A.N.: I know, I know, I said this story would include the whole Party, and yet here I am again posting something strictly Mileven. :/ Sue me. (Next one will be more diverse, I promise.) Love you all! xx

Strange noises

The shower was cold.

Not terribly cold, - in fact, it was so cold that it almost felt warm against her flushed, completely freezing skin. El had just come in from outside, and for at least 20 seconds, her body wasn't entirely sure whether the water that now touched it was completely cold or way too hot.

( Wasn't that something they'd talked about in her science class, once? How touching an ice cube can make your fingers a little numb, and then other temperatures can sometimes confuse them, for a few seconds? Mike might remember, and be able to explain this whole shower-mystery to her if she told him about it later, El thought. But for now, she wanted to fight the frostiness in her bones. )

As El had realized just how cold the water was, the shivering got worse, goosebumps all over her legs and arms. She wanted to be warm again, wanted under her cozy blankets. So El quickly used a towel to dry herself off, and got into her warmest pajama shirt and sweatpants.

„Hop?", she said, as she came out of the bathroom.

„Hmm?", he replied, not looking up from his notes. He was reading through some papers for work again, and while El wasn't entirely sure what they were about, she had a feeling his recent chief-of-police-stuff was even more boring than the normal chief-of-police-stuff . He almost looked like he'd fall asleep right there over the coffee table, so boring seemed his work.

„The shower.", she stated, in her usual, quiet tone. Hop was still eyeing his notes, tiredly.

„What about it?"

When El didn't reply immediately, he finally cast a glance at her. He probably noticed how she was shivering, despite all the layers. He frowned, looking annoyed.

„Ahhh, no. It's doing that thing again, isn't it?"

Eleven nodded, emphatically. „Cold."

„Son of a..- Urgh, I thought I already fixed that the last time!", he fussed, rubbing his eyes.

„It's back.", El commented, shrugging.

It's not like she felt all that bad about not being able to take a warm shower for the next few days, perhaps – now that it was so chilly outside, El barely sweat, anyway, so it wasn't like she'd be feeling terribly yucky even without showering. Also, El had managed to live for several weeks in Mirkwood, last winter, - no shower or warmth whatsoever, - and that had been a lot worse than how she was cold right now. So, so much worse.

Hopper, however, often got really grumpy when the shower suddenly turned ice cold, so El thought she should better inform him right away.

He sighed.

„I'll have a look at it again tomorrow, get the old system back on track." Yawning, he reached an arm out to El, so she'd quickly hug him before disappearing into her room again. They did that now, she and Hop. Hugging. It was nice, like an actual Dad hugging his actual El. Having the same last name was nice, too. Eleven wouldn't really have wanted a made-up one, or something like that. Hop and her looked like a family, now.

„Sleep well, you need your energy for school tomorrow. And don't you chat with Wheeler too long on the walkie, you hear me?"

El rolled her eyes. „Only ten minutes.", she stated, seriously. They both knew that it would probably be closer to something like twenty, but El secretly thought that Hop didn't mind so much, after all. He knew how much Mike always had to say, and how much El liked to listen, then, and ten minutes were just not enough sometimes!

„Sure, go ahead with your ten minutes, then.", he replied, sort of fondly, and El smiled a soft smile before slipping into her room.

Covers tucked warmly around her sides, her head high on the fluffy pillow, El felt like everything was perfect, despite how short and cold the shower had been. But then, everything got even better.

„El?", the walkie fizzled, Mike's voice coming out of the speaker. „El, it's Mike, are you there? Over."

She grabbed the tool from her night stand, eager and happy, and pressed it to her ear.

„Yes, Mike. Hi."

He breathed in, she could hear it clearly. Even through the static, the sound of his sigh made El all tingly.

„El, hey! How was dinner at Will's? Over." Mike sounded happy, too, wanting to know exactly what she'd been up to during the few hours since they'd last seen each other. El understood it, though. She also felt curious and a somewhat longing whenever she and Mike were apart. And if Mike spend nearly as much time thinking about her, as she did thinking about him, then he probably also didn't like the idea of not hearing her voice for more than half a day.

El thought back to her dinner with the Byers, - from playing Twister with Joyce and Jonathan, and watching Will explain every rule of chess to her until almost understanding it enough to beat him at the game once or twice, afterwards,- to her and Will's curious glances at Hop and Joyce, who were really friendly with each other, lately...- it had been a lovely evening. There was still time for homework tomorrow, with it being only Friday, and perhaps she and Max would study for Geography together for a little while on Sunday.

Eleven told Mike about all of this, her voice quiet and content. Now and then, he would ask questions or make a comment, and the two of them giggled a little.

And then Mike had quite a lot of stuff to talk about, too, as always.

Mike told her about his good grade on today's math test, again, and about how surprised Nancy had found these news,- Nancy had never gotten an A plus while in Mrs. Shuester's class, she'd said! Then Mike talked about that one STAR WARS poster he'd rediscovered behind his desk when cleaning up, this afternoon, and about the perfume his mom had accidentally bought today- without realizing that it was the same perfume Mike's grandma and a lot of other, elderly ladies in their neighbourhood liked to wear. Eleven did not really get why exactly Mike found this so funny, but she laughed along with him, anyway. Mike Wheeler's laugh was irresistible, it always made her laugh, too. It was such a nice sound.

El also loved how his voice went up in excitement, when he mentioned a new slogan idea for the AV club he had had.

With him and Lucas basically founding the whole club, it was up to Mike to come up with advertisement ideas, and up to Lucas to provide some money-making-plans to expand their meager budget. The boys still weren't entirely sure, how the whole thing would turn out, in the end,- the teachers at Hawkins High were not nearly as enthusiastic about this stuff as they should be, and no one in the world could ever replace Mr. Clarke, but the Party would figure it all out, Mike was certain.

„No school should be without a proper AV club.", Mike explained, seriously.

When they both had talked for a while, and were starting to get a little sleepy, El thought about tomorrow, about what they could do together when Mike would be visiting her.

„Hey, Mike?", she mumbled, even while her eyes were drooping closed every couple seconds, tiredly.

„Yeah, El?", he rasped back, warmly. „Over.", he added, and El smiled.

„Can you tell me a scary story again, tomorrow?"

He laughed. „Really?"

El nodded, humming softly. „You are so good at them."

She could tell that Mike was blushing, even though she wasn't watching him tonight. No, her eyes were aimed at the ceiling, heart filled with warmth and ears filled with his words.

„Yeah! Yes, I mean, sure, totally, El!", he replied, excitedly, happily. „I'm really glad you like my scary stories.", he added, truthfully.

All your stories.", she corrected him, because Mike could really make everything sound special. And it always made her feel special, too, because he seemed so eager to talk to her, so glad to have her attention on him.

Another blush on Mike's cheeks, probably. And probably pretty.

„Thanks, El.", he rasped, gratefully and quiet and just a little sleepy. „Over."

And then they said goodnight, and El couldn't wait for tomorrow to come, and to be with him again.


Saturday afternoon, they were sitting on her bed, backs against the headboard and a movie playing on the small TV across the room. Not just any movie, of course: "Karate Kid", which was almost as great as Mike told her it would be, and the eager beam that flashed across his features whenever he saw her chuckle or smile at whatever happened on screen was good enough to make El want to like the movie all the more.

They had a blanket spread across their laps, a popcorn bowl between them, and they were using this 'disguise' as a shield in order to hold hands the entire time. It's not like Hopper would say anything about it, anyway, if he came in right now and saw them holding hands, - which he could, the door to her room was still open, after all,- but it was always nice to have some privacy, get it?

Because sometimes moments were just supposed to be theirs, El and Mike's, Mike and El's. And it was also always nice to feel Mike's thumb rub gentle circles across her skin, all soft and unhurried and in the sort of way that made El's tummy tingle. (And Mike didn't really usually do that when Hop was watching.)

Now, while they were mostly alone and hidden from sight, Mike sometimes lifted her palm up with his own, fingers still all intertwined, and then he dropped a kiss to the back of El's palm and it made her heart explode, or something.

„El?", they heard Hop say loudly, right after Mike kissed El's hand for the sixth or seventh time, that afternoon, and as the big man approached, the two of them brought a tiny bit of extra space between their bodies. Not much... just enough to look slightly less intimate than they actually liked to be, at this point.

„Yeah?", El replied, when Hop stood in the doorway, and paused the movie with a flick of her head.

„I'm gonna drive to the hardware store, see if I can talk to someone about our water pipes and heater, and all that." He scratched his neck, looking grumpy. „Can't seem to find out what's the problem with that damned shower.", Hop growled, annoyed at his lack of luck, or natural abilities as a plumber. Or at his lack of warm showers.

„Okay.", El shrugged, almost turning back to the TV again already, while Mike next to her looked like something really good had just happened.

„El.", Hopper interjected, making her focus on his face again, which was currently looking weirdly suspicious. He was eyeing her and Mike strangely, again. „I hope I can trust you two here with being alone for a little while?"

While Mike's nod was pretty eager, El just shrugged, confused. Hop let El stay alone at the cabin all the time, she really didn't get why he was often suddenly getting weird and overly worried about it when Mike was here with her. Did Hop think Mike wasn't save to be around with? But that really didn't make sense, El knew Hop trusted Mike. Because Mike would never, ever hurt her, she was certain.

„No funny business, Mike. You hear me?", Hop commented, eyeing the boy sternly, and while El never quite got that sentence, either, she quite liked the way Mike always flushed and stammered a bit, when they reached that part.

(What did it mean, though? No funny business...Funny things are good, aren't they? Why no funny business? Did that mean, no jokes? Was Hop scared that Mike would say something really hilarious, and that he wouldn't be there to hear it?)

When Hop was gone, El and Mike were not even pretending to watch the movie any longer, even if they both really liked it. It's just that snuggling and kissing is more fun, actually, and so El's calve was soon grazing his and they shared the same air while he pulled her closer.

„Do you hear that?", Mike suddenly whispered, about ten minutes later, and they both fell quiet, listening.

From the bathroom, there came a dropping sound.

„That's the shower.", El explained, quietly, uncertain why Mike had lowered his voice. Every ten or fifteen seconds, a small noise was to be heard, the sound of something dripping on the bottom of the shower.

„I know", he grinned, and excitement flashed across his face. „Hey, do you still want me to tell you a scary story? Because I think I know one that's perfect for this situation."

El felt how the corners of her mouth slowly arched up, and quickly turned the TV off with her mind. She snuggled even closer to Mike, her eyes never leaving his.

„Tell me.", she asked, feeling giddy as Mike's arm sneaked tighter around her back, pulling her near. El could see how he was trying to focus, and not to blush because of their proximity, while also letting his voice take on a dark and raspy texture as he began talking.

„Okay, so there was a girl.", he started, clearing his throat. „She was very rich, so her parents had a giant, beautiful house with, like, a million rooms in it. Mostly, that was something the girl liked about her home. But sometimes," Mike said, quietly, „Sometimes, she would get scared at night. Her parents often went out in the evening, and then she was all alone in the big house."

El tried hard to not feel sad – horror stories weren't meant to make you sad, after all. They were told to make you feel a little scared, in a good way. But she couldn't keep from remembering her own long nights at the cabin, last year, especially before she'd closed the gate and started seeing all her friends again. That year with Hop, all alone in the woods behind the cabin's curtains, while he often spend long work days away... It had been lonely and sad and terrifying, sometimes. Now and then, Hop would forget to let El know that he'd be working late, and on those days she'd always feel so scared that something might have happened to him. Or that the Bad Men were outside the cabin, somehow, waiting to attack and come in when she was all alone... Eleven had never slept until Hopper was back home, during those nights. Too scary.

But El quickly tried to erase all of that sadness from her face, the memories not something for now, for a moment when Mike wanted to do something nice for her and tell her a story. Unfortunately, he could read her quite well, at this point. So Mike noticed.

„Hey, everything okay?", he wondered, voice back to sweet and caring, his soft eyes watching her intently, apprehensively.

Eleven quickly nodded, grateful for his question, and with a slightly sceptical raise of his eyebrow, Mike went on.

„The girl had a dog, though. And whenever she got scared, at night, she reached with her hand under the bed, and then her dog would make a little sound or lick over her fingers, or something. And then she felt better, because she knew her dog was still there for her, you know?"

El smiled again, snuggling closer to Mike while he talked.

„One night, the girl heard a strange sound. She was alone at home, again, and she heard something drop, quietly. Like, water, or something. She went into the kitchen, because she thought the faucet in the sink wasn't turned off all the way. She made sure that it wasn't leaking any more, and then she went back to her bed. The noise seemed gone, no more dripping to be heard. The girl reached under her bed, and her dog gently licked her fingers, so she felt like everything was normal."

„But it wasn't.", El stated, matter-of-factly. Mike nodded, darkly. „No, it wasn't. A couple minutes later, the girl heard the noise again. And this time, she went into the bathroom, and turned that tab off all the way. But she still heard the sound. So she went to the guest bathroom, and the tab there was turned all the way off, too, no dropping sound at all."

El furrowed her forehead.

„The girl went back into her room. She lay back in bed, trying to ignore the sound, but somehow she found it very annoying, even though it was so quiet. So she kept going from bathroom to bathroom, looking for the source of the noise. They had a lot of bathrooms in the big house, so the girl had to look almost everywhere. You know where she found it, the thing that made the sound?", Mike asked, looking up from his sleeves, and eyeing El intently. She shook her head.

„In the shower of the bathroom right next to her room.", he whispered, scarily. „But it wasn't the shower head that had made the sound, oh no. There, in the shower, hung her dog. He was dead, and the blood that dropped to the shower floor made the sound. - Drop – drop – drop."

El gasped.

„And next to it, on the wall, someone had written with blood: 'Murderers can hide under beds, too.'"

El felt her heart race a bit, here in the half-dark, with the sound from her own shower still in the background, and Mike's low, scary voice in her ear.

„The end.", he stated, switching back to his normal tone and volume. He eyed her, curiously, a smile growing back on his face. „So, did you like it?"

El smiled back, even as she wiggled closer to him on top of her sheets, still a little nervous. „It was scary.", she told him, earnestly, enjoying how pleased he looked at that.

„Yeah?"

She nodded and bit her lip. „Mike?", she mumbled, silently.

„Yes, El?"

„Could we... could we check if there's someone under the bed?"

She had leaned over, pressing her lips directly to his ear, while she spoke - as quietly as possible. He shivered a little, which was exciting and distracting in other ways, but mostly El was still a little unnerved by that possibility. Rationally, she knew that it was silly: She could even use her powers to feel that there was no one but them in her room. But now she wanted to be a hundred percent sure, wanted to check that they were really, really safe.

„Uh, sure, El!", Mike replied, looking a little concerned and sorry for the fact that he'd made her feel unsafe, perhaps. Also, his skin was still slightly red from the way she'd just whispered in his ear... Mike was so sweet, sometimes.

When he'd untangled himself from her enough to peek over the edge of her bed, Mike quickly sat back up again. „Nothing there.", he smiled, reassuringly, and just as El was about to relax again, she heard the tiny dropping sound from the bathroom, once more.

„Can we check there, too?", she murmured, staring towards her door, and Mike realized what she had in mind. He chuckled, taking her hand and making her stand up along with him.

„If it makes you feel better.", he shrugged, and El could see that he still felt very proud about how scary she'd found his story.

No one was in the bathroom, of course. No blood, no creepy message, just the shower head and Hopper's toolbox. Eleven heaved out a sigh, turning back around and already climbing back on her bed, a couple seconds later. Mike was right behind her, shyly snuggling on his old spot next to her.

Hopper came home not much later, and when he did El and Mike resumed their little movie-night, but up until then the two of them spend every second with soft kisses and warm gazes, and a whole lot of cuddling, too.

„Maybe I can tell you a scary story, sometime.", El suggested, at one point, while her head was tucked safely under Mike's chin, his breath coming in soft puffs against her curly hair.

„Yeah, that would be cool.", he smiled, and Eleven started to think that Halloween might be her favorite time of the year, after all.

(the end.)