Neighbors - Strangerthingsau

Chapter 21

Alone Again

El sat alone in her bedroom. The party and Hopper had just left fifteen minutes ago to go find that damn building. She hated the feeling of complete nervousness every time she thought about the fact Brenner was still looking for her. She felt like this every time she left the apartment in Chicago, only this time she thought she would never have that feeling again with living in Hawkins.

Her thoughts were disrupted by a soft knock on her opened door. She looked up from her place in the window to see Joyce standing there with a small smile on her face.

"Hey sweetie," Joyce said stepping into the room. "I heard you and Hop yelling downstairs. I figured I would let you cool for a while before I ask what that was about."

She sat to the left of El on her bed, she looked in her eyes with a sincere look letting her know that she was speaking the truth.

"What was that about?" Joyce squinted trying to find any emotion in El eyes that wasn't regret.

"I did something I shouldn't have." El said refusing to look her in the eyes. "And now the people I care about are in trouble because of it."

"What did you do?"

El shook her head. She didn't know how to answer this question without revealing her powers. "I don't want to talk about it." She said as a tear ran down her face.

"Okay. Well," Joyce said wiping the tear away. "If you want to talk about it, you can come to me. You know that, right?"

El nodded her head, looking down at the floor.

"Okay." Joyce said tapping El's knee gently before standing up and walking out of the room.

El laid down on her bed and let her mind wonder. She began to wonder if this house is going to end up feeling like a prison like her apartment back in Chicago. She wondered why her life always seemed the same, like she always ended up a prisoner. There was no escape from papa, wherever she goes, he won't be far behind. Her life was full of pain, sadness, and hiding, that's all her life will ever be it seemed. There will be no normal life, no walking around freely, no having no worries that one day, she will end up back in the lab, only this time, Hopper won't be there to save from years of abuse and experiments.

Her life was a living hell and she knew it. No one else woke up everyday worried that it will be the last day they would wake up in their bed. No one worried about being seen with their friends and family in public. No one worried about getting hurt by someone you left in their past. These type of things haunted El everyday. Every morning, every afternoon, every evening, every night, she worried. And she couldn't stop herself. Because she thought it was her job to protect the ones she loves. If something were to happen to her family, to the party, where they ended up like her mom or worse, she would never forgive herself. Her brain would keep saying to her, 'it's all your fault, it's all your fault, it's all your fault!' over and over again until it would make her go crazy.

Welcome to hell...

"So, this is where you guys saw him?" Hopper said looking through the chain link fence. His eyes scanned the area, finding military cars, people in white lab coats, and lots of people rushing off in different directions trying to do their work.

"Yeah." Mike said looking for the white haired man again.

"Hawkins light and energy?" Hopper read off one of the white vans, parked in front of the building. "If you ever see one of those vans, get as far away from it as possible, you hear me?"

"Yes sir." They all responded.

"Alright, lets get out of here before they see us."

"What are you going to do?" Will asked trailing behind Hopper as he walked away.

"I don't know, kid. Right now, I don't know anything about this place."

"So your just going to let them stay around town? Can't you arrest them or something?" Dustin raised his voice.

"No, not right now at least. These people are well respected people. If they get arrested, they will find a way to get out."

"So what are you going to do?" Max asked just wanting her best friend to be safe.

"I'm gonna keep my eye on them. I gonna make sure they don't go anywhere near El or you guys. And then, I'm gonna find a way to get them the hell out of this town."

No one said anything after that. The sound of determination from Hopper's voice made them believe that everything would be okay. Hopefully, that feeling will stay for a while.

Authors note

Thank you guys for reading.

I have a question for you guys.

Should I change it to a stranger things au?

I only asked because it seems like it doesn't focus on mike and eleven a lot. You know, as a couple.

Sorry this was so short. Hopefully the next one will be longer. 😊