AN: So stranger things has become my obsession. Season 3 was amazing, but I found myself thinking "I wish we could have seen between these two scenes" or "I wish I knew what they were thinking in that scene" Those thoughts drove me to write this story. Enjoy.

Third-person point of view

It had become a habit for Mike to come over and visit now that school was out for summer. Hop was finally starting to come around to letting El leave the cabin with rules that she couldn't be anywhere too crowed. Often when Mike was over they would play games, watch movies, listening to music….or start kissing.

Ever since their kiss at the snowball they've been inseparable. Mike says they're making up for lost time, after explaining to El it didn't mean they actually lost anything she had to agree. It was hard not being able to see Mike for over a year, of course, El did physically see him but he didn't see her. Now the more time El got to spend with him, the happier she was.

Hop on the other hand didn't seem very happy about it. El wasn't sure why he did promise her that she would get to see Mike when she was still in hiding. Now that she could he seemed to get mad quickly, especially with Mike.

Like when Hop got home from work today and saw Mike and El sitting in the living room he just grunted and began making his dinner. Since he was home Mike and El went into her bedroom, making sure to leave the door open three inches as per Hop's new rule.

Mike went over to my radio and turned it on to reasonable volume. El crawled onto her bed waiting for him to join her.

"What should we do?" El asked simply.

"I have an idea," Mike said leaning closer to kiss her.

"But Hop," She said leaning away slightly and looking towards to open door.

He's watching TV," Mike shrugged.

"But what if he checks in on us?" She asked biting her lip.

"If we hear him start to move, we each grab a book and pretend to be reading," Mike said grabbing the first two comics he could find and putting them on my bedside table.

Fool proof plan, Mike thought to himself.

"Okay," She smiled and leaned over to kiss him back.

Mike began singing along with the song as El tried to get him to stop. It wasn't that she didn't like his singing, she just wanted him to keep kissing her. She was also worried that he might attract attention from Hop.

They began kissing, which turned into "making out", a term El has recently learned from her friends. Both teens forgot that Hop could lean his chair back far enough to peek in without making any noise.

Their attention was suddenly torn away from each other when they heard the deep voice of El's father yell "HEY"

El looked up and locked eyes with her father. Without evening thinking she threw her hand out and closed the door with her powers.

"Why did you do that?" Mike panicked.

"I don't know!" El scrambled. "I didn't know what to do."

"Here," Mike said getting up to grab the comics off El's bedside table.

Outside the door, they heard hop get up and say something about the three-inch minimum. Then the door rattled

"Shit," Mike said handing El a book.

"El, open this door." Hop said on the other side.

"Ok open it," Mike said throwing himself horizontally on the end of El's bed. She scooted herself up to the headboard, so she was not close enough to touch Mike.

"Open the do-" Hop said becoming frustrated but El cut him off by opening the door with a tilt of her head.

They both put on their best innocent faces as they held their books. Hop on the other hand did not look pleased. They both knew they were in for it.

"What's wrong?" Mike said with a smile.

Once it left his mouth, he regretted it.

"Get out," Hop said in a deadpan voice.

Both teens sighed, knowing there was no arguing, they had been caught.

Mike grabbed his bag and headed over to the door before turning back.

"See you tomo-"He began saying.

"Out!" Hop said grabbing Mike by the arm and leading him towards the front door

"Bye!" El called after him.

Once he was outside Hop sighed and went back to his spot in the living room.

After Mike called El on the SuperCom and they had a good laugh about Hop's reaction, El laid in her bed smiling.

She rolled over to look at the clock.

oh well, he had to meet the others for their movie anyway she thought to herself. She was jealous that she couldn't go too, the mall was too crowded. But, she knew she would see Mike and the rest of her friend's tomorrow to surprise Dustin.

Dustin's mom had agreed to leave the door open for the kids since she was in on the plan. The group got to the house early to go over the plan and finished the banner.

"Hey El," Will said coming out of Dustin's room. "Do you want to practice having the toys lead him out?"

Max, Lucas, Mike, and El were gathered around the coffee table coloring the welcome home banner.

"Okay," She said turning away from the group.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the task at hand. She could feel the blood begin to trickle down her nose. Will went into the other room and watch the toys come to life. Slowly they all started making their way out to the living room.

"This is amazing!" Will yelled as he followed the toys out.

"Good work El," Mike said patting her shoulder.

She opened her eyes and the toys stopped moving.

"Just tell me when to stop," El said getting a tissue to wipe the blood from her nose.

"Of course," Mike said kissing her forehead.

"Okay we're all set," Lucas cried. "Will put the toys back in position"

Everything gathered up their belonging and hid in the backroom waiting for Dustin to arrive.

Not long after they heard Dustin come home and go to his room.

"This way," Mike lead the group to their designated hiding spot.

Max handed everyone a noisemaker with specific instructions to stay quiet.

El's heart was beating super fast. She had never been a part of a surprise before and she was excited.

She stayed silent as she waited for her cue.

"Go," Will said after peering out into the hall. El closed her eyes played her role in the surprise.

The group tried not to laugh as they heard all the toys begin to toddle into the hallway. They knew Dustin was following because he was muttering "its just a dream, you're dreaming" to himself.

Once he got to the living room Mike turned to El.

"Now," He whispered. She opened her eyes and the toys stopped as planned.

They rounded the corner noisemakers in hand as Dustin inspected the toys. She tried not to make any noise.

El could hardly wait to see Dustin's reaction, she gripped Mike's hand tight as they got into position.

Noisemakers in their mouth, they watched as Max counted them down…3…2….1

What no one expected was that Dustin had a can of hairspray in his hand ready to attack.

"AHHHHHHH," He yelled.

El stumbled back as the hairspray attack began, Mike grabbed her and pulled her close to him and away from the spray.

Unfortunately for Lucas, he got most of the hit.

"Oh my god!" Dustin yelled. "Lucas I'm so sorry! You guys scared the shit out of me."

"Note to self don't surprise Dustin," Lucas said trying to rub his eyes. "Oh god it burns"

"Here let's try to rinse it out," Max said leading him to the kitchen.

"Surprise!" Will said from the corner trying to break the awkward silence.

"Thanks, guys," Dustin said as he hugged his friends. "El that was so freaky, I had no idea what was happening."

El smiled, glad that her portion of the plan went off without a hitch.

"Hey I have something to show you guys," Dustin said. "Come on."

He led his three friends back to his room. As he went through his stuff El took hold of Mike's arm and leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"You okay?" Mike whispered.

"Yeah," She smiled.

Mike knew that she was probably getting tired. It had been a full day with their friends. Much more social interaction then she was used to. Mike too was getting restless but not because he was tired but because he wanted to be alone with El.

He loved hanging out with his friends but since El still had a curfew and ground rules to follow he was jealous that they couldn't hang out all the time like Max and Lucas.

"I call it the forever clock," Dustin said turning around to reveal what looked like a windmill with a clock attached. "Powered by wind, very useful in the apocalypse."

He handed it to Will who looked super interested in the new device.

"Then I give you the slammer," Dustin said showing them a hammer that kind of vibrated.

As he brought it closer to Mike and El, El instinctively backed away and Mike turned so she was more behind him. Protecting her in a way but knowing Dustin wouldn't hurt her.

"Pretty neat huh?" He said turning around to get his bag.

Mike sighed wondering how many inventions from science camp he was going to have to hear about.

"But this is my masterpiece," He said unzipping the bag. "I'd like you to meet Cerebro"

They all got on their knees with curiosity. They all stared down at the pile of metal inside the bag.

El looked over at Mike and Will to make sure she wasn't missing anything; she had no idea what it was.

To her relief Mike spoke up; "What exactly are we looking at here?"

"An unassembled, one of a kind, battery-powered radio tower," Dustin smirked.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment. Mike tried not to laugh as El just nodded her head, unsure exactly of the use of this radio.

"So….it's a ham radio?" Will said slowly.

"The Cadillac of ham radios," Dustin explained. "This baby carries a crystal-clear connection over vast distances, I'm talking north pole to south. I can talk to my girlfriends whenever and wherever I chose."

At the word girlfriend everyone's eyes got wide and the suddenly became much for interested in the radio.

"Girlfriend?!" They all said in unison.

Dustin just smiled. "Come on you'll see"

He handed each of them a bundle of material to carry outside.

"Why a mountain?" El asked as they continued to climb.

She didn't want to say anything, but she was getting tired and it was a hot day outside.

"We have to get up high for the radio to work," Dustin explained.

"Aren't we high enough?" Lucas asked.

As Dustin continued to explain Cerebro and his new girlfriend El leaned over to whisper in Mike's ear.

"Maybe if Dustin has a girlfriend, he won't make fun of us," El smirked.

"Yeah if she's real," Mike whispered back.

El giggled and continued to hike up the mountain.

"We should head back," Mike said with a wink.

El nodded.

"Hey guys," Mike called out. "This has been fun and all but…"

The rest of the group watched as he tapped his watch.

"I have to go home," El said simply.

"We're almost there," Dustin exclaimed.

"Sorry man," Mike explained. "Curfew…. come on"

He took El's had and began to head back.

"Good luck," El smiled.

She felt bad that they were abandoning their friends, but she wanted to spend some time with Mike before Hopper came home and kicked him out of the cabin again.

The couple ran back down the hill to head back to El's house.

By the time the couple arrived back at the cabin, it was late. Hopper was already home. Fortunately for Mike and El he was so preoccupied with his heart to heart speech he didn't pay much attention to them.

They went into El's room and began their usual make out session.

Mike was the happiest he had been all day. He lived for these moments alone with his girlfriend. He couldn't wait for the day where they could go out on a date together. It seemed no matter where they were, they could never really get any time alone.

El thought Hopper was acting strange but pushed the thought aside for now while she spent her last few moments of that day with Mike.

Suddenly she heard knocking on the wall.

"Hey," Hop said.

El pulled back from Mike and looked at him with a suspicious look. He shrugged in return.

"Yes?" El responded.

"Can I talk to you guys a minute?" Hop asked nervously.

El motioned for Mike to move away from her as she used her powers to open on the door.

Hop walked in with a distressed look on his face. "Hi"

"Hi," They couple answered back in confusion.

Hop looked around awkwardly, grabbed El's desk chair and sat in front of them not knowing what to say.

El looked at her father with a puzzled expression. He wasn't yelling but he also wasn't saying anything, just looking at them. She was worried something was wrong.

He slowly turned around and turned off the radio. Now there was even more of an uncomfortable silence.

"Um….." Hopper attempted to start when his mind went blank.

El leaned forward a bit as if to say, "yes dad, go on."

"What I ugh needed to say to you" He paused momentarily as if rethinking his words. "What I wanted to say to you…. is that um."

"Uh oh," Mike said with a smirk, somewhat enjoying the discomfort Hopper was feeling. "I think were in trouble."

El let out a small laugh at Mikes statement. The chief did not find it funny and stared at Mike in disbelief. How dare he interrupt me, he thought. What a smug son of a bitch. As per Joyce's recommendation, he kept calm, no matter what they said.

"No…no nobody's in trouble okay?" He said trying to regain control of the situation. "I just..um .."

Mike felt like he had an upper hand here. He wasn't scared of Hopper. If Hop did anything to Mike El would never forgive her father. With this newfound confidence, Mike leaned over and whispered in El's ear.

"I think he's going to explode," He said quietly. El giggled once again

By this point, Hopper was seeing red. Everything Joyce had said to him was gone. He decided to deal with this his way. El wasn't the problem, it was Mike.

"You know what," Hop began. "Your mom called."

"What?" Mike asked.

Mike and Eleven stopped and stared at Hopper with confusion. This is not where they thought this conversation was going.

"Yeah," Hopper said enjoying his new plan. "She needs you home right away."

"Is everything okay?" Mike asked, unsure if this was for real or not.

"I don't think so," Hop said seriously. "It's your grandma."

With that Mike became more worried. His grandmother was getting older and has fallen once before and had to go to the hospital.

Eleven looked over at Mike and when she saw his expression, she too became worried. She looked back at her father in disbelief.

"Come on I'll drive you," Hop said standing up and heading for the door. "El you stay here."

"Okay," She said quietly. She knew Mike needed to get home quick. "Bye Mike."

"Bye El," He said rushing out the door behind Hopper.

*in the police cruiser, after Hop first confronts Mike*

"Nod if you understand," Hopper said raising his voice at Mike.

Mike was in shock; Hop's lost his god damn mind. He nodded furiously and continued to do as he said.

The cruiser took off out of the woods towards Mikes house.

"Here's what's gonna happen," Hop said feeling like balance had he restored, he had the upper hand.

"You and El have spent far too much time together over the past 6 months. It's CONSTANT, and I've had enough of it. You are not going to come over and see her tomorrow." Hop explained.

"But-" Mike began to protest but was silenced by the look Hop gave him.

"No buts," He said trying not to raise his voice too much. "I don't care what you say, but you are not going to see her tomorrow, you're not going to come over to the cabin. And if I find out that you did come over, and I WILL find out if you do, then you are never going to see her again."

Panic began to set in as Mike registered what Hop was saying. This man's insane, would he keep El away from him? He was able to keep El a secret for over a year in the cabin. Mike didn't want to risk it so he agreed.

"Okay," Mike sighed in defeat.

"Good," Hop said as he stopped the cruiser in front of Mikes house.

"So when can I come over and see her again?" Mike asked.

"I'll tell you," Hop said simply.

Mike feared arguing with this crazy man, so he just opened his door and went inside his house. That night he laid in bed, his head spinning with ideas. What would he tell El tomorrow? He had a bad feeling about this, he was stuck between a rock (lying to El) and a hard place (Hop never letting him see El again).

When Hopper arrived back at the cabin after dropping Mike off, El was waiting for him at the door.

"Is his Nana okay?!" El asked.

"Don't worry," Hop said placing his hands on her shoulders. "It was a false alarm."

"Oh," El said breathing a sigh of relief.

"It's late," Hop said. "we should head to bed."

"Can we watch Miami Vice first?" El asked shyly.

"Sure kid," Hop smiled. "But just one."

"Compromise," El smiled back at him as they settled down together on the couch.

Alright, first chapter out of the way. Let me know what you think! If you have any ideas for missing moments in the next few episodes, please let me know. I'm not going to change anything that happens during the show just adding to it. Thanks!