Blue and white streamers along with matching balloons hung from the ceiling and twinkling lights glowed brightly in the dimly lit gym.
A sea of teens moved in sync to the loud music that reverberated, much so that the vibrations could be felt through the floor.
El gaped at the sight. It was all so lively, all so new.
"Hey guys!" Lucas and Max chorused
"Wow. you two sure clean up well" Mike commented, kinda thrown off by Max's appearance
"Back at ya man! and El, lookin awesome!" Lucas said, giving her a thumbs up
"Thanks" They both replied
"Dudes! They have mini donuts!" Dustin butt in, stuffing a chocolate one in his mouth. He then looked over at Max and his jaw fell
Lucas shot him a disgusted look "Close your mouth! you're getting donut everywhere"
"Max? is that you?" Dustin mumbled wide eyed, wiping crumbs from his face
"Of course it's me loser! Who else would it be?"
"Whoa, you're actually dressed like a girl!"
"Doesn't mean anything, I can still whup your ass" Max retorted, giving him a smug smile
Dustin leaned towards Lucas "I'd watch your date if I were you, she looks smokin" he whispered
Lucas shoved him "In your dreams man"
"So I don't know about you guys but El and I are gonna hit the dance floor" Mike interrupted, grabbing El's hand
They all looked at each other and shrugged, making the mutual decision to join them
The music was pumping and the group of friends jumped up and down dancing to the wide variety of songs that played.
The songs ranged from "Thriller" to "Eye of the Tiger" to even "Livin' on a Prayer."
Mike laughed "Dustin, what are you doing?"
"It's called the robot, geez are you that uncultured?" he answered, stiffly moving his arms around
"I don't know what you call that but that's definitely not the robot" Lucas added, shuffling his feet to the song
El just smiled at her group of friends. Rachel had once told her "Your teen years are the best of your life" and right now she couldn't agree more. As her friends continued to dance and joke around, she only wished she could hold on to this moment a little longer.
Suddenly the lights dimmed lower
"About to take things down a notch with some of your favorite slow jams, So grab your date and head on out to the middle of the floor! " The DJ yelled out
Lucas and Mike froze in place giving each other the same uncomfortable look
"Uh.. so Max.." Lucas uttered breaking the silence
"Forget it Sinclair, I don't dance"
He lowered his eyes "oh okay then.."
"Fine. Only one song though" Max retorted, grabbing him by the arm
"Atta boy Lucas!" Dustin clapped, motioning towards his friend
"Well sure took him long enough" Mike chuckled
Dustin looked over at him with a pained smile "Well guess it's time for me to go hit the snack bar"
"Wait." Mike said, stopping him
"What?"
"She looks like she could use a dance partner" he replied, pointing to a girl in the distance
Dustin squinted "But.. isn't that Tracey?"
"It's fine man, go ask her" he said, patting his friend on the back
"Thanks dude! Wish me luck!" Dustin smiled widely, walking off
Mike then turned his attention towards El "Do you wanna dance?" he asked, rubbing his arm up and down nervously
Her face fell. She didn't know anything about slow dancing. To her it was an art and she definitely didn't want to ruin it.
He read the expression on her face "You know, we don't have to if you don't want"
"I want to, but.. I don't know how." El said quietly, looking down at ground
Mike softly lifted up her chin "It's alright, I can show you"
El smiled, taking his hand as he led her to the middle of the floor
(Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
And think of you
Caught up in circles confusion-
Is nothing new)
Mike then put his hands gently around her waist "Is this okay?"
"Yes" She loved the warmth of his touch and also the fact that they were so close made her feel safe.
(Flashback-warm nights-
Almost left behind
Suitcases of memories)
"So now you put your hands on my shoulders" he gestured to her
"Like this?"
"Perfect" he smiled
She couldn't help but stare into his deep brown eyes and for a moment she caught a glimpse of the young boy who had found her on that rainy night four years ago. His eyes held such an indescribable warmth, and she knew from the first time she met him that everything would be okay.
El immediately felt something that she hadn't felt before. He made her forget that the rest of the world existed. He made her feel at home. He made her feel..? What was this feeling? She knew it wasn't as simple as a crush, it was much stronger.
(If you're lost you can look-and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you-I'll be waiting
Time after time)
"Now you just kind of sway" He said, leading her back in forth in sync with the music
She moved her hands and wrapped them around his neck
"Thank you" El said affectionately
"It was nothing, you're a natural at dancing"
She shook her head "No not that"
Mike looked puzzled "Then what?"
"Thank you for keeping your promise"
A shiver went down his spine and his heart suddenly felt like it was doing somersaults in his chest.
There was a glimmer in her hazel eyes and it was almost as if they were inviting him
He drew his face closer and pressed his lips against hers.
Her lips were soft like velvet and felt incredible against his own
El didn't relinquish, instead she deepened the kiss, holding a tighter grip on his neck
They moved their mouths around harmoniously, reveling in one another
(Time after time...
Time after time…
Time after time…)
"So you and Max are leaving?" El asked
"Yeah sadly our ride is here" Lucas said, thumbing towards the exit
Max nudged him "Do you think Dustin needs a ride?"
"I don't know, probably"
"Hey Dustin! Do you wanna ride?" Max called from across the gym
He quickly ran over to them "Yeah, wait. Who's driving? He questioned, trying to catch his breath
"My brother is"
"Okay well as long as it's not Lucas" He teased
"Screw you, I'm a better driver than you are"
"Who got their license first though?" Dustin bragged
"And who got a ticket first?" Lucas mocked back
Max rolled her eyes "Well I better be getting these two idiots home"
Mike laughed "Alright, We'll see you guys later"
"Later Mike! Later El!" Lucas waved
"See ya lovebirds! But, what was I saying? Oh yeah.. That ticket was only because..". Dustin trailed off as he walked away with Lucas and Max
Mike glanced over at El "So do you wanna dance some more? Or would you like me to take you home?"
El honestly didn't wanna go home. She enjoyed the night she was having and wanted to spend more time with Mike but she could feel her stomach growling. She hadn't eaten all day "I'm hungry"
"Yeah I'm hungry too" Mike said, noticing there wasn't much food left at the snack bar "Well I think I still have some leftover pizza at my place, if you want?"
"Pizza sounds good"
"Mom! I'm home, El and I are gonna hang out a bit!" Mike yelled as he opened the door
There was no reply though
"That's weird" He said, looking around "Mom! Holly!" he continued
"Mike look" El said pointing at a note on the fridge
Michael,
Holly and I have left to go visit Nancy. We'll be back tomorrow night. Please tidy up the place while we're gone.
Love, Mom
He smiled and rolled his eyes, knowing he'd end up cleaning later.
"Okay El so we've got cheese and pepperoni" Mike said grabbing a box from the fridge
"Pepperoni is fine" El grunted, rubbing her ankle
"Are you okay?" He asked, rushing over to her
"I'm okay, just not used to wearing heels for so long" she shrugged
"You can take them off" He replied "Oh, I just thought of something!" he beamed, running into another room
He came back out handing her a pair of sweats "Here, So you can be comfy and won't have to worry about getting pizza sauce on your dress"
El took them, breathing in the familiar scent of soap and Mike's cologne, "Thanks" she smiled, making her way to the bathroom to change
Once they sat together at the table eating their pizza they discussed how much fun they had at the dance together. They talked about which songs they liked and which ones they didn't and laughed as they recalled Dustin's terrible dance moves. To anyone else, it probably wasn't anything special that they were eating cold pizza together on a Saturday night but to El it was everything she could ever want.
"You got a lil sauce on your chin there" Mike said, examining her face
"Where?" she asked, trying to find it
He rubbed the sauce off gently with his thumb "There, got it for you"
El blushed.
She soon quickly realized that their pizza date was coming to an end. She still didn't wanna leave though.
"Mike, can we watch a movie?" She asked, pointing to the stack of vhs tapes in the living room
"It's 10:30 though? You have to be home soon"
"Please" she begged
"Okay okay one movie but then I gotta take you home before Hopper kills me" He laughed, looking through the tapes "So Star Trek?"
"What about that one" She pointed
"The Breakfast Club it is then" Mike said, putting the tape in the VCR
About fifteen minutes into the movie, Mike and El gradually found themselves cuddled next to each other on the couch
She laid her head on his chest while he played gently with her hair
The steady rhythm of his heartbeat was quite melodic, and slowly it began to lull her to sleep.