Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things or any of the characters in this story.


Chapter 6: I'll Always Be Right There

When El walked in the door from her date with Mike, it was like she was floating on a cloud. With each step she took, she felt lighter than air, and she couldn't wipe the grin from her face. She sat down on her bed and sighed happily.

The date had been perfect, and she couldn't believe how nervous she'd been beforehand. Mike looked amazing, the food was delicious, and THOSE KISSES…

El let out a happy squeal into her pillow and hugged it tightly, kicking her legs out in front of her.

Meanwhile, Hopper was stewing out on the sofa with a can of beer. At the sound of her squeal, he rolled his eyes. From the minute El climbed in the car after her date, she'd had this dopey grin on her face and was staring off in her own little world. Hopper was trying to rationalize with himself and remember what it was like to be a teenager. But the last thing he wanted to see when he picked El up was her and Mike attached at the lips.

He shuddered in revulsion and chugged the last of his beer. Once they'd both slept on it, he'd have to have a talk with her about PDAs, mainly WHY they weren't a good idea. He once saw a couple making out in the middle of the street and almost get hit by a car. Therefore, it was two pronged: he wouldn't have to look at his kid kissing some boy, and she'd be safe.

Hopper smiled serenely, the plan solidifying in his head. Yes, the world would soon return to its natural order. With that in mind, he got up, went into his room, and got ready for bed.


It wasn't long after El's head hit the pillow that the dream began. It started innocently enough…

Mike and El were holding hands, and walking along the train tracks in the woods. The moon shone brightly in the sky, and the tracks were lit by the fireflies that inhabited those woods. It looked so romantic.

"Just a little longer, El," Mike said excitedly.

El smiled brightly, looking forward to whatever surprise he had in store for her.

After a few moments, they stopped. Mike hung back behind El, and put his arms around her waist. "Okay, close your eyes."

"What?"

"Just close them, no peeking! It's a surprise."

El did as she was told, the air seeming to come alive with the sounds of insects and night birds with her sight gone.

"Okay you can open them on three." Mike's lips were now close to her ear, and he whispered, "One…two…three."

El opened her eyes, and the chorus of sounds she'd been hearing abruptly stopped. She couldn't see anything at all. The fireflies were gone.

A queasy feeling sprung up in the pit of her stomach. "Mike, what is it," she asked, turning around. But the breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the figure behind her, who was most certainly NOT Mike. The face of the figure was one she'd only seen in photos, and someone she knew could not possibly still be alive.

"Where's Mike," El asked urgently. "What did you do to him?"

The man chuckled. "We disposed of him. He would have just gotten in his way."

El began hyperventilating. "What did you do," she asked again, her raised voice shaking. "Gotten in whose way?"

He gestured to the dark sky above them. "Him." Suddenly a bright flash of lightning lit up the night, and El took the opportunity to look up. The flash was short, so she couldn't be sure, but what she saw looked like a massive, hulking shadow. It was terrifying.

She shrieked and looked back at the now cackling man. "But don't worry," he began, his eyes taking on an unearthly glow, "You'll see him again soon enough."

A ghastly sounding gurgling inhale came from the trees, to the right of where they were standing on the tracks. El was frozen. She thought she'd never hear that sound again. It was only once, but she'd never forgotten it.

The man grabbed the back of her shirt collar and threw her down on the ground. As El tried to get up, he stepped on her upper back, forcing her down again. Leaning down, he whispered, "Goodbye, El."

El began to feel the ground tremble slightly as heavy footsteps approached. About 5 feet away, they stopped. All El could hear was the sound of her own pounding heart, thudding against the ground. Suddenly, she heard a roar…

Safely inside and tucked into bed, El sat bolt upright and screamed. She was soaked in sweat, and her skin was burning up. Being telekinetic and all, she'd had some weird dreams throughout her life, but nothing quite this scary and realistic.

Hopper came running into her room, still half asleep and out of breath. But he took one look at El's anguished face and wrapped her in a tight hug. She was very warm, but shivering at the same time. He pulled back to have a look at her, and his eyes widened in surprise at the small stream of blood coming from her nose.

Grabbing a tissue from her bedside table, Hopper dabbed it under El's nose. "Sweetheart, what happened? Was it a nightmare?"

Tears began rolling down her cheeks as the memory of the dream came back. "It seemed so real. Mike and I…we were walking in the woods, then he disappeared. And then I saw…it looked like…" she trailed off in in disbelief.

"Saw what, El?"

"It looked like Billy, Max's brother. He said that Mike was gone, and that he was just going to get in the way of a shadow in the sky. And then," this was the part that was difficult to think about, "I heard it."

"Heard what?"

"That thing," she whispered. "What I saw…what I heard…before I ran away."

Hopper was the only person El had told about the monster. It was right after she had moved in with him. He'd sat her down and made her spill every last little detail that she could remember about her time in the lab, and her escape. He didn't want there to be any secrets between them.

The day she saw the monster was both the best and worst day of her life.

That day, the doctors had wanted to extend the reach of her mind farther than ever. But in their quest to discover the secrets of the Soviet Union, something even more sinister was found. As El walked through the blackness of the void, she had expected to hear men speaking in another language. She'd spent some time practicing before, and knew what to listen for. Instead, she heard what sounded like chewing. But it wasn't normal chewing, like what she did when she ate. It sounded sloppy, and like whatever was eating was tearing its meal apart.

As she edged closer to the dark creature, she heard a gurgling inhale. It was disgusting, and made her shudder. Suddenly, the thing turned around and roared at her, exposing its gaping mouth and endless number of sharp teeth. El screamed bloody murder, pounding on the glass of the tank she was submerged in. All around her, doctors and scientists looked on, confused. They couldn't see what she was seeing, couldn't imagine the horror she'd been exposed to.

That was all about to change, though.

The ground beneath their feet began to tremble and they froze in place, both in fear and bewilderment. As El continued to scream, a loud crack made them turn quickly. The wall opposite the bath was beginning to crumble from the inside out. This seemed to jar the men and women out of their stupor, and a melee ensued. Someone had the sense to pull El up and out of the tank. But after she was out, she was on her own. Everyone was running frantically – some trying to get out, some simply trying to figure out what was going on. El had the good sense to take off her weighted vest and replace it with a hospital gown that she saw on the platform. But after that, adrenaline took over and she ran.

El figured that the doors would be heavily guarded, so she ran for the first thing she saw – a large round pipe. It was just big enough for her to crawl into, and she crawled for her life. She didn't stop to catch her breath until the large room was out of sight. But even then, it was a just a few moments later that she began to move again. As she continued to crawl up and out, El thought she heard a faint roar, but she couldn't be sure. All she knew was that she needed to get out. Once she began to hear birds chirping, and the pipe opened up to the outside, she felt like she could finally breathe…

…Until, of course, she had the horrible nightmare. She had wanted to just forget all about the events of that day. But nightmares like the one El had reminded her that sometimes, you can't do that.

Hopper reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind El's ear. "Oh sweetheart, I'm sorry. But you're safe here, and I hope you know that. The monster you saw can't get you here."

"But what if I did something? What if that day…I let it out?"

"El, I don't think that's possible. What you saw was in your head. Well, not like 'in your head,' like you were imagining it. But in that other part of your brain, of your consciousness…" Hopper trailed off sheepishly. "Sorry, it's hard to explain."

El nodded wordlessly, trying to convince herself that he was right…that there was no danger. "But what about Billy?"

Hopper let out a breath. "What happened to Billy was a horrible accident. That was a sad day for this whole town. All the guys at the station went to his funeral. There's absolutely no way that he could come back."

"And Mike? Do you think he's okay?"

Hopper wanted nothing more than to roll his eyes, but he reigned it in for El's sake. "Yeah, kid. I'm sure he's fine."

El, however, wasn't so easily convinced. "Can I talk to him?"

"Sweetheart, it's in the middle of the night. You can call him in the morning."

"No, now," she insisted, her eyes narrowing.

Rather than start an argument with El after she'd just woken up from a nightmare, Hopper grudgingly conceded with a nod. "Fine, but make it quick."

El leaped out of bed and dashed around the corner to the phone, dialing the number she knew by heart. It took a few extra rings, but finally, she heard Mike's sleepy voice on the other end. "Hello?"

She began to cry in relief and exhaustion. "Mike," she choked out.

"El!" He certainly was awake now. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I had a bad dream…wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Was I…not okay in the dream?"

El sniffled. "No, I don't think so. You disappeared, and I couldn't find you."

Mike wanted nothing more than to reach through the phone and give her a hug. "That will NEVER happen," he said fervently. "You'll always be able to find me, El."

"Okay," she replied shakily. "So you're alright?"

"Yes, I promise I'm fine." Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Tell you what, why don't I come over in the morning? We can have breakfast and just hang out. If you'd like, we can even invite the others over."

"That sounds good. Can you bring your guitar, Mike?" The thought of him playing and singing for her again made her all warm and fuzzy.

He chuckled. "Yes, I think that can be arranged."

Her mood brightened considerably at this. Unfortunately, a glance over at Hopper told her that she should wrap up her phone call. He gave her a pointed look and tapped on his watch.

"Mike, I've got to go. Hopp said I couldn't be long."

He yawned and nodded, the tiredness beginning to come back. "Okay. But I'll talk to you in the morning – and see you in the morning."

El bit her lip and smiled. "I can't wait."

"Night, El."

"Night, Mike."

For as horrible as El felt when she woke up, that's how happy she now felt after talking to Mike. She was so happy that he was okay. Even better now that she would see him in the morning.

She practically skipped back into her room, much to Hopper's amusement. "So, I take it Wheeler's okay?"

"Yes," El replied brightly.

"I take it that I should also prepare for our house to be invaded by teenagers in the morning, too?"

"Dad…"

"I know, I know. I'm just teasing you." He gave El a hug, then stood up. "Alright, sweetheart. I think it's time you try to go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

El got back under the covers and pulled the blanket up to her chin, making Hopper chuckle. "You're safe here, El. No monster is going to get to you…especially not with you under all those blankets."

El giggled. "Thanks, dad. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

It wasn't long after that El drifted off to sleep, her mind filled with visions of Mike, his guitar, and his lips.


Unbeknownst to Hopper and El, about an hour after they fell back to sleep, all the lights in Hawkins went out for a few minutes.

Also unbeknownst to them, the doctors and scientists in Hawkins Laboratory were once again running for their lives. The force they thought they had contained over the past year was tired of being shut away.

If it had its way, Hawkins was going down.


Uh oh…trouble's coming, folks. But there will be more Mileven in the next chapter as well! I hope you're liking what you're reading. I know I'm enjoying writing. Any Gilmore Girls fans out there? The part about Hopper seeing a kissing couple almost get hit by a car was inspired by Rory and Jess crossing the road while making out – "We're going to walk right in front of a car one of these days…"

Who got excited over the Stranger Things Season 4 announcement?! Chapter 1…The Hellfire Club. Any guesses on what it means?

See you all next time. Please leave me a review!