precarious ; jonathan byers [2]

chapter six - bitchin'

Casey

I must've fallen asleep at some point during the long drive. 

When my eyes opened, I was surrounded by absolute darkness, causing me to squint, slightly. There were no ash particles floating around this time and the atmosphere wasn't cold, so I knew I wasn't in the Upside Down again. I didn't really know if that was a good or bad thing at this point. If it wasn't the Upside Down, then where the hell was I?

"Casey?"

A soft whisper of my name came from behind me and I turned in my spot. My eyebrows almost skyrocketed once I had seen who it was. 

"Eleven?" I questioned out of utter surprise. She had been standing a ways down from me, dressed in baggy, unwashed clothes and her hair had grown out into an almost afro. My lips began to curve upward at the sight of the girl I hadn't seen in so long and she smiled in return. 

The two of us then began running towards each other and she practically threw herself at me once she got close enough. I chuckled and caught the small girl in my arms, not even letting her feet touch the ground as I began to spin her around. I couldn't help it. To say I was relieved was an absolute fucking understatement. 

"Oh my gosh," I  muttered, loosening my grip on her to set her to her feet. "Is this real? Are you fucking real?"

"Yes," She answered, nodding her head. "This is how I contact people with my powers."

"I didn't think I would ever see you again," I stated, unable to stop smiling at how happy I suddenly was. "Where have you been, El?"

"I can't tell you," She responded quietly.

My eyes furrowed at her reply and knelt down to be at eye level with her, "Why not?"

"Hopper told me that no one can know, yet," She explained. 

I rolled my eyes, "Of course Hopper's in on all this," I muttered. "He probably has you on house arrest, too." El chuckled lightly and nodded, proving my statement correct. "And I'm assuming since I know about it now that I have to stay quiet, as well?" 

She nodded once more, "Sorry."

"No, it's alright, kid," I assured her, resting my hand on her shoulder to give it a squeeze. "It will be a bitch to keep it from Jonathan but as long as it keeps you safe."

Her eyes then furrowed, "Bitch?"  

I couldn't help it. I let out a snort at her innocent reaction. "I would advise to not repeat that word around Hopper," I told her. I then remembered it was Hopper that we were talking about; freakin' Hopper, of all people. "Actually, don't be afraid to say it. Ever. It's a cool word to use."

"What does it mean?" She asked.

"It's one of those words that can be used in different ways with different meanings," I began to explain to her, shifting the weight of my body to my other knee. "If someone is being a mouth-breather or acting like a complete jerk to you, bitch is a word you can call them. It's also used in a way to express something you think is awesome. In this case, you would phrase whatever it was as 'bitchin'. "

"Bitchin', " She softly repeated. 

"Yeah, exactly," I responded proudly, giving her a light high five. "Good job."