Always By Your Side *Mileven* // SEQUEL

Gone

~El's POV~

It had been six months since Mike Wheeler died. I could still remember the funeral. Everyone had been dressed and black clothing. It had been so somber. 

Now, I understood.

I understood how Mike must have felt all 353 days I had been gone in 1984. He thought I was gone, but he didn't give up on me. He was right not to because he found me again. 

I didn't want to give up on Mike, but I knew he was gone. Mike knew there was a chance I was still out there. I know there isn't a chance. I saw him die in front of my eyes.

He was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it.

~~~

"Last night, before the bad men came, you were about to tell me something. What were you going to tell me?" I asked Mike.

I slowly lifted my head up. Mike reached out and cupped my cheek with his hand.

"El, I was going to tell you that I loved you. I love you," he said. Mike realized I was crying. He wiped the tears away from my face with his gentle hand.

"W-What does l-love mean?" I asked him.

Mike pulled his hand away from my cheek, the other still gently holding my hand.

"Well, love is when you really like someone," he told me.

"Like a friend?" I asked.

The conversation seemed familiar. It was similar to the one we had had over a year ago in the cafeteria.

"No, not a friend. Someone more than a friend. You just feel safe around them, and you might get this weird feeling in your chest. Sometimes your face burns when you're with them. They just make you so-"

"Happy," I finished.

"Yeah, happy," Mike said, smiling.

~~~

I sat up straight, waking up from the dream. It felt so real. Then again, it wasn't really a dream, but a memory.

I still remembered that night as if it had been yesterday.

He had said he loved me. He loved me.

I could feel tears streaming down my face.

He couldn't be gone, he just couldn't be! But, he was. Part of myself just wouldn't believe it, yet part of me knew that he was really gone.

I would always love him. I wouldn't love anyone else like I had loved him, I just knew it. He was different. He had made me feel special and loved. Mike always knew what to say. He had truly cared about me. I would always love Michael Wheeler. I just wished he was still around. I wished I could hear him say it one more time.

"I love you."

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I hoped you liked chapter one of the sequel! ~Rocky