Mileven One-Shots

Vanity

El had never really thought about the way she looked. After all, she had spent twelve years of her life with a shaved head. Of course, no one saw her then.

Even after that, though, her looks never mattered to her. She took care of herself, of course. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, showered daily; basic hygiene. She thought she was pretty. Mike thought she was pretty. And to her, that's what mattered.

Until Max introduced her to tabloid magazines. Fashion magazines that portrayed toned, skinny girls with large breasts and butts and tanned skin. Not to mention the straight and white teeth, acne-free skin, and the long, voluminous hair. Every celebrity, both teenager and adult, was flawless. And of course, El didn't know anything about airbrush and photoshop.

"Max, these girls are pretty," El said.

"Yea, especially her. I wish I looked like that," Max said, pointing at a skinny, gorgeous blonde girl. Max was unknowingly affecting El by doing that.

"Why do I not look like these girls?" El asked.

"I don't know. Genetics, I guess. But they make all sorts of things you can use to adjust your appearance. Makeup, hair extensions, wigs, hair dye, all that stuff. But if we all looked the same, we'd be boring," Max said. El nodded and looked back at the magazines. What could possibly be so boring about being normal?

"Hey, don't think about it too much. Those girls are photoshopped anyway," Max said.

"Photo...shopped?" El asked.

"Yea. It means that before they publish the picture, they use editing to blur out imperfections and make their waists skinnier and their butts and boobs bigger," Max said.

"Why do they do that?"

"Because that's tabloid media. They want you to think that beauty is anything except for...well...who you are," Max said. But when El left Max's house the next morning, she was under the impression that she wasn't good enough how she was. And she wanted to change that.

She started with her hair and face. She went to the store and bought hair and skin vitamins, all sorts of creams for hair growth, and all kinds of makeup. She got foundation, concealer, mascara, eyeliner, contour...anything she could find. She got a rigorous skincare routine that took an hour and costed too much.

Then she moved on to her body. She researched any way possible to naturally enhance her breasts and her butt while making her waist, legs, and stomach smaller. She got into a rigorous, targeted exercise routine that lasted three hours a day. Her diet was literally vegetables and the occasional fruit. She got most of her nutrients through vitamins.

Mike noticed a change in El. She was less confident. She smiled less, and her ribs were visible even when she casually stood there. Her face was sunken, but he noticed she covered the dark circles with concealer. She disguised her cheekbones with contour. Her skin was so airbrushed she looked like an in person magazine photo. She had lipgloss or lipstick on all the time, as well as mascara. When they were sitting together reading, which they did often, he could hear her stomach growling. But when he offered to take her out to dinner, she refused. She refused even a granola bar. She appeared perfect to anyone who didn't know her. But to someone who did, like Mike, she was dying, both physically and emotionally. Mike knew he had to do something. His sign came when he met up with El and went to do the usual thing: putting his hands on her waist to kiss her. They did that almost every time they met up. But she didn't let him touch her.

"El, we need to have a serious talk. What's gotten into you?" Mike asked, sitting her down at the table. They were home alone. Joyce was out with Hopper for a case, since she'd gotten a job at the station. Jonathan and Nancy were out on a walk. And Will was hanging out with his friends from his new school, doing who-knows-what.

"What do you mean? I'm fine," El said. Mike reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"You are not fine. Something has changed with you, El. You won't eat anything except carrots and celery. You wear tons of makeup every day. Your rib cage is protruding and your cheekbones have sunken in a bit. Your under-eyes are dark, as if you don't sleep enough, or even at all. You won't even look at anything related to food. You won't let me hug you, either. You barely even smile anymore, El. Please, talk to me. What's going on?" He asked. His voice was gentle and caring. He wasn't mad. And even if he was, getting angry at her wouldn't help at all.

"I...I..." she started. She looked down at their hands connected on the table and when she blinked, tears rushed down her face.

"I want to be pretty...like the girls in the magazines..." El admitted. She was so unbelievably ashamed. Mike felt his heart shatter.

"El...you are perfect the way you are. What brought all of this on?" He asked.

"I just wanted to be perfect for you. I wanted to be...enough..." she whined.

"Come here," he said. He stood up and walked over to her and lifted her from her chair.

"You are more than enough for me, El. You're everything. My everything. You are absolutely beautiful the way you are. I love everything about you. Your cute little hands...your big brown doe eyes...your adorable ass smile...your soft lips...your laugh...your hair...your smooth, fair skin...the sound of your voice...everything," He said, brushing hair behind her ear and gazing into her eyes.

"What about my body...?" She asked.

"You don't need to have big breasts or a butt or a flat-as-a-board stomach to impress me, El. You impress me every day by being...you. Your confidence, your glowing smile, your kindness and how much you care about people, your strength...that's what I love about you. The shape of your body is not a priority. I love you for the little things that make you...you. Any girl can have long, flowing hair and glowing skin and a flawless body. But you know what they don't have that you do? A gorgeous personality. A barbie girl with no personality is boring. And you know what? Real girls have flaws. That's what makes you human. Your flaws make you who you are. And sometimes, those things that you view as flaws, are the things that those around you love most. And I love you. For everything that you are," Mike said. At that point, El was basically ugly crying. She put her arms around his torso and sobbed her little heart out against his chest. She sank to her knees on the floor and Mike went with her, not letting go of her for anything.

"I love you Mike...I love you..." she sobbed. He ran his fingers through her hair and started crying.

"I love you too El...I love you so much..." he choked. She finally stopped crying and then she was just sitting in Mike's arms as he held her against him for the first time in weeks. She pulled away and looked at him and Mike chuckled softly.

"What?" She asked, scared.

"You've got mascara..." he said. He grabbed a washcloth and put some water on it and wiped as much of it as he could from under her eyes.

"See? That's another reason you don't want to wear makeup. Tears and sweat smear your face," Mike said and El laughed.

"There's that adorable laugh I love," he said. She smiled and crashed her lips to his sloppily. He kissed her back and she sighed and rested her forehead against his.

"Let's get you cleaned up," he said. She nodded and he took her to her room and sat her at her vanity. He used a cleansing wipe to clean her face of her makeup and she had an urge to cover her face from him, but she didn't.

"There, all better. Now, what do you say we get you something to eat?" Mike asked gently. She looked down at her lap and tried to say no, but her stomach growled. She was so hungry.

"Come on," he said gently. She nodded and they loaded up in his car and he took her downtown to what he knew was her favorite place to eat. She hesitated when her food was set in front of her, but she ended up eating it and she felt so much better.

"Hey, El?" Mike said.

"Yea?" She asked, scared of what he'd say.

"You're perfect, and I love you," he said. She smiled and leaned across the table and kissed him.

"I love you too, Mike."