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

◇Chapter 011◇

Mike dropped his bike onto the gravel path and ran up to the cabin. He could faintly hear El's screams and Hopper's voice trying to calm her down. Mike banged his fist against the wooden door, completely out of breath.

Hopper quickly opened then door, allowing Mike to slip inside before closing it behind him. "Where is she?" Mike asked, trying to catch his breath.

"In her room." Hopper lit a cigarette. "I don't know what happened, but she suddenly started screaming in her sleep; she kept calling for you."

El let out another scream as Mike nodded. He dropped his jacket onto the floor and ran into her room. She was thrashing in her bed, her voice was raw and screaming his name.

Mike instantly knelt next to her. "El I'm right here! Wake up!" He shook her slightly. "Eleven! It's Mike! Wake up!" All the anger that he had felt hours before was gone; El was his number one priority and his anger from their argument wasn't going to let her suffer.

El's eyes opened and she gasped. Her body shook slightly, fear completely consuming her. Mike was taken back; he had never seen her in this sort of state before. Tears spilled from her eyes as she began to sob, pure fear ran through her.

Mike climbed onto the bed and hugged her tightly as she tried to calm down her racing mind and heart, and her shaking body. He pulled her into his chest and rocked her slightly, trying to calm her down. She looked broken, like a beautiful glass vase that had shattered into barley fixable pieces.

"M-Mike."

"I'm right here El, its okay," he whispered gently into her ear as her sobs slowly weakened into pure crying. "It was just a dream. I'm right here, love. You called for me and I came to you. Like always."

El looked up at him and mumbled shakily, "I-I'm s-sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Mike asked, and brushed her curls away from her tear stained cheeks. "You needed me, and I'm here. You did nothing wrong."

"I-I'm sorry for l-lying," El stuttered and started to cry again. Mike felt horrible, she didn't deserve this.

"Hey hey." Mike kissed her forehead and hugged her again. "We aren't going to talk about this right now. The only thing that matters is that you're okay." He laid down next to her and wrapped a blanket around them tightly. "And by the way, I'm sorry too. For everything."

El tried to smile from buried her face in his neck again, trying to calm down her heart and her shaking body. "P-please don't leave me. I need you."

"I'm never going to leave you El." Mike rubbed her back soothingly. "I promise you. And El, you know I never break my promises, especially my promises to you. I'm going to find a way to make everything better. I'll find a way to get all this... weird Upside Down stuff out of your head."

"Thank y-you," El mumbled as she cuddled into his chest, her body shook ever so slightly. She wouldn't admit it, but she was scared, scared to death of what she would face next.

"You don't need to say that to me El, you know I'd do anything for you."

"D-dont leave me, please M-Mike. Stay."

Mike pressed a kiss against her lips. "I'm not going anywhere." He began playing with her hair in an attempt to make her feel tired again.

"I-I was there again," El said softly, explaining her dream. Tears formed in her eyes again. "It was really mad and it hurt me and... and..." El burst into tears again and Mike's warm arms pulled her closer, and rubbed her back gently.

"Shh, it's okay. You dont have to tell me yet. Not right now." He ran his fingers through her hair and she rested her head on his chest, listening to his soft heartbeat. The dull noise made her tired, but she urged herself to stay awake to avoid nightmares.

"Go to sleep El, I'm not going anywhere," Mike whispered and held her close.

"C-can you tell me a story?" El asked innocently as she buried her face in Mike's chest.

Mike nodded and began to think. "Okay, how about I tell you the story of how we met?" El nodded and yawned. "Okay, so it was November 7, and it had been one day since Will had gone missing. Me, Lucas and Dustin were walking through the woods when it began to rain. We kept walking, until you appeared. From the minute I saw you, I knew there was something special about you, El. Then we took you to my house..." Mike continued his story, all the way up until now. He explained every little detail of their story, piece by piece until El was asleep.

Mike smiled softly and played with her hair as he slowly began to fall asleep. Hopper opened the door. "Is she okay?" Mike nodded in reply. "Kid, stay here tonight and I'll call your mom in the morning and tell her I called you here. And tomorrow El's staying at your house, I need to figure out what's happening."

Mike nodded again as Hopper shut the door. El moved closer to her boyfriend, her eyes open. She couldn't sleep, even with Mike by her side, she was too scared to sleep. Every time she shut her eyes, she saw it, looking over her. Flashbacks of her nightmare flashed through her head as she laid there in Mike's arms, staring at the ceiling.

She could hear it in her head. Its voice. Its motions. Its commands. She could hear its thoughts and plans. She was scared. El pulled Mike's arms off of her slightly, the warmth becoming nearly unbearable against her cool skin.

El was the puppet, the monster was pulling the strings. It had control over her and she was barely able to withstand its words. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream until the pain and coldness were gone.

"El?" Mike mumbled as he wrapped his arms around her again. She could feel it shifting inside of her head, uncomfortable from the heat. "You okay? I thought you fell asleep."

El shook her head. "I'm too scared! I can feel it! Every time I close my eyes I see it! I'm so scared-"

Mike pressed a soft kiss against her lips. El's words caught in her throat as he kissed her. She felt a sharp pain in her forehead, as if it was angered by the warmth. Mike pulled back slightly and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I know you're scared El. I'm... I'm scared too. I don't want anything to happen to you and I'm going to make sure nothing does. Lets try to get some sleep and we'll figure out something in the morning." Mike kissed her forhead.

El nodded. "Mike, can you open the window, please?" Coldness tinged her voice.

Mike raised his eyebrows but nodded and proceeded to get up and open the window. A cool breeze filled the room, making her sight contentedly as the pain faded. Mike laid next to her and rubbed her back gently.

El closed her eyes and laid her head on Mike's chest. It had a plan. To open the gate again. Allow it to enter her world. She could feel it thinking. She knew it's plan. It wanted to turn her world it's his. It wanted to spread and kill.

Spread and kill.