Hey guys! Here is the next chapter!

I'm super excited for the next arc of this story. A lot of dark themes on the horizon, and El will have to prepare herself for what's coming. Maybe Hop can help her.

But for now a little Byers and some more Hop and El.

Please R&R... Even if it's a short comment I definitely appreciate it.

Also if you see anything out of the ordinary don't hesitate to send me a message to ask for clarification :)

The Byers home was nice and quiet the night Will was dropped off by Hopper. Lights were shining into the darkness of the night through the windows, creating a homey and warm feeling as Will walked up towards the door to head in. He had so much to tell his mom and brother – Though he decided to wait to let Joyce know what had occurred earlier that day – The last thing she needed on her mind was that another monster was on the loose, ready to snatch one of her boys up again.

"Mom I'm home!" Will yelled as he walked in shutting the door behind him.

Joyce walked out of one of the rooms that connected to the hallway.

"Where have you been!? I was getting worried about you!" Joyce scolded with her hands on her hips. After the events of last month, she was overly protective of her son.

"I was at Mike's we played Dungeons and Dragons."

Joyce knew Will loved to play that game with his friends, but she felt something else was going on. She observed her son and noticed that his clothing looked a little wet. Not completely, but she knew her son's clothes well enough to know that they weren't dry.

"Oh yeah, and why are your clothes so wet?" She asked.

Will quickly made up an excuse, keeping his calm composure in check to match his cool response.

"Oh it's nothing, I fell into some slush on the side of the road on the way home. Honestly Mom I'm okay." Will finished, flashing her a big smile to hopefully garnish his tale.

Joyce eyed her son and twisted her mouth, still suspicious but willing to let her suspicions go for the moment. Her son was home, and alive, that was all that mattered.

"Okay if you say so. Go change into some clothes. I have dinner ready okay?"

"Yes mom." Will replied as he scurried off to his room.

"Hey mom is Jon home?" Will asked before heading into his room.

"No, he'll be home soon though. He said he had to go see someone, or something like that, you know how he is." Joyce said.

Will smiled, of course he knew how his brother was. He was the best brother in the world. Making the best mixtapes and giving him the best advice a brother could give. He couldn't wait to tell his brother everything that happened. He knew Jon would keep his secret safe.

PRESENT

In the town of Hawkins there weren't very many choices of stores to go looking for clothing, but regardless Hopper knew Eleven needed something better to wear than dirty rags. Nobody deserved to live like that. They casually drove into town looking for the correct store. El cautiously observed the small town, she had never been to this part of Hawkins and was anxious to find out what a "store" was. She had been the grocery store once to get Eggos, but it seemed they were going to a different kind of store. Eleven wondered if they were all alike or if they were different.

"Here we are kid, ready?" Said Hopper. Then he realized that the poor child was so ragged that it might draw the wrong kind of attention once entering. So instead he looked at the size of her worn dress, getting a correct number, then he headed in to buy a new one first.

Eleven saw him exchange something that looked like paper with the man inside behind the counter before Jim walked out with the shopping bag in hand. It was a nice light blue dress with white flowers. He threw the bag into the back of the vehicle and instructed her to change. Hopper guarded the vehicle while she quickly undressed and changed. Once she was finished Jim helped her out of the vehicle. Now she was presentable enough for Hopper to walk in with her.

"Not quite what she was looking for huh?" Said the man as they both walked into the store. The doorbell chiming upon their entry.

Hopper flashed a smile and replied, "yeah, kid is kind of picky so we'll look around a bit."

Eleven was unamused by his comment, understanding what he meant by "picky."

They browsed the selection of clothes in the small store. There were a lot of t-shirts and jeans. Some overalls and jackets, shoes too.

"Well kid, what do you like?" Jim asked.

Eleven looked up at him then back at the clothes. She pointed at the plain gray sweatshirt and the jean overalls hanging up on the rack.

"You want those?" Hopper asked, "are you sure?"

Eleven shrugged her shoulders in uncertainty. She never really thought about the things she really liked. When Michael let her wear his sister's dress she did look pretty, but Jim got her a new one, which she actually liked a lot. These clothes would be something different she hadn't tried before. It also helped that they looked warm. She decided to ask Michael's opinion.

Hopper watched as Eleven closed her eyes, her face becoming fiercely focused. To El it was something of ease, but explaining it, almost impossible. In small but very precise pulses of energy she radiated her thoughts from her mind into all of the space around her; guiding them through the city, along the roads and over the grassy sides, under the street lights in the town and over the buildings in the way, through the cold winter wind, until the thoughts eventually floated to the location that she could sense Michael's presence in. A school, not too far from them, where Michael was about to begin a class.

"Mike?" Eleven tenderly spoke to Mike's mind.

Michael jumped, caught off guard from Eleven speaking, he still wasn't used to the idea of it, he did want her to talk to him more after all.

"Hey El, what's up?" Michael asked, looking around to make sure no one could hear him. He didn't want anyone to think he was crazy.

"Umm, are overalls…" Eleven began, thinking back a word Mike had used once. "cool?" She asked.

"Sure, I mean, I like them. You would look really cool in them." Michael replied.

"Okay." She said.

Michael smiled to himself, bashfully prideful that he was the person Eleven called on for everything, even what clothes she should wear.

"Mike?" Eleven questioned, breaking his concentration.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Thank you." She finished.

Eleven broke the connection of thoughts and opened her eyes. Hopper was just staring at her obviously unsure of what she just did.

"Should I even ask what you just did?" Hopper said.

Eleven shook her head. It was too complicated to explain anyways.

"Well all right so these are the ones you want?"

El nodded her head and smiled. It felt good to know that Mike thought she would look cool in her new clothes. She couldn't wait to try them on.

Hopper grabbed a white t-shirt and the rest of the clothes on Eleven's small list. They grabbed some other clothes for her too, but just the basics. Then they proceeded to checkout.

The man kept looking at Eleven curiously, and Hopper could tell he was about to start asking some stupid questions. Instead Jim decided to alleviate his questions with a lie.

"She had cancer, but she's better now." The words stung hopper as he spoke them. He couldn't help but think of Sarah in that small moment, but it was the best excuse he could come up with to avoid attention from the shopkeeper.

"Well what a miracle!" The man said looking down at her.

What's miracle? Eleven thought to herself, taking a mental note of the word to ask Mike later.

The man gave Hopper the bags and thanked him for the business, then they exited the shop. The doorbell rang again upon exiting. Cold winter wind passed through them for as they walked back over to the Hopper's vehicle.

"Phew that was close." Hopper said as he shut the door once sitting down inside. He turned the key and put the car in reverse, then put it in drive to roll away from the town. It was time to head back home.

The trees passed by Eleven rapidly while she viewed the scenery that blurred past her. For a moment she thought of the woods on that cold rainy night. She had never been so scared in her life – And Benny, he was such a nice man. The first person that Eleven could remember that really made her smile. A kindness that was rare to find. – Eleven was happy to be safe, maybe she could finally live a normal life like Mike and the rest. She could only hope that it was true.

Joyce definitely knows something is going on. She's got the nose for smelling something fishy... Hopefully Jon makes it back home okay so Will can tell him about what's happened.

I'm going to eventually incorporate some characters that will pop up in season 2, like Max, but for now I want to stick with writing the characters we already know.

As always thanks for stopping by to read!

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