Chapter filled with mileven fluff. You're welcome. (:
Out of nowhere Max zipped by on her skateboard
"So I heard my name, what's up?" She asked inquisitively, coming to a stop
"Oh uh El this is Max and Max this is El" Mike gestured to each girl
El was intrigued. She had never seen anyone with hair like that. It was the color of strawberries. She desperately wanted to reach out and touch it but she had learned from experience that it wasn't acceptable.
"Your hair" El remarked, pointing at Max's long locks
"What about it?"
"Looks like strawberries"
Max hadn't made it up in her mind on whether or not she should take that as a compliment "Uh, thanks I guess… So what's El short for, like Eliza or something?"
"Elev-uh-Eleanor. Eleanor" El repeated covering up her mistake
"Well nice to meet you, new kid" Max said holding out her hand
She grabbed her hand and shook it, mimicking what she had seen Hopper do with his fellow officers "Nice to meet you too.."
Max was different from most girls Eleven had seen. She kinda dressed more like a boy than a girl and she rode around on a board with wheels. She was curious to learn more about her.
"And Max's name is short for-" Lucas chimed in
"Don't you dare say it, Sinclair.." Max muttered
El looked at Mike for answers. "She doesn't really like her actual name" he explained
"Cough. Maxine. Cough" Dustin said under his breath
"Oh my god, I'm gonna kill you guys!" She shouted
"Don't be so dramatic, I like your.. I mean your name is pretty cool" Lucas replied
Max rolled her eyes smiling, giving him a light punch in the arm "So you guys still up to see beetlejuice or have you chickened out already?
"Of course we're still up for it!" Lucas and Dustin chorused
"What about you Mike?" She asked
"well.. so.. about that.." He trailed
"We're getting burgers!" Eleven said excitedly finishing his sentence
Max looked at them both suspiciously "Oh, I see" she grinned
"What? Man, You're bailing on us?" Lucas asked incredulously
Dustin turned to Lucas "Dude, he hasn't seen El in awhile, he probably wants to catch up"
Max raised her eyebrow "What do you mean he hasn't seen El in awhile? she's new, isn't she?"
The boys glared at Dustin who shrunk down in embarrassment
Lucas took a deep breath "Well the truth is.."
"Truth is um.. El and I were friends back in grade school but uh.. She left to be well um homeschooled. Yeah, She left to be homeschooled! And she recently just came back" Mike lied
El knew friends shouldn't lie but she appreciated the fact that Mike was covering for her. Hopper told her countless times not to let anyone at school know about her real past and El didn't want people to know either because she just wanted to fit in as much as possible.
She nodded "Yeah. He's my old friend"
"How come you never mentioned her before?" Max asked, trying to piece the story together
Mike shrugged "I guess, she just never came up in conversation"
"Oh okay whatever you say but well we'll see you guys around then. Lucas, Dustin, race ya!" She yelled, jumping back on her skateboard
"Bye Mike! Bye El!" They called back, as they ran to get their bikes
"I like Max, she is not like other girls" El told Mike
"Yeah, she's cool. We met her at a comic book convention and we've all been friends ever since"
El remembered the boys showing her comic books. She liked how it was mainly pictures because she didn't know how to read much back then. She especially liked wonder woman because she was this super strong girl who fought bad guys and brought justice . El had wished maybe she could use her powers for good just like wonder woman did.
"You ready to go?" Mike spoke up, breaking El from her thoughts
"Yeah, I'm hungry" She said rubbing her stomach
El sat behind Mike and gripped onto his arms as he steered the bicycle forward. She noticed that his arms were much harder than before when they were kids. He had gotten stronger and she didn't know why but she felt kind of weird. Her blood started rushing and her stomach felt like it was doing flips.
When they made it to the diner, they sat in a booth towards the back. El looked around taking in the atmosphere of the diner. She breathed in the delicious smell of greasy food and watched as people chatted among themselves while music played in the background. She had made it up in her mind that she liked this place already.
"So do you know what you want?" Mike asked, looking up from his menu
"I forgot, I don't have money" She replied with a frown
"Don't worry, I've got you covered"
"Thank you" El said warmly
A waitress then came and pulled out her notepad "So what can I getcha two?"
"Cheeseburger and fries please" El responded
"I'll have the same"
"And whatcha drinkin?"
Mike looked at El who just shrugged. "We'll have two cokes" He concluded
"I"ll be back shortly" replied the waitress leaving to get their drinks
"So how are you? How's living with Hopper? I haven't seen him in awhile"
"I'm happy. I get to go to school with you, Lucas, and Dustin now. Hopper is good, he has taught me a lot so far."
"I can tell, You're really catching up well in chemistry" Mike smiled
El had that feeling again. For some reason the way Mike smiled at her made her feel nervous but excited all at the same time. She didn't know what was going on with her but she pressed through.
"How are you Mike?"
"I'm doing better now that you're-" He stopped himself, blushing at what he almost said "I'm doing better. I'm just trying to get through these last few years of school."
El looked at him curiously "Get through it? Why? You don't like school?"
"It's not that I don't like school, I just don't like some of the people" Mike responded, taking a sip of his drink
El shook her head "The mouthbreathers."
"Yeah..exactly." He replied
"Why do they tease you?" she asked
Mike looked around eagerly desperate to change the subject "Oh look our food's here"
El ignored it and looked at him "Mike.."
"These burgers look great, I told you this is the best burger joint in town"
"Friends don't lie" she commented
Mike was impressed that she still remembered that phrase but slightly upset that she was using it against him at the moment. He cast his eyes down "I guess because, well I'm not exactly popular"
El furrowed her eyebrows "What is popular?"
"Popular is when you're so cool that everyone likes you and wants to be your friend"
El put her hand on his arm "I like you Mike, you're popular to me"
Her touch felt like electricity coursing through him. He suddenly found himself unable to form words as his face turned tomato red. He quickly bit into his burger, using it to shift his attention from her.
They stopped right outside of Hopper's place where El lived
"Well I guess it's time for you to go home.." Mike said sadly, kicking the rocks on the ground
Eleven honestly didn't want to go home. She enjoyed spending time with Mike. He was always so kind to her and he made her feel this funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was the same feeling she had felt after he pressed his lips against hers for the first time. She secretly hoped he would do that again.
"I had fun Mike, can we get burgers again?" El asked, her eyes drifting towards his lips
"Yeah! Sure! We can go wherever you want, we can even go rollerskating, or to the movies, or maybe to the park one day" He grinned with happiness
She stepped closer to him, hoping he would understand her gesture
Mike blushed and rubbed his neck nervously "Well I'll see you tomorrow, El" he said, running back to his bike.