YOU WEREN'T MINE TO LOSE;
MATURE, AUGUST-INSPIRED
AU SET IN THE 80S.
when she first learned the news of hawkins high's beloved couple splitting just before summer began, she thought surely there'd been a mistake. surely there was a different mike wheeler and betty reynolds in question because the couple she knew had been hopelessly in love for the past three years.
but then el's step-brother, who was coincidentally mike's best friend, confirmed it, and she had no choice but the believe it.
and while it might be morally concerning, she was ecstatic to hear it.
see, the raven-haired boy that held a reoccurring presence in her home wasn't just her brother's best friend. no, that'd be too simple and easy, and the universe doesn't do simple nor easy.
as far as el's concerned, the universe is a bored bitch that revels in her suffering. her supporting evidence for this claim is her unrequited and unspoken love for that particular freckle-faced boy.
when she was seven, it was just a harmless crush that made her cheeks and ears tinge pink when he looked at her. ten years later, it had turned into a wicked love that made her want to whimper every time she saw him in the halls, hands intertwined with the beautiful betty — the perky blonde president of nearly every club the school board could afford to fund.
when el was driving home from her summer lifeguarding job and spied his familiar, slightly lanky figure walking the cobblestoned-path that encircled the hawkins park, something she hadn't been able to drawl from herself for ten years snapped.
she wasn't sure if it was the news of his fresh break up or the ego boast she'd gotten from the group of junior boys hitting on her at the pool that had her pulling the car she shared with will to a hasty stop beside him.
he must've recognized the car and assumed it was will because when he opened the passenger door to find her, he looked taken back.
"hey, el?" he hesitantly greeted, his eyes skating over her red bathing suit and white shorts.
she was instantly flooded with regret at her bold decision. stupid, stupid, stupid!
she swallowed and smiled, "um, i saw you walking. i thought i'd say hi..." she wanted to die. "so, hi."
he chuckled. "hi."
"need a ride?" the more she talked, the more she wished she didn't possess the ability to.
mike and her weren't friends. they were hardly even acquaintances with how much el tried to avoid him.
there was no reason he would accept a ride from her, that is if he even needed one. while she didn't see his car in the small lot across the park, surely he had parked somewhere.
he looked at her warily, a small smile on his lips. "according to will, you're a terrible driver. would i be safe on this ride?"
el suddenly forgot her worries at the mention of her brother's blasphemy. she scoffed, "yes, you'd be safe. will's full of shit. he hit a mailbox last month, you know?"
mike shook his head with a light laugh before surprising el and sliding into the car. "he didn't tell me about the mailbox. i'll have to bring it up, though."
el, still a little wide-eyed from him sitting in the car with her, nodded. "you should." she jerked her chin at him, "seatbelt."
he obliged but said, "i thought i was safe?"
she only huffed a laugh, not wanting to try for a witty response and sound like an idiot. she had a history of doing that around him. she accepted a long time ago that he probably just thought of her as will's weird step-sister.
