~Mike's POV~
I lied on the couch. At first, I was confused. I wasn't quite sure where I was or what had happened. It didn't take that long to remember all that had happened.
Hopper had extracted the bullet from my side and stitched up my injury. He said he didn't want to to take me to a hospital that late just in case the bad men were still out there.
I awoke to the smell of Eggos.
"Morning Mike," I heard El say.
She kneeled down next to me so that we were eye to eye.
"I told you you'd be okay," She said, smiling.
I tried to sit up, but I felt a sharp pain in my side.
I let out a groan.
"It still needs time to heal, but you'll be okay," El said as if trying to convince herself.
I looked around, but it seemed like only El and I were here.
"Where's Hopper?" I asked her.
"He went to work early. He said he would drop you back at your house this evening," El said.
"El?" I asked, sitting up on the couch.
"Yes, Mike?"
"Why do you think the bad men were after us? I thought they had agreed to leave you alone," I spat.
"I'm not sure," She said, sitting on the couch next to me.
I reached for her hand.
"I'm just so sick of them hunting you down. I'm sick of you having to hide, and-" I realized I had been squeezing her hand a little too tightly. I eased up on my grip.
"Sorry, I just get so worried about you," I said.
El smiled.
"You're worried about me? You almost-" El stopped in mid-sentence.
She gulped.
"You almost died last night. Do you know how scared I was?" She croaked. It sounded like she was about to cry.
I failed to meet her gaze.
"Why didn't you tell us you were injured?" She asked me.
"I just didn't want to slow the party down," I sighed.
I looked up. El was staring at the floor, avoiding eye contact. I could see her shoulders quiver.
"Last night, before the bad men came," she started. "You were about to tell me something. What were you going to tell me?" She asked.
I watched as she slowly lifted her head up. I cupped her cheek with my hand.
"El, I was going to tell you that I loved you. I love you," I said. I realized she was crying. I wiped the tears away from her face.
"W-What does l-love mean?" She asked me.
It had never occurred to me that El didn't know what love meant. It broke my heart. I pulled my hand away from her cheek, the other still gently holding her hand.
"Well, love is when you really like someone," I said.
"Like a friend?" She asked.
Her prodding brought back a memory of how she had asked almost the same thing the night she disappeared over a year ago.
"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," El finished.
"Yeah, happy," I said, smiling.
I stared back at the floor.
"I'm sorry, El. I didn't realize how much I troubled you," I said. "I was only thinking about myself. I should've-"
"Mike," She cut me off.
I looked up. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I wanted to look away, but El put her hands on my shoulders, making sure I faced her.
"It's ok Mike. I just want you to be safe. I can't lose you again," She said, smiling.
Her smile was just so sweet. I couldn't believe that she was actually in the same room as me, sitting next to me. I could barely comprehend that she was holding my hand. About a month ago, I was still a complete mess. The past year had been terrible. It was hard to believe that after all this time, she was here, with me.
"Mike? What's wrong?" El asked me, concerned.
I didn't realize I was crying.
I turned, hiding my face, wiping the tears away with one of my sleeves.
"Nothing," I said.
"Mike."
"Yeah, El?"
"Friends don't lie."
I sighed.
"Sorry, it's just, I can't believe that you're with me. I felt so alone when you were gone," I told her.
El pulled me into a hug.
"I'm here Mike, and I don't plan on leaving you again," She whispered into my ear as we hugged.