strangers. mileven au.

one.

CHAPTER ONE:
FAMILY.

the moonlight dimly shined through the aged window of the teenage girl's bedroom. she sat perched on her bed, focused on the papers sprawled in all sorts of directions across her peach colored quilt.

senior year... the year that was supposed to be "the easiest" was giving the seventeen-year-old a full-blown panic attack the night before it even begun.

however, she pushed through, determined to get as much work done as possible before the sun could rise. as she was scribbling away at her summer reading essay, that wasn't due until the next week mind you, a small creak came from the door of her room. 

"el? wha- what are you still doing up?"

she sat up as her step brothers whisper traveled across the room, slightly taken aback by the sudden interruption.

"i'm just finishing this... sorry... almost done... then i'll turn off the light... promise."

he made his way to her makeshift workstation, scooting over some papers to make room to sit in front of her.  "you worry too much... most of this isn't due tomorrow you know."

no response...

"can you please calm down."  he swiftly swiped the paper away from under her pencil, making her puncture the bedding beneath it.

"will... you know how difficult school is for me." she huffed. although, it's not like she was wrong. school was always a topic that made her wanna curl in a ball and disappear. this was not just because of the people, though some could be blamed, but it was because of the work. eleanor always tried her hardest at school just to meet the average student mark. even if she always ended with good grades, it took the life outta her just to get them.

"yea but... can't you just relax tonight. it's almost 1:30. i'll help you tomorrow... well today really... after school." he smiled, earning an unconvincing stare from his sister.

she thought for a second before letting out a small, "i guess" to his proposal. she shifted all her papers into a pile, straightening them out before leaning over to the side of her bed to put them all in her book bag. she finally looked back at her brother, only to find him focused in thought.

"so... why are you up?" she questioned, knowing only half the answer he was about to give her.

"well... besides your light shining from underneath your door and into my room..." will always had a weird habit of not sleeping with his door closed. of course, his room had to be right across from hers too, so anytime her light was on while he was trying to sleep... she would never hear the end of it, "... i also just couldn't sleep."

she gave him a look. over the past few years of being siblings, they had accommodated some known sibling skills... like knowing exactly what each other was thinking or going to say. like right now, will could tell she was asking why without even having to say it.

"you know how mom has been asking me what i want for my eighteenth?" he was correct. her beloved step mother had been begging her stubborn son to give her ideas on what he wanted for his birthday. it was only a few weeks away at this point, so her demands have gotten a lot more urgent.

"yes... it's kind of annoying by the way. i still need to get you something."

he rolled his eyes at his sister, taking a deep breath before continuing. "i think i know what i want... but i'm not entirely sure mom will be up for the idea."

she nodded, not catching his drift at all to what he was trying to imply.

"i want... i wanna invite everyone over. you know my friends... but like my real friends... from hawkins."

she nodded again, but this time slower.

eleanor had always heard stories about his friends from hawkins, but she had never actually met them. this was mostly because her dad worked so much, being the chief of police and all, whenever joyce and will would leave to go visit hawkins... el would stay home to make sure her father wasn't alone. she never minded staying back though, besides they were will's friends not hers.

"i just thought it would be a cool idea. it's been years... and they would get to see my new life... the city... and meet you guys... i mean they want to meet you all. every time we go visit, they are so curious about you and dad."

el thought about the idea. it was cool... of course. she would get to meet the people that shaped her brother's childhood. yet she wasn't completely sure if joyce would be up for having a bunch of teenagers stay over at her house for however many days they decide to stay. let alone also having her father agree to the idea.

"why don't you just... ask?" the words came out of her mouth a little too obvious.

"wow... i didn't think about that one..."

she glared at him, not appreciating the attitude. "you know what i mean... ask. like come up with some super convincing plan so they know you're responsible enough."

this time he nodded, trying to formulate her words into an idea of what he could possibly say to their parents. "can you help me?"

eleanor smirked at her brother. she was getting tired at this point and knowing she had to get up in less than five hours was not helping her case. "i'll help you think of something to say... after you help me with my homework tomorrow." she turned around reaching for the switch to her bedside lamp.

"el."

"sleep now.... think later. i promise i'll help you but it's late. i'm too tired to think about something that will actually get the approval of our father."

will knew she was right, but he didn't completely want to admit it. "i guess so... but later we will come up with something... yea?" he confirmed to himself while standing up from her bed.

"yes. later, goodnight willie."

"goodnight, ellie." he mimicked back at her, not a fan of the annoying nicknames they had given each other at the beginning of their relationship. he quietly shut her door and slipped back into his bed, waiting for sleep to finally envelop both of them.

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a/n: thanks for reading!