As it turns out, the boys' Homecoming video winds up airing on the news Saturday night. However, since most of the students are at the actual football game during this time, the only people who really see it are the boys' moms.
So much for becoming famous.
Throughout the Monday school day, Dustin tries to tell people about their video, but the general consensus seems to be that no one really gives a shit.
"This is a conspiracy!" Dustin insists later that day, "A plot to keep us from ever getting the recognition we deserve!"
In reality, Mike realizes, it's probably not a conspiracy, and more likely because everyone's minds are elsewhere. Not only is Halloween this week (Thursday), but so is the big Homecoming dance (Saturday).
There were several big Homecoming proposals scattered throughout the past couple weeks, but on Monday morning it kicks into overdrive with deliveries of gaudy flower bouquets, love songs played over boom boxes in the middle of the hallway, and declarations of ardor shouted while standing atop a cafeteria table.
The whole thing is a little overwhelming, mostly because Mike can't help but feel pressured. Throughout the entire day, he can barely make eye contact with El, he's so nervous. Is he supposed to do something crazy for her? His friends haven't really talked about whether or not they're going to the dance (other than Max griping that all this cheesiness made her want to slam her head into a wall, repeatedly).
By the time the school day ends, Mike is anxious for a way to distract himself from the daunting prospect of Homecoming. Thankfully, Will asks Mike to accompany him to the school's darkroom to help him develop some of the photos he'd taken over their weekend camping trip.
Mike is pretty sure that Will's only asking because he finds the darkroom a little creepy (to which Mike completely agrees — the pitch black classroom illuminated by a single red lightbulb feels like walking into the living definition of the word 'unsettling'), but regardless, Mike is eager to not only help his friend, but to also get a break from all the Homecoming hormones.
He watches in awe as Will expertly develops the photos. As creepy as the room is, it's admittedly fascinating to watch all of the pictures that Will took slowly emerge into existence.
By far, Mike's favorite photo is the group shot that Will's mom took of them before they left. Even though Mike isn't a big fan of getting his picture taken (like, ever), he has to admit that this one isn't that bad. His arm is around El, he's surrounded by his friends, and they just look so happy.
Will creates six prints of that photo, one for each member of their Party, he explains.
"Our Party?" Mike questions.
"Yeah," Will nods. He's finished making all the prints and is now carefully packing up all his supplies. "Like in D&D."
"I know that," Mike flushes, "But I never thought El and Max were in it."
"They are," Will says simply, handing Mike one of the group-photo prints.
As Mike smiles down at the photo, he knows that Will is completely right. "They are," he echoes before quickly adding, "Max would probably hate that, though."
"No, she'd only say that she hates it," Will replies, shaking his head, "Then secretly be happy about it. Like with Lucas."
Mike can't help but snort — Will's observation is so painfully true. He's still not sure if Max and Lucas are official, or anything, but by the way they held hands on the walk home after the camping trip, and the way Lucas hugged her goodbye and whispered into her ear, and the way Max's eyes lit up when Lucas walked into school this morning...
In the eyes of their friends, they were a couple now. Just like how the girls were in their Party now. It didn't need to be vocalized, it was just felt and known.
"If El's our Mage," Mike ponders as he and Will exit the dark room, "Then what's Max?"
"I dunno," Will shrugs, rubbing his eyes as they adjust to the lighting change, "We'll have to let her choose."
It'd taken about an hour to develop the photos, so most students have already left school. Despite this, as Mike and Will walk through the deserted hallway, they can hear the distant sound of arguing voices. As the boys slowly continue down the corridor, the voices grow increasingly louder.
"What's that?" Will asks nervously.
"It sounds like it's coming from the gym," Mike replies, taking the lead. He guides the pair closer to the gym and, motioning for Will to stay close, carefully pushes the door open and peers past it.
Inside the gym, several girls are darting about, animatedly waving around rulers as they measure out the distances between various points around the gym.
The loudest of the voices seems to be coming from none other than Jennifer Hayes. "Oh my god! I told you guys that the South wall was 55 feet wide!" She laments, stomping her feet in frustration, "Not 50! Now we're not going to have enough balloons for the balloon arch!"
"It's just the Homecoming committee," Mike mutters, turning to glance back at Will, "It looks like they're just prepping for the dance."
Will, curiosity evidently getting the better of him, leans past Mike to look into the gym as well. That, as it turns out, is a fatal mistake, as the second Will ducks his head through the doorway is the same second Jennifer Hayes glances over her shoulder and spots them.
"Will!" She gasps excitedly.
"Oh no," Will whimpers.
Before Mike can ask Will what's wrong, Jennifer's already flipped her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and started sauntering over to them.
Mike and Will back up into the hallway, exchanging nervous glances.
Seconds later, Jennifer pushes open the gymnasium doors and joins them, smiling as perkily as ever. "There you are!" She beams, gaze locked on Will, "I've been looking for you!"
"Really?" Will asks worriedly.
"Yes!" Jennifer nods, "I want to ask you something!"
Even though Mike is still by Will's side, from the way Jennifer's gazing at Will, he basically doesn't exist. As Mike glances between the two, he starts to feel a little uneasy. After all, the last time Jennifer asked them something, El wound up passed out on the floor, there was a mass power outage, and Mike and his friends nearly suffered death by lamp.
"Okay?" Will replies, looking increasingly anxious.
"Well," Jennifer begins, flipping her ponytail again, "So, I know we didn't really get to talk much at my party, or afterwards—"
"—Because you got grounded?" Mike cuts in.
"—Yeah?" Jennifer falters, quickly throwing Mike a scowl, "But whatever. That's not the point. The point is that we never got to hang out, which like, totally sucked."
"I guess," Will mumbles.
"So," Jennifer continues, smiling again, "I was basically just like, wondering if you wanted to go to Homecoming with me?"
Mike's honestly surprised that neither he or Will keel over from shock. Jennifer Hayes, who was literally the most popular sophomore at Hawkins high, just asked Will to Homecoming. Dustin's going to lose his shit once he finds out.
Even though their past experiences with Jennifer have been dicey at best, this is still an incredible development. Mike turns to smile excitedly at Will, but to his surprise, Will doesn't look thrilled. Quite the opposite, actually.
Will's swaying on the spot, his face is pale, and he's not really looking at anyone or anything in particular. "O-oh," he stammers.
"Will?" Jennifer asks concernedly, "Is everything okay?"
"I-I'm fine," Will insists, glancing at her.
"Great!" Jennifer smiles, "So you'll go with me?"
"I mean…" Will hesitates, "I…I…uh…"
Mike, completely taken aback why the entire situation, turns to look at Will. Why wouldn't Will say 'yes?' Sure, Jennifer could be a little…intense at times, but she's usually pretty nice. Plus, according to the opinion of most guys in their school, she's really pretty (not as pretty as El, obviously, but that's beside the point).
And yet, despite all this, Will only looks terrified. He turns to glance up at Mike anxiously, still swaying on the spot.
Even though Mike's not completely sure why, he knows that Will doesn't want to go to Homecoming with Jennifer.
"Will?" Jennifer asks again, looking confused.
"He can't!" Mike quickly cuts in, "He can't go with you to Homecoming!"
Jennifer eyes Mike. "And why not?"
"Because!" Mike replies, "He's…uh…"
"He's what?" Jennifer frowns, crossing her arms over her chest.
Will's eyes widen as he turns to glance frantically at Mike.
"He's already agreed to go with our friends!" Mike explains, "We all promised each other we'd go together as a group."
"…Oh," Jennifer pouts, shoulders slumping.
"Yeah," Mike nods, "We've been like, planning on this for months, so it's kind of a big deal."
Jennifer only nods, looking a little miffed, but nothing more.
"Sorry," Will mumbles, offering Jennifer a small apologetic smile.
"It's fine, I guess," Jennifer sighs, "Maybe I'll just ask like, Troy or something."
Mike and Will can't help but exchange judgmental glances as Jennifer pivots and saunters back into the gym.
"Good luck with that," Mike mutters as the door slams shut behind her.
Will smiles shakily. "Yeah," he mumbles, glancing down at his feet.
Mike turns to look at Will, brow furrowed in concern. "So, why didn't you want to go with her?"
Will shrugs, suddenly preoccupied with the strap of his camera bag.
"Do you not like her?"
Will hesitates. "It's not that I don't like her," he answers slowly, "I just..."
"Yeah?"
"I'm...I'm not sure that I really..."
As Will continues to stammer helplessly, Mike feels torn. On the one hand, he wants Will to tell him whatever's on his mind. On the other hand, if there's one thing Mike's learned from El, it's that it's not a great idea to pressure a confession out of someone.
"I d-don't think I..." Will continues to stammer, "I mean, I don't really want to..."
"It's okay," Mike finally laments, "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."
"Okay," Will mumbles. As he glances over at Mike, he physically looks relieved. His face gets less tense, he stops swaying in place, and he's able to manage a small, grateful smile. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Mike shrugs.
"It's just..." Will continues suddenly, "I'm not sure yet. I don't know if really...like...you know."
Mike isn't 100% sure if he knows exactly what Will's talking about, but he thinks he may have a faint idea. Either way, he's still not going to push Will to make a decision or confession that he might not be willing to make yet.
"That's ok," Mike assures Will, placing a hand on his shoulder. He's a little unsure of what to say, in all honesty, but just like with El, Mike wants Will to know that he would never judge one of his friends for being who they truly were.
Thankfully, Mike's simple assurance proves to be enough for Will, as he seems less anxious afterward.
The boys spend the rest of the walk to the bike rack in silence. When they head outside, Mike has to slip on the hood of his hoodie to keep his ears from getting too cold.
As Will boards his bike, he turns to glance back at Mike. "You should ask El to Homecoming," He suggests.
"What?!" Mike blusters.
"Well, we never really planned to go as a group," Will points out, "So, if you wanna go, you better ask her."
Even though Mike's been fantasizing about asking El to Homecoming for weeks now, when Will makes his suggestion, Mike finds himself stupidly trying to think of excuses to not listen to it.
"Why would she even agree to go with me?" Mike asks thickly.
"Because she likes you!"
"She does?"
Will eyes him. "Of course. Did you not know?"
Mike hesitates. If he's going to be perfectly honest, he would have to admit that he didn't know. Like, he knows El likes him as a friend and everything, but a part of him is still a little paranoid that she's just being really nice.
Then again, 'just-being-nice' usually doesn't entail cuddling with someone and kissing them (twice). At least, he's pretty sure it doesn't.
As Mike thinks back to that moment, he starts to feel a little light headed. The whole thing had just felt so surreal — El, hovering inches away from him. El, pressing her lips to his cheek and jaw in a chaste touch that's burned into his sensory memory. Even if his friends had kind of totally ruined it, everything before that felt like a dream.
"I kind of thought you guys were already dating," Will continues, "I mean, you've kind of gone on dates already."
Mike scoffs. "No, we haven't—"
Then he pauses.
Asking her to Jennifer's party. Studying at the library together, not once, but twice. Watching cheesy soap operas at her house and eating waffles until they felt ready to explode.
Were those dates? Mike didn't think so, but maybe they were. The realization causes another question to dawn on him.
Is he El's boyfriend?
"You guys look at each other the same way Max and Lucas do," Will says gently, "Only maybe even mushier."
Mike feels his cheeks flush red. "Really?"
Will nods. "Also, El really wants to go to Homecoming. She won't say it, because she's worried we'll tease her about it, but I can tell. We were talking about it on the walk back from camp and..."
"And?" Mike asks hopefully.
"And it'd make her really happy," Will finishes, "She deserves to be happy."
After all El's been through not only in the past month, but in her entire lifetime, Mike can't help but agree.
"I'll think about it," He assures Will.
"Good!" Will smiles. He turns his attention back to his bike and, as he begins to pedal away, he turns back one last time to wave goodbye to Mike. "See you tomorrow!"
Mike waves back before beginning his own trek home. As he walks, he keeps the photograph Will gave him in his grasp. He glances at it occasionally, mind heavy with the weight of the decision before him. Between what happened with Jennifer and Will, to the new development in Lucas and Max's relationship, and to the mounting pressure Mike feels within his relationship (if that's what it even is) with El, his head kind of hurts.
Thankfully, the long walk home does him good. As he walks past houses decorated with glowing jack-o-lanterns and spooky lawn ornaments, the chilly evening air seems to clear his head.
He forces himself to, for once, not overanalyze everything. Instead, he focuses on what (who) he feels he really wants. As he looks down at the photo, at El smiling beside him, who that is becomes crystal clear.
By the time he reaches his house, he knows what he has to do.
He climbs the stairs two at a time and rushes into his bedroom. After he kicks off his sneakers and shrugs off his backpack, he grabs his old walkie-talkie off his nightstand. Even though the boys mostly used their Supercoms to communicate when they were younger, Mike still prefers the privacy it offers as opposed to the family phone in the hallway.
And, Mike thinks as he pulls up the antenna and turns the walkie-talkie on, he definitely needs privacy. If his mom overheard him talking about asking a girl to Homecoming, he'd never hear the end of it.
As the walkie-talkie crackles to life, the white-noise roar of radio static fills Mike's bedroom. He fiddled with the dials, tuning in to the right channel and causing the roar to die down to a steady hum.
"Hello?" Mike calls out, taking a seat on the bottom bunk of his bed, "Does anyone copy? This is Mike, over."
As he waits for a response, Mike drums his leg against the floor. They had to be home by now, it was nearly 5:00.
A minute passes.
Mike is just about to repeat his message when his friends' voices finally crackle over speaker.
"10-4, Mike, this is Dustin," Dustin announces.
"I'm here too," Lucas chimes in.
"Me too!" Will adds.
"Great!" Mike smiles, relaxing back on his bed, "I need to talk to you guys."
"If this is another plan to sell our test answers," Lucas says dryly, "The answer is no."
"It's not that!" Mike huffs, rolling his eyes.
"Then what the hell is going on?" Dustin asks.
Mike hesitates, trying to keep his voice as casual as possible as he suggests, "I think we should go to Homecoming."
"Aww, Mike!" Dustin gushes, "I never thought you'd ask me! I'm touched, really."
"Oh my god, Dustin," Mike scowls, "You know what I mean. Like, all of us should go as a group. I think it'd be fun."
"That's what you said about Jennifer's party," Lucas points out, "And that was like, the exact opposite of fun."
"I know," Mike admits, "But this is different. This is going to be at school, so there'll be teachers around to supervise everyone. Plus, now that we know about El's powers, we can protect her if anything happens."
"And keep her away from the punch," Dustin adds dryly.
"You have a point," Lucas admits to Mike.
"I think we should go," Will agrees, "We didn't last year, so we don't really know what we're missing out on."
"Exactly," Mike nods. Even though Mike already knows that Will is on his side in this, it's still nice to have his vocal support. Hopefully it'll be easier to get Dustin and Lucas to agree if both Mike and Will want to.
A beat of uninterrupted radio static passes as Lucas and Dustin consider this. And then—
"I guess we should," Lucas eventually relents.
"I mean, is it even really a choice?" Dustin teases, "You have a girlfriend now, Lucas, so you basically have to go."
Lucas replies with an indignant little scoff that's nearly lost amongst the radio static. "I don't even know how I'd ask her!" He confesses, "She doesn't really seem like the 'dance' type."
"Yeah, that's another thing," Mike continues sheepishly, "I don't really know how to ask El, either."
At that statement, Dustin and Lucas hoot and holler both excitedly and teasingly.
"So, Mike!" Lucas croons, "You're finally gonna admit that you're into El?"
"Everyone knows that Mike is into El!" Dustin snickers, "It's been obvious since the day he met her!"
"Technically, he met her in 6th grade," Will points out.
"Well, in detention, then," Dustin amends.
"You guys are so annoying," Mike groans, cheeks flushing pink, "Why does it even matter? Lucas literally just admitted that Max is his girlfriend."
"Yeah, but we all knew that," Dustin explains, "And, like you said, Lucas admitted it. You and El are still in complete denial about the fact that you're basically dating already."
"Because we're not dating!" Mike insists.
"Exhibit A," Dustin sighs.
"Well, whatever," Mike dismisses, cheeks still warm, "I just wanted some advice on how to ask her, okay?"
"We can help you!" Will offers graciously, "At least, we can try."
"I promised you that I'd be your wingman for Jennifer's party," Dustin reminds Mike, "And that offer totally still stands."
"I'm pretty sure you'd make things worse," Lucas remarks.
"I would not!" Dustin defends.
"You could make El a mixtape," Will suggests, cutting off Dustin and Lucas before their bickering can escalate any further, "You could put a bunch of songs on it about going to a dance, and then write 'Homecoming,' on the label."
"That could work," Mike hesitates, "Except I don't know that many songs."
Even though Mike continued listening to El's favorite bands in his free time, he still doesn't feel confident enough to pick out enough songs that fit both the right message and El's musical taste. Knowing his luck, he'd probably fill the tape with a bunch of songs that she didn't even like.
"I know!" Lucas pipes up, "You could take her to Benny's, and like, buy her some waffles."
"I don't have a bike though," Mike reminds him, "So I'd have to walk there." Not only that, but Mike's last big display of affection included waffles, and while he's sure that El wouldn't mind, he doesn't want to seem so repetitive. He has a feeling that his friends will only tease him further if he tells them about his Eggos apology, and consequently decides to keep that last bit of information to himself.
"I got it!" Dustin exclaims, sounding excited.
"What?" Mike asks warily.
"Oh, it's perfect," Dustin enthuses gleefully, "It's so perfect."
"What is it?!"
Dustin takes a deep breath before he proceeds to fill Mike in on every detail of his proposed plan. As he talks, Mike can practically envision him grinning and waving his hands excitedly.
"So, what do you think?" Dustin asks once he's finished.
Though Mike was slightly hesitant toward the idea of any Homecoming-proposal of Dustin's, he has to admit that Dustin's suggestion is the best of all. While not extravagant, it's simple, sentimental, and brings things back full circle. Plus, it'll hopefully save him from having to do a lot of talking, which never really seems to go well when he's around El.
"It's perfect," Mike beams, "Like, completely perfect."
"See?" Dustin replies confidently, "Wingman."
El's lying in bed, looking through the polaroids she took last weekend when the phone on her nightstand rings.
Puzzled as to who would be calling her at this hour (it's almost 11:00!), she reaches over and picks up the receiver and brings it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, El!" Max greets.
"Max?" El smiles, crinkling her brow, "What's going on?"
"Oh, you know," Max replies nonchalantly, "Nothing really."
She's obviously lying. Mainly because Max wouldn't call her this late for no reason, and secondly because Max's voice is a little higher-pitched than usual, which either means she's mimicking El or hiding something.
"I know it's not nothing," El replies.
"It is!" Max insists.
"Max," El says, exasperated, "Just tell me."
Max gives a heavy, elongated sigh. "Fine," she finally huffs, "But...don't laugh, okay?"
El gasps eagerly. "Is this about Lucas?"
"No! Well...I mean...kind of."
Another gasp. "Tell me!"
Max takes a breath before quickly blurting out, "Iwanuhgotohimkimmimg."
El frowns. "What?"
"I wanna go to Homecoming!" Max repeats, sounding embarrassed.
El grins. She knows she probably shouldn't, but she can't help but tease Max in response (plus, in El's defense, Max has teased her a million more times than El has teased Max). She thinks back to the last time they'd talked about Homecoming, at that Friday night sleepover that now seemed like it was years ago.
"Homecoming?" El echoes, "You mean the dance?"
"Obviously."
"The dance that they've put up ten million posters for all over school?"
"Yeah."
"The one this weekend?"
"Yes."
"The dance that only dweebs go to?"
"El!" Max huffs, half indignant, half amused, "Don't use my words against me!"
"I'm sorry!" El giggles.
"You're evil," Max gripes.
El only giggles even more at this. She probably sounds totally, giddily dumb, but she can't help herself. She's secretly always wanted to go to the dance, but the deck always seemed stacked against her. Max thought it was lame, Mike didn't even know that El existed...
But now, neither of those are true.
Well, sort of.
Mike has kinda been avoiding El all day. She tried not to notice it, but she couldn't help it. He'd barely made eye contact with her, he didn't walk her to class, and he'd kept the conversation curt during Biology.
She's not sure what's going on. Maybe he's just having a bad day. She shouldn't worry about it…
…Right?
"I know it's lame," Max continues, "But—"
"It's not!" El negates, shaking her head, "We should go! Did Lucas ask you?"
"No," Max admits, sounding a little annoyed.
"Oh," El pouts.
"That's why I'm going to ask him," Max continues confidently.
"Oh!" El gasps in surprise.
"Do you think that's dumb?" Max asks worriedly.
"No!" El adamantly insists, "It's perfect!"
"Really?" Max brightens.
"Yes!"
"Okay, great, because I kind of already have a plan to ask him."
Of course she does.
"What is it?" El asks curiously.
Max tells her, voice laden with an odd mixture of both embarrassment and excitement. When she finishes though, El can definitely tell that Max is feeling more of the latter.
"I think it's perfect!" El smiles after Max concludes.
"Me too!" Max agrees, "He's gonna lose his shit probably, but it'll be worth it."
"Just be careful," El advises, "You don't want to get in trouble."
"That's what I'm worried about," Max confesses, "Do you think you can help me?"
"Help you?"
"I don't want to do it alone," Max explains.
El only needs to consider the proposition for a few seconds before she agrees. After all that Max's done to help her and Mike, it's the least she can do in return. "I'll help you," El nods.
"Then let's go!"
"Right now?!" El balks.
"Yeah! We only got 'till the end of the week, and I wanna make sure no one else asks him before then!"
"Who else would ask him?" El asks, trying not to snort.
"No one, because I'm going to first," Max states firmly, "And if anyone else tries to, I'll like…kick them."
"Max!"
"I'm kidding!" Max swears, "…Mostly."
El holds back a laugh. "I'll meet you there," she assures Max.
"Thanks, El! I owe you!"
El wishes her goodbye before hanging up the phone and rushing over to her closet. She slips on a black hoodie, layers her favorite leather jacket over it, and grabs her skateboard. Slipping the hood over her head, she tiptoes to the window and carefully uses her powers to open it.
If her dad finds out she's sneaking out, she'll be grounded for longer than Jennifer Hayes was.
Doesn't matter, El reminds herself as she crawls out the window and uses her powers to lower herself to the ground, Her friend needs her.
It takes about 20 minutes to skate to school. When she arrives, Max is already waiting for her, wearing her backpack and her favorite gray hoodie. She's standing at the very front of the school, beside the bike rack and the brick wall with the giant tiger logo on it.
"There you are!" She whispers, as El comes to a stop, "I was getting worried."
"Sorry!" El apologizes, "My house is so far away."
"It really is," Max nods. With that, she slips her backpack off, unzips the main compartment, and flips the entire thing upside down.
Numerous cans of spray paint fall to the ground with a loud clatter that echoes off into the empty parking lot.
"Shit," Max winces, "That was louder than I expected."
El snorts and smiles wryly. "So, what do you want it to look like?"
"Whatever," Max shrugs, bending over to pick up a can, "I'm thinking I'll just write out the words, and we can add like, geeky stuff around them."
"Good idea!" El nods enthusiastically.
"Then let's do it!" Max grins. She tosses El a can of spray paint before giving her own can a rattling shake.
There's an empty stretch of brick wall next to the tiger logo, and the girls use it as their canvas. As they get to work, their progress is soundtracked with muffled giggles and the familiar hiss of spraying paint. The tingling metallic fumes from the paint fill their noses as they go through can after can, working quickly and efficiently.
"I'm going to add one heart," El whispers, "Or maybe ten."
"Don't you dare!" Max gasps, nudging her.
El doesn't. She does add several more stars though.
By the time they're done, El's nails are speckled with colors and her fingers hurt from pressing down on the caps of the cans for so long.
But, as El and Max step back to admire their handiwork, El knows that it's totally worth it.
The wall is adorned with spray-painted doodles of stars, Dig-Dug icons, and Darth Vader's helmet. In the center of it all, in Max's sloppy handwriting, is scrawled a message, simple and to the point.
L.S., Homecoming. M.M.
It's not eloquent, but El can't picture Max doing it any other way, vandalism and all.
"Nice work, Hopper," Max beams, turning to nod proudly at El.
"You too, Mayfield," El nods back, just as proud.
They exchange high-fives, pick up the empty spray cans, and hurry to the back of the school to dispose of them in the dumpster. With a final goodbye hug, they part ways, each skateboarding back home, vanishing into the night, faces glowing with excitement.
According to the rumors that spread on Tuesday, Lucas Sinclair basically has a mental breakdown in the school parking lot before classes start. But, unlike the last time a similar situation involving spray paint and Greg McCorkle happened, when Lucas reportedly 'squeals like a girl,' it's not out of enraged fury, but rather shocked happiness.
Also unlike the last time: the culprit actually gets caught. After seeing the initialed signature, it doesn't take long for Mr. Coleman to track down Max Mayfield and punish her with yet another detention.
Evidently, that detention is comprised of Max having to scrub every last speck of spray paint off the brick wall after school. According to the gossip exchanged between fellow students, Lucas finds her doing this, helps her clean it off, and almost gets a detention for an 'overly enthusiastic public display of affection' afterward.
Or, as Dustin Henderson reportedly puts it, "They like, totally made out. It was disgusting."
On Halloween night, while most of the kids in their school are at Greg McCorkle's big house party, El and her friends decide to go over to Mike's house to watch scary movies instead. As Max points out, since the boys 'forced her to sit through Star Wars,' it's only fair that she gets a turn to pick out the movie they watch.
The boys agree (to varying levels of enthusiasm), which is how El finds herself back in Mike's basement, casually snuggled beside him, and munching away on what's more than likely an unhealthy amount of candy. Mrs. Wheeler has provided them with plenty of snacks and candy bags for their movie night, and consequently everyone's a little extra jittery from all the sugar.
They're sitting in the same order that they did while watching Star Wars: Mike and El on the couch, Dustin and Will on their own recliners, and Max and Lucas on the floor. Only this time, instead of Max making snarky comments, it's Dustin.
"If someone gets murdered at a summer camp," Dustin states, unwrapping a Reese's Peanut Butter cup, "That camp needs to be shut down forever. I don't care how long it's been; only an idiot would reopen it."
"Agreed," Max nods, not taking her eyes off the screen.
"Did you two just agree on something?" Will teases.
Dustin and Max exchange annoyed grimaces. "No!" They both insist.
El smiles and turns to roll her eyes at Mike, but for once, he's not looking back at her. Instead, he's sitting stiffly and his face looks a little anxious. He's drumming his leg against the floor, something El knows he does when he's impatient or nervous.
"Hey," El murmurs, nudging him gently, "Are you ok?"
Mike flinches and turns to look at her, wide-eyed. "What?"
"Are you ok?" El repeats, smiling gently.
"Oh!" Mike blushes, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine."
He's totally not, El can tell. He looks all jumpy and freaked out, and he's hardly touched the ghost-shaped sugar cookies that Mrs. Wheeler made for them (the same cookies that El now knows are Mike's annual favorite, as Mrs. Wheeler had earlier revealed, much to Mike's embarrassment and El's delight).
"Are you scared?" El asks concernedly.
"S-scared?" Mike stammers.
"Of the movie?"
"Oh," Mike pauses, turning to glance at the screen, "No."
"You're totally scared, Mike," Dustin teases, "You're shaking like crazy."
"Am not!" Mike frowns, stilling the foot that was drumming against the floor.
"What's wrong with being scared?" Will questions. He has his sketchbook open on his lap, but instead of drawing anything, he's using it as a flat surface to sort his M&M's into color-coordinated piles.
"Because it's just a movie!" Max shrugs, digging through the bowl of Red Vines she's keeping between her and Lucas.
"Well, we never watch scary movies," Will admits, adjusting his pile of red M&M's, "So we're not really used to it."
"What do you nerds do on Halloween, then?" Max frowns, confused.
"We usually went trick-or-treating," Dustin shrugs, "But now we're apparently 'too old' for that."
"One time in 8th grade, we dressed up as the Ghostbusters to school!" Will offers.
Max's eyes widen as she gasps excitedly. "I remember that!" She nods, "Everyone was talking about what huge nerds you guys were."
"Yeah, we know," Lucas acknowledges flatly.
Max shakes her head as she grins at Lucas. "So, you were basically born nerds, right? I mean, you guys are like this big geek family. I think it's genetic!"
"Yup," Dustin nods, "And you're marrying into it."
As their friends continue to banter back and forth, El can't help but worry about Mike. He still looks so nervous, though El has no idea why. Even though she's pressed up against his side, he hasn't tried to cuddle her once, or even play with her hair, which she'd specifically worn loose for the sole hope that he'd run his hands through her curls while they watched movies. The hairstyle change had gotten her several odd looks at school earlier that day, but El could honestly care less.
Things have still been just as tense as they were Monday. Everything was different ever since they shared a sleeping bag Saturday night. Mike's barely been able to make direct eye contact with her, he avoided her in the hallways, and he continued to deflect any attempts at conversation.
His sudden shyness doesn't make any sense, and it's a little hurtful, if El's going to be honest. She thought that they were making progress in their relationship.
Part of El wonders if it has anything to do with Homecoming. They haven't talked about it, or anything, but El can't stop herself from secretly hoping that he'll ask her.
She considered asking him like Max asked Lucas, but at the same time, she feels far too worried to actually go through with it. After all, it feels like Mike's backtracking big time. Maybe the kisses she'd given him had been too much too soon. Maybe this is his way of showing that he's not interested anymore, that he's changed his mind.
El glances over at Mike, but he's still not looking back at her. His eyes are clouded over, as if he's deeply lost in his own thoughts.
El frowns. As her heart sinks lower in her chest, she carefully inches away from him, leaving a noticeable space between them.
Coincidentally, just as a storm approaches the summer camp in the movie they're watching, a distant roll of thunder rumbles throughout Hawkins. Moments later, the basement is filled with the sound of rushing wind and drumming rain.
"Sweet!" Max grins, glancing at the ceiling, "It's storming, just like in the movie!"
"How is that a good thing?!" Dustin yelps, "Why do you want our lives to be like a horror movie?"
"Because then you'd be killed off," Max smirks.
"I think Mike made it clear that you and Lucas would be killed off first," Dustin snorts, "Right, Mike?"
Mike blinks and looks around nervously, as if he's suddenly just awoken from a haze. "What?"
"El, I think your boyfriend is malfunctioning," Max snorts.
"He's not," El mumbles, wrapping her arms around herself. She's not quite sure whether she's denouncing that Mike's her boyfriend or whether he's acting weird. Either way, the rest of their movie night passes with a tangibly awkward tension between Mike and El. El finds herself so worried over it, she doesn't even react to all the gore and carnage in the movie (well, for the most part — she still cringes when the killer gets decapitated at the end).
When the movie's finished, it's verging on 10:30. Mrs. Wheeler comes down into the basement to remind them that while she 'loves having you girls here,' it is a School Night and that they all really should be In Bed.
It's still pouring rain outside, now even more so than ever before. As El and her friends walk up the basement stairs, the sound of booming thunder and cracking lightning grows only louder.
Not really wanting to skateboard or bike home in the pouring rain, everyone uses the Wheeler's phone to call their parents for a ride. As they wait for their rides, they all lounge around in Mike's living room, chatting idly.
Time passes. One by one, cars pull into the driveway, and one by one, another member of their group wishes everyone goodbye. First Will, then Dustin, then Lucas, then Max, and before long, only El and Mike are left.
Under any other circumstances, this would be an amazing turn of events. Unfortunately, the current circumstances mean that Mike and El are left sitting on his couch, silently glancing at the other and listening to the clamor of the thunderstorm.
El picks at her blue bracelet, hoping that Hopper will get here soon. Either that, or that Mike will finally say something.
She gets the latter.
"I need to talk to you!" Mike blurts out unexpectedly.
El glances at him, surprised. "What?"
"I wanna talk," Mike reiterates, looking a little nervous.
Finally.
"Okay," El replies evenly, "Talk."
"So," I know I've been acting weird—" Mike begins.
That's an understatement.
"—But that's only because...it's because there's something I wanna do."
El doesn't want to feel hopeful, but she can't stop herself. Her heart skips a beat as she meets his gaze. "What?" She asks curiously.
"Well," Mike smiles shakily, "I'm not really sure how to do it. That's what I've kinda been thinking about all night."
Oh, god. Oh, yes. This is happening.
El smiles. "Go ahead!" She encourages, sliding a little closer to him.
Mike nods, ducks his head, digs into his pocket, and retrieves an object. He doesn't show it to her at first, instead keeping it hidden between his palms.
This is it, El thinks, holding her breath, He's going to ask me to Homecoming.
"I wanted you to have this," Mike says, holding out his hand to her.
El braces herself. Is it a ring? What if it's a ring? No, it couldn't be. They aren't even dating and this isn't a movie and if he's actually giving her a ring that'd be a little weird.
Though her heart starts hammering in her chest, El pushes aside her frantic thoughts and wills herself to look down. In Mike's outstretched hand lies—
"Your Rubik's cube?" El says, voice sinking with confusion.
"Uh, yeah!" Mike smiles shakily, "I wanted you to have it."
"That's…that's it?" El asks warily.
Mike shrugs. "I mean, kinda, yeah."
El swallows. She doesn't want to seem petty, or anything, but she can't help but feel a little disappointed. And frustrated. Very frustrated. All week, she's been wasting time just sitting around and waiting for Mike to ask her to the dance. She thought that he liked her! He'd cuddled her, and they'd almost kissed! Why would he do that stuff if he didn't like her? And if he liked her, why wouldn't he ask her to the dance? Why would he just act so weird?
"Thanks," El mumbles, taking the Rubik's cube out of his hand. It's all mixed up and covered in black scribbles and scuffs, and as El slips it into her pocket of her hoodie, she can't help but feel like he's only giving it to her because it obviously got ruined somehow. Great.
"Do you wanna solve it?" Mike offers, raising his wrist and pointing to his watch, "I can time you!"
Seriously? El's seated right beside him, the dance is less than 2 days away, and all Mike can think about is his Rubik's cube?
"I don't really want to," El mutters, averting her gaze.
"Why not?" Mike frowns.
El hesitates. "I'm tired."
It's not a lie, not really. She is tired. Tired of all this confusing back-and-forth with Mike. They hold hands, and then they don't. They cuddle, and then Mike can barely meet her gaze. It's all so confusing and she just wishes she knew what she was doing wrong.
"Are you sure?" Mike asks, looking anxious, "I really think you should—"
Thankfully, Mike's cut off by the sound of a car horn. El turns to look out the window and sees that her dad's cruiser is waiting in the driveway.
"I gotta go," El says, thankful for the interruption. As much as she loves Mike, she's just feeling so hurt and upset with him, she doesn't think she can stand to face him a moment longer. She rises to her feet, slipping the hood of her hoodie over her wily curls.
Mike glances out the window and catches sight of her dad. "Oh," he mumbles, face falling.
"I'll see you tomorrow," El mumbles back. She steps into the foyer, grabbing her skateboard from where she'd left it propped against the wall.
Mike only nods as he watches her leave, still looking a little upset. "Okay," he pouts, and even though El's frustrated with him, she can't help but note how cute he looks right now, even though he's sad.
Damn it.
It's not fair, really, El thinks as she leaves through the front door and dashes out into the pouring rain. She shouldn't think that Mike is cute, not when he's being so irritating.
And yet, as she climbs into her dad's cruiser, soaked to the bone, she finds herself already missing him. She hasn't even left his driveway yet.
"Hey, kid," Hopper greets.
"Hey," El replies stiffly, buckling herself into her seat.
Hopper backs the car out of the driveway and commences the long drive home. He manages to go a full 2 minutes before asking about Mike, which has to be a new record for him.
"So, how was Mike's?" He asks casually (curiously).
Confusing. Complicated.
"Fine," El mumbles, shivering slightly. Though her dad has the heat blowing through the car vents, the pouring rain has left her feeling icy all over. Her hoodie sticks to her back and her socks make a heavy squelch sound as she shuffles her feet.
"Just fine?" Hopper asks, eyeing her.
El chews on her lower lip. Honestly, the more she thinks about Mike, the more irritated she gets. She just wants things to be simple between them, like with Max and Lucas. At least Lucas never pretends like he didn't like Max — he practically drools over her on a daily basis.
"Not fine," El mutters, eyes narrowing a little.
Hopper glances at her with a frown. "Did something happen?"
"No!" El bursts suddenly, frustrating boiling, bursting, "Nothing happened! Nothing ever happens!"
"Okay!" Hopper exclaims, startled, "Jesus, kid. Just…slow down. Tell me what happened."
She knows she's being irrational and over-emotional. She also knows that complaining about Mike to her dad might not be the best idea, but she just needs to vent to somebody, and Hopper is her only option right now.
"I thought he was going to ask me to Homecoming!" El snaps, "But he didn't! He's so confusing and I don't understand!"
"Maybe he's just nervous," Hopper offers tentatively, "Maybe he's just working up the courage."
El snorts dismissively.
"There's still time," Hopper reminds her, "The dance is—"
"—The day after tomorrow," El seethes.
"Oh."
"Yeah," El replies, hating how her voice cracks near the end, "He's not going to ask me. I thought he was tonight, but all he did was give me this!"
She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the Rubik's cube, presenting it to her dad. Hopper glances back and forth between the cube and the road a few times before cautiously reaching out to grab it.
"What's this?" He frowns, continuing to glance at it as he drives.
"It's ruined," El pouts, not quite sure if she's just talking about the Rubik's cube anymore. "He scribbled all over it and it's all mixed up and—"
Her voice breaks as she slumps back in her seat. Rain continues to pummel against the car from all sides, and El suddenly just feels so exhausted from her impatience and disappointment.
Hopper turns the cube over a few time in his hand, using his other hand to keep the wheel steady. "I don't think these are scribbles, kid," he remarks several moments later.
El frowns. "What?"
"Look," Hopper instructs, tossing the cube back to her, "There's letters."
El's brow furrows even further as she peers at the Rubik's cube more closely. Sure enough, etched on one of the white squares in Sharpie marker is a single word.
Forever.
El's breath hitches as her mind starts racing to come up with an explanation. She flashes back to Mike's living room, to the nervous, hopeful smile he'd given her as he passed her the Rubik's cube.
Do you wanna solve it?
I really think you should—
Oh, god.
Her heart starts pounding as she immediately begins shuffling the cube. Even though her hands are shaking, she works at lightning speed.
"White cross," she mutters under her breath, moving the cube accordingly, "Sides still match."
"Huh?" Hopper questions, sounding lost.
El doesn't respond. With the amount of sheer and undivided attention she's dedicated to solving the Rubik's cube, she's pretty sure that the world could be ending around her and she wouldn't notice.
She counts off the seconds in her head, and solves it in record time. 3 minutes, 53 seconds.
Her heart stops as she examines her completed work. As she does so, every other sensory detail fades away. She doesn't hear the pouring rain, the howling wind, or the rhythmic squeak of the windshield wipers frantically trying to keep up with it all. She doesn't feel her wet socks or her damp hoodie. She doesn't smell the scent of coffee and cigarettes that's permanently embedded into the seats of this car.
She sees. She sees every last, nonsensical, completely sentimental thing that Mike's scribbled onto the Rubik's cube in Sharpie. The frog smiley face. The doodles of waffles. The music notes. The lightsabers. The Ramones lyrics.
You are my kind of a girl, I think we would look pretty good together, dancing through the school gymnasium, and this time I think it is forever.
Scrambled up, it hadn't made any sense, but now, pieced together—
Oh god, she's been such a knucklehead, El realizes, a huge, overreacting, dramatic, wasteoid. She really needs to stop watching so many soap operas.
He edited the lyrics for her. He took the time listening to songs for her, and solving the Rubik's cube for her, and drawing everything for her, and he's so impossibly considerate — El doesn't know what she ever did to deserve him.
She finds herself crying, for some nonsensical, intangible reason. Mainly because she's happy. Ridiculously happy. It's so ridiculous that even when she bursts out laughing, her giggles bubble forth as nothing more than choked-up sobs.
As Mike lies back in bed, he contemplates why his life is so terrible all of the time. It's probably because of his own stupidity, honestly.
After Dustin suggested that Mike use his Rubik's cube to ask El to Homecoming, since they were so 'weirdly obsessed with it,' Mike spent the rest of the week working on it.
It took him all of Tuesday to solve the Rubik's cube, since he'd never managed to finish it at the arcade. He spent all of Wednesday listening to all of El's favorite bands, trying to find the perfect lyrics. In between classes earlier today, not feeling quite satisfied (and partly inspired by Max), he doodled everything else that he could think of.
It wasn't until El showed up at his doorstep tonight to watch movies that he realized he had no plan on how to actually present the Rubik's cube to her. Not only that, but he'd been so focused on crafting his plan, he'd accidentally isolated El in the process.
He could tell by the despondent way she kept glancing at him throughout the night. He'd taken too long, he'd disappointed her, and then the pressure to make sure that everything was perfect, that he was perfect, was higher than ever.
By the time he'd finally summoned the courage, it was too late, and once again, El was gone. He'd missed his window, all because he was too scared and he overanalyzed everything, like he always did.
Why does he always have to be such a colossal idiot?
Mike groans as he rolls over to bury his face in his pillow. The storm has stopped outside, and yet Mike still feels like he's trapped in the horror movie they watched.
He has to try again. He has to think of another plan. The first one was an obvious failure, not that it was really any good to begin with. Max basically had the same idea as him, so even if El did solve it, she'd probably think it was stupid and unoriginal.
His self-pitying contemplation is interrupted by the sound of his bedroom door creaking open.
"Michael?" His mother calls out, ducking her head through the doorway, "Are you awake?" Her voice sounds all sing-songy and eager, like she's super happy about something.
"Yeah," Mike mumbles into his pillow, "Why."
"You have a phone call!" Mrs. Wheeler replies, practically squealing from excitement, "It's El!"
Mike snaps upright so fast, he's genuinely surprised that he doesn't break his spine in the process. "El?" He echoes disbelievingly.
"Mmm hmm!" Mrs. Wheeler nods, beaming from ear-to-ear, "She really wants to talk to you!"
Mike doesn't need to hear anything more. Within seconds, he's already leapt out of bed, darted out of his room, and made it halfway down the hallway. He descends the stairs two at a time, heart pounding so hard it feels like it might just beat right out of his chest.
He skids to a stop in front of the family phone and picks up the receiver, feeling a little winded.
"Hello?" He asks breathlessly, trying not to pant into the phone.
"Mike?" El asks shyly.
"El!" Mike smiles, slumping back against the wall in relief, "What's going on? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's okay," El says carefully, "I just…"
Mrs. Wheeler comes to join Mike in the hallway, not even attempting to be subtle with her eavesdropping. Mike motions for her to go away, but she only smiles and shakes her head.
Go on, she mouths, motioning for him to continue.
His mom seriously has to be the most embarrassing mom in the world.
"I solved the Rubik's cube," El continues.
If there's anything that could be said to get Mike's mind off his eavesdropping mother, it's that.
"Y-you did?!" Mike stammers.
"Yes," El replies. Though her voice seems shy, it's also surprisingly steady, so Mike can't really tell what she's feeling, "I beat my record."
"And?" Mike asks anxiously.
"And…and I'm sorry."
Mike pales. "Sorry?"
"Yes! I'm so sorry," El apologizes profusely, "I was stupid. I made assumptions, again."
"Wait, what?! No!" Mike rejects, "You're not stupid! You're never stupid! I'm the one who's sorry. You wouldn't have had to make assumptions if I hadn't acted like a total wasteoid. I shouldn't have acted so weird. I was just so nervous, you know?"
"Nervous? Why?"
"I dunno," Mike frowns, "I guess…I guess I just wanted everything to be perfect. I was so worried that you were going to say no."
"You worry too much," El chides him gently.
"I know," Mike admits.
"It's cute," El continues, "…Sometimes. Other times, it's annoying."
"I'm sorry," Mike mumbles, shuffling his feet in place, "I know I can be an idiot."
"You can," El says bluntly, and Mike has to stop himself from laughing at her sheer brazenness.
"Jeez, El," he blushes, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's true!" El points out dejectedly, "I told you I was sorry for ignoring you when I was scared. Then you did the same to me."
He can hear the hurt in her voice, and it kills him. "You're right," he admits, "I shouldn't have done that."
El is silent for several moments as she broods over his response. "Promise me," she finally says, voice firm.
"Promise you?" Mike echoes, "What?"
"That we won't shut each other out, ever," El explains, "No lying. No ignoring."
It's an offer Mike is more than willing to accept. "I promise," he assures her, clutching the phone receiver tightly, "I'll never do that again."
"I promise too," El vows.
"Okay," Mike nods, breathing out a small sigh of relief, "That's, uh, good."
El makes a small hum of agreement, and then a beat of silence passes between them. Hoping to keep the conversation from faltering for too long, Mike again rushes to make sure that El knows just how sorry he is.
"I just still feel so bad," He confesses, "About making you feel bad."
"Well," El pauses, then tentatively replies, "You should make it up to me, then."
"How?" Mike pleads, "I'll do like, anything, I swear."
El sighs indifferently. (Or is it coyly? It's hard for Mike to tell over the phone.) "Maybe you could…"
"Yeah?" Mike responds hopefully.
"…Take me to Homecoming?"
She still wants to go?! With HIM?
Mike can hardly believe his luck. Even though he doesn't know what he did to deserve someone as amazing as El, he does know that having her in his life is something he'll be eternally grateful for.
Mike feels his cheeks flush red as he breaks into a wide grin. "Uh, yeah!" He beams, "I think I can definitely do that."
"Good!" El replies with a small, contented giggle.
"So, it's a date?" Mike asks, instantly wincing at his word choice. A date? Really? Was that too much?
But, to his relief, El doesn't audibly cringe in response. Instead, she gives another light, excited laugh, and replies simply, "Yes. It is."
Mike feels like he's about to burst, he's so excited. Okay, so maybe his life isn't so terrible all the time. After all, how could it be when he'd just secured a date with literally the most amazing girl in the entire universe? A girl who also had actual superpowers?
"I guess," El continues, "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"
"Definitely!" Mike smiles, "See you then!"
"'Bye, Mike!"
"'Bye, El!"
"Goodnight!"
"'Night!"
"'Night!"
"'Night, El!"
"'Night, Mike!"
They're talking in circles, neither wanting to hang up first. But then Mike glances over and sees that his mom is still smiling all excitedly at him, and he's abruptly reminded that his mom has already overheard way too much.
"Okay, bye," Mike says definitively.
"Bye!" El replies wistfully.
Mike hangs up the phone.
"Well?" Mrs. Wheeler asks expectantly.
"We're going to Homecoming," Mike huffs with an eye roll, and even though he's trying to make it seem like it's not that big of a deal, he can't stop himself from grinning.
Mrs. Wheeler lets out an excited squeal (again, most embarrassing mom ever), and brings a hand to cover her mouth, as if she's about to cry, or something. "You have a date!" She simpers, getting all teary-eyed, "To Homecoming! With a girl!"
"You don't gotta sound so surprised," Mike grumbles.
"I know, I know," His mother continues, "It's just…you're so grown up! You're becoming a man!"
"What?!" Mike exclaims, scrunching up his nose.
"Oh, just wait until I tell Nancy!" Mrs. Wheeler continues, "She'll be so excited for you!"
"No!" Mike yelps, "Don't tell Nancy!" If Nancy finds out that Mike's dating (?) someone, he won't hear the end of it when she comes home for Thanksgiving break.
Sadly, it's already too late. Mrs. Wheeler is already moving past Mike to dial the phone herself, rambling on about girls and tuxes and corsages and all the photos she's going to take. All this commotion wakes up Holly, who comes down from her room to ask what's going on, and then Mrs. Wheeler is telling Holly, and then Nancy picks up the phone, and suddenly Mike is being doted over by every female member of his nuclear family.
"How did Mike get a girlfriend?" Nancy teases over speakerphone, "He never leaves the basement."
"Can I do your hair?" Holly pleads. Their parents had purchased her a Barbie styling head for her last birthday, and (in Mike's opinion) the only thing scarier than the large disembodied head of a Barbie was the hairstyles that Holly had given it.
"No!" Mike exclaims.
"Her name is Eleanor," Mrs. Wheeler says, still talking to Nancy over the phone, "She's lovely."
"Are you sure she's real?" Nancy jokes, "I mean, remember when he was 7? He said Princess Leia was his girlfriend."
All the clamor causes his father to come over, and that starts yet another round introductions and explanations and Mike-has-a-GIRLFRIEND!?'s.
"Have we met this girl?" Ted asks, looking confused.
"Dad," Mike says, exasperated, "She's literally been here two times. Including tonight."
"I don't think so," Ted thinks aloud, "I would have seen her."
"Can I do her hair?" Holly asks hopefully.
"I remember that!" Mrs. Wheeler gasps to Nancy, "He was so cute! He had her picture up in his room and everything!"
"Oh my god," Mike groans, burying his face in his hands. He honestly can't believe he's related to any of these people. It seems way too ridiculous to be true—
—just like El actually agreeing to go with him to Homecoming.
Despite his family's antics, it's impossible for Mike to stay upset with that in mind.
"It's a date," he repeats under his breath, smiling like an idiot.