Author's Note: CHILDREN through months of trials and terror, hospitalization and raging, delightful depression, I have emerged semi-victorious with a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and I want to thank you deeply for the lovely messages you sent me about this work. I love you all. If you want to talk to me (praise me, stroke my ego pls I am sad and weak and need constant love and affection, then DM on Instagram strangerschnapple and we can become the snazziest of friends)
"ELEVEN! ELEVEN, WHERE ARE YOU? ELEVEN?" Nancy screamed.
Mike winced at the words. Even though Mike knew that El was there with him, literally, right there, holding his hand, it reminded him too much of when El was gone. El smiled at Mike and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "She wants me to get ready for the dance." El said.
The dance. Mike felt all giddy at the word. It was at eight o'clock tonight, and Mike couldn't wait to go and to see El in her dress. It was going to be great.
"WE'RE IN THE BASEMENT!" Mike shouted at Nancy.
"COMING!" She returned. Mike listened as he heard his older sister's footsteps pound down the stairs. When Nancy came into view, she raised an eyebrow at the two of them cuddled up together.
"Mike! You aren't supposed to be here!" Nancy said, exasperated.
"Uh... I live here." Mike said.
Nancy huffed. "Oh my god, Mike. You know what I mean. You're supposed to be at the Byers' with the rest of the boys getting ready!"
"Nancy, the dance is in four hours." Mike said, squeezing El's hand tighter. In reality, he knew he really should be leaving and getting ready, but he wanted to stay here with El. His girlfriend. He grinned at the title.
"Exactly!" Nancy exclaimed. "Time's a-wasting! Where is Jonathan?" She asked.
"Shouldn't you know? He's your boyfriend." Mike said.
A small smile crept over Nancy's features. "Yeah. Yeah, he is," She realized she was spacing out, and snapped out of her stupor. "But that is not the point! The point is, he's late-"
Nancy was cut off by someone ringing the doorbell frantically. Nancy broke into a grin. "That'll be Jonathan. C'mon you two!"
Mike stood, still holding El's hand, and they followed Nancy up the stairs to the front door, where the person behind it was continuing to ring the doorbell profusely. Nancy frowned in annoyance at the sheer amount of high-pitched dinging noises that were running through the air. She flung open the door and there Jonathan and Will stood, Jonathan frantically pressing the doorbell.
Jonathan winced as soon as he say Nancy. "Ah! I'm so, so, so sorry that we're late-" Jonathan started, but Nancy silenced him with a kiss.
Will took one look and fake-gagged.
"Hi Will!" El chirped, bypassing the kissing couple with ease to reach around and give Will a hug.
"Hey sis," Will smiled. "Hey Mike. Ready to go?"
"Yeah." Mike said. He leaned over and kissed El on the cheek chastely. "See you later, El!"
"Bye, El!" Will chirped, giving his sister a quick hug.
El waved at the three of them, her boyfriend and her brothers, as they walked away. She felt content, more at peace then she had been in a very long time.
"Are you excited?" Nancy whispered.
El grinned. "Yes."
"Want to go get ready?" Nancy asked, her excitement bubbling into her tone. Finally Nancy would be able to satisfy her makeover craving on someone other than her unwilling brother (She was twelve, he was seven, there was more rhinestones and blue eyeshadow involved than Nancy had planned).
"Yes." El replied.
"Okay then. Let's go!" Nancy cheered, grabbing El's hand and dragging her towards her room.
(line break)
Jonathan drove quickly yet carefully, nodding his head along to The Clash and occasionally glancing back at his brother and Mike. It was silent, but it was an energetic, comfortable silence. Like they were anticipating something.
"So," Jonathan said. He didn't like silences, anticipatory or not. "Dustin and Lucas will be at the house soon, and Steve is bringing Troy right before we head over to Nancy's. That sound good?"
Mike turned to Will. "Did you tell Lucas and Dustin about Troy coming with us?"
Will paled. "Oh. I... no. I didn't."
"Why?" Mike asked. "That's not really something I'd recommend springing on them," Mike noticed Will's distressed expression and quickly amended himself. "But that is completely your decision."
"I don't know, Mike, I..." Will shook his head and swallowed. "I'll tell them. Can we change the subject?"
"Sure." Mike said. "Hey, will you at least tell me what color El's dress is?"
"No," Will stated firmly. "I will not. Reason one, your sister will have my head if I tell you. Reason two, it's better to be surprised sometimes."
"I hate surprises." Mike muttered.
"No, you don't. You just hate bad surprises." Will said.
"Well, that's true." Mike smiled at Will, and Will smiled back.
They continued the rest of the car ride discussing little, trivial things, like whether or not it would actually snow for the Snow Ball. It was nice, not having to worry about monsters or bad men or anything else anymore.
"Where have you been!" A voice screamed as they pulled into the Byers' driveway. Jonathan bristled, nearly running into a tree, but he managed to park unscathed.
Jonathan popped open the driver's seat door and frowned at Dustin and Lucas. "Don't yell when someone is driving." He tried to sound as sullen and grumpy as possible, but it didn't really end up working.
"We've been waiting for ten minutes in the cold." Lucas huffed.
"You two sound like an old married couple." Will grinned, sliding out of the car.
Lucas frowned, but Dustin conceded with a snort. "We kind of do."
"Shut up." Lucas waved away the notion with a flick of his wrist. He then smiled, and followed Jonathan toward the door.
"So..." Jonathan said. "Anyone nervous?"
Will shifted, eyeing Lucas and Dustin anxiously. "Yeah. Yeah, a bit."
"Why? You're going stag with us, aren't you?" Dustin laughed, ruffling Will's hair fondly. "It'll be a blast! We can make fun of Mike for going with a date!" His voice raised at the end and tumbled into a laugh, clearly delighted by Mike having a date and the opportunity to make fun of him for it.
Will rubbed his arm and looking down at his feet. "Actually, I do have a date. Sort of."
Dustin's laugh died off. "What? Seriously?" He and Lucas grinned at Will, pride in their eyes. "That's great, Will! Who is it?"
"Oh. Um." Will swallowed and looked up with his big, brown doe eyes. "Just... don't freak out, okay?"
Lucas's eyebrow's furrowed suspiciously. "Okay..."
"I'm going... I'm going with Troy." Will said, timidly and wincing, as if afraid they would completely reject him because of this information.
Lucas's eyes blew wide in shock. "What?" He asked, not angrily, but slightly confused and very blind-sighted.
"Huh." Dustin nodded. "Okay," He nodded more vigorously now, digesting the information. "Okay. Okay. Is he good to you?"
Will smiled, a little dreamily. "He is. He's trying, you know? He wants to be good. He wants to be a better person. I want to help him."
"Huh." Dustin repeated. "Okay."
"Did you ask him, or did he ask you?" Lucas asked.
"He asked me." Will said. "It's a group thing, of course."
"With what group?" Lucas asked, mouth quirking.
"Oh! Um... I was hoping with you and Dustin. Is that okay?" Will asked. "Sorry, I forgot to ask earlier."
"It's okay! And yes, we'd be honored to be the chaperones on your date." Dustin laughed.
Lucas frowned. "I can't believe you won."
Will balked. "Uh... what?"
"Not you," Lucas said. "Dustin. He won our bet. Now I have to give him the X-men comic."
"Wait, what? What bet?" Mike asked, eyebrows furrowed.
Lucas folded his arms grumpily and Dustin grinned. "We had a bet. I said that Troy would ask you to the Snowball, and Lucas thought he'd be too chicken." Dustin poked Lucas's arm teasingly. "Now he's mad 'cause he lost."
"You knew?" Mike asked, eyes wide.
"How could you have guessed that?" Will asked, voice loud with shock.
Dustin and Lucas stilled. Together they said, "We know all things." Their voices were eerie and hollow. Then stayed still for a moment longer before dissolving into giggles.
Jonathan shivered. "You two are fucking creepy, you know that? Like twins from a horror movie." He muttered as he unlocked the door.
"Thanks!" Dustin chirped as he followed Jonathan into the house.
"How did you know? For real?" Will asked Lucas.
"That's not our secret to tell." Lucas replied. He switched the bag from his right shoulder to his left. "Dustin! Get your suit!" He said, holding open his bag.
Dustin pouted. "Do I have to?" He whined. "Suits are so uncomfortable."
"Yes. Now get this damn thing, it's heavy." Dustin stomped over petulantly and pulled out the suits, which was normal except for his vest, which was plaid.
"What is that?" Mike asked, pointing at the offensive fabric. "It's hideous."
"It's plaid." Dustin deadpanned.
"But why?" Will asked.
"Because I like it, that's why!" Dustin said with an amused frown. "Now get off my back about it, okay? Lucas's suits has flowers on it!"
Mike and Will eyed Lucas in disbelief.
"And I look fabulous in it, so fuck off." Lucas grinned, holding up his floral suit jacket.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Mike frowned. "Are Will and I the only ones who dressed... I don't know... sanely?"
"Shut up, Mike," Lucas and Dustin chorused.
The four of them exchanged glances and collapsed into giggles, a warm sense of comradery settling over them. Despite all they had been through, they were there for each other no matter what, and that was all that mattered.
(line break)
"Oh, El, you look so pretty!" Nancy cooed, gesturing for El to give her a twirl. El complied and the frosted pink of her dress swirled around her.
"Really?" El asked with a smile.
"Really! Mike's a lucky guy." Nancy answered. "Okay, okay, sit, sit! Let me do your makeup!"
El sat hesitantly on the chair on Nancy's vanity, and Nancy knelt in front of her, turning to rumble through the products that lined her vanity. Nancy approached El with a brush loaded with some sort of powder, and El flinched away from the onslaught of product.
"Mike did this last time," El said.
Nancy sighed light-heartedly. "Well, I promise you I will make you look significantly less clown-like than he most likely did," She noticed El's expression and continued. "Only if you feel comfortable, of course."
El bit her lip and steeled herself. "It's okay. Go ahead."
Nancy approached her with the brush again, slower this time, as not to frighten the girl. El felt her nerves tingle as the brush danced over her skin.
"What does that do?" She asked.
"It's powder, so it evens your tone." Nancy said. She dipped the brush into something pink and then swirled the brush on El's cheekbones. "And this is blush, and it makes you nice and rosy."
Nancy shuffled around and pulled out a tube of sticky liquid. "Lipgloss," She explained. "Can you pucker your lips for me?" El complied, and Nancy swiped the gloss across her lips. Nancy put the lipgloss back and returned with another tube, this one black. "This is mascara. Can you open your eyes really wide?"
El opened her eyes. "That looks like a caterpillar." She commented.
Nancy inspected the mascara wand. "I suppose it does." She coated El's eyes quickly, and El tried her hardest not to flinch. This was odd, but she liked being with Nancy. It made her feel cared for, and that was quite precious to her.
"Thank you," El whispered with a small smile.
Nancy's features melted into a small smile. "Of course, El." They both stood, and Nancy spun in a happy circle. "Alright, El. Time to get your shoes on. You have a ball to attend!"
(line break)
"I think he's here!" Will whispered, poking Mike. "What do I do?"
"I mean," Mike stopped his train of thought to adjust his tie. "You could get the door." He suggested.
"Oh, gosh, no," Will paled. "I can't- I can't do that!"
Mike made a face. "Uh... okay... Dustin! Can you get the door?"
"Sure!" Dustin replied. He ran to the door, skidding across the wood floor in his socked-feet. He threw open the door to find Troy in a suit, looking uncomfortable and stuffy. "Well, hello there."
Troy swallowed. "Hi," He shifted a bit on his feet. "Um... I- uh... I want to apologize. I've been a really shitty person, and I know that you got the brunt of it, and I'm really sorry."
"Huh," Dustin smiled slowly. "I accept your apology. Now, come in or you'll freeze your ass off."
Troy stilled. "That's... that's it?"
Dustin grinned. "Were you expecting it to be harder? I'm in the business of making friends. Now, seriously, come in. I don't understand why a Snowball requires literal snow to fall from the sky..."
Troy, shivering a bit from the cold, entered the building, his brother following behind him.
"Hey, Troy," Mike said, still facing the mirror and trying to fix his tie. It sat in a rather tangled looking knot at the center of his chest. "Shit," He muttered. "Stupid tie."
Lucas nodded at him from the couch, pulling on his shoes. "How cold is it out there?"
Troy smiled. "Fuckin' freezing,"
Will peeked from around a door and broke into a grin. "Oh, hey, Troy! Didn't know you already gotten here, hi!"
The entire statement was so painfully awkward thatit was obvious that Will had been aware that Troy was there.
Still, Troy blushed. "Hey, Will."
Will bounded up to him, his cheeks coloring too. "You have snowflakes in your eyelashes," He observed. "Here." He leaned forward and gently brushed them out of Troy's dark eyelashes.
Dustin clucked. "Adorable!"
They both turned to him, faces red, as if they had been caught with their hands in a cookie jar.
Mike saved them from embarrassment by changing the subject, "If Troy's here, shouldn't we go to pick up El?"
"Can't keep your lady waiting," Dustin grinned, nudging Mike as he grabbed his coat. He then frowned, making a face at Mike's tie. "That... looks horrible. Are you trying to tie a noose?"
"Are you trying to tie a noose?" Mike grumbled petulantly, ripping off the tangled tie. "I'm ditching this," He held the offending piece of cloth up, inspecting it harshly, then dropping it on the ground. "Let's go, everyone."
(line break)
Mike was dating a princess.
Practically.
Or at least, that's what it felt like when he saw El glide down the stairs in an iced pink dress.
He felt the awe-struck, "Wow," pass through his lips, ignoring the snickers of the boys behind him. El looked... heart-stoppingly gorgeous as she descended the staircase.
"She looks so good!" Nancy squealed with glee. "And it's all because of my handiwork, so you better thank me, Mike."
"I think that she looks perfect regardless," Mike said, feeling himself glide over to where El stood at the bottom of the stairs and taking her hand.
"Pretty?" El asked tentatively, smoothing her free hand over her pink skirt.
"Beautiful," Mike smiled, leaning in to peck her on the cheek. Behind him, Lucas and Dustin made matching gagging noises, but he ignored them as he kissed her.
They both blushed deeply, and it was all adorable and picturesque, as expected.
"Mike, did you remember to buy a corsage?" Nancy asked.
Mike's eyebrows furrowed. "A what?"
"A corsage!" Nancy said. "The flowers, dumbass."
"Um..."
"You were supposed to buy one to match the boutonniere!"
"Bless you."
"Mike!"
"It's okay," El said, her voice clipped yet soothing. She walked over to Nancy and took the boutonniere from her. It was a pretty sprig of flowers, two roses with baby's breath laced between them. Carefully, El separated the roses and baby's breath, handing half to Mike and keeping half for herself. She tucked her half behind her ear, and Mike followed suit. "Problem solved."
Nancy tried to grimace more, but she had to admit that it was kind of adorable. "Ugh, lovebirds. Go on, have fun at the dance."
Mike grinned at Nancy, squeezing El's hand tight. "Don't worry, we will."
Author's Note: Don't worry, there is more to come, my dearies. In the meantime, check out my Reddie fics on Archive of Our Own aka the fabulous AO3 or DM on strangerschnapple on Instagram and we can chat about how obnoxious my absence was. Love you guys!