Stupid Girl Stuff

Mike got to the bike rack and noticed it was almosts empty. He could see kids walking out of the school. They were the same kids in his Earth class.

Mr. Clarke was following them out.

Shit, was that today? Mike thought.

Mr. Clarke had gotten special permission for a Hawkins field trip. They were to be given assignments and use the day to complete as much of the assignment as they could.

"Your partner is waiting for you in the class," Mr. Clarke said as he walked by.

Mike got to the empty classroom. Empty except for El sitting alone at their desk.

"Sorry I'm late. Holly had a bit of an accident and I stayed to help."

"Is she ok?" El asked. Mike could see she looked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah." Mike gave El a small smile, "she's a tough kid. Just took a few hugs and a kiss on a scratched knee."

"We have our assigned area," she said.

"Can I see it?"

El turned a deep red. What was that about? Mike waited but El was very slow to get an envelope from her pack.

On the cover of the envelope was written Mike + El. Mike was ok with that, it was Mr. Clarke's way of designating partners. The problem with the heart that was drawn around their names. And it looked like it was breaking in half.

"It's someone trying to be funny El. Don't let it bother you."

He opened up the envelope. "The train tracks. Catalogue all the plant species you can find."

"I already got a reference book from the library, in case we get stuck. Do you want to use the clipboard to mark down or do you want me to?" El said.

"You're handwriting is much better than mine. You can?" El looked at him and nodded.

Mike was in a good mood again. He'd just talked to El without breaking down, and he was able to look into her eyes, and still keep from crying. Maybe they could still be friends after all.

"Um, Mike. it's a long walk from here, I don't have my bike."

"It's ok El, I'll double you on my bike, ok?"

She looked at him and nodded.

"Ok let's get going."

Mike noticed that El did not put her arms around his waist when she held on , she gripped the side of his jacket. She didn't rest her head on his back either. He sighed. He was going to miss that.

When the got to the tracks, El asked, "how do we do this? Taking your bike along will slow us down."

"We'll leave my bike here, and stay on this side of the tracks, at noon, we'll cross over and make our way back."

El grabbed a clipboard and pencil out of her backpack. Mike grabbed the reference book. He walked up to the first tree.

"This one is easy, it's a white pine, mark that one down." He glanced back at El and her pretty eyes smiled back at him.

And that was the last of Mike's resolve. He put head against the tree and his breath hitched once before the heavy sobs started.

He wasn't quite sure when it happened but eventually he felt El hugging him from behind, her arms holding his waist tight and her head pressed against his back between his shoulder blades.

"I've been so stupid." she said.

"I broke the heart of the boy I love… and I don't think you'll ever forgive me… and I don't know how to… I don't know how…" El started crying.

"I don't how to be your girlfriend again." The tears came hard and fast from her eyes.

Mike wasn't going to be able to hear her cry for much longer, he had to do something.

"Why did you break up with me El? I thought everything was ok?"

"It was, I got bad advice… stupid girl stuff from someone I thought was a friend.. I'm too embarrassed to even tell you."

Mike leaned in and kissed her tears away.

El closed her eyes. Fresh tears replaced the old ones. Mike kissed those away also. "I missed that. I missed that so much." El continued talking through her tears. "I've been miserable ever since I put that note in your locker."

"I want you to be my girlfriend again El but we tell each other everything from now on. We don't have secrets from each other. It's almost the same as lying."

"And Friends Don't Lie. Ok Mike, but I don't think you're ready for this."

"El," Mike looked down. "I love you, there's nothing you can do or tell me that's going to change that. Not after what we've just been through."

"Promise?" El said, her eyes were pleading with his.

"I promise, El."

She took the library reference book on plants and put it down at his feet. Mike watched her tilt her head forward, and frown as if she was trying to glean the knowledge from the book by osmosis.

Mike thought his eyes would pop out of his head, when the book lifted off the ground and up into his hands.

A trickle of blood seeped out of El's nose and she looked a bit pale, but she wasn't unsteady on her feet.

Mike looked at the book, and then at El. She smiled at him weakly and said, "no secrets Mike. That's mine. And you can't tell anyone else. It's not safe for either of us if others know."

"Um… uh… um… I don't have any superpowers to show you El. Do you still want to be my girlfriend?"

"More than anything Mike."

El closed her eyes and Mike gave her a soft kiss. "That's what I miss. I missed that a lot."

They identified almost a hundred plants, way more than Mr. Clarke would have expected. They took a little longer than they thought they would because El would kiss him after he'd identified each plant. "That must be a record." El said.

"For species of plants?" Mike asked.

"For planted kisses." El giggled.

Mike looked into her eyes. He thought his knees would buckle.

"El… I…"

"I know Mike. I do too."

"Forever El."

El nodded, "forever Mike."

He held her hand till they got to back to his bike.

She hopped on the back, and put her arms around his waist. Tight. He felt her head resting on the his back. He smiled the entire way back to school.

The air smelled better, the colours around him looked brighter.

He didn't have to wonder why.

It was because El Hopper was Mike Wheeler's girlfriend.