word count:
‣ 3263
warnings:
↳ this bitch is LOOOONG-, swearing probably, flUFF, awkward teens lmao
summary: ❝ fake dating isn't always just fake ❞
a/n: i'm so sorry i took this long i literally started it thinking i had the perfect chapter planned in my head and then the more i wrote the more i forgot how i was even going to do this, but hopefully you can enjoy nonetheless!! i'm also most likely going to do a request or two in between this chapter and chapter five just to relax my brain a little bit 😌
{MODERN AU}
✧✧✧
It was now the next day, and lunch time had rolled around. Mike was sitting at his usual table, The Party collectively chanting for Dustin as he began to snort sugar through his nose, instantly regretting his action.
The Party had erupted in laughter, heads thrown back, tears spilling from Will's eyes.
El watched from her table, her eyes softened as Mike clutched his stomach and hunched over, eyes crinkled. Her heart was beating a few beats ahead of its normal pace, but El wasn't focused on that. Her mind was focused upon the boy who has admittedly stolen her heart in Freshman year.
Not that she had admitted it to anyone yet, of course.
As Mike had once told her, they're from "different worlds".
But that had never mattered to El.
El had always thought that the boy was cute, having been attracted to him since elementary, but she hadn't developed feelings for him until Freshman year, when she had been partnered with him for a science demonstration (and Mike happened to do most of the work, but he promised her that he enjoys doing it and didn't mind) and she had realized that she didn't just think that he was cute.
But every time she had tried to make conversation with his previously, he began to act very weird and nervous, and would eventually come up with an excuse to leave early. So it had led to El assuming he didn't like her the way she did him, so she resorted to admiring from afar.
That was why she had decided to offer a fake relationship to Mike. She knew that when she saw Troy bullying Mike, she could have just asked for Troy to stop, or something else that would still work but wasn't as committal.
But she had decided to take a risky chance with him. She was never someone who was very open about her feelings.
It normally didn't end well, with El being heartbroken multiple times in her life. And not just by potential love interests. Friends... and her own dad too.
Hopper was a busy man, El knew and had accepted that. He was Hawkins' Sheriff and had to commit to lots of work and time away from home.
But it didn't ease the pain when he missed out on important events that El had asked him to go to.
She understood, but she felt as if he prioritized his job more than her, and it hurt. Bad. But since El didn't want to cause any trouble and didn't want to overreact in any form, she kept it to herself.
Once, when El was 12 years old, she had asked for Hopper to attend Hawkins Middle School's Science Fair. El had worked hard on her demonstration, a device that used brainwaves to move her replica of a flying saucer (no reason, just for fun) with her mind. (wink wink)
She was insanely proud of her work, along with the neatly decorated and well formatted poster she had created to go along with the actual product.
El stood by her table, smiling sweetly at students, parents, and judges that walked by, eyes gleaming in interest at her project. She had already been evaluated by the main judges, and they seemed thoroughly impressed, which she hoped was a good sign.
