BLANK SPACE | MILEVEN

TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AUGUST

"hey mike..." el said as they were waking,
"isn't it just so pretty to think...?" he turned around to meet her eyes

"hm? what?" then she smiled, "that all along there was some sort of invisible string between us?"

"ya, it is kinda amazing huh." he turned to look at her,
"please don't tell me that was a song reference..."

"me? use song references? never!" mike grinned, "what an obvious lie, ms. hopper."

"haha, very funny, now hurry up!" she yelled

"okay okay!" he said as he put his hands up.

"what store you wanna go in?" mike asked as he looked around to see many interesting stores and bright lights.

"let's go intoooooo, hmm." mike looked at her as she began to tap her chin. "this can't be that much of a hard decision!" he shouted, "oh, but it is. let's go into hot topic"

mikes eyes widen, "oh.. okay" el turned around slowly to look up at him "do you not like hot topic? we can choose a different store." she suggested

"oh, no, it's fine, i just haven't been in there in forever, it i don't know- it just freaks me out" he shrugs.

"oh ya, i get you, but it's fine! you'll be fine!i'll just look around for a bit yknow, then we'll leave." mikes eyes got bigger,  "ya sure..."

"are you sure? i don't wanna go if you're uncomfortable."

"no it's fine, i don't wanna ruin your day over this," 'let's just hope they're not there' mike hoped.

"oh...okay!" she said in a suspicious tone. as they walked into the store they received two dirty looks from two separate girls who seemed to be friends. el took notice but mike pretended to play dumb.

as they were headed into the back of the store el whispered to mike "hey, is it just me or did those girls look at us?" mike turned his head and used his best fake tone "what girls?" he questioned, el tilted her head, "don't act dumb! those girls in the front!"

"them?" he asked as he eyed them. "yes, them."
then she gasped "do you know those people?"

"ya, it's really complicated, i'm not really close with close so i try to avoid them at all costs." he says.

"why?" mike gulped, "uh, i just don't like them. can we not talk about it?" he scratched his head.

"oh! i didn't mean to-"

"it's fine. really." he said "oh, okay" el quickly turns around to get another glance at the girls but mike quickly pulled her face towards his, squishing her cheeks making her blush.

"ignore them if they give you any sort of weird looks. okay?" be quickly realized the awkward position he had put them both in and released her.

"i get it. no need to be all awkward." she shrugged it off, acting as if nothing had just happened, when truly she wished for more.

★

after minutes of looking around those girls were still looking at them, so she tried to shrug it off by looking around. then finally something caught el's eye.

'oh my gosh, i need this' el thought.

"ooo, is this shirt cute?" el asked as she pulled up a black shirt with a pink looking alien on it.

"what is that creature? looks cool but weird at the same time..." he scrunched up his face.

"what...did...you...say...?" she said slowly as she gazed into his eyes, slowly but surely scaring mike a bit.

"it looks cool, you'd like weird crap that that."

"this so called 'weird crap' is melanie martinez, you uneducated rat."

"i feel threatened..." he glanced back and forth and the two exits around and then he felt two pairs of eyes of him.

it them. the two girls, staring and them, whispering. he wanted to do everything to make sure to el wouldn't see but it was too late.

"are they gossiping about us?" she questioned.

"i'm sure you're just paranoid ignore them-"

then he was cut off by a high pitched voice.

it was the blonde employee, the one that whispering about them. she was now facing el, mike gulped freezing up a little bit.

"nice to meet you, i'm rebecca." she held out her hand for el to shake, which she gladly accepted with a firm handshake.

"i'm el," el said trying to not sound as nervous, i mean- neither of them really knew this woman so why is she randomly doing this?

her thoughts were then cut off when she heard the words,

"i know who you are silly, you're the woman that my boyfriend has been seeing behind my back!" she smiled, almost like a villain.

that sentence was enough for el's heart to break.

"what...?"

★

cliffhanger. i wonder what'll happen next..