๑ 11 ๑
For years, El's eighteenth birthday signified what she hoped would be the start of her emergence into the world, of her freedom. Many nights, she dreamt about what all she would see and do once she made it out of that cabin. It gave her the hope she needed to push through each day, knowing that something would have to come out of her progression into being an adult.
That long awaited day came and went though, and it was nothing like she had expected it to be. It was actually quite the opposite of the dream she had always envisioned in her head. Instead of going out into the world, El was stuck in the cabin that entire day with Papa, doing the same things they always do.
She had preferred that he go to work, so she could be with Mike, but Papa insisted that the big day was to be spent with her. She knew it would be pointless to ask him if they could leave the cabin, seeing as he made it pretty clear the last time she'd asked that it wasn't an option. So, she played along, acting as if she were having the best time with him.
Given how the past week had gone for El though, the way her birthday played out hadn't bothered her all that much. From the moment Mike had come into her life, she'd gotten to experience so many new things with him, so many things that she'd always dreamt about. She didn't need this day to give her that, she had already gotten her dream and so much more.
El was happier than she'd ever been, but for reasons Papa was completely unaware of. Even at dinner time, as the man droned on and on about more of the plans he had for her at the lab, her happiness never faltered.
And that happiness only grew stronger the next morning, when Papa told her he would be returning to work. As usual, he reminded her that he would be gone the whole day, the news being the best (late) birthday present the man could've possibly given her.
The second he left the cabin, El rushed across the room, snatching the phone off the wall to give her favorite person the good news. She quickly dialed his number, it ringing a couple of times before Mike finally picked up.
"Hi, El."
"Hi! How'd you know it was me?"
"I had a feeling."
El giggled softly into the phone, the sound of Mike's voice on the other end inevitably bringing a foolish grin to her face.
"Papa's going to be gone all day again, can you come over?"
"Yeah, of course. I made plans with Dustin, but I can cancel them."
"Oh, no you don't have to cancel your plans. I can just come with you!"
"Uh, El? I really don't think that's a good idea."
"But Papa will be gone all day, Mike. He would never find out if I left."
It was silent for a moment, causing her to fear that he was going to say no. She wouldn't accept that though, she needed to go out again.
"Please? I need to get out of this cabin. I need to see you."
Still, Mike said nothing.
It wasn't until she heard him let out a sigh, that he finally decided to speak again.
"Okay, sure. You can come with us."
"Yes! Thank you!" She exclaimed, thrilled that she would get to see not only Mike, but his nice friend from the arcade too.
"I'll be there soon, okay?"
"Okay! Bye Mike!" El hung up the phone in a hurry, eager to find out what her day with the two boys would bring her.
Was it dangerous sneaking out when Papa could very well come home early? Yes, yes it was, but really she couldn't find it in her to care.
•
Mike couldn't shake the worry that had come over him after his phone call with El. He was incredibly skeptical about their plan for the day, fearing what could happen to her if she got caught leaving the cabin.
Taking her out into town while her sad excuse for a guardian was in Chicago was one thing, but doing so while he was here, probably minutes away... that was purely insane.
He knew better than to do something so stupid, but El had practically begged to go with them and he didn't want to let her down. He refused to, so if she wanted to go with them, that's exactly what would happen. All he could do was just hope that they didn't get caught.
Literally, that's all he could do from the moment he hung up the phone, until he had set off to go get her a few hours later. It didn't help that he had an incredibly confused Dustin by his side either, but he somehow managed to dodge most of his friend's suspicions along the way.
Of course, he understood why there would be any suspicions in the first place. It wasn't exactly normal to trek through the woods to some sketchy looking cabin just to meet a girl, but lately, nothing Mike did was normal. Before he met El, he would've never done something like this for a girl, or anyone really. But now, he would do it every single day if it meant that he got to see her.
Once they'd finally reached El's front door, Mike brought up a fist and knocked heavily. The door was flung open seconds later, as if she had been waiting right on the other side of it for him to arrive.
"Hi!" El beamed, before greeting him with the tightest hug, like she always does.
Mike held her just as tight, loving the feeling of having her in his arms again.
"Hey, El. Hope it's okay that I brought Dustin here with me."
At the mention of the boy's name, she loosened her grip on Mike and looked off behind him, just now noticing Dustin's presence.
"Yes, of course! Hi!" She happily exclaimed, shooting forward to engulf the boy in a hug.
"Why, hello El." Dustin chuckled, a little caught off guard by the friendly gesture. "It's good to see you again."
"It's great to see you!" El replied with a bright smile, as she ushered the two of them into the cabin and shut the door. "So, where are we going?"
"We're going swimming at the lake, does that sound fun?"
"That sounds like so much fun!" She said, while nearly bouncing up and down with excitement. "But what will I wear?"
"Oh, I brought you these." Mike reached into the bag he had brought along with him and held up two bathing suits, one a little less revealing than the other. "They were my sister's at some point, so I'm sure they'll fit you. I just didn't know which one you'd want, so I brought both."
"This is so great! Thank you! I'll be right back."
She snatched the bathing suits from his hands, scurrying off into her room to put one on.
"Does she not own any bathing suits?" Dustin questioned from beside him, once El had closed her bedroom door.
"I told you, she doesn't get out much." Mike shrugged, hoping that would be enough of an answer for him.
"Man, if I were her I'd want to get out of this place as often as I could."
"Believe me, she wants that too." He sighed, taking a good look around the place he was becoming quite familiar with lately.
While it wasn't the worst place to live in, it was still very worn down and not at all a place he would want to be stuck in for eighteen years. The inside was in slightly better condition than the outside, but that still wasn't saying much. It was really no surprise that Mike thought it was abandoned that day he was running from the police.
It was certainly not abandoned though, housing the most amazing girl he had ever met inside, a girl he was going to make certain would free of this place one day.
Before Mike's mind could wander any farther, El's bedroom door opened and she finally came back out, the sight immediately catching both boys' attention.
"Shit." Mike swore under his breath, a little louder than he'd intended to.
"What is it?" El looked down at the purple bikini she had chosen to wear, the slightest frown crossing her face. "Did I put it on wrong?"
"No, not at all! It uh, it looks good, really good! Maybe wear something over it though, so you won't be cold after?"
"Good idea!" She rushed off into her room once more, allowing Mike a moment to recover from what he had just seen.
Obviously, he knew he would be seeing her in a bathing suit, but it seemed that nothing could've possibly prepared him for that. El truly took his breath away, which should honestly be expected at this point, seeing as she had already proven time and time again that she was the most stunning human in existence.
"Dude." Dustin suddenly spoke, while not so gently nudging him with his elbow.
"What?"
"El's hot."
"Hey!" Mike was quick to smack him on the arm, not enjoying him talking about her that way.
"Aw my bad, forgot you're in love with her."
"Oh my God. Seriously? I'm no-"
"Okay! I'm ready to go!" El announced as she joined them again, now wearing a pink sundress over the bathing suit.
"Uh yeah, alright." Mike cleared his throat, the nerves from before seeping back in and taking his mind off of what Dustin said. "You're absolutely sure that your Papa won't come home early or anything? Because you could get in so much trouble for this if he found out."
"He won't find out." El assured him, so much certainty in her words that he almost believed her. "And what Papa doesn't know, won't hurt him... right?"
Mike couldn't help the grin that tugged at his lips, not expecting her to remember what he'd told her their first day spent together. "Right, let's go then!"
"So we're sneaking you out, El? How rebellious!" Dustin gasped, causing her to start giggling.
"I know! It's so much fun!"
Mike chuckled to himself as he listened to them talk, following them right out the door. He was feeling rather thankful too, that Dustin was distracted enough to not notice the many locks on the door behind them click shut all by themselves.
The three then set off walking through the woods, reaching Mike's car a good five minutes later. They all hopped in, El taking the passenger seat as both boys had so kindly insisted, and were soon on their way.
Mike drove the familiar route to Lover's Lake, where they would be hanging out for the day. Any other time he would be completely against swimming there, but once he knew that El would be joining them, he decided this would be the perfect thing to do.
Dustin was perfectly fine with the change of plans, mainly because he wanted to see some other people from school there. Given that it was the weekend and the teens in Hawkins often hung around there, the chances of that were very high.
Once they arrived at the lake though, they found that there weren't as many people there as usual and the ones that were there had gathered at the other end of the lake. This was a little disappointing for Dustin, but Mike couldn't care less.
Based on how things had gone when El ran into Troy at the mall, the less people from his school she had to interact with, the better.
"We're swimming here? I thought you said this water was disgusting?" El asked Mike, as she got out of the car and rushed over to meet him on the other side.
"Well I did say that, but that was just my own opinion. People swim in it all the time, so I'm sure it's not too bad." He shrugged, before making the swift move of removing his shirt.
Mike tossed it into the front seat of the car, along with his car keys and eased the door shut. "Alright, come on then."
Before she could even make a move, Mike scooped El up and threw her right over his shoulder. The two left Dustin behind as Mike ran off, causing El to squeal while she wiggled around in his arms.
"Mike!"
"Mike! What are you doing?"
El didn't get an answer, only silence from him as he carried her out on the bridge that went over the lake.
"Mike!"
"Do you trust me?" He asked, the question causing her to instantly stop her squirming around.
"Yes, of course I trust you." She replied, the sincerity in her voice bringing a soft smile to his face.
"Good."
Mike's smile grew as he reached the very end of the bridge and threw her right off into the lake. He heard her giggling through the scream she let out as she fell, her body soon hitting the water with a splash.
Mike chuckled to himself, watching her thrash around as she came back up to the surface, until he realized that she was actually struggling to stay afloat.
"Shit!"
He didn't hesitate to jump right in, swimming as fast as he could to get to her. Once he had, he took her into his arms, wanting to get her out of the water as soon as possible.
She had broken out into a fit of coughs along the way, which only pushed him to move through the water even faster. Thankfully, she managed to calm down a little once they made it to the edge of the lake.
Mike gently set her down on the grass, before getting out and plopping down next to her. He pushed her wet hair back from her face, his eyes searching everywhere to be certain there weren't any signs of an injury.
"Are you alright?"
She quickly nodded her head, a few more incessant coughs escaping her.
"El, do you know how to swim?"
She simply shrugged her shoulders, as if she truly didn't know the answer. "I guess I don't."
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think!"
"Mike, it's okay."
"Are you sure? I feel awful. I mean, you said you trusted me and then I go and pretty much try to drown you."
"It's okay, I promise. You didn't know... and I didn't either." She giggled softly. "But you did get my dress all wet, now I'll be cold after."
"Yeah, sorry about that. You can just wear my shirt when we get done, okay?"
"Okay." El smiled graciously. "Thanks, Mike."
"You know what I have to do now though, if you'll let me of course?
"What?"
"I have to teach you how to swim!"
•
"Would you look at that, it's like you've been doing it your whole life!" Mike cheered, as El excitedly swam her way back over to him.
She had been swimming back and forth for awhile now and clearly, she was thrilled over what she'd learned to do.
"You could probably swim laps around us now!" Dustin chimed in, bringing a proud grin to her face.
"Well, Mike is an excellent teacher, so we should be cheering him on too!"
"Wow. I'm flattered, Princess." Mike teased, though he wouldn't say he was excellent. He taught her as best as he could.
It didn't really take long for her to catch on, but it was only swimming. It wasn't exactly the hardest task to figure out. Now that she had figured it out though, Mike decided to have a little fun. He swept his hand through the water and splashed her, the water he sent her way getting the rest of her hair wet.
"Mike!" El gasped, looking offended by what he had done.
Once he started laughing though, she realized it was only just a joke. She started laughing too, as she copied exactly what he'd done with his hand and splashed him back.
They continued their little game of splashing one another, until El suddenly raised her hand, using those powers of hers to send a giant wave of water right back at him.
"Holy shit!" Dustin shouted, his outburst reminding the two of his presence just a few feet away.
They instantly looked to one another in disbelief over the mistake she had just made. El looked terrified, while quite literally on the verge of tears and all Mike wanted to do then was to go to her and assure her that everything would be okay.
"El? Did you just-"
"Dustin." Mike snapped, wanting to put a stop to the full on freak out he knew was about to happen.
"Dude! Did you see that? She totally just threw that water without even touching it!"
"Yeah, I know. She uh, she basically has superpowers." He informed the stunned boy, knowing there was no use in trying to hide it from him now. "But you cannot tell anyone, okay?"
"She has superpowers?!"
"Hey! Snap out of it and listen to me you idiot." Mike yelled, attempting to get a hold on him. "I don't know much about all this, but it could be really dangerous if anyone found out about her. She could get hurt, even killed. Do you understand that?"
"Yeah, no I got it. My lips are sealed, I swear." Dustin assured him, before looking right at El. "I won't tell anyone, okay?"
"Okay." El nodded a bit hesitantly. "I trust you."
"Good, thank you! You seriously have superpowers though? That's so sick! What else can you do? Set things on fire? Fly? Show me everything!"
Mike rolled his eyes, expecting nothing less from his friend. "Dude, no."
"What? Why not?"
He simply shook his head, ignoring his friend's childlike disappointment to focus on El.
"You don't have to do anything, okay? I would hate for something to happen to you all because Dustin wants to live out his dream of being a superhero's trusty sidekick."
"You are no fun, man." Dustin huffed, before disappearing underwater and swimming off from the two of them.
"Sorry about him." Mike sighed, while El slowly began to make her way over to him.
She was smiling brightly as she glided through the water, giggling once she reached him. She then looped her arms around his neck, pulling him toward her.
"What's so funny?" He asked, but El didn't say a word, only staring up at him with those beautiful eyes of hers.
She was so close to him now, so close that he didn't know what to do. Okay, scratch that. Mike knew exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to kiss her again, he craved it really.
Ever since the last kiss they shared, when she had asked him to kiss her in that adorable way that she did, he needed to do it again. Kissing her was an experience unlike any other and as greedy as it sounded, he would kiss her any chance he got.
He always wanted to be certain that she was okay with it though. He hadn't forgotten that she was still new to most things, kissing especially, so any moment they shared would be completely up to her.
Now, here she was making the move on him and he couldn't wait to get lost in feeling of those perfect lips of hers against his.
He was so close to getting what he wanted too, but then Dustin decided to splash them both with water, completely ruining the moment. As El pulled away from Mike, he really wished that he had ditched the boy and just brought her here by himself. If he had, he would be kissing her right about now, not watching like a lost puppy as she swam off to get his friend back for splashing them.
The sound of their laughter quickly snapped him out of his selfish thoughts, as the two threw water back and forth, but Mike could only focus on El.
He couldn't help it. The way she was so happily playing around in the water, with the sun beaming down on her was so mesmerizing, there was no way he could look away... and the longer he stared at her, the more he couldn't shake the feeling that he never wanted to.
He never wanted to look at anyone else, only El.
Okay, so maybe Dustin was right.
Maybe I am in love with her.