Shatter [Jonathan Byers] Stranger Things II

LX: Beautiful

beau·ti·ful

adjective

pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically.

"I'm home!" Emilia shouted as she entered the trailer where Hopper and El had moved back in. The cabin was in no shape to house anyone, and in the cold of the winter it would be too much to try and repair it. That was a spring job, they would work together on it during spring break. Jonathan would help, and Steve said he would too.

The trailer only had two bedrooms, so Emilia and El shared one since Emilia wasn't home all that often. She spent a lot of time with Jonathan at the Byers house, as usual. Things were repaired between them; it was not the same strength that their relationship had been the year before, but it was something else entirely. As though Nancy had made their foundation out of something else. The test placed upon them was taken, defeated, and put aside. They didn't talk about Nancy, about what happened between them beyond that one morning. There was no point in bringing it up, things were smooth again.

They were discussing options about New York.

But tonight Jonathan was busy, and Emilia had something more important than planning their big move to New York. She had four shopping bags and had spent her savings along with a large amount Hopper had given her just for this. Of course, anything that wasn't suitable would be returned back to their respective stores, but Emilia wanted El to have options. It was her first big dance, after all.

El raced out of the bedroom and smiled, seeing those bags. Since she wasn't able to go out yet, although she was allowed visits from her friends now, she didn't get to see the dresses that Emilia picked out until now. Which is why Emilia bought so many.

El walked down the hallway and into the living room, where Emilia was laying out the dresses she bought. Some were princess-style, some were very simply, some were summery -they were on sale and Emilia didn't know what El would want to wear, if she wanted yellow and floral she could wear yellow and floral.

Looking at the selection, El looked stunned, overwhelmed with the amount of choices she had. Gently reaching for a dress, she paused and looked at Emilia for confirmation.

"Go ahead, try them all on. Pick your favourite," Emilia told her, then gestured to the dresses again.

El tried on three that didn't suit her too well, and one that was a maybe. Then underneath all the new dresses, she found one that Emilia bought from the local thrift store. It was a simple dark blue colour with red dots, with sleeves that went down to the crook of her elbow. It reminded Emilia of a simplistic version of a saloon-style western gown. The middle had a red belt, and the skirt halfway down had a diagonal red stripe.

"That one is yours to keep, can't return that one." Emilia shrugged, but then saw El's expression and just how much she had fallen in love with the dress upon first glance. Emilia grabbed it and handed it to El. "Go on."

El came out looking beautiful, the simple dress suited her perfectly.

"That's the one."

"This is the one," El replied with a confident smile.

Hopper came home a while later, making sure he was there on time to drive El to the dance. When he saw her, his shoulders dropped in a surprised sort of way. It was not defeat or sadness, but perhaps slightly melancholy from the thought that this girl standing before him could have been Sara. He let out a shuddery breath, then disappeared. A few moments later, he came back out from his bedroom and handed El something; a small bracelet.