The Life You Deserve

Chapter 19: Christmas Time

AN: Hi one and all! Thank you to everyone who has kept up with The Life You Deserve on Wattpad. I kind of gave up on updating the story here because I found Wattpad's format really frustrating, especially when the chapters are this long! 

But I'm back and it's entirely for those of you that have been dedicated to the story and wanted to see an update. I really hope you enjoy it    :-D 

********

Christmas Eve, 1985

"Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock!" Hopper sang along to the radio as he drove El to the town square where a large ice rink had been positioned for two weeks now.

El looked at her dad with a smirk. All of this Christmas stuff was completely new to her, but she could tell that it was a magical time of year considering Hopper's incredibly good mood despite the long shift he was working today.

"What a bright time, it's the right time to rock the night away..."

El tapped her fingers on her jeans and tried to move to the music not knowing the words like her dad did. She had experienced her first Christmas the year before, but she had not been able to leave the cabin, still in hiding and so things had been downplayed. El hadn't realised how big of an event Christmas even was until this year when she had seen the lights in the streets, had put up a Christmas tree in the living room and gone gift shopping for her nearest and dearest.

Karen had been stunned that El didn't know the true meaning of Christmas which Mike quickly explained to his mom was because she had a terrible upbringing before she was adopted. That wasn't exactly a lie. Karen had taken it upon herself to tell El all about Jesus and his birth. It had fascinated El, especially when she was told there was lots of different faiths. She didn't know what she believed in, but because of her powers and the things she had seen, El knew there was definitely something more to life, she just didn't know what.

"You okay there?" Hopper's voice suddenly made El jump out of her thoughts.

"Fine." She said giving him a warm smile. El was more than fine, she couldn't wait to meet up with the party at the ice rink. They had told her all about it before Christmas break from school and she was excited to give it a try.

"So remember that after you've been ice skating, you're going back to Wheeler's and I'll pick you up from there at 10pm. Okay?" Hopper said keeping his eyes on the road as he drove closer to town.

"Yes." El said unable to keep the excitement from her voice at the fact that she'd be able to spend time with Mike and his family. Her dad seemed to notice her enthusiasm and gave her a quick glance.

"Make sure you two don't end up alone in his room or something..." Hopper grumbled whilst El's cheeks blushed. After her sleepover with Max when she found out all about foreplay and all the exciting things she could do with Mike, she had been thinking about being alone with him a lot recently.

"We won't." She said evasively making sure not to promise anything.

When the town centre came into view, El broke out into a big smile, her eyes bright as she spotted the party sitting around a bench, all wrapped up in coats, scarves and hats. Her eyes went immediately to Mike who was looking so handsome in a long black coat and dark green beanie hat. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, he is stunning.

"Are you going to get out?" Hopper chuckled.

El didn't realise he had even stopped the car because she had been so entranced by staring at Mike. "Uh...yeah sorry. Bye dad. I hope your shift goes well." She said quickly, giving Hopper a hug.