The next day, when they should've been in school, Mike looked for Eleven on his bike. He rode around Hawkins, with Dustin on his tail, because Lucas didn't want to look for her because Eleven hurt his girlfriend and he couldn't forgive him, as they looked desperately for the shaved-headed girl. They looked high and low, even looking behind people's houses! But still, she was nowhere to be found.
Eleven had woken up and heard the familiar voice of the freckled, black haired boy shouting, "El! El, where are you?" She didn't want to give in, so she ran off, like a bird fleeing when they heard a loud noise. Eleven was gone by the time the boys got to where Eleven was sitting. She had grabbed all her things before fleeing, but she dropped her bracelet on accident, which the boys found. "She's been here!" Dustin said. "Dustin, be quiet! Maybe she heard us and fled!" Mike theorised. Following in his tracks, the boys rode down towards the river on the other side of the forest.
Eleven was running and didn't even see where she was running until she fell. She looked up to see the ginger haired girl, Max. "El! Are you okay?" She worried. This made Eleven remember what Mike did yesterday and she realised something: he did it out of pity for her. But she looked at Max and smiled, before telling her "Yes, Max, I'm fine!" Before Max helped her up and they started to walk off towards Max's house. Max told her the boys had already checked here, so they wouldn't come back so they were saved from having to see them. Eleven found comfort in Max, because she was like her sister and they had a connection no one else understood. Eleven felt safe here; like she could tell Max her secrets and she felt like Max was her best friend. The boys were dead to her, now that she's seen the other side of them.
The boys rode down towards the river only to find no one was there, but there were footprints, like someone came this way and then walked the other way. They believed someone had already found Eleven, or Eleven had ran off again; even if Mike couldn't bear Eleven wanting to stay away from him. The footprints ended once they got back to Elm Street, so they assumed someone over here found her. So they went to Max's house, having the suspicion she was there. They snuck up to the doorstep, before Mike looked for the key, which he knew Max's mother put inside the plant next to the doormat. Mike felt through the soil, the bulbs that haven't grown and the other stuff before pulling out a sparkly silver key. Unlocking the door, the duo stepped inside.
Click! Max knew the boys had come in, so she told Eleven to jump outside and use her powers to levitate herself outside so the boys wouldn't find her and take her. Eleven said a final goodbye to the tomboy, before disappearing out the window. She looked out to see Eleven land softly on the grass and start running towards the trees. The boys were on the stairs, so Max sat down and pretended like she was reading a comic the whole time, so the boys only saw Max, cross-legged on her bed, with a comic covering her face, before she pulled it down. "What are you two doing here?" Max spat, with a sharpness in her voice, like they were her archenemies. "Where is she? We know she's here!" Mike shouted. He couldn't bear being apart from her any more, yet he was and there was nothing he could do about it.
By this time, Eleven was already at the hiding spot her and Max agreed for her to stay at until Max came back to her. She used this time to think of what it would be like if she was with Mike.
They'd be together at the beach, eating ice cream and splashing about in the water, before they'd playfully splash each other and then kiss. They'd go out for dinner at a very beautiful restaurant together, having very expensive food and Mike being the gentleman and paying, before kissing and parting their ways. They'd watch scary movies and Eleven would snuggle into Mike, covering her face whenever something scary appeared, while she cherished the feeling of Mike having his arms around her and the feeling of his lips on hers, taking in the scent and taste of him. They'd go to the carnival together; go on all the rides, eat as much food as they want, lie on the warm summer grass, looking at the stars, like they were Christmas lights, threaded across the night sky of dark satin, with the moon's light, giving Eleven this heavenly glow, which Mike had too, as their eyes shut, falling asleep under the light of the stars, to the beat of their hearts. Mike knocked on her door, when she opened, seeing him holding pizza and his Dungeons and Dragons game, as they played and ate pizza all through the night, until they fell asleep with their heads on the board.
"Check then." Max told them. So Mike and Dustin checked the house. Mike didn't find her up on the second floor like he thought he would; just like Dustin didn't find her on the first floor. They came back into her room, only for her to shrug and say "I told you she wasn't here!" And, feeling sad, Mike and Dustin trailed out the house, put the key back and decided to go home for a bit; they'd done enough for the day, they decided, so they hopped back on their bikes and went riding home, but before that, they stopped at Lucas's to see if he'd seen her pass or something.
Eleven finished thinking about her and Mike, only to realise it doesn't matter what they do together, it's that they're together, and that's the important thing. Eleven decided she'd surrender to the boys and let them find her, but the one thing she couldn't do was tell Mike she loved him. She was scared he'd reject her, or make fun of her or use her or something horrible like that. She shuddered at the thought and set off to find them, before they give up on her.
Knock, knock! Lucas opened the door to see Dustin and Mike. "Have you seen El wandering around here, Lucas?" Dustin asked. Lucas rolled his eyes. "No, I haven't seen her." And slammed the door in their faces. Officially giving up, they were about to ride to Mike's house, they eventually saw Eleven stood there, like she wanted them to come over. Mike ran and hugged her. She was confused for a second or two, before returning the gesture to him. They had officially found the person they thought they had lost forever, and she was stood right there. Dustin came and hugged her too, but it wasn't as passionate as Mike and Eleven's, considering Mike and Eleven liked each other.
