𝙴𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 ~ 𝙴𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚡

《𝟻》

August 22, 1985
4:05 PM

While Max was trying to entertain her dangerous mind with her friends at the skatepark, El had her boyfriend with her to take the role. The two lovebirds walked out of a waffle shop, each holding waffle with ice cream in a cup. They were laughing, simply enjoying the time they got to spend with each other.

"And then Will was like 'Guys don't do it!' And second after, half of the Castle Byers fell to the ground. We had to stay there all day and help him build it again." Mike enthusiastically said, biting into his waffle after. El, who had only half of the waffle left now laughed, stepping closer with a smile and intertwining their fingers. Mike's eyes widened at her action a bit, but he just let it happen. He was trying to keep this hangout as positive as possible so...he didn't complain. But he had to get something off his chest. He felt terrible just hiding it from the party...from his girlfriend. Few minutes later, they were walking in the park, still hand in hand. They walked to their usual spot, sitting down on the grass by an old maple tree. It felt so calm there. They could see the whole park in front of them, yet people were far away, walking on a path that was surrounding the grassy area. Mike was stressing, not knowing how to approach the topic he wanted to talk about. When they both got comfortable in their spot, Mike cleared his throat briefly and started fiddling with the hem of his shirt, still holding El's hand with his other hand. El noticed something was wrong when he started with the fiddling. She noticed a long time ago that he's usualy doing it when he's nervous or thinking a lot. Her brows arched in a mix of worry and confusion as she lightly brushed her thumb over his knuckles to try and bring him back from his thoughts.

~ "Mike?" She asked, turning her body towards him a bit and wanting to know what's bothering him. She noticed the slight startle he suddenly had and began to worry more.

~ "Y-yeah?" Was the only thing he could get out of himself.

~ "Are you okay?" El asked in a low voice. A sigh escaped Mike's lips. He didn't want to lose her. He didn't want to lose anyone. But he just couldn't lie to her like this. Not anymore. Especially when he knew how much El cared about not being lied to. If he waited any longer, he knew it would be worse.

~ "I...um...there's...something I've been wanting to talk to you about..." He didn't even know if El knew about the topic he was about to bring up. He didn't know if she's okay with it. He hesitantly continued.

~ "Have you ever heard about...about uhm...boys who like boys? Like...in a boyfriend and boyfriend kinda way?" He finally bit into the apple, trying not to sound so nervous.

El looked down, her eyebrows forming into a light frown. She never heard about anything like this and it was confusing her. Her expression started to worry Mike. She didn't really seem to get what he was trying to say. When she shook her head no, he gulped and continued talking.

~ "...There are...boys who like boys. The're called gay. And well...I-Iam...gay." Mike finally said out loud. For the first time in his life, he said it out loud. And it felt great. He was scared but...it felt better than he expected.

~ "But...but I'm not a boy." El said in a low voice, confusion visible in her eyes.

~ "Yeah. Just...listen. Please." He pleaded, his eyes not able to look into her's because her voice alone sounded sadder and sadder.

~ "After what happened at Starcourt...I thought a lot and I realised a few things. Just...I'm not able to lie to myself...and you neither. Not anymore. And...I'm so sorry for...doing so until now. And I like you El. So much. You're my best friend. I just...I don't think I like you like...this." Mike said and lifted up their intertwined fingers.

El blinked a few times before the realisation of what he said hit her. She felt this weird sensation in her chest. It almost felt like she was burning inside. She felt worthless. All those years...the feeling that someone needed her near was keeping her happy and full. But now? She learned that all that was just one big lie. She felt used again. Tears started brimming her eyes and her chin wobbled a bit. She didn't even look at Mike this whole time.

~ "Bad." Was all she said before pulling the hand that was holding Mike's away from his and sniffing. Mike could see a few tears dropping from her eyes and knew that he fucked up...but there wasn't really a good way how to tell her this.

~ "Nonono El...please just..." he didn't know what to say at the moment. He was too afraid to say something more. Because there was more.

~ "Bad." She repeated before standing up and leaving the spot. It was very clear to Mike that he probably won't be talking to her again any time soon. And it was hurting...more than he thought it would. El was important to him. He continued sitting there as he let his tears spill out of his eyes too.

Meanwhile, Lucas and Will were heading to Dustin's when they noticed a familiar brunette walking in the opposite direction. Lucas raised his hand and waved at her but it was then, that he noticed her tear stained cheeks and walked closer to her, wanting to know their cause.

~ "El? Why are you crying?" Lucas said with worried expression. El didn't want to talk to anyone now though. She pushed past him like she did with Max when they met and continued walking in the direction of Hopper's cabin. Lucas and Will just watched her walking away before deciding that it's best to leave her alone and continued walking to Dustin's house.