beau·ti·ful

adjective

pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically.

"I'm home!" Emilia shouted as she entered the trailer where Hopper and El had moved back in. The cabin was in no shape to house anyone, and in the cold of the winter it would be too much to try and repair it. That was a spring job, they would work together on it during spring break. Jonathan would help, and Steve said he would too.

The trailer only had two bedrooms, so Emilia and El shared one since Emilia wasn't home all that often. She spent a lot of time with Jonathan at the Byers house, as usual. Things were repaired between them; it was not the same strength that their relationship had been the year before, but it was something else entirely. As though Nancy had made their foundation out of something else. The test placed upon them was taken, defeated, and put aside. They didn't talk about Nancy, about what happened between them beyond that one morning. There was no point in bringing it up, things were smooth again.

They were discussing options about New York.

But tonight Jonathan was busy, and Emilia had something more important than planning their big move to New York. She had four shopping bags and had spent her savings along with a large amount Hopper had given her just for this. Of course, anything that wasn't suitable would be returned back to their respective stores, but Emilia wanted El to have options. It was her first big dance, after all.

El raced out of the bedroom and smiled, seeing those bags. Since she wasn't able to go out yet, although she was allowed visits from her friends now, she didn't get to see the dresses that Emilia picked out until now. Which is why Emilia bought so many.

El walked down the hallway and into the living room, where Emilia was laying out the dresses she bought. Some were princess-style, some were very simply, some were summery -they were on sale and Emilia didn't know what El would want to wear, if she wanted yellow and floral she could wear yellow and floral.

Looking at the selection, El looked stunned, overwhelmed with the amount of choices she had. Gently reaching for a dress, she paused and looked at Emilia for confirmation.

"Go ahead, try them all on. Pick your favourite," Emilia told her, then gestured to the dresses again.

El tried on three that didn't suit her too well, and one that was a maybe. Then underneath all the new dresses, she found one that Emilia bought from the local thrift store. It was a simple dark blue colour with red dots, with sleeves that went down to the crook of her elbow. It reminded Emilia of a simplistic version of a saloon-style western gown. The middle had a red belt, and the skirt halfway down had a diagonal red stripe.

"That one is yours to keep, can't return that one." Emilia shrugged, but then saw El's expression and just how much she had fallen in love with the dress upon first glance. Emilia grabbed it and handed it to El. "Go on."

El came out looking beautiful, the simple dress suited her perfectly.

"That's the one."

"This is the one," El replied with a confident smile.

Hopper came home a while later, making sure he was there on time to drive El to the dance. When he saw her, his shoulders dropped in a surprised sort of way. It was not defeat or sadness, but perhaps slightly melancholy from the thought that this girl standing before him could have been Sara. He let out a shuddery breath, then disappeared. A few moments later, he came back out from his bedroom and handed El something; a small bracelet.

"This was Sara's," he told her. Then he kissed her on the forehead. "What time are we leaving?"

Emilia smiled up at the man who was her dad, and the girl who was her sister. She could not ask for a more unconventional family, it was better than any version she had with her own parents. It was normal in this completely abnormal way. A childless father, a parentless science experiment, and a burned girl with everything she could ask for in her life.

El put the bracelet on and watched Hopper disappear into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

Emilia smiled at her, without a single ounce of jealousy.

In the truck on the way there, El got front seat so that her dress wouldn't be exposed to the unclean and unkept backseat of Hopper's truck. Emilia sat in the middle of the backseat so she could see out the windshield, and listened as Hopper explained the rules about being able to go out to this dance. There was a curfew, there were certain things she wasn't allowed to say out loud, certain things she wasn't allowed to do period.

They pulled up to the school and Hopper let the truck idle. "Go have fun."

"Thank you," El replied, reaching for the door handle.

"By the way kid..." Hopper said while El was halfway out of the truck. "You look beautiful."

El smiled, blushed even, and then ran off like an embarrassed pre-teen daughter would.

Emilia beamed in the backseat, "You are such a dad!"

"What?!" Hopper asked, then chuckled. Then he noticed Joyce parked with her hands gripping the steering wheel.

"Hey, I'm going to get us some coffee, I assume you're staying here until the dance is over?" Emilia asked.

"Yeah," he nodded.

In the dance, Emilia found herself in a split second of déjà vu being back in the middle school. The last time she had been there was when they made the sensory deprivation tank for El, it felt like years ago, not just one. She glanced around and spotted Nancy pouring punch for the kids, and Jonathan taking photos of all those with dates, and some just as friends.

She walked over to him and wrapped her hands around his eyes, "Guess who?"

"Hmmm," he snickered, then turned around and kissed her.

Emilia was surprised, and she grinned. "What if I had been Nancy."

He furrowed his brow.

"I'm kidding!" She laughed, then grabbed his free hand. In his other was his camera. "If you get a free minute, I'll be outside with Hopp and Joyce."

He smiled, then pointed, "Look."

Emilia turned around and saw Mike noticing El; she watched as his face contorted like he was confused and conflicted, and then it all fell away like a second skin, disappearing and revealing his happiness. There she was, the girl he seemed to adore more than anyone else on the planet, at the dance he promised to take her to last year. Now was their chance to dance, to be free for one night with no worries about the Upside Down and being hidden away from the world anymore.

"Get a picture," Emilia whispered, and Jonathan already had his camera to his eye. Snapping a couple of shots, he put the camera down so it rested on his chest and pressed his lips to Emilia's temple, where her flesh was mutilated and warped. His lips made her tingle inside and out, and she leaned her head against his shoulder for a few moments, watching as Mike and El began to dance.

"I could get used to this," Emilia said.

"I couldn't, my shoulder hurts," he joked.

"Hey, mister!" someone exclaimed. "Can we get our picture or what?"

"I'm up." Jonathan kissed Emilia again.

Emilia let him get back to his voluntary task for the night, and as she turned to leave, she spotted all sorts of beautiful things. Mike and El dancing for the first time. Nancy giving a wild-haired Dustin his first dance -Emilia would have to give Steve a talking to. And Lucas was dancing with Max, their closeness a sign of where their relationship was heading. She smiled, feeling love and beauty surrounding her.

It would always defeat the dangers that lurked below their feet. 

Epilogue will be out shortly! 

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