Sorry for the late upload, I had an exam to study for! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Mike and Lucas walked Max and Jane to the Hopper residence before heading to Mike's for a D&D campaign with Will and Dustin. When they got to Jane's small house, the boys said their goodbyes, with Mike promising to stop by after the campaign tonight.
"Home," Jane said to Max as she telepathically opened the lock on the door. It was totally undetectable for someone who didn't see Jane's hand swiftly remove the blood forming from her nose.
"It's…pretty," Max said, entering the small living room. Jane chuckled at the word choice which mimicked what Mike had said to her almost two years ago.
"I'll show you around," Jane offered. She led Max further into the living room, which was basically one couch, a coffee table, and one recliner chair, all facing the TV. It had yellow walls and two windows, both adorned with thick white curtains. "Living room, where we watch TV," Jane explained, gesturing to the room around her. "Next," Jane continued, "the dining room, where we eat eggos."
The dining room was separated from the living room by one narrow archway and had white walls and one small wooden table with four seats around it. It was connected to the kitchen, which was also small. It had wooden cabinets and white countertops. The windows in this part of the house were also heavily draped.
"Kitchen," Jane said before leading her back through the living room and down the only other archway. It was a short hallway that only had four doors. "Dad's room," she gestured to the first on the left. "Bathroom," she said to he one on the right. "Basement," Jane gestured to the second on the left. "And, my room!" she finished with enthusiasm, leading Max into her bedroom.
"Wow," Max said, entering. This room was a very pale pink with a plain white bed that had comfortable-looking pillows on it and a brown teddy-bear. There was a dresser with a mirror, and a desk that had lots of books and her radio on it. This room also had heavy-looking curtains on the windows. "You guys like your privacy, huh?" Max commented.
"Safety," Jane explained and Max gave her an apologetic look, now understanding.
"I like it, Jane. It's very… you."
"Thank you."
Max sat down on the bed with Jane, trying not to feel awkward. This was basically the first time the girls had ever hung out alone.
"How are you and Mike?" Max asked, figuring that would get the quiet curly haired girl talking. Jane grinned at the sound of his name.
"Very good," Jane said, "He's my boyfriend." Max smiled back at her.
"He finally asked you?" she chuckled.
"I asked him, actually," Jane said with a little attitude. Max raised her eyebrows.
"I love that!" Max exclaimed. "Girl's shouldn't have to wait around for guys to make the first move when we can do it ourselves!" Jane laughed, agreeing. She glanced down at her arm, moving her bracelet aside to look at her tattoo. Max resisted looking, trying not to be rude, but couldn't help glancing down as well. Her arm read 011, and Max had known that was her name for the first thirteen years of her life. The thought made her feel terrible. Here Max was, staying the night at Jane's house to get away from her step dad, while Jane had dealt with years of trauma far worse that anyone could imagine with no possible way to get away from it. The thought made Max sick to her stomach.
"Girls can do anything," Jane finally said, bringing Max out of her thoughts.
"You're damn right."
Billy sat in his house, smoking cigarettes and listening to music (his usual routine), when he heard his dad get home. His step-mother had been frantic all day, worrying about his bitch of a step-sister, Max. Apparently, she had gotten a little roughed up last night and didn't come home from school yet. Billy knew that her knew her and her weirdo friends were usually hanging out late after school, but he didn't really care much to chime in.
"I'm going to look for her, stay here in case she comes back, Neil," Susan Hargrove had said, heading out the door. Billy rolled his eyes, before trudging out the door, getting into his Camero, on the way to a good old Hawkins house party.
Becky Richards was throwing an epic house party, which Nancy had dragged Johnathon to go to.
"Come on, let loose! It'll be fun!" Nancy had convinced him. Jonathon had a hard time saying no to her, so he finally relented. This year had been a huge change for Jonathon in a lot of ways. He was no longer the 'loner' or 'freak'. Ever since he and Nancy started dating, people seemed to… like him more. He still preferred only Nancy's company, but he slowly started making connections to Nancy's friends as well as others in his class who had ignored him for years. Jonathon was nice enough to them, but he kept his distance for the most part.
"Come on it," Becky greeted them, as she sipped out of a solo cup. Nancy gave Jonathon a loving glance before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the dance floor. Billy Hargrove spotted the pair as they entered the party. He knew Nancy was that Harrington kid's Ex, but for the life of him, Billy could not see why Nancy had chosen Jonathon over Steve. With a shrug, Billy went back to shot-gunning a beer and glanced around the room, looking for a girl he was going to get lucky with tonight.
Hopper was in his office 'contemplating', when Flo came in.
"Hop, Susan Hargrove is here, she can't find her daughter Maxine," Flo told him. Jim internally groaned, knowing that Max was at his own house. She really couldn't even call her mom to tell her she was at a sleep over?
"Send her in."
It had been a relaxing night for Jane and Max. Jane had put on the TV and heated them up some premade dinners in the microwave. Max thought she sort of understood Jane a little better now. She was definitely not one of the most talkative people in the world, but she was very observant and had a strong personality when she decided to show it. Their evening so far had consisted of mostly small conversations (generally Mike or Lucas centered, but also about school and English class), and Max trying her best not to gawk every time Jane changed the TV channels with her mind.
When the girls were watching E.T. and eating eggos (which Jane had explained were considered breakfast and dessert), the Hopper house's phone rang. Jane looked at it before shrugging and picking up.
"Hello?" she said in her soft voice,
"Jane, it's your dad here. Put Max on the phone, I have her mother here at the station, she's been looking for her," Hopper said. Max had heard through the phone and rolled her eyes. Of course NOW my mom cares. Jane handed her the phone.
"Hi," Max said, slightly sarcastically.
"Oh Maxine, I've been looking for you for two hours! Why didn't you tell me you were staying with your new friend?" Susan gasped frantically.
"Gee, Mom, I have no idea. It's almost like I hate living in my own home." The sarcasm was now so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
"Maxine, we'll talk about his at home tomorrow, I'm just glad you're safe… I love you," Susan said, sounding defeated.
"Love you too, Mom." Max hung up the phone. Jane looked at her sympathetically, but said nothing.
The Wheeler basement erupted in argument over what the dice had actually landed on when they fell on the floor. Will swears he saw a six, but Dustin wasn't convinced.
"You moved it, I know it! There's no way you rolled the perfect amount, first try!" Dustin accused. Lucas nods to this.
"If Will said it was a six, then it was," Mike said calmly. Will caught Mike's eye and gave a grateful smile. "Will doesn't lie. And," Mike continued in his theatrical Dungeon Master voice, "Will the Wise avoids the Dragon and makes his way to safety!"
Will stands up and cheers, while Dustin and Lucas can't help but smile at the sight. Their friend had been through enough, and deserved to be this happy and carefree.
"I guess the campaign's over," Mike concludes.
"Michael," Kareen Wheeler calls from upstairs. "Joyce is here for Will!"
"Okay!" Mike says back.
"I'd better get going too," Dustin said, getting up.
"What time is it?" Lucas asked. Mike glanced at his watch.
"Eight-thirty!" Mike exclaimed, looking at Lucas. They both knew what that meant. The Chief was home and they could stop by the Hopper's for a visit. Dustin rolled his eyes. There really was no hope for those two. Steve needed to give them some girl advice, Dustin decided on his way home, not thinking about the fact that neither Steve or Dustin had a girlfriend and the other two did.
Steve was on patrol with Powell who was in the passenger seat, going on about why he didn't like the taste of cooked carrots. Steve drove through the town trying to drown out his partner when he noticed a familiar face getting into a car, or rather, being half carried to a car. He parked and got out of his car.
"Jonathon?" Steve questioned.
"Oh god, sorry Steve! It looks like Nancy had a little too much, um again." Jonathon looked like he wanted to crawl out of his skin in that moment.
"Of course she did," Steve said, half to himself. "Make sure you get her home, alright?" Steve said, turning on his cop voice.
"S-sure!" Jonathon answered, getting his girlfriend into the seat and buckling her in nice and tight. With a wishful glance, Steve got back into the car and slowly continued down the street.
Steve hated patrol.