mileven one-shots

the archer

    "𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲?"

   "What are you reading?" Mike asked, looking at his girlfriend's warm, brown eyes gazing down at the book she had pulled out from one of his basement shelves.

   "A fair-tail." El said, trying to sound out the new word on the cover. "That's called a fairytale. It's full of magical stories with princesses, dragons, evil queens, unicorns, swords, beanstalks, treasures, and more!" Mike explained, smiling.

  "I haven't read one of those in ages, but we still have them for Holly." Mike stated. He knew she would be fascinated by the tales due to her missing her childhood; sadly, but deeply true.

  "Are you calling me a little child?" El snapped back, trying to search for Mike's dark side.

"No, I would never!" Mike shouted, frowning.

El gave him a stare that read; you better not be lying because friends don't lie.

"All the kings horses, all the kings men, couldn't quite put Humpty together again." She read, pointing at the little picture of the broken Dumpty.

  Mike smiled at his wonderful girlfriend and adored her facsination for the Humpty Dumpty character.

  Soon, their time to hang out had been up and Mike had to escort El home on his bike. He had gotten a bigger bike so they could fit together on it.

  "Bye El, I love you." Mike said, helping her off the electric blue bike.

   "Love you too."

  And with that, she disappeared into her little, isolated cabin.

  She noticed Hopper wasn't there so she decided to sit on the couch and read a vintage comic from the 1940's. It was named: "Archie".

  It was full of drama, sex- wait, what was that word? El had never heard it...

After a few minutes into reading it, El got bored so she got up and decided to search for some activities to entertain herself with. Living in an isolated cabin your whole life was no fun, she couldn't exit or go anywhere to keep her "safe". El had found a book that was empty and had pages with printed blue lines drawn horizontally across the page. She put her thinking cap on and decided to write her feelings.

  Combat, I'm ready for combat. I don't want that, but I know someday it will have to come. Cruelty is something I have faced in the past, it subconcially wins in my mind... I've got a hundred forms of endearment I almost said to Mike. The bad guys come and go easily.
I fleed the facility, I came out alone. I never grew up (considering I never actually had a childhood) and I'm getting older. I want to hold onto Mike.
I've been the archer, I've been the pray. Who could ever leave me, darling?
But who could stay? I almost tried to kill a man, hurt one of my best friends. But the bad men, they tried to kill me first. Leaving me the archer and the prey...
Dark sides, I know that everyone has one and I've been searching for Mike's.
He appears to not have one, but what if I'm right? I hate my reflection more than anything, I don't know what he sees in me that's so special. I'm ugly as shit and I have no talents or anything special or facsinating about me.
I wake in the night, pace like a ghost. Have some bad dreams, and all of my heroes die all alone. I want to hold on to Mike. Cause everyone sees right through me, they see right through me.
When I read, "All the kings horses, all the kings men, couldn't quite put Humpty together again." I truly felt something, some sort of feeling that I would know if my life hadn't been teared away from me. Who could stay? Mike can stay...

   Tears painfully dripped down El's eye as she wrote the words on the yellow paper. The wet drops from her eyes formed grey, damp splotches all over the paper. She hoped someday she could get well soon...

  

                  *.+ one week later +.*

    Mike and El were seeing each other yet again (they saw each other yesterday) today. But this time, at El's house.

   Mike performed the secret knock El had taught him so she knew it wasn't one of the bad men trying to capture her again.

  "Mike!" El embraced him in a nice, large, hug. "Come in." She welcomed him into her cozy little cabin.

  Mike followed her to her room. "So, El, what do you want to do today?" He asked, smirking. "Oh I don't know, maybe play in the snow?" She asked, remembering it was chilly out and the ground was covered with frosty, cold, snow. "Sure, but we can't be out there too long or else we'll get frostbite!" Mike exclaimed, laughing.

  "Frost-bite?" El inquired, sounding out this foreign word. Mike nodded, "When you're out in the cold too long, your fingers become numb and purple and then they fall off." She jumped into Mike's arms and shivered at the nasty thought. "Let's not do snow today." El sweatdropped. "I have to use the restroom, I'll be right back." She smiled, exiting the room to go and do her business.

  Mike decided to have a look around. He saw the polaroid his mom took of him in his ghostbusters costume on her nightstand in a green wooden frame. He also saw the poster he gave her from his basement. His eyes landed upon a bright, purple notebook laying on her dresser. Mike stood up and creeped over to the nightstand to take a quick peek at her notebook. He wanted to know what was in there...

To his suprise, it was totally the opposite of what he expected. He saw a huge paragraph written on one of the pages. Mike saw his name written on it so he decided to read the long essay.

  "Mike?"

Mike jumped and dropped the notebook as he was shocked to see El standing in the doorway.

  "Why were you reading my notebook?" She asked, suspiciously.

  "Do you really feel this way?" Mike asked, countering her question with an inquiry of his own. She nodded, "And why do you care?"

  "Because, El. I want to be honest with each other. I want to know how you feel, I want to understand you. I love you and I want to know the real you. I want us to just be us around each other with no secrets. We need to have faith and trust in each other. I'm around you cuz' I love you." Mike ranted. He paused for a second, and then kissed her right on the lips. "I'm with you because you're the most amazing girl I've ever met. You make me smile, laugh, and have fun like nobody else does. You understand that... right?" 

  El nodded, and then began to cry.

  "I love you too..."

       word count: 1157 <3