strangers. mileven au.

twenty one.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE:
YOU'RE DISTRACTING.

"your dad was a lot calmer than i thought he would be, i should probably thank joyce for telling him in advance." mike chuckled as they pulled into the driveway of the hopper household, switching off his headlights and putting the jeep into park.

"i'm pretty sure he feels bad... or he's like... super drugged up on pain medication right now." the brunette giggled in response.

once mike had successfully arrived to eleanor's house in one piece, he was kindly greeted with her father informing him that even though will's bedroom was not vacant at the moment, he would have still have to sleep on the couch so that there would be no "funny business" occurring behind his back.

after that very awkward and embarrassing conversation, hop then proceeded to send the two away to dinner... under the circumstances that they would bring him something back of course.

"i dunno, maybe he just hasn't had enough time to formulate a full proof plan on how to kill me yet... i'm expecting it in the future though so enjoy your time with me while you can." mike winked at her as he opened the door to his side of the car, sliding out into the night air.

he quickly made his way around the dark jeep to eleanor's side, grabbing her hand as she hopped out of the lifted vehicle and onto the pavement. however, she didn't let go as they both made their way back up and into the familiar home.

upon entering the living area, the unofficial couple was greeted with a very tired, unenthusiastic version of her father. he eyed mike suspiciously as he slowly walked towards the freckled faced boy, grabbing the take out box from his grasp abruptly. "i'll be in my room for the rest of the night. have fun and remember... couch."

"yes sir... couch." mike gulped, standing straight up to show his understanding of her father's orders.

"good..." her father smirked, reaching over to ruffle the boy's hair before walking away to shut himself in his bedroom.

"i take it back... he's definitely drugged up right now." mike whispered to eleanor as they both stood in shock, trying to process what had just happened.

"very..." eleanor giggled, "sooo movie?" she smiled at him, awaiting his answer. she truly felt like she was walking on clouds ever since he showed up at her front door, constantly giggling and smiling at everything he did. she just couldn't help it.

"you're adorable... what movie?" he looked at her intently, causing her to blush furiously and turn away from his gaze.

"you pick... i'll go get some blankets." she innocently replied before letting go of his hand and quickly running off to her room to pick up the same clutter of fabric that still sat bunched up on her bed from earlier that afternoon. she threw the plush blankets over her shoulders, quietly returning back to the living area to find a very focused mike sitting comfortably on the couch, flipping through the various options on netflix.

"there's so many choices, i don't even think i'm looking anymore. i just keep clicking through everything." he joked, as eleanor dimmed the lights and threw the blankets over the couch.

"you're a dork." was all she could think of saying as she moved to sit next to tall boy, draping one of the frabrics over both of their knees before taking the remote from him.

she silently started to flip through the categories for a few minutes before she felt one of his hands sneak behind her waist, gently pulling her closer to his warm body. she tried to ignore it, however she was pretty sure her heart was about to beat straight out of her chest at any moment now.

within the few hours of them being together, of course they held hands and occasionally nudged each other playfully while they were at dinner. it was nothing like this though... nothing this intimate.

based off her response, the raven haired boy decided to test the waters by sneaking his other arm around the other side of her waist. he rested his head on her shoulder gently, tightening his grip slightly to bring her even closer to him.

"you're distracting..." the small girl nearly whispered to him as she tried to focus on picking any movie at this point.

"i'm distracting? you're the distracting one." he chucked, snuggling his face into crook of her neck.

"i get the vibe that you're a cuddler." she joked, suddenly relaxing into his touch.

"sure am, just ask lucas."

before she could question his response, he quickly pulled her backwards so they could lay down comfortably on the couch, eleanor taking the role of the little spoon. he carefully leaned up to grab the leftover blankets that were left behind, pulling the various fabrics over both of their bodies... eleanor a giggling mess throughout the entire process.

"my dad would actually murder you if he saw us right now." she whispered to him, lifting her head up to see his freckled face.

"maybe if you stop laughing so loud he won't think about coming out here." he teased back, "you pick something yet?"

"i stopped looking the minute you starting touching me... i told you, you're distracting." she giggled as she turned around in his arms so she was facing towards him now, tucking her face into his chest. normally it would take years for her to become this comfortable with someone, but there was something about mike that almost made her feel... safe.

he didn't respond, he simply just pulled her closer... both of them enjoying the comfortable silence together. it didn't take long for mike to realize eleanor's breathing had steadied, telling him that she was already fast asleep. he pulled the blankets closer to them, shutting off the tv before deciding to drift into peaceful sleep as well.

it wasn't until around 4 am when eleanor quietly slipped from the boy's grasp, returning to her own room to prevent hearing any backlash from her father when he finally awoke later that morning.

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a/n: thanks for reading!!