Halloween
Just a little Meleven fic about what would have happened if Eleven had snuck out in her ghost costume on Halloween and met a certain little ghost buster.
Enjoy:) Eleven felt something burning in her chest, making her hands curl tightly into fists and her bitten-down nails bite into the palms of her hands. It was a feeling she knew well; a scalding anger mingled with the frustrating pang of hurt.
His words echoed in her ears. Five fifteen. Promise.
She had been watching the minute hand closely, eyes trained on the old clock hanging from the wall, but she had no control over the passing of time. Eleven squeezed her pillow closer to her chest. He was late. Again.
Fighting back tears, she returned her stony gaze back to the crackly television screen. The horror movie should have been frightening- exciting even- but all El felt was a numb sort of detachment. Friends didn’t make other friends wait. They looked out for each other. They didn’t break promises and most of all they didn’t lie. Hopper had done all of these things. He had broken all the rules.
Mike would never break them.
Mike. The pinpricks of pain increased in their intensity as she exhaled sharply, picturing him clutching the radio, his expression filled with sadness. El squeezed her eyes shut as a longing so strong it knocked her sick washed over her, leaving a queasy feeling in her stomach. She missed him so much it physically hurt. It wasn’t a pain like Papa’s experiments had caused, or Hopper’s harsh words when they argued. No, this felt deeper- a prolonged ache compared to the sharp punches she’d felt before. It was like an ocean, rolling over her in waves. It felt more like grief.
She didn’t really understand what grief was, but she figured this was the closest thing to it. Mike was the only real friend she’d ever had, the only person her age who she’d ever felt connected to, and the fear that she’d never see him again plagued her constantly. Mike was so pure, so good, that he made her want to be good too. She worried that without him, the shadows would swallow her up, that she’d slip into darkness.
But she couldn’t think like that. All that was left to do now was hope. Hope that he would be having fun with the others on Halloween, that he’d treasure every minute with his friends. Hope that Hopper would protect her and Mike wouldn’t get into any trouble. And above all, hope that they’d get to see each other soon.
Not for the first time, she glanced at the sheet hanging on the chair, with its uneven holes for eyes and yellowish stain down the front. It lay there, limp and pathetic, but El couldn’t help but see it as some kind of beacon. A desperate gnawing began to tick in her stomach, mingling with the frustration and anger that had been building up all afternoon. She clutched her pillow tightly to her chest as her mind whirred at the possibilities.
Crack.
A loud garbled crackling sound made her jump suddenly, abruptly tugging El from her thoughts. She rushed over to the radio, where Hopper was sending through his morse code. Despite the irritation she felt towards her guardian, a spark of excitement shot through her veins.
“L…” she muttered, tracing the translation board with her finger. “A… T… E…”
She stopped. “Late.”
The radio was still crackling- beginning to form an apology, or an explanation, but El didn’t want to hear it. She glanced at the sheet again, deliberating, before making her decision. Confidently, she marched over to the chair and grabbed her costume. She was going trick or treating, whether Hopper liked it or not.
Mike dragged his feet. This day was turning out to be the worst. First, they had looked like idiots as the only ones dressed up at school; then his mum had insisted on taking a bucket load of photos- making him late to meet his friends- and now Maxine had decided to tag along with their group for trick or treating. To say this was turning out to be a rubbish Halloween was an understatement.
He tried not to think of the other thing on his mind.
“Hey.” Will quietly interrupted his musings, falling into step beside him at the back of the group. Usually Mike would have been grateful for his best friend, but right now, as he moped and traipsed along behind the others, he just wanted to be alone.
Instantly, he felt guilty for thinking it. Will had been through so much this past year- he had problems of his own, problems much worse than Mike’s- and it was unfair of him to just shut off like this.
“Hey.” he replied.
Will glanced at him, eyes shot with worry. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Mike gestured sulkily to Dustin, Lucas and Max. “I just didn’t realise we had another party member.” He knew he sounded bitter, but he didn’t particularly care. He felt bitter, which was a pretty familiar emotion for him since El had left.
Will sighed. “You know we don’t, Mike. It’s just those two trying to out-impress each other.” He dropped his voice. “You know no one could replace El.”
He spoke gently, but still Mike’s heart twisted with a sharp tug. Will always seemed to know what he was thinking.
“I know that. It’s just…” He kicked a piece of gravel. Hard. “I still miss her.” he admitted, clutching the straps of his ghost-busters backpack and turning to Will imploringly. “How do I still miss her? It’s almost been a year.”
Will bit his lip as he took in his best friend’s distressed expression. He was asking questions that Will didn’t have the answers to.
“She meant a lot to you, Mike.” he answered finally, shrugging. “There’s no time limit on missing someone.”
“I guess.” Mike glanced back at the floor. “It’s just… the silence is the worst. The not knowing if she’s okay.”
“I’m sure she is.” Will assured quickly. “It’s Eleven. From what I’ve heard, she was pretty badass.”
Mike couldn’t help but smile at that, a little grin that lifted the corners of his mouth. “She is.” he agreed. “The coolest.”
“Hurry up guys!” shouted Dustin, breaking through their conversation. They were far in front now, right up the path. “We’ll never make it round if you walk that slow.”
“Yeah.” agreed Lucas. “Stop gossiping. We need more candy.”
Will rolled his eyes at Mike good-naturedly, lifting his shoulders as if to say ‘what are you gonna do?’, and together they jogged towards their friends.
Eleven wandered through the crowd. She tried to keep her head down but she couldn’t help but stare at all the funny costumes, the huge houses with pumpkins in the windows, and most of all the parents, tugging along their children with big smiles on their faces. She could barely tear her eyes away, staring avidly at the dangling lights, the laughing teens with their bags of candy. It was a dark night, but the streets were lit up by street lamps and the stars twinkled down from far away, casting a bit of warmth on the neighbourhood. Eleven was enraptured.
However, it was because of that exact reason that she ended up bumping into a bigger kid, with a rather fierce expression.
“Watch it, freak.” he growled, giving her a rough shove.
El stumbled, her costume slipping, but she caught herself at the last minute, quickly tugging her sheet so it didn’t show her face. She swallowed down the anger that rose in her throat as the boy went back to laughing with his friends, and bustled through the crowd with a newfound determination. She had bigger problems to deal with.
Where was he? She’d already been to his street, to Dustin, Lucas and Will’s streets, but they were nowhere to be found. She was sure they’d be wearing some kind of matching costume, but she hadn’t seen Mike’s dark curly head anywhere and it was getting later and later. Shortly, Hopper would be back, would realise where she’d gone and would come looking for her.
She only hoped she could find Mike first.
The crowd started to thin out as she turned down a street, careful not to trip on her sheet. It was well lit, with streetlights casting a golden glow on the pavements, but a lot quieter now. A few children wandered past, but no one spared her a second glance. A ghost was, after all, a pretty boring costume on Halloween.
El started to feel a weight heavy on her chest. She was never going to find him; this was pointless. Maybe Mike wasn’t even in this neighbourhood- maybe he was at another friends house, or trick-or-treating in a neighbouring town. He, unlike her, could go where he pleased, she thought bitterly. Maybe he wasn’t even here.
And then she saw it.
Turning the corner at the bottom of the hill; a flash of dark hair.
“Mike.” she breathed, all reasonable thought disappearing. She began to run, sprinting down the hill as fast as her legs could carry her. She was flying; towards Mike, towards her friends. Finally, they would be reunited.
But as she ran, her sheet begun to slip down, gathering up around her ankles, and before she knew it, Eleven was tripping, falling, skidding along the gravel floor.
“Are you alright, dear?”
She groaned, tears pricking her eyes as she looked up at a kind-looking woman standing above her, clutching the hand of a small child. She looked concerned, but Eleven knew well enough that people couldn’t be trusted on appearance alone.
“Fine.” she grunted, standing up and dusting herself off. She straightened her sheet and ignored the throbbing in her knees and the palms of her hands, looking once more for the dark head that had disappeared around the corner. She felt a pang of hopelessness; it might not have even been Mike, but if it had he was gone. Again.
“Ghost down!” called a voice from behind her. “I repeat, ghost down!”
Annoyed at being distracted, Eleven whirled around to see a grinning, curly-haired boy making his way over to her. He looked pretty pleased with himself. “That was quite a fall, but no matter- you’re a ghost that needs bustin’!” Much to El’s confusion, he pretended to shoot at her with his plastic hose pipe, making exaggerated shooting noises as he did so.
By this time, the woman and the child had moved along, but Eleven didn’t care about that. Her heart was racing underneath the sheet as the realisation hit her. Dustin! She hadn’t recognised him at first, with the dark street and their respective costumes, but if Dustin was here, that meant…
Her gaze returned to the hill, searching the different faces for one in particular.
And then she saw him.
Mike. She wanted nothing more than to run to him, to wrap her arms around his neck and squeal with delight, but somehow she restrained herself, settling for simply drinking him in. She had to be careful; she owed that much to Hopper.
He was hanging at the back of the group, dragging his feet and looking a little down. Her heart clenched at the sight. With his eyes downcast, and his ruffled dark hair falling into his eyes, something about seeing him made Eleven want to cry or jump up and down with delight- she wasn’t sure which.
So, instead she said nothing.
“You’re a quiet ghost.” Dustin commented, dropping his weapon. Suddenly, something a few houses down caught his eye and he called back to the others. “Guys! Look- it’s old Mrs Durban’s house! She’s the one who gives out Hershey’s!”
Lucas and a ginger girl El didn’t recognise jogged after him hastily, followed by Will.
But Eleven didn’t care about that. She waited, watching as Mike approached.
He watched the others go with a frown, then stopped beside her, glancing down at her costume. “You, er- you’ve got blood on your costume. Is that meant to be there?”
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think straight or string a coherent thought together. Finally, Eleven nodded, too choked up to speak. The little crease that had appeared in his brow made her heart melt into a puddle of goo.
“Oh. Okay.”
He went to leave, but she caught his arm. “Wait.” She whispered, breathless. Their was a roaring sound so loud in her ears she could barely hear herself think.
There was a long pause. Eleven still clutched his arm, heart pounding in her chest.
Mike swallowed, his eyes roving over her sheet-covered face. “Eleven?” He whispered, hesitantly.
It was all she could do to nod. He couldn’t see, but tears were now streaming down her face. “Mike.” She whispered, swallowing thickly.
And then his face transformed into a smile and he was clutching her tightly to his chest, eyes shining with tears. “I never gave up on you.” He swore. “I called you every night. For-“
“Three hundred and forty eight days.” She finished. “I heard.”
Mike pulled away, confusion filling his eyes. “Then why-“
“Hopper has been looking after me. He thought it wasn’t safe.”
Mike’s jaw tightened in anger. “Not safe?” But-“
“I know.” She agreed. “I was angry too. But I don’t have long. Please, Mike. Just walk with me.”
He hesitated for a moment, before finally nodding. “Okay. But this isn’t the end. I’m not letting you go again after this. We’ll work something out.” He laced her hand in his.
She wasn’t sure how, since it was pretty certain she’d be murdered by Hopper when he found her, but his words warmed her heart and she happily took his hand as they began to walk along the pavement.
Eleven walked in a happy daze, content with the warmth of Mike’s hand in hers and the feel of him beside her, but when she looked at him, he was scowling.
“What?” she asked.
“The blood on your sheet…” he was peering at her knees, which she’d completely forgotten about.
“It’s nothing.” She promised.
“No, you’ve hurt yourself.” he pressed. “Let me see.”
Sighing, she pulled up the sheet, revealing her scraped up knees. The wound was pretty artificial, but it looked worse with all the blood leaking from the scratches, and Mike let out a hiss.
“You need to get that seen to.” he said.
Eleven shook her head, stubbornly holding onto his hand. “No, Mike. Later. I want to walk with you.”
He frowned. “El, you can’t go around bleeding all over the place. Look, we’re coming up to my place now. I can get you some plasters.”
“Won’t the others wonder where you are?”
“They can cope without me for a little while. I’ll radio them.” His eyes were firm. “Come on.”
She sighed, but relented. “Fine. As long as I’m with you.”
He smiled at that. “Of course. Your wish is my command.”
Wish? Command? Her brow furrowed.
Mike bit back a grin. “It means I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “Good.”
Quietly, they waited until the others had gone on ahead, towards the busier part of the street, and then snuck across the road to Mike’s house.
He shut the door quietly and she finally released his hand. Immediately, he missed the feel of her small palm pressed in his, then chided himself for thinking it. El was back; he didn’t need to obsess over her every second of the day. He watched as she silently pulled the sheet off, revealing her faded short dungarees and old flannel shirt that hung around her shoulders. Her hair was curly, he noted. It looked cute.
El’s expression was unreadable as she looked around his basement; at the table cluttered with D&D figures; at the familiar toys piled up in the corner.
And then she saw the den.
Silently, she made her way over to it, and Mike felt a weird lump in his throat as she sat down beside it. The same blankets lined the inside, the same sheet hung over head with fairy lights strewn over the top. There was even a pile of clothes resting on her pillow. He had left it untouched, awaiting the day she returned.
“Mike.” She whispered, turning to him, and he saw that her eyes were also filled with tears.
He gave a little half-shrug, feeling that bubble of emotion rising in his chest. “I told you I waited.” He said hoarsely.
She nodded, and he knew that she understood as she returned her gaze to the den. He took that as his queue to make his way over, sitting down beside her.
Mike could have watched Eleven all day; he had dreamed of this moment- the moment she would be back in his house, looking curiously through his things. She held each thing delicately, then tossed it aside if it was deemed unimportant. Finally, she picked up the radio. She smiled, tears in her eyes, and pressed the button. A cracking sound came from the device. “Still works.” She said, eyes bright with tears.
Mike smiled back. “Still works.”
Their gazes caught for a fraction of a second too long, and Mike sat up, flustered. His cheeks were red. “I… we, er-I should look at your knees.”
Eleven nodded and he hurried over to a cupboard, rifling through the shelves until he found what he was looking for. Next, he headed into the bathroom, filling up a bowl with warm water before grabbing some cotton wool from the bathroom cabinet.
“Here.” He sounded relieved, cheeks still tinged pink, as he knelt in front of her. “I’ll clean them first.”
She nodded and he got to work, gently dabbing at her bloody knees. She winced a little as he poured a little alcohol agent on them and he frowned, biting his lip. “How did you do this?” He asked. “Did somebody trip you?”
Eleven shook her head, but Mike’s eyes were persistent. “Are you sure? Because if they did-“
She placed her hand on top of his, eyes somber. “They didn’t.” she said. “Promise.”
“Okay.” He let out a breath of relief. In reality, he wouldn’t have known what to do if someone had tripped eleven. It would just have made him mad.
“Besides,” she continued, “I can look after myself.”
Mike laughed. “Trust me El, I know.”
He moved onto her left leg and then her palms, which were covered in scratches. Finally, she was covered in dinosaur plasters and ready to go. The knowledge that she had to leave felt heavy in the air.
“Time?” she asked, hesitantly.
Mike swallowed, glancing at his watch. “Seven twenty two.”
She sighed, eyelids briefly fluttering closed. “I have to go.”
Mike nodded. He knew that would be the case, but still his throat felt dry. “El, I have to see you again. I don’t care what the chief says. I want to see you. I have to see you. We can’t-“
She cut him off, pressing her finger to his lips. “I know.” she saId, seriously. “I will see you again, Michael Wheeler.”
He nodded, too choked up to speak, and did the only thing he could think of.
He kissed her.
It didn’t move mountains; it didn’t make the world light up with colour. It was just one kiss shared between two twelve year olds, but it meant something to them. Mike’s heart was beating out of his chest, Elevens hands were trembling, and as they pulled apart, both knew that something between them had shifted. Something extraordinary.
“Let’s go.” murmured Mike, holding out his hand. He no longer felt embarrassed. He just felt euphoric, a grin tugging at his lips.
Eleven was back.
He walked her right across town, until they got to the edge of the woods. Since no one was around, El pulled off her sheet.
“Are you sure I can’t see where you live?” Mike asked, suddenly desperate. The reality of her leaving again suddenly felt very real. “I could come and visit after school if-“
But El just shook her head. “No. I will already be in enough trouble. We have to wait.” She glanced down at their hands, still entwined. “But I will see you again. Soon.”
“Promise?”
A flicker of a smile crossed her features. “Promise.”
Mike took a step back, looking appeased. “Soon.” he repeated. “That’s good enough for me.”
Eleven looked at him a second longer, before quickly placing a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Mike.” she whispered, meaning every word.
And he watched as she disappeared into the forest, her sheet trailing behind her.
Eleven.
