Hello! It's been a bit, but I am excited for you all to see what happened after that cliffhanger in the last chapter. This was a fun one to write, that's for sure. Hope you guys enjoy it too!

El's POV

"Where's my dad?" I firmly walked up to the large reception desk and asked Flo, the secretary at the police station.

"Hello Elizabeth, nice to see you too." She responded without looking up from her paperwork.

It was hard not to roll my eyes.

"Hi Flo. I hope your knee is feeling better." Her small smile answered that. "Where is my dad, please?"

"Off on an assignment." She faced me now. "He's heading back now though. Just sent the report through."

"Great, thank you. I'll wait right here." Since it was getting late and Hop would be heading home after he came back to the station for debriefing, I knew he wouldn't take long to get here. I turned from the desk and walked back to the row of cold, plastic chairs and sat on the seat next to Mike, who looked pale as a ghost and it wasn't just from the unflattering lighting.

"Hey," I spoke to him in a tone different than I used with Flo. "It's going to be fine. We weren't trespassing or doing anything wrong. It's my family's property." He nodded, and while I knew he knew I was right, he still looked so freaked out.

He hasn't said a word or looked me in the eye since idiot rookie Officer Callahan practically forced us into the backseat of his police car, thinking he was saving the day.

Showing him I had a key to the cabin to prove I wasn't breaking and entering wasn't enough. It wasn't until he ran the plates of my car, which was technically owned by my dad, for him to believe I was actually his daughter. I'm not sure if he knew Hop had a child, but who would ever lie about being the police chief's kid in a small town?

Still, since he was suspicious of what he saw and the situation as a whole, he decided the best thing to do would be to bring us down to the station. Even mentioned it was best if we cooperate and everything.

Thank God he didn't put us in handcuffs or I'm sure Mike would have passed out.

As soon as we were led into the station and instructed to sit down, Mike scattered to take a seat. I joined him, knowing it was better to ask to see my dad when Callahan was out of sight, which, with him hanging around close by talking to the other officers, took longer than I hoped.

I've been here plenty of times and it wasn't always to stop by and say 'hello' to Hop. I was confident that once I talk to my dad and clear up this misunderstanding, he'll let us go with little to no consequence for me. I sat back on the chair with my legs crossed, calm as could be.

I couldn't say the same for Mike though, who, with his hands wringing and nervously looking around the room, looked as if he'd never even been in a police station before. Which, I realized, was likely true.

"Alright, listen," I faced him, "my dad will probably ask to see us in his office. Don't freak out!" I quickly warned. "Let me do all the talking. If he asks you anything directly, keep it short. One or two word answers." He gave a single nod. "He mostly just wants to confirm that we were where Callahan said we were, especially because the car was there."

"Okay, but... won't he want to know what we were doing in there?" He spoke after so long, I almost forgot what his voice sounded like. We were close enough that I noticed a slight tint to his cheeks when he said that.

"You mean, tutoring and working on college applications?"

"You'd lie to him about that?" He raised his eyebrow, but not in an impressed way.

"Well," and I couldn't help my lip from turning into a small smirk, "that lie worked on you." He released a chuckle and I was glad to get a calmer reaction out of him. "But he's not even going to ask. Don't worry about it."

"But if he does... do you think he'd really believe that?"

And for someone who's never met my dad, that was, I'll admit, a good question.

"Alright, make sure all that gets put into the system and you can call it a night." My dad's voice boomed as he entered through the station's doors and walked towards the front desk.

"Chief." Flo pointed over to Mike and I a few feet away. He turned to see what she was gesturing at.

"Ahh, yeah." He looked at me in a what-did-you-do-now? way. "I got a call about some suspicious activity..." I don't know what exactly he was told at this point, but based on the way he looked at Mike, he was surprised to see him. Or what was more likely, someone who looks like him. "Hmm." He glanced back and forth between Mike and I, clearly noticing it was an unusual pairing. "Why don't you two come into my office?" Of course, coming from him, it wasn't a request.

He led us down the hallway, where his office door was already open. Running a hand over his face, he walked over to his chair and sat down. His outstretched palm motioned that we should do the same. Sitting in more comfortable seats, with his wooden desk between us, Hopper spoke.

"What's your name, son?"

"M-Mike." He managed to let out.

Bless him.

"And you were, uhh, out with El here? At the cabin?"

"Yes, sir."

"And what were you two doing out there?"

Shit.

"Umm, I- Uhh..." He glanced over at me, panicking.

"Wait a second. You said 'Mike'?" Hopper asked before either of us could come up with anything. I caught a glimpse of Mike's face, full of confusion.

"Uhh, yeah? Yes." He confirmed. With that, Hop leaned back in his chair and looked at us in the same way he did by the front desk.

After an uncomfortable amount of time, with a thousand thoughts running through my head, and one final look at me, dad spoke.

"You uhh, you're friends with Will right? Will Byers?" He spoke to Mike.

Realizing what Hop was doing, all I wanted was to let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Yeah!" Mike responded almost cheerfully, like he figured this was the connection that would keep him out of trouble. "We've known each other a long time. He's one of my closest friends."

Hop responded with a small smile, his wrinkles making an appearance. He then narrowed his eyes and gave a single nod, like he was absorbing Mike's answer and thinking of his next move.

"Mike, why don't you step outside for a moment? I'd like to talk to El now."

"Oh uhh, okay." Mike started to get up.

"Don't worry. You're not in any trouble. I just want to talk to my daughter." Mike nodded and as he turned towards the exit, he glanced over at me. I replied wordlessly with a nervous grin, because I truthfully didn't know what was about to happen.

As the door closed, I felt myself finally releasing a heavy breath.

Wanting to get this over with, I tried speaking first.

"So..."

"That's Mike?" Hop asked with a tone I didn't anticipate.

"Yes."

"Tutor Mike?"

"Have I ever spoken about another one?" I replied sarcastically, especially since, obviously, I don't talk to Hop about guys.

"Well, damn. That... was not what I was expecting."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Does he always look like someone is torturing animals in front of him?" Since I've known Mike for longer and... in a different way, I took a moment to answer.

"No." And when it didn't seem like he would talk, I spoke again. "So are we good? Can we go?"

"Just a minute." He stopped me before I could stand up. "What were you doing at the cabin?" He asked seriously, and I knew I wouldn't be able to talk my way out of this one. And while I had the answer ready to go, since I had practiced it on Mike earlier, there was some additional info Hop needed to know first.

"Remember how I told you I was looking into college stuff? Maybe applying to a couple of schools?" He nodded. "Well, Mike has been helping me with that too. He... knows... stuff and how all that works. Tutoring was canceled for today and since I wasn't sure if you'd be home or not... I had the idea of going to the cabin."

It wasn't until I finished that I realized I really wouldn't be able to answer Mike's question on if Hop would believe my lie or not.

And it didn't help that he didn't say anything for a while.

"Well," he cleared his throat before continuing. "I can't say I'm thrilled about the two of you being there alone. Could be worse, I guess. And besides the trespassing, Callahan didn't say there wasn't anything else going on." I was sure that if Callahan did see what was going on, he would have told my dad. So I believed him. "Oh, El." He put his fingers to his temple and shook his head.

"We're not in any trouble right? I told him everything would be okay."

"You know you're not in trouble kid." He looked back up at me. "Did you at least lock up before he brought you here?"

"Yes, of course." For further proof, I pulled the key to the cabin out of my jacket pocket and showed it to him. He nodded in approval.

"Alright well, give me a few minutes and we can drop him off back home."

"Dad, no. Please. That's so embarrassing."

"El-."

"What is his mom going to say when she sees he's being dropped off in a police car? He's a good kid so why worry her? Or what if she gets mad when she finds out he didn't do anything wrong and comes down and makes a scene? Why create more problems? Just have someone," and I hoped he realized I meant someone who wasn't Callahan, "drop us off at the cabin and I'll drive him home. Our stuff is still there and we need it for school anyway."

A pause, which in this case, was a good sign for me.

"'He's a good kid', huh?" He spoke after what seemed like forever. I sighed, knowing he found another meaning to my words.

"Yes. He is."

"Fine." He accepted. "I'll get Powell to take you. He can go home after too. He's had a long day."

"Great. Thank you." Relieved it all went okay, I started walking to exit his office.

"Hey," He called after me. I stopped and turned back around. "Take him straight home. Understood?"

"Yes sir," I mocked before walking out the door.

Just as it was on the ride to the station, the ride back to the cabin was silent between Mike and I. I'm sure Hop's instructions to Officer Powell were clear. But when he tried to make small talk, I, to be polite, went along with it. It also meant he likely wouldn't try to talk to Mike, who's probably had enough conversations with cops for the rest of the year.

We arrived back at the cabin in what seemed a much shorter amount of time than when we left it. After we each thanked Officer Powell, though Mike's came out more of a mumble, we got out of the car.

Within a few minutes, Powell had driven away and Mike and I were back in my car with our belongings that were left in the cabin. With all of tonight's events, I nearly forgot what happened in there that set everything forward.

It wasn't until we were out of the forest and onto a paved road that I decided to bring it up, since we hadn't had a chance to mention it, let alone talk about it.

"Mike-."

"That was-."

We spoke over each other and laughed, before I started again.

"So, was umm," I started nervously, the entire day's confidence gone. "Was that okay? What I did back at the cabin?" Because I could have meant taking him to the police station for the first time, but I wanted to clarify that that wasn't what I was referring to.

"Yeah," He answered at a speed I didn't expect. "It was... more than okay." The small hesitation made me think he was holding something back. Before I could question it, he spoke again. "Was it okay for you?"

"Yeah, of course." I glanced over at him. I knew I needed to keep my eyes on the road but wanted nothing more than to look at him. "Did it not seem that way?"

"You jumped back."

He didn't have to say it like that.

"I just... I guess I couldn't believe it was happening. I umm," I immediately felt the color rush to my cheeks and became thankful for the darkness. "I've been wanting to do that."

"You did?" And I couldn't believe he sounded so surprised.

"Yeah," I pulled over to the side and put the car in park, knowing it was important I face him for this next part. I smiled widely, preparing myself for what I was going to say. "I like you, Mike. A lot. I-I thought tonight proved that. Until I almost got you arrested." We both laughed at that.

"I..." He pushed his glasses up, a clear sign he was nervous. He exhaled. "I like you too." I'm as sure that I'm the first girl he's said that to as I am that it's the first time I've heard it.

I reached over and pushed one of his curls away from his eyes. The move apparently convinced him to kiss me again. Surprising me, but knowing better than to pull away this time, I kissed him back. Without the anxiety of this being our first kiss, it was easier to get into it.

Though we never talked about it, I don't know how much experience he's actually had, and I know it's not a good time to ask. But the way he is kissing me now, so passionately and sure of himself, made me wonder if I had been underestimating him.

He did the same as back at the cabin and took my face in his hands. Mike's thumb brushed along my cheek, causing me to moan in reaction. A few seconds later, he pulled away and used his other thumb to run along my lower lip.

"Wow," he looked right at me and said it so softly I barely heard him.

Completely flushed and almost unable to think, I spoke.

"We, umm, we should get going. I promised my dad I'd take you straight home."

"Okay." he laughed, since I'm sure he also knew that, at least for tonight, it was better to do what my dad says.

It was about another ten minutes of comfortable silence, glances at each other, and a low volume from the radio before we made it to his street. Pulling over in front of his house, I turned to him and brought up the idea I had been thinking.

"We should go out."

"What?" He faced me. I couldn't tell if he didn't hear me or couldn't believe what I said.

"Out. The two of us. Properly. You know, like... a date."

"Umm," With how his eyes widened, it reminded me of the Mike from the early days we met. "Yeah," he nodded, still looking a little unsure. "Yeah. That's a good idea. I guess it's kind of the next step right?" I could have teased him and asked 'the next step in what?' but with how much progress we've made tonight, I didn't want him to get uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Yeah. I agree."

"So," he spoke slowly, thinking of what to say next and not wanting to mess it up. "I'll call you later." I was proud that he didn't say it like a question.

"I'm in the book." I smiled.

"Okay," he smiled back, full of confidence. Grabbing his backpack from the passenger side floor, he said, "Have a good night El."

Something about the way he said my name this time nearly made me lose focus.

"Good night Mike."

He pulled on the door handle and stepped out of the car.

Thank you for reading! The next chapter is very exciting for a variety of reasons and I cannot wait to share it with you all. Please review if you can!