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LOVE REALLY HURTS WITHOUT YOU!

CHAPTER SIX: REALIZATION.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

⠀⠀Despite the unexpected turns of the night and the discovery of feeling concerned — throughout the years in the lab, where he'd solemnly felt fear, anxiety and pain, feelings such a excitement worry weren't something he was very familiar with. Over time, he was hoping to also get more in touch with his emotions — it had still been quite a marvelous night for FIVE. He still got to experience the joy that Halloween emitted, to walk the streets with the others as if it was normal for him.

⠀⠀It was pleasant.

⠀⠀Will, Mike and FIVE were still perched in the basement of the Wheeler house, two of them unable to go home before Jonathan came to pick them up so Joyce wouldn't find out that the adolescent hadn't actually gone with them. Will had drifted off after a while, his mind exhausted from the earlier events which was understandable. He looked peaceful as he laid on the couch, eyes fluttered shut and brown locks framing his face elegantly. For once, he didn't look overwhelmed with anxiety.

⠀⠀FIVE was still seated on the floor while Mike on the couch, the former looking pleased as he tried some of the different candies they'd gathered. The freckled of the two was fiddling with a wrapper, trying to decide if he should voice his thoughts or not.

⠀⠀He ended up doing so.

⠀⠀"Why haven't you just time-travelled back?"

⠀⠀The question resulted in FIVE's head snapping up, his chewing noises coming to a halt and his expression morphing into realization as it dawned on him that the thought hadn't even crossed his mind, which it should have. He took a moment to blink, pursing his lips in thought as he did, "I don't know. Maybe because I have nothing to go back to."

⠀⠀For once, Mike wasn't staring at him with distaste nor a grimace or a glare. He had a softened expression adorning his face, like he was genuinely curious and trying to understand as best as he could.

⠀⠀The idea of traveling back hadn't occurred to him strangely enough. Maybe because, like he said, he had nothing to go back to, nor did he really have control over his powers which was the reason he'd even ended up in 1984 in the first place. Throughout the few weeks he'd been here though, he'd already gotten something to stay for. He'd been blessed with a place to say and people who were willing to help him and guide him along the path to a new life.

⠀⠀"I guess that makes sense," Mike mumbled, having a hard time admitting he understood someone he was supposed to dislike, eyes darting down towards the wrapper resting between his fingers again.

⠀⠀"Also my powers . . ." FIVE began again, his voice trailing off as he tried to piece together the right words in his head before he spoke. He was gazing down at his hands as well, "Out of control."

⠀⠀You'd think that after growing up in the lab, where your life revolved around your powers, he'd be able to control them by now. It wasn't like his powers specifically were that special. He couldn't use them to defend himself in a fight or anything. All he could do was travel around, and he wasn't even good at that.

⠀⠀It frustrated him.

⠀⠀"How long were you in the lab?" Mike's voice sounded again, his words echoing throughout the otherwise silent room in an oddly calming manner. He seemed to be taking this as his chance to ask whatever he wanted.

⠀⠀"I was taken when I was one," FIVE shared, his eyes glazing over in a daze. He felt like memories were playing behind clear, sheer glass and he was being forced to stare right at them and be reminded of it all. "So all my life."

⠀⠀His words were slow, spoken with caution as if he was scared he'd say something incorrect. It was like he was piecing the words together as he spoke. It was hard to maintain all the information he'd been given over the weeks he'd been there. There was a lot.

⠀⠀"Not anymore, though," Mike reminded him as he finally peered back up from his fiddling fingers, an odd sense of protectiveness directed towards the other boy. He couldn't quite explain it. He supposed it was because FIVE reminded him so much of ELEVEN.

⠀⠀He still disliked him, he just didn't want anything to happen to him, is all.

⠀⠀"Not anymore," FIVE sucked in a deep breath, his head bobbing up and down into a slow, agreeing nod. It still felt weird that he wasn't in there anymore, probably because he hadn't known anything else growing up. It felt strange to eat proper food, to walk around freely, to have someone that looked after him.

⠀⠀It shouldn't but it did.

⠀⠀"Who was ELEVEN?" FIVE took it as his opportunity to finally question, seeing as he had now answered some of Mike's questions. He didn't mean any harm with his words, he was simply curious as to who had left behind the broken pieces of Mike's heart.

⠀⠀Mike stayed quiet for a few seconds, his shaky breaths being the only thing heard. He looked like he was trying to find the right words to describe her, to describe what she had made him feel. He looked like he couldn't because no words would do her justice.

⠀⠀"We found her in the woods last year. Kind of like we found you on the street," the damaged boy tried his best, voice falling into a faint whisper like he was scared that if he spoke any faster, any louder, his voice would crack and he'd break down into tears. His cocoa eyes had fallen into his lap again, raven locks almost long enough to shield them from view. "I don't think a lot of us would have survived if it wasn't for her. She saved us."

⠀⠀His words were short but suddenly FIVE understood why they spoke of her like they did.

⠀⠀"You loved her?" The brunet carefully asked, still unfamiliar with the feeling of saying words like "love". They felt strange on his tongue.

⠀⠀Mike's eyes snapped up instantly, brows furrowing slightly in confusion as to how the other had come up with that. He seemed to be obvious to his visibly miserable eyes and actions of a broken heart. He swallowed harshly, the question hitting him harder than it should have. "I think I love her, yeah."

⠀⠀Love. Not loved.

⠀⠀"You think?" FIVE voiced his thoughts, quite unfamiliar with the whole concept of love and how it worked. It wasn't the easiest words to describe and Mike had stumbled over his words while trying to do so, having quite a hard time with it.

⠀⠀"I've never been . . . in love before," said boy revealed, visibly cringing at the subject. It didn't seem to hit him that he was actually having a calm, decent conversation with someone he'd usually roll his eyes in irritation at. "I'm not sure what exactly it's supposed to feel like, you know?"

⠀⠀FIVE blinked, still not quite understand the whole concept of "love", but decided to just go with a short nod and a "right". Mike seemed to be struggling with forming words about it just as much as he was struggling with getting the definition through his head.

⠀⠀"Was she cool?"

⠀⠀The third question made Mike's freckled face erupt in a tiny, fond grin, his mind replaying the memories he'd shared with her over and over again. While her absence had brought him pain and suffering, her presence had solely blessed him with happiness. "Yeah, she's awesome."

⠀⠀". . . Awesome?" FIVE repeated after a moment, his face curled up in a confused frown over the word that sounded strange to his ears.

⠀⠀"Yeah, you know . . . Like, cool," Mike explained, not that bothered by it since he'd already gotten used to FIVE's unfamiliarity to a big group of words. To anyone else, him not knowing what "awesome" meant would be considered weird but after everything the Wheeler had been through, well . . . it wasn't.

⠀⠀"Awesome," repeated the olive-eyed boy, like he'd always do with new words. It helped get them stuck in his head and again, Mike had gotten used to it by now. He blinked for a second before gazing back up at the male, liking the sight of a smile on his face, "What was she like?"

⠀⠀Yet another question Mike hadn't expected.

⠀⠀"Uh, well, she was . . ." The freckled boy trailed off for a second, after he'd snapped out of the mild surprise. Even after what had almost been a year, her face was still clear as crystal in his mind. "She's small, skinny, like you and she has no hair. She barely talked, at least at first and she has this obsession with Eggo's."

⠀⠀The smile remained on his face as he recalled small, yet meaningful details about her. It looked nice. FIVE liked it a lot.

⠀⠀"She always puts others first," Mike informed but this time, his smile faltered slightly instead of brightening at the memory of her. The pain seemed to swarm back in, overtaking his mood as he spoke again, "That's why she's gone now."

⠀⠀As Mike told FIVE more about her, bit by bit, the puzzle in his head seemed to piece itself together more and more. It almost made him sad that he'd missed the chance of meeting her.

⠀⠀"Dead . . . or just missing?"

⠀⠀"She's not dead," Mike continuously refused to believe what everyone else had already set their mind on, drastically shaking his head. He'd seen her, though. She was still out there, he knew it.

⠀⠀He just had to find her.

IDA'S NOTE!
Ha Ha Ha HaHa
that wasjust a small
kinda cute ig moment
between the two of them.
i don't think this story is
gonna get a happy ending
because even through
everything, mike always
loved eleven u know.
so yea.