ELEVEN WATCHED JASPER as the redhead paced the room. She could sense the adrenaline rushing through Jasper's veins. "That explains everything! I must've gotten my powers from her! But, why am I just finding out about them? What if my mom isn't dead?" The last question caused Jasper to freeze. Her blue eyes settled on the dusty floorboards. "What if she isn't gone?"

"Jasper," El reached out a comforting hand, placing it on the girl's wrist. "I can find her."

"You can?" Jasper exclaimed, whirling around to fully face Eleven. "Please, El! Please tell me you can!" she paused, realizing she was gripping the girl's arm tightly.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, releasing El's arm. "It's just, I want to see my mom," Jasper whimpered, her voice faltering.

El said nothing, only nodding encouragingly. She approached the small tv set in Jasper's living room, switching it on. "Friends help friends," El murmured, glancing back at Jasper. "I'll find her."

Jasper watched as the girl sat cross-legged in front of the tv shutting her eyes. She didn't know exactly what El was doing, but she let the girl concentrate. After a prolonged moment of El sitting at the TV, her eyes finally snapped open again.

Blood trickled down both of El's nostrils as she looked at Jasper with glossy eyes. "She's alive," she muttered, the corners of her lips twitching upwards. "Papa has her."

"Papa. The mad scientist," Jasper declared, clenching her fists together. "Is she okay? Is he...hurting her?"

El flinched back, overwhelmed by the question from Jasper. Understanding this, the redhead calmly took a seat next to her. "What did you see, El?"

"Papa...he took her. She's alive...but she's not coming back," El told her, causing a sense of dread to fill Jasper.

A bittersweet smile appeared on Jasper's face. "I guess I should've known she wouldn't be coming back," the redhead whispered mournfully.

"I'm sorry, Jas," she murmured, sadness filling her brown eyes. She had never been so comfortable with someone before as she was with Jasper. They had formed a bond closer and stronger than ever. But not as powerful as the bond between Jasper and Dustin, that was for sure.

"I need to know more," Jasper suddenly spoke up, sounding determined. "This bad place you speak of...where is it exactly?"

"Here," El answered slowly, resting her hands in her lap. "The lab."

"Hawkins Lab?" Jasper recoiled in shock, her mouth flinging open. "My sister is there investigating with Hopper! She's looking for Will there! What if they hurt her too?"

Eleven's eyes widened in fear, sharing the same paranoia with Jasper. She wasn't sure what Papa was capable of, but she knew everything he did was out of hatred and malice.

"Wait," Jasper shuffled her legs out from under her, sitting crosslegged. "For there to be another dimension, there must be some sort of portal, or...a gate...to get there."

Eleven's body began growing tense. Jasper was solving more of the puzzle. What if she broke her promise and told the others?

"A gate. Is it...Hawkins Lab? The lab is the gate?" Jasper demanded, meeting El's gaze. She let out a small breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when El gave her a curt nod.

"I want to know more about my mom. I don't know who she is, I don't even know her name. My dad would never tell me," Jasper scrambled to her feet. "The school library has a computer, and a bunch of newspapers. I need to find out more."

"Wait," El pleaded, her hand lashing out and wrapping around Jasper's wrist. "Don't leave me, please," the girl begged.

Jasper looked down at El with an empathetic smile. She gnawed on the flesh of her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Maybe I don't have to leave you," Jasper pondered aloud, rubbing her chin. "Maybe you can come with me."

El gazed up at her in puzzlement, her eyes narrowing at the red head. "Come with you?"

"Follow me," Jasper gripped El's hand, helping her get back on her feet. The two girls dashed up the stairs, with Jasper leading the way. She stopped at a small closet, opening the door widely and digging into an assortment of random clothes in boxes.

"These are my sister's old clothes she kept for me," Jasper explained over her shoulder. She pulled out a decent, blue sundress and a white jacket to go with it. "Change into these," she addressed the girl, directing her to the closest bathroom.

El obediently went inside, leaving the door open just a crack as they had practiced.

Jasper trudged into her room, pulling a box from her closet labeled "Drama Club". She and Dustin both had been in drama for three years now, allowing them to collect a huge amount of costumes. "This'll do," Jasper decided, holding up a short brown wig full of curls.

Eleven trailed into the room slowly, brushing the dress with her hands.

"Okay, let's put some makeup on you," Jasper instructed, hurrying downstairs and grabbing all of the makeup she could find in Ruby's room. "I'm definitely not the best with makeup, but I'll give it my best."

Quietly, El sat on Jasper's bed while the redhead sat opposite of her, gently applying makeup on the girl's face. She finished with a touch of lip gloss. "There. Now, the final piece," she announced proudly, helping put the wig on Eleven.

"Wow," Jasper breathed, admiring her work on El. "You look amazing," she complimented her as El strolled over to the mirror in her room.

"Pretty," El murmured to herself, a small smile etching onto her lips.

"Beautiful," Jasper corrected, coming to stand behind El as she stared at her reflection more. "Are you ready to go?"

El took a deep breath before nodding. "Ready," she mumbled.

"We won't be long. We have to be at the powerlines by 3:15, remember?" Jasper reminded her, sending the girl a warm smile.

The two girls stepped outside again, back into the fresh air. El felt different this time. She felt slightly less afraid, knowing that she couldn't be as easily recognized. And she owed it all to Jasper. The redhead was offering her more freedom in just a few measly hours than El had received her entire life.

"Let's go," Jasper instructed, climbing onto her bike. "I have to know about my mom," she spoke with determination, her blue eyes trained ahead on the street.

El hobbled onto the bike as well, wrapping her frail arms around Jasper again. The two girls rode down the street, enjoying the cool autumn air of Hawkins.

"If you ever feel uncomfortable or you're ready to go home, tell me," Jasper muttered to El, keeping her wary eyes ahead. She couldn't help but feel anxious. If someone did notice El, they could get into a lot of trouble. But the both of them had powers; they could protect themselves.

"It's lunchtime right now at school," Jasper spoke up after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "We can go see the boys. You'll get to see Mike," the redhead mumbled with a smirk.

There was no denying that Mike had the hugest crush on El, and though El didn't know what a crush was, she felt something for him too. Jasper adored how much the two cared for each other.

Jasper and El received mixed emotions from all three boys when they showed up to lunch.

"You brought the weirdo to school?" Lucas exclaimed, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. Displeased, the boy crossed his arms and looked scornfully at El.

Mike was staring at El in pure shock, amazed at how beautiful she looked with makeup and the wig and dress. His eyes were hazily focused on the girl while his lips parted open slightly to draw in a breath of surprise.

Dustin could care less about El. His pure blue eyes were glued to Jasper, admiring the way her red hair blue eyes sparkled when the light caught them just right . He caught himself before drool could slip from his lips.

"You look pretty," Mike commented, his brown eyes still settled on El. "You did the makeup and wig, Jas?"

"Yep," Jasper nodded pridefully, folding her arms and glancing at El.

"You got the wig from drama?" Dustin chuckled at Jasper, dimples appearing on his cheeks.

"Of course," she retorted with a playful eye roll.

"Why is she here?" Lucas pointed his thumb at El. "I knew we shouldn't have let her stay with you," he jeered at Jasper.

"Thanks, Lucas," Jasper scoffed. "It's not like she hasn't been cooped up in Mike's basement for the last two days."

"Why are you two here?" Mike asked Jasper.

"It's about my mom..." Jasper began, exhaling deeply. "She...She was the first one."

"First one?" Dustin echoed, his eyebrows pressing together. "What do you mean?"

El stepped forward, pulling up the white silk sleeve of her jacket. She rested two fingers on her tattoo. "One."

All three boys gawked at the two girls, their mouths dropping open.

"Your mom?" Dustin gasped, looking at the ground. "Didn't she die when you born?" he questioned softly, afraid of hurting Jasper's feelings.

"I thought so, but..." Jasper's blue eyes looked back at Eleven. "El was able to find her. She's alive, but...I-I don't think she'll ever be coming back."

Her eyes had drifted to the ground, but they glanced up in surprise as she felt a warm hand slide into hers. Dustin gave it an assuring squeeze, the slightest smile on his lips. She returned it, feeling small in that moment as she  swam in a giant ocean of an emotion she couldn't explain.

"That still doesn't explain why you dressed up the freak and brought her to school," Lucas snarled, widening his arms out for emphasis.

"Dude," Dustin murmured disapprovingly to Lucas, fire crackling in his glare.

"Wow, Lucas. Thanks," Jasper snapped, using her annoyance to hide the thick emotion laced in her gaze. "El and I have our reasons to be here. Maybe I'll tell you them when you learn to not be such a jackass." Jasper briskly turned away, storming off towards the school building with El hesitantly following.

"Are you mad?" El inquired, her innocent eyes trained on Jasper. "Your face," she reached out a finger and poked Jasper's cheek. "It's red."

"I'm just a little annoyed, that's all," Jasper mumbled, shoving one of the glass doors open and walking inside. "I just hate how Lucas can be so insensitive sometimes."

"Do you hate Lucas?" she asked gently, afraid to upset the redhead even more.

"Or course not," Jasper rapidly shook her head, her voice softer this time. "It's just...he's so intent on finding Will right now. He's not exactly worried about anyone's feelings. I mean, don't get me wrong," Jasper glanced at El, continuing to ramble. "I want to find Will as much as he does, but, I understand that it's gonna take time. He just resorts to anger, while I try to stay calm."

El did her best to understand, nodding while Jasper continued her rant.

"It's not that I hate Lucas," Jasper paused. "We just have our differences. We're not exactly the closest."

"You and Dustin are," El pointed out, the corners of her lips tugging upwards.

"Yeah," Jasper mumbled, smiling as her eyes drifted to the ground. "We knew each other years before meeting the others. He understands me more than anyone."

El grinned at Jasper, her heart swelling at the girl's words. She couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same way about Mike and Jasper. The raven-haired boy and the redhead certainly understood her better than Dustin and Lucas. Dustin tries to understand, but it's not his fault he can't.

"This is the library," Jasper opens the door to a vast room filled with a large assortment of books. "The computers are in the corner. They're probably not as high tech as you'd find at the town library."

The two girls took a seat in front of a large computer, its screen slowly roaring to life as Jasper turned it on. "We just to need to find the name of the first 'patient' at Hawkins Lab," Jasper uttered thoughtfully.

Her fingers tapped at the keyboard, eyes scanning the screen. El rested her hands in her lap, watching Jasper attentively.

"Here!" she suddenly exclaimed, clicking on an article from years ago. "Hawkins Lab experiments..."

"'The first person discovered to have allegedly been taken to Hawkins Lab was a woman named Elizabeth Marrow," Jasper paused, leaning back in her chair. "Unbelievable."

"Elizabeth?" El murmured.

"My mom. That's her name," Jasper lurched forward again, her finger following the words as she read them. "Wait. 'Hawkins Police Chief Jim Hopper confessed to having relations with the woman, even claiming to have fathered her second daughter...the daughter she reportedly died giving birth to'."

Jasper nearly collapsed to the floor, her knees growing weak. Tears stung the corner of her eyes as her hands slapped against her mouth.

"My real name...it's not Jasper Marrow," the redhead gasped, a small tear sliding down her cheek. El looked at Jasper with huge eyes. "It's Jasper Hopper."

Jim Hopper was her real father.