Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or any of the characters in this story.


Chapter 16: All or Nothing

Unfortunately, 4:30AM came too soon for El and Mike's liking.

The tinny beeping of Mike's alarm awoke them both with a start, and Mike quickly scrambled to shut it off before it woke anyone else up. The arm that was curled around El had fallen asleep. As gently as he could, he pulled his arm out from under her, eliciting a muffled groan from her.

"El, I have to get up," Mike whispered.

"Noooo," she whined quietly, curling her arms tighter around him. "Stay."

He smiled. "You know I wish I could. But I also don't want your dad to kill me if he finds me here in the morning."

"That's silly," El replied. "He won't kill you."

"No, realistically he probably wouldn't. But he'd be really mad, and that's a problem because I want him to like me."

"He DOES like you, Mike. I can tell."

He certainly hoped that was true.

"Regardless, this is his house – his rules." He tilted her face up to look at her. "We'll see each other in a few hours…okay?"

El sighed sleepily. "Fine."

Mike leaned down and kissed her lips softly, letting out a soft groan as he felt El pull him closer. As she curled a leg around his hip, she also began sucking on his bottom lip. He surrendered for a moment, letting his tongue sweep inside her mouth and relishing in the small gasp he heard her make.

"El," he whispered between kisses, "You don't fight fair."

She giggled. "Does this mean you'll stay?"

Mike whined and hung his head down. Boy did he ever want to, but as to whether or not he should?

"I just can't, El. I'm sorry."

He disentangled himself from El's leg then quietly got up off the bed. After he put his pants on, he turned around and had to stifle a laugh. Yes, El looked beautiful with her mussed hair, pink cheeks, and sleepy eyes. But she was also sticking her bottom lip out as far as it could go.

"That's not going to work, you know," Mike said, playfully wagging his finger.

"Really? I hoped it would," she replied glumly.

He couldn't resist the opportunity to kiss her one more time. Stepping back towards the bed, Mike cupped El's cheek and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

"I'll see you in a little while," he whispered.

"Okay."

As Mike quietly crept through the bedroom door, El leaned back on her pillow and let out a long breath. Her feelings for Mike were so intense. She couldn't get enough of him and wanted to be with him always. He was so good-looking, so funny and smart, a talented musician…the list went on. But what El appreciated most about Mike was that he was kind. He didn't treat her like a freak because she came from a lab. He didn't try to exploit her powers – if anything, he didn't want her to use them because he didn't want her energy to be depleted.

"Hey, space cadet. What's got you thinking so hard?"

Max's sleepy voice startled El out of her inner thoughts, causing her hand to fly to her chest with a start.

"Geez…you scared me, Max."

Max chuckled as she shut the door. "Didn't think I was that scary, but okay." A sly grin appeared on her face as she approached El and climbed into bed next to her. "Might you have been thinking about a certain tall, floppy haired nerd?"

A telltale blush covered El's cheeks, causing Max to nod knowingly.

"I knew it. So, I take it your night went well?"

That was an understatement.

"Yes," El replied enthusiastically.

"Good, I'm glad. That makes two of you." Max yawned and fluffed the pillow before flopping her head down onto it. "That living room floor is not super comfortable for a full night's sleep. We need to convince Hopper to invest in some sleeping bags. Plus, those boys spent way too long talking about random shit."

El's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no. Do you think they heard?"

Max raised an eyebrow. "Heard what?" A moment later, realization dawned on her face. "Ohhhh, heard," she said with a cackle. "And just what exactly were you and Mike doing in here?"

At that moment, however, the even snoring that was coming from the other side of the wall faltered. El quickly raised a finger to her mouth to shush Max, and they both were motionless for several minutes. Thankfully, the snores began again after that time. The girls blew out a breath they didn't realize they were holding.

"Jesus, that was close," Max said with relief. "That's probably our sign to go to sleep. But don't think you're going to get away with not telling me anything. I want details later!"

El shyly nodded, scooting down so she could get under the covers. Max was probably going to get as much as she could out of her come morning. But right now, it was just between El and Mike. She smiled cheekily as she remembered how sweet he had been and how he'd made her feel…there was nothing like it. Everything they'd done felt right to her. She had no regrets.


El was having the best dream. Mike was lying next to her and gently stroking her hair. He began to lay soft kisses on her forehead, down her cheek, and across her nose. She shrank back slightly at the sensation, as it tickled. But she eagerly began to reciprocate as Mike's lips finally touched hers.

"El? El?"

At this, her eyes snapped open. Mike's face was hovering just inches from hers. It wasn't a dream after all, she thought to herself.

"Mike," she whispered, and reached up to pull his face back down.

He let himself be drawn back in for another moment, relishing in her kisses. It was only when she began to open her mouth wider and slip him her tongue that he had to pull back.

"Why," El whined.

He let out a sigh. "I want to, believe me. But it's a miracle that your dad even allowed me in to wake you up. I just don't want either of us to get in trouble."

"Fine," she replied with an eye roll.

Mike couldn't resist. He cupped her cheek and leaned down, kissing her with all the intensity he had. El let out a surprised gasp. But just as she began to reciprocate, Mike pulled back again.

"Come on, breakfast is ready and everyone's up," he said cheerily.

As Mike began to walk towards the doorway, he was suddenly struck in the back of the head with a pillow. He turned around slowly, his mouth open in shock.

"Did you seriously just throw that at me?"

El's very mature response was to stick her tongue out and blow a raspberry at him.

"Okay, which of you just farted," they heard Dustin ask from outside the room.

"Mike did," shouted El, who looked right at Mike and winked. The group in the living room roared with laughter.

"Hey! I did not," he shouted back. Pointing a finger at El, he said, "You'd better watch yourself, El Hopper. You might be the one blamed for a fake fart next."

This just caused her to laugh even harder, at which point Mike couldn't help himself and cracked a smile. "Troublemaker," he muttered good-naturedly under his breath.

"Yes, but you like me anyway," El replied boldly.

Mike blushed a dark pink. "Yeah, I do," he said, his voice quiet but sincere. After a beat, he smiled at her and left her to get ready.

Once the smell of food reached El's nose, it didn't take her long to get dressed. Like yesterday, she put on a pair of denim shorts. But today, she wore a tank top with a short-sleeved flannel over it. She left the shirt unbuttoned, and tied the bottom ends together so it looked more fitted.

"Well well," Max drawled as El emerged from her bedroom minutes later, "If it isn't the sleepyhead."

"Yeah, it's about fucking time," Dustin said through his mouthful of food. "We need to start brainstorming.

Hopper glared at him over the rim of his coffee cup. "Language, kid. Let her eat first."

El's glanced over to the kitchen table where a large plate of Eggos sat, and her stomach growled. She made a beeline for the open seat next to Mike, grabbing a waffle and tearing into it.

Mike chuckled. "Somebody's hungry."

She hummed happily with her mouth full. "Mhmm."

Lucas, Dustin, and Will were watching her eat ferociously, a strange mixture of impressed and nervous on their faces. Hopper, Mike, and Max were well aware of El's tendency to eat Eggos at the speed of light. Therefore, they weren't concerned. The other three boys couldn't exactly say the same.

El happened to look in their direction in that moment. They clearly must have had weird looks on their faces, because her eyes bugged out of her face in embarrassment.

"What," she asked.

"I've just never seen anyone eat an Eggo that fast," replied Lucas. "I was afraid you were going to choke."

She smiled. "Oh, okay. I thought you guys might have thought it was weird."

"No way," Dustin said happily. "You could be a speed eater or something. If there was a contest to see who could eat the most Eggos in 5 minutes, I think you'd win."

"Don't give her any ideas," Hopper added. "She'd eat waffles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if she was allowed. No unlimited waffles," he said pointedly at her.

They all laughed at the pout that crossed El's face. She got over it though, as there were plenty of Eggos still to be had.

After a few more minutes of eating, El realized she hadn't heard a peep out of Will yet that morning. She smiled brightly at the boy eating quietly.

"Good morning, Will."

"Good morning, El," he replied with a shy smile.

"Are you okay," Max asked. "You're awfully quiet."

He set down his fork and dabbed at his mouth with a napkin before speaking. "Yeah, but I just can't help it. I keep thinking about yesterday."

A shudder went through the group like a ripple effect much to Will's chagrin.

"Shit, I'm sorry," he said morosely.

"First of all, language," Hopper said, a pointed glance in Will's direction. "Secondly, I understand. We need to find out what's going on so we can put a stop to it once and for all. In fact, I'm surprised the phone hasn't been ringing off the hook about more disappearances."

"Well don't jinx it, chief," Dustin said. "Do you want there to be more missing people?"

"Of course not, Henderson," Hopper replied with an eyeroll. "Did you think I had fun yesterday?"

Hopper took one last sip of coffee before doing a once-over of the cabin. He then turned to face the kids.

"As soon as I find out any news, I'm going to call and let you know. I'll try and get away as soon as I can to check on you but until then…do not leave this house and do not go outside for prolonged periods of time. Until we know that the kidnappings have stopped, you're safest in here. Got it?"

They nodded wordlessly.

"Good. There should be plenty of food and snacks in here. That being said, do NOT eat me out of house and home. The last thing I want is to have to spend hundreds of dollars at the grocery store because there's no food left," he said, shooting Dustin a pointed glance.

"Why did he only look at me," Dustin whispered to Lucas, who shrugged his shoulders in response.

"And lastly," Hopper began as he reached the door, "No funny business you two," he said, pointing at Mike and El.

The other kids snickered as Mike blushed, remembering their late-night activities.

"Why would we do anything when other people are here," El asked, a snarky tone to her voice. "If we were going to do something, wouldn't we wait for when we were by ourselves?"

Mike looked at her in shock as Hopper turned to face her slowly.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say that," he said sternly. "Well then, I think there's a pretty easy solution." Looking at the others he said, "Kids, don't leave these two by themselves."

There was stunned silence that followed as Hopper opened the door and called back to them, "I'll check in soon." As soon as the door shut, however, the kids – minus Mike and El – burst out laughing.

"You heard him, kiddos," Lucas choked out. "No hanky-panky!"

"That's right," Dustin chimed in. "No jiggery-pokery."

Mike let out a huff in annoyance. "What the hell even IS jiggery-pokery?"

"It probably means no pokery in her jiggery, Wheeler," Max quipped, making a crude gesture by sticking a pointer finger through a circle made by her fingers on the other hand.

Mike and El blushed hard as the others half groaned, half laughed.

"That's kind of gross, Max," Will said with a grimace. "I don't want to think about my friends that way."

"It's fucking funny, though, Will. You've got to admit," Dustin said, still fighting laughter. "That was awesome, Max."

Max leaned over and high-fived him. "Thanks! I'll be here all week."

"Great, well now that we've gotten THAT out of the way," Mike interrupted loudly, "Can we please get to work on our game plan? We need to figure out what the hell is going on with everyone in this town – the kidnappings, Billy, and the lab."

"Hear, hear," Will agreed wholeheartedly. He was more than ready to make some progress on the items Mike mentioned.

Dustin held out his hands as though conceding. "Alright, fine. Does anyone have a piece of paper and a pen?

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I do," replied Lucas, scurrying over to where his bag sat.

"Jesus christ, Sinclair. You've got everything," Max said, impressed. "First a switchblade, now this. What's next, a Barbie doll," she cracked.

"Why the hell would he have a Barbie doll," Dustin asked quietly.

"Actually," Lucas began, "I do." After tossing the paper and pen on the table, he dug around until he found a Barbie dressed in a fashionable swimsuit. "It's my little sister's. I always keep one with me just in case we're out and she starts getting fidgety or something."

The others were stunned into silence.

"Wow," Mike said after a moment. "That's actually pretty cool. I should do that with my sister, Holly. It can be shitty if she's out somewhere and gets cranky. A toy might help."

Dustin smirked. "Lucas, you're telling me that doll ISN'T yours? It's your sister's? Come on…"

"Well, it's the truth," Lucas replied hotly. "Now are you guys ready to work or not?"

There was a brief pause and then slight murmurings in agreement as the kids scooted their chairs in. All the while, a certain redhead was looking a Lucas, a soft smile on her face. She really admired the fact that he looked out for his sister that way. That was the way a big brother should treat a little sister.

Billy had nothing on Lucas.

"So guys," Mike began as he grabbed the paper and pen, "Where do we start?"


After several hours of brainstorming, the kids needed a break.

So far, the only decent guess they'd come up with was that Billy was somehow possessed. He was alive, but definitely possessed by something. It explained why it was like he had a moral transplant – he certainly would not be kidnapping people if he was of sound mind. It would also explain his sickly appearance.

"Okay, but how is getting other people to follow his lead," Mike asked. "Are they possessed, too?"

"They definitely look like it," Will said. He had to suppress a shudder as he remembered how Billy and the others looked.

"So is Billy the one possessing them? And with what? Do you think the lab has anything to do with the possessions?"

El had been quiet through the brainstorming. She was most definitely a processer, someone thoughtful who digested information little by little. She wasn't going to speak unless she felt she had something valuable to contribute, and she hadn't.

Until now.

While they'd been talking, her dream from two nights ago popped back into her head. How could she have forgotten it? It was incredibly terrifying. But she wondered if there was any truth to it.

El replayed it in her mind – the creepy way Billy looked, the hulking shadow in the sky, the roar of the monster.

The monster…the same one she'd seen in the void the day she'd escaped the lab. They both sounded exactly the same. But could it be the same monster? Was the roar she heard while climbing through the pipe real too? It's possible that she could have still been hearing it in her head, but how could it have gotten into the lab?

Was it all a coincidence? Or was this where the connection lay?

"El? Are you okay?"

Mike's concerned voice brought her back to the kitchen table. Five sets of eyes were looking at her curiously, so she must have looked as pensive as she felt.

El nodded, took his hand in both of hers, and clasped it tightly.

"I have an idea."


Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. It's been a beautiful weather week in my part of the world – I'm counting my blessings. I was also excited for two things: Season 4 of Stranger Things is not the end, and that production on Season 4 has been fully prepped. That means when they do start filming again, it will go even faster. But whenever that is, I hope everyone continues to stay safe.

Please leave me a review – I'd love to hear what you think. Personally, I don't think this chapter is super exciting, but maybe that's just me. Thanks for reading!