Hi everyone,
I recently really got into Stranger Things and wanted to write my own fanfic. I wasn't going to publish it originally but decided towards the end to do so, so I'm publishing it here in full.
It has been ages since I've written anything, so any reviews would be welcome to help me improve. I'm a big Mileven fan so there is lots of that in here but with hopefully a few twists and turns along the way. It is set at the beginning of season 4 with Mike and El living apart and it is told alternately from their points of view, along with a couple of other characters here and there. I'm really sorry, there is no Max in this, I promise she will be in the next one.
I really hope you enjoy it
The Champion
Chapter 1
El
"Dear Mike today is…hmm". El paused in her writing and removed her notebook from the draw. She leafed through the pages, "now can I find this out?" She said to herself. Usually, El had been great at record keeping, dutifully numbering every letter she had sent to Mike, but her mind had been distracted lately, to say the least, she had lost track.
Her notebook contained various things she had been working on in her spare time: drawings, ideas for stories, various things. "Now which of these did I tell you about last" she began. "There's the drawing of my dads' old cabin", she gave a sigh as the memory of him passed over her, "then there is the poem I wrote about my walk in the woods."
After a while she gave up and closed the book looking for inspiration out the window. There was always something interesting to see on her quiet suburban street. Today she could see jimmy the paperboy, awkwardly manoeuvring himself up next doors drive, trying not to disturb the dog. Mr Hennesy over the road was cutting his lawn with the mower and Mrs Davis was having a gossip with another lady on her step.
El tried to imagine what they could be talking about. "Maybe that could be something for my next story?" She thought, making a mental note. Suddenly she had a brain wave. "Story", she said out loud and re-examined her notebook, "the last thing I wrote to Mike was a draft of my story about the Peloponnese war". "And the number was" El tried to focus, "come on brain, don't let me down, it was, 165" the number materialised in her mind. "Yes, that's it!" she exclaimed, happily writing '166' on top of the new page and underlining it.
A voice floated upstairs, "El are you ready?" "I'm coming" she yelled back. After placing the letter carefully on her desk El left the room with a spring her step, the day started to feel a little brighter.
….
"So, what you got today El?" Will asked as Joyce drove them in the car to college. "Erm, math first, then science and later on," El put a hand to her face as she does when she's thinking, "English and Athletics."
"Athletics?" Will said a little surprised, "I thought Tennis was your game." "I fancied a change" El said "doing a bit of running might help me get fit." It's true, El loved Tennis, ever since she chose it at the start of the year. She loved the energy that flowed through her as she smashed the ball, sending it hurtling to the other side of the court and with any luck beating her opponent. It was the closest thing she had left to, El paused in her thoughts, as the feeling of another sad loss moved through her mind, two in one day.
"El", Will said his voice urging, "are you in there?" She had wondered off into her own world, "erm yeah" she said rousing herself, "so what you got on today?" "Oh, the usual," he answered, "English, Chemistry, Spanish and Art." "Oh Art that's good" EL said encouragingly, "what you been working on?" "Well, we've been doing a lot of abstract stuff lately," Will snuck a glance at El who had already started looking out the window again. He stopped and they passed the journey in silence. Will was concerned about EL, at first, he thought it was just her missing Mike but lately she had grown more distant. Now she had giving up Tennis, something wasn't right.
…
"Ok you slackers!" MR Peterson the flabby coach barked at the crowd of students gathered on the college track, "we have a new student joining us, you all know Jane Hopper?" The crowd shuffled with disinterest, El bit her lip hoping the ground would swallow her up. "You may not know it but she's a bit of a Tennis star," he said pacing the line, "however MR Carson informed me that she seeks to try new things, so she has joined our little group."
Seeing people whispering the coach raised his voice, "listen up!" They rapt to attention. "Now being a sporty person I'm sure Jane can keep up, but I want you all to show her the might of our athletics team!" "Yes coach!" They shouted in unison. "So, get out there and show me what you're made of!"
The group dispersed and El followed; she had never considered herself a sporty person, she just liked Tennis. The thrill of seeing the ball and running, knowing that if she struck it in just the right way. "No," she told herself, "I've given that up remember?" El took a deep breath, "you'll get just as much pleasure from Athletics."
…
"So, tell me what happened?".
"It, ow", El winced. She was at home and Joyce was applying some Dettol to the big gash in her leg. "Well, we started off with running, I was fast" she said surprised at her bold assertion. "Faster than I expected, I ran and ran passing everyone and then, I tripped and scrapped my", "ok that's enough info", Joyce said wincing herself.
"Yeah" El said, "everyone laughed at me", "but", she hesitated, "I think I impressed them". "Good, that's good", Joyce said happily "now you need to rest that leg a bit I think". "No," said EL definitely, but then recovering herself. "Sorry Joyce, but I want to carry on, I feel, like I'm finally getting somewhere." El was vague but Joyce had enough concerns about her to not stand in her way.
She gave El a compassionate look but with that infectious smile included, "well ok, whatever you want El." "Thanks" El replied standing up, "I'm going to go my room." "Sure," Joyce said giving her a hug, "and any more injures just come right to me and I'll use my mom powers on you."
El smiled and left the room going up stairs.
Leaving the door slightly ajar she breathed a sigh and sat at the desk, seeing the letter which she had begun writing to Mike earlier. Picking up her pen, El began to write, 'I did athletics for the first time today, it was a lot,' she trailed off. El had never told Mike about anything like this, never athletics, and never Tennis. With a sigh El placed the unfinished letter in a draw.
Looking into the distance, she reflected. El loved Mike with all her heart and exchanging letters always made her happy. They talked about everything from gaming to college and enjoyed sharing all her creations with him. It was as if he was in the room with her.
But she did not deny, that after they had moved it had been horrible; his absence, her fathers' death, and the loss of her powers, it was like a black hole burrowing inside her. It was Tennis that had filled that hole, it gave El a sense of identity, a connection to that part of her she knew was lost. It felt empowering, knowing this was hers and hers alone.
El began to pace the room, "why on earth did I give it up?" she asked herself. "Something that made me so happy", she paused as the memory of a couple of weeks back washed over her. Guilt, mixed with shame and fear.
"Yes," El consoled herself "but that does not have to be the end". Fixing a stare on the closet El approached and opened it. Rummaging around she found her Tennis racket which had become buried. Grinning as if seeing an old friend El gripped the handle, feeling it's weight. She gave one of the strings a small twang, all that power, all that potential in this small thing. She had made up her mind.
Mike
"Hmm, hmm, hmm." "Would you stop doing that!" A voice exclaimed raising Mike to his senses, he looked up to see his big sister Nancy. "Doing what?" "Humming," she said, really irritating. "What's this anyway?" She asked taking the paper Mike was reading, "another letter from El?"
"Hey!" Mike said snatching the letter away, "careful with that." "It's fine" Nancy said slyly, "you've got a million more in your room." "I've not got a million" Mike groaned, "more like 165." "That's a very specific number" Nancy said glancing at the letter again. "Yeah, El keeps track, 165 letters," Mike said with pride, this one containing a fascinating tale of the Peloponnesian war.
"Alright Romeo" Nancy said, "just no more humming, ok?"
"Ok", he said grabbing a different piece of paper, he sucked on the pen for a moment and started writing. "Do you keep track of your letters as well?" Nancy enquired. "No, I don't," Mike stopped for a moment gazing at his sister, "is that bad?" Nancy thought for a moment, "well not really, I mean El's record keeping is a bit much". "But" Mike pressed, "but it is very sweet, it shows how much she misses you."
"Yeah", Mike suddenly got up and rushed to his room. "Ok, no need to panic, El has sent me 165 letters, I can't be that far behind her." He grabbed a piece of paper but did not know where to begin. "Mike" his mom called, "get a move on you're going to be late for college!" "Alright mom!" he bellowed. Mike glanced at that number she wrote with such dedication, 165. With a pang of sadness, he left the room.
…
Scribble, scribble, scribble, scribble. "Would you stop that!"
Mike looked up suddenly, Dustin was starting at him with a look only he could give, annoyance mixed with surprise and a hint of concern. "Oh sorry" Mike sighed, putting his pen down.
They were sitting for lunch and Mike had been scribbling for what seemed like an hour, he surveyed the paper which looked more like a number jungle than any kind of calculation. "It looked like you were trying to solve the riddle of the universe" Dustin said lighting up, "what you are writing anyway?"
He was interrupted by the arrival of Lucas who sat at the table, "hey guys" he said, "hey" they said in unison. "Mike here is trying to solve the cosmological constant" Dustin said brightly. "You what?" Lucas asked raising an eyebrow.
"No, I'm not" Mike said irritated but then stopped himself, "I'm working on something for El."
"Well, she must be a real maths wiz to." Mike shot Dustin a stern look which silenced him.
"Look" Mike said building himself up, "El has sent me 165 letters since she moved away and," he hesitated. "I've no idea how many I've sent to her," "I've been trying to figure it out but it's impossible," he said cupping his face.
"Ok" said Lucas after a small silence, "well, it's not the worst thing in the world, I mean you've got to have sent her at least a 100 say", "yeah?" Mike said wondering what he was getting at. "When, you see her in a couple of weeks" Lucas ventured, "you could, give her, I don't know, 100 roses."
"100 roses!" Dustin scoffed, "that's way too expensive, besides she'd see through that in a second", "see through?", Mike asked perplexed. "Well," Dustin went on, "you feel bad about not keeping track of your letters, right?" Mike nodded. "If, you suddenly gave her a gift of a 'large number'," he emphasised with his hands, "she might think you're trying to make up for lost time and that's not good."
"What do you suggest then?" Lucas shot at Dustin, feeling another of his mad schemes coming on. He motioned them to him lowering his voice, "you could".
…
After college, Mike, Dustin & Lucas made a trip to their local hardware store. The bell clanged on entry as they walked purposefully towards the desk trying to convey to the infamous owner that they were worth his time.
"And what is it you want exactly?" He asked in a dismissive tone. "We want to make a sculpture" Mike said. "Of what and with what materials?" The man asked.
"We were thinking wood" Dustin interjected "and we'll need some chisels, hammers, all that stuff."
"Well, I have all that 'stuff'" the man said in a tone that made the boys lean back, "but do any of you know what you're doing?"
"Well," said Lucas putting on the coolest tone he could, "we hear you're a man of many talents," he looked at them quizzically, "and that you could possibly do a commissioned piece?" Lucas finished.
Sensing hesitation, Lucas leaned forward as if sharing a confidence. "David, can I call you David? You've got a reputation around Hawkins, you're the man who has created wonderous things, garden ornaments, sheds, statutes you name it."
"Well," David responded, starting to warm up a little.
"This will be one of your most important projects" Dustin said with conviction "perhaps your," Mike and Lucas silenced him with a shake of the head before he went too far. "It is important Dustin continued, because Mike here, is in love," David looked at them blinking.
"He's in love with the most wonderful girl in the world" Dustin exclaimed moving his hands for dramatic effect, "who lives all the way across the country in California and he is visiting her for spring break in two weeks."
"And there is something I want to create for her" Mike added "something magical something beautiful," he looked directly at David "and as you said we don't know what we are doing." He placed a piece of paper on the desk. "But you do."
David picked up the paper and ran his eyes over the design, the boys stood with bated breath. He lifted his eyes to them and smiled.
