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 1983

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 1983

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 1983

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 Mike 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 Nancy 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?" Mike 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 Mike's heart flutter madly. Her hands stroked slightly against his stomach and Mike'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. Mike felt himself blushing madly and was thankful that she couldn't see his face.

"Er…I guess it's just muscle?" He said weakly. Mike 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. Mike 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 Mike?" Will said watching his friend with amusement as they all started to dismount the bikes by the basement door.

Mike 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 Mike 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. Mike 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 Mike over her shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "I just can't believe it's still here." She mused.

Mike 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.

Mike 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 Mike weren't alone and they both turned to see Will and Max watching them avidly.

"Yeah we did." Mike 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 Mike, 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 Mike 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 Mike'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 Mike went and sat in the fort whispering to each other and holding hands.

They stopped talking for a moment and Mike 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." Mike'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. Mike 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 Mike 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.

Mike 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.

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

"The same Steve 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." Mike 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 Mike.

"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." Mike 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 Mike'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 Mike 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.

Mike 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.

Mike 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. Mike 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.

Mike 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. Mike 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, Mike 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.

Mike 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 Mike. Wherever you are is home."

Mike'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. Mike 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. Mike looked at her dazed and breathless. "I don't think dad would like to see this." She panted.

Mike 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?" Mike all but whispered as the tension in his chest tried to slowly lift.

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

"Of course!" Mike 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 Mike." She whispered.

"Good night El" Mike 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 Mike'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 Mike…over."

"I miss you El."

"Mike?"

"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 Mike?"

"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 Mike?"

"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 Mike."

"I love you too El."