Chapter 2
"El". It was Mike who broke the silence. "How can you be here?" spluttered Lucas. "Isn't it obvious?" replied Dustin. "She used her mind powers. Good to see you again, weirdo". They all grinned at each other, ecstatic to be united again with the extraordinary girl who had changed their lives. However, El's smile seemed to falter after they'd all greeted her again, and Mike could tell by her face that it wasn't because Dustin was asking her to make him fly with her 'mind powers'. This was something serious. She turned to him. "What is it?", he asked her, slightly afraid of an answer. "We're not safe", she replied, looking scared. "I survived sending the monster to the Upside-Down but I got stranded there and something..." she took a deep breath. "Something tried to follow me back. Something... bad." she finished. They all looked confused. "What, you mean something from Hawkins?" Lucas asked. "That shit was messed up..." They wrapped her in their own coats and trudged slowly back to Mike's house. They fed her on bread and butter and hot chocolate. She gulped down the food as though she had forgotten what it was to eat. They managed to make a new den using old blankets on the sofa and a few cushions stolen from the living room. They helped her to sit down on the blanket, her eyes drooping slightly, and sat quietly, just watching her. Finally Dustin and Lucas left to return home, gathering up their things and riding off on their bikes into the night. Mike and El sat alone and talked. "I always knew", Mike began. "I always knew that you couldn't really be dead. I just...sensed it." He finished. "Well, you were right. It's just a shame that we couldn't go to that dance". Mike flushed slightly. "We-we could always do it now", he said. They stood in the centre of the room and took each other's hands, their fingers intertwined. There was no music, so they simply swayed back and forth, the rhythm seemingly inside their heads. El was exhausted, but seemed relaxed. Perhaps it was just the touch of another person after returning from the dark and desolate Upside-Down. Yet, Mike felt it was more than that, and though he did not make a noise, he was smiling from ear to ear, his head on her shoulder, hers on his, as he came to a happy conclusion of what this might mean. And up above, the stars twinkled brightly, seeming to grin down at him.