Author's note: Remember that time when I was like "I can't fanfic Stranger Things, the show is too smart for me"? LOL I miss that time.

Hello, howdy? I decided to fanfic Stranger Things.

I will let you know right away that this fic consists of fluffy, friendship and young love and I have NO INTENTIONS of like, having some dense, intrinsic, dark plot behind anything. It will be consisted of 12 oneshots about the everyday life of our beloved children, because they deserve some nice moments. I hope you're in the mood for some sugar.

Stranger Things and its characters are not mine at all, I'm not that creative.

An extra thanks for my friend Jen (littlecajunlady88) for beta reading this fic. I forced you to watch the show, and now we're both going down with it. Well.

1985

January

It takes over a year before they can finally lure her out of her hiding place, and even so it wasn't because of their tireless attempts. No, what brought her back and straight to Jim Hopper's house was as simple as biology can be.

Perhaps he wouldn't even notice that she was there, so quiet she was she could have gotten in and out without any alarm, but Hopper had a dog who was rather worried at the bathroom door, and when the sheriff of Hawkins went to check it out, he found bloody clothes on the floor and a scared and dirty girl in his tub.

"I'm hurt," she told him with teary eyes. Her voice cracked from lack of use, and she still talked quietly. It took him only one extra look around to know that he wouldn't be able to solve her problem.

"Hi, El," Jim said, blocking the door so the dog wouldn't come in sniffing everything. "Look, I'll call Joyce, okay? She can help you better."

Which was true, and practical. Luckily, Joyce was home that day and it was only a matter of minutes until she came to the rescue.

"Hi!" Joyce greeted sweetly, and there was something about the woman that always brought a sense of lull in Eleven, as if things would be okay eventually. "I'm so glad to see you again, look how much you've grown!"

Joyce sat by the tub near Eleven. She guessed she had changed, all right. She still was wearing Nancy's clothes, though they held a little tighter in a few places now, and her hair was certainly longer – last time she cut it was when she still was an experiment -, but that was about it. The woman turned on the hot water.

"Jim told me you said you are hurt, where are you hurt?" she asked, and Eleven hesitated a bit before relaxing her legs and holding her stomach under the turbid water.

"I'm bleeding," said the girl, and Joyce nodded as if it explained everything. "My stomach hurts."

"First of all, let's change this water, okay?" Joyce said, getting up and helping Eleven to her feet under the shower's warm water. "But I will let you know already, you will be alright."

She said that with a nice, sincere smile that even though there still was a pain in her belly, and she still was bleeding, Eleven believed her.

They emptied the tub and filled it again with hot water. Joyce told her that whenever she got like this, it was always good to have a hot shower, it eased the pain.

"Whenever?" echoed Eleven, and Joyce nodded. The bleeding would happen every month now, and the first months were tough, but she'd get used to it, like every woman does. It meant that she was turning into a woman now.

"And a rather beautiful one," added Joyce, washing Eleven's hair. The massage was one of the best things the girl felt her whole life.

"Beautiful," wondered El, looking up at the roof. Joyce hummed in response.

"You still have the same clothes Mike gave you," said Joyce, and at the mention of Mike's name the girl stiffened a bit. If Joyce noticed, she didn't say anything. "What do you think of calling Nancy tomorrow and all three of us go do some shopping for you? Maybe go to a hairdresser, get you a pretty haircut…" Eleven shook her head, and held on to her locks, which made Joyce chuckle. "Don't worry, no one is going to shave your head again, sweetheart, not if you don't want to. We just need to take a couple of inches here, so it can grow with some strength and it can shine."

"Hair can shine?" asked Eleven, clearly confused, and Joyce nodded again.

"It can," she assured. "Remember Nancy?" Eleven nodded. "She knows all kinds of tricks to make your hair look pretty. I don't know anything, I'm raising two boys, but she…" Joyce tickled El's waist, making the girl laugh. "Is a specialist."

They decided to set the shopping for the following day, and Hopper said that he'd pay for anything that Eleven would need. For that first day back though, Joyce brushed El's hair and gave her a hot bag to press on her stomach after she took a couple of painkillers; she explained what was going on and what were pads and tampons, and also a little bit of the implications that monthly bleed would have on the girl.

Joyce also said that since it was such a delicate time for Eleven and she had just gotten back, Jim should do everything the girl needed, which was actually El's favorite part. Joyce promised to come back the next morning.

"Do you want me to tell the boys that you're back?" she asked at last, proving that she actually noticed the girl's reaction whenever the boys were mentioned, and Eleven shook her head no. "No? Okay, I won't tell them yet. I'll see you tomorrow?"

And she did. The next day, Joyce and Nancy showed up early, and El was greeted with warm hugs and excited smiles.

"Are you feeling better?" asked Joyce, and Eleven nodded. They loaned her some clothes and then off they went downtown.

"Will you ever tell us what happened?" asked Nancy turning around on the passenger seat to look at El, who was in the back seat. The girl didn't answer. "We thought you were dead. Well, Mike thought you were trapped in the Upside-down, and spent months trying to figure out a way to bring you out, but the government closed all the breeches, so we wouldn't have much progress. We had to let it be, but it was hard, especially on him. You made quite the impression."

At first, they thought that Eleven wouldn't say anything about it, the girl only looked outside the window. And then-

"I missed the Snow Ball," she said. "Is Mike angry?"

Nancy chuckled.

"Mike? Angry at you?" She said as if it was the most absurd thing she'd ever heard. "El, that's not even possible."

At that, Eleven looked back at Nancy, big brown eyes genuinely surprised.

"But I broke the promise," Eleven said, her voice small in comparison of her eyes. "Twice."

"Hey, it's okay," Nancy reached and held El's hand comfortingly. "He knew you wouldn't be able to come, he was aware. Eleven, he's not angry. And he'll be so happy to know that you're back."

"They all will," Joyce added, looking at El through the rearview mirror.

"Besides," continued Nancy. "There's always the Spring Ball in May."

Eleven frowned, and it made Nancy chuckle again, as if she knew something that El didn't, which was probably the case.

They parked downtown and did all the shopping by foot. Even though Hopper had been nice enough to give a fair amount of money for Eleven, Joyce also used their time to teach the girl a thing or two about saving money. They bought a couple of dresses, some shirts, tops and jeans, two winter jackets, and then Nancy helped El choose some panties and bras.

After that, they went to the hairdresser, and even though Eleven was a bit scared of having all her hair cut off again, both Nancy and Joyce made sure to be very specific of what should be done, and cared to keep the girl distracted. The final result was simple waves loose on her shoulders. Nancy suggested some bangs covering El's forehead, and the rest of the hair was adorned with a red ribbon that matched the top she was wearing under the jeans jacket (that was actually Nancy's), and for once Eleven really liked the person she saw in the mirror, as if she was one step further from the person she used to be.

"Beautiful," she said enchanted, and behind her the hairdresser smiled.

"Beautiful indeed, young lady," he exclaimed, ushering her out of the chair.

They had lunch near there – burgers and fries, greasy the way El liked them – and then they went to the ice cream shop before they'd head home, three generations of women having fun together. It was maybe too cold to have ice cream, being the end of January and all, but a couple of scoops wouldn't hurt anyone.

"This is so different from my usual day with the boys," Joyce was commenting as they entered in the shop, plenty of bags in their hands. "This is nice," she looked at Eleven. "I hope you don't get tired of me, because I'd like to do this thing often."

Eleven smiled.

"Me too," she agreed, because it was true. Joyce was nice to her and taught her things she would never have figured out alone. And Eleven was eager to learn more.

Nancy chose her ice cream first and said that she'd take the bags to the car and wait for the others outside, but she had barely left the shop when two bikes stopped in front of her.

"Jesus Christ, Mike!" She exclaimed jumping back, and then she immediately frowned thinking about who was inside the shop. Her brother and Lucas were there on their new bikes - they both had mowed lawns from spring to fall last year to afford the bicycles – and it still felt weird to look up at her little brother. He grew a good foot and a half the past months.

"I was looking for you," he said, ignoring her startled face. "Mom wants to know if you're going home for dinner."

"I am," she answered quickly, wanting him to leave.

"That's a hell lot of shopping you did," Lucas commented, eyebrows raised, and Nancy looked at the bags in her hand.

"They're not for me," she said. "They are for a friend."

"You're friends with Will's mom now?" asked Mike suspicious. "Because mom said you were going out with her."

"And I did. I am," Nancy answered, and then she realized that she didn't need to tell him anything. "Since when are you so nosy?"

"I'm your little brother, that's what I do," Mike replied, and Lucas laughed. His laugh was interrupted, though, when the door of the shop opened and he saw who was getting out.

There was a pause in time and the air stilled when Eleven looked at Lucas and then at Mike, her eyes going wide in her known 'what-the-hell-now' expression. Lucas's eyes went from El to Joyce, Nancy and then Mike, and he poked his friend's arm insistently, but Mike's eyes were on El and El only and there were a million emotions going on in them, so many that Eleven didn't know how to figure them out, and it even felt a little overwhelming for her.

It lasted forever and a second only.

"Hi, Mike," she greeted, and he blinked. He was taller now, but she had grown too, a bit. His hair was different too, shorter. He looked different, but managed to still look like her Mike.

Suddenly, he dropped the bike and closed the couple of steps between them. Eleven only had time to open her arms so her ice cream wouldn't be mashed between them before he wrapped her in an embrace. She missed him so damn much. It felt nice.

"You came back," he said, his voice muffled by her hair. "I knew you'd come back."

She lifted her head to look at him better.

"You're not mad at me? I broke the promise," El said, because despite what Nancy said, she still needed to hear it from Mike. He was the first person who taught her what friendship was, and she felt like she'd ruined it somehow, even though she was certain she had done the right thing.

Mike shook his head.

"Don't even worry about it, El," he answered, and okay, it was a good enough reply for her. For now, at least.

Perhaps her Hawkins friends had more faith in her than Eleven herself, but she was glad they did. This friendship, this bond she shared with the boys was what kept her sane while she was gone. Now that she was back, she would make sure to enjoy every moment.

A/N: Thanks for reading :D Reviews are welcome!