Byler story lul😍💅

Part 1

                          Hawkins Indiana 1986
         (Basically everything's the same except they
                         ended up killing Vecna lol)
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      Eleven was being....distant to put it bluntly. Of course, why wouldn't she be? Everyone had been a little high strung since the whole Vecna situation two months ago, but Mike nonetheless had started to pick up on small things no one else had noticed.

Like, Observation #1:
She seemed to make it her top priority to never be caught alone with Mike. (Which Hopper was having a field day with) This could be for a number of reasons, but of course Mike was skeptical on how coincidental this all really was.

Observation #2:
Every time they were sitting near each other, they never really sat beside each other. She seemed fine if she was sitting diagonal, behind, or even in front of him, but every time they had to sit next to one another, he could feel the air between them stiffen, and could hear the sound of her trying to sneakily slide further away from him. So he stopped trying after awhile.

He didn't have any further observations, besides the occasional stare, but he still nonetheless convinced himself that she was upset with him. And as he lay in bed that night, he racked his brain for plans on how he could apologize.
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"Warm and fuzzy?" She asked puzzled. Lucas went quiet for a moment as he tried to find the right words to describe it. "Like, your insides feel warm, and you feel nervous, but also like you never want the feeling to go away." He decided. Eleven stared at him and continued "...this...is how you felt with Max?" The sudden use of the name made him flinch as he swallowed dryly "...yeah" he answered truthfully. "Thats how i feel about her." He said emotionless. The sentence almost came off as a correction instead of clarifying.

After everything that had happened, Eleven and Lucas had seemed to develop a mutual understanding. They talked more with each other, and sometimes they would stay up late talking about Max. They never fully healed, but they did have each other, and deep down, they knew Max would've been happy to see them getting closer. The more they talked, the more the subject varied. From school, to D&D rules, it felt like they had talked about everything. The subject they were at now though, seemed to be the hardest for Lucas, as his eyes darted around the room and his chapped lips felt more unbearable than ever.

"I mean, shes my girlfriend obviously" Lucas stated quickly, trying to diffuse the tension. It seemed to work as El's face contorted from solemn to confused. "So you mean...thats how all girlfriends and boyfriends are supposed to feel about each other?" "I guess yeah. I mean, you shouldn't date someone you don't love. Though i guess it can be hard to differentiate love from friendship." Eleven stared at him with a certain look. "Oh right sorry, differentiate means to find whats different between two things." Lucas explained, recognizing her look. She made an O shape with her lips. They both grew quiet as El seemed to be focused on a thought. "And what if...you don't feel that way?" She finally asked. "Then...I guess it might not be love." He said. She nodded and the sounds of crickets chirping out the window filled the deafening silence.