the year of el | mileven

ch. 2 | redhead

Mike parked his bicycle in the rack next to Lucas and Dustin's.

"Ugh. I can't wait until we can finally get a car and won't have to come to school on these pieces of crap any more" Lucas complained.

Dustin nodded in agreement "Yeah when we pool in all the cash we'll make this summer, we'll have some new wheels by next year!"

Mike looked over at them and laughed "You guys just want a car so badly so you can actually impress some girls for once"

"For once? I'll have you know I'm a certified babe magnet" Lucas smirked.

Dustin busted out laughing "In your head dude!"

Mike watched as they continued to banter and smiled to himself. He grew up with these two morons he called his best friends.

They all changed some over the years, but not much. Dustin still wore a hat all the time but his long curly hair was now styled into a mullet. Lucas looked relatively the same except that he sported a tiny mustache on his lip which he constantly boasted about now that he was officially a "man" and well Mike.. Mike grew to be more handsome, his hair styled shorter than he had it when he was younger. He also grew to be the tallest of the group.

Even though they were older they were still the same old nerds. They practically lived in the arcade, traded comic books, and got into long heated discussions about whether aqua man or the flash would win in a stand off.

As they walked into school they saw a familiar red head among the others.

"Max!" They yelled in unison.

"Hey guys!"

They met Max last summer at a comic book convention and they all instantly clicked with her. She was a tomboy who loved to skateboard, play video games, and stay out of drama. The perfect dream girl according to Lucas and Dustin who found themselves competing over who would ask her out first. However, Dustin eventually gave her up as he found himself crushing on Max's cousin Lacy.

"You're gonna meet us at the arcade today after school right?"

"Wouldn't miss it, plus somebody's gotta be there to kick your butt at Galaga Lucas"

"Oh, we'll see about that"

"Yeah. only thing you'll see is me win, but I gotta go to class! If I'm late to Ms. Limbalm's again, I'm dead meat. but I'll catch you boys at lunch" Max shouted while sprinting down the hall.

"Ha, yeah see you then" Lucas waved as a lovestruck smile spread on his face.

Mike elbowed him "When are you gonna grow a pair and ask her out?"

"Pfft. I'll ask her when the time is right, You can't rush the magic of romance "

"You wouldn't know romance if it hit you in the face" Dustin smirked.

"You're one to talk. You're still fallin head over heels for her cousin but can barely form a sentence when she's around"

Mike shook his head "You guys both are bumblin idiots when it comes to chicks"

"Like you aren't? Tell us again what happened with Tracyyy?" asked Lucas sarcastically.

"I already told you.. I was the one who broke up with her"

"Mike Wheeler is a player, player," Dustin chimed in.

"Shut up.. let's get our butts to class, the bell is about to ring."

Mike's first girlfriend Tracy was pretty but a bit of a let down personality wise. She was kinda full of herself and all she ever wanted was his constant attention. Her clinginess grew annoying after a while and he ended their relationship a couple of months ago.

Mike never told his friends this, but Eleven had definitely left her mark on his heart. She was his first love after all and he never could find someone quite like her (excluding the mind powers of course). Dustin and Lucas had a hunch that Mike had a crush on her but they never knew to what extent. They also never knew what happened in the gym that day between Mike and El. They knew nothing about the kiss nor him inviting her to the snowball.

They barely even talked about the events of that day anymore. They hadn't forgotten, they just didn't like bringing it up. That year had felt like a victory. They had found their lost friend and confronted a monster all at once, which was pretty awesome for a bunch of twelve year olds. However, Eleven disappeared that day and Will didn't stay around for much longer afterwards. It pained all of them to know everything they had gained eventually turned into loss.