Tʜᴇ Fʟᴀʀᴇ ꕥ Lɪᴢᴢɪᴇ Jᴏʜɴsᴏɴ

sᴇʀɪᴇs ᴛᴡᴏ ꕥ 12

El was smiling too. She and Mike smiled wisest as they stepped forward, meeting in the center of the room.

"Eleven."

"Mike…" she gasped as he hugged her, letting out all the weight that had been put on his shoulders for the past year.

Lizzie smiled and rested her head on Dustin's shoulder as El squeezed her eyes shut and hugged tighter.

"I never gave up on you," Mike told her as they pulled apart, holding her by the arms and never breaking eye contact. "I called you every night - every night! - for-"

"Three hundred and fifty three days," El cried. "I heard."

Mike faltered. "Then why didn't you let me know that you were there, that you were okay-?"

El stuttered.

"Because I wouldn't let her," Hopper, still holding his gun, stepped forward, he looked to El, murmuring. "What the hell is this? Where've you been?"

"Where've you been?" El countered. But despite this, she still hugged Hopper when he offered.

Then Lizzie realised. Hopper found her. He found her and he's been keeping her-

"You've been hiding her!" Mike realised too, turning to the Police Chief. "You've been hiding her all this time-"

As he tried to go in for a punch or a kick, Hopper held him back easily. "Hey! Let's. Talk. Okay?"

He led Mike into the next room.

As soon as they left, Lizzie ran over to her best friend and hugged her. "I've missed you, I've missed you so much!"

Tells echoed from the other room. Then sobs.

El pulled apart from Lizzie and looked into her eyes. "Is... Mike... okay?"

Tears came to Lizzie's eyes. "He's missed you more than any of us. Than all of us."

El cried. "I've missed you as well. Best friend."

Lizzie gurgled out another laugh, tears falling down her cheeks. "You remembered?"

El nodded.

"Same," Lizzie barely whispered, hugging the girl again as Lucas and Dustin came over.

She hugged them too. "We've missed you," they said.

"I've missed you too," El said, pulling apart from them.

"We talked about you almost every day," Dustin shrugged as Lizzie stood beside him.

Then El put her hand to his mouth. "Teeth," she said. "You have... teeth."

Lizzie smiled slightly. Of course. He didn't have any last year. "They grew in whilst you were away."

"You like these pearls?" Dustin asked, giving El a purr. She jumped slightly.

"Eleven?" There was just one more person the score needed to be settled with. And Max vowed to do just that as she stepped out. "I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you."

She extended her hand.

El surveyed it coldly, then moved out of the circle without shaking it.

Lizzie bit her lip. It was definitely her that day, then, she thought. Definitely. She flipped Max off the skateboard.

"Hey, hey sweetheart," the girl turned her attention to where El was hugging Joyce and the woman was whispering comforting words to her.

"Can I see him?" El asked. Lizzie knew what she meant.