Hey everyone! Soooo I decided to cut this fic a chapter shorter than planned. Im sorry for that, but I was writing what would have been the chapter before this one and it just felt like needless fluff (not that needless fluff is bad) but it just wasn't were I wanted the story to go. So! Im wrapping it up today, and I really hope you enjoy it!
March 7th, 1987
The first warm day in months.
Well, not totally warm. The temperature still definitely called for a jacket, just maybe not a thick one. The last snow had melted away weeks before, and for once it actually wasn't raining. So by all accounts, (aside from Max who insisted it was still freezing), the weather was nice.
Nice enough that when El woke up, there was soft warm light spilling across her bedroom, and the trees out of her window showed the first signs of spring. There was just something about seeing the seasons change that always made El smile. Living in the city for most of her life, the days shifted often dramatically from bleak and frigid, long nights curled up under several ratty blankets, to sweltering and humid. Where the sun bounced back off of the pavement and metal siding of the warehouse, and made your clothes cling to your body.
But being here, with miles and miles of trees surrounding the small town, and acres upon acres of farmland, you could not only feel the seasons, but you could see them.
It was a Saturday, but she jumped out of bed at the wee hours of 9am (terribly early by her standards). It had been over two months since her debacle with Kali, and over two months since her relationship with Mike became an official one. It also marked two months back in therapy, and three weeks of particularly good days. She was feeling happier than ever. Her relationship with her friends stronger, and her relationship with Hopper finally felt like a family. She was pretty sure she would never call him 'dad', but now it seemed like she didn't even need too. He was her dad, and it came with no strings attached. No need for formalities or conditions. She loved him, really and truly, and she finally let herself know how much he loved her too.
The best part about today, however, wasn't simply the good weather, it was her plans for what to do with it; Meeting up with her friends downtown. She wanted to go to the record store with Will, maybe even go see a movie as it got later with Max. Just spend a day having fun, without worry or concern. Having Mike as a boyfriend had helped her grades stay up and her homework completed, and now the weekend was hers to do with as she pleased.
Hopper hollered up the stairs that he had been called into work, so El would have to walk to meet Max downtown, but she didn't really mind.
She set out in a denim jacket and her favorite ratty chucks, smiling softly at the trees she passed. There were birds coming back now, and she listened to their rhythmic patterns to one another, like giggly little messages between school children. There were older women digging in recently thawed soil, planting bulbs that would bloom in the summer. There were small children enjoying Saturday activities like hopscotch, jump rope, and made up games where the rules seemed to change with each turn.
It all fostered something deep within El's heart. A feeling of community. A feeling of something wholesome and simple. These streets were clean, the houses were well kept, the people often wore warm smiles and waved at passersby. El was almost certain she wouldn't want to live in Hawkins forever, no it was far too small and quiet, but she suddenly saw herself falling in love with this little town. Wherever she went, whatever she did, Hawkins would always be the place she called home when she was young, regardless of whatever came before it.
As she turned onto bustling Main St, she saw Max coasting down the sidewalk a couple of blocks down. The redhead kicked off and sped up, and dodged a man carrying delivery boxes. El smiled and shook her head and cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Slow down Madmax! You're gonna kill someone!" El hollered in her direction.
Max's head whipped up, turning on a dime to meet El. She jumped off just inches away, and kicked the board into her waiting hand. "Asking a zoomer not to zoom is like asking a fish not to swim."
"Maybe, but most fish don't run down little old ladies carrying their groceries." El teased and hooked an arm around her friend.
"That was one time, and Mrs. Rigby sucks anyway." Max giggled, and held tightly to El's waist. It made walking a little hard, but soon the two girls were laughing to hard to care. They walked back up the sidewalk to meet the boys who had most likely ditched their bikes in some alley. Lucas and Will waved, Dustin hollered a boisterous hello, and Mike beamed down at them as they approached.
"Hey, Dustin and I want to hit the arcade while its empty, that way we don't have to wait for any games. You wanna come?" Lucas asked Max with a smirk, knowing she wouldn't be able to pass up the opportunity. She nodded and let go of El, stepping around the others to lock hands with Lucas. "Anyone else want to come?"
"El and I were going to go to the record store, but we can join you guys after." Will answered softly.
"What about you Mike?"
"Actually, if it's okay, i'd like to go with you two." Mike looked suddenly like he was encroaching on a private conversation rather than just addressing his best friend and girlfriend.
"Of course, Randy will be happy to see you again." El smirked, locking her fingers around his and pulling him with her in the direction of the shop. The entire walk down she could hear Dustin and Max arguing about Dig Dug and it made her heart feel content.
The record store was one of those places that stays the same even when it changes. New posters and cardboard cutouts, new rare vinyls on the wall behind the counter, new patches in the glass case, but always the same energy. The same hazy interior and funky smell greeted them just before the same Randy would wave hello from the back room.
El and Will quickly got lost in combing the rows, showing each other their great finds and laughing over stupid album artwork. Mike thumbed through a crate of dollar records looking for names he knew. Most of them were for female singers he was pretty sure his mom liked, but there was gold to be found everywhere.
"That's a great score kid, a real choice get." Randy said, suddenly looming over Mike's shoulder. Mike wasn't even sure what he had in his hands. A beat up and well loved Bob Dylan record called 'Blood on the Tracks'. Mike wasn't sure what was so great about it, it looked maybe warped, and definitely old.
"I... I should get it?" Mike stuttered.
"Yeah man, Bob Dylan is classic. Dudes a real punk rocker even if he doesn't sound like it. Got a voice like a couple angry crows man. Poetry." Randy nodded to himself and organized a couple of crates with new inventory.
Mike wasn't sure how someone with a voice like 'angry crows' could be good, let alone poetry, but he trusted Randy's suggestion. He added it to his small stack and looked up to see El spinning Will on the same bar stool she had made him sit on weeks before. They had unplugged the headphones and something loud and screechy had filled the space of the shop.
"So you and El an item?" Randy muttered, staring down his nose at Mike who suddenly felt about 2ft tall.
"Yeah we are." Mike melted into a dopey grin, feeling the layers of anxiety fall away while he watch El dance through the aisles.
"That's a good get too man. El is a real road warrior. Wouldn't wanna take her in a fight. You kids go to that show in Chicago?" Randy leaned back against the tables and ran a hand through his greasy hair.
"We did actually. I didn't want to go but... I guess I got talked into it." Mike smiled to himself more than to Randy. He figured Randy was probably the one that told El about the Fugazi show in the first place.
"Right on little dude. I knew you had the spirit in you. You guys going to the show tonight?"
"Who is it?" Mike felt his hands grow clammy around his stack of records. Concerts still weren't exactly a fun topic of conversation for him.
Before Mike could say anything else, he was being ushered towards the corner where El and Will were currently crying with laughter. Randy clicked off the record player and turned on the 8-track. He pulled a bright yellow tape from his pocket and pressed it into place.
What played wasn't exactly what Mike might have expected. Rather than loud or droning vocals, the voice was guttural and intense. The music was fast, lively, with a reggae vibe that through him for a loop. Just as punk, but soulful, just as angry, but with intention.
"This, kid, is Bad Brains. The best damn band of the last decade." Randy smiled smugly at the look of astonishment on all of their faces. He pulled a folded flyer from the same pocket the tape had been in, and handed it to El.
"Holy shit Randy this rules." El beamed, eyes scouring the crumpled flyer. Will nodded and moved to turn it up louder.
"You said they were playing tonight?" Mike had to yell a bit, but Randy nodded. "In Chicago?" He nodded again.
"Aw man I bet this is great live!" Will bopped to the beat of the song.
Mike looked between the three of them. Will who loved music more than anyone, maybe other than Jonathan, El who was having the time of her life just listening in this grimy little shop, and Randy, who almost seemed to be egging him on.
"Why don't we go and find out?" Mike yelled over the sound, and suddenly all eyes were on him.
El turned down the music before facing him. "Do you mean it? You would want to go see them live? It would be just like last time, I mean aside from..."
"Yeah I know, it sounds fun. Let's do it! I can try to borrow my moms car and we can see if the others want to come too!" Mike half expected El to either laugh in his face, or brush it off for his sake, but instead she pulled him into such a tight hug that it nearly forced all of the oxygen from his lungs.
"Come on let's go get them from the arcade! And then we can stop by your moms house! Oh i'll have to go get changed first but we have time!" El yelled excitedly, grabbing her bag and rushing out the door, flyer clutched tightly in her hand. Will followed close behind with a similar giddiness in his step.
"Your welcome for that little dude. Have the night of your life and don't let her get away man, she's a lifer."
Mike nodded, although not quite sure what a 'lifer' was, but he could feel it probably meant something good. Randy liked El, how could he not? Mike payed for the three records from the dollar bin, and then walked out onto the bright street. He saw that El and Will were already a few blocks down, talking excitedly. He smiled to himself and followed them, just happy they were happy. There was some nervousness growing in his chest, like maybe El would want to leave again, but it was greatly outweighed by the voice in his head telling him that she wouldn't do that. She had been doing so well, and the rain cloud that seemed to loom above her had drifted off in the months that had passed since the last concert.
And this time, he would be with her the entire step of the way, and he was even looking forward to it.
Convincing the others hadn't been hard.
Max had spent all of her quarters anyway, and Lucas was pretty much down to do whatever Max wanted to do, and Dustin was down to do pretty much anything anyway.
Convincing his mom, however, was proving not to be so easy.
"Michael, I just don't feel comfortable letting you drive all of your friends that far." Karen frowned at him, one gloved hand curled on her hip, the other hand still holding a soapy plate that she had been washing.
"It's just going to be for one night, and I promise to drive the speed limit, and I've never even gotten in an accident." Mike was practically begging at this point. He had told his friends to wait outside, and he could see them sitting around in the grass out of the kitchen window. He had of course lied, and said they wanted to go to a midnight premiere of Predator (despite it not coming out for another three months). Sometimes it was really nice that his parents had no idea what his interests were.
"I know that, Michael, and I trust you, it's everyone else I don't trust. There are a lot of crazy people out there, and a lot of drunk drivers on the road." Karen pressed her lips together tightly, still clearly weighing the choice in her mind. "Is your little girlfriend going with you?"
Mike looked out the window at El, who was playing with the grass under her fingers and smiling in the sun. his heart sped up for just a moment. "Yeah, she is going, why?"
"Well I still haven't properly met her. What if she gets you in trouble?" It was a bullshit excuse, and Mike could tell even his mom knew it. He stifled an eye roll.
"She's the police chief's daughter, how much trouble could she get me in?" Mike said flatly.
Karen sighed and dropped her dish back into the sink. She kept her gaze out the window at Mike's friends (more specifically El) and took off her pink cleaning gloves slowly.
"You really like this girl, don't you?" Karen asked quietly. It was a question that Mike wasn't expecting. He figured that it was probably some weird parent logic, but he answered honestly.
"Yeah, I really do" His words carried a weight that filled the room. Liking El was an understatement, but it was still the truth.
Karen drummed her perfectly manicured nails against the counter before turning to him with an expression he couldn't quite place. "Okay. take the car, but you will tell me when you get home, and you will return it with the same amount of gas you took it with. Do you understand me?"
"Yeah! Yeah of course!" Mike's face lit up and he nearly jumped out of his shoes with excitement. "You're the best mom, thanks!" If they were closer he may have even hugged her.
He grabbed the keys from their hook by the door and turned to wave goodbye.
"Be safe!" Karen yelled as he slammed the door. She stood by the window and watched him excitedly tell his friend the news. They all cheered and ran to the car. She watched Mike offer a hand to help El get up from the ground, even though she probably didn't need help at all. She watched Mike hook an arm around her shoulder, and say something to her that made the curly haired girl laugh. "And have fun."
The Party piled into Karen's car, debating over who got to sit where. Then they headed to El's house to hang out until it was time to drive the few hours it would take to get to the city. El put on some records to get everyone in the mood, and her and Max went up to El's room to get changed. El made a quick call to the police station to tell Hopper about her plans, and he made some lame joke that he 'better see her tomorrow or he's sending a search party' that made her laugh and roll her eyes. It just felt nice that he trusted her despite everything that has happened.
El slicked back her hair, something she hadn't done in a week or too, and smoked out her eyes the way she liked. Max even let El rim her eyes with a waxy black liner that made her eyes water a little bit.
As the time got closer, Max returned down stairs to where the boys were lounging around, and Mike decided to sit on El's bed while she finished her makeup. It was intriguing to watch. When he was younger, he used to sit in Nancy's room and watch her do her hair and makeup. It always fascinated him, like art but for your face.
Sitting there, with Sonic Youth drifting through the room from downstairs, he felt his anxiety begin to twist in his stomach again. Bouncing his leg, he decided to pace around El's room. He looked at the posers on her walls, and the art she had pinned up from Will. He looked at her books and magazines, her hair products, and the pile of jackets on the chair in the corner. It didn't help much, and it must have looked as strange as he felt because El giggled from her place in front of the floor length mirror.
"You trying to find a cute skirt to wear?" El teased, smirking at him in the reflection.
"No im... I guess i'm just anxious." Mike admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
El uncrossed her legs and stood up, turning to face him. She looked beautiful, and very classically El. A leather jacket, a Descendants shirt tucked into ripped up black denim jeans.
"Its okay to be nervous. The last show you went too didn't... go very well, and it was literally all my fault. But I promise you will have fun, and i'll be with you the entire time." She looked guilty and somber.
"I know, i'm not really worried about that I just. I feel like i'm... I wont look like the rest of the people there. I'll be out of place." Mike muttered, looking past El's shoulder into the mirror. He remembered the last concert. The spiked hair, the ripped clothes, the makeup, the chains and leather. He was just some scrawny boy in a striped shirt with puffy hair.
"So what?" El smirked, drawing his attention back to her. "You don't have to look like everyone else, most of the people that go to shows are posers anyway." She crossed the small space between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. He still looked unsure.
"You aren't going to be embarrassed to be seen with a nerd?" There was a playfulness to his voice, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Hell no. I love your little striped shirts and sweaters. Going to shows isn't about what you wear," Her voice slipped into a half-hearted impression of Randy, "Its about feeling the music, man."
This last did make Mike chuckle. "So you really don't care? No one is going to beat me up or steal my lunch money?" He finally wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
"Of course not, I wouldn't let them even if they tried. You can go to this show with me, decked out head to toe in your best dork gear, and you will still be the coolest guy there." El pressed a tiny kiss to his cheek and turned back to the mirror. "Just like how when we go to prom, im going in chucks and a t-shirt."
Mike blushed. "El Hopper, did you just ask me to prom?"
Now it was El's turn to blush. Mike watched her eyes widen in the mirror and she whipped around to face him again. "Yeah I guess I did. Damn, and I didn't even get you an oversized teddy-bare, or hire a singing telegram or anything."
Mike laughed so hard that he fell onto the bed, but not before he reached for El's arm and pulled her down with him. They landed in a heap, covering the piles of clothes El had deemed unworthy of tonight's outing, both laughing. Mike laid out flat and El propped her head on his chest to look up at him.
"Okay well how about I forget you asked and then you can still surprise me?" He asked, still giggling, and looking down at her in a way that anyone else would consider an unflattering angle.
"That sounds fair. Unrelated, how much do you think I would cost for me to get Stan Lee to come to Hawkins? I need him to ask a super dorky kid a really important question."
"Don't even joke about that, I might pass out if I ever met Stan Lee."
"Um who said it was for you? Maybe I want him to ask Dustin something." She tapped her chin contemplatively and then they were both laugh again. Mike kicked himself for feeling so worked up over something so stupid. El was perfect.
"Ask me what?" Dustin said from the doorway, grinning slyly. El rolled off of Mike and sat up to look at the curly haired boy in the doorway.
"I'm asking you to prom." El giggled.
"God, right in front of me?" Mike pressed a hand to his chest in mock offence. Dustin looked stunned for all of about two second before he snorted laughter.
"Sorry Wheeler, the ladies can't resist my pearls." He purred and everyone but him rolled their eyes. "I came up here to tell you it's time to go."
"Okay, we'll be down in a sec." El smiled and Dustin thumped back down the stairs. El checked herself out in the mirror once more before turning back to Mike.
She crossed to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. Her kisses always made him feel like he was floating, but this one carried with it an aura of assurance, and something that almost felt like love. Her lips danced gently across his and for a moment he forgot all about where they were going and what they were doing.
"Now, if you ever feel nervous, just tell me and i'll do that." Her lips were still dangerously close to his own.
"Um, okay, im nervous." He joked, and she pinched his cheek.
"Come on, Wheeler, were gonna be late." El rolled her eyes at his dopey expression, and grabbed his hands, ushering them both out of her room and downstairs where the others were waiting.
There was only one thought in Mike's mind, as they headed out to his car, never letting go of one another, and a smile bloomed across his face. 'El hopper is going to be the death of me.'
The drive to Chicago was almost the best part of the entire night.
Max, Lucas, and Dustin all sat squished into the backseat of Karen's car. Will, being the smallest of the group, sat more or less on the middle console. He had raided El's tape collection, and played DJ the entire trip. The group sang loudly and out of tune to whatever song blared through the speakers. El danced around in the passenger seat, Lucas and Will started a pseudo push pit in the back. Max flung her hair around, laughing wildly. At one point Dustin stuck his head out of the window and hollered into the evening air at oncoming traffic. Mike just tried to stay under the speed limit and pay attention to the road, but even he danced and sang to the songs he knew.
They arrived in the city just after sunset. It grew before them like a galaxy of stars. All twinkling lights against the inky skyline. None of the sorrow or loneliness that El had felt the last time she made this trip resided in her now. Every time it reared up in her gut, she would look to the handsome boy behind the wheel, or at her friends in the rearview mirror and feel assured. Feel at peace.
She held the flyer she snatched from Randy in her hands, and directed Mike on where to go. As they turned down street after street, El looked out on all of the sights she had once called home. A warehouse on 4th street, a minute mart she swiped candy from, an old swing set in a park, dark alleys illuminated by blinking red exit signs. Some places held happy memories, but most held nothing but loneliness. It astounded her just how foreign it at all felt. It was all behind her now, and in the morning she would go back to her bed, in her room, at her house, and she would be with her real family. And as she turned in her seat to look at her friends who were playing air instruments, she felt that they had been her family from the beginning. It just took her her whole life to find them.
Mike found parking across the street from a bar just a couple of blocks from the venue. The streets were crawling with gutter punks and drunken idiots. The walk to the venue was just like before. The boys looking painfully out of place, but not really caring. El and Max fit the part on the surface, but it would have been clear to anyone looking that they were different than all the rest.
Loud, bass heavy music reverberated off of the walls of the squat brick building. A bright red neon sign hung above the door, reading 'Upside Down Theater', and below a flickering fluorescent marquee with the words 'Bad Brains. Doors open 9pm'. El ushered them inside, where a sea of people swayed and moved to the music. The venue smelled like cheap beer and sweat, and the same musky oder that resided in Randy's record store. You could feel the bass bouncing through the floorboards, and feel the electricity in the air from the guitar.
El led them around to the far wall where the crowd thinned out. In the center of the room was a large circle of people pushing and shoving one another, but no one seemed to get hurt. People danced, people closer to the stage yelled the words along with the men on stage. A huge tapestry hung behind them with a lighting bolt striking the Washington D.C. Capitol building, against a bright yellow background.
It didn't take long for Max to pull Lucas closer to the front of the crowd. She was too short to see much in the back, and she learned from her last trip that it was more fun to be right in front, and away from the push pit. El watched her best friends red hair disappear into the mass of moving bodies with a smile and happiness in her heart. Max really was born to be a punk rocker.
At some point in between songs, Dustin and Will found a couple of crates to stand on so they could have a better view. The front man, who called himself H. R., went into a speech about society and politics that made the crowd go wild. El cheered loudly and chanted with the rest of the audience.
In that moment Mike felt like he was truly a part of something bigger A part of history. A part of something so different from the world he had grown up in. It made him feel angry and happy all at the same time, and it made him understand just how sheltered he had been until El came in, like a storm, and turned everything on its head. She really was a road warrior, and he wanted to go with her on whatever road it was.
Once they started playing again, El grabbed his hand and pulled him deeper into the crowd. He started to sweat as they neared the mass of people who were shoving and throwing themselves around wildly.
"It's fun I promise! Just don't fall down!" El yelled over her shoulder at him, and then let go into the pit. He watched her for a moment, slamming against people, spinning around and laughing, pushing people away, being pulled from side to side. Then, against his better judgment, he joined her. It felt crazy and stupid, but he couldn't help feeling exhilarated. Eventually he got knocked into the side, and lost his footing. He would have fallen if El hadn't caught his wrist and pulled him away from the chaos.
"What's the point of that!?" Mike yelled into her ear once they had found a safer place to stand.
"Sometimes when you're mad, it feels good to shove people around!" El said, liveliness flickering in her eyes.
"Is everyone here mad!?"
"If you aren't mad, then you aren't paying attention!" El responded with a smirk. She hoped he would get it. El watched Mike look around. At the pit they had come from, at the crowd around them, at the people on stage, and he nodded.
"Yeah I guess I am pretty mad!" Mike laughed.
El wanted to look back at the stage, but she couldn't take her eyes away from him. The way he was experiencing it all for the first time. That he was learning and growing. That he had helped her learn and grow in a way she never knew that she needed.
She stepped closer to him, looking up the measurable distance between their eyes, and smiled. She cupped his face, bringing him down to her level and kissed him with a passion saved only for him. It was longer than any of their kisses before. She let her arms drape around his neck as he clung to her hips and pulled her closer. It felt like the entire crowd of people faded away around them.
It seemed so obvious then. That she had been chasing a life where who you are, and what you stand for didn't matter. That you could be anyone and anything regardless of where you started, or what odds were stacked up against you. And while she had dedicated herself to that belief, she had never let it be true for her. She had told herself she would always be alone and easily forgotten. But it wasn't true, and it never had been. She could love others the way they loved her if she wanted. She could have friends and a home, and be safe and happy and still never let her values slip.
In the early hours of the morning she would go back to a quiet and sleepy town, and go to bed in her safe and loving home. She would wake up and see her friends again, and again every day after that. She would continue to heal and grow, and shape people around, and let herself be shaped back. She would eventually leave Hawkins for a new adventure, but she would have a father to call home too, and friends to visit. She would do something impactful with her life without hurting anyone in the process, not even herself.
And all the while, she would be in love with a dorky boy from Hawkins Indiana who wore striped shirts, and had poofy hair, and read comic books.
It was so clear. So clear it made her want to cry and scream and sing and dance. So clear that when their kiss finally broke, and they stepped apart, there were tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, and she held his hand as the song ended.
And she decided their and then that she loved him. And that Bad Brains was the probably the best band of all time.
They left the venue at about midnight, and headed back towards home.
The streets were quieter now. Only a few other cars sped by them as Mike turned onto the freeway. El watched the city fade from view as they traveled. She watched as the high rise buildings and neon signs turned into specs on the horizon behind her. She looked at Max who had fallen asleep on Lucas shoulder, and then at Lucas who had fallen asleep on Dustin.
It felt like the suturing of a self inflicted wound. A hole she had created, and only she could let heal. A hole she had replaced with these people here.
Will, who had put on a slow and quiet mixtape for the drive home. Who had spent the entire night looking at the stage with the same captivation that some people have in church. Who was one of the sweetest and most caring people, but who also had a wound he was trying to heal. Will, who filled his heart with love and art, and music, and people, and who loved harder than most.
Lucas, who would always be the voice of reason in a group full of big personalities. Who would tell you exactly what you needed to hear, even if it's not what you wanted. Who spent the entire night getting lost in a world so different from his own because he was open minded, and just wanted to support his friends. Who would do anything and everything in his power to be good to the people he cared about.
Dustin, who had his face pressed against the passenger window, and his breath fogged the glass each time he snored. Who had blown his vocal cords by yelling and cheering for a group of people he had never met, and knew nothing about. Because he was supportive and loving, and was always the first to want to participate in any adventure. He could make you laugh even if you were in the worst mood imaginable, and who would always stand by your side if you needed an ally.
Hopper, who was probably sleep at home, but would wake up when he heard the door open just to make sure everything was okay. Who would make breakfast in the morning, even if it was just coffee and toast. Who had taken her in because she needed a home, and he needed a reason to love again. Who had lost a daughter, but gained another in a way he never thought possible.
Max, who had tired herself out dancing to songs she didn't know. Who never let her life or family interfere with being a painfully devoted and loyal friend. Who would attack any obstacle in her way. Who had been the first kind face that El ever found in Hawkins, and who had literally picked her up from the ground, dusted her off, and been by her side ever since.
And Mike. Mike, who had traveled for miles to bring home a girl that felt she didn't deserve it. Who would sacrifice himself or his time for anyone that needed it. The best kind of friend, the kind that is impossible to shake off because he cares so damn much. Mike, who had given El the courage and support to live life for the first time, and who continued to be the hope that motivated her.
El decided then, that a family is whoever you want it to be. It's not the people that raise you, although it can be, but it's those that shape you. It's the people you meet along the way, that lift you up when you are at your lowest points, and help you become a better person. These people, these chaotic, and wild, and loving, and dorky people were her family.
And while her mind often drifted to Kali and the gang from before, it was never with the same guilt or resentment. Now she only wished that they would find the same love and peace that she had found. Because they deserved a second chance if they ever game themselves one.
So El sat back in her seat, with her legs curled to her chest, and she rested her hand on Mikes. He smiled at her sleepily, and she felt with an undeniable assurance that she would love him forever. All she had to do, was love herself first.
So thats the end folks. Im sorry again that I cut it a chapter short, but I really felt like this is how the story needed to end. I am going to be starting other projects soon, so keep your eyes peeled if you like my writing! You can always come over and talk to me on Tumblr michael-hearteyes-wheeler, and request a oneshot or drabble or whatever else! I really hope you have enjoyed this fic, and I hope to see you on the next one!
