Once upon a time, Eleven had thought the world of Mike. She thought he was brave, that he was strong and funny and sweet. She thought that he put his friends before himself, and she commended how he didn’t seem to care what others thought of him. She thought, however, that he had thought the world of her in return. She thought he knew her for her, not for what she could do, and she thought he cared about her as a person, and not a shiny toy to show off.

As Eddie began to talk about Demona, though, her expression remained low. He said that it wasn’t hard to figure out what there was to like about someone you loved, yet he was struggling to say something he loved about Demona aside from how she had saved him. It was . . . scarily close to what Mike had said, and for a moment, doubt began to creep its way into her mind. What if she was the problem, and what if she didn’t understand how love was supposed to work?

And then, he started to ramble about her. Rather than getting stuck on one thing, he was almost running out of breath talking about the different sides of her he saw, and she swore there was a sparkle in his eye as he explained how he saw Demona. She was the light in his darkness, and anyone who saw Eddie in that moment would see it. She wasn’t even aware of the tear running down her cheek until it was halfway down, and reaching up, she wiped it away before smiling at the older male before her.

“ . . . I like that.” Looking back at the gate that she had nearly forgotten was there, she was silent for a moment, but as she spoke up again, her voice was a little more certain of her choice, despite the crumbs of heartbreak still trailing in her tone.

“I need to make more friends, so one day I can find love like you.”