CHAPTER EIGHTEEN;
PRINCE CHARMING.

"eleanor jane, i am so disappointed in you!" max scolded just after el broke the news to her. the ginger grabbed her peach milkshake and took a furious gulp before continuing, "dean was supposed to be a rebound, not your boyfriend!"

yes, it was true. after their fourth date in the span of three weeks, dean popped the question. el thought it seemed a little fast but with the bouquet of roses in his hands and hope in his eyes, the word 'yes' slipped her lips before she could reassess.

el rolled her eyes. "max, be nice. dean is great. you're the one who told him i liked him, let's not forget," she reminded, sipping her own strawberry milkshake before slouching back in the booth.

"oh, no, no, no. don't blame me for this mess. you were supposed to hit it and quit it. now, look at you. you're stuck with prince charming out of guilt," she said.

the brunette scrunched her brows. "why is that so bad? everyone dreams of having their own prince charming."

"prince charming is boring, el. he's boring!" she accidentally yelled, turning a few heads in the typically busy diner. max threw them a glare to dismiss their stares. "he won't even let you open your own doors, and he listens to tom petty. don't even get me started on all the hair gel, my god."

"stop it! he's a good guy, max. don't i deserve a good guy? i mean, after troy and.." she trailed off before shaking her head. "dean isn't like them."

max shrugged. "i'm still team mike."

el groaned, "would you stop with that? we're just friends! i've told you that a hundred times."

"well, that was a lie, but nice try, kiddo," she joked, earning a growl from her best friend. "real talk, now," she begins, the lightness leaving her voice. el nods. "dean is nice, you're right, but you don't want to be with him, el. he's safe, i get it. you've been hurt before, and you're just protecting your heart. i don't blame you, but it's not fair to him. you and i both know you'll never be able to return his feelings."

a part of el knew the words were true, but she refused to admit it. she liked dean. that's what she told herself, at least. "no, you're wrong. i could really like him. i mean, he's perfect for me."

max recognized the lie in her tone but decided to let it go. perhaps it was something el would have to learn the hard way. "okay, el."

el shook her head, "can we just- can we talk about something else? what about you and lucas? how's that going?"

max smiled at the mention of his name. "oh, it's perfect, el. it's like, now that we've broken up and been without each other, it makes being together so special. before, of course, we were happy, but now, it's so different. it's a different type of happy. i can't put it into words, but it just feels so right and so certain."

el smiled, "i'm glad you're happy, max."

"speak of the devil," the redhead alerted, nodding her head towards the door with a smirk. el heard the bell jingle and looked to find both mike and lucas entering the diner.

lucas spotted his girlfriend and immediately approached, "hey, babe."

"hi, baby. what are you doing here? i thought you were all staying at dustin's tonight?" she asked, confused but still excited to see him.

"yeah, but we're picking up food before we go," he explained.

mike joined behind them, their order of food in his hands. "i got it, man. oh, hey, max, el," he greeted, his eyes lingering on the quiet brunette.

"hi," she meekly replied before taking another sip of her milkshake. she lowered her gaze to her watch before gasping. "crap, i'm late."

max sighed. "what? are you serious? it's already six? ugh, we hardly had any girl-time. you tell your little boyfriend he better not make a habit of stealing you from me, or we're going to have a serious problem," she said with a smirk, knowing her choice of words would elicit a reaction from a certain boy.

"boyfriend?" mike repeated.

el frowned at max, knowing she did that on purpose. she turned to mike who appeared shocked. "yeah, dean and i were going to go see a movie," she explained, praying her nonchalance would kill the topic. even if they were friends, there was still some remaining tension at times.

"dean asked el to be his girlfriend," max further explained, ignoring the wide-eyed glare she was receiving from the chief's daughter. "he even asked hopper for his permission," she continued with a light snort.

el rolled her eyes. "well, i think it was sweet," she said in his defense.

mike stayed silent, but lucas laughed. the ginger's boyfriend spoke, "wow, i got to say, i thought dean was kind of chumpy, but mad respect. your dad still scares me sometimes and i've known him since i was a kid."

"thank you, lucas. i thought it was very respectful of him," she voiced with a small smile.

mike cleared his throat. "come on, lucas. we should go to dustin's before the food gets cold. you know him, he'll be pissed if his fries are soggy."

lucas nodded. "true that. uh, i'll see you later, babe. bye, el." he leaned in and pecked max's lips and smiled at el before they both exited the diner.

max's lips drew a smirk before she let out a yelp. "hey, what the hell? you kicked me!"

"you deserved it," el spat back.

"sorry, i didn't realize you were hiding your boyfriend from mike," she replied with a hint of mischief in her tone.

el's eyes narrowed. "i'm not. i just," she shook her head. "you shouldn't have said that. bad max!"

"oh, come on. you can't deny it, he was so jealous! did you see how he clammed up? ugh, i'm sorry, i have to say it. he's in love with you just like you are with him. when i'm right, and i will be, i get the pass to say 'i told you so.' deal?" she quipped, slurping down the last bit of her milkshake.

the frustrated el stands up from the booth, grabbing her jacket. "i have to go. i have a date."

max scowled. "good luck with that."

/ / /

"goodnight, el," dean whispered, his forehead against el's as they stood in front of the steps of her home. he placed a soft, dry kiss to her lips. "i'll see you monday?"

she nods with a smile. "yes. i should go inside before my dad comes out, though. 'night, dean."

she pulls away and hurries into her dark house. her heart lurches in her chest when a lamp in her living room cuts on and a voice beckons, "right on curfew. huh, i was going to give you another half hour out of the kindness of my heart. that boy must really be scared of me." her father was sat in his recliner with a cup of coffee on the table beside him.

her racing heart finally slowed down and she laughed "you scare everyone, dad."

"how? i'm so nice and handsome. how could someone be afraid of me?" he asked with a knowing smile. "you like this kid?"

she entered into the living room and sat on the couch beside him. "i think so, yeah," she answered.

the chief nodded. "well, then okay. he seems like a nice boy. i'll give him a chance."

"thanks, dad," she stood up and placed a kiss on her father's cheek. "i'm going to go shower. see you tomorrow."

"night, kid."

/ / /

"wake up, ugly!" someone chanted in her ear, furiously shaking her out of her dreamless sleep. "el! for the love of god, get up!"

she groaned, rubbing her eyes before they fluttered open. she was met with her step brother's face as he sat beside her on the messy bed. "what time is it?" she asked before looking to her alarm clock. she huffed, "what the hell, will? why would you wake me up at nine on a saturday?"

"because we need to talk, dipshit," he replied.

resisting the urge to just shove him away and roll back over, she pulled herself up to a sitting position. "why are you home already? i figured you guys would stay at dustin's until lunch, at least."

he sighed before kicking off his shoes and pulling the covers over himself, forcing el to scoot over. "i'm home because i need to have a talk with my baby sister."

she swatted his arm, "if you don't cut it out with the 'baby sister' crap, i'm going to kick your ass. you're only three months older."

he rolled his eyes. "whatever, that's not important. lucas said dean asked you to be his girlfriend."

"okay, and what does this have to do with you?" she bit.

he gasped, taking offense. "okay, i'm going to let that slide because it's early and you're naturally mean in the mornings. but anyway, why the hell would you say yes to being dean's girlfriend?"

"ugh, you sound like max," she responded, meaning it as an insult.

he frowned. "el, you don't even like dean."

"yes, i do. you and max have no idea what you're talking about. dean is perfect," she defended, glaring at her brother. 

"yeah, and that's why you tense when he touches you and pull away when he kisses you," he laughed.

she countered, "i'm just not big on pda. it's gross."

"ha! okay, sure. remember, i've seen you and mike practically make out, and you guys weren't even for-real dating. but sure, you hate pda," his sarcasm was obvious, but el wasn't amused.

"that's because the whole point of our 'relationship' was to make his ex jealous. pda was essential for that. what dean and i have is real, it's not for show," she explained, earning another sigh from will.

he tossed her duvet off of him and hopped off her bed. "i can't listen to this mushy bullshit," he said, placing his hands over his ears and exiting the untidy bedroom. 

eleanor moaned in annoyance before sinking back down into her mattress, pulling her warm covers over her head. everyone should be happy she's finally moving on, not filing complaints against dean, the innocent party.

she buried her face into her pillow, which smelt of her shampoo, and prayed for sleep to take her away from her dreadful for reality for just a little bit longer.

...

a/n: again, this was short, but i'm trying to move this show along so that we can get to the good stuff, and this was an essential chapter!! omg i can't belive s3 is two weeks away. i'm a slut and have been reading the spoilers (shame me pls), and i'm so excited. jopper better rise, i'm not waiting another 2 years for them i s2g. anywhoooo, thanks for reading !! xx

word count: 1836