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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The last Friday of summer break was always treated as somewhat of a holiday. For the boys and their two new (to some degree) party members, this meant gathering in the Wheelers' basement with a stash of chips and whatever candy they had gotten their hands on.

A few minutes after doing absolutely nothing, Mike rose from his spot between Eleven and Will, "I left the drinks upstairs. What do you guys want?"

"I'll take a coke," Dustin said as he stood up to help Mike.

"Me too," Lucas said, his eyes still glued to the broken wrist rocket he was trying to repair.

"Water for me," Max said.

"Water?"

Max was quick to deliver a, "Shut up, Dustin," before taking the wrist rocket from a struggling Lucas.

"Water for me, too,"

"Will," Dustin said, "You're supposed to be the wise one. You're like, as skinny as my pinky finger. Chug a coke, buddy,"

"I'll stick with water,"

"Suit yourself,"

Mike noticed that Eleven was the only one who hadn't answered.

"Babe, what do you want?"

Dustin's turned toward Mike so quickly that it looked as if he had broken his neck, "That's new,"

"Babe?" Max asked, her eyes wide and mouth agape in amusement.

Mike mentally cursed himself as he stood on the steps, face red and feet frozen. He didn't mean to call Eleven 'babe'. He'd never even called her anything other than Eleven or El. Of course, that didn't mean he didn't think about it. In fact, he was pretty sure that those thoughts were primarily the reason his grades in history were slipping. He'd caught the word a couple times before it left his mouth on a few occasions. He figured it was bound to slip sooner or later...but he figured when it did, they'd be alone and it wouldn't be painstakingly awkward. Why did it have to be in front of his friends?

"Let's just get the drinks, Dustin,"

Eleven watched Mike and Dustin retreat up the stairs, fighting the urge to follow them, and asked the remaining party members, "What's...babe mean?"

"It's a pet name," Lucas said. This only increased El's confusion...she wasn't a pet.

Max, fortunately, caught the look on the poor girl's face and offered a better explanation, "It's a nickname. Kind of like how we call you El, except babe is a word boyfriends and girlfriends use. You know what a boyfriend is, right?"

"Yes," Eleven nodded, thinking back to the conversation her and Hopper had had about those words. That led her to another question, although she didn't think she'd ask the group this one:

Did that mean Mike was her boyfriend now?

Once in the seclusion of the kitchen, Dustin let himself finish flipping out, "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know! It just...slipped out!" Mike said, running his hand through his hair nervously.

"You realize that in less than two minutes, you're going to have to go back down there and explain yourself to Eleven, right?"

"Shit," Mike said, setting the last coke on the counter with more force than was necessary.

"Actually, you know what?" Dustin said, gathering the water bottles and coke cans in his arms, "I've got you,"

"Dustin! What are you -!"

But Dustin had already left the room before Mike could finish his sentence. He sat down at the counter, defeated. His panic increased as he heard Dustin's exclamation of, "El! Mike needs to talk to you in the kitchen!"

"Shit, shit, shit," Mike said. He only hoped that he could think of different words when El came in there.

Mike wouldn't have even heard Eleven walk into the kitchen, still wearing his old sweatshirt even though it was nearing one hundred degrees outside, if he hadn't been watching the doorway in gut-wrenching anticipation.

"So, um. That word -" Mike started, but El cut him off.

"Max says it's a word boyfriends and girlfriends use," She said, sitting beside him slowly, "Is it?"

"Yeah," Mike said with a gulp. He could feel his heart rattling in his chest, "It is,"

A few moments of awkward silence passed before Eleven's soft voice piped up, "Mike?"

Mike's reply was a strangled, "Yeah, El?"

"Are you..." Eleven seemed almost hesitant to say it, "Are you my boyfriend?"

"I -I don't know," Mike grew frantic as Eleven's face fell, "I mean...if you want me to be, then sure, yeah, of course! But if you don't want to, that's perfectly fine. It's completely your call, so -"

Eleven cut him off once again. Mike wondered when she got so gutsy, "I want to," She said.

"Okay, well then, uh, I guess that makes us...a thing now," Mike stuttered, his mouth even drier than it was before.

"Do I call you Mike?"

"What?"

"Do I call you Mike still, or do I call you the other word? Babe," Eleven asked, curiosity evident in her expression.

"Oh, I guess, um, either one works," Mike managed to say.

Eleven, of course, wasn't taking the whole exchange as awkwardly as he was. On the contrary, she looked positively elated. Mike was elated, too, obviously, but his joy was stifled by his heart threatening to rip through his chest. El noticed how distraught he looked; she reached out and carefully brushed the hair out of his eyes, giving him a small smile as she did so.

"How do we feel about this?"

"I don't know, Dustin,"

"Would you guys shut up? They'll hear you!"

Well. It's something. Yea or nay?