And here's chapter 2.
Outskirts of Hawkins, Indiana. May 30 1987.
It was Saturday and Mike found himself doing what he normally did every Saturday, working. Yup, working. He was just on the outskirts of town on one of the many farms out there. The owner Thomas Hartin or Tom as liked being called had been hiring him since the summer of his 14th birthday, helping him in the field or with the few livestock he had. He was an older man in his late 50s maybe 60s, he was tall over 6', slightly graying hair and he was a hard man with a tough exterior but a good heart once you've been around him for a while.(AN: think a younger Clint Eastwood from 'In the Line of Fire') All he asked was punctuality and respect while they worked, which is probably why he was still being employed. And the pay was more than decent which was nice and he was saving it for college and...some other things down the road. After a few weeks work had gotten low and Tom had told him to organize and clean the barn out. While he'd been cleaning he found a tarp covered car in the back. Being the ever curious 14 year old he pulled the cover off and was surprised by what he found under it.
It was a classic 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Hardtop Coupe in fading Shadow Gray with the black racing stripe. He could tell it was sitting there awhile from the faded paint on it. Tom had found him standing next to it with wide eyes and had not been happy. He had grabbed the tarp out his hands and told him he was done for the day. When he had shown up the next day to work, he worked Saturday and Sunday during the school year, Tom didn't bring it up till they were done for the day. Tom had brought him into the barn and just asked him in his gruff voice if he liked to help him get it running again. He had eagerly agreed to help. Over the years when work ran low or he stayed late they would work on it. They had got it up and running smoothly again just a few weeks ago, Tom even gave him a smile and said he might let him take it for a drive when he got his license, which made him grin like an idiot. He loved working on the car, mechanics was one of his passions just behind computers. He enjoyed building and fixing things. It's one of the reasons he wanted to be a mechanical engineer or computer sciences major, he was still the same nerd.
Although you wouldn't be able to tell at first glance seeing as around his 15th birthday he had had a growth spurt out of nowhere. Now at 16 he was 6 foot even, he stood almost a head taller than Els 5''4' and with all the manual labor he did between the farm and other odd jobs, not including the electronic store he worked at some days after school, he had filled out quite nicely. He had muscles not overly grotesque like a bodybuilder but more like track runner or swimmer and he kept his hair shorter now around his ears to keep it out the way. And El seemed to like his new looks too if the pink cheeks when she sees him without a shirt on was any indication, which also made him blush when he thought about her words to describe his new physique.
But even with all the work he did he always made time for her. Huh, El, El always brightened his day or night no matter what. No matter how tired he was, one look at those sparkling eyes, her button nose, beautiful curls and smirk-smile she gave, never failed to wipe the tiredness and worry away.
And now back to what he was doing, Mike was shoveling another pile of manure into a wheelbarrow with his shirt off hanging on the fence, the 10 o'clock early summer sun beating down on him and Tom who was joining in the smell and heat, this summer was gonna be a hot one. He glanced up at Tom with his standard overalls and farmer hat, dirty white tee and cowboy boots when he heard his name being called only to see him looking up too and away from him.
"Mike!" he heard again quickly looking over to where Tom was looking and his name came from. Only to see his girlfriend walking towards them. She was wearing a nice summer dress that went to her knees, her socks sticking out of her cowgirl boots and what looked like one of his denim jackets over her shoulders. ( i don't know 80s fashion or any for that matter it sounds right.) All in all it looked good on her especially with her pixie cut blowing in the wind as she pushed her bike.
"El?!" he yelled back, surprised to see her here. She had left the night before,rather than staying saying she had something she needed to do that night, before saying she'd talk to him about it tomorrow. He had been worried about the concerned look on her face when she said it but they rarely kept secrets from each and knew she'd tell him whenever she was ready.
So he gave her a hug and a kiss and told her ok before watching her leave on her bike. He never thought she would show up while he was working as they usually met up after he got home and showered, so he was confused and a little apprehensive about it.
"I need to talk to you, please!" she yelled back at him. If Mike wasn't worried and apprehensive before he was now, as that didn't sound good.
Mike looked nervously back at Tom saying "Uh…"at a loss for words.
"How bout we take a break, go see what your girl needs, son. I learned it's best not to keep a woman waiting. I'll be in the barn when yer done." he said, nodding his head to El while sticking his shovel in the ground before heading to the barn.
As he made his way over he noticed the look she had on her face, she was pale and the look of concern was much more obvious than the night before along with a new emotion that caused a shiver to run up his back, fear. Complete and utter fear, she was scared and it was plain as day for him to see.
'Was something wrong? Did something happen? Were the agents after her again? So many questions and emotions ran through him in an instant as he made it to her. He pulled her into a hug as she dropped her bike and she held onto him like a lifeline, like he was gonna disappear.
Mike pulled her away enough to look down into her eyes which looked ready to burst with tears. "Hey hey what's wrong?" he asked in a soft voice with worry.
"Can we talk?" again she said. They way she said it scared him a little as she said it in the slow quiet way she did before going to school. Usually she talked like the rest of them unless she was confused. He didn't like seeing her quiet and meek like she had been.
He nodded worry and fear taking over him too as he led her past the barn to an old bench next to an old oak tree that was by the small creek that ran through the property. As they sat there he waited as she tried to collect her thoughts about what she wanted to tell him, her hands clutching his.
"Uh do you uh do you remember a few weeks ago, your parents were out for the weekend and um Holly was at a friends house and i spent it with you?" she finally said after a moment, stuttering in nervousness with her question.
Mike instantly knew what she was talking about as he blushed remembering their weekend together. The true start of the more...physical side of their relationship had happened two weeks after his 16th birthday. She had been curious about the more physical side of things (him to but he was patient) but he had wanted to make sure she was ready and understood it and well that night it had been just the two of them, she said she wanted to explore a little and with those eyes of hers one thing led to two another it ended with way more than a little. It was their first time and they had shit-eating grins on their faces afterwards. They slept with smiles that night, neither regretting it. They had done it a handful of times since then, the night she was talking about being one. But that first night they spent together was one he would always cherish. He thought about it before replying "Y...y..yes i remember."
"Well I I didn't want to worry you and it's always been sporadic but i..i.. i…" as he squeezed her hands to help her get through it, she looked at him for the first time since sitting down and he saw the tears that had been waiting finally fall she continued "I..i..im late."
'Late? what did she mean la…'Oh ooh ooh god' at that moment he watched one of her hands leave his and reach into the jacket her tears picked up, streaming down her face. She pulled something out of the inner pocket and put them in his hands.
In that instant as he looked at the two pieces of plastic, with two plus signs, tears pouring down his own face now, he knew that everything in life had changed.
Mike grabbed her hand giving it a squeeze as he let out a shuddering breath before looking at her. "You're pregnant?" he said in a whisper. She looked back with tear soaked eyes nodding "Yes" with finality.
He put his arms around her and pulled her on his lap as he pressed her to his chest as he felt her started sobbing, the kind of sobbing that gets stuck in your throat and you can't speak. She poured all her pain and fears into her tears. Mike was scared, and terrified at the news, what if's going through his head, his parents, her parents, their friend, shit even the town but he knew that he wasn't going anywhere and as long as he had El and now their unborn child he'd be okay, they'd be okay.
What everyone else thought didn't matter to him, he'd take care of them, he would always be there. "You're pregnant. You're pregnant." he kept repeating it out loud, his tears not stopping as he kissed the top of her head. When the sobbing sound slowed down to hiccups he pushed her back so she was looking him in the eyes "You're pregnant. It's okay, it's okay we're gonna be fine, will figure this out it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. You're, you're gonna be a mom. I'm gonna.." as he paused "I'm gonna be a dad." although as he said that with tears on his face, he had a small smile at the thought of being a dad with El. El gazed into his eyes for a moment seeing the truth and love in them. Giving him a watery smile while nodding before asking "Okay, but what are we gonna do?"
"I don't know. But I know I don't wanna give it up, do you?" he said quickly.
She shook her head quickly "NO, no i wanna i wanna keep it with you."
"Me too." as he smiled at her. Before he broke down in tears again laughing. "I'm gonna be a dad, holy shit." as he pulled her in for a kiss. Which she reciprocated happily. When they separated she said "I know. I'm gonna be a mommy." with a laugh of her own. "You took the test without me? Why? Where did you even get them from?" he asked her. He wasn't mad about it but he wanted to know why. "I got them at a convenient store in town, but no one saw me. I used my powers to knock the power out before grabbing them. And I didn't want to worry you if I was wrong, with my period being sporadic I just wanted to be sure, I'm sorry." she answered back quickly. "It's okay, I'm not mad. I just wanted to know." Mike said to quell her fears before adding "Did you steal these?" with a smirk.
"Uh..I..yeah I was scared. Didn't want anyone to see me." a small smile and pink hue of embarrassment when she thought about it. "It's okay." be continuing. "What made you think you were pregnant? From what I know it could take months until you notice some symptoms, although it is different for everyone." he was curious how she came to the conclusion. El had a blush on her face "I didn't really notice at first. I started noticing I was more irritable and moody than usual but I believed it was just normal teenage moodiness like dad says. I would get cramps more often and I'm a little more uhm tender than usual but it's nothing I didn't already go through so I ignored it. It wasn't until 3 days ago that I started questioning it. Joyce had made Eggo's for breakfast, which are still my favorite but the second I smelt them I almost threw up everywhere. I kind of took notice after that and here we are. The baby apparently doesn't like Eggo's™." they both chuckle at the thought of the baby not liking her favorite food.
After a moment of silence she spoke up again, her smile falling. "Mike, what are we gonna do?" the slight fear coming through again. " I don't know. But we aren't gonna be able to figure it out here, right now. I need you to head back to my house okay, no ones there right now. Don't tell anyone until we have a chance to figure this out, okay. I'm gonna tell Tom that something's come up and I need to head home early. I'll meet you there as soon as I can. Okay, I love you Pixie." he said with love and determination in his eyes along with a smile on his face. "Okay." she paused before adding "Pixie?" she questioned him with a smile. "Yeah why not, with your hair and beauty it fits you perfectly, do you not like it?" as he looked at her. "No, I like it. I love you too my Paladin." she said with a smirk and a blush on her cheeks at the new nickname. He just laughed at her reply. "That I am, that I am." before standing them both up. He couldn't hold the temptation as he leaned in and gave her another kiss before pulling back happy to see her smiling again. "I'll see you at the house, are you gonna be okay riding back on your own?"
"Yeah I'll be alright." wiping her tears away with hands. He grabbed her hand as he led them back over to her bike. Thoughts of the shared news kept the walk back in comfortable silence as they had thoughts going through their heads. Mike watched as she picked her bike up as she turned to look at him. "I'll be home soon, don't worry okay." he said before giving another kiss. She pulled back, giving him a smile and nodding as she turned around to push her bike back to the street. Mike stood there watching her walk away till he couldn't see her anymore before dragging his hands down his face wiping the remnants of tears away and through his hair. He looked down to his hand noticing the two pieces of plastic still clutches in one of them. He let out a shaky breath as he bent down, sticking em inside his boot knowing they wouldn't fit and even if they did, they'd be noticeable in his pocket. He stood up straight letting out another breath before turning around to make his way to the barn to have a talk with Tom.
Hawkins, Indiana: Mike's House
Mike walked through the front door of his parents house about an hour after El had left the farm, Tom having given him a ride so he didn't have to bike back the 40mins. He noticed on the way up that his parents were still out. He made his way up the stairs to his room. He opened the door looking around, not seeing El, he closed and backed out, shutting it behind him. He made his way back down, heading for the basement. Mike walked down the steps into the basement. He looked to his right instantly, noticing a blanket fort that had been erected haphazardly. Letting a sad smile out he walked to it, pulling back the blanket to peer inside. Sitting in the middle of it with a blanket clutched around her, tears streaming silently down her face staring into space was his girlfriend. She looked up at him, taking a moment to notice his presence. "Mike? You're here." He just gave a sad smile before getting down and crawling in, his taller frame making it harder than it once was when he was younger. Pulling her into his arms, hugging her close, he replied. "Yeah El I'm here." She just laid her head on his chest as he leaned back on the wall behind him. Silence permeated the air, neither wanting to break the silence. After a moment it was Mike who spoke first letting out a sigh. "I know I said not to tell anyone, but I talked about it to Tom." "But…!" she tried saying, sitting up quickly before he interrupted her. "Don't worry he won't tell a living soul." She looked at him and saw the seriousness on his face and heard it in his voice. She let out a shaky breath before laying her head back down. A second went by before she spoke "What...what did he say?" Mike just looked straight ahead as he told her about the conversation he had with Tom.
AN: thanks for reading, don't forget to review.
