Mike kind of hated going to the arcade alone, but he didn't exactly have a lot of options. Dustin was sick with a summer flu, Will was at art camp in Indianapolis (paid for by the Victims of Hawkins Laboratory Malfeasance / Barbara Holland Memorial Fund), and Lucas and Max were on a date, probably sucking face in the junkyard or something. El was unfortunately still not allowed out of the cabin except for very special circumstances, and her scary older sister Kali was visiting, so Mike was planning to steer clear. His mom was having a dinner party which meant Mike had needed to get out of there fast in order to avoid being drafted into the cleaning effort. So here he was, alone, playing Space Invaders again, the only game he was really any good at, at least compared to Dustin, Lucas, and Max.

"Hey, um, are you Michael Wheeler?"

Mike looked up from his game. A girl about his age, with long, shiny blonde hair and striking blue eyes was smiling at him shyly.

"Uh, yeah?" he said. He didn't think he'd ever seen her before.

"Oh, well, I heard that you're, like, really good at Dig Dug. Can you help me?"

He frowned. "I mean, most of my friends are better than me. But, sure."

She smiled again, her long eyelashes fluttering, and grabbed his arm. "Thank you!"

"No…no problem…" he said, feeling a little confused. Girls didn't act like this around him, normally.

They walked over to the game and he slid some quarters into the slot. "So, um, it's pretty simple to start out with…" he began, explaining the game mechanics and showing her how to work the controls. She watched him closely, seeming enraptured, her shoulder pressing into his. She was wearing some kind of floral-y perfume and her hair kept brushing against his neck.

"Like… like this?" she asked, her hand reaching out tentatively and covering his own over the joystick.

Confused, he pulled his hand away. "Uh…"

The girl tried to escape from one of the monsters, but she wasn't good enough at the controls yet. "GAME OVER" blinked on the screen.

"Oops," she said, giggling.

He shrugged. "It's okay. Just takes some practice."

The girl nodded. Then her eyes lit up. "Hey, come with me."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind him, into the back room of the arcade, where they kept games that were broken or waiting to be installed.

"Here," she said, her eyes warm. She positioned herself across from him. "Now you can kiss me."

He almost choked. "Uhh… what?"

She giggled. "I wanted to thank you."

"I… I mean… I really didn't do anything," he tried to explain. He couldn't understand how he had ended up in this bizarre situation.

"Course you did," she said, smiling and batting her eyelashes. She leaned in towards him.

He backed away into a wall. "Um, stop it. Please."

"Don't you think I'm pretty?" she asked in a small voice. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bit her lip, pushing out her chest slightly. He couldn't help noticing that she was very… developed… compared to most of the girls in his class.

"Well, sure, I guess, but… I have a girlfriend, you know?" He shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling very uncomfortable.

The girl scoffed. "I won't tell her if you won't. It's just a kiss." She moved towards him again, her hands on his shoulders.

What the hell?Roughly, he pushed her away. "I don't know what your deal is, but I'm not interested! Get over yourself and leave me alone!" Without hesitation, he bolted to the door, grabbing his backpack on his way outside.

Well, that was the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me.

Then he laughed.

Ok, fine, meeting people with psychic powers and fighting inter-dimensional monsters was probably weirder. But that was definitely in the top ten.

After being run out of the arcade by an excessively flirty mystery girl, Mike was at a loss as to how to spend the rest of his Saturday. He biked slowly down Main Street, looking around at the shops. Suddenly, he saw a large lump right in front of his wheel, and skidded to a stop to avoid hitting it.

He looked down. A wallet?

The wallet was plain brown leather, with a few scuff marks. Mike picked it up and opened it, curious. No ID - that was strange. No pictures either. Just a couple of credit cards and - woah.

Three hundred dollars?!

Yup. Mike counted again, just to be sure. Three hundred. Images flashed in his head of all the things he and the party could do with that kind of money. They could rent out the whole arcade and just play for hours. They could get new walkie-talkies - better ones, with more range and special features.

They could save up to buy a computer!

He could take El to the amusement park. They could get the special, high priced tickets that let you skip the line, and they could ride all the rides, and he could play one of those stupid ring-toss games and win a giant bear for her, and they could go on the ferris wheel and hold hands at the top, and…

Wait. He looked down at the wallet again. This isn't my money. It belongs to somebody else. Maybe they need it, for food, or for their kids. It could be all that they have.

He sighed and looked around. There was a bank not too far away. He walked over to it and pushed open the heavy glass door, shivering at the blast of air conditioning that greeted him.

The teller looked up from his desk. "Hello, young man. How can I help you?"

"Uh… I found this wallet, outside. I thought someone might have dropped it." He handed the wallet over and the teller examined it.

"I see. Thank you for bringing it in. We'll keep it safe and try to find the owner."

Mike smiled. "Cool. Well, bye."

He wondered if he should tell the guys. Dustin would be pissed, and so would Lucas, probably. He thought Will would understand. El? He might have to explain it to her, a little. He knew she stole a coat from a hunter once, and Eggo's from the grocery store, but that wasn't the same, because she'd needed those things, and she hadn't really been taught about right and wrong as a kid, anyway.

On his way to the comic book store, Mike happened to glance at the alleyway behind the movie theater and almost fell over in surprise.

El?

What was she doing here? How did she get away from Hopper? Or did he give her permission, somehow?

She smiled at him and the questions kind of faded out of his mind. He rushed over towards her, almost tripping over his own feet, excitement making his heart race. "Hi, El!"

Her expression turned sad for a moment and he felt a sharp pang of worry in his chest. "Mike, I have to tell you something," she said, her voice low and serious.

"What is it?" he asked, studying her face.

"I'm leaving with my sister."

Mike frowned in confusion. "What do you mean? Like she's giving you a ride back to the cabin?"

"No, Mike." She shook her head and stared down at the sidewalk. "I'm leaving Hawkins. I'm going back to Chicago."

He took a step forward, his gaze fixed on her. Surely he had misheard. "I don't understand… El, what are you talking about?"

She looked up at him again and her eyes were suddenly full of tears. "Mike, I don't belong here."

Mike felt like his lungs couldn't get enough oxygen to his brain. His chest was ice-cold and his legs were trembling. He tried to reach out for El's hand but she pulled away. "Of… of course you do! El, this is your home! Did something happen? Did someone say something? Or… did you get in a fight with Hopper?"

She shook her head. "I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of pretending like I'm just like everybody else. Kali… she's going to teach me. Teach me how to be stronger. She says we'll find the others."

"The others?"

El's face broke into a smile, shining through her tears. "My brothers and sisters, Mike. The other numbers. We're going to find them and I won't be alone anymore."

"El, please," he said. He grabbed her hands forcefully and her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "I know it's hard sometimes, I know it is. But you… you can'tleave! Everybody here cares about you so much. Even Hopper, I know he's mean sometimes but I heard him telling Joyce that he thinks of you like a daughter. And Will, he told me you were, like, the only person he can really talk to, about what he's been through and stuff. And I… I mean… I can't… I can't loseyou again! You don't understand, it almost killed me the first time." Tears began to roll down his cheeks as the idea of her leaving began to sink in. He knew he was being selfish but he didn't care. He couldn't let this happen, not now, not after he had just got her back. He needed her. He had thought she needed him.

"You'll be okay," she said. She touched his face gently and he shuddered. "You'll find somebody nice to replace me. Somebody normal, like you."

"El, that's not what I want. El, I… I love you!" He hadn't intended to shout it so loudly - hadn't intended to tell her at all, at least until they were much older - but he needed her to understand.

Her eyes were wary, confused. "I don't know what that means."

He took in a shaky breath. "It means… you're the person I care about, more than anybody else. I just want to - to protect you, and make you happy, and be with you all the time. And not just for now, like, forever."He wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. "Do you understand?"

El disappeared, leaving nothing in front of him but empty space and a blank wall.