forever young // alphaville
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mike & el
Mike was standing at his locker, rummaging around for what he needed for his next class, when a bright red sheet of paper was suddenly shoved right in his face.
He snatched it away, looking to his left to find the one responsible.
"Dustin, what is this?"
Dustin grinned, showing off those pearls of his. "It's a flyer for the Christmas Ball."
Mike looked over the flyer in confusion. "And you shoved this in my face because?"
"Because, we're going."
"Yeah, no." Mike immediately denied, quickly shoving the paper back in Dustin's hands and walking off.
"Oh come on! Max and Lucas are going!" He claimed, chasing the short distance Mike had walked away from him.
"Why do you even want to go? Your girlfriend lives miles and miles away."
"Yeah, so does yours." Dustin pointed out, earning him a glare.
"Wow, thanks for the reminder." Mike snorted, looking away from him with a roll of his eyes.
"Look, I can't go with just Lucas and Max, I need you to come too! That way we can be loners together!"
"That sounds like so much fun." Mike said, his sarcasm so blatantly obvious. "But I'll pass. If El can't go, then I don't go."
"Well what if she can go?"
Mike sighed heavily, wishing that were possible.
"They're coming here for Christmas, so Ms. Byers won't drive her all the way here now just for a dance. Gas is expensive and they're already struggling enough."
"They are?" Dustin questioned cluelessly, but Mike dismissed the shift of conversation with a shake of the head.
Their financial problems weren't really something they needed to be talking about.
"Just call her and ask, then make your decision." Dustin said, before disappearing off down the hall.
Mike knew what the answer would be if he asked, but that's exactly what he did later that night when it was time for their nightly phone call.
And as he suspected, she couldn't come.
She really wished that she could, but as Mike had told Dustin, they didn't have the money to make two trips to and from Hawkins in one month.
The next morning, Dustin popped up at Mike's locker again, thankfully not shoving anything in his face this time.
"So, what's the verdict?" He asked, practically bouncing up and down.
"No Christmas Ball for me." Mike shrugged, making Dustin's excitement disappear.
"Mike, please! Do this for me, one of your best buds!" He begged, but Mike wasn't fazed a bit.
