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It couldn’t be happening. But it was. After everything The Party had done to stop the Upside Down had been for nothing. A storm was raging across Hawkins, the military was dealing with monsters everywhere. And all anyone could do was run, to find a safe place to figure out what to do next.
Mike Wheeler definitely wished he could’ve done more. Sure, he was kind of a long distance away when everything was going down. But he knew he couldn’t dwell on that now. He needed to do his best to lead his friends in some way. Mike used to be the leader of The Party, but he wasn’t so sure that he deserved that title. He just couldn’t help but sit and get lost in his own thoughts and pains, like everyone else was. And on top of all that, he felt like he needed to talk to Eleven before she got too distant again. She was going through a lot, and Mike didn’t want to lose the girl he loved again. Mike couldn’t help but worry all the time now, that he was going to lose her. But maybe they just needed to talk.
“Mike?”
Mike was taken out of his own thoughts as he looked up to see Will entering Hopper’s cabin, where everyone had set up camp around.
“Hey Will,” Mike said in response.
“Has El left her room yet today?” Will asked as he sat down next to Mike.
“Nope,” Mike replied, “And she hasn’t really talked to anyone. All I did was bring her breakfast. And she said she didn’t want to be disturbed. I think she’s trying to find Max again. And One, too.”
Will nodded as he said, “You should talk to her.”
Mike sighed and responded, “Yeah, I’ll do that. I’m just worried about messing things up. But…we got to be ready.”
“Yeah,” Will said as he got up, “I agree. I’ll give you guys some space.”
Eleven knew that she needed to move past her guilt in order to get through everything. But how could she? She had lost, she underestimated the power that Henry had built ever since their last fight. And she paid for it.
Everyone she cared about paid for it.
How was El going to make up for this?
That was the thing, though. Everyone still believed in her and believed in each other. She knew that hurting about it would only make things worse. She needed to be there for her friends and family, just as they were there for her.
Because the world depended on it.
“El?”
Eleven turned to see Mike peeking his head through the door to her room.
“I’m here,” she responded.
“Okay,” Mike said as he sat down next to her, “You want to talk about it?”
“Not yet,” El answered, “But I’m not going to hide from you guys anymore. When I’m ready, I will talk to you about it.”
Mike nodded as he said, “I understand. I just get worried, you know?”
“Don’t worry,” El responded, “I’m here. And I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Mike replied.
The two were silent for a few moments, before El said, “We need to be ready.”
“And we will be,” Mike replied.
“Together?”
“Together.”