hello it is i back with another update! in this chapter we see the return of emo mike because who doesn't love emo mike

jk i just like torturing my faves

hope you enjoy it! there's a shit ton of mileven today


"Michael! Jane's here!"

"Coming, Mom!"

Mike pressed a hand to the top of his head in a vain attempt to flatten his hair and frowned at himself in the mirror. He knew El could care less about his hair's efforts to ruin him, but he just always wanted to look good for her. Finally, he gave a frustrated sigh and flipped off his reflection before making his way down the stairs.

El was talking to his mom but she smiled when he came into the entryway. "Hey, beanpole, there you are," she said.

Mike saw his mom wrinkle her nose at the name, but he didn't think El had noticed. "Hey, half-pint, I thought I told you not to call me that."

"Is daddy long legs better?"

He rolled his eyes, reaching over to tug her away from his mom. "Bye, Mom, I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mrs. Wheeler!"

Outside, Mike dropped the car key and then smacked his head on the doorframe when he sat back up. "Jesus fuck!"

El laughed from the passenger side. "You okay there, Gigantor?"

He cut her a look. "You're a disgrace."

She smirked victoriously. "Says the one who hit his head on the ceiling."

Grumbling, Mike stuck the key in the ignition and pulled out of the driveway before grabbing ahold of El's hand and lacing his fingers with hers. At the first red light, he leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek, smiling. "You look really pretty."

She frowned, looking down at herself. "Mike, I'm wearing the same thing I usually wear." She was indeed, clad in rolled up jeans, a dark purple shirt, and a black jacket. The only thing she wore to offset the darkness were white Chucks.

"I know. I just always think you look pretty. You're beautiful, you know."

She hummed appreciatively. "Thanks, you goof. You're not so bad yourself. It's green, where are we going?"

"Ah, ah," he said, tapping his other hand on the steering wheel as he drove. "Not telling. You have to wait."

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up by a meadow. There wasn't anything particularly obvious about why he'd chosen this spot to bring El to.

El harrumphed. "I don't like surprises."

"We've been over this, El."

"Yes, and I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one, I promise."

She looked out the window before turning back to him. "Does your family know yet?"

"About us?"

"Yeah."

Mike shook his head. "Only Holly, but I made her promise not to tell anyone. Pretty sure my mom suspects it though, she's not stupid. She's just waiting for me to say something."

"No Dad?" El asked.

He snorted. "Like he'd care anyway."

"Mike-"

"I don't want to talk about him."

"But-"

He slammed his hands on the wheel, glowering. "I said I don't want to talk about him."

They sat in a thick silence until Mike got out of the car, taking a deep breath to calm himself before walking to the trunk to take out the picnic basket he'd packed. He looked up when he heard the door close, only to see El staring at him with a pained look on her face.

"I-"

"I'm sorry," he interrupted. "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, I'm being a dick."

She shook her head. "I shouldn't have pressed if you don't want to talk about it."

Mike sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Can we do this later? I just want to enjoy my time with you while the sun's still out."

She smiled a small smile, her features warming. "Sure."


The couple spent a good two hours eating the food Mike had packed and soaking up the late April sun. They might have kissed a few times (okay, a lot of times) but Mike was distracted. El's question had brought up the mountain of hurt he'd been trying to ignore for the last few days.

Ted Wheeler had never been the most interested father, and Mike didn't know if it was his fault for being boring (but then again he'd never asked to be born). Ever since the arguments with his wife began (the year before Nancy went to college), the man had become even more disinterested in his children, except for when something not to his liking occurred.

This time, Mike had gotten a C+ on a precalculus test. Normally he was pretty good at anything involving numbers, although he was more of a natural with words. However, the unit the most recent test had been on had been particularly difficult and on top of that he'd been running on fumes the whole week. His parents had started arguing later at night, yelling Holly awake and scaring her into her brother's room. He had to stay up long enough to comfort her and make sure she went back to sleep, and then until their parents eventually stopped.

(Mike had found out early on that he couldn't sleep through the arguing.)

The problem then was that he couldn't fall asleep. His concern for Holly and mounting anger at what their parents were doing to her kept him awake. It would be two or three in the morning before he managed to succumb to the darkness, and he had to get up at seven to go through a whole day of school. Some days there was the addition of work, an added three or four hours spent at the movie theater making popcorn and drinks and sweeping the floors. By test day, Mike could say he was absolutely exhausted. He'd been quite literally struggling to keep his eyes open while writing the test, actually having to lay his head on the desk for a few moments to collect himself enough to answer questions.

His father didn't see it that way. Mike had gone home in low spirits, berating himself for the grade he'd gotten and wondering how his parents would take it. Needless to say, it hadn't gone well. At dinner he could tell that his mother was extra on edge and that her husband was well aware of it. If Holly had decided she wanted to try to cut the tension with her plastic knife, she could have, but Mike couldn't wait to tell them. It would be worse if he did.

So he went ahead, and just as he'd predicted, neither parent was happy about it. Karen was more disappointed than anything, but she understood why this test hadn't gone as well and urged him to do better next time. Ted, on the other hand, blew up. He spent about five minutes hurling insults, making sure to drill into his son's head just how useless he was, until Mike excused himself from the table and locked himself in his room until morning.

The ensuing argument had been particularly loud that night, and Mike knew they were yelling about him even though their voices were muffled. He hadn't slept a wink, and it was these thoughts that were chasing him around as he lay in the meadow with El.

"El?" He said in a small voice, interrupting her long-winded rant about some stupid girls in her gym class.

"Yeah?" She asked, looking down. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

Apparently his feelings showed on his face because El immediately gathered him up into a hug, tucking his head under her chin and carding her fingers through his hair in what was obviously meant to be a calming gesture. All it did was make him start to cry faster.

He hated feeling like this. There are people out there that have it a lot worse than you do, he would tell himself. It was easy to pretend that what happened behind the closed doors of his house didn't affect him if he just focused on Holly, but he knew that at some point he was going to crack.

"Do you like me?" He asked, his tears soaking into the front of her shirt.

"What-"

"I just-" He let out a shuddering breath and pressed further into the crook between El's neck and shoulder, a choked gasp coming out of him. She hugged him closer and pressed a series of kisses to the top of his head.

"Let it out," she soothed. "Just let it all out."

Mike had never been more grateful for El's existence than right in that moment. Being in her arms gave him that sense of comfort he used to get from hugging his mother as a child, and she didn't even need to say anything. After a few minutes, he felt like he could speak again.

"I'm sorry for crying on-"

"No, it's fine-"

"He just… makes me feel like absolute shit. My dad, I mean."

El stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I got a C+ on that test, remember? Because I hadn't slept all week and the material was hard. I told them at dinner and my mom was kind of like 'it's okay, I get it, just do better next time' but my dad went off on me and I hid in my room the rest of the night."

El's hands paused in his hair. "So that ass of a man got mad at you for one mediocre grade? Is he even aware what the rest of your marks are like?"

Mike shook his head, feeling his throat close up again. "He doesn't care." He closed his eyes and paused to breathe and calm down. "I've done science fairs every year since fifth grade and won first four times, but I don't think he knows. And I've gotten some writing in the school newspaper and the Post as well. He doesn't give a single fuck about anything I do. He literally told me I was useless and I was never gonna find a job because I got a C+ on one fucking math test."

"You know that's not-"

Mike barrelled on, intent on finishing. "And I just wish I knew what the hell is wrong with me, why doesn't he like me? What did I do?" His voice cracked on the last word and he hid his face again.

El sighed above him. "Oh, baby, there's nothing wrong with you," she assured him, rubbing a hand on his back. "You're amazing and I don't want you to forget that just because your dad's an ass who's too blind to see it."

He sniffled. "I feel sometimes like everyone is a faker. My own dad doesn't like me, why would anyone else? I talk too much and I'm annoying and I'm too weak to do anything that needs physical work. There's no reason to like me, anyway."

El leaned back, pushing him slightly away from her so she could look into his eyes. "There are so many reasons to like you that I can't even list them all. But: you're kind, you're humble, you're strong even though you don't think you are. Who's keeping things up for Holly in that house? It isn't your parents, I can say that for sure. You're smart, no matter what your dad says or what grades you get one time. You're a beautiful person inside and out."

She looked away for a moment and Mike blinked, feeling a bit lighter now that he'd confided his troubles in someone. He knew this wouldn't make the feelings go away, or the shitty situation itself disappear, but it was really, really nice to have someone he could lean on.

(He also knew that his friends would be there for him if he needed it, just like he would for them, but it was different with El. She understood him in a way nobody else could.)

El turned back, opening her mouth to speak again. "And maybe it's too soon for this, but you make me… feel things. Things I never knew I could feel. I don't know if I'm in love with you or anything, but I think I could be and that's… that takes a special person, you know? You're special."

Mike's vision went misty again, emotion overcoming him. "How do you always know exactly what to say to me?"

She looked directly at him, a sunny smile taking over her features once again. "I don't know. Maybe it's because my brain is Mike Central Station, I'm always thinking about you."

He laughed a watery laugh. "You're the best, El."


"I'm home!"

There was no answer as he walked into the house, which Mike found suspicious. Where is my family? He went upstairs and into the basement to investigate before concluding that his mom was probably at the park with Holly and his dad was god knows where. It was a Sunday afternoon, after all. Shrugging, he turned into the kitchen to pick up the phone and dial his sister's number.

It rang four times before someone picked up, and it was decidedly not Nancy. "Goddamn it, Ben, I told you to stop calling! We broke up, leave me alone!"

"Um- I'm not Ben."

The girl on the other end sounded confused. "Sorry, my ex called about ten times right before you did. Who are you then?"

"Is Nancy there? It's her brother."

"Nancy! It's your brother!"

There was a pause and some shuffling on the other end of the line before another girl's voice was heard. "Mike?"

"Hey, Nance."

"What's up? Is everything okay?" She sounded curious.

Mike cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess. As well as things ever are around here."

"Mom and Dad still-"

"Yup."

She sighed frustratedly. "I wish they'd just divorce already, we all know it's coming sooner or later."

"I guess. Holly wakes up with them yelling all the time now and she comes to sleep with me instead."

Nancy was silent for a second. "I'm sorry I'm not coming home. I wish I could be there for you guys more but I can't stay in that house for long."

"It's fine, Nance, I wouldn't want you here either."

"That sounds like it should be offensive but I think I get what you mean," she laughed. "Sorry this got all depressing, this isn't why you called, is it?"

"How'd you know?"

"I may not live with you guys anymore, but I know my brother."

He smiled and leaned against the wall, twisting the phone cord around a finger. He knew she was in the exact same position, it was one of those random things that they did exactly the same. "I have something to tell you. I mean, I haven't told Mom or Dad yet, only Holly knows and I made her promise not to tell, but no one else is home so I figured I'd call."

Mike had a feeling Nancy was going to be able to guess it right away, and he just so happened to be correct in his prediction. "What, did you get a girlfriend or something?" She teased.

He didn't answer, and clearly heard the sharp intake of breath. "Oh my god, you did!"

He laughed. "Yeah, I did. Thought you might wanna know. Her name's El."

"That's a cool name."

"Actually her name's Jane, but to friends and family she's El."

"And what exactly are you?" Mike could hear the smirk in Nancy's voice.

"You know, I like to think I'm between friend and family," he retorted.

"That's really great Mike, I'm happy for you. My little brother has a girlfriend!"

He frowned. "I'm over six feet, you're the little one."

"But I'm twenty and will always be older than you."

"You know what, fuck you, Nancy."

They both laughed, only cut off by a loud clatter in the background on her side, followed by a litany of curse words. "I gotta go, Mike, Hannah just dropped a pot of macaroni on the floor. I look forward to meeting this El when I get back, I'll be there for the fourth of July. You better invite her."

"I mean, I was going to, but now that you said that I'm just going to exclude her specifically."

Nancy hung up without saying anything else after there was an ear piercing screech from who Mike presumed was her roommate Hannah, leaving him rolling his eyes at the phone.

It being a Sunday, Mike had already finished his homework that was due Monday on Saturday and that morning, so he had the rest of the afternoon and evening ahead of him. He decided he was going to get a head start on the lasagna his mom had said she was going to make, and so it was that half an hour later Karen and Holly returned home to Mike putting the tray in the oven, shutting the door with a self-satisfied smile.

"Michael?"

"Oh, hey, Mom," he said, casually turning to the sink to start washing the utensils he'd used. "I thought I'd get started on the lasagna for dinner."

She hung up her jacket and bent down to take off Holly's shoes. "That's very nice of you. You're in a good mood, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling better than I have the past few days. It was a good afternoon."

Holly clapped. "Is it because of El?"

Mike cut her a look. "And who told you that, Princess Holly?"

She turned to their mother, who had a smile on her face. "It was."

He held his dripping hands up. "Alright, yeah, you got me. It was because of El. Speaking of her… Mom, I, um- I wanted to tell you something."

His mother looked expectantly back at him, but he was sure she already knew what was coming. "Uh, she's- we're dating."

She simply nodded. "I know."

"You do?"

"Well, I could guess, from the way you talk about her."

Mike rubbed the back of his neck nervously and flinched, forgetting that his hands were wet. "I'm that obvious, huh?"

Holly was standing in the entrance to the kitchen with a big grin. "You're very obvious!"

Karen nodded. "You should invite her for dinner. How does tomorrow work?"

He released a breath, letting out the small build-up of tension in his body. "Sounds great, I'll ask her."


The dinner went well, other than El completely ignoring Ted at the table. Now that he'd officially introduced her to his family as his girlfriend, Mike could focus on Operation Get Maxtin Together (and finals, too, of course). The entire group (sans Max and Dustin) had met after school in the AV room one day to plan out the whole thing. That Friday, they were all going to ditch lunch, leaving the two in question alone together. Hopefully, it would start something. After that, they'd collectively agreed to start leaving them alone together more often in the hopes that one of them would eventually confess.

"Alright, so just to confirm, I'll be in the art room working on something, Mike and El, you guys are somewhere making out or whatever it is you guys do-"

"Hey!"

"And Lucas, you will be?"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "I still think this is stupid."

"Dude."

He relented. "I'll be in the library working on an assignment."

"Great!" Will clapped his hands, pleased. "I hope this works."

Turns out, Mike and El did go somewhere to make out, that somewhere being behind the gym. They almost got caught by a teacher as well, but they managed to get away just in time.

"That was close," panted Mike, winded after running for all of six seconds. They'd taken to making use of whatever opportunities they were given, the need to kiss each other and explore what made them feel so good almost overwhelming.

El laughed. "You'd think that with those long legs you'd be able to keep up, you ostrich."

Mike looked up at her from where he was bent over, heaving for breath. "What is with these ugly nicknames? I don't like this."

"Oh shut up, you love it," she retorted.

"This is abuse!" He exclaimed.

"Abuse of what? My creativity?"

"More like your… I don't even know where I was going with this."

El smiled again, and Mike wasn't sure if she knew just how that smile lit up his whole world. In that moment, it hit him: I'm pretty sure I'm in love.


how do we feel about this? please let me know how you liked this chapter!

QOTD: i don't have one today, but ask me something you want to ask me! whether it be about something like why is my username what it is or about something else, go ahead! i love questions :D