Chapter Forty-Seven: Stupid Idea

I headed home that night to find Dad standing outside of our bedroom door while music blasted through the radio. That plus the crack in the door suggested to me that Mike Wheeler was on the premises. Dad had his fist poised to knock, which caused me to furrow my eyebrows.

"What um...whatcha doin'?" I asked, setting my bag down.

"You're just in time. We're about to have a talk, I want you to hear this too."

"Ok..." He banged his fist against the doorframe.

"Hey."

"Yes?" She said after a minute, suggesting to me that she was probably scurrying to make it look like she wasn't just making out with her boyfriend.

"Can I talk to you guys a minute?" The door opened on its own and we walked inside to find them sitting on her bed, Mike on the end of it while she sat up against the headboard. Dad just stared at them for a minute. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi?" Mike said. He walked over, pulling my desk chair over so he could sit in front of them, and I sat on my bed behind him. He continued to stare at them before turning around and turning the radio off. I had never seen him act like this in my life, so I had no idea what was going on.

"Um..." El raised her eyebrows expectantly at him. "What I um...needed to say to you...What I wanted to say to you is um..."

"Uh-oh," Mike said, glancing at her, "I think we're in trouble." They both laughed, and I opened my mouth to tell him to shut up.

"No." Dad said, surprising me. "No, nobody's in trouble, ok? I just um-" He leaned over, cupping his hand round his mouth and whispering in her ear, causing her to laugh.

"Hey, Mike." I said, causing him to look at me. "Your girlfriend's father is trying to talk to you. Stop being a douchebag." His smile fell.

"You know what?" Dad continued. "Your mom called."

"What?"

"Yeah. She needs you home right away."

"Is everything ok?" Mike asked.

"No, I don't think so." He answered. "Its your grandma."

~~~

They walked outside, leaving me alone with El. I moved to face her and gave her a pointed look.

"What?" She asked. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Do you think that's funny?" I asked. She looked at me in confusion. "Dad was sitting here, clearly wanting to have a serious conversation with you, which makes him very uncomfortable, and he was trying his best not to get angry, which you know is very difficult for him, and here you two are making jokes and blatantly disrespecting him." Her eyes clouded with guilt. "You can't do that, El. After everything that happened last year, he's trying to be a better Dad, and sitting here making fun of him isn't helping anything."

"You're right," She said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to him." I said. "And if I had to guess, I'd say he wanted to talk to you about setting some boundaries with you and Mike."

"Boundaries?" She asked. I nodded.

"Like...guidelines, to keep everyone safe and comfortable. They're rules, but they're put there to protect you, like the three-inch-minimum thing."

"Do you have boundaries?" I bit my lip, seeing where this was going.

"No."

"But that's not fair. Why do I have 'boundaries' and you don't?" She asked.

"When you get to a certain age, you don't have those anymore. At least, not ones given to you by your parents," I explained, "But when I was your age I didn't have a boyfriend so he's never really had to worry about this before, so just go easy on him, ok?"

"What age?"

"Well, it all depends. The older you get, the less boundaries you will have. But if we're using me as a scale, eighteen."

"Eighteen?!" She asked.

"That's just how it worked with me, I don't know what will happen with you." I told her. "But it might be a little easier if you guys...I don't know, actually spent some time with your other friends? You two are always attached at the hip, it wouldn't surprise me if the rest of your friends were feeling a little...rejected?" She looked down at her lap.

"I never thought about that." I nodded.

"Its not easy the whole 'getting older' thing. You'll figure it out, but it really helps if you have people that have already done it to help you. That's what Dad and I are here for. Ok?"

"Ok."

~~~

The next morning, El was running around frantically, looking out the window every five seconds until she eventually walked over to the phone with an exasperated look on her face.

"Hey. Is everything ok?" He asked.

"Yes." She said, dialing what I assumed was Mike's number and holding the phone to her ear. "I'm looking for Mike?" She sighed, walking towards our room with the phone in hand. "Its 9:32, where are you?" The door shut on its own, and I shot Dad a knowing look as he leaned against the counter eating his cereal.

"You did something didn't you?" He shrugged.

"We just talked." He said, taking a bite of his cereal. I walked over, standing in front of him. "Ok look, I know what you're gonna say-"

"No, I don't think that you do." I said, causing him to furrow his eyebrows. "That kid needed to be brought down a peg, so please please tell me you drove him home and put the fear of God in him." He smiled.

"He got in the car, and I told him nothing was wrong with his Grandma," He said, "And then he tried to get out but I kept locking the door. He said I was crazy and I said 'You wanna see crazy? Disrespect me one more time'." I put a hand over my mouth, holding in a laugh. "You should've seen the look on his face."

"What did you say to him?" I asked.

"Just that if he and El were going to date they needed to spend a little bit of time away from each other." I nodded.

"I kind of planted the seed in her mind that she needs to hang out with some of her other friends, so maybe that will do it." I said. He raised a hand and I high-fived it.

"Teamwork." I chuckled, taking a sip of my Orange juice. "So hey...I haven't been neglecting you, have I? There's just a lot going on with El right now-"

"Don't worry about me, Dad. I don't need to be parented anymore. She does. I am well aware of that." He nodded.

"Well I'll tell you what, this whole situation has me liking your boyfriend a heck of a lot more." I smiled as Eleven came out of our room again.

"Hey...What's going on?" She put the phone back, going back into our room and slamming the door shut behind her. Dad and I shared a look before smiling.

~~~

"He said that? To your Dad's face?" Steve asked. We were at Scoops Ahoy, same as usual, only he was working today and I wasn't, so I was standing on the other side of the counter, luckily wearing pants, and I was telling him everything that had happened the night before. I nodded.

"I don't know what happened on the drive home, but I know he wasn't at our house this morning and El did not look happy. But on the bright side, I think my dad has a new found respect for you." I said, pushing my hair back out of my face. He nodded.

"Hey...were you actually bothered by the whole game thing with Robin yesterday?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "I just wanted to make sure, because...you know I would never cheat on you, right?"

"Yeah of course I do. Why?" He shook his head.

"I just wanted to make sure." I nodded.

"Does it bother you that these girls aren't going for you?"

"Nah. That was just for the game."

"But...the reason they aren't going for you bothers you?" He sighed, putting his hands on top of mine.

"I mean, its not like this is where I saw my life going." I furrowed my eyebrows, going to stand up but he stopped me. "No, no, no, wait, that's not what I meant. I wasn't talking about this," He gestured between us, "I'm talking about...this." He took off his sailor hat, slapping it down on the counter. "I mean, I'm supposed to be in college right now and yet here I am, and ice cream slinging loser."

"I'm not going to college, and I work here. Does that make me an ice cream slinging loser?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No, because you're the real-life version of the story I tell people so they don't know that I was too stupid to get into college."

"You're not stupid." I said, squeezing his hands. "Education and intellect are not the same thing."

"Well I don't have much of either one." I shook my head.

"So what if you don't?" I asked. "You're amazing." He scoffed. "I'm serious, Steve. You're a great guy, you're always willing to do what's right. And you're an incredibly hard worker! When someone gives you a job to do, you're gonna do whatever it takes to get that job done, even if it means putting your life in danger. There is so much out there in the world for you, college is not the be-all-end-all of being an adult."

"I live with my parents."

"So do I!" I pointed out. This thought prompted an idea in my head. "Well...what if we didn't?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" He asked. I smiled at him.

"There are some cheap apartments in Hawkins. I bet with both of our paychecks combined we could afford one pretty easily, living in a small town and everything. What if we moved in together?" He raised his eyebrows.

"You're serious?"

"Why not? You wouldn't be living with your parents, and let's be honest, even the smallest 'adult milestone' might help you feel better about where your life is headed."

"I don't know, Riley. I don't know if that's the best idea."

"Why not?" He looked at me as if he didn't know what to say.

"Its just...I don't know, I don't know. I just...I don't think its a good idea, I don't think we should do that."

"Well...are you gonna tell me why?"

"Um...n-no? No?" I nodded.

"You know what? You're right. Stupid idea, forget I said anything."

"Riley..." I ignored him, turning around and walking out of the store, my emotions bubbling up to a mix between confusion, worry, and anger.

First I tell Steve that I love him and he can't say it back. Which I knew, I expected that. Second, I find out that he has this game going with Robin where he flirts with other girls and tries to get them to be interested in him, which actually does bother me, regardless of what I told him. And now, third, he says that us moving in together is a bad idea but he won't tell me why.

It's starting to look like Steve doesn't actually want to be with me in the first place.