And I'm back with another chapter!

Honestly, this one was pretty difficult to plan out so I hope it all makes sense!

Anyway, hold on to your hats because it's going to be quite the ride...

...clutch your weak Mileven hearts.

Enjoy!

Giving one last smile, El turned around and bolted up the stairs, her footsteps echoing off the sterile white walls, the rest of her group following closely behind. She climbed up fast, not looking back once. The last thing she wanted to do was look Mike in the eyes, seeing all the hurt and fear blazing within his dark irises. Surely she would have broke right then and there, all the lies she's been holding back spilling out between her lips. But, no, that couldn't happen right now. She had to keep him, out of everyone, safe. He couldn't go with her. 

Her feet met level ground and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, flicking on her flashlight as she continued to walk down the long hallways, her heart beating fast within her chest. The rest of the group followed her, their breaths mingling with hers and bouncing off the walls, making it sound like a large dog panting. The sound overwhelmed her, already feeling on edge, and she had to keep from lashing out at everyone to be quiet, even though they weren't doing anything. 

They checked room after room for literally anything; clues, signs, time travel machines, but came up empty handed every time. Their flashlight beams danced around the hallways, lighting up the small spaces so they felt less closed in, knowing where the walls were. El swallowed thickly as they passed the empty room that she used to sleep in every night, clutching the stuffed cat close to her chest as she listened to the footsteps and low voices outside her bedroom door. 

Passing the familiar room without a single thought, El glanced back at the rest of the group to find them all staring at her in concern, especially the younger version of herself since she actually knew what was bothering her. "What?" She asked in a hushed voice, as if she spoke any louder a monster was going to jump out of the wall and slaughter all of them... which wasn't too far fetched if she was being honest. 

"Something's bothering you," older Max commented, raising an eyebrow. She had always been good at reading people, always knowing how a person felt or if something was bothering someone. It was one of her qualities that El both despised and loved. "What's up?" 

"Nothing," older El replied, not meeting her best friend's eyes as they stood next to each other, peering into an unfamiliar room that was stacked with testing supplies. El swallowed down the rising bile, tearing her eyes away from the objects that made her life a living hell. "Let's keep walking, nothing's in there anyway." She turned around and started tracking down the hallway, her grip tightening on her flashlight when she felt Max's hand on her shoulder. 

"What aren't you telling us?" She asked quietly, so only the two of them could hear. That was another things about Max, if she sensed something was seriously up, she always made sure that it stayed between her and that person, not letting anyone else overhear. Now that quality, El loved it to no end. 

The older El just shook off her hand and kept walking, opening the next door and peering inside, huffing when she noticed there was nothing cryptic about it, just stacked with boxes that were filled with more testing supplies. Seriously, why did they need all this stuff? The last thing she knew before leaving the lab was that she was the last experiment... no one else. Unless the voice had something to do with- no. She brushed off that idea, shaking her head to clear her unhealthy thoughts. The voice probably- hopefully wasn't another subject. 

"Whatever," older Max huffed, growing frustrated with her best friend's stubbornness, and El almost smirked. Her stubbornness was something Max hated but loved (as long as it wasn't directed at her) all at the same time. "We'll find out soon enough." 

"I don't understand..." older El trailed off as she looked into another room, holding the flashlight out in front of her, the beam of light illuminated the small space. Nothing but boxes... that didn't look too old. Not to mention the equipment inside the boxes looked brand new. Older El frowned and stepped inside, reaching her hand out, and wrapping her fingers around the familiar cords of a head piece she once had to wear. The boxes were filled with them... and dust wasn't collecting on the tops. "Are these brand new?" She turned the head piece around in her hand. 

The older Will came to stand beside her, peering down into the same box, a frown overtaking is features. "They sure look like it." He picked one up, holding it up to his face so he could get a closer look, his nose scrunching up almost comically if it wasn't for the situation they were in. 

"That doesn't make sense," younger El muttered as she walked over to another unopened box, fixing her stare on the packing tape. The box easily popped open with the force. She wiped her upper lip, even though there was no blood (it was just a habit), and stuck her hand into it, pulling out a blue hospital gown, large enough to fit a grown woman. "I thought the lab was...abandoned. No one is here?" 

"Maybe since the boxes were unopened... the things stayed clean?" Younger Max offered, standing next to younger El and pulling out an identical, yet smaller, hospital gown, one fitted for a young girl. "Because you guys haven't seen any activity here, have you?" The question was directed at the adults. 

The older Max shared a look with older El who shrugged and said, "I don't usually drive past the lab but I'm pretty sure I'd know if the lab had reopened." Though, she didn't sound too sure herself, still staring down into the box, a crease between her eyebrows. She lifted her eyes to meet the younger El's and they shared a knowing look. "But these look like a newer model, don't they?" 

"Mmm, yeah," younger El agreed, her expression matching older El's exactly. She slowly walked over to older El and took the wiry head piece out of her hands, twisting one of the wires between her thumb and index fingers, her lips pursed. "The old ones were less...flexible." Tugging lightly on the wire, she observed how it stretched out. "These won't squeeze your head." 

"I don't know," older Will spoke up, setting the head piece back into the box, his eyes glazing over with worry as he looked around the room. "I think we should keep moving. I'm getting a bad feeling just standing here." 

"I agree," older Max said, grabbing her flashlight off the table where she had set it, and headed out for the door, her icy blue eyes glued to the hallway, a determined expression painted over her features. "We have a couple rooms before we start a new hallway." Without another word, she started walking, assuming everyone was following her. 

Older El shared another glance with her past self before following both the Wills out of the room, stopping in her tracks when she noticed older Max standing in front of the next room, seemingly frozen in shock, staring into the room, the door already open. "Max?"

"What the hell?" The redhead muttered, poking her head inside the room, thrusting the hand with the flashlight forward, her copper eyebrows shooting up her forehead. "Um, El? You might want to take a look at this," She said before taking a step back, allowing older El to step into the room. 

Giving her friend an odd look, older El walked over and stepped inside the room, holding her flashlight out. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and for a second she thought Max was losing her mind because of the stress. But as soon as she was about to shrug and leave the room, the beam of light landed on the wall furthest to the left, and a gasp bubbled its way up her throat, and pushed itself out of her lips. 

In the center of the wall was a large indent, large enough for a human being to walk in and out. It was surrounded, from what she could see from her position, by greenish-black goo, vines crossing over each other at the entrance, and it was moving in and out, almost like it was breathing... like it was alive. 

Not wasting another second, older El got herself together, and took another step into the room, then another step, and another until she was standing right in front of the opening. She bent down as if to get a better look, squinting as she tried to see through the withering vines, her flashlight pointed at the entrance. 

Behind her, the rest of the group came to see what it was, all their beams of light illuminating the whole mini jungle that circled around the center of the wall. Another strangled gasp could be heard from behind her, coming from Will, followed by the sound of something falling to the ground. Older El spun around, pointing her flashlight toward the destination of the crash, and nearly let out a scream. 

"Will!" She shouted, dropping her flashlight, and dropping to her knees in front of her brother, setting her hands on his shoulders, and shaking him. The sight sent her heart into a wild goose chase, she swore. Right in front of her, the older Will was on his knees, shaking slightly, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. "Will, snap out of it!" She shouted again, this time louder, and raised her right hand off his shoulder, only for it to connect with Will's cheek, leaving an angry red mark. What? She was freaking out. 

"What's happening!?" older Max cried out as Will began to shake, and would have fallen all the way to the ground if it wasn't for the younger El holding him upright with her mind. "The last time I saw this happen was back on the field at Hawkins Middle in '84." 

The older El didn't answer, just kept on trying to snap him out of it. If she was being completely honest, she was a bit concerned on why the younger Will wasn't acting out either. He was just standing there, a few feet away, watching them with a terrified look, his breathing becoming hitched, his hand squeezing the life out of younger El's. 

Then finally, Will's eyes returned to the front of his head, still a bit glazed with fear, and let out a large gasp as he couldn't breathe throughout the whole ordeal. He fell forward into El's arms, his forehead against her shoulder as he took in deep steady breaths, exhaling a bit shakily as he found comfort in his sister. 

"Oh my- are you okay?" older El breathed, pushing him away slowly by his shoulders so she could look at his face, his skin glistening with sweat, but overall he looked okay. She reached up and brushed the hair away from his eyes. "What happened?" 

He swallowed thickly, and fell back onto his legs, his head falling into his hands. "I honestly don't know," He mumbled shakily, lifting his head as he took another deep breath, pointing at the disgusting opening of the -hopefully not- upside down. "I just- I saw that and flashbacks just came back to me. I saw myself in the shed, then shivering there, then I saw myself being possessed, and everything just came back to me." 

The older El stared at him, worry very evident in her gaze. "You weren't getting possessed again, were you?" He quickly shook his head, finally meeting her eyes, his own back to their original bright green, and she sighed in relief. "Good. I'm guessing we should probably call up Mike, huh?" 

"Probably," Will answered, still a little breathless from his episode but he tried for a smile anyway, noticing how worried El really was. "Hey, I'm okay, I promise." He said it so sincerely that she couldn't help but believe him as she stood, holding out a hand for him, and pulling him up to his feet. He swayed a bit but grabbed on to the edge of the table that sat in the middle of the room, steadying himself. 

"Anyway happen to have any water?" Older El asked, her eyes drifting between the younger Will and El, and the two Maxs, three out of four of them shaking their heads, whereas the fourth (older Max) slid her backpack off her shoulder, unzipped it, and pulled out a plastic water bottle, handing it over to older Will. 

"Thank you," older Will gratefully said before unscrewing the bottle cap and bringing it up to his lips, taking a couple gulps, while El took out her old supercom, shifting to a channel she knew Mike would be on, then bringing it up an inch away from her lips before saying, 

"Mike, are you there? Over." She released the bottom on the side, waiting anxiously for his reply, her foot tapping against the tiled floors, her right arm wrapped around her own middle, her fingers tapping against her side. 

For a few moments they were met with silence, that is, until the static crinkled and a familiar deep voice answered, "Yeah, I'm here. Over." Then the silence resumed. 

Pressing down on the bottom, older El spoke, "Something weird happened. Second floor, five doors to the right. Come quick. Over." She released the bottom, turned the supercom off, and placed it back in her backpack before zipping it up and throwing it over her shoulders. She leaned against the wall behind her, arms crossed, and met the past versions of her, Will, and Max, and asked, "Are you three okay?" 

"Yeah," younger Will confirmed, followed by nods from the other two. 

"I don't know, man, but this whole situation is whack," older Max said as she pulled a chair out from beneath the table and plopped down, her right hand coming up to rub her forehead, relieving some of the tension. "First these kids time travel-" She gestured to the teenagers who were watching her intently. "-then we find ourselves at the lab, and then we find the opening to the upside down, and then Will has an episode." Letting out a humorless laugh, Max continued, "And he hasn't had one of those in over two years." 

"Whack is the underestimation of the century," older El muttered, turning her head so she faced the doorway, keeping a look out for Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and the teenagers. 

The older Max waggled her finger in older El's direction, nodding slowly. "You're right. Let me rephrase myself: this whole situation is out of this world. Totally tubular, but not in the good way. Do you catch my drift?" 

Giving her an unimpressed look, older El deadpanned, "You're hanging around Lucas too much." 

"I could say the same thing about you and Mike," older Max threw back.

"Uh-huh, sure," older El muttered distractedly, keeping her eyes focused on the doorway, her heart speeding up when she heard the echoing sound of footsteps coming closer until older Mike appeared in the doorway, pointing his flashlight into the room. He looked out of breath and a bit sweaty, like he ran the whole way there. Behind him, the rest of the Party stood, looking just as out of breath. "What'd you do? Run a marathon?" 

His dark eyes flashed over to her, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Totally." He stepped inside the room, the rest of them following close behind, and turned serious again, his lips in a straight line as he asked, "So, what was the weird thing that happened?" He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, right beside older El. Apparently he hadn't seen the breathing wall yet. 

Older Max cleared her throat. "Let me explain. Okay, so we come into this room and see that thing-" She pointed her flashlight to the literal breathing wall, earning multiple gasps, and she scoffed. "Yes, we know, surprising. Anyway, then Will literally falls to the ground, shaking, and eyes rolled back into his head, but now he's fine, and he said he was having flashbacks." She leaned back into her seat, crossing her freckled arms over her chest. "End of story." 

"Uh, wow," younger Dustin said, his eyes wide, and lips parted a bit. 

Rolling his eyes, older Mike turned to older Will and asked, "Is that all it was? Just flashbacks?" 

"Well..." Will pursed his lips, hands clenching around the water bottle, the crinkling sound of the plastic filling the room, and he loosened his grip a bit. He sighed, and continued, "There was one thing I didn't remember so it couldn't have been a flashback... it was just the upside down and nothing was in there... but at the same time something was, does that make sense?" 

"Oh, yeah, totally," older Dustin said then turned to the rest of them and mouthed: No.

"Something was in there... but it wasn't?" Younger El piped up from her spot beside younger Mike, her fingers laced tightly with his. She glanced over at older El as she spoke, "Like something invisible? Did it talk?" 

Older Will, looking quite confused, shook his head slowly. "No, it didn't talk but something is definitely in there... I just don't know what." 

"The dream," younger El muttered knowingly, but everyone heard. 

Holding back an eye roll, older El dropped her head back against the wall, biting her tongue (hard) to keep herself from shouting at her past self to be quiet, and not utter another word. She glanced at Mike through the corner of her eye and found him staring at younger El with furrowed eyebrows, like he was trying to figure out what she meant, which he probably was. Everyone in the room was watching her like a hawk, waiting for her to continue, and older El was no ready for it. More specifically, she was not ready for her husbands reaction. His reaction when he figures out she not only broke her promise about telling him if anything weird happens, but that she lied straight to his face about having 'just a migraine'. 

"What dream?" Older Mike asked. 

"It doesn't matter," older El interjected weakly but was shut down right away by Mike. 

He slowly turned to her, his eyebrows raised, as he spoke, "It wasn't just a headache, was it?"

She sighed and pushed off the wall, arms still crossed, and moved to stand in front of him, raising her chin slightly so she could meet his eyes with her own. For a couple seconds they just stared at each other, neither one of them daring to speak. But soon, the silence became too much for El and she said, "I had a dream but it doesn't matter, I-" 

"It does too matter," older Mike shot back, sounding a bit harsh, but she knew he didn't mean to by the look in his eyes. It was a known fact to whoever was close to him that Mike got worked up very easily (not that the anger lasted long), especially when he was lied too. He raised his gaze from hers and looked behind her, at younger El. "What was the dream?" 

Older El didn't turn around as the younger version of herself practically betrayed her, explaining to not only Mike, but to everyone about the dream she had shared with her. Talking about how she woke in he void, alone, with nothing but a chill in the air, a loud noise that caved her head in, and a deep, unrecognizable voice that had announced both the Elevens had been found, and were being watched. By the time she was done, an awkward silence filled the room as older Mike stared down at older El while she just stared straight ahead of her, eyes trained on his color bone. 

"You promised," older Mike whispered brokenly, "You promised that you'd tell me if anything bad or weird happened, and you broke it." He let out a humorless laugh, looking up at the ceiling, shaking his head slowly. "You broke it," He repeated, almost like he was still trying to wrap his head around that El, the girl who claimed she took promises seriously, broke one and put herself in danger. 

"You shouldn't be this upset about it" She muttered, her gaze hardening as she looked up at him. What she just said was beyond stupid, and she knew that. Mike had every right to be upset that she didn't tell them, El just didn't want to have to deal with it right now, in front of everyone, including themselves from the past. Besides, she didn't know what else to say to him when he was staring down at her, obvious feel of betrayal in his eyes. 

"I shouldn't be upset?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You had a dream that some invisible person reached out to you just to say that they, whoever that is, had found the bother of you-" He gestured to her and younger El. "-and you didn't think to tell anyone? Then you just go marching inside her like people aren't watching you?" 

The older El pursed her lips and looked anywhere but him. "I didn't want to worry you." 

"Worry me? Well now I am worried because this guy who was calling out to you can speak to you without him being seen. We have no idea who he is or who he's working for." Mike waved his arms around for emphasis. "Who knows? Maybe we're even being watched right now because he can obviously see you too, but none of us are prepared for that because you didn't tell us." 

Huffing, older El turned away from him and unzipped her backpack, pulling out her black blindfold and supercom, setting them on the table. She sat down across from Max and began to twist the nob, finding a station that played nothing but static. "I'm going to see what he wants," She muttered before slipping the blindfold over her head and over her eyes, drowning out every sound other than the static. 

Her eyes opened and she took a look around. There wasn't much to see, just the very familiar black nonexistent walls, and floor that was covered with water. The liquid was cold against her now bare feet, but it wasn't bothersome.  She didn't start walking, or try to find whatever it was she's looking for, knowing full well that there would be no way to see the face that held the deep voice. All she had to do was stay still, and wait. 

So, she waiting. And waited. For who knows how long. But nothing called out to her, almost like nothing was there at all. But that wasn't true. She simply wouldn't be there if absolutely nothing was there, waiting for her. Besides, she could feel something- someone watching her every move. Maybe she had to call out to him. 

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice not very loud, but it still echoed around her. 

There was a gentle, yet cold breeze that brushed up against her arms, goosebumps appearing against the tan skin, and then the steely deep voice called out to her, "We just want to talk. To both of you." There was a moment of silence before he continued to speak, sounding more eager with each word. "But not here. Somewhere where no one will overhear or dare to follow." There was another anticipated silence. "The upside down." 

"The...upside down?" She asked, wanting clarification. 

"Why, yes, of course!" The voice exclaimed, far too cheery. 

She furrowed her eyebrows, her face scrunching up in confusion. "And why exactly?" 

"Like I just said, no one would overhear or dare to follow," He explained, his voice taking on the mysterious yet menacing tone, sending shivers down her spine. 

"But no one would hear or follow us in here." 

"Ah, yes, but you see, the other Eleven wouldn't be able to join us in here, now would she?" The voice asked, stumping El where she stood. She pursed her lips, her eyebrows furrowing, and she knew he got a point, but why would she agreed to something as stupid as that?

"And what if I don't go to talk?" 

The voice hummed, thoughtfully. "Let's just say we know where you are which means we know where the boy is."

The boy? Her eyebrows shot upwards. He knew- no, they knew where Mike was. Probably both of them. And she's pretty sure she knows what was implied in that short little message. If she didn't agree to talk, the voice, and everyone who's with him, would track them down, find (probably) both the Mikes, and who knows what they'd do to then. Yeah, she wasn't about to take those chances. 

"Okay," She sighed, closing her eyes. "I'll talk."

"Both of you?"

"Yes, both of us," She agreed then focused on getting out of there. 

Her eyes opened and saw darkness. Realizing she was wearing a bandanna, El reached up and grabbed it, pulling it up over her head, and was immediately met with Max's face. "Woah," She muttered quietly so only she could hear but then raised her voice, and directed her question toward Max, "Why are you so close?" She pushed her chair backwards a bit. 

"Oh, sorry." Max sat back down in her chair, no longer leaning against the table. "We were all getting a little worried. You were in there for a while and I was about to try and get you out of there." 

El raised an eyebrow, an amused smile pulling on her lips. "I don't think that's how it works, but okay." She shrugged, placing the bandanna and supercom back into her backpack before zipping it back up, and shouldering it, than stood from her chair. 

"What did he want?" older Lucas asked, standing behind Max, his hand on top of her shoulder. 

"Um, he wants to talk." She cast a uneasy glance in Mike's direction who still wouldn't meet her eyes, and decided to explain, "Both of us." She turned to the younger El who gave a curt nod, let go of younger Mike's hand, and came to stand beside her, looking just as determined as older El felt. "I don't know how long we'll be gone, hopefully not too long, but just wait here for us. If anything happens, we'll get out as soon as possible." 

This time, older Mike did look at her, all the anger washed away and replaced with worry. He took two long strides from across the room, and grabbed her hand, jolts of electricity racing through their veins as their palms pressed against each other, and said. "Where are you guys going?" His gaze flickered between her and younger El. "And why can't we come with?" 

The older El squeezed his hand, trying to be as comforting as she could be when nervousness was practically eating her up... and a bit of guilt? Guilt that she had lied straight to his face, and broke her promise, but he was still worried about her, which shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did. He was still her husband after all. "The upside down." She noticed the terrified flash in his eyes and squeezed his hand again. "But, Mike, I need you to trust me. Please. And I know that I shouldn't have your trust right now, and I'm sorry for that, but I need you to just sit back and let me take the lead on this one. Without you." 

He held her gaze for a few extra seconds, not wanting to believe that she was actually sacrificing herself, yet again, when there was a whole room of people who would be more than willing to protect her from anything and everything. But, he also knew there was no stopping her, since she was so headstrong, and simply said, "I love you and I can't lose you again." 

"Mike." She lifted her free hand and set it on the side of his neck, her thumb gently rubbing the skin over his jaw bone, the other hand squeezing his hand once again. "Please, trust me, and let me do this. No one else can. The voice, and whoever it's with, want me and her." She cocked her head to the younger El who was also sharing an emotional moment with younger Mike, their foreheads pressed together. "If anyone else goes, we won't get any information." 

"Promise you'll come back to me," older Mike pleaded, tears pooling in his eyes. 

"I can't promise that." She swallowed thickly and let go of his hand, reaching up to wipe a stray tear away from beneath his eye, feeling her own eyes stinging with unshed tears, knowing that this could quite possible the last moment they ever shared together. By knowing that, El leaned up on her tiptoes, their faces centimetres apart, their breaths mingling, and whispered, "I love you," before pressing her lips fully to his. 

Older Mike pulled away from her first, a few seconds later, and nodded slightly, muttering out an "Okay." Then followed by a, "I love you too." He let go of her hand completely and backed away, watching brokenly as she turned around and focused on the opening of the upside down. 

Outstretching her hand, older El focused on the opening and soon the vines withered away and the goo opened, revealing a clear pathway into the upside down. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked over at younger El who had came to stand next to her, and nodded, a silent agreement passing between them. They looked away from each other, and back at the upside down. Older El, because she was the older one after all, decided to step through the wall first, making sure everything seemed safe before holding out her hand for younger El, and pulled her in after her. 

She took a look around once they were both inside. It was gloomy and dark, just how it always had been, but something seemed off about it. It was empty, all except for a few trees spread across the landscape, but other than that, there was nothing there. No people, no monsters, no buildings, no nothing. Just trees, the ground covered in white ash, and the same ash falling slowly down from the cloudy blue sky. The physical appearance was the upside down, through and through, but the feeling she got from being inside was what was different. 

Back in '83 both the Els had been to the upside down after defeating the demogorgon in Hawkins Middle. Then it was dark and gloomy, just as it had been now, but there was never the sense they were being watched. There had always been a sense of dread, just not this big, and it was almost like they were going to be attacked any minute, even though there were no monsters in sight. Or people, for that matter. 

The older El gestured for her past self to follow her, walking further into the dark landscape, keeping a lookout for anything suspicious. She didn't know what to expect coming down here, were they going to meet up with the voice? Or was the voice just going to do the same thing it did in the void, just speak to them? Either way, they were going to take a look around. Maybe there was something down there that would lead them closer to why the teenagers had been flashed forward ten years, and how to get them back. 

The familiar breeze brushed up against them, almost pushing forward, and they both shuddered simultaneously, wanting to laugh about it but holding it in. Older El shared a look with the younger version of herself, both knowing what it meant. The voice was close, probably watching them, and was ready to talk. But before she called out to him, older El wrapped her arm around younger El's shoulders, pulling her into her side. Yes, they may be the same person, but she couldn't help but feel a bit protective of the younger girl. Besides, if anyone was going to get out of this alive, if that will be the case, older El will make sure its younger El. 

Taking in a deep breath, older El called out, "We're here and ready to talk." 

Silence followed but soon it was almost as if the sky had cracked open so the voice could freely speak down to them, and older El could practically hear the smile in his words. "Good, you followed through with your decision. I was getting worried we would have had to track you all down," He said, pausing as if he was listening to someone on the other side of the atmosphere, but then added, "Do you know why you both are here?" 

"No," They both replied at the same time, not even cracking a smile at the irony. 

"Well, first, I'd like to apologize for giving your friends a headache in that spinning room," He addressed the younger El who didn't so much as open her mouth. She just stared straight up at the sky, her gaze almost fixed in a glare. "I had meant to only give it to you but your friends so happened to be there. Anyway, the only way to get you two together was time travel, with or without your friends coming along." 

The older El decided to speak up, "Then how come just the two of us? There's more of us out there." 

"As of right now, of what I could find out, you two are the strongest you've ever been in your time lines. Fifteen because you had just regained your powers, and came back sooner than ever," He said, his statement directed toward younger El. Then he somehow turned to the older El and spoke, "And as for you, you haven't used your powers in so long, they're very well restored and ready to use. Very strong." 

"Okay... so what do you want from us?" Older El asked, tightening her grip around younger El.

The voice chuckled darkly. "You'll find out... eventually."

Then, out of nowhere, the voice drowned out and was replaced by that horrible screeching noise, causing their heads to once again feel like they're caving in on themselves. Older El unwrapped her arm from around younger El and covered her ears, noticing the teenager had done the same things. She gritted her teeth and looked around through squinted eyes, trying to figure out what was making that terrible sound. She had thought it was loud in the void but now it was even louder, and she'd be surprised if she got out of there with in tacked ear drums. El just wanted to fall to the ground and cry because of the pain that pierced through her brain, and by the look she was receiving from younger El, she felt the same way. 

"I apologize for the sound!" The voice shouted, somehow making the screech even louder before adding, "It will make more sense once we come to get you!" 

Older El didn't reply, but kept looking around, trying to understand what the voice had just said through the splitting headache she was experiencing. Then his words finally registered and her eyes widened. This was a trap, El should have known. This whole thing was a trap all along. He didn't just want to talk, he wanted to stall them so whoever he was working for could find them in the upside down, without their friends, and take them... and no one would have known. She wouldn't even had known. Seriously, this guy should really have kept his mouth shut. 

Turning around, older El looked back over at their only exit that she could see, the way they had came into the upside down in the first place, and let out a gasp. The vines were starting to cover the opening. They needed to get out. 

"El!" She shouted over the noise, gaining the younger girl's attention, and gestured toward their exit, and she understood. They broke out in a sprint, ignoring the call from the voice for them to stop and it'll all be over soon, and reached the exit. With a scary start, older El realized they only had time for one of them to get through before the upside down was completely closed off from the real world. "You need to go!" 

"What!?" Younger El spun around, her mouth agape, and eyes wide. "No! If you're staying then I am too! We're the same person, remember? We're sticking together!" 

Ugh, she should have known she'd be stubborn about the idea. Her eyes drifted behind her and saw the exit getting smaller by every passing minute. Reaching forward, older El set her hands on younger El's shoulders and gave her a stern look. "El, listen to me, I need you to go through and tell everyone what happened. They'll be able to help."

"But-"

"No, we don't have much time. You need to go," older El said seriously, squeezing her shoulders tightly, not giving her anytime to disagree. "Listen, I'll find a different way out, but you, you're still young and have a life to live when you get back. You can change the future, prevent this from happening, but you can't do that if you stay with me, you need to go!" 

Younger El blinked tears away. "But what about your life? What about Mike?" 

"Look, it's a good chance that I won't make it out of here if I can't find another way, and if I do, it's because those people the voice had mentioned are coming for me, and as for Mike-" older El squeezed her eyes closed, her heart clenching painfully within her chest at thought of leaving him, quite possibly, forever. "-tell him... tell him that it's okay to move on. It's okay for him to fall in love again, that he can fall in love again. Tell him that, okay?" 

"Okay," younger El whimpered. 

"Good. Now go!" Older El shouted and literally pushed the past version of herself through the exit of the upside down into the real world right before it closed for good, the wall closing in and everything. Once it closed, it sent a force so strong, El went flying backwards, hit her head on something, and everything went black. 

----

On the other side of the wall, older Mike was pacing back and forth, worried out of his mind, his teeth gnawing on his bottom lip. Around him, his friends (and the younger versions) were all staring at him with bored expressions, all silently asking him to stop, but he just couldn't. There was just this feeling that something was going to go seriously wrong, and he just couldn't brush it away, even though he knew it was just his head talking. 

"They've been in there for over an hour," older Mike said out loud, finally stopping his pacing so he could just look at the party, finding that they were all equally as concerned as him, especially younger Mike who was sitting on a chair beside the opening to the upside down, his identical brown eyes glued to the vines that blocked their view. 

Older Max rolled her eyes. "I'm sure their fine..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at the opening, her jaw falling open as she stared, and jumped out of her chair. "Okay, maybe they're not fine." She pointed to the wall, and Mike followed her finger, his own eyes widening as he realized what she meant. "It's closing and they're still in there." 

"We have to keep it open!" Younger Mike shouted as he slipped off his chair and onto his knees, trying to pull the vines away from the opening but they wouldn't budge. Everyone gathered around, pulling and grabbing at the vines, and all letting out a shout or a scream when a hand broke through the goo, reaching out for no one in particular. Younger Mike, being the closest, grabbed the hand and pulled. 

Soon, with the help of a few others, younger El was fully submerged from the upside down, covered in slime and goo, but younger Mike didn't care as he wrapped his arms around her, his fingers coming up to tangle in her curls as his cheek pressed against the side of her head, staring wide eyed as he stared at the still closing pathway to the upside down. 

However, older Mike was looking back and forth between younger El and the opening to the upside down... that was slowly closing, and no sign of his wife. "Where's the other El?" He asked urgently, fear overtaking him as he fell to his knees in front of the opening, pulling on the vines, grunting when they wouldn't budge. 

Younger El just stared at him, a sad look in her eyes that made his blood run cold. 

"No," He muttered as the wall started to overlap the vines, permanently closing off the upside down from the real world. He couldn't help himself as he started pounding against the vines, the goo, and the wall as the opening became smaller. "No, no no!" older Mike cried as he ran his shoulder into the wall, as if that would help. The opening became smaller until it was just a sliver and he kept pounding on it, trying to get it to open, but soon it was just a plain wall, staring back at him. "No! She's still in there!" Standing up, older Mike backed away before running toward the wall, shoving his shoulder into as if he'd be able to break the wall down and reopen the upside down, even though he knew that it wasn't possible. 

"Mike..." older Lucas trailed off as older Mike kept slamming against the wall until he tired out, sliding down into a sitting position, his head resting against the hard surface. 

"She's still in there," older Mike cried out weakly, his fist halfheartedly pounding against the wall, his shoulders shaking from his cries. He shook his head as older Lucas came forward and tried to pull him away, and said, "No, no we have to get her!" 

"Mike!" older Dustin shouted. "There's no use right now! It's late, and we should all head back home to get rest. We can try finding her in the morning, okay?" He sighed at the look he was receiving from Mike. "Look, right now we're all emotionally and physically drained." He pointed at younger El who had her head buried in younger Mike's shoulder, seemingly asleep. "And we all need to get rest." 

"But, but, El..." older Mike trailed off, his breath hitching in his throat as the reality of it all finally sunk it. She was gone... she was really gone, and who knows if he'd ever see her again. After everything they'd been through together, this was how it ends? After almost 11 years of being in a relationship, and five years of marriage, it just ends... just like that? It was too much to handle, his heart contracting painfully in his chest, and he found himself hyperventilating. "She's gone, she's gone, she's really gone!" 

"Mike," older Max tried calmly as she rushed over, setting her hand on his shoulder as he started to look around frantically, momentarily forgetting where he was, not being able to catch his breath. "Mike," She tried again but to no avail. "Mike will you just freaking listen to me!" She shouted, slapping his shoulder, and he looked over at her. "We need to go home. We'll all go to your house okay? Just to get you situated and I promise, tomorrow, we'll try to find her, okay?" 

He could do nothing but nod as he was dragged to his feet, Lucas and Will coming up to help him walk out of the room, through the long endless corridors, and down the stairs. Well, he was kind of being dragged as his whole body felt completely numb, not even noticing that he was crying until they plopped him down into the passenger seat of his car, agreeing a few minutes ago that he was in no shape to drive. Max, who had (surprisingly) agreed right away, slipped into the drivers seat and turned the car on as the younger Mike and El slipped into the backseat, younger El leaning her head on his shoulder as her eyes drooped closed again, obviously tired. 

The older Mike was quiet the whole ride, not uttering a single word, not even moving to change the radio station when a bad song he didn't like turned on. His breath would hitch every once in a while as a brand new wave of tears found their way to his eyes, but would blink them away quickly. No matter how hurt he was, he would not cry in front of Maxine Mayfield, even though he's sure she wouldn't make fun of him this time. 

How could they just have left her there? Was he the only one out of the whole party (including the teenagers) who had a heart? El, his wife, had just sacrificed herself for every single one of them, again, and instead of trying to get her back, they just tell him they need to get rest? Shouldn't they be out there all night, all day, all whatever until the found her? Or at least made sure she was okay? Was he the only one with the sense of humanity?

But... Mike also knew they were partially right. Partially. He wouldn't have been able to function properly if they had went looking for her right away. He'd become less of a leader, and more of a follower, and he'd become mopey and depressed, turning into emo Mike once again and that is the least thing the Party needs from him right now. But he knew that there probably would be no sleeping for him tonight. 

The car slowed to a stop as Max pulled into the driveway of his house, pulling the keys out of the ignition, and unlocking the car doors, and Mike didn't move a muscle, nor did he feel like he could even if he tried. He saw Max sigh and softly roll her eyes as she walked around to the passenger side and open his door, reaching over him to unbuckle his seat belt for him, and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the car. "Must I do everything for you, Wheeler?" She tried to joke around but it was all halfhearted, and Mike didn't show any reaction to it. 

He noticed that younger him and younger El were already out of the car, standing near the front door, and just the sight of her younger self sent a jab of fresh pain through his chest, making him gasp out loud, throwing Max off guard. She sent him a worried look, her hand still curled around his shoulders as she helped him to the front door, only letting him go so she could unlock it, then went back to helping him inside. She brought him into the living room and sat him down on the couch, pursing her lips before heading into the kitchen. 

Then he finally moved but only to take off his shoes before he leaned back against the couch, staring straight ahead of him, out the window, watching as more cars pulled into the drive way, the rest of the Party (and the teenagers) piling out, walking up to his front door. He didn't move his head when the sound of the door opening, or when his friends came inside, taking their shoes off, and heading into the living room, sitting down on the chairs and on the couch beside him. He barely even felt the pressure of Lucas' hand against his shoulder as he patted him sympathetically. He was just...numb. 

Older Mike took his eyes away from the window so he could look over at Will who was sitting on the chair across from him, a little to the right. Well, more in the corner of the living room, next to a small coffee table. He didn't look much better than Mike felt, legs bouncing, hands tightly clasped together, lips pursed, a worried look in his eyes. Mike couldn't blame him. El was Will's sister and to have her just... be gone like that, he understood. 

"Is it alright if we order a couple pizzas?" Older Dustin softly asked him, not wanting to do anything without Mike's permission since, after all, this was his house. "You won't have to pay for it or anything..." He trailed, off noticing that Mike gave a small, barely noticeable nod, and gave a soft smile. "Okay, buddy. Thanks." Then he trailed off back into the kitchen where Max still was, talking softly over the phone. 

Older Will cleared his throat from across the room, somehow gaining older Mike's attention, and announced that he was going to call Hopper to come over because "he deserves to know what's going on and that his daughter's missing" which Mike couldn't really disagree with. So he just watched as Will stood from his seat and walked into the kitchen where the telephone was hanging on the wall, since the guy said his phone was dead, and started dialing Hopper's phone number, speaking after the third ring, "Hey, Dad... I need you to get to the Wheeler's quick..." 

Mike stopped listening then and turned his head to the right when he heard a soft, familiar, giggle come from, and immediately wished he hadn't. Across the room, sitting near the chair older Will had just been seated, was younger Mike and El, all cuddles up in a blanket older Dustin had thrown over them. Younger Mike had his arms wrapped around younger El loosely as she leaned into him, a small smile tugging on her lips, her eyes lifted upward so she could look at him as he talked about some weird Star Wars theory, trying to lift the mood. 

But then she must have sensed his gaze because she tore her eyes away from her boyfriend to meet his from across the room, her smile disappearing, replaced by a deep frown, and her eyes taking on that saddened glaze, and he knew she felt guilty. Really, he didn't blame her for anything that had happened. Older Mike knew that his wife, older El, had probably forced her through the entrance right before it closed. Probably because younger El had a longer life to live and that she didn't want to take that away from her. It still didn't mean that he couldn't be sad about it and grieve. 

She looked away, and older Mike also directed his gaze back toward the window, watching as his neighbors from across the street, Mr. and Mrs. Davis, planted in their garden together, laughing as she sprayed the hose at the back of his head. Sure, they were in their seventies, but they still made a great couple... that somehow reminded older Mike of him and El. Yes, they had a small garden out in their front yard, in front of the porch, filled with all of El's favorite flowers because she just loved to garden (he swore his mom got her addicted a few years ago) and he'd sometimes help out, mostly just to spend extra time with her. 

The memory almost made him smile. Almost. It only covered, not even half the pain he'd been feeling for the past hour. El was still gone and he had no idea where she was or where to start looking. Okay, fine, he had an idea where she was, the upside down, but he still had no idea where he had to start looking. Do they go back to the lab or do they search all over Hawkins for another opening and move on from there? 

His thinking was cut short when the doorbell rang and older Max went to open it, coming back inside with two pizza boxes in hand, placing them on the island. Everyone, except for older Mike, headed into the kitchen to grab a couple slices, then headed back into their previous spots, all crowded in the living room, some people sitting on the couch on either side of him, and some on the floor, leaving the chair open for Hopper when he gets there. 

Older Mike didn't even phases when older Max walked over to him, placing a plate with two slices of pepperoni pizza in his hand, telling him to eat, before sitting down next to Lucas on the arm on the couch since there was no more room on the cushions. Of course, he didn't eat the pizza, just stared down at it, nausea bubbling in his throat and stomach at the thought of enjoying pizza with friends while his wife was in the upside down, probably scared, with no food or water. 

Leaning forward, older Mike placed the plate down on the coffee table, not even muttering a 'thank you' when Will through a thick blue blanket over his shoulders, and leaned back against the couch, just wanting to close his eyes and wish that this was all just one big nightmare and that he'd wake up next to his wife who'd be snuggled in his arms, and there'd be no trace of their past selves, the lab, or the upside down. Everything would just be back to normal... but deep down, he knew that wasn't the case. 

The doorbell rang once again, but the door must not have been locked because it opened and in stepped Jim Hopper, clad in his chief of police uniform, a sign he had came straight from the station, hence it was only six in the evening, and slipped off his shoes before walking into the living room, his eyes widening at the sight. 

"Well I'll be damned," He muttered as he plopped himself down into the chair, fingers scratching his recently trimmed beard, his eyes scanning all the familiar, yet younger, faces, and decided not to question why they were there. The talking had died down the moment he had walked in the door and now they were all just waiting for him to continue, well, all except for older Mike who was still staring down at his lap. "Okay, someone wanna fill me in?" 

"-Mike called us saying that-"

"-then there they were sitting on the Wheeler's-"

"-younger me saying that-"

"-went to the lab to figure things out-"

"-both El's went inside-"

"-upside down closed and only one of them made it out-"

Hopper held up a hand, his eyes closing as he tried to regain his sanity. "One at a time, please, one at a time," He spoke calmly but everyone knew his patience was wavering thin. "One person please explain to me what happened and why I wasn't called sooner." His eyes traveled over to his son-in-law. "Mike?"

Of course, Mike didn't move, nor looked up at Hopper. He just sat there, wallowing in grief and self pity, not really wanting to believe that his wife had disappeared again, had slipped right through his fingers and he hadn't even seen it coming. Why hadn't he just told everyone to get out of there the moment he felt that sense of dread? Or why hadn't he listened to himself when his brain had said something wasn't right? That way, El would still be with him right now and who knows, maybe their past selves would have already been gone. 

So thankfully, older Will decided to take the lead, "I'm going to make this real quick so listen: Mike had called us yesterday to get to his parents' house quickly because Holly called him saying something weird happened, and apparently that was true." He gestured to all the teenagers that resembled all of them. "So we all get there and our past selves are sitting in the living room. Turns out they were exploring the lab before they were sent ten years into the future, so we thought it would be a good idea to retrace their steps and go back to he lab." 

Older Max cut in, "And we all agreed to split up. Will and me, along with our younger selves, went with El while the others went with Mike. But we came across this room that had an opening to the upside down and older Will had a full on episode, flashbacks and all, so El called Mike over the supercom and he came as quick as he could with Dustin and Lucas, along with their younger selves." 

Older Lucas decided to continue, "And then Will was telling us about this one thing that wasn't a flashback, just  a landscape of the upside down, but it felt like something was watching him, so younger El brought up this dream which sparked an argument between older Mike and El." 

"A dream?" Hopper questioned, brows furrowing, and he leaned forward. "What dream?" 

"She explained that older El had a nightmare last night but covered it up as just one of those migraines she'd been having," older Dustin said, "And so, naturally, him and El fought about lying and breaking promises until she just had enough and turned around, because she's a badass, and went into the void to find the voice that had been speaking her in the dream, saying they had found her. Both of them." 

Hopper frowned. "Who had found them?"

"We don't know," younger El finally spoke up, still curled into Mike. "But then she found him and said he wanted to talk in the upside down to both of us so we went... there he had told us the only way to bring us together was through time travel, apparently in our time lines right now is when we're the strongest, well, our powers." 

"Okay..." Hopper trailed off, his eyes drifting to older Mike. "Now tell me why he looks like he's planning his own funeral?" 

Older Max sighed sadly. "We noticed that the opening to the upside down was closing and younger El was the only one to escape before it closed completely, trapping older El on the other side." She gave the chief a serious look. "Seriously. it was not fun dragging him out of the lab and into this house." She jabbed her thumb at older Mike. 

Furrowing his eyebrows, Mike spoke up for the first time since the unfortunate even occured inside the lab. But it wasn't directed toward anyone, like he was talking to himself. "We never should have went inside," He mumbled, his eyes pooling with tears once again, not caring that everyone was watching. "We should have left right away, then she would still be here and we wouldn't be in this mess, and- and-" His breathing became ragged again and older Max interrupted,

"Mike, calm down, you're not the only one who lost someone, okay," She said, trying to say it as calmly as she could, but her patience was slowly fading away, being replaced from frustration and suddenly she couldn't bite her tongue, "We all know how you feel, we lost her too, and we're not handling it like a baby." 

That seemed to snap Mike out of his funk. He looked up sharply at Max and she flinched away at the look he was giving her. He stood up, staring down at the floor, angry tears burning his eyes, and clenched his fist as he spoke, looking around the room at everyone as he did so, "Sure, we lost the same person, but you-" His eyes drifted to Will. "-lost you sister and Hopper lost his daughter and you guys lost a friend, but I- I lost my wife. " And at that, Mike Wheeler completely lost it, sliding to the ground, heavy sobs wracking through his body. "S-she's it for me and I can't- I can't..." He gasped for breath, desperate for air to return to his lungs. 

Hopper stood from his seat, his arm reaching out for his hurting son-in-law, but he didn't move forward, knowing the kid needed some space. "Kid, you need to calm down, Max didn't mean it like that, okay?.... Kid, come on, don't do this to yourself." 

Older Mike stood, wiped at his eyes ruffly, before walking out of the living room and up the stairs, walking down the hallway, past the mostly empty rooms that might never be filled with giggling children in the future after all, and finally made it to his... and El's room at the end of the hallway, pushing the door open before heading inside, shutting it behind him. 

Exhaustion from the whole situation finally started to take its toll on him as he turned the bedside lamp on, lighting up the room in a soft yellow glow, not bright enough to hurt his stinging, probably bloodshot, eyes, and pulled the blue comforter up so he could slip underneath, laying on his side, just staring at the wall in front of him. 

His eyes drifted over to his nightstand and landed on the picture frame he always kept there, the pictures that were inside changed once in a while but the frame stayed the same, not leaving its spot, and his eyes watered once again as he reached forward and grabbed it, bringing it up to his face so he could see it clearer. 

The picture was taken by Jonathan at Mike and El's wedding, during the reception, after the ceremony. El was wearing this beautiful, pretty simple, white dress that complimented her tan skin, her shoulder length brown hair was curled to perfection with half of it pinned back, but the most beautiful things she wore was her smile as she stared up at Mike, her newly wedded husband. Now for Mike, he was dressed in the simple black tux with a white buttoned up shirt underneath, his hair in his floppy/flowy style, not gelled or anything because El absolutely despised it. ("Just let it be soft," She's always say).  They were on the dance floor, staring up/down at each other, eyes bright with the excitement of being married, her arms around his neck, and his hand placed on her hips as they swayed to the music. 

Mike didn't know he was crying until there was a knock on the door and he looked over at it, now feeling the moisture in his eyes. He didn't say anything as the door opened and Hopper stepped inside, closing it quietly behind him, and came to sat down at the end of the bed, patting Mike's foot in comfort as he placed the picture back onto the nightstand, his eyes never leaving it though. 

They just sat in silence for a couple minutes, just enjoying the comfort of not being along while grieving, until Hopper decided it was finally time to speak up, "Now we both know El is the strongest person we know." Mike nodded along with that. "So if we aren't able to get to her, we know she'll get to us, alright?"

Rolling onto his back, Mike covered his face in his hands and let out another whimper before saying, "It's juts not fair, Hopper... after all we've been through and she's just taken away just like that. All the flashbacks that came back to me on the moment I found out she would be trapped down there once again..." He trailed off, not being able to finish. 

"Hey, hey, hey, don't think like that." Hopper shook his head. "She's not totally gone yet." 

"But who knows if we'll even be able to find her!" Mike cried out. "We could be out there looking for years! These kids could be stuck here for who knows long and El could be gone forever and I just can't handle that pain again,t Hopper. I barely survived a year when I was thirteen and now I might have to live with it forever?" He sighed. "I could have prevented this. I could have shut down the idea right away. I could have turned us all around and then she'd still be her and -" 

"Mike!" Hopper raised his voice, startling the young adult. "You can't do this to yourself! You can't shut down right now. Not when your leadership is needed. Not when you're needed by your friends. Not when you're needed by El, because even though she's in the upside down, she's counting on you, and the other guys, to figure out a way to get her. So you can not shut down, you hear me?" Mike nodded. "Good."

"I'm just sick and tired of this shit," Mike mumbled. "We were finally so happy and nothing had happened in years, so why now? Why when things were looking up?" 

Hopper sighed and patted Mike's foot once again. "I don't know, kid. Some things just happen when we least expect it." His eyes glazed over like he was reliving a bad memory but as soon as it was there, it was gone and he said, "Now, tomorrow we're figuring out a plan and big brained Micheal Wheeler better be there, okay?" Mike nodded. "Everyone's leaving right now but I'm gonna crash on the couch for tonight, just to make sure you don't do anything stupid, so how about you go take a shower or something then go to bed, I've got the younger ones." 

"Okay," Mike muttered, sitting up and rubbing at his sore eyes. "Let me just get them some clothes real quick." He stood and made his way over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt for Mike, handing them to Hopper before heading over to El's dresser, taking out some pajamas that seem to small, handing those to Hopper. "Could you give these to them and offer them to take a shower if they need to? Towels are in the cabinet under the sink." 

"Sure thing, kid." Hopper reached over, ruffling Mike's hair before leaving the room and heading back downstairs. 

Once Hopper was gone, Mike listened and took a quick shower, letting the warm water relieve some of the tension in his back, washing all the dirt, grime, and grease out of his hair before getting dressed in pajamas (sweatpants and a sweatshirt) and then heading downstairs to grab a slice of pizza since hunger was starting to take him over. 

Trying to be as quiet as he could, knowing Hopper was already snoring on the couch, Mike tip toed down the stairs and into the kitchen, almost having a heart attack at the sight of younger El getting a drink of water, not that he minded. He passed by her, opening the box of pepperoni pizza, and pulling out a slide, taking a bite out of it as he filled his own glass of water, taking a large gulp before setting it down on the counter. 

He watched silently, slowly chewing his pizza, as younger El set her cup in the sink and turned to leave to go back upstairs, her curly brown hair still damp from the shower she had just taken, but paused a few feet away from the island, and turned back around, staring at him. He just raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to speak. 

"Mike?" She asked softly, walking back over to the island, standing across from him, the table between them. He hummed in response, watching her intently, his heart pounding inside his chest at was about to come. This reminded him way too much of the 'I love you too' moment back at the Byers in fall '85, and he really didn't want to experience that again with a fifteen year old girl... even though it was his wife ten years in the past. "El, she uh..."

"What about her?" He instantly piped up, his heart picking up more speed. 

"I'm sorry, by the way, I tried to stay with her but she wouldn't let me," She said and he waved her off, saying she had nothing to apologize for. She gave a small, nervous, smile, looking up at him, and continued, "Before she pushed me through she told me to tell you that... if she doesn't make it back that it's- it's okay for you to move on... to fall in love again." She swallowed thickly, already knowing that it sent a jab of pain straight through his heart. "She just made me promise I'd tell you that." Then she turned around and walked back up the stairs. 

Mike stood there for a second, pizza long forgotten, not really feeling hungry anymore as he slowly walked back up the stairs, his feet feeling way to heavy to be connected to his body, and thought back to what she had just said. It's okay to move on? To fall in love again? As if! Mike knew, from the moment she walked into the Byers after 353 days of separation, that she was it for him. There would be no one else. And there'd definitely be no more falling in love again. He had already fallen for her, hard, so how would he even be able to fall for someone else? He couldn't- he wouldn't move on... even if he tried. 

He walked back into his room, and after brushing his teeth, slipped into bed, facing the space where his wife would usually be sleeping. Grabbing her pillow, her hugged it to himself, burying his face in it and if he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, he could almost smell the fading scent of her vanilla shampoo. 

Even though it's only been a few hours, he missed her, a lot. He missed seeing her smile directed toward him. He missed her laugh, the way her eyes sparkled whenever he made her laugh. He missed her arms around him. He missed her body pressed up against his before they both fell asleep. He missed the feel of her lips against his. Hell, he even missed her calling him an old man!

Much to his surprise, the exhaustion took its toll, and he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

And that's a wrap!
 

I don't know guys but I think the road is gonna get bumpier before it get smoother.

Hopefully I'll have chapter 5 out sometime tomorrow but no promises!