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"FLIGHT 623 FROM INDIANAPOLIS AT GATE TWO." EL, WILL, JOHNATHAN AND ARGYLE WAITED IN THE AIRPORT FOR MIKE TO ARRIVE. Only half of the group were excited, El standing up once she saw Mike with some... sunglasses on. "Mike." She called with a smile, Will's grin getting larger. "Ah!" Mike let out once he noticed them, flowers in one hand as he smiled widely. The group stood up as El ran to Mike, the two sharing a kiss and hugging. "Oh, careful, careful, careful. You're squishing your present." Mike spoke quickly, El letting go of him. "It's a gift." Mike handed her the flowers, El smiling at them. "I, uh- I handpicked those for you in Hawkins." Mike explained, taking his sunglasses off as El smiled more.
She was so excited to see the boy. To see her boyfriend. "I know you like yellow, but now I'm realising it's too much yellow." Mike continued, Argyle looking to Johnathan. The boy looked very disassociated, Argyle smiling and looking back to the young couple. El saw a note on the side, smiling at it.
To El,
From Mike
Again.
Her smile faded slightly, looking back at Mike as he didn't seem to notice. "I know you also like purple, so I got purple as well. So I kinda did, like, a 70/30 split kinda thing." Mike finished his explanation, El smiling more. "They're perfect, thank you." El grinned, moving past Mike to reveal Will. Another smile overtook Mike's face as he met eyes with the boy, the two sharing a surprisingly awkward hug. "Hey, how you doing?" Mike asked, Will nodding with a small smile. "Hey, Mike." Johnathan seemed to save Will, Mike turning to his brother. "How you doing?" He asked, Johnathan smiling as Mike nodded to Argyle. El stood behind Mike, watching the greetings as the latter looked to Will's painting.
He had been working on some sort of art project that he'd never let anyone see. "Great. Uh, what's that?" Mike asked, Will holding it up. "Um, it's nothing. Just this painting I've been working on." Will answered, Mike nodding. "Cool." He spoke bluntly, Johnathan staring at his brother. "That's rad shirt, man. Is that Ocean Pacific?" Argyle spoke up, Mike turning to him stunned. He didn't expect the teen to speak to him. "Oh, hey, Mike. This is, uh, my friend Argyle." Johnathan introduced, Mike nodding. "Oh. Hey." He spoke, putting his hand out to shake before Argyle hugged him. El smiled as Mike stood confused. "Oh, no, no, no." Argyle spoke, checking the tag at the back of Mike's tshirt before breaking the hug.
"No, it's a shitty knockoff. Yeah." He informed, Mike looking down to his shirt. He didn't know that- "But don't sweat it. I'll get you the good threads out here." Argyle offered, Mike standing awkwardly. What was he supposed to say? "I heard a lot about your sister." Argyle added on, Jonathan looking to him quickly. Shrugging once Mike looked at him, Johnathan cleared his throat. "O-Okay. Um, should we go?" He asked, changing the subject as Argyle nodded. "Yeah, this is kinda awkward, man." He let out, not seeming to have a filter to his blunt honesty. Mike just nodded, seeing this as a chance to get out of this conversation. "Yeah. So awkward." Mike wrapped an arm around El's shoulder, pulling the girl forward with him as the boys followed behind.
