𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐭

xii. TRUSTED US.

CHARLES heard the doorbell ring and didn't move from the same spot Will had left him, sighing quietly as he heard Will and Jonathan talking to whoever was at the front door. His attention is caught when he heards them say Jane Hopper so he quickly got up.

What do they want with El?

Right as he went to Will's side, El got in view of the two police officers at the door. "Hey, there. You Jane Hopper?" The man asked. When she said she was, they came inside their home, and told her to turn around and that she was under arrest. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one wi be provided for you."

They follow the police men out of the home now, following them to the cop car. "Can you please just tell us where you're taking her?" Jonathan asked. "Are the cuffs really necessary?" Charles asked as he pointed. "Officers, answer us." Mike insisted, directly behind them but they just put El into the back of the vehicle and Mike leaned down, talking to El through the window, following after the now moving car.

"Has mom's flight left yet?"

"Jane Hopper. Okay, yes, I see her now. It looks like she's still being processed." The woman at the front desk of the police station now told her as Charles just stood by, watching Mike, Jonathan and Will. "Okay, so, uh, what does that mean exactly?" Jonathan asks. "That means they're putting her in the system. After which, she'll be transferred to juvenile hall." She explained to the four.

"What?" Will exclaims. "Jail? You're... you're sending her to jail?" Charles spoke up, leaning closer. "A detention hall for juveniles." The woman corrected. "That's jail." Mike says right away. "Hey, look, is there any chance we can just see her?" Jonathan asked her. "Are you a parent or guardian?" She asked.

"No, but--" "well, we're her brothers, and we're family." Will says and Charles looks at him. "That's not enough. You have to be a parent or a legal guardian." She says and Charles rolls his eyes, glancing to the others. "You have to be kidding. That's ridiculous." Mike says. "That's the law. You're not gonna change it complaining to me." The woman tells him.

"You want to see Jane? Find your mother." She tells Jonathan. "Thank you." He says before walking away. "Yeah, for nothing." Charles said annoyed, glancing at the woman for a second before following the Byers boys and Mike, rubbing his eyes and sighing.

"It's bullshit. Such bullshit." Jonathan says as he and Will are the first ones out. "And she wasn't even trying to help." Charles says, walking directly behind them. "Then what do we do?" Will looked at Jonathan. "I don't know." His brother replied. "I guess we have to wait for mom to land in Alaska." He tells him.

"And then she's just gonna be sitting in jail?"

Mike pushed past them, running towards the road. "Hey! Hey! Mike!" Jonathan shouted but Mike kept running. Charles spots the police van pass by and assume that was why, that El was being transported in it.

Back at the Byers home, Jonathan kept making phone calls while Charles was sitting at the kitchen dining table, Will had set down a plate of food in front of him a while ago and insisted he eats before sitting at the stool at the counter, nervously tapping his fingers and just kept glancing over at Charles a lot.

He looked at Mike next who was pacing back and forth. "Hey." Mike now sits by Charles who immediately glanced over. "Did... El mention anything about her and I?" He asked and Charles sighed, glancing away. "No." He said before he quickly got up. "Char--" "I'm not hungry." Charles replied quickly, walking away before Will could even say anything else.

Charles ended up in Will's room, sitting at the edge of the bed. He was tapping his foot nervously and staring at the floor. "Charles? Charlie... You're gonna have to come to the livingroom. There's a woman and two guys that showed up. They need to talk to us..." Will says and Charles got up, walking over. "Are... are we okay?" He whispered quietly.

"Charlie..." Will whispers before glancing behind him. "We can talk about it another time. Just come on." He nodded to the side and Charles glanced down. "You're right. This is stupid." He whispers before brushing past Will, heading back into the livingroom.

Charles stood by the couch as Jonathan sat with Mike and Will as they were being told about what was going on with El and Hawkins. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm having trouble understanding any of this." Jonathan tells them. "I mean, what exactly is going on in Hawkins? What's doing these killings?" Jonathan asked.

"That's what we're trying to ascertain."

"Where is El, like, right now?" Mike asked. "For her safety, it's best you don't know." The woman tells him. "This insane! This is insane!" Mike got up and Charles sighed. "So this training to get El's powers back, how long is it going to take?" Jonathan asked her next.

"It could take weeks, could take months."

"Months?"

"Until then, agents Harmon and Wallace will stay with you." The woman gestured to each of the men on either side of her. "We're not the ones in danger." Mike says right away. "Our friends live in Hawkins." Will tells him. "My family lives in Hawkins." Mike says and Charles glanced up, crossing his arms.

"And I'll work to contain the situation until Eleven is ready." She now says. "In the meantime, it is of vital importance you do not speak to anyone about this." She adds and Mike scoffs. "No. No way." He's quick to refuse. "I know this is difficult to understand." She says.

"It's not difficult. This is impossible."

"There are factions within our government who are working directly against Eleven, who are, in fact, searching for her as we speak. We can't risk contact. If they learned about any of this, it will jeopardize Eleven. And if Eleven is jeopardized, so are your friends." She says and Charles sighed, glancing down. "And so is your family." She added, looking at Mike.

"So, what? We're just supposed to trust that you're the good guys? Whoever you are?" Mike added and Charles glanced up at the woman. "We're friends of Owens." She says and it's quiet for a moment as Charles immediately looked over at Will, seeing the look on his face. "Eleven trusted us. Now we're asking the same from you." She tells the four.

She reached inside her jacket and took out an envelope. "For you." She holds it out towards Mike who took it and left, heading to El's room as Charles got up, crossing his arms. "It's been such a long, rough day, I'm going to bed." He simply said, heading to Will's room and the Byers sat up slowly. "I should check if he's okay." He whispers, standing up.

authors note max <3 i hope she's ok and wakes up from her coma in st5 :( i also hope eddie pulls a hopper 😔😔 i don't wanna let my comfort character go