“Over here, El,” Will said with a smile, his arm lightly bumping into the guy next to him. 

She turned back toward the living room and locked eyes with Mike. He was still glaring at her. And right now, El didn’t know what to do with herself.

“El, this is Adam,” Will added, glancing back at Adam, a boy with shaggy blonde hair. “Apparently, he plays at the arcade sometimes.”

El smiled at Adam, “Hello.”

“Hey.”

Will and Adam exchanged a look, the same way Lucas and Max sometimes did. Staring into each other’s eyes as if the rest of the world had faded away. It was a look El was familiar with. 

“Are you two going to kiss?” El asked, looking back at them.

Both boys jumped, as if she’d shocked them with electricity.

“Why is she talking about that?” Adam asked, looking between the two of them.

“It’s nothing,I think she’s just drunk,” Will said quickly as he grabbed El’s arm and started to drag her from the kitchen, his smile fading. 

“What?” she asked as she watched his eyes flash around. “Besides, you’re gay, and it looks like he might be too.”

“El,” Will whispered, turning his head around and looking for something as they stumbled into the hallway. 

They found Max and Lucas ‘sucking face’ as Will called it. And right now they were thoroughly attached. Their arms wrapped around each other. Max had even put one leg around Lucas's thigh as he held up her ass. They moved together in a way that was fluid like water. They were kissing so intently, with Lucas holding Max’s face to his. Both of them seemed oblivious to anybody else.

“Earth to ship Lumax!” Will said, tapping Max on the shoulders.

But she didn't even stop kissing Lucas, just moved her hand to wave them off. 

“Max, please, I need your help explaining something to El!” Will had to shout over the music.

Max untangled her lips from Lucas, and they both glared at the two of them. El didn't like it when people glared at her, especially her friends. It was as if she could feel their anger pushing her down. 

Lucas whispered something to Max. Then she shook her head, whispering something back. They reluctantly unattached themselves. Lucas let his hands move up to hold her waist and Max let go of his shoulders. Lucas stepped away, but his hand dragged down her arm until he clenched her hand. He gave it one last squeeze before he headed back to the living room. El never understood how their bodies would talk to each other like that. 

“Five minutes,” Lucas said, shouting back at them.

“Yeah, we got it,” Max replied, rolling her eyes.

She grabbed El and Will, tugging them into the bathroom. It was surprisingly empty and Max shut the door behind them, locking it.

----------------------------------------------------------

Lucas sighed, slumping his shoulders as he watched the three of them disappear into the bathroom together. He knew it would be longer than five minutes before they came back out. He spotted Dustin having the time of his life. In the middle of the party, Dustin sang and played air guitar on top of Stacy’s parents’ coffee table, surrounded by the crowd. Lucas quickly went over, squeezing his way through the crowd as best he could. Finally reaching Dustin, he grabbed his shirt and held on.

“Dustin,” Lucas tried shouting over the music, but it was just too loud.

Dustin looked down at him and smiled, although he continued to sing. Lucas told him to come down again, but Dustin could barely hear him.

“Dustin!” Lucas finally yelled louder.

As Dustin looked up, seeing Lucas’s serious face, he yelled back, “What?”

“Can I talk to you, man?” Lucas yelled back, his voice drowning in the guitar riff.

But Dustin jumped off, handing the mic over to somebody else who started singing just as loud.

“What?” Dustin said, as Lucas just motioned for him to follow and lead Dustin away from the crowd, out into the front yard. 

There were cars parked everywhere, and the music still managed to reach them. Some people were T-ping the house, but it didn’t really seem to matter. Nobody really paid attention to them.

“You have to tell El how you feel,” Lucas said, grabbing hold of Dustin’s shoulders and staring at him. Although, as he looked into his eyes, he realized that Dustin was far too strung out for his words to really make anything, especially as Dustin waved him off.

“It’s not important right now. Besides, she and Mike are together.”

“They're miserable, and they’re taking it out on all of us.”

“They’re just going through a rough patch. I mean, you and Max used to do the same thing.”

“Max and I hadn’t had the best relationship in the past, but we have been good for years. In those years, we have both learned so much. The number one thing being it is important to talk to your girlfriend. And how it is important to tell the woman you love that you love her!” 

Lucas stabbed Dustin’s chest with as much resolve as he could muster, hoping that it would somehow make a difference.

“Max and you don’t have what the rest of us have,” Dustin said with an eye roll. “You two have always been… I don't know. You've never been in love with anyone else. It’s just been the two of you since we were kids.”

“So what? That doesn’t mean I can’t see that you love El and that the two of you would be happy together if you just tried,” Lucas said, throwing his arms out. “Isn’t trying better than just watching each other and wondering what could be?”

But Dustin just shook his head. “Just because you want to flaunt your perfect relationship in our eyes doesn’t mean that it is what’s best for everybody.” 

He seemed to shrink back into himself, the cold night wind cutting through them. Lucas pulled his arms around his shoulders. The cold was sobering them both, although they could still hear the faint music of the party and the smell of the weed that seemed to linger through everything else. Dustin started to walk back to the party and Lucas just stood there, growling at his friend. Could they really be this stupid, Lucas thought.

“Either you tell El how you feel or I’ll have Max spill the beans to her!”

“Don’t!” Dustin said, running back and grabbing hold of Lucas’s shirt.

“Or what? What are you going to do?” Lucas said, staring into his eyes, knowing that was a far more terrifying thought than Dustin would actually realize.

“Please don't.”

“Tell her.”

“She doesn’t even like me that much,” Dustin argued back, letting go of him and turning away.

“Yes, she does,” Lucas said, a small smile appearing on his face as Dustin furrowed his brow. 

“El told Max one day that she thought you were cute, but she thought you still loved Suzie and she was with Mike. But I’ve seen the way she looks at you when you start ranting about working on Cerebro or whatever robotic stuff that you’re trying to figure out. She is the only one who will sit there and truly listen to you. Even Will gets bored after an hour.”

Dustin looked down at his feet and kicked a roll of toilet paper as it rolled across the lawn. “What if she says she doesn’t want to be with me?” 

“You have to at least give her that chance,” Lucas argued, as Dustin sighed, seeming heavier than he usually was. 

“Look, I’ll find a time. Just give me time, all right?”