Love Is A Battlefield (A Stranger Things/Steve Harrington Fanfiction)

Chapter Six: Hiding

After the whole locking-the-door fiasco, we moved El back down to the basement, where I sat with her while the boys headed upstairs for dinner. She sat under the table in her little fort, and I sat across from her, asking her questions. I was actually grateful for the opportunity to get my own answers before we had to get anyone else involved.

"So you saw me...in the other place?" I asked. She nodded. "Did you recognize me when you saw me yesterday." She shook her head.

"Dreams." I nodded.

"Yeah...you were in my dreams last night too." I said honestly. "But Will is there right now?" She nodded. "But the...creatures, from the other place, they're not the ones that are looking for you?" She shook her head again. "Look, El...if there's anything that you can tell me about the other place-"

"Guys?" My question was cut off and I turned around to see the boys, carrying a tray with two plates on it. "No adults. Just as and some meatloaf." He put the tray down, handing me one of the plates.

"Thanks." I said, picking up a fork and beginning to eat it. El looked at Lucas and Dustin warily.

"Don't worry. They won't tell anyone about you. They promised. Right?" He looked back at his friends.

"We never would have upset you if we knew you had superpowers." Dustin said, earning a punch to the leg from Mike. "Ow!" 

"What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared...earlier. That's all."

"We just wanted to find our friend."

"Friend?" She asked, clearly unfamiliar with the word.

"Yeah, friend? Will?"

"She doesn't know what that means." I clarified, looking back at her.

"What is 'friend'?"

"Is she serious?"

"Mike?" I prompted. He reached back, punching Lucas. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Show a little sensitivity, why don't you?" I shot back, turning to look at her again. "A friend is...um...geez how do I explain this, um..."

"Its someone that you'd do anything for." Mike told her.

"You lend them cool stuff, like Comic books and trading cards." Dustin added.

"And they never break a promise."

"Especially when there's spit." Lucas said. I scrunched my nose up in disgust.

"Spit?"

"A spit swear means," He spit in his hand, "You never break your word." He shook Dustin's hand and I turned back to her.

"Ignore that last part. They're boys, boys are gross." She smiled at this. "But they are right, friends tell each other things."

"Things that parents don't know." Mike clarified.

"Like maybe, together...we can help explain where we think Will, is, yeah?" I suggested. She nodded, her eyes looking at something over my shoulder. She got up, walking over to the table, which had a dungeons and dragons board set up on top of it. She sat down, putting her hands on top of it and closing her eyes. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"El?" Mike asked. She picked up a little wizard figurine, holding it up in front of her face.

"Will." She said.

"Superpowers." I looked at them.

"Is that his piece?" I added. They nodded and Mike sat down beside her.

"Did you see him? On Mirkwood?" Mike asked.

"Not Mirkwood." I said. She pushed the pieces off of the board, flipping it over so the black side was showing. I furrowed my eyebrows. She grabbed the wizard, putting him down in the middle of the board. "Wait...upside down?" I asked. She nodded. "Is that what its called? The Upside Down?" She nodded again.