Chapter 4:
Dustin walked into Mike's house first, not hesitating, and not afraid. They had faced the Demigorgon once before, and they had won, mostly because of Eleven's help. But now they were older and smarter, stronger, too. Dustin was sure that together, with Eleven back, they could find a way to take down the monster that terrorized them all those years ago.
"Nice place, Mike," Dustin said to his friend as he shuffled through the door. Mike stepped into the living room, shedding his jacket and tossing it onto a kitchen chair to his right. Dustin turned back to look at him, and he noticed Eleven wasn't right behind him. "Where'd our favorite mutant go?" Mike turned around, too, surprised she wasn't there like she had been before.
"El?" Mike walked back onto the porch, and just caught a glimpse of her as she started heading for the woods. "Eleven? Hey." He trotted around the building to catch up with her. "Whatre you doing? Where are you going?"
"Woods."
"Why?" He rushed a little to catch up to her, grabbing her wrist and tugging her back a little. "You can't go out there alone, its not safe." Eleven paused, looking back at him. He was obviously concerned, worried about her safety. She had missed having someone looking out for her. Seven years in the Upside Down almost made her forget what it was like. Almost.
"Its okay. Its scared." She let him hold onto her wrist, eyes flicking down to where he hand was wrapped around it. She didn't try to pull away, or to free herself, and his grip was loose and gentle. Mike made a face.
"Scared? Of what?"
"Me," she answered bluntly. "What I do. Only attacks when I sleep." She waited patiently until he dropped his hand away. "Safer for me. Not you." She reached up and put a hand on his chest. "Go back, Mike."
"Come with me," he told her, eyes fixated on hers, though her attention was on the way her palm flattened against his chest. She looked deep in thought, but her cheeks flushed a little. "Come on, El, its not safe for anyone to be alone." She sighed, pulling her hand away and letting it fall to her side. She knew why he was worried.
"Just a minute. I won't leave." Eleven knew that Mike was worried she'd disappear again, but she wouldn't go back to the Upside Down even if she could. "Just wait, Mike." She turned again, walking to the woods. Mike let out a long sigh, but he trusted her. If Eleven said she wouldn't leave, then she wouldn't. Friends don't lie. She learned that a long time ago. And Mike knew how seriously she took that concept, as circumstantial as it was.
She walked a little ways into the woods, then stopped and glanced back over her shoulder. Mike had knocked on the back door, and Dustin opened it for him. Even though Mike stepped inside his apartment, he left the door open just in case, and for some reason that made Eleven smile.
Eleven had missed the woods, the real woods, not the dark, terrifying forest she was lost in for so long in the Upside Down. The woods behind Mikes house were full and pretty, thick with leaves and other plants littering the forest floor. She started heading deeper into the woods when she heard a twig snap. Her body tensed and her head jerked to one side, then the other. Even though she was free now, that she was back, her fear and paranoia hadn't faded much.
Eleven took a few more steps, then she was suddenly grabbed by arms that weren't familiar to her at all. She immediately started to focus on tossing the stranger away, but a sharp, blinding pain broke her focus. She screamed, then fell to the ground immediately.
"Welcome back, you little bitch," a voice she barely recognized said from behind her. She tried to sit up, but that burning pain still spread from her side. After laying a hand over where it hurt, Eleven pulled it back only to see crimson liquid on her palm and fingers. "Didn't think you'd ever show your face around here again. But I guess you just couldn't stay away from frogface."
"Mike!" She called out in a panic, holding her hand over the wound. Her gaze fell on the sharp piece of silver glinting in the light that the boy held in his hand. "MIKE!"
"Shut up!" He kicked her. "Come on. Don't you have superpowers? Where's the weirdo we know?" He kicked her again. Eleven stared, trying to focus, and she managed to get the knife to fly from his hand, landing only a few feet away, but her focus was broken by the pain. She felt the familiar drip of blood from her nose.
Troy took another step towards her, but he stopped when he heard footsteps approaching rapidly from behind him. By the time he turned around, Mike was already there. He threw his body into Troys, taking him to the ground with him. Troy was caught off guard, which gave Mike time to land a few punches before Troy kicked him off.
"What the hell did you do?!" Mike shouted, rolling until he was back on top of Troy, pinning him, throwing a few more punches into his face. "You bastard! What did you do?!"
"Mike," Eleven whimpered, getting his attention. Mike threw one last punch, then hurried over to her, kneeling down to take a look at the damage. There was a tear right through the side of her brand new pink tank top, the one she really liked. Blood stained the fabric around the tear. He was panicking, barely able to breathe as he tried to figure out what to do.
"She ruined my life, Wheeler!" Troy yelled from behind him, though the boy was in too much pain, and too dizzy to get up again. Blood spilled from his mouth and nose. "She broke my arm, and I couldn't play anything ever again. She made me a laughing stock. She's a monster."
Dustin came jogging up to the scene, panting heavily,
"I called Hopper. He's sending an ambulance out to get her."
"Don't move, El. Okay? Just keep pressure on it." He had laid his own hand over hers, pressing down on to the wound, even though she was crying and wincing from the pain.
"How'd you know she was here?" Dustin asked Troy, towering over the smaller boy.
"Guess your little girlfriend pissed off your ex. She called me. Told me you called her Eleven, and that she was with you again. I knew you'd bring her here." He coughed, spit up some blood, then grinned up at Dustin. "I hope she dies. Better for everyone that way."
Eleven felt Mike jerk quickly in the other boy's direction, so she latched onto his shirt with her free hand, holding him back, pulling him closer to her.
"No, Mike. No more." She laid back against the leaves and the dirt, too tired and dizzy to say much more. Dustin could take care of Troy if he tried to run. He wasn't going anywhere, and the bully of a brat ruined his own life by making sure not playing sports was the least of his worries. He'd probably be going to prison.
"El, why didn't you kill him? Ive seen you do it. Why didnt you do anything?" Mike demanded to know, holding his hand down over her wound again. She shook her head up at him, like wrong of him to even ask her that.
"I don't want to be a monster," she said softly, glancing over at Troy. "I dont want... to be taken away. I want to stay."
"I won't let anyone or anything take you away," he told her.
"Promise?"
"Promise." He reached up to push her hair away from her face. "Just lay back, relax. Help is coming." She nodded, then let her head fall back into the leaves again, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. Mike stayed by her side until the medics pushed him aside, and even then, he followed her to the ambulance and rode with her, sitting to her right, holding onto her hand though she lost consciousness on the way.
Eleven woke a couple hours later, lying on a soft hospital bed. She would have panicked if she hadn't seen Mike out of the corner of her eye. He was laying on the side of the bed by her waist, head resting on his arms as he dozed softly. Eleven smiled, despite the situation and the pain in her side when she sat up, she smiled.
"Mike?" She said his name quietly, reaching over and burying her fingers in his shaggy black hair. He groaned, then sat up, rubbing his eye.
"El. You're awake." He ran his hands down his face, then leaned forwards again, resting his elbows on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?" She didn't answer immediately. Her eyes drifted around the room, then fell on a case filled with an assortment of pretty colorful flowers. Mike followed her gaze. "Will dropped those off for you."
"Will?" She seemed a little surprised.
"You're his friend," Mike explained. "He was worried. Dustin was, too. And Hop and Joyce." She reached over and touched his hair again, enjoying the way it felt against her palm. Mike blushed, of course, and cursed himself internally for always getting so embarrassed by things. He wasn't smooth when it came to her.
"Soft," she said after a moment, dropping her hand away from his hair. She reached up to touch hers, but it was dryer, more coarse from the damage it suffered it in Upside Down, the lack of care it received there. She frowned.
"It'll get better, El. Its not a big deal," he chuckled, shaking his head. "So, you're okay?" Eleven nodded her response, then pulled the blanket back. She lifted the gown, which made Mike panic and look the other way, and she inspected the bandages for a moment before dropping the gown again.
"Mike. Why won't you look?" She wondered. "Unless I'm dressed. You wont look at me." The expression on her face led Mike to believe that it upset her, and that she thought it meant there was something wrong with her. Mike sighed,
"It's because I'm... Well you're more than my friend. And it makes me... attracted to you. I like the way you look a whole lot, El. But your... your body is special to you, and its... I don't know... something to be cherished. Its yours to see, and the only other person who should see is someone you really really like. Someone you love." It was the only way her could think to explain it to her, and his cheeks were burning hotly.
"So then Mike should look," she stated like it was so obvious. Mike stared at her, a little surprised at first, then smiled.
"Maybe another time, El."
"I get to see yours, too?"
"One step at a time, El," he laughed, squeezing her hand. "Lets get you all better, and solve this monster problem. Then I'll give you the birds and the bees talk, okay?"
"I don't like bees. But I like birds."
"No. I don't... Never mind. I'll explain later." He grinned up at her, amused by her naivety and innocence, though those qualities were what held him back from holding her tightly, from kissing her passionately, and from looking when he had the opportunity to before and now. He wanted badly to see her, to see all of her and her beauty. She grown into a woman, and Mike was a man. But part of Eleven was stuck as a child. So Mike would wait, would be patient. Because he had to. It just didn't feel right.
Yay! Thanks for the reviews again. :D they make my day and ive been having some bad days. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and Troy isnt gone yet ;) Let me know if you like it so far and if there's anything you wanna see happen :) thanks, lovelies!