As we ride our bikes toward Will's house, I explain my whole theory to El. She stays silent the whole time, letting me do all of the talking.

If I didn't already have enough on my plate to stress about, another one of my friends with superpowers needs to be added to the list.

What confuses me the most, though, is that he hid it from us. Whatever happened to friends don't lie? Why would he keep something like that from us? Especially when his lack of control, which I've noticed lately, can put us all in potential danger.

Whatever happens, though, I've made myself a promise to protect El at all costs. I don't really think that Will is dangerous. He would never hurt his friends, right? I mean we've known each other for years. We practically know each other like the back of our hands. But either way, I can't let Eleven get hurt again. I just can't. Not after everything she's been through, especially since a lot of it is my fault...

We ride down Mirkwood, towards the Byers' house, and I swear I can hear something moving amongst the trees. But then again, nothing is really normal here in Hawkins anymore. But shouldn't that be even more reason to worry? I shake the thoughts from my mind. I'm just overthinking things. I've been doing a lot of that lately. Yuck! I'm starting to sound like my sister!

But I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Eleven's hands are gripping hard at my waist, and I instantly know that she can sense something too. Maybe I'm not turning into Nancy after all.

"Mike," she says quietly, "something's not right."

She sounds troubled, and I can't blame her. Nothing is 'right' anymore. Everything is so wrong. So strange.

"I know, but don't worry. We'll figure it out soon. We don't even know for sure if it's Will that has powers!" I try to sound confident in my words, but I can tell that she's not buying the act.

"Mike," she starts, "your logic is so sound. And... There's something out there, I can feel it."

She says it all while she points deep into the woods, and I realise she's right. My theory is sound. Will has to be the one that used his... Powers that day. Yet, even though I know it's the only logical truth, I don't want to believe that Will would keep something like that from us. Here I go again, overthinking and rambling on and on. But I guess it's better to overthink it than to not at all. At least this way I can be extra careful about keeping everyone safe, this time.

She's also right about something being out there. Things have just been so off lately around our neighbourhood.

I ride up the driveway of The Byers' house, and I notice that Will isn't outside waiting for us today. I wish he had been, I honestly don't want to have to walk up and knock on the door to face him, and then find out that something is wrong. But I guess this is the start of me preparing myself to face my fears. I need to push away the darkness and buy a freaking flashlight. I can't keep relying on El to be my happiness, even though she always will be. But I can tell it's taking a toll on her too.

I can't let myself become numb again. I have to step up and protect her this time, and come out of this successful.

I jump off my bike and push down the kickstand, then helping Eleven off of the back. I make sure she's standing steadily on the ground before I smile at her, her eyes lighting up at the sight of my happiness, which makes my heart flutter in my chest.

We walk up the steps and onto the porch, and I step forward to knock on the door. Not long after, Jonathan answers the door with a troubled smile. "Hey guys," he says, his voice kind of shaky, "Will isn't feeling so good today, so you'll be riding out of here on your own today Mike."

"Oh," I mouth, stepping back, "is he okay?"

"Y-yeah, he'll be fine... It's just a cold I think."

Something about his tone of voice is giving me chills. How convenient for Will to be sick today...

"Would you like to come in Eleven?" He asks, looking at El with a smile.

Eleven steps forward and looks back at me worriedly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear before she grabs my hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

She let's go, looking back at Jonathan with a small smile. I'm hesitant to watch her go inside, and she must sense this because before the door shuts she looks back at me and says, "I'll be okay, Mike."

The door shuts and I'm standing there shaking as if I were standing in the snow in my underwear.

Something in her voice sounded so afraid.

If anything happens to her today, it'll be all my fault.

A/N: hey guys, sorry for the short chapter. It was kind of a filler chapter but the next chapter is actually going to be amazing. I'll give you guys a hint as to how great it's going to be. It's not even going to be told from Mike's POV! Okay, that sounded more extraordinary in my head, but trust me, the next chapter is going to make up for how bad this one is. Prepare yourselves!