strangers. mileven au.

seven.

CHAPTER SEVEN:
DEFINITELY NOT THE MIKE I KNOW.

eleanor switched off the warm running water from her shower. the party had gotten back from the lookout just around midnight, everyone claiming that staying out too long would only result in them sleeping in tomorrow and therefore wasting the little time they had together.

so when they got home, the boys moved out into the living room and eleanor and max settled back into her room. both of the girls hurrying to take showers and get to sleep as quick as possible.

after getting dressed of course, the brunette joined her friend in her bedroom. the girls taking their time to turn off all the lights and shift into the soft cushions of the mattress located in the corner of eleanor's room. it was quiet for a long time, but each of them stayed awake. casually enjoying the comfortable silence that they rested in together.

"you and mike seemed pretty comfortable around each other tonight... finally got the courage to say something to the boy?" max whispered into the dark, completely breaking the silence.

she had already interrogated eleanor after the whole staring at him when they first arrived situation, teasing her a bit when she finally admitted she just thought the boy was cute. however, the redhead had good intentions when teasing her, knowing that thinking someone was cute is completely different than wanting to date them.

"we just talked about... well life. it wasn't that big of a deal. we were just getting to know each other." eleanor responded calmly. she was facing towards the wall, trying her best not to fall asleep in the middle of their small conversation.

"getting to know each other? doesn't he already know everything? you're his best friend's adopted step sister. your past is shitty but it's not really our place to ask unless you're me. you're the same age as us and you're pretty cool. he knows the summary... just like everyone else... why is he asking for details..." max thought out loud.

"i mean, he is my step brother's best friend... i'm pretty sure he knows a little more than "just the summary"... maybe he wants to fill in the gaps." eleanor retracted as she yawned, completely not connecting to whatever max was trying to figure out.

max suddenly sat up, scaring eleanor enough to make her roll over to make sure she was okay, "mike doesn't give jack shit about filling in any gaps unless you're a "gap" in his fucking gpa. the boy doesn't even pick up the phone when his mom calls cause he doesn't think it's important."

eleanor slowly sat up next to the girl, rubbing her eyes as she spoke, "umm... are you trying to make some kinda point here?"

max looked over at the tired girl before continuing to question the boy's actions, "my point here is... why?"

"um... why not?" the small girl asked confused, leaning up against the wall.

"you see... mike isn't the type to get to know people, let alone a girl. he's had the same friends his entire life. i'm pretty sure the last girlfriend he had was freshman year and they barley dated for even a month. she was horrible too by the way. ANYWAYS... you see he just doesn't care to put effort into people. honestly if you aren't lucas, will, or dustin... he's actually fucking rude. he's barley nice to me and we've known each other since the end of seventh grade." the girl ranted, "but this entire time... he's been so kind to you, and polite? like who is he cause that's definitely not the mike i know."

eleanor shifted against the wall, pulling her knees close to her chest. based off the things will had told her about the raven haired boy and their small conversation on the hill, she could never imagine him being rude. he's so gentle around her, so willing to listen...

"if i had to guess... to me it seems like he's into you." before eleanor could disagree, max continued, "i never thought that asshole would have the balls to go after his best friend's sister." she finished giggling.

eleanor rubbed her eyes again, completely confused on where this conversation had ended up, "he's not into me... he's just being nice cause he knows how important i am to will. i'm pretty sure my brother would kill him if he was anything but nice to me. AND even if he was, i highly doubt he would do anything cause i know his relationship with will is probably far more important than me."

"whatever you say..." her friend smiled at her, making eleanor shake her head, "i mean i'm not the biggest fan of mike, but just imagine if you guys dated. we could go on cute double dates and you could have a reason to come visit all the time instead of just staying back. i wouldn't have to be the only girl any more and - "

eleanor moved her legs back underneath the blankets before laying her head back down on her pillow, "sounds like me dating him is more for your convenience." eleanor giggled at the absurd hopes of her selfish friend.

"well of course. i've put up with mike's rude ass for years, the least he could do that is date someone i actually like... you're a perfect candidate in my opinion." max smiled before laying down next eleanor. eleanor didn't respond. she only rolled over again, back into the comfortable position she was in before the redhead had sat up.

both of the girls slowly slipped into a much needed sleep, each of them pondering the raven haired boy's behavior towards the shy girl. eleanor couldn't help but to be somewhat happy that mike treats her so differently from everyone else, but she knew he was only doing it because of will. yet, there was a tinge of hope she held onto that maybe... just maybe he wasn't.

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a/n: thank you to everyone that's reading and voting on my chapters!!