Hey, guys! I am super excited to announce that I am back with a new story! I am so thrilled with all of the feedback I have gotten from Mileven in Heaven and hope that this new story will meet your expectations. Keep in mind that this story is completely separate from the last one, but I might throw in a couple of old references to it every now and then if you look real closely. I have actually gotten to know quite a few of you through Instagram and it has truly touched me. I love being able to connect with you all through my stories and hope to continue to do so. Also, if you've never seen White Christmas, you should look up the musical numbers I referenced in this chapter on YouTube so you can better understand the story. It's a wonderful movie and my family actually watches it every Thanksgiving. Anyway, I love you all and I hope you enjoy! (P.S. I changed my Instagram username to youdontmessaroundwithmileven for those of you who want to give it a follow. If you do end up following it, please DM me and let me know that you're a fan of my stories because I would love to talk to you about them!)

"Looking great, Ms. Byers! Can I be of any use in the kitchen?" asked Mike.

"Aww, thank you, sweetie! Um, not right this second. You go keep El some company, but I may holler at you in a bit if I need some extra help," said Joyce.

"Alright, sounds good."

He stood behind the back of the couch and El tilted her head back to see him.

"Upside down kiss?" he asked.

"What's that?" she asked.

"This," he said, leaning her chin back a little more as he knelt down and kissed her face.

"You're so creative…I don't know how you come up with these things!" she said, completely smitten and enamored.

Then, he pushed himself over the couch, each of his legs flicking over the back of it like that of a spy action movie. He plopped down beside her and she turned and looked him in the eyes, his cheek to hers as they cuddled.

"I'm so glad your mom agreed to this."

You'd think that Mrs. Wheeler would've frowned upon both of her oldest children going elsewhere for the holidays, but she hardly ever seemed to notice when they were gone to begin with, so why would that be any different now?

"I am too. *chuckles* I mean, I can't blame her really...I would've been moping the entire day if I didn't get to see you," he said.

*El blushes, smiles, looks into eyes*

"You wanna watch the parade?" he asked, rubbing her arm which laid across his waist.

"The parade?"

"You've never seen the Thanksgiving Parade before?! Not even with Hop?"

"No. He doesn't- *clears throat* didn't celebrate much, but he tried to pretend like he did so that I didn't feel like I was missing out."

"Ah, gotcha. Well, we could always start our own tradition!"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

So, they cut on the tv and watched as the balloons came bobbing down Macy's Herald Square, talking about what they liked about each one that they saw.

"So, what are the Byers family traditions?" asked Mike.

"I don't know! I'm just as new to this as you are!"

"*scratches head* Yeah, I guess you have a point there."

"But there was one movie that Joyce said they watched every year...White Christmas, I think it was."

"White Christmas? But that's a Christmas movie! *laughs*"

"Yeah, well, they *clears throat* we aren't a very orthodox family...if you couldn't tell," she said coyly.

"Orthodox, huh? That's a big word."

"What are you, my dad?" she asked, laughing.

"No, I'm just saying I don't even use that word! That's all."

"Well, I'm more unpredictable than you think."

"Clearly!" he said.

"Anyway, they watch White Christmas because one year it had been on Joyce's mind, so they watched it and ended up watching every year after that as a way of kind of welcoming in the new season."

"I love that concept. That's really cool!"

"I thought so too..." she said with a giddy smile.

Mike was used to big family gatherings with more food put on the table than the Last Supper! He always had relatives coming to town from all over. So celebrating it this year with the Byers, who were probably the most introverted little family known to man, was very different for him, being the extrovert that he was. A part of him couldn't help but miss all of the people he had left behind in Hawkins that day, all of the funny stories he would never get to hear over his mom's scrumptious pumpkin pie, but he knew that he would've missed El even more and he couldn't bear that reality. She always came first and he wouldn't want to be around his family when his heart was in fact somewhere else. On the other hand, the only Thanksgiving El had ever known was with Hop and it hardly qualified as a meal. He wasn't much of a chef, so the only thing even remotely close to a Thanksgiving meal for them was some canned peas and mashed potatoes along with store-bought, pre-sliced turkey because he burned the first one. It wasn't much, but even just imagining the smell of it all made her miss it and him so very much.

"Hey, I'll be right back," she said, patting his thigh before getting up.

"O-Okay," he confusedly said, removing the arms which he had held her with.

In that moment, she entered her room, closing the door behind her, now that she couldn't just do it at the drop of a hat. And she inched her way over to her old record player, where her dad first played her his favorite song- You Don't Mess Around with Jim. His death ruined it for her in some ways, as the song that once used to be his happy song, that once used to be THEIR happy song, was now just a song that made her mourn his absence in her life, but she still listened to it...every day. Every day, at any moment that she felt herself starting to miss him, she would go to her room, place the record on the turntable and just cry until she couldn't anymore. Hearing the song as much as he did, Will got a little annoyed after a while, but what did he know? His dad was never all that present in his life to begin with. However, sometimes Joyce would join El, as they both shared a special bond with him that led to their own bond with each other. Hopper would've wanted it that way anyway. She would play it over and over until she felt better, but at least she was coping. She wasn't going to keep these feelings all bottled up inside. She knew what she needed. She was afraid, however, that the record would break or suddenly stop working someday because of how often she played it and she wasn't ready to face that. Enough things in her life were already broken to begin with.

Meanwhile, Mike took this opportunity to spend some time with Will, who couldn't help but feel like a third wheel when it came to his best friend and his girlfriend, who also happened to be his sister.

"I'm sorry that I haven't really gotten the chance to spend time with you yet. I hope you understand, I don't mean for it to come off like I'm choosing El over you, but it's just hard because when I'm with her, I just, I don't know…I lose all track of time and the time that we have together just never feels like enough."

"It's okay, Mike. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty fucking annoying sometimes, *chuckles* but I would probably do the same thing if I was in your situation."

"Well, I appreciate that and I hope that someday you'll meet some guy that really clicks with you and that you'll spend all your time with him instead of me, just to give me a taste of my own medicine."

*Will laughs*

Nancy and Jonathan however, were in the kitchen, fixing supper while bickering like an old married couple.

"No, no, you're doing it all wrong! You're supposed to do it like this," she said, demonstrating.

"Well, I'm SOR-RY, Ms. Perfectionist!"

"You should be!" she teased.

"You know, some would say that you bossing me around and helping me from behind is your way of flirting with me…" he said.

"Some would be right!" she said, hugging him around the waist.

*Jonathan smiles, kisses head*

Almost 10 minutes had passed and there was still no sign of El, so Mike decided to take matters into his own hands.

"*knocks twice* El, are you okay? Can I come in?"

She first stopped the music, then walked over to the door and opened it with misery written all over her face. He then reached a hand out to her cheek and wiped her tears away.

"Aww, El...Wha-What-What's wrong?"

She placed her hand on the one that held her face and closed in on it, bringing it to her side, where she led him over to her bed and played the record one last time.

"I'm playing this for you, so now you'll understand. You'll understand why I've been such a mess for the past 4 months."

"I've understood for longer than you've known...I-I'm having a hard time dealing it with myself, El."

"*looks up* You are?"

"*sniffles* Yeah, I mean, as much of a hard time as he gave me, I don't regret any of it. In fact, I miss him."

"You do?" she asked.

"Is that really so surprising?"

"Yes, actually!"

"El, your family is my family because you are my family."

*blushes*

"What do you miss about him?" she asked.

"I miss that comforting smell of salsa and cigarettes that used to be there whenever we made out…and now it's not."

"You too? *chuckles, sniffles* I thought I was the only one."

After they both laughed off their tears, they just sat there for a minute, side by side, hip to hip, with Mike rubbing the side of El's arm up and down, putting her at ease. She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes for a minute, imagining a world where her heart could finally be at peace and she could stay happy, but then she opened her eyes and lifted her head up, realizing that he was her world! He was her happiness.

"What? What is it?" he asked.

"*brushes fingers through bangs* N-N-Nothing, I just…I love you, that's all," she said, wrapping her arm around his neck, as she sat across his lap with a hand to his chest.

"Aww, I love you too!" he said, kissing her.

Then, he pulled away and looked her in the eyes, asking her:

"Are you feeling any better now? I mean, any less sucky?"

"*giggles* Yeah, yeah, I think I am," she said with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, stop worrying about me already!" she said, this time kissing him.

"I can't help it, it's my job," he said, his nose rubbing with hers.

Then, they each walked out of the room and into the next.

"Oh, you're just in time! Dinner's almost ready," said Joyce.

"Can't wait," said Mike.

"You know, it would've been ready earlier if you had lent us a hand in the kitchen," Nancy bitterly said.

"Hey, I offered! She didn't want my help," said Mike.

"True, neither would I," she said.

"Oh, I wouldn't even offer my help in the first place if I knew it was you who I was helping!"

"Children, children, settle down," said Joyce.

"Oh, we're just playing, aren't we, Mike?"

"Well, she is, I'm not," he joked.

*Nancy hits*

"What?! I'm kidding, of course! You know I love you, Nance," he said, giving her a side hug.

"Love you too, little bro," she said, giving him a noogie on the head.

"Alright, dinner is served!" said Joyce, setting the bowls out on the table.

"It looks amazing, Mom," said Will.

"Thank you, sweetie!" she said, kissing his head.

"So, what do we have here?" Mike, asked, licking his lips as he sat down, with a fork and knife in each of his hands.

"Turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, green beans, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie, although I doubt it'll live up to Karen's cooking!"

"Oh, nonsense! You're a great cook too, Joyce," said Nancy, knowing that she was now of age to call her by her first name.

"If you say so..." she replied.

The dinner was everything El never knew it could be, with more food at the table than people to feed! Everything just felt right, like everybody there was exactly where they wanted to be...And El had never felt so much love in one room.

"Oh, I almost forgot, the final dish!" said Joyce.

"Oh, Mom, I don't know if I can eat one more bite…" Will groaned.

"Well, it's not for you…It's for El!"

"Me?" she repeated in disbelief.

"Welcome to the family, sweetie!" she said, sliding a plate of Eggo Extravaganza in front of her.

El looked at in awe, a single tear streaming down her cheek as her lip quivered into a smile. Without saying a word, she walked over to where Joyce was sitting. Feeling like she should, Joyce stood up. They each looked at each other, neither of them moving or quite knowing what to do next. And then suddenly, Joyce felt two soft arms wrap around her neck and hold her close as El sweetly said:

"Thank you, Joyce…for everything."

Now, it appeared that Joyce was the one getting choked up, as this girl that walked into her life like it was an open door, this girl that was once the daughter of the man she always thought she'd end up with, was now her own.

Once El sat back down, she turned to Mike and said:

"I could use your help because I probably won't finish this all by myself. *chuckles* Wanna split it?"

"Why not! I've already had so much food today, I might as well have more!"

*El laughs, gets up*

"Where are you going?" he asked, holding her by the arm.

"I'm getting some whipped cream."

"Oh, no, I'm not falling for that again!"

*El throws head back in laughter*

After a delicious dinner, the 6 of them all gathered around the television, inserted the tape, and proceeded to carry on with the Byers family tradition of watching White Christmas after a Thanksgiving meal.

Watching the beginning of the movie, Mike started to worry a little bit, as it started out in the middle of a war and he could never tell whether things like that would trigger El's PTSD or whether she would shrug it off like it was nothing because she had been through so much worse. Whichever it was, he was prepared for the worst.

During the "Sisters" scene, El turned to Mike and said:

"Kind of reminds me of when Max and I went shopping at the mall and got our pictures taken at the flash studio…"

"Yeah, I'm gonna need a few copies of those!" he said.

"*chuckles* Sure, I'll make sure to send you home with some."

"Good because at this point, I'll take any picture of you I can get, since we hardly see each other anymore," he said with his face close to hers.

"Shh!" said Will.

*Mike rolls eyes, El chuckles to self*

Then, when it came time for the number "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," Mike turned to El and whispered:

"They most certainly do and being at the Snow Ball with you was all the proof I needed."

*El blushes, smiles big*

During the song "Choreography," Mike could feel El's belly bluntly pushing his arms up and down in laughter. And during the number "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me," El turned to Mike once again and said a simple:

"Pretty."

"That's quite the dress, huh?" he asked.

"It sure is…It's beautiful!" she said.

"You would look killer in that."

"Killer?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, it's just another way of saying stunning basically."

"Oh," she said with a smile, pulling his face in for a kiss.

Once the movie finally came to an end, it was just about time for Mike and Nancy to start heading home.

"Thanks again for having me," he said.

"Thanks again for coming," said El.

"God, I always hate this part…"

"Yeah, goodbyes are the worst…"

"I love you, El. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too…so so much."

In that moment, he pulled her close and hugged her with all his might. Then, he looked her in the eyes after pulling away and planted a big, long kiss on her lips, one that left her with an ache in her heart just after he walked out the door.

"Mike! Wait…" she said, running out to him.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Come back in. I won't keep you long, *holds hand* I promise. I-I just need to tell you something."

"Okay, sure," he said, letting her drag him to her room.

They each sat down on her bed, facing each other.

"What's this about?" he asked.

"I-I just needed to say that *takes deep breath* I'm so thankful for you *holds cheek* and so thankful to have you in my life and I don't know what I'd do without you. You mean everything to me and...I love you more than anything."

"You're thankful for me?! That's funny because I'M thankful for YOU! I mean, you just make my life so much better. Nothing is the same without you, El and I can't even imagine a world without you. You just…you're it for me. I don't know how else to say it."

And they kissed and kissed like it was all they knew, but of course it ended, as these things do. And so, he left, with a tear in his eye and a burden in his heart, the burden of leaving the one that he loved behind. But that would soon change because just as they were getting used to it all, things gradually started looking up.