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The sky was a calming shade of blue, the birds and insects chirped together in a peaceful melody, and El’s heartbeat was pounding in her ears.
She sat beside Mike atop the Radio Station roof, not talking. They did this often. El sometimes wondered if Mike had special powers of his own, a sixth sense that alerted him whenever El felt overwhelmed and needed space to breathe. Up high on the rooftop the air felt clearer, and she gulped down huge mouthfuls, filling her lungs and clearing her head.
It was perfect here - abandoned so they had privacy, a quick walk from the Wheeler’s residence and, best of all, it was on the opposite side of town from Hop’s cabin. It meant that El could look down upon Hawkins, her kingdom, and not have to see the scorched remains of the meadow where she and her friends had once spent their summer exploring. It meant that she was miles away from the carnage One had inflicted on her home. It meant that, for just a little while, she could look upon Hawkins - still and serene and oh so small - and pretend that it didn’t pain her to be there.
Next to her, Mike pressed his pinkie finger against her wrist. His presence kept her anchored.
He never pressed her to talk, but he offered gentle reminders that he was always there to listen if she wanted to. Sometimes they sat here and spoke for hours. Sometimes they didn’t say a word, only held one another as the tears came. It was here where they had opened up to each other completely, sharing secrets and shame, their anxieties, their most painful memories and tentative hopes. It was the place where they had finally - finally - had the chance to say I love you and hear it in return.
The others all knew that Mike and El came here, knew where to find them if needs be. They equally knew to let them have the space they needed. The entire crew met up most days, swapping updates and talking strategy, but that mostly meant the same conversations on a loop. No change in Max. No sight of One. No Upside Down activity detected. No one had ever implied that El should be doing more, but she felt it all the same. The months were passing by in a blur, and each day without Max made the ache in her soul grow sharper. She had exerted more of her power than ever before to save her best friend, but it hadn’t been enough.
The temperature on top of the roof had dropped considerably in the hour or so they had been up there, and El wrapped her jacket tighter around herself. Both Nancy and Robin had offered her some of their old clothes, but she preferred Mike’s oversized jacket. It felt like armour to her.
El looked over at him, and their eyes met, his gaze gentle. It was quite obvious from all her sharp inhales that she wanted to speak about something and was working up the nerve. He waited patiently.
“Mike?” She began.
“Yeah?”
“If - When - we defeat One and we wake Max and we close the gates and everyone’s okay…” El trailed off, her eyes latching onto a car in the distance driving away. It was so small, insignificant.
She took a deep, steadying breath, then blurted. “I want to leave Hawkins.”
El kept her eyes firmly on the little car, not wanting to see the hurt and outrage on Mike’s face. Impossibly, her heart seemed to beat harder.
“Okay.”
Her head whipped around to look at him. There was no outrage on his face, nor was there hurt or even confusion. Just a small, soft smile on his lips.
“Okay?” She repeated.
“Yeah. Okay.”
She faced him fully now, needing him to understand exactly what she was saying. “Not forever. Hawkins has become my home, and everyone I love is here. There is so much good here, but right now, all I can see is the bad, and it’s tainting the good. I feel like I can’t catch my breath. I just…need to leave town. For a little while.”
Tears had started to gather in her eyes, and as they spilled down her cheeks, Mike reached forward and wiped them away gently.
“You don’t have to explain. Of course I’d leave town with you.” Mike said softly, then seemed to register his own words. A red flush appeared across his freckled cheeks as he grinned bashfully. “I mean, if you’d have me that is. If you’d want me there.”
El couldn’t stop the soft giggle from escaping. “Yes, Mike, I’d want you there. You’re not getting rid of me, remember?”
Before Mike could reply, a harsh noise broke through the silence. El stood up and looked over the side of the roof towards where the rustle had come from.
“Dustin?!” She called towards the approaching figure. When she saw the look on his face, her hand automatically reached out in search of Mike’s own to steady herself.
“Come down here now.” Dustin called up. “It’s Max. Something’s happened.”