The Side Ways [mileven]

chapter 1 - the nightmares

"El?! El?!" I screamed, my voice shaky and barely audible. Well, in my own head anyways. As if I wasn't screaming loud enough. "Eleven?!..." I heard Dustin's voice, but it was quiet to me, as if it were fading. My eyes darted around the room in every direction possible. It felt like I was looking everywhere at once, but no matter how much I looked, I knew the fact at hand, I just didn't want to believe it. "Gone." I breathed out.

A rush of anger, sadness, and confusion spread all over my body. I didn't know what to do or say. I looked back at Lucas and Dustin, the both of them staring at me with glossy eyes. And that's when I heard the sirens...

I woke up with sweat dripping down my forehead and the sides of my face. My cheeks were wet and felt irritated, as if someone had been scratching them for a long period of time.

A reoccurring nightmare I have. That night. The night that we knew that we had got Will back, or as what it's widely known as, 'the boy who came back to life,' Even though all of us know he was never dead. It's a lot to think about now that it's over, and I don't know how Lucas, Dustin, and I were able to pull all of it off.

All of these thoughts continued to follow me into the bathroom where I eventually washed my face and brushed my teeth. Then running a comb through my hair a couple of times or so. Before I went back into my bedroom to find clothes, I looked into my mirror and noticed that my eyes were still red and tired. I sighed as I opened the door and walked out, running straight into my older sister. "Sorry, Nance.." I mumbled and continued to walk back to my room.

"Wait! Mike, stop." She called after me. I groaned as I turned around to face the newest interrogation. "What?" I asked her, which ended up coming out extremely rude. She sighed as she looked at me with worried eyes. "Are you okay, buddy?" That's all she said. No follow up statement to let me know why she was concerned. Just letting me know she was. Ever since we got Will back, I've been having these same reoccurring nightmares. Not every night, but maybe four out of seven times a week. Sometimes Nancy would catch me looking as tired as I always ended up looking, and before when she's asked about it, she seemed more annoyed if anything. This time, she asked out of worry. Concern.

I shook my head slowly, before running back into my room, locking the door, and picking out an outfit for the day. I have to look halfway decent (or at least like I slept well) for the big biology test today.

After I got dressed, I walked down the stairs, trying to avoid Nancy again at all costs. I speed walked by the kitchen counter and grabbed a slice of toast off of a plate and took a bite. With my toast still in my hand, I threw my backpack over my shoulder and was about to exit the door when.. "Mike! Not going to say goodbye?" "Bye, mom!" I replied to my mother, giving her a smile and walking out the door, slamming it behind me.

I grabbed my bike that was laying against the garage wall and walked it out to the road before hopping on. I looked behind me as I remembered when Eleven was still here and she used to hold onto me as she rode with me on my bike. I still miss Eleven so much, even these two months after she disappeared. I sighed as I began to pedal down the street to get to school. I continued to think about her as well as my biology test the whole way to school. I think about Eleven so much, it's become part of my morning routine. I almost ran into a tree once or twice from not paying attention to where I was going. The craziest thing about Eleven is that I don't even understand why I like her so much. There's just something about her. She's not like girls in our school. She's different, but y'know...the good kind of different.

I shrugged at my thoughts while I put my bike in the bike rack. I looked around for Dustin, Lucas, or Will, who I didn't happen to see here yet. I looked over at the parking lot and smiled as I saw Lucas riding to me. I waved and motioned him to hurry. We cannot, and I mean cannot miss this big test. "Hey," Lucas said as he caught up with me. "Sorry I got here later than usual. My parents acted crazy because I accidentally wore different colored socks this morning. Big deal," he explained as he rolled his eyes. I chuckled and looked at the ground while walking on. "It's fine, but did you happen to see Dustin or Will on your way here?" "No, can't say I did," he answered. I sighed and walked faster. "If they're late, it's their fault, but I would be so dead if I failed this test. Especially since it's Mr. Clark's class." I said with a groan. "Agreed," said Lucas as we walked inside of our school, Hawkins Middle. We put our backpacks away in our lockers and started to make our way to Mr. Clarke's class. Lucas and I were about twenty feet away from the door when we hear panting and footsteps behind us. As we turn around, we see Dustin running towards us at full speed, almost running into me and knocking me over. I just laughed it off. "Glad you aren't late," Lucas said, smiling at Dustin as well. He laughed, nodding his head. "Same here." We walked into class together and we saw Will in his usual seat. He must have got to the school way before we did, but it was weird that I never saw his bike in the racks. "Byers! We thought you were going to be late," Lucas said. Will shook his head. "Nah, you know me better than that." We all chuckled. We knew that was a fact. Dustin, Lucas, and I took our spots next to each other and waited for the class to begin.