THE FRONT DESK LADY GAZED DOWN at the twins sourly, her wrinkled face covered in displeasure. "You say you're here to see your father?" She asked once again with a grainy voice.

"Yes ma'am," Eve answered sweetly, a fake, almost mocking smile sewn onto her lips. "We won't be long."

The woman pushed her spectacles up her nose with a crooked finger, continuing to eye the kids suspiciously. "And where's your mother?"

Eli swept in deftly, replying, "She's waiting in the car for us." He tried not to let the lie show on his expression, his mind thinking of their bikes parked obscurely in the trees. "Probably shouldn't keep her waiting too long."

The woman sighed through flared nostrils, organizing the stacked papers on her desk absently. "His office is on the third floor. Don't go anywhere else, or you'll be in serious trouble."

"We won't!" They chirped in unison, thanking the woman enthusiastically before dashing off for the elevators.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Eli questioned once the metal doors slammed shut, shooting them upwards to the third floor.

"Anything suspicious," Eve shrugged her shoulders lamely, keeping a wary eye on the changing floor levels. "Cryptic papers, scientific stuff, I don't know." The elevator doors opened and they were out in an instant, scouring the hallway doors for the one labeled with their father's name.

"Wait," Eli lashed and gripped his sister's wrist in sudden realization. "What are we gonna do if he's in there? I already stand out like a beacon with my costume!"

Eve flashed her dark eyes almost in an irritated manner at him, pulling herself from her brother's grasp. "We hide in a closet or something and wait? I don't know! It seems pretty empty up here anyway," she grumbled, continuing to lead the way.

"Wonder why," Eli murmured to himself.

"This is it!" Eve whisper yelled, jabbing her thumb at the name plate printed next to the door: Dr. Alan M. Brooks.

Eli glanced at the plate for a moment, his nose scrunching up in discomfort. People read this plate and saw a professional, intellectual doctor, not a monster who bares his fists at his kids at any wrongdoing. It made something in his heart shrivel knowing people saw Alan as a trustworthy doctor, and yet he envied them as well.

"C'mon, E," Eve was tugging at his sleeve, her arm craned forward with the door slightly ajar. "He's not in here!"

Alan Brooks has always been a neat, organized man with a lack of emotion beyond any other. It had always reflected in any of his projects, including the house he bought and the clothes he wore. Which is exactly why stepping into a disheveled office, littered with notes and folders and crumpled sheets on the ground, was not what either twin was expecting.

"What happened in here?" Eli murmured in surprise, shuffling about the room uneasily as he caught glimpses of the mess that spilled onto every corner of the space.

"More importantly, what is that?" Eve's hand circled around her brother's elbow, jerking him forward and causing him to glance at the desk. Amidst the disarray of notes and strange documents, a glass tube stood proudly in the center. The top and bottom of the tube was complete with a lustrous metallic surface, and the twins gaped as they stared at the peculiar blue liquid inside.

"It looks like...some sort of science experiment," Eli mumbled in confusion.

"Well, what's it doing in Dad's office?" Eve began taking short, hesitant steps towards the desk.

"I don't know," Eli answered, his words heavy with apprehension. "I don't like this, Eve. This doesn't look like normal doctor stuff to me," his fingers moved forward to fish through the notes, carelessly thumbing through them. "I don't even know where to start."

"I'm still weirded out by this goo," Eve sighed, lifting the canister into her arms with a grunt.

"Hey, don't touch it!" Eli's hand flashed out before retreating back to his side in a quick, nervous motion. "It could be poisonous or something."

Completely disregarding her brother's anxieties, Eve slowly unscrewed the lid, the top coming off with a slick "pop" before she carefully wafted the strange substance's odor. "Smells like Brandy's laundry."

"Ugh," Eli cringed. "You probably shouldn't be smelling it," he warned her, his interest channeling into one of the gray filing cabinets behind her. "You think there's anything good in one of these?" His hand wrapped around one of the drawers, opening it to reveal rows of brown and gray folders aligned in alphabetical order.

"Huh? Lemme see."

Before he could begin to dig through the strange files, the elevator dinged at the end of the hall, causing Eli to whirl around and face the door. Instead, he was met with his sister's strangled gasp as her grip on the unfamiliar goo loosened and the open container went tumbling square into Eli's chest.

"What the heck, Eve!" He whisper yelled, his mouth parted into a large circle as the goo lapped up at the white cotton of his shirt and the ends of his jacket. To his astonishment, the liquid singed his skin, causing him to gnaw on his bottom lip to suppress a yell. "It burns! It burns!"

"I'm sorry! E, I'm so sorry!"

The door burst open, slamming against the opposing wall as Alan stormed in with a ruby colored expression. "What the hell are you two doing here? My serum!"

Panic consumed Eli's body as he met the two hurricanes of Alan's eyes, swirling with a mass of incomparable fury. "You," he growled, pointing a quivering finger at his son.

"Don't blame him!" Eve jumped in, stepping slightly in front of Eli and shielding the sky blue mess that practically blended in with his costume. "I spilled it on him!"

Alan cut around the rectangular desk, towering over his children with menacing glare. "It doesn't change the fact that you ruined it! I was working on that!" His eyes were wild and uncontrollable, kind of like a hyena's after discovering its prey. He seemed all sorts of unhinged, his hands a mad flurry as he made unreadable gesticulations and spat out a lengthy tirade. "You ran off from home and came here without my permission, tried rummaging through my papers, and spilled my hard work everywhere! This is going to result in serious punishment!"

"Dad, I—" Eli moved forward with open, surrendering arms, only for one of them to be snatched up by an iron hand. A high-pitched squeal of pain left his curled lips, and he was forced to gaze into those mad eyes once more.

"You ruined everything. You always do!" He spat, his saliva brushing against Eli's cheekbone and causing him to grimace. "I want you out of my sight! Go home, and don't ever think about coming back here again. You hear me? Ever!"

Eve's chest burned, and she felt like crying watching her brother hang limply and fearfully in their father's hold. She knew he was in pain too, watching his eyes continue to grow wet with the promise of tears.

"Y-You don't want us to help clean up?" Eli stammered heavily, his entire body a tornado of pins and needles and overheated nerves.

"Just go!" He hollered, slinging Eli's aching arm out his furious fist so harshly the young boy stumbled backwards and slammed into the filing cabinet. "We'll discuss your punishment later. You're lucky I'm still letting you go trick or treating."

Now that was a surprise to hear, but Eli could hardly reflect on that with hot liquid seeping through his shirt, a throbbing wrist, and now a mass of pain swirling in his lower back. He and Eve scurried out of the office, dashing out of the building without any regards to the odd stares they received from people passing by.

By the time the twins arrived back home, Eli's handlebars had become damp from his tears.

~

Eli and Eve stared blankly at the empty hairspray can quietly, as if looking long enough would spawn enough product to redo the Brooks boy's costume. "Mom didn't want to waste an entire can for a one time use," Eli grumbled, water droplets still dripping from his freshly washed curls.

Another figure appeared in the doorway, huffing and taking the small can from Eli and tossing it into the bin. "Guess you'll just have to go as Eli Brooks instead of Eli Electro."

Eli's face flattened into annoyance. "Rene," he murmured, not bothering to greet the Campbell before ducking out of the bathroom.

"Nice to see you too," she rasped dryly, following him into the twins' quaint bedroom. A stack of horror movies was curled in her arms, a devious glint in her robin egg blue eyes. "So Eve tells me you spilt some weird chemical?"

"Hey, it was not my fault!" Eli replied defensively, holding a tired hand out. "Eve was the one who knocked it all over me."

"Again, I'm really sorry," Eve apologized half-heartedly, only because she had mumbled those same words fifty times already. "At least neither of us got—" She cut herself off, a dark realization casting over her.

At least neither of us got hurt.

Eli noticed it too, but didn't say anything. Instead, he sat limply on the toe of his bed, cradling his wrist marked with a circle of dark bruises beginning to form.

Rene plopped the set of movies onto Eve's bed, flopping onto the mattress herself. "What were you guys doing at your dad's work anyway? Performing a science experiment?"

"Not exactly," Eve answered nervously, lightly perching on the space next to her friend. "Our dad has been weird ever since he started working at the lab. We just...figured we'd check up on him." Her eyes were glued to the back of her brother, and he could feel their sting but still refused to meet her stare.

"Okay," Rene chirped, happily switching subjects as she began proposing each scary film to the Brooks girl for their marathon tonight.

And by marathon they really meant watch half a movie, then stop and chatter about useless school gossip over a pack of Twizzlers. Or at least, Rene would be the one doing the gossiping. Eli still had no idea how Eve was able to tolerate it all.

He didn't have to wonder about it for long, a crisp knock at the door catching his attention. Brandy was peaking her head in, sending a glossy smile Eli's way. "Hey bro. Ready to—what happened to your hair?"

"I'll explain on the way," Eli replied swiftly, snatching up his empty candy bag and joining her. He glanced up at her, noting the dark tint of eyeshadow and lipstick on her face. "Are you wearing makeup?"

"I always wear makeup," Brandy's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Yeah but, more than usual," he nodded his chin particularly at the blush swept deftly on her cheekbones. "Must be some party."

"Only you would notice those type of things," Brandy chuckled drily, pounding down the stairs with her brother in tow. "Now tell me why your blue head of locks is gone, Electric Man."

"Eli Electro," he corrected.

Still, once they slipped into musky air of Brandy's Impala, a rock song playing faintly from the stereo, he told her the truth. About Dad's mysterious work, the blue liquid he spilled on himself that burned, and his father's reaction. He chose to leave out the part that would require him showing her his wrist, making sure his jacket sleeve covered the injured layer of skin.

"That is weird," Brandy agreed, lightly nesting her head into her propped up hand. "Honestly what I wanna know is why Dad works there in the first place. What kind of lab needs an orthopedic?"

Eli's only response was a shrug, and the car fell into silence briefly before an idea emerged in Brandy's head.

"Hey," her arm slapped his chest lightly. "Doesn't Will go there sometimes for appointments? Has he ever seen our dad?"

Eli shook his head in dismay. "I've asked him before. He's never seen him. The only doctor he really sees is someone named Dr. Owens."

"What a clueless man," Brandy scoffed, running a few nails through her hair. "He has no idea what that kid is going through. Nobody does except him."

Eli nodded, another pang of sympathy hitting his heart squarely at the thought of the Byers boy. He knew he had become distant with him, more distant than he ever would have thought. Knowing that it was partly his own fault for becoming so transfixed in someone else that he started to drift from his best friend made guilt hammer him on the inside.

"Well," Brandy sighed as she parked in front of the Wheeler house. "Sorry we're a little early. I've got party on the brain."

"You hate parties," Eli pointed out.

"Yep," Brandy responded confidently, her tight-lipped smile gleaming at him. "But I figured why not? Might as well experience one stupid highschool party before I graduate. Anyway, I'll pick you up at 9:30."

"Why so early?"

Brandy raised an eyebrow incredulously. "I hate parties. Didn't we just discuss this?" There was also the factor named Alan Brooks, but neither sibling chose to disclose that.

Mike was the one that answered the doorbell, still donned in a Ghostbuster suit and his lopsided grin. "Hey, Eli! You're little early."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Eli laughed sheepishly, mentally cringing at the slight squeak in his voice. What was wrong with him? He was usually able to keep himself together around Mike. The image of his hand in Mike's in the bathroom resurfaced in his mind, and he remembered.

"It's cool," his grin stretched wider, but fell as his eyes drifted upward to Eli's normal brown curls. "What happened to your hair?"

"Oh, I, uh...fell off my bike on the way home from school. So I had to clean up," he lied, praying Mike wouldn't remember Eli showed up to school that morning with no bike. He must've forgotten, or was too distracted frowning at the normalcy of Eli's costume now.

"Well hey, maybe it's a good thing you got here early," Mike beamed, an idea glinting in his eyes. He shuffled out of the doorway, finally letting Eli slip inside. "I've still got some face paint from last summer's campaign when we dressed up. Maybe we can spice up your costume a little bit."

Eli looked back at him with huge, doe-like eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not?" Mike shrugged. "It would be breaking the rules a little, considering Eli Electro doesn't have face paint. If that's okay?"

Eli didn't hesitate, his own grin dancing onto his lips. "I don't mind breaking the rules a little." It was a sentence that he had probably said for the first time in his life, really.

"Awesome," Mike replied, leading the two boys into the slightly stiff air of the basement. "Hopefully we still have some blue, although Dustin decided it was a great idea to paint his entire face blue for his role as the leader of Asgardia."

Eli giggled, recalling the Henderson bouncing around the air conditioned basement that July afternoon, his face a painfully bright shade of blue. "Yeah, I don't know where he got the idea that elves would have blue faces."

Mike didn't reply, too busy fishing through a tattered cardboard box of paint bottles. "Shit," he mumbled. "No blue. In fact I think the only good bottle of paint left is this one," he waved a tube of royal purple paint in his hand.

Eli felt a surge of disappointment, but a hopeful smile stayed on his face. "Purple's not too bad."

"Yeah?" Mike raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Eli could feel his chest fizzing with warmth, so much that it began to ache. And he hated it.

"Cool. I'll go get a brush."

Eli and Mike sat huddled together on the couch, facing one another promptly as Mike cradled the brush in his fingers. "Close your eyes," he ordered, and Eli obeyed, his nose scrunching slightly when he felt the wet bristles begin to run across his brow bone.

"Don't make me look dumb," Eli teased, the ache in his chest worsening, but in the best way.

"Just trust me," Mike almost whispered, and Eli felt the boys slink into comfortable silence for a short moment, until Mike spoke up again.

"So, I know it's only Halloween, but have you started thinking about what we'll do for our Christmas campaign? We gotta outdo last year's."

"Oh yeah," Eli laughed stiffly, too afraid to move and ruin Mike's work. "I've got some ideas cooking up there," he tapped his finger against the side of his head. "I guess it's not too early for us to start brainstorming some ideas together."

Mike didn't answer at first, and Eli really wished he could open his eyes and meet that amber gaze. "You know, I want to be a writer, but I feel like I'll never be as good as you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Eli scoffed lightly. "I've read your stuff. You're great! You don't have to compare yourself to me or anyone else to know that." The compliment was earnest, and he sneaked a glance through his free eye to see a genuine, awed smile on the Wheeler's freckled face.

"Thanks." He replied, and Eli expected him to return right back to painting gently on Eli's right eye. But he paused momentarily, his powerful gaze glued to Eli's own, and the Brooks boy slowly opened both eyes.

They stared for a moment, and as the seconds passed Eli could feel his heart thrashing more wildly inside him. It took everything in him not to let his gaze flutter down to Mike's painfully close lips, and he knew what he was thinking. And he was so afraid of that thought he shut his eyes tightly again so that Mike would resume painting.

He wanted to kiss Mike Wheeler so fucking bad.

"All done!" Mike chirped after another minute, pulling away from Eli to gaze proudly at his work.

"Lemme see," Eli graciously took the hand mirror Mike had taken, peeking into the glass to see himself staring back, but now with a striking purple lightning bolt over his eye. He gawked in amazement, but Mike must've taken this in a negative manner.

"I know it's not great. If Will were here I'm sure he would've done a better lightning bolt," Mike smiled timidly, the red tint on his face suggesting he was embarrassed or shameful.

"No," Eli shook his head, grinning at the Wheeler. "I like yours. Thank you."

Before Mike could reply, the doorbell chimed from upstairs, and both boys hopped to their feet. "That's probably Lucas," Mike uttered, and Eli followed him back upstairs, careful not to touch the wet paint on his face.

The rest of the boys showed up shortly one after the other, until they were all talking excitedly and drooling over Will's new video camera he brought thanks to Jonathan. Eli took a moment to appreciate tonight, knowing it would create good memories. He had always tagged along with the party for Halloween, but now he wasn't just Will's awkward side friend. Now he was a member, a valuable asset.

"C'mon, Eli!" Mike's voice was enough to snap Eli from his emotional thoughts, and he began jogging to catch up to the raven-haired boy.

And he chose to temporarily forget everything he wanted to do with Mike's lips.