invisible string

✧

Sitting next to El Hopper in brown leather seats, Rue tried not to let it show how badly she did not want to be there. The awaiting passengers or family members at the airport were scattered everywhere. Some parents were chasing after their runaway child, and a couple waiting for their flight cuddled together, resting their heads on each other's shoulders.

A woman sitting in the row behind Rue was singing a song in Spanish, faint but full of heart. She watched as the woman had jumped up from her seat once Gate 25 had opened and passengers poured out from behind the doors. A man caught her eye, and the singing woman had run into his arms after he dropped his bags without care.

A bitter tinge pricked Rue's stomach at the sight of the reunited couple. They swayed side to side and he kissed her feverishly as if there was no tomorrow. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned to look the other way as Eleven sighed dreamily. "That's sweet. Romantic. Isn't it romantic, Rue?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Hey," Eleven nudged Rue's shoulder softly, forcing her to turn and look at her. Rue spotted Will staring at her from El's other side, grinning like an idiot while holding onto his rolled-up painting. Jonathan was half asleep next to him, and Argyle stared into space at the end of the row of seats.

He was probably high and out of his mind. Unaware of his surroundings as he drowns in the bliss granted by marijuana.

El leaned forwards slightly, blocking Rue's view of the three boys. Eleven dressed up; she had used her makeup expertise that morning to make herself as pretty as she thought she could be with lipgloss, blush, mascara, and all. She wanted to look pretty for Mike. She wanted to feel pretty. She had even taken some of Rue's hair clips for herself.

Eleven gave Rue a hopeful grin. "Try to lighten up today, please. For me." And she paused before glancing at Rue with wide eyes and a cute pout, "Promise you'll be nice."

Rue cursed El as she gave her puppy dog eyes. She rolled her eyes, knowing she could never say no to El. And Eleven smirked, knowing that very well. It was possibly Rue's weakness; Eleven's puppy eyes as she pleads.

Today was important for El and even Will; Mike and Alex were staying for the spring break, something the two of them had all been planning and looking forward to since Christmas. But don't get her wrong, Rue had been looking forward to seeing her old friends, too. It had just been unlucky that Maxine called that same morning, possibly ruining Rue's mood for the whole day. Worse, Max was also meant to come to California for the break.

Nonetheless, Rue tried not to be a Debbie Downer for Will and Eleven. "Okay," she mumbled, "I promise, I'll be nice."

That didn't seem enough for El, and she narrowed her brows with a serious look. "Cross your heart?"

Rue nodded and turned to stare ahead again. She hesitated for a beat and pinched the skin of her arm. When Rue blinked, she saw her dad making promises he couldn't keep. "And hope to die."

Rue's pledge seemed convincing enough for El to let it go and lean back in her seat. She entertained her nerves by chatting with Will, who seemed just as excited or terrified. Rue couldn't tell which he felt more while he practically bounced in his seat.

Rue pulled her headphones over her ears, enjoying the way the whole world turned silent. All of the overlapping voices, all of the overlapping thoughts she could hear, all disappeared as the piano from Queen's Somebody To Love played in her ears.

Ooh, each morning I get up, I die a little

Can barely stand on my feet

Take a look in the mirror and cry.

The short memory of her Bob Newby had evolved into the memory of the lab, then of the Demo-Dogs, and finally into the memory of Hawkins.

That cursed, damned town wouldn't leave her mind. It had taken everything Rue had ever loved away from her. It took away her dad, and it tore out her childhood. Hawkins left scars on her skin that would never go away, where stitches once were that aided in setting her back together again. Hawkins left mental scars that pieced the girl she eventually became.

Despite the fury, Hawkins scared Rue. She was fucking afraid of that town. All the monsters that lurked in the night, the ghosts that crept in the shadows. . . Sometimes Rue liked to think that maybe one of those ghosts was the part of herself she left behind. The missing puzzle piece that Joyce pledges Rue must encounter.

She wondered if that was the reason she felt so detached from reality.

But Rue was still in Hawkins in some way. She never really left. It felt as if there was an invisible string that tied her to the town, forbidding her from ever leaving, forbidding her from moving on. No matter how much Rue claimed she would take a bullet to her head than return to Hawkins, the string tugged and tugged, calling her to go back. Go back. Go home. Come home.

Come home, we can fight here.

Those were the words Max had said to Rue that morning. Home. Home. Home. Could Rue even call Hawkins her home?

Come home.

The invisible string kept her tied to Hawkins. It kept her thinking about it, more than she would like to admit. She shouldn't. She shouldn't. Rue knows she shouldn't. But why does she want to? Why was it calling her?

Come home.

The thought of returning home wouldn't leave her mind. Rue imagined herself stepping back into Hawkins, letting herself return to the girl she once was. Was it possible that Rue wanted to go back? Not for Max, or for whatever Joyce argued, but to return home for herself. She'd return to Hawkins out of her own curiosity, to revisit whatever good memories she had actually made there and confirm that none of it was some fucked up dream.

Come back, Celestial. Let us feel your wrath.

"Mike!" Rue had been distracted from her thoughts by El's calls. It wasn't until then that she noticed El and Will getting out of their seats. El waved her hands in the air, continuously yelling out her boyfriend's name, while the smile on her face became greater and wider.

El ran off, squealing happily after spotting Mike Wheeler, who dressed as if he had never seen colour before. It took a second for Rue to realize he wore El's favourite colours.

Mike was taller than she remembered, and his hair was longer and curlier, but his face was nearly identical, perhaps with sharper features. It still made her want to punch the lights out of him, at least that was still the same.

Once they had been at arm's length, El cupped his cheeks and kissed Mike passionately. Rue watched as they held each other for the first time in months, both of them smiling like fools before Mike gave El a bouquet.

Rue holds her breath behind pursed lips. El smiles brighter than she had in weeks, and Mike has a soft look in his eyes as he looks down at his girlfriend. Resentful rage hit Rue a lot harder than she would like to admit, along with that same feeling of envy she carried last summer as she watched Mike and El steal kisses behind the party's back. El smiles wider as she looks down at the flowers. It makes Rue want to hurl.

Alex and his hyper glory had appeared soon after, and he had been nearly bouncing from his feet once he spotted everyone. An excited squeal much like the one Eleven let out had even left his mouth as he ran towards Will. "Byers!" The fervour in his hug sent them both to the floor.

Jonathan approached Rue and extended his hand for her to take. Rue noticed the sleepy circles under her older brother's eyes as she grasped his hand in hers. Jonathan still managed to smile for Rue, even while waves and waves of sorrow ran from him.

He missed Nancy. He really, really missed her. And whatever hope he had clung onto about her showing up behind the gates had turned into disappointment as he beat himself up for believing Nancy would come to California. Still, Jonathan tried not to let his feelings ruin the day for Will.

He pulled Rue up from her seat and wrapped his arm around her shoulders before squeezing her. A smile had slowly begun to grow on Rue's face as he did so, and she hugged him back. A sort of comfort had settled in her stomach, knowing that she wasn't the only one feeling the way she did.

Lord, what you're doing to me?

I have spent all my years in believing you

But I just can't get no relief, Lord

Somebody, ooh, somebody

Can anybody find me somebody to love?

While Jonathan, Rue and Argyle approached the reunited quad, Alex had pulled himself to his feet, then tugged Will to stand. His eyes were wide while he took in Will's features as if he wanted to memorize every freckle and curve on his face. ". . .You're—you're taller." He managed to puff out.

Will couldn't stop a smile on his face, "I know, right?" And then his brows narrowed, "You got your braces off?"

Alex grinned wider, "I did! It was just in time for high school, too. I would have killed myself if I had to go another month with them. They were so annoying. And now I can chew gum and eat corn on the cob and—"

"I, uh, I hand-picked those for you in Hawkins," Mike was explaining to El, "I know you like yellow, but now I'm realizing it's too much yellow. I know you also like purple. So, I got some purple as well. So, I kinda did, like, a 70/30 split kinda thing—"

"They're perfect," El cut him off. "Thank you."

"Oh," Mike nodded, relief laced within the lone word. Then his eyes widened when he spotted Will standing not so far away from him. "Oh! Hey."

Will turned to Mike, and Alex had stopped midway into ranting about how cold Hawkins' winter was this year and how lucky Will was to live in an always-summer state. Will smiled at Mike. "Hi."

". . .How are you doing?" Mike asked as they shared a painfully awkward hug.

"Brutal," Argyle muttered under his breath.

"Hey, Mike," Jonathan waved, cutting through the tension between Mike and Will.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Yeah, good, man," Jonathan nodded.

"Great. Yeah," Mike glanced at Will again, "Uh, what's that?" He pointed to the brown rolled-up paper in Will's hands.

Will's face paled for a second, "Uh," he winced, "it's nothing. Just this painting I've been working on."

"Cool," Mike nodded. He grimaced when he spotted Rue glaring at him. "Oh. It's you."

Rue bit her tongue, stopping herself from saying something she would regret. She glanced at El, who stood behind Mike with a look in her eye that screamed, "You promised!"

Rue wondered if El had made Mike promise to be nice too because the next thing he did, it left her speechless. Mike smiled at Rue, kind and almost genuine before he said, "I think I missed you. I'm not sure."

That had placed in the top 3 nicest things Mike Wheeler had ever said to Rue.

She pulled down her headphones and let her thoughts creep away from her mind. Rue passed the thoughts and minds of the people in the airport, even forcing herself to ignore the ones she could hear from miles away. The mind she found was complex and unfamiliar. It was boyish and weird and nerdy, and it was Mike Wheeler.

His thoughts were as snappy as he was. Rue didn't pry into the deeper consciousness of his mind, deciding to only listen to his open-minded thoughts, letting Mike keep his privacy and Rue her sanity.

He was lying.

Even while Mike's face was stern, Rue could tell from the way his thoughts began to overlap. Hundreds of different phrases layering on top of the other to prevent Rue from hearing his real, true, beliefs, preventing her from feeling what he felt.Rue complimented, pointing out how he had figured out to somewhat keep her out of his head, even if his efforts weren't enough. "I missed you, too, Wheeler."

Mike pursed his lips and nodded. For a moment, his eyes flickered to the necklace that sat on Rue's chest. The gold glinted in the light, and a cheeky grin formed on his face as he arched his eyebrows at her.

Rue had rolled her eyes at him, shifting closer to Jonathan, who had asked Alex, "Good flight?"

"No. It was terrible." Alex's shoulders dropped, "I ended up having the middle seat while Mike got the window seat. The lucky bastard. This old man was sitting next to me and he slept the whole flight. He drooled everywhere!"

Mike laughed, "Oh, yeah. His dentures fell out halfway into the flight and landed on Alex's lap. You should've been there, it was hilarious."

There was an offended look in Alex's eyes, and he smacked Mike's shoulder. "It wasn't funny." He told through gritted teeth. "It was disgusting. I went to change my pants and everything because there was so much drool." Alex shuddered, "And don't get me started with how loud he snores and—oh," His eyes landed on Rue, who was tucked under Jonathan's arms. "You have pink in your hair!"

"It's nice to see you too, Alexander." Rue playfully rolled her eyes as the boy pulled her away from Jonathan and hugged her. Hugging Alex for the first time in almost a year was a bizarre feeling for Rue. He had grown at least a foot taller than she remembered, and Alex no longer looked like the unconfused, hyper boy he once was. Rue wondered if she seemed any different to them, too. "It feels like it's been ages."

"168 days. . . or 268, but who's counting?" He sighed, and when he let go, his face turned cold. "I'll be needing to talk to you." Alex said sternly, taking Rue by surprise.

"About what?"

Argyle's voice cut Alex off from what he was about to say. "That's a rad shirt, man." He said, his voice monotone as he stared at Mike's yellow top. Argyle's eyes were wide and dazed as he asked, "Ocean Pacific?"

"Oh, hey, Mike. This is, uh, my friend Argyle," Jonathan introduced.

"Oh," Mike stuck his hand out to greet Argyle, "Hey."

Argyle, on the other hand, appeared to have different plans as he stepped over Mike's arm and drew the boy closer. What appeared to be a hug was actually Argyle examining the tag on Mike's shirt. "Oh no, no, no." He exclaimed and pushed Mike away. The boy stumbled at the aggression. "No, it's a shitty knockoff." Argyle informed the group before turning to Mike again, "Yeah. But don't sweat it. I'll get you the good threads out here." Argyle promised. A beat of silence passed the group before he said, "I heard a lot about your sister."

Mike's eyes widened in apparent horror before he looked at Jonathan.

"Uh. . ." Jonathan sucked in a breath while stuffing his hands into the back pockets of his pants. He pursed his lips and closed his eyes, clearly embarrassed. "O-okay. Um, should we go?"

"Yeah, this is kinda awkward, man," Argyle said.

"Yeah," Mike nodded exasperatedly. He wrapped his arm around El, letting her lead him out of the airport, "So awkward."

"I really thought it was Ocean Pacific," Argyle tells Jonathan and Rue as they trail behind the two duos ahead of them.

El and Mike led the way as the gang wandered through the airport. Alex and Will were standing next to them, and Will told Alex in quiet whispers about the new picture he had begun. Rue was shocked because Will had pushed her out of his room the day before when she tried to look at the painting.

Rue tried to get a word in, but El began to tell Mike and Alex the agenda for the day, "I have our whole day planned. First, El Rodeo for burritos."

"What, really?" Mike scrunched his nose, "Burritos for breakfast?"

"Yes. Trust me."

"Yeah, no, I... I trust you." Mike reassured, "It's just, you know, a little weird."

El brushed it off, "Then, after burritos, I want to go to Rink-O-Mania."

"Rink-O-Mania?" Mike echoed, "What's Rink-O-Mania?"

"It's the most fun place in Lenora," El explained. "They have skating and games."

"I don't know how to skate," Alex admitted, a flush of red growing on his cheeks.

"Don't worry," Will told him. "I'll teach you."

"Oh," Alex's eyes went wide before he looked down at his shoes, "Okay. Cool. Thanks. Or whatever."

Mike turned to El, "Are your friends gonna meet us?"

Rue's face furrowed at the mention of El's friends. Will appeared to be as perplexed as she was when he blurted out, "Friends? What...? What friends?"

"You know," El spun around and glared at Will. "Stacey and Angela."

"Angela?" Will repeated in vivid disbelief. He turned to share a look with Rue.

"El what are you talking about?" Rue asked.

She wondered if Eleven was referring to the same Angela who teased her every day at school, the same Angela who made El look stupid in class and at lunch. Unless there was another Angela Rue didn't know about, one with whom El was friends. She had her doubts, because El, no matter how hard she tried, never made new friends in Lenora Hills.

As they finally exited the airport, Eleven ignored Rue and turned to Mike again. "You'll meet them, I promise. Just not today. I want today to be about me and you."

Mike kissed El's cheek, and Rue wished she could bash her head against the wall. She pulled her heart-shaped sunglasses over her eyes, glaring daggers at the four in front of her. Rue felt awfully left out, even though she knew they would never mean to. She had to remind herself that they were all happy to see each other again, and that was all. However, that never stopped her from feeling like a total third wheel. Or would she be a fifth wheel? Whatever.

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Breakfast at El Rodeo fucking sucked. Rue had sat at the end of the table the whole time, listening to the never-ending conversations of Mike and Alex catching everyone up with what was going on in Hawkins and Will and El's quip responses.

Rue wanted to pull El away from the table and ask her why she kept lying and lying to Mike. Making up stories about having friends. She had lied about all of the clubs she had joined at school. She was lying about all of her good grades. Rue was dying to ask her. But she remained seated, her mouth shut. She didn't want to get into an argument with El, especially now that Mike and Alex had arrived at Lenora Hills.