imagine | mileven au

chapter 2

he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart and erratic nerves. "it's okay. you're okay." he whispered to himself as he shakily made his way to the girl of his dreams.

eleanor hopper was a very quiet girl. she didn't really have any friends as such because she liked to keep to herself. but she wasn't one to shy away when the time came. it was in kindergarten, when troy harrington was troubling mike. he took away his toy and kept calling him 'frogface'. kids saw what was happening but no one really did anything. everyone knew troy was a bully, what could they do? but eleanor hopper didn't think so. she snatched the toy from his hands and gave it back to mike. she also threatened to call the teacher and that for sure did make troy back off. mike was in awe. she had given him a kind smile and that smile had been imprinted on his mind ever since. he did not exactly know what it was about that smile, but it strummed his heartstrings. and after that, he couldn't look at any other girl. eleanor hopper was it.

she saw him coming towards her and heaved a sigh of relief. michael wheeler was one of the nicer people in her school and she didn't mind talking to him. being alone in that big a crowd was making her anxious and it felt good to see a familiar face. her lips curved into a pleasant smile. "hi, michael."

he bit his lip nervously, not expecting her to greet him first. "uh, hi, eleanor."

"it's good to see you."

"good to see you too, uh. h-how are you?" he tried to force words out. truth was, the second she smiled at him, he felt like his heart was going to slip out of his chest. she was so beautiful.

"i'm good. final year's made my head feel all tangled. thank God for holidays!" she said, looking up and interlocking her fingers.

"tell me about it! although i feel like as soon as the break is over, our teachers are going to start cracking the whips or something!" he joked, and she giggled. it was then when it hit mike- eleanor hopper's laugh was probably one of the most adorable things in the world out there. he had to come up with more funny things to say because damn it, he wanted to make her laugh again.

"i swear! it's.. it's been a crazy year. and i know that the coming year is going to be even crazier." she sighed, shaking her head.

"ah, yes. are you applying for colleges, or do you want to work for a while?" he asked.

"i am applying to colleges. and it's likely that i'll have to move out of hawkins, you know? it's scary. i mean.. sure it's not the most perfect town to live in, but i.. i've been here my whole life."

"i get it. i'll probably be moving out for college too. this town.. it's.. whatever it is. but it's home." he said, looking around at the hall.

"exactly! and my dad is here.. i.. i don't know how i'll manage without him." el said, gazing down. she didn't even know life without her father.

"you guys are close?"

"very close. he's.. he's the best father in the world." her voice cracked at the last sentence. mike noticed that and gave her a small smile.

"i'm not really close to any of my family members. i mean, i love them but.." he couldn't finish. he didn't really know how to explain it. his family was complicated. his father wasn't a bad human, he was just so.. emotionally absent from his life. and his mother... she was nice and they definitely communicated quite a bit, but she just never really understood him. nancy, his older sister was fine, but they weren't the best of friends. and same was the case for his younger sister, holly. he didn't have any problems with either of them, he just didn't feel any attachment.

"but?" she urged him to continue.

he bit his lip. "um, i don't know. i can't exactly describe what's wrong because really, there's nothing wrong. but i don't have any kind of emotional bond with anyone in my family. i know it sounds weird but-"

"it's not weird. dont think of it like that. no two families are the same." she interrupted him.

he was taken aback. truthfully, he didn't expect that from her. he didn't think she'd understand, considering she had a loving relationship with her father.

"i-i know, it's just..." he tried to express how he felt but words were failing him. or maybe it was because he didn't want to say it out loud.

el could see he was struggling. the conversation had taken a deeper turn, one both of them didn't see coming. sensing his discomfort, she reached out to him, gently putting her hand on his arm. "michael. it's okay. i understand. if you feel uneasy, then we don't have to talk about this."

the second her hand tenderly touched his arm, his mind was in a frenzy. she spoke to him with such compassion that his heart felt like it was going to burst. he felt so lovesick in that moment that he just wanted to confess his feelings for her. but he didn't want to scare her away. they had only been talking for a while.

"t-thanks. maybe some other day, when i have the right words." he said nervously.

she gave him a bright smile. "whenever you are ready, i'm here."

God. she really was perfect.