STARCROSSED ▷ steve harrington

11. the gate - part one

CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE GATE
PART ONE

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ELEVEN HUGGED MIKE first, their reunion was short and sweet, and both of them had tears in their eyes by the time they pulled away. The realization hit her in that moment—that was why Mike had been so iffy about allowing girls into their party, or whatever he had said. He didn't want to replace Eleven. It was a sweet thought, but she was still tempted to hit the back of his head for being such a dick to her sister.

"I never gave up on you," Mike said, his voice thick. "I called you every night. Every night for—"

"—353 days." Eleven finished, nodding her head. "I heard."

"Why didn't you tell me that you were there?" Mike questioned desperately, still staring at her as if he couldn't believe she was really there. "That you were okay?"

"Because I wouldn't let her," Hopper answered, making everyone look at him in shock. He slowly took a step towards her. He did a once over on her. "The hell is this? Where have you been?"

"Where have you been?" Eleven accused, but instead of replying, Hopper brought her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head.

Huh, she thought. Maybe not so intimidating after all.

She forced her gaze elsewhere, suddenly missing that feeling of comfort she got from her own father. Her gaze landed on Max, and she immediately knew her sister was thinking the same thing.

"You've been hiding her," Mike realized, his voice raising into a shout. "You've been hiding her this whole time!"

His hands flew up to hit Hopper, but the chief easily grabbed his collar and prevented it from escalating. "Hey, hey. Let's talk. Alone," he said in a low voice, and dragged Mike into the hallway without letting the young boy reply. Eleven pulled Dustin and Lucas into a hug next.

"We missed you," Lucas said once they pulled back from their embrace. "We talked about you pretty much everyday."

"I missed you too," she said. Her voice sounded so small, it was hard for Jackie to believe she was the same age as Max. Eleven suddenly put her hand on Dustin's mouth. "Teeth."

"What?"

"You have teeth."

Dustin sniggered. "You like these pearls?" He made a purring sound, and Eleven jumped back, clearly surprised.

Max stuck her hand out next. "Hi, I'm Max."

Eleven looked right past her, and brushed her hand to the side to rush towards Joyce, who immediately wrapped her in a motherly hug. Jackie blinked in confusion, and Max let her arm fall back to her side awkwardly. Jackie nudged her shoulder, a silent gesture as if saying: Who needs her? And the only reply Max gave was the tiniest of smiles.

"Hey, hey sweetheart," Joyce comforted, stroking her hair and offering both of the redheads an apologetic look. Eleven continued to sob into her chest. "Hey."

"Can I see him?" Eleven asked, stepping away, referring to Will. Joyce hesitated, and glanced towards the hall, before she nodded and the reunion was cut short.

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They gathered around the table again ten minutes later. "It's grown. A lot. And that's considering we can get in there." Hopper stated. "That place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demo-dogs."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Uh," Dustin stammered, and Jackie hid a smile behind her hair. It was nice to know she wasn't the only one absolutely terrified of the chief. "Demo-dogs. Like demogorgen and dogs. You put them together, sounds pretty badass—"