Mileven One Shots

The Place That I Go Running To (1986)

Here I am — casually returning after a month of struggles with another sappy, unedited one shot. I hope you all enjoy this messily thrown together fluff!

**********************************

The scream that bellowed within his lover's gut was the most haunting sound he had ever heard. To witness the veins pulsate within El's cranium as her mouth cried out for mercy left him rattled. Her pain and suffering was something that possessed each of Mike's nightmares. And even when he awoke back to the land of living, he could never convince himself that everything was okay.

Truth be told, nothing about this was okay. Even as he laid awake with confident assurance that she was fine, his beating organ still ached to be near Eleven.

Mike's separation anxiety had thrived since the fall of 1983. Ever since the first time he lost her, he swore a part of him vanished. Yet, with her return the following year, it was like his soul had been more pieced together than it ever had been before. Life was finally filled with colors and foreign vibrancy that could only be created by her essence. However, when the Byers had taken the piece of his heart that made him whole along with them in their move, he felt as though he had crumbled to ash. The fire and incentive to live each day of life to the fullest had been swept away. It was like El was his armor and without her near, the terrors within his nightmares could take full advantage.

His fists gripped tightly onto his sheets as every bone in his body withered to be beside her. His fingers begged to dance along her smooth skin and his eyes prayed to be greeted with her heavenly appearance.

"Screw this," Mike muttered to himself as he surged upward.

He was done feeling this way, and he was sick of waiting for his next round of horrific dreams. He was simply over not being in control of his destiny. And as he threw on an old sweatshirt and stuffed his feet into his beaten up tennis shoes, there was only one thing on his mind. His fingers wrinkled the piece of paper he had just scribbled upon as he glanced over his hastily written words.

'Gone to see El. The Byers number is in the phonebook, call me when you wake up.'

He swiped the keys to the rickety station wagon and hustled outside before anyone could put a stop to his mission. As soon as he turned the key in the ignition, the radio abruptly came on. He startled at the familiar harmony and smirked to himself as he embraced this as a welcoming sign. With the sound of 'Every Breath You Take' ringing in his ears, he started following his heart; for he was traveling to his one true home.

******

A gasp ripped through Eleven's throat as she sat forward in bed. Her nimble thumbs pried at the sleeves of Mike's sweater that she had thrown onto herself in a haste just before she had fallen restlessly asleep. She swore that if she clutched at the cloth encasing her tightly enough that she could imagine it was his arms wrapped around her.

The mere thought of her boyfriend placed a thick lump within her esophagus as she choked on a harsh sob. Her chest wracked wildly as she desperately wished to be with him; where she belonged. El impulsively catapulted herself out of her bed as she paced along the halls of the Byers' new home. The hallway she walked along crowded her tightly as the sensation of being lost cascaded around her. She soon tiptoed towards the kitchen and gathered herself a glass of water. As she took a sip of the refreshment she had been parched for, a set of high beams pierced through the windows. She squinted her eyes at the bright disturbance and glanced over at the clock. Eleven quickly recognized that it was too early for Joyce or Jonathan to be completed with their overnight shifts, which left her with one outstanding question. Who could possibly be coming by at this ungodly hour?