1984. That seemed to be the year of good things. Hawkins received a new arcade, (well its first arcade) Mike and his friends finished middle school, Mike would be turning 15 which meant Mike could obtain his drivers permit) and lastly a curly haired brunette moved to their small town.
She was the chiefs adopted daughter, her legal name was Jane but for some reason she asked everyone to call her El. Mike hasn't figure out why yet.
Since her move her in early spring, Mike acquired a certain liking to her. What's not to like about her? She had chestnut colored hair that curled in every direction. Her soft brown eyes were captivating, with flecks of gold and when they caught the sun's light they were absolutely breathtaking.
But most importantly she was a great person. Not just on the outside but on the inside. When she first arrived to Hawkins Middle she befriended Max.
The two quickly became close friends but once Lucas began whining about never being able to see his "girlfriend" Max decided she'd introduced El to the party. El and Will were already close, (something about Joyce and Hopper always being together) She befriended Dustin quickly. Dustin had a certain spunk and friendliness that was contagious to those around him.
Lucas took a liking to El when the began to bond over their love for a certain redhead. Then there was Mike. When Mike finally got to speak with her the two grew a fondness for one another. They both loved science, putting syrup on their eggs, reading, (more specifically, reading science fiction) starwars and countless other things. Mike couldn't be happier (well, he could, if El let him date her he would be significantly happier)
He knew of her before they began to talk though, and not just from Max. Her first day was the start of their third semester, and much to his delight, they shared most of their classes together. Once the party grew a liking to El, they started hanging out with her outside of school. First inviting her to go to the movies, then to game nights at Will's, to the arcade.
This particular weekend, the party decided the palace was the place to be. It was agreed that they would meet there at 4:00 then sleep over at Will's to watch poltergeist.
4:00 neared, the whole party was there and the evening plans were well into play. Excitement was in the air. Mike decided to try and beat Max' score on dig-dug (something no one in the party seemed to be able to do)
Mike was quickly side tracked when a certain curly haired brunette was playing with Will a few machines down. Mike was absolutely enamoured, captivated by the way she unconsciously stuck the tip of her tongue out when she was concentrated or how her eyes got all squinchy when she found something utterly hilarious. Mike couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Just ask her out already, Jesus!" Mikes head snapped from El's direction to Max, grinning satisfactory. He blushed deeply "I don't know what your talking about," Mike walked past her, bumping her shoulder.
"Bullshit. You and I both know you've had the biggest crush on her since she transferred," she followed him to Pac-Man.
"What? No I don't," he defended, voice going octaves higher. Max gave him a knowing look.
"Besides, I doubt she'd say yes. She probably thinks I'm nerdy- "you are nerdy!" Max interrupted,
"Fuck off! Anyways, she could so much better. I mean look at her," they both turned their heads towards El. She was focused on cheering on Will who was busy playing Donkey Kong,
"She probably likes Will or something. I mean who wouldn't? He's nice, funny, patient. Everything I'm not" Mik sighed, losing at his game in the process.
Max stared at him, giving him a disbelieving look. "You can't seriously be this dumb," then she laughed, giggling at first then full on belly deep laughs. "Mike, you're so oblivious-" "am not!" Mike interjected,
"shut up, yes you are! Listen to me, I mean your right, she probably could do better than you, but she totally likes you! I mean you're not the nicest person, I would know since you hated me when I first arrived," She glared, Mike blushed. "But she doesn't like Will, I promise."
"Sorry about that by the way, I was being a total asshole to you when you did nothing." Max smiled, "but how do you know she doesn't like Will?" he questioned.
"Ughhh! Boys are so dumb! Will's mom and El's dad are together you idiot! That's why they moved here. So they could be together. They'll probably end up step-siblings so if she liked him it's basically incest." at that Mike made a face.
Anyways, Will is gay so he wouldn't be into her" Mike's face contorted in confusion, "what do you mean Will is gay? I don't remember him saying anything to us?"
The redhead sighed, "Mike, open your eyes! Will is gay, haven't you noticed he gets weird around girls when they tell him they like him or at the snowball, when Jennifer Hayes asked Will to dance and Will was totally stiff! Plus have you ever heard him talk about girls?"
"Okay, you have a point.." he started, before he could finish his thought Max continued in a low voice, "Besides, you didn't hear this from me but El told me that one night when she and her dad stayed overnight at Will's,
she and Will were talking and she said that Will came out to her, but don't tell anyone I said that. Will should come out to us when he's comfortable and ready" she whispered
Mike began to think. Max proved a good point. Will never really talked about girls, Mike assumed because he never felt the need to or because there weren't any girls who peaked his interest. He was right on the latter, no girl will ever peak Will's interest.
"Well, how do you know El likes me?" He asked. Max looked at him thoughtfully. Trying to string her words correctly. " I know because she told me" She smirked, giving Mike a knowing look.
She gave Mike a pat on the back and started to walk away towards the other boys, before stopping to turn to him, "just ask her. You'll never know what the future holds, except for me. I know what the future holds" With that she winked and walked away.
Mike was left in the back of the arcade, dumbfounded and pleased with the new information Max had left with him. Maybe he'll ask her out after all.
