The light || Lucas Sinclair

closing the gate

"Is that?" Max asked as the group watched Mike and Eleven embrace.

Dustin, Lucas, and Leah all shook their heads yes. Leah felt a tear roll down her check and she wiped it away quickly. She was glad to Eleven alive and well, she was the one who had rescued her from the lab and Leah was forever grateful for that.

"I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for-" Mike started.

"353 days." El finished. "I heard."

"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"

Hopper spoke up. "Because I wouldn't let her."

Mike whipped around shocked at what he was hearing.

"The hell is this? Where have you been?" Hopper asked walking towards Eleven.

"Where have you been?" Eleven shot back.

But instead of saying anything Hopper wrapped his arm around her and the two shared a hug, while Mike stared at them in disbelief.

"You've been hiding her. You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike said before hitting Hoppers back.

"Hey! Let's talk. Alone." Hopper said grabbing Mike and taking him to another room.

After Mike had left the room Eleven turned to Leah, El held out her pinky.

"I pinky promised." She said smiling.

Leah stepped forward and intertwined her pinky with El's.

"Yes, yes you did." Leah said smiling before engulfing her friend in a hug.

After pulling away El went over to hug the boys next.

"We missed you." Lucas said.

"I missed you, too."

"We talked about you pretty much everyday." Dustin told her.

Eleven stared at him before grabbing his face. "Teeth."

"What?"

"You have teeth." El said.

Dustin looked over at Lucas and Leah, the three kids sharing a smile. "Oh. You like these pearls?" He said, before he started purring.

Leah was about to tell Dustin that he was being weird, but Max spoke up.

"Eleven?" Max took a few steps forward so that she was right in front of Eleven. "Hey. Um, I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you."

Eleven walked past Max's out stretched hand without saying a word.

—

"It's not like it was before. It's grown. A lot, and I mean, that's considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs." Hopper explains to the group gathered on the kitchen.

"Demo dogs." Dustin says.

"I'm sorry what?" Hopper asks.

"I said, uh, demo dogs. Like demogorgan and dogs. Like you put them together it sounds pretty badass-"

"How is this important right now?" Hopper says irritated.

"It's not, I'm sorry."

"I can do it." Eleven states.

"You're not hearing me." Hopper says.

Eleven looks at him with certainty. "I'm hearing you. I can do it."

"Even if El can, there's still another problem. If the brain dies, the body dies." Mike explains.

"I thought that was the whole point." Max says confused.