CHAPTER SEVENTEEN;
BURY A FRIEND.

"they were out of chocolate pudding again! i'm so sick of this shit!" an angry dustin cursed as he slammed his tray on their lunch table making el flinch. she then giggled, reaching for her chocolate pudding from home and offering it to him. "marry me, el hopper," he jokingly replied before accepting.

"hell no. i don't need my sister dating another one of my friends, whether it's real or fake," will says as he joins the two. he noticed el's lack of amusement. "sorry, too soon?"

she smiled, shaking her head. she looked at the two empty chairs across from them. "where are they? max wasn't in chemistry."

dustin laughed, "you didn't hear? they got back together saturday night, and they've been together since. seeing as his parents are out of town and erica's at their grandma's, it's not hard to figure out what they're doing."

el shook her head, hoping to keep the visual of lucas' implication out of her mind. "wait, they skipped school? that's very unlike lucas, but very like max so i'm not that shocked, i guess."

dustin shrugged. "young love, ah. don't ya' just love it?"

"hey," a familiar raspy voice greeted. el's maple eyes flickered in the direction to find mike lingering. "mind if i sit?" he asked generally, but his eyes wandered to el.

"ah, mike, my boy! he's back! freed by the clutches of the wicked witch. sit!" the chocolate-pudding eating teen exclaimed with a chuckle. "it's good to have you back. hey, don't look now but your ex his shooting daggers as we speak."

mike threw a glance over his shoulder before shaking his head. "ignore her." he shifts his stare to el who had gone quiet. "hi," he softly smiled.

she looked at him and returned the smile. "hi." she was still uncertain of where they stood. even though they were both completely sober friday night at the party, it still felt fuzzy in her mind. were they friends, now? was he just being nice because of their mutual friends? she was terribly confused.

dustin picked a conversation with will which mike would occasionally add to, but el continued to stay silent. she wished more than anything that max was here. max always knew what to say. she just sat there, picking at her peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, anxiously waiting for the bell to dismiss lunch.

to her misfortune, the chair beside her pulled out. she found dean clark sitting next to her with a charming smile. "hey, el."

she forced a smile, feeling her guilt from friday return. "hi, dean," she returned. she caught the way his blue eyes flickered to mike with a glint of distaste. she wasn't all that shocked. there were lots of guys at school that didn't care for him. she assumed it was because of the ryan cooper thing.

"i know our date friday didn't go as planned so, i was hoping i could get a redo. this time, no parties. i promise," he chuckles, brushing a piece of his golden hair out of his face.

el was surprised he wanted another date with her. she wasn't great company friday, that she was sure of. she nodded, "yeah, i'd love to." okay, that was a lie. she wouldn't love to.

he grinned widely. "great. how's this friday work?"

before she could even think about what she was doing friday, a voice answered for her. "she can't," mike said with a smirk. el looked to him shocked. just as she was about to question why she couldn't go, not that it concerned him, he explained, "it's lucas' birthday. it's a small party. close friends and family, only. sorry, man," his eyes were locked on the tennis player.

she looked back to dean, who almost appeared to be glaring at mike, "he's right. i'm sorry, another day?"

dean smiled to her, "saturday?"

she nodded, "definitely."

"perfect. i'll pick you up. 'say 12? we can get lunch at the diner and hang out after?" he suggests, his eyes full of hope.

"sounds good," she replied, her previous force smile remaining against her lips. dean nodded and left, but not before telling them all goodbye. she didn't miss the way he skipped over mike, causing the raven-haired boy to scoff to himself.

finally, the bell rang and el was released from this extremely awkward lunch hour. she grabbed her belongings and scurried away from the table.

/ / /

seventh period had just started, and el was making her way to the library. she would've gotten there before the bell had it not been for her wanting to pick up max's homework for her. due to everyone being in their classes, the halls were pretty empty. it's not like it mattered though. they didn't have a hall manager which is probably how so many kids got away with skipping at hawkins high.

just before she could turn the corner down the main hall, whispering voices stopped her.

"i know we both said things we didn't mean. let's just put our fight in the past, mikey," brooke's unnerving voice whined. el's eyes widened, realizing it was them.

she could hear his sigh. "that's just the thing, brooke. i meant what i said, i meant every word. i don't think we should be together anymore," he spoke calmly.

"baby, stop. we love each other. we're brooke and mike, we're forever," she pleads, sounding like she was crying.

"but i don't love you. i don't think i ever did." brooke gasped. "i'm sorry, i really am. i think i thought i loved you, but i don't know. i just- i can't do this anymore."

"you're kidding me, right? is there someone else? huh? are you fucking someone else?" she accused, causing el's eyes to widen.

"what? no! this is about me, and i just don't want to be with you anymore, okay? i mean, one minute you're screaming at me and slapping me, and then the next you're ripping my clothes off." el could hear her make an 'ugh' sound. "and you know what? you're a bitch to holly, you hate my friends, and you've never once acted like you give a shit about me. you know earlier when i said i was sorry? no, i take that back. brooke, you treat people like shit, and i'm done. we're done."

"fuck you, mike!" she yelled, now long in a hushed tone. she heard the sound of heels running off.

el felt the need to duck and hide, in case anyone was to wander out into the hall to find out what was going on -- but she also felt the need to check on mike.

she peeked out behind the corner to see him leaned against a locker with a relieved smile across his face. "hey," she quietly murmured, clutching her books tight to her chest.

he quickly looked, "hey, el. you heard all that?"

she offered him a small smile as she approached him. "kind of. i was on my way to the library, and i heard you guys. i didn't want to interrupt, but it seems like maybe that would've been better than eavesdropping." he shook his head, still smiling. "are you okay? that seemed kind of intense."

he nodded. "i'm okay. i actually broke up with her thursday, but i guess second time's the charm," he said with a laugh. "sorry you had to hear it."

"well, at least now you're free," without considering how her words could come across as her hitting on him. he kinks a suggestive brow at her. "no, i just meant that you shouldn't date someone who's mean to molly or doesn't like your friends. now, you're free from that."

he nodded. "you're right." they both stand there for a moment not really talking, but looking at each other. "i meant what i said on friday, el," he finally speaks again.

her brows furrowed, "what?"

"i miss you," he repeats, looking at her so tenderly.

she bit her lower lip, "yeah i miss you, too."

"i hate how weird things are between us, now," he admits. "we were always so comfortable around each other."

"well, then let's fix it," she decides. he raised his brows, a silent way of saying 'how?' she smirks before holding out her hand for him to shake, "friends?"

he stares at her hand, observing her out-of-character black nail polish. he takes her hand, "friends."

she smiled at him, still holding his hand. she had to resist the urge to pull him into a hug, but she knew that was too friendly. if she was going to get over these stupid feelings, there would be no hugging. she missed him too much to ruin their newly rekindled friendship with her stupid, inconvenient feelings once again.

she then remembered it was seventh period, and that was not his free period. "mike, you should go to class. you're already really late."

he nodded in agreement. "yeah, you're right. i'll see you later, pal."

she giggled at the reoccurrence of the name. "bye, pal."

and with that, the two friends parted ways under the impression that everything was magically fixed and healed.

oh, how wrong they were because love is a bitch you can't bury, no matter how hard you try.

...

a/n: what in tarnation?? two updates in one night. yep, u guessed it! i'm on crack. lol kidding (i wish tho that'd be quirky). this was short but the last one was long and this was vital to the story so oh well!! also, i replanned the rest of the book and omg my mind is so powerful. it'd gonna be great (if i don't fuck it up lol). grazie del leggi(???) hahah i'm doing italian on duolingo and that was prob wrong but oh welllll its fine guys, x

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