•♡Should I stay or should I go?♡• Byler

Seven

       Mike had relaxed. Or at least everyone thought so.

    In fact, he was freaking out. Not only was El in danger, but Will was in the hospital.

     Will was only there for a few hours, though. This relieved Will, as he didn't like feeling trapped. It totally didn't help with his claustrophobia. 

      As Nancy and Jonathan took Mike and Will home after thanking Steve and Robin for saving Will, he was feeling better. Maybe its my opportunity? But for what exactly?

      Will turned to see Mike looking at the window, and slightly blushed. She looked better than usual. But he looked tired, and lonely.

      "Hey Mike, how about once we get to your house, we find something to do in your basement together?" Will said, excited for Mike's response.

       "Like what?" Mike said in the most monotone voice ever, bringing Will's spirits down.

     "I was thinking, m-maybe we could paint?" Will gave his friend a half-smile. Even though Mike was never the artist-type, he still loved to paint with Will.

      "Mhm." Mike responded before he went back to seeing which raindrop would win the race, listening to the sound of the rain.

      "O-Ok then!" Will smiled, even though he felt like Mike was ignoring him. He probably was.

    It was a long ride, but once they got to the Wheeler's, Will ran to look for art supplies, while Mike just went straight to the basement, where he sat on the couch. 

      "Hey Mike! Look what I found!" Will said as he waved around a small purple box. "I didn't know you liked purple. In fact, its one of my favorite colors."

       Mike only responded with a "Purple is a girl color. That belongs to El", causing Will to feel embarrassed. It was a girl color. I should stop acting like a queer. That's what his father always told him. He's the reason Lonnie left.

     Will opened the box to see some beads, all with beautiful colors. "Why did El bring this?" He asked, as he was curious to grab some beads. He loved bracelets.

     "I told you that its El's property. Leave. It. Alone." Mike said, with such a stern expression that made Will flinch.

        Will sat beside his friend, who seemed numb at the moment. "Y'know Mike, if you ever need to talk to anyone, I'm here. Sure, i might not be Eleven, but-" Will was interrupted by Mike yelling at him.

        "Don't you even think you are a replacement for El!" Will looked at Mike with an alarmed expression, scared.

        "I'm sorry Mike. I didn't mean it that way. But why have you become so cold, so distant? And don't say its because of Eleven, because you have a while being like this!" Will said, getting mad.

     Mike looked at him, offended. "Ohh! So now I'm the isolated one! Now you think it was a bad thing, what I did?  The whole 'hang out with el' thing. Its always Mike's fault, isn't it?"

    Will looked at Mike, angry. "When did I ever say its your fault. If only you would listen, Mike! If only you cared! But no, you're always ignoring us! Me!" As Will was arguing, he forgot he had the box in his hands, accidentally dropping it.

       Everything felt like if it was slow motion. The box falling, all the beads spilling, and the box getting damaged. Will looked at Mike, who stared at him in shock.

     "M-Mike I'm so-" He didn't finish before he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. Mike had just slapped him.

      "Will. Get. Out. Get! Out!" Mike yelled at him, as Will felt his cheek radiate with pain. Not only did his cheek sting, but so did his tears. He felt like if he was going to throw up.

     Will tried to keep his dignity together, to not cry in front of Mike. As he felt the tears fall gracefully from his cheeks, he ran out, shocked.

      Mike just hit me. I'm just a loser. I'm a stupid queer. I'm a fagg0t.

     He tried to not break down as he got on his bike. Nancy waved at him. and he waved back. As he pedaled away, he heard her call.

      "Will! Can you tell your mom to call Chief Hopper. We have to get working on a case, and quick." Nancy hollered at Will, who just nodded. He would probably forget. He hoped he could forget what had happened today.

      But he never would.

     Cold. It was cold, everywhere she went. It was freezing. 

     El walked around, exploring the strange but familiar place. The Upside Down. Why would Papa bring her here?

   Papa. She tried to remember what he said, feeling her head for her hair. She still had it. Find Henry, and tell him Papa says hi. Who was Henry? And why did Papa want him?

      El felt dizzy as she heard a sound. A Demogorgon. She took off, running towards one of the safest places she knew was nearby. The Wheeler's house. 

      As she opened the door rather quickly, she ran to their basement. It looked the same, just a bit, moldy. When she realized the monster was no longer on her trail, she decided to explore. 

     The house was the same. Very pretty. But it looked like it was stuck, on a time frame. Nothing had changed since she last was there. 

    She suddenly felt sick to her stomach before throwing up. What came out was a black, oozing substance. Gross.

      El sat down, her back against the wall. She hated the taste of her mouth. It tasted bad. Just like... no. She had never eaten anything that she would call "gross" or "horrendous". Everything Hopper cooked was good. And the only other thing she ate were Eggos.

      Thats it. Frozen Eggos.

     El walked towards the fridge, hungry. As she opens the door, she sees a box of her favorite thing to eat. Eggos.

      She pulls one out of the box and stuffs it in her mouth. Just then, she wants to spit it out. It tastes horrible.

     "What's wrong, El?" She heard the voice of the familiar kid. Mike, was his name? 

      "Ew." El responded, gesturing at the box, trying to signal that there was something wrong. Communicating with him was hard.

     "Ohh. Silly you! You ate them frozen, that's nasty! Let me heat some for you." Mike said as he grabbed the box from El. 

      "No. Me." El gestured to herself.

        "El, I'm not gonna steal them from you. I'm gonna make some for you." He grabbed the box, then froze. "You want to learn how to make them, don't you?" Mike chuckled.

       Finally, they understood each other. El nodded as Mike held her hand, leading her into the kitchen.

      "Okay, so first you take them out. Then you put them here. This is a toaster." Mike said.

      "Toaster." El repeated. 

       "Yes, now you have to pull this down." Mike directed her hand, and put his over hers as they both pulled down together.

        "See, easy right? Now we wait." Mike and El both waited, not taking their hand off from the lever. Meaning that Mike's hand was on El. The whole time.

         Then, the Eggos bounced back up, making El jump behind Mike. "Don't worry El. It cant harm you." He took the Eggos out and put them on a plate. "And there you have it. Now you can make Eggos yourself!" Mike handed El the plate, making her smile.

     Oh how she missed Mike.

    Thank your for the reads I've been getting! I know they're not a lot, but if you like the story I encourage you to please vote for them. Tysm!