The One || Steve Harrington

MadMax

"Why do you have to go every day?" Eleven asked, watching Georgia pack her bag from the couch.

Georgia looked at the girl. Her hair had grown out and had little waves of curls at the ends. She was taller, too. They started marking her progress on the wall.

"Because it'd hurt my grades if I didn't, dad would kill me, and it's a law for kids to go to school," Georgia listed.

"But I don't go," Eleven said, confused. She wanted to, though.

Georgia nodded. "You're a special case, and instead of going to school, we teach you," Georgia said. "Maybe one day. Hopefully, soon."

Eleven heard that more times than she could count.

In less than a year, Eleven had learned and improved a lot. Her handwriting was improving; each month, she was reading longer books, and her speech and understanding were becoming more advanced. She was catching up to the education level where she should have been.

"Did he say anything more about trick-or-treat?" Eleven asked, hopeful.

The entire month was spent attempting to wear Hopper down enough to allow Eleven to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. The plan was simple: Georgia would simply be "babysitting" for another family, and Eleven would wear a costume shielding her identity. And every day, Hopper said no without fail. He barely heard them out.

"No, but I'm working on it," Georgia promised.

Eleven sadly nodded.

Georgia didn't blame the girl for wanting to leave. Eleven deserved to be normal and have the typical Halloween experience. The only place she was allowed to go was Steve's, on very rare occasions, and into the forest around the cabin.

"I'll see you later, okay?" she said. "And I'll talk to Dad some more after school."

Eleven nodded, getting up to hug her before she left.

Georgia was already running late by the time she got to school. Hopper was on a breakfast as a family kick, which meant waking up earlier and doing the dishes. If she left them to wait, they weren't going to get done, and she wasn't going to leave Eleven to do them.

Hawkins High felt extra crowded, especially in the days leading up to Halloweekend. It started with Tina's big Halloween bash on whatever day Halloween fell on, continued on Friday, and folded into Saturday, sometimes Sunday. Typically, Steve hosted the Saturday party, but Georgia doubted he would this year, not with the way Tommy ran his mouth about him. If Tommy H. could trash Steve Harrington, then so could everyone else. Even when they did, it was obvious Steve still commanded a form of respect, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Georgia sat in her car, waiting for Lauper's "Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun" to finish, when a hand tapped on her window before opening her door.

"Jonathan, my song wasn't done," Georgia scolded, nonetheless turning off the car and climbing out.

He laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, but don't think that guy appreciated your performance," he said, nodding in the direction of a blue Camaro.

The license plate read California, and the guy on the side of the car was someone she'd never seen before. He was decked out in all denim, and his hair was cut in the form of a mullet. From the looks of it, he had a perm months ago and needed a refresh. He was staring right at Georgia, eyeing her up in a way that made her cringe.

"That's good because it wasn't for him," said Georgia, breaking eye contact and moving to the school's entrance. "How's Will? Excited for Halloween? They told me they had all their costumes planned out. The Ghostbusters?"