tea stained newpapers. mileven au.

sixteen.

"i'm sure something will inspire you. you just have to keep looking, incorporate a different style into it. maybe you could - "

there was a string of sporadic beeps that interrupted whatever her best friend had to say next, causing the small girl to sit up from her comfortable position and look down at her phone intently. she smiled shyly, biting her lip before max's voice resonated in her ears once again.

"um, who just rudely interrupted me mid-sentence?" her best friend scoffed, her cup clicking in the background once again. however, el simply stayed quite, signaling to the redhead that it could only be one other person. "oh my god, it's like we manifested him into calling you by talking about him."

"i - what do i say?" the artist fumbled, her voice starting to shake a bit as the reality of the fact that he was actually calling her settled at the bottom of her stomach, a million different questions suddenly piling up in her brain.

what did he want to talk to her about? was it something bad? did something happen? and god, why does he make her feel so nervous but still so excited at the same time?

max chuckled to herself, swirling her spoon around in her cup loudly before teasing once again, "say hi, baby boy. i love you sooo - "

"you're not really helping."

"bitch, just answer the phone!" her best friend laughed, overall very amused with how quick the small girl's attitude had changed over a phone call from some silly boy.

"okay okay bye, love you!" the brunette rushed, earning her a hum in response before ending their call. her thumbs twiddled over the blinking screen, the artist taking a deep breath as she gently pressed the accept button just in time for the connection to go through. "uh - hello."

"why hello, am i speaking a - " the writer's soft yet professional voice seeped through her phone's speakers, the boy clearly pausing for a moment too add to the dramatic effect. "miss hopper right now?"

el couldn't help but to giggle, her nerves almost instantly disappearing but her cheeks suddenly giving off a decent amount of heat, "is this how you speak to your clients, writer boy. i think it needs some work."

this time he chuckled, the professionalism completely gone from his tone. to be completely honest, he sounded pretty tired, almost as if he was on the verge of exhaustion. "i'm sorry for not calling sooner. i got - caught up being mike wheeler and all that bullshit."

"ahhh, i see. it's cool, i understand." the honey orbed girl rested back onto her pillows, twirling a lose thread from her blanket around one of her fingers before subtly adding, "but i mean you could have - "

"oh no, don't even start. i should have known you were just gonna make me feel bad, sweet." mike interjected quickly, making her heart swell tightly at the sound of him using that nickname.

stupid feelings.

the artist pushed the warm thought away, clutching the edge of her blanket with one of her hands in order to pull the soft fabric close to her face."is there a reason you called? i hung up on my best friend to talk to you."

"i'm that special, huh?" he sounded amused by the thought, his soft words echoing back and forth in her head.

el rolled her eyes, her voice slightly muffled by the plush cloth next to her mouth, "apparently so."

the writer laughed again, her cheeks still flaming as he politely spared her anymore unwanted embarrassment by answering her original question, "well i simply wanted to talk to you. plus i wanted to inform you of our plans for friday night."

"our plans?" her honey orbs widened a bit at the gesture, her heart skipping a bit in her chest. it surely didn't help that every time he responded to her, the feeling settling at the bottom of her stomach would whirlpool into a blissful wave of burning lava. "bold aren't we?"

"yes ma'am. you see i completely forgot to take you to one of the best places in the city." the faint sound of a pen tapping in the background resonated in her ears, something telling her that him and lucas were probably still working in the office back at their apartment.

it was just an assumption. again, she wasn't that obsessed.

"wow." the small girl bit her lip, suddenly at a loss for words before deciding to finally, for the first time ever in her completely sober state, openly flirt with the boy. "you just can't get enough of me, can't you mikey?"

a panic arose in her throat when the raven haired boy didn't respond right away, the silence stabbing her as each second clicked along. the longer he took... the more she wanted to curl up in a ball, bury herself in a million pillows and fly back to indianapolis to cry into max's shoulder. yet, the feeling faded when he spoke again, her stomach flipping in the most comfortable way as he mumbled two small words into the phone.

"apparently so."

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a/n: thanks for reading!!

p.s. sorry my writing said 📉.