𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑺𝑨𝑽𝑬𝑫 𝑴𝑬 // mileven

forty-two

"screw you, mike! how did you get the girl who's a saint when you're a pile of crap!"

✧ ﾟ･:*✧ ﾟ:*ﾟ　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard." el says in a very exasperated voice as she converses with her red-headed best friend. one hand keeps her phone planted against her ear, and the other fidgets with the straw of her milkshake, which is still full, even after a half hour of being in the diner.

i can tell el wants nothing more than to enjoy our date, but every time her finger moves to end the call with max, another hysterical cry erupts from the phone.

honestly, i don't mind in the slightest. el being distracted gives me an opportunity to admire her without having her throw her palms against her face and yell at me for making her blush.

and so, as she rolls her eyes and leans further back into her booth, i focus all my attention to watching her and absorbing in anything that i've missed over the few weeks that we were apart.

she's wearing my sweatshirt, a navy crewneck with VENICE BEACH embroidered across the front. i can't help but smile at the way it's far too large for her and she's practically drowning in it, the way she bundles the ends of the arm fabric into her fists to compensate for the extra material.

her hair is swept into a braid that is thrown over her shoulder, with too-short locks spilling out of the plait and framing her face. a small part of me wants to unravel the braid and run my fingers through her hair as she chuckles and scolds me for doing so.

i notice a slight dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, likely due to sunnier weather, and i feel myself falling in love a little bit more at the sight of them.

"god, she never shuts up." el says, pulling her phone away from her ear and dropping it beside her in the booth. she releases an exasperated groan as she speaks, her voice bringing me out of my dreamy reverie.

"that sounded chaotic." i chuckle and slide el's still-full milkshake closer to her, for she hasn't had a chance to drink it during her lengthy conversation.

"oh, it was." el gives me a grin, the kind that makes her eyes crinkle in the corners. "apparently, this girl went and texted lucas during some volunteering thing at school, and then the teacher took her phone and read her messages out loud to everyone."

"well, that can't be that bad, right?" i question. "what could they have been talking about that could have been horrible?"

"they were borderline sexting." el exclaims, a laugh spewing out of her mouth as she speaks. "and the teacher still read it out loud. it's hilarious, i bet she's still crying about it."

"i think you should be more sensitive." i offer in amusement, to which el responds by kicking me in the shin. "i bet you could have easily been in her place."

el scoffs, rolling her eyes at me. "you're saying i would sext you at school?"

"possibly, if you were bored enough."

"that is so rude!" el says, appalled with my words. "i'm definitely more responsible than that, i'm such a good student."

"yeah, yeah, whatever you say." my voice falters to a halt when a waitress places a tray of pancakes on our table and retreats after we give her a smile.

el's fingers hungrily pull the plate of pancakes towards her, and before i know it, she's shoved half of one into her mouth.

"i don't think i'm ever going to give this sweatshirt back to you." el says in a muffled voice, struggling to speak coherently with all the food in her mouth.