𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 - Stranger Things

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐

THE KITCHEN, 4413 BELLENHAM ROAD, ORCHID, NEVADA

Time-skip 

The girl that stood before the group was Elaine Nathaniel Forrest.

She was 14 years old now and had grown significantly from when she last saw them, she was slightly taller than Eleven. Her hair had also grown and now reached her thighs. It was unruly and still brown with thick blonde streaks. Her face had matured and gained a few more beauty spots around her face.  

(a/n sorry she literally sounds like a mary sue 😭😭)

She wore a loose grey Gap jumper, paired with navy short shorts that barely even reached past her jumper. On her feet were chunky white and navy Nike Airs, paired with plain white socks that stretched past the ankle.

"So," Elaine begins, breaking the silence. "What brings you guys to Nevada? My house specifically..." she muttered the last bit under her breath.

A lot of uhhs and umms came from the group.

"It's fine, I'm not forcing you," Elaine pursed her lips, looking down embarrassingly. Her voice sounded breathy.

You could cut the tension with a knife. It wasn't unexpected, since first of all, she had just threatened them with a rifle almost as big as her, and she hasn't seen them since she moved out of Hawkins when she was 10, in 1981.

Flashback

6TH OF NOVEMBER, 1981

It was cold, the nighttime breeze brushed against the party's tear-stained faces. The mood was gloomy. Tonight was the night that Elaine left to go to Nevada. She lived with her foster parents in Hawkins, but they found out that her closest relative lived in Nevada, the rest of them living in Poland and Austria.

The party was devastated to see her go, Will especially. He felt closer to Laine than any of the others. He felt strange around her; like a million butterflies cluttered his tummy. He never told any of the other party members this except for Dustin, who after learning about Will's feelings about Laine, teased him constantly and made faces at him when he was with her.

Elaine wasn't oblivious to it, but she wasn't completely sure either. 

She had spent the last week together with the party having sleepovers with them, in a different house each day. For one day she even had a sleepover with both Will and Dustin. That day was her favourite. They had a huge pillow fight that nearly put Laine in hospital (nice one, Dustin).

Now her time with her best friends was over. She promised to call them all the time and send a bunch of letters if she could.

She hugged them all one by one. First was Mike.

"I'll miss you, thanks for being an amazing friend since 1st grade." She sniffled. Mike held her tighter, silently begging her to stay. They stayed like that for a while, then she moved to Lucas. She hadn't known Lucas long, but they were pretty close.

"Remember me when you meet your new friends in Nevada." He told her. Next was Dustin. At this point, Laine was tearing up.

Dustin brought her into a tight, warm embrace, and she started to cry on his shoulder, digging her face into his chest.

"I'll miss you so so much, Dusty." Laine clawed into his back. Dustin let go of her and took off the blue Central cap that he had on his head.

"Here," he said, handing it to her. "Have my cap, as a memory of me." 

Laine smiled, tears pricking her eyes. Last was Will, who looked like he's already been crying for hours. She melted into him, wrapping their arms around each other's waists.