A/N: Worked on it long enough, but not happy with this. Posting it anyway

8:32

Jane walked up to Dustin at the arcade and kissed his cheek.

"Not funny, Jane." Dustin said, distracted and losing game and another fifty cents on Dragon's Lair.

"I will pay for your next game," Jane said.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant." Jane said, turned his head and kissed him on the mouth. "I hope that's a start. I'm going to make it up to you."

Dustin was speechless. Ask anybody, that hardly ever happened. "I don't know what I did to deserve that, but I'm not going to question it all that much."

"My personality gets the better of me sometimes. I hurt one person people I like," she looked down, "one person I love, and one person I really like. I think it's a new record for me."

"Ok, you kissed me...so I'm going say I'm the person you really like?" Dustin had a smidgen of hope in his voice, Jane nodded and he grinned continuing, "the person you love is your sister, and the person you like is Mike. It's hard not to like Mike. So I forgive you there."

Jane started to cry, "thank you. I can't believe Mike has such good friends. You guys are really special. I feel like shit...to borrow a word."

"So how are you going to make it up to him...and your sister?"

"With your help."

Mike got a weird call on Sunday night, Mr. Clarke asking him if could make some specific adjustments to the ham radio. He realized that Mike had quit, but could he do that one last thing for him. Mike didn't want to, but he owed Mr. Clarke at least that much so he said sure, he'd go in early on Monday morning and make the changes. Then he would be done with AV club.

He turned the corner towards the hamshack door when he saw Dustin and Jane waiting for him. Jane was holding his hand. Shit. She was still at it.

"Why are you both here?"

"I'm here because Mr. Clarke asked you to to pass on the AV club door key to me. He said you'd be here making one last adjustment, and then you were done. You should reconsider that Mike." Dustin said.

Dustin held his hand out for the key. Mike passed it to him not as reluctantly as he thought he might.

He entered the AV room, and heard the door lock behind him. Ok, that was weird.

El's head shot up from behind the desk. She looked sad, scared, worried , frustrated, and confused all at the same time.

"I thought you quit?" El said, that sad look on her face more prevalent now.

"Mr. Clarke asked me to make one final adjustment on the ham radio." Mike said dully. Not looking at her.

The confused look made its way to her face now. "He asked me to do the same thing, he said Dustin would help, but he hasn't shown up yet."

Now Mike was confused…"I just passed the key to him.

El said. " He said to make sure the SSB knob was off." El looked down, "I don't know the controls."

"It means, Single Side Band. On these Heathkits it's just labelled 'sideband' "

El looked relieved, "thanks Mike." He nodded, still not able to look at her. "Are you Ok? My sister didn't get to you did she? I apologize for her, she doesn't know when to stop flirting. She goes way overboard….she compensating."

"When I got here, she was holding Dustin's hand, so she's still flirting, she's going to hurt him. That's not right. He doesn't deserve that. I was ignoring her, I didn't really care what she's been saying...but Dustin likes her."

There was an insistent pounding on the door. "Talk about the note. Both of you." It was Dustin yelling through the door.

Mike froze, suddenly in a cold sweat. Now he knew what that phrase meant.

"Oh," El said looking down, "you read it. I could tell it had be moved to a different section of my notebook." El got very quiet.

"Yeah, sorry, I know it was private, I read it totally by accident. I guess I put it in the wrong spot in your notebook. Really really sorry, I could see the note was personal, didn't mean to intrude on your private life..." Mike was embarrassed to the point of complete silence.

"Mike." He couldn't look at El, he was on the verge of losing it completely. Again.

"Mike, it was about you."

"What? It was written on old paper El, for someone else. it's ok...I'll get ov-" Mike had to stop talking. He needed to get out of that room. He couldn't breathe. He felt sick to his stomach.

"I write all my personal things on old paper." El said quietly, "not meant for anyone else to read. Keeps it special for me. You read it, so you should know, it's only fair you know. It was about you."

"But you wrote…"

"Love. I know, I meant everything in that note. Everything."

"The note said you would wait...longer if you needed to."

"I would wait forever, Mike."

"When I first saw you, that was when I knew. I wanted to tell you later that day, I didn't care if you felt the same way. I just had to tell you. You told me to go away," Mike looked down, " and later, that you didn't want me to talk to you. That was a bad day."

El was slow to respond. She ran her hand over her short hair. "I can't compete with my sister, no matter what I do. I knew if I let Jane have her way I could hope...I'm ashamed to say it now, but I could hope it wouldn't work out between you two. But...it was easier to let you go, even if I had to be a little bit cruel to do it. I don't think I can ever make that up to you. But I will spend the rest of my life trying...if you let me..." El looked down.

"I just want to be with you El. That's all I need…" Mike said quietly. "I don't know how to make Jane understand."

"I know she doesn't feel about you the same way I do."

El came around from behind the ham radio desk and put her hands on the back of his neck, pulled him towards her and kissed him softly.

"When you first smiled at me. That's when I knew I loved you. That exact instant." Mike said staring into her eyes.

"I love you, Mike. At first I was sure you felt the same from the way you looked at me that first day. Then I wasn't t sure...but I had to write about it anyway. I've been crying myself to sleep every night since the first day of school."

Suddenly the AV room door opened, Jane looked like she was pushed in. The door closed behind her and Mike could hear the click of the lock. Max shouted from outside, "fix it."

Mike stood close to El, their hands found each other, their fingers automatically interlaced.

Jane looked down. Then shyly up at Mike she saw their hands. "I never had a chance with you did I. Even if I'd wanted to." It was more of a statement than a question. She gave a big sigh.

"Sorry Jane, when I first saw El. That was it, I was hers. All I had to do was to let her know."

"I owe you an apology, Mike."

"No, you weren't hurting my feelings," he looked at her, "you owe your sister."

Jane nodded and walked over to El. Mike let go of her hand and stepped aside. Jane gave El a tight hug. Nothing was spoken. Mike figured this is what twins did. They didn't need to speak.

"How can I make it up to you Mike?"

"You don't need to, you need to make it up to Dustin. If you were flirting with him by holding hands..." Mike nodded towards the door.

"I'm not flirting with Dustin...well I was...but Dustin and I are... together now," Jane said, brightening up.

"Then you be good to him. He's my best friend and deserves it." Jane nodded.

"And you don't have to worry about El," Mike moved closer to El, their hands fitting together again. "We will be together forever."

Jane said in a small voice, not the least bit confident, "Do you forgive me?"

"What you did last week was hurtful." Jane looked down, nodding, "but you made it right. So, yes, I forgive you."

Mike let go of El's hand and gave Jane a hug. El thought her heart would burst with joy. Her sister was forgiven...by El's boyfriend? Is that what Mike was to her now?

"I'll give you a few minutes" Jane said, then to the door, "let me out."

"Is it fixed?" Max yelled back.

Jane looked and Mike and El who nodded. She gave them a warm smile, that was the smile he was already used to seeing on El, Jane yelled back, "yes."

The door unlocked and Jane left and closed the door behind her.

"That is the smile Jane needs to use more often," Mike said.

"She smiles like that when she's happy." El gave Mike a big sigh. "Let's go, I want to formally introduce my boyfriend to your friends."

A/N: Tried for a clean finish, but I don't think I'm finished with this AU I like the idea too much.. I "literally" have nothing left for this story. But I don't want to abandon it.

First post of another A/U out tomorrow. Bigger one still in the works.