strangers. mileven au.

two.

CHAPTER TWO:
CHANGE.

it had been a few days since eleanor and will discussed what exactly he was going to say to their parents. this being because every time he finally got the courage to actually go through with the plan, her father would either get called into work or his mother would completely ignore his attempts to start the conversation.

it was now the end of the week. joyce was in the kitchen of their small cabin, moving swiftly as she put away the clean dishes into their rightful homes. eleanor was quietly sitting at the table with their father, both of them working on separate stacks of paper. her father always tried to get off early on fridays and considering this specific day ended up being very uneventful, he came home earlier than his usual "early". the atmosphere was peaceful, the only noises breaking the silence being a small clank of a dish or the sound of a paper being flipped.

will entered the room awkwardly, confident that this rare moment of everyone being together was his only chance at finally getting to ask his wishes. clearing his throat loudly and unsuccessfully catching not even eleanor's attention, he decided to break the silence.

"um... mom? dad? can i ask you guys something?"

their father looked up from his work, making eye contact with the small boy before switching his focus onto his wife. she smiled softly, "well of course, dear. what's wrong?"

"well nothing is wrong really... i just... you know how you've been wanting to know what i want for my birthday?" no response. he was simply surrounded by the wide eyes of his parents and the pleading eyes of eleanor to please get this over with. "well i wanna invite my friends over -"

"i think that's a wonderful idea! right jim? we would love to meet some of your new friends that you have met over the past few years." his mother beamed while wiping her hands with a vibrant red dishtowel, which only made him feel guiltier about his next statement.

"um... that's kinda the thing... i wanna invite my friends from hawkins over... not my uh... new friends."

eleanor cringed. this definitely wasn't the plan they discussed; it was actually quiet the opposite. in a perfect world, he would come to them and lay out the situation and tell them all the aspects that come with it. she knew anything besides doing that would only result in her father completely exploding with disapproval.

"how exactly will that happen? where will they stay? how long? i really don't think you have thought about the logistics of this... what, four grown teenage boys running around this house while your sister is here!?" her father started in on him. again, eleanor knew he would be the one to step on the idea first, she was just hoping will would say what they practiced.

"actually, i have thought about it... it is very extreme i know. however, i figured just the weekend. lucas, dustin, mike and i can sleep out here in the living room and max could sleep in eleanor's room. i promise they are all respectful and -"

"who's max?" her father asked sternly.

"lucas's girlfriend."

before her father could complain about that very wrong comment that he probably should have avoided telling him, joyce interrupted. "i believe that is something we can make happen."

everyone's eyes shifted to her, completely shocked that she was even remotely up for the idea. she slowly put the dish towel that she had wrapped in her hands down, closed the dishwasher and turned back around to face her family. "it would be a nice change for them to come visit us for once rather than us going to them all the time. besides, you guys are older now. completely capable of knowing what is acceptable and not acceptable. i trust these boys, i've known many them since the beginning when will first started school. also max is a very polite young lady. it would be nice for her to have another girl to hang around like eleanor for once."

eleanor looked at her father, who seemed to be defeated by the idea of his wife explanation. looking at his daughter, he saw a string of hope in her eyes that he couldn't bring himself to cut.

"well then. i believe it is... okay. you boys better stay far away from eleanor's room or else i will -"

"okay, okay dear. i believe he will make that perfectly clear to them and you will make sure to tell them again when they arrive." joyce calmly informed her husband to which he simply nodded. he stood up, grabbed the lighter and pack of cigarettes waiting by the front door and walked outside. joyce smiled sweetly at her children as she made her way across the living room and out the door to where her husband stood.

"you think he's mad?" will whispered as he took a seat next to his sister.

"of course he's mad, but he'll get over it. he just doesn't like the idea of me being around teenage boys. trust me, if i wasn't here you probably could have them stay an entire month... no problem."

"like you're gonna fall in love with one of my best friends. let's be real here el... you aren't the most social person in the world." he joked kindly. although even being a simple joke, he was completely correct. eleanor was a very quiet girl, which in many cases some might think is a bad trait. however, she enjoyed being alone and only having a few small friends to talk to at school. besides, she always had her family to talk to, that's all she really needed.

"well what if i do?" she giggled. "what would happen then?"

"i highly doubt that." he stated before standing up again. "dustin doesn't really seem like your type."

she giggled again, completely amused by her brothers' unlikely comments. she watched him waltz outta the room and down the hall, completely content with his successful birthday request.

the small girl picked up her pencil again, staring down at the numbers that covered her paper. in just a few weeks her home would be bombarded by a bunch of strangers she had heard so many stories about.

she couldn't really tell if she was excited about the idea or completely and utterly nervous. either way she returned her focus to her work, unaware that her life was about to change in the most complicated ways possible.

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a/n: thanks so much for reading!!!