Summary: Max thinks about places that are important to her.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters.
Max stared at the blank page.
Places Important to Me
Tapping her pencil on the page, she looked at her bulletin board full of pictures.
They were all set in places that were important to her.
Having a sudden burst of inspiration, Max started to write.
1. California Home
The old house was where she lived for the first 11 years of her life.
That was the house where her friends always came over, watching her do tricks on her skateboard.
That was the house that her family had Friday Family Movie Night.
That was the house where her parents had gotten a divorce.
It was the home where Max was taught that families weren't perfect. At all.
2. The Beach
Next to her old house, there was a small hidden alcove of a beach.
Her parents and her always built a sandcastle every time they went.
She learned to surf at that beach.
Even when they moved in with Neil and Billy, Max loved going to beach near their house, feeling the wind and water splash against her face as she surfed.
Before they moved to Hawkins, Max and her mom spent an entire day at the alcove beach.
The beach was where Max first felt free.
3. Skate Park
Max loved skating ever since that one summer they weren't allowed to surf for a month or so due to something with the waves.
Max had been so disappointed, but her dad had a solution.
He took her to the skate park and handed her the skateboard.
"Fly Max." He had said.
So, she did.
The skate park was the first place Max had learned how to fly.
4. Arcade
The first time she played Dig Dug, she had just found out that her parents were getting a divorce.
She fell in love instantly.
She loved getting lost in the game.
It kept her mind off things.
The arcade was the first place Max went to forget the real world.
5. Lucas's House
The first time Max was at Lucas's house, it was a few weeks after the Snowball.
Max met Lucas's whole family that night.
It made her jealous at first.
Why couldn't her family be that kind to one another?
Why couldn't the sibling banter back and forth between Erica and Lucas be like Billy and Max?
Soon though she learned just to appreciate it.
Because if she couldn't have that in her home, why not enjoy it at others?
Lucas's house was the first place Max learned to appreciate certain things more.
6. Mike's House
The Wheelers was the hang out place of the Party.
It was the house that they had so many laughs in.
It was the house she went to after her first visit with Vecna and the familiar basement comforted her.
Two weeks after her first experience with the Upside Down, the Party had a game night and had included Max in it.
Mike's house was the first place where Max felt accepted by her friends.
7. The Byers
The Byers house was where she took down Billy, stopping him from killing Steve.
The Byers was where they had Party dinner, talking and laughing, acting like normal kids for once.
The Byers was she spent most of her recovery time at, warmth bouncing off the walls.
The Byers was where Max felt first at home in Hawkins.
8. Steve's House
Steve's was where she went to after she got out of the hospital.
It was where a lot of sobbing happened.
It was where she had run to when Billy had gotten a too scary for her.
It was where Steve made sure she had everything she needed.
Steve's house was where Max first learned what big brother was actually supposed to be like.
Max put her pencil down and ran her hand over her face.
On her English Heart Map, Max had put home.
But she didn't mean this crappy old trailer, she meant all of these places.
2 down, 4 to go.
AN: I hope you liked it! Next up, Max's important experiences.