Mike stopped at Hopper's trailer. He hated that El lived there. There was a small part of him that still envisioned her living in the basement. Totally not feasible, especially because she was his girlfriend. But the image and the feeling were still there.

He walked up and knocked the rhythm El had taught him, otherwise Hopper would open the door with a gun in his hand. The door was yanked open and Hopper stood there with a towel draped over his shoulders, beads of sweat around his head and his workout shirt soaked. He obviously had yet to ask out Mrs. Byers.

"Can I come in?"

"It's kind of late to be doing homework, isn't it?"

"I need to talk to her."

"Fine, but you're out by eight." He stepped out of the way and let Mike through. Eleven was already standing in the kitchen, waiting.

"Hey, El."

"Hi, Mike." He smiled involuntarily. His name always sounded better when she said it.

Hopper pointed at El with the towel, "The door stays open."

She glared and he raised his eyebrows. She took Mike's hand and lead the way to her room. She closed the door halfway.

"Jannne-" Hopper called.

"Still open," she retorted.

There was a moment of quiet and then a grunt. He had gone back to lifting. Hopper and Eleven knew by now to pick their battles.

She turned to Mike. She brushed her thumb across his cheek, he closed his eyes and leaned into her hand, kissing it. She pulled him close and their lips embraced.

"Is this how Will felt?" He pulled away, feeling guilt well up inside him. He leaned on El's shoulder.

"Mike? What's wrong?"

"Will, he…" He stopped himself. "Eleven, you have to promise me something. What I'm about to tell you can't be said. Not to anyone. Not even Max." Eleven lifted her eyebrows. Although Max and Eleven had gotten off to a rough start, they had become quite close. They'd had sleepovers and everything. She was a big part of helping Eleven understand normal girl things, navigating what social cues to adhere to and which ones she could throw to the wind.

"Friends don't lie."

"But this is not my secret, it's Will's. You have to understand, we cannot say anything. It's Will's to tell."

She looked confused. "Then, why tell me?"

"Because I can't keep secrets from you. I don't want to."

She nodded and held his hand. They sat down on the floor.

Mike drew a shaky breath. "Will… Will kissed me."

Her eyes got big. "Why would he do that? Kissing is for lovers!"

Mike choked. Sometimes the words she used caught him off guard. He could see her trying to work it out.

"You said friends don't kiss. People in love kiss. Moms kiss. Was this like a mom's kiss?"

"No. It was like a dating kiss."

The hurt in her eyes was evident. "Why? Why would he do that? I thought Will was our friend."

Mike was surprised by her reaction. It didn't seem strange to her that a boy kissed another boy. She saw it the same way she would have if Max kissed him, like a betrayal.

"He is. He is just confused."

"He is confused about kissing?"

"No, he's… he's gay. Boys aren't supposed to kiss other boys."

"But Will did. He kissed you."

"Yeah. He… Just, let me start from the beginning..."

Eleven listened, holding in her questions and listened. This was one of those things that Max had explained to her.

"Eleven, sometimes there are stupid rules that everyone follows because that's the way things are supposed to be. Some stuff, like 'girls should wear makeup and dresses' are absolute bullshit. While others, like 'you don't go to school in a bathing suit,' are valid and make sense. Somewhere along the line, people decided what was okay and what wasn't. And sometimes the rules change."

"-He slammed the door and yelled for me to go away. I know he knows it was a mistake. He knows I'm in love with you. He's got to know that I don't feel that way about him. But I don't think he meant to; he was just upset and I kept pushing him."

"Mike."

"Just don't be mad at him, El. He's-"

"I'm not, Mike."

"You're not?"

She shrugged, "You're an easy person to fall in love with."

She still didn't get the social stigma. How was he going to explain this? Maybe it was better not to explain it. At least she didn't hate him. Will would have two friends, at least. But how would the guys take it?

"You understand why we can't tell anyone, right?"

She shrugged, "Just tell Dustin, Lucas, and Max what you told me."

Mike sighed and put his head in his hands. Eleven drew a sharp breath. She got frustrated when stuff like this went over her head. "What?" She exclaimed.

"If you tell Dustin or Lucas, they'll worry that Will is going to kiss them. They'll be weird around him. They might not even be friends with him anymore."

She made a face of disgust, "Why wouldn't they be friends with him because of that?"

"I don't even know if Will and I can still be friends. What if things are weird now between us? What if things never go back to normal?"

She crossed her arms and stared at the floor, lost in thought. He let the quiet fill the space. Sometimes she needed a moment to process things like this. She could answer math questions like she was breathing air, but social things and English literature challenged her. After a moment she spoke up, "Dustin loved Max. Max didn't love him. She loves Lucas. But they're all still friends."

"Well, yeah…"

"Does Dustin still love Max?"

"Not the same way. I don't think."

"He loves Stacy now."

"Well, yeah."

"Even though she doesn't say she loves him."

Mike felt really bad for Dustin suddenly. "I mean, yeah. Wait. What do you mean she doesn't say she loves him? She doesn't love him, does she?"

A small triumph. El held her shoulders back, haughty that she understood something socially Mike didn't. El tried to watch people more to understand them. She had seen Stacy looking at Dustin, like El had seen Mike when he used to call out to her. That longing, like there was a distance. She didn't understand why though, he was only a few feet away. When she told Max, she had explained that it was another one of those stupid social rules. That Stacy wouldn't ask Dustin because she thought he wasn't cool enough to like; that he friends would make fun of her for liking him.

"Very stupid rule."

"Yup. That would be a bullshit rule."

"Mike. Dustin, Lucas, and Max are still friends. You, me, and Will, still friends."

Mike threw his arms around her. It surprised her and she fell backwards. Mike lifted himself up on his elbows and looked down at her. "You are so amazing." He kissed her forehead, nose, and her lips.

"We'll talk to Will tomorrow. We still can't tell anyone, though, El. When Will is ready, he'll talk to them."

El heard Hopper's feet coming down the hallway and tapped Mike's chest, signalling to get up. He fumbled backwards and they sat up in time for the door to open.

"8 o'clock, kids."

El walked Mike out the door. She held his face in her hands and pulled him close. He was getting taller than her now. She kissed his eye, his cheek, and his lips.

"Good night, Mike. I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her again, then walked down the stairs.

She watched him go down the street until she couldn't see him anymore.