𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒

whats a little more distance?

i spelled the counselors name wrong but i'm too lazy to fix it, but carry on

*

Adjusting to the high school was definitely difficult for Mike. Especially now that he didn't have El by his side. Trying to cope with her not being there was probably one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. Phone calls every single night were not enough. He wanted to hear her voice without the static, he wanted to see her face in person and not just in the few pictures he had, he wanted to feel the softness of her lips again.

Joyce promised they would be back for winter break but it seemed so far away from now. How was he supposed to not see her for another month? Mike couldn't deal with it any longer, but he was going to have to.

The party noticed he was back to his sad self. His dark, tired eyes covered with his thick hair he didn't even try to deal with. He was too tired anymore to argue with Max about stupid shit. He didn't laugh at Dustin's jokes. He barely acknowledged anyone anymore and his friends began to worry about him.

They tried asking him if he was okay, but he always muttered a simple "fine" before going back to ignoring them. Of course they would get aggravated at times and some days they just wanted to tell him that he isn't the only one that misses her, but that would only cause problems they didn't need. Together they were the only thing that they had, and breaking them up would cause chaos.

But the party wasn't the only one to notice his behavior. The new high school counselor Ms. Kelly had noticed him in the hallways. She's tried to get to know him from a far before approaching him. He was quiet, but had a sturdy group of friends who obviously cared about him (Including the redhead who he seemed to despise). There was some sort of hidden pain behind his eyes, which he tried to cover up with a curtain made from his dark hair but Ms. Kelly saw right through it. Everyday he came into school with dark bags hanging underneath his eyes, like he had gotten no sleep.

The counselor was very curious about him and wanted to know as soon as possible what was going on with him. She's aware of the odd, and quite frankly haunting situation about Hawkins. She's heard rumors about the government hiding things from them, secret weapons, taking children from their mothers at birth and raising them as lab rats, and the most mysterious one to her, monsters.

These were just rumors but from what she's read, and from the people in town, she is starting to believe it herself. Maybe there is something deeper than just the monsters that it somehow affecting the kids at Hawkins High.

For now, Ms.Kelly wants to know about the mysterious Mike Wheeler, and the problems he is struggling with.

*

It starts off as a normal day for Mike, lugging himself out of bed and barely making any effort into his appearance. Who was there to dress up for? After taking care of things at home he hops on his bike and meets the party at the end of Old Cherry road where they would wait for Max. After that they rode their bikes to school and began their days.

Mike didn't have a ton of classes with the party, but that didn't mean he didn't see them at lunch or in the hallways. Though he barely thought about them anymore. He was always thinking about El, sometimes about the conversation they had the night before, or how he was looking forward to getting home and calling her until they both passed out with exhaustion.

El mentioned Jonathan getting out of school earlier than Will and coming home to teach her some of the basic material. Mike wished he could get out of this hellhole and just teach her himself, she had told him that he was a better teacher anyway.

As these thoughts roamed his head as he walked down the hallway he didn't notice someone calling his name until they ran up next to him and tapped his arm gently. Mike turned his head when he heard the voice and saw a woman- maybe in her early 20s, walking next to him.