It was the night of the Snow Ball at Hawkins Middle, and quite an eventful night at that, with lots of dancing and smooching! After kissing Mike for the second time, El wondered what it all meant. She lifted her head up, looked at him with her big doe eyes, and said:

"Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"What is that called, when we make our lips touch like that?"

"Oh..."

*chuckles and blushes*

"A kiss. It's just something that two people who-"

"Like each other?"

"Yeah! Two people who like each other do..."

"It feels nice...I liked it the first time too, I just didn't know what it was called," El revealed.

"*smiles* Really? You liked it."

"*nods and smiles* Really."

"Again?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she looked into his eyes and smiled.

He nodded as they leaned in and kissed again, this time a little longer than before. All of a sudden, El's face turned serious, she gulped, and said:

"Mike, can I tell you something?"

"Sure. Do you wanna sit down first?"

"Sure."

"What is it?" he asked, placing his hand in her lap.

"Hopper adopted me."

If El had told Mike this before his last conversation with Hopper, he would've felt more uneasy about the whole situation, but given that the conversation went well, he felt much better about Hopper being her father. Better him than someone he doesn't already know!

"Oh my god, El! That's amazing! How are you feeling about all of this?"

"We didn't always get along well, but when we did, we always had a really good time, so I'm pretty happy. I mean, how could I not be happy? I finally have a real dad...*tears up*"

*wipes tear, hugs, and kisses her cheek*

Towards the middle, Mike and El got some refreshments. It was then that he remembered sneaking several saran-wrapped eggos in the pocket on the inside of his coat.

"I brought you a little something, in case you didn't like the food here."

"Really? What is it?"

"Close your eyes."

She closed her eyes and he put it in her hands. The moment she opened them, she let out a big squeal.

"You know, they have microwaves here if you wanna heat one or two of them up."

"No, it's perfect. Thank you!"

*smiles*

Mike just stood and watched as she unraveled the saran wrap and nibbled on the beloved snack. He thought it was adorable how excited eggos made her. Jonathan even took some cute candid pictures of them together as they shared the snack.

Suddenly, Max approached El.

"Mike, can I borrow El for a sec?"

"Sure."

*girls walk off to the side*

El was nervous. She and Max had technically never had a real conversation! Sure, they had interacted with each other before, but it never went very well, so El was expecting the worst. What was even worse was that she had absolutely no idea what Max wanted to talk to her about!

"Hey, El. I just wanted you to know that I'm not mad about what went down with the whole skateboard incident and I forgive you. Also, Mike and I were never together, in fact, he kind of hated my guts as much as you did for a while. Actually, Lucas and I are kind of a thing, in case you were wondering. Anyway, I just get the impression that you feel somewhat threatened by me and I don't want you to feel intimidated at all. Just because I'm now the new girl in the group doesn't mean that I'm trying to replace you."

"Thanks for giving me another chance. I'm sorry that I was such a bitch to you in the past."

"Of course! I mean, if I was in your situation, I probably would've done the same thing, so I understand where you're coming from. *smiles* What do you say? Friends? *extends hand to El*"

"Friends! *shakes hand*"

"You better be getting back to Mike now, he's waiting for you..."

El turned around to find him walking closer to her with a big smile across his face.

Mike took her hand, guiding her back to the dance floor and then spun her around, to her surprise. She had never experienced anything like this before, but she was loving every second of it.

"Hi."

"Hi."

*pauses*

"How'd it go?"

"Good! We're friends now."

"That's great, El!"

*noses touch and smile*

Things eventually calmed down and people started leaving. El, Max, and the boys stood outside and waited for their rides.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I thought tonight was totally tubular!" said Dustin.

*everyone chuckles*

"Bitchin'" El chimed.

*Max and the boys laugh*

"Later, guys."

"Later, Dustin," the boys replied.

Mike and Lucas exchanged stories about their kisses and Will started talking about the girl he danced with, while Max rolled her eyes and said "Boys."

*El laughs*

"Shit, my stepbrother's already here! He's gonna kill me!" Max realized.

"My mom's here too. Bye lovebirds...and Will."

*all three laugh*

"I'll see you later, Stalker."

"Till tomorrow, MADMAX."

Will and Eleven got acquainted until Joyce arrived. After that, there was nobody left, but Mike and Eleven.

"M-M-M-mike, I'm-c-c-c-cold!"

"Here, wear my jacket," he said as he placed it on her shoulders.

Then he said:

"C'mere."

This was all new to her, but with each moment that she spent with him, she grew more and more comfortable, despite not knowing what a relationship with a boy entails. He was her home...her new home. One thing led to another, and she started to move closer to him. He was very gentle with her. He placed one hand around her waist and wrapped his other arm around her back, in between her shoulder blades. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly and rested her head on one of them. He rubbed her back up and down with his right hand as he swayed her from side to side. It was as if they were in the gym dancing again...

All of a sudden, it started to snow! They both felt snowflakes hitting their heads and looked up.

"It's snowing!" Mike cheered.

"It looks pretty...good," she teased.

*Mike blushes and both giggle*

Mike's mom arrived, but he insisted on waiting with El until Hopper came because he had no intention of leaving by herself at night, in the cold. In the meantime, Mrs. Wheeler parked the car nearby and continued reading her erotic novel, "Heart of Thunder."

Mike grabbed El's hand and interlaced his fingers with hers as they waited on the outdoor bench, their eyes saying what words could not.

"I've dreamt of this moment for so long..." he revealed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"I have too," she revealed.

"I can't believe it's actually happening!" he said.

"Me either."

"You and me-"

"Together, finally," she said.

Hopper finally arrived and Mike and El made their way to their cars. They always dreaded saying goodbye to each other because they couldn't shake the feeling that they would lose each other again. They never knew if this time would be their last. In a town like Hawkins, anything was possible.

"Mike-Here's your coat."

"Keep it. It looks better on you anyway!"

"You sure?" she asked.

"Promise," he said.

*smiles and blushes*

Suddenly, looking confused, she asked:

"Mike? What did Lucas mean earlier, when he called us 'lovebirds'?"

"Oh...Well, do you know what love means?"

"Yes."

"Oh good! Well, he was just teasing us, implying that we're in love..."

"Oh, I see."

Phew, that was a close one! he thought. He was pretty sure that he was in love with El and she was pretty sure that she was in love with Mike, but neither of them wanted to rush into anything, so they didn't bring it up again until they knew they were ready. Plus, how sure can you be when you're a tween!

"Will you two hurry up already? It's getting late!" Mrs. Wheeler exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry, Mom," Mike replied, rolling his eyes and laughing.

They both stood up and faced each other.

*turns to El and grabs both of her hands*

"El, tonight was amazing! Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for keeping your promise..."

"*smiles* Let's talk soon, okay?"

"I'd like that."

"Great, well, I'll see you later, El."

And with that, he kissed her forehead, gently let go of her hands, and started to walk away, but before he could, she grabbed his wrist and said:

"Mike! Wait, you forgot a little something!"

She pulled him and his confused face in for a sweet, lingering kiss that neither of them would ever forget. A perfect end to a perfect night!