章節 26: 26. Eternal Flame
[A/N: AHHHHHHHH, I'm back! Sorry for taking so long - things have been pretty busy but the bright side is that I'm on spring break now (yay!) so I'm hoping to get at least a couple more updates in over the next week or so.
So about this chapter - it was supposed to have a few more scenes in it but so much ended up happening with THESE parts that I just decided to save the other stuff for next chapter. That being said, there are some cute moments and fun little slice of life type stuff that I hope you guys enjoy and it's also really long. Hopefully this makes up for my absence.
As always, please follow/favorite/leave some reviews so I know what you think! And thank you for all of the feedback you've left so far! You guys help keep me going :)]
Chapter 26: Eternal Flame (by The Bangles)
"Say my name, sun shines through the rain. A whole life so lonely, and then come and ease the pain..."
. . . . . . . .
By eight o' clock on Friday night, El's sleepover was in full swing and Hopper was second-guessing his decision to allow three additional kids to stay the night in his cramped trailer. Thankfully, they were now happily watching a Disney movie and eating pizza in the living area but he still couldn't wait for Joyce to arrive and help take some of the pressure off of him. Between the endless questions and requests and the loud chatter and laughter of the girls that seemed to magnify when they were in close proximity, Hopper was ready to call it a night already.
"Hey Chief!" Trish called from the living room. "Can we see your gun?"
"Not a chance," Hopper replied, tired but stern.
"Told you," Emma giggled.
"So are you like, El's dad?" Gabby asked as she fished another slice of pizza out of the box.
El looked up at Hopper with an interested expression. They'd pretended when they were in the hospital but she wasn't entirely clear on whether they were going to keep that up now that things had settled down.
"Why don't you take it easy on that pizza before you give yourselves heartburn," He said, avoiding the question just as a knock on the door echoed in the small space. "Thank god," Hopper muttered under his breath as he ushered Joyce in and took her coat.
Joyce grinned in amusement at him before turning her attention to the group of girls sitting in the living room.
"Hi El!" She said enthusiastically. "So these are your new friends?"
The girls quietly looked Joyce up and down, grinning at each other. El nodded to Joyce, oblivious to her friends' unspoken communication.
"Are you his girlfriend?" Trish asked with a mischievous grin, one eyebrow raised as she glanced between the two adults.
Joyce faltered for a second, blinking in surprise before expertly recovering. "No, sweetheart," She chuckled softly. "But I am a friend of El's and I thought I'd come by and hang out. Meet these new friends that El likes so much,"
The girls, no longer interested in the idea of Joyce and Hopper being an item, turned their attention back to the television screen.
El smiled and Joyce walked over to the couch where she was sitting to give her a greeting hug. "What are we watching?" Joyce asked, getting comfortable on the seat cushion as Hopper continued to stand in the doorway, arms crossed and relieved to have Joyce there. There was no question she was more comfortable with this. He'd had a daughter once but it'd been so long and he'd certainly never hosted a pre-teen sleepover. He couldn't help but smile as he watched Joyce engage in the fast-paced girly chatter happening in his living room. Once she got there, the night seemed to fly by in a blur with the girls alternating between movies, eating, talking and playing games, and doing make-overs.
"Come on, Chief Hopper!" Gabby pleaded. "It'd be fun!"
"For you!" Hopper retorted. "You're not putting that stuff on my face,"
"What about your nails?" Trish suggested.
"What the hell is this fascination with putting make-up on me?" Hopper shot Joyce an incredulous look and the woman laughed, shaking her head and shrugging.
"You're no fun," Gabby jokingly pouted before shifting her focus to Emma's hair.
El was carefully painting her toenails, just like Trish had showed her, as Trish pulled Joyce's hair into a very messy braid over on the couch.
"I need to learn how to French braid," Gabby commented as she brushed Emma's hair and moved it in different directions, unsure what to do with the blonde locks.
"Here, come over here and I'll show you," Joyce waved the two girls over and Emma sat on the floor in front of Joyce while Trish continued to play with the older woman's hair as she sat on the back of the couch.
Gabby watched earnestly as Joyce explained and demonstrated the proper French braiding technique, pulling Emma's hair into a relatively neat and soft braid before letting go and letting Gabby give it a try.
The night continued in this way, with Hopper gradually agreeing to be roped into more activities at El and Joyce's encouragement. By midnight, the girls had finally retired to El's room with their sleeping bags. Whether they were asleep or not, Hopper and Joyce couldn't be sure but both were too tired to worry.
"God, I'm exhausted," Joyce said, leaning back against the couch cushion and letting herself sink in. "I worked a double today because Charlie called in sick this morning,"
"Damn, Joyce," Hopper shook his head, reclining back alongside her and fighting the urge to shut his eyes. "I didn't know that; you didn't have to come over,"
"Oh no, it's fine," Joyce hushed him with a wave of her hand. "It was nice. Seeing you finally give in and let El paint one of your nails was worth it," She shot a smirk at him, her eyes momentarily lifting just enough to make contact with his.
"Yeah, well…" He mumbled, glancing at his now pink thumb nail with a fond half-smile. "It's just the one," He yawned, letting his head sink back once more and marveling at the simple joy of his beat up old sofa as his eyelids grew heavier.
Quiet hung in the air for the first time that night as both independently tried to keep the incessant nag of sleep at bay. Neither could blame the other for being so exhausted. Joyce was working double shifts multiple times a week in an effort to keep her family afloat while Hopper juggled double lives between the police station and the lab. As the trailer grew quiet and the only sounds remaining were the steady tick of the clock on the wall and a chorus of crickets in the woods outside, the two adults fell into a deep, much needed sleep on the living room couch.
. . . . . . . .
"Oooooooooooooh!" Trish and Gabby goaded from the doorway as all four girls entered the living room the following morning, clad in pajamas.
"Huh?" Hopper stirred. "Wha?"
He and Joyce had fallen asleep and slept through until morning, eventually moving closer over the course of the night such that Joyce's head was resting on Hopper's shoulder and his arm was around her.
"Not your girlfriend, huh?" Gabby laughed and El looked at the girls curiously. Sure, she'd never seen Hopper and Joyce so close together before but why was it so funny? And how did that make Joyce his 'girlfriend'? What was a 'girlfriend', anyway?
Gradually regaining his bearings as Joyce began to wake, Hopper realized what the girls were giggling about. "Shit," He muttered under his breath and quickly retracted his arm, shifting out from under Joyce as she began to return to consciousness. "What time is it?"
"10:30," Trish said, one eyebrow still raised in suspicious amusement at the adults.
"Alright, alright," Hopper said gruffly, standing up. "Nothin' to see here," He shooed them out of the room. "Go get dressed or somethin',"
"Oh god...I can't believe I fell asleep..." Joyce finally murmured, her eyes barely open as she groggily sat up, pawing at her pack of cigarettes on the coffee table until she secured them in her hand. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Hopper said briskly and stood up. "I'm gonna make breakfast," He started to make his way to the kitchen as Joyce lit her cigarette, then stopped in his tracks. He really didn't feel like cooking for six people and cooking wasn't even close to being his forte. "Screw it, on second thought, we're goin' to the diner,"
"I've gotta check on the boys," Joyce said, more alert now. "Can I use your phone?"
"Be my guest," Hopper gestured to the corded phone on the side table before disappearing into the bathroom.
. . . . . . . .
Hopper knew better than to take El to Benny's after everything that had happened back in the fall. Honeybee's Diner was a bit more out of the way but they had had time before they needed to be back in the area for Dustin's party so it wasn't a big deal. The only downside was being in the car with the four girls squeezed into the back of his SUV, chatting excitedly about anything and everything was giving him a headache already. El was the quietest of the group which was no surprise, but she paid earnest attention to everything the others said.
There was a time when Hopper didn't get up before noon and now he was carting around a gaggle of pre-teen girls at 11 A.M. Strange how quickly things can change…
After checking on Will and Jonathan, Joyce had planned to head home. She felt guilty for staying out all night, even though it hadn't been intentional and she'd known Jonathan was home with Will. Hopper, however, had insisted that they get breakfast with them. Whether that was a token of appreciation for her coming over last night or a continued request for assistance with managing the girls, Joyce couldn't be sure. Still, it didn't take much coaxing to bring her along.
After filling up on generous portions of eggs, breakfast meats, and the biggest, fluffiest waffles El had ever seen, the group piled back into the car. To Hopper's relief, the girls were much calmer and quieter with full bellies so the car ride back to Hawkins was more peaceful.
"So are the girls staying for the weekend?" Joyce asked.
Hopper shook his head as he merged onto the highway. "Nah, Trish's mom is supposed to pick them all up later tonight. Apparently she works down this way every other weekend so Hawkins is a ten minute drive out of her way,"
"That's convenient," Joyce said, relaxing with an elbow up on the passenger side door.
"Yup," Hopper replied. "So how's everything going with you and the boys?"
"We're fine," Joyce said automatically but Hopper glanced at her, unconvinced. He knew she was exhausted and stressed and worried. She worked herself to the bone to keep life as stable as possible for her boys and that was something he really respected and admired about her. Despite everything she'd ever been through, she still had this incredible inner strength that sometimes left him in awe.
. . . . . . . .
El had never been to Dustin's house before. It was a modest one-level rancher with a small garden nestled against the base of the porch. A pair of blue and white balloons were tied to the black railing outside, blowing around gently in the wind. Despite the time of year and the temperature outside, the wind was relatively at ease today. Hopper stayed in the car, waiting to watch them go in. He'd already had a conversation with Dustin's mother the day beforehand and felt reasonably comfortable that El would be safe. Of course, he hadn't informed Dustin's mom of the specifics of El's situation but rather, had had the type of conversation any father would have with the people who would be watching his child for a few hours.
El could sense the nervous energy coming from her friends, though their slight smiles indicated they weren't terribly uncomfortable. El clutched a gift bag in her hand and Gabby carried the card they'd picked up and signed as a group on the way to Dustin's house. No one had realized until they were en route to the party that El hadn't brought a gift for Dustin which led to a conversation about events in which the proper etiquette is to bring someone a gift - like birthdays. So they'd taken a pit stop at a grocery store on the way and the girls had picked out what they could. Despite the last minute effort, El was pretty pleased with her selection.
For some reason, El had been expecting the party to only consist of people she knew. She'd never thought of the idea that Dustin could have other people there so when the girls walked into the house, ushered by Dustin's mom, and found a relatively large group of people in the living room, it was a bit overwhelming until the boys noticed her entrance.
"Hey El!" Mike greeted cheerily, his eagerness clearly noted by the girls who smirked at one another as they looked between El and Mike. Lucas stood by, rolling his eyes at his friend's lovestruck behavior and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Hi," El smiled warmly as the girls stopped in front of the moppy-haired pre-teen.
Waiting a beat, Trish piped up, "Okay, well, I'm Trish," She said humorously.
"Oh duh," Mike shook his head. "Sorry, I'm Mike,"
"Lucas," Lucas lifted a hand and gave a small wave with a nod.
"It's really great to meet you," Gabby grinned at Mike, then shot a smirk at El that went unbeknownst to the oblivious young girl. "I'm Gabby and this is Emma," She gestured to the quiet blonde standing with them.
"Cool," Mike said, also not noticing the mischievous grins on El's friends' faces. "Um, so -"
"Hey, El's here!" Dustin remarked as he entered from the next room and immediately approached the group. "And... El's friends. Hi, El's friends," He said, lifting his eyebrows and giving a toothy smile.
"Gabby, Trish, Emma," El introduced, speaking each girl's name slowly and clearly as she pointed to them.
"Hi," The girls giggled. "Happy birthday,"
"This is for you… Dustin, right?" Gabby said, handing him the card.
"The one and only," He grinned. "Thanks,"
"And this," El said, putting the gift bag in his hands and watching with dismay as he sat it down in the corner where several other gift bags were gathered.
"Thanks, El!" Dustin said. "I'll open it later with the others, okay?"
Seemingly satisfied with this explanation, El looked around the room curiously. "Where is Will?" She asked, furrowing her brow with concern.
"He's on his way," Lucas explained nonchalantly. "Said he got caught up with something at home,"
"You don't think he's sick again, do you?" Dustin asked.
"Nah, he's been fine lately," Lucas said dismissively.
"Besides, he'd tell us if something was wrong," Mike said reassuringly and Lucas scoffed.
"Not necessarily…" Lucas retorted and Mike rolled his eyes.
"Anyway!" Dustin said, sensing the impending argument between two of his best friends. "So guess what? It's my birthday," He said with a dramatic joyfulness that was obviously an attempt at diverting the conversation topic as he draped his arms over Mike and Lucas' shoulders. "How great is that?"
The girls smirked at his theatrics as Mike and Lucas simultaneously rolled their eyes, moving on. Dustin noticed the way El continued to look around the room at the other people who were chatting with one another. There were a few adults sitting on and by the couch as well as two kids who may have been around their age over by the dining table getting snacks.
"Those are my cousins," Dustin said, following El's gaze and she visibly relaxed at the information. She was still distrustful of new people and wasn't sure if that instinct would ever go away. "And some of my aunts and uncles," He shrugged. "We're kind of close, I guess,"
El nodded her understanding and smiled slightly before directing her attention over the boys' shoulders to the snacks on the table.
"So anyway," Dustin said amicably. "There's plenty of food so dig in before it's gone," The girls began to encircle the food table as he continued. "Um, we're gonna go bowling after everybody eats and stuff,"
"Bowling?" El turned around and quirked an eyebrow.
"You've never been bowling?" Trish nudged her as she loaded cookies and a slice of pizza onto her plate. "How do you not know what bowling is?"
"There's a lot of stuff she hasn't done," Lucas chimed in. "You get used to it,"
"Apparently," Trish said, then added good-naturedly, "Girl, you've gotta get out more,"
The boys exchanged looks, privy to just how true that statement was, as El continued to look between her friends' faces with a confused expression.
"What is bowling?" She pushed, layering two slices of pizza onto her plate and making eye contact with Mike. He always had answers for her.
"It's a game," Mike, reliable as ever, explained. "You roll a heavy ball down a lane and try to knock down as many pins at the end as you can,"
"Pins?" El squinted her eyes.
"Yeah, you'll see," Mike said. "It's hard to explain without showing you, I guess,"
The rest of their time spent at Dustin's house went by quickly. After everyone ate their fill, Dustin's mom corralled everyone into the living room to watch as Dustin opened his gifts. It was certainly a fascinating sight for El, watching her friend opened gift bags and tore wrapping paper from boxes as the people surrounding him watched. Everyone wanted to see what he received, especially the people who had given him whatever gift he was currently opening. That she could understand, as she had been hoping he would look at the gift she'd picked as soon as she handed him the bag. As Dustin sat on the couch, his relatives and friends surrounding him, his mom stood back taking pictures each time he picked up a new item.
"Don't forget to read the cards, Dustin," She'd reminded him and he deadpanned slightly but dug the card out of the bag and continued to make an effort to read the cards first.
El wondered if her new friends were having a good time. They hadn't done much yet but she was so used to them being more talkative and outgoing. Maybe they felt the same way she did when it came to meeting new people and they would get more comfortable as the day went on. They didn't seem to be unhappy, just more quiet, so that had to be what was going on.
Meanwhile, Mike was paying an exorbitant amount of attention to the positioning of El's hand. They were squeezed together on the end of the couch with Dustin and two of his cousins, with Dustin on the far end opening gift after gift and their other friends gathered around, some of them sitting on the floor in front of them, others leaning against or around the side of the couch. Will had finally arrived just before it was time to open gifts and was now seated on the carpet just inches from Mike's foot. With these close quarters, Mike couldn't help but pay attention to how close El was to him. Her hands clutched the edge of the couch on either side as she watched Dustin intently. How easy would it be to hold her hand? A nagging inside him told him to act on his impulses and pick up her hand. It wouldn't be the first time, after all and she would probably like it, right? He always second-guessed himself about these kinds of things, even after countless instances of not being rejected by her. It probably wasn't a big deal and who knows? Maybe she would look at him and smile and everything would be fine. Still, the anxiety of being so close to her and doing something so affectionate in front of all of these people was enough to make him sweat.
El bubbled with excitement as she watched Dustin pick up the gift she'd brought. While she hadn't had much time to put a lot of thought into this last minute decision, based on what she knew of Dustin, she thought he would like it nonetheless.
"I think that one's from El," Lucas laughed, noting the way El squirmed in her seat with anticipation, her face beaming.
"Okay," Dustin said, reading through the card from the girls at his mother's behest before digging a box of Nilla Wafers and a small Stormtrooper toy out of the bag. "Dude," He laughed, holding up each item. "This is awesome. Thanks, El, and thanks for the card," He acknowledged the other girls who gave slight nods and smiles.
El's smile stretched from ear to ear as Mike patted her on the back. "Good choices," He chuckled.
After Dustin had opened all of his gifts, everyone made arrangements as to how they would get to the bowling alley. Between his mom's minivan that she used for work, his dad's car, and his relatives that chose to ride along in their own vehicles, they were able to make it work. Dustin, Mike, Will, Gabby and El traveled with Dustin's mom while Lucas, Trish, and Emma rode with one of Dustin's cousins in his dad's car.
The bowling alley was unlike anything El had ever experienced before and the sound of the heavy balls colliding with the floor startled her at first but all of her friends seemed to understand the procedure and were at ease in this place so she relaxed quickly.
The main lights were turned down relatively low in this place and bright, colorful lights added a playful feel to the space as Madonna hits played from unseen speakers. After getting their shoes, El followed everyone down to the lanes where each pair of lanes had its own table and wrap-around bench for bowlers to wait their turn. They'd rented four lanes with Dustin's relatives and parents playing against one another in one pair, leaving the boys and the girls to divvy up their teams.
"Do you wanna be on my team, El?" Mike asked and Dustin pretended to stick a finger down his throat in disgust, making Gabby laugh.
"Uh-uh," Lucas protested. "No way, you guys are just gonna be all over each other and won't actually play the game,"
"Not true!" Mike argued.
"I say we do guys versus girls," Lucas went on, ignoring Mike's protest.
"Wait a minute," Trish countered. "That's not fair!"
Lucas smirked at her. "It's only unfair if you think you're gonna lose,"
That earned him a challenging look from the wavy-haired brunette. "Oh hell no," She narrowed her eyes, matching his smirk. "Okay, you're on, Sinclair,"
Mike and Dustin exchanged amused looks as the other girls confidently backed up their friend's challenge.
"This should be good," Dustin laughed and everyone made their way to a cart with bowling balls of varying colors and weights as Will took a seat at the scoring table, entering everyone's names into the system so they would show up on the overhead screen.
"Hey," He caught Emma's attention just before she followed the others over to the cart, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't get your name?"
"It's Emma," The blonde smiled shyly, watching as he typed the letters.
"Cool, thanks," Will said amicably, looking back up at her before she left to go pick her bowling ball.
"There are different colors but they're also different weights," Mike explained to El who was listening patiently and eyeing her options thoughtfully. "Like this green one," He picked up a large marble green ball with the number '25' on it. "It's kinda heavy," He said, not anticipating the weight when he picked it up to demonstrate, but pretending to struggle less than he actually was before returning it to the cart. "Um," He said, exhaling. "So yeah, you just pick whichever one feels right, I guess,"
"Dude," Dustin nudged Mike and whispered. "Knowing El, the weight of the ball is probably not even going to matter,"
"Shh," Mike shushed him quietly, gesturing with his eyes to the girls who weren't too far out of earshot, even despite his whispering. They may be friends but they probably didn't know about El's powers and the last thing Mike wanted was to blow her cover.
El finally decided on a bright pink 8 pound ball, proudly cradling it in her arms as she waited for Mike to select his.
"Did you paint your nails?" Mike asked curiously, noticing the light pink shade on her nails as she held her bowling ball in her hands.
El glanced at her hands, then nodded. "Pretty?"
"Um, yeah," Mike nodded, a strange feeling moving through him as he realized El was starting to branch out into more things that he hadn't been the one to introduce her to - not that he could've seen himself being the one to tell her about painting her nails. But still, as dumb as it sounded, it was like she was a real girl and seeing her that way made him feel simultaneously proud, excited, and nervous.
"Are you guys ready yet?" Lucas called impatiently from the score table where Will had finally finished adding everyone's names which were now displayed on the monitors above their lanes.
"We're coming!" Mike said as he and El joined the rest of their group down by the lanes.
By the middle of the first game, the teams were neck and neck with the boys having a slight lead over the girls. El had already tried using her powers to keep her ball from going into the gutter but the boys quickly and discreetly called her out on it and explained that it was not okay. Since then, she'd gotten better but was still getting relatively frequent gutter-balls, as was Emma. Trish and her competitive nature were carrying the team along and while Gabby had a decent level of skill, she was more caught up in singing and dancing along to the tracks playing from the speakers.
"Get into the groove, boy, you've got to prove your love to meeee…" Gabby sang, doing a little dance move as she walked back to the bench, not even watching her ball complete its descent down the lane but smirking when she heard pins fall.
"Does she always do that?" Lucas remarked and Trish nodded.
"All the time," She laughed, patting the boy on the shoulder. "Welcome to my world,"
As the song shifted and a new one came on, Dustin let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Finally something other than Madonna!"
"Oh, I know this one, too!" Gabby, not hearing their conversation, said with delight from her place at the bench with El.
"I like your singing," El said quietly, offering a small smile to which Gabby lit up.
"Thanks!" The redhead beamed. "You should come see Funny Girl, you know, assuming I didn't bomb the audition,"
"Okay," El nodded.
"Wait, Funny Girl as in the musical?" Dustin said, entering the conversation.
"Yeah…" Gabby eyed him curiously. "You know it?"
"Sort of," Dustin shrugged, sitting down on the bench next to her. "I was on the crew when our school did it last year,"
"Oh wow," Gabby said, interested. "That's cool. So you helped out with the set, I guess?"
"Basically," Dustin nodded. "I've done plays and stuff before but there wasn't really a part in that one that I wanted to do,"
Gabby's face brightened. "Wow, I wouldn't have pegged you for the acting type,"
"You mean after meeting me an hour ago?" Dustin grinned and Gabby laughed.
"Fair point," She conceded, suddenly feeling bashful and looking down just as Will called her up for her turn.
El watched curiously as Dustin's gaze followed Gabby up to the lanes. The way he was looking at her was unlike any expression she'd seen on him before and reminded her of the way she sometimes looked at Mike.
"You crush her," She said confidently, raising an eyebrow at the boy who jumped as though he'd been pricked.
"What?" He said, dumbfounded. "What does that - no, no, I don't," Dustin contested emphatically before standing up abruptly and walking away as El smirked to herself.
The rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by. They dug into the cake Dustin's mom had brought after the first game and went on to play two more to settle the score.
"The first game doesn't count," Lucas insisted as Trish stood by, arms crossed.
"You're just mad because we won," She countered.
"You only won by two points!" Lucas retorted. "And that's only 'cause El cheated in the first game!"
"Bull," Trish said dismissively. "Don't be a sore loser,"
"Are you guys seriously not gonna do anything about this?" Lucas turned to the guys, hoping for some back up.
"Dude, it's just a game," Dustin chuckled.
"It was really close," Will said, trying to be the peacemaker. "What if we just said it was a tie?"
"Hell no," Trish disputed. "We earned those points,"
"Nice try, Will," Mike nudged his friend empathetically.
"What part of 'cheating' do you not understand?" Lucas exclaimed, gesturing exaggeratedly. "We need another game,"
"Okay, how did she cheat?" Trish said, hands on hips. "Please, because I didn't see anything, did you guys?" She looked to Gabby and Emma who shook their heads while El watched the argument unfold with concern, making eye contact with Mike. She knew the instance Lucas was referring to was the one turn in which she used her powers to get a strike, not realizing that that decision would be the move that gave the girls a win in the first game. And while Lucas was avoiding explicitly stating how she 'cheated', she was still getting a little nervous.
"Okay, guys," Mike said, stepping in. "It doesn't matter," He turned his back to the girls, giving a pointed look to Lucas just as Dustin's mom called them over to follow along as they got ready to leave.
. . . . . . . .
The contention between Lucas and Trish waned after they arrived at a local ice cream parlor just a few minutes from the bowling alley. By the time the group stepped foot in the quaint little building, everyone was in positive spirits, cracking jokes and having pleasant conversation. Dustin's extended family had gone home so it was only his parents accompanying them, generously offering to buy each of the kids a treat of their choosing.
The 'Ice Cream Cottage' was a small shop run by a family who always seemed to remember the people who came in, even if it had been a while since their last visit. Perhaps that was the result of living in a small town like Hawkins. There was a wooden deck outside the building with chairs that rocked back and forth and a small patch of land to the side with several picnic tables that were often used during warmer months when large groups of kids would congregate here for the better part of the day. To the side of the deck and under a large oak tree was a two-seat wooden swing with a green and white awning.
"Why are we getting ice cream at the end of January?" Trish wondered aloud as they stepped into the building, shaking off the chill of outside.
"There is never a bad time to have ice cream," Gabby said definitively, stepping up to the freezer to consider her options.
"Truer words have never been spoken," Dustin nodded thoughtfully, also stepping up alongside her to read the names of the different flavors the shop offered.
The ice cream freezer had clear glass such that they could easily see each flavor as well as the name of it which was taped to the glass. On the other side of the shop, booths with checker boards built into the tabletops were painted in primary colors with small wooden boxes of checkers pieces for patrons to play while they ate. The shop was empty at the moment, probably due to the time of year and infrequent patronage that came with the colder months.
As everyone stood in line to place their orders, El had yet to shake off the cold since coming inside so she stepped up behind Mike, wrapping her arms around him in a hug and resting her cheek on his shoulder. Of course, she didn't think much of this gesture and was used to being close to Mike. The added benefit of latching onto some of his warmth didn't seem like a strange thing to her so she was relatively oblivious to the reactions of their friends that ranged from giggles to smirks to eye-rolls.
Mike wasn't sure how to respond to such a blatantly public display of affection so he awkwardly patted her arm and tried to ignore the way that even the teenage girl putting everyone's ice cream cones together seemed to be grinning in amusement at them.
"Aww, look," Trish remarked. "They love each other,"
El thought about asking what 'love' meant but judging by Trish's tone and the way Mike had almost frozen in her arms, she thought it may be best to save that question for later.
Mike stood steady through his embarrassment, the bright red flushing of his cheeks a stark contrast to the typical pale tone of his skin. However, when he was asked for his order, his unsteady awkwardness became more apparent.
"Uh, the uh," He stammered even as El clung to his arm, still trying to decide on a flavor. "R-Rocky road, um, please?"
"What kind of cone?" The girl behind the counter asked, trying not to look as entertained as she was.
"Waffle," He squeaked and El looked at him.
"Like Eggos?" She asked, her eyes wide with wondrous delight.
"Oh, yeah," Mike said, nodding. "You should get yours in a waffle cone, too. I think you'd like it,"
El couldn't look any more assured if she tried. "Chocolate," She said eagerly, though still in the soft, quiet way that was her nature. "And waffle cone,"
The employee nodded her understanding and Mike thanked her as she began to put their cones together.
"So did you ask him yet?" Gabby blurted to El once everyone had their cones and settled into a couple of booths.
El furrowed her brow in confusion as she greedily dug into her ice cream before remembering what Gabby was referring to.
"Oh," She said, her eyebrows lifting with realization as she turned to Mike. "There's a dance,"
"Yeah?" Mike looked at her with interest, having a feeling he knew where this was going and feeling excited yet completely awkward at the same time. This wouldn't be so uncomfortable if he didn't have Gabby and Dustin's eyes on him and their other friends easily within earshot in the next booth.
"The Sadie Hawkins dance at our school," Gabby filled in, still eagerly watching El.
El nodded, looking down shyly and Mike tried not to smile as hard as his face was attempting to. "... Do you want to go?"
"Um," He glanced at Gabby and Dustin who were staring at both of them with anticipation, their mouths slightly agape as they eagerly watched the interaction. "Okay," Mike focused on El, tuning out the incredibly distracting reactions of the two people across from them and fighting against the way his cheeks threatened to pinken. "Yeah, that sounds fun. Thanks for inviting me, El,"
"Yes!" Gabby squeaked with delight and Dustin jumped at the sudden sound next to him before laughing.
"Um, alright," He joked. "There goes the hearing in that ear,"
"Sorry," Gabby giggled, returning her attention to Mike and El. "This is gonna be so much fun," She leaned around the side of the booth. "Did you hear that?" She asked Emma and Trish.
"Kind of hard not to," Trish replied sarcastically, grinning.
El tapped the table in front of Gabby to get her attention. "Can everyone go?"
Gabby's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Um, I… guess?" She turned to Dustin, sharing a mutually uncomfortable look with him before both darted their eyes away. "Like as a group?"
El nodded happily. "Yes,"
"Sure, if they want," Gabby replied, notably avoiding looking directly at Dustin again. Thankfully, El and Mike looked at him, eliciting a response.
"Uhh… okay," He agreed, still looking relatively uncomfortable.
Gabby turned around in her seat again to speak to Trish. "Looks like we're all going,"
"All of us?" Will asked. "To the dance at your school?"
"What if we don't want to?" Lucas challenged and Dustin got up on his knees in his seat, leaning over the back of the booth to face them.
"You are not ditching us," He said, giving a pointed, somewhat desperate and anxious look.
"See?" Trish jerked a thumb up at Dustin and shot Lucas a playful smirk, her sarcasm as thick as ever. "You guys can be each other's dates,"
Lucas glared at her, digging into his bowl of chocolate chip ice cream. "You're actually really annoying, you know that?"
Undeterred, Trish sat back in her seat, still smirking at him as Will and Emma quietly exchanged glances. "I prefer to think of myself as quite endearing, actually,"
. . . . . . . .
"Close your eyes, give me your hand. Do you feel my heart beating? Do you understand? Do you feel the same?"
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票