Mike rushes down his stairs the next morning, throwing a hoodie on himself as he sprints for the front door.

"Mike, where do you think you're going." Karen calls from the kitchen.

"School." Mike yells back.

"Not without breakfast."

"I have to talk to El." Mike states, his hand going for the front door handle, but his father's voice stills his actions.

"Michael, you heard your mother, now come eat breakfast." Ted says, leaving no room for argument.

Michael huffs, dropping his bag and walking to the kitchen, sitting at the table glumly, throwing his parents a hard glare.

"You can leave once you finish." Karen smiles, putting a plate in front of Mike.

Mike quickly wolfs down his eggs only stopping to take bites of his bacon.

"Slow down Mike, that's disgusting." Nancy says, staring at her younger brother in disgust.

"You're disgusting." Mike bites back, his mouth full. He reaches for his juice drinking it in one gulp.

"Can I go now?" Mike asks, ignoring the disgusted look on his mom's face.

"If you must." Karen sighs, reaching over to help Holly cut her bacon.

Mike leaps from the table and rushes out the door calling a disgruntled "Bye." behind him as he reaches for his school bag.

"Kids." Ted grumbles, shaking his head.

Mike waits cautiously on his bike, outside the Brenner house, hoping that the lack of a car in the front driveway is a sign that Dr. Brenner has already left for the day.

After a few minutes of waiting, El walks out, locking the door behind her. Once she sees Mike, she walks towards him guardedly, looking uneasy.

"Hey, El." Mike says, his voice tense.

"Hi." El says, stopping in front of him, pulling at her sleeve nervously.

"Um, you look pretty." Mike exclaims, instantly regretting his words when he sees the scowl that takes over her face.

"Hey, El, about last night um I wasn't like being a creep or anything I was just closing the blinds." Mike says, hoping his face isn't as red as he thinks it is.

"Really, because it seemed like…" El trailed off, ducking her head in embarrassment.

"Yeah I know what it looked like but I totally wouldn't watch you undress….not that I like wouldn't want to but yeah I just wouldn't cause you weren't aware um….." Mike scrambles on, stopping when he sees El's faint smile.

"Okay. It's fine." El smiles.

"Cool."

"Cool."

"So, you want a ride to school?" Mike asks, gesturing down at his bike.

"Sure." El shrugs, hopping up behind Mike and throwing her arms around him, her face going into the dip in his shoulder.

"So why doesn't your father ever drive you to school?" Mike questions, as they make their way down the cul-de-sac.

"He's always working, I hardly ever see him." El says.

"That must suck."

"I rather when he's not there, he's not the nicest person." El says, Mike feels her shrug behind him.

"Well, I'm always right next door if you ever want company." Mike says, trying to be nonchalant.

"Thanks, Mike." El whispers, her voice tickling Mike's neck making his stomach flop and a huge grin to take over his features.

"So, you apologise to the freak about yesterday?" Lucas asks Mike, the second Mike takes his place at their table in the cafeteria.

"Yeah, thanks to you she probably thinks I'm a bonehead." Mike says, scowling at Lucas.

"Well at least she doesn't think your some kind of peeping Tom, I mean she rode with you to school, didn't she?" Dustin asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Mike says, smiling bashfully looking down at his food in an attempt to hide it from his friends.

"You like her, don't you?" Will asks, smiling earnestly at his friend.

"Yeah, she's cool and nice." Mike shrugs.

"You should invite her to our movie night tonight." Will suggests.

Before Mike could answer Lucas butts in obnoxiously.

"Um no, she's an outsider, we don't know anything about her. What if she's a psychopath."

"Like Michael Myers." Dustin adds in with wide eyes.

"Get real Lucas, she's an innocent girl." Mike rolls his eyes.

"I think you should Mike, she seems to have no friends. We all know what it's like to feel like an outsider." Will says, casting a meaningful look around the table causing Lucas to look down at his food guiltily.

"I guess you could ask her, I mean it's not like she speaks a whole lot so I don't have to worry about her annoying me." Lucas shrugs.

Before Mike can reply he feels a presence from behind him, looking up he sees Eleanor standing hesitantly in front of him holding her lunch in her hands.

"Um, hey El, you want to sit with us?" Mike asks, smiling.

"Yes please." El whispers softly, dropping to the seat right beside Mike, causing Mike's heart to jump a beat and his hands to get clammy.

"So, are you liking Hawkins?" Mike asks, still gazing at El.

"Yeah…different." El shrugs, as she opens her carton of milk.

"How is it different?" Will asks, kindly.

"Never went to school before, always had it at home with a tutor." El says, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"So, you were home-schooled?" Dustin asks.

El nods in reply.

"Why were you home-schooled?" Mike asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Papa said it was to keep me safe, he didn't want to lose me like he lost Mama, but I begged him to let me come to school when we moved here." El says, Mike can't help but notice the distant look she gets in her eyes as she speaks.

"That was nice of him." Will says, ever the optimist.

El shrugs, her attention going back to the food in front of her.

"So, El, we were wondering if you would like to come to Mike's house to watch movies tonight." Lucas says, the other three boys look at him in surprise and there's a tell-tale look of pity etched across his features.

"Mike?" El questions looking to him.

"Um yeah it would be totally cool if you could come, we're going to watch a ton of movies and try to get my mom to bake us cookies." Mike says, excitedly.

El smiles radiantly and Mike's breath hitches in his throat, his about to smile back but before he can her smile drops and her shoulders slump in defeat.

"I have to ask Papa." El sighs.

"Oh um, that's cool. When you go home ask him and if he says yes you can meet us at my house at six. Is that alright?"

El nods, smiling slightly.

"I hope he lets you." Mike hears himself saying but before he can scold himself for being such a wasteoid El replies.

"Me too.