evil hour | stranger things

nine: riley

Hopper was the first to wrap his arms around Eleven, almost refusing to let her go. He pulled back, looking at her weird attire, her slicked back hair and black eye shadow around her eyes.

When her eyes locked with Rowan, she smiled and walked up to her. Her arms wrapped around her waist, taking the girl aback as she stared back at Hopper like a confused child. She saw Hopper genuinely smile at her, nodding in her way. Rowan's arms carefully hugged Eleven back, placing one hand on the back of her head.

She'd remember that day as the first time she had ever been hugged.

"Why do you look like a raccoon?" she said as the girl pulled back and wiped away some of the makeup, smudging it a bit more in the process.

"I was in a gang for a little while."

"You what." Hopper and Rowan said in unison, watching the girl move towards her friends unfazed at what she had just said.

"We're gonna need more than locks, chief," she whispered at Hopper who only pushed her shoulder jokingly, watching the girl reunite with her friends.

"So, when I asked you about El..." Dustin began, "You didn't lie, right?"

Rowan stood quiet for a second, glad no one was listening to their conversation, "Uh, no. I didn't."

Whilst Eleven went to see Joyce, Rowan overheard Mike arguing with Hopper, listening to his cries and wondering just how much that boy ended up loving Eleven. She noticed how cold she was towards Max and even felt a slight pinch of pity for the red head as Eleven walked past her.

Lastly, there was only one thing left to do; close the gate.

When the plan was constructed, Hopper advised Rowan to stay behind with Steve and the kids. Despite her protests and begging him to let her go with Jonathan or him, he told her to stay back.

Rowan didn't know the risk. And Hopper still wasn't ready to show it to her.

~  ~  ~

"Dustin, for the millionth time, no," Rowan glared at the boy as he kept begging to do something to help, to intervene with the plan. As much as she was bubbling on the inside to help as well, she was good at taking orders and she never strayed away from them.

"Seriously, you guys need to relax. We're doing our part just as much as everyone is doing theirs." Steve added, noticing how Rowan barely spared him a glance.

There was a moment of silence in the house, the occasional tapping of fingers on a surface as time barely went by. Like they were stuck in a loop.
Rowan had placed her lower back against the kitchen counter, looking at her dirty boots and around herself from time to time.

"How long did you know El?" Mike was still in his thoughts from earlier, feeling his brain rip apart from thinking about Eleven, but also Will.

Rowan stared at him for a second, feeling different pairs of eyes staring at her and waiting for an answer. Even Steve was invested.

"Two months." she answered quickly.

"How'd you meet?" Lucas chimed in, finding their situation a bit confusing.

Rowan shifted uncomfortably, not really feeling up to telling a bunch of strangers how she escaped a prison that made her into a monster. She was good at coming up with a few lies here and there, but felt like she'd be lying more to herself than them. She still couldn't fathom how her life had turned out.

"In the woods," she said, "I was... Lost."

"Wait, so you escaped from the lab, right?"

"I thought she was from a different department?"