CHAPTER THIRTY THREE:
IN THE WORDS OF A POET.
MIKE'S POV.
there was something extraordinary about the idea of love, to be in love and to fall into love.
they were all different, at least in the writer's head. they elicited a separate spark in someones chest that all connected to one's heart. like strings on a guitar, those heavy threads only contributing to the most beautiful sounds if one only knew how to play them in the first place.
it was as if love was a song, possibly. or maybe it was like words on paper or possibly like paint on a canvas. to each their own in how they themselves found the one true thing people spent majority of their lives trying to figure out.
trying to find.
and if you were to ask him a few years ago what he believed love to be, he probably would have laughed. said that the concept was simply a force not to be reckoned with and that he had never been bothered to be distracted by such a thought.
he would say that his past lovers were nothing special. that they were kind, of course. but the songs their hearts played together were a foul, off key combinations of notes that he hated replaying.
that they were all lustful infections, because that was easier to find.
love was rare, completely and utterly rare.
leave it to the poets, mike always thought, to describe the feeling that would be completely indescribable to any normal human to walk the earth.
but now, now as el laid peacefully in his arms, her cheeks rosy as she nodded her head to something lucas was saying, he knew that love was something worth living for.
it was infinite, a thousand stars and planets morphed into one's soul. no sphere out of place, no minuscule interruptions that could send that galaxy of blissful feelings tumbling away. it was comfortable, completely meant to be.
there was no nerves, no begging or doubts. everything about the concept twisted, turning into itself like a rollercoaster track that always ended up circling back around.
he never wanted to let go. he physically couldn't. his soul was hers, wrapped in golden thin paper with a sparkling white bow on top.
what an elaborate way to say he was in love with her.
made for her.
"you've tried it once too, right mike?" the sarcastic tone laced through his best friend's voice brought him back to reality, those chocolate eyes searching his.
his editor had just gotten back from his night out with maxine mayfield, the pair's hushed whispers and laughter as they walked through the front door signaling to mike and el that they must have had an even better night than expected.
it could be that... or the fact that the red head was currently showering on the other side of their apartment, possibly mindlessly tucking herself into lucas's clothes before poking around his room.
and el didn't think it was possible to convince max to stay here just based off the shear idea to be with lucas.
how silly of her to think he didnt calcuate everything life had put in front of him before rethinking it again.
"tried what?" the writer straighten his arm, pulling el closer to him before earning a dramatic scoff from lucas. his best friend's eyes raked over them, a knowing look in those swirling pools.
"the cafe near central park?" his editor leaned forward, straightening his plaid jacked before placing his elbows on his knees and switching his attention back to el, "you should make mike take you before you leave."
"will you?" el's eyes seemed to brighten at the suggestion, those honey orbs glistening like the rays of daylight against her dark lashes as she tipped her chin up slightly to look at him, "i mean - we might not have time tomorrow since i have to get ready to leave on thursday but... when i come back?"
his best friend's brows rose in endurance, recognition dancing across his features. his fingers twisted into the strings falling from the slits in his jeans,"ah. i see you've convinced her with your plan didn't you mikey?"
lucas was too observant for mike's liking, especially in times he wished he would just glaze over a simple combinations of words or even letters.
it was as if the editor in him was his biggest attribute and flaw.
"lucas knows your everything about suspicious plan to keep me here?" the artist in his arms suddenly perked up once the words flowed out of her mouth, figuratively and quite literally. her small frame arched upwards and practically shoved mike against the couch cushions as she spun around to look at him.
she was cute. dramatic but utterly and ridicuouly cute.
"oh we all know mike has a plan." the editor chuckled, the amusement that was laced through his words at the whole situation definitely not going unnoticed, "we'd be stupid to think he doesn't have one."
the brunette in his arms poked his side, her finger jabbing into the bottom of his rib cage. her golden eyes were sparkling like stars, attempting to look pointed and accusing at him like she was upset he wasn't telling her of his plan.
he couldn't.
he didn't have everything he needed just yet.
"no he doesn't know." the raven haired boy batted her hand away from his side, earning a rather flirtatious scoff from her in the process as she leaned her back against the armrest of the couch, crossing her arms indicatively.
lucas placed his hand on his chest at the comment, his own eyes narrowing in on mike before remarking rather confidently, "you think i don't."
when did this suddenly become an interrogation?
"i know you don't." mike retorted, his own arms coming up to cross against his chest to mock his girlfriend's mannerisms next to him. she rolled her eyes at him, once again those pretty dark lashes catching his attempted as the brushed against her brows as she bit back the slightest smile.
beautiful, stubborn little love.
"you're not secretive mike. i know you aren't actually working in the office lately... well at least not on the biography." his editor continued, clearly ignoring the demeanors of him and el, "and i'm a great snooper, for your information."
"snooper..." the writer repeated, his forehead scrunching together as he stole another glance at el. she was looking over at lucas now, her features carrying the same sort of confusion mike's had at the choice of vocabulary.
lucas would ruin trying to get information out of someone just with one stupid little comment.
he seemed to recognized he had done just that almost immediately.
his best friend cleared his throat awkwardly, leaning back against the couch behind him before crossing one of his legs over the other, "uh anyways, what did you two do tonight?"
el's cheeks fully blushed at the comment, that cute intimating act of hers suddenly shattering at the sound of lucas's question. her eyes wondered to mike's blissfully, a silent message between the two of them sparking as if she was trying to ask him to attempt to answer the question.
they had, technically, done quite a bit that night. more than just a bit actually.
to him, he felt like everything that had occurred between them within the past few days was an absolute dream, the pure idea that she had trusted him enough to allow him to see her, feel her in the most vulnerable ways that sent his mind into the universe next door.
it wasn't all that he wanted from her, no not at all. for anything he just wanted to be with her, to be graced with her presence as he navigated this tiring action called living.
everything else that happened between them was ethereal.
"why don't you go clean up? it's getting a bit late." the raven haired boy couldn't help but to suggest, watching as the relief of getting to skip out on this conversation slowly started to take over her features. the artist nodded, her pretty cheeks still flushed before she brushed her leg against his purposefully and left to his room.
the room was silent for a bit after that. the writer clearly still engulfed in his thoughts about the brunette that had changed his life. it wasn't until lucas shifted his weight in front of him, the scuffing of his jeans allowing mike to drift his attention back to who was in front of him.
who was currently staring at him with that mischievous look across his face.
"i'm assuming whatever you two did probably shouldn't be shared with hop?" his editor chuckled before laughing completely, his head throwing back in a hushed fit of girlish giggles against the pillows of their couch as though he had been waiting to say that line ever since he had gotten home.
the writer wouldn't be surprised to know he was planning to do exactly that, especially not with how el had explained how max reacted to the marks that were still slowly fading along her neck.
both best friends were having way too much fun with the two of them lately.
though, mike ignored the comment as he pushed himself up and walked towards the kitchen, finally decided to tend to the dishes that were stacked in the sink from his and el's dinner.
surprisingly, they did get around to eating actual food after their endeavors with each other.
"i'm just enterally grateful you two finally fucking kissed." lucas followed suit with his actions, leaning against the cold granite of their countertop before adding, "i'm glad you're getting more than you bargained for."
"you know lucas... you never say the right thing." the raven haired boy shook his head, scrubbing the remnants of pasta off one of the pans in his hand before placing in onto the towel he had laid out next to the sink.
and although the comment was truly meant in good humor, lucas still countered back with certainty, his tone tipping the line of sarcasm and honesty, "i'm glad i could be of help considering i'm the one that got you two together."
mike hated to admit that his best friends words had truth in it. that he was the one that saw what he couldn't the second el walked into their lives, the one who comforted her when she didn't know how to express how she was feeling and the one who helped them find their way back to each other.
without him, mike could by all means still be sitting in front of that calm ocean, his fingertips still digging into the sand as the waves washed against his skin.
so instead of scoffing, shaking his head again in a disapproving manner and denying the very backhanded comment that was presented before him, he simply placed the last dish onto the towel to dry, his words slow and calculated as he suggested, "would you be up for being the reason we stay together?"
"i was wondering when you were going to ask."
and with those just simple words the conversation between the two truly didn't need to last much longer, especially not when lucas was fully aware of what mike's plan had entailed. his snooping was proven to actually be pretty well established once the raven haired boy opened his mouth to speak.
and at the mention of max, his best friends eyes glittered in a way he had come to know all too well. the concept of her being here with him bringing a peace of mind to what mike had brewing in the center of his brain.
though once the pair departed to their spaces, the writer found himself leaning against the door frame of his candle lit room, his quiet footsteps not registering in the artist ears before him as she rummaged through the drawers of his dresser.
her faint golden locks were flowing damp across her back, the ends of each strand curling into the other as her fingertips brushed against the soft fabrics in front of her. she was already wearing one of his shirts, an old navy tee that hit just above her knees and swayed with her movements.
"go ahead and grab what you want."
the brunette's hands fumbled with the hem of the pair of sweats she was looking at in shock, the words that escaped past her lips coming out in a hushed, guilty whisper, "oh sorry. i should've asked, right? can i - "
mike couldn't help but to help but to cut her off with a chuckle, allowing his feet to brush the floor beneath him as he made his way towards her. his hands found her hips first, encapsulated in that baggy navy blue shirt, his fingertips pressing into the small of her back, "everything of mine is yours."
"everything?" el blushed, the pink color that injected itself cross her skin seemed to contrast against the hue of grays and reds around them. she was a flower, a pretty candy rose in a room full of rain clouds and plaid hills of soft stitches.
how ironic is it to say that an artist had brought so much color to his dull and dreary life.
he couldn't find another word to describe it other than abruptly beautiful.
"everything." he repeated softly, letting her take the lead as she pressed the smallest kiss to the corner of his mouth and again to his bottom lip.
the brunette's hands drifted to the center of his back, drawing small circles against his spine as she allowed her forehead to fall against his chest. and without a care in the world, the two of them stood there for awhile, wrapped in each others arms like swans floating atop the brim of a lake.
second by second and minute by minute.
it was like the clock that existed only in mike's head suddenly decided not to haunt him at this point in time, not echo or threaten to come tearing down the walls of this precious moment, but to tune out the sounds of those turning gears in his brain as he felt himself letting go of his doubts, his worries and flaws for her.
only to her as those she was the one single person in this world meant to make them all disappear, vanish into thin air right in front of his very eyes.
because that's what she did. el was a muse, an enigma of his own reality the he loved learning about, loved describing.
just like the poets.
"mike..." el broke the silence first, her nails still faintly drawing on his skin. though now he was almost positive she was tracing small hearts into the curves of his shoulder blades, "thank you."
it was odd, almost robotic in a way as he propped his chin up on the top of her head, "for?"
"loving me."
his heart seemed to drop at her words, the realization that everything they had experienced was now stringing together, folding and stitching itself into how he dreamed the rest of their lives would be.
and the fact that she felt that she had to thank him for that, as though it was something he did as a favor for her, made his stomach turn into itself. the acid resting in the pit underneath his ribs suddenly feeling ice cold, freezing but stinging with one simple touch.
his hands drifted to her cheeks, his thumbs shaking as they grazed the tops of those sugary pink apples before he pressed his mouth against hers.
earth shattering is what she was, every single time he kissed her.
their movements began to sync as he moved her towards his bed, the scene much less graceful then the typical movies as he barley caught them before they tumbled onto the mattress. yet, he didn't care. not in the slightest as the most beautiful laughter escaped from her plush lips, her chin lifting upwards only to expose her neck to his affections.
and although the writer would love to let his thoughts wonder, to describe and imagine how his hands could dip underneath technically what was his shirt. to feel her soft skin against his and to flourish in the idea that she would only yield herself to him, that she trusted him enough to let him honor her in the exposed way.
he knew they had all the time in the world to learn that part of themselves together.
so instead, he let his heart do the talking.
let himself press kisses to her collarbones, watched as her eyes studied his movements and marked his reactions to her. they laid there for what seemed like hours, dipped, covered and relishing in each others own intoxicating scents.
and it wasn't until el's hands started to pull at his shirt, her fingers lazily working to unbutton the row of spheres that were stitched down his chest that he lifted his head from her neck, allowing himself to tend to his own garments as she took the opportunity to tuck herself underneath the covers.
the writer's eyes crinkled at the sight, her cuddled up in his bed, waiting for him to join her. to which of course only made his movements become more purposeful, his mind not caring that he definitely wasn't going to go searching for a night shirt right now or even a pair of pajama pants.
he didn't care.
it was tucking himself in next to her that he cared about, her back pressed against his bare chest, and his arms wrapping around her to ensure she was real. not a figment of his creative imagination or clouded thoughts.
only her, her heart and everything that the stars across the sky had given to create her existence is what mattered to him.
absolutely nothing else.
and it was also this... this feeling was what he decided the poets were spending their lives describing. the simplicity of just knowing someone could exist right next to the other and could feel whole.
content.
and complete.
that concept that pulled at each string in his heart seemed to be floating around them until they became strands of wind in the air that made his eyes droop like water droplets, his lashes brushing against her temples as he pulled her close.
there was nothing between them... endless nothingness that faded into the background as their breathing steadied across those satin sheets. and what he would do, the things he would give, to read this page of their book until his heart decided to fade into dust.
but their story wasn't over yet, was never meant to end on this page or during this time or possibly even in this spot.
so the raven haired boy tucked a honey strand behind her ear, watching as the her swollen lips pouted ever so slightly with each exhale from her lungs, praying that he could somehow he could play this song in his heart until the rest of eternity gave out.
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a/n: i really don't have much to say other than i missed y'all very much.