Tʜᴇ Sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ Sʜᴇ's Kᴇᴘᴛ | Mɪʟᴇᴠᴇɴ (Sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ Tʜɪɴɢs)

◇Chapter 010◇

El brought her knees to her chest and closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. She met Mike's slightly angry eyes and mumbled, "Please don't be mad, Mike."

Mike looked at her and his expression softened. He realized how mad he must've looked in her eyes. He took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay I'll try. Just tell us."

El nodded. "When Papa took me to the lab, he... he..." A shiver ran through her spine. "He did something to me. He put something into my arm." She rolled up her sleeve, revealing the scar. "It was sharp and it really hurt when he put it in my arm."

Will looked up suddenly. "A needle, maybe?"

Mike nodded and inhaled deeply, trying to remain calm. "Then what happened?" He wanted to murder Brenner for hurting her again, even though he was dead.

Tears formed on her eyes as she continued. "He sent me to the Upside Down. That's where I s-saw the monster..." He breath flowed rapidly and her heart pounded in her chest. "The next thing I knew... It just... Filled my mind. And... And I just felt... Cold."

El broke into tears. "It s-spoke in my mind. It kept c-chasing me. It made me do things! I couldn't control it!" El cried and buried her face in her hands.

Mike couldnt help it, but anger flooded his mind. "El why didn't you tell me? I thought we told eachother everything."

"I-I couldnt. I thought it was in my head." El shouted through her tears.  "I thought it wasn't real!"

The party sat there, watching their friends with wide and curious eyes.

"Why would you hide this from me, El? Maybe if you told me, I could have helped you sooner. What ever happened to "Friends dont lie"?" Mike shouted, though he still felt sympathy for his girlfriend.

"P-please forgive me! I'm scared Mike. I thought it was all in my head... I thought it would go away but I think I'm connected to it now... and I don't know how to get away. I need you." El cried.

"Guys calm down!" Max shouted, trying to calm down her friends.

"No she lied to me." Tears formed on his eyes. "She said she was okay for a week straight!" He turned to El. "How could you lie to me?"

"I wanted to keep you safe. I didn't know if it was real, or in my head, Mike!" El yelled. "I tried to tell you, but it wouldn't let me! It hurt me every time I tried! I tried and tried!"

"I'm done with that "it wouldn't let me" bullshit, El." Mike shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "You lied, and that's that."

"Mike!" Will shouted. "She's telling the truth!"

El was quiet and crying on the couch. "Mike please, I-I'm sorry."

"I just can't right now El." He ran upstairs, hurt by the fact that she had lied, but a hint of guilt struck his heart as he sat on the stairs.

El closed her eyes and cried softly, her heart aching. She could still feel it, lingering in her mind, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again. She felt a pair of arms loop around her. El opened her eyes and saw Will hugging her.

"I get it," Will mumbled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I get why you didn't say anything. It's okay."

Will really did understand. He had thought it was in his head, that he was going crazy. He had kept his episodes to himself for as long as he could, not wanting anyone to get hurt because of him. But as soon as it had taken control of his mind, it wouldn't let him think for himself.

"I'm going to go talk to him," Lucas spoke up before walking up the stairs.

"Good luck, don't die," Dustin muttered.

Dustin and Max sat next to El and Will  on the couch. El buried her face in Will's shoulder and slowly stopped crying, sobs continued to rack at her chest. Her heart and head hurt; El had hurt Mike, and she promised she wouldn't lie or hurt him.

A chill ran through her spine and she shivered as she felt it awaken in her mind. Panic filled her body and she tensed up, waiting for the coldness to fade.

Meanwhile, Lucas was upstairs, talking to Mike. "You need to calm down, Mike."

"How can I calm down!" Mike rolled his eyes. "My girlfriend is possessed by a monster and she didn't have the decency to at least tell me about what happened instead of lying."

Lucas sighed. "Dude, you called her for 353 days. I don't get how you guys can ever be mad at her. Don't you love her?"

"Of course I love her!" Mike rubbed his eyes. "She lied to me, and that hurt."

"What she said about it not letting her is true," Will said as he walked up the stairs. "Remember that trick it made me play on you at the lab? I tried telling you guys the truth but it barley let me."

Mike shook his head, guilt and anger flooded his heart. "Still." He wouldn't admit it yet, but he had made a mistake.

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10:27 pm

Mike laid on his bed, thinking about what had happened between his and El earlier that day. She had lied. She had hurt him. She kept a secret. But why did he still feel so guilty?

"God, I messed up," Mike groaned and stared at the ceiling, guilt hitting him repeatedly.

He ran his fingers through his messy hair and decided to call El in the morning and apologize for over reacting. He really wished that El hadn't gone back to Hopper's cabin for the night, but Mike had no choice of where she would sleep that night.

That dream still flashed in his head. He remembered what he had seen in his head the night before El was found. Her eyes and cold glare.  Her bitterness and hatred towards the world.

He vividly remembered how she had thrown him onto the ground with her mind, without giving her actions a second thought. He was scared,  but he loved El. If Mike had to die to save her, he would in a heartbeat.

The familier sound of the phone rang our from downstairs. Mike quickly got up and rushed downstairs to answer the phone before anyone could wake up.

"Hello?" Mike asked and climbed onto the counter with the phone pressed against his ear.

"Kid, it's Hopper," he said, his voice in pure panic.

"Whats wrong?  Why are you calling so late?" Mike asked. He could faintly hear another voice saying, now shouting his name. El.

"Get over here now," Hopper instructed. "I need your help and you're the only one that can calm her down."

Mike didn't bother listening to the rest as he had already pulled on his jacket. "I'm leaving now." He slammed the phone down and ran outside to his bike. "I'm on my way, El."