A/n Thanks so much for everybody's kind reviews. There are still plenty more chapters to come!
"Eleven?!"
"Mike!"
El sat up in the bed as quick as she could but, considering that she was still quite weak, it wasn't actually that quick. The two kids hugged each other. They lost track of how long they stayed holding on to each other, just taking it all in. They eventually broke apart.
"You did it. You closed the gate. You saved us all. Again" Mike said with a gentle laugh.
El just smiled.
There was so much they wanted to say to each other, neither of them knew where to begin.
El told Mike about how she woke up in the Upside Down that night last November and went straight to Mike's house, but never went inside, knowing she would put him in danger if she did.
Mike listened with a nauseous stomach about how she lived in the woods for a few weeks before Hopper found her. The thought of El having to hunt for squirrels to eat in the freezing cold while Mike was safe and warm at his house, only 10 minutes away from her, made Mike feel like he was going to catch on fire. El was so close to him this whole year but he couldn't find her. What sort of a friend was he?
El could practically read his thoughts.
"It's not your fault" she said.
"I should have been there, I should have found you. Actually I should never have let you fight the Demogorgon in the first place, I should have protected you, I should have-"
"Breathe" El said, trying to calm down Mike. "It's ok now. We will be ok now"
They both looked at each other, smiling bashfully, realising how true that statement was. Everything was ok now.
A little while later they both decided it was time El properly got to meet everyone without the immediate threat of an inter-dimensional monster looming.
Mike helped El get out of bed. At this stage, her eyeshadow had rubbed off and her curls had broken free from the restraints of the hair gel.
Mike couldn't tear his eyes away from her curls. They were magnificent. Not that he said that to her. All this year, Mike dreamed of El coming back and being his girlfriend. Now that she was back, asking her to be his girlfriend didn't seem as urgent anymore. She was back. That's all that mattered. There would be plenty of time for everything else later.
Mike and El walked to the door of Will's bedroom, holding hands. El took a deep breath.
Time for a lot of explanations.