discontinued. The Way We Live Now ⇔ Mileven {3rd - "Wake Up, Mike" Trilogy}

Nine

[idea for the second half of this chapter by StrangerLulu Thank you for the great suggestion!]
This is definitely my favorite chapter so far.
Enjoy(:

Mike.

She was with Holly when I went inside. She looked up at me, her mouth curled down into a frown. Her eyes had bags underneath them, which I only noticed right now. She looked so tired and sad, it made me physically stop in my tracks. That's when Max walked up behind me, though, stealing the attention of the room. Everyone greeted her happily with hugs and sighs of relief. I couldn't even look, my eyes were focused on El.

She stood up off the floor with a small smile on her face, her eyes gained a more lively look as she eyed Max up and down. When Max was finally free, El hurried forward and pulled her into a hug. They hugged for a long time, looking to have a silent conversation with each other as El nodded without Max saying anything. El's smile increased while they hugged, but dropped again right before they pulled away. Her face went blank as she looked at Max, but soon nodded once more. She gave a little smile to the rest of my family, then turned to me. I took in a deep breath, once again examining the dark circles under her eyes. She was about to speak, but I beat her to it.

"El, could we talk in my room?" I asked in a rush of words, which obviously surprised her. My nerves kept getting worse and worse as she nodded, leading the way to the stairs. My family looked confused, but I just gave a barely there, insincere smile. I then followed El up the stairs and into my room, closing the door behind us. When I finally looked back over to her, she took in a deep breath.

"Honestly, how does this even work? Are we supposed to fight like in the movies, or is that a movie thing?" She asked, tucking her straightened hair behind her ear before throwing her hands up into the air in a surrendering manner. She shook her head, laughing a little, but without much humor. "We rarely fight, Mike, I have no idea how it works. I've only seen Lucas and Erin fight." She continued to talk, her hands falling down to fiddle with her bracelet. She put all of her weight onto one leg, making her hip jut out slightly. She looked up at me with only her eyes, her mouth slightly parted. I let out an involuntary smile, which made her furrow her eyebrows. "What?"

"I just love you. You're beautiful." I shrugged my shoulders, making her tilt her head to the side. She smiled lightly, looking down at the ground. She looked happy for a moment, but soon gained that blank look again. I frowned, taking in a deep breath. "El, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act how I did. I was just stressed, and the way everyone was treating me set me off. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, you did nothing. Nothing but stay by my side through all of the shit I have. I put you through so much, and you handle it so well. You make sure I'm ok while maintaining everything else, and I don't thank you enough for that." I rambled, but she needed to hear it. She was looking back up at me now, her eyes blown wide. She opened her mouth to speak.

"M-Mike-" She started to speak, but I shook my head, once again cutting her off.

"No, El, really. I need to thank you for being here for me. You've been by my side for almost five whole years, not to mention those few weeks beforehand. You've never given up or gotten tired of me, you've only helped me. You've only loved me when no one else could, and I don't even know how to thank you for that." My voice teetered off into something quiet and sad, making her frown once more, her eyes glazed over with tears. She soon started to cry, shaking her head lightly and bringing her hands up to her forehead.

"Where would I go?" She asked, dropping her hands down to her sides and smiling lightly at me. "Where would I be without you? Mike, I am alive because of you. I live a normal life because of you. I have a family, two families! I have more friends than I could have ever wished for, and I have you." She smiled more, stepping closer to me and grabbing my hands. "You gave me the chance to live a normal life. You found me in those woods and you took me home. You stayed by my side when I needed you most, and when no one else would. You aren't perfect, but you're pretty damn close, so don't act like you cause shit in my life. You are the light in my otherwise dark room, and I will forever love you for that."