Freckles & Curls | MILEVEN AU

twenty seven - paper rings

song - Paper Rings by Taylor Swift 

~"I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings
Uh huh, that's right
Darling, you're the one I want, and
I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this"~

One of the first things that she had watched on the television - was a wedding scene. She did not understand the concept very well, tilting her head and asking her adoptive father in such an innocent tone. But the more that she learned, the more she wanted to know. It was such a strange yet beautiful ideology, that two people were so in love with each other that they never wanted to part, to spend the rest of their lives side by side. As far as she was aware, the wedding ceremony seemed to involve rings that were placed on each person's finger - the second finger in on their left hand. They spoke tearful vows to each other almost like a promise, a promise of what they could give their lover and what they would take in return. Jane's eyes widened with curiosity as soon as she watched the wedding scene, the melody of the piano making her ears perk up, skin electrified with excitement. But as soon as she laid eyes on Mike, she knew that he was her person - he was the one that she wanted to make that promise with. 

Mike straightened up with a stubborn jut of his chin when the chief opened the door, looking him straight in the eye despite how afraid he was. Hopper usually let the teenager in without a single word on his way to work, but this time he blocked the doorway. 

"What have I done?" the teenager grumbled. 

Hop rolled his eyes. "Look, kid. I just want to talk to you a minute."

He raised an eyebrow. 

The chief rubbed his beard, looking down so that he wouldn't struggle so much. "I know that we haven't always been on the best of terms ever since we met...and maybe we never will be, but I just wanted to say something. I know that you and Jane care about each other a lot, and I know that I kept her from you for a long time. I guess I just wanted to tell you that I'm...I'm really sorry for doing that to both of you."

Mike was taken aback. "W-What?"

"If I'm being honest...I know that Jane wasn't always happy being here with me. I only tried to keep her safe but thinking back on everything...I think she really could have done with someone like you."

"O-Oh."

"Yeah, oh" the chief echoed teasingly. 

"Oh, shit..." Mike mumbled to himself before his eyes widened. 

Hop rolled his eyes. "Language, kid."

"S-Sorry, chief..uh-sir."

"Hopper is fine, Mike."

The teenager nodded, pointing back at the door before holding up the science textbook that he had brought with him, "R-Right uh, I'll just go help El with the homework."

"Biology?"

"Physics."

Hop snorted. "Good luck with that, she hates it."

Mike's lips turned upwards. "I know."

Before he left to go to work, the teenager tugged on his arm slightly one last time, shuffling awkwardly before looking back at the door where Jane would be waiting for him. Hop raised an eyebrow at Mike who cleared his throat. 

"I really wish you would have let me see El earlier...I'm not s-saying that to make you feel bad, I just...I'm grateful that I have her, you know?"

Hopper nodded, a softer glint in his eye than before. 

...

She was sitting on her bed, eyes narrowed in concentration that he knew all-too well. There was a familiar crease between her eyebrows from the strain, a simple can of coke sat on her bedside table, a can that stayed still. Mike watched for a moment from the doorway, clutching his textbooks nervously before she broke her concentration, groaning audibly. Her head fell back onto the duvet, sighing deeply into the soft fabric of her blanket.