While writing my other story, I got to thinking how it would be if the guys had separated for college and Mike had somewhat distanced himself from the others due to time constraints.
Oh, and he's never met El before ^^
Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.
"Okay, this can't continue." Jane Eleanor Hopper, El to her friends, huffed, throwing down her fork into the plastic container, the object landing in the remaining peas and the thing that was supposed to be meat.
"What?" Jennifer, one of her roommates, asked.
"We can't keep eating takeout or microwave food." El clarified. "We need real food again."
"Well, if you hadn't kicked Amanda out, we might still get cooked food." Stacy, her second roommate, pointed out.
"She's right though." Max, a fiery redhead with a no bullshit attitude, and the third and last roommate, agreed. "We need some real food again. If I didn't steal an apple from work every day, I wouldn't get any nutrition."
"So, should we start handing out flyers and get some applicants in here?" Stacy suggested. "I know a few people who'd be interested."
"Oh no!" El shook her head. "Not you. You have terrible taste in roommates."
"What are you talking about?" Stacy asked. "Amanda was great."
"The only good thing about Amanda was her infrequent cooking." El stated. "Need I remind you that she constantly brought boyfriends here who then did drugs?"
"Shit, yeah." Max nodded, shuddering. "And your dad leading a raid into this building."
"Have you any idea how it feels when your own dad comes in because they know there are drugs in here?" El shouted, her ire rising. "So, my orders, Max is in charge of finding a roommate."
"Any special demands?" Max asked.
"Cooking, not creepy, should know that her room should be clean and that this is my house, so I make the ultimate decisions." El stated. "Okay, I gotta go to my afternoon classes now."
"Me too." Jennifer nodded, getting up as well.
"I'll come with you, I can get through the next hour in the library." Stacy agreed, also getting up.
"I'm going to try to find a roommate." Max grinned and took her phone.
El took her bag and left the house, her two roommates following her. They walked to the tram station, getting on the campus of Cañada college to take their afternoon classes. They were all studying to become nurses, but El had bigger plans, wanting to be a psychologist to help people deal with trauma, like she experienced when her mother had died from pancreatic cancer.
Her biological father had died before she was born but his best friend, Chief of Police of Palo Alto and its surrounding area, Jim Hopper had promised him to take care of Terry and his daughter, so after her mother's death, Hopper had fulfilled his promise, offering El to adopt her so she could stay in the city and not have to move to Indiana to live with her aunt Becky, not that she didn't love her aunt.
When El turned eighteen, Hopper had gifted her a single envelope, which had contained the deed to a house. She had spluttered and demanded he take it back, since it was way too much as a gift but he had explained to her that the house used to to her grandmother's and the old lady had passed it on to El, to be given to her on her eighteenth birthday.
At first, she hadn't even known what to do with the house. It was way too big for her alone and it was strangely shaped, a large living room in the center and several hallways leading to five different bedrooms, a kitchen, a master bathroom and two smaller ones. It even had a basement that housed their centralized AC and a network server so every person living her could use internet whenever they wanted. She had thought about selling it to get money for college but Hopper had suggested finding some roommates who pay rent to her to support it.
And so, the girl party had been created. She had asked Max, already her best friend and two other girls in her study group if they needed a place to live and all three had agreed, Stacy even bringing another girl along, so all rooms were filled and money began pouring in. The estate her grandmother left her had been enough to pay for the basic maintenance costs and property taxes, so the girls could focus on their studies.
Of course, their fifth roommate continued to cause trouble by always finding guys to sleep with that were the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. Not one of them had not been a creep or not been a drug user, and the last one had been so bad, that her dad had led a SWAT team into her home, just to prevent them from destroying anything as they searched Amanda's room, arrested her boyfriend and found a drug stash. The only reason the rest of the group didn't go to jail was because Jim was her father.
But Amanda had been arrested as well and El had deemed it enough, throwing out her clothes and other things and putting them into storage for the girl to pick them up as soon as she got out. El just hoped that Max would find a suitable roommate for them, not another gullible girl who brought creeps home.
"Mike, we need to talk." Thomas opened up with as he entered Mike's room.
"What is it?" Mike asked, looking up from his laptop. "Will it take long, I need to get to campus in a few minutes."
"Me and Mia are going to move in together?" Thomas told him.
"Congratulations." Mike nodded. "She's good for you."
"Thanks."
"But she's moving in here?" Mike wondered, looking at the small apartment. "Don't you think it's gonna be too full here?"
"Uh, no." Thomas shook his head. "I'm moving out of here."
"Wait, what will happen to the apartment?" Mike wanted to know. "It's in your name."
"That's the other thing." Thomas hesitated. "Mister Brenner put a claim on it, says he needs it for his own needs."
"Yeah, right." Mike rolled his eyes. "He wants the rent contract to end so he can rent it out to a new tenant who'll then have to pay way more."
"Unless you can get him to admit that on tape, there's no leverage to stop him, especially since I'm the one leaving and as you said, my name is on the lease." Thomas sighed. "And he wants us to be out at the end of the week."
"But where will I live?" Mike asked. "Have you any idea how hard it is to find a good place close to Stanford?"
"Mike, you made a lot of money with your book, shouldn't affordability of a new place the least of your worries?" Thomas wondered.
"Most of my money is in investments, I can't get it easily." Mike sighed. "And you know the other reason."
"I know." Thomas nodded and patted Mike's shoulder.
Thomas felt bad for his friend. Mike was a truly terrific guy, smart as a whip, eloquent with his words, a great friend and one hell of a writer. But he also needed companionship, the knowledge that someone was there that he could talk to. Mike nodded to himself, packing up his laptop and putting it in his bag before getting up.
"Thanks for letting me know." Mike said. "I'll try to find a new place after class."
"Mike, you can always call me if you need to talk." Thomas offered.
"Thanks, buddy." Mike smiled sadly and left.
Max entered Stanford campus, deciding to put their first round of flyers here and not at their own college. Usually, students at this particular college were a little more highbrow and less inclined to bring drug using boyfriends home. Lucas was going to meet her here so he could keep her company while she brought flyers to other colleges in the area. She walked into the first building and found the bulletin board, hanging up their flyer.
Just as she was moving away, she noticed a tall, dark-haired guy coming into the building who went to the bulletin board and looked at the flyer before ripping it off and taking out his phone. She watched him dial and then her phone rang, making his head snap around to look at her while she grinned at him and showed him her phone.
"This is Max speaking." she laughed, seeing his still surprised expression and she refused the call to stop the ringing.
"Hey, my name is Mike." Mike played along, taking a liking to the redhead, wondering if he knew her from somewhere. "I was calling about the ad."
"Sorry buddy, but we're a quartet of girls so our new roommate should be one as well..." she began and watched his face fall. "Wait a second."
"What?" Mike perked back up.
"Are you a creep?" she asked.
"No." he looked at her confused.
"Do you use drugs or drink huge amounts of alcohol?"
"No to the drugs and I enjoy the occasional beer." he said. "Never intend to get wasted though."
"Are you clean?"
"I shower daily, if that's what you mean." he was still confused.
"I mean, do you know what a vacuum is for and can you use one in your room." Max smiled.
"Of course." Mike nodded.
"Can you cook?"
"Yes, I can cook." Mike nodded again, priding himself on having learned a lot of cooking as a kid from his mother.
"Welcome, roomy." Max sniffed theatrically and went to hug him.
"Wait a second." Mike suddenly gasped and held her at arms length, realizing where he had seen her. "Maxine?"
"Nobody calls me Maxine!" Max gasped as well. "Do I know you?"
"You should." Mike laughed. "It's me, Mike. Mike Wheeler?"
"What the...?" Max started to remember his face.
"Lucas's friend." he winked at her.
"Damn, Mike!" Max finally remembered, feeling embarrassed that she had not recognized him immediately. "I have three questions for you."
"Shoot."
"When did you grow so tall? When did you stop straightening your hair? And where have you been?"
"One, I had a growth spurt in my senior year but you already know I was tall, I stopped combing it when a girl told me she liked my hair when it was curly and I was pretty busy with my studies." Mike answered all her questions. "Am I still in?"
"You had me at 'yes, I can cook'." Max grinned. "Okay, give me your phone number."
"Here you go." Max gave her his phone and Max put her number into his contacts before calling him so he could get hers. "Do you have a few minutes? Lucas will be here soon and I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again."
"Did I hear my name?" her chocolate sweetheart put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them gently before he looked at Mike. "Hey."
"Hey." the guy smiled at him, Lucas wondering why but suddenly his mind told him that he knew that guy, though he was unable to pin it down.
"Lucas!" Max pointed to Mike.
"What?" Lucas asked, still trying to figure out where he knew the guy from.
"Stalker." Mike chuckled.
"Oh my god!" Lucas shrieked a girly scream. "Paladin!"
"Man, how have you been?" Mike asked, hugging his childhood friend.
"Mike Wheeler, as I live and breath." Lucas laughed. "Haven't seen you in almost two years. Barely recognized you with the hair."
"Yeah, I was pretty busy with my studies." Mike waved his arms around. "Add to that the stress of making money and my time was pretty limited."
"I can believe that." Lucas nodded. "My first year in police academy, I was pretty burned out after training as well."
"Believe it." Max nodded. "I had to do most things myself in bed."
"I never complained." Lucas shrugged.
"I bet you didn't." Mike chuckled, looking at the redhead, thinking that there were a lot of things worse than having Max Mayfield on top.
"Perv." Max shook her head playfully.
"Guys, I'd love to talk a bit more but I really have to get to class." Mike said. "Max, when should I come over to look at the room?"
"If you cook a meal tonight, you can move in right away, if you want." Max told him with a smile. "I'm going to be home all day, don't have classes today."
"My class ends at three and I don't have much to pack anyway." Mike shrugged. "I don't have any furniture, so it's mostly clothes."
"Need some help?" Lucas offered.
"No, thanks for the offer though." Mike shook his head. "It's only a few suitcases and I have a car."
"Alright." Lucas nodded. "Dude, we totally need to meet. Dustin and Will will be thrilled."
"I thought Will went to NYU." Mike said. "And last I knew, Dustin was at Northeastern."
"Yeah, Will transferred six months ago, and Dustin quickly followed when he heard that we were all here." Lucas nodded. "Though I think with Dustin, it helped that his girlfriend dumped him in the most humiliating way."
"Ouch." Mike winced. "I would love to hear more about that, but I really need to go. Lucas, once I'm settled in, we'll meet. Max, can you give him my number please?"
"Will do, bye Mike." Max waved at their friend as he hurried down the hall to get to his class.
"I can't believe it. Mike Wheeler." Lucas grinned broadly. "The party is back together, we can play Dungeons and Dragons again."
"Seriously?" Max looked at him and shook her head in exasperation. "Come on stalker, I haven't seen you in five days, the house I'm living in is currently empty and I really need a good fuck."
"Yes, mam!" Lucas smiled and followed his girlfriend out of the building.
"Yes?" a girl he didn't know opened the door.
"Hey there, I'm Mike." Mike smiled and tried to walk into the house.
"Wait, what do you think you're doing?" the girl asked him.
"Uh, did Max tell you I was coming?" Mike asked, hoping he had the correct address.
"MAX!" the girl shouted and twenty seconds later, the redhead arrived at the door.
"There you are, paladin." Max greeted her friend. "Come in."
Mike walked into the house and took off his shoes at the doormat before walking into a large living room where he put his luggage down. He saw a third girl sitting on a couch, with dark blond hair and, to his eyes, too much makeup for just sitting at home. One look around confirmed the strangeness of the house's outside shape, hallways leading away like the half of a star and two doors to the right leading what he inferred was the kitchen and the bathroom.
"Hello?" the girl on the couch looked at him strangely before eyeing the luggage. "Max, you wanna catch us up?"
"Mike, this is Jennifer and Stacy." Max introduced the girl who opened the door and the one on the couch. "Girls, this is Mike, our new roommate."
"Uh, Max, he's a guy." Stacy pointed out.
"I know." Max nodded.
"El is going to kill you." Jennifer laughed.
"El?" Mike asked.
"Jane Eleanor Hopper." Jennifer explained. "She owns this house, so maybe you shouldn't unpack yet."
"Max, why did you bring a guy?" Stacy asked.
"Because I know him and because he can cook." Max smiled.
"Roomy!" Jennifer gushed, hugging Mike. "Let me put your stuff into your new room!"
"I'll help!" Stacy offered and rushed forward to take one of the bags.
"Did you coordinate, cause Max had the same reaction." Mike laughed, liking it here already, though he wondered how living with three or even four girls will be like if he got in.
"We need food!" Jennifer stated. "Real food, food that doesn't come out of the microwave or in a plastic container brought to us by a delivery boy with an accent."
"Well, how about I start with a simple spaghetti bolognese." Mike suggested.
"Simple?" Stacy gasped. "Last time any of us tried to cook spaghetti, they ended up crunchy. And Jennifer managed to burn water."
"I did not!" Jennifer gasped.
"She did." Max confirmed.
"How do you burn water?" Mike wondered.
"By putting a pot of water on the stove, turning it on and then forgetting about it until the pot is almost melting." Stacy giggled.
"I got distracted." Jennifer argued.
"By the Bachelor." Stacy retorted.
"And then El took her TV privileges away for a week." Max laughed.
"Okay, then please stay out of the kitchen." Mike chuckled and carried his bags into the room Max was leading him to, a small but cozy chamber next to the master bedroom. "Wow, it's cool in here."
"Yes, this room is more or less the coldest when we don't have the AC running." Max nodded. "Its two windows are on the north and northeast side, so it only gets the morning sun for a short time and then not at all."
"That's fine with me." Mike nodded. "I don't sleep well when it's hot."
"I don't think anyone does." Max chuckled.
"Alright, I'll start dinner then and will take a shower when the spaghetti are cooking." Mike said and walked into the kitchen, collecting the ingredients and pots he needed.
He filled the large pot with water and took two bags of spaghetti, breaking them into four parts inside the bag. He turned on the stove so the water could start warming up and he added a small block of butter and a bit of olive oil to avoid the butter burning into the small pan before unpacking the container of minced meat and spreading it on a wooden board.
While the butter began melting, he cut a couple of carrots into very small pieces, along with a single onion and celery. When the butter was hot enough, he poured the vegetables into the pan, stirring it and letting it fry on a small flame while preparing the tomatoes for later. He grabbed a milk carton and an opened bottle of white wine from the fridge and kept stirring the vegetables as to not burning them.
After fifteen minutes, he put the meat into the larger pan and stirred both pans. When the meat had fried long enough to start to caramelize, he added a shot of white wine to the pan so no piece of meat stuck to the pan and then he poured in a pint of milk, watching it hug the meat and knowing that it would create the mild taste that his sauce was known for. At least known to Thomas, since he hadn't cooked for anyone else since he moved to California.
When the concoction began boiling, he added the tomatoes, stirring them in before pouring the contents of the other pan into the large one, creating the sauce. He quickly stirred more, mixing both liquids and watching the vegetables mix with the meat. He lowered the heat even more and grabbed a glove of garlic and as he minced it into almost a paste and poured it in for the special kick, he wondered why these girls had all these ingredients on hand if they never cooked for themselves.
When the water in the pot boiled, he poured the two bags of spaghetti into it, stirring it and waiting two minutes until they were soft enough that they all fitted into the pot. He put the lid on the pot, keeping it askew to allow some the heat to escape and turned the heat down to less than half, then turned the sauce to the lowest setting possible and then walked out of the kitchen and into his new room where he grabbed a change of clothes and his toiletries before going into the large bathroom next to the kitchen.
His eyes bulged out when he saw the room. A large bathtub, large enough even for him to stretch out, dominated the left side, a shower stall right next to it and the toilet itself under the small window. To the right were rows upon rows of towels, their arrangement clearly separated by person and he hanged his over the bathtub to use it after his shower, taking a foot towel and placing it on the floor.
He stepped into the shower and let the water run over his body, breathing a sigh of relief. He just hoped he would be allowed to stay.
"Ugh, why doesn't the world die!" El shouted when she came into the house, slamming the door and flopping down on the couch. "Anyone home?"
"We're here." Max snickered and El looked around to find her three roommates sitting around the dinner table. "What's up with you?"
"Andrew happened." El cursed.
"Again?" Stacy sighed. "What did he do this time?"
"He approached me after the last class and asked me out, again." El groaned. "And after I told him, for the millionth time that there's no chance in hell that I will ever go out with him, he has the nerve to smack me on the ass and say that I should be lucky that he's interested in me."
"Did you break another bone of his again?" Jennifer chuckled.
"No, but he will feel some pain in his pinkie finger for a while." El started chuckling again. "That creep. He just wants to get into my pants."
"Of course he does and he's not the only one." Stacy said. "And don't you think it's time you let someone into your pants? Girl, you're turning twenty-two this year, how long do you want to stay a virgin?"
"Until I meet the right guy." El argued. "I'm not like you, I want to find the perfect man and keep him forever. I'm not one to go through samples." she added, using air-quotes for the last two words.
"Just keep looking." Max trod out her usual platitude.
"How's the roommate search going?" El asked and stood up to stretch herself.
"Pretty good." Max grinned.
"Good, remember, we need one who can cook." El nodded and walked towards the bathroom.
"NO, DON'T GO..." her friends began to shout but she had already opened the door to see a naked god standing in front of her. "...in there." Max added in a whisper voice.
El was transfixed by what she was seeing. Long legs held up a lean body, a very well-shaped cock hanging between those and visible abs speaking of a trained person. The chest was hairless and the face was hidden behind a towel, two big hands rubbing the other end of the fabric over his hair to dry it. Before he could finish, El found her legs again, exiting the bathroom and quietly closing the door before stomping over to her friends.
"What the hell?!" she yelled. "Why is there a guy in the master bathroom? You know the rules! The master bathroom is only for those of us living here, boyfriends or other guests have to use the other bathrooms!"
"Actually..." Max giggled.
"You didn't?!" El gasped, when she discerned Max's grin. "Max, he's a guy!"
"I noticed." Max nodded, keeping calm while Stacy and Jennifer could barely keep their laughter inside. "Relax, you'll like him. I know him."
"Know him from where?" El asked, doubtful.
"He's a childhood friend of Lucas." Max explained. "I was hanging the first flyer in the Stanford hall and he took it right away. I didn't even recognize him at first, since I have only seen him in old pictures of Lucas and his friends and he changed quite a bit."
"What made you think I would want a guy as a roommate?" El groaned before she noticed the plates on the table. "What's this?"
"Hi there." the guy made her jump around and she saw him exit the bathroom, his curly hair flowing from his head and clad in loose sweats and a shirt. "I'm Mike."
"I'm El." she greeted back, barely able to talk, something that didn't go unnoticed by her friends.
"Sit down, it should be done." Mike smiled warmly at her, causing butterflies to fly in her stomach, and went into the kitchen.
"What should be done?" she wondered and a minute later, he came out of the kitchen, carrying a tray with a steaming pot and a large bowl containing a mountain of spaghetti with a ladle and two spaghetti spoons resting on the side.
"So, I hope it will be to your liking." Mike smiled at the four girls and put the tray into the middle of the table before handing out the plates.
"Yeah, he can cook." Max winked at her.
"Oh my god!" El hummed when the scent of the sauce hit her nostrils.
"So, am I in the running?" Mike looked at her expectantly but was surprised when El suddenly hugged him hard.
"Welcome home, Mike!" she gushed, letting go of him again and sitting down on her chair.
Mike began putting spaghetti on everyone's plate, stopping whenever they waved and sitting down next to El, where he poured the sauce on his plate. He handed the ladle to El, who filled her plate as well and the kitchen tool went around the table until everyone had sauce on their plate. Mike rolled his first spaghetti on his fork, humming as he ate it and nodding.
"Good, none of the ingredients have gone bad." he chuckled.
"Oh my god!" El gasped when she ate her first forkful. "This is delicious!"
"Thanks." Mike smiled at her, causing more warmth in her stomach and not from the food and she noticed his freckles for the first time.
"Okay, I see onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes in the sauce." Stacy stated. "But there's another taste in here."
"Yeah, it gives the sauce this special kick." Jennifer nodded. "What is it?"
"Garlic." Mike shrugged. "I saw that you had a garlic bulb in your kitchen, so I took a glove."
"Shit, that's good." El hummed. "Where have you been all my life?"
"Lived in a small apartment with a friend of mine until he wanted to move in with his girlfriend and our landlord kicked me out." he shrugged, taking her question at face value.
"Aw, that's tough." El gave him a sympathetic smile and touched his arm, another thing that didn't go unnoticed by her friends.
"Thanks, but I think I found a new home." Mike smiled back at her. "Have I found a new home?"
"Oh, hell yes!" El laughed and sucked more spaghetti into her mouth.
"You look like you've been starving for weeks." Mike chuckled.
"You see that?" El pointed to the door, a large carton standing next to it.
"Yeah?" Mike looked confused.
"In there are dozens of empty microwave and takeout containers." El told him. "We have been living on that stuff for weeks since your predecessor had to move out."
"Why did she have to move out?" Mike wanted to know. "What did she do?"
"Actually, she was moved out by her dad and his colleagues." Max snickered.
"Oh, what does he do?"
"He's the chief of police of this city and she was arrested because her latest boyfriend used this house as a drug stash." El huffed.
"No way!" Mike laughed. "Wait, do I need to worry about breathing in when I'm in my room?"
"Yeah, there's cocaine dust floating through the air still." Stacy giggled.
"She's kidding of course. "El calmed him. "So Mike, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Smooth." Max mouthed to her with a wink, making her blush.
"No." he chuckled. "I think if I had one, she would have said something about me moving in with four women. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, there are certain rules in this house regarding partners." El deflected with the truth. "For example, the master bathroom is only for us girls and now you too, but if someone who's not living here spends the night, he or she has to use one of the other two bathrooms."
"With some rare exceptions." Max added.
"Yeah, okay." El admitted. "When her boyfriend was sick a few months ago, I allowed him to take a hot bath with medicinal herbs in it here since his apartment only has a shower. But that's pretty much the only exception I allow."
"You're a tough landlady." Mike winked at her and refilled his plate with a second helping of spaghetti and sauce.
"Seriously, where do you put that?" El gasped when she saw that his second serving was as big as the first.
"I could always eat a lot and not gain weight." Mike shrugged. "I have a pretty active metabolism. The more I eat, the more I heat up."
"What, for real?" Jennifer gaped.
"Well, I'm not turning into a human torch." Mike chuckled. "But when you touch me after a big meal, you'll feel my skin being warmer than usual."
"I bet it's great sharing a blanket with you in a cold night." El chuckled and turned her eyes downward to hide the blush from her remark.
"Does anyone else want seconds?" Mike asked once he had finished eating but nobody took any, the girls holding their stomachs filled with good food. "Alright, I'll put the rest in some tupperware boxes, so you can eat some for lunch tomorrow if you have the time."
"Thanks Mike." El called after him as he walked into the kitchen, taking the plates with him on the tray. "I like him."
"We noticed." Max smirked.
"Good job, Max." El congratulated her.
While the girls watched a movie, Mike retreated into his new room, unpacking his suitcases and bags and putting away his clothes into the closets and cabinets. Once he was finished, he sat down at his desk and began typing, trying to find the words to string together so they would end up as a chapter for his new book. Like it always happened when he began writing, he forgot the time and he startled when a finger poked his shoulder and he slammed the laptop shut in shock.
"Jesus!" Mike held his chest, seeing El standing next to him, clad in some very cute pajamas. "Something wrong?"
"No, just wanted to see why the light was still on in here." she shook her head. "Can't sleep?"
"No, just writing." he said. "I tend to forget the time when I do that. What time is it?"
"It's almost one in the morning." she chuckled.
"Fuck, I gotta go to bed, I have classes tomorrow morning." he groaned and got up, towering over her petite frame.
"Shit, you're tall." El chuckled, her eyes barely reaching his shoulder.
"Thanks for making me aware." he smiled warmly at her and pulled down his pants, revealing a pair of loose shorts before discarding his shirt as well.
"You're welcome." El swallowed hard, her heart rate going up and she quickly fled from the room and headed into hers.
As she got into bed and settled down again, she heard him toss and turn a bit, his bed bumping into the wall they shared, aware of the trouble people tended to have when they slept in a new bed for the first time. She put her hand on the wall, feeling the vibrations from his movements and she smiled warmly, wondering why that caused such strong reactions from her. It's not as if she was planning to fall for the guy, given that she barely knew anything about him.
"Night, Mike." she said, almost to herself.
"Night, El." he surprisingly replied, having heard her.
With a smile, she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.
Well, this is it. Thoughts? If you don't like it, this will stay a one-shot ^^
Review please :)