Okay so this story is actually finished so I'm not looking for like, constructive feedback. I'm just posting in case anyone wants to read. The joy for me lies in making up these stories. And this is SUPER SMUTTY, and super angsty, which I think I'm less good at, but I also think it's one of the best stories I've written. That may just be my opinion though. Heads up that if you are really into church or are offended easily then maybe this isn't the story for you. Don't say I didn't warn you. I don't even believe in Jebus. Oh, and THIS IS SMUTTY. Look alive, people.
The Universe is a crazy place, has a biting sense of humor, and is cruel a good bit of the time. But as two teens from Hawkins, Indiana, discovered, sometimes the Universe has plans that cannot be altered.
The first inklings of dawn showed themselves as the autumn leaves grew brighter with each passing moment, the sun illuminating more and more in the sleepy little working class town of Hawkins as it got higher in the sky. It was Sunday, the first Sunday the newly minted Hawkins Orphanage would be attending the church services that Mike Wheeler's father led. Ted Wheeler was a devout evangelical who took the Bible a little too literally at times. Mike just did as he was told for fear of facing his father's wrath.
El was an orphan and until recently had been an experiment at a government lab in Hawkins. After a lot of litigation and secrecy, the lab had been shut down and the building turned into an orphanage, so El still had to live there. The difference was that now she got to leave and go places like church and occasionally to the store to buy small items that she could now afford due to being able to do odd jobs around the lab.
She didn't love it, but it was drastically better than before.
Sitting in the pew in the sanctuary of the church, El was fascinated at what all went on before the actual sermon. There was singing and music and even though El wasn't sure about the content, the melodies were nice.
A group of eight boys stood nervously in the front and started to sing. There was a tall, lanky boy with the floppiest hair El had ever seen and she was sitting so close she could see his freckles. She didn't look away from him, her eyes boring into him. She smirked when he looked at her and her gaze did not falter.
As Mike was standing in front singing he noticed a new girl, a pretty girl, staring at him. He stammered the lines to his song and even forgot a couple because he found that he couldn't look away. She was smirking but there was something about her that made him want to stare back. She felt somehow familiar. He knew his father would be mad if he knew Mike had messed up the ensemble's song but in the moment he felt like he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.
El did the same, her eyes never budging away from his, not even when his cheeks flushed and he lowered his head. Cute, she thought to herself as she continued to admire his singing.
Going to church was something she had never expected to experience, but this was mandatory for the orphaned children at The Lab, as they still called it.
She couldn't complain, though.
The atmosphere was warmer and a lot more welcoming than it had ever been at the place she called home. It was far from that, but her circumstances had improved over the last year and she couldn't ignore the fact that she would have never had the opportunity to admire a boy so pretty if the original purpose of The Lab hadn't disappeared.
Smiling to herself, she continued to enjoy her first experience at this new place filled with deep, melodic voices and a kindness she had never known.
When service ended, the housemother told the crowd of orphans to follow her. She was a sturdy woman in her late fifties who had always made sure they were tidy and well-behaved, apart from sticking to the orphanage's schedule.
El didn't mind it most of the time, but there were days when she felt the need to explore the town she had been kept away from for so long, only to be disciplined and told she couldn't leave the institution unsupervised. She knew that one day or another this rule might end up broken and today, after watching the tall, raven-haired boy from a distance, she awaited her escapade.
"Kids, this is Reverend Wheeler. He was kind enough to let us participate every Sunday from now on so we should all thank him," the housemother forced out a smile at the group.
El knew better than to roll her eyes. She wanted to, it was long since she had last felt like a kid. She was sixteen and probably one of the oldest at the orphanage. That meant she was also one of the first who had put up with the past experiments that left her numb and nothing but a kid.
"Thank you, Reverend Wheeler," the crowd chanted together, apart from El.
Her eyes were glued on the tall, skinny frame that came to the preacher's side. It was the freckled boy, the one who had messed up his lines.
She sized him up, not missing how well put together he seemed. He wore a baby blue shirt and a tie under his gray woolen sweater and khaki suit jacket. His black shoes were shining and, for a moment, El felt conscious about her clothes. Her black and red plaid dress was lousy and borrowed from another kid from the orphanage, so it was nothing that the object of her desire could admire. She felt small all of a sudden.
Mike's palms felt sweaty. As he stood beside his father greeting children from the orphanage, mostly younger kids, he couldn't help but notice that the girl who had been staring at him was part of this group and it certainly seemed as though he was about to have to shake her hand. He hastily tried to wipe his hands on his jacket.
Corduroy. Why today? Mike thought as he tried desperately to get the problematic fabric to do his bidding and dry his hands.
Suddenly she was in front of him.
"Um, hi, welcome. I'm Mike." Of course, the words came out more as um hi, welcomeimmike but at least he made eye contact and managed to shake her hand.
And her hand...it was so soft and small but fit perfectly into his and he had to stop thinking about it. That stuff was for college...later. His dad had been clear.
Still, the way she had looked at him made his chest feel funny and try as he might, he thought about the girl, who had not given her name, all throughout Sunday dinner and while studying and while brushing his teeth.
I wonder what her story is. Mike thought as he tried to drift off to sleep that night. It must be lonely to be an orphan.
The next week had progressed unbearably slowly. El had tried to do everything in her power to take her mind off last Sunday's events. The moment that cute boy- Mike, as he had presented himself- shaking her hand had played like a broken record in the back of her mind. There had been no remedy that could alleviate the butterflies in her stomach throughout the week, not even doing extra chores or playing with the younger kids.
When the next Sunday came around, El was the first one to wake up. She put on a washed blue dress that was tied around the waist with a pink faux leather belt. It looked good, and she made sure to put a matching pin in her hair and polish her shoes before they all made their way to the church.
She spotted Mike sitting by himself in the second row and for a few seconds El's mind was consumed with thoughts. She glanced at the housemother who was walking right in front of her and pondered how successful her attempt of sitting next to Mike would be. There was only one way to find out, though.
"Mother Mary, can I sit closer to the reverend? I couldn't hear much the last time. I won't sit in the front row, I promise," she whispered solemnly as she walked right behind the old woman. She hadn't known the rules for who was allowed to sit in the first row of pews, but she figured that a group of orphans wouldn't be able to.
"Go ahead. He really is delightful, isn't he?"
"Yes, ma'am." El smiled as she strutted towards Mike.
He seemed absentminded, his head lowered as he played with the end of his black jacket until El took a seat next to him.
"Hi," she whispered, the corners of her mouth turning upward when she noticed his eyes growing comically larger. He really was pretty.
Mike glanced up when someone sat down beside him and was surprised to see it was the girl from the previous Sunday...the girl who had invaded and taken occupancy in his mind.
"Uh, h-hi," he stuttered when she greeted him.
What is wrong with you?!
"Sorry. I don't really stutter. Just got air caught in my throat," Mike offered.
Lying already? You're an awful person, Mike Wheeler. At least his brain was more honest than his mouth.
People were still filing into the big room and finding their seats. The service wouldn't start for another few minutes.
"I didn't catch your name last week. If you don't remember, my name is Mike. The reverend is my dad." He noticed that she was just staring at him.
"I don't know why I just told you that. I'm sure you know that. I'll be quiet now."
"It's fine." El couldn't hold in the chuckle that had just escaped from her throat. She looked at him, studying his beautiful features and wanting to embed them in her mind until the next week.
"I'm El. And yes, I know who you are. You're the one who messed up his lines in the choir last Sunday. Don't think I didn't notice it," she teased him, her eyes now facing the front of the church as the reverend was about to start preaching.
Mike could feel his face getting warmer and knew he was most likely turning every shade of red.
"Um, yeah. I got, uh, distracted I guess. Nice to meet you for real, El."
Mike settled in, sitting the way he always sat in the pew...slightly slouched, knees apart, hand beside him on the surface of the bench. He stole one more sideways glance at El, who was looking forward and seemed to radiate confidence, and then looked forward himself, ready to listen to his father's sermon.
Despite the church emanating a sense of tranquility for El, she found the reverend's preaching rather boring. It had been the same the last time she had been here, but she forgot how unappealing the sermon was because of her short interaction with Mike back then.
But now he was here, mere inches away from her and she glanced down at him. She could see his hand from the corner of her eyes, his finger pale and long, elegant even, and her whole body burned from the inside out. The impulse of touching him was too much to bear and after a brief debate with herself, she carefully moved her own hand until it brushed over Mike's.
Her eyes never left the reverend.
Her hand was touching his. Mike didn't know what to do. On one hand, this was church and he knew exactly what his father would say. On the other, her cool fingers touching his made his heart race, pounding in his chest so hard he was sure everyone around him could hear it.
Involuntarily he stiffened and sat up straight, bringing his hand quickly to his lap. Holding hands in church was wrong, especially with someone who was practically a stranger, even if her fingers had felt like part of him and he had felt a peace he hadn't known he was lacking.
The moment he retracted his fingers, El felt her heart pounding inside her ribcage. It was as if she hadn't even realized what she was doing until he moved his hand away. The realization of being rejected hit her unexpectedly and it hurt so much she felt numb for rest of the sermon.
It was only after standing up from their seats when she decided to take one last glance at Mike. He might have just rejected her, but she was still incapable of controlling the feelings that were blooming for him.
"Goodbye," she mumbled under her breath and didn't wait for an answer, instead rushing toward the group of orphans, the ones that she referred to as family. The only ones that had accepted her.
Mike didn't know what had happened. El had been so confident and then her hand touched his. Was it an accident? Was it on purpose? Mike had no idea. But when she'd gotten up she looked sad and she mumbled a hasty goodbye and left so quickly. Mike wondered if he'd done something to upset her.
He instantly wanted to go after her, having the overwhelming urge to check on her and find out if she was okay, but she was gone. They didn't stay that day to do the greeting with the reverend.
Mike pushed his dinner around on his plate. His father noticed.
"Something troubling you, son?" Ted Wheeler asked.
"It's probably a girl," his sister Holly mocked.
Mike just looked at his plate.
"A girl? Now Mike, you know there will be time for that later. You were fine yesterday so if it's a girl today then that leads me to believe you met her at church. You know how I feel about that."
Mike didn't answer. He did know how his father felt about Mike and girls at church. It could never happen.
"May I please be excused?" Mike asked his mother, who nodded over her glass of wine.
Up in his bedroom, Mike played the events of the church service over in his mind. El had seemed fine, even teased him a bit, but then their hands had touched. Mike remembered how he'd felt but then also that he'd pulled away.
Did she feel something too? Did I make her sad? Why do girls have to be so hard to understand?
Mike sighed. He'd hopefully see her next Sunday. The week was going to seem so long. He decided he'd spend the time trying to figure out a way to maybe spend a little more time with her. She could probably use a friend her own age. Maybe he could show her the neatest and most secret places he'd discovered in the church over the years as he'd spent time exploring and playing while his father worked in his office.
I'll try again. If I did something to upset her I'll make it up to her.
Mike promised himself he would.
El hadn't done much until the next Sunday besides sulking over what she had done the previous week. It had hurt her to see Mike refusing something as trivial as holding hands. To her, it didn't seem like a big deal. She had done it with boys and girls at the orphanage, but they were her friends and family, not some random stranger who also happened to be an orphan, just like she was to Mike. She couldn't blame him, but a part of her was still mad about being rejected.
That anger didn't go away until the next week when the housefather Steven led the youth to an orchard to pick apples. They were accompanied by some of the church members, which included none other than Mike.
He was wearing a gray sweater over a baby blue shirt and El couldn't stop herself from admiring him from a distance. The rays of sun cascaded over his pale skin and made him squint in response. To her, he looked pretty even then and it took a lot of time for El to focus on the task at hand. It only became worse when she was instructed to climb up the ladder and pick the fruits.
"Can someone hold this for me? It looks unstable."
She held the ladder propped against an apple tree and looked around. Apart from some of the orphans her age, there was also Mike and before anyone else could react, he was already in front of her and steadying the ladder. Her eyes slightly narrowed.
Mike had heard El ask for someone to hold the ladder for her and quickly responded. He still wanted to find out if she was mad at him or if it was all in his head. She was already three rungs up when he arrived and steadied the apparatus. He didn't mean to, but when he glanced up to see her progress he caught a glimpse of her pink panties. She was wearing a skirt but no leggings and even though he knew he should look away immediately, Mike's eyes were locked on the way the pink fabric hugged her most private area.
"Are you holdi-" El was about to ask Mike if he was strong enough to hold the ladder in place, when she turned her head and glanced down at him.
It was only for a split second before his bulging eyes found hers and the mortified look on his face said it all.
She had just caught Mike, the reverend's son, peeking under her skirt and she couldn't help but smirk.
"You know..." she started slowly, her face averted toward the apples again. "I haven't been attending church for so long, but I'm pretty sure that's a sin."
Their eyes locked again before she winked at him and tossed the apple she was holding. She intended to only scare him and just pretend to aim in his direction, but the fruit ended up hitting his shoulder anyway. He deserves it, she smiled to herself.
While Mike kind of wanted to just melt into a puddle due to embarrassment, something about the way she'd said I'm pretty sure that's a sin made him think she wasn't really all that upset that he'd peeked at her. When she'd looked at him her eyes seemed to shimmer with something Mike couldn't quite put his finger on. Then she winked at him and Mike felt his face get warm again. He was actually a little relieved when she'd tossed an apple down to him and it hit him in the shoulder.
She doesn't have to know I can't catch, Mike thought as the fruit bounced off of him and toppled to the ground.
"Sorry. I was just trying to make sure you were steady. I wasn't paying attention to where I looked. It won't happen again. Please don't pelt me with the harvest." He was trying to sound apologetic and meek but really he was feeling better. El was teasing him again and it seemed good-natured so Mike was hopeful that they could be friends.
"Um, hey, El?" Mike asked, still holding the ladder but not looking up at her. "After this I have to separate six bushels for the church fall festival this week. Would you want to help me take them to the storage room at the church?" Mike thought it couldn't hurt to ask.
"Me?" El was taken aback and she could have sworn Mike didn't want anything to do with her, despite having just sneak peeked to see her panties. "Okay then. I guess you need someone strong." Her tone was teasing but when she glanced down at him her eyes seemed warm and sparkling with joy. It was obvious that she hadn't expected the invitation.
A few hours later, a tired Mike and El had made their way to the storage room at the church as they carried the apples. On their way there, El had already learned that Mike was her age and had two sisters. She had joked about having a lot more siblings than him, although they weren't blood related.
When they reached the church's storage room, they started sorting out the apples in different bushels. They were both sweaty and dirty and relief washed through their bodies when they decided to sit down on the floor, their arms still doing the rest of the work.
"What is it like?" She asked in a whisper and continued to focus on picking out the apples.
Mike was so exhausted he wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly.
"What do you mean? What's what like?"
"What's being you like?" She mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes.
She had always wondered what it would be like to have a loving family and a normal life, away from all the craziness of the experiments she had to put up with or, even now, sharing a room with five other kids. She had always been curious about what it was like to be free.
"Having a family...and everything." Her voice had gotten gradually smaller.
Realization dawned on Mike's face. El didn't have a family. Not a real one. She never had. He tried to ignore the pang in his chest.
"Oh, um. Well it's nice I guess. I mean, I sometimes argue with my sisters and I don't always agree with what my parents tell me to do, or not do, but I guess at the end of the day we're all there for each other? I don't know. For me it's just regular. Can I tell you something?" Mike didn't wait for her permission. "If I ever do get to like, have a girlfriend and that leads to marriage or whatever, I don't think I'd want a lot of kids. There are three of us and while you'd think we'd be close we aren't. I've always felt like Nancy is the favorite and Holly is the baby and I'm just there to remind them of their shortcomings. But I'll never have to worry anyway because I'll be thirty before my dad says it's okay to date anyone."
"Huh?" El slacked down as she took a break from the work and glanced at Mike.
Sure, she had never had a boyfriend either, but that was only because she was a freak and nobody would've liked her anyway. And it wasn't like she could date any kid from The Lab- that was her family.
But for Mike, a regular boy who had always come into contact with other teenagers, to not be allowed to date seemed weird to El. Maybe that's why he pulled his hand back, the quick thought ran through her mind and she had to hold herself back from smiling.
"So you've never had a girlfriend?" She asked in disbelief.
"I never have. My dad says dating should be saved for college. But um, that doesn't mean I don't think about it. I mean, do I really want to be close to twenty before I have my first kiss? That seems kind of lame."
El broke into a chuckle as she continued to watch Mike in stupefaction. She couldn't grasp the idea of someone as pretty as him not having a girlfriend or even a first kiss, but she figured that this hadn't been his choice.
"I haven't had my first kiss, either," El admitted nonchalantly.
Mike just offered her a sympathetic smile in reply, one that let her know he understood her pain and she couldn't do anything but reciprocate the gesture.
There was something about him, maybe the way he spoke and acted, or maybe just the simple fact that he was just as inexperienced as she was, that it made her feel at ease. For once in her life, she didn't feel small or inferior to someone outside the orphanage.
They sat in silence for a few more seconds, their eyes glued like magnets as they held the stare before El launched at him.
Her soiled hands pressed on either side of his soft cheeks so he couldn't pull away as she almost filled the space between their mouths. She could feel his warm breath fanning over her eager lips as her eyes studied his. He almost seemed scared.
"Do you want to have your first kiss, Mike? I promise I won't tell anyone." The tone of her voice was serious, but reassuring.
Mike's heart was instantly in his throat. Her hands were on his face and she was right in front of him and even though she'd been sweaty and dirty she still smelled like French vanilla, like his mother's favorite candle that his father complained cost too much. He knew he shouldn't; they were at church and even though they were in the storage cellar they were still there but her eyes were so pretty and her voice was so nice and her hands on his face made him tingle all over.
"S-s-sure." Mike tried to sound cool but cringed when he heard himself stutter. "I mean, if you want. No big deal either way." His words didn't match his hushed tone though. He found that he was also nodding.
El didn't hesitate, her soft lips pressing over his. She had no idea what she was doing and for a second she felt herself panic, but she tried to focus on the moisture of his lips only. Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't seen before how a kiss worked.
The orphanage allowed them to watch shows in the common area and whenever girls won the TV over, they would watch soap operas for hours. She had learned the difference between a small peck and a French kiss, but she was scared to try it with Mike. The thought that he would think she was gross was still in the back of her mind, although the doubt was slowly fading away after today's events. Not only had he dared to look under her skirt, he had also accepted to share his first kiss with her and her heart skipped a bit at the thought of it.
She held him there, her lips mingling over his as she pecked them repeatedly or nibbled them softly. He was kissing back and doing the same to her and she had to think how to breathe through her nose again when his mouth parted.
It was almost like an invitation to deepen the kiss and her tongue slowly slipped inside his mouth and brushed over her his when she felt him flinch.
She slowly pulled away, but the tip of their noses still touched as she asked, "Too much?"
When Mike had gotten up that morning, experiencing his first kiss was the last thing he would have imagined would happen. El's lips were soft and warm and he knew immediately that he was going to want to do this again.
Her tongue touched his and Mike flinched, not because he thought it was gross or unappealing, he had been so caught off guard by how much he liked it and he was afraid he wasn't going to want to ever stop kissing her.
"No, I just...you know. No, definitely not too much, it was..." Mike sighed. "That was really nice." He spoke softly, still able to feel the ghost of her lips on his and feeling her very real nose brushing against his. "I, um, want to try again?"
El smiled in relief and proceeded closing the gap between their mouths again, this time not bothering to ease Mike into the kiss. Her tongue slipped past his lips without missing a beat and she exhaled deeply through her nose when their tongues met.
She could taste him, all mint and apples he'd probably sneakily eaten when no one had been looking, and she couldn't help but want more.
Mike responded in kind to her ministrations, but his body still felt stiff under the grip El had on his shoulders so she moved her hands over his until she guided them on her waist. She liked them there; it sent shivers down her spine to feel him grip her sides, the clasp going tighter with every swipe of her tongue over his.
They continued to do this for over two minutes, breathing into each other's parted mouth and only stealing small pecks from each other when they felt like they ran out of breath.
When they finally disentangled, she studied Mike's face. She couldn't pinpoint what exactly he was feeling, but his lips were swollen and a deep shade of pink while he gave her a ludicrous look. She offered him a mischievous grin in return.
"I won't tell anyone if you won't."
"Yeah," Mike whispered, unable to find his full volume. "Our secret." He still couldn't believe what had just happened. He'd had his first kiss and it had been more than he ever could have hoped for. They had pretty much finished with the apple sorting and El was about to stand up.
"Um, El? I can't have a girlfriend but if I could, I want you to know I'm pretty sure I'd want her to be you. I think you're pretty awesome. So I hope we can at least be friends and maybe hang out sometimes."
"Yeah?" El asked as she stood up and tried to fix her slightly disheveled dress.
Her feelings were all over the place, the most prominent being the warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest. Apart from that, she felt dizzy and almost scared as all kinds of thoughts swirled through her mind. She hoped nobody would find out about their secret, or else she would be in deep trouble with the houseparents. On top of that doubt, there was also the fear that Mike was just using her to tame the hormonal teenage rage that came along with their age. She couldn't tell if she was doing the same with him, but a part of her was sure that she wouldn't have refused to be more than just friends with Mike.
He didn't have to find that out, though.
"Cool." She forced out a small smile and looked anywhere but toward him. "I should go."
Mike stood up. She was doing that thing again where she looked kind of scared and antsy. She had already turned on her heels.
Now or never.
Mike reached out and caught her hand. Before she could say anything he pulled her into him and wrapped both arms around her. She felt small in his embrace but she fit perfectly against him. Her head fit just under his chin when he titled his head down and he could smell her shampoo. Mike felt her body stiffen upon first hugging her but then she quickly relaxed and he heard her sigh.
"Thanks for helping me today, El," Mike said softly, his right hand rubbing circles on her back. It just felt like the natural thing to do. "Thanks for everything." He held on to her, not wanting to be the one to end the embrace. She felt so nice, like she might be the only person he'd ever need or want to hug in his whole life.
Don't be weird. Mike. She's your friend. That's all she can be. His brain knew the facts. Mike's heart, however, did not.
After a few minutes of them standing in the cellar holding one another, because while it had started as just a hug El had also put her arms around Mike and was holding just as tightly, Mike reluctantly relaxed his grip.
"Um, sorry, I just...you looked like you could use a hug." Mike sighed. "Or maybe I needed one."
"Definitely you." El's smile didn't reach her eyes, mostly because it hurt too much to feel happiness.
Mike was nothing but a stranger at the end of the day, but he had showed El more affection than she could have ever hoped for and it messed with her brain. She grew up being taught that showing sadness is a weakness so she pulled herself together before he could sense any trace of concern and sorrow within her.
"But thank you, too. You are a good person, Mike."
She left before he could get the chance to say something back and hurried to her group. Everything was going to be back to normal until the next week and she couldn't wait to see if Mike was going to be the same sweet, warm soul he showed her today or if he would just join the crowd and realize that she was nothing but an orphan freak, forgetting about her entirely.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! This is a long story altogether and some things I can't even believe I'm gonna post for strangers to read but I'm owning it so I'm gonna let it be. I wouldn't want my mother to read it, I'll just say that. I'll update in a few days.
M-thank you for your amazing ideas. And for everything. You make every day so fun.