Welcome to the final chapter of this sweet short story! I won't bore you with introductions, because this is gonna get very good!
El already could see it, but Mike's own words confirmed it: he was confused. There was something in their relationship that was holding Mike back, that was causing Mike to doubt. She wouldn't rush him, but he needed to know that she did, in fact, also like him.
For the following days, El tried to be a little more flirty around Mike, hoping that he would catch her hint. Standing that extra inch closer to him, her hand slightly grazing his hand, being more smiley and flirtatious around him. She wanted him to be confident in his feelings. Unfortunately, that elicited little to no response from him.
Then, another morning came. There was about 5 minutes before their history class would begin, so El knew she had to act fast. Mike was sitting on top of his desk, and El was doing the same on another desk. She thought for a moment and asked, "I'm assuming you like being around her?"
He smiled. El Hopper was an absolute joy to be around. Her humor, her gentleness, her kindness, her playful attitude...all of it was top-tier. It was admirable, truly. He could picture no better human being. When he realized an awkward few seconds had already passed, he knew he had to make a witty remark quickly to avoid suspicion.
He grinned, "No, I'm actually one for those enemies to lovers tropes. We're still in the opening stages, ya know? She's my worst enemy."
"Haha, very funny, Mike Wheeler," she half-laughed. "So do you spend a lot of time with her?"
"As much as I can," he simply said, but when El kept looking at him, he confessed, "I mean, I wish it could be more, especially spending time alone and really having a deeper relationship with her, but she obviously has other friends too, you know?"
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe you should ask her if she wants to hang out more. You could ask her to the movies or something like that…"
If Mike asked her, she could clearly show that she liked him. If he would just give her the opportunity, then all problems would be solved. She could take his hand, and they could walk off into the sunset (or to see Back to the Future II, either one).
"Maybe…"
But a day passed, and nothing happened. She would've loved to spend an outing with Mike, but it would not be so. Unfortunately, Mike Wheeler was too much of a chicken; at least that's what it looked like.
Finally, on the 11th day, El could no longer handle this feeling of uncertainty. She had given him all the hints, but if he hadn't already asked her out, then what was he waiting for? Her gut was starting to tie into a knot, and she couldn't handle the feeling. She couldn't continue playing the game.
She approached Mike's locker. He looked up at her as he usually did, expecting another question. What he got was not what he was expecting: "Mike, is it me?"
He froze. He thought El was getting a little more flirty with me as the days went by, but he never expected that El knew the girl was actually her. He didn't think it would be so obvious. But then again, there is only one person who could fit the character of El…El herself.
Still, Mike was uncertain how to respond. "Uh..what are you talking about?"
"Mike…" she cautioned.
He sighed, and said the first thing that came to mind: "Do you want it to be you?"
"Mike," she looked him in the eyes, "of course I do. I think I've made that pretty obvious these past days."
Of all the possible outcomes of his love life, Mike Wheeler did not expect this to be one of them. The girl who had invaded his mind for the past weeks just told him exactly what he wanted to hear. This was Mike's opportunity, tied in a pretty bow. It was being handed to him on a silver platter, the easiest decision he would ever have to make in his life.
But something was wrong. A huge weight was taken off his shoulders, but he still couldn't ask her out. I mean, it was guaranteed that she would say yes, yet he couldn't ask her. How come he couldn't ask her?
She looked down at the ground, her cheeks definitely turning red now. When he didn't respond, she continued, "But...you still seem uncertain, Mike. You know how I feel, but you are still on edge."
Of course he liked her…he could feel it. But he still couldn't ask her. And there he stood, a blank stare in his eyes. It was so easy to ask, all the hard stuff was done, yet he couldn't.
"Mike," she slightly croaked, tears slowly starting to appear, "do you like me?"
And that's when Mike figured out the problem. His heart was telling him that he liked her, but he wasn't sure what that meant. What is the difference between being liking someone as a best friend and liking them as a boyfriend? The decision shouldn't be purely physical, so what made El Hopper different from his other female friends?
They stood there for a few moments, the silence illuminating the tension. Each second felt like an added weight on El's shoulders, until it was too heavy to bear.
"Well Mike," she sighed. "I played your little game, hoping you would understand your feelings, but I guess you haven't."
Before he could say another word, she turned around and walked to their class. She didn't stay by his desk, nor did she sit next to him during lunch. It was clear that, in some shape or form, she was avoiding him. She was not doing it to be a drama queen, or to make Mike suffer. Rather, she knew that Mike needed time to think. He was very caught up in his emotions, and she wanted Mike to have the opportunity to think about what he wanted. Because El cared about Mike, even if it meant she couldn't get what she wanted.
And reflect is exactly what Mike Wheeler did. He took El's words to heart, and he realized how unfair he had really been toward her. He was saying for the past days that she was the girl he liked but also that he was uncertain about it. For El, what did that even mean? Did he or did he not like her?
Paradoxically, the truth was that he didn't say that he liked her because he cared about her. His heart was screaming that he liked her, but something was missing. Mike did not want to enter into a relationship without being sure why he liked her, what made her different. He had seen it with his mother and his father, people acting too much on their emotions instead of making the smart choice. Mike did not want them to end up like his parents. El deserved the best.
And so he was left with a question that he couldn't answer.
…
…
…
And then, it came to him. He was sitting in his Biology class listening to a lecture about meiosis or something like that, and that's when it hit him...of all places. It must've been what Newton felt like when he discovered Calculus, because all of a sudden, boom. The world made sense.
He liked El Hopper, there was no question there. She was on his mind for the past weeks, how could he argue otherwise? But now Mike realized something else...
El was a great friend. Like any friend, she cared about him and was there when he needed her. She brought a smile to his face, and cheered him up in his lowest times. She helped him when he was lost, and made life a more fun journey. But still...she was different.
It was her smile, her eyes, her humor, her personality. It was everything that he could've wanted in someone; she was everything he wanted to be. She was the person that could be his best friend, the one he would spend his most time with, and be a team that would help each other. And that's why he liked El Hopper: because she was El Hopper.
Looking at El, the things about her that he was attracted to resembled the fact that she was special. Her smile was reassuring because El was reassuring; the exact person Mike wanted with him in the darkest of times. Her eyes made him feel warm because he knew what was inside those eyes: someone who really cared about him. It wasn't that his emotions were tricking him, or that his hormones had gone extreme. He liked El Hopper because he realized that El was the girl for him. Her smile, her eyes, her laugh were all reflective of her.
She was his counterpart; the one in which Mike could not go wrong. He fell in love with her because his emotions noticed El's eyes, El's smile, El's humor. He loved El because he noticed the soul behind those features, one that was perfect for him. One so pure that he wanted to protect it, to help it, to be with it. And while there were many more tribulations facing him and El, he could picture no better person to face them with.
And while he had this declaration of love in his chest that he just needed to tell the world, he was stuck learning about freaking meiosis.
At the end of his last class, Mike quickly left his classroom to reach El's locker before she would be heading off. Since he classroom was on the other side of the school, he sprinted as fast as possible to reach it. He might have pushed a few kids out of the way, but it was well worth it.
Soon, he was at her locker, and there she stood. Even though she wore a visible frown on her face, she was pretty as ever. If this was just two weeks ago, he wouldn't have had the courage to do this, but:
"Hey El," he said, which immediately caught her attention. "You wanna go see a movie sometime?"
She brightened, her eyes showing signs of warmth again. "Finally came around, Mike?"
"I realized a few things," he smiled back. "Like that I was an idiot, and that I had been unfair to you, but mainly that I like you…and that it wouldn't be far-fetched that I would want to be your boyfriend."
She hugged him. "Well Mike, I would love to be your girlfriend."
So they went to the movies that weekend, and afterward stopped at a Dairy Queen. It was a very fun, light-hearted day, but both felt themselves growing closer and stronger to the other. After a prep talk by Lucas, Mike would soon ask El to homecoming, to which she replied with an obvious yes. After the dance, Mike formally asked El to be his girlfriend, realizing once again that she was truly like no other.
And in a few years, Mike would realize a few other things too. That she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, the one to have and raise his children, the one to promise his life for. He would realize that the question would shift from why he would want to date El to how he could give all his love to El in marriage.
But that's a story for another time.
And that's a wrap, boys! I really hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and the story as a whole. I guess I could make a sequel to this, but it all depends on what the fans want ;)
Also, I am interested to hear any suggestions that you all have for future stories. Until next time, it was real, boys.
- thenewdisciple
