This story is a little different to anything I've done before in that the focus isn't actually on the smut this time. Hard to believe, I know. There will be smut, but only in select chapters. Be warned, there will be some period-typical racial slurs used throughout.

This was co-written with JakeyFryMason011 - please check out his fantastic stories over on AO3!

Ooh, she's a little runaway

Daddy's girl learned fast all those things he couldn't say

Except Neil did say those things.

All of them.

Every single disgusting thing he could have said oozed from his mouth in a foul slime that left a noxious smell about him.

Max knew something was wrong when she walked in the front door of her house and found both parents looking at her severely.

"Hey," she said in greeting, skirting around them into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Who was that?" Susan asked her.

"Who was who?"

"That-that boy."

"Which one?" The Party (plus Steve) had dropped her off that day.

Susan opened her mouth, but Neil beat her to it. "The little negro boy."

Oh. Lucas.

Part of her charged at them, throwing the stupid glass vases at them and watching them bleed, but Max kept her cool.

"Lucas," Max said with a nonchalant shrug, leaning against the wall and sipping her water.

"And who is...Lucas...to you?"

"My boyfriend."

Neil and Susan just stared at her.

"Repeat that," Neil said slowly.

"Lucas is my boyfriend," Max said, rinsing out her glass and putting in the sink. Outwardly, she was calm, collected, even bored, but inwardly her emotions pooled together and mixed into a sludge of fear and anger.

"And why, may I ask, are you dating that little jungle monkey?"

"He's not from the jungle, he was born in Indianapolis," Max shot back.

"Answer the question, Maxine!"

"Because I like him, and he likes me!" Max said, her voice rising.

"Don't shout at your father," Susan interjected.

"Don't call my boyfriend a jungle monkey."

"I'll call that little black bastard whatever I damn well want to!" Neil seethed. "I don't want you hanging around him anymore, you understand?"

Max felt angry tears rising now. Oh, now they were going to stop her from seeing Lucas. All because of their own stupid prejudices? "You can't make me!"

"I am your father-"

"You are not my dad! My real dad is in California and wouldn't care as long as whoever I want to date is actually nice!"

Their voices were rising now, hysterical, so much that loud music started from Billy's room.

"I'm not going to be known around town for having a stepdaughter who's a nigger lover!"

It suddenly got very, very quiet.

Even Neil seemed to realize what he'd said, because he turned away from them and rubbed his brow.

Max reached out and, for the first time in her life, pushed her way violently through her "parents." Her vision seemed to be tinted red.

In ten minutes, she had crammed clothes into her bag and was making her way to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Neil demanded.

"Out," Max said.

"Maxine, I just want you to be safe-"

"It's Max!" she screamed at him, and slammed the door. Something inside fell and broke, and she allowed herself to smirk in victory before taking off down the street.

At some point it became apparent that her feet were taking her to Lucas.

"Dinner, you two!" Angela called up the stairs. The loud arguing stopped suddenly as Lucas and Erica thundered down the stairs.

"Were you two arguing again?" the mother asked, carrying a bowl.

"No," they said with identical innocent faces.

The front door opened and their father walked in, putting his coat over the couch.

"Arnell, what have I told you about hanging up your coat?" Angela asked, stabbing at the air in his direction with a fork.

"I"m getting to it, I'm getting to it, woman," Arnell sighed, hanging it up on the hook. "Happy?"

Angela just rolled her eyes (a habit her son had inherited) and sat down. "Dinner's on the table," she said.

For a while, they were all silent, eating and definitely not kicking each other under the table (...Erica...).

"So, Lucas," Arnell said, wiping his mouth. "How was your day?"

"I finally managed to beat Max's score on Dig Dug," Lucas said with a satisfied smile.

"Bet she wasn't happy about that."

"Not at first. Then she just told me that she would beat me next time."

"Then she kissed his cheek," Erica piped up.

Lucas glared at her and she flinched. "Mom, Lucas kicked me!"

"Oh, she kissed your cheek," Arnell said with feigned casualness.

"Shut up," Lucas said, turning as red as the sauce on his plate.

"If she says no, it means no."

"Dad! It's not like that yet."

"Well, still. And be sure to use protection."

"Dad!"

"Now, that's enough," Angela said, slapping her husband lightly on the shoulder as she went to get a glass of water.

"Fine, fine," the father grumbled, biting into a piece of bread.

"They went out on a date last week," Erica said.

Lucas shot her a look.

"Oh, you did?" Angela asked. "Where to?"

Lucas sighed. "We just went to the pizza place and walked around a little bit."

"Did you kiss?"

"Mom!"

"'Now, that's enough,'" Arnell mimicked in a high-pitched voice.

"Shut it, or no dessert for you," his wife said.

The doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?" Arnell asked, getting up.

Max was greeted by a man with greying hair, who blinked at her in surprise. "Oh! Maxine, hello!"

"Hi, Mr Sinclair. Um, is Lucas home?"

Lucas was at the door in a blink. "Max! Hi!"

Max smirked, despite her feelings of misery. "Um, you free?"

"Oh, hello, Maxine!" Angela said cheerily. "What a surprise to see you here. Have you had dinner?"

Max suddenly realized she was starving.

Mrs Sinclair got out an extra plate, loading it up, and placed it in front of the girl. "Here, honey."

"Thanks," Max muttered, sitting down.

Despite still feeling sick to her stomach over Neil's...remarks...Max ate. Slowly, but she finished the entire plate.

"Everything all right, Max?" Lucas asked.

"Fine," Max said, not meeting his eyes.

"Max."

"Look, I'll...I'll tell you after, okay?"

"Oh my god, you're breaking up with me, aren't you?"

Max glanced up and caught the teasing glint in his eye. "Ugh, shut up," she said, but she cracked a smirk anyway.

But Lucas noticed that her face dropped when he laughed and turned away.

"All right," he said once they were in his room with the door safely shut. "What's the matter?"

Max just looked at him for a moment, and then suddenly started to cry.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter?" Lucas asked, putting his arm on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Max sniffled, accepting the tissue. "I'm just being stupid."

"If it's bothering you, it's not stupid," he said.

"It's Neil," Max sad, leaning against her boyfriend.

His grip on her arm tightened somewhat. But "What did he do?" was all he asked in almost a forcibly calm voice.

Max was quiet.

"Max, you can tell me."

"He said some...things."

"What sort of things?"

She didn't answer, just burrowed her face into his chest. "Awful things. H-he called you a..."

"What did he call me?" Lucas asked.

"A...nigger," Max whispered, the word scraping the inside of her mouth and leaving jagged scratches.

Lucas nodded and hugged her silently. In his head, he kept imagining showing up to Neil's house with Steve's bat and hammering the entire family to death.

"Sorry," she said into his shirt.

"Hey, you've got nothing to be sorry for," Lucas soothed, awkwardly messing with her hair. "It's not your fault."

"I yelled at him."

"Good work."

"I broke a vase too."

"Let's hope he trips on the glass and one of the pieces goes in his eye."

"Let's," Max said with a watery laugh. "Thanks, Stalker."

"No problem, Mad Max," Lucas said, kissing her head.

He lay back on the bed and she lay on top of him, almost nuzzling herself into his shirt. Lucas's arms came up around her back, and she sighed and hugged him right back.

Since he probably wouldn't, Max decided she would, so she lifted her head and kissed him.

She felt a lot better.

"Love you, Stalker," she said quietly.

"Love you too, Mad Max."

The door slammed open before either of them could react, and Erica stormed in. "Mom wants to know if you want dessert-ew!"

"Erica!" Lucas shouted, tossing a tissue box at her. "Get out of my room!"

"You guys are gonna get some sort of weird disease!" Erica said, and practically ran out of the room.

"We should probably go down."

"For dessert?"

"Yeah."

Max grinned, the old, fiery girl mostly back. "I was thinking we could have our own dessert."

He blinked at her, and she said "Just the two of us. Alone."

The implication kicked in and he blushed. "After?"

"After," she said, and followed him downstairs.

So this will basically just be a story following Lucas and Max as they help each other through the abuse they face from people like Neil. There will be lots of fluff and some smut, too.

As I mentioned before, please go check out Jake's stories on AO3. They're all amazing!

Thanks for reading!