"The Crush"

Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things or its characters. No money is being made from this fic.

Plot: AU, the Party meets in London while doing their master's degree. Against her better judgement, El starts to fall for Mike, your typical player with commitment issues. On top of that, they develop a rocky friendship filled with petty bantering, sexual tension and a bit of jealousy. Will they get it together before the year is up?

Notes: This is AU and slow burn, very slow burn (sorry).

September

Jane Eleonor Hopper landed in London on the warmest day of that year. The sun was bright, the air hot and the day seemed endless. There were people all around the Thames, some running, some sight-seeing; others just rushing through the crowds trying to make their way home.

El, as her friends and family called her, couldn't contain her excitement to begin this amazing adventure. She would be living in the city for the next academic year, coursing through a master's degree in one of London's top universities with a full scholarship. She had felt a bit gloomy about leaving her home but when the idea that she would be living in one the greatest cities of the world finally sunk in, she got excited beyond any blues.

Those first days in the city involved some shopping for groceries and home essentials to settle in. Her dorm was close to the university's main campus in South London and though El thought it wasn't the coolest part of town, it was somewhat convenient. Particularly, she enjoyed having a cinema just around the corner from her dorm and the university gym just five minutes away.

Soon, any remnants of sadness and longing for home were chased away as she quickly dived into the London lifestyle with unbelievable ease. With a week to go before university started, she decided to see as much as she could before schoolwork and classes got in the way. She went to the theatre, visited some museums and got to know the famous royal parks (her favorite being Regent's Park). El also went to food markets like the Borough Market, ate at some renown coffee shops and pubs, and toured most of the main land marks.

She even met a few people that first week at her dorm's welcome party. Of all the people she met, her favorite were Antoine, a handsome French student mastering in human rights law who lived in the flat next door; and Marina, a geeky Spanish with a great sense of humor that shared her passion for Harry Potter and who had the same scholarship as hers. She was studying a master's in political science and like Antoine, lived just a few doors away.

Soon the first the day of classes arrived. Tuesday morning found El entering her Research and Critical Thinking class, a course every master's student had to take in order to improve their research skills for dissertation writing.

Apart from her teacher, a redheaded British woman from Hackney, with a loud voice and contagious joyful attitude; the class was uneventful. There were students from different parts of the world but El didn't really pay attention to any of them, focusing on getting the most out of the lesson.

Being a graduate in Psychology, El enjoyed doing research and writing, preferring the academic field to the practical side of her profession. Therefore, the RCT classes would come in handy if she wanted to get a good grade in her dissertation and any essay she would be writing for her other classes.

Her next class that Tuesday was apparently a very popular one, given the massive attendance and the varieties of backgrounds she could spot. And at that point she couldn't imagine that Social Psychology would prove to be one of the toughest courses she would take that year.

El chose to sit in the back, near the backdoor in the aisle of her row. The teacher, an Irish woman named Moira Hewson was something else. Boisterous, loud and hilarious, the tall woman spoke often of her children –all boys–, her husband and her farm in Ireland. Her experiences, mixed with her extensive knowledge on the subject, made El enjoy the class immensely. Even though it meant to always come prepared for questions and to do the readings assigned to each lesson thoroughly and without fault.

Just before the class started, a group of four guys and a redheaded girl made their way into the classroom. The girl, Max Mayfield, waved at El and took a sit with her friends closer the front. El waved back and smiled at Max while curiously staring at her companions.

El had met Max the weekend before classes started, at a field trip organized by the university to a lovely countryside lodge. The trip was an annual tradition where you got in by luck and it was meant to encourage the new students to socialize and make friends. It was there where both girls met, when they were assigned seats together in the bus. They immediately hit it off, talking a bit about themselves and realizing they shared similar interests and the same dry humor.

Max's friends were laughing at something one of them said as El kept watching them intently; she hadn't seen any of them before that day. Out of the four friends, El couldn't help but look at the tallest one, a lanky guy whose wild, black hair almost covered his eyes. He was dressed in black jeans and a navy-blue sweater over a white shirt and to El's amusement, he was carrying a blue, vintage, Doctor Who backpack.

Huh…cute. She thought with interest. Soon El's thoughts were interrupted by Moira's introduction to Social Psychology and the beginning of the lesson. Any musings over 'tall and lanky' forgotten for the time being.

When the class finished, El packed her things and made her way to the front of the building where Max and the guys were chatting. Max motioned for her to join them and that's how El met Mike Wheeler, Mr. Tall and Lanky himself.

"Hey El! These are my 'sort of friends', I mean, we only met last week!" She said laughing at one of the guy's offended expression. El just smiled.

"The martyr here making a face is Dustin". The curly haired boy waved smilingly. "This is Lucas, Will and that one consumed by his phone is Mike". She said while signaling to each of them and scolding at Mike for not paying attention.

A chorus of: "Hey El, nice to meet you" and a "Sorry Max" followed and El couldn't keep the smile off her face. This was going to be fun.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you all". She said waving her hand. Mike smiled at her briefly and then returned to his phone. Fleetingly, she couldn't help but wonder what was so interesting about it…however she soon shrugged it off and turned back to the others.

"So, guys what do you say if we hit the pub?" Lucas asked. Of course, being London there was a pub in every corner. Literally.

They all agreed and made their way to The Marlowe's, a pub just around the corner from the Psychology Postgraduate building in Marylebone. They found a nice table and went to order their drinks. Soon enough they were sitting chatting about their classes that day, specifically Moira's, with Dustin going on about how cool their professor was.

"I think Moira is awesome. So much knowledge and so charismatic…"

"You just have the hots for her Dustin". Mike interrupted wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, while raising his pint in mock toast. The others just burst out laughing.

"Oh, fuck off Wheeler! I saw you checking her out too!" He said rolling his eyes.

"No way dude, no even if hell freezes over! Though as a teacher I do think she is pretty cool and super smart too". Mike added thoughtfully.

"She is quite amazing, it's like she's been around the biggest brains of Social Psychology in the last 20 years or so". El agreed while taking a sip of her cider.

"So, what's El short for? Elena? Elizabeth? Eleven?" Lucas asked grinning at his own lame joke.

"Hahahahahahaha Eleven!" Mike snorted with laughter, the others soon joined in.

How childish were these guys? El wondered, slightly irritated.

"Is short for Eleonor". She clarified with a light smile. "My friends call me El".

"Hmm…". Mike considered her explanation for a second, touching his chin as if in deep thought.

"Hmm no, I happen to like Eleven better". He concluded smugly, looking at her with a self-satisfied grin.

El thought he looked just like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. She rolled her eyes and laughed. They were definitely funny, she at least had to give them that.

The night went on talking about school, professors and people. Relationships also made it into the conversation and El learned that all of them were single, just planning to have a nice year abroad. Mike was the one brought up the subject, he seemed to enjoy talking about that kind of thing, like asking about what type of women or guys they were into; and talking about the women he had dated.

She thought he was a bit crass given the way he talked about his past flings. From what she gathered that night he wasn't really someone she would want to date. Cute and smart, yes; but a player who probably treated women poorly. Not really worth much thinking on her part, she decided categorically.

Little did she know though, that Mike Wheeler would end up viciously consuming her thoughts in the months to come.