JANUARY 20 1985
Mike and Eleven were outside the cabin, sitting on the steps. Mike just got done with school so it was still early, which meant that Hopper was still working. Sometimes Hopper would get off work at 5:00 and it would be late at night at other times.. It was unpredictable. But besides checking in on El during lunch sometimes, he never went home before 5:00 PM. It was 3:23 as Mike and Eleven held hands and fit on the tight space of steps leading to the cabin.
Mike thought it would be a good idea to help her see the outside and breathe in the fresh air. She was a little pale, but not too much. Every now and then El would rub his thigh as she looked out into the woods, making Mike extremely uncomfortable but in the best way possible. With the sun shining, Mike couldn't get over how pretty El looked with the sun making her seem brighter. El would rest her head on Mike's shoulder a couple of times, wanting to smell his scent on his clothes, wanting to feel safe, wanting to be his one and only girl. She was always afraid he would leave her, even though he kept promising the complete opposite. El knew how much Mike cared about her but she always felt scared of losing him in any way, because Mike was her entire world.
"El…"
"Yes?"
"I've just been wondering. I was thinking back to when you told me about your mom ..."
"Mama?" El innocently said.
"Yeah. She named you Jane. I'm just wondering… should I call you Jane because, like, it is your real name and if you wanna be called that, you should let me know," Mike said as he scratched the back of his neck to calm his nerves.
El never had the idea in her mind to decide on what she wanted to be called. She just went with El because Mike gave her the nickname, and Mike is her everything, so she really thought about it.
"I don't know……. Do you want to call me Jane?" El asked.
Mike shook his head and chuckled at her cuteness.
"No, no, no. The point is that I wanna know if YOU wanna be called Jane or El? Because if you want to be called Jane instead of El, I can do that."
El still wasn't quite understanding him. She understood that he was giving her a choice on what she wanted to be called, but she didn't understand why it was important for her to make that decision.
"You gave me the name El. I… don't know why I would want to change that."
Mike was getting frustrated as he let out a sigh but he couldn't get mad at El; Mike was just annoyed that it was taking so long to get his point across.
"It's just I nicknamed you El because it was short for Eleven, and I know the name Eleven might be a little dehumanizing."
"Dehumanizing?!" El confusingly replied.
Mike let out a big sigh.
"Like, treating you like a dog, not a human. A number as a name, that's something that a lab rat would have, not a human. You understand?" Mike tried to explain.
El nodded her head yes.
"Yes. You think the name Eleven is bad?"
"No! I mean, I would understand if you think it's bad or if you feel uncomfortable having that name because of the history behind it is what I'm trying to say."
El smiled at him, grabbing his face with her hand to make sure his eyes were directed to hers.
"You gave me the name El. I understand that Eleven isn't a normal name, but you made me feel normal when you called me El. I don't want you to stop calling me El, Mike."
El pecked him on the lips, temporarily silencing Mike who was in shock. Mike tried to remember what they were even talking about, suffering short term memory loss from that little peck.
"Uh. Yeah. So. I mean, like. So you wanna be called El still? Are you sure?" Mike asked, trying to be compassionate.
"Yes," El giggled.
As he held El's hand, he stood up, making El stand up with him as they both walked down the steps. They walked in circles around the cabin, holding hands and laughing at the faces each of them would make.
Mike could tell her he loved her right then and there. It would of been perfect. He probably would have to explain what love meant, but that wouldn't matter. If he could just say it to her face. It was just so hard to get it out, like some part of him wouldn't allow him to express his deep feelings of love to her.
"El…"
"Yes?" El said as they continued walking around the cabin.
"I have something important to tell you…"
El's eyes widened as she turned her head to see his face. Mike was walking with his head down, thinking of how exactly he would say it.
"I, uh. I really…"
Mike went silent, almost choking.
"I Just… I wanted to say that…"
El was getting worried that Mike had something stuck in his throat.
"I lo- … I lo- ... I like you a lot," Mike said, too afraid to utter the bigger L word.
El smiled and gave him a hug.
"I like you a lot, too," El replied, looking up at him with her precious smile.
Mike hated himself for not saying it then and there. He couldn't say those three words to the most important thing in his life. He couldn't say it to Hopper. He was so afraid of being in love, he heard about how great the feeling of love is, but also how love can backfire and completely break you. He also thought it was just bringing in more complications to their young and innocent relationship, and the last thing he wanted was to make El more confused.
"Let's go inside, huh?" Mike said with a grin.
El smirked and nodded her head.
"Wanna watch TV?" El asked.
"Sure. Just please, no soap opera stuff," Mike joked, making El giggle.
"You might like them," El replied, trying to convince him to watch what she likes.
Mike grabbed both of her hands and kissed her forehead.
"OK. But you know I'm not gonna be able to keep my hands off you."
El got that tingly feeling, biting her bottom lip as she grinned widely at the boy.
"You better not at important parts," El replied.
"I can't promise that, El," Mike seductively said as he kissed her passionately, making El lift her leg up as she wanted more and more of his lips.
They both giggled at each other after they were done kissing. With their hands connected, they ran back into the cabin to watch one of El's SOAPS.
