Mike Wheeler woke up to light coming in the window of the Byers' living room. His neck felt stiff from sleeping leaning over. The chilly November air was coming in the broken window and his mind recalled the events of last night.

Eleven.

He looked to the couch behind him. Empty. He jumped up, his blanket falling to the floor. The chief was still sound asleep in the chair, Mike took that as a good sign El was still here. He looked at the clock, 6 in the morning. He heard Will's laugh coming from the kitchen. To his surprise he found his best friend sitting at the kitchen table with Eleven, eating Eggos.

"Hey," Will said, looking up to see Mike. "I finally met Eleven."

Mike sat down next to her. "I forgot you two haven't officially met."

"Well, I've seen her in the..." he paused. "What do you call that?" He asked her. "When you find people?"

"I... don't know." She said slowly, obviously thinking about it. "It's... hard to explain."

"Can you do it with anyone? Find anyone, I mean?"

"Yes. If I've seen them before, I can find them."

"That's awesome," Will was just as fascinated with El's powers as everyone else was. "Does distance matter?"

"No. But the bath is the strongest way to do it if they are far. Or in the upside down."

"The bath?"

Mike filled in, "She means like a sensory deprivation tank. That's how she found you last year, when you were in the Upside Down. Normally, she'll use static, like from a radio or TV, but if she needs more power, the tank helps."

El nodded, taking a bite of her Eggo. Mike looked at her.

"So, the chief been nice this year?"

"Yes," she paused. "I... wanted to tell you. When you called. But... not safe."

"We know, we're just glad you're safe and here now."

"Hell yeah we are!" Dustin came into the kitchen, dressed and ready for his day, followed by Lucas, who looked less than happy to be awake.

Eleven smiled at the boys. Mike could tell she was happy to be back with her friends.

Dustin started digging around for food as Lucas sat down. He went for the fridge just as Will yelled, "Don't!"

But it was too late. The dead demodog fell out. All the boys made faces, a round of "oh man" and "gross" was heard throughout the room.

"Son of a bitch! I forgot about that!"

"Ya think?" Said Lucas, sarcastically.

"We should probably get that out of here before my mom gets up," said Will.

"I'm not touching it!" Stated Lucas.

Just then, the demodog started to float.

"You know, that never gets less cool," Dustin smiled at Eleven. She gave him a smile, blood starting to drip from her nose. Dustin opened the back door and she moved it outside quickly as they heard a door open in the hallway.

"Well, you guys are up early!" Ms.Byers came hurrying into the kitchen, dressed for work. "Will, sweetie, you up for school today?"

"Yeah, I think so. I feel... better."

This relieved everyone in the room.

"Hop still sleeping?" She asked. A round of nods answered. "Well, you boys finish breakfast and get ready for school, I'll get him up."

"What about El?" Asked Mike, as Joyce hurried out if the room, not hearing him. Mike looked at Eleven. She had a worried look on her face. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out. We'll find a way to keep you safe, and hang out with us."

"Yeah." All the boys nodded in agreement.

An hour later all the boys were ready to go. Hopper was taken Eleven back home to the cabin.

"I know it's not what you want, kid," he told her. "But it's the safest place we have. We keep following the rules, we stay not stupid, and we lay low, that's how you stay safe."

Eleven nodded. She wasn't happy, but she knew he was right.

"We'll make a way for you to see your friends, ok? Maybe they can come out and visit."

At this the boys all got excited. Having their Mage back, being a full party again, was something they weren't sure would ever happen again.

"But," Hopper's voice was serious, "but you all follow the rules. Understood?"

"Yes!" Came from four mouths.

"Alright. Say your goodbyes for now. We gotta get going." With that he lit a cigarette and walked out to the car.

Joyce came to Eleven and hugged her deeply. "Oh, sweet girl. You let me know if you need anything, ok?" El nodded into her chest. "I'll see you soon. Maybe we'll talk that mean old man into letting you come over for a game night sometime. Would you like that?" Joyce asked as she let go.

"Yes."

Joyce nodded and moved out of the way. Will was next. He hugged Eleven. "It was nice to finally meet you."

"You, too."

Dustin and Lucas hugged her. When it came to Mike's turn, Joyce ushered the other boys out to the car, giving Mike a moment alone with El.

"I swear this isn't goodbye. Not again. Ok?" He said. She nodded. "I'm going to hold him to letting us see you. I promise."

"I know."

He hugged her hard. "I'll call you after school, ok? Just like every night." He pulled back but didn't let go. He leaned in to kiss her when he heard the chief yell "let's go!" Mike started to let go, but El surprised him with a quick kiss. He smiled so big his cheeks hurt.

Three o'clock couldn't come fast enough for the boys. Max met them after class as they waited for Jonathan on the sidewalk. Since none of them had their bikes, he was their way home.

"Hey, stalkers!" Then she lowered her voice. "You guys going to see El today?"

"We don't know," Lucas told her, "Mike wants to go talk to the chief, but I don't think he'll let us."

"He has to," said Mike, he was impatiently waiting for Jonathan. "We just got her back. We just learned she was ok. He kept her from us long enough. He's not the boss. It's not like he's her dad."

"Well, he has taken care of her for almost a year now..." said Will.

"Yeah, Will's right," agreed Dustin. "He's kept her safe this long. We've got to trust him on that."

Mike rolled his eyes. Jonathan pulled up with Nancy in the car next to him.

"I've got to get home," Max told them. "My brothers already on a war path, but I think he took last night seriously. If you guys get to go see her, let me know."

"We will," Lucas told her as she waved bye and headed towards Billy's car.

"Why?" Asked Mike. "Why would she want to know? She doesn't even know El."

"Yeah, well, she's a girl. Eleven is a girl," said Dustin, getting in the back seat.

"Duh," said Mike, sliding in next to Nancy. "And?"

"And, I don't know. Girls hang out with other girls, don't they, Nancy?"

"Um, yeah. Totally," she said, as if being a girl made her an expert on Eleven specifically. "He might be right," she said to Mike. "Eleven's only ever had you guys, she might like having a girl who knows the truth and could be her friend."

Mike didn't like it. He still wasn't sold on Max, but he would never deny El having a friend like he had in Will, Lucas, and Dustin. If Max could be there for El the way they were for him, then he'd learn to give the girl a chance.

"So, where to?" Jonathan asked Mike.

"To find Hopper."

So sorry it's taken me way to long to update! I've write this so many times and was never happy with how it went. All the buzzy with s3 has pushed me to finally get back to it!

xoxo- El.