The Promise

El couldn't sleep. It was like this most nights, well almost every night since the events of the fall. Coming face to face with Vecna, Peter to her. It had taken everything, so many sacrifices, but finally he was gone. It was something El knew deep in her soul. He wasn't coming back this time. There would be no more trauma for Will, he could now heal. They all could. There were lasting scars of course, El only had to look over to the red head in the sleeping bag to know that.

Max was visually impaired, and her personality had changed. She was quieter and sometimes seemed like she was far away. But there were glimpses of the Max they truly knew, and they were all working hard, Lucas and El especially, at getting the true Max Mayfield back. El pressed her palms into the soft mattress and pulled herself up into a sitting position. She looked over at Max again and sighed quietly, her shoulders feeling heavy. El liked to have a lot of sleepovers with Max. First of all, because she had missed her best friend when she had lived in California. But also because El didn't like being alone, and she knew that Max felt the same way. It felt like they could protect each other, because even though Vecna was gone, the nightmares hadn't left just yet. El wanted to guard Max, she felt responsible for what had happened to her. If she could have just got to her sooner, she might not have suffered the way she had. El would be looking at bright blue eyes, not faded eyes with sadness in them. She wouldn't have to see the pain in Lucas' face before he tried his best to hide it with an upbeat smile, determined to bring his girlfriend back to her old self.

El looked away from Max, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself. She looked out of the window, rain splattered the glass through the gap in the drapes, the back porch light illuminating the droplets like glitter. El looked around the temporary bedroom she was staying in. The cabin had been destroyed in Vecna's vicious battle and the Byers house had been long sold. Joyce and Hopper were renting a three-bedroom house whilst they waited for the sale to complete on their new home. Home. A home for El, a home for Will, Jonathan, Joyce and Hopper. Together as a family. El couldn't help the smile that twitched her lips at the memory of Hopper expressing his love to Joyce the moment the battle was over. How he had said he couldn't take another day not being with her. The kiss they had shared, a kiss so passionate that all the teenagers had to look away, laughing, surprised and grateful for there to be a bit more love in the world again. El's mind immediately went to Mike, and she felt her heart flutter. She wanted to see him. He had the ability to calm her soul like no one else could, not even Hopper. It was so much more than a feeling of being protected by a strong individual. No, it was as delicate as an exhaled breath and yet the most powerful thing she had ever experienced. He made her feel like she could move mountains and that she could say a thousand words to him without even moving her lips. He knew her on a different level, his soul and her soul were connected, and she knew now, truly knew that nothing could break that. Not distance, not time and not evil. Love had been her superpower, and it had won over fear.

El's gaze fell on Max for a moment, checking she was asleep and calm before her own hazel eyes closed in concentration. I want to see Mike, she willed herself. It didn't take long, it never did anymore. Her powers had excelled after the battle like she had unlocked her true potential. She opened her eyes, and she was stood in front of Mike's bed. She looked at the alarm clock on his bedside table, it was 3.53am. She smiled at the irony. El quietly stepped towards Mike, even though she was projecting herself through the void she felt more solid than ever. She watched over Mike for a moment, a smile on her lips, her chest filling with warmth. He was on his side, his hair messier than ever from his rumpled pillow, one long arm flung out to the side and the other was clutching something. El moved closer, unable to stop her curiosity. It was a photograph that stayed gripped in his hand, a photo of her. El couldn't help but grin, noticing it was one of the photos she had sent of herself smiling in front of the plant she had tried growing in the yard of the Californian home she had briefly lived in. It was probably one of the only photos where her smile had been genuine, rather than put on so that Mike didn't worry about her. He knew the truth now of course, that she had never fitted in there.