A/N: Thank you all for your feedback on the last one-shot! I was wondering how it would go over, given that it was so different from all the other installments, but I was definitely happy that you seemed to enjoy it. I will absolutely write some more one-shots featuring adult Mileven for this collection. This one, however, was inspired by UnoPeso22 who messaged me with an idea for a jealousy storyline. I hope you all enjoy it!
Guest: I'm glad you liked adult Mileven, and I will definitely include them again!
Shrike176: I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And I will definitely write more focusing on them in their adult years.
Ejbeckmann: Thank you! Don't worry, I think this one gives your feels a little bit of a break lol.
IgNighted: Thank you so much.
Andy: Thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying it.
UnoPeso22: I agree, El's trauma will likely follow her around for life. I'm glad you liked the nightmare and their daughter. I hope you like this one as well!
Afanofstrangerthingsandstuff: Thank you. I hope Eleven gets her powers back in season 4 as well! And my next fic is coming soon, I promise!
Disneyprincess315: Sadly, I agree, that trauma will be with them forever. But like you said, they have each other. I'm glad you enjoyed their daughter as well!
Mikeleven83: Thank you! I hope you like this one as well.
Setting: March 1986, five months after the Byers family and El move away to Illinois. El's powers have returned.
Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or any of its original characters.
0-0-0
Mike could hardly contain his excitement. It was the Thursday before spring break, which meant he only had to get through one more day of school before El was coming to visit for a whole week. Will's spring break week at his new high school in Illinois didn't coincide with Hawkins High's, so he wouldn't be joining El this time. Mike was sad he wouldn't be seeing his best friend, but he was also excited to be spending a whole week with just El who he hadn't seen since Christmas break when she and Will had both come and stayed for two weeks.
He couldn't wait to see her again, and his mind was racing with all the things they could do together. The mid-March weather was warming up, so they didn't have to be confined to the house. Not that there was anything wrong with staying in, hanging out in the basement, just the two of them. They could turn off the lights and put on a movie, cuddle up close together, maybe mess around a little bit… Mike shifted in his seat as he thought back to Christmas break. Their relationship had taken a big step forward physically, and while he and El talked about it and both agreed they aren't ready to go all the way, they were both enjoying exploring all the other things they could do.
"Mike? Mike!" Mike was jerked out of his thoughts by his partner's voice.
He looked across the table to where Stacey was staring at him with her eyebrows raised, clearly annoyed that he had zoned out and not heard what she had been saying.
"Sorry, Stacey," Mike muttered, glancing down at the work between them.
Mike and Stacey had been partnered up by their biology teacher to dissect a frog earlier that afternoon. Their report was due in class tomorrow, so they agreed to meet in the library after school to finish it up.
"Whatever. I was just saying I think we're done," Stacey said, popping a piece of gum into her mouth as she started piling her books into her backpack.
Mike picked up the section that Stacey had been working on and skimmed through it, finding it hard to really focus on the material in front of him. Luckily, he knew that even though she didn't show it, Stacey was actually intelligent, and Mike was sure her work was done well.
"Okay, great. It looks good," he said, handing it back to her before packing up his own books.
Mike and Stacey left the library and walked toward the parking lot. While Mike was retrieving his bike from the bike rack, he watched as Stacey stood at the curb looking up and down the street for her ride that clearly had not shown up. Mike was about to head home, but he sighed knowing that he couldn't just leave her.
"Do you have a ride home?" he asked.
"My brother is supposed to pick me up, but he's not always the most reliable," Stacey admitted, looking down at the ground. Mike almost felt bad for her until she looked up again, her normal prissy expression returned to her face. "Why?"
"Well I didn't want to just leave you here by yourself, so I was going to offer to wait with you or take you home," Mike explained.
"You didn't want to leave me by myself? Tell me, Mike, how exactly were you going to protect me from all the big bad dangers that Hawkins has to offer?" Stacey mocked him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You know what? Forget it. I was just trying to be nice. Have a good night, Stacey," Mike said as he started to pedal away from her.
Stacey looked up and down the street one more time and saw no sign of her brother. She really didn't want to walk all the way home…
"Mike, wait!" she called after him.
Mike hung his head in annoyance but turned around and stopped his bike in front of her. He raised his eyebrows and waited for her to speak. Stacey was biting the insides of her cheeks, clearly torn on what to say. She had a reputation to uphold, and being seen on the back of Mike Wheeler's bike certainly would not help her. On the other hand, she knew he actually was a nice guy who doesn't deserve the shit he gets at school… plus, him taking her home meant not having to walk.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Stacey said, not meeting Mike's eyes. "Could you just take me home? I don't think my brother is coming."
Stacey stood with her arms crossed looking down at the ground, and Mike thought she looked ashamed, though he didn't know if she was ashamed for acting like such a bitch or for giving in and letting him help her. Truthfully, it didn't make much of a difference to Mike.
"Sure. Hop on," he said.
Mike moved forward, and Stacey adjusted herself behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist to steady herself, and then they were off.
Two hundred miles away in Illinois, El was excitedly packing her suitcase for her week at Mike's house. The plan was for El and Joyce to leave their house at noon the next day so El would arrive at the Wheelers' house shortly after Mike got home from school. Joyce would pick El up the following Sunday. Nine whole days with Mike. El still couldn't believe Joyce and Mrs. Wheeler agreed to it.
She was rummaging through the clothes hanging in her closet, trying to pick out a variety to bring with her. March in Indiana was hard to plan for, so El found herself stuffing pants, shorts, dresses, and sweaters into her suitcase.
When she opened her dresser drawers, El paused as she looked down at her undergarments selection. The last time she and Mike were together, they took a step that El had not been intending to take, but she ended up being happy that they did. Mike saw her topless for the first time, and El had thought his eyes were literally going to pop out of his head. She was only wearing a simple white bra at the time, not having expected for anything to happen. El knew Mike didn't really care about what she was wearing, but that didn't stop El from wanting to look good for him.
Last month, El had told Joyce that she needed new bras because she was starting to outgrow her current ones. With Joyce's work schedule along with El's insistence for more independence, they agreed that Joyce would measure El's bra size and would then drop El and Will off at the mall with some money on her way to work. Will could browse the game store while El was selecting her new bras, and then the two of them could ride the city bus home together. El's plan had worked perfectly, and that's how she found herself looking at two unworn push-up bras in her dresser drawer. One was baby pink with lace covering the cups, and the other was black, low-cut, and silky.
She looked over her shoulder as if to ensure she was alone in her room, and El pulled both bras out and shoved them into her suitcase. She added her regular daily bras as well and tossed in nine days' worth of panties and socks as well before zipping her suitcase shut.
El looked at the clock and saw it was 3:45pm. She wished so hard that it could just be tomorrow so she could go see Mike. The thought of jumping into his arms and letting him spin her around and kiss her was giving her butterflies because she knew in just twenty-four hours it would be a reality. If only she didn't have to wait twenty-four hours.
Just then, an idea struck El that had not come to her for quite some time. She supposed paying him a quick visit in the void couldn't hurt. He was probably just as excited for tomorrow as she was. Maybe he was cleaning his room or straightening up the basement and getting a stack of VHS tapes ready for them to play in the background while getting lost in each other. Or maybe he was restructuring their blanket fort to give them more room to be in it together since he won't seem to stop growing. Whatever he was doing, El was certain he was doing it with that adorable smile on his face in preparation for her arrival.
She grabbed her blindfold and turned on her radio, tuning it until only static filled the room. Moments later, she was focusing on locating her boyfriend, and soon, she started hearing noise in the distance. Before she knew it, El was standing on a sidewalk. She was sure she was in Hawkins, but she was on a street she had never seen before. El turned and saw a beautiful two-story white house with a yard that looked like it was professionally landscaped. What is this place?
Then, she started to feel Mike. He was getting closer. El looked down the street in front of her and saw the familiar sight of Mike riding his bike. Her heart warmed and a smile crossed her face as he got closer to her each passing second.
But then, El noticed that he wasn't alone. Big, curly brown hair was billowing out from just over his shoulder, and El saw a pair of hands clasped together around his waist. El's smile was quickly replaced by a frown, and her heart felt ice cold as she watched this girl holding on to him the way that El always held on to him.
Mike brought his bike to a stop in front of the big white house, and the girl finally let go of him and climbed off his bike.
"Thanks, Mike," she said with a smile that El wanted to wipe right off her face.
"No problem. See you tomorrow," Mike replied.
He waved her goodbye before heading off down the road, presumably toward his own house. El didn't follow.
She ripped the blindfold off and was back in her bedroom. Her heart was pounding, she was panting, and her face was beet red. Who was that girl? Why was she getting so up close and personal with Mike? Why would Mike be seeing her tomorrow?
"Hey, El," Will's voice came from the hallway right outside her closed door, and El snapped her head toward it, being pulled out of her thoughts. "Mom will be home in an hour and wants us to have dinner started. Wanna come help?"
"Um, sure. I'll be right out," El replied.
She stood from the floor and folded her blindfold with shaky hands. As she laid the blindfold down, she looked at herself in the mirror on top of her dresser and tried to reason with herself.
Mike loves you, she told herself. Mike loves you and only you, and you get to see him tomorrow, and everything will be perfect.
But still, who was that girl? And why was he with her? And why was she touching him? Does he like her? You haven't seen him in over two months. Maybe he met someone new and plans to end things with you when you get to Hawkins.
No. El pushed those thoughts out of her head.
Mike isn't like that, she told herself. Whoever that girl is, she is just a friend.
But didn't you start out as a friend, too?
"El!" Will's voice called again from the hall as he knocked on her door, startling El and making her jump.
"Coming!" she called back.
She looked herself in the mirror again and decided she was being stupid. Of course she had nothing to worry about, right?
As El helped Will start dinner, she could not hide the fact that something was bothering her. Will watched as she harshly chopped the vegetables and started to wonder if it was safe for her to have a knife at the moment.
El briskly carried the vegetables over to the stove and sighed in annoyance when she looked at the pan.
"Oil," she demanded, and Will hurried to splash some oil in the pan.
El dumped the vegetables and tossed the cutting board into the sink. Will's eyes widened at the deep marks she had left from chopping the vegetables so hard. He watched as she unboxed the spaghetti and snapped the noodles in half before tossing them into the pot of water and throwing the box toward the trash can.
"El, are you, um, okay?" Will asked gently. El let out a long sigh before turning to face him.
"Who is the girl with the curly brown hair?" she asked. "She is pretty and… I think… I think I might remember her."
She scrunched her forehead as she realized the girl's face was becoming familiar.
"I think I remember her from that day when Max and I went to the mall," El continued. "She was mean. She is our age."
"Are you talking about a girl from Hawkins?" Will asked, and El nodded. "A mean, pretty girl our age with curly brown hair?" El nodded again.
Will thought back to his old school. It wasn't exactly like there was only one girl who fit that vague description. Not many girls had been particularly nice to him, after all.
"I guess there are a few that it could be, but the first one who comes to mind is Stacey Albright," Will replied. "Why?"
"Just curious," El shrugged and diverted her eyes.
"El," Will said seriously. "Friends don't lie."
"Fine," she sighed. "I'm worried that Mike might like her."
"What?! Mike can't stand her," Will said.
"Well then why was he with her?" El asked before she could stop herself.
Will cocked his head to the side and looked at her questioningly. She knew she was busted. El took a deep breath before admitting what she had done.
"I missed him, so I went into the void just to see him for a few minutes," she began. "And I saw him with her. She was on the back of his bike with her arms around him."
"Was that all?" Will asked after a moment when El remained silent.
"Does there need to be more?" El asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It sounds like he was probably giving her a ride home from school," Will said.
"But why? You said he can't stand her," El reminded him.
"I don't know," Will shrugged. "But don't worry about this. You know Mike loves you and would never cheat on you."
"Yeah… you're right," El agreed.
"So just let it go. You don't want it to ruin your week together, and you don't want to look like a jealous girlfriend who spies on her boyfriend with her superpowers and gets mad over a few minutes completely taken out of context," Will said.
El laughed; it did sound pretty ridiculous.
"You're right. Thanks, Will," she smiled.
The next day, Joyce was driving El to Hawkins, and El was replaying her conversation with Will in her head.
You know Mike loves you… You don't want to look like a jealous girlfriend…
She had decided that she was going to try and let go of what she saw. After all, she wasn't supposed to see it anyway, so how could she even bring it up to Mike without starting a fight? Will was right; Mike was probably just being nice and giving Stacey a ride home. That had to be it.
El let out a deep breath. She was sure she would feel better about everything when she got to Mike's house and finally saw him again for real. Being with him could make anything better.
A little after 3:30pm, they finally pulled into the Wheelers' driveway. The front door instantly opened, and Mike was at El's side before she was fully out of the car. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the side of her head.
"I'm so happy you're here," Mike whispered into El's ear, and the smile on El's face doubled in size.
Mike pulled back and turned to face Joyce who had removed El's suitcase from the trunk while Mike and El were greeting each other.
"Thanks for bringing her, Mrs. Byers," he said and gave the woman a hug.
"You're welcome, sweetie," Joyce smiled. "I'm assuming your mom has figured out sleeping arrangements?"
"Yes, Mrs. Byers," Mike replied, slightly blushing. "She said I'll sleep in my room and El will sleep in the basement. But if El would rather have my room, I'll sleep in the basement. It doesn't matter to me."
"Well, as long as one of you is in your room and the other is in the basement… and it stays that way all night," Joyce said with a pointed look.
"Y-yeah, of course," Mike nodded.
"Good," Joyce grinned. "Well, I've got to head back."
"You don't want to come in for a little bit?" Mike offered.
"Thanks, sweetie, but it's such a long drive, and I don't want to get home too long after dark," Joyce said.
She gave both Mike and El another hug before telling them to have fun and be safe and that she would be back the following weekend to pick El up. After Joyce pulled away, Mike picked up El's suitcase and led her inside.
"So, do you want my room or the basement?" Mike asked when they reached the foyer.
"I'll take the basement," El answered.
Mike nodded, and the two of them started toward the basement door when Karen came out of the kitchen, her arms outstretched as she made a beeline toward El.
"Hi, honey! It's so good to see you again," Karen said as she pulled her son's girlfriend into a warm embrace.
Mike frowned, knowing that this was going to take away precious time from reuniting with El.
"It's great to see you, too, Mrs. Wheeler," El said as she pulled back from the woman's hug.
"How was the drive?" Karen asked politely, ignoring her son's impatient sigh.
"It was good, just long. Thank you for letting me stay a whole week," El said.
"Oh, of course, sweetie. We just love having you join us," Karen beamed.
"That's great, Mom. I'm sure you and El can catch up over dinner," Mike interjected quickly. "When is that, exactly?"
"Five o'clock," Karen replied.
"Cool," Mike said, reaching for El's hand as he looked at the clock and saw that they had just over an hour. "We'll see you at five, Mom."
"Leave the door cracked open!" Karen called after them as Mike pulled El away from her and down the stairs.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Mike let go of El's suitcase and let it fall to the floor beside them. He cupped her face in his hands and tilted her head upward to meet his lips right as they connected with hers. El smiled against his lips and parted hers to let Mike's tongue inside while she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I missed you," Mike murmured against her lips after he pulled back.
"I missed you, too," El said.
Mike led El over to the couch and pulled her down next to him.
"We have about an hour to ourselves," he said suggestively.
El giggled and raised up on her knees beside him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned in to kiss him again. Just as Mike was leaning backward to pull El down on top of him, he heard the sound of small footsteps at the top of the stairs. He quickly pulled away from El and sat upright at the opposite end of the couch as his little sister appeared, much to his dismay.
"Ellie's here!" Holly exclaimed.
"Hi Holly," El smiled as the girl ran down the remaining steps and jumped onto the middle cushion between Mike and El.
"Holly, what are you doing down here?" Mike asked.
"I wanted to say hi to Ellie, and Mommy said I have her permission to hang out with you guys as much as I want," Holly said, placing her hands on her hips as she spoke.
"Of course she did," Mike muttered as his little sister turned to face his girlfriend.
"Guess what?!" she exclaimed.
"What?!" El played along, her eye widening in anticipation, and Mike couldn't help but smile despite himself at how cute it was to see El interact with his little sister.
"I had a birthday party last weekend," Holly said.
"You did?! How old are you now?" El asked.
"I'm seven!" Holly replied, holding up seven fingers.
"Wow! Did you get everything you wanted at your party?" El asked.
"Uh huh!" Holly nodded her head vigorously. "Do you want to come to my room and see all my presents?"
El glanced over Holly's head at Mike and had to hold back a laugh at the look on his face as he was pleading her with his eyes to tell Holly no. El looked down at the little girl nearly bouncing in excitement, and she decided it would be easier to make things up to Mike than to Holly if she were to crush the little girl's hopes.
"I would love to," El smiled down at her, and Mike did not even try to hold back his frustrated sigh.
Holly hopped up and grabbed El's hand, pulling her toward the stairs.
"Girls only!" Holly called over her shoulder to Mike.
"I'll make it up to you," El smiled apologetically as she let Holly pull her up the stairs.
Mike shook his head and walked upstairs, turning the corner into the kitchen where his mother was starting dinner preparations.
"Thanks a lot," he grumbled as he leaned against the counter.
"For what, dear?" Karen asked as she ran the tomatoes under the running faucet before placing them on the cutting board.
"You know what you did," Mike said. "El wasn't even here fifteen minutes before you sent in Holly."
"You know how excited Holly has been for El to visit," Karen said. "Besides, you have a whole week with her. Don't be so dramatic, Michael."
Mike sighed but chose not to argue with his mother. He walked upstairs and decided to entertain himself by reading through one of his comic books until dinner was ready.
An hour later, Karen, Ted, Mike, El, Nancy, and Holly were all gathered around the dinner table. Holly had, of course, insisted on sitting next to El, and she was doing her best at hogging all of El's attention. Mike decided this was okay because after dinner, he planned on telling his family that he and El would be in the basement watching Halloween, and he knew that would keep his mom and Holly out.
El was enjoying herself. She adored Holly, and she found Karen quite easy to talk to. Karen didn't know the truth about El's identity or past, but she accepted that Joyce Byers took El in after Hopper passed away. It was not a hard sell for Karen to believe that Hopper had a long-lost child that showed up out of the blue, so she had not asked many questions when Mike told her about El after the "fire" at Starcourt.
Karen was very interested in how El was adjusting to the new home and how home-schooling was going. El did her best to answer Karen's questions without saying anything that could cause suspicion. Everything was going great. El felt welcomed and loved, and she had even forgotten all about what she had seen in the void. Until…
"Michael, I almost forgot to ask," Karen said, turning her attention to her son. "How did everything go with Stacey today?"
"It was great, actually. It couldn't have gone better," Mike replied.
They had turned their report in right away in biology class, and their teacher graded the reports while the class took the test they had today. By the time class was over, Mike and Stacey had received their report back with a perfect score.
Mike glanced at El and noticed her jaw looked tightly clenched and anger flashed in her hazel eyes. He reached down to rest his hand on her leg.
"Is something wrong?" he asked quietly.
El moved her leg away from his touch and looked down at her plate of food. He talked to his mom about Stacey? And apparently he did see her today after all. What exactly was it that went so great? El found that she suddenly lost her appetite and politely laid her silverware and napkin on top of her plate.
"Ellie, do you want to come back upstairs with me? We can have a tea party with my new tea set," Holly suggested.
"Holly, El has hung out with you a lot today. She and I are going to go downstairs-" Mike was shocked when his girlfriend cut him off.
"A tea party sounds great, Holly," El said with a pointed look toward Mike.
"El," Mike gaped at her as she stood from the table.
He couldn't quite place the look on El's face as she turned to look at him for a moment before following Holly upstairs. Mike was left with his mouth hung open, completely confused at his girlfriend's sudden mood swing.
"What the hell did you do?" Nancy asked quietly when Holly and El were out of sight.
"I have no idea," Mike replied.
Mike went downstairs to play his Atari and wait for El to join him. He was so confused by what happened at dinner. He ran the dinner conversation through his head, trying to remember anything he could have said that she could have taken the wrong way, but he was coming up empty. He could not figure out what the hell happened.
Whatever it was, he hoped that El would be ready to talk about it when she came downstairs. After all, the time they had together was short enough, and Mike didn't want to lose any of it to silly arguments. He wanted everything with El to be okay. He wanted to curl up together, holding her in his arms, and kiss her and run his fingers through her soft hair and up and down her soft curves… But none of that could happen if she was mad at him about something.
Finally, 7:30pm rolled around, and Mike knew it was Holly's bath time. Sure enough, he heard the basement door open and close and then the sound of footsteps coming down. El looked right at him and then walked straight to her suitcase and began rummaging through it.
"Um… how was the tea party?" Mike asked.
El stood up and looked at him with a look that Mike was sure could kill.
"It couldn't have gone better," she said.
Mike furrowed his brow in confusion, and El rolled her eyes and walked to the bathroom carrying clothes to change in to.
When she came out of the bathroom, she was wearing a gray Hawkins PD t-shirt that fell to her thighs and almost hid the fact that she was wearing bottoms at all. But as she walked, Mike could see the bottom hem of a small pair of short cloth shorts poking out from under the t-shirt. Mike couldn't help but watch her lean legs as she walked across the room, and when she bent down to open her suitcase again, he felt his eyes bulge in his head as he stared at her ass. He started to feel guilty for eyeing her like this because he knew she was upset, but he couldn't help that she was also just so damn hot.
"Can I help you?" El asked impatiently. She turned to face Mike, having felt his eyes on her since the moment she exited the bathroom.
"Um, s-sorry. I, uh – I…" Mike sputtered. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah, actually, you can. You can tell me what I did to upset you."
El let out an exasperated sigh and walked toward the blanket fort, shaking her head.
"El, wait," Mike said, standing from the couch to follow her.
"I'm going to bed," El said shortly as she crawled into the fort.
"It's 7:45," Mike said, kneeling in front of the opening of the blanket fort.
"Good night, Mike," El said, reaching up to let the remaining blanket fall down to close the opening to the fort.
Mike gaped at the fabric that was inches from his face. What is going on?
"El, please talk to me," he said gently.
"Go away, Mike," El replied, and Mike felt his heart ache at the sound of her voice breaking.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said softly.
Mike heard El let out a shaky sigh, and he waited patiently outside the blanket fort. He was determined to not leave the side of this fort until he knew what was wrong, no matter how long it took. Suddenly, he heard the sound of El sniffling, and he knew she must be crying inside the blanket fort.
"El… will you please tell me what's wrong?" he asked softly. "If it's something I did, I want to know so I can try and fix it. Please, I hate it when you're upset."
Inside the blanket fort, El was having an internal debate. She suddenly couldn't get the picture of that bitch Stacey on the back of Mike's bike with her arms wrapped around him out of her head. It made El's stomach turn and her blood boil. On the other hand, El was here to visit Mike, and she knew how limited their time was. All she wanted to do was fall into her favorite place in the world, which was this blanket fort with him right next to her. But she was so angry… and hurt… and confused. She wanted someone to hold her and make her feel better. But the only person who could do that was Mike… but she was mad at him.
El let out a frustrated groan and a whispered "damn it." Mike held his breath as he heard her shuffling inside the fort. He hoped she was about to lift the blanket and let him in, and a moment later, his wish came true.
El lifted the blanket, and Mike crawled inside the fort and sat facing her. He was concerned by the tears he saw on El's cheeks, and he wanted to lean forward and pull her into his arms, but he knew she also didn't seem too happy with him.
"El?" he said tentatively.
"Do you like Stacey?" El asked quietly, not meeting his eyes.
"W-what?" Mike asked.
"Do you like Stacey?" El repeated firmly, looking up at him.
"Stacey? No! No, of course not," Mike insisted. "H-how do you even know about Stacey?"
"So there is something to know?" El asked.
"No, that's not what I meant," Mike said rapidly. "I just mean, how do you… oh, what my mom asked me at dinner?"
"Not just that," El whispered.
"Then what is it, El? Please," Mike asked again, scooting closer to her.
El took a deep breath. She knew if she wanted the truth, she would have to confess to what she did.
"I saw you with her," she whispered.
Mike scrunched his forehead in confusion.
"You saw me with her? What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Yesterday… in the void," El admitted.
There was silence as Mike racked his brain through yesterday's events. He saw Stacey a few times. In biology class, in the library, on the bike ride to her house. When had El seen them?
"I missed you, and I just couldn't wait until today to see you, so I looked for you," El continued. "When I found you, you were riding your bike… but she was with you. She had her arms around you… touching you."
"El, Stacey is in my biology class, and our teacher paired us up to do a lab report together," Mike explained gently. "We went to the library after school, and when we left, her brother ditched her and she didn't have a way home."
"Can she not walk?" El asked bitterly.
"I didn't want to be mean," Mike said. "I just gave her a ride home. That was all."
"And the 'See you tomorrow'?" El asked.
"In biology class," Mike replied. "To turn in our assignment. That's what my mom was asking about at dinner. And we got an A, so that's why it went so well."
El nodded as she let this explanation sink in. She could feel the anger fading away, and she started feeling silly that she had even questioned Mike in the first place.
"I'm sorry, Mike," she said. "It's just that when I saw her with you… touching you… I just felt… I don't know…"
"Jealous?" Mike offered.
"Yeah," El admitted, nodding.
"I understand," Mike said softly.
"You do?" El asked.
"Absolutely," Mike replied. "If I saw some guy with his hands on you, I don't even know how I would react."
"We're just so far away from each other, and it made me worry that you found someone here in Hawkins that you liked and that you could see every day," El admitted meekly.
"El, it doesn't matter where you live or how often we get to see each other. You are the only girl for me. I promise," Mike assured her, lifting his hand to cup her face and rub his thumb over her cheek.
"I love you, Mike," El said as she leaned further into his hand.
"I love you, too," Mike said. "But El, you've got to promise me you won't spy on me like this anymore. You've got to trust me."
"I do trust you," El said. "I just miss you so much when we're apart."
"I miss you too, more than I can explain," Mike agreed. "But we need to have some boundaries, and using your superpowers to spy on me is one of them."
"Okay," El laughed. "I promise I won't spy on you anymore."
"Thank you," Mike smiled. "So, are we okay?"
"Yes," El grinned, lifting her arms to wrap around his neck. "We're okay. I'm sorry that I thought you could like some other girl. I know you love me."
Mike placed his hands on her hips and leaned forward to kiss her lips.
"I do love you," he said when he pulled back. "Now why don't you let me show you how much."
El giggled as Mike laid her down and dove into her neck, peppering it with kisses while he entangled their fingers above her head. Her shirt rode up a bit, exposing a sliver of skin above the waistband of her shorts. As she felt Mike's hands against her bare stomach lifting her shirt, she quickly remembered her new undergarments she had packed specifically for this week that were both still tucked away in her suitcase.
"I have a few surprises for you this week," El whispered into Mike's ear.
Mike lifted his head so his face was hovering over hers, and his hands stopped moving her shirt upward.
"Oh really?" he asked.
"Mmhmm," El smirked. "I bought some new bras that I think you might like."
Mike nearly choked. He looked down to where his hands rested on her bare stomach just inches below her breasts, and he resisted the urge to yank her shirt right off.
"Well," he said before swallowing hard. "Are you wearing one of them right now?"
El shook her head, the smirk still on her face.
"I'm not wearing one at all right now," she teased him.
El giggled at Mike whose eyes shot open wider than she had ever seen them. She felt his grip tighten on her sides, and since he was clearly frozen in place, El pulled his face down to hers to connect their lips.
"I love you," Mike whispered against her lips.
"I love you, too," El said, and she knew that no matter how much distance was between them or how many other girls Mike came in contact with, she would never question that love again.
0-0-0
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this one. This is probably the last one I'll do for a little while until after I get the first one or two chapters of my next story uploaded. Please remember to leave a review and let me know what you thought!