Mike hastily ran around to the left side of the house, grabbing his bike from the garage. He flung himself over the seat, gripping the handlebars, cycling off in an instant. He heard his father yelling something from inside the house, something to do with closing the door. He didn't care, there were much, much more pressing matters on his mind.

As he cycled down the road, past Lucas' house, he closed his eyes for a few brief seconds, running through the path to the cabin in his head. He'd only been to visit her in the cabin once in the past eight days, and that was with everybody else. It just wasn't the same. He wanted time alone with her, to talk. Just to exist, to be in her presence. The two of them, together. It sounded perfect.

He flew past Dustin's house at record speed, counting the number of turns on either side of him before he'd have to go into the woods, 'off the beaten track' as it were.

Finally, he came to what he'd been told the start of the path was. There was no real path, for obvious reasons, just a few trees lined up in a certain way which indicated to him where he was. He'd had to extort the route from Nancy, as - like Hopper had said - he found it somewhat undesirable for Mike and El to be together alone.

He hopped off of his bike, pushing it gently down the steep gradient into the woods. He bit his lip, yet the cold winter air bit harder. It wasn't freezing, but certainly cold enough to be of an inconvenience. Snow dusted the ground like sugar on a cake, the entire woods enveloped in a whitish hue.

Why didn't I take a jacket?

He was cold, needless to say. The thought of Eleven, however, drove him forwards, just like it always had and always would. As he drew slowly closer to the cabin, having walked for twenty minutes or so, he could see the snow in the distance being discoloured by a faint - flickering - yellow hue.

Bingo.

The lights inside the cabin were reflecting ever-so-gently off of the snow surrounding it, despite the fact that El was supposed to leave the curtains closed. He walked towards the light, taking a second to realise how oddly like Poltergeist that sounded.

He clambered up the stairs rather un-discreetly, wincing as they rattled and clunked under his weight. He stood at the door, raising his fist in preparation for the 'secret knock'. Before he could even begin, however, he heard a rapid shuffling of feet. He swore he saw something looking out of the window to his right, in the corner of his eye.

The door swung open, and there she was.

Holy shit.

She stared at Mike, and Mike stared straight back. It was funny, really. Despite having seen each other three or four times in the past week or so, they still couldn't get over one another. He moved his eyes from hers, looking down at her attire. Normally, she'd either be in pyjamas or (as of more recently) one of his jumpers. This time, though, she was wearing a large jacket, and some boots.

He opened his mouth to talk, but was quickly muted as she lunged forwards, wrapping her arms around his waist, perching her chin on his shoulder. He wrapped his own arms around her waist in turn, holding her as tight as he could muster.

He laughed quietly, slowly backing off, arms still around her waist. She leant back, booping their foreheads together. He gazed into her eyes, the smile across his face uncontrollably large. His face was flush with colour, but he didn't care. He knew that she wouldn't care, either. She slowly pushed her head upwards, pressing her lips gently against his. He agreed happily, both giving and receiving a small peck.

Funny business, he thought. His internal monologue chuckled as he pushed his head backwards, staring at her, their foreheads still pressed together.

"Hey."

She giggled quietly, unsure of quite how to express her emotions around Mike. 'What do I say?' she thought, once again only able to out a mere giggle. He smiled in return, to which she could only smile straight back.

"C'mon, let's head inside."

He twisted around slightly, one arm still around her waist, leading her into the cabin. As he reached back to get the door, it suddenly swung towards him, closing with somewhat more than a bang. Just as quickly, all the locks flicked across and upwards. He turned back around, looking down at El. She stared down at the ground, a wide grin still stuck across her face.

Duh, he thought, his internal monologue once again springing forth, almost berating him for forgetting about her abilities.

He released his arm from its grip around her waist, wandering over to the couch.

"Mike."

He spun around, staring at her. She nonchalantly waltzed into her room, sitting down on the bed. His mind melted.

If Hopper were to come in right now, I would be dead. No, actually, I'd be more than dead. Is that possible? I'm sure Hopper'd make it possible.

"Oh - okay." he nodded hastily, slowly walking over. He wandered into her room, sitting down next to her. He smiled, fidgeting with his hands in his lap, peering over in El's direction. She still had her jacket on.

"What's with the, uhm, attire?"

"Attire?". She squinted, staring at Mike.

"Oh. It's like, uh, your clothes and stuff."

She nodded once, her grin widening slightly. She nodded again, this time more directly towards Mike.

"Wanted to see you."

He remained silent, reaching over one of his hands. He wrapped it in hers, maintaining eye contact. He tried to make himself seem more stern, but failed miserably. Her eyes, he thought. He couldn't pretend to berate her for what she tried to do - after all, he was the one that had actually gone and done it.

"El, you - you shouldn't.. You shouldn't try come see me."

She frowned, her eyes slumping over slightly. She continued staring at Mike, opening her mouth a touch.

"Why?"

"Because, y'know, it's dangerous. I'm s'posed to come - well." he cut himself off, having realised his mistake.

"Because - because, I dunno. I just don't want you getting hurt."

"Mike."

He knew that look. She knew just as well as he did that he was lying. Well, partially anyway.

"Well, you know, I'm not really supposed to be here. Not alone, anyway."

She leaned in slightly closer, seemingly confused.

"Why?"

Why? Why do you always have to make things so difficult?

He couldn't stand being angry at her internally. He knew that she didn't understand and that it wasn't her fault. He knew he shouldn't get annoyed.

It isn't her fault, Wheeler. Come on.

He squirmed slightly, his own hand fidgeting with hers softly as he spoke.

"Well, uhm, funny -"

She'll ask. You know she will.

His mind was talking to him.

Screw it.

He paused, gathering his thoughts.

"Funny business. Like what Hop said."

She could tell he was feeling awkward. From the squirming to the red face, she knew Michael Wheeler better than his parents. She leaned back slightly, giving him some more space, easing her shoulders somewhat. She looked over at him, almost proud of herself for recognising the fact that he felt awkward.

"Mike."

He glanced over at her, mumbling something quietly before turning to face her entirely.

"Yeah?"

"Okay?"

What does that mean? Am I okay? No, El, I'm not. Of course I'm not. I don't want to explain to you what funny business is. Really, genuinely. If you can read minds, please, please stop asking questions.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

She reached out and poked his face with her index finger, giggling quietly.

"Red."

Jesus Christ.