tea stained newpapers. mileven au.

ten.

CHAPTER TEN:
JUST A BIT TIPSY.
MIKE'S POV.

nervous was an understatement when it came to describing exactly how mike felt about el tagging along with him and lucas to this writers event tonight. truly in the moment, he barley even realized he had invited her to come along with them until she had already said yes. but he just couldn't help it. the words simply poured out of his mouth in pure instinct to make her feel better.

so there he was, fidgeting with his tie outside this grand white long island mansion, just waiting for her to show up.

surprisingly, it wasn't even her father that was making him so nervous about tonight. hop was actually extremely on board with the idea of el getting out for once. plus, according to lucas, hop thought mike and el's demeanor towards eachother was quite amusing.

for whatever reason, mike really couldn't tell you.

it was just... her. in all honesty, she kinda terrified him and he hadn't quite figured out if that was a good or bad thing yet. guess that explains why he feels like he's about to have a full blown panic attack right now.

lucky for him though, it didn't take much longer for a black uber to pull up next to him, the door suddenly swinging open to revel a very dressed up version of el.

the small girl was wearing a long classic black dress that opened in a slit right above her knees. she was taller, considering the fact that she was wearing a pair of thick black heels lined with small jewels. the brunette's wavy hair was tucked away in a low bun, completely leaving the focus of her look her face.

even in the night, the raven haired boy had never seen someone so stunning.

"it's too much, isn't it? i probably should have asked you if it was okay before i just showed up, you know. but i just..." the brunette trailed off as he helped her out of the car, too busy toying with the fabric at her hips to even notice the awestruck look that was plastered on mike's freckled face.

"no no. you look... pretty." the boy stuttered, clearing his throat slightly before awkwardly adding.  "uhhh good. you look pretty good."

"thanks." the golden eyed girl blushed (wait blushed?) before nudging him softly, "you look pretty good too mr. writer boy."

"a compliment miss hopper? are you feeling okay?" mike joked as they started up the sleek white steps, the boy not even hesitating to open one of the large mahogany doors for her.

in normal circumstances, the brunette would have responded in some sort of witty way. however once she saw the large white marble hall, something inside her made her instinctively reach for mike's hand.

"hey, it's all good. if you get uncomfortable we can always leave early. jacob told us we just have to at least make an appearance anyways." the raven haired boy reassured her as he lead her further into the home, gently running his thumb along the back of her hand.

"what's this even for anyways?" the small girl questioned, not even noticing that she was starting to cling to the side of the lanky boy's arm. of course, he didn't mind but he did find it a bit odd. he had never seen her act so shy before.

"just an opportunity for writers to meet with big publications or other important people in the business. basically people come here to get connections to make more money." he sighed, the disappointment laced throughout his voice not going unnoticed by the artist. "oh good, there's lucas."