#I really wanted to include dustin in this but none of the songs fit him :(

[chaoscradle]

assigning GUTS songs to stranger things characters (i know this has been done a ton of times already but i'm doing it anyway):

all-american bitch: nancy

"I know my age and I act like it"

"I'm a perfect all-american bitch"

"I know my place, I know my place, and this is it"

"I'm the eternal optimist, I scream inside to deal with it"

"I pay attention to things most people ignore"

(el could also work with this one, but i felt like with the whole nuclear family thing the wheelers have going on that nancy fits better)

bad idea right?: max

"'I only see him as a friend' the biggest lie I ever said"

"can't two people reconnect?"

"but god, when I look at you, my brain goes 'ah', can't hear my thoughts"

vampire: joyce

"every girl I talked to told me you were bad, bad news"

"you're so convincing, how do you lie without flinching?"

"I've made some real big mistakes, but you make the worst one look fine"

"the way you sold me for parts"

"you said it was true love, but wouldn't that be hard? you can't love anyone, 'cause that would mean you had a heart"

"I loved you truly. gotta laugh at the stupidity"

lacy: el

"I linger all the time, watchin', hidden in plain sight"

"aren't you the sweetest thing on this side of hell?"

"I feel your compliments like bullets on skin"

"and I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you"

ballad of a homeschooled girl: mike

"and I hate all my clothes, feels like my skin doesn't fit right over my bones"

"the party's done, and I'm no fun, I know I know, I know, I know"

"I made it weird, I made it worse"

"everything I do is tragic"

"I'm shocked I'm still alive"

(this could also work for robin tbh)

making the bed: mike

"another perfect moment that doesn't feel like mine, another thing I forced to be a sign"

"push away all the people who know me the best"

"every good thing has turned into something I dread"

"and I tell someone I love them, just as a distraction"

logical: will (psa this is from will's pov i don't think any of this of mike)

"come for me like a savior, and I'd put myself through hell for you"

"and I fell for you like rain falls from a February sky, but now the current's stronger and I couldn't get out if I tried"

"oh, why do I do this? I look so stupid thinking two plus two equals five, and I'm the love of your life"

"'cause if rain don't pour and sun don't shine, then changing you is possible"

"you lied, you lied, you lied"

"I guess love is never logical"

"the sky is green, the grass is red, and you mean all those words you said"

"I know I'm half responsible, and that makes me feel horrible"

"I know I could've stopped it all, god why didn't I stop it all?"

"'cause loving you is loving every argument you held over my head"

get him back!: max (NOT about lumax, just how she'd handle a different breakup)

"I want sweet revenge, I want him again"

"do I love him? do I hate him? I guess it's up and down"

"I wanna make him really jealous, I wanna make him feel bad"

"I wanna break his heart, then be the one to stitch it up"

"I wanna meet his mom, just to tell her her son sucks"

love is embarrassing: will

"and then, you kissed some girl from high school"

"waited by my phone like a goddamn fool"

"god, love's embarrassing as hell"

"and I consoled you while you cried over your ex-girlfriend's new guy" (minus the new guy part)

"you found a new version of me"

"I give up, I give up, but I keep comin' back for more"

the grudge: lucas

"how could anyone do the things you did so easily?"

"I try to be tough, I try to be mean, but even after all this, you're still everything to me, and I know you don't care, I guess that's fine"

"one phone call from you and my entire world was changed"

"and I doubt you ever think about the damage that you did, but I hold onto every detail like my life depends on it"

"and I know in my heart, hurt people hurt people"

(this song doesn't 100% represent lucas and max's relationship in s4 imo but it comes the closest)

pretty isn't pretty: el

"there's always something in the mirror that I think looks wrong"

"when pretty isn't pretty enough, what do you do?"

"I could change up my body and change up my face, I could try every lipstick in every shade, but I'd always feel the same"

"fix the thing you hated, and you'd still feel insecure"

"I chased some dumb ideal my whole fucking life, and none of it matters and none of it ends"

teenage dream: will

"they all say that it gets better, it gets better, but what if I don't?"

"when am I gonna stop being wise beyond my years and just start being wise?"

"I'll blow out the candles, happy birthday to me" (birthdaygate)

"but I fear that they already got all the best parts of me"

"will I spend all the rest of my years wishin' I could go back?"

[365days365movies]

April 10, 2021: The Graduate (1967) (Recap: Part One)

Some Like it Hot got Oscar-stiffed. So did this film!

This film got seven nominations at the 1968 Oscars, and took home Best Director and NOTHING else. It was nominated for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, and Cinematography, and got NONE of them. Hot damn! That surprises me, because this film is RIDICULOUSLY iconic.

I mean, hell, The Simpsons has homaged it at least twice, which I know from the above GIF and the following GIF. And in that one, the teacher in the background is Dustin Hoffman, HOMAGING HIMSELF

There’s been a stage adaptation, AFI called it the 17th best movie of all time in 2007, while also putting it on 5 other lists, and but it on the Movie Quotes list TWICE! Leonard Maltin’s seen it before he dies, the Library of Congress has it in their collection, and it launched Dustin Hoffman’s career into the goddamn atmosphere!  And that’s not even mentioning the one thing I’m looking forward to the most:

The music.

Look, I’m not exactly a big music nerd, by ANY means. I’ve heard songs, but can rarely identify the band or person playing them. I was in an acapella group, a steel band, and chamber orchestra, so I’m no foreigner to music. I’m just...not a big music nerd. But I DO know Simon and Garfunkel, and the more I hear of them, the more I like them.

Scarborough Fair/Canticle, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Mrs. Robinson, Cecilia, I Am a Rock, ALL of them are good classic folk rock songs that are easy to remember. AND I KNOW IT’S LAME TO LIKE FOLK ROCK I DO NOT CARE SUE ME IF YOU MUST. Oh, and I didn’t even mention the most famous of their songs, whose fame was aided by this film’s success. But, uh...I’ll hold onto it for now.

In fact, for now, let’s just jump into the film in and of itself! The Graduate is a classic, and it’s been on my list for a while. It’s more of a romantic comedy, but it’s primarily a comedy (from my understanding), so it’s fitting that I throw it in here. Let’s go!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

We start on a plane as it lands, joining Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), as he leaves the plane and walks through the airport. We also start right away with a BANGER, and the most iconic song on this film’s soundtrack: The Sound of Silence.

Classic. CLASSIC! One of their best! Not my favorite, but one of their best for sure! But OK, after that, we get to know Benjamin a bit more. He’s a recent college graduate and in a state of melancholy, not quite knowing what to do or how to feel about his new situation. This is to the confusion of his father, Mr. Braddock (William Daniels) and his mother, Mrs. Braddock (Elizabeth Wilson).

Urged to attend the party in his honor, he reluctantly goes downstairs, where he’s absolutely accosted (nearly assaulted) by all of his parents’ friends. One of these friends, Mr. Maguire (Walter Brooke), somewhat awkwardly pulls him to the side, and brings him out side. He wants to say one word to him. Just one word.

After that...interaction, Ben takes the opportunity to escape, as all of his accomplishments are being read out loud to the throngs. And I have to say, you can feel just how overwhelming all of this is for him. It’s a palpable anxiety. He goes back to his room to get away from everybody and just look at his fish tank. Just a celebration of the introvert’s experience right here, and I can dig it.

But this private reverie is interrupted by the barging in of one Mrs. Robinson (Katharine Ross), who pretends to have mistaken his room for the bathroom, but sits down and smokes anyway, despite his protests. She asks what making him upset, and notes that’s it’s more of a general feeling than a specific one. She understands and readies herself to leave, but not before asking him to give her a ride home. He reluctantly accepts, and takes her home. She invites him in through some subtle manipulation and...well, you know where this is headed.

An absolutely classic line and classic exchange, and I’m kind of surprised that it happens this soon into the movie, to be honest! She denies the accusation...kind of, and he asks her apology. But she brushes it off, and asks if he’d like to see the portrait of her daughter Elaine, which he’s quite enthusiastic about. But while there, in her room, things continue to get awkward as she basically undresses in front of him.

Mrs. Robinson continues to deny that she’s trying to seduce him, but it’s all basically gaslighting to get him to admit that he wants to be seduced. Damn, Mrs. Robinson, what the fuck? And it’s actually made WAY FUCKING WORSE when she tricks him into getting into a sealed room, where she traps him and tells him that she’s interested in sleeping with him, whenever he wants to. Ben is OBVIOUSLY frazzled as fuck, especially considering the basically near-rape situation he’s currently in.

Thankfully (maybe), the sound of Mr. Robinson’s car pulling up allows enough distraction (and adrenaline rush) for Ben to GET THE FUCK OUT of there, and he runs into Mr. Robinson (Murray Hamilton) in the process. Noticing how frazzled he seems to be, Mr. Robinson tells Ben to relax in his youth, and having a few flings with the ladies while he can. He brushes off all of this, and gets out as soon as he can.

Soon after, summer begins, and not really in Ben’s favor. He’s used again as a prop for his parents and their friends, as his father got him a SCUBA suit that he demonstrates in their pool, despite his protests and wish to be heard. And people...people don’t listen to Ben, huh? I genuinely feel bad for the kid, because it really does seem like nobody attempts to listen to what he wants for how he feels, his parents included. But he seems to get the solitude he’s been seeking as he sits beneath the pool. But that’s overlaid with the realization that Ben actually WAS seduced by Mrs. Robinson, and he gives her a call to meet soon afterwards.

They meet at the Taft Hotel, where Ben is his typical nervous and awkward self, and goes to get a room for the two of them. And it’s now that I should mention that this dude is EXTREMELY twitchy, like goddamn. I know they were saying that he’s “the kind of guy who was to fight them off”, but I DO NOT see it, not gonna lie. 

After a bit more awkwardness, they meet in a room at the hotel, where the clearly still quite nervous Ben struggles with the whole affair (pun intended), including the fact that she is one of his parent’s friends, and that this is a fast start to their relationship. But, Mrs. Robinson being Mrs. Robinson, she once again manipulates him into just getting on with it...and it works.

Once again, The Sound of Silence plays, as summer passes on and he lazes about the pool during the days, then goes to sleep with Mrs. Robinson in the nights. But he doesn’t seem to enjoy any of it, as the two halves of his life are so separate, and he separates them in his mind. And that’s done by some very clever camera work and production design, honestly.

This transitions into a version of the folk rock duo that I hadn’t heard before: April Come She Will, as the affair continues forth. This is interrupted by the frustrations of Ben’s father, who asks what he’s going to do after his collegiate career, tired of his lazing about and doing nothing for...a few weeks. Really? JESUS, DAD, LET ME RELAX!

His time with Mrs. Robinson is also a bit awkward, as he’s craving some sort of relationship outside of specifically sex, and she’s entirely uninterested in that kind of relationship with him. As he tries to start any form of conversation, she reluctantly enters one, which reveals some parts of her relationship with her husband. Specifically, they don’t really love each other, and were forced to marry because she became pregnant with Elaine. It also reveals that Mrs. Robinson is a somewhat broken woman, emotionally.

It’s also revealed during this conversation that Mrs. Robinson DOES FUCKING NOT want him to take Elaine out on a date, but won’t explain her reasons for that. After prying, she says that she doesn’t believe he’s good enough for her (although I don’t quite believe that, personally). This makes him upset, and leads to an argument that almost causes him to leave. But still, she forbids him to go out with Elaine.

That’s made even MORE complicated by the fact that Benjamin’s parents force him to ask her out on a date, and he does so reluctantly, which makes Mrs. Robinson VERY upset. And I gotta say...I don’t think I like anybody in this movie. Like...at all. I only kind of like Ben, although I really only feel bad for him because he has no agency in his life. Not a big fan of Mrs. Robinson, who’s upset by a situation she’s entirely responsible for, and is cheating on her husband. Ben’s parents are annoying, and Mr. Robinson...I dunno, sort of puts off these sleazy vibes, but that’s just a feeling I’m getting.

Elaine seems nice, though, as the two go on a date together. But in order to please Mrs. Robinson, Ben does his absolute damndest to sabotage the date. Starts off with reckless driving, then transitions into ignoring her almost entirely, and then takes her out to a strip club for the date. Which is all understandably extremely upsetting; again, it’s not exactly endearing me to Ben, and it’s not working on Elaine either, who’s convinced that Ben is doing this to punish her specifically, and I don’t fucking blame her!

She runs off crying, and he goes after her, realizing that he’s been a dick and that he really doesn’t want to be. They go get food at the A&W, which is making me both hungry AND nostalgic now...fuck, I really want some food from A&W. But with that, they actually have a good time when he opens up to her about how he’s felt since college ended, and she does something nobody else has: she listens to him.

OK, I’mma get some food, but this is a good place to pause for now! See you later for Part Two!

[zaraquinn]

Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher

Billy Hargrove - Making reader’s heart go uwu on a late drive

Word Count: 1357

Billy Hargrove x Fem!Reader

Requested by: @ashleymarieriffle

Author's notes:

Y/N - Your Name

Additional Notes: i’m in love with this idea of the reader is dustin’s older sister. thank you for this request. I also made a small addition to it including the kids. also small au?? basically an au that everyone wants to live in after season three.

————

————

“So Y/N,” Dustin said, entering his older sister’s room with the feeling to bother her before she left the house. “Do I get to meet this mystery boyfriend that may or may not exist?” He leaned on her doorframe, as she finished her lipstick and makeup touches. “Dustin.” She said with a warning tone. “I really don’t think you’d wanna know.” Y/N groaned, walking over to her kid brother. “And besides, he does exist.” Dustin chuckled, as he finally had the upper hand. “That’s not what you said about Suzie, and look what happened,” he explained—Y/N rolling her eyes at Dustin’s winning argument. “She does exist.” Y/N finally gave in, turning back to her little and witty brother. “So, you have to tell me, since you didn’t believe me.” Pointing at his older sister with finger guns, she lightly punched his shoulder, walking down the stairs of their home to the kitchen. “You really don’t want to know. Really.” “Oh please, eldest sister; Dearest sister that I love and care about very much, I can stand for myself.” Y/N was about to tell the younger Henderson to drop the subject but the doorbell had suddenly rung. The two Henderson siblings had glanced at each other, before racing to the door. Unfortunately, Dustin’s smaller figure had successfully snaked his way underneath Y/N and opened the door; and to his extreme surprise, was met with a ravishingly handsome (shirt halfway unbuttoned) and lovestruck Billy holding flowers at the Henderson doorstep. Dustin’s facial expression had turned him wide-eyed and speechless. Only getting a dramatic gasp before Y/N had swiftly stepped in front of him and cut him off by slamming the door behind his face.

Billy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion from the scene that weirdly unfolded in front of his eyes. “My little brother. He’s friends with—“ Y/N was going to explain, but Billy ended up beating her to it “With Max. Yeah. I know. Did he not know we’re dating?” He asked suddenly, pointing at her front door. Y/N opened her mouth to say something; almost hesitating before blatantly being honest. “No.” Billy just returned her response with a heart-warming smile. “Let’s go.” And led her to the car, and giving her the flowers.

————

Dustin suddenly broke out of his trance, shaking his head back to reality. He quickly opened the door and saw Billy and his older sister drive away in his blue Camaro; the smoke distributing in the air. Shutting the door with a slam, Dustin rushed to his room, muttering many ‘holy shits’ with each pounding step his feet made. He reached for his walkie-talkie and pulled the antenna up and switching it on. “This is Dustin! Code orange-red! I repeat! This is Dustin! Code orange-red!” He screamed into the talkie. For the first time in a long time, everyone in the party had answered. El was with Will, Max was alone at home and Mike was hanging with Lucas. Everyone had heard his not-so-important code orange-red. “What is it?” Max hurriedly said through the walkie-talkie. “Max, my sister Y/N is dating Billy!!” Dustin screamed into the walkie once more. “WHAT?!” The whole group screamed at the same time through the walkie’s receiver.

————

Out of Touch by Hall and Oats had started playing in the car, and Y/N happily blasted it, opening the windows and letting the gnarly music echo through the empty space that was Hawkins, Indiana. Her hair flowing in the wind as Billy accelerated the car’s speed. A smile painted her face as the music blasted. “So, where are we heading Lover Boy?” She smiled at her driver, as he bit his bottom lip; loving the nickname. “Just thought we could do a late night drive. Anything for you Babe.” Billy said, grabbing her hand was his other hand stayed on the wheel. “Perfect.” She smiled, grabbing his hand happily. “So does Max know about you and me?” Y/N wondered, lightly kissing Billy’s neck as he drove through the starry sky. “She’ll figure out eventually.” She smirked to himself. “If you had to tell her, what would be the first thing you’d tell her?” Y/N pressed on, running her hands underneath Billy’s unbuttoned shirt and her lips wandering at his neck. Billy sighed and smiled at the feeling, parking at the quarry to get a sight of the large moon that settled in the starry sky above them and the song Here, There, and Everywhere by The Beatles started playing; matching the romantic mood of the moonlight illuminating above them like a spotlight. He put the car in park and turned off the engine, finally able to face Y/N as his hands quickly made its way to settle on her waist.

“Well, I would start with how the first time I saw you I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And how beautiful you are. And how smart and logical you are. And how loving you are. And how you’re the most insanely hot girl in Hawkins.” He chuckled at the last part, and Y/N growing pink from the compliments. “Not true.” She nodded with a laugh, thinking about how he could find her as ‘the hottest girl in Hawkins’. Billy only chuckled, giving her kisses on her forehead and nose. “You can’t say that. It’s true.” Y/N giggled endlessly, adoring her boyfriend. “You’re such an asshole.” She shot back humorously with a laugh. “I would say how much of an asshole you are. And, how you really are to me. And beknownst to everyone else—that there is something underneath that bad boy persona everyone sees.” She smiled, showing dimples and all. At that moment, Billy truly felt in love with Y/N. “You know, Max is starting to warm up to you more. She told me that you have been more of a brother to her now. Playing catch with your kid sister and taking her to the arcade?” Y/N giggled, getting Billy’s cheeks all pink. “Sounds like the Billy I know.” Y/N said, totally adoring her boyfriend’s flustered face. “It’s all because of you.” He kissed her passionately, wanting to show her how much he loves her. “I think you should keep your asshole attitude for everyone else. And keep this Billy for me and those close to you.” He laughed at her remark, kissing her nose again. “Because I’m selfish.” The two finally continued kissing underneath the pale moonlight, doing what teenagers do.

They drive a bit longer during the midnight hours after their time was up, blasting soft music with all the windows down with their hands intertwined. With her hair blowing in the wind and singing along to the soft music, they soon reached the Henderson household—Billy dropping her off at her doorstep. “Are you sure you don’t wanna come in and sleep over? I don’t want you to get in trouble with your dad—“ Y/N said before getting cut off. Normally Billy would’ve said no, in fear of his dad, but he thought he could give less of a fuck this time. “Yeah, I’ll stay.” Billy said, locking his car on the street and meeting Y/N at her doorstep. He met her with a kiss as she unlocked her door; holding her waist as she playfully laughed at the affections.

As the door swung open, the lovebirds were met with the six kids. They’re eyes wide in shock to find none other than the bad boy of Hawkins and the detective teen of Hawkins. Billy and Y/N met the kids with furrowed brows as both Max and Dustin crossed their arms. “Billy?” Max asked, expecting an answer from her older brother. “Dearest sister Y/N?” Dustin dramatized. The two teens stayed silent, not knowing what to say. With one look, the kids all looked at each other and broke into an enormous fit of laughter—leaving the lovebirds in quick confusion.

————

✨MASTERLIST✨

💐STRANGER THINGS REQUEST POST💐

[thesorceressyennefer]

This is Our Song

Summary: Lucas and Mike argue over whether “Every Breath You Take” is Lucas and Max’s song or Mike and Eleven’s song (spoiler alert: it can be both). Pairings: Lucas/Max and Mike/Eleven Word Count: 1516 AO3 Link

Lucas and Max’s apartment. Hawkins, Indiana. December 1993.

Lucas looked up from the spreadsheet he was reading and rubbed his eyes. He looked over at his best man who was on the phone at the moment and asked, “Did you hear back from the florist yet, Dustin?”

“Negative,” Dustin replied, covering the speaker of the phone with his hand. “I’ve left two messages already”—he held up two fingers to emphasize this point—“if they don’t call me back by 10 a.m. tomorrow I’ll drop by on my lunch break.”

Lucas nodded.

“Did you pick out the cake yet, Lucas?” Will asked as he folded invitations.

“Shit, no,” Lucas groaned.

“How can you not have a cake yet?” asked Mike. “What have you been doing?”

“What have I been doing?” Lucas asked, outraged. “Setting a date, booking a venue, making a guest list, choosing a color scheme, picking a caterer, finding a photographer—“

“Okay, okay,” said Dustin, now off of the phone. Dustin threw his arms in between them like he was breaking up a physical fight. “We’ll get to the cake soon, but first, that was the DJ. He confirmed the date and wants to know if you have an specific song requests, including if you’ve thought of the song for your first dance yet.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” said Lucas. “For our first dance, we’re dancing to ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police.”

“What?” Mike snapped.

“What do you mean what?”

“You can’t dance to that song!”

“Uh, why not?” Lucas asked, annoyed.

“It’s mine and Eleven’s song!”

“What are you talking about?” Lucas asked, incredulous. “It’s mine and Max’s song. It has been since the Snow Ball in ‘84.”

“Well it’s been mine and El’s song since then too!” protested Mike. “It’s the first song we ever danced to!”

“Well, Max and I had our first kiss during that song! And first kiss beats first dance!”

“Guys, come on,” said Will, but Mike and Lucas continued to argue.

“Yeah, haven’t you guys realized that song’s actually from the point of view of a stalker and it’s pretty creepy?” asked Dustin.

“It’s not creepy!” Mike protested.

“Well, Max’s nickname for me is stalker, so it fits us perfectly!” said Lucas.

Dustin rolled his eyes and allowed Mike and Lucas to go back to arguing with each other.

A few moments later, the front door of the apartment opened and Max walked in followed by Eleven.

“Are you guys fighting about more dumb wedding stuff?” Max asked.

“Yes!” said Mike at the same time Lucas said, “It’s not stupid!”

Max walked over to Lucas, made like she was going to give him a kiss on the cheek and then blew a raspberry on his face instead. Lucas’s mood instantly improved.

“We’re talking about the song for our first dance,” Lucas said as he rolled his eyes in disgust at Mike and Eleven kissing hello.

“Oh that’s not stupid,” said Max, taking a seat in Lucas’s lap. “And there’s no need for an argument. We’re dancing to ‘Every Breath You Take.’”

Lucas threw his arms up, “Thank you! This guy”—he gestured to Mike—“says we can’t dance to it because it’s his and Eleven’s song.”

“It is!” Mike argued. “It has been since El and I danced to it at the Snow Ball!”

“I already told you!” said Lucas, raising his voice a bit. “Max and I kissed for the first time during that song!”

Mike and Lucas stared at each other for a few seconds before Mike whipped his head towards his wife at the same time Lucas turned to his fiancée.

“Tell him!” they yelled to their respective significant others.

Max and El shared a look.

After a beat, El gently said, “Mike…”

“Yes!” said Lucas, throwing his fist in the air.

“What?” screeched Mike. “El, it’s our song!”

“Mike...  they had their first kiss to that song.”

Lucas and Max smiled smugly at Mike.

“Well, that settles the first dance debate…” said Dustin. “Let’s move on to something less controversial... is anyone going to have a fit over the color of the table linens?”

*

“You don’t really think ‘Every Breath You Take’ is their song, do you?” asked Mike as soon as the door to Lucas and Max’s apartment swung closed behind them.

They turned right and started walking towards their car which was parked around the corner.

“I do,” said El. “But it’s also ours. We can share.”

Mike breathed out and watched the swirl of warm air rise up and disappear. After a moment, he said, “But if they dance to it, everyone’s going to think it’s their song.”

“So?” asked El.

“Well… well…,” Mike struggled to put into words why it matter. “It’s ours though. When I hear that song, I think about how it felt when you walked into the gym that night and it reminds me of how lucky I am to have you.”

“Lucas and Max dancing to that song won’t change that,” said El. “You should’ve heard Max complaining about wedding planning today. They don’t need us giving them a hard time about the song they dance to on top of everything else.”

Mike thought about how stressed out Lucas had been lately. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“If you wanted it to be our song you should have said you wanted a real wedding when we decided to elope,” El teased.

“I couldn’t wait any longer to marry you, though,” said Mike, grabbing her hand and pulling her into his arms so he could gently bop his nose against hers.

Eleven smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her forehead against Mike’s, just like when they danced at the Snow Ball. Mike didn’t care about how it hurt his neck to lean down that far these days. El didn’t care that she was freezing on this especially cold December night. They stayed like that, in the middle of the sidewalk, for only a few moments, but both of them thought they could’ve stayed like that forever.

“You don’t regret eloping, then?” Eleven asked, pulling her head back so she could look at Mike’s face.

“Of course not,” said Mike. “But sometimes I do wish I had gotten to stand in front of everyone and tell them how much I love you.”

“You already did that, remember my birthday? You gave a 20 minute speech about how much you love my hair.”

“I was drunk, okay?”

“Yeah, too bad everyone else wasn’t as drunk as you,” El teased.

Mike huffed and started moving again. He swung his hand, intertwined with Eleven’s, between them as they walked.

“But seriously, Lucas and Max’s wedding planning has got me thinking… what do you think about renewing our vows? This time we invite everyone.”

“Yes,” El said immediately.

“Great! We can do it two weeks before Lucas and Max’s wedding, and then we can dance to ‘Every Breath You Take’ before they do!”

“Mike!” Eleven sounded exasperated, but she was smiling.

“Kidding, kidding…,” said Mike. “I was actually thinking November.”

“Almost a year from now…” El wrinkled her nose. “Why so far away?”

“Well, last time the day didn’t really mean anything, it was just the first day the courthouse was open after our graduation,” said Mike. “I was thinking we could pick a date that meant something… Like November 7th, maybe?”

Eleven smiled. “The night we met?”

Mike nodded.

“That sounds perfect.”

*

Max laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to de-stress from all the wedding planning. Lucas laid next to her, reading a horror novel, half-asleep already.

“Do you ever think we should elope like Mike and El did?” Max asked.

“Every goddamn day since we started planning this wedding,” said Lucas. “But then we wouldn’t be able to claim ‘Every Breath You Take’ as our song.”

Max paused for a moment before saying, “Hm, you’re right.” She turned onto her side and closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” said Lucas as he closed his book and sat up. “I’ll be serious. Do you really want to elope?”

“No, Lucas, I was being serious about you being right. We can’t let Mike and El steal our song. At this point I’ll marry you just for the opportunity to piss off Mike.”

“If only I had known that when I proposed, I would’ve led with that.”

“Yeah,” said Max. “All I wanted to hear was how our getting married would annoy Mike. None of that crap about how much you love me or how I’m your best friend or how you want to stalk me for the rest of my life, so can I please marry you so you don’t have to become a creepy pervert.”

“You remember all that crap I said pretty well for someone who’s only marrying me to annoy my best friend.”

Max kicked his leg and said, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” said Lucas. “You know, I think our wedding is going to be perfect.”

“Of course it will be,” said Max. “Because it’s going to be ours.”

This is technically set in between the two fics I’ve already written for The Window Series. But the lack of windows, extra Mileven content, and general standalone-ness of it made me decide to not link to the rest of the series in the beginning. But if you want to check out the other Lumax fics in the series, part one is here and part two is here.