Look After You ➳ Mileven

It Never Goes Away

Original title was going to be "The cliche nightmare Mileven one we all know and love" but I decided that was a liiiiiittle too wordy😂😉 Age in this: 19 enjoy my little Mileven shippers.

It had been years since The Gate was closed, since Hawkins was in danger, since her family and friends were in danger. But the nightmares? They never seemed to go away.  Etched into her memory like the number 011 on her arm. Swirling in her mind and taking over her thoughts.

The Upside Down looked the same it did in every dream; in the past reality. Was it really a dream? Or did it come back? El couldn't tell the difference between her nightmares and the real world in that dream state. She could feel the ground beneath her. She could feel the air whip around her skin- sending a chill to her bones.

Eleven looked around in fear at the sky that turned colors from harsh reds to deep purples.  She could tell she was not the age she was when she went to sleep. She was younger.  Was the new life all a dream instead?  The wind blew harder, tugging wildly at her (or originally Nancy's) pink dress.

Vines grew across the ground and all over the houses on the street. Their thorns pricked her bare feet and she cried out in pain. She rubbed her eyes- begging herself to wake up. She wasn't waking up. Why wasn't she waking up?

"Found you."

El stopped- a chill running down her spine and her mouth becoming dry. She turned around to find the man who had ruined her life standing there. His hair white as his lab coat. His name tag shining from a street light's glare.  Brenner.

"You may run but you can't hide subject Eleven."

"Jane." El said through gritted teeth.

"Hmm?"

"Jane. The name you stole from me. The life you stole from me!" She shouted above the wind that grew harsher.

"I did what was good for you. For this town."

"No you didn't!" She yelled once more, "You did nothing good! I was alone and I was scared until Mike found me and gave me a life better than you ever could. He gave me a name better than Jane. He gave me a life better than anyone else could. He saved me from myself- from you." El spat the last word as if it physically hurt; which it did.

"Ah, that Wheeler boy? The one you thought loved you?" Brenner scoffed, "You left him for 353 days Eleven. He never forgave you for it. He 'loved' you out of pity. You were nothing but a tool for him and his friends."

"No I wasn't." El said quietly, "I wasn't!"

"I talked with him you know. It's true."

Brenner pulled out a voice recorder- the same one he used with Eleven in the lab.

"Did you feel any affection towards subject Eleven?"

"What? No! She's just a total freak! She was what we all needed in order to find Will. That's why I took her in. I didn't 'care' about her. She left for those 353 days and everything was peaceful. We didn't need her anymore.  Everything was always her fault."

The recording turned off and El finally noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. She harshly wiped them away.

"You can come back to the lab now Eleven.  We can finish what we started." He said as he walked towards her.

"No!" El shouted, now taking steps backwards.

The thorns jabbed in her feet once more. She could feel the hot and sticky blood running off.