strangers. mileven au.

twenty four.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR:
BYE... MY LOVE.

"goodmorning my sleepy girl." mike whispered to his girlfriend who was still bundled up in his arms.

the saturday morning sun had woken the eleanor from probably one of the best sleeps she's ever had. it was not surprising either considering she had fallen asleep, for the second time during her boyfriend's short visit, completely wrapped in his arms the night before.

of course it was unintentional, the short haired brunette would never purposefully fall asleep with a boy knowing her father would witness it whenever he returned home. weirdly enough though, when the man finally did make it back safely... he couldn't find the courage to break them apart.

maybe it was the way eleanor looked so content wrapped up in the raven haired boys arms or the fact that tearing them apart might be near impossible with the hold mike had around her small body. whatever it was though made him suppress his worries, leaving them to sleep peacefully the entire night.

"how long have you been up?" she questioned lazily, not even bothering to look back up him.

"for awhile... you kinda mumble in your sleep. do you know that?"  he suppressed a grin, even though he definitely wasn't trying to embarrass her... he actually thought her mumbling was quiet cute.

"oh god." the brunette slowly sat up and put her face into the palms of her hands, "that's so embarrassing. ugh, did i say something stupid? is that why you're smiling at me."

mike couldn't help bout to laugh, "if you think saying my name in your sleep is stupid then... yea i guess so."

eleanor rolled her eyes, completely not convinced that's all she said in her slumber, "you're soooo annoying."

"aw... is my love upset cause i found she was dreaming bout me?" mike teased as he pulled her back down to lay with him.

"my love?" she giggled lightly and he pressed a kiss to one of her temples.

"yes my love. do you not like it? you should feel honored." he teased again.

"no no, i like it." she laughed fully this time, "just made me think of when lucas called max "love" and everyone in the room got uncomfortable."

"that's cause lucas and max are gross." the freckled faced boy scrunched his nose, making her shake with laughter in his arms.

not being able to help himself, he leaned down to attempt to peck her lips, but failed miserably when she quickly moved away from him, "oh ok, that was a little rude."

"i haven't brushed my teeth yet, stupid. i don't wanna kiss you when i have... icky breath." she turned away from him and shook her head.

"i don't care." he pulled her closer, gently holding her chin up to look at him.

"you're super persistent... you know?" she gave him an annoyed look, trying to stay serious.

"i know, soooo kiss me?" he smiled, making the brunette lean in the press a small kiss to his lips. "you don't even have morning breath, what the fuck? are you even real?"

"oh, shut up." she pushed him and got up from the comfortable couch. "we have to get ready... well at least you do. you have a long drive today." she frowned, looking down at her whale covered socks.

"don't get sad on me right now... then i won't leave." he stood up, pulling the small girl into a hug and rocking her back and forth.

"if you don't leave, i'll personally drive you back home." a scruff voice behind them interrupted, making the brunette giggle against her boyfriend's chest.

"awww hop, you know you'll miss me the most." the raven haired boy reluctantly let go of his girlfriend, turning his attention towards her father who was leaning against the door frame to his room.

"sure, you're just lucky i didn't kill you when i came home to find you two... here." he cringed, pointing to the couch as he made his way to the kitchen.

"you didn't kill me cause you like me soooo much." he smiled at the her father, walking over to lean on the kitchen counter and watch him as he stirred sugar into his coffee. 

"i like you better when you're not touching my daughter." he calmly responded, earning a laugh from both mike and eleanor. "sooo, when are you supposed to leave?" he added, genuinely curios about the boy's plans.

"probably an hour... if i wanna be home at a decent time." the raven haired boy looked down at his watch. suddenly he was frowning, realizing how little time he had left with his girlfriend.

"better get packing then kid." hop concluded, pushing the boys head as he passed by him with his freshly brewed cup of coffee.

the two teenagers slowly started cleaning up the mess they made from the night prior in the living area before making their way towards eleanor's room. each of them not saying a word during the entire process.

it wasn't until both of them were sitting on her bed, completely finished packing and ready to go when eleanor finally decided to speak up.

"remember last time we said bye to eachother..." she started, earning a small nod from the boy who was leaning on her shoulder next to her. "right before everyone came into my room and we all talked and stuff... i remember max sitting here trying to convince me that she could just tell you that liked me..."

the raven haired boy laughed quietly, imagining what the red head probably complained about to prove to the brunette that he liked her, "max has a sixth sense for the people she cares about. kinda creepy... and very annoying."

"she was right then? about you liking me that early on?" eleanor looked down at her curly headed boyfriend.

"it was obvious. i hate to be cheesy but like... i really don't think i've ever caught feelings that fast. it was just instinct too. i couldn't help myself." he turned his face into her shoulder, suddenly nervous about what he just said.

"mike... i - " she bit her lip, trying to slow down the words from spilling out of her mouth. "i'm really really gonna miss you." she vaguely started to feel small droplets of water form at the edge of her eyes. this boy... really has that effect on her.

mike quickly noticed her change of attitude, sitting up to cup her face in his hands. "don't cry... it'll be just a few weeks. then maybe... i was thinking you could come to hawkins for christmas... and will too. you can come before or after christmas or whatever, you know joyce or your dad wants. i was thinking christmas day would be pretty cool since - "

"you're rambling again, love." she giggled as she placed one of her hands on his cheek. "i'd love to come for christmas and i promise i'll actually come this time."

the boy couldn't help but to blush a bit at the way she returned calling him love, concluding that it definitely sounded a lot better whenever she said it.

"cool, i really... really can't wait..." he sadly smiled before pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers for the last time.

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a/n: thanks for reading!!