(lowercase intended)
five years.. five excruciating long years. today would've been their anniversary.. the five year mark of them being together. but now it was the five year mark of them being over...
five years since michael wheeler left el hopper. five years since the front door slammed. five years since lamps, picture frames, so many things shattered and broke into a million pieces along with their hearts
she didn't wanna wake up today. the memory being way too familiar in her mind, the screams they both let out, the cries, their hands and hearts trying to find each other again... but it was no use
a now twenty five year old el hopper sat up from her bed, still in her work clothes from the night before just way too exhausted to even change out of them. her mind felt cloudy.. her heart felt heavy in her chest as she got up—lazily walking to her closet and grabbing the first things she saw. she knew what today was—hence the reason she didn't wanna wake up today
she grabbed her new pair of clothes and walked into the bathroom turning on the shower and looking into the mirror. she looked awful. her hair was a knotted mess in a low pony, her eyes had dark circles around them. they were red from crying last night, crying and wishing that today wouldn't come. but it did.. much to her dismay
el sighed and slowly started pulling her dress off from her job at bennys. as she did that it fell to the floor and became a pair of plaid pajama pants as mike wheeler stepped into the shower. his face immediately going underneath the shower head wishing he could just drown in the water and nothingness..
the heat from the warm water started enveloping his bathroom, as a hand grabbed some vanilla scented shampoo and started working it into her brown-golden locks with a sigh. vanilla.. a scent that el has always carried with her. a scent that drives mike crazy, comforts him, can completely change his mood no matter what
after the shower mike stepped out grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. he looked at his completion in the dirty mirror, feeling as if it was mocking him today. he looked awful, his face looked so drained, his eyes red and puffy, a scruff starting to form on his jaw and upper lip. he didn't care though. but she would.. she would say something like "mike you're starting to look like my dad, pleaseeee shave i don't wanna kiss a cactus"
and he swears he could hear it. her soft soothing voice ringing in his ears.. feeling as if he laid down in silk. he could hear her laugh.. the beautiful sound that always made him smile, the dimples that he would poke.. the scrunch of her button nose.. everything. and that thought made him shake his head and grab his razor and shaving cream as he started shaving
once she got out of the bathroom all dressed and refreshed, she went into her kitchen and fed her cat 'eggo'. the name just brings back so so many memories.. the late nights they would have at her house, hiding inside a fort he made like kids and watching horror movies while eating eggos and candy. eggos used to be her favorite food.. so when she got a cat she named her eggo. it's weird she knows.. but she's already been teased by him for that
"eggo really? el baby come onnnn what if i want a eggo for breakfast? are you just gonna put her on my plate?" a younger mike asks his then girlfriend el as she holds her new kitten he got her for their third anniversary
she laughed, that same one that makes his heart leap to this day "you're silly—l-look at her little face, i could never michael" she says holding her kitten up in front of her boyfriends face as she sticks her tongue out at him
"heyyy what happened to 'baby'? why am i michael now?" he pouts
"because you are michael when you say dumb things"
