the winning game

✧

ELEVEN HOPPER was a girl who didn't let her past define her. Despite living locked away and used as a lab rat, the girl with the name of a number was the most loyal and yellow person you'd ever meet. Eleven, who preferred to be called 'El,' was bouncing in her seat from excitement.

It was early in the morning, 7:15, to be exact, but she didn't care. Her heart was warm as she bit her lower lip, looking out the car window to see the already risen sun. Summer break had recently started, meaning her friends were no longer in school, meaning she didn't have to wait until it was later in the day to visit them.

El had to contain an excited squeal when she spotted the Byers' house.

Jim Hopper yawned from beside her, sipping on the cup of coffee he had bought. He had called the day off so he could sleep in before they had to visit the Byers. Those were his plans. But clearly, Eleven had other ideas when she woke him up at 6:30 in the morning, exclaiming at they were going to be late if they didn't leave soon.

El beamed when Hopper stopped the car before the small house, and she didn't let him get the chance to turn the vehicle off before she pulled off her seatbelt and jumped out.

There was a skip to her step as she walked up the familiar porch knocking on the door. She was there to see the other girl who also did let her past define her. El wondered what Rue Newby would teach her that morning.

She hoped she would tell her why people had plants in their homes. Or Math. Eleven loved math the moment she's discovered it. All the numbers and symbols. It was challenging yet fun. Eleven learnt that she'd love a challenge. Rue Newby thought she was insane for liking such a subject. ("Out of everything. You like Math?!)

Or maybe, it would be Eleven doing the teaching. Showing the girl how to control the energy she held within and how to use it right.

A tired Joyce Byers opened the door, rubbing her eyes. She squinted at the sun before smiling at the girl who stood at her door, dressed in a baggy shirt that clearly used to belong to Hopper, and then a pair of jeans that she knew was Rues.

"Hi, sweetheart," Joyce said delicately, and then a small blush grew to her cheeks when she saw Jim walk up the porch, standing behind Eleven. "Hey, Hop," She let them in.

Eleven smiled at the smell of cooking eggs and what she guessed was bacon sizzling in a pan. She stepped around the living room, her fingers softly brushing over picture frames. El grinned at the photo; it was Will Byers and Rue, their cheeks pressed together as they smiled brightly at the camera on their last day of middle school. She knew it was their last day because she could remember both of them telling her all about it wearing those same clothes. Eleven sighed. She wished she could go to school with them.

"They're in their room, probably still sleeping," Joyce's voice said from the kitchen.

Eleven spun around, watching as Joyce made breakfast and Hopper standing next to her. She nodded, turning on the heels before walking down the familiar hallway. Lately, Eleven has been at the Byers' house so many times she had already memorized every dent and picture on the walls.

Twisting the doorknob open, Eleven let out a small gasp. She walked into the room and quietly shut the door behind her. El took slow steps, her eyes wide at what was before her. The room usually seemed split into two, one side having vinyl frames, medals and polaroids on the walls, the other with movie posters, drawings and photos. But now, it was all mixed into a floating mess.

Desks, chairs, lamps, papers, crayons, cassettes. Anything not taped or bolted down to the floor or walls were floating in the air like it was in zero-gravity.

Soft rings of gold and blue surrounding the objects like a belt, the rays of light met on one of the floating beds. Eleven chuckled softly and ducked when a lamp slowly drifted over her head. It continued across the room until it bumped into the wall and headed the other way.

She made her way towards the floating beds, about three feet in the air, where the rings of gold and blue had met at the fingertips of the sleeping girl. El panicked for a moment. The girl had looked so peacefully asleep she thought she was dead, that was until she saw the steady rise and fall of her chest.

Eleven took hold of the floating towel that passed by her shoulder. Once her hand had touched it, the bright belt had vanished, and it fell in her arms. She carefully wiped away the blood rolling down the girl's nose and cheek, luckily not reaching her pillow.

At the feeling of the soft fabric on her face, the girl shifted in her sleep. She turned to face the other way, pulling her covers higher. Eleven heard her sniff and sneeze, and that's when everything came crashing down.

El's eyes widened as she stuck her hands out, trying to catch as much as she could before it smashed on the ground. She managed to collect most of them, slowly lowering them back to where they belonged. But not all of them because the bed behind her had fallen with a loud thud.

The boy who was sleeping in the bed jerked awake and groaned. Will Byers sat up, his hair a mess and eyes barely open. There was a dry line of drool on his cheek as he annoyingly glared at the bed next to him. "Not again," he grumbled, and then a pillow had flown on his face, and he let out a muffled, "Oof."

El giggled, wiping her nose with the hem of her shirt. She turned around to face Rue Newby, who was also sitting up on her bed. She had a tired look on her face as she glared at Will, the braid at the back of her head falling apart.

Rue's face softened when she spotted Eleven. She smiled at the girl, "Hey, El," she mumbled half-asleep, "You're early. My game doesn't start until two."

"I wanted to see you," El shrugged, sitting on the edge of her bed.

When El and Rue first started talking, it was awkward. El was confronting Rue that she knew about her powers, and Rue had to teach El what keeping a secret was. ("You can't tell anyone about this — not even Mike," "Why not?" "Because I don't want him to know," "Why?" "Because it's a secret." "What's a secret?" "It's something that is kept away from other people." "You having powers like me is a secret?" "Yes." "So, I can't tell Mike," "Yes, you can't tell Mike. Or anyone.")

After the small lesson, Eleven had started showing up at the Byers' home a lot more. Hopper didn't mind driving her, knowing he'd get to see Joyce again. At first, she'd show up when no one was home, either at work or school, then she had found out about school hours after Rue and Will got home and found her in the living room and a note from Hopper.

Afterwards, El would show up exactly an hour after Will and Rue had gotten home from school, ready for Rue to tell her more things about social life. She remembered the first thing being why people had animals in their homes. Or what they called: Pets.

"Didn't you see her yesterday?" Will fussed, rubbing his eyes.

"No, Max was here yesterday," Rue told him.

"Right — I remember, now. You two wouldn't stop talking about the movie Breakfast Club."

"Now, that's not a way to talk to your sister, is it?" She mocked, a smile on her face. Will's ears went red, and he grinned too, playfully rolling his eyes at the girl.

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Rue didn't have to move away to a foster home because of her Christmas present. She could never forget the way her stomach flipped when she read the papers placed before her when she ate breakfast.

An adoption paper signed by Joyce Byers. Rue was grateful, and every day she woke up in the Byers home, she pinched herself to make sure it was true. She remembered how surprised Will and Jonathan also were when they glanced at the papers. It was like a Christmas gift for the three of them. Now they were legally siblings, and Rue's name is officially Ruth Newby Byers.

(She wanted to keep her dad's name.)

"Why do people have plants in their houses?" El asked suddenly. "Why do they want to bring the outside . . . inside?"

"It's too early for this," Will mumbled, laying back on his bed and covering his ears with the pillow Rue had thrown at him, trying to fall back to sleep and hoping he wouldn't wake up from his bed falling five feet.

"People like plants," Rue answered, stepping out of her bed and stretching.

"You like plants, too, right?" She asked, pointing at the potted plant hanging on the roof of the shared room, its vines wrapping around a bookshelf.

Rue yawned, nodding, "Yeah, I do," she motioned for El to follow her. She walked into the bathroom, and El leaned on the door from the other side.

"But, I don't understand why. Plants are supposed to be outside - with the rest of the plants. Why would you want to separate it from its family?"

Rue's laughs were muffled by the door. "Nature's pretty, and some people want pretty things in their home. Don't worry! I still water and take care of them."

El shifted in her spot, her stomach grumbling slightly as the smell of cooking eggs wafted in her nose. "Okay," she said. If she was honest with herself, Eleven had grown out of her Eggo waffle obsessed phase, that is because Rue had introduced her to new snacks like cheese and crackers or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, even fruit salads. Unlike Mike, who made her Eggos and only Eggos when she said she was hungry. She still loved her Eggos, though.

The bathroom door swung open, and Eleven had to catch herself for a moment. Rue stepped out, looking a lot more awake than before. "Let's eat, yeah?"

The two girls walked into the dining room. "Mornin'!" Rue beamed, hugging Joyce from behind. The woman jumped for a second but relaxed at the familiar arms around her.

"Morning, Rue. Here's breakfast,"

El and Rue sat next to each other, enjoying their eggs and bacon. And Hopper soon sat with them, slowly sipping from his coffee cup. "Hey, Hops!" Rue smiled.

"Hey, kid," the man said, leaning back on his chair. "How are you?"

"Mmm 'good," she hummed. And it was true, Rue Newby was healing, as she seemed much brighter than she used to be when everyone first met her. She had colour on her face, not only from the summer tan, but she was glowing in general. She was happy, and everyone noticed.

Especially Max Mayfield, who surrounded herself with Rue at any chance given, to see her smile again. There wasn't a day in their summer break where they haven't seen each other. In fact, they had plans to stop at Starcourt Mall the next day, and tonight, they have a sleepover in mind.

"Are you excited for your game?"

"Very," she sipped on the cup of orange juice.

"Rue?" El asked, nibbling at her lower lip.

She turned to look at the girl next to her, "yeah?"

"Can you teach me how to play baseball?"

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

"Okay, El, all you want to do is hit the ball with the bat," Rue said loud and clearly, standing several feet away from Eleven. They stood under the bright sun in Joyce's backyard. Rue held a baseball and had a baseball glove in her other hand. She was still in her pyjamas, but she was still in her home, so who cares?

El gripped the wooden bat tightly — Rue wouldn't let her use the metal one yet. She shifted in her spot, focusing her eyes on the hard white ball in Rue's hand.

"Ready?"

She nodded, and Rue lifted her knee slightly before throwing the ball at half the speed she'd throw it in the real game.

Eleven shut her eyes and swung the bat when she thought the ball was close enough. A WHOOSH sounded in her ear, and she had missed the ball. She swung too quickly. El opened one eye first, then the other. She frowned, turning around and spotting the ball rolling into a bush nearby.

"Don't worry, not everyone gets it on their first time," Rue said, watching as El tilted her head and the ball came rushing out the bush.

Rue caught it in the glove, and El sniffed softly, positioning herself. There was a determined look in her eyes now. She ached to hit that ball. She wanted to hit it the same way Rue did when she watched her play.

"Ready?" Rue asked again.

"Yes," El answered.

She threw the ball again, and El waited for a little longer this time before clumsily swinging the bat. A wave of pride rushed through her when she felt and heard the bat hitting the ball. But it disappeared as fast as it came when it followed with the sound of glass shattering.

Rue's gasped and she clapped her hands to her mouth. She pulled off the glove and rushed to the window they had broken, Eleven followed closely. Her heart sank when she realized it was Jonathan's window, and she remembered Nancy was staying the night. "Oh, no."

Rue stood on her tippy toes, trying to peek into the room from the broken window, El doing the same beside her. Nancy and Jonathan were still sleeping, and they were lucky the ball hadn't broken anything else.

El slowly rose her hand, and the ball gingerly rolled from the floor and then flew into her hand. "Fix the window," El told her.

"What?"

"You can do it."

Rue sighed. Her eyes fluttered shut as she focused on fixing the window. Unbeknownst to her, a blue and gold hue of light slipped from her hands, crawling through the broken glass and collecting all of it that hand shattered in the room. The glass rose in the air, putting itself into its places like a puzzle. Then, it thawed slightly before it mended like brand new.

"You did it!" El beamed, wrapping her arms around Rue.

Rue laughed, nodding slowly, "Yeah, I did."

They both abruptly pulled away by a knock on the window, where Jonathan stood staring at them strangely before sliding his window open. "What are you doing?"

"We're playing baseball," Rue told him, pointing at the ball in El's hand. "See?"

"Mhm," Jonathan hummed, yawning tiredly, he looked at his clock. "At 8:03 am on a Saturday?"

Rue nodded, and El followed her lead, nodding her head as well. "I need to practice for my game today."

"Right," he said, knowing very well the two girls were up to something else as he watched a line of blood trickle down Rue's nose. But it was too early. "Okay . . . " he mumbled, closing his window and crawling back to bed, wrapping his arms around Nancy's figure.

Rue let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and turned to El, who was still nodding. "Maybe we should play something else."

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

The thing is, when it came to baseball, Rue wasn't there for the crowds or for the sound of the ball made when she sent it into the stratosphere. (Which she enjoyed very much) She wasn't there to make anyone proud or to show the coaches she had listened to their advice . . . she was there for herself.

She was at that baseball pitch to show up for herself and prove to her own satisfaction that she was always going to try to be more than the statistics predicted for kids.

Rue swung the bat through the air once more, warming up until they called her number to bat next. She fixed her helmet and popped but bubble gum in her mouth. The game was at their last inning, and Hawkins was tied with their opposing team.

She let out a breath of stress as she watched her teammate, Morgan, get three strikes. Only one of three bases covered by someone on her team. It was all on Rue. If she got out, the other team had a chance to catch up and win. But if she hit a Homerun, they'd win.

"Alright, Rue," She felt a tough hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see her couch staring down at her. "This one's on you, kid. I want you to hit the ball so hard it goes to the moon, got it?"

She nodded, fixing the buttons on her jersey while stomping her cleats on the dirt. "Got it."

"Number two, Newby-Byers," she heard the announcer's voice call around the field. It was shy and familiar, and she wonders where she's heard it before.

"Go get 'em, tiger," The coach patted her back, pushing her to the batting field.

Rue felt pressure on her shoulders as she walked up to the home plate. She took a deep breath, hitting the dirt with the tip of her bat. She squinted at the sun, tucking the gum between her teeth.

"You got this, Rue!" She could hear Will Byers' voice cheer from the stands.

She smirked in her spot and lifted her bat, waiting for the girl who was pitching to throw the ball. She planted her feet, swinging the bat as she saw the ball suddenly fly towards her at rapid speed.

"Strike one!"

"The Dyke's good." Rue heard the back-catcher say as she shifted in her spot. She furrowed her eyebrows, watching the girl throw the ball back to the pitcher, feeling offended by the slur that came out of her mouth.

"Excuse me?"

"Number twenty-three. The pitcher," She said, kneeling back down to her spot. "She may be y'know, but she's a good pitcher."

Rue scoffed, shaking her head. Anger bubbled in her stomach even though the words said weren't even towards her.

"Let's go, Rue!" The girl heard Joyce Byers yell.

She sighed, shaking her head, trying to focus on the ball game and not the homophobic words the girl behind her had said.

"Ball one!" The back-catcher said, throwing the ball back to the pitcher.

Rue kicked the dirt with her cleats, furrowing her eyebrows as she read the name on the back of the pitcher's jersey, BUTCHER it said in dark blue.

Rue curled her lips into a small smile as Butcher blew a bubble with the pink bubble gum in her mouth. The gum covered half of her face before she popped it. Rue could see short strands of red hair peeking out from her cap and blue eyes as the two made eye contact.

Butcher winked at her, tossing the ball in the air before catching it in her hands and positioning herself to pitch.