Chapter Text
“Sing the song,” El demanded.
“Why do you love that song so much?” Mike asked. Ever since El had heard it for the first time, she’d ask him to sing it at random.
“Because. Now sing it to me! Pleeeeeaaase?” she begged.
Mike sighed. And then began singing.
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”
Mike wouldn’t admit it. But seeing her huge smile every time he did that, made him want to sing it even more. (Even if he did actually find the song kinda annoying.)
Today was no different from the rest. Of course, that’s how it seemed anyway.
Sunlight drifted in the window of the basement door, a sign that their time together was nearly over and her father would be there to pick her up.
These were the last moments of calm.
Ten minutes later, Hopper burst into the basement with panic in his eyes.
They both knew something was wrong. So, so wrong.
Hopper looked at Mike and said almost softly, “The night has came.”
Mike’s eyes widened, as did El’s. It had been their code for so long, but no one had ever had to say it.
Mike gulped. “How long?”
“You have maybe twenty minutes.”
“We’ll make it ten,” Mike answered quickly, standing and running up the stairs to his room, leaving Hopper and El alone.
“I never thought… I thought we were safe. It’s been so long…” El whispered.
“I know, kid. I know. You have your things?” Hopper asked.
“Yeah, in my bag.”
“Good.” Hopper pulled her into a hug then. “Be careful. Don’t do anything stupid. You’re eighteen now.”
El sniffled against him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Mike came back down the stairs, looking both frantic and determined while carrying two large duffle bags. “Okay, I think we’re ready.”
“I told your parents to leave for the night, you know, keep them safe,” Hopper said.
“Thank you,” Mike answered.
Ten minutes later, when Martin Brenner showed up at the Wheelers’ home, it was completely empty.
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“Mike, I think you can slow down a little. We’ve been on the road for hours already,” El said.
“We have to put as much distance between you and him as possible,” Mike told her, fidgeting a little. His leg had been bouncing the whole six hours they’d been driving.
They were somewhere in Missouri now, but with the speed Mike was driving at, they’d likely be in Nebraska within an hour.
“I know, Mike, but he can’t be close to us, he doesn’t even know where we went.”
Mike eased up on the accelerator, but not by much. He was still speeding and El was telepathically paying attention to any possible cops coming up. They were lucky, no cops were patrolling.
About two hours later, El suggested they stop at a motel for the night. It was 3 am already.
Mike stopped at the next town. Lincoln, Nebraska.
They stayed in a motel that, luckily for them, wasn’t too sketchy, or dirty.
When El woke up in the morning, Mike was already dressed and had brought her a waffle for breakfast. She checked the clock. 10:30am.
El took a quick shower, while Mike packed up their stuff. And within a half hour they were back on the road again.
Mike got a little more relaxed with each mile further away they were from Hawkins.
And then it was El’s turn to be nervous.
Every time they stopped for gas, she tried to call Hopper on the payphone, but never got an answer.
“What if something really bad happened to him?” She asked as they drove away from the gas station.
“I’m sure he’s fine. Maybe they just haven’t gotten to the safe house yet. Their drive was pretty long too.” Hopper had a safe house set up for this very occasion, should it ever come up. They’d had a plan for over two years now.
On Mike’s sixteenth birthday, he got his license. And that was the day that Brenner had been spotted. Dr. Owens had been visiting Chicago, and just happened to see him. He immediately told Hopper that he was still out there, biding his time. Hopper then decided they had to have a plan.
At first, Hopper wanted to involve just their family. El, Joyce, and Will. Jonathan was at college, so he was safe. But then, it became apparent that El wasn’t going to cooperate unless Mike was involved. They fought about it for hours. It was almost as bad as when she broke all the windows in the cabin. But finally, Hopper relented.
Later, Hopper decided that maybe having Mike be the one to take her would be the better choice. She might be able to have an actual future. A house and kids.
The night after Brenner was seen, they all got together and formed the plan.
1. Mike and El would drive to a safe place in San Francisco. They would take pre-packed bags of clothes and cash. And no matter what, they wouldn’t call home or turn back. (The Wheelers had not been happy with this arrangement, but were more understanding once they knew why.)
2. Hopper would alert their friends and family to get to a safe place. Anywhere that wasn’t Hawkins, Indiana.
3. Hopper, Joyce, and Will would drive to a safe house, on the opposite side of the country.
They had gotten lucky. It had been two years. They thought he had given up on her.
Apparently not.
El was scared for her family, but she took comfort in the fact that both Dustin and Lucas were on vacation and Max was visiting her father in California. They were safe.
She thought of the last time they’d all been together. After graduation, one week ago. It’d been a fun night with lots of nostalgia.
They would never get to do that again.
That second night, they had not been so lucky to find a nice motel. This one was dingy, and the bed was uncomfortable. But at least they had made good progress today. They were about an hour outside Salt Lake City, almost to Nevada. They would get to San Francisco tomorrow.
El took one last look at the time, 1am, before closing her eyes and drifting off.
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They left the next morning at 10am, and El was getting sick of all this driving.
She still hadn’t gotten an answer from Hop at the safe house.
Finally, after hours and hours of distance from Hawkins, they pulled into the driveway of Hopper’s cousin. Their sanctuary of sorts.
She was waiting for them on the tiny porch of her suburban house, cigarette in one hand and coffee in the other. El almost laughed at the similarities.
“El. Mike. I’m Mary. Nice to finally meet you. Come inside.”
The house was small, but homey. It only had two bedrooms.
“Here’s your room. Hopper didn’t want me to let you sleep together, but you’re eighteen so I don’t really care. I’ll let you get settled. Dinner’ll be ready in a half hour.”
El was happy to finally be somewhere safe. But the next few weeks would drive her crazy.
She hated the normalcy of everything. It was as if nothing bad had ever happened to her. She got a job at a nearby coffee shop. Mike got a job at a RadioShack. They went to work everyday and came home to a meal that Mary had prepared.
El should have felt happy. But she didn’t. Because even though she was in some kind of nuclear world where nothing bad ever happened, bad things had happened to her. And they couldn’t be erased.
Hopper had finally gotten in touch. Everyone was safe. For now.
It was nearly two months later before anything happened.
And it happened all too quickly…
El was brewing the morning coffee, Mike was eating his eggs. Mary looked out the window.
“Who is parked on my sidewalk?” She asked, mostly to herself.
Mike stood up to look and his eyes widened in horror.
Because in the parked vehicle, was Martin Brenner. He had found them. And they had no time.
“El, we gotta go!” Mike yelled, grabbing her by the wrist.
“What’s going on?” She asked, scared.
“He’s here. He found us.”
And they ran out the back door.
They ran as far as they could, and they got lost.
“I… think… we… lost him,” El panted.
“Nope,” someone behind them said. “You know, you probably should have thought of an escape route. You are only two streets over from where you began.”
Brenner.
“How did you—?”
“Oh, Eleven, how silly you are. I’ve had a tracker in your arm since you were five. I’ve always known where you were. I was kind, I let you finish high school and have friends, but now you must come back with me.”
“No.”
“No? I have the means to make you, if you won’t come on your own.” Brenner pulled a gun out of his coat.
“I won’t come. You are evil and sadistic and—“
“And you are weak, emotional, stupid, shall I go on? Because I can. Now, tell your little boyfriend goodbye and come with me,” Brenner sneered.
“No.”
“Have it your way,” Brenner said, pointing his gun, not at El, but at Mike.
All too fast and in slow motion El saw Brenner pull the trigger. She immediately snapped his neck, but it was too late.
The bullet left the gun and went straight into Mike’s heart. El began crying and holding onto Mike as she laid him on the ground gently. She didn’t even hear Brenner’s dead body hit the floor.
“Mike? Mike? You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay..”
She had one hand cradling his head, the other on his wound.
“El… El…” he mumbled.
“Yes,” she answered, with tears in her eyes.
“Check… my nightstand… okay?” he said weakly.
She nodded, unable to speak, tears now streaming down her face.
There was a moment of silence before Mike spoke again.
“Sing for me?” he asked, tears in his own eyes.
And she did. “You are my sunshine….. my only sunshine….” She barely made it through the song.
“I… love…. y—“ he said, unable to finish the words with his dying breath.
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When El got back to Mary’s house, she could barely breathe. She laid down and slept for hours.
And when she woke up, it hurt all over again. She remembered what he had said. To check his nightstand.
She opened the drawer and found a note.
Dear El,
If you’re reading this, it means I didn’t survive this horrible crisis. I wanted to make sure you knew all of this.
El, you are the best person I have ever known. You’re smart and funny. You laugh at all my jokes even if they aren’t funny. You are beautiful and gave me everything I could ever ask for.
I loved going to school dances with you, especially prom, because you were always so happy. But you are just as beautiful in sweats as you are in a fancy dress. I loved playing games with you and growing up with you by my side. I love that we got to graduate together. I wish that we could have gone to college like we had planned.
I’ve been saving up for a ring. I would’ve asked you to marry me in about a year. Then we would’ve both gotten great jobs and I would’ve let you pick out what house you wanted to get. We’d have a couple kids, and grow old together.
I still want that for you. Even if it’s not me. I want you to be happy. To fall in love again.
I love you so much, El.
I love you so much.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
I love you.
Love, Mike