CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE;
BIRTHDAY WISH.

"happy-late-birthday to youuu!" her friends finally all wailed out the last note, leaving her ears with a bittersweet ringing.

she thought of how lucky mike's family was to have left the premise for her birthday celebration. even though they were in his basement, they would have definitely overheard her friends' godawful singing had they been home.

nonetheless, el smiled and blew out the 18 candles that will had creatively placed on her pink cake. her eyes fluttered shut and she made her wish.

when every last candle was out, she leaned back against mike's chest and nestled her head against his shoulder.

his arms hugged around her waist and he kissed her cheek before whispering, "what'd ya wish for?"

she titled her head back to look at him. "can't say, or it won't come true, dummy."

"let's cut the cake, bitches!" dustin shouted, already reaching for the knife to do it himself. he handed out very crookedly cut pieces to everyone, accidentally cutting himself the largest slice which max of course called him out on.

"present time!" max chirped as she saw el take the last bite of her piece of cake.

after putting their plates away, mike led her over to the couch so they could all sit. he slung his arm around her waist once she took the spot next to him.

"mine first!" will decided, proudly holding out a hefty rectangular box with a pretty lavender bow nearly the same shade as her dress.

she smiled as she took it from him, and began unwrapping it (saving the bow for no other reason than it being too pretty to throw away). once she peeled back the wrapping paper and got a glimpse inside, she gasped. "oh, my god! will, you did not!" she tore the paper away even more so that everyone could see the completed twilight book saga.

he nodded. "i know you love the movies, and i remember you saying you wanted to read the books eventually," he said with a shrug.

"thank you. this is great," she beamed down at the set of books.

mike groaned, moving his soured face to the crook of her neck. "not more books," he whined. if anything could steal his girlfriend's attention away from him, it was her love for reading. she rolled her eyes, lightly shoving him away.

max held up a small, striped bag, "okay, mine next!" her wide grin kind of worried el, but she took it nonetheless.

lucas, seated next to his girlfriend, pointed at the gift, "that's from both of us. that being said, i don't know what it is and if you hate it, blame max." he received a laugh from el and a shove from max.

el pulled out the tissue paper, her eyes and mouth rounding when she saw the contents inside. "um, i'm just going to..." she began putting the tissue back in.

"what is it?" mike asked, leaning closer to see.

max smiled, "condoms." dustin whistled, and will huffed. "there's also some candy under the box. sorry, i didn't know what size mike was so i just gave him the benefit of the doubt and got petite—"

"all right, shut up," mike growled, taking the bag from his girlfriend and setting it on the coffee table.

dustin held out a small, messily wrapped box which el took with a slightly concerned expression. if his birthday wish audio message was any indication, she should be worried.

however, she laughed when she ripped back the paper to find a portable charger. she looked up with knitted brows to which he only shrugged, "every one could use one. what can i say? i'm a man of conscience and efficiency."

el nodded slowly, but smiled. "right, thank you, dustin. this was a very useful gift."

"hey, what about mine?" max whined, genuinely offended. her blue eyes slid to mike, "i'm sure it will go to use eventually. right, mike?"

he coughed and leaned forward, starting to grab the shredded wrapping paper. "well, this has been fun. it was great having you guys over—"

"you didn't get el a gift?" lucas questioned.

mike narrowed his eyes, offended that he even asked. "of course i did, but i'm giving it to her after you shitheads leave — which is now."

max smirked, and gestured to her gift as she winked at el, "make sure you're safe when he gives you the 'gift.'"

standing up, will joined in on the joking, "oh, come on, guys. i'm sure mike just wants us gone so he can pour his sappy little heart out to el."

"oh, my sweet el, you make my heart beat and the sun rise," max teased, mocking mike's voice.

lucas jumped in, "oh, my precious el, how i would happily give my life for a single hair on your glorious head."

"oh, el, how uncommonly yet extraordinarily hairless your toes are!" dustin took it a step too far, accidentally revealing some of his own personal thoughts.

el's cheeks were red with embarrassment from her friends taunting, and mike's nose was scrunched in disgust at dustin.

"uh, what?" the raven-haired boy asked.

"wow, you're right! it is late. i should be getting home," dustin said, hopping to his feet and rushing to the door to avoid any further questioning.

not long after will followed, and then max and lucas, leaving the couple alone.

el was still sitting on the couch, happily watching her boyfriend clean. "i should get you a maid outfit. that'd be hot," she mused with a smirk.

he turned around to face her, and lifted a brow. "the more i learned about your kinks, the shorter i see this relationship lasting."

she gasped, pulling herself off the couch. "that wasn't very nice," she scolded, walking toward him with a mischievous smile.

with the task of wrapping up her cake and taking down the decorations long forgotten in his mind, he reached out and spun her around as he tugged her into his chest.

his arms folded around her waist as her back pressed to his chest. he kissed her cheek, "did you have a good birthday, baby?"

she nodded, tilting her head back to connect their eyes. "yes, i did. you did a wonderful job asking your mom to decorate down here," she replied, knowing him well enough to know he lied when he claimed he did all the decorating. the streamers would be on the ground if that were true.

his arms tightened as he nudged his nose against the side of her face. "mh, i don't know what you're talking about."

she giggled, nodding. "i'm sure."

he turned her around in his arms so they faced each other. "want your gift now?"

she tipped her head up, giving a slight nod. "please."

mike smiled before leaning down and connecting their lips in a tender, lingering kiss.

when he pulled away, a little too soon for her liking, she said, "wow, that gift must've costed you a fortune."

he rolled his eyes. "that's not the gift, smart ass."

she wrapped her arms around his next. "no?" he shook his head as she leaned back in. "well, then it can be a pre-gift."

their lips were hovering only centimeters from each other. "a pre-gift? i think i can arrange that."

"just kiss me," she requested, and he obliged.

his lips fell back on hers, this time with a hunger instead of the gentleness from before. their mouths slotted against each other's over and over as their hands went on the move.

one of hers cupped his jaw while the other grasped his curls, distressing them as proof of such a kiss. his dropped from her waist to her hips, tugging her as close as possible before snaking even lower.

she squealed in surprise against his mouth, but didn't pull away. he chuckled into the kiss before brushing his tongue with hers, eliciting yet another noise from his girlfriend.

"mmh," she tried to get his attention before she reluctantly disconnected their halfway swollen lips. "we should stop."

mike nodded twice before shaking his head, "we really shouldn't." then he kissed her again, this time guiding her toward the sofa.

el giggled, giving into him and allowing him to lower her onto the couch. she bounced on the cushion, making them both laugh softly. her hands grabbed his, pulling him on top of her.

he gingerly brushed a loose wave out of her face, caressing her jaw afterward. "i think you're the most beautiful girl i've ever seen," he easily revealed, his eyes flitting over her face with his close-up view.

her already flushed cheeks burned, still not accustomed to the compliments he showered her in. she was trying to get better at accepting compliments because she knew how much he hated it when she didn't believe him.

"thank you," she shyly replied, curling in on herself.

he smiled at that, and moved his hands to her waist. "you're so fucking cute when you get bashful," he whispered, kissing her button nose.

"i should turn 18 more often if this is the treatment it gets me." her eyes glimmered up at him with amusement.

he drew back. "are you saying i'm a bad boyfriend?"

she barked a laugh, swatting his arm. "no! stop putting words in my mouth." he smirked, and she immediately knew the dirty response that lingered on his tongue. "stop, don't even say it!" she swatted him again.

he pushed himself off of her, unwillingly releasing his hold on her waist. "fine, fine. let me go grab your gift."

she frowned at the idea of him moving out of her grasp, but reminded herself that it would result in presents. well, more so opening presents. her favorite part of getting gifts was unwrapping them.

her boyfriend returned with from behind the staircase with a small but neatly wrapped box in his hands. she hoped he wasn't planning on taking credit for the wrapping because was prepared to call bullshit.

she sat up straight and smiled to herself as he casually placed them on the coffee table in front of them before taking a seat beside her. she eyed them all, and grabbed the smallest first.

he chuckled when she put it to her ear and shook it. "you know you can just open it and find out?"

"yes, but i like guessing. oh, is it a keychain?" she joked, referencing months back when lucas bought max a keychain to which she then regifted to mike for his birthday.

he nudged her shoulder with his. "just open it, el," he urged.

she rolled his eyes at him for not amusing her, but opened the flat, square-shaped box anyway. letting the gold wrapping paper fall to her feet, she opened the box.

her brows furrowed. "oh?"

it was a dainty, gold necklace with a small, circular pendant. the number 11 was stamped into the pendant, and there was a small diamond acting as a period beside it.

he couldn't help but laugh at her confused yet polite reaction. even if he was starting to regret the gift, he thought her trying not to hurt his feelings was adorable.

"what does 11 mean?" she asked after wracking her mind for the significance of the number. she really hoped it wasn't an anniversary she wasn't aware of.

she first texted him on august 8th, they met for the first time in person on september 23rd, they first kissed on the 24th, and he asked her to be his girlfriend on the 25th. none of those dates have anything to do with the number 11.

his dark brown eyes averted, and he felt kind of dumb now that he had to explain his idea. "well, uh, you know how when you first texted me, you called me your number neighbor?" he snuck a look up at her, and she nodded. "okay, well, your number ends with 5 and mine ends with 6, which makes our numbers neighbors." again, she nodded. "um, yeah, so i just added them together," he said, his voice lacking the usual confidence he spoke with, making her heart stutter. he shook his head with quick shrug, "i don't know, i guess i just thought—"

el cupped his cheeks and pulled him in for short but head-spinning kiss, pressing their foreheads together afterward. "i love it. i love you," she promised, a wobbly smile on her lips.

"i love you, too," he assured, placing a hand over one of hers.

she moved forward, wrapping him up in a strong hug. "thank you for not blocking my number, even when i was really annoying," she nearly whimpered into the crook of his neck.

she felt his chest shake with a laugh before his arms tightened around her. "thank you for being annoying," he murmured back, earning a slap on the back. "i'm kidding, baby. thank you for finding me."

the brunette pulled away just enough to look at him, not even ashamed of the glossy eyes she was sporting. "you make me so happy," she whispered, her voice weakens by the overwhelming emotions she felt for the boy in front of her.

"good because that's all i ever want to do," he said smoothly before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

she leaned in, brushing her nose against his. "mike?"

"hm?"

"how long do you think it will take your parents and holly to get back?"

his thick brows knitted together, but he glanced over her head at the clock on the wall. it read 9:02 pm. "i doubt they've even left my grandparents house, and it'll take them like two hours before they get back in town. why?"

el bit her lip, trying not the smile at the idea playing in her mind. her hazel eyes peered at him beneath her long lashes, a certain darkness dancing within them that he'd only seen glimpses of before.

"you want to know what i wished for earlier?"

his brows unwrinkled as understanding wound through him. "really? you're sure?"

"i'm so, so sure."

...

a/n: wow um long time no see eh? ok imma just leave this here. again, no smut in this book but keep an eye out on my short story book if u want read them doing the hanky panky 👁👅👁 anyway thx for reading!! hope u liked this mega fluff. xx

word count: 2415