≫ stranger things oneshots

bubble gum ≫ mileven

bubble gum

o o o

"Should we go to the arcade or something? Over," Mike asked through his walkie talkie. It was Saturday morning, and he'd just eaten breakfast alone again. Nancy had stayed the night at Jonathan's (eww), and his parents were still sleeping. At least, that's what he hoped.

"Can't, I'm out of quarters. Over," Lucas' voice crackled through the speaker. Mike rolled his eyes, knowing that the only reason his money was gone was because he'd been going with Max every day after school. That most likely meant she was out, too.

"I have money, but not enough to play more than one game," Dustin admitted. "I don't know about you guys, but my mom keeps giving me less and less allowance each week. I swear, she must be hoarding her change somewhere. Over."

"Same here, my mom never gives me money anymore," Lucas agreed. "Over."

"Yeah, maybe because you spend it all on your girlfriend," Mike mumbled, standing up with his walkie talkie and beginning to pace the floor.

"Did you say something, Mike?" Lucas asked.

Mike stopped and shook his head. He needed to do something or he'd go crazy with boredom. "No, I was just talking to Nancy," he lied.

"Nancy's at my house..." Will said slowly, his voice finally contributing to the conversation.

"I meant my mom," Mike sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, I really need to get a hold of El. I guess none of you can make it to the arcade then? Over."

Lucas, Will, and Dustin all agreed that they wouldn't be able to, and just like that the chat ended. Mike threw the device onto a couch and ran upstairs quickly, grabbing his jacket on the way. If none of his friends could go to the arcade, that gave him an excuse to hang out with El.

Just El.

o o o

"So where are we going?" Eleven asked, climbing onto the back of Mike's bike. She'd gone back to keeping her hair natural and curly, but she'd gotten new clothes. No more overalls or dirty pink dresses.

"I'm taking you somewhere sweet," Mike grinned, turning the bike and pedaling towards town and away from Hopper's cabin. He knew that El was going to love his idea, and it was even better than the arcade. Well, almost better.

"Sweet..." El mumbled, her breath tickling Mike's ear slightly. She was really close, and it made him swallow nervously. "Like candy, right? Candy is sweet," she said excitedly. "Are we going to the candy shop?"

Mike's eyes widened. He hadn't expected her to understand his hint, let alone connect it to the candy store in town. "Um, yeah," he said, turning slightly to give her a confused smile. "How'd you know?" He turned again to look at the road ahead of him.

"I've learned things," El shrugged. She watched the trees pass by and nodded. Trees. She knew they were bare because the leaves had died, and they'd changed color and fallen to the ground. It was winter, and that brought death. "I watch TV," she said.

Mike furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh. Right." That was all he could say. He kept forgetting that Eleven hadn't actually been in the Upside Down for a year, but in a cabin with Hopper. It was weird to think that she'd been so close for so long, and neither of them had even known. Well, he hadn't known. Maybe El had...