𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞~𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

Chapter 29: Anything For You

El's POV

I continued to twirl, my shoulder length hair dripping down my face.

I laughed, breathing in the scent of the wet leaves surrounding me.

Mike's POV

I watched her, her dress completely wet. Her laughter was melodious, making me smile.

I took my flannel off, so it wouldn't get wet. My white T-shirt was tight against my body.

I walked out into the rain, the warm water hitting me in pleasant splashes.

El was facing the yard, her face hidden from view.

I moved slowly to her and I slid my hand into hers.

El jumped and looked over at me, "Mike," she looked confused then a smile appeared on her face. She practically jumped into my arms, laughing joyfully.

"Mike! What're you doing here?"

"I came to see you. I heard that Hop wasn't home."

She smiled at me slyly, "Not until 10."

I looked up into the sky, letting the rain fall onto my freckled face.

"Will you dance with me?" I said, holding my hand out to her.

She looked at it blankly. Then she looked up at me with a happy expression.

Our hands touched, bringing back a flood of memories.

My mom's voice rang through the house. I panicked, knowing my mom would kill me if she knew I had a girl in the house.

"Ted is that you?" My mom hollered into the house.

"It's just me mom!" I yelled, grabbing Eleven's soft hand as we ran up the stairs...

                                        ***

The bad men were here. They had gotten into the school.

I grabbed El's hand, fear rising in my throat. We ran through the hallways to our inevitable capture. Her hand was the only thing keeping my fear in check...

                                       ***

Dustin set her on the table. I grabbed her hands tenderly. It hurt to look at her. It hurt to promise her things that I wasn't sure I could give.

Her hands were warm and sweaty but I didn't want anything else in the world then her small hands intertwined with mine...

                                       ***

We stood next to each other at the table, planning to close the gate. I looked down, seeing El's hand resting at her side.

I inched my hand close to hers. I saw her breathe in. Our hands met and a smile melted onto both of our faces.

No one at the table realized our pained expressions was to hold back our smiles.

I looked down one more time to see our hands...

                                     ***

Our eyes met from across the room. My breath caught in my throat. She was here.

I stood, my mouth open in a stupid expression. She walked towards me slowly.

I met her in the middle.

Her hair was all done up and she had some makeup on.

"You...you look beautiful," I practically choked out.

She looked down, trying to hide her grin.

"Do you wanna dance?" I asked her with a slight smile.

Her face fell, "I...don't know how," she looked embarrassed. I was relieved.

"I don't either. Do you wanna figure it out?" Her face brightened and my heart dropped when she nodded.

I put my hand out. She glanced at it with a slight blush and our hands met...

The memories hit me hard.

I kept my hand tightly clutched to hers, leading her away from the large puddle we were close to.

I paused, just looking at her.

"What?" She smiled at me.

"You are so beautiful."

She blushed and grabbed my hands. She set them on her waist and then wrapped her arms around my neck.

We swayed back and forth in the pouring rain, drinking in each other's image.

I was a tall, skinny, freckled faced boy with curly hair when it got wet.

She was a beautiful, strong, and intelligent girl who had my heart.

I twirled her and she laughed, making me beam. I was with her and no one could tell us to stop dancing. Not Hopper, not my mom, not the boys, not Nancy. We were alone. And I was in love.

She put her hand in my hair, "Your hair is curly. I didn't know that."

I laughed, "It's curly when it's wet. I usually brush it out."

"When I brush my hair, it just goes 'POOF'," she said, smiling at me.

I spun her again. El's foot slipped, making her fall into the mud.

She winced, "Mike."

I bent down, "Are you okay!?"

She touched her ankle, "It hurts."

"Do you wanna try standing? I'll help you."

She nodded. I held her hands as she tried to stand. Her ankle gave out and she fell into my arms, leaning against my chest.

"Mike," she said, the pain showing on her face.

I looked at her, putting my hands on her cheeks, "It's gonna be okay. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pick you up and carry you to the cabin, okay?"

She nodded. I leaned down and scooped her small body up. She put her arms around my neck gently.

I walked fast into the cabin, moving through the house to the bathroom.

I set her down, putting her feet into the bathtub.

"Mike?" She looked at me, confused.

"I need to wash you ankle off before I can wrap it."

I cleaned her feet off and I found gauze and wrapped her ankle tightly.

I looked at her, shivering.

"El. Do you want to change? I can take you to your room."

"Okay."

I picked her up again, walking to her small but familiar room. I set her on her made bed.

"I'm going to go and wait for you, okay?"

"Mike. You're wet too. I still have your sweatpants and sweatshirt from before. They might still fit you."

I smiled, "You still have them?"

Her cheeks turned a shade of red, "Yea."

"It's okay. I actually brought a change of clothes in case I had to wait outside again."

She grinned. I turned to give her privacy but she grabbed my hand, "Mike. Thank you."

"Anything for you," I closed the door.