A/N: Thank you all for reviewing the previous chapter! I'm sad that we are within the final few chapters of this story, but don't worry, they will all be lengthier chapters, so there is still quite a bit of content coming your way. I hope you like this chapter, please remember to review!

CalvinHobbesGatsby: Very soon, actually : )

Ishiptoast: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the scene with Steve and the bat. I hope you like this chapter!

Ejbeckmann: No you don't, that's for sure!

Shrike176: I'm glad that you liked it. While the car thing was more in Steve's character than El's, I did enjoy throwing in some fun for El at the game. You will get to hear a bit from Will and Dustin, and of course Mike, in this chapter. I hope you like it!

Alisea: Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed the last few chapters. The breakup and the revenge were both fun to write in different ways of course. I hope you like this chapter too!

Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed the inclusion of Steve.

Phieillydinyia: I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Everyone is eager for a Mileven makeup haha. I'll try not to let you down.

Caleb: Thank you! I hope you like this one as well.

Disouza: I'm glad you liked it!

Jean Sumnerland: I'm glad you liked the last few chapters! I feel bad for Lindsey too. The breakup was rough. And I'm glad you enjoyed them bringing Brad to justice!

Nighting Ryder: I'm glad you liked it. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Mikeleven83: Thank you! I appreciate that.

Guest: I'm glad that you enjoyed Steve's part! A good, open, honest talk between Mike and Eleven is certainly needed, don't you think?

Jane Eleanor Wheeler: That, he is.

Isa: Thank you for the long review; I enjoyed reading all your thoughts! El has received a lot of hate throughout the story, but I am hoping she is seen in a more positive and sympathetic light over the remaining few chapters. Mike and El have both definitely made some mistakes throughout this, and I am certainly trying to have each of them held accountable for their own wrongdoings. I am glad you are liking the story, and I hope I can get El back to the Eleven that you know and love : )

Writer: I agree that Mike and El have both made mistakes and have both been through pain throughout this story. As you said, neither is completely innocent, and neither is completely guilty. I hope you enjoy where it goes next!

Exploding Helmets: Agreed, El is not evil lol. I'm glad you enjoyed seeing Brad get his. And I hope you like this next chapter!

LabAlley: Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed El and Steve getting revenge on Brad. Hopefully I don't let you down with Mileven over the remaining chapters!

Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or any of its original characters.

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El was sitting on her bed, her back leaned against the wall, painting her fingernails. She absentmindedly stroked the brush along her nail, not particularly caring about the color or dabbing away any that slipped onto her skin. Her mind was elsewhere, as it had been all week.

It was Saturday; a week since she and Max had gone to that basketball game with Robin and Steve and confronted Brad. A week and a half since the last time she and Mike had spoken. El had been taking the advice of all her friends, all of whom said the same thing: give Mike time and let him come to her when he is ready to talk about it. She knew Mike had things to figure out, but El couldn't help but feel impatient.

She screwed the lid on her bottle of nail polish and sighed heavily as she placed the bottle on her nightstand and gingerly blew on her wet nails. El jumped when there was an unexpected knock on her bedroom door, and it cracked open to show Will's face.

"Mom's at work, and I'm starving. I'm about to make a grilled cheese sandwich. You want one?" he offered.

"Nails are wet," El replied lamely. "Thanks, though."

"Come on, El. You hardly come out of your room anymore other than to go to school," Will said. "Come eat lunch and hang out with me."

"You want to hang out with me?" El asked skeptically.

Will frowned as a look of guilt flashed in his eyes. He knew their last actual conversation – the last one that had been more than a simple greeting as they passed each other in the hallway at home or at school – had not gone particularly well. Will had heard Lindsey tell El off in the cafeteria after breaking up with Mike, and needless to say, he did not approve of Mike and El's actions.

"Of course I want to hang out with you," Will said. "Just because I disapprove of something you did doesn't mean I love you any less."

"Thanks, Will," El mumbled. "I'm still not hungry."

"Okay," Will accepted defeat and walked into her room, taking a seat on the seat of her vanity. "We can hang out in here."

"I thought you were starving," El reminded him.

"That may have been a bit of an exaggeration," Will grinned. "So what's up? What's on your mind?"

El sighed. She couldn't imagine that Will didn't know exactly what was on her mind.

"Why hasn't he come to talk to me yet?" El asked.

"Maybe he's still trying to work out his feelings," Will suggested. "Mike and I really haven't talked about it much."

"How much could he possibly have to think about without actually talking to me?" El wondered. "It really comes down to whether he wants to be with me or not."

"I don't think it's nearly that simple, El," Will said, shaking his head.

"It should be," El replied indignantly. "We always said we could make it through anything. I don't want this to prove us wrong."

"Just because it hasn't been instantly solved doesn't mean you two won't make it through," Will said. "Before this, the biggest fight you two have ever had was when you dumped his ass three years ago. This is something completely new to both of you. I don't blame Mike for needing extra time."

El sighed again and flopped backward onto her pillows.

"Waiting for him to talk to me is driving me crazy," she groaned. "We only have one more week of school before Christmas break, and we'll be out of school for three weeks. I can't do this for another month, Will."

"Then why don't you just go talk to him?" Will suggested.

"What?" El sat up, looking at him incredulously. "Everyone keeps telling me to give him time."

"I know. And I know I said that too," Will admitted. "But you are not yourself, El, and you haven't been for a while. You're letting this completely disrupt your life, and laying around pining over someone is not healthy."

"I'm not pining," El insisted.

"You're kind of pining," Will countered. "Just go talk to him. Be honest with him, and tell him how you feel and what you want."

El thought this over and nodded. Will had a point. Maybe their friends were wrong and Mike was hoping to hear from her after all.

"I think I will," she said. Will's stomach growled loudly in response.

"Guess starving wasn't much of an exaggeration after all," Will laughed.

The two of them stood and headed toward El's bedroom door.

"Does that offer for a grilled cheese sandwich still stand?" El asked.

"Feeling hungry all of a sudden?" Will teased.

They went into the kitchen, and El graciously accepted the lunch Will made for her. After lunch, she would walk to Mike's house and hopefully find a way to salvage their relationship.

Mike was laying on the couch in the basement, staring up at the ceiling while his thoughts consumed him. He had stayed pretty busy over the past week. When he wasn't doing homework, he was doing extra chores around the house for his mom, and he had even been working on a new D&D campaign to surprise the guys with since they hadn't played in ages. Anything to keep his mind off of what his mind was currently on.

All of his homework was done, the house was essentially spotless, and if Mike was being honest, his heart just wasn't in D&D at the moment. So, there he lay, thinking about the situation he found himself in.

Lindsey must have been serious when she said that she wanted Mike to never speak to her again. After getting herself moved to the opposite side of the classroom and having their chemistry teacher reassign herself and Mike new lab partners, she had not looked his way once, let alone said a word to him. It was almost like he never existed and like they had never had anything to do with each other. Mike couldn't say that he blamed her for acting that way, and he knew he had no right to feel hurt, especially after what he had done to her, but he couldn't help wishing that Lindsey was somehow able to forgive him, even though he knew he didn't deserve it.

Mike hated knowing that he had wronged somebody that he cared about, and he wished there was a way that the two of them could find closure in their relationship and amicably coexist. Then again, maybe Lindsey's idea of closure was simply moving on with her life and pretending she had never known him. Maybe Mike would have to find a way to drop this and accept that this was something there was no fixing. After all, if that is the way Lindsey wanted it, he at least owed her that much.

He still couldn't believe the way he had gotten himself into this situation. He had slept with El. The one thing Mike had never regretted in his life was being with El, yet somehow that very same act was how he ended up hurting someone in the worst way he could imagine.

Dustin and Will both knew what had transpired between Mike and El that night at Lucas's house. After Lindsey broke up with him during lunch the day after, she had apparently gone into the cafeteria to confront El. The guys, having been sitting at their usual table not far from where Max and El were sitting, heard everything.

"You and El had sex?! Recently?!" Dustin had exclaimed in a shushed whisper that same afternoon when he cornered Mike at his locker.

"Lucas told you?" Mike had assumed.

"No. Lindsey told El off in the cafeteria at lunch today," Dustin had explained, starting down the hallway with Mike. "What were you thinking?"

"Look, I really don't want to talk about it," Mike had sighed. "Needless to say, Lindsey and I broke up today. I feel awful about everything, and I already heard enough today from Lindsey and Lucas. So can you please just not lecture me on this right now?"

"That's fair," Dustin had nodded, though Mike saw the disapproval in his expression.

Dustin had honored Mike's request to not lecture him on what had happened, but a few days later, Dustin had pulled him aside.

"I know you don't want to hear about how stupid it was to cheat on Lindsey or that you and El should've just waited one day so you could've broken up with Lindsey properly," Dustin had started, to which Mike gave an annoyed look. "You already know you shouldn't have done what you did. But I want you to know that if you need anything while you're trying to figure all your shit with El out, I'm here."

"Thanks, Dustin," Mike had smiled sadly.

That was the last that Dustin had spoken to Mike about his situation. Will hadn't spoken to Mike much about it either. He had basically left it to a "you really shouldn't have done that," and a disapproving look.

Of course Mike knew he shouldn't have done what he did. Lucas, Dustin, and Will had all made it a point to remind him of this, and Mike was still truly sorry to Lindsey for having done it. Still, Mike couldn't help but find himself thinking about that night. Because even though it had been wrong, and it was a horrible thing for him to have done, it hadn't felt wrong in the moment. He had just been so wrapped up in El; the sparkle in her eyes, the glow around her hair, the smell of her shampoo, the feel of her soft skin, the sting of her fingernails digging into his back, those beautiful moans she let out into his ear, the tight hold she had around him the whole time when he was literally wrapped up in her arms and legs.

His mind had forgotten about Lindsey so fast, and Mike hated himself for that. He hated that his love and desire for El, the thing that had always been held the most pure and sacred in his life, had led to the worst thing he had ever done to another person.

Mike had been beating himself up over that night for more than a week and a half. He had told himself countless times that he should have stopped it, that there was no excuse for what he had done while knowing he had another girlfriend. He could have stood up and walked away, and then he could have ended his relationship with Lindsey with an ounce of decency. But, as Mike lay there on the couch thinking about that night, he couldn't help but wonder… could he? Sure, Mike knew he was physically capable of walking out of that room, but looking deep down within himself, he knew he didn't want to. And he hated himself for that, too.

Mike sighed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He loves El. This was a fact there was no use trying to deny. El had wanted so badly to talk about where the two of them stood after what had happened, and Mike truly did not know the answer. He knew that he loved her and that he felt like shit because of what he had done to Lindsey. He knew he still had a lot of built-up emotions that he had never revealed to El that he had talked about with Nancy. Mike knew that the longer he kept his feelings hidden from El, the worse he was going to continue to feel about everything.

He needed to get some things off his chest. El needed to hear the truth about where his head was at, even if that didn't include a definitive answer on where their relationship stood. Mike hoped that as they talked about the things on his mind, an answer about what he and El should do would become clearer.

Mike took a deep breath and stood from the couch. He walked over to the phone and prepared to dial the number to the Byers' house to see if El would be willing to meet him somewhere to talk. Suddenly, there was a knock at the back basement door, and Mike glanced over at it, seeing the unmistakable silhouette through the curtain.

Taking and exhaling a deep breath, Mike crossed the room and opened the door, finding himself face-to-face with the person he was just about to call.

"Hi," El said timidly, her fingers fiddling with the strings of the hoodie she wore.

"Hi," Mike replied quietly. "El, what are you doing here?"

El's eyes dropped to the ground as she wondered if she had made a mistake by coming over after all. Maybe she should have waited for him to come to her like Max and Lucas had said. Maybe she was making a mistake.

"Can I come in?" she asked, looking back up at him. Mike started to nod and stepped to the side.

"Yeah," he said as she walked by him into the basement and he closed the door behind her. "I, uh, was actually just about to call you."

"You were?" El asked, the hope reignited.

"Yeah," Mike replied, taking a seat next to her on the couch. "I mean, I don't have all the answers yet, but I just felt like it was time to talk to you."

"I wanted to talk to you too," El said.

"Okay," Mike nodded, encouraging her to continue.

Be honest with him, and tell him how you feel and what you want. Will's words rang in her mind.

"Mike, I… I'm ready for us to get back together," she blurted out.

Mike sat back a little, his brow furrowed, taken aback by El's bluntness. He had been expecting her to want to talk about what had transpired between them at Lucas's house, or maybe she would have a clearer answer as to why she broke up with him in the first place. What El had just said was the last thing Mike had been expecting her to lead with.

"El, I… you… what?" he stammered.

"I've apologized for everything, and I'll do it again if that's what you want. But, I love you, and I'm ready for us to put all of this in the past. I want for us to get back together," El explained.

"Wow," Mike let out his breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I wasn't expecting that."

"So, what do you think?" El asked, biting her bottom lip in anticipation at what he might say.

"I think… Honestly, El, I think you're being kind of selfish right now," Mike admitted slowly, and El's jaw dropped open.

"S-selfish?" El repeated. "H-how am I being… selfish?"

"You're ready for us to get back together?" Mike repeated. "We've barely even talked about anything. You don't know how I feel about anything that's happened, but I should just jump right back into things with you because now you're ready to get back together?"

"Mike, I – That's not how I meant it," El said quickly. "I miss you. And I love you. I want us to get through this and go back to spending our lives together… I thought you would feel the same way. I wasn't trying to sound selfish."

"El," Mike began slowly. "I've loved you for years. I have always given you everything that I could, and I would've done anything you ever needed or wanted me to, and you know that… But it seems like being apart or being together has always been on your terms."

"What do you mean?" El asked.

"When you broke up with me three years ago, you did it in four words. There was no discussion. You just ended things and walked away from me," Mike recalled. "But I gave you the benefit of the doubt with that because we were young and you didn't fully understand what dumping someone meant, and you were under some… outside influence. We got back together. But this time, you thought long and hard about it for weeks before you did it. You knew what it meant this time, and you knew how badly I didn't want to break up. But because you wanted to break up to see other people, we did. You broke my heart, El. And now, a few months later, after that didn't work out, you're here wanting to get back together again… El, I can't keep doing this. We can't just keep breaking up and getting back together whenever you decide you want to."

El gaped at him, not believing what she had just heard. The impact of his words brought tears to her eyes, and she turned away from him, blinking until they went away. She swallowed hard and let out a shaky breath, turning back to him when she was sure she could speak steadily again.

"I never meant to make you feel that way," she said slowly, holding her voice as steady as she could.

"I know," Mike said, his tone softened. "But it scares me that you can want to break up and get back together like that because… well, it makes me think that maybe we aren't on the same page when it comes to our relationship, and that… and that maybe you don't love me as much as I love you."

El felt as her heart was ripped into pieces at the rawness of Mike's words. She didn't try to hide the tears that spilled from her eyes this time.

"Y-you think that I d-don't love you?" she managed. "Mike, I love you more than anything in the world."

"If that were true," Mike started, his voice beginning to shake, "then why did you feel like you needed to see other people?"

"Max and Abby got to me. I knew that I loved you, but I thought that if I took their advice, I could be sure – we could be sure – that we were meant to be together and that there really was no one else," El explained, her brown eyes wet from her tears.

"And the difference is, El, that I never needed to go out with any other girls to know how I feel about you. But you needed to try and date other guys to know how you feel about me. And that scares me," Mike said. "It terrifies me because if we were to get back together, I know I would spend every day wondering if it was the day you were going to decide to leave me again."

"I wouldn't, Mike. I promise, I wouldn't leave you again," El pleaded.

"That's not a promise you can make, El. That's not a promise anyone can make," Mike shook his head. "And something else that scares me about this is that when you broke up with me, it wasn't because you were mad at me. We weren't fighting; I hadn't lied to you. I didn't do anything wrong. I thought things were good. I thought you were happy. And then one day, you broke up with me out of the blue."

El nodded silently. She knew all along that's how it had seemed to Mike. She knew things between them had been perfectly normal, and she knew Mike never had any idea about the doubts that had been placed in her mind until it was too late.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice broken.

"El, I'm not trying to be a jerk about this, okay? I'm just trying to be honest with you about how I feel," Mike said softly.

"I know," El nodded, wiping her cheeks dry, as the tears had stopped falling. "But I need you to know that this is not what I wanted. I never wanted to hurt you or make you feel the way you do. Max is really my only female friend, and I wanted to trust her opinion and her advice. She knows how I was raised, just like you do, and I wanted to believe that she wanted what was best for me. She knows more about being a normal teenager than I do, and I thought she was just trying to help me."

"I'm sure that in her own way, Max really was trying to help you," Mike said reluctantly. "She can want what's best for you, but she needs to trust that you can decide what that is."

El nodded and studied Mike's face. She started to move closer to him on the couch, but she hesitated and thought it better to stay where she was.

"I just don't want to lose you permanently," she said just above a whisper.

Mike, having seen El's hesitation to move closer to him, took the initiative to slide closer to her and take her hand in one of his.

"I don't want to lose you permanently either," he said quietly. "You were my first… everything, El. My first kiss, my first girlfriend, the first and only person I've ever been in love with."

"You're all of that to me, too, and so much more," El smiled. "You were the first person I met who saw me as a human being, the first person I trusted, my very first friend."

Mike's eyes glanced over to where the blanket fort had stood. He had built it just for El when they were twelve years old. He had spent 353 days calling her from inside it, wondering if she would ever come back to him. They had had many sleepovers and makeout sessions inside it, and they had even lost their virginities to each other in it a year and a half ago. Sure, the fort had been altered over the years to become bigger as they grew up and needed more space, but it had always been that same little fort where El had spent her first warm, safe night. All of those memories were exactly why Mike had torn it down.

El followed his gaze to the empty location where the blanket fort had stood, and she felt a pang of sadness in her chest. She felt Mike let go of her hand, and she turned back to face him.

"You broke up with me so you could date other guys, and you immediately went for Brad," Mike said gently. "There are always going to be other guys out there… other guys who are better-looking than me, or funnier or smarter, or whatever else. What happens when you get to college and meet someone on the football team? I'm… I'm just never gonna look like that."

"Mike, you don't need to look like that," El said, desperate to try and squash the insecurities that she was sure her dating Brad had helped instill in Mike. "I've always loved you for exactly who you are, and you're gorgeous. I love your eyes, your smile, the way it feels when you hold me in your arms… Nobody else could ever make me feel the way that you do."

Mike glanced down, and El noticed his cheeks blushing a very light shade of pink. He always got a little flustered when she would compliment him, and she had always thought it was cute.

"You know, being with you is the only time I've ever felt like I had real, unconditional love," Mike said after a moment. "I mean, sure, I know my parents love me because I'm their son, but they don't really know me. You are the only person who knows everything about me, everything that I've been through, and loves me anyway. That's why it hurts so much, El. I didn't just lose my girlfriend when you broke up with me… I lost my best friend."

"I lost mine too," El whispered, tears brimming her eyes once more. "So what can I do, Mike? I want you to trust me again, and I want our friendship and our relationship back."

Mike nodded, looking at the floor and thinking over her words.

"I still have a lot to figure out," he started. "I'm not over what I did to Lindsey, and I really don't want to mess things up with you any further."

"How can I help?" El asked.

"Just keep giving me space," Mike replied after a moment. "When Nancy was here for Thanksgiving, she actually had some good advice. She encouraged me not to focus so much on being with someone or not, but to take some time to myself… I think that's what I need to do for a while."

"Okay," El nodded slowly. "You know, Will actually gave me pretty similar advice a couple months ago."

"Maybe now is a good time to take it," Mike suggested. "We both have some things to discover about ourselves and who we are outside of each other. I do love you, El, but I can't get back together with you until I know for certain that you and I both are in the right place to do that. Jumping back into it too fast could screw things up, and I don't think I could live through another breakup."

"I understand," El said, nodding her head. "Take as much time as you need, Mike. Find closure and peace with the Lindsey situation and whatever else you need to figure out."

"Maybe you can find closure in what happened with Brad, too," Mike added, and El instantly smirked. Mike scrunched his forehead in confusion. "What?"

"I may have already taken care of the Brad situation," El grinned.

"El, what did you do? I told you to drop it," Mike groaned.

"I barely even did anything. Max and I went to his game last weekend with Robin and Steve-"

"Steve Harrington helped you?" Mike interrupted.

"All I did was trip him a few times on the court… and maybe made him take one basketball to the face," El continued. "Steve's the one who threatened him and popped one of the tires on his car with his nail bat."

"Are you serious?!" Mike exclaimed, his eyes widening. El nodded.

"You should've seen Brad's face," she laughed, remembering the terror Steve had filled him with.

"I wish I could've," Mike grinned, and El felt at ease knowing he wasn't really upset with her for seeking payback. "I know I said to just let it go, but… thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. I would do it all again," El said, repeating the sentiment Mike had told her a week and a half prior.

Mike smiled at her, and the two of them sat in silence for a moment, unsure of where to go next.

"El," Mike said after a moment. "I know I'm asking for space, and I don't know how long it will be. But I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome around everyone else. They are your friends just as much as they are my friends, and I want you to feel free to sit with your friends at lunch or join them at the arcade or hang out on weekends."

"What about you?" El asked.

"I'm the one who is asking for space, so I'll figure it out. Don't worry about me," Mike replied. "Thank you for understanding where I'm coming from with all of this."

"Of course," El smiled. "Thank you for talking to me about everything."

"I'm really glad you came over today, El," Mike said.

"Me too," she grinned.

They both stood and walked toward the basement door. El turned and wrapped her arms around Mike's neck, pulling him into a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close, burying his face in her hair. After several moments that were over way too quickly, Mike pulled back and let his hands drop from El.

"Take care of yourself," he said, opening the door so she could leave.

"You too," El replied.

The door closed behind her, and El sighed deeply. She had gone there with the intent of salvaging her relationship, and even though it hadn't gone the way she had envisioned it, she couldn't help but smile. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she and Mike were on good terms with each other. She felt like they were making progress and that they were on the road to repairing both their friendship and their love. Part of El felt prepared and even excited to focus on herself during this time as well, but she knew that now that there was hope for her and Mike again, she would wait as long as she needed to.

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A/N: We finally had an honest, vulnerable Mileven conversation, and Mike finally opened up about everything he talked to Nancy about and more. I hope you all enjoyed this one. Thanks for reading, and remember to leave me a review!