Lengthy chapter for you guys that I'm actually kinda proud of. Love your support for this story so far!
Will looked out of the window and took a deep breath.
He was so close to freedom yet so far away. The only thing that was trapping him was the four walls of the room and his poor health. He sunk down in his bed, feeling sorry for himself once again. He had a routine of throwing pity parties and this was just one of those days.
He closed his eyes and imagined what a normal life would be like. He often thought of where he would be if he never encountered the upside down. But then shuddered at the memory of the demogorgon. The grotesque creature whose high pitched shriek still rang in the back of his mind. The events of the upside down still haunted him and left him scarred to this very day. Yet, another reason he was giving up on his dream of a normal life. He would never be normal ever again.
"Hello Will, I'm here with your medication for the day" Doctor Jones said, holding a bottle of pills
Will just remained silent and proceeded to turn on the TV
The doctor placed the pills on the table next to Will's bed "Take two pills every six hours when you're feeling nauseated"
He ignored him, flipping through the channels instead
"Here's some water to wash it down with" Dr. Jones commented, placing the water near the pills
The cup then fell over onto the table causing a big spill. Will finally took notice as the water leaked all over the floor.
"Damn" Jones mumbled under his breath "I'll go get some towels" He said, rushing out the door
Will looked over and saw that Dr. Jones had left his clipboard. The doctors never left any of their things behind so this was a shock to him.
He soon grew curious about what could possibly be on that clipboard. Maybe it would answer how much longer he'd have to be stuck here or maybe it had the answers to what was actually wrong with him, either way he just wanted to know.
He looked at it and then looked back at the door wondering how long it would take for the doctor to get back.
Will slowly sat himself up in his bed. He felt weak, but he needed to grab the clipboard that laid over on the doc's chair.
He steadied himself, always keeping a constant eye on the door. He slowly swung his legs to side of the bed and gathered any strength he could muster up.
He made his way towards the clipboard. Each step seeming like a small victory as time dwindled down more and more.
He walked carefully because he knew if he tried to run, it would only make things worse for him. He was already feeling his legs starting to give in.
Suddenly he grabbed the board and yanked out a couple pages from it, stuffing them in his hospital gown.
He bit his lip as he carefully placed the clipboard back in it's rightful position.
The faint noise of footsteps could be heard outside of his door and panic suddenly overcame him.
He cautiously walked back to his bed, praying that he wouldn't collapse in the meantime.
Dr. Jones came through the door
"I found some towels" He stated, walking in and kneeling on the ground where the spill was
Will kept quiet, he hoped the doctor hadn't suspected anything. He observed him closely, patiently waiting for him to leave
After the spill was cleaned up, Dr. Jones took his clipboard and left. The door shutting behind him.
Will sighed in relief as he pulled out the ripped pages that he had stolen. He scanned over the notes quickly.
His jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide at his new found realization.
Three weeks in and hanging out with the boys and Max after school had now become a regular occurrence for El. They often went to the arcade, where she had gotten pretty good at pac-man and gave Lucas a run for his money. Sometimes they'd have star wars movie marathons at Dustin's place or they would grab milkshakes at dairy queen.
She looked forward to their hang outs, but looked even more forward to time alone with Mike. It was rare when they were alone because the others always tagged along. Although, each time they'd hang out, Mike always insisted on taking her back home which she enjoyed.
As they biked on their usual path towards her house, Mike took a different path than he normally did.
El looked around, confused by their surroundings. She knew this wasn't the way home. "Where are we going?'
"I wanna show you something" Mike replied back to her
As the bike came to a stop, a wide smile spread on El's face "Whoa.."
"I know you like sunsets, so I wanted to show you what one across the lake looks like"
Sunsets had become one of her absolute favorite things. She loved the pink, orange, and purple hues that seemed to combine perfectly to paint a picture over the horizon. Eleven often annoyed Dustin, Lucas, and Max when she dropped whatever they were doing just to watch the sky before the sun completely went down.
She had never seen the sunset over the lake before. It was even more breathtaking as the sun seemed to hide behind the water reflecting a golden glow upon its surface.
She couldn't seem to find the right words to describe it "Pretty.." was all that she could think of.
Mike looked back at El as she stood there in awe "Yes, you are.. I mean, uh yes it is" He said clearing his throat.
Suddenly she grabbed his hand "Come on" she said, leading him to the edge of the water
Once they reached the lake, Mike noticed that she hadn't let go of his hand. He swallowed a gulp of air, doing his best to keep a calm composure.
"El, I'm.. I'm well really glad you came back, it wasn't the same without you.. everything was just kinda hard, you know." He spoke gently
She turned her attention away from the sunset and placed it on him "Why was it hard?"
He shuffled his feet in the dirt taking his gaze off her "I just wanted you to be okay. I also wanted to do everything I promised you and I thought I would never have that chance."
"The snowball" she replied, with a faint smile
"Yeah exactly, the snowball was a middle school dance but.. but.. um there's another dance coming up kind of like the snowball, if you wanna go.."
She immediately remembered what a dance was. He had told her awhile ago it was something you did with someone who was more than just a friend. Did Mike want to be more than just friends? What was more than just friends though? A special friend?
She looked into his deep brown eyes and began to get lost in them. A mixture of emotions pulsed through her. She felt nervous, anxious, and happy all at the same time. These feelings fought inside her constantly with Mike, but now, at this very moment, they were overtaking her.
Without thinking she took his face in her hands. Then it was as if time slowed down completely.
She closed her eyes and nothing else seemed to matter. All that mattered was her and Mike.
She crashed her lips onto his, and time sped up again.
Faint orange and pink colors danced on their faces as if the sun was celebrating with them.
Once they pulled apart, she touched her lips gently with her finger trying to understand the tingling sensation that they were left with. She had reached a state of euphoria that she hoped would never end.
Mike stared at her trying to process in his mind what had just happened.
A smile finally made its way across his face "So I guess that's a yes"
Once El made it home all she could think about was Mike and that moment they shared. She felt her heart pound loudly in her chest and her stomach felt real funny.
"I feel sick" she mentioned to Hopper and Rachel who were lounging in the living room
He quickly touched her forehead "You're not running a fever"
"Does your throat hurt sweetie? Or do you have the chills?" Rachel spoke with worry in her voice
Hopper looked at her concerned "Tell us what's the matter El"
"I pressed lips with Mike now my heart is running and my stomach keeps jumping." she said without hesitation
Hopper's eyes grew huge "You what!?"
El didn't understand why Hopper was so upset because he and Rachel always pressed lips.
"Where is this boy at? I want his address, his phone number, his social security number! He can't just kiss you whenever the hell he wants and get away with it! I'll teach him a lesson if I gotta" He yelled, pacing the floor
Rachel shook her head "El, sweetheart, go ahead and go to your room, I'll be there in a sec"
She walked away quickly, glad that she was given the opportunity to escape
"Jim.." Rachel calmly stated
He ran his fingers through his hair "She's out there kissing boys! Teenaged boys with all the hormones and the horniness! I don't know how you're so calm about this"
"I actually think it's cute that she's experiencing her first love."
"Well that's it, I'm gonna set rules. Yes, rules and the first one is no boyfriend until college!" he said, flailing his arms
Rachel rolled her eyes "You can't prevent El from having a boyfriend if she wants, it's normal for her age. Plus look on the bright side.. She likes Mike, he's a good kid who actually knows the real her"
Hopper sighed "Well yeah, I guess Wheeler isn't too bad.."
She rubbed his arm "Exactly baby, just let Eleven have this. I'm gonna go talk to her though, woman to woman."
"If he does anything stupid though, I'll kill him!" Hopper yelled as Rachel left the living room
El sat up in her bed as she saw Rachel enter her room
"Is Hopper mad at me? She asked
Rachel sat next to her "No, he's just being overprotective"
"Is pressing lips bad?" Eleven questioned, suddenly feeling guilty
"I think the word you're looking for here is kissing but El, it's completely okay to have a crush on Mike."
El knew that word. Crush. She remembered hearing the word in a movie where the start football player had a crush on the girl who was an outcast. They sure did kiss a lot.
"Is crush, kissing?"
Rachel smiled "Not exactly, but when you have a crush on someone you want to kiss them. They can make you feel really nervous but also very happy, which explains why you probably feel sick. Your body isn't sure how to process all these feelings at once so you can get butterflies in your stomach or your heart can race."
El's face lit up as she suddenly came to a conclusion "I have a crush on Mike."