the year of el | mileven

ch. 19 | static

Will tugged the sheets on his bed anxiously, fearing the worst was still to come.

He had to keep calm though, he couldn't let them know he knew what was actually going on. There was no telling what they'd do to him if they found out.

Dr. Jones looked over at him and smiled

Oh that smile. How Will had come to hate it. It alluded such fake hospitality which made him cringe.

"So we're gonna begin a new procedure today, one that'll make you feel a whole lot better. We believe whatever is causing your ailment lies in your brain, so we will route wires around your cerrebellum to see if we can locate the source"

Will's mind spun as he tried to think of something, anything, that would buy him more time

"Doc, I've been meaning to tell you that I've been having nightmares lately"

"We'll I'm sorry to hear that-"

"a-about that place!" Will shot out, startling even himself

Jones countenance lightened "are you referring to the other realm?"

"Yes! and almost every night it's like I'm there myself. It all feels so real."

Dr. Jones got up from his chair and approached him eagerly "And how long have you been having these nightmares?"

"For about a week straight, I didn't tell you earlier because I was hoping they'd be over soon but since they're not I thought you should know" Will lied, biting his lip

"I'm glad you told me, This is big. This will help us tremendously in our research for the cure" Dr. Jones said as he began to excessively scribble on his clipboard "Tonight we will begin the procedure!" he exclaimed, rushing out of the room

Will let out a deep sigh

But grimaced at the thought of them coming back tonight.

Will had fifteen hours until then and now it was a race against time.

His sanity, his family, his friends, and even his own life all hung in the balance.

✧

Mike stared in the mirror, carefully examining his face after he finished shaving away his small stubble. He smiled, finally happy with the results.

He then put on a nice blue button down shirt and sprayed on some cologne.

Today would officially be his first time with her and he wanted it to be perfect.

His dad was at work and his mom was chaperoning Holly's school camping trip.

Everything was going according to plan.

The doorbell rang and Mike suddenly became flustered. He had been doing so well at keeping his cool about this but now that El was here, the reality of it all set in.

"Hey El" He blushed, as he opened the door for her

She looked absolutely amazing in her tank top and skirt and Mike was doing his best to hold his composure.

"Hey Mike" she softly uttered

"Uh, w-well, the basement?" he stuttered

They made their way down to his basement and he could feel his hands grow clammy and his pulse quicken.

El breathed in a delightful scent "Candles?"

He rubbed the back of his head "Yeah, I heard that they're um romantic"

They proceeded to the couch where they sat in awkward silence, Mike at one end and El at the other

He stared at the ground, fumbling with his hands "I've never done this before"

She felt herself growing nervous as well. She was grateful Mike and her would both share this moment as their first but the fact that it would indeed be their first time made it that more tense.

"Me either" she said quietly

Mike moved closer to her, looking her in the eyes "Are you sure about this?"

She had never felt so sure in all her life. She just had to show him what he meant to her, how special he made her feel, but most importantly how much she was in love with him.

"I'm sure" she stated, placing a kiss on his lips

Mike caressed her face gently while pressing his mouth against hers

She then pushed herself onto his lap, causing him to lean back.

Their kissing becoming more passionate as their tongues met.

He slipped his hands underneath her top, grazing her soft skin.

There he searched the back of her bra with his hands, desperate to find the clasp.

Suddenly she drew away, leaving Mike gasping for air

She made her way off his lap and stood up, peering around the room

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked with concern

"No." She mentioned as she began walking around

Mike looked over at her confused "Is everything alright?"

She found his supercom and blew the collected dust off from it

"I'm not sure if that works anymore. I haven't used it in years but if you need to use a phone there's one upstairs" he commented, trying to mask the disappointment in his voice

She ignored him, fixating her attention on the supercomm

She began to mess with the buttons flipping through various channels

"El, what are you doing?"

"Listen" she said, holding the supercomm to his ear

"I don't hear anything but static, I'm pretty sure it's broken"

"Mike. Listen."

A frantic voice had broken through the overbearing static

"If anyone's out there, This is Will Byers! This is an emergency! Please send help!"

Mike's eyes grew huge and his jaw dropped

He quickly grabbed the supercomm "Will? Is that you! It's me Mike! Will! Hey! do you copy?"

The supercomm crackled "Help... I'm... Hawkin's.... unit..."

"You're in Hawkins? Where in Hawkins Will?!" Mike yelled

The signal began to slowly fizz out

"Will! Where in Hawkins are you?" He repeated

The signal completely dropped as static once again overtook the supercomm

"Piece of shit" Mike mumbled, pressing the buttons rapidly

He placed the supercomm back and turned to her.

His face still in a state of shock "But...how did you know?"

She shrugged "I heard him"

It was strange, but it was kind of like she had heard Will in her mind. Out of nowhere she sensed that he was reaching out and she had to find some sort of outlet for him to use.

He immediately wrapped her in his arms "Thank you."

She melted in his embrace, smiling from ear to ear "Let's find Will"