home away from home

song: half a heart by one direction

✈︎

The next time El opens her eyes, she sees the world slowly coming closer to her and the plane lands on the ground with a gentle bounce before slowing down as it reached the destination. El looks outside eagerly, the clear blue skies of Italy are now shown above her. She grins before standing up when the plane comes to a complete stop and grabs her bags from the overhead bins.

It is quick getting out of the plane and she now waits by a conveyor belt that passes luggage around. She doesn't spot hers at first but then she does and she grabs the 2 suitcases and walks through the airport. The airport seemed to be very busy today, people crowding the walkways and in huge lines for the food, but El ignores all of it and she walked to an escalator.

As she was going down the escalator she saw a blond girl holding a poster above her head. El reads it and furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

EL HOPPER, WELCOME! :)

What?

How does someone already know her, and she hasn't spoken to anyone since she left Hawkins? When she stepped off the escalator she walked toward the blond girl, who was still holding up the sign. As El approached the girl, she finally noticed her and smiled at her. "Are you El Hopper?" The girl asked, she had a heavy Italian accent. "Uh yes.."

"Capisco! Benvenuto, I am Sofia it is very nice to meet you." She greets with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you too... may I ask how you know me?"

"Oh, right, sorry. I'm your roommate for Leonardo Di Medici art school! The dean of the school told me to come get you at the airport so you wouldn't get lost." 

"Cool.. how do I know you aren't trying to kidnap me?" El questioned. "Sciocchezze! This is my first year at this school, I know this is your first year too. I saw your painting, è stato molto impressionante."

El smiled, "Thank you.. what was it?" She asked, she couldn't trust the girl just yet.

"era un paesaggio, trees, a pond, beautiful sunset. I have seen nothing like it! You can trust me, i couldn't kidnap a fly without feeling bad." Sofia explained with a giggle. "Alright.. but if I die, expect a very angry dad and best friend to come after you." 

Sofia put her hands up in surrender, "grazie per l'avvertimento, but I don't think it will be necessary, you are safe with me! Now let's get going! You'll want to be moved in so we can go get something to eat!"

El was beyond excited to eat here, she wanted to try the pizza, pasta, gelato.. all of it. "Alright, let's go!" El said, Sofia kindly took one of her suitcases and they walked out of the airport. The blond had a car waiting in the parking lot and unlocked it before setting her suitcases in the back and getting in the car, El doing the same.

As they drove around the city Sofia pointed out landmarks such as the famous Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni. "How long have you lived here?" El asks. "Oh, my whole life! Conosco questa città come il palmo della mia mano!" 

"That will be good to know if I ever get lost." El says with a chuckle. "So what is it like in grand America? Where did you live there?" 

"I lived in Hawkins Indiana. There was nothing that interesting there, mostly just like.. fields. It's so boring there, you would be bored out of your mind."

"That's different from what I have heard before."

"It all depends on where you live, I guess." El shrugs. "well what did you do there so you weren't bored?"

"I was never really bored, I was always with my best friend Mike." 

"Ooh? Un ragazzo? Tell me about him?" Sofia says mischievously. "Oh it's not like that, I swear! I've known him all my life, but he's the best person on the planet. He's coming to visit next week, so you can meet him then but you'll love him!" 

"I can't wait already! Italy is quite the romantic place so.. you never know..le cose potrebbero accadere!"

El put her head in her hands, "Oh my gosh, stop it."

"It is true! I speak from experience." Sofia says with a shrug. "Oh?" El says, already intrigued with the girls love life. "His name is Anthony, gosh he is just the cutest!  Voglio solo abbracciarlo tutto il giorno!" 

El giggles at her new friend's silliness. Soon enough they arrive to a small apartment complex and Sofia parks the car on the side of the street. "So this is it, doesn't look like much but you are living here for the next 5 months so deal with it! It is actually quite nice inside." They get El's bags out of the car and lug them up 3 flights of stairs before finally reaching their room.

Inside was a small kitchen, another room with a tiny sofa and then the next room, which had two beds on either side of the room. There was also a small balcony that overlooked the whole city of Florence right outside of the kitchen.

 "There is a place for you to put your clothes on your side of the room, the bathroom is right across the "hallway"" Sofia says as she flops down on her bed.

Before El even unpacks her clothing she turns to face Sofia. "Is there a phone I can use?"

"Yes, on the kitchen wall." El smiles before walking out of her room and to the kitchen where she sees a phone mounted on the wall. She dials Mike's number and hops up on the counter as she waits for him to pick up.

After a few rings she hears the receiver pick up. "Hello? El?" His voice is quick and shaky, and even though it had only been a few hours, she's never been more relieved to hear his voice. "Hi Mike." She says, biting back a grin.

"Hey," She can hear him sigh, like he had been holding his breath. "How are things in Italy? How's your roommate? Is it hot? Is the food good? I miss you."

El giggles, "Things are really good, it's beautiful here. My roommate is super cool, she's really nice and she met me at the airport and drove me home. It's kind of late now so it cooled down and we are going to eat after I unpack. And I miss you too." 

"That's great, but uh, I'll let you go unpack you're probably hungry." Mike says secretly not wanting her to go. "Mike it's okay, I'm not in a rush. How are you doing?"

He hesitated to answer, "Well... uh,-"

"Spit it out."

"Fine.. when I was in the parking lot of the airport I um.. kind of panicked." El frowned, "but you're okay now?"

"Somewhat."

"This weekend. This weekend we'll see each other, okay? We can get some really good food, because the streets already smell like pasta, and we can just spend the whole weekend together before I start classes. Sound good?"

She heard him take a deep breath before responding, "yeah.. sounds good."

"Remember what I told you, Mike." El reminds him sternly. "Yeah I know," He replies meekly, "It's just hard."

"I know, it will get better with time, I promise."

"Okay.. love you." He says, his vice still quiet and gentle. "Love you too, talk to you later okay?"

"Alright, bye."

"Bye." El placed the phone back on the wall and took a deep breath. "Was that Mike?" Sofia asked teasingly as she entered the kitchen. "Yes, it was."

"Why so down? Sorriso!" Sofia says, sporting a small smile of her own. "When Mike gets overwhelmed with his emotions he gets super stressed out he panics and his whole body just goes on lockdown. Usually I'm always there to help him through it, but since I was on the plane I didn't even know it was happening." El frowns, the words slowly getting caught in her throat. But she had to swallow that feeling.

"Why was he overwhelmed in the first place?"

"He missed me." El replies with a shrug. "Dang, he's got it bad." Sofia chuckled, though El was confused. "Got what?"

"Your total obliviousness just blows my mind."

"What are you even talking about?"

"ragazza sciocca, vedrete."

El rolled her eyes, still not knowing what in the world she was talking about. He's got what bad?

✈︎

After El hung up the phone Mike stared at the wall in front of him. His mind was blank, he had no idea what to do. Usually he would go to El's house and they would think of something to do, but she wasn't here right now and he'd have to figure it out on his own.

To be honest he didn't have a clue what to do. This was the only bad part about how he always hung out with El. It was only her he hung around with. He would talk to his other friends at school, but he would never hang out with them.

But oh how he missed El's company so dearly. He just wanted her back in his arms more than anything else in the world. He wanted to make jokes with her, he wanted to lay in bed with her all day, he wanted to hold her in his arms like she would fall out of his grip if he let go. He just wanted his best friend back.

Nothing else in the world could compare to her. Not even if all the money in the world was offered to him, he would still chose El over all of it. He would do anything to have her back.

Mike tried to keep her promise in mind, but he just couldn't focus on it. He just needed her so desperately. He needed her to breath. To live. 

She was everything that allowed him to wake up every morning and keep going. A simple look from her made butterflies erupt in his stomach. A smile did catastrophic things to him, like his heart would explode if she did anything else. 

She was his home. 

Even though he was at his house right now, it didn't feel complete. The only place he would ever feel at home would be with El. Wherever she was, he felt safe. He felt at home. 

El was his home away from home. 

God, he missed her. Mike missed her so badly. The only thing holding him back from just going to Italy right this second was their promise. He couldn't break it, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

So he would have to wait until this weekend to reunite with her again.  

He was counting down the hours, days, minutes, seconds until he would see her again. Until he would smell her sweet vanilla perfume once again, until he could cuddle up next to her, until they could explore the streets of Italy together. Until they could fall asleep next to each other and wake up the exact same way.

He couldn't wait for it.

✈︎

After all of El's things were unpacked, she and Sofia decided to go get something to eat. El was starving and couldn't wait to try real Italian food. Sofia said she already knew a place that was perfect, and she couldn't wait for El to try it. She said it was all the Italian classics she knew from America, but the real thing.

They got into Sofia's car and she started driving down the crowded streets. "It gets pretty wild at night. People going to clubs, restaurants, they all just file into one street, è una follia!"

El chuckled and looked out of the window with excited eyes. She couldn't believe she was really here. She was really doing this.

But without Mike.

That thought made her frown and think about how he had to deal with his panic attack by himself. Why didn't she see it coming? She could have gotten on a later flight, and helped him through it, but she didn't see it.

She didn't even notice.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked to Sofia. "You okay?" El shrugged.

"Ah, homesick. Capisco. but it will get better."

Nothing will get better without Mike.

Sofia seemed to read her mind. "Don't worry about your little boy toy, he will be fine as you will be too. You have to think on bright side! You are seeing him this weekend, correct?"

El nodded. "See! Not that long! Besides, it is not like you're separated forever!"

"I know.. but you really don't understand how we are. We are like oxygen to each other, without it we can't breathe, and right now we're both suffocating." El said, sporting a frown. 

"I'm sure I will learn more about you two over dinner. But I know what will make you feel better. Some pasta in your belly and some famous Italian gelato afterwards!" Sofia grinned, putting a sympathetic hand on El's arm.

El smiled and they stayed silent the rest of the way to the restaurant. But eventually they arrived and Sofia parked the car on the side of the street before they got out and walked toward the ld building.

"Ah! Eccoci qua, Trattoria Za Za!" Sofia exclaimed, throwing her hands up to create extra excitement. El giggled and they walked into the restaurant. "tavolo per due per favore." 

The waiter smiled and picked up two menus, "Seguimi."

They followed the man until he stopped at a small table with two chairs, the table with a clean white tablecloth. The two girls sat down and they ordered their drinks first before El looked at the menu. So many amazing choices! She didn't know what to pick!

"Oh gosh, Sofia. What do I pick!?"

The blond shrugged, "What do you want most? When you think of food in Italy, what comes in mind?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs." El said, the image coming straight to her head. "There you go! When the waiter comes back just order that."

After some time the waiter did come back and El ordered spaghetti and meatballs while Sofia got a truffle risotto. Their drinks came and Sofia leaned back in her seat as she sipped on her ice water, "So please, tell me more about the special Mike?"

El laughed and shook her head. "We met when we were both 7 at the public pool. I was terrified of jumping into the pool, it was my first time going any deeper than 3 feet. Then Mike came up beside me and offered me his arm floaties, so I wouldn't "sink and die"," She said, quoting Mike exactly. 

"But then I said that he would drown if he didn't have them on, so I put the floaties on and held his hand and we jumped in the pool together. We've been inseparable ever since." El said, smiling at the memory. Sofia smiled softly, "Ooh I just can't wait until he comes to visit. You two will be so emotional, I see it now!"

El rolled her eyes. "You have no idea."

"Where will he stay when he's here?" Sofia asked curiously. El shrugged, "Probably with us. He will not want to let me out of his sight at all, so he'll probably sleep with me too."

Sofia looked at her questionably. 

El caught onto the look and her eyes widened, "No no, we won't do anything. I've been sleeping in the same bed as him for like 10 years and we've never done anything. He's like a little toddler."

"That's weird." Sofia chuckled. If she had a guy best friend she would never do that, she knows how a teenage boy's mind works. 

"Is it? I've never thought of it that way." El said with a shrug. "Hm. You two must have something really pure if neither of you have like... thought of each other."

"It's just sharing a bed." El mumbled. "That is true, but you don't think you two would eventually do anything? Like date? I mean it's obvious he likes you, just from what I've heard."

Like was definitely an understatement. Mike Wheeler was insanely in love with his best friend.

El shrugged again. "I don't know,"

Sofia could have sworn she heard some sort of uncertainty underneath her words. 

"But he doesn't like me like that, it's just how he is. I know Mike, and he's always been like that from day 1."

But she obviously didn't know Mike as well as she claims.

✈︎

When El gets back to her new apartment later, the only thing she can think about is sleep. She immediately went to the bathroom and took a quick shower before she went to bed. She felt all mixed up, her body was used to Hawkins' time zone. Not Italy where everything was 9 hours ahead.

She was incredibly tired but when she laid down in her new bed, sleep was the last thing to come.

She tossed and turned in the dark room. The window near her bed let a yellow hue come into the room as she heard cars slowly pass in the streets below in the late hours of the night. Sofia was in the living room watching TV, so El was by herself.

Just El and her thoughts.

El doesn't remember the last time she's slept alone, besides a few weeks ago when Mike left her and Hopper to discuss Italy when she found out she was accepted. But El fell asleep on the couch next to Hopper that day, and he carried her to her bed later on. 

But this time she was really alone. 

No familiar warmth of her cozy house, nothing homey about this place. And worst of all, there was no Mike.

She glanced at her nightstand to see the picture of her and Mike at his 14th birthday party. El giggling at the camera while Mike pouted, whipped cream all over his face. She smiled sadly.

She knew he would have another nightmare, she knew he was just as alone as she was right now. She knew he felt the same emptiness as she did. She knew he was probably just as cold as she was, cold because he wasn't there to wrap his arms around her and hold her close to him. Mike was a little ball of fire, he was always warm. But not now.

That night they both had trouble falling asleep, no matter how exhausted they were. They couldn't sleep without each other.

That night Mike also had one of the worst nightmares of his life.

Author's Note:

hello :) sorry this took like 2 weeks, but I was still recovering from the last chapter and also dealing with major mileven depression (seriously help). but I know this chapter isn't much, but I wanted to introduce Sofia- as she will be a big part of El's life now! and I wanted to write out how Mike is dealing without El.

It will only get worse, hence the last sentence! Hope