Stories From Summer; Stranger Tales From The Summer of '85

26. Watching a Fireworks Display

26. Watching a Fireworks Display
(Post-Chapter 22)

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Hopper watched as the Ferris Wheel started turning again, and knew that his daughter would be getting off the Ferris Wheel as would Mike Wheeler.

The radio on his truck crackled to life again, and in came the voice of his daughter. "Dad, we're off the Ferris Wheel," El said into the Supercom.

"That's great, kid, I'm in the car park," Hopper said, and the crackling of the radio clicked off.

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Mike and El turned up at the entrance and started looking for Hopper's Chief of Police truck. When Mike spotted it, he pointed it out to his girlfriend, and they started walking towards it.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" Mike asks, swinging their hands together as they walked.

El nodded happily and nuzzled the side of her face into the teddy bears soft fur, so she could keep looking at her boyfriend.

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Mike opened the passenger door for El and she climbed in, after this, she smiled happily at Mike.

"Have a nice time, kid?" Hopper asked as El got herself situated and strapped herself in. Once she was, Mike shut the door and climbed into the back of the truck.

El nodded (much like she did when Mike asked if she had a good time), and showed him the teddy bear that Mike won for her. "Look what Mike won me!" El showed off the teddy bear to Hopper, smiling as the soft fur of the bear was perfect against her skin.

"Wheeler's actually got some kind of sporting skill?" Hopper says, turning in his seat to look at his daughter's boyfriend.

"Hook-a-duck," El said, making Hopper laugh loudly. 

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On the way back to the Wheeler's, Mike remembered about the fireworks display his dad was roping him in to help with. Mike has never been as close to his dad as Lucas is to Mr Sinclair.

"We're having a firework display, is it ok if El watches?" Mike asks Hopper, watching as El's face turned to Hopper and her deer-like eyes turned into puppy dog eyes that could melt even the coldest person's heart.

Hopper thought for a second, as he turned onto Maple Street. "If it's ok with your mother, I guess it's alright with me,"

Mike smiled happily, and when the car pulled up, he unbuckled himself, climbed out, flew up the path to wherever his mother may be.

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After Mike got the ok from his mother, he came flying back out the Wheeler's backyard and up towards the truck. "Mom said it was ok," He said when Hopper had rolled the window down for El.

El smiled happily, as Hopper allowed the passenger door to be unlocked, El climbed out and then turned to look at her father. As if she was expecting him to come with her.

"I'll be right here, kid, go have fun with Mike," Hopper said, it felt strange calling the Wheeler kid by his first name - but for El, he'd change the entire world.

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The entire Wheeler backyard was filled with people who had watched Mike grow up and even though it was the second time that El had been surround by these people, it was the first time without the Party™ or her dad.

She held Mike's hand tightly, looking at all the people in the backyard, seeing Karen (who waved at the pair), Ted (who didn't really look up from the grilling that he was doing) and little Holly, who was chattering away with her friends and playing some kind of game, until she spotted Mike and Ellie. 

"ELLIE!" She smiled happily and was going to run over when one of her friends stopped her.

"We're in the middle of a game, Holly! You can't just leave!" One of the girls, who had stopped her, exclaimed.

Holly looked over at Ellie (who had seen her, and waved at the elementary school girl), and then back at her friend. "I'm going to see Ellie," she said like it was the simplest thing on Earth.

"Well, if you go see her, then you're not allowed back," the girl said, Holly knew from the only year she's spent at Hawkins Elementary so far, she knew that these girls were mean and would only get meaner. But she was always told that family came first, and the way that Mike was acting with Ellie - Holly would get another sister before she was in high school.

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Holly had gone rushing over to greet El, not wanting to tell her, or her brother, about what Elizabeth had told her. When Karen came over and told Mike that it was time to set up the fireworks, he placed a kiss on El's cheek (and then one to Holly's to see her smile) and begrudgingly went to help his father.

El had Holly sitting on her hip, as they watched Mike push the fireworks into the ground where Ted stated they should go. Well, it was El who was watching, Holly was looking at the checkered print blankets that had been scattered around the backyard.

"That blanket," she said, pointing to the blanket that was a good enough distance from her 'friends' but that they will have a good enough view for the fireworks.

El sets Holly down and allows her to go chose the blanket that she pointed out. Holly runs over to the blanket that she wanted to sit on, and plonks down, turning around where she was sat and saw El coming towards her and sat with her.

Once the pair were sat down, Mike had finished helping his father set up and walked over to where the girls were sat. And waited for the fireworks to go off.