you're my safe place ~ MILEVEN ONE SHOTS~

I Would Never Do That To Her

God I'm just treating you with these recent updates (like the three people that actually read this haha) enjoy!! There will be another one in a few days cause I am on a roll!

@lucastown (somehow she still reads this rubbish but I love her for it)

Hopper was very relieved that his daughter wasn't running around and falling in love with predatory idiotic boys. They could hurt her, taint her innocence or turn her against him. Instead, she had somehow fallen in love with a lanky nerd that could barely look the chief in the eye without stumbling over his words. However, he was still reluctant to let them stay alone together for more than a couple of hours. So Eleven could not understand why Hopper had let her boyfriend stay over at the cabin on the sofa for two nights in a row.

It all started one night when El woke up to grab a glass of water. She let the cool liquid slide down her throat before crawling back under the warm blankets. However, just before she made it to the land of dreams, a strange noise startled her. The static of a faint voice on her super-com.

"El? Please pick up..."

El's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed her super-com, sniffling quietly, "Mike? Is everything alright?"

Mike was trying not to let her hear him cry. "Sorry to wake you."

"Mike?" El repeated desperately as she clutched the device.

"I just...I need y-you" his voice broke.

"Are you okay?" she sniffled quietly, glancing towards her door and sighing in relief when she heard her fathers snores. He wasn't her father by blood but that was okay, some things are more important than biology.

"My parents are getting a divorce."

"What's a divorce?" El asked in a small voice.

"It's uh-um...when they decide that they don't want to be together anymore" Mike stuttered, his voice breaking up on the walkie-talkie.

"Why?" El gasped in shock.

"They don't love each other anymore, El..."

El's eyes filled with tears. "But...how can you stop loving someone? I don't understand..."

"I don't either, El" Mike sobbed quietly. "I don't either."

...

Ever since that night where Mike explained what would be happening to his family, he had stayed over. Hopper noticed that the boy was deeply depressed the next day that he came round to the cabin, and awkwardly asked El if he was okay once they had said goodnight, not wanting to have to deal with the kid himself after their fight. The poor kid had simply sent El a weak smile and gave her a tight hug before sitting down on the couch and wrapping her up to watch a film. He barely spoke two words and would not let her go for anything.

Hopper sighed when El told him what was happening and told her that Mike could stay for as long as he needed.

"Why?" El had frowned.

"My parents got divorced when I was around his age" Hopper ruffled her curls with a heavy sigh. "He is going to need you to be there for him."

"I thought that you didn't like him" El mumbled under her breath and scuffed her feet on the floor slightly.

"I like the kid, El" Hopper laughed lightly, "But it's fun to scare him sometimes."

"Can you be nice today?" El frowned up at him. "He's sad."

Hopper smiled sadly before nodding. "Of course, kid."

...

Mike barely touched his eggos with El's special strawberry syrup after dinner and didn't even offer to help with the dishes, but Hopper said nothing. El held Mike's hand under the table but Hopper pretended not to see.

El simply stared at her boyfriend sadly, trying not to cry. Part of her felt like crying because she hated seeing Mike so upset more than anything, and part of her felt like crying because she was terrified that the same thing would one day happen to her and Mike.

She didn't understand it in the slightest. She could not even imagine waking up one day and not feeling her cheeks warm up when Hop teased her about Mike. She could barely imagine waking up and not feeling so excited to see him that she could burst. She couldn't think of looking at him one day and not longing to count his adorable freckles or to stroke his soft hair. She couldn't bear to think of not feeling butterflies or without smiling stupidly whenever he rambled on about science or something else that never interested her. How could it be possible that you could wake up one morning and not want to spend the rest of your life with the person that you love?

Hopper smiled softly when he saw the teenage boy wrap his arms around his daughter into a tight hug and bury his face into her shoulder. He went to grab another blanket for the sofa so that Mike would be more comfortable.

After kissing El on the forehead, Mike let her go get ready for bed before sitting down on his makeshift bed with a forlorn sigh.

"Everything will be okay, kid" Hopper cleared his throat. "Just because they aren't together anymore doesn't mean that they don't love you the same. You need to be there for your sisters."

"I know" Mike mumbled into his hands. "I feel like I'm being pathetic. My dad doesn't even talk to me most days."

Hopper shook his head slightly in sympathy for the poor boy.

"You're not pathetic, kid. You're still young and change is always difficult. Believe me, I know."

Mike sniffed and looked up at the chief who settled beside him quietly, "Your parents split up?"

"Yeah" Hopper replied. "I was about your age. But it doesn't mean that you're alone, kid. You'll always have your family, your friends and especially that little brunette in the other room who is worried sick about you."

Mike smiled lightly. "She is?"

"God, kid. All I hear is your name every goddamn day. When is Mike coming over next? Do you think that Mike will like my outfit? Be nice to Mike, Dad! I love him" Hopper scrunched his face up as he put on a high-pitched voice.

Mike looked up at Hopper with a determined glint in his dark eyes. "I just want you to know that I would never do that to her. I would never stop loving her."

Hopper took one look into his desperate eyes and remembered all of the times that he had seen the kid comfort and protect his daughter like nobody else. How he had loved her more than she had ever been loved in her entire life.

He patted the sad boy on the shoulder and smiled. "I know, kid. Believe me, I know."