strangers. mileven au.

thirty three.

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE:
IT'S ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE.

"okay... what's the verdict?" the raven haired boy leaned across the table, showcasing his dark puppy eyes to the brunette.

"hmm... honest opinion?" the small girl wiped her face with her napkin, leaning back into the comfortable deep brown cushions of the booth. "i'm actually impressed, but i'm still not quite convinced this place is better than the diner back in indianapolis like you so claimed."

"and why's that?" her boyfriend raised his eyebrows questionably, taking a bite of one of his french fries that he was twisting back and forth between his fingers.

"uhhh..." eleanor crossed her arms in front of her chest, pushing her hands into the sleeves of yet another borrowed sweatshirt of mike's. "well you know, the aesthetic of my diner is cuter." the small girl tried to seriously respond, but couldn't help but to break a smile.

truthfully, her boyfriend's casual dinner option was probably one of the best places she's ever eaten at. of course though, she wasn't actually going to admit that to his face. absolutely not.

the freckled face boy shook his head in disbelief... oh, how stubborn his precious girlfriend is. "is that your only complaint, love?"

"yes sir." she smirked at him, carefully reaching across the table to fix his mustered yellow beanie. the brunette quite enjoyed seeing her boyfriend in this element. snow outside... him all bundled up, his cheeks slightly red from the cold. maybe she's actually the obsessed one in this relationship.

"you're absolutely ridiculous." the raven haired boy poked her nose, making her scrunch her face in response. "let's not forget absolutely adorable too."

the brunette blushed furiously. she will never get used to how incredibly sweet he is to her. "so, what are your plans for us tonight baby boy?"

"that is very valuable information i cannot tell you at the moment, eleanor." mike sarcastically responded, only earning him a very dirty look from his girlfriend. "relax baby. i know you hate surprises but evidently i kinda love surprising you. are you done eating yet?"

"mhmm." eleanor hummed, pushing her empty plate away from her before grabbing her to go cup and quickly jumping up from the booth. "off we go my cute secretive christmas love. i'm very excited!" the brunette giggled, standing on her tippy tips to press a small kiss to his cheek.

"i can tell but you know this town is small... i'm sure the party can hear us and are currently throwing up at how disgustingly cheesy we are." the raven haired boy chuckled before gently grasping her hand to lead her out of his beloved hometown burger joint. the small girl simply squeezed his hand in response.

honestly, eleanor hasn't had alone time with her boyfriend in weeks... she could care less about how cheesy she was being right now.

the young couple slowly made their way to the dark jeep sitting in the dimly parking lot, setting off to mike's secret date location. the brunette had to admit, the more time she spent in hawkins the more she wished she could live there. just imagining how much happier she would be here... the sleepovers her and max could have, the laughs her and the boys could share, the dates her and mike could go on...

especially after pulling up to their destination, she definitely felt like she could spend forever in this moment.

"here we are baby love... welcome to lovers lake aka the place i originally wanted to ask you out at." her boyfriend graciously introduced as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "i know it's cold, so i figured we could pull the seats down and lay in the back. i brought blankets and pillows don't worry." the boy winked at her before reaching over to rest his hand on her thigh, making his girlfriend fill the air with her infectious giggles.

"mike wheeler... i really really - " the freckled faced boy's eyes quickly soften before the small girl abruptly stopped talking, suddenly clearing her throat awkwardly before admitting " - um appreciate you so much."

"and i appreciate you more... now help me set this up." mike squeezed her knee, trying to hide the disappointment that was probably taking over his features right now. there's no possible way she was about to say... no definitely not. it's too soon. right?

the boy dismissed the thought immediately, refusing to let his worries ruin the moment. nonetheless, the pair made their way out of the front seats of the dark car, opening up the back to set up their space for tonight.

however, it definitely took longer than expected. apparently her super smart boyfriend had never taken the time to learn how to put his backseats down in his own car, so the couple spent majority of their time not bickering... but nicely disagreeing on how to you should probably know how to work everything in your own vehicle.

"you know... it woulda been really cute if you asked me out here." eleanor shyly confessed as she finished situating the pillows in the back of mike's jeep.

"are you saying you aren't happy with the way i actually asked you out?" the freckled faced boy scoffed, fixing the ends of the blanket before climbing in to join her. her boyfriend snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her back to lay on her comfortable pillow setup before dragging one of the blankets over them.

"i never said that." the small girl sank further into the blankets, hiding her face from the boy. "i loved the way you asked me out... but this? it's perfect."

"you're perfect." the raven haired boy couldn't help but to blurt out, pulling her closer to him to kiss her forehead. "i really hate that you're leaving tomorrow."

"i know, but we'll see each other soon alright? we have weekends and then break..." the brunette reached up to place her hand on the side of his face, running her thumb across his prominent cheek bones. "next thing you know we'll be getting ready for graduation and... ugh prom." eleanor rolled her eyes at the thought.

the boy studied her response, but decided not to question her distaste for the cherished cliche senior night that most girls probably would spend months obsessing over.

truthfully, the freckled faced boy had already listened to max gush about prom multiple times to lucas since the beginning of the school year... but his girlfriend's response might have just told him that maybe el just didn't wanna go?

who knows really, it's not anytime soon anyways.

mike eyes drifted from hers, looking over to see how the cold wind had started to make small waves appear across the lake. "it's all downhill from here, huh?"

"pretty much..." eleanor mumbled before deciding to change the subject to something more lighthearted. "you know what's even crazier than our senior year ending though?"

the raven haired boy shifted his attention back to the beautiful girl in his arms, squinting his eyes at her. "hm?"

"the fact that it's christmas and you haven't kissed me today... like at all." the small girl giggled as her boyfriend rolled his eyes dramatically at her.

"god, you're sooo needy." mike complained. but of course gave in, grabbing her soft cheeks before rolling them over to attack her with kisses.

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a/n: thanks for reading!