"EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE" Will Byers x Reader

Reunion at Last// chapter 24

'El!' I gasp as the door swings open. The curly haired brunette smiles slightly, and for the first time, I take in her full appearance. She's dressed in a black overcoat, rolled up denim jeans with white converse; the most startling thing about her new look is her hair. It's slicked back and her curls just show at the tips. Her eyes are lined with black eyeliner, sort of a punk look I guess, but it's not the Eleven I know. 

'El.' Mike's face turns up in a half smile, as he tries to fake surprise. Obviously, he's not supposed to know she's back but after that stage of depression he went through I had to tell him the truth. Hopper looks slightly shocked to see the girl he took in as a daughter after last years events, but an expression of relief fills his rough features as well. 

'Mike.' El whispers, a droplet of blood running down her nose. She wipes it away carelessly, meeting my eyes and blinking. 

Mike and El step towards each other in the middle of the room, and they hug for what seems like minutes. 

'Is that?' I hear Max shift towards Lucas, who nods quietly. 

'It's good to see you,' He whispers, and the air of the word 'again' seems to drift off his tongue soundlessly. 'I missed you so much. I called you everyday-everyday for.' 

'353 days,' El finishes. 'I heard.' 

'Why didn't you tell me you were there?' Mike's eyes are bloodshot, and his hair is ruffled. El turns to look at me quickly, before turning back to Mike. She opens her mouth-

'Because I wouldn't let her,' Hopper answers gruffly, walking to the center of the room and putting his gun down. He hugs El tightly, letting go after a few seconds. 'Where've you been?' 

'Where've you been?' El counters, hugging him back. 

'You've been hiding her,' Mike concludes, his eyes wide. Fortunately, since he already knew this, it's come as less of a shock, and hopefully he won't have as big of a reaction. This isn't the case apparently. 'I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! YOU WOULDN'T HAVE EVER TOLD ME SHE WAS OKAY, RIGHT? I HAD TO FIND OUT FROM Y/N INSTEAD!' 

I avoid looking at Hopper. 'Leave me out of this.' 

Hopper eyes me with disapproval. 'I told you not to tell him.' 

'What was I supposed to do? Let him suffer forever? It's not like anything bad happened to El; no one else found out!' I retort. 

Hopper gestures wordlessly for Mike to follow him into the other room. Mike stomps after him, not giving any of the group as much of a glance. 

Once they're gone, I pull El into a hug, feeling Lucas and Dustin join seconds after. 

'We missed you,' Lucas says into El's back. 

'I missed you too.' El replies. 

'We talked about you pretty much everyday,' Dustin adds. 

'It's true,' I regard Dustin and Lucas nervously. 'You aren't mad that I didn't tell you guys, right?' 

'No,' Dustin says after hesitating. 

'We know you did it for El's safety.' Lucas points out. 'Besides, Mike was getting so down, I'm glad you did do something about it.' 

'Yeah,' Dustin agrees. 

'Teeth,' El says, after we pull away from the hug. She touches Dustin's lips. 

'What?' 

'You have teeth.' El says. 

'Oh, you like these pearls?' Dustin smirks and makes his weird r-rolling sound. 

'Hi,' Max interrupts. 'I'm Max,' she holds out her hand. 'I've heard a lot about you.' 

El glances down at her hand, then back at me. Sighing, she walks right by without looking at Max. 

'Sorry,' I whisper. 'She thought you were making a move on Mike that day in the gym.' I say apologetically. 'I'm sure she'll come around-you're only the third girl she's ever met.' 

'Oh,' Max seems to understand. 'It's alright.' 

'I'll tell her you like Lucas, not Mike,' I wink, ignoring Lucas's raised eyebrows. 

'Hey!' Lucas exclaims.