only in your dreams

Song: Hopelessly Devoted to You by Olivia Newton-John

✈︎

The first thing Mike sees is plants. When his eyes finally adjust to his surroundings he realizes he's in a garden. He doesn't know whos garden, but it's someone's. There are bushes, flowers, hanging plants, trees, everything. There was a small swinging bench near the corner of the bench where someone familiar was sitting.

He could recognize the figure as El.

He could always tell when it was her. Her honey curls blowing softly in the breeze and then he heard her laugh, "What are you staring at? Stop drooling and come and sit," She said as she turned around to face him, patting the space beside her.

Mike hesitantly walked over to where she was sitting and sat down next to her. El immediately scooted closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Isn't it great?" She asked suddenly. Mike furrowed his eyes in confusion, "Isn't what great?"

"To be in love.." She sighed dreamily. Now he was even more confused. "With who?" He couldn't help but ask. Maybe he would finally have a good dream.. but he just had to make sure. He could only hope it was him she was referring to.

"Him.." She pointed to someone working out in the garden. His whole figure was blurred so Mike couldn't see who he was. "Who is he?" Mike asked, his muscles tensing at the sight of the man.

"Someone I love very much." She said quietly, a smile finding its way onto her face. "More than me?" Mike managed to croak out, trying to tease her slightly. But it wasn't a joke at all.

"Yes, I think so.." She chuckled before taking her head off his shoulder and looking at him. "Are you mad?"

"Um.. no.. why would I be?" He was a little, but it's just a dream. Right?

"Well because you love me, doesn't it hurt you?" She asked softly. "Yeah.." Mike didn't see a point in lying. She simply connected their hands and sighed: "I'm sorry.."

"It's okay." It wasn't.

"Do you know why you're here?" She asked curiously, bringing her free hand up to his cheek and making him turn to look at her. He shook his head as his eyes stared into hers lovingly. "I just wanted to say goodbye.."

Mike blinked. "Goodbye? Where are you going?"

"I'm not going anywhere. But now that I'm with him.. and well, you're simply my best friend. I don't really need you anymore, y'know?"

"But.." She shook her head, interrupting him before he could continue. "You're just a fragment of my childhood.. and well, I guess I just wanted to say thank you." She said, repeating the very words he had written down just a few days ago.

"For what?"

"For growing up with me, for always staying by my side, for making me smile and encouraging me to do things... and for loving me." She said quietly.

"But why are you saying goodbye? I'm not going anywhere either.." Mike found himself asking.

"Mike," She chuckled. "I told you. I don't need you! You're just my best friend and now that I'm with him I really don't see a point in us still being friends."

He looked at her with confusion and pulled face away from her hand as if it had burned him. She frowned, "Oh Mike, please don't be upset! You simply waited too long.. maybe if you would have said something earlier it would be you instead of him.. but it's too late. And now you need to get over me, okay?" She said, reaching over to grab his hand again but he shook his head and she put her hands back in her lap.

"There is no.. getting over you. I can't."

"Well you're going to have to, alright? Please?" She asked quietly. "N-No! I'm not going to move on. I can't and I won't."

"Fine.. okay.. Well can I give you something before you go?" She asked softly. "Sure I guess.."

"Just.. trust me. Do you trust me?"

Mike nodded at her and she bit her lip nervously, looking away quickly and then back at him. Before he knew it, she put her hand behind his neck and pulled him closer until lips like sugar were softly placed on his and he felt his heart stop. After all of these years of dreaming about it, thinking about it, only ever imagining it, it was happening- well sort of.

It was too bad it was only a dream.

Mike was surprised a dream could feel this real, but he wasn't going to complain. She pulled away just as quickly and smiled at him one last time before uttering one word and soon Mike was wide awake.

As he was waking up he could hear her faint voice echoing in the back of his head: Goodbye.He knew where this dream was coming from. It was that stupid letter he wrote.

That stupid letter where he wrote down his pathetic feelings for the girl. The words expressing how one day she wouldn't need him anymore, and she would move on to someone to whom she loved back. That explained it all.

But the kiss?

It was probably his brain playing a trick on him, giving him something that wasn't ever going to happen. Though it felt so, so real. He could still feel her lips lightly pressing on his, leaving a warm sensation to tingle through his body.

Mike was just happy this wasn't a nightmare- well, in a way it was, but it wasn't awful. He brought his hands up to his lips as if to remember what it felt like because it's not like it was going to happen again.

Only in his dreams.

But he couldn't help but admit to himself that he rather liked the dream. It was peaceful despite some of the things El had said to him. He knew it was only a dream, only a dream where El 'Wouldn't need him anymore'. Mike remembered one of the nightmares he had a while ago where that same phrase was said. 'I don't need you anymore'.

Why was that something he constantly thought about? He knew it was only a dream. El even said it herself (In real life) that she would always need him, just as he would always need her. But another thing stuck to him. Another thing that she had said.

"Maybe if you had said something earlier it would be you instead of him.."

Said something earlier.. Say something earlier! It was his brain telling him to hurry up before he missed out on the chance! With this new realization Mike knew he had to do something fast, think of something fast.

Which is what lead him to think of a plan.

The plan to win Eleanor Hopper's heart once and for all.

✈︎

On the other side of the world, El was impatiently waiting at the airport for her dad to arrive. Sofia let her borrow her car so she could drive it to and back from the airport. She knew he would be walking down the hallway soon enough and she couldn't wait to see him.

After waiting long enough she saw her father walking around the corner with his suitcase lugging behind him. His eyes were searching for her and when he finally spotted her he grinned widely as El ran over to him.

He let go of his suitcase to let his daughter run into his arms, his arms enclosing in on her when she crashed into his chest. The familiar scent of cigarettes filled her nostrils immediately and it was like she was transported back into the comforts of her own home.

It felt like ages when she last saw him, but in reality it had only been about 2 weeks. Which was still a long time for her, she has never been anywhere without him much less a new country.

"Hi," She mumbled into his shirt. "Hi," He responded, pulling her out of his arms so he could look at his little girl. Only a few weeks without her and she already looked like a grown woman and he couldn't believe his eyes. Her skin was more tanned, her hair had gotten just a little longer, and the freckles that appeared in the summer time were beginning to pop out on her face.

"How was the flight?" El asked with a smile. "Boring, you know how much I hate flying on a plane." He said chuckling as he grabbed his suitcase from behind him. "Yeah, I do. But you're here now so let's get out of this awful airport."

Being in the airport only reminded her of Mike, and that he would not be visiting with Hopper. She tried not to let that get her down but she couldn't help it. She knew Mike was having a hard time back in Hawkins and all she wanted to do was hug him and never let go.

The father and daughter duo began to walk out of the airport, the Italian heat hitting them as soon as they exited the cool airport. "Jesus, it's hot." Hopper mumbled as they were walking to Sofia's car.

"Yeah get used to it," El chuckled, grabbing Sofia's car keys out of her pocket and unlocking the car once she saw it. "Who's car is that?" Hopper asked in confusion when they walked up to it and El opened the trunk. "It's Sofia's. She's lived here her entire life, and here give me your suitcase." El explained.

Hopper handed her his suitcase and she set it in before closing the trunk and walking over to the drivers side, Hopper to the passengers seat.

"Oh. She doesn't mind that i'm staying with you guys, does she?" Hopper asked. El turned on the air conditioning and locked her seatbelt in place, "No, she doesn't care. She's more than happy to meet you."

El began driving away from the airport and back towards her small shared apartment. Hopper's eyes widened at the scenic view as El drove through the city. It didn't even look real, and he never imagined he would be coming to Italy but now he was here and it seemed totally unreal!

"Wow.. this place is.." He couldn't even think of words which made El laugh. "Yeah, I know. You haven't even seen half of it."

The two talked about whatever came to mind while El drove back to her apartment and soon enough they arrived and they were both caught up with each other.

El parked on the side of the road and grabbed her father's suitcase out of the trunk and locked the car before the two headed inside the building. They walked up the few flights of stairs and then arrived at her apartment, which El unlocked with her key and opened the door.

"So, yeah, this is it. Nothing much but it's better than nothing." El said as she went over to the living room to set his suitcase down. "It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be," Hopper mentioned, walking over to the living room.

El nodded, "You can move the coffee table and set up the bed if you'd like. I'm going to call Mike."

Hopper nodded and began shifting the living room around so he could use the pullout couch. Just as he was moving things around a blond walked into the room, "Oh mio Dio! Are you El's dad?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah, you are Sofia?" He asked with a chuckle, turning around the face her. "The one and only. Nice to meet you!"

Hopper smiled at her and glanced back to El who was dialing Mike's number on the phone. Sofia caught where his eyes were going and sighed, "She's calling Mike, right?"

"Yep."

Sofia shook her head, "I just wish Mike would come here already,"

"Why's that?" He asked curiously. "I'm tired of seeing her mope around, poor thing misses him like hell."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I know. If you think she's bad, Mike is a whole lot worse. I try and check in on him and sometimes his mom calls me, but yeah. He's not used to being alone and he just tears himself up."

Sofia frowned. "Well it will be soon when he comes back. Until then we just have to deal with it."

"Right."

Hopper glanced back at El who now had the phone held up to her ear.

"Hello?" It was Mike, thankfully. "Hey, its El."

"Oh, hey! What's going on?" He asked, eager to hear from her today. "Um well, my dad is here." There, she finally let it out. It was eating her up all day, keeping it from him.

"What? He didn't tell me he was.."

"I know, he didn't want to tell you because he knew you'd want to come with him. He only had the money for one flight, and you are saving up for when you visit next. I'm sorry I didn't tell you.. I just didn't want to upset you." El rambled quickly.

Mike sighed. "It's okay. I get where you're coming from." That wasn't what she expect him to say, but she was glad he wasn't mad. "You aren't mad?"

Mike cringed, remembering the dream earlier in which dream El had said that same thing. "Nope, not mad. Plus, you need some father- daughter bonding time."

El smiled, "Yeah, you are right. But um.. How'd you sleep?" She asked, changing the subject. "Interesting. I had a weird dream.. and it wasn't like a nightmare, but it kind of was? I don't know, it was weird."

"Tell me about it." She encouraged. "Okay.. Well, we were in this garden sitting on this chair and you were with this guy, I don't know who he was, but you said you didn't need me as your best friend now that you were with him.. and I don't know, it was strange. And you.." He stopped, should he tell her what she did that surprised him the most?

"I, what?" El asked as she picked up her water and took a sip out of it.

"This is going to sound really weird, but you kissed me."

She choked, that is not what she expected him to say. "I kissed you?" She repeated.

"Yeah, I know. Super random."

"You dreamt of that?" El asked, receiving curious stares from Hopper and Sofia. "Yeah- sorry I probably freaked you out.."

"No! It's um, fine. I just didn't expect that," She laughed nervously. Why was she nervous? It didn't happen so she didn't have to freak out, but somehow she was.

"Me either, sorry I made this awkward.. it's just been a while since I've had a dream and y'know, I figured I'd tell you." He mumbled, now regretting he said anything.

"I'm um, glad you said something. But like I've said before, I'll always need you. No matter what the future holds, alright? You always dream about that and I don't want you to think I'm just going to stand up and leave you because I'm not going to."

Mike smiled, it was always nice to hear her say that. "Thanks, El. I guess I'll let you go spend time with your dad. Tell him I said hi."

"Okay, I will,"

"Bye El, love you." It was a little painful to say but he had to just get through it until he comes to see her next.

"Love you too, bye." El hung up the phone and placed it back on the wall before going walking over to the living room where Hopper was looking at her suspiciously.

"What?" El asked once she noticed his facial expression. "What was that conversation about?"

El shrugged and sat on one of the chairs in the room. "Nothing much, just a dream Mike had."

Hopper can specifically remember her mentioning something about kissing, which is what peaked his interest in the first place.

"Hm," He sighed. "How's he doing?"

"He's okay, you know, hanging in there."

"You really love him, don't you?" Hopper asked randomly, making El widen her eyes.

"Yeah.. why?"

"No, like not has a friend. Am I wrong?"

El furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, why in the world was everyone asking her that?! Was she giving off a vibe or-

Hopper must've caught onto her look which made him speak up again. "Look, you might not see it but everyone else does. I know about the many times Mike sneaks into your window, trust me he isn't very stealthy, and I don't know, you just act like he's not just your best friend. Now I see it more than ever."

"See what? He is just my best friend, Dad."

"Just the way you talk to him, the way you care about him and worry for him constantly.. It just all connects to me. It makes sense.. but whatever you say." He said with a sigh making El go inot thought.

El didn't respond. She's been like that with Mike her entire life, for as long as she's known him. She's always worried about him, like when they were in 3rd grade and he fell off his bike and scraped his knee. El thought she was going to pass out because she thought he broke his leg and he would never be able to walk again, even though it was just a small cut on his knee. Or the time that Troy pushed him on the playground and he fell straight into a mud puddle. She's always worried about him, and this was no different right??

She's always cared about him too. Why wouldn't she? He was the most important thing to her in the world.

Now she was thinking.

All of the times she cuddled up with him or slept in his arms, she had always thought of that as something everyone did. Maybe she thought wrong. Because now all she could think about the times he couldn't come over and stay the night, and how hard it would be for her to go to sleep. She would even sleep with his sweaters that she stole just to try and fill the void of him not being there, but it never worked. It wasn't the same as Mike.

She thought about all of the things they did together, how they were constantly attached at the hip, how he was always so supportive for her.

He never failed to make her feel loved. Even when she was feeling her worst Mike would do something stupid, or try and cheer her up in some way. Like in 5th grade when El was the last to be picked for the dodgeball team at recess. Mike argued with the team captain until she was allowed on his team, and even got hit in the face with a ball to try and make her laugh. Although it just made her take him straight to the nurses office because she was afraid his face would have a giant bruise if he didn't get ice right away.

Mike was so caring with her too, like in 6th grade and she got her period for the first time. Mike wasn't totally sure of what it was, but he knew Nancy was always emotional or angry when she was on it. So that whole day Mike stayed with her and he brought all of her favorite movies over to her house and got her a bunch of candy that she could pig out on during the movies. She ended up falling asleep in his arms, but that was no surprise. That was what they always did when they watched movies together.

She could name about a billion more things about how much she cared about him. But now thinking about all of this, loving Mike didn't seem all that scary.

"Yeah," She sighed, "I guess I do love him."

✈︎

A plan.. well what would this plan involve? He knew she loved him as a friend, but what in the world could he do to make it more? Mike knows he's going to- no, he has to tell her the next time he sees her. It's been eating him up for too long and he has to do it as soon as possible.

He's going to see her in 2 weeks. That gives him 2 weeks to plan what he's going to say, and what he wants to do in order for her to love him back. Mike knows El like the back of his hand, he knows what she likes, what she hates, what she likes to do, where she likes to go, everything about her. Ask him anything, and he can tell you.

But this has to be perfect. No mistakes, no redos, nothing. This is his one chance to tell her how he feels and it has to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right words, everything. Why hasn't he thought about any of this before? It was be a hell lot easier if he had already prepared for this moment, but he hasn't.

He never thought he would actually have to courage to say anything to her about it.

But it's going to happen, and he's going to make sure of it. It's been too long and Mike simply can't take it anymore. Although he does have to say, writing about his feelings did help. He didn't feel so bottled up anymore, it was like he was talking to her. Telling her everything he's been thinking for the past 11 years of their friendship and it helped.

And after their phone call a few nights ago, and the awful things he said to her that morning, he's felt incredibly guilty. He didn't mean to explode on her like that. He was just so upset, and so frustrated that he didn't even realize what he was saying. But that was no excuse, and he needed to apologize to her and tell her why he did that.

Of course he couldn't say it to real El. He had a pen, paper and his imagination to make up for that. He would write to her.

Maybe he would give it to her someday when they're older, something to look back on and laugh about. But he would not give it to her now.

So, he went over to his desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of notebook paper and his pen. He sat down at his desk and took a deep breath before he started writing.

To the imaginary El I am writing this to,

I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything of what I said on the phone the other day. Now that I'm thinking about it, I feel really guilty and really stupid for saying all of that. I shouldn't have done it. Just because I was mad doesn't mean I can treat you that way. I was just so distracted by my emotions and my thoughts that I forgot who I was talking to. My best friend. I'm disappointed in myself, and I'm sure you are too. I don't blame you.

I said that I've been waiting for 11 years for something to happen, but I don't know why I was waiting for you to do something. I have to do something. And I'm sorry I put all of that pressure on you. I know I shouldn't have said any of that, and I'm sorry.

I guess I just wanted to tell you that. I mean, you and I both know why I couldn't say the real reason I said that on the phone. Telling you my feelings over the phone is just... lame. I want to do it in person, I want to see your face whether you hate me for saying it or love me. I don't care I just want to know that it's real. Because just hearing your voice isn't real enough.

I just want you to know how much I really do love you.I guess you'll know soon enough.

yours,Mike

Author's Note:

okay. so, i was going to add on to the end and give you guys a little father-daughter night out but i literally was having such a hard time writing this chapter as it is, and i rly liked this and didn't want to screw it up so i will try and make it up to you guys in the next chapter!!

but yes, el has finally come to a realization that she loves mike!! I didn't think i was going to do that ever in this book, but i felt like it needed to be done! again, i feel like this chapter should include the father-daughter night out but i seriously could not come up wit ANYTHING, so if u want to suggest something it would really help me out!!

hope u enjoyeddd! bye!