here's the second chapter! third and final chapter will be uploaded v soon! (and thank u so much for ur reviews omg u guys r so sweet) one more chapter after this one!
CHAPTER TWO: everyone needs to stop talking about russell ok...we get it he's amazing
"Hey Joyce," Mike mumbles as he finally musters the courage to walk out of Will's room after numerous self given pep talks.
Joyce smiles at him warmly, carefully chopping up vegetables on a cutting board. "Hey, Mike. How're you doing, kiddo?"
"Good! Good... I was, um, actually just curious about something."
"Is everything okay?"
Mike nods quickly, not wanting to worry her. "Oh, yeah! Yeah everything's fine... Uh, Eleven told me about a... new friend she made on Monday?" He pushes on, despite his fears gnawing at him. What if she says that they've become best friends? What if she says that Eleven wants to spend more time with him than just on Mondays? Or worse... what if she says that Eleven likes him? "I was wondering... what's he like?"
Joyce smiles widely at the mention of 'Eleven's new friend', and Mike has to stifle a groan. Great, even Joyce too? "You mean Russell? He's the sweetest boy," She returns her attention back to the vegetables on the cutting board, unaware of the inner crisis Mike is going through. "They got along right away when they met on Monday. Mrs. Lyons and I have been planning to make them meet for a while, actually. I just thought Eleven could use a new friend, since you boys are busy with the AV club sometimes, and I work and Nancy's busy with school and Jonathan works and..." She sighs. "You know that she doesn't like being alone for too long. I just thought he'd be good for her and she's been so happy since she met him."
"Yeah," He mutters, slouching in his seat, suddenly not wanting to hear anymore of what Russell was like. "I've noticed."
"She was so scared of frightening him, y'know?" Because of her powers. "I'll admit I was a little worried too, but it was like a match made in heaven."
Match made in heaven? What's that supposed to mean?
Mike wants to scream, but he doesn't think it's very polite to suddenly start screaming in your friend's house while his mom was standing right in front of you and while said friend is sleeping in bed with a fever, so he settles for screaming internally instead.
He feels his mood quickly begin to sour, and wants to be anywhere but here.
"Hey, Joyce... I just remembered," He laughs nervously, picking his backpack up from the couch. "I promised my mom I would help with... uh," Joyce looks at him expectantly, raising an eyebrow and in his panic Mike's gaze shifts to the various cooking ingredients on the counter. "Uh, dinner! Promised I would help with dinner. Yup!" He quickly makes his way to the front door before Joyce can ask any questions, and turns around quickly to add, "Tell Eleven and Jonathan for me, please? Oh, and tell Will that I hope he feels better when he wakes up and that Dustin and Lucas'll be here tomorrow!"
"You're not coming with them?"
"No! I uh... have to help babysit Holly! Bye!" Mike shuts the door and picks up his bike from where he left it at the front of the house.
An image of Eleven's sad look after he'd refused to go walking with her and Jonathan pops up in his mind, along with an image of her smiling as she thinks of Russell, and he pedals faster.
-x-
Eleven and Jonathan come back moments later, the girl immediately running to Joyce to tell her about her day, as she always does. "We saw them," She says, eyes alight with wonder and amazement. "The ducks. They didn't... migrate." She looks up at Jonathan, and he nods to assure that she said the word right.
"They're still there?" Joyce looks at Jonathan in surprise. "I'd have thought they were gone by now."
Jonathan shrugs off his jacket and hangs it up before hanging up Eleven's for her. "Me too," He turns to El with a grin. "Guess they were waiting for El to get a chance to see them before they left."
Eleven smiles at him warmly before she suddenly turns towards where Will's room is. "Will? Still sick?" She asks, her eyes wide with concern.
Joyce nods. "A little, but his temperature's gone down a bit. I made some soup for him with that recipe you gave me, Jonathan, by the way. Which was not as simple as you said it would be!" Her tone was stern, but her eyes were playful, and Jonathan scoffs. "Took me a little while to get it to a point where it was edible."
"Mom. It's soup. You literally just throw a bunch of stuff into a pot, let it simmer for a while and you're done."
"Oh, please, it's not that simple and you know it!" She stands on her tip toes, trying to reach for a bowl from one of the cabinets above, and right when she's about to give up and get a chair, Jonathan grabs it for her, "Maybe things would be easier if I could reach half the stuff in this darn kitchen..."
She pours some soup into the bowl, and Jonathan walks near the large pot and inhales exaggeratedly. "Woah, mom, it actually smells good. I'm surprised," Joyce rolls her eyes half-heartedly. "And hey, it's not the kitchen's fault you're about as tall as Nancy." Joyce gives him a playful swat on the arm as Jonathan and Eleven laugh.
"You would know all about Nancy, hm?" She teases, pleased to get her revenge when Jonathan blushes and averts his gaze.
Eleven gestures to the soup bowl before holding out her hands. "I'll take it to him," She says. Joyce warns her that the bowl is very hot, and Eleven puts her hands down and concentrates, making the bowl levitate off of the counter and float in front of her. Startled at first (because she can never get used to that) Joyce murmurs a thank you, placing a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead and sending her off.
While concentrating on making sure the soup doesn't spill from the bowl as it levitates in front of her, Eleven gently knocks on Will's door, waiting for a response.
After hearing a groan of 'come in' she opens the door and sees Will, still looking a little pale, but better. He visibly lights up when he sees her, a weak smile making its way on his face, and El smiles back. She puts a folded blanket on his lap and slowly lowers the hot bowl of soup onto it, pulling a tissue out of the pocket of her jacket and wiping her nose off with it. "Sick?" She asks.
"Yeah," Will says hoarsely, and Eleven frowns. "I'll get better real soon though, with you, Jonathan and mom helping take care of me." He looks up at her and gives her one of his gentle smiles. "Thanks, sis," He murmurs, eating his first spoonful of soup. Her heart swells with happiness, as it always does whenever he calls her that. Sis. It's times like these that really remind her how lucky she is, and that she has a family.
-x-
"Mike?"
Eleven whispers into the walkie, sitting up on her small bed. She's been worrying about him since he'd left the house abruptly earlier today.
"Oh, Mike?" Joyce had said when Eleven asked her where he'd gone. "He said he had something to do at home."
He never leaves without saying goodbye. She grips the walkie tighter, whispering his name into it again. "Mike? Can you hear me?"
"...El," His voice sounds hoarse from sleep, and she immediately feels guilty for waking him up. Mike doesn't exactly sleep often, always staying up late studying for exams or reading comic books. Eleven always makes him promise to get some sleep. He yawns, and she hears faint shuffling sounds. "Hey, is everything okay? Something wrong?" She's smiling and her heart feels warm because of how much he cares about her well-being, often putting it before his own. "Do you want me to sing to you again?"
When she gets nightmares, Mike calls her on the walkie, almost as if he can sense something is wrong. He calms her down and tells her a story or sings to her, and his voice is so beautiful and makes her so happy that after a while, she is lulled to a peaceful slumber, with gentle whispers of good night.
"Worried about you," She says. "Are you okay?"
There is silence on both ends for a few moments before a sigh is heard. "I'm fine, El. How's Will doing?"
She raises an eyebrow at his attempt to change the topic. "Good. Going to school tomorrow. Mike... are you okay?" She repeats.
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
"'It'? Mike... friends-"
"-don't lie. I know El," He sighs again, and Eleven frowns. "It's... it's just complicated."
"Did I do something wrong? Are you... mad at me?"
"No! No, you... you didn't do anything, and I'm definitely not mad at you."
On the other end, Mike runs his fingers through his disheveled hair, feeling guilt at having made her feel bad. He's sitting up on his bed, trying to not wake his parents or Nancy with the sounds of his and Eleven's voices.
"Oh... then... what is it?"
He bites his lip nervously, hesitating on whether he should tell her or not. What would I even say? 'Your new friend is bothering me. I... like you a lot and I don't like that you're inviting Russell to our walks'. What then? It's not like she can just stop being friends with him just because I want her to. No, after the lab, Mike makes sure that Eleven is given the freedom of choice whenever possible, something she didn't have before. I'm not going to force her to stop being friends with someone she's having fun with. "It's stupid, okay? It's nothing important," Before she can protest, he continues. "Don't feel like it's your fault, and I'm not mad at you. I could never... be mad at you."
There's silence on her end, and before she can say anything, he hangs up, leaving El more confused than she had been before.
-x-
Mike opens his eyes, immediately flinching at the bright sunlight coming in from the window.
He hadn't slept since El had called him.
"Mike! Get out of bed or you're going to be late for school!" His mom called, and Mike's irritation from lack of sleep only ends up growing as she continues to call him down.
He sits up, wincing at the cold floor beneath his feet. "I'm up already!" He shouts back. Stifling a yawn as he leaves his room, he heads straight for the bathroom, already dreading the day.
"...to see him. He's adorable!"
Mike rolls his eyes as he passes by his sister's room, wanting nothing more than to stay in bed all day, and not go to school. Her door is slightly ajar, and he can hear the conversation she's having with one of her friends on the phone. She's probably just talking about Jonathan.
"Yeah, his name's Russell!" That stopped him right in his tracks. He moves closer to his sister's door so he could listen a little better. "He's the sweetest. Jonathan told me that he already gets along really well with Will and El," She twirls the phone cord with her slender fingers, laughing at something her friend says. "Yeah, I wish! Eleven's so lucky."
Why is she 'so lucky'? Mike moves away from the door, eyes wide. First Eleven, then Joyce, and now Nancy? Who is this guy?
"Michael!" He hears him mom call from downstairs.
"Coming!" He shouts back, hoping to get away from all this talk of Eleven's new friend at school.
-x-
He wants to go home.
"Russell, Russell, Russell!" Will says, as they walk to where their bikes are outside of the school.
Dustin smiles and replies with "Russell!" Lucas nodding in agreement, also smiling, because everyone always smiles when they talk about him.
Okay, maybe that isn't exactly what they're saying, but that's exactly what it sounds like to Mike. Will brings him up constantly during lunch and no matter how many times Mike tries to change the topic. He tries talking about the new comics he recently got, the camping trip his parents are planning, and even tries hinting at some of his plans for their next Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Nothing stopped them! It seems like everyone's met this guy except for me.
He isn't angry about Eleven making a new friend; when she'd told him that she'd met someone, he was happy for her. But the fact that Jonathan suggested bringing him along for their walks, moments when he's at his happiest and that mean a lot to him (because she means a lot to him), and the way her eyes lit up and how happy and excited she looked when she said yes just-
"Mike, hey," He turns around to find Lucas staring at him, an eyebrow raised. "Are you... okay? You looked really pissed for a sec." Mike notices that all three of them are staring at him worriedly, and he shakes his head, realizing his fists are clenched when he reaches for his bike.
"I'm..." He sighs, quickly getting on. "I'm fine, guys."
He stops when he feels a hand on his shoulder, and meets Dustin's sharp gaze. "Mike, we can tell that something's bothering you. You wanna talk about it?" He hesitates for a second, considering telling them what was bothering him, before shrugging Dustin's hand off.
"I said I'm fine. I'll see you guys tomorrow," The three watch him pedal away, knowing something was definitely up with their friend. Will begins to go after him but Lucas stops him.
"He probably needs a bit of space," He says, and Will nods, though there is still concern in his eyes.
Dustin sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll go after him in a bit, Joyce wants you home early anyway, Will. I'll meet you guys at Will's house later, and I'm bringing Mike along with me, whether he likes it or not."