Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things or any of the characters in this story.


Chapter 4: Somebody

As he drove to Mike Wheeler's house, Hopper kept the radio off. Usually, he liked to listen to music on the road, but not today. He needed a clear head.

It was an interesting mix of emotions that Hopper was feeling. For starters, he was nervous. The more people that knew El's history, the riskier it was for her. In all likelihood, they didn't have anything to worry about with Mike. But he couldn't be too careful. Mike was going to get the full debriefing: El's real backstory, and the story that the public was allowed to know.

In addition – and in true Dad fashion – Hopper was feeling a little territorial. He knew that having an interest in boys was just part of growing up. But this was HIS daughter first, and it would do Mike well to remember that.

Pulling up to the Wheeler home at the end of the cul de sac, Hopper put the car in park and was preparing to walk up to the front door, but there was no need. Mike must have been watching for Hopper, because as soon as the car door opened, so did the Wheeler's front door.

Jesus, how long does this kid plan on staying, thought Hopper. Mike had on his backpack – which looked like it was about to pop, it was so full – and was holding his guitar in one hand and a red rose in the other. Great.

Hopper rolled his eyes as Mike opened the back door and put his bag and the guitar back there. He kept hanging on to the rose carefully.

"Wheeler," Hopper greeted shortly.

"Chief," responded Mike just as shortly.

They rode in silence for a while. Mike was drumming his fingers softly on his leg, excited to see El, but curious about the cloak-and-dagger way it was happening. He had volunteered to ride his bike over, but El said Hopper wanted to pick him up and bring him there. Not to mention, he had a ton of questions. How the hell did he not know Hopper had a daughter? How come she'd never gone to school with them all? Where does the Hawkins Chief of Police call home?

Why were they driving deeper and deeper into the woods?

He decided to just get the ball rolling. "So Chief, how's it going?"

Hopper snorted. "That remains to be seen."

Mike gulped. "Oh, okay. Well, how is El doing?

"You'll find out soon enough, kid."

This wasn't going at all well. Hopper was acting like he was mad at him, but he'd done nothing wrong…at least as far as he could tell.

"Um…did I do something? You're not in a very talkative mood," said Mike.

"Perfectly fine, Michael," Hopper replied brusquely. "Just because I'm not filling the silence with awkward questions, doesn't mean I'm not fine."

Sheesh. Someone was touchy. "Okay, um, but you didn't really answer. Did I do something wrong?"

Hopper sighed. This kid was annoyingly persistent. "Yes and no…how's that?"

"Confusing," Mike said honestly.

"Well, we're practically there, so you won't be confused for much longer."

All Mike could see were trees. "Where is 'practically there?' We're in the middle of nowhere."

Suddenly, Hopper turned sharply off the main road and onto a small one-lane dirt road, practically hitting trees as he sped through the forest.

Mike screamed for his life. He was going to die. Hopper was going to murder him and chop him up into little pieces. He was never going to play for El…or take her out on a date…or kiss her.

The car screeched to a halt, and Hopper got out. Mike was frozen in his seat. The sun was starting to set a little, creating an almost eerie glow in the dark forest.

The sound of Mike's door opening broke him out of his trance. He screamed once more at the sight of Hopper holding an axe, and covered his face with his hands. "Oh my God, please don't hurt me. Don't hurt me!"

"Why the hell would I do that?"

Mike slowly took his hands down away from his face. Hopper was still holding the axe, but was raising his eyebrows at Mike. His mustache twitched slightly, suggesting he was holding back a laugh.

"We're in the woods. You're holding an axe. I'm pretty sure you don't like me very much. What am I supposed to think?"

"Well let's see," Hopper began, "Our house is right over there. I picked up the axe – which was laying on the ground right outside your door – so you wouldn't step on it. As to whether or not I like you, I don't even know you. But El likes you. And she'd have my hide if anything happened to you. Just don't be a fuck up. Then I'd have to use this on you for real."

Mike's eyes had started to adjust to the growing darkness, and he spotted a cozy little cabin through the trees – the windows all lit up. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he slowly got out of the car and grabbed his things.

"Watch the trip wire, kid," Hopper warned as they walked.

Following Hopper's lead, he stepped over a seemingly invisible wire strung between two trees. But upon further inspection, noted the fishing line about a foot above the ground.

Hopper waited for Mike to join him on the porch of the cabin, then knocked twice, once, three times. "Us" in Morse code, thought Mike. Interesting.

After a brief pause, Mike heard the door unlock. It swung open to reveal a smiling El, dressed much more casually than the night before. She had on jeans, a t-shirt, and a short-sleeved flannel shirt over that. He couldn't help but notice that she had on purple toenail polish.

She was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.


El nervously paced the floor of the cabin while she waited for Hopper and Mike to return. She desperately wanted Hopper to like him, and hoped that he wasn't doing anything on the drive to make Mike feel uncomfortable.

The plan was to give it to Mike straight. She wanted him in her life, so telling him everything seemed to be the right thing to do. She could only hope he'd take it well. If he wasn't going to, it was best she knew now before things got serious. But El wasn't terribly concerned. Mike had been so sweet and kind to her yesterday, and she had a feeling he would be very accepting about who she was.

Before long, El heard the rumble of Hopper's car, and then what sounded like a scream. Strange. Maybe just an animal out in the woods.

Tap-tap. Tap. Tap-tap-tap.

Not wanting to appear overly eager, El took a few breaths in to compose herself before unlocking and opening the door.

A smile lit up her face as she saw Mike standing there. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt, which looked great against his pale skin. Like last night, his long neck was exposed, and El desperately wanted to kiss it.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Hey," Mike replied, trying to act nonchalant on the outside. On the inside, the butterflies in his stomach were having a dance party.

They both stood staring at each other in silence for a while until Hopper cleared his throat. "Look, this is really fun. But can you please let us in, El?"

She chuckled nervously and stepped aside. Hopper strode straight over to the refrigerator and cracked open a beer. Mike stopped in front of El and put his backpack and guitar on the floor. He held the red rose out to her that had miraculously survived the insane drive to the cabin.

"This is for you. It's from my mom's garden. I got rid of all the thorns so you wouldn't hurt yourself."

El's cheeks reddened, and she took the rose from Mike, holding it up to sniff. "It's beautiful. Thank you. She grows these?"

Mike chuckled. "Yeah, like almost obsessively. She swears by planting them in a mix of, like, Miracle Gro and eggshells."

"What?"

"Yeah, super weird. But whatever works, I guess."

El nodded and gestured towards the kitchen. "I'm just going to put this in water. Do you want to sit down?"

Mike turned and looked towards where Hopper was semi-reclined in his La-Z-Boy. He gulped, but agreed nonetheless. "Yeah, sure."

Walking over to the sofa, he sat down and began to drum his fingers on his leg again. After a few moments of avoiding looking at Hopper, Mike chanced a glance. But he immediately looked back down at his lap, as Hopper was fixing him with an intimidating stare.

Get back in here quickly, El, Mike thought.

After what felt like an eternity, El joined Mike and Hopper in the living room. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down shyly. "I'm sorry it took so long. I was trying to find the perfect place for the rose."

"Oh yeah? Where is it," asked Mike.

"On my bedside table," said El, "So that I can see it when I wake up and go to sleep."

Mike smiled so hugely, it felt as though his face was going to crack in half. "Cool."

"Ahem," interrupted Hopper, "This is all fine and good, but the three of us need to have a little talk."

Right…the reason they were all there. In the excitement of his arrival, El forgot that she needed to tell Mike her story. If they were going to have some kind of relationship, he needed to know the truth.

She turned to face him. "Mike, I want to get to know you more. But there's something I need to tell you…about myself. You have to promise to never tell anyone this. Ever."

"Or else your ass is grass," added Hopper.

"Uh…yeah. I promise."

Mike was confused as hell. He could only hope whatever she had to say wasn't bad – that she wasn't sick or dying or something.

"Mike, about a year ago, I came to live with Hopper. He's not my bi-o-log-i-cal dad," she explained, sounding out the larger word slowly. "He found me."

"Found you where? Like a foster home or something," Mike asked.

El shook her head. "No, on the street. I escaped. From Hawkins Lab."

Mike was trying to make sense of what she was saying. "But…the lab…I thought the government did like secret projects and experiments there."

"Yes. I was one." With that, El pushed aside the blue hair tie on her wrist to reveal the number 011 etched in her skin.

"Holy shit," exclaimed Mike. "What does that mean?"

"Eleven. El. That's me."

"Your real name is Eleven? They called you that there?"

"Yes."

"But only WE know that, Wheeler," Hopper interrupted. "The public will know her as Eleanor. Got it?"

Mike nodded quickly. "Yeah." Turning back to El, he asked, "What do you mean you were an experiment? What happened?"

El thought it best to show Mike, rather than tell. She grabbed Hopper's empty beer can and placed it on the coffee table in front of her and Mike. Concentrating as hard as she could, the can soon was crushed, as if someone grabbed it and squeezed.

Mike couldn't believe what he saw. He picked up the can and studied it, running his fingers over the new grooves in it. After a moment, he looked at El, who had a small trickle of blood coming out of her nose. "Oh my God…you're bleeding. Are you alright? Can I get you a tissue or some ice?"

"Slow your roll, Wheeler," said Hopper. "She's okay. But you're telling me that the first thing you ask her after she crushes a can with her mind is, 'Can I get you a tissue?'"

"Well, yeah." Mike looked at Hopper like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

"Hmph," Hopper snorted. But there was a faint trace of a smile on his face. So far, Wheeler seemed like an alright kid. Some other punk might have asked about El's powers right away without any concern for her wellbeing.

"Does the bleeding happen all the time after you do that," Mike asked El.

She nodded. "Yes. The more I focus, the more that comes out. Not sure why it happens, but I always have to rest."

"Don't want to use up all your energy. I understand," replied Mike.

He was taking this a lot better than El and Hopper thought he would. Hell, he was taking it better than HE thought he would. You don't meet someone with telekinesis every day.

Hopper stood up. "Tell you kids what – speaking of energy – why don't I get dinner started? Pasta alright?"

El nodded, and Mike replied, "Yeah, that sounds great."

After Hopper walked into the kitchen, El grimaced slightly. Mike, ever the observant one, noticed her face change.

"You okay, El," he asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's just that," she glanced behind her to make sure Hopper wasn't listening closely, "Hop's not the best cook."

Mike frowned. "But it's pasta. You boil it and dump sauce on…simple, right?"

"No," replied El. "He always overcooks it. It tastes like mush."

"Gross," Mike said with a shudder. "Why don't you tell him his cooking sucks?"

"Because it means a lot to him – cooking for someone. He told me. I don't want to hurt his feelings."

Mike remembered the stories he heard on the news about Hopper's daughter – the one that passed away years ago. And of course it was a small town, so everyone knew when he and Diane got divorced. It was probably pretty lonely until El came along.

He nodded. "I get it." Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Hey El?"

"Yes?"

"Do you like pasta?"

"I'd like it more if Hopper cooked it better."

Mike coughed to hide his laugh. He didn't want Hopper to know they were talking about his cooking skills, or lack thereof.

"Okay, well, my sister and her boyfriend sometimes go to this place that has awesome pasta – or so they say. Enzo's, I think it's called. You want to go with me sometime?"

El looked up at Mike, a shy smile gracing her face. "Like a date?"

Mike smiled sweetly back at her. "Yeah, if you want it to be."

El glanced towards the kitchen to make sure Hopper wasn't looking in their direction. When she was satisfied he wouldn't interrupt, she scooted forward so that her and Mike's knees were touching. "Okay," she said.

Before Mike could process her answer, El leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. It was just a swift brush of her lips against his, but that didn't matter. The two of them sat, red-cheeked on the sofa, grinning happily. El darted her tongue out to taste her bottom lip, and Mike wanted nothing more than to kiss her again – this time, longer.

Maybe after our date, Mike thought.

They were going on a date…holy shit.


These two lil cuties! Despite the abundance of Mileven in this chapter, there WILL be drama coming…I just couldn't help it, though. What did you think of Hopper's drive with Mike to the cabin? I might be a little biased since it IS my story, but I was cracking myself up. I could totally picture something like that happening. And I JUST found out that Hopper and El's secret knock was "us" in Morse code…so cute.

Did anyone catch the "American Beauty" reference? I might be dating myself with it, as the movie came out in 1999 (I think), but it's absolutely brilliant.

Good news! I'm going to be taking my laptop on my trip with me, so I may get some writing done. No promises on a new chapter during the next couple weeks, but I'll try. Please leave me a review! I'd love to know what you think.