tangled (mileven au)

i see the light

It was a bit of drive to get there, since they'd managed to land in the middle of nowhere while speeding away from the cops, but it had worked in his favor. The time it took to get there was long enough that the sky had turned dark, which was the only time he'd ever visit this place.

Lover's Lake was a popular destination amongst the teens of Hawkins High, mostly for making out in the backseat of a car or for getting into trouble. That wasn't exactly the reason he brought El there though, not even close.

Luckily, tonight was his school's championship basketball game, leaving the place completely deserted, which also kinda worked in his favor.

As soon as he'd brought the car to a stop, El hopped right out, rushing around to the front of the car to get a better view.

"Are we going swimming?" She asked, her eyes lighting up as she noticed the decent sized lake just up ahead.

"God no, that water is disgusting." Mike cringed at the thought, before shutting his car door and walking over to join her. "I just thought you'd want to look at the stars for a little while. I know you really liked them last night and it's kinda pretty here at night so..."

"This is perfect, Mike!" El nearly squealed, instantly grabbing his hand and tugging him along with her over to the grass. "Lay down with me!"

Mike watched as she let her hand slip from his, carelessly falling to the ground and lying flat on her back. Before he could even think it over, he was bending down to take the place right next to her.

As they looked up, they found the night sky being illuminated by a full moon, clusters of stars surrounding it, each one twinkling in such a way that even Mike was captivated by them. He wasn't lying when he said it's pretty at night there, but the view they were given tonight just made it even better.

"How many stars do you think are up there, Mike?"

"I have no idea. Maybe millions."

"Wow. They're so beautiful." El softly gasped, her wide eyes trained on nothing but the sky.

"Yeah..." Mike agreed, though his eyes were now on something else. "So beautiful."

He wasn't talking about those stars anymore, he was talking about her.

Mike couldn't deny what was right in front of him, that being the fact that El was beautiful, stunning even— the way she somehow managed to shine even brighter than all of those stars combined.

His eyes had been glued to her from the moment he looked her way, the sight so mesmerizing that he couldn't possibly tear his eyes from her. It was like she had some kind of magic spell casted and he was the lucky one to haven fallen right under it.

"They're not like yours, though." El hesitantly spoke, her voice so quiet that he almost didn't hear her.

"What?"

She didn't say anything though, only rolling over on her side, pointing a finger toward his cheek.

"Oh, you mean my freckles?"

"Yes! Freckles! That's what they're called."

"I happen to hate my freckles." Mike admitted with a scoff, before fully turning on his side to face her.

El's jaw dropped a bit, clearly surprised by his dislike for such a stunning feature. "Well, I think they're perfect!"

She pointed her finger toward his face once more, this time tapping at the specks on his cheek, faintly smiling as she did so.