CHAPTER TEN;
NOT HER DAY.

today was not a good day for a certain brunette.

because of her constant studying for chemistry, el completely forgot about her quiz in algebra this morning, and she was pretty positive that she absolutely bombed it. then, she had to skip breakfast because she didn't want to keep max waiting, and her growling stomach was now paying the price. and now, here she sat in her chemistry class with a blank mind in the midst of test.

today was just not her day.

after what felt like hours, the dismissal bell finally rang and she noticed that there was an entire back page she hadn't even attempted yet.

"turn in your tests on your way out," her teacher instructed from behind his desk. she sighed, and stood up from her seat.

she waited on max outside, so they could walk to lunch together as they usually did.

the head of fiery locks finally came into sight behind a couple students shuffling out of the class. "hey, hey," her friend greets.

el forces a small smile, "hi."

"you good? you're normally happy before lunch, what's up?" the ginger asks, taking the usual route to their lockers before going to the lunchroom.

el let her fake smile falter, "today is just a bad day." max could tell by her tone that she didn't really want to go into to detail, so she only nodded.

soon enough, they arrived at their lunch table, unsurprised to find it empty. they were usually the first ones there, anyway.

"hey, how do you think you did on that math quiz?" max quipped before munching on a potato chip.

el's gaze lowered to her food. "i think i failed." her best friend's blue orbs widened, shocked by the straight a student's words.

"ladies!" lucas chirps, taking his seat beside his girlfriend. dustin and will follow closely behind him.

el looked up at the sound of his chipper voice and then at her brother, who was still serving her the cold shoulder. well, not as much as he was in the beginning, but things were still pretty tense. it amazed her that their parents hadn't caught on yet, but adults can be pretty clueless.

she felt dustin nudge her, "hey, do you want your pudding?" she furrowed her brows, confused as to how he knew she had pudding in her brown paper bag lunch. nevertheless, she nodded. she wasn't too hungry in the wake of her horribly unfortunate day.

she just couldn't wait for the school day to finally be over. she had already planned her weekend at home where she would watch movies and indulge in microwavable popcorn.

hearing the chair to the left of her scoot out, she looked to find mike taking his seat beside her. she smiled almost instinctively, an instinct that puzzled her.

she shook her head, dismissing her thoughts before greeting her faux lover. "hi."

he smiled, his dark-chocolate eyes peeking from beneath his disheveled curls. "hey, babe." a soft scoff sounded from across the table. drawing their attention.

will.

el rolled her eyes, having had enough of his attitude over the last month.

max gasped. "damn, el. nice!"

eleanor threw her focus to the redhead, tilting her slightly. "huh?"

her friend pointed red to her own neck before nodding her chin in the direction of the raven-haired boy. perplexed by the gesture, el redirected her gaze to mike -- and then his neck. she leaned a little closer before spotting the soft reddish-purplish discolorations that littered the base of his neck.

the girl couldn't deny the slight discomfort she felt, having a guess of whose lips left the markings. the feeling was quickly replaced with anger at his carelessness.

she faked a tight-lipped smile before drawing her eyes back to her friends. "oopsies?" she muses. she ignored the groan from will, snatching her bottle of water off the table.

mike joined in on his friends' laughter, tugging the collar of his flannel upwards in an attempt to cover the hickeys. he then wrapped his arm around the back of her chair.

she caught herself from leaning into him, a habit she had formed over the past few weeks of their little agreement. she despised how natural this was beginning to feel. it was a habit she had no interest in keeping as this would all be over soon.

she felt his stare on her, causing her to meet his eyes. his plump lips were slightly parted, paired with an apologetic glint in his eyes. she looked back down to her food, not saying much for the rest of lunch. luckily, her friends assumed she was just embarrassed from max pointing out the hickeys on mike's neck.

it was when she was speeding to her english class that she heard a familiar and raspy voice calling after her. reluctantly, she stopped and turned to him. "yes?" she asked, calmly.

"are you upset?" mike questioned, not dancing around much of anything.

lying, she replied, "no." his brows lifted, a silent way of asking 'are you sure about that?' she shifted her weight, uncomfortably. "it's just that you said you wouldn't do anything until two weeks after we ended this. you promised me that, and i just think it was really shitty of you to break that promise," she explained, her voice weakening at the end.

he sighed. "you're right, and i'm sorry. i didn't mean for it to happen, she just grabbed me, and --"

she held her hand up to cut him off. "i really don't need the details, mike."

he nods, "right. i just want you to know i never intended for things to happen, and i stopped it before things got too far. i swear." not far enough, she thought to herself.

"maybe we should just call this whole thing off now. i mean, it seems like you two are getting back together soon, right? plus, i think shelly and troy are sufficiently jealous," she decides, running her palms along her bare arms, a nervous tick of hers.

his eyes widen. "wait, are you serious?" she nods. "what? no! brooke doesn't even want to get back together, she just doesn't want me with you. we can't quit now, el."

el's caramelized eyes lowered to the floor. "what about me?"

"what do you mean?"

she inhaled deeply, "i mean, what about me? what if brooke goes off and tells her friends that you two almost hooked up? i'll be right back where i started. 'poor el hopper, always losing her boyfriends to cheerleaders.' i don't want to be that girl, mike."

he took her by surprise when his finger tilted her chin up to meet his stare. "hey, i'm not going to let that happen. i swear, it won't happen again, el. i'm so sorry." against her better judgment, she nodded. he smiled warmly before pulling her into his embrace. she complied, finding an unwanted comfort in his arms. she was really starting to freak herself out. moments passed before he pulled away. "okay, so are we good? we're friends, still?"

she giggles, shrugging, "i don't know. depends on how sweet you are to your fake girlfriend over the next few days."

he smirks, "oh, i'm the sweetest fake boyfriend you'll ever fucking meet. just you wait, el hopper. you're going to wish this whole thing was real." she laughs just when the bell rings. "shit, if i'm late to mr. garcia's class again, i'll get detention. i'll catch you later, okay?" she nods with a small smile pulling at her lips.

his bouncing curls quickly disappear from her sight, eliciting a soft sigh from her lips. she shakes her head, trying to wipe away her smile -- that is until she catches sight of an unlikely pair that dismissed her smile immediately.

she saw shelly and will giggling at his locker, chatting as if they were lifelong friends. the picture made her once butterfly-filled stomach drop. what on earth could those two possibly have in common?

and then she realized, her. they have el in common.

/ / /

el was comfortably perched on her couch in the dark, spending her friday night watching carrie. it always shocked her friends how unphased she was by horror movies, but she didn't really believe in demons and ghosts, so the films never affected her.

her parents had gone out of town to visit jonathan, who was away at college, so it was only her and will home tonight. he hadn't really left his room, but she didn't mind. she was done trying to mend their relationship. he was acting ridiculous, and she was tired of it.

the teenager heard footsteps shuffling down the carpeted stairs of their house. she turned down the sound of carrie's mother's screams, and sat up to find will dressed to go somewhere. "hey, where are you going?"

"out," he curtly replied, grabbing his jacket.

she rolled her eyes, pulling herself off the couch. "obviously, but where?"

"none of your business, so don't wait up."

just as he opened the door to leave, she caught him, "why were you talking to shelly today at school?"

he froze, and then shut the door with a sigh. "we're friends, what's it to you?"

she frowned. "are you kidding? what's it to me? you're my brother, and she's my ex-best friend — my ex-best friend that was sleeping with my boyfriend, remember? or did that just somehow slip your mind when you started buddying up to her?"

"i just figured you were over it. i mean, you got a new boyfriend — specifically my best friend, mike. oh, and you have new friends — specifically my friends, remember?" he returns, his tone full of sarcasm.

her eyes widened. "are you actually being serious? you're mad that i'm hanging out with your friends?! that's why you've been such an asshole to me?!"

he pinched the bridge of his nose. "that's not the only reason. look, mike might be my best friend, but he's not — he's just going to end up hurting you, el," he stutters over his words.

she shakes her head, "no, will. the only person hurting me is you." with that, she walked past her brother and up the stairs. she heard the front door open and then slam, causing her to slightly flinch.

she sauntered down the hall to her bedroom and pulled her journal out from beneath her mattress, and then began to write at a furious pace. she wanted to scream at her brother for being such a dick. he saw how hurt she was by troy and shelly, yet he still befriended the cheerleader.

she huffed, scribbling down her thoughts so rapidly she tore a hole in the paper. she released a loud groan before throwing her journal halfway across her bedroom. she pulled her knees into her chest, resting her head on them.

she unwillingly lifted her head at the sound of her doorbell ringing. she sighed, wiping the few tears that managed to roll down her cheeks and then headed downstairs.

the girl pulled open the door to find the last thing she expected to turn up on her doorstep tonight.

mike wheeler with flowers.

"mike? what are you doing here?" she quipped, feeling slightly insecure standing in front of him in her short pajama shorts and an oversized notre dame t-shirt.

he held out the flowers. "fake flowers from your fake boyfriend," he simply said, offering a small smirk.

she took the flowers, still confused. "thank you, but why did you come?" she asked with a light laugh.

he shrugged. "i was bored and i thought of you. plus, i thought the flowers would make a funny joke, but apparently not seeing that you look like you're about to cry." her breath hitched, remembering how puffy her eyes must appear. "what's the matter?"

she shakes her head dismissively. "just a bad day."

her words cause him to frown. "i really hope i'm not apart of it, el."

she shrugs, "it's a bunch of stuff. don't worry about it, mike."

"you're my friend, of course i worry about it," he declares, stepping into her house, and shutting the door after himself. "what happened?"

she releases a deep breath. "will and shelly are friends, and i don't know. maybe i have no reason to be upset, but — no, i have every right. he is such a bitch!" mike's eyes widen, surprised by her sudden outburst. "he knew how much they hurt me, and now they're friends?! he didn't even like shelly when we were friends, but now he does?! he's doing this to hurt me, and it's working because i would never do that to him! ever!" at this point, the poor girl was in tears yet again. "i hate him!"

mike didn't know what to do, so he, for the second time that day, folded her into his arms as she cried softly. "hey, it's okay. i promise," he soothed, and somehow, it helped. his voice calmed her, and settled the anxiety building in her chest. she nods as her tears fell on the dark material of his jacket. "will loves you, el. he's just being an idiot," he informs, rubbing circles on her back.

she nods, finding it within herself to pull away from him before she got too comfortable. "thank you. you're a sweet fake boyfriend, mike."

as if it was second nature, he wiped her tears away. "i told you, sweetheart," he replied with a smoldering expression, causing her to grin widely up at him.

her eyes regretfully lowered to the faded marks scattered along the skin of his neck, and the same discomfort returned from earlier today.

except this time there was no pinning the cause on her friends and brother thinking she gave mike hickeys. no, there was no one here to pay witness, and there was no one to blame for the soft yet present ache in her chest.

there was only one explanation for this feeling, and no matter how much she wanted to deny it, she couldn't.

el liked mike.

"you okay, el?" he asked, his voice tender.

she swallowed, "yeah."

hell no.

...

a/n: i'm sorry if this was bad!! i suck at writing, i know sis!! can y'all like,, vote and comment?? if ur a silent reader, ur a trumpie, js!! thanks for reading anyway, xx !!

word count: 2413