19. Separate Ways

[A/N: OMG, you guys. I died writing this, okay? I'm like, laughing and giggling and I'm just no good. XD I've gotta get back to schoolwork now but I hope you enjoy this! I certainly enjoyed writing it haha. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!

Also, forgot to mention this in my last post but dudes - that teaser trailer, though?! I can not wait for season 2. I'm legit dying over here. And the new pics of them? They're growing up?! Ahhhhhh. And El's hair?! And the tiny tidbits of plot that they've revealed so far? I am no more good. I am dead. I need this show so bad XD]

Chapter 19: Separate Ways (by Journey)

"Troubled times, caught between confusions and pain... Distant eyes, promises we made were in vain..."

. . . . . . . .

The mall was an overwhelming place full of delicious smells, bright colors and lights, and hundreds of people milling about and nearly running into El. She couldn't read most of the signs in front of the stores but she assumed they described whatever was in the stores and the bright fluorescent lighting gave her a headache. Everyone seemed to know exactly where they were going, whereas El would've been completely lost if she wasn't clinging tightly to Nancy's jacket sleeve. Despite the sensory overload, El was fascinated by the tall ceilings, open atriums, and all of the pretty dresses and sweaters and shoes they passed in store after store. Nancy was looking for a particular place that El couldn't remember the name of but she was content to follow along. She did hope, however, that they would find whatever that delicious smell was that tickled El's nose and was making her mouth water despite having just had lunch.

"It's this one," Nancy said as she led El toward a large department store with lights even brighter than those in the main corridors of the mall.

El blinked as they stepped through the threshold, the white linoleum flooring making the place almost blinding. People of all ages were scattered around the store, at the cash registers, flipping through the clothes that hung on silver racks, walking through the aisles as they sought out whatever specific item they had in mind. El followed Nancy to a section of the store that seemed to be overflowing with pretty dresses and colorful shirts and skirts. There were racks with more sweaters than she could think to try on and every type of jacket she could imagine. On the other side of the aisle was a huge area with row after row of shelves with dozens of shoes of all types lined up along the top.

"Okay," Nancy said, placing a finger to her chin as she thought. "I just need to get a dress but you probably need a little bit of everything I'm guessing,"

El watched as Nancy flipped through some pink shirts that were hanging on the rack next to her.

"Let's try a few of these," She said as she gathered shirts from various racks around them. "I'm pretty sure this size should fit since that fits you perfectly," She nodded to the old sweater El was wearing and El followed the teen through rows of clothes, trying to keep up both physically and mentally.

After a few minutes of collecting various articles of clothing, Nancy led El to the dressing rooms.

"Okay, so you go in - take these with you," She explained as she handed the pile of clothes to El who tried her best not to lose her balance or drop anything when she wasn't expecting them to be so heavy. "Try everything on and see what you like. Mom gave me $30 so that should be enough to get you a few things for the week,"

El carefully balanced everything in her arms as she walked toward one of the stalls before realizing she would be closed in. She halted immediately.

"What is it?" Nancy asked, then realization dawned on her. "Oh, right. Mike said you don't like closed spaces," She thought for a minute. "Okay, um, here's a bigger stall if you want to try that? I could come in with you if that helps,"

El considered this option for a minute, eyeing the larger stall at the end before nodding in agreement. Nancy followed her into the stall and El looked warily at the door as Nancy secured the lock behind them.

"Okay," Nancy said, taking some of the clothing items off the top of the pile in El's arms. "Let's put these up here," She said as she began hanging shirts and pants and dresses up on hooks on one side of the stall. "And when you find stuff you like, we can put it on those hooks," She pointed to a couple metal hooks on the opposite side. "Anything that you don't like, we'll just leave in the stall. Make sense?"

El nodded hesitantly, looking at the monstrous outgrowth of clothes on the wall beside her. It seemed like such an arduous task but she removed the first item from the hook on the wall, setting it down on the bench beside her before bending down to untie her shoes. Back in the lab, she often changed in front of the guards and scientists so the concept of privacy was relatively foreign to her. Whether it was to change into her wetsuit for the sensory deprivation tank or before physical examinations, there were often people around her working even if they weren't directly monitoring or escorting her. Mike's insistence that she change her clothes alone in the bathroom on the night they found her had been the first time anyone had introduced the idea to her.

Nancy stood by patiently, respecting El's privacy by averting her eyes and focusing on the clothing she would be trying on, however, when she looked up for a brief second, she couldn't help but notice the tattered condition of the girl's underwear.

"Hey El," Nancy said discreetly, without looking up, as she continued to sort through the clothes hanging on the wall. "Do you think you have enough underwear? Maybe we could pick some of those out for your today, too,"

El looked down at her waist. The white cotton had turned to a dingy shade of beige and the elastic at the edges was beginning to fray, creating holes between the waistband and the cotton fabric. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been given new underwear - she distinctly remembered receiving this pair about a week before she escaped the lab, just after her biweekly shower.

"Yes," El murmured softly as she slipped her legs into a pink floral skirt that fell to her knees. She beamed when she looked up in the mirror and saw the way it flowed, giving it a spin before grinning with delight.

"That's a good one," Nancy smiled. "Do you wanna try this one with it?" She plucked a long-sleeve white shirt from the massive collection on the wall.

El nodded excitedly, taking the shirt from Nancy and quickly swapping her purple sweater for the soft white garment. This entire experience was so new to El and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Everything was so new and fresh, the fabrics were soft and smelled clean. She'd spent her life wearing the same patterned hospital gown with new, identical ones replacing the old ones when they became too frayed or needing washing. Faced with so many options and so many colors, all of which were up to her, was overwhelming but incredibly exciting.

With the white shirt on, El turned to Nancy with a bright smile, waiting for a response.

"Those look so good together!" Nancy smiled encouragingly. "Do you like it?"

El nodded vigorously, then turned back to the mirror, swinging her body slightly so that the skirt swished at her knees.

"Hmm," Nancy hummed thoughtfully as she noted El's reflection. "I have an idea. I'm gonna run out and get something really quick, okay? I'll be back in just a minute. Will you be okay by yourself?"

El's eyes widened with alarm and she pursed her lips slightly but nodded nonetheless.

"Be right back," Nancy said and ducked out of the stall. She was only gone for a couple minutes but El waited like a puppy in the doorway of the stall anyway. When she returned, she was carrying three more items that looked like underwear but weren't.

"So I'm guessing you've never had a training bra," Nancy said as she untangled the straps on the bras that had jostled together.

El shook her head, staring at the bras in fascination as Nancy finally freed one from its plastic hanger. "Bra?"

"Yeah," Nancy nodded, holding the garment up against El's chest as El awkwardly tried to look down at it. "Bras support your um, boobs," She said, her eyebrows stitching together slightly as she broached the topic. She didn't want to embarrass El but she also thought someone should be explaining these things to her.

"Boobs?" El asked inquisitively, her eyebrows furrowed as though contemplating a complex equation.

"Yeah," Nancy said, trying to keep from chuckling at El's expression. "Uh, here," She gestured to her own chest. "There's probably a lot that you still have to learn about all this stuff but as girls get older, they develop breasts, or boobs, and you wear a bra to support them. Training bras are like practice before they develop because bras can be a little uncomfortable at first so this helps you get used to them,"

El nodded thoughtfully, taking the training bra from Nancy and studying it. She'd never seen anything like it but she liked the pretty lace pattern along the edges and the tiny pink bow in the center. She was learning so much in such a short amount of time but despite how overwhelming all of this new information was, she was eager to keep learning and experiencing more.

. . . . . . . .

After deciding on an assortment of clothes for El, Nancy had found her dress with relative ease. Karen was picking them up soon and they'd had just enough time to stop in the food court for some pizza, another new food for El. She'd already gotten her first taste of Hershey's Kisses after going through the checkout line in the department store. Nancy had grabbed a Milky Way from the small stand next to the register and El had chosen a bag of Hershey's Kisses.

"These are Hershey's Kisses," Nancy said as she loaded their items up on the counter for the cashier to ring up. "They're basically little pieces of milk chocolate. Just be careful you don't eat too many at once. You don't wanna overdo it and make yourself sick,"

El nodded solemnly as she placed the bag on the counter, eyeing the cashier warily though she was completely uninterested in the small girl peering over the counter-top.

They were making their way back to the other side of the mall to wait to be picked up when the enticing scent El had smelled earlier caught her nose's attention.

Nancy stopped walking when she noticed El was no longer at her side. "El?" She looked around, momentarily worried that she'd lost track of the girl. She could already hear Mike screaming at her before she saw El standing next to a Cinnabon storefront, her hands and nose up against the glass case that housed all of the delicious desserts.

"I guess you want one?" Nancy laughed as she walked over, gently peeling El off the glass. "Just don't tell my mom or Hopper that I got you all this junk food or I'll never hear the end of it, okay?"

"That smell," El said almost euphorically.

"That's the cinnamon," Nancy explained before stepping into the cashier's line. "They're pretty big so you might not finish it all before we go -"

"Hey Nancy," A familiar voice caught Nancy off-guard and she turned around to see Jonathan Byers standing beside her, a shopping bag in his hand. It'd been a couple weeks since she'd last spoken to him, though he'd certainly been on her reluctant mind. Despite seeing him at school and hearing him when he'd come over to pick up Will, it'd been some time since they'd last interacted.

"Oh, hey," She said, biting her bottom lip and looking down, then back up at him. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Jonathan said, appearing equally as unsure as to what to say though he'd initiated the conversation. "You?"

"Good!" Nancy nodded. The two were quiet for a moment before noticing the line had moved and Nancy took a step forward with Jonathan stepping forward as well as they both chuckled awkwardly. All the while, El watched with perplexed fascination at the exchange between the two teens.

"So um," Nancy ventured. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," Jonathan said as though she'd startled him. "Uh, shoes," He shrugged, gesturing with the bag in his hand. "For work,"

Nancy nodded thoughtfully. "Cool…"

"Yeah…" Jonathan trailed off. "Well, I should go,"

"Okay, yeah," Nancy said, a little too quickly. "The line's moving anyway," She jerked a thumb at the remaining customer in front of her.

"I guess I'll see you around," Jonathan said as he started to move past her and El, noticing the short girl for the first time since coming over. "Bye El!"

"See ya," Nancy called after him, cringing at her awkwardness once his back was turned as El waved nonchalantly. "Phew," Nancy exhaled as she stepped up to the cashier and placed the order as El curiously watched Jonathan's form disappear in the crowd. All the while, El wondered why Nancy and Jonathan had acted so strange with one another but then, who was she to judge?

. . . . . . . .

Much to Nancy's surprise and Karen's dismay, El had already polished off her cinnamon bun by the time they pulled into the Wheeler's driveway. The boys were down in the basement in the midst of a D&D campaign when they got in the house. Karen carried Holly into the living room where Ted sat watching Wheel of Fortune, Nancy took her new dress upstairs, and El bounded excitedly for the basement door with two large shopping bags bouncing around as she trotted down the steps.

"Hey, El's back," Dustin looked up and Mike immediately stood up from his seat.

"Hey El!" He greeted her in his unintentionally over-attentive way. "Did you have fun?"

El nodded vigorously, her face beaming as she held her bags close.

"Did you find anything cool?" Will asked pleasantly and El nodded again, walking over to the table. She began pulling garments out, placing them on the edge of the table, and Lucas scooted their game board off-center so as to make room.

The boys watched awkwardly as El's pile of clothing grew, almost toppling over into Dustin's lap before he caught it. To be honest, a clothes shopping trip wasn't exactly the most exciting topic for the boys but none of them had the heart to show it, seeing the elated look on El's face. Rarely had she ever looked so happy and excited about something so they politely forced their enthusiasm for her sake. As the indiscriminate collection of fabrics and colors grew, El nonchalantly dug into her second bag, pulling out two packs of pink and purple girls' underwear with butterfly and heart designs as well as two frilly training bras, placing them on top.

"Whoa!" Lucas exclaimed as the boys' eyes widened with shock.

Immediately, the boys' scooted away from the table and averted their eyes, looking anywhere but at the table as the undergarments began to slide off the top of the pile toward Dustin and he reflexively pushed them away, yelping at the same time.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"

It had all happened so fast that in his effort to keep the underwear from getting too close, he'd leaned back a bit too far in his chair and went toppling backwards.

"El!" Mike exclaimed, frozen. His first inclination was to grab the items and quickly put them back in the bag but then he really did not want to touch them. He could already feel that his face had turned beet-red. "Uh, you need to -"

"Put that shit back in the bag!" Lucas exclaimed abruptly.

"Remember when we talked about privacy?" Mike asked, trying to force away his embarrassment as El looked at him with a slightly hurt, confused look. "Th-this is another one of those times. You don't show… uh, those things to other people,"

"Nancy helped," El defended.

Mike grimaced. He really did not want to think about his sister going underwear-shopping. "That's different,"

"She's a girl," Lucas added.

"Girls show each other those kinds of things," Will offered, his cheeks tinged pink as he looked directly at El and kept his eyes off of the table. "But that's not something you'd show us,"

"Because you're boys?" El asked hesitantly, still trying to understand why her friends had reacted so negatively. She'd thought the bras and panties were really pretty and Nancy had agreed.

"Yes!" They all replied emphatically as Dustin settled himself back into his chair, leaning back and clutching his curly locks in his hands as he stared at the ceiling.

El quietly and quickly collected her clothes from the table, stuffing everything back into the shopping bags as the boys collectively sighed in relief. Dustin mouthed 'She really just did that?!' with an incredulous facial expression and his eyes bugged-out as Lucas shook his head and Will stared at the table. Mike watched as El tucked her shopping bags in a corner next to the table that was still supporting her blanket fort.

"So," Mike began as El walked back over to them, hoping a change of subject would lessen the discomfort in the room. "My mom said the chief is picking you up at 7:30. We have some time to watch the first Star Wars movie, if you want?"

El pursed her lips and nodded her agreement so the boys abandoned their game as Mike rolled a TV stand out from the back of the basement. The screen was smaller than the one they had upstairs but this way they could remain comfortably in the basement rather than battle Mike's parents or Holly for control of the TV upstairs. The TV sat atop a wooden cart that had a cabinet door opening up to reveal two shelves, one of which held a VCR. On the lower shelf, an array of VHS movies were piled high.

El slipped out of her coat to get comfortable on the couch as Mike set up the movie. Lucas and Dustin chatted at the table as Will sat quietly. He'd actually been feeling a little better over the past couple of days and he hadn't slipped into the Upside Down at any point. He still felt a little 'off' but he tried not to think about it too much.

Once the movie was set up and playing, Mike flipped the main light switch for the basement, removing the glare from the screen. A smaller lamp in the corner was still on, keeping them from pitch blackness as Mike made his way over to the couch and sat down next to El, though not too close. Lucas sat on the far end of the couch next to Mike as Dustin settled on the floor with his back against the couch and Will moved to a chair on the other side of the table so he could see the screen.

As the triumphant brass fanfare of the opening theme began to play, Mike turned to El, "The opening crawl is gonna have a lot of text explaining the backstory for the movie," He said as the Star Wars logo began to retreat on the screen. "I can read it for you if you want? It goes kind of fast and I know you don't really -" Mike cut himself off when El nodded, her lip curled on one side in a half-smile. "Okay," Mike said, turning back to the screen as the text began to appear. "The first thing said, 'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away'. Okay, so, um, 'Episode four, A New Hope'," He added, slightly rushing to catch up as the text scrolled up and away. He put on a theatrical, narrative voice. "'It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire,'"

Lucas and Dustin shot each other half-annoyed, half-amused looks as Mike read dramatically for El.

"'During the battle, rebel spies managed to steal the plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet,'" Mike continued, faltering slightly when El scooted closer to him, her eyes fixed with fascination on the screen. "Uh, um, 'Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy,'" He finished a little quicker than he'd started, his heart beating uncomfortably fast as El rested her head on his shoulder.

El wasn't aware of the way Mike's cheeks were flushed, especially in the darkened light of the basement. She was in complete awe as she watched the camera tilt down from the sea of stars and the movie began. She'd never seen anything like this and she was transfixed. It was sort of like when she'd watched TV in the living room back when no one was supposed to know she was living there except this felt bigger. The intro music was exciting and Mike's story-telling was fun to listen to. It wasn't until thirty minutes into the movie that she peeled her eyes away from the screen, remembering that she had chocolate in the pocket of her coat as her stomach rumbled with hunger.

Mike tried not to notice when El lifted her head from his shoulder, forcing himself to keep watching the TV and not her. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable by being too attentive, though he couldn't help it sometimes. Truthfully, he also felt a little self-conscious with all of his friends in the room, too.

El retrieved her bag of Hershey's Kisses from her coat and pulled out one of the foil-wrapped morsels. She gently tapped Mike on the arm, her voice quiet but audible, "Want a Kiss?"

Mike stiffened immediately, his eyes wide and his heart racing even faster than before. "Wh-What?!" He sputtered as he leaned away from her in surprise, his cheeks flaming hot at this point as Dustin and Lucas snickered, having obviously heard the exchange.

"You heard the lady," Dustin teased and Lucas guffawed.

El's eyebrows stitched together in confusion as the boys laughed. Even Will chuckled as Mike screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to pull himself together.

"Um," He said slowly as he took a deep breath and exhaled, his eyes still closed and his voice a little higher than usual. "What?"

El stared at him curiously as she lifted the chocolate candy for him to see. "Kiss?"

"Oh god," Mike sighed in relief, though his friends continued to laugh. "Um, I-I I'm okay. Thanks,"

El shrugged, popping the chocolate into her mouth and looking back at the movie as Mike practically melted into the couch cushions. His adrenaline subsiding, he stared at the floor, trying to force himself to relax quicker but his friends were no help.

"C'mon, Mike," Dustin whispered with a mischievous grin. "Don't you want a kiss from El?"

"Shut up, Dustin," Mike growled quietly, unbeknownst to El.

. . . . . . . .

The rest of the evening went on uneventfully. Much to El's delight, Karen let them order pizza for dinner and between the five of them, they greedily consumed two pizzas as they finished the rest of the movie. The ending credits had just begun when the sound of the front door opening upstairs could be heard through the ceiling.

El visibly wilted when she heard the deep tone of Hopper's voice and the realization that their time together was over set in.

"Mike!" Karen called from upstairs. "Chief Hopper is here to pick up El!"

Mike sighed, reluctantly standing up. "C'mon El," He said despondently as everyone else stood up, stretching their legs after the long movie.

The kids trudged up the stairs and met Karen and Hopper in the foyer. El's jedi coat swallowed her up as she clutched her shopping bags, one in each hand.

"Hey kid," Hopper greeted her, then nodded to the boys. "You ready to go?"

El turned and looked wistfully at Mike who was staring at his feet. She turned back to the chief and nodded.

"Bye El," Lucas said warmly.

"See you next weekend," Dustin added.

Will gave her a quick wave. "Bye El,"

"Bye," She said quietly, looking around at each of them before looking at Mike who had yet to lift his gaze. "Bye Mike," She said softly and he looked up, his face crestfallen.

"Bye El," He said quietly, his voice cracking slightly.

El noticed the way that Mike looked more sad than any of them and she didn't want to see him that way even if she felt it, too. After all, she really didn't want to leave but she had to. Despite the reduced range of motion in her coat and her occupied hands, El took a step toward Mike, enveloping him in the best hug she could manage before pulling away. They exchanged a smile that went unnoticed by no one and Hopper escorted her out of the house into the cold, dark night.

. . . . . . . .

"If you must go, I wish you love. You'll never walk alone. Take care my love, miss you love..."