I'm making Mike super angsty in this because he thinks that Eleven is dead. Eleven knows that he is safe and sound, therefore I didn't make her too angsty although she did have her fair angst last chapter. This chapter ended up being way too long but here ya go. Don't expect anything longer than this in the future lol

Also, Mike is mad at Max for reasons that aren't Max's fault. I'm not making Max a bad person but she has to earn her way into this group and also this is all from Mike's pov so he's not exactly a fair narrator.


Chapter 2

Mike's POV:

Mike woke up the morning before Halloween knowing somehow that it was going to be a crappy day.

But lately, that's just been his daily expectation of life.

He woke up late.

And with a pounding headache.

He had that nightmare again.

Goodbye Mike...

Goodbye Mike...

Goodbye Mike...

It was almost always the same, sometimes it was worse.

He woke up from his nightmare at 3 AM and decided to distract himself by doing some homework he had left last minute.

No matter how worried his mother looked at him nowadays, at least she wouldn't have to worry about his grades.

Besides, Mike found that it was best for him to keep busy, and not let his mind wander.

So he stayed up until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and he slept in through his alarm and through his mother's first attempt to wake him. By her third attempt, Mike realized he was going to be late no matter what and accepted it.

He already felt exhausted somehow.

He got up slowly and got ready for the day mechanically.

He skipped breakfast altogether, despite his mother's protest.

"I'm already late, I should really get going," Mike told her trying to get away from her worried frown.

He hated making her worry, she didn't deserve that.

Shit, Mike realized, the guys are going to worry too.

It felt like he was constantly trying to convince everyone he was okay, trying to convince himself that he was okay.

It was a hard act to keep up but some days were easier than others.

Today was not one of those days.

As he rode his bike to school, he got that feeling again.

Like someone was looking at him.

Mike stopped in front of the school.

There was no one around. Everyone must have already been in class.

He was just being paranoid.

Because every time he looked around there was no one there.

It was just a feeling.

Mike shook it off and tried to ready himself to face the day.

And of course, it was a shit day.

Once he got to his homeroom and took his seat next to Will, the teacher wrote him up for being tardy again and gave him detention after school.

He tried to take a deep breath and let it go.

So what? He got detention. It was no big deal, no matter how freaked out the guys looked.

He ignored Will's worried gaze and Lucas's questioning looks.

Surprisingly, Dustin looked more angry than worried, which confused Mike.

Once class was dismissed and they were walking through the hallways to their next class, Mike explained that he had simply overslept, and there was no life-threatening reason for his tardiness.

Thankfully that kept Will's concern at bay.

However, Dustin still looked annoyed.

"Mike, you idiot. You got detention after school. Do you know what that means?" Dustin asked amazed at Mike's forgetfulness.

"Am I supposed to?" asked Mike confused.

"We were supposed to go to the arcade after school and then go back to your house to work on our science fair project, " Lucas said.

"Oh...Damn. I'm sorry guys, I completely forgot. We can still work on the science fair tonight though, can't we?" Mike said trying to make things right.

"I guess, but I wanted us to all hang out with Max," Dustin said feeling awkward all of the sudden.

"Oh right..." Mike said remembering that Dustin had invited her.

He was almost glad that he had detention now. Not that he would say it aloud to Dustin and Lucas.

"Well, we can still go while Mike is stuck in this prison and then meet up later at his house," Lucas said being practical.

"I guess..but you better not flake on our project, we only have one week left and we have to win," Dustin told Mike.

"We will," Mike said trying to sound confident.

"Absolutely," Lucas agreed.

"See you at lunch," Will said as Lucas and Dustin walked off to their class.

Mike and Will walked towards another classroom.

"Are you sure you're okay? That's like the third time you've been late," Will said.

Mike felt his guilt rise up as he looked at Will's pale face and the dark circles under his eyes.

Mike knew Will still had nightmares too and other problems that he didn't like to talk about.

It almost made him feel better that Will was still struggling from last year, and Mike hated himself for feeling that way.

But somehow it made him feel less alone to know that he wasn't the only one that couldn't move on.

That he wasn't the only one still hurting.

He felt the same way when he looked at Nancy.

It was a depressing sort of connection, but it was an unbreakable one.

Which is why Mike let himself be honest with Will.

"It's fine, I just had another nightmare," Mike said trying not to sound too freaked out.

He didn't want to worry him. Will had enough to deal with, he didn't need to deal with Mike's problems too.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Will awkwardly.

They both knew what "it" meant.

Who "it" was.

But Mike couldn't.

He would fall apart.

She's gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Mike shook his head and Will understood.

He always did and for that Mike was grateful.

So they walked together to their next class in a comfortable silence.


Throughout the day Mike managed to actually pay attention in class and he started to feel a little better by lunch time.

But of course, that didn't last long.

He was walking towards the table they always sat at.

The rest of the guys weren't there yet. They had decided to go ask Mr. Clarke some questions regarding the science fair project and Mike didn't have the energy to go along with them.

Max wasn't anywhere in sight either and Mike hoped that maybe she wouldn't show up at all.

Maybe it would be a good day after all.

Unfortunately, Mike didn't notice that he was walking past Troy's table.

Not until he tripped over Troy's leg, which he had stuck right in front of him.

Mike fell forwards, his knees hitting the cafeteria floor with a painful thud, he had caught himself on his hands which also hurt from the impact.

The lunch tray he had been carrying crashed to the floor.

Yet somehow in the downfall, he had managed to get mashed potatoes and gravy all over himself.

The whole cafeteria was silent as they watched the humiliating scene.

"You should watch where you're going loser," Troy gloated.

Troy had left him alone for a couple months after his arm got broken, however now that time had passed and his fear had faded, Troy had returned to his old ways with even more intent on hurting Mike and his friends.

Troy's idiotic friends started laughing making the rest of the cafeteria laugh too.

Mike felt humiliated.

I hate you, thought Mike, I hate all of you.

Mike knew he didn't really mean it but in that moment he wished Troy's arm was still broken.

"You know what Troy? Acting like a dick won't make yours any bigger," said a girl's voice behind Mike.

It was Max.

The rest of the kids, even Troy's friends started laughing again.

This time at Troy whose face turned a bright red.

Troy stood up and for a moment Mike saw a trace of fear in Max's eyes.

But it was gone as soon as it appeared.

"So you need another girl to fight your battles for you Frog face? You sure are pathetic." Troy said scathingly at Mike who was still on the floor.

Mike felt his throat tighten.

He felt his hands shake in anger.

How dare he?

"What's going on here?" asked the lunch monitor who had finally noticed there was something happening.

"Nothing. Wheeler just had an accident," Troy said innocently.

The lunch monitor looked at the mess Mike had made and she had the audacity to glare at him.

"Is this true?" she asked him.

Mike wanted to scream.

But he knew that there was no point.

Even if he told someone Troy was bothering him, it would only anger Troy more.

"Yes, that's right. I tripped," Mike told her stonily.

"You sure?" she asked again.

"I'm sure."

That seemed good enough for the monitor and she left.

The lunch room went back to their normal chatter.

Max had walked closer to him and reached out a hand to help him stand up.

Mike glared at her outstretched hand and ignored it.

He stood up on his own with shaky knees and grabbed his fallen tray.

Troy sat back down on his table and smirked at Mike while his friends laughed.

"What's your damage, Mike?" Max spit out at him.

"I don't need your help," Mike said angrily.

"Fine, next time I'll let you get your ass kicked," Max said sounding almost hurt but mostly pissed off.

Then she stormed off.

Mike was left standing there with gravy and mashed potatoes all over him, listening to Troy's laughter.

He wanted to disappear.

He quickly threw away his mostly empty tray and dashed towards the bathroom.

Once he got there he tried to calm himself down.

He knew he shouldn't have gotten so angry.

He knew that he was going to regret being such a douchebag to Max later.

He knew that he shouldn't let Troy and his baboons get to him.

But he mentioned her.

He mentioned El.

"Another girl" that's what Troy had said.

And Mike could have punched him right there if the lunch monitor hadn't interfered.

How dare he?

How dare he mentioned her.

But no, Troy didn't know.

El would never be just "another girl" to Mike.

That wasn't possible.

Mike took a deep breath.

It felt like his insides were burning up.

He looked at his thin frame in the bathroom mirror.

Damn, he did look pathetic.

Ugly stains all over his shirt, red blotches on his cheeks, dark circles under his eyes, messy hair because he didn't bother to comb it that morning.

And his eyes...His eyes looked so damn sad.

This isn't me.

This isn't me.

This is just what's left of me.

What if he never gets better? What he never feels better?

Just sad and angry and bitter.

Forever.

It's been months.

Almost a year now since she's been gone.

Since she died...

It should have never happened.

She didn't deserve that.

I should have protected her.

Everyone said he just needed time.

That it would all get easier eventually.

That's what his friends and family kept telling both him and Nancy after everything that happened last year.

Mike thinks of Chief Hopper.

Despite his nervousness, Mike had asked him about it after everything had settled down.

"Do you still think of her? Eleven?" Mike had asked.

Chief Hopper had stayed silent for a long time and Mike had been worried that he'd done something wrong.

Eventually, he answered.

"Yes. Every single day." Hopper had said quietly.

And he spoke no more about it.

Mike took another deep breath.

He needed to go class eventually, then go to detention afterward.

And then he would go back to the safety of his home and his friends and he would put this ugly day behind him.

It's just a bad day.

Tomorrow will be better.

At least that's Mike's only hope.

Besides tomorrow's Halloween and he's going to spend all day with his friends and go trick or treating with them later.

Mike just needs to get through today without another breakdown.

He hides out in the library until lunch is over and goes to his next few classes on autopilot.

The only thing he has to worry about is his last class period.

Which is Art class.

Mike would have been okay in this class if it wasn't for the fact that Max and Will had it as well.

Mike was dreading having to talk about what happened at lunch.

There was no doubt that his friends had already found out about the incident by now.

Mike didn't want them to see him look as pathetic as he felt.

And he didn't want to deal with Max.

He walks into class despite his unease and sits down next to Will who looks like he did that morning.

Worried once more.

And it's all Mike's fault.

"You okay? Max told us what Troy did. He's such a jerk, Mike. I'm sorry we weren't there. When we all found out, Dustin had to stop Lucas from going up to Troy and doing something stupid," said Will.

Mike almost smiles at that. He could imagine the scene in his head.

He really didn't deserve his friends sometimes.

"I'm okay now, it's no big deal. Honest," Mike said trying to accept his own words as the truth.

Will gives him a look. They both know he's lying.

Before Will can say something else, a red head comes storming into the room and sits down on the empty seat next to Will.

Mke suppresses a groan.

He should apologize. It's the right thing to do.

"Hello, Will," Max says pointedly ignoring Mike.

On the other hand, Mike didn't want to say a damn thing to her.

So he doesn't and she's happy to ignore him throughout class and talk to Will only.

In the beginning, Mike tried. He really did.

He tried to be nice and friendly when Dustin first became friends with her in the beginning of the school year.

Sure she was rude and brutally honest at times. And she had a quick temper that sometimes left casualties but she was new in town and she didn't treat the boys like they were trash or weirdos. So Mike figured that she must be good at heart and rough around the edges.

Until Mike figured out why Lucas and Dustin were so accepting of her.

They had both somehow fallen fo her. Fallen hard.

It was funny at first, Mike will admit.

They way they would both be nervous and horribly awkward around her.

Mike and Will would look at each other and laugh at them.

However, it soon stopped being funny.

The more they hung out, the more it became clear that she did not return either of their feelings.

It was obvious to see. She thought it was funny to see Dustin and Lucas become fools in front of her and Mike was not okay with that.

He had to protect them. Didn't they see that she was using them for her enjoyment?

Didn't they see that she was going to break their hearts?

But no they didn't.

And Mike tried to ignore it. But it was obvious to everyone that Mike didn't want her around.

But of course no one talked about it and Dustin and Lucas kept inviting her to hang out with them.

And Mike and Max never got along.

And after today, Mike was glad that he wouldn't have to be with them at the arcade.

"Hello, Max," said Will awkwardly. He could sense the tension between Max and Mike but he didn't dare bring it up.

He was not one for confrontation.

So he and Max discussed their plans for the arcade later and Will talked to Mike about their plans for the science fair.

It's a balancing act to be friends with two people who can't stand each other but Will is an amazing friend.

And art class always puts him in a good mood, which Mike is thankful for.

The class soon comes to an end and it's time for Will and Max to leave and find the others.

"I'll see you at your place tonight," Will says as he leaves with the red head.

Mike walks towards detention feeling more alone than ever.

He does his time and manages to knock out that day's homework so it wasn't a terrible waste of time.

He walks out of school and thinks about taking a nap when he gets home.

If he felt exhausted this morning, he feels absolutely brain dead by now.

He grabs his bike and slowly peddles away.

He just wants to get to his bed and sleep this day away.

He doesn't even notice that he's being followed.

Not until he feels a hand grab the collar of his shirt and shove him off his bike.

He crashes to the ground for the second time that day.

This time he hits his head.

It takes him a minute to focus on who his attacker is.

Or attackers.

He hears them laugh at first.

Cruel and sadistic.

It was Troy and two of his goons.

Mike tries to stand up so that he can run away. It's the only hope he has to get away from them. But one of Troy's idiot friends kicks him on the side and Mike crashes down again in pain.

Despite Mike's fear, he can't help but open his mouth.

"Really Troy, you need help to beat me up? Are you really that useless or are you just a coward?"

That earns Mike a punch to his face.

He feels blood trickle down his nose.

He should shut up and curl into a ball until it's over.

Maybe beg Troy to let him go.

But Mike has nothing left to lose.

All he has is that anger he felt earlier.

This destructive feeling that keeps growing inside him.

"I'm not the one that used a little bald weirdo last year to protect him," Troy taunts him.

Something breaks in Mike.

He lunges at Troy and manages to land a punch strong enough that Troy almost gets knocked down.

Mike's hand throbs in pain.

The other two goons immediately grab a hold of Mike.

He starts to feel panicked as he struggles to get away from them, but he's powerless now.

Troy looks at him with a new found fury in his eyes and a new bloody lip courtesy of Mike.

"She's not here to protect you anymore. She must have realized what a loser you were and ran away. She was a freak anyways," Troy says as he wipes blood away from his mouth.

"Just like you."

Somehow Troy's words feel more hurtful than his punch.

"You're gonna pay for this Wheeler and no one's going to come to your rescue now."


Mike lays on the ground for a minute trying to catch his breath after Troy and the rest finally left him.

They had thrown him around and punched him and kicked him until they got bored of seeing him in pain.

He gets up slowly, his whole body in pain.

Thankfully Troy was smart enough to not hit him in the face too much.

He just got a bloody lip and bruised nose.

But they had no trouble kicking and punching the rest of him.

Mike could just make the excuse to his Mom that he had fallen down and hopefully, she would believe him.

He rode his bike slowly and shakily towards his house.

Thankfully once he got there, he remembered that his mother had gone to a book club so he wouldn't have to face her yet.

However as he walked through his front door, he saw a very worried Nancy.

"Where have you been? The school called to say that you got detention. You are so lucky that I was here to answer that call and not Mom. I decided to wait for you to get home since Mom isn't here but then you kept taking forever, and I know that detention doesn't take so long... Oh God, what happened to your face?" Nancy asked, her eyes widening at the sight of blood.

"It's nothing! I just had an accident," Mike said feeling caught off guard.

"An accident! Mike, I'm not an idiot! Who did that to you?" Nancy asked angrily.

"No one," Mke said feeling embarrassed.

"Mike, we promised we wouldn't lie to each other. Now tell me who!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Fine... It was just some morons from school okay. It's not as bad as it looks. I'm fine," Mike said ignoring the burning pain all over his body.

Nancy looked at him for a moment, weighing the worth of his words.

Then she hurried towards the front door and grabbed her coat from the coat hanger.

"Where are you going?" Mike asked confused at her determined expression.

"I'm going to find those idiots and teach them a lesson," Nancy said haughtily.

"What? No way!" Mike yelled grabbing her arm and stopping her from going out the door.

"Are you insane?" Mike asked.

"No. I'm not insane. They have no right to hurt you, Mike!"

"Nancy, please don't do this. Do you know how embarrassing this will be? I've already been humiliated today, I can't take any more," Mike said desperately.

Nancy sighs heavily, but she starts to retreat from the door.

Mike feels relieved.

"Fine, I won't do anything this time but if they mess with you again they'll regret," threatened Nancy.

Mike felt touched by her anger.

It was weird at first, to have Nancy be so protective of him. But after last year, Nancy seemed prepared for any disaster and she was terrified of losing anyone she loved ever again. Eventually, Mike grew used to Nancy's protectiveness of him and he also grew to kind of love it. Not that he would ever tell her that. But it felt nice to have his sister interested in him again. She would even go out with him and his friends sometimes, especially when Jonathan tagged along. And she would even take him to go see movies or to the comic book store.

Mike hadn't realized how much he had missed having her on his side.

"Let me at least clean you up a little," Nancy said feeling useless.

"Okay...and please don't tell Mom about detention," Mike asked feeling desperate once more.

Nancy chuckled.

"No problem, kid."

"Thank you, Nancy," Mike said feeling grateful to have a sister like her.

Nancy ruffled his hair.

"You'd be lost without me," she teased.

"Yeah right," Mike retorted but secretly he agreed with her.