User:CraftTech/Sandbox

The silence outside of the Byers' home was suddenly disrupted as the blue Chevrolet Camaro driven by Scott this time halted on the dirt path and the four young teens rushed out of the car and up to the house, Steve hurrying after them.

"Eleven?" Marty called as he raced around the house, jumping over Steve who they had left on the living room floor. "Eleven?!" he called again, feeling the panic in him rising. "Calm down dude they obviously aren't back yet." Scott commented as he went over to the small freezer to pull out some ice, wrapping it in a towel and touching it to his throbbing head.

Marty glared at Scott for a moment, he didn't understand how badly he needed to see her. He had waited almost a year to be reunited with Eleven and their reunion had been bittersweet, she had been taken away less than 15 minutes later.

Marty started to pace up and down the lounge as he thought about her, there was just so much he wanted to say… so many things he wanted to do. He held his hands together nervously and jumped with apprehension when he saw car lights appear on the track to the house. He raced out of the house to the porch along with the rest of the group.

When Marty realised it was Joseph's car, for one second he was disappointed, but then he knew this meant that Will was with them. Marty, Lucas and Dustin ran down the steps and along the dirt to meet Joseph helping Will out of the car.

"Thank god!" Dustin said smiling as the boys all hugged Will; Max joining in as well whilst Joyce tried to tell them that her son was quite fragile so to be careful. "Are Hopper and El back yet?" she asked looking over at Scott who shook his head silently. She frowned but smiled gently when she saw Marty's face, "They'll be fine. I'm sure of it." Joyce told him with confidence before putting her arm around Will and leading him towards the house, with Joseph, Dustin, Max and Lucas following.

Marty looked out at the dark road and sighed to himself, not hearing Anne walk up to him. "Are you okay?" she asked him calmly, clear concern in her voice. Marty turned to look at his sister, he was tempted to lie but felt too weak for it. He shook his head and felt a tear fall down his cheek, Anne didn't tease him and immediately brought him into her arms. He cried as she held him close and stroked his hair.

"She's going to be okay Marty… she's so strong. You know she can kick ass." She told him smiling slightly. Marty sniffed and moved out of the hug to wipe at his eyes. "She's incredible… she's amazing. But I've lost her before, I know what it feels like and I can't go through that again." He admitted to his sister.

Anne sighed and was about to speak when they heard Joyce screech, shortly followed by her saying, "Who is this?!" Anne looked wildly at the house, "What the?" she asked and Marty shrugged, barely bothered, "She'll have found Steve. He's unconscious on the living room floor." He said glumly, his mind far away. "What?" Anne said in confusion before rushing up to the house herself.

Marty made his way up to the house but decided to sit on the porch instead and look out at the dark road. He wasn't sure if he was sat there for five hours or five minutes, time didn't seem to matter when he saw in the distance car lights appearing and he stood up immediately, his heart racing, his palms clammy.

As the car swerved slightly to park, he saw "Hawkins Police Dept" written on the side and he couldn't stop himself from running over to the Chevy as Hopper got out and helped El out the other side.

Marty didn't care about the tears rushing down his face, the moment he saw El and she looked at him tired, blood stains on her nose, her eyes bloodshot but smiling, he brought her into his arms and held her tightly whilst they both cried on each other.

"You came back," Marty gasped through his sobs and El held him tightly, her head lying on his shoulder. "I promised," she said with determination despite their breathlessness.

Marty pulled back slightly and moved his shaking hands to cup her soft cheeks, he looked in her beautiful brown eyes, they sparkled even now and sent his heart into a spin. He closed his eyes and leaned in giving her the kiss they had been cheated of earlier.

El kissed him back and through her lips touching his, Marty felt like he was being revitalised and whole once more. As they broke apart from their kiss, El embraced him until someone cleared their throat and they both realised Hopper was still stood there looking annoyed.

"Right break it up, we need to go inside." He told them seriously but clearly uncomfortable with what he had just witnessed. Marty looked at the chief and felt ready to start up another argument with him, telling him that he could do whatever he wanted. The chief wasn't the boss of him and had hidden the love of his life away from him for almost a year, but he knew better than starting a fight again.

Marty nodded in agreement but held El's hand, their fingers lacing together, the feeling of her skin against his skin was comforting and soothed his heart as they walked into the house. They were met with the rest of the group, who all wanted to hug El, making Marty slowly be pulled away from her to his dislike.

Joyce rang around Marty's, Lucas's and Dustin's parents explaining they were staying the night whilst Hopper, Joseph and Scott came up with a plan as to how to take Steve and his car home and explain what had happened to him.

"Just say he fell on the ice," Max wavered into the conversation, "I'll just tell them he's a clumsy dumbass and he found me at the arcade but fell over on the way to the car and Scott and Joseph found us." She reasoned.

The men looked at her in surprise and then shared glances, Hopper sighed, "I suppose it could work." Whilst Scott and Joseph carried Steve to his car, Max said good bye to the boys and avoided El following her cold greeting earlier. Max jumped in with Steve who drove Steve's car and Joseph and Anne followed them in his car to give Scott a lift back.

Will was finally fast asleep in his bed and Lucas and Dustin were asleep on his floor having found sleeping bags and spare pillows. Marty sat on the couch with El whilst Hopper and Joyce sat at the kitchen table, both of them smoking tensely whilst Hopper explained how the army had arrived just as he and El were leaving.

Marty overheard with a pang of sadness as Hopper tried to tell Joyce that Bob's body was taken to the morgue, but the rest was muffled as all he could hear was Joyce crying. Marty turned his attention back to El and put his arm around her in comfort and she smiled weakly up at him, her head against his chest, making him wonder if she could hear his heart beating loudly just for her.

There was so much Marty wanted to ask her, he wanted to know what she had been doing this past year, he wanted to ask where she got the cool clothes from, he wanted to tell her how miserable he had been without her, but when he looked down at the girl he loved, she was sound asleep against him and he couldn't help but smile slightly and before he knew it, he too was asleep, sleeping better than he had in almost a year.

Once Hopper had told Joyce that they found Dr. Owens alive but hurt, he explained he would visit him in the hospital the next day and that they should probably call it a night. Joyce nodded numbly, still reeling from losing Bob.

They both stood up and Hopper walked over to the couch to see El and Marty asleep, the young boy's arm around her protectively. He frowned and sighed turning to Joyce, "What am I going to do with them two?" he asked her half frustrated and half amused.

She smiled sadly at them, "They're in love and you're going to let them sleep Hop. They've been through enough." She said her voice breaking as she began to cry. Hopper embraced her and they stood in the kitchen for hours as Joyce broke down, the events of the night finally catching up with her.

Marty couldn't concentrate through school, and he also couldn't believe that Hopper had insisted that they go to school the day after the gate was closed. He had claimed that they needed to make things seem as normal as possible and that any suspicious behaviour might draw eyes to El.

Will had made sure his mom let him come to school with the gang which was the one good thing about the day so far. The moment the mind flayer had pulled itself out of Will, it was like he was back to his old self, all the symptoms related to the Upside Down had gone with the Shadow Monster.

The boys tried and failed to pay attention during the last class of the day, all while Dustin kept turning back in his seat and mouthing to Marty, "1 hour to go", "30 minutes to go" and then "10 minutes to go" before Mrs. Thompson told him off for talking. Mike drummed his fingers on his desk and stared at the clock, praying for it to go faster. He could barely contain his nervous energy to see El, he had missed her the moment he had left for school.

Seeing as Hopper had put Marty through hell by not telling him and the boys that El was safely in Hawkins, he had relented and agreed to the group being brought to the cabin where El was living after school, all of them being driven there by Joseph who now knew the way.

Marty wondered what conditions El had been living in, and whilst he wasn't Hopper's greatest fan at the moment, he knew he would have been kind to El and not let her live in a shack or something.

Finally, the bell rang out and Marty sprang from his seat with excitement and rushed out of the classroom with Will, Dustin and Lucas hot on his tail. They walked quickly down the corridor whilst Lucas reminded the boys that he had asked Max to meet them in the playground before finding Jonathan.

Marty nodded, no longer having ill feelings towards Max. She had really shown yesterday how much she wanted to help out, and her driving skills had been amazing, she was definitely their zoomer.

They reached the playground where Max was fiddling with her skate board. "Hey Max!" Lucas shouted happily as they made their way over to her. She didn't seem that happy to see them but smiled slightly.

"You ready to go?" Lucas asked her breathlessly when they reached her. Max looked around at the other boys and then dropped her gaze to the floor, "can I talk to you for a second stalker?" she said quietly. Marty looked at Lucas with reproachful eyes, he really wanted to get going to see El and Lucas could see that. "Go ahead guys, we'll only be a second. Go find Joseph." He said calmly. Marty didn't need to be told twice, "Come on guys," he said happily as he, Dustin and Will wandered off to the parking lot.

"What's up?" Lucas asked Max with concern. She looked at him and sighed, "I don't think I should come with you guys to see El…" she said bracingly. Lucas looked at her in surprise, "why not?" Max shrugged and put her hands into her jeans pockets, "I don't know if you were blind yesterday, but she clearly doesn't like me." She said honestly.

Lucas thought back to when Max had tried to introduce herself and El had completely blanked her. He frowned, "I mean… she's not usually like that. She's normally quite shy but…" he couldn't really think of an excuse. Max smiled slightly, "It's fine stalker. Have fun and I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a wave and sped off on her skate board.

Lucas watched her go, feeling his heart pull in confliction. He sighed and raced off to catch the boys as they were getting into Joseph's car. "Where's Max?" Will asked as he got into the front passenger seat. Lucas shrugged, "Er… she couldn't make it."

Marty sat in the middle between Lucas and Dustin as Jonathan made his way to the cabin. He looked out the window, making a point of trying to remember the route as they drove down the country roads. "Marty?" Lucas mumbled to him suddenly, making him turn. "Yeah?" he asked slightly distracted as he kept his eyes mainly on the road.

"Do you think you could have a word with El about Max?" Lucas said quietly. Marty was surprised by his friend's words and so turned finally from the road, "Why?" he asked confused. Lucas shrugged, "Well El wasn't exactly… welcoming to Max. That's why she hasn't come. She didn't think El would want to see her." He said simply.

Marty scoffed, "That's ridiculous!" he said but Dustin joined in the conversation, "no it's not ridiculous my friend. Max tried to shake El's hand yesterday and El totally gave her this like glare and walked off. It was kind of scary and like cool at the same time!" Dustin said animatedly. Marty frowned and pondered this for a moment, he guessed he sort of owed Max, for judging her without even knowing her. He finally nodded and turned to Lucas, "Yeah if I get the chance I'll ask her what the problem is."

El couldn't quite believe she was back at the cabin, she looked around the room as Hopper put everything back where it should be and started to fix the television. She watched him with a slight smile, a warm feeling in her heart at being home with him.

El was glad she had told him about visiting her mama and aunt Becky, he had even promised they would visit them as much as they could. But El wasn't stupid, she knew it wouldn't be the best idea to tell Hopper about how she had found her brother and had assisted in robbing a shop and almost killing a man.

She blinked and looked out of the window with guilt and confusion in her eyes. El wondered what Roman was doing now and if he had been caught, she was sure that he hadn't been caught, especially not because of his powers. But El couldn't help but think she had hurt Roman by leaving, but she had to come back to Hawkins, she had to come back to her friends, to Marty. She knew in her heart that wherever he was, was his true home.

It was then that El heard footsteps and excited voices outside of the cabin and she jumped up from her chair, feeling nervous and happy all at once. Hopper had also heard the noise and he didn't seem as thrilled, he went to the front door, opening it and looking down at the boys with a frown, "Hey what did I say about not drawing attention. Keep it down!" he told them sternly as they walked nervously into the cabin whilst Joseph said, "Hey they're excited!" in their defence.

Hopper rolled his eyes and watched on as Dustin, Will and Lucas hugged Eleven but just as Marty was about to embrace her, Hopper coughed, "why doesn't everyone sit down and we go through some ground rules." He said looking particularly at Marty who shrunk into a chair, El sitting next to him.

Marty was bursting with excitement by the time he walked through the cabin door and saw El beaming like an angel in front of him and his friends. His breath had caught in his throat at her beauty. Her face now make up free and her eyes sparkling so bright it was like looking into the sun. But Hopper soon ruined the moment with his stupid rules.

Marty listened to Hopper with annoyance, he was telling them that El was still going to have to keep a low profile, especially for the next 6 months or so because there was still a few members of the department of energy who still knew of her. He explained that she couldn't be going to any of their houses and that they were allowed to visit her at the cabin but not every day.

"Why not every day?" Marty asked perplexed. Hopper glared at him specifically for a moment, "because what if someone spotted you doing the same trip every single day? Some might be curious as to where you were off to. Especially if they were from the Department of Health." He said sternly and Marty knew he had no argument to that.

He sighed and looked down, how could he go more than a day not seeing El? Especially when he now knew where she lived. It was torture to his heart. When the speech was finished and the ground rules were put down, El turned to Hopper, "Can me and my friends go outside please?" she asked in her sweet tone with her bambi eyes that Marty knew Hopper couldn't say no to, because he also couldn't say no to those eyes.

The chief gave in and nodded his head, "Yes but don't go too far and don't be too loud." He warned them all. El beamed and stood up with excitement, her enthusiasm was catchy and Marty found himself grinning as the boys followed her outside. Joseph told Hopper he'd be back in a few hours for the boys and left, leaving the chief to finish off trying to fix the television.

The gang immersed themselves in a game of hide and seek and when it was Mike's turn he grinned to himself, finding El almost immediately as she never strayed too far from him. She was leaning against a tree and Marty ran up to her not that she had put up a fight, placing both his hands flat against the tree either side of her upper body, "Got you" he teased smiling at her lovingly.

El beamed back at him, her beautiful eyes connecting with his dark eyes making his stomach erupt with butterflies. "I'm happy to be home with you Marty." She said softly, making his heart ache with love. "I'm so happy you're back home with me." He admitted dropping his hands from the tree and reaching for her hands gently.

Marty looked down at their intertwined hands for a moment and remembered what Lucas had told him. "Hey El?" he asked nervously looking at her beautiful face. "Yes?" she asked gently. "This is a bit of a stupid question… but do you not like Max?" he said watching her eyes turn dark for a moment and realising it wasn't a stupid question at all and there was definitely truth in it.

El looked down at the floor as if she was embarrassed and Marty moved his right hand to her cheek tenderly and moved her face back up to look at his. "Why don't you like her?" he asked her softly, desperately wanting to know what it was that bothered her. El sighed and looked sadly into his eyes, "She was… with you. I saw." She admitted to Marty's surprise.

He wracked his brains to think back to yesterday, as far as he could remember there hadn't been one moment where he had been alone with Max, except when he was getting bleach from under the sink, but El wasn't there then… or was she? "Do you mean when I was getting the cleaning stuff from under the sink?" he asked her confused.

El shook her head, "No… you were in the school with her…alone. She was on her board thing and you were… smiling." She said with guilt looking away from his eyes. Marty watched her for a moment as he thought back to when Max had fallen off her skate board and he gasped, "You were there! I knew it! I ran out of the gym looking for you." He told her with excitement and El slowly looked back up at him, her eyes vulnerable making Marty finally realise her thought process.

"Hang on… did you think I liked Max?" he asked in surprise. El seemed reluctant to speak but slowly nodded her head. Marty laughed gently and then realised that wasn't the best thing to do as El looked more hurt. He quickly took both of her hands in his once more, "El I've never liked Max that way. When you saw her with me, I was actually telling her she annoyed me… and now she's just become my friend because she helped me with my plan to help you. I thought you knew… that you're my girl." His last words coming out vulnerable.

El looked at him in surprise, her heart feeling warm and tender as he held her hands, his eyes only looking at her. "Your girl?" she asked confused. Marty smiled slightly looking into her bright brown eyes, "Yeah my girl. It means you're the only girl for me." He said in a caressed whisper before deciding in this moment he needed to be brave. "There's a reason I called you every night for 353 days El. There's a reason that I can't ever stop thinking about you. It's because… I love you." He told her breathlessly.

El smiled, her eyes watery as she leaned up and kissed him gently, he shut his eyes and grinned against her lips before pulling her into an embrace. As he held her, Marty opened his eyes and frowned slightly to himself, he had told her he loved her and she hadn't said it back. He wondered if she even knew what love meant and didn't feel like right now was the time to explain it.

Marty's attention was distracted as snow started to fall lightly, reminding his brain of something very important. "El?" Marty said moving slowly out of the embrace, "Yes Marty?" the beautiful girl asked, looking at him smiling. "Er… do you remember me inviting you to the snow ball? Well it's next Saturday if you wanted to go with me." He said nervously, fidgeting slightly.

El's eyes brightened immediately and she nodded her head, "Yes." She said in a mixture of relief and excitement and Marty found himself hugging her once more, holding her tight until he heard Lucas shouting, "You two are the worst hide and seek players ever!" Marty laughed and pulled away from El to watch the boys walking back over to them. "Yeah we could have frozen to death you dickheads!" Dustin moaned. Marty smirked, "Sorry guys." But he wasn't sorry, and as he held El's hand tightly with his own, he knew that he was in fact the happiest he had ever been.

It was finally Wednesday and Marty was once again incredibly inpatient for the school day to be over so he could see El. Not seeing her on Tuesday had been painful, and not having any way to communicate with her was even worse. But finally, he could once again look at the angel who had stolen his heart, the love of his life.

"Earth to Marty?" Dustin said impersonating his own version of an alien. Marty blinked and looked around at the boys and Max at the lunch table, all who were looking back at him with amused expressions.

Marty cleared his throat and looked down at his sandwich, "Er… sorry guys I got distracted." He admitted before biting into his sandwich to try and suppress some of his embarrassment.

"Don't we know it," Max said rolling her eyes whilst Lucas laughed, "you sure are distracted… thinking about El." He teased playfully.

Marty felt his cheeks redden, "shut up," he mumbled avoiding their eyes.

Dustin grinned, "But's it's true Marty! You go all gooey eyed over her." He said as Max and Lucas joined in laughing at Mike's uncomfortableness.

"Hey I think it's nice!" Will piped up making the whole party turn to him in surprise, Marty included.

"You think?" Max asked him her eyebrow raised sceptically.

Will shrugged clearly feeling uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him but he slowly spoke, "well yeah. I mean they've been separated for a year and it's clear they really care about each other. It's about time they were both happy. I mean… El did save all our lives." He stated looking around at them all like this should be obvious.

Lucas sighed, "You're right man. Sorry Marty." He said smiling at their paladin.

Dustin smirked, "Yeah sorry lover boy."

Marty ignored Dustin and turned to Will instead with a grateful smile, "Thanks Will. I appreciate it." He said honestly.

Will grinned clearly embarrassed by all of the attention, "No problem" he said lightly and bit into his sandwich.

Max sighed crossing her arms, "Well as long as you two aren't like making out all the time!" Marty felt himself blushing but all he could do was shrug, he didn't want to say that he wasn't going to kiss El, because that would be a lie and friends don't lie. He loved her and was crazy about her.

As his friends got talking about the arcades, well whilst Max and Dustin argued about Dig Dug, Marty found himself once again distracted thinking about El. He had told her he loved her, he couldn't help it. He had looked into her stunning hazel eyes and the words just got pulled out of him, there was nothing he could have done about it. He wasn't sure if he had expected her to say it back, well he had hoped… but she didn't seem to have even acknowledged his words when he had said it. He was once again sure she didn't even know what love meant and he felt too embarrassed to explain it to her.

El sat cross legged on the couch of the cabin flicking through channels with her mind, feeling bored and inpatient to see Marty. Hopper had to go back to work so things looked as normal as possible, but he had promised he wouldn't be later than 6pm for once and he'd radio in if he couldn't keep his promise.

El thought about the chief, strong and together but warm and kind. She had missed him more than she thought was possible but couldn't think of the word that went with her feelings for him. It was similar to the feelings she harboured for Marty, but they were somehow more intense for the dark-haired boy who made her stomach rush with butterflies and her heart beat erratically.

El turned her head towards the kitchen wall and squinted to look at the clock. "2, 3, 5. 2.35." She muttered to herself remembering her lessons with Hopper in the process. El still wasn't great with the time but she knew that meant she didn't have too long until Marty would arrive. She was nervous, happy and excited to see him all at the same time.

He had asked her when he left on Monday if it would be okay for him to come over on his own without the boys and she had of course agreed. El hadn't ever been truly alone with Marty, except for a few minutes before she would go to sleep in her fort. But now the reality of being alone with Marty was making her pulse quicken. It was that intense feeling again, it made her feel super sensitive of every touch and feeling when he was around.

The soap opera El had been watching was coming to a close, not that she had been paying much attention. And she once again found herself growing bored as she waited. She lay her head back onto the soft material of the couch and shut her eyes for a moment thinking of everything that had happened over the past two weeks.

El couldn't help but think back to Roman and she bit her lip anxiously as she thought of her brother and whether he was safe. She opened her hazel eyes and stared right at the television set, knowing exactly what she could do to ease her mind. El jerked her head to the side three times before she found a static channel. She moved to her room to fetch the old black material cloth she had used for a blind fold before returning to the couch and trying to relax into the cushions.

El tried to clear her mind and think only of Roman, which was a lot easier now that she had interacted with her brother. She opened her eyes and found herself in the void. She looked around to see a lit up room that was a make shift bedroom and with a sigh El saw Roman sat on the bed.

El couldn't help but hesitate. She didn't know if Roman was mad at her for leaving, but she couldn't deny the pull to her brother to make sure he didn't hate her. El walked slowly to Roman, the water splashing with every movement of her feet. Finally she looked down at her brother and slowly sank on the bed next to him.

"Hello Jane," came Roman's voice suddenly. He didn't look up.

El found herself breathing heavily out of nerves, "Hi Roman." She said quietly in response watching her brother for a moment.

"Are you safe? Did you make it back to Hawkins?" Roman asked still not looking in her direction.

El found herself nodding, "Yes. I'm safe and in Hawkins. I saved my friends… I closed the gate." She confirmed, her voice thick with emotion.

Roman side smiled gently for a moment as if also sharing her emotion before speaking, "I miss you Jane. You don't know how long it's been since I saw another sibling from that place."

There was silence between the girls before El asked anxiously "Are you all safe? Funshine, Axel, Dottie, Mick?"

Roman laughed gently and turned to where El was sat. "Yes Jane. We got away. We're in a new safe house now." He said making El instantly feel better.

Roman bit his lip, "Jane… I'm sorry for getting you involved in all of this. This is my revenge. I thought it could be yours too. But you are so young. You deserve to live as normal a life as you can." He said seriously.

El felt tears fall down her cheeks, "you deserve it too Roman," she said her voice shaking.

Roman side smiled to himself and his dark eyes somehow found El's. "This is the life I want Jane. I cannot rest until I have revenge for what they did to us." He said calmly before adding with a small smile, "But will you check up on me from time to time? I'd love to hear from you again."

El couldn't stop herself from smiling but quickly wiped at her tears before saying in a thick voice, "Yes Roman of course I will."

Marty didn't think he had biked so fast in his life, only second to when he, El, Dustin and Lucas were trying to get out of the clutches of the department of energy vans. He smiled to himself as he thought about how El had caused the van to flip. She was so incredible.

Marty raced down the country roads desperate to get to her as soon as possible. He knew there was no real rush, but he just couldn't wait to see her. This would be the first real time that he got to be home alone with her until Hopper would return from work. He cringed to himself as he thought about how the chief had pulled him to the side on Monday night and muttered threateningly "No funny business Wheeler. She tells me everything."

It wasn't just Hopper's ridiculing he had to deal with, because the moment he had told the rest of the group that he wanted to see El alone, they had fallen about laughing and teasing him, making stupid kissing noises. They had opted in the end to go to the arcade, Max promising Dustin and Lucas that she would still be the reigning champion whilst Will who was now free of the mind flayer was looking forward to just being himself again.

Marty couldn't help the guilt he felt over Will, since El had returned he hadn't spent a lot of time with his friends but he knew it affected Will the most. Lucas and Dustin had got to know El in the week where she was hiding at Marty's house. They saw her dangerous side and her amazing character. But Will had to get used to her and Marty wasn't making it easy by trying to keep her to himself.

After 353 days apart he felt like he had an excuse for being clingy. He knew he could never ever lose her again, it had almost killed him and he felt like he was still dealing with the shock waves of her return. Sometimes it didn't feel real that she was back, like it was too good to be true.

Whilst the 13 year old teenage boy of course wanted to hold her hand, kiss her and get close to her, he also wanted to just be with her. El had never got to be a normal kid, and Marty wanted to show her what she had been missing. He seriously couldn't wait until the summer, he could take her swimming, watch fireworks, go to the county fair and maybe even sit under the stars with her.

Marty was so distracted by his thoughts he almost missed the discreet turn in the road where the cabin was hidden about half a mile from the main road. He dismounted from his bike and walked it the rest of the way into the woods as he neared the cabin, excited beyond belief to see El.

Marty discarded his bike by the side of the cabin and walked up to the door, doing the secret knock that Hopper had shown the group on Monday. Almost instantly after knocking, Marty heard the sound of about 5 locks unlocking at the same time and he braced himself, trying to contain his nerves as the door opened and El stood there smiling at him so brightly that he felt his cheeks instantly warm up.

"El…" he breathed out in relief before she quickly closed the gap between them and jumped into his arms with vigour. Marty almost fell backwards but tried to plant his feet and moved his arms around her slim waist as his own anchor. Her arms were wrapped around his neck as she lay her head on his chest and let out a sigh. Her curly thick hair tickled his chin and he breathed in her scent. She smelt so sweet, like eggos and fragrant roses which he assumed was her shampoo. Marty grinned foolishly to himself knowing if he could stay like this forever, then he would.

El snuggled closer into his chest and he knew immediately that she'd be able to hear his heart almost bursting with happiness. "Hi," she said calmly, her eyes closed in a relaxed state.

Marty couldn't stop smiling, "Hey El," he said playfully as he looked up and saw it had started to snow.

He really didn't want to move, but he also didn't want to get El sick from a cold the first day he was alone with her. He highly doubted Hopper would be impressed. Marty sighed and slowly got out of the embrace, smiling at El's beautiful face as it appeared from his chest. "Should we go inside? Get out of the cold?" he offered kindly. El nodded and grinned taking his hand and turned to walk into the cabin.

El didn't know why Marty was so intrigued by her bedroom when she gave him a tour of the cabin. She saw his dark eyes linger on her bed for a moment too long before he caught her looking at him curiously and he blushed.

After the quick tour Marty offered to make El some eggos to appease her grumbling stomach whilst she waited for Hopper to get home. She sat on her bed crossed legged when Marty came back into her room, holding a plate with a few eggos sat on it. El couldn't stop the huge grin that appeared on her face. Marty and eggos… a match made in heaven.

Marty hesitantly sat next to her on the bed and shuffled so that he was facing her as they ate the waffles and he told her about his day in school. El couldn't help but feel like there was something that Marty was bursting to say but he was trying to control himself. After he spoke about some strange book he had to read for English, El couldn't help but interject. "What's wrong Marty?" she asked him, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked into his face, trying to read his thoughts.

Marty's cheeks blushed again slightly and he looked down at his hands held in his lap for a moment. "It's just… I want to know… I need to know what happened El." He said quietly, his dark eyes slowly moving back to meet hers. El found herself gasping slightly at the pain that she could see embedded in those beautiful eyes.

Marty took a deep breath, "I need to know what happened after you killed the Beholder. And what you had been doing since." He finally said bravely surprising them both at his confident words. El bit her lip hesitantly, not knowing where to start. That time was so painful that sometimes she liked to pretend she hadn't ended up in the upside down. But when she looked into those sparkling dark eyes, she knew he needed answers.

El took a heavy breath that moved her slender frame and looked up at Mike's face. He was so pretty. She looked into his eyes as she slowly spoke, "When I killed the Beholder I woke up in the upside down." She started, but already had to pause as she remembered so clearly the panic she had experienced whilst she tried to find him.

Looking into Marty's eyes was too much and so El closed her eyes before continuing. "I… I called for you but I couldn't find you. I saw a light in the wall and with my powers I was able to climb through it." She explained, carefully opening her eyes when she heard Marty speak avidly.

"You found a portal home?!"

She looked at him and nodded. Mike's previous smile turned back into a frown, "Hang on… so when I thought I saw you outside of my house… I really did?" he said in a pained whisper.

El nodded again slowly and spoke simply, "The bad men came running so I had to leave."

Marty glared at the patchwork duvet and muttered to himself, "I should have found you that night. I could have protected you."

El watched his external anger in surprise for a moment. She couldn't understand how he could think it was his fault. She slowly reached for his fisted hand. It opened up immediately for her own and their eyes met once more.

"It wasn't your fault. The bad men would have known you were looking for me. I had to hide." El said calmly to Marty, trying to get him to believe every word and not feel any guilt. She couldn't bare it. When Marty seemed to calm down slightly, El continued. "It was day 30 when I saw Hopper in the woods. He was bringing me food."

Marty looked at her confused, "So he knew you were living in the woods and he didn't try and get to you sooner?!" he said in an angry tone. El cringed slightly not liking his anger, remember when he had been hot headed with her.

Marty seemed to realise this too and squeezed her hand before saying tenderly, "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you El, I just hate to think you were out there all alone in the woods. In the cold, with no food. I was searching the woods… I just can't believe I didn't find you."

El perked up slightly, "you were looking for me?" she asked softly.

Marty couldn't help but smile slightly, "Of course. Dustin, Lucas and Will helped me at first… but then after a month or so I looked by myself. I checked the woods the best I could, the quarry and I even tried to break into Hawkins lab." He said smirking to himself at his last comment.

El looked at him in surprise, knowing it was dangerous to try and break into the lab but he had tried it anyway. She watched him for a moment, remembering what he had told her about friends telling each other things, things that parents don't know. "I met my brother." El said whilst Marty gaped at her.

"Brother?" he said confused, repeating her words.

El nodded, "I went to see Mama and also met my aunt Becky. Mama is… not well, but she showed me memories. She tried to save me but the bad men… t-the bad men…" she couldn't get the words out as the image of her mom's agony raced through her mind and tears fell immediately down her cheeks.

"Hey, it's okay," Marty said softly, moving closer to her, his hands cupping her face as he tried to wipe the tears away with his thumbs.

El tried to swallow the choke that was in her throat, "The bad men did something to her brain with electricity. S-she was n-never the s-same." She finally got out in a shaky breath.

Marty stared at her incredulously as if he couldn't believe what she was saying. El knew his confusion wouldn't subside until she got it all out. "Aunt Becky has to care for Mama. Mama couldn't speak to me. But she showed me my brother in the rainbow room. We were both in the lab. Roman is number eight. And I had to find him." She said as calmly as she could. El didn't give Marty a chance to say anything, because now she had started, she wanted to tell him everything.

"I saw Roman in the void and I found her in Chicago-"

"You went to Chicago?! On your own?!" Marty gasped.

She decided to ignore his comment and carried on. "Roman wasn't alone. He had friends, they took me in. He told me he seeks revenge against the bad men. He… kills them. He can make people see what he wants with his powers." El spoke watching Marty as he took in all of this information. She had come to the point where she worried that he would think badly of her. But friends didn't lie.

"Roman got me to help her find one of the bad men. He was the one who did the horrible thing to mama. We went after him… we cornered him in his house and we were going to kill him." El said taking a shaky breath and looking away from Mike's surprised eyes. "But I couldn't kill him and I couldn't let Roman kill him because there were children in the house. I just couldn't do it." El finished with a gasp and looked down at her hands, both of them now being held by Marty's. She felt ashamed, ashamed that she had almost killed again but also ashamed that she hadn't let Roman get his revenge. That she hadn't got revenge for mama.

Marty watched El with despair in his eyes. He had been so desperate to know what she had been doing over the 353 days but he had never expected this. His heart broke as tears ran down her face and he squeezed her hands more gently trying to give her comfort as she told him about her sister and the bad man she couldn't kill.

If Marty was honest with himself, he wished El or this Roman had killed the bad man. He had been involved with using electric shock therapy on El's mom and god knows what else he was involved in. But as Marty watched El's face, her eyes full of sadness, he knew she was too pure to have done something like that if no one was in immediate danger. She had said there was kids in the house, she never would have destroyed a family.

Marty could tell she was done talking and he knew he couldn't not share his feelings with her, no matter how hard it was. He had spent 11 months hiding his pain from everyone, deciding to rebel in school with anger instead of accepting the comfort of those around him. But no more. He had the love of his life back, he could at least be honest with her.

"When you were gone I broke apart. I literally felt like you had taken a part of me with you. I tried searching the school for you, but once the cops arrived I was forced outside. Dustin and Lucas thought you might be… dead. But I didn't. I just knew you were out there, I couldn't give up hope." Marty said his voice shaking as the emotion of the past 11 months started to build up in him. El watched him quietly, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open as she listened avidly.

"So I tried to reach you through the super com. I know you said you heard… but I still don't think you realise how much I missed you. I tried to hold it back, even on the radio. But I felt like I couldn't function without you. Like I… c-couldn't breathe." He said trying to get his words out but knowing his eyes had started to pool with tears. Marty made himself look into the hazel eyes that gave him life.

"And now you're b-back and I can breathe again. You make e-every day worth living El. You make me s-smile, laugh and h-happier than I ever thought I could be. Just please… if you ever need to leave again, p-please let me come with you. I can't live without you." Marty's love for her spilled out, he didn't even care how desperate he sounded. El had spent her whole life feeling like she was only good for one thing, being manipulated by the lab and so Marty knew he needed her to know how much she meant to him, how she was his everything.

There were tears in El's eyes too but she couldn't speak, nothing felt good enough to what he had just told her. She had never felt anything like it, never experienced tears of sorrow and happiness all at once. As she looked into the dark eyes, there was only one thing she knew she wanted to do. El used the fact that their hands were joined to pull Matry to her. His face so close to hers that she could see the moisture that made up the tears on his slender cheeks and she felt like she could count every freckle against his pale skin.

El felt like the tension was back again, as their foreheads lay against each other and their breath mingled like they were one person. Her hazel eyes moved up to his eyes once more, and she saw something in them. Something she couldn't really explain but it felt as if there was fire in his black orbs. Like something burning, but it wasn't anger. El gulped nervously under the stare and slowly closed her eyes, moving her lips gently to his.

The kiss was soft and innocent, so similar to the last kiss they shared for about 2 seconds. Marty's hands released from their hold with her own and he moved one hand to the back of her hair and the other sharply to her waist, bringing her closer to him. All El could feel was Marty, he engulfed her in love as she moved her hands to his shoulders, gripping onto him for dear life as he kissed her harder on the lips.

It caused a heat to fire up within El and she knew in that moment that whatever the burning in Marty's eyes was, was now in her eyes too. The kiss made her breathless as Marty pulled away before swooping back in, as if worried she would disappear. She felt him trying to open her mouth with his lips, and whilst she had no idea why, El found herself slowly succumbing to the instinct rushing through her veins. But before anything more could happen, El and Marty's eyes both opened wide as they heard the special knock at the front door.

Marty jumped away from El as if he had been electrocuted whilst she unlocked the door with her mind and moved further away from him. His heart was racing from the kiss they had just shared. He didn't know if it was all the emotions, but he couldn't stop the desire he felt for El coming out in the kiss.

He knew they were too young to do anything too intimate and he wanted to be careful with El, she was too precious to him and he wasn't going to do anything that would take advantage of her. But when El had her lips against his and all Marty could see, feel and smell was her, it was tough to control himself. He was a teenage boy after all.

The more pressing issue to Marty now was El's father figure stood in the doorway, his eyes shocked and dangerous as he looked between the two teenagers. "What's going on in here?" he asked immediately making Marty start to sweat.

"N-nothing!" he stuttered knowing that El's confused face was because she really didn't understand why Hopper would not want Marty and El alone in her bedroom, especially not on her bed.

Hopper clearly didn't take Marty's weak sentence as an answer and turned his eyes calmly onto El, trying to appease her instead. "El? What happened?" He asked in a sweet voice which made Marty sweat even more. He looked at the beautiful girl with wide eyes, trying his hand at telekinesis, desperately trying to tell her not to mention the kiss.

El looked at Marty briefly and then turned back to Hopper and shrugged, "We were talking about our time apart." She said quietly which Marty realised made Hopper instantly guilty if his facial expression was anything to go by.

The chief cleared his throat and stood up from his previous position of leaning against the door frame. "Well why don't you both come through to the living room instead. El I'm starting dinner so say your good byes to Marty." He said in a careful voice before wandering off to the kitchen to empty his shopping bag.

Marty took a quiet sigh of relief and turned to El smiling. "Thanks for not mentioning the kiss to Hopper. He would have killed me." He said seriously, moving his hand through his hair.

El grinned at him, her eyes bright and happy once more. "I remember you saying that friends tell each other things parents don't know. Is the kiss something we don't tell parents?" she asked him with interest.

Marty nodded his head enthusiastically, taking this moment to explain a few things to her. "Yes exactly! We don't tell parents about us kissing or about anything else really that we do together." He said making sure to whisper so Hopper wouldn't overhear him from the kitchen.

El frowned slightly and moved her head to the side as she thought about his words. "So we wouldn't tell them if we played hide and seek?" she asked curiously.

Marty couldn't help but smile at how cute she was. "Well they can know about stuff like that. If we watch tv together or whatever. But not like… intimate stuff like kissing and t-touching." He said feeling suddenly warm and embarrassed. El bit her lip and nodded, not realising that her innocent action made Marty's eyes betray him as they fell to her soft pink mouth.

He gulped but was thankful when El whispered to him, "please don't tell anyone about my sister."

Marty's eyes widened, "of course! I promise." He said seriously making El smile slightly at his words.

Marty looked into El's stunning eyes and felt himself falling into them once more, but before he could act on his feelings there was an angry shout from the kitchen, "Are you two deaf?! I told you both to come through to the living room and then for Wheeler to go home!" Marty sighed and got up from the bed, El following him as they made their way to the front door.

"I'll see you on Friday okay? And then there's the snow ball on Saturday." He said smiling at her lovingly.

El beamed at him with excitement but was interrupted before she could speak. "Snow ball?" Hopper asked quietly from the kitchen. The teens both turned their heads to the chief.

"Yes I am going to the snow ball with Marty on Saturday. It's a cheesy school dance," El told Hopper seriously. In that moment Marty realised that El had never asked for his permission, she probably didn't even know what permission meant.

Hopper laughed and shook his head, "Sorry kid but you're not going to the dance. It's too dangerous."

El gasped, "Yes I am!" she said loudly and Marty recognised she was getting angry quickly.

Hopper sighed realising he was about to have a teenage tantrum on his hands and so turned to Marty, "Wheeler go home." He said plainly.

Marty turned to El and squeezed her hand, "I'll see you Friday." He told her smiling but she was too annoyed to smile back, only squeezing his hand in comfort before he begrudgingly left the cabin.

"Listen kid, we didn't go through all this hell for you to be caught at some stupid school dance okay?" he tried to tell his teenage daughter who was currently seething with rage, having not moved from her place by the front door. Hopper tried to carry on preparing the dinner but El was having none of it.

"Who would be looking for me at the school dance?!" she asked clearly exasperated.

Hopper sighed, "Look I don't know kid but it's not worth the risk. Even Wheeler must know that." He said rolling his eyes as he opened a tin of peas.

El was quiet for a while and Hopper finally felt like she had calmed down, not realising that something worse was going on. As he poured the peas into a pan, he chanced a glance at her and paused.

She was crying, reams of tears running down her face, her lips quivering as she tried to speak. "I p-promised him I would. H-he promised me. Please." Hopper hated how her words broke his heart and he sadly knew how important keeping a promise was to her, it was like her mantra along with friends don't lie. Damn that saying.

Hopper pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think. He took a moment to breathe and remembered all the times she had cried over that stupid Wheeler, desperate to see him through the long months. He couldn't let the guilt from them not seeing each other cloud his better judgement, but he also knew he could attend this dance as a chaperon or at least stand outside and wait for El. But then the dangers just came back to him at the thought of losing his daughter.

Hopper removed his hand from his face and turned to El who had moved to the couch but was still crying. Discarding the pan, he walked over to his new daughter and he knew he was always going to end up giving into her. "Look kid… I'm not promising you anything alright? But I'm seeing Dr. Owens on Saturday morning. So I'll talk to him about the risk of you going out okay? If he thinks it's slim then I'll let you go to this silly dance."

Before Hopper could say anything more about the risks and the chances of Dr. Owens saying no, El had gasped, jumped up off the couch and ran into his arms. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said so brightly that a smile appeared on his face.

He rolled his eyes as he held her close, "You do realise I haven't said yes right? Not until I've spoken to Dr. Owens." He said trying to warn her. But El wasn't listening to him, too enveloped in her own joy and in that moment Hopper knew deep down that he was going to let her go to this damn dance with Wheeler because he loved that little girl and he wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to have the life that she deserved.

The rumble of the Chevrolet K5 Blazer came to a stop as Hopper cut the engine off, having parked up outside of a dinner out of Hawkins. He took a few more drags of the cigarette he had been nursing on the drive over and stubbed it out before heading in.

Almost immediately Hopper spotted Dr. Owens sat in the corner looking like he was tucking into a sandwich. He instantly felt his stomach squeeze with hunger as he thought about his stupid diet. It had been Joyce's idea, telling him that he needed to eat healthier and cut down the drinking. And for some reason just like El, Joyce had a way of bringing him around.

Hopper headed over to the doctor, taking his coat off in the process and chucking it onto the booth beside him. "Chiefo," Sam Owens said in a warm friendly voice. Hopper couldn't stop himself from smiling back. He had always had his doubts about Sam but after everything that had happened in the lab, he knew he could be trusted.

"How's the leg?" Hopper asked instead of a greeting.

"Better. Pretty sure my football career is over," Dr. Owens replied with mirth making both men chuckle slightly. Hopper didn't think he would ever get to the point where he could have a laugh with these people. But worse things had happened.

Dr. Owens pushed the plate towards Hopper, "You want some of this? There's no way I'm going to finish it."

Hopper looked down longingly at the master piece of a sandwich for a moment, but then saw Joyce's face in his mind. "No… I'm on a diet." He said plainly, pushing the plate away.

Sam gave him an amused smile before saying, "Well you're a better man than me."

Dr. Owens moved towards his bag and began rooting, "I've got a little something for you." He said before pulling out a slim envelope and handing it to a curious Hopper. He slowly opened the envelope, secretly anxious that it was a new problem to contend with. As the first corner of the document was unveiled, he heard Sam saying, "Congratulations pops".

Hopper looked down at the paper, his mouth gaping slightly as he took in the birth certificate. The birth certificate of Jane Eleanor Hopper, his now legal daughter. He found himself suddenly overcome with emotion and had to speak to try and distract himself, "I thought…" he wanted to know how Dr. Owens had done this so fast, but Sam would only shrug and smile.

"Sometimes I impress even myself."

Amazed, Hopper folded the document carefully and moved it into his coat pocket whilst Sam carried on speaking. "Still, I'd let things cool off for a while if I were you." He said honestly, making Hopper adjust in his seat anxiously, thinking immediately of this school dance El was desperate of going to.

"How long is a while?" he couldn't help but ask.

Dr. Owens considered this and shrugged slightly, "wanna be safe? I'd give it a year." Hopper immediately felt a blow to his stomach as he imagined telling El she couldn't go out for another year. He could almost imagine her flinging him through the front door on his ass.

"A year?" he asked incredulously, now too stressed to care about his diet. He reached for the sandwich taking out a large chunk. Hopper thought immediately about the risks of El going out, but all he could see in his mind were her bambi eyes.

"What about one night out?" he said before he could even stop himself.

"One night? What's so important about one night?" Dr. Owens said laughing gently.

Hopper frowned and leaned back in the booth slightly, "You have no idea…" he mumbled putting down the sandwich and rubbing his forehead stressed.

"Well if it's just one night and you're nearby… I don't see it being a problem," Dr. Owens offered to Hopper's immediate relief.

He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he thought about the smile this was going to put on the kid's face. Hopper reached for the birth certificate again, staring at it with a mixture of disbelief and happiness. His eyes trailed over all of the details and stopped abruptly when he saw her birthday. "Ah shit…" he muttered.

"What?" Dr. Owens asked as he continued with the sandwich.

"We've missed her birthday. It was the 8th November."

Hopper couldn't believe her birthday had gone unnoticed, and her 14th birthday at that. He felt a heavy weight in his chest once more when he realised that El had probably never even had a birthday, wouldn't even know what one was.

Dr. Owens smiled slightly, "Well, just make it up to her." He said simply.

The silence of Melvald's General Store was quickly interrupted by the sound of the bell ringing as Hopper quickly pushed open the door and found Joyce immediately, looking incredibly bored behind the counter. He couldn't help but smile in relief, and tried to hide the breathlessness he felt when he was around her. "The perfect person I need!" he called to her, moving through the aisle until he reached the counter.

Joyce laughed watching him amused, "What is it you need Hop?"

He took a moment to catch his breath before flashing her a foolish grin, "I've got an emergency of the teenage girl kind." He exclaimed making her laugh once more, the sound of her laughter causing his heart to squeeze.

"Explain…" she asked leaning slightly on the counter towards him.

Hopper quickly looked around to make sure they were definitely alone, before leaning in slightly and saying quietly, "I'm letting her out tonight, to go to this snow ball thing. But I need to get her a dress, shoes, the whole lot. Whatever teenage girls need for a dance."

Joyce's eyes brightened in happy surprise, "That's wonderful! Well I'm due my lunch about now, so I'd be happy to help." She said smiling.

Hopper took a breath of relief, "That's what I was hoping. Thanks Joyce."

Once Joyce had informed her manager that she was on lunch, they walked through the main town, whilst she explained that they were best getting the dress first as everything else centred around it. Hopper immediately felt completely out of his depth and thanked his lucky stars that he had Joyce with him.

They entered one of the only clothes stores in Hawkins, damn it was a small town, and started to route through the racks of clothes looking at different dresses. "Any idea what kind of dress she would like?" Joyce asked absentmindedly as she focused on the task at hand.

Hopper's cheeks immediately blushed with embarrassment, "Er… no? She doesn't even know she needs a dress. She doesn't even know she's allowed to go at this point." He mumbled, although he knew with annoyance that she had always known she was going because she could wrap him around her little finger.

Joyce sighed, "Well thankfully I know her dress size from that pink dress she loves wearing." She said as she started to pull out certain dresses and showed them to Hopper. "What about this one?" she asked, holding a pink dress with a low-cut neckline.

Hopper scoffed, "Hell no! I don't want Wheeler drooling over her." He said incredulously.

Joyce rolled her eyes in amusement, "Well then what do you want her to wear Hop?"

Hopper stopped eyeing the dresses and looked up at the wonderful woman in front of him, "Well preferably a nun's outfit. But if that's not available, something that is classy, isn't too fussy and like covers up… everything." He said feeling incredibly awkward as he realised that his little girl was in fact a teenager.

Joyce nodded not saying anything to his words, but he noticed her entertained smile as she started wadding through another rack of dresses. "What about this one?" she asked after a few minutes. Hopper looked up to see she was holding a silver grey dress that looked like it would go down to the knees. It had pink polka dots on it, puffy shoulders and it covered up most of the body except the arms which he guessed he could deal with.

"Yeah that'll be great." He said in relief, thankful that this part of the horrendous shopping experience was over. He never wanted to be in charge of El's clothing style ever again.

"Don't you want to know how much the dress is first?" Joyce enquired looking at the outfit.

Hopper quickly shook his head, "No… she can have it, whatever the cost. We missed her birthday." He said sighing.

"We did? When was it?" Joyce asked sadly.

"November 8th." Hopper confirmed, still feeling guilty.

Joyce pondered this fact for a moment but smiled, "Well I'm sure she will be more than happy with a pretty dress, shoes and some make up." She said happily whilst Hopper looked aghast.

"Make up?! She's 13!"

Joyce laughed, "Yes she's 13 Hop! And I can assure you girls her age are wearing the stuff." Hopper felt scandalised. Wasn't make up for like older girls? He refused to believe his kid was a woman.

Joyce sensed his trauma and rolled her eyes amused, "It's for one night Hop." She gave him the same look El gave him when she always got her way.

"Fine. Fine let's get the damn make up, shoes, the whole lot." He said wearily, taking the dress from Joyce as she started to look at shoes.

Fifteen minutes later Hopper's arms were filled with the dress, 3 different types of shoes for El to choose from, a make-up palette, make up brushes and lip glosses. He felt the testosterone leave his body in a rush when Joyce threw some more make up choices into his arms.

"Are we done now?" he moaned whilst Joyce began looking at accessories and ignored his comment.

"Aw you have to get her this pretty hair clip. It'll look lovely in her curly hair. I'll pin some of them back for her." She mused as she put the hair clip and grips into Hopper's crowded arms.

Hopper watched Joyce for a moment and couldn't help but smile, "thanks for this Joyce. I mean… I don't know what I'm doing with a teenage daughter sometimes." He admitted feeling completely out of his depth.

Joyce turned and smiled at him, "It's my pleasure Hop. I love that little girl too. She saved my son…she saved us all. She deserves this." She said softly, her voice laced with emotion that also caused a lump in Hopper's throat.

They were both quiet again until Joyce spoke up, "Right I think we're almost done. But it might be nice to get her a bit of jewellery or something. Doesn't need to be expensive but maybe a bracelet or a necklace."

At her words Hopper instantly looked down at his daughter's blue hair band on his wrist, it had never left his wrist since the moment he got it crafted into a bracelet. Whilst he was a humble man in terms of possessions, this bracelet was his most treasured possession. But as he stared at it, he couldn't help but smile and think of El. She meant so much to him, she deserved to carry Sara's bracelet now.

Hopper looked up at Joyce and smiled, his voice choked, "Don't worry. I've got just the jewellery in mind."

El bit her lip and looked at the clock for what felt like the 100th time. It was 2pm and the snow ball according to Marty started at 7pm and she desperately wanted to go. Whilst she was sure that Hopper was going to let her, the fact he wasn't even home yet unnerved her.

El felt anxious and upset at the thought that if she couldn't attend, she wouldn't even be able to ring Marty to tell him because she wasn't allowed to ring his home phone in case it was bugged.

She tried to distract herself with the television but for once she didn't care what was happening on her favourite soap operas. Every time she saw people kissing and happy it made her heart yearn for Marty.

The silence of the cabin was interrupted by the sound of Hopper's wagon and El immediately turned off the television and opened the door with her mind, too excited and apprehensive to care about waiting for his special knock.

When Hopper entered the cabin, El was surprised to see his hands were clasped around four bags which looked fit to burst. "Mind giving me a hand kid?" he asked her out of breath as she rushed forward and took a bag off him and put it on the kitchen counter.

"What is all this?" El asked frowning with curiosity as Hopper placed down the other bags.

He turned to her and smiled nervously, "You might wanna sit down kid. We need to talk." El watched him with confusion. His words made her think something was wrong, but his facial expression told her something different.

They sat facing each other at the table as Hopper looked more anxious than El had ever seen him. She could feel her heart beating nervously, waiting for him to speak. He took a deep breath and reached into his coat pocket. "As you know I met with Dr. Owens this morning. He's been working on something for me for a while now…" he said clearing his throat as he took the paper out of the envelope and handed it to El.

El looked down at the paper, her spellings still weren't great but she could pick out things like her name. But it didn't say Eleven. It said Jane Eleanor Hopper. She gasped, her hands shaking slightly as she thought about her mama, the first name she had always wanted El to have. Her hazel eyes then went to where she could read it said 'mother: Teresa Ives' She gulped, feeling tears prick her eyes as she tried to hold the paper steady.

Hopper stayed quiet and just observed El as her eyes tried to take everything in. She saw 'birthday 8th November 1969' and gasped looking up at Hopper, "this is… the day I was born?" she asked him quietly.

He smiled slightly and nodded, "yeah kid. That's the day Terry gave birth to you." El looked down at the paper and her eyes went to where it said 'father: James Hopper'.

Hopper clearly seeing where her eyes had fallen, suddenly coughed nervously. "So kid… if you'll have me, I'd really love to be your dad." He said his voice choked with emotion making El instantly look up at him with wide eyes.

"My dad?" she asked him, trying her hardest not to get too excited in case what he meant wasn't what she thought it meant.

He smiled at her softly, "Yeah your dad. You'd be my daughter and… we'd be a family."

He didn't need to say any more, his words hit El's heart at 100 miles per hour. She sobbed and got up from the chair, discarding the documentation and rushing into Hopper's waiting arms. She held onto him tightly as he lay his head on top of her curls. They stayed in their embrace for a while and El could feel tears drop into her hair. "T-thank you," she said quivering.

Hopper laughed gently, his chest making her bounce slightly from the movement. "You don't have to thank me kid. It's my pleasure."

They stayed in their tight hug for a while until El felt him slowly pull away so he could look at her face and wipe away her tears. "So do you wanna be called Jane? Or El?"

She pondered his words for a moment, she knew Jane was the name her mother had always wanted but then Marty had given her the name El and she loved it. She smiled at Hopper, "I am happy with both." She told him before nervously adding, "But can I call you Dad?"

Hopper blinked back more tears and wiped at his own face, "I'd love nothing more," he told her sincerely. Before she could do anything more than give him a beaming smile, her dad spoke, "I've got a few more surprises for you. When I spoke to Dr. Owens I asked him about the risk of you going out. Now he did say that he thinks it's best for you to stay hidden again for another year but he doesn't see the harm in you going to this dance." He said in a calm voice whilst El hyperventilated.

The moment he had said she would have to stay hidden for another year, her heart had dropped but as soon as he agreed to her going to the snow ball she knew it would be worth it. Just for this special night with Marty it would be completely worth staying in the cabin. "So Joyce is going to come over at 4pm to help you get ready and seeing as we missed your birthday and I couldn't give you a gift, I've bought you some stuff kid for tonight." He said reaching for her hand and giving it a tender squeeze.

El's eyes widened with excitement as she looked at all of the bags, "I get presents?" she asked in a hushed voice, scared to believe his words.

Hopper laughed, his eyes crinkled with happiness. "Yes you do! Now go and have a rummage and see what you've got." He told her amused as she raced from her chair and dived into the bags, gasping and swooning as she picked up her dress with excitement. Tonight was going to be amazing and as she looked at her dress she wondered if Marty would call her pretty again.

Joyce arrived as promised at 4pm and walked into the cabin with an air of excitement when she saw El who had just finished her shower. "Are you ready for us to get started sweetie?" she asked her, putting down her bag on the table. El beamed and nodded her head with enthusiasm.

"Well I'm staying out of the way then," Hopper said with amusement as he grabbed a beer and went over to the couch putting on the television.

They moved through into El's bedroom, the young girl sitting at the desk whilst Joyce smoothed her hair into a sleek style, using pins which El had never seen before. Joyce had turned the radio on and both ladies tapped their feet to the tune Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which El decided was currently her favourite song.

"You've got beautiful hair El, I always wanted a daughter to be able to do her hair." Joyce mused as she carried on working. El beamed and looked in the mirror facing her, so she could see herself and Joyce stood behind her.

She didn't know why, but as Joyce styled her hair there was something so comforting about it. "Don't get me wrong, I love Joseph and Will but I'd have loved a daughter too." El frowned slightly, there was that word again. Love.

"What is love? What does it mean?" El instantly regretted asking because Joyce had paused in her work and looked at the young girl with shocked surprise. There was silence for a moment as El averted her eyes feeling embarrassed.

"Oh sweetie…" Joyce said in a pained voice as she softly stroked El's hair.

"Did I say something wrong?" El couldn't help but mumble out.

Joyce shook her head and wiped at tears that had pricked her eyes. "No sweetie! Not at all. It's just… it makes me sad that you haven't really experienced love in your life, especially when there is a lot of people who I know love you."

El pondered this with interest and couldn't help but ask again, "So what is love?"

Joyce carried on putting pins into her hair but spoke in a soft tone, "Love is a very powerful and very complex emotion sweetie. It has a lot of different meanings." She started as she sprayed a bit of hair spray before continuing. "It's a very strong feeling of affection. So you can love simple things like food or television shows, things that you more than like. You can love your friends and your parents for instance. But the strongest two loves in my opinion are when you are in love with someone and unconditional love." Joyce said as she picked up the teal hair slide.

"Unconditional love is the love that parents should have for their children. It means that no matter what, they will try and protect their children and love them. It's something sweetie that most people don't understand until they have their own child." She said emotionally putting the hair slide in place and moving her hands to El's shoulders. Both ladies looked in the mirror and smiled at how beautiful El looked.

"Make up next?" Joyce asked El with a big grin, making the young girl nod vigorously.

El closed her eyes as Joyce started to apply a pink eye shadow. This simple act made El's stomach fill with butterflies as she remembered Mike putting make up on her. "Marty told me he loved me." She couldn't help but say shyly.

Joyce gasped slightly with excitement, "He did?!" El nodded with apprehension.

"Well sweetie that's wonderful! So that type of love is the one I told you about where you are in love with someone. It usually means that the person only feels that about you, more than anyone else in the world. They want to be with you all the time. You're their favourite person." She said gently.

El could feel goose bumps rush down her back as she finally realised that was exactly how she felt about Marty. That intense feeling she felt when she was with him or even just thought about him… that was love.

Hopper was sat impatiently on the couch trying to focus on the television but trying to go through his plan for the evening and if there was anything that could go wrong. After protests from El that she didn't want him lurking in the gym, they had compromised that he would hang out in the parking lot in case she needed him.

He was distracted by his own thoughts when he heard El's bedroom door open and Joyce popped out looking very pleased with herself. Hopper smiled at her as she gestured her hand towards the door and said playfully, "Introducing Miss Jane Eleanor Hopper!" El walked out from her room and Hopper's eyebrows jumped up his forehead.

He was in a shock, but not the kind of protective dad shock, he was just in shock at how unbelievably happy she looked. He realised that the smile on her face was the best thing he had seen in a very long time.

Hopper got up from the couch and moved towards his daughter, "You look fantastic kid." He told her enthusiastically, giving her a quick hug.

"Thanks Dad," she said sweetly making his heart feel like it had suddenly grown. Hopper turned his eyes onto Joyce who looked so proud. "Thank you so much Joyce for all of your help today." He told her sincerely.

She waved him off like it was nothing, "it was my pleasure Hop."

Once Joyce had left, Hopper called over a shy El, not realising how nervous he felt. "You look amazing kid… but there is just one final thing to give you." She watched him curiously as he hesitantly reached for his own wrist. Hopper took a deep breath as he removed the bracelet, "This bracelet… well it was a hair tie that belonged to Sara. It means so much to me. And now… well you mean so much to me too and I want you to have it." He said barely able to keep his voice from shaking as he handed out the bracelet to El.

She gave him a look he had never seen in her eyes, it was as if she was vulnerable but there was such a brightness there. "T-thank you," she said choked as Hopper clipped the bracelet onto her waiting wrist. She looked down at the jewellery for a moment and said quietly, "I love it…" before Hopper could say anything more, El looked up at him and smiled, "And I love you Dad."

Hopper felt as if his heart was about to explode and he smiled brighter than he ever had since Sara was born. Hopper pulled El to him, not wanting to let go of his little girl. He didn't realise until that moment how much he had missed out with Sara. It was a feeling that crushed him like a heavy weight but he knew that after everything El had been through, and everything he had been through, they deserved this second chance. "I love you too El" he said without hesitation.

"Thank you for the ride Mrs. Sinclair." Marty said as he climbed out of the car with Lucas.

"Yeah thanks Mom," his best friend said to his mother who smiled at them both.

"No problem boys, have a lovely time!" she said in a cheerful voice as Lucas closed the car door and she drove away.

Lucas turned to Mike and took a heavy breath, "Ready for this?" Marty nodded although he couldn't hide his nerves as they walked into the gym. Even he would admit that it looked really good as his eyes lingered on the Snow Ball handmade sign. "Should we find a table?" Lucas asked from his side.

Marty looked at all of the students dancing and cringed when he thought about how bad of a dancer he was. "Er yeah… as far away from the dance floor as we can," he muttered to Lucas who agreed.

They located a table that was away from the others but also had a good view of the door. Not that Marty would admit it to Lucas but he desperately wanted El to be here and so wanted to keep an eye out for her. Even though she insisted to him that Hopper was going to let her go, Marty highly doubted that the chief shared the same view.

Whilst Marty of course wanted to keep her safe too, he knew how much the snow ball meant to El… well to them both. It symbolised something that Hopper couldn't possibly understand.

Marty sat and got lost in his thoughts for a moment as he remembered El grasping his hand, so scared and weak after her battle with the soldiers, and asked him to promise that they would go to the snow ball. He had of course promised and he intended on keeping that promise, even if he had to sneak her out of her house somehow.

"Hey Will!" Lucas shouted suddenly making Marty jump back to reality as he spotted one of his other best friends making his way through the crowd to the boys.

"Hey guys," Will said taking a seat next to Marty.

"I'm surprised your mom isn't lurking in here," Lucas said grinning, both boys getting his joke. After everything that had happened with the Shadow Monster, Joyce Byers had been more protective over her youngest son than ever before.

Will cringed and rolled his eyes, "Yeah well she's lurking outside instead. I asked her for some space."

Marty smiled slightly, "At least it means she cares." He tried to say to lighten the mood.

Lucas however was smirking, "You're only saying that because you don't give Eleven any space. You're like attached to her hip."

Marty didn't know whether to be offended or embarrassed by Lucas's words. "I'm not attached to her hip!" he said feeling the blush creeping up his cheeks. Lucas's smirk soon disappeared and he mirrored Mike's blush when another party member arrived.

"Hey guys, hey stalker," Max said casually as she took the seat next to Lucas who had suddenly gone quiet and shy. Mike had a smirk all of his own now, he knew he wasn't the only one to have fallen for a girl.

Lucas coughed to clear his throat and turned to Max whilst Will and Marty watched on. "You look… erm nice." He told her, his voice cracking slightly.

Max raised her eyebrow but Marty could see the smile she was trying to conceal. "Thanks… you guys wanna get some food and a drink?" she said slightly awkwardly, her eyes averting to the buffet table. The party all nodded and followed her into the line for food, whilst Marty not feeling hungry went to Nancy who was serving punch.

His sister looked up at him and smiled, "Aw you look really handsome Marty!" He instantly cringed, looking down at the clothes that their mom had suggested that he wear. Anne had left the house for the dance much earlier than him to help the committee set up, although she was giving him a ride back later.

"Er thanks… you look nice too," he said looking at her chequered dress and curly hair.

She gave him a smile and handed him a punch. "So what time is El getting here?" she said casually, although he could see the playful grin on her face.

Marty instantly blushed and shrugged, "I… I don't even know if she's allowed to come." He said hoping not to sound as sad and frustrated as he felt.

Nancy gave him an encouraging smile, "I'm sure she will be here. She's a very determined young lady."

Marty couldn't help but grin foolishly, "Yeah she is" he said rather dreamily before realising how stupid he looked, especially in front of his sister. Marty cleared his throat, "Er see you later Anne." He muttered before clutching his drink and going back to the table where the party were already sat down enjoying some cake.

"So, did you get her the present?" Will asked Marty whilst Lucas and Max were in deep conversation about Dragon's Lair. Marty couldn't help but grin widely at Will's question and reached for the gift bag he had stashed next to his chair.

Earlier in the day Will had called him with the super com, saying that Hopper told his mom that they had missed El's birthday on the 8th November. Marty had been devastated at this and immediately insisted they got her a gift.

After putting together his life savings which was about $50 dollars and donations from Lucas, Dustin and Will, he had managed to bike to Radio Shack and buy El a super com, exactly like the one the boys had. It was now tucked in the gift bag that Marty was showing Will.

"Yeah, they had a few left. It was kind of weird in there, without… Bob." Marty said quietly, feeling a sting of pain as he thought back to Bob's death and how he had helped them to escape the lab. His funeral had been a quiet affair, but the people that cared for Bob had all been there.

Will was about to respond when his eyes shifted to the door and he gasped, "holy shit."

Will wasn't that much of a curser, so when the words left his mouth, Marty, Lucas and Max all turned their heads to the door. Their mouths dropping with surprise as Dustin made his way over to them looking so different that Marty had to blink a few times to try and take in his new hair.

The group stood up as Dustin confidently did a bit of a twirl and grinned at them all. Marty gaped at him and couldn't stop the words before they fell out of his mouth, "Holy shit what happened to you?!"

Dustin's smile fell slightly and he looked at the party alarmed. "What do you mean what happened?"

Marty couldn't believe his best friend's obvious bewilderment, "What?" he said in confused humour. How could Dustin just change up his look and think none of them would even notice. He looked like a Scott clone.

"Dude-" Lucas began before Max interrupted him, "your hair!"

Dustin looked at them all panicked whilst Lucas reached for his tight curls. "Is there a bird nesting in that thing?" he teased as Dustin pushed his hands back in irritation.

"No what do you mean what's wrong with my hair? There's no bird nesting in here you assholes!" The gang all laughed whilst Dustin patted his hair and added "I worked hard." Marty couldn't stop the entertained grin on his face as he looked at his best friend clearly annoyed.

The music changed from an upbeat song to a slow one. Marty was sure it was by that Cyndi Lauper and his stomach lurched as he watched people start to partner up. The whole party was silent for a moment as they watched the dancers, each of them clearly thinking of the pressures that came with slow dancing.

The silence was interrupted when Lucas turned to face Max and tried his hardest to ask her to dance, although Marty was sure the actual question didn't seem to come out. He averted his eyes to Will who gave him a smirk back as they watched their best friend trying and failing to explain what he wanted.

Finally, Max seemed to catch on, "Are you trying to ask me to dance stalker?"

Lucas looked immediately flustered, "No… of course not. Unless you want to?"

Max sighed in amused frustration and to the whole party's surprise, she took Lucas hand. "So smooth. Come on."

Marty watched in surprise as Lucas and Max wandered into the sea of dancers and started to slow dance, the biggest grin on Lucas's face which clearly wasn't going anywhere.

The silence of the group as they watched Max and Lucas dancing was interrupted by the appearance of Jennifer Hayes. She smiled at Will, not even looking at anyone else. "Hey zombie boy. Do you wanna dance?"

Will's eyes widened just as much as Marty's did at this very unexpected turn of events. Will looked between him and Jennifer almost pleadingly, "Er… ermm… em.." was all that came out of Will's mouth and Marty quickly realised he needed to help him out.

He gave him a bit of a shove and clapped his hands at him, as if trying to bring him back to reality. Will seemed to get the message, "I mean… erm… yeah, sure." With that Jennifer gave him a big smile and took his hand as she walked to the dance floor.

Marty watched his friends feeling slightly dazed at the turn of events. He heard Dustin take a deep breath and he looked at his best friend who had a determined look on his face. "Wish me luck Marty. I'm going in." With that Dustin immediately set off in the direction of Stacey.

Marty frowned watching him for a moment before realising he couldn't cope with being a witness to one of his friend's social suicide and so sat back down on his chair moving his position slightly so he faced the entrance.

He stayed staring at the door for the majority of the song, but as his heart felt more and more defeated, his eyes fell to the floor. The words of the songs were stabbing his heart, '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…'

Marty started to fill with dread at the reality that El probably wasn't coming. He had been stupid to think Hopper would ever let her out of his sight after everything that had happened.

Marty was instantly frustrated as he thought about Hopper. He just wished the chief would understand that Marty loved El too, more than what was probably even normal. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her, he would happily die for her a million times over.

Why couldn't Hopper see that he too wanted to protect her at all costs? But El deserved this night. Nearly every childhood experience had been taken off her, so why couldn't she just have one night of feeling like a normal teenager?

The music changed again and it was yet another slow song, but Marty knew this one. He had strummed his fingers to it on his knee in the car once but now it felt like it was just taunting him with what he couldn't have.

Even though the music was loud and there was over a 100 people in the room, Marty's eyes suddenly looked up to the door and his eyebrows flew up his forehead so quickly he thought he might lose them.

Walking through the door was El.

Marty stood up so quickly that he almost fell over, but his whole body stood rigid staring at El as she looked around the room apprehensively. His eyes widened in disbelief, maybe this was just a trick of his mind? He couldn't be this lucky to be at the snow ball with El.

He couldn't even blink if he wanted to, she completely mesmerised him with her beauty that shone inside and out. She looked in his direction and their eyes immediately connected. Marty felt as if his heart was about to pound straight out of his chest having her eyes focusing on him.

He somehow made his legs move and they met in the middle of the floor. Msrty didn't think he'd ever been so nervous in his life. He didn't know what to do with himself, one minute he was smiling sheepishly at her, the next his eyes were devouring her, his hands were in his pockets and then they weren't. "Y-you look beautiful," he somehow croaked out looking at her beaming face, the smile that melted his heart and the bright eyes that gave him life.

El shyly averted her eyes between the floor and his face whilst her happy grin remained on her face. God why was she so adorable?! Marty looked quickly between the dancers and her beautiful face and felt a rush of embarrassment begin to heat up in his body at what he was about to ask.

"Do you wanna dance?" he said wanting to kick himself for how pathetic he sounded.

El's smile faltered slightly as he looked at the dancers and he instantly felt like he had done something wrong. "I don't know how." She told him honestly, making Marty instantly relieved.

He smiled and responded, "I don't either." It was definitely the truth, he had never slow danced in his life.

But the idea of holding El close won over his embarrassment of dancing and he found himself saying, "do you wanna figure it out?" As if sensing the hope in his voice, El smiled so beautifully that he almost melted on the spot. She nodded her head enthusiastically and Marty looked down at her hand, holding it in his before he could lose his nerve.

In all his years of school, Marty had never felt more confident then when he walked into the sea of dancers with the most beautiful girl in the world holding his hand. His hand! As they faced each other, Marty realised he really was going to have to try and explain this whole slow dance thing.

"Okay… so like this…" he said softly as he took both of her arms and put them on his shoulders, the connection between them felt like it was already heating up just from this innocent gesture. Marty's eyes connected with El's hazel eyes and he felt a blush creeping up his cheeks.

He could see the question in her eyes, wondering if she was holding him right. "Yeah like that," he said answering her silent question as he slowly moved his hands to her thin waist. This was definitely the most fitted outfit El had ever worn and Marty felt his heart beating erratically at the feel of the slight curve in her waist.

He became distracted as she entwined her fingers at the back of his neck which inadvertently brought him closer to her, not that he was complaining. Marty knew that he must had the biggest and most embarrassingly big grin on his face, but he just couldn't help it. El was like a shining star and all he could do was stare at her in wonder, only blinking when absolutely necessary.

As the music played on, Marty felt more and more drawn to El. He felt as if they were in their own little bubble. He wasn't concerned with anyone else, all he could see, feel and smell was her and he loved it. He loved her.

The music was building at the same time as the tension between them built. Marty could feel his dark eyes start to cloud over with desire as he stared into her beautiful eyes as if he was trying to reach her soul. She was just perfect.

When El's eyes lifted to his once more, he knew he couldn't do anything to stop this connection, there was only one thing for it. His eyes slipped slowly down to her lips, looking shinny and glossy. He didn't even need to gulp with nerves, all he had to do was lean in as she met his lips in the middle.

It was a chaste and innocent kiss but it filled Marty's senses like a large wave had just fallen on him. His skin felt hypersensitive, his heart was almost cracking his ribs making him feel breathless and the butterflies in his stomach had been let loose all over his body.

El's smile could have cured diseases as she looked up at him with such wonder whilst she leaned her forehead against his own. Their noses touching and their lips only centimetres apart. Marty breathed her in, closing his eyes as he smiled. He knew he would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

The song began to come to a close and El moved her forehead away from Marty's, wanting to look at his pretty face. She smiled to herself, her heart fluttering like mad. "This was magical," she told him softly, feeling shy at her words in case they didn't explain how important this dance had been to her.

Marty beamed at her, his eyes lighting up. "It was –" Whatever the dance was, El didn't find out, because Marty had suddenly become aware of a couple dancing not too far from them. "What the hell?" He said completely grossed out and confused.

El turned her head to see Anne and Dustin dancing together. Even she was confused with the pairing. The music changed to an upbeat song as Anne and Dustin carried on dancing but not holding onto each other.

El looked back at Marty who looked thoroughly disgusted, the look was so comical it made her giggle. Marty seemed to come out of his daze and looked back down at El smiling foolishly. "You honestly look so beautiful." He told her tenderly, one of his hands reaching up to stroke her cheek.

Where his fingers grazed her cheek suddenly became sensitive and she knew she had to be blushing. They stood holding onto each other as people around them danced around to the quick music.

Marty seemed to finally realise this and looked around the gym, "do you wanna sit down? And I'll get us a drink?" El nodded and smiled in response and he took her hand once more, causing a million butterflies to almost burst out of her stomach.

As they walked towards a table, El noticed that Lucas was already sat down with that Max girl. Instead of feeling instant anger at seeing the red head, El felt guilty over jumping to the wrong conclusion.

Marty and El joined the table and he pulled out a chair for her before sitting next to her. El looked over at Max who had averted her eyes from her and the tension on the table suddenly changed to something quite uncomfortable.

El knew she couldn't ruin the best night of her life by being jealous. She bit her lip and looked up at Max, "Er… can we talk? Like over there?" she asked nervously pointing to a clear spot by the wall.

Max looked at her in surprise for a moment as if thinking she couldn't possibly be speaking to her. She cleared her throat and nodded, "Yeah… alright."

El left a rather concerned looking Marty and Lucas behind and followed Max to the wall. She entwined her fingers together nervously while she thought about what she wanted to say.

Once they were at the spot, Max turned to her, her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised clearly waiting for El to speak. She took a breath and looked down at the floor feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry for being… bad to you. I thought you liked Marty. I thought you were stealing him from me," she mumbled out quietly.

Max snorted in laughter, "What?!" she said in disbelief. "You thought I liked Wheeler?! Hell no… no offence!"

El looked up at the red head, "I am sorry. And for… throwing you off your board." She said turning pink at the confession.

Max frowned, "That was you?" When El did nothing but nod Max considered her and smiled slightly, "Well at least that just proves it wasn't me who crashed. I've got by untarnished record back then." She said grinning.

El looked at her in amazement, surely it couldn't be that easy to get her forgiveness? "So you accept my apology?" she couldn't help but ask nervously.

Max laughed and rolled her eyes in amusement, "Yes I accept your apology. We can all go a bit crazy over boys sometimes."

El beamed and without thinking pulled Max into a hug. The red head seemed taken back at first but after a moment slowly patted El's back. Another song started playing and Max gasped, "I love Prince! Come on let's dance."

El didn't even have a chance to respond before Max grabbed her hand and they moved onto the dance floor. Max immediately started to move and El hesitantly tried to copy her, surprising herself when it was easier to keep up with the rhythm than she had thought.

El's eyes found Marty's and saw with a smile that he was already staring at her. All the boys were, well her and Max as if they couldn't believe it. Marty grinned at her and kept on watching her whilst she danced, which was nerve wracking for El but she tried to pretend she wasn't shy.

Once the song had finished, El made Max dance with her to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and even though the red head protested this was way too girly for her, she seemed to know all the words to the song.

The girls finally made their way back to the table, both warm but happy. El landed in the chair next to Marty and grinned to herself when he pulled his chair even closer to hers so that their legs were touching.

"So are you two vixens friends now?" Dustin suddenly asked the girls, a playful grin on his face which El noticed was beaming with confidence.

Max rolled her eyes, "yes you moron. Did you not see us rocking out to Prince?" she said sarcastically.

"We saw you dancing to Cyndi Lauper," Lucas teased Max, earning a playful shove in the arm as they both smirked at one another.

"Hey Dustin." A female voice suddenly spoke and the gang turned to see a pretty blonde girl with two other pretty girls behind her all looking at Dustin.

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair slightly, putting a smirk on his face. "Can I help you Stacey?" he said in a cool voice.

The blonde who El assumed was Stacey put her hand on her hip and fluttered her eyelashes. "Yeah we saw you dancing with the high school girl. So do you want to dance?" she said in a flirting voice.

The whole gang turned to look at Dustin in shock but he kept the smirk on his face. "No thanks Stace." He said in a sarcastically happy voice. There was a stunned silence in the group as Stacey huffed and stormed off with her friends.

"Holy shit dude that was amazing!" Lucas said hardly able to contain his excitement.

"Woah!" Marty commented shaking his head in disbelief.

"Fair play moron." Max added smiling slightly.

El looked at them all not understanding why they had been so thrilled at Dustin rejecting the girl. But as her eyes went onto Stacey she could see a horrible scowl on her face, which made her look no longer pretty, it made her look mean.

"Damn I wish Will had been around to see that." Lucas said amused whilst he took a gulp of his drink.

El looked around in confusion, "Where is Will?" she asked Marty hesitantly. He smiled at her and pointed to a corner where El could make out Will speaking to a pretty brunette who was laughing at something he said.

"I don't know what's the biggest shocker of the night. You dancing with Nancy and then rejecting Stacey or Will speaking to a girl," Lucas said grinning.

Dustin smirked, "Or you and Max kissing."

Lucas and Max both gasped, "What!?" at the same time.

Dustin laughed and shrugged, "Nancy saw you both and told me when we were dancing."

El watched them all bicker for a moment but then turned her attention back onto Mike who was staring at her again with a dreamy look in his eyes that made her cheeks instantly burn. She bit her lip, "Can we go somewhere… alone?" she asked him hopefully.

Marty's eyes widened with excitement and he nodded, "Yeah, sure!" He took her hand and didn't even bother to offer an exclamation to Lucas, Max and Dustin who were all teasing each other, however he did quickly grab a pretty looking bag from by his chair.

They walked in comfortable silence out of the gym and El watched as Marty looked around to make sure they weren't being followed before leading her down a corridor. She wondered where they were going, but as she just watched him, she honestly didn't care.

Marty pushed opened a door and El gasped as she realised they were in the cafeteria. Wordlessly, they moved forward towards the table in front of the windows where El instantly felt as if a memory was replaying in her mind. "This is where we…"

"First kissed," Marty said finishing her sentence as he sat down, pulling her down next to him. They both beamed at each other and El instantly felt her heart pound as she looked into his dark eyes.

That night, now over a year ago had already confirmed the feeling that El knew she was now bursting with. She knew there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for Marty. Sometimes it felt like he was her whole world, she couldn't even imagine not having him in her life and she didn't know how she had ever existed without him.

El took Marty's free hand with hers and entwined their fingers. She nervously looked up at Marty and shuffled on the bench seat so she was closer to him, barely no distance between them now. She looked deep into his eyes and felt like she could almost see the feeling that was rushing through her body reflected in his black orbs and she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I love you Marty." She said quietly and tenderly, not taking her eyes from his.

Marty was so entranced by her gaze that he almost missed her words. The words that had just made his heart explode and his body shake with adrenaline. He had to blink, this couldn't be real.

Once he opened his eyes again and realised El was still sat there, holding his hands and staring into his eyes, he realised the enormity of the words he had so desperately wanted to hear, falling from her beautiful lips.

He tried gulping down the lump in his throat and he knew how wide and crazy his eyes had to have looked right about now. "I love you too. So much." He said desperately, no longer caring if his voice made him sound pathetic.

El's eyes brightened and her smile was so wide it lifted her cheeks instantly. "I love you more," she said with happiness. Marty couldn't help but gently laugh and shook his head, leaning his forehead against hers, their noses touching and their breathing mingling.

"That's not possible" he whispered to her his eyes closing. Using their joined hands, he pulled her the last few centimetres and their lips pressed delicately together, Marty inhaling her natural scent and feeling like he might pass out from the sensation.

It was like time and space stood still, like it was some monumental thing. Well to Marty it was. When their lips slowly parted he couldn't contain his grin, it killed his cheeks but he didn't care.

He looked at the girl he had fallen in love with and he could hardly believe she had told him she loved him too. Things like this just didn't happen to him. But tonight had been so magical and given him so many amazing things, that he thought there was no trouble in testing fate just a little bit more.

Marty squeezed El's hands gently in his and looked into her beautiful eyes once more. "Hey El?" he asked nervously trying to stop his hands from shaking hers.

"Yes Marty?" she asked breathlessly.

He took a deep breath, "I want us to be like… official." El looked at him confused, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to figure out what he meant. Marty sighed slightly trying to think of how he could explain it.

"I mean… I want you to be my girlfriend. If you want of course. And I want to be your boyfriend." His voice was shaking as he looked at the love of his life.

El bit her lip, "What does boyfriend and girlfriend mean?" she asked him nervously.

Mike couldn't help but smile at her pure innocence, "It means that you and I alone are in a relationship with each other. We're committed to each other. And we kind of belong to each other, like I'm yours and you're mine." He said before coughing awkwardly thinking about how his words might have been perceived.

"I don't mean like you belong to me! I just mean… I'm the only one who can kiss you and stuff." Marty said as his cheeks bypassed pink and went straight to red. He couldn't hold her gaze any longer out of embarrassment and had to look at their entwined hands instead.

"So er… what do you think?" he mumbled nervously. There was silence for only a second and Mike heard El speak and he could tell she was smiling.

"I would love to be your girlfriend… I would love for you to be my boyfriend. All mine."

Marty looked up, his eyes wide with excitement and joy. "R-really?!" he asked not believing his luck. El giggled and she looked so incredibly cute that Marty just had to kiss her again. "I love you," he breathed against her lips.

El moved her hands out of his hold and moved them to the back of his neck whilst his arms wrapped around her waist. "I love you too" she told him tenderly as they began kissing once more. Marty felt himself getting swept up by a passionate bubble as he held El closer.

However the bubble was soon popped by the arrival of his sister, who cleared her throat and leaned against the entrance to the cafeteria.

"Anne what the hell are you doing here?!" Marty gasped half annoyed at being interrupted when he was trying to initiate making out with his girlfriend and equally embarrassed that he had been caught by his sister.

Anne smirked, "I promised Hopper I'd keep an eye on El for him." Those words had the same effect on Marty's desire for El as the effect of having ice water chucked over his body would feel.

He slowly released El from his hold and frowned, "I was just about to give her present to her." He said frustrated that they had been interrupted.

Anne snorted, "What, is her present in your mouth or something?" Marty instantly went red hot again and couldn't even respond. Instead he reached for the gift bag and handed it to El, trying to ignore his sister's presence.

El looked between the bag and his face, "what is this for?" she asked him holding the bag in confusion.

Marty felt a loving smile warm up his face. "Well I found out that we had missed your birthday. So me, Lucas, Will and Dustin pitched in to buy you a present." He said softly, knowing he would never get used to just looking at her.

El's eyes widened with excitement and she opened the bag, pushing aside the tissue paper until she saw a colourful box and held it, pushing aside the bag. "It's a super com." Marty quickly explained. "Just like mine and the guys. I know you can't ring me or anything on the phone… so I thought it might come in useful." He said carefully, hoping Nancy didn't know about his secret plans to talk to El every night over the radio.

El gasped and beamed at him, "Thank you!" She said wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

Marty held her there, propping her head under his chin and grinning ear to ear. "You're welcome," he said tenderly, knowing she'd be able to hear the pounding of his heart right about now.

Anne shuffled at the door, "I'm sorry you two, but I need to get you back to the gym before someone catches you." She said hesitantly, which Marty knew meant she didn't really want to break up their embrace.

He nodded and slowly pulled away from El, holding her hand and promising he'd come over to the cabin the next day to explain to her what channel she should contact him on. Of course he had chosen channel 11 for their own personal radio.

The rest of the evening was just as perfect, except for the occasional teasing from the party about where he and El had snuck off to. Will finally joined them, smiling ear to ear and talking none stop about Jennifer Hayes.

Now the party was all present, they made their way over to Joseph who was doing the photos. He smiled at them all, "Come on guys, all get in the shot. Let's have the whole party," he said playfully as they all decide where to stand.

Dustin and Will knelt down at the front whilst Max stood with Lucas who was in the middle with Marty who then nervously put his arm around El. She beamed up at him and then turned to the camera with the rest of the group.

Once they had a smiling shot, Joseph got them all to do a funny photo which Marty couldn't wait to get a hold of. They were all starting to wander back to the table when Marty nervously bit his lip and asked Jonathan if he could get a photo with just El. Joseph raised his eyebrow teasingly, "Sure" he said smiling before focusing back on his camera.

Marty turned to El, his cheeks back to pink. "You want a photo just the two of us?" he asked her nervously, praying that she did.

El beamed and nodded enthusiastically making Marty instantly relax. He put his arm back around her slender shoulders whilst she moved her arm around his waist making him shiver inside and out.

They both smiled for the camera, Marty knowing that he would be framing this photo for his bedroom the second he got the chance. The night he had never even dreamed would be able to come true. But it had and he was forever going to think about the moment El walked through those gym doors, taking his breath away, the moment he had asked her to be his girlfriend and the moment she had told him she loved him. He wanted to remember this night forever.

January 1989

Her lips were all over Marty, caressing across the line of his jaw and dropping down onto his neck whilst he closed his eyes and tried to breathe through his panting.

El moved down his shirtless torso and he gulped with desire and nerves, his fingers clenching onto her thin waist as she smiled up at him devilishly.

Her right hand started to travel lower down Marty's abdomen as his breath hitched when she started to rub his already hard cock through his thin pyjama pants.

"I want you so bad El" Marty groaned out, desperate for her to release him, desperate to have his way with her.

"Then have me," she said mischievously, her eyebrow raised seductively. Marty almost creamed his pants on the spot at the look in her eyes.

He pulled her up sharply by her waist and crashed his lips to hers and pressed their bodies tightly together so he could feel her heat against his throbbing cock. "Holy shit" he moaned at the sensation.

And it was in that moment that Marty Wheeler woke up drenched in sweat, his boxers and sheets wet and sticky. "Oh shit" he cringed.

The serene humming of Karen Wheeler as she made pancakes in the kitchen was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone running down the stairs so loudly it sounded like an elephant.

Karen almost missed her son rushing to the basement with what looked like his sheets because he was moving so quickly.

"Matthew what are you doing?" she asked him holding onto her mixing bowl whilst Matthew halted, a blush creeping up his pale cheeks.

"Er… nothing mom just laundry." His voice came out in a choke before he raced to the basement and disappeared.

Karen raised her eyebrow and looked to the spot where he had just disappeared from. She wasn't stupid and this wasn't the first time he had run to the basement with his sheets.

She shook her head and carried on making the pancakes. How she wished she could keep her baby boy for a little bit longer, but it appeared he was getting older whether she liked it or not.

Ted Wheeler walked into the kitchen, clearly having just enjoyed his Saturday lie in. Karen watched him for a moment, wishing she could have a lie in.

"Will you get Holly up in a minute and shout Anne?" Karen asked her husband as she put a bit of the pancake batter into the pan. She looked up at him rather sheepishly, "Oh and while you're at it, I want you to have a talk with Matthew at some point this weekend about puberty."

Marty had a snow ball hurled at the side of his face and he almost stumbled from the impact. "Jesus Dustin!" he said rubbing at his head whilst the party all laughed except El who started to touch his face in a panic.

"It's a snow ball fight Marty! It's not my fault you're all distracted with your girlfriend!" Dustin teased as he avoided a snow ball being flung at him from Max.

Marty glared at him for a moment and then appeased El promising her that he was okay, however his girlfriend had a glint in her eyes that concerned him.

El turned to Dustin and lifted her hands up, so about 10 snow balls lifted from the floor and pelted at Dustin who yelped and tried to protect himself from the onslaught.

The laughter from the party immediately returned, Max, Lucas and Will falling about in pieces whilst Marty grinned and put his arm around El whilst looking at Dustin. "You shouldn't piss off my telekinetic girlfriend" he teased making his friend smirk.

Dustin came over to El who was still looking annoyed and dropped to his knees in mock surrender. "I apologise my liege." He said bowing his hands like he was praying to her.

Marty snorted with laughter knowing that El wouldn't even know what a liege was, but seeing Dustin grovelling was hilarious and his girlfriend seemed to think so too.

She couldn't stop the grin on her face as she bent down and helped Dustin up. "It's okay… just don't hurt Marty again please." She told him seriously.

Dustin rolled his eyes with amusement and turned to Marty, "You literally have your own body guard, where can I find myself one?" he sighed before picking up some snow and carrying on with the fight.

The party carried on with their snow ball fight and made snow angels until their fingers were numb. Finally, Max suggested that they all go into the cabin instead and no one objected.

Whilst Dustin and Lucas argued over what film to put on and Max and Will tried to make a batch of hot chocolate in the kitchen, Marty sat on the sofa with El, his arm protectively wrapped around her whilst she lay her head on his shoulder.

A little while later El started to shuffle next to him, changing her position. When she did it a third time, Marty couldn't help but whisper "Are you okay?" He knew if he spoke louder he'd be scolded for interrupting Star Wars.

El turned to him and he noticed the frown on her face. "I just feel…" He could tell she was looking for the right word and got clearly frustrated when she couldn't find it. "My back and stomach hurt." She finally said.

It was Marty's turn to frown and he looked at her with concern, "Do you know if Hopper has any pain killers we can give you?" he asked anxiously.

El just shrugged. "I'm going to go to the bathroom." She sighed getting up.

Marty watched her leave the living room and he felt oddly lonely despite the room being filled by Will, Dustin, Lucas and Max. He tried to turn back to the film but despite it being his favourite, he couldn't concentrate.

A panicked scream resounded from the bathroom and Marty instantly jumped up terrified as he raced to the bathroom door trying to open it. "El?! El what's wrong?" he called, frustrated that he couldn't get the door open which didn't even have a lock.

It had taken Marty only 3 seconds to reach the bathroom door but his friends were only now behind him crowding the hall way. He tried the door again and realised with shock that she had to be keeping it closed with her powers.

"El? El please open the door." He told her as calmly as he could.

"N-no…" she sobbed making his heart almost drop out of his body at how upset she sounded.

Marty turned his head helplessly to his friends and was surprised when Max stepped forward and knocked on the door. "El? Come on let us in." She said seriously.

There was silence for a moment before El's spoke shaking, "…J-just you Max."

The door clicked open and Max quickly went into the room and slammed the door in the boys faces. Marty stared at the door in disbelief, unable to contain his panic that he had done something wrong and El was mad at him.

"Come on man let's leave them to it," Lucas said patting Marty's shoulder but he didn't move, still frozen staring at the door.

Will cleared his throat, "Marty come on. I don't think El would appreciate us all lingering outside the door if she wants some privacy with Max."

Marty took a heavy breath and nodded slowly in defeat. He turned, keeping his head down as the boys returned to the living room.

Will, Lucas and Dustin tried to get back into the movie to cover the tension in the air but all Marty could do was sit on the couch and stare at the bathroom door, terrified about what he had done and how he could fix it.

El was sitting on the floor against the bath with her feet to her chest sobbing when she let Max into the room. The red head stared down at her for a moment before crouching down.

"What's happened El?" Max said with a tenderness that surprised El. She had never seen her friend so concerned.

"S-something is w-wrong. I'm b-bleeding down t-there." El said as she indicated her head down causing more tears to rush down her cheeks. Max seemed to go slightly pink in the cheeks and took a deep breath.

"El… that's… that's completely normal. It happens to all girls around our age. Some even younger," she said calmly. El blinked and looked at her in confusion.

"You've started your period." Max said simply before placing herself in a more comfortable sitting position next to El.

"P-period?" El asked slowly. How could this period be completely normal? How was it normal to bleed from down there? To feel so emotional? To feel such pain in her stomach and her back?

Max nodded in response to El's question. "Yeah period. I've not started mine yet but my mom has talked to me about it. And it like happens every month and you bleed for like around 5 or 7 days." She said before adding with a scoff, "it's actually meant to be a good thing!"

El frowned, "h-how is this a good thing?"

Max shrugged, "well it means everything is working as it should do in your reproductive system."

El continued to look puzzled and felt it. What was a reproductive system? Max sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand, "look I'm no good at explaining all this shit. I think we should get like a grown up to explain it."

El bit her lip knowing there was only one grown up woman she truly felt safe with talking about this. "Joyce?" she asked in a whisper.

Max raised an eyebrow, "Joyce Byers? Will's mom? I mean… I guess I can call her at that store she's at and see if she can help us out." She reasoned before standing up.

"I'll be back in a minute El, I'll try and call her… and I'll get rid of the boys." Max said matter of factly making El frown.

"Why get rid of the boys?" she asked in confusion.

Max laughed, "Trust me, the moment they hear the word period they are going to run a mile. Boys get sort of uncomfortable talking about periods." She shrugged and left the bathroom whilst El pondered why boys got embarrassed about periods.

Max took a deep breath before rounding the corner and walking over to the boys. Of course Wheeler was already staring at her, desperately wanting some news on El.

"Right boys, pack up. You need to go." She said seriously looking at them all one by one.

"What? Are you serious? I'm not leaving El when she's upset!" Marty said aggravated.

Max rolled her eyes having known he'd be the difficult one. She chose to ignore Mike for the moment and turned to Will, "Is your mom working today?"

Will looked confused, "Er… no. She's at home." He said nervously.

Max nodded, "okay cool. Well I need your phone number then please." She said matter of factly.

Will looked between the other boys but then nodded, "Er… yeah sure." He went into the kitchen and found a pen and paper and started to write.

"Max what the hell is going on?" Marty asked, clearly annoyed that she hadn't answered his last question.

She sighed feeling irritated, "can you lot just go now please?"

Lucas nodded and grabbed his coat quickly whilst Dustin started to pick up the video tapes. Marty stood with his arms crossed. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what I did wrong." He said sternly.

His tone actually made Max burst out laughing, "Oh grow up Wheeler not everything in El's life is about you!" Lucas and Dustin clearly didn't want to laugh in the current situation but she saw their smirks at her comment.

Marty didn't seem mad though and a bit of the tension clouding his face lifted slightly. "S-so it's not about me?" he said hesitantly.

Max rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day. "No Wheeler! So please just go!" she said exasperatedly whilst Will handed her the scrap of paper and she thanked him.

She watched the boys leaving through the door one by one, of course Mike was last. He was once again hesitant to leave and turned to Max. "Okay I know it's not about me… but can you tell me what's wrong with her? Please Max… I love her. I'm worried."

Max felt herself cringe at how pathetic Mike was but she couldn't stop the creeping of guilt in her stomach at the fear in his eyes. "Oh for god's sake Wheeler, she's started her period okay?!"

She watched with slight amusement as Marty's face went instantly from pale white to beetroot. "Oh… erm okay." He finally got out in a strangled voice of embarrassment. "Well... just tell her I love her and I'll call her tonight normal time on the super com."

Max nodded and almost shooed him out in her impatience to call Joyce Byers. When he finally left, she breathed a sigh of relief and punched the numbers into the phone.

Under Max's instructions, El had showered and changed her clothes whilst the red head had put her dirty clothes into the washing machine stating that she didn't think Hopper would be up to the job.

By the time her shower was finished, Joyce had arrived with a shopping bag and a tight hug for El. Within 15 minutes the three women were sat around the kitchen table eating ice cream, El feeling better after she had been given some hygiene products that Joyce called a sanitary towels and some Tylenol for her cramps.

Joyce set to work explaining to El periods and the female reproductive system, having brought along one of Will's human biology text books. El was understanding most of it until Joyce briefly mentioned sexual intercourse in regards to how a baby was made.

"What is sexual intercourse?" El asked confused, immediately earning a blush from Max and a sigh from Joyce.

"Well sweetie sexual intercourse or sex as it is commonly called is the sexual contact between two people using this sexual organ and this sexual organ." Joyce said pointing to the images in the book.

El gasped as she looked at the drawings, "So sex… is between anyone?"

Joyce laughed and even Max smirked. "No sweetie. You should only have sex with a very, very special person. And it isn't something you do until you are older."

El looked down at the book for a while thinking about this sex and how it made babies. "Does it hurt?" she whispered looking at the male anatomy image.

Joyce shrugged, "it can hurt the girl the first time sex takes place because it breaks the hymen and can cause a little bit of blood. But after a while it begins to feel… good."

Joyce smiled slightly at El, "But you don't have to worry about it sweetie. You're way too young to be thinking about it." She said seriously.

El looked between the two women. "When are you old enough?" she asked curiously.

Max shuffled in her seat and Joyce seemed to think carefully about her answer. "Well legally you can have sex at 16… but there really is no rush El. It needs to be with someone very special as you can't get your first time back. You can't get your virginity back sweetie." She told her seriously.

El couldn't help but smile to herself as she thought about this whole sex thing. If it needed to be with someone very special, then she already knew exactly who she wanted to do it with.

"El are you there?! Over."

"Yes I'm here Marty…"

"Er El? You have to say over. Over."

"Over?"

"How are you El? Max… well she told me what's going on. Over."

"I feel better now… over."

"Thank god. I was really worried about you. Over."

"Marty?"

"You didn't say over… but yeah El?"

"I just… I want you to know… you are very special to me…over."

"And you're really special to me too El. I love you. Over."

"I love you too."

February 1983

It was the first Saturday Hopper had off in 4 weeks and he was determined not to waste it. After a lot of worrying about the dangers, he decided to take El to see her mama and aunt.

He pulled up hesitantly in the drive and looked up at the small house, he turned to El who was fidgeting nervously with her hands. "If you feel uncomfortable or want to leave… you'll let me know right?" he asked.

The beautiful young lady nodded slightly, but Hopper could see her cheeks were pale. He gave her hand a squeeze in support and they got out of the car.

Becky answered the door almost immediately and her eyes widened when she saw El. "Jane," she breathed in relief, moving forward and pulling her niece into a fierce hug.

"Hi Aunt Becky," Hopper heard El mumble into Becky's shoulder.

Hopper looked around the dense woods that surrounded the house and turned to Becky, "Er… can we carry this on indoors? It's still not safe." Becky nodded and beckoned them both inside.

Hopper watched tensely from across the kitchen table as Becky shakily stubbed her cigarette into the ash tray. "So what you are telling me… is that you adopted my niece?!"

Before he could say another word Becky once again was shouting in anger. "You can't just do that! She is my family! She belongs here with me and her mom!"

Hopper put his hands up in defence. "Becky I'm just trying to protect her-"

"Protect her?! From us?!"

"No of course not from you! But she is safe with me. The department of energy would be able to find out where you live in an instant." He said seriously knowing how easy it had been for him to find their address.

Becky covered her face with her hands. "We love her. She should be here with us." She said her voice slightly muffled.

Hopper gulped and looked down at the table feeling immense guilt. "I… I love her too Becky. I had a daughter who passed away when she was little and I know what it's like to love a daughter and I love Jane. I just want the best for her."

There was silence in the room as Becky watched Hopper. "And you think the best for her is to be away from me and her mom?" she questioned him.

Hopper shook his head immediately looking her straight in the eye. "Of course not. I want her to visit you both as often as she wants to. But Hawkins is her home… trust me she wouldn't leave that place if she had me or not…" he told her, a slight smirk starting to play on his lips.

Becky looked at him confused, "why?"

Hopper sighed and leaned back in his chair. "She's met this boy…"

El slowly entered the living room where her mama was rocking on her chair, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the television.

"Hi mama," El gulped nervously as she knelt in front of Terry and slowly took her hands in her own. Her mom showed her no recognition and carried on staring at the television as she mumbled to herself.

Hearing her mama's muttered words was almost too much for El who knew exactly why she was saying these words.

El closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She could do this.

She opened her eyes and smiled sadly at her mama. "I found my brother… Roman. He has a lot of friends to help her get her revenge."

El bit her lip and tried to think of anything else she could say. "I went back to Hawkins and I helped my friends… I… I have a boyfriend now mama called Marty. He is very special and kind and pretty, I think you would like him."

Her voice was wavering and she tried to blink back the tears that were determined to fall. "I started my p-period Mama. Max, my friend said that it's normal for girls our age but I was really scared."

El looked up at her mom who was still muttering, her eyes blank. Tears started to run down El's cheeks and she sighed. "I love you mama."

There was a slight twitch of Terry's hands in El's hold and she gasped in shock. "Mama?" she questioned wishing more than anything her mama would suddenly smile and be okay.

That didn't happen, but El felt a feeling of love wash over her and she realised that of course her mama loved her, more than anything.

El leaned forward and leaned her head in Terry's lap, sniffling from her tears.

"Are you okay kid? You've been awfully quiet." Hopper asked El who was sitting in the passenger seat and staring out of the window whilst he drove them home.

She slowly turned to look at him, with tears in her eyes and her cheeks already wet. "It's… it's my fault. Mama is sick because of me."

El started to sob, so feeling helpless Hopper quickly pulled the car into a lay by and turned to his adopted daughter.

"I don't want to ever hear you say it's your fault that your mama is sick, ever again." Hopper said sternly, pulling El into a warm embrace.

"It's that bastard Brenner and the lab's fault El. You didn't choose to be born, you didn't choose from them to abduct you." He told her whilst she sobbed into his chest. Hopper shut his eyes feeling as if his heart was breaking at the sound.

"B-but she was just trying to p-protect me. She was trying to s-save me." El cried out.

Hopper started to stroke her hair and frowned. "Of course she tried to protect you kid. She's your Mama. Parents try and protect their children. Unconditional love is the most powerful thing in the world." He told her as he thought of Sara.

"I t-told her about M-marty and starting my p-period…" she said making Hopper's cheek blush slightly as he thought back to Joyce arriving at his office and explaining he was going to need to get on board with this whole period thing. Needless to say, he had returned home that night with all the goodies he could find.

"I just want my mama," El said sobbing louder than ever. Hopper wasn't at all surprised when tears started springing from his own eyes. He held his daughter closer to his chest, kissing her head of curly hair.

He felt devastated, heart broken and angry beyond belief about what El had missed out on and what Terry had missed out on because of those bastards at Hawkins Lab.

"I'm going to get justice for your mama." Hopper said gently as he rocked and shushed El's crying.

El sniffed and looked up at him, her face and eyes red. "You p-promise?" her voice quivered inconsolably.

Hopper tightened his jaw to stop himself from breaking down and slowly nodded his head. "Yeah kid I promise. Even if it takes me years, I will let the world know what that lab did to your mama okay? We'll get justice for her and her whole family."

El exhaled a shaky breath and leaned back into Hopper's chest. "Thank you dad," she whispered making his broken heart heal slightly.

He kissed her hair once more, "of course."

They carried on their journey home in comfortable silence until El turned to him with hope in her eyes. "Dad… I want to be a normal teenager. I want to go to school."

Hopper couldn't contain his smile as he kept his eyes on the road. "Well kid… I'm actually one step ahead of you for once. I've already got you a tutor set up, so that you will be ready to start school in the fall with your friends."

El gasped in shock and he could almost feel her excited energy. "Really?!" she asked, clearly not able to believe the news.

Hopper laughed gently and quickly looked at her. "Yes." El leaned into his shoulder and beamed. "Thank you!"

He grinned, "You don't have to thank me El. I want you to be happy."

El squeezed his arm affectionately and they enjoyed the rest of their trip home, watching the sun fall slowly out of sight.

February 1989

Marty pedalled his bike slowly to the bike stand with Dustin and Lucas ready for another boring day of school, another day of counting down the hours until he could see El.

The only good thing about today was that it was valentine's day. And it was the only valentine's day that Marty had ever looked forward to.

He could even feel himself blushing as he thought about how he had explained the day to El a week ago, telling her that on valentine's day you gave a gift and a card to the person you love the most.

She had been thrilled but had worried about a gift whilst he assured her that it was mainly the guy who gave the girl a gift. El's face had lit up at the idea of receiving a gift, which made Marty immediately nervous that she wouldn't like his present for her.

"Hey guys," Will said happily as he made his way over to the trio having just been dropped off by Joyce.

"Hey Will," they all greeted in unison.

Dustin finished locking up his bike and then smirked at the other boys, "so are you all ready for me to beat you in the amount of valentine's cards I'm going to receive this year?"

Lucas snorted and Will and Marty grinned in response. Since the snow ball something that none of them expected to happen had become a reality. Dustin wasn't exactly popular but he had suddenly become popular with the girls, and that was all he cared about.

"I'm sure Marty doesn't care, as long as he gets one from El." Lucas teased earning a shove in the arm from Marty who glared at him.

"She didn't even know what valentine's day was last week Lucas, so I doubt she's been able to get me a card." He said self-consciously as he pulled his heavier than usual back pack on securely.

"Yeah and we all know you want one from Max Lucas, so no point in being an ass." Dustin prompted making the rest of the boys laugh.

"Did some one say my name?" Max's voice suddenly appeared making them all jump and look at her with guilty faces.

Lucas gave Dustin a warning look but that didn't stop him from grinning. "Oh we were just seeing how long it'd take Lucas to give you your valentine's card."

"Dustin!" Lucas exclaimed angrily through gritted teeth. Max looked at her boyfriend in surprise and a mischievous smile lit up her face.

"I thought I told you valentine's day is a commercial rip off stalker…" She crossed her arms and looked at him with a stern exterior, but they could all see the amusement in her eyes.

Marty turned his gaze onto Lucas who looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. "Er…I know you did… but I… I…" Clearly frustrated not being able to articulate himself, Lucas huffed in annoyance and opened his back pack.

He handed a box of chocolates and a sealed card to Max whilst Marty, Dustin and Will all looked on, feeling rather impressed at his forwardness.

Max cautiously took them from him, a smile she could no longer hide on her lips and a blush in her cheeks. "Thanks stalker…" she mumbled averting her eyes as she put the items in her bag.

"You're welcome" Lucas swallowed nervously.

Dustin snorted, "Okay, okay that was awkward enough. We best get to home room."

Marty, Will and Dustin started to walk and Lucas and Max hesitantly moved behind them. Out of the corner of his eye Marty was certain he could see Max giving Lucas a card, he could almost hear his friend's heart pounding as they walked.

"Seven valentine's cards!" Dustin said with glee as he spread the cards out on the lunch table as if he was playing a card game.

Marty rolled his eyes in annoyance at Dustin's behaviour and bit fiercely into his sandwich. It wasn't that he was jealous or anything, but all of this crap just reminded him of how badly he wanted to spend valentine's day with El.

Will sat down next to Marty with his lunch tray and played with his food nervously. Mike eyed his friend with worry. "What's up?"

Will averted his eyes between Marty and his lunch. "I just went to my locker before lunch and… Jennifer Hayes had put a valentine's card in there." His cheeks immediately went red whilst the boys gaped at him.

Max on the other hand shrugged her shoulders as she scooped pasta onto her fork. "Well it's not that much of a surprise, you were both very friendly at the snow ball."

Will's cheeks went even more scarlet. "I just don't know how to approach her. She's so popular." He said quietly as if hoping they wouldn't hear him.

Marty smiled kindly, "just start with hello. She clearly likes you if she has given you a valentine's card. It's not like you need to impress her."

Max snorted, "Yeah listen to lover boy Will he's actually got a point." Msrty ignored his stupid new nickname and gave Will an encouraging smile.

His friend took a shaky breath and left the dinner table. The whole party couldn't help but turn in their seat and watch him talk to a very smiley Jennifer Hayes. After a minute or so, they both walked off together out of the cafeteria.

"Do you reckon they're gonna kiss?" Lucas whispered to the group.

"Our baby boy is all grown up." Dustin teased, pretending to wipe at tears.

Marty was the last to turn back in his seat, looking at the area that Will had just disappeared from with a grin. His friend deserved happiness, he had been through a lot more crap then the boys and Max would ever understand. If he did end up kissing Jennifer Hayes, then Marty was happy for him.

El had finished with her tutor at 2pm and was now rushing around her room putting in a lot of effort into her outfit for when Marty arrived.

This whole valentine's day thing had taken her by surprise and she wanted to look nice for Marty. She chucked three old dresses of Nancy's onto the bed and inspected each one.

She decided to go for a red dress with a white floral design and a white cardigan. El kicked on her black flat shoes and then raced to her dresser which held her make up and a mirror propped up against the wall.

El had been practising make up ever since her dad had bought her some for the snow ball. She felt like it made her look pretty and she enjoyed wearing it.

She put on a bit of eye shadow, mascara and lip gloss before trying to tame her curly hair into a style but failing miserably. She huffed in annoyance at her mane.

El was just putting her spare dresses away when she heard the secret knock at the front door and her heart immediately jumped into her throat from excitement and apprehension.

She rushed to the front door and swung it open immediately to see Marty stood on the porch mirroring her own expression of love, happiness and nerves. "El…" he breathed out, his eyes widening as he took in her appearance. "You look beautiful," he stuttered making El beam.

She closed the gap between them and hugged him tightly, her head against his chest as his arms wrapped around her waist. "I missed you," she sighed tenderly.

Marty nuzzled his face slightly against the top of her curls. "I missed you too El. Especially today."

They finally broke away from each other and entered the cabin, El locking the door whilst Marty put his bag down on the table and started routing in it.

He turned back to El who was waiting patiently by the couch and she immediately noticed that his pale cheeks had warmed up quite significantly.

"So… er happy valentine's day El." His voice shook as he handed her a gift bag and a card.

The front of the card was red and pink with two teddies holding hands as the image, with the words "Be My Valentine" written at the top in beautiful writing.

El's eyes widened with wonder as she opened the card and carefully read it to herself, still not quite there with her English language but enough to decipher her card.

To El,

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank you for being my girlfriend. I love you more than D&D and Star Wars put together!

You are the best.

Love from your boyfriend,

Marty

X

"I love it" El said in awe as she looked up at Marty who looked embarrassed at the attention.

"That's great… er why don't you open your present." His voice coming out thick.

El smiled and opened the gift bag with a gasp of happy surprise. There was a heart shaped box of chocolates and the cutest teddy bear El had ever seen. It was white and fluffy and holding a love heart.

El hugged the teddy to her chest with warmth and then beamed at Marty. "Thank you!"

He smiled bashfully, "Happy valentine's day El."

She put the bear down ever so gently onto the table and placed the card and chocolates next to it. She took a nervous breath and went to the couch, picking up a glittery homemade card.

"I made this for you today," El said shyly handing the card over to Marty.

Marty was stunned as he looked down at the homemade card. On the front was a sketch of him and El riding on his bike together with love hearts coloured in red all around the paper and glitter sticking to the hearts.

He opened the card with shaking fingers and was stunned when he saw she had actually written a proper verse. Her writing was beautiful.

To Marty,

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank you for finding me in the woods and feeding me eggos. Thank you for never giving up on me and calling me every night. Thank you for being my best friend and my boyfriend.

I love you very much and hope you know that you are my very special person.

Lots of love,

El Xxxxxxx

Marty stared at the card for what felt like a very long time. His eyes were watering from emotions he couldn't explain, but this card meant everything to him.

He knew in that moment that he was going to keep this card for the rest of his life, it was absolutely perfect.

"I made it today with the help of my tutor…" El's voice suddenly broke Marty's daze and he quickly looked up at his beautiful girlfriend.

"El I love it. It's amazing, thank you." He told her still feeling incredibly choked.

El shuffled hesitantly, "I am sorry I couldn't get you a present…" she said sadly.

Marty shook his head and put the card onto the table and moved closer to her. "Don't be silly. I didn't expect a present, it's not like you can leave the house."

El nodded sadly but then a smile started to appear on her face as if a light bulb had just turned on over her head of pretty curls.

Before Marty could question her expression, El jumped at him, pressing her lips tightly to his, taking him completely by surprise.

She stepped back and beamed at Mike whose dark eyes had grown a very dreamy looking expression. "Is that a good present?" she asked him.

"Y-yeah… that's a very good present." He could only reply hoarsely.

El giggled making Marty's heart quiver before she took his hand and motioned him to the couch exclaiming that she wanted to watch a movie.

Whilst El decided on a film, Marty went into the kitchen and got to work making popcorn, feeling extremely pleased with himself when he did it right and only burned a few of the kernels.

He returned to the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and a surprised expression when he saw El had picked up A New Hope.

"Star Wars again?" he asked her incredulously.

El shrugged and smiled, "it's my favourite."

Marty felt his heart almost explode, yep this was definitely the girl of his dreams.

He handed his beautiful girlfriend the popcorn bowl and put the tape into the VCR.

Marty sat down next to El who was already happily tucking into the popcorn. He smiled to himself, his favourite film saga and his favourite girl, now this was living.

"Marty?" El asked suddenly half way through the film.

"Hmm?" Marty asked slightly distracted by the film but turning his head to look at the beauty in front of him.

"Do you think Princess Leia is pretty?" she asked biting her lip with nerves.

Marty was stunned into silence for a moment. If he was honest of course he thought Princess Leia was pretty, what guy didn't? Before El, Princess Leia had definitely been his crush and the girl of his dreams but that had changed now.

"Erm… well yeah she's pretty but not like you are." He said knowing that friends don't lie.

When El looked more confused, he pressed on. "I mean… you do sort of look like Princess Leia but you're much more pretty. You're beautiful. Like I know you like this make up stuff, but you don't need it to be beautiful El. You're naturally beautiful." He told her, his nerves starting to hit him.

El dared to grin, "Really?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

Marty smiled, taking in her stunning eyes. "Yes really! And you're really cute too. Especially right now," he teased moving a little closer to her on the couch.

El smiled bashfully and averted her brown eyes to the couch. Marty loved her shyness it was so endearing.

He scooted a bit closer and hesitantly cupped her face with his hand. Her eyes slowly roamed up his face until they met his dark eyes.

Marty appraised her stunning face and smiled to himself, "You've changed a lot in the year we've been apart. I mean you were really pretty back then but now… well I swear you get more beautiful by the day."

He watched as her delicate cheeks coloured and he loved that he had put the blush there.

El looked at him lovingly, her eyes slightly widened as she moved her hand slowly to his face and softly traced her fingers across his cheek.

"You have changed too. More… handsome." She said as if testing the word on her lips.

Marty would have cringed but he was too enthralled with the reaction his body was having to her delicate touches.

Her fingers brushed down his sharp cheek bone as he gulped nervously, feeling goose bumps rush up and down his spine.

Marty's dark eyes watched El's eyes as she became fascinated by his freckles and for a moment he thought she might be trying to count them.

Her fingers then carried on their caress to his lips. Marty felt like he couldn't breathe, he was so caught in the moment.

El traced one finger extremely slowly from his top lip to his bottom lip making his heart pound in his chest and for the butterflies in his stomach to wreak absolute havoc in his trembling body.

"Pretty," El mused staring at his lips. Marty couldn't take it a single second more. He moved El's hand off his face, keeping it securely in his grip as he leaned in the short distance and kissed her.

El's gasp was lost on her crushed lips and she immediately flung her arms around Marty's neck and pulled him closer.

Marty moved as close as he could get to El on the couch, his hands flats on her back, pushing her flush to him.

His heart was erratic as he felt her chest against his chest. It was like they were one heart instead of two.

Marty kissed her delicately, slowly and with desire as he breathed her in. El sighed happily against his lips making a surge of arousal starting to heat his body.

He clutched the material of her dress like a life line as he kissed her harder as his desire gave in to lust. He wanted more of her, he wanted to taste her on his lips and with his tongue.

In the heat of the moment Marty pulled at El's lower lip and brought it in between his teeth for a moment before releasing it. He felt El gasp and when she didn't pull away he took advantage of the fact that her mouth had opened.

Marty pressed forward and carefully touched her lips with his tongue, feeling her heavy breath tingle into his mouth. He groaned softly and explored her mouth with his tongue until he came across hers, hesitant and holding back.

He was about to come back to reality as to what he was doing when El's tongue slowly touched his in a stroking action.

A deep sound of yearning was ripped from his chest as he moved one of his hands from her back and moved it into her thick locks.

As their tongues danced together and they both became more confident in their actions, Marty could feel the heat pouring off his skin and he knew he was getting hard at the soft sounds that were escaping El's mouth.

Marty could have stayed like this forever, completely and utterly wrapped up in El, testing the waters of the passion that they held for one another.

But when there was a loud knocking sequence at the door, they both sprang away from each other immediately.

"Open up kid!" came Hopper's annoyed voice making Marty's eyes widen in panic as to what he had just been doing to the chief's was safe to say hearing his girlfriend's dad's solemn voice during the heat of passion was absolutely a boner killer.

El immediately gestured her head quickly to the side causing all the locks on the front door to open.

Marty felt like he was hyperventilating as Hopper walked through the door and looked at the pair with suspicious eyes.

"So… what are you two up to then?" He said in what some would assume was a playful voice, but Marty could instantly tell this was a trap. This of course didn't stop his stupid mouth from moving.

"Er nothing! We were just watching Star Wars!" he tremored.

Hopper folded his arms and glared at Marty. "Really? Well it looked like that film ended quite a while ago Wheeler."

Marty quickly turned to the television set to see with impending doom that Hopper was right. Even the credits were finished and there was just static. Oh shit.

"W-we were just talking dad," El interjected as if hoping this would help but Marty sadly knew it wouldn't.

Hopper scoffed as he pulled a bottle of beer out of the fridge and took a big gulp. "Yeah looked like that kid. I think it's time Wheeler went home."

Marty sighed knowing that was coming. El looked like she was going to object but he quickly placed his hand on top of hers and smiled sadly. "I'll see you soon okay?"

El bit her lip and nodded miserably. Marty took a breath and stood up, quickly grabbing his bag and safely tucking his valentine's card off El inside.

"Hey kid, why don't you go get in your pj's and then we'll eat." Hopper's sudden voice change from dangerous to kind terrified Marty.

El smiled slightly and nodded, waving good bye begrudgingly to Marty before heading into her room.

Hopper turned his fake smile back into a glare and turned back to Mike. "Right off you go Wheeler."

Marty who had been staring at El's closed bedroom door with what Hopper could only describe as puppy dog eyes, suddenly jumped at his voice and turned to him with wide eyes.

"Er… yeah. Bye Hopper, I mean sir." He said nervously, fumbling to put on his back pack. He had just reached the door when Hopper held him back by the scruff of his t-shirt.

Marty froze on the spot and Hopper leaned in closer to him menacingly. "I'm warning you Wheeler. You two might have gone through hell and back this past year. But it'll be nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you have any funny business going on with my daughter. Got it?"

Hopper was pleased to see that Marty looked as white as a sheet. "Y-yes s-sir." He managed to get out.

Feeling satisfied, Hopper released the t-shirt and watched with amusement as the boy rushed out of the front door and ran down the steps.

Hopper walked closer to the front door and watched as Marty tried to get onto his bike. Why not add another nail into the coffin? "Oh and Wheeler?" Hopper said in an almost pleasant voice.

Marty looked up, "y-yes?" he asked nervously.

"That shade of lip gloss you're wearing isn't your colour."

He was happy to see that Marty looked fit to explode from how red he had gone. He wiped at his mouth desperately and then jumped on his bike, speeding away as fast as his long legs would take him.

Hopper watched him go and then chuckled to himself as he shut the front door and locked it. He felt satisfied that he had prevented any dirty thoughts or funny business for at least another year.

March 1989

Spring break couldn't have come quicker Marty thought as he biked hard to the cabin with Dustin and Will, Lucas falling back slightly as Max kept up on her skate board.

El only had her tutoring for four hours in the morning and then they were free to come over every day and see her. Mike smirked knowing there wasn't anything Hopper could do about it because he was in work.

Marty chucked his bike to the side as he approached the cabin eagerly, his friends trailing behind making kissing noises and jokes.

Before he could even knock, El came out of the cabin looking simply radiant in a pink dress, her curly hair plaited. Marty's breath caught in his chest.

"You look beautiful" he said breathlessly as El beamed and skipped down the steps to him. He pulled her immediately into his arms and lay his head on top of her curls, a goofy smile on his face.

"I missed you," El sighed into Marty's chest making his heart constrict with how much he loved her. "I missed you too…" he murmured.

There was a loud cough from behind the pair and Dustin's amused voice. "You know, I'm starting to get the feeling that El and Marty missed each other."

The others laughed whilst Marty and El broke out of their embrace, although he didn't hesitate to entwine their fingers. "Shut up," he glared playfully.

"We'll shut up when you two stop with the whole love heart eyes," Max smirked before putting her hands on her hips. "So what do we want to do today?"

Everyone went quiet as they thought about their limited options.

"What about hide and seek?" Will asked.

"No we've played that six times this week." Lucas answered rolling his eyes.

"Climbing trees?" Marty suggested.

"No! Not after Dusty here almost broke his arm." Max scoffed.

Dustin scowled, "I didn't almost break my arm!"

"Movies in the cabin?" Lucas offered.

"No, it gets really hot in there at this hour remember. When the suns on it. We need somewhere cooler like my basement." Marty said casually.

"Let's go to your basement Mike." El said in her sweet soft tone.

The party looked at her in surprise and Marty felt immediately anxious. "El… you know we can't leave the cabin. Your dad would have a fit."

El shrugged, "He wouldn't need to know."

"Wow what did you do to pure and innocent El Marty? She's a rebel now!" Dustin teased making Marty immediately go red at the insinuation.

"Nothing you idiot!"

"Well I think El's idea is the best one. We could play D&D or something." Lucas said leaning against his parked bike.

Marty frowned whilst the others nodded eagerly. "But what if some one spots her?" he asked nervously.

Max stepped forward, "Well we can like disguise her. Have you still got all that crap Anne gave you El?"

When El nodded and smiled, Max took her other hand and dragged her away into the cabin from Marty. He watched them leave like a part of his heart had just walked off too.

Five minutes later Max reappeared with El. Her curly brunette locks hidden underneath a red long wig and dark sunglasses.

Marty couldn't help but grin with the rest of the group as nostalgia hit him. He remembered El walking out of his bathroom with a blonde wig and pink dress and a look of hesitant confidence on her beautiful face.

"Careful, now we have two fiery red heads!" Dustin called as he picked up his bike.

Max rolled her eyes whilst the boys all laughed. El hesitated and then looked up at Marty with a smile.

"Is it pretty?" she asked him quietly.

Marty looked at her with love and walked up to her, entwining their hands. "Yeah it is. You look beautiful no matter what you wear though." He said shrugging bashfully whilst his friends all made vomiting noises and Max yelled "Here we go again!"

"Right let's hit the road then!" Lucas said happily mounting his bike whilst Max walked next to him with her skateboard under her arm.

El looked around at the modes of transport and Marty could feel the nerves growing in his stomach. "Er… El? Do you wanna get on the back of my bike?"

She turned to him with bright eyes and nodded with excitement. Marty tried to keep a cool face when El hopped on the bike and moved her arms around his stomach, her body tucked up to his. He knew the boys were smirking at him and he was determined not to let them tease him anymore.

The ride to his house was utter bliss in Marty's opinion. The temperature wasn't too cold and wasn't too hot and the angel laying her head on his back and her hands on his abdomen was making him feel jittery sparks of electricity and heat as he rode.

He couldn't stop smiling to himself as he biked, knowing that Hopper would kill him if he found out they took El out of the cabin, but knowing it was worth it for her to finally have some freedom and proper fresh air.

"You okay back there?" Marty asked sweetly, turning his head slightly in El's direction before turning his gaze to the road, trying his hardest to concentrate on the trail and not on the beautiful girl tucked up to him.

"Yes…" El said breathing a sigh of relief. "I feel happy." She added in contentment making Marty's heart flutter madly. Her hands stroked slightly against his stomach and Marty's eyes widened with shock but he tried to keep silent, wondering if she knew what the contact was doing to his body.

"Your stomach is harder than I remember. Why is it?" El said rather curiously as her stroking hand prodded him slightly. Marty felt himself blushing madly and was thankful that she couldn't see his face.

"Er… I guess it's just muscle?" He said weakly. Marty knew he wasn't exactly buff, far from it in fact. But now that he was growing taller by the day and puberty had hit him like a train, he knew all the exercise he did on the bike was starting to slowly catch up with his body.

El didn't say anything but carried on her innocent but tantalising stroking of his stomach. Marty was thankful when they reached his house because he didn't think he would have been able to concentrate on biking a moment longer.

"You okay there Marty?" Will said watching his friend with amusement as they all started to dismount the bikes by the basement door.

Marty blushed furiously and averted his eyes from his friends as he helped El off the back. "Yeah I'm fine." He said quickly, his friends only sharing smirks and thankfully not pressing the issue further.

As soon as El got off the bike she looked up at the house with awe. She couldn't believe she was back to where it had all started. A strange heaviness hit her chest that she didn't fully understand and she followed Marty and her friends into the basement trying to ignore the feeling.

Everyone piled into the basement and went their separate ways. Dustin and Lucas headed to the kitchen upstairs whilst Max helped Will set up the D&D game. Marty hovered by the door and watched El closely as she looked around the basement with wonder.

Her eyes finally fell on the object she had been hopeful would still be there. Her fort. El couldn't understand the tears that started to rush down her cheeks and she walked closer to her old bed.

"Are you okay?" El heard the calming voice of her boyfriend as he walked up behind her, clearly having seen what she was looking at.

El turned back to look at Marty over her shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "I just can't believe it's still here." She mused.

Marty grinned and moved his arms around her, placing a kiss onto her cheek before they both turned their gaze back onto the fort. "And I will make sure it stays here for as long as possible." He assured her.

She looked into his dark eyes, so warm and bright to her. They made her heart flip every time. "I love you." She said boldly.

Marty blushed and grinned happily. "I love you too."

"Woah, woah woah! Did you two just say the L word?!" Max gasped. El had forgotten for a moment that her and Marty weren't alone and they both turned to see Will and Max watching them avidly.

"Yeah we did." Marty said defiantly as he reached for El's hand, their fingers lacing together naturally.

Will smirked and Max looked oddly proud of them both. "Well just don't let those two hear you." She joked, her finger pointing up to the ceiling where El knew the kitchen was.

10 minutes later the party were all sat around the table and immersed in D&D. Well the boys were whilst the girls watched on. Max and El were still learning more about the game before they were due to start playing and Will was still designing their characters.

El didn't particularly mind, she was sat next to Marty, her chair tucked up as close as possible to his and holding his hand under the table. She watched him with awe as he controlled the game, it caused an odd stir of excitement in her chest at his power.

Max grew irritated after a while and started to tell Lucas that he'd taken the wrong move whilst he became flustered and his character almost died. They bickered playfully between one another and El watched them with interest, wondering if her and Marty would ever argue, she had certainly argued with her dad before. At the thought of Hopper El felt instantly guilty, knowing that he would be furious if he found out she was breaking the rules. But there was only so much time she could stand being cooped up.

After another hour Dustin's rumbling stomach signified lunch time. Will and Dustin headed upstairs promising the rest of the group that they would make a bunch of sandwiches since Mrs. Wheeler was out at book club. El was slightly thankful otherwise she'd have to be hiding right now if Marty's mom was home, she still didn't know about her.

The two young couples left each other alone, Max and Lucas headed to the couch and snuggled whilst El and Marty went and sat in the fort whispering to each other and holding hands.

They stopped talking for a moment and Marty just stared at El, his eyes slightly wide as he gazed immediately into her eyes. "What is it?" she asked him suddenly feeling shy as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"It's just… I sat in here for 353 days desperate for you to come home. And… now you're here." Marty's voice came out cracked and dry and El felt her chest squeeze with that odd feeling again.

Their joined hands grip seemed to get a little tighter as if they were holding onto each other for dear life. Marty sniffed and sighed staring at her still. "I just feel… complete."

El couldn't stop the blinding smile that arose onto her lips. She had never known a truer word than what Marty had just exclaimed. "I feel complete too." El whispered, slowly closing the short gap between them.

"Ew get a room you two!" Dustin's voice suddenly boomed as he came down the stairs with Will. One of their hands laden with a plate of sandwiches whilst the other held potato chips and soda.

Marty rolled his eyes in annoyance but before he could bite back, Max came to their rescue. "Relax they are holding hands you dumbass. Go get yourself a girlfriend and you won't have to worry about other people's relationships."

Dustin glared at her, "I'll have you know I was asked out by three girls last week."

"Well then why don't you say yes?" Lucas asked confused from his position on the couch.

"Scott said to act like I don't care." Dustin said shrugging.

"The same Scott that lost his girlfriend to Will's brother?" Max asked deadpan, her eyebrow rising making the others snort.

"Can we not talk about my sister please." Marty said shuddering as he got out of the fort and gave his hand to El, helping her to her feet.

"Fair enough." Dustin said putting the sandwiches on the table and scoffing into one. His eyes turned on Will who was opening the potato chips. "Have you asked Jennifer out yet?" he asked curiously.

Will suddenly became flustered and almost dropped the packet of potato chips on the floor. "Er… no. Not yet." He said trying to clear his dry throat.

"Well don't leave it too long, some other guy will ask her out." Lucas said grabbing a sandwich.

"But she likes Will doesn't she? Why would she go out with another boy?" El asked confused. She couldn't comprehend loving another boy like she did Marty.

"Probably because they're stronger, smarter and cooler than me." Will mumbled looking down at the food.

El frowned, "But you are cool." She said in confusion.

"And you're called Will the Wise for a reason." Marty interjected smiling at his friend.

"And you did kind of survive an entire week in the Upside Down dude. I'd say you're pretty strong." Lucas said pointing a potato chip at Will before eating it whilst Max and Dustin nodded in agreement, their mouths full of sandwich.

Will cringed but looked at his friends with surprise. "Thanks guys." He said brightly.

"No problem." Max said swallowing her sandwich whilst Lucas snorted. "You didn't say anything."

Max shrugged, "I don't need to." She said with sass making Lucas give her love heart eyes of admiration. El grinned to herself knowing she had seen a similar look on Marty's face when he looked at her sometimes. She happily grabbed a sandwich not even minding that it wasn't an eggo.

The party played D&D until the late afternoon when Marty knew he begrudgingly would have to take El home. Not just to get her back before Hopper, but she also couldn't be seen by his parents.

Marty wondered to himself when he would finally be able to tell his mom and dad that he had a girlfriend and introduce her to them. He knew his mom must have seen a difference in him but she hadn't questioned it. He had literally gone from depressed and extremely unhappy to bright as a button the next day. It was crazy to think of the affect El had on him sometimes.

Marty asked the party if just he could take El home and they agreed with smiles thinking he had some big plan to suck face or something. But in reality, he just wanted some alone time with El. They didn't even need to talk, just being in each other presence was just enough sometimes.

The bike journey was quieter than before as they both mulled over the idea that they were about to be separated again. Marty knew he probably was under the category of clingy boyfriend, but after being separated from El for almost a year, he couldn't get enough of seeing her. He knew once spring break was over he would go back to seeing her every other day but for now he would just try and enjoy the rest of spring break with his girlfriend.

Marty walked El up to the porch, their hands swinging together as they approached the front door. He watched as El opened the door with her mind and it swung open slowly. He sighed knowing that this was good bye for today.

"I had a lot of fun today." El said stepping closer to him and playing with the hem of her dress with her free hand. Marty watched her with love, wanting nothing more than to kiss her but also remembering that Hopper had signed his death warrant.

"Me too. I mean I always have fun with you… but it was nice to take you back home." He said gently, his eyes staring into hers hoping she would always think of his house as her first proper home. She belonged with him, he knew it, El knew it and even Hopper knew it deep down.

El hummed gently and she moved her hand to his cheek, Marty gulped nervously and stared at her with adoration. "Does home always have to be a place?" she asked him softly, her head cocking slightly as she thought about her own question.

Marty could feel his heart hammering. "Er… I guess not. I guess it can be something else." He mumbled nervously.

She smiled slowly at first until it reached her eyes, and then she was positively sparkling. "You are my home Marty. Wherever you are is home."

Marty's breath hitched and he felt his chest become wracked with emotion at her beautiful words. "You are my home El. I love you so much." He gasped before giving into his temptations and kissing her.

His hands moved to cup her cheeks before knotting into her hair whilst El's hands gripped his shoulders as she sighed into the kiss. Marty couldn't stop the groan that escaped his lips and he opened her mouth gently with his open, their tongues meeting almost immediately as a burning fire started to take place in the pit of his stomach.

They could have stayed like that for minutes or even hours before El broke the kiss slowly. Marty looked at her dazed and breathless. "I don't think dad would like to see this." She panted.

Marty couldn't help but laugh as the adrenaline rushed around his veins, his body still shaking. "You're right." He told her as he exhaled a deep breath.

"Can I see you tomorrow?" Marty all but whispered as the tension in his chest tried to slowly lift.

El beamed, "Yes please. Will you call me later?"

"Of course!" Marty replied watching her with big wide eyes, trying to take in everything about her before they parted.

El sighed and leaned in, kissing his cheek sweetly. The area her lips had touched immediately burned. "Good night Marty." She whispered.

"Good night El" Marty said anxiously, his heart fit to burst out of his chest as he watched her give him a sly smile, walk in the cabin and slowly close the door. A big grin of utter love sickness took over Marty's face.

He was completely overwhelmed that he forgot there was even steps to the porch and he fell down them with an "Umph!" landing on the grass. Feeling incredibly embarrassed and hoping El hadn't seen from inside, he quickly jumped up and brushed off his clothes, rushing over to his bike with red hot cheeks.

"Hey El, are you there? Over."

"Hi Marty… over."

"I miss you El."

"Marty?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't say over."

"Oh shit. Well… forget over. We don't need it. Just… don't tell the others okay?"

"Okay. And Marty?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss you too. And I had a lot of fun today."

"What was your favourite part?"

"Kissing you."

"Really?! I mean… cool."

"Do you like kissing me too Marty?"

"Are you kidding El?! I love it. I wish I could kiss you all the time."

"Why can't we?"

"Because your dad would kill me."

"I'd never let him kill you."

"That's true I guess… I forget sometimes that my girlfriend is a superhero."

"I'm not a superhero…"

"You are El. You're powerful, amazing, strong… and beautiful."

"Superheroes are beautiful?"

"No… just you."

"I love you Marty."

"I love you too El."

August 1989

The laughter and shouting of six young teenagers could probably be heard for miles, but because of the cabin's isolated location, their joy was solely their own.

Marty didn't think he'd ever been happier when El had called him on the super com, ecstatic that she had passed her exams and would be starting high school with him and the party in September. He was so proud of her and was crossing out the days on his calendar until they would start school together.

He wondered how different high school would be in general, but also how different it would be with a girlfriend. Marty was sure people like Jesse would be astonished that he could even get a girlfriend. He scowled slightly as he thought about Jesse, he wondered if he'd remember who El was. Even if he did, no one would believe him, he'd probably be too embarrassed to admit he had been beaten up by a girl. A kickass superhero girl.

Marty focused back on the task at hand, leaving thoughts of Troy and high school to the back of his mind whilst he, Dustin, Lucas and Will made El a tyre swing outside of the cabin. El and Max in the meantime were inside looking through Max's old clothes to provide El with some shorts and t-shirts so she could survive the blistering summer.

"Right should we test this thing out?" Lucas said wiping his sweating brow and eyeing up the tyre swing.

"Me first!" Dustin said before launching himself into the tyre swing. Marty had to admit to himself that Dustin was definitely the best one to test the product because he was the broadest out of them all.

Puberty was chasing after the boys and quickly winning. They were all shooting up in height, especially Marty, Lucas was starting to have to shave, Dustin's puppy fat was becoming muscles and all of the boys would be speaking normally and then their vocal chords would force their words out high pitched or low pitched.

Marty certainly couldn't wait for the voice changes to be over with because Max teased the boys relentlessly over it. Not that the girls were any better, puberty was after them too. Both girls had got taller, their shapes becoming more defined, Max more of a sporty figure and El softer, curvier… not that Marty had been staring or anything!

What was worse with the girls is that their time of the month always coincided like they had some sisterhood going on. At that time Lucas and Marty tried their hardest to be good boyfriends and provide the girls with chocolate, ice cream and love whilst also running for the hills with Dustin and Will when the girls got snappy and irritated.

Dustin had called it "Survival week" meaning if they did what the girls wanted and kept their heads down then they would survive. Marty felt thankful he didn't have to go through that, and his wet dreams seemed pretty mediocre compared to what the girls went through every month.

"Brilliant! I think we've done a good job." Will said brightly, tapping the tyre proudly as Dustin was pulled out of the swing head first by Lucas who let him fall to the floor with a laugh.

"Ooh torture of Dusty! Let me join in!" Max's voice called from the porch as she descended the stairs with El and went over to witness Dustin and Lucas playful scrap on the dried grass.

Marty felt his heart beating loudly and his eyes widened with love as he watched El take in the sight of her new swing. Her little gasp of excitement made butterflies go wild in his stomach.

She looked so beautiful, her curly hair tied in a high bun, her body clad in shorts and a t-shirt. Marty couldn't stop his eyes slowly look up and down her body, taking in her long lean legs, the way the shorts made her ass look and the fitted nature of her t-shirt. He gulped and looked away, scolding himself for being such a teenage boy. But no matter, he couldn't help his hormones. He was more than attracted to El, he couldn't help the magnetism he felt towards her.

"Do you like it?" Marty asked eagerly, watching El closely as her dainty hands ran across the tyre, her eyes wide with curiosity. She turned to him and nodded avidly. "Thank you!" she almost squealed.

"Hey! It wasn't just lover boy who made that swing!" Dustin said from the choke hold Max had him in, laughing her head off at her victory.

Marty went red but El beamed looked around at all of the boys. "Thank you all so much." She said so sincerely that Marty felt his heart fluttering all over again.

"Do you want to give it a go?" He asked his girlfriend, oddly nervous because he just wanted her to like it.

"Yes!"

Marty sprang forward to help El into the tyre swing, not just to make sure his girlfriend was safe and sound, but also because he had an innocent reason to hold her body for a moment until she was secure in the seat.

"Right, hold on tight to the ropes and I'm going to push you," Marty said in almost a whisper next to El's ear. With her hair up in the bun a lot more of her skin was exposed to him, and it caused goose bumps to rise up his arms. El didn't speak but nodded, he noticed her gulp nervously, not sure if it was from his whisper in her ear or from the prospect of the swing.

Marty moves his hands to the tyre edges and slowly started to push her, he could her laugh with surprise as he pushed harder causing her to speed up. "Do you like it?" he called to her, smiling to himself at her giggles.

"Yes! Keep going!" She shouted back laughing against the breeze being caused by the pushing. Marty grinned, loving how thrilled she was in the moment, his heart could have exploded knowing how happy she felt.

After a while of watching El swing the others grew impatient except for Marty who could have pushed her all day, even with his weak muscles. "Anyone want to play hide and seek?" Will asked the group.

Max, Lucas and Dustin quickly agreed but Marty could see El's hesitation, clearly wanting to keep on swinging. "No, I'll stay here with El." Marty finally said looking at his friends but still concentrating on swinging El.

"Of course you will." Max muttered in amusement, causing the other boys to laugh as they all raced into the woods.

"Marty?" El asked once the group had disappeared. "Yeah El?" he asked her, slowing down the pushing slightly so he could hear her.

"Will you swing with me? Like...in the tyre?"

Marty felt his eyes widen at the thought of being squished in the tyre with El. Their bodies so close. He held his hands on the tyre to make it come to a stop. "Er… I… I mean… do you think we'd fit?" he squeaked out.

El looked at him over her shoulder, looking so perfect, her eyes glistening with… was that mischief?! "We can try…" she offered.

Marty felt himself immediately heat up, his body almost shaking when he realised she was flirting with him. Damn she was sexy and she had no idea! He turned his eyes onto the swing and frown slightly, "Er… so how do we do this?"

El pondered the question for a moment and then shrugged. "You try and get in normally and I'll try and lift myself up and then sit on you."

She said it was such innocence that Marty honestly didn't know if she knew that her sitting on his lap was going to drive him crazy. He knew he shouldn't do it, he could practically imagine Hopper murdering him… but how could he refuse her?

"Okay," he said sheepishly, gulping down his nerves as best as he could. El placed her hands higher up on the rope and impressively lifted her whole body up. "Damn you're strong…" Marty said impressed as he also held onto the rope and awkwardly fitted his body into the tyre with El.

Marty felt all the air leave his lungs when El sat back down onto his lap. Holy shit he thought to himself, they were both wearing shorts and her bare skin against his was incredibly. He exhaled a breath that he tried to keep quiet not wanting El to know how nervous he was.

His hands laced around her hands on the ropes and using his long legs he pushed them slightly. Marty tried desperately to concentrate on swinging the both of them, but all he could think about was that his beautiful girlfriend was in his lap, his lap whilst the smell of her hair blew into his face making his body shudder.

"Hmm… this is better." El said calmly, her head under Marty's chin as he swung them. He couldn't help but smile despite the intensity of the situation. His nose nudged her temple slightly before he placed a soft kiss there.

His mouth moved down to her cheek and with a surge of confidence, he allowed his lips to slowly travel to her neck. "Yeah it is…" he said against her sweet skin, where he could feel her pulse hammering.

One of El's hands left the rope and moved back to caress her fingers against his cheek, slowly bringing his head even closer to her neck. Marty couldn't help but smile against her skin knowing that she seemed to have liked the kiss on her neck.

Marty closed his eyes and gently pressed his mouth to her neck once more, before blowing warm breath on her skin, he opened his eyes with a grin to see the goose bumps his actions had just caused.

"Does that feel good?" He whispered to her, his voice deeper and huskier. He felt a fire starting to burn in the pit of his stomach at having El this close.

"Yes," she gasped nodding slightly. "Do it again." She urged.

Marty smirked and leaned in again, kissing where the edge of her jaw and neck met before blowing his breath against the skin. He tentatively gave the skin a little lick and El almost jumped in surprise.

"Sorry!" He immediately apologised, his cheeks crimson. "I got a bit carried away." He mumbled wanting the ground to swallow him up.

El turned to look at him and he realised with stunned shock that her eyes were wide not with fear or anxiety but with lust. It made the fire almost explode in his stomach as it began moving to his groin.

She shook her head slightly, her gaze not leaving his. "No… I loved it." She whispered before pulling his head closer to her with the hand that was still on his cheek.

Despite the slightly awkward position in the tyre swing, nothing was going to stop Mike from kissing El in that moment. He crashed his lips to her with a groan, their tongues immediately meeting, stroking desperately.

Marty let one of his hands leave the ropes and he snaked it around El's waist, bringing her closer to him as they made out. Holy shit we're making out! Marty thought to himself as El sighed against his mouth, their breath mingled and it caused the heat in his groin to soon become arousal.

He could have stayed in that moment forever, letting the fire completely consume them both… but that wasn't meant to be.

"Holy fuck!" Lucas gasped.

"Mike's deflowering El in the tyre swing!" Dustin shouted.

"Deflowering?" Max scoffed.

"Ew you guys are gross!" Will shuddered.

Marty and El quickly pulled out of their embrace, Marty so stunned by his friends appearance that he tried to lean away from El as quickly as he could, not remembering there was nothing behind him and with a yelp fell out of the swing.

He shut his eyes for the impact but it never came. His friends gasped and he opened his eyes slowly to see he was floating just off the ground. Marty's quickly looked to El who was concentrating on him, he saw with a slightly movement of her head he slowly was laid on the grass.

"Thank you," he told her weakly, beyond embarrassed and not wanting to look at his friends who were howling. Remembering the result of his make out session with El, Marty quickly sat up on the grass and put his hands in his lap, desperately trying to think of something to make the stiffness go away. Hopper, Hopper, Hopper. Hopper with a gun about to shoot me. Will's dead body, all gross and slimy. Grandma, grandma, grandma.

Thankfully the combination of all three seemed to ease the situation very quickly but didn't stop the teasing from his friends from how they had just found him and El.

"You know there's an empty cabin right there guys? You could have just used a bedroom." Max said teasing.

"Max, the deflowering of El was clearly more epic in a tyre swing." Dustin snorted, wiping at his wet eyes.

Marty scowled at them all but became even more crimson if that was at all possible when El innocently asked, "what is deflowering?"

"It's n-nothing El! These lot are just being shit heads." He mumbled darkly whilst the party laughed even more because of El's innocent question.

"Oh come on Wheeler, surely you want her to know some day?" Max winked evilly. If looks could have killed Max would have been a pile of ash right now.

"Deflowering is when a guy takes a girl's virginity." Dustin said eagerly making Marty's blood boil, he couldn't even look at his girlfriend knowing she would have a confused look on her face right about now.

After a little while there was gasp, "Oh! You mean sex." El said calmly making all the boys splutter.

Marty's eyes widened and he turned to El, "You… y-you know about sex El?" he gasped, completely stunned.

El nodded, "Yes Joyce told me about it." She said so coolly. Marty wished he didn't get so uncomfortable talking about the subject, but he guessed it had something to do with the whole girls mature quicker than boys.

"Ew gross… my mom teaching sex ed." Will shuddered.

"Well she'll need it…" Lucas smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Will bit back, mortified even at the insinuation.

Lucas looked at Max who rolled her eyes and turned to Will. "We totally saw her and Hopper making out when we were going to the arcade last Tuesday. They were in Joyce's car and they were so obvious."

The whole group seemed to join in a huge gasp. "My mom?!" Will squeaked. "My dad?" El asked in confusion.

"Well I suppose it was bound to happen. They have the electricity." Dustin said reasonably, making the whole group turn to him in surprise.

"The electricity?" Lucas asked his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah they obviously waited until they felt the electricity. The sexual electricity."

"What, did your mom teach you that?" Max scoffed.

"No Steve."

"Yeah exactly… your mom." Max said rolling her eyes making the others laugh.

Whilst the group bickered and El went back to swinging, there was the noise of the gravel being disturbed and the party turned to see Hopper walking towards them with Joyce. Because of the recent accusations, the whole party went quiet, immediately awkward at seeing the pair together.

Will was the first one to break the silence out of the group, "mom what are you doing here? And with the chief?" he asked sheepishly.

Joyce having no idea of the awkward tension of the group just smiled kindly. "Hi honey, well I saw Hop in town and thought I'd come and see you all. Then I thought you and me could go for ice cream?" she said sweetly, in her Joyce Byers way.

Will went red but nodded looking at the floor, "Er… okay mom." Marty couldn't help but wonder if Joyce wanted to talk to her son alone for a reason. Maybe this thing between her and Hopper was more than just making out?

"What's that?" Hopper asked staring at the tyre swing.

El shrugged smiling and carried on swinging, "It's my swing. The boys made it."

Hopper looked exasperated, "Well I need you all to come indoors. We've got a few things to discuss…"

Marty immediately felt a panic take over his body, ew were Hopper and Joyce about to announce their relationship to them all? Or was it something worse… had he somehow found out about El and Marty making out?! He tried to calm down by reminding himself that if Hopper had known, Marty would be dead right now, so maybe he was in the clear.

The group reluctantly went into the warmth of the cabin and sat around the table looking expectantly at Hopper who was leaning against a counter, Joyce stood next to him.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, El is starting school with you this September." Hopper began, his arms crossed as he looked at each individual member of the party. They all nodded, unable to hide their grins.

"Well I met with Dr. Owens this morning and he agrees that it's time that we start integrating El back into society…"

Marty gasped with excitement, "Does that mean she can officially go out now?" he said almost bouncing in his seat.

"Yes but… hang on what do you mean officially go out? Has she been going out unofficially?" Hopper said quickly picking up on Marty's slip. Since March whenever they could get away with it, the party had been sneaking El out. She had been to Marty's a number of times and even Max's, Dustin's and Lucas's. They hadn't been able to get away with sneaking her to Will's yet because either Joyce or Joseph were always there.

"No!" the whole party said adamantly. Hopper sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Give me strength…" he mumbled darkly to himself.

"So El is allowed out now?" Max said calmly ignoring Hopper annoyance at the fact that they had been sneaking around for months.

Hopper finally looked back up at the group and nodded his head slowly. "Yes, El can go out. But there are going to be rules and you all need to know the story I'm going with." He said making the party groan.

"Let him finish you lot." Joyce said giving them all a stern look which literally still made her look sweet and kind. Joyce didn't do stern with the kids.

"What are the rules dad?" El asked calmly. Marty turned his gaze onto his girlfriend and couldn't stop the big grin on his face. She looked so excited at the prospect of properly being out in the world that she didn't care if there was a rule or two.

Hopper turned to his daughter, "Well rule number one is that you don't use your powers unless it's an emergency. I'm talking life or death emergency El. Rule number two is you'll have a curfew which we'll decide on when you start going out with your friends. Okay kid?" He asked her seriously.

El practically beamed as she nodded. "Yes." She answered happily making Marty's heart swoon at the innocent excitement in her eyes. He couldn't wait to take her out, maybe now they could have a proper date.

"And what's the story?" Marty asked Hopper, knowing that he would say anything to keep El safe and with her family, friends and with him.

"We're going to say that I adopted El at the beginning of summer from Chicago. Her dad is dead and her mom is… well her mom is too unwell to have custody of her. She was home schooled and you lot are friends with her because you all met when you were playing in the woods." Hopper said looking at them all, making sure they were all taking this in and understood the importance of El's cover story.

The group all nodded in agreement before Hopper continued. "And you all need to know that El's legal name is now Jane Eleanor Hopper. So call her El for short if she wants. But don't be surprised if people call her Jane."

"Jane?" Dustin asked in confusion.

"My mama named me Jane." El said looking at her friend with a sad smile that broke Marty's heart. He reached for her hand under the table, their fingers laced comfortingly.

"Just whatever you do, don't call her Eleven in public." Hopper said scolding the children who nodded quickly.

Marty could tell how excited El was to buy new clothes, everything she owned was hand me downs. But he couldn't help but feel down at the thought that she wouldn't need to borrow his clothes anymore.

He loved it when she would return a sweater in exchange for another. Marty would never tell a soul, but he'd put the used sweater back on and get into bed, smelling El's scent on the sleeve until he'd fall asleep. Marty wasn't just in love with El, he was obsessed with that beautiful girl.

El's eyes were wide with enthusiasm as she looked at rack upon rack of clothing, different colours and patterns that excited her. In the lab she had worn beige clothing, if you could even call them clothing, but this was a completely new world to her. Even the fact that she was stood in a clothing store was a novelty to her.

"What about something like this with ripped tights and leather?" Max said eagerly holding up a short black dress. El blushed and laughed, "No I don't think so."

Max huffed, "Oh come on! I thought you looked so cool in your punk clothes when I first saw you. I couldn't pull it off." She said putting the black dress back.

El smirked, "It was cool… but not me."

"Well what is you?" Joyce said returning with some jeans. El sighed and looked around the store not really sure what her style was. She had gone from lab clothing into Marty's clothes, to Anne's old dress, to Hopper's old clothes, to her punk attire and then hand me downs from Max.

"What did you feel most comfortable in? What was your favourite?" Joyce added to her previous question after El hadn't answered her.

El thought back to the many different styles she had worn, but with a smile she knew what her favourite was. She had felt her most confident and comfortable in the dress of Anne's and her snow ball dress.

"Pretty things. Dresses." She concluded looking at Joyce who smiled and Max who rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed her influence hadn't turned El into a tomboy.

The ladies moved into the more girly area and El gasped with excitement as she picked out dress after dress and handed over pretty skirts and tops. She was in her element only interrupted by Joyce who had to remind her that Hopper had a budget.

El started to try on clothes and could barely recognise herself in the mirror. She looked like the other girls at the snow ball, she looked normal…she looked pretty. El beamed and put the clothes on the buy pile.

Joyce insisted that El get some jeans and sweaters too, explaining she'd get cold in the skirts and dresses when winter came. El was happy to get the jeans but more reluctant with the sweaters. She allowed a few of them into the buy pile but she was already adamant that when she needed a sweater she'd be wearing one of Marty's.

"Right sweetie we just need to get you a bra. I'll go ask the lady if she can fit you." Joyce said happily before wandering off.

El frowned and turned to Max. "Bra?" she asked confused.

Max smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah you know those little cropped tops I gave you to wear under clothes? Well they are like training bras. What you need now is the real deal." She said calmly.

El watched Joyce come back with the sales assistant and pretty looking clothing pieces she guessed were bras. After being measured and given bras to try on, El actually liked the look of them on her body.

"Okay so you're a 32 B." Joyce said as she brought more bras to the changing room. They were different materials and colours.

"What does that mean?" El asked as Joyce handed her a white and pink lace bra. "It's just your size sweetie. And likelihood is that you'll need a bigger size as you grow."

El nodded and turned her attention back onto the bras. She was bought four of them, one white, one black, the white and pink lace one and an aqua blue lace one.

Once they had bought school supplies with the help of Max who had brought her own stationary list with her, they were shopped out.

Joyce treated the girls to dessert at the ice cream parlour before finally dropping them both off at home.

El put away all her new clothes with pride and put her new school bits into her backpack. She could feel the nerves clenching in her stomach even now.

"El are you there?" Came Marty's voice from the super com that was sitting on her bedside table.

With a big smile El jumped onto her bed, crossed her legs and picked up the radio.

"Hi Marty."

"Hi El. I missed you today. Did you have fun shopping?"

El beamed like she did anytime she heard Marty's voice. "It was really funny."

"What did you buy?" he asked with interest.

El told him about all of her stationary and her new backpack before moving onto clothes. "And I have really pretty dresses and skirts, jeans, tops… oh and bras."

She immediately heard the line crackle slightly as if Marty was clearing his throat rapidly.

"Are you okay Marty?" El asked with concern.

"Er yeah… sorry. So sounds like you got a lot of stuff."

"Yeah the bras are my favourite. They are really pretty. I'm a 32 B."

"Oh… er… that's… that's cool." His voice was thick again and El frowned hoping he wasn't getting a cold. She brushed off his awkwardness and asked him about his day. El lay back on the bed and laughed at his jokes and smiled feeling incredibly love sick and happy. She couldn't wait to spend the rest of the summer with her boyfriend and friends.

August 1989

This summer has been the best time of my entire life, El thought to herself as she walked hand in hand with Marty to the ice cream parlour for their first official date.

Their fingers were laced together and they walked slowly in time with one another as they laughed and talked, stealing loving glances at each other.

El had been thrilled at Marty's reactions to her new clothes so far. He seemed to really like the dresses and skirts if his wide heart eyes and gapping mouth meant anything. El felt a lot more confident in herself now that she had found her style and was enjoying the more girly things to life.

They were finally seated by the window, sharing a large chocolate sundae between them. El realised quickly how much she liked ice cream, chocolate in particular. Her eyes must have shown her excitement because Marty chuckled. "You enjoying this huh?"

"Mm hm." She beamed licking the ice cream off the spoon. Marty gave her a startled look and focused his attention back onto the ice cream. His reaction didn't go unnoticed and El immediately worried she had shown bad manners.

"Did I do something wrong?" she whispered to him, her eyes full of concern. Marty looked back up at her, surprised by her demeanour and quickly shook his head.

"No! You didn't do anything wrong El." He told her, giving her a reassuring smile that melted her heart.

"Then why did you look strange when I licked the spoon?" she asked him confused.

Marty went immediately crimson and prodded his spoon into the sundae, keeping his eyes down. He cleared his throat, still not looking at her. "Because… I liked it…" He mumbled.

El watched him in confusion. Why did he look embarrassed if he liked it? She looked at him more closely and realisation slowly started to seep into her brain. His embarrassment was the same embarrassment he had when they were interrupted in a private moment together. El thought about the few times they had kissed with their tongues and she found herself smirking as she realised why he liked her licking a spoon.

Marty hesitantly met her eye and El gave him a warm, sweet smile. "It's okay if you liked it. You don't have to be embarrassed." She told him honestly, feeling a surge of confidence flow in her blood.

Her boyfriend's eyes were as big as saucers at her revelation. His lips slowly turned into a relieved grin and he reached for her hand which was lounging on the table next to the sundae glass.

"I love you," Marty sighed happily, his eyes glazing over slightly as he stared at El. She felt her heart leap with joy just from how he looked at her. "I love you too." She told him, grinning so much her cheeks ached.

He squeezed her hand and looked at their entwined fingers. "I love you so much I find it hard to control sometimes. And I… I'm obviously very attracted to you El and it makes things kind of…difficult sometimes." Marty admitted, his cheeks rosy.

El felt herself blushing as she thought back to the talk with Joyce when she had started her period. Joyce had explained about attraction and hearing Marty admitting his attraction to her sent goose bumps up her arm despite the warm heat of summer. She was certain he was talking about sexual attraction.

If El was honest, she hadn't felt the sexual attraction with Marty because she didn't honestly know what it would feel like. She was only 14 and still learning about intimacy. What she did know was that she was very much attracted to Marty. Everything about him drew her in, even when he was moody she was compelled to make him feel better.

She thought back to their few make out sessions and how it made her heart race, her throat dry, her skin sensitive and a deep heat in her lower abdomen. El pondered to herself if that was perhaps sexual attraction whilst her and Marty carried on eating their ice cream and discussing their summer plans.

El loved how excited Marty got about all the things they could now do over the summer because she didn't have to hide away anymore. Even just strolling through the main town with Marty was unreal to El, it felt amazing to finally feel able to breathe and to feel normal.

"And then I thought tomorrow we could all go to the lake for a swim." Marty said eagerly to El bringing her out of her daze.

She immediately felt a chill run down her spine as she thought about being back in the water. Her only real experience with water was her bath and then having to find Will and Barb in the pool. Needless to say, her memories of being in the water were horrifying. She even refused to take baths, sticking with showers instead.

"Are you okay El?" Marty asked with concern, she hadn't realised her boyfriend was watching her closely.

El looked at him and couldn't hide the vulnerability in her eyes. "The water… it makes me think of the bath."

Marty's eyes widened, "I'm sorry El I didn't even think about that. You don't have to go… it's just I thought it might have been fun. And… I want to show you there is nothing to fear from the water." He told her calmly, his thumb stroking her hand.

She looked down at their hands and frowned. "Water can be… fun?" El mumbled nervously.

Marty nodded his head enthusiastically, "Totally El! Swimming is really fun and you can play games in the water and everything. And it's really nice to have a dip in the water on a hot day." he told her eagerly.

El slowly looked up at Marty and could see he wasn't lying to her and his eyes were full of genuine excitement. She wanted to tell him then and there that she'd try anything he deemed as fun, but something dawned on El. "I… I don't know how to swim." She admitted.

Marty's dark eyes widened in surprise and then realisation. He gave her a warm smile that instantly made El feel better. "That's okay too. If you want to come, we can stay in the shallow end where your feet still touch the bottom." He said calmly before adding, "But if you want… I could always teach you how to swim."

"You would?" El asked, her eyes brightening at the idea.

"Yes of course," Marty said giving her the cutest smile. "It would be an honour to teach you how to swim."

El felt her cheeks blushing again but she found herself smiling and nodding enthusiastically. "Yes Marty. Teach me how to swim."

Marty grinned at her, "Cool! So, we'll start tomorrow then. You happy to come to the lake?" He asked excitedly.

"I'm more than happy to come." El said smiling before wondering what she was meant to wear to go in the water before remembering how Joyce had made her pick out a swim suit on their shopping trip. That was clearly what it was for.

"I can't wait," Marty said sighing, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it softly, his dark eyes not leaving hers making El swoon as she watched him with a big grin.

The sun was blistering hot the next day and Marty felt thankful he had suggested the lake to his friends, but he was more excited about the fact that El would experience swimming and the lake for the first time.

He also felt incredibly embarrassed about the fact that El was going to see him without a t-shirt on. She'd see how pale and skinny he was and Marty wasn't sure how he felt about that. He had never really had insecurities about his body, not even caring until he had a girlfriend.

Marty didn't have a lot of time to worry about how he looked when Hopper's Chevrolet arrived and El and Max hopped out. "Have fun kid! And no funny business!" Hopper called to El who was already rushing over to Marty.

Hopper glared at Marty and pointed at him, "I'm warning you Wheeler! No funny business!"

Marty immediately cringed as Dustin, Lucas and Will burst out laughing. "Y-yes sir!" he called to Hopper just before his vision was obscured by El jumped into his arms and hugging him tightly.

He grinned into her hair as she sighed into his chest. "I missed you." He whispered to her, but clearly not quietly enough because Max scoffed.

"Didn't you two go on a date yesterday?"

"Well yeah…" Marty mumbled.

"Dude you two have it so bad!" Dustin chuckled as he threw his t-shirt off, ready to run into the water.

Marty ignored his friends making fun out of him and turned to his girlfriend. She was wearing a yellow summer dress and he could see the straps of a pink swimsuit that immediately made him nervous.

"So what do we do first?" El asked him quietly, he could see she was looking between him and the vast water anxiously.

"Well first we need to put sun cream on so we don't burn." He told her smiling before Dustin scoffed, "Whatever Mom! This hunk of muscle here doesn't burn!" Marty rolled his eyes and watched as his curly haired friend ran into the water.

"Well this hunk of muscle does burn, so hand over the sun creams Wheeler." Max said taking off her t-shirt and shorts, making Lucas's eyes go comically large as she stood in a yellow swimsuit.

"I-I can put it on for you Max!" Lucas said eagerly, grabbing one of the sun creams off Marty and rushing over to his girlfriend who smirked in amusement.

Will grinned to himself at his friend's behaviour and didn't hesitate to take off his shirt and put on sun cream before joining Dustin, whilst Marty stood awkwardly with El, not knowing how to explain to her that she needed to take her dress off. Should he help her? No, you idiot! You'll only start drooling! He told himself firmly.

Marty stared at El whilst she observed Max and Lucas. "Will you put the sun cream on for me?" She asked turning back to her boyfriend with a soft smile. Marty felt his heart pound so quickly he thought it might hurl right out of his chest.

"Er… I… I… I mean… y-yeah!" He stuttered out, unable to believe what he was about to do.

El gave him a grin before reaching for the hem of her dress and lifting it off her body. Marty instantly felt his jaw drop at the sight of his girlfriend in just her swimsuit. Wow, wow, wow. Holy shit wow!

El met his eyes the moment her dress fell onto the floor and she gave him a shy smile. "Do you like it?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes!" Marty choked out. "You look… you look…" god it wasn't like he could say sexy! "You look… wow." He said trying to clear not just his throat but his teenage dirty mind.

El giggled at his fumbling words which only made his heart melt even more. Marty smiled sheepishly as he looked into her beautiful eyes.

"Don't you need to take off your t-shirt?" El said gesturing to his top half and Marty immediately felt the nerves race through his body. He nodded reluctantly and with a deep breath, took his shirt off and chucked it onto the pile of clothes made by his friends clothing. By this point Lucas and Max had already joined Will and Dustin in the water, and all that could be heard was them splashing and laughing.

Marty anxiously looked at El but saw she was staring at his torso, an expression in her eyes that he couldn't read. She took a step forward and Marty's heart began to race. Her hand reached out and touched his chest making the butterflies in his stomach be let loose in a flurry.

Her hand moved up his chest and onto his shoulder where he had a splattering of freckles. Marty's eyes were wide and he gulped as he watched her look at his body so thoroughly. Her lips turned into a smile and she met his eyes, they were bright and warm. "Beautiful." She told him.

Marty immediately blushed and averted his eyes shyly, "I wouldn't say beautiful." He scoffed.

"I would." El answered leaning closer and planting a kiss onto his shoulder, catching Marty off guard and making his breath catch in his throat.

"S-should we put on some sun cream so we can get in the water?" he asked her anxiously, feeling so nervous and jumpy in her presence, especially when his hormonal brain told him she was only wearing one piece of clothing. God he hated being a teenager sometimes.

El nodded and stood still as Marty shakenly ran his hands over her arms and back rubbing in the sun cream which was innocent enough, but it was when he had to put the cream on her legs that he panicked. Once he was above her knees and putting cream on her thighs he had to keeping counting to 10 in his head to try and keep his body in control at all times.

Hopper holding a gun, the demogorgon taking El away he thought to himself as El asked if he was going to put any cream on her neck and the top of her chest that the swimsuit wasn't covering. He planted a fake smile on his face as he ran the cream over her collarbones.

Finally the physical torture was finished and Marty hurried to put the cream on himself. El's hand moved over his on the cream and she looked at him anxiously. "Can I?" she said indicating to his body.

Marty's eyes widened with anxiety, oh god he didn't know if he could survive El massaging cream into his skin but at the same time he knew he couldn't say no to her. "S-sure" he said hoping to sound calm but his voice came out in a squeak.

El felt her thoughts running wild as she slowly rubbed the sun cream into Mike's shoulders and back. She found her heart was racing and her hands were trembling slightly against his pale skin.

She hadn't realised the effect his body was going to have on her until he had taken his t-shirt off and had applied the sun cream on her body. Her mind had flashed with fantasies of Marty kissing her skin and properly touching her like no one ever had before.

It was in that moment that she realised she was eating her words from yesterday when she didn't think she had ever felt sexual attraction, now she knew she had and it was only for Marty.

Only Marty's body could make her heart flutter, her blood boil, her stomach churn with nerves and her skin feel hypersensitive. As her fingers ran across the frame of his broad shoulders, she could imagine holding onto him, bringing him closer as they made out.

El's cheeks began to blush at her thoughts, she knew Hopper always preached to her that boys her age only had one thing on their mind but she was starting to feel that maybe girls thought about this stuff too.

She tried to focus on the job at hand, turning in front of Marty to put the cream on his chest and stomach. El couldn't help but notice that wherever she touched him would turn into goose bumps but she couldn't really see his reaction as Marty had his eyes closed tight.

El smirked to herself wondering if he was feeling just as dazed as she was. She was finally done and finished off by putting a blob of sun cream onto Marty's nose making him abruptly open his dark eyes. They looked straight into hers and she smiled at him warmly, "All done." She said softly.

Marty seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and kissed her gently for a moment, "Thank you" he murmured.

"Are you two getting in the water or are you just going to stand there drooling over each other?!" Max shouted from the water followed by the laughter of Lucas, Dustin and Will.

El side smiled at Marty and his embarrassment as he took her hand and they walked towards the water. She looked out at the water, it was a beautiful blue in the bright sun, but it still scared her.

She gulped nervously as they reached the shore and the water ran over her toes.

"Are you okay?" Marty asked her, looking at her intently as if he was trying to read her mind.

El turned to him and gave him a small smile. "I'm nervous." She admitted. "But I want to do this."

Marty gave her a small grin and squeezed her hand. "I won't let you go I promise."

She nodded, giving in, knowing that Marty would always protect her. Holding his hand tightly, they walked into the water together, not stopping until it was up to their chests.

El tried to fight the panic that surged in her the moment she was deep in the water. She looked around wildly at the water, the way it moved in the slow current. Marty sensed her anxiety and took her other hand, moving closer to her and placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

She smiled against his lips and then exhaled her fear. El knew she could do anything if Marty believed in her, and here he was, determined to show her not to be scared.

Marty started very slowly with El, never letting go of her and she felt so grateful for his love and care. He explained that swimming wasn't a quick skill that she could learn in a matter of hours, which eased her mind about her performance.

Whilst Lucas, Max, Dustin and Will played games in the water, Marty was patiently showing El different swimming strokes and placing the palm of his hands onto her stomach to keep her afloat whilst she practised the breast stroke and front crawl.

Needless to say, she wasn't very graceful and constantly sprayed Marty with water but he didn't seem to care, he was too concentrated on helping her stay afloat. El felt her heart pounding with the love and adoration she had for him.

After a while they worked on her legs and El wrapped her arms around Marty's neck whilst he walked backwards in the water and asked her to kick. They laughed and smiled during their lesson and El couldn't help but lean forward a few times to close the distance and kiss his lips in thanks.

The teenagers ended their busy day by lazing on the shore on blankets and discussing what they thought high school was going to be like.

"Do you think Jesse will still bully us or move onto smaller fish?" Dustin asked from the blanket he was sitting on with Will.

Lucas scoffed, "Dude we are the smallest fish, of course he's not going to move on to someone else."

El was sat on a blanket with Marty, their hands entwined and their knees against their chests. She had no idea what they meant about being fish but listened all the same.

"Well I might be part of the nerd party now but there's no way in hell I'm standing for Jesse trying to bully me." Max said adamantly.

"Yeah well, you're kick ass Max, you don't need to worry." Lucas huffed.

Max rolled her eyes and shoved her boyfriend in the arm. "You're kick ass too. You wouldn't be my boyfriend if you weren't." She said giving him a small smile whilst the rest of the group gasped.

"Holy shit Max did you just say something nice?" Marty gaped teasingly.

The group laughed and Max glared at them all, "It's been known to happen!"

Lucas grinned and put his arm around Max, kissing her bright red hair and El noticed the blush that came up on her friend's cheek that she tried to hide.

"Do you think Jesse will try and bully me?" El asked timidly.

Marty looked at her with wide eyes and shook his head. "Hell no! If he remembers you, he'll know you can beat his ass any day. And even if he doesn't remember you… I'd never let him hurt you." He assured her.

"What are you going to do Wheeler? Sneeze on him?" Max snorted.

"I'm serious… I want to protect you from the mouth breathers."

El beamed at her boyfriend and lay her head on his shoulder, feeling complete. "I love you," she sighed happily.

She could feel Marty's grin radiating as he kissed her forehead. "I love you too."

It was only a few days to go until school started and Marty found his second date with El was going to be very different from the first. After having seen Back to The Future three times already, he was excited to see it for a fourth time with El. It would be her first movie experience.

He had thought about it for days, excited to buy her popcorn and a drink, excited to hold her hand during the film and maybe even get to make out. They had only made out a few times and he was desperate to do it again.

All had been going well until Will had confided in him that he was desperate to have a date with Jennifer Hayes but was terrified about the pressure of the situation. Marty had innocently mentioned maybe going on a double date and then Will invited himself to the movies and before Marty could tell him he kind of wanted time alone with El, Jennifer Hayes was invited and it was a done deal. When Lucas found out he wanted in and so it was now a triple date.

Not to be missed out, Dustin asked out one of the girls who had followed him around in middle school after the whole snow ball incident. Her name was Melissa and she was nice enough Marty thought. But he now found himself a part of a quadruple date scenario.

El didn't seem to mind though, she was intrigued by being around other girls. Melissa and Jen were intrigued by El too, which only made Marty nervous. He made sure to stick next to his girlfriend to make sure she wasn't asked any questions she couldn't answer.

"So you're joining us in high school?!" Jennifer had asked avidly.

"You're so pretty! You'll totally fit in!" Melissa added with excitement which only made Marty feel more anxious.

Was she saying they were going to try and get El into the popular girl club? No nerd ever got to date a popular girl. Calm down, they're not going to steal El. Plus Will is a nerd and Jen's into him. Marty tried to tell himself reasonably, but even the idea of losing El made him feel a heavy weight in his stomach.

Marty gradually pulled El away from Melissa and Jennifer and asked if she wanted popcorn which she nodded enthusiastically in response to. He slowly felt himself enjoying the evening despite the interruption of all his friends and their dates. Marty only had eyes for El and that was enough. They walked down the aisle first and Marty was thankful they were the furthest away from the aisle so they had a bit of privacy, even if it was slim.

Marty loved watching El enjoying the popcorn and when the opening credits of the movie started, he knew he would always remember the excitement and brightness in her eyes. It warmed his heart immediately and caused a dopey grin to appear on his face.

He was at the advantage of having already seen the movie so many times that he could have recited it. So instead he got to enjoy just staring at El whilst she experienced her first proper movie. Marty tried to eat the popcorn too but it mainly missed his mouth because he was too distracted by his girlfriend.

Marty wasn't the only one to be distracted though. Lucas and Max were making out next to El, not that she had noticed, Dustin was whispering things to Melissa making her giggle whilst they shared a soda and Will looked like he was going to die of embarrassment as he slowly moved his hand closer to Jen's, wanting to hold it. Thankfully she must have noticed because she took his hand first and they stayed like that for the rest of the film.

Once the popcorn had run out, El put the bag on the floor and leaned her head on Marty's shoulder. He took the opportunity and moved his arm around her, doing the whole yawn and stretch with successful results.

El smiled up at him and snuggled her head into his chest making Marty wonder if she could hear his hammering heart. He nuzzled his cheek into her curly locks and breathed in deeply, smelling the rose scent she gave off. I am so in love with her.

Once the movie was over and the credits started, Max and Lucas came up for air, Will and Jen carried on holding hands with shy smiles and Dustin and Melissa shared a few kisses.

El sat up and turned to Marty with a smile, he kept his arm around her. "Did you enjoy that?" he asked her with genuine excitement.

"Yes! It was awesome!" She told him. "Can we come again?" she added enthusiastically.

Marty grinned and nodded, "Yeah of course." He looked at his friends who were starting to get up. "But maybe next time it can just be the two of us." He suggested.

El bit her lip and nodded, "I'd like that. We could do with some privacy." She said giving him a sly smile as she stood up, bringing him with her by their joined hand. Marty could only gap at her cheeky expression and felt a surge of hormones rush through him.

She actually wants some privacy with me! Holy shit. Marty mused as he was dragged out of the movie theatre by El, a dopey grin on his face and hearts in his eyes as he stared at her. High school with El couldn't come sooner.

September 1989

"Mom!" Marty and Anne moaned in unison as they stood at the bottom of the stairs with Holly in front of them.

"Just one more!" Karen grinned, shaking the polaroid photo she had just taken. "This is such a big day. Anne's last year of high school, Marty's first year and Holly's first day of Kindergarten!" She sniffed taking another photo, her only child smiling was Holly.

Mercifully the sound of a horn beeping was brought to all their attention and Anne and Marty immediately relaxed. "That's our ride mom. See you later." Anne said in relief.

Karen didn't let them leave without giving them a kiss on the cheek and Marty quickly rubbed the offending lipstick mark away before giving Holly a hug goodbye and following Nancy out of the house.

"Sorry we took a while. Mom wouldn't let us go without a kiss." Nancy laughed getting into the front passenger seat next to her boyfriend.

"That's okay, don't worry." Jonathan said grinning before leaning in and giving Nancy a soft kiss on the lips, making Marty and Will fake gag in the back of the car. The older teens pretended not to notice their immature brothers and finally sat back, Joseph starting the car and Nancy holding his spare hand.

"How was your mom this morning?" Marty asked Will giving him a knowing look. He knew that Joyce Byers was ten times worse than his mom.

Will cringed, "She was bad. She went between taking photos, kissing me on the cheek and crying into my shoulder."

Marty chuckled and sat back looking out of the window for a moment. He'd barely thought about the impact of starting high school, he was more preoccupied with thinking of Eleven. Was she okay? Would she change her mind and decide school wasn't for her?

As if reading his thoughts, Will asked, "Hey how's El? Is Hopper bringing her this morning?"

Marty turned to his best friend and nodded, "Yeah Hopper's driving her in. I told him to drop her off by the bike stand and we'll meet her there." He said before biting his lip anxiously. "She was really nervous when I spoke to her last night. She's scared you know…"

Will smiled sympathetically. "That's understandable. I'm scared about high school, it's gotta be ten times worse for her. But we'll look after her." He told Marty confidently.

Marty side smiled, "yeah we will."

Ten minutes later Marty was stood fidgeting nervously at the bike stand with Dustin, Lucas, Max and Will. He had barely spoken to his excitable friends, keeping his dark eyes on the parking lot.

Finally, Hopper's truck came into site and Marty exhaled a shaky breath he didn't even realise he had been holding. The Chevrolet stopped not too far from the bike stand and he felt a smile creep up his face as he saw El talking to Hopper, giving him a kiss on the cheek before jumping out of the truck.

She straightened up and caught Marty's eye and at the same time he thought his heart had stopped. She looked beautiful. El was wearing a knee length white cotton dress with a pink floral design. The dress cut just off her shoulders and had long sleeves. Her curly hair was flowing wild and free and Marty felt like he was staring at an angel as she walked over to him and the party.

He finally managed to get himself out of the daze enough to walk forward, meeting El and bringing her into a tight embrace. His cheek went to the side of her curly hair and he grinned sheepishly. "You look amazing." He told her apprehensively.

When they pulled out of the embrace, El looked up at him, her eyes bright and loving. "Thank you," she smiled before looking at the high school with nerves.

Marty grabbed El's hand and squeezed it gently. "You're gonna be okay El. I won't let anything bad happen to you." He whispered to her.

El's eyes captured Marty's and he knew she believed him. Before he could say anything more, the party scolded him for being rude and not letting El say hi to anyone else. He rolled his eyes in annoyance as he let go off his girlfriend so she could greet their friends.

Whilst El hugged the party, Marty found himself noticing the way other students were looking at his girlfriend. Girls were gazing at her with interest and discussing her with other girls not very discreetly, whilst boys were raising their eyebrows, smirking or just staring at her. It made Marty feel uneasy, very uneasy.

Thankfully he didn't have to reflect on it for long, because El grasped his hand and the whole party made their way into the high school to collect their class schedules. Marty tried to pretend he didn't see the shocked looks on people's faces when they saw Marty Wheeler, resident nerd holding the hand of the most beautiful girl in the world.

He wasn't ashamed of holding El's hand, quite the opposite. But he felt immediately anxious because he had always known she was out of his league and now all these teenagers were just proving his point. Marty tried to brush these insecurities to the back of his brain.

"Aw man…" Marty mumbled annoyed as he stared down at his class schedule and compared it with El's. He only had four classes with her and he was beyond disappointed. Max had five classes with El and Dustin had six. This wasn't fair. The only saving grace was that El didn't have any classes alone, there was always at least one member of the party in a class with her.

The warning bell rang overhead and the students all started to dissipate to their home rooms. Marty had home room with Dustin and Lucas whilst El was with Max and Will. This didn't stop him from turning to his girlfriend with a smile, "I can walk you to your home room if you want?"

"Wheeler me and Will can walk her. She is in our home room after all…" Max teased.

Marty glared at Max whilst El just looked conflicted. "I don't want you to be late on the first day." She told him softly.

"I don't care." He told her honestly.

El grinned playfully and leaned up on her tip toes to give Marty a quick peck on the lips. "Walk me to English after home room?" she asked eagerly.

Marty could only give her a dopey grin and nod as he watched her walk off with Will and Max. He didn't even realise he was stood there for so long until Lucas waved his hand in front of Marty's face and told him they needed to get to home room before they actually were late.

Marty sighed and walked away with Lucas and Dustin, praying and hoping that El would have a good first day. In fact, he desperately hoped she'd have a good high school experience in general. If anyone deserved it, it was her.

El had never been more fascinated in her life as she sat next to Max in the home room and stared around at all of the students. Everyone seemed to have their own unique styles, expect a few girls here and there that looked like they were copying one another.

Some girls were checking their hair in small compact mirrors, a few boys were writing graffiti on the desks, but most of the students were glancing back at El with interest.

It wasn't until Max gently shoved her elbow into El's arm did she stop looking around the room. "You can't stare at them El." Max whispered to her urgently.

El frowned, "why not?"

"It's sort of like a general rule. If you stare at someone without blinking for more than 6 seconds it means you're either obsessed with them or you want to kill them." Max said simply.

El looked in horror at Max but Will laughed from behind them. "I don't think that's necessarily true Max…"

"Well have you ever stared at someone for 6 seconds straight or more?!" She bit back and Will frowned thinking.

"Er… no I guess not."

"Point is El, just don't stare at people." Max said before giving her a small grin.

El nodded and smiled back, doodling on her notebook until the bell rang for their first proper lesson. She felt herself immediately perk up when she saw Marty waiting in the crowded corridor.

"You ready?" he asked her smiling. His beautiful smile making El's heart race and the butterflies to start a marathon in her stomach. She nodded eagerly and took his waiting hand.

By the time it got to lunch, El decided that English was her least favourite subject. She struggled with writing despite her year of teaching but tried her best. The only good thing about the class was that her seat was next to Marty's so she could always just stare at him if she got anxious, she was allowed to stare at Marty for as long as she wanted according to Max because of her "sick obsession" with her boyfriend.

The party reached a table in the cafeteria that was next to the floor to ceiling length windows. El liked that she could look outside instead of feeling squashed in the middle of the busy cafeteria.

"This will be our table for the next four years." Max said as she picked at a weird looking meat on her tray. The green tinge to the meat made El thankful that she had a packed lunch with her.

"Well at least we picked well then." Will said looking around at the lunch room at the other remaining free tables.

"Hey new girl! Where are you from?" Came two boys El had never seen before in her life. She felt Marty immediately stiffen next to her and the party grew quiet.

"Chicago." El said quickly, remembering Hopper's cover story. She was oddly proud of herself for answering without hesitation.

"Do you have a name new girl?" One of the boys asked her, giving her a big grin and leaning against the table slightly. El was positive she could feel Marty almost shaking next to her.

"Jane." She answered knowing that was what she was meant to be going by in school, even though she'd already told all her friends she wanted them to call her El.

"Jane eh? Well I'm Justin, I'm on the football team." Said the taller one of the two boys who was smiling at her and raising an eyebrow. "And I'm Joe, I'm also on the football team." The second one said punching Justin in the arm. They reminded El of two cave men she had seen in a television programme.

"Well how wonderful! We've established you're Justin and you're Joe. Do you want to move along now?" Max said in a sickly sweet sarcastic voice as she grinned at them and ushered her hands for them to move on.

The boys scoffed and looked at Max. "Fiery red head. Gotta like that." Joe said winking before him and Justin wandered off to a table of boisterous jocks.

El turned to Mike whilst Max snorted in disgust at the retreating boys. "What's wrong Marty?" she asked her boyfriend, taking his hand gently and feeling concerned by the look on his face. It was as if he was trying to burn Justin and Joe into a pile of dust with his glare.

He finally blinked and stared back at El. His cheeks were flushed, "N-nothing. I just… I didn't like how they were acting around you." Marty mumbled, his voice still laced with annoyance.

Dustin smirked and fake coughed a "Jealous!"

Marty scowled at him, "I'm not jealous! I'm just…" He seemed to grow exasperated when he couldn't find an answer but El felt herself grinning as she recognised the feeling she had once felt herself.

She turned to Marty and brought her hands to his cheeks. He looked at her with wide surprised eyes. El leaned in and kissed him softly. His hands immediately went to her waist whilst the rest of the party groaned.

"Really? Right now?" Will said weakly.

El slowly pulled away from Marty and was thrilled to see a dazed expression of love on his face instead of anger. He positively beamed at her and sighed in what seemed like relief before putting an arm around her shoulder. El shuffled her chair to get closer to him as they carried on eating their lunch.

"Maybe you should do that to Lucas Max?" Dustin scoffed, making the whole group look at Lucas who was still glaring at the jocks table, as if he hadn't even been present in the last few minutes.

Max rolled her eyes amused, "Seriously stalker." She mumbled before leaning in and giving Lucas a quick kiss to bring him out of his icy glare. He almost jumped up in surprise and the group all laughed before carrying on their discussion about classes and clubs.

The party enjoyed most of their lunch in peace until the blonde girl El recognised from the snow ball who had the ugly face when she got angry came up to the table with three girls stood behind her. El couldn't help but think that the other girls looked like clones.

"Stacey… I've already told you no." Dustin immediately said, putting on a flirty smirk and leaning back in his chair.

The blonde that El now assumed was Stacey rolled her eyes and flicked her finger against her thumb in what looked like annoyance.

"I'm not here because of you." She said in a harsh voice, her hand on her hip. "I'm here to see why the new girl is sitting with a bunch of nerds. You do realise you can sit with us, right?" Stacey said turning to El who looked back at her in surprise.

"You don't belong with the nerds new girl. I'm Stacey. You've probably heard of me. And this is Jessica, Kimberly and Amy. You can come and sit with us."

El sat stunned for a moment staring at the intimidating girls whilst the party all stared at her, Marty's arm tensed around her shoulders and she knew she didn't even need to think about her answer.

"Sorry I've not heard of you. And I'm fine here with my friends and boyfriend." El said but tried to smile kindly, she knew she needed to remember her manners or Hopper would restrict her Eggo consumption.

"Boyfriend?" Stacey and her clones said in unison, their voices full of disgust as they looked at Marty. El immediately felt a heat of anger rising in her.

"Yes my boyfriend." She said defiantly.

"Ew," Stacey scoffed before walking off with her clones following like ducklings. El wasn't going to let her get away with that, she glared at Stacey's back and the next moment the girl slipped over nothing and fell in the middle of the cafeteria to a round of laughter.

The whole party laughed except for Marty who gripped her shoulder making her look at him. "El! You can't do that!" He whispered harshly, his eyes panicked.

El couldn't only smirk as she wiped at her slightly bloody nose and leaned her head on Marty's shoulder. "They shouldn't have insulted my boyfriend then." She said giving a sniff of indignation.

She knew Marty wasn't angry and a few seconds later, she felt him kiss the top of her hair and grin against her locks.

"Hey guys! Did you just see Stacey face plant the floor?!" A cheerful Jennifer Hayes said as she sat in the seat next to Will. El watched as his cheeks immediately went red and he averted his eyes to the table.

"About time to." Max said happily, grinning and sharing a mischievous wink with El.

"Hi Will." Jen said shyly to their cleric. Despite what Max said about staring, El found it so interesting watching other people's facial expressions. She watched on as Will blurted out a greeting and tried to grip the table as if to steady his nerves whilst he spoke quietly with Jen.

El had only met Jen a few times now but she liked her, more importantly she felt like Will deserved a girl like Jen. They were really cute together.

When the bell rang and Jen waved good bye and wandered off with her waiting friends, El turned to Will as they were getting up from the table. "Why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend?" she asked curiously.

Will turned the colour of beetroot and the rest of the group looked at him awkwardly. "Because she's totally out of my league. She is in a high social group and we're like the lowest social group there is." He said sheepishly.

Dustin scoffed in protest. "Hey! I think the band geeks are lower than us surely?!"

Max huffed impatiently, "Will, El is right. You should ask her out. She went on a date with you remember? She came over to the nerd table in the middle of the busy cafeteria to talk to you which is basically social suicide. I'm pretty sure she's game."

Will averted his eyes to the floor as the party walked out of the cafeteria. "I… I mean I guess. Maybe I should…" he said more to himself than anyone else.

"Go for it Will." Marty said supportively to him, giving him a pat on the shoulder with his spare hand. His right hand was currently captured by El, as she swung their arms together happily.

"Besides, I think girls secretly like nerds. Me and El are cool and we date nerds." Max said smirking.

"Hey!" Marty and Lucas cried out in response.

"Can you even deny it though?" Max teased.

"No." Marty and Lucas replied, both rolling their eyes in amusement.

The school week was flying by for El and despite how tired she felt, she was thoroughly enjoying it.

Her least favourite subject was English and a close second was Home Economics after she set fire to her cupcakes. Her favourite subjects were math which she was surprising good at and life science, but that was more because she got to sit next to Marty.

P.E had been pretty overwhelming to El at first and she found herself using her powers in soft ball when she was feeling particularly competitive. Max would realise what she was doing and would scold her for it afterwards.

"You seriously can't keep making the ball come to your bat El! They're gonna notice something weird is happening if you keep getting nose bleeds." Max told her with reproach.

El begrudgingly stopped cheating in soft ball and even though she sucked at it, she was happy to see how good Max was at the sport. She even got picked for the team.

A favourite of El's was track and field. She was naturally talented at running, it made her feel free and alive as the wind would rush against her body as she sped across the track. The coach noticed her talent and encouraged her to go to the try outs for the team.

So on Friday afternoon, El found herself stretching with other girls whilst the whole party were sat on the bleachers cheering her on. El waved at Marty in particular who grinned and waved frantically back.

"Is it true that Marty Wheeler is your boyfriend?" A blonde-haired girl asked with interest, making another girl next to her with dark hair look at El with equal curiosity.

"Yes." El said without hesitation. She didn't smile though, she was sick of people asking her and Marty if they were couple. It was usually followed by boys saying "god… why?" or "Jesus Wheeler! How did you manage to pull that!" Needless to say, El and Marty's patience had worn thin by Wednesday.

The girls giggled in response and El thought they must be just like Stacey before they spoke up. "We went to middle school with Marty. I just can't believe he had the guts to ask out a girl! He always seemed so quiet." The blonde said smiling. "You look really cute together." She added surprising El.

"Yeah you totally do." The dark haired one smiled.

"Thank you." El said finding herself grinning as she stretched.

"So it's Jane right? Well I'm Darcy." Said the blonde before the dark-haired girl added, "And I'm Maggie."

"Nice to meet you both." El said giving them both a polite smile. The icy tension that she had felt seemed to lift and she talked away with the girls and listened whilst they discussed their own crushes and giggled.

The coach blew the whistle and asked the girls to gather around. El gave the party one more fleeting look, nerves in her eyes. But when she looked at her friends all encouraging her, she felt her heart and spirit rise. She could do this.

Marty sat on the bleachers and watched his girlfriend closely. "Come on El…" he said under his breath as he watched her go to a starting point on the field. He was trying to contain his nerves and excitement but competitive Max was another story.

"Come on El! That's my girl! You've got this! KILL THEM!" She shouted from the bleachers her hands up in the air.

"Yeah, probably not the right thing to say Max seeing as she could kill them if she wanted to." Marty said annoyed looking at the red head who just shrugged and carried on shouting.

"Man, I can't believe you actually got on the swim team!" Lucas said moving from Max's side in fear of being hit by her flailing arms and sitting next to Marty.

"I'm a good swimmer!" Marty said in defence.

"I know man. But the swim team? Aren't you like allergic to sports?" Lucas teased.

"I'm allergic to so called friends who think it's funny to tease me about being on the swim team." Marty said flatly making Lucas laugh more.

Marty sighed and made sure Will and Dustin who had made up a dance in support of El weren't listening. "You know what it's like… you've got a girlfriend too." He mumbled, averting his eyes to his shoes.

There was a moment of silence before Lucas seemed to understand the hidden meaning behind his words. "Ah… you're doing this so you can impress El?" he asked without judgement.

Marty frowned and looked up, watching his beautiful girlfriend for a moment as she began sprinting. He smiled as he gazed at her and almost forgot that Lucas had asked him a question. "I mean yeah… but I'm sort of sick of people calling me string bean, lanky and all that shit."

Lucas grinned, "You know swimming isn't going to change your height right?"

Marty snorted, "Yeah I've realised that." He shrugged and sighed, his eyes still on El. "I just… I don't know… it might be kind of nice to have like some muscles." He almost whispered in embarrassment.

"Ah… now it's all making sense." Lucas said smartly, also watching El running with ease. "But Marty… you know El loves you no matter what you look like? She's been hit on like 20 times this week and hasn't cared about one of those guys." He added turning to Marty who briefly took his eyes off his girlfriend to look at Lucas.

"I know. And I wouldn't want her changing for me. I just… I don't know… I think it's gonna help my confidence." Marty finally admitted. Lucas nodded and nudged his shoulder in a brotherly act of understanding.

Max was making herself hoarse from shouting and Marty couldn't help but laugh as he stood up and joined her, Lucas following.

Of course El had nothing to worry about and was the first one to finish the race. The party whooped and cheered for her loudly, Marty beamed with pride already knowing she had made it onto the team before the coach even spoke to her.

"I did it! I did it!" El shouted with delight as she rushed to the party as they got off the bleachers and met her on the side of the track. She jumped right into Marty)# arms and it took a lot of effort for him to not fall over.

He grinned into her shoulder and held her close, loving having her so near. He breathed her scent in welcomingly and felt his heart racing. "I knew you could do it. I'm so proud of you El!" Marty said kissing her slightly sweaty shoulder before pulling back enough to look at her beaming face. He almost felt himself brought to tears by how happy she looked. Marty realised in that moment that El should always look this happy and he would try his damn hardest to make sure it stayed that way.

El wrapped her arms around Marty's neck and the rest of the party descended in on them, they all laughed as they shared a group hug and Max carried on her shouting. "I knew it El! You beat their asses!"

When the party finally let go, Marty kept his arms around El and leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you," he mused, his eyes drifting between hers.

"And I love you," she sighed happily, leaning in and kissing him softly. Their lips met as a surge of electricity shot through Marty's body, he found himself smiling against her mouth as he moved his lips against hers.

"Well we love you too, so can we all go for a victory milkshake now?" Dustin called eagerly breaking up Marty's and El's kiss.

He groaned in annoyance and would have happily flipped his friends off and carried on kissing El. But his girlfriend gave him a sly smile and dragged him along with her and the party. Marty didn't stop smiling as he just watched El all the way to the ice cream parlour.

It was 6pm when Marty got back home, Hopper had picked up El and had begrudgingly given him a ride. He thanked his future father in love, gave El a quick kiss on the cheek not wanting to anger the chief and wandered up the drive and into the house.

"Oh good you're here Matthew. Can you help me take some plates to the table?" His mom immediately asked from the kitchen where she was scooping mashed potato into a dish.

"Yeah Mom," Marty said not even feeling annoyed at being called Matthew. He felt on cloud nine, never had he had a better week in school before. Yeah Jesse had shoved him against a few lockers, but what was that against being with the love of his life every day?

"You seem in a good mood," His mom commented watching him with a smile as she passed him four warmed plates.

"It's been a good week." Marty answered with a grin as he laid the table and was handed Holly's smaller plate and the mash potato dish.

"Good, I'm glad honey." Karen said ruffling his hair slightly before shouting Anne, Holly and Ted for dinner.

Dinner was the usual affair, Holly was playing with her mash potato, hiding her peas in the creamy mountain, his mom was on the wine and rolling her eyes when his dad didn't hear her questions and Marty and Nancy were doing their usual bickering.

It wasn't until his mom mentioned a certain beautiful girl, that Marty and Anne's attention was snapped away from their bickering.

"Have you come across Jane Hopper yet Matthew? Wendy at book club said she saw her the other day with the chief. She's in your year apparently." His mom said cutting her chicken.

Marty immediately blushed and felt Anne snigger quietly next to him. "Oh I think he's met her mom," his big sister teased before Marty kicked her under the table.

"You have?" Karen asked with interest, not noticing the foot battle going on.

"Er… yeah… she's… she's…" Marty struggled with words and with his thoughts. El was in school now, she was allowed out. Was there really any point in hiding it any longer?

Marty took a deep breath, "Yes Mom. She's my… girlfriend." He said slowly.

The room went quiet and his mom looked at him stunned for a moment, completely speechless.

"She's your girlfriend?" Karen asked wanting clarification as to what she just heard.

Marty blushed even more red but nodded his head, "Yes Mom she is."

Karen gasped and nudged Ted who was in a world of his own. "Ted? Ted! Did you just hear what your son said?"

Ted blinked and looked around at his family as if coming out of a daze. "Huh? What was that?"

Karen huffed at his lack of attention. "Your son just announced he has a girlfriend."

Marty cringed under the stare of both of his surprised parents. "And after one week of high school? Good job son!" Ted finally said giving him a wink before biting into his chicken.

"Er… actually… I met her over the summer." He lied, wishing he could tell them that he had been in love with El since he was 12 years old.

His mom gasped, "And you didn't think to invite her over Marty?! I would like to meet her. See if she can come to dinner tomorrow." She said in a tone that made Marty know he didn't have a choice in the matter.

Marty turned to Nancy for help but she just gave him a shrug and carried on eating. "Okay… I'll see if Hopper will let her come." He mumbled.

"The chief? Oh is it the adopted girl?" Ted asked, clearly having missed the part when Karen had mentioned El earlier. Marty, Karen and Anne gave the same expression of exasperation whilst Holly just carried on with her mashed potato pea concealer.

"Yes Dad she's the chief's daughter now. And while we're talking about this…her name is Jane, but she likes to be called El. Er… her middle name is Eleanor and she prefers it." He said remembering the cover story.

"What do you think I should make for dinner tomorrow? What does she like?" Karen asked whilst Ted went back into his day dream.

Marty ignored Anne teasingly mutter "Eggos" and shrugged, "I'm not sure mom. I'll call her later and ask her what she likes." He said honestly.

It was past 9pm when Marty got El on the super com. He lay on his bed, one hand behind his head and the other clutching the radio as he smiled at the sound of his girlfriend's voice.

"So do you think you can come?" He asked El after explaining about telling his parents about her being his girlfriend and the invite of her coming to dinner.

"Just give me a minute…" El said and Marty heard her shout to Hopper explaining the situation. He smirked to himself as he heard Hopper's distance sigh of annoyance before he caved for what Marty guessed would be El's doe eyes.

"He says I can go!" El said making Marty grin just from the sound of her clear excitement.

"Awesome! Mom wants to know what you want for dinner. And it can't be eggos… I mean maybe for dessert but she'll want to make a real meal." He told his girlfriend, smirking when she gasped, "Eggos are a real meal!"

El finally decided on lasagne after Marty went through a series of options with her. He then proceeded to remind her that she was going to have to pretend that she had never been to his house before.

"Oh and El?" Marty said remembering something important.

"Yes Marty?"

"I love you." He said smiling foolishly to himself.

Marty could practically hear El's grin in her voice. "I love you too."

October 1989

El had been ecstatic when she found out from the party that Marty's birthday was coming up. He had conveniently not mentioned it to her. When she confronted him about it he had blushed and said it just wasn't important to him and told her something about "middle child syndrome", whatever that was. Marty might not have been bothered by his upcoming birthday but El was determined to make it his best birthday yet.

She had called his mom and discussed what they could do for his birthday, Karen had mentioned that Marty usually liked to have a sleepover with his friends and El almost begged if she and Max could attend too. Karen had sighed saying it was fine with her as long as it was okay with the chief.

Convincing her dad to allow her to stay the night at Marty's had been no small task. El pestered him for an entire week, explaining how it wasn't just going to be her, there would be four other teenagers. He finally caved when she begged for the millionth time. "Just make sure it stays the six of you El! I mean it. No sneaking off to his room or anything." Hopper had warned.

"I promise." El had said seriously, willing to say anything to make sure the sleepover took place.

"Good." Hopper had answered in relief, clearly knowing that El didn't take promises lightly, and she didn't break them either.

El had spent a good full day trying to find the perfect present in the limited Hawkins shops, finally having a fit of rage that there were no shops in the small town. She gave her dad the best bambi eyes she could possibly make to ask if they could pretty please go to the mall in the next town over. Hopper had pinched his nose and finally relented.

So that was how El found herself on Friday after school, in the mall with Max and a very bored Hopper trailing behind them.

"How about clothes?" Max suggested, clearly getting just as bored as the chief.

"No." El sighed, peering at the shop windows they walked past in the large shopping centre.

"He's a nerd. Just get him something to do with Star Wars." Hopper mumbled from the back.

El shook her head, "no Dustin and Lucas have already got him figurines. Plus, I want this to be…special."

"God give me strength." Hopper sighed, rubbing his hand over his tired forehead. "Girls I'm going for coffee and contemplation."

El turned to her dad with a frown, "You always have your coffee and contemplation in the morning."

Hopper laughed, "I worked the night shift kid, so I need the coffee."

"And the contemplation?" Max asked playfully.

"The contemplation is for trying to understand how I ended up spending my Friday night looking for the perfect gift for Matthew Wheeler." He deadpanned causing Max to laugh loudly and El to scowl.

"We didn't need him anyway." El said sniffing indignantly as she carried on walking with Max and Hopper headed to the coffee shop. "His ideas were rubbish."

"Oh, I don't know. I like the toilet papering the basement idea and getting him a tarantula." Max snorted.

"Max I'm serious! I need to get him the perfect present!" El stopped walking and turned to her best friend with an almost desperate expression.

"Woah calm down El. It's not like it's the first present you've ever bought him." Max scoffed, but her smile soon disappeared when she saw the look in El's eyes. "Oh shit…it is the first thing you've ever bought him isn't it?" She questioned, already knowing the answer.

El nodded and sighed, "That's why I want it to be perfect. The first thing he ever bought me was the super com. It means a lot to me, it's my way of communicating with him…with you all. I just want it to be something… meaningful."

Max sighed finally giving in. "Okay, okay. We'll find something meaningful." She said, although El had come to know the red head enough to see she had something else up her sleeve. "Just as long as you don't give him your virginity as a gift!" she teased.

El laughed and hit Max playfully. As they walked around the shops and looked at different options, El couldn't help but wish she was older and giving her virginity as a gift could be a real option. It would certainly be meaningful. But from what Joyce had told her and from things she had heard in high school, she was definitely still too young for that. It didn't stop her from being curious about the more intense feelings that she felt about Marty, that seemed to surface more and more often now as she grew up.

"Um… Max?" El said quietly, as she looked at different comic books. "Yeah?" Max asked rather distracted as she rifled through a spider man comic.

"How… how old do you think is old enough to have sex?" she almost whispered, averting her eyes from her best friend back down to the books.

She heard Max gasping next to her, "El I was totally joking about you having sex with Marty!"

El looked back up at her friend, "No, no I don't mean like right now. But do you think 16 is the right age. Or older? Or even younger?" she said, no longer feeling nervous about her question and just wanting some answers from her closest girlfriend.

Max seemed to give her question some genuine thought because she didn't answer straight away. "Well… I know technically you're meant to wait until you're 16 or older. But I think it depends on a lot of things." She reasoned.

"Like what?" El asked with genuine curiosity.

Max seemed to check they weren't being overheard before continuing. "Well I guess you need to make sure you're with the right person. The person you want to lose your virginity to. You need to be old enough to understand the risks and use protection. Most importantly, you need to feelready."

"How do you know if you're ready?" El whispered, her gaze intent on Max who laughed softly.

"If you don't know how you would feel when you're ready to have sex, then you're definitely not ready to have sex any time soon El." Max said calmly.

When El looked a little defeated Max jumped in. "But don't worry El. We're definitely too young to be having sex at the moment. But… it's not like you couldn't do other things." She smirked.

El's interest peaked once more. "Like what other things?" she whispered, smiling slightly.

Max grinned, "well I won't go into detail here in case we get overheard, but there are ways that you can do things together that will make you feel good without having sex. And stuff you can do for each other." She said quietly, her blue eyes still checking the shop to make sure no one could hear.

"Do you mean kissing with tongue? Because we've kissed with tongues." El said eagerly making Max laugh gently.

"Well that's one of the things you can do. Another thing involves tongues too… well one off your tongues. But we can't talk about it here." Max said in hushed tones.

El nodded but then smiled, "can we talk about this at some point though?"

"Definitely." Max said confidently. "But for now, we need to find lover boy a present."

Max followed El around like a loyal servant as they went from shop to shop. She didn't know how she had been roped into finding a present for Wheeler. Yeah, they were friends, but they certainly weren't close. Other than the usual nerd stuff, she had no idea what he loved. Except for El of course.

The trip had certainly taken an interesting turn when El had started to ask about sex. It had shocked Max who saw her best friend as a very innocent being, especially because of everything she had been through. She could barely comprehend the fact that El and Marty were at the stage of French kissing!

Max had tried to give her opinion on sex and when was the right time to do it, but in truth she wasn't too sure herself. Her brain told her 16 or older, but when she looked at Lucas, when she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and brought him down for a tantalising kiss, her body screamed at her wanting more and more, no matter of her age.

All Max knew was that she didn't want rumours to go around school that she was a slut. She reframed from her hormones as best as she could, even when Lucas would come up behind her, wrap his arms around her waist and nibble on her ear and she felt the burn right down there.

Max knew she had told El that she would tell her all about foreplay, but she couldn't help but feel a weird guilt. Would she be a terrible friend giving El the information? What if she went and did something that she hadn't actually been ready for? Was she sexualising her? Max gave a small shudder and realised she was going to hold back this talk for as long as she could. She wanted to protect El.

They were walking past a jewellery shop when El gasped. Max turned to the store and raised her eyebrow. She wanted to give Wheeler jewellery? El pointed excitedly to a photo of a male model who was sporting a leather bracelet.

"I want to get him that. And I could add something onto it." El said eagerly, taking Max's hand and dragging her into the jewellery store.

When they looked at the leather bracelets Max had to admit to herself that they looked a lot more masculine than the word bracelet would allow. She was so intrigued by them that she couldn't help but think Lucas would look good with one on too. Perhaps for his birthday in February.

Max watched as El selected the bracelet she wanted and then searched all the charms on display, to find the perfect one to go on the bracelet. It was Max who came up with the idea that El finally went for.

"Why do you get him one of these silver clasps to go on the bracelet and see if they'll put your name on it or something? Seeing as he belongs to you." Max said, smirking at her last words.

El had nodded eagerly, taking the silver clasp and the woven leather bracelet up to the shop owner who greeted them kindly. Max was impressed with the amount of money El had saved up over the year, as she handed dollar after dollar over. Max considered offering to do the chores and wash Hopper's truck for him too if this was the kind of pocket money you got.

The leather bracelet got "El" in a heart imprinted onto the silver clasp just as El gasped having had another idea. She took off her blue bracelet and asked the shop owner if she could have a silver clasp with "Marty" and a heart put onto her own bracelet. He agreed and she gave him the extra money required.

They both left the store feeling satisfied with their purchase. El kept looking down at the clasp on her bracelet with a big grin on her face.

"You're so in love." Max teased as they walked to the coffee shop, their arms linking together.

El beamed and sighed before turning to Max. "Aren't you in love too?"

Max blushed and bit her lip, "Yes I am." She thought of Lucas and her heart trembled. "But I'm not crazy like you and Marty." She added for good measure, earning a laugh from her best friend.

"Right so I got him those comics, Lucas and Dustin have got the figurines and Will got him a new book for writing the campaigns, and you've got him the leather bracelet. Lover boy better appreciate all of this!" Max said half joking and half serious.

El laughed and nodded, "Oh he will." She said in a dreamy sigh, clearly back in Mike mode, making Max roll her eyes with amusement.

Marty rushed into his bedroom with El, she was giggling that naughty little laugh she did when she was being mischievous and it made Marty even more turned on.

He pushed her down onto his bed, her curls pillowing out around her face so beautifully. Marty crawled up her body and pressed a heated kiss to her mouth. "I love you so much. I want you so bad." He panted.

He didn't have a top on and El's fingers trailed from his shoulders down his chest and then to his stomach. Marty closed his eyes and gasped as El's fingers found his erection and rubbed him through his boxers, he instantly moved his hips forward, wanting more.

El pulled him down to her, their bodies so close. She kissed him with a fervour, their tongues fighting for dominance, their chests heaving.

"Marty"

He ignored the distance voice, too concentrated on the beautiful angel beneath him, wanting to get closer to her, to really feel her for the first time.

"Marty?"

Marty broke from his kiss, confused as he realised it was El's distant voice, but El was beneath him, kissing his chest.

He blinked and woke up to his real-life girlfriend sitting on the edge of his bed with a big smile.

"Holy shit!" Marty yelped, yanking the sheets to cover his chest and to hide his erection. The action almost made El fall off the bed as he brought the sheets all the way up to his chin.

"Are you okay?" El asked startled at his sudden movement.

"What are you doing here?" he asked quickly, ignoring her own question, a sweat on his brow and his heart pounding.

El looked slightly hurt, "I said I was coming over this morning remember? To help your mom bake your birthday cake. She told me to come and wake you up. That'd you'd slept in long enough." She mumbled shrugging her dainty shoulders slightly in defeat.

Marty felt instantly terrible, realising he had sounded like he didn't even want her to be there. He sat up carefully to make sure the sheet was covering his lap, where his erection was still daring to taunt him.

"I'm sorry El. I'm happy you're here. More than happy. I just… got startled when I woke up is all." He said giving her what he hoped was a charming smile before he reached for her hand and kissed it softly.

He knew she couldn't stay annoyed at him for long and she quickly smiled shyly at his romantic gesture of kissing her hand. Marty thought that things would hopefully be okay now, but then El asked a question that caused him to blush.

"Were you having a nightmare? You're sweating." El asked, her eyes gazing over his face with concern.

"Er…" Marty considered what he could say. He didn't want to say he had a nightmare because it felt like it was disrespectful to El who suffered real nightmares, ones that made her wake up screaming or crying sometimes. Ones that made him sit up at night and talk to her on the super com for hours to calm her down.

"No, I was having a good dream…" He said quietly, realising that she was watching him with curious eyes. Friends don't lie. "A really good dream… about you." He concluded, his cheeks now flushed with red.

El just stared at him for a moment and then reality seemed to dawn on her. "Oh…" she exhaled before giving him a shy smile.

Marty felt so embarrassed that he quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, so I'm up now." He cringed at his choice of words, something was definitely up! "I best take a shower." He finished with clenched teeth, wanting to just fall into a hole and not come out.

El grinned, "Okay. Well I'm going to go and help your mom with the cake then." She said before getting off his bed and brushing down her beautiful pink dress. Marty was eyeing her up when she turned around to look at him and he pretended that he had been observing his sheets instead.

"And Mart?" El said to him softly.

"Yeah?" he answered, gulping as he met her eye.

El swooped down, her hands going to Marty's cheeks as she pulled him in for a tender kiss. The kind of kiss that he felt everywhere. Her lips causing electricity to rush through his veins, his heart to leap and his brain to go to mush. She pulled away just enough to smile against his lips.

"Happy birthday," she sighed happily.

"Thanks… you too." Marty said in a dream like state. Too happy to make any sense.

El giggled and pulled away, giving him a cheeky smile, not to dissimilar from his dream El before she left the room. Marty groaned and lay back in his bed for a moment. Yep, he was going to need a cold shower. A very cold shower.

15 minutes later Marty had showered, dried off and was dressed, wandering down to the kitchen were the most delicious sweet smell was calling him.

He blinked in confusion when he rounded the corner and saw his mom and El both stood at the island, with the cake in front of them whilst his mom was explaining how best to ice the master piece. It was the odd image of his mom and El stood side by side in matching aprons that confused Marty the most. Almost as if they were becoming the same person, which in every sense of the word was just gross.

Marty loved how serious El had taken his birthday, wanting everything to be perfect. But it would be perfect just for him to spend time with her, preferably alone and definitely not with his mom there too.

His mom looked up first and gave him a big smile, walking around the island and kissing his cheek before pulling him into a suffocating hug which made him cringe at being shown affection by his mom in front of El. "Happy birthday sweetie. 15 years old today! Where does the time go?" Karen sniffed, pinching his cheek affectionately.

"Mom!" Marty moaned, breaking loose of her hold and wandering over to the cake.

"What do you think?" El said proudly, her hands either side of the cake.

"I think it looks delicious…" Marty said, his mouth watering slightly as he reached his finger out to taste the frosting, only for it to be slapped away by El.

"No! Not until it's finished. I want it to be perfect." She said scolding him in a very mothering way. Marty flinched at this new similarity to his mom who came back to standing next to El.

"She's right Matthew, not until it's done. If you're hungry, there's pancakes and waffles on the table. Go join your father and sisters for breakfast." She said in a tone that made Marty know he didn't have any other choice.

"You coming too El?" he asked his girlfriend hopefully.

She shook her head and smiled, "no it's okay. I want to finish the cake." She said before picking up a piping bag full of frosting.

Marty frowned thinking that this had to be the first time El had ever said no to waffles, but he nodded in defeat and walked into the dining room where Nancy and Holly were tucking into pancakes and his dad was reading the paper.

"Happy birthday son," Ted spoke from behind his paper.

"Thanks dad," Marty mumbled as he sat down.

"Marty! Happy birthday!" Holly almost squealed, leaning over in her seat to give him a hug. Mike couldn't help but smile at his little sister's eagerness.

"Thanks Holl."

"Yeah, happy birthday ass hole." Anne muttered to him under her breath making them both laugh.

Marty forked a few pancakes onto his plate and reached for the syrup when Nancy looked around in confusion. "Isn't El joining us?"

He could help but sigh in frustration, "No she wanted to finish the cake off with mom." He said glumly.

Nancy smirked watching his facial expression. "What are you scared she's becoming a clone of mom or something?"

"A little bit, yeah." Marty admitted as he stuffed a piece of pancake into his mouth.

His older sister rolled her eyes in amusement. "Marty she's just trying to make this a good day for you. And so what if she likes cooking and baking with mom. Surely that's going to be to your benefit in the future?" she teased making Marty almost choke on the pancake he was chewing.

Marty guessed Anne was right. She had clearly worked hard on that cake with his mom and it did smell delicious. He took his time chewing, not wanting to comment on the other part of Anne's statement but mulling it over in his head. He smiled against his glass of orange juice, already picturing El as his future wife.

After breakfast Marty was let off dish washing duty and went up eagerly to El who had now finished the cake. "It looks amazing. You've done a great job." He told her with a warm smile as she appraised the masterpiece.

She turned to look at him, her eyes so beautifully bright. "Thank you. I hope it tastes good too." She said biting her lip anxiously. Marty couldn't help but put his arm around her and pull her close. El leaned her head on his chest and moved both of her arms around his waist. It felt heavenly having her this close.

There was a knock at the front door and his mom shouted from somewhere in the house that she'd get it. A minute later, the kitchen was filled with Dustin, Lucas, Will and Max all rowdy and teasing Marty the moment they saw him cuddled close to El.

"Well, well, well, what did we walk in on in here?" Lucas said playfully.

"We know it's your birthday Marty but maybe just take this to your room?" Dustin teased making Marty go immediately red at the insinuation.

"We're stood with our arms around each other Dustin. If you think that's inappropriate you need to re-do sex ed." Marty said sharply making the others laugh but blushing himself when he realised what he had said. He tried to quickly change the subject. "What are you guys doing here anyway? The sleepover doesn't start until 5." He asked looking at his friends.

"Miss Hopper kindly asked us over, to get you out of the house." Dustin said simply.

Marty looked at El in confusion and she broke out of their embrace slightly so she could look at his face. "There's a few things I need to do with your mom and Anne, so I need you out of the house." She said grinning.

He sighed watching her excited eyes. Marty wanted to tell her no, that he'd rather be home with her and his friends together but he could see how much effort she was trying to put in and it wrecked him with guilt at the thought of spoiling it. "Okay," he mumbled in defeat.

El beamed and stood on her tip toes to give him a chaste kiss. "Thank you," she said grinning.

"Damn Wheeler, you are whipped." Lucas muttered.

"Coming from you?" Will teased making them all laugh except Lucas who gaped like a fish.

"Don't deny it stalker, we all know it's true." Max said with sass, giving him a wink, causing him to blush furiously and give her puppy dog eyes.

"So are we going or what?" Marty finally said in annoyance, wanting to get this over and done with so he could get back to El.

"Yes sir, let's hit the road." Dustin said smiling.

"So what are we doing anyway?" Marty asked after he had kissed El good bye and was getting on his bike, his friends around him.

"We're gonna spend a couple of hours in the arcade, then lunch and maybe a quick round of D&D if we can fit it in. El's gonna call me on the super com when she's ready for us to get back to the house." Will said as he mounted his bike.

Marty begrudgingly smiled, knowing that this did actually sound like a lot of fun. "Let's go then." He said with a grin, kicking off and starting to pedal.

El felt guilty for forcing Marty out of his own house on his birthday, but it was all for the best if she wanted him to be really surprised when he got back and she knew he'd have fun with the party around him.

She had a precise idea of how she wanted the basement to be set up and she had enlisted Karen, Nancy and Jonathan to assist her. Jonathan arrived about 10 minutes after Marty left and they all got to work.

Her vision was that she wanted the basement to be transformed into their own little movie theatre. She wanted them to watch as many movies as Marty wanted, whilst a table was set up with the birthday cake, pizzas when they arrived, bowls of potato chips, sodas and presents.

Jonathan had impressed El with bringing something he called a projector screen. He had other technical equipment with him and El watched in wonder as he fiddled with the VHS player and the television to get everything to work.

El had wanted some kind of light in the basement and so she set to work tying up fairy lights with Nancy whilst Karen set up the tables and with the help of Holly, decorated them with party table covers and confetti pieces saying 15, which Holly happily scattered around.

They all laughed as they blew up balloons, El having difficulty tying them and making them go flying around the room until the technique finally clicked in her brain. They put a banner down the stairs, taped balloons up here and there as well as placing streamers on the ceiling with Joseph's help.

El carefully placed the cake in the centre of the table and looked around the room proudly with her helpers. It was exactly how she had imagined it. She went over to her bag and called Will on the radio, saying it was time for them all to come back.

El squealed to herself with excitement as she looked again at the master piece of the basement whilst Joseph took a few photos here and there for her, so they could always remember how cool everything had looked. She waited impatiently for the birthday boy to return.

Marty had to admit that he had a great time with the party. They laughed and fought in the arcade, Max beating all their asses at every game. They ate burgers at the refurbished Benny's now run by his brother and then played a quick version of D&D at Lucas's which was the closest to his house. They ignored Erica when she called them all nerds, except for Max of course who got a reprieve because she was "cool".

Despite the fun he had, Marty was more than relieved when El's voice rang over the super com to say they could come back. He'd missed her more than he'd like to admit to his friends who no doubt would have tortured him for. But he biked harder than he usually did so that he could get home quicker, the others having to try and keep up.

Marty entered his house with the party hot on his feet. He looked around disappointed to see the place was quiet.

"I think we need to go to the basement Marty," Will said giving him a bit of a push in the right direction.

They all walked through the kitchen and then Marty feeling oddly nervous opened the door to the basement and started to descend the stairs. He gasped when he reached the fifth step down as the basement came into view.

"Surprise!" a number of voices shouted to him. His jaw dropped as he looked around the room. There was a large screen projector set up, the room was dimly lit by overhead fairy lights making it look magical, there was a table with a mountain of presents, food, drinks and the cake, and balloons, banners and streamers all over the place. But most importantly there was his girl stood proudly in the centre of the room with his family stood behind her.

Marty laughed in surprise and shock at what they had done with the basement and carried on walking down the stairs whilst his friends gasped and made noises of delight when they saw the room too. "This is amazing!" Marty shouted happily, as he walked straight over to El.

In that moment he didn't care that his parents, sisters and friends were all stood close by and watching. He gathered El in his arms the second they reached each other and pulled her in for a kiss. Marty kept it as innocent as he could, but he was so happy it was hard for his love and passion for El not to be shown.

He heard a few wolf whistles and his mom say an exasperated "Matthew!" but he kept El close, even when they broke from the kiss, he held her in his arms. "You are incredible." He whispered into her ear.

El beamed and slowly pulled away, her eyes so happy that Marty could feel his heart growing with even more adoration and love for his girlfriend. Something he didn't even think was possible. "I just wanted it to be perfect for you," she said sighing in relief at his reaction.

"It is perfect. You're perfect." He told her smiling so widely that his cheeks ached.

"We helped too." Holly huffed and Marty was reminded that they weren't alone and he had just called El perfect in front of everyone. He blushed, but mostly he didn't care. It was true after all and surely everyone else already had to know it too by now.

"Holly you chucked confetti. Try rigging up all these lights or the projector screen like Joseph did." Anne said chuckling at her little sister.

Marty grinned and went over to Holly, picking her up and sitting her on his hip as she beamed happily at her new position. He kissed her cheek contentedly and looked around at everyone. "Thank you, seriously this is amazing. Best birthday ever." He said honestly.

"You haven't even opened your presents yet." El said chuckling.

"Or eaten any cake…" Dustin added his mouth watering when he looked over at El and Karen's creation.

"Well let's get to it then." Mike said grinning, looking over at his friends and then his family.

He sat on the couch, El next to him and Holly sat the other side of him because she wanted to "assist" him with the wrapping paper. He rolled his eyes knowing that she just wanted to see what he'd got and if she could steal anything.

As he started opening presents, El whispered to him that she wanted him to open the present off her when they were alone. He nodded and gave her a warm lopsided grin before tearing into Dustin and Lucas's joint gift. Mike was overwhelmed by the generosity of his friends and family. His favourite presents were video games off his mom and dad, a camera off Nancy and Jonathan and the full Star Wars collection of figurines off Dustin and Lucas. Mike couldn't help but wonder with excitement as to what El had gotten him, but didn't press the issue.

Just like Mike had suspected, the birthday cake was so delicious that he had seconds along with Dustin, Lucas and Max. He couldn't keep the grin off his face, even when Jonathan asked them to gather around so he could take a few photos. Mike didn't even care or really listen to the taunting him and El got when they had a few photos on their own. He even kissed her for one of them. Mike was full of gratitude and full of love, he had the best girlfriend ever.

His family finally left the basement and the teens all got into their pyjamas, the girls changing in the bathroom together which for some reason Dustin thought was hot. Lucas and Mike punched him in both of his arms in response.

Mike was deciding on a film when Max and El walked back into the room, them both laughing at something. He stared at El and felt his heart pacing. She looked so adorable in her pyjamas. Well if you could call them pyjamas. She was in her small field and track team shorts and wearing one of Mike's old AV club middle school t-shirts. He looked at her long legs and her cute ass, and his blood boiled.

To get geared up for Halloween, Mike's favourite holiday, they decided to watch Halloween films and started with Ghost Busters. Mike cringed when he thought about how they had dressed up last year and no one else in school had. They had been ridiculed for weeks, but that didn't stop him appreciating the awesomeness of this movie.

Mike sat on the couch, El next to him and Will sat beside her. Dustin was lounging in an arm chair and Max and Lucas were sat in front of the couch, their hands touching. They all scoffed pizza and drank soda, Dustin burping now and again.

Mike put his arm around El, and she looked up at him grinning. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss, nuzzling her nose. "I love you," he whispered. She exhaled deeply as if she was trying to control her emotions. "I love you too. I'm so happy you've enjoyed your birthday."

"If you guys want a room, I'm pretty sure Mike's is available." Max teased making Will, Lucas and Dustin snigger.

"Very funny," Mike muttered, glaring at the back of Max's head. El didn't seem to care about the comments, and snuggled in closer to him. Her head on his chest whilst he played with her hair absentmindedly and watched the movie. Mike knew this was going to be one of those moments that you just remember for the rest of your life, that caused nostalgia any time you thought about it. He couldn't help but smile for how thankful he was for this moment.

After they had watched Poltergeist, everyone decided to call it a night. El was exhausted after a long and busy day but she still hadn't managed to give Mike his present. She would have done so in front of others, but she knew how flustered her boyfriend could get when all the attention was on him. So she kept the small wrapped gift behind her in the fort, waiting for the right moment.

El had taken her sleeping bag into the fort, oddly excited to sleep in her old den again. Lucas and Max had taken the couch, albeit opposite ends. Dustin and Will were on the floor, and Mike had moved his sleeping bag as close to the fort as he could.

They lay facing one another, both desperate to stay awake longer than all their friends, but their eyes were heavy. Their arms were arched on the floor, so that they could hold hands, their fingers locked together, fitting perfectly. El remembered just smiling at Mike in the dark, him grinning back and then she was suddenly asleep.

El woke up to the sound of the light rain hitting the windows, she looked around, her vision trying to adjust to the darkness. She squinted and could see the time on Mike's watch was illuminated saying 2.13am. El could hear the deep breathing of all of her friends and the light snoring from Dustin.

Her eyes went back to Mike and she smiled to herself. His hand was inches from hers and his face was calm, his breathe coming out softly from his slightly open mouth and a few of his dark curls falling into his face. El bit her lip and stared at him, he was so handsome.

It had been a while since El had gotten the opportunity to stare at him like this, without ridicule from Max or the boys. She took in the sharpness of his cheek bones which made her heart race, his long body that made her skin tingle and his gorgeous pink lips that contrasted so perfectly with his pale skin. It made a burning fire start in the pit of her stomach.

El gulped, all of a sudden feeling as if she had a dry throat. Her eyes moved to Mike's thick curls and she found her hands start to twitch as she so desperately wanted to touch them…maybe even grip them between her fingers. Her heart started to pound and her breathing was speeding up as she appraised her boyfriend. Wow…now I really understand the meaning of hot. Mike is HOT. El thought desperately to herself.

She knew she should just let him sleep, but she wanted to be closer to him. El's hand found Mike's again and she slowly brushed over his palm with her fingers in tantalising slow circles. She didn't even know what she was doing, but she felt her heart skip a beat with excitement.

Mike's eyes slowly opened and he blinked in slight confusion, before he focused in on El, making the burning in her stomach wreak havoc when she saw those dark orbs staring at her. Oh wow. She couldn't even think straight.

"Mike," she almost gasped as quietly as she could.

"El?" he whispered.

"Will…will you come in the fort with me?" She asked nervously, not realising how her hormones were shoving her common sense to the back of her mind.

El heard Mike gulp nervously and he seemed to look at the fort, taking in the smaller space for a moment. But when he looked back into her eyes, he seemed to end his inner conflict. He nodded and then unzipped himself from his sleeping bag.

El shuffled over into the fort so there was room for Mike to get in and slowly unzipped her own sleeping bag. He lay down, his breathing uneven before he reached for his open sleeping bag and lay it over them as a cover.

They turned to face each other silently, sharing the same pillow. El could feel Mike's shaky breath on her face and she was sure her own warm breath was hitting his face too. "Did you have a good birthday?" she whispered to him, hoping to stall her hormones who were currently strangling her common sense.

He nodded, his nose unintentionally nudging hers because of their proximity. "It was the best birthday ever. Because of you El…" he whispered back, his voice like a caress to El's heart. He reached out his hand tenderly, and stroked her hair making El start to shake, which Mike noticed.

"El are you okay?" he suddenly asked with concern, misinterpreting her shaking to mean something was wrong, oh there was certainly nothing wrong with this situation.

"I'm fine…I'm just…" Aroused? Turned on? Horny? El stared back at Mike, not knowing what to say. Not wanting to take things too far…but - "Mike I want you to kiss me. I mean really kiss me." She whispered breathlessly, not able to hide the desperate need in her voice.

Mike gasped, his eyes wide but then he was kissing her. Really kissing her and she all but melted. His hand went into her hair, his other hand scooping around her waist and clinging to her back. El let out a sigh against his mouth, and then their tongues were dancing frantically, the sensation causing her to erupt into goose bumps.

El just wanted him closer and so pulled him tight to her body by clutching his t-shirt to her chest, she could almost hear his heart pounding as fast as hers was. She instinctly wrapped her leg around Mike's waist and he groaned in her mouth at the sensation.

His hand in her hair moved down the curve of her body and landed on her bare leg. She could feel her blood boiling as his hand slowly ran up her leg, stopping on her thigh and gripping the skin desperately.

She didn't know or care how, but El wanted Mike to be even closer. The burning was moving down lower and she felt the need to squeeze her thighs together, which was impossible when one of them was draped around Mike. She took her passion out on him through her lips, doing things she'd never done before. Things she didn't realise she knew how to do. Like pulling his bottom lip between her teeth and nibbling, making him shudder at the feeling and grasp her closer to him.

El was almost panting when she moved one of her hands to Mike's firm back to pull herself tighter to his body. It was in that moment that she felt something hard against her thigh when she readjusted herself. El slowly looked down curiously, was that his -

Mike quickly jumped away from her, disentangling himself and gasping to try and catch his breath. El stared at him breathlessly, his eyes wide and his cheeks blushed so red she could see it through the darkness of the room.

"That was…incredible El." Mike gulped, before turning his head nervously to check their friends were all still sleeping. They thankfully were but this action seemed to sober them up. "But I don't think we should carry on with them here." Mike whispered, his breathing finally starting to go back to normal.

El nodded in agreement but she couldn't stop the happy grin from spreading onto her face. She didn't regret a second of their make out session. They had never made out or let alone kissed lying down together before and it had just been so intense, so intimate, so wow.

"Will you still cuddle with me though?" El whispered to Mike, hoping their passionate moment wasn't going to steal her of snuggling up with her boyfriend.

He smiled, "yes of course we'll cuddle. I've just got to er…er go to the bathroom." He said awkwardly, getting out of the fort and making sure he kept his back to her. El smirked to herself, if the hard thing she felt against her was anything to go by, she had a sneaky feeling she knew what he was up to. The daring side of her wanted to follow him but then common sense which was exasperated and angry, told her that she wasn't even 15 yet and to calm herself down.

When Mike came back they snuggled and didn't mention what they both knew had just happened. After a while El remembered something and gasped. "Mike I haven't even given you your present yet! Do you want it?" She whispered with excitement, reaching for the wrapped box.

"What we just did wasn't my present?!" he asked rather sheepishly.

El giggled and shook her head, "no…that was just because…well because you're hot." She said giving him a smirk before handing him his real gift.

Mike chuckled at her words and then eagerly took off the wrapping paper and opened the box. He gasped in happy surprise as he lifted up the leather bracelet, the silver shinning as he squinted in the dark to make out the heart and the "El."

"Do you like it?" She asked him hesitantly, feeling nerves bubbling in her stomach.

"El I love it! It's so thoughtful." He told her grinning his beautiful dopey smile as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss that made her sigh with happiness. Mike put the bracelet on and stared at it in wonder for a while.

"I got one too. Well a charm I mean." El said smiling as she showed Mike the additional silver heart to the bracelet Hopper had given her.

Mike saw his name in the heart and beamed, giving her another tender kiss. "I won't take it off ever." He said before wincing. "Well I might be forced to take it off for swim team, but apart from that." El laughed and snuggled closer to him. She fell into the best sleep of her life, not even the sound of her friends eventually waking up and gathering around the fort ready to ridicule her and Mike for "sleeping together" could wake her up, well not at first.

"That's it El. Great job!" Marty said with encouragement as El swam to him as he backed up in the water.

As soon as the weather had been turning colder, Marty had the confidence to ask Scott if he could move his swimming lessons with El to Scott's heated pool. Of course Steve had come up with all sorts of jokes about what Marty really wanted the pool for, but he clenched his jaw and just ignored him.

They had a swimming lesson together every Wednesday night and it was definitely Marty's favourite night of the week. What could be better than spending alone time with El, encouraging her whilst she learnt a new skill. And seeing her in a wet swimsuit was a bonus sent straight from heaven.

Unfortunately on this particular night, Lucas, Will, Dustin and Max decided to tag along. Marty tried to pretend they weren't on the other side of the pool, laughing and splashing. He just wanted to focus on El and make sure she was doing the right strokes.

El stared only at him as she finished her front crawl and reached where Marty was leaning against the side of the pool. She caught her breath and smiled at him in relief. "I did it," she gasped happily, her arms wrapping around his neck.

Marty beamed and placed his hands on her slim waist, "I'm so proud of you," he whispered to her, kissing her forehead tenderly whilst she caught her breath. "You're doing so well. Maybe you could even join the swim team next year?" he added hopefully.

Max snorted from across the pool, clearly he hadn't been as quiet as he had hoped. "El he's only saying that because he wants to see you in a swimming costume more often."

Marty looked offended whilst the party all laughed including El who giggled quietly.

Will spoke up quickly before Marty had a chance to bite back at Max. "Speaking of costumes. What are we going as for Halloween next week?"

"Anything but Ghostbusters again…" Lucas moaned, rubbing his wet hand over his face.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to need therapy after that experience." Dustin shuddered.

The boys all cringed in unison whilst Max sniggered.

"Why… what happened?" El asked curiously. Marty could see her hazel eyes looking between him and the boys.

"Oh El it was brilliant!" Max said gleefully.

"Don't tell her!" Marty shouted, his cheeks now red as he recounted the memory.

"Why not?" El asked him, looking slightly hurt that he wanted to keep something from her.

Marty immediately felt guilty and sighed through the embarrassment. "Because it's mortifying." He mumbled.

"They all dressed up as the Ghostbusters last Halloween and went to school in costume. No one else was in costume in the entire school. Just them." Max said laughing whilst Lucas splashed her with water.

"Oh," El said biting her lip. Marty looked at his girlfriend and narrowed his eyes. She didn't look sympathetic, more like she was trying desperately to keep in a laugh and a big grin by forcing her teeth into her lower lip. Which was unintentionally very sexy.

"Hey! You're meant to be on my side." Marty pouted to her playfully before nuzzling her hair with his cheek. She couldn't keep in her giggle any longer and then they were all laughing.

The group all played a round of chicken, Marty loved having El on his shoulders. He tried to not think about her toned thighs on either side of his head but his heart was racing and there was nothing he could do about it, not when he had El this close to him.

"You know I tried to get out last year. To go trick or treating." El said into Marty's ear as he swam around with her on his back 10 minutes later.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and stopped swimming for a moment so he could turn his head to her. "Really?" he asked with interest. Marty couldn't imagine that Hopper would have ever allowed this.

"Yeah I was going to go as a ghost. With a sheet over me, so no one would see me. But dad said no. I just… I just wanted to see you." El sighed shrugging.

Marty felt his heart break at her words. Halloween was by far his favourite holiday, but last year had been his worst one. To think he could have gone trick or treating with El, to have found her again would have been incredible. He turned his head again and met her lips for a second in a tender kiss.

"I wanted to see you too El. So badly. Especially on Halloween. I wanted to share it with you, you know?" He whispered not wanting the others to hear as they swam around. Marty perked up when he thought about Halloween being a week away. "But this year is different. You're allowed to go out and I promise to give you the best trick or treating experience you will ever have. I promise." He told her sincerely.

El beamed and pressed another kiss to his lips that got his heart racing all over again. Marty started to swim once more but came to a stop with a chuckle when he thought back to what her costume had been. "It's pretty funny that you were a ghost and I was a Ghostbuster. I totally would have caught you," He said giving her a wink and a smirk.

El giggled at his flirting, tightened her hold on him and gently kissed his bare shoulder, causing Marty to erupt into goose bumps. He swallowed nervously, gave El a fleeting smile and then carried on swimming, her chest against his back as he carried her around the water, she was as light as a feather.

With El's body on his, Marty thought back to the make out session they had shared on his birthday in the fort. It had been unlike anything they had ever done, it was like no kiss he could remember. He had felt true desire not just from him but from El too. Needless to say that afterwards he dealt with the hardest erection of his life.

Having such an intimate moment with El had awoken every hormone in his body to remind him that one day they could take it further than kissing. It excited and terrified him all at once. Marty would never push El to do anything she wasn't comfortable with and he was deeply scared of hurting her. She was his perfect innocent angel and he just wanted to cherish her and make sure she was treated right.

"We've still got to decide on costumes for Halloween," Will reminded them all as they all sat on the edge of the pool, towels around their shoulders and their feet dangling in the water.

"Should we go as something as a group?" Marty asked, his hand on El's back, rubbing her towel against her skin.

"Yeah that'd be cool. But what…" Lucas said pondering the ideas currently running through his head.

"Hey what about superheroes?" Dustin said excitedly. "El and Max can fight between who gets to be cat woman and super girl. Grrr…" He teased winking at the girls, ignoring the death glares he got from Lucas and Marty.

"You do realise you sound like Chewie when you do that right?" Max said, her voice deadpanning with annoyance.

"Chewie that's it! Let's go as Star Wars characters!" Will said eagerly. The whole group all nodded and smiled in agreement.

"So who is going as who?" Marty tried to say nonchalantly, although he already had an idea…well a fantasy of who he'd like to play and who he'd like El to play.

Dustin snorted, "Isn't it obvious? You'll be Han Solo and El will be Princess Leia."

Marty couldn't stop the grin and nodded happily. "Yeah I'm cool with that." He said still trying to act calm and not fist pump the air. "El are you okay with that?" Marty asked his girlfriend.

She nodded smiling beautifully, "Yes it sounds like fun."

"I think Will should be Luke Skywalker. Seeing as Hopper and Mrs. Byers are doing it, Will and El are practically siblings anyway." Lucas said with an evil grin.

"Gross!" El, Will and Marty groaned in disgust whilst Max and Dustin laughed along with Lucas.

"And I'll obviously play Chewie. None of you lot can pull it off," Dustin said winking with cheek.

"I want to be Darth Vader." Lucas added eagerly, looking around at his friends for approval. They all nodded in unison. "Who do you want to be Max?" Lucas asked his girlfriend who was giving it some good thought.

"Hmm… well if you are playing Darth Vader, I want to be Emperor Palpatine seeing as he's Vader's boss and I'm your boss." She teased making Lucas laugh and tickle her, which then caused a tickle fight between them both ending in Lucas being pushed back into the water before he dragged a laughing Max in by her foot.

"Awesome. So we're all sorted then." Dustin said turning to Marty, Will and El whilst Max and Lucas splashed each other in the pool.

Marty was about to agree when a thought struck him and he groaned. "I forgot Holly…it's her first Halloween that mom is letting her out and she wants me to look after her." He mumbled, wishing he wasn't on big brother duty on his favourite holiday.

"That's okay, we can dress her up as a Star Wars character too." Lucas called from the water.

El gasped, "Can we dress her up as an Ewok?! She would look so cute!" She said with so much enthusiasm that Marty knew he would never be able to say no to her. He guessed it wasn't the worst idea and would keep in with their theme.

"Yeah, why not." He said giving El a big grin and feeling his heart flutter with love at the pure joy on her face. Marty loved how much El had taken to his family. She got on with his dad and they had polite conversation, his mom loved her and was always stealing her away which Marty wasn't completely fond of, and then there was his sisters. Anne and El spoke a lot in school so he didn't have to worry about her attention too much at home but Holly was besotted with El and followed her almost everywhere. It was quite annoying at times really because when she over, Marty just wanted her all to himself, but they did find time to be together once Holly had her 7pm bedtime.

The party all descended onto Scott's empty house, making use of the multiple bathrooms to get changed in. Marty couldn't help but smile to himself as he pictured how Halloween would go. And how El would look dressed up as his first crush Princess Leia. His stomach muscles clenched with excitement and he had to really focus on not thinking about her costume too much otherwise he knew he'd have a problem he'd rather not have to deal with right about now.

Max was excited to be going as Emperor Palpatine for Halloween, he was creepy as hell and she wanted to look badass. That was what brought her and El to the nearest joke shop as they rifled through the shelves for their costumes.

"They're bound to have Princess Leia costumes here but I'm not sure about Emperor Palpatine." Max said to El as she focused in on some masks.

"And what if they don't have a mask?" El asked her as she picked up a few packs of costumes.

Max shrugged, "Well I know I can get a black cloak and hood from here, I'll just use face paint for the look I want."

El nodded and then smiled. "Ooh, I think I've found some Princess Leia costumes. Should I try them on?"

"Yes definitely! You don't want to have picked up a kids size by accident." Max laughed, following El to the changing rooms. She waited in the corridor while El changed behind the curtain, she smirked to herself as she heard her best friend struggling with the material.

"I think this must be a child's costume…" El shouted over the curtain, before pulling it open and stepping out. Max looked at her best friend with wide eyes and then burst out laughing.

"El… that's not a child's costume. It's a Princess Leia costume… but a sexy one!" she said chuckling as she stared at El in a very short and very revealing version of Princess Leia's white dress.

El looked mortified and ran into the cubicle, yanking the curtain closed. "Why the hell do they have sexy ones?!" She exclaimed.

Max finally controlled her breathing and wiped at her tears. "Because some nerds like that kind of thing. Oh my god Marty would love that kind of thing!" With the image in her head of Marty's shocked expression she burst into laughter once more.

"Oh shut up," El said giggling from behind the curtain. She came back out in the real deal. The iconic white dress complete with the belt and hood. "This is more like it, isn't it?" El said brushing down the material with her hands.

"Yes definitely." Max said in approval. She smirked to herself knowing that Mike was going to lose his mind when he saw El in this outfit.

"And Anne said she'd do the hair style for me." El said as she ran a hand through her curls and looked in the mirror at the costume. She smiled slightly and looked back at Max, "I do kind of look like her…in a way." El added shyly.

Max grinned, "you totally do. Right come on, get dressed and help me find a costume."

The girls had a good afternoon locating a long black cloak with a hood, and different face paints which fascinated El. They popped in on Joyce Byers in Melvard's and shared a tub of Pringles as they walked to the police station where Hopper would be taking them both home.

"It's close to midnight, something evil's lurking in the dark!" Max sang out in time to the radio as she rubbed white paint onto her face.

El grinned to herself, listening to her best friend singing whilst Nancy did her hair into two buns. It was Halloween and they were getting ready for trick or treating in Nancy's room. The boys were all in Marty's room and even though there was a bathroom that separated the walls, El could still hear their boisterous voices.

"Dude I love Prince!" Max called out as she started to apply grey face paint. All the girls sang out the chorus, "Because this is thriller! Thriller night. And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike!"

"You've got a really nice voice El." Anne said smiling as she placed another pin into El's now straightened hair so that it styled easier.

El immediately blushed but Max answered for her. "I told her that ages ago. I said she should join choir or something but she said nooo." Her best friend sighed.

"Has Marty ever heard you sing El?" Anne asked her eyebrow raised teasingly making El's cheeks only redden further.

"No." She squeaked out embarrassed. El didn't think she had a good voice like the girls were telling her and even if she did, she really hated having attention on her. She would never stand up and sing in front of other people intentionally.

"Well, let me know when you plan on singing in front of him because I want to get photo evidence of his face for future black mail." Anne said playfully as she moved onto the other bun.

The girls all laughed and carried on singing to Prince. El watched Max with avid attention as she changed her freckled skin into something rather scary. She had red around her eyes, her skin was white with black and grey lines around it here and there to make the skin looked withered. It was very impressive what she had done. Max tied her long red hair into a high bun and then placed her low hood over her head.

"You look so scary," El said impressed making Max beam with pride.

"Thanks El! I can't wait to see stalker's face." She said gleefully making El laugh once more at her antics.

There was a knock on the door and Anne called for the person to come in.

"Look whose ready!" Karen's voice called as El watched the cutest person in the world skip into the room. Holly was the most adorable Ewok El had ever seen.

"Aw!" Nancy, El and even Max said in unison whilst Holly giggled and jumped up onto the bed so she was sat next to El whilst Nancy finished off her hair.

"You are the cutest Ewok ever Holly!" El said grinning at the beautiful blonde who gave her a bashful smile.

"Girls you look great." Karen said stepping further into the room and looking at them all. She turned her eyes on her oldest daughter. "What time is Jonathan coming for you sweetie?"

"At 8 mom." Anne answered but kept her attention on one rather stubborn lock of El's hair that was refusing to do as it was told.

"Okay sweetie. Well have fun at the party but be home no later than – "

"11. I know mom." Anne said patiently as she pinned the stubborn lock of hair and sprayed it with Farrah Fawcett spray for good measure.

Karen excused herself a little while after saying she was going to check up on the boys and then Nancy sighed happily looking at El's hair. "Ladies I believe you are ready." She said with a grin.

Marty tugged anxiously at the open waist coat he was wearing as part of his Han Solo costume. Whilst he thought he'd always want to go as one of his heroes for Halloween, he was now regretting the costume. He may have looked cool but the damn thing was making him clammy, he was counting down the minutes until he could get outside into the cool fall weather.

"Shit Marty if you think you're warm. Try being in a Chewbacca costume!" Dustin groaned next to him as if sensing his thoughts.

"You guys look cool," Will told them with reproach as if hoping that would at least help the situation.

"You too Will. And you Lucas." Marty said grinning at his friends. They really had gone all out. Lucas had the Darth Vader helmet of course and a light saber. Will had a light saber and Marty had a gun holster and a water gun just to look the part a bit better.

"Man, I better not get any Three Musketeers this year." Lucas mumbled from behind his mask.

"Me neither." Marty said cringing slightly as he thought about the nougat.

"Hey! I stand by the fact that they are in my top three." Dustin said cheerfully.

"Guys, may I present the ladies…" She said grinning before gesturing to the stairs.

Marty straightened up nervously and watched as a familiar pair of white converses came into view, almost obscured by a white floaty material. In that moment Marty's heart completely stopped. He didn't notice Max looking creepy or even Holly looking cute. He only had eyes, very wide and comical eyes for his Princess Leia.

As the girls came down the stairs Marty could only gape like a fish. He could hardly hear the boys complimenting the girls, he could barely breathe. El looked up at him, her hazel eyes so full of innocence and an excited smile on her lips. Yep… she's going to be the end of me. Marty thought as he swallowed nervously.

He still said nothing even when the girls stood there. Marty didn't realise the room had even gone quiet and that everyone was staring at him whilst he just gaped at El, taking in the way she looked identical to Princess Leia but better. The way her hair was styled, the way the belt clinched into her waist. Finally, it was Max's entertained voice and the laughter of all his friends that broke his gaze.

"Er Wheeler? Your tongue is dragging on the floor."

Marty immediately shut his mouth, he had a horrible feeling he might have been drooling. He smiled bashfully at El who walked up to him, her eyes darting over his costume with wonder. "You look so handsome," she told him smiling.

He gulped, he knew he needed to say words. Any day now would be good... "Y-you look…" Like every fantasy I've ever known? Hot? Sexy? Gorgeous? Beautiful? "Perfect. You look perfect El."

She sighed in relief and reached for his hands. Marty was going to lean in for a dazed kiss when he was alerted to his mom's presence. She was almost screaming with excitement at how "Cute" they all looked. Her camera was squeezed in her hands and Marty groaned knowing what time it was.

They all got in for a group photo, Holly squirming and insisting that El picked her up, which she did of course because she doted on the little girl. After the group photo was done, his mom insisted on one of Holly and Marty, even roping a reluctant Nancy into one shot.

When Marty thought he was finally released, his mom spoke again. "Not so fast young man! I want one of you and El. Of Princess Leia and Han Solo!"

Marty blushed furiously as his friends all lined up behind his mom. Lucas and Dustin making kissing faces, pretending to make out with themselves by wrapping their arms around their torsos. Will just cringed and tried not to laugh and Max just gave him a smirk.

"Get closer together you two." Karen said laughing whilst Mike died of embarrassment. He was trying to just have a polite photo with El. He didn't want a full-on photo shoot!

"That's better. Now give El a kiss on the cheek." Karen said grinning as she snapped away.

"Mom!" Marty groaned whilst his friends sniggered.

"Don't worry Karen," El said smiling before stepping on her tip toes and kissing Marty on the cheek, completely surprising him.

"Oh wonderful! I'm going to have to get this one framed. I can't wait to show the chief." She cooed looking at the photos as they came out.

"Great. So can we go now?" Marty said impatiently as he took El's hand in his.

"Yes of course. Have fun you lot!" His mom said turning to them all and leaning down to kiss Holly on the cheek. "And look after your little sister," she added with a bit of a warning to Mike.

He nodded and sighed, "of course mom." It wasn't exactly like he was going to let his 5 year old sister wander off on her own.

"Right let's hit up Loch Nora. That's where they had the best candy last year." Max said, her voice like an army major. The group all nodded in agreement and followed her and Lucas.

Marty held Holly's hand with his right hand and El's with his left hand as they walked. The streets were busy with kids rushing around to get to front doors, costumes everywhere and high pitched squeals and laughter filling the night air.

But Marty couldn't seem to concentrate on all of that, he could only concentrate on the look of pure wonder and excitement that his girlfriend suddenly had on her face as she took in the sights of Halloween. He found himself so besotted by her every move, by every facial expression.

She was just so beautiful in her amazement of what she had been missing out on all these years. If Marty was honest, he felt his eyes glaze with water, tears daring to spill at the sheer thought of what El had been through and what had been taken from her. Childhood memories she could never get back or re-do. Marty squeezed her hand gently and she turned to him, glowing with such happiness that his heart skipped a beat.

"I love you," he said looking deep into her eyes.

"I love you too," she beamed, holding his hand more firmly.

After a while Marty looked down at Holly and smirked to himself when he realised that the same amazement that El had was mirrored on his little sister. This was her first time tricking or treating too.

"So remember, when they open the front door, we say 'trick or treat' and they'll offer us candy because they will have picked treat." Marty said to El and Holly who both nodded with excitement.

"What happens if they say trick?" El asked curiously.

Marty laughed, "Don't worry they won't say trick. If they said trick it means you're supposed to pull a prank on them." He said calmly.

El frowned, "What's a prank?" she whispered to him, clearly not wanting Holly to think she was strange for not knowing the word.

"A prank is like a trick you play on them to cause them embarrassment or like humiliation." Marty said trying to think of an example. One popped into his head and he couldn't help but smirk. "Like the thing you did to Troy in the school. That's a prank I guess."

"Oh! So I can use my – "

"No!" Marty said quickly cutting her off. He made sure to whisper with Holly being so close. "No, you can't use your powers El. Just don't worry about pranks okay? You don't have to do one." He tried to tell her reassuringly, thankfully El nodded and the matter got dropped.

"Trick or treat!" They all yelled some five minutes later when they reached the first house in Loch Nora.

"Oh look how cute you all are!" The woman sang before pinching Will's cheek who grimaced in response. "Ooh say that line from Star Wars!" She said laughing, making it clear by the way she clung to the candy bowl that they weren't getting any treats until they said it.

Marty sighed in defeat and in unison, except for Holly, they all said in the most flat voice possible, "May the force be with you."

The woman was overjoyed by their words and handed over the filled bowl which they all sank their hands into. "Thank you!" they shouted yet again in unison.

"Put them in the pillow case," Marty said to El and Holly who were still holding on to their treats. He kind of liked being their mentor for Halloween and smiled in approval when they dropped the candies into the pillows.

They all were having a lot of fun, Loch Nora had a large number of houses, each more grand than the next, and they were never short on candy. Marty couldn't wait to get back to the basement so El could try all the new chocolates and sweets she hadn't experienced yet.

As they were walking onto Cherry Avenue Marty noticed that Will was lagging slightly behind looking deflated. He frowned wondering what was wrong with his best friend and feeling a tinge of guilt that he'd barely paid any attention to the boys all day.

"Hey El?" Marty whispered to his girlfriend who nodded at him. "Can you take Holly's hand and follow the others? I just want to talk to Will." He said quietly.

El's eyes widened with concern for Will but she didn't pry. "Of course," she said softly giving him a warm smile that melted his heart. Marty turned to Holly, "Holls, El is going to walk with you for a bit. Okay?"

"Yay!" Holly squealed, immediately dropping Marty's hand and rushing to the other side of El to eagerly take her left hand.

"Geez don't hold back your disappointment," Marty huffed with annoyance making El laugh. He kissed her hand tenderly and then broke away, walking up to Will and then getting into step with him.

They walked in silence for a moment before Marty spoke. "Are you okay Will? You seem… I don't know… a bit quiet tonight."

Will looked at him in surprise, not at being asked the question but more at the fact that someone had noticed something he had clearly been trying to hide.

To Marty it looked like Will was trying to think up an excuse as he frowned and glanced ahead at the others. But finally he sighed, his shoulders deflated. "I just… tonight's harder than I thought it would be. It reminds me of last year you know? With the Shadow Monster…" Will had gone pale as he spoke.

Marty wanted to hit himself in the face for not even having picked up on this. He had been so focused on El and Holly, making sure they had a great first Halloween that he hadn't even thought about the stress tonight might be on Will.

"I'm really sorry Will, I should have realised. But you can always come to me though, you know that right?" Marty said feeling guilty.

Will nodded, "Yeah I know. And I was going to. It's just you're a little…"

"Distracted?" Marty asked sheepishly knowing it was the truth.

Will grinned slightly, "Yeah distracted. But that's okay though. I totally get it."

Marty sighed, "I'm sorry. I know I haven't been with you guys as much as I've been with El recently. I'll try and split myself a bit better." He said hoping Will knew he was being sincere. If he was honest he did want to spend every waking moment with El, but his friends meant a lot to him too. They had been through so much.

"I hope you guys don't think I've been purposely not spending time with you or anything." Marty decided to add. "It's just when you've got a girlfriend…I can't like explain it. I guess you'll know what I mean when you and Jen start dating." Marty said grinning as he nudged Will's shoulder slightly.

His best friend blushed at the mention of Jen, "I don't know about that. I honestly don't think I'll ever have the courage to ask her out. I bet it was easy for you to ask El." He said vulnerably.

Marty couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you serious? It definitely wasn't easy. For one she didn't even know what boyfriend and girlfriend meant, so I had to explain it." He said unable to stop his smile as his eyes went to El who was walking up ahead, swinging arms with Holly.

Will laughed gently, "Well I just mean you knew there was no way she'd say no. You two were already like dating anyway." He said explaining further.

Marty shrugged, "I guess. But you also know that Jen likes you. This isn't like a stab in the dark. You were dancing at the snow ball, you've taken her to the movies and held her hand and she came and sat with us at lunch which is like social suicide. It would be hard to believe that she doesn't like you." He said hoping to give his best friend some encouragement.

"I just don't want her to get bullied…" Will finally mumbled out and Marty knew they had reached the real issue. Will was probably the one bullied the most out of the group. Because of him seeing smaller and slimmer, Jesse and Derek always thought it made sense to call him gay. The only person that Marty thought was in the closet was Jesse himself, seeing as he had so much pent up anger that he always tried to take out on the party.

"I'm sure Jen can hold her own. And I'm sure she knows the risks of dating one of us nerds. She's been with us since kindergarten so it's not like she doesn't know about Jesse." Marty reasoned.

"I guess you're right. I'd just hate it if she got bullied too." Will said solemnly.

Marty smiled slightly, "Well the party sticks together. We'll protect her as much as we can, just as I'm sure she'll try and protect us. But you're never going to know if you don't try Will."

Will turned to him and smiled warmly, "Thanks Marty. You're a really good friend." He said clapping him on the shoulder.

Marty couldn't help but grin, El and his friends meant the world to him. And as proof with Dustin and the whole cliff incident, he'd happily do anything for any one of them. Even Max.

"Okay so this one El is a Three Musketeers bar. It's one of my top three." Dustin said carefully as he handed El an unwrapped chocolate bar.

"Gross, don't give her that." Marty said in an almost insulted way. El looked at her boyfriend in concern. Did this mean the chocolate was going to taste disgusting? Like the Mr. Goodbar she hadn't enjoyed?

El took a deep breath looking down at the bar before taking a bite. She chewed the chocolate and nougat concoction slowly, her face lack of all emotion as she concentrated on the taste.

She didn't realise but the whole party were watching her intently. Marty sat next to her and Max the other side, both of them leaning forward. Dustin sat in front of her on the coffee table, his fingers crossed for good luck and Lucas and Will stood behind him, their eyes wide. No one said a word whilst El chewed and then swallowed the chocolate.

El looked up at Dustin and smiled weakly, "I liked it."

"YES!" Dustin roared, he immediately stood up and flung his hands into the air in victory.

"No, no, no!" Marty said groaning in exasperation making El giggle at his disappointment.

"That means Dusty gets to the pick the movie. He wins fair and square!" Max shouted over the sound of Dustin's victory dance.

He chose The Shining and they all settled down to watch the film. El turned to Marty who had his arms crossed and was almost glaring at her playfully.

"I hope you know this means I can't talk to you anymore." He teased, sticking his tongue out at her.

El knew he was joking with her but she pouted her lip anyway and gave him her best bambi eyes. "Really?" she said sniffing.

Marty rolled his eyes in amusement, immediately losing his annoyed act and going back to his warm and handsome self. "Come here," He chuckled putting his arm around El and bringing her in closer.

El sighed with content and lay her head on Marty's chest, listening to the serene sound of his heart beat. He held her tighter during the parts of the film that made her jump and she clung to him not just when she felt scared but purely because she could. El grinned to herself as her eyes darted around the wonderful people sat close by. This truly had been the best first Halloween.

November 1989

Hopper pulled up his Chevrolet outside of the Byer's home and cut the engine. He had a smile on his face as he got out of the truck and walked to the house, knocking twice on the door.

Within a few seconds Joyce opened the door and he felt the smile on his face widen. "Good morning beautiful," he told her with a smirk. Hopper watched as Joyce leaned against the door frame, her eyes bright and happy.

"Morning handsome. To what do I owe this pleasure chief?" she teased.

Hopper looked behind her and scanned the room. "Are the boys here?" he whispered.

Joyce laughed, "no silly, they're in school."

"Oh. Good." Hopper said mischievously as he closed the gap between him and Joyce and kissed her softly, savouring the taste of her lips on his. Joyce's hands ran up his thick arms to secure themselves behind his neck, whilst Hopper wrapped his arms around the dark-haired beauty and pulled her up to him. Her being so short and him being so tall didn't help their kisses but they still made it work.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Joyce asked playfully when Hopper finally brought her back down to the ground. Hopper shrugged and walked into the kitchen, Joyce shut the front door and then followed him.

"It's a quiet one today so I knew I could slip out. And I wanted to ask your advice." Hopper said leaning against one of the counters whilst Joyce began making two coffees.

"About what?" she asked whilst stirring the drinks.

"About El. Her 15th birthday is coming up and I think we should do something special. Seeing as we missed it last year." He said sighing. "I just don't know what."

Joyce pondered this for a moment before handing one of the steaming mugs of coffee to Hopper who thanked her. "How about a party? She could invite her friends, maybe even her mom and Aunt if she wanted to." Joyce suggested before sipping at her coffee.

Hopper was quiet for a moment as he thought about the idea of a party. He guessed it wasn't the worst idea. El seemed to really love music so they could hire a DJ and she loved food so they could put on a buffet, including a platter of Eggos of course. It would be a lot of effort and require some planning, but Hopper concluded that El was worth it.

"I think that's a great idea Joyce. Her birthday is on a Saturday as well so we could have the party then. Any location ideas?"

"The church hall?"

Hopper shuddered, "Too religious. Gives me the shakes."

Joyce smiled in amusement and then spoke, "okay, well what about the community centre instead? It can't be too expensive to rent and it's got to be big enough for a party." She reasoned.

He smiled staring at Joyce for a moment, wondering what he had done to earn her affection and her wonderful presence in his life. "Your smart mind is one of the many reasons I love you Joyce Byers. That and your sweet ass." He teased making Joyce smack him playfully.

Hopper caught Joyce in his arms once more and he leaned down to kiss her, loving the rush of fire it caused in his blood steam. She sighed contently against his lips and pulled back slightly to look up at his face.

"Have you thought anymore about breaking the news of our relationship to the kids?" she asked him softly.

He grinned and nodded his head, "I thought we could announce it at Christmas. I'm still not sure how El's going to take it. She loves you of course, but I'm not sure if she truly understands relationships yet and how they work."

"Hopper...El is in a relationship herself." Joyce said calmly to him. She clearly was trying to get him to reason with her that El knew about how love worked more than most.

"I know she is" He said rather bitterly as he thought about Wheeler and the amount of times he had to shoo him out of the cabin. "But she's in a teenage relationship. I don't think she understands that we might all end up under one roof, you may become my wife." He said almost without thinking.

Joyce raised her eyebrow playfully. "Oh really? Your wife?"

"If you want…Mrs Hopper." He said joking making them both chuckle. Joyce stood on her tip toes and gave him a tender kiss.

When she broke from the kiss she sighed with determination. "Right…let's spend the morning planning El's birthday and then…maybe we'll have a bit of time to spare before the boys come home." Joyce spoke, her last words said in a seductive whisper as she backed out of the kitchen and back to the living room.

Hopper gave her a lopsided smile as he followed her like a lost puppy. "Well, well, whose teasing who now?" he said, his eyes alight with passion.

"I can't wait until Friday," El sighed trying her hardest to stifle a yawn whilst she held on tight to Mike as he biked her home.

She heard him chuckle over the sound of the bitter wind. "You know it's only Monday, right?"

"Yes, I know." She huffed. "I just hate English. It's too hard."

"But you're doing so good El! All the teachers tell you that for someone who was home schooled you're exceptional." Mike said, his voice filled with such pride that it warmed El's heart immediately.

"Thank you," she murmured into his neck, giving him a slow kiss on the delicate skin. Mike shuddered at the touch and looked back at her for one moment.

"Do you want me to crash?" he teased her.

El grinned and wrapped her arms tighter around his torso. "I would never let you crash." She told him seriously.

Mike carried on biking, the howling wind causing resistance for him but he never slowed. When they finally arrived at the cabin El wasn't surprised that Mike was out of breath, even though he tried to hide it and be all macho like the bike ride hadn't just killed him. El smiled to herself in amusement as she opened the front door and let them both in.

El chucked her backpack onto the couch and within a few seconds Mike's joined her. "I'm hungry," she complained looking towards the kitchen.

"Want me to make you some Eggos?" Mike offered already knowing what the answer was going to be.

"Yes please!" El said happily as she followed Mike into the kitchen. She smiled at the fact that he knew his way around the cabin now. He knew where everything was kept in the kitchen, he knew where to find the videos and the vinyl's, he knew how she liked things arranged on her desk and he knew the order of her teddy bears on her bed. He just knew her.

El hopped onto the kitchen counter and watched as Mike dug into the freezer and pulled out two Eggos, dropping them into the toaster. "Are you not having any?" she asked him with concern.

Mike looked at her and laughed softly, "no. There's only so many Eggos I can have in a day." He said smiling at her. El would have been annoyed at his lack of enthusiasm for Eggos if it wasn't for that beautiful smile.

"It's alright. I'll have a sandwich in a bit if I get hungry." Mike reasoned, looking into the kitchen cupboard and spotting peanut butter.

The toaster popped up the Eggos and Mike moved them onto a plate, handing them over to El.

"Thank you." She told him warmly, biting into an Eggo without further ado and sighing contently. Mike watched her with amusement, leaning against one of the other counters.

"If you had to choose between a kiss from me and an Eggo…which one would you chose?" Mike suddenly asked her, his eyes teasing.

El pretended to take her time thinking about it, chewing on her Eggo and then swallowing the waffle. "Hmm…well I guess it depends on how hungry I was…" She said mocking him playfully.

"Hey!" He exclaimed laughing at her cheek.

El giggled and held out her hands for him, "of course I'd pick you, you mouthbreather!"

Mike pouted pretending he was genuinely hurt before pushing off from the counter and stepping into El's embrace. She was sat at the edge of the counter and so her legs rested on either side of Mike's body. From her new position, she was almost the same height as her boyfriend for once.

Mike moved his hand to her cheek, stroking her jaw line before leaning in and pressing a kiss to her lips. El smiled into the kiss, loving how soft his lips were and how perfectly they melded with her own. She hummed against his mouth in happiness, her chest light and unburdened.

"So, what do you want to do first? Math or chemistry?" Mike asked her when he leaned back, indicating with his thumb their backpacks which they both knew were packed to the brim with homework. El sighed internally, why were teachers so cruel? It wasn't enough that they spent hours on end in school, why did they have to take work home too?!

El watched her boyfriend for a moment, taking in those sharp cheek bones, the beautiful freckles that graced his nose and upper cheeks, his beautiful expressive dark eyes and to die for hair. "Well, we could do Math first…or chemistry." She reasoned before her lips turned into a cheeky smile and her eyes became mischievous. "Or…we could make out first?"

El looked on with amusement as Mike's eyes widened, his mouth gaped and he cleared his throat. "Y-yeah…making out sounds like a good plan. A great plan in fact." He said nervously, his hands already twitching.

She gave in first, wrapping her arms around Mike's neck and pulling him closer. Their lips crashed together, their kiss vibrant and passionate. Mike's lips quickly persuaded El's mouth to open and then his tongue was seeking hers, them both stroking each other as the heat and tension of the moment started to rise.

Mike's arms which had been embracing her, moved so that his hands were now on her legs, holding onto her jeans firmly and moving her legs so that they wrapped around his waist, pulling him in even closer to her. This was a new position for them, usually they just kissed standing up or that one time in the fort, but this was making El feel, well…tingly!

She could feel that heat, the same heat she'd felt in the fort coming back to her. It dipped low in her stomach and made her clench her thighs tighter against Mike's waist, causing him to groan into her mouth. The sound made El gasp as she realised how much she loved that noise from him and how much she craved to hear it again.

El's hands worked their way into his hair, his amazingly soft luscious hair. She gripped it slightly, bringing his face even closer to hers, inhaling his natural scent that made her brain feel fuzzy. She kissed him more fiercely until they broke for air and Mike's lips moved to her jaw before dropping down to her neck. El panted and leaned her head back slightly, wanting to give Mike more access to her tender skin.

His hands were making circles on her thighs whilst his lips teased her neck. El gulped suddenly nervous, but not the bad kind of nervous, the stop your heart butterflies' kind of nervous. She knew this could lead somewhere if she wanted it to.

El shivered breathlessly as Mike's lips seemed to worship every inch of her neck, his hot tongue stroking her skin, his breath causing goose bumps and for the fire in her belly to sink lower and lower, until she knew exactly what her body wanted. She knew it couldn't happen of course. They weren't ready for that big step, but god El was enjoying taking every step in between.

She didn't know where it came from, but El had a sudden desire to tell Mike to bite her neck. She'd seen vampire movies before but this was different, she didn't know why but she just knew she wanted him to nibble at her skin, El had a feeling it would be just as pleasurable as his tongue.

When she was just getting the confidence to ask, El heard the sound of her dad's truck pulling up. Mike seemed to hear it too as he jumped back from her and exclaimed, "shit!" His eyes terrified and El realised why when she looked down at his pants and saw the large bulge there. It made her feel even more turned on which didn't help the situation at all.

"Shit! Can you stall him?" Mike asked in a panic. "Or I could go for a shower? Shit I can't shower here! How obvious would that be!" Mike said, barely making any sense as he paced.

"Just go to the bathroom. And do what you need to do to c-calm down." El said feeling suddenly embarrassed herself. She knew this had to happen to Mike sometimes but they had never actually discussed it.

"El I can't do that here! With him in the house!" Mike said mortified, his cheeks bright red.

El started getting impatient, not particularly wanting her dad to walk into the house where her boyfriend had a very obvious erection either. "Just go to the bathroom! Do whatever! Just go!" She almost shouted at him.

Mike nodded numbly and ran to the bathroom, she heard the tap turn on, not fully understanding the different methods men used to ease erections. She rubbed her forehead in apprehension with her hand and ran over to the couch, grabbing textbooks out of hers and Mike's bags and then sitting down, in what she hoped was an innocent manner.

There was a knock on the door, the special knock. El opened the door immediately for her dad, not wanting to cause any suspicion and pretended to be reading her chemistry textbook avidly.

"Hey kid, it's a KFC bucket tonight as I've been quite busy today so didn't want to be stuck at the supermarket." Her dad said as soon as he entered. El observed that he didn't look stressed despite his busy day, in fact he looked bouncy and happy. It was unsettling.

"Why were you busy?" she asked with genuine curiosity as he moved to the kitchen to put down the bucket. El immediately blushed knowing he was stood where her indiscretion with Mike had just taken place.

"Oh, you know, just busy being the chief and all." Hopper said nonchalantly, a little blush playing on his own cheeks. "Will Wheeler be wanting any of this?" he said changing the subject as he took plates out of the cupboard.

Hopper looked around with a suspicious frown when El didn't answer. "Where is Wheeler?"

"He's…he's in the bathroom." El said clearing her throat and coming over to her dad to help him set the table.

"He's been in the bathroom all this time?" Hopper asked looking rather disgusted as he put the plates on the table.

El found herself starting to panic, "it was mystery meat day in school." She blurted out, knowing full well that Mike always brought a packed lunch in on mystery meat day. But if it saved his skin from Hopper's wrath, she was more than happy to pretend he had a stomach bug.

Hopper grimaced and shuddered, "mystery meat day. I can't believe that shit is still going on. It's probably the same carcass from my days."

El couldn't help but laugh and found herself calming down slightly. "I'm sure he'll have some chicken though." She said knowing that Mike was probably starving and wouldn't want to miss out because of his made-up sickness.

Mercifully Mike chose this moment to come out of the bathroom. He had a slight sweat on his brow and his eyes were rather wide, but otherwise he looked presentable. El had a quiet sigh of relief but decided to speak before her dad could rat them out. "I was telling dad you were in the bathroom because of the mystery meat you had at lunch." She told him, her eyes slightly wide too as she hoped he'd go along with her white lie.

Mike stared at her for a moment in confusion but then El could pinpoint the moment the cogs in his brain caught up. "Oh yeah! Mystery meat. Geez…never again." He said pretend chuckling as he walked over to them. "Hi chief," he said awkwardly to Hopper.

"Wheeler." Her dad said as if that was a decent greeting. "Want some chicken? I got enough for you too seeing as I assumed you'd be here." He said with what El could tell was only fake annoyance and not the real deal.

"Thank you," Mike said rather surprised at the offer. The three of them sat around the table and Hopper asked about their days, commenting here and there about teachers he had heard of. "Mrs Brooks…damn she was a bitch."

The conversation steered away from school eventually and Hopper looked up at El from his chicken. "So kid, listen up. It's your birthday a week on Saturday and seeing as we missed it last year, I want to throw you a proper birthday party." He told her seriously.

El frowned. The words birthday party not meaning much to her, which Mike seemed to pick up on. "It's a celebration of your birthday El. So there's usually music, food, a special cake and presents." He said smiling at her.

"Presents?" El asked intrigued. She thought back to the wonderful gifts she got last year from Hopper and Mike when they told her about her birthday.

"Yeah presents. And you can get yourself a new dress too and invite people to your party. I was talking to Joyce about it today and we're thinking of renting the community hall. So it would give us enough space to hire you a DJ who play music for you all night to dance to." He told her, despite his normal stature, he was finding it hard to contain the grin on his face.

El was ecstatic. Things like new dress, music, dance and inviting people she loved sticking out to her. "Yes, can we have a party?! Please." She asked, already dreaming of her perfect dress.

Hopper chuckled, "of course kid. That's what I'm suggesting. Now I know you're happy to go ahead, I'll give Joyce a ring and we can start putting things in place." He told her, giving her a grin before biting into his chicken.

El's eyes were alive with excitement and all the possibilities that a party would give. She turned to Mike to see he was already staring at her, a similar look in his eyes too. El reached for his hand under the table and gave it a loving squeeze. A real birthday party, just for her! She couldn't wait.

November 1989

Mike wandered slowly down the main street of Hawkins with Will, staring aimlessly at the shop windows feeling deflated.

"What about a dress?" Will suggested.

"No. I'd probably chose the worst one by mistake and she'd hate it." Mike said sighing.

"What about a Princess Leia figurine or something? Seeing as she was Leia for Halloween." Will said with a bit more enthusiasm.

"No. I just want to get her something special. Really special." Mike said with meaning as he turned to look at Will, hoping he'd understand.

Even before Hopper had announced that he wanted to throw El a birthday party, Mike had already been obsessing over what to buy her. Last year he had bought her a super com, which had been more of a necessity than a special gift. It meant he got to speak to her every night before they went to sleep, but it didn't stand out. Mike wanted her to have something to show off, something to be proud of.

"Sorry Mike, I'm out of ideas." Will said slightly deflated. Mike was thankful for his best friend coming along on this failing shopping trip with him. He never would have asked Lucas and Dustin because they would have just embarrassed him. Lucas would have told him to man up and just pick something and Dustin would have suggested he do something intimate for El for her birthday.

Mike's cheeks immediately blushed as he thought back to his make out session with El earlier on in the week. It had been intense and he cringed thinking back to how she had seen him get so excited over her. He had to use a combination of the freezing faucet in the bathroom and the image of Hopper and the demogorgon to calm himself down. It was definitely something he didn't want to repeat. He'd have to pick his make out timings better next time. He couldn't help but smile bashfully to himself knowing there probably was going to be a next time though.

The boys carried on walking for a minute before Mike spotted a shop across the road and gasped with relief. "That's it!" He said happily, tugging Will's arm to indicate he wanted to cross the road. He almost ran to the shop, Will running to keep up with him.

"A jeweller's? Oh my god, please don't tell me you're going to propose." Will said half joking and half serious. Everyone with eyes could see how utterly in love Mike was with El. And he knew people wouldn't be surprised if he did actually propose to his girlfriend.

Mike chuckled, "no. Well…not yet anyway." He said shrugging before stepping into the shop. He smiled to himself as he heard Will gasp at his words. There are certain things you just know about the world, things that are never going to change. And Mike was absolutely certain that one day he would make El his wife, and that his love for her would never change, only intensify if that was even possible.

They poured over the jewellery whilst Will made a suggestion here and there. "What about earrings?" He said pointing out a pair of pink and white diamante studs. Mike actually laughed out loud at the suggestion. "Will, El doesn't have her ears pierced." He said feeling amused.

Will chuckled, "oh, didn't realise..."

"How did you not notice?" Mike asked in surprise.

"Well excuse me for not staring at El's ears!" Will teased Mike shoving his shoulder slightly.

Mike scoffed, "I don't stare at her ears if that's what you're insinuating." He said playfully although they both knew that wasn't true. He had stared at El so much he could draw her from memory if needed.

Will gave a dignified silence which told Mike he didn't believe a word of what he was saying and both boys just grinned as they carried on their search for the perfect gift.

Mike walked over to another cabinet that was floor length with necklaces hanging off a tree ornament. His dark eyes flashed over it, trying to take in each different piece of jewellery so he didn't miss the one. One silver chain moved slightly as if a breeze was pushing it and Mike gasped realising this was it.

He stared at the necklace and felt his heart race with excitement as he imagined El wearing it. It was a silver heart locket that had a clasp meaning it opened up. On the heart was a little pink diamond that was currently sparkling and appeasing Mike to buy it. El's favourite colour was pink and she had told him her dress for the party was going to be pink too. The heart was perfect. El had his heart from the moment he met her and this would be a nice representation of that.

"Seen something you like?" The old gentleman who owned the shop asked, walking over to Mike with a warm smile.

"Yes sir. That one. Could I see it please?" Mike said enthusiastically, pointing to the locket whilst Will hearing the conversation came over to his side.

"Yes of course." The man said in a friendly tone as he pulled out a set of multiple keys and unlocked the cabinet, carefully lifting out the locket and handing it gently to Mike.

Mike held it like it was the most precious thing in the world, as if it was El. He marvelled in the beauty of it and the sparkling pink diamond. "This is perfect," he breathed staring at the locket with wide eyes.

"For a special girl?" the shop owner asked with a grin.

Mike looked up at him and blushed knowing that Will was smirking. "A very special girl."

"Would you like to get the locket engraved then?" The man asked as they all walked over to the till.

This hadn't even occurred to Mike and he felt immediately stupid considering how El had engraved his leather bracelet that he proudly wore every day. "Yes please." He said immediately, not caring about the price. Mike had been saving up for El's birthday ever since he bought the super com last year. He had been doing extra chores at home and cleaning the cars as often as he could to make some extra money. There was one time when Dustin helped him purposely dirty up his parents' cars with mud so he could offer to clean them.

The owner of the shop whose name tag said "Larry" had put on a pair of glasses and offered his palm out to Mike so he could give him back the necklace which he reluctantly did.

"Right son, what would you like engraved?" Larry asked.

Mike was very thankful that Will chose this moment to wander off to the back of the store to give him some privacy. He thought about what he wanted on the back of the locket. His immediate thought was 'promise' but Mike already had plans about what item of jewellery he wanted 'promise' inscribed onto, and it definitely wasn't something he could afford yet.

He wanted it to say something important, something that if El was ever scared or upset, she could just look at her locket and know that Mike was with her, that she was adored and cherished by him. "Can you please put 'I love you El'?" he asked tentatively.

Larry nodded and smiled. "Of course. Now how are you spelling El? Elle? Or just El?" Mike told him the simple spelling and the shop owner explained he'd have the necklace ready and boxed for him to pick up tomorrow. Mike paid the $200 not even feeling fazed by the cost, El was worth every single penny.

"I'm glad that's done now." Will said relieved when they left the shop together.

"Are you joking? That was the easy part!" Mike said stunned at his best friend's words.

Will gaped, "what do you mean?" he asked nervously.

"We've got to go clothes shopping now." Mike said, sighing at the utter horror of his own words.

"No!" Will groaned in defeat. "Anything but that." He said rubbing his forehead tiredly.

"I know and I'm sorry. But Will I need your help! Mom said everyone is dressing up for the party and that includes all of us. Well, she said I need to look really good because I'm the birthday girl's boyfriend." Mike said nervously, never having felt so anxious about what he was going to have to wear before.

Will sighed, "so are we talking suits?"

"Yeah." Mike sighed. "And apparently I need to get a tie to match El's dress. Apparently it's pink. That shouldn't be too hard to find I guess." He added shrugging indifferently.

10 minutes later…

"Are you shitting me?!" Mike gasped, his eyes wide as he stared at 20 different shades of pink ties.

"Twenty different shades of pink?" Will said hoarsely.

"Why the fuck does Hawkins, the shittest, smallest town in America needs twenty shades of pink ties?!" Mike cursed in shocked. He had honestly thought picking the tie was going to be the easiest part of the entire trip.

"Well what kind of pink is El wearing?" Will asked, his face still shocked from their discovery.

"I-I don't know! She just said pink!" Mike said starting to panic again. It would be just his luck to pick the completely wrong shade of pink and ruin the whole party. El's first party. He couldn't cope with this pressure. "Screw this," Mike finally breathed out. "If mom wants me to look so damn good, I'll have her pick the tie. She can find out the shade of pink I need herself." He said defiantly.

Mike did however pick his suit, not wanting his mom to have complete control. He found a nice black suit which came with a white shirt and that was good enough for him and he was sure it would be good enough for El who never seemed to mind what he wore. Mike took a deep breath as he stared at himself in the full-length mirror. He was 6 foot 1 now and even though he was very lanky, swimming was definitely helping him to get more of a tone. Mike was slowly starting to feel more confident in his body, especially now that the stupid voice cracks had mercifully stopped.

Will and Mike finally left the shop an hour later with their tired arms laden with bags. "I honestly don't understand how girls enjoy this…" Will said drained.

Mike nodded in agreement feeling exhausted, but Will's words put a sudden thought in his mind. "Hey, how did everything go with Jen yesterday on your date? Did you ask her?" He asked with interest.

Will immediately blushed and a knowing smile crept onto his lips. "Well…we're kind of a thing now. I asked her to be my girlfriend." He said happily.

"Will that's awesome news! Why didn't you say earlier?" Mike asked feeling incredibly excited for his best friend who deserved happiness after everything he had been through. Jen seemed to give him that happiness and that was all Mike could ask. Well that and also that Will didn't tell Jen Eleven's secret.

"I don't know, I just wanted to kind of process it myself. I can't believe that me, zombie boy is worthy of a girl like Jennifer Hayes." Will said shaking his head in disbelief.

Mike rolled his eyes, "come on Will. You are worthy of Jen. And she said yes, so she clearly thinks so too." He said with what he hoped was encouragement.

Will grinned, "thanks man. So am I good to invite Jen to El's party?" he asked with hope.

Mike couldn't help but chuckle. "Dude, El's already invited her today and she said yes. You know my girlfriend, ever the persistent one." He said grinning to himself as he thought about the excitement El had over this party. Mike truly hoped it would be as special as she wanted and needed it to be.

El awoke on her 15th birthday to the smell of Eggos. She smiled to herself, breathing in her second favourite smell. Her most favourite smell was of course essence of Mike, nothing made her feel safer or happier than that. But Eggos were always a good substitute to get her out of bed. But it seemed that today the Eggos were coming to her.

"Good morning birthday girl!" Hopper said in a surprisingly chirpy voice as he entered El's bedroom holding a tray. On the tray was an Eggo extravaganza complete with whipped cream and candy, a glass of orange juice, a birthday card and a small wrapped present.

El immediately sat up with excited wide eyes as Hopper placed the tray on her lap and bent down to give her a warm kiss on the cheek that made her beam. "Thanks dad," She said sighing in contentment as she looked down at the tray.

Hopper sat at the edge of her bed with a smile. "It's up to you kid. You can open your present first or eat your breakfast." He said kindly.

El of course went straight for the present, ripping off the wrapping paper and revealing a jewellery box. She opened the box and gasped. Inside was a silver charm with a small hook on it in the shape of a waffle, of an Eggo to be exact.

"Look on the back of it kid," Hopper said smiling in amusement at the look on El's face. She turned the charm over and burst out laughing. He had inscribed the smooth side with "don't be stupid".

"Just a little reminder for you." He teased before adding, "I noticed how Wheeler had found himself onto your bracelet, so I thought it was only fair I got a place too." He smiled.

El moved the tray to the side and lunged forward, pulling Hopper in for a bone crushing hug. "Thanks dad, I love it. And I love you." She said feeling oddly emotional at the embrace.

"You're welcome El. I love you too." Hopper said through a very choked voice before he cleared his throat. "Don't forget to open your card and eat your breakfast." He added taking a deep breath and pretending to rub at his eyes when really he was wiping away tears.

El grinned at him lovingly and then opened the daughter birthday card he had bought her. Her first ever birthday card. She read it to herself feeling overwhelmed once more by his sentimental words about her being the best thing to happen to him since Sara. She hoped he knew that as well as Mike and the party, Hopper was the best thing to have ever happened to her since her escape from the lab.

Hopper stayed sat on El's bed whilst he told her the plans for the day as she tucked into her Eggos. "I'll take you over to the Byer's house at 2pm. And then me, Joyce and the kids are going to go to the community hall to get it ready for you. I'll come back for you at 6.45." He said hoping she was taking this all in whilst she feasted on her extravaganza.

"So Max and Nancy are definitely coming over right?" Hopper added, clearly nervous about her being left alone at the Byer's house on her own, on her birthday.

El nodded through a mouthful of Eggo and swallowed before answering. "Yes. Nancy is driving Max over at 2.30pm and then we're going to all get ready together. Nancy is going to do my hair and make-up." She said eagerly, already jumping with excitement at the thought of getting dressed up. Her beautiful dress was already at Joyce's where she had steamed it for El. She couldn't wait to wear it, she truly felt like a princess.

Hopper took her plate away 5 minutes late and started the dishes when there was an eager knock at the front door. El knew who it was already and apparently her dad did too.

"Seriously Wheeler, ever heard of a lie in? Or a lazy Saturday morning?" He said opening the door to his daughter's boyfriend who was looking anxious, excited and terrified at the same time. El knew the fear would just be caused from the daunting image of a grumpy Hopper.

Mike seemed to bite down his fear as he replied sarcastically, "you really think I can sleep in when it's my girlfriend's birthday?!" He scoffed.

Hopper rolled his eyes, "well my daughter is still in her pyjamas."

"It doesn't matter dad!" El shouted, rushing into the living room and beaming at Mike who was stood at the door holding something large covered in a sheet.

"El," he breathed relieved, walking through the open door without a second look at Hopper who just huffed and closed the front door.

Mike put the covered thing down, leaning it against the back of the couch before striding up to El and pulling her into a hug. "Happy birthday! You have no idea how good it feels to say that to you…" he mused, his face obscured by her curls where he nestled his head happily.

El felt her heart tremble with happiness as she snuggled into Mike, smelling his gorgeous scent, a mixture of his body wash, fabric conditioner and an earthy smell like fresh grass. She breathed it into her lungs, never getting enough of it.

"Thanks Mike," she sighed happily, holding him tighter, her smile so wide it pained her cheeks. Mike finally pulled away just enough to look at her face. He reached up and pulled a loose curl behind her ear as he looked at her pyjamas with warm eyes.

"You look so cute," he said with a bright smile that made El grin even more, when she didn't think that was even possible but he made anything possible. She was wearing his old AV middle school t-shirt that was starting to get a bit tight for her now, especially around the bust area, a pair of flannel pyjama bottoms and fluffy white slippers.

Hopper coughed loudly, "hello?" he said exasperatedly as if trying to remind them both that he was still stood there.

"Yeah hi," Mike said dismissively not even acknowledging him and keeping his eyes on El. His smile returning the moment the words had come out of his mouth as he took El in with a radiating warmth in his eyes that was contagious.

"Jesus Wheeler when did you start biting back?" Hopper said half surprised and half annoyed that the boy was starting to become less scared of him and more indifferent. He clearly didn't like the idea of the boy, the teenage boy not abiding by his rules. "Hey El, why don't you show your boyfriend your new charm? He could learn a thing or two from it." Hopper muttered before adding, "I'm going for a shower."

When her dad wandered off to the bathroom, El giggled and showed Mike the Eggo charm and the writing on the back. "Don't be stupid," Mike read out before rolling his eyes. "Only he would do that." He said exasperated.

Mike's dark eyes went to the locked bathroom door for a moment and then flickered quickly back to El, pulling her immediately into a tight embrace again. He lay his forehead against hers and sighed in contentment.

"Hey," he said in a dreamy voice, their eyes connected once more.

"Hi," El said equally as star struck as she stared at the most beautiful and the most handsome human being there had ever lived. "Thanks for coming over Mike."

"Are you kidding?! I want to spend every moment of today with you." He said with eagerness before sighing in frustration. "I just wish I didn't have to go set up later with everyone. I want to be with you instead." He whined.

El giggled at his pouty tone. "But you need to make sure everything looks good. And who knows me better than you?" she told him calmly, watching his eyes closely, every reaction and sparkle in them captivating her.

Mike smirked, "no pressure then." He mumbled teasingly making them both chuckle before El leaned up on her tip toes and pressed their lips together.

It was a chaste kiss but it was full of love and adoration for one another. When El slowly pulled back she smiled warmly at her boyfriend. "I trust you Mike, I know you'll do a great job. You know I'll love it no matter what." She told him seriously. El had never had a birthday party before, so except for her soap operas, she didn't know what to expect. But she trusted Mike, Hopper, Joyce and all her friends entirely and she knew that they would be putting in every effort to make it a good party and that was all that mattered.

"So are you ready for your first present?" Mike asked, his eyebrow raising with amusement when he saw the excitement in El's eyes. She nodded eagerly, assuming he was going for the thing by the couch. But instead Mike walked over to the front door, opened it and took something that had been obscured from her view.

When Mike turned around El gasped as she looked at the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. Her bouquet of flowers. The only bouquet she had ever had in her life. She had no idea what flowers were what but she did recognise roses and saw a lot of them in the display.

"Mike they're beautiful," she swooned as he brought them over to her with a winning smile.

"Not as beautiful as you. But I'm glad you like them." He said honestly making El beam even more at his compliment. What did I do to deserve him? She pondered to herself.

"I love them." El corrected Mike, taking the flowers from him and smelling them contently. Feeling completely happy and peaceful in that moment. She leaned up giving Mike another grateful kiss before getting a vase out of the bottom cupboard and filling it with water like she had seen on her soap operas. But mainly in the soaps they were throwing the full vase at someone. She definitely wouldn't be doing that today.

"Let's put them in my bedroom," El said happily, holding onto the vase. With that statement Mike's eyes went over to the item hidden by the sheet.

"Speaking of your bedroom, you might want to look at this present next." He said unable to hide a grin as El put the vase on the kitchen top and walked eagerly over to the object that she was so curious about.

She whipped the sheet off and gaped at what she saw staring back at her. She heard about this kind of thing in art class. It was a collage. A big beautiful collage filled with photos, the most wonderful memories El had experienced with the party. The collage had been decorated with pink paper and there was silver glitter here and there to break up the photos and little cut out love hearts. The photos were the best though. There were ones from when they went to the lake, the quarry, Halloween, messing around in the AV room and photos from the Snow Ball, of the whole gang pulling silly faces for Jonathan and then the one of just El and Mike. Not to mention the one of them dressed up as Princess Leia and Han Solo whilst El kissed Mike's cheek.

"Nancy helped me to organise it…" Mike said rather self consciously that El looked away from the collage board to look at him.

"How did you even get it here?" El asked amazed, unable to imagine how Mike could possibly bike with the collage and the flowers.

"Mom dropped me off. I know it means I've got to walk home but I don't care." Mike answered simply. "I just know your room is still bare and I thought you might like this on your wall. To think of all the good times, even when you're here alone." Mike added in almost a whisper as if he was now suddenly embarrassed by what he had created.

El was feeling a very different emotion to embarrassment. She jumped at Mike and he just about caught her, stumbling back slightly. Her arms wrapped around his neck whilst her legs wrapped around his waist.

She had happy tears running down her cheeks as she kissed his forehead, his cheeks, his nose and then finally his lips. "I love it…so much…and I love you…sooo much!" she almost squealed, showering him with affection whilst he chuckled at her outburst.

"I love you too. Forever." Mike said giving her an eskimo kiss, his grin making her heart burst with millions of butterflies.

"Forever." El exhaled, kissing his lips again, wanting to show him how much she loved him and appreciated every special thing he did for her. His lips were so soft against her own, they moved gently on each other's before Mike finally pulled away.

He looked sheepish from their kissing and from how he held El to his body. "I think we should probably not start making out when your dad could come out of the bathroom at any time." He said weakly, slowly putting El's legs back down on the ground.

Mike laughed slightly, "I wouldn't want to be disinvited to your party tonight." He said grinning.

El giggled and shook her head, "I'd never let that happen." She promised him. Her eyes went back to her collage board and she smiled brightly, turning back to her perfect boyfriend. "Will you help me put it up?"

"Of course."

"And after the flowers, he gave me the collage board. It's so beautiful Max!" El cooed, filling her best friend in on her morning whilst Nancy had started on her hair.

"Jesus, who knew Wheeler could be so lovey dovey?" Max said shaking her head from where she was sat straddled onto the back of a chair and watching El's hair be pinned into an elegant bun.

"I couldn't believe it when he came to me for help over that board." Nancy said smiling. "He like came up with the idea all by himself which stunned me the most."

Whilst Mike being romantic was new to Nancy and Max, it certainly wasn't new to El. She couldn't stop the ecstatic grin that had been plastered on her face from this morning. Mike and her dad had truly given her the best start to her birthday she couldn't have ever asked for.

"Mike says he has another present for me too, but he doesn't want to give it to me until tonight." El told the girls, wondering to herself what it could be.

"Ew that sounds gross!" Max scoffed.

"No, I don't think it's like that!" El blushed whilst Nancy cringed.

"It better not be. You've only just turned 15." Nancy said, her voice raised slightly in a panic.

"It won't be like that." El assured Nancy and Max. She knew Mike through and through and if he was planning on them making love that night, she was positive he wouldn't have been as confident as he was this morning about giving her the final present at the party. There's no way it was going to happen. After all, weren't those things meant to take place in private?

"Nancy how old were you when you lost your virginity?" El suddenly blurted out. When Nancy gaped and Max cringed, she worried she had said the wrong thing. "Sorry. Is that something people don't discuss with each other?" El whispered feeling embarrassed.

Nancy laughed gently and shook her head, "no it's okay. I mean you don't really talk to just anyone about it. But you two aren't just anyone." She said looking at both girls.

"I lost my virginity when I was 16…to Steve." Nancy said quietly as she continued pinning El's hair.

There was silence for a moment as El took in this piece of information. "And…do you regret it? Because you love Jonathan now?" She asked softly, genuinely unsure how this affected or didn't affect her relationship with Will's older brother.

Nancy seemed to ponder this question for a moment as if trying to think of the right words. El and even Max stayed quiet, both intrigued as to what she would say. "No, I don't regret it. I was…well I thought I was in love with Steve at the time. And he was gentle with me. I wouldn't say it was something I regret." She admitted.

"You know, what you and Mike, and even what you Max and Lucas have is very special. El I don't think you realise how rare it is to find your soulmate at your age." Nancy said smiling at both girls.

"Oh please, stalker isn't my soul mate." Max said rolling her eyes. El and Nancy both gave her a pointed look. "Okay maybe he is. But don't tell him that, I wouldn't want his head to get even bigger!"

The girls all laughed before Nancy continued to speak. "But just because they are your soul mates and you love them, doesn't mean you have to rush into having sex with them…okay?"

"We know," El and Max said in unison both exchanging amused grins over their synchronisation.

"Now let's stop talking about boys and get ready!" Nancy said loudly, smiling at the girls warmly.

Max turned on the radio in Joyce's room where they were getting ready and they all started to sing along to A-ha. El tapped her feet, Nancy was shaking her hips will twisting El's bun and Max was dancing around the room gathering up bits and bobs she needed to straighten her hair. They all burst out laughing when they tried to sing the high note in Take on Me and failed miserably.

El watched Max's wavy hair become a straight mane of red, it was so stunning. If she could have anything of her best friends it would be her hair and definitely her boobs. The girls had recently gone underwear shopping and Max had gone up by a cup size much to El's envy. She had only gone from a 32 B to a 34 B, but she guessed it was some progress. El had never worried about her bust size or anything to do with her body until she started reading Nancy's magazines that she lent her. The girls in the magazines were so perfect, with perfect bodies and perfect looks. El envied them too.

"I'll be right back," Max said wandering out of the room whilst Nancy and El continued to listen to the radio and sing along to Madonna. Max re-entered the room looking smug but didn't say anything, just carried on with her make up.

The radio presenter's voice filled the room as Madonna's Crazy For You started to drift away. "And our next song has been requested by Max Mayfield for her best friend El Hopper. El we all wish you a happy 15th birthday!" El's jaw dropped as she looked at her best friend's smirking face when her favourite song Girls Just Want to Have Fun started to play.

"This is so cool! Thank you!" El gasped, unable to believe the Hawkins radio station had played a song just for her and that Max had thought to ring up and request it.

"Way to go Max!" Nancy grinned, letting El go from her hold on the chair so that they could all dance in the bedroom. The song had already started but the girls carried on singing the lyrics, El singing into the hair brush. "Oh daddy dear you know you're still number one, but girls they wanna have fun! Oh girls they wanna have fun!"

The afternoon continued with as much energy and enthusiasm as the girls sang and danced around as they got ready. Nancy was ready first and wearing a red dress with thin spaghetti straps and a black net under the skirt to lift it out. She looked very beautiful but it was Max who stunned El. She just stopped and stared at her best friend with awe.

Max was wearing a royal blue tea length dress, which had thick sleeves off the shoulder and pleats in the long skirt. With her long red hair and a small amount of make up, she looked mesmerising. "Wow Max, you look incredible!" El gaped.

Max rolled her eyes but did a little twirl. "I hope you know how much of a big deal this is. I've literally never worn a dress before. So this is a rare treat." She teased.

Nancy and El both laughed but still continued to stare at her in amazement. "Okay, you're both creeping me out now. Come on El let's see you in your dress." Max said with impatience.

When El was finally dressed, had her heels on, her hair done and her make up, she stepped out into the living room where Max and Nancy were waiting for her. They both gaped speechlessly for a while, their eyes wide as they stared at El. She started to worry something was wrong but then they finally spoke.

"You. Look. Unbelievably beautiful!" Max gasped.

"My brother is going to have a heart attack." Nancy said, her eyes still wide.

Mike wished more than anything he could be spending all of El's birthday with her and not a very stressed Hopper, Joyce and his mom who were all barking orders like there was no tomorrow.

Hopper was helping the DJ set up, Joyce was on decoration duty with Will and Jonathan, Lucas and Dustin had the dull job of putting white clothes on the tables and tying pink ribbons onto the chairs, whilst Mike was stuck with his mom sorting out the buffett table.

"Help me bring the cake in from the car Michael," his mom said beckoning him to the entrance of the community hall.

He had to admit that his mom had done a great job on the food, which was her main present to El, having paid for all the treats and drinks. Mike helped his mom bring in the tiered cake which had a silver 15 stuck in the top of it and then candles surrounding the lower tier. What Mike loved the most was the cupcakes his mom had made with little waffles on top of the frosting which had been his suggestion.

"I'm happy to get this all organised if you want to move onto the present table," His mum said distractedly as she started to arrange the cupcakes around the main tiered cake. Mike nodded and went over to the entrance hall where everyone had put their wrapped gifts. He carried them, one after the other to a table next to the buffet and started arranging them as best as he could. Mike took the wrapped necklace box out of his pocket and for a moment was going to add it to the pile when he changed his mind and put it back into the suit jacket he was wearing. He wanted to try and give El the present alone. He didn't want Hopper's prying eyes over him at what he hoped would be a special moment.

When Mike had finished with the gift table he joined Lucas and Dustin who were squabbling about the best way to unfold one of the white sheets. "Just do it like Joyce showed us." Lucas said through clenched teeth.

"Well my way is quicker!" Dustin bite back.

"Guys it's a sheet." Mike told them flatly.

"Yeah it's just a sheet. Like the tenth million sheet we've opened." Dustin grumbled.

Mike sighed, "look I'll do it." He offered wanting everything to be absolutely perfect for El.

Lucas and Dustin shook their heads, "no dude. You don't know the order." Lucas said in a tone that was almost identical to Mike's mom when she was telling him what to do. Mike huffed and left them to it, but kept glancing over now and again to make sure they were actually doing their job.

Mike joined Will and Joyce and helped to put streamers on the ceiling as he was the tallest and could reach with relative ease. He did this for a while until Hopper called him over from where he was stood with the DJ. Mike hesitantly walked up to chief wondering what he wanted.

"Have you got El's playlist?" Hopper asked getting straight to the point.

"Ah, yes…" Mike said as he rummaged in his pants pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper El had written a few days ago. He handed it over to the DJ who nodded as he looked over El's song choices.

"Yeah I've got all of this." The DJ commented more to himself as he started to rifle through his equipment.

"Good," Hopper sighed before turning to Mike with narrowed eyes. Mike looked back at him, thinking it was a very odd sight to see the chief of police in a suit. He imagined Hopper was thinking he looked just as weird in a suit as well.

"So when you dance with my daughter tonight Wheeler. I want you to remember something." He said gruffly.

"What is that?" Mike said almost sighing with exasperation.

"The 3 foot rule."

"Huh?" Mike answered in confusion. What was that supposed to mean?

"The 3 foot rule. I want a 3 foot distance between you and El at all times when dancing." Hopper warned making Mike's cheeks flush.

"Fine." He muttered although he didn't promise anything. Hopper wasn't going to stop him from getting close to his girlfriend, if she was technically his daughter or not. She had been Mike's first and always would be. They both knew it and that was one of the reason why they still had a tension between them. Mike knew that one day that tension would come to a head, but it wasn't today.

Thankfully Hopper left an hour later to go and collect El, Max and Nancy. Mike watched on as guests started to arrive. He was amazed by the amount of people El knew, having only been in high school for 2 months. He noticed two girls from El's sports team, Darcy and Maggie he thought they were called anyway. Jen walked in a little while later and made a bee line for Will who was grinning widely at her. Mike smirked to himself as he watched them hug and kiss whilst Joyce perked up from the other side of the room and watched too. He looked away and saw Melissa rush in and jump at Dustin. He sniggered to himself knowing that Dustin and Melissa had a strange relationship. One second they were arguing and the next second they were making out. Mike hoped they wouldn't make a scene tonight, he wanted it to be all about El.

It was then that Mike noticed two women who looked like El, especially the one who was pushing a wheelchair because her hair was exactly like his girlfriends. A knot instantly formed in his stomach when he looked at the woman in the wheelchair who had a dazed expression and he realised with a stab of emotion that it was El's mom.

"Oh man…is that El's mom?" Lucas said beside him, his voice choked with the same emotion Mike was feeling.

Without another second of doubt, Mike walked over to greet them. He wanted to see the woman who had given life to the most important person in his whole world. The woman who had never given up on El, who had basically given her life to try and save El's. This woman already meant so much to Mike, he respected her more than he could even begin to explain.

Mike finally took his eyes off El's mom to look at the woman pushing the wheelchair. "Are you Becky? El's…I mean Jane's aunt?" he asked as soon as he reached her, giving her what he hoped was a warm smile despite the nerves he felt for meeting El's biological family.

The woman looked at him in surprise for a moment but then smiled slightly, "yes I am. And I'm going to guess your Jane's boyfriend Mike?"

Mike felt himself immediately blush but he couldn't stop his stupid grin from being called El's boyfriend. Yes he knew that he was, but hearing it again just reminded him how lucky he was. "Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you. To meet you both." He said politely, before turning his eyes onto El's mom.

Becky sighed, "you too Mike. Well…this is Terry, Jane's momma." She said indicating the worn-out blonde in the chair. She looked ahead, her eyes unfocused as she muttered incoherent words to herself. Mike felt his heart clench in pain, for Terry, for Becky and mostly for El. This woman didn't deserve this, Becky and El didn't deserve it. She should be smiling and excited to see her daughter celebrate her 15th birthday. But in reality, this was the day that El had been taken from Terry and things had changed forever.

Mike gulped nervously and knelt down in front of Terry, so he was eye level. He knew that she wasn't looking at him but he found himself holding her cold hand. "Terry it's really nice to meet you. I'm Mike…El- Jane's boyfriend. I just…I just want you to know that I love her very much. And I'll do everything I possibly can to give her the best life, to make her happy. I promise." He said seriously, not caring about declaring his love to the mother of his girlfriend the moment he met her. Terry and Becky needed to know how serious he was about making El happy, for what he hoped would be forever.

He hadn't expected any reaction and started to look back up at Becky who choked, "that's very sweet Mike." It was in that moment that he felt Terry's hand squeeze his hand ever so slightly. Mike gaped and looked back at the blonde woman. She still had a vacant expression but he knew what he felt, that she was happy that her daughter was happy, that she was safe. Mike found himself wanting to cry, trying to supress the emotion as best as he could but feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the love that he knew Terry held for El.

"We best get seated before Jane arrives," Becky said clearly seeing that he was starting to well up.

Mike cleared his throat and gave Becky a smile, standing up and guiding her to the table where El was going to be sitting. He offered to get Becky and Terry a drink and wandered off to the buffet table which his mom was handling.

"Michael what's wrong?" Karen immediately asked the moment she noticed the look on Mike's face. He said nothing, walking around the long table and embracing his mom the second he got close to her.

He sniffed, glad that the room was packed and no one was particularly paying attention to him and his mom. She stroked his hair gently as he laid his head against her chest and took a deep breath, feeling a childish warmth for being close to his mother, feeling safe. "Nothing…I just…I love you mom. I hope you know that." He said in a shaky voice.

Karen gave him a tighter squeeze and kissed his head of dark curls. "I love you too Michael. I always will." She said emotionally, unsure where this sudden reaction from her son had come from, but enjoying the moment, holding him like he was her little boy once again and not a young man.

"They're here!" Joyce voice suddenly resounded around the room and Mike eagerly pulled away from his mom making Karen laugh. She quickly wiped his tears away with her thumbs whilst holding his face. "There. Perfect." She said brightly appraising him.

Mike smiled, already feeling better. "Thanks mom." He said gratefully, before walking with her to join the crowd of party guests who had made a bit of a circle for El's entrance. He felt nervous all over again and drummed his fingers on his thigh, he was jumpy and staring at the entrance with wide eyes.

Hopper walked in first and Mike was surprised to see that his eyes look red despite how much he was trying to hide it. The chief saw Joyce and grinned, stepping away from the entrance.

And then she was there. And all of the air left Mike's lungs, all worries, nerves and fears completely left his body. He didn't even see Nancy or Max, despite how loud Lucas gasped next to him when he saw his girlfriend, gaping like a fish.

All Mike could see was El and in that moment, all she could see was him. She was wearing the prettiest dress he had ever seen. The silver bodice was sleeveless and encrusted with thousands of sequins making it sparkle a thousand times over anytime it caught the light. Her skirt was baby pink, the same shade as Mike's tie and it had a satin pink belt around the middle and sequins dotting the tulle skirt here and there. It was perfect and reminded Mike of the first time he saw El in a dress, a dress that had been the exact same shade of pink.

Any time El walks into a room Mike thinks he can't get any more breathless, but then she proves him wrong. He knew he had to look ridiculous right about now but he had no control over his emotions let alone his facial expression. From the way he could take in more of the stunning view in front of him, he'd guess that his eyes were pretty wide right about now, and from the way his jaw hurt, he would imagine that his mouth had dropped open dramatically.

Mike didn't even realise people were singing Happy Birthday to El as means of a greeting. All he could do was stare at the girl, soon to be woman, who was his whole world. His future. He didn't think he'd ever seen her look so incredible and he honestly had no idea how he would survive seeing her at future proms, homecoming…god let alone their wedding day!

When the singing stopped Mike had to come to his senses pretty quickly as El rushed at him and wrapped her arms around his neck holding him tightly. He realised he had a big dreamy smile on his face as he pulled her closer to him, feeling the encrusted sequins against his hands on her back. Mike leaned back slightly to continue staring at El.

He looked at her elegant bun, twisted beautifully with little curls delicately having escaped the bun hanging gracefully. She had put on a bit of make-up and whilst Mike told her she didn't need it, the mascara made her hazel eyes even more expressive tonight, framing them beautifully.

"You look…you look…I'm…totally speechless." Mike gasped before laughing with El. She grinned up at him, the warmth of her smile reaching her eyes within seconds. "You look so handsome." She swooned, her eyes moving down to his suit whilst Mike went immediately hot.

He was determined to tell her how beautiful she looked, but even beautiful didn't seem good enough. "El you look perfect. So beautiful, so outstandingly beautiful that I can't even think of a word!" he said chuckling at his complete foolishness. But El didn't seem to mind, clearly the look on his face told her everything she needed to know.

"I love you," she told him, every word laced with adoration.

Mike beamed and he was almost sure he could fly if he wanted to, he felt so weightless in that moment. "I love you too."

El sighed happily and leaned up to press a soft kiss to his lips. It was in that moment that Mike remembered there was other people there, a lot of people who all suddenly clapped and cheered the couple. Except for Hopper who rolled his eyes, but even he couldn't hide the amused smirk on his face.

"Are you going to let her say hello to her other guests Wheeler?" Hopper teased over the clapping making some people laugh. Mike went bright red and nodded, letting go of El so she could go around hugging and greeting people. He remembered that he had offered to get a drink for Becky and Terry, and so distracted himself with this task. No matter what though, he still felt calm and suddenly free of all burdens, now that El was here, he felt like he could get through anything.

El had never felt so happy and overwhelmed in her whole life as she hugged and greeted all the people that meant something to her, that made her a better person. She looked at the room with wonder, taking in the beautiful decorations, the music playing, the lights making shapes on the dance floor and the amazing cake she could see dominating the food table. She was still reeling from seeing Mike in his suit and she chanced a glance at him. He was stood by the buffet table filling two cups, looking so perfect.

The crowd dispersed slightly and El gasped, feeling herself well with emotion when she saw who else had made it to her party. El took off almost at a run to the table, amazingly not falling over in her silver heels.

"Momma!" she almost shrieked with happiness as she fell down onto her knees in front of her mother and embraced her, pulling her closer and lying her head on Terry's thin shoulder.

"You look beautiful Jane," El heard Becky beam and she felt her hand on her shoulder, giving her a little squeeze. El turned her head still on Terry's shoulder so she could look up at her Aunt who looked very pretty in smart pants and a nice red top.

"Thank you Becky. And thank you for bringing momma." El sniffed, desperately trying to bite back her tears. She finally got up from her knees and hugged her Aunt who held her close for a moment. "You're welcome sweetie," she sighed equally as choked.

"Here's your drinks Becky," came Mike's voice surprising El. She was surprised mainly because he already seemed familiar with her family. He gave El a bright smile as he handed the cups to Becky who thanked him.

Mike moved his hand to the small of El's back and she loved his touch, feeling peace and warmth spread through his hand and into her body, keeping her going through this difficult moment. He remained by her side when Becky handed El her gifts, saying she wanted to explain the presents to her.

The first thing El pulled out of the gift bag was a brown teddy bear, she had seen it once before and held it close to her chest, feeling her heart be stabbed by nostalgia. Becky's voice was shaky as she spoke, "as you know…that bear is from your n-nursery. I wanted you to have it with you seeing as Terry bought it for you."

El sniffed again and was thankful for Mike being with her in this moment. He said nothing but rubbed her back gently in little circles. Despite the party, the noise, people laughing and dancing and eating, this moment was special and somewhat intimate.

"Thank you, Becky. This means so much to me." El gasped, trying to regain her composure. She smiled looking at the bear. "I'll name her Terry." She muttered thinking of how Terry the bear could join her teddy off Hopper named Eggo and the teddy she had off Mike named Love Bug.

El took a deep breath before opening a perfect boxed present that was also in the gift bag. She gasped when she looked at the jewellery box. When she opened the lid, it had a beautiful ballerina, just like the one in Nancy's bedroom.

"That belonged to Terry when she was a girl. I know she'd want you to have it." Becky said, now wiping at tears that had fallen when her niece opened the present. El couldn't hold back her tears either and hugged her aunt, hoping her gratefulness could be filled into the embrace, that Becky would know how much this meant to her. She leaned down and kissed her momma on the cheek. Feeling the most complete she had ever felt. All in one room she had her family, her whole family.

After the emotions of the moment, El gathered Dustin, Lucas, Max and Will and introduced them proudly to her momma and her aunt. She could tell that they were surprised that she had invited them over to share in this moment but they were all polite to Becky and gave her momma warm smiles, that didn't quite reach their eyes. El knew how they were feeling, it didn't need to be explained. Mike kept his arm around El's shoulders in support, and she felt like she could just melt into his comforting arms if she wanted to.

A few songs came on that she really wanted to dance to, so she headed to the dance floor with Max, Darcy, Maggie, Jen and Melissa and they all jumped around and sang to Madonna's Get Into the Groove whilst the boys stuffed their faces with food.

When the song finished, El felt Mike's hands on her waist and she turned to him with a loving smile. "Can we go outside for a minute?" he asked her, having to almost shout into her ear over the music. El nodded eagerly and took his hand.

Mike looked on edge as he guided them out of the vibrant hall and into the slightly chilly November air. He sat down on the steps and El joined him, their hands still entwined for a moment, both of their eyes on their laced fingers.

"Are you having a good time?" Mike asked El quietly, slowly looking up at her face. She couldn't stop from smiling at him, god he is absolutely perfect.

"The best time." She answered. The party had been everything she wanted and more. She didn't realise the happiness she would feel from having all the people she loved in the same room. The only person really missing was Kali. El made a mental note that she would try and reach out to her in the void that night once she was home and in bed.

Mike exhaled nervously and took his hand out of El's grasp so he could reach for his pocket. "I wanted to give you your present, alone." He said swallowing anxiously as he pulled out a medium sized box and handed it tentatively to El.

El looked at the box eagerly and as soon as it was in her hands she couldn't stop herself from ripping the gift paper right off it. She realised it was a jewellery box, with the name of the jewellers written in gold italics on top of the box.

With shaky hands, she lifted the lid and gasped loudly at what she found inside. It was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. "This is…for me?" El asked in awe, her eyes still on the shiny heart locket with the beautiful pink diamond.

Mike chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders, "of course it's for you!" He smiled and then bit his lip nervously, "open it." He whispered.

El tried to breathe through the next wave of emotions that were daring to break lose as she picked up the locket with delicate fingers and opened the clasp. She laughed in emotional delight as a photo of her and Mike was within the locket. It was one he had taken with his camera that he got for his birthday. It had been an awkward angle but the first photo they had ever taken together. Mike kissing her cheek whilst she giggled, that memory forever frozen in the image.

"You might want to look at the back too." Mike coughed through his thick voice.

She slowly turned the locket around and felt her eyes widen with happy surprise at the message she found. Mike mimicked the words written on the back of the necklace by turning to look at her. "I love you El." He gasped, clearing his throat again. "I just wanted it to be special for you. I want you to always know I love you…no matter what."

El couldn't hold it in any longer, still clutching the necklace, she held onto Mike for dear life. Grasping at his arms before moving her hands behind his neck and crying into his chest. "You're the best. I love you s-so much." She sniffed whilst Mike rubbed her back and kissed her forehead.

Once Mike had put the necklace on for El, they shared a beautiful moment, just the two of them like they had originally wanted. The sound of the music from inside of the hall like a warm melody as they clung to each other, listening to the other's heartbeat, breathing in their scents, the feeling of home being so apparent.

Well that was until Nancy came outside and almost shrieked at Mike for "ruining El's make -up". She took El to the bathroom to touch up her make up whilst Mike shook his head in amusement and went back inside.

Once Nancy was happy that El's mascara had been fixed, El found her boyfriend once more and dragged him onto the dance floor whilst Every Breath You Take started to play. He held her close, both of them ignoring Hopper who shouted from across the dance floor, "I said 3 FEET WHEELER!"

El leaned her head on his chest and watched the sites around them as Mike's chin rested on top of her curls. They danced in a small circle as El took in the moments around her, wanting to remember it all forever. Jonathan was going around snapping photos here and there, he had taken photos of El with her momma and Becky which she couldn't wait to frame. Lucas was dancing with Max and still looked at his girlfriend like a fish out of water at how stunning she looked in her dress. Every once in a while, El would giggle when she heard Max exclaim, "oh for heaven's sake stalker! It's a dress! Get over it!"

Dustin was laughing in a corner with Steve about something whilst Melissa shot him glares for being ignored because "dad Steve" was there. Holly was sneaking another cup cake, Will was dancing shyly with Jen and her dad and Joyce were sat with Becky and her momma. They had to be talking about something nice because her dad actually laughed warmly, his arm around Joyce. She was holding onto his arm with her hand and stroking it gently. El smiled to herself wondering when they would finally admit that they were dating. The song Forever Young began playing and she sighed contently and looked up at the cause of her happiness.

Mike was staring down at her, his dark eyes full of love. She snuggled closer to him, her chin on his chest for a moment as she gazed at him. No words needed to be said as she leaned up and kissed him, feeling her heart swell with happiness. El had always had a lot of uncertainly and fear in her life, but in this very moment everything was perfect. She would remember this feeling forever.

Early December 1989

"Are you sure this is safe?" El asked Max nervously. Both girls sat on her bed, their legs straight out in front of them.

"Yeah totally! So now we've applied the wax, we just need to attach the strip." Max said brightly.

El frowned but did as she was told, mimicking Max who had placed a wax strip down on her leg and rubbed it on. They stared at their wax strip for a moment as if expecting magic to happen. "Er… so what happens now?" El asked tentatively.

Max picked up the copy of Seventeen magazine she had been using as their guide. "Erm… it says to 'remove your wax strip quickly in the opposite direction to hair growth and as close to the skin as possible'."

El sighed, right, okay that doesn't sound too bad. She reasoned to herself.

"On the count of three. One, two, three – holy shit!" Max shrieked.

"Shit!" El exclaimed for the first time in her life as she ripped the wax strip off.

Max turned to her with a look of surprise, unsure if El's cursing or the shock of how waxing felt had stunned her more. Both girls burst out laughing.

"How on earth are we going to do the rest?!" El said panicking through her nervous laughter.

Max grabbed the magazine again as if hoping it would have the answer. "It's got to get better! It must just hurt on the first one." She reasoned hopefully.

El bit her lip and tried to agree. She put the wooden stick in the pot of warm wax and bravely stroked it onto her leg once more. Max took a deep breath and followed suit. They patted down their wax strip in the direction of their hair growth.

"We can totally do this." El said trying to psych them up.

"Absolutely!" Max agreed with determination. The girls looked at each other with fierce eyes before nodding and ripping the strip off their legs.

"Shit!" They both grimaced in unison.

El huffed, "let's just trying and get it done as quickly as possible." Max nodded, through her watering eyes. The girls continued putting on the wax and ripping it off their legs, both yelping and cursing along the way.

The last bit to do was by their ankles. "We're almost there." El panted, her forehead slightly sweaty from the apprehension that waxing caused.

"I…I heard this part of the ankle can be a bit sensitive." Max said her voice trembling slightly. El gaped at her, never having seen her best friend this apprehensive before. It only made El's anxiety double.

"We're almost there. Just this one." El reminded Max, trying to keep it together.

Max nodded sheepishly and they applied their wax once more and hesitantly slapped on the strip. "Ready?" El said turning to the red head.

"Yes, let's get it over with." Max said, her jaw tightening. Both girls yanked at their strips and pulled them back quickly.

"SHIT!" Max and El screamed.

There was a bang in the corridor and Hopper came running into El's bedroom, her door hitting the wall loudly at the force in which the chief had slammed it open.

"What the hell is going on?!" He asked panicked, his hand on his gun.

El and Max looked at each other and then back at Hopper, before they erupted into laughter. Tears running down El's cheeks as she couldn't stop giggling.

Her dad on the other hand looked horrified. "I said, what the hell is going on?! Why were you screaming? Why were you cursing?"

El sobered enough from her laughter to answer her dad. She wiped at her tears as she caught her breath. "We were waxing our legs."

Hopper's terrified face turned to one of annoyance and exasperation. He didn't talk for a long time and Max and El lost their smiles, wondering if they were in trouble.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his noise. "First of all, El you shouldn't be cursing ever. Where did you even learn that? And second of all… why do you even need to wax your legs?" he asked frustrated.

"Because we are getting hairy legs. Why else?" Max said in a dead pan voice.

Hopper glared at her slightly, "I wasn't talking to you Maxine Mayfield." Max narrowed her eyes at him for getting the full name treatment but didn't say anything, even know El knew her best friend was probably biting her tongue right now.

El sighed and looked at her dad. "Max is right. We are starting to get hairy legs, and according to my magazine girls don't have hairy legs." She conceded.

"That's bull." Hopper said plainly but it was Max who snorted in response. "And have you dated a girl with hairy legs chief?" She questioned.

Hopper blushed which was a rare site. "Well no… but I mean when girls are in a relationship for a while, sometimes they don't even care about shaving as often." He said in defence before huffing with exasperation that he was even entertaining her question. "Anyway, that doesn't matter! The point is that you shouldn't try to be like the girls in the magazines. Either of you." He told them sternly.

"I know Dad. That's what Marty said." El answered, remembering when she had asked her boyfriend if she should dye her hair blonde because there was so many pretty girls in the magazines who were blonde. Marty's dark eyes had widened almost in anger that the magazine had tried to brain wash her. He ripped the magazine out of her hand and told her something about photo shopping and how El was more beautiful than any of those girls and didn't need to change. She hadn't understood the whole photo shop concept, but she had certainly understood Marty's love for her and it made her heart tremble.

"Finally. Something I can actually agree on with Wheeler." Hopper said rolling his eyes. "But what about this whole cursing? Hmm? Where has that come from?"

El shrugged, "From Dustin and from… you." She knew she'd probably get in trouble for being sassy with her dad, but it was the truth. El constantly heard her dad cursing, especially when it was early in the morning or anytime Marty knocked on the front door.

Hopper glared at her, clearly not having any defence as he obviously knew she was right. "Well I'm an old man El, I'm allowed to curse. You're a young lady and you shouldn't be cursing."

"What so Dustin is allowed to curse because he's a guy, but El can't because she's 'a young lady'?" Max asked, her eyebrow raised. "How sexist…" she muttered.

El bit her lip and watched her dad's face turn red. Uh oh. Hopper seemed to take a deep breath, a very deep breath before he spoke again. "I am not sexist. Dustin shouldn't be cursing either but I'm not his parent. El you're my daughter and I don't want you cursing. Understand?" he said trying desperately to keep his composure and not be overruled by two sassy teenagers.

"Yes, I understand. Sorry Dad." El finally sighed.

"Good." Hopper said giving her a little nod of his head, finally glad that the moment of anger had passed. He looked at both of the girls and shook his head in amusement. "Geez girls, I can't wait for you lot, and I mean the boys too, to grow out of these mood swings. It's giving me grey hairs."

Max rolled her eyes, "Well we've finished waxing now anyway. So you won't be hearing anymore cursing from us tonight."

Hopper looked over at the wax pot and laughed gently. "Come on… was it really that bad?" he asked them playfully.

"Yes!" El argued.

When Hopper snorted, Max narrowed her eyes. "It was that bad! Why don't you try it?" She goaded him.

He raised his eyebrow at Max, "I don't think so Mayfield."

"Are you scared?" Max said teasing him whilst El's eyes widened and she looked between her dad and her best friend. It was like clash of the titans.

Hopper stood up a bit taller and crossed his arms. "No, I'm not scared!"

"Well, try it out then." Max said gesturing to the wax with an evil grin on her face.

"Don't be ridiculous." Hopper huffed, ready to leave the room.

"Chicken," Max muttered under her breath. Her shit eating grin unable to be removed from her face when she saw the look in Hopper's eyes that told her she had won.

"Fine! One strip to the leg." He said frustrated, walking over to the bed in three strides and hiking up his trouser leg, putting his foot on the bed.

El watched in stunned silence as Max happily dipped the wooden stick into the wax, putting on a generous amount of wax onto the centre of Hopper's very hairy leg. She placed on the wax strip, smoothed it down and looked back up at the chief.

"Ready?" she asked him playfully, her eyebrow raised with amusement.

"Yes." He said through gritted teeth.

Without further ado Max ripped off the wax strip and El heard a sound come from her dad's mouth that she had never heard before in her entire life. It was half way between a scream and a whimper, coupled with a "Holy fuck!" in a high-pitched voice. El couldn't help but burst out laughing with Max whilst Hopper looked at them both with deepest loathing.

"Yeah, yeah very funny." He said wincing as he rubbed at his leg and almost hoped out of the room.

"Next time remember to exfoliate beforehand!" Max shouted to him between high pitched laughing.

"And next time Maxine, remember that I can put you behind bars for assault!" He called back angrily only making the girls giggle louder.

Once the laughter died down, Max turned to El with an amused smile. "Next time, we shave!" El grinned and nodded in agreement.

"No, no, no!" Dustin shouted.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Marty exclaimed as Dustin's knight met his tragic end in Dragon's Lair. He had finally beaten his score which was a massive deal to Marty who usually ranked behind Max, Dustin and Lucas.

"Yeah well enjoy your short victory Marty because when my girlfriend is back, she'll beat your ass." Lucas said grinning, leaning against the game machine.

"Well it's a good thing she's having a sleepover with my girlfriend then." Marty chuckled.

At that moment, Princess Daphne came up on the screen and Dustin sighed. "Damn isn't she so hot?!" His eyes went dreamy for a moment.

"Dustin… she's a game character." Will said rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, she's a gorgeous, blonde hair, big boobs game character!" Dustin said with excitement in his eyes that made Marty go red.

"I doubt Melissa would agree…" he said nudging Dustin slightly in the shoulder but his friend only chuckled.

"Oh, come on! It's natural to find other people attractive. Even game characters. It's not cheating." Dustin said rolling his eyes with exasperation at his friends.

"I guess not." Lucas said shrugging, which earned a glare from Marty that Dustin picked up on.

"Marty, you can't tell me that you no longer find Princess Leia attractive? She was your dream girl for years." He said defiantly.

Marty felt his cheeks burn. "Yes, I found her attractive. But not now…" he lied. Yes of course he still found Princess Leia attractive, as if he'd ever forget her in the gold bikini! But now in his dreams there was another girl wearing that gold bikini. A stunningly beautiful brunette with hazel eyes, the warmest smile and a very sexy body…

"Earth to Marty? See I told you, you still drool over her." Dustin said as if proving a point by Marty's far off dopey look.

Marty quickly wiped his mouth and tried to think of anything but El to calm himself down. He instead jumped back into this heated discussion. "So what if I think Princess Leia is pretty? And I guess it's okay if you find Princess Daphne attractive. But I don't find other girls, real girls attractive." He reasoned.

"Me neither." Will added in, much to Marty's relief.

Lucas fidgeted and then nodded, "Yeah me neither."

Dustin rolled his eyes, "You're all liars. I'm not saying I'm going to cheat on Melissa but I'm just saying it's normal to find other people attractive too."

"It's not like Max and El are all that innocent." Dustin added with a scoff.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marty said hotly, Lucas nodded with a glare as well. Both of them staring at their curly best friend, waiting for an explanation.

Dustin laughed, "Well Max is obsessed with Prince and do you remember that time El was in Anne's room and we had to drag her out because she just stopped and stared at that George Michael poster? She totally thought he was hot!"

Marty felt his cheeks heat up again and he wanted nothing more than to storm off home and rip down that poster of stupid George Michael. He exhaled out his jealously, "So what if she did think he's hot? It doesn't matter." Marty finally said.

Dustin hit the palm of his hand to his forehead as if his friends were dumb and they should have realised by now. "That's my whole point! It's okay to think other people are hot! Shit… you guys are total idiots sometimes." Dustin rolled his eyes with amusement whilst Lucas playfully shoved him.

Thankfully the topic didn't come up again whilst they were in the arcade but Marty found himself looking at other girls, trying to see if there was anything that attracted him to them. But there was nothing. Not one thing. When he looked at other girls, which was extremely rare, he only noticed how they were different from El. She truly was the only girl for him, and he could never even picture himself with someone else, nor would he ever want to.

Marty smiled to himself thinking that this whole situation was thankfully over, but of course it wasn't. It was brought right back up by the arrival of Scott Harrington.

"What up children?" He shouted, walking over to them whilst a few older girls smiled at him and whispered behind their hands to their friends.

"Hey Dad!" Dustin, Lucas and Will shouted to him as a greeting. Marty just gave him a nod of acknowledgment. Whilst his friends saw Scott as a father figure, Marty just couldn't. It wasn't to do with Scott personally, he had definitely proved himself. It was more to do with the fact that the walls in his house were thin and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Scott and Anne had definitely had sex before. He shivered slightly even thinking about it. So yes, there was no way Scott could be a dad to Marty, it felt like incest otherwise.

"You guys are going to freak about what I've gotten you!" Scott said, his eyes wide with enthusiasm as he reached into a black plastic bag. "I even got one each for you all!"

Marty raised his eyebrows with nerves and curiosity. The things Steve would get for them definitely differed. There were the cool things like r rated movies that they couldn't watch in the movie theatre because they weren't old enough and then there were bad things like alcohol. Okay it had been cool at the time when they all got to have their first taste of beer, but it soon became a very stressful situation when it made Will throw up and they had to lie to a very tense Joyce about what was wrong with him, saying it was food poisoning from the school cafeteria, which probably wouldn't have been that untrue considering the meals that the high school served.

"What is it?" Dustin asked eagerly.

Scott wriggled his eyebrows mischievously and then pulled out four copies of Playboy.

"Woah!" Lucas said stunned, his eyes wide.

"Holy shit this is amazing!" Dustin gaped reaching for one of the magazines.

Will and Marty both looked at each other, rather repulsed. "Seriously Scott?" Marty asked cringing.

Scott laughed, "Yes seriously! Wheeler you're 15 now. This is all part of your journey to manhood." He said eagerly, forcing a magazine into Marty's hands.

Marty felt his cheeks go red hot when he looked at the cover to see a girl half dressed. He looked back up at Scott with anger. "I don't want this," he said forcing the magazine back at Scott.

"Hey! That's a gift!" Scott said looking hurt. "Consider it an early Christmas present." He chuckled.

"I mean… I guess it's not the worst present." Lucas mumbled shyly, stuffing the magazine into his back pack. Marty glared at him as if he had betrayed him.

"Oh don't give me that look Marty!" Lucas scoffed. "This might ease… I don't know… some of my tensions." He almost whispered, his cheeks blushed as he looked at the stained grubby carpet of the arcade.

"He's right man." Scott said nodding at Marty. "You guys all have girlfriends now, right? I remember being your age. You're bound to want to do things with them. It's only natural, it's like hormonal. But you're all still a bit young for that, so these magazines are a perfect substitute." He said simply looking at them all.

Dustin and Lucas had already put theirs into their back packs but Marty and Will were still holding theirs. Scott noticed and laughed, "Er… guys? If you're gonna use them or not, you might want to put them away before people notice that you're holding Playboy. You wouldn't want it getting back to your girls right?"

Marty and Will immediately stuffed the magazines in their bags panicked at the idea of someone recognising them and noticing what they were holding. Marty would die before this got back to El.

"So now I've given you your presents, what are we playing?" Scott asked eagerly looking at the machines. Everything seemed to go back to normal thankfully whilst Lucas took his turn on Dragon's Lair. Marty however felt like there was something burning in his backpack and he kept glancing at it sheepishly. He huffed quietly and concentrated on the game. There was no way he was going to use that magazine. No way he told himself sternly.

Hopper had let El pull the television into her bedroom and she sat on the bed with Max, stuffing popcorn into her mouth whilst watching Grease with awe. This was her first experience of a musical film and it was fantastic. El was mesmerised by the singing and dance routines.

"I can't believe this is your first time watching Grease." Max said shaking her head in amazement.

"This is my first time watching any movie with singing in it!" El gasped, her eyes still wide as she watched Sandy singing by the paddling pool.

Max turned to El, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Hang on… does this mean you've never seen a Disney movie?" she said quietly.

"No." El said honestly, making Max gasp.

"Holy shit! We need to change that asap. I can't believe this…" The red head gulped shaking her head in astonishment. She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. "You know I blame Wheeler for this. He only wants to show you sci-fi stuff." Max added rolling her eyes.

El looked at her best friend with genuine interest. She hadn't even considered the thought of there being different types of movies until now. It was exciting to think of what she might get to watch next.

The girls went back to watching Grease and El got completely captivated by the whole story. She was engrossed and when she looked at Danny, she blushed thinking of another dark haired handsome boy. "I think Marty would look really good in a leather jacket like that…" El said quietly, not realising for a moment she had said her thoughts out loud until Max burst out laughing.

"Oh my god! Marty Zuko! I can see it now." Max teased, wiping her tears away as she continued to chuckle to herself.

El rolled her eyes in amusement, a habit she had picked up from her best friend. She bit her lip and appeared to carry on watching the film but really her mind was far away. El couldn't stop thinking about Marty, that wasn't new but recently she was thinking about him differently. Almost all of the time.

It had begun last week when El stopped by Marty's swim team practise. She had sat in the stands and watched her boyfriend swimming competitively. El had expected to feel happy and proud watching Marty, she had not expected however to feel utterly turned on by watching him. The way he swam ferociously, his shoulder blades strong, his arms toned as he owned the water, his legs long and lean and his ass… wow.

El had immediately felt her throat become dry, a heat burning deep inside of her as she sat breathlessly, completely entranced by Marty. He completely captured her eyes, her heart, her whole body. She gulped nervously, looking at his strong arms, wanting them around her, wanting him to touch her. What didn't help her heightened sense of arousal was when Marty got out of the pool. He flicked his hair out of his eyes, it fell back gracefully whilst water dripped down his long body. El didn't even realise that her mouth had been hanging open until Marty had looked over at her and waved making her grin like an idiot whilst her heart skipped a beat. She had it bad, really bad.

"Max?" El suddenly blurted out. Her heart racing as she came out of her day dream.

"Yeah?" Max asked distracted by the movie, munching on popcorn.

"Do you remember when we were shopping for Marty's birthday present and I asked you about sex?"

"Yes…" Max said hesitantly, turning to El so she realised she had her full attention.

"And you said that there was other… things we could do that didn't involve sex? You said we could talk about it at some point?" El asked nervously.

"You… you want to talk about it now?" Max asked apprehensively, her blue eyes wide.

El nodded quickly. "Yes." She said breathlessly.

Max sighed, "El… I want to tell you these things. But I can't help but think I'd be a shit friend if I told you everything and then you went and did them with Wheeler, only to find you hadn't been ready for them." She explained anxiously.

El frowned taking in Max's words. She appreciated Max wanting to protect her, but she also felt slightly frustrated how everyone seemed to treat her like a baby at times. She wasn't a little girl anymore, she wanted to start exploring. And who better to explore with then Marty?

"Max, I want to know these things. Every time I see Marty now… I want to just do stuff with him. I don't even know what, it's just like a feeling…" El admitted to the red head's surprise. She immediately felt awkward by the look on Max's face and worried that what she said wasn't appropriate. "Sorry Max… was that – "

"No it's fine El. There's nothing wrong with how you're feeling, okay? I… well I feel the same with Lucas." Max admitted giving El a timid smile.

"You do?" El asked in relief. Finally, someone else to sympathise with.

"Totally." Max grinned. "Like he's so sexy and I just want to do everything with him." She sighed.

"Then why don't you?" El said with enthusiasm, crossing her legs so she could sit up properly, ready for her lesson.

Max laughed, "Because we've not really had the opportunity. I mean we've done a few things…"

"Tell me." El almost begged. She was sick and tired of not knowing how to explore all of these overwhelming feelings she felt for Marty.

"Okay El..." Max said taking a breath and crossing her legs too. She turned towards her and gave her a determined look. "I'm going to tell you all about foreplay, that's all the stuff you can do together. And then I'll tell you about the stuff you can… do by yourself when Marty isn't around."

"Stuff by myself?" El asked amazed.

"Yep. It's called masturbation..."

Marty felt oddly on edge when he got home from the arcade. He was thankful that dinner was almost done when he got into the house and he distracted himself by eating, cleaning the dishes and then playing with Holly for a while. He tried to distract himself from the fact that he hadn't seen El today despite it being Saturday. She had been spending the day with Max and then having a sleepover. He knew he was pathetic to miss her even though he saw her all week in school. But he missed her terribly.

He finally took himself off to his room and chucked his backpack on the bed. He fiddled his thumbs for a moment thinking what he could do to ease his boredom as he wasn't ready for bed just yet. Marty supposed he could get started on his biology homework and so unzipped his bag, reaching for his textbook.

His fingers froze when he noticed the Playboy still tucked into the back pack. He scrunched his nose looking at it, he really should have just chucked it in the trash on the way home. That didn't stop Marty's fingers from reaching for it and he pulled it out of his bag.

Marty looked down at the magazine, guilt rushing through his veins. He chucked it back on the bed and huffed to himself in exasperation. He grabbed his biology textbook and went over to his desk, starting his homework. Marty only lasted about 10 minutes before he found his eyes going over to the magazine on the bed.

He sighed and bit his lip, getting up from the desk and locking his bedroom door. Marty paced his room for a moment and ran a hand through his hair. It's not like you're cheating on her. A voice sprang up in his head, it was very much like the devil because then the angel popped up too. You don't need that magazine. It's disrespectful to women… it's disrespectful to El! Marty stopped pacing and shut his eyes for a moment trying to decide what to do. The devil was back again, isn't it better to get your sexual frustrations out on that magazine rather than on El? Making her do something she isn't ready for? "Goddamnit," Marty grumbled knowing that the devil had won.

Marty grabbed his tissue box from the top of his desk and wandered over to his bed, lying down and taking a deep breath before reaching for the magazine. He opened it and started to flick through the pages, trying to find an image that turned him on. If he was honest he looked at these women just like he looked at other girls, none of them are El. None of them are as beautiful, pretty, smart or sexy as El.

Yes he was a teenage boy and staring at the images of breasts definitely started to make him stiffen, but he didn't think he'd honestly be able to climax because of these photos. Marty frowned unsure what to do. He turned his head to the side and found himself staring at the framed photo on his bed side table. It was a recent photo from El's 14th birthday and it was a shot of just the two of them. Marty was stood behind El, his arms wrapped around her thin waist, his lips on her cheek as she grinned happily for the camera. He swallowed, feeling the heat start to peak in his belly when he looked at her.

Marty's pupils started to dilate as he imagined El in that pink dress again. He imagined pushing her up on a surface, his hand hiking up that same dress so her silken thighs came into view. He barely realised he had unzipped his jeans and pushed his boxers down but Marty's fingers found his rock-hard erection and his hand wrapped around it as he continued to stare at El, his imagination running wild.

He could see it in his mind as he started to pump his hardness. He could see her soft lips, almost feel them on his. Her breath mingling with his own, her chest heaving as they panted. Marty licked his lips and exhaled deeply, moving his hand quicker as he pictured running his hands up her thighs before gripping her ass and bringing her flush against his body, making her feel his erection against her hot core. Making her know just how badly he wanted her. How badly he wanted to take her and make her his forever.

A low groan escaped Marty's throat as he opened his eyes and stared at her picture again, looking at her stunning eyes and imagining them filled with lust as he grinded against her. Maybe even hooking his fingers into her panties and pulling them down her long legs. Marty felt beads of sweat on his forehead as he pumped faster, imagining her unzipping his pants with her soft fingers, pushing them down along with his boxers. Marty groaned a little louder as he pictured gripping her ass again and slowly closing the gap between them –

"Shit!" Marty yelped as he came hard. He convulsed slightly at the aftershocks and his head hit his pillow as he panted trying to catch his breath. He shakily reached for the tissues and cleaned himself up, throwing them in the trash and making a mental note to empty his bin before his mom got the chance.

He pulled his boxers back up and zipped up his jeans. Marty rubbed his hand over his forehead to remove the sweat and he looked up at the photo of El with a big grin on his face. I love you so much. He thought serenely to himself, the orgasmic euphoria making him feel light and happy.

Marty grabbed the Playboy and hurled it into the trash with a smirk. He didn't need some random girls to jack off to, not when he had the most beautiful girl in the world.

"Marty?"

He almost jumped out of his skin when El's voice suddenly appeared in his room. He looked around wildly for a moment, embarrassment flushing his cheeks as if he expected her to jump out of the closet and say she had been there the whole time.

"Marty do you copy?" Her voice called again.

Mike sighed in relief, his brain working once again as he realised her voice was coming from the super com and by the look of the clock, she was calling to say goodnight.

He quickly grabbed the super com off the bedside table with a smile. "Hey El, it's me." He said breathlessly, his heart already pounding.

"Hey!" She said excitedly and Marty raised an eyebrow, she certainly sounded happy about something.

"Have you been having a good day with Max?" He asked as kindly as possible. He didn't want his jealously of Max getting to spend the whole day with El to ruin his conversation with his girlfriend.

"Yeah it's been great! We waxed our legs and oh my god Marty, Max waxed Dad's leg! Well it was one strip but it totally counted. You should have seen his face." El giggled happily.

Marty was torn between smiling warmly at El's beautiful laugh and grimacing at the thought of Hopper having his leg waxed. How the hell had Hopper allowed that?!

"I'm guessing this was against his own will?" Marty asked playfully.

El laughed again and it sounded like a thousand angels singing to Marty's heart. "He pretended it didn't hurt but he screamed Marty. I don't think I'll ever forget it." She said chuckling, making him laugh too.

"So what have you been doing this evening?" Marty asked with interest, putting an arm behind his head to lift it slightly off the pillow.

"Oh this and that. We watched Grease, it's so good Marty!" El said avidly making Mike cringe. He wasn't really into Grease and now he suspected he was going to have to watch it a lot in his girlfriend's presence. It wasn't like he could say no to her. "And we… um… we had a good talk too…" El added in a voice that told Marty she had a smug smile on her face.

He raised his eyebrow with curiosity. "Oh yeah? What did you talk about?"

El giggled and it made Marty's softened erection start to twitch because her laugh had turned, well naughty. "I can't tell you that." She said playfully. "But maybe some time I can show you…" She whispered making Marty's eyes widen in surprise. Maybe she means something innocent, the angel reasoned.

"Yeah?" Marty asked sheepishly. "Oh yeah…" El said in a suggestive voice and Marty's erection immediately hardened. Holy shit she means something dirty!

Marty gulped nervously, "I-I'll look forward to it…" he said his voice cracking ridiculously and his hand holding the super com shaking violently.

"Me too." She sighed contently making Marty's eyes widen more and his fingers start to slowly reach for his erection again.

"Max is calling me so I best go. But I'll see you all tomorrow right?" El suddenly asked, her voice back to normal.

Marty was completely out of it, El had sent him to cloud nine and he didn't think he'd be able to focus properly again for hours. "Er… y-yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you El."

"I love you too Marty. Sweet dreams." She cut off the call and he hesitantly put the super com down, looking at his rock-hard erection with a smirk.

Oh he was definitely going to have sweet dreams…

Christmas Eve, 1989

"Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock!" Hopper sang along to the radio as he drove El to the town square where a large ice rink had been positioned for two weeks now.

El looked at her dad with a smirk. All of this Christmas stuff was completely new to her, but she could tell that it was a magical time of year considering Hopper's incredibly good mood despite the long shift he was working today.

"What a bright time, it's the right time to rock the night away…"

El tapped her fingers on her jeans and tried to move to the music not knowing the words like her dad did. She had experienced her first Christmas the year before, but she had not been able to leave the cabin, still in hiding and so things had been downplayed. El hadn't realised how big of an event Christmas even was until this year when she had seen the lights in the streets, had put up a Christmas tree in the living room and gone gift shopping for her nearest and dearest.

Karen had been stunned that El didn't know the true meaning of Christmas which Marty quickly explained to his mom was because she had a terrible upbringing before she was adopted. That wasn't exactly a lie. Karen had taken it upon herself to tell El all about Jesus and his birth. It had fascinated El, especially when she was told there was lots of different faiths. She didn't know what she believed in, but because of her powers and the things she had seen, El knew there was definitely something more to life, she just didn't know what.

"You okay there?" Hopper's voice suddenly made El jump out of her thoughts.

"Fine." She said giving him a warm smile. El was more than fine, she couldn't wait to meet up with the party at the ice rink. They had told her all about it before Christmas break from school and she was excited to give it a try.

"So remember that after you've been ice skating, you're going back to Wheeler's and I'll pick you up from there at 10pm. Okay?" Hopper said keeping his eyes on the road as he drove closer to town.

"Yes." El said unable to keep the excitement from her voice at the fact that she'd be able to spend time with Marty and his family. Her dad seemed to notice her enthusiasm and gave her a quick glance.

"Make sure you two don't end up alone in his room or something…" Hopper grumbled whilst El's cheeks blushed. After her sleepover with Max when she found out all about foreplay and all the exciting things she could do with Marty, she had been thinking about being alone with him a lot recently.

"We won't." She said evasively making sure not to promise anything.

When the town centre came into view, El broke out into a big smile, her eyes bright as she spotted the party sitting around a bench, all wrapped up in coats, scarves and hats. Her eyes went immediately to Marty who was looking so handsome in a long black coat and dark green beanie hat. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, he is stunning.

"Are you going to get out?" Hopper chuckled.

El didn't realise he had even stopped the car because she had been so entranced by staring at Marty. "Uh… yeah sorry. Bye Dad. I hope your shift goes well." She said quickly, giving Hopper a hug.

"Thanks kid. Have fun," Hopper said, his eyes twinkling with excitement for his daughter who was finally getting to experience everything she should have never had to miss out on in the first place.

El jumped out of the car and gave her dad one more wave before almost skipping over to the group. "El!" Will, Max and Dustin shouted in greeting. Lucas waved and Marty met her in the middle. His arms immediately captured her in a warm hug and she sighed happily against his chest.

"I missed you," He mumbled into her hair as he nuzzled his cheek in her curly locks.

El couldn't stop herself from grinning like a fool. "I missed you too… has my dad gone yet?" she asked in almost a whisper into his dark coat.

"Yeah he's gone. Why?"

She didn't speak but wrapped her arms around Marty's neck and brought him down for a kiss. El was always having to go on her tip toes to kiss her boyfriend now, but she didn't care. In a way she loved it, just like she loved everything about him. El felt Marty smile against her lips and then their mouths were moving together, like they had been made for each other.

"Okay I'm confused. I thought I paid to go ice skating, not watch the Marty and El make out show." Max said in a carrying voice whilst Dustin, Lucas and Will laughed.

Marty and El slowly broke their kiss and turned to their friends, scolding them for their teasing.

"Oh don't give us that look." Lucas said playfully.

"I swear when you two are together you're like one person." Will said rolling his eyes in amusement.

"Yeah instead of Marty and Eleven it's like… MILEVEN!" Dustin joked.

"Oh my god Dusty you genius! Mileven! Yep… that's your new name." Max said laughing as she pointed at a not very amused Marty and El.

"Let's just go ice skating. Okay?" Marty huffed, putting his arm around El whilst their friends continued to snigger.

Once the group had calmed down from repeatedly calling them Mileven, Max turned to El and handed her a pair of boots. "Here you go El, we got your ice skates before you got here."

El looked down at the shoes and felt her eyes immediately widen when she took in the sharp looking blades under the skates. She gulped and tentatively took the shoes from her red headed best friend. "Thank you…" She said timidly.

"Don't worry El, you'll be fine." Marty assured her, clearly having picked up on the look on her face. El looked at him, at his soothing smile and the way his eyes twinkled like stars. She took a deep breath and tried to believe him.

"Here, I'll put them on for you. Sit down." Marty said cheerfully indicating to the bench. El nodded, her face still frightened as she hesitantly sat on the bench next to Max who was now tying her own laces. Lucas, Will and Dustin all lumbered around putting their ice skates on too.

The moment Marty got down on one knee to take off El's shoe and replace it with an ice skate, their friends had to of course tease them again.

"Woah! Marty's already proposing!" Dustin jeered.

"I knew it! Do you not remember me saying on the second day that we had known El, that Marty loved her and wanted to marry her!" Lucas teased whilst tying his shoe lace.

El watched in surprise as Marty's cheeks immediately warmed up. "Shut up…" he warned the boys darkly.

"Is that true?" El couldn't help but ask her boyfriend. He looked up at her and the embarrassment was obvious in his eyes.

"I mean… yeah? Well Lucas said the way I looked at you, he could tell I had fallen in love with you." Marty said with a small shy grin that made El's heart leap with joy.

She beamed at him, feeling so light and happy at the thought that Marty had fallen in love with her when they had just met. If she was honest she didn't know the moment she had fallen in love with him because she had never understood what love meant. But she knew there was some magic between her and Marty from the moment they met. His warm and concerned eyes as he guided her from the woods, gave her his jacket whilst he tried to protect her from the onslaught of rain and cold weather. He had always been special.

"I love you," El exhaled, almost humming with love for her boyfriend.

Marty looked up from tying her lace, his eyes widened and crinkled from the big dopey grin on his face. "I love you too."

A few minutes later Marty had put his skates on as well and was helping El get up from the bench as she tried to get her balance right. "You okay?" he asked her seriously, his eyes darting all over her body as if trying to prevent a fall.

"Yes." She said as confidently as she could. This was the easy part, they weren't even on the ice yet. The sounds of people talking, laughing and falling had been hitting her ears now for the last 10 minutes and it only made her more apprehensive.

Marty looked up at her hair and frowned. "You don't have a hat." He stated concerned.

El smiled and shrugged, "It's fine. I'll be okay." Her boyfriend clearly didn't agree and a second later he removed his dark green beanie and placed it on El's curly hair, helping her to push it down correctly. "But now you'll be cold!" She couldn't help but whine.

Marty grinned and shook his head, "No I've got this head of floppy hair to keep me warm." He joked making her laugh warmly. "Keep it. Besides, I've got like twenty beanies at home." He admitted much to El's amusement.

"Ready to get on the ice Mileven?" Max taunted, giving them an evil grin from near the entrance to the ice rink.

Marty looked like he wanted to say something cutting in response, but El just squeezed his hand gently and spoke, "Yeah, we're ready." Besides she didn't actually mind their new nickname. The thought of being one entity with Marty sounded perfect.

El quickly learnt who was good at ice skating and who wasn't. Max was of course a pro. El didn't know if it was because of the skate boarding she did, but she had great balance and confidence on the ice. Lucas was terrible and constantly did the splits before falling onto his knees on the ice. Max would laugh and pick him up, causing him to hold onto her hips for dear life as she skated them around the rink.

El had no idea of Dustin's skills on the ice because he was too busy using his skills of flirting instead. Him and Melissa had broken up a week ago and he was currently chatting up a fellow freshman girl that El only briefly recognised. Will on the other hand wasn't too bad at ice skating and had met up with Jen. They skated holding hands and went slowly around the rink, only stumbling now and again.

But El and Marty? Well that was a completely different story. They were both hopeless, completely lacking any coordination or balance on the ice. El tried moving around the rink by holding onto the side, but when Marty would fall, because she was holding his hand, she would go down too. They would both laugh and moan and then try again.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Marty said with excitement.

El burst out laughing, "but we're not doing anything." She commented looking down at their feet. They were stood next to the edge, holding each other's hands with their skates firmly planted on the ice and not moving.

"Well, we're still stood up! That's a win in my book." Marty chuckled, his eyes so warm that El sighed contently, loving this innocent fun with her boyfriend and friends.

"Should we try moving again?" El asked anxiously, biting her lip.

Marty nodded, "yeah okay…" he said exhaling a nervous breath.

They released one joined hand and Marty tried to move so that he was next to El instead of in front of her. But the moment he moved, his long legs wobbled and he went flying bringing El down with him. She landed with her hands and chest against his torso knocking the wind out of him and her legs sprawled on the floor.

"Sorry!" She cringed trying to lift her upper body from his. Marty laughed despite the fact that she had clearly just wounded him.

"It's okay…" He said taking a deep breath. "I'm hardly going to be upset about having my girlfriend on top of me."

El and Marty both stared at each other for a moment with extremely wide eyes. "Er… d-did I just say that out loud?" He squeaked out, a sweat sweeping onto his brow.

After getting over the initial shock of his words, El giggled and nodded. "You did." She mused.

"Er… I've probably got concussion." He said quickly, averting his eyes from her playful smirk.

"Oh… so you don't want me on top of you?" El asked him as innocently as she could, enjoying teasing him.

His eyes went comically large. "O-Of course I do! I dream of having you on top of me! Oh shit. I mean… I mean…" He said desperately trying to get himself out of the hole he'd just dug himself into. El made it easy for him and leaned down, planting a firm kiss on his lips that shut up his ramblings. She felt him take in a breath and when she finally broke the kiss, he exhaled in relief, a big smile on his face as he stared into her eyes.

"I guess we best get up." El sighed looking down at her insanely gorgeous boyfriend.

"Or we could just stay down here. We'd probably be less of a danger to ourselves…" Marty said sheepishly making El laugh and shake her head at his dorkiness.

El planted her hands on the ice and tried to get herself up to no avail. She tried again only to slip once more. Well isn't this wonderful. She thought sarcastically to herself. How on earth were they going to get up if they couldn't even stand on the ice without tripping?

The answer came with the arrival of Lucas who literally fell head of heels and landed next to Marty and El and in front of Max who had her hands on her hips and was trying to desperately control her laughter. "I said skate stalker, not fly!"

"Will you just help me up please?" Lucas groaned rubbing at his arm. Max rolled her eyes but helped him all the same, giving him a kiss that seemed to perk him up once he was back on his feet.

Max's blue eyes then turned onto the sorry sight of Marty and El. "Need a hand Mileven?" She asked them, her eyebrow raised.

"Yes please," El pouted in pity. Max laughed and gave her a hand. El held on for dear life and with the red head's help, she managed to get up and reach the side rail. Max helped Marty and had to physically skate him to El as he was wobbling all over the place.

"Maybe you two should get off the ice. I hate to say this, but you both suck." Max told them playfully.

Marty clutched onto the railings and sighed with relief at their safe location. He turned to the red head, "I honestly think that's the smartest thing you've ever said Mad Max. Come on El," He said turning to his girlfriend and gesturing towards the exit.

The moment Marty and El were safely off the ice, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Well… that was fun." He couldn't help but joke as he clutched El's hand.

She laughed and the butterflies in his stomach fluttered madly at the beautiful sound. He loved that she still gave him butterflies, and he had a feeling that she always would. "It was fun." El said defensively. "I enjoyed falling with you," She smirked making Marty chuckle.

"Who knew it was possible to fall that much on ice? Hey, we might have set a world record." Marty said wiggling his eyebrows and making El giggle even more. He knew in that moment that El should always be laughing, it was liquid gold to his heart.

Marty looked around at the stalls thinking of what they could do whilst they waited for the others. "Hey do you want to get a hot drink?" he asked his girlfriend who looked at the stalls with intrigue.

"Yes please," she smiled. They went up to the drinks stall and Mike read off the options to El, trying to explain what each of the coffees meant. However, the moment he said the words "Hot chocolate" she had decided. Marty grinned to himself, his girlfriend certainly had a sweet tooth.

They walked away from the stall two minutes later with two hot chocolates filled with whipped cream and marshmallows. "Mmm," El said as she licked at her whipped cream. Marty tried to pretend that it didn't cause a shot of heat to rush down to his nether regions. He quickly looked away from El fawning over her hot chocolate because he knew he would become captivated and probably do something stupid.

"Do you want to watch the others?" He suggested, hoping for any kind of distraction. Thankfully El nodded eagerly, and so they reached the ice rink again but stood safely on the other side of the railing. They laughed when Lucas spotted them and tried to skate over, he was doing really well until he disappeared just before the railings. Marty and El peaked down behind the barrier to see Lucas in a crumbled mess. Max came and saved him again with an amused shake of her head.

Marty really enjoyed just standing with El, his arm draped around her shoulders, her head leaning on him as they both sipped their hot chocolate and watched their friends. It was something so simple and yet it filled Marty with so much happiness. He couldn't help but think to the 353 days he had spent without El by his side. It had been the worst time of his life and he had barely existed. Marty knew Max and the boys teased that he was a clingy boyfriend, but he couldn't stop it. Being next to El made Marty feel complete and it was the most heart-warming feeling, it was something he never wanted to end.

When El and Marty finally got back to his house, they stripped off their scarves, coats and El took off Marty's beanie as the warmth of the Wheeler house hit her. She could also smell the sweet scent of Karen baking up a storm and she smiled with excitement.

"El!" Holly squealed as she came into view from the living room, already in her Christmas pyjamas.

"Hi!" El said warmly before the blonde cutie jumped into her arms. Marty stood next to them and shook his head in amusement at his little sister. "Why don't I get greetings like this?" he teased.

"Because El is cooler!" Holly giggled, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

Marty shrugged, "well I can't argue with that."

El laughed and looked at her boyfriend, "You're cool too." She said assuring but Marty only gave her an amused smile and said nothing.

"Oh good you're back. Hi El!" Karen said as she walked through from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Hi Karen," El said politely, it still felt odd to call her Karen but she knew anytime she said Mrs Wheeler, Marty's mom would insist she wasn't so formal.

"Did you two have fun ice skating?" Karen asked looking between her son and his girlfriend.

El giggled, still holding up Holly who was like a koala bear on her. Marty snorted, "Yeah it was fun but me and El are pretty rubbish at ice skating." He admitted with a smirk.

Karen laughed and shook her head. She beckoned them all into the kitchen and El finally let Holly down who seemed excited about something her mom was doing.

"What is this?" El asked curiously, looking at a decorated plate that had a carrot sat on it. It wasn't Marty or Karen who answered though, it was a very excited Holly.

"It's for Santa El! The carrot is for Rudolph and Santa gets cookies and milk." She said eagerly, her bright blue eyes dancing with merriment.

If Holly had spoken about Santa Claus or Rudolph to El three weeks ago, she wouldn't have had a clue who or what he was. Thankfully Marty had filled El in all about the man who brought presents to children on Christmas day. He seemed pretty down at the fact that El had never experienced it but she didn't see the point in being upset over something she had never had.

"How nice!" El said in an animated voice to the happy blonde, not realising that Marty was currently giving her a loving smile at how well she got on with his sister. El watched as Karen let Holly put warm freshly baked cookies onto the plate and pour a glass of milk.

"Let's go put it by the fire place, shall we?" Karen said to her youngest, giving her hair an affection stroke. Holly nodded avidly, El, Marty and Karen following her through to the living room as she placed the glass and the plate carefully by the mantle.

"I wonder if he will like the cookies…" Holly pondered.

"Of course he will." Karen said immediately and El smirked to herself, knowing that if Santa was real or not, no one could pass up a cookie baked by Karen Wheeler. "Right Holly, time for bed I think." She added with a warm smile at the blonde angel.

"Can Marty and El read me a story?" Holly almost begged to her mother who turned to look at the teenagers to gage their reaction.

"Of course Holls," Marty answered giving his sister a smile.

"You lot go up then. It'll give me enough time to ice the cake…" Karen said, already heading towards the kitchen after giving Holly a kiss goodnight.

Marty gave Holly a piggy back ride up the stairs and El followed the siblings, smiling to herself as she watched them together. She watched Marty hold onto Holly's tiny legs and she couldn't help but think she wouldn't mind a piggy back ride off her boyfriend herself.

They entered Holly's room and El smiled, taking it in properly for the first time. It was yellow and white with a little floral design on the walls. Her bed was filled with at least 30 teddy bears and the room was bright and very girly. El loved it.

"So seeing as it's Christmas…" Marty began as he rifled through the book options on Holly's shelf. "What about How The Grinch Stole Christmas?" He concluded, turning to his little sister who had plopped herself on the bed.

"Yes please," she said smiling widely, showing a few gaps in her teeth.

"Okay," Marty said grabbing the book and going to sit on the edge of the bed but Holly stopped him.

"No," she whined. Patting the space next to her for Marty and then patting the other side of her for El. They both looked at each other and grinned.

Mike tucked Holly into the duvet and then lay down next to her on the right side. El hesitantly lay down on the left side, with the cute blonde in the middle. Marty tilted his body slightly so he could put the book on Holly's lap so she got to see all of the pictures. El leaned her head on the pillow and got comfortable, equally excited for the story.

"Every Who down in Who-Ville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch who lived just north of Who-Ville did not!" Marty began in a mystical voice that instantly made El smile and look at him. As he began the story, she listened to the words he spoke but didn't look at the actual book because she was too entranced by Marty. His eyes were wide with excitement as he told the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas to his little sister who positively beamed with excitement. As El watched Mike be so sweet with Holly, she knew that it was her own heart that had grown.

He didn't even get to finish the story before Holly was fast asleep clutching her favourite teddy bear. El looked down at her and smiled, feeling all warm and fuzzy in her chest. She loved this little girl like she was her own sister. "Looks like someone is out for the count," Marty whispered.

El looked up at Marty and met his grin. "We didn't even get to finish the story…" she pouted making him chuckle quickly. He fiddled with the book for a moment almost nervously.

"Well if you want… I can finish reading it to you. In my room?" He offered, gulping anxiously. El's eyes widened for a moment at the proposition. She knew her dad would go grey at the thought of her being in Marty's bedroom with him… but it was only so he could read to her without interrupting Holly. El looked at Marty smiling foolishly and nodding her head in agreement.

Marty and El creeped out of Holly's room and snuck down the corridor to his bedroom. Marty closed the door behind him and stood nervously whilst El hesitantly sat down on the edge of his bed. She suddenly felt just as anxious about her location but tried to brush off the feeling. With a deep breath of courage, El scooted up to the head of Marty's bed and tucked herself into the side so there was room for him to join her.

Marty seemed to take a moment to decide what he was doing before he walked over to his bed and joined El awkwardly. He took a shaky breath as he lay his head on the pillow too and turned slightly to face her and then averted his dark eyes to the book, flicking through until he found the right page. Marty cleared his throat and whispered the story to El whilst she once again became entranced by him.

El stared at Marty's lips as the soft words left his mouth, each as spell bounding as the next. She could feel a heat creeping up her spine and her throat becoming increasingly dry. He was just perfection in every sense of the word and she just had to be closer to him. El shuffled her body closer to Marty which didn't go unnoticed by him. He gave her a warm slightly hesitant smile as she tucked up to his side and placed her hand on his chest whilst he moved his arm around her, bringing her closer.

Marty tried to stop his trembling heart at having El pressed so close to his body whilst he attempted to keep reading to her. He focused on the book as best as he could, but out of the corner of his eye, he could feel El's head snuggled into his arm. The words of the book seemed to blur as Marty tried to focus.

El slowly lifted her head from his arm but Marty pretended he didn't notice, he gripped onto the book instead and carried on reading.

"Marty?" El whispered, her voice holding meaning that Marty didn't understand until he turned and met her eyes. He gulped.

"Yeah?" he gasped out, completely captivated by the fire burning in the hazel eyes that he adored.

"Kiss me…" El's voice caressed as her eyes moved down to his lips.

Marty chucked the book onto the floor without a care and scooped El into his arms, pulling her flush to him and kissing her passionately. She sighed against his mouth and he groaned in response, his body already hypersensitive at her proximity. Her lips were the softest things he had ever felt and he wished he could kiss her every minute of the day.

His hands pressed onto her warm back whilst El's fingers ran through his dark hair and gripped at the curls. She completely captured his lips and he groaned at her dominance loving every second. El's tongue moved into his mouth and their tongues met, stroking softly at first but then as the heat rose, they moved furiously against one another. Marty was panting and completely lost in the moment. His eyes were quickly dilating and he gripped El tightly.

Marty found himself completely drawn in by every movement El made against him. How her lips moved against his, how she breathed heavily against his mouth, how her leg wrapped around his hips and how her fingers in his hair brought his face even closer to hers. He couldn't help it any longer, he wanted more.

His hands moved slowly down the back of her sweater, still pressed to the material but needing to really feel her. His fingers slipped into the hem of the sweater and he groaned into her mouth as he felt the skin of her back, as his hands slowly trailed back up her spine.

Marty's fingers brushed the back of El's bra and the teenage boy inside of him whooped with satisfaction that not only was he feeling a girl's bra but the most beautiful girl in the whole world's bra. He couldn't help but smile against El's mouth whilst she gasped at the contact of his bare skin on her bare skin and he could physically feel her skin become goose bumps at his touch.

El moaned softly and one of her hands left his hair and moved to the hem of his own sweater. Marty's eyes opened wide and surprised as her fingers trailed over his bare stomach, the only place her squished hand could reach. What shocked him even more was when she moaned again as she caressed her fingers across his abdomen. He felt his erection become rock solid in that moment and couldn't think of anything else but being closer and closer –

"El! Marty! The chief's here!" His mom's voice ruined the moment like a vinyl record suddenly scratching.

Marty and El immediately broke their kiss and stared at each other like deer's caught in the headlights. He knew the fiery and dazed expression in El's eyes had to be mirrored in his. He wanted to be angry and frustrated over the fact that their moment had been ruined, but instead they both laughed nervously at how ahead of themselves they had gotten.

Marty looked down his own body and sighed. "Er… you might have to go downstairs on your own. I think Hopper would kill me if he sees me like this." He said sheepishly.

El looked down and smirked, making Marty immediately blush red. "I understand." She told him with a slightly sly smile that made his whole body tremble. Their relationship seemed to be getting more and more intimate as the months went by and whilst it was terrifying it was also really exciting. They were becoming more confident and comfortable with each other's bodies. Marty didn't feel like he had to hide the fact that he was clearly aroused from El anymore. In fact, from the way she smiled, he had a feeling that she liked the fact that she could do this to him. Her confidence was so sexy.

Marty and El got up from the bed and he walked her to the landing, enough for Hopper to just catch sight of him but not enough that he would be questioned. Marty sighed and hugged El, holding her close and shutting his eyes for a moment as her head lay under his chin. "I love you. Have an amazing Christmas day El. And call me when you open your gift." He told her in a serene whisper.

El beamed and pulled away enough to look up at his face. "I love you too and of course I'll call you when I've opened your gift. I hope you like your present too." She said smiling shyly.

Marty grinned and leaned down to kiss her lips softly. "I'm sure I'll love it." He told her smiling. It was true, she could give him an old sock and he'd cherish it.

"Right you've had enough time to say good bye!" Hopper called up the stairs with his gruff voice making Marty roll his eyes in annoyance. He took a deep breath and smiled warmly at his girlfriend, giving her one last lingering kiss and letting her slowly leave. El smiled back at Marty every few steps and he watched her go, his eyes no doubt were like love hearts and a dopey grin was ever present on his lips.

When El had finally left, Marty went back to his bedroom and almost collapsed onto his bed, the dopey smile still plastered to his face. He looked at the rumpled sheets on his bed and would himself blush once again as he replayed their make out session in his head. Marty fell asleep still smiling and having the best dream about his best girl.

Christmas Day, 1989

As Hopper drove him and El to the Byer's house, he felt his stomach fill with nerves. He had told El a week ago that Joyce had invited them to Christmas dinner but in reality it was the opportunity Hopper and Joyce had been needing to announce their relationship to El, Joseph and Will.

He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter to try and appease his nerves. He glanced quickly at El who was grinning to herself and appraising her bracelet which had a new addition. As her main present, Marty had got her a new charm, a silver sparkly snowflake to be exact. It made Hopper shake his head in amusement to see the foolish smile on his daughter's face.

He supposed he should be thankful that El had found someone who clearly loved her and would do anything to protect her. Wheeler's not too bad. He reasoned to himself. As long as he keeps him damn hands off her. Hopper tried to pretend he hadn't noticed El's glazed eyes, swollen lips and giddy smile when she had practically skipped down the staircase last night at the Wheeler house.

Hopper hoped he wasn't going to have to have the talk with El anytime soon. Surely, she couldn't know about all that stuff anyway? Right? He found it hard to believe that El was growing up too fast, especially when he saw the pure innocent and childlike look on her face when she had come through to the living room that morning to see presents under the tree for her. She had even asked him if they had come from Santa. For a moment, he was tempted to say yes, but then he wasn't going to let that jack ass get credit for all the money Hopper had spent to try and make it perfect for El.

But of course, Wheeler had already thought ahead and bought a present for El and signed it from Santa Claus. Hopper guessed it was sweet in a way, Wheeler was really bothered about what El had missed out on and was trying to make it up to her. Hopper smiled to himself and took a deep breath. Damn you Wheeler, you're making me like you.

Before he could even mentally prepare himself, Hopper found that they had reached the Byers house and he was pulling up. He could feel the blush already creeping onto his cheeks at the thought of seeing Joyce. That woman just did something to him!

El hoped out of the car in excitement, clearly looking forward to her first Christmas meal. Hopper had to ask Joyce if she wouldn't mind making Eggos for El's dessert seeing as the girl couldn't go a meal without one. Of course Joyce had been more than happy to oblige.

El knocked on the door and waited impatiently for an answer. Thankfully Will appeared in the doorway a moment later. "Hi El! Hi Hopper! Merry Christmas!" He said warmly, his upper body clad in a Christmas jumper.

"Merry Christmas to you too!" El said eagerly.

"Merry Christmas kid," Hopper said giving Will a smile.

They all walked into the house and he looked over at Joyce, looking beautiful in a red dress. She had put a bit of make up on and her hair looked fluffier than usual. She smiled at him, her brown eyes twinkling and making his heart sommersault.

Once they had all greeted each other, El wandered off with Will so they could both radio Wheeler together. Why doesn't that surprise me. But with Joseph trying out his new tapes in his room, it gave Hopper the opportunity to snuggle Joyce from behind and plant a kiss on her cheek. "You look beautiful," he said smiling against her skin. He could feel her grinning against his lips.

"You look very handsome chief." She teased him, turning her head slightly to look at his face. He kissed her again and she hummed happily before turning back to the potatoes.

"Need a hand?" he asked her and they both burst out laughing, knowing that he would only ruin dinner if he tried to get his hands on it.

"The plates are over there if you want to start laying the table." Joyce said, still chuckling from his previous words. Hopper grinned and did as he was told, trying to make the table look as presentable as he could with his limited styling skills.

It was twenty minutes later when they all sat down to eat. Hopper looked around nervously as Joseph and Joyce laughed and Will and El pulled a cracker which made her jump but giggle once she had put on her paper hat. Joyce gave Hopper a look and he knew it was time to talk.

"Em… so me and El are very happy to be here and join you all for Christmas dinner." Hopper said, his voice oddly shaking which wasn't like him at all.

"We're happy to have you both." Joseph said smiling at him and El which made Hopper feel a little bit better.

He exhaled deeply. Here goes. "There's something that I… well me and Joyce want to tell you all." Everyone went quiet and watched him closely, which only added to his anxiety. "Me and Joyce we… we're together. We're dating." He said trying to swallow down his nerves.

There was complete silence and Hopper's eyes widen with horror. Was it really that bad? The idea of him being with Joyce? The idea that maybe he could make her happy? The idea that he loved her?

El and Will burst into giggles shocking Hopper, Joyce and Joseph. "We totally knew." Will said finally, grinning between Joyce and Hopper.

"You did?" Joseph asked stunned.

Will and El nodded smugly. Hopper and Joyce gaped at each other. "How… how did you know?" Joyce finally asked her son who went red and didn't answer, but El did.

"Max and Lucas saw you both making out." She said plainly, like it was perfectly normal to share this news over the dinner table. Joseph cringed and Joyce went pink, whilst Hopper's eyes widened at his daughter's statement. He couldn't believe those two trouble makers had caught them. We were so careful! He told himself stunned.

Even though he was embarrassed about the fact that he had been caught making out by teenagers, he knew that there was only one thing that mattered now. "So you all know now. And me and Joyce kind of need to know you all feel about it. Are you okay?" Hopper asked looking anxiously between the boys and El.

"I don't have a problem with it." Will said immediately, giving them both a smile.

"Me neither." Joseph added giving his mom's hand a supportive squeeze.

All eyes went onto El but she just smiled for a moment. "We are like a family now." She finally said in a hopeful voice as she looked around at them all. Joyce beamed and squeezed El's hand. "Of course sweetie."

The rest of the meal went without any more announcements, thank god! And they all enjoyed Joyce's slightly burnt Christmas dinner. Laughing and joking about presents they had gotten that year and tales of Christmases past. Hopper grinned as he looked around at Joyce, Joseph, Will and El. His daughter's words came back to him and he felt his chest warm. Yes, maybe they were like a family now.

March 1990

It was hard to believe that the party only had 3 months left of their freshman year. It had been without a doubt the best school year of Marty's life. He had joined the swim team and was surprising doing well in his races, he had founded the Hawkins High AV Club along with the boys and now that they were all growing and broadening, Troy and his cronies seemed to lay off them a bit more. Of course, there was the occasional shove here and there, but Marty could live with that.

But the most important reason from Marty that this had been the best school year of his life was El. Having her with him and the party every day of school was just amazing. He loved the classes they shared together, he could stare at her beautiful face all day as she would listen to their teachers with genuine interest as she desperately wanted to soak up all this new knowledge like a sponge. He admired her bravery for tackling the society aspects of high school; going from just hanging out with the party to being surrounded by hundreds of other teenagers. Her athletic ability hadn't really taken Marty by surprise, but it didn't stop his heart from pounding with pride when he watched her track and field practices. She had made every moment of high school worth it for him.

Pretty much from their second day of freshman year, Marty and El were being known as that typical high school couple that couldn't get their hands off each other. And in all honestly, Marty was more than happy to have that title. He loved El and as they grew older, it was becoming increasingly more difficult not to deepen their kisses and not to feel the want he tried to keep hidden anytime he gazed at her. Especially when she would look back at him with a sly smile. Seriously, when did she learn how to flirt?!

So it came to Marty's surprise on one dreary March morning when El didn't show up to school. Lucas and Dustin immediately told him to calm down when he straight away thought of the worst case scenario, that the lab had rose up again and found her. Max had told him that he was too clingy and only Will's words had brought any kind of sense to Marty's terrified body. "Why don't you call her house?"

As soon as home room ended, Marty rushed to the nearest phone in the school, not caring that he'd probably be late for Canadian History. This was too important. He punched in the numbers, knowing them off by heart and jiggled his leg nervously as he waited impatiently for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" Came the deep and tired voice of the chief.

Marty wanted to stay calm and collected but his panic overruled. "Er… hi Hopper it's Marty. Is El there? Is she okay? It's just she didn't come to school and I'm worried. Dustin and Lucas said I'm overreacting and Max said I'm clingy, but Will - "

"Woah kid slow down. Yes El's here. She's not feeling well so I've kept her off school."

Marty felt an immediate rush of relief that El was safe but this was quickly taken over by concern. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, unable to keep the fear from his voice.

"I think it's the flu. She's been coughing all night and feels like all her muscles are sore. She looks like she has the flu too…" Hopper commented distantly as if he was distracted.

"Well can I come see her?" Marty asked hopefully.

Hopper laughed, "Wheeler you've got 6 hours left of school and then I'd suggest you go home. You don't want to catch the flu – "

"I don't care." Marty said cutting him off. "Does she want me there? I can come now?" He offered more eager than he probably should have.

Hopper gave an exasperated sound. "Look Wheeler, it doesn't matter if she wants you here or not. You are in school and that's that."

Marty could tell by the way he spoke that clearly El had asked for him and the fact that she needed him ruled out any other emotion in his brain.

"Is that Marty?" A rather distant husky and yet sweet voice asked from the background, making Marty's heart jump straight into his throat. He heard Hopper leave the phone for a moment and there seemed to be a discussion before the phone was picked up.

"Hi Marty…" El's voice came, bringing light to Marty's heart instantly. He noted how sore her throat sounded by her strained voice and felt instant sympathy.

"Hey El. How are you feeling?" he asked in a soft voice that was reserved purely for her.

"I feel pretty bad. Dad's given me Tylenol but I just feel exhausted."

"You should be sleeping and not talking to your boyfriend who is in school!" Hopper's annoyed voice rang over the telephone line. Marty rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Look El, if you need me there, I'll come over right now." He told her with determination. Nothing was going to stop him from seeing his girlfriend. If she ever needed him, he would be there.

"I do want you here Marty… but you're at school and I don't want you to miss anything. But can you come over after school? And bring me my homework?" She asked him in her current raspy voice.

Marty deflated a bit knowing he was going to have to go six hours without seeing her, whilst knowing she was unwell. But he couldn't help but perk up at the fact that she did want him to come over later. "Yeah of course I'll bring you your homework." He told her with a smile, loving how dedicated of a student she was.

"Thank you." She said softly and Marty grinned to himself because he could tell she was smiling.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" He asked her, biting his lip.

"Yes I'm sure. Dad's with me." El said simply.

Marty scoffed, "Oh so he can take a day off work but he won't let me take a day of school!"

"Completely different situation Wheeler!" Hopper shouted from the background. Marty wanted to argue back but knew if he kept on pushing, the chief wouldn't even let him into his house to see El. So instead he sighed in defeat.

"Well I'll see you after school then El. I hope you feel better. I love you..."

"I love you too Marty. See you later."

"See you later. Bye."

"Bye Marty."

Marty slowly put the phone down with a heavy heart and made his way to Canadian History feeling sorry for himself and sorry for his girlfriend. He couldn't concentrate all day as he thought about El, wondering if she'd ever had the flu before and knew what to expect, or if this was all new to her.

He was proud that he made it through until lunch time before he rang her again much to Hopper's indignation. "You're seeing her in three hours Wheeler!" He had shouted. But Marty didn't care, it was completely worth it to speak to El again and check up on how she was doing. Apparently she was starting to watch some Disney films that Max had let her borrow. When he questioned the red head about this over the lunch table, she rolled her eyes and said, "You were hiding Disney from her you bore! I had to step in."

"I wasn't hiding Disney from her! We just hadn't got round to it yet." Marty said defensively.

Max snorted, "Yeah because you wanted to get through every nerd film known to man first…"

Marty didn't have much of an argument in response because it was kind of true he guessed. He had wanted to show El all the films he loved. He hadn't thought to think of films that she might love, also assuming they'd have the same taste. Marty felt oddly guilty, like he had been depriving her.

None of that mattered when the school bell rang and Marty rushed out of the building, jumping onto his bike and pedalling as fast as he could to the cabin. He seriously couldn't wait to take Drivers Ed over the summer. His mom had hinted that if he kept his grades up and didn't get into any trouble, his parents might get him a car for his 16th birthday. It was the main reason keeping Marty on the straight and narrow. He daydreamed about all the things he could go with a car. All the places he could take El, all the things they could do…

Marty happily discarded his bike the moment he got to the cabin and knocked quickly on the door, glancing back to where Hopper's Chevy was parked. Within a few seconds he was facing the man himself.

"Hi Hopper," Marty said nervously, wondering if he was going to get a telling off for the phone calls.

Hopper stared at him for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Do you know you're the bane of my existence?" He asked flatly.

Marty tried not to smile and kept as serious a face as possible. "I do know." He said simple. Hopper was just going to have to accept the fact that as long as El lived with him, he would always have to see Marty, every single day if he got his way.

Hopper moved to the side so Marty could come in and he breathed a sigh of relief taking he was going to see El.

"Honestly all I've heard this morning is, 'When is Marty coming?', 'Why can't Marty come from school?', 'I wonder what Marty's having for lunch', 'I can't wait until Marty gets here', 'Why can't Marty stay forever?', blah blah blah…" Hopper moaned rubbing at his creased forehead.

Marty tried to look sympathetic but there was a big grin on his face at the fact that El had been asking after him. Speaking of the angel, she appeared a moment later in her doorway with her duvet wrapped around her tightly so she looked like an Eskimo. Despite her little red nose, messy hair and tired eyes, Marty couldn't help but think that she looked cute. Really cute.

"Hi Marty," El said beaming despite her croaky voice as she crossed from the doorway to come up and greet him.

"Hey," Marty exhaled, his aching heart now finding a calm tremor in her presence. He didn't realise until this moment how out of sorts he had been without her around.

El stepped closer to him and he could tell she wanted to kiss him and he desperately wanted to kiss her too. Just a few more steps and they could –

"Wait! No kissing. El you're sick, you'll make Wheeler sick and then Karen will be mad at me." Hopper huffed.

Marty internally cursed that Hopper had to tell El that, because now she was looking genuinely scared that if she even touched him, he'd keel over. He genuinely didn't mind if he caught her flu, he just wanted to be near her, wanted to touch her. A bout of flu for an afternoon of kissing and cuddling his girlfriend? Totally worth it.

Hopper didn't seem to agree though. "Right El back to bed please. You've seen Wheeler now." He said curtly as Marty realised he actually wanted him to leave, despite the fact he'd just got there.

"No, I want Marty." El said stubbornly, sniffling all the while as she grabbed a tissue out of her pocket and wiped at her nose.

"Give me strength." Hopper muttered pinching his nose. "Fine. If I let Marty stay for a while, will you at least try and eat something?" he said bartering with his daughter. The compromise seemed to work because she nodded.

"Right okay. So what do you want El. Eggos?" Hopper asked as he looked in the fridge and freezer.

"No… not Eggos right now." El mumbled as she made her way to the couch and plonked herself and the duvet down.

Marty and Hopper immediately looked at each other in shock. If El was refusing Eggos, she definitely had to be unwell. Hopper turned back to search for something else and looked in the cupboards.

"Okay… what about soup? I've got mushroom?"

"Soup. But not mushroom…" El called before coughing. Marty went over to her side and handed her some more tissues to which she thanked him with a warm smile.

Hopper sighed, "Okay, I'll go out to the store and get you some. What do you want? Chicken noodle again?"

"Yes please." El said between a coughing fit. On autopilot Marty flittered around the cabin as if it was his own home. Pouring El a glass of water, taking her dirty tissues and replacing them with new ones, fluffing the pillow behind El's head and tucking in her duvet around her. Hopper watched him for a moment, rolling his eyes but a small smile appeared underneath his moustache which he quickly hide from Marty.

"Right well, I'll go to the store. Wheeler look after her." Hopper said pointing at the lanky teenager.

"Of course." Mike said feeling rather offended. Would there be any universe where he wouldn't look after El? Wouldn't care for her more than anyone else in galaxy? Never.

When Hopper had gone, Mike stood awkwardly for a moment, looking around the cabin and then back at his cute girlfriend all snuggled up in her duvet. "Do you need anything El?" he asked her sweetly.

"Just you." She sniffled with a smile, making Mike's heart tingle with love and a dopey grin to rise on his lips. "Oh and maybe a Disney film." She added.

"Yeah cool." He said looking at the new pile of videos. "What have you watched so far? What are you up to?" Mike asked in a distracted voice as he riffled through the VHS's.

El coughed before she answered in her little croaky voice. "I've watched Snow White, Cinderella, The Jungle Book and Sleeping Beauty. Bambi is next." She said grabbing another tissue.

Marty immediately cringed as he looked down at the Bambi video. He honestly couldn't think of a worse Disney film for El to watch. In a way she was like sweet innocent Bambi, whose mother gets taken away. Of course Bambi's mom is killed and El's is still alive, but just barely and with hardly any meaning to her poor life. It made Marty's heart sink at the thought of Terry and how she had been at El's birthday back in November.

"Marty… what's wrong?" El asked softly, clearly having registered the distress on his face.

Marty cleared his throat and looked at his girlfriend, her own bambi eyes startling him for a moment. "It's just… El I don't think you want to watch this particular Disney film." He cursed Max in his head for even bringing this movie.

"Why not?" El asked confused. "I've loved all the others so far."

He sighed, wanting to shield her from anything that might upset her. "This film is different from the others. Bambi… well something bad happens in Bambi… to his mom. I think it might upset you. Considering – "

"What happened to Mama." El finished for him. Her eyes wide and vulnerable making Marty's fingers itch to hold her close and never left her go. To shield her with love and warmth.

She looked at him for a moment longer and then her hazel eyes flicked to the video still in Marty's hand. "I want to watch it." She said with determination.

"But El – "

"No Marty. I'm not a baby. I want to watch it. I love you… but you can't protect me from everything." El all but whispered, looking at him sincerely.

Marty didn't know what to think. He hated the fact that El thought he might be babying her, but at the same time he knew he probably did. He tried to protect her from anything bad in the world, from the biggest threat of the lab to the smallest threat of a Disney film. He realised how ridiculous that sounded and heaved a sigh. "Okay El. But if you want to stop the movie. You know you can, right?" he said biting his lip.

El nodded and Marty hesitantly put the video into the VHS player and pressed play. He went to sit at the very edge of the couch but his girlfriend shook her head and told him she wanted him closer.

After a lot of adjusting, Marty lay on the couch with El half on top of him. She was tucked into the crook of his arm and her head was laying on his chest, with an arm flung over his stomach as she stared at the television screen. Marty's hand was around her shoulders and the other was absentmindedly stroking her delicate curly locks, trying to soothe her for what he knew was coming up in the film.

The duvet covered them both and Marty couldn't help but feel incredibly comfy despite the fit he knew Hopper would have when he got home. But for the moment he didn't care about that. All he cared about was the fact that Bambi's mom was about to be killed and he was terrified he was going to scar his girlfriend for life.

Marty clenched his teeth as the gun shot fired in the movie and Bambi and his mother ran for their lives. He heard El gasp softly and he found his arm tighten around her instinctly whilst his other hand carried on stroking her hair.

He watched on as Bambi's mother told him to keep running and not to look back. Something strange was happening to Marty, as he stared at the screen he could feel a wave of strong emotion hitting him. It only intensified when Bambi's mom didn't come back and the poor young stag called for her in the snow.

"Marty are you okay?" El asked with concern and it wasn't until that moment that Mike realised he had tears down his cheeks. El leaned up slightly from his chest and brushed the tears away with her fingers, so softly.

Marty gulped and blinked, trying to rid his eyes of the water. "Y-yeah I'm okay." He said through a shuddering breath. "It's just… Bambi… well that scene makes me think of you El and your mama. And how unfair the world is…" He sniffed.

El smiled at him sadly, her eyes roaming over his features for a moment. "I know…" she told him calmly. And just those simple words eased his heavy heart. She moved closer to Marty and pressed her lips delicately to his cheek, kissing it once and then twice.

He stared at her, his love so evident in his eyes. He would do anything for her. Marty leaned in and captured her lips in a long and romantic kiss. She smiled against his mouth and her hand caressed his cheek soothingly.

When they finally pulled away El giggled. "Dad isn't going to be very happy that we kissed."

Marty laughed, feeling a hundred times better after kissing El. He leaned his forehead against hers and grinned widely. "Well he doesn't need to find out…"

Only Hopper does finds out because two days later, Marty comes down with the flu.

"Right time to take your temperature again," Karen said with a sigh as she walked into the living room where Marty was laying on the couch under a blanket. He was pale, sniffling and looking exhausted.

"Okay." He mumbled, opening his mouth just enough for Karen to place the thermometer under his tongue.

"Stay like that." She warned him whilst he rolled his eyes. Karen didn't know how Marty had come down with the flu but was happy to look after him either way. He was her baby boy and in a way that she would never admit to anyone, she liked it when Anne or Marty got sick because they needed her again. They needed their mom.

Karen removed the thermometer and sighed. "Hmm, still high. I'll get you some more Tylenol sweetie." She commented going into the kitchen and hearing Marty huff. She smiled to herself knowing he'd rather be doing anything else with his Saturday, than being forced to rest.

She was getting him a glass of water when the doorbell rang. Nancy was out with Joseph, Holly was off at a sleepover, Ted was at a golfing weekend and Marty was incapacitated on the couch, so that only left her to answer. "Coming!" she called before walking over to her son and handing him the Tylenol and water. He gave a measly thank you whilst Karen walked to the entrance hall.

When she opened the front door, she wasn't at all surprised to see who the visitor was. "Hi El," Karen said in a sing song voice as she opened the door wider.

"Hi Karen," El grinned looking very pretty in a light blue sweater and jeans.

"I hope you don't mind me coming over. Dad is working and I wanted to check in on Marty and see how he's doing." El commented with a smile. Goodness this girl is so polite. Karen thought happily to herself. It was certainly a breath of fresh air from the things that could come out of Marty and Nancy's mouths. Marty's especially.

"I'm here. I'm dying…" Marty croaked from the living room much to Karen's amusement.

El looked genuinely worried and started to walk through to where she knew her boyfriend was. Karen followed behind, "Ever heard of man flu El? It's when men think they've got something ten times worse." She couldn't help but tease.

"You'll regret saying that if it's the last thing you ever say to me…" Marty groaned as he rubbed at his throbbing head. Karen just watched him playfully whilst El sank to her knees in front of the couch and stroked his cheek.

"Hi," Marty grinned at her, the first smile of the day on his lips. Karen sighed with relief, at least El could cheer him up.

"Hey you," El smiled back warmly, still moving her fingers delicately over his cheek bone.

Karen watched them for a moment but then felt herself becoming uncomfortable as she noticed the utter heart eyes they were both sharing for each other. She had a feeling they had forgotten she was even in the room. Probably forgotten there are any other humans on the planet!

"I'm just going to get your cough sweets from your room Marty." Karen said, standing there a minute longer when she realised her son hadn't even acknowledged her words because he was so captivated by El cupping his cheek. Karen smiled to herself and went to the stairs.

"Now where did he put them…" Karen frowned as she looked around Marty's room for the cough sweets she had bought him yesterday. Not on his desk, not on his bed. Bedside table? Karen opened the draw of his bedside table and smiled when she found the sweets immediately. She grabbed them and was about to shut the draw when something else caught her eye.

Karen pulled out a framed photo with intrigue. She turned it over and read, "Snowball 1988." She looked at the couple and frowned. That's Marty and El… she thought confused to herself. Her confusion was coming from the fact that the Snowball had taken place in December of that year and Marty hadn't met El until the summer of 89. The poor girl hadn't even been adopted until that summer.

Karen squinted her eyes to make sure it was definitely 1988 that she was looking at. Her eyes went back to El. Yes, it was definitely her. Those same doe eyes, the same pink slightly pouty lips, the same slender frame only she was shapelier now in the hips and chest. But it was absolutely her.

What next struck Karen was a gasp. Seeing El with shorter hair, much shorter hair then she had now made Karen immediately think back to the photo of the Russian girl they had been shown by those agents. The girl that her son had been hiding in their basement for a week. When she had asked him why, he said she needed help and she wasn't who those agents said she was.

Karen found her hands shaking as she continued to stare at the image of El. Could it be? She stood there for quite some time until Marty's hoarse voice called from down the stairs asking if she had got the cough sweets yet. Karen jumped back into action, quickly placing the framed photo into her apron pocket and rushing down the stairs with the cough sweets in hand.

She busied herself by making El a hot drink and watched the couple closely. They were very much in love, in fact Karen knew that Marty would do anything for his girlfriend. It was that feeling that made Karen add fuel to the fire that El was the Russian girl, because Marty had done anything to protect her too. Even put his life in danger.

Karen's head swam with possibilities and she felt like she needed a large glass of wine. But that would have to wait because she needed to go to the store later to buy more supplies seeing as Marty's seemed to go through tissues like they were going out of fashion. She cringed slightly to herself knowing he had been going through plenty of tissues even before he had the flu. I don't need to be thinking of what goes through a 14 year old boy's mind right now! She scolded herself.

On a whim, Karen grabbed her car keys, knowing she needed to speak to someone about her crazy thoughts otherwise she was going to go crazy. "Marty, El? I'm just popping out to the store okay?" She asked the two teenagers as she walked back into the living room.

"Okay Mom," Marty said whilst El kneeled in front of him and fed him soup she had just warmed up. Despite the endless thoughts and worries currently rushing through Karen's mind, she couldn't help but stop and smile at the couple for a moment. They were honestly so cute.

It only took Karen 10 minutes to get to the police station and she walked into the building feeling ominous. She felt like a fool coming to question the chief of police about his daughter. She barely even knew what she wanted to even say but all she knew, was that she couldn't go on ignoring the odd feeling that El was more than who she seemed.

"Oh hello Mrs. Wheeler. Can I help you?" Flo asked from her desk, clearly surprised to see Karen Wheeler down at the station. It wasn't exactly a regular hang out for her. She was more likely to be seen at book club, at the beauty salon or at the store, constantly refilling the fridge for her kids, especially her growing boy.

"Hello Flo. I was wondering if the chief was free to see me?" Karen asked rather nervously. She felt even more anxious now about asking questions regarding his daughter. What if he got so offended he chucked her out of the station? She would be the laughing stock of Hawkins.

"Of course Mrs. Wheeler. I'll go and see if he's available." Flo said before leaving her desk and wandering off down the hall way. Thankfully Karen didn't have to wait long before Flo told her she was fine to go through to Hopper's office.

"Hi Karen. What can I do for you?" The chief asked from behind his desk. She immediately noticed a photo on his desk of him, Joyce, El and Will at El's 15th birthday and it warmed her heart slightly because it had been a great party, but also made her more confused at the current situation.

Karen all but collapsed into the seat opposite the desk and with shaking hand removed the photo frame from her coat pocket. She stared at it and started speaking. "I don't know what to think chief. I found this photo and it says 1988 and I have no reason not to believe that it was 1988. But I'm positive it's El. It is El. But this was before you even – "

Hopper lifted his hand with a chuckle. "Woah calm down Karen. You remind me of your son." He said playfully. He looked at the frame from over the desk. "Mind if I see that?" he asked.

Karen nodded and handed it over to him, so he could see what she was talking about. She stared at him and noted the moment his eyes went wider and he gripped onto the frame more tightly.

"How... did you find this photo?" he asked still staring at the image.

"It was in Matthew's draw. I went to find his cough – "

Hopper sighed heavily, "Of course it was in his damn draw." He looked irritated, almost exasperated which confused Karen more. It was as if he had known about them being together at the snow ball all along.

"Chief… I'm so confused. You adopted El in the summer of 1989 didn't you?" Karen finally asked.

Hopper stared at her for a minute as if deciding what to say. He huffed, got up from the desk and went over to his door, not only closing it but locking it too. He came back around to his chair and leaned over the desk slightly.

"What I'm about to tell you Karen must not go any further. This doesn't just involve El okay? This involves Marty, Anne, all of the kids. Understand?" He said so seriously that Karen felt her heart quivering with nerves.

"I… I understand." She said through a tight jaw and wide eyes.

And so that is how Karen learnt about El's true identity. Her head swam with lab experiments, government cover ups, interdimensional creatures, the real death of Barb, the real reason Will went missing. The reason why her son was in a deep depression for a year and the reason that he suddenly got out of it.

She wanted to shout at Hopper, call him crazy and tell him he had to be lying to her but with every word he said, she found herself believing him more and more. Nothing else had made more sense, nothing else had slotted all the pieces together unlike this.

Karen left for home two hours later feeling shaky and in desperate need of a glass of wine. She stopped at the store on autopilot buying the things she had needed as well as two bottles of wine that she hoped to consume that night.

She thought about what Marty and Anne had been through. How Anne had coped with what had truly happened to Barb, how Marty had suffered missing El for the year and knowing what Will had been actually going through. It shook her to the core and made her feel like she had failed them both. Despite Hopper saying there was nothing she could have done, Karen couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't there for her children. She intended to change that.

When Karen entered the house, she walked quietly and slowly to the living room entrance. She didn't know why she was nervous to see El. She couldn't lie and pretend it wasn't because she knew the teenage girl had more power than Karen could ever understand and what would happen if she lost control and hurt someone. Hurt Matthew.

But the moment Karen spotted the two of them, that fear immediately drifted away. Marty was laying on the couch under his blanket, his head now in El's lap whilst he slept soundly. El was calmly stroking his curls from his face and staring down at his face with such love and adoration that it blew Karen away. She didn't think she had ever seen anyone look at someone with as much love as that. It was completely overwhelming but it told Karen that it didn't matter what El's past was or where she came from. This powerful girl clearly loved Marty and he clearly loved her. That was all that Karen could ask for.

April 1990

It was just another normal school day for Marty and the party. They worked hard, listened to their teachers, ate together at lunch, teased one another for various things and then it was time for 5th period Life Science and Marty went from having a normal day to a mortifying one that he'd remember for the rest of his life.

It all started when the school nurse walked in with a heavy looking box and Marty's stomach just dropped. El was sat next to him at their work station and looking curious as to why they were being taught by the school nurse today and not the teacher. Sadly, Mike knew the reason why and so did Dustin and Max who also shared this class with them. They both turned to look at Mike with matching shit eating grins knowing he'd rather be anywhere else in the world right now.

"Right kids you've probably guessed it. We've got sex education today." The nurse said firmly before dropping the heavy box onto the teacher's desk to the sound of the groans of the students.

"Sex education?" El whispered to Marty in confusion. His cheeks immediately flushed and his eyes widened. He turned to her like a deer in the headlights and just nodded to confirm what she was asking.

"The sex education class is going to be split over two weeks. This week we will be covering the reproductive system, pregnancy prevention and consent." She said staring around at the room, giving a few boys a glare here and there when she mentioned consent.

The class started with diagrams and explanations of the reproductive system that made Marty blush and feel sweaty. What didn't help was how interested El was by it all. Having missed middle school sex ed, she was making notes on everything the nurse was saying with avid attention. Marty stared at her out of the corner of his eye and felt his heart tremble. Of course he wanted her to know about all of this stuff but he worried about the questions that might follow.

When the diagram of a penis came up Marty shifted in his seat and found that the majority of the teenage boys in the classroom did the same thing. All of them secretly wondering if they were bigger than the diagram photo and if girls really did care about size or not. Marty's cheeks went from pink to red when El looked from the diagram and then looked down at his pants with genuine curiosity plastered all over her face.

Marty cleared his throat to try and remind her that it wasn't exactly appropriate to be staring at his crotch and thankfully El got the message. A pretty blush crept up her cheeks and she focused back onto the teacher.

Marty prayed for mercy when the descriptions of the sexual organs were completed, but the nurse then moved onto consent and went around the class, forcing answers out of blundering students as to what they thought consent meant.

"Matthew Wheeler?" The nurse asked looking up from the register. Marty immediately sat up straighter and nodded, unable to speak for a moment. "What do you think consent means?"

"Er…" Marty panicked. A few people had already given quite good answers so he felt like he was running out of options, but he didn't want the nurse or any of his classmates, especially his girlfriend to think he didn't understand consent, because he definitely did.

"It's about seeking permission? To not like… do anything until the other person agrees as well?" He offered sheepishly, his voice nervous. Marty noticed out of the corner of his eye that El was smiling at him sweetly and it made him feel slightly better about his answer.

The nurse merely nodded and looked back down at the register. "Maxine Mayfield? What do you think it means?"

Max huffed at being picked and Dustin nudged her with his elbow playfully at her clear embarrassment. "I guess it means that you're both willing participants. Guys too. Because everyone always thinks about the girls." She said before deciding to add irritated, "And it's Max by the way… not Maxine."

"Duly noted." The nurse mumbled whilst making a note on the register before looking up at all of the embarrassed teenagers, except for El who was still looking interested by the whole subject. "The things you need to know about consent, is that it is freely given. That means it's a choice that has been made without any pressure or under any influence that might inhibit your senses such as drugs and alcohol. It is okay for the person to change their mind, consent isn't set in stone and it should be specific. Saying yes to one thing might not mean saying yes to another." The nurse said writing key terms on the board.

"And consent should always be informed. You can only consent if you know the full picture. For instance, if you agree to have sexual intercourse because there will be protection, that protection should be used."

Marty felt himself squirm whilst the nurse spoke and wrote her points on the board. He obviously agreed with everything she was saying, but it was the whole informed consent that made him nervous. He thought back to the times him and El had made out, the first time he had French kissed her. He had never said he was going to try and use his tongue, it just happened and then she was kissing him back. What if she hadn't wanted that. Shouldn't he have explained what he wanted to do? Shit I'm an idiot. I'm no better than the football players. He thought to himself with an internal groan of frustration.

"Yes you have a question Miss Hopper?" The nurse suddenly asked making Marty almost jump out of his skin. He didn't even realise the nurse had finished talking and was asking if anyone had any questions, let alone that it was his girlfriend who was curious to ask something. Please god, please don't be about me!

"What happens if you get… carried away in the moment?" El asked quietly, using her words carefully, still learning new phrases. Marty's cheeks burned as the nurse looked at him for a moment before turning back to El.

"It is completely normal to have sexual urges, especially as teenagers you will all experience a range of hormones that you can't control. What you can control however is becoming informed on this topic, and that is what we are trying to do. Make you understand sex education, so that when the time comes, you are all aware of what you may or may not choose to do. And this brings us onto our next topic, pregnancy prevention…"

Marty turns to look at El whilst the nurse starts showing them different female contraception options. Despite his embarrassment and need to bury his head in a hole somewhere, he is proud of El for asking her question, for not being mortified like he is. She's definitely more mature on this subject than me. He thought to himself with amazement.

El could clearly feel his gaze on her and she turned to him with a warm smile that melted his heart. He grinned back at her and desperately wanted to hold her hand but the nurse would notice, so he settled for trying to show his love through his eyes, staring into hers for a moment and hoping she could absorb the adoration he had for her. She blushed slightly and finally averted her eyes shyly. It only made Marty love her more.

He felt like he might finally be able to survive this class, but then the nurse brought out the big guns, well the condoms and bananas to be exact and Marty had to supress a groan of horror at what they were no doubt going to have to do.

The nurse handed everyone a banana and a condom packet, giving a demonstration at the front of the class. Marty briefly noticed that some of the boys, the more arrogant ones weren't paying attention with smug grins plastered on their faces. They clearly didn't need the practise, but if Marty was honest with himself, he knew he did need it.

Marty had never put a condom on before and he desperately didn't want to mess up in front of El. This was clearly going to be traumatising for her as it was, and he didn't want her to see him struggling, especially seeing as he hoped that at some point he would be using protection with her.

Thinking about getting this right for El so that in the future they would never have a near miss was the only thing that spurred Marty on when it was time for them to all unwrap the packet and put the condoms on the bananas. With sweaty and slightly shaky hands Marty managed to roll the condom down the banana, he sighed in relief and turned to El to see how she was doing. What he saw made his jaw drop.

El had clearly been watching his attempt because she was only now opening her packet. She grabbed the banana, pinched the tip of the condom and rolled it on with ease. Marty stared at her in disbelief, well more specifically he stared at her hands on the banana and a cold sweat immediately ran down his spine, his skin suddenly hypersensitive. How the fuck did she just make that look so sexy?!

But Marty knew the reason why. It's because he's imagining her doing that to him and now he's feeling very hot and bothered. Marty finally manages to tear his attention away from El and her amazing condom skills and stare wide eyed at the board. This has been one crazy day…

It was Tuesday after school when El was walking through the main town needing to do some shopping before she'd walk to the police station and her dad would drive her home. Marty had swim team practice and El didn't think she had the strength to watch him today. Not after their second sex education class had taken place that day.

It had been all about choice today. People's choice of abstinence, people being safe, not being pressurised and knowing when the right time to have sex was. El's mind was completely blown by all the new terms and information because it went into a lot more depth than what Joyce had ever taught her. Equally it didn't cover half of the things Max had educated her in.

El sighed in frustration to herself as she walked closer to the clothing store. Her mind felt like it was racing from the constant stream of thoughts that never seemed to leave her. Those thoughts all concerned Marty. His smile, his dark eyes… his whole body. El cleared her throat and tried not to succumb to the warmth that wanted to spread by just thinking of him.

She had always loved Marty for a lot more than his good looks. For his entire soul. But through the years El couldn't help but notice how puberty and being on the swim team had done even more wonderful things to his body. She found herself staring at his body more and more, and the feeling of craving, something she had only associated with Eggos was now associated with Marty.

Max had told El all about foreplay way back in December, explaining oral sex to her and masturbation. It had been a little awkward and embarrassing for both girls to discuss it, but with enough giggles and cringes they made it through. What bothered El now was that she hadn't been brave enough to bring it up with Marty. Yes, they made out, but they were still very reserved. Marty's hand had made it up her sweater to touch her bare skin and her hand had swept over the growing muscles of his abdomen, but now El craved more.

The sex ed classes were only confusing El more, because now she wasn't sure if she should be asking Marty's permission before they moved to the next stage of touching and feeling, but at the same time she didn't want it to be so planned that it took the passion out of it.

Feeling very exasperated El walked into the clothes store with the clear mission of buying a new swim suit seeing as her old one was getting a bit worn now. She wasn't surprised, seeing as her and Marty still had a swimming lesson every Wednesday. El smiled smugly to herself knowing that she was getting better at swimming. A lot better. She could independently swim now and was just perfecting certain strokes and swimming under water.

El riffled through a rack of swimming costumes absentmindedly, until another rack caught her eye and her heart trembled slightly with trepidation. It was a rack full of bikinis. She bit her lip and looked around to make sure there was no one in the vicinity before she hesitantly walked over to the rack and looked at the options.

She didn't own a bikini, she honestly wasn't sure how they worked. They just looked so confusing with all the strings. El picked up the hanger holding up a red bikini and eyed it self consciously. She liked the colour, it was bold and daring, but she quickly put it back on the rack feeling guilty for even holding it. Her dad would have a fit if she came home with that.

He doesn't need to know. It's not like he's at your swimming lessons with Marty. A quiet voice in El's head decided to pop up. She frowned and bit her lip, it wouldn't hurt to try it on… right?

El grabbed the red bikini and headed for the changing room. She stripped down and put the bikini bottoms on over her panties, taking her time to tie the strings. They frustrated her enough that she tied the bikini top even before it went onto her body and then just tightened it once it was over her skin. She looked up at the full-length mirror and gasped.

It felt like she was barer now then she was in her underwear. The bikini top didn't have as much material as her bra but it did seem to push up her breasts which El wasn't complaining at because she was still in the B cups and it frustrated her at times.

She carried on staring at her reflection and moved her hands flat onto her stomach and sighed. El didn't honestly know if she was what you would call pretty. Max teased her that boys in school thought she was hot and Marty had certainly told her she was hot. But didn't he need to say that because he was her boyfriend?

El chastised herself knowing that Marty was certainly hot and she definitely wasn't lying about that, so why would he lie to her when he said she was beautiful? Marty was so handsome, so hot that it was exactly why she couldn't go to his swimming practice because she couldn't stop her blood from boiling whilst she had to just sit and observe him thrash through the water so passionately that it shook her to the core.

She ran her fingers across her stomach and wondered what Marty thought when he saw her body. El's stomach was flat with a few lines here and there of tone earned from the track and field team. Her legs were very similar with tone lines here and there but they were quite long now and still thin. She wondered if she wasn't as shapely as other girls. Did her hips go out enough? Or too much? Were her breasts too small? Did they look right? El frowned looking at herself and felt insecurity start to flood in.

El tried not to think about the models in the magazines and could practically hear Marty's voice in her head, ranting about photo shopping. She found herself smiling and feeling lighter as she thought about her wonderful boyfriend, her amazing Marty. He was just perfection in every sense of the word. He could have had any girl and he chose her!

El's smile turned into a grin and she felt a bit of confidence ease back into her body. The only way she would know what Marty thought about her body was if he actually saw it. With a surge of determination, El purchased the red bikini with a smile on her face.

Marty hopped off his bike and helped El off too before leaning the bike against the Harrington's garage. He had been teaching El to swim now for almost a year and they had been coming to Scott's pool ever since summer had ended. They all knew the drill by now. Scott was out on his date night with his new girlfriend Heather, Marty and El had free reign of the pool out back and there was a spare key to the house under the plant pot if they needed to go to the bathroom to change.

Mr and Mrs. Harrington were always away. There had been one occasion when Scott's mom was in the house, but once her son had explained the situation, she didn't seem to care that they used the pool. In fact she had said she was happy it was getting used because it was so expensive to fit. She then moaned about her husband putting it there in the first place and wandered back into the house.

Thankfully this was one of the days when they had the place to themselves, that was always when Marty enjoyed their lessons the most. When it literally was just the two of them.

They had stopped at his house before going to Scott's so that Marty could scoff down four sandwiches. El had laughed but the hunger that came with a growth spurt was ridiculously real. Although the worst thing about a growth spurt was definitely the pains that came with it. Sometimes Marty would wake up in the middle of the night with horrible cramp like pains that burned and made him have to rub at his muscles. He was way over 6 foot tall now and actually hoped he'd stop growing soon because the pain was hardly worth it.

"I'm just going to get changed…" El said rather hesitantly as she took the key from under the plant pot and hoisted her bag a little higher on her shoulder.

"Okay" Marty said smiling, but also frowning slightly at her oddly nervous comment. He brushed it off once she was in the house. He kicked off his shoes and socks, pulled off the sweat pants he was wearing over his swim shorts and then took off his sweater and t-shirt. It was April and still quite cold, but the moment he got into the water he sighed with relief. Marty loved the heated pool.

He did a quick lap wanting to get in a bit of swimming before starting El's lesson. He dipped under the water to submerge his shoulders and head. When he broke up to the surface again, Marty's hands went into his hair and he pushed back his wet locks so he could see. It was in that moment that he realised that El was back and walking towards him. He blinked and then his eyes almost fell out of their sockets. Holy shit.

El was wearing the sexiest bikini Marty had ever seen. Never before had he seen her this exposed. He knew his mouth was wide open because his chin was dipping into the warm water surrounding him, but he couldn't shut it. He couldn't breathe.

His eyes dragged up and down her body in disbelief. The first thing his eyes went to was her legs, her long lean legs that he admired so much in her skirts and her dresses. Now he got to see them in their full affection with her silky thighs and he gulped. He quickly forced his eyes to bypass her bikini bottoms but then his gaze was stuck on her torso. Her hips that just looked like they were begging for him to hold them, how her waist curved in so womanly, so beautifully. There was toned lines on her stomach that Marty desperately wanted to kiss and run his fingers down.

His body shuck with desire as his dark eyes roamed up to the bikini top and he saw the tops of her breasts, tucked into the thin red material. His eyes traced across her collarbones and her neck, desperate to kiss every molecule of skin there.

And finally, Marty looked at El's stunning face. She was still walking from the house and giving him a shy smile that it struck through his heart like burning fire because she literally had no idea how stunning she was. Her curls bounced around her shoulders and Marty desperately wanted to run his fingers through them, grip them and pull her closer.

Instead Marty tried to remember how to breath and realised that he was literally just frozen in the middle of the pool and staring at her like a total mouth breather. He tried to form words, "er… y-you… er…"

El gave him a small smirk that only made burning heat pool deep in his belly as he watched her climb down the pool ladder. Holy shit her back! Holy shit her ASS! His thoughts screamed just before most of her body became concealed into the water and Marty could just about breathe again.

"Is… er… is that n-new?" He croaked out as El swam over to him with a smile on her face.

"Yeah I bought it yesterday. Do you like it?" She asked him in her soft and innocent voice. Oh! There's nothing innocent about her! She knows what she's doing to you!

Marty ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of a word that wasn't hot, sexy, fit but he was failing miserably and so for once he just gave in. "El you looking so goddamn hot. You are literally the most beautiful and sexiest woman I've ever seen." He breathed out, his eyes still glazed over with desire.

El seemed very surprised at his admission if the blush on her cheeks and her wide doe eyes were anything to go by. There was an awkward silence for a moment but then they both laughed nervously, a tension now in the air between them.

"Thanks Marty," El finally said, her voice so beautifully soft and warm.

"Anytime," Marty said with a nervous smile.

There was yet another awkward silence as they just stared at each other whilst Marty's heart simply pounded in his chest.

"Em… should we start the lesson?" El asked biting her lip and looking around at the water.

Marty was blushing now at his very obvious staring and blinked looking away too. "Yes! Yes let's… er… get started."

It was taking every single once of self-control that Marty had to try and concentrate on the lesson. He tried to remember all of the school nurse's warnings, all of her preaching to the group. But when he asked El to do her back strokes across the pool length, he was absolutely captivated by how her body moved now that he could see her flat stomach muscles moving.

His mouth was hanging open again and his jaw was painfully aware of it but he didn't care. He simply stared at her, drinking her in like she was the only water in the hottest dessert. God, I want her so badly.

When El finished her lap she gasped excitedly and bobbed up to the right position in the water. "I did it Marty!" She said happily, swimming eagerly over to him.

"I knew you could do it!" He told her beaming, also swimming over to meet her in the middle. Marty knew that the back stroke had been the one El was most scared about because it reminded her of being in the sensory pool back in the middle school gym. But she had fought through the demons and persevered. It made Mike see through the haze of lust and all he felt in that moment was pride and love.

When they finally met in the water, El jumped at him which was even easier to do seeing as they were weightless in the pool. Her arms flung around his neck and her legs instinctly wrapped around his waist. She lay her head in the crook of his shoulder and Mike grinned like a fool, kissing her wet hair, his hands flat on her back.

"I'm so proud of you," Mike whispered against her ear before giving it a gentle kiss.

El pulled back from his shoulder smiling and they stared at one another, barely a few inches between their faces. Their smiles soon disappeared to be taken over by intense looks. She was breathing hard, from the swimming or from the proximity Marty didn't know. What he did know was that the lust was back, his eyes were filled to the brim with it. His blood was bubbling with anticipation as he stared into the hazel eyes that were becoming heavier the longer they stayed in their ongoing gaze.

One of El's hands slowly left the back of his neck and her fingers trailed up and knotted into his soaking wet hair. Marty gulped and his lips parted slightly as his gaze slowly trailed to El's lips, so pink and pouty, so kissable. He licked his lips and was just thinking of indulging in them when El beat him to the chase.

Her lips crashed into his earning a gasp from them both. The kiss was immediately needy, they were both needy. Marty's hands went crazy, one of them gripping onto El's waist and the other burying in her locks. They were sharing open mouthed kisses now, panting against each other as they tongues met in a furious dance.

El's legs tightened around Marty's waist and he groaned at the feel of it. This was just too much, he wanted to feel her closer. Without much conscious thought, Marty moved his legs against the water until El's back was resting against the pool wall.

Marty felt his brain short circuit as pure instinct took over him. He pressed his body against El's, all while keeping his mouth on hers. She pulled his lower lip between her teeth and he groaned loudly at the sensation as it sent electricity down to his groin.

His hands moved to El's thighs and El gasped and broke the kiss to throw her head back, Marty's lips moved to her throat wanting to ravish her. He kissed at the skin, suckling along the lines of her jaw and down her neck with his mouth and tongue. She moaned and arched her back, causing her chest to push into his bare chest. He quivered and groaned against her sweet neck, slowly moving down to her collar bones.

One of El's hands was gripping his hair quite tightly whilst her other hand was running up and down his shoulder and onto his back, holding him tighter to her as he stroked her collarbones with his tongue, kissed them with his lips and then nibbled at them with his teeth. El gasped in surprise and moaned again. Marty was rock hard and panting desperately.

El pulled his face back up and their lips crashed together again, passionate and hungry kisses being exchanged whilst El took one of Marty's hands off her thigh and placed it on her stomach. He shook at the feeling of her smooth abdomen under his touch. Marty could barely breathe or think through the cloud of passion but he wanted to make sure she didn't regret anything of this moment.

When his hand wanted to snake up, he broke the kiss and stared at El through dilated pupils. "Can I?" he whispered indicating down to her chest. El nodded eagerly, biting her swollen lower lip. Marty exhaled a shaky breath at the untouched territory he was about to explore and wasn't surprised that his hands were shaking.

He gulped and his fingers gently caressed up El's heaving chest until he found the bikini top. His eyes were wide as he ever so softly cupped her one of her breasts making them both gasp loudly. Holy shit! "Holy shit," El moaned surprising them both at her words and how in sync she was to Marty's thoughts.

She watched through hazy lust filled eyes as Marty nervously touched her chest, hesitant and gentle fingers over her breasts, feeling her hardened nipples under his thumb and almost coming on the spot at the feeling. This was just too much. "Is this okay? Does it feel good?" Marty gulped out, wanting to make sure El was happy with what he was doing.

"It feels so good." She moaned biting her lip. Marty couldn't help but groan at her words and with her legs firmly around his waist and her pushed up against the pool wall, he felt safe to remove his other hand from her thigh and cup both breasts to which El sighed contently and bit her lip as he massaged them and built some confidence to start kissing her collarbones again. His mouth hot and wet was moving down now, to come closer to her breasts. He knew the material wasn't only thin and it wouldn't take a lot to push it to the side and press his mouth to her chest.

But in that moment El shifted and one of her hands left his hair, everything was a bit awkward for a second as she repositioned herself and Marty stopped kissing her, wondering what she was doing with her hand, wondering what she was reaching for until –

"HOLY SHIT!"

She stroked his throbbing erection though his swimming shorts and Marty almost went over the edge from surprise. They looked at each other, lust so heavy in both of their eyes and El slowly grinned. "Do you like that?" she whispered and Marty's heart was about to fly out of his chest from her suggestive voice.

"Yes." He pretty much squeaked out because it felt like all of the air had left his lungs.

El stroked him again with delicate fingers and Marty shut his eyes, breathing heavily enjoying the moment. But only for a minute or so because he knew what would happen if she continued and he knew that couldn't happen here. Especially not in Scott Harrington's fucking goddamn pool!

With frustration ebbing at him, Marty reluctantly took El's hand and moved it away from his shorts. When she looked at him confused and uncertain, he knew he had to ease her worries otherwise she was going to think she was doing something wrong, and she was definitely not doing anything wrong. "I'm sorry El, but if we continue I'm going to… well you know." He said blushing furiously.

El wide eyes soon creased and she grinned knowingly. "Sorry." She said, biting her lip.

He looked at her and smirked, "But you're not sorry are you?" he asked teasingly but still breathless.

She giggled so beautifully that Marty's heart sang. And she shook her head slowly, her eyes capturing his. "No I'm not sorry." She said gently, the intense look back on her face.

Marty groaned and leaned in again, wanting to drown in his passion and love for her. Her hands were back in his hair and his hands cupped her ass and it felt amazing! All sorts of wild thoughts entered Marty's mind as they carried on being burnt by their heated passion and he wondered if he should suggest they go inside the house. At this point Marty didn't care that was a stupid idea.

But all good things come to an end, and that was with the arrival of a certain guy with the best hair in Hawkins.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Scott's voice came out highly amused which matched the smirk on his lips as Marty and El gasped, jumping away from each other both with extremely guilty faces. El immediately wrapped her arms around her chest as if trying to gain some dignity in the situation.

"You know of all the places to have sex… I really wouldn't recommend my swimming pool." Scott said in a fake sympathetic voice.

"We weren't having sex!" El gasped whilst Marty just tried to form words but came up with nothing, so shocked and still suffering with an erection he was trying to hide with his hands.

"Ellie dear why don't you go inside and get dressed whilst I have a word with lover boy here." Scott said winking at El who was as red as her bikini.

Marty gave her a pleading look not to be left alone with Scott but she begrudgingly sighed and got out of the pool, almost running into the house to get dressed. He took a deep breath and slowly turned to Scott who had taken off his shoes and was now sitting on the pool side with his feet dipped in the water.

"Well, I'll give it to you Wheeler. You've got some guts. Sex in the pool. I'm impressed." Steve said with a smirk that made Marty want to punch it off his face.

"We weren't having sex." Marty reiterated slowly through gritted teeth feeling more mortified than he had ever felt in his life.

Scott looked down and raised an eyebrow, "Well whatever you were doing… I can see your… er predicament. So whilst you're stuck in the pool, let's have a little talk." He said brightly, clearly loving every minute of this torture.

Marty groaned in embarrassment. It was either listen to Scott's talk or get out of the pool with a very obvious erection that tight swimming shorts are never going to hide. He sighed and looked up at Scott accepting his fate.

"What do you want to talk about?" Marty asked in a low pained voice, already knowing what this little chat was going to be about.

Steve leaned back on his hands and grinned evilly at Marty. "So I don't know if anyone's ever told you about the birds and the bees Wheeler but listen up. You and El, who I will remind you is the police chief's daughter are clearly getting into some serious business and who knows what would have happened if my pretty face hadn't shown up." He said playfully much to Marty's annoyance.

"And I know you're not exactly kids anymore, but you're not adults just yet either. So if things are going to get serious with El, you need to be smart Wheeler."

"What do you mean?" Marty asked feebly, blushing furiously.

Scott laughed like it was obvious. "Well don't expect it to happen but be prepared man. You need to get condoms." He said bluntly staring at Marty who was considering drowning himself instead of getting the talk from Scott Harrington.

"And don't hurt that girl Marty. She's been through hell and back. And her dad has a gun. More than one gun Marty, probably like ten all lined up with your name on them." Scott said pointing at him.

Marty huffed in frustration, "I'd never hurt El Scott. I love her." He said immediately ignoring the whole Hopper gun scenario, even though it did fill him with fear.

"Aw! You love her? How cute." Scott said smiling and pulling his feet out of the water as Marty finally felt able to leave the pool without embarrassment. This conversation had certainly sobered him up.

"So here's the deal Wheeler. You can continue your lessons here, if you wanna call it that. But no having sex in my pool okay? And in exchange I won't tell anyone about yours and El's little rendezvous. Including the chief and my little brother Dustin. Deal?" Scott said walking over to Marty who had just got out of the pool and had grabbed his towel.

"Yeah deal." Marty said shaking Scott's hand and feeling a big sigh of relief that this wouldn't get back to Hopper or Dustin.

Scott scrutinised Marty for a moment. "Damn Wheeler. When did you get so tall?"

Marty rolled his eyes but couldn't help but be thankful to Scott for saying he wouldn't rat them out to the chief or to the party. They wouldn't never live it down and Marty needed time with El to talk about their budding intimate relationship and what it all meant. It was only his and El's business and he was determined to keep it that way for as long as he could.

April 1990

El thanked Scott for the lift home from her swimming practice with Marty and then rushed into the house, feeling giddy, excited and still with a tinge of embarrassment.

Having Scott interrupting her make out session with Marty had definitely not been ideal but that make out session had been everything. El couldn't get rid of the plastered grin on her face as she thought about Marty's hands on her thighs, on her hips, on her breasts!

She practically skipped into the house in a bubble of happiness not even acknowledging her dad who gave a grumbled greeting from the couch. She entered her room with a buzz of excitement and jumped onto her bed and reached for the super com.

El focused on her bedroom door for a moment and it slowly swung shut. She turned her attention back onto the super com and took it off the station she used with Marty and fiddled until she found the radio she was after.

"Max? Max are you there? Do you copy?" El whispered impatiently into the super com. She had to repeat her words a few times before the sound of static was interrupted.

"Hey El! You okay? You don't usually call me over the radio." Max asked sounding sleepy.

El breathed a sigh of relief that her best friend had answered. "I know, it's just I can't use the phone. I can't have dad overhearing this." She said quietly, keeping her eyes on the bedroom door for a moment.

"Oh I am intrigued! Please, go on…" Max teased.

El bit her lip for a moment, trying to stop her grin from widening any further because it was hurting her cheeks now. "Well me and Marty had our swimming practice and things got… heated." She said unable to keep in her giggle.

She could practically hear Max's grin. "What do you mean by heated?"

El's enthusiasm exploded and she happily told Max the story of buying the red bikini, Marty's reaction to it, trying to remain calm and swim and finally giving in and making out. How fiery it had gotten, how he had touched her. El felt a rush of excitement, ready to tell Max what she did next.

"…and then I touched his p – "

"El can I speak with you in the lounge?" Hopper asked suddenly appearing by the door and almost giving El a heart attack, her eyes wide in mortification for what she was about to say and what her dad might have just caught.

"What did you touch El? I didn't catch that last bit." Max's voice sounded through the bedroom causing El to shake and a cold sweat to rush to her forehead.

Hopper was still staring at her, looking oddly anxious and it only added to her mortification.

"Er… t-the hamster! I got to touch the hamster in science class. You know the pet one?" El suddenly blabbed out.

"What?" Max's confused voice called.

"Can we talk now El? You can call Max back." Hopper said, a frown on his face before he left the room and went back to the living room.

El quickly grabbed the super com the moment he left. "Sorry Max, Dad came in and I had to say something."

Max laughed. "That's okay. So… a hamster eh?"

"Oh… it was much bigger than a hamster…" El snorted.

"El!" Max exclaimed, shocked at her suggestive tone.

El laughed, "Sorry! I'll call you later okay? I need to go see what Dad wants."

"Geez good luck! I hope he didn't hear about the hamster…" Max said playfully.

"Me too." El sighed before bidding Max good bye and heading out of her bedroom. She prayed this wasn't about Marty. She begged that Scott hadn't lost his nerve and had actually told Hopper what had happened between them in the pool.

When El walked out of her room it was to find Hopper standing against one of the kitchen counters with his arms leaning on the cold surface as if it was the only thing holding him up. She went to him, terrified she was about to be grounded.

"Dad is everything okay?" she asked trying to sound like his innocent daughter and not the daughter who had been making out in a pool and fondling with her boyfriend.

Hopper looked up at El almost nervously. "I just need to ask you a question El…" he said before clearing his throat which sounded thick.

El frowned and nodded slowly. Damn is he going to ask what me and Marty were doing? And am I going to have to lie to him?

Hopper took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "How would you feel if… if I proposed to Joyce? If I asked her to marry me."

El gaped like a fish for a moment, more than pleasantly surprised by her dad's question. Her first immediate feeling was relief that she was in the clear and then she was hit by a rush of excitement and pure happiness.

"Oh Dad that would be amazing!" She gasped happily, jumping at him and hugging him tightly whilst he laughed in surprise.

He gave her a bear hug and they both enjoyed the embrace for a moment, no words needing to be said as they both chuckled. When they finally pulled away, Hopper looked at El with a nervous smile.

"Thanks kid. I'm glad that makes you happy. Obviously if Joyce actually says yes then things are going to change around here." He said apprehensively.

"Like what?" El asked curiously.

"Well we would move in with Joyce and the boys. Of course if she didn't want us to move into her current house we may all move into a new house. We can't obviously stay here, it's too small." He said calmly, his eyes flitting around the room.

El's eyes joined his for a moment as she looked at the space that was her home. "Would we still keep the cabin too?" she almost whispered, looking at the familiar space that kept her safe and warm.

Thankfully Hopper smiled and nodded, "Of course. This place belonged to my grandfather so I will definitely be keeping it. And it'll belong to you one day." He said seriously.

El grinned at his words and positively beamed. "Really? It will be mine one day?" she asked eagerly.

Hopper laughed, "Of course kid. But obviously not until I'm like a wrinkled old man."

"You are a wrinkled old man…" El couldn't help but say in response. It was just the teenager in her, loving the chance to sass at any time.

He glared at her in response but a smirk was on his lips. They had a staring competition for a moment which Hopper won and then they were laughing. He ruffled her hair and sighed, "Any more sass Missy and I'll tell Wheeler that you have some contagious disease and he can't go near you!" He teased.

El smirked, "He'd still come near me anyway…"

Hopper rolled his eyes and opened the fridge getting out a beer. "Yeah don't I know it. Let's not repeat the flu shall we?" He muttered grabbing a bottle and making El chuckle.

"Speaking of Wheeler," Hopper began as he took a sip of the cold beer. "No telling him about this okay. It's our secret for now. I've got to talk to Joseph and Will too."

"Okay… I won't tell Marty." El said smiling warmly at her dad and feeling excited for her growing family.

It took half an hour for El to break her word. She just couldn't help but tell Marty when he radio called her to say good night.

It was Hopper's late shift and probably Marty's favourite time of the week because it meant El got to come back to the Wheeler house and have dinner. She'd stay until 10pm when Hopper would pick her up when he finished work. Marty loved the time they got to spend together, even if it was usually supervised by his mom.

Marty was currently lying on the La-Z-Boy with El. He hugged her from behind as her back pressed against his torso and her legs nestled into between his. They both had their eyes shut, Marty slowly rocked the chair whilst one of El's hands was flung back and playing with his curls.

They were silent for a long time, just basking in the close uninterrupted moment between them. Whilst they both loved making out, because why wouldn't they? Marty and El were more than happy to just be with each other. Soaking up the others presence, basking in the love that they shared.

"Mmm, this is nice." El sighed, a smile playing on her lips as Marty leaned forward and kissed the top of her head.

"It's perfect." He whispered, carrying on rocking them gently which was making El feel comforted and a little drowsy.

"What time will your mom and Holly be home?" El asked yawning and nuzzling her head slightly against Marty's chest.

He pulled one of his hands away from his girlfriend's stomach and looked down at his digital watch. His mom was currently at one of Holly's ballet recitals, probably beaming with pride and telling the other mom's that Holly would go far in dance. "They'll be home in like 5 minutes." Marty groaned like a baby.

El giggled slightly at his moping. "Why are you so sad? Your mom won't mind us cuddling." She asked smirking.

Marty huffed and leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her ear before whispering into it. "Well I was hoping we'd be able to make out as well…" He nibbled at her ear and El tensed against him, giggling at his boldness.

Ever since their swimming pool antics, Marty felt a lot more confident when making out. His ego had taken a boost from where he had found his hands roaming on El's perfect body, and what her fingers had found on his body…

El turned slightly on his chest so she could look at his face. The distance between their lips now much less than before. She had a warm playful grin on his face whilst she stared at him. "Well what are we waiting for?" She whispered cocking an eyebrow up.

A groan escaped Marty's throat because of her flirting, she had no idea the affect she had on him. Or maybe she does know. His hands grasped at her soft curls and then Marty was bringing El's lips to his.

They started with slow kisses which lingered and rippled with passion. Marty would never get enough of kissing El. It was hands down his favourite activity of all time. She brought his lower lip between her teeth and nibbled on it slightly, causing Mike to sigh out a frustrated groan. Damn this girl could really drive him crazy.

One of Marty's hands moved from El's locks and slowly trailed down her spine, feeling her shiver under her pink sweater. Her fingers were caressing his cheek bones as they deepened their kiss, heavy breathing now heard throughout the living room.

The hand that was skirting down El's spine found the hem of her sweater and slowly escaped beneath the material, feeling her bare skin against the palm of his hand. Marty smiled against El's lips as he felt the skin of her lower back erupt into goose bumps at his touch. He sucked on her bottom lip and she moaned in response, her fingers escaping into his hair and clutching at the curls.

With one hand caressing circles on El's lower back, his other hand slowly moved down, confident movements that led to El's gorgeous ass. She gasped and pulled away from his lips. Marty looked at her with wide dilated eyes, ready to apologise. But El just giggled at his actions and sunk straight back into the deep kiss. Marty's hand clutched at her ass slightly and he felt his arousal building and building with every passing breath.

"We're home!" Karen suddenly called from the entrance hall as they heard the front door open and the sound of Holly jumping around.

Marty immediately removed his hands from El and she instinctively went back to her original position lying against him. Marty was incredibly thankful at her position because it hid how turned on he currently was. The only incredibly embarrassing part of this was that El was now leaning against his erection with her ass. Yep… it's never going down.

Holly was the first of the two to bounce into the living room, in all her tutu glory. "El!" She squealed the moment she saw the brunette beauty.

"Hey Holly!" El said still a little breathless. Usually this would make Marty very pleased at the effect their making out had on her but knowing that his mom and baby sister were now in the house definitely didn't make this situation very comfortable.

Karen walked around the corner holding Holly's school bag and smiled at the couple although Mike blushed when he noticed the way she appraised their closeness.

"Hi Matthew, hi El. How was school?" She asked as if pretending nothing was wrong and putting down Holly's back pack.

"Same old." Marty mumbled.

"It was really good, we've just started Shakespeare in English. I can't really understand the language but I'm getting there." El said brightly making Marty's chest fill with pride at his smart girlfriend.

He chanced a glance at his mom and was happy to see she was smiling too. Only a month ago his relationship with his mom had taken a dramatic turn when she admitted to Marty and El that she knew about El's past and how she had found out. He couldn't believe he was stupid enough to have not hidden the Snow Ball photo more carefully.

Even though Hopper had told Karen everything, there was still a lot of questions she had and as soon as Marty was over the flu, she sat them both down and wanted answers to everything that had been bubbling away in her mind.

Marty had obviously skirted over certain things like how he had kissed El, how he had fallen in love with her. But he did confirm that El had been staying in the house and his mom had gone very pink. He didn't know if it was because her 12 year old son had snuck in a girl or because she hadn't noticed.

El had been very nervous about Karen knowing her secrets, worried she wouldn't like her anymore. But it seemed to be quite the opposite once his mom had calmed down. She had a great sympathy for everything El had been through and when she really looked at her tattoo, she seemed to realise that this poor innocent girl hadn't even been a girl, not to the lab, she had been just a number. Treated purely like a test subject. It had been a harrowing moment for Karen and her mother instinct took over. She too wanted to protect El. She wanted her to feel normal just like everyone else did. It made Marty grow a newfound respect for his mom and so their relationship was improving day by day.

"I'm sure you will do just fine with Shakespeare El. And I know Matthew will help you." Karen said smiling warmly at El.

"That's right," Marty said grinning down at his girlfriend, his eyes already turning dreamy just by looking at her.

"Mommy what's for dinner?" Holly asked from where she had perched herself at El's legs.

"Meat loaf sweetie."

"Yes!" Marty said grinning because that was his favourite meal that his mom cooked. She gave him a smile in return, a warm glint in her eyes.

"El will you come up to my room. We can do girl things!" Holly said before giving Marty a glare like he had personally offended her by not being a girl. And in her book that wasn't cool.

El giggled and nodded, "Of course Holly."

"Hey!" Marty said pulling her back by her arm before she could get off the La-Z-Boy. "What about me?" he moaned trying to give El puppy dog eyes.

She grinned and pressed a chaste kiss to his pouting lips. "You'll survive."

Marty sighed and then glared at his little sister as she stole his girlfriend and pulled her up the stairs. His mom had gone into the kitchen to start on dinner and Marty looked down in relief, he had finally calmed down.

He hopped off the seat wondering for a moment if he should pester Holly and El but deciding on a whim to go and see if his mom needed a hand.

"You know, El has a wonderful influence on you." Karen said to her son whilst she prepared the meatloaf and he chopped carrots for her.

He was surprised by his mom's comment but looked up at her with a smile. "You think?"

"Oh definitely, you certainly wouldn't have offered to help me with dinner before."

Marty scoffed and carried on chopping. "Well that's more to do with the fact that Holly stole her and I'm bored…"

Karen rolled her eyes in amusement. "Either way, I'm happy you are with her. You're becoming a wonderful young man." She said ruffling his hair to Mike's protest of "Mom!"

There was a comfortable silence between them for a while and Marty smiled to himself thinking how this was actually nice. Well that was until Karen decided to bring up a certain topic…

"Matthew I have to ask… you're 14 now, you will be 15 before we know it. And I want to know how serious your relationship with El is."

Marty almost chopped his finger off instead of the carrot in shock at his mother's words. Oh god… please no! I can't get 'the talk' from Scott Harrington and my mom in the same week!

"Well I love her if that's what you mean…" Marty mumbled, deciding to go for straight out denial.

"I know you do Matthew. And I think that's wonderful… but you are a teenage boy and you will have certain feelings. Certain urges to – "

"Please Mon stop!"

"I just need to know that if you are doing anything, that you are safe." Karen said giving him a stare that Marty was sure burned through him. Or maybe it was because he was currently the colour of a tomato and you could easily fry an egg on his face.

"Mom we're only 14." He croaked out, staring down at the chopping board and wondering why the hell he decided to be a good son and help his mom prepare dinner. Never again!

"I know you are sweetheart. But I also know what it's like to be a teenager…"

Marty immediately shuddered at her words. He did not need to know what she had been up to at his age. He realised that if he was ever going to get out of this kitchen alive, he just needed to tell her what she needed to know.

He tried and failed to meet his mom's eye so kept his gaze on the kitchen counter. "Look Mom, I would never pressure El into doing anything she didn't want to do. And when we do… take things to the next level of course we'll be safe."

There was silence for a moment and all Marty could hear was his pounding heart. Finally his mom spoke, "that's all I need to hear Matthew. I know you will be respectful to El." She smiled at him and sighed going back to the meat loaf.

Marty finally exhaled in relief thinking it was all over.

"Oh and when the time comes Matthew, be gentle with her because girls can – "

"MOM! Stop!"

"I'm just saying the first time for girls…"

Marty groaned and lay his head on the cold kitchen counter wondering if it was actually possible to melt from embarrassment.

"Where are we going Hop?" Joyce chuckled from the passenger seat of the police truck.

"You'll see…" Hopper smirked as he kept his attention on the road. Whilst he tried to be his usual cheeky self to Joyce, inside he was actually quaking. The engagement ring seemed to burn a hole in his pocket and his hands gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Not too long after Hopper pulled the Chevy to a stop in front of a beautiful vast lake, the forest trees skirting around the edges. It was approaching sunset and the burning orange orb made a beautiful reflection on the rippling water.

Joyce giggled next to him and the sound only seemed to brighten Hopper's entire soul.

"Lovers lake chief?" Joyce asked playfully, her eyebrow raised.

Hopper grinned and shrugged staring at her with love sparkling in his eyes. "I thought it'd be sentimental. We've haven't been here since – "

"11th grade." Joyce finished for him, an amused look on her face.

"Come on," Hopper said, holding onto the door handle and gesturing to Joyce to get out of the truck as well. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the cab and met her at the front of the vehicle.

He lay the blanket on the hood of the car and helped Joyce onto it. She laughed loudly as he tried and failed twice to climb on, all long limbs and flailing arms making him slide off.

"Stop it woman!" He scolded playfully as Joyce continued to chuckle even when on the third attempt Hopper managed to settle next to her on the blanket.

"You make me feel like a teenager…" Joyce said staring at Hopper. They looked into each other's eyes, both filled with warmth and an unyielding love.

"I'd like to think I'm cooler than a teenage boy. I mean have you seen Wheeler around El? He's also gaping mouth and big eyes. I'm going to have to start calling him fish boy." Hopper said shaking his head.

Joyce laughed and hit him playfully on the arm. "You love him really Hop. Marty's a good kid. You're not going to find a better man for El."

Hopper sighed thinking back to the emotions Marty had displayed the night that El had returned. Pretty much declaring his undying love for her in front of a crowded room and the anger he displayed to Hopper at the fact that she had been hidden for a year, hidden from him.

"Yeah I agree…" Hopper resounded. "I guess I just want her to be my little girl for a bit longer you know?" The world was a very cruel place and it wasn't fair that Sara had been taken, it was the worst feeling Hopper had ever experienced and there would never be anything worse. But hope had resonated in his second chance with El, but she was growing up quickly, needing him less and less and it hurt.

Joyce's hand moved over his and their fingers laced. "I know you do Hop. I feel the same with the boys. Joseph is going to be off to NYU in the fall and whilst I am so happy for him, I am going to miss him so much. He has been my rock for so long. And now Will is growing up and wanting to be with Jen all the time. I feel like I'm losing them." She said sadly.

Hopper smiled sympathetically and squeezed Joyce's hand. "You're not losing them. You are honestly the best mother in the world Joyce and I'm not just saying that to get into your pants."

Joyce laughed, and Hopper smirked before continuing. "You would do anything for those boys and you've proved it time and time again. But not just the boys Joyce, you would do anything for El in a heartbeat. I know you would."

She beamed at him and shrugged honestly. "I know she's got her mother, but I do see her like one of my own Hop."

"I know you do. And that's one of the many reasons why I love you." Hopper grinned, staring into her eyes and knowing it would never be enough. Her love was more than he ever deserved but he knew he would spend the rest of his life making her happy if she would let him.

Hopper shuffled slightly nervously for a moment, that ring almost digging into his skin from the pocket of his jacket.

He gulped feeling his adam's apple bob. "Joyce?" He said in a quiet and more vulnerable voice than he expected.

"Yes?" She asked looking at him curiously, clearly having heard the change in his voice too. Her eyes darted over his face trying to pick up on his current emotion.

Hopper slowly unlaced their fingers and reached for his pocket taking a deep breath. His eyes stayed on Joyce the whole time, torn between loving her curious expression and also dying inside from the nerves that were clutching his stomach muscles tightly.

"You are the most wonderful person I know Joyce. You make me happier than I probably deserve. You are a ray of light in my crazy life and you make everything better. I love you. I think I've always loved you since I first bonded with you over a pack of camel's in school."

They both chuckled for a moment, tears in Joyce's warm brown eyes before Hopper continued, feeling shaky at this point as his fingers grasped around the small box in his pocket.

"You are my best friend Joyce, you are the kindest and bravest woman I've ever met. And you are an incredible mother to the boys and to El. But now…"

Hopper exhaled and pulled out the box as Joyce gasped in surprise. Her eyes going from the box and back to Hopper's face, tears starting to slip down his gruff cheeks.

"Now I want more. I want you to be my wife if you'll have me. I love you Joyce. W-will you marry me?"

He had never been more nervous in his entire life than in this moment. He worried she'd think it was too soon. It had only really been a year since they had secretly started dating but Hopper had known Joyce for a long time. She had been his best friend, now his lover and partner and he wanted her as his wife. He wanted to be her husband, nothing would make him happier.

"Yes! Yes of course!" Joyce suddenly cried out, her hands shaking as she threw them around Hopper's neck and pulled him in for an emotional kiss.

He shuddered in disbelief that this amazing woman had actually said yes whilst more tears fell. Hopper held Joyce close, scooping her into his embrace as their lips met like a missing jigsaw piece. Everything was perfect with the kiss and their obvious love for one another bounced between them like electricity.

"Do I get to see the ring?" Joyce finally laughed through her tears. Her face beaming with happiness.

"Y-yes sorry." Hopper stuttered chuckling as he opened the box and showed Joyce the white gold ring with a beautiful diamond shiny beautifully. She grinned wide and put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh Hop it's beautiful!"

"It's not as beautiful as you…damn that's like something Wheeler would say. But it's true." He said making them both laugh as he took the ring out of the box and placed it on Joyce's waiting hand.

Hopper kissed the hand, thinking the ring looked perfect on Joyce. They looked at each other, with matching wide grins that were going to kill their cheeks but in that moment, it really didn't matter. Hopper felt drunk with love.

Joyce looked down at the ring in amazing, shaking her head in disbelief. She finally looked up at his face and a smirk slowly made its way onto her lips. "So chief…do you remember what people do at lovers lake?" She teased.

Hopper laughed and shuffled closer to Joyce, his hand going to her cheek. "Hmm…you might have to remind me." He grinned wiggling his eyebrows, cutting Joyce's laugh off with a heated kiss.

Much later on when they got back to the Byer's house where El was also waiting, bouncing on the balls of her feet with impatience, they all embraced and laughed, smiling with excitement. Hopper beamed around at the people that truly meant the world to him. He swore in that moment that he would always do his best to be a husband and a father, not just to El, but to Joseph and Will. Give them all the father they deserved and had never got, make them happy and give them a family. Hopper couldn't wait.

May 1990

"I just can't believe the chief of police is going to be your step dad Will!" Dustin said through a mouthful of pizza as the party and Jen all sat together at lunch.

"I know," Will said feebly, shaking his head in disbelief, but with a clear smile on his face. Jen was holding his hand and had her head lying against his shoulder.

"I just can't believe you and El are going to be siblings." Jen said looking over at El with a smile. Jen and Will had been together since November, so it didn't take long for the girl to realise that Jane much preferred being called El. Marty sometimes wondered why they didn't make it more of public knowledge, but he knew there was always the risk of people questioning more than they needed to know about her true identity. And his girlfriend's safety was more important than what people called her in school.

"I can't wait to have brothers." El sighed happily before feeding Marty a slice of pizza. He had his arm around her shoulders and they both grinned and kissed between bites. Marty felt like he was getting better at multitasking. Eating, kissing, grinning and checking El out in her short skirt all at once. Mom would be proud.

"And I can't wait to be in college, so I don't have to see Mileven feeding each other…" Max muttered with a disgusted shiver of her body whilst the party laughed.

Marty chewed on his pizza, giving Max a pointed glare and a shrug of his shoulders. He was past the point of caring about his friend's disgust when they saw him and El being the loved up couple. Yes it was true that they could hardly keep their hands off each other, but that wasn't a bad thing! Not to Marty and El anyway.

"Want me to feed you too Max?" El teased pointing the pizza slice at her red headed best friend who shrunk away from the food.

"No thanks El. If I decide my hands no longer work like Wheeler, I'll just use my own stalker to do my bidding."

"Hey! Who says I'd feed you?" Lucas said affronted.

Max raised her eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. He blushed under her gaze and smiled sheepishly. "Okay maybe I'd feed you."

"That's more like it stalker." Max smirked, leaning forward and kissing him. Marty made sure to take the opportunity to tell them how gross they were, only to be flipped off by both Lucas and Max.

"So anyway, back to the wedding. What's happening with living arrangements?" Dustin asked ignoring Lucas and Max who were currently making out next to him, their chairs squeaking as they tried to move closer to each other.

"Well we all talked about it and because Joseph is going to NYU in the fall, El's going to have his room." Will said eating a few fries off his tray and then offering some to Jen.

"I get to redecorate the room and everything." El beamed making Marty's heart fluttered. He smiled staring at her, loving how happy she was. She should always be this happy.

Dustin snorted, "Man I'd be pissed if my room was taken off me the moment I left!"

Will shrugged on behalf of El. "No, it was actually Joseph's idea. He said he'll stay in my room with me when he's home or he'll stay with Anne."

"Oh great…" Marty mumbled shaking his shoulders in repulsion as he realised he was probably going to need his ear plugs again.

"Hey just think Wheeler, you might be able to get revenge on Anne soon. You and El can compete on the noise level." Max said after resurfacing from her deep kiss with Lucas who looked dazed and giddy.

"Max!" Mart and El shouted in indignation, both of them sporting blushed cheeks whilst the rest of the party sniggered.

El was more than happy when it came to the last class of the day. The weather that day had become more humid by the second and everyone was starting to get hot and bothered. El was thankful she opted for a skirt that day, but she could still feel her white shirt sticking to her and her hair felt frizzier than normal. She grabbed a hair tie from her bag and pushed her hair up into a messy bun, relieved when she felt the curls leave her neck.

"So today we will be starting the frog dissection." Mr. Turner called from the front of the biology class as he wrote a few things on the board before consulting his register. "You will all be working with a partner today as we only have so many frogs…" He said, his thick brow creased as he kept looking at the names on his sheet.

El and Marty turned in unison to smile at each other warmly. Whilst dissecting a frog was simply gross in El's book, she was more than happy to work with her boyfriend who always sat next to her in biology.

"I think we'll mix things up today too. So I'll pick your partners." Mr Turner added whilst all of the students groaned in response.

El looked at her boyfriend with wide eyes. She didn't want to work with anyone else and by the look on Marty's face neither did he. Combine the humid weather, the odd smell in the biology class which El could only presume was essence of dead frog and the fact that she was being told she couldn't work with her boyfriend, El was about 3 minutes away from having a toddler tantrum.

The only small reprieve was when Mr Turner paired her up with Dustin. El smiled in relief at her curly haired friend who shot her a grin and a thumbs up. Maybe this will mean Marty is paired with Max.

"Matthew Wheeler with… Amanda Miller." El felt her whole-body freeze as Mr. Turner announced Mike's partner. No anyone but her!

Amanda Miller was one of the popular girls who hung out with Stacey. Everything about her was long; long legs, long blonde hair, long eyelashes. And what threatened El the most about this blonde insect was that she had taken a liking to Marty over the years, in fact El was surprised she had been able to contain her emotions this far.

To El Marty had been handsome and pretty from the moment she had met him. And god don't get me started on those baby pictures! But as Marty shot up in height, broadened and grew tone and muscles from swimming, other girls had started to notice too. Or maybe it was his sharp cheekbones, his chiselled jaw line, his dark brooding eyes, almost red pouty lips or mop of dark wavy hair that curled at the ends that made him so irresistible.

All El knew was that she had heard Amanda enough in gym class making comments about how maybe nerds were actual freaks in the bedroom and that Marty was the king nerd, so he'd be the best of all. It had taken Max a lot of restraining to pull El away without an injury on Amanda's part.

Ironically at this moment the only other person who seemed fazed by Marty's new partner was Max. Her eyes were wide as she looked at El almost in a pleading manner, begging her not to start anything. El was pissed but she was sure she could contain herself. Absolutely positive that she was way above Amanda's antics.

"What are you all waiting for? Those frogs won't dissect themselves." Mr Turner said when he noticed that no one had moved to sit with their new partners.

Marty sighed heavily and moved a strand of El's hair behind her ear that had come loose from her bun. "I'll see you after class." He said with a loving smile springing up on his lips and making El want to melt quicker than the humid weather could ever cause.

"See you soon," El all but whined as Marty gave her a quick peck on the lips making sure Mr. Turner wasn't looking before he grabbed his bag and reluctantly walked over to Amanda's work station.

El didn't even notice Dustin come to sit with her, she was too focused on the stupid little wave and big smile that Amanda gave Marty. She also noticed the shit eating grin that the blonde insect then gave her. Oh bitch don't even try. El thought darkly, her eyes narrowing.

"Earth to El?" Dustin said waving his hand in front of her face and making her finally blink and look at him.

"Sorry," she said offering him a small smile and trying to calm herself down.

"That's fine." Dustin chuckled as he got everything ready. El hadn't even noticed he had gathered all the equipment until she looked down with repulsion and saw the dead frog.

Dustin caught her gaze and smirked. "Don't worry El, I'll do all the dissecting. You do the writing." She smiled at him gratefully and grabbed her pen.

It took all of 5 seconds before El's focus drifted back onto her boyfriend and the blonde insect who were two rows in front. Marty was dissecting the frog and saying something that was making Amanda laugh and touching Marty's arm as if to say, "Oh stop!" Anger started to bubble in El's stomach like never before.

Throughout the class she didn't notice her boyfriend's awkward shuffling on his stool or the way he uncomfortably diverted his eyes away from Amanda and the way she kept touching his arm. In fact, this was probably the only time ever that El was barely even registering her boyfriend. No, her eyes were firmly on the insect that was trying to trap her boyfriend like some kind of praying mantis.

"El what's up with you? You've missed the last three things I said to write down." Dustin said looking at his friend with concern.

"Nothing's wrong." El said through gritted teeth, grabbing the scalpel off Dustin and taking out her rage on the poor frog. "Absolutely nothing." She said glaring at the frog like it had personally offended her as she stabbed at its limp body.

"Woah El, if you stab it anymore we won't be able to look at its organs." Dustin said grabbing hold of El's wrist and stopping her frenzied attack. She looked up at him, her eyes so full of fire and anger that Dustin actually recoiled slightly. He frowned and then turned his gaze onto Marty and everything suddenly made sense because Amanda wasn't exactly subtle with her flirting.

Dustin smiled in relief that he had figured out the reason for El's mad behaviour. "Ellie don't be jealous of her. You know Mike only has eyes for you." He told her calmly but El couldn't be calm.

"I'm not jealous. I just want her to keep her hands off my man." El hissed, her focus back on the insect that she so desperately wanted to swat.

Dustin looked nervously over at Amanda and then back to El who was seething, almost shaking now. He gulped, "El…you've got to be careful. Look there's only like seven minutes left of class and then she'll be gone okay?" he said trying to appease her.

El tried to calm down, she desperately tried to calm down, but she was seeing red. Amanda would laugh in a sickly-sweet manner to whatever Mike said, bewildering him. When he cut at the frog she would put her hand over his and it was making El's blood boil.

"Five more minutes El. Just five more minutes. And Mike will be biking you home." Dustin pleaded with her.

El shut her eyes for a moment and exhaled deeply. Dustin was right. Only five more minutes, she could totally do this. Thankfully those minutes went quickly, and the bell rang. Students starting to get up but as Mike and Amanda stood, the blonde insect looked back at El with the biggest shit eating grin ever before stroking up Mike's arm and leaning in to whisper something to him.

That. Is. It.

El furiously focused in on Amanda and flicked her head to the side. The insect immediately slipped on air and went down to the ground quickly all flailing limbs, not before catching her chin on the corner of the desk with a loud thud.

There was a gasp in the class and Amanda yelped clutching at her jaw as blood came out of her mouth as if all her teeth had been knocked by the impact.

Well shit.

Dustin and Max immediately turned to El with their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. El felt herself panicking and ignored the tinge of blood coming out of her nostril. She turned to look at Mike to see with a wince that he was already staring at her in disbelief. The blood from her nose clearly proving his theory.

He shook his head at her in frustration and then assisted the teacher in helping up a shocked Amanda who was clutching at her jaw.

El felt her eyes welling up and her lip trembling at the look of exasperation Mike had given her. He's angry at me. As she watched him help Amanda to the nurse's office with the teacher, she realised she was angry at him.

She huffed and grabbed her books, forcing them into her bag whilst Max hurried over. "El why did you do that?!" she hissed quietly whilst the rest of the class started to pile out.

"You didn't see her face Max! She was touching him!" El said in a furious shaking voice, on the edge of tears but trying to bite them back.

"Amanda's a bitch El. But she's not worth it. What if someone had seen you?" Max said slightly panicked.

El dropped her heavy shoulders for a moment. She knew she had gotten out of control, but she couldn't help it. She still got self-conscious about the way she looked, how she wasn't as smart or as pretty as the other girls. Mike was her one perfect person, so seeing any girl, especially any annoyingly popular and pretty girl being all over him made El want to crawl into a hole and die.

"I've got to go." El sniffed, chucking her backpack over her shoulder and leaving the classroom despite Dustin and Max calling after her. The moment she walked outside she groaned as she looked up at the sky. The heavy humid clouds looked like they were seconds from dropping sheets of rain.

El steadied her backpack and heaved a sigh because it didn't matter if the world was ending, she just wanted to get home and crawl under her duvet.

Mike was highly irritated by his girlfriend's antics as he rushed back to biology in a huff. Why had she done that? He knew Amanda was being ridiculous, even he wasn't that oblivious that he didn't realise she had been flirting with him. His skin had practically crawled the entire lesson.

But that didn't matter to him now. What mattered was that El had used her powers in public and someone could have easily caught her in the act. The fact that she had placed herself in danger was infuriating him. His worst fears were creeping into his mind. What if someone did see? What if word got back to Hopper? What if he made her go back into hiding? What if they moved out of state? Away from everyone she knew. Away from me.

Mike felt hollow with fear but pressed on towards the classroom where he hoped El and his backpack were waiting for him. He needed to talk to her. Needed to make her see how stupid that had been.

When he reached the classroom though, it was to find just Dustin and Max hanging by the work station he had been at. His backpack still on the stool and no El. Mike clenched his jaw in frustration. She'd left rather than deal with the problem.

"Mike thank god." Dustin said in relief the moment he walked into the classroom. "You need to talk to El. She's pissed."

"Yeah well I'm pissed too." Mike snapped walking towards his backpack.

"Why are you pissed? It's not like some guy was all over El." Max bit back, immediately sticking up for her best friend.

Mike glared at her for a moment. "Do you honestly think I care about Amanda? I'm pissed because El used her powers and put herself in danger. Her being sent away is my worst fear Max." He said rather abruptly.

Max and Dustin were quiet for a moment, both looking down at their shoes. "I tried to stop her." Dustin finally mumbled out.

Mike sighed in frustration and grabbed his backpack. "I'm assuming she's walking home?" he said ignoring Dustin's comment and looking at his two friends pointedly.

"Yeah she is." Max said before adding, "but go easy on her Wheeler. You have no idea how long Amanda has been planning something like this and El has always contained her anger. I think it just bubbled over." She shrugged grabbing her own backpack.

Mike felt his stomach tighten at the idea that his girlfriend had been putting up with Amanda's antics for longer than he realised. But he was still mad. Still unable to comprehend how she could just crack like that.

"Go talk to her." Dustin prompted once they got to the bike rack.

Mike sighed and held onto the handles of his bike. "Don't worry. I intend to." He said grumpily as he waved them both goodbye half-heartedly and started to pedal away from the high school.

He looked up at the sky and frowned, it was definitely going to rain. Great. He thought sarcastically.

Seeing as El was walking and Mike was on his bike, it didn't take him long to catch up with her. It also didn't take long for it to start raining either. Sheets of the almost warm water droplets pelted down on him and he had to squint ahead before he saw El walking along the pavement. Even through his anger his heart trembled at the sight of her. Her white shirt was now stuck to her skin, her loose curls clutching to her temples and her skirt drenched.

Mike barely noticed how soaked through he was too. He only focused on pedalling faster until he was next to her. She noticed him out of the corner of her eye but kept her face forward, her arms hugging her chest as she walked.

"El what the hell was that?" Mike immediately asked, not able to hide the clear frustration in his voice.

"Go away Mike." El said moodily which only made Mike huff with exasperation at her behaviour.

"No. I won't go away. I want to know why the hell you just used your powers in a room full of other students. You know you could have been caught right?"

"…I wasn't thinking." El mumbled darkly, still staring ahead and walking as quickly as she could whilst Mike pedalled next to her. The road slick with rain water.

"Yeah no shit you weren't thinking!" Mike almost shouted. El turned to look at him with a glare.

"Just leave me alone Mike." She said her voice breaking slightly. Mike felt his heart immediately stutter at the pain in her words. He sighed in defeat.

"El just let me bike you home. It's hammering down and we're getting soaked." He told her in a calmer voice.

"Go home Mike." El huffed as she tried to speed up her walk.

"No I'm not leaving until you're safely home and we've talked about this." Mike said in indignation.

El halted suddenly making Mike push the breaks on his bike and almost fall off. He steadied himself with his feet on the ground and turned to look at her again, his vision becoming obscured by his curls glued to his forehead.

"Fine." She said shortly whilst Mike rolled his eyes at her attitude. He scooted forward on the seat and El got on securely behind him. He noticed that she didn't hold onto him as tightly as she usually would, and he tried to pretend that it didn't hurt his feelings.

Mike focused on biking them safely to the cabin seeing as this definitely wasn't the time to have a crash because of the heavy rain. Water dripped down his face and he blinked it out of his eyes as they got closer to the house.

Once they were outside of the cabin, El immediately got off the back of the bike and walked up to the house without looking back. Mike huffed in annoyance and followed after her. Thankfully she didn't slam the door in his face and he made his way into the cosy living room locking the front door behind him.

El chucked her backpack on the couch and threw off her soaked shoes, Mike mirrored her actions before turning to her. She was stood by her bedroom door, her hands on her hips and her chest heaving through her drenched white shirt. If Mike wasn't so pissed he'd find it incredibly sexy. Shit I do find it sexy anyway!

Mike stared at his girlfriend and sighed in frustration. Anger subsiding as he saw the vulnerability in her eyes. "El…why did you do that?" he asked as calmly as possible.

"She was flirting with you. Touching you." She said through narrowed eyes.

"So what? I don't care about her El. I was disgusted myself." Mike said in exasperation. "Do you not trust me or something?" he said feeling a hint of anger dig back into his voice.

"I don't trust her!" El shouted, her voice heavy with fury. A sob ripped from her throat, "s-she is trying to take you from me."

Mike sighed heavily and took a step closer to his girlfriend. "El she will never take me from you. No girl ever will. I love you. I only want you."

"Mike I'm not as smart as the other girls. I'm not as pretty." El sniffed.

"That's bullshit." Mike said fiercely. "You are the smartest girl I know. You got into high school after less than a year of tutoring El. It took me eight grades to get up to that level. You are incredibly smart."

Mike took another step closer to El, thankful that she didn't step back. She sniffled and stared at him, her eyes soft and slowly warming back up. Mike looked at her. Really looked at her.

His dark eyes roamed over her expressive eyes, her beautiful cheek bones, her luscious soft pink lips and her cute button nose. Mike's eyes fell down to her neck and collarbones, the skin there begging to be kissed, begging to be marked by him. So everyone would know she was his.

He gulped as he looked down at her chest, the white shirt having gone almost see through, so he could see her white lacy bra standing out against her skin. He longed to touch her there again, to really feel her.

El was quivering under his gaze as his dark eyes filled with animalistic lust. Mike could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It was so quiet in the cabin except for their heavy breathing that he wondered if El could hear his trembling heart.

He looked at her abdomen wanting desperately to kiss a trail down her toned skin and his gaze finally fell to her long lean legs. How he wished to have those legs wrapped around his hips. His hands were shaking and a deep fire was boiling within his soaked body.

His eyes, pupils dilated, finally flashed back to El's hazel eyes. Her own golden orbs were heavy and filled with desire. It only added fuel to the fire between them, the tension in the air building by the second.

Mike took another step closer to El, never taking his eyes off her. "You are the most beautiful woman that ever lived El. You are so pretty, you always have been. I could never want anyone else. I want you. I want all of you." He said his voice heavy with lust.

El gasped at his words and took a step closer to him too. "I want all of you too." She whispered.

"No one else will ever have you El. Because you're mine." Mike almost growled, a dominance in his voice that had never been released before came rushing out of its cage.

A beautiful sigh of acceptance escaped El's throat and then she was rushing at him and he was rushing at her.

Their mouths immediately crashed together and there was nothing innocent about this kiss. Nothing at all innocent about their gasps, moans and how their hands tried to touch the other anywhere they could reach.

The anger El had felt only moments ago had immediately morphed into desire the second Mike had looked at her. His dark eyes so filled with lust had burned at her skin, made her heart fit to burst and for a heat to pool deep in her abdomen.

El's hands were grasping at Mike's hair whilst his hands gripped to the back of her soaking shirt. Their tongues were in a furious battle for dominance, heavy breaths and panting was the only thing that could be heard in the room. El didn't think she had ever felt so turned on before.

"Let's…go…to…my…room," El breathed out between hot kisses. She looked into Mike's eyes for a moment, they were so entranced by need that she felt an immediate ache down below. He didn't speak but nodded breathlessly as he attacked her lips once more. El moaned at his fierce passionate kisses as she slowly walked backwards through her bedroom door, not once breaking their lips away from each other.

Mike knew the layout of her room by now and so El felt him steer them in the direction of her bed making her heart hammer with anticipation. Whatever was going to happen between them, she wanted it. She was ready to release the excitement and longing that was bursting to be set free inside of her.

The back of El's legs collided with the bed and Mike slowly brought her down to the mattress, his body following, and their lips still attached, their tongues stroking in heated passion. He had never been on top of her like this and it was just wow.

El pulled at Mike's lower lip and sucked it as a deep groan escaped his mouth. He was leaning his body weight onto his elbows as their mouths slant and they deepen their kiss even further making El's heart race like crazy. God I want you so much. She thinks to herself desperately. But El knows this isn't the moment for them to have sex for the first time. They don't even have protection.

But that doesn't mean we can't do other things. A voice, sounding a bit like Max reasons in her head. El smiles against Mike's lips and her fingers go to the bottom of his t-shirt and she starts to pull.

Mike breaks the kiss and doesn't even hesitate to help her take off the t-shirt where it then gets flung to the bedroom floor. El leans up slightly and kisses Mike's chest with her warm mouth, her tongue sneaking out to taste his skin. Oh wow!

"Shit," Mike gasps his eyes tightly closed for a moment as he takes in the sensation, panting heavily. El's hands grasp at his sides to anchor herself as she trails hot kisses across his chest loving every second.

"W-what time is Hopper h-home?" Mike asks in a shaky voice through clenched teeth, his eyes still squeezed shut.

El smirks against his skin which is covered in goose bumps. I put those there! She thinks triumphantly. "Another hour or so." She says, her tongue and lips running down his sternum making him quiver and pant.

"Why do you ask?" Oh she knows why he's asking.

Mike's eyes slowly open and he looks at her with desire filled pupils. He bits his swollen lower lip looking down at her heaving body pinned down by his own. His gaze flickers back to her eyes. "I…I don't want to do anything you don't want to do El." He whispers breathlessly.

El reaches a hand up to his cheek, gently caressing along his heated skin. "I want to do everything with you Mike." She whispers making him gasp at her boldness.

She smiles at him, he's so freaking beautiful. "But I know we can't do that…we don't have any protection." She says, grinning slightly to herself when she sees him deflate slightly. El can't deny that she doesn't love how he desires her as much as she desires him.

El knows exactly what will cheer him up though. Her hand runs slowly down from his cheek, to the column of his neck and back onto his chest. "But we can do other things…" She says giving him a sly smile and quirks up an eyebrow.

Mike all but loses it. He groans deeply and then he's leaning down attacking her neck with his mouth, sucking on the skin and making El whimper with pleasure. Her noises only spur him on as his tongue travels to her collar bones and he nibbles and kisses at the skin whilst his fingers work on the buttons of her shirt. All El can do in the moment is pant and writhe at the overwhelming heat rushing through her body wanting more and more.

Mike's then opening her shirt and El helps him to push it down her arms. Off it goes to meet his t-shirt on the floor. He pauses and stares at her bra, his eyes so drunk with love and lust that it makes El quiver. She leans back on her elbows and breathes heavily, staring at him, lapping up his attention.

"Do you want to take it off?" She whispers to him.

Mike's adam's apple bobs as he gulps nervously. His mouth is slightly gaped open and his eyes don't leave her chest as if he's in a trance. He slowly nods and a croaked, "yes," escapes his throat.

El gives him a reassuring smile through her pleasurable haze and they both sit up on their knees facing one another. El's hands graze Mike's strong shoulders and she indulges in the feel of his muscles underneath her fingers. He's so fucking hot, praise the day he joined the swim team!

Mike exhales a nervous breath and then he pulls El close to his chest, their warm stomachs just touching and the feel of bare skin on bare skin is almost too much for them as they let out a joint gasp. Their lips meet once more, this time more intimately, deeper and lingering rather than furious and needy. The kiss is intoxicating and makes El desperate for more.

Mike's hands are moving up El's back and meet her bra. She feels him gasp into her mouth, his hot and delicious breath excited and apprehensive about what he's about to do. And El would be lying if she pretended that she wasn't nervous too. What if he doesn't like them? What if they don't look right? What if they aren't big enough?

His fingers find the two clasps and he pulls them. Nothing happens for a moment as they both chuckle at Mike's rubbish attempts to try and unclip the hooks. Finally, he figures it out and then their smiles slip off their faces, being replaced by intense eye contact.

Mike slowly pushes the straps down El's shoulders, his fingers so delicate. She takes a deep breath and pushes the bra the rest of the way and flings it onto the floor. Mike leans back slightly so he can really look at her and El's breath hitches in anticipation.

Mike's completely forgotten his name, where he's from and how to breathe. His pupils are completely blown as he stares unashamedly at El's naked upper body. HOLY SHIT.

He's pretty sure he's probably drooling as his mouth is gaped open, but he can't figure out how to close his jaw. Mike can only stare at her perfect soft breasts. I really want to touch them. "Can I touch them?" He gasps out before immediately cringing at his words. Shit that was really seductive Wheeler.

El giggles and bites her lower lip with a smile. She nods at him and Mike exhales loudly, not taking this opportunity for granted. His hand slowly reaches out and he brushes his finger down from the hickey he's left on her collar bone to her bare breast. "Oh fuck, you're so beautiful." he murmurs out, his voice suddenly deeper.

El shuts her eyes and sighs heavily as Mike caresses her breasts, gulping at how they hardened under his gentle touch. His thumbs stroke over her nipples from instinct and she moans and Mike almost dies on the spot because that is the best sound he's ever heard from her. He now sees this as a personal challenge to get more moans from her, even more seductive ones than the last one.

Mike leans in, his hands still on her breasts as he kisses the nape of her neck. El flings her head back loving it which only spurs him on more. He nips and kisses her soft skin deeply, breathing her in like never before. She whimpers as his lips brush the top of her breasts and he looks up at her through heavy lidded eyes.

El looks down at him and he almost gasps at the passion that is burning so evidently in her eyes. "Kiss me." She breathes out and he knows exactly where she wants his lips. A deep groan is ripped from Mike's chest as his mouth goes hot and wet to El's breasts and she practically jumps as the most intoxicating moan yet escapes her lips. Mike has never been more aroused in his life. He can practically feel his erection throbbing desperately. But this moment isn't about him, it's about her and Mike just wants to devour her.

His tongue and lips caress her breasts one at a time whilst his hot palms crushed onto her back, desperate to just hold her closer. She whimpers, and moans and Mike feels so fucking turned on that he can barely function. "Does that feel good baby?" He whispers against her skin. Baby? Where the hell did that come from? Oh who cares, I've got her breast in my fucking mouth!

"Yes!" She gasped in response, her fingers tangled in his hair, grasping at the curls rather aggressively but Mike literally doesn't care. She can do what the hell she wants because she's his and he's hers and that's all that matters. She can knock all of Amanda's teeth out for all he cares because she's his girl and he'll protect her to the ends of the earth and beyond.

"Urgh Mike I feel…I feel…" El gasped moaning unable to find the words she wanted. Mike kept on sucking, licking and even nipping at her breasts as she writhed against him, but his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Holy shit am I going to get her to orgasm from this?! It's rare but it can happen, that's what I've read anyway. Because of course he's been reading up on exactly how to pleasure a woman, all in preparation for this exact moment.

"Oh Mike!" El's moans are getting louder now, her voice carrying further around the cabin and he is incredibly happy they are alone. He corrects himself from earlier, no hearing her say my name when she's about to orgasm is definitely the best sound ever!

She whimpers and gasps, clutching his hair so tightly that Mike winches but then she's shuddering, and a low moan escapes her lips and she pushes him away from her breasts like she can't take the stimulation anymore.

They stare at each other, both panting, both in disbelief, both horny as hell. And then El's dark gaze turns almost animalistic as her eyes flicker down to his crotch where his desperate erection couldn't be more obvious. "Your turn." She breathes out seductively. Sweet Jesus.

Before Mike can even squeak out a breath, El has unzipped his jeans with her powers and her hand just shoves right down into his boxers. "FUCK!" Mike gasps loudly as her fingers reach his erection.

He gulps for air trying to think straight but not one coherent thought can break through how amazing her hand grasping his dick feels. Mike whimpers and shuts his eyes, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. "El…" he barely manages to breathe out in a very deep voice.

"It's so hard." El whispers in fascination and Mike doesn't know if he wants to groan at her words or laugh from her genuine awe. All he knows is that he is not going to last very long because he's already throbbing like never before.

Mike wonders if El even knows what to do, how could she? But then he loudly groans as her hand starts to pump him and he almost collapses onto her from the pleasure it causes to rush through his body.

"Oh fuck…El…" He moans withering against her touch as she continues to move her hand up and down and absolutely dominate him. He is completely at her mercy and he fucking loves it. I'm not going to last, I'm not going to last! Shit does she even know it gets messy?

He feels himself start to twitch, his body shaking, and he groans and groans. "El I'm…I'm g-going to – " But he can't get another word out before he's seeing stars and his vision whites out as he just explodes in ecstasy. El jumps slightly in surprise but her hand stays exactly where it is.

Mike gasps and shudders as he tries to catch his breath. His whole body feels like it's actually on fire. El takes her hand out of his boxers and looks at it with curiosity which only makes Mike flush more, but with embarrassment now. "Er…do you have any tissues?" He breathlessly asks.

El looks at him and he can't believe how thrilled she actually looks. She's smiling, and her eyes are bright once more. The hurt and vulnerability from earlier is long gone. She giggles and then nods, reaching over for some tissues but then changing her mind and grabbing make out wipes instead. She cleans her hand and Mike does his best to clean himself up knowing that he is definitely going to need a shower and change his clothes the moment he gets home.

He throws the wipes in her bedroom bin and then turns to her with a dopey grin. He can't help it. That was the best orgasm he had ever had in his entire life. "That was amazing." He breathes out, unable to stop his eyes from growing warm with ecstasy and gratitude.

El beams and sighs contently. "It was better than I even imagined." She said smiling and pulling him down to cuddle with her on the bed.

Something in her words makes Mike smirks. "So, you've imagined this huh?" he teases, leaning down and kissing her warm forehead.

El giggles and lays her head on his chest. "Oh yeah. I've dreamed about it and thought about it loads when masturbating." She said smiling.

"What?!" Mike gasped out in shock. Holy shit she masturbates too? Whilst thinking about me?! Oh my god this is the best day of my life.

El looks up at Mike's stunned face and laughed. "Girls do it too you know." She smirks poking his cheek and making him grin and blush.

"I do now." He says playfully. El rests her head back on his chest and Mike pulls her closer in his arms, his head lying on top of her curls.

"That was honestly the best orgasm I've ever had." Mike sighed with satisfaction.

"Me too. I didn't even know you could orgasm from that. Where did you learn that?" El asked curiously.

Mike's cheeks blushed. "Er…from a book." He finally admitted.

He worried that El would laugh or think he was stupid. But instead she sighed and snuggled further into his chest. "Cool. Well you know where I am when you learn some other ways to make me orgasm." Mike gasped wordlessly with wide eyes whilst El giggled at his reaction.

They stayed in the embrace, enjoying the time together, enjoying the intimacy of their bare upper bodies touching. Mike could have stayed like that forever but when they heard the sound of Hopper's truck pulling up they just managed to get their clothes back on before he walked into the living room looking at them suspiciously.

Mike biked home later that evening with the biggest, dopiest smile on his face. Baffled by having their first argument, amazed at their intense foreplay and smug that he had got away from the cabin without Hopper knowing a thing. Little did he know that his t-shirt was totally on back to front. Oh well!