Chapter 5- School
Sure enough, Mike did see El sooner than he thought. Hopper showed up at the Wheeler house and El knocked on the door. Nancy answered, she was helping Karen get breakfast ready. She smiled at the pair at the door. "He's still asleep. I was going to send Holly to wake him up." She said. El grinned widely.
El made her way down to the basement where Mike was sleeping on a couch. She grimaced about how uncomfortable it looked but she figured it was the price for keeping him comfortable. She walked up to him and kneeled next to him. She smiled a bit s she kissed his forehead. He stirred slightly so El kissed his cheek the next time. Mike then swatted at his face. El kept grinning as she kissed his nose. Mike wiped at his nose and slowly opened his eyes.
He woke up to a grinning El in front of him. He smiled slightly as he rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing here?" Mike asked. El laughed a little. "Dad thought he could try helping out a bit with you. So your mom and sisters aren't overloaded." El explained. Mike sat up from the couch. He began stretching, getting the kinks out of his back. "I imagine that's comfortable." El commented. Mike nodded. "Totally. I want one with a fold out bed but Mom thinks that might be just as bad. And Dad's insurance honestly doesn't cover a hospital bed." Mike explained.
El made a move to help Mike up but he waved her off as he stood up. He did some further stretches and El could hear his back pop. "I am glad you're here." Mike said with a smile. El grinned at him and gave him a hug. "I am going to need help getting up the stairs. This bathroom doesn't have a shower so I need to get up there. Fastest way would be going from outside." Mike said.
And sure enough, it was much faster for Mike and El to walk outside and head through the front door. Hopper and Nancy helped Mike the rest of the way up while El and Karen set up the table. El noticed the couch had blankets and a pillow on it. "Is Mr. Wheeler sleeping down here?" She asked. Karen shook her head. "No, I like to be nearby if something happens. Ted still has the room." Karen explained.
After thirty minutes, Mike came down dressed. His medications were set up for him next to his breakfast. They all ate in relative peace, with Mike taking his medications as he ate. "Most of this stuff sucks." Mike explained. El gave him a sympathetic look as he took his medications and made grimacing faces.
Karen looked out into the hallway and saw Ted standing there, he was dressed for work and he looked miserable. She almost felt bad for him, then she remembered what he said about Mike and how he convinced him to take his own life.
Ted left while Karen and Nancy helped clear the table after they were all done eating. Hopper helped Mike get into his truck. Holly also got in the truck as Hopper was going to help the Wheeler's out as much as he can. Nancy came out and handed Mike and Holly their lunch bags. "You little shits be good." Nancy said. Both Mike and Holly merely stuck their tongues at her.
"All right, next stop, Hawkins High School, where I am still the reigning king of detention." Hopper said as he started the truck. "Yea, he's so bad he still has to go to the detention room for parent/teacher conferences." El said with a laugh. Hopper stuck his tongue at her. "You see how she treats her dear old man? Such a meanie." Hopper joked. Holly looked at him quizzically. "Why so many detentions?" She asked.
"Dad was a bad boy in his time." El answered. "He used to fight the Man, now he is the Man." She laughed. "God Hopper, you're such a sellout." Mike said grinning. Hopper made several grumbling noises. "Be Chief of Police they said, get lots of respect they said. Here I am getting roasted by teenagers and a nine year old." Hopper grumbled, earning more laughs from the occupants.
They dropped Holly off first as her school was on the way. She waved at Mike as she walked inside, her friends in awe of seeing her leave the Chief's truck. Then they made their way to the high school quickly, mostly because Hopper knew a few shortcuts away from most of the school zones.
Stopping in the parking lot, El helped Mike out of the truck, but the medication was working so he needed very little help, not that he wasn't going to let El help him out. "You two have a good day, and stay out of trouble." Hopper said. Both nodded as Hopper drove off. The pair headed to the front of the school, where most of the party was waiting. The only two missing was Will and Max. Max was generally not seen hanging with them and Will might have been in the A/V Room. Mike knew Troy was by his spot, in which Mike may have to make a stop at soon.
"Kind of weird having most of the Party back together." Dustin said. "And now we have some ladies." He added, earning an eye roll from El. "Let's head inside." Lucas said, earning no argument.
Inside the school, people began staring. It made Mike uncomfortable. He could see people whispering as he walked by. He hated being the center of attention just because of something he had no control over. El stood next to him and took his hand into her own. "They are curious about your new girlfriend, not about your sickness." El whispered. She could tell he hated the spotlight, it was something she hated as well. She only put up with it because she happened to date a star football player who could run really fast. Mike still felt uncomfortable and was having a hard time not running away.
Making their way to the A/V Room, they quickly entered and found Max sitting with Will. Lucas gave her a confused look that Max mouthed "later" to him. Will looked stressed out, more than normal. "You okay there Will?" Mike asked. Will shook his head. "Not really, but its just something I will take care of on my own." He said. Mike accepted that, Will tended to deal with issues on his own, at least till he couldn't handle it any more. "Mr. Garcia still wants the microphone fixed. Otherwise he might shut us down." Dustin said.
"Yea, I guess we can work on it a bit before class." Mike said. He then turned to El. "We kind of get into tech talk and for outsiders it might be boring as sin. If you wanna hang somewhere else, we get it." Mike said. El shook her head. "I am not looking forward to running into Eric, or half of his groupies." El said. Mike nodded in understanding and they then began working on the microphone.
Troy was confused. He kissed another guy, and he enjoyed it. He never expected to even have romantic feelings for another guy. He smoked one of his regular cigarettes, keeping an eye out for either Mike or Will. James noticed his friend seemed distracted. "You okay man?" James asked. Troy nodded. "Just, kind of distracted by other things." He said. James smirked at him. "Let me guess? Some girl?" James asked. Troy shrugged.
Troy kept thinking of Will and how he felt but he knew everyone would think of him as unnatural or a freak if he acted on his real feelings. The truth was, Troy did like other boys. He realized it at summer camp before high school. It was another camper he met. He told nobody about it. His reflections were put on hold as a few people showed up to buy some joints from him. His thoughts still drifting off about Will. Luckily James was talking shop with another friend of theirs so he wasn't as observant about how distracted Troy was being.
Max Mayfield then arrived, looking directly at Troy. She had her look of determination that made her like a heat seeking missile. "I need to speak to you. Alone." She said, pointing to the bathroom. Troy nodded and the two entered. Max locked the door and then moved to stand in front of Troy, who was leaning on a sink. "So, Will says he kissed you." Max said. Troy let out a breath and looked to the ceiling. "Yea, he did." Troy said.
"So how does that make you feel?" She asked as she crossed her arms. Troy looked away from her. "You promise not to tell anyone?" He asked. Max nodded, she liked to keep secrets. "I kissed him back. And I enjoyed it." Troy said. Max turned her head slightly as he said that. "You like Will?" She asked. Troy shrugged. "I dunno if I like him. We spent one afternoon together but, we do have history. I did treat him and his friends like shit through the years." Troy said. Max nodded. "Yea, that makes things awkward." Max said. Troy turned to face the mirror while Max stood behind him. "I have had feelings for other guys for a while. I didn't realize it until the Summer of '84. But if anyone knew, well you know how people are." Troy said.
"I understand. But at some point you need to talk to Will. He deserves that at least." Max said. Troy nodded, hoping he could find some time to get him alone. Max accepted this and unlocked the door and walked out. She was glad she didn't have to kick his ass over this. "Oh, give these to Mike." Troy said, handing her a bag of rolled joints. "So he doesn't have to walk over here." He explained. Max nodded and headed out.
Mike hated how his day was going. He could hear people whisper, all of them talking about how he was sick. Several people just avoided him. It was fine when he was with El but they didn't share any classes due to him being in honors classes and she wasn't. A surprise in his classes was popular Stacey Albright. Mike always thought she was pretty ditzy but it turned out she was actually scary smart. She still turned her nose at Mike for the most part but she was never outright mean to him.
Today though, she was looking at him with concern and pity. Mike hated that. Why do people care suddenly now they know he is sick? He just hated the entire thing. Even the teachers were treating him differently. Asking him if he needed help or letting him leave five minutes early so he could get to his next class. Mike made due before everyone knew, so damnit he was going to keep doing things his way. "Okay class, pair up. This assignment requires partners." The teacher said. Honors English was one of the few classes were the teacher liked to socialize the kids. He thought maybe they needed to work together on things. Apparently it helped prepare them for the real world.
Stacey walked up to Mike and sat next to him, instead of one of her friends in the class. "Mind if we work together?" She asked. Mike just shrugged as she pulled the books out. The pair worked on the assignment in relative silence, only talking about the work. Mike could tell she was itching for gossip and he was starting to get annoyed.
"Okay, ask." Mike said, surprising Stacey. "What?" She asked. Mike rolled his eyes. "Go ahead, I know you have a billion questions." Mike said. Stacey had a guilty smile on her face. "A few, but you are kind of interesting now." She said. Mike rolled his eyes and urged her to start. "El Hopper, when the hell did you two get back together?" She asked excitedly. That was not the question he was expecting. "Sunday, we got back together then. I just hope Eric doesn't try anything." Mike said. Stacey grabbed his forearm and squeezed it. "That was completely messed up." She said. "He is a jerk who is getting what's coming to him."
Mike wanted to agree but, the amount of stuff Eric got away with was staggering. Hopper assured him that the Mayor was not going to allow it any more but what if he goes back on his word? "Other than that. I guess you expected this one. How bad is it?" Stacey asked. Mike took a deep breath. He had rehearsed this before but he never had to tell anyone. "It's been progressing slowly. My medications have been keeping it in check but, I dunno how bad it really is. I feel weak a lot and I am in pain a lot. But I just try to live one day at a time." Mike explained. Stacey nodded, realizing it was him just him hiding how sick he was. Mike tended to do that.
Class ended not long after and Mike headed to his locker for more of his books. As he got to his locker and began opening it, he could feel eyes watching him. He looked over his shoulder and he saw Eric Kline glaring daggers at him. He approached Mike, still visibly angry. "You fucked with the wrong person Wheelie. I am going to kill you before your cancer does if you don't leave my bitch alone." He growled. Mike just glared at him. "You think your new friend Chief Hopper can protect you? I OWN him. I own this town." He said. Mike smirked at Eric. "Your dad is in charge, not you. And I remember Hopper telling me that you're on a short leash. I wonder how your dad would feel about you threatening me." Mike said. Eric moved in closer and whispered in Mike's ear. "I am not threatening. Stay away from El, and I won't kill you." He said, walking off. Mike just glared at him as he walked off.
During lunch, while Mike was distracted when El walked behind him and kissed his cheek. "Hey string bean." She said sitting next to him. Mike smiled as she cuddled next to him. "I have had so many people ask me about us dating. Jeez its only been a day and they think we went on a whirlwind weekend romance." She said. Mike snorted with laughter. The rest of the party joined them soon after. "God, Jennifer Hayes is starting a fundraiser for you man. Kind of unreal" Lucas said. Mike put his hands in hos face and groaned. "Also I saw Eric stalking the halls. He looked like an angry tiger." Dustin added.
"Yea, he spoke to me earlier." Mike said turning to El. "We have to break up or he is going to kill me." Mike said with mock solemness. El snorted. "He actually said that? What a joke." She laughed. "Well, either way, we will watch your back. Kline did look rather pissed off." Dustin said.
After school, Mike and El were walking hand in hand out the door when Eric showed up, waiting for them at the bike rack. El expected Mike to let go of her hand but he only squeezed it tighter. Eric glared at the pair. "What did I tell you earlier? You got a death wish Wheelie?" He growled. Mike blinked at him like he was a moron. "Well, I am dying. So fifth grade level bullies like you don't exactly scare me." Mike said.
Eric walked closer to him and reached for Mike's collar. El let go of Mike's hand and shoved Eric back, surprising him. "You forget your place bitch." Eric said. He raised his fist, with El slightly flinching. Before his fist could connect, someone shoved him away. Eric looked up and saw Billy glaring at him with blazing eyes. "You some kind of tough guy hitting a woman and a sick man?" Billy asked pulling off his work shirt, leaving him in just a standard muscle shirt. "I don't think anyone ever beat your ass before little boy." Billy said, squaring up on Eric. Before either could start, a large rotund Mexican man stepped between the pair. "Hey, what the hell is going on?" Mr. Garcia said. He looked to Mike for answers.
"Eric here wanted to fight me because his ex wants to spend time with me instead of him." Mike said. El nodded to confirm. Mr. Garcia looked to Eric who's eyes were blazing. "You do know your dad called me to tell me that if you try anything I am to suspend you right?" He asked. Eric kept glaring but nodded. "Good, now get out of here. I don't want to have to do anything before the game this Friday. But if you push me, I will suspend you." He commanded. Eric then sulked off, giving Mike one last glare.
Mr. Garcia then turned to Billy. "Mr. Hargrove. Picking fights with high schoolers?" He asked. Billy put his work shirt back on. "Yea, well I saw him about to hit those two so I handled it. Clearly self defense." Billy said. Mr. Garcia just stared at him before turning to Mike and El. "You guys have a good rest of your day. I'll see you all tomorrow." He said as he walked away.
"Thanks Billy." El said hugging him. Mike was a little apprehensive of the older man. Mike remembered how vicious he could get. He almost beat up Lucas when he and Max started being friends. Plus he remembered how his mom had a crush on him and that was still weird for him. Billy seemed to notice this. "It's been a while Mike." He said. He had his right hand on the back of his head. "Yea, it's been a while." Mike said. It was feeling a bit awkward till Max jumped on Billy's back, surprising him and making him laugh.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. Billy ruffled her hair. "Dad wants a sit down. Came to make sure you went to the house." He said. Mike looked confused so Max explained. "Neil will call a family get together. It's a pain. They tend to kick me out when they think I am being too wild." Max explained. Mike nodded, thinking that was actually worse. "Well, you know if you need to we all have room. Hell, I think you could stay at my place if needed." Mike said. Max smiled. "Thanks Wheeler, but Billy tends to take me in. He isn't the grumpy teenager he was when we first moved in." She said. Billy shrugged. "She tends to be a handful but sometimes she is the best family I have." Billy explained. Mike just kept nodding. El thought it was funny how he was nodding. "You look like a bobble head." She said. Mike kept the joke going as El lightly tapped his head and he began making his head move like a bobble head.
Nancy walked up to the small group, giving Mike a hug as she saw him. "Nobody gave you shit today did they?" She asked. Mike shrugged. "Eric Kline seems to think I am his personal property but he is going to lose that idea quick." El said. Nancy nodded. "Well, Hopper called my desk and asked if you could stay with us till he got off work. He apparently has a ton of paperwork to do and doesn't want you in the cabin alone." She said. El laughed. She usually was alone in the cabin, but if he didn't mind her spending time with her boyfriend, who was she to argue?
"Hell yea, let's go." She said, grabbing a visibly amused Mike's hand. After they said their goodbyes, they all piled in Nancy's car and headed out. They picked Holly up at her school, heading home so they can have Mike take his medication.
Both Mike and El were sitting in the basement, side by side on the couch, doing their homework. El wasn't in any honors classes like Mike was but they still helped each other out. The radio was playing as a means of having noise. Mike was helping her with her history homework, about the siege of Vienna. "So, after sixty days, the siege was finally lifted when the winged hussars arrived." Mike explained. El looked even more confused. Mike smiled and showed her a picture from the book. "Polish cavalry that had these wooden wings. It was used to spook enemy horses and most cases troops as well. They would ride down like they were a flock of avenging angels." Mike explained. "That sounds like a heavy metal song." She said. Mike laughed.
The pair kept working when Mike asked her a question. "When Eric was going to hit you, you seemed to flinch. Like he had done it before." He asked, slightly guessing her answer. El was silent, putting her pencil down. She didn't expect Mike to figure it out, but he was very sharp, and perceptive. "A few times. He loses a game, he would slap me around. He won a game but someone outshone him, he slapped me around. He failed a class, he would slap me around. You get the idea." El said. Mike looked horrified. "Did you tell anyone?" He asked. El shook her head. "Eric was kind of a cruel bastard. He would threaten Dad's job if I told him. But I think Dad knew. He would ask me about how he treated me or he would have officers watch us. Then Billy would also follow us around as well. He stopped hitting me when we started getting an escort everywhere. I remember he whined to his dad but Mr. Kline kind of thought it was funny as hell." El said.
Mike pulled El closer to him, she rested her head on his shoulders. "I was scared to break up with him. He used to threaten to hurt people if I did anything. I think when you collapsed in the cafeteria I realized I couldn't be afraid of him anymore." El explained. Mike nodded as he held her. "How did ya'll find out I had cancer? I just collapsed and had bald spots. Not exactly compelling evidence I'm sick." Mike wondered. El laughed a little. "Will kind of spilled the beans. When you fell Eric started laughing and Will kind of yelled that you had cancer and well, the entire cafeteria went silent. He looked so embarrassed." El explained.
"Well, heat of the moment. I'm not mad at him. Kind of was hoping I would be dead before anyone found out." Mike said. El looked at him with worry. "You really hate yourself?" El asked. Mike shrugged. "Past few years, aside from my sickness, has been kinda difficult. Dad was the worst. He would do nothing to help me out." Mike explained.
As they sat there, the radio then began playing a familiar song. El smiled as she recognized it. It was the first song they danced to. Mike recognized it as well. El stood up and pulled Mike with her. "Dance with me?" She asked. Mike looked into her eyes and he could not refuse. He nodded and the two held each other close as they danced in the basement. "You know this song is about a stalker right? Not exactly very romantic." Mike said. El shut him up by kissing him. When she looked at him she smiled at him. "Just shut up and dance with me you nerd." She said. Mike laughed and the pair danced to the song.
They kept dancing until the song ended in which the two stood and faced each other. "Mike, you are so loved. I want to show you that you are." El said. She then pulled him into a deep kiss. Mike pulled her closer and kissed her just as deep. They walked backwards till they both landed on the couch. El on top of Mike, she grabbed his hair as the pair kept kissing.
Mike's left hand went pulled El's hair behind her ear and he held her cheek as they kept it up. Before anything happened, both felt water being squirted on them. They broke apart as they looked to the stairs. Nancy stood there, holding a squirt bottle and wearing a mischievous smile. "Yea Mike, the door is unlocked. Next time, try your own room. Or a more private setting." She said with a grin. Mike groaned as El got off of him. "Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you wash up." Nancy said, pointing to the bathroom. Mike nodded and walked over to the bathroom. When the door closed Nancy turned to El.
"What the hell are you doing?" She demanded. El was surprised. "I was…I was just showing him he is loved." El said. Nancy's eyes narrowed. "I don't want you using him as a rebound. Or doing this shit to get over your own guilt." Nancy said. "Go easy on him. He is very sick."
"Yea I know he's sick. But he's not made of fucking porcelain." El snapped. "Look, I understand you wanting to protect him but, god damnit I care about him. I thought about him for three years. I was to scared of my jack ass ex to do anything. Now you can cram the overprotective sister bullshit because I love him and I'm not letting him go." El said. Nancy was floored by her rant.
Both girls did not notice Mike had heard the entire thing and a smile formed on his face. "She loves me." He whispered to himself. Mike's self confidence had always taken a massive dive since he had to wear a hat all the time, or wear more sweaters no matter how hot it was so he can hide how sickly he was looking. But the fact El actually loved him even after all this time meant that maybe he wasn't as worthless as he thought.
Mike walked out to see El and Nancy still facing each other with glares in their eyes. "What's going on?" Mike asked. Both girls broke their glares and softened their expressions. "Nothing, just a discussion." Nancy said. "C'mon, let's eat."
Ted did not eat in the dining room with the rest of the family. He felt unwelcome to be anywhere in the house. But he wasn't leaving his home just because Karen was mad at him. He could hear them all laughing and having a good time in the kitchen. He sat in his chair, eating on a tv tray that Karen dug up for him to use. Most of the time they all avoided the place like the plague. Even Holly, who used to be a daddies girl, now ignored him. That broke his heart. And Ted knew exactly who was to blame for all this. He looked in the kitchen and decided he was going to do something about it.
AN: I am surprised I got anything done with this chapter. That new Spider-Man trailer got me excited so I was replaying the PS4 Spider-Man games and they are kind of emotional roller coasters. Oh and sometimes if it takes me a while to get a chapter out, I am usually playing a game or something. Anywho, I appreciate all feedback.
