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.
She was now waiting to see if her dad would make it in time to at least view the judging. He had promised her two days prior that he would try to get off work early to attend the fair, so El kept her hopes up that maybe he was on his way.
However, as moments continued to move by, her hope flickered and her smile continued to slip.
"May I have all of your attention?" the man who wore a label that read 'Judge' called out to the crowd of anxious students. El glanced once more at the entrance door, and after coming to terms with the fact that Hopper wasn't going to make it to this event either, she sighed and gathered around with the other students at the front.
"First off, we would like to all congratulate you all for your hard work, you all have had some brilliant and interesting creations. However, there were some that exceeded our expectations, and so we are happy to announce the third place winner of the 34th annual Hawkins Middle Science Fair as... Shayla Mason!"
A round of applause.
"Second place goes to... Mike Wheeler!" El smiled lightly at the name, clapping cheerfully for the boy.
He was always nice to her, although they weren't exactly friends, more so acquaintances. She still was proud of the boy, he had created a thin laser that could cut through steel, but had enough control to not damage other items in the building.
Mike caught El's eyes for a moment, grinning boyishly at her, to which she returned happily.
"And first place, we are proud to announce, goes to... El Hopper!!" A loud outbreak of applause fills El's ears, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed lightly.
She grinned shyly, walking up the small step and onto the miniature platform, shaking hands with the judges and allowing the blonde haired woman to slide the metal over her neck.
It was slightly heavy, but her heart felt full of accomplishment. Until she glanced into the crowd and was bitterly reminded of the lack of someone in the audience.
She smiled once more, slightly duller, before stepping off the stage and returning to the crowd.
The students who placed were informed to stay in the room for just a few more moments, once the rest of the crowd cleared out, for pictures.
Mike walked over to El, his gaze trained intensely on the floor.
"Hey El." he shyly mumbled, sticking his hands in the pockets of his fleece denim jacket.
"Hey Mike. Congrats on second place! You did a really good job!" El tried to remain positive, pushing away the slight ache in her heart.
"Thanks! Y-You too, your creation was brilliant. I mean, it's basically telekinesis!" Mike grinned excitedly, fangirling over her creation.
El giggled lightly, playing with the curls that just barely went past her ears.
"Thank you." she tilted her head with a small grin, playing with the bottom of her knit sweater.
"Do you have anyone waiting for you after pictures?" Mike asked curiously, attempting to continue the conversation.
"O-Oh, no... my dad was supposed to come but I guess he got lost in his work." she chuckled awkwardly, trying to keep the conversation as light as possible.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. This was really important."
"Yeah... life happens though." El bit her lip gently, sadness flooding her body.
Thankfully, the tension in the conversation was saved when the photographer called for the placers to position themselves for pictures.
El could feel the fakeness of her smile.
Hopper didn't return from work until around 10 pm, and when he asked her how the fair went, she only shrugged, mumbling about being tired.
That wasn't the first, and definitely wasn't the last time that Hopper had missed out on moments in El's life that she had hoped for him to be there for.
He had only attended one science fair she had participated in, when she was 13. However, he was called back to duty just as the judgement time was announced. El won second place, but the dullness in her heart was still prominent.
"El? You listening?" Gina, one of El's table mates snapped her from her, quite frankly, depressing thoughts.
"Y-Yeah. Hey, I'm going to go sit at another table, if that's okay with you?"
Gina rolled her eyes, stabbing her fork into her food. She didn't respond, and El couldn't find it in her to care about Gina currently, before gathering her lunch and heading to The Party's table.
Gina was okay, but El wasn't blind to her toxicity. She expected El to spend almost every waking moment with her, and then would complain about spending too much time together, and then would end the conversation with anger that El had turned down an invitation. She constantly pointed out El's flaws, and had even mentioned to her how she didn't understand why so many people were attracted to her. Ouch.
Gina was clearly only trying to be El's friend for popularity, but El didn't have the heart to end their, so called, friendship. That was the thing about being such a kindhearted person: people took advantage walked all over El.
"Hey, guys," El smiles gently as five pairs of eyes glide to her. "I was just wondering if I could sit here?"
The members of the party all gazed from one another, coming to a mutual mental agreement.
"Yeah, sure." Will spoke up, smiling softly at the girl, who returned it.
Dustin glanced across the table at Mike, smirking and winking playfully. The tips of Mike's ears flushed a light pink.
El slipped into the space next to Mike, smiling shyly at the boy, who gulped under her gaze.
The Party was all aware of the fake relationship, seeing as Mike constantly mentioned it to his friends. They also knew how bad Mike had it for El, having endured his rants about how pretty she looked, how smart she is, how nice she is, since middle school.
They knew how much he hoped that the fake relationship wasn't just to get Troy off his back, but they could also see that maybe it wasn't entirely fake.
Dustin happened to also be in the history class that Mike and El shared, and he took mental notes of all the moments the two shared, seeing that El was more interested in Mike than Mike would ever realize.
Sometimes, Mike's total obliviousness just blows his mind.
Will studied El's feelings about Mike. They had been friends for a while, after Will had accidentally crashed into El while riding his bike. They both were okay, just a few bruises left, but Will offered to buy her ice cream as an apology gift, which led to them forming a friendship.
Will was observant. He was the quietest of The Party, since he often stayed in silence to analyze situations and observe people's reactions to certain things.
So Will was quick to see that El didn't only have platonic feelings for Mike, like she had claimed to him time and time again.
It was obvious; her eyes gained a small twinkle when she approached Mike, her stance was much more shy than around other students, her cheeks were slightly more tinted than usual, and she all around seemed much more nervous around the boy.
Max also happened to be a, self-proclaimed, relationship expert. In her 16 years of life, she had seen relationships form and dissolve all around her. She saw the dwindling of the love between her parents, she saw the terror that her stepfather had inflicted upon her mom, she saw the many failed relationships and flings that Billy had gotten himself into.
So it was new to her to see how much Mike and El truly cared about each other. Max was better suited for pointing out flaws or concerns in a relationship, but when she saw the way the two teenagers acted around each other, she couldn't see any.
Well, besides both of them being absolutely oblivious to each other's feelings.
The rest of the lunch period passed by, filled with many jokes and conversations that seemed to bounce around from topic to topic randomly and quickly.
El wasn't used to friend groups that could talk about anything and everything with each other.
She could feel and see how comfortable they were with each other, and how they all respected each other.
Unlike her "friend" group, stories weren't told just to bring attention to one person, instead they all contributed. Unlike her group, when anyone mentioned something or told a story, it wasn't met with silence, or judgement, they all listened to each other.
El liked this group much better. Lucas was sure to be the friend with the most common sense. Max was the most sarcastic and sassy, but caring friend. Will was the quietest, but gave the most attention to anyone who spoke. Mike was the friend who clearly gave good advice, without actually following his own advice. And Dustin was clearly the funny friend in the group, never failing to make everyone laugh.
El, for the first time in a long time, felt like she belonged.
✧✧✧
A few days had passed by, as El had been integrated into The Party, they had all realized how well she fit into their group, but they chose to not comment on it and instead just allow her into the group casually.
Today was the day that El had planned with Mike to go dress shopping.
They were currently on their way to the mall, riding the bus that took them on the route they needed. Mike was currently staring out the window, his hands awkwardly placed on his lap, his thumb as twiddling slightly.
El was not much less awkward, playing with the ends of her hair, glancing at Mike before quickly returning her gaze to the front of the bus.
"S-So are you excited for the dance?" El spoke up, her eyes shyly meeting his as he tore his gaze away from the window.
A small smile traced against his lips, his eyes soft as he looked at the girl next to him. "Yeah! Are you?"
"I'm a little nervous if I'm being honest." she shrugged, her head tilted gently.
"Why?"
"I've never actually gone to any of the school dances since 6th grade. And I don't really think high school dances are like the dances where we get to ride mechanical bulls and everyone was doing the dab on the dance floor like they did something cool." El chuckles, Mike joining in.
"Yeah dances are a little different. They're calling this one The Snowball, so that will be different."
"Should I follow some sort of theme or?"
"I mean it's recommended for some sort of winter theme, but I mean it's 2020 you can do whatever you want to do."
El nods, leaning her body just an inch or so closer to the boy, feeling his body tense slightly before relaxing and leaning back.
After just a few minutes pass by, the bus comes to a stop, and El begins to lean her body away as she stands up, Mike standing up right after.
Letting the first few passengers exit before another gestures for them to exit, El and Mike make their way down the bus steps and onto the sidewalk of the Starcourt Mall. El tucks her loose strand of hair behind her ear, smiling shyly at Mike as they walk towards the entrance.
A small crowd of students stood by the front, conversing with each other. A few of the students turn to gaze at El, lips plastered with smirks. Mike shoots a small glare at the students, before taking a bigger step to cover El from their view.
Starcourt wasn't extra populated, but it at the same time wasn't barren. The majority of the population of the mall was spending their time in the newly opened store, but that wasn't where Mike and El were heading. El was leading Mike towards a much less populated dress shop that was secluded in one of the corners of the mall.
Mike's heart was beating at an incredible pace, and not because she was basically forcing him to jog to keep up with her. His heart was beating erratically because of the way her hand had slipped into his, and he happened to enjoy the feeling of her skin on his more than he had expected.
Now, Mike was sitting on the bench outside of the dressing room, his face engrossed in his phone as he waited patiently for El to show him the first dress she picked.
While she explored to the shop, she had managed to choose three dresses that she exclaimed were gorgeous. Mike truly didn't care about the dresses, but the excited smile that flashed onto her face when she looked up at him and asked for his opinion made him the most invested boy in the world.
The lock on the door clicking caused Mike to look up from his phone and towards the girl who was now walking towards him. His eyes widened lightly.
Her body was covered in a purple dress, that was tight but hugged her body modestly. It stopped mid-thigh, with two thin straps wrapped around her shoulders. A thin, golden, metal band went around the waistline of the dress, adding detail to the otherwise simple dress.
She smiled shyly, shrugging her shoulders upwards. "So?"
"I like it." Mike snapped out of this frozen state. El giggled lightly, before walking back to the dressing room.
"I'm just going to try on the other ones real quick." she called back to him over her shoulder, before closing the door behind her.
Mike sighed deeply, rubbing his face. "She's going to be the death of me."
After a few fleeting moments, El once again stepped out of the dressing room, this time her body covered in a navy blue dress that stopped around the same place as the last dress. The dress had ruffled sleeves with a ruffled end to the dress. It wasn't as pretty as the last dress to Mike, but she still looked beautiful regardless.
She licked her lips shyly. "It looked better on the rack." she giggled nervously, twiddling with the ends of her hair.
"It still looks good on you though!" Mike reassured her, as she tugged her sleeves down a bit.
"Thanks, but right now I'm leaning towards the first for now."
Mike nodded, grinning at the girl as she returned to the dressing room to try the final dress.
When she exits the dressing room this time, Mike's eyes widen comically as his jaw drops as far as it allows itself to.
The white dress had a lace covering over a satin underdress, a modest tie in the front as her sleeves were slightly ruffled. The dress gave off the vibes of living in a cottage in the middle of a field. The dress complimented her skin tone and hair perfectly.
"I actually really like this one." El mumbles, spreading the bottom out gently to show off the overall billowy effect of the dress.
"Y-You're gorgeous. I-I mean the dress looks gorgeous. But you look really pretty too! I wasn't saying you don't look good, it's just they the dress makes you look really really good. Like really, really, really-"
"Thank you, Mike. I didn't know I looked that good but I guess this is the dress." El cuts him off with a giggle, watching as his face flushs to a deep red.
Once they left the store, Mike having bought the dress even after much resistance from El (to which he gestured across the store to grab her attention before quickly handing the cashier his credit card- El wasn't very happy that he had bought it for her, but appreciative nonetheless) they headed to the food court.
And as El giggled as she told Mike a story that had happened in her math class, Mike could feel his heart melt more and more, and he knew that his simple crush was growing into much more.
✧✧✧
this was shit but uh,,,,
got a question...
would y'all be okay if i redid the boy who lived ?? i feel like i genuinely don't like the style and have no idea how to continue it so i'm thinking of redoing it so i like the style better and i have more inspiration to continue it 😔 please let me know 🥺