PLAY THE PART | mileven

twenty

the sound of her bag getting zipped close resounded loudly in her silent room. she huffed a long breath out when everything finally seemed in place.

"have you packed everything already?" will's voice suddenly hit her ears as she watched him lean against the doorframe of her room, "is there anything i can help you with?"

her lips were pressed together as she shook her head, not looking in his direction. "no, i'm done with it."

this was how it always went with them lately — will asking questions, el answering them dryly and then letting the conversation die for good. but this time he didn't make the move to go away, not even the seconds of silence between them sent him off. "are you sure that it's okay that i come with you guys?"

she sighed, nodding her head. "yes, will. it is."

once their highly anticipated christmas break approached, their exchanged words about a hawkins trip together didn't stay as a bluff — they arranged everything for it.

and knowing that will wants to visit their parents in hawkins too, she asked the rest of the group if it would be alright if he can join them. once none of them objected, she offered will whether he'd like to go with them or not — he instantly agreed thinking this was her olive branch.

doesn't seem like it now though.

"el, can we please just end.. this?" he sighed, walking into her room. "i'm sorry, i've said this countless times already but i really am sorry, i just want things to be alright between us again. i miss the way we used to be, i hate the fact that we're not talking much lately."

she tilted her head in his direction, meeting his eyes. "i won't accept your apology unless you mean it, will. i don't want you to apologize to me without regretting what you did."

"i do mean it, i'm serious." he took a couple steps closer, softening his gaze as he kept looking at her. "it was fucked up, i shouldn't have said what i said — but i just wanted to protect you."

she let out a scoff and waved her hand unbelievingly around. "there it starts again, protecting me from what exactly?"

"you know the stuff that went around about him, you know that he's—"

"—no." she instantly cut him off, furrowing her eyebrows at him. "don't you ever fucking speak on mike. you have absolute no damn idea about anything."

she will never allow anyone to talk on him again. she will never ever be silent again when everyone is doing him wrong.

he kept his tone soft as he crouched down to meet her eye-level. "then enlighten me."

she wouldn't ever go as far as telling will what mike has been through, she knows how hard it was for him to open up and reveal pieces of past to her. she treasures his trust and would never abuse it.

"he's so much more than what you think of him." she carefully said, not wanting to say too much but also needing him to understand. "he's so much more than what kai portrayed him to be."

because this was exactly what happened; he manipulated the minds of everyone into villainizing mike instead of giving him a chance to show what he actually is like.

there were a lot of things that kai did. for example; wasting three years of her life by leaving her hanging and going out with someone else instantly, suddenly changing his behaviour after their first anniversary into being lazier or for doing everything with layla that he told her that he thinks is 'cringe.'

she may be willing to forgive him for all that one day but for what he did to mike? never — not even over her dead body. she will never forgive him for turning his life into poison and manipulating everyone else around him to join.