Season Three Inspired Oneshots~

~27~

I've switched their location! They're in Chicago now 'cause I think that makes more sense. I hope you enjoy!

"Mike! Hurry up!" Nancy yelled up the stairs.

She already had her shoes on, the only thing stopping her from going was her brother.

"Give me a second!" he replied back.

He scrambled to grab what he needed, stuffing whatever he'd need in his bag. Comic books, snacks, photos, everything he thought he'd need.

He threw on a sweater to combat the January cold, and rushed downstairs to meet Nancy, who had a stern look on her face.

"Now, you have fun. I'll see you Sunday." Karen hugged them both.

Yeah, Sunday. They were spending the weekend at the Byers home in South Chicago. It was Friday night, and they'd probably get into Chicago at 9 or 10.

A layer of snow had blanketed Hawkins over Christmas, and Mike hadn't seen El since then. But he and Nancy always took trips to Chicago at least once a month, or they were hoping to.

That was the first time they went on a road trip just them, and based on the past it'd be a long drive.

Light pop played on the radio, a tune they both recognised as what stations always played, but they never listened carefully to.

"Okay, so on the way we'll stop for dinner, on the way if you get hungry I packed snacks. But if you eat them all, I'll kill you." she spoke seriously, but the smirk on her face gave away the fact she was joking.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to touch them. They might be diseased!" he chided back to her. She scoffed, but laughed along with him.

It was nice, they were able to spend time together without ripping each other's heads off. They tried (for the most part) to remain honest with each other, succeeding most of the time.

Nancy began to take him seriously after she'd found out he actually loved El. Because she thought he was just a kid before, who didn't know anything.

Mike took her seriously when Steve changed the way he was, but grew to get along with her better after she got with Jonathan.

Their relationship (as siblings, obviously) was always normal. As normal as sibling got, arguments and stupid remarks.

Mike quickly took it upon himself to change the station, going from station to station to find a remotely decent song.

"Mike, would you quit changing the station!" she smacked his hand away, leaving the radio playing.

Corey Hart. Just his luck, it happened to be that song.

She noticed how his demeanor changed, how he became more reserved and sentimental almost immediately.

And no, it wasn't lyrics, or any of that. He just thought of that night as their last peaceful night. Which, it was. The next night, Hopper whisked him out for being smug.

God, he wished he could go back to that night and just listened to Hopper. But in those moments he was stupid, and he couldn't erase that. He regretted that deeply.

Because maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be gone. Maybe they wouldn't ever broken up, and made it through one full year together.

"You okay?" she asked, glancing over and catching his eyes before returning to the view ahead of her.

His trance broke. "Yeah, I'm fine." Mike tried to brush it off, as if that would work.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, adamant on helping him.

At least she was trying to help him. She couldn't deny that she never really tried to be there for him during everything.

"It's just the song."

"What about it?"

"It's one of our songs."

He felt stupid saying that. It felt like something a secure couple would say, the type that went to Homecoming together and was the talk of the school.

But she giggled. Causing him to blush. He was really admitting this to his sister. He'd never live it down, and that was a fact.

"Ohhhh, one of your make out songs!" she laughed loudly, elbowing him.

"Yeah, but it's," he took in a deep breath, "it's so much more than that."

"It's the last normal night we had together. The last time we really got to spend just us before everything was destroyed. Everything was safe, we were so free."

Nancy had fallen silent, listening intently to his words.

"And, I don't know. That's the last time I felt sure of us. Now, we're apart. And things have grown distant. I mean, there are so many people in Chicago, what if she finds someone she wants-"

"Mike, that's not going to happen. Have you really met El? She'd never give up on you, as long as you don't give up on her."

"It's just, I wish I could go back. I wish I could go back and just not be so dumb the next night. 'Cause maybe then, nothing would've changed." he sighed.

"Everything happens for a reason, Mike. It had to happen, otherwise everything would be messed up."

"Isn't it already messed up! I mean, I haven't even gotten to spend a year with her! They don't live in Hawkins, Hawkins is even more boring than it was a couple years ago!" he burst.

"Sure, it's in a timeline that was meant to happen, but do you ever wish, for just one second that you could turn back the clock. Like, avoid one dumb argument, or avoid a breakup, or anything?"

"Don't you wish you could go back, and make sure everything was just perfect?" he finally finished. And in a word, Nancy was stunned.

So his summer was just as difficult as hers. She argued with Jonathan right after they were fired, she never realized that El and him had been fighting, even broken up right during that time.

She always wanted to go back, and stop pursuing the stupid story like Tom said. But those rats were sick. El found Billy through Max and that was how they stopped the flaying.

But sure, she wished that they could've moved on without dealing with the flayed, that summer could have truly been the summer of love.

Mike had been promised that he wouldn't lose El again. And they didn't even get to spend a year together. They got half of one, their time was cut short.

The way the song touched him just proved more and more, he was head over heels in love with El.

"Of course I do, Mike. But don't think of the bad. We are going to see them! It'll all be fine. You can listen to your music, talk, catch up, and it'll be okay. It won't be different."

"And this will help. I mean, you spent so long without her before, this is nothing.You guys have," don't say it. She thought. "You guys have shared trauma. So what's a little more?"

He smiled, his eyes watery. That was the first time they were able to truly connect, without just arguing, or without teasing.

"So, where do you wanna eat? We've got a long way ahead of us, so stopping here is our best bet."

"I don't know. Just something simple and cheap, I just want to get there."

"You're the boss." she chuckled.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination, and Nancy was right.

Everything was normal for them.