Chapter 4
Hello lovelies! I'm sorry about those errors in the last chapter. I fixed them! Please review! I love reading them. Enjoy! :)
School was speeding by. It was October, and the Indiana weather was perfect. The temperature was a bit raw, so you only needed a thin jacket. The once green leaves were turning beautiful shades of auburn, gold, and crimson. The soft breeze carried an earthy fragrance that smelled like nutmeg and dry soil. El loved this season called autumn.
El loved school. She loved algebra with her girlfriends. They were reading "The Little Prince" in English, and El could easily call it one of her favorite books. And she especially loved science. She was fascinated how atoms make up everything in the world and are always moving, even though you can't feel it. has quickly and easily become El's favorite teacher. She's also joined the AV club with the boys. She even got Tracy, Jenny, and Tiffany to join somehow-which amazed the boys.
Halloween was approaching rapidly. The spirit was infecting Hawkins. Carved pumpkins on every doorstep and scarecrows dominating each yard. El didn't quite understand the concept of this strange holiday. She didn't understand why you go to a stranger's house asking for food, dressed in itchy costumes. But the boys seemed to love it, so she decided to give it a shot.
Nancy and Jonathan took El, Will, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas to get their Halloween costumes. They went to the costume pop-up store near the store Joyce worked at. Nancy graciously decided to help El with her costume. The boys all made their way toward the DC comic costume section. El followed them and gravitated toward a Wonder Woman costume. She looked at it longingly.
"You want this one, El?" asks Nancy.
El nods her head with a smile. She really hopes Mike likes it. Ever since Mike admitted having a crush on her, he's been slightly less awkward than usual. Although, it did change from being shaky and weird to kind of shy. El didn't really care. All she cared about was that he always gave her that goofy grin that made her stomach feel weird.
They all met up at the cash register. Lucas was going as the Flash, Dustin as Batman, and Will as Robin. Mike was going as Superman. Him and El both notice each other's costumes, they both turn rosy and giggle.
/
On Halloween night, El and Will, Lucas, Dustin, Tracy, Jenny, and Tiffany all meet at Mike's house to go trick or treating. They were all wearing their costumes and coincidentally, are all comic book characters. Tracy is Batgirl (which caused major giggles from the group and violent blushing from her and Dustin), Tiffany is Catgirl, and Jenny is the Green Lantern.
"I don't like gender stereotypes" she plainly said, and no one questions it.
They grab their pillowcases and head out to begin the festivities. The people are super nice and compliment their costumes. El notices her bag growing heavy with all the chocolatey, sugary goodness wrapped in shiny plastic. She stops for a moment to check her collection. It was only 30 seconds but when she looks up, she realizes she's all alone. They must not have noticed she stopped.
Don't panic. Don't panic. El keeps telling herself in her head, eyes welling up with tears and her chest tightens. She looks around, realizing she's never been to this part of the neighborhood.
"Mike! Mike?" she calls, but it's no use. The streets are like a maze. She'll never know how to make it back. She starts to tremble with fear and sits down on the curb. El has never been lost before. Joyce would rarely let her go anywhere by herself, too worried about her getting into the situation she's in right now. She closes her eyes and puts her head on her knees.
Mike is the first one to realize El is missing. Everyone was so caught up in a conversation about whether Marvel or DC was better.
"Guys, where's El?" he interrupts. They all turn around and worry starts to creep over their faces. Will turns pale with guilt and fear.
"Shit, I thought she was just behind us" Dustin says, pulling at his curls.
"I'll go find her. You guys go on. Meet at Maple and Thornwood at 8:15" Mike yells, turning to run.
Mike can only think about all the horrible possibilities. Those bastards from the lab are back and took her. She wandered into the woods and fell in the quarry. Troy cornered her and is hurting her as he runs.
"El? El, where are you?" He calls, panting and sprinting as fast as his feet can take him. He finds her on the curb; head on her knees, tears streaked down her face. Guilt washed over him like a shower faucet.
"Oh god, El. Are you ok?" he said running over to her. She lifts her head and surprisingly gives him a small smile.
"Mike." she whispers. He pulls her into a tight hug. She buries her face in his shoulder and he strokes her chestnut waves.
"I promise I'll never leave you like that. I'm so sorry El. You must have been so scared" Mike says.
"Mike?" asks El. She looks at him. God, she's so beautiful Mike thinks. Her dark, soulful, doe-like eyes were all her wanted to look at. Her cute button nose was pink from the October chill. Her plump lips he wanted to kiss so badly.
El stares into Mike's soft eyes. Whenever she looks at him, she gets a burning tingle in her stomach. She connects his freckles like constellations in the sky. She fondly thinks back to the time Mike kissed her in the school (Dustin taught her this word, but El never mentioned Mike kissing her to him. It was their special secret). She liked it. It made her flush a bit, thinking about the taste of him. She wanted to kiss him again, and she got the sense he wanted the same thing.
"El?"
"Shut Up."
"Wha-"
He was cut off short when El pushed her lips against his. It wasn't a mere peck on the lips. It was a tangled fingers in hair, arms wrapped around waists, why haven't we done this before kiss. They kissed through all the salty tears and guilt until there was nothing left. She couldn't get over the warm, nectarous taste of Mike's lips. El pulls back, noticing the shock on his face.
Mike never thought El would be the one to make the first move. She was shy and reserved. He thought he would, but never had the guts to do it. But, El still didn't fully understand the concept of romance. So he was definitely surprised. He didn't want to stop, but she pulled away.
El noticed Mike's cheeks were violently red and could feel hers burning up as well. They both smiled, took each other's hands, and made their way back to find the group.
/
They were back at the Wheeler's for a group sleepover. Everybody, even the girls, were sleeping over-which took a lot of convincing for Karen, but Ted just said "let the boy have a little fun for once" and she just gave in. They piled sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets on the floor of the basement. Everyone is flopped down and eating their candy they collected. E.T. is playing on the tv but is only background sound. They are all playing truth or dare.
Lucas starts the game. "Will, truth or dare?" he asks.
"Truth."
"Are Hop and your mom a thing now?" Lucas muses.
Will groans. "That is confined information."
"You have to tell us. You picked truth."
"Fine. Yes, they are" he murmurs.
Lucas seems pleased. "Knew it!"
"My turn. Dustin, truth or dare?" Will questions.
"Since I'm not a wimp, dare." Dustin smirks.
"Ok. I dare you to kiss Tracy." it was Will's turn to smirk now.
Dustin turns bright red and so does Tracy.
"Do it! Do it!" the group is chanting.
"Oh, what the hell" he says, leaning over and pecking her lips. Tracy looks shocked and the group cheers.
"Ok ok. El, truth or dare?" asks Dustin. She already understands this basic game and picks truth.
"What really happened when Mike found you after you got lost?" he urges. Mike's cheeks start to flush and he tries to catch El's eyes to give her a warning but she just looks at Dustin and gives him the answer.
"I kissed Mike" she said simply. Will turns pale and gawked while everyone else started poking them and giggling. El didn't really mind it, she appreciated the attention. Mike, on the other hand, was pretty embarrassed and was blushing excessively.
"Wow, Mike. Too chicken to make the first move" jokes Lucas.
Eventually, the fits of giggles and rosy cheeks subsided and the kids turned their focus to Indiana Jones on the tv. El was laying next to her girlfriends with Mike on the other side, holding her hand under the blanket. Dustin was telling Tracy jokes and making her laugh, Lucas and Will were discussing how they thought the movie would end, and Jenny and Tiffany were braiding each other's hair.
One by one, they drifted off to sleep, El cuddled up by Mike's side, their fingers still laced together.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Finally some Mileven action! I tried to add a lot of detail and make it sound pretty, lol. I have February break next week so I will try to get some writing done. As always, please review! Also, leave some fanfic recommendations below! Preferably Mileven and maybe a bit long? Love you all.
Xoxo, Em.