²𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧✔

018-the perfect snowball

"AND....DONE!" CARLA EXCLAIMED, SETTING THE BOTTLE OF HAIRSPRAY DOWN.

At those words, Eleven opened her eyes, meeting her reflection with a light smile.  The young girl admired the slight curl that trailed down her forehead, the rest of it being curled and pinned behind her ears, as well as the light purple eye shadow that made her eyes glimmer.  It was perfect.  "Pretty?"

"Prettier than ever." Carla replied, placing her hands on Eleven's shoulder, admiring the work she'd done for the girl herself.  After getting a rather expected call from Hopper, telling her he needed help getting El ready for the Snowball—the winter dance that had been a tradition at Hawkins Middle since forever—Carla couldn't say no.  Eleven deserved to look her best on this night; it was her first real night out.

Besides, it wasn't like Eleven minded having Carla over either. Ever since they'd defeated the Mind Flayer and saved Will, she'd been coming over to spend time with the Hopper girl—yes, Hopper had finally adopted Eleven as his own.  Carla believed it would be good for the girl to have a female influence in her life, someone she could learn from a talk too about things Hopper and the boys wouldn't understand.

"Thank you." Eleven glanced up at the elder girl, a light smile still plastered on her face.  Though she'd learned more through the month, the brunette was still a girl of few words.  So, when she did speak, it meant something.

"Of course, El." Carla replied, squeezing the girls shoulders.  Nodding towards the door, Carla added, "Want to go show Hop?" The younger girl nodded, walking right past the blue dress she'd be wearing to her father to show the man her face and hair.

Carla had been pleased when she found out Hopper was going to try and adopt Eleven as his own.  Not only had they already had a bond, they'd become each other's family.  Hopper was the healthy father figure El could look up too, and  Eleven was the daughter that Hopper had begged to have back.  They weren't alone anymore; they had each other.

Following after the younger girl, Carla watched as Hopper's eyes widened at the sight of his daughter's makeup and hair—she wasn't going to put the dress on until later, there was still a little under an hour before the dance actually started.

"Wow." Hopper seemed rather surprised at how she looked. He gave Carla a look, as if she'd done too much. "You really outdid yourself, kid."

Carla shrugged, "You told me to get her ready, so that's what I did.  I think she looks great, and with the dress it'll look even better."  Eleven's smile didn't falter as more compliments flowed her way.  Carla looked at the girl, slightly changing the conversation. "Speaking of the dress—do you need any help with it?

"I got it." Eleven shook her head.

The Wheeler gave a nod, "Okay, then I'm gonna head back to my house to get ready. Call me if you need anything."  The older man gave a nod, and Eleven sent a small wave her way.  The brunette gave a final goodbye before leaving the old cabin, "See you at the dance."

Her car was parked in the driveway—for once she'd actually driven somewhere herself—but after a few moments, it was on its way back to the Wheeler household.  She didn't have much to do to herself, so the good forty minutes she had would be enough.

Driving past bare trees and dry grass, Carla took in the winter appearance that Hawkins was starting to show.  It hadn't snowed yet, but the air had a fresh chill to it that slightly clipped your skin—you'd definitely need a jacket if you were planning on standing outside for long.