Joey Hopper//Will Byers

The weirdo on Maple street: part 4

"El?" Mike calls as we walk down the stairs to meet her.

After the show I caused at dinner, I hid out in Mike's room while everyone else finished eating. I guess I could've come sat down here with Eleven but...I don't know, it just feels like she's the monster under the bed. Like I'm intrigued to look under my mattress, to find all the answers to this new unknown, but at the same time scared. Scared that my curiosity could kill. That if I look, nothing will ever be the same. To be honest, it seems like with all that's going on I might not even have a choice in the matter.

"No adults," Mike continues as he slowly hands her a tray with some left overs on it. "Just us and some meatloaf".

She looks back at Dustin and Lucas.

 "Don't worry," Mike says, glancing back at us. "They won't tell anyone about you, they promise, right?"

"We never would have upset you if we knew you had superpowers," Dustin lets out with a stupid grin across his face.

Mike reaches back and lightly punches him in the knee.

"Ow!" He exclaims, looking at me for reassurance.

I smirk. "Sorry Dustin but that probably sounded better in your head."

"What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared earlier...that's all." Mike says kindly to Eleven

"We just wanted to find our friend," Lucas says.

A puzzled look comes across Elevens face. "Friend?"

"Yeah friend, Will" Lucas says, in an annoyed manor. 

"What is friend?"

"Is she serious?" Lucas asks, harshly looking at Mike.

Mike seems to just ignore him.

He says, "a friend is someone you'd do anything for."

"You lend them your cool stuff. Like comic books, and trading cards." Dustin continues.

"And you do everything together, watch new movies, hang out at recess, stuff like that." I say looking at Eleven as she stares back at me like this is all new to her.

"And they never break a promise," Mike finishes.

"Especially when there's spit." Lucas says, still serious but a bit more friendly then before.

That just seems to confuse her even more. "Spit?"

"A spit swear means..." He spits in his hand, "you never break your word."

Lucas then attempts to shake my hand but I run to the other end of the room, "not today, Lucas."

"Whatever," he says and then shakes Dustin's hand. "I should have known princess wouldn't do it."

"Okay, for one that's disgusting and for two girls do pinky promises, not stupid spit shakes." I say as I walk back over to them.

"What's a pinkie promise?" Eleven askes seeming to be really interested.

I kneel down in front of her, sticking out my pinky. 

"Well, a pinkie promise is pretty much the same principal just with no spit." I say as I entangle my pinky with hers. "You do this and then make the promise like umm...I promise I won't tell anyone about you, your secret's safe with me." I say and then unwrap my pinky, "and that's how you do it."

She looks down for a second, as if contemplating whether or not to do something.

Mike then looks her in the eyes with a friendly smile. "All of this is important because friends, they tell each other things, things their parents don't know."