Disclaimer: I do not own ST
It was the first Saturday of a new month at the Byers' house, which meant that Eleven and Mike would have their monthly Eggo "date". Nancy was accustomed to this arrangement, so when she walked downstairs that morning and didn't see El, she was curious.
"Isn't your girlfriend coming over today?" She asked as she poured orange juice in a glass.
"She's not my girlfriend," Mike said, staring at the last sips of juice in his own cup, "And she's just in the bathroom,"
Mike was partially right. She had been in the bathroom. She was coming back to the table when she heard Mike say that she wasn't his girlfriend. She stopped in the doorway, confused. She was a girl, and she was his friend...wasn't she? Or was this another word she didn't know? Hopper had taught her about those...two words put together that made a new word.
"Girlfriend?" Eleven asked, stepping back into the kitchen with light feet, "What's that mean?"
"It's a, uh, relationship. Boyfriend, girlfriend, that type of thing," Mike said, focusing a little too hard on his waffles, "Do you want some syrup?"
They didn't address the topic for the remainder of the time El was at the Wheelers'. So, naturally, Hopper had a heart attack when Eleven hopped into the truck and the first thing out her mouth was:
"What's a boyfriend?"
He had been in the process of buckling his seat belt, and the buckle flew back and hit the window with a clunk.
"A what now?" Hopper asked. She'd only officially been his daughter for a few months; did the teenager stuff really have to start now?
"A boyfriend,"
Yes. Yes it did.
"Where'd you learn that?" Hopper asked as he started the car.
"Seat belt," Eleven reminded him, "I learned it from Mike. Sort of,"
"Sort of?"
"What's it mean?" El asked him as they rolled out of the driveway.
"A boyfriend is...a boyfriend is a very special friend. Same goes for a girlfriend," Hopper said. He was trying to focus on the road, but Eleven was making it increasingly difficult.
"Is Mike my boyfriend?"
"What? No. You're too young for boyfriends," Hopper said. He was starting to panic a little. His little girl had still thought boys were "icky" when she left. This was entirely new to him.
"But you said a boyfriend is a very special friend," Eleven said, "Mike's a very special friend. And I'm not that young; one-four,"
"That's my bad; that's a bad explanation," Hopper said. Oh boy...how was he supposed to explain this? "Boyfriends and girlfriends like each other in a...in a different way. They make you feel funny,"
Mike made her stomach feel funny...butterflies, as Nancy had called it. Was that what Hopper was talking about? It must be.
Hopper saw the slight confusion etched in her brow and tried to continue his poor explanation, "It's an agreement between two people. Someone's gotta ask,"
"Oh," Eleven said.
The next few minutes were filled with an awkward silence, save for Hopper's whistling. Eleven, however, had a question circling her mind and she wanted an answer,
"Is Joyce your girlfriend?"