you're my safe place ~ MILEVEN ONE SHOTS~

How Could You Not Tell Me?

lucastown Enjoy as per usual! Kind of emotional yet cute and angsty
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Hopper noticed one day that El was staring intensely at a newspaper article to do with Chicago. After seeing words like 'gang' and 'criminals' on there which had her so distracted, he had to find out what was bothering her. El had seen the article about the ring leader in a certain gang in Chicago being questioned about her psychic abilities that had been revealed to the local police on an escape attempt. El knew that she and Kali did not see eye to eye and that she was not exactly the perfect role model, but they had the same circumstances which they were both brought up in and Eleven knew what it was like to be poked and prodded like a lab rat. She pestered Hopper for weeks to ask if he could try to find out more or if they could take a trip out to Chicago to see if her sister was okay.

Hopper reluctantly agreed knowing that he had to protect the girl he had adopted, that did not know much about the outside world. He needed to keep her safe and grounded if things got out of control despite how powerful he knew she was. But under certain circumstances, her powerful nature would crumble.

They had agreed to stay in Chicago to diffuse the situation with the local police force that were holding her captive due to her abilities, but they had no idea how long it would take. Hopper said that it could be a long process so they needed to pack immediately.

A few days beforehand, Mike came over on one of his usual routine visits. El was extremely skittish and tense that he would notice objects missing from around the cabin or try to go into her room and see the suitcases.

"You okay, El?" Mike asked as she pushed him down onto the couch immediately, looking around slowly to see if she had left anything out that would give away what was happening soon. "You seem worried."

"I'm fine" El murmured, resting her head on his shoulder and switching on a soap opera. Mike found it adorable how attached she became to them and her reactions made his day. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and pulled her in closer to his side. She had been quieter than usual, something that he would always notice.

El buried her face in his shoulder by his neck, holding back tears. She didn't know how long she would be away from him and knew that it would be hard after how much time they had been spending together since the Snowball.

After he left that night, Hopper cornered El as she watched him walk away, leaning against the door tiredly. "You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"What would I say?" El shook her head, looking down at her feet. "He would never let me go, he would try to come with us. It is better to just keep it quiet."

"What happens when he finds out?" Hopper took a sip of his beer, raising his eyebrows. "You think he is just going to ignore it and think that everything is fine?"

"I don't want to lie to him" El sighed. "Better to just keep quiet."

"Kid-"

"We don't know how long we will be gone" El sniffed, rubbing her nose on the end of her sweatshirt. "There is no way he would just be fine with me going away again."

"Whatever you say" Hopper sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "You better continue packing."

...

El was expecting Hopper to be smart and to understand what was best with the current situation. But when she woke up, she found Mike sitting at the table with her father, glaring at her harshly.

El scoffed at Hopper. "You told him."

"Kid, look it had to be done. He needed to know where you would be. Did you really want him to worry about you for god knows how long without knowing where you are?"