#ive already maxed out her available hearts and now i have to sit and wait for the next update to continue romancing her

[sam-violet]

quick nemesis painting <3

[upside-nwod]

Yay!! You're back! Can you write something from Mike's pov about how much he appreciates his friends? This sounds dumb lol but I thought it'd be vague enough for you to do whatever you wanted with it. I trust your Suffer Brother capabilities

Um… this got a lot longer than I expected it to. Like a lot longer. And it just barely meets your qualifications? I just couldn’t stop and I don’t even know if I like it lol

Also I tried to use a Keep Reading tab but it’s not showing up for me, but is for some people? Sorry about that. I’m not sure how to fix it.

Available on AO3 here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10977084/chapters/24442917

Mike awoke in a haze, head swimming. His dark eyes stared up into a pale ceiling that wasn’t his.

Disoriented, he attempted to sit up in order to examine his surroundings but was met with a wave of nausea before crashing back down into the bed he was occupying. As soon as his head landed on the stiff pillows he felt an inexplicable pounding in his head.

Mike waited for the pain to recede into more of a dull throbbing before shifting himself slowly back into a sitting position. The white room he sat in was a tad blurry but it didn’t take a genius to realize he was sitting in a hospital bed instead of his usual bottom bunk.

Upon this realization, he became painfully aware of the IV in his right hand, as well as, the steady beeping of his heart monitor, but muffled, as if it were coming from a tunnel. But that wasn’t all.

Mike Wheeler was always warm. His mother liked to joke that when he was a baby she never needed any blankets because he provided all the heat she needed. So he wasn’t surprised that his palm was a little sweaty, but he was surprised to see a tiny, but slender fingered hand perfectly interlaced with his. It felt so natural he hadn’t even noticed it when he woke up.

He craned his neck just past his peripheral vision to find El curled up in a chair at his bedside. Her knees were drawn up to her chest with a pillow nestled on the back of the chair. However, instead of a blanket covering her, his tan jacket tucked up under her chin, exposing her socked feet.

“She hasn’t left your side since you were admitted,” Karen Wheeler announced in a whisper as she creaked open the door to Mike’s hospital room, coffee in hand. “In fact,” she continued, “I’m pretty sure she stayed awake all night to make sure you were okay. Up until the nurse checked you this morning.”

Mike looked from El, to his mother, and back to El again. His chest warmed at the sight of her, but he could see the slight worry lines still creased in her sleep. He wondered whether they were because of him or because of the hospital’s resemblance to what he thought the lab was like.

“How long have I been asleep?” Mike asked, concern growing on his face.

“You were out like a light after your tests were over yesterday,” she smiled warmly at her son. It pained her to see him hurt like this and her blood boiled at the thought of those bullies, but he was already looking better and that made her spirits brighten. “The doctors said you have a moderate concussion so you’ll be in here for another night, but you can go home tomorrow. But you can’t go back to school until Monday,” she finished.

“Where’s everyone else?” He wondered. His noticed the absence of Ted, Holly, and Nancy.

“Oh, your father is staying home with Holly since we couldn’t find a babysitter, but he wanted to be here. He called the hospital several times for updates,” his mother shook her head. “Nancy is at school, but I’ll call the office and let them know to tell her about you waking up. I believe her and Jonathan wanted to bring the boys over after school, too, if you’re up for it.”

“Yeah, I’d love that,” he said.

“Well, that’s good because I don’t think you have much choice,” Karen laughed. “It was quite the debacle getting your little gang to leave the waiting room, but the chief has a way of getting his point across doesn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed, then his brow furrowed. “But what about El? Why didn’t he take her home, too?”

Karen Wheeler raised an eyebrow at her son. He liked to think the eyebrow was saying, “Really? You really think Hopper is gonna win in an argument against her? Please.”

The tired boy chuckled to himself and thought back the day Will returned from The Upside Down and had to stay in the hospital for the week. He remembered how bewildered he was when he realized Dustin and Lucas had fallen asleep, meanwhile his leg had been pumping away on the linoleum while he chewed at his fingers for two hours, waiting for news about Will.

But that day will always be remembered as bittersweet. While he knew that while they got Will back, they had also lost Eleven temporarily. His hand reflexively squeezed hers, as if she would disappear again if he didn’t grip her tight. With that slight movement, El’s eyes fluttered open.

She looked at him with wide, puppy-dog eyes. Tears threatened her vision, but she refused to let them fall. Her lip quivered as she squeezed his hand back.

“Hi, El,” Mike smiled.

“Mike…” El choked back.

With that, Karen decided it was her time to exit and phone Ted, who was, surprisingly, the worry wart in these types of situations, to let him know all was well. But she decided to take a few minutes before telling the nurses, hoping to give him and El some time together.

“Do you remember?” El asked Mike quietly.

“Not really,” Mike winced as he touched the bandage over the back of his head.

“Mouthbreathers,” El whispered, looking down. Anger flashed in her eyes before she looked back to the bandaged dark-haired boy with concern.

Mike’s mouth tightened at the thought of the two boys she was referring to. He knew he was in here due to James and Troy, but he couldn’t remember exactly what happened. He remembered riding next to Lucas. Dustin and Will were bringing up the rear, and Max skated between both groups, slowing down and speeding up depending on the topic of conversation. Yet he had trouble recalling El’s presence, or lack-thereof.

“Do you know what happened?” He asked. “I can’t remember if we had met up with you yet,” he said feeling let down by his fuzzy memory.

After getting her bike for Christmas, El started meeting up with the boys at one of the intersections close to the school. The gang would ride around together for a bit talking about their day, planning their next campaign, or just playing around before going to their respective homes. But Mike couldn’t seem to pinpoint exactly where the accident occurred.

El nodded in response to his question, but continued to look down at their hands. Now both her hands were holding onto his left and she rubbed her thumb across his skin like he did with her, silently wishing she didn’t have to think about Mike getting hurt again.

Tears welled up in her eyes when she thought about the way his head smacked the pavement. How he hadn’t responded when Lucas shook him even though his eyes were open. Her breathing hitched when she remembered how he had vomited into a bag in the back of Hopper’s blazer.

“I don’t really remember much…” Mike said to himself, trailing off.

El’s head snapped up instantly and her caramel eyes met his inky ones. He recognized the fear showing itself on her face and immediately regretted opening his mouth. He regretted it even more so when she shut her eyes tight and rested her forehead on their interlocked hands.

He struggled to find the right words to comfort her. The only thing he could manage was stuttering, “I’m okay, though,” in a small voice.

El looked back up at the pale boy in the hospital bed and whispered.

“Promise?” She said.

“Promise,” Mike yawned.Without thinking, he scooted over on the bed and made room for El. He let go of her hand to pat the bed, inviting her to lie with him, hoping she would understand. She eagerly took the hint and scooted onto the bed next to him. It looked tight for two people, but they were relatively small kids so it wasn’t too bad. Besides, they enjoyed one another’s close proximity.

“I’m still kinda tired though and my mom said you didn’t sleep last night,” Mike continued.

El shook her head and looked down. “They hurt you,” she mumbled. “I was… worried,” she finished as she struggled to find the right word.

“Well,” he paused thinking of what to say, “thanks for making sure I was okay,” he smiled at her

With that, El gave him a tiny smile before nestling her head into his shoulder. While she was falling asleep, Mike reflected upon his friendship with the quiet girl who rested next to him.

This girl was one of the most selfless people he had ever met and she probably didn’t even realize it. She saved her friends and sacrificed herself without hesitation. But she still had so much to learn and Mike couldn’t wait to teach her.

Around 3:45 there was a commotion outside Mike’s hospital door. It swung open as four small bodies invaded the space. Lucas, Dustin, Will, and Max all swarmed the bed. They were inclined to envelope him and El a huge group hug before Jonathan and Nancy chimed in shouting at them to stop in unison.

The kids skidded to a halt at the edge of the bed. Mike and El were both awake now and well rested. Mike edged himself up a bit and El followed suit.

“Dude! We have to tell you what happened to Troy at school today,” Lucas said eagerly.

“Yeah, Max had this incredible idea,” Dustin grinned.

“It was nothing really. They had it coming,” their ginger-haired friend shrugged.

Mike smiled at his friends, grateful for their lively presence in the drab hospital room. He looked over at Jonathan and Nancy and thanked them with his eyes for bringing everyone and for staying to hangout with them.

“Wait, wait,” Mike held up his hands. “First I need you guys to tell me what happened in the first place. I don’t really remember anything. I just remember falling off my bike and I could hear Lucas saying my name, but I couldn’t see anything.”

Everyone was slightly taken aback by this news. Nancy spoke first.

“Wait, Mike…” she paused. “Are you saying you really don’t remember anything about how you ended up in here?”

“Not really…” Mike responded.

The gang went on to describe the events that transpired, in detail, to jog their leader’s memory. Apparently, the group had made it to the intersection they meet El at in town when they all started getting pelted with rocks by none other than Troy and James. While El could’ve stopped the rocks with her mind, her friends made it very clear when she returned that she was not to use her powers out in public unless they were sure no one else was around.

Normally, the kids would stay at the corner for awhile and chat before riding somewhere, but under the circumstances, they did their best to get the hell out of their as fast as they could.

They picked up the pace and pedaled away from their assailants but not before Troy knuckle-balled a full-sized stone and pegged it right between Mike’s bike spokes. He had been bringing up the rear making sure all of his friends were already moving towards safety.

When the rock hit, it jammed up Mike’s front tire causing him to flip over his handle bars and land hard on his back. The back of his head hit the pavement with a dull thud, his fluffy hair doing nothing to break the fall.

His friends whipped their heads around once they heard the crash of metal on pavement. It took El less than a second to dismount her bike, not caring if it was damaged by her recklessness, and get to Mike.

“Mike,” she whimpered, kneeling down in front of him. She held a hesitant hand out over his head, afraid to know what would happen if she touched him. Then she saw it; a small trickle of blood coming from where his head lay. It crept out from behind his sweaty head and moved like a slug down the pavement. Any and all rules were suddenly out the window.

Eleven stood at once and faced the attackers who were now holding their stomachs in an effort to calm their hysteria over “frog-face’s” landing.

She lowered her head slightly and did her best to concentrate on the boys despite the overwhelming fire that burned in her stomach. Then, the bits of stone and pebble around her began to shake, slowly at first, as if they were vibrating. Gradually, they picked up speed before rising up to eye level with her.

As the rocks glided up from the ground, Troy and James were completely shocked out of their stupor.

El’s dark eyes focused on Troy specifically and she knew he recognized her. Though her hair had grown out into short curls now she could tell, by the fear in his eyes that he remembered the quarry.

Before the bullies could scurry away, she released the rocks in a flurry of activity. Whether El’s intentions were simply to harm them, or she was still distracted by the unconscious boy behind her.  The debris flew forward with such force it’s a wonder the boys across the street weren’t killed. The rocks impaled windows, set off car alarms, and would surely leave rough cuts and bruises on their attackers.

James’ jeans were shredded at the knee caps and he was crawling away to safety. Troy squealed as a stone, as flat and sharp as a dagger, cut across his shirt sleeve exposing the blood that now ran down his arm.

The flurry ended just as soon as it began and sure enough the two boys were rushing down the street, terrified. El turned back to Mike who was still on the ground being tended to by Lucas.

“Then we called the police and Chief Hopper brought you here himself,” Lucas finished.

“He said it was because pizza delivery guys are even faster than ambulances around here,” Dustin laughed.

“Wow…” Mike was at a loss for words. “El, I can’t believe you did that!” He exclaimed.

El simply shrugged her shoulders.

“Oh come on, dude,” Max said, playfully shoving El’s arm. “You totally kicked their asses.”

”I swear she almost killed Troy.” Will remarked. “Max was the only one who could calm her down,“ Will smiled at her and Max grinned sheepishly at the compliment adding her own comment about them being complete wastoids anyway.

“It was so cool,” Dustin pointed out.

As the excitement lulled, Mike finally asked. “So what happened to them at school today?”

To no one’s surprise, Max was quite the prankster. Immediately after the gang left the hospital the night of the incident, they went to their respective homes and they got straight to planning their revenge.

The plan was simple. Max would be the distraction. Her fiery hair and tomboyish style made her easy to pick out in a crowd and made her an even easier target for Troy’s bulling. Lucas would construct “the surprise.” Will would break into Troy’s locker during a “trip to the nurse” and hide the device. Dustin was in charge of the pudding.

Revenge was set for lunch, that way there would be more witnesses. The process was easy enough. Lucas had reconstructed a smaller version of their volcano that won them second place in the science fair a few years prior. It was made out of a two liter, baking soda, and a whole lot of rotten eggs.

Max had “accidentally” tripped Troy, causing him to freak out on her. Consequently, he was late for class and unable to get to his locker before lunch like usual. She knew if he got to his locker then, that he wouldn’t return to it for the rest of the day.

Will and Dustin slipped out of history class easily. Will ad perfected the art of looking sick and Dustin was his “buddy” to make sure he got to the nurse okay. Once the two liter was in place and set up, they waited for lunch.

Will, armed with Jonathan’s camera stuck his little head around the hall corner to make sure Troy was at his locker. The others followed suit, all gripping the wall tight in anticipation.

They watched as Troy lifted the tiny handle to his locker and Max shouted, causing the bully to turn around. Immediately, the two liter fell from the top of the boy’s locker. The pressure inside the bottle was so great that as soon as it hit the ground, it exploded.

The smell of rotten eggs flooded the school and soon everyone was rushing into the hallway to see what happened. There, in all his glory, stood Troy. Smelling like absolute shit, with bubbling pudding staining the back of his trousers, and the wall of lockers behind him.

“Troy shit himself!” Dustin screeched with laughter.

Soon enough, the entire hallway was in tears, even some teachers had to stifle their laughs.

The hospital room erupted in laughter. Even Nancy and Jonathan had to hold onto one another in support. Finally, Jonathan reached into his bag and handed some photographs to Will.

“Is this why you asked me how to use the dark room in the high school?” Jonathan laughed.

Will nodded, grinning.

“Here you go, Mike. I thought you might want some pictures of ‘the big event,” the younger Byers boy joked as he handed them to their bed-ridden friend.

Upon seeing the pictures, Mike started laughing again. His face grew redder and soon enough, he was laughing so hard he was gasping for breath and holding onto his gut.

He may be bullied by Troy, and it may even get worse when he returns to school. But he has something Troy never will; the love and support of great friends like these, even if their methods of being there for one another are unconventional. Like believing in monsters, jumping into quarries, or building the ultimate stink bomb.