— ❝ don't wanna miss you
don't want to see you near my heart ❞
~ Don't Wanna Love You, Shanice
since mike could remember, the party would go to the arcade after every first day of school. it was almost a last ditch attempt to forget that the summer was really over and school had begun, and mike found it grounding as everything and everyone changed around them. but over the past year, they'd matured and grown distant from the place they'd spent so much of their childhood years in, and they'd all known that year that the tradition would be put to rest. still, mike was disappointed, and he didn't attempt to hide his annoyance when dustin suggested they go to star court mall at the end of the day.
now he was leant against the door of his car, smoking a cigarette and waiting impatiently for jane to finish talking with her home ec friends inside the school. he looked across the almost empty parking lot, annoyance surging through him at his own decision to drive himself and jane separately to the others, who took lucas' car, purely for the purpose of avoiding max. truth be told, he did it more out of principle than out of a place of any true loathing at this point, and would gladly put their feud to rest if it didn't have to come at the expense of him pride.
so he found himself leaning against his car, mind once again lost in thoughts about the redhead and not noticing jane approaching him with a look of frustration on her face. as soon as he looked up, he became quickly aware that he'd forgotten to put out his cigarette, but it was too late. her small and almost child like features were twisted into an expression of anger and disappointment, and she stalked up to the car looking ready to give him hell. before she even opened her mouth, mike knew he'd caught her in an explosive mood.
"again, mike?" she questioned, obvious frustration laced in her words as she approached him and yanked the cigarette from his hand, throwing it to the rough floor of the parking lot and stomping it out. "why the fuck would you smoke right outside school of all places?" she asked, glaring into his eyes.
"well i dunno, maybe if you were here ten minutes ago like you said you'd be, i wouldn't have!" he retorted, immediately losing any patience he had planned on maintaining.
jane rolled her eyes. "one minute you want me to make friends, and the next you're pissed at me when i talk to someone who isn't part of the party! i can do what i want, mike"
mike sighed, exasperated. "of course you can, but maybe you should have some consideration for others when you go off with your new friends! now we're gonna be late, and the party'll be waiting for us. i didn't even want to go in the fucking first place" he said with anger seething in his words.
"fine! if you want to go, let's fucking go" jane said, having raised her voice to the point where mike knew if anyone was nearby they'd be able to hear it.
"fine!" he yelled, equally as loud. the two got into the car, each slamming their doors and driving in silence to the star court mall. the atmosphere couldn't be more different to what it had been that morning, and mike found himself wishing he could be anywhere else in that moment.
・・・ ☼ ・・・
as they finally pulled up to the mall, mike and jane got out of his car, walking into the food court without so much as looking at one another. they easily spotted the party at a booth in the corner of the wide and open space, and made their way over, each putting on false smiles despite their fiery moods.
"hey!" jane said, sugary sweetness coating her voice to match her equally fake smile, sliding into the booth beside max and lucas while mike squished into the other side with will and dustin. "sorry we're a tad late" she said, to which the rest of the party responded with a chorus of 'don't worry's. mike pressed his lips together, biting back a snarky comment. "we already ordered sodas and got you guys your usual," dustin told them with a wide and toothy smile. as if on cue, a young waitress approached their booth with a tray of drinks, placing down various sodas in front of the teens. they all thanked her happily, grabbing straws and opening their bottles.
max and jane began chattering about the first day and what their teachers were like, while the guys were talking about the science syllabus they'd been given in class that day. even though the location had changed, the energy of their group stayed the same, and they all talked effortlessly with bright smiles on their faces. that is, except for mike, who sat distantly in the corner, mulling over his earlier conversation with jane and wondering why they were even together anymore at this point. he looked around at his group of friends, bubbly and alive, and his eyes landed on max. she was sipping strawberry lemonade through a straw while listening to something dustin was saying with a big grin on her face. her eyes were shining, a rare occurrence, and mike couldn't stop staring at the way her vibrant hair caught the natural light in the mall.
mike just sat there, captivated by her for another minute, before noticing lucas' cold glare from beside him, and he quickly looked away, glancing all around the area in a feeble attempt to pretend he was just looking around. he didn't say a word for a while after that, and instead sat half listening to the conversations around him, occasionally nodding at something someone said in attempt to appear unbothered.
as the party were finishing their drinks, dustin began babbling about the new video game store in the mall, with will excitedly hanging onto his every word. max looked, as expected, disinterested and mike couldn't help but quietly scoff at that. she always seemed to think she was above everyone else. but as he was thinking this, she glanced over to him and her electric blue eyes caught his brown for just a fraction of a second, and he softened for just a moment, before quickly glaring at her and looking away. even as he did, his heart was beating just a little faster, and he made a mental note to avoid eye contact with her at all costs from now on, despite knowing he could get lost in them quite happily.
mike shook his head, trying to shake away his thoughts and tune back into the conversation. just as he was thinking that he'd go with dustin and will to the video game store, jane piped up and said she'd go, causing him to hesitate. as much as he knew he shouldn't, he really just wanted to stay back with max and lucas if it meant another chance to catch those eyes.
as unrealistic as he knew it was, and as guilty as he felt for staying back with one of his best friends to silently admire his girlfriend, he found himself saying that he'd instead go with max and lucas to get ice-cream. as soon as the words left his mouth, everyone turned to face him, each face harbouring a shocked expression at his willingness to spend any amount of time with the redhead. he avoided eye contact with jane, whose angry expression was visible to him even from the corner of his eye. "calm down, i just feel like ice cream" he muttered, earning a suspicious look from will. the others merely shrugged, though, and soon they were all headed off their own ways.
・・・ ☼ ・・・
mike was straying slightly behind lucas and max, the group cloaked in an awkward silence as they walked through the otherwise busy mall. lucas seemed torn as to whether he should talk to mike or max, knowing it'd be impossible to get the two rivals to take part in a civil conversation. his desperation not to take sides meant the minutes spent on the way to the ice-cream place were tense and uncomfortable for all of them.
max quietly took lucas' hand, and mike could see the tension in her shoulders ease just a little as lucas squeezed her hand back. a spike of what was undeniably jealously jolted through mike and his eyes darkened slightly, and for a second he found himself wishing that was him holding her hand and making her feel better, and not lucas. he quickly shook himself out of it, though, disbelief overcoming him as he realised what he'd just been feeling.
mike tried to distract himself from the awkward tension between the three by looking around at the colourful storefronts and excitable children that filled the mall. as he was taking in the life that was passing them by, he glanced to the far side of the building and saw the devilish smirks of troy and james approaching. He looked to max, checking to see if she too had noticed the teens approaching them, and his mind flashed back to what had happened in the hall earlier that day. as the two bullies got closer, looking ready to make a few more snide comments to max, mike stepped forward so that he was now next to max rather than lucas, putting himself between her and troy as they got closer still.
she looked up at mike, confusion etched on her face, before she followed his gaze to the approaching boys and stiffened, looking back to him with worry. mike could feel lucas' glare for the second time that afternoon, but this time he didn't care. as they went to walk past troy, he stopped in front of them, smirking slightly at max. But before he could say anything, mike pushed past him lightly, taking max's arm to get her to keep moving forward and away from him, and she quickly stumbled along with him, lucas a bit behind.
once they had turned a corner in a hurry, max stopped abruptly and looked up at mike. He took a sharp inhale of breath without meaning to as her eyes met his once more, and he could see the silent thanks in them behind her cool exterior. he looked down at where he was still gripping max's arm, and hesitated slightly before pulling away, stepping back. "i gotta go," he muttered. before he could even process the words he had just said, he turned on his heel and began walking away from lucas' cold stare and max's confused one.
not stopping to consider how jane would manage to get home, or what sort of situation he was leaving max and lucas in, mike got in his car and began to drive away from the mall, mind reeling with thoughts about the conflicting emotions pent up inside of him and a pair of blue eyes he seemed to be having a harder and harder time not thinking about. it was in this similar state that he spent the rest of the drive home, and he knew it'd be a long night.
A/N: i'm back bitches ;) i'm really sorry it's been so long, truth be told i've had this chapter written for ages but i haven't been able to bring myself to post, because i worry that nobody will read it or care. but i'm back and honestly not proud of this chapter, but the storyline is emerging so stay tuneddd. alsooo i hate to be that bitch but it really would mean a lot to me if you vote and comment on this story, but if you don't that's also coolio
ps. i have a few more chapters written so let me know when you want me to post the next one, i feel bad for abandoning this lol