Song: Song for me by Greer
❤︎
El woke up early the next day around 4:30 to prepare for work, when she got dressed into her waitress attire she walked into Chloe's room to tell her she was off to work. She shook her shoulder gently and the girl's eyes opened quickly.
"I'm off to work. When you wake up later my dad will be here so have fun with that." Chloe nodded and shoved her head back into the pillow beneath her head. El stood up and walked out of the room and walked outside to her car.
The sky was still dark as it always was when she left and was still dark when she arrived at the diner. She walked in the dark building and flipped on all the light switches. She started brewing coffee and tea and then made breakfast for herself.
After an hour of being there and getting ready for the day she saw Mike's car pull into the parking lot. She smiled to herself and went to unlock the door for him. She opened it for him when he was walking towards the glass door and he walked inside.
"Hey," She said with a small smile. "hey, how was everything last night?" El walked behind the counter and started making him a coffee. "It was good, we talked and had a good time last night." Mike grinned at her, "really? Everything went okay?"
She nodded, "Yeah! Did you not expect us to get along?" El asked, "No, I did. I just wanted to be sure you were telling the truth." She rolled her eyes at him and passed him his coffee. Though everything did go okay she didn't have the best time hearing about how Chloe admitted that she loved Mike. That was great.
"I think I want to take her out tonight," Mike said randomly, El raised her eyebrows in alarm. "Yes? Where? She mentioned she didn't like going out in public."
"Yeah, I know. But I have to tell her something and I want it to be special."
"What are you proposing to her?" El snorted, "No! I just wanted to take her out but I don't know where."
"Well, what do you have to tell her? That can help with picking out the place and setting the mood and all that." Mike played with his fingers and stared down at the countertop while he answered. "I love her and thought, what the hell? I'm gonna tell her."
He said that right as she was taking a sip of her coffee, and she almost spit it back out into the cup. El felt her heart drop to the ground. She knew that he already did as if it wasn't obvious enough but she wasn't expecting to hear them both admit it to her in under 24 hours. It was just too much for her to handle.
"W-What?" She stammered, "I want to tell her I love her." Mike said as he was quite nervous himself. "Oh, um... well do you want it to b-be like... fancy? Or casual?"
Frick, why do I put myself in situations like this? When do I ever learn to shut up?
"I don't know...I mean I don't know if she'll feel the same so I don't want it to be like: we're at a fancy restaurant and I tell her and then she doesn't feel the same and then we have to sit in an awkward silence in this fancy restaurant.."
Mike continued but El stopped listening. Her mind went to an entirely different planet- galaxy even. She wasn't even able to think straight right now. She should be happy for them, right? They're both in a healthy relationship and they both love each other, the dream relationship, right?
"El?" His voice snapped her back into reality, "yeah?"
"Are you okay? You don't look so good." Mike said, "Um, yeah. I'm fine."
If fine meant she was slightly (very) kind of heartbroken and wanted to puke her guts out, then sure, fine.
"Are you sure?"
Damnit, stop being so nice!
"I'm fine." She said more harshly this time. Mike took that as his cue to shut up. "Well, if you want to take her out, I'm not going to plan the rest of your relationship. Go where you think both of you will be comfortable, not where I think it will be good."
"Right... your right."
I know.
"Okay, thanks, again. I'm going to go to your house to check on her. Your address is off of White Oak Lane, right?"
She nodded, "see you later." she muttered, "right, see you."
"good luck, tonight." Mike smiled at her, "Thanks."
"Something tells me she'll take the news well." Mike looked at her oddly and El just shrugged, pretending to know nothing.
❤︎
Dustin walked in the diner around 11 and saw El drinking a chocolate milkshake. He knew what that meant. Chocolate milkshakes were her sad drink, she almost rarely drank them.
"Oh shit, what's wrong?" Dustin asked, sliding in the seat in front of her. "Nothing." She muttered while swirling the straw in her ice cream. "Dude." Dustin said in a knowing tone, "Fine!"
"Spill."
"I was talking with Chloe last night and we were surprisingly having a good time and then I asked her about Mike and what it was like to date him because obviously I'm never going to and then I asked her if she loved him and she said she did and then Mike told me this morning he loved her and then-"
"Slow down! It's okay," Dustin tried to say in a calming manner, "No it's not! Because I like someone who is in love with someone else!"
"I'm sure he's not in love with her, right?"
"Did you not hear anything I just said?" She asked, her tone more harsh than normal. "Well, I couldn't understand you because you were talking a million miles an hour!"
"Mike loves Chloe, Chloe loves Mike. It's that simple." She said, her voice dragging on. "It's just puppy love, it will just blow over soon," Dustin said, shrugging his arms and looking at El.
Maybe he was right.
Maybe it was just a playful first love.
Puppy love.
❤︎
El sat on the couch while watching some random romance movie while her mind was on Chloe and Mike. They were both out on their date right now and El could not be more miserable. She helped Chloe pick out something to wear and even let her borrow one of her dresses. El's dress. Chloe was wearing that dress.
Oh, how she despised herself for doing that- for doing this whole thing.
"Oh, El are you sure you want me to wear this?" Chloe held the yellow dress in front of her, examining it in the air. "Yeah sure. Not like I ever get to wear it."
"El, you have to get off of work sometime and maybe we can go on like, a girls day!"
Not on your life, El thought. "That would be fun but I already told you about work," El said, she was always good at making excuses. "Yeah, I know, but just one day."
"Maybe."
El had helped her get ready for her date, even curling her long blond hair for her. She had no idea why she was helping her, it was only making things worse for herself.
She was seated on the couch, spooning chocolate ice cream into her mouth straight from the carton. She had blankets wrapped around her like a cocoon, she probably looked like some old Russian lady but it's not like she cared.
Then, she heard the front door open and she heard her father take his shoes off and hang his hat up. "El? I'm home," He called out into the house, not seeing her on the couch.
"Hi," She mumbled, "Oh hey sweetie- what's wrong? Your eating chocolate." Hopper pointed out, sitting down on the opposite side of the couch, his weight making the cushion sink inwards. "Stupid stuff." She said, her eyes never leaving the TV.
"Do you want me to call Dustin? He knows how to deal with you better than I do." He suggested, El only grunted in reply. "If you won't let me get you any help, I'll just have to figure it out myself."
El rolled her eyes, "Fine."
"Okay, tell me what's wrong."
"Chloe is on a date with her boyfriend." She said, her heart slightly aching. "Okay?" Hopper said, confused by her answer. "What's the problem with that?"
"I like her boyfriend." She said quietly. "Oh."
"Yep."
"Does she know?" He asked dumbly. "Of course not! She wouldn't be living here if she knew!" Hopper put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay... geez."
"Well if it's just a date why are you so upset about it?" Hopper clearly didn't understand girls. Maybe that's why he was a single father. "This date is... different."
"How so?"
"I don't want to talk about it. Could you just call Dustin?" El was tired of explaining things to Hopper, she needed someone here who knew what was going on. Hopper sighed and stood up to walk to the kitchen to call her best friend.
He dialed the familiar number and waited for a few moments, hearing the obnoxious ringing buzzing in his ear. Finally, the line picked up and Claudia's voice was heard on the other line. "Hey, Hopper! What can I do for ya?" Her voice was just as friendly as her personality, it ran in the family.
"Hey Claudia, is uh, Dustin home?"
"Yes, he is! Would you like him on the phone?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"Dusty! Hopper is on the phone for you!" Her voice called out to the other part of the house. After waiting a few seconds Hopper heard the line being passed from person to person and then Dustin was heard on the phone. "Hey Hopper, what's up?"
"Uh, can you get here? El needs you tonight. Said something about Chloe's boyfriend and a date?"
"Ah yes. Mike and Chloe's date, be there in a jiffy." Hopper thanked him and hung up the phone, "He's on his way." El mumbled a thanks in response and continued watching the movie.
By the time Dustin got there, El was already halfway through the ice cream. Dustin didn't bother to knock, knowing El wouldn't get up from where she was. He swiped a spoon from the kitchen and headed towards the living room.
"Scoot over." Dustin said, "No." She said, shoveling ice cream into her mouth. "Come on, lard ass! Get up!" She flicked her middle finger up at him. Dustin rolled his eyes, "You can't mope around like this."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not healthy. Now scoot over! I came for ice cream, not you." He said in a teasing voice. El moved her legs so he could sit down next to her and offered the ice cream towards him. He gladly took it and started eating it, "So," He started, "So," El repeated.
"What do you think they're doing right now?" Dustin asked, "Probably confessing their love to each other."
"Nah, their probably conceiving our godchild." El smacked his arm, "Dustin!"
He shrugged. El giggled, "You're so stupid."
"Only for you, my love," Dustin said, puckering his lips. El shoved a pillow into his face, "Stop being annoying."
"Isn't that why I was summoned here? To be annoying?"
"No, you came to cheer me up!"
"Did it work?"
"Maybe..." Dustin grinned, "My work has been done. Now, turn this stupid movie off!" Dustin commanded in a stupid voice. "No, I like it!"
"Dude, it's so stupid!" He whined, leaning on El with all of his weight. "Oh god, you're going to suffocate me!" She laughed, "Then I suggest you turn it off before your gone for good!"
"I'd rather die!" She said dramatically. "I don't think so," Dustin said, pushing himself off of her. Dustin grabbed the remote from her and turned it off himself. "Hey! Dickhead, I was watching that!" El frowned. "Boo-hoo! You've seen it a billion times!"
"Not true!"
Dustin knew it was very true. Just as El had begun to forget the events from that night, Chloe had to walk through the front door with the biggest smile on her face. as quickly as El's happiness came, it left.
"Hey, Chloe," El said, putting on her fake smile for the girl. "Hey," She said, there was something in her eyes, almost a dreamy look. "How was the date?" Dustin asked for El. "Amazing." El bit the inside of her cheek, "Tell us about it."
Why did I have to say that?
"You were right, El. He does love me! He told me tonight and it was... it was just magical." El wanted to roll her eyes so far back into her head they would never turn back around. "yeah? That's great."
"Is that El's dress?" Dustin asked, totally ignoring everything she just said. "Yes, she let me borrow it."
Dustin didn't reply, though he could think of a million things to say to her right then and there. Instead, he leaned farther back into the couch and grabbed the ice cream carton from El. El stared at him for a second before looking back to Chloe.
"Well, I'm glad everything worked out." El said, "Thanks, I'm going to head to bed now." El nodded and Chloe walked into her room and closed the door on the way in.
"Sweet El, why do you do that to yourself?" Dustin asked, making a puzzled look grow on her face. "What?"
"You just make everything worse for yourself. Letting Chloe live at your house! Letting Chloe borrow your dress, asking her to tell us about her date, and all the other things you do for her! You're constantly miserable because you do this, you keep helping both of them fall deeper in love, making you go deeper into the friend zone. Why do you do that?"
El stared at him, her face blank. "I-I don't know.."
Dustin raised his eyebrows, knowing that wasn't true. "Tell me the truth."
"I don't know, Dustin. I don't. Maybe because I want Mike to be happy? I'm not sure." Dustin wasn't satisfied with that answer but knew it was the only thing he would get out of her. "So Chloe living here, Chloe wearing your clothes and living your dream is making Mike happy?"
"Well he's in love with her, isn't he?"
Author's Note:
Oki, i get it, this chapter was boring as hell and the ending was so lazy but I couldn't think of anything else!!! Buuuuut, I have some good news for you all!! I was originally not going to have a happy ending for this, but I recently thought of something and figured out the whole rest of the book so that it can end on a good note.
also, this is late but tysm for 3k on this book 😘