Hello Everyone! So this is going to be a compilation of different Stranger Things ones-shots all based on a short one sentence prompt. Most are going to be fluffy Mileven, but you will get to see all of the characters as they bond together. I thought with the upcoming holiday I would start with this one. I hope you enjoy!
124. "Happy New Year!"
December 31st, 1984.
As Hopper pulled up to Joyce's house on New Years Eve, he was already regretting every having agreed to this. El practically threw open her passenger side door before even he shut the engine off.
"Whoa whoah whoa, kid slow down! Your friends are going to be in there no matter how quickly you get inside now hold on. We need to go over the rules."
El groaned and reluctantly closed the door again, crossed her arms over her chest.
"Now remember what I said-" Hopper started, secretly procrastinating going inside for as long as he could.
"Yeah I remember! Be good, no powers." She huffed.
"And?" Hopper raised an eyebrow at her, she had cleverly forgotten the most important part.
"No kissing at midnight." She grumbled under her breath with an eye roll. Hopper felt the corners of his mouth tug up, she had really gotten the whole 'bratty teenager' thing down.
"That right. Now you go on ahead." He shut the engine off and before he could even pull his keys out, she was running towards the Byers front door.
Hopper chuckles to himself, lighting a cigarette and following slowly behind his adoptive daughter. When Joyce had suggested throwing a small new years eve party, El nearly jumped out of her skin from excitement. Hopper didn't think it was a good idea, but she was already so over the moon about it that he couldn't say no. So here he was, avoiding going inside and preferring the bitter cold. The holidays were always odd and confusing for him, it made him miss Sarah more than he would like to admit, but watching El get to enjoy them for the first time had softened him. This was her first new years party and despite Hopper hating parties, and crowds, and festive normalities, she deserved every second of it.
El was greeted at the door by an already red faced Mike. She pulled him into a big hug and together they went inside. All of the boys welcomed her warmly, as well as Max who gave her an awkward half wave and a smile. Joyce ran out from the kitchen, holding two glasses of wine and hugged the small girl.
"Where is Jim?" Joyce asked puzzled.
El rolled her eyes and pointed a thumb out onto the porch. "He is being weird."
Joyce fished a cigarette from her purse and walked outside, wine in hand.
El looked around the house and marveled at how beautiful the decorations looked. While Hopper had put up a small tree in their living room so El could have the 'authentic experience'; The Byers tree was huge, and had enough lights to illuminate a small town. El ran her fingers through the silvery tinsel that glinted in the multicolored lights, and smiled at the 'Happy New Years!' banner that Will had undoubtedly drawn and hung above the couch.
The boys, El, and Max all sat around the living room, catching up and joking. El was only allowed to see them on special occasions, and she loved hearing all of their stories each time they met up. To the boys it was just school, and chores, and annoying siblings, but to El it was a magical world that she had never been a part of.
El and Mikes hands found each others on the couch, and they tangled together making both kids blush. Hopper said no kissing, but not 'no hand holding'. Mike told El all about the D&D campaign he was working on, and how excited he was for her to be able to play with them when she was allowed out more. El felt a twinge of pain in her heart, she had waited so long to be able to see them, but she had to wait even longer to be able to spend real time with them.
The hours tickled by and before anyone knew it, it was almost midnight. Joyce turned down the music and ran into the dining room, coming back seconds later with noise makers, and party blowers, and handed them out to everyone. She turned the TV to the station broadcasting the Times Square Ball Drop, and everyone gathered around the living room to watch. They were only about half an hour away and anticipation was killing them.
"So what are everyone new year's resolutions?" Max asked.
"Resolutions?" El asked.
"Yeah it means something new you are going to start doing in the new year. Like a promise you make to yourself." Mike answered beaming at her.
"Well I want to get a real job this year." Lucas said proudly.
"Im gonna get my top score in Dig Dug back!" Dustin said sternly, eyeing Max.
"In your dreams!" She teased, tossing a pillow at him. "I'm gonna finally master the Switch Kickflip. I almost have it down and this year i'm gonna nail it."
"I think I want to actually finish drawing a comic book this year. I have so many that I started but never finished, and my mom just got me a bunch of new colored pencils for Christmas." Will said smiling over at his sprawled utensils and drawings that covered the coffee table. "What about you Mike?"
Mike had actually given this a lot of thought over the past few weeks. Knowing that El was back, and that she was okay had pulled him from his nearly year long funk in her absence. He wanted to see her as often as he could, but that wasn't exactly resolution he was willing to share. He wanted to make sure she had the best year of her life, but that wasn't really a personal goal. Ultimately he just wanted everything to be okay, and for El to finally live the life she deserved, but that wasn't really something he could just tell everyone.
"Uh... I guess It would be cool to win the science fair this year." He said, obviously bluffing.
"That's it?" Lucas asked clearly not buying this excuse for a resolution. Mike just shrugged.
"Well what about you El? Is there anything you want to do in the upcoming year?" He asked changing the subject.
El thought about the question for a moment. There were a lot of things she wanted to do in the new year. She wanted to see her friends, to be able to go outside, to meet new people, to experience new things. She wanted to memorize every word in her dictionary, she wanted to watch all of the movies the boys had told her about, she wanted to finally play D&D with them. She wanted to do anything and everything because it was all so new and exciting, and part of her worried an entire year wouldn't be enough time for her to achieve all of her goals. She looked at Mike, and at her friends who all waited patiently for her answer, and it suddenly became clear to her what she wanted most of all.
"I want everyone to be safe and happy." She said earnestly, feeling slightly embarrassed. She looked into the expectant eyes of her friends and they all met her gaze with warm adoration.
Mike beamed at her, feeling his heart do flip flops in his chest. After everything she had gone through she just wanted everyone else to be happy? He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Joyce yelling at the TV.
"It's almost time! Everyone get ready!" She grabbed Hoppers hand, pulling him into the living room. Jonathan and Nancy joined too, holding their noise makers at the ready. The party stood up, crowding together and staring at the small TV screen as the shimmering sphere began its descent.
5!... 4!... 3!... 2!... 1!
The room erupted with the sounds of whistling, cheering, clapping and loud rattling. The crowd on the TV cheered too, sounding like a sea of excitement. Jonathan and Nancy shared a sweet kiss, still spinning their noise makers and breaking away in a fit of excited laughter.
Joyce turned to Hopper and grabbed his face firmly in her hands, planting a kiss halfway between his cheek and his lips. He laughed and pulled her into a warm hug.
Dustin and Will pulled the strings of a confetti cannon, sending colorful paper swirling throughout the room. They cheered loudly, batting at the shimmering paper and hugging each other.
In the commotion, Max turned to Lucas, pulling the party blower from his lips and kissing him firmly through a smile. They broke apart and blushed, and for the first time, Lucas leaned forward and kissed her. Her eyes widened and she punched him arm playfully.
All of the noise had startled El at first, but she quickly gave in to the excitement. She stood mouth agape, staring at the floating confetti, it looked like a snowy rainbow. She turned to watch a particular piece of glitter fall and land in Mikes wavy hair. She giggled to see he had pieces of paper sticking this way and that all over his messy locks. He stepped towards her, closing the little space between them and hugged her tightly, still staring into her eyes. She felt a warmth rush over her cheeks, and it matched the redness growing across Mikes face as well. He smiled crookedly at her and lowered his face to hers.
She knew she wasn't supposed to kiss Mike at midnight, but it was worth getting in trouble over. She closed the gap between them and met him in the middle with a soft kiss. It was the longest one they had shared yet, and after they pulled apart they stayed close together, hugging each other tightly as their friends continued cheering around them.
"Happy New Years, El." Mike said, smiling warmly at her.
"Happy New Years, Mike." She whispered. El felt her heart twist at the sight of his grin, freckles back-lit in red blush, and loving gaze. He was so pretty, and she relished the moments like this, when she felt truly safe and happy with him.
Now that she got to feel what it was like to be with him again, she knew she could never let that feeling go. No one was going to stop her from being with her friends, not the goons from the lab, not Papa, not even Hopper; Because no matter how stupid it might be, no matter how dangerous it might get, she never felt more safe than she did now; Standing cheek to cheek with Mike, and laughing along with the people she loved most.
1985 was going to be a good year, El would make sure of it.
Hope you liked it! I know this one was short but others will be longer. If you want to request a one-shot based on your own unique prompt please leave it in the reviews! Or you can find the original '1-150 drabble challenge' prompt list yourself and request a specific number. Thanks so much and see you next time!
-Allie