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"Who's that guy El is with?"
Mike's eyes shot up from his lunch at the sound of Dustin's question. He sat with his two best friends at their usual lunch table in their high school cafeteria, waiting for Will to join them from his art class that always went late. His eyes immediately found El Hopper, Max's best friend, who was walking with some blonde guy. It looked bizarre. El never interacted with anyone except Max and sometimes Will. The sight of her willingly talking to someone else seemed to make Dustin and Lucas just as curious as Mike was, by the looks on their faces.
Her long skirt swished as she walked, and her wavy hair was in a messy braid. "I have no idea," Mike muttered, watching as they disappeared from his view.
He wasn't really friends with El. When she first came to Hawkins Middle School, Mike never really understood her. He was curious, deep down, but she was so closed off. He wasn't sure she would even respond to him if he tried to strike up a conversation. He wanted to know more about this new girl who collected all the purple morning glories as she walked, and braided them into Max's hair during recess. But Mike Wheeler was nothing if not painfully awkward. So, he kept his distance. Max hated him, anyway, and she was the only person El seemed to like. He assumed that was why El hated him, too. He disliked her not only because he couldn't understand her, but because she clearly didn't want him to. He had tried to make conversation with her, especially in the beginning, but she had shut him down every time.
But, that was years ago. He had been twelve at the time. Now, Mike was almost seventeen. He was an avid swimmer, a part of the A.V. club, and was working towards becoming a creative writer someday. He supposed he had bigger things to worry about than El Hopper's new mystery man. Were they dating? It didn't look like it. Mike shook the thoughts out of his head as Lucas called his name.
"What?" He looked up, trying to casually shovel a bite of sandwich into his mouth.
"What's wrong with you man?" Lucas half-smiled, amused. "I was asking if we're gonna go to Stacey's halloween party next weekend."
Mike frowned. "Are we invited?"
"This year everyone's invited." Dustin grinned. "Apparently she wants it to be her biggest party ever, or some shit. But hey, I'm not complaining."
Mike wasn't thrilled at the idea. He had swim practice early on weekend mornings, plus he wasn't exactly looking for another opportunity to look like the inexperienced nerd he was. But the smile on Dustin's face told him he was getting dragged into it no matter what.
"Well, there's no way we're getting Will to come." It was a lame attempt at an excuse, and Mike could tell his friends knew it.
"Come on man, it's Halloween. Just come this once. I can't go alone, and all my basketball friends are gonna be there," Lucas pleaded.
Mike knew Lucas wasn't going to the party to hangout with his "basketball friends." He was going to see Max, if she was even going to be there. Mike wasn't exactly sure if they were still on a break or if they were broken up completely; you could never tell what their current status was, unless Max was letting Lucas walk her to class, sometimes hand-in-hand. It was the most affection he ever saw her give.
Mike groaned, and Dustin smiled, knowing that sound meant Mike was going, and, once again, designated driver.
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The party was a little less than two weeks away, but Mike supposed shopping for a halloween costume was better than doing homework, like he really should have been doing. He drove his rusty piece-of-shit car to the downtown area of Hawkins, mindlessly window-shopping for a costume that wouldn't make him look like a total nerd (which was, unfortunately, his default). Dried-out leaves blew across the sidewalk, crunching under his feet as he walked. His eyes wandered across the street, where the local pet shelter was nestled in a small corner, covered in blue chipped paint. He could see a young woman inside, crouched beside a small dog, who was happily enjoying her affection. He squinted, trying to understand why she looked so familiar. She turned her face towards the window, a sweet smile on her face, and with wide eyes, he realized, oh shit. It was El.
He had never seen her so happy. He had never seen her look so gorgeous. She rarely showed much emotion at all at school. It was actually what kind of freaked him out about her. He didn't understand what made her so neutral in every conversation. He had always wondered if she lacked any true opinion of her own or if she was just too shy to express it.
He realized he had been staring for far too long, and quickly sped up, hoping she didn't see him standing there. He nearly took down an old woman in his speed-walking, and awkwardly helped her cross the street in an attempt at an apology.
It seemed that his brain was a useless pile of mush after seeing El, laughing so carelessly, covered in kisses from the dog she was caring for. It wasn't until he pulled into his driveway that he realized he hadn't even bought a costume.
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The next day, Mike slid into a seat beside Lucas in the cafeteria, only to look up and realize El was sitting right across from him. Max sat beside her, chatting with Lucas and giving him small smiles. El's hair framed her face in soft, slightly messy waves, and Mike noticed a blue bracelet around her wrist. It looked like it was handmade from yarn or string.
"I like your bracelet." It slipped out without thinking. He mentally smacked himself in the face. At least Lucas was too distracted adoring over Max, and Dustin and Will seemed to be deep in some sort of debate that Mike didn't even want to involve himself with.
El looked up from a notebook full of math equations, eyebrows drawn together like she couldn't believe he was speaking to her. "What?"
"I, uh, I like your bracelet." He nodded his head towards her wrist. "Did you make it?"
Her eyes softened as she looked down at it. They were so big and dark, with long lashes. "No."
"Oh." Mike hesitated. Well, fuck. "So... you work at the shelter?"
Damn it. Now he was going to look like a creep. She didn't look fazed though. She simply replied, "I volunteer."
Before he could tell her some lame excuse about how he knew that, Max pulled her into a conversation, and El immediately became a brighter, more relaxed version of herself. Mike wondered how Max managed to pull her out of her shell when they first met. Then, he frowned, because he didn't understand why he cared so much. He turned to talk to Dustin and Will, trying to forget the encounter altogether.
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"El! Can you please give Zeus a bath before you leave for the night? He went ahead and covered himself in mud again on his walk."
El looked up, her fingers still brushing through the fur of Bear, her favourite of all the animals at the shelter. "Sure."
She turned her attention back to the sweet dog in front of her, smiling as he lapped at her hands. "I do not want to give him a bath," she softly admitted to Bear. He panted back at her.
Suddenly, she felt eyes on her. She looked behind her, but the manager of the shelter, Dana, had already disappeared, likely on another smoke break. She turned to the window, but there was no one there. She craned her neck to look farther, and saw the unmistakable figure of Mike Wheeler. But he wasn't looking at her. Shockingly, he was gently helping an elderly lady cross the street. She felt confused. She had always seen him as a selfish person. It was why she didn't like him.
For years, Max always wanted to be a part of Lucas's life, a part of his friend group, as much as she tried to hide it, and Mike never wanted her around. He made her feel unwanted and unwelcome. El despised him for that. Max was the funniest person she knew. Who would not want her around?
She watched Mike carry the woman's shopping bags with one hand, holding her arm with the other. The pair disappeared from her view, leaving her more confused than ever before. Was Mike really capable of being so kind?
Maybe it was hard to believe because El had not encountered many kind people in general. She had been shipped from foster home to foster home, neglected and unloved for nearly all of her childhood. Thankfully, she was adopted at age thirteen by her dad, Jim Hopper. She still had trouble calling him that, even three years later. But she loved him. He showed her an entirely new life, filled with love and laughter like she had never known before.
She lived out of a small, fraying suitcase most of her life. She had five shirts, three pairs of pants, and one pair of sneakers that she loved dearly. She outgrew them by ten years old, but she never considered asking her foster parents to buy her new things. They already didn't seem to like her. She didn't need to give them another reason.
Bear barked, bringing her back to reality. Strangely, she wondered if Mike had seen her through the glass. It gave her a weird sensation to think about. She felt much more vulnerable here than at school. Plus, she was covered in slobber, and her hair was probably frizzy. He looked... nice. In comparison. Very tall. She liked his dark hair.
But he is rude, she reminded herself. Especially to Max.
That was all she needed. She let any happy thoughts she had about Mike melt away.
That night, she went to Max's house for a sleepover. Normally, she wasn't allowed to sleep over at Max's on school nights, but her dad landed a date with Joyce Byers, and he was in too good of a mood to say no. She giddily arrived at Max's doorstep with a duffel bag full of M&Ms and their favourite magazines. When Max opened the door, El immediately knew something was wrong. Max's eyes seemed heavy and sad.
After stepping inside, El dropped her duffel bag to grab Max's hand. "What's wrong?"
Max shrugged, but didn't pull away. "I think Lucas and I broke up again."
"What happened?"
Without a word, Max led them into her room, taking El's duffel bag with her. As she shut her door, El collapsed on her bed, patting the spot beside her.
"I don't even know what happened," Max mumbled, her eyes rimmed with red. It made El's heart hurt. "We just... started arguing. I don't even remember about what. But he was just so... mad." Her eyes dropped to her hands. "I was being stubborn. But I know that jackass Mike told him to end things with me. He was there when we were fighting, and I just know that scumbag thought the whole thing was my fault." Her eyes met El's. "He just thinks I'm wrong for Lucas. For their whole stupid party."
El's chest swelled with anger. "You're not. You make Lucas so happy."
Max rubbed at her eyes. "God, why am I so sad?"
"He will come back to you," El reassured her.
"I don't know. It just feels different this time. I think Mike really got to Lucas. Maybe he's right."
"He's not," El muttered. She hated him in that moment. She hesitated, then asked, "Want to do something stupid?"
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"Where did you... get it?" El scrunched up her nose. The weed smelled terrible. Did people really enjoy this stuff?
"Billy has a pretty big stash. He's gonna kill me when I get home, though," Max muttered, pulling another plastic bag out of her backpack.
They were currently stuffing a couple bags of the strange-smelling weed in Mike's locker, framing him. It was El's idea of revenge, and Max had loved it. El knew a one-time suspension wouldn't really harm anything major in his life, like college admissions, but she knew his smart-ass ego would be bruised, and Max knew it too. They were then going to give an anonymous tip to the highly strict principal of Hawkins High.
"Okay, let's get out of here." Max shut the locker, holding out her hand for Mike's lock. Thankfully, the idiot had left the combination sticker on the bag of the lock. El wasn't sure what their backup plan would've been had it not been there.
"Max?" A deep voice made both El and Max jump, the lock clattering to the floor.
"Jesus!" Max turned around, face-to-face with Lucas. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Basketball practice ran late... what are you guys doing? Isn't that Mike's locker?" He frowned. "And... do you guys smell that?"
They turned to each other, eyes wide. Max whipped back to Lucas. "I'll explain everything, can we just talk, please? I... want to apologize."
El's eyebrows raised. Usually this conversation was the other way around. With chocolates and a necklace as a peace offering for Max. She couldn't tell if Max was improvising or really meant it.
Lucas's eyes softened. "Yeah, okay. Why don't I drive you guys home?"
"No," El said quickly. "I... have to return a book to the library." She nodded down the hallway, to where the school library was. "I will see you guys tomorrow."
Lucas nodded, and Max shot her a quick look that said thank you and don't get caught. Max pulled Lucas away by his arm, leaving El there to grab Mike's lock off the floor and fumble to put it back on.
"Hey, what are you doing with my locker?"
Her heart dropped. No way.
She slowly turned around, her cheeks already burning. "Hello."
Mike looked irritated. "Were you trying to get into my locker?"
"No." She tried to keep her face neutral. She felt like she was forgetting how to stand normally.
"Then what—" the sound of loud, clicking footsteps echoed down the hallway. El knew that sound. Shit.
She grabbed Mike's arm, forcefully dragging him into the nearest door with her. She shut the door, stumbling into Mike in the pure darkness. The scent of Lysol wipes smacked her in the face. This was clearly the janitor's closet. Through the small window of the door, they watched Principal Higgins march by. El let out a small breath, then reached for the handle of the door. It didn't budge.
"What..." She jiggled the handle again, more forcefully. Nothing.
"What the hell is going on?" Mike hissed, now angrier than she had ever seen him before.
She turned around, coming chest to chest with him. Her stomach filled with a strange fluttering feeling. She could smell a faint scent of his cologne and fabric softener. It was making her dizzy. No. It was probably just the smell of all the cleaning chemicals. She slowly looked up at him, struggling to find anything to say. His eyes met hers, and he seemed to be just as aware as she was of their vicinity. Heat was radiating off him. She was tempted to lean in further.
"Sorry," she mumbled. Goosebumps lined her skin. "This... was not supposed to happen."
He sucked in a sharp breath, still looking at her. "Um... I'm not... following."
"I was framing you." No point in lying now. She was stuck in a janitor's closet with Mike Wheeler. It couldn't possibly get worse.
"What?" Mike tried to step back, and crashed into what looked like a mop bucket. She could only see a faint outline of everything in the room. She looked around for a light switch, but she could barely see anything.
"For revenge. For breaking up Max and Lucas." She tried not to look at him, busying herself with the task of finding a light—or a key.
"Breaking up? What? I didn't break them up," he grumbled. She was irritated that that was his focus right now.
"Help me find a key," she demanded.
"El, what the hell is happening? Why did you drag us in here?" The sound of him saying her name made her heart speed up. It felt so personal.
"I don't know," she said angrily. "I did not want to get caught."
"Higgins would've just thought we were talking. He wouldn't have known you were trying to... frame me."
"Well, it is too late now." Every word he said both irritated her, and it was hard to think with how close they still were. "Why are you even here so late after school?"
He sighed, brushing a hand through his hair. Her eyes followed the movement. "I was studying for a math test. I had to get a tutor." He sounded irritated, embarrassed even. "I know you can't relate, with all your A's in math and shit, but, it's not my strongest subject."
She bristled. "Well, you are always showing off in English. I am sure you have good grades in that." It was supposed to be reassuring, but it landed like an insult somehow.
"I don't... show off." Mike was usually quick-witted. She wondered why he wasn't snapping back at her the way he usually did with Max. Especially after finding out she was trying to frame him. He still hadn't even asked how she planned to do that. "It's just that my parents would kill me if I didn't do good in that class. My dad says it's the easiest class, yknow?" His eyes widened. "Uh, not that, uh, well, it's okay if it's not the easiest for you. It's different for different people," he rambled.
She smiled, just a little. She was always complaining to Max that she was failing English. He must've been paying attention to their conversations at lunch. "We need to find a way to get out of here," she said softly.
"Okay," he said. It looked like his eyes were lingering at her lips. Maybe it was just the poor lighting playing tricks on her, but her face started to burn regardless. "I've never seen you smile at anyone but Max."
Her stomach tumbled, and she tried to ignore how sweet he was being. Maybe it was just the fact that they were alone in the dark. It was easier to say things without thinking, without the pressure of eye contact and other people around. Her head felt so foggy, and she wondered if he felt the same. She stepped back, trying to put some space between them, but the back of her head hit something gross and damp. She quickly tried to turn around to see what it was, but her necklace tugged her neck back. "Ow," she muttered, trying to blindly feel what it was caught on.
"What's wrong?"
"My necklace is stuck," she said, getting more and more frustrated.
"Oh, um, let me help." Mike inched forward, slowly reaching his hands around her necklace to find where it was snagged. His fingers brushed her skin, sending thousands of goosebumps down her spine. She could have melted onto the floor right there. "It's caught on the mop head. Wanna turn around so I can see what I'm doing?" His voice sounded shaky, like maybe his heart was pounding as fast as hers. What the hell was happening.
She turned, trying to focus on breathing normally. She felt his breath softly, on the back of her neck. His fingers rested against the base of her neck as he struggled with the necklace. Then, they dropped, and the necklace hung loosely around her neck once again. "Done," he whispered. She missed the contact already.
"Thank you," she said. They were face-to-face again, and it was like something was pulling her in. She had the strangest urge to get closer to him. She felt like it would feel warm and safe. She had known him for years, but they had never interacted like this. She always thought a prank was being pulled on her every time he tried to talk to her. Just like that one time when the highly popular Jake Walcher asked her out on a date, and it all turned out to be a joke.
Plus, she was supposed to hate him right now. Her loyalty to Max came above all else. But it felt like he was leaning in, and maybe she was going crazy, but she wanted him to kiss her. She hoped he couldn't hear her heart pounding.
Suddenly, the door opened, and she nearly fell backwards. A gruff janitor stood there, eyebrows pinched together in fury and bewilderment.
"What the hell are you kids doing?"