the year of el | mileven

ch. 13 | the three muskateers

He made his way down the narrow corridor, approaching a place he hadn't been to in awhile.

The door with the words that once spelled band room were now fading off, looking more like it spelled ban rom.

Practice had officially ended and students were packing up their instruments and chatting amongst themselves.

He poked his head in the room anxiously looking around.

He spotted her. There she was, carefully placing her silver flute rightfully back in it's case.

"Hey there" he said calmly, trying not to startle her

Her face immediately lit up "I knew you'd be back! So pick me up at 7 Saturday?"

"Tracey, about that.."

"Hmm and I was thinking we could coordinate, I'll be wearing a green dress, so you can match with a green-"

"I can't go to homecoming with you!" He blurted, disrupting her thoughts

Tracey's smile fell "But.. I thought you wanted to."

"I never wrote that letter, my friends did that to set me up. I'm, well, sorry Trace, but I just had to let you know" His voice grew softer while he shifted around uncomfortably

She stared down at her shoes, trying to hide her disappointment "Oh.. for a minute there, I actually thought you wanted to be with me again.."

He genuinely felt bad. Even though they weren't together anymore, he still cared about her as a friend and had always wanted the best for her.

"You'll find your someone one day, I know you will.. But please don't let me ruin homecoming for you okay? Go, have fun. You deserve it"

Tracey faintly smiled. He always knew the right words to say at the given moment and that was a trait she grew to appreciate about him.

She looked up "Just wondering, so that girl I saw with you the other day, She's your-"

"Yeah.."

"I see.."

Even though she didn't stick around for long during their talk, Tracey sensed that El and Mike definitely had some kind of deep connection. Her heart sunk a little as she recalled that he had never looked at her the way he did with El.

Tracey picked up her flute case and began to head out the door but before she left, she looked behind her one last time "And Mike.."

He glanced at her with a surprised expression. She rarely ever called him by his nickname.

"She's lucky you know.. to have a guy like you"

✧

"Looks like were the only ones at the lunch table today" Dustin said, chugging down juice

Lucas banged the table "We gotta talk to El, because I hate that Max is ignoring us."

"You know who else you gotta talk to.."

"No, don't say it" Lucas retorted

"Dude, look around, do you see the problem? Our lunch table is empty right now, and if you continue acting like this, it's gonna stay this way!"

A solemn expression came across Lucas's face as he thought about what his friend said

"You just gotta come to terms that Mike is head over heels for Eleven. Even when we were kids it was obvious. He's happy with her, I don't know about you but I'm glad that he's not in his funk anymore. Even though we weren't able to help out much with that, we should just be glad that he's doing so much better now."

"Well...I guess you have a point.."

"And I know it sucks because we don't get to hang with him as much but if you ever got with Max I'm pretty sure you'd do the same thing."

Lucas rubbed his neck as he grew embarrassed "Err.. um.. I don't know"

"I do. Also, You and Mike have been friends for far too long to allow this stupid issue to get in the way of that."

Lucas exhaled slowly, taking everything into consideration.

Dustin, Mike, and him had all been good friends since the beginning. That insane experience that happened with Eleven helped them to bond on another level because it was something they all shared. He couldn't imagine Dustin and Mike not being in his life. They were like the three musketeers, They always had each other's back and conquered whatever problems that were thrown at them together.

"Yeah you're right. Thanks man" he said, slowly smiling

"No problem, that's what brothers are for. He kindly replied, elbowing him "but now for the love of god, go and apologize!"

✧

"Why are we eating lunch here?" El asked, as she sat down on a bench in the school's courtyard

He shrugged, trying to make up an excuse "Well it's a really nice day outside, and I just wanted to enjoy it with you"

She knew Mike and could definitely tell when he was lying. He would nervously fold his hands and wouldn't look her straight in the eye.

"Friends don't lie."

Mike bit his lip "Well Lucas and I got into a fight the other day.."

She looked at him worried "because of the note?"

"Yeah kinda, It just frustrates me that he doesn't even try to understand where I'm coming from" He replied, pounding his fist in his hand

El gently rubbed his arm "Do you try to understand where he's coming from?"

Suddenly it dawned on Mike that he never really considered how Lucas felt. The used to hang all the time but when El came she became his center of attention. He realized that maybe Lucas must of felt kind of betrayed.

He scratched his chin "You know.. I never really thought of it that way"

"You should talk to him"

"I will, Thanks El!" He said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek

Her cheeks turned pink "Y-You're welcome"