EL AND MIKE walk towards each other, happy to finally be reunited.
"Eleven."
"Mike."
Mike pulls her into a hug. El cries as she holds him tight. The rest of the group watches nearby.
"Is that..." Max starts, looking at Breya. Breya nods and looks back at the two. Mike pulls away from the hug, looking down at El.
"I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for–"
"353 days. I heard." El interrupts.
"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"
"Because I wouldn't let her." Hopper steps in. Mike turns to Hopper as he approaches the kids. He can't help but notice El's new look.
"The hell is this? Where you been?"
"Where have you been?" Eleven asks in return. Hopper hugs El, happy knowing that she is safe once again.
"You've been hiding her. You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike yells, shoving Hopper.
"Hey!" Hopper yells, grabbing Mike's jacket and stopping him from hitting him again. "Let's talk. Alone."
Hopper leads Mike into another room, El watching after them. She can't help but feel a bit guilty. El brings Lucas, Dustin, and Breya into a group hug.
"We missed you." Lucas tells her.
"So fucking much." Breya adds.
"I missed you, too." El smiles.
"We talked about you pretty much every day." Dustin informs. El pulls away from the boys before she notices something about Dustin. She pulls his lip down for a moment as he stares at her, confused.
"Teeth."
"What?"
"You have teeth."
"Oh. You like these pearls?" He laughs before making a very weird purring noise. Not knowing how to respond, El just stares back at him. Lucas and Breya shakes their head.
"Eleven?" Max questions, approaching the group. "Hey. Um, I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you."
Max extends her hand for El to shake. El ignores it, brushing past Max to get to the others. Max looks down at her hand, defeated as El hugs Joyce tight.
"Hey. Hey, sweetheart." Joyce sniffles, hugging El.
"Can I see him?" El requests. Joyce sighs, giving a reluctant nod.
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