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lovelysheree · 5 years

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Captain Jane - A Stranger Things Pirate AU (preview)

AN: I’ve been playing around with that pirate AU more and I think I’ve worked out a solid first look. The title of the story is still under construction... but I felt like posting this little preview for the fun of it. See if it’s of any interest to ya’ll.

Tag list: @proud-princess-el-wheeler (ask if you’d like to be tagged on any updates for this story)

Mike stands at the edge of a large ship, leaning overboard to watch the waves crash against the wooden planks. All things considered, it’s a beautiful day. There’s a perfect sea breeze, gently brushing past his hair, and the sky is as blue and endlessly stretching as ever. A day like today is the definition of pleasant; however, Mike feels anything but. He absolutely hates sea travel. As the boat rocks back and forth, he fights the urge to vomit. Great… only one day in and he already feels sick to his stomach.

But it isn’t just the seasickness that spurs on his sour mood. It's everything. He has been dreading this trip since the beginning of the year when his father sprung it on him.

“Michael, we have a potential partnership in the southern colonies,” his father had told him on a particularly cold January morning. Theodore Wheeler, proud inheritor of his father’s (Mike’s grandfather’s) wealth in the iron business. He wore the same expression as he wore every other day. Suppressed boredom with a twinge of quiet, but deeply settled resentment. Although the complete void that was Mike’s father left much to be desired in terms of fatherly love, he couldn’t blame him. If there was anyone else who understood the absolute bore of recording the financial transactions of pots and pans and anything else iron, it was Mike.

“I assume you would like me to stay here and manage the books, then?” he had replied, not thinking much of it at the time.

“Actually, you will be going… as the heir of the business,” his father had clarified, “You leave come the beginning of summer.”

And then came the beginning of summer and Mike had packed his bags and loaded himself onto the first ship to the southern colonies. He huffs a breath of air from his lungs, wishing desperately he was anywhere else. He never liked the iron business. Or any business for that matter. But if you were to ask Mike what he did like to do, he probably would be able to say. Not even he knew, because his entire life he’s been preparing to take over his father’s company. It’s not like there’s another option, so there’s no point in dreaming about one. He blinks slowly and lets out a pitiful groan as he stands up, leaning away from the water below.

“You seem chipper,” he hears a voice behind him.

Mike turns around to see Lucas Sinclair, a longtime friend and brother, wearing a sarcastic smile. The Sinclair’s were a family that had worked for Mike’s grandfather years ago. They were a part of his father’s “inheritance,” though Mike always considered them family. Hell, Mike considered the Sinclair’s to be his family more than his actual biological one. He spent many days and nights escaping his house and joining the Sinclair’s in their small moments of free time, unbeknownst to his parents.

“I get that from my father,” Mike says, turning back to the ocean.

He sees Lucas join him at his side out of the corner of his eye, watching him lean onto the wooden railing. “Funny,” Lucas remarks, “You get that from you father, too?”

Mike snorts, “I’m afraid my wit comes from years of living a cynical life.” He steps away from the railing, turning around and slumping against it, allowing his long limps to fold beneath him in a tangled heap as he lowered himself to the floorboards. He leaned to the side, letting out a small, strangled grunt as he tugged something out of the bag that hung at his hip.

Lucas rolled his eyes, scoffing as he watched Mike pull out an old, well-used book. “Not that damned thing,” Lucas shook his head, “How many times have you read that, anyway?”

Mike glanced up at his friend before turning back to his book. “I’ve honestly lost count,” he said, squinting at the pages.

“Isn’t it boring to read the same thing over and over again? Where’s the fun in that, huh? There’s no mystery or surprise,” Lucas said, hunching over the railing. “Besides, isn’t that the point of the book? It’s about pirates and treasure hunting, right? They solve a mystery, find the treasure, become filthy rich…”

“Sure, it’s about mystery and all, but… I don’t know,” Mike turns the first page, half ignoring Lucas already. “I just like reading it, okay?”

“Good luck convincing him to put it down,” a familiar voice pulls Mike from his reading for a brief moment. William Byers accompanied by Dustin Henderson, two of Mike’s closest friends. The three of them attended the same school together throughout their entire childhood. That is, until Will’s dad up and left on day. After that, Will had to stay home from school so that he and his brother could earn enough money for themselves and their mother. Although it was a terrible circumstance, Will and Mike became closer because of it. Will was able to find a temporary job working for Mike’s father, managing the less important numbers alongside Mike. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him without it,” Will says with the beginnings of a wry smile in his eyes.

“I read it, and it was good, but not worth reading every goddamn day,” Dustin retorts, looking Mike up and down. “Shit, you look as white as a ghost,” he observes.

Mike sighs, wishing he were someone quieter. And steadier. And just not here. “I’m feeling a bit nauseous,” he admitted, “I’m not too good with boats.”

“Or business deals,” Lucas laughs, earning a harsh nudge in the shins from Mike below, “Ow—hey!”

“Why is it that I’m suddenly regretting bringing you guys along?” Mike asks dryly, closing his book and tucking it away.

Dustin grins down at him, “Aw, come on, Mikey. What would you do without us?”

Mike let his head fall against the bulwark with a soft thud. “I’d be reading for one. I can’t concentrate with all of your guys’ blabbering,” he says.

“You have that book memorized like the back of your hand,” Lucas scoffs, “Don’t blame us for not being able to enjoy your book.”

Lucas was right, they weren’t at fault for Mike’s inability to concentrate. Or rather, concentrate on what he’d prefer to concentrate on. The idea of taking over his father’s company had always been in the back of Mike’s mind, sure, but now it’s starting to become real. He’s on an important business trip as “the heir of the company.” He shudders at the thought. His father’s business is safe and successful, not to mention Mike knows how to manage it fairly well. Whether he enjoys managing it or not is another story. Then again, Mike can safely assume his father doesn’t enjoy it either, but he’s done it his entire life.

“It’s a man’s duty to find an honest job and do it well. It doesn’t matter if you enjoy it or not,” he hears his father’s voice ring in his head. I wonder how many times he had to tell himself that, Mike wonders, watching his friends banter back and fourth around him. Lucas leans over and smacks Dustin’s forehead for something he said, but Mike’s not really listening to what they’re all bickering about.

Will turns to him, probably noticing his silence. “Do you want something to ease your stomach?” Will asks, taking a step away from Dustin and Lucas and towards Mike.

Mike shakes his head, “No, it’s not unbearable.”

“Well if it’s not your stomach, what’s eating at you?”

Mike give’s Will a flat look. “You know exactly what’s eating at me,” he says.

“Well sure, but I prefer not to assume things,” Will says, plopping himself down next to Mike. “Plus, it may feel good to get it off your chest.”

Mike sighs and stands up, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I think I’m just gonna go below deck into our quarters… maybe rest will do me some good.” he says, making his way towards the stairs that lead to the lower portion of the ship.

He can feel Will, Dustin and Lucas all collectively watch him leave, but he tires his best to ignore them. He’s tired, he tells himself. Whether that holds much truth or not, Mike doesn’t care to dwell on. Because right now, he did feel tired. As he walks towards the small room where he and his friends are all going to cram in on this hellish voyage, the idea of falling into a blank, blissful sleep is a wonderful one.

Of course, the universe seems to disagree. Because the moment Michael Wheeler, not-so-proud inheritor of his father’s business, laid down on his cot, the entire ship erupts in sudden commotion.

Over the loud and stomping footsteps above, he barely makes out a panicked cry.

“Pirates!”

Jane sat in her quarters mulling over her crew’s recent reports. Most were the routes and schedules of simple shipping vessels, carrying local businesses’ cargo from one port to the next. The pirate in her was excited at all the opportunities to steal back from the greedy, profit-minded businesses, but that wasn’t what she and her crew were currently after. Well, at least they weren’t after just any business.

The Wheeler Family Iron, known for their extremely affordable iron output. Of course, it was at the heavy cost of slave labor. Sure, most businesses used slave labor, but at the rate the Wheeler’s family business was growing, she feared their slave labor would only grow as well. When she received word that they were reaching out to the southern half of the colony, she knew she needed to step in. If their business gained enough partnerships, there’s no telling how many lives would be extorted.

Yes, Jane was a pirate. Her profession was thievery. However, she didn’t consider herself to be a true thief. Sure, she wasn’t above petty theft every now and then, but the true criminals were the ones behind the scenes. The ones who stop at nothing in the pursuit of wealth—even when they’re plenty wealthy already.

The true thieves were greedy businesses. Businesses like The Wheeler Family Iron.

“Captain Jane,” she hears a voice call her from outside her door, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Come in, Max,” she says and the door opens, “Is something wrong?” she looks up to see her second-in-command, a fiery red-head with a personality to match, entering her quarters.

“We’ve got our target,” Max says, grinning as she crosses her arms over her chest. “In record time, I might add.”

Jane nods facing Max with a grin of her own. “Tell Kali to ready the cannons,” she says while standing up. “We’ve got thieves to catch.”

AN: I’ll probably post this to my AO3 account as well sometime tomorrow, but it’s here for now. Hope you guys enjoyed! I’m having too much fun with this for some reason.

#stranger things #mileven #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #will byers #Jane hopper #el hopper #Jane el hopper #eleven #el #11 #max mayfield #maxine mayfield #madmax #ST #pirates #captain jane #au

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urdearestmom · 6 years

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Lights, Sound, Screwdriver! | Chapter Seven

By Wednesday at lunch, El was sure that Mike was acting weird. He seemed fine, but she noticed that he was sort of… pulling away from her. What did I do? God, was it the kiss? I shouldn’t have done that.

She would say something funny and he might laugh, but then he would look down or away and stop, diverting conversation back to the original topic. In history, he took his usual seat and kept his focus solely on taking notes while she spent the entire period sneaking looks at him.

El hadn’t spoken to Max since their fight on Friday, but Lucas had and Will had said she was in English, so it was safe to assume that they were still not speaking. So Mike was being weird and Max wasn’t speaking to her. Wonderful. My two best friends suddenly drop me.

At the end of the day, she was about to leave when Will came running up to her outside the school. “Hey El, wait up!”

She turned and furrowed her brows. “Don’t you guys have an AV club meeting today?”

Will nodded, but continued unlocking his bike. “Yeah, but I have a dentist appointment at four and my mom couldn’t pick me up, so I have to go.” He paused, as if considering something. “And Mike didn’t want you to go home alone, since it looks like Max… isn’t going.”

She snorted. “Nice to know he does care.”

Will looked at her funny as he seated himself. “Of course he does, have you met him?”

She shrugged and started pedalling. “He’s been ignoring me all week.” Damn. She’d been thinking that for the last few days, but saying it out loud made it real and it hurt. This coming in the middle of her fight with Max was just unfortunate.

Will struggled to catch up to El for a second, but then he rode easily alongside her. “Something probably set him off. He kind of closes up sometimes, when he starts to overthink things. Doesn’t do it as much with us, anymore, but you and Max are still kinda new.”

El thought it over for a second. “I’m not sure I get what you mean,” she said, throwing a glance Will’s way.

He hummed. “It’s hard to explain. Mike is… loyal to a fault. And he loves big. You know? If you’re his friend, he’ll defend you if it’s the last thing he does, because he cares about you so much. Sometimes I think his heart is too big for his body. The thing about that, though, is that he doesn’t think he deserves the same amount of love right back,” Will answered, letting his feet onto the ground at the stoplight.

The pair looked both ways before crossing the intersection. “Being the middle child is hard, you kind of get ignored. And the Wheelers seem pretty perfect if you’re looking from the outside, but nothing is ever as it seems. His parents are… not in the best place-”

“He told me about that,” El interrupted, glancing sidelong at the boy again. There were too many thoughts running through her head.

Will nodded. “Good, so you already know that, then. It’s not a fun place to be, between your parents who are probably getting a divorce. I can vouch for that, myself,” he laughed. “It sucks balls. After Nancy left for college, Mike was sort of without anyone to talk to. Like, there’s us, but it’s not the same because they’re not our parents and we don’t live there, either. And now he has to look out for Holly by himself because Nancy isn’t here to help, you know?”

“Yeah, he told me about that too.”

“But then the thing is also that even growing up, before everybody’s marriages started falling apart, things weren’t the best. We’ve talked about it before, and like, the thing kid-Mike wanted most was for his dad to actually pay attention to him.”

He shook his head.

“His mom tried but she never really clicked with him, exactly, Nancy was always the perfect child and why put in effort to the second if you already have one? And then Holly came along when we were nine and it was like Mike got sent to the end of the metaphorical line, if you will,” Will continued. “Don’t get me wrong, he absolutely loves her, but her being born meant all the attention went to her. Then on top of all this, the four of us have always been bullied at school. You know Troy?”

El felt a surge of hot anger at the mention of that disgusting waste of human potential. “Harrington? Yeah.”

Will nodded again, keeping an eye on the road ahead of them. “He’s always hated us, for some reason. That never helped anybody’s self-esteem. All of us get it from Troy, but at least me, Lucas, and Dustin have someone at home that’ll actually care. My mom’s the best, and Dustin’s is a little over the top but she’s just like him that way. And the Sinclairs are like, the nicest people you’ll ever meet! But when Mike goes home he just has to bottle it up because it’s not like anyone’s gonna listen to him. He’s also not really the type of person to just spill everything he’s feeling, so it makes it worse. Eventually something will really set him off and he’ll explode.”

“So he doesn’t think he deserves to be loved?”

Will sighed. “That’s the underlying thing, I think. I don’t know if he himself has realized it. The rationale behind it is kind of ‘if my own parents couldn’t care about me why would anyone else, they must be faking it’, you see what I mean? He just- starts to overthink things and it plays into his insecurities, and then he lets himself get carried away with it. Like I said, he doesn’t get like that much with us anymore because we’ve been friends for years, but you and Max are new. And he especially likes you.”

El decided to file that statement away for later. “So, what you’re telling me is he doesn’t think he deserves to be loved, and then he closes himself off because he’s insecure about people who actually like him?”

Will shrugged. “Basically, I guess.”

“It’s bullshit. He deserves all of it and more.”

“Well yeah, we’ve told him that about a thousand times. It’s not like it’s gonna make the feeling go away.”

“But I want him to know that.”

“Make it obvious, then! His problem is probably that he likes you so much and thinks you don’t like him back.”

“But I do!”

“Then tell him! Look, I gotta go, the dentist’s is this way. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Will saluted and turned right.

“Bye, Will!” He didn’t respond. “Motherfucker…”

El pedalled the rest of the way home thinking hard. How can I make it obvious to Mike that I do like him? From what Will had said, it kind of sounded like Mike definitely liked her as much as she did him, so she thought that maybe telling him that might be a start. Will is such a sneaky little shit, she thought with a smile, he knows everything.

He wasn’t called Will the Wise for nothing, after all.

She was clearing out the kitchen and swinging around to Crocodile Rock when she had an idea. It was Wednesday, meaning Hopper had a late shift and she was going to be alone anyway, so she might as well make use of her free time.

Once she was finished with her dishes, she went over to the phone and dialled the number she’d been given, hoping she’d get Mike on the first try.

“Hi, it’s the Wheelers!” It was a little girl’s voice, and she sounded so happy that El couldn’t help but smile.

“Hi, are you Holly?”

The girl giggled. “That’s me!”

“I’ve heard a lot about you! Listen, is your brother home? I need to tell him something.”

El had to pull her ear away from the receiver because Holly started screaming. “MIIIIIIIIKEEEEEEYY! THERE’S A GIRL ON THE PHONE FOR YOU!” There was a beat of silence before Holly came back on. “He said he’s coming. What’s your name?”

“I’m El.”

“IT’S EL, HURRY UP!”

El heard what sounded very much like someone falling and then Holly started laughing, so she could only assume that Mike had fallen and was proven right when Holly whispered into the phone, “He fell.”

“Shut up, Holly! Jesus… hey, El.”

“Hey.”

“Sorry you had to deal with her, she’s a bit of a handful,” laughed Mike.

El smiled. “No, she’s a sweetie. You’re just biased.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“You don’t make any sense!”

For a second they just breathed into the phone, then Mike spoke. “So… what did you need?”

She took a breath. Am I really doing this? “I just want you to know that I love you and that you deserve to have all the love in the world. You said last week for me to come to you if I ever need anything, and I want you to do the same, okay? We’re friends and I care about you.”

He didn’t respond. Why did I have to say it like that, fucking Christ… he’s gonna take it the wrong way. She sighed. “I’m sorry, that came out awkward. What I mean is-”

“No, I get it.” He sounded a little choked up. “Thanks. I feel like I really needed that.”

“It’s just- you’ve kind of been acting weird around me this week and if anything’s wrong, if it’s something I did, I’m here and you can talk about it.”

Mike was silent for a moment again before answering. “It’s not you, it’s just been a rough few days, you know, around home. And other things I’ve been thinking about.”

What are the other things, though, Mike? “Well you can talk to me if you need, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“And actually I need to talk to you about something, but not right now.” I mean, I gotta tell him at some point, right?

“Alright.”

“I’ll let you know.” This is getting really awkward.

“Cool beans.”

El stopped breathing for a second. “Did you just say cool beans?!”

She swore she could hear him cringe over the line. “That was completely accidental, I swear!”

At that she couldn’t hold back laughter. “Alright, weirdo. Have a good night and remember what I said.”

“Will do. Night, El.”

“Night, Mike.”

The next day, Mike seemed back to his usual self. It was a nice change, and something uplifting for El after having seen Max in the hall a few minutes before lunch and been ignored. The past two days, lunch had consisted of Dustin, Will, Mike, and El. Max was avoiding the cafeteria due to El’s being there, and Lucas would come in, sigh when Max was nowhere in sight, and leave to go join her.

Today was no different. El sat down next to Mike, on whose other side sat Will, and the three of them faced Dustin, who was moodily picking at his bologna sandwich. About ten minutes in, Mike and Will were quietly discussing something, and Dustin was still only half-finished his lunch.

“What’s wrong?” Said El.

The three boys turned to look at her. Anything to get her mind off her angry best friend.

She repeated herself, looking directly at Dustin. “What’s wrong?”

He stared. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“You haven’t finished your sandwich and it’s been ten minutes,” she retorted, gesturing to the sad food item on the table between them. “Something’s wrong.”

Dustin sighed and looked away. “It’s Max and Lucas.”

El narrowed her eyes. “Because you like her, right?”

He spluttered. “What- I- what?”

“Come on, man, you’re really obvious,” said Mike.

Will snorted. “That’s ironic.”

“Shut up, Will.”

El rolled her eyes at the other two, remaining focused on her hat-wearing friend. “It’s okay, Dustin. It’s not like she hates you.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like she likes me, either,” he answered, crestfallen. “And I wouldn’t hate them if they started dating because they’re both my friends and I want them to be happy, but…”

“But you wish it could be you,” Will finished.

Mike perked up. “Lucas told me he doesn’t like her like that when I asked him, if it makes you feel any better,” he offered.

“It doesn’t, but thanks.”

No one knew what to say after that, but Dustin finished his sandwich at long last. Between history and math, Mike stopped El to ask if she wanted to go over to his house tomorrow to rehearse for their presentation a few last times. They were to be the first presenters, because their teacher had decided to go in backwards order as the seventies were a decade still fresh for everyone, having lived through it. The earlier decades would be harder to remember, so to make it easier on the students they would be reviewed last. It was good because Mike’s favourite thing was presenting and El just wanted to get it over with already.

On the Friday afternoon, El found herself riding with Mike and Lucas at the end of the day, watching as Lucas turned in to a blue house and Mike went on ahead of her to the house at the end of the cul de sac, rolling up into the grass and leaving his bike on the ground near a door. Walking in, he turned with a smile.

“Mi casa es tu casa, this is the basement. Home of D & D campaigns and sleepovers galore.”

She looked around. The walls were wood panelling and there were several posters tacked to them. A small table was set up near the stairs with four chairs around it, and there was a couch against the wall. There were stacks of boardgames everywhere. On the other side of the staircase, El could see a washer and dryer as well as stacks of folded clothes in baskets and a hamper.

Looking back at Mike, who still had the very excited smile on his face, she said, “I can almost smell it.”

He frowned. “Smell what?”

“The testosterone.”

“Are you trying to say that I smell?”

She grinned. “Maybe.”

He grinned back, but then it dropped. “So, my mom’s out ‘cause Holly has dance practice until four-thirty, but… she’ll be back.”

“And?” Where is he going with this. Shit.

“She knows you’ll be over here but she might not react to you in the best way so I just don’t want you to be offended if she says something dumb,” he rushed, avoiding looking at her.

Now El was frowning too. “What do you mean?”

Mike looked at his feet, twisting his fingers. “I told her last night you’d be coming over to work on our project and she was kind of… not nice about it. She says she’s heard rumours that you, like… smoke and stuff. Hang around with bad kids.”

El scoffed. “I literally don’t hang out with anyone but you guys and my dad, the chief of police.”

“I told her that!” He exclaimed. “She just doesn’t really listen…”

“Just because I wear black all the time doesn’t mean I’m some kind of punk.”

“Well, to be fair, you listen almost exclusively to Ramones and Sex Pistols,” Mike said, dropping his backpack onto the sofa. “And like, Circle Jerks? What kind of name is that, honestly.”

She knew he was joking, but she still took it to heart. “Joy Division doesn’t have a good name either! It sounds cool but the story behind it is disgusting.”

“Hey, I like New Order songs better anyway. And I listen to other stuff.”

“Right, like A Flock of Seagulls is such a great name.”

He glared playfully, walking to the stairs. “For your information, I happen to adore seagulls.”

“Have you ever even been to a beach, Michael?” She asked, following him up.

“I will have you know that yes, indeed I have. My grandparents live in North Carolina.”

“Do you visit often?”

Mike paused at the fridge, looking inside but then closing it and moving to the fruit basket on the counter. “Not really, we see my mom’s parents in Louisiana more often. But even them I haven’t seen in like, three years.”

Huh. “So your parents are both from out of state?”

He shook his head. “Apple?” He asked, offering one to her. “Wash it. And no, my mom grew up here in Hawkins, but my grandmother was originally from New Orleans and my grandparents moved back there after they retired. My dad’s from North Carolina, came to Bloomington for college and met my mom here when he got a job. They stayed, and here we are.”

She nodded, drying off her freshly washed apple. “That’s cool. I just know we always lived in the town over from here. Kinda boring.”

Mike peered into the oven. “Looks like she left a casserole cooking,” he said, then shrugged, turning back to the basement stairs. “Not everybody moves around much.”

El was almost down the steps when Mike seemingly tripped on nothing and went sprawling across the floor, faceplanting hard in front of the couch. She had to hold the bannister with iron strength to keep herself from falling after him, she was laughing so hard.

“Oh- my god-” She choked, giggles streaming out of her mouth.

Mike hadn’t moved. “Just leave me here to die,” he groaned, face pressed into the carpet.

She jumped the last two steps, put her apple on the table, and made her way over, crouching next to his prone form. “Are you okay?” She asked, still laughing.

He didn’t answer, but rolled over to face the ceiling. He looked so embarrassed, his face all red and eyes squinty, and it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. She hooked her arms under his shoulders and pulled him up into a sitting position, proceeding to inspect his head for any signs of a lump. She had her hands tangled fully in his hair when she noticed that Mike was staring at her.

“What is it?” She whispered.

He blinked slowly. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered back, his breath fanning across her face.

She looked into his eyes, so dark but always warm, and it was almost like an electric shock ran through her when he looked back at her so intensely. She gripped his hair tighter, pulling his face closer as her eyes started closing. She could see that his were closing too, and his hands were reaching up to her waist from the floor. OH MY GOD THIS IS HAPPENING. HOLY SHIT I’M GONNA KISS HIM.

El could just feel the ghost of Mike’s lips on hers when a clock bonged the time loudly through the empty house. She jumped back from him, landing painfully on her butt. When she looked at him again, he was glaring at the top of the stairs, where she could only assume the offending clock stood.

“It’s three-thirty,” he said flatly.

She cleared her throat, avoiding eye contact. “Right, we should get to work.”

“Yup.”

They didn’t speak for a few minutes as El went into the bathroom so they could change into their respective seventies inspired getups. Once inside, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was flushed, and she felt hot. Goddamnit, she thought, smacking a fist on the counter. That was even closer than last time! Jesus, the universe must have it out for me. Aloud, she simply sighed before changing.

It took just under an hour for them to rehearse their presentation in full, after which El took the time to eat her apple as Mike paced nervously, waiting for his mother to come back.

At one point he stopped his pacing and stared at the door in confusion. “Is it snowing?!”

El nearly choked on her apple. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head badly? It’s May,” she reminded him.

“You’re right.” He resumed his previous activity.

A few minutes later, El interrupted. “Mike, calm down, it’s just your mom.”

“It’s my mom! And you’re meeting her! For the first time!”

El rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I’m your girlfriend or something, it’s not a big deal,” she mumbled.

He sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly. “Right. You’re not.”

“You weren’t even this freaked out when you met my dad, and we’d completely forgotten to expect him.”

Mike threw his hands up in the air. “Yeah, but I don’t think your dad had preconceived ideas about me! Not like my mom does about you!”

El got up and walked over, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Calm. Down. If anyone should be freaking out, it should be me, and I’m not. Stop freaking, if I’m not worried then you shouldn’t be either.”

They were silent for a moment, which was when they heard the expectant “Michael?” from upstairs.

“Jesus, I didn’t even hear her come in…” Mike trailed off before projecting his voice so he’d be heard. “Yeah, Mom, I’m in the basement!”

“Is your… friend with you?”

He rolled his eyes. “She’s here!” Turning, he offered her a hand. “Come on,” he said, leading the way to his mother.

Upstairs stood a woman a little taller than El, with perfectly done up honey brown hair and perfectly applied makeup. It was a little intimidating to look at someone who appeared so put together in comparison to how El thought of herself (as a mess, really, who no one except Max and her dad and maybe sometimes the boys particularly liked).

“Hi, Mrs. Wheeler,” she said, sticking out a hand to shake. Be confident. Play it cool, but be polite. “I’m Jane.”

Mike’s mom smiled at her, although El felt like it was a little forced. “It’s nice to meet you, Jane. Did Michael give you anything to eat? I know he gets a little forgetful, sometimes,” she answered.

Mike huffed beside El. “Christ, Mom, of course I did. You say that like I just let my friends starve all the time.”

Mrs. Wheeler frowned. “Watch your tone, young man. Did you see Holly?”

“Right here, Mommy!” Came the little voice El recognized as being the same one that had answered the phone when she called. A small blonde girl in a lilac leotard appeared out of nowhere, barrelling toward Mike and wrapping herself around his legs. “Mikey!”

“Why, hello there, Princess Holly!” He bent down to ruffle her hair with one hand, making El very aware of the fact that she was still holding his other one. It was warm and secure, and provided her with a sense of closeness that she found she liked very much. It was really just palms touching, though, and she wondered what it would be like if she laced their fingers together. She looked back at Mrs. Wheeler to see her staring pointedly at their joined hands.

“Holly, let go of your brother, please. Why don’t you go show Jane some of your dolls? I need to talk to Michael for a minute.”

Holly excitedly let go of Mike’s legs and dragged El around the corner and up the stairs to her room, chattering all the while. Upon arriving, the first thing that El noticed was that it was violently purple. Everything in the room was in varying shades of purple, matching the girl’s outfit.

“-and now I’m confused because Mike never talks about anyone named Jane,” Holly was saying.

El shook her head, finally looking fully at the kid. She was adorable, El could understand why Mike loved her so much. How could he not? “Sorry, what did you say?”

Holly huffed, looking so very much like her older brother that it almost made El laugh. They didn’t look alike by appearance, but it seemed that in mannerisms they were the same person. “I said, who are you? Because Mike never talks about anyone named Jane.”

“Oh,” El said, smiling. “Jane’s my real name, but my friends don’t call me that. They call me El.”

Holly’s face lit up. “You’re El?” Oh god, she’s so cute it should be illegal.

“That’s me!”

Holly grinned. “Is my brother your boyfriend?” Okay, what?!

El cleared her throat, feeling a blush rise on her cheeks. “No, he’s not.”

The eight-year-old turned away, grabbing a few dolls off of a shelf. “Well, he’s a mouthbreather, then. Come sit on my bed.”

El obeyed, feeling like not doing so would lead to unpleasant consequences. “Can you tell me why he’s a mouthbreather?”

Holly handed her one of the dolls. “This is Blue Rhapsody Barbie,” she said, fondly petting the full blue skirt the doll was wearing. “Mike’s a mouthbreather because he wants to be your boyfriend but he didn’t tell you.”

El felt like she could have choked. Mike wants to be my boyfriend??? Did I accidentally take LSD or something??? “How do you know that?” Is what she asked instead.

Holly shrugged, pulling open the dress on another doll. “He told me.”

“He just told you that?”

“I asked,” the girl clarified. “And he told me.”

Suddenly El was very eager for answers. “What did he say?”

Holly was interrupted by the subject of their conversation (speak of the devil and he shall appear) barging in the door and yanking El up off the bed. “Mikey!” She exclaimed. “I was telling El about what you told me.”

Mike shook his head, hair flopping. “That’s great, Hol, but we need to go back to the basement now. You can talk to her later.”

“Mike!”

He closed the door, El following with a smile on her face as she felt his hand in hers again. It was nice.

Back in the basement, Mike turned to her again. “Whatever Holly told you, it was probably an exaggeration. You should ignore most of what she says.”

El felt her heart drop into her stomach. Oh. Mike had probably just told Holly he liked El as his friend and the girl had made it into something it wasn’t. El couldn’t blame her, she was only eight years old, after all. But she couldn’t help the crushing disappointment she felt at the thought.

“But my mom said you could stay for dinner, if you want,” he added, looking expectantly at her. “That’s usually a good sign,” he offered.

“Um, yeah, sure. Hop’s working late tonight, anyway. I’ll just call him so he knows?” She asked.

“Yeah, go ahead, phone’s in the kitchen. I’ll be down here.”

After a cringe-inducing conversation with her dad, El retreated back to the basement, thanking Mrs. Wheeler for the use of the phone.

(“Dad, I’m having dinner at the Wheelers’ tonight.”

“There something I should know?”

“It’s not like that, Mrs. Wheeler asked if I wanted to stay and I wasn’t going to say no.”

“Or you just want an excuse to hang around the boy even longer.”

“Dad!”

“You know it’s true, Ellie.”)

Mike smiled when El came down the stairs. “You good?”

“Yeah, I just need to be home before he is. What are we doing?” She replied.

He shrugged. “We could go over the bits of presentation we’re not so sure about, or we could just hang for a bit, dinner’ll probably be ready as soon as my dad gets home. Which is in like, half an hour,” he said.

They opted for hanging out, not really wanting to sit around in the out-of-fashion clothes they’d been wearing for the past hour and a bit. It was a good distraction from the problems in her life, being with Mike. It took her mind off of the fact that Max was still not speaking to her.

At dinner, El met Mike’s father, and she now could see what Will meant when he had told her that Mr. Wheeler wasn’t a very involved dad. He said hello to her and that was about it, spending the meal stuffing his face with casserole and then disappearing into the living room with a reproachful look from his wife. Instead, El answered a series of questions from the woman concerning school and her grades, friends, hobbies, and her dad. Mike had nudged her foot with his a few times, hiding a smile as he looked between her and his mom, and Holly grinned at her from across the table the entire time.

Afterward, Mike volunteered to take her home, staying upstairs to talk to his mom while El collected her stuff from the basement. He met her by the station wagon out front with a wide smile on his face. “Let’s put your bike in the trunk and I’ll drive you,” he said.

They did, and about ten minutes later were parked in front of the Hopper residence. “So,” Mike interrupted the silence. “My mom says she likes you.”

“She does?” It made El happy to know that she’d somehow managed to make an adult like her. Moms of the boys you were interested in usually didn’t like you very much, but then she guessed that Mike’s mom didn’t know El liked her son anyway.

He nodded excitedly. “Yeah! She told me you seem like a nice girl, which, yeah, I’d already told her that, but…” he trailed off.

“Parents?” She offered.

“Parents,” he agreed.

They sat in silence for a few seconds before El unbuckled her seatbelt. “Well, thanks for the ride, I appreciate it,” she said, opening the door. She had half a leg out before she felt a hand grab her wrist.

“Wait, El, I-” She looked back to see Mike looking very conflicted, but what caught her breath wasn’t his expression. Her street was dark, the only streetlight being about a hundred yards away, and Mike had cut the engine so the car’s headlights weren’t on. The moon shone through the windshield and hit his face at just the right angle, illuminating his skin.

It looked like he was glowing, and she felt like she could see every single freckle. The light cast shadows in the hollows of his cheeks, highlighting high cheekbones and a long nose. She knew if he turned his head she’d be graced with the sharp jawline she had watched develop over the last few years. His eyes, darker than obsidian, reflected the moon and sparkled so brightly that she almost thought they were stars themselves. He held galaxies in his irises and he didn’t even know it.

In that moment, Mike Wheeler was the most beautiful person on Earth, and El felt her heart squeeze in the best way. She thought she might be falling in love.

The moment was broken when he let go of her wrist and shook his head. “Never mind. Have a good night, though.”

She nodded and went to get her bike out of the trunk. “Good night!” She yelled from her lawn. Mike waved.

El watched the car turn around before heading back the other way. She watched until she couldn’t see the red of the taillights anymore, and then felt a small smile make its way across her face as she parked her bike against the side of her house.

If this is what falling in love feels like, I never want to fall out.

#lights sound screwdriver #lss #mileven #mileven fanfiction #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #high school au #urdearestmom

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