Surviving Hawkins (Stranger Things Story)

Chapter 11

Wordcount~2178

{An hour earlier.}

As Lil and Charlotte entered the house, there was obvious tension. Lil was a hyperventilating mess. As the two girls got to Charlotte's bedroom, Lil flopped onto the bed. Fighting back the sobs that were trying to claw their way out. As Charlotte closed the door, she turned to face Lil. "Okay. What is going on? You never want to hang out with me. In the entirety of our lives, you've never willingly spent time with me. What's wrong?" Lil simply stayed quiet for a moment. She didn't know if she should say it. "It's....El. She's-" She couldn't finish the sentence. She had tried so hard to just not let it be a thing. She didn't want to think about it. About her feelings. But they were there. And they were coming full force.

Charlotte stood there. Frozen. Lil and El felt the same way about each other. "Wait...you-" Lil cut her off, first nodding then saying, "Yep. Why do you think I never talked about guys. And never showed any interest in dating. I tried to ignore it. I didn't want to be different. But I couldn't ignore it any longer. Then I realized I liked El, in a very non platonic way." Charlotte stood there for a moment, shock coursing through her body. Lil plays with her hands, not wanting to look up. "You're also.....the first person I've told....so." Charlotte has a slight look of confusion. "That you like El....? Or....." "Both." Wow. Is all Charlotte can think. Of all the things she expected to hear from Lil, this definitely wasn't one of them. "Alright then." She said just above a whisper. Both of them stay there, silence falling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Uh, how much of that did you hear?" Elyse asks, biting her lip anxiously. Charlotte starts to walk out of the room. "I think that's my cue to leave." As she walks fully out of the room. Lil sits down next to Elyse on the couch. Both of them stay silent for a moment. "So....you like me?" Lil asks, Elyse averting her eyes, looking everywhere but at Lil. "Umm.....yeah." She said, just barely audible. She was still avoiding making eye contact with Lil, her eyes glued to her hands. She felt the gentle touch of Lil's hand on her face. She slowly moved Elyse's gaze to her. Her other hand was mirrored on the other side of Elyse's face. In an instant there was no space between the girls. Elyse melted into it, the feeling encapsulating her. Until she remembered. As she pulled away from the kiss, she said, "Shit. I have to get home. My mom-she called me before and-."

"Okay. Let's go. We can talk at your house." Elyse simply nodded. As they both walked out of the house, they yelled a simply "bye" to Charlotte. They both walked down the street in silence. Both briefly glancing at the other every once in a while. Approaching the house, Elyse walked a bit ahead of Lil. As they entered the house, they were greeted by Eleven. Elyse tried to just walk past her, not wanting to talk to her right now. "Elyse. We'll talk later, okay." Eleven said, before walking into the living room where Mike was also sitting. Elyse simply continued upstairs, Lil right behind her. As the two girls entered the bedroom, Elyse closed the door behind them. Lil walked over to sit on the bed. Silence fell for a moment before Elyse spoke. "So.....what exactly does this mean?" More silence. "I.....don't know. What do you want it to be? Because I'm fine with anything." Elyse nodded her head slightly, about to speak, her mother yelled upstairs. "Elyse! Come down here. Now!" There was no anger in her voice. She sounded.....scared. "Okay!" She yelled back, before pushing herself off the bed. Lil followed closely behind as they both walked down the stairs to living room. "What is it mom?" Elyse asked, seeing Eleven stood in front the tv. A looked of pure terror on her face. Same with her father. They both stood there, in horror, eyes glued to the tv. "Do you know him?" Eleven asked, motioning to the tv. The news was on as usual. It was a breaking report of a death. Elyse ran her eyes over the screen, trying to find a name.

Then she saw it.
Daniel Johnson.
Dan.

She couldn't comprehend it. She had seen him all but a half hour ago. How could he have died that quickly. She got pulled out of her thoughts by a light tap from Lil, remembering the question. "Umm, yeah. He's a friend of mine." Just then, the news caster started speaking again, and her words instilled more fear in Eleven and Mike. "It would appear that the body was snapped. Almost everyone bone is broken. In a way, for any residents who lived in Hawkins during the spring of 86', the victim appears to be in the same exact condition as the victims of the supposed murderer, Eddie Munson."