Mike was racing through traffic to the hill where a year and a half ago, the party had installed a device capable of enhancing their supercom's signals, he knew if that what he was thinking was right he needed to warn them as soon as possible. He reached the device in his bike and quickly rushed to the microphone.

- "Guys, is anyone there, this is most definitely a goddamn code red." He said through the microphone.

When there was no answer, he remembered it was just six in the morning his friends were most definitely still sleeping. – "Get off your goddamn asses, this is an emergency." They also had not used their supercoms in a while.

- "Well shit." He stated before getting up and returning to his bike.

He started his bike and hopped that he had enough time to warm them in school, he returned to his house and took a shower, before packing a tanto knife on his back pack, it was an incredibly sharp silver blade, with a leather wrapped handle, he had crafted it himself on the steel mill about a year and a half ago, along with a longer double edged blade, if anything, he needed to be prepared, he decided to make a stop in the police station, Hopper was a father figure to him, me deserved to be warned when hell broke free.

He walked through the door before stopping in Flo's desk. – "Hey Flo, is the Chief already here."

Flo's face lighted up at the sight of the boy, she had not seen him in a while and he had changed a lot he was taller and much more muscular. – "Michael, my dear. How've you been? He is already in his office."

- "Thank you Flo, I hope you're not letting him eat as poorly as he wants." Mike added, before walking to the chief's office, she just chuckled at his comment.

Mike knocked softly on the door before opening it, Mrs. Byers was there as well, they went completely silent once he entered, they were most definitely hiding something from him, but he just shrugged it off. – "I need to speak to you."

- "Okay, I'll leave you two to it." Joyce stated collecting her stuff.

- "Maybe you should stay." Mike stated warmly.

Joyce nodded in agreement before sitting once again. Mike took a deep breath. – "I don't know if you guys felt it but there was a small tremor this morning."

- "Yes kid, I felt it." Hopper stated.

- "So did I." Joyce added.

- "Okay here's the thing. I heard something, I was in the woods training as usual, it was a Demogorgon, maybe more than one." Mike stated seriously.

Hopper's eyes shot open, it was the first time Mike said something like this, still it had been three years since the attack of that thing, and it had been said that he was not himself this past few months. – "Sweetie, are you sure, maybe a bear or a cougar is passing by?" Joyce asked seeing Hopper was not reacting.

- "A cougar does not growl. A bear? Maybe." Mike stated.

- "Kid, are you sure about this?" Hopper asked in a warm voice, Mike was not known for lying.

- "The last time I heard that sound, was the last time I saw a very important person to me, it is tattooed in my brain, I'm sure." Mike answered firmly.

- "Then we need to act now, you're going to go straight to school from here, and straight to your house after." Hopper stated.

Mike was about to argue. – "Did I make myself clear?" Hopper stated before Mike could argue.

Mike was not going to argue with Hopper because he respected him a lot, but that did not mean that he wasn't going to act if needed, he simply nodded his head. – "Okay, I'm going to school."

- "I'll walk you out." Hopper said, they walked outside and his eyes shot open at the sight of Mike mounting a motorcycle. – "Be careful on that thing. And I'm serious Mike, I need you safe, if what you say is true, I need you safe, okay?"

Mike gave him a warm smile. – "Okay." He started his bike and went to school.

Mike arrived to school first, it was still fairly early, a few minutes later, all of the party had arrived. – "We need to talk." Mike stated, looking at their slightly worried faces, he had a stern expression, one he wore every time he was scared about something.

They entered the school together; Mike was trying to open one of the classrooms when none opened after a while he groaned and grabbed the door handle with all of his force and twisted it until it broke. – "Shit, remind me not to ever get on your bad side." Lucas stated in a teasing voice. Mike was too worried to laugh at the joke.

They entered the room and took a seat; Mike was pacing around the room. – "Stop that already. Why are we here?" Max hissed out.

Mike stopped and look at his friends. – "We have a code red."

Dustin's eyes shot open, usually he was the one to announce such event. – "What?" He asked.

- "This morning I heard a Demogorgon." Mike stated.

- "WHAT?" Will, Dustin and Lucas yelled jumping out their seats.

- "You heard me." Mike stated firmly.

- "You mean the monster you fought three years ago, the one that…" Max stated.

- "Yes. I believe it's more than one." Mike answered.

- "WHAT?" Will, Dustin and Lucas yelled once again.

- "Mike are you sure about this?" Will asked in a worried voice, of all of them maybe he was the one that was affected the most three years ago.

- "God, I really hope I'm wrong." Mike answered.

Hopper had just gotten home from work he made the secret knock on the door, and the door opened, revealing Eleven working on her school book, she had improved a lot in these three years, English was still a little hard for her, both math and science seemed to pick up very easily. – "Hey kid."

- "Hi." El answered concentrating on her work.

Hopper did not mention the fact that there could be one of those things out, she was upset enough as it is, and it still wasn't sure, maybe it was just a bear, when she finished her school work, there was a special knock on the door, Hopper got up from his chair and opened the door, Joyce was standing there, with a bag of groceries. – "Hey." She stated before entering the cabin.

- "Joyce!" El yelled before hugging her. She had not seen her in a while, she started coming about a year and a half after she started living there, Hopper had decided to tell her about Eleven since she was growing and there was stuff he could not teach her, they had grown very close, she was often the one to convince her to not exit the cabin and go find Mike or any of the others.

- "Hey sweetie, how've you been?" Joyce asked cupping El's cheek in her hands.

- "I've been better. Did you see Mike yesterday?" El asked.

- "I actually saw him this morning too." Joyce answered warmly.

El's eyes shot open, she grabbed Joyce's hand and dragged her too her room and closed the door behind them with a tilt of her head. – "I saw him this morning, he felt me, I could – I could even touch him without him disappearing."

Joyce frowned in confusion. – "What do you mean he felt you?"

El's eyes were filled with joy. – "Somehow he knew I was there, he even called me, he was crying, and when I placed my hand on his cheek, he tilted his head and closed his eyes, as if I was right there."

- "Well, he needs a little hope, he's not been himself these past months."

- "I know I see him break, every day." El stated sadly.

Joyce wrapped her arms around El, even though she understood why she could not go out on her own, that didn't mean she thought it was fair. – "This could mean your powers are improving maybe, you could actually talk to him one day through it."

Eleven pulled away. – "I don't want to talk to him like that, I wat to see him in person, tell him to stop blaming himself, to stop torturing himself." El said, with tears in her eyes.

- "I know sweetie, that's just not possible right now." Joyce added sadly.

El was about to answer, when Hopper knocked the door. – "I'm going to head to the office now, see you later."

Joyce turned to El. – "I need to leave too; I have to return to work."

El smiled at Joyce and dried her tears with her hands. – "Go, I'll be fine." Joyce nodded and exited the cabin as well, leaving El, as it was usual alone.

The party had stayed in the school to work on their homework and discussing a plan for opening an AV club, Will had a bad feeling, the hairs on his neck were spiked but he chose to ignore it, all of the students and teachers had already left since it was nearing seven in the evening, it was only them and Mrs. Steven, their calculus teacher, who happened to have a great esteem for the party similar of the bond they share with Mr. Clarke, she was outside going to her car to put away her stuff, when a mug made of glass fell off the pile she was holding. – "Damn it." She stated before setting the pile on the hood of her car and crouching to pick up the pieces of sharp glass, she cut herself in her left hand's palm and cursed again, a lot of blood came out since she had cut very deep, she started making pressure on her hand with a napkin when suddenly she was yanked from her feet and dragged a few feet closer to the school, she screamed before whatever had gotten her killed her.

Mike jumped from his seat the moment he heard the scream, all of his friends were there, Will, Dustin, Max and Lucas, they all had the same terrified expression. – "Stay here." He ordered more than asking.

Mike searched in his bag for his tanto blade and clipped the sheath on the back of his belt. – "What the hell is that for?" Max asked in a concerned voice.

Mike chuckled lightly. "Let's just hope I don't need it." He stated before exiting the classroom, he walked towards the exit of the building, when he heard a high pitch roar, once again the same roar as that night, but it was louder, like it was right there, he peeked through the door and saw Mrs. Steven lifeless body been eaten by a some four legged thing then he saw it open a flower like mouth and roar once again, it was only one and he could take it, he unsheathed the blade and kicked the door, gaining the thing's attention, when it was about to charge at him, he threw the blade with enough force that it jabbed its face, he then ran towards it and kicked the blade further in, before grabbing it and beheading the beast. He leaned down and closed Mrs. Steven's eyes, before hearing once again the roars, he turned around and saw at least three more of the thing he had just killed.

- "Shit." He stated before grabbing the car keys and running back towards the building and closing the door. A second later, his friends came towards him. – "I thought I told you to stay put." Mike hissed out.

- "What the hell is going on?" Lucas asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

- "Yeah, where's Mrs. Steven?" Will asked. Mike shook his head and grabbed a broomstick from the janitor's closet before putting it in the door's handles.

- "You mean she's…?" Dustin asked.

- "Yeah, there are some kind of Demogorgon things out there, only they're smaller and stand in four legs, like the size of a large dog." Mike answered.

Dustin peeked through one of the door's windows and gasped. – "Demodogs." He stated.

Max's eyes fell to the blade Mike was holding, it was covered in some kind of black blood. – "Did you kill one of those things?" She asked in a terrified voice.

Mike silently nodded, still looking through the window, watching how the Demodogs, paced around like planning how to attack, because they were sure to attack, and if they didn't think of something they were going to die there. – "Okay, this is what's going to happen." He stated taking Mrs. Steven car keys out of his pocket. – "I'm going to distract them, and you guys are going to get out of here, in Mrs. Steven's car. You're going to go the police department and tell Hopper what's going on."

- "WHAT?!" Max yelled. – "I'm not leaving you here."

Mike smiled towards her. – "Yes you are, all of you are." He looked at Lucas and stepped closer to him, he placed the keys on his hands. – "Get them out of here."

- "Mike – "Dustin started.

- "Look I'll be right behind you." Mike cut him off. – "I have a bike remember, I need you guys safe, I can't lose more people."

- "What makes you think we can lose you." Will who had been quiet the whole time stated firmly.

- "You're not, I'll be right behind you." Mike affirmed.

- "Stop saying that." Max stated grabbing his hand. – "I'm not going anywhere without you."

- "Neither am I." Will stated firmly.

- "Guys someone needs to tell Hopper what's going on here, we don't have time for this." Mike stated. – "I promise you I'm going to be right behind you, okay, but I need you to go." And without further discussion he exited the building and ran towards the three Demodogs standing in the parking lot, swiftly beheading one that had charged at him, he then ran towards the back of the building the other two Demodogs, soon turned out to be four, running after him, while Max and Will yelled for him to come back, Dustin and Lucas dragged them towards the car, they all hopped in, Lucas started the car with tears in his eyes and sped out the school.

Lucas pulled over in the police department, they all got off the car and rushed through the door, Flo tried to stop them, but they all ran to the chief's office almost knocking down the door. – "What the hell?!" Hopper yelled; he was with some bald guy.

Max walked towards the man, and grabbed him by the wrist and shoved him out the door. – "I repeat, what the hell?" Hopper stated more annoyed than before.

Max had tears in her eyes, she slammed the door. – "You need to come with us right now."

- "Go where?" Hopper asked slightly concerned by the look of their faces.

- "It's Mike, he's alone at school and there are some animal things trying to kill him." Lucas stated.

- "Demodogs." Dustin stated.

Max slapped him in the arm. – "How the hell is that important right now?"

- "Wait Demodogs? As in…" Hopper asked.

- "Yeah, Demogorgon." Will stated.

- "Shit." Hopper stated, before grabbing a machine gun from the closet next to his desk. – "You kids are staying here." There was some indistinctive arguing before he slammed the desk with his hand, making them shut up. – "End of discussion. Where is he?"

- "We left him at the school he said he was right behind us." Max answered before anyone else could.

Hopper nodded and rushed out of the building to his car, starting it and speeding off to the school. – "You better be alright kid; you better be alright." Hopper whispered while he was driving more than once.

Eleven was alone at the cabin, sitting on the couch, watching TV, when she felt something was wrong, she suddenly felt an urge to cry and like there was electricity running through her whole body, something was very wrong. She switched the TV for it to show static with a flick of her hand before closing her eyes and concentrating in Mike, what she saw made her heart stop, he was sitting on the floor, his left hand covering a stain of blood in his left side, his right hand holding a blade covered in a black blood, his knuckles were white of the pressure he was exerting, and there was blood on the floor, most definitely his blood, he was hurt, and he was alone and scared. Eleven practically flew out of the cabin, running as fast as she could, with tears in her eyes, he was hurt, he was in danger, he could… die.

Mike was sitting on the floor of the school's gym, facing the door, which was the only entrance, he had managed to kill three of the Demodogs chasing him, but was injured in the process, he was bleeding a lot, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the last one found him, he had managed to lose it by knocking him with a rock, since he had lost his blade in the last fight, he managed to return and grab his blade of one of the bodies of the Demodogs before locking himself in the gym, it had been roughly ten minutes and he was feeling weaker every second, one of the Demodogs had managed to slash him on his left side, it was very deep and he was losing too much blood.

A few minutes later, the last Demodog barged through the door, growling at Mike, he got up and stepped forward. – "Come on, you little shit." Mike stated in a menacing tone. – "Come on!" he yelled.

The Demodog let out one last growl before charging towards him, but before he could reach him, it stopped in his tracks and Mike heard all of the bones in it crack, before it was thrown through the wall, Mike heard steps coming from outside, he raised his blade pointing at the door, but when he was able to see who was it, he dropped the blade.

It was a girl, who could be standing at five foot four, she had shoulder length brown curly hair, and was dressing in thick black coat and a brown flannel underneath, with a pair of washed jeans, and brown boots. Mike had dropped his blade, at the sight of her eyes, a pair of eyes he would recognize anywhere, and the blood dripping from her nose, it was her. Suddenly there was no more pain on his wound and it felt like time itself had stopped, he stepped forward, and watched her anger expression change into a relieved and loving smile, the smile he would also recognize anywhere. – "Eleven." He said in a warm voice.

She was stepping closer to him as well. – "Mike." She stated in tone that matched his, when he wrapped his arms around her she gasped at the contact, one she had only been dreaming for, and suddenly there were tears in both of their eyes.

He hung to her, like his life depended on it, he was scared that, if he let go she would disappear. - "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Mike said, between sobs still hugging her.

- "You don't have to apologize to me." Eleven stated in a warm and sincere voice, running her hand through his hair while they still hugged.

Mike took a deep breath trying to calm his sobs. – "Whatever happened to you that day, it happened because you had to protect us, you had to protect me, and then I gave up on you, even though deep down I knew you were still there." He stated breaking into tears once again.

She pulled away a little to lock her eyes on his, but still holding each other, she gave him a warm smile. – "Mike, I understand." She stated.

- "I-I called you, every day for -" Mike started.

Eleven shook her head slightly. – "One thousand days." Mike looked shocked. – "I heard you, every day, I heard you."

- "Why didn't you tell me you were there, that you were okay?" Mike asked in a hurtful voice.

- "I couldn't, I saw how you broke yourself every day, I saw you suffer, and I just watched, I should be the one apologizing to you." Elven stated with a light chuckle.

Mike was about answer when he heard Hopper calling for him, a second later he entered the gym and his eyes shot open by the blood and cut in Mike's shirt and at the sight of Eleven standing beside him. – "What the hell are you doing here?"

For a moment Mike wasn't sure if he was talking to him, but his eyes were fixed on Eleven. – "He needed help; you wouldn't have gotten here in time." Eleven answered.

Mike put two and two together, and he felt an anger he had never felt before. – "You've been hiding her this whole time." He stated in anger.

Hopper sighed heavily. – "We'll talk about it later, right now I'm going to take you to the hospital."

Mike laughed lightly. – "There's nothing to talk about, I understand, they're still looking for her, you protected her, I get it, and I thank you for it, I just don't trust you anymore."

Hopper looked down at the floor and nodded silently. – "Now do you have some place in mind we could go; I'm not going to the hospital. If these things are anything like that Demogorgon, they sense blood." Mike stated.

- "Let's go to the cabin." El stated.

Hopper sighed heavily, Mike was stubborn if he didn't want to go to the hospital, there was no way of making him, especially now that he was furious, so he decided to let them have a moment for themselves, he gave him the address. – "I need to buy some things to treat my wound, can you take her to the cabin. Hopefully by the time I get there, there's less blood."

Eleven grabbed his hand. – "No, I'll stay with you, you're hurt."

- "It's only going to be a few minutes; I'll buy the stuff to sew my wound and I'll go directly there okay?" Mike reassured her in a warm voice.

Without further discussion Mike left, trying their hands to stay in contact for as long as possible, he probably should not be driving in his condition, but right now he was way too pissed at Hopper to even ride on his car, Mike carefully got on his bike and left to the nearest supermarket to buy some cloth and a needle and string to sew his wound, more than one of the customers stared at him like he was some kind of addict, more than one tried to offer him help, but he shrugged them off, he paid for the stuff he needed and returned to his bike.

Eleven was pacing around the porch of the cabin, she had been doing so for the last five minutes, Mike had yet to arrive, she knew she shouldn't have left him alone, Hopper was sitting in the stairs and he looked just as uneasy as her, the kid was furious even though he maintained a respectful tone, he knew he was furious he could see it in his eyes, yet he didn't feel like changing his decision, it was thanks to that hurt these kids he cared so much about that they were even alive, a few minutes later, Mike's bike could be heard and seen in the distance, Eleven immediately jumped off the porch and rushed towards Mike before he had even parked the bike.

Mike was struggling to get his helmet off, so El helped him, she gasped at his condition, he was looking very pale, almost dead. – "Hi." He smiled at her.

Mike was getting off the bike when his legs gave up and he fell to the ground, El caught him, falling with him. – "Hop!" She yelled towards the cabin. Hopper was already close when she called him since he had seen Mike arrive, he helped him up and walked him towards the cabin, the little kid who had asked to learn how to shoot was much taller now, and much heavier, when Hopper was about to set him in the couch Eleven stopped him. – "Get him to my room, I'll go look for the stuff he brought."

Hopper laid Mike on Eleven's bed and raised his shirt to reveal three nasty cuts that seemed to be pretty deep, when Eleven returned with Mike's bag he took it and started searching for the stuff he was going to need. – "Bring me the alcohol from the bathroom." Hopper instructed her.

Eleven returned a minute later and watched the wounds on Mike's side, that was something that definitely had to hurt, when Hopper was preparing to clean the wound Mike grabbed his wrist. – "I'll do it." Mike stated before grabbing the cloth damped in alcohol from Hopper's hand. – "Where are my friends?"

- "I left them at the police station." Hopper answered.

- "Can you please make sure they're okay, that they get home safe?" Mike asked.

Hopper looked back and forth between Mike's eyes and his wound. – "I'm not sure I should leave you in this condition."

- "It's not the first time I have to patch myself up." Mike stated. – "Go, I'll be alright, if anything happens, El can call you immediately."

Hopper sighed heavily and nodded, he got up and left the cabin, to the police station. Mike flinched at the pain he felt when he touched the wound with the cloth damped in alcohol, he started making some pressure to slow down the bleeding, he noticed El's uneasy expression. – "Maybe you'd like to leave the room while I…"

- "No." She interrupted him. – "I don't want to be away from you more than necessary." She placed her hand on her mouth when she noticed she had spoken out loud the last part.

Mike smiled at her. – "I don't either, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable." When she didn't answer he continued. – "Just give me a minute, to clean and sew the wound before I you know, die of blood lose."

- "Take it off." Eleven ordered, she was not going to let him alone.

Mike looked at her with a confused expression. – "What?"

Eleven frowned at him. – "Your shirt, take it off."

Mike's eyes shot open, he didn't think she would be so forward, yet he knew he had to clean the wound and stitch it, but it didn't make him any less uncomfortable. – "Um…" He stated, nervously.

She waited for a second for him to react and take his shirt off, when he didn't she frowned at him and with a flick of her head, ripped the shirt open and took it off him, Mike's eyes shot open when he was suddenly shirtless in front of her, he chuckled lightly. – "Under different circumstances that would have been like so sexy." He joked.

She blushed lightly at both his comment and the sight in front of her, he had some scars on his torso, and that wound would definitely leave one, yet to her eyes, he seemed perfect, his toned stomach and chest, and his muscular arms. – "You're staring." Mike stated in a teasing voice.

El's eyes locked in his, there was a slight trail of pink over his freckles, she shook her head, to try and calm her own blush. – "I'm sorry." She stated in an embarrassed voice.

Mike took the cloth off his wound and groaned at the sight, it was very nasty, he had not seen it directly but by what he felt, he had a pretty good idea. – "Do you have any candles?" Mike asked her.

El didn't answer for a second. – "Yeah, sure." She left to the living room where there where some candles, returning with one of them and the matches.

Mike took it from her hands and lighted the candle setting it down on her nightstand, he then threaded the needle and heated the tip with the fire of the candle, he then turned to her. – "You might want to look away for this part." Mike stated in a warm voice, trying not to freak her out more than she already was.

Eleven nodded her head and turned around him now facing her back, she still felt very uneasy, if she would have looked for him earlier, he wouldn't have gotten hurt, if she had told him that she was there, maybe things could've gone differently, maybe they'd be together and be happy like those couples on the TV shows and movies she had watched, she was snapped out of her thoughts by his voice. – "You said, you heard me those thousand days I called you."

- "Yes?" She stated still giving him her back, the way she said that single word, made his heart skip a beat or maybe two, it was just like she always talked to him in that sweet tone.

Mike had already started to stitch his wound, it wasn't the first time he had to do so, when he was learning how to handle his sword, he cut himself very often, he had gotten very good at it also since he read about the right technique. – "How did you do that, was it like how you found Will?"

- "Yes, but I don't need the sensory deprivation tank anymore, usually a blindfold and a… static sound can do the trick, sometimes just the blindfold." Eleven stated nervously.

Mike had already finished with the first cut, they were deep, but not that long, about three inches, he hoped that those things would not find them. – "Did you… by any chance um, looked for me this morning?"

Eleven was silent for a few seconds; he had indeed felt her if he was asking about it. – "I did."

Mike smiled while still doing the stitches. – "I felt you, it was not the first time, but this time I really knew you were there."

- "You had felt me before?" Eleven asked, she always thought it was in her head when he would stare at her, but then he always got up or looked elsewhere.

Mike was already done with the second slash. – "I can't tell you I was sure, but somehow I knew you were there, that's what made me go into the lab, I looked for you for… two days, then I just… I guess I accepted what everyone had, you were gone, and you were not coming back…"

She turned around to see he was silently crying, when he noticed her, he quickly tried to dry his tears and looked down to the stitches he was still making, there was silence for a second when he felt a soft hand on his cheek, just like earlier that day he instinctively closed his eyes at the soft touch, Eleven was sitting beside him on the bed, she ran her thumb through his cheeks to dry his tears, then placed her hand on his chin and forced him to look at her. – "I'm not happy you gave up on me." Mike tried to look down once again, but she forced him to stay put. – "But because you didn't really let me go, I just wish you would've stopped suffering, if you would have given up on me and be happy after, I could live with that, but you hurt, even worse than when you were looking for me, and it killed me every day to not be able to make it better, to stop you from hurting and blaming yourself." There were tears in her eyes now as well. – "I honestly believed you would get better at the beginning, but you only got worse… I…"

Mike cut her off by placing his index finger on her lips, she looked at his eyes, they were moist, but he wasn't crying anymore. – "There was no way I could have moved on from you, even in a thousand days more, but if it meant you were safe and alive, I would go through it all over again, do I wish maybe we could've talked before, of course, I wish I could've seen you every day, but I understand why it was not possible." He took a leap of faith and rested his forehead against her, hoping she would not pull away, she didn't.

They stayed in silence for a second before Mike pulled away, he needed to finish his stitches. – "I'm sorry I could not keep my promise." Mike stated sadly finishing up his stitches, before finally cutting the string and placing a bandage around his waist.

Mike was then hit by a lot of tiredness, it was not a surprise after all he had almost bleed to dead, but when he saw her staring at him, with a confused expression he pushed his tiredness away and smiled faintly at her. – "You had to save me again." Suddenly his vision started to blur.

El noticed his discomfort and stated in a worried tone. – "Hey, are you okay?"

Her voice sounded muffled, suddenly his eyes rolled and he fell to the bed completely unconscious. – "Mike!" Ell yelled shocked, she moved closer to his face, her eyes starting to water, but let out a relieved breath when she felt his breathing to her cheek, she pulled away and softly brushed his hair off his face, he had longer hair now and it was curlier, she got lost on his freckles, she shook her thoughts off and gently placed his feet on the bed and covered him with the blankets, she felt an urge to lay beside him and hug him, but she decided against it and simply sat on the bed, observing him, printing his face on her mind as she had done countless times in the last three years.

Hopper had just arrived to the police station, the four kids he had left there were still there sitting by the door, Max was holding Lucas's hand like her life depended on it, she had been crying the whole time they were there, Mike was her best friend, he had become very protective of them in the last two years and today, he had even dared to do the ultimate sacrifice, 'You better be okay.' Max thought to herself more than once, Lucas soothing and rocking her. Once they saw his car they jumped off the floor and ran towards the car.

Hopper got out of the car, the four kids bombing him with questions, it was not understandable at all. – "Okay, Mike is alright."

There was a collective sigh of relief. – "Where is he?" Max asked.

Hopper sighed. – "Somewhere safe, his injured, you're going to have to trust me on this one."

- "He's hurt; why didn't you take him to the hospital?" Will asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

Hopper chuckled lightly. – "He wouldn't let me."

Max groaned in frustration. – "That idiot, you shouldn't have listened to him, take me to him, I'll drag him to the hospital myself."

Max was about to go to Hopper's car when he stopped her. – "I can't do that."

Max frowned at him. – "Why not?"

- "Because it's already ten, and you guys have school tomorrow, he asked me to take you home." Hopper stated in a serious tone.

- "But who's with him right now." Dustin asked.

Hopper was silent for a second. – "Nobody, the sooner you let me take you home, the sooner I'll return to him, okay? Now get in the goddamn car."

Once again, there was a collective discussion, nothing understandable. – "Hey!" Hopper yelled. – "I said get in the goddamn car." He hissed out, the teenagers reluctantly got in the car, for Hopper to take them home.

Eleven was on the bathroom, washing Mike's blood of her hands when she noticed her coat was as well stained with his blood, she slowly took it off, and she couldn't help but cry if she had looked for him earlier he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

Mike woke up it was still dark outside, he was slightly confused by his surroundings, but all of his confusion was cleared out when he tried to sit up and he felt a sudden pain on his left side, the events of the previous hours flooded his mind, El, Eleven was alive, and she had turned up gorgeous, his eyes then fell onto the teenage girl sleeping, with her head resting on a desk, he felt a bit of guilt in the end he was on her bed, he couldn't deny the fact that he would've liked it if she had laid beside him, he silently got off the bed and walked towards her, he got carried away for a moment and brushed the hair off her face, he carefully picked her up and placed her on the bed.

Mike collected his belongings from the room, put on his black leather jacket, since his shirt was ripped by El, when he was about to open the door, Elven woke up. – "Where are you going?" She asked. Her voice tired.

Mike turned around and smiled at her. – "Hey, I'm sorry I woke you."

Eleven sat up. – "Where are you going?" She asked again.

- "I was going to go home, I know it wouldn't be the first time I don't come home to sleep, but my mother freaks out anyway." Mike answered.

Eleven felt a little sting of pain, how many of those times was he with a girl. – "You can't, you're hurt, and it's…" She glanced at the watch on her nightstand. – "Two in the morning."

Mike looked at his feet. – "I don't want to bother more than I should." Mike stated.

Eleven frowned at him. – "The only thing bothering me now, is you thinking you're some kind of burden."

Mike chuckled lightly. – "I am putting you and Hopper in danger; those things smell blood." Mike stated pointing at his wound.

Eleven was getting angrier every second, he almost died a few hours ago and now he just wanted to walk out as if nothing happened. – "Please, stay." Eleven stated after taking a deep breath. – "You're in no condition of going anywhere, please stay."

Mike sighed. – "Okay, but you'll stay in the bed."

Elven laughed lightly. – "I'm pretty sure you need it more than I do."

- "Maybe, but it's your bed, and I'd be waking up soon anyway."

Elven nodded in agreement and laid down, it was a cold night and it had started snowing and the covers weren't helping that much. – "Aren't you cold?" She asked Mike, who was now sitting on her desk.

Mike shook his head, he didn't get that cold anymore, since he never stopped training even when it was snowing. – "Not really, I don't get cold, not that much anymore. Are you?"

- "Just a little." She lied.

- "You guys have a heater?" Mike asked looking around, when he did not see one on her room. – "Or maybe I could…"

- "Could you lay down with me?" Eleven asked, before he finished his statement, as if she was reading his mind.

Mike was taken aback by the question. – "Um, sure. But I probably need a shower." Mike stated, noticing he was stained with his blood and he had not taken a shower since last morning.

Elven smiled. – "Yeah sure." She stood up from the bed and walked outside the room, Mike followed soon after, she stopped at Hopper's room first, grabbing a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and a towel, then at the bathroom door. – "There's the bathroom, um do you need any help?"

Mike blushed. – "No, I'm okay." El nodded in agreement, maybe more blushed than him and handed him the clothes. He entered the room and closed the door. Mike took his jacket off as carefully as possible, he took the bandage off and took a full glance at the wound on the mirror, he had done a descent work considering he was almost fainting the whole time he had been doing the stitches, he took the rest of his clothes off and got in the shower.

A good fifteen minutes later, Mike returned to Eleven's bedroom, she was sitting on the bed, her eyes shot open, his hair was damp. – "Did you seriously take a shower?"

Mike chuckled lightly. – "Fighting demodogs isn't the cleanest activity."

Eleven's eyes fell on his left side, where he was wounded. – "Does it hurt?"

Mike stepped towards her and sat next to her on the bed. – "Not right now."

Eleven nodded in agreement. – "I'm sorry I didn't get there in time."

Mike shook his head. – "You've already saved my life three times; you don't have to apologize to me."

Eleven lowered her head. – "This is the first time you got hurt."

Mike took her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. – "That is not your fault." He cupped her cheek softly. – "I'm not that little kid anymore." Suddenly her eyes fell on his lips, he noticed so, doing the same. He wanted to kiss her. – "I can't believe you're right here."

Eleven felt her legs becoming jelly, she had wanted to be this close to him for so long, she could barely believe it herself. – "I am, you've grown a lot, I saw you every day, still seeing you right here, you've changed."

Mike smiled at her. – "I remember a girl, whose eyes could light up a whole room, it turns out now she can light up the whole solar system. You've grown up gorgeous."

Eleven blushed at his compliment and the fact that their faces were only a few inches apart. – "Still pretty?"

Mike's heart melt. – "You're still the prettiest girl I have ever seen."

Eleven blushed even more, her eyes fell on his lips once again. – "Really?"

- "You are." Mike wanted to kiss her, it had not been a problem for him in the last years to kiss a girl, maybe because it didn't mean anything, but this was El, the girl who arrived to his life like a star that lighted the earth, the girl who could make his heart stop, and the one whose absence could completely shatter his heart. – "I can't lose you again." Mike sighed.

Eleven felt her eyes starting to well up. – "You won't lose me."

Mike smiled faintly. - "Do you promise?"

- "Promise." Eleven started to lean closer to him, remembering that time, when Mike kissed her, even though she did not know what it was it had felt good, special.

When Mike noticed she was leaning closer, he debated for a second whether to step back or kiss her, he really wanted to kiss her, and she was getting closer every second, he was running out of time, he decided to take a leap of faith, he leaned closer and kissed her as softly as he possibly could, it was different than all those times he had kissed other girls, it was not a matter of sex, but a matter of feelings, just like that first time he had kissed her three years ago he felt the same raise in his pulse, he finally let go and cupped her cheek with his hand and caressed it with his thumb, moving his mouth to give her a second kiss, one she returned, he pulled back a minute later, before he could not control himself. Both of them were completely speechless, Eleven smiled at him, both of them very blushed, they laid down a second later, Eleven wrapped on Mike's right side, and his arm wrapped around her, it didn't take long before both of them fell asleep.

January 15th, 1987

Eleven woke up, she glanced up to meet Mike's eyes staring at her, he had been awake for a few minutes and he was staring at her, trying to tattoo her face on his brain, sinking every single one of her features, afraid, she could disappear any second. – "Hey." She said in a warm voice.

Mike smiled at her. – "Hey."

Eleven felt the bandages on Mike's side. – "How are you feeling."

Mike chuckled lightly. – "I haven't been this happy in more than three years."

Eleven blushed at him, their faces were a few inches apart. – "Does it hurt?" Eleven asked carefully touching the bandages.

Mike smiles at her concern. – "No, I'm good." Mike lifted his left hand to glance at his wrist, it was six in the morning. – "I have to go."

Elven frowned at him. – "But you're hurt, and what if those things come after you again."

Mike smiled at her. – "I'm not hurting right now, and I will be fine, I have to go to school and check on the others." He carefully untangled her arm off him and standing up.

There's a soft knock on the door, before it's opened by Hopper. His glance falls on Mike who's standing next to the bed and El sitting on the other edge of the bed. – "Hey kid." He directs to Eleven. – "Breakfast is ready." He states looking at Mike.

Mike frowned at him. – "I'm not staying."

Hopper sighs. – "Are you sure you can drive home?"

Mike nods in response, he then glances at El, and back at Hopper. – "Could you give us a minute."

Hopper nods in agreement and closes the door, Mike takes a seat beside Eleven. – "I really don't want to leave, but I need to check on the others."

Eleven nods, looking down at her knees. – "I understand."

Mike chuckles. – "You always do." He hesitates for a moment before gently placing his hand on her chin to make her look at him. – "I'm going to be fine, I'll come back tonight okay."

Eleven glanced at his lips. – "Do you promise?"

Mike noticed her glancing down at his lips and smiled, he leaned closer and placed a soft kiss on her lips and stated after pulling away. – "I promise."

Eleven wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug, Mike returned the hug, fighting the urge to stay there hugging her the whole day, after a few seconds he reluctantly pulled away, before standing up and leaving the cabin.

Eleven exited her room a few minutes later, going to the bathroom to brush her teeth and joining Hopper at the table later. Hopper smiled at her and continued eating his breakfast. – "Was he really feeling better?" He asked in a concerned voice. – "After passing out like that?"

Eleven shrugs. – "He seemed a little more alive, but I don't know for sure. He's worried about the others."

Hopper sighed, he was aware of how stubborn Mike could be, then he remembered the fact that his daughter had been in the same room with a boy, the whole night, with the door closed. – "Did you by any chance, shared the bed with him?"

Eleven's eyes shot open. – "Are you serious right now?"

Hopper looked at her and shrugged. – "I can't believe you." Eleven stated before standing up with her breakfast and going to her room.

Will, Max, Dustin and Lucas were arriving at Mike's house, since they were denied from knowing in what condition their best friend was, when they heard Mike's motorcycle, he noticed his friends and parks his bike in the street in front of his house. Right after he got on his feet, Max was crushing him in a tight embrace, he flinched at the pain on his left side. – "You're and idiot, you're the biggest idiot I have ever known." Max cries out on his chest.

Mike chuckles despite the pain on his side and returns the embrace. – "I'm sorry."

Max pulled away. – "Hopper said you were hurt."

Mike smiled at her. – "I am." He lifted his shirt a little to reveal the bandages on his torso.

Max gasped at the sight of a stain of blood over the bandages. – "We're going to the hospital." She stated before grabbing his wrist.

Mike looked at his friends for support. – "I'm fine I already stitched it."

Will frowned at him. – "It needed stitches?"

Dustin was a little more relaxed since Mike seemed to be fine. – "You're going to have an awesome scar."

Mike laughed lightly. – "I have to clean it up, you guys can come in if you want."

They all entered the house a minute later, the party went to the basement except for Mike, who went straight to the bathroom and took another shower, he washed the blade and brushed his teeth before checking on Holly who was still sleeping, his father had already left for work while his mother was probably in the bath. He joined his friends in the basement, explaining what had happened in the last hours wasn't going to be easy. – "Eleven is alive."