(A/N): So you guys can expect quite a few one-shots and short stories for a bit. Eventually I will finish the sequel to Too Precious and I'll even update Group Therapy and Trapped In One's Own Mind. So look forward to that! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this.
Really, Mr. Clarke had outdone himself.
Paper snowflakes drifted down occasionally from the ceiling. The lighting made geometric patterns in the floor. The gym was nearly unrecognizable. Mike, however, didn't really care about any of that. He really only cared about the girl standing next to him.
Eleven took in her surroundings like a baby going outside for the first time. And, in a way, she was. This was the first time she had seen anything like this. It made Mike happy to see the expression of wonder and curiousity in her eyes, so often diluted since her return from the Upside Down.
After Eleven returned, she was not herself. At first, she would only speak to Mike. Gradually, she began to warm up to Will, and Dustin and Lucas followed suit. She was still nervous and jumpy at the dark, and could not deal with any closed doors or tight spaces. The Wheelers were happy to provide her a bed in the basement, but El never slept well in it. She slept best in the fort Mike had made her during that first week, which had been left untouched during her disappearance.
He was drawn out of his thoughts by a squeeze to his hand. He looked to his left and saw Eleven's eyes staring back into his.
"Everything ok?" He asked, almost out of habit.
El responded only with a nod of the head. She didn't feel like explaining her reasons.
Noticing the music had begun, Mike gestured to the "dance floor," which was really just the polished floors of the gym. "Do you want to dance?"
Eleven, looking slightly surprised but happy, nodded. Mike ignored the snickers coming from Lucas and Dustin and Will as they began to dance.
After a few songs, in which El began to become more comfortable, a slow song came on. Eleven, being intuitive enough to copy what the other dancers were doing, took Mike's hand. She put a hand on his shoulder, while Mike, blushing, put a hand on her waist.
They rocked quite comfortably like that for a while, until Eleven broke the silence.
"I-I'm glad to be back."
Mike simply pulled her a little closer and
said, "I'm glad you're back too."
Very slowly, the gym began to get fuzzy and disappear, and Mike Wheeler woke up in his bed, grasping at straws that were already beyond his reach.