Here it is! I'll be trying to update more frequently since season 4 got postponed 😫
Anyway, I'm gonna explain something. El is fifteen and as you read on, Mike drives. And yes, they are both sophomores. Mike is just a few months older than El.
"...and no funny business," Hopper told his daughter sternly, standing in the doorway as he watched her get onto her bike. "Do I make myself clear?"
El rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "I'm only fifteen. I'm not ready for... that." She shuddered slightly at the thought. In all honesty, it scared her. Tightening her grip on the handle bars to her bike, she said, "But yes, I understand."
"Good." Hopper grunted, gesturing to her outfit. "You're going to see your boyfriend dressed like that? Aren't you supposed to dress nice?" He crossed his arms. "Especially for a date?"
"I told you, it's not a date." She glanced down at her outfit; tennis shoes, grey sweatpants, and a matching hoodie. "We're just hanging out."
Hopper smirked. "And your hair's a mess."
"Hop! It's in a ponytail." She picked at her curly hair that was styled into a low ponytail, rolling her eyes again. "Besides, Mike doesn't care what I look like." She shrugged. "I'm leaving. When should I be home?"
"I'll come pick you up around 10:00," Hopper told her before stepping back into the house, telling her, "have fun," before closing the door.
El shrugged and sped off down the road on her bike, letting her thoughts overcome her. She knew he was only teasing but did what she wore matter? And her hair, did it actually matter if her hair was a mess? Were some boys like that? If they were, she was glad Mike wasn't. He was so sweet, not caring what she wore or did with her hair. He'd told her countless times that it didn't matter.
Besides all that, she was really happy that she was allowed to go places now. Just a year ago, El was barely allowed out of her house, only for occasional visits with Dr. Owens. Now that there was nothing happening and no signs of badmen in Hawkins, she was free to go wherever she pleased. The only rule? Stay away from the lab. But, she didn't mind that rule. She would've stayed away even if it wasn't a rule.
Only a few minutes later, fortunately, she arrived at Mike's house, bringing her bike to the door in the back before heading back to the front of the house. Since Sophomore year started, Mike had been spending more time in his room than in the basement. Something about liking being in his room alone and in the basement with company, she wasn't really quite sure the reason.
Pushing the doorbell once, El stood back and waited patiently. She knew full well she was allowed to just walk in whenever she wanted, Mrs. Wheeler told her so. But, Hopper always told her to be respectful and ring the doorbell, and since he was her dad, she listened to him.
A couple seconds later, the sound of footsteps could be heard on the other side. The door opened, revealing a happy looking Mrs. Wheeler. She smiled wider at the sight of El, opening the door wider for her. "El, you can just walk inside."
"I know," El said and stepped inside, removing her shoes respectively before walking further into the house, accepting a glass of water Mrs. Wheeler offered her after realizing she bikes. After drinking the water, El set it on the counter and asked, "How are you, Mrs. Wheeler?"
"I'm doing well, thank you. Ted, on the other hand-" Mrs. Wheeler rolled her eyes and gestured into the living room where his snores could be heard from. "-is sleeping as always. How are you, dear?"
"I'm good." El smiled and looked around. "Where's Mike?"
Mrs. Wheeler set the empty cup in the sink before answering. "Up in his room. He hasn't come down for a few hours and he won't let anyone in. Not even Holly." She pursed her lips. "Hopefully he lets you in."
El laughed. "Thanks." She turned around and ran up the stairs, stopping in front of Mike's door, knocking quietly. "Mike, it's me." She waited until a muffled 'come in' reached her ears to push open the door, stepping inside, closing it behind her. Lifting her eyes, she spotted Mike sitting on his bed, his back against the headboard, and a guitar in his arms. He seemed to be strumming a tune that sounded a lot like 'Every Breath You Take'.
Yes, Mike started taking guitar lessons last year. He said that it was a good distraction when his parents started fighting. And apparently, Holly loved when he sang to her. She loved his voice all together and usually, he could get her to fall asleep by playing the guitar and singing along.
Rolling her eyes, El walked across the room and grabbed his guitar, taking it out of his arms slowly and setting it carefully down on the floor against the bed. He stared at her like: really? But she knew he wasn't mad. She climbed up next to him and threw her right arm across his middle, pressing her face against his side.
"Well, hello to you too," Mike teased and tugged on her ponytail. "What's up?" She shrugged and let out a little sigh. "Are you okay?" She shrugged again. "El."
"Do you care what I wear? Or if my hair is a mess?" El asked, her voice a bit muffled since she was pressed against his blue sweatshirt.
Mike laughed. "No, why would I care? You look beautiful no matter what. Why do you ask?"
"... No reason," El lied and lifted her head, meeting his eyes. She smiled and brushed her foot up his leg, pushing his matching grey sweatpants up a bit. "I love you."
"I love you too," Mike said softly, placing his hand on her cheek, his thumb caressing the skin over her cheekbone. "I have a surprise for you!" He grabbed her arm and moved it off him so he could slip off the bed, walking over to his desk. He grabbed his wallet and pulled out some money, holding it up. "We're going roller skating."
El furrowed her eyebrows. "Roller skating? Is that like ice skating?" She recalled last winter when the party went ice skating together. She had a bit of trouble staying balanced but Mike held onto her, never letting her fall. "And I thought we weren't going out so I didn't dress nice."
Mike scoffed. "I'm wearing the same outfit except for the hoodie. And yes, it is like ice skating but you're not on ice. I find it easier so don't worry. Now come on, let's go." He opened his door and walked out.
Sighing, El got off the bed and followed him down the steps and over to the door where their shoes were. She slipped hers on and waited silently for Mike who was taking a longer time than needed to tie his shoelaces.
"Where are you guys going?" Mrs. Wheeler asked, appearing in front of them.
"Roller skating," Mike answered as he grabbed his keys off one of the hooks that were nailed into the wall beside the door. Giving his mom a smile, he opened the door and said, "We'll be back in a few hours."
"Okay, be safe." She glanced at a clock. "It's four. Are you two going out for dinner or will you be back in time?"
Mike looked at El who shrugged. "We'll probably stop on the way." He grabbed El's hand and walked out the door, shutting it quietly behind them. Lacing their fingers together, he led her over to his car, unlocked it, and opened the door for her, shutting it when she slipped inside.
"Where are we eating?" El asked as she buckled her seatbelt when Mike got into the car.
Putting the keys in the ignition, Mike replied, "Wherever you want."
The car roared to life and soon they were on the man road, heading to the main point of the city where all the stores and restaurants were. They held hands over the counsel until Mike parked the car in the parking lot of Burger King (El didn't really care where they went) and they had to separate to get out of the car. Though, they met up in the front and linked hands again, walking inside the fast food restaurant.
El told Mike what she wanted, just a cheeseburger and fries, before going to pick out a table. She found an empty booth that was by one of the many windows, showing the parking lot and road where cars were driving down. Sitting down, El watched Mike talk to the person at the cash register, ordering their food and handing over money.
Was it just her or did he look extra attractive today? His dark hair had grown longer, to the nape of his neck, and the ends had started to curl up, which she loved by the way. Over the past few weeks, he'd grown taller, she didn't know how that was possible. The top of her head reached his shoulders now and when they hugged, her cheek would press against his collar bone instead of right underneath his chin like it used to. Not that she minded any of it. He was just... so cute.
"Earth to El? Anyone home?" Mike snapped his fingers in front of her face, breaking her out of the train of thoughts. He set the tray down in between them and grabbed his food, leaving hers on the tray. "Are you okay? You were zoned out for a while."
El blinked a couple times. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." She grabbed her food off the tree and unwrapped the cheese burger, taking a bite out of it and swallowing. "Okay, so what is roller blading exactly?"
Mike laughed. "It's basically ice skating excpt you're on wheels instead of blades and it's a wood floor, not ice. It's pretty easy. You'll get the hang of it pretty quickly."
"Is it just us going?" El asked, dipping a fry in Mike's ketchup. Seriously, the guy didn't get her any.
"Yeah. I invited our friends but they said no," Mike told her, swatting her hand away from the ketchup. "Go get your own," He teased.
"You didn't get me any," She defended and dipped another fry in the ketchup but this time, he didn't bother to stop her, just started with a love sick smile on his face. "What?"
"Nothing," He said and straightened.
"Tell me," El said and set down her cheese burger.
"You're just beautiful and I have no idea why you decided to go out with me out of all people." He rolled his eyes playfully and threw his hands up for emphasis. "I mean, have you seen Dustin? He's got the hair, but not the teeth."
El laughed and reached across the table to set her hand over his. "You're the first one who cared. And you're sweet, so I couldn't not fall for you." This time, she rolled her eyes playfully. "And you're cute so," she shrugged," it's a win win, I guess. Got the personality and the looks."
"Ugh, I love you." He squeezed her hand then gestured to her wrappers. "Are you done?" She nodded and he stode, grabbing the garage and tray, bring them over to the garbage can. He dumped the unwanted things inside and set the tray on top where others were piling up. "Let's go."
Standing up, El grabbed his hand and they walked out of Burger King, and slipped into the car. After the car was turned on, Mike stepped on the gas, driving to the Roller Rink. Thankfully, it was only a couple blocks down and only one parking spot left.
"Geez, there's a lot of people here," El muttered mostly to herself but Mike heard because he squeezed her hand comfortingly. She raised her voice slightly so he could fully hear, "I'm still getting used to being allowed out in public." Unbuckling her seatbelt, El opened her door and stepped outside, taking a deep breath.
"It may be a lot of people," Mike started, "but you can just drone them out and focus on me."
El scoffed. "You wish. Maybe I'll go find another guy to teach me to roller skate. I'm thinking tall with muscles, blonde hair and blue eyes. Yes, that's hot." She started to walk away from him in the middle of that, looking behind her shoulder at him when she was finished. El laughed at the face he was making. "I'm kidding."
"I can never tell with you," Mike said and walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Tell me why I'd be serious about that? Do I not tell you everyday how much I love you?" El asked him when he opened the door for her, stepping inside the roller rink. She was kind of surprised at how loud it was; shouting, talking, stomping of the skates, and loud music.
"You do but I, along with every guy who's dating someone, has a rational fear that you will find someone else. We are only sixteen. You've heard what people say, high school relationships don't usually last," Mike told her.
El rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "Well, we're not a normal high school couple, now are we?" She was about to say something else when she noticed Mike was talking to a guy their age at the front desk. He handed him the money then turned around, throwing a 'thanks' behind his shoulder. "Were you listening to me?"
"Yes and no," Mike said as he grabbed roller skates out of the little cubbies they were held in. He handed them to her. "Try these on." Then he grabbed a bigger pair and slipped off his shoes, sliding the skates on. While he was tying the laces, he said, "I heard something about not being normal."
"I was saying we're not a normal couple." El wiggled her toes once her feet were inside the skates, figuring out if they felt right or not. She decided they did and started to tie the laces but struggled getting them tight enough. "Mike, help?"
Mike laughed and knelt in front of her, picking up her right foot and setting it on top of his knee, tying the laces tightly expertly like he'd done this a hundred times. Maybe he had, she doesn't really know. He did the same with the other foot then patted it when he was done. "There you go." He stood back up and almost fell backwards since he forgot he was wearing skates.
Laughing, El stood up and walked over to him, not liking how heavy her feet felt. She sort of felt trapped in a way but she knew she'd get used to it. "And I thought I was going to be the only one doing that," She teased once he regained his balance.
"Ha-ha," Mike laughed sarcastically. "Very funny, El."
She grabbed his hand as they started walking (really half stomping, half rolling) over to the rink. Before she stepped onto the hardwood ground where many, many people were skating, El took a deep breath and glanced at Mike who was already on the other side. He gave her a reassuring smile. She returned it and stepped onto the floor, rolling forward unwillingly and running into Mike who caught her before she could fall. "Sorry."
"Don't be." Mike placed his hands on her upper arms and pushed her upwards. "Balancing with roller blades is actually easier than balancing on ice skates in my opinion." He grabbed her hands, holding on tight, and started to skate backwards, pulling her forward as he did so.
"I fell plenty of times my first time ice skating," El said right before she lost her balance and fell down on her bum. "Like that," She laughed as he pulled her back up.
Mike shook his head. "How do you fall when I'm literally holding onto you?"
El shrugged and looked around. Her eyes landed on one particular person and her smile slowly slipped away, replaced by a frown. She could feel Mike's worried gaze on the side of her face. She rolled her eyes. "How is it that everywhere I go, she's also there?"
"Who?" Mike looked around.
"Stacy," She said with disgust clearly evident in her voice. Since El had started attending Hawkins High School last fally (for Sophomore year), Stacy had made it here number one goal to drive El crazy by flirting with Mike and literally trying to steal him from her.
"She's just trying to get on your nerves," Mike told her in a soft voice, squeezing her hands.
"I know but she's everywhere," She muttered, her eyes still focused on Stacy who was talking to one of her friends, laughing at something she said. "It's like she's stalking me." Mike raised an eyebrow. "Last week, she was at the same ice cream parlor as us. The week before that, she was at the same movie we went to go see. Tell me that's not a coincidence."
Mike pursed his lips. "Okay, it is a bit weird but I doubt she's stalking you."
"You're probably right." El's face hardened when Stacy skated over to them, giving Mike a flirtatious smile.
"Hey, Mike!" She exclaimed, turning around to skate beside him, going backwards.
"Uh, hi," Mike replied and gave El a look that said: What? She shrugged.
Stacy bit her lip. "What are you doing here?"
"Taking my girlfriend roller skating." Mike jerked his head to El who was staring at Stacy with an unreadable expression. He squeezed her hands (for like the thousandth time that night) comfortingly.
"Oh." Stacy raised an eyebrow as she glanced at El. "Well, you know where to find me once you get sick of her." Then she skated off, throwing Mike a wink behind her shoulder.
Mike made a face. "She's annoying."
"Yeah, tell me about it." El rolled her hands then tugged her hands out of his grasp, laughing at the face he made. "Relax, Mike. I just want to try on my own."
"Oh, okay." He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and turned around so he was skating beside her instead of in front of her. "How's Hopper doing as a newlywed?"
El snorted. Last summer Hopper and Joyce had decided to tie the knot. "Fine. Although he can't get away with a lot of things as he used to. Joyce has a limit on how much he drinks. And-" She leaned closer to him. "-just between you and me, he doesn't follow the rule when she's not around."
Mike laughed and slipped his fingers through hers. "Sounds like Hopper."
"He likes having the boys around though." El moved closer to Mike as two boys a couple years younger than them zoomed past her. "Not that he doesn't like Joyce but you know how they are."
"Yeah. How's Will doing with the changes? I never really asked him because he never brought it up," Mike said.
"He's fine. I think it's still a shock to him when he goes to get breakfast and Joyce and Hopper are making out in the kitchen." El laughed at the memory, leaning her head on Mike's shoulder. "I think it's cute."
"I don't think I'd like to see them making out either." Mike shuddered. "Do you like it?"
"Yes," She admitted. "I finally finished decorating my room. It took forever to clean the paint stains out of the carpet." Last year, Jonathan had left for college so Will moved into his room and El moved into Will's room. "Well, we got most of it out anyways. On the brightside, there are no more bunk beds."
Mike laughed. "Good. I was getting sick of bonking my head everytime I tried to sit up."
"Darn. I'm going to miss that," El teased.
"Hey!" Mike exclaimed, gently shoving her shoulder.
El laughed and was about to say something when someone tripped her and she was sent falling to the ground, hoping that no one would roll over her fingers. Mike was quick to stop skating and pick her up, asking if she was okay but El didn't answer. Her eyes were glued to Stacy who was looking right back at her, laughing as she leaned against the wall. "I'm going to kill her," She muttered under her breath. Of course, she didn't mean it but she was bad.
"El," Mark said warningly but she didn't listen and skated over to where Stacy was flirting with another guy. Her back was to El but the guy saw her and told Stacy. The brat turned around and rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to say something but El beat her to it, "Try that again, I dare you."
"What are you going to do? Pull my hair?" Stacy laughed but frowned when the guy skated away, going to talk to another girl.
"Believe me, I could do much worse than pull your hair," El said through gritted teeth.
Stacy laughed. "Sure you can. I've been meaning to talk to you actually." El raised an eyebrow, silently telling her to continue. "Mike will be mine, okay? And there's nothing you can do that's going to stop me. I know you think that you two are going to stay together forever but I've seen the way he looks at me and the way he looks at you. Two totally different things."
"He thinks you're annoying," El deadpanned.
"You can think what you want." Stacy rolled her eyes. "Did you honestly think he'd want to stay with you? The weirdo? I mean, look at you." She gestured to El's whole body. "You're short-"
"What does being short have anything to do with this?" El asked.
Stacy ignored her. "You're hair's short-"
"Again with the short stuff?" El asked.
"You can't even walk in heels," Stacy said, remembering when she saw El and Max at the mall two summers ago. "You're nothing a guy would want," She spat. "I can't even explain it. You're just not... it. You're not even pretty."
Narrowing her eyes, El said, "Oh, and you are?"
"Yes," She answered proudly. "And look at how you're dressing to go out with your soon to be ex-boyfriend." El rolled her eyes. "I know you don't believe me but he will leave you. No one wants to stay with a freak like you." She glanced behind El and winked. "Bye!" Then she skated away."
El slowly turned around on her skates and saw Mike standing a few feet away, a crease between his eyebrows. She almost smiled. Key word: almost. She skated over to him, not meeting his eyes, and said, "Can we leave?"
"Yeah, yeah," Mike said right away and followed her out of the rink and back over to where people were putting on and taking off their skates.
A few minutes later as they were waking to Mike's car, he asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," El answered far too quickly, crossing her arms.
"Are you sure?" Mike asked as he unlocked the car doors, hopping inside and buckling up. He reached across the counsel and set his hand on her mid thigh. "Hey, you can talk to me. Did she say anything to you?"
"No," El said and buckled her seatbelt. "Let's just go."
-------
Mike opened the front door for El and let her in before stepping inside himself, shutting the door behind him and taking off his shoes. El stayed silent for most of the car ride and now slipped off her shoes, immediately heading upstairs. She could practically feel Mike's concerned stare as he watched her.
With a shaky hand, El turned the doorknob to the bathroom and slipped inside, closing and locking it once she was inside. She turned on the faucet and splashed her face with some cool water, wiping it dry on an unused towel. Then she leaned against the counter, staring at herself in the mirror.
Usually when she did this after using the bathroom, getting out of the shower, or just simply washing her face before bed, El would see a strong beautiful girl.
But right now, looking at herself with watery eyes, she just saw a girl no boy wanted. Now, El hardly ever let things people said affect her. She'd been through too much to throw a hissy fit over something someone said.
But this was Stacy, the girl who was known for tearing others down to build herself up. The girl who wouldn't leave her boyfriend alone no matter how many times El told her to back off.
Was Mike really going to leave her one day? Did he look at Stacy a different way? Like he looked at El? No, she had to be lying. El groaned, looking down, as she felt all her insecurities bubbling inside her, telling her she's not good enough and will never be.
Glancing back up at the mirror, El let out a sob and promptly slid to the ground, her back against the sink. Mike was really going to leave her one day. He was going to realize there are better people out there for him and how dangerous she is. He's- he's-
"El? Are you okay?" She heard Mike's muffled voice ask from the opposite side of the door.
"Yeah," El replied and stood back up, wiping her eyes, before unlocking and opening the door. She came face to face with a worried Mike staring down at her.
He reached out, setting his palm against her cheek, his thumb caressing her smooth skin. "Were you crying?" She didn't answer, just stepped forward to hug him. "El, what's wrong? You never act like this."
"Don't leave me," She whimpered against his shoulder.
Mike sighed and pulled away, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and brought her into his room, shutting the door behind them. He walked over to his bed and sat against the headboard, pulling her onto his lap. Running his fingers through her curls, Mike said, "I'm just going to break it to you, El."
"Oh no," She mumbled into his chest.
"I'm never leaving you. I don't care what people say about us or how many times they try to break us up, I don't care. Like I said a couple years ago, I've never felt like this with anyone before and that still hasn't changed," Mike said softly, kissing the top of her head. "El, I love you more than I've ever loved anyone before. So don't you dare think you're not good enough for me or that I'm going to leave you because I'm not."
Sniffling, El brought her lips to his, her hands making their way into his hair while his went around her waist. The kiss got more heated than she would have liked it to be but at the same time, she wasn't complaining. She slipped off his lap so they were laying side to side and reconnected their lips.
Mike pressed his lips harder against hers, his fingers tangling in her curls tightly.
El through her arm over his shoulders, pulling herself closer to him, and kissed him with everything she had. He was the best thing that ever happened to her and she made it a goal to tell him that through every kiss. She smiled when his hand slipped down to rest against her waist and pulled her impossibly closer than she already was.
They praised each other's lips for who knows how long, not even caring if the door opened and his mom saw them. It got to the point that even if a demogorgon jumped out of the walls and wiped out all of life, El wouldn't have cared. She just wanted to be with Mike at that moment, doing nothing but innocently making out.
Seconds later, minutes later, hours later, who knows, they pulled apart with a gasp, pressing their foreheads together. They kept their eyes closed, enjoying each other's company, and not wanting the moment to end. El opened her eyes seconds later and looked straight into Mike's warm brown ones.
"Your heart eyes are showing," She whispered as she started tracing his features with her finger.
Mike smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying her finger against his face. "I can't help it."
"I love you." She pulled her finger away, resting her hand against his neck.
"I love you too." He squeezed her waist.
El winced and pressed her thumb against his bottom lip. "Your lips are bruised... and swollen."
"So are yours." Mike made a face. "Sorry. Your dad is gonna kill me."
"No he won't." El rolled her eyes. "He knows we kiss and at least he's not finding a bruise anywhere else on my body. If he did, that would be another story."
"I don't even want to think about that," Mike said.
"Do you want to go watch a movie? I don't leave for another two hours," El told him, her eyes set on a clock that was hanging on the wall.
Mike pursed his lips and sat up. "Sure."
They walked down the stairs side by side, sharing silent glances then laughing after. El shoved Mike's shoulder the third time he looked over at her and made a silly face. Goodness, why did she laugh so easily? They stopped by the kitchen to make popcorn, laughing when Ted's snoring got louder when the microwave beeped.
Once they were in the basement, El sat in front of the TV, digging through the box with all the movies inside. After a while of disagreeing on what to watch, they both agreed on Jaws. El wasn't too fond of the movie but she liked the music and how that got her adrenaline pumping.
El stood after putting in the movie and walked over to the couch, plopping herself down beside Mike and snuggling up against him, her head on his shoulder and her arm thrown across his middle. She knew she was being clingy today but neither her or Mike cared.
As the middle of the movie rolled around, El found herself starting to become bored so she grabbed a piece of popcorn and threw it up in the air, trying to catch it in her mouth. Well, that didn't work very well since it bounced off her nose and fell to the ground. Her cheeks flushed when she noticed Mike was watching her, an amused smile on his face.
She shrugged and grabbed another kurnell, threw it up in the air and tried to catch it in her mouth but, much to her disappointment, it was the same result as the last time. She tried again but that kurnell fell to the ground as well.
Mike laughed and set the bowl down on the table then grabbed a kurnell himself, throwing it up in the air and catching it expertly in his mouth. El just stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth parted slightly. "I've been doing it since I was a little kid."
El nodded and stood, facing him. "Throw one to me." Mike did as she said and threw the kurnell in the air in her direction. She ducked down and it landed in her mouth. Her eyes widened and she laughed. "Did it!"
"You get so amazed at the weirdest things," Mike joked.
"Well, I'm so-rry!" The last part was yelped because just as she was saying that, a person on the TV screamed, causing her to be frightened. "That scared me." She sat back down and curled against Mike. She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. "I don't wanna go home."
"You could ask to spend the night," Mike said jokingly, knowing full well he'd never let her sleepover at his house without the rest of their friends there.
"Yeah, like he'd say yes to that." El rolled her eyes for the tenth time that day.
"When are you leaving?" Mike asked.
"In like ten minutes," El groaned, burying her face in Mike's shoulder.
Mike smiled and kissed the top of her head. "You could come over tomorrow and bring Will along because Dustin and Lucas are coming over."
"What about Max?" El furrowed her eyebrows as she stood since Hopper liked her to be waiting by the door a few minutes before he got there. "Is she coming?"
"If she decided to show up." Mike followed her up the stairs, shutting the lights off before closing the door. "Lucas invited her but she said maybe."
El laughed. "Knowing her she will." She pulled her tennis shoes on then stood in front of him, looking into his eyes and smiling. "You're so cute."
"Thanks." Mike pecked her forehead but pulled away when a car honked outsides. "I think your ride is here." He opened the door and let her outside, following her. He grabbed her bike and brought it to the back of the car, waiting for Hopper to pop the trunk. Once he did, Mike set the bike in the back and shut the trunk then made his way over to the passenger side where El was sitting.
"Bye." El gave him a smile.
Mike rolled his eyes. That wasn't going to cut it. He leaned his head through the open window and kissed her, ignoring Hopper's fake gags. He pulled away and ruffled her hair affectionately, smiling. "Night. Love you."
"Love you too." She gave one last smile before she rolled her window up, waving when Hopper started pulling out of the driveway.
Mike stayed outside until the chief's police car was out of his sight. Walking back inside, he shut the door and made his way up to his room, ready to get to bed so he could see El sooner.