𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲

xi. 353 days.

JAMES GIVES space for El to use her powers once more to unlock the door before it swung open. She stepped in and he followed behind, closing the door behind him. Everyone was here, the Byers, his dad, Mike and the kids, Steve and Nancy as well. Mike stepped out from behind Jim and just stared at El as James looked at Steve.

"Eleven." Mike whispered, "Mike," El whispered back as they approached each other and hugged. They hugged tightly as El sobbed softly. "I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for—" "353 days." El cut off Mike and smiled at him. "I heard..." She said softly.

"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?" Mike asked and Jim spoke, "because I wouldn't let her." He walked over and James came to stand at El's side. "The hell is this? Where have you two been?" He asked and James sighed. "Where have you been?" El asked in a stern tone right back and James just put an arm around his dad who hugged him and El back tightly. "You guys have been hiding her..." Mike said from behind Jim, getting angry, "you both have been hiding her this whole time!" He shoved Jim harshly and James stepped away, pulling El back.

"Hey! Let's talk." Jim said, holding onto Mike's sweater tightly and El looked at them. "Alone." He said before pulling Mike off with him as El sighed. "It's okay..." James assured El as he rubbed her back before looking up when Steve approached them. "Where have you been?" Steve asked him and he sighed, glancing down. "Being a criminal..." He joked and Steve suddenly hugs him. He hugged back tightly, glancing at El who walked over to her friends to pull them into a group hug.

"I thought you died or something..." Steve said as he pulled back from James who sighs, stuffing his hands into the leather jacket he was wearing. "I-I'm fine... I had a little roadtrip with El, that's all." He said and Steve points behind him. "Who is she exactly? The girl Nancy and Jonathan talked about?" He asked and James nodded.

"The girl with powers. She lived with me and my dad this whole time." He said and Steve nods. "That-that's why you've been busy a lot..." He whispered and James nodded softly, looking away. "I'm sorry if I worried you..." He said and Steve sighs. "I-I just didn't wanna lose you." He said and James is taken back by the hand on his arm. "Yeah... you won't." He shook his head and smiled.

"Good... because I really appreciate you. Like, when you're there for me." He smiled and James nodded, glancing over at Joyce and El in the kitchen. They all walk over, as Joyce talked to El.

All of them were standing in the kitchen when Jim spoke, "it's not like it was before. It's grown. A lot. And I mean, that's considering we can get in there. That place is crawling with those dogs." Jim said and James looks up. "Demo-dogs." Dustin corrected the man who looked at him. "I'm sorry, what?" He asked the thirteen year old boy.

"I said, uh, Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass—" "How is this important right now?" He cut him off and Dustin looks down. "It's not. I'm sorry." He said and James sighs. "I can do it." El looked at Jim and James looks at her right away.

"You're not hearing me."

"I'm hearing you. I can do it." El said and James sighed. "Even if El can, there's still another problem. If the brain dies, the body dies." Mike said and James looked at him. "I thought that was the whole point?" He said and Mike nods. "It is. But if we're really right about this... I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayer's army..." He said and James looked down. "Will's a part of that army." Lucas says and looked at Max.

"Closing the gate will kill him."

"What if..." James spoke up, pointing to the table, "we get it out of him. Like an exorcism." He said and Joyce stood up suddenly. "Yeah..." She said and he walked towards where Will was, she entered first and he followed behind. "He likes it cold." She said and turned towards James. "He likes it cold?" He said and she nodded, glancing towards Will. "That's what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold." She said and walked over to the window that was open and making the room cold.

"We keep giving it what it wants." Joyce said and James looked at Will. "If this is a virus and Will is the host, then we need to make the host uninhabitable, give it the opposite of what he wants." He said, turning towards Joyce. "So if he likes it cold..." He says and she looks at Will.

"We need to burn it out of him."

"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time." Mike said and Dustin nods. "Yeah, somewhere far away." The curly haired boy said and James looked at his father. "We know where..." He said to him and Jim simply sighed.

In the backyard, James and Steve looked through the pile of stuff that were in the shed. "Are you going with them?" Steve asked as they searched for heaters. "No..." He shrugged and kneeled down, sighing. "Uh, Nancy, Jonathan and Joyce can handle it on their own." He says and Steve nodded. "And that girl and your dad?" He says.

"I-I think my dad will want me to stay..." He sighs and glanced up. "Steve?" He said and stood up, holding a portable heater as Steve stood as well, "yeah?" He approached James who bit his bottom lip and sighed. "I'm not delusional, am I?" He whispered and Steve stares at him.

"Not at all..." Steve shrugged and James glanced towards the house before looking back at Steve who was staring at him intently. Steve glanced down and stepped closer towards James who glanced down to Steve's lips. Steve leaned in slowly and then lips pressed to James'. James reached up to either side of Steve's face, kissing him back.

Steve put an arm around James' waist and deepened their kiss until James pulled back suddenly. "Maybe, maybe another time..." He sighed and stared at Steve who frowns. "Yeah, you're kind of right, t-this isn't the right timing." He shrugged but then both boys leaned in again and kissed one another again.

Steve pulled back, "no, no, you were right, we-we should grab the heaters and take them to the car." He said and both of them grab all of the portable heaters. Outside in the front, James and Steve stood side by side as El stood in front of Mike, "just be careful, okay? I can't lose you again." Mike said to her and she shook her head.

"You won't lose me."

"Do you promise?"

"Promise." She gets close to him, James squints his eyes at the two but thankfully his dad interrupted, "El! Come on, let's go, it's time." He said and El turned back to Mike, sighing heavily. Mike nodded before El walked away, to the passenger side of the police car and got in. Steve, James, and the kids watched the two cars drive away.

Inside, Steve and James were in the dining room, sitting next to one another at the table. "Where exactly did you go?" Steve asked, touching the hem of James' leather jacket and tugging it gently. "El wanted to go find her mom... and then we went on another search for her sister, a girl she grew up with in the lab, and then... well, we came home. How were things here?" He asked and Steve sighed. "Babysitting basically the whole time." He says and James just smiled at that.

Max and Lucas were sweeping up in the living room, "okay, Steve, go get the Demo-dog!" Dustin called out and Steve sighed, "duty calls..." He stood up and James chuckled. "Duty..." He whispered and stood up as well, walking into the livingroom where Mike was pacing back and forth.

  

  

  

  

  

   

   

    

authors note they finally kissed. ur welcome.