The seconds were ticking down to the last summer – the last bastion – of freedom, squashed in between the end of one era and the beginning of another. He could see the second hand just ticking upwards, so close, and getting closer.

The school bell rung and all hell broke loose.

Cheers erupted in the class, as the senior class of 1989 let out their last high school roars, the last roars of pure freedom prior to true adulthood, before dashing out of class and the building for one last time. Mike leaned back in his chair, slightly smiling and savoring the feeling of freedom. The seconds passed as he relaxed alone in the chair, with the teacher still at the front of the room gathering her materials.

"Mike?"

Eleven's voice cut through to Mike, and he quickly turned and stood. El, with a small smile - the one he loved so much - on her face, stood by his desk. The teacher had long since left the classroom, and the two remained alone.

"Hey, El," Mike said, as he embraced her. "How was the last day of school?"

El tilted her head to one side, her shoulder length hair falling to her right shoulder.

"It was the last day of school."

Mike chuckled. "That's about as good a way of putting it as I've ever heard."

Fully standing up, Mike towered nearly a head over El, with his full six-feet in height compared to her shorter five-foot four in height. While she had recovered from her childhood abuse and the time she spent in the Upside Down after several years of healthy meals at the Byers', she was still relatively petite, though what she lacked in physical intimidation, she made up for with her rather forceful, yet somehow mostly quiet, personality at times, which didn't include her particular set of abilities. Her hair, styled as a short pixie cut, had a bow on the side, and combined with the modest skirt and shirt she wore, El was absolutely breathtaking (like always) to Mike.

Mike stared into El's brown eyes and she stared back. Time seemed to slow as the two got closer to each other, relativity likely playing a part in the scheme. El could feel Mike's breath as he leaned in closer, ever so closer.

"There you guys are!" yelled a voice behind El. Startled, both turned to face the door, where Dustin stood with Lucas and Will behind him. The trio had their backpacks slung over their shoulders, and all three were sporting grins that rivalled that of the Cheshire Cat's. Mike and El pulled back in surprise, their irritation mounting at the intrusion.

"So we'll come around at about five o'clock?" questioned Lucas, who had his arms folded over his chest. "Should give us enough time to freshen up for the party."

"Yeah, five's fine," replied Mike, slightly annoyed at the fact that his private time with El had been interrupted. "Five's just fine."

"So we've got about a half hour before Lucas, Will, and Dustin gets here," Mike turned to El, who sat on the couch in the Wheelers' living room. His mom had just pulled out of the driveway, heading towards a party of her own with Joyce, Hopper, and some of the other parents of the "group" to celebrate the graduation of their kids. As such, Mike and El were home alone.

El pointed her head in the direction of the basement door, and Mike nodded. Both of them walked down the basement steps, until they were staring at the small pile of blankets that formed the tent El had once inhabited. It was a bit of a tradition – El would oftentimes go down to the basement to see where she had made her first home, a small pile of blankets at the bottom of a house that was the first place to give her true comfort. They never stayed down there too long for just the fort, though – both agreed to look forward to the future, rather than the horrors of the past. Thus, both went back up to the top floor after a while, and ended up lounging on the la-z-boy, El on top of Mike.

"Excited?" Mike's voice cut through the silence. El tilted her head up from its original resting position upon Mike's chest.

"About what?"

"Ya'know, being adults, college, all that stuff. Kinda scary, isn't? We won't be able to be so, I don't know, carefree." Mike's mouth twitched. They were both going to Indiana University, El to the School of Education (she wanted to be a teacher) and Mike to the College of Arts and Sciences (he wanted to be a chemist). El sighed, and went back to rest on his chest.

"Mike, we'll be together at Bloomington – it'll be about the same as here. Dustin will even there too, and Lucas and Will won't be far away." Mike's face didn't change, and he turned to rest on the side of his head. He was afraid of missing Lucas and Will, even though they were all remaining in Indiana, with the latter two going to Purdue for physics and biology, respectively.

"Mike." Mike turned his head back to El, only to feel her soft lips push into his own. Momentary surprise overtook him before he relaxed and embraced El as they both fell deeper into the kiss. After a few moments, they broke apart, both breathing in as stared into each other's eyes. All Mike could think about was how beautiful El looked.

"Relax. It'll be fine."

Before Mike could respond, the doorbell rang throughout the house, causing El and Mike to both look at the door. El quickly hopped off of Mike and the la-z-boy, with Mike slowly getting up after her.

"Thanks." El stopped halfway to the door handle before turning around to look at Mike. She simply smiled and continued walking towards the door, to their friends.

The future was uncertain, but as far as Mike was concerned, he didn't care as long as he could spend it all with El.