Iɴ Tʜᴇ Eɴᴅ Iᴛs Hɪᴍ & I | Mɪʟᴇᴠᴇɴ Oɴᴇsʜᴏᴛs (Sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ Tʜɪɴɢs)

The 354th Day

Takes place the day after the gate has been closed

El had ended up going back to the cabin that night, despite Mike's pleas to see her again that night. Hopper had insisted that she needed rest and the discussion was finished. El constantly asked for Mike that night, but Hopper refused, saying that she needed sleep.

That had been the first night Mike hadn't called her. He slept easily, knowing she was safe and at home. He knew she was safe, but the thought of not being with her now stabbed at his heart slightly for a reason that he couldn't pinpoint.

And that's how Mike ended up at the cabin door on Sunday morning with a determined look and a box of eggos.

He knocked on the door and shouted, "It's Mike!" before Hopper had a chance to grab his handgun. Hopper reluctantly opened the cabin door and stared at the boy in front of him.

"What do you want, Wheeler?"

"I want to see her." Mike said, managing to push aside the anger he had felt the night before when he had discovered that Hopper had been hiding El.

"No."

"Please? I just want to see her." The anger from the night before threatened to spill out. Mike took a deep breath and continued, "I thought she was dead for 353 days. Come on, please?"

"She's asleep still." Hopper insisted, leaning against the door frame with a cigarette in hand.

"Friends dont lie," El spoke up from behind him, a blanket wrapped around her body.

Her tired and  dull eyes instantly lit up as she saw Mike standing in the doorway. El's heart filled with a strange warmth and all she wanted was a hug from Mike.

Hopper sighed and looked back at the young girl, "Enough with the "friends don't lie" shit, kid. It's really annoying."

El scrunched up her nose as she noticed the cigarette and pulled it out of Hopper's hand with her powers, throwing it over Mike's head onto the gravel path.

"Hey!" Hopper complained, looking back at El.

"It smells bad." El said simply, her eyes flickering back to Mike who couldn't stop smiling at the girl who was only a few feet away.

Hopper rolled his eyes before walking back into the cabin. Mike hesitantly walked inside, quickly gazing around at the cabin before letting his eyes return to the sight before him.

Mike took a good look at her,taking in all the details of her as if this were the last time he would see her. She wore a pair of leggings and a flannel shirt and her hair fell around her face in tight curls that Mike couldn't help but stare at, still remembering the days when El's hair had been extremely short.

But he also noticed how tired she looked and how dull and tired her bloodshot eyes were. He noticed how pale her skin was and how she slightly swayed on her feet as if she would fall to the floor at any moment.

Hopper returned a moment later dressed in his work uniform.  "Out, Wheeler. You've seen her, now leave."

"No." El spoke up, "Let him stay. Mike can take care of me. P-please?"

Hopper stopped and thought about that for a moment before turning to Mike, "You do anything to her and I will shoot your head off."

Mike nodded quickly as Hopper walked out the door and shut it behind him.  Both kids waited until they heard the sound of the truck driving away.

"Mike."

"El."

They instantly surged forward and hugged. El rested her head on his shoulder as Mike rubbed her back gently, trying to fight back tears. They stood there silently for a moment, trying to believe that this moment was real, and not just another figment of their imaginations.