do is-Oh..." Lucas was about to tell her before she jumped the gun, running her tongue across his shaft. She had no idea what she was doing. Never seen it done before. Only ever heard about the parts leading up to now. She was just improvising at this point. "Here-There we go..." Lucas guided the back of her head until his erection entered her mouth, brushing against the full length of her tongue. He made sure not to go too far back as she surely wasnt ready for the big leagues, he thought. Eleven batted her hopeful eyes up at her friend while he slowly pushed himself in and out of her mouth. She held the back of his thighs with ease. "What're we doin' over here?" Dustin asked enthusiastically, standing beside them. He looked down to see El with her mouth full. "Take out your penis..." She removed Lucas' to whisper. "W-You mean like right now?" Dustin asked.

El nodded her head innocently, propping herself up on the backs of her shins."Okay-Yeah, no problem..." Dustin wasted no time. He stroked his uncut member before his friends as Eleven's eyes widened. His looked very different from the others. The head was hidden inside of a shell of skin, she thought. "See what you did? Your foreskin is scaring her." Lucas teased his friend. "Really? Cause Max seemed to love it..." Dustin fired back. Lucas' face straightened. Eleven ignored their bickering and took Lucas' member back in her mouth while she started to stroke Dustin's behind her. Dustin held her hand as she jerked him off slowly and Lucas put his arms behind his back, thrusting slowly into her mouth. El gasped for air, pulling it out through her lips again before turning and starting on her other friend. She stroked Lucas' saliva-soaked cock while she closed her eyes and bobbed her head on Dustin's rod. "Shit..." Dustin groaned, holding her hair and softly fucking her throat. "Dude, careful with her throat. Her voice is just starting to heal." Lucas warned him. "Guys..." El whispered, taking Dustin's dick out of her mouth.

"Bro, don't you think I know what I'm doing-" "No, that's exactly the problem I think you DON'T know what you're doing-" "Oh, really-" "Yes, really-" The boys were met with swift smacks to their hard members. They both squealed in pain, holding their business, hunched over. They both looked at El to see her point down the hall. They turned their heads to be met with four large security guards rushing through the corridor. "Oh, shit..." Dustin exclaimed, fixing his pants. "We gotta get out of here..." Lucas added, doing the same. "Go. Find a way out...I'll take care of them..." El whispered, standing up and staring menacingly at the guards who inched closer by the second. The boys didn't wait to see what she meant by "handle them." Dustin rushed into the women's restroom as Lucas reluctantly followed. "Why're we in the girl's bathroom?" He asked as he watched his friend desperately scramble through the stalls. "Girls bathrooms always have some weird shit that the boys don't. Trust me, if there's a way out, it's in here..." Dustin panted. "There!" He shouted, pointing upward. "A window!" He motioned to the thin, rectangular glass pane on the far wall of the restroom.

Barely large enough to fit a toddler. "There's a window in the guy's room too..." Lucas huffed. "Shut up." Dustin ran past him and peeked into the hallway. The guards were nearing the end of the corridor. El still stared down the hall at them. Suddenly, a wave of force blasted from her body, traveling at blinding speed down the hall. Once it reached the men, their bodies froze in their places. The wave continued to pulsate from the teen and drum through the building, vibrating uncontrollably and emitting an ear-splitting ring. One of the guard's slowly started to fight the force and move his hand to his commset to call for backup. Just then, the small device exploded on his hip, the plastic crushing and sparks flying. The shards of the device suspended in the air along with him in the radius of the force wave. El groaned, trying her best to keep the guards at bay. Dustin noticed a fire extinguisher on the wall behind her. He dashed across the hall behind his friend and grabbed the tank from the rack. He rushed back into the bathroom and beside Lucas. El groaned again, unable to hold it for much longer.

She grunted, releasing them as a final blast of kinetic energy roared through the hall, sending the guards flying all the way back into the main shopping center "What's that supposed to do?" Lucas asked, watching his friend fumble with the extinguisher. "Salvation." Dustin panted before grunting as he threw the tank over her his head with all of his strength. The tank hit the tough glass and simply bounced back, hitting Dustin in the eye. "Fuck! Ow-Holy shit!" He fell to the floor with an exclamation as Lucas bent down to see if he was okay. "Son of a bitch!" Dustin shouted again. Lucas looked up at the window to see that the glass seemed almost untouched. "Way to go, Mr. Salvation..." He remarked sarcastically as Dustin winced, holding his eye. "Guys..." They heard a whisper behind them. Lucas turned to see El standing in the hallway beside a large door that read "Fire Escape: Only Use In Case Of Emergency" right next to where he got the fire extinguisher. Dustin turned his head belatedly and sighed in exasperation. "Well, that's embarrassing..." He said. El nodded for them to follow her as she opened the door and held it while Lucas helped Dustin to his feet and out through the exit. "Woah!" Carol exclaimed, falling to the ground as Billy stepped up to her.

Billy wiped the bit of sweat from his forehead, crouching down before her. The sky was now black. The early hours of the evening creeped through Hawkins. "What? Was I not good enough?" Carol asked sarcastically, not really caring about the young man's satisfaction. Billy chuckled. "No, you did just fine..." He said lowly. He spit in her face as Carol winced, wiping it off in disgust. "Get out of my sight before this doesn't end here." He stood back up, turning away from her. She crawled backward, struggling to her feet and walking away down the carpark. "Did you really have to do that?" Jonathan asked him. A swift slap across the face alerted him as his head snapped to the side. "Question me again and this is through. I won't help you anymore." Billy told him sternly. "You think you're helping me?" Jonathan scoffed, rubbing his face. Billy just looked at him as if to warn he was on this ice. The two broke eye contact when a side door to the mall swung open. Eleven rushed out into the carpark followed by Lucas with Dustin's arm around his neck. "We made it." Lucas panted, looking at El with a smile. "No. Fucking. Way." Billy almost laughed. Jonathan noticed his sister and her friends, standing just a few yards away from them. He felt his stomach twist into a ball.

"Dustin, are you okay?" Lucas asked as he and El tried to make sure his eye was alright. "Oh, shit..." Dustin panted, pointing behind the two. They slowly turned to see Billy and Jonathan standing in the middle of the parking alley and staring back at them. Eleven felt her heart sink when she saw her brother again. There was a silent, yet screaming tension between the two groups. Jonathan walked away, unable to handle seeing her face any longer. Just as he passed in front of Billy, El's eyes locked onto the delinquent's. She'd never been colder than the moment she saw him in that alley. Her spine turned to ice as her breath hitched. Billy smiled evilly at her, walking away as well. El exhaled desperately, panting from holding her breath the entire encounter. "I-Is my eye okay?" Dustin asked as Lucas checked it. His friend winced. "That is definitely gonna be black in the morning..." He assured him, feeling his swollen eyelid. "Damn it. My Mom's gonna lose her shit once she sees this." He exclaimed. "What was Jonathan doing hanging out with Billy..?" Lucas asked, thoroughly confused. Dustin looked over at Eleven. "What the Hell was that all about?" He motioned past her to where the two young men once stood. El just looked back at him worriedly. "Dustin-" Lucas tried to calm his friend.

"No! We've been avoiding this question all day. She needs to answer it." He demanded, stepping in front of her. "Why the Hell did we come here today? Where are the others? Where's Mike-" "This isn't about Mike." El seemed like she wanted to scream it, but composed herself for the most part. "Then what is it about? Tell us!" Dustin exclaimed, holding his eye in pain. El shuddered. "I-I had to get out of the house..." She whispered as tears formed under her eyes. "Why?" Lucas asked, stepping beside Dustin. El paused. "I'm supposed to be grounded-" "What'd you do?" Dustin replied. "Nothing...Okay?" El cried quietly. "Joyce and Will...th-think that they heard Mike in my room...at night..." El shivered, playing with her hands nervously. "And he wasn't?" Lucas asked. El just looked at him and shook her head as a single tear rode down her cheek, running away under her chin. Dustin was silent. "...Wh-Who was..?" Lucas continued to question. He was afraid what he thought she was implying was true. El glanced behind her at where Billy and Jonathan once stood before turning back and snifflng, wiping her tears. Dustin gulped, unable to look away from the girl.

"I'm so sorry that I brought you guys here..." She whispered, shaking her head and walking away. "W-El..." Lucas turned to her to see her leaving alone. A tear fell down his cheek as well. He knew what she'd meant. "Come on, El..." Dustin called after her, his voice cracking. The boys stood still in disbelief. A couple of hours later, El walked through a secluded dirt road. She'd reached her destination. That house that no longer felt like home to her. She stopped and stared at the quiet place. The lights were on. Joyce was probably worried sick of where she could be. El let out a soft laugh at the warm thought. Jim's squad car was nowhere in sight. He must've been working a late shift. She thought of how Will could be in his room thinking up a new campaign for the party to play this weekend. Although, her smile soon faded to a frown. She knew she couldn't go back there. Not now. She was too broken. No matter how worried she would make everyone by not returning home, she knew she just couldn't stomach stepping through that door again. She looked to her side to see another dirt trail that split off from their drive.

The one that led about a mile before reaching the abandoned junkyard that they used to visit a few years back. She started walking down the trail, unaware that she was being watched. A pair of bike tires skidded to a halt in the dirt as Troy Walsh watched the teen trek through the dark woods by herself. He seemed confused as well as intrigued in why she would be alone at this hour. He shrugged it off and continued riding down the main road. Another twenty minutes or so passed as El stepped into the abandoned junkyard. She looked around at the various rusted vehicles piled onto one another, forming mazes of scrap. The sky was pitch dark now and the moon shone bright over the yard. The pale light washed over El's tan skin, granting her a momentary internal feeling of purity. She reached the center of the yard that was an open area of dead grass. On one side of the area was the bus. The famed spot where they'd always hidden from whatever danger had followed them there. They'd even transformed it into a base of sorts not too long ago. She smiled softly, approaching the large abandoned road vehicle. She tried the folding door only to realize it had stuck itself shut again.

The old thing tended to every once in a while. She backed up and stared at the door as it snapped free, swinging open. El raised her head in calm relief. She walked happily into the bus and stopped at the almost corroded driver's seat. She stared down the empty bus. Half of the broken windows were boarded up to keep out the cold air during winters. Scarce traces of vines looped some corners, growing in from the shrubbery surrounding the bus. El walked to the back of the bus and stopped in front of a black chest that rested underneath a pair of seats. She crouched down, sliding the box out from under and unlatched the locks. She opened the chest as a grin of nostalgia crossed her face. Inside rested a ballerina pink dress with a cream white collar and ruffled texture along the torso. Ruffled wrists at the end of each sleeve. A thin, dark blue coat was folded underneath it and a beautiful bleach blonde wig sat atop it all. It was still here. The disguise that she wore when she'd first met Hawkins. She reminisced, unable to take her eyes off of the dress. It only took her around a minute to change into it. She fixed the wig over her real hair and straightened it perfectly around her scalp.

One couldn't even tell she was brunette anymore. She looked down at the dress on her body. It still fit her somewhat. She pulled the blue coat around her shoulders and slid it down her arms, fixing the collar under the cream one of the dress. She glanced at her faint reflection in the window of the bus. She loved it. She couldn't help but smile from ear-to-ear at her long-lost look. She looked just like she did all that time ago. Except a few years older. And she was rather tall now in comparison. The skirt of the dress did ride a little higher up her thighs. Eleven didn't care. She loved it. Her cheeks were warm with joy. She slowly reached her hand out to touch her reflection in the dirty bus window. "...Pretty..." She whispered, running her fingertips down the glass.

Well, finally a chapter that didn't end off with too much of a dark note. Lol I really hope you guys liked the chapter. If you did, let me know please. I love your feedback. It makes my days, truly. If you had any issues with it, again, please let me know in a constructive way and I will hear you out in full. Any suggestions, let me know, any requests let me know. Other than that, I hope you all are excited for the chapters still to come. I'm working on them as we speak and I'll try not to take too long updating with the ninth. As always, I love you all! XO