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When he first laid eyes on her, during a warm, sunny morning in the beginning of autumn, he swore he couldn't breathe.
Out in the grassy fields of Hawkins Elementary School, seven year old El Hopper was searching for ladybugs. With her bandaid ridden knees set on the dirty ground, small hands peeking through the freshly trimmed blades of grass, dressed in denim overall shorts and muddy sneakers, she seemed to blend right in with the rest of the young boys who searched for bugs. Her short chocolate curls that rested against the nape of her neck were slightly damp against her sweaty forehead, a few straying away with a light breeze that passed by as she remained bent over and giddily grinning when a ladybug was crawling over the back of her hand. It was that particular moment in which she caught the attention of seven year old Mike Wheeler.
She was a girl who wasn't afraid to seek out bugs, it seemed. All the other girls were busy on the swingsets, or running around the playgrounds after one another and chasing boys away to prevent any cooties. But El was getting dirty, having the best time as she finally found the bug she sought after that entire morning.
Mike had his attention stolen away, noticing that she was different from most of the other girls. His feet took him straight to her, mind whirring as he grew nervous the closer he got. Making friends wasn't so hard for him, usually. Especially since he was the one to first talk to others. For some reason, he was nervous this time.
When she first laid eyes on him, eyes peeking up as the bright sun gave him an ethereal glow, she swore that she was dreaming.
A shadow fell over the young girl, causing her to peek up and meet the eyes of the pale boy with wavy dark hair. Dressed in navy blue shorts and a striped shirt, dark blue sneakers fairly clean, he stayed silent a few seconds. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Meanwhile, El was confused. Boys had never approached her, ever. Which she didn't exactly understand, because she liked some of the same things as them, comic books and getting dirty and searching for bugs. But boys weren't so fond of her because they didn't want to catch any cooties from the young girl.
With a wide toothy grin, she lifted the back of her hand towards him.
"Do you like ladybugs?" she asked him, hazel eyes shining beneath her curls.
Mike had never been a fan of those bugs. He liked ants, spiders, beetles. But ladybugs? Not really.
However, as she smiled up at him, presenting the bug to him proudly, the following words seemed to say otherwise.
