Stranger Things: Rebuilding
Chapter 13 of my Stranger Things story, enjoy.
Reviews
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks and yeah, very true.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
JaynetheFawn: Thanks and yeah, she is, well, to be honest, it's more a hint that what she's doing is really an act.
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things or its characters.
No Easy Answers
El was lost in thought as she entered school the next day. Her mind was on yesterday, the time she had spent with Max.
'It was fun yeah, but Max was acting a little strange…' She wondered to herself.
The two girls had fun, hanging out at the arcade, with Max showing her how she easily won at the games and even got the highest scores on each game. Yet the whole time, she had noticed that Max was distracted, there was something bothering her, at least twice she looked like she was going to say something only to change her mind.
El was a little worried. 'This isn't like her...something's bothering her, I wish she'd just tell me. Maybe I could help her and even if not, it might help for her to just share things.'
She was still thinking about Max but put on her best smile as she reached the bike rack where the boys had just parked their bikes.
"Morning." She greeted them all cheerfully.
They all turned and smiled at her.
"Hi El." Will greeted her first.
The other boys all greeted her, El couldn't help but notice a strange flicker in Mike's eyes. She felt a strange feeling in her stomach and tried to ignore it. It reminded her of that strange dream, which confused her even more.
Despite this strangeness occurring around Mike, she didn't want it to affect things between them, but she wondered about that strange flicker in his eyes. It was then they heard the familiar sound of Max's approach as she came up on her skateboard.
El smiled lightly. "Morning."
"Well, morning to you too El." Max replied as she stopped. "And good morning to you too boys, I guess."
They just smirked and began to chat as they headed into the school. As they walked however, El glanced at Max again and noticed she was once more distracted.
'I've got to get to the bottom of this.' She decided.
She glanced at the boys and decided it was best to this in private.
"Max." She said, getting the redhead's attention. "Could I talk to you for a minute, alone?"
She nodded. "Oh sure."
The boys watched them go worriedly, but said nothing. Soon the girls were alone and El took her chance.
Turning to face her friend she spoke up. "Max, what's wrong?"
"Huh, what are you-?"
"You've been acting like this since yesterday, I saw you were worked up. I didn't know what to think but now I'm getting worried." El explained gently. "You can trust me, it's just us now, so please, tell me what's bothering you?"
Max bit her lip, looking rather awkward.
Finally, after a moment, she took a shaky breath.
"I...El I don't know what to do." Max blurted out. "I'm, I feel so strange lately and, and I…"
El tensed, worried. "Are you...does it hurt or-"
"No it just feels...I don't know, warm and fuzzy and that's just, so weird." Max explained. "It's also not me, you know. You know what I'm like…"
"Are you saying...you might be in love?" El wondered.
Max flushed bright red, even redder than her hair. "El, don't say that, oh man…"
El laughed gently. "Max, there's nothing wrong with that. You know that even I am, well...things are kinda messed up for me right now...it's complicated."
"Huh...okay. I guess you're right." Max admitted, calming down.
"So, who is it?"
Max blushed again and looked around, making sure they weren't being heard. She answered, but it was a mumble.
"Sorry?" El queried.
Max groaned and then spoke more clearly. "It's Lucas."
"Wow, Max, that's...that's great." El burst out, grinning.
"El...shhh, I don't want to-I don't even know what to say to him and-" Max stammered.
El calmed down, nodding. "I get it, I wish I could help but, well…"
"Yeah, you said, complicated." Max confirmed.
Still, El grinned, she really hoped Max could overcome her awkwardness, she had to admit, she felt Max and Lucas would make a cute couple.
Meanwhile, as the boys had stopped to check on things in the AV room at the school, as they did so, they shared a look. This time it wasn't Mike however that was the centre of their looks, it was Lucas.
"So, Lucas, what's up with you lately?" Dustin asked casually.
Lucas looked up, startled. "Huh, what?"
Dustin smiled lightly. "You've been acting kinda strange, kinda awkward...Looks like you're in love or something."
"Guys-?"
Will shook his head. "Dude, we're just curious. Although you should tone things down Dustin, we're just asking."
Mike bit his lip, just hearing that Lucas might be in love was a painful subject for him, his problems regarding his feelings for El while she clearly was in love with Eric. But he still wanted to support his friend.
So he spoke up. "Lucas, we're all friends here. We're just trying to help, if there is anything you want to tell us-?"
"Urgh, you guys." Lucas muttered. "Alright, fine, I...truthfully, yes, I do have feelings for someone. But it's awkward and I'm not…"
He saw the looks they were giving him and sighed in frustration.
"It's Max, okay."
"Max?"
He nodded and waited for the teasing, but it never came, instead, just as they reassured him, they began offering their support and even encouragement, something to give him hope.
Later in the day, Mike found himself walking down one of the school corridors alone. He paused as he noted he was next to the music room. He bit his lip, remembering the teacher's offer. His mind then went back to last night, where his parents had got into yet another argument, leading to him once more protecting Holly. Once again the argument had been about him and he was getting sick of it.
'It doesn't matter what I do...I'll never be good enough for dad.' He reflected. 'So why not just do something that I actually want to do, that I'm interested in?'
With that thought he made up his mind and entered the music room.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.