ages 15-16
in which el tries to help mike
the room was hot, everyone sweating so much they were basically puddles. there was a lanky boy with a mop of black hair strapped to the dinner table. there were black veins running all throughout his body and his whole body was shaking. he was yelling, which was something she wasn't used to.
yes, he yelled at their friends when they would say something rude to her, but he would never yell at her. he would merely raise his voice when he sang his love for her. she was trying to remind herself that this boy isn't mike. the boy yelling at his friends and family is not her mike.
when joyce had called max's phone to talk to el, she knew it must've been serious since joyce never interrupts her "girl time." the moment her and max approached the cabin, they saw lights flickering and rushed into the room. her eyes fell onto the love of her life, and he was suffering.
she just couldn't look, he was in so much pain she felt it.
"i think we should leave el here with him. alone.", max said to everyone in the room.
"no way i'm leaving my daughter here alone with that monster!", yelled hopper.
"how dare you! never speak of mike like that ever again.", el screamed at her father, which she rarely did. joyce eventually convinced hopper to leave the room and it was now just el and "mike".
she approached the figure strapped to the table and leaned down next to it, looking it straight in the eyes. there was no sign of mike in there, but she was praying she could bring him back. she placed her hand on his cheek, gently caressing it with her thumb.
"GET AWAY FROM ME! I DON'T LOVE YOU, YOU FREAK. DON'T TOUCH ME!", he screeched. those words weren't new to el. she's had hundreds of nightmares where mike would tell her those exact words. but, every time she'd wake up from those night terrors, mike was right there and would hold her and whisper sweet nothings into her ears until she fell back asleep.
that wasn't the case this time, though it did feel like a nightmare.
"mike, baby, come on i know you're in there. just let me know you're there, i need to know.", el sniffled. god, this is gonna be the hardest thing she's ever had to do. not move away from mike, not having to adjust to a new school and bullies, not even fighting all those monsters, but watching the love of her life struggle.
the look in his eyes faltered for a second, flickering on and off.
"el, i'm sorry, please kill me already, it's the only way.", mike cried as he looked into her eyes, already making him feel a little better.
"no mike, i know everyone else thinks you're gone but i know you're still in there. come on we'll just take you to the hospital and everything will be fine-"
"el, just get me out of these and we can run away. no more rules, no more annoying friends, just us baby."
el was actually considering it until she saw the devilish look on "mike's" face.
"please just let me talk to him, just for a minute, please?", el begged whatever force was controlling her mike.
mike's eyes soon turned back to the usual heart eyes and she knew he was back, but she knew it wouldn't be for long.
"el, i love you so much please don't forget that. i'll watch over you, i'll make sure you find the most handsome boy ever once i'm gone. i'll keep you safe from those nasty bullies. i'll keep those monsters away from you. ellie, it's my time to protect you. but, right now i need you to kill me. i need you to get rid of this monster and baby i know you can do this.", mike whispered.
