Busted (Stranger Things. Mike x Eleven)

Busted

"Jesus, kid, do you have a tapeworm or something? I've never seen you eat this fast."

Hopper gazed on in astonishment as he watched his adopted daughter shove the last bite of chicken into her mouth. She had finished her entire meal (chicken, potatoes, green beans, the whole lot) in under five minutes. Normally, even after a long day of swimming under the hot sun, she'd at least take that....

El put her fork down and it hit the wooden table with a clank. "No, I'm... I'm just hungry, I guess."

"Well, next time, slow down, because you might choke. Just because the package says 'boneless chicken', it's not a hundred-percent guarantee. I learned that lesson the hard way once."

"Will do. Can I take my plate?"

He sighed. "Since you're finished, I don't see why not."

El nodded and got up from her chair. Her back faced Hopper as she began washing her dishes in the sink. She bit her lip and grinned to herself.

He has no idea.

The chief had certainly noticed the speed with which El had eaten her dinner. What he didn't know was the reason behind it, which was that El had some special, secret plans for the evening that involved a certain dark-haired boy...

"Hey, kid?"

El stopped in her tracks, mid fork-washing. Oh God, he knows what I'm up to. I'm so stupid, why did I-

"Do you want dessert? There's ice cream in the freezer."

She had to stifle a sigh of relief. "Oh, no, that's okay. I'm full anyway."

Hopper gave her a strange look. El hardly ever skipped dessert. There was an awkward silence as the two looked at one another, Hopper in suspicion, and El with her doe-eyed innocence. The doe-eyes won.

"Well, alright then. More for me."

"Yep! Um...let me know if it's any good! I'm gonna go to my room now, dad."

Before he could reply, Eleven had already sauntered off into the hallway. Jeez, she seemed to be in an awful hurry to finish dinner...

Whatever. He dismissed his thoughts. Maybe it's another one of those hormonal things girls go through, who knows. Like I'd be an expert on that, anyway.

With that, the chief washed his own plate and turned on the T.V. to watch his usual evening programs. If he only knew what was going to happen in an hour.....

As soon as El shut her bedroom door, she collapsed onto her bed, giggling in pure delight. She was safe! The chief had no idea about the plans she had in mind.

Seven days earlier, Mike had left for a family vacation, and the two hadn't been in contact since. And, man, oh man, did El miss him. She vented to Max on the fifth day and ended up in tears about the whole thing.

"You're going to be fine. Just hold out for a little bit longer and you can see him again. For the entire rest of the summer!"

"But, Max, I want to see him now."

Max put a comforting arm around El's shoulder. "He'll be back in two days, El!"

Exasperated, El hid her face in Max's jacket. "I can't wait that long!" She sobbed.

Which is why the second Mike got back, El planned to call him.

He had told her he would be home around 6 P.M. El looked at her bedside alarm clock. It read 6:14.