you're my safe place ~ MILEVEN ONE SHOTS~

Trick Or Treat?

(Alternative ending to Season 2 Episode 2, where El sneaks out and goes trick or treating where she bumps into a familiar group of boys. I know it is February but who cares? Comment LOADS PLEASE!!)

El's smiled faded with every minute that passed, the clock hands dragging by slower as she watched the door. She started to pace the cabin, getting the eggos out of the freezer ready for when he would come home, eventually watching out of the window for his return. El let out a huff, her cold breath leaving marks on the window as she looked out into the sky, the sun beginning to set with each minute that past. 

At 7:15 pm, she got tired of waiting and ignored the wobble in her chin. Deep down she was disappointed that Hopper had clearly not deemed this night important enough to go through with his promise, forgetting about the compromise that he had taught her that morning. El paced around angrily, finally ending up in her bedroom where she found the white sheet that she had introduced him to at breakfast. Inspecting it for a few moments, El shoved the sheet over her head, completely unrecognizable in the mirror. 

With a determined nod, she threw open the cabin door and ran out. 

After walking around aimlessly for an hour, El managed to locate a street where several kids seemed to be wandering around in different costumes. El tilted her head, not understanding some of their costumes and who they were supposed to be dressed up as. She wasn't used to the concept of trick or treating so when she walked up to her first house, she stood there frozen as the couple smiled at her. 

"You okay, sweetie?" the man asked her kindly. 

El gulped, looking down at the bowl they were holding out, full of treats. 

"I think she's a little shy" the woman nudged her husband gently and knelt down slightly, "it's okay, sweetheart. Take a bunch of candy and enjoy your night!"

El hesitantly reached out and grabbed a sweet, nodding in thanks before rushing off nervously. As soon as she left the house, she stuffed the bar into her mouth and licked her lips happily at how delicious it was, almost as good as eggos. After a few seconds of smiling, El looked around quickly to find more houses with sweet treats for her, thoroughly excited to spend the rest of her night trick or treating like a normal kid. 

Her mind automatically drifted back to Mike and his friends, wondering what they were doing on Halloween. She talked herself out of the glimmer of hope that suggested that she could see them having fun, knowing that if she was lucky enough to find them, it would hurt too much to see Mike happy without her. Despite knowing how many days he had called her for, El couldn't bare to watch him having fun if she wouldn't be able to see him again. 

After stuffing her faces at a few houses, El found herself bumping into a small group. The others continued on, calling apologies after her but one stayed, his voice soft and kind. 

"Hey, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

El found herself looking up and as soon as her eyes landed on a familiar face, her entire body went cold. He looked the same as he did in the void, just more real because she knew that if she touched him he wouldn't just disappear into nothing. She could see his familiar freckles sprinkled all over his cheeks, his cheekbones sharper than they used to be and his dark hair longer as it swept over her forehead. She could see in the void that he had grown taller just like she had even as he sat down in her fort, but she didn't realize how much he towered over her,  his body almost as tall as Hopper.

"Whoa, you are a ghost? Me and my friends are the ghost-busters...y-you probably don't know what that means but..basically, we catch ghosts. Weird huh?" Mike smiled hesitantly, blurting out nonsense nervously.