Complicated - Steve Harrington

Ten

Eleven. Though Mia had met her just a year before, she had known her as simply, El. Not only El, but as Mike and Nancy's cousin. It was clear at that point that Eleven wasn't their cousin, especially after seeing her kill a demagorgan single-handedly.

Cousin or not, supernatural or not, Mia appreciated Hopper and Mike's sudden sense of calm. Sadly, it didn't last long before Mike turned on Hopper, who had kept Eleven away from him for almost a year. Hopper dragged Mike away in a private room where they began arguing. Eleven stayed behind and greeted the others.

"I'm Max-"

Eleven ignored the red head. She turned away from her friends' new friend and pulled Joyce into a tight hug. Steve didn't receive much more than a wave, but Mia managed to get a smirk from the girl.

Mia and Eleven had met one day while the older was at her brothers' school. She had worn a blonde wing and outdated dress at the time and they barely had a conversation, but they certainly remembered each other. Mia's brother, Thomas, had been enthralled for weeks with Eleven, determined to find her after she disappeared from their school. Mia never dared tell him of their meeting.

"Can I see him?" Eleven asked Joyce, referring to Will.

"Yeah," Joyce sighed.

Once Eleven, Joyce, Hopper, and Mike returned, they filled Eleven in on what their plan was, or rather, they came up with a plan. They knew they needed to close the gate between the Upside Down and their world, which was where they needed El. She had opened the gate before, but with it now bigger and badder, she would have to use all of her power to close it.

"This is different," Hopper said after Joyce had asked Eleven to close the gate. "It's not like it was before. It's grown."

Mia didn't like the sound of that.

"And that's if we can even get there," Hopper continued. "That place is crawling with those dogs."

"I can do it," Eleven said.

"You're not hearing me," Hopper insisted.

"I'm hearing you," Eleven insisted. "I can do it."

"Even if Eleven does do it, there's another problem," Mike said. "If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the point?" Steve asked.

"It is," Mike nodded. "But if we're really right about this..."

"Will could die too," Mia said.

They all looked between each other then to Joyce. She stood from her seat and they followed her to the bedroom where Will was. She entered the freezing room and shut the window that let in the cool air.

"It likes it cold," Joyce said. "That's what will kept saying to me. We keep giving it what it wants."

"So if this really is a virus..." Nancy trailed off.

"We need to make the host uninhabitable," Jonathan said.

"If it likes it cold, we need to burn it out of him," Joyce nodded.

Once again, they scrambled to work. Hopper took Will out to the car, wrapped in blanks. He instructed Joyce and Jonathan on how to get to an unknown and save location where they would get the virus out of Will. Nancy and Steve went to the back near the shed and began sifting through the Byer's junk, looking for anything that could generate heat. Mia decided to stay inside and help.

"You should go with him," Steve said.

"What?"

"With Jonathan," Steve told her. "You should go with him."

"No, I-" Nancy stuttered. "I'm not just going to leave Mike."

"No one's leaving anyone," Steve shook his head. He walked towards her and helped her lift a piece of metal. "I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but..." he sucked in a deep breath, the crisp air stinging his lungs. "I'm a pretty damn good babysitter."

"Steve..." Nancy's voice cracked.

"It's okay, Nance," Steve deadpanned. "It's okay."

They gathered in on the porch to say their goodbyes. Nancy, Joyce, and Jonathan were the first to leave with Will, then Hopper and Eleven. Steve and Mia were left with the kids. Mike looked more heartbroken than Mia had ever seen him, Dustin and Lucas seemed on edge with each other, and Max was still uncomfortable and surrounded by people she had met just a couple days before.

"Let's get inside," Mia finally sighed.