Previously
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.
Conversations and Decisions
Flashback
Mike made his way over to the barn where Tom was waiting for him. As he made it inside, he saw Tom sitting at a small wooden table in the corner, a beer in his hand and another sitting on the table. He sat down in the old chair on the other side of Tom. grabbing the other beer and taking a large gulp, a slight grimace coming as the taste hit home. "Ehh son." looking over he saw Tom looking at him. Tom gave him a 'hold on' sign with his hand and shook his head before rising up from his chair. Mike watched as he made his way over to a shelf a little bit away, moving some stuff to the side grabbing a jar and two glasses. Tom set the two glasses on the table while looking at him as he sat and opened the jar, "Son, you've been working for me almost three years and you've never drank anytime i might offer (hes old school might let him have one) before but by the look on your face something tells me you're gonna need something a little stronger than that shit beer." Tom said in his gruff voice pouring some in the glass closest to him before pouring a little less in the opposite. He slid the farther one to Mike. Mike was usually one to stay away from alcohol but considering his current situation and panic mindset, he took the offered glass downing it in one go slamming the glass down, not bothering to hide his grimace at the burn. "Ugh...oof what was that?" he asked as he looked at the glass and shook his head. "Secret recipe." Tom replied with a smirk pouring a little more into both their empty glasses. Mike, now sipping on it this time sat in silence. Tom sitting across from him let the silence permeate for a minute before speaking "Son, do you wanna talk to me about why I'm giving a 16 year old 120 proof moonshine?". Mike said nothing as he looked as his glass for a second. Contemplating about whether or not to answer.
"I...i.." once again at a loss for words.
"Your girl looked pretty upset. Did she break up with you?" he questioned
Mike looked up at that "What!? No no she didn't break up with me." Mike couldn't even fathom the thought of losing El. She was the most important part of his life besides his sisters. Everyone says young love never lasts but he would never do anything to jeopardize that, current circumstances excluded.
"Then what? It seems to be weighing on your shoulders and making you drink, which like I said I've never seen or heard you do, so it has to be something kid." Tom threw back at him.
"I…" Mike said, putting his glass down and running his hands through his hair.
"I'm scared." he finally got out with a whisper and tears welling in his eyes. "I'm so scared."
"Scared of what?" He asked in a calm but confused tone.
Mike said nothing as he took a sip from his glass staring at the far wall.
Tom waited as he watched the emotions and thoughts play out on his face with him trying to decide whether to tell him or not. Only as he saw an expression of determination settle on Mike's face did he speak up.
"Swear." Mike spoke firmly as he turned to look at Tom setting his empty glass down, now starting to feel the slight calming effects of the alcohol.
"What?" was his confused reply.
"Swear you won't tell another living soul about what I tell you. Swear it, Swear it on Dorothy." The conversation about Dorothy Hartin had happened a little while after he started working for Tom, asking who the woman in the photos on the walls in his house was. The conversation ended just as quickly as his curiosity. Tom had taken one look at the photo he was looking at, saying it was his wife of 30 years, that she had passed a few years back. And that was the end of it. Mike had seen the pain, the loss and unwavering love in his eyes as he spoke about her. Mike never brought it up again, understanding that that kind of pain never went away, even if he never experienced the depth of loss as Tom, as El had come back.
Tom stared at him, a hardened expression taking its place on his face. He stared into Mike's eyes for what felt like hours but he didn't let up. Tom let out a gruff "Hmmm." a pause "Alright kid, i swear." Mike stared into his eyes before he let out a breath seeing the truth, sitting back in his chair. He dropped a hand in his boot, grabbing one of the tests. He stretched his arm across the table towards Tom, placing it in his outstretched hand. Tom looked at the item in his hand, before placing it on the table a heavy sigh coming out. "Shit kid." the words coming out in the softest way he'd ever heard from the older man.
"Yeah." was all he said not bothering to hide the tears falling.
"What are you gonna do son?"
"I'm not leaving her or our child. But besides that I don't know." Mike said with resolve in his tone.
"Now son, I know you. You're smart. That look in your eyes is the same my wife had. Thinking and tearing through a problem to find that solution. So i know you got some ideas so spill."
Mike just snorted knowing he couldn't hide anything from the man.
"Hmmm... well from what I can see, everything on the table I say we got two choices. They each have their risks mentally, emotionally and physically." as he got into the logic of it. "The first and probably the one with the most risk is we tell our parents and they pretty much make all the decisions on it. Even if we don't like it. I don't know what they'll do, I really don't. Hopper never really liked me dating El. I was just the best option, but this will prove his point and give him a reason to definitely flip his shit. He'd have her stay away from me, never let me see her or our kid. Shit , that's if he lets her keep it. Make her give it up. It would break her if she had to give it up like she was, (lying slightly) hurt her so much. And my parents, fuck, no matter what they try to show their marriage has been heading for divorce for years. This would just be the tipping point. My dad," snorting as he did " My dad would want nothing to do with it, wouldn't want it to ruin his good name (i don't like his dad), he'd try to force me to stay away or cut all ties with her and the child. Or worse have me get rid of it. My mom, trying to keep her family together, would just agree with him. Heh that's not including what the town would say because they will and the high school. High school teens are assholes and they would treat her worse than Nancy when she broke up with Steve and started dating Jonathan but worse. They...they would call her names like slut Hopper or some stupid shit like it." the tears racing down his face at the thought. "It would destroy her, all of it, break her down worse than before she got here. I can't let that happen. She is so strong now. I can't let her go through that. All the what ifs and not even have me there." he was sobbing at the probability of that. He didn't care what they said or did to him but the knowledge of what El would go through was tearing him up.
Tom spoke up for the first time during his explanation. "And what's choice 2?"
Mike stared at his hands. "That's the thing. I would never force El to do something she doesn't want to do. I can't make a choice unless she is 100 percent sure and in agreement. Especially option 2."
"What is it?" getting a little impatient but not wanting to push him.
Mike took a deep breath before looking at Tom in the eye.
"We Leave. And don't look back."
Flashback ends
"Leave? Leave Hawkins? But what about our friends and families? What about school?" questioned El as she looked at as he finished telling her, confusion, fear and trepidation in her voice.
"Yes. Yes. I know. But the uncertainties of staying are clear. We don't know how anyone will take it. They could separate us, take the child from us, we just don't know. But I do know that if we go, we'll be together always, always. If we go we take everything we can, telling no one where or why and we get on a bus and start a new life somewhere else. It's a scary thought ,I'm terrified I am but at least we know we'll be together getting through this. But like I said I would never force you to do anything. I'll follow whatever you want to do." as looked into her tear stained eyes, his mirroring hers.
Mike watched as a crease appeared in the middle of her forehead as different emotions raged across her face. He waited patiently rubbing circles on the back of her hand as she went over the information he had given her. She was smart, so he knew she'd come to a logical choice. He knew she had come to a decision as the tear came back in force. She took a shaky breath as she collected herself before making a choice that would decide their futures.
"I...i think we should go. Together." she was scared but there was a fire in her beautiful eyes.
"Together." he agreed with a smile. (remember there young. to them this might be a good idea. And I'm taking a few liberties.)
"How are we gonna do it?"
"I have some ideas, especially for school but they're not gonna be easy. And you should know that Tom told me when we came to a decision to go talk to him when we got a chance, I think we should tomorrow."
"Okay." she agreed with him.
"Okay so here's what I have so far…."
Mike and El spent most of the night going over and making a list of what they would need along with how and which way they would head to start their new life. The plan was a bit bareboned but it gave them something to work with. They agreed to wait to leave until after school let out in two weeks, hopefully she wouldn't start showing or get too many symptoms until after. Based on his math and symptoms she was showing based on a book he found in the library, he'd say she was pushing 5 or 6 weeks along which was around their first time, go figure. And so here's to hoping his math is right. Lucky enough both of their parents would be out of town that week. Hopper and Joyce were going on a camping trip together. And Mike's parents were making the drive to pick up Nancy and Johnathan from college at NYU for the summer because their car wouldn't make the trip there and back. Supplies that they needed were written down along with how much they can carry. They talked for hours only stopping when they heard his parents get home, both agreeing to not tell anyone else and acting as if nothing was wrong. They were young and scared, but they would get through it together.
AN: Please Review
