JANUARY 17 1985
Mike and El were in her room on a Sunday afternoon. Mike finally remembered to bring his ghostbusters outfit so he could give it to El. He wouldn't tell her straight up, but he had a fantasy of seeing her dressed in it. El put it to the side with her other clothes for now as her and Mike were in bed, exchanging kisses.
After all that happened yesterday, all Mike wanted to do was make it up to her with constant kissing. However El would keep breaking up the kisses to talk about her experience with the scary movie she saw the night before.
"And then he got sucked into the bed, and then blood started flying to the ceiling. And-and it wouldn't stop, Mike! So much blood!" El said to Mike, still freaked out over seeing 'A Nightmare on Elm Street.'
Mike found innocence in her scared voice so attractive, but he was getting a little annoyed of El constantly talking about the movie. He thought that maybe Hopper shouldn't of let her watch the movie. Maybe it was too much for her.
"You know what it sounds like to me?" Mike said with a smirk.
"What?"
"It sounds like Hopp let you watch a movie that you shouldn't have. Are you okay, El? Like, seriously, you've been talking about the movie for an hour now and I'm kinda getting worried," Mike explained, forcing El to process his words and think of an appropriate response.
"I'm fine… I think. It was scary but I liked it. It was very… interesting…"
"Entertaining."
"Huh?" A confused Eleven replied.
"When you're talking about things like movies and tv shows and stuff like that, the better word to use is entertaining. You know, since you are talking about entertainment," Mike explained.
"Right. Yeah. Makes sense," El said.
She was still learning about the world. Mike noticed a lot of improvement in her speech, but every now and then she would mispronounce a word or use a word incorrectly. It made her cute to him, but he still wanted to help her get better.
"And… about the movie. Look, I got really scared the first time I saw it. I mean... when Tina started floating on the wall and to the ceiling, and then all that blood-"
"MIKE! Please, I know what happens," El cut him off, not wanting to hear the brutal description of a terrifying movie that she just saw.
Mike nodded his head, acknowledging that he was being unnecessarily too descriptive of the kill scene.
"OK, but what I'm trying to say is… like, it's okay to be scared from those movies. I just don't want them affecting you by… you know… bringing back terrible memories. I just want you to be okay is all," Mike said truthfully.
El smiled and grabbed his hand.
"Like I said, I'm fine. I got really scared but it wasn't like the feelings I had at the lab. I know movies are not real. And Hopper was by my side. I can't let the past get to me, Mike," El replied in a soft tone, caressing Mike's face with her other hand.
Mike sighed, not wanting to be over protective of her and controlling, but he was always concerned about her mental health… mostly because his wasn't so good at times.
"So the past doesn't get to you at all? Like, ever?" Mike asked, genuinely curious.
The truth was those memories did linger in her mind sometimes. As much as she tried to move on, she couldn't ever forget her life as a lab experiment.
"Of course. Those memories… hard to forget. But I try to be positive. I think about how I would've never met you if I didn't live that life. That makes it mean something."
El had that familiar feeling creep up that meant she was about to cry. To stop that feeling, she kissed Mike on the lips while wrapping her arms around his neck. He held on to her hips as he kissed back, enjoying the smooching.
"You definitely seem okay to me," Mike joked.
El giggled as she broke away from the kissing and fixed her hair. Mike giggled at her giggling while they both looked down at the bed due to them making each other blush. They looked back up at each other, both unable to wipe the smile from their faces.
"God, El. When I kissed you in that cafeteria over a year ago, I never thought we'd be on each other like this so much. Like, I always imagined you say one word sentences forever and we'd just hold hands and stuff," Mike said as he chuckled afterwards and El laughed as well.
"I didn't think your face would change so much, Mike. You were so little. I didn't even notice until I saw your ghost busters picture. Your nose is even different," El said, unable to hold in her laughter after saying that.
Mike didn't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, so he decided to jokingly fire back.
"Yeah, well... I never thought your hair would be so curly. Oh my god, look at this hair," Mike rubbed both hands through her hair and started pulling on the strands.
El felt embarrassed but also saw that Mike was teasing her in a playful way, so she couldn't get too upset at him.
"Miiiiiike, stooooop," El laughed out loud, feeling his hands roam her hair.
"I mean it, El. I thought you were beautiful when I first met you with the short hair, but this hair beats it by a mile."
El's stomach felt weird when he said that word, beautiful, especially considering he was talking about the first time he saw her.
"You really thought I was beautiful with the really short hair? I thought I was just pretty… really pretty?" El wondered.
Mike's funny thoughts stopped as he had to think carefully about his response.
"I mean… I did think you were beautiful then. I just… can't express how I feel sometimes just with words, you know?"
El shook her head no.
Mike sighed.
"Pretty, beautiful, it's all the same thing, really. One may mean more than the other, but it's generally the same thing. And… and I was young… and I'm still dealing with those type of feelings. I still don't fully understand these feelings… but yeah……. Jesus I'm rambling, aren't I?"
El chuckled and pecked him on the lips.
"Yeah, but you are cute when you ramble," El replied.
Mike blushed as he glanced away from El for a second. He never got used to her calling him that; it made him feel weird.
"You sure like using the word cute a lot."
"I could use other words, but they all mean the same thing, right?" El said, having a smirk.
"Very impressive, Eleven. You are really smart, you know that?" Mike replied, being sincere, although El didn't think she was that smart.
"OK."
"You are. After everything you've been through, I mean, you just are naturally gifted with that brain of yours," Mike lightly poked her forehead with his index finger, causing El to make a weird face.
El eventually realized he was complimenting her and smiled. She thought about how Mike was only seeing her on the weekends and how she felt so lonely when he wasn't there with her. Hopper was nice to have around, but she always wondered what Mike was doing. She would occasionally spy on him at school. He would be sitting in class, bored, most of the time anyway, but she liked looking at him whenever she could.
"Mike…"
"Yeah?"
"Why can't you visit me on weekdays?" El asked, legitimately curious.
Mike could visit her on weekdays, but he didn't know if she wanted to be around him that much. He really wanted to visit her every day, but his parents would start asking questions and it would just be a lot to explain.
"Well, I didn't think you'd want me to visit everyday. I think you'd get tired of me really quick," Mike chuckled to himself.
"Tired of you? Why would you ever think that?!" El asked, hating how he seemed to always put himself down.
"I don't know, El. I don't want you to get bored of me and if I visit everyday, you will. That's just a fact."
El grabbed his chin and leaned in to his face.
"Listen, Mike. I killed a demogorgon for you. I closed the gate to the upside down for you. I. Will. Never. Get. Bored. Of. You," El emphasized each word, hoping he'd understand.
Before El could attempt to kiss him, Mike pushed himself down on top of her. El let out a quick squeal, knowing Hopper was in the cabin.
Mike held her hands down while her arms were resting above her head. He was on top of her, in control, but he didn't do anything too dominating. He just passionately kissed her, making sure to make each kiss long and meaningful.
"Visit me tomorrow, Mike. Please," El looked at Mike with puppy dog eyes.
He couldn't say no to those eyes. Her eyes.
"Fine. Fine. But when you get bored of me, I told you so," Mike joked, making El giggle as he went back to passionately smooching her lips.
"Eggos," El said with a naughty face.
"Jesus, El. I didn't know you'd actually continue doing that magic word shit. It's so hot."
"Of course I would. How else would I get you to suck my neck?" El seductively replied, not fully understanding how weak in the knees she was making Mike.
"You got a point. Your neck definitely has a thing for me."
Hopper barged into her room, causing the two teens to panic as they jumped up to their feet.
"Mike," Hopper said, not wanting to say anything about the sight he just witnessed.
"What is it?" Mike wondered.
"I… uh… never mind. I can do it myself. I just thought that… you know what, just forget I came in here, alright? Continue on," Hopper said as he left the room.
Hopper was stunned. He heard them talking about neck sucking and he wanted to barge in there and punch Mike. Once he got in there though, he saw the way Mike was on top of her, and it was very odd to see that. He was surprised he called them out the first time when Mike held El as she had her legs wrapped around him. She was growing up, becoming a woman. He didn't like that. And Mike was growing too, and he knew the thoughts going through that teenage boy's mind were dirty and disgusting… like all boys that age.
Hopper realized he needed a hobby. They were making him depressed with how clingy they were.
As Mike and El stood face to face with each other, Mike grinned at her.
"He definitely heard you talking about me sucking on your neck," Mike whispered.
"Sorry," El whispered back, feeling guilty.
Mike decided to whisper something in her ear.
"Good thing you said the magic word already. Get back in bed," Mike said, making El feel tingly and weird.
El looked at him and nodded her head while biting her bottom lip.
