𝘿𝙍𝙄𝙁𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 - Max Mayfield

6. Setting Up

His footsteps were the only sound he heard as he walked through the woods that lead to the cabin. It was fall so it made sense that all the trees were losing their leaves and pretty much drying up. Luckily, the blue flannel he had over his black t-shirt was as thick as a jacket so he didn't feel the slight cold.

Once Aiden had settled with the Wheelers,he had noticed his backpack was filled with scrolls... Summoning scrolls which stored items. Opening the scrolls,he realized they contained most of his original clothes,which he was actually grateful for and also made him question how closely Sakumo had been stalking him before pulling him into limbo that day.

As he walked, Aiden couldn't help but reflect on the past year. Since he got adopted by the Wheelers,he was allowed to take Mike's room as he preferred to sleep in the basement. Mrs Wheeler was nothing short of lovely to him and always urged him to feel at home with them, despite his constant nervousness. The first time she'd asked him what he wanted for dinner,he was surprised and didn't know how to answer as he'd never had anyone ask him that before... He always tried to cook for himself or buy his food. Karen had officially adopted the dark haired boy and always made sure he never felt out of place for even a second... It was still a little strange to Aiden at first but he appreciated it a lot... Soon enough, he got used to it and used to Hawkins as a whole.

While Ted was... Well, Ted.

Nancy had been supportive towards him and always had questions about what life in the future was like. They pretty much bonded over their music tastes and would usually share Aiden's earbuds whenever they were both free. Though he and Nancy had a few issues once; when Aiden punched Steve as he noticed the Harrington was getting too touchy with her,they quickly solved it and talked it out; Aiden still suspected Steve of trying to do nothing more than get into Nancy's pants repeatedly... The boy had never had a sibling before,much less a sister and now he that he had one he wanted to protect her as much as he could and Nancy grew to understand this,but Aiden promised never to go to that extreme again.

Mike and Aiden had already been quite close since the day Karen brought him into the house,but Aiden noticed a slight change in Mike's attitude after months of trying to contact their superpowered friend... and Aiden knew very well that it would only get worse.

Aiden shook his head as he got closer to the cabin and stepped over the tripwire. Reaching the door,he knocked in a particular pattern and in a few seconds,the door was opened. A girl with curly brown hair stood there,a couple inches shorter than Aiden.

"Aiden?" Her eyes widened.

"Hey, buddy" Aiden smiled.

Eleven immediately enveloped Aiden in a hug which he eagerly returned.

______________________________

Aiden had spent about two hours with Eleven, filling her in on Mike's activities as well as his own. El always heard when he called,but she felt terrible hearing that Mike was still hurt by her loss and was consequentially shutting out the rest of the people around him. Aiden assured her that it'd be a passing phase and she didn't need to worry about it for long.

While both kids watched TV, Aiden smiled at Eleven who mimicked as many sentences from the show as she could. The girl soon decided to treat her guest to a meal; eggos of course. Aiden laughed at how much Hopper had stocked the fridge with Eleven's favorite waffles; the man had chosen to always check on Aiden at least once a week after Aiden's confession to the party, asking how far his powers were progressing and if he'd learned any new techniques. Despite his tough demeanor and stern looks sometimes, Aiden knew Hopper was genuinely concerned about his safety.

Unfortunately, the two had to part ways as Aiden needed to head back home. The boy stood up off the floor where he and El had been seated,he was about to turn around when he saw the frown on Eleven's face.