Quick authors note before you get started, I just wanted to thank everyone for viewing this story and giving it a follow. I got more views on the one chapter than I had in any of my previous stories on other accounts, So I wanted to thank everyone for giving this a read! Chapter 3 probably won't be out till next week again as I have to make a final push for third quarter grades. On another note, Basketball just ended so I should have even more time to write now! So chapters should be coming out a lot more frequently after this one. Enjoy the story. :)
December 21st (Kamchatka Russia)
168. 168 days Hoppers spent in almost complete isolation in a Russian prison. 168 days he's spent away from Hawkins, Indaina. The place he's considered his home for so many years, even when he wasn't living there. He figured that after not showing up to work for 168 days, he had most likely been terminated from his position as chief. But he figured there were more important things to be worrying about right now.
Like how the hell he was going to get out of this horrible situation he had been put in. When Hopper first arrived, he had been put into a holding cell that looked like it was meant for temporary visitors. Because of how often people got pulled from the cells around him, and based on the horrible cries he heard from within the prison minutes after they were pulled, Hopper figured he was as good as dead in a couple of days.
But his time never came. Every day for about a week, Hopper was given a cup of water and a slice of bread from one of the guards. Even though the bread was stale and the water tasted rusty, they were still feeding him the basic nutrients he needed to survive. That led him to believe they at least wanted him alive, but for what reason? Hopper had no idea.
His question was answered on the 7th day, when two of the guards grabbed him and dragged him into another room. In the room there was a single chair and a coil of rope. Waiting for him was a man dressed in a business suit, who Hopper assumed was a translator, and quite possibly the scariest man he had ever seen in his life.
He wasn't all that big, maybe 6 feet tall and all of about 200 pounds, but the expression he wore on his face was dark and cold. His military uniform was decorated with about a dozen medals, all of them displayed proudly. On his face was a massive scar stretching across his right cheek that said he meant business.
The guards continued to drag him into the room and tied him to the chair in the middle of the room. Once they were finished, they left the room quickly, not even uttering a greeting to the men. Once the door was shut behind them, the commander looking guy started asking gym questions. All of which were translated by the man in the business suit back to Hopper.
The first thing they asked him was if he knew about the "Doorway" they were creating in Hawkins, and if he knew about the "Other World".
"Yeah, no shit I know about the Doorway, there's a reason why I was trying to shut that thing off. And this 'Other World' you guys are talking about is a hellhole. You guys are insane for trying to open that thing back up."
After the man translated what he said, the commander looked at him and laughed, almost like he was amused. They next asked him if he had any encounters with the Portal that was previously opened in Hawkins.
"Yeah, damn right I did. A kid got captured by one of those monsters and I had to go in to try and get him out. We weren't there fast enough though, the monster killed him."
The man translated once again, this time a little slower. If they knew Hopper was lying, they didn't show it.
The third and final question they asked him surprised him, mostly because of how random yet relevant it was.
"Do you know who Dusin Henderson is?"
Hopper tried to hide the shock and concern on his face, but he's not sure if he did a very good job. It wasn't his first time getting interrogated though, so he was good at hiding his emotions.
"No idea," he responded flatly.
This time he could tell they didn't really believe him, but they didn't push him any further. Within a few minutes, the guards came and took him back into his holding cell.
He stayed there for about another week until he transferred to prisons.
The new prison was pretty similar to the old one, except he as a prisoner had a lot more freedom. Every day, he and the other prisoners were tied to shackles and forced to work on a railroad that the Russians were building. It was hard, gruesome work, but it definitely beat sitting in a holding cell for days on end. It was honest work as well, because after sunset, he and the other prisoners were fed and given time to shower.
Overall, his life could definitely be worse in Russia, and he was grateful to still have his life. Working gave him a lot of time to think about what the Russian commander had said and how the others could still be in danger back in the States. He wondered if Joyce and Murray had gotten away from Russians in time. He wondered if El and the others had survived their fight with the Mind Flayer.
The more he thought about it, the more worried he was that El had not made it out of the mall alive. Hopper figured if she was still alive, she would have found some way to contact him through the Void. Although he wasn't entirely sure how the Void worked, he knew that if El had been watching him, he would be able to feel her presence. So far Hopper had felt or seen nothing, and that made him worry.
"She probably thinks you're dead," he thought to himself. "Or maybe she just doesn't want to find you."
He knew he was just jumping to conclusions, and that El would try and find him if she knew he was alive. Still, it's concerning that it's been 168 days and he's heard nothing. And if El is still alive, she's his only hope of possibly getting out of here.
December 21st (Bloomington, Illinois)
El considered herself to be a very patient person. She had spent 12 years of her life locked in isolation without ever seeing the outside world. She had spent over 300 days locked in a cabin unable to see her first real friends she had ever made, while they thought she was dead. She had even been patient with Will and Jonothan when they taught her how to do different subjects in school, even though she still has no idea what a lot of it means. However, El started to get very impatient as she started to pack for their trip back to Hawkins.
As she started to pack basic things like clothes and makeup, El started to realize that she was really going back, and it hit her like a truck. She packed the rest of her things super fast, and proudly set her new suitcase in the living room, sitting on top of it and perfectly content on staying there until they left the next morning. She sat there for hours, not even moving until Will came home from school, took one look at her, and shook his head.
"El were not leaving for another-" he squinted at his wrist watch "-15 hours. If I were you I'd find something else to do in the meantime."
El groaned, "15 hours! We should just leave right now!"
"We can't check into the Hotel until tomorrow," he told her apologetically. "I know you miss them and trust me, I do too. But we're almost there! Tomorrow by this time, we'll all be in Mike's basement hanging out like we should be. C'mon, you can help me pack."
It had been a while since El had seen Will so enthusiastic. Ever since they had moved away from Hawkins, Will had not been the same person. Sure, he was always quiet, something El could understand. But he was always at least making jokes, and at the very least giving them a smile. Since they moved though he has been very independent, even more so than Jonothan.
At first it scared El. Sure, the two of them had never really been that close back in Hawkins. But they had sort of an unspoken bond when it came to trama. El understood to a degree what Will had gone through the last couple of years, and in a way he sort of understood what she had gone through. They both understood that they were different than everyone else, so in turn it brought them closer together. But ever since last summer, Will had been regarding her a little coldy, and wasn't as friendly as he had been at first.
El first noticed small things with Will, like how when her and Mike got close and personal near him, he shifted his feet awkwardly and wouldn't look in their direction. When she began to question Mike about it, he assured her that all people get a little uncomfortable when a couple start to get all touchy in public, and that she shouldn't worry about it. But there were other things with Will as well. Like how he wouldn't really talk to her individually, almost like he was afraid of her. Or how he always got mad at Mike and El for leaving when they were all hanging out.
Eventually, the things she noticed got more obvious. How Will would always ask Mike and Lucas to hang out alone. Or how he would steal glances at her almost out of spite, as if El had been his enemy. Eventually, she just came to the conclusion that Will just didn't like her, which kinda made her sad considering she wasn't sure what she did. Lucas, Dustin and Max were her friends, so why couldnt Will be her friend?
Then, when El had moved in with him and his family, Will had started to be more friendly towards her. He always made sure she felt comfortable in her new home, and assured her she wasn't intruding on him or his family. But when they moved to Bloomington, it's almost like Will hit the reset button on their friendship. In fact, it feels like he hit the reset button on his relationship with everyone. He had become angry with his mother for moving them away from Hawkins. He barely asked Jonothan any questions, which according to Jonothan, used to happen pretty frequently. When El would receive a call from Mike, Will would refuse to talk to him or any of his friends in Hawkins. He only talked to them when they practically forced El to hand him the receiver, which was as dangerous as playing with fire.
Ironically, it seemed like El was the one he was the friendliest to now. Always helping her with her workbook problems Joyce would give her to practice. He even showed her how to make mixtapes while she was home alone, which she could never thank him enough for. Still though, sometimes he looked at her with that same coldness he used to in Hawkins that she never understood. Was it envy? Hate? Pity? El wasn't sure, but at least they were making progress in the time they've lived together. Things started to look up even more when all their friends came to visit them a month ago, so El was hoping that this trip to Hawkins would fix him for good.
As she started to help Will pack, El started to think about her other friends. Well, Mike in specific. There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't think about the time they spent together back in Hawkins. He had saved her, given her a life that she never thought she could have, even when his friends told him he was crazy. He had called her for 353 days straight. When everyone told him that she was dead, Mike still believed. He had even led a full blown assault into the Mind Flayer lair back in Hawkins, in hopes of distracting it from her, and it worked.
And she loved him for it all. She loved him for just being his kind, generous, courageous self.
But last summer, things started to get weird between them. She felt herself wanting him more. Needing him more. Everytime he came over to visit, they got more physical with one another. Although Mike never complained, she still felt bad about it. She felt she was using him, and it started to make herself feel self-conscious about the amount of time she spent with him. Hopper had once told her that teenage relationships weren't meant to be serious, that they were more meant to be friends more than anything. Yet, she knew the feelings she felt for him were intense, more than just a 'teenage relationship'.
After he had lied to her about coming over one day, El had felt betrayed. She wanted to hang out with him more than anything else in the world, and knowing that he didn't feel the same way, had crushed her. After she started hanging out with Max, she felt herself developing more of a personality; a style. It wasn't just her new clothes though, she felt herself developing a style in the way she speaks and in the way she acts. Yet, the style change didn't help her situation with Mike, because she was still mad and desperately in love with him.
After he told her why he had lied to her, she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, yet she was still really mad. The time they spend between each other should be a decision made between Mike and El, not between Mike and Hopper. She was mad at him for not standing his ground, and he had been saying all the wrong things to her.
However, when she overheard him tell the group about his concerns for her safety, and how he was afraid of losing her because he loved her, El's heart just about melted into a puddle. She wanted to immediately forgive him for everything, she wanted things to go back to the way they were before.
Unfortunately, the Mind Flayer had other plans. El and Mike had to wait and reconcile a lot later than she would have liked. However, she was more sure of her feelings for him than ever. She knew that she loved him more than anyone else, the distance helped with that. It's a little too early to be thinking about it, but she already knows she wants to be with him for the rest of her life. She knows that this isn't just a 'teenage relationship', but something so much more. That night where he rescued her in the woods, she gained way more than just a home.
She gained the love of her life.
After a couple of hours, Joyce and Jonothan came home from work to help cook them dinner. It was something Joyce insisted on every night, having a meal together as a family. It was nice, being there together and getting to talk about their days. But El had to admit, it made her a little uncomfortable. It was like there was a mountain topped with problems right in front of them, and they just chose to ignore it on a nightly basis.
They rarely talked about all the stuff that happened back at Hawkins. Joyce practically forbids it. The only thing that Joyce occasionally asks El is if her powers had come back, which is always followed by a sad no. In truth, El wasn't even sure if her powers were back or not, because she had stopped checking after she left Hawkins. They were just a bad reminder of the hero that she never was, never could be. She had failed at saving so many people from the Mind Flayer, when everyone was counting on her. Even if her powers had returned, she felt that she didn't deserve to use them.
Even though she's as sad about Hoppers death more than anyone, she felt like it was a huge wake up call for all of them. That they weren't invincible and shouldn't be messing with things so dangerous. Before it was different, El had opened the gate, so she felt it was her responsibility to close it. It felt like something that was possible, something she could control. But when the Russians opened up another portal by themselves, she realised how hopeless it all was, how outmatched they were. Even though Dustin and Mike were smart, the Russians had people smarter. Even though Steve is a good fighter, the Russians have people who are better. Even though El can close the portals, the Russians have people who can open and close the portals.
They can't win, they're outmatched this time, and that thought depresses her.
After dinner, El sat down on her bed and began reading "To Kill a Mockingbird." Joyce made her read about an hour every day to expand on her literary knowledge. Overall, it helped her a ton. She felt herself using expressions she hadn't felt comfortable using before, and her vocabulary had definitely expanded. Joyce had told El that if she wants to start school next year, she would have to show everyone she was ready, and the best way to do that was by studying like a regular kid.
Overall, El didn't see the appeal to reading. Mike had told her once that the point of it was to get yourself invested in a world that wasn't entirely the same as yours, and find characters you can feel and relate too. El didn't really feel that when she read. Maybe it was because she didn't fully understand the world that she lives in yet, so there really wasn't anything to compare it too. The only thing that excited her about finishing the book was the fact that Mike had read it before, so they would have something else to talk about once she was done.
While El was reading, she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," said El.
Joyce peered her head in through the door and greeted El with a smile. El smiled back, but she silently groaned to herself. Today was Wednesday, meaning Joyce was here to read through a health book with El so she could learn about "puberty" and "sex".
El absolutely hated talking about this, even with Joyce. Every week she was confused about what she had left to learn, and every week she was surprised by how much more there was that she didn't know. El knew what sex was, she knew about periods(she had recently started obulatiing last spring), so she really didn't know what else she could talk that could really be important.
Boy, was she wrong.
The lesson was going pretty ok, they were talking about how her breasts and butt were going to start getting bigger as she got older, and they probably already started to. But El was taken aback a little bit when Joyce suddenly shut the book and took El's hand, looking her dead in the eyes.
"El, we really havn't talked much about sex, have we," Joyce stated.
"Uh, we kinda did," El said awkwardly. "You told me it's how you make kids, the man sticks his -"
Joyce cut her off, "Ok, but we didn't really talk about sex yet, did we."
El was confused, "I'm not sure I understand."
"Well…." Joyce took a deep breath. "We didn't really talk about, ya know, teenage sex."
"Teenage sex," El repeated. "I thought people have sex when they are old and have jobs?"
"Well… Yes and no," Joyce said."People have kids when they are older. People normally start having sex when they're younger."
"But why?" El asked.
Joyce got up and started looking around her room, clearly uncomfortable."Well, the thing is, sex feels kindoff, well. Sex feels-"
"Good?" El said"
"Yes, good. It feels really good. Remember those magazines I told you to read."
"Yes," El said. "I read some of the stuff and tried it myself, it felt nice"
"Ok, good" Joyce gave her an awkward thumbs up. "So, what you can do to yourself, feels even better when you have a boy doing it."
"It does?" El asked
"Yeah, way better. But normally you should only do it with a boy who you love, someone you know you are going to be with for a very long time."
"Like Mike!" El said excitedly.
Joyce put her hand on her face, clearly upset at herself for falling into her own trap. "No! Well, I mean yes, but no. You guys are way too young. Like, 20 years too young."
"But you just said-"
"Forget what I said about that," Joyce said with a dismissive hand. "All you need to know is that sometimes people have sex just for fun, not to have kids."
"But Will always talks about how Jonothan has sex," El said. "He says he makes sure she doesn't have kids, and they are not much older than me."
Joyce had a pained look on her face, clearly from El talking about her son having sex. "Well, yeah sure. But those guys are different than you and Mike, they know they are going to be together for a long time."
El got angry at this, "We do know! I want to be with him forever, and he told me he loves me more than everything and just wants to be with me."
Joyce sighed, clearly giving up on this conversation. "Look, I've never had to talk to someone about this before. Obviously, I'm not doing a very good job here. How about I just give you this-" she pulled out a similar magazine to the one El had received earlier,"- and you talk to me if you have any other questions. Or better yet, talk to Nancy or Max about it sometime when you get to Hawkins. But only to girls that you trust, don't go talking to Mike and the others about this stuff, it's just like the period talk, ok?
El was very much not ok, but she took the magazine. She thanked Joyce, even though it was an awkward talk, started reading as soon as Joyce left the room.
The contents she learned from the magazine made her excited, scared, and nervous all at once. The only thing she knew for sure was that she and Max were going to need to talk during their trip, because El was more confused than ever.
The next morning was full of excitement and anxiousness. Her and Will were practically bouncing off the ceiling in anticipation while Jonthan and Joyce tried to make sure they had everything they needed. After they were finally set to go, it was decided that Will and El would ride with Joyce and Jonthothan would ride by himself to leave enough room for the luggage.
When the car finally started and they finally got onto the road, El felt like she was going to faint from the excitement. She was so excited to see her friends, excited to see Mike. Even after the new information she had learned yesterday, she still wanted to see him. She actually wanted to see him even more now, if that was normal. With her head pressed against the window, El started to hope again, because she was finally going back to Hawkins.
She was going back home.
Back in Hawkins, Mike Wheeler was on the verge of literally shitting himself of pure excitement. El and Will would be returning back to Hawkins in a few hours, and he could not wait to see them. When Mike gets excited, he starts bouncing his legs up and down uncontrollably .It's pretty controllable when he's at home, because he can just walk around. Unfortunately, he was in this 4th period math class right now taking a test, and the people sitting around him weren't very understanding of his problem.
"Dude, can you stop?" some guy next to him asked.
"I'm sorry, some friends are coming to visit tonight and I'm just excited," he told the guy honestly.
"Did I ask?" he said rudley.
"Gentleman!" His math teacher yelled. "Do you guys want 0's?"
"No," they both gumbled.
"Then stop talking!"
After that class, Mike was on to his favorite part of highschool; lunch. Lunch was the only time in the day where the party could all hang out together. He had the others in a few classes each, but they didn't have one that everyone was in. So lunch was a good time for them to get caught up on all the drama from the day.
Normally it consisted of Dustin telling them all stupid storys while Max and Lucas argue about something stupid, and Mike just ends up eating his food quietly. Contributing just enough to the conversation so that they don't notice he's being quiet, and it normally works. However, today was different. Everyone was ecstatic to see Will and El again back in Hawkins. So Mike had no problem contributing to the activities they were planning on doing while El and Will were home.
"I figure we can go down to the quarry for a night, just the six of us. That way we could all have some privacy and catch up on everything," Lucas suggested.
Mike gave him a blank look, "You really think our parents are going to go for that? Six fourteen year old kids going camping by a quarry, when two of them are girls?"
"We can make something up," Dustin said, brushing it off. "It's not like we haven't done it before."
"True," Mike agreed. "I think it sounds like fun to be honest."
Max fake gasped, "Mike Wheeler just thought something outside of his basement might be fun? El's got you wrapped around her finger doesn't she."
"Pretty sure she would do whatever he told her too as well to be honest," Dustin pointed out.
"Yeah true," Max said. "She would follow him if he jumped off a bridge."
The others laughed and even Mike managed a weak smile. He couldn't get made at them on such a perfect day. He was going to get one of his best friends and girlfriend back for today. Nothing could possibly ruin it.
"So while we're at the quarry, I was thinking we could try doing something different." said Dustin
Mike looked at him suspiciously, "Different how exactly."
"Well we are in highschool now, and we have to make these few moments we get with the entire group memorable." He shifted his feet awkwardly. "So I was thinking maybe I can ask Steve if he could hook us up with some alcohol when we go up, and we can all drink our first time together."
Max didn't even hesitate, "I'm in, if were going to have watch Mike and El make out all night it might be better if we were drunk while doing it,"
Lucas looked a little hesitant. He looked over at Mike for confirmation, but Mike just shrugged his shoulders. "I mean I guess we could, as long as we don't get in trouble.
"I really don't think it's a good idea, but i'm not gonna be the one guy who says no," Mike admitted honestly. "We'll have to see what Will and El say."
Everyone nodded at that. They ate in comfortable silence after that, until Lucas spoke up. "What if the weather gets really bad? I mean it's the middle of the winter, we could get some massive snow storm.
Dustin shook his head, "Lucas my friend, it's been over 50 degrees for the last week and it hasn't snowed all year. For whatever reason, it looks like we're not going to get a winter this season."
"That is kind of weird," Mike said. "It's been unusually warm this year, and the weather forecast said it's supposed to be even hotter this next week."
"I mean what are you suggesting? The Mind Flayer is changing the weather now. But instead of the cold he usually likes, he's making it hot." Dustin teased, attempting to make a joke.
No one laughed, and Mike just stared down at his sandwich. "I'm just saying, it's weird and nobody's talking about it. But who cares? Better for us am I right?
Max laughed at his sorry attempt at a tension breaker. But it did its job, soon the conversation shifted into something Dustin said to the health teacher that got him detention for the day.
Mike realized he had never thought about the Upside Down having anything to do with the heat wave, and he was glad he hadn't. It was just the biggest heatwave the United States had seen in years, nothing to worry about.
Right?
When Mike got home from school, he immediately went up to his room to use his Supercom.
"El? Will? Do you copy?
Mike waited a few minutes listening to some static, but a few seconds later he heard Will's voice on the other side of the radio. "Mike? It's Will. We just got to the Hotel about an hour ago. We should be coming over in a couple hours."
Mike was so happy to hear that they had made it. He came to the conclusion the only way he wouldn't be seeing El or Will today was if they somehow got in a car crash on the way down. Now that he knew that it didn't happen, he was even more excited.
"I'm so glad your back," Mike told him honestly, "I'll tell the others and well be waiting here for you guys. My mom's making meatloaf for all of us, so I hope you're hungry.
"Oh, I will be," Will laughed. "I love my mom and all, but there's only so much of her lousy cooking I can before I need some real food."
Mike laughed, "See you later Will, tell El I said hi."
"She's gonna be sorry she missed you, her and Joyce went down to the front desk to get some extra pillows, she's been waiting here the whole time we've come. See ya Mike!
With that, Mike changed the Supercom station to tell the others what time to be at his house, and started to get ready,
Two hours later the entire party had arrived at his house and were all sitting in Mike's basement, while Mike tried to fix his pathetic excuse for hair.
"Cmon you piece of shit," he yelled at the mirror. The comb was just not working for him, so he decided to call in the big guns, Nancy.
She was pretty confused when he told her the situation. "Why the hell are you trying to fix your hair, you've never fixed your hair.
"I want to look nice," he told her. "My hair is a total mess right now.
"Yeah but it's always a mess. Trust me Mike, she probably won't even notice if you fix it. Even if she does, she'll probably like messy hair Mike better.
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I do," she smiled. "Plus it's just gonna get all ruffed up by the end of tonight anyway, might as well save yourself some time."
"Oh screw you," he rolled his eyes. "Go look through your human anatomy textbook to make sure you know what goes where tonight."
"Oh I do Mike, trust me. I think I might be needing to lend it to you though, probably by the end of the week."
"I'm leaving," he muttered, walking out of the bathroom to the sound of Nancy's laughter.
Just as he went down the stairs, walking past his sleeping sister and father on the recliner, he heard a car pull up to their driveway. Mike felt like his legs were going to melt right into a puddle.
"There here," Mike yelled down to the basement.
Soon, he was accompanied by his friends as they rushed out the front door to their driveway. Parked in the Wheeler driveway was Joyce's Green Ford Pinto(ugly ass car) and getting out of the seats were a boy and a girl. Will and El.
When he looked over at El, his heart skipped a beat. He swore she got more beautiful every time he saw her. She was wearing her flannel long sleeve shirt with a pair of long, cream pants. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, giving her beautiful face more room to shine. Her big brown eyes were full of fear and confusion, as if she was looking for someone.
Then they made eye contact.
Mike felt like time completely slowed down around them, and they were all alone in their own world. He watched as her fearful face turned into a beautiful smile, tears streaming down her cheeks. Mike felt his face doing the same, almost mirroring hers.
She suddenly rushed towards him, as if nothing else mattered. "Mike!" El screamed.
She jumped up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his tall frame, pulling him into a deep hug. He felt her sobbing into his chest. He brought her face up to his and pulled her into a deep kiss. It wasn't intense, but it was needy. They needed to feel each other, to kiss each other after so many weeks of not seeing each other.
They could have stayed like that forever before he heard a cough, they pulled away and saw Mrs. Byers smiling sheepishly at them. "Sorry to interrupt, but you guys should probably hold back on that so your neighbors don't get the wrong idea."
"Yeah, Yeah of course. Sorry about that. Great to see you again Mrs. Byers," he pulled Mrs Byers into a hug. "
They all exchanged hugs and tears with each other in the front lawn. Jonothan left to go see Nancy inside the house, but the rest of them stayed there for another 15 minutes. The whole party shared a group hug in the middle, and Mike thought he had never been so emotional.
"I promise I'm not crying guys, I promise!" Dustin said with tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Yes you are," El said crying. "I see the water."
They all laughed and kept hugging one another. They could have stayed that way all night, but Nancy came outside with Jonothan a few minutes later.
Nancy gave smiles and hugs to Will and El before turning to Mike, "Mom says you all should come inside and get ready for dinner."
Mike nodded, taking El's hand and leading everyone inside the house. While they were walking back, Nancy took a closer look at El and pointed at her lips.
"Jesus Christ Mike, what the hell were you doing? Eating her?
"Pretty much," Lucas responded. "It would have been pretty touching if it didn't go on for like two minutes."
"Hey!" Mike complained
They all laughed, and he turned to face El. She looked so happy, so happy to be back in Hawkins Indiana with him, nerdy Mike Wheeler. She was so beautiful in the twilight, and he asked himself for the 100th time what he ever did to deserve her. He still hadn't found an answer.
For the first time in a long time, he felt whole, he felt like life was finally back to normal. Holding this beautiful girls hand next to him was all he ever needed to feel happy, especially knowing he had four other best friends at his side.
It doesn't get better than this.
That's Chapter 2 guys! Definitely the most challenging chapter I've ever written, as I had to go through three different perspectives. Let me know what you guys think of me doing that in the future. I personally like having an El section, a Mike section, and then a small Hopper section in the beginning of the story. I honestly felt really uncomfortable writing the sex ed section, so sorry if that parts not very good. I figured I'd give it a try, something better than nothing. Let me know if you guys have any concerns or inputs for the rest of the story, I love reading comments!