Chapter Text
“What is wrong with you?! You know she’s not allowed to be here!”
Mike didn’t think his day could get any worse. He started the morning by lying to El, the person he treasured most in the world. He then spent the afternoon on a fruitless hunt for a gift for said girlfriend – and quickly realized that $3.50 would get him absolutely nowhere. And now, just as he was beginning to wallow in self-pity while contemplating the series of unfortunate events that had tragically befallen him, who should turn up at Starcourt Mall with Max but El herself? Of course she would.
How could Max let El come to the mall when she knew the risks? He thought angrily. As much as Mike disliked Hopper and his annoying rules, he couldn’t help but admit that the Chief’s reasoning for why he still insisted on limiting El’s freedom was valid, at least for the present. If they weren’t careful, the Bad Men could easily come back and find her. El being here at the mall amongst so many people made him uneasy.
“What is she, your little pet?” Max accused him. What? He thought cluelessly. Ugh. Max.
“Yeah,” El scowled. “Am I your pet?” Mike’s eyes widened in disbelief. How could she even begin to think that-
“What? No!” He said defiantly.
“Then why do you treat me like garbage?” Huh?!
“What?”
“You said Nana was sick.” Crap, Mike thought frantically. This whole ‘Nana being sick’ excuse really wasn’t doing him any favours.
“She is.” He argued. At El’s doubtful stare, Mike doubled-down on the lie. “She is – she is sick!”
“That’s why we’re here, actually.” Lucas helpfully added.
“Yeah, we’re shopping - not for us, but for her, for Nana.” Mike explained. He tried to ignore Max as she stared at him with disdain. She knew he was full of shit.
He gulped, peering at El beseechingly. “Also… we’re here to get a gift for you. Just - we couldn’t find anything that suited you, and I only have, like, $3.50, so it’s hard.” He looked down in shame.
“Super hard. It’s expensive.” Lucas defended him. But El didn’t seem to care. Brow furrowed, she ignored Lucas’ words and took a small step towards her boyfriend.
“You lie. Why do you lie?” She questioned accusingly. Hurt.
Mike hesitated at the heartbroken look she sent him. He hated himself for it but he couldn’t tell El the truth. Not about this – not if he didn’t want Hopper to stop him from seeing her for good. That would break him, he knew. He averted his eyes from hers, trying to maintain a neutral expression on his face. You can do this, he told himself unconvincingly.
As El slowly moved closer towards him, he eyed her warily, his heartbeat suddenly pounding in his ears. What is she thinking? He wondered, glancing nervously at the half-finished ice-cream cone in her hand.
She stepped closer, leaning into his personal space and giving him no chance to avoid her glare.
“I dump your ass.” She declared coldly. Oh my god, Mike panicked. Is this actually happening right now? He cursed the day he ever met Hopper – that bastard. This was all his fault!
He watched as El turned from him, linking arms with Max and striding confidently towards the town bus. As she headed further and further away from him, his resolve finally broke. He’d sell out the Chief to El any day of the week.
“Hopper made me do it!” Mike blurted out, squeezing his eyes shut and cringing. Lucas elbowed him roughly in his side, giving him an incredulous look. Hopper would undoubtedly kill him when he found out Mike caved.
El froze mid-step. Max rolled her eyes and tugged insistently at the girl’s arm, but she ignored her and turned to look back at her now-former boyfriend.
“What?” She asked warily.
He sighed. There was no going back now. “Hopper. He threatened me –”
“Oh yeah, sure Mike.” Max scoffed. “The big bad Chief of police told you to lie to his daughter and break her heart. That’s bullshit! You clearly just wanted to hang out with the guys at the mall and have fun without your girlfriend -”
“Max, c’mon…” Lucas protested weakly.
“That’s not true!” Mike vehemently argued back. Turning towards El, he pleaded with her. “El, you know I would never blow you off like that. Never. You have to believe me.”
El looked into his eyes, searching. “You lie?” She asked him cautiously.
“No! No way!”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “…What did Hopper say?”
Mike exhaled in relief. At least she was willing to hear him out. “He locked me in his car and he told me that if I didn’t stop spending so much time with you, he’d stop me from seeing you. For good! He-he made me promise not to hang out with you today.”
El frowned, her fist tightening around her ice-cream cone. “He…he lied about Nana?”
“Yeah…he did.” Mike finally admitted. “So did I. I’m so, so sorry El. I know friends don’t lie.” Just as he was about to reach out and place a tentative hand on her shoulder in comfort, he stopped as his gaze – and the gazes of their friends - were drawn to his bike, which was starting to rattle on the ground next to him. “…El?”
El followed his gaze towards his bike and abruptly relaxed when she realized her powers were the source of the ruckus. “Sorry. I just…I can’t believe Hop did this. After-after everything that happened. Last year.”
Mike released another heavy sigh. “Yeah. I know.” He agreed. “El, you gotta know I would never willingly lie to you. Never you.” He took her hand tenderly in his own.
El looked at him fondly and nodded. “I believe you.” Her cheeks dimpled as she leaned up to kiss him sweetly. “We need to go find Hop. What he did was bad.”
“Oh-oh I don’t know El, he’s going to be totally pissed at me –”
“Mike.” She interrupted the beginnings of his ramble.
“Yeah?”
“Hop can’t do this to us. He can’t separate us – not again. I-I can’t – I won’t – go another 353 days without you.” El said fervently. Mike was horrified to realize her eyes had begun to well up with tears.
His gaze softened. “No, El. Of course not – me neither.” He reassured her, looping his arms around her waist and leaning his forehead against hers.
Will stared at Mike and El, unimpressed, and then turned to whisper in Lucas’ ear. “…Can we go play D&D now?” He hissed, impatient.
Lucas buried his head in his hands and groaned. “Yeah, okay, sure. He wryly replied. “Hey Max, you wanna come over to my house and hang?”
Max also glanced briefly towards Mike and El and then huffed good-naturedly. She could always hang out with El another day, she supposed. “Yeah, I guess that sounds cool.” She agreed. “Let’s go, stalker.”
The three teens mutually decided to leave Starcourt Mall without their friends, but the young couple in question paid them no mind. As per usual, they were in their own world.
Mike hesitated. “El?”
“Yes?” She replied, her lips quirking up a little.
“…Are you-are you still planning on dumping me?”
She rolled her eyes affectionately. “No, Mike.”
“Do you-do you forgive me? For lying? I promise I won’t do it again.” He swore.
“Yes.” El confirmed, reaching up to peck her boyfriend lightly on the lips. “I forgive you. But…if you do it again – I give you the medicine.”
“Huh?” What medicine? He thought in confusion.
But the girl didn’t reply, only giggling to herself and hiding her face in his neck, giddy. Mike was adorable. El was happy that they were still together. She highly doubted that she could’ve actually broken up with him for long.
But they had to talk to Hopper about what he had done, she thought with determination, frowning. Maybe he was the one that needed the medicine…