Mileven in Heaven

Sparks Fly

It was New Year's Eve, 1984, and the boys had a special tradition where they shot off fireworks in Mike's backyard each year. This time, they invited El and Max along too. Mike was really looking forward to seeing El again and showing her fireworks for the first time.

When the girls arrived, Mike and Lucas showered them with hugs. Dustin and Will started getting the fireworks ready, but Will had trouble lighting one of the matches. So, he asked El if she could use her powers to light it. She nodded and flicked her head to the side to swipe the match against the side of the matchbox.

"That was awesome! You did that in like two seconds!"

"*laughs* Piece of cake!"

Will took the now lit match and lit the firework. Before the popping sounds started, Mike told El about New Year's, how they would kiss at midnight when the year changed, and about making New Year's resolutions.

"That's so cool!"

"Yeah, it really is."

*pauses*

"Also, El, the fireworks are really loud. I'm just warning you about this because they kinda just pop out of nowhere, and I don't want you to be scared, okay?"

"Okay."

"They're really neat, but I wouldn't be surprised if the sounds triggered a bad memory for you. If that happens, just remember that I'll be right here with you the whole time."

*nods*

They sat down on the blanket. She sat in his lap and rested the back of her neck on his shoulder, his arms wrapped around her.

The fireworks started going off and her initial reaction was:

"Wow, they're so...pretty."

*smiles and kisses her head*

As the sounds got louder and more frequent, she got more and more tense and anxious. Suddenly, all of the images of Papa and the lab came flashing back. She couldn't bear it. She started sobbing. She turned around and hugged Mike tightly, clinging to his shirt. Causing a scene, she said:

"Mike, *sobs* it's happening!"

He grabbed and hugged her tightly. His left hand was tucked around her head, his fingers running through her hair as he swayed her back and forth.

"Sh, sh. It's okay, it's okay. You're safe now. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere!"

*lifts head and gazes into eyes*

*puts hands on face*

"*sniffles* Promise?"

"Promise!" he replied.

He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. It was all better from there on out. She got used to the sound and was able to enjoy the fireworks with everyone else. Eventually, they got tired and lied on their backs. Their arms were intertwined, their fingers interlaced, and their other hands, on the outside, were pointing up at the beautiful stars in the sky.

Eleven checked her watch (a.k.a. Mike's watch that he gave her).

"It's 11:58 now," she announced.

They sat up and all started walking inside. As they were gathering around the t.v., where they found Mr. Wheeler sleeping in his lazy-boy, Mike pulled El aside.

"El, before we go over there, there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a long time now and I wanna do it before we start the new year...You see, we're kind of already in a relationship, but when a guy and a girl like each other, the guy often asks the girl to go steady with him, so I was wondering if you would go steady with me."

"Yes," she said, not really knowing what she was getting herself into, but knowing that he was all she wanted.

He pulled her in for a hug and kissed her face all over. She could not hide her smile. She was far too happy to contain her joy.

There were 10 seconds left in the countdown. Will was standing next to Dustin, Lucas next to Max, and Mike and Eleven, who held hands until the very last second.

"3, 2, 1!" they all said together.

They all turned to each other and said 'Happy New Year' at the same time:

[Dustin and Will say "Happy New Year!" to each other.]

*hugs*

[Lucas and Max say "Happy New Year!"]

*hold hands*

*kiss*

[Mike and Eleven say "Happy New Year!" to each other.]

*jumps into Mike's arms, spins around*

*kiss*

"Now, you're officially my girlfriend!"

*smiles big*

*foreheads touch*