"A friend is someone that you'd do anything for. You lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards. And they never break a promise."
Stranger Things ~ The Duffer Brothers
JUNE 1985
HAWKINS POLICE STATION
Hop wasn't mad at El for cutting her hair, rather he was more upset that she hadn't called him when she started spiralling. "It's you and me kid." He'd said later that night, poking his head into her room and tucking her in despite her protests that she was too old for that. He'd even made eggos for dinner to try and make her feel better and in return she'd told him all about Billy and his gang. He'd gotten angry then, not at her but it was still frightening. Hop had ranted and raved about the gang, growling dangerously and threatening the whole Hargrove family. He didn't want to leave her on her own the next day so insisted she come into work with him.
So that was why El was outside the Hawkins police department with a special ordered coffee for Hop when she ran into Max, quite literally. The redhead swore loudly as she grabbed onto the brunette to catch herself and almost upset the hot coffee everywhere. Her skateboard continued on gliding down the road even though its occupant was now flailing wildly to maintain her balance on solid ground. El got a mouth full of hair and automatically tried to spit it out but she only succeeded in inhaling more. "Sorry! Shit I'm sorry." Max finally found her footing and sprang away from El like she'd been burnt, sweeping her long tresses behind her and allowing El to breath again. El curled a finger through her own locks self consciously. Hop had called it bitchin, not pretty.
Max tried to apologise again since usually about now they'd start squawking and hurling slurs at her. To her surprise she was met with only silence except for the occasional gag and when she took a closer look at the girl she'd almost flattened she recognised the familiar face. "El?" She exclaimed, a large grin blooming. El smiled shyly back whilst covertly pulling ginger strands off of her tongue. Max noticed anyway and laughed. "Sorry." She repeated, although this time much more cheerfully. "Your hair?" She said, reaching out to touch it before realising what she was doing and awkwardly dropping her arm back to her side. El blushed, expecting the insults however she was pleasantly wrong. "It's cute." Max complimented, tilting her head to the side. "And it suits you better." She added. Something warm fluttered in El's chest. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Max gestured to the precinct in front of them curiously.
"Hop." El replied, lifting up the coffee cup. Max pulled a face.
"Sorry. He's your dad isn't he? That sucks to be stuck here all day." El shrugged.
"Better than being alone." She said and Max grinned.
"Sure." She agreed. "Although I've just had an awesome idea, why don't you come hang out with me? You won't be alone then." El frowned.
"I hang out with you?" She asked. When Max nodded El glanced towards the station contemplatively. "I have to ask Hop." She said firmly but Max merely rolled her eyes.
"Ok, fine. But please come 'cuz otherwise I'm stuck on my own with a bunch of lame ass boys. I need girl backup." She pleaded and El's lips twitched.
"Hop won't allow boys." She said.
"So don't tell him." Max replied as if the answer was obvious. El frowned again but relented at Max's puppy dog eyes. They weren't the slightest bit good but it was ridiculously endearing to watch her try. El smothered a giggle.
"Come in with me." She said but Max shook her head.
"Uh no thanks. Sorry but cops and I don't mix." She scrunched up her nose and then, as if realising what she'd said might dissuade El, she hastily added "But don't worry I'm totally responsible, it's more a family thing really. Besides I've gotta rescue my board." She jerked her thumb towards the red skateboard that had tootled to a stop under an officer's car. El wasn't happy but she nodded anyway. "Don't worry," Max reassured, "I'll be waiting right here for you." She gave a cheeky thumbs up before darting away to grab her board.
El walked into the office and smiled politely at Flo. The old dear was always doting on her and El hoped she'd be able to help convince Hop to let her go. "You got the coffee alright then deary?" She asked and El held up the still warm cup in response.
"I met a friend." She said and Flo clapped delightedly.
"Oh that's splendid dear." El nodded, a small smile making an appearance on her face.
"She wants to hang out but I have to ask Hop first." Flo hummed in approval.
"There's a good girl." She said. "But if Hopper gives you any trouble you just tell him to see me. A girl ought to be spending her summer with friends, not with her father." El grinned happily, glad she now had the upper hand.
When she entered Hop's office he was smoking a cigarette with his feet propped up on the desk. "Took you long enough." He grumbled when she set the coffee down, reaching out a hand to ruffle her short curls.
"I met a friend." El said. Hopper frowned suspiciously.
"What friend?" He asked.
"A girlfriend." El said, causing Hopper to splutter on his coffee.
"Jeez kid, don't go saying that around here." He warned. It was sad that El didn't even have to ask why.
"She's the one I told you about from school." She said.
"The nutter who signed a piece of paper for you and caused you to crack your Walkman?" El scowled. "Sorry kid, what's her name?"
"Max." El replied surly.
"Don't take that attitude with me kiddo. I don't recall any Max?"
"She's really pretty and nice and she's waiting outside for me." El insisted.
"You've met her like twice." El scowled and Hopper rolled his eyes. "But you said she's waiting outside?" El nodded. "Well then let's go meet this Max shall we?" He went to grab his hat but El shook her head.
"No cops." El said firmly, causing Hopper's eyebrows to raise.
"No cops eh?" Something clicked into place and Hopper's expression darkened. "You remember compromise don't you El? Halfway happy? Yeah, you're not going anywhere until I meet Maxine." El scowled fiercely.
"Not halfway happy." She muttered.
"Tough luck kiddo." Hopper responded, already leading her through the door and out towards the front of the precinct. Flo gave El an encouraging smile.
Outside Max was passing time by doing stupid little tricks on her board, simple things like an ollie and a shuvit. To be honest she wasn't entirely sure why she was trying so hard to get El to come, it just seemed like the right thing to do. She regretted her moment of being a good Samaritan though when she spotted the police chief stomping his way towards her. El was tiny in comparison, tagging along by his elbow. She caught Max's eye and shrugged sheepishly.
Hopper stopped in front of the girl. She was tiny but already her spine was stiffening and she added another two feet of attitude. "Maxine." He growled. Something dark flashed through her eyes.
"Chief." She replied mockingly. El groaned and buried her head in her hands. The two ignored her.
"Whatever tricks you're up to you leave my daughter out of it. Understand Hargrove?"
"It's Mayfield actually."
"Don't think you're pulling the wool over my eyes, apples never fall far from their trees."
"Good thing I'm from a different tree then isn't it chief?" Max quipped. It took him aback. Now he thought about it the only close resemblance to the Hargrove males was the stubborn set of her jaw and the shadows behind her eyes. He grunted and Max smirked.
"I've heard things about you Mayfield."
"...All good I presume." Was her delayed response, a little taken aback by the correct use of her last name.
"Only from my daughter. There are worse things I hear floating around."
"It's a good thing you don't take too much stock in rumours then isn't it? Or else you'd be a crappy cop." She said and he huffed out what might have been a laugh, a grudging respect growing. El looked up hopefully.
"What do you plan on doing then?" He asked, still hesitant to let El go. Max rolled her eyes.
"Strip naked and join the potheads at the junkyard." Max deadpanned. El groaned whilst Hopper rose a few shades in colour, although it was more in anger than embarrassment. "Relax chief, seriously if there's anyone that I wouldn't mess about it's the chief of police's daughter. We're just gonna go to the quarry and chill." Hopper wasn't convinced but relented at El tugging on his arm.
"Please?" She asked, her doe eyes far more effective than Max's. Hopper heaved a heavy sigh and scratched at the stubble on his chin.
"Fine. Go to the quarry but I want you back by seven."
"Nine." El bargained.
"Eight." Max chimed in, smiling angelically in response to Hopper's scowl.
"No way, think of the curfew. Seven on the dot, not a second later understood?" El pouted but threw her arms around him anyway. He stumbled slightly in surprise. "Ok kiddo." He said gruffly, his eyes softening as he returned the hug. "Be careful ok? And don't try any funny business Mayfield or else I will haul your ass into lockup." Max mockingly saluted him as she and El took off running down the road, their hands linked together and giggling like preschoolers.
THE QUARRY
The greenish blue water of the quarry looked very far away from where the boys stood on top of the cliff. All four of them were there, including Will with a small white bandage. They'd stripped down to their underwear/swim trunks but Lucas was the only one who stood confidently. The others were either hunched over or had their arms wrapped around themselves. Dustin was slightly pudgy around the middle whereas Will was as thin as a rake, his ribs sticking out prominently. Mike was just gangly, his lanky limbs causing him to look like some sort of noodle-spider.
"So who's going first?" Lucas asked. As one they all leaned over the edge to look at the flat water. The sun bounced off of it harshly making it look very solid. Mike nudged Lucas forward but he shook him off, both skittering away from the edge as they shoved each other. Meanwhile the two girls had snuck up from behind. They'd stopped on the way so El could change into Max's swimsuit (Max insisting that she was comfortable in her underwear) which had caused the girls to snicker like fools as they tried to hide El in the bushes. Now they watched the boys antics bemusedly.
"I'll go!" Max called out, almost laughing as all four heads whipped around. El hovered nervously at her side whilst Max dropped her skateboard to the ground and slung her bag down next to it. Her shirt was up and over her head within seconds and her shorts joined the pile very soon after. She gave El a reassuring grin before kicking off her trainers and racing for the edge, shooting past the boys and taking a flying leap off of the cliff. Her legs and arms windmilled for a second in the air like a cartoon before gravity took a hold. "SISSIES!" She cried out as she plummeted towards the water.
"What the fuck!" Mike yelled as they all hurried to the edge and crowded around the lip of stone she'd just launched off of. El had her mouth wide open in horror as she craned her neck to see if the crazy red head had made it safely.
Little did they know that Max had been cliff jumping, or tomb-stoning as the locals called it, since she was a little girl back in Cali. Her dad's voice came into her head, reminding her to angle just steeper than 45 degrees to avoid the stinging lash as she broke the water's surface. Quarry water is very different from sea water Max thought idly as she sank into the murky depths. For one when she opened her eyes the water didn't carry the usual sting of salt and for another it was almost oppressive in its silence. She also had to work harder to kick back up to the surface since she didn't have the waves nor the salt to help buoy her along.
"We just got shown up by a girl!" Dustin complained. "Oh, uh sorry." He said, catching El's scowl. "Who're you anyway?" Mike slapped Dustin's shoulder.
"Dude!" He hissed but got no further as Max's exhilarated whoop echoed up to them from below. They all watched her surface, a mere smudge some fifteen feet below.
"Do we have to do that now?" Will asked, watching the red head waving at them. Lucas, never one to back down from a challenge, only grinned as he took a couple steps back before propelling himself over the edge and shrieking as he plunged into the quarry. Dustin seemed to take Lucas's jump as personal offence and puffed himself up before following right behind him, although his screams were a tad more manly. Hell even Will managed to take the leap after a moments hesitation, his eyes screwed tight shut as he soared over the edge whilst muttering every prayer he knew. All too soon it was just Mike and El.
El slipped out of her flannel and shorts until she stood in Max's one-piece swimsuit. It fit awkwardly since Max was slightly bustier but smaller in height. Mike tried not to stare, becoming even more self conscious. "You ok?" He asked since she was shaking. El nodded, not really trusting herself to speak as her fingers trembled violently and her knees knocked together the closer she got to the edge. Mike's smile was strained as he too crept closer to the lip of rock. "Y'know we don't have to jump." He said and El looked at him curiously. "We could always take the path down there and meet them at the bottom." He pointed to a cluster of shrubs concealing a narrow path and El pondered it for a moment. Although tempting as it seemed she ended up shaking her head.
"They did it." She said, gesturing to their friends splashing about.
"Well yeah but they're wastoids." Mike said.
"Wastoids?"
"Uh yeah, basically they're idiots."
"Max isn't stupid." El defended, feeling protective over her first friend. Mike rolled his eyes.
"Ok they're not dumb but they're idiots in a y'know lovable way." Mike tried to explain, floundering over his words. El still didn't understand but she nodded along anyway. "So are we going down the path?" Mike asked and El peered over the edge again. The others had stopped playing and were evidently waiting for the other two. El fixated her gaze on Max as she faintly heard the other girl chanting her name encouragingly.
"No." She said determinedly. Mike heaved a long suffering sigh.
"Fine. Together then?" He held out his hand and as El curled her toes over the rock she felt such an onrush of dizziness that she gratefully clutched onto him. He was just as nervous as she was, if not more so, but nodded encouragingly as they both stepped back together before running forwards and launching themselves over the edge. Mike's strides were longer than hers so he flew further out, their hands breaking apart mid air.
For a moment everything was weightless and then dread seemed to anchor her to the world and hurtle her towards the water. Excitement flew to her head and her stomach swooped in a jubilant combination of fear and freedom. The reckless feeling ripped a holler out of her mouth as she sank into the water and became submerged in the green water world.
When she came up for air she once again found herself suffocating on ginger hair as the other girl launched herself at El, cheering in celebration. "That was awesome El!" She cried, splashing water everywhere as she hugged the other girl. El grinned, her eyes alight with dazed glee. "Wanna do it again?" Max asked to which El vehemently shook her head causing Max to laugh even harder. Both were riding on the waves of the adrenaline and felt giddy with the sheer thrill of it. The rush of falling fifteen feet created a dizzying glow that bounced around everyone, causing huge grins to swell across their faces.
"Max you made it!" Lucas called out and Max let go of El to drift across to him.
"Wow stalker, you only just noticed?" He laughed and slapped the water, splashing her in the face.
"So who's the new girl?" Dustin asked, kicking his way over to them.
"Oh yeah," Max remembered, "guys meet El. El meet the guys. There's Lucas and Will and... uh... wait do I seriously not know your names?" Her brow creased as she tried to recall their names. She knew Will from health class and Lucas from chem but she couldn't for the life of her remember the others. Mike rolled his eyes.
"I'm Mike and this is Dustin." He said, his eyes on El and not Max. Max harrumphed quietly and crossed her arms as El smiled shyly back at him.
Lucas, always the mediator, broke the tension by jumping Max from behind and dunking her underwater. She came up coughing and spitting curses everywhere before tackling him right back and sending both him and Dustin under. A splash fight broke out and quickly escalated into a full on war with every man for themselves. El skittered onto the rocks so she was only submerged up to her waist, using the height advantage to build up bigger momentum for her splashes. Will grabbed her and pulled her off but she toppled into him and they both went under. Max dived deeper and deeper before snaking her hands around Mike's ankles and yanking him down forcefully. His cries became garbled as he was suddenly dragged through the water and abruptly disappeared from the surface. His eyes locked onto Max's mischievous ones before she darted away, twisting fluidly in the water with her hair floating around her. Mike thought that she bore an uncanny resemblance to those devil-like murder mermaids that drowned poor unsuspecting sailors for fun.
"It's so on Mayfield!" He choked out as he resurfaced. "Will come here!" Will didn't get much say as Mike grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer. Lucas caught onto his wavelength and hoisted Max out of the water by her waist.
"Lucas what the hell?" She shrieked.
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Dustin chanted, pumping his fists in the air as he clambered onto El's rock. She joined him, watching curiously as Will sat atop Mike's shoulders and Max on top of Lucas's. Mike and Lucas charged each other, both having moved to the shallower end to avoid another Max tactic, whilst Will and Max yelled fierce war cries. Dustin and El cheered on the side as the two teams met and Max and Will shoved and pushed to try and topple the other one. Mike and Lucas were trying to balance on the uneven rocky bed, the water supporting them whilst their partners wobbled in the air. "WOOH!" Dustin hollered as Will and Max locked arms before Will was able to shake her off and then, whilst she was still unsteady, shoved her hard in the chest to unseat her. She careened backwards just as Mike moved in and body slammed Lucas. The two lost the fight as they toppled backwards into the water and sent up an almighty splash. Mike and Will cheered with victory as they both raised their arms in triumph. El found herself giggling as Lucas and Max reappeared with matching grins before they charged at Mike and took both him and Will down with them.
Later they all returned to the top of the quarry where they lounged around on the rocks and soaked up the sun. El stretched out like a cat next to Max whilst the other girl's stereo blasted Madonna and Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. "This is real music?" El quipped, arching a brow. Max knocked her shoulder playfully.
"Shut up." Was her brilliant comeback. The boys averted their eyes as both girls turned towards them and Max rolled her eyes whilst El blushed.
"What happened to your hair?" Mike said, gesturing to El's shortened locks in an effort to overlook the awkward moment. Unfortunately it put El on the spot and caused her to curl in on herself embarrassed.
"It looks great." Max cut in, sending a glare towards Mike.
"That's what I was going to say." Mike muttered, coaxing a hesitant smile out of El. Annoyed, Max got up and brushed past Lucas and Dustin to plonk herself next to Will. The other two boys had just dived into some sort of argument about X-Men but Will was staring at Mike and El with the same sort of irritation as Max. He looked up startled when she sat next him, fear in his eyes as she huffed. Immediately she softened and attempted a smile.
"How's the wound?" She asked, indicating the fresh bandage since the old one had gotten soggy in the water.
"S'okay." He replied, lifting the edge to show her. It had stopped bleeding and the skin had started to knit itself back together. "Thanks for yesterday by the way, I think it'd be a lot worse if you hadn't helped." He said. Max gave a tight smile but her eyes were on the jagged F sticking out on his stomach. The skin was an angry red and puckered.
"I'm sorry." She said and Will frowned questioningly. "For Billy." She explained. "I'm not like him, I promise." The guilt was crushing her the longer she looked at Will. No doubt it would scar and become a painful reminder of everything wrong in the world. Will's hand covering her own startled her.
"I know." He said. "None of us think that." His eyes were open and his smile was warm but Max felt the weight of Mike's glares, Dustin's suspicion and the chief's anger hanging over her like a guillotine blade waiting to drop. She lowered her eyes and withdrew her hand.
"Max-" Will tried but she interrupted him.
"That'll make a wicked scar." She said, pointing to his injury. He lost his words in confusion, unsure where she was going with it. "You can start building a bad ass reputation." She carried on, giving him a grin that was a little too wide. He smiled weakly in return.
"Not sure there's much hope for that." He joked feebly but Max laughed anyway, perhaps a little too high pitched but her heart was in her mouth as she barrelled on.
"It'll work for sure, I mean it did for me." She confessed, her last statement coming out in a rush. Before she could regret it she hooked a finger under the cotton band of her panties and lifted it up higher over her hip. Will stared in horror at the raised H on her leg. It wasn't slashed cleanly like his but was instead carved roughly, leaving a grisly, lumpy scar. Max coughed nervously, the others still blissfully unaware. She was cursing herself for doing that but she wanted Will to understand that she wasn't like Billy that if anything she was like them, a victim too. The longer he stared the more she regretted it and she let the material slip snugly over it again.
"What's the H for?" Will asked quietly.
"Whore." Max said quickly. "Billy's never been the brightest bulb." She hastily covered. She wasn't about to tell him that it actually stood for Hargrove and was made as a reminder of who she belonged to, Neil's words not hers. Will's eyes were too full of concern for Max's comfort. "What about yours?" She asked.
"Faggot I think, or maybe fairy." Will answered.
"Is it true?" Max asked, genuinely curious. Will stared at her for a second, searching for any malicious intent. He didn't find any and when his eyes met hers again he gave a singular sharp nod. Max let out a huff. "Wow." She muttered and he nodded, his eyes glazing over. "Hey, uh do me a favour and don't mention this to the others." Max said, gesturing to her leg.
"I won't tell if you don't." Will promised, holding his pinky up. Max laughed and curled her finger around his, both swearing each other to secrecy. "It's not easy being in love with the wrong person." He whispered and Max smiled knowingly.
"You're too old." She joked, bumping their shoulders. "You sound like an old wise man." He smiled.
"Who's an old wise man?" Dustin called.
"Will of course." Max called back, rolling her eyes.
"No duh, that's why we call him Will the Wise." Mike said and Will smiled bashfully from next to Max.
Lucas, obviously bored, had pulled out the postcard from El's open knapsack. "Who sent you this?" He called and El shot up so fast he didn't even have time to read it before it was safely in her hands.
"No one." She muttered, catching everyone's attention. She went red to the roots of her hair and commandeered her backpack back off of Lucas, stashing the card at the bottom of the bag.
"What's with all the books?" Dustin asked. "Newsflash but school's out for summer. Wait do home school kids even have summer?" Lucas shook his head at the curly haired boy as Will and Max made their way over.
"I have summer." El confirmed, smiling as Max sat next to her. She eyed the redhead's pile of clothes, more specifically her bag buried beneath them.
"So what's with the history project?" Will asked, pulling out a book entitled Hawkin's History.
"Hawkins is different. I moved a lot with my sister. We went to lots of places but then I come here with Hop and it's not the same. Things happened, bad things." Lucas leaned over Will's shoulder to read the heading in an old black and white photograph. It was dated around 1876 and depicted the fallout of an explosion at the steel works. They shared a look before Will leafed through and found many articles and photographs following the same theme.
"Why all the dead people?" He asked. El shrugged.
"Bad things." She repeated.
"But that's like any other town though right?" Dustin said. "I mean history's basically made up of bad people doing bad things." Lucas snorted.
"You should read the bible." He commented.
"No, El's right." Max said ignoring Lucas. "Hawkins isn't like any other place I've been either. I mean Billy was a dick before back in Cali, but now he's just angry all the time. There's like a bad vibe around here." El nodded.
"People go missing six times the national average." She said, parroting the fact she'd read the other day. "That's just adults. Kids are worse. Way worse." She said solemnly.
"You read that?" Mike asked and she nodded.
"I have more at home." She said.
"Can we see?" Dustin asked but El hesitated. She caught Max's eye and they both shared the same thought of Hopper. Max shook her head.
"Maybe not today guys. We've had enough excitement, besides we've all got curfew soon." Indeed when the boys checked their wrist watches it was already six o'clock. "El and I should probably go but what about tomorrow?" They guys all nodded in agreement and everyone started to pack up ready to go.
Max pulled on her trainers and waited for El to do the same before they waved to the boys and set off amidst a chorus of goodbyes. El handed Max her backpack and skateboard. They split ways, El and Max heading away from town whilst the boys headed towards it. "What happened to your sister?" Max asked as they walked, tucking her skateboard under her arm.
"She's waiting in Chicago." El said.
"Is that what you're gonna do after school then? Go back to Chicago and find her?" El nodded. They carried on in silence for a bit until Max broke it. "I'm gonna go back to California." She said quietly. "I'm gonna try and find my dad, stupid I know since if he wanted me I'd be there." El caught her wrist.
"Not stupid." She said, her eyes boring into Max's with such sincerity that Max couldn't help but believe her.
"Not stupid." She echoed and a small smile crept onto her face. El relaxed, letting go of her wrist and continuing to walk.
"Where is your house?" She asked as they turned onto a small track winding into the forest.
"Oh it's way back there on the other side of town." Max said. "I live on Cherry Tree Lane which is on the south side of town, just off of Mirkwood actually." El frowned.
"What about curfew?" She asked worriedly and Max laughed.
"Screw curfew." She said, sounding much more like herself. "They haven't caught me yet." She winked conspiratorially but El didn't smile, worry gnawed at her gut.
"But the missing people." She insisted.
"Relax El, you worry too much. I'll be fine." She assured. El wasn't convinced but conceded the argument. The continued in companionable silence until they reached the trip wire surrounding the property. El pointed it out to Max before the somewhat clumsy redhead could set it off.
"Careful." She warned and Max rolled her eyes, stepping over it easily. They could see the cabin through the trees, the lights inside glowing welcomingly.
"Guess that means the chief's home." Max said, pausing in the woods. "You think you can make it the rest of the way without me?" She asked smirking and El smiled.
"I'll manage." She said. "Do you know the way home?" She asked, concern creeping into her voice. Max nodded reassuringly. "Max-" She called out as the redhead turned to leave but hesitated when she met her eyes.
"Yeah?"
"Uh nothing. Have a goodnight." She finished lamely as Max waved her off.
"You too." The other girl called as she disappeared into the trees. All the way up to the cabin porch El was expecting to hear the trip wire go off. It didn't and El allowed herself to entertain the possibility of Max coming to visit her more often.
© ELIXB | 2020