A/N: On various instagram feeds (ST related) there is a photo of MBB floating around of her with white top, heavy blue eye makeup, and now back to shoulder length blonde hair that has a "windswept?" style to it. She easily looks 5 to 10 years older. The caption was something like "Don't put baby in the corner"

That's the "look" I am referring to in the the appropriate section of this chapter. I think this fic photo is one of them.

El and Mike had just snuggled in for the night when the phone rang.

"Stay put sweetie," I'll get it. She untangled herself from Mike and scrambled to get to the phone before the caller could hang up.

"Wheeler Residence," she turned and winked at Mike.

"Hi dad!" Mike smiled. Talking to her dad would make her feel better.

El listened to the other end, and Mike could see the frown growing on her face. "She did?"

Her face went from a frown to a scared, and then to a worried look. "Are you mad?"

The answer she got must have been ok, because the smile she gave Mike made all the pain in his shoulder disappear completely.

A few more minutes of quiet talking, Mike couldn't make out what she was saying, but then she said, "I love you too, dad. I can't wait till you're back… Ok, I can wait." She giggled and then hung up the phone.

Mike was curious and asked, "What would your dad be mad at you about?"

"I told your mom how I was keeping you from rolling over on your shoulder."

"Oh, and she told your dad. Parents do that. I guess he's dealing with it ok?" MIke grinned at her.

"Mike."

He heard the careful way she was picking through her words. Even more so than usual, and alarms went off in his heart.

"I was very lonely for a long time. My dad rescued me from a bad place. Nobody loved me there. Nobody loved me until my dad found me. He's not going to say anything more about it."

"I don't understand El. What bad place? Why did you're dad have to rescue you?

El took a deep breath.

This is it. I have to tell him now.

So she told Mike about the first ten years of her life. How an accident during some kind of police raid had given her the opportunity to escape from her room. How the first policeman she saw she ran to and hugged his middle. She was crying and the only thing she was able to say was, "Help me."

That policeman was Chief Jim Hopper. The only thing he said to her that night was , "Ah shit. Don't worry kid. I've got you."

El felt a little guilty not telling Mike where her dad hidden her for two years, but she needed that safe place to remain a secret. For a little while longer anyway.

She did tell him about all the things Papa had made her do if she wanted to sleep in a warm bed with some food in her stomach.

She told him about the dark nights on a cold floor if she didn't do what he had asked. She told him about how awful she felt hurting animals, even the cat she'd been given. Knowing that it was just a matter of time before Papa demanded she hurt someone, maybe someone in the lab or another person like her. But she was more scared of the dark and the hunger and cold than she was of hurting animals.

She felt guilty about that to this day. She would always feel guilty about that.

The sound of her tears must have been too much for Mike, because she felt his hot tears on her cheek.

His voice was trembling when he said, "When both my arms are free, El. I will give you a hug. Tight as I can. That's a promise.

XXXXX

El had a very hard time suppressing her glee when the nurse told them that it was very important now that Mike refrained from rolling over onto his shoulder especially now that he was starting physiotherapy for it.

Her dad just rolled his eyes at Mrs. Wheeler.

"Dad? What about a compromise? Mike stays with us at the trailer? That way you can beat up Mike if he tries anything."

"Kid, I'm not going to beat up your boyfriend." But he saw the grin that El and the nurse had on their faces and and had to grin back at them.

"Seriously, dad." Hopper had smiled at El's expanding vocabulary, "It's more convenient, we won't have to get up as early to get Mike ready."

"It's ok with me Jim," Mike's mom had told her dad.

"We will have to take the blanket fort with us ." El's voice took on the determined edge that Hopper had gotten to know the hard way.

Two things happened that got both their parents re-thinking their decision to let them sleep beside each other.

Mike's therapy was going well, so well that he was starting to work out, and showing results quickly. El loved to feel his biceps as he got bigger and stronger.

El herself was pleased that her body had started to fill out. It made the monthly ordeal she had to go through seem almost worth it. Her hair got longer and then curls started to fall out. She was very happy about that. She was done with the curls.

She got the talk twice. Once again from Mrs. Byers, and new one from Mrs. Wheeler.

Mrs. Wheeler just smiled and hugged her when she said, "I won't lie to you Mrs. Wheeler, our relationship is strong. It's just a matter of time. Mike would never push me into anything, I'm afraid I'll be the weak link here. I love him."

Nobody said a word about it after that. El figured their time sleeping beside each other was coming to an end, and rather than having each one of their parents mention she talked about it with Mike.

"I'm going to miss it. Falling asleep beside you. Waking up with you. It made the pain all worth it. I have to admit, both our parents were pretty cool about it. I think it's because we kept it to ourselves and didn't blab it all over school."

XXXXX

"Hey Mike? Who's that standing beside Max?" Lucas asked.

Mike looked over in the general direction of where Lucas was staring. He saw Max, looked at the woman standing beside her and shook his head. "Beats me."

The woman was looking around as if trying to spot someone, she turned and looked into the mall crowd.

"She's got an ass that will not quit." Lucas said, staring at the woman… "and those hips. I wonder what it all looks like under those jeans."

"Yeah? And she's standing beside your girlfriend. Don't let Max hear that or she'll be your Not Girlfriend again today."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "She already is. She dumped me again yesterday."

"You know what Lucas? We're all tired of hearing that shit. Stay dumped this time. Don't go crawling back."

Lucas shrugged, looked down, "I miss her Mike.."

"You miss her every time she dumps you." Lucas shrugged again.

Something happened that made Mike's heart pound. The woman smiled at him. The smile would have flattened any three mountain ranges.

The woman half skipped half jogged over to where he and Lucas were standing and said, "Hey sweetie. Miss me,? I didn't know the makeover was going to take so long."

It was El. And she was absolutely stunning.

He stammered as El kissed him on the cheek. "Uh…" Lucas' eyebrows shot up and his mouth fell open.

"El?"

El looked at him, her enthusiasm dropping a bit when she said, "Sorry about Max, Lucas. There's no cheering her up today."

"That's not my fault." Lucas suddenly sounded sad. "Uh, sorry about what I said Mike." He glanced quickly at El. " I gotta go, see you later."

El grabbed Mike's hand. "C'mon let's go girl shopping." She giggled.

They had walked past a few stores. El stopped and looked at him. "Tell me the truth Mike. Do you like it? You haven't said anything."

"Uh… the truth. Um, it's a … You look like a model, someone who wouldn't give me the time of day."

"It's five-one-five... " She looked at her watch, "You don't sound very happy about it."

"It's intimidating El. You are drop dead… uh, there isn't a word. You look good."

El gave him a solemn smile, "I will let you in on a little secret."

Mike looked into her heavily made up eyes.

"For the first ten years of my life I looked like a little boy. It wasn't until I lived with my dad that I was allowed to have my hair grow longer. Who knew it would be curly? But I looked in the mirror when we first started going out… and I saw a frumpy looking farm girl. I was ashamed to be seen with you. And then you started working out, I could see all the girls practically drooling over you when they saw us together. I could see the looks on their faces trying to figure out what you were doing with me."

"El… I didn't know…"

"This was an opportunity for me to feel prettier for you Mike. I know, you'll just say I didn't have to do it for you. Well… I didn't. I did it for me."

Mike looked down, "I didn't mean to make you feel bad El. You were always pretty to me… "

"I don't feel bad sweetie. I feel pretty damn good."

"Lucas, uh, commented on um, how tight your jeans were."

"Oh, he did, did he?" El gave him a mischievous smile.

"Yeah, you know, something about your ass not quitting. I thought girls don't like wearing tight jeans?"

" I do. I like to show off my hips. I didn't have them, now I do."

"I mean, I thought they didn't like to show a panty line or something like that."

"Do you see any panty line on me?" She looked at him, her smile now more than a little impish.

"Don't tell me you aren't wearing any? Uh, I mean, um. Uh"

"It's a thong, sweetie."

"What's a thong?"

"You know nothing about fashion, I'll tell you sometime. Better yet, maybe I'll show you." She winked at him.

This time he got a taste of what El must have been feeling. Every guy they passed was looking at her. He decided that was more intimidating then her makeover. He was actually pretty happy about the makeover. She was the prettiest girl in Hawkins before it, but now the world.

"Sweetie, I know this is a bad time to tell you this, but I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I'm going to be gone the whole day. We won't get to see or talk to each other. Ok?"

"Sure thing."

And it was ok the first day.

But he didn't see El for three days.

And when he asked Max about it on the fourth. She gave him news that numbed his soul.