Summary: At her first real high school party, El is trying to have fun. But Mike Wheeler is determined to be miserable. Unsure of what to do, as things between them fall apart, El turns to her friends, who give her a nudge in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Dustin has been pining over Ell for a while. With a little push, he plans to tell her how he really feels.
Or, El and Mike break up, and Dustin finally tells her he's in love with her.
Fandom: Stranger Things (TV)
Relationship: Dustin Henderson/Eleven (Jane Hopper), Max Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Mike Wheeler/Eleven (Jane Hopper).
Characters: Eleven (Jane Hopper), Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Max Mayfield, Lucas Sinclair, and Will Byers.
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, but also Sudden Realization, Mutual Pining, Alternate Universe, AU, AU: El Lives, Post Season 5, Party Scene, First Kiss, Teen Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Realization, Mike Wheeler Being Kind of a Jerk, Protective Friends, Lucas Sinclair is a Good Friend, Soft Dustin Henderson, El Learns About Love, Jealousy, Light Angst with Happy Ending.
El was enjoying Stacey’s party more than she thought she would. In the past eighteen months, she had been to a total of three parties: one celebratory dinner party hosted by Nancy, one party at Dustin’s place that no one but them went to, and one technical party in a basement after graduation, where they just played D&D. But this, this was her first official high school party.
They all had red cups filled to the brim with a drink she didn’t know the name of. It didn’t taste like alcohol, which El liked, and it didn’t get her too drunk, which she also liked. Having superpowers meant a slightly higher metabolism and better alcohol tolerance.
There was a buzz of people dancing, drinking, and just having fun in a way that made her feel free. Everybody smiled at her. She wasn’t the center of attention. But she stood comfortably among her peers. She, Max, and Lucas took shots with Dustin, and then she hung out with Will in the kitchen until he started talking with a couple of guys. She was currently dancing in the living room to a song Max called day-glo pop.
That was, until she looked over at Mike.
He hadn’t wanted to go to the party. Now he was sulking in the corner like a little baby, arms crossed and a pout that put a cloud over his head. El kind of listened to the lyrics Max was singing. But Max and Lucas had started kissing, pressing their bodies together in a way that made her uncomfortable. She turned away from them and decided to go over to Mike.
She smiled at him. He gave her a small one in return, but kept his arms crossed. “Are you really going to just sit here the entire night?”
He raised his eyebrows at her. “Well, what exactly do you think I should be doing? Getting drunk like you?”
His words stung in the same way the alcohol had burned her throat the first time. There had been a lot of that between them lately. Little words that hurt her heart, a stark contrast to the way things used to be. When his words lifted her up. But the heart wanted what it wanted, and right now, his heart wanted to sulk in a corner.
“If you’re not going to be nice to me, of all people, then you can go home,” El said, clearing her throat. She turned around, feeling unsteady as she marched away from him.
She ran into the kitchen, where a cloud of smoke greeted her. Waving her arms, she looked around. “Will?”
He popped out from a corner.
“Over here, El,” Will said with a smile, his arm lightly bumping into the guy next to him.
She turned back toward the living room and locked eyes with Mike. He was still glaring at her. And right now, El didn’t know what to do with herself.
“El, this is Adam,” Will added, glancing back at Adam, a boy with shaggy blonde hair. “Apparently, he plays at the arcade sometimes.”
El smiled at Adam, “Hello.”
“Hey.”
Will and Adam exchanged a look, the same way Lucas and Max sometimes did. Staring into each other’s eyes as if the rest of the world had faded away. It was a look El was familiar with.
“Are you two going to kiss?” El asked, looking back at them.
Both boys jumped, as if she’d shocked them with electricity.
“Why is she talking about that?” Adam asked, looking between the two of them.
“It’s nothing,I think she’s just drunk,” Will said quickly as he grabbed El’s arm and started to drag her from the kitchen, his smile fading.
“What?” she asked as she watched his eyes flash around. “Besides, you’re gay, and it looks like he might be too.”
“El,” Will whispered, turning his head around and looking for something as they stumbled into the hallway.
They found Max and Lucas ‘sucking face’ as Will called it. And right now they were thoroughly attached. Their arms wrapped around each other. Max had even put one leg around Lucas's thigh as he held up her ass. They moved together in a way that was fluid like water. They were kissing so intently, with Lucas holding Max’s face to his. Both of them seemed oblivious to anybody else.
“Earth to ship Lumax!” Will said, tapping Max on the shoulders.
But she didn't even stop kissing Lucas, just moved her hand to wave them off.
“Max, please, I need your help explaining something to El!” Will had to shout over the music.
Max untangled her lips from Lucas, and they both glared at the two of them. El didn't like it when people glared at her, especially her friends. It was as if she could feel their anger pushing her down.
Lucas whispered something to Max. Then she shook her head, whispering something back. They reluctantly unattached themselves. Lucas let his hands move up to hold her waist and Max let go of his shoulders. Lucas stepped away, but his hand dragged down her arm until he clenched her hand. He gave it one last squeeze before he headed back to the living room. El never understood how their bodies would talk to each other like that.
“Five minutes,” Lucas said, shouting back at them.
“Yeah, we got it,” Max replied, rolling her eyes.
She grabbed El and Will, tugging them into the bathroom. It was surprisingly empty and Max shut the door behind them, locking it.
Lucas sighed, slumping his shoulders as he watched the three of them disappear into the bathroom together. He knew it would be longer than five minutes before they came back out. He spotted Dustin having the time of his life. In the middle of the party, Dustin sang and played air guitar on top of Stacy’s parents’ coffee table, surrounded by the crowd. Lucas quickly went over, squeezing his way through the crowd as best he could. Finally reaching Dustin, he grabbed his shirt and held on.
“Dustin,” Lucas tried shouting over the music, but it was just too loud.
Dustin looked down at him and smiled, although he continued to sing. Lucas told him to come down again, but Dustin could barely hear him.
“Dustin!” Lucas finally yelled louder.
As Dustin looked up, seeing Lucas’s serious face, he yelled back, “What?”
“Can I talk to you, man?” Lucas yelled back, his voice drowning in the guitar riff.
But Dustin jumped off, handing the mic over to somebody else who started singing just as loud.
“What?” Dustin said, as Lucas just motioned for him to follow and lead Dustin away from the crowd, out into the front yard.
There were cars parked everywhere, and the music still managed to reach them. Some people were T-ping the house, but it didn’t really seem to matter. Nobody really paid attention to them.
“You have to tell El how you feel,” Lucas said, grabbing hold of Dustin’s shoulders and staring at him. Although, as he looked into his eyes, he realized that Dustin was far too strung out for his words to really make anything, especially as Dustin waved him off.
“It’s not important right now. Besides, she and Mike are together.”
“They're miserable, and they’re taking it out on all of us.”
“They’re just going through a rough patch. I mean, you and Max used to do the same thing.”
“Max and I hadn’t had the best relationship in the past, but we have been good for years. In those years, we have both learned so much. The number one thing being it is important to talk to your girlfriend. And how it is important to tell the woman you love that you love her!”
Lucas stabbed Dustin’s chest with as much resolve as he could muster, hoping that it would somehow make a difference.
“Max and you don’t have what the rest of us have,” Dustin said with an eye roll. “You two have always been… I don't know. You've never been in love with anyone else. It’s just been the two of you since we were kids.”
“So what? That doesn’t mean I can’t see that you love El and that the two of you would be happy together if you just tried,” Lucas said, throwing his arms out. “Isn’t trying better than just watching each other and wondering what could be?”
But Dustin just shook his head. “Just because you want to flaunt your perfect relationship in our eyes doesn’t mean that it is what’s best for everybody.”
He seemed to shrink back into himself, the cold night wind cutting through them. Lucas pulled his arms around his shoulders. The cold was sobering them both, although they could still hear the faint music of the party and the smell of the weed that seemed to linger through everything else. Dustin started to walk back to the party and Lucas just stood there, growling at his friend. Could they really be this stupid, Lucas thought.
“Either you tell El how you feel or I’ll have Max spill the beans to her!”
“Don’t!” Dustin said, running back and grabbing hold of Lucas’s shirt.
“Or what? What are you going to do?” Lucas said, staring into his eyes, knowing that was a far more terrifying thought than Dustin would actually realize.
“Please don't.”
“Tell her.”
“She doesn’t even like me that much,” Dustin argued back, letting go of him and turning away.
“Yes, she does,” Lucas said, a small smile appearing on his face as Dustin furrowed his brow.
“El told Max one day that she thought you were cute, but she thought you still loved Suzie and she was with Mike. But I’ve seen the way she looks at you when you start ranting about working on Cerebro or whatever robotic stuff that you’re trying to figure out. She is the only one who will sit there and truly listen to you. Even Will gets bored after an hour.”
Dustin looked down at his feet and kicked a roll of toilet paper as it rolled across the lawn. “What if she says she doesn’t want to be with me?”
“You have to at least give her that chance,” Lucas argued, as Dustin sighed, seeming heavier than he usually was.
“Look, I’ll find a time. Just give me time, all right?”
Lucas nodded, and put his arm around his best friend. “Come on, why don’t you just try to at least cheer her up, and I’ll go get me some Max time.”
Characters: Eleven (Jane Hopper), Dustin Henderson, and Mrs. Henderson.
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Additional Tags: POst-Season 5, Fluff, Established Relationship, Friends To Lovers, Canon Divergence, Kissing, Love, Friendship, Winter, Ice Skating, Hot Chocolate, Waffles, Young Love, All Fluff.
Read at: AO3
Read at: FFN
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“If you let go of my hand, I'll kill you."
Dustin laughed at her words, although he held tightly to her forearms.
"You would need to be able to skate on your own to catch me."
They were both out on Lover's Lake in the middle of winter, having succeeded in finding two pairs of skates from Dustin's garage. Dustin moved his feet in and out and El really tried to concentrate on what he was doing. He was going in and out, in and out, skating backwards as he held her. Although he told her to follow his movements, the ice was slippery. It wasn't like running in the forest. It was like, well, being on an uneven dinner plate whine trying to balance on knives. She felt like her legs might give out from under her at any moment, and thus she did her best to concentrate. And concentrate she did.
Dustin smiled at the look on her face. It was one that he adored. Her tongue stuck out just a little bit. Her eyes were laser-focused on her feet, and he could see, in her mind, the cogs turning.
“In and out,” she murmured. “In and out, in and out.”
As they glided along the lake, despite her look of concentration, she was doing beautifully and continued to do so as they made it a quarter mile, swooping around the arch of the lake’s heart. It was a quiet snow day. The world was covered in a layer of ice that clung to the trees painting the whole world white. Even their breaths came out in little white puffs.
It was just the two of them today. The rest of the party were off doing their own thing. Max had physical therapy, and Lucas was, of course, joining her. Will was working his part time job at the , and Mike was, of course, stuck babysitting Holly.
So the two of them enjoyed a rare adventure together. Although they promised not to talk about it to the others, for fear jealousy would bubble up. El would definitely tell Max, and Dustin would probably tell Will, but they knew that the two of them wouldn't tell the other boys.
Dustin slowed them to a stop, and El looked up, pausing.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said, staring at her before he leaned in and kissed her.
El was not caught off guard by his actions. She knew him well enough to read his face the moment before. And it was so obvious to her when he was getting ready to kiss her. He got this little heartstruck look and his eyes softened. They almost seemed to be pouring over with love. Max told her they were called heart eyes and he definitely looked like that. He would also close his eyes first and then tilt his head to the left. He’d pucker his lips and wait for her to lean into him. As if waiting for her to do the work of actually kissing him.
She just giggled every single time. Then leaned in to kiss him because he was so cute. The second her lips touched his, he reached up and held her face. His breath was warm against her bitter cheeks. And she smiled as she let go of his forearm. She put her arm around his waist as she pulled him in.
His leg slipped between hers as they moved into each other. He moved his lips to open her mouth and she greeted him with her tongue. They lost each other in the passion too quickly.
Suddenly, she felt the world slipping out from under her. “Dustin!”
“Shit!” As he screamed, his words echoed across the lake, disturbing the birds as they flew away and circled around the cold, quiet pond.
She grabbed him, trying to hold on as Dustin flung out his arms. She felt like a chicken trying to study herself flying out before he tumbled back. Although startled, she reacted quickly, grabbing them for a moment and freezing them in place with her powers.
Dustin almost landed flat on his ass, and she was on top of him. They both hovered just inches above the ice, and neither was hurt. With a flick of her wrist, she had them upright again, floating just above the lake. She concentrated, her nose starting to bleed as Dustin wiped it away. Then she set them both down on their feet. He gripped her forearms again, and she held him tightly.
“Okay, lover boy,” she said, tightening her grip again. “No more kisses until you teach me how to properly skate.”
“Lover Boy, where did you learn that term?” Dustin asked, raising his eyebrows as he leaned back.
“From Joyce,” El said with a shrug as she smiled.
“Well I don't like it.”
“Too bad.”
He stuck out his tongue at her and she's stuck hers out back at him. Then he smirked and leaned in. He stole a kiss to her cheek although he pulled away gripping her forearms again.
“You're a rascal, you know that,” El said, glaring at him, although her eyes didn't mean it.
He just smiled. “Yes, and that's why you find me so charming.”
She gave him a shove, and he laughed again. But they went back to skating. They picked up their pace, going in and out with their legs, and El found her footing soon enough. After they had made one loop around the lake, Dustin moved behind her, putting his gloved hands on her waist.
“Okay, next lesson. Pick up one skate, then push off.”
“How do I do that?”
“Do you want me to let you go and show you?”
“Yes.”
He let go of her, although he made sure she was steady. Then he stood in front of her with his back to her. She got a nice view of his little ass and the dorkiest little blue-and-purple snowsuit with neon orange accents that he was wearing.
It was something Mrs. Henderson insisted upon. ‘I just want my baby to be warm,’ she had said as she stuffed the hat onto Dustin's head. Before promptly turning to El and stuffing a hat and gloves onto her as well.
“And my darling dear, of course. Now, you two don't get frostbite out there, and turn back if it gets too cold. And if you fall through the ice, just remember to float on the water….”
“Yeah, yeah, we got it, Mom,” Dustin had said, a little annoyed, as he adjusted the hat back into a position where he could actually see.
“Just be safe,” Mrs. Henderson stressed as the two of them exchanged a look. She had no idea how unsafe their behavior often was, but they let her baby them either way.
To have an almost mother-in-law El affectionately called her was different from having her mother, Joyce. Mrs. Henderson was often overly protective and smothering at times, as Dustin referred to it. She truly loved her and welcomed El into her home as if she were her daughter. The truth was that El loved being loved by another person. She had craved it for so long that every time it came upon her, it was something she treasured to no end. So she let Mrs. Henderson fuss over the two of them and indulged every one of her worrisome whims.
But concentration brought her back to the present. Dustin pushed off with one leg, picked up the other, and pushed off again. His movements were slow, and she figured it was deliberate for her part.
She held out her arms, steadying herself as she picked up one leg and turned her ankle the way he had. She turned her toes outward before putting her foot on the ice. With one skate straight, she pushed off with her back leg and sent herself forward. She balanced on that one leg before setting the other down again. Then two feet straight ahead as she glided. She smiled a little at her achievement as Dustin turned around and clapped, having watched her.
“That's it! That's it! Come on now, skate over to me!”
He held his arms out to her, and she did so again, skating toward him with one step, then two, and then again and again until they had developed a rhythm between the two of them. Finally, El collapsed into his arms. He laughed, infectious, as she smiled as well.
“Come on,” she said, tugging on him. “It’s cold and you promised me some hot chocolate.”
“And I know just the place,” he said with a smile, wrapping his arms around her waist. Before they skated together back to the edge of the lake where they had left their belongings.
A few minutes later, they were seated at Joey's Diner eating waffles and drinking two cups of hot chocolate. The diner was a contrast to the winter outside. It was bustling with customers and the heat from the kitchen always made it a little hot inside. They had been there quite a few times, and it had quickly become El's favorite place. As she devoured her second waffle, Dustin just sat there smiling at her.
“What?” El asked around a bite full of waffles as her eyes narrowed at him.
“Nothing,” Dustin said with a shake of his head. “Just thinking about how cute my girl is.”
She smirked. “Flattery will not get you a bite.”
“Aww, come on. You always share.” Dustin said with a pout.
“Not my waffles,” El said pointedly as she poked her fork at him, and he recoiled with a frown.
“Did you have a good time, though?” Dustin asked, smiling again at her.
“I like it when you teach me new things,” El said, an innocent blush creeping up onto her cheeks.
“Yeah, well, you're one of the only people who really enjoys taking the time to learn with me,” Dustin bit his lips and looked away too. A familiar flush across his cheeks.
She smiled as well, then she picked up her plate and pushed it toward him. But blocked his fork because he went in for a bite. Before she stood up and came around to sit in the booth next to him. Dustin smiled, putting one arm around her as she leaned into him. They finished their meal together. However, she did have to stop his fork again, almost poking his hand as she swatted at it. He shot back, shaking it as if she had actually stabbed him.
“Ow,” he said grumpily.
“Here, I'll kiss it better,” she said, grabbing his hand and giving it a kiss.
“You're lucky you're cute,” Dustin said, tilting his head and leaning in to kiss her.
El laughed as she kissed him back. “Don't I know it.”
