━━━━ 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄
The following morning was strangely tranquil.
Joyce and Murray had scuttled out of the house in the middle of the night and nearly missed their flight, inevitably leaving Jonathan in charge of the adolescents. Mike and Will were seated at the dining room table, where they polished their breakfast off in complete silence. Jonathan was concentrated on skimming through the local newspaper. El, on the other hand, had yet to exit her bedroom.
The brown-eyed girl had been hibernating in the comfort of her quiet bedroom since the night before, when she had stomped up the stairs after the upsetting remark Mike had made during dinner.
Will switched his focus back to the delectable scrambled eggs on his plate. He stabbed a sizable piece with his fork, drenched it in a puddle of maple syrup, and scarfed it down. As he chewed, he averted his gaze over to Mike, who had barely touched his meal.
The hazel-eyed boy didn't exactly plan on staring at his closest friend for a solid fifteen seconds, but that was precisely what he found himself doing. He couldn't help it — the ravenette was so perfect. His large, chocolatey eyes and the vast constellation of freckles dusted across his cheeks made it impossible to deny the fact that Mike Wheeler was very handsome. Simply looking at him was enough to fill Will's insides with trillions of butterflies.
Oblivious of the fact that the brunette's eyes were practically glued to him, Mike peered down at the plate of Eggos sitting in El's usual spot. The waffles were undoubtedly cold, as they had been sitting on the plate for over twenty minutes.
"Hey, guys. There is a 4:00 PM showing of Police Academy 3," Jonathan announced, glancing up from the newspaper article he was engrossed in. "Could be fun."
"Maybe we could just . . . stay home today," Will suggested, his voice monotone.
"What is this? Are you guys seriously just gonna mope around all break?" Jonathan complained.
"No one's moping," Will retorted. "It's just . . . the movie is supposed to suck."
Mike took another glimpse at the plate of Eggos and swiftly picked it up, marching up the stairs without warning. Will heaved out a quiet sigh. He secretly wished the Wheeler boy would have remained seated at the table with him.
˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱
Moments after devouring his breakfast, Will darted upstairs with the intent to begin a new painting. However, as he reached for his bedroom doorknob, he overheard Mike talking to El from the across the hallway. As much as he hated eavesdropping, he couldn't resist the urge to find out what Mike had to say to her.
He tiptoed over to her bedroom door, which was open three inches, and pressed his back against the wall so that he was completely out of the couple's sight.
"So, um, are we just not gonna talk about it?" Mike asked, awkwardly lowering himself onto the edge of his girlfriend's bed.
"About what?" El flatly responded, refusing to make eye contact with her boyfriend.
"I don't know, just maybe, like, about yesterday. Or . . . everything."
"There's nothing to say," The brunette muttered, her eyes focused on the ruined diorama she was attempting to fix.
"Yeah. I guess, um . . . I guess I'm just a little, uh . . . guess I just don't really understand," Mike stuttered. "Why didn't you tell me what was going on here? You know I'm not exactly 'Mr. Popularity' back at home. I mean, you've seen it, I've been bullied my entire life. I know what it's like."
"No," El shook her head, biting her bottom lip to fight back her tears. "You don't."
Will furrowed his eyebrows from where he stood in the dimly-lit hallway. How could El invalidate what Mike had been through like that, especially when she was currently going through the exact same thing?
"Okay . . ." Mike trailed off, his face forming a puzzled expression. "What don't I understand?"
"I am different," El declared. "I do not belong."
"You mean . . . in Lenora?" The ravenette asked.
"Anywhere," The girl responded.
"Come on, you can't actually believe that," He scoffed.
"Everyone looks at me like . . . like I'm a monster," El spoke, her eyes welling with tears.
"Well, they just don't know you," Mike shrugged.
"You think I'm a monster, too," She claimed, finally looking into her boyfriend's eyes.
"What?"
"Yesterday," El started. "The way you looked at me. You were scared of me."
"No, no," Mike lied, shaking his head. "That's not true. I was surprised. Maybe I was a little upset in the moment, but, I mean, I'm sorry. I just didn't know what to do. It was so crazy — it happened so fast. But it doesn't change anything. It doesn't matter. I care for you . . . so much."
"Care," El sniffled, emphasizing the four-letter word. "But you don't love me anymore?"
"What? Who . . . who said that I didn't?"
"You never say it."
"I say it," Mike firmly responded, defending himself despite the fact that his girlfriend was right.
"You can't even write it, Mike," El frowned, standing up and yanking a stack of Mike's letters from a box. "From Mike. From Mike. From Mike. From Mike. From. From. From. From!"
"Okay, okay! Eleven, you're being ridiculous! Like, what is this?" The ravenette scolded her. "You know what I think of you. You're the most incredible person in the world. And you can't let these mouth breathers ruin you. Ruin us! I mean, they're nobodies! And you're a superhero."
El slowly shook her head, taking a shaky breath as a river of tears trickled down her reddened cheeks.
"Not anymore," She whispered.
There was a brief moment of silence as the pair tried to muster up something else to discuss. El was the first to speak again.
"Mike?" She murmured.
"Yeah?"
"I think we should take a break."
Will's eyes widened in utter disbelief.
"What? We don't need a break!" Mike protested.
"What's the point of being in a relationship with you if you can't even tell me you love me?" El questioned, causing the Wheeler boy to feel a pang of guilt. "Look, I'm not mad at you, okay? I just think you need to take some time to figure yourself out."
"Figure myself out? Eleven, what the hell are you talking about?" Mike scoffed as if it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.
"Mike," She gently spoke, putting a finger to his lips to silence him. "We are taking a break. If our relationship doesn't work out, we can just be friends again. There's going to be a happy ending no matter what happens between us. I promise."
Mike couldn't bring himself to respond. Instead, he stood up and began walking towards the door to exit the room. In a panic, Will fleeted into his bedroom to avoid being caught. He acted as if he hadn't heard a single word from their argument.
Flopping onto his bed, Will stared at the ceiling in complete silence. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Why couldn't Mike tell Eleven he loved her? Why was it so difficult for him to get those three simple words out? It made zero sense to him. He thought Mike was madly in love with her, but he sure wasn't acting like it.
Maybe he loved somebody else. But who?
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 !
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