Little League (Byler)

Vll

(AKA "Do you remember days on our old block,")

Eleven Jane Hopper fisted her boyfriends crow like hair, which gently feathered out along his neck. To be truthful, she really didn't know what she felt towards Mike. And she hadn't really taken time to figure it out. At one point she remembered Max telling her love feels like butterflies in your stomach.. yet she didn't get that when the Mike and her kissed or held hands. Rather- she got it when the lengthy, brushed out red hair of a familiar best friend touched her neck as they hugged goodbye. And it tingled like a bubbling fire cracker fizzling inside of her. Like some type of radio playing off loud music under her skin, and it was such a melodious and tainted feeling that she couldn't possibly feel bad about it. Besides, she had a growing feeling that Wheeler was rapidly losing interest too.
And she didn't want to confront him about that.
Not yet.
Because what if Mike got mad at her? Or or at Max. He already disliked the girl.. but maybe it would be a relief for him too. Obviously she had begun to take note of his adoring stares towards William Byers. At first she was jealous.. he didn't look at her like that anymore. But then all of that calloused jealousy faded away, and quickly too. Because she caught herself glancing over to Maxine with that kind of look, and she knew it was some kind of mutual feeling.
But there she was, tongue deep in Wheelers mouth. Regretfully.. but she was trying to cling onto those old feelings she sort of- kind of got with him. But they weren't there, no matter how hard she bit his lip of how long they ate each others faces out.

But then she randomly stopped.
"Hey Mike- I think you should go." El said with that quiet thump in her heart.. the adrenaline. She smiled breathlessly, it wasn't real of course-  but it seemed to have worked.
"Oh, okay El. Umm I'll see you tomorrow." The funny thing was his hint of joy when he spoke.. clearly hidden. But badly. Wheeler flattened out his hair with his flushed hand and flicked a piece of it behind his ear. Taking a quiet step up, he ran that hand over his lips, clearing up that shimmer of saliva that casually shone there.
"Hey- Mikey? We don't have to hang out tomorrow .. if you want. Maybe I can go with Max for a bit, I'm sure Lucas, Will and Dustin are dying to do that game thing with you again." Mike raised an eyebrow but nodded slowly.
"Oh- okay. Yeah sure El. I'll see you soon."
***
(Another POV change cuz- ahah.. I'm too lazy to keep writing from El's perspective.)

Mike shrugged himself face first onto his bed. Okay, maybe the man was a bit confused. But it's not like he had done anything wrong.. right? Except for his little 'outburst' back at the hill. Really though, was that why she was mad. El clearly had to be mad, right? The girl usual clung to him like an annoying cousin at a family gathering- or glitter to your skin after simply doing an art project once. He shuddered in painful memory of his craft store situation back in the fifth grade. He couldn't sworn he'd never be able to take a shower without finding glitter in unfortunate places ever again.
So she had to be mad.. it made sense. Eleven must've been mad about him denying their 'romantic' activities earlier. She must've been pushing him away. (Mike couldn't deny being a little bit excited about that detail.)  He felt bad, of course. El was like a best friend to him. A sibling- which made their whole 'dating thing' even more toxic. But he never wanted to hurt her, or anyone, or Will. And it was hard, like a constant game of tug-of-war. One side being the desperation to keep El safe from harm and to prove himself to his family, the other being Will Byers and the party. He could never seem to find an in between without falling face-first into mud.

Instead of deciding to continue his internal web of teenage man-splaining.. he came to the conclusion that he should visit Will. Maybe spend the night? He really missed one-on-one time with that dude, despite his growing (ahem) feelings. His boney hand clutched onto the phone- he was too 'mature' now to use their old form of communication.

"Mike?"
"Will! Hey! Umm, can I come over tonight? To hang out? I know it's late and stuff, but I miss our sleepovers." Wheeler blurted out, his cheeks immediately heated. Why was he such a blabber-mouth?! Couldn't he just relax sometimes?
"Yeah, uhm sure! Sounds good!"
"Wait really?"
"No duh! Of course you can come over, Mike. I've missed hanging out with you too." Will gently chuckled through the line. His voice had matured since the year prior, now fourteen years old, Will sounded.. really lovely. It was a deep yet teen-like voice, one that sometimes cracked- but charmingly so. It was stupid, but Mike just adored Wills voice. He could go on for hours just listening, but that always seemed to be Byers job in the party. He was a great listener, just- Mike wouldn't mind hearing him talk more often too.
"Wow, uh thanks! I'll be over in a few- I've gotta ask my mom first."
"No problem Wheeler, see you soon."
***
Authors Note-
Heyyy, okay so this is a really crappy chapter. I don't know what exactly happened. But I'm hoping the next chapter will be more- well.. better written.
I've had a lot going on this week- and should probably be taking this time to work of district choir stuff. Ahah, but nope I'm here.

Words- 990 ( featuring my draining motivation!!!.. 😀)