Chapter Text

Chapter 6

The ceiling was slightly uneven, Mike decided, and it bothered him. The thoughts buzzing around his brain would not let him go back to sleep, and he needed to think them through, and yet his brain was stuck on an uneven ceiling. But, had his thoughts not kept him awake, his body probably would have. He was to tall to fit either his feet nor his head in the sofa, and his neck protested the position it had been in for to long. The sofa was not wide enough to fit him entirely either, and he had used his free arm to prop himself up several times the last hour. The absence of a quilt didn’t help either, as he was in the somewhat cold basement.

Mike would not have traded his place for any other, as half beside and half upon him, there on the sofa, lay Jane Eleven ‘El’ Byers Hopper Ives, whom he had found out in the forest one rainy night back in ’83, and again yesterday. That first night they met, she barely said a word, but yesterday, she had said a lot, perhaps more than he’d ever heard her speak, and it was her words that kept him awake.

Mike’s mind burned with the unfairness of it all. His El was the prettiest, nicest, best human being out there, and all the world gave her for it was sorrow and loneliness.

She fought for her freedom, and managed to escape the lab, only to end up in the upside down. She found a father figure who promised her a home, and all he ended up doing was locking her up and shutting her away from the world, once again. She found her mother and aunt, and it was to late. She moved in with the Byers, and it was like she was living by herself, alone in a foreign city.

Mike had known for a long time that the world was not fair. Not in the small sense of Hawkins, where some people could beat others up without repercussions. And not out in the big world, where some people died from obesity while others died of starvation. He had reconciled with this knowledge for his own part. But for hers? For her he wanted only what she deserved, and that was everything.

But he couldn’t really blame Will. Will had been bullied all his life, beaten up at least once a week since he was seven years old. If he had found a place where he did not only avoid being bullied, but where he was accepted, popular even, who was Mike to say he should not indulge in his popularity?

And what had he expected? Will had never been to keen on bringing the girls into the party in the first place. A part of Mike’s mind protested (“She saved his life. Twice!”), but no, Mike could not blame Will. Or Joyce, she had to make ends meet. Jonathan, he’d never even counted on, Mike was surprised he still lived with his mother, if anything.

No, if anyone would be there for El, it had to be him. Mike pondered, both the ceiling and what he could do, as the hours of the night went by.

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El drifted out of sleep, feeling more rested and comfortable than she could ever remember. She let her eyes slowly open, and saw Mike, who laid looking up with a look that was far away. She took a moment to take in how he looked.

His black hair zigzagged across his forehead, and she reached up and let her fingers gently stroke some of it.

His eyes suddenly found hers. “Hey.” He said.

“Hi.” She said.

Her fingers continued downwards, over his nose, and then to his left, where she traced the dark rings underneath his eyes that contrasted beautifully with his pale skin. The paleness was broken by brown freckles as she let her fingers slide down his cheek. As cheek turned to jaw line and chin, a few strands of uneven length and thickness fought to push through his skin. El stroked one of the strands and let her fingers continue down over Mike’s neck and collarbone. Unlike hers, Mike’s chest did not give way to softness, but instead her fingers felt the hardness of his ribs. She let her fingers come to rest as she felt a thumbing beneath them.

“My heart”. Mike said. “It beats for you”.

He was quiet for a second, and then he throwed his head back and moaned. “I’m sorry! I’m such a dork. That was the corniest…”

“Ssh!” El hushed. “Be still.”

Her fingers resumed their journey over Mike’s chest, until her own thigh was in the way. She let her fingers wander over it and onto his stomach. His stomach was not bone hard like his ribs, but felt firm underneath the fabric of his t-shirt. She gently increased the pressure with her fingertips as she found that she liked that feeling of firmness. She could hear Mike breathe a bit more heavily when she did, and found his eyes with her own. It was back, that look from yesterday. This time, she would know what it meant. She would keep exploring him until she figured it out.

Her fingers tiptoed across his stomach and found what must be his navel, she traced it once and let her fingers continue, ever downwards his tense body.

“El, I…”

Mike had no time to say anything else as the basement door opened and Karen’s voice asked:

“Michael? You down there?”

Mike went from tense to rigid and his free hand grasped El’s.

“Yes, just grabbing some fresh clothes, mom.” He shouted.

“You didn’t sleep down there did you? Your bed is untouched.”

“No, mom, I made my bed of course. I’ll be up in a minute!”

The door closed, and Mike let out a breath. And gave a small laugh. “It’s just, it’s always something. Oh well, how do you want to do this? Do you want to go around front and ring the bell on the door?”

“No.” She said. “I want to be with you.”

“Alright.” Mike took a deep breath and held out his hand. “Let’s go meet my parents.”

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Breakfast a Thursday at the Wheeler household was a scene that had played out in more or less the same way hundreds of times. Ted sat at the table reading the newspaper. Karen helped herself to a cup of coffee. Holly poked around in her bowl of cereal.

As Mike and El walked through the door, everyone seemed to freeze for a second. Ted looked up from his newspaper, and did not look down right away. Karen dropped her coffee cup, and by some freak incident it did not shatter or even spill, it landed on the floor, intact with the coffee still in it. El winced, and Mike put out his arm to steady her.

“Mom, dad. This is my girlfriend El.” Mike smiled. “El, this is my father, Ted, my mother, Karen, and my annoying little sister Holly. Everyone, El, El, my family.” He nodded at them as he spoke. Before either adult could say anything, Holly jumped up and ran to El.

“Are you really a princess? How did you escape the desolate castle?”

“Uhm, I…” El had no idea what was happening.

“Mike use to tell me the best bedtime story about you. Can you really do magic?”

“Holly, she’s not the princess from your story.” Mike came to El’s rescue.

“So she’s not the prettiest, bravest girl in the world?” Holly looked up at Mike.

Mike blushed and looked at El. “Oh, she is, just, not the story El. Okay?” Holly seemed only a bit disappointed as she went back to hear cereal.

“So, this is most… surprising.” Ted said.

“Yes. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, both of you.” Karen agreed. “But I guess you want some breakfast while you do that?”

“Yes, thank you.” El said. “You have the best breakfast.”

Karen gave her a questioning look. “We do?”

“Look!” Mike interrupted. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but…”

And he and El went on to give a somewhat accurate tale of how she ended up in Karen’s car.

“So wait, you took the Greyhound to the curb side stop here?” Ted asked and gave Karen a look.

“Oh, that trip is horrible.” Karen continued. “When we had Nancy and only one car, Ted had to use that one to travel for business, what was it, five hours wait in Indianapolis?”

“Five and a half, I think” Ted answered. “Or maybe five hours and twenty minutes.”

“I remember loading a sleeping Nancy into the car so we could go and get you.” Karen’s look was 17 years away.

“Speaking of, next time, I’m sure Mike will have his learner’s permit and use the drive to pick you up as practice driving, right son?” Ted looked at Mike for a second.

“Of course!” Mike said, not really realising he just promised to start getting his licence.

El spoke up. “Next time?”

“Well, we can’t have you worry Mrs. Byers, and steal her food money to boot.”

Karen came back to the present. “Yes. Ted, you must call Joyce and tell her she’s here.”

“Of course honey. Mike, come with.”

Mike followed his father into the hall where the telephone was located. Ted looked through the phone book lying next to the phone for a minute, before he dialled.

“Joyce Byers? Yes. Theodore Wheeler. How are you?” Mike could see that his father listened to something that Joyce was saying for a second before he continued.

“What’s the weather like up there in Michigan? We had a real downpour here yesterday. Thank god it did not turn into heavy rain.” Joyce must have said something again, as Ted stood silent for a while.

“Yes. You have a girl living with you? No. She’s here. Yes. Turned up in our… I mean on our doorstep this morning.” Ted put the hand over the mouthpiece and whispered to Mike with a conspiratorial wink “You never know who’s listening in, right.”

Ted continued talking to Joyce. “No, no, she’s fine. Yes. First bus available. No, I can’t accept your money. Maybe she can come back on a more planned visit?” He listened for a little while. “Yes, two weeks. No, I still can’t accept your money.” Ted took a breath.

“And otherwise, are you still driving that old Ford? The timing belt has not given up yet? You had it changed. Two years ago. I see. Everyone drives Japanese these days, but I always said American cars are something special.” The conversation seemed to come to an uneasy halt.

“Yes. I’ll tell Karen you said hi.” Ted put the receiver down and turned to Mike.

“Here son.” He opened his wallet and gave Mike all the cash available. “You make sure she get’s back home alright. No, don’t worry about me, Johnson in sales owes me lunch anyway. And Mrs Byers said your girl can come back and visit in two weeks. I’ll write a check. Got to go, can’t miss the nine o’clock.”

And with that, a very happy Ted got into his car to drive to work. His son both had a girlfriend and was starting his driving lessons, both normal, sensible things to do. And as the company had some business up in Michigan, he thought there might be some sort of tax deductible for interstate travel, and he looked forward to spending his morning researching the possibility.

“Alright Mike.” His mother said as he walked back into the kitchen. “Time to go to school.”

“But mom, I…”

“No discussion! If this little adventure makes you cut school as well, me and your father will rethink this next visit.” Her firm expression softened a bit. “And, I would like to get a chance to get to know El here. Now move!”

Mike knew when he was beat, so he gave a El a quick kiss on the cheek and a look that asked if she was okay with this. She shrugged. “I’ll be back soon, I’ll figure something out.” Mike whispered.

Once a reluctant Mike had gone, Karen turned to El.

“I need to drop Holly off at Kindergarten. You make yourself at home.” She gave her a wink. “I’ll leave some coffee in the coffee maker, if you rinse it I will never know if you drank it. Now, is there anything you like for breakfast before I go?”

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“El?” Karen asked as she came back through the front door.

“Yes?” El answered.

“I’ve talked to the bus company. There’s a bus that leaves Terre Haute for Detroit this evening. I’ll drive you there.”

“But, Mike…”

“I’m sure he’ll come with and wave you off.” Karen said.

El did not say anything else. Adults had a strange way of needing to be the ones to decide everything. She was here now, but instead of staying with Mike for the weekend, she would have to go back and return in two weeks?

“So, were you okay while I was gone?” Karen asked. “You seemed disappointed in the lack of waffles earlier, let me make you some for lunch.”

“No, thank you , I…” El started.

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, it’s just butter, milk and self-rising flour really.” Karen started for the fridge.

“No, I mean, thank you, for Mike. He’s so, good.”

Karen looked at her. “He is?”

El nodded. “He is. Good. And he always helps me. And let me have his things. To make me happy. Just, good.”

Karen felt a tear threaten to fall. She never heard anyone praise Mike. Or, his teachers said he was a good student at the evaluation talks, but this was something else. To hear that her son was a good, kind gentleman. And the girl had the good sense to thank her upbringing for it.

Karen did the only thing she could and hugged the girl. “Thank you. It makes a mother proud to hear. And now I have to make you those waffles.”

Karen took a bowl from the cupboard and turned to El. “Wait. He did sleep down in the basement, didn’t he?”

El looked down and shuffled her feet. “Yes.”

“He slept in the basement, on that horrible couch, so you could sleep in his bed. And that’s why it was made. I knew it! He never makes his bed!” Karen thought this was the sweetest thing as she searched for a whisk. “Do you cook?” She asked.

“No. I… I don’t know how.” El said.

“I didn’t either, until I married Ted. But you learn. And now, I like it a lot. Come, let me show you! First, let’s melt the butter…”

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“Dustin,” Mike said as he kicked down his bike stand, “What are the tell-tale signs of a concussion?”

“Oh you know,” Dustin answered, “Headache, nausea, memory loss, disorientation, feeling very tired. Why? Did you bump your head in the heat of things?”

“The heat of what?” Lucas intervened.

“Oh, you don’t know who Mike spent the night with? Take one guess!” Dustin grinned.

At this time, Mike was literally saved by the bell.

As he stepped into the classroom, he scanned around for Troy. Luckily, he had not found a seat yet. Mike walked up to Troy and stomped his heel down on Troy’s foot with all the force he could muster. “Watch where you’re going, pretty boy!” Mike spat, loud enough for the entire class room to hear.

The blow came slower than Mike had expected, but when it did, he was prepared. He deflected most of the force with his elbow, and went to the floor, unmoving. Troy made as to kick Mike, put was put off balance by Lucas, who gave him a tackle any semi-pro footballer would be proud of.

“Hey! Cut it out!” The teachers shrill voice made them all stop. “You!” She looked at Troy. “Principal’s office, now!”. She made her way over to Mike as Troy left. “Mr. Wheeler? Mike? Can you get up?”. Mike just mumbled.

“All right. Henderson, take over. First, mark those in attendance, and then it’s pages 122 – 151.” Dustin looked scared, but nodded and started for the teacher’s desk.

“Sinclair, help me get your friend to the nurse.”

As Lucas and the teacher left Mike with the school nurse, he immediately put his head on her desk.

“Sorry.” He said. “My head hurts.” He looked up. “Where am I? This is not home.”

The nurse looked at Mike. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I, I don’t know.” Mike said. “I remember getting out the front door and getting on my bike, but after that, it’s blank.”

“Alright. That’s it. You are clearly suffering from a concussion. I’m taking you home.” The nurse grabbed her car keys. “Rest today and tomorrow. Take it easy over the weekend, no running around, absolutely no fighting, but not too much TV either. Your brain needs rest. On Monday morning, come here before first class and let me do a quick check up on you, okay?”

Mike had to put his head on the desk again to hide his smile.

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The sound of Karen talking to the school nurse in the kitchen was muffled by the door to Mike’s room. El sat beside Mike’s bed and held his hand as he recounted what happened in school.

“What?! You think Troy is pretty?!” The look of utter disbelief on her face would probably have made anyone that was not Mike laugh.

“No, it’s, boy to boy, it can be used as an insult. I just wanted him to hit me.” Mike smiled and started to get up. “I only think you are pretty.”

El held him back with a hand to his chest. “She said lie down.” Now El smiled. “And I think you’re pretty lying there. So stay, please.” She lightly kissed his forehead.

They sat in silence for a while after that. They could hear the front door close as the nurse left.

“El.” Mike said. “Yesterday, when we talked to Dustin. What you said about your powers. I have to ask, do you really want them to be back?” He shot her a questioning look. “I mean, I guess once you turn 18, with them you could just walk into a casino and win at the roulette every time, and make as much money as you like. Or you could tell a magazine or TV network your story and be the world’s most famous person.”

El shook her head. “I don’t want to be on television. And I don’t want money.”

“Good. Because I thought about this all night. Maybe you are better off without your powers? If you don’t have them, the government have no use for you. They’ll leave you alone.”

“No.” El said. “They will never leave me alone. With or without powers. It’s not that either, it’s just, they’re part of me.” She thought for a second. “Remember, when I came back, and Dustin had teeth? But they were fake, and he stopped using them?” Mike nodded and El went on. “It’s like that, I want to be me.”

Mike nodded. He thought he knew what she meant. It was like him being a nerd. If he wanted to, he could stop playing role playing games and start watching sports, don a football jersey and forego his sweaters, stop raising his hand whenever the teacher asked a question, and after a while, he would probably find himself higher up in the school hierarchy. But he did not want to. Low social standing was a price he happily payed for getting to be himself.

“Okay. We’ll just have to find a way to bring them back.” He said.

“We?” She asked.

“Yeah. We. If you think I can be of any help. Speaking of help, there was another thing.”

“Yes?”

“So.” Mike started. “I think I know some things that can help you.”

“With my powers?”

“No. With that other thing we talked about yesterday. The dead, how you feel. It, it reminded me of Will, actually. He had to go on these long therapy sessions, like twice a week, that year you were gone.” He silenced. He didn’t like to think of that year. And he was afraid that bringing her trauma up would make her feel bad. Why could he never think first and speak later?

“Yes.” El said. “Did you help Will?”

“Not I really, but we talked a lot about what the doctors wanted him to do to feel better. He had all these brochures and stuff and I thought maybe, you can use that stuff too?”

“Hmm.” El looked at Mike, and he continued.

“So, there’s like two things that helps when you feel that way. And it’s talking and exercising.”

“Talking, and exercising?” Talking made some sense, she thought, she felt better after telling Mike everything yesterday.

“Yeah. The talking, it seems that just by telling someone who listens that you feel bad, you feel less bad. And the exercise, Will actually had a program he had to go through with different exercises, running, stuff like that. The brochures said that when you physically exhaust yourself, your brain makes a hormone that makes you happy.”

And that did make some sense too, El thought. When she ran, she did not think or feel, she just ran. Sometimes, it was as if time slowed and she floated, she didn’t even feel her feet touching the ground.

“I can’t help you with the exercise.” Mike smiled. “But with the talking, my parents give me some money, an allowance. And I could talk to them, and instead of me getting money you could use it to call me, when it’s really bad? It’s called a collect call…”

“But don’t you need the money?” El asked.

“Nah, I’d just waste it down at the arcade. I’d rather hear your voice.” Mike smiled. El kissed his forehead again. “Okay.” She said. “I’ll call. And talk.”

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The drive to Terre Haute was mostly done in silence. As El and Karen went to get El a ticket, Mike wandered off. “See you by the bus.” He said to El.

Mike arrived at El’s bus maybe five minutes after she did, and they got on together and found her a seat. Mike sat down next to her, and held her hand. They sat like that until the driver started the engine and closed the doors.

“Mike. Don’t you need to get off now?” El asked.

“Well.” Mike smiled. “My school don’t expect me back until Monday. And my dad gave me all this money and told me to make sure you get home safe, so I figured I’d do that.”

He took a ticket similar to El’s from his pocket. “And it seems it will take me almost eight hours to make sure you get to Detroit. I thought we might spend them kissing. Or talk, we could talk. Or be quiet. Or…”

“No.” El said. “I like kissing. I’ve missed kissing.”