It all started with Dig Dug, really.

« I hate this overpriced bullshit, son of a bitch, piece of shit! » yelled Dustin while kicking the Dragon's Lair machine with his feet.

It was a regular summer night for the party who had taken a generous amount of their pocket money with them to hit the arcade.

« You're just not nimble enough, but you'll get there one day », said Lucas with a smile. « But until then, princess Daphne is still mine! »

« Whatever, I still top on Dig Dug. »

« You sure about that? »

The four boys all turned their heads in the direction of the voice, their smiles fading. This loser thought Lucas. People like Keith were the ones who gave nerds all around the world a bad reputation. It was written all over the guy's face that girls would never touch him with a stick, with his greasy hair, and his bad breath.

« Sure about what? » asked Dustin worriedly. Keith just shrugged, a smile pulling at his mouth and turned away.

Oh no. Oh no no no no.

Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas all looked at each other and ran towards the Dig Dug machine. There, on the screen, were the top scores. With Dustin's name in second place.

« No no no no! What the hell! »

« 751300? How is that even possible? » asked Will after reading the first score.

« Who's MadMax? » asked Mike in disbelief.

Well, whoever he is, he's a real badass, thought Lucas in admiration.

Turns out, they didn't have to wonder for too long who MadMax was after the first day of Junior year when a new student at Hawkins High fitted the profile of the mysterious Dig Dug genius. But to the party's surprise it wasn't a Max, but a Maxine.

And Lucas fell in love.

Well, not in love. But he was pretty sure she was his soulmate.

He spent the majority of chemistry class staring at the back of her head, watching the rays of sunshine dance on her fire-colored locks. He felt his heart beat faster every time he saw her in the halls, with her skateboard in one hand and school books in the other. He couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach when she rolled her eyes in class when Troy said something stupid to try and make the rest of the students laugh. He felt blood rush to his cheeks when he saw her at the arcade on Saturdays, absorbed in her games. He felt his knees become weak when she replied « It's Max. » dryly every time a teacher called her Maxine. He'd heard how the other boys mocked her tomboy clothes and attitude, but to him, they were the very reason she was perfect for him. Where else could he find a girl who liked all the things he liked, who was this cool and this bold? Not in Hawkins, for sure.

Of course, he thought about actually speaking to her. He thought about it for many months, even. But each time he tried to walk towards her in the hall, he suddenly felt his feet move in another direction and his mouth turn dry and then he felt sick and thanked heavens that at least he didn't come up to her and threw up right at her feet.

The truth was, he didn't know how the hell he was supposed to engage a conversation with her. And the fact that she wasn't exactly the most approachable person was not helping his nervousness. He'd observed her enough to notice that she kept to herself and didn't seem to be looking for friends, the look of disdain she gave anyone who tried to introduce themselves to her being enough to let everyone know that she couldn't care less about meeting people.

To make things even harder, the boys and him weren't exactly ladies' men. To be precise, Will seemed pretty uninterested in dating as a whole and Dustin's approach to the matter consisted in embarrassing himself by talking to girls about science like bad boys in movies talked about their new expensive cars. What he didn't seem to understand was that, unlike expensive cars, science wasn't cool. So his attempts were (unsurprisingly) never really successful.

And Lucas, well… he was black. In white, white, conservative, little Hawkins, and there was nothing he could do about that. Plus, pretty girls made him sweat, a lot.

So when Mike went up to them at the Middle school Snowball a few years prior and told them that Sarah Zimmerman'd just kissed him with tongue, it felt clear to all that Mike was probably the most datable out of all of them. Even though Sarah Zimmerman was still, to this day, the only girl who'd ever showed interest in him. Better that than nothing, in Lucas's opinion.

« What would I even say to her? She doesn't even know I exist! Besides, she hates everybody. »

« That's not the point. You can just tell her things like they happened: you found out she was the person who beat Dustin's top score on Dig Dug and you tell her you're impressed. And then maybe if you man up, you'll actually go to prom with a date this year. It's just a girl Lucas, not a dragon. » sighed Mike in frustration as they were walking home with their bikes one day.

« Right, well if it's so easy, how come you don't have a girlfriend already? » Mike rolled his eyes.

However, as the school year was slowly coming to an end and prom was fast approaching, Lucas found himself thinking a lot about what Mike had said.

He was sick of being one of the nerds who doesn't go to prom because he never has a date. No doubt that it was what Keith from the arcade did when he was in high school, and he'd rather die than end up like fucking Keith from the arcade. This year, he was getting a girlfriend, damnit. A beautiful, fierce redhead who loved video games just as much as he did.

He spent his weekend debating how he was going to approach her, and, on a Monday morning, he had a plan ready. Well, kind of.

When he spotted her at her locker, with her perpetually annoyed expression, brows furrowed, lips tight, he felt the familiar twist in his stomach. And when he started walking towards her, the usual alarms went off in his brain, telling him to get the hell away. But this time he didn't listen to them.

« Hey! » he heard, barely realizing that the words were coming out of his own mouth.

Max turned to him, looking a bit surprised but still curious.

« Hey? » she said, like a question. Great start, dude. She seems sooo into you already.

« I'm Lucas. Lucas Sinclair. You're Max, right? »

The girl nodded.

« Are you the MadMax who's top score on DigDug, down at the arcade? »

She was looking at him strangely and Lucas thought it maybe had something to do with the fact that he could no longer feel his face. He was also pretty sure he was going to faint if this conversation didn't end soon, but his feet were glued to the ground and her eyes were too pretty. He never noticed how blue they were before and how cute her freckles looked up close, and it made his hands sweat.

Gross.

There was an awkward silence, Max scanning him. But then she blinked and said, with disdain :

« Yeah. You people are shit at this game. »

And just like that, she closed her locker door with a bang, turned around and left.

Lucas stayed still, watching her skate away, her long red hair dancing on her back. He slowly started to breathe again, the oxygen making his brain less cloudy, and then he knew: this girl was going to be the end of him.


« I hope you're home tonight, Nancy said she'll call. »

Mike groaned. Shit.

« I was supposed to go to Will's. Do I really need to be there every time she calls? »

« She's your sister, Michael! You already missed her call last week. Family's important, I want you to take this seriously. »

Yeah, right, family's important. Doesn't look like it these days! almost replied Mike.

On the back of the car, Holly was sitting quietly like she always did when there was any sign of tension. It was her own way of dealing with the constant yelling inside the Wheeler house: trying to be as silent as a mouse. That's what she did the night before when their mom and dad were arguing again. She'd tiptoed to Mike's bedroom, who was trying to focus on his comic book and not on the shouting downstairs, and she curled up on the bed next to him until it was over.

He knew that arguments made Holly sad. So when his mom or dad was getting on his nerves, he always fought the urge to respond, to make things worse. There was already enough tension for him to cause any more.

His parent's marriage had been on the verge of destruction for years, but his dad's infidelity, last fall, had been the last straw. It had started when Karen noticed that Ted was coming home late every night and then… it all went to shit.

When they weren't fighting, they just weren't talking or even looking at each other, which almost felt worse. It was clear that they were only trying to hold on just for the kids. They didn't want to divorce in the middle of the school year out of fear that it could affect Mike and Holly's grades, but a divorce was clearly in sight. Nancy, who was far away in New York for college, felt powerless that this was all happening without her being around for her siblings. And Mike had to admit that he wished she was here.

But as much as he missed his older sister, he was also starting to find ridiculous how attached his mom was to Nancy's weekly phone calls, and her insistence on everyone being there for the occasion. They were the only times now where the family was reunited, and trying to smile. There were the four Wheelers, sitting in their perfect little living room, taking turns on the phone, asking Nance about her classes, the friends she was making, how great New York City was, and Yes, Nancy, things are fine here, don't worry about us… But it was all pointless to him. None of it was going to erase the fact that the Wheelers were no longer the Wheelers.

« Also, I spoke to Grandad and Grandma. Turns out they're going to Florida this summer to celebrate their anniversary. » Karen said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

« Wait, what? » snapped Mike. « Are we still going to visit them? »

Holly and he were supposed to spend the summer at their house, in Toledo. That was all part of his mom's plan: his little sister and him in Ohio while Nancy was going backpacking in Europe. She'd told him, a few weeks ago, when he had the courage to ask her about the upcoming divorce: « Dad and I are going to work things out here, together, this summer. It's a lot of paperwork, lawyers, and adult stuff... I don't want you, or Holly, or Nancy in the middle of this. I know it's not the same as spending the summer here with your friends but it's all I can offer right now. » But he hadn't been mad at all. Finally a break from the mess that was becoming his family life? He'll gladly take it.

« No, Michael. » she sighed. « They'll be there all summer and they want to be by themselves.»

Mike gasped.

« That's such bullshit! »

« Michael, language! »

« They're always by themselves, do they really need to go do that in Florida instead of being there for us? Besides, I thought you said you wanted to work things out with dad alone? »

Karen glanced at Mike, then looked at Holly through the rearview mirror. She hated to talk about this when his little sister was around, he knew that, but Mike was too worked up to care right now.

« And that was true. But I can't force them to stay in Toledo with you, can I? There's nothing I can do about it.»

Mike shook his head furiously. There was no way he was staying for any more of this shit. No fucking way.

« Okay, well I'm going to the science camp Mr. Clarke told me about, then. »

Karen raised her eyebrows.

« I thought we were done with that discussion! You're not going anywhere, Michael. We can't allow ourselves to spend that kind of money at the moment, knowing that things are about to get… complicated, for us.»

« Then I'll get a job! » he replied, raising his voice. « Benny's always publishing job offers in the paper. I'll make burgers on the weekends if I have to! There's just NO way I'm staying. »

« Fine, whatever you want », she said, resigned.

There was a long silence after that, nobody in the car daring to say another word, tears of rage ready to fall of Mike's eyes as they were approaching Hawkins High. That's why I should never say yes when she wants to drive me to school, he thought, rubbing his eyes quickly with the back of his hand. He opened the door of the car and put on his backpack, but, just as he was getting out, felt his mom's hand on his arm and turned around.

« Can you just, please, be here tonight, Michael? » her voice was soft now and filled with so much sadness. She didn't choose this situation either, he thought, suddenly feeling guilty.

« Please? » she asked again.

He took a look at Holly in the back seat, her eyes just as pleading as her mom's.

« Yeah. Alright. »


Max was aware that everyone thought that she never spoke to anybody, but that wasn't exactly true.

At the beginning of the school year, there actually were 3 new students at Hawkins High. Herself, an exchange student from Europe, and Eleanor Hopper.

If Max had just moved to Hawkins, it wasn't exactly the latter's case.

Everybody around town had heard something about Eleanor Hopper before her first day of class. She was the adoptive daughter of the chief of the local police and he had apparently found her when he was still a cop in the big city, a couple of years ago. « Her real parents were crackheads who never took her to school », said the kids in the halls. That's why after moving to Hawkins with her new dad, she had to catch up on the school program with a tutor for two years before joining the other kids in Junior year.

She was a very shy girl who seemed to like being all by herself, and it wasn't very talkative. Kids were actually pretty interested in her and tried to get to know her, to which Eleanor responded with politeness, unlike Max. Besides, in addition to being a new girl, which is always a boost in popularity, Eleanor Hopper had the advantage of being easy on the eyes, with her smooth brown curls, doe eyes and pink sweaters and she was, therefore, the school's sensation for the first two weeks.

She and Max sat next to each other in their American History class, which was the teacher's idea (I'm sure two new students like you will bond easily!), but the redhead had no intention of starting a friendship with anyone, even less with an introverted Mary Sue.

But the positive attention the other new student was gathering didn't last long. A certain incident had earned her a cruel nickname: « the weirdo ». Some jealous girls thought it would be very funny to pull a prank on her and locked her in one of the bathroom stalls after PE. Eleanor, to everyone's surprise, had become enraged. She'd punched the door until her fingers were bloody and screamed at the top of her lungs, so much that she apparently lost her voice for a few days. Not that anyone knew that for sure since she stopped talking to anyone after the event. After that, the few who attempted to bring her out of her shell before suddenly stopped. She was clearly very troubled underneath the surface and her peers mostly left her alone, but it was not an issue since she didn't seem to want to engage with anyone anymore. So, instead of thinking she was a weirdo like everyone else, this event actually sparked Max's curiosity, who was starting to recognize herself in the now very solitary brunette.

Max had to admit Mrs. Fisher wasn't totally wrong, in the end. Although they weren't exactly friends since their conversations were limited to the classroom, it was actually pretty nice to see that she wasn't the only one who didn't seem to want anything to do with the students of Hawkins High.

It was Max who'd started it. « This class is so boring » was the first thing she ever said to Eleanor, to try and start a conversation, but the girl had just nodded, looking surprised that someone was talking to her. Max had kept trying, though, every time they were in class together, taking it as a challenge to make her speak: « Mrs. Fisher's clothes are so boring » she'd said another day. Nod. And just like that, it became their little routine. « Teddy Roosevelt was boring » Nod. « The civil war was so boring » Nod. She never received more than the small head gesture, until suddenly, about a month ago, Eleanor seemed to decide that her neighbor was worthy of her time. « This town's boring » had said Max, expecting the usual. « Very » had replied her neighbor quietly, sparking off one of the redhead's rare genuine smile.

« Hey. Did you spend a shit weekend too? » asked Max when she arrived to class.

Eleanor, or rather El, as Max nicknamed her, shook her head.

« The homework was boring », El said matter-of-factly as Max sat down next to her, smiling.

Partners in Hawkins hatred.


Jennifer Hayes was organizing a party and everyone was invited.

That was what the whole school was talking about on Tuesday morning.

And all Lucas was thinking about was asking Max to go with him.

Sure, he'd only told her one sentence, but now things were different: 1) she knew who he was (sort of) and 2) he was less scared of speaking to her again now that he knew what to expect (sort of).

Just like last time, he went up to her when she was at her locker, trying to ignore the beads of sweat running down his spine underneath his blue and grey flannel.

« Hi! » he said to the back of her head, voice shaking.

She turned and looked at him, looking a little annoyed.

« Yes, stalker? » she said, leaning against the closed metal door, arms crossed over her school books, an impatient look on her face.

« St-stalker? » Lucas was confused.

« Yeah, stalker. Don't you think I noticed that you always stare at me in Chem? » Shit. « It's creepy, by the way. Now, are you going to come up to me every day to say hello or are you going to tell me what the hell you want from me? » she asked dryly.

Lucas gulped. Now or never, right?

« I was - hum - I was just wondering if you wanted to go to Jennifer's party, Friday night? »

There it was. The bomb was dropped. He held his breath, searching her face, gauging her reaction, but she was unreadable. Like last time, she let some time pass before she answered, looking somewhat amused :

« Are you asking me out on a date, stalker? » Jesus. The D-word.

An explosion of thoughts began to erupt in his brain. Was he supposed to say yes? Was it better to play it safe and say no?

« M-maybe » he stuttered dumbly before he could decide the best way to go.

« Maybe? » she sneered. « Have you not decided yet or are do you just like a touch of suspense? »

« Do want to go? » he asked again, feeling his cheeks becoming redder by the second.

« What do you think? » she said, rolling her eyes and turning around to leave.

Don't be a pussy.

Without even thinking about what his next move was going to be, he felt his legs move by themselves as he ran behind her in the crowded hall and touched her arm so she faced him again.

« What? » she snapped.

Looking at her straight in her big, pretty blue eyes, he took a deep breath and said :

« You're great. You're amazing. You're beautiful. You're the best Dig Dug player ever. I really want to go on a date with you. »

Well. As laughable as his verbal diarrhea was (and he would cringe about it later, no doubt about that), it was still pretty ballsy. So much so that Max looked absolutely speechless for once. Then she blinked a few times and shook her head in disbelief, eyes unsure.

« You - you really want to go on a date with me? »

She didn't sound mocking anymore and pride blossomed in his chest at the fact that he'd just made her stutter.

« Yes », he replied, with a boost of confidence.

He saw the hesitation on her face.

« Just one date, it's all I ask. And then you can decide for yourself if I'm a huge moron. But I don't think you will. »

« Well, that's presumptuous of you. » she sniggered, coming back to her usual self.

Then she seemed to consider things for a second, but in a mischievous way, like a child who's planning his next prank.

« You know what? Okay, I'll go on a date with you, stalker. But since you seem so confident that you're not a moron, I have one condition. »

Yes, yes, yes. Anything.

« Okay. What is it? »

« You know Eleanor Hopper? »

« The weirdo? » asked Lucas, his eyebrows knitted in confusion. What did the weirdo have to do with any of this?

« Yeah, her. I'll go on a date with you Friday night. »

« Great. »

« Only if she has a date too. » she finished with a challenging grin.

Lucas's mind went blank.

« You want me to find the weirdo a date? » he tried to process.

Max nodded, happy with herself.

What the hell was this?

« Seriously? » he asked, unsure if she was joking or not.

« Yep. » she smiled.

« But… she's never going to say yes to a date. She avoids every living human! »

To be fair Max did too, but Lucas liked her enough to face that. On the other hand, he didn't know anyone who'd have the courage to take a crazy girl on a date just because.

« Well, I guess we'll never go on our date then. Too bad », she replied, faking a sad smile before turning away again.

« Wait! » Lucas sighed, stopping her for the second time that day.

« If I find someone to take her on a date Friday, do you promise me you'll go with me to Jennifer's party? »

« Oh God, you really won't give up! » she said, rolling her eyes. « Yeah, I promise. Whatever. » she scoffed. « Good luck, stalker! »

She turned around, clearly amused by all of this, and this time Lucas let her go.

So that's what people mean when they say « playing hard to get ». Well if it's playing she wants...


« Guys. I need your help », said Lucas while he sat down with the rest of the party.

« I just talked to Max » he continued, out of breath from running all the way to the cafeteria. « She agreed to go on a date with me, to Jennifer's party. »

« What? How much did you pay her? » laughed Dustin while Mike and Will exchanged amazed glances.

« That's the thing. She accepted to go with me on one condition, and that's why I need your help. »

« What is it? » asked Mike with curiosity, wondering why Lucas seemed so serious all of a sudden.

« She said she'll go only if… I get Eleanor Hopper a date too. » he finished with a sigh.

Three startled pairs of eyes blinked at Lucas for a minute and then —

They all erupted in laughter at the same time, Dustin banging his fists on the table.

« Dude, you're so stupid! » Mike said, being the first one to recover. « She obviously said that on purpose. Nobody even wants to be friends with that girl! »

« Yeah, and going on a date with her would ruin anyone's reputation, and Max knows it! It was just a twisted way of saying no. » finished Will, shaking his head.

« Guys, please, no, it's serious! It may be the only chance I get to date Max! She's testing me, she wants to see I how far I'm ready to go… »

« And the answer is: too damn far, my friend », scoffed Dustin.

« It's just one date. Can one of you just try, at least? » begged Lucas.

« Even if one of us tried, there's no way she'll ever say yes. » asserted Dustin. « I have Spanish with her and I swear, every time someone talks to her she gives them a death glare. Maybe you're crazy enough to make a move on Max Mayfield, but I'm not gonna risk my life - and my reputation! - by asking crazy-girl Hopper out just so you get a date with a girl who's not even gonna end up happening. Sorry, man. »

« Same here, sorry. She's messing with you. » approved Will.

Lucas shook his head in disappointment and then turned to Mike.

« What about you? Are you gonna be a pussy too? » he asked his dark haired friend.

Mike thought for a minute. Seeing how desperate his friend was, he might as well try and make this situation useful, right?

« Okay. I'll try », he answered.

Lucas gasped, which earned him a mocking look from Will and Dustin.

« But only if you pay me! » he added.

« Yeah, okay, no problem! I still have all the money my aunt gave me last year », responded Lucas with excitement.

Jesus, he'll sell his soul for this, thought Mike. Ridiculous.

« Why do you need money all of a sudden? » Will asked him.

« To get enough money for Mr. Clarke's science camp this summer. »

« Weren't you supposed to go to your grandparent's? » said Dustin.

« Yeah, well, they decided to go to Florida for their anniversary and my Mom said that spending such a large amount of money for a summer camp isn't reasonable right now. So I guess it's either working at Benny's now and leaving for camp after or… staying here. » he finished, looking at the empty tray in front of him. « So wouldn't say no to a little help. »

« That sucks man », told Dustin, sorry for his friend. The party knew about the Wheeler's divorce and how much it affected Mike, even though he avoided speaking about it. They'd all been friends for long enough to understand each other without words anyway.

« Well I can't promise you much, but I can give you a little advance. How much do you need? » asked Lucas.

Mike hesitated for a second. Was he really that desperate?

He thought about the shouting that he could still hear resonating in his head. The silent breakfasts in the sighs of his dad, drinking his evening whiskey all alone in the living room. His mom fighting back her tears as she washed the dishes.

Yeah. He was that desperate.

The girl was definitely a weirdo. She was in his English Literature class and yet he never even heard her speak. But it seemed like the only real obstacle was how wary she was since the bathroom incident. Maybe once he started talking to her and showed her that he was a nice guy, it won't be that hard to gain her trust and ask her out. As for the money, he already had a decent amount of dollars in his bank account from his work at the ice cream shop last summer and he wasn't too eager to flip burgers at Benny's just yet. Plus, it's not like he had anything to lose anyway, he was already at the bottom of the school's food chain.

Lucas was right, it was just one night. How difficult could it be to ask a girl on a date?

He looked at his desperate friend.

« How much can you give me? »