Hey guys! I was hoping to post a new chapter before midnight on Valentine's Day to give y'all a little summ'n summ'n to hold on to, but unfortunately I failed to do so because junior year sucks ass. I stayed up so late the night before and was fried because I had three back-to-back tests/quizzes all on Valentine's Day, which is already the most lonely day of the year if you're a chronic single pringle like me, but that's beside the point. The point is, I figured if you're still in your V-Day feels, it wouldn't make that much of a difference if I posted it two days later.😂 Anyway, hope you like enjoy this chapter where they shadow Jonathan and Nancy at Hawkins High. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!✌

P.S. Fret not! I have lots of new chapter ideas I've been playing around with and writing back and forth, so stay tuned...

[Monday, May 13, 1985, 8:35 a.m.]

It was only 20 minutes until Mike and El's first classes at Hawkins High. Mike had called El the night before their first day to explain a few things about school, its social norms, and expectations. Within a matter of seconds, she walked through the door and it was just like he had imagined. She looked around in awe. She had never seen so many people in one place. She walked around the halls until she found the water fountain, where her boyfriend was patiently waiting for her.

It all felt surreal like it was happening in slow motion. She ran up to him with a big smile and grabbed his face, holding the sides of it in her hands as she put her lips on his.

"And hello to you too!" he said.

*laughs*

"*checks watch* Looks like we've got about 20 minutes to kill. What do you wanna do?"

"Let's just talk."

"Okay!" he said, taking off his backpack and sliding down the locker.

"So, are you excited about your first class?"

"Yes, but mostly nervous."

"That's understandable."

"Hey, Mike, would you take a look at my schedule with me? I'm still a little bit confused about where I'm supposed to go to and when."

"Yeah, sure."

After helping her navigate her schedule and talking for about 10 minutes, Mike stood up and helped El to her feet just before putting his backpack on. Once El finished putting hers back on, Mike reached out and grabbed the straps of them, walking his feet toward hers.

She backed up, stumbling a little bit, but with the look that he was giving her, she couldn't help but follow his lead. Mike's gaze was almost hypnotic and for once in her life, El felt powerless. When he looked into her eyes, it felt like they were the only two people in the room and she felt butterflies in her stomach. He then pressed her up against a locker beside the janitor's closet, kissing her lips, cheeks, and neck.

She and Mike had been together for quite a while, yet things still felt so fresh. They felt so comfortable with each other that it was almost like they had known each other their whole lives, but they still had a way of making each other feel all ooey gooey inside.

"*pulls away* I have an idea!" he said.

"What is it?"

"C'mon!" he said, grabbing her hand, interlacing her fingers with his.

"Where are we go-Whoa!" she said as he pulled her arm away, spinning her around into the closet.

"What is this place?" she asked, walking inside.

"It's a closet. What does it look like?" he said, filing in behind her.

"But there aren't any clothes in it..."

"*takes off backpack* That's because it's the janitor's closet."

"Have you gone mad?" she asked, her back facing him.

He snuck up behind her, sliding her backpack straps off, moving her hair to the side, as he whispered in her ear and said:

"I am only what you make me..."

She smiled at his answer as he wrapped his arms around her stomach and moved in on her neck, kissing it tenderly.

Feeling all tingly inside, she placed her left hand on top of his and the other on the back of his head. Once he lifted his head from her neck, she locked eyes with him and brought his face toward hers. Then, she stopped and smelled the roses, once again staring into the clear 8 balls that were his eyes- They always had the answer she was looking for.

The tension was oddly thrilling in a way, and undeniably enticing. He tilted his head and closed his eyes, feeling two familiar lips press up against his own. He loved it when she took the lead. It was extremely sexy! She would start out by kissing him in light pecks and build up from there, with traces of lipgloss leaving her lips and smearing onto his like paint on a canvas. Then, they reached out and grabbed his bottom lip like it was the thing they wanted most. It was almost as if his lips were the pacifier that silenced her cries from deep within and her tongue was the flint that ignited the flame. And with that, there was this inexplicable heat that came over the both of them in that moment, like a fire that just couldn't be put out. He had no other choice but to smother her with love.

But she pulled away and looked down at her shoes, then back at him. He looked at her and everything just felt so unresolved. He wasn't ready to let go of her. He had this dying urge to grab her and kiss her more. She bit her lip, wondering what he was thinking. She figured there was no harm in asking.

"Hey, what are you thinking?" she asked softly, cocking her head and rubbing his cheek with the back of her hand.

He grabbed her shirtsleeve and pulled her back to his face, kissing her abruptly. This caught her off guard. She put her hands on his shoulders as their kiss neared an end. Before letting go, he bit her lip, pulling it towards him a little, and letting go of it with a bounce. Her then hands left his shoulders and held the ones that held her face. She stepped off of her tippy toes, her heels returning to the ground as she caught her breath. Looking back up at him, she was reminded of that feeling when he first kissed her more than two years before. That same rush, that feeling of, Oh, so that's how he feels about me and I think I feel the same way.

"Open your mouth again," he said, his lips hovering over her mouth.

It was things like that that Mike rarely ever said, but whenever he did, it left El feeling like a popsicle on a hot summer day and she melted every time. It wasn't even just what he said, it was the way he said it too.

One thing led to another and the next thing she knew, they were making out. They stumbled around in the closet like Bob and Joyce once had, making quite the ruckus, especially when Mike accidentally tripped over the mop bucket and El fell on top of him.

They both came tumbling down and laughed hysterically, the sounds of their giggles echoing through the door. After the laughter faded, they helped each other up, put their backpacks back on, and casually walked out of the closet. Mike checked his watch, realizing that it was time for them to start heading to class. So, he took El by the hand and walked her to her first period, English.

"*hugs, rubs back* Have fun! *kisses cheek* I'm two rooms down if you need me, but if not, I'll see you in third."

"Okay. See you!" she said, walking into the classroom.

Once she got there, she sat beside Nancy.

"There you are! Big day. You ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

Once Mike walked into History, he sat down next to Jonathan.

"It's about time! Where were you?" he asked.

"Janitor's closet," said Mike with a smirky smile.

"Look at you!" said Jonathan, fist bumping him.

Mike loved history but felt a little anxious for El. He tried his best to focus on his own high school experience when by himself.

Back in El's class, Nancy's friend, Ally, passed her a note, saying:

Who's that girl beside you? I've never seen her in here before.

Nancy responded, saying:

She's my brother's girlfriend. She's homeschooled but next year she's going to be attending here, so I'm letting her shadow me.

Ally then said:

What's her name though? I've never seen her around town.

Nancy faked a yawn, passing the note back as she stretched out, which read:

Jane, but we call her El. She's the Chief's kid. He adopted her.

Ally then responded, saying:

Holy shit! You serious?

Unfortunately, the teacher caught them this time.

"Ally, Nancy, passing notes again...I'd love to hear what could possibly be more interesting than the works of Charles Dickens!"

"Oh, I don't think that's necessary," said Nancy.

"Oh, you don't, do you? Well, I'd be happy to give you both a detention slip instead. Your choice!"

"Fine. We were just talking about El, *points with thumb* who's shadowing me today."

"I don't believe we've met! I'm Ms. Walters," she said, shaking El's hand.

"Jane Hopper, but most people call me El," she said.

"Well, Miss El, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself."

"Stand up," Nancy whispered.

"Umm...Hi, *waves* I'm El. I'm homeschooled, I have a dog named Eggo, and my favorite subject in school is science."

"Very nice, thank you," she said.

"Sweetie, you can sit down now," she continued.

"Oh," she said, embarrassed.

*students laugh*

She was flustered. Her cheeks felt hot and she could feel everyone staring at her. She very well may have just humiliated herself in front of the whole class. She put her head down, waiting for the period to be over. English was already her worst and least favorite subject, but it never made her feel like this.

Ms. Walters occasionally would call on her, which only made things worse. After class, Nancy pulled El aside, saying:

"Hey, that was pretty intense in there. You alright?"

"Yeah, now that it's over!"

"Just ignore Ms. Walters. She's just a bitter old cat lady. She always tries to get under people's skin, but she was in an even bitchier mood today than normal."

"Is school always like this?"

"No. Nobody really likes school, but for different reasons. Usually because of the workload and boring classes. I have a feeling you'll like Home Ec though. It's much more laid back."

Mike on the other hand, had loved Jonathan's history class. The teacher in it had a really good sense of humor. His next class was Typing, which was a total bore, but it was good practice.

In Home Ec, Nancy and El partnered together to make crepes, which El did enjoy a lot. She got to use her powers when no one was looking, chopping the fruit with her mind and other things like that.

By the time that class ended, it was time for third period, Chemistry, which Mike and El both had.

He called her name, waving her over in his direction.

"Hey!" she said, plopping down next to him.

"Hey, gorgeous."

Mike always paid attention during class, but with El there, how could he not get a little distracted every now and then? So, halfway through the class he decided to pass her a note, to check in with her and see what she thought of it so far.

How were your other classes?

She tried to be as discrete as possible, not wanting to get in trouble like Nancy and Ally did with Ms. Walters.

English was a disaster, but I liked Home Ec.

He quickly wrote back:

What happened in English?

She wrote back:

Ms. Walters made me introduce myself and then I didn't know that she meant for me to sit down afterward, so I stood up way too long and then everyone laughed at me. She called on me a lot too.

Oh no, that's terrible! Are you okay? he said.

Yeah, I'm over it. she replied.

What do you think of Chemistry so far? he asked.

It's kind of confusing, but interesting. she responded.

Good. I just realized how funny it is that we have this class together, given all of the chemistry between us. he said.

This time she didn't respond, but simply just smiled big in his direction

They then paired up as lab partners and performed an experiment together not long after that. Next, was Lunch.

"What'd you bring?" she asked.

"A baloney sandwich, some chips, chocolate milk, apple slices, and a fruit roll-up. What about you?"

"Eggos, chocolate pudding, and apple juice."

"I should've known! *laughs* Well, if you want any of mine, I'd love to share it with you."

"Okay! What's a fruit roll-up?"

"You've never had a fruit roll-up?"

"No."

"It's fantastic! Try it."

"Whoa!"

"Good, right?"

"Yeah, really good, like that kiss in the closet."

"I was wondering if you were gonna bring that up," he said with a smile.

"That was...magical."

"You're magical," he teased, tousling her hair.

"Quite literally," she joked, as she lifted his hand and discretely placing it on top of hers with her mind.

"You know, if you want me to hold your hand, you can just ask," he said, laughing and rubbing his thumb over her index finger.

"Yeah, but what's the fun in that!" she said, wiping the blood away from her nose.

They continued to hang out until 4th period came around.

"Well, El, that's the bell," he said.

"*laughs* You said it like that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he shrugged with a smile.

*laughs*

"Ready for Shop class?" she asked.

"I was born ready," he said.

*laughs*

[20 minutes later]

"Ouch!"

"What is it?" asked Mike.

"I think I got a splinter."

"I have just the thing for that!" he said, kissing her hand.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much!" she said.

Her next class was French and his, Latin. They soon left for class and later met up in gym for 6th period.

"Mike, you're staring..." she said, as she walked out of the locker room.

"Sorry, it's just, you look yummy in those gym shorts..."

"Mi-ike! *playfully hits* Keep your voice down, people could hear you!" she said.

"So, what if they did! Would that be such a bad thing?" he said, his hands grabbing her waist a little.

Later on, Mike jumped in on a game of basketball. El watched him from the bleachers as he played, cheering him on despite not remembering all of the rules of the game. All she could remember about basketball was the steamy makeout session that came after she played it one-on-one with Mike.

He later climbed up and sat beside her.

"Hey," he said, squeezing her leg.

"Hey," she said.

He chugged almost an entire bottle of water and crushed it in his hand when he was done.

"Man is it hot in here!" he said, leaning against the bleacher behind him.

"Tell me about it!" she said, fanning herself.

He then sat up and took off his shirt to cool down, flexing a little just for her.

"Are you trying to impress me?" she asked.

"Maybe..." he said.

"Well, it's working," she said, staring at his slight ab definition.

After running the mile, El could hardly stand on her own without feeling sore.

"Here, hop on!" he said, crouching.

"But I'm all sweaty..."

"So, am I. Besides, they say that couples who sweat together stay together."

"I never doubted that we would anyway," she said, climbing onto his back.

*smiles*

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he hoisted her up above his waist. He then carried her to the locker room door and set her down, holding onto his back in pain like an old man as he walked away.

By the time they hit the showers and changed back into their regular clothes, the bell rang and Mike met El back by the same spot where they started the day. He dried his hair off with a striped towel and flicked his bangs to the side, yet another thing that she found irresistible about him. He hung the towel around his neck and said:

"You ready?"

"Yep, let's go," she said, holding his hand in hers.

As they walked to the bike rack, El realized something and stopped Mike.

"Mike," she said, tugging on his shirt sleeve.

"Yeah?"

"Today, when we kissed in the closet...I wasn't scared."

"Of course you weren't! Why would you be?"

"Well, you know, I used to be afraid of the dark and you said I have c-cl-claustr-"

"Claustrophobia?"

"Yeah, that."

"Oh my god, I didn't even think about that! I never should've taken you there...God, I feel like such an idiot now!"

"No, no, Mike, don't say that! You are anything but an idiot and I'm glad you did anyway. Two years ago, I couldn't have stayed in that closet with the door closed, but I can now thanks to you!"

"El, I can't take credit for that! You're stronger than anyone I know. That was all your own doing!"

"Only because I was with you...I've always been better when I'm with you."

"You're so good to me...What did I ever do to deserve you?" he asked, looking into her eyes and running his fingers through her hair.

"I could say the same to you," she said.

*smiles*

He then kissed her on the head and threw his arm around her as they continued to walk toward the bike rack.

"You wanna hang out with the guys today?" she asked.

"No, today's about us. Let's do something, just you and me. How does that sound?"

"I'm all yours," she replied with a smile.