mileven oneshots [completed]

glimpse

synopsis: this is set during s2 ep3 "the pollywog". el is tired of waiting for hopper to let her meet mike. she decides to go out on her own. 

"god, everything reminds me of you. waffles. nosebleeds. pink dresses."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

el regretted leaving the house. it was cold, and everything was so bright. there were too many colors, and things to think about. she wanted to see mike, but the more el felt like she was getting closer to him, the more danger she felt he was going to be in. el almost turned back. 

almost. 

if it wasn't for his playful voice, el would've left. 

as she was passing by a hallway, she saw him. she caught a glimpse of him in the gym where they had inflated a kiddy pool for her to float in to find will. 

she backed up and looked through the vertical window. 

he was there. 

he was there and he was smiling, being circled by some other girl on a skateboard. 

seeing him in person felt more like a dream because actually seeing him was too good to be true. she smiled upon seeing his stature. he looked so tall now. his freckled showed more prominently than before. 

but that girl. 

that red-headed girl. 

she was so pretty and he looked so impressed. 

maybe he didn't even like her anymore. 

eleven wouldn't be taking that chance. 

she jerked her head to the side, making the pretty ginger fall, her skateboard being dragged away from her. but this only made things worse. 

mike seemed worried and went to her side. 

"jesus, are you alright?" 

el pursed her lips. 

"what happened?" 

then she watched as their hands connected. as he pulled her up, she caught a glimpse of the watch. his classic watch that he gave her to meet him at three one five. the watch that she kept on until she went into the bath. 

"i don't know, it was like a magnet pulling on my board or something. i know that sounds crazy," 

el squeezed her eyes shut. 

she knew that coming here was a mistake. she had to go. she had to leave. she took one last glimpse at mike-

oh no. 

he was staring directly at her. he saw her. 

his eyes widened. 

she reciprocated the action. 

he started running towards the door and she bolted. he screamed, "el!"

mike pressed open the door and saw her turn into another hallway, and he called out, "el!" as he kept running, "el! el! stop!" 

how could she have been so stupid? she should never have come. this was a mistake. and now mike knows she's here. he saw her and was running after her. she couldn't seem to outrun him. 

eleven wouldn't stop running. she kept bolting. she ran into an open, empty classroom and shut the door, which mike immediately opened. 

when did he get so athletic? 

mike closed the door behind him, out of breath, "el! el stop!" he basically screamed. 

she took another glimpse of him, before going into the teacher's closet, and locking herself in there. 

mike started to bang on the door with his fists. 

"el! please el! please el open the door! el!" he yelled. 

el didn't do anything. she just curled into a ball and started crying. 

he stopped banging on the door. 

mike jiggled the doorknob, before giving up, "el? please open the door," he said. el could hear his shaky pleas but decided to stay quiet.

"el, where have you been?" mike said, his shaky voice indicating that he was crying,  "i missed you so much," 

el was crying, too. her tears were silent. she shouldn't have left the cabin. now he was in danger. 

"el, please. come out," 

she didn't. 

instead, she stood up and placed her hand on the door, and said, questioningly,  "mike?" 

"oh my god, el. el please open the door," mike said, desperately, shaking the locked handle yet again. 

"mike, stop," el said firmly. 

"stop what?" he asked, removing his hands from the knob. 

"stop caring about me," el said. 

"el, i can never do that. i thought about you every day. i called out to you every night. god, everything reminds me of you. waffles. nosebleeds. pink dresses. d&d. walkie-talkies. the lazy boy in our tv room. bikes. school. girls in general. i can't stop thinking about you," he said, "i can't....i can't believe you're here. just .....open up please. i want to see you again," 

el let out a sob. 

she can't let him see her. hopper would kill her. plus, if he knew, then he would be in danger. but there was no way out of this one. she unlocked it, and sank back down into her ball, and buried her face in her knees. 

mike felt his breaths shake as he pulled down on the doorknob to reveal her. 

his el. 

his angel. her hair was mussed, brown and curly. she was wearing a grey shirt with red stripes and an oversized green jacket and jeans. she was on the floor, and mike kneeled on both knees down in front of her, not wanting to feel superior to her. then he crawled towards her. 

her face was buried in her knees, so mike took her cold hands in his warm ones, heating them up. she looked up and mike saw her tear-stained face, and mike himself let out a tear. 

mike smiled reached up towards her cheek, and let his fingers slide down her cheek. 

then el leaned towards him and planted a kiss on his lips. mike jumped a little because he was surprised and el thought it was cute. she smiled. the kiss was longer because now el wasn't surprised. after watching so many on the tv, she was an expert. now she knew what it meant to receive one after watching so many movies in the cabin. 

she was finally happy. 

then eleven woke up. 

she woke up in her bed in the cabin to hopper's footsteps nearing her locked door. 

"hey kid," hopper said. 

then el remembered. reality slapped her in the face. that that's not what happened. what happened is that she went to the school, saw mike, but mike never saw her. she got out of bed and stood in front of the door, recalling what happened last night. hopper yelling at her. 

he kept talking, "listen, um.... about last night, i, um...." 

eleven was restraining tears. why did her dreams have to resemble reality so well? why did it instill her with a breath of false happiness? can't she just be happy for real, for once?

"i want this place cleaned up by the time i get back, and then maybe i'll consider fixing the tv. you hear me?" 

it was another dream

she knew it was too good to be true.