𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 | mileven au.

FIFTEEN...

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"LIABILITY!"

mike slammed his head against the rough steel of his locker, letting out a hefty sigh as he rubbed his eyes that were sagging with exhaustion. it was a drowsy monday morning and mike had gotten almost no sleep, his thoughts constantly drifting back to the girl who had invaded his thoughts whenever he closed his eyes.

he couldn't help it! he had really tried to get her off his mind after he wasn't able to muster up the courage to call her. every time he felt himself dozing off, his mind flashed images of her doe eyes swirled with a certain heart-fluttering warmth or he was dragged back to the feeling of her soft lips against his freckled cheek.

his thoughts were interrupted by the sweet sound of a brunette's melodic voice passing through his ears, causing him to jump as the girl spoke to him.

"mike! you never called me this weekend!" eleanor exclaimed with a small smile as she tugged at the straps of her backpack.

"oh! uh, yeah. i'm so sorry about that, i-i feel really bad and it had nothing to do with you. well, no that's not true. it had everything to do with you." he chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his neck.

"what?" she frowned with scrunched eyebrows as he spoke, causing him to retract his words immediately with wide eyes.

"no, no, no! not like that, i meant that i just get really scared to talk to you because you make me really nervous." he attempted to explain in a nervous mess of words.

"you do?" she questioned with an innocent tone, quiet and sweet in all the ways that made mike's heart melt as his cheeks heated up at the sight of her adorably furrowed eyebrows and bewildered expression.

"yeah! like, really nervous! not that that's a bad thing, it's a good thing, i promise. like, you make my heart beat really fast and you make me sweat a lot." mike's sentences ran together as he rambled, causing a giggle to escape from her pink lips.

"you make my heart beat really fast, too. but don't be nervous to talk to me. we're friends, right?" she questioned, placing her hand on his shoulder. he tried to stop the sharp breath that came from his lips at the sudden contact, failing miserably.

"yeah, of course," he smiled warily, his feet shuffling beneath him as his gaze faced the ground.

the two stood in place awkwardly as other students walked past them, a few of them snickering and sharing whispers as they watched eleanor hopper talk to one of the nerdiest students at hawkins high school.

"uh, if you want we can study together at my house tonight." mike suggested anxiously as a wide smile lit up el's features.

"yeah, that sounds awesome! i'll be there at six," she replied, mike returning the grin as she leaned against the locker next to his. just as mike was about to respond, the sound of harsh ringing sounded over the school.

"well, there's the bell. i'll see you later tonight, mike." she said, skipping away with a flaming shade of red upon her cheeks.

—

the two girls sat side by side in their math class, sharing annoyed expressions as their teacher droned on about geometric sequences.