51. Crazy For You

[A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay - AGAIN. Ugh. Writer's block is killer - especially when you KNOW what you want to write. Anywho, here's a few notes and thank you's to those of you who have reviewed!

phieillydinyia - Yes! Of course I didn't! My heart isn't ready for that level of pain and suffering lol Glad you liked it!

Resisting-Moonlight - Right? That's my strongest headcanon about how her and Lonnie ended up the way they did. Thanks for the feedback! I was definitely going for the feels there.

PLASMAHOUND - I'm not sure! I do have a 4th of July oneshot in progress that I started last year. I'll probably try to finish that up but at the moment I don't have any ideas for other multi-chapter ST fics. We'll see if inspiration strikes!

gandalf537 - YOU are amazing. Thank you! :)

Guest - No, don't die! lol

The Man - Thanks for the info! I actually do a tonnnn of research for the stuff I write but apparently this is a tidbit of information I missed. Thanks for filling me in, though.

sol y luna 0428 - I LOVED that Time After Time was played in season 2! There's so much that happened in season 2 that I've either written or hinted at in my fic that I was practically screaming when I first watched it haha. Thanks for all the reviews!

deetje - Yay! Thank you! One more chapter to go on this one!

There's one more chapter to go from here! Thank you for being patient and sticking around on this crazy adventure/saga lol Things are wrapping up and I HOPE to have the last chapter done and posted soon! I hesitate to make promises but I'll do my best ;)]

Chapter 51: Crazy For You (by Madonna)

"I see you through the smokey air. Can't you feel the weight of my stare? You're so close but still a world away..."

. . . . . . . .

One Month Later

"Dude, cut it out!" Lucas snapped, smacking Dustin's hand away as Jonathan snapped yet another inopportune photo.

"Enough of the bunny ears," Jonathan half-heartedly chided with a laugh. "Let me at least get one good shot."

It was difficult enough fitting the entire group into the frame and everyone's cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling for so long."Yeah, I'd like to actually dance sometime before I'm forty." Trish quipped snarkily to which Dustin made a face.

"Okay, one more!" Mike called out impatiently and Jonathan quickly counted down before taking the final photo.

"Got it."

"Finally." Lucas muttered as the group dissipated from their huddled cluster.

They'd only arrived at the dance a few minutes prior when Jonathan and Nancy had pulled them over to get their pictures taken before dancing. Jonathan had been recruited to take the official Spring Fling photos for all of the middle school students and Nancy had volunteered to help with chaperoning. She periodically helped out at the punch table but had already spent a good portion of the night helping Jonathan corral kids in for their photos. The room was decorated with paper flower cut-outs and more pink, yellow, green, and blue balloons than El could have imagined. A huge banner that said "Hawkins Middle Spring Fling 1984" was stretched across the length of the entrance to the gym and the walls were lit with a myriad of colors that made El feel like she was walking through a dream.Despite the distance from home, Trish, Gabby, and Emma hadn't hesitated at El's invitation to come to the dance. After everything that had happened the month prior, Hopper and Joyce had continued to make efforts to keep El in contact with her new girl friends and whenever Emma's parents were able, they'd drive the girls down to Hawkins for the occasional weekend sleepover.

El was still living with Hopper but they'd been spending a lot more time at the Byers over the past few weeks so in a way, El almost felt like she had two homes again. She definitely didn't mind, though; she loved spending time with Joyce and drawing with Will. Sometimes she wandered into Jonathan's room and studied the newest photos he would hang before deciding on a place for them. Hopper and Joyce talked a lot which gave her plenty of time to explore and do whatever she wanted and Will was usually content to quietly hang out."Mike. El. Hang on a second," Jonathan called the two back as their group dispersed. "Do you want one of just the two of you? For that frame?"

"The frame?" Mike asked blankly before recognition flooded his face. "The picture frame! Oh yeah! Yeah, that'd be great. Right, El?" He grabbed her hand excitedly, guiding her back over in front of the dark grey backdrop before nervously dropping her hand and wiping the sweat from his palm.

"Okay." El nodded with a small smile as she played with the ruffled skirt of her satin dress. It was an electric shade of blue and El couldn't help herself from running her hands across the smooth fabric.

Nancy stood by Jonathan, smirking as her boyfriend encouraged the two to get closer. "Come on, Mike," She teased. "Act like you like her!"

"Can you not?" Mike glared past the camera at his sister, one awkward arm around El's shoulder and a cavern of space between them.

"Come on, guys," Jonathan said, his eye still in the viewfinder as he waited patiently.

"Tell your girlfriend to shut up!" Mike barked and Nancy barely concealed her laugh.

"El, tell your boyfriend to loosen up!"

Mike's cheeks visibly reddened and El could sense how flustered he was becoming. "Mike," She turned to face him and the proximity of her face so close to his quieted him immediately. "It's okay." She raised her eyebrows, offering him a reassuring smile that always seemed to make him forget about everything around him, if only for a little while.

"There we go," Jonathan said, taking a shot as soon as the two preteens settled into a more relaxed pose. "That was a good one."

"Why do you have to be here anyway?" Mike rolled his eyes at Nancy as he and El passed.

"I asked Mom the same thing when you were born," Nancy quipped with a good-natured smirk as Dustin, Lucas, and the others guffawed at her comeback.

Mike groaned in exasperation but continued to walk back toward his friends with El right behind him. Gabby was dancing in place despite not being on the dance floor. Their little group was congregated at the edge of the gym, still near the entrance, and as Gabby moved and bopped to the beat, El couldn't help thinking her friend seemed to have limitless energy.

"Yes!" Gabby cried out in elation as the music shifted into a new song. "Madonna!"

"Oh brother," Trish rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "I'm gonna try and snag us a table. Come on, Emma."

Trish led Emma down the length of the gym while the rest of them stared in bewilderment at Gabby as she sang along to the lyrics.

"Do you want to go find a table, El?" Mike asked, his voice gentle and quiet as it often was when he spoke to her. He still couldn't believe that she was really here. She was living in Hawkins and they didn't have to hide anymore. It felt surreal but at the same time so reassuringly, overwhelmingly normal.

"Okay."

Mike offered his arm to El and she stared at it in confusion. "You're supposed to take my arm," He explained and, still uncertain, El awkwardly grabbed his forearm and elbow in her hands.

"What do I do?"

Mike chuckled. "Not like that," he said, linking her arm through his and returning his palm to a resting position over his stomach. "Like this. See?"

El nodded her understanding as Mike led her through the throngs of students. He was still a little nervous about blatantly showing affection around other people but El's reassurance and quiet acceptance of his awkwardness was more than enough to help him move past how weird he felt sometimes.

The music was loud and El could feel it in her feet as they walked. She liked "taking" Mike's arm, though. It wasn't so different from how she often clung to his jacket sleeves when they walked or rode together on his bike. Even as she became more comfortable with life outside of the lab and hiding, she still felt just a tiny bit safer when Mike was around.

Lucas and Will followed along behind Mike and El as Dustin and Gabby slowly pulled up the rear. Gabby was still dancing as she walked, waving her arms animatedly as she sang along. Somewhat mesmerized by Gabby's performance, Dustin paused several times to stare.

"What are you doing?" he said to her, taking note of the way several of his classmates stopped to stare at her as well. She didn't seem to care, though.

"I think that you're afraid to look in my eyesss," Gabby sang, dramatically acting out the words as she and Dustin continued to follow their friends to the other end of the gym. "You look a little sad boy, I wonder whyyy…"

"This is not happening," Dustin mumbled to himself, trying to avoid looking at her as she grinned at the reaction she was getting.

"I follow you around but you can't see," Gabby trotted to keep up with a mildly embarrassed Dustin who, despite his best efforts, couldn't stop himself from looking back at her. "You're too wrapped up in yourself to notiiice. So you choose to look the otherr waayy!" She raised her eyebrows pointedly at how fitting that line was at that given moment.

"Kill me now," Dustin said with a deadpan, looking up at the ceiling as their group paused to squeeze through a tight crowd. "Just kill me now."

"WELL I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!" Gabby sang more vehemently, lightly gripping Dustin's shoulders and making him jump.

"Jesus!"

At that, Gabby couldn't help but erupt into laughter as they all finally circled around a table Trish had scored. "Let's go dance!"

Dustin turned to her, one eyebrow raised as he pointed to his chest and looked around exaggeratedly.

"Yeah, come on!" Gabby said, still grinning in a way that left Dustin in a combination of paralyzed terror and mesmerized curiosity.

Dustin looked back at their friends who had minimal responses. Trish held her hands up as if to say 'she's all yours' and Lucas chuckled as he leaned over the back of his chair.

"I don't, I-"

"Come on, it'll be fun." Gabby said, grabbing Dustin's hand and gently pulling him back out into the crowd.

Lucas raised his eyebrows at his friend several times as Dustin mouthed, 'I'm scared'.

"Hey El," Mike said, standing up. "I'm gonna go get some snacks. Do you want anything?"

"Eggos?" El requested hopefully but Mike shook his head.

"They probably don't have those here," he said regretfully. "Don't worry; I'll bring back something good. One sec."

"They look like they're having fun," Will commented, nodding to Gabby and Dustin out on the dancefloor. In a sea of students, the two had seemed to let loose. This wasn't unusual for Gabby who was dancing with enough energy and enthusiasm for both of them; however, even Dustin couldn't help the smile that frequently spread across his face as she moved in circles around him.

Trish chuckled. "The poor guy never stood a chance," she said, shaking her head with a smirk.

Lucas glanced over at her, noting the fact that the majority of their group was just sitting. "Why aren't you out there? Weren't you saying a minute ago how you 'want to get out and dance before you're forty'?"

Trish met his gaze and sized him up. "What, are you offering, Sinclair?"

Taken aback, Lucas blinked. "Wh- No! No, I was just -"

"Hmm," Trish squinted, then rolled her eyes. "Good, 'cause you're SOL if you think I'm dancing with you."

Mildly offended and not quite noticing the hint of a smirk on her face, Lucas exclaimed, "Good, because I wasn't planning to!"

Will and Emma exchanged weary expressions just as Mike returned from the snack table.

"Here, El," he said, putting a cup of punch and a plate piled high with popcorn, pretzels, and chips in front of her. "I thought we could share?"

El nodded happily before eagerly shoving a handful of chips into her mouth. She returned her gaze to the students out on the floor as she chewed, fascinated by the scene in front of her. She'd been just as entranced by her last school dance but somehow this one almost felt like a re-do. There was no government lab searching for her, no one to worry about chasing or hurting her and her friends. Everyone was healthy and things had been so stable for the past few weeks that she wondered if real life - a real, normal girl's life - could be this simple.

After a couple songs and another trip to the snack table, a slower song began to play and the mood in the room shifted as some students left the dance floor and others entered.

"Do you wanna dance?" Mike leaned in to El, his voice low and soft as El stuffed the last few chips into her mouth.

El beamed up at him before wiping salt from her lips and nodding. "Yes."

As Mike took her hand and led her out to the middle of the crowd, Gabby and Dustin had stopped dancing. Notably awkward, they had difficulty maintaining eye contact.

Trying hard to control my heart...

"The song changed," Dustin said dumbly. As odd as Gabby was, he was beginning to really like it. Even if he didn't want to admit it outright. It was a good oddness; she was fun and they had things in common… besides, they were all a little bit weird, weren't they?

"Yup," Gabby nodded, pursing her lips. "Do… you want to keep dancing?" She looked up at him and Dustin felt like a surge of electricity had run through him.

I walk over to where you are...

"Not if you don't want to," he replied, almost tripping over his words. "Or if you - you know?"

"I do," Gabby nodded, a small grin emerging from her uncertainty.

"You know? Or you want to keep dancing?" Dustin asked, watching with wide eyes as Gabby stepped forward again.

"Both." She shrugged, her grin fully formed now.

Eye to eye we need no words at all...

A few feet away, Mike and El had settled into a familiar stance. They'd gotten most of their butterflies out during the Valentine's dance in Clarksville so they were much more comfortable this time around. El's arms rested delicately over Mike's shoulders, her fingers lacing behind his head, and Mike had placed his hands at her sides. He was still a little stiff in his movements and hand placement but his face was relaxed and he couldn't help but smile.

"Are you having fun?"

El nodded, her omnipresent smile never faltering. "Lots of fun."

Slowly now we begin to move...

"I'm glad," Mike said, inhaling sharply with surprise as El leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder. It was a little awkward since they were close to the same height but somehow it still seemed so perfect.

Every breath I'm deeper into you...

As they swayed, slightly off-balance by El's positioning, Mike tried to compel his heart to stop racing. It bewildered him that his infatuation with her could still leave him reeling.

Soon we two are standing still in time...

El's hair was growing fast. From his vantage point, Mike could see that even the places where the lab had re-shaved her were starting to quickly grow back. Joyce had taken El to the hairdresser to have it fixed shortly after she was released from the hospital but El had refused to let the stylist take much off. Instead, they'd blended in the areas they could and turned it into a pixie cut reminiscent of Mia Farrow.

If you read my mind, you'll see...

"Your hair is getting longer," Mike blurted out, his thoughts becoming words before he realized he was thinking out loud.

This caught El's attention, causing her to lift her head and subconsciously reach for her hair. Mike internally sighed with disappointment at the loss of contact.

"Still short," El assessed, running her hand back and forth over her head as the hair's flopped back and forth with the movement. Her fingers lingered at the places where the hair was still growing back from being haphazardly buzzed.

"Yeah," Mike admitted. "But it's definitely gotten longer since a month ago. And definitely since I first met you," He shrugged, then remembered how self-conscious she'd been when she lost the blonde wig and abruptly added, "But it's not a big deal. Unless you want long hair. You… um… look nice either way I just noticed because I was… all I could see was the top of your head so I noticed it and…" He grimaced, forcing himself to stop talking as he realized how stupid he was sounding but El didn't seem to mind. In fact, her lips curved into a small smile and she reached for his hair. The sensation of her hands gently playing with and rolling his dark locks in her fingers sent a chill up his back that he forced himself to ignore.

"Pretty," She said definitively and Mike flushed.

"Uh, El, you don't um… boys aren't "pretty"," He explained, scrunching his face awkwardly and doing his best to hide his embarrassment. It wasn't like she knew, right?

El nodded. He was right. What was the word Trish and Gabby had used to describe boys that they thought looked good? Warm? No, that wasn't it… "Hot," She corrected but this only perplexed Mike more and his flush spread from his cheeks to his neck.

"Uh…"

Gabby and Dustin could barely look at each other as they danced and both were uncharacteristically quiet. With enough space to fit another person between them, they swayed stiffly to the music. Occasionally their eyes would flit up to glance at one another or they'd make a casual remark to try and deflect their nervousness with humor. It wasn't until Gabby overheard Mike and El that the tension between her and her dance partner melted a bit. By sheer luck, she'd been facing the pair just at the moment El had reached for Mike's hair and said "Hot".

"Oh my god," Gabby barely stifled her laughter, throwing her head back before tossing it forward.

Dustin blinked in surprise at the sudden exclamation. "What?"

Gabby opened her mouth to answer but another round of laughter came out as soon as she inhaled. Shaking her head, she compelled herself to pull it together. "I just love El."

"Oh," Dustin quirked an eyebrow, feeling like he was clearly missing something but he shrugged it off. "Yeah, she's great."

As the music became more repetitive, signalling its impending end, Mike and El settled back into a comfortable rhythm. El couldn't stop herself from smiling and the muscles in her face almost hurt from holding the same expression so long. How was it possible to feel this happy?

. . . . . . . .

"I'm crazy for you... Touch me once and you'll know it's true. I never wanted anyone like this, it's all brand new..."