In My Blood

Episode 4 - The Void

   "So sorry I couldn't come home sooner, but I- where's Dad?" Billy had dropped me off a few hundred feet before we reached the cabin to keep it private. I had just unlocked the cabin door, my costume still on, and I had expected to see the two of them sitting next to each other on the couch. Instead, Eleven was staring grumpily at the TV screen as Frankenstein played, Polaris sleeping in her lap. "He's not here, is he..."

"L-A-T-E," she spelled out for me, turning the television off with her powers and giving me a sigh. Her normally curly hair had flattened from the long day. "Late."

"I'm really sorry, Ellie," I apologized on his behalf, and young girl shrugged in annoyance as she wiped the small drips of blood off her skin. "I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise."

"You're the only one who promises good," she sighed as I plopped down beside her on the couch, prying the boots off my feet. "You don't... lie. Why can't we go?"

"Like do whatever we want?" Eleven nodded, stroking Polaris's back. I pursed my lips, humming to myself as I tried to think of a reason that made sense other than 'Dad told us too.' "I have to admit, I do see what Dad's trying to tell us. If those scientists ever came back, we'd be toast. The thing is, most people in Hawkins aren't as stupid as they want us to be. Those girls I hang out with, Charity and Diana-"

"Mouth-breathers," El commented, smiling softly as she leaned into me and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Well, one of them kind of is- they know something fishy is going on. I don't even know how many other people are in the same boat. I forced Steve and Nancy away because I was trying to help their relationship, and I don't even know if they even have a relationship anymore because of how Nancy snapped at the party I had to go to. Granted, they were drunken words. If we have to stay quiet to stay safe, how come I'd rather be living dangerously so I can actually live?" I caught myself off guard with my own sentence, surprised I'd reveal my true feelings that easy, but Eleven just nodded along with me. "Hey, you know what?"

"What?"

"What if we screwed Dad's rules for a moment?"

♢♦︎————————♦︎♢

"Wrap around your eyes," Eleven instructed me, positioning the television so that it was in front of the two of us on the wood floor after handing me a black blindfold. I was sitting criss-crossed on the ground in pajamas, barefoot against the cold flooring. I folded the blindfold in half, making it look longer as I tied it around my face to cover my eyes. Since the lights had been turned off in our room, everything was pitch black. I could hear Polaris purring softly in the other room, still sound asleep even after we had moved into the other room. "Think... who you miss most."

"So, we won't be together during this?" I asked the younger girl after the sound of static filled my ears. It was surprisingly peaceful.

"No," El told me. I heard her sit quietly next to me, and her hand slipped into mine as her fingers went between my own. "Powers together, we aren't."