Thirteen: How To Save A Life.
"Where did I go wrong?
I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life"
Date: Sunday, October 13th, 1985
"Aw look at them!" Max gushed to the three boys beside her.
Lucas and Dustin just shook their heads and Will fake gagged. Then, something caught his attention.
"Wait...does Mike even have a shirt on?"
Dustin's eyes widened and looked back to the sleeping boy cuddling his girlfriend. He shook his head when he noticed that Mike, in fact, was not wearing a shirt.
You may be wondering why and how on earth the rest of the party were in El's room. Well, it was already past 11:30 in the morning and Joyce has a key on the doorframe on each door inside the house in case of emergency.
"Hold on...El doesn't either!" Max gasped.
"Oh my God!" Dustin and Lucas shouted at the same time, covering their eyes with their hands.
Will, on the other hand, was quite annoyed with this situation unlike the others. He thought Mike and El were moving things way too fast. No, Will could not tell El or Mike what to do and nor did he want to control them, but he just wished that they would slow down. They have so much time to do this kind of stuff, it's obvious that they aren't going to leave each other for someone else. Nobody would understand El like Mike does. Hell, her own brothers don't get her as well as Wheeler does!
Will muttered something incoherent under his breath and left the room with the two boys, leaving Max by herself. She walked over to the side of the bed and gently shook El's arm.
"El?" She whispered.
When she didn't respond, Max tried again, speaking louder and shaking her a bit harsher.
El gasped and shot up out of bed, her chest heaving. Her eyes were wide and full of fear. Mike remained happily asleep on his stomach with a soft smile on his face.
"Jesus, Max!" El hissed, "don't do that!"
Max giggled, "Sorry! But uh, you might want to put a shirt on..."
El gave Max a quizzical look before looking down at her body. She grabbed the blanket that Mike was wrapped up in and covered herself with it. She didn't care that Max had seen her in her bra, Max had seen her like that when she helped El into her dress the night prior and in the locker rooms when changing for gym class. But, El did care if the likes of Lucas or Dustin or her brother walked in randomly and saw her. God, that would make her die of embarrassment and awkwardness.
"Can you grab it for me? It's right over there," El asked shyly, pointing to the floor where her shirt was. Max did as asked and closed the door as well.
Just as El was about to pull the shirt on Max shouted, "Eleven Hopper, is that a hickey?!" El looked down at her chest to where Max was looking. Max was correct, a bit below El's right collarbone was a small reddish bruise.
El was about to say something but Mike started to wake up, mumbling things to himself. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and opened them halfway. They shot open when he saw Max standing with her jaw dropped and El's face was red and alarmed.
"Good morning," Max teased in a baby voice, "get enough rest, princess?"
"Shut up, Max," Mike warned, his voice raspier and lower than usual. "Just give me my shirt and explain why you're in here."
Max rolled her eyes but did as he asked while explaining her reasons. When she was done, Mike turned to Eleven and asked, "Why'd you look so scared when I woke up?"
"'Cuz I saw the hickey you gave her," Max replied for the brunette. Mike's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets and he apologized over and over to Eleven. She chuckled at his reparative 'sorries' and assured him it was fine, nobody would be able to see it as long as she didn't wear a low-cut top.
Once Max had left the pair alone to brush their teeth and such, Mike whispered something that sent a shiver down El's spine.
"Would you mind if we did that again sometime?" The lanky boy wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind just like he had last night.
"Not at all," she breathed, still not used to this side of Mike. Sure, soft and dorky Mike was absolutely adorable and who she fell in love with, but this Mike caused something to stir deep in her soul. He fueled that fire that burned down low in the pit of her stomach. Eleven adored the way he made her feel.
Only Michael Wheeler could ignite that spark, and Eleven Hopper wouldn't want it any other way.
With a sudden burst of confidence Eleven added, "and maybe we could do more next time."
The duo made their way downstairs and joined the other party members, Joyce and Jonathan in the kitchen. Will, Dustin, Max and Lucas were munching on Cocoa Puffs and had an empty bowl out for Mike, knowing that he was tired of Eggos, unlike El. El popped two of the frozen waffles into the toaster and went to grab some toppings. She grabbed some whipped cream and M&M's since she was craving chocolate for some odd reason.
She was hit with a wave of sadness when she thought about how Hopper would make her Eggo Extravaganzas on special days, such as his or her birthday, a holiday, or when he was randomly in a good mood. She had some weird sense that he was alive, but in danger. Her heart ached for her father to come back, even though everyone told her that he was gone. She didn't want to believe that he was dead, she just couldn't.
El tried to push away her sorrow and enjoy the company of her friends, but now she was absolutely miserable. He wouldn't be gone if it wasn't for her. Neither would Bob or Barb or Billy. Will wouldn't have gone missing, either. Their world wouldn't be in danger if it wasn't for her. It was all her fault. She did it all. She opened that goddamn gate and put the entire world at risk of ending. Deep down, she knew it was all Brenner's fault, but Eleven tuned out the logical voice in her head and listened to the irrational one that blamed everything on her.
The girl ate in silence while the rest of her friends and family talked about what they were going to do for Halloween. When she was done with her breakfast, she put her plate in the sink and hurried out of the room without a word. She sprinted up the two flights of stairs and locked her door behind her, making sure she had the key.
As soon as she locked the door the burning tears that had been threatening to spill fell freely. She cried silently, resting her forehead against her door, her chest heaving from running so fast and sobbing.
The sound of someone coming up the stairs made El back away from the door slightly. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. She wanted to be alone and find a way to get her father back.
"El!" Mike called through the door, "El, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Go..." El choked, "Go away, Mike."
"No, El, please tell me what's wrong!" He begged. Mike's mind was buzzing with ideas of what could have caused her sporadic change of mood. He just wanted to be there for her and comfort her.
"Mike," El warned through a sniffle, "Leave me alone."
"Just tell me what's wrong and I'll go. Please," he continued to pester.
"Shut up, Mike!" She shouted, "I want to be alone so leave me alone!" A loud sob escaped her throat as she fell to the floor, crying uncontrollably.
"El, please," his voice cracked slightly, "I hate seeing you upset. Please let me help you."
"I'll tell you later but right now I want to be alone," the tone she was using made his blood run cold. She only ever spoke like that the day that she dumped him at the mall. She sounded so broken and so angry that she seemed...calm...almost.
Mike sighed in defeat, "Alright."
Mike wanted badly to be mad at her, and he was, but his anger was overrun by sadness. He wished to help her but she just pushed him away.
Yet, he retreated away from the door in defeat without another word. Mike knew he pushed it too far, but he had good reason to. He could not stand to see his beloved Eleven so miserable.
"I love you," he whispered, looking at her door one last time before descending the staircase.
Mike grabbed his overnight bag and told the others what had happened. Joyce thanked him profusely for trying his best to get El to talk; she knew Mike was the only person who could get her to talk. If he couldn't get her to speak, there was no way in hell Joyce would be able to.
Mike said his goodbye's and thank you's to the Byers' and left at that. He walked home with his fists and jaw clenched as he thought about what the hell he could have done to set El off; he figured that since she told him to leave that it was something he had done.
He snuck in through the basement door, not in the mood to talk to his family at the moment, especially Nancy. Sure, they had grown a bit closer since the events of the last few years and definitely of that summer, but she would bombard him with questions about El. He hated that she did that even though usually he pretended it didn't bother him, but just thinking of her made him more gloomy at the moment.
Meanwhile, Eleven was trying to figure out how she could find Hopper somehow. To see if he was still alive somewhere. Oh, how easy it would be if she had her stupid powers.
That's when it hit her.
She would just keep trying until she got them back. She would do anything to get them back if it meant she could save her father. If she had to lock herself in her room and shut everyone else out so she could focus, she'd do it. She just needed to get them back, and she was not going to give up this time.