CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR;
I KNOW YOU.

her lashes fluttered against her cheeks as she was woken from her drunken slumber. her eyes focused in on the soft yellow rug her face was squished against before her brows furrowed in confusion. el tried to weakly push herself up but ultimately gave up when her muscles quivered.

she first noticed the pounding ache on the sides of her head, eliciting a soft groan before she glimpsed at her blurry surroundings. her blurry haze landed on her ginger friend sat beside her head, staring down at her worriedly.

"dude, i thought you were dead," she spoke with a light laugh, causing el to whimper and bring her hands to cover her ears. yes, she was hungover. "feel like getting off the ground?" she suggested, rushing a lock of honey-colored hair from el's eyes.

she gave a slight nod, unsure of her ability to pry herself from the ground. "please," she rasped, suddenly aware of how painfully dry her throat was. as max reached out to help begin to pull her up, el squinted past her to see the door handle laying on the floor. "what-what happened?"

the redhead glanced behind her. "oh, well, you locked yourself in the bathroom. we were scared you would swallow your tongue or something so, i had to break the lock," she casually explained.

the brunette nodded once again before her mind zeroed in on one word in particular, "we?"

she then watched as max's icy orbs trailed up to focus on something else -- or, more accurately, someone else.

el suddenly became unbearably aware of the other presence in the average-sized bathroom. she didn't have to turn around to know that there was a tall, freckle-faced boy with raven curls lingering right behind her. as if the familiar flutter of her heart wasn't proof enough, she heard his deep inhale disrupt the unsettling silence.

at last, she heard the gentle rasp her ears had longed for since their final phonecall, "el?"

yes, she still loved how that syllable sounded from his pillowy, pink-tinted lips. it made her insides melt and her cheeks burn, even in her post-drunken state.

max's eyes tore from him back to her friend, and el silently pleaded. she wasn't exactly sure what she was pleading for. an escape route? for her to smack her back over the head to prolong the sure-to-come conversation?

el recalled various text messages she'd drunkenly typed out and sent only an hour prior -- though, she was uncertain exactly how much time had passed since she slipped out of consciousness on the cold tile floor.

her breath caught in her desert-like throat when a hand, not belonging to max, grasped her shoulder gently. she finally, with much reluctance, tore her stubborn gaze away from her blue-eyed friend and turned to meet his awaiting stare.

and that's when it hit her.

no. it wasn't a flock of butterflies in her tummy or the belief that love-at-first-sight is real. instead, it was an urge -- an urge to empty out every ounce of alcohol she had previously consumed from her stomach.

"i think i'm going to be sick," the less-than-poetic words left her chapped lips, becoming the first words she ever spoke to the possesser of her ruthless heart. she felt her stomach churn and she lurched forward, instantly grabbing the toilet bowl that was luckily close by.

her eyes squeezed shut as the taste of bile defiled her mouth. she was thankful for the curtain her short, messy hair cast around her, hiding her stomach contents before they could enter the bowl.

for the second time, she felt a large hand reach out to her, this time to rest on her back. if it weren't for the disgusting act she was committing, she probably would've leaned into his embrace. however, her current predicament was a tad... prohibiting?

once her stomach was satiated with its emptiness, el limply reached a hand up to flush the second-time-around alcohol before moving her face away from the toilet.

his hand moved from her back to her hair, pulling it out of her flushed face. she wished she could revel in how tenderly his fingertips grazed her forehead but obviously it wasn't the time.

el's palm rubbed her temple, fruitlessly trying to relieve some of the pressure. she groaned. max was already exiting the bathroom as she spoke, "i'll find you some aspirin and get you a glass of water."

el turned in her direction and nodded before she heard the lid of the toilet clamp shut. mike gestured for her to sit to which she obliged, too disoriented to object.

she kept her head angled to the ground, feeling a sense of shame. she was ashamed of herself, tonight. the first time she meets the boy who's consumed her thoughts for over a month and he's having to hold her hair back while she's puking up all the drinks she had.

if that isn't the blossoming of a true love story, i really don't know what is.

assuming that she wasn't going to look up at him anytime soon, mike squatted down to her level. he ducked his neck slightly to find her unwilling stare. "hey," he softly whispered with a trace of a smirk.

ignoring the revolting taste still left in her mouth, she faintly replied, "hi."

"you're here," he stated, affirming it for his own self.

she nodded before meekly echoing, "i'm here." she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and gnawed on her lower lip. "why did you come?" she wondered, hoping it didn't sound harsh. she asked out of curiosity, not annoyance -- though she could've done without him witnessing the effects of her first time under the influence.

mike chuckled, unknowingly blessing her sensitive ears. "when i realized you weren't just drunk but drunk with max, i knew something was bound to go wrong." accepting his answer, el gave a weak smile. "also," her eyebrows lifted just slightly, "i wanted to see you -- well, meet you. i wanted to meet you."

the chief's daughter frowned, looking at their current surroundings, "i'm kind of sorry this is how it went down."

despite being hidden by his dark ringlets, she could tell his brows furrowed, "why are you sorry?"

"because i'm drunk -- well, was. i don't think i am anymore, but still. i'm sorry you had to see me like this. i'm not normally like this, i swear-"

"el," he interjected with an amused smile, "i know. i know you." okay, this time she felt butterflies. yes, definitely butterflies.

the corners of her lips curled upward and she nervously rubbed her sock-covered feet together. her eyes fell to her lap, breaking their eye contact before her pink cheeks gave her away -- as if her drunk texts hadn't done that already. she cringed when she remembered what she was wearing; a slightly cropped baby pink tank top, light blue pajama shorts with a faint floral print, and violet-colored socks with bananas covering them.

judging by her outfit of choice, meeting her crush obviously wasn't in her plans for the night.

"i know you do, i just- i guess, first impressions are important to me," she said, realizing just how dumb the words sounded out loud.

he chuckled at her. "i think it's a little late for first impressions, hm? i mean, my first impression of you was 'why won't this girl just leave me alone? what the fuck is a number neighbor? does she have to send an emoji in every single text?'"

she fought the frown that tempted her lips. instead, she forced a tight-lipped smile, "emojis are pretty essential, i would say."

"for the record, i am glad you were annoying and persistent and refused to leave me alone," he claimed, nudging her knee to hopefully lift her doe-eyes to meet his.

her smile was no longer forced. his calmly-spoken words made her shoulders shrink and she pulled her legs up to her chest. in times where she felt too much, which was common for her, she seeks comfort in balling herself up and holding in her screams. usually, these overwhelming feelings are of grief or dread or fear or self-hatred or- okay, you get the picture. it was a nice change of pace to assume the curdling position because she was lovesick.

well, more like lovelorn...

"oh," she finally responded, unsure of what else to say. of course, there were a million other things she wanted to say, but 'oh' was a much safer option.

"i know you weren't really in your right mind, but you told me you wish you never texted me in the first place. at least, that's what i think you meant. it was really hard to figure out what you were saying, you made no sense," el couldn't help but giggle before he continued, "i guess, i was just wondering if you meant that?"

she scrunched her nose up, "i don't suppose i could just say i was drunk and we could forget every text i sent you earlier, could we?"

mike dully nodded. "we can do that if you really want to."

el looked into his deep brown pools and found herself almost wanting to have that conversation. "um, do you want to?"

a delicate smile pulled at his plump lips and he shook his head. just before he could get a word out, max appeared back in the bathroom with a two blue, gel tablets and a glass of water, "here, this should help your headache."

el released the clutch she had on her legs to her chest and reached a hand out, "thanks." she swallowed the pills, relieved when the water soothed her sore throat. she ended up drinking the entire glass before she set it on the counter beside her.

"i can't believe you got her drunk," mike almost growled to max, surprising el with the change of tone.

the ginger rolled her eyes. "i'll have you know, everything was perfectly fine and under control, until she remembered how mad she was at you!" she bit back with narrowed eyes. even if el wasn't already aware of the basis of their friendship, she could tell just by the way they spoke that they argued a lot.

"and if she hadn't, i probably wouldn't have ever found out she was here because, evidently, you weren't going to tell me," he scoffed, rising back up to his full height which was, as previously covered, pretty tall. 'tree' was fitting.

max smiled too-sweetly, "yeah, i wasn't going to tell you. want to know why? because she told me not to, dipshit. she didn't want to see you!"

el watched his expression fade from frustrated to surprised -- and maybe even a little hurt. his eyes drifted to the brunette, wanting to ask if that was true but also not wanting to know the answer.

feeling like this was the best time to interject, el requested, "max, could mike and i talk -- alone?"

the freckle-faced girl smirked, "i'll be in my room. scream if you need me to kick him out. trust me, i'd be happy to." and just like that, she disappeared down the hall in the direction of her bedroom, leaving just mike and el for the second time.

el's feet found the ground and she stood up to her own full height -- which was almost a foot shorter than mike's in case you were curious.

she didn't really know how to start this conversation. did she apologize for not wanting to see him? did she owe him that? did she owe him anything?

"are you mad?" she questioned, crossing her arms over her chest, recalling the lack of a bra she had going on.

his lustrous curls flopped as he shook his head, "no, i get it, i guess. we weren't in a good place. we haven't been in a while. it makes sense that you wouldn't want to see me."

the words aided to her relief. she dropped her tense shoulders with a soft sigh, "good. i didn't want for you to be mad because i'm tired of fighting -- and not fighting. i just want things to be good again, you know?"

he smiled sadly before taking an inching step closer to her. "el, i want to talk about what you said in your texts." he heard her breath hitch and further continued, "but if you want to forget about it, then i understand."

the ball was in court.

curse him for putting his balls in her court -- shit, that sounded really wrong. the point is, it was completely up to her. she hated that. she was bad with decisions. according to her, it was one of her many flaws. she never knew what or where she wanted to eat or what she wanted to wear. it bugged the shit out of her father.

and maybe it was her indecisiveness that caused her next words to spill from her lips in a hurry, "mike, i like you." not only had she shocked him, but herself. they both stood there, mouths slightly agape and eyes wider than usual. figuring she'd already embarrassed herself enough, she made the bold choice to keep going, "i know you don't like me, and, like, that's fine. i swear i'm not telling you this because i'm delusional enough to think you're going to say it back. i guess, i just need to say it. lying stresses me out, and it was easier to pretend when we were only texting and occasionally calling, but now, you're here and i don't want to lie. so, there."

she expected a sad smile. she expected him to turn around and walk out without a word, saving herself from further embarrassment. she expected him to say he valued their friendship too much for feelings to ruin it. she even expected him to just straight up tell her that these feelings, her feelings, were unrequited and that he was sorry.

however, she didn't expect the laugh that resonated within her ears.

it was insulting. how dare he laugh after she just vulnerably laid her heart out to him? before she could express her distaste for his response, he swiftly reached out to gingerly caress her cheek. that shut off any and all of her motor functions that were in process.

but it was his words -- his oh-so-calm and oh-so-daunting words that made her want to die and go to heaven just so she could beg god to replay them over and over.

"if i didn't have a really annoying girlfriend and you hadn't just puked your guts out, i would kiss you, el hopper."

...

a/n: no, it's not the end u dumb bitch. BUT HOW FUCKING CUTE WAS THAT SHIT OH MY GOD!!! i normally hate my writing, but i like this chapter a lot. i really hope y'all do, too!! ok, gtg write the essay i've been putting off by writing this!! lemme know what u guys think!! thx for reading, xx

word count: 2542