strangers. mileven au.

ten.

CHAPTER TEN:
BYE... FOR NOW.

"you guys should move to hawkins... really. i'm sure joyce and will would love to come back and you know your dad can get transferred. i mean... please..." max stared down at her hands. the two girls where sitting on eleanor's bed, trying to soak up as much time as they could before the pair finally had to separate.

"i wish but... it's our senior year. it would be sorta pointless to move now when we are so close to being done." eleanor sadly informed.

"i guess so but... what about mike?" max curiously asked the small brunette. she knew the pair wasn't an item yet but she was hoping the raven haired boy would be some kinda insinuative into her at least considering visiting hawkins more.

"what about him?" eleanor blandly countered back, trying to sound as nonchalant as she could.

"oh come on. first you guys have this super cute conversation literally underneath the stars. then you guys get all cute and comfortable at the arcade. AND he lets you wear his jacket ALL night, which by the way mike probably wouldn't give his own little sister a jacket if she was cold. then this morning?! and don't think i didn't hear what your dad said about him. me and him are on the same page." max rambled, but eleanor really only caught on to one specific detail.

"you heard what my dad said about him?" she quietly asked, slightly embarrassed that her friend had witness the already uncomfortable conversation between her and her father.

"i did." max smirked, "don't worry though, i was heading back to the kitchen when i heard you guys talking. the boys definitely didn't hear anything." the girl stated, completely not paying attention to the worrisome look that took over eleanor's face.

"well... as for your mike comment. i don't know... i really don't think it could work. he's sweet but it's just a small crush. it'll go away." eleanor nodded, more so trying to convince herself of that comment more than she was trying to convince max.

"whatever you say, but trust me when i say if i can't make you make the first move. i can definitely try to push him into doing it." max said very pleased with herself.

eleanor was about to disagree until there was a small knock on the door, followed by her brother and the rest of the party entering the room. the unexpected entrance of everyone really did put eleanor and even max on edge considering the topic they were just discussing, but the boys seemed to have no idea about... well really anything.

"maxie, we have to leave." dustin teased the girl sitting on the bed.

"nope, not happening. i don't wanna spend another car ride with any of you. i wanna stay here with el. you guys can go." max pouted, pulling the small brunette into a hug and rested her head on her shoulder.

lucas walked over to the pair and placed his hand on max's back, "we have to go, love. they'll visit soon. even joyce said they'll make time for it." dustin, mike, will and even el scrunched their faces at the word "love".

"el... you have to come. don't stay back like you always do... please don't leave me alone with these boys." max said looking up at her new best friend, the rest of the party suddenly nodding in agreement.

"yea el, you have no excuse to not come next time you guys plan a trip back to hawkins. you're a party member now." dustin proudly announced, earning heartfelt smile from el. she actually really like the short curly haired boy, even with his smart comments and sometimes aggressive attitude.

"okay okay. i'll come." she smiled at the group, making eye contact with one boy in particular she added, "i promise."

they rest of the party joined into el and max's tight hug, the group staying still for a moment. when they broke apart, lucas picked up the bags that sat close to max's feet, reluctantly telling her for the third time that they really had to go now. each of the boys and max said bye to el before slowly exiting her room, all of them with somber faces.

"oh wait!" eleanor called out before mike exited, conveniently he was the last one to make his way to the door. eleanor picked up the soft black jacket she wore the night prior at the arcade from off the back of her desk chair. she had forgotten to give him the jacket back when they arrived home. she held out the dark fabric to him, motioning for him to take it. before she could say anything, he interrupted.

"keep it. it's getting kinda small anyways, plus it looks better on you than me." the boy nervously joked.

"are you sure? i don't wanna -" she started.

"one hundred percent sure. honestly it makes you look like a badass, you know despite it being a bit big." he smiled at her before turning around and making his way to the out of her room again.

once he got to the door, he made the bold choice to stop, suddenly realizing that this was probably the last time he was gonna see the girl in awhile. the boy rocked back forth on his feet... deciding if he should actually just make a move already or not. of course he thought the girl was cute... you would have to be blind not to think so.

but if we are being honest here he just wanted to get to know her better. even if nothing romantic came out of it, but he certainly didn't mind if something like that did happen. maybe he shouldn't be thinking that about his best friend's sister...

you know what, fuck it. who's stopping him?

he turned around again, sticking his hands in his pockets and facing the brunette once more.

"i know we like... know a lot about each other but we don't really know each other," he started, suddenly confused by his own words and where they were going. he shook his head and ran one of his hands through his hair before trying his absolute hardest to keep going, "but i really enjoyed the small time we had around each other this weekend. i know it's kinda weird cause you're my best friend's sister and he would probably kill me if - well i guess what i'm trying to say is..." he was interrupted by a small giggle.

he definitely just made a huge fool outta himself, didn't he?

"sorry you just got really nervous, it was kinda cute." the girl admitted, trying not be awkward about it.

he blushed before picking up where he left off, "i wanna... get to know you better. but not just the facts and what will has told me. i wanna get to know you as a person... do you get what i mean? like the little things..." he definitely was crossing the line if will was here. despite the distance between them, he could see her cheeks start to turn a light shade of pink.

"you can um... text me?" she calmly stated, as if his words weren't sending her into an absolute frenzy. she picked up her phone, slowly walking over to where he stood and handing it over to him. he typed his name and number into the blank contact sheet, smiling to himself before adding a small star emoji next to his name. he carefully returned the phone back to her small hands.

"mike! hurry the fuck up, max and dustin are already arguing!" lucas called from the front of the house.

"i guess that's my cue." he nervously laughed again. eleanor stared up at boy, smiling sadly at his words. he noticed her sudden change of mood and quickly pulled her into a hug, shocking even himself for making such an affectionate decision. what was getting into him?

they broke apart after a few seconds, each of them suddenly feeling much colder than when they were touching. she picked her head up and quietly mumbled, "goodbye mike."

"bye el... for now."

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a/n: thanks for reading!!