Just Another Day (Epilogue)
Several weeks passed by for the Party in a blur of fun, homework and anticipation for the holidays. In between wading through homework, El and Max finally tried their first game of Dungeons and Dragons.
El was immediately hooked, but Max was only sold once Mike relented and said: "fine! You can make up a new class. Be a zoomer for all I care." After that, the game went smoothly and everyone had a blast.
Thanksgiving had come and gone. It had been a very happy and rambunctious affair because Mrs. Wheeler was ambitious. After Mike had brought El over several times to work on their class project for history, Karen had easily put two and two together when she'd caught them holding hands under the table as they worked.
The guest list quickly grew from the Wheeler family, to the Byer family, to encompass El and Hopper, and then from there it was—what the heck! Let's invite over everyone.
So, on Thanksgiving Day, the three Byers, two Hoppers, four Sinclairs plus one Mayfield and two Hendersons piled into the Wheeler household. It was loud and boisterous and just as wonderful as El ever imagined such a big family.
She finally got to meet Jonathan and Nancy, who she immediately adored. Mike's older sister was kind and beautiful and genuine. Even the strange, knowing glances Nancy exchanged with a rapidly reddening Mike hadn't bothered her in the slightest.
And Will proudly introduced her to Jonathan, the excitement had been so apparent El wondered if he'd take flight. Jonathan was soft spoken and kind, but much like Nancy he seemed like a very genuine person. He cared as much about Will as Will did of him and it was heartwarming to see the two brothers together.
Max had a great time at Thanksgiving too. The Sinclairs were a warm, welcoming family and had immediately taken to Max. And as El watched her best friend interact with the Sinclair family, it became apparent that the Californian was just as taken with them.
Even Hopper had a good time. For a while he'd chatted with Ted about manly things and then for a good portion of the night had looked a little cozy with Joyce Byers. It was cute and endearing and El couldn't help but hope that something happened for Hopper and Joyce. Judging by the knowing looks Jonathan and Will exchanged with El, they didn't mind the thought either.
She couldn't remember ever being happier. Surrounded by her friends and their family, eating Mrs. Wheeler's amazing home cooked food and then just hanging out after… El couldn't help but hope that every holiday after this was similar.
…
In the week after thanksgiving, El immediately zeroed in on the flyers posted around Hawkins High. It was pretty hard not to, admittedly. The lockers were absolutely plastered with the bright blue posters, declaring that the 'Winter Formal' was just around the corner!
She studied the time and date on the poster, her eyes flickering over the Dec 19th 8PM-11PM and the formal dress required, her excitement building. She'd never been to a dance before, but wasn't that something you could go to with your friends? Or the person you were dating?
Mike and El weren't officially girlfriend and boyfriend yet, but she didn't mind. She was just enjoying the stolen kisses and holding hands and spending time with Mike. Did you need to be boyfriend and girlfriend to go to a dance together?
"Max!" El blurted as soon as the red head arrived for school. Luckily none of the boys were here yet, so El could talk to her best friend in relative privacy. Max took one look at the blue posters and her best friend and immediately clued in.
"Good morning to you too El." Max teased. "Why are you so excited about a dance?"
"I've never been to one before." El admitted sheepishly, not noticing how Max's face instantly became softer at the admission. "And I was hoping everyone would want to go and uh… Mike would want to go with me."
Last year El and Max had been too new of friends for her to feel comfortable asking if she wanted to go to the dance. And judging by how last year Max had expressed disdain for the high school dance scene, El didn't bring it up for the other ones. But this time was different! Max and El were best friends now and El wanted to go to the dance.
"Well, then lets go." Max said simply, opening up her locker. El stared at her best friend in surprise, having expected her to dig her heels in a little more.
"How do you plan on asking Wheeler?" Max asked after a moment.
"I'm not too sure. I'll have to think on it." El barely had any time to consider this being that she'd only seen the posters a few minutes before Max.
Could she just walk up and ask him? Would he even want to go? But then again… an idea struck through her and suddenly El knew that was how she would ask him. Before she could tell Max her idea, the red head interrupted her.
"You'll have to tell me later. Here they come." She pointed over El's shoulder. Sure enough, Will and Lucas had just arrived, looking a little cold and pulling off their toques as they came around the corner. Lucas caught sight of the two girls first and he made a beeline for them.
"Hey guys!" Will greeted happily, and a round of pleasantries were exchanged. Quite suddenly Max got a determined look in her eyes just as Lucas and Will seemed to notice the posters plastered all around them on the lockers.
"Hey stalker." Max called, catching Lucas's attention.
"Yeah?" He looked to his girlfriend confusedly.
"You, me, dance?" Max asked, jerking her thumb towards the poster. Lucas looked adorably flustered and it took him a moment to put two and two together.
"That sounds great." Lucas finally managed to say, the tips of his ears turning red at Max's forwardness. She certainly kept him on his toes, especially when she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a quick kiss as though to seal the deal.
"So you want to go the dance?" Will asked curiously, eyeing the blue posters and smoothly stepping around the kissing couple.
El nodded enthusiastically. "I think it could be fun."
"So are you going to ask Mike?" Will asked with a grin.
"Yes. I have an idea, so I hope he doesn't ask me before I have the chance." El admitted with a pleased smile.
As if they'd summoned him by saying his name one too many times, El could see a familiar head of fluffy dark hair appear at the end of the hall. It was Mike and Dustin, who'd just arrived to school. They spotted everyone pretty quickly and El gave a friendly wave. The two boys immediately changed course and made their way to the group.
"Hey guys!" Dustin greeted. Mike also said hello, smoothly sliding to stand beside El. It appeared he hadn't noticed the posters just yet, for which El was glad.
"We're going to the Winter Formal." Max announced after they exchanged greetings.
"You and Lucas?" Mike asked curiously, wondering why they had to announce that.
"No Wheeler. All of us. We're all going to the dance." Max stated simply.
"Oh." Mike said dumbly, finally clueing in on the almost deranged amount of blue posters on the walls, lockers and doors of the hallway.
"I guess that could be fun." Dustin said, mulling it over, "I like the idea of going stag. That way I can dance with all the ladies." He then proceeded to make a ridiculous purring noise, waggling his eyebrows.
El giggled and caught Mike's eye. He seemed to be looking back and forth between the posters and El, but it was at that moment the warning bell rang.
"Shit. We'd better go grab our stuff." Dustin sighed, "catch you later guys." Without another word Dustin dragged Mike away towards their lockers.
"See you later." Lucas and Will quickly departed as well, leaving Max and El to finish gathering their stuff.
"Thanks Max." El said happily. They made their way to their first period of the day.
"I'm going to be a little late for lunch. I'm going to ask Mike to the dance." El said as they entered the classroom.
Max gave her a broad grin and said: "go get him Tiger." Before they sat down and class began.
The distance runner tried and failed to pay attention, she was far too excited to properly focus. It was funny how anything Mike related made it hard to be a good student.
Lunch couldn't come soon enough.
…
El all but pounced on Mike as soon as the second period bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch.
"Mike! Can we take a quick walk before we go to the club room?" She asked breathlessly. Mike looked up at her, rather startled and confused and a little impressed by how fast she'd made it from her seat to his in the ten seconds since the bell rang.
"Er… Sure El." He agreed hastily, getting over his surprise quickly.
He helped gather her school stuff and carried her bag for her as they headed out into the hallway. Truthfully, he'd been distracted that morning thinking about the impending dance. It seemed everyone was on board to go, and immediately his mind had turned to asking El. Mike had never been to a dance, so he wasn't sure he'd enjoy it, but seeing the excitement on El's face had left no question that he'd at least go and try it out!
"Should we grab our lunches?" Mike asked curiously, allowing El to lead him towards the front doors of the school.
"No, it's okay." She assured him, "it will only take a minute or two." They headed out into the cold November air sans jackets. Mike was wearing one of his knitted sweaters and El had on a Hawkins High zip up—but their sweaters did little to stave off the cold.
She led him around the corner of the school and Mike followed. He wasn't too sure why El wanted to lead him out here, but as they reached a portion of the school between two windows, out of the cold wind, she seemed to deem this an acceptable place to stop.
"Is everything okay?" Mike asked worriedly.
"Everything is great." El quickly assured him, she seemed nervous and excited all at once, which helped ease some of his concern. "I just wanted to give you this." She finally blurted, digging around in the pocket of her zip up and drawing out a very crumpled piece of paper.
"Oh, okay." Mike accepted the piece of paper bewilderedly, but began to smooth it open when he saw the expectant look on El's face. She motioned for him to read it. And suddenly he recognized the paper in his hands. Mike swallowed and glanced back down at the list, his eyes scanning over that fateful piece of paper that nearly tore their friendship apart.
Why is she showing me this? And suddenly Mike realized that there were no longer just three points. There were four.
His mouth went dry. There, scrawled in her neat handwriting below the previously last point was:
(4) Ask Mike Wheeler to be my date to the Winter Formal.
Mike's head whipped up so fast he made himself dizzy. El smiled at him sweetly before reaching for his hand, gently grasping it in her own.
"Michael Wheeler," El began in a very serious voice, "will you do me the greatest honor of attending the Winter Formal as my date?" Mike's head and heart felt as though they were about to explode in sheer disbelief. She waited patiently for him to process what just happened, her smile growing into her slightly crooked grin, a blush erupting across his cheeks.
"Yes I…" Mike stuttered, tripping over his own tongue. "Ireallywanttogowithyoupleaseandthankyou." His cheeks slowly turned a shade of pink that was so impressive El couldn't help but giggle.
Even though they'd been on a couple of dates at this point, he still can't believe that she would want to go to a dance with him. But it's getting easier to believe everyday. Everyday that El looks at him, her warm brown eyes alight with excitement, every time she took his hand, every moment that they would just spend together, talking or hanging out.
"I'm such a dweeb." Mike groaned, glad that the others weren't around to witness this.
"Maybe," El said gently, "but you're my dweeb." She planted a bold little kiss against Mike's knuckles that made both of their hearts to leap.
"And you're both my dweebs too." Called a poorly imitating, high-pitched voice.
El and Mike both nearly combusted in embarrassment right then and there. Dustin, Will, Lucas and Max revealed themselves, wearing matching, shit eating grins as they stared at El and Mike from the slightly ajar window. Apparently one of the two windows they'd stopped beside belonged to the AV Club room because of course it would.
Their private moment hadn't been nearly as private as the two of them had initially believed.
"You guys are dead." Mike finally managed to stammer, groaning and looking at El with a sheepish smile. He loved their friends, yes: but that wouldn't stop him from murdering them for this.
The four friends hurriedly closed the window, laughing obnoxiously.
"Well, I guess we should head in to have lunch." El said, rolling her eyes at their friends' antics.
"We should." Mike agreed, feeling a little emboldened by the fact that El Hopper had just asked him to be her date to the Winter Formal; he leaned over and gently placed a kiss on her lips. He sighed softly against her lips; the warm, electric feeling that zinged through his body was something that Mike hoped he'd never get used to. El looked momentarily starry eyed as he pulled back, but she grinned and caught him with another kiss happily.
They held hands on the way back into school, Mike ignored the whispers and the stares that followed them as he and El walked hand in hand. If she would never stop holding his hand Mike Wheeler would be a very happy guy.
…
December flew by.
Mike and El got a good grade for their joint presentation, which took a little longer than El would like to admit. Mostly because she'd get so distracted by Mike, their study sessions often turned into something a little cuddlier than just working on homework. It was hard to hold hands and work on your project when one of your arms was out of commission; this was something El had come to learn in the weeks of her recovery.
Unfortunately the cast wouldn't be coming off until just before the New Year, when Doctor Owens gave her the okay. That could be six weeks or longer, but with just over four weeks under her belt; El couldn't wait until the day her cast came off.
Soon, the night of the Winter Formal was upon them.
The excitement of the school was palpable; the only topic of interest right now seemed to be the Winter Formal, or more specifically, who everyone was going to the Winter Formal with.
Dustin and Will seemed happy to be going stag. The four boys made plans to meet up and head to the dance together, while Hopper was in charge of ferrying the two girls.
"I'll be here to pick you up at eleven fifteen sharp." Hopper eyed the two excited girls sternly from the driver's seat of the truck. It was just after 8:30PM and they were parked in front of the Hawkins High Gymnasium.
"Thanks Chief!" Max said happily, sliding out of the truck first with an over exaggerated nod.
"We'll be waiting Hop." El agreed as she too slid out, "have fun on your date with Joyce! Love you!" She added cheerfully before she shut the door.
Hopper looked astonished and embarrassed all at once. Clearly he hadn't realized that El knew about his 'date' tonight with Joyce. Silly adults. They thought they were being so sneaky, but between El and Will, they'd put two and two together and realized their individual parents had been sneaking around like a couple of … well, teenagers really.
The two girls waved goodbye to a flustered Hopper before he peeled out of the parking lot.
There were already plenty of teenagers here for the dance; the parking lot was full of vehicles.
El and Max headed towards the entrance to the high school gymnasium, where they could hear the loud music spilling from the windows and doors of the gym. They were a couple minutes early, so it was unlikely the boys were here just yet.
Max led El into the gym, barely pausing to fork over their tickets to the Winter Formal committee (because they were in high school and they refused to call it a Snowball because it had to sound fancier than that).
They paused for a moment at the entrance to the gym, taking in the decorations. The decorating committee had done a beautiful job. The Snowball and the Winter Formal must have shared decorations because the tinsel curtains were still the same silver, but it framed the gym beautifully. In the middle of the floor a huge, glittering disco ball hung, spinning lazily. Shimmering light strands and streamers were gathered towards the center, making the lights looks like floating fairies. Blue and silver balloons littered the dance floor, kicking up at the feet of their dancing classmates as they moved.
"Want to find a place to sit?" Max jerked her thumb to the right, towards the bleachers behind the tinsel wall. El nodded, swaying a little to the music as she followed her best friend.
They settled down on the bleachers, keeping their eyes trained on the doorway so they could watch for their friends. They had a perfect view of the door, and El tried not to focus too much on the fluttering sensations in her stomach. She was really curious to see what Mike would be wearing.
"Don't worry El, he'll be here." Max's lip curled into a very Cheshire cat grin. El didn't even try to hide that she was busy watching the doorway, but she did give her friend an appreciative once over.
"You're going to knock Lucas's socks off Max." She said sincerely.
"Thanks El." Max's cheeks grew a little pink as she too snuck a glance at the doorway.
And it was true. Max wore a simple, strapless satin green A-line dress with no embellishments (Max told El if any dress had a bow on it she would personally rip it to shreds). She'd left her long, beautiful red hair loose, only the front parts of her hair pinned so her hair wouldn't be in her face while she danced. She was stunning.
"I think you'll give Wheeler a heart attack." Max shot back teasingly. El blushed and fiddled with the skirt of her dress.
"I'm hoping for a little speechlessness at least." She giggled nervously.
It was dumb. El knew it was just going to be regular old Mike and she was just her usual El self, but somehow wearing a dress and doing her makeup a little (with Max's help) made the butterflies in her stomach multiple ten fold. She wanted to see how Mike looked as much as she wanted to see his reaction to how she looked.
"El." Max stirred her friend out of her nervous musings gently. When the distance runner looked over to Max quizzically, she smirked and pointed lazily towards the door. El turned and immediately her mouth went dry and her heart back flipped right of her chest.
Mike was here and he looked amazing.
He and the other boys hadn't noticed them at first, but she'd recognize those dark, fluffy curls anywhere. He wore a dark blue suit with a white collared shirt beneath and a black bow tie. El couldn't help but run her eyes appreciatively over his form, her cheeks turning pink as she did so. Aliens could have arrived and abducted everyone at the dance and she probably wouldn't have even noticed. It was Max who once again pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Come on, let's go knock em' dead." The Californian smirked at El, but thankfully didn't tease her anymore. El nodded, swallowing heavily before following her best friend towards the rest of the Party.
Lucas and Dustin lingered back at the entryway table, handing over the tickets to the waiting committee members. Mike and Will were craning their necks to search for the two girls in the increasingly crowded and loud gymnasium.
Nervous tingles shifted under El's skin, making her feel warm and fluttery the closer they got to the boys.
It was Will who spotted the girls first, with a sly smile he tapped Mike on the shoulder. He turned around and an arrow zinged right through El's heart.
If she thought he looked good from afar, she certainly wasn't prepared for how good he looked up close. Luckily Max gave El a little shove towards him; otherwise she would have stopped walking. Eyes wide, she drank in the sight of Mike in formal wear. The suit brought out the darkness of his eyes. Somehow in the glow of the romantic lighting, his freckles stood out even more and she could feel herself swoon. All at once El felt as though she would explode into tiny, happy, love-struck stars.
El was so smitten that she doesn't even notice a similar reaction in Mike as he saw her for the first time.
His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat and it's as though he's temporarily frozen before he manages to blurt: "You're beautiful." And she was. El wore a dark blue, three-quarter length sleeve dress with a small belt around her waist. Her curls were loose, with only her bangs pinned back.
"Thank you." El flushed happily, "you look so handsome." She added sincerely and it was Mike's turn to flush brilliantly.
"Ahem." Dustin cleared his throat and El realized that they had an audience.
"You look handsome too Dustin." El assured him with a laugh when she realized that Dustin was also waiting to be complimented.
"About time you noticed." He nodded happily. Max and Lucas are stuck in a similarly frozen pose as they saw each other for the first time. Max's eyes trailed over Lucas appreciatively and El nearly melted when Lucas flushed. It was adorable.
"Would you like to go get some drinks?" Will asked politely.
Surprisingly neither Dustin or Will teased the two couples, letting them have their moment. At that, the group headed towards the refreshment table. El trailed beside Mike, exchanging shy glances as they each drank each other in a little more, their hands brushing gently as they walked.
"So admit it Max, you were checking us out, weren't you?" Dustin teased after they'd gotten their drinks and found a patch of gymnasium to loiter by near the dance floor. Max rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Please. I don't check anyone out." She glanced at Lucas automatically from the corner of her eyes and blushed a little. Okay. So maybe Max checked one person out.
"Max," El scolded teasingly, "friends don't lie."
The distance runner was taken aback when simultaneously Dustin, Will, Lucas and Mike turned to look at her strangely.
"What?" She asked confusedly, returning their strange stares with a befuddled look.
"Friends don't lie?" Lucas repeated, "where did you hear that? I don't think we've ever used that in front of you."
El was extremely confused, why were they all still looking at her funny?
"Er… no, you didn't. Max always said it during our freshman year and then I just picked it up from her… Max?"
It was Max's turn to be under the scrutinizing stares of all their friends. Unbeknownst to El, Max had turned an increasingly bright pink color and as they all turned to the Californian, there was almost steam coming out of her ears in embarrassment.
"That's what we always say! Where did you hear that Max?" Will asked curiously. She mumbled something and looked away, growing increasingly flustered.
"Max." Lucas pouted, trying to get his girlfriend to look at him.
"I overheard you dweebs say it once in the arcade one time okay? I liked it and so I started to say it too." Max finally blurted out.
"Wait what?"
"When was that?"
"You stole our phrase!"
Lucas held up a hand to demand silence at the outbursts of Dustin, Will and Mike. They granted it to him, but their grins didn't fade.
"So Mad Max… what you're saying is you used to eavesdrop on us at the arcade before we were friends? Does that make you a stalker too?" Lucas laughed and dodged a punch in the shoulder from his girlfriend, who was bright red from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
Max groaned as Lucas gathered her in his arms before she could run away.
"You guys are jerks." She moaned into Lucas's shoulder, her voice muffled.
They laughed and silently all four boys mentally promised to never let the Californian live this down. But for now… There was a dance going on.
A slow song came on and the lights dimmed a little, El found herself admiring the way the decorations cast a romantic glow across the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance?" Mike asked.
She looked to him in surprise and he smiled, holding out his hand for her to take. She accepted, relishing the delicious simmer of nerves in her stomach at the contact. They found a place to set their drinks down and then they were on the dance floor.
It was then that El realized she'd never danced before. Not like this. This wasn't a silly dance you did in your bedroom with your best friend on a sleepover.
"I don't know how to dance." El admitted worriedly, her eyes cast downwards.
"I don't know how either." Mike said truthfully, "but it might be fun to learn together?" At his shy, sincere offer, she glanced up to him. He looked flustered and as though he felt a little out of place to be on the dance floor, but clearly he wanted to be here with her and it made her whole body feel light.
"Okay." She agreed with a smile.
"I think your hands go on my shoulders," Mike gently guided her one good arm upwards and El gently grasped his shoulder. "And my hands go er… here." He slowly and very carefully placed his hands around El's waist and she nearly sighed.
"Is this okay?" He asked.
"Perfect." El nodded, not noticing the blush erupt across his cheeks.
They began to sway on their feet and move slowly, mirroring the other people on the dance floor as the song played. It was beautiful and wonderful and anything she could have wanted. She relished the feeling of Mike's hands around her waist and the way his cheeks seemed to stay in a permanent blush. Mostly, she loved the way his eyes kept drifting to her own and she found herself lost in them.
Surely he could feel how hard her heart was beating? Was this a normal feeling? They weren't even technically boyfriend or girlfriend yet, but El already knew the whispers in her heart belonged to much deeper feelings. But if this wasn't normal, El didn't care because judging by the depth of emotion reflected in Mike's eyes he felt it too.
"You're pretty." El sighed, boldly kissing the tip of Mike's nose much to his surprise. She didn't know it was possible for him to turn pinker, but Mike did. They swayed back and forth to the music as Mike struggled not recover from her surprise statement,.
"You're pretty too." Mike finally recovered, "really pretty."
El could happily stay in Mike's arms forever in that moment.
…
It's December 24th and Mike Wheeler is in a Code Red state of nervousness and panic for one reason only: today is the day he is going to ask El Hopper to be his girlfriend.
Hopper was putting in an appearance at the station Christmas party tonight, so El was free to come over to the Wheeler household for a few hours. It would be just the two of them and Mike had been rotating between excitement, nervousness and dread all day. But he was determined! So far El had been the one to ask him on a first date. And ask him to the Winter Formal. So Mike wanted to be the one to ask El to go steady.
As seven o' clock neared, Mike double-checked that everything in the basement was ready.
At exactly 7:00PM the doorbell rang, catching Mike off guard in the basement. He quickly flicked off the lights and ran up the stairs, knowing it was going to be a race to beat a certain competition to the door. By the time he got upstairs, Mike knew he'd already lost.
"Hi El!" Holly chirped happily, opening the door for Mike's hopefully soon-to-be girlfriend. Mike was always momentarily shocked by how pretty El was. She walked into the door and hadn't spotted him yet, consumed by the little six-year-old Wheeler in front of her. Her soft brown curls were getting slightly longer and yet no less wild. Snow clung to her hair and to her coat, giving her a dreamy, snow kissed look.
"Hi Holly!" El greeted warmly, "how did your first gymnastics practice go the other day?"
It turned out that Holly was a huge fan of El. Perhaps for someone who had never had any younger or older siblings it could have been awkward being around a young child with no prior experience, but both girls had taken to each other like a duck in the water.
Holly quickly began to fill El in on all the details of her first gymnastics practice; Mike shook himself out of his dazed stupor and stepped forward. El offered him a warm smile that made his heart flip as Holly finished her story.
"That sounds like it was really fun. Do you think you'll go back again?" El asked, touching Mike's hand briefly as he helped her shrug off her coat. Her cast would be coming off just before the New Year and El had been really excited to wear her coat normally again.
"Yeah, I liked it. And Erica is there too so that made it a lot more fun." Holly thought deeply for a moment. "It's too bad you can't come."
"I could always come watch." El offered, "I don't think they'd let me participate though."
"Okay! I'd like that." Holly agreed happily.
"Me too." El exchanged a smile with the youngest Wheeler.
"Holly, it's bath time!" Mrs. Wheeler called from somewhere upstairs, prompting Holly to groan. She bid El a quick goodnight before disappearing up the stairs, leaving the two teenagers alone in the entryway of the Wheeler household.
"Hi Mike." El said properly, turning to him and pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"Hi El." He managed to say shyly, trying to hold it together because something as simple as a kiss from El made his legs turn to jelly.
"Let's head downstairs. I've got a little surprise." The nerves were back full force now with no Holly to buffer the conversation. Mike gently took her hand and led her towards the basement door.
"A surprise?" El parroted curiously.
"You'll see." Mike smiled, not wanting to give anything away. He opened the basement door and the two of them stared down into the darkness.
"Watch your step." Mike instructed as they made their way down carefully down the stairs. Once El was on the last step, he released her hand.
"Just wait here a second." He said before quickly scurrying over to the corner of the room. Mike took a deep breath and then flicked on the switch.
He could hear El's breath hitch in her throat as the entire basement living area lit up with the soft glow of Christmas lights. Instead of the table where they normally set up their Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, Mike had built a blanket fort using that same table and stuffed every available spare pillow and blanket inside. He'd strung Christmas lights all throughout the ceiling of the room, as well as in and around the blanket fort itself. The colored lights cast an ethereal glow over the room. He'd also brought the small TV down and placed it in front with plenty of movie choices.
Mike turned nervously to El to see her reaction, but she was still staring around in wonder at the set up.
"I thought we could watch a movie and hang out in the fort." Mike offered tentatively.
"It's so pretty Mike. I love it." El breathed finally, her eyes flitting finally from all the Christmas lights and the blanket fort to him. He let out a sigh of relief and then watched in astonishment as El all but raced into the fort and catapulted herself awkwardly inside.
"I call this pillow!" She called teasingly.
"No fair." Mike grinned, quickly following her into the blanket fort. It was a little squishier with the two of them inside, but neither teenager minded. El stared up at the ceiling of the blanket fort, before turning onto her good arm and leaning her head on her hand so she could sit up slightly and look at him.
"Your fort building skills are pretty great." El complimented and Mike flushed, her eyes dropping to his lips before meeting his gaze again. She didn't seem the least bit ashamed to have been caught eyeing his lips and Mike found himself trying to calm his erratic heartbeat.
"T-thanks." He stammered like a total dweeb.
Did El know what she did to him?
Judging by the tiny smirk on her lips as she watched him color, he thought she must have got some pleasure out of watching him blush. He thought it might be time to turn the tables on her a little.
"El." Mike said in a low soft, voice. El's eyes met his curiously.
"Yes?" Dammit. Now he couldn't help but focus on her soft, pink lips.
Get it together, Mike scolded himself. He had a mission after all! He had to do this before he lost his nerve.
"I really like you," He blurted out, "I think you're the coolest person ever and you're amazing and I'm so glad I almost ran you over with my bike." El's features softened, her brown eyes swam with an emotion that made his heart ache and do backflips in his chest all at once.
"I really, really like you. And I was hoping that maybe… maybe you'dwanttobemygirlfriend?" Mike managed to get out the question, though apparently fusing words together in his haste to talk to El was going to become a thing.
He was pretty sure his whole face was stained bright pink forever, especially when El leaned forwards gently and pressed her lips to his. It was soft and warm and yet all at once Mike felt as though the nerves running through him would fizzle out into firecrackers.
"I'd love to be your girlfriend Mike. If you'll be my boyfriend?" El's cheeks were pink too and she beamed when he nodded dazedly.
They hugged after the confirmation, Mike drawing El in carefully and holding her close as he tried to regain control of his stampeding heart.
"I would have been fine with hey baby, wanna go steady?" El said slyly into his shoulder. Mike's cheeks burned and he squeezed El a little harder against him, not wanting her to see how red he was.
"How did you—you?" He squeaked. How had she found out about that possible option?
"Holly told me. She saw you practicing in the mirror." El tried to stifle the giggles that were spilling past her lips but to no avail.
"I should have known." Mike sighed, but he couldn't keep the grin off of his face. It was hard to be mad at Holly because he was far too happy.
El said yes! El Hopper is my girlfriend! He was tempted to pinch himself because it was so amazingly unbelievable that she would agree. And yet, here they were. Officially boyfriend and girlfriend.
"Now, what movie do you want to watch?" El asked excitedly.
They put on a cheesy Christmas movie and cuddled under the blanket fort for the rest of the evening.
When it was nearly time to go and Mike was about to see his girlfriend to the front door, she surprised him.
"Mike." El pulled him by the arm gently towards the doorway much to his confusion. She pointed upwards with a wry smile at the small bundle of mistletoe that was sneakily hung in the kitchen doorway. That mistletoe definitely wasn't there before, making Mike suspicious about his other sister who was home visiting right now and how sneaky she could be.
"Merry Christmas." El murmured before standing up on her toes a little and pressing her lips softly against his. It didn't take long for Mike's brain to reboot (as it seemed to have to do every time she kissed him) and he returned her kiss eagerly.
"Merry Christmas El." Mike murmured against her lips.
...
It was a beautiful late spring afternoon.
The trees were a lovely, deep green against the blue, blue sky and the shifting winds indicated that summer couldn't be too far off.
"How are you holding up?" El called, looking to her left to see how her boyfriend was doing. That was a sight she would never tire of—Mike Wheeler running beside her, cheeks flushed from exertion, curls extra fluffy.
"Can we walk for a minute?" Mike's responded breathlessly. El immediately complied, slowly to a walk as the sound of their feet hitting the pavement gradually slowed to a comfortable strolling pace.
Mike began to join her on her runs as soon as it was warm enough to resume running outside. His progress had been slow but steady, but the distance he was able to run steadily increased.
Initially he'd wanted it to be a surprise, but his running form needed improvement and who better than to ask but his girlfriend who was the star distance runner of Hawkins High? He joined her two to three times a week, and because of this her routes had widened considerably—Hopper was much happier that she had a running partner even if it was "that kid Wheeler" as he so aptly put it.
"Thanks." Mike gasped, walking and trying to breathe deeply at the same time.
"It's only another two kilometers from here." El patted her boyfriend on the shoulder with a grin.
"Only?" He groaned, but there was a teasing smile on his lips.
"Only." El agreed with a wry smile, "and if we don't hurry up, my debate partners will be left unaided." Mike rolled his eyes.
Hopper was at work today and then had a date with Joyce tonight, so El likely wouldn't be seeing him until later in the evening.
The official debate of the muffin versus cupcake debacle that had quite frankly been going on for a ridiculous amount of time at this point was today. Somehow Mike knew that Dustin and El liked to push everyone's buttons by sticking with their side of the argument—but more surprising was that Will had defected! Leaving it an equally pitched debate of three versus three.
They were supposed to finish their run before Mike's friends came over to his house for the debate, followed by a planning session for Dungeons and Dragons.
Max meanwhile was finally teaching Lucas, Will and Dustin how to skateboard as a form of payback for the stunt they had pulled not two weeks before.
The three boys had been true to their word and made another banner, this time for Max. At the first opening track meet of the season, they'd revealed a huge, bright, sparkling pink banner that read: "Zoom Away Mad Max!" and a second message of "We believe in our Zoomer".
Spectators swore a record must have been broken that day for the state of Indiana. Never had they seen anyone run the two hundred meter so fast… or keep running for that matter once they'd passed the finish line. Max made a beeline straight for the boys, her face beet red as she called out threats and a rather impressive variety of profanity.
Dustin, Will and Lucas had run so fast to get away from Max that Coach Jenkins, the track and field coach at Hawkins High had promptly offered them a spot on the team (which they graciously turned down).
Max, while highly embarrassed, was also very pleased with her own personal banner and had actually kept it, her face warm from happiness and mortification all in one. The skateboard lessons were a punishment for the other boys.
"I can't believe we're finally doing this debate." Mike sighed a long-suffering sigh.
"You're just worried because you're about to have your butt handed to you." El quipped in a superior tone, glancing slyly at Mike, who rolled his eyes and huffed.
"Okay El, we'll see who's laughing at the end of this debate." He warned with an equally superior tone, a smirk stretching across his lips. Lips that she'd spent more time than she'd like to admit staring at.
El couldn't resist, she stopped abruptly and stole a swift kiss. She swallowed the gasp that escaped Mike, greedily kissing the corners of his mouth before kissing him fully again. It's a reaction she will never tire of.
She pulled away and resumed walking as though nothing had happened, leaving her boyfriend spluttering incoherently.
"H-hey!" He finally stammered, face completely red. "That wasn't fair." Mike whined and El laughed, dancing out of his reach as he gave chase. They began running again, El would let him get close and then she'd pull ahead just as he made a grab for her. Finally Mike clued in to what she was doing and surprised her by lunging forward unexpectedly as she was about to pull away.
El squawked and they both tumbled sideways, towards the ditch. Mike held onto her tightly and they eventually came to a rolling stop, mussed and dirtied, but otherwise okay.
"That wasn't fair." El mumbled, trying not to smile at how messy Mike's hair looked now. Sticks and grass stuck out of the fluffy curls she loved, a streak of dirt on his nose. She knew she couldn't look much better.
"Neither is this." Mike teased before kissing her. Fireworks exploded behind El's eyelids and she leaned into him fully. Warmth tingled at her fingertips as she wove them into his hair and held him tight.
When they broke from their kiss they were breathless and starry eyed, leaning their foreheads against one another as they caught their breath.
"I love you." Mike sighed happily. It wasn't the first time he had said it and it certainly would not be the last.
"I love you too." El smiled, pecking a small kiss to the tip of his nose before untangling herself from him and standing up.
"Now come on, we've got a debate to get to." She grinned and offered her hand, which Mike took and she hauled him up.
They resumed running towards the Byers' house, where their friends were waiting: together and happy.
At least until Dustin, El and Will won the debate.
…
The next time that fateful list resurfaces is years later.
El, bright eyed and bushy tailed, woke up to see an oddly familiar piece of paper on her pillow. They'd just gotten back from California, where they'd celebrated the newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair. It was a beautiful and happy affair. El had of course, given her best friend the gift befitting of Maxine Sinclair: a set of doilies and teacups. Max had laughed so hard she nearly fell over.
They'd arrived home late last night and had practically fallen into bed.
Barely blinking the sleep from her eyes, El unfolded the piece of paper and traced her fingertips down the list to her last point: (4) Ask Mike Wheeler to be my date to the Winter Formal.
As her fingertips traced down to something unexpected—a new point—her whole body tingled and her heart nearly exploded in her chest: (5) Ask El Hopper to marry me.
Her breath hitched and El's gaze shot up, her beautiful brown eyes wide. Mike, who'd just reentered the bedroom from their bathroom, stood sheepishly in the doorway.
"Eleanor Hopper," he began, coming to sit on her side of their bed and taking her hand gently in his own, "will you do me the greatest honour of becoming my wife?" Mike barely finished asking the question before El tackled him. She pressed kiss after kiss to his lips, barely remembering to say "yes" as she did so.
They'll pass the list back and forth over the years. They forged something that had nearly broken their friendship into something even stronger and even deeper—became something that invoked happiness and love. Eventually it even began to make it into the hands of their friends, and even Joyce and Hopper at one point.
Sometimes the points are heartfelt and sincere. Sometimes they are silly and unexpected. Either way, the friendships that they made starting with Mike and Dustin nearly running over El Hopper, is a friendship that lasts a lifetime.
A/N: And so ends "Fluffmaggedon Part 2"
Thank you so much for reading. I am so happy to have shared my story with you. A special thank you to those that reviewed, your kind words and encouragement really inspired me and made me smile for days on end.
It is always so bittersweet to finish a story, whether you're reading or writing it. My goal for Just Another Day was to be consistent in updates and I am glad to have accomplished that!
I have several other ideas already started for other Stranger Things stories, starting with a short two-shot called "Star Crossed". My main goal will be to consistently update and complete any story I upload.
Have a lovely day!