𝐖𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍. ˢᵗᵉᵛᵉ ʰᵃʳʳⁱⁿᵍᵗᵒⁿ ¹

027

027. 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵.

     𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍 impenetrable and consuming silence. It felt as if a blanket had been placed over the house, shielding it from outside and muffling every noise— even the ones inside. Time stood still. The footsteps on the creaky wooden floor couldn't even be heard as the converse stepped over the threshold, because the silence was so loud that it clogged all ears. There had never been a time in all the world where silence was louder than words, until now, as she stepped into the dimly lit home. The air was suddenly thick with revelation, and entirely ravaging with epiphany.

    Lori's lips departed in awe. Her body spiraled into a state of shock, surprise, and confusion as her eyes grew wide, and her chest fell. She felt her chest relax and lose some of its tension, but her stomach swirled with revelation and her mind raced at a million miles with bombarding thoughts. All she could do was stare forward at the young girl in the doorway, as if she'd just seen someone bring the moon down to earth.

    Mike was the first person to step forward. Lori couldn't even look at his expression, she couldn't look at anything else but the girl with the blood dripping from her nose. Things seemed to move in slow motion as he approached her carefully, so very carefully, until they were right in front of each other and he reached forward. They came together in what appeared to be a long awaited embrace, in front of everybody.

    Lori felt her hand being squeezed. She leaned her head towards Steve beside her, and swallowed very hard— the liquid smoothing over a lump in her dry throat. Her mouth formulated words, and, all while staring forward with wide eyes, she whispered.

    "That's..." she whispered, in a volume only he could hear. She trailed the word off, not capable of saying any more because of the shock coursing through her veins.

    She kept her eyes on Mike and Eleven, and her ears registered the words they were saying— something about calling her every day for three hundred and fifty three days. But she could barely process their words from the awe she was feeling.

    Steve didn't say anything, but out of the corner of her eye she could see him nod once— knowing exactly what she meant without even finishing.

    Lori swallowed and closed her lips, as the stories flashed in the forefront of her mind. Eleven, she was one of the main forces at the center of all of this. She'd opened the very first gate, Lori remembered now— was it the same gate as the one written on the coloring book tonight?— and she'd been taken by one of those creatures last year. She'd been gone ever since. She was a lab rat, she had powers, she could move things with her mind. And now she was in the Byers' living room, reuniting with her friends.

    It was slowing down in her mind by the time Hopper spoke out, saying something about how he wouldn't "let her".

    "Holy shit," Lori finally breathed out, her eyes relaxing a bit. "It's the telekinetic bald girl," she whispered so low, nearly breathless as if this sight took all the air out of her lungs.

    If this weren't such a monumental moment, Steve felt like he would've let out a small giggle— because Lori was serious, she wasn't joking.

    But all he did was look down at their hands when it slowly clicked in his mind. Their hands, woven together, fingers intertwined so very tightly like the world depended on it.

    Lori saw his flush of hair lower in her peripheral vision, naturally causing her to follow his gaze for a brief moment.

    Her heart twisted when she realized with immense confliction that she was holding his hand. Steve Harrington's hand. Confliction, because she couldn't even remember when she'd grabbed it.