HIDDEN !¡ MIKE WHEELER

10. ✰

"EL!" MABEL CALLED her sister's name as the four kids walked their bikes up to her. El quickly turned around, looking upset. "You okay?" Mabel asked. She nodded. "You're riding with Dustin, come on. We only have a few hours," Mike told her. El walked up and got onto Dustin's bike as Mabel got onto the back of Mike's and they all peddled away.

The five of them made it into the woods, getting off their bikes and walking alongside the trail. El stayed back with Dustin and Lucas while Mabel and Mike strolled closely together. "So, do you have any other superpowers? Other than doing stuff with your mind?" Mike asked the redhead, breaking the silence.

"Yes, I guess I can control people's minds and make illusions to trick people. Also, I can see people mentally," Mabel nodded. "See people mentally?" Mike furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, if I have a picture of a person, I can close my eyes and I'll find out where they are," Mabel smiled. "That's awesome," Mike laughed.

"You know if Troy ever tries to hurt you again, I'll use my powers on him and his friend," Mabel announced to the boy. "Don't. You're risking yourself for me," Mike mumbled, shaking his head reluctantly. "As long as it's for you," Mabel shrugged. Behind them, Lucas and Dustin shared a look and rolled their eyes.

"They're just annoying mouth breathers, so we try our best to ignore them," Mike looked at Mabel. "Mouth breathers?" Mabel repeated, giggling. "I've never heard of that one." Mike smiled. "Seriously, though. I don't want you to expose your powers just to help me. I don't want to lose you when you just got here," Mike objected, turning to look her in her eyes.

Mabel slowly lifted her hand and placed it onto Mike's, who tightened the force he was using around his bicycle handle. "I'm not going anywhere," she smiled. Mike stared down at their hands, took a deep breath and looked into Mabel's eyes again. "Promise?" he whispered. "Promise," she nodded.

THE KIDS WERE still walking in the woods, sunlight being stolen from them. The only source of light they had was the lights on the front of their bikes. Eleven lead them to a house, stopping.

"Here," she said. "Yeah, this is where Will lives," Mike nodded. "Hiding," El shook her head. "No, no. This is where he lives. He's missing from here. Understand?" Mike repeated. Dustin threw his bike on the ground, out of breath.

Lucas walked up to the three kids. "What are we doing here?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "She said he's hiding here," Mike told him. "Um... no!" Lucas scoffed. "I swear if we walked all the way out here for nothing—" Dustin started.

"That's exactly what we did! I told you she didn't know what the hell she was talking about!" Lucas yelled. Mike turned back to El, rolling his eyes. "Why did you bring us here?" he asked. El started stammering, not knowing what to say as Mabel walked up to stand next to her.

"Mike, don't waste your time with her," Lucas reported. "What do you want to do then?" Mike defensively asked. "Call the cops, like we should have done yesterday," Lucas replied. "I said no cops!" Mabel fired. Lucas and Mabel started arguing until Dustin yelled "guys!"

Police vehicles and an ambulance caught the group's attention as they sped down the street, their sirens blaring and blinking. "Will," Mike whispered. They all ran to grab their bikes and follow the cars down the road.

The kids followed the cars as they lead them down to the lake. They threw their bikes down and hid behind the firetruck, watching the scene. Firemen fished a limp body out of the water, turning it over and placing it down onto a bed.

"It's not Will. It can't be," Mike shook his head in denial. They watched as the firemen took the bed out of the water, revealing Will's pale face. "It's Will. It's really Will," Lucas' voice cracked. "No," Mabel mumbled, tears filling her eyes. Mike got up, walking away as El followed him.

"Mike," she whispered, reaching out. Mike slapped her hand away, freaking out. "'Mike?' 'Mike,' what? You were supposed to help us find him alive. You said he was alive. Why did you lie to us? What's wrong with you? What is wrong with you?" Mike bugged out on Eleven.

"Mike, please," Mabel sniffled as El started crying. "Mike..." El softly said again, shaking her head. "What?" Mike harshly asked. Eleven didn't respond, so Mike spared a single glance at Mabel and picked up his bike. "Mike, come on, man. Don't do this," Lucas shook his head.

"Mike, where are you going?" Dustin asked. Mike got onto his bike and rode away. "Mike!" Mabel cried. El put her head in her hands, crying. "El, come on. I'll take you to my house for the night, okay?" Mabel grabbed her sister's arm and began to walk away.

"Hey, kids!" a police officer yelled out of his window, driving up to them. "You girls, get in. I'll give you a ride home," he told them as the boys sped away on their bikes. The two sisters got in the car and Mabel told the officer her address.

When they arrived at the house, Mabel tried her best to explain what was happening: who El was, what happened to Will, how everything is falling apart. And Jessica understood everything. She made the girls chocolate chip cookies and tucked them into Mabel's bed with a kiss. The girls had spent most of their time trying to go to sleep; crying. It had been a long night.

THE NEXT MORNING, Jess had taken the girls over to Mike's and told them to give Mike leftover cookies to make him feel better. Mabel helped El climb through Mike's basement window, knowing he keeps it unlocked. "I don't want her here," Mike yelled as El jumped down into the room. "Too bad," Mabel shrugged.

She walked to the front door and knocked, Mrs. Wheeler opening it. "Hi, sweetie," she smiled. "Hi, Mrs. Wheeler. Is Mike awake? Jess made him cookies," she returned the smile. "Yeah, he's downstairs. Go ahead," Mrs. Wheeler nodded.

Mabel walked downstairs, putting the cookies on the table. She sat down next to Mike as El sat in her blanket fort. "Hey," Mabel softly greeted him. "Why didn't you climb through the window, too?" he asked her. "Because if we went upstairs, your mom would've wondered how I got here," Mabel laughed. Mike shrugged, going through Will's pictures.

"Did Will draw these?" she took one, analyzing it. Mike nodded. "He's quite an artist," she smiled. Mike nodded again. "Listen. I hope you find the heart to forgive my sister. She was probably just confused," Mabel started. "Is that why you came here?" Mike asked. "No... I came here because I want to be with you," the girl answered truthfully.

Mike paused and looked into Mabel's eyes. "You do?" he asked. "Of course I do. How could I leave you all sad? Without me? Come on," Mabel smiled. The corners of Mike's lips upturned into a smile, almost a laugh.

El started playing with Mike's walkie-talkie and Mike rolled his eyes. "Can you please stop that?" he sneered at her. She turned it off and then turned it back on again, using her powers to switch through the channels. "El..." Mabel cautiously warned her sister before Mike went on a rant.

"Are you deaf? I thought we were friends, you know? But friends tell each other the truth. And they definitely don't lie to each other. You made me think that Will was okay, that he was still out there, but he wasn't. He wasn't! Maybe you thought that you were helping, but you weren't. You hurt me. Do you understand? What you did sucks. Lucas was right about you. All along," he finished off, staring back down at the drawings.

Suddenly, Will's voice came from the walkie-talkie. He was singing and it caught Mabel and Mike's attention rather quickly. Mabel looked back at Mike before the two stood up, rushing over to Eleven. El handed Mike the walkie-talkie and he stared at it hesitantly before taking it.

"Will, is that you? It's Mike! Do you copy? Over," he spoke into the walkie-talkie. No response, just crackling static. "Will, are you there? Will!" he spoke again. No response. Eleven closed her eyes, moving her eyeballs inside of her eyelids back and forth. "Was that...? Is it...?" Mike stuttered, putting down the walkie-talkie. Eleven opened her eyes, nodding.

"Will."

author's note !
whos ur fav st character go
mine is willyyyy