tea stained newpapers. mileven au.

twenty eight.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT:
ALL I SEE IS YOU.
EL'S POV.

mike wheeler was distracting.

truth be told, this wasn't the first time el had come to this realization. and in all honesty, she had acknowledged this now very well known fact about him the second her days went from being filled with stressing about her work to only pillowy, lustful thoughts about the dreamy raven haired boy.

but today...

today it was different.

because today each of his quick stolen glances felt too distinct. his sweet subtle movements and shy touches burning each time his fingertips even threatened to graze across her skin. it was as if each time he reached towards her the air in her lungs would deflate, her ribs enclosing, folding into the other as her heart traveled up the center of her chest until it felt like that aching organ was stuck in her throat.

to those who were wondering, the artist's museum debut had been more magical than she could have ever imagined. truly, with everything that had happened these past few months, she was very grateful for the fact that she had even gotten this far to stand and speak about the one thing in the world that made her feel like she had a solid purpose in the world.

well... the original one thing.

tonight was undeniable proof that the universe had something else for her to have a purpose for.

more like someone else.

in complete honesty, it was so odd to her that tonight of all nights felt so different from every other time she had been around the writer. it was like something shifted in them, diverging in so many different directions that it made her feel like every second she wasn't around him was just time being wasted.

and it probably was... that was something that terrified her in ways she really couldn't run away from anymore. there was no denying the fact that after tonight, she had no reason to not go back to her life in indianapolis.

no reason besides staying for him.

though even despite facing the idea that would eventually become her and mike's reality sooner than they even realized it would, right now she was too consumed with the situation playing out before her very eyes to even be bothered by that slight tear in their perfectly curated story together.

they had left the museum quiet some time ago now, the brunette departing her successful debut with her father and max to go join the writer and editor at their humble apartment in downtown manhattan. of course not forgetting the fact that will and dustin followed suit not too long after they left the modern sleek structure, claiming that they wanted to walk around and enjoy the ambience just a bit longer than everyone else.

in other words, sitting in a car with maxine mayfield and her father didn't seem like a situation either of them wanted to insert themselves in.

but that small little detail had nothing to do with the fact that right now her writer boy was leaning against the cold grey granite in his cozy brownstone apartment's kitchen across the room from her, the first few buttons of his undershirt undone lazily while he laughed along with her friends who had come to visit her for the event earlier.