el's POV [September 19, 11:19 AM]
"he took me there, after we left the quarry. the leaves were beginning to turn their firey red and will and i were wrapped in our too-big jackets making crunchy sounds with our feet.
"what did you tell him?" will asked me as we walked through the woods to castle byers. he looked tired and maybe a little nervous.
"i didn't tell him much. i just told him i had to leave when your mom got there. he asked me what we talked about before you left and i said you would tell him next time you saw him."
he nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"will, are you happy?"
"what do you mean?"
"about mike, i mean. max and i may have...pushed a little."
he bit his lip to hold back a smile and pushed me playfully.
"shut up, i knew it."
"oh, did you?" i teased and we laughed.
"is it a little weird that we have both kissed him?" will asked as we entered castle byers.
"i don't think so. will, i want you to know, i knew mike was way into you when he and i were together. he used to talk about you all the time, to the point where i asked him if he was sure he didn't have feelings for you."
we sat on the little mattress and will picked up the frames of the pictures of him and mike.
"and one day he told you he did?"
"yeah, one day he did. he made it all dramatic, too. it was pretty funny." i giggled at the memory.
i looked at will for a moment, who was still looking at the picture of him and mike. i smiled and realized this was maybe the first time i had ever seen him truly happy.
"el, how do i fight this? i want to, for mike." he looked up quickly from the pictures like he had just come to a conclusion.
"i'm not sure. you could try running." i gave the suggestion and almost immediately regretted it.
i watched as he considered it.
"will," i began.
"el, i have to outrun it. i can't let it get me again. maybe if it can't find me-"
"no, will. you need to be here, with me and mike and max and dustin and lucas. we can do it again, i promise."
"i can't do it to mike again. he can't see me like that again." will looked outside like he was thinking hard about it.
and that was that, i guess. when will decided he had to leave.
what neither of us considered was that it would find him before we did.
will left later on that day with just a backpack, his bike, and his walkie-talkie, which he knew wouldn't get a connection for much farther than the outskirts of Hawkins.
i was with him. he left from castle byers, insisting he needed to bring the little frame with the picture of the two of them from Halloween.
i didn't want him to leave, in fact, i tried hard to talk him out of it. i tried to talk about mike, his mom, jonathan, just anything that might change his mind. but, if there's one thing you know about will byers, it's that he's stubborn as hell.
"el, you can't tell him about this. not that you saw me leave or that you know anything about it, i don't want him to be angry. when i get closer to where I'm going, we'll still be able to communicate, right? you can do that thing you do and I'll complete the connection like we practiced."
i wasn't worried that he wouldn't be able to communicate, we had been practicing for months after we figured out will's powers are quite a lot like mine. he's able to connect worlds, it's why he's such an easy target and why the gate can never be closed, he is the gate.
the last thing i said to will before he hopped on his bike and rode away was "i'll find you, will. i'll bring you back to mike, i promise." he offered a little smile at that and looking back, I'm glad i got to see it one last time.
we talked then for a while over the walkie-talkie until he made it to Illinois on day 3, that's when the walkie-talkie went silent. we were both a little surprised it reached as far as it did, but we were grateful nonetheless. it wasn't until 6 days after he left that we communicated again. by then, everyone had figured out he was missing and joyce had hopper send out the search teams. i was waiting the first few hours for them to find him, but when they couldn't, i decided it was time to test out will's ability to communicate telepathically.
he completed the connection almost immediately. i couldn't see him the first time and his voice sounded shakey, like he was either sick or over exhausted. that's when i started to wonder if will was eating. he didn't take any food, but he did have all of his emergency money which i think he told me was somewhere around $280. if he was buying food, he was only eating once a day, which isn't nearly enough especially riding his bike like he is.
that's when i urged him to consider coming back. i tried again to tell him we were all going to be here, just like last time.
every conversation we had after the first, i was able to see him and the sight of him in combination with the frail sound of his voice was enough to make me want to get him home immediately. he looked bad, lips all blue and skin pale. he had strange bruises on his skin. it made my heart ache. will needed to be home.
i tried a different approach each time to try to get him to come back. After a couple of weeks, he didn't know where he was and wasn't sure how to get back even if he wanted to.
the last time i talked to him, almost 2 months after he left, he really sounded like he was dying. he sounded weak and i seriously questioned when the last time he got something to eat was. he told me he had $5 left and wasn't sure what he would do after. he said he thought he was losing whatever monster was chasing him but since we haven't been able to connect in almost a month and a half, i had to assume he was wrong.
i worried about him every day and keeping it to myself has been so difficult, but then i remembered something i had learned a long time ago.
sometimes, when two powered people cannot form a communicative connection, a powered person may be able to form one with one of their own, which in normal people language basically translates to a soulmate, mike. and it worked. mike and will have been able to form a connection and actually communicate a few times since will and i have lost connection. it's so strange to me, all of it. i want so badly to be able to ask mike to ask will the things that matter like is he eating? is he okay? where the hell he is? but, i know i can't ask him without telling him everything and at this point, almost months in, i don't think he would ever forgive me.
but now, mike knows. he doesn't know everything, but he will soon. I'm going to tell him.
anyway, thank you for helping me with this, dustin. i know it's been a long time but i really believe we will find him.
i'll write to you again, soon. i continue wishing you and steve the best luck and safe travels.
yours attentively,
eleven."
********************************
Hey guys!
here's a little background info in case anyone's confused: will left hawkins after he and el realized the mind flayer was back. he did it in order to protect mike and the rest of his friends from the danger and chaos the mind flayer brings with it, even if that meant having to deal with it by himself. el was the only one who knew he was leaving and the two of them communicated until the end of month 2 when they were unable to connect. el assumes it's because the mind flayer got him. she tries to think of some way to reach him and so she tries her luck with mike, who she tells very little to about the reason the connection between the two of them might work, but alas it does work. meanwhile, dustin and steve have been traveling the country in search of will after el told dustin about everything she knew as soon as the connection was lost. they've been through most of the surrounding states, currently driving through Minnesota. el has been writing to dustin periodically when she has updates on the situation.
I hope it hasn't been too confusing to follow along with, as always if you have any questions, feel free to comment or message me directly so i can clear things up :)
Yours,
Sava