you're my safe place ~ MILEVEN ONE SHOTS~

Captured

All week Hopper had noticed that El was sporting a sour face, her eyebrows constantly pinched together and her lips curled into a sad little pout. She stopped badgering him to let her go out, simply staring out the window and occasionally talking to her friends on the super com that Mike had got her for her birthday. But Hopper had noticed that she had not called Mike once, or even spoken a single word about him for a week. 

He was used to having to constantly roll his eyes at the inseparable pair and give in to El's whines to have Mike come round for dinner. The occasional exchange was awkward enough with Hopper pretending not to see the pair holding hands underneath the table and shooting each other soft smiles. He would be happy for her if he wasn't so grossed out. 

"Mike not coming round today?" Hopper asked one day, leaning against the table tiredly as El stared out at the woods. 

She shook her head, looking down with a small frown and Hopper decided to leave the matter alone. He knew that the pair cared about each other a great deal, and figured that they would work things out on their own. 

Little did he know that it would take them almost losing each other again. 

El was in the cabin alone, waiting for Hopper to return from work. She had watched the fuzzy television for a few hours, the voices all just drifting away from her mind. She was angry at Mike but she found herself so bored without him, not really knowing what to do. When he was with her, they would play games or talk about his comic books and El would spend most of her time watching the freckles sprinkled over his cherry red face like candy. 

She decided to take a short walk to the edge of the wire that surrounded their cabin, hoping that the fresh air would clear her mind. She ignored the nervous feeling in her gut like she was being watched, thinking back to the fight. They had been fighting a lot lately, both of them irritated by the smallest things, always leading back to El not trusting Mike at school with other girls. They would get riled up and say things that they did not mean and it broke El's heart deep down, her pride too bruised to apologize. 

Doesn't matter, El muttered to herself angrily, He probably never loved me anyway.

El's eyes widened, her hands beginning to shake as she heard faint footsteps. She stumbled backwards nervously, almost falling over the trip wire and looked around into the dark woods nervously. She barely had the energy to scream when a hand clamped over her throat, dragging her over the trip wire, making sure that her legs did not get caught on it. 

The last thing she remembered was a prick in her bony shoulder before everything went black, her mind instantly spinning into a dizzy haze. 

When she woke up, she found herself in an all too familiar place. Her heart thumped inside of her chest quickly, but not in an excited way like when she saw Mike, it was beating as if it was scared too, trying to cry out for help. She looked around panicked, her mind instantly seeing the white tiled walls and the huge metal doors and getting ready to shut off. 

"Good to have you back home, Eleven" Papa's cool voice made her jump as he slipped through the door, followed by several guards. "But I wouldn't try anything if I were you. Your powers will not work until the drug has worn off, I am afraid."

El hesitantly tried to focus on a nearby teddy bear, flinching when a sharp pain ran through her head and the bear remained still. Papa's wicked grin grew. 

"We have some clothes for you to change into before we go back to the room to try some new things" Papa knelt down by her bed, placing a hospital gown there neatly. "I will let you rest up for a while, let the drug get out of your system before we try anything. I can't wait to continue what we started, Eleven."