Mike looked up over his laptop, "Hey Max, it's five-thirty, what are you doing up this early."

She was scratching underneath her breasts, "Scratching my boobs, Mike."

"Ugh, yeah… um why?

"Cause their itchy Mike." She smirked.

"Ok, why in front of me?"

"I like to think we're good enough friends that I can scratch anything in front of you."

"Well, that's where you'd be wrong. Not a turn on at all."

"Wasn't meant to be a turn on Mike, it was meant to gross you out."

"It's working. Seriously what are you doing up this early?"

"I always get up this early. It's you who leads a life of leisure. Getting up whenever. You haven't moved all night have you?"

"I'm on a roll. I'm going back and forth between developing Mike and El's relationship in the first few chapters, and then their longing for each other in the second book, and also writing them in their late twenties."

Max shook her head. "You named one of the main characters after you?"

"Yeah, I originally intended to write in first person, so I just used my name but I needed to jump around a bit. Never bothered to change the name."

Max shrugged, "Mike's not a bad name, I have a good friend named Mike." She gave him a warm smile. "So who's ' El'?"

"I, I mean Mike, calls her El for short. I have a nice scene where he sees her tattoo, and that's where he asks her, and I think it's important, he asks her if they can call her El, short for Eleven."

"You are developing their relationship. I get it."

"It's more than just that, Max. I want to show that these two have a strong bond. Stronger than he has for the rest of the Party. They might even be soulmates. I want the audience to feel all of their fears, their happiness, their grief."

Max put a coffee in front of Mike and sat down across from him at the nook. She was giving him a big smile.

He said thanks, looked down at his laptop and then did a double take at her smile, "What?"

"Mike, I love you like a friend. But the girl who falls in love with you is going to know what true love is from a really nice guy. I'm kind of jealous already."

"That may be the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Go back to scratching your itchy boobs Max. You're weirding me out."

Max threw back her head and laughed. "Just so you know, the LHC guys are doing some sort of prep work, today, and we are going to piggy-back on the Fermion particles part of the experiment. All the lab people are working remote today, so I'll be at my desk working my part of the experiment."

"I'll stay out of your hair today, don't worry," he told her.

XXXXX

Max felt nauseated again, but she could take a bit of a break and get some ginger ale. She went out to the kitchen and saw Mike with his head in his hands. He seemed to be crying.

"Mike?" She was worried and went over and put a hand on his shoulder, "you ok?"

"I yelled at her, she was just trying to help and I yelled at her."

"I didn't hear anything, who did you yell at?"

"Eleven. I mean Mike yelled at El. He didn't mean it."

"I"m sure he didn't, Mike. Wait a minute. These are fictional characters Mike, aren't you getting emotional involved?"

Mike gave her a half smile, "I like to think I'm emotionally invested, Max. Eleven is such a sweet girl, to have that kind of childhood and then someone who cares for her like I, I mean Mike does…" His breath hitched and he burst out crying.

Max hugged him tight, "You need to take a break and get some sleep. Let me help you into bed. I'll get in with you if you want."

Mike shook his head, "It's ok Max."

"I actually meant that as a joke, but I would if you wanted me to. For comfort only Mike."

"I know Max, it's ok. You are good friend."

Max led him to his room and tucked him in.

XXXXX

Max noticed that Mike was very quiet the next few days. He was typing furiously on his keyboard.

One morning Mike sat back and said, "Ok, the older Mike and El story is mostly done. I need to noodle on the rest let, what I've got down percolate a little bit."

"You seem a little at peace?" Max said hoping.

"In their twenties, Mike and El are inseparable, they are solid. People will just look at them and see how much in love they are. It was fun to write that. Sure they'll have little misunderstandings, all couples do, but they are so in tune with each other they don't just finish each other's sentences, they say them at the exact same time."

"Soulmates?"

"In the true sense of the word, Max. Total and complete soulmates. It's very hard to describe, I just hope I got it down in prose so that it comes across to the reader."

"Ok what about the original few chapters. Are you finished those?"

Mike got quiet again and nodded, "Um, did you want to read them Max. Give me your honest opinion?"

"Sure Mike, I have a few hours to kill before the next part of the experiment."

Max read. She cried at the parts Mike had intended, she laughed at the other parts. The story was engrossing, the blossoming love between Mike and El was obvious to anybody. Even at that age, it was clear they belonged to each other, and not just a teen romance either, they would be together forever, always looking out for each other always comforting each other. Sneaking looks of love whenever nobody was looking. Maybe even when people were.

Max did something she wasn't expecting to do. At all. She read the words, "Goodbye Mike," and she felt pain, but that wasn't why started crying, she looked up at Mike who was already crying.

Her bottom lip trembled, "But she's not dead right? She's just trapped in the Upside Down or something? Please tell me she's not dead Mike."

"She's not, Max. I just can't write the next few chapters right now."

Max felt an inward sigh of relief. Eleven was ok. She looked up at Mike… his grief was palpable, he seemed almost inconsolable. That was when she understood.

"Oh my God Mike, you've fallen in love with her."

Mike nodded and put his head down in his arms and bawled. His keening was so heartbreaking that Max came over and hugged him from behind and cried with him on his shoulder.

"You can't Mike, she's a fictional character."

"I know Max, that's why it hurts."

"This won't make you feel any better, but if Eleven were here with you right now, she would love you with all her heart. You know she would."

Mike broke down and fell on the floor, curling into a fetal position. Max got down on the floor with him and spooned him from behind.

Max didn't know what to do, should she call someone? Who could she call? And how would she explain what he was going through? Writers did and said all kinds of crazy things, she didn't know if this was unique, but she suspected that it wasn't.

Even though they were both feeling sad, Max was proud of Mike, he'd written something that both guys and girls could laugh and cry at and not feel bad about. His story was special. About a relationship that everyone wished they had.

"I don't feel very good. Can you help me get into bed?"

Max helped and for the second time in her life tucked him into bed.

She thought she heard, Mike say something. She couldn't quite be sure if he actually did, but if he had, she knew what it was.

"I love you Eleven."