Hello everyone! Sorry about the wait for this chapter, I've been pretty busy with school last couple days. Advanced physics class is a bitch... I cranked this chapter out, just to fill the gap. If any of you read chapter 4, I believe it was, the alcohol night is coming up soon, I have some fun stuff planned out for that chapter. Coming soon, probably. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one, and my apologies for the wait.

LovelyInLavander: Thank you so much! I've been working hard on it. We're getting a lot of those cloudy fall days, aren't we?

sarahlucylu: Thank you! I am trying to focus on developing the characters and relationships. Bringing this story to life is one of my main goals here.

strangerthingslover13: Thank you! El is a complex character with a lot of emotion. I'm trying to capture that as much as possible.

Bruh: You got it, chief :)

Luna0603: I'm glad you felt the emotion like I did! I'm a big fan of your work on this site, Tied Together with a Smile is something that I'm enjoying. You guys check Luna out too!

39CluesStrangerThings-Star: I loved those parts too! Those were two moments that I knew i wanted to have when I started to write this story.

Jean Sumnerland: Thank you :)

Juliak: No problem! Keep reading!

With a great amount of effort, Joyce and El had been able to get the furniture into the truck and into the house. When they had gotten to the house, Jonathan and Will had both ran out, telling them how insane they were for moving it themselves and not with their help.

The two of them had insisted that it had been easy, but in truth, it had been quite difficult. But it was a bonding experience for both of them; El now felt a lot more close to Joyce. There was a familial connection growing, she could feel it. And she was thankful for it.

El was now eating dinner with Will, Jonathan, and Joyce. They were dining on a simple meal, but a good one. She enjoyed the home-cooked meal, Hopper was not one to make homemade food usually. She was eating mashed potatoes, peas and chicken.

While chewing her food, she found that Will and Jonathan were acting strange. They were barely talking, poking their food. And kept sharing knowing glances with one another, like they knew a secret that she didn't.

Like they were hiding something.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, looking at the brothers.

Jonathan coughed suddenly into his glass of milk. Will looked up, surprised by the question. "What?"

"You guys seem… upset," she said.

They didn't answer for a moment, but then Will spoke to her. "No, I'm okay."

"Yeah, I'm good. Just tired, is all," Jonathan agreed. Joyce looked concerned but did not say anything. El was getting a lot of weird vibes from all of them, if she was honest; like they were hiding something from her. She was growing frustrated. But she did not want to say anything; it was her first actual dinner with her new family, and she was not going to burden them already. She finished her last bite of food and asked to be excused. Joyce nodded, and she went to the kitchen and rinsed off her plate and left it in the sink. She left for her room and closed the door when she got there.

With her hand.

She was still adjusting to operating without her powers. Doing something as simple as closing a door was always something she did with her mind. Now she had to make a physical effort to do anything, and it was quite annoying.

El laid on her bed on top of the covers and closed her eyes, and let her thoughts consume her body. No matter how hard she tried, she could not shake the feeling that everywhere she went, something was being hid from her. She had sensed it when she arrived at Mike's house that day from Max's and heard the guys arguing about something. Mike had said, it's better that she moves on, or something like that. Had he been talking about her? He had gotten really squirrelly when she entered the room, after all.

Then Jonathan and Will, and even Joyce were acting like something was wrong. Like something was happening that they knew about, but she did not. It was making her really frustrated. People were always treating her like a child; no one understood that she was no longer the scared, mute, ignorant, little girl they had found in the woods. She was now a teenager, with her own thoughts and feelings, with a future. A future where she could go to school and learn; a future where she could grow up and get a job and be successful; a future with Mike.

People underestimated how far she had come in the last one and a half years. She had spent so, so, so many hours in Hopper's cabin, alone with nothing but the television and books and homework had left her. She knew about math, and english, and science. She understood most social queues and concepts, and although she still was not perfectly fluent in speaking, she understood everything everybody said, and understood everything that she read. She knew when people were treating her like she was stupid, or something. The only people who she had ever felt completely comfortable with to talk to, were Mike and Hopper. They never treated her differently. They never acted like she was a child. They never gave her special treatment. They treated her like a regular person.

Even with the rest of the Party she still felt awkward at times with. Will, Dustin, and Lucas were her great friends, but they simply weren't at the same level as Mike. Additionally, she had broken down a lot of barriers with Max in the last week, but she still was not quite at the level she held Mike and Hopper to. They were the most important people in her life.

She was feeling lost; she had been for the last few days. And it didn't help that she felt like everyone was lying to her.

That was the last thing she remembered thinking before she drifted to sleep.


Max woke up suddenly, in a sweat. Her chest was heaving, and her eyes were wide open. She turned her head to look at the digital clock, and read 3:30am. She cussed under her breath and flopped back into her makeshift bed next to Lucas. They had fallen asleep while watching a movie together on the couch; there legs were stretched out on the footrests, and Lucas's arm was flung lazily around her shoulders.

She was vividly aware of what had woken her up; it had been a nightmare. An exact repetition of what had happened on the night of the fourth. When she had run into the food court and seen Billy standing in between El and the Mindflayer; as soon as that final tentacle had punctured his chest, she had jolted back to reality, fighting terrified tears. It was not the first time she had woken up like this. Almost every night she was having flashbacks, seeing Billy in the sauna, or choking El, or getting stabbed, or the cabin being torn apart.

It was all too much.

"You okay?" Max whipped her head sideways, and saw a half-awake Lucas staring at her, his eyes semi-closed. "Why are you awake?"

"Nightmare," she replied, setting back down and cuddling close to him.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"Not really."

"Okay," he said, nodding. "That's okay."

A comfortable silence followed, their breathing in sync. Max sighed. "It's been every night, I've woken up because of something. I can't seem to get it out of my mind."

"Me neither," Lucas responded.

"You've had nightmares too?" Max asked, surprised.

"What?" Lucas chuckled. "Just 'cause I'm a guy means I can't have bad dreams?"

"No, no," Max said, retracing her steps quickly. She didn't want him to get that impression from her. "It's not that. Why haven't you told me? Why haven't I noticed?"

Lucas shrugged. "It's not important. You're all that matters right now. You're the one who's ran away from home. Your the one who's lost someone important. I'm doing fine," he reasoned. "My only priority is you right now, Max."

Touched by his words, Max leaned in and gave him a gentle and sweet kiss; brief but full of meaning and love. "You're amazing," she whispered, resting her head on his stomach. Lucas merely smiled in response.

"I don't mean to press, or anything, but aren't you worried about your parents? That the police are going to be looking for you, or something?"

Max grunted, clearly not bothered by this situation. "I don't care," she sad dryly."They can go fuck themselves. If the cops have to drag me back there, so be it."

"Damn," Lucas smirked at her. "Okay, Madmax."

"All I know is, when I get back, I really hope things are better with Neil. If I was my Mom, I would divorce his ass."

"Yeah, but sometimes things aren't that simple, Max," he pointed out. "If they were, don't you think you Mom would have done that a while ago?"

"I don't fucking know, I just want him gone," Max broke down suddenly, tears exploding from her face, and then she was burying her head into Lucas's armpit and her whole body was shaking.

Oh shit. Do something, Lucas! "Hey, hey, shhh, it's okay," he started saying to her, hugging her and kissing the top of her head. "Shhh, it's fine, you're okay. It's okay, everything will be fine, I promise."

"What's wrong with me?" Max sobbed.

"Nothing is wrong with, baby," Lucas consoled. His eyes widened suddenly. Had he just called Max "baby"? Oh Jesus, he had never called her that before. He hoped that she wasn't too weirded out by it.

Max looked at him, smirking. "Did you just call me that?"

"Ummmm…" Lucas trailed off, his eyes darting around the room, trying to look anywhere but at her. "Yeah? I guess so…"

"You're sweet," she gushed, and then leaned into him again. "Thank you so much for being such an amazing boyfriend. I don't deserve you."

"Don't say that," Lucas protested.

"It's true," she insisted. "I can't even count in my head how many times I broke up with you since we started going out, over stupid shit."

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago. Things are different now, right? I know you know that. I don't care about what happened in the past. All I want to do is be with you right now." Lucas was looking her dead in the eye, still caressing her shoulders. Max could tell just by meeting his gaze that every word he spoke was the complete and utter truth.

Max couldn't help it. She knew she was in the middle of crying, and not even a couple minutes ago she was sobbing uncontrollably into him, but now all of that sadness was fading away. Just talking to him always helped her; it was like words had healing properties or something. Her mouth parted ever-so-slightly, and she looked at him.

Lucas knew what she was thinking, and in an instant they lunged at one another and met in the middle, their mouths meeting in a moment of pure heaven for both of them. Max was feeling animalistic, and she took charge immediately and pushed Lucas down onto the couch. His back connected with the backrest and she shifted herself into his lap, straddling his hips. Diving into his neck, she sucked and licked his skin furiously. He groaned and reached his hands upwards and cupped her breasts through her shirt, only to realize that she was not wearing a bra in her sleepwear.

"God," he sighed, and reached under her shirt and moved his hands up her belly and toward her chest. They found their mark on right on the mounds, and his thumbs flicked over her nipples. She groaned into his mouth, and he could feel himself getting more and more turned on by the second. They hadn't done anything like this for a while, mainly because Max just hadn't been in the mood or the house was too busy; but it was the middle of the night, and she needed to be close to him like this, badly.

Lucas directed himself sideways so they were lying along the length of the couch, and now Max was completely on top of him, grinding her hips against his lower body, feeling his hardness beneath her. It was utter paradise, and after not doing it for so long. The hormones were raging and the desire was building. But no; she was not going to take that step. She didn't want to have sex with him, not yet. She wanted to wait till she was at least fifteen.

Her fingertips found refuge under the waistband of the boxers he had been sleeping in, and she slid her fingers underneath carefully. Then she felt him, and she almost felt herself about to explode. She needed to thank him for all that he had done for her. She wanted to thank him.

"Max, you don't have to-" Lucas began, looking down at her.

"Shhh," Max shushed him, crawling back up to his head and kissing his lips. "I want to. I'm sure."

Lucas contemplated this in his mind. He wasn't going to argue with her, because that would just make her more mad. If there was one thing he had learned during his time with Max, it was that no matter what the context or circumstances were, she always spoke her mind, and anyone who wanted to question her would meet her wrath. So if she wanted to do this, he knew that she was going to do it.

"Okay," he replied and gave her a thankful kiss.

He watched her slide back down his body, pulling the bottom of his shirt up slightly, revealing his toned stomach. She knew Lucas had been working out a lot lately, and it was definitely showing; he was definitely the strongest out of all the boys. He had seen that during their stupid boy antics; playfighing, armwrestling, whatever.

She pulled his pants down his thighs, followed by hix boxers, and his erection immediately sprang out.

"Fuck," Max sighed, already feeling herself getting wet at the site of it. Not wasting any time, she took him into her mouth, sealing her lips tightly around the shaft. Lucas groaned and gently placed one of his hands on the back of her head, and giving the slightest push downward. His eagerness made her proud, knowing she was doing a good job.

She went down his dick as far as she could go without gagging, which was a little bit farther than halfway, and then pulled back slowly, looking up to make eye contact with him while she did so. She made it her goal that at some point in the future, she would be able to take him all the way into her mouth.

"Jesus Christ," Lucas said through gritted teeth when she flicked her tongue over the head while jerking him off at the same time. He dared to look down, and saw her place one hand on either of his thighs, and started to vigorously bob her head up and down, all while maintaining a vacuum-like seal on his dick. She wasn't even using any of her hands, it was so fucking hot.

Lucas knew that he wouldn't last long; the sensation of it combined with the site of Max taking him so hard was going to push him over in seconds. "Fuck, I'm close, keep going."

She hummed contentedly, sending vibrations all around his member. And then all at once he tensed and reached the breaking point and exploded. "Oh, God," he squeezed her hair in one of his heads and the bedsheets in the other, and squeezed his eyes shut; his body was to overstimulated to even open them.

And then he reached his climax; fireworks exploded in his mind as his dick pulsated in her mouth, shooting jet after jet of cum into her mouth. It was the best feeling he had ever experienced, and it always would be.

When it was finally over, she drew back slowly, leaving no semen behind. With a smirk, she got up and went to the bathroom, letting Lucas lie there, in utter heaven. He took that moment to close his eyes and thank the heavens for this amazing girl in his life. And he made a vow to himself, that no matter what, he would always be there for her, and protect her, and be with her.


No matter what.

"How much do we have?"

"A fuck ton," Steve replied, slamming down two huge cases of beer onto the dining table. "And we have whiskey and vodka in my car."

"This is going to be amazing," Robin gushed. "I'm so excited."

"I just can't wait to see El drunk," Dustin laughed. "Can I try one now, Steve?"

Steve bit his lip. One couldn't hurt, he supposed. "Yeah, go for it, Henderson," he grinned.

"Tell me what you think of it."

"Holy shit," Dustin beamed. "This is gonna sweet."

"Your first beer is always your worst," Steve advised. "I remember my first in ninth grade. It tasted awful."

"Mm-hm," Dustin replied, not really paying attention to him as he popped the tab of

the can. He leaned back in his seat and took a careful sip. His brow furrowed and he licked his lips, as if trying to figure out if he liked it or not.

"Interesting," he pondered. "It has a unique flavour."

"You don't like it, do you?"

"Nope," Dustin said, placing the almost full can back on the table. "I don't get how anyone

can like that."

"Oh, well," Steve said with a shit-eating grin. "I guess your little taste buds just can't appreciate the taste. It takes a certain level of…" he paused, and made a waving gesture with his hand as if he was thinking. "Sophistication."

"Shut the fuck up," Dustin stuck his finger up at Steve, who just laughed. "You're as sophisticated as a tablespoon."

"Uh-huh," Steve nodded sarcastically. "I'll bet you the other guys could have more than you could."

"You wanna bet on that?"

"Five bucks you can't shotgun that entire can, Henderson."

"You're on, Harrington!" Dustin shot back, and grabbed the can and tilted his head right

back. He started to drink the contents of the can, not holding back. His throat flexed and unflexed repeatedly, ripping through the liquid quickly.

"You can do it, strange child," Robin encouraged, in between sips of her drink. Steve shook his head, still not convinced.

But he was surprised when Dustin burped loudly and slammed the hollow can down on the table. "There we go," he shouted. "My testosterone is flying right now!"

"Calm down," Steve said sourly. "You balls haven't even dropped yet."

"Balls or not, you owe me five dollars."

"Yeah, yeah," Steve pulled a crumpled five dollar bill out of his pocket. "Enjoy your money, dickhead."

"Thanks for the gift," Dustin mocked him, waving the bill around before stretching it in his hands and planting a kiss on it.

"You guys are unbelievably stupid," Robin chastisted them. "Boys, indeed."

"Get me another!" Dustin yelled. "I'll show you who has sophisticated taste buds."

Steve placed a second can in front of Dustin. "Knock yourself out," he said. "You want a second round, Robin?"

"Sure," she replied, holding out her hand, accepting the second drink. She glanced up, enjoying the cool night air by Steve's pool. This had become one of her favourite places to relax; she and Steve had been spending a lot of time together recently, and the patio was an incredibly nice place. The furniture was comfortable and the pool was still and illuminated. The forest facing the back of the property brought an eerie yet calming, bringing a face of nature into the world for her.

"When are we gonna invite the rest of the dinguses?"

"I don't know, probably later this week when my parents are out," Steve replied. "And when we both have a day off from work." Robin nodded.

"It's gonna be a fun night."

There we go. Another chapter done. I hope it was a good read. Remember to leave a review, the feedback on last chapter was amazing, I love you guys so much. And if you're enjoying this story, give a follow! I have a lot more to do here :)