(ON HOLD) Stranger Things side story!!

chapter 2: the arcade

El's POV

"Yes" El answers the phone.

"El!" Mike says almost yelling into the phone.

"MIKE!?"

"I miss you!! How is your new house?!"

"It's ok here, I miss you too!"

"I know it's hasn't even been a day, but it's so boring without you here. What have you been doing?"

"We just unloaded the stuff, not anything important. When I was grabbing my last box I found a puppy on the woods. I'm still confused on what it is but it was cute!"

"That's so cool! I want a puppy!"

Even though I could tell he was excited for me, the pain in his voice was excruciating. All I wanted to do was spend another day with him, just one more.

"Mike"

"Yeah El?"

"Do you think that, uh, someday I can move back with you?"

"Well uh I don't know, like after school and stuff you could move, like what do you mean?"

"Mike, could I live with you?"

"Oh, yeah of course El! You know what, I got to go, tell Will I said hi for me ok?"

"Ok"

"Well, bye."

"Bye mike" the call dropped, just thinking about not seeing Mike for 2 weeks and living hours away gave me a headache. I wanted to be back in Hawkins, with Mike and all my friends. El walks over to her room, hoping to find some distraction. Her room had been unpacked almost all the way, even though she didn't have many things. There was all the makeup Max gave her on her desk, along with a pack of crayons she borrowed from will. El immediately starts coloring this elaborate picture of the 6 of her friends standing in front of starcourt mall, eating ice cream. This was her favorite thing about the mall. Drawing always helped El stay in the present, and keep away bad thoughts and feelings that would overcome her. Just as she finished the drawing Will knocked on the door.

"Hey, my mom just came home, you want some eggos she bought?" Will asked. El smiled, knowing that they got them just for her.

"Yeah, I'd like that." She responded.

Mike's POV

I hung up the phone just in time to see my sister walk through the door.

"Calling El again?" Nancy asked teasingly.

"No, i- uh, was just calling Dustin to ask if he wanted to meet up." I think she could tell I was lying, but I didn't care. As I walk down the hallway I hear Nancy yell back,

"YOU KNOW I HEARD EVERYTHING YOU SAID ON THE CALL!"

Mad and sad about will and El leaving, I run up the stairs to my room. Maybe someday what I said to El could actually happen. We could love together enjoying life! No weird monsters or friends disappearing. Just a normal life. Mike knew that that probably wouldn't happen, but he could hope.

Back to El's POV

3 days later, just after lunch

"Hey El, me and Jonathan were gonna go to the arcade, wanna come?" Will asks from across the kitchen.

"I don't know how to play the games though." I reply, thinking about how complicated dnd always looked when the boys played.

"Don't worry, they really aren't that hard, I'll show you when we get there!"

Jonathan will and I just left, but decided to go pick up I've cream on our way. The ice cream shop had every flavor, but I always chose the same one, strawberry. It has always been my favorite since Mike took me that one time to the shop in Hawkins. Just thinking about the trips to the ice cream shop made me tear up, so I changed my thought line quickly.

We had just started getting into the car when will saw something.

"Hey guys, do you see that girl? She looks familiar." Will said, studying the girl outside.

"Yeah, I saw her on the road when I was looking for any lost dog posters. She looked like someone I knew, but she was gonna before I could place who." Jonathan replied, while starting the car. That's weird, she also looked like the girl I saw when we first were driving to the new house, maybe it was the same girl. I was just about to comment when will said,

"What? Where'd she go? She was there a moment ago and now she's gone."

"I saw her too, on the road coming here. She vanished before your mom saw her too." I replied, searching the parking lot for the mysterious girl.

"Well next time we see her we can talk to her, but right now let's go to the arcade." Jonathan says as he drives out of the lot.

We get to the arcade, just in time to see a whole bunch of kids our age go in.

"Ok, well I'm just dropping you guys off, maybe you'll meet new friends. I'll pick you up at 5:00pm ok?" Jonathan says, breaking the long silence.

"Ok, come on El, we better find the good games before all those kids do." Will reply's, while stepping out of the car. To be honest I didn't want to go anymore, but I told will I would.

It was fun at first, we played berzerk and dragons liar, which I didn't understand at all but had fun watching will beat all the high scores. He was on his 3rd round of dragons liar when this girl walked up.

"Hey, can I play?" She asked. We both turn around, and gasp, seeing the girl from the ice cream place standing behind us.

"Y-yeah, sure" will reply's, glancing at me asking what to do. The girl starts the game, seeing all the high scores.

"Wow, you're good, what's your name?" She asked Will

"Umm, I'm Will, and this is El." He responded with hesitation. I know why, she seems so familiar, yet I can't place who she is.

"My name is Adrianna, but you can call me Adria. You guys are new right? Moved from Hawkins?" I look over at Will, questioning how Adria knows where we moved from.

"Yeah, just a few days ago." I respond, since Will wouldn't. We both step away from the game, over to Pac-Man, where no one else was. "How does she know that information?"

"I don't know, but it's weird." Will responds in a whisper. We both glance over, trying to figure out who she actually was. "She also gives off a weird feeling, like darkness. You don't think,..." I know where he's going with that, but immediately dismiss the idea.

"No, it's over, gone. That can't be possible." I reply, but I still dwell on the thought. She couldn't be from there, I closed it, And the Russians are gone. So why did she seem so, so, cold?

Hey! Thanks for sticking with me!! Comment anything I should change and stuff, I'll probably publish the next part in like a day or so!!