"Boys don't cry"
Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things or its characters. No money is being made from this fic.
Plot: 80s AU. Popular cheerleader El Hopper and Hawkins High resident nerd Mike Wheeler don't really get along, in fact they don't even like each other, so why can't they keep their hands off each other?
Warnings: El is just awful here. Sorry. And this M for a reason, probably in later chapters.
Chapter 1. Mike Wheeler and the cheerleader from hell
The gym at Hawkins High was filled with stale, hot air; no doubt generated by the basketball practice that had just ended. Drenched teenagers were making their way towards the dressing rooms, leaving a trail of sweat and steam in their wake.
Mike crinkled his nose in disgust as he approached the bleachers, partly due to the air and partly due to the reason he was there to begin with. Cheerleading practice was supposed to have started thirty minutes ago, but because of a malfunctioning stereo, the squad was left without any music and thus were impatiently waiting for someone from the AV Club to come and fix it.
As the only available member of said Club that afternoon, Mike was the lucky bastard burdened with the colossal task of fixing it and dealing with the cheerleaders all by himself. Not that having any of his friends with him would have made much of a difference but still, the moral support would have been nice.
Oh joy.
The usual suspects were waiting edgily by the broken stereo. Mike didn't really know all the girls in the squad but for Jennifer Hayes, Tammy Mason, Stacey Mitchell and of course El Hopper, the squad's legendary captain. And for him that was enough. He didn't need to know more about that particular segment of Hawkins High population.
Legendary my ass, Mike thought darkly as he approached them.
He didn't quite understand why everyone loved El Hopper so much. Or why would anyone think she was legendary. She was just a conceited, spoiled 17-year-old girl, who considered herself the Queen of all queens at school.
Ice queen is more like it.
And of course, her entourage of morons did nothing but feed her delusions of grandeur continuously by following her around like lost puppies and nodding 'yes' to every one of her whims.
Not that Mike had studied her or anything, it was a phenomenon that had been developing uninterruptedly and in plain sight since her rise to the top of the high school hierarchy, as his friend Dustin would put it. There was a time when she hadn't been a total bitch, when she had been a nice, quiet girl. There was a time when she had been his friend.
But that was a long time ago and these days Mike would rather die than bow before the Ice Queen. He may be a nerd, but at least he had a backbone and this year he had decided he was done taking shit from anyone.
The herd of vipers spotted him approaching but paid him no mind as he reached them. Not El, of course, she noticed him and shot him an arrogant glare sided with an evident air of superiority that made Mike want to puke on her trainers right then and there.
"Oh, it's you. Finally! What was your name again?" She asked in a half-exasperated, half-irritated tone.
God, I hate her.
"Mike. My name is Mike Wheeler. We've known each other since we were six". He answered dryly and very much annoyed. They had gone to kinder garden together for Christ's sake!
"Right. So, Wheeler fix this for us, will you?" She told him authoritatively, not sparing him a second glance as she turned to her squad to continue their chat.
"'Can you fix this, please?'" He added slowly, as if he was teaching a little kid to be polite.
"What?" She snapped, turning to look at him, clearly annoyed.
Mike sighed exasperated and repeated, looking at her equally aggravated.
"You say: can you fix this, please? It won't kill you to show some manners you know".
She had the decency to blush, visibly embarrassed, but the ice returned within a fraction of a second.
"Whatever". She huffed, rolling her eyes and looking pissed at his reprimand.
Serves her right.
Her entourage just giggled stupidly, not really deeming their captain as the rude idiot she was being. This encouraged El, who turned to look at Mike smirking maliciously.
"Jeez, don't get your Star Wars undies in a twist Wheeler". She taunted, and the cheerleaders sniggered madly.
"Be a good boy and fix the stereo so we can start our practice and you can be on your way to play video games or whatever it is that you and your nerdy friends do every day". She added mockingly, earning her more laughter from the brainless bunch that were her friends.
Mike felt his face turn to a treacherous shade of red and grow so hot he felt like he was burning. A mix of humiliation and anger invaded him completely and his temper flared dangerously. His hands turned into fists at his sides and he counted to ten quickly in his head to avoid doing something rash like lifting the stereo and smashing it into the ground, or something even worst.
"Fine!" He spat, turning around and starting to walk towards the exit of the gym; fingers still digging into the palm of his hands and a hateful gaze marring his face. He was seeing red and El and her friends had the audacity to laugh at him once more.
"C'mon Wheeler, there is no need to get snippy". She shouted comically, putting on a show for the squad.
"Fuck off, Hopper. See who fixes your precious stereo now". He retorted angrily and exited the gym, slamming the doors with violent force.
The laugher died, and the cheerleaders looked at each other awkwardly and then looked at their fearless leader.
"Good job, El. Now we don't have any music or money to buy a new stereo". Stacey admonished testily.
"Oh, shut up Stacey!" El snapped rolling her eyes, visibly annoyed. Then she smiled sweetly before adding:
"I'm sure if you ask his friend Justin or whatever his name is, he will fix it for us. He drools every time you pass him by in the halls, it's only natural that if you ask him nicely he will say yes". She told her mockingly.
The others giggled, and it was Stacey's turn to roll her eyes.
"Sure, now I'm the one who has to fix this mess, just because you couldn't be decent to the only guy in the whole school who could help us today. We are already way behind as it is". She rebutted not really trying to dissimulate her annoyance.
"What? It's not my fault he's such a delicate, sensitive boy…". She countered sarcastically.
"That wasn't nice, and you know it". Stacey stated, staring at her disapprovingly.
Tired of having to explain herself and very irritated by the fact that they were still debating over the stupid incident, El cut the discussion short.
"Whatever Stacey. Let's start the warm up, c'mon everyone, on your feet!" Captain El was back in place and cheerleading practice had officially started.
The next morning Mike was still pissed. Fortunately, he didn't have any classes with El today so at least he would be in peace without having to see her stupid face. Hopefully anyway, there was always the chance he could run into her in one of the hallways. Not that it would make a difference, she would ignore him as she did with everyone who wasn't part of her 'popular' inner circle.
The morning went by without incident and Mike saw the lunch period as an opportunity to vent to his friends about what had happened the day before and maybe use it as an outlet for his anger. When he entered the cafeteria, he went straight to the counter to order his food and then headed to their usual table, where his friends were already eating.
"Hey guys". He greeted as he sat down beside Will. His annoyance must have showed on his face because Max noticed it instantly.
"What's up with you? You look twitchy". She observed as she popped a nugget into her mouth.
"Yeah buddy, I feel a great disturbance in the Force". Dustin agreed, goofily adding a Star Wars' reference for his friend's benefit. Mike gave him a half-smile, thankful for his noble intentions.
"Don't tell me, this has to do with your visit to our esteemed cheerleading squad yesterday afternoon". Lucas guessed without malice, even if he sounded a bit ironic.
"How did you…?" Mike tried to ask but cut himself resignedly. "Yes, that's it".
"I just know how they get into your nerves, especially Hopper so I kinda figured that something must have happened with them". He explained shrugging. Lucas knew better than any of their friends the deeper reasons behind Mike's dislike for El.
Mike sighed and started his tale, while his friends listened attentively. When he finished, Will was the first to comment.
"You know, that is strange, whenever she's been over to our house she has always been nice and polite. My mom even loves it when she visits with Hopper". He explained, mildly surprised about what Mike had just told them.
Will's mom had recently begun a relationship with Hawkins' chief of police Jim Hopper, an old classmate of hers and coincidently the father of one bothersome cheerleader El Hopper. It wasn't something that Mike really thought about, seeing as it was none of his business, but up to that point he hadn't realized that this new-found romance implied that Will had to exchange pleasantries with the Ice Queen on regular basis.
"Well, maybe she hasn't been over at your house that much, because I can't detect even a trace of niceness anywhere near her". Mike protested unconvinced.
"Maybe it's just good acting, you know all sweet, preppy El in the presence of adults and a heartless harpy when she gets to school" Lucas added thoughtfully.
"Ah…well, it is weird. We actually get along quite well. She likes music, so when she's over we listen to Jonathan's records. In fact, she loves The Cure, which is awesome". He said a bit embarrassed, suddenly feeling as if he had revealed some dark secret about himself.
"The what?" Mike exclaimed frowning.
"The Cure, it's a band. British, kinda goth but not really? They're pretty cool". Will explained.
Mike still looked puzzled. Whether it was because he didn't have a clue about the band Will was talking about or because of the revelation that El Hopper could be anything but horrible; it was difficult to tell.
"How come you've never told us that you were so chummy with the Ice Queen?" Dustin asked suspiciously, interrupting Mike's train of thought.
"I don't know. I guess I didn't think it was important…?" Will answered hesitantly, shrugging slightly.
"Well I'm just glad that if you have to be in her presence she doesn't treat you like vermin, even if it's just a façade". Mike concluded indifferently, wanting to end the subject.
"Speak of the devil". Lucas remarked, nodding towards the cafeteria's doors where El Hopper was coming through followed by Tammy, Stacey and Jennifer. They took a seat at their usual table and soon after some of the school jocks joined them. One of them, the handsomest, greeted Tammy with a hug and a lingering kiss while El observed them slyly.
"Look at her watching Tammy and Brad, what's the deal with that?" Dustin commented interestedly.
"Well rumor has it that even though she has done it with half of the basketball team –or so they say– she also desperately wants Brad Johnson, but well he's off limits for her since he's dating one of her best friends". Max informed them giving herself an air of importance at being their only reliable source of gossip.
Apparently, the rumors about the popular brunette abounded and Max was privy to all the juicy details shared in the girl's locker room about the legendary cheerleading captain.
"I don't think she has any moral code whatsoever, so I hardly believe that just because he's dating her friend she won't make a move on him sooner or later". Mike reckoned severely.
"C'mon Mike, don't be cruel". Will admonished, feeling that his friend was going too far with his sudden hatred for El.
He knew Mike hadn't been fond of her since her return to Hawkins, but he didn't understand why the unexpected revival of his vindictiveness.
"I'm sorry Will, but that mirage you described as El Hopper is a complete fantasy to me. That's simply not her". He explained, and Will couldn't hold his curiosity any longer.
"Why does she suddenly bother you so much Mike?"
Mike seemed to think about it for a moment before answering.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because I hadn't really talked to her since she moved back and yesterday I had to, and it brought back some memories from when we were kids". Mike answered shrugging.
"You knew her as a kid?!" Max asked surprised. "Didn't she move here when she was fifteen?"
Mike nodded.
"Yes, but she lived here before that. We became very good friends in kinder garden, before you or Dustin moved here. Then she moved to Indianapolis when we turned ten and we never spoke again". He paused, tuning his gaze briefly towards the girl in question.
"Years later she moved back looking like that and becoming extremely popular from the moment she walked through those doors." He finished quietly.
"Wow, that's so fucked up". Max exclaimed disbelievingly.
"It's like the El I knew never existed. A completely different person. And I guess I was alright about it, you know? Not really dwelling on it, I mean some friendships just break apart right? But I suppose that watching her actually pretend she didn't know me and picking on me, really made me angry". Mike explained bitterly.
"Did you try to talk to her when she moved back?" Max asked curiously.
"Yeah, I did. On the first day she came back to school I tried to say 'hi' but she was already with her band of idiots and completely ignored me. I got the hint and didn't look back, not until yesterday at least".
Truth is, he had always been a bit bitter about El's blatant disregard for him. Sure, he didn't think about it much, but that didn't mean he had forgotten or that he hadn't been hurt by her attitude when she came back to Hawkins.
They all fell silent, contemplating Mike's story. Sensing the darkening in their moods, Mike decided to change the subject.
"Let's talk about something else guys. Are we going to the arcade this weekend?"
The topic seemed to bring their enthusiasm back and they burst into excited talk about their plans to beat the existing scores, moving on swiftly to enquire about Mike's latest campaign for Dungeons and Dragons.
Soon after, the bell rang, and the group of friends left for their last classes of the day, all thoughts of El Hopper happily forgotten.