voltage ; stranger things

eight ; secrets of the oddball family

"HELLO?" asks Eleven when she picks up the phone, immediately hoping to hear Mike's voice on the other end.

"Hey, El?" It's Jonathan.

At once, her brow lowers and her grip on the phone cord tightens. "What?" she demands, her eyes narrowed as if he's standing right in front of her. She wishes she could reach out and-

"Is Collie there?" he asks. There's a pause as he murmurs low to someone else on his end. "I need to talk to her, it's really important."

"You did a bad thing," she says. Her voice rises in the empty house, save for Max, who peeks her head out of the bedroom. The pair were just getting ready to go to the mall and have a shopping trip - something the former is not supposed to do.

Jonathan struggles for words, exhaling deep into the receiver. "I know, El, I really do, but can I please talk to her? Please?"

Eleven debates telling him that Colleen isn't here. She even thinks about telling him about the new bathing suit she showed her and about the other boy that came and picked her up with milkshakes for both of the sisters. Instead, she simply tells him, "No." Then, she hangs up.

Max emerges from the bedroom, her brow raised in question. "Who was that?" she asks.

"A mouth breather," she replies. "Let's go."

•••

The new community pool, the oddball family finds, is filled nearly to the brim with shrieking children and parents trying to live out their glory days, and the smells of both delicious food and disgusting chlorine. Whistles blow from everywhere and nowhere, and it seems as though they've walked into an alternate reality altogether.

          "Christ," says Robin as they push their way through the gate. "And we thought the mall was an animal house."

          "Free table!" Dustin exclaims. He points towards a shaded table that's just been abandoned. "I'll get it!" He races to claim it, wobbling back and forth rather than running, what with his heavy backpack stuffed near bursting with pool toys and inflatables.

          "Your kid's gonna get us kicked out, dipwad," says Robin.

          Colleen smiles as they trail after Dustin, who now guards the table like a wolf protects its lunch. The new bathing suit she bought herself yesterday feels weird under her clothes, as she hasn't gone swimming since... she can't even recall when the last time was. Eleanor never allowed her to go, and Hopper was always a bit reluctant to let her out of his sight when she first came into his custody.

          "Looks as good a spot as any," says Steve as they set their bags down. He grimaces up at the sun, peeking over the rim of his sunglasses. "I'd slather up, if I was any of you. Unless you want to be peeling for the next three months."

          "Ew," says Colleen through a smile. She looks away just as he turns to face her, missing his grin in return.

          Dustin, on the other hand, did not miss it. As he strips off his shirt, he smirks up at Steve and shows off his stubbed teeth, emitting a low roll of his tongue. In response, Steve rolls his eyes and turns away.

          Colleen holds up a hand against the harsh sun and surveys their surroundings. Beach balls bounce around in the water and kids trot past, eating their ice cream and popsicles and paying no mind to the mess they're making. The lifeguard sits still in their chair. She does a double take, squinting to get a better look. The lifeguard, she realizes, is Billy Hargrove, the asshole who flirted with her last year and beat the ever-loving shit out of Steve at the Byers'. But it doesn't seem to be really... him. He fidgets and twitches, and after a long tense moments he climbs down from his post to stumble towards the showers. He rams into people, nearly stumbling, before he reaches the shower doors. He stops. Then, as if he can sense her staring at him, he slowly turns to stare directly at her.

"Hey." Robin appears at her side, pulling her from her staring match with the lifeguard. "You good?"

Colleen blinks at her, then looks back to the shower doors. Billy is gone. "Yeah," she says and shakes her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiles, then begins to undress once she realizes Dustin and Steve have already jumped into the water.

"Hot damn!" Robin quirks a brow as Colleen stuffs her clothes into her bag, admiring her swimsuit. "See what I was talking about? New era, new you. You look hot as hell."

"Really?" Colleen asks, cringing a bit. She looks down at her bathing suit, a pink one-piece that hugs her right in what she would consider maybe the right places. She wasn't so sure about the slits that travel up the back and torso, but the saleswoman had convinced her otherwise. She's beginning to rethink her decision. "I don't know-"

"Holy shit!" Dustin pops up from the water, his hair clinging to his forehead, and lets out a whistle that earns him a few glares from the surrounding mothers. "Collie, I didn't know you had legs!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Steve dunks him under the water, running a hand through his dripping hair. "Jesus, man, you're-" He stops, his words catching in his throat, as Colleen sits at the edge and dips her feet into the water just beside him. As much as he tries to resist the urge, he can't help but let his eyes travel over her arms, her stomach, her hips-

"Hey!" Steve looks over just as Dustin launches a beach ball at him, hitting him square in the face. Colleen cracks a smile and giggles, placing a hand over her mouth in attempt to keep it in. She fails.

For hours, the four swim at the pool and howl with laughter, ignoring the dirty looks they get in response. Even when she and Robin go to the concession stand and get Cokes for everyone, she doesn't stop smiling and snorting. Billy doesn't appear again, and for a long while, Colleen forgets all about what happened to her and her boyfriend.

It's around two in the afternoon, when they're all exhausted and dripping wet, when Dustin studies Colleen before leaning across the table and lowering his voice. "Can you be trusted with a top, top secret?"

Steve and Robin exchange a glance as Colleen shrugs her shoulders. "Uh... yeah?"

          "Are you completely sure?"

          "Yes."

He digs around in his bag for a moment, then produces a small tape recorder and slides it across the table towards her. He crosses his arms and asks, "How much are you willing to bet there are Russians in Hawkins?"