El twiddles with her thumbs, staring at the ground and thinking.
What if Mike's parents don't like her? What if she messes something up?
El, now staying with the Byers, waits for Dustin and Lucas to pick her and Will up so they can all head to Mike's house for a… what was is again? A feast? El's never been to a 'feast' before and she hasn't really had a chance to meet with Mike's parents either… She's super nervous and she wants everything to go right- she also wants Mike's parents to like her…
"They're gonna like you ya know" Will says to her.
The two have developed a close, family-like bond because of everything they've been through and the fact that they are now living together.
"Sure?" she questions, glancing up at him.
"Yeah, I'm sure" he smiles at her.
She gives a small smile back and they both jump up from the couch as they hear a knock on the door. Will answers the door and Dustin is there grinning and waving with Lucas in the background, waiting on his bike.
"Are you ready for the feast? I'm taking the stuffing- Oo! And lots of turkey too!" Dustin exclaims.
"Turkey?" El asks, confused.
"You have to try it El- turkey is delicious!" Eleven nods and they all begin walking out the door.
El gets on the back of Will's bike and they head to Mike's house- she can hear her heart pounding as they get closer.
They are supposed to arrive at 5:15 but dinner doesn't start until 5:45 so they plan on just going in through the basement.
El hasn't seen Mike in 4 days which is an eternity for the both of them, yet, when they began approaching Mike's house she felt tingly in her stomach.
"Stomach… feels weird…" she tries to explain to the boys.
"What kind of weird?" Will asks.
"Tingly…" she frowns.
"Ooooo El has butterflies!" Lucas exclaims as they begin getting off their bikes near the back entrance of Mike's home.
"Butterflies?" she asks, confused yet again.
"It's a saying- like it means that you're nervous but also usually excited about something" Dustin says.
"Oh" she says.
They walk inside and El is the last one in but Mike is already waiting in there reading a book.
"Hey guys!" he said not seeing El as she was hidden behind the AV club.
El looks over at the blanket fort and smiles. She has fond memories of staying with Mike and she misses the comfort of having him always near her- though she loves staying with her sort of 'brothers' Will and Jonathan who always take good care of her as well (not to mention Joyce and Hopper).
"Where's El?" Mike asks.
The boys step to the side and reveal El who is wearing a semi-formal dress and her hair similar to the way it was at the Snow Ball.
A slight blushes creeps onto Mike's face and he wants to take her hands in his right at this very second and kiss her… But all of his friends are watching right now so he sticks with "You look… great."
"Thank you" she smiles shyly. They continue looking (sometimes more like glancing) at each other and smiling to themselves.
Dustin gives a cough to break up this romantic moment that the entire group feels like they are intruding on. Mike snaps back to reality, his blush deepening a bit.
"My mom is almost done with dinner- she will be done earlier than expected so…" Mike states.
Dustin, Lucas, and Will look at each other and come to a silent agreement.
"By the way Mike… All three of us have to leave after dinner because we have… plans" Dustin says.
"Plans?" Mike says confused.
"Y-yeah! Our parents want to spend time with us and stuff" Lucas jumps in.
"And my mom needs help cleaning out the basement" Will adds quickly.
"Leave?" El asks, brows furrowing in confusion.
"Not you El- you're allowed to stay" Will tells her.
Her eyebrows release a bit and she nods.
"DINNER'S READY" Karen ( ) calls.
The rest of the gang runs upstairs to grab a seat and are practically bouncing as they wait for the food to be put down on the table.
"We have to go and eat now" Mike says, running his hands through his hair.
"Mike?" she asks.
"Yeah?"
"What if… they don't like me?" she looks sad.
He goes over to her and wraps an arm her shoulders, holding her tightly to him.
"Of course they're going to like you El~ You're amazing"
She smiles at him yet again, the same smile she had when Mike first called her pretty- er… pretty good.
"They're gonna wonder where we are… Are you ready?" he looks at her with a slightly concerned and red expression.
"Ready" she says.
He takes her hand and sort of pulls her upstairs, El's eyes widening a little. When they are at the top of the stairs Mike lets go of her hand, dusts off his clothes and walks with El slightly behind him into the dining room.
Everyone at the table looks up but not at the same time.
"Mom, Dad… This is El" Mike says giving a tiny gesture at the girl now standing next to him.
She gives a tiny wave and says "Thank you for having me Mr and Mrs Wheeler."
Karen smiles and replies, "It's not a problem sweetheart- welcome to our home."
Mike and El sit in the seats that Mike had saved for them- with Dustin on El's left and Nancy on Mike's right.
The table was silent and people were eating their food without saying a word- the turkey stuff Dustin was talking about is really good (but not as good as Eggos).
"So," Mrs. Wheeler says while trying to break the silence, "Where are you from?"
She tenses a little bit but remembers what the boys said when that teacher Mr. Clarke asked the same question.
"Sweden. Very cold" she replies.
The boys try to keep from grinning, also remembering what they told Mr. Clarke.
"So when did you move here?" she tries to keep a conversation flowing.
"I don't remember" she frowns.
"That's okay honey… Anyways… So how did you and Mike meet?"
She remembers it very clearly… he found her on the day of November 7th, 1983 in the woods just after she escaped from the lab. She can't say any of this though.
But then Mike saves her. "Mom. Stop questioning her."
"But I want to know more about your girlfriend, is that too much to ask?" she replies.
"S-she's not my… g-girlfriend" Mike stammers defensively though he secretly wishes she is.
All of his friends let out tiny snort and muffled laughs, trying to control themselves but mostly failing.
El doesn't understand the whole boyfriend and girlfriend thing still- she has heard of it many times before though. She thinks it means really close friends but with genders in front of it for some random reason. She decides she will ask Mike for a better definition later and decides to enjoy her food for now.
The rest of the dinner (which had a lot of food prepared) they went around and said what they are thankful for.
"I'll start" Mrs. Wheeler says.
"I'm thankful for my beautiful family whom I love so much" she smiles and Nancy gives a tiny eye roll.
"I'm thankful for a stable job" Ted Wheeler says in a monotoned voice.
"I'm thankful to have people looking out for me though it has been a pretty rough year" Nancy says.
"I'm thankful for these babies- grrrrr" Dustin says, running his tongue over his teeth and then purring.
"I'm thankful for the bad days being mostly over" Lucas nods his head while speaking.
"I'm thankful to be back" Will says. Everybody smiles at this.
Next it's Mike's turn.
"I'm thankful for all of my friends" Mike discloses.
They all look at El, giving her encouraging smiles.
"Oh… I'm thankful for my friends too- Friends make me happy" she says lastly.
Mike and Eleven didn't even realize that they were holding hands under the table until everyone finished going around saying what they are thankful for. Mike blushes but he doesn't let go. Dustin has noticed though and plans to tell the rest of the gang immediately.
"Hey, Mike, I think we better get going now. Our parents… and stuff. Thanks for having us Mr and Mrs Wheeler!" Dustin says.
"Thanks for coming boys and Happy Thanksgiving!" Mrs. Wheeler acknowledges them.
Will, Lucas and Dustin wave and say goodbye to them, laughing to each other when the got outside and Mike couldn't hear them.
"So… Me and El are going to go to the basement now… That's okay right El? Right Mom?
El nods and Karen replies with "Yes, yes of course! Have fun!"
Mike gets up, revealing the two holding hands and brings El down to the basement once more while still not letting go. But when they reach the couch downstairs he plops down, sighs and lets go of her hand.
"Mike?" El asks somewhat quietly.
"Yeah?" he answers.
"What is girlfriend? Is it a really close friend?"
Mike blushes and stammers, "W-well…"
El slightly tilts her head with interest and encouragement.
"It's more of someone you love in an not friend way and are close with and you like-like them… They take you to dances… They protect you… They uh… kiss you… And they love you for you and they want to be with you and make you happy…"
"More than friend… so... love interest…?" she checks.
"Exactly" he says.
"But we protect each other and go to dance and kiss… Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"N-no! I mean not yet- we haven't asked each other and our relationship isn't official yet so… I mean not that I don't want it to be because I do! But it's uh also your choice so…"
"You want to be boyfriend and girlfriend?" she asks.
"Y-Yeah I guess" he mumbles, blushing.
Silence.
"I had a tingly feeling in my stomach today and Dustin said I had butterflies in my stomach when we got here…" she states.
He looks at her.
"You gave me butterflies" she tells him.
Mike blushes.
"I want to be your girlfriend. Make official. I love you, Mike."
His eyes widen and he smiles one of the brightest smiles that he thinks has ever been on his face.
"I'd love that, El. I love you too" he smiles somewhat shyly now while blushing and he kisses her gently on her lips.
"Boyfriend… Girlfriend… I like the sound of this" El says, forehead against Mike's. Mike smiles.
"Me too, El. And I'm thankful that I get to be with someone as amazing as you."