Hidden Within the Shadows

what comes next

Adrian made it outside in time to see El in a tight hug with Dustin, and a kid with a horrific bowl cut. It took him a minute to realise that the kid was Will Byers. Mike was hugging Lucas and Max, and Jonathan ran to hug Nancy. There was a guy that Adrian didn't recognise, and he had long hair and looked a little bit confused.

"Adrian!" El cried. She pried herself out of Dustin's grip and ran up to him and hugged him.

"Hey. Ow, careful, I've got stitches," he said jokingly. He'd missed her so much. The talks in the Void hadn't ever been enough. But they were all together again, and that meant that they could be stronger, a better force against the Mind Flayer and whatever minions it sent their way.

"Idiot," she said when she pulled away from him. Adrian smiled at her, hands going over her shaved head. She looked tired but good. "You got hurt,"

"Eh, it's just a flesh wound. I brought someone back from the dead, be more impressed with that." He gestured back to the house. Chrissy hadn't come out, and neither had Eddie. They couldn't risk people seeing them and causing more chaos than what the town was already dealing with.

El looked over to the house. "Chrissy,"

"Yeah, Chrissy. She's OK, shaken up a bit though." El nodded, then moved past him to hug Max. The two girls laughed and held onto each other tightly. Adrian could see the relief and joy on Max's face.

"Nin?" Mike's deep voice asked. He was tall, taller than Adrian. He walked over to him, hands going to his wrists. His fingers were long and he was so tall and all grown up. What the fuck, where had the time gone? He'd been so small when Adrian last saw him.

"It's Adrian now," he said, not entirely sure what the fuck to do. He'd hoped the reunion would've gone better, but nothing ever worked out the way he wanted them to. "You doing good?" he asked, feeling at a complete and utter loss for words. His baby brother was right there in front of him.

Mike laughed, but it came out watery. He wrapped his arms around Adrian, and he did the same back. His little brother wasn't so little anymore. His voice was deeper, he was lanky and weird, and his hair was curlier and longer. He'd missed out on getting to see his baby brother grow up. But he was there now, and it had to count for something.

"You're here," he said into Adrian's shoulder, words muffled.

"Yeah. Only for the last week or so. Eddie needed me," he said. Mike pulled away and frowned at him. "Dude. Gay."

Realisation dawned on his face. "Oh. Right. Yeah, that makes sense," he said. "How do you know El - I mean, it's weird." He looked back to El, looking like he'd never seen her before.

Adrian pulled his sleeve up to reveal the 020 inked into his wrist. "It's been a long ride, brother. Uh, we should get inside. Got a lot of shit to do."

"Yes, we do," El said, an arm around Max. "We need to kill the Mind Flayer."

∞✡♡✡∞

El looked around the large living room from her spot on the floor. They were all huddled up together on the couches on the floor, blankets draped around everyone. Max was sitting beside El, headphones distantly playing Kate Bush. Adrian wondered how she hadn't gotten sick of that song.

"This is trippy, man," the new guy, Argyle said. He was looking between El and Adrian, eyes going to the window. They could see black smoke from the rifts, where the Upside Down was starting to bleed into their world. "Two superheroes and a supervillain,"

Adrian nodded, having an inkling that he'd smoked a bit of pot before coming into the house. Even Jonathan looked a bit high and kept looking at Adrian with a confused look on his face. Adrian figured that he wasn't sure what to call him, so was probably trying to figure it out without being rude about it. Will was looking on edge, and his hand kept going to the back of his neck. It was surreal, having everyone there.