MARCH 1984
"Do you think Cassie Clemens would be into me? I know she's, like, so totally out of my league but we got paired for a project today and I think, I dunno, that maybe she might be. Like, she laughed at my jokes, Max. Actually laughed at them, so I thought maybe I might have a shot. I dunno... You're a girl. Right?"
Even though he could not see her face from her position riding ahead of him, Max could not help but roll her eyes at her friend. "Last time I checked, yeah."
"Then what should I do?" he asked, catching up to her so they could skateboard down the street side by side.
"I dunno, JJ. Girls like Cassie Clemens don't talk to people like us," Max reminded him. She looked to her friend as he frowned. "What are you good at? Try to impress her, maybe."
"I'm good at video games, I guess. Not as good as you," JJ shrugged. A beat passed before his eyes lit up at the spark of an idea. "I could show her some tricks."
JJ removed his back foot from his board, pushing it against the pavement a few times to pick up speed. Max did the same in order to keep up. He cruised for a moment before shifting his weight for to the back of the board and flicking the toe of his shoe off of the front. He had executed the perfect kickflip, but somehow botched the landing, sending him stumbling down the street and chasing after his board.
Max laughed as JJ took a running start, dropping his board on the pavement and hopping back up onto it. "Yeah. Hilarious," he said dryly. "Like you could do any better, Mayfield."
She could. So she did. She ollied and flicked the toe of her sneaker, suspending herself in midair while the board spun under her. Afterwards, she landed the kickflip perfectly and continued to skate alongside her friend.
JJ huffed, running a hand through his dark hair, and Max giggled again smugly. "Fine, Maxie, you impress guys with your skills and I'll come up with a plan B for me."
"I don't think I'm impressing anyone with anything."
JJ shook his head at her. "You will."
"I doubt it," Max scoffed.
"There's someone for everyone."
"And you think we're gonna find that someone in middle school?"
JJ shrugged and looked to her, eyes squinting against the early spring sun. "It's worth a shot."
…
AUGUST 1985
It was one of the hottest days of the year, and as they spent the afternoon lounging around in the hammock of his back yard, Lucas could not help but admire the way Max's hair curled up loosely in the summer humidity. When she sat up to sweep the waves off of her neck and into a ponytail, he wondered why she never wore it like that more often. She almost looked older with it up, and when it was out of the way it was easy to notice that her freckles were more prominent than ever.
She returned her hand to the sweaty palm of his as she lay back down beside him. "I wish we could go swimming," she said. "In the ocean. Not, like, a pool or a lake or something."
"What's it like?" Lucas asked curiously. When she turned her head to study him, her eyes seemed as light blue as ever against her sun kissed skin. "I've never seen it."
Max went into detail then, describing as best as she could what it feels like to be moved by the waves and have sand stuck between your toes and to watch boats disappear behind the horizon. All the while, Lucas studied the gleam in her eye and the curve of the corner of her lip as she spoke fondly of high tides and vast waters.
Lucas knew then that he would bring her back to California someday. She scoffed when he told her so.
"I'm serious," he said.
"So am I," she tried to argue. "We're fourteen, Lucas."
"Not forever… And I never said today or tomorrow or even next week. I said someday."
She rolled her eyes at him but a slow smile spread across her face. "Fine," she said. "Someday we will go to California, maybe."
"And we'll swim in the ocean?" he asked, raising one brow.
"We will swim in the ocean," she promised, and Lucas could not help but look forward to it.
…
OCTOBER 1986
One fall night, Lucas and Max found themselves sitting on a rock by Sattler's Quarry, looking up at the stars and admiring the way the moon sat full in the sky. It's light illuminated Lucas' face, making his skin glow and his eyes gleam and his smile stand out bright.
The night was crisp and clear and cool, but Max was cocooned by the warmth of Lucas' wool-lined jacket.
They sat and Lucas pointed out different lights in the sky, spewing facts about constellations and asteroids and the solar system.
Frequently, he would look back to make sure she was still listening. She always was.
At one point or another, his knowledge came to a lull and he sat in silence and studied the sky as intently as she studied him. She marveled at the way the dim light outlined his profile and how his dark eyes danced as he searched through the night, his expression set in concentration. He was looking to the sky for inspiration; for something else to tell Max about.
"You're such a nerd," she told him.
He looked back to her, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "At least I don't glow in the dark," he joked, poking the fair skin of her her cheek.
She swatted his hand away. "I just mean that I don't know how you can remember all that stuff."
Lucas shrugged. "I dunno, either… I guess I just think it's cool."
"Yeah, that totally doesn't make you a nerd," she deadpanned as a smirk grew over her lips.
"I never said I wasn't," he defended.
"It just makes you super smart," she continued. Then, in her best impression she added, "And, like, totally tubular."
Lucas could not help but laugh as he threw an arm around her and pulled her closer.
…
JANUARY 1987
Lucas was the first of the party to turn sixteen, which also meant he was the first to get his license. To celebrate, he surprised Max by taking her out for a drive in his mom's Impala before he had even gotten the chance to share the good news with the rest of their friends.
The zoomer teased him the whole time about how slow he was going as he drove around aimlessly, though they both knew she much preferred his driving to Billy's.
Eventually, he pulled into a spot by the lake where they listened to the radio as they talked and made out and laughed and made out and talked some more. At least until Max noticed the sun was beginning to set over the frozen lake, turning the sky a blend of pastels.
"Woah," Max said, entirely mesmerized.
She jumped out of the car and Lucas followed behind. Together, leaning against the hood, they watched the sky turn hues of pinks and yellows and oranges. Max's nose turned red against the cold while the light of the sun as it dipped behind the trees set her hair on fire.
Lucas wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close as they sat together in comforting silence.
After a minute, she checked the time on his watch. "We should probably go."
But neither one of them moved. Not until dusk hit and Max began shivering. It was then that they hopped back in the car and blasted the heat while Lucas rubbed warmth back into Max's fingers between his own palms.
"We don't have to tell the rest of them," suggested Max, referring to the party and the fact that Lucas got his license. "We can keep it a secret and then they won't ask you for rides or anything and we can do this, like, every day."
Lucas knew she was only half kidding.
"I wish," he told her, only half kidding, too. "But if I don't tell them, they'll find out somehow. Besides, this isn't even my car. It's my moms." He rolled his eyes and began mocking Max while simultaneously pulling her across the bench of a front seat. "And I need to get a job so I can start saving for my own car and college and a house and retirement and my own funeral and blah blah blah..."
"So what if I worry about the future? You act like you have your whole life figured out. I'm just smart enough to admit that I don't."
Lucas shrugged. "I don't, either. Just the important part," he told her, placing a kiss on her nose before her lips.
"Okay, that was insanely cheesy," she teased when he pulled away.
"But it's true," he told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her.
And he was right. Sure, they were young, but it was impossible for them to picture a life where they did not have each other.
…
MAY 1987
The rain rolled in with spring as it so often did in Hawkins, Indiana. It was the days when it poured down the hardest that Lucas and Max were perfectly content to just be.
They snuggled close in Lucas' bed, resting their bones and finding comfort in each other's presence as they listened to muffled patter of rain on the windows.
"Your hands are so much bigger than mine," she whispered to him as she lined up their palms and noted the way her fingertips just barely reached his second knuckles. "Like, they're actually gigantic."
"Maybe yours are just abnormally small," he challenged, moving to slip his fingers between hers.
"Yeah, we'll go with that," Max laughed softly as she watched Lucas bring the back of her hand to his lips.
She buried her face where she fit nicely against his chest as he placed kisses on each of her knuckles. "You're so warm," she sighed contently.
Lucas could not help but smile to himself. Moments like this were one of the things he loved most about Max Mayfield. She showed him sides of her that no one got to see. Otherwise, he never would have guessed that someone so tough and snarky liked cuddles and soft kisses and warm blankets. That someone who seemed to not to care about anything got worked up about the future and held a special place in her heart for dogs. That someone who lived in a home built on toxic relationships could love and be loved so deeply.
And it was not just her. She brought out parts of Lucas that he had never known existed, but at the same time he felt entirely himself with her. He was never quite sure how or why. All he knew was that he liked who he was when Max was around, and he hoped she felt the same, too.
As he began nodding off, he realized that this was his happy place. That was until the sound of tinny voices coming through the radio penetrated the moment's blissful bubble. "Guys, it's Dustin. Does anyone copy? Over."
"Ugh," Lucas groaned.
"I can't believe you still use those things," mumbled Max, her words muffled against his shirt.
"Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?" asked Dustin through the walkie talkie.
"They were the coolest things when we were, like, twelve, but now they're just kind of…"
"Mike copies. Over."
"Annoying?" Max suggested.
"Annoying." Lucas finished at the same time.
"Will copies. El's here, too. Over."
With a long sigh, Lucas kissed the top of Max's head before untangling himself from her and rolling out of bed.
"Lucas, are you there? Over."
"I was comfy," Max complained as Lucas left toward the Supercomm on his desk.
"I guess we can tell him later, but you'll never believe what I found. I was searching through old -"
Lucas interrupted Dustin's voice by switching the radio off.
"They won't be pissed at you?" Max asked, now sitting up in bed.
"He said he'll tell me later," Lucas shrugged it off as he made his way back over to her. "Besides, we're busy."
"Busy doing nothing?" she asked, smiling Lucas' favorite smile as he climbed back into bed, pulling her down next to him.
"Exactly."
He kissed her a few times before burying his face where he fit nicely in the curve between her neck and shoulder.
"You're warm, too," he murmured into her skin, perfectly content to just be once again.
A/N: Hi, everyone! I'd like to quickly say thank you to everyone who has joined me so far on this little curiosity voyage, whether you've followed, favorited, or just stopped by to read. I have so many different ideas (some fluffy and some more dramatic) for this story so I hope you all stick around and continue to enjoy!
Also, a big thank you to Movie Riggs, carrymehome, SSJGamerYT, iAmCC, and EggosCookieCats for making me smile with all of your reviews on the first chapter! I'm so happy you're liking the story so far.
