animal / mileven au.

eight.

CHAPTER EIGHT;
UNDESIRED TASTE.

it was unbearably warm in el's second period.

as the late september air turned crisp in the wake of autumn, the school cranked up the heaters to toast the students during their studies. her discomfort could've also had something to do with the turtleneck sweater she adorned in an effort to hide the faded love bites that littered her skin from her neck all the way down her stomach.

it seemed mike was taking full advantage of their newest 'no rules' agreement as he left the shameless marks without any trace of reluctance. to be fair, it isn't like she tried to stop him -- given her position at the time, she wasn't exactly in a reasonable headspace.

upon finding the purple-tinted spots which violated her olive complexion that following day, she couldn't help but smirk. normally she would scoff, flustered at the inconvenience of covering the hickeys and angry with mike for leaving them. but things had evolved, and the memory of his lips on her skin made her pulse quicken in excitement -- shockingly not the arousal type of excitement... well, not just the arousal type of excitement.

el gnawed on her lip, absentmindedly fanning herself to fight off the warmth. feeling an elbow nudge her, she flickered her gaze to danny who was staring at her with an expression of concern. "you're sweating," he noted in a hushed tone, not wanting the teacher to catch him.

a faux smile tugged at her lips before she snappily replied, "thanks for the observation."

after lucas' party (which was for mike, but seeing as he didn't really care too much about it, i'm deeming it to be lucas' party), the couple never recovered. daniel assumed they would bounce back as they did after every fight, but el couldn't just ignore that side of him, leaving their relationship on the rocks for the time being. the things he said hurt and she was in no rush to forgive him or smooth things over. unfortunately, their assigned seats remained as they were and she had to sit beside him.

the football player sighed. "how long are you going to be mad at me, ellie? i've apologized a thousand times," he complained, keeping a watchful eye on the teacher to make sure he didn't catch them conversing.

her eyes narrowed before pointing her glare. "sorry for what exactly? pushing me on the ground? calling me a slut? calling me a whore? or is it just a general apology, hm?" she seethed before turning back to the front, pushing up the sleeves of her emerald green sweater.

"it's been over a week. you can't stay mad at me forever," he claimed. el's lips stayed shut, focusing in on the lecture. "babe, please," he pleaded, angling his head to appear more appealing.

"mr. watson, would you like to share with the class what matter is so pressing that you can't wait until after my class to discuss with miss hopper?" mr. meyer asked, ceasing his prior teaching to stare at the jock with a sharp eye.

daniel shook his head. "sorry, sir. won't happen again."

el couldn't help but roll her eyes. she grabbed her pencil and finished taking her notes, thankful for daniel's newfound silence.

the shrill of the school bell sounded, dismissing her and her classmates. she groaned, knowing daniel was hanging around her desk as she collected her books, wanting to talk to her.

thankfully, mr. meyer beckoned her to his desk, "miss hopper? a moment of your time, please."

she heard danny's faint huff of disappointment as she made her way to the front of the room. "yes?"

he smiled. "we spoke earlier this week about you wanting to help tutor some students?" she nodded, knowing exactly where this was going. "it seems one of my students in my afternoon class has fallen behind due to his lacking attendance. however, to my surprise, he's requested some help. i was wondering if you were up for the task?"

she bit back the smile that threatened her lips before nodding vehemently, "of course."

her economics teacher hesitantly revealed, "well, i must warn you, this student is a bit rigid." he pulled a folder out of the drawer with a certain raven-haired boy's name written on it. "this is all of his missing work thus far, and we're hardly a month into the school year. i completely understand if you decline. mr. wheeler has a tendency to leave an undesired taste."

oh, believe me, mr. meyer. el is quite well acquainted with his taste.

she shrugged before taking the vanilla-colored folder from her teacher. "i'm sure it will be fine. plus, it's not like we're complete strangers. he's actually my neighbor," among other things -- but mr. meyer really didn't need to know about that.

the middle-aged man rose from his seat with a satisfied grin. "thank you, miss hopper. you have no idea the help this is for me. i'll be sure to remember it when i write your recommendation later in time for college applications."

she nodded graciously, putting mike's folder into her bag. "no problem, mr. meyer. i'm happy to help," and with that, she dismissed herself and exited the bland classroom.

she was overcome with pride as her and mike's plan had been a success. tutoring was a perfect cover in the case of any flaws in their now undefined relationship. that was one of the flaws in this whole 'no rules' thing. she wasn't sure where they stood. in one way, it was exciting and made their time together all the more thrilling. but the uncertainty also filled her with a sort of dread she wished she could ignore.

she meant was she told him at the party -- she wasn't sure what she wanted. before, daniel was love and mike was sex. it was simple, black and white. she appreciated that simplicity more than she realized because now it was all a blur. she knew her relationship with mike stretched beyond their physical desires, and it scared her.

despite the divide between them, she was still with danny. and, despite how unsettling it was, mike was still with candy.

it was all one, big mess and the solutions seemed so obvious yet so out of reach.

el shoved the weighing thoughts away, finding her locker to switch her books out for her next class. as she began swapping her folders, she felt a lingering presence. her hazel orbs flickered to the small mirror that hung in her locker to see a set of familiar dark eyes awaiting her attention.

she turned to him, a shocked expression reflecting her features. they never spoke at school. even without all of their rules, they didn't dare.

a smirk caressed his plump lips as his eyes danced with raw mischief. she couldn't help but find her thighs squeezing together in response as she swallowed harshly. "hi, tutor," he rasped softly, eliciting her mouth to gape.

a small smile crept upon her lips and she slyly replied, "you can call 'miss hopper.'"

despite her taunting, she wasn't expecting the bold step closer he took towards her. "oh, i'll call you whatever you want, baby," he dared, studying her features in a way that always made her feel as though she could melt to the floor. "when's our first tutor session?"

the bell for third period sounded and she rushed to grab her psychology textbook. closing her locker, she turned to the lanky boy that hovered over her with his superior height. "after school, my house. don't be late," and with that, she sashayed away, sure to swing her hips because she knew exactly where his eyes were fixed.

...

a/n: ok, since this book if obv going to have smut in it, do y'all want smut warnings every time? see idk if some of y'all skip it or if it doesn't make a difference. just lmk! thanks for reading, tho! xx

word count: 1320