falling for you\\ elmax

"starcourt mall"

it was the end of the day. i looked across the hall to see eleven walking out of the school. and no mike in sight. i slung my backpack over my shoulder and ran to el just as she pushed open the doors to leave the school.
"hey, el?" i asked her, grabbing her arm. she turned around, surprised.
"oh, hey max, what's up?" she asked. i smiled.
"hey, i, uh, i have a question." i said, grinning. she waited for my question. i exhaled.
"i was thinking we could- hang out?" i asked. eleven stood, thinking.
"against the rules?" she asked, rubbing her arm softly. i smiled at her.
"i'm sure hopper wont mind if we hang out for a while at the mall, will he?" i asked. she shook her head, giving me a smile. she then nodded.
"great!" i said, running to grab my bike. i hopped on the bicycle seat. el stood up on the back of my bike. i looked back and smiled at her. she gave me the prettiest smile back. i started pedaling to starcourt mall.

we showed up to the mall. i put my bike in the bike rack by the entrance. we both hopped off. eleven looked up at the big glowing sign 'starcourt mall'.
"wow..." el said, chuckling. i laughed.
"isn't it cool? there's so much stuff to do in here, we'll have so much fun!" i looked at her and smiled. she nervously smiled back. i took her hand and we ran inside. she looked around in awe, looking at every food place, clothing store, and more.
"so, what do you want to do first?" i asked her happily. she looked at me and shrugged. i forgot she had no idea what a mall even was, and has never been. i thought of things we could do. i looked around at the stores. i suddenly saw 'the gap' and smiled.
"here, let's go over here." i said grabbing her arm and leading her to the clothing store.

we entered the store and a cool breeze swept through us. she shivered. i saw a light blue t-shirt with some cute jean shorts. i grabbed them off the shelf and held them up to me, el watched me as i did. i looked at her.
"feel free to look around, you can grab something you want to buy, i have money." i said, grinning. she nodded and she walked over to the next shelf. i walked over to a worker.
"can i get a fitting room please?" the tall lady nodded and lead me to my own fitting room.

i changed into my outfit and walked out of the room, and looked at myself in the mirror, feeling reassured about my outfit choice. i smiled. suddenly, before i went back into the changing room i saw el appear in the doorway with a colorful romper in her arms. she nodded.
"h-here, go in here." i said, opening the door for her.
"thanks." she said softly and walked in. she shut the door and locked it. i sat on a small sofa and waited for her to change. i heard the door clicked and she walked out. she had the romper on and saw herself in the mirror and smiled, and looked at herself from different angles. i smiled at her too and stood behind her. she turned to me.
"pretty?" she asked me. i smiled and looked at her outfit.
"pretty. really pretty." i said nodding. she turned back around. she was very beautiful and pretty, no wonder mike likes her so much. we went to the front and payed for the romper and my outfit.

we both ran out, shopping bags around our arms, laughing. from then on, we went from one store to the next, bought food, saw a movie, and we even took a bunch of pictures together. i've never seen el so happy if i was being honest. this is what she needed. what i needed, as well. finally, after a long 4 hours, it was time to go home.

we reached el's house. she ran to her porch, gave me a little wave. i waved back. just as i turned around she said,
"hey, max?" i turned around. "thanks for taking me. i had a lot of fun with you." i smiled. she ran down the stairs and gave me a huge bear hug. i smiled and hugged her back.
"bye!" she said happily.
"bye!" i said as well, smiling. she walked inside. and that's when i knew i was falling in love with her.