AN: I'm back with the second chapter.
With today's author note, I would like to raise your attention to the dates of each chapter. Some chapters are only taking place on one day, others cover the span of multiple days. And in some future chapters there will also be some flashbacks. Therefore, I recommend to always check the dates, so you know where in the timeline we are. But mostly the story continues in a straight timeline.
Chapter 2
20. September 1987
Three days later El was sitting at the desk in her room, absentmindedly staring out of the window.
The surface in front of her was superimposed by textbooks, papers and notebooks, a result of the hours spent on catching up on her homework, that she had neglected the prior days.
But after concentrating for such a long time, her mind couldn't take it anymore and had drifted off to more pleasant topics. And sitting at her desk that was placed underneath the bedroom window, her thoughts easily went to a black-haired boy, as she had a perfect view on the Wheeler's driveway, which was momentarily deserted.
As Mike had told her earlier in the week, his family was visiting his Nana over the weekend, celebrating her 70's birthday. His grandma had left Hawkins a few years back, after her husband had died, and had moved north, enjoying her old days at Lake Michigan. Due to the few hours' drive, the Wheelers had left early in the morning and were not expected to return before late Sunday afternoon or early evening.
Mike's absence also caused him to have no time for Trish this weekend, being one of the reasons, why they had not been on their date, yet; a fact that El noted with relief.
During the past weeks Mike and Trish had seen each other rarely, mainly at school. After the worst summer, El ever had, with Trish being present nearly constantly, the situation had become a lot better with the start of school. Between homework, Cheerleader training, Basketball games and D&D nights, there seemed to be not enough time for private dates.
Therefore, the first real date in nearly four weeks (not that she was keeping record or anything) bothered her immensely. But so far, a date still had to be set.
Friday had not been an option, as it was the boys' weekly D&D night, that was not quit for anything. Mike had multiple times tried to invite Trish in the past, but she had only laughed lightly and brushed him off with a "You're cute, honey.", before dropping the topic.
El couldn't deny that she was immensely relieved about Trish's decision not to join their Friday night gatherings at the Wheeler basement. It would have meant, that ultimately Max and herself would have had been dealing with her, as there was no way that Trish would have been playing Dungeon & Dragons in this life.
It had become kind of a tradition, that the girls hung around in the basement, eating snacks, chatting, and laughing, while the boys were entranced by the game. They had played D&D with the guys from time to time, but they could never develop the same passion for it as Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike. But they loved to watch them getting fully into it, so they usually joined them on Friday nights, staying out of the game but nonetheless sharing a fun evening with the boys.
Max and El used the time for chatting about almost everything (except for the topic about a certain boy that was in earshot) and working on their beauty routine, like colouring each other nails and applying face masks. Because even though they were spending all their time with four boys, they were still two 16-year-old girls that loved to do girly stuff from time to time. But doing all this together with Trish was an experience, El could happily live without.
On Saturday they didn't have any time for their date either, as a Basketball game took place at their school and of course Trish and her team participated in it as Cheerleaders.
For some reason, this event covered the whole day, with the preparations before the game and the celebrations afterwards, something El couldn't relate to, as she never went to any of the games herself. The only sports games she ever watched were a few of Max's Basketball tournaments, which were less of a spectacle than the men's games, because for some reason the people rather watched boys' sports than sweaty girls, as Max explained once. So, the Basketball game was this huge event that everyone went to, except for El and her friends.
Well, most of them except for Mike, who was going, being the dutiful boyfriend supporting his girlfriend. It wasn't something he did voluntarily, but he was incapable of saying 'No' to Trish.
During Friday's Lunch time at school, he had tried to persuade them to join him, but his attempts failed miserably.
"Sorry Mike, I can't. Jonathan is coming over this weekend and wants to introduce me to some new tracks that he got hold of in New York. He says he found so much cool stuff in New York, especially some underground and lesser-known bands that played in bars he went to.", Will replied, feeling sorry for letting his friend down, but at the same time barely hiding his excitement about the visit of his older brother.
"Man, you know my opinion about any High School sports. I thought I made that clear in yesterday's discussion.", Dustin added.
And Max replied harshly, "You're joking, right? I will not be spending my weekend watching your obnoxious girlfriend throwing some pong pongs in the air." In a calmer voice she added, "Anyway, I have a date with stalker over here at the arcade. He wants to get his ass kicked." She nudged Lucas in the side, who grinned widely at her.
Mike looked devastated when his gaze met El's and she felt her heart breaking, nearly considering joining him. "Mike, I'm very sorry, but you know it's my day with dad and we already got it all planned.", she said apologetically.
Since her parents' divorce, she spent every Saturday with her dad. After breakfasting her mother drove her to Hopper's home at the other side of town, before heading to her weekend shift. El and Hopper usually spent the day outside, going hiking around Hawkins, or they drove to a specific hiking spot outside of town in her dad's Chevrolet. They both quite liked the nature, contrary to her mum, who was not a big fan of spending hours in the wild.
Afterwards, they mostly went back to her dad's cabin, she was allowed to choose a film and her dad served pizza and Eggos. El stayed the night in the small additional bedroom, that her dad had set up for her, and he drove her back home the next morning. El loved those 24 hours with her dad and Mike knew how precious the time was for her.
"No problem, El. I fully understand.", he smiled kindly at her.
So, El was spending Saturday with her dad, as usual hiking in the woods, and thinking about Mike, who presumably sat alone watching the game and the performance of his girlfriend. She was sure he felt awful, not being interested the slightest in the game, while all other spectators around him cheered loudly to encourage their team.
When she had returned home on this Sunday morning the Wheelers were already gone to visit Nana. So, she hadn't had the chance to check in on him. And with nothing else to do, El had decided to spend the day wisely, causing her to bend over her homework for hours, before giving in to the daydreaming.
A sudden source of light in the approaching twilight caught her attention and the well-known Wheeler family car came into her vision. She observed the car being parked in the driveway and the whole family emerged. Even though it was getting darker outside by the minute, she could easily identify the four persons, the stocky body of Ted Wheeler, the perfectly styled Karen Wheeler, the not so small anymore Holly, and of course the lanky figure of Mike. And shortly after she saw that the lights were switched on in Mike's room.
El smiled to herself, stood up from the desk and moved over to her bed, where she grabbed the Supercom from her nightstand and settled onto the bed, leaning against the headboard.
"Hi there, stranger. Over."
Just seconds later Mike responded, "Is that you, El? Over."
"Who else should this be?!", she asked perplexed.
"Someone who is using the same channel as we do?! And you forgot to say "Over" again. Over."
"Mike please, how many girls do you know that have a Supercom and live in this area, near enough to channel in? And about the "Over" part, it's stupid to do this all the time. By that the conversation sounds so forced."
"Okay, okay.", Mike said amused and El pictured him smiling broadly. "We can skip the "Over" if you promise me to identify yourself properly the next time."
Without hesitation she responded, "Promise."
El grinned to herself. This word was connected to so many memories. It was their word in a way, just between them both. Whenever they needed reassurance from the other, they asked to promise it and the other would just answer with the simple word "Promise". It sealed the deal that this promise would not be broken, and they had used it hundreds of times by now. But none of the promises had ever been broken.
"I saw your lights went on and I wanted to check how your weekend has been?", El resumed back to her conversation with Mike.
"Very long", he sighed. "I thought this would never end. First the game yesterday and today the birthday of Nana. I mean, I love her and everything, but to her birthday she invited all her friends from Bridge club or whatever and they went constantly on about 'What a big and handsome boy I have become'.", he reported, causing El to laugh.
"But you actually have become a big boy, Michael.", El commented in a mocking tone.
Mike chuckled, "And what about handsome?"
"Sure, also handsome. Pretty, I would say.", El replied before she could stop herself.
She closed her eyes in pain... What on earth made her say that out loud? At least Mike, could not see her red face in that moment.
"Thank you, El. You're not that bad yourself.", he said, making El's heart momentarily stop from his reply. "Maybe I could bring you to the birthday next year, then the old ladies can put all their focus on you, and I can eat my cake in peace.", he added laughing. "At least Nancy had her fun watching me suffering today."
"How is Nancy doing?", El asked upon his remark.
The oldest Wheeler child no longer lived at home, since she had moved out and went to college two years ago. El was very fond of Mike's older sister and looked up to her. As she had spent at least half of her childhood at the Wheeler household, she regarded Nancy as a kind of an older sister herself.
"She is fine, even though she just broke up with her latest boyfriend Brad, Bryan, or something like that. But she seemed not to be too bothered by the breakup. Said he just annoyed her in the end, and she wants to focus completely on her studies now. But let's see how long that will last. She most likely has several admirers lining up already.", Mike declared a bit annoyed by the dramas of his sister's love life. "She will be coming home for Thanksgiving, so let's see if she's still single by then."
"Oh, that sounds good.", El replied excitedly about the news that Nancy would be visiting in two months. "Can't wait to see her again."
"She also asked about you by the way. Asked how you're doing and wanted to know if you're still after that guy. I said that you're not seeing anyone, and she just laughed. Told me to tell you that you should forget about the stupid git and that you could do way much better."
El completely froze during Mike's speech. He had to be kidding, right? She knew that Nancy was fully aware about El's feelings for her younger brother. But what made her approach the boy in question and ask him if she was still into him? She was going to kill Nancy when she would come home on Thanksgiving…
"El is there anything I need to know?", Mike laughed, completely unaware about the heart attack she still tried to recover from.
"N-no, no n-n-othing.", she replied nervously and after another deep breath added, "There is no such guy."
"Okay, but you would tell me, if there was a boy you're interested in, right?", Mike continued to tease her. "But if he is such a stupid git like Nancy says, it might be better you really forget about him. You just deserve the best, El."
El wanted the world to open and swallow her right there, but she forced herself to reply. "Thanks, Mike. I will follow that advice if ever needed." Trying to quickly change the topic, she added, "So how was the game on Saturday?"
"What about it?", he asked.
"Well, who won? Was it a good game? Did you enjoy it?"
"Our team won, but don't ask me anything else. I really do not get the whole concept of it and I cannot understand that people are willingly watching it. I mean, I've been there to support Trish and I guess she has been great, not that I can I compare it to anything, but most other people watching the game likely have not a girlfriend on the Cheerleader team, so they are there to actually watch the game. And it takes ages, did you know that? The game itself is manageable, but you are supposed to come not at the last minutes, especially if you're there to watch the whole Cheerleader choreography, then there are breaks in between and afterwards the whole celebrating part takes place that is just way out of any perspective. It's just one game of so many and it's celebrated as if these have been the finals. Especially, if you're alone there, it's utterly boring.", Mike finished his ramblings.
"But at least you had Trish by your side, right? So, you were not completely alone.", El tried to reason.
"No, she has been with the Cheerleader team the whole time. I only spoke to her for about three minutes to congratulate her on her great performance, before someone of the other girls pulled her away. In the end, I decided to leave the party. Just standing there all by myself was getting unbearable at some point. I wish you would have been there with me; it would have been so much more fun with you by my side."
El's heart skipped a beat, as always, whenever Mike said something like this. Her mind just laughed bitterly at her stupid heart. He needed her as a friend to stand by his side, watching the performance of his gorgeous girlfriend with him, nothing else.
She wanted to ask him, why he went to the game if he did not enjoy it one bit, but she already knew the answer to that question. Mike was the most loyal and self-sacrificing person she knew. He would do anything for his friends and most likely do even more for his girlfriend. So, it was natural for him to spend his Saturday at a game, that he was not the slightest interested in and that bored him to no end. He would do it again any time.
"But enough about me, how was your weekend, El? Did you have a good time with your dad?", Mike inquired.
"Yes, it was great. We went for a four hour long hiking trip in the woods.", El reported about the day that they had spent in the woods around Hawkins. "It has been the perfect weather and it was so lovely to see all Autumn coloured trees. We even saw a deer in a clearing."
"Sounds good.", Mike commented. He knew how much El loved spending her time outside, a love that he shared with her partially, but contrary to her he preferred to stay in one area or use the bikes. Excessive hiking tours were not so much of his liking.
"And in the evening, we ate Pizza and Eggos.", El added to her recap of yesterday.
"I didn't expect you to have anything else.", he chuckled.
El rolled her eyes at his comment. "We do not eat this always. Sometimes we also go to Benny's for a change."
"But from first-hand experience I know that you just order waffles there, too. So, it's not that much of a difference.", he mocked her.
El thought back to the last time they had been to Benny's together, which lay a few months back. But she still remembered that day clear as day, as it was a very happy memory, which was followed by some of the worst days of her life. Something, she tried not to think about too much in this moment.
"Yeah well, what can I say. They are just the best.", she stated, before moving on from that particular topic and adding, "And today I only have been working on all the homework that had piled up during the week."
"That sucks.", Mike noted sympathetically.
El sighed heavily. "Tell me about it. Ms Clemens maths questions totally killed me. I don't get that crap and I'm hundred percent sure that I got all the answers wrong.", El whined.
She did okay in school, but Maths was not her subject. All the numbers and formulas didn't make any sense to her. She admired all her friends that were excelling in Maths and most other subjects, too. El was only very good in English class and alright in most others, but she was nonetheless constantly overshadowed by her friends.
"Don't worry. I bet you did not do that bad.", Mike offered to cheer her up.
"Mike, I wish you would be right. But it gets worse with each passing year. By now I'm completely lost. I'm afraid I will fail it if it continues like this."
"No, I won't let that happen.", Mike jumped in. His statement was followed by a pause and only when El was about to retort that there was not much he could do about it, he added, "I help you with it. I can tutor you if you like."
She let his statement sink in for a few seconds. He was one of the best students in Maths and he had a way with explaining things, that made it easy to follow and understand him. She had always thought that he would be a great teacher if he decided to follow that career paths, so this tutoring would likely come naturally to him.
The longer she thought about this, the more she liked the idea. "You would do that?", El replied excitedly.
"Sure, you're over at my place after most school days anyway, so we can just give up some time for it. I'm sure we can get you fit in Maths in no time."
"Good, if at least one of us is optimistic about it.", El laughed. "But thank you very much, Mike. I really appreciate the offer."
"Any time for you, El!"
Another short pause followed this, and El was lost again in her own thoughts.
She loved these talks with Mike, no matter if in person or via the Supercom. Their communication was so easy, and she could let herself fall into the moment and just be. Mike made her laugh, gave her comfort, and made it all seem so easy. In those moments the outside world didn't exist and all that mattered were the two of them. El felt her heart fluttering again; it could be all so easy, but it wasn't. She just had to live with being the best friend of the boy she loved.
Meanwhile, Mike seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, too. It took an unusual long time for him to speak again. "Uhm, El… thanks… I mean, this has been the best part of my weekend, talking to you.", Mike confessed. "But it gets late, and mum called that I should go to bed."
"Yes, sure. We will see each other tomorrow for school."
"Goodnight El, sweet dreams."
"Bye Mike", she whispered back.
21. September 1987
The next day El and Mike met on the street in front of their houses, as they did every single day, and biked to school. There they stayed together for the first period classes, that they shared.
El was in a brilliant mood, being on a high from their Sunday evening talk. Their conversation and laughter were still fresh on her mind, and she relished in these memories, not paying much attention to the teachers' lessons on that Monday morning.
Influenced by her cheerfulness, she suggested to Mike and Lucas during the English class, where the three of them were sitting together, to spend the upcoming Lunch break outside and make the best of the great autumn weather. The two boys agreed willingly and after the lesson Lucas headed towards the science classroom, to tell Max, Dustin, and Will about their change of plans. The three of them had agreed to meet up outside and while Lucas picked up the others, Mike and El strolled together to the back entrance in a comfortable silence.
When they pushed open the doors, El was met with warm and glistening rays of sunshine. She closed her eyes momentarily, fully enjoying the moment, and no longer looking where she went.
The short inattention caused her to trip over her own feet, losing her balance. She stumbled forward and her eyes shot open, while her hands moved up to cushion the impending fall. In the last second, she was caught by two hands grabbing her by the waist.
"Hey, take it easy.", Mike laughed from behind her.
Her heart was racing from the shock of the impending fall.
Only slowly she came back to her senses and realized where his hands were resting. Even through the cotton pullover she was wearing she could feel the touch of his long fingers on her skin. They were gripping onto her tightly with force, as if she could still fall if he released her small frame.
Her heartbeat sped up with each passing second and El realized that she should say something to ease the tension building up in her. "Yeah…", she mumbled, her cheeks pink from embarrassment and the boiling heat inside her body. "T-thanks… for catching me." –
"Perfect… I absolutely know how to make an appearance.", she thought to herself bitterly.
To worsen the situation, the school back doors swung open again in that moment and Trish and her friends stepped out onto the school yard. Trish looked as gorgeous as ever, with her long brown hair that fell down her back, not having a single wrinkle in them, her professionally applied makeup, and the outfit that complemented her great figure.
Her blue eyes fell immediately on the two of them and Mike hastily dropped his hands from El's waist, averting his gaze to the ground. Trish used his distraction and shot El an evil glance before turning to her friends Emma and Olivia that accompanied her. "Will you give me a second? I will catch up with you later.", she dismissed her friends in a bossy tone that she used around everyone.
The two girls giggled, untouched by the unkindly way their friend had spoken to them and threw knowing glances at Mike. Then they linked their arms, still giggling and walked in direction of the sports grounds.
Trish came over to them and slung her arms around Mike's neck, who looked up in surprise.
"Mike honey, I've been looking for you.", she exclaimed and without further ado she kissed him passionately.
Mike seemed to be stunned by the sudden and overly open display of affection, but after a few seconds he let himself fall into it.
El just stood shocked next to them, not able to move. Her eyes were glued onto the pair in front of her, that was all over each other. Trish's hands moved into Mike's thick hair while she deepened the kiss and he slung his arms around her waist, bringing her even closer to him.
El felt the rage boiling up inside of her as she starred at them. She presumed that the short make out session on the school grounds was destined to remind her who was the girl at Mike's side.
Her suspicion only grew, when Trish finally let go of Mike, who looked slightly dazed, and turned to El, exclaiming a little bit too sweetly, "Oh hi, El. I didn't see you there."
Not waiting for any response from El, she turned back to Mike and addressed him again. "Babe, I was thinking about our date and how does tomorrow sound to you? Today I've got the Cheerleader training, but Tuesday is free." She caressed a strand of hair out of his face and added, while bashing her eyelashes, "I can't wait to spend some time alone with you."
Mike gazed lovingly down at her. "Yes, that would be fine with me. We could go to the ice parlour after school, it's my treat, and afterwards to my place for a movie?"
"That sounds great, honey. Then I'll see you tomorrow.", she kissed him swiftly goodbye and followed her friends.
El' s great mood from earlier that day was completely gone by now. She still felt embarrassed about nearly falling just a few minutes ago and for standing foolishly around during the encounter with Trish. Further, it angered her how Trish seemed to purposely rub her relationship with Mike into her face. As if El needed any reminder about the status of her relationship with him. She was well aware of it and didn't need any additional proof that she was just a bystander.
And now they even had found a time for their stupid date, where they would be all over each other for hours on end.
Meanwhile, Mike was completely unaware of El's inner turmoil, still gazing in the direction his girlfriend had went off to and obviously still relishing in the feeling of his short make out session with her.
"Let's go and find the others.", she mumbled, trying to keep down her frustration with the situation and herself. She started off in the direction of the picnic area and Mike followed her silently.
The rest of the day only become worse, when she spilled her drink over her pullover during Lunch and they had an unannounced test in Geography.
After school she went home with Mike as usual, where they spent most of time doing their homework, which seemed to become more and more with each passing day.
So, by the end of the day her mood was at a low. Her mum seemed to sense that something was wrong, but luckily decided not to press the issue and so they sat silently through dinner together.
Shortly after, El went to bed and while lying in the dark with her eyes staring at the ceiling, she wished that the next day would be over already.
22. September 1987
Almost twenty-four hours later, El lay again on the exact same spot on her bed, staring into space. Her mind was racing, trying to shut down the images that came rushing in and trying to think of anything else than the boy living across the street, but failing miserably.
She didn't want to think about what Mike and Trish were currently doing on their date, but her masochistic mind kept drawing pictures of the two making out in his room or the basement, lips locked, only parting to confess their undying love for each other.
During the day she had tried to pretend that this was just another boring Tuesday and so long as everything went along as always, she managed it quite well. But the illusion crashed the moment Mike bid them goodbye after school to meet Trish and El went home by herself. Normally, she would have spent another afternoon at the Wheelers', but on this day, she went straight home, where she heated up some leftovers and barricaded herself in her room.
Here she was now, laying on her bed and listening to 'With or Without You' playing on her tape recorder.
Her mind kept replaying the ever-same scenes of Mike and Trish making out passionately. Why couldn't she stop picturing the two and just enjoy her free time all by her own?
Through the storm, we reach the shore
You give it all but I want more
And I'm waiting for you
With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you
The ringing of her phone, which was standing on the nightstand next to the Supercom, interrupted her musings. She immediately knew that it must be Max calling her. No one else was calling her over the phone.
Mike always used the Supercom and the other boys seldomly ringed her. Usually, they also used the Supercom, or they called Mike and he delivered the message to her.
Picking up the earpiece, she asked, "Hi Max, is that you?"
"Yes. Hi, El.", her friend replied. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine.", El stated simply.
"Bullshit.", Max hissed. "I know you El. You're most likely drowning in self-pity right now."
El couldn't deny the truth of this statement, so she stayed quiet, not wanting to admit it out loud.
"I take that as a 'Yes'.", Max declared knowingly. "So, how do you plan to move on?"
"What do you mean, Max?"
"El, pleeeeease… This shit has been going on far too long. You watched that bimbo all over Wheeler for how long… three months?"
"Hundred and six days", El replied before she could stop herself.
"Exactly my point", Max screeched and El moved the telephone headset slightly away from her ear. "You're counting days and wanna tell me everything is fine?! Nope, this got to stop right here and now."
"Max it's not that easy. You know I've tried so many times to get over him.", El sighed.
And she had tried it really hard...
Her feelings for Mike had started many years back and were slowly and silently progressing ever since.
In a way she had always loved Mike; he was her sanctuary, her protector, her feel-good person, her confidant, just her best friend. But at some point, her feelings must have developed into something more.
El couldn't say when it all started, but she knew exactly when she had realized her feelings for him, on that fateful day in May'85. And since then, she had tried countless times to get over him, but it only got worse with each passing year.
"Yeah, that is pointless. You're a goner.", Max stated dryly. "So, as your love won't magically disappear overnight, you only have one other option left."
"And that would be?"
"Fight for it. Make him realize that the perfect girl stands right in front of him; that he is actually in love with you.", Max said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
El sighed and used her free hand to comb through her curly hair. "Max, you see, that's the problem… He is not in love with me."
"Oh, he totally is.", Max exclaimed exasperated. "He just hasn't worked it out, yet."
"Max…", El sighed again. She was sure her friend just wanted to cheer her up, because what she said didn't make any sense.
"No, El. I totally meant what I said.", she continued, as if she could read El's mind. "You two are like magnets, always drawn to each other. You both either hang around together or if it happens that you're separated you constantly talk about each other. I bet Mike is just right now telling Trish some story about you on their date. Something…"
"As if they would find time to talk.", El interrupted sarcastically. "They are probably kissing like all the time."
"See, I guess that's the only way Trish can make Mike stop going on and on about his amazing, perfect, beautiful best friend.", she purred into the phone.
"Or they just love making out with each other and do not remember that I even exist."
"Think whatever you like.", Max laughed. "But I tell you, everyone with eyes can easily see how you two always look at each other lovingly. It's honestly a bit sickening to watch."
In El's opinion, Max's theory was not making any sense and lacking a specific aspect. "Okay, let's say you're right, which you're obviously not, but whatever… So, if that should be the case, why is he with HER, if he is in love with me?"
"Because he is scared of his own feelings for you. You always have been best friends and now that he's falling in love with you, he doesn't know how to deal with his changing feelings. Boys can be stupid sometimes and they are very resistant to change. Believe me, they can't handle it if something they're used to, suddenly changes. So, Mike ignores his feelings and rather keeps spending his time with some random girl, so he doesn't have to really think about his emotions and any consequences this might have. By that he can keep lying to himself and gets a free fumbling from time to time, something no teenage boy will decline. Big win for Mike."
El laughed bitterly. "And shit for El."
"Exactly! Now you seem to follow me. That's why you must change this situation.", Max exclaimed.
"And how shall I do that?", El questioned. She was still not fully convinced, but her heart wished for Max's theory to be true.
"You have to be more outgoing on your own feelings.", her friend declared. "Show him what you feel and what you want, so Mike is forced to deal with his own feelings, and by that you remove any of his doubts, which he likely has, as I know him. He probably keeps questioning himself if you return his love, if this destroys your friendship, and all the other rubbish that you also keep going on about constantly. So, flirt with him from time to time, make him see you as a real girl and not just his childhood friend, and do not let yourself be pushed to the side by his girlfriend all the time. You two share a lifelong history together, nothing Trish can ever compete with. But still you willingly make space for her, putting yourself on the bank, silently waiting to be called back in the game."
El smiled about the sport anecdote, but Max had a point. There was only one massive problem with the plan. "There's just one catch, what if you're despite everything wrong and he doesn't reciprocate my feelings and it does really destroy our friendship in the end. I don't think I can be without him in my life."
"Well, first I guarantee that this won't happen. And second, do you want to continue like this, making yourself unhappy or do you want to fight for your love?"
El let her words sink in. Max was right, that the current situation was killing her. But she was not sure, if she dared to do anything about it, not when it put her friendship with Mike at risk.
Max interrupted her thoughts, "I guess you've got something to think about. I will leave you to it. See you tomorrow… and sweet and juicy dreams.", she added smilingly as an afterthought.
"Thanks Max… for everything. See you.", Ell replied and hang up.
She made herself comfortable on her bed again and resumed to staring into space. Max was for sure right about one point, there were some things she had to think about.
Lyrics:
I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like
And she'll never know your story like I do