NOT MY BABY;
FRIENDS TO ENEMIES
TO LOVERS AU.
"those ideas are lame," el thoughtlessly scoffed after listening to will and his best friends pitch their ideas for their senior prank.
she always knew their group wasn't made up of any masterminds, but she figured they'd be a bit more creative than just filling classrooms with balloons and lining the gym with cups of water.
"brave of you to call us lame like you're not wearing overalls," mike bit back with a sweet smile about as authentic as the flavorings in the cheese puffs they were eating.
basically, when joyce and hopper, el's father, married, she was supposed to get two step-brothers and somehow ended up with three. the third being mike wheeler, will's oldest and bestest friend.
believe it or not, their rigid and snappy remarks were once promises of lifelong devotion and friendship. seven year old el practically worshiped the ground eight year old mike walked on. he was her hero, her knight in shining armor, her prince charming, all of it.
when will would say she couldn't play with him and his friends because she was younger or because she was a girl, mike would disband from his own friends just to hang out with her. not just to make her feel better either, he genuinely preferred her company. eventually will got tired of mike ditching them for her and el was finally allowed to sit in on their dungeons and dragons campaigns.
and, as that seven year old girl grew up and blossomed into a wide-eyed fourteen year old, excited for the start of her high school career, her most beloved friendship seemed to wither into nothing but ash.
freshman year, she scanned the halls and the cafeteria for his dark chocolate eyes, but they never found her. they never looked for her, she finally concluded.
three years later, she's a junior and he couldn't care less about her existence and if he does care at all, he would probably prefer for it to come to an end.
she stopped being torn up about his sudden coldness a long time ago and learned to give it right back, "you're going to insult me? really? have you seen your hair? you know, brushes are good for more than comparing the size of your-"
"el!" will interrupted, not wanting to know how she planned on finishong that sentence.
those brown orbs that once offered her a sense of comfort narrowed at his best friend. "why is she even here?" the question was directed at will. one of his favorite methods of insulting her was talking about her like she wasn't in the room.
the 'here' in question was the living room of her family's home, something she planned to make obvious, "this is my house. i live here, idiot."
he still didn't look at her, only continued talking to her step-brother like she wasn't sitting across from him. "can't she go to her room or something?"
"can't you go to hell or something?" she snarled.
dustin let out a low 'burn' while lucas just shook his head, laughing quietly.
the raven-haired boy smirked before finally addressing her again, "i'm just saying, your input isn't wanted or needed... per usual. there's no reason for you to be here."
max walked back into the living room from her trip to the kitchen, peanut butter and apple slices in tow. catching the end of what mike had said, she piped in, "aw, i missed the fighting again? aw, boo! restart from the beginning, please!" she hurried to take the vacant seat next to her boyfriend, her eager eyes skating between mike and el.
mike rolled his eyes. "yeah well, there's no reason for you here, either," he replied, this time to the ginger.
el and max were both juniors, but they'd both weaseled their ways into the meeting to discuss this year's senior prank.
