Chapter Text
The next morning the girls awoke with a start, hearing insistent banging on the front door. Max assumed her parents would get it, it was probably a neighbor complaining about Billy’s gas-guzzler of a car or something, and so she just laid back down. With the morning light filtering through her window the girl burrowed deeper under the covers, snuggling closer to El after the other girl slung her thin arm over Max’s freckled shoulders. The two ignored the continued banging on the front door in favor of staying in their little world, cocooned in the redhead’s sheets enjoying the soft morning light and each other’s company.
What Max didn’t remember was that her parents weren’t home, and wouldn’t be home until later that afternoon. And what she didn’t know was that when Billy had come home in the dead of night and then promptly left last night, he didn’t lock the door.
So as the two girls snuggled, drifting in and out of sleep, they were unaware of the four new presences walking quietly through the house, towards where the two lay in each other’s embrace.
It wasn’t until Max’s bedroom door opened with a creak, and there was the distinctive (and annoying in Max’s opinion) sound of Mike Wheeler’s voice going “I knew it!” that the girls realized how well and truly fucked they were.
Because there stood Mike, hands-on-hips, with Dustin and Lucas behind him and Will straggling behind, obviously not interested in whatever the three others were doing barging into Max’s house at 9 in the morning. El and Max were still in the bed, in their pajamas, legs tangled and eyes still encrusted with sleep. The four boys had varying emotions playing over each of their faces. Mike looked mad and distraught, Lucas looked amused and slightly upset, Dustin looked confused and amused as well, and Will looked disinterested, his eyes trained on Mike.
“What are you doing in my house Wheeler?” Max asked, stretching casually and giving Mike the stink eye as she sat up in bed, scooting back to rest against the headboard. Mike’s cheeks flushed in anger and he stuttered for a moment.
“We were coming to see if you were still busy today because we wanted to have a long Saturday session today!” He said, obviously upset.
“Yeah dude and the door was totally unlocked and no one was answering so we kinda got worried, we didn’t mean to break into your house,” Dustin added, still looking curiously at where El’s hand had become entwined with Max’s.
“I can’t believe you lied to us, Max! I can’t believe you’ve been keeping her from us! From me!” Mike said angrily, balling his fists and almost spitting as he spoke. Max rolled her eyes at that.
“First of all, I didn’t keep her from you, I simply respected what El wanted. And what she wanted was to not see you.” Max said matter of factly. “She’s her own person and I wanted to respect her wishes, and be a good friend by not putting her in situations where she could feel uncomfortable or unsafe.”
“Is that true?” Mike asked, face falling as he looked to El, who during the commotion had sat up as well, shrinking in on herself as she sat silently leaning on the headboard, hand in Max’s hand.
El took a deep breath and spoke. “Yes, Mike. I didn’t want to see you.” Max squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture, knowing how hard it must’ve been to admit that.
“Why?” He simply asked. No one else dared say a word as they waited for the brunette’s response.
“You kissed me.” El started and Mike began sputtering but El held up her hand, indicating she was not finished. It shut the boy up quickly but didn’t stop his face from contorting into a bitter frown. “And I like you, Mike, I do. You're my friend. I feel the same way about you that I do Dustin and Lucas, I don’t share the feelings you had for me. Max tells me, you have been holding on to the feelings. I was scared you would hurt me because of this and would keep me from my friends.” She finished. Mike was shellshocked at her words, not just because of the content but because of how much the previously mute girl spoke, his mouth was hanging open in shock.
After sputtering for a couple of seconds, Mike’s brow furrowed. “But why are you in bed with her?” He asked, shooting a scathing glare at Max, who returned it with venom. Lucas coughed, obviously uncomfortable at the whole situation and trying to diffuse the awkward tension.
“Because Max is my friend,” El said. “I wanted a friend, a girl, friend. I was lonely and saw her with you all.” After finishing her sentence the brunette looked to Max, who squeezed her hand again.
Max continued for her, letting El sit back on the headboard and take a much-needed couple of deep breaths. “So she basically just started finding me and we spent time together,” Max began. “I visit her where she lives in the woods or we hang out at my house. She’s kind of become my best friend.” Max said with a blush, as she spoke a flush began creeping its way onto El’s face at the other girl’s admission. Max continued quickly, “And as for why we’re in bed together, we were just having a sleepover, same as you do with your little buddies all the time.” At that she let go of El’s hand, crossing her arms and staring down at Mike, daring him to say something else.
The six of them stood in silence for a few moments before Mike sighed and began speaking again, to nobody’s surprise.
“I think we shouldn’t play today, this has been a lot to process and I think I’ll just see you at school, you guys.” The boy turned towards the door and began walking out before pausing and leaning back in the room, this time speaking directly to El. “And El I’m sorry I made you feel bad, if you want to be just friends I can deal with that. Just know I’ll always love you.” Everyone rolled their eyes at that comment. Then Mike turned to the other boys, “I’m heading out, do what you want.” And with that, Mike left the room, slamming the door behind him. Those in the room could hear the boy's stifled sobs as his heavy footfalls got further and further away from Max’s room.
Will was the next one who spoke “Sorry about that, I’m going to go deal with him. El, it was nice to meet you and I hope we can hang out soon because you seem sweet.” He said, giving the rest of the kids a wave and ducking out the door, running after Mike. Max was aware of Will’s feelings for Mike, the kid was projecting it every time they were around each other. And although Max mostly felt residual anger at Mike, relief for El being safe, and relief of no longer having to carry the secret of their friendship (and budding romance) from their mutual friends. Now she also felt a tinge of hope that maybe Will could help Mike, and the two could find something together to help them both be happy.
Once the front door slammed and the sounds of Will calling out for Mike subsided, El got out of the bed. She quickly launched herself at the boys, first going to Dustin as the two shared a tight hug. The force of his hug picked the barefoot girl off the floor and he spun her around for a second before setting her tenderly down and hugging her tighter. The two kids' laughter mingled together and the happiness of the pair was palpable.
“I missed you!” He whispered into her shoulder and El smiled wide, her big eyes getting slightly misty at his admission. Max watched happily from her perch on the bed as El reunited with the two boys. It tugged at her heartstrings to see the girl in such unabashed joy, and Max knew Dustin gave the best hugs.
“I missed you too Dustin, you too Lucas. I’m sorry that avoiding Mike made me avoid you guys.” El’s words quickly tumbled out, a few stray tears had escaped and were making shiny tracks down the girl's pink cheeks. Max wanted to wipe them away and kiss her forehead, but she tamped the urge down as her friends were still in the room.
“C’mere, bring it in,” Lucas said, opening his arms wide for El to hug him. The two shared a tight, albeit shorter, embrace as well before Dustin began babbling to El again.
He grabbed El’s hand and began pulling her out of Max’s bedroom, talking animatedly to her with a blinding smile that El mirrored. “Since you guys just woke up let's go get you some eggos, I’m sure Max has some because we saw them in her house a while ago. I’m sure you know because they were probably for you. Plus it gives Max and Lucas some time to catch up, and I can tell you about how crazy things have been since you left!” His voice tapered off as the pair got further from the bedroom and closer to the kitchen at the front of the house.
There was an awkward second for a few moments as Max and Lucas both were silent, Lucas had sat down on the edge of the bed and was staring at Max, brows furrowed obviously in thought, as Max looked down at her comforter where her hands were fidgeting with the edge of the blanket.
It was Lucas who eventually broke the silence. “Sooooo…. El huh?” He asked teasingly and Max turned as red as her hair, shoving him playfully before hiding her red face in her hands.
“Shut up. What do you know?” She muttered, her words muffled from being spoken against her hands. Lucas laughed brightly and patted his friend on the shoulder placatingly.
“Not much but I think you might have been lying when you said the blood on your face was from your period. There are some context clues there that lead me to believe you guys may be more than just best friends.” He said, smirking and Max continued to turn redder and redder, no longer hiding her face in her hands but trying to glare at Lucas and get him to stop talking.
“Yeah well we haven’t talked about it yet, El’s special and I don’t want to hurt her or pressure her into putting any labels or words on anything yet. I just want to be her best friend and be there for her. The last thing I want is to put her in a situation similar to what Mike did, I don’t want to lose her.” Max’s words tumbled out, her hands fidgeting nervously with the comforter again as she spoke, not meeting Lucas’s eyes.
“That’s… really sweet Max. I haven’t seen this side of you.” Lucas said honestly and Max smiled a small, tender smile at the boy. He was such a good person, and in another life, Max was sure their relationship would’ve worked out. But in this one, he was destined to be her best friend, and he was doing an amazing job of it. Lucas was the first one who made her truly feel welcome, and while Dustin accepted her into the party too, Lucas’s calm but strong, and loving nature made her feel soothed around him.
“Well don’t get used to it, this is a special situation.” She said snarkily, but her tone was in stark contrast to her continued soft grin. The moment was held for a second as the two sat next to each other quietly before Lucas broke the silence with a question.
“Fair, fair. I just have to ask,” He paused and Max steeled herself for the worst, “Did she kiss you, or did you kiss her?” Lucas inquired, and Max flushed furiously again. This was somehow worse than him asking her why she had led him on.
“She kissed me the first time, I kissed her the second time. I’m sorry.” Max answered guilt etched on her freckled features. Lucas frowned at that.
“Don’t be sorry what do you have to be sorry for?” Lucas asked quizzically, shoving her slightly with his arm, and leaving his arm touching the girl’s as a point of grounding contact.
“Well… this is embarrassing but I had kinda gotten the feeling you and Dustin had crushes on me?” Max began and Lucas laughed quietly, but let her continue to speak. “And I love you guys like you’re my brothers, you’re my closest friends besides El right now and I would never want to jeopardize that by breaking your hearts,” Max said honestly. Lucas smiled at her kindly and shook his head.
“Max, I love you, but you may or may not be stupid,” He started, Max opening her mouth with a yelp to reply but Lucas held up his finger to shush her. “I never had a crush on you, well, actually I did at the beginning but I’m gonna let you in on a little secret,” Lucas paused, steeling himself for the coming admission. “I’m in love with Dustin. Have been for years and didn’t realize it until you came and he developed his little puppy love on you. Instead of being jealous of him like I thought I should because I thought I liked you, I was jealous of you for having his attention.” Max almost laughed with glee at that moment, not only had she found the nicest guy in Hawkins, but he was also somewhat queer. Maybe she and El could have a relationship and friends who supported them, but only if El even wanted something like that with her.
“Oh wow. That,” she paused for a second to digest that information. It changed her whole view of the Lucas/Her/Dustin love triangle that had begun their friendship “That actually makes a lot of sense. Thank you for telling me.” Lucas smiled and sighed, obviously placated by her acceptance and being able to finally get his secret crush off his chest. Max wondered if Will and Lucas had bonded over being in love with the other members of their little party, and their respective best friends in the group of best friends.
“And thank you for telling me - oh wait you didn’t.” He joked with her. Max shoved him happily, and he dodged out of the way. Lucas then stood up and bowed obnoxiously, holding his hand out to help Max up off the bed. “Now may I do you the favor of taking you to our respective idiots for some breakfast?”
“Shut up stalker.” She said, her smile never leaving her face as she took his hand and he pulled her up. She followed Lucas into the kitchen, where El was on the counter, munching on a freshly toasted eggo, Dustin talking happily about what they were learning at school. Max thought she could live in that moment forever, watching El listen intently and happily to Dustin. It was impossible to feel anything but joy near two absolute rays of sunshine just shining together. She had a feeling Lucas was feeling a similar thing to her now that she knew about his real feelings.
Lucas sidled up to Dustin, and when the other boy finally took a breath from his rant, Lucas spoke. “So Dustin, I think we should head out too. Let Max and El finish their sleepover alone.” He said, shooting Max a wink. Dustin frowned at the prospect of leaving his friends but pushed himself off the counter with a flourish anyways.
“Alright but you two girls owe us a hangout,” Dustin said with an exaggerated pout. He gave El and Max each a big hug. Lucas did the same, giving El a squeeze and picking her up which made the brunette giggle like an angel. Then the boys were out the door and Dustin yelled back to the house as they walked down to their bikes in a pile on the dead lawn. “You can’t keep El to yourself just because you guys are dating now!” He said with a cheeky wink before Lucas cuffed him on the head softly and the boys biked off into the morning away from the Mayfield residence.
Max and El had both turned bright red at Dustin’s statement. Once Max had closed the door, after confirming that the two boys were biking away safely, she turned over to El who was still flushed. There was a lapse in the conversation for a few minutes. Max toasting her own eggo and another for El as El slowly munched away.
Around a mouthful of her second eggo was when El asked. “Are we dating?”
Max wanted to disappear then and there, but planted her feet on the ground and answered El. “We don’t have to be.” The other girl still looked confused, so Max backtracked. “Dating is when two people like each other romantically, not in a friend way, and they both feel the same so they decide to date and be partners.” She explained, feeling a little like she was being put under a microscope as El stared at her with her big eyes.
“Partners?” She asked simply, going for another bite of eggo as Max tried not to let her heart beat out of her chest.
“Yeah, partners. Like girlfriend and boyfriends.” She said, her statement punctuated by the ding of the toaster as the two eggos popped up. Without prompting Max handed the second one to El with a paper towel, and the girl smiled gratefully. Max had just taken a huge bite of eggo, burning her tongue, when El spoke again.
“Could we be girlfriend and girlfriend?” El asked quietly, staring down at her own feet as they swung, gently knocking into the cabinets below the countertop she was sitting upon. Max was shocked. She knew El had some feelings for her, it was obvious from the kisses, but Max didn’t think anything would happen of it. On one hand, she was El’s first female friend that wasn’t Mrs. Byers, and she felt conflicted about possibly doing the same thing Mike did to her and having El misconstrue her real feelings about Max for romantic when they were in reality just her first platonic female friendship feelings. But on the other hand, Max had fallen hard and fast for the weird girl, and everything in her being screamed to say yes to El and be her girlfriend. And she trusted El, the girl was obviously smart and capable and if she wanted Max, how could Max deny her that joy.
“Are you sure?” Max asked timidly and El frowned at her uncharacteristically shy voice, hopping off the countertop with the grace of a cat and crowding into Max’s personal space. Max was sure if El listened hard enough the taller girl could hear the frantic beating of her heart from their proximity.
“Max,” El began tenderly, making searing eye contact with the redhead as she spoke. “Friends don’t lie. I want to be your girlfriend.” She said simply, reaching out to put her hand on Max’s freckled cheek. The moment stretched like salt water taffy, as the girls stared into each other’s eyes and breathed the same air.
“Well then I can’t lie either, I really want to be your girlfriend too.” Max whispered.
El’s face broke into that beautiful grin again. She giggled quietly and brought her other hand up to Max’s face as well. “Would you be mad if I kissed you?” El asked.
“I’d be madder if you didn’t,” Max admitted and El pulled her into a tender kiss before she could finish talking.