22. All Out Of Love

[A/N: Heyyyy, look at that! A new chapter lol Ahhhh, you guys I have so much to do. This semester is so crazy. I'm starting a stress management counseling group tomorrow at my internship so wish me luck!

Anywho, I'm glad you guys are liking the route this story is taking! I appreciate your reviews so much and it always brings a smile to my face to see your comments! :) So thank you!]

Chapter 22: All Out Of Love (by Air Supply)

"I wish I could carry your smile in my heart for times when my life seems so low. It would make me believe what tomorrow could bring when today doesn't really know..."

. . . . . . . .

"God, what's taking him so long," Dustin grumbled impatiently as he, Will, and Lucas waited in the main lobby for Mike.

"Do you think we should go look for him?" Will wondered aloud, peering down the emptying hall as a few remaining students scurried past, eager to get home.

"I'm sure he's fine," Lucas said dismissively. "Sanders always makes Mike help put the cones and shit away because he knows Mike won't say no,"

It was at that moment that Mike finally came trudging around the corner and his friends immediately noticed that he was not okay. He was hunched over the slightest bit and his walk seemed laborious, however, his face was the most noticeably awry aspect of his appearance. There was a small cut at his eyebrow and the area surrounding his left eye was already puffy and turning purple. His lip was also swollen and split down the middle. He winced as he walked and his eyebrows stitched together in an angry scowl.

"What the hell?!" Dustin exclaimed as they ran up to meet Mike halfway down the hallway. "Dude, what happened?"

"I bet it was Troy," Lucas spat, glowering.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Mike said seethingly, his speech slightly off due to his swollen lip.

"Give him a hand, guys," Dustin instructed as he helped support his friend on one side and Lucas on the other. Will took Mike's backpack so he didn't have to carry the extra weight and the four of them plodded down the hall and outside.

. . . . . . . .

Mike knew that El and Hopper were picking him up from school today. She'd talked to him over the supercom the night before after Hopper had informed her of the new arrangement and he'd seemed excited. That's why El couldn't understand why he still hadn't come outside, even though most of the other students had already gone home. Even the buses had left already and only a few students milled about, chatting lazily amongst themselves.

El watched the main doors of the school with an eagle-like intensity. As her friends clumsily made their way through one of the doors, huddled together for some odd reason, she quirked her head in confusion until she saw Mike's face.

"What the hell?" Hopper seemed to notice as well but El was already climbing out of the SUV and running up to the boys as they escorted him to the pick-up lane.

"What happened?" El asked, already feeling anger spread through her veins the way food coloring spreads through a glass of water.

"Nothing," Mike quickly answered without looking at her and the boys continued to help him to the car.

El looked between the boys' faces, then back at Mike who was staring straight ahead, as if Hopper's SUV was the only thing he could see. He tried to shrug off his friends' support but they still stood close to him, ready to spot him if he took a misstep.

"Friends don't lie…" El said softly but firmly. She followed after them, trying to make eye contact and get answers but none of them wanted to speak and she didn't understand why.

"Friends also give each other space when they don't want to talk about something," Mike said irritably, wincing as he wrenched himself away from Lucas' steadying hand.

"Mike," Dustin scolded gently, looking sympathetically at El whose face was still contorted in a combination of confusion, hurt, and galvanized anger on his behalf.

"What the hell happened to you?" Hopper questioned as he got out of the car and Mike groaned.

"Can we just go home?" Mike pleaded. "I just - ugh…"

El's brow furrowed. She had a pretty good idea of who had done this, even if Mike refused to talk about it. Turning on her heel, she strode purposefully into the school.

"El, wait!" Mike yelled after her, recognizing the flash in her eyes. "Don't!"

Dustin moved to go after her but suddenly, he couldn't move his legs and he was frozen in place. "Goddammit!" He grumbled, rolling his eyes as El disappeared into the school and stumbling when she released her hold on him.

"It was Troy, wasn't it," Lucas surmised and Mike flashed an angry look of betrayal at him.

"Lucas!"

"Come on, Mike!" Lucas threw up his hands wildly. "They can't just get away with this shit,"

"Troy?" Hopper looked at Mike, then Lucas. "Troy who?"

"Harrington," Dustin supplied, catching an indignant look from Mike who then groaned, glowering at the pavement.

"You," Hopper said to Mike in a stern voice. "You sit in the car and wait until I get back,"

"What?" Mike exclaimed. "No, I'm fine!"

"Now," Hopper said firmly, deepening his tone and staring down at the young boy who reluctantly obliged. "You three…" He sighed in exasperation. "Go find El. I'm gonna talk to the principal,"

"What?!" Mike shrieked from the backseat, leaning out the door. "No! That's just gonna make things worse. Can you not?"

"I'll be damned if I drop you off at home, looking like that," He gestured to Mike's face and the boy frowned stubbornly. "And can't tell your mom that I did something about it," Mike huffed bitterly, throwing himself dramatically against the back-seat cushion and fighting the urge to wince in pain as he did so. Hopper checked that Mike's feet were clear of the door and slammed it shut, giving Mike a final look before heading into the school.

As Mike watched him go, he groaned miserably. Between the dull, throbbing pain of his injuries, the red-hot embarrassment of having been beat up, and the anxiety of knowing that the chief of police was about to go in and report the incident to the principal, he couldn't imagine things could possibly get much worse.

. . . . . . . .

She only vaguely remembered her way around the school but she didn't care. There weren't as many people in the school now so she wasn't sure if she'd find him but her blood still boiled in anticipation. She'd almost thought she'd missed them when she noticed Troy and James at the very end of a long hallway, laughing as they made their way to another exit. El's eyes narrowed with intense focus as she pinned the boys in place, paying little mind to the way they yelled in confusion.

"What the hell?!"

With a confident pace, she walked down the hallway toward them, giving herself time to decide what she was going to do. She hadn't thought this through but as she approached the boys, she realized she couldn't bring too much attention to herself. She was supposed to be in hiding, after all.

Their backs were to her as she finally reached them and she took slow steps around them, finally coming into their line of vision and reveling in the way their pupils dilated with fear.

Troy started to speak but El tightened his throat ever so slightly, enough to make him uncomfortable and unable to talk as he panicked at the reduced air flow. James remained silent, eyes darting anxiously between Troy and El.

"Hurt Mike," El accused, the words like poison dripping from her lips as she brought her face mere inches from Troy's. Her eyes shot daggers and he couldn't hold her gaze, darting his eyes in every direction but at her as he coughed against the pressure at his throat.

"Please don't hurt us," James squeaked and El shot a glare at him, promptly shutting him up.

"No more," El warned, her voice low and gravely as a thin trickle of blood began to leak from her nostril. "Understand?" She tightened her grip on Troy's throat for emphasis and his eyes bulged with panic as he coughed and sputtered against the invisible pressure. "Understand?"

Troy and James nodded emphatically and El released her grip on Troy's throat, watching as he inhaled deep, haggard breaths.

She had been content to leave after that until she heard Troy mutter "Crazy bitch," under his breath. She surveyed the empty hall that had temporarily emptied completely. Taking advantage of the brief lack of witnesses, she threw Troy across the floor, never even looking back as his back slammed into the concrete wall.

. . . . . . . .

By the time Dustin, Lucas, and Will found El, she was walking nonchalantly down the hallway toward them as Troy and James groaned in pain on the floor at the other end of hall.

"C'mon, El," Dustin said, unable to hide his toothy grin. "We've gotta get outta here,"

"What did you do to them?" Will asked in impressed amazement.

"Who cares?" Lucas retorted. "They deserved it,"

For as good as El felt about her interaction with Troy and James, her mood shifted considerably on the car ride home. Hopper came back to the SUV shortly after she did. From her place in the front seat, she could see vaguely see Mike through the side door mirror and he looked miserable and angry, so much so that she was almost afraid to approach or speak to him.

The ride to Mike's house had been silent, sans Hopper recounting his discussion with the principal who had promised to follow up with Troy and "get to the bottom of it", all the while expressing his perception of the principal being incompetent. Neither El nor Mike were listening, however. El couldn't stop wondering if Mike was okay and what she could do to make him feel better. Mike was fixated on what Monday would bring and whether he'd have even more of a target on his back now that Hopper had reported Troy to the principal. He didn't even want to think about what El might have done when she'd gone into the school. As much as he appreciated her trying to protect him, it did nothing to help his embarrassment, especially when he'd been getting teased for months about how he couldn't protect himself without El around. Then lo and behold, he gets beat up and it's El to the rescue. If it was possible for the ground to swallow him up whole, he didn't think that would be so bad right about now.

. . . . . . . .

Nancy wasn't terribly interested in basketball but Steve had managed to convince her to come out and see the first home game of the season anyway. The metal stands were cold, despite being indoors, and Nancy could hardly pay attention to the game because Steve's friends, Dave and Lauren, wouldn't stop talking. After everything that had transpired that fall, Steve had cut pretty much all ties with Tommy and Carol, however, his new friends weren't any less obnoxious. While she could admit they weren't as awful as their predecessors, Nancy still wasn't enthused by their company.

"Why don't you get us some sodas, babe?" Dave said cockily, his arm draped across Lauren's shoulders.

"Get 'em yourself," She scoffed with a laugh. "Oh hey," She pointed to another girl a few rows down from them. "Check out Bessie down there," She laughed snottily.

"Oh damn," Dave remarked with a grin, sitting up. "She's gonna bring this whole thing down," He laughed, grabbing his seat and shaking it for the effect.

Lauren laughed as the metal squeaked and Nancy watched in dismay as Steve smirked at their antics.

"Hey," Dave nudged his girlfriend. "Who does she remind you of?" He grinned. "Those glasses, the shirt,"

"Oh my god," Lauren cackled and Nancy grimaced. "She's a Barb clone!"

Nancy glared into her lap as they laughed, waiting for Steve to say something but he never did.

"God, if I looked like that, I think I'd run away, too," Lauren remarked and Nancy stood up, fuming.

"Hey, where are you going?" Steve grabbed her hand.

Nancy just shook her head, her eyebrows furrowed with anger as she fought with every fiber of her being to keep from crying in front of all these people in the stands.

"Nance, c'mon," Steve pleaded gently. "Guys," He directed his attention to Dave and Lauren. "Not cool,"

"Aw shit," Dave said as realization dawned over his face, despite his unfading grin.

"We forgot you were friends with her," Lauren snickered and her fake smile made Nancy feel sick. "We'll stop,"

"I'm gonna go," Nancy said in a low tone, speaking directly to Steve and ignoring the couple beside them.

"Nance, stop," Steve tried to persuade her but she brushed past him, steadily making her way across the row. "Nancy!"

She'd barely pushed her way through the double doors of the gym before tears exploded from her eyes, rushing down her face like a river that had broken through its dam. She dragged sputtering breaths into her lungs as she jogged down the hall and made her way outside, slipping behind the wall and out of sight. Alone, she let her sobs come freely, leaning back against the brick wall of the school building as tears blurred her vision. She didn't care about the cold or the fact that her coat was still in her locker. She felt paralyzed by the pain in her chest and was thinking of nothing else as she sank down to the cold, damp ground, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her face into her knees.

"Nancy?" A tentative, soft voice startled her and she looked up to see Jonathan Byers standing over her, the new camera she and Steve had bought him hanging from his neck. "Um, are you okay?"

She thought about responding and telling him she was fine but she obviously wasn't. Instead, she simply buried her face in her knees once more, ignoring his question.

"Hey," Jonathan said gently, bringing himself to sit beside her. Though she never looked up, she could tell her was close and despite her conflicting feelings over the past few months, her current state of mind didn't allow her to think about it. "Hey, it's okay," He said, shifting his camera to his side and leaning closer to her.

"It's not okay!" Nancy exclaimed, causing Jonathan to jump back slightly. "Barb's gone and no one knows it. Not even her parents!" She blubbered and Jonathan looked solemnly down at the sparse patches of grass on which they sat. "It's just me and I can't even talk to anyone about it because it's a big secret but…" She trailed off as another round of tears slid down her face. Shaking her head, she buried her face in her hands.

"What about Steve?" Jonathan asked hesitantly but judging by the way Nancy glared into the distance, he could tell that wasn't an option. "Um…" He hesitated, picking at a blade of grass beside him. "You can talk to me,"

Nancy glanced at him, her brow softening, and she bit her lip as she looked down. Tears hung from her eyelashes and Jonathan couldn't help but notice how long and expressive they were. Had she not been in such an emotional state, he would've been tempted to photograph her and capture her beauty in that moment.

Clearing his throat, and his mind of these thoughts, he spoke carefully. "My grandma and I were really close," He said and Nancy listened quietly. "Um, she was my dad's mom, believe it or not," He moved from fidgeting with the grass to curling loose strands of denim that hung from a tear in his jeans. "Lonnie's an asshole but Nana was… I dunno, she was great,"

"'Nana'?" Nancy looked up at him with a half-smile, her tears finally subsiding.

"Yes, 'Nana'," Jonathan grinned at her. "Anyway, um, this was before my parents split up so she was kind of like this, pillar of stability since mom and Lonnie were always fighting,"

Jonathan paused, his eyebrows fixed as he stared at the dirt in front of him.

"What happened?" Nancy asked gently after a moment had passed.

"She um…" Jonathan paused again and Nancy could tell this wasn't easy for him. "Her kidneys shut down," Nancy's face crumpled with sympathy as he continued. "It was during the divorce. Will and I were staying at her house while they were at court and uh, she said she wasn't feeling well," He inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly. "I was only 11 at the time and Will was like, 6 or 7," He looked up at the fields where they could see several students crossing in the distance. "She went to lay down but when I checked on her, she… um… she was sweating and just, didn't sound right," He continued, the memory flashing vividly across his memory as if it had just happened. "I didn't know what to do so I called 9-1-1 and they came and picked her up," He recalled. "She was crying the whole time they moved her onto the stretcher and um… and Will was a mess so I took him into the spare bedroom and I think we looked through one of his D&D books or something… I don't remember that part but I was trying to distract him," Nancy pursed her lips as she listened, staring at the ground between them. "We could still hear her though," He breathed, the sound of her cries of pain echoing in his memory. "They brought us to the hospital and we had to wait in the waiting room until our parents got back from court. The doctors said she had sepsis and everything was shutting down," The strands of denim he'd been curling finally ripped from his jeans and he rolled the string between his thumb and index finger. "She died a week later,"

"Wow," Nancy said, exhaling. "I um… I had no idea,"

"I know," He said and when Nancy finally looked up at him, she noticed the glassy look to his eyes and the tear that beaded in the corner. "I um, if you… so if you ever wanna talk about, you know, Barb... "

Nancy nodded quickly. "Thanks,"

He glanced up at her, catching her gaze as a small smile formed on her lips.

"Sure," He nodded, mirroring her expression as he looked back down shyly.

. . . . . . . .

Flashback

Waiting was the worst part, though he did his best to conceal his feelings in front of her. As he read her favorite book for what felt like the millionth time, his suit jacket lay neatly across one of the chairs on the other side of the room. His wife sat on the other side of the bed, clutching their daughter's hand in hers as she listened. She also had to pretend to be stronger than she felt. He had still been dressed in a suit and tie, having just come from the station, when he arrived at the hospital.

He had quickly made his way to the position of lead detective in the Indianapolis Police Department's homicide unit. Now, with everything going on with his family, he wished he had a job that required less of his time away from home. His captain had been supportive after they'd learned of Sarah's diagnosis but he still felt the pressure to be there more than he was.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hopper?" The doctor gently rapped on the doorframe, disrupting the story, though any of them could have recited it from memory at this point. "A word?"

"We'll be right back, sweetie," His wife Diane kissed Sarah's forehead and he tucked her stuffed animal closer to her before following the doctor out into the hall.

"Sarah's test results came back," He said grimly once they were a reasonable distance from the door of her room. "I'm afraid they aren't very promising,"

"What are we looking at?" Hopper asked, his brow furrowed with determination. In all of his conversations with Diane and Sarah's doctors, he'd clung to the idea that she could pull through this. She was tough. She was a fighter. She'd made it this far and he wouldn't give up on her.

The doctor sighed. "Sarah is not responding to our treatment," He said directly. That was one thing Hopper could respect about this man - he didn't sugar coat anything. Having respect for someone, however, didn't make it any easier to take in the information they provided. "I'm afraid her cancer is rather aggressive and tests indicate that it has metastasized to her brain,"

Diane made a sound that resembled a cross between a gasp and a sob as she threw a hand up to her mouth, tears brimming in her eyes.

"What can we do?" Hopper continued, stubborn as always. He put a comforting arm around his wife's shoulders and she buried her face into his neck.

"I…" The doctor hesitated, his face drawn with sympathy. "I'm afraid we've done all that we can,"

"No," Hopper shook his head. "There's gotta be something else. She's only 6 years old for god's sake - we're not giving up on her now,"

"Jim…" Diane murmured into his skin, shaking her head.

"There's gotta be something," Hopper repeated emphatically. "We'll try anything,"

"There… are experimental procedures being conducted in other facilities; however, I can't guarantee they would be covered by your insurance,"

"That doesn't matter," Hopper shook his head and his wife looked up.

"Jim, how would we -" She started but he cut her off.

"We can make it work," He insisted. "I'll work overtime, we can take out another mortgage,"

"Given the progression of Sarah's condition, I have to be honest when I say that I'm not optimistic," The doctor continued.

"How much time would you say she has?" Diane asked.

"Approximately six months," The doctor replied solemnly.

"I want that contact information," Hopper said. "For the experimental procedures. Who runs it?"

"There are a few facilities," The doctor replied hesitantly. "I can have a nurse bring you a list but I must warn you, the likelihood of her prognosis changing is extremely slim," He looked to Diane who seemed to be accepting the reality more readily than Hopper himself. "I would recommend looking into hospice care and other arrangements as her time gets closer. We can keep her comfortable until that point and but for now, once she's stable, she can go home until -"

"Just get us the information," Hopper demanded, cutting the doctor off.

"O-Okay," The doctor obliged, nodding respectfully to Diane before heading off in the opposite direction.

. . . . . . . .

As expected, Karen had been appalled to see Mike's face when Hopper dropped him and El off at the Wheeler's that afternoon.

"Oh my god, Michael!" She'd exclaimed. "What happened?"

"This kid, Troy at his school," Hopper said as they stepped into the foyer. "Apparently he's been pickin' on him for a while now,"

Mike groaned in frustration before attempting to make a bee-line for the kitchen but his mom caught him by the shoulder.

"Wait," She said, pulling him around to assess his injuries. The area around his eye socket had turned purple and was still a bit swollen. The cut above his eye was crusted with dried blood and had stopped bleeding as had the one on his lip. "How does it feel? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom," He replied, wishing he could be anywhere but here. He just wanted to go up to his room or down to the basement and be alone. The fact that El was looking at him with such pity on her face made him feel even smaller than he already felt.

Karen sighed, her eyebrows stitched together with concern. "El, honey, go into the bathroom and get me a damp washcloth,"

El nodded and walked in the direction of the first floor half-bath as Karen called out again.

"Make sure it's warm!"

Hopper filled Karen in on his discussion with the principal and thanked him for taking care of the situation as El returned with the washcloth in hand.

"Here, come in here," Karen escorted the kids into the kitchen where Holly was playing with magnetic letters in front of the refrigerator. "Watch out, sweetie," She gently moved the toddler away from the door as she opened the freezer and retrieved a bag of frozen peas. El offered the washcloth to Mike who reluctantly took it without looking at her and she could feel herself deflate in response to his mood. Wanting to comfort him, she gingerly placed a hand on his back but he shrugged himself away from her contact and the action brought a pang of rejection to her heart.

Karen wiped the blood from Mike's forehead as El watched, then placed the bag of peas against his eye and instructed him to hold it there while she made lunch for them.

"Can you tell me what happened, sweetheart?" She asked gently as she retrieved a few slices of bread from a bag on the counter. "In your own words? I know what the chief said but I'd like to hear from you,"

"There isn't much to tell," Mike said glumly, resting his elbow on the kitchen table as he balanced his swollen eye against the frozen peas in his hand.

"You can talk to me, Mike," Karen said emphatically, trying to keep her concern under control. She didn't want to overwhelm him. "I had no idea you were being bullied,"

"Ughhhh…" Mike groaned, feeling more and more self-conscious as he could feel El's eyes boring into him and he knew she was feeling nothing but sympathy for him. "It's not a big deal; I can handle it,"

Karen caught herself before she could say what immediately popped into her head. Apparently not.

"How long's this been going on?" Karen asked, redirecting her line of questioning.

Mike sighed, tracing designs in the wood of the kitchen table. "I dunno. A long time. He's always been like this," He mumbled, then quickly added, "And not just to me, he does it with Dustin and Lucas and Will, too,"

"I see," Karen hummed, spreading peanut butter onto bread. She could tell by his tone that she wasn't going to get much more out of him now so she decided to save the rest of this conversation for later. "So El," She said, changing the subject. "Do you like grape or strawberry jelly?"

El looked to Mike for an explanation but he was still staring at the table. "Um," She paused. "I don't know…"

"Okay," Karen said cheerily. "Here," She dipped one spoon in a jar of some purple gelatinous substance and another spoon in a red one. "Taste each one and tell me which you want on your sandwich," She smiled as she handed the girl the two spoons and El sampled them greedily.

"This one," She held up the spoon in her right hand.

"Grape it is, then," Karen took the spoons back and finished preparing their sandwiches.

. . . . . . . .

El had barely focused on her schoolwork. Karen was definitely better at explaining things than Hopper was but El couldn't keep her mind focused. She kept looking over at Mike who was sitting in the kitchen working on his homework. With her books spread out across the dining room table in front of her, El tried to practice the math problems in her workbook but every few minutes, she was looking up at Mike to see what he was doing. He didn't look as upset as he had earlier that afternoon but he definitely wasn't happy.

Karen was in the kitchen making dinner and Dustin, Lucas, and Will would be coming over soon. Sighing, El turned in her chair, looking around the room. It seemed strange that just a few months ago, she hadn't been able to come up here freely because her presence had been a secret. Now, that almost seemed like a distant memory.

Mike eventually gave up on his homework and went into the living room to watch TV. Ted was working late at the office so Mike was able to commandeer the La-Z-Boy, at least until his dad got home later. Deciding she also deserved a break from her school work, El pushed herself away from the table and walked into the living room to join Mike.

She wasn't quite sure what to make of his behavior. He'd been distant and short with her ever since they'd gotten home and she wasn't used to it. She wasn't sure what it meant but it didn't feel good. Still, she felt bad for him since he'd gone through a lot today with Troy and wanted to be there for him.

The lights were off in the living room so the only illumination came from the TV and the lights in the dining room. El got comfortable on the couch and looked from the TV to Mike as he flipped through channel after channel, never settling on anything for more than a few seconds. She couldn't keep up with any of the programs so she watched him instead, wondering what he was thinking.

Meanwhile, Mike was acutely aware of El's presence and for some reason, it was making him incredibly uncomfortable. He'd ditched the frozen peas over an hour ago but he knew his face still looked horrendous. Why was she still looking at him? She probably thought he was such a loser for letting Troy beat him up like this. The sympathetic look on her face made his stomach turn and he wished she'd stop watching him. Sure, it was cool that she could defend herself and anyone else against just about anyone or anything, but this felt different. Everything Troy had been saying for months swirled around in his head, reminding him that he was weak and El ultimately didn't need him. Why would she? She was a human weapon with the ability to do just about anything she wanted with her mind. She could embarrass bullies and take down inter-dimensional monsters. She was a complete bad-ass and he felt totally out of place around her now. He wanted to be able to defend himself or defend his friends when they were in trouble but when push came to shove, he'd gotten the crap beaten out of him and he never even got the chance to defend himself.

Why was she just staring at him? The TV was right there and she could be looking anywhere but at him. Her eyes on him made him feel self-conscious and his skin crawled with shame and discomfort.

"Could you stop?" He finally exclaimed in exasperation and El startled, her doe eyes widening. "Stop staring at me, okay? It's awkward and weird," He huffed, scowling at the TV before the words rolled out of his mouth faster than he could think about them. "Why did you have to go after Troy? I know that's what you did. Dustin told me they saw you throw him and James into a wall. He's just gonna keep doing the same crap. Maybe even more now. Do you get that?" She didn't say anything and he was losing steam. "You probably just made things worse,"

El looked down. She had only been trying to help, after all. She cared about Mike a lot - he was her favorite person. What else was she supposed to do if not protect him when someone wanted to hurt him? Still, he was obviously upset about it and she could feel hot tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She quickly darted from the couch and disappeared from the room.

As he watched her leave, Mike groaned with regret, resting his cheek against his fist as he continued to absent-mindedly flip through channels.

. . . . . . . .

The boys had stuck around for awhile after dinner to play D&D but it was obvious that Mike wasn't into it. There was an obvious tension between Mike and El that made Lucas, Dustin, and Will incredibly uncomfortable. They weren't sure what had happened exactly but El hadn't come downstairs with them, instead choosing to stay upstairs in the dining room with her workbooks. Despite having them laid out in front of her, it'd been obvious that she wasn't doing anything with them. Mike was also distant and unlike himself. His campaign, while well-thought out, lacked the same sense of drama and action that he normally brought to his narration. His mind was elsewhere and everyone could tell which made enjoying the game that much more difficult.

By the time Hopper came by to pick El up, she still hadn't come back downstairs. Lucas, Dustin, and Will went up to say good-bye but Mike stubbornly stayed in the basement.

"Seriously, dude?" Lucas asked, giving his friend the side-eye.

Mike didn't respond, instead making a vague facial expression and shrugging his shoulders.

Lucas rolled his eyes and the three boys went upstairs.

"We'll see you Sunday, right El?" Dustin said as he hugged the crestfallen young girl.

El shrugged, her gaze cast low.

"Hey, don't worry about Mike," Lucas said, putting a hand on El's shoulder. "He's just being a baby right now,"

"Angry," El's voice was almost a whimper.

"He's mad about what happened," Dustin explained. "Not you,"

"He'll get over it," Lucas reassured her.

"Yeah," Will agreed. "He just needs some time. He can get moody like that and after what Troy did, it makes sense,"

"Exactly," Dustin nodded, nudging the El playfully. "So we'll see you Sunday, right?" He grinned encouragingly and El offered a small half-smile.

"Sunday," She nodded and hugged them all before walking outside with Hopper.

Meanwhile, down in the basement, Mike was waging an internal battle with himself and his own stubbornness. He didn't want to be mad at El and honestly, he wasn't. He was just embarrassed and self-conscious more than anything. Any anger he had was directed at Troy for what he did and at himself for not being strong or tough enough to defend himself. He felt like a complete loser and hated the fact that El was seeing him like that. The logical thing to do seemed to be to avoid her while he was feeling this way but at the same time, part of him felt like he was making it worse. He wanted to say good-bye to her and he wished they'd been able to spend more time together today and have fun but his own stubbornness had gotten in the way of that.

"Dude," Lucas said in a scolding tone as the boys plodded back downstairs. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Mike retorted automatically, though he knew exactly what he meant.

"El's super upset," Dustin explained. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing," Mike replied defensively.

"Bullshit," Lucas rolled his eyes.

"She looked like she'd been crying," Will informed him gently as he sat back down at the table and Mike felt a pang of guilt in his chest.

"Whatever lover's quarrel you two had, you need to figure your shit out," Lucas surmised, plopping back down into his seat.

"It wasn't a lover's quarrel!" Mike exclaimed, his cheeks pinkening.

Dustin shook his head. "You're so clueless, dude,"

Deadpanning, Mike looked at his curly-haired friend. "What?"

"You obviously love Eleven," Lucas answered for him bluntly.

"Shut up," Mike rolled his eyes dismissively, ignoring the strange bundle of nerves that seemed to be going wild in his stomach.

"I'm not kidding," Lucas said plainly. "Which is why I don't understand why you're being such a baby right now,"

"You don't understand!" Mike yelled, frustrated.

"You're right; I don't," Lucas waved his arms dramatically. "Because a month ago, you had us in the Upside Down looking for her and now you're acting weird and not even saying good-bye to her when she leaves,"

"That's pretty messed up," Dustin added.

"And making her cry," Lucas said.

"Since when do you care about El so much?" Mike retorted, his defenses still up but wavering.

"She saved our asses!" Lucas exclaimed. "Not once, not twice, but three times. Are you really asking that question?"

"And there was the whole jumping off the cliff thing," Dustin chimed in.

"That, too!" Lucas said. "Seriously, man, whatever's going on, you've gotta let it go. Be pissed at Troy, sure, but not El,"

Mike bit his bottom lip. He knew they were right, though he hated to admit it, and be confronted about it so directly. Still, he hated the idea that he'd hurt El's feelings enough for her to cry. As ashamed as he felt about what happened today, he felt even worse knowing that he'd hurt her.

. . . . . . . .

"I'm all out of love, what am I without you? I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong..."