Two months after Eleven disappeared, Mike Wheeler was becoming more and more sullen by the day. He wasn't eating, wasn't sleeping, and he would sit in her fort all day with his Supercom. He was observed in this state by all of his friends, his sister, and Jonathan. They were sincerely worried about him, and wanted to help him. One particularly bad day, while discussing what to do to get the old Mike back, Dustin had an idea. The conversation had been going like this:
Lucas: I miss the old Mike. I want him back.
Nancy: You know what Mike would say to that-
Lucas: Yeah, I know, 'maybe the old Mike doesn't exist anymore'… without her. What he doesn't get is that she was our friend too!
Dustin: Wait a second! Back to Mike. I have an idea.
Jonathan: What? I'm getting really worried about him.
Dustin: We should tell Mr. Clarke.
Will: No way! He'd never believe us, and besides, if he did, what could he do about it?
Dustin: You weren't around for this part, Will, but Mr. Clarke believed a lot of stuff we told him that seemed unbelievable.
Will: I'm not sure about this…
Dustin: Just trust me guys. He'll know what to do.
Meanwhile, Scott Clarke sat in a classroom in the school, listening intently to an unbelievable story. "So, you're telling me that you're not who the boys said you are, you have powers, and the reason the school is trashed is because of a monster that you released? Ok. Ok. I can handle this. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually believe you. Do they know you're here?" The person in front of him shook her head. "Ok. We should find them. They… I don't know, but you are important to them." She smiled, and he smiled back.
"MR CLARKE!" Dustin was screaming. "MR CLARKE- Mr. Clarke. Hi…" He stopped and panted for breath. "We need to talk to you."
"Uh, Dustin?" Will asked hesitantly. Dustin ignored him. "We have a story to tell you." Will took a breath and tried again. "Dustin?" He was ignored again. "You might not believe it, but I promise it's true." Will gave up being polite. "DUSTIN!"
"WHAT?" Dustin turned around to look in his face. Unlike usual, Will didn't flinch or give any sign of fear. "Look behind him." Dustin turned back around slowly. "El… Eleanor?"
"Don't pretend, Dustin. Eleven told me the whole story," Mr. Clarke said, not unkindly. "Ok. So, you know her name, you know about the Upside-Down and you know why we asked you all those 'theoretical'"- he used air quotes here - "questions, like parallel dimensions, and sensory deprivation tanks?" He nodded. "Exactly." El had seen them and come over. "Dustin! Lucas, Nancy, Jonathan and… I assume you're Will?" Will nodded shyly. "Um… didn't you say she talks in one- or two-word sentences?" Dustin nodded, a little puzzled. "Also, Mike didn't say she was so pretty." Dustin had been thinking the same. "Dear god, your hair is gorgeous." El looked a little sad. "Where is Mike?" Dustin looked around, as if he hadn't noticed Mike wasn't there. He stepped back and Lucas came forward. "El, Mike… Mike is at his house." El looked confused. "Why?"
"He's being depressed, because he misses you and that fact that you're gone is completely destroying him from the inside. It's also affecting his grades, his work ethic, and his effort level in school. You had quite the effect on him." El looked surprised. "Well, I knew that he liked me, but I didn't know he liked me that much." Lucas laughed. "Yeah, he wasn't that good at hiding his feelings."
"No, it's not that. I mean, I wasn't that good at picking up on stuff either. No, I only understood after he kissed me." Everyone, even Mr. Clarke, looked surprised. "Mike kissed you?" Nancy asked, the first to recover. "Yeah, he kissed me… here actually, when we made the sensory deprivation tank. Dustin was yelling about pudding, and I asked him what pudding was, and he explained it, and then he talked about me being able to live with him, and eating whatever I wanted. And then I asked about Eggos. Because Eggos. Anyway, then we had a whole conversation where he basically said the Wheelers would be like my family, Nancy would be my sister and whatever and I asked him if he'd be my brother and he was all like, 'hell no!' and I didn't understand and he didn't really tell me why, instead he explained the Snow Ball and asked me to go to it with him, and he said it would be weird if you went to a school dance with your sister. He said you go with someone you really like, and I asked if he meant like a friend, and he said, 'no, like a…' and then he kissed me without finishing his sentence. It was actually really nice." Everyone looked surprised. Then Mr. Clarke said, "then we definitely need to get you back to him." Everyone looked at him. "Just because I'm a science nerd doesn't mean I don't understand romance. Come on." They followed him without a word. When they arrived at the Wheelers' house, they formulated a plan. Mr. Clarke decided to leave, and they worked their plan out together.
"Ok, so… and Jonathan… Nancy can… and Will, you… El, stay out of the way… Mike... love… happy… fort… ready? Break!"
"Mike, come here." Mike groaned and put down his English homework. "What, Nancy?"
"Just trust me." He groaned again and came down the stairs. "I really need to do my homework."
"Please! You weren't doing homework, you were probably staring at the wall thinking about Eleven wistfully." He looked angry. "How would you know what I do in my room? I do care about my grades!" Even as he said it, he knew it wasn't really true. Nancy was probably right. "I don't know. I miss her a lot. I just wish… I don't know. That I could see her? Talk to her? Know that she's okay? I just want El back." Nancy nodded sympathetically. "I know. I sincerely understand." Mike quickly changed the subject. "Is this one of those stupid things like in the movies where you try to get me to stop being antisocial and depressed so you throw me a party or something?" Nancy nodded, then shook her head. "Yes, and no. You see… Oh! We're here." She opened the door to the basement and pushed him inside. There were no streamers or banners immediately visible, so that was good. He turned around, but the basement door was closed and Nancy was nowhere to be found. "Bitch," he muttered. All the lights were on and there were no decorations. However, when he walked in, he could see the blanket fort he'd made for El. The sight brought back feelings of sadness and guilt. "Oh, El. Why did you have to be so fucking brave? Why did you have to leave me here with all my guilt and misery? Why? What did I do?" He was screaming now. "El! Why did you have to disappear again? I fucking hate everything!" He plopped down on the stairs and put his elbows on his knees. He put his head in his hands and sobbed silently. Then he stood up and started to leave. Well aware of Nancy, Jonathan, Will, Lucas, and Dustin in the little bathroom, peering through a crack in the door, he said, "if this is how you cheer me up, I'll stay miserable, thank you. Jerks." Just as he reached out to open the door, he heard "are you quite finished?" He turned. El was standing right at the bottom of the stairs. "El." It wasn't a question. "El, I thought you were dead. I literally fucking thought you were fucking dead. And you come back here and ask me if I'm finished?" Mike wasn't so surprised to see her as he was losing all his shit, and the limited amount of sanity he'd retained from after she left. "I didn't think they could do it. There you go fuckers. I didn't think you could do it. I didn't think you could find her and you did. Congrats. Now fuck off and give me some time alone with her." They all immediately shoved the door open and sprinted out the back door. "Hi." Mike breathed out. "Hi. I missed you." Mike looked surprised at her. "I missed you too." El shook her head. "Ok, this is really awkward, so let's skip all the awkward stuff and go straight to the part we're both looking forward to where we make out and have an adorable reunion so the writer of this fanfic feels like she's accomplished something in life." Without waiting for his response, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He held her close and kissed her back, and in that moment, on the stairs to the basement, Mike was happier than he had been in a long time.
