A/N: Welcome back, and thank you for being patient with me! I know it's been two weeks, which seems super long to me. But since I last updated, I've left my job, moved to a different city, and started a new job. So, I've been a bit busy, and with the new job, I am finding less time to actually write. I am working on figuring out the schedule though! Anyway, I really enjoyed reading last chapter's feedback, and I hope you enjoy this one!
Ejbeckmann: I agree; not okay, but still realistic. I will try not to destroy your soul!
CalvinHobbesGatsby: I know, I know. But, happiness will come back around!
Guest: Yes, the talk was definitely overdue. But, if it had happened back in chapter 2 instead of the breakup, there would've been no story! They're all going through so much hurt right now. And I agree, Lucas has been great!
Gnob: "Big, gushy orgy of feels." I'll take it!
Guest 2.0: Well, here's hoping I surprise you then!
Iron. exe: The relationship was definitely dying, but Mike is the type to let a technicality like that get to him, I think.
OdoMango: I'm glad you enjoyed it and that you were pleasantly surprised. You'll see the aftermath this chapter!
Guest: I'm glad that you like the characters' conversations. I'm always a bit hesitant when I see I have a lot of dialogue in a chapter or particular section because I want it to read realistically. But I'm glad you like it! There is definitely more drama on the way, so I hope you enjoy it.
Phieillydinyia: Yeah, no one really came out on top. I hope you like this chapter!
Shrike176: Thank you, I'm glad you are liking it. Mike definitely had a rough day with the beating, the fight with Lindsey, and his constant struggling with his feelings. Then ending with cheating on Lindsey with El. I hope you enjoy the follow up in this chapter.
Guest: Thank you so much. I'm glad you've liked the character of Lindsey. I understand how it made it difficult to root for Mileven though. I hope you like the direction it goes!
UnoPeso22: I'm glad that I was able to surprise you and that you enjoyed it! I also like controversial plot twists, and I always try to have faith that the author will be true to the story and give it the result it deserves, which is what I am trying to do for all of you! I hope you enjoy the way things play out for all of our characters.
Wow: Thank you1 I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Guest: They definitely did not intend for things to go that far, and I definitely feel bad for all involved. You're right, Mileven getting back together won't be simple, and El is realizing that.
LabAlley: Like you pointed out, I was going for the idea that they are magnetic and drawn to each other and just can't stay away. Of course, with Lindsey being a factor, it isn't that simple. I hope you like this chapter.
Guest: I'm glad you liked it!
Guest: I guess we will see if you are right.
Guest: That conversation will definitely be taking place.
Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or any of its original characters.
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"What is the matter with you?" Lucas scolded suddenly, startling Mike and causing him to jump.
Mike turned around to see his friend standing with a disapproving look on his face, and he knew instantly that El had told Max and Lucas what had happened. He sighed and closed his locker door, starting to walk away.
"I'm not in the mood, Lucas," he said, shaking his head.
"If you would've said those same five words to El last night, you wouldn't be in this mess," Lucas quipped, walking alongside him.
"Is this a joke to you?" Mike asked, growing irritated.
"No, it's not. I just want to know what the hell you were thinking," Lucas replied.
"I wasn't," Mike said honestly. "We were just talking. I was hearing her out like you told me to-"
"And that is all that I told you to do," Lucas interjected.
"I know," Mike said. "I'm not blaming this on you or anyone else. I should've stopped it."
"Yeah, you should've," Lucas stated obviously. He saw the guilt on Mike's face and decided to back off a bit, not wanting to make him feel even worse about something that he can't go back and change. "So what are you gonna do?"
"I'm going to talk to Lindsey and tell her everything," Mike replied. "She deserves to know we're not on the same page, and she deserves to be with someone who can be what she needs."
Lucas nodded, satisfied that even though Mike messed up, he is taking responsibility and finally being honest with Lindsey.
"And what about El?" he asked.
"What about El?" Mike repeated.
"What does this mean for you guys?" Lucas clarified.
"I don't know," Mike sighed. "I mean, last night she did most of the talking, which was basically just her apologizing for everything. We didn't get into how I feel about anything, and honestly, there's a lot I would need to tell her before even considering getting back together."
"Are you gonna try and talk to her soon?" Lucas asked.
"I don't know. I really haven't thought much about it. The only thing on my mind this morning has been what I'm going to say to Lindsey," Mike explained. "But I haven't seen her yet today."
Mike had been expecting Lindsey to be at his locker before school started, especially since he hadn't returned her phone call last night. He thought surely if she had wanted to apologize and talk about their fight from yesterday, she would be waiting there for him. But she hadn't been. He figured he would be able to talk to her during their lunch period.
While he hadn't seen Lindsey yet, he had seen El a handful of times, which he found strange. He never saw her as often as he did this morning. Was she trying to talk to him? Or see if he and Lindsey were together? He wasn't sure, but he knew he wasn't ready to deal with El yet, so each time he saw her approaching, he would turn the corner into another hallway or walk in a different direction. He had to handle things with Lindsey before he could worry about things with El.
"Well, good luck. Let me know how it goes," Lucas said, his expression turning forlorn. "It does really suck. I really like Lindsey."
"Yeah, so do I," Mike agreed, the guilt thick in his voice, knowing that he was going to hurt someone that he cared about.
The rest of the morning classes passed, and Mike was walking to his locker to put his books away before lunch. He was expecting Lindsey to meet him there, and as he turned the corner and his locker came in to view, he did see someone waiting for him. But it wasn't Lindsey.
He locked eyes with El and briefly considered turning around and just going to the cafeteria, but he decided against it and walked right up to her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Why are you avoiding me?" El countered.
"You can't be serious," Mike said, shoving his books in his locker and slamming the door shut.
"I am serious," El replied. "We can't keep doing this thing where you come over, something happens, and you run away from me. We need to talk about what happened."
Mike looked around hurriedly before grabbing her wrist and pulling her across the hall into an empty classroom.
"Why in the world do you think we need to talk about this right now?" he asked in an urgent but hushed tone, not wanting anyone outside the room to overhear.
El looked tired. Mike was sure she'd had trouble sleeping last night after what they did, but it looked deeper than that. Like she hadn't been well rested in days, maybe weeks. Her eyes were sad; he saw hints of hope and confusion, but mainly sadness. But when she spoke, her voice was firm and steady.
"We need to talk about what this means for us," she said.
"What?" Mike asked, staring at her in disbelief. "El, I can't do this right now. I can't think about what it might mean for us when all I can think about is what I did to Lindsey."
El flinched just barely at the sound of Lindsey's name coming out of Mike's mouth. Of course he still cared about her. And El worried he was letting the guilt consume him like Lucas warned that he would.
"It isn't just what you did. It's what we both did," she offered gently, trying to take some of the burden off him.
"No, El, it's what I did," Mike repeated. "I'm the one still seeing someone else, and it was up to me to think about her feelings, even though things were rocky at the time, but I didn't."
There was silence between them as El molded over what he said. She noticed that Mike admitted things with Lindsey weren't on good terms… Should she tell him she already knew that? Should she tell him what she saw? It would show him that she understood and that she knew Mike was struggling with his feelings for both her and Lindsey. But it would also probably make him mad. El decided now was not the time to reveal what she had seen.
"So, do you regret it?" El asked meekly, almost as if she feared his answer.
"El," Mike sighed and rubbed his eyes, trying to think of how to carefully answer her. "I could never regret anything that you and I have done together."
El bit her bottom lip and held her breath, feeling the ray of hope forming from his words but not yet wanting to give in to it, because she was sure he had more to say.
"But this time, last night, it shouldn't have happened," Mike continued.
El exhaled the breath she was holding and felt a lump rise in her throat as her eyes began to well with tears. She began fumbling with the end of the scarf she was wearing, and when it shifted on her neck, Mike caught a glimpse of the dark hickey and unmistakable bitemark that he had left on her last night. He cleared his throat and looked down at the ground, feeling ashamed.
"Lindsey and I… it's complicated… I don't think we'll be together much longer. Even before you and I did what we did," Mike admitted. "But I still should've controlled myself better. I should've waited until things were official and I wasn't with her anymore… Because now things are just so fucked up, and I can't believe I cheated on her, and that makes me such a shitty person, and-"
"Mike," El stopped him. He took a deep breath, his heartrate racing from working himself up, and looked at her. "You are not a bad person. You're the best person I know. Everyone makes mistakes-"
"That's just an excuse, El," Mike interrupted, rejecting that notion. "I've made mistakes before, but I never would've cheated on you. So how could I cheat on her? … This is the worst thing I've ever done to another person, and I need to own up to it and talk to her because I'm literally sick to my stomach over this, and I can't keep lying and hurting her when she did nothing to deserve any of this."
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Mike saw someone else fill the open doorway of the room he and El were in. He turned to see Lindsey looking at him with a mixture of confusion, hurt, and anger. His stomach sank as he wondered how much she had heard, if anything.
"What's going on?" Lindsey asked, looking back and forth between Mike and El.
"Nothing," Mike instinctively answered, his eyes nervously shooting toward El's neck to ensure the evidence from last night was properly covered by her scarf again. Lindsey noticed him divert his gaze and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"I should go," El said quietly.
"I think you should," Lindsey agreed curtly, and she stepped to the side so El could pass.
When it was just the two of them, Lindsey stared at Mike with her lips pursed and her arms crossed, waiting for him to speak. Mike's head was buzzing with everything he knew he had to admit to, but he just couldn't find the words to start.
"What are… what are you, uh, doing in here?" he stammered distantly, wanting to break the silence.
"I was hoping to catch you at your locker because I thought we could talk during lunch since you didn't call me back last night. I'm assuming your mom didn't tell you I called?" Lindsey asked bitterly, but Mike knew Lindsey didn't really think that.
"No, she did," Mike admitted.
"Then why didn't you call me back? And what the hell were you and El talking about?" Lindsey asked, her voice starting to tremble with anger. "Did she hear that Brad beat you up? Was she trying to get back together with you?"
"Look, we really need to talk, and I'll tell you everything. I promise. Just not here," Mike said, trying to hide the fact that his stomach was doing flips inside him.
"Well, I'm not waiting until after school. I think I deserve some answers," Lindsey insisted.
Mike knew she was right, and the two of them decided to walk out to his car so they could speak privately, uninterrupted. The walk to the parking lot was silent, but the tension was deafening. Mike hoped that he would actually just throw up so his stomach would calm down, but he swallowed down each wave of nausea. Lindsey walked right beside him but refused to look his way. He had never seen her angry like this before, and Mike had to wonder if she had actually overheard anything. If she hadn't overheard, would she really be this angry to see him talking to El?
They reached his car and got inside, Lindsey slamming the passenger side door a little harder than necessary, but Mike hardly flinched. He was staring at the dashboard, still trying to put the words together.
"Well?" Lindsey asked expectantly, her eyes widened.
"Linds, I'm sorry I didn't call you back last night," Mike started carefully. "It's just that I couldn't talk about our fight last night… I know you probably wanted to apologize, but I couldn't let-"
"I wasn't calling to apologize, Mike," Lindsey interrupted him.
"You… you weren't?" Mike asked, scrunching his brow in confusion.
"No. I was calling to…" Lindsey sighed and looked him straight in the eyes. "I was calling to give you an ultimatum."
"An ultimatum?" Mike repeated, and Lindsey nodded.
"I know that sounds really immature and totally not like me at all, but I can't do this anymore, Mike. I've tried so hard, and I've done my best to be patient and be there for you after El dumped you and help you move on," Lindsey said. "But last night when I got home, I kept thinking about what I said to you in your basement, and I know I'm not wrong. The way you looked at her at homecoming, the way you needed to be there for her when Brad hurt her, the way you let yourself get beat up standing up for her… you wouldn't do that if you were over her. Or if you were even trying to get over her."
"Lindsey, I-"
"No, let me finish. I was going to tell you that I'm done being patient," Lindsey continued. "If you really want to be with me, El cannot be a part of our lives anymore. I need you to cut all ties with her. I don't want you to talk to her, or talk about her, or talk to your friends about her. I want you to be able to hear some random person say her name in the hallway and just keep walking without a second thought. I want you to leave her completely in the past so she stops interfering with our present and future. I was going to tell you all of that, and I was going to tell you… I was going to tell you that if you can't do that… if you can't choose me over her, then we're done."
Mike stared at her, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging slightly open. She hadn't been calling to apologize at all. He had been wrong this whole time.
"You were going to break up with me?" Mike asked, and Lindsey sighed, exasperated.
"I don't want to break up with you, Mike," she said. "But if you're not willing to do all those things for me and completely cut her out of your life…"
Mike nodded and thought about the ultimatum Lindsey presented him with. He cursed the irony that he had been expecting her to want to apologize to him about what she had said in the basement, when in actuality, she had been calling with non-negotiable conditions for him to follow if he wanted to relationship to even continue. She was ready to walk away from their relationship because of El. Essentially, their relationship started because of El, and it was about to end because of El.
"There's something I have to tell you," Mike said, and he noticed the anger in Lindsey's eyes had almost completely subsided and been replaced with pain.
"You can't do it, can you?" she asked. "You can't just let her go."
"Lindsey, there's a reason I didn't call you back last night," Mike continued slowly. "There's a reason I couldn't bear to talk about our fight or listen to you apologize to me, which is what I thought you wanted to do."
When he paused and looked at her, Mike saw the pain in Lindsey's eyes slowly start to become eclipsed by anger once again. Her expression hardened, and she swallowed a lump in her throat while balling her fists, digging her fingernails into her palms.
"What is it?" she asked shakily.
Mike took a deep breath and exhaled, not taking his eyes off Lindsey. The realization had sunk in that this was the last conversation she would probably ever have with him. They were within the last few minutes of Lindsey being his girlfriend, and it was about to end as badly as Mike could've imagined. Everything from the last few months flashed through his mind in some sort of jumbled slideshow. The countless evenings they spent together watching movies and talking; really getting to know each other at FearFest; how beautiful she looked the night of homecoming; the time they almost kissed on her doorstep; the first time her hand touched his in the library after El broke up with him; meeting her parents; the first time they actually kissed, right after she had told him about her previous relationship and he had promised that he was different… that he would never cheat on anyone.
Mike knew she was going to hate him.
"Lindsey, there's no easy way to say this-"
"Just say it," Lindsey demanded.
"I slept with El," Mike blurted out. "It was last night after you left. I am so sorry; I never meant for this to happen, but I just couldn't keep this from you."
He held his breath while giving Lindsey time to process and react. To his surprise, Lindsey didn't get angry. She didn't yell or scream or cry or hit him. She simply stared at him quietly, breathing steadily.
"Linds?" Mike asked gently.
She continued to stare at him, the expression on her face completely blank, and the emotion gone from her eyes. It was like she had gone from having so much frustration with him a few minutes ago to being completely numb after what he had told her.
"Lindsey?" Mike repeated. "Please say something."
"You don't want me to do that," Lindsey whispered, subtly shaking her head.
"Yes I do," Mike insisted. He had been dreading her angry reaction, but somehow her calm reaction was worse. He found it almost eerie.
"I should've known this was coming all along," Lindsey said steadily, her voice growing to its normal volume. "I'm not stupid, Mike. The signs were there. You've clearly still been in love with her this whole time."
Lindsey's voice was growing louder by the second, and Mike sat quietly, knowing he couldn't counter what she was saying because, as he knows now, it was true.
"But I thought… I really thought that the longer we were together, and the harder I tried, eventually you would appreciate it. That you would appreciate me and actually want to be with me," Lindsey continued.
"I did appreciate you, Lindsey. I do," Mike insisted.
"We've never said 'I love you' to each other," Lindsey pointed out. "How long have you known that you didn't love me? That you would never love me? That you still loved her?"
"I… I don't-"
"You don't know. But it's been a while, hasn't it?" Lindsey demanded. "So don't sit there and tell me that you appreciated me and everything I did for you when you knew all along it was never going anywhere."
"I didn't-"
"You knew you still loved her, but you kept stringing me along," Lindsey spat. "Did you just want some girl to be there and try to fill El's place?"
"No," Mike insisted.
"Or maybe you kept me around so you could keep getting your dick sucked on the side until the girl you really wanted decided she wanted you back," Lindsey was shaking now, her voice dripping with venom.
"It wasn't like that," Mike shook his head.
"Sure it wasn't. Because you never wanted to hurt me, right? Isn't that what you kept saying? You were always so adamant that you really liked me and that you never wanted to hurt me, but that was all bullshit!" she was screaming at this point.
"It wasn't bullshit!" Mike yelled back.
Lindsey was taken aback by Mike's sudden raise in voice, and she stared at him with widened eyes.
"It wasn't bullshit," he repeated calmly. "I promise you, I meant everything I ever said to you. I think you're an amazing person, and I really like you, and I swear I never wanted to hurt you. I just… I couldn't let her go."
Lindsey took a deep, shaky breath before opening her mouth to speak.
"And instead of admitting that and showing me the basic human decency of ending things like a man, you made the decision to have sex with your ex-girlfriend," she said. "You cheated on me. After I confided in you, and I told you all about what my last boyfriend did to me, and you promised that you would never do that… You did it anyway."
"I'm so sorry," Mike said desperately.
"You know, I thought you were the safe option," Lindsey said, the bitterness returning to her voice and masking the hurt that had just been there. "Brad was the popular jock who just wanted in my pants. But you were this nice, sweet, nerdy guy who sat next to me in chem. I thought you would really care about me, and that I would never have to feel that type of pain again, because you sure wouldn't do that to me… But I was wrong."
"Lindsey, I am so, so sorry for hurting you. You will never understand how terrible I feel and how sorry I am," Mike pleaded, his voice breaking.
"No. I don't want your apology, Mike. I want you to never speak to me again," Lindsey said. She opened the car door and stuck one leg outside to leave. "And I want you to know that El will only hurt you again… Or hell, maybe you'll hurt her. I don't know, and I don't care. But you two deserve each other."
"Lindsey, wait-"
She interrupted him by slamming the car door. Mike watched as she walked briskly through the parking lot and back to the school. He leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes, Lindsey's voice yelling at him still ringing in his ears.
"Fuck!" he hollered, pounding the steering wheel with his palm. Mike had never hurt someone the way he had just hurt Lindsey. He decided to spend the rest of his lunch period alone to compose himself and wonder how he was going to make it through chemistry the rest of the year with Lindsey sitting right next to him.
Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, El had been filling Max in on what happened between herself and Mike today. Max had remained quiet, listening to everything El told her about what Mike said when she tried to talk to him, right up until Lindsey had come in and interrupted them.
"How can he say he could never regret anything with me, and then also say that what happened last night shouldn't have happened?" El asked.
"El, I think it's obvious that Mike still loves you," Max began. "It's not the fact that you two had sex that he regrets. It's the fact that he cheated on Lindsey… So, like, if Lindsey were completely out of the picture, there would be no problem. He just means that it shouldn't have happened when it did, not that it shouldn't have happened at all. Does that make sense?"
El furrowed her brow, trying to follow Max's words. She groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"I just wish I could go back and change everything," El's muffled voice said behind her hands.
"I know," Max said guiltily. "But you both still love each other, and I really think things will work out."
"But you don't know that," El pointed out, laying her hands down. "He said he couldn't think about what last night meant for us. Max, he is so torn up about Lindsey, and what if he can't be with me anymore because he associates me with how guilty he's feeling?"
"This guilt he's feeling won't last forever," Max assured her.
"I just want him back," El pouted. "I want him to feel better, and I want to feel better… I just want things to be back to how they were before I ever went to that college party."
"El, I love you, but you have to get that thought out of your mind," Max said. "I really think you and Mike will get back together, but you have to accept that things will never be exactly how they were before all of this happened. You've both been through so many new experiences."
"When should I try to talk to him again?" El asked. Max thought about it for a minute and sighed.
"From what you told me Mike said to you in that classroom, he and Lindsey are probably either fighting or breaking up right now. I don't think you should try and talk to him at all. Let him process everything, and let him deal with the guilt and his breakup with Lindsey," Max suggested.
"How will I know when he has processed all of that and will be ready to talk to me?" El asked.
"Just wait for him to come to you," Max explained. "He already knows you're sorry, and he knows you want to talk about your relationship. So when he is ready for that, he will come talk to you."
El thought this over and nodded. Max definitely had a point this time, so El thought she would try her friend's suggestion. Though, she wasn't sure just how long she would be able to wait for Mike to come to her before she would give in and try and talk to him again herself.
"But listen, there's nothing else you can do about Mike right now," Max said, changing the subject. "But I think I have a plan to get back at Brad that you will really like."
"You do?" El asked, perking up. She knew she wanted revenge on Brad for what he did to Mike and herself, but she knew Max was better at coming up with plans than she was. She was surprised that Max had come up with something so quickly.
"Yeah!" Max exclaimed. She was about to fill El in, when El happened to glance over her shoulder and see Lindsey storming toward their table.
"I hope you're happy," Lindsey spat when she reached their table.
"Lindsey, look, I-"
"I thought I made myself clear when I told you to stay away from him, but I never thought you would actually sleep with someone who was in a relationship with someone else," Lindsey said. "What a slutty thing to do."
"Hey! Watch your mouth," Max warned the girl standing in front of them.
"Max, it's okay," El said quietly. She looked up at Lindsey and spoke with as much sincerity as she could. "I really am sorry that you got hurt."
"I don't want your apology. I just want you to know that even though you think you won, you're going to get hurt. You know the saying 'once a cheater, always a cheater.' Mike will either cheat on you, or you'll get bored and leave him again to find something new. Like I told Mike, you two deserve each other," Lindsey said bitterly.
She glared at El before turning on her heel and leaving the cafeteria just as quickly as she had entered. El sat quietly, stunned, taking in everything Lindsey had just said to her. Soon, she felt Max's hand on her shoulder.
"El, are you okay?" Max asked gently.
"Yeah, I'm fine," El replied, still slightly dazed.
"Look, all that stuff she said about Mike cheating and you getting bored-"
"I know it won't happen," El cut her off. "Mike really isn't like that. He would never hurt me… And once I get him back, I know I'll never hurt him again either."
"She was out of line, though. Do you want me to say something to her?" Max offered, and El quickly shook her head.
"No," she said. "She's hurt and angry right now. I can't blame her for what she said. I think we should just drop it."
Max nodded her agreement and sat in the silence, awkwardly wondering if she should change the subject or wait for El's next move. Luckily, El spoke soon to answer her question.
"So, you were about to tell me about the plan for Brad?" El reminded her.
"Oh, right!" Max jumped, relieved that El so readily changed the subject. "So, how would you feel about going to a basketball game this weekend?"
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A/N: I hope the Mike and Lindsey breakup was worth the wait. I'll update as frequently as I can, but with adapting to the new job, don't be surprised if updates are around 2 weeks apart from now on. We'll see if I can pick the pace back up when I get used to everything. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave me a review!
