stranger things imagines {slow updates}

𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭

"HI, MS. L/N. IS Y/N HOME?"

your ears perked up, and you cupped your ear to the wood of your closed bedroom door. the voice sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite place it.

"oh, hello, jane. yes, she's in her room."

your eyes went wide. why in the hell was eleven coming to visit you, this early on a saturday morning? you'd never really built a strong friendship with the girl, mostly because of the undeniable jealousy you harbored toward her. i mean, mike gave her all his attention, all the time. how could you not form some sort of disdain?

you heard quick footsteps echoing down the hallway, so you rushed toward your bed and pretended you'd been reading when eleven knocked on your door.

"can i come in?" she asked, sweetly. with a roll of the eyes, you stood and opened the door, plastering your most genuine-seeming smile onto your face, you stepped aside and invited eleven into your room.

"hey, el. what brings you here?" you queried, pushing some clothes off of your beanbag chair so that she could sit. she fiddled with her fingers and sighed, plopping onto the cherry red beanbag.

"y/n, do you think i like mike?"

the forwardness of her inquiry shocked you, but you felt forced to answer truthfully. you were many things, but you were not a liar, and you couldn't look eleven in the eye and say no.

you puffed a breath as you sat on the edge of your bed. "yeah, kinda."

a small but noticeable smirk crept onto eleven's face, but it was forced down the minute it appeared. you awaited her next words with a quirked eyebrow, unsure where this conversation could be going.

"i don't, y/n. but i do know someone who does..." she trailed off, the smirk reviving itself. you blushed a bright red and shook your head, wide eyed.

"oh, no, no, no. i don't... that's weird. i don't like mike. that's kinda gross," you lied, unintentionally overdoing it. you couldn't help it - no one but max had ever guessed that you were in love with your best friend, and you wanted to keep it that way.

"friends don't lie. and it doesn't matter if you deny, because i know already. max told me."

you rolled your eyes, but a smile made its way to your face. even though max's blabbermouth annoyed you, something about the way eleven was looking at you suggested that there was something in this for you.

"that's not why i came over here, though. i just wanted to clear things up with you so we could be friends," eleven explained. you weren't disappointed, but there was a nagging feeling that she was lying. that couldn't be it, could it? nevertheless, you wanted to be her friend too.

with a smile, you stood and grabbed your sweater from your desk. "why don't we go to the mall, and hang out? steve'll give us free ice cream since he owes me for getting him the job."

eleven beamed, and the two of you set off to the mall. even though you still had that gut feeling that something was off, you ignored it and prepared to have fun with your friend. you hadn't had a 'girls' day in a while.

•••

"eleven, no. i am not buying that dress."

the girl huffed, and forced the material into your arms. "but it's your favorite color! don't you want to look nice for mikeeee?"

you shushed her, glancing around the shop for any of the boys. remembering very quickly that you were in a woman's clothing store - and that none of them would be caught dead in one of those - you sighed. "i'm starting to wish i never told max. you just have to promise me you won't tease me in front of him." you went to hang the piece of clothing back up.

•••

"god, lucas. i can't just... go up to her and say it! how the hell do you think that'll work out?"

lucas eyed mike as if he was a complete and utter idiot.

"like this. 'hi, y/n. i'm in love with you. date me?'" lucas mimicked mike's nervousness in the pitch of his voice, causing will and dustin to burst out into laughter. mike rolled his eyes, looking down so that he could hide his pink cheeks.

"seriously, mike. it isn't that hard. she is totally head over heels for you," dustin added, popping a chip into his mouth. the four boys were out in the mall. little did mike know - the other three were plotting against him, and working with eleven and max to pair him with y/n. they were getting tired of listening to him bitch and moan about being so in love that they decided enough was enough.

"that's a false statement. y/n isn't a wuss, like me. she woulda said something by now."

suddenly, mike heard a familiar voice and he turned to it on impulse. once he caught the h/c of y/n's hair, he swallowed hard and snuck into the store, hiding behind one of the mannequins. even though he looked like a teenage pervert, lucas and the other tolerated it. their plan was going just as they wanted.

"don't you want to look nice for mikeee?" eleven, who was with you, commented. mike's heart froze, and then sped up faster than he thought humanely possible. why would she say that?

to his surprise, y/n blushed a cherry red and shushed her friend, glancing quickly around the store. "i'm starting to wish i never told max. you just have to promise me you won't tease me in front of him."

mike's mouth formed into a perfect 'O', while lucas, will and dustin whispered words to victory. y/n had just unintentionally confessed to mike! finally, the annoyance of them keeping their love secret could be lifted.

with a start, mike jumped out from behind the mannequin and gaped at his best friend. "what does that mean?" he asked, quite loudly. the boys facepalmed, unsure how their friend could be so goddamn stupid. what the hell else could it mean?

you stared back at him with equal surprise and embarrassment, dropping the dress in your hands. by now, the entire store was silently judging the six of you, but all you could focus on was the fact that you were going to have to explain to your best friend that you liked him. or maybe you could lie?

before you even got the chance to, eleven jumped in, seeing where the conversation was going to go. "okay, because you guys obviously are dumb, you both like each other. we tried to get you to find out by yourselves, but... that didn't work out," she clarified. lucas, will and dustin waved at you awkwardly, and you understood what had happened.

they had been trying to set you up! usually, you would've been upset, but... how could you be? your secret crush was out in the world, but so was mike's, and you happened to be it.

what the hell were you supposed to do now?