Authors Note: Hey y'all! Thank you so much for all the amazing comments :)
I should've mentioned this last week but we've officially caught up with my posting schedule on AO3, so the last few chapters in this fic will be uploaded every 2 weeks on Tuesdays, as I still have to write them lol
Mike was lost in thought as he walked up the now-familiar, lightly trodden path that led to Hopper's cabin, reflecting on the whirlwind his life had become over the past month.
He and Eleven had picked up right where they'd left off as if no time had passed at all. She was still the same wide-eyed girl who had been fascinated by the television in his living room; the first person who'd ever really made him feel seen.
It felt so comfortable, just being in her presence—sitting next to her on the old couch Hopper had brought into the living room, showing her all his favourite movies and TV shows, pausing every few minutes to answer her questions.
To his friends and family, he wasn't exactly known for being the most patient person, but with Eleven he somehow didn't mind taking the time to explain things. He liked the way she looked at him in wonder, as if he held the secrets of the universe in his hands.
He'd never felt like that before.
Her recovery was going remarkably well. Her speech was improving faster than anyone had thought it would. When Hopper was still on vacation he'd spent the days helping her with reading and writing, and now that he was back to work she passed the time either reading books on her own or watching TV to keep adding to her limited vocabulary and general knowledge of how the world worked.
Physically, however, she was progressing more slowly, despite the fact that she'd started eating regular food again and was gradually returning to a healthier weight.
Opening and then immediately closing the new gate she'd come through had taken a massive toll on her already weakened body. She was only able to walk around unassisted for short periods of time before she needed to rest, and using her powers even a little bit seemed to exhaust her completely.
Mike could tell it frustrated her, and he often had to gently persuade her to take breaks even when she wanted to keep pushing herself. Then he'd tell a dumb joke or do something to make her laugh and it was all okay again. He didn't mind making a fool of himself if it meant getting to see her smile.
It was hard seeing El like that, knowing that the reason for it was because she'd saved them. Mike felt immensely guilty every time he remembered that while she had been in literal hell, he'd been living his carefree life, playing D & D and fucking around like nothing had even happened.
He hated himself for giving up on reaching her over the walkie-talkie after only a year, especially once he found out she could hear him the whole time. He didn't know how he could ever make it up to her.
Mike felt his stomach jump as the cabin came into view, barely glancing at the tripwire as he stepped over it. His steps sped up automatically as he approached the stairs of the front porch, using the secret knock the Chief had come up with to let Eleven know it was safe to unlock the door and then listening eagerly to the sound of her slow, shuffling steps getting closer.
She already had a beaming smile on her face when she opened the door. "Hi, Mike."
"Hey," Mike grinned back, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as hers snaked around his waist in a tight hug.
He still couldn't believe he got to do this on a regular basis. This was his life now.
A short while later, after he'd told her about his day at school—which she always asked about and listened to rapturously, regardless of how boring Mike thought it had been—they were sitting cross-legged on either end of her new, bigger bed, playing a game of checkers while his Sonic Youth album played from the spare stereo he'd brought her.
"Look at that!" El suddenly exclaimed, pointing out the small, dusty window. Mike glanced over in confusion, not seeing anything other than the usual trees and bushes.
"What–" He looked back at El, pausing when he caught her surreptitiously swiping at her nose with the sleeve of her flannel shirt. Mike dropped his gaze to the checkerboard and noticed that one of his black pieces had been moved back two rows from where it had been.
He smiled at the guilty look she was trying to conceal. "That's cheating."
"I don't know what you are talking about." She sniffed, glancing around the room casually.
Mike chuckled as he moved his piece back to where it had been. "Nice try."
She scoffed and folded her arms across her chest, making his smile widen. He loved seeing all the new sides of her personality he hadn't gotten the chance to see before.
Of course, he had known that she was brave and determined and kindhearted, but it turned out she was stubborn, and also kind of funny, even if it was mostly accidental.
Most of the time things were really easy between them, but occasionally Mike was reminded just how sheltered from the real world she had been for her entire life.
A few days later, he and El were sitting on the couch after school, taking a break after he'd helped her walk laps around the cabin until she'd started getting a bit too unsteady for his liking.
"So, what do you wanna do now?" Mike asked, taking the glass of water she'd just finished from her hand and placing it on the side table. El shrugged and looked at him expectantly.
"Um, okay." He grabbed his backpack from the floor. "We have time for a movie before Hopper gets back from work." He pulled two tapes from his collection out, holding one up in each hand. "Which one?"
She glanced between the two VHS covers, her mouth moving silently as she sounded out the titles to herself.
"This one's a comedy," he said, holding up Caddyshack, "and this one's technically a sci-fi horror but it's like, unintentionally funny." He held up The Brain That Wouldn't Die. "Like in a 'so bad it's good' kind of way."
El frowned slightly for a few seconds, but then she just shrugged again. "Which one do you want?"
Mike felt like an idiot. Of course she wouldn't know which one. Sometimes he forgot she didn't really have preferences yet. It led to awkward moments such as this, where she just stared at him blankly and he had to fill the silence.
But then five minutes later they were sitting close together on the sofa, laughing at the television as their fingers brushed against each other on the cushion, and all those differences between them suddenly seemed so incredibly insignificant.
A week later, Eleven kissed him for the first time.
It was the middle of March, and since most of the snow and ice had melted she wanted to venture outside, insisting that she needed more practice with uneven terrain.
Mike walked backwards as they slowly made their way around the perimeter of the cabin. El had her head down, watching the ground in front of her as she stepped carefully over rocks and fallen branches in her new white sneakers.
"See?" he grinned when they reached the halfway point, "piece of cake."
She looked up at him, puzzled. "Piece of… cake?"
"It's an expression," he explained. "It means it's easy."
She nodded, her brow furrowing as she filed away that piece of knowledge, but in doing so she failed to see the tree root sticking up out of the ground right in front of her. Her foot caught on it and she gasped as she stumbled forwards.
Mike reacted quickly, holding his hands up to catch her as her body fell against his.
"Whoa, I've got you," he said as he steadied them, his arms wrapping around her back as her hands gripped his biceps.
El straightened up once she caught her balance but made no move to let go of his arms. She looked up at him, and Mike's heart started pounding from their sudden closeness. He searched her face with concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice a gentle murmur.
Eleven nodded, her brown eyes soft and shining as they stared into his. Mike could feel the warmth of her breath on his skin, her small hands still clutching at him.
Time seemed to slow as they stood there, wrapped in each other's embrace. The noises of the forest faded into the background, leaving just the two of them in their own little world.
"Thanks," she finally whispered, her voice barely audible.
He smiled. "Anytime."
Neither of them moved. There was something magnetic in the air, drawing them closer together. Mike's heart was racing, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. He could see the same mix of excitement and nervousness reflected in Eleven's eyes.
For a moment it felt just like two years ago, when he'd almost kissed her in the cafeteria of Hawkins Middle School. He had been trying to work up the courage, but he'd wasted time blabbering about sisters and the Snow Ball and they'd been interrupted by the arrival of the military before he could do it.
Now, as they stood there, faces inches apart, Mike felt exactly like that dumb, nervous kid all over again. Then, almost imperceptibly, El's gaze dropped to his lips, and he felt his breath hitch in his throat.
Slowly, she leaned in, closing the distance between them.
The kiss was gentle, a soft brushing of lips that made butterflies erupt in his stomach. It was so quick he hadn't even had time to close his eyes before she was stepping back with a shy smile on her face.
Mike blinked rapidly as his lips continued to tingle. He couldn't believe that had actually just happened. This incredible, awe-inspiring, force of a girl had kissed him, Mike Wheeler.
Maybe he was worth something after all.
He grinned and reached out cautiously to take her hand, thrilled when her fingers clasped his tightly.
It was everything he'd wanted when he was fourteen years old. And now he finally had it.
Mike always looked forward to the weekends, but now he was even more impatient for them because it meant he got to spend eight whole, uninterrupted hours with El for two days in a row. And while Eleven had no problem with that at all, the chief of police did not share the same feeling.
When Sunday evening inevitably rolled around, Hopper began his routine of sighing pointedly and closing drawers and cabinets with slightly more force than necessary.
El and Mike sat on the couch, holding hands and pretending not to hear him as they finished watching their eighth episode in a row of Knight Rider.
As the credits rolled, Mike sighed and began to pack up his bag. "I can't come over after school tomorrow because my parents are making me go to Holly's ballet recital."
"That's nice," Eleven replied with a smile.
"Oh yeah, I love spending my Friday night watching a bunch of six-year-olds stand on stage and forget all the steps."
El frowned. "You do?"
"Oh, um. Not really," Mike winced apologetically. "That was sarcasm."
"Sarcasm?"
"It's like when you say something but you actually feel the opposite."
"Why would you not say what you mean?"
"Um, I dunno, it's like a joke I guess," he explained lamely.
Her brows knit together in confusion. "Jokes are supposed to be funny."
Mike chuckled. She had no idea that had actually been a pretty sweet burn. Then the phone rang and Hopper answered, dragging the whole thing into his bedroom when he heard who it was.
As soon as the door swung shut behind him Mike and El turned towards each other, lips meeting as if it'd been years since they'd kissed instead of a handful of hours.
Since their first kiss last week all of the subsequent ones had been brief, light pecks. But this kiss kept going, their mouths connecting one way and then the other.
He became so lost in the sensations that he didn't notice his body taking over from his brain, not thinking twice when his tongue flicked out to lick across her barely parted lips.
El jerked back with a gasp, pushing him away from her with one hand on his chest.
"Why did you do that?" she frowned as she wiped at her mouth with the back of her other hand.
Mike blinked, dazed and disoriented. "What?"
"Touch me with your tongue."
His ears went hot with embarrassment as he realized what he'd done and what he now had to explain to her. "Oh um, it–it's just something people do sometimes when they kiss…"
"Why?" she asked incredulously.
"Uh, don't worry about it," he mumbled, suddenly feeling like a complete perv. "I won't do it again, I'm sorry." Hopper came back in then, eyeing them with suspicion. Mike cleared his throat and stood. "I should go."
God, what was wrong with him? He frowned to himself as he trudged through the woods to where he'd parked his car. El wasn't just any girl. She obviously wasn't ready for anything like that, and there he was mauling her like some kind of horny animal. He was disgusting.
Mike vowed he would restrain himself better in the future, suppressing his hormonal urges until she was ready. He could do that. No problem.
It was a Friday evening, and the whole gang was in Mike's basement watching Escape From New York.
Everyone was in their usual spot—Dustin in the recliner, Will in the armchair, and Lucas and Mike on either end of the sofa with Eleven in between them.
He was vaguely aware of Kurt Russell discovering the president tied up in a train car, but all he could focus on was the fact thathis and El's knees had been inching closer ever since the movie started, and now they were finally pressed firmly together.
Mike glanced over in his periphery to make sure Lucas wasn't watching, then he slowly moved the hand that was on his own thigh over to the side where hers rested between them.
When he was close enough, she extended her index finger and lightly scraped her nail over the inside of his palm. Mike took a deep breath in. Damn it. How was it that such a simple touch sent electricity shooting up and down his arm?
His gaze fell to the nearly empty bowl on the coffee table and a lightbulb went off above his head.
"I'm gonna go make more popcorn," he announced, standing and grabbing the plastic bowl.
"Get me another drink," El said, nodding at the empty Pepsi can next to it.
Mike scoffed and started up the stairs. "Get it yourself."
She scowled but he saw the familiar playful glint in her eye and knew she'd caught on. "Fine."
Anticipation built as they ascended the staircase. He didn't turn back as he made his way to the kitchen, but he could hear her quick little steps following him.
By the time he was grabbing a popcorn bag from the cupboard, Mike was tingling from head to toe.
He tossed it into the microwave, listening to the sound of the fridge opening and closing behind him, followed by the metallic clank of a pop can being set down forcefully on the countertop. Mike turned the dial on the microwave, setting it for two and a half minutes.
As soon as he pressed START a pair of hands landed on the edge of the counter on either side of him, boxing him in. He spun in place and Eleven was all over him, standing on her toes to attack his lips with hers.
He inhaled in surprise and she took the chance to slip her tongue into his mouth. Mike didn't know what had gotten into her to have her acting so wild, but he certainly wasn't complaining.
Cupping her face, he kissed her back just as fervently, distantly aware of the popcorn beginning to pop.
He slid a hand back to run his fingers through her hair, but it felt much longer than he'd been expecting. Puzzled, he cracked an eyelid open to find that the hair woven around his fingers wasn't brown and shoulder length, but long and red.
Mike jerked his head back in shock, breaking the kiss, only to be met with Max's flushed face, her blue eyes looking up at him heatedly as she caught her breath.
Huh?
He was beyond confused but before he could say anything her lips were on his again and he quickly succumbed to the world-rocking experience that was kissing Max Mayfield.
It was deep and soulful, a little frenzied at first, their mouths meeting at different angles with increasing hunger. She bit down on his lower lip and he grunted, walking her backwards until she collided with the island.
Running his hands down to her hips, he gave her a warning squeeze before lifting her. She jumped and let him set her on top of the counter, bringing them to an almost equal height.
Quickly stepping in between her legs, Mike glanced back over his shoulder at the microwave timer. Thirty seconds.
If they had more time he could have her right here in the kitchen, with his friends and family only a floor away in either direction, liable to walk in at any moment. The thought of it got him immorally hot, but he knew they'd never actually risk it. Even what they were doing right now was dangerous.
He pressed his hands up Max's thighs, thumbs sweeping suggestively along the inseam of her jeans. "You're staying after, right?"
"Mm, I dunno…" She tugged at his belt loop and bit her lip as if she were weighing her options. "Are you gonna give me a good reason to?"
Mike leaned in and nuzzled beneath her jaw.
"I'll give you three very good reasons," he murmured, lips ghosting over her earlobe.
"Three?" She pulled back with a raised eyebrow. "You think very highly of yourself."
"I guess I've heard you whining my name while violently orgasming on my dick enough times to be pretty confident in my abilities."
Max let out a loud laugh, her head falling forward against his chest to stifle it. The microwave began to beep repetitively in the background, and Mike expected her to sit up so they could head back downstairs.
But her shoulders just kept shaking, and suddenly it didn't sound like laughter anymore.
Frowning, he slid a hand up to the nape of her neck. "Max…?"
The tear-streaked face that pulled back and looked at him wasn't Max. It was El.
"How could you, Mike?" she sobbed as the incessant beeps got progressively louder. "You were supposed to wait for me. You are supposed to love me!"
"El, what–" Mike stumbled back and looked around, bewildered, as the beeping became deafening, overwhelming.
The sorrow in her dark eyes hardened to cold fury and he was shoved backwards, pinned to the counter by an invisible force as blood trickled from her nose. "You are a liar."
Fear shot through him as he attempted to fight against her unbreakable hold. "I'm sorry El, I'm so sorry, I swear I never meant to hurt you, but I–"
Mike awoke with a start, his eyes flying open before he reflexively reached over and slapped the top of his blaring alarm clock to snooze it.
His heart raced as he got his bearings, his mind still cloudy and muddled. He was in his bed, the morning sunlight was streaming in through the window, and he could hear the sounds of his family clanking around downstairs…
It'd just been a dream. A weird fucking dream. He pressed his palms into his eye sockets. What the hell was that?
That whole thing in his kitchen had actually happened, but that was back in December, and it had been Max the whole time. And she hadn't cried, she'd just laughed and hopped off the counter before heading back to the basement, drink in hand.
And then later that night, when everyone else had left, Mike had spread her legs open on the basement sofa and fulfilled his earlier promise…
He dragged his hands down his face and groaned. His subconscious had probably just dredged up that memory because he'd watched that same movie with El earlier in the week, he rationalized. It was definitely not because he–
The alarm started beeping again and he rolled over to turn it off, wincing when he realized he had a raging hard-on that wasn't going away.
Well, he could take care of that easily enough, he figured as he tucked himself into his waistband and headed for the bathroom across the hall.
Under the warm spray of the shower, he closed his eyes and wrapped a hand around his dick, bracing himself against the wet tiles with the other.
He tried to shake off the lingering uneasiness of the dream by picturing more pleasant things—El's smile… the minty taste of the lip balm she used… Max on her knees, gazing up at him with those sky-blue eyes–
What?! No. Mike tightened his grip and refocused his thoughts.
El's hands curling into the front of his shirt… that little sigh she let out against his mouth when they kissed… Max yanking him towards her by the fly of his jeans, the way her breath hitched when she sank down onto him–
Fuck, he couldn't stop the images flooding his mind in quick succession, flashes of red hair and freckled skin spliced together like an X-rated highlight reel.
He was too close to stop now, his hand working quickly over his length.
Pale thighs spread wide on either side of his body, eyes closed and pink lips parting to gasp out his name, auburn eyebrows knitting together in pleasure, Max, Max, Max–
He dropped his head as he finished with a quiet groan, thrusting up into his hand. The flood of shame that washed over him as he watched his come swirl down the drain was immediate. What the fuck was that all about?
It must just be because he had a lot more of those types of memories with Max, Mike told himself. It wasn't because he like… missed her or anything. It couldn't be.
Because you couldn't miss what you never had. And she'd made it very clear she was never his.
As luck would have it, he had Chemistry for his first period that day. Max was seated in what had now become her usual spot in the front row, on the opposite side of the room from where he always sat. Where they used to sit together.
Mike stared at the back of her head, unable to focus on the teacher's explanation of intermolecular forces. He couldn't shake that dream he'd woken up from that morning, memories of their time together flashing unbidden through his brain.
He hadn't let himself think about her in weeks, and now he couldn't stop.
Things with Max had been downright frosty ever since that afternoon they'd talked outside Hopper's cabin a month ago. She hadn't spoken to him outside of the absolute bare minimum when they were with their friends, and most days she barely even glanced his way.
A forlorn feeling spiked through him as he pictured the way she'd looked at him that day in the woods—cold and emotionless, completely closed off.
He hoped things were okay at home ever since Billy skipped town. Back when they'd still been… doing what they were doing, Mike got the sense that things with her stepdad had been especially bad. He wished he could ask her about it, but she wouldn't want to talk to him. Not anymore.
Mike tore his gaze away from Max's slouched shoulders and looked up at the blackboard. The feelings he'd had for her had been real, and they didn't go away just because she didn't return them.
It was easier to shut them off when he was with El, but it didn't change the fact that they were still there—a quiet, static hum in the back of his mind that he knew would fade with time.
At lunch, Mike was sitting at his usual table with Lucas and Dustin when Max walked into the cafeteria.
They all turned to look at her as she approached, but then, just like she had for the past two weeks, she breezed right past them, not even sparing them a glance as she beelined for a table where a group of softball girls were seated.
She never ate with them when Will had lunchtime band practice anymore. The two of them had become bizarrely inseparable as of late.
Lucas shook his head slowly and leaned in, speaking in a low voice. "Okay, I think over spring break we should talk to Max. I mean, something's obviously wrong."
"Yeah, but how do we get her alone?" Dustin asked, lifting up his hat to run a hand through his hair. "She keeps blowing us off. We'll have to come up with a reason to lure her in."
"I dunno, guys," Mike said as he stabbed his spoon into his Jell-O, glancing over at where Max was smiling at something one of her teammates said. "It kinda seems like she wants to be left alone."
Lucas scoffed. "Yeah, well we know you don't care."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike frowned at his friend's accusatory tone.
"You never wanted her in The Party anyway, so of course you don't want her back."
"That was years ago!" Mike shot back, irritation prickling at the back of his neck. "Of course I– care about her…"
"Could've fooled me," Lucas muttered under his breath.
"Alright," Dustin cut in before Mike could defend himself. "Let's just focus on the issue at hand here. Something must have happened to have her suddenly avoiding us like this."
He glanced warily at Mike from across the table. "Did you guys get in a fight or something…? Because it does kinda seem like she's ignoring you more than anyone else."
"What?" Mike gripped his plastic spoon tighter. Of course he had felt the cold shoulder Max had been giving him, but he hadn't realized it'd been so obvious to outside observers. "No, I–I don't know…"
"Maybe we should have a movie night or something," Lucas suggested. "We haven't had a real one in your basement in forever. She'll definitely come to that."
"Um, yeah…" Mike nodded as he took a bite of Jell-O, feeling it slide down his throat into his suddenly unsettled stomach. He knew that asking Max to come to his house pretty much guaranteed she wouldn't show.
She'd made it obvious she wanted nothing to do with him.
Mike went straight home after school that afternoon, a rare occurrence these days, but Hopper had the day off and was taking Eleven clothes shopping in the next county over to avoid running into people he knew.
Taking the stairs two at a time, he went directly to his room and took a seat at his desk, pulling his neglected history textbook out of his backpack. He'd fallen woefully behind on his homework recently, but how could he be expected to give a shit about the Russian Revolution when he could be spending time with El?
For the next few hours, Mike lost himself in studying, only looking up from his notes when he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing forcefully, announcing his father's return from work.
Mike tilted his head towards his closed door, listening to the short, terse sentences being exchanged between his parents in the kitchen.
Things had been weird with his mom and dad for a while now. They were never the most affectionate couple, but lately, it felt even more stilted than usual. They weren't having outright arguments, but his mother had started making all these passive-aggressive comments, and the tension in the air was palpable.
Even Holly had noticed something was off with the way she kept waking up in the middle of the night and crawling into Nancy's bed, which she hadn't done in years.
Mike found himself wishing he could like… talk to Max about it? It was at times like this he felt her absence acutely.
He knew he couldn't bring it up to Eleven. She'd do her best to be understanding, but she couldn't really relate. Not like Max could. He missed talking to her.
Okay, maybe he missed a lot of things about her.
He missed all the snarky little comments she used to make about everything he did, and how they always used to subtly flip each other off whenever they passed in the halls. He even missed how she would try and push him over whenever he'd bend down to tie his shoe or put something in his backpack.
And he wanted to see the way her eyes rolled when he told a bad joke, biting the inside of her cheek in an attempt to hide the fact that he'd made her smile.
He wouldn't dare try and joke with her now, knowing he'd just be met with that blank stare she'd been giving him lately.
Mike wished things hadn't ended so badly between them so they could at least be friends. Then again, maybe it was impossible for them to just be friends. Maybe the distance was necessary.
The next day he and Will went to visit El together. Lucas and Dustin came with him often, bringing comic books and board games and movies to add to her collection, whereas Will rarely tagged along. Mike kind of understood, he knew her less than the other boys, but he really wanted his best friend to get along with his girl– uh… thing.
When it was time to leave after an evening of Clue and Sorry, Mike leaned in and gave a tired, smiling El a short, closed-mouth kiss goodbye before turning towards the door, only to find Will watching them with a strange, discerning look on his face.
"So…" Will started once they'd put some distance between themselves and the cabin, "...what happened with you and Max?"
Mike sighed. The truth was he didn't know. They'd been right on the precipice of something, but then El returned, and that had changed everything.
He'd really thought she would fight for them a bit more, but instead, Max had made it clear it was just physical. In a way, he was grateful he'd never made it to their meeting in the park and been spared the humiliation. She would've turned him down anyway.
Mike didn't know how he could've been so wrong about them. He'd been so sure there had been something real there. Now he didn't know.
Her swift and impassive dismissal that day outside Hopper's had him looking back on their whole relationship differently; it made him question everything he'd thought they'd shared.
He heard from Dustin that she'd gone on a date with Dean last weekend. There were rumours going around about what they did afterwards in his car. Mike's hand clenched itself into a fist. He didn't know why he so badly wanted them to be false. He was moving on, wasn't he? Max should be allowed to do the same.
He thought back to when she had asked if he loved El. He hadn't been able to give an answer then, and even now he still didn't know. If someone had asked him two years ago he would've said yes right away, but now… now he wasn't sure.
It was such a big, monumental thing—could he truly love someone he'd only known for such a short time?
But then Mike remembered what a mess he'd been for the whole first year after El disappeared. How mad he'd been at the world, how he lay awake at night wishing he'd kissed her when he had the chance, constantly thinking of the things he could have done differently to keep her alive…
If that wasn't love then what was?
He sighed and glanced over at Will. "Look, I know you told me and Max to end it or tell but… I don't think there's anything to tell anymore."
"So that's it?" Will raised a brow. "El's back and Max is out?"
"I'm not even the one who ended it," Mike said. "She made that call all on her own."
But he would have chosen El anyway… wouldn't he? It was exactly what he had prayed for night after night, to any being in the universe that was listening. So why was it Max who kept showing up in his dreams?
"Turns out it was just a casual thing for her," he shrugged.
"Come on, Mike," Will said with a snort, "you cannot be that oblivious."
"What?"
"Do you really think she'd be distancing herself like this if it didn't mean anything to her?"
Mike's brow furrowed as his thoughts raced. Was it possible her feelings were hurt and that was why she was icing him out? Will's reasoning seemed sound, but… Max had been so cold and apathetic when she'd ended things. It didn't make any sense.
He shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter either way. I mean, it's El, right? I can't not be with her."
It was Will's turn to shrug. "Feelings change. It's been a long time…"
"Yeah, but El coming back, meeting her that night in the woods in the first place… it's like destiny, isn't it? I can't fight that."
Will stopped in his tracks and frowned. "Actually, I think that's bullshit. You control your destiny, Mike. Don't use that as a cop-out."
Mike was taken aback for a moment at his friend's harsh words but then he blinked and shook his head again. "El needs me right now. It– it's her. It has to be."
"Does it? I mean no offence but… what do you actually have in common? Like what do you talk about?"
Mike bristled, immediately feeling himself getting defensive. What was this, an interrogation? He and El had plenty in common. He just couldn't think of anything when he was put on the spot like this.
"We– we don't need to talk," he said indignantly. "We just get each other, okay? We have a connection. One that you wouldn't understand."
"Okay." Will raised his hands in surrender, flinching slightly. "Okay, I'm sorry."
They kept on walking and Mike tried to silence the voice in his head telling him that maybe Will had a point. That maybe if he took off his rose-coloured glasses for a minute he would see that it was just a little bit off with El. A little bit flat.
And he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been trying to convince himself just as much as Will.
As the station wagon came into view, Mike cleared his throat. "Um, also, since Max and I are over now, there's no need for anyone else to know about what we were doing before, right?"
Will bit the inside of his cheek and tilted his head to the side. "I guess not."
Mike let out a sigh of relief as he dug around in his pocket for his keys. "Cool. So anyway, I was thinking for the next Hellfire we– Will?"
The sound of quick footsteps made him look up sharply, just in time to see Will's back disappearing into the woods as he sprinted away.
"Will!" Mike called out as he chased after him. He hadn't run away like this in a long time. Not since right after he'd returned from the Upside Down.
When he came to an empty clearing Mike stopped to catch his breath, looking around desperately for any sign of Will. His eyes caught on a set of footprints in the remains of the snow that hadn't yet melted and he followed them until he spotted a figure curled up on the ground ahead of him, leaning back against a tree trunk.
Running the rest of the way, he came to stand in front of Will. His arms were wrapped tightly around his folded-up knees, his breathing shallow and rapid.
A chill ran down Mike's spine at the vacant expression on his friend's face. He'd never seen Will quite this bad before. It was like he was somewhere else entirely.
He crouched down in front of him and gripped his shoulders, shaking him lightly. "Will, look at me."
Will sucked in a shuddering gasp as he seemed to snap out of whatever trance he'd been in, his eyes wide with terror as he took in their surroundings.
"You're okay," Mike said in a measured voice, "you're safe."
Will's eyes locked on him briefly and then he was shaking him off, standing and averting his gaze. "I–I'm fine," he muttered unconvincingly. "Let's go."
Mike frowned. "Will, what–?"
"I said I'm fine, Mike."
Mike stared uncomprehendingly at his friend strolling back the way they came as if he hadn't just had a terrifying, out-of-the-blue episode right in front of him.
A wave of dread—the kind he hadn't felt in a long time—washed over him. Something was definitely going on.
Authors note: Oh, Michael. Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
If you follow me on tumblr you know this chapter was fighting me every step of the way.
I think I ended up doing a decent job of portraying Mike's feelings for El, although I've come to terms with the fact that I just really don't understand their relationship from what we've been shown on the show. Will asking wtf they talk about was literally me every five minutes while I was writing their scenes lol.
Anyway, get ready, because in the next few chapters things are going to get truly nuts.
:)