6. 6: Bad Day

Mrs. Wheeler couldn't help but notice Mike's quiet, solemn demeanor when he got into the car that afternoon after school. Normally, he would be smiling and eager to tell her all about his day and the things he learned, but today, he hadn't spoken a word so far.

She knew her son's bike, which was now in the trunk of the car, had gotten a flat tire on the way to school, but that couldn't have possibly ruined his whole day...right?

"Hey sweetie," she started cautiously. "How was your day?"

"Fine," he mumbled as he stared out the window.

This definitely wasn't normal.

"Do you have a lot of homework?" she asked, trying to get him to say more. He just shrugged.

Trying to cheer him up, she said "Okay, well...if you finish early, maybe we can go to the arcade after dinner. I heard they just got a new pinball machine!"

She could tell his smile was forced. "Cool," he replied before his face fell again and he turned to watch the passing houses and trees.

Mike's day had sucked. His grade in History had dropped dangerously close to a C because he failed their last test, one of his classmates was mad at him because he wouldn't give them the answers to the science homework, he had been late to his seventh period because he was talking to Dustin and his arm was still sore from where he had accidentally got hit with a basketball in PE. And on top of that, his mom had to leave work early to pick him up from school because his stupid bike blew a tire.

All he wanted to do was go home, sleep and drown himself in self-pity.

When they got home, he headed straight for the stairs. "Oh, by the way, Eleven's in the basement. Hopper said she wanted to come over" his mom called out to him.

Thank goodness. Mike did a quick one-eighty and dashed to the basement. "Thanks Mom," he threw over his shoulder before he stepped downstairs and closed the door.

There she was, sitting on the couch. Despite the crappy emotions he was feeling, a warm, fuzzy glow crept into him at the sight of her. She had a box of colored pencils next to her and was doodling away in a notebook without a care in the world.

"Hey," he said as he descended down the stairs. She glanced up, smiling when she heard his voice. Her face fell, however, when she saw the pure exhaustion written all over his face. "Hi Mike," she replied and scooted over to make room for him.

Dropping his backpack on the floor, he crawled onto the couch next to her and rested his head on her shoulder. She lifted up her notebook and Mike smiled, accepting her invitation. He draped his legs across her lap and exhaled.

All he needed right now was to be with her and she knew that. She could sense he wasn't in the mood for conversation, so she moved her head to rest it on top of his and turned her attention back to her drawing.

Mike allowed the weight of the day to slam back into him as he watched her draw in the petals of a flower. If he couldn't physically feel El next to him, he would be telling himself he was worthless right now. Had he really done the right thing by not giving out his answers? And why hadn't he studied harder for that test?

He was startled when his lips started to quiver and his vision went blurry as his eyes suddenly welled up. When he blinked, a single tear slid down his cheek. It ran down his face and landed with a plop onto El's arm. He winced when he felt her tense up and prayed she wouldn't make fun of him.

He hated being this vulnerable around her. Usually, he would be the one comforting her as she fell apart, but today was different and he felt extremely exposed. He didn't want to burden her with his problems, but he needed her. In this moment, he needed nothing more than her presence.

Instead, she wordlessly slipped her hand into his and laced her fingers through his. Her thumb traced circles on his skin and she felt the tension go out of his body.

He smiled, grateful that she understood, grateful that she understood him. He lifted their interlocked hands to his lips and kissed the back of her hand.

"Thank you" he whispered.

"I love you" she whispered back.

Mike shifted so his chin was on the edge of her shoulder and stared into her beautiful brown eyes.

"I know" he replied.

El laughed, understanding his reference and lifted her hand that wasn't entwined with his to wipe the remaining tears off his face. Mike grinned and nuzzled his head further into her neck. They stayed like that, swapping Star Wars references back and forth, for the rest of the afternoon.