A/N: The last chapter was a dedication to HuffleclawThunderbird. I realized it didn't show up later. And if we are to go by her review she loved it as did a lot of you. Thank you so much for all the reviews on the last chapter, I loved reading them.


Chapter 12: The carnival

It was finally summer, they have waited for this summer for a long time now, planned for it for ages and yet things were completely different from what they had imagined it to be. For one, when they planned this summer when they began middle school, they were all heartthrobs for some reason; with a girlfriend each, and plenty to fall back on if it didn't work out with that one. Their fantasy involved parties almost every night after they came back from their summer job, and by the end of the summer they would have saved enough for both a car and a new gaming system.

But that was all fantasy of a 12 year old, and this was the reality of a high schooler. They all were not high school heartthrobs, though now they really didn't want to be, except maybe Dustin, he would love the attention. They all did not have girlfriends, but two of them did, and they were very happy about it. They did not have a plethora of girls to fall back on, Will was sure they were fairly invisible. And their jobs, well it didn't pay them much, not enough to cover the cost of cars at least, that will require help from their parents.

El was blissful, she had no summer job to keep her busy, her father didn't think it was necessary, not yet. In his words, "Give it another year, after you have completely settled in then you can think about working."

So she was very happy, that unlike her friends and boyfriend she was not whining everyday about how cruel the shift's working hours are and how Max just hates serving people coffee, she might need to change her job where there is lesser human interaction involved. But she was constantly bored nonetheless, so most of her mornings were spent in public library reading.

Mike, Dustin and Lucas worked with Mr. Sinclair; Mike was offered a desk job with his father but he was definitely not interested in that so as soon as Lucas asked whether they wanted to join him working for his father, they all latched onto the opportunity. Max and Will were offered the same deal, but they declined, Max because she did not want to work at an office, at least not as long as she could detain the inevitable and Will had gotten a job at an art gallery a town over. He knew his dream was to go to an art college and he would do everything to make that happen.

His commute would have killed him if it wasn't for his brother leaving for college and giving him his old car, the maintenance and fuel was all that Will needed to take care of. And nobody would have thought Will would be the first person in the group to get a car, but they were thrilled nonetheless.

Evenings were spent together, usually at the diner, or the ice cream parlor, or at someone's place; no matter where though they were all always together, and El just had to waste her time till six in the evening, after that she was always entertained.

Today everyone was assembled at the Henderson residence, the promise of Mrs. Henderson's beef casserole had everyone unanimously deciding to spend their evening there and only going back home after dinner, so much so they had called Steve to join them, knowing the man would be eating either frozen food or take outs.

"The weekend's here, do you guys have any plans?" Steve asked as he sat on the chair next to the study desk facing all the kids strewn about the room.

"Nothing yet." Mike replied.

Just then the door burst open and Will walked in, "Sorry I am late guys."

"What took you so long?" Dustin asked.

"Work."

"Anyways, Steve was asking us about our weekend plans, we have none; do you?"

"Nah, nothing other than sleeping in."

"Great, will you all be interested in going to the carnival? It starts tomorrow, but we can go on Saturday." Steve asked everyone.

"Oooohhhh, I forgot all about the summer carnival. We haven't been there in years." Lucas exclaimed, "Right guys?"

"Yeah, that would be so much fun." Will added.

"I haven't been to any carnival since I was eight." Max said.

"Yeah, that's an amazing idea, I think there is a parade on Saturday too. That ways El would see both." Mike said thoughtfully, liking the idea by the second.

"Dustin? What do you think, you want to go?" Steve noticed that the boy was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Hmm, yes I think that is a good idea."

"Okay, so it's decided, I will pick you all at around 11, and Will, why don't you bring your car, easier transportation."

"Sure."

After dinner everyone left and the only person left behind was Steve, when he asked Dustin to walk him out to his car after he said a good night to Mrs. Henderson. Dustin found it odd, that was the first time he was asking himself to be walked out, most of the time it was a simple shout of 'bye' without a backward glance.

As soon as they reached his car parked in the driveway, he turned around to face the younger boy.

"Is something the problem?" he asked

"No. What do you mean?" Dustin scratched his head.

"Come on dude, don't make me say it. I know something is up. You have zoned out since I mentioned the carnival."

"Oh." Dustin looked down at his feet.

"So..?" Steve prompted.

"I haven't been to the carnival since like the fourth grade."

"Okay? Is there a reason behind it? Don't you wanna go?"

"I am not sure, I loved carnivals and the parades and all the food stalls."

"Look, you don't have to go if you don't want to. I honestly came up with the idea because I thought you all would enjoy it, especially El and Max."

"You are right, they'll love it, especially El. But I will come, it's about time I left the grudge behind."

"Grudge? You know how to hold grudges?" Steve cocked his eyebrow.

"No, not generally. But this time it was very personal, you know we moved here because my mom and dad separated. He was cheating on her, and she found out and she left with me and here we were in the middle of the school year. Man, was I some spectacle to ogle at." Dustin looked away, down the street trying to avoid eye contact with Steve.

"And this has anything to do with the carnival because….?"

"My dad used to take me to the carnivals. It was our thing, you know; something exclusive just for us. Mom wasn't invited most of the time, it was a 'men's day out' as he put it. I used to love it."

Steve looked at his shoes, now wanting to avoid eye contact as well.

"The last I remember going to the carnival was to this one in the next town, where he sat me down and tried to explain to me the concept of "divorce" over an ice cream. Of course I knew what it was but it was always in reference to the kids in my class, and by the time we reached back home, mom was ready to go, I still remember that day very clearly."

"Hey man, I am sorry, but you don't have to hate the entire concept because of one bad memory."

"You are right. I will enjoy this Saturday." Dustin looked up and smiled, but Steve could clearly tell how fake it was.

"So, has your old man never tried taking you to another carnival? Or a pier? Or anything?"

"Hah – I don't think I have talked to my old man for two years now."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Hey, I'll make sure you will have an amazing time this year, and how about after this we make it a regular occurrence, we'll try and go to as many carnivals as we can, no little kid like you should be deprived of funnel cake." Steve said, ruffling his curly hair.

"Dude seriously, I am not a kid." Dustin tried to swat his hand away and fixed his ruffled hair.


That Saturday the two cars filled with six kids and a semi – adult reached the town carnival, El was excited as she had no idea of what exactly to expect, Mike and Lucas had tried to explain her the basics of carnivals but she was still clueless in a way.

Max was smiling, she had forgotten how fun it could be to be out in the sun and smell all that different aromas of food wafting in the air, also the fact that she was there with her best friends and boyfriend added to her pleasure, the moment she stepped out of Will's car she reached for Lucas' hand and held it for almost the rest of the afternoon.

Dustin was trying to be cheerful about the aspect of enjoying rides and parade again since last night, he was not sure how much it would really work unless he stepped in the sunshine and all the good memories came flooding back in his mind, he was sure he had made all the hurt in his mind for how at home he felt at the carnival, also being with his friends helped. If he would have wanted to go to anyplace new or old in this case, his friends would have been the go to option and it was still true.

"So what are we all doing?" Will asked when everyone stopped near a food stall.

"Eat first?" Dustin suggested

"So that you can puke all over yourself on the rides? Let's not." Max countered.

"Oh please, I will have you known that I can eat an entire cheeseburger and get on a roller coaster and not even burp." Dustin was oddly proud. "Eww." Was the unanimous reaction but Steve just made a face and shook his head in resignation, he was really not expecting any other answer.

"Ok ok, why don't we start with the rides and then when its time for the parade to start we grab some food and watch from – there," he said pointing to a spot on the sidewalk which was in the sun, "looks like a good enough place."

"Sure."

With that they tested almost all the rides, Lucas and Max basically pushing everyone in the different directions to at least get one round of everything. Lucas was in heaven, his girlfriend was hyper which rarely the case was, and he was thoroughly enjoying her smiles and carefree laughs.

Mike held El's hand and dragged her behind Max and Lucas, just as enthusiased. He was having a blast on all the rides but honestly it was watching El that was the most fun for him. Apparently Ferris wheel was a hit with his girlfriend, and her yelp of happiness at the top view would basically remain etched in his mind forever.

Dustin was back to his old self, much to Steve's relief. He had no idea he felt so protective of the kid, maybe because he saw his younger self in him, he didn't want him to turn out like he was; in his mind he was still a failure. But if Dustin could be happy because of any amount of contribution by him, he would not hesitate to do that. He had a nice group of friends, something he himself had lacked almost all his life, he was sure if he had someone looking out for him as he was trying to look out for Dustin and the rest of the kids; things would have been entirely too different.

"Mike look." El pointed to a couple coming from the opposite direction, and a small kid maybe of three years of age sitting on the man's shoulder. "What is the kid doing?"

"He is sitting on his dad's shoulders, it is a way for kids to see stuff from a high point or when they get tired, parents perch them on their shoulders for easier transportation, as it can be painful always carrying them in arms." Mike explained as he pulled her pointing finger down before the couple could notice her pointing.

"That looks like fun, have you ever done that?" her face had lit up with the idea, but Mike's had fell. He easily forgot at times how different their upbringings were, a shoulder ride, a simple shoulder ride which everyone had experienced he was sure was a novelty for his girlfriend.

"Yes, when I was a kid, I remember sitting on my dad's shoulders." He looked down at his shoes.

"And you Will?"

"Yes, it was my mom and Jonathan that carried me like that. Not dad."

"I wonder how that feels like." El made a genuine statement, though it didn't make anyone feel better at all.

Mike squeezed the hand he was holding and tried to smile at his girlfriend, though he wanted to hit something really hard. They all walked to the sidewalk that Steve pointed to earlier with their hands full of food, Dustin's and Will's more than others.

Soon the area was crowded with people, and El being the shortest in the group was soon losing the visibility, Mike noticed her standing on her toe-tips, he whipped his head around to find a bench or something to get her to stand on top of and found one across the road, that out of option he next spotted a lamp post behind them which was mounted on a cement pedestal which definitely had some leg room to stand on, maybe not for him but his girlfriend's small feet sure.

He guided her to the lamppost, gave her a hand and helped her stand atop it, her shoes didn't fit entirely so to give her support he stood in front of her and she placed her hands on his shoulder leaning slightly forward because of the lamp post digging her back, but all the discomfort was worth the scenery. She could see everything.

Max joined her after a few moments and her boyfriend was her support to stand atop the pedestal. Both of them probably had the best view of the entire parade; maybe after the kids who were perched on their parent's shoulders.

After the parade was over and the sun was about to set, Steve asked them to reach the cars in next fifteen minutes, as the entire crowd was now leaving they were sure to be separated on the way.

"Come on Carrot, let's get a milkshake before we leave." Lucas pulled his girlfriend down.

Mike turned around to look at his girlfriend who was now holding the lamppost instead of him.

"Did you enjoy yourself today?"

"Yes, I loved it." Her smile was stretching across her face.

"Hey, I was thinking, I might not be able to sit you on my shoulder yet, someday I might. Actually someday I definitely will, I'll make sure of that. But I can sure give you a piggyback ride now. If you'd like one."

"Piggyback? Like you carry me on your back with my legs and arms around you?" she clarified.

"Yes, that."

"I would like one please." Mike smiled at her, he knew she turned polite whenever she was unsure how to behave in an uncertain situation. He turned his back towards her again, walked as close to her as he could, pulled her arms around his neck and bent forward to pick her up. His arms going beneath her knees.

Her legs swayed, she was definitely enjoying this. "This is nice." She whispered in his ears and he shivered like he always did when she did that.

"I am glad you are enjoying yourself."

"This should be my new mode of transportation."

"Really? I might have to start charging you by the ride then."

"I just might be able to afford you."

"Oh so you think I am cheap?" He looked behind smiling at her, and kissed the tip of her nose.

"No, I think you are perfect." She kissed his neck and hid her face in his shoulder.


A/N: I want to see Mike giving El a piggyback ride so bad. Anyways what do you think about this chapter, let me know in the reviews.

I am not sure whether they are allowed to drive cars yet or not, but I made Will drive one so maybe for this story he's the first one turning 16. After all he just had a birthday.