Mike and El collided together in a tangle of arms in the middle of the living room, clinging to each other tightly. Small sobs and cries came from both of them as El curled her fingers around the fabric of Mike's jacket.
They pulled apart to stare at each other, and Mike spoke to her in the gentlest voice I've ever heard come from him. "I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for-"
"Three hundred and fifty three days. I heard" El answered for him, looking distraught.
"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?" Mike asked.
"Because I wouldn't let her," Hopper spoke up.
I blinked and looked over at him, surprised. Mike turned around and gave Hopper the deadliest glare I've ever seen. As Hopper stepped up to El, Mike rounded him and stood behind his back.
"The hell is this? Where've you been?" Hopper asked.
"Where have you been?" El shot back as Hopper gave her a hug, pulling her close.
I dropped the gun onto the couch, and I heard Steve's bat clatter to the ground. I reached for his hand, grabbing onto it. He interlocked our fingers without hesitation, and smiled over at me.
I told myself this wasn't weird, and that friends held hands all the time. I looked over at Steve, smiling.
"I've decided we're friends now," I said.
"Friends. I like that," Steve answered, grinning from ear to ear. "Better than you avoiding me."
I laughed, looking back at El and Hopper just before Mike had his outburst.
"You've been hiding her," he said. "You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike shoved Hopper's shoulder.
"Hey!" Hopper let go of El and turned around to look Mike straight in the eye. As Mike was about to shove him again, he grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him forward. "Let's talk. Alone."
El watched them go into my room, and then she turned and stepped forward to hug Dustin and Lucas at the same time.
"We missed you," Lucas said.
"I missed you, too," El said, letting go.
"We talked about you pretty much everyday," Dustin said.
El suddenly reached forward and grabbed Dustin's face. "Teeth."
"What?" Dustin asked.
"You have teeth," El elaborated.
"Oh. You like these pearls?" Dustin made a noise between a growl and a purr.
"Never do that again, Dustin," I laughed, bringing El's attention to me.
She made her way over to me, and stopped right before she could hug me. She pinched her eyebrows together, looking down at mine and Steve's hands.
"Boyfriend?" she asked.
I quickly took my hand out of Steve's, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. "Oh, um, no. Just friends."
"Friends hold hands?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah. All the time," I said, ducking down to hug her, distracting her from the previous question.
She hugged back just as tightly. I let go and gently pushed her toward everyone else so she couldn't question me about Steve anymore.
"Eleven?" Max asked.
She walked up to El. "Hey, um, I'm Max." Max put out her hand for El to shake. "I've heard a lot about you."
El pushed past her and left her hanging.
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Through The Strangest Things || Steve Harrington x Reader
Fanfiction"It was only one thing. Only one little thing that happened to make me fall in love with you. One simple thing, and I don't understand how that's possible." "It only takes one flame to start a fire." +*+*+ The stranger things are happening in the s...
