Chapter ten
'Well, guys, I think we're done for the day,' Dustin said proudly, closing his D&D binder with a deep sigh and slurping the last of his Coca Cola.
'What are you talking about?' Lucas questioned, checking his watch. It's barely six, and my Dad said I can stay out till at least eight. I am in no rush to get home. Erica is asking me more questions about Max than my Mom.'
Will laughed happily. 'What is she asking?'
'Oh the usual,' Lucas replied, taking on an imitation of his sister, 'How much do you love your new girlfriend, Lucey? How's Max, Lucey? What did you get for your new girlfriend, Lucey? I'm telling you, she's driving me crazy!'
'What did you get for Max?' Mike asked quietly, his wrapped necklace for El burning a hole in his pocket.
Lucas grinned. 'Actually, I got her a book on skateboarding moves. I gave it to her this morning. She thought it was really cool.' He paused, but with a knowing grin, asked, 'What did you get for Eleven?'
Mike bit his lip. 'Oh...me? It's nothing... really... um...'
Dustin, too, met Mike's embarrassed eyes with a snigger. 'Oh, so we won't expect to see Eleven with a beautiful new necklace the next time we see her...?'
Mike flashed a warning look at Will. 'Seriously?'
Will shrugged with a twinkle in his eye. 'They must be psychic.'
Lucas patted Mike lightly on the shoulder. 'I think she'll love it man. Seriously.'
Dustin got up and put on his coat. 'You going over there now?'
Mike's stomach was twisted with nerves. 'Yeah, I think so. I just said to El I'd be over later.' He looked at Will. 'To be honest, I thought they'd be at your house.'
Will smiled. 'They're coming over tomorrow, I think.'
Mike nodded. 'Great, just me, El and the Chief tonight, then.'
Lucas laughed. 'You'll be fine, Mike.'
Lucas' words rang in Mike's ears as he wheeled his bike to the cabin through the light covering of snow they'd had that morning. The necklace felt so heavy in his jeans pocket, he felt sure he would fall over... or perhaps that was just his jelly legs. He had never given a gift to a girl before... not unless you counted Nancy or his Mom, but they surely didn't count. Nancy had reassured him again that morning that El would love the gift, but now, as he approached the door... he felt more nervous than the night of the Snow Ball.
He lingered on the porch for a moment, smelling the smoke that was gushing from the chimney and feeling a little warmth from the house. To say it, or not to say it... that was the question.
Saying 'I love you' for the first time to a girl seemed crazy. He had barely known her a year ago, but since then, even though he'd barely seen her, he'd felt her, he'd spoken to her every night, and she'd heard him. Mike felt a connection with El unlike anything he'd ever felt before, with anyone, boy or girl. He was happy when she was happy, he was sad when she was sad. He could look in her eyes and know exactly what she was thinking and feeling. His stomach skipped happily. He thought of her smile, her eyes, her hair. He thought of the way that she made him feel... and couldn't help the smile that curled his lips.
He nodded triumphantly. He definitely loved her. But then again, he thought sadly, did El even know what love was? Would she even realise the magnitude of what he was saying to her... really? After all, she hadn't even known what a friend was the previous year. She knew that he was her boyfriend... and that the relationship that she had with Mike was different... something much more than her friendship with Dustin, Lucas and Will. He squirmed uncomfortably. Maybe it would be better to wait until they were older... till she knew what love really was. Maybe Lucas was right... maybe they were too young to really say those things...and mean them.
'You just gonna stay out there all night, Wheeler?'
Mike was jolted from thought by the sight of Hop at the front window, pressing his face up against the glass with a sarcastic smile. 'Oh sorry, hi Chief.'
Hopper opened the door and Mike stepped inside. He looked around for El, his eyes finally landing upon her on the sofa. She jumped up when she saw him, striding straight for the door and enveloping him in a hug and squeezing him tightly. 'Mike!'
Mike laughed, hugging her back. 'Hi El.' He pulled away. 'It was only Saturday when you saw me last!'
El smiled, 'It feels like longer.' She looked over Mike's shoulder at Hopper, who was standing in the kitchen, his arms crossed. 'Daaaaaad... what did we talk about?'
Hopper put his hands up with a grin. 'All right, all right! I'll be out chopping wood if anybody needs me.' He spread his fingers. 'Ten minutes, tops!'
Mike felt his body relax when Hopper shut the door behind him. El turned and looked into his face. 'I managed to convince him to leave us alone for a bit.'
Mike smiled gratefully, his whole body aching to hold her. His face grew serious as he moved in and kissed her long and hard, cupping her chin softly. He had to tell her, he had to. The words bounced around inside him, skipping in his stomach. Reluctantly, he drew away. 'El, I-'
El, a little breathless from the kiss, took his hand and led him to the sofa, 'Come on, let's sit down. I have a present for you,' she said excitedly.
Mike ignored the words and sat down next to her, suddenly remembering the gift as it bunched the pocket of his jeans. 'Hey, me too!' He retrieved the small gift wrapped box, suddenly feeling like it wasn't enough.
Eleven reached onto the coffee table, retrieving a large box and placing it in on Mike's knee. 'You first.'
Mike shook his head in disbelief. 'El, you really didn't have to.'
El grinned. 'My Dad said it's like my...' she clicked her fingers, trying to recall the word, 'allowance for the year?'
Mike's heart ached, wondering what on Earth she had bought him that would have cost so much money. He ripped the paper off...and couldn't believe his eyes... seeing the familiar packaging. Realistic High Power CB Walkie Talkies. Not only were they a model up than the one he already had but this meant...
Mike's eyes widened, feeling his heart dance. 'Does this mean that-'
El nodded. 'Yup! We can talk to each other! You know, like you do with Dustin, Lucas and Will! I mean... my Dad says the signal might not be strong enough.'
Mike scanned the back of the box, in awe, reading the spec. 'No, no I think it will! El, shit, this is amazing! Thank you so much!'
'Well, I will be taking part of the present,' she said shyly
The words bubbled to the surface again as he looked into her twinkling eyes. He shook himself out of it, as his insides turned to jelly. Breathe, Mike, he reminded himself. Just breathe. 'I have something for you, too.' He passed the box to her, suddenly feeling that it was nothing up to what she had given him. They could talk, every night. Why hadn't he thought of that? He'd been so busy thinking of something girly... and she'd come up with the perfect present for both of them.
El began to open it and Mike looked down at his hands. 'It's not much,' he said quickly, feeling his cheeks turn pink.
El opened the box. Mike heard a small gasp, barely daring to look at her. 'Mike...'
'Yeah?'
'Mike, it's beautiful,' she whispered.
Mike's heart soared and he heaved a sigh of relief. 'You really like it?'
'I love it!' she replied.
The word struck Mike's chest nervously. He coughed.
She touched the necklace daintily. 'Can you.. I mean... can I wear it?'
'Yeah,' he grinned.
El dug into the box, releasing the chain and holding it up to Mike. 'Can you?'
Mike said a silent thank you to his sister for showing him how to work the clasp on necklaces when they'd got home the previous night ('Mike, you need to learn this...' 'What?Why?' 'Because nine times out of ten, when a guy buys jewellery for a girl, she will ask him to put it on for her.'). He smiled again, seemingly unable to do anything else in El's presence. 'Sure,' he replied.
El stood up and turned away from him. Mike gently took the chain from her and draped it around her neck. 'I just thought... that with us having to call you Jane when we're out, and when you come to school with us next year... it might be nice to remember being...'
'El,' she finished, touching Mike's hand at her neck, then holding the E and the heart pendant tightly.
Her touch sent pulses of electricity through Mike's entire body. He wanted desperately to hold her, kiss her. She was inches away from him but it somehow wasn't close enough. He huddled in, sliding his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. The three words fluttered up to the surface again. 'El...'
'Yes?' She turned to look up at him.
The words sank back down again, feeling like lead weights in his stomach. 'Do you really like your present?'
'It's so pretty,' she said, examining the 'E', and then the heart. 'What does this mean?' she asked genuinely. 'I think I saw it on one of Nancy's jumpers once.
Mike's own heart pummelled inside his chest. He cleared his throat. 'The heart...well... the heart means love...' He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling happy that El couldn't see his face. She didn't really know what it meant... did she?
El's voice was bright. 'Well I love this necklace, so it makes sense,' she smiled.
Mike sighed, squeezing El closer to him. 'Well... no, that's not really what it means.' He felt sure that his heart was going to explode. He was going to do it, he had to. He couldn't bear the words inside him any longer.
El frowned, holding the heart again. 'Well, what does it mean?'
'It means that-'
'Time's up kids!' Hopper announced. Mike froze, suddenly very aware that his arms were wrapped around Eleven's body. 'Oh ho ho! I don't think so!' Hop called, pointing towards them. Mike released El immediately, feeling that his life had surely just ended. How could he have come so close to telling her... for Hopper to just... He felt a sudden surge of anger towards Hopper, but knew he could never show it.
El smiled shyly, her eyes lingering on Mike's His stomach fluttered. Did she know what he was just about to say? There was something there... something behind those eyes.
He tore his eyes away from her. 'Sorry Chief,' he said quickly. 'Thanks so much for the walkies.'
Hopper reached in the fridge for a beer. 'No problem. More for my own peace than anything else. At least this way, you won't be nagging me to see each other as much.'
'Halfway happy,' El said happily.
Hopper nodded. 'Right...' His eyes drifted to El, who was still inspecting her necklace with a knowing smile on her face. 'What's that kid?'
'Nothing,' Mike and El said together. El dropped the necklace onto her chest, where it laid daintily above her white t-shirt and dungarees.
Hopper walked over to El and El took Mike's hand and squeezed it gently, just for a few seconds. Mike's eyes flickered onto hers and felt his heart flutter again. It felt like a secret, that only the two of them knew. El released her hand when Hopper touched the necklace.
'You bought her this?' Hopper asked thoughtfully.
'Yeah,' Mike said quietly.
'Where from? Been thinking about getting Joyce something similar.'
El rolled her eyes 'You haven't got Mrs Byers anything for Christmas?! Dad, you do know it's Christmas Eve, right?'
'Right,' Hopper nodded.
'And nothing's open tomorrow?' Mike put in.
'Right,' Hopper nodded, then the severity of the situation hit him. 'Oh SHIT!'
Panic seized Hopper's voice as he said, 'Don't you dare go anywhere! I'll be back in an hour! And don't... oh jeez... just stay three feet apart or something!' Hopper grabbed his keys from the small kitchen table and skidded out of the door, slamming it behind him.
The house was silent for a few seconds, the fire crackling in the background, casting a warm glow over the cabin.
'Alone,' El said with a shy smile, turning around to face Mike. She stretched her toes up and kissed him softly.
Mike wished he had something to hold onto to steady himself. He was alone with El, on Christmas Eve. The stuff dreams were made of. He heard Hopper's car drive away in the distance and felt his face go red... again. What he wouldn't give to not turn a darker shade of pink every time he was alone with her. The words stacked on top of each other. I. Love. You. He cleared his throat. Come on, Wheeler, you can do this.
Before he could open his mouth to speak, El had wrapped her arms around his neck and was kissing him fiercely. He responded eagerly, his hands grabbing her waist, pulling her closer to him. He was lost, his eyes closed, surrounded by her and only her. He felt so alive in that moment, he couldn't think of anywhere else he'd rather be than there, with his arms wrapped around her, feeling her lips on his.
They drew away, both a little shaken by their passionate clinch. 'Mike...' El said softly.
'Yeah?' he asked, his eyes still closed.
'What does the necklace mean?'
Mike opened his eyes slowly, barely breathing. He looked at her, his face serious now. Did she know? Her eyes were twinkling. Either way, he needed to explain it. He needed her to know, once and for all. He drew away a little, but kept his hands at her waist. 'Well see, the heart, it's like a symbol for love...' El stayed silent, Mike went on, 'But it's a different from other kinds of love.'
El smiled but asked, 'Kinds of love?'
'Yeah,' Mike went on, stroking El's back with his fingers. 'You see, there's 'love' like you really like things. Like,' he thought, 'Like I love D&D, and I love Star Wars... and you love Eggos.' El's face lit up, but she was still smiling knowingly. He looked briefly to the ceiling, then back at El,' then there's love like you love the Chief, and I love my family... well, maybe just Mom, Nancy and Holly,' he laughed softly. 'My Dad can be a real jerk sometimes.' He paused... not having realised before how many different types of 'love' there were. 'Then there's love like how I feel about Dustin and Will and Lucas. Like friends. You really like them. You like hanging out with them, and you want them to have fun, and be happy.'
'I love your friends too,' El said lightly.
Mike's stomach squirmed. 'And then there's a different kind of love. When you're in love with someone. It's like... when you can't stop thinking about them...and you always feel happy when they're around...you feel like this electricity somehow...' El's eyes sparkled. Mike cleared his throat, 'You feel like they make you a better person...and you wonder what you would do without them...' Mike moved his hands to El's neck gently. 'You wonder what you did without them for-'
'353 days,' El whispered.
Mike laughed lightly. 'Yeah, 353 days.' He paused. 'Love is...' Mike looked deep into her eyes. 'I love you, El,' he said, clearly and confidently.
El didn't hesitate. 'I love you too, Mike.'
Mike leaned in and kissed her passionately, soaking in every inch of her. He knew they were young, and maybe Lucas had been right... but to not say it? He had never felt more, happy, more alive and more in love with her than he did at that moment.
Merry Christmas Everyone! :)
Mileven1302