𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 [𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫]

four

"Shit, shit, shit!" Mike yelled to himself as he stomped up the stairs. No one else was home. His parents took Holly to the fair, and Nancy was at work.

He walked into his room and slammed the door, pressing his back against it and sliding down to the floor. His hands were clamped over his face.

"I need to get over this," Mike mumbled to himself. He stood up and walked over to his small mirror.

He took a long look at himself. His skin was pale, his freckles more visible. He had dark purple bags below his eyes and his hair had gotten very long.

"You don't even know her. You love Eleven!" He said confidently. With a sigh, he walked over to his bed and sat down.

This had never been a problem before. Why was this girl making him question his relationship with El? He only spoke to her once, and they barely had a conversation.

He didn't even know her last name.

-

"Good morning class!" Mr. Thomas, Mike's history teacher, announced to the class.

"Good morning," the class half-heartedly mumbled back. Mr. Thomas smiled as the principal walked in.

"Ah, hello students. We have a new student here today," the principal said with a proud grin. Mike looked behind him, eyeing Lucas and Dustin. They all shared a curious look.

"Come on in," Mr. Thomas said quietly, motioning to the door.

A girl walked in and awkwardly stomped to the front of the room. Mike's eyes widened. Lucas and Dustin gasped.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" Mr. Thomas asked. The principal smiled before walking out of the room.

"Okay. Uh, hi. My name is (Y/n) Harrington," the girl said.

"Harrington?!" Dustin yelled. The entire class turned to look at him. (Y/n) blushed and cleared her throat.

"I'm in a band, and, uh, I was born here but left. I'm back now," she said with a small smile.

"Very nice, (Y/n)! Why don't you take that empty seat next to Michael over there," Mr. Thomas said, pointing to the empty desk next to the wide-eyed boy.

She sighed to herself before walking over and sitting in the desk.

"Hey," Dustin whispered. Mike shot him a death stare as (Y/n) turned to face him.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Your last name is Harrington. Are you related to Steve?" Dustin asked. Mike rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he's my older brother," (Y/n) said sheepishly.

"Steve has a sister?!" Dustin yelled, once again. Lucas shushed him before looking back at (Y/n).

"Sorry about him. I'm Lucas," he said, sticking out his hand. (Y/n) shook it and smiled.

"Oh, I'm Dustin," Dustin said, also shaking her hand.

"And I'm-"

"Mike, right?" (Y/n) asked with a small smirk.

"Y-Yeah," Mike stuttered.

After class was over, Mike stayed behind to try and talk with (Y/n).

"Hey, so, uh, sorry about the other day," Mike said awkwardly.

"What do you mean?" (Y/n) asked, getting up and slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"You know, at the fair. I didn't mean to be weird. It's just... I saw you at the arcade and I didn't recognize you. Everyone in this town knows each other, so I just, I don't know, wanted to know if you were new here. It's stupid, I know," Mike rambled.

"It's not stupid. I think it's sweet," (Y/n) said with a blush.

"Sweet? Oh, wow. Thank you," Mike said, also blushing.

"Can I see your schedule?" (Y/n) asked, walking out of the class. Mike followed her and handed her a slip of paper.

"Hey, we have every class together," (Y/n) said, trying not to sound too excited.

"Really? That's weird. A good weird," Mike said with a smile. (Y/n) returned the smile and handed his schedule back to him.

They walked in a comfortable silence before reaching the english classroom.

"Okay class. To be entirely honest, I have no idea what to do today. So, uh, free period?" The substitute teacher said with a shrug.

"Hey, so, uh, do you maybe want to hang out with me and my friends after school?" Mike asked.

"I really wish I could, but I have band practice," (Y/n) said sadly.

"Okay! Maybe another time?" Mike replied, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Definitely."

-

(Y/n) walked to the parking lot with a little more spring in her step then usual. She walked up to the familiar red convertible and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Hey kiddo. How was your first day?" Steve, (Y/n)'s brother, asked.

"Pretty good! I made some friends. A kid mentioned you," she said, putting on her seatbelt.

"Oh really? Who?" Steve asked, pulling out of the parking spot.

"A kid named Dustin," she replied. Steve smiled to himself as he pulled onto the street.

"I love that fucker," Steve said.

"I met his friends too. Mike Wheeler and Lucas Sinclair, I think," (Y/n) said.

"They're little shits," Steve said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I can tell. That Mike kid kind of creeps me out," (Y/n) said, looking out the window at the kids walking by.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"He came to my trailer after the show on Saturday. The band says he likes me," she said, shaking her head.

"He has a girlfriend. She moved, but they're still dating. At least that's what Dustin told me," Steve said. (Y/n) gulped.

Once they got home, (Y/n) immediately went to her room to get her bass. The band was coming over, and they were practicing in her garage. They usually practiced in Rosie's garage, but Rosie's parents were using it for a garage sale.

"Hey guys," (Y/n) said, walking down her stairs to see Steve and the rest of her band sitting on the couch.

"Ready?" Rosie asked, standing up and straightening her skirt.

"Drums set up?" (Y/n) asked. Sammie nodded as she stood up and walked next to Rosie.

"Let's do this thing," (Y/n) said, leading the girls out onto the garage.