𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐞 ; 𝘉𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘳 ✓

𝟐𝟑.

Starcourt Mall | Sat 4:30 PM
El Hopper

Heather Holloway and her group of friends were walking the grounds of Starcourt when they spotted the new "it" couple of the school. The girls stopped in their tracks to stop and look at the two, who were currently talking by the railing and staring down at the people on the bottom floor. The five girls began gossiping about them.

"I hate how everyone says they're so cute." One of them said. "Mike could do so much better than Jane Hopper."

Heather defended El by saying, "Jane Hopper could so do much better than him! You guys do realize that Mike Wheeler is the definition of a player. I heard he was dating that Byers kid and that he even fought Troy for him."

"I knew Mike was a fag!" Kasey Keller said, earning an immediate glare from Heather.

"Sorry Heather."

Once Mike and El started to walk away, so did the girls and their jealousy. Most of them were jealous because they had crushes on Mike, but one in particular was crushing on El instead. When El and Mike noticed the girls, they quickly interlocked their fingers. They'd been pretending to date for about 2 weeks now and that included making sure they were spotted at places outside of school.

Today they were going on their first date, which was actually just an excuse for Mike to get everything about Troy and Will off his chest. Who better to talk to then his fake girlfriend? They walked into Scoops Ahoy, which Mike immediately regretted when he saw the face of the infamous Steve Harrington. He and Will still hadn't figured out what they could do to get back at Steve, but Mike was feeling especially confrontational today.

They walked in line, still holding hands and El now resting her head on Mike's shoulder. When it was their turn and they walked closer to the counter, Steve started saying the Scoops Ahoy slogan while still putting money into the cash register. Robin was sick and Steve had to do all the work by himself today, causing him to speak with no energy whatsoever. He stopped talking when he looked up and saw the smug smirk on Mike's face.

"Hi Steven, broke up with your boyfriend yet?" He said, causing El to look up at him confusedly. 

"You know about that?" Steve said while leaning forward and slightly whispering.

"I know everything Steven. How you've been cheating on my sister with multiple people, how you're a pansexual apparently, and how you use farret faucet spray for your hair."

Steve's Jaw dropped and he was completely speechless. Everything Mike had just said was 100% factual and there was no use in him trying to deny it. He just hoped that no one around them heard anything, his reputation was already tarnished enough.

"So we'll be taking a free banana split thank you very much." Mike lastly said.

After Steve made the ice cream, Mike carried it while El picked a table. They sat across from one another and Mike continued to talk more about Troy and Will. He was confused because he spent weeks being obsessed with Will and then one kiss with Troy had him questioning everything. El listened intently while eating most of their shared banana split and asking Mike follow up questions to better understand the situation.

"Wait, so you like both of them?" She asked while eating another scoop of banana and ice cream.

"I don't even know anymore, El." Mike said while running his fingers through his hair. "Ya know what? Let's talk about you, what's going on in your life?"