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It was a cold day in Hopper’s new place, though, it was not as bad as the cabin had been sometimes. It was in Hawkins, for now. She knew he wanted to move out of Hawkins once his promotion kicked in. Some days, she would rather be with the Wheeler’s, at least they had electricity. The log fire was burning and she was wrapped in her dark blue hoodie and blanket. Yet, this was not enough.
For once, she was having a break from everything. Hopper and Joyce were helping out in town and her mind was distracted.
Mike had confessed to having feelings for a boy. He seemed to be making a huge thing about it, but El didn’t understand. Love was love and why Mike thought people would hate him, she wasn’t really sure. She didn’t mind about the mutual break up, either. It was about time that they both had an honest conversation. It happened a month after everything else happened. It turned out that time staying still was what they needed to realise what they both wanted.
She had a new… crush, as Max called it. It wasn’t exactly new, though. She had a feeling it had always been there. And now she didn’t know how to bring it up to him.
A knock on the door made her jump and she stood up. Another five knocks and she realised who it was, she couldn’t help smiling.
“Wait, wait. Go back to the beginning El, you have a crush?” Max asked excitedly, holding her hands. “You’re finally over Mike? I love it, I love that for you!”
El laughed, “Yes, I have a… crush. I do not know what to do about it, though. Do I tell him? Friends don’t lie?”
Max’s eyes widened even more. “Wait! Wait, no, I know who it is. Oh my gosh, this is so exciting, Lucas was right! Okay, so, maybe you should wait and see if you know for certain he likes you back.”
She frowned, confused. “How would I know… for certain? I don’t know what to look out for.”
“Your heart beats quicker when he’s in the room. He compliments you and you feel warm and fuzzy inside. He wants to hold your hand. You deserve this, El, I’m sure he will like you back!”
“Thank you, Max. You are a true friend,” El replied.
“Dustin!” she spoke, opening the door with a grin.
“Hi, El,” Dustin replied, stepping inside, “I was thinking of you being stuck in this freezing place. I brought blankets and DVDs. Do you want to watch Back to the Future and eat popcorn?”
El smiled gratefully, he was so caring to her. “Yes, that would be good. I would love that,” she said softly. “Come in.”
She watched as Dustin took his shoes off and handed her another blanket, it was a soft grey and already was warmer than her own. El walked him to the sitting room, making space on the sofa for them both.
“If you have any questions I’ll be happy to stop the film and talk you through it, I know it’s a lot but I’m sure you are going to enjoy it, it’s one of the best and—ah, here is another blanket for us. Two of us being here will naturally make the place a bit warmer. I don’t understand why Hoppeer insisted on this small cottage when you could have gone for something much better within his price range, I told him, you know, I told him to spend a little extra on you but he was all like, I’m saving for the big one—”
El laughed warmly. She could listen to Dustin talk forever, he was so passionate about everything. He was smart, too. But not smart in a condescending way, like Steve used to claim, smart in a patient way. Well, he was to her, at least. She smiled brightly at him without saying anything in return.
“Oh I have to tell you what Steve said to me the other day. He doesn’t mind me telling you, El, he has a crush on Eddie! How cool is that? Like, it doesn’t surprise me because Steve has a thing for nerds, but I honestly thought he was going to start dating Jonathan but no, he told me about Eddie and I was like woah. It was meant to be.”
He took a deep breath and opened the popcorn packet, placing it in the middle of the sofa. He offered it to El first, who took a handful as the movie started.
“So you were wrong about him and Jonathan?” El questioned once she ate the popcorn, a smile permanently on her face. She was already keeping warmer than she had been.
He gasped dramatically, “No, I wasn’t wrong! Okay, fine, maybe,” Dustin said and they both laughed. “But, not completely wrong because Johnathan likes the Pizza dude from last year!”
El’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yeah — oh, credits are over we need to pay attention now,” he chuckled lightly.
El nodded and turned to the TV. It was interesting. They were quiet for the first half an hour of the movie, enjoying each other’s company and the warmth from the blankets. She went to take some popcorn and felt Dustin’s hand instead. Her cheeks warmed at that and she turned to look at him with a fond smile, he was already looking at her.
She was about to speak when Dustin turned back to the TV, with a soft grin on his face.
He kept hold of her hand.
She held it back.
She couldn’t wait to tell Max all about it!
When the movie finished she turned to Dustin with wide eyes. “So, Marty got everything he ever wanted? Good for him.”
“Yes,”
“He was good looking,” El continued, admitting it quietly.
Dustin raised his eyebrows. “Oh, so you like the cool, popular type?”
She giggled. “No, I like that he’s loyal and he had good advice. He reminded me of someone else I know and like, quite well.”
The other boy grinned. “Will?”
El laughed, shaking her head, taking a deep breath. She was nearly too warm now, with her heart beating heavily. She could be brave, like Marty. “You, obviously. I like you, Dustin.”
His eyes widened. “It wasn’t just my imagination? Because I was speaking to Steve and he said it was obvious that you had a crush on me but I didn’t want to believe it because you’re so amazing El. You’re… just so amazing and clever and so cool, I didn’t want to believe it in case I was wrong and I couldn’t imagine you liking someone like me.”
El frowned. “You are smart, Dustin. You are cool, good-looking and special. I… I’ve liked you for a while.” She squeezed his hand, she then continued, slowly, “Marty said, if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. So… would you go on a… date with me?”
Dustin jumped up and down on the sofa with a cheer, clearly very excited. The cold of the room was forgotten as the blanket fell to the ground. El laughed happily, shaking her head at his reaction. She needed to catch up with Max, if his answer was yes.
“Sorry, I was so excited I forgot to, uh, reply. Yes, yes, I would love to go on a date with you. Have you been to the arcade? Like, properly? I will pick you up tomorrow at 2, okay? Oh, I’m so happy,” he replied, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. “I’m going to go, I will see you soon, okay? Bye, El.”
She watched as he went and she couldn’t stop smiling, touching her cheek gently, eyes wide.
oOo
"Way to go, man, I told you she liked you! And she quoted Back to the Future. I'm so happy for you," Steve said, bringing him into a hug, scratching his hair as he did.
"Shut up," he blushed, not being able to stop smiling. "You and Eddie? Have you wooed him yet?"
"Dude," Steve hissed, glancing at Eddie, who was in his kitchen, making them drinks. "He's right there!"
"Come on, if I can do it, you can."
"Alright, alright. I'll do it," Steve groaned, grinning from ear to ear.
Dustin smiled happily. His eyes widened, only just registering what had happened, Eddie came through with the drinks.
"Alright, lets get started, are you sure you're going to join in a campaign?" Eddie asked Steve, but before the conversation could go any further, Dustin collapsed onto the sofa with a heavy thud, dramatically putting his head in his hands. He looked up at Steve, panic in his eyes.
"Wait, Steve! I kissed El!"