𝑩𝑳𝑼𝑬 - Billy Hargrove [1]

TWENTY NINE

TWENTY NINE|ELEVEN

The group sat around Chief Hoppers house, waiting for Eleven to finish trying to find out what the Mind Flayer is planning. Bernadette watched as Mike incessantly paced back and forth, rambling about everything.

"It can't be good for her to be in there for this long." He stated with concern, making large gestures with his arms.

"Mike, you need to relax." Max stopped him from his next string of ranting as she looked up at him tiredly.

"Yeah, El is a big girl who willingly chose to do this so she can stop the end of the world." Bernadette piped in, smiling proudly to herself over how amazing Eleven truly was. "Twice now."

"What if she gets brain damage or something?" Mike continued to voice his random concerns.

"Oh, shit." Lucas cursed, eyes darting between Max and Bernadette. "Is that, like, a real thing?"

"No, it's not." Max informed him with a sigh. "He made it up. Mike doesn't know what he's talking about."

"At this point I'm hoping he gets brain damage so he finally shuts up." Birdie grumbled loud enough for only Max and Lucas to hear. "Okay, children, it's quiet time. That means shut up, Bernadette is having a nicotine withdrawal and needs peace and quiet." She raised her voice, pointing a finger at all three of the arguing kids.

Max and Mike ignored her, both arguing with one another, voices raising as Bernadette groaned in annoyance. Lucas sent her a sympathetic stare, noticing a half filled packet of cigarettes on the coffee table and passing it to her.

"Lucas, you are officially my favourite." She grinned, placing a cigarette between her lips. Lighting the end, she took in a deep breath, sighing contently as the nicotine entered her lungs.

"Okay, can you guys settle an argument for us?" Max said loudly as her and Mike walked over to Nancy, Jonathan and Will who all stood in the kitchen. "Who do you think should decide Els limits? Mike or Eleven?"

"The way that you frame that is such bullshit." Mike spat back at her, growing angry at the ginger girl.

"It's not bullshit, Mike." She argued back, staring him down. "This is your whole problem. And it's precisely the reason why she dumped your ass."

"El dumped you?" Nancy questioned her brother, wondering why she hadn't heard the news early.

"Yeah, because she is conspiring against me." Mike pointed an accusing finger at the girl beside him. "She's corrupting her."

"You guys are like ten." Birdie leaned forwards in her chair, a cloud of smoke slipping out from between her strawberry pink lips. "Aren't you too young to be having lover quarrels? We don't want another Romeo and Juliet."

"Seriously?" He turned around to look at the older girl casually grinning to herself. "You too?"

"The fact is, Mike, she's not yours." Max glared at him, her hands gesturing around as she argued her case. "She's her own person, fully capable of making her own decisions."

Bernadette fell back in her chair, smiling proudly at Max for arguing for Eleven. The girl had grown up in a lab, she deserved a normal life that wasn't dictated by a fifteen year old boy. And Max seemed to be the one fighting the most for her to live a normal life as a fifteen year old girl.

"She's risking her life for no reason."

"For no reason?" Nancy cut her younger brother off, backing up Max's argument. "Mike, the flayed are out there doing God knows what."

"Killing, flaying." Lucas began to list everything they knew so far.

"Transforming into monsters." Will added, remembering what they had witnessed at the hospital.

"And El's not stupid." Nancy tried to calm the situation, not wanting their raised voices to disturb Eleven. "She knows her abilities better than any of us."

"Exactly, thank you." Max smirked, knowing she had won the argument.

"And she is her own person." Nancy continued to remind her brother. "With her own free will."

"El has saved the world twice, and Mike still doesn't trust her." The ginger girl crossed her arms over her chest, glancing back at Birdie as she spoke.

"This is modern feminism." Bernadette grinned, glancing towards the room Eleven was in, ignoring Max and Mike as they went back to their bickering.

"I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Max is with Eleven's powers." Mike desperately argued his case. "In fact, how careless all of you are. You're treating her like some kind of machine when she's not a machine, and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they've obviously vanished off the face of the earth. So can we please just come up with a new plan because I love her and I can't lose her again."

The room went silent, all staring at Mike for openly admitting he was in love with Eleven.

"Okay, he has my vote." Bernadette smiled at the lovesick boy, glancing over to Eleven emerging from her room.

"What's going on?" The clueless girl questioned, looking around at the still in shock faces.

"Nothing."

"Just a family discussion."

"Oh, I found him." Eleven informed them with a quiet voice.

"Found who?"