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Twenty-six days have passed since the Byers’ left Hawkins mid-August.
Mike knows it’s twenty-six because he began counting the days again the moment they had left. It isn’t the same as before, he knows logically. It isn't Goodbye, Mike, or 353 days of waiting and thinking El's dead, but the logic of it isn’t enough for him to not mark each day on his calendar.
His heart twists each time he remembers the sight of El and Will driving away. It had hurt, just as it had (but not as badly as, never as badly as) when El had disappeared and turned into dust and—
He shakes his head.
If Mike thinks too much about that day, even knowing El is alive and safe in Springfield, he’ll end up driving all the way to Illinois just to really check. Just to make sure not a single hair on her head is out of place. Sure, he doesn’t have a car or even a license, but he could use the bus, or maybe even walk. Could be good practice for gym, just to make sure he doesn't fail the class again.
Mike twists the cord of the basement phone instead of walking the 250 miles to his girlfriend, watching the clock tick on the wall. It’s nearly 8, which means it's nearly time for their weekly call. When El and the Byers' had first arrived in Springfield, they had tried for nightly calls, and it had worked for a bit. But it’s September now, which means school, which means El needs to focus on not falling behind.
Weekly calls work just fine for Mike. Any shred of contact with El is enough for him.
The clock ticks. Mike sighs and bangs his head against the wall.
If Lucas and Dustin were here to see him waiting by the phone for El to call, they would laugh and call him whipped. Max would do the same, but with less bite than she had before the summer, because she misses El almost as much as he does.
(Never as much as he does. He’s not trying to make it a competition as to who loves El more, he’s not, because El deserves all the love in the world. He just sort of feels like his chest is caving in another inch each day that El is a few hundred miles away.)
Mike knows the party doesn’t mean anything by their teasing and joking and constant nagging of How was your phone call, Mikey? Did you tell her how much you love her and miss her and wish you were kissing her—as Lucas makes kissing noises.
Each taunt is made with good intention, with the point of diffusing the obvious tension of Will and El being gone.
But each one grates against Mike’s ribs all the same. He has to bite his lip until blood is drawn to resist snapping. He's gotten used to the taste of metal in the past few weeks.
He knows they miss them both, just like he does. But they didn’t fall in love with El and have to live without her for nearly a year, wondering where she was and if she was alright and replaying the memory of a cloud of dust and Goodbye, Mike.
They don’t have to relive that dust cloud now, with weekly calls and only her voice to remind him that she’s really alive.
The only reminder that she’s not gone for another 353 days.
Mike turns his head against the wall to watch the clock. It reads 8:02.
He faces the phone once more, willing it to ring. The coil rubs between his fingers, and he replaces them with the thought of El’s fingers against his. He remembers how cold they always were. In the winter, their very first winter spent together after the snowball, he’d press her small hands in his and blow hot air on her fingertips, trying to bring warmth back into them.
Who was keeping her fingers warm without him? Mike’s stomach drops at the thought. He’ll have to send her gloves. Maybe he can make her some? He doesn’t know how to sew or knit, but there’s no time like the present for a new hobby.
The clock ticks, and turns to 8:05. The phone rings, breaking the silence of the basement.
Mike jumps and then scrambles for it, nearly tripping, his face still pressed against the wall and all. He presses the phone against his ear frantically, lips already stretching into a dopey smile.
“El?”
“Mike! It’s me.” Her soft voice fills his ears, and his chest warms.
“Hi! I missed you today.” She hums into his ear. He nearly shivers at the sound.
“I missed you too. I’m sorry I was late.” He shakes his head before remembering she can’t actually see him.
“It’s okay, it was only a few minutes.” She was late the week before by a few minutes, too, but Mike felt no irritation then, nor does he feel it now. He knows any lateness is due to homework now that school’s started. He and the party had spent months tutoring her through the winter and spring with the hope of her joining high school with them in mind. Each of the party had been assigned a class to tutor her in, and Mike had taken science.
She had been natural at it, to everyone's surprise (except his, of course). Formulas and mechanicals were easy for her to remember. It was the same with math, which Lucas had been assigned to. She had aced algebra and geometry, surpassing the boys and Max within weeks.
But English and History had been harder. She had missed out on so much of both in the lab, and teaching her twelve years' worth of it in just a few months had been nothing short of a challenge. She was learning it still, slowly and carefully, taking each step one at a time.
“What did you do this week?” El asks gently.
“Hm… let me think.” Truth be told, Mike hates the weekly calls. The infrequency of it, really. Hates that they can only talk once a week and have to recount them for each other every call, but he’ll take whatever he can get with El.
—
Before the summer, he had been too wrapped up in the joy of El’s reappearance to realize the lack of joy his parents were feeling. Before the summer, he had assumed they liked her, that they were happy he had finally gotten himself a girlfriend. He should’ve known not to expect so much from his fractured family.
Mike was too busy spending time with El to even think of anything else, really. Her arrival at the Byers' home had realigned his crumbled pieces, repairing the shattered parts that had broken so easily with her disappearance.
It was only natural for him to switch his focus back to her, knowing for sure that she was back and safe and alive. That she was in reach in a little cabin in the woods.
And that cabin became his second home. After school, on weekends, and holidays. Any free time he had would be spent there, talking and kissing and just soaking in the sight of her. Keeping her fingers warm. Brushing her hair back from her face. Pressing his lips to hers.
But. While he spent his time with El, Karen Wheeler slowly grew more and more bitter towards the girl. El was, after all, the reason Mike was gone from home until dark.
It didn’t matter that his grades improved, his smile returned, that he was once again whole.
To Karen, what mattered was that Eleanor Hopper had stolen her boy out from under her nose. He was too young for such a relationship, she believed. For love, in all its glory and tragedy. She would ruin him, Karen thought. And she was proven right, she concluded, when the Byers' left town and Mike was once again constantly moping about.
Ted couldn’t care less about El. Didn’t know her name or who she was, only that she was Mike’s girlfriend and that Karen didn’t like her.
For months, Mike’s mother remained silent about her disapproval, and his father remained absent as always.
But the Byers' moved, and everything imploded.
They had been at dinner when his parents found out about them moving, Nancy having muttered it over her peas. Mike stabbed at his own as he glared at the table, refusing to comment. His mother had nodded, and said, “Well, it’s good that Eleanor is out of your way, Mike.”
Mike had frozen. Nancy had choked on her water. Ted continued to eat his chicken.
When he tried to recall the proceeding fight, Mike found he barely could. He could barely remember what he had said to his mother, only that the edges of his vision had been tinged red as they screamed at one another. His father had defended his mother, Nancy had defended him. Holly was crying and his mother was too busy telling Mike how terrible El was to get her to stop.
His mother never apologized for the fight. Neither did Mike. He never planned to.
And Mike never, ever, planned to tell El that his mother didn’t like her.
It would twist her heart and deflate her chest and only serve to hurt her. There was absolutely no point in telling her. It was easier now that she was no longer living in Hawkins, or even Indiana, but her being gone had opened a different sort of floodgate. His mother was no longer silent about her distaste for El, because El being gone meant she wasn’t around to hear.
Mike was always on edge around his mother now, especially at the dinner table. Always ready to defend El against her, no matter the consequences.
He stabs his meatloaf, keeping his gaze set on his plate. If he looks at his mother, he might start screaming, which is probably a bad idea. He needs to save his energy in case she says anything about El, after all.
Mike ignores Nancy’s eyes on him, chewing furiously. She means well. She also knows the dinner table is now a tense place for him, and should maybe stop looking at him as if she’s about to hug him. Or maybe kick him. He isn’t sure. It’s always hard to tell with Nancy.
“So, Mike, do you have another call with Eleanor tomorrow?” Mike’s chewing slows.
He swallows. Wills his veins not to explode.
“Yes.” Mike answers. He does his best not to sound too exasperated. “Tomorrow’s Friday. We always call on Friday.”
His mother tilts her head at him slowly. Shit. That had been too passive-aggressive, hadn’t it?
“I was just asking, Michael.”
He rolls his eyes. A migraine is beginning to form at the edges of his head, but he forces his voice to soften. Slightly. “I just meant—”
“Be quiet, Michael, and don’t interrupt your mother.” His dad mutters. Mike frowns and bites back his retort that he had just interrupted Mike.
“Really, Michael, when are you going to move on from this girl?” His mom continues cutting her food, tutting at him. His jaw drops, and his blood boils.
“Are you serious? I’m not going to—” Mike starts.
“Michael, don’t yell at your mother.” His dad’s gaze is blank as he watches him. Mike isn’t convinced he's actually been listening to the conversation.
“I’m not yelling! I’m just trying to tell you that I love El—Eleanor and she’s not going anywhere!”
“Well, it seems as if she already has, hasn’t she?” Mike’s vision goes white for a split second. Nancy inhales sharply from beside him. His father is still eating his fucking meatloaf.
“What—what does that mean?” His mother raises her brow.
“Well, she left, didn’t she? She and the Byers' are in Illinois.” He swallows, trying to decide if he’d rather cry or scream. Probably the latter, but crying is a bit more likely if he’s honest with himself.
“That’s not—” She sighs as if he’s a child in need of discipline.
“And I’m sure you and Will will remain friends, but long-distance relationships are just so hard, Mike. You really have no idea how difficult they are.” He chokes on a laugh. It’s bitter and incredulous, his chest tight and uncomfortable. As if he of all people doesn’t understand how hard distance could be. “It’s time to move on. For both your sakes.”
Both. As if she has ever cared about El. As if she is saying this because she cares about Mike.
He can only stare, silent and furious and on the edge of falling apart over his meatloaf. His throat's too dry for him to say the millions of things he wants to. He knows, not deep down but just fully, that none of her words are true.
But she believes it. She truly thinks El has decided to up and leave because she wanted to, not because of everything that’s happened to her in Hawkins. To her and to the Byers'
His mother doesn’t give him the opportunity to fumble for an explanation, one that doesn’t include monsters and labs and dead police chiefs. She only reaches across the table to place her hand on his, and says, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Mike.”
Mike shoves his chair away from the table, yanking his hand from hers as he stands. “You don’t know a fucking thing about El.”
He faintly hears his mother call his name, his father calling Language, and ignores both. He walks down to the basement without another thought. If it had been months ago, he would’ve fled to the cabin and sat with El until the mess of thoughts in his head quieted down. If it had been even a week ago, he would’ve called El and pretended his chest wasn’t burning with the force of missing her.
But now, they only call on Fridays. And it’s Thursday.
He doesn’t want to bother her, doesn’t want to be a bother.
Mike sits himself down in the blanket fort, still the same as it had been the day they met, and watches the clock tick.
—
“You did what?" Mike wants to sound more supportive than accusative, but the news that El’s joined the cheerleading squad has shocked him to the core.
He hears rustling on the other side of the phone and imagines her shifting her weight on her feet. She does that when she’s nervous, a habit picked up from him and Max. Fuck.
“I mean, that’s super cool, obviously. I just didn’t expect cheerleading. I didn’t even know you could do gymnastics or anything, but it’s cool. Awesome, really, is what I mean—”
“Mike,” El giggles. Mike melts, just a little.
“Yes?”
“You’re rambling.”
He nods, even though she can’t see him do it. “Right. Sorry.”
“Don’t be, it’s cute.” His cheeks flush and instantly remembers how eternally grateful he is that he takes the calls alone in the basement. Nancy is almost as insufferable in her teasing as the party is. “Do you really think it’s okay? Cheerleading?”
Mike’s brows furrow. There’s a distinct downward lilt at the end of her sentence, another telltale sign of her doubt and nerves. He mentally kicks himself for his initial surprise, for not being more supportive immediately.
“Yeah, of course. Why not?”
Fabric rustles on the other side. Mike imagines her shrugging, having forgotten he can’t see her. He has to rub his hand over his face to contain a sudden grin at her. It’s not his fault she’s simply adorable.
“I don’t know. You don’t like cheerleaders. No one in the party does.” Mike considers it. The cheerleaders at Hawkins tend to be girls who push the party around and were friends with the jocks who shove them into lockers. The party never said anything good about cheerleading, and he regrets that it’s now causing a cloud of hesitation.
“Yeah, I guess at Hawkins we don’t love them. But I think it’s super cool if you want to be a cheerleader. I mean imagine me, Michael Wheeler, dating a cheerleader?” She giggles on the other end of the line, and he barrels on, desperate to hear the noise again. “I’ll be the coolest kid in Hawkins, just you wait. A cheerleader girlfriend is totally gonna bring me up the popularity ladder a few notches—”
“Mike!” She’s breathless with laughter, barely able to speak now, and he laughs too. “I don’t even know what that means.”
He smiles, chest light, and opens his mouth to explain, but stops when El inhales, as if about to speak. Her laughed has died down.
“Well, um.” She doesn’t say anything else for a long moment.
“Yeah?” He prompts, voice quiet.
“Will doesn’t think it’s a good idea.” Mike pauses. Considers the implications. El almost always turns to the party for help or validation, something they were still working on. Something Hopper had been working on before he—before.
Validation was fine and all, but confidence and independence was something El still needed a bit of help with after so much time relying on scientists and Brenner. His heart clenched at the reminder of her upbringing, as it always did. But this wasn’t about the lab, this was about Will.
Him not supporting El’s decision is strange, Mike thinks. He knows the two aren’t exceptionally close, but they have an odd bond nonetheless. One marked with similar scars from the Upside Down, from the Mind Flayer. They understand each other in a way the party never really would. Not in the same way, at least.
“What happened? Did he say something?” El remains silent, and the coil in his chest winds just a bit tighter.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.” He opens his mouth, to push a bit further and ask again, or maybe even ask for Will to come to the phone to ask him directly. “I just wanted to know what you thought about it. If you thought it was a good idea.”
Mike closes his mouth. Opens it again. “I do. I think it’s a really great idea.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
The line is silent for another moment.
“My first game is in two weeks. Do you think you could come?”
He grins. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I can do that.”
—
“Go right, Nancy, I said right!” Mike groans, map nearly flying into his face as Nancy sharply turns the car. He smacks a hand against his forehead as they nearly hit a mailbox.
“You should’ve said so sooner!”
“I did! You just didn’t listen!” Nancy leans over to smack him in the arm and is so distracted trying to actually hit him that she nearly runs a red light. Mike sinks lower into his seat.
It’s Friday, which normally would be enough to bring up his mood, but today is extra special, since he and Nancy are driving to Springfield to see El's first game. They had skipped school to make sure they would arrive in time for the Byers' school day to end, considering Springfield is four hours away from Hawkins.
His mother doesn’t exactly know it’s happening. Both had given excuses of sleepovers, Mike at Dustin’s, and Nancy at Tracy’s. Mike’s pretty sure she would’ve forbidden both of them from going, had she known. Too late now.
The drive had been fun, despite Nancy’s horrid driving skills. She seriously could not tell her left from her right, and was constantly almost running red lights. If they were pulled over, Mike would scream.
Mike was put in charge of the map for the trip, neither knowing how to get to Springfield, and directed Nancy on turns in between laughter.
“Okay, okay, another right.”
“Great.”
“Use your blinker, Nancy, jeez.”
Nancy snorts. “I didn’t think you of all people would be so uptight about road rules.”
“I just don’t want to get pulled over when we’re ten minutes away. How would we keep Mom from knowing about a ticket?” They share a look, imagining the possible fight if their mother were to find out about the trip to Springfield. They would be grounded for life.
“Fine, I guess you’re right.” Nancy continues down the road, until finally, the Welcome to Springfield! sign comes into view. Mike exhales slowly, chest relaxing at the sight. El is so, so close. Finally.
“How do we get to the high school?”
Mike looks down at the map once more. “Take a left up ahead, and then the next right.”
Nancy nods. The clock on the dashboard reads 2:54, meaning school will be getting out in just a few minutes for El and Will. And Jonathan, Mike thinks, as he looks at Nancy. He knows she’s mostly driven him just to be nice, because their mother would have refused, but at least it won’t be a wasted visit for her since she’ll be able to see her boyfriend.
Mike’s leg begins to bounce the closer they drive to the school. El is just a few miles away. He drums his fingers against his legs at the thought. She’s a few miles away, and he’s going to see her soon. It’ll be fine. He just needs to calm the fuck down.
The school comes into view after a moment, and Mike exhales so heavily that Nancy glances his way.
“You really missed her, didn’t you?” There’s no teasing lilt to her voice, only sympathy.
“Yeah, I have.” A year ago he would have snapped at her and spent the rest of the day in the basement. But it wasn’t a year ago. Thank god for that.
Mike glances around as they pull into the parking lot. Students are walking to their cars, the bell having already rung to signal the end of the day. Mike’s gaze cuts through the crowd, searching for El or Will or Jonathan.
Nancy pulls into an empty spot, and Mike is unbuckling his seatbelt and jumping out of the car before she’s even fully parked. He shoves the maps behind him as he stands, nearly tripping into the car parked next to them. Nancy laughs at his back, but he only ignores her.
Mike’s tall enough now that he can see over the top of most of the crowd.
The Byers' are nowhere to be found.
Mike turns back to Nancy to say as much, only to find her only halfway out of the car. “Nancy! God! Come on, let’s go.”
He sees her throw her hands up as he turns back around, eyes darting over the crowd once more. He can’t help bouncing on his feet, and she steps up beside him, patting him on the shoulder. With almost anyone else, it would be patronizing, but he knows that she understands the energy coursing through his veins as he looks at the crowd.
“Look! I see Jonathan.” Nancy points out at the crowd. Mike squints as he tries to follow her finger, but fails to see anything.
“What? Where?”
“There!”
“You’re still pointing in the same place, I don’t see him.”
“God, Mike, seriously? He’s right there.” Nancy shoves his face to the side, and he moves to smack her hand away before he freezes. He can see Jonathan, and by his side is Will as they walk out of the school.
Mike grins at the sight of them. It drops as he looks to their sides and finds El missing.
“Come on, let’s go say hi.” Mike allows Nancy to drag him forwards, despite his heart slowly plummeting. He knows El is somewhere in the parking lot, or maybe the school still. He just doesn’t know exactly where.
God, he sounds so clingy.
Will and Jonathan both light up as they spot them, rushing forwards to meet them in the middle. Nancy finds Jonathan’s arms first, wrapping herself around him as she shrieks. Mike brings Will into his own hug, ignoring the sound of Nancy and Jonathan kissing beside them. Gross.
Mike pulls back and takes in the sight of Will. His hair is shorter, but he doesn’t look much lighter than he had in Hawkins. Mike hoped a new town could’ve lightened the memory of the Upside Down. A useless hope, he knows. Moving hadn’t done so for El, why should it do so for Will? Will had never mentioned anything of the sort on his own weekly calls with Mike, and so Mike had allowed himself a glimmer of hope.
It dies, instantly, at the full sight of Will. At his strained smile and tight shoulders.
“I missed you,” Mike says, smiling.
Will’s smile relaxes. “I missed you too.”
Mike’s eyes flicker to the left at the side of Nancy and Jonathan still kissing, and he and Will share a look of disgust. “I should’ve known they would be like this.”
Will laughs. “Like you and El are any better.” His smile drops a fraction at his own words, laughter freezing in his throat. Mike’s brow furrows.
“You okay?” Will nods, smiling again. Mike turns his head to look back out at the crowd. “Where is she, by the way?”
“With the cheerleaders,” Will says. His voice is tinged with… bitterness? That can’t be right. Mike faces Will again. He’s still smiling at Mike, hands loose at his sides.
El had never really mentioned Will in her calls, besides when he hadn’t wanted her to join the cheerleading squad. Maybe the cheerleaders weren’t nice to Will, just as they hadn’t been in Hawkins. But it wasn’t possible that El would join the team if they were full of bullies, especially if one of their targets were her step-brother.
Mike opens his mouth to ask, but Will speaks first.
“There she is now,” Will jerks his head, signaling El is behind Mike. His smile is tight, just a bit. Mike furrows his brows, and files away a reminder to ask him about it later. He turns, however, and his mind goes blank.
El is right in front of him, as Will said. She’s surrounded by other girls from the squad, a few boys too, but it’s impossible for Mike to pay them any mind. Impossible for him to look away from her.
The world could split apart at the seams and he would remain unaware.
El’s in her cheerleading uniform. Of course she is. It’s game day, and the cheerleaders back in Hawkins wore them each game day. It only makes sense for El to wear her own, and is something Mike really should have realized much earlier.
Even if he had, it wouldn't have prepared him for the sight of her.
The uniform is a standard high school cheerleading uniform. Long white sleeves under a blue crop top, one that’s short and form-fitting and makes Mike want to pass out. The skirt is the same shade of blue, and similarly short. Her hair is pulled out of her face, shiny and smooth. Mike’s fingers twitch at the desire to run his hands through it.
Mike swallows so hard it hurts. He might die on the spot.
El hasn’t even seen him yet, but he might just kneel over before she does. He is suddenly the tiniest, tiniest bit thankful she doesn’t go to Hawkins. If she did, if he saw her in this uniform every Friday, he would surely lose his mind. The chance of survival of such a fate is surely zero. He’s already ready to pass out, and it’s barely been thirty seconds.
He’s so pathetic.
But the thought turns to guilt immediately, because of course Mike would love to go to school with her. He would press her to the lockers between classes, kiss her breathless. They’d sit together at lunch with the party, hands linked underneath the table. Mike would go to each of the games, not just the one, never mind how much he hates football.
The idea of school with El, of classes and lunch and a schedule of 8-3 with her five days a week is the closest to heaven he’d ever get.
But they’ve never had the best of luck. Instead, they earned 353 days, 256 miles apart, and just one game to see each other.
Mike will take it. He’ll take the one. The one game, the one day, the one moment.
One is better than nothing. Any small minute or moment is worth everything to him.
Mike shakes his head, thoughts crumbling away as Nancy snickers at his expression. Will rolls his eyes out of the corner of his eyes, smiling all the while. Jonathan is pressed to Nancy’s back, arms wrapped around her, and Mike can see him grinning as well.
He ignores all three of them in favor of staring at El.
She’s still talking with the two girls flanking her, each wearing the same uniform. Their arms are all linked and heads are pressed close together as they giggle over this and that. They look like normal teenage girls.
El looks like a normal teenage girl.
Mike grins. He knows it’s all El has ever really wanted. To fit in. To not be a weirdo or a freak. The idea of her not being normal isn’t important to Mike, but he knows how consumed she’s been over trying to fit in at Springfield.
And she does. Fit in, that is.
Mike wishes she could see what he does, that giggling over magazines one second and throwing cars the next is perfection. That she will never be anything less than it. Anything less than wonderful. He wishes she would believe him when he tells her so. She never quite does.
He knows he will never quite understand what she has gone through. That two years of the Upside Down and demogorgons will never equate to her own experiences of it, or the lab, or losing Hopper.
But through it all, he sees her. And he will continue to tell her so. Continue to tell her that he loves her, that she is pretty and smart and wonderful, until it settles into her bones. Until she herself believes the words. After she believes it, even. He will never not tell her how much he cares about her, even when the words stick to his throat like glue, coiled together in his head.
He’ll untangle them. Spread them out for her to hear. He loves her. He’ll do anything for her.
Mike thinks, as she nearly falls into one of the girls with the force of her laughter, that maybe that’s part of the reason for cheerleading. Normalcy. Cheerleading is about as normal-teenage-girl as one can get.
As long as it makes El happy, Mike’s on board with it. And El looks pretty happy now, he thinks, giggling still with the two girls by her side, other teammates close by and conversing by themselves.
“Are you going to actually, like, say hi?” Nancy asks. He shrugs as if his blood isn’t on fire.
“Totally. I just don’t want to interrupt.”
“We came all this way so you could see her.”
“Would you just gimme a minute?”
“What, to work up the courage? I mean, I know she looks all fancy with her uniform but you need to actually let her know you’re here at some point—” Nancy crosses her arms. When Mike shoots a glare her way, he finds her giving him one of her own.
“Jesus, just calm down.” He groans. Will’s snickering now, not even trying to hide it. Mike turns a half-hearted glare his way.
Mike’s gaze finds El again just as she looks his way. She freezes, and the girls pressed against her sides pause. He steps forwards. She does the same, until the dam breaks and she’s running his way.
Mike grins as she shrieks his name just before colliding into his open arms, twirling her around the second his arms are securely around her waist. Her breathless giggles fill his ears. He’s missed hearing the sound without the echo of the phone in the way.
He sets her down eventually, once his arms begin to tire of spinning them both around. He catches a glance of the rest of the parking lot when she’s on her feet, spotting what seems to be the entire cheerleading squad and rest of the school staring at them.
A blush begins to form, and it increases tenfold as El wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him down to press her lips to his. She’s never quite gotten a grasp on subtlety. He finds himself unable to mind with the feel of her mouth of his, of her hand winding into his hair as his own wraps around her waist.
Catcalls break out around them, but neither break away. Only when they have to breathe do they pull away. Mike blushes bright red as El presses a hand atop his, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around her waist. Again, subtly. Not her strong suit. Hopper would be shooting Mike daggers if he were to see the display.
“Gross, guys. We’re still here, you know?” Nancy says.
El turns at her voice but doesn’t move from Mike’s arms. She only tugs them both along towards his sister, until they’re close enough for her to throw her arms around her.
“Nancy! I missed you!”
Nancy laughs, and Mike sees Jonathan grin at the sound. Which is cute. Sort of. Also sort of gross. “I missed you too. Not sure how much you missed me, though, since you were too busy sucking face with Mike to even see me.”
“You were sucking face with Jonathan a minute ago,” Mike mutters. El smiles back at him as she steps back from Nancy’s embrace, instantly moving back into his arms. He tries not to melt and almost succeeds.
“Shut up, Mike.” Nancy steps back into Jonathan's own arms. Again, gross. He knows it’s hypocritical, but still.
He looks back down at El as she tucks herself closer. She’s close enough now that he can see the butterfly clips in her hair are blue, almost the exact shade of her uniform. He smiles softly down at her.
She’s smiling too, but it falters as she turns her head. Mike follows her gaze to find her looking at Will, who’s watching her with a pointedly blank expression. He smiles as he sees Mike watching, but it’s not fast enough to erase the image of his first expression.
What is happening?
Mike turns his gaze down to El and finds her looking down at her shoes. He looks at Nancy next to see if she or Jonathan have seen the exchange, but they’re too busy gazing into each other's eyes to notice anyone else.
“I’m so happy you’re here.” El murmurs. The sound of her voice causes him to turn back to her, and he finds her with a soft smile on her face. He mirrors her expression, helpless to anything else.
“I am too. I’ve missed you so much.” She grins, and he can’t resist dropping down to kiss her again, quick and soft.
“Did you wanna meet my teammates?” Mike nods, and she lights up. Instantly, she is pivoting and tugging him in the direction of where her team still stands. A few are still watching them with curious looks. El pulls him first to the two girls she had been with. Both smile as he and El get closer, twin looks of understanding on their faces.
“You must be Mike.” The girl on the left says first. “Eleanor never stops talking about you.”
Right, Eleanor, not El. He’ll have to keep reminding himself not to call her El, even if it can easily pass for a nickname. Mike registers her words after a beat and blushes softly, the flush spreading to his neck when El only nods and sagely says, “It’s true.”
Both girls laugh. The one on the left speaks again. “I’m Theresa.”
The girl on the right smiles. “I’m Kelly.”
Mike nods. “Mike, as you know.”
They laugh again. Theresa grins as she looks between him and El. “Do you two always greet each other like that?”
El shrugs and Mike remains silent, remembering the various reunions through the years. They haven’t always been filled with him picking her up or her pulling him down for a kiss, but he could get used to it, definitely.
“Pretty much,” El says with a smile. She hasn’t seemed to stop smiling, Mike notes pleasantly. He’s glad that despite the struggle of schoolwork and adjusting to the move, she’s happy now. With Mike and with her cheerleading team.
“Eleanor’s been doing great on the team, I can’t wait for you to see her tonight,” Kelly says when it’s clear that Mike has nothing to add about the reunion besides blushing.
He grins instantly at her comment, while El flushes at the praise. “I can’t wait, either. I’ve been looking forward to this since she first told me about joining.”
El rubs a thumb along his knuckles, smiling softly up at him. He grins back, heart thumping.
“You two are really sweet. You’ve been together almost a year right?” Theresa asks.
Mike nods, and says, “A year in December, yeah.”
Which isn't completely true, if he were honest.
Privately, Mike and El both liked to think that they had been together for two years, since that first kiss in the cafeteria. But they hadn’t labeled it until the following December, and so that’s when the party considered their first day to be.
It was easier to let everyone just believe their anniversary was the night of the Snowball, December 15. It was the day El had tentatively asked if he was her boyfriend, after Lucas had joked about their relationship. He had said yes, and so the party marked December 15 as the first day of their relationship, because, to them, kissing once while the world is ending doesn’t mean you’re dating, Michael.
Dustin had earned a smack on the arm for that.
“That’s cool. Seriously, with the way Eleanor talks about you though, you’d think it’s been more like a million years.” Theresa teases.
Mike laughs. She and Max would get along well, he thinks. He says as much, and all three girls laugh. El introduces him to the rest of the team, and each member takes a moment to say hello and give their name. It's nice, he thinks. The team is nice. He’s glad they aren’t all like the Hawkins cheer team, who are nasty and turn their nose up at the party.
But these girls—and the few boys on the team—are nice. It’s easy to see how seamlessly El fits in with them.
“We have a few hours before the game. I have a pre-game practice, but not until 4:30,” El says once Mike's met the entire team.
Mike nods and considers their options. It’s already 3:32, so going back to their house and then coming back is probably pointless. They have the time, but it’s easier to just stay. “Maybe you could show me around the school? It would be fun to see what it looks like.”
El nods, and her gaze flits behind him. “I think Nancy and Jonathan are busy, but Will could come?”
Nancy and Jonathan are busy, he sees, wrapped around each other and whispering. Will is standing a foot away from them with a look of disgust, and Mike instantly pities his close contact to the couple.
“Yeah, course. Let me go get him.”
He walks towards Will as El begins to say her goodbyes to her friends. Once he’s close enough, he says, “Hey Will, do you want to come with me and El? She’s gonna show me around the school since we have some time.”
Will looks between him and their siblings and nods. “Yes, please, save me.”
Mike grins and they move back towards El. When they reach her, the atmosphere changes. Shifts, tilts, like the Earth on its axis. El and Will give each other polite smiles, as if they are merely acquaintances. Mike says nothing as the three start to walk towards the school.
He isn’t sure what to even say, or if acknowledging the situation will make it is worse. Whatever the situation is, that is. Neither have ever mentioned each other in their phone calls, and so Mike had assumed that meant they had adjusted to each other well. Perhaps that was his mistake. Perhaps the lack of mention meant more than anything else would have.
They walk in silence for the entirety of the hour, bar Will and El pointing out their classrooms. They smile and lift their shoulders when Mike looks their away. When he turns, keeping them in the corner of his eye, their shoulders drop.
What the fuck is going on?
“Is everything okay?” Mike asks, finally. He can’t not. It’s been almost an hour of near-silence.
Will tenses before forcing his shoulders to relax. El only tilts her head, a carefully arranged look of confusion on her face.
“What do you mean?” Will asks, still heading forwards.
Mike stops walking. Will and El do too. “You’re both being weird. You’ve been weird this whole time. Are you guys okay?”
They share a glance, lighting fast.
Wait. Shit. Shitshitshit. Maybe this isn’t some sort of awkward family adjustment at all, maybe this is just—
“Fuck.” They both glance at him sharply, alarm growing at Mike’s curse. “This isn’t…” he drops his voice to a whisper, despite there being no one else in the hallway. “This isn’t about the Upside Down, right?”
“No!” Will exclaims, shaking his head. El is only watching Mike with a careful expression. She shakes her head once, silently, when he keeps his gaze steadily on her.
“It’s not that,” She offers, voice quiet. She sounds sad. Sadder than he would have expected her to be when saying the Upside Down is not a current problem, which means something is going on.
“Okay, then what is it?”
Again, they share a glance. Maybe they gained the power of telepathy within the past few weeks, and that's why they keep looking at one another. Mike almost asks, but bites his tongue instead. He waits for one of them to speak instead.
El does first. “It’s nothing.”
Mike frowns. “Nothing?”
She nods. Says, “Nothing is happening.”
Will nods in affirmation.
He’s wringing his hands together. El is shifting her weight from foot to foot.
Mike knows these signs. He knows what this means. They’re nervous. They’re lying. To his face. And he has no idea why.
He wants to ask. Wants to blurt out, friends don’t lie, as if he is still twelve and that’s a rule anyone has ever followed. Other than El that is, except for the fact that she’s lying right now.
El lying is significant. It is terrifying. Unthinkable, really.
Mike says nothing. If El is lying, then he shouldn’t push. He will, later, when he and El are alone. For now, he will not press. Whatever is happening between El and Will is fragile. A single push will shatter its glass wall into a thousand shards, and he cannot be the one to break it.
Mike nods once, and they continue walking.
—
Mike’s never been to a football game before. He’s never had a reason to, really. And so he's considerably surprised by how loud it is, even when it seems as if nothing is happening on the field. He’s sandwiched between Will and Nancy, with Jonathan on Nancy’s other side.
He’s almost grateful for the contact, because it’s also cold.
He hadn’t realized he would need anything thicker than a thin sweater, but finds himself shivering slightly every time the wind blows. Still, he refuses to move closer to Nancy for warmth. He’d never hear the end of it.
Mike keeps his attention on the field instead, trying to ignore the cold in favor of El. She’s done a few stunts already, when the players are off the field for breaks or something. He’s not quite sure, considering his limited sports knowledge.
He almost dreads El’s stunting, because what he hadn’t known up until forty minutes ago is that she’s a flyer. Which apparently means that, for stunts, she’s flipped several feet into the air. His heart stops every time.
Will had laughed the first time he had seen Mike’s expression, his jaw dropped and brows raised as his heart frantically beat in his chest. It was impressive, really, what she could do, but did she need to be up so high?
If El falls and breaks a bone, he won’t know what to do with himself.
Halftime is signaled ten minutes later, and Mike’s attention moves down to the cheerleaders moving onto the field, eyes instantly finding El amongst the other girls. He grins as she begins cheering, pom-poms flying in the air as she repeats cheers in time with the team. They move into formation into what Mike has come to understand means time for stunting.
“Shit. Okay, okay. Here we go.” He clenches his fists together, leaning forward in his seat, half out of anticipation and half out of fear.
“Seriously, Mike?” Will has such a look of incredulity on his face that Mike almost laughs, but then El is being flipped into the air. There’s no time for laughing when El could fall and twist an ankle.
“What?” He grumbles, not looking his way.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Am not.”
“You look like you’re gonna throw up.” Mike tilts his head. He does feel a bit nauseous, actually.
“Well, I didn’t know she was a flyer. She didn’t tell me that when she told me about cheer.”
Nancy laughs from Mike’s other side, patting his shoulder. “She’s fine, seriously.”
“Excuse me for being worried—”
“She knows what she’s doing, Mike! She’s on the team for a reason.”
Mike brings his hands up, exasperated. “I know that! I just don’t want her to fall.”
Nancy sighs and rolls her eyes, and Will only drops his chin into his hand as he says, “She’s good at cheer, Mike. Don’t worry.”
Mike nods to himself. She’s fine. She’s totally fine. Her group flips her up again and his heart clenches. Oh god.
Will rolls his eyes, and Mike nearly misses it. He remembers what El had said two weeks ago on the phone. Will hadn’t thought cheer was a good idea, but he was here saying she was good at it. And, earlier, the cheer team had been nice. Weird. The whole thing is weird.
Mike shakes his head, brushes away the thought, and keeps his gaze steadily on El.
—
The game ends an hour or so later, and Mike moves steadily down to the field alongside Will, Nancy, and Jonathan. It only takes a few minutes to find El, the cheerleaders being easy to spot with their uniforms.
El jumps into his arms, almost instantly pulling back to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Sorry, I’m sweaty.”
Mike shakes his head. “Don’t worry, I don’t care. You’re perfect.”
She smiles softly, and he brings his hand up to cup her cheek. He moves down slowly, pressing his lips to hers gently as if they have all the time in the world. He pulls away only to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth, her cheeks, her forehead, until she is giggling and breathless.
“Mike! Hold on!” He laughs into her head, pressing gentle kisses against her hair as she tries to regain her breath. He pulls back at her voice, grinning and giddy. “I have to go get changed. I’m sweaty, remember.”
“You’re also perfect, remember?” El rolls her eyes, smiling as she presses a kiss to his cheek before grabbing his hand.
“Come on.”
“I thought you had to get changed?”
“I do.” El sees the look on his face and sighs. “You’re not coming in, Mike. Privacy, I know. Wait outside the locker room and then we can walk around together.”
He nods. She pulls him inside, only dropping his hand once they are outside the locker room.
“I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“Take your time.”
She hums and kisses him once, twice. “Love you.”
Mike inhales. He still hasn’t quite gotten used to hearing her say so, even though she’s said it at the end of every phone call. Hearing it in person, without the crackle of the phone, is in no way comparable. It’s so much better.
“I love you too.” His smile is shaky, he knows, but he can’t help it. His knees feel a bit weak. He sags back against the wall as El enters the locker room, his heart racing.
El returns a few minutes later in jeans and a green sweater, one he’s pretty sure was actually his once. She’s carrying her bag in hand and he instantly takes it, meeting her smile with one of his own.
“Oh, I forgot to show you my math classroom earlier!”
Mike blinks. “Sure, let's go.”
Her hand finds his, their fingers lacing together. She walks him down the hall, turning them left and down another hall of classrooms. She seems entirely too excited about a math classroom, but her enthusiasm only softens his smile.
“Here it is,” she announces. The classroom door is open, and she flicks the lights on. It’s a standard math classroom, Mike notes. It’s got maybe a few less chairs than his own, but Springfield has a smaller population than Hawkins, so it makes sense.
“Do you still like geometry, or—” Mike never finishes his sentence. Isn’t able to, really, considering the way El leaps towards him and covers his mouth with her own. Her bag drops from his hand and to the floor in his surprise. He allows himself a moment to bask in the feel of her, bringing a hand to her waist, before he remembers where they are. “Wait, El—”
Mike looks back at the door, but it’s already closed. El smiles sheepishly. “I closed it on the way in.”
“Were you planning this, or something?” Mike bites his lip to contain his grin.
“Yes.” He laughs. She doesn’t look the least bit ashamed. “I just missed you.”
He leans down and kisses her softly. “I missed you more,” he whispers against her lips.
Words are unnecessary after that. They spend a few minutes pressed together, kissing in the brightly lit math classroom. Eventually, they both remember that their siblings are waiting for them somewhere outside, and pull away, laughing together.
They move outside together, where Nancy and Jonathan are waiting with Will at Nancy's car. Nancy gives them a knowing look, wrinkling her nose in disgust. He resists the urge to flip her off.
“We gotta go, come on Mike,” Nancy sighs.
Right. Go. Back to Hawkins. Away from El and Will.
El’s already frowning when he looks down at her, hand clutching his tightly. He brushes a lock of hair away from her face, tracing his thumb along her cheekbone.
“I’ll see you soon, okay? And we’ll talk on Friday, just like always.”
She nods, looking a moment away from tears. Mike moves to tuck her into his arms, pressing his lips to the top of her head.
“I love you.” Her voice is muffled against his chest. He repeats the sentiment against her head, closing his eyes and willing himself not to break completely.
He steps back, moves to Will and hugs him and then Jonathan while El says her own goodbye to Nancy. He knows they can’t do this every weekend, as much as he wishes they could. But this isn’t goodbye forever.
It’s just goodbye for now.
It’s goodbye until Friday, when he’ll wait for her call at 8 pm. Goodbye until Thanksgiving, the next certain date that he’ll see her in person.
Mike moves back to El, presses her forehead to his and kisses her one last time.
“Friday,” El whispers.
Mike nods. “Friday.”
He steps back and gets into the passenger seat, buckling his seatbelt as tears burn his eyes. His chest feels as if it’s caving in. His ribs hurt. His heart does too.
Nancy backs out of their parking spot, and Mike looks out the back window. El is standing beside Will and Jonathan, hand raised as she waves. He waves back.
Goodbye for now.
He turns frontward. Seven days until Friday. Fifty-five days until Thanksgiving.
Day forty-nine since the Byers' moved to Springfield.
Mike leans back, and breathes.