"Mike, come on wake up," heard the boy in question as he was being shaken awake.
His heavy eyelids droopily opened and realized where he was as he sat up. Nancy was kneeling by the side of the bed.
"Hey, how do you feel?"
Words not properly formulating, he just shook his head.
"Come on, school's in half-an-hour. Brought you some clothes. You should definitely shower."
Still groggy, he found himself being helped up off bed, but found that the hand holding onto El's prevented him from getting clear. Sitting back down, he delicately unfurled them and was trudged into the shower by Nancy.
Ten minutes later he was sitting at the Byers' kitchen table with Nancy and Jonathan eating toast. Joyce came in a few minutes later noting that Will was still sound asleep and asked how he was doing.
"Fine, just super tired."
Hopper then came into the kitchen after checking up on El. He had spent the night at the lab.
"She's still asleep. What was with the two of you last night? You collapsed at the same time."
"I don't really remember. The last thing i remember was the light and later after that..." Mike was about to continue onto the midnight kissing, but stopped. Eyes, at least Hopper and Nancy's, were looking at him and he begun to blush.
"I remember 'talking' to El for a minute last night," he finished.
Fortunately, he was saved from responding with Jonathan noting it was time to go if they wanted to drop him off first.
"Ready?" Nancy asked.
"Hold on a second," Mike said as he rushed out the kitchen straight to where El was. He sat at the space he'd vacated not twenty minutes ago.
Remembering the night before, he gently stroke her cheek and gave her forehead a peck as he
rushed out grabbing his backpack.
He almost ran into Hopper as he did.
"Is she, will she still be here after..." Mike was asking a bit flustered.
Hopper getting his meaning nodded and stopped out of the way.
Mike sat in the backseat, while Jonathan and Nancy were up front.
"We'll pick you up after school since you don't have your bike," she said.
"Oh, thanks," Mike also thanking Jonathan.
The two were talking up front and Mike was gazing out the window. However, he was facing front when he saw Nancy gracing Jonathan's resting hand during a light.
Mike smirked, slightly more audibly than he intended to, causing Nancy to glare at him through the rearview mirror.
"You two," Mike began.
"Yes," said Nancy, causing Mike to smirk again.
"Well, you spent the night in a bed with a girl."
Mike blushed, before retorting, "Like you haven't."
At this the duo up front gazed at each other to which Mike yelped, "You have!"
By this point, they were turning into the school's driveway and Mike got out.
"Not a," bellowed Nancy from the window, but the intended recipient was already out of earshot. "Oh screw it. He's going to be fine."
Mike met the others and Max in first period and they slapped his back as the last time they saw him he was a passed out heap. They asked about Will and Mike answered.
Throughout the day, Mike felt remarkably groggy, though surprisingly managed to absorb everything in the background and was able to answer every question asked of him.
He excused himself from hanging with the group by heading to the library, promising that he was fine and didn't need them to accompany him. Finding a table, Mike stared into space for a second, feeling not fully awake. Not wanting to keep over in the library he took out paper and book and began working on a just-assigned essay.
He was quite fair into it when the bell for fifth period rang.
"How was school?" Nancy asked him as they were driving back to the Byers' residence.
"Fine. I mean, I stayed awake. Still zapped," Mike drowsily leaning his head on the window of the moving car.
He was jolted upwards by both the car rolling in, but also another feeling that made him feel awake for the first time that day.
"El," he said to the car and then rushed out to where she was.
Just moments before, El began stirring, as noticed by Hopper who was standing vigil, and Joyce who just joined him after checking on a still slumbering Will.
Eleven's dreams throughout the day were weird. In and out of consciousness, she saw glimpses of hallways and crowds and classrooms like she briefly saw the year before. This only lasted for seconds and sleep came back for her. For the most part, she was still taxed out and physically her muscles ached from the night before.
However, her eyes then shot open and she found Hopper and Joyce by her bedside.
"How are you kiddo?" Hopper asked as Joyce went to get water.
"Better," El said as Joyce gave her a glass to drink. She gulped it down and finally felt feeling returning to her body.
It was then that Mike rushed in and she stood up sharply. The two smashed into a hug that found them back on the bed.
"I missed you. It's the afternoon now, I just came back from..."
"I know," El replied wrapping her arms around him even tighter.
"How are you? Hurting all over, but not so tired anymore."
They talked like this for another minute, before they heard someone clear their throat. They finally broke their deep gaze to see four pairs of eyes looking at them, though the other two were doing so through the doorway, one of them smirking in revenge. Eleven and Mike blushed profusely and detangled. Sitting on the bed, though they kept holding hands.
"Do you remember what happened last night?" asked Hopper.
The two kids immediately thought of their late night session, blushing in the process, but shook their heads in a lie.
As they were about to be questioned further, El stood up saying she had to use the bathroom. Joyce led her and suggested she also take a shower, as she was still wearing yesterday's clothing and covered in grime and some traces of blood.
Hopper went to grab a bag that had her toiletries from home, the Chief having briefly returned to the cabin to check on the state of it.
This left Mike in the room alone, though Eleven glanced at him one last time before they were out of range.
He went to pull things out of his backpack and complete the earlier essay that he had worked on in faster time than he realized.
Elsewhere, El was getting into the shower, feeling a brief jolt as the water began coursing on her aching, weary muscles.
In the room, Mike felt getting warmer and took of his jacket, breaking the breakneck speed of his writing.
El was washing her hair with her preferred flowery shampoo. When she opened her eyes to wash the suds away, she found herself back in the bedroom.
Mike paused again as he felt something in his head. Something warm and familiar, but also a squeeze and mental tightness, like a headache. In an instance, he snapped his head and peered directly at a spot in the wall that El was several yards behind.
Said snap was enough to startle El out of that moment. She shut the taps off, quickly dried off and got into the clothes Hopper brought for her. Noticing that neither Joyce or Hopper was outside, she ran towards Mike.
The boy in question was pacing when El walked in and closed the door, leaning back on it to gaze at him.
The two then jumped into a hug in each other's arms.
"I saw," she began.
"Yeah."
"Morning too, while I was sleeping. I saw the school again."
"Oh," Mike said as he guided them to sit down on the bed, though heads still resting on each other's foreheads. "You were asleep all day. Maybe that's why I felt so groggy, oh... dazed, ah, umm" he was cycling through words to define it, feeling that she might not be aware of it, but was beat to it by her.
"Tired..."
"Yeah," confirmed Mike.
"How did I know that?" she began.
"Know what?"
"The word. Oh maybe you..." Mike was about to begin when he felt a flash of memories that knocked him down on the bed as his hands went to his head. He saw a cabin in the woods. Television watching and book reading as seasons seemed to change.
Moments ago, panic set into El as an equal panic shot through his face and Mike keeled over on the bed.
It stopped, or rather he was broken out of the hyperreal reveries, as El held the sides of his face in her hands.
"That was you," he said through gasped breaths. "The past year."
She nodded.
After this, they seemed to realize that they were laying on top of each other and their cheeks began to flush. It could have been paralyzing embarrassment, but neither moved and just stared into each other's eyes.
As droplets dripped from El's still wet hair, she moved so that they were still staring, but now both on their sides.
Mike unsurely brushed aside a curl of hair covering her eyes and brushed her forehead in the process. They both felt a spark emanate from that point of contact. He leaned into kiss her forehead, but she readjusted so that their lips came into contact instead. It was magic the first time the night before, and it was again now.
They parted eventually, but eyes never left the other.
"We should..." Mike started.
"Before they get suspicious," El finished, ending with a word that she was sure wasn't hers.