Thank you to everyone that has left their input on where I should take this story, please continue to do so! It seems the majority of you want mileven before the conflict and your wish is my command. However you're going to have to wait a little bit longer ;) I have a few chapters prewritten and they may or may not have gotten already. That's all I'll say, my lips are sealed for now!
Jane sat at the head of her bed, a notebook in her lap and a boy in her room. A boy in her room. She tapped her pencil on her chin while he read from the textbook, doing her best to appear as if she were paying attention to what he was saying. But she was having an incredibly difficult time focusing on anything other than the fact that Mike Wheeler was sitting at the foot of her bed. He was too busy reading to notice her starring at him, which she was infinitely thankful for.
"The Great Depression lasting from 1929 to 1939, and was the worst economic downfall in the history of the industrialized world. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a frenzy and wiped out millions of investors." He read, "It proved, if nothing else, that Hoover was one of the most useless presidents America had ever seen."
Jane laughed, "It doesn't say that."
"But it's true."
She shook her head, "Skip to the part the questions are on."
He flipped one of the pages and started skimming for the answer to the first question. Jane pulled her knees up and used them as a makeshift desk for her notebook, still looking at him out of the corner of her eye. It was totally unfair for one person to be so attractive. She would have to have a talk with his mother about his impossibly good genes and inquire where she could find some better ones for herself.
"Okay, I think I found it." He said, resting the book on his knee. "Despite assurances from President Herbert Hoover that the crisis would run its course, things only got worse over the next three years. By 1930, 4 million Americans looking for work could not find it; that number had risen to 6 million in 1931."
Jane's ears perked up at the sound of a car door shutting outside the house. "Hold on a second." She said, hoping off the bed and darting to the window. Down in the driveway her mom dug through her purse for her keys as she approached the front door. Panic swelled in her chest, not knowing how her mom would react to coming home to a boy in her daughters room. She'd never tried it before. Jane looked away from the window to face Mike again. "My mom just got home. I'm gonna let her know I'm here really quick."
"Yeah, sure."
She walked out of her room, closing the door over just in case. Jane flew down the stairs in hopes of catching her mom before she passed by and saw Mike in her room. She found her standing in the living room, putting her keys in a dish on the coffee table next to the front door.
"Hi mama."
She turned, her eyes lighting up seeing her daughter standing in the doorway. "Hi honey." Terry said, coming over and giving her a quick hug. "Did you get a ride from a friend?"
"Yeah." She said, nervously glancing at the staircase, "We're working on some homework."
She smiled even wider, "Oh that's nice. I'm glad you're making friends already." Terry pulled off her jacket, putting it on the back of the couch. "What's her name?"
"… Mike."
Realization passed over her mothers face, "Oh." She said. Not a muscle in her face moved yet somehow it looked different. "This wouldn't happen to be the same friend who picked you up on Tuesday, would it?"
Jane shifted her weight from one leg to the other, "Maybe."
Terry nodded a few times, straightening up slightly. "Okay." She said after a moment. "You know, Jane, if you ever want to talk about boys-"
"God, mama, no." She interrupted. "It's not like that okay? He's just a friend, we're just doing homework. That's it."
Her mom narrowed her eyes at her, as if trying to read her mind and find out if she was telling the truth. After a few moments her face returned to her permanent smile. She sighed, putting a hand on Jane's shoulder. "Okay, okay. Have fun."
"It's homework." She said, heading back for the stairs. "It's not fun."
But as soon as she was out of sight she couldn't hold back a grin. Not only that she got away without too much interrogation, but because she knew what who waiting for her in her room. She pushed the door open then shut it behind her. Her mom had never said anything about her policy on boys and the door being closed so she decided to just go for it. Not like anything was going to happen, she thought to herself, she just wanted a bit of privacy from her caring but overbearing mother. Jane crossed the room and sat back down on the bed where she had been only a few minutes before.
Seeing that she was back Mike handed her his notebook. "Here." He told her, "I found the first answer.
"Oh, thanks." She took the notebook, paraphrasing his answer as she wrote it down in her own book. In her peripheral vision she could see him looking around the room. Suddenly she was self conscious of the way she had set everything up. Had she known she'd have a boy in her room her first week in Hawkins she would have put more thought into the layout.
"Have you made any more friends?" He asked, his gaze falling back on her
Jane shrugged, "Sort of." She admitted. "I sit with Max Mayfield at lunch now."
He nodded, "That's good." Mike said simply
She thought back to how Max reacted to her bringing up Mike the day before. Jane couldn't help but wonder if they had ever spoken before. She had said Mike was weird, and Jane couldn't help but wonder if she had come to that conclusion through a personal experience. Either way it likely have no affect on the way she was falling for him.
After about half an hour they'd manage to answer all of the questions for homework, leaving Mike with no reason to stay. Her heart sank slightly when he told her that if he missed dinner his mom would not be happy and that he had to leave. Jane walked him to the front door, relieved that her mom was nowhere to be seen once they got downstairs.
"Well thanks again for helping me." She said. Jane stood in the doorway while Mike stood on her front porch
"Yeah, no problem." He told her with a small shrug. "It was fun, for homework."
She grinned, "Yeah it was."
"Well I'll see you tomorrow." Mike said, starting towards the stairs. "Goodnight."
"Night."
Just as she had last time he left her house Jane bolted up the stairs and into her room to get one last look at him as he walked towards his car. She reached the window just in time to see him unlock the drivers side door with a smile on his face. Her cheeks flushed bright red at the sight, her face beaming. He disappeared once he got in the car, driving away a few moments later. Jane walked over to her bed, sitting down and starring at the spot he had been only a few minutes earlier. She couldn't contain the excited expression which felt now permanently painted on her face. It wouldn't come as a shock if she died grinning because Mike Wheeler had smiled after leaving her house.
She heard a small knock on her bedroom door before it cracked open, her moms head poking in. "How did the homework go?"
"Good."
Her mom raised an eyebrow at her, "Yeah, I can see that." Jane tried to straighten her face, but was painfully unsuccessful. Her cheeks ached as she tried to suppress the smile she wore. Her mom smiled even wider, "Well I'm glad you're making friends." She said, "I'm so proud of you, honey."
"Mom." She whined. Terry held up her hands and walked back out into the hallway, leaving Jane alone with her thoughts once more.
She leaned back until she was laying down on her bed. Jane imagined Mike driving home, with the same wide smile on his face she had seen only minutes before. Seeing him grinning to himself as he stood outside herself was her first inkling that maybe, just maybe, he might feel a fraction of what she felt. Though she thought it was too good to be true she still couldn't shake the feeling that it was possible. It was possible, wasn't it?
